England, Ireland (scotland to follow)

ok, so pretty much the worst feeling ever is the feeling of blog entries for three weeks of fabulous travel hanging over you like wet laundry (which is actually now presently also physically hanging over me but quite captures the feeling, I think).

I have had the most fabulous adventures in the past three weeks. none of which can be done justice in one blog entry - but I am about to try.

I am presently holed up in phebe and jed's room in Clapham South, London. I sleep on a matress on their floor. Potentially i am like some kind of house pet curled up at the bottom of their bed. I have made it back after 2 weeks on the go in Northen England and Scotland- but before that I spent several days in the Emerald Isle (not to be confused with the Emerald Aisle which might occur in some kind of gem supermarket).

Ok. Let's start from the very begining... (an average place to start).

I got into london on a freshly freezing evening 3 weeks ago. Phebe and Jed kindly came and picked me up- even though Stanstead airport is actually in extreme woop woop for them. I was also kindly given a slightly terrifying "central london roads by nite" tour where I saw very little in the darkness but felt the nightmare that is london driving.

Next day, I ventured into central london with phebe- oyster card in hand. Phebe had to work - selling monster energy drink to the foul-mood-and foul mouthed convenience store owners of london. I was free to wander. and wander I did. I strolled all over covent garden, Leister square, and Soho taking in the sights. So many theatres. SO much history. SO much touristy crap. If I was a Londoner, I feel the I <3 London shirts/underpants/knife sets/pool tables would piss me off a fair bit.

I met phebe for lunch at Pret a Manger (cheep, cheerful and my new lunch de jour, however passe) (did you see me try to use french there? fail) and we returned to Clapham South/Balham (apparently closer to Clapham south). 10 people live in Phebe's house.. plus me makes 11. So I am extremely grateful for thier hospitality.

That evening, a posse consisting of Phebe, Jed, Laura (cool NZ CHick) and Myself decended on Gatwick Airport preparing for the battle of a lifetime - to get four seats together on the free-for-all which is a RyanAir Flight to Dublin. It was like a rolling maul once the gates were opened. A man shouted "there's a small child here" to which the crowd replied "who takes a child on ryanair" and trampled over said child. Packed into our tiny seats, we made the journey over sea to beautiful Ireland.

Phebe Johnson is one organised child, and apprently seems to spend her entire day organising various weekend jaunts to different countries. We had a very organised itinerary. First night we picked up our little rental car and drove to some extremely random house where we stayed. Next morning, early start and off to Glendalough, a beautiful lake with a small town attached. Small town consiting of .. not much. We went to the ancient cemetary, where we pretended to be ghosts for a time- then it was nature walk time along the lake, where jed got VERY "natural" and my retinas are forever burned. it was windy and slightly rainy but very pleasant. We had a massive breakfast at s Gleandalough hotel, laughed at the very "cute" (according to Laura) old people with gorgeous Irish accents, and I took some extra croissants for the way. THe breakfast was so filling, lunch was not needed.

We the did an extreme speed run of Kilkenny. We posed for photos at the glorious castle, Jed flashed his butt again for a photo opportunity on the street (?!?) and then drank Kilkenny in Killkenny in the space of less than an hour. But the real race had not yet begun. We were scheduled to hit blarney castle that afternoon to kiss the blarney stone, but as the sun decended our hopes faded as we raced towards our goal. We pushed our way through the gates with 15 minutes to spare and were the final people to kiss the blarney stone that day. Unfortunately for me, I apparently missed the said stone all togetehr and can now claim that I "kissed the stone ABOVE the blarney stone". I guess I missed out on gettting the power of the gift of the gab (which the stone is said to bestow). Somehow, I think I'll get along fine without it.

We then departed the castle and made our way to the nearby town of Kilarney (very Mcleods Daughters). We went out to check out the local night life.. but the non stop action of international flying and constant sightseeing was taking its toll on me. Jed and I called it an early night - but Phebe and Laura had a fabulous adventure involving a lovely Irish man who had moved to Kilarney for work and had no friends (people don't have jobs in ireland and some resent those who do) protecting them from a group of Irish Louts. the Craic was good!

Next day, I was at the wheel as we took on the dingle peninsula. We visited a 2500 year old fort (with cute sheep herding dog included), where Jed proceeded to pee on an ancient battlement. it wasn't in a BAD way. It was necessity (apparently). the wind was blowing and the rain was falling but the views were still breathtaking.. then.. the sun came out and.. DOUBLE RAINBOW OH MY GOD. no pot of gold though and a distinct lack of leprachauns. We then visited the town of Dingle where we had potentiaally the best fish and chips of the holiday and posed for photos with the statue of "Fungie the Dingle Dolphin- (since 1983)". Then we made our way to our little hostel in Doolin we went to a pub to witness a man sing a folk song about Australian BBQs and where their eftpos machine stopped working preventing binge drinking by all.

The next day was the best one. That evening, the owner of the hostel had drawn us out a mud map of how to get to the secret side of the CLiffs of Moher and walk the whole way along the cliff edge to the visitor centre. Mud map is a perfect description. the next morning we fould ourself tramping across paddocks of what appeared to be a mud farm. We were knee deep in mud. Jed and Laura had to durn back due to shoe disfuction but phebe and I continued, Me thanks to the wonder of my Doc Martens (which I seriously am in love with after saving me from this mud.. and also coming soon - snow!!). We climbed barbed wire fences and sheep and random american hikers, but it was all worth it for the view from the cliffs. It was the best walk of my life! Amazing! The cliffs are 240m high.. and we walked along the edge. After our walk of doom, we med Jed and Laura at the visitor centre, which has apparently been boycotted by the people of ireland for costing 20 million euros in a time of financial crisis.

THen we were in Galway. Galway was Awesome. We did a Galway Pub Crawl = 6 pubs in as many hours. We met a bunch of crazy Irish students- they were actually physically insane. A girl called Meg drew us an insanity map of places to go. Meg McNeil, Johnny McGee (Aka crazy hair) and Jack O'Carrol (aka crazy eyes) were the keepers of the crew. We hung out with them all evening and I swear I have never laughed so much in my entire life. especially as the guy who had obviously been watching border patrol kept saying "do you have any narcotics on your person" in an irish style Aussie Accent.

Our last day we zipped across to Dublin. In Irealnd everything is scenic.. there are emerald field after emerald field dotted with little black faced sheep - beautiful in clear skyes of grey. Just driving for several hours was fun with all the natural beauty. except in the dark.

Dublin was.. less nice. However the Guinness factory was 5 times of awesome. they have really put alot of work into the "storehouse" as it is known and it was a full afternoon of hopps-y goodness- topped off with a free pint in the bar on the top accompanied by panoramic views of Dublin.

Then back to London that evening in the same style we arrived - rugby scrum onboard RyanAIr. HOnestly RyanAir is SOOO dodgy. THe flight attendants look diseased and the plane has been detalied with yellow fading to white which looks like someone threw up. Thatbeingsaid - they are CHEAP.

The next day I had a London day - meeting up with Josh and Julianne in Soho. It was interesting to see them in a UK setting, where they do spend alot of their time. we strolled the streets and did an Oxford Street shopping spree where I discoverd the Glory of H&M and Primark- buying some non-homeless style winter clothes for cheap on the cash. We then went to their lovely home (very lovely open plan living) in North London for dinner and christmas carol sing-alongs. Then I came back to my cat-bed style abode in Clapham South - ready to begin my adventure in the north the very next day!

I however, have now lost the will to continue this blog entry and will have to write about my tour of the north tomorrow.. ugh I must stop putting it off.. perhaps I will do it in 1 hours time. we shall see. I'm here at phebe and jed's eating pizza and watching movies so I'm set for the time being!

Oxford Street and dinner over carols

Today I had a wonderful day in swinging London. I met Julianne and Josh under Priscilla- QUeen of the Desert's oversize tranny heel on Charring Cross Road and we proceeded to the glory of Oxford Street.

I have been teased (and quite rightly so) about looking like a hobo in my unstylish (though warm) overcoat. So today, it was time to remedy this.

After a little Pret a Manger for shopping-fuel, I discovered the joy of H&M. Why does this not exist in Australia - it is absolutely epic! I got a stylish, yet appropriately warm military-style coat, a shirt, a long sleeved shirt and an extremely cute dress for 70 pounds. so good!

After some random meandering we found our way into Primark. I had already been to Primark in Tooting Bec near where I am staying in Clapham South and it was an intense shopping experience. Primark Oxford street is... the next level. I have never seen so many people in one shop. it was quite literally heaving with bargain hunters. I escaped the rolling maul of Primark with 2 pairs of shoes, a pair of black undies, black high denier tights, a sling bag and a pair of pyjama pants.. for 27 pounds. oh yeaaa.

I'm now sitting in the very lovely open plan kitchen of Julianne and Josh's kitchen in East Finchley. We are having a pasta bake for tea.. and vienetta for dessert! I'm going to have to catch the tube all the way to the other side of london to go home, but I'm getting pretty good with the tube so I should be fine.

WE are listening to christmas carols. Do they know it's christmas?

Tomorrow I am going to visit Mark! can't wait to see him! Mark Cornish Live in Concert!

Ireland!

It's official - Ireland is the most scenic location of all scenic locations. Around every corner of our 4 day whirlwind tour of the country was a photographic moment. Too many moments, not enough film.

Phebe, Jed, Laura and I hopped the Irish sea Ryan-Air style (no frills no mercy)on Thursday night. We stayed in some random dublin guest house, then escaped completely the next morning off to Glendalough- where there is a loch. it was scenery plus but rainy.

Then we were off to Kilkenny for a kilkenny, and spent the night in Killarney. Phebe and Laura stayed out mega-late talking to irish jerks and a cute old man (apparently). THe next day we almost didn't make it to blarney castle - but in a crystal maze style race through the castle grounds we were the last people of the day to kiss the blarney stone.

THe next day was the glorious dingle peninsula in the world's craziest weather. But we saw the world's most stunning rainbow... no pot of gold however.

We stayed that night in a little hostel in a little town and drank alot of guinness. the beds were hard but the people were nice. That night we were drawn a mud map of how to get the secret route to the cliffs of moher. Mud map is an accurate description. THe next morning we were tramping through sodden paddocks towards the cliff tops. Words cannot describe the amazingness of these cliffs. Stunning does not capture it. We walked along the edge of 240 metre sheer drops. I fell perilously close to a sign saying "EXTREME DANGER".

Then we were off to Galway - and what a fabulous city it was! we proclaimed it to be GALWAY PUB CRAWL and hit 6 pubs around the city. On the way we met some completely insane irish people, crazy eyes and crazy hair and crazy girl and we had one of the best nights of our respective nights. I have developed a new love for guinness- which was realised the next day in dublin where we visited the Guinness storehouse - where they brew the black stuff. It was a fabulous museum with a glorious free pint at the top of dubin's tallest building. Dublin is... very Billy Elliott compared to the rest of Ireland. It was SO beautiful. Unbelievable.

I wish I had written more about this at the time, because now it feels like a recount and .. so much awesome stuff happened!

Day 2: transit time

At home, due to a body clock malfunction, I have been waking up mega early in the mornings. So it would figure that -2hrs, I wake up super mega early. I was able to salvage some extra nap-age before dragging myself out of my comfy room-sized bed and getting organised.

I don’t know about you, but I really hate showers in transit. All your toiletries get damp, a set of clothes and undies is dirty and has to be put in the suitcase, which necessitates opening up the case and risking a stuff-explosion. Just a thought.

I went downstairs to check out of Tune Hotel and then went out into the courtyard to redeem my prepaid breakfast voucher. I had a plain omelette. Normally, I hate a plain omelette. But this was fabulous for some reason. I hope it did not contain crack, as I definitely felt slightly addicted to the omelette and pined for it upon finishing.

Whilst withdrawing from my omelette, I was visited by a kitty of asia. He was a little black tomcat with a bob-tail and a few white spots. He was a stray because he would happily come over, but was not up for snuggles (which would probably have caused me to catch some horrible disease, so it was for the best). I poured the spare milk from my coffee into the saucer and put it down for him. It was kitty heaven.

Now, I have seen cats have milk before, but this milk was kitty crack. He spent 10 minutes making sure he got every last drop of that milk into him- on all 3 servings. I guess he knows what it’s like to feel hungry. Happily fed, he became Mr. Playful- running around under my feet and spending a good 10 minutes attacking the straps of my pack. It was a very cute display- sommersaults included.
It was then time to be off to the airport. I walked. Took 5 minutes. Very pleasant.
I checked in and spent my remaining ringit on chocolate and gum. I saw a lady with a hilarious ENGRISH shirt. Enjoyed the lulz.

Now here I am, in the air, with only 11.5 hours to go on my flight. It’s only a 13 hour flight. I must say I thought it would be more.
It’s hard to know whether or not to take a sleeping tablet. I think I will have to, although it is strongly recommended AGAINST when travelling east to west. Hmmm.. no.. I think if I don’t I may go physicially insane from boredome and inactivity – and jetlag seems a far more attractive option. I think I’ll sleep early, that way it will be like a morning nap.

leaving on a jetplane...

Operation Eurotrip 2010 has officially begun! This morning I was up at a sparrow’s fart- ensuring my bag was repacked (after leaving out razor and deodorant) and giving myself plenty of time to caffeinate. I was actually woken up significantly earlier than the aforementioned sparrow’s flatulence by the dog panting unnaturally loudly. I think she must have had a nightmare, after which she proceeded to every sleeping human in the house and panted until they comforted her.

After saying goodbye to parents and pets, I set off down the highway in my little rental car. She was a tiny little thing, but I was extremely impressed by her ability to get all the way to Coolangatta on less than a quarter of a tank of petrol.

I flew Air Asia X. Why, you ask? Because I was able to get return tickets to the UK for $1400AUD. The cheapest student flight with a regular carrier that I was able to find was $1970, so it was a substantial saving. The only downside I found was that there was NO in-flight entertainment. And when I say no- I mean absolutely none! Zilch! Nada!

There was not a TV screen in sight. Not even those tiny ones they put on the ceiling at intervals on other carriers. For me, this was fine, as I simply deployed my trusty netbook & accompanying stash of movies. But.,it wasn’t the same as getting to watch latest release movies and TV shows that I have become accustomed to.

AIrasia also do not give pillows/blankets/water/headphones/anything – which is also fine if you come prepared. Fortunately, I was prepared.

I arrived in Malaysia 7.5 hours later, and upon stepping out into the jungle sauna outside the plane, I was immediately reminded of how much I love Asia. I love the heat and the smell of it. I’ve spent lots of time here over the years, so it feels like a second (more shambolic) home to me. It’s nice to be back, even for half a day.

I was absolutely starving and stopped in for a quick carb fix at McDOnnalds. Then I boarded the mini-bus to Tune hotel. Tune Hotels are run by airasia and are absolutely fabulous. The rooms are EXTREMELY SMALL- there is only just enough space to open the door, but they are clean and modern and contain a very comfy double bed. Again, not a TV to be seen – so again the trusty netbook has been deployed.

Since then, I grabbed a couple of Tiger beers from the 7eleven downstairs and have been hanging out on the landing outside my room doing some hardcore internet surfing. The air out here is soggy with moisture, but I am soaking up the atmosphere. Plus, the room is a little bit like a coffin.

Tomorrow I fly out at 2:30pm – so I have plenty of time for showering, repacking the bag, recharging my personal in-flight entertainment gear and getting organised. I’ll probably head over to the airport around 12pm but until then, I’m going to milk this incredibly cheap wi-fi at the hotel for all it’s worth.

home at last (and bored)

Well, so i never really wrapped things up from the end of the contract. I was tired and I also got sick and a sore back and then.. who knows.. I was home.

I'm bored. I miss the ship. Although it's awesome to see my mates and family again, they are at work or studying all day and I feel like a bird stuck in a cage. not a particularly glamourous bird eiter, possibly a pigeon.

I'm in the planning stages for my holiday in one week. I'm going visiting people in the UK, plus a quick trip to france and then over to berlin for new year's eve.

I'll be keeping this blog during my holiday so you can keep up with me, not that I'm a particularly exciting person.

I have also changed my life direction in the past few days afer a near-break down in Kmart whilst shopping for storage boxes. I have given up the idea of studying medicine. It's so.. locked in. I love entertainment- and I want to work in or around this field. Currently, after another few contracts at sea, I'm looking at doing a master's in creative industries at QUT - but how to choose between journalism and advertising.

I'm being really lazy at the moment - i should get up and be pro-active, but i've been sitting around in front of the TV. GOtta get up, gotta get moving. but the TV is so addictive. I want to get my room totally clean and organised and I'm going to throw alot of stuff out.