TravelStream™ news feed for member danlauranewby on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/danlauranewby en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:08:37 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202424720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202424720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202424720/tpod.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:08:37 -0400 Dan & Laura's travel adventures - L.A. - Fiji - New Zealand - Australia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Then back to good old UK!

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Los Angeles, California, United States

The flight to LA was great!. There was loads of new movies & TV shows to choose from, which made the 12hr flight seem alot shorter. Once in LA we were picked up by our hotel, which we were nicely suprised by.
We visited Downtown, Hollywood, Venice beach, Santa Monica, El Segundo & Manhattan beach.
On 1st day we took the train/subway downtown via Compton & Crenshaw (Didn't bump into Snoop tho), which was the next area to where we were staying! You might as well be in Mexico cos the most common language is Spanish! Everything is translated, from signposts to tannoy annoucments! Its loco! There are also loads of homeboys in real baggy gear & we mean baggy, like 7 sizes to big! There are also loads of crazy people, ward 4 material!
Next stop Hollywood which was a nicer place. We went along the'walk of fame' where loads of wannabies/un signed artists trying to flog you there albums! We also saw the chinese theatre which holds around 60-70 premiers a year, which was a pretty amazing place in its self! It's also the place near to where they present the oscars!
The following day we took the bus (by the way public transport is cheap as chips & spot on) to Venice beach & walked along the canals which is meant to look like venice, but not quite there, in fact not nearly! Then walked all the way along the board walk from Venice to Santa Monica which was miles & miles & were still suffering the concequences! Dan also had a pair of new trainers on which were rubbing like a biyatch! There are loads of shops & Tattoo artists along the boardwalk, Where Laura decided to get her lip pierced! Haha! After much debate & chickening out, she went for it! And it looks cool! What a fab walk & well worth it when you end up in Santa Monica!
Santa Monica is a really funky place. Loads of nice shops & Cafes & beautiful people! The fashion in this area is just like back home! We loved it here but you need loads of dollars, would defo love to come back, but with more money!
Pretty glad it was only 3 days of American food! If you wanna eat cheap the only option is junk food, & they serve MASSIVE portions! But, the pancakes are awesome!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1204045200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1204045200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1204045200/tpod.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 06:18:43 -0400 Dan & Laura's travel adventures - L.A. - Fiji - New Zealand - Australia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Then back to good old UK!

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Franz Josef, New Zealand

Next up was Franz Josef on the west coast. The weather had turned from clear blue skies to cold cloudy skies in a matter of only travelling 170 miles. The main attraction at Franz Josef is the glacier. They also do Helicopter rides & lots of hiking. We decided to opt for the ice climbing on the glacier itself.
From a distance the glacier looks tiny but it is massive in reality! We could'nt get over the shear size of it! Over 3 miles in length & 1 mile wide!
Just gettin to the glacier itself was a massive trek, up & down ladders to get over the terrain. At the base of the glacier we attatched our crampons to our boots! Weird walking on the ground but on the ice they are amazing! You forget just how slippy the ice is when you have them on!
We walked up the glacier for about 1hr, taking in the views, massive ice walls & vast crevases all around us! If you fell down one of those crevases you would never be seen again! It felt like you were in Antartica! We came across a small ish wall which was to be our 1st climb! The climbing was wicked, it went very well for the both of us, a bit strange at 1st but once you got the hang of it you just wanted to do it again & again. We stopped for lunch at a place where we could see right up & down the glacier & the valley beyond, truly beautiful. The 2nd wall was twice the size of the 1st with a slight over hang, it was alot harder but we really enjoyed it! The only bad point was the walk back down because we were all knackered from all the climbing! The next day, Laura was very stiff & had bruised toes from all the bashing into the ice when climbing.
We did well with the weather whilst on the glacier, it stayed fine the whole time, the rest of the time it rained.
Dan almost lost the camera as he left it in the hut where we all got changed. When he realised it was too late as all the staff had gone home & as we were leaving at 7am the next day we started to panic. luckily, the main office was still open & one of the staff managed to track down one of the guides! Phew!
The hostel we stayed was a big complex but it only had a small kitchen. The kitchen itself was'nt very clean & only had about 8 stoves that actually worked. They only had about that many pans also & with over 30 people wanting to cook there tea you can imagine the chaos!
It was the lads turn to cook, so we made bangers & mash. This fascinated the Canadian (Noodles) we were travelling with as he had never heard of it before.

It was the best bangers & mash ever!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1204077600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1204077600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1204077600/tpod.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 05:46:53 -0400 Dan & Laura's travel adventures - L.A. - Fiji - New Zealand - Australia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Then back to good old UK!

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Barrytown, New Zealand

Barrytown was an over night stop over on the way to Franz josef. We basically thought we would just be going straight to bed, get our rest & head off. But NO!
All there is in Barrytown is about 5 houses & a pub (which the hostel is attached to). On arrival we all recieved a roast chicken dinner, which was a treat to as most of us had been eating loads of junk food.
We all decided to go for a drink in the bar. The landlord told us it was happy hour all night, but only if we were dressed in fancy dress! So, as you can imagine, the chance to get cheaper drinks made us all delve deep into the fancy dress clothes (which they supplied).
It was really funny watching everybody getting excited whilst getting dressed up, especially the lads when they were putting womens dresses on. Haha!
The landlord had a game to play. It was called the peg game. He walked around the bar really sly & attached the peg to one of us without us realising, he would then shout out "who's got the peg" & whoever had it on them had to down there drink! Then they would keep the peg & attach it to someone else! So on & so on! Noodles the Canadian took 3 attempts to down his pint! We all took the piss. He couldn't get over the fact that we all downed ours in 1. Edgy, the lad from Sheffield got pegged 3 times in a row! Haha!
We came across a new drink called Jager bombs. Its a redbull with a shot of Jagermeister, still in the shot glass, dropped in it. But we were taking it 1 step further! A vodka redbull with the shot of Jagermeister dropped in it!
It all got a bit messy! We all knocked it on the head around 5am ish!

A good time had by all!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203984000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203984000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203984000/tpod.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 05:29:21 -0400 Dan & Laura's travel adventures - L.A. - Fiji - New Zealand - Australia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Then back to good old UK!

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Abel Tasman, New Zealand

Abel Tasman was another designated 2 night stop over for the stray bus. By now a load more of new people had hopped on the bus in Picton, arriving off the ferry from the north island. Amongst them were some lads from Sheffield, Edgy & Andy. Travelling with them was there mate from Middlesbrough, Fletch! We got chatting with these guys & got on really well!.There was also a whole new bunch of people we hit it off with!
We were ment to stop off in either Picton or Nelson for 2 weeks to do some fruit picking so we could gain a bit more extra cash for Queenstown! But, as we were havin such a good laugh on the bus we thought we would stay on a bit longer & see what happened!
The 1st night we had a massive BBQ washed down with alot of beer & wine from the winery we had visited before our stop! We had the tunes pumpin & everyone had a great time getting to know each other!
The next day feeling a tad hungover a few of us went Kyaking for the day! The trip took us around the coast line of Abel Tasman, which is a national park & is v.beautiful, almost tropical (1 of the beaches has been voted in the top 10 most beautiful in the world)! We also visited 2 islands, 1 with seals & the other with penguins, although we never saw any penguins! We had a fantastic time until the water got really choppy! The last leg of our trip was a paddle back to shore from 1 of the islands. It took us over an hr! The wind was against us all the way, it felt like we weren't getting anywhere! We ended up with blisters on our hands!
On our way out of Abel Tasman we stopped off at Pancake rocks! It's an amazing place on the coast with rock formations that really do resemble pancakes!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203526800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203526800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203526800/tpod.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 05:28:10 -0400 Dan & Laura's travel adventures - L.A. - Fiji - New Zealand - Australia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Then back to good old UK!

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Kaikoura, New Zealand

After a 3hr bus trip we hit Kaikoura, north of Christchurch! It was blue skies all the way! Coming into town along the coastal road we saw some Seals basking in the sun! The main attraction here is the wildlife. Because the ocean is so rich in minerals/nutrients, you get loads of sea life! There is up to 3-400 Dolphins that swim in the waters not to mention an abundance of different kinds of whales. There is also a large seal colony here too!
We were really excited about swimming with the Dolphins, only to find out it was fully booked for the next 3 days, so we put ourselves on there waiting list, feeling a little deflated to say the least!
We only planned to spend 2 nights here but as we were on the waiting list we decided to stay on. As luck would have it, the Dolphin company phoned us on the 2nd day. There were availabilties on the 12.30pm swim, which we heard in Christchurch that it was the worst time to go as the Dolphins are nocturnal! But we took it anyways!
It worked out to our advantage because the Dolphins were all over the place & really playful as the guides had come across a new group to the previous 09.30am trip!
As they are totally wild, we were given a few pointers on how to get there attention! These were, diving down with them & mimicking there movements, swimming in circles with them maintaining eye contact (Dizzy work) the last one was mimicking there noises, which was really funny, cos when you stuck your head out of the water all you could hear was everyone trying to make Dolphin noises!
We both had amazing experiences, especially right at the end when we were both last out of the water. We had 3 Dolphins following us right up to the boat!
When we were back on the boat we were told by the guides that a family of Orca (Killer whales) had been spotted, which is a v.rare occurance & probably a once in a lifetime experience. As you can imagine, everyone was excited!
Everyone was told to be on the lookout for them. After about 5mins of looking, Laura spotted a large fin in the distance, so we headed towards it! It turned out to be a family of killer whales, 2 adults & 2 calfs! They were just cruising along, coming up for air every few minutes. We got really close to them, truly an amazing sight!
We also bumped into 2 girls from Kendal on the Dolphin trip! Small world eh! We later met up for a drink!
Our accomodation was wicked! There was a swimming pool plus 2 massive kitchens & clean towels!
On our last day we decided to take a walk up to the Seal colony that we had previously passed on the bus on the way into town! The walk was a bit longer than we thought! And, as we were both in flip flops, true hikers that we are, the walk took us over 2hrs!
It was worth it cos as soon as we arrived at the colony there was a massive big fat seal at the bottom of the steps that lead onto the rocks! The seal was snoring its big fat head off! Haha! We walked around the colony for about an hr! It was a wicked place, loads of mad sea life & lazy seals!
Being the lazy gits we are, we ended up hitching a lift back into town with an old couple from down south somewhere! We really enjoyed the small town vibe this place had!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203890400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203890400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203890400/tpod.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 04:02:51 -0400 Dan & Laura's travel adventures - L.A. - Fiji - New Zealand - Australia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Then back to good old UK!

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Picton, New Zealand

Picton was a compulsary over night stop with the stray bus! The town is the only ferry port to the North island. There were only mixed dorms available. This is where we got to know some people of the Stray bus. We met Jack & Emma, from Chichester, w.sussex. (About 25mins from Lauras parents) & Canadian Dan Nudleman aka Noodles! We instantly clicked as they were slightly nutty too! Emma talked us into going for a bike ride instead of a beer! We took the top class free bikes from the hostel & headed off! Jack got the worst bike in the world & ours weren't much better! We took on a designated bike trail which should of had a hazard warning attached to it as there was a cliff face on one side of us & a crumbling bike path about half a metre wide! Laura managed to get to the bottom of the hardest bit & then decided to fall off on the easy bit, thank god! Haha! T'was funny, Laura & bikes don't mix!
After aroumd an hr at the end of the trek we stumbled across a pub, called the 'Jolly Roger'! Tee hee! We all had a few beers & went back to the hostel!
All of us decided to chip in & have a BBQ washed down with a few more beers!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203205800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203205800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1203205800/tpod.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 01:08:48 -0400 Dan & Laura's travel adventures - L.A. - Fiji - New Zealand - Australia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Then back to good old UK!

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Christchurch, New Zealand

When we arrived in Christchurch it was raining! A bit of a climate change from Fiji to say the least! We arrived pretty late on. We had to catch a bus into the city centre. Then change onto another one to get to our accommodation, which we narrowly missed by 5mins, meaning we had an hr to wait with all our bags in the centre of Christchurch, on a Saturday night! Not much fun!
When we landed up at the 'Jailhouse' hostel we were pleasently suprised! It was actually a real converted Jailhouse! Our rooms were a cell, with original cell doors! It had last been used as a prison in 1999. They had kept a cell in its original form so the public could view what they used to look like! Apparently they get some of the old inmates coming back in to reminise!
On the 1st night, Laura started to freak out thinking about ghosts in the cells. But, funilly enough, the cell next door to us is ment to be haunted as an inmate had killed himself! Apart from that, the accommodation was spot on, really clean!
The hostel was about a 20min walk into town, along a really nice park! Christchurch itself reminded us of England, with it's stone churches etc.
On the 3rd day we decided to go Whitewater rafting just outside Christchurch, on the Rangitata river as it has the only Grade 5 rapids in NZ! (Grade 6 being the highest, which you cannot go on!). It was a red hot day also! After a brief intruction on how to paddle etc we got on the water! The grade 5 rapids were awesome, we were lucky not to get flipped out of the raft! After the rapids we were aloud to swim down some little rapids which felt like a good idea at the time, until the ice cold water, even with a wetsuit, hit us! We also got to jump off some high ledges, around 10m high! This was nicely finished off with a BBQ & a beer back at the rafting lodge! What an awesome day!
Back at the hostel we decided to book on a tour bus around the south island! The bus company we booked with was called 'Stray'. Basically, you pay X amount for the trip, but, you have 12 months to use your travel pass up so you can go as fast or as slow as you wish around the island!
We stayed 4 nights in Christchurch.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202868960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202868960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202868960/tpod.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:57:34 -0400 Dan & Laura's travel adventures - L.A. - Fiji - New Zealand - Australia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Then back to good old UK!

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Nadi, Fiji

We started with a 10 1/2 hr flight L.A. - Nadi. As we arrived in the airport we thought we'd better get some extra cash out, only to find our bank back home had put a block on our card, which they promised would'nt happen! We sorted it out eventually on Beachcomber, via some serious long distance phone calls, it turns out, the computer system thought our card had been stolen! Anyways, when we got on the catermaran ferry to go to Beachcomber Island, it was hot & sunny, clear blue skys! It took us about 1hr to get there because we stopped off at a few islands dropping people off! When we pulled up to the island it was like something off a postcard!! A real tropical treat! The island was small, bout 10mins to walk around it! The whole island was surrounded by sand!
Anyways, then we had a bit of trouble checking in! The price they had quoted us, was in fact for 1 person only, but on the invoice we read it as a price for 2 adults (as it said: adults x2- full amount to pay $550), we argued our point but we got nowhere & as we had a block put on our card we were in a bit of trouble! We had only brought enough cash plus a bit of spends for the price they had quoted us before leaving the UK. We were meant to spend 6 nights, but only ended up spendin 2! It was maybe a blessing in disquise as the island was expensive! Even though food was free & very nice too! Drinks were the same prices as back home, so you can imagine the bill we racked up, haha! But we still had a wicked time. We met a Canadian couple, Jeremy & Melissa, who were just passing through on there way to OZ, where they are going to live in Brisbane for 10 months. There were a great couple & we had a good time. We are planning on calling in on them when we pass through Brisbane in about 2 months. The highlight of the island was the snorkeling trip. They took us out to a reef where we saw a load of amazing colourful fish, just like out of 'Finding Nemo'! We actually saw a clown fish, which were really inquisitive & came right up to you! We also saw a few bright blue starfishes but the most amazing thing we saw was a REEF SHARK! We were just about to finish our snorkeling trip when Melissa, our Canadian friend screamed! We all looked down & saw it! It was only around 5 foot, but it swam right under us! And even though there harmless you still shit yourself! What an experience! We are now on the mainland in a town called Nadi, not as nice as the island but we are seeing a different side to Fiji, which is cool as we are seeing the locals live! The locals are so friendly & helpful. We have been getting into the town centre via bus. It's dead cheap, only 8pence. Its a bit of an old bus with plastic windows that roll up! We grabbed a curry in town which was absolutely gorgeous! Dan tried a Goat curry! It was nice, but the meat was like chewing an elastic band! Haha!
Wednesday we went on a day trip starting with a 3 1/2 hr bus ride to the other side of the island. We then got onto a long boat which took us up river towards the middle of the island where we stopped off half way to visit a village tribe! They welcomed us by blowing a shell (Sounding like a horn) whilst wearing traditional dress! We then had to follow a tribesman who was carrying a wooden axe/weapon over his shoulder into a big hall. Once in the big hall we had to sit facing the tribe. The tribe then performed a traditional 'Kava' ceremony.Kava is a drink made from the roots of the Kava plant, it is highly respected by the tribe, they sort out all there disputes over a bowl of Kava! Basically, they get wrecked off it! Haha! Its a weird sensation, it makes your mouth go numb & when drunk in vast quantities it makes your whole body very relaxed! We then got served lunch, after which we got told we would of been lunch in the old days as the tribes used to be cannibals & white meat was a delicacy as there was'nt much around at the time, phew! Lunch was cooked underground on a bed of hot stones covered by leaves & soil. It was absoloutley gorgeous! After lunch the tribe performed traditional dancing & singing, which we all got roped into! (The male dance was similar to the Kiwi's haka dance). We then moved on up river to view some waterfalls. The scenery along the river was high cliffs full of dense jungle, truly amazing! There were 2 waterfalls to visit. 1 was easily accessable, the other you had to go with a guide as you had to wade through chest deep water. Once there you realised it was worth it. The water was fresh & clear, it was also sandy underfoot. It was really hard to get right under the waterfall because of the strength of the flow coming down. But we both managed it! The water was deep enough to climb up the side of the cliff side & jump off! On the way back downstream we took a short ride on a traditional bamboo raft! Our guide told us they are still used by the tribes to get across the river! On the trip we met 3 Japenese. Hiro, Torau & Suka. They were a crazy bunch but really friendly. They have given us there details & have offerded us a place to stay if we decide to go to Japan! We are going for a drink with them on Friday night (The night before we take early flight to NZ), maybe not a good move as Suka loves her Tequila-Laura might of met her match, haha! Today we are just chilling by the pool, its a tough life!....................................................... .............We have since been for our night out with our new Japanese friends, & it turns out, they are rubbish at drinking! Fed them 2 shots & they were on there back! Haha! We introduced them to Sambuca! It was a good evening tho! We enjoyed Fiji apart from the relentless Mosquitos (it looks like we both got the lergy!)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202124600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202124600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202124600/tpod.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:07:02 -0400 Dan & Laura's travel adventures - L.A. - Fiji - New Zealand - Australia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Then back to good old UK!

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Manchester, United Kingdom

The start of our travels. Would like to say a big thanks to Sigh & Alex for all there help. We would of struggled without them guys!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202130000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202130000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlauranewby/1/1202130000/tpod.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:01:22 -0400 Dan & Laura's travel adventures - L.A. - Fiji - New Zealand - Australia - Singapore - Malaysia - Thailand - Cambodia - Vietnam - Laos - Then back to good old UK!

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London, United Kingdom

The flight into London had some amazing views as it was clear blue skies all the way! We saw all the sights like Buckingham palace, Emirates & wembley stadium, London eye, Royal Albert hall to name but a few. It was pretty impressive!
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