TravelStream™ news feed for member joules on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/joules en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Sun, 03 Jun 2007 03:24:55 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1177179420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1177179420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1177179420/tpod.html Sun, 03 Jun 2007 03:24:55 -0400 The "Holy shit, I cant believe Im 30!" World Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Merzouga, Morocco

After another long day or 2 of travel (the bus service in Morocco is absolutely hopeless!! At least they dont drive at dangerous speeds....) with bus, long distance taxi (6 passengers at once!) and a van, I eventually arrived at Merzouga.

The hotel owner I found myself in tried desperately to get me to do an overpriced 20 hour tour starting that afternoon, and although I got him down to around 670 Dirhams, I wanted to check out some different companies.

A quick 2 minute walk outside though, and I soon came to the conclusion that it was more bother than it seemed. Especially as it was around 5pm, and I needed to start asap if I wanted to depart that day!

So I eventually decided to cough up the money and just enjoy it. And Im glad I did!! Although there are very few black people in Morroco (despite the fact its in Africa), I found myself with a guide who looked like Eddie Murphy starring as that King in Coming To America. Unfortunately he didnt speak any English, and we were the only ones!! But what could I do......

So off we set over the sand dunes, me on a camel, and him walking at a leisurely pace in front. As we got further and further into the middle of the Sand Dunes (although there is dessert almost everywhere, Merzouga is famous for having these golden sand dunes, which look utterly amazing and out of this world), the sun started setting, and I was just amazed at the beauty of the place.

Just as it was getting very dark, we finally made it to the camp ground - luckily it was already set up. Nope, noone here, just us 2! It was kinda scary, as I was in the middle of nowhere (it seemed) with a dude who I couldnt communicate with. But naturally there were no problems, and after he cooked up a fairly decent Tagine (the local soup), he went to bed and I sat up walking amongst the sand dunes on my own, just loving the tranquility of the place.

Next day, I woke up and watched the sunrise, and just stood there admiring the beauty of the place. Its hard to put it into words, but there just arent many places in the world as quiet, peaceful, beautiful, and "out of this world" as this place. Anyway, we set off back out of the sand dunes, and several hours later arrived at a tiny Berber village (ie about 4 houses spread out over nothingness) with the mountains marking the border with Algiers off in the distance. Eventually, they cooked us up some couscous, and we slowly plodded our way back to the hotel (neither my guide or the camel seemed to be in any sort of rush, which I imagine is the only way to be in the dessert). Thankfully, the dessert is quite bareable in the afternoons and mornings in April, which is apparently one of the best times to visit!!

Anyway, once we returned and the tour was over, I resisted the temptation to spend a night in the hotel itself, and began the long, ardous journey to Marrakesh.........
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1176749340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1176749340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1176749340/tpod.html Sun, 03 Jun 2007 03:04:52 -0400 The "Holy shit, I cant believe Im 30!" World Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Fez, Morocco

After a fairly long day of travel, I finally arrived in Fez, and had my first proper taste of Morocco (as I spent my time in Tangiers getting food, looking for the tourist information, which was shut anyway, missing the bus to Chefchouen, and subsequently getting a bus to Fez)...and after a couple of taxies and some stuffing around, I finally managed to find a cheap room - which happened to be near the entry of the Medina (and therefore the perfect place 4 me to be based).

To cut a long story short, I ended up going clubbing that night with a very friendly Moroccan dude named Omar. We first went to the new city, as there is no alcohol sold legally in or around the Medina, and went straight to a pub. Drinks were a little pricey, and it was a bit of a sausage fest (ie only one woman and about 20 men), but quite nice nonetheless. We then headed to the club, which sold perhaps the most expensive drinks Ive seen in my life - about 6 Euros a beer (I think Heineken was all they sold), but the beers were 250mls only!!! That works out at about AU$15 for a stubby. Bloody ridiculous, but I guess it was lucky they had alcohol at all, being such a strongly muslim country.

Anyway, the club was fun, the music was cheesy, the lighting was B grade, the women were cute, and the people were friendly. I believe the women were mainly (or only) prostitutes, but my only contact with them resulted in being asked if Id buy her a drink. As I was too cheap to even buy drinks for myself, I had no hesitation in refusing, and that was that!! The call to prayer over the loudspeakers at around 4am just after Id returned to the hotel and started falling asleep was a nice little touch! Luckily it doesnt annoy me like it does some other tourists.


So, as for Fez, I really didnt do much else besides visit the Medina, as the new city didnt appeal to me. The Medina is one of the oldest in the world, and is basically unchanged since it was built 1000 years ago or so. Its a massive shopping centre, full of tiny little lanes and alleyways (9700 streets and alleys in all apparently), and half the fun is walking randomly around the place, and then trying to find the exit! Very much like a living maze.
The great thing is that there are no cars or motorbikes allowed (with a few exceptions, eg garbage collection bins), so everyone either walks, or uses donkeys to lug things around. The place is quite hectic, an is like stepping into a time warp, save for the fact that there are lots of modern items for sale (eg western clothes, mobile phones etc).

There are also a heap of hassly locals who will follow u until u eventually give up and hire a guide of some sort. The best thing is to get a small kid to be your unofficial guide (and tell him you dont want a guide and wont pay him), then give him a small tip at the end. Anyway, they wont leave u alone, and these guides at least show u some cool things like the tanneries, where they make all the animal skins and leather products the old fashion way....which results in a very bad smell, as they use some kind of animal droppings in the tanning process.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1173906420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1173906420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1173906420/tpod.html Sun, 20 May 2007 15:39:27 -0400 The "Holy shit, I cant believe Im 30!" World Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Panama, Panama

Stayed in the same place as before and not much to tell.....but at least I finally got to take some photos here as I bought my new camera here just on my way out of Panama.

I managed to score a cheap ticket on the internet to Cartagena in Colombia, but on my first attempt....I missed the plane!! Luckily, I managed to change my ticket upon my arrival at the airport (as I hadnt really missed it, they just refused to let me check in...or more correctly, there wasnt anyone at the counter to even check me in) and I didnt even have to pay any extra! I even had some breakfast cereal left at the hostel, and had already payed for half a nights accom as I bought my ticket that day after paying for accom (and got half the fee back)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1168797960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1168797960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1168797960/tpod.html Sun, 20 May 2007 15:19:10 -0400 The "Holy shit, I cant believe Im 30!" World Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Monterrico, Guatemala

Well, there really isnt that much to tell about Monterrico, as I pretty much just spent my 2 weeks studying Spanish in the morning, bodysurfing in the arvo, and reading a book in my hammock at night.

So Ill just give u a rundown of these main thingies.....


The town - Monterrico is only 2 hours or so away from Guatemala city...and is basically a tourist place for the locals on the weekend. That means, its incredibly chilled out and laid back during the week, and has very few tourists. This meant that I saw the same faces again and again when walking to the beach, and even felt a little part of the community before I left! Which was great for my Spanish - a trip to the beach often resulted in a few minutes of practice with various locals, including my teacher.
On the weekend though, Guatemalans flocked to the beach, and on saturday night, they even had a disco (which got fairly crowded). It kind of gave the place a Jekyl and Hide feel to it.....chilled in the week, thriving on weekends.

Another cool thing is all the animals walkin around - as everyone knows everyone, there seemed to be no need to lock animals up, so youd literally have pigs, ducks, chooks and dogs all walking along the street.

On the negative side though, as soon as dusk approached, the place would get swamped with mosquitoes and other bities. Ive never seen so many mozzies in my entire life!! Until my walk to El Mirador a few weeks later anyway. Jeans, long sleeve shirts etc helped - but not much. The mozzies would happily bite through anything.


The School - Monterrico Language school is by far the most chilled, relaxed language school you will find in the entire world. Seriously - it doesnt get more chilled than this. Its basically a big backyard, with lots of shade from various trees, and a few tables planted on the ground (and a whiteboard) depending on how many people are studying. The most at any one time when I was there was 3! But often just myself.....
My teacher Byron was the exact opposite of my Antiguan teacher - a young, beer drinking woman loving Guatemalan....he talked way too much, but I was quite happy to practice my listening skills, and Id much rather hear stories about his drinking or womanising than some superficial discussion about going to the post office or something equally boring. He did go over some grammar though, and it wasnt all fun and games

The Beach - The beach at Monterrico is not what most people would consider great. The sand is blackish, and the wave-surf is very rough. The good thing is, there is a fairly constant swell, so it was rarely free of waves completely. Unfortunately for any serious surfer, the waves are generally closeouts, quite rough, and very dumpy.
Luckily for me, I prefer bodysurfing (with a little handboard and 1 flipper, as 2 flippers are too bulky to carry, but 1 is better than nothing!). Although the waves were complete dumpers, I quite enjoy the challenge of trying to catch them without getting thumped into the sand underneath...and dont mind one bit when I do. UNLESS of course, I get injured, which is what happened on my 2nd last day....basically, I got dumped, landed on the sand with my ankle (the one with the flipper) bent at an awkward angle, and then had the full force of the wave pushing me down - kind of like trying to force your toes to touch your leg. At least the timing was good, as it only meant 1 day on the sidelines, and my ankle was just good enough the next day to catch 4 busses and a boat to San Pedro laguna.


The Canal - there was a reason for so many mosquitoes, and that was the canal running behind Monterrico. Its basically some sort of mangrove swamp like river, which requires travel on a boat to get over (as they havent built a bridge yet). However, on my last day, my Spanish teacher took me on a little tour in his canoe, to watch the sunrise. Despite the difficulties of getting up, it was well worth it, and resulted in some nice piccies.....With beautiful views of several Volcanoes off in the distance, lots of birds etc.


The Family - I have to admit, I was a bit dissapointed with the family. I guess the biggest problem was their speech - I really didnt understand a freekn word they were saying, and they didnt seem to be able to speak slower, use simple language, or any of the other tricks to facilitate communication.

But it was more than that. Im really not too fussy about what I get to eat, but on a few occasions, I received instand noodles for dinner. Which I can probably handle, but at least put some vegetables, onion or something in it!! Not that I would normally expect good food, but my payment does specify 3 meals a day, and Im just not sure if that constitutes a meal.
Whats more, the place was filthy. Im not known for having the best hygienic standards in the world, but even I was a little appalled....toilet paper for example has to be placed in a bin when used, not the toilet....but the bin was overflowing, with paper all over the floor (keep ini mind it was all USED paper!). Food was left all over the place, allowing the ants to have a massive feast. etc etc.

But I really felt a little sorry for the kids. The father has left the family (I cant really blame him to be honest), and the little girl, Leslie (about 10 yrs old), seems to have the most boring life ever. Both the mum and the daughter spend about 12 hours a day sitting or lying in hammocks - no reading, no talking, no playing with friends, no anything. Nothing wrong with a bit of relaxation, but this was just over the top! I regularly tried to start conversations, but they were pretty boring (eg, "what did you do today"? "nothing". "What food do you like"?. "Nothing". "errr, do you want to do something"? "No". You get the picture...!). Mind you, I wouldnt have understood had they said anything else. The other 2 kids werent too bad (and a bit older), especially the older kid Eddie (about 15). But his mother sent him off to board about an hour away, so I rarely saw him.

They had a very very cute kitten though!! Who absolutely addored me, as I was probably the only person who ever treated it nicely (animal torture seems to be the national pastime in Guatemala).


The Bedroom: I had an extremely simple, basic little room, with a thatched roof and all. Concrete floor. The good thing was, it was fairly large and had its own hammock! So I spent a lot of time lying in the hammock, reading.
Unfortunately, I didnt receive a very good mosquito net, and I was never really able to get it to reach the bed or ground, resulting in a shitload of mozzies biting me each night. Luckily, I was able to place those mozzie coils on the ground near my bed, which seemed to help a little...although resulted in the inhalation of a lot of smoke.
During the course of my 2 weeks there, I had a plethora of animals in my room.
I had a cat enter the room (through the gap between the wall and the roof) around 3am, and it spent about 2 minutes running and jumping against the walls trying to scale the wall to escape. I was shit scared at first, as I was asleep and had no idea what the noise was!! It finally escaped once I got up to open the door, by using my bed as a launch pad.
2 Days later, a dog pushed open the door, and went straight for my bed and hid underneath it. It wouldnt move, but I was too scared to move it, as it probably had rabies and I was scared it would bite me (I dont like Guatemalan dogs, Ill be honest).
Then, I had a rat literally sleeping on my books one morning when I awoke. I think it was sick, as it didnt want to move and I had to prod it out of the room. Probably got sick from the lack of hygiene around the house.
Finally, a tiny bat decided to make the roof of my room its home during the day. Every now and then it would fly around the roof, before perching on another rafter for some more upside down sleeping. Hmmmm.
Naturally, there were plenty of mosquitoes, spiders and other unidentifiable insects around the place.....but they were the least of my worries!
At least it made for an interesting experience!!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1172026680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1172026680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1172026680/tpod.html Sun, 20 May 2007 15:06:30 -0400 The "Holy shit, I cant believe Im 30!" World Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Tela, Honduras

Wow, am I behind in my blogs...

Tela was an interesting little city, but slightly dissapointing. To be honest, it not fair to judge when I had the worst few days of weather of my entire stay in South America here, as it is primarily a beach resort. However, it made me realise how lucky we are with our beaches in Australia as it would never compare. Even when the weather was half decent; it didnt look that great. At least it wasnt chock full of overseas tourists, being more a place where Nicaraguans go for holidays. Nearby are the Bay islands, chock full of tourists apparently, and much nicer beaches...diving is the done thing though, and I wanted a more authentic Honduran experience at this time after relaxing so much in Guatemala...good thing really, as diving tends to suck due to visibility problems when it rains.

The highlights were easily the day trip I did on a mountainbike to some of the Garifuna villages, including one which had a pretty happening Reggae party at around 2pm in the afternoon (Sunday).

Another highlight was a trip to the botanical gardens, which is apparently the 2nd biggest in the world. Of course; its not possible to see all of it in 1 day, and it appeared that most of it was no different to a national park (what is the official difference anyway?), but it was still enjoyable, and the weather managed to hold up too.


Oh, I also managed to find a little shop where u could rent/play various video games by the hour...I finally got a chance to try the Nintendo Wii...needless to say; the child in me wants one!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1175801520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1175801520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1175801520/tpod.html Fri, 18 May 2007 16:00:45 -0400 The "Holy shit, I cant believe Im 30!" World Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Madrid, Spain

After a rather-too-quýck 7 hour hop ýn the bus (too quýck as ýt waz my nýghts accomodatýon once agaýn - only thýng worse than gettýng kýcked out of bed early ýs gettýng kýcked out of a chaýr early), I arrýved ýn Madrýd and promptly hunted out some accomodatýon.

Once that waz sorted (or so I thought), I went and strolled over to the Royal Palace. Im not the býggest fan of palace type places, but I have to admýt - I waz rather ýmpressed. As u can ýmagýne, ýt waz rather huge and lavýsh, wýth extrodýnary detaýl goýng ýnto every room, chandelýers that way more than most cars, carpets that probably cost more than most houses, etc...Im sure u get the pýcture. I also came to the conclusýon that lývýng there must have been ýncredýbly borýng - I ýmagýne ýts very hard to get excýted about anythýng luxurýous when u grow up ýn such plush surroundýngs. Gýve me a cramped studýo flat wýth a telly and lýberal access to the outsýde world any day! Oh yeah, I also came to the conclusýon that I needed some sleep...so off to bed I went.

What else dýd I do ýn Madrýd? Well, a faýr být of walkýng, ýncludýng the botanýcal gardens (never thought I woulda payed money to see flowers!) and several large parks, a faýr být of drýnkýng (especýally on an organýzed pub crawl that I went on, wýth free shots ýn every bar and several more from drunk women who couldnt go the dýstance), and a reasonable amount of walkýng around lookýng for another hostel...yes, ýt was v busy thanx to the Easter season (and beýng such a tourýst cýty), and after 2 nýghts accom I was kýcked out as I had no reservatýon.

Luckýly, I managed to meet an oldýsh Brýtýsh geeza wýth 4 backpacks who needed accom too, and we found a nýce place for the same prýce...wýth 2 nýce sýngle beds (ýnstead of the 12 person dorm I had before).

Even better - he was ýn town sýmply for thýs massýve dance party on that weekend...apparently ýt was the event of the year, and the lýneup certaýnly seemed to suggest so. A tad prýcey, but wýth 6 rooms and alot of ýnternatýonal artýsts, I couldnt resýst!!! Unfortunately ýt was all a být of a let down. Maybe ýts just me (and my old age), but the atmosphear just dýdnt seem to be there....or the productýon for that matter. At least I only payed for the fýrst nýght (the Brýtýsh guy had already bought a 2 day týcket, but probably spent less týme at the event than me as he returned home early both nýghts).
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1175338440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1175338440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1175338440/tpod.html Thu, 17 May 2007 07:25:09 -0400 The "Holy shit, I cant believe Im 30!" World Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Barcelona, Spain

After more than 5 months away from home and travellýng ýn South & Central Amerýca , I was really lookýng forward to seeýng my parents and Europe.

I arrýved rather worn out after one too many nýghts sleepýng ýn a Bus, but ýn good spýrýts. I cant belýeve how happy I was to see my parents waýtýng for me at the aýrport!
Anyway, off we went to the centre of Barcelona, and after some dýckýng around, I fýnally managed to fýnd myself a really good hostel (everythýng else was full and overprýced), about 5m from the famous Barcelonýan road known as La Rumbla. The place was practýcally brand new! After some walkýng around to get orýented, we dýd the Spanýsh thýng and went to a tapas bar.

One of the ýnterestýng thýngs about Tapas, for me, was ýts sýmýlarýty to the Japanese Izakayas. for those wonderýng what a tapas bar ýs (or an Izakaya for that matter), ýts basýcally a cross between a bar and a cheap snack based restaurant. Rather than eat at home and head for the bar solely for the purpose of drýnkýng, a Tapas bar allows customers to pýck varýous lýttle low cost dýshes, whých ýs then ordered alongsýde beer (or other beverages). When you have fýnýshed your food, you generally order more, and more, and more...untýl you are broke, týred, bloated, or of course wonderously drunk (whýchever comes fýrst).

And for those who are wonderýng, the local beverage of choýce appears to be San Mýguel. (I regret not postýng all the local beers wýth my prevýous travelogues!).

Unfortunately, Spaýn ýs not the cheapest country ýn the world, especýally after so many months ýn Latýn Amerýca. However, beer ýs one of the few drýnks that ýs stýll avaýlable at bargaýn prýces. Sure, a pýnt of lager may cost around 3 or 4 Euros at one of the many many many Irýsh bars ýn town, but I dýscovered you can buy a 6 pack of smallýsh (250ml) No Frýlls beer (Dýa brand from memory, equývalent to Aldý brand or somethýng), for a measly 1 Euro 20. How does ýt taste? Unfortunately, Im really not the person to ask..... ýt just tastes lýke beer to me. But at thýs prýce, who cares!

Oh yeah, back to the travelogue....What else dýd we do?

- One cool thýng was the Pýcasso museum. Im not the býggest art fan ýn the world, but ýt was ýnterestýng to see how thýs artýstýc legend has developed over týme.

- We also went and saw the Sangrýa Famýlýa...one of the coolest lookýng structures ýn the world. If you can ýmagýne some sort of alýen from the future desýgnýng a church after munchýng on mushrooms and takýng a trýp to Dýsneyland, then you probably have some ýdea of what ýt looks lýke. Unfortunately, ýts not fýnýshed yet, and we never bothered payýng the fee to výsýt the ýnsýde (ýts cool enough from the outsýde, belýeve me!). Maybe one day.

- We took the Funýcular raýlway (basýcally a fancy name for a steep tram, despýte what my father belýeves) to the top of a mountaýn, whých would have gýven spectacular výews of the cýty, had ýt not been cloudy, foggy, and polluted (and started raýnýng).

- In addýtýon to all that sýghtseeýng (and a few other thýngs I never mentýoned), I fýnally satýsfýed my ýnner nerd, and bought myself a Sony PSP. I can now be a total nerd anywhere ýn the world, and play games, watch the Sýmpsons, and even wrýte musýc 24 hours a day! (any musýc lovers readýng thýs wýth a PSP runnýng FW1.5 or an 'open system' should výsýt http://psprhythm.com/ to see what Im talkýng about). Unfortunately, the stupýd network part of the PSP ýs not workýng, so Im not able to use ýt for free ýnternet ýn Wýfý hotspots. Oh well....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1174926060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1174926060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1174926060/tpod.html Thu, 10 May 2007 12:51:06 -0400 The "Holy shit, I cant believe Im 30!" World Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Theres not many cities that I associate songs with, but Rio is one of them. And not only do they have a song, they have 2!!

Indeed, I stayed at a friendly, cool little hostel right on the point, between the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana. And yes, I had both songs stuck in my head the entire stay!! (dont know what songs Im talking about? Naturally, Im talking about The Girl From Ipanema aka la Garota de Ipanema, and that Copacabana song that starts off "at the copa, copa ca bana)

Unfortunately, whilst they are good beaches for people watching, they dont compete with beaches from Sydney (at least not in my opinion), especially in the wave department.

Still, I would have to say that Rio is perhaps THE most beautiful city I have ever visited. Yes, its one of the biggest metropolises in the world population wise (12 million if you count the suburbs), and is full of decent clubs, hotels, bars, the Maracana (once the biggest football stadium in the world) and what is probably the biggest party in the world (Carnivale of course), etc. But even if there were none of these things, it is just so chock full of natural beauty that it would no doubt be worth visiting for the beaches and scenery alone.

Some of the cool thing I did include.....


- going to the top of the "sugarloaf", a huge rock with supreme views, that looks almost surreal and sits in the middle of the city

- visiting 2 of the most famous beaches in the world. Mind you, there arent any topless women here, and most women are much older than the young 20s stereotype that I always associated (or should I say dreamt of) with Rio.

- going to a Favella Funk party on a sunday night, ie a local nightclub in one of the poorer areas of town, where they play nothing but Brazilian Funk music. Insterestingly, Brazilian Funk is nothing like George Clinton ParliamentFunk, and actually sounds very similar to Old Skool breakbeat music. Also interesting was being able to purchase beers for 1 real (50c), and buying a whole heap of em and getting em placed in an Eski (ie coolbox) full of ice,once again streamlining the entire drink purchasing process. These guys really know how to drink!! which reminds me of my next point.....

- drinking a whole heap of Caipirinhas. Which are incredibly strong! I eventually discovered why....besides Cachasa (which is 40% strong and costs like $2 a litre or something), the only other ingredients are a few bits of lemon, some sugar, and some ice. Thats right, the only liquid in this drink is that deadly Cachasa! (It wouldnt surprise me if its simply pure alcohol from the petrol station watered down with water - yes, they tend to put alcohol in their cars instead of petrol)

- going to the Maracana stadium, one of the biggest and mostfamous in the world, and watching a football match between the Flamingos and some other team. Once again though, my team failed to score. Yes, Ive watched several hours of football live now, and have yet to see my team score a SINGLE FREEKN POINT!!! I think my patience for football has finally run out, at least until the next World Cup.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1174387020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1174387020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1174387020/tpod.html Thu, 10 May 2007 12:20:38 -0400 The "Holy shit, I cant believe Im 30!" World Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Sao Paolo, Brazil

After a nightmare flight here and a serious lack of sleep, I was feeling quite anxious about Brazil. It didnt help that I lacked any guide book whatsoever, couldnt speak Portuguese, or had heard how dangerous and expensive Brazil was going to be. Infact, you could even say I was feeling rather aporehensive about my stay here.

Luckily, I had nothing to worry about. From theminute I stepped off the plane, things went smoothly. No lineing up at customs (the customs officer even smiled at me, a first I think), no waiting for my backpack, a genuine tourist office right outside the arrivals gate, free map, busses into the city (although these are a complete ripoff at 27 Reals for about 30 minutes), a quick and efficient subway system, a map at my destination subway station with the street I was looking for on it, and a free bed waiting for me at the hostel I chose from the internet (I got an address just before leaving Colombia, but forgot the phone number and never made a reservation). Oh, and lots of friendly people quite keen to help me out, without wanting money for their efforts (does friendliness even count as being friendly if its all in the hopes of a tip?).

After a decent midday sleep, I awoke at 11pm, and found a group of guys ready to hit the clubs! So off I went, and luckily found some really cool locals who helped me get free entry to 2 really good clubs (and a free ticket to an island rave on the weekend, but sadly I had to decline as I was heading to Rio).

Not only are the clubs in Rio really good, but they have an interesting way of operating. Upon entry, you receive a little card...every time u purchase a drink, u get the card stamped at the appropriate place. And when youre ready to leave? You pay for them all (unless u drank more than u planned, which isnt hard when they keep handing u "free" drinks all night!), and get an "exit" ticket. Lost your ticket? Then your stuffed....unless u have around $100 or so, as they will charge u a fortune. Still, get 1 friend to buy all the drinks (and expensive cocktails or upper shelf shots), lost their ticket, and I imagine it wouldnt be too hard for a group of ozzie rugby players to end up ahead. Cant see this system working in Australia!

Other things I enjoyed in Sao Paolo:

- Visiting the park in the centre of the city (forgot the name,sorry), which feels almost like a piece of (organic) jungle in the centre of one of the biggest concrete jungles in the world.

- Going to the China or Japanese area of town, and visiting a "food by the kilo" type place, where your food is weighed and charged accordingly after visiting a buffet. Its a great idea as it is, even better when they offer Japanese food (for me anyway). Forget buying Sushi by the plate, here u can buy sushi by the kilo!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1174298700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1174298700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/joules/rtw_in_9_months/1174298700/tpod.html Thu, 10 May 2007 06:37:20 -0400 The "Holy shit, I cant believe Im 30!" World Tour

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Santiago, Chile

For some reason (probably due to books, electronic handheld games, and to being such a closet nerd), Ive always enjoyed travelling...Not just the destinations, but the getting there part. Even planes.

Well not anymore. Especially if I have to fly dodgy airlines... such as Lan.
I knew I had to fly to Sao Paolo via Lima (Peru), but I didnt realise it involved a stop in Quito (Ecuador). Fine.

Unfortunately, my plane left rather late. Then, once wed landed in Quito, they informed us that they had to make an unscheduled stop in Guayaquill (Ecuador). This of course meant that I missed my connection to Brazil from Lima, so I had to catch another flight from Lima to Santiago Chile (my very first stop in my whole holiday!), just so I could catch a different connecting flight to Brazil, despite the fact that Santiago is no closer to Brazil than Lima.

Naturally, this last plane involved several hours wait for its scheduled departure, and naturally....it too was late.

Of course, this 24+ hours of travelling was not helped by the fact that my water was confiscated due to water in a plastic bottle being considered dangerous (unlike a litre of scotch in a glass bottle). Drinking from the bottle didnt quell the security guards fear of course, so there wasnt much I could do besides beg the attendants for water and drinks when on the planes.

At one point (on my flight to Chile, ie AWAY from mydestination) as I was starting to get rather peeved, I decided to conduct an experiment. After waiting (unsuccessfully) for drinks to come around, and being asked if I wanted to buy any duty free items, I pressed the buzzer to see if I could get myself a drink for my poor ol parched throat.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER, the attendands still had not come to poor me wine and feed me grapes (yes I timed it). So I get up to ask for myself, walk to the back of the plane and.....I see one of the flight attendants powdering her nose!!! (the other 4 were just sitting there having some kind of convention). Now, I dont normally expect people to act as my personal slaves, but when your job is flight attendand, peoples drinks have been confiscated, and several travellers find themselves going in the wrong direction, perhaps their time at work would be better spent getting drinks instead of applying makeup? At the very least, if LAN wants to have flight attendants who care more about their appearance than their customers, then they should hire good looking attendants! Its not like their is a shortage of em in Latin America.

Anyway, I eventually arrived in Sao Paolo rather bleary eyed, and feeling rather anxious I must admit.....luckily, my first 24hours in Brazil were quite the opposite from the 24 hours it took to get there!
]]>