Monday 26 December 2011

Marrakesh: and so the journey continues!

Firstly, I hope that everyone had a really lovely Christmas and got everything they wanted (I got my pac-a-mac and hike bag) and hope you are looking forward to the new year. And onwards ...

I must admit that the train the Marrakesh while perfectly pleasant in terms of comfort (despite it's 7 hour length), beautiful views and of course Western toilets, was a bad one for me and Emily due to our shattered spirits. I felt like going home I even at one point seriously wanted to go straight to the airport and just sit around til our flight.

That's how sad I was.


Luckily, as we were pulling into Marrakesh the sun was setting and the view of the city was stunning especially by night. And we arrived and we then headed immediately to Mcdonald's after scarfing down 2 tins of pringles on the train. We were sick of all things Moroccan.

Marrakesh train station was a sight for sore eyes.

I tried my French I'm sure I got the words right but leaning over and asking for "grande pommes frites" was simply met with a disgusted look and a reply of  "Do you speak English?" READ MORE>>

Saturday 24 December 2011

My First Guest Blog!

As the title suggests I have written my first ever guest blog. It is here:


It's about why every girl should give up the 9-5 and become a solo female traveller. It was published by the fabulous www.girlandtheworld.org who is a keen traveller in particular of Asia, Sri Lanka enthusiast and currently working as a English language teacher in South Korea!

Anyway check out my blog post and while you're there check out a few of hers (she is AWFULLY good.)

Oh yea and have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

I have some flights to book.


Friday 23 December 2011

Fez: And so the drama continues!

The first hour and half of the tour was wonderful. He took us around loads of winding streets through the madness that is Fez, donkeys and people everywhere. He took us down many small paths. We had no idea where we were. Admittedly he did take us to places most people would never see inside schools and into a palace with an amazing view of the Medina.

And then the tour changed!


He then took us to loads of shops where they tried to pressure us into buying expensive rugs and jewellery. In the rug store they wanted 800dh (over £60!!!) for a rug. We kept explaining we were students and we didn't have much money that these rugs cost far more than our flights and we didn't have the hand baggage allowance. I felt EXTREMELY intimidated. In the end me and Emily only bought two small bottles of perfume (still at an inflated price but we only lost out on about £3.)



And so the hassling began.

It could have been a lot worse. READ MORE>>



Thursday 22 December 2011

Fez - And why I WOULDN'T go back

Firstly, a big thanks to all my loyal fans. My last post was the first to get above 100 views and I am very proud. I'm becoming a really blogger. (Just need to understand website design now *huff*)

So anyway what you are all here for: Fez. We chose Fez for two reasons: firstly it's Ryanair destination where the flight didn't leave at 6am and secondly it was a little different. Not being touristy for me is always a big plus for a destination. Brescia is my favourite city in Italy, Trier in Germany, Helsinki is my favourite city full stop and so lack of tourists normally gets me going.

Fez was a whole other world!




There were NO white people about. In the 3 days we were there I think we saw around 7. When you are two young, blonde hair, blue eyed women wandering about a city of middle aged Arab men it gets a little disturbing.

I was offered 350 camels. READ MORE>>


Tuesday 20 December 2011

Morocco: The Run Up and Statistics!

So last week I was in Morocco....

View of Fez

But I'm not gonna talk about that just yet this is just a teaser. 

This time I wasn't alone. I was with Emily a friend from home who hasn't traveled too much. Not that she's never wanted to, just that she works 24/7, in fact I rarely see her on home turf so it was a nice catch up as well. Morocco admittedly was throwing her in a bit at the deep end, but as I said more on that later. READ MORE>>


Monday 21 November 2011

Last Minute Rave Anyone?

So you know how I said my party life has gone into hibernation. That I hardly ever leave campus and generally do nothing with my life. There was an article written in our student newspaper about the nightlife at Warwick uni. I think it summed it up beautifully:

"If you come from a big city, Warwick is shit for clubs. If you come from a small incestuous farming village in Kazakhstan, Warwick is shit for clubs, probably with less eligible women."


I thought I was in for a boring year. 

Apparently I was wrong.

READ MORE>>

Tuesday 25 October 2011

The Return?

Ok so as you may have noticed the blog hasn't been receiving the usual love from me that it should be, and that is because well I'm not travelling. That is right I am back in Uni studying for my final year and I am pretty much doing SOMETHING 24/7, whether that be lectures, seminars or one of the many careers talks. I forgot how stressful uni life can be and with taking on extra Japanese lessons there is a lot on my plate. I went to bed at 9 on Sunday, that's 9pm. Rock and Roll this ain't. Talking to Lidl graduate employment at the careers fair the gist was "You will work in Lidl stores and or an office for 2 years" I simply though KILL ME NOW!

The days of dressing like an Ampelmann (German traffic light) and hitting the town seem to be over.

So what does all this mean for the blog? READ MORE>>

Thursday 22 September 2011

In it for the long haul: Budget vs Normal Airlines.

People tend to have a distinct hatred for all that is Ryanair and with Ryanair changing the rules AGAIN so that you can't use your Caxton to get free card payment you have to get your own Ryanair creditcard (even then it's not free it's a voucher for your next flight) but personally I've had no problem. If it wasn't for Ryanair there is no way I could have afforded loads of my amazing trips READ MORE>>

Friday 16 September 2011

ESCAPE!!

I have often swanned about backpackers telling everyone on their working holiday visas NOT to work at the fruit farms (despite never working there myself.) The horror stories are unreal. One strawberry farm in particular in Mooloolaba had people working 10 hours a day for about $70 (a waitress normally earns about $20 an hour.) You are bent over all day in order to pick the strawberries and you get 70c a kilo plus you have to pick mould for 10c a kilo. If you miss mould however you have to start the row again. You have to get up at 6 leave at 6:30 and you are back about 4:30. Most people quit after one day. It was all too much. One of my roommates used to pick barefoot after she couldn't afford the shoes (apparantly it was a real shoe destroying job.) People put on bets on how long people will last and often if you are doing it for money and not for the visa the answer is not long. READ MORE>>

Thursday 15 September 2011

Hay and Shit

WARNING: This post contains a graphic image of me without make up on. While I am fine with how I look (who wouldn't be) I am warning the men of the world to look away now before your dreams of how women wake up looking in the morning are shattered.

Most girls grow up with the unhealthy obsession of wanting to own their own pony. They dream of brushing their pony, riding their pony and in general their pony running around cute as a button. This lie has been developed by years of My Little Ponies and reruns of black beauty. This however is all a lie...

This is the dream ...


In reality horses are READ MORE>>

Monday 12 September 2011

The Perthect Weekend!

Excuse the pun but I'm putting it out there straight away. Perth rocks! It is exactly my kind of city everything from the skyscrapers to the food suits me down to the ground. So what did I get up to.

Well I arrived at about half 10 in Perth after doing my 2 hours in the morning at the farm. This means I had breakfast at 6am and at half 10 I was pretty hungry. READ MORE>>

Friday 9 September 2011

Llama Farming and Sparrow Farts.

So I have arrived in Perth and although I say I am llama farming (you know has a nice ring to it) really I am horse farming, don't get me wrong there are alpacas here but they are very low maintanence and apparantly terrified of people. I come to the fence and they all stand and stare at me it is fairly eeire actually but yes I am down on the farm rocking it with the animals.

The scenery out here is amazing rolling green hills and beautiful birds cockatoos, gallahs, 28s READ MORE>>

Wednesday 7 September 2011

The Indian Pacific.

Now I have eaten, had a shower and slept I feel I am ready to give a more objective account of my trip.On Saturday I began my trip on the Indian Pacific. The Indian Pacific is the second longest train journey in the world (next to the Trans Siberian) and boast the longest straight piece of track in the world something near 500km. The train travels from Sydney and Perth and back runs twice a week and takes nearly 70 hours. It has just 5 stops. My train left 3pm Saturday and arrived 9am Tuesday. I was in for a long ride.


I had heard mixed reviews of this trip READ MORE>>

Thursday 1 September 2011

To Perth.

After nearly a whole month in Sydney it is almost time for me to move on. First I am going back to Pips house to meet her daughter and then onwards on the Indian Pacific to Perth. How long does a train from one side of Australia to the other take do you think?

4 Days is the answer. 4 WHOLE days. Do I have a bed? No of course I don't I am a backpacker so it's sitting up right all the way. I also doubt there being a shower READ MORE>>

Canberra - As described.

So today I woke up at sparrow fart (5am) to go on the road to Canberra. It's only 3 hours from Sydney so a good day trip as far as Australia is concerned. Admittedly I didn't have to get up at 5am (we were leaving at 7)  but I must have been just too excited and my body wouldn't let me nod off. Like a happy camper I had packed potato salad and cornish pasty for my lunch as well as my travel pillow etc in case I went to sleep (I didn't too rude on my uncle really) and we were on our way.

The drive was stunning. Just outside of Sydney you could see these valleys full of forest with low lying fog that was READ MORE>>

Monday 29 August 2011

Quiz Night.

Now I do love me a good quiz. When I was in school me and my friends did a reqular pub quiz with Chris the pub quiz master, however we all went to Uni the pub changed hands and everything changed. We never won that pub quiz, it was very competitive we came third once though and made 25p each roughly. CJ de Mooi did actually take part in that quiz once too; him and a VERY drunk girl. We beat him but then again there was 8 of us. We had a picture with him afterwards which is now lost in phone history. It was a good day for us anyway.

Yesterday I took part with my aunt and uncle in a Trivia Night run by the Toyota Landcruiser club (the relos are big 4 wheel drive fans.) Which was Quiz and dinner READ MORE>>

Saturday 27 August 2011

Manly Harbour Ferry.

I am becoming a fully fledged tourist of late as yesterday I got up at the crack of dawn (well 8am) to make the journey to central Sydney and on to Manly. Manly is known as being notoriously difficult to get to by land, having fantastic surf beaches and for the ferry having the best views of Sydney and they were not wrong on any account.

Despite the fact that central Sydney is only a 20 minute drive away the parking is ridiculous and so public transport strikes again. It took just over an hour (a bus and 2 trains) but it was not a bad journey. When you rise out of the circular quay station you are immediately hit. Remember when I said you walk into Berlin Zoo and it's like BOOM a rhino. This was like that BOOM the harbour bridge and the opera house ... and they are not small structures. READ MORE>>

.

Friday 26 August 2011

Oh and Two more things!

This is a continuation of the last post I've had a change of heart.

The NHS
I am a very sickly child. I am constantly going to the doctor. I need the NHS. I caught Sinusitis about 4 times during my time in Germany plus random other things I forget now. I refused to see a doctor however, even though I was insured, because I didn't want the hassle more than anything. In Britain I would have just popped right in and as a Welshie free prescriptions. I do remember one instance where my eye was getting rather crusty (Sinusitis thing) I went to the pharmacy lacking the German for "crusty goo is pouring from my eye" I went with "Ich hab ein Problem mit mein Auge" (I have a problem with my eye) her reply was something probably technical but really I had no idea what she said. "Es tut weh?" (It hurts?) "Oh ja ja tut weh" She handed me drops and I was all good (she could probably see the crusty consistency for herself). However I think more complex problems may have got lost in translation. As I have mentioned coming here I had a REALLY bad cold and was emitting snotty tissues as often as I was breathing through my mouth attractively. At the moment I think I have Sinusitis again my (eye is gooing) among some other less bloggable problems I have encountered. I would tell you guys lets just say the seals didn't have a good effect on me. This sort of leads me onto the next thing I miss about Britain.

Real Supermarkets

When I walk into my local ASDA I can buy ANYTHING including clothes, shoes, dvds, blue ray players, cds, laptops, toys, DIY, barbecues, toiletries, bicycles, exercise equipment, stationary pretty much anything .... oh yea it sells food too. And at what hour is this luxury convinence store open to ... well its 24 hours baby. While I don't hanker to buy barbecues at 3am on a Wednesday .... often. I do appreciate that I could but I'm not just on about the range and opening times of my local ASDA, I am on about basics that everyone needs. Germany for example you cannot buy medicine (not even paracetamol) at the supermarket you can only buy herbal remedies. You have to go to the pharmacy so they can assess you. But if you are already sick then you don't really want to walk to the pharmacy do you (Ibupfrofen is also 5€ a box compared to 16p in Britain) So stock up well I would like to but the shop is open 9am - 12:30pm right opposite the school. When does school end oh yea 12:35pm brilliant. Here in Oz you can't buy booze at the supermarket BOOZE ffs what is the point. So you have to trawl over town to find the bottle shop. Why countries WHY?!?!?!

That is all.

Thursday 25 August 2011

Top 5 Things I miss about Britain.

Yes guys it has come to this time. As many of you might know I don't like calling anywhere home. Normally I call home where I pay rent. However, as I am a bum that is just living with strangers at the moment I have no home. Britain is however the place I was born and raised and I thought it right to do this one before things I miss about Germany. This list is just some ideas I was thinking about while living in Germany as well as coming here to Oz. I'm not including things like my friends, my cats etc that is personal to me (after all it's obvious and natural to miss those things) rather just stuff that anyone can enjoy if they went to the U.K. This is not an admission that I sit at home crying all the time about these things though it would be nice to have them about.

Vegan Food
Look how frickin delicious this food looks.


I am aware guys that you can go vegan in any country in the world however I must say Britain more so than others. (Heads up to Finland but then again that country is just amazing) I may have conceded to eating fish, eggs and probiotic yoghurts for now, but it is not something I wish to continue doing. Veganism is the best decision I ever made (even if it was on a bit of a whim) I felt light and healthy (I was also doing the gym something else I miss a lot) and generally good in myself. I would make vegan bolognese, vegan fajitas and even vegan lasagne. We have soy everything, cheese, butter, burgers, mince you name it. You don't realise how much you miss something til it's gone and in Germany boy did I miss houmous. I found a tin of chickpeas in Frankfurt about a week before moving out and I ate the whole tin in one sitting. Boy I love houmous.

Metros
No not the underground system but the indie underground club in my hometown Cardiff. Metros stinks to high heaven, is so hot that you sweat profusely, and the toilets are all blocked by 12am. God I love that place. Originally it was 99p double when I started going. Now it's about £1.47 but still pretty good deal. It's not the £2 triple deals of Newcastle but its got to be close. This place is brilliant. I once saw a woman so drunk she unblocked a toilet with her bare hands. Now I may be getting a bit old for metros (it's a little bit Fresher) but I'm enjoying it while I can, great music and better people.

The Weather
This is what happens if you google british summer.


This choice may be controversial but boy do I love British weather. I remember as I sat in my Rodenbach flat in my pants all the doors and windows open and sweating constantly, thinking god I wish I was in Britain. It got up to 35 degrees in the last few weeks I was there and as I was a teacher I had to cover up the legs and the baps at all times. I was hot. British weather is a beautiful medium never too hot never too cold. Oh Britain I do miss you just sort out this snow thing, like airports can stay open even if it's snowing.

The Megabus

Now I gotta give a big shout out to my homeboys the megabus here. The megabus is basically a bus that goes to and from most destinations in Britain for a £1. AND they have toilets on board ALWAYS. I've been using the Megabus for years before it was cool and it went Cardiff to London, it now even goes Cardiff to my Uni campus. How convenient is that. Also you have to love the Megabus because when me and Nich did our hitch the Megabus let us on not one but TWO buses (London - Cardiff and Birmingham - Leeds) for FREE when national express were being dicks CONSTANTLY. We also got the Megabus from Leeds to campus back booking it about 2 hours before we left for I think it was £10 each. I mean thats like a 4 hour coach journey. Megabus rocks.

Museums
Europe in general is good for its museums and art galleries but what is even better about Britain is that you can go in them all for FREE as well. Europe has such a rich culture and history any tourist has to be glad to be able to go and see all this stuff and not be out of pocket. As a kid a nice cheap day out would be a trip round Cardiff museum see the moving mammoth and then picnic in the park. I just love the culture it's stuff I haven't seen a lot of here in Oz though to be honest the Museums I have been in so far have been free.

I have probably forgotten stuff and could extend this list to 10 things but to be honest when I was writing this list all I could think about was VEGAN FOOD. God I wish I could have some hoummous right about now. If  you were gonna do your top 5 what would it be?

*Note to self always proof read before publishing. You can't be vegan in any QUESTION in the world. Sometimes dyslexia makes literally no sense.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Whale Watching on a Budget.

Other options for the title of this post were "Having a Whale of a Time", "What cha Whaling for" and simply "Whale Watching" but I thought this one probably made me seem less of an arsehole.

Whale Watching is a massive industry coming in number 2 on many bucket lists (behind the ever popular swimming with dolphins those adorable bastards.) So it's a very popular activity particularly here is Oz as the Whales migrate up the East coast to bread during the winter. Boats can cost upwards of $100 per person and although sometimes you can get up close and personal with the whales other times you won't see a whale at all.

As I mentioned earlier Mooloolaba backpackers were doing discounted whale watching in their own boats for $75 (This is a really good bargain) READ MORE>>

Monday 22 August 2011

Back to the Year 2000.

I might have mentioned that the last time I was here was for my 10th birthday. Despite this being 11 years ago I remember a lot about this trip. I remember the cruise around the Sydney Opera house, I remember going to Bondi Beach, I remember killing (properly dissecting) any poor jellyfish that happened to wash up on to shore and I remember being so hot it was unbearable (I thought it was 40 I have since been told it was more like 25-30). I remember having a Mcflurry for the first time and getting food poisoning (not from the mcflurry) also for the first time. I remember lying in bed all day and my Aunt bringing me hot noodle soup.

 On that cruise around Sydney I remember my tooth falling out READ MORE>>

Thursday 18 August 2011

One Month to Go!!!

Being away from Britain for a year I have missed out on many British things. Most recently the riots and the fact that I won't be seeing the Inbetweeners movie for a month (despite everyone chatting about it). But I have one question. What is going on with Swagger Jagger. Is this really number one? I may be a bit behind on it but I googled it just now. No wonder you guys were rioting when this is the state of British music. I mean I know I am no music expert but I actually prefer Friday. Enough said really. If you are not from or in Britain I suggest you youtube this .... on the other hand I really don't.


Anyway on with the blog ...

Today marks the fact that it is just 1 month til I leave Oz. Saturday is 2 months since I left Britain READ MORE>>

Tuesday 16 August 2011

Turning Japanese

I'm actually getting to the point now where I have the desire to leave Blacktown and go see Sydney for real. When you have a month here it's not like you need it all to have a look about. To be honest after 6 weeks of holiday I wanted to just bum about for a few weeks. I should be going to school with my host in a few days to see how Aussie high school really works. Sydney can wait. I'm going to my auntie and uncles this weekend and I know they can advise me on stuff to do. I've been making a bucket list (I'll show you when I reach 100 things) and looking at other things everyone wants to do, Blue mountains, Walk up the harbour bridge these seems to be good things high up on peoples lists. (Then again get a tattoo is number 1 most popular thing so way to dream big people) Now don't get me wrong I'm not going go hiking up the blue mountains (I'm really not) but I could be tempted to do a couple of touristy things in inner Sydney. I mean I did the tourist thing in Brisbane and I liked that right. When I was last in Sydney I went to Segaworld it was the BEST DAY EVER. (maybe a slight exaggeration that day at Phantasialand was pretty bitching.) Sadly though they have closed that down. Otherwise I would have gone there already. I digress...READ MORE>>

Sunday 14 August 2011

Back to the Drawing Board

So after leaving Melbourne and 7 children behind over a month ago what is a better way to celebrate than to go babysitting. True I have done this to myself but after a good week and a half of barely leaving the house (but successfully catching up on Diagnosis Murder) I wanted to feel productive, above cleaning the kitchen (which I do a fine job of) and thought I would help out babysitting.


The first kid turned up at 9am. She wanted to watch Pinocchio constantly on repeat. Oh an not Disney's heart warming tale oh no. She wanted to watch The New Adventures of Pinocchio a terrifying tale where the bad guy is actually a 3 eyed tranny READ MORE>>

Saturday 13 August 2011

40 Hour Famine.

This post is a bit of a downer but I would like it if you read it anyway, I think it's for an important cause and pretty much no-one in Britain would have heard of it.
This weekend is the 40 hour famine. What is the 40 hour famine I hear you cry? Well gather round and I will tell you. East Timor (Australia's closest neighbours) are a little known 3rd world country, READ MORE>>

Friday 12 August 2011

Top Five Travel Tips

Now I know there are hundreds of websites out there offering their top tips for travelling but everyones is different. For example I hate technology for me a camera and an ipod wasn't really important. SHOCK! HORROR! Yes I know. I do actually own a camera. I was given it for a birthday and it was left in it's box for about a year before I ever used it and even then I took about 7 photos per country. I dislike photos without people in them, however now I have had to concede to pictures of landscape coz well when you are travelling alone there is no-one to take a picture of or to take a picture of you.


These are just ideas that I have been thinking of for a while now feel free to disagree. They include tips for living abroad (as I did in Germany) as well as just travelling. I've tried to leave out the obvious (so many people have written bring a travel towel it is UNREAL).

1. Prepaid Credit Card
I must say when choosing how to spend money abroad I turned to my best mate Martin. He is the bomb. When going to Germany I used the Caxton FX Eurocard before opening my German bank account which gives a generous rate and doesn't charge you for taking out money at any ATM (unless there is some explicit sign as I've often heard Thailand has. Sluggy got stung using her German Sparkasse card at the HBF (train station) 7€ per transaction. I never got charged with Caxton) or for buying things. I could also use it in any country that used the Euro and got good rates in countries that didn't like the Czech Rep. I also found their customer service impeccable. My friend Nich used it the whole time she was in Italy and never opened a bank account. She did have problems in Barcelona though when the money didn't go on for a whole day and she was left with no money. I suggest just load in advance. It also helped out when Sparkasse chose to swallow my card 3 times and without it I would have been left without money. It also doesn't charge you for booking Ryanair flights (which I booked a lot of) which is £5 per way. Definitely worth it even for the Ryanair savings. Another option is the Fairfx card. Very similar my friend Sluggy had it, it also does the Ryanair savings, has a slightly better rate, and lets you load less money but you do get charged a percentage at the ATM so just watch how many withdrawals you make. Caxton also has a Global Traveller and a USA Traveller card (the Global one I am using now and loving). I know this tip is boring but definitely get involved.

2. Helpx
This is more for travelling than living abroad. But I 100% recommend Helpx. (Sluggy recommended this one to me) It is basically a scheme where you pay 18€ for 2 years and then you can contact and be contacted by hosts in countries all over the world. You work normally 4-5 hours per day in exchange for food and accommodation. I personally like the homestays where you live with a stranger as I feel this is more personal and you meet more of the people of the country you are actually visiting. However, there are loads of options such as farms and hostels to choose from. These are more safe as well as you know it's an established thing and they won't cancel last minute or anything. There is good and bad with helpx -
The Bad
-Being kicked out of your house for no reason.
-Looking after 7 children and not having a lot of time to leave the house.
-My friend Sluggy stayed with a couple where she had to stay in a tent with the other helpers and the man believed crazy things such as that wifi gives you cancer and that we are being controlled by the man behind the curtain.
The Good
-Yvonne in Launceston was incredible such an amazing and interesting person with so many stories to tell. A lovely host I was never bored and she was always thinking of things for me to do. I also met Sabina, Chibo and Rachel from Taiwan, Japan and China respectively who I am keeping in touch with. Who knows maybe I'll see them again on more international adventures.
-Lynne and James in Hobart who treated me like one of the family were warm and kind, cooked some amazing food and rescued me when I got lost a 10 minute walk from the house.
-Pip in Sydney. This is the host I'm with now I've been here a week and a half and I have left the house twice. This is me being lazy as I'm going to see my auntie and uncle soon and want to do things with them. But it shows how much I love being here. Pip is so amazing she is so forthcoming with food and drink always encouraging me to have more and more and she asks no work in return (I have set up some language learning software for her and I occasionally clean the kitchen but this is on my insistence not hers. I need to work) The family is friendly and open and again always seems to have foreigners here (mainly German) too. It's a really great atmosphere. The German girl offered for me to come into the city with her and go about with her friends but I declined. (I really am just lazy)

3. Kindle
When I was coming back from my 9 months in Germany I had 10kg in books. This meant that as I could not risk my suitcase weight limit I had to carry it on my back. the 20 min walk from Victoria Underground to Victoria Bus Station was NOT fun I thought my hand was going to fall off. As someone who is constantly reading 3 books at the same time (Effi Briest, A Doll's House, Sherlock Holmes currently) and who is also travelling constantly I need an alternative. I even read all my coursebooks on there. I also recommend the 3G version. My relationship with my Kindles internet is very love/hate. A lot of places don't have Wifi (particularly Backpackers) or they charge you a lot for it (one place $8 an hour) and so it is nice just to check in on Facebook and e-mails (just not hotmail) and see your friends. Also when you are in the middle of nowhere and don't know where you are going Google maps can be very handy. I have heard you can do all this stuff on a smart phone, but I have also heard it can be expensive where as with the kindle it's all included.

4. Pack Less Than You Think
When I was packing to come out here I thought about all the clothes and did and did not wear day to day and  tried to pack appropriately. Despite this there is STILL clothes I haven't worn and I did this packing only 15kg. Go minature as well. Bringing your laptop? Why not swap it for a netbook. Sleeping bag? I recommend this one. Which shrinks to the size of your head. It's tiny and perfect for hostels, airports and cold nights. (I would say that you should buy something sturdier if you are camping you'll regret picking something cheap when you think you are freezing to death.) I've also got a travel hair dryer (pink with kittens my mum knows me well) and roll up shoes. As well as of course the travel towels.

5. Sack the Suitcase
It may seem obvious but ditch the suitcase and buy a hike bag (preferably a front loading backpack so that you don't have to unpack everything everytime you want something) a suitcase may pack more but you can fit in a similar amount if you tube roll everything. And you will be thanking me when your hands are killing you after dragging it about everywhere. Also if you forget things CONSTANTLY like me you will be happy to have all your possessions on your back. I'll never go back to the suitcase again, backpacks are the way forward. When I move to another country I will be taking the backpack again.

Thursday 11 August 2011

Sydneysiding/ Sofa Slothing!

My blog chums I beg that you stay with me through this sad period in my life.
I'm sorry guys you caught me at a bad time.

Today I woke up I realised it was 11:45am. This is the latest I've woke up since coming to Australia, normally I have something to do. I wouldn't have actually checked the time but I needed to be up by 12pm and I thought I was probably getting pretty close to that time. So I got up and rushed out of my room without getting dressed or doing my make up. What was so important that I had to be up? READ MORE>>

Monday 8 August 2011

I might have actually seen enough animals.

I have finally made it to Sydney. I'm here for a month 2 weeks with a host and 2 weeks with my Auntie and Uncle. Because of this I am really in no rush to do things. I've been spending the last couple of days just sitting around the house doing my Spanish, reading and writing book summaries in preparation for the crippling experience that is final year of uni where I plan to become a recluse. The sight seeing and body boarding so far has meant that READ MORE>>

Friday 5 August 2011

Your Mother was a Hamster and Your Father Smells of Elderberries.

Yesterday, I passed the 1000 page views mark. That means people have read (or accidently clicked on) my blog 1000 times. That means if you divide it by the amount of blogs I have 58.8 people that care about me enough to want to read about what I'm doing (or that find me funny) both is good. Thanks guys you make me feel special. Anyway here's your prize a new blog.

While my last hostel room was literally the size of the two bunk beds and getting a bottom bunk seemed like supreme luxury, I had sort of got used to having this big room to myself, walking around naked, watching TV with no headphones, you know the usual secret single behaviours and then …...READ MORE>>

Thursday 4 August 2011

City Centre Cinemas

I picked this hostel based on ratings and price over location. Lucky for me paying $12 more over 3 days by asking for a female room (ensuite included) meant that I had a room to myself being pretty much the only female here. It did however mean a 30 minute train journey to the city centre. So after not pooping for 5 days and trying just before I left the hostel guess who had to go approximately 2 minutes into the journey. I really don't know why I'm not READ MORE>> 

Reactions

Hey I have done something technical. Maybe tomorrow I'll buy an ipod (oh no I'd have to download itunes cba)

Anyway my point was now I can see your instant reaction to my blog. At the bottom if you are lazy like me and can't be bothered to write a comment etc (which none of you do) you can now just tick a box with what you think. For example I thought my last post was funny, interesting and cool (the standard 3) and ticked them all. (I am not popular) Please do some ticks. If I figure out how I will create a shit button so you can display varied emotions.

Anyway if you have the time too it would be nice to have your guys ideas on other posts. I know you probs won't but to be honest I want to get so internet famous that I have stalkers, stalkers who email me and write comments that they want to wee in my shoes or something because without that what really is the point in blogging. Basically I wanna know what you guys think. FANKS.

Wednesday 3 August 2011

Dya know the worst thing about travelling? All the travelling.

About 2 months ago, I decided to cut down drastically on my alcohol consumption. There were many reasons for this (aside from being lame). Firstly, as an average night out I would consume about 2-3 bottles of wine (or equivalent) it was getting rather expensive for me. My tolerance was ridiculous and the only way to lower it is to drink less. Secondly, although I am a bit of a hypochondriac last year (after a few 100+ unit weeks) I started getting a funny chemical taste in my mouth a google search led me to believe this was READ MORE>>

Friday 29 July 2011

Having a Seal of a Time

Who had a kiss from a 200lb seal today? Just me. Oh yea. But I am getting ahead of myself.

So firstly there was the trip to Australia Zoo. Now I like zoos, but I wouldn't normally pay $50 (£35) to go to a zoo but this isn't any normal zoo. This zoo is not about quantity of animals like the peacock, chicken, wombat and rabbit enclosure at Tasmania zoo but QUALITY of animals. They had LOADS of activities, READ MORE>>

Monday 25 July 2011

The British, Bunks and Backpackers

Yesterday I heard many bad things. Firstly, I found out that Amy Winehouse was dead, then I heard about the mass killings in Norway, and then I heard I was kicked out of my host house.

I don't want to say anything bad about anyone here on the blog so I simply won't. My host just said they had family problems and that they had to cut my visit short, she would drop me off at the backpackers …... later on that day. In fact I was thrown out so fast my clothes didn't even have time to dry in the dryer. But that's life. READ MORE>>

Saturday 23 July 2011

Georgina, I Choose You.

Before I start I would just like to say that this blog talks about poo (a bit and a little about vom) if you do not want to read about poo (and vom) then do not read this blog.


I would also like to add that I would normally never take the mick out of someone that WANTS me to come and help them out. However, with this particular host I feel that we are so hilariously mismatched that I had to share it. I would like to add that I am sure this host would make a brilliant helpx experience for someone who wants to experience that sort of thing. This person is not me.

Here is the email to me:

Hi! We live on our goat/sheep/cattle property in north-west New South Wales. Our property is fairly remote - 130km from township Bourke and a days travel by bus from Sydney. Please check out our profile and email me if youre interested. Kind Regards


I would like to point out that you are in fact correct in reading that I would have to bet sat FOR A WHOLE DAY on a bus to get here. Every time I get on a coach (particularly one with no toilet) I begin to panic and the only thoughts that go through my mind is I am going to vomit all over the coach and then crap myself. In fact the panic induced from knowing I was going on a 3 hour coach ride from Launceston to Hobart (with no toilet) meant that I didn't poop for 5 days. This is a very real worry for me, and here's why...


This is the infamous story of the bus ride to the airport when me and my friend Sluggy were going to Portugal. Firstly, I would like to say as we had to get up at 3am to catch our plan I had the brilliant idea (NAAT) of drinking a load of energy drinks (hilariously called mighty man). Feeling not great after the half an hour train I tried to go to the toilet (paying 70c to do so) but to no avail. We then boarded the coach. The coach ride from Frankfurt to Frankfurt Hahn airport is 1h 45 mins with no stop. I had done it many times before (the first time with my cousin and we were talking so much I didn't even notice the time) However, this time 15 mins in I hadn't needed to poo so much in my entire life. I told Sluggy that I was just gonna be quite and stare out the window as this would help me relax. I remember thinking how I wish I was dead so that I could feel better that is how bad I felt. Then 1 hour in I threw up. Not just this I threw up into the napkins I'd brought (just in case) then my tissues, then Sluggys' tissues, then Sluggy's Grazia turning page after page until a Finnish guy near me gave me a plastic bag (don't ever say I don't love the Finns I really do.) Then luckily after 15 mins of me trying to empty the contents of my stomach the coach stopped in Mainz. You have to realise how lucky this is as normally the coach only has one stop 15 mins in at Frankfurt Main airport and it only stops in Mainz twice a day. Anyway this one did. The driver let me get of and go to the toilet (another 1€) and I washed my hair and disposed of the bag. Luckily that was the only stress on that journey and I didn't do anything stupid like leave my passport on the coach ...... oh wait.
This is how upset I was after that coach journey.
 I soon cheered up once I got to Portugal.




Anyway this is why I don't like coaches. And despite the fact that nothing like this has ever happened again I still live in fear of that day. This is why I am not taking a days coach ride into Middleofnowhereooloo.You also read correctly that it is 130km from the nearest town. I'm not surprised they are low on helpers. Willing to give them a chance I read their post:











We are a family living on a large goat/sheep/cattle property in outback New South Wales. We are keen to host people (PREFER COUPLES OR FEMALES) and show them our wonderful part of the country. In exchange we ask for some help in and around the house & property. Nothing extremely hard - a few hours each day, maybe some house painting, gardening (ALWAYS LOTS OF WEEDING TO DO!!), child minding.




We have four children (aged 2 to 11 years) so you need to like kids!!




Accommodation: Caravan near house with shared kitchen/bathroom/toilet/laundry. All meals provided (Sorry NO VEGETARIANs/FUSSY EATERS).
Countrylink provide bus services to Bourke and I would be happy to pick you up from Bourke.
PS Its VERY hot out here in summer - you need to like the heat :)

This is just some excepts of how hilariously mismatched we are. Not just that I don't deal with the heat well (my German friend Linda will remember this when we were walking about in 35c heat and I just burst out crying) and that I don't believe I could live in a caravan (as you already have read toilet issues make me uneasy). Sluggy actually has stayed in tents twice on her helpx's so I do feel privileged to be placed in houses. The middle of Australia is a desert lets not forget that.

The main issue of course is the farm and the vegetarian/fussy eaters comment. Firstly, I am finding it harder and harder to watch cooking shows these days as the meat has actually started to upset me (as gay as that sounds) I remember when I was 16 during an art exam nagging my friend Alanna about her being a vegetarian thinking it was stupid. I wish we were still friends now and she could see what has happened. She would really have a good laugh. But yea there it is I wuv animals and I think farming is evil in every single way. I am not joining a farm. 

Saying that I am going to a llama farm in Perth. I don't know why someone would raise llamas but they have. My friend Nich did tell me there is a llama farm round her way where kids come and walk the llamas and it costs something hilarious like £30. So maybe this is the business. At any rate they are not eating the llamas.

Finally, I have never heard of a Vegetarian being described as a fussy eater before. I never thought before that it was fussy to think that animal murder is wrong. People will probably remind me that I became vegan in the first place because I was fat and I loved the attention. While this is true the more I read the more I wuv animals so it's fairly upsetting on all grounds now.

There was so much I wanted to say in reply (almost all of it in this post. However I held my tongue leaving it with a simple:

I'm sorry but I have already found my hosts for Sydney. Also I am a vegetarian.

Thanks for your enquiry

I think it's classy. And doesn't make me out to be a massive hippy bitch. And perhaps they will get the subtle criticism.  




Friday 22 July 2011

Australia is a very dry country!

There is a few things that struck me odd about Queensland before and indeed after I arrived here. Firstly of course is the weather. Being winter it is naturally 25 degrees here. My host as explained to me though about the summer it is choking, too hot and too humid, being alive is simply uncomfortable. Despite this Queensland is a very popular tourist destination. Secondly was the names. READ MORE>>

Thursday 21 July 2011

Summer, Winter, Tomayto, Tomarto.

Wednesday was a big day for me. Not only did it mark the one month mark on my journey (meaning I am 1/3 of the way through) but I was finally leaving Tasmania for warmer climates, I was heading north to Queensland and the Sunshine coast.

Unlike in Britain where the idea of a domestic airport seems ridiculous (you only really need a plane unless you are travelling to or from Scotland and Northern Ireland and I must say I've only been to Scotland the once I got a bus there in the first place) domestic airports here are a necessity READ MORE>>

Saturday 16 July 2011

Fuggs, Yachts and Getting Lost.

I have now moved on to Hobart the state capital of Tasmania. Known for its Saturday morning market called Salamanca, but more on that later.

Firstly, Ugg boots. A British staple whether it be fake or real ,Uggs are everywhere in winter. Myself I used to own fake Uggs but due to the fact that they only hold up when it's sunny and that I never wear jeans anymore, I gave them up about 2 years ago. The men of Britain have long been condemning these unusual if comfy footwear but women simply love them. However you should know that in Oz, home of the Ugg, someone would not READ MORE>>

Thursday 14 July 2011

Raging!!!

So asides from the broccoflower, the fact that mature cheddar is called tasty cheese and the fact that cosmo is $7.60!! it is sometimes easy to forget that I am out in the colonies and actually 10,000 miles from Britain itself. Everyone speaks English, the T.V is packed with British shows (they are particular lovers of Bear Grylls) and the cuisine is well identical. But last night made me actually appreciate the fact that I am well abroad. READ MORE>>

Tuesday 12 July 2011

Taz of Tasmania

Before I talk about the Zoo I would like to talk about something that happened at the end of service at the golf club on Saturday. We were packing up after a slow shift where we hadn't sold as much as hoped, a man came up as we were mopping are way out of the kitchen a man came up to us. "What have you got left?" "Oh we have a quite a lot of of chicken and ham rolls left?" "Nah do you have any hotdogs left?" READ MORE>>

Saturday 9 July 2011

Any Fitties?

As my new host has a much more slack Wi Fi policy(what a babe) I have been on the internet more so that means I have had time for more blog posts and more chatting to people on FB chat and Skype. This has lead to the same question Any Fitties? And although I know Oz is rich with lush, bronzed surfers running slowly down beaches (T.V has lead me to believe) I was yet to encounter any.
A google search of fitties led me to this image.

So my host goes out to READ MORE>>

Friday 8 July 2011

Down in Tasmania

Hola! I have made it to Tassie as you may have got from the post, Sat on the bus from the boat to the host house in Launceston one of the first things I see is a sign at the side of the road (like the potatoes £2.99 signs) saying HORSE POO $21 both the capitals and the seemingly high price surprised me. I knew this was going to be a good READ MORE>>

Wednesday 6 July 2011

Land Ahoy!

Excuse spelling errors as I am writing this post on my kindle on a boat.

Yes that's right, when thinking to myself 6 months ago of how to travel to Tasmania, I weighed up the possibilites: There is the boat. Which costs twice to price of a plane, takes 11 hours, makes me nausiated and where a hot meal costs $30 OR there is the plane; cheap READ MORE>>

Sunday 3 July 2011

Letters and Numbers

Ok so as people know I don't like doing things I'm much more interested in what peoples lives really are like I've decided to do a post on Aussie TV. Don't go to sleep yet there's some revelations.

Firstly the daytime slot is filled with tv shows from the 70's and 80's I know it's bad that we still play Ricki Lake but these guys still show the Brady Bunch along with READ MORE>>

Thursday 30 June 2011

Melbourne

So yes I have partaken on my first touristy event of the trip and took a day trip to Melbourne. It took 3 hours to get there and 3 hours to get back (and I was only there 6 hours) but you can hardly come all this way and not take a trip into the big city, so I did it.

I can't believe I'm going to say this but Melbourne isn't tourist friendly enough. Usually this idea makes me want to vom but a couple of signposts to the tourist attractions would have been nice. If it wasn't for these 2 indonesian girls I was following (in a stalker like fashion) I would have never found the zoo by myself. This is of course the most important part of any new city.

That's not the camera the building looks like it's glowing in real life.

Personally  for me the zoo READ MORE>>

Friday 24 June 2011

Vegetarian? Do you eat chicken then?

Hey guys I know it has been a while, but my first placement lacks wireless and they pay for internet by the gig I don't really wanna take the piss with it seeing as they are housing me, by this mark as well I am scared to turn on the heating even when they tell me to, I'm a bit of a pussyhole really.

However, Dad has taken the kids to the cinema to see Cars 2 I've been given a bit of peace and internet access so I'm back. Tbh the amount of boring crap READ MORE>>

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Day 1: Brunei

As you can tell by the title I haven't actually made it down under yet. Atm I am in Brunei waiting a casual 12 hours for my flight to Melbourne. This airport has about 10 flights a day 4 of which are to Oz, so once the flight to Brisbane left the airport was pretty empty. However I have made a nest in Coffee Bean where everyone speaks English, eggs and toast are £3 and come with high speed wifi. RESULT! However due to the fact that it's only 4:30am in Britain no-one is online to entertain me hence the blog.

Sadly this isn't my view at the airport.

The trip so far (that I had been dreading  READ MORE>>