TravelStream™ news feed for member annatee on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/annatee en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:16:08 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1222775520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1222775520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1222775520/tpod.html Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:16:08 -0400 Anne Adventure!

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Chicago, Illinois, United States

Thanks to everyone for all the love and support during this little adventure of mine.

I didn't come back feeling the way I thought I would feel after a trip like this, which is why it has taken me so long to finish what I started.

First, I'll start where I left off in the story. I arrived in Bangkok in the middle of the night by bus. The bus ride was actually a pretty cool experience. No one around me spoke English. I was the only Caucausian. Everyone was very helpful. I was so excited again, just by taking a bus. It had pink satin curtains and the seats reclined. Everyone slept. I was disappointed to arrive in Bangkok early -- it was 4:30 in the morning. I was exhausted, looking for a hostel and a computer. I was dropped off by the cab in this dark alley and this woman approached me, though I think she actually might have been a man - lady boys they are called over there. She said something to me, I think she might be under the influence of something, and it freaked me out and I ran down the dark alley. I must have looked ridiculous running down an alley with my giant backpack in my flip flops. I have a funny relationship with Bangkok. I'd been 5 years prior, spent a few days there alone and had a few "learning" experiences. I was excited to be back to conquer my fears. This was not a good start.

I finally tracked down a 24 hour computer place and get settled. Find myself a hostel and start wandering. I was there just really to get visas and get on my way. A weird experience at the Chinese Embassy left me feeling out of sorts again -- so weird that I popped over to the American Embassy to ask if what happened was normal. The guy I talked to thought it sounded a little shady too. I applied for a visa to Vietnam with no problem. Enjoyed wandering around Bangkok, seeing things I hadn't seen before. It really is a rivoting place and I was taking it all in. It was energizing me.

All the while though, in the midst of all this is happening, I had the same feeling that I'd felt in New Zealand and had been feeling for awhile. It was threefold. At first, it was that I never should have left Australia and I should go back. I've since realized that I left a little part of my heart there. I will go back someday, hopefully a few times. I love that place in a way I cannot describe. I should have stayed, but I made my choices. I also felt like I was just going through the motions, that something about this trip had lost it's meaning for me. I was ready to come home. (There is a Michael Buble song out called "Home" that sums up this feeling quite well. Brings me to tears every time I listen to it). I wouldn't even call it homesickness. It was more like, ok, I did what I set out to do, I'm ready to be done this time. Also, I fell in love - not only with Australia, but with a boy. I hate to admit that this was part of why I was ready to come home, but I think this is part of what I needed to learn. It's part of the story. I've spent the last 15 years of my life trying to be as independent as possible, often to my own detriment. I found something, for a little while, that I haven't had in a very very very long time. Even though I was meeting people and doing great things, something was missing. I realized how much I want something special in my life and someone to share it with. I thought I found it and was ready to start the next phase of my life. Even though I was going to go and see all these places and do all these things, I would be by myself, have to make new friends everyday. I wanted that person to be with me. This might not seem like a big deal, but it is for me. I was emotionally exhausted. I'd also poured a lot into a long distance relationship (South Korea to New Zealand) and just wanted to be near that person. Lastly, I was also totally running out of money which when you are traveling, can be very frustrating... Since arriving in Thailand I was having difficulty with my credit card, knew that my accessible money was dwindling and wasn't sure how I was going to make it another two months...

In those few days in Bangkok, I switched plans around twice. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't eating. I was wandering. I was done. I made a phone call to wonderful wonderful Jay, my friend and travel agent. I asked how quickly could he get me on a plane out of Bangkok, through Hawaii? He said he could have me out of there in 20 hours. We booked it. I hadn't been that happy in weeks.

Maybe it was bad timing, maybe I learned what I needed to. I flew through Hawaii where I stayed for 12 days with the boy I'd met. Hawaii is one of those places people go on their honeymoons. I thought I'd like to live there for a year or two, probably because I have this crazy Jimmy Buffet lifestyle dream of living on an island, near the beach... I thought that dream would become a reality. It was discussed. Plans were made.

As I flew over SE Asia, looking down at some of the places I could have gone I had a little regret. I switched planes in Taipai. I looked out at the cars, the houses. People live in these places, have their own dreams, live their day to day lives with their worries, their hopes, just like mine. They fall in and out of love. Worry about money, about their kids, their families. Try to get by. We are, in so many ways the same all over the world. Because I've traveled just a little part of the globe and have friends all over it now, the world much smaller to me and I want to see and experience more of it. I want to help make it better.

My friend in Hawaii had just moved there and was adjusting to his new life and new job, looking for a place to live, a car, etc. I came at a horrible time. There had been discussion of me coming to visit for a little while and then eventually moving there. It was scary as hell to think about it, but if you know me well, you know I would have done it in a heartbeat. I was on Oahu the entire time. Saw lots of the island. They have excellent public transportation over there, which really surprised me. You can travel the island by bus, which I did. It's very different from what I expected, yet, it has all the American comforts, like Taco Bell. All I wanted to eat was Mexican food...not that Taco Bell is real Mexican food, but it hit the spot. It was also weird using American money. In the airport in Honolulu, I saw my first new 5 dollar bill. Driving on the right side again. My mom shipped my American cell phone and I had a lot of fun calling people and the reaction I got when they realized that I was calling. We climbed Diamond Head one day. Did some snorkeling - so beautiful. Saw these amazing turtles, botanical gardens - and yes, to answer the question I posed from my time in OZ, the frangipani IS in Hawaii. I still love it and that scent will always take me back...Stopped at a beach with the most incredible turtles just laying there. A turtle conservation group was on hand to make sure the public didn't get too close. Sunsets are my favorite thing and in Hawaii, they are incredible. It's an amazing place, so different from what I expected. Green and lush in some places and dry and arid in others. Standing on top of Diamond Head and looking over to one side, it looked like Arizona, except for that big beautiful ocean beyond it. The culture is so interesting there too, and the language. There are only 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet. I hope someday to explore all the other islands. It's like a dream...

The whole while there, something was off though. I know myself and understand what was going on with me. This is the part of the story I will keep to myself for my own private heartbreak. At any rate, on my last day, it was decided that the relationship would end. I wasn't happy about this. I'm still not in some ways, though it takes me time to move on. Hawaii keeps popping up in my life. Maybe I never noticed it before. Maybe since I've been there, like anywhere else I've been, I can talk about it. Sometimes, right now, I feel a little more lost than I did when I started this adventure, this blog. I'm trying very hard, again, to be compassionate with myself, allowing closure to occur so that I can move on. Whether closure is something you actually need or not, I don't know. I think you do, only because without it you wonder.

Since being back in Chicago, things have just come to me, remarkably fallen into place time. It's almost that every time I've wished for something, it's come true. I found one job rather quickly, something part time, in an area I love, which has led to some unexpected opportunities, which led to another job, literally falling into my lap. I've decided to spend the next year doing things that I enjoy. I don't want to sit behind a desk or a computer for 40 hours a week, so I'm not. I wanted to write more and I'm getting to. I wanted to volunteer and that's working out. I'm spending time with family and friends here. I get to hang out with my sister, my brother-in-law, their Moxie, and my best friend all the time. My parents and grandparents are just a car ride away. I keep finding people here who I didn't realize were here. Even with all of this, the transition has been difficult. My mom reminded me that Chicago is not my home, Washington, DC is, or at least was for the last 8 years of my life. I use my compass on a daily basis because I am lost all the time here. My dad and brother-in-law say it's easy to know which way is north, you just FEEL the lake. I don't feel it because I can't see it. In Arizona you can see the mountains. I always know which direction I'm going. DC was easy too for me. Chicago is so incredibly flat and my sense of direction has never been worse.

Everyone here would like me to stay, but my heart has been telling me something different. It's been discussed and they are ok with it. I guess I still haven't found what I'm looking for...I've made myself ridiculously busy again, but I'm doing good things, making big plans, and living life. I'm looking to finally go to graduate school next year. While standing on a beach in Thailand, I learned about an incredible program that seems like a perfect fit. To celebrate my accomplishment, in 2011, I would like to have my first underwater encounter with a great white shark.

I leave tomorrow for a little trip back East. I'm thrilled to be going "home." It's time. I'll have 17 hours in the car by myself and then will be surrounded by friends, first at a dear friend's wedding...Like I mentioned, I now have friends all over the world - helped along a bit by facebook...but you wonder, when you travel, if you will ever see any of the people you met along the way again. There is a documentary film called "A Map for Saturday" about a guy who quits his job to travel the world. My friend Stephanie, who I met in Australia my first week there, told me about it. She's American and a student at Purdue University. I'm going to visit her soon and we are going to watch it. I've just watched the trailer but it makes me cry every time. He sums it up, the backpacker life and that was my life for awhile this year. You might think, oh, months of "holiday", but it's work, figuring out where you're going, where you're going to sleep, having only what you can carry on your back, making friends everyday, just to say goodbye. I've been pretty lucky, because I've seen some of the friends I've made and will continue to. My friend Stine, if you remember from reading NZ (mishap equals excellent adventure) is flying in from Denmark to join me for my East Coast Adventure. We are going to have a wonderfully crazy time, I just know it, fueled by tea and chocolate, lots of stories and probably some tears.

Ultimately, I have no regrets. I can't live that way. I have to learn from my experiences. There is this wonderful quote (I love quotes) by Charlie "Tremendous" Jones, that I've been thinking about over and over in my head since I returned. I actually had the quote written down in the journal I lost in Melbourne my first week away, but luckily, I found the quote again. "Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all you were intended to be."

My cup runneth over.

Dad, I dedicate this blog entry to you!

One last note, I understand that the real reason Brett Favre came out of retirement is because he read my blog...
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Khao Sok National Park, Thailand, Thailand

Greetings from Thailand! Well, I've been here now for just over two weeks, which is sort of nuts. I arrived after a very long day of flying from Christchurch, NZ to Sydney, Australia, to Phuket, Thailand, exhausted but happy to be back in a warm place. What's funny to me is that the 5 hours I spent in the Sydney Airport, sort of felt like home. Although I loved NZ - met wonderful people, saw and did some amazing things, for the entire time I was there - 2 months - something was missing. I still cannot put my finger on it. Some circumstances have changed in my life, ideas for what's next are coming together, so maybe that was it, I don't know...At any rate, I was happy to come to Thailand, for where the real adventure is going to take place. I'll be perfectly honest to say that these last two months of travel scare the heck out of me. NZ and OZ are a piece of cake, especially for a backpacker. Here in SE Asia, and China, if I can get a visa, are going to be tougher. I've cried nearly everyday that I've been here. Felt lonlier than I ever felt, yet, I know this is just where I need to be right now. I know I'm supposed to be learning something, because although I've hit a few bumps in the road, cried a whole bunch of tears, things have and continue to fall into place, which I take as a good sign.

So, quick recap. Arrived in Phuket around 9pm with no booked accommodation. Figured I'd get myself into Phuket town (which I don't really recommend) and find a place to lay my head for the night. My credit card wasn't working so I could not withdraw any money. I spent the last of my NZ money on the departure tax at the airport, but luckily had some American cash on me...Met Ernesto from Mexico and we were going to the same place. Finally arrived at 11pm. Got some water and agreed to meet Ernesto for lunch the next day. The place I stayed, well, it wasn't nice, but it was only about $7 so I can't complain too much. The next day was mishap after mishap, but Ernesto was an angel and helped me out and got my mind off of things by taking me around town on a scooter.

Sunday, I headed to another part of Phuket where I met my friend Josh for what was an amazing week. Josh flew in Sunday night and we headed for Phi Phi Island for 3 days, then to Coral (Hei) Island for 2 days, then spent two days in Phuket tooling around. We stayed in places with aircon and hot water, snorkled, drank every fruity drink on each resorts menu, got in a couple of dives, and relaxed and enjoyed each others company. It was a wonderful start to my next adventure. After Josh left, I was incredilby sad and felt really lonely. That is THE VERY HARDEST thing about traveling, you are always meeting WONDERFUL people and you are always having to say goodbye. I have experienced some amazing highs and some very low lows in the last 4 1/2 months.
One day in Phuket, trying to figure out what to do with myself. Emailed a friend of a friend, Andrea, an American who'd been working for USAID/State Dept. here in Thailand for the last few months. I let her know my travel plans, and she and her mom happened to be going to the same little beach I was going to...see, stuff like this just happens! So, I felt much better...Tuesday morning, I headed to Krabi. Met some cool Americans on the bus - Dan and Michelle, med students at Columbia, who loaned me their Lonely Planet for the ride. We also met Ben and Kim, from Perth, Australia. I decided to skip Krabi altogether as there apparently isn't much to do there and headed with my new friends to Krabi. The 5 of us ended up hanging out at Railay Beach together and having a great time! I stayed in this little bungalow, did rock climbing, drank more fruity drinks, then met up with Andrea, her mom, Donna, and Jodi from Portland, Oregon for snorkling. Andrea and I have a lot in common and I'm excited for her return to Washington. I have quite a few friends to introduce to her! The beach was beautiful - very nice cliffs, mountainous, very chill atmosphere. It was good to get out of the hustle and bustle on Phuket.

I was very sad to leave Railay and my friends there, but figured I'd meet some more people or have some time to myself to read and write a bit. Next stop, Khao Sok National Park, which came highly recommended. I met Claire and Aaron from Australia and have been hanging out with them. Very nice people who quit their jobs, sold their house, and are traveling the world for an entire year. Compared to them, what I"m doing is nothing! :) We've shared some meals, went tubing down a river yesterday, saw MONKEYS and then MORE MONKEYS and even got to feed them! I was asleep last night by 8:30! Today we went elephant trekking, which I've done before, but it was different this time. I head to Bangkok tomorrow and then onward...

Thanks for all of the emails and support! I appreciate the communication more than you know! Even if I don't write back, especially right away, doesn't mean I'm not thinking about you, or that I don't appreciate hearing from you! I will write again soon!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1214550660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1214550660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1214550660/tpod.html Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:23:07 -0400 Anne Adventure!

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Phi Phi Island, Thailand

Dear Sydney,

Happy 6th Birthday, little chooch! Boy I miss you! You are now the biggest number!!! Sounds like this was one special birthday - your ears pierced AND a new bike! That is so very exciting!!!

I'm happy I was able to talk to you for a little bit and hear all about your special day! I hope your paper doll birthday party was fun and you are having a nice visit with Nanna too! :)

I miss you so very much, Sydney! I think of you all the time, you are so special to me! I am really looking forward to spending time with you in the fall!

I love you so much!

Love,
your Annatee
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213066620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213066620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213066620/tpod.html Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:13:24 -0400 Anne Adventure!

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Tuatapere, New Zealand

We stayed in Tuatapere where we had the opportunity for a farm visit, where sheep dogs would be "performing" and we'd get to shear a sheep. Sounded interesting to me. I've never sheared a sheep, not that it was on my list, but this country has about 4 million people and about 40 million sheep, so no better place to learn,right?
After a very nice dinner, we bundled up some more - I think tonight I was wearing 6 layers - through on some Wellies or gum boots and headed into the mud to meet the sheep. The two sheep dogs showed what they do to round up the sheep. It was pretty amazing what these pooches were capable of.

We then moved into this huge barn where they do the sorting and shearing. We learned about all about the process, and then the farmer asked for a volunteer to help sort the sheep. I volunteered! I had to sort the naked from the not-naked, which is pretty hard as they run through. I only had one that went unsorted. Then the shearing began. These poor sheep look extremely uncomfortable! I felt really sad for these poor animals. Someone did remark that if they aren't sheared they will overheat and die, so I know that this needs to be done.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213065420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213065420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213065420/tpod.html Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:55:59 -0400 Anne Adventure!

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Milford Sound, South Island, New Zealand

Milford Sound is one of the most majestic places on earth. If I ever come back to NZ, it will be in the summer time and it will be to Milford Sound. Five meters of fresh water that has trickled down from from the mountains sits on top of salt water for apparently some amazing diving. That aside, it was a nice time. If anything, when I think of the boat trip on Milford, I will think about how goofy we were all being. After spending about a week and a half non-stop with my Stray group, I felt pretty comfortable around everyone. A day or two before, I introduced my "ROAR" to a few people. My three nieces know their Annatee's roar only too well. The ROAR had something to do with part of Jurassic Park being filmed in NZ and I SWEAR to you, I saw a dinosaur! So, we were all joking around and I kept roaring. You kind of had to be there, maybe, but it was really funny...
Enjoy the photos. Pictures here are worth a thousand words , or roars!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213150560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213150560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213150560/tpod.html Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:23:01 -0400 Anne Adventure!

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Stewart Island, South Island, New Zealand

On my South Island trip, we had the opportunity to go to Stewart Island, which is the 3 large island of New Zealand, located south of the South Island. It is called the anchor of New Zealand. The Maori legend of how NZ came to be is that Maui was fishing in his canoe (the South Island) and he caught a fish (the North Island). Stewart is the anchor for this boat. So, it's this little island with a population of about 400 people and a bunch of kiwi birds. The ferry ride here was ridiculous. It's not much of a ferry, more like a catamaran and the trip over the water is a combination of an hour long roller coaster and a water ride. It was fun and I was ever so thankful that I don't get sea sick!

I went on a hike with a few people, along some of the beaches to the actual anchor and then back. It was a very pleasant day spent. Some beautiful beaches and amazing trees. I just love the trees in NZ!

A small group of us also went kiwi searching. We all swear we saw 3 kiwis, really we did...


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213663740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213663740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1213663740/tpod.html Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:52:17 -0400 Anne Adventure!

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Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

This was one of the very coolest experiences of my life. When I was younger I entertained the idea of becoming a marine biologist - I loved Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. I also just loved whales and the idea that an animal can be THAT BIG! Whale watching has been something I've always wanted to do and Kaikoura is THE place in NZ to do that. There are resident "bachlelor" (meaning all males) sperm whales here off of Kaikoura, one reason being that there is essentially a canyon below the water around 1000 - 8000 meters. Yes, you read that correctly. REALLY DEEP! The female sperm whales move to warmer waters with their babies. Sperm whales are deep divers and the largest whale with teeth! Unlike the blue or humpback, who have baleen instead of teeth, that they use to catch plankton, the sperm captures it's food with its teeth. One bite at a time.The sperm whale, by the whale, was misnamed. Apparently, back when whaling was occurring and the sperm whale was first caught and cut open, a white, waxy substance was found near its head that looked to these whalers like sperm or semen (their minds must have been in the gutter and all kinds of jokes could be made here, but I'll refrain, this is a family blog, afterall). We know today that it isn't sperm, but it's oil...

One interesting story told on the boat was that a local Kaikoura fisherman went missing for about a week. A sperm whale was caught and x-rayed. A human form was seen inside. They cut the whale open and the missing fisherman was inside and STILL ALIVE because he had enough air to breath! Crazy!

So, back to this totally cool experience. I had two options here in Kaikoura -- whale watching or dolphin swimming. On both of these excursions, you might see both dolphins and whales. You might not. It's winter here in New Zealand and I have been wearing on average 4 layers a day. Yes, that's right, 4 layers. I've been continually cold for 2 months. I've also spent more time in a wetsuit over the last 4 months than I ever thought possible. I don't love the cold. Hailing from Chicago, you'd think I'd be used to it, but I'm not. The last thing I wanted to risk was getting a cold before I jet off to Thailand on Friday, so I decided whale watching would be the better option. Plus, there are places all around the world where you can swim with dolphins...so whale watching it was!

When I paid my money, I started to get REALLY excited about this. PLUS, humpbacks had been passing through on the migratory pattern up north, so there was a possibility of seeing both sperm and humpbacks. Sadly though, no humpbacks were spotted on my trip...

We are out on the boat for less than 30 minutes when a sperm whale appears! Kind of like an iceburg, you only see a VERY LITTLE bit of the whale. When you think that these guys are the size of the boat we're on, it's crazy to think that we've come out all this way to look at a very little bit of them spouting from their blow hole. Whoopdedoo, right? Well, Tutu, the name affectionately given to sperm whale #1 is hanging out on the surface for 5 to 10 minutes before he dives down for 45 to 60 minutes to eat and swim. Not a bad life for such a big guy. So there just a little bit of him is...hanging out, occasionally spouting from his blow hole, and then it happens. Time to eat! As he dives down, his back arches ever so slightly, and there it is, his tail. Perfection. It's amazingly majestic and all worthwhile. We saw three humpbacks. The hardest part of this, is of course I want pictures, so I am watching this from the other side of my digital camera where really, I want to stop and just watch (which I do for number 3 - I'm not going to get a National Geographic worthy photo...). Of course, being a new diver and all, I think how cool it would be to be UNDER water with the whale, but then I think of how ridiculously cold it is!

On the way back in, we chase down a pod of about 100 dusky dolphins who are a rare type of dolphin, only found in this area of the world. As someone remarked, the whales are the cake and the dolphins the icing. This was THE COOLEST thing ever and I would LOVE to swim with these guys someday. Around 100 absolutely BEAUTIFUL dophins jumping, chasing, and racing the boat. It was nuts! I was laughing out loud, absolutely amazed at what I was watching. I didn't want them to go away, but boy are they fast. They were literally racing the boat and winning! I've had several failed attempts in NZ to see dolphins in the wild, much to my frustration. I'm thankful they finally showed up for me today! Not a bad way to wrap up my trip here!

I spent the rest of my day in Kaikoura on a very cool high from seeing all of this amazing marine life. I met a girl from Germany in my hostel who was also on the boat and we walked down to a seal colony, but it was pretty dark by the time we got there, so we could only spot a few seals.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1212816780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1212816780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1212816780/tpod.html Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:17:57 -0400 Anne Adventure!

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Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand

Bungy Jumping...I decided I needed to do this and I needed to do Nevis. This jump is the highest in New Zealand -- 134 meters or 440 feet. The jump is from a railcar suspended in mid-air on a highwire in a canyon over the Nevis River. You need to see it to believe it. As we drove there the anticipation I equate to the feeling I would get on the bus on the way to a cross country meet in high school. I kept visualizing over and over in my head my jump, so that I would actually do it. I wasn't truly nervous until I was on the rail car, watching everyone go before me -- they go heaviest to lightest and I was second to last to go, so I had to watch about 12 people go before me. As I waited, the wind picked up and it started snowing. My legs got increasingly more shaky.

When my turn came up, I moved to the otherside of the car where you sit in a dentist chair and they strap you into the bungy. For this jump, it's about 8 seconds of freefall, which compared to the 45 seconds of freefall you get from a skydive at 12,000 feet, 8 seconds is absolutely nothing. The bungy is secured to your feet, but you are also harnessed in around your torso and on the second bounce, you pull this cord near your left knee and your feet are released so that you are pulled back to the railcar upright. A few people are unsuccessful pulling the cord properly and get pulled back up, all 134 meters upside down. I did not want that to happen and made sure to pull that sucker!

As I moved to the platform, I held onto the guy. I was SO INCREDIBLY SCARED! I had my arm wrapped around his arm and at one point, he said to me, "You have to let go now..."

Something in my head clicked and when he counted down, I jumped. The fear lasts milliseconds and then it's pretty cool, and then it's over...

I didn't love it at first. In fact, I afterwards, I didn't think I would ever want to do it again. If given the choice, I would MUCH rather sky dive then bungy again, but as I think back and as I write this, maybe I would do it again...

The video was pretty funny, and I tried to upload it to this blog, but it took forever, so please enjoy the photos and when I return home, I'll share the video, which is pretty funny.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1211865660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1211865660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/annatee/1/1211865660/tpod.html Tue, 27 May 2008 00:29:28 -0400 Anne Adventure!

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Wellington, North Island, New Zealand

Happy Birthday, little Kendall! You are getting to be such a big girl! I can't believe it! I understand you are turning into one big JokeSTAR just like your sisters! I hope you have wonderful birthday! Make sure you get cake all over your face, like every one year old does! I miss you SO MUCH, but I'll see you soon. You'll be walking and talking by then and I'll have to try to keep up! I love you very much! Love, Annatee
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Waitomo Caves, North Island, New Zealand

Stine and I traveled to Waitomo on the North Island for the infamous glo-worm caves and for black water rafting. We both really wanted to do both black water rafting AND abseiling, which is like repelling, into a cave. We found a pretty sweet deal allowing us to abseil into the cave, do some caving, learning about the caves, see the glo-worms, black water raft, and then rock climb out of the cave. Black water rafting is essentially tubing down a river through a cave - sometimes with the lights out. It's pretty awesome. It's like tubing down the Salt River, for you Sun Devils, minus the beer and the 105 degree temps. We had to wear wetsuits, pants over the wetsuits (pretty sexy), wellies, and helmets. The water is cold, but it's wasn't as bad as we were anticipating. Both Stine and I were a little nervous about the abseil, but once we both go going, it was awesome. The mouth of the cave was just spectacular!!! Once in the cave, we had to unhook ourselves and move across the rushing water of the cave to the other side. With our guide and the two German kids also in our group, we fought the current upstream to see some of the spectacular formations in the cave. I'm a little clutzy and would occasionally trip here and there, but felt much better,when Paul, our guide, would do the same. I blame the cave, not my uneasy feet.

The caves in this area are renowned for their glo-worms. Basically, they are a larvae that live on the ceiling of the cave. The light they emit attracts their prey - other insects living in the cave. Sounds a little gross maybe, but it's amazing to see. It's like looking up at the sky and seeing every star possible, but they are millions of miles closer. I swear, I saw both the big dipper and the southern cross (my new favorite constellation - only viewable from the Southern Hemisphere) down there! Just amazing! Millions of them!

After that, we tubed down the rapids in pitch dark! It was a pretty cool feeling. Our guide Paul, who was about 40 was like a big kid down there. We'd go over one rapid and he's say, "Ok, do you guys want to go again?!" Paul's former career was a geologist in Australia, so he was very informative about the cave and how it was formed. I generally like stuff like that, so I was asking all kinds of questions. A few times I thought to myself, "this is just like Goonies!" and then thought how ridiculous it was that I was comparing this amazing experience to a movie, and laughing at how many times throughout my trip that I've actually done that! I guess it's better that I'm in the cave doing it, then sitting on my couch watching it, right!

My favorite part of the whole day, was after rafting down the rapids, we had to walk along the rapids and along the sides of the cave to get back to where we started and where we needed to climb out, all the while, carrying the black inner tube. I loved the challenge of fighting through the rushing water and feeling our way along the cave. I can't believe how slip proof those bright white wellies were! WOW! I guess I felt like I had worked and accomplished something. We then climbed the rocks out of the cave,which was tough only because it's not easy to rock climb in a soaking wet suit and wellies.

Stine and I had a ridiculously good time down there. We hit the hot tub at the hostel before cleaning up and getting a beer. I must note though, the hostel also had a giant trampoline! Nothing like jumping on a trampoline under the stars!!! So before the hot tub, I bounced around on that for awhile -- something I don't think I've done since my junior year of high school!
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