TravelStream™ news feed for member mwallz on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/mwallz en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:46:13 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/3/1257758418/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/3/1257758418/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/3/1257758418/tpod.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:46:13 -0500 Another Year as a Foreigner!

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London, London, City of, United Kingdom

Howdy!

So now that you are all filled in on why I am where I am, I thought I should give a re-cap of what has occurred so far....

First weekend in London was mainly spent settling in and checking out the neighbourhood. We did get one flat-bonding night out in Soho, where Rich was definitely the most popular guy there. This was after the bar patrons discovered he was in the navy...I'll end there :)

The second weekend was my first one back in lovely Cornwall. As it was Thanksgiving weekend back home, I decided to spread the holiday down to Cornwall. We had friends over to play Cranium, which I bragged about being awesome at...until I realized it was a UK version, and only answered one question! The next day Rich and I went on a coastal walk to check out some old mines. Amazing scenery once again! Then the cooking and baking commenced. I made everything from scratch (minus the cranberry sauce as I couldnt find them anywhere!). It turned out delicious, although I made enough to feed a family of 12 (cue turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey curry, turkey cheesecake?). We then took in Up in 3D which was also amazing. So all in all a successful first Thanksgiving in the depths of Cornwall!

My third weekend was spent in London with the flatmates being pretty low-key. Brid and I tested UK TV shows and also hunted for an Irish pub to watch a rugby game. Very laid back and sleep-filled! I took myself on a date to the British Museum which was outtasight as usual. Been twice now, and still have only seen about half of the place!

My fourth week here consisted of another ball at Rich's base. This one was to commemorate the battle of Trafalgar, which Nelson led the Royal Navy to a victory. Much more traditional than the summer ball. We sat for dinner, and cadets paraded the beef around the dining room, which then miraculously was sliced on our plates 2 minutes later. After a delicious dinner, port was poured (...and poured) and we listened to a few speeches and then sang some old navy songs (What Shall we do With the Drunken Sailor!!). It was then party time on the D-floor, which Rich and I used to its full extent. A great night...not a great morning the next day! We attempted to go to a beer festival in Falmouth, but only made it to the parking lot....so we spent the rest of the day watching movies. Lesson learned: Port is the devil...

Last weekend we had a very full house in London. Brid had friends over from Ireland, Sarah had her sister and I had Rich up from Cornwall. Friday night was spent introducing eachother to drinking games and then catching the tube to Clapham for a night out at Infernos (land of the cheese!). The next day was basically spent putting the finishing touches on our costumes. This included an hour wait in a lineup outside a costume (fancy dress ) store. I thought we went big in Canada, but Camden goes crazy! We had some more people over to the flat for "warm-ups" and then hit Proud for a Halloween party. Proud is found in these old horse stables right by our flat. It was actually used as a horse hospital wayyyy back in the day. They have pretty much left it how it was, and is a really fun place to spend a night out (Amy Winehouse frequents). We had a blast being all dressed up and dancing the night away. The next morning (cough afternoon) we wandered Primrose Hill and Regents Park. Another week done!

Last week Christmas came to London. We went to Oxford Street and watched Jim Carrey and Colin Firth light up Oxford and Regents street to promote a Christmas Carol. Quite the extravaganza! Now its full on Christmas in all the shops and you can feel the buzz of shoppers! Weather has been great! Only used my umbrella 3 times since I moved here! Lets hope it stays like that (although not likely!).

Hope everyone is well! xo
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London, London, City of, United Kingdom

Guess whose back!!! Thats right, you're favourite vagabond! Bet you thought I would be happily settled into life in Halifax by now... no sir-eeee!

So quick re-cap of how I got to be a London'er.

As you can see from my last blog entry from A Very Blighty Summer, I had just moved to Halifax. All was fine and dandy until I received an email from The London School of Economics letting me know I was accepted into their Masters in Local Economic Development program starting in less than 4 weeks. I had applied in March and pretty much lost all hope of being accepted, so I was in complete shock. A few calls into the parents and a discussion with Kendra, left me with a hard decision to make. But with everyones support, I knew I had to take the opportunity. Living in a world city such as London has been a dream of mine since I was little, and LSE is the cream of the crop when it comes to econ. In the end it was an easy decision, however the logistics were anything but! I had stuff...lots of stuff, that wouldn't make the trip back to BC with me, let alone to a tiny room in London. So cuts were made, and the pile of castoffs grew and grew...much to Kendra's suppressed delight :) Of my remaining items, two small boxes were sent to Victoria, two Rubbermaids were sent via slow boat, to Rich's in Truro (and almost my passport...holy crap a close call!) and the rest was ridiculously packed into two suitcases and two carry ons to weigh down my Westjet flight back to BC. One would think that upon arriving home, I would have time to collect myself and contemplate my next step...but I got home just in time to move my parents from our family home in Nanaimo, to their new pad in Vic. The move went smoothly, while at the same time I was bouncing between Nanaimo, Vic and Vancouver trying to see dentists, doctors and immigration officials! The Visa process was by far the sticking point on the whole move. I applied online, then you book a meeting with an official to get fingerprinted, you must prove you have enough money to last 9 months of living in London ($$$) plus your entire tuition, and send everything to Ottawa and hope for the best. Then you wait....and wait. Couldn't book anything, couldn't plan anything, just wait! Fortunately for me (and a very polite letter stressing the urgency) my passport and Visa was in my hot little hands in only 5 working days. A flight was soon booked and I suddenly found myself in an empty room in the heart of Camden, two days before classes started!

The next two weeks were basically spent registering for school, setting up a UK bank account, getting a cell, internet, towels, sheets, pens, tea...the whole shebang. Word on how I came to live in Camden...Rich has a close friend Sarah who was about to start her masters at the University of Central London. She has been in contact with two other UCL masters students (Matt from Oxford and Brid from Ireland) and the 3 of them found our 4 bedroom flat in London. Lucky for me! It was also lucky that I had Rich and Rich's car for the first weekend, as we were able to do a major Ikea shop and get my room all set up. We also got to explore my new neighbourhood....

So Camden, crrrrrazy Camden! This borough is in North Central London and is on the Northern Line on the Underground. My first impressions (as I have never been to this part of London before) were from the back of my aunt and uncles car en route from Gatwick. It was a Sunday and Camden Market (google it...) was happening in full force! Cars could barely get through! All walks of life were out and about. I saw more things I have never seen before, in the first 5 minutes in Camden, then I probably have in my whole life. It is an alternate universe! My flat is found at the north end of Camden town and much more quiet (although located right across from the famous Roundhouse Theatre...). We are lucky to have the best of both worlds here. Upon walking towards the high street from our door, a left turn and you are in the great madness of Camden, whereas a right turn and you are in the very laaaadeedaaa area of Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath (Daniel Craig, Gwyneth and Chris, Gordon Ramsey, Kate Moss to name a few are residents...wikipedia Primrose Hill!). Lots of boutiques and cafes. But my fav is the actual hill of Primrose Hill which has amazing views of the city. It is also connected to Reagents Park and the Camden Canals, which are a runners dream. So after a few weeks of living here, I can easily state, I live in the best location in London! There is an overabundance of choice, which I doubt we will ever scratch the surface of.

Speaking of the best of both worlds, I am also lucky to have the same when it comes to city life, and country life. A scenic and relaxing 4 hour train journey south, takes me to Truro and back to my reign as Queen of Cornwall. I try to get down every other weekend (plus I have Monday and Tues with no classes) to see Rich and breathe some fresh air! I absolutely love being in Cornwall and just having the opportunity to get out of the hustle and bustle and enjoy the outdoors and sleep with no sirens! I plan to use it as my study retreat during school breaks and just for overall wellbeing when London gets to be too much.

For my parents sake, I should probably mention school :) LSE is located right downtown London by Covent Gardens and the Royal Courts. It is a city campus, so lots of pretty tall buildings in a small area (cool walkways connecting them on higher floors). Some of the buildings are new, some are old (The main building is literally called Old Building, and the newest building is New Building). The student body is about 60% postgrad students, and of those in postgrad programs, 70% are international! Its quite the place! My program is Local Economic Development and has about 45 students, of which only one is from the UK. I have never been a part of something with so few people being from so many places. Its pretty amazing. My studies will be focusing on a fairly new field of Economics called the New Economic Geography. We study the idea that as globalization occurs, the world is concentrating in core areas (large cities) and how that is impacting peripheries (small towns/countries) and the people that are affected within both. From there we are hoping to discover policies and solutions to regional economic issues, and help foster development in an equal manner. So its pretty exciting to be involved in such a new field. Its so new, that we don't really use textbooks because by the time they are published, things have changed. My profs are the best of the best and I even remember reading their work when I was doing my undergrad. It is such a stimulating environment! My year consists of 6 months of classwork and then 3 months of exams and essays, with a thesis due in September. It is going to be an intense year school wise, but I am looking forward to the challenge!

On that note I should probably get on a tube and hit the books! I'll write more on the events that have occurred during October (Navy Balls, seaside adventures, Halloween in Camden where it is perpetually halloween) soon.

All my best from London,

Mel xo

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/2/1252021333/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/2/1252021333/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/2/1252021333/tpod.html Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:10:41 -0400 A Very Blighty Summer

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Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Well how fast can a summer go!  I guess when you are as busy as we were, it can go lightning fast, and here I find myself sitting in my new home of Halifax!

My final week in Cornwall was great.  After our return from London and Bristol we decided it would be nice to lay low and do day trips around Truro.  We had a major box to check, so the first day trip we did was to the Lost Gardens of Heligan and the nearby seaside village of Mevagissey. Now it was a major box to check because a few years prior my parents and grandmother experienced both of them, and had been promoting it ever since.  So we made our packed lunch (how very British) and got to the gardens early.  Now the Lost Gardens are on a 400 year old estate and were thriving up until the First World War when most of the gardeners were killed. It fell into complete disrepair until the 1990s when the good ol BBC had a show on the restoration of the gardens.  Today it is one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen, with a jungle section, rose gardens, Italian fountains and tons more (farm animals anyone?).  We had a great time checking it out and enjoying the sunny (!) weather.  Here's the site as its an experience in itself ... http://www.heligan.com. Anyways after that delightful experience we headed into Mevagissey and cruised the town which was overrun with tourists (surprise surprise).  We then took our time driving home attempting to find a nice quiet B&B for the next night.

 Luckily we found a nice little B&B in the teeny tiny village of Varyan.  We had a day of exploring the Cornish coast around Carne. Went for a great coastal walk on the cliffs, where I learned how to use a stile...why do they not just have gates is beyond me :) .  That evening we had an amazing pub dinner back in Varyan and woke up the next morning to check out St.Mawes, which is full of very laaa deee daaa people.  Poked around the shops and then back to Truro.

The next few days we spent mostly in Truro doing things we had meant to do weeks ago.  Hit up some cosmic bowling, walked through the city gardens, and finally had proper Cornish Cream Teas at the ancient tea room downtown. We also had the chance to go to Newquay and pop into the Rattler Cider farm (our fav!)  Rich then had to return to work, while I prepared for my departure, which included packing and unpacking until it all fit, leaving a freshly painted deep red wall in Richs room, and also giving him cooking and baking lessons!  Spent my last night in the UK visiting friends, getting Thai takeaway (delicious!), and watching Fawlty Towers and Location Location! 

Sad to have such an amazing summer come to an end.I came to think of Truro as my new home and will dearly miss Cornwall (and obviously the Brit).  But I know there will be many more trips there and look forward to every single one!

But until then I am now in Halifax getting ready to crack the (very expensive) books.  Class starts in a few short days! My roommate Kendra and I are settling in nicely to our new home. All our stuff arrived safely from Nanaimo and is making our house more homey.  We have amazing views from every room and lots of space to spread out.  Very lucky!  Now time to explore another new city and await the adventures yet to come!

Thank you guys for following my summer!  until next time (which is 1000% likely), take care and I look forward to a visit soon.

xo 
temporarily re-located Queen of Cornwall signing out
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/2/1250789086/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/2/1250789086/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/2/1250789086/tpod.html Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:59:12 -0400 A Very Blighty Summer

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Bristol, England, United Kingdom

Hi ya'll,

Once again sorry for the delay, but as the title suggests I have been a busy lady!  Where did I leave off, oh yes the pick up of a VIP at Gatwick....

One of my favourite gals from Nanaimo, and longggg time pal, Nik got the hell out of Dodge (aka Nanaimo) and flew half way around the world to pay us a visit!  Very nice to see her smiling face.  We tucked her into the car amoung all our luggage (and swords from the wedding) and made our way to Bristol.  Showed her the sights of Rich's home town (Clifton pubs...) then all headed to bed early as she was jet-lagged and Rich had his big knee operation in Plymouth the next morning.  Poor guy...dropped him at the hospital at 11am and he ended up waiting until 5:30pm to go under the knife...while Nik and I were shopping away!  But all went well and Rich was VERY happy to see us and provided us with much post anesthetic entertainment the whole way back to Truro.  

The next few days we toured Niki around Cornwall trying to avoid the bajillion tourists that had flooded in.  We spent a day out by Richs base in Helston on a lovely beach and also back to my fav, Porthcurno for some major sun time.  After a few days "away from it all" in Cornwall, Nik was ready to experience the action of London town.  After a glorious 7 hour trip (usually takes 4...) we graced Rich's friend Tom with our presence at his flat right downtown London (you could literally throw a stone at the Tate Modern or Tower Bridge).  This became our home for the next 6 days.  As Niki had never been to London we gave her the full tourist experience.  Double decker bus tour, galleries galore, Oxford St shopping, Buckingham (funny they wouldn't let us in this time..), crazy night out with a large group of rugby boys, amazing curry on Brick Lane, a show (Wicked) at the Apollo theatre, and many other endeavors.  Obviously fun for Nik, but also fun for Rich and I who had never experienced a lot of these touristy things. We then sent her on her way, full of new stories, new clothes, and a new outlook :)  Rich and I then cruised the famous Borough market, and headed to his sisters house in Newbury.  It was great to meet his sister, her husband and three children.  They live in an adorable village where they own a traditional butcher shop.  Went for a stroll in the countryside drink in the pub (kids idea...) and then continued on our way back to Bristol.

 Spent the next few days helping his parents unload stuff as they are downsizing to a new house in a few weeks (sound familiar?). Hit a few shops (mainly Ikea for a bookcase and room divider) and were on our way back home! Spent the rest of the weekend relaxing in Truro and putting together our Ikea purchases (surprisingly easy...hmmm). Place is coming along!  Spending Richs last week of freedom doing day trips around Cornwall so stay tuned ...

 

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/2/1249638591/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/2/1249638591/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/2/1249638591/tpod.html Fri, 07 Aug 2009 06:11:37 -0400 A Very Blighty Summer

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London, England, United Kingdom

Why hello hello!

Bit of a break on the blog front, as we have been go go go for 10 days!  

I'll start with last Wednesday, when we saw a months worth of rain in one day. This would be fine if I was all warm and snuggly in the flat, however it just had to be Air Day, so Rich, his parents and I found ourselves smack in the middle of the downpour at Rich's base.  I don't think I have ever been so drenched before, and it didn't help that I wore flip flops!  It was good to see around the base a bit more, and poke around some helicopters, however there was no flying due to the pea soup fog, so we only lasted until 1pm and headed home.  

The next day Rich and I packed up the car and I drove the 3 hour drive to his uncle Trevor's in Ringwood.  Had a great pub dinner with him and settled into a toss-turny sleep on an air mattress.The next morning we drove through the New Forrest en route to Burley.  Rich and Trevor pointed out the wildlife found living in the forrest.  Wild horses, goats, donkeys and cows, al running around in their "natural" state!  Quite the sight driving along with ponies darting across the road.  We checked out the very random shops in Burley, pet some "wild" animals and headed back to Ringwood to have a really good pub lunch.  We bid adieu to Trevor and made our way to London.

The purpose of this trip to London was the wedding of Adam and Amy, of who Rich was the Best Man.  We arrived in London and headed straight to Amy's house, which was a beautiful 100 year old house.  It was the day before the wedding, so the house was buzzing with last minute things to be done.  We were thrown into the mix, running things back and forth to the church, keeping the flower girls in check, and helping with food.  It was a bit daunting not knowing anyone at first, but that quickly faded and soon we were all family.  Had the rehearsal and then rehearsal dinner, and then we whisked the groom away to Rich's aunt Anne's to enjoy some much needed rest.

The morning of the wedding we helped each other prepare (Rich did a fab job on Adams hair...)  and headed to the church.  The church was very beautiful as it is part old and part new due to a fire a few years ago.  Very nice setting for a lovely ceremony.  At the end of the ceremony we walked out of the church and under the sword arch created by Rich and two other naval officers.  Then it was food and speech time.  Rich had been working on his speech for weeks and was quite nervous.  He knew I was there to throw in a laugh track, just in case, but in the end he didn't need it, as everyone laughed for real!  We then headed back upstairs into the church for dancing and drinking.  The night passed quite quickly and we said farewell to the newlyweds who were off to their own private sailboat in the British Virgin Islands. Rich and I returned to his Aunts and woke up the next morning to have a dip in her pool.  Then it was time to head out to Gatwick in order to pick up a very special visitor from back home.....
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Helston, England, United Kingdom

Hi gang... getting sick of the hot weather yet???

Just a quick update of our fabulous weekend here in Cornwall which included a scenic train ride into a beauty of a village called St.Ives on Friday and the big ball on Saturday.

Rich was lucky enough to get off of work early on Friday so we drove a few miles to a small train station and rode along the coast into the town of St.Ives.  It was actually sunny and the white sand beach was packed with people.  We poked around town which was fun until I caught my heel on a step and proceeded to bleed inside the gallery we were in. Rich tried to sell my bloody klenex as modern art ( a la Tate Modern in London), but no buyers. So to cheer me up we went and had home made ice cream and sat on the beach.  Soon it became obvious that our lives were in danger from the insanely aggressive seagulls that would divebomb ice cream enjoyers until either they could grab the cone or get the person to drop it.  Quite entertaining actually!  We walked around some more, ran into some friends and set a time for a BBQ at Richs and then headed back to Truro to get cooking! Had about 6 people over christen the new BBQ, which left us with way too many leftovers!

Saturday we woke up early and did a major yoga session.  After we headed into town to pick up some final Ball items and then returned to the flat.  Another navy GF and  then left the boys to go and spoil ourselves at the salon.  In all aspects this hair salon looked like any other in Canada, that was until instead of offering you tea or coffee, we were offered beer or wine! It was noon so why not!  After an hour or so we were beginning to look ball ready.  Returned once again to the flat and soon the transformation was complete!  We then drove the 30min drive to Richs base where we were greeted by knights on horses (A knights tale theme).  Everyone was looking very suave and we all soon found ourselves parked in front of a jousting competition where we boo-ed and cheered for our favourite colour (Go red...Booo Black).  Once that ended we were lead to the banquet halls where we feasted until we could not feast no more!  From there the rest of the night included playing tables at the casino, learning medieval dances, smashing eachother in Bumper Cars (leading to my second injury of the weekend), chocolate fountains, and dancing to some interesting music!  By 2am we were tuckered and headed to bed happy!  Lots of fun, especially getting all dressed up and seeing everyone else looking so nice.  

 Sunday was a wash out, but Rich and I were still quite productive.  We cruised town and headed to the woods for a very muddy walk ("I've never been this way before" should not be attempted in a torrential downpour FYI).  But we made it home safely and spent the rest of the evening making our first roast dinner, which turned out exceptional!  Very tastey!

 Such a great weekend.  This next week is a busy one with Rich's parents arriving for Air Day on Wednesday (big air show and festival at Rich's base) and then we head up to London on Thursday for Rich's friends wedding. Then get to pick up a VIP at Gatwick on Sunday to tour around for 10 days!  Looking forward to it all! More pictures to come!

 Hope everyone is hunky dory at home!  Take care and chit chat soon!

xo Mel
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Truro, England, United Kingdom

Hiya!  (the typical Cornish greeting)

Well after my very wonderful, yet hectic, first week in England, my second week was a welcomed slow down!  Nothing too exciting occurred so I thought I would just give some insight into what Truro is like and share in my observations...

I'll start with Richs flat (of which I just discovered a corner of his house that has unblocked wifi...making it much easier to keep in touch!).  It is a brand new in a block of four flats.  When I first came to check it out at Easter I quickly noticed how small it was (minus the larger living room), but after spending more time I realize generally the houses are much smaller here (and 3 times the price).  After being here for a few weeks I can now conclude that what their houses or flats lack in size, they make up for in efficiency and convenience! The bathroom radiators act as warm towel racks, the laundry units are both washers and dryers (which the latter you dont really need as you use a drying closet), most bedrooms do not have closets, but custom fitted wardrobes that are well organized, while Rich's flat is quite environmentally friendly as it uses solar heating (which I am a tad concerned about since I havent been seeing any sun). The flat next to us is still empty while located downstairs is Olive in one flat and Barbara in the next. Two adorable little old ladies that are currently involved in a "Garden Off" and seem to be vying for Rich's attention (one takes in our garbage and recycling, while the other gave him a flat screen TV she had no use for... ummmm). Best of all it has amazing views of parts of the city and surrounding farmland.

Truro itself is beautiful and the vocal point of the city is easily identified as the huge Gothic cathedral right smack in the centre of town.  Surrounding the cathedral is cobblestone streets, allies, and bridges going over the canals.  One of the main streets, Lemon Street has gorgeous Victoria row houses.  There are tons of tucked away shops, cafes and pubs, to keep someone like me occupied for hours.

That all said most of my observations have been derived from my many trips to the grocery stores.  I never thought shopping for groceries could be such a learning experience!  As I am using my time here to indulge in my passion for cooking and baking, I find myself roaming the aisles of Tescos or Sainsburry almost daily.  In the beginning it was really frustrating as the places are huge, the brands are completely different, and items are called different names (upon asking about zucchinis a perplexed Rich came to the conclusion that I meant courgette in Brit speak).  The tellers sit at the checkouts and you pack your own bags!  Eggs are kept in dry shelfs not in fridges, the same item may be in 3 different aisles, there are literally 10 aisles of frozen food, and plain rolled oats are nonexistent! 

When I enter a store and am greeted "hiya" by the salesperson/cashier and reply "Hello" in my very *cough cough* "American" accent I am treated much differently than I would be in say London.  In the big smoke they usually continue along without much of a second glance, whereas in Cornwall very different reactions occur.  Usually the sales person will look at me a bit confused, as if I am lost, and then completely slow down their speech and proceed to give me more attention and help than needed.  This includes walking me right to where the courgettes are, rather than telling me Aisle 4, leaving the store to point me in the right direction, putting my card into the debit machine and reading the instructions right off the device for me... But all in all everyone is very friendly and their manners tend to put ours to shame

Anyways life in Cornwall has been good, even with the days and days of rain.  Besides honing my culinary skills, I spend my week days going for runs, doing lots of yoga from the 24 hour yoga channel, walking a friends Lab puppy Tia, and making the steep trek down into the town centre (meaning an even steeper trek back) to poke around.  We hosted Rich's housewarming party on Saturday, which was a ton-o-fun and great to meet more of his friends.  Its been fun slowly putting together the flat, and getting to know its quirks (such as the sound the bathroom sink makes, which sounds like someone opening the curtains in the front rooms...not a good sound for a chicken like me to hear in the middle of the night). Big weekend coming up with the Summer Ball so I will have some pictures of that up next week.  

Hope ya'll are enjoying your sun! Lucky AMERICANS :)
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London, England, United Kingdom

Welcome!  Here I go again on another adventure, and after my first week in England, what an adventure it already has been!

Before I dive into the much awaited details of the Garden Party at Buckingham, quick background for those of you who are not aware of why I'm here!  If you look back through my other blog "Asian Persuasion" you may remember we had a lovely time on Ko Phi Phi in Thailand.  Part of the reason it was so lovely was because of the fact I met Rich and we have pretty much been together ever since (even while he was stationed in Antarctica!).  Hes been to visit me in Canada a few times and I had the pleasure of coming to England at Easter.  Well the chance came up for me to join him down south in Cornwall for the summer and I to make a long story short, here I be!

I flew in on the 5th. Pretty much a flight from hell. Long and crowded and super noisy.  But there is nothing like flying over London to get one feeling more positive.  I then took a 2 hour train ride (yes with allllllll of my luggage trailing behind me) to meet up with Rich in Devon as he was finishing up a stag for his friend Adam.  Got to watch the tail end of their Go Kart racing and then we hit the long narrow road back to Truro, Cornwall where Rich just bought a new flat.  Basically spent the first few days recovering and checking out the beautiful town of Truro.  Even got to meet up with another friend I met in Vietnam Dave!  Who would have thunk it!?

Wednesday night we packed up gear and headed half way to London to Richs parents house in Bristol. Had a nice dinner with them and then made our way to Richs brothers (Tim) lovely house in London.  A few months ago Rich had surprised me with tickets to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in honour of the anniversary of 100 years of naval aviation (Rich is training on Merlin Helicopters).  After an hour (or two) primping at Tims we were both looking quite dashing and ready to make our way to the palace.  Tim had kindly hired a car and driver to drive us down to Buckingham.  We arrived and met up with some friends to take pictures outside of the palace (no cameras allowed inside...).  After lining up to get in the moment of truth came...would the guards let a young lady hailing from Williams Lake BC in to such a fancy event??? Yup! In we went...with hundreds of tourists left outside the gates thinking we were mighty important snapping their cameras away... We were lead through two reception halls inside the palace that were very decadent to say the least.  I figure the queen uses them to cut her toenails, while Rich thought they were great areas for her to just run around naked. Hmmm... anyways outside you come onto a large stone porch and then gardens are before you. Very lush!  There were two bands and servants and tents full of cakes, and pies, and little sandwiches with no crusts.  We definitely indulged!  At 5:00 there was an impressive fly over of naval planes and copters, after which the national anthem played and the royals entered. Unfortunately there was so many people we didn't get any one on one time, and I didnt have a chance to pass along any personal hellos from people back home (or Wimbledon ticket requests for that matter).  After an hour or so of gawking, we were pleasantly surprised to see glasses of champagne come around (a first at Garden Parties).  We took our glasses and then walked around the grounds which had a tennis court, rose garden, and large pond.  Around 6 the royals left and we followed suit...sadly heading out of the gates and back to reality!  All in all it was a VERY surreal experience. I kept having to remind myself of where we were.  I thoroughly enjoyed checking out everyones outfits!  No one seemed to guess that my whole outfit cost around $100 (Winners dress, Aldo shoes, value village vintage clutch, and a headpiece I crafted myself!).  All I got was compliments so I gave myself a huge pat on the back!!

Upon entry back into the real world we headed with a large group to a bar overlooking the river for some drinks and then Rich and myself headed back to Tims for dinner.  The next day we headed into the city and went to the Tower of London (my second time and Richs first!).  ALways fun to check out the crown jewels and all the gory stuff.  We also went to the Tate Modern gallery and realized we both werent crazy about modern art, although there definitely are conversations starters...wow and yikes!  That evening we had dinner with Tim and his family, and another surprise came our way...he had two Club Seat tickets to Oasis at the famous Wimbley stadium the following night. We had tried to get tickets earlier but were out of luck, so we jumped on the opportunity.  The next morning we drove to Chessington to visit my Great uncle Alan and Aunt Pauline.  We then sloooooowwwwwwwly made our way back towards the stadium ( 30miles in about 3 hours).  But it was more than worth it and the concert was absolutely amazing. 60000 people singing to Wonderwall and every other song.  So much fun.  Rich and i then made a mad dash back to our $50 parking spot and headed on a two hour drive back to Bristol.  Had a birthday lunch with Richs dad the next day, and then I drove all the way down to Cornwall (yes that is right I can drive on the other side of the road without causing bodily harm...knock on wood). 

So that is a quick update of my trip so far.  No internet at Richs flat yet (a story within itself) so haven't had much chance to keep in touch with everyone.  Hope all is well at home and I will add some more when I get the chance.  

xo Queen of Cornwall
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/1/1232513760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/1/1232513760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mwallz/1/1232513760/tpod.html Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:23:13 -0500 Asian Persuasion - A Strawberry Blonde Tornado Forecasted for the Orient...Go Asia 2008...

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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

In Summary...

My trip to Asia was the absolute best time of my life. I treasured every day, even the bad ones (which were few and far between). All in all the continent exceeded my expectations. The people were amazing, the food was great, stunning scenery (which is a major compliment coming from a British Columbian!), and many, many adventures. I think the best thing about my entire trip was the people we met. We made so many new friends (see my facebook profile for proof!) and were so lucky to get insight, not only to Asian culture, but to the cultures of all the other travelers along the way. Just basic bus rides, or hanging out in a cafe, quickly became my favourite times, as we exchanged so much with our fellow backpackers. I know I now have places to stay around the world, as they have a place to stay here in BC. Anyways now onto a quick summary of our great trip....

Some of my most treasured highlights

- trekking amoung the mountainous rice paddies in Sapa
- cruising on our junk boat shadowed by the limestone cliffs of Halong Bay
- Beach days in Hoi An
- Tunnelling as the Viet Cong did at Cu Chi by Saigon
- Sunrise to sunset exploration of the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat
- Nights at our favourite bucket bar, with our Thai family on Khao San
- Snorkelling in the crystal clear waters of beautiful Ko Phi Phi
- Scuba diving with the love-able instructors of Bans on Ko Tao
- Experiencing crazy Full Moon, not once, but twice
- Elephant riding and trekking in Pai
- Two day slow boat ride down the Mekong into Laos
- Four days of mayhem tubing in Vang Vieng
- Living the island life on Gili T

Everyone has been asking me where my favourite place was. It is really hard to choose one, so here are the things I liked and disliked about each place.

Hong Kong

Likes
- easy transportation
- Stanley and Repulse Bay
- All the buildings
- People (very helpful)
- Food (Dim Sum baby!)
- Shopping (great malls and markets)

Dislikes
- Disneyland was a bit of a let down (very small, although they are expanding)
- Tailors on the street

Vietnam

Likes
- history
- transportation (so easy and cheap to go everywhere)
- beaches (not crowded, hardly any garbage)
- people (little stand-off-ish at first, but so friendly once you chat them up)
- food (very fresh and healthy. Street Pho was Tasty tasty tasy!)
- drinking (cheapest in Asia)

Dislikes
- constant honking
- animal treatment (Sapa incident)
- Russian pimps in Nha Trang

Cambodia

Likes
- Friendly locals, especially considering recent genocide
- Food (Kmer traditional food was amazing)
- Interesting history
- Architecture
- Angkor!

Dislikes
- Begging...worst we saw in all of Asia
- Disparity between rich and poor
- Seedy underbelly (watch your drinks in PP)
- Being hassled at Angkor
- Transportation (avoid bus from Siem Reap to Bangkok!!)


Thailand

Likes
- endless variety of things to do
- beautiful scenery
- great beaches
- awesome diving
- Fruit shake stands!
- Shopping (weekend market in Bangkok takes the cake)
- Bangkok! (who knew!)


Dislikes
- very touristy
- hard to trust overly friendly locals
- theft
- garbage
- political tension
- transport (watch your bags on overnight buses)


Laos

Likes
- the people are the friendliest and most helpful we met on the entire trip
- scenery. For being landlocked, they had some of the most beautiful landscapes
- Luang Prabang, such a neat place
- The kids....I want them all! So adorable
- Tubing...of course

Dislikes
- food was not the greatest
- more expensive drinks (minus tubing...where free whiskey is abundant)
- transportation (never know what you are going to get)

Indonesia

Likes
- Very friendly people
- Food
- GILI T!!
- Shopping
- Nightlife

Dislikes
- Hawkers were very annoying
- VERY touristy (Kuta mind as well be part of Australia)
- Garbage on the beach in Kuta


I can still name some of my favourite places that I think everyone should visit on their S.E Asia trip.

Vietnam as a whole, especially Hoi An, Sapa and Hanoi
Laos, so laid back and beautiful
Gili T, probably my favourite. Had all the components...friendly people, beautiful clean beaches, good weather, laid back, good nightlife, good diving, and just an overall vibe of relaxation.
Ko Tao in Thailand was great as well, more relaxed and great diving (Bans!, Bans! Bans!)

I would like to thank everyone for keeping up with my travels! Sorry I got behind a few times. Life just caught up to me over there and I spent more time enjoying and living it, than sitting in an internet cafe. I really hope everyone gets a chance to go to Asia one day, especially before it gets too built up. Even though I am now home, and planning my next trip elsewhere, a piece of my heart will always remain in Asia. I would also like to send a huge thank you out to my partner in crime, Nadia. You are the sister I never had, and I love you so much for accompanying me on this crazy trip of a lifetime. Only we know all the real stories of our trip and that is something we'll share for the rest of our lives. Love you Turkey!

Until next time (Europe? Japan? South America? Halifax? ha) you can continue to follow my brother's Asian adventures by looking him up Wally09.

L-I-V-I-N, This is Livin......... Peace, Love and Happiness
xoxo Melissa



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Gili Trawangan, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Welcome to paradise! Gili Tarawanga is one of three Gili Islands just off the coast of Lombok (next island over from Bali). The island is tiny and there are no roads, therefore no scoot scoots and no cars. Instead you arrive on the island and are faced by a row of horse (or should I say ponies) drawn carriages and bicycles. My brother and mom hopped on one to find a villa, while Dunc and I met some locals, who were quite entertaining, especially my Green Card seeking friend Wil who soon began planning our wedding. When the brother and mother returned we were all checked in to Luce and headed there. The villas are owned by two Italian brothers and were absolutely beautiful. Decks came right over the huge salt water pool. So nice. We took the rest of the day to bike around the island and check things our. That night broski and I had our first official Gili T party night. Each bar in town takes turns hosting a party night, so that way everyone that is visiting the island is usually in the same place (Friday night @ Rudys....Monday @ Blue Marlin... Wednesday @ Irish Pub). Our first night out we had the pleasure of meeting team Ireland (Ross, Declan, Ronan and Sean), who became our new crew for the remainder of our Gili island days. Night went great and we had quite the adventure doing the 4 km bike ride home at 4am. I blamed subsequent crashes, on the potholes that came out of nowhere....

The next few days were fairly similar. Chris and I would rise at around 11, eat some breakfast and chat with the staff, jump on the bikes and hit the beach with the parents, snorkel and stalk some turtles, lunch, swim, shower, movie, dinner, drinks, bike ride home. Team Ireland and Team Canada soon created a new drink...powdered Gatorade type stuff with a shot of vodka. Often this resulted in the powder going up your nose, which was soon followed by the vodka that tended to get soaked in after it. Anyways, we did get a few dives in, which were a lot different than the ones in Thailand, yet still an amazing experience. We became friends with a few great locals and mainly spent our time in the same places (Beach House). The staff at our villa were awesome, mostly because we were the only people staying there. Soon we knew them all by name. This was great, except for when they would wake up upon our early morning arrivals and laugh at our state, and then report to our parents what time we came home at. It was like staying in a large complex filled with nosey relatives! But we loved it, and won't forget their kindness.

Finally the day that I had been dreading was upon me. After 4 month of absolute, pure fun and adventure, I was about to begin my long trip home to Canada. Funds were running dry, parents had loaned enough, and work would be starting soon. My last few days on Gili were so incredible, yet at the same time a bit depressing. I was not ready to leave, and the knowledge that Vancouver was about to welcome me with -19 coldness and tons of snow, did not help. But December 18th came mighty fast, and I suddenly found myself boarding the Gili Cat back to Bali with my parents, leaving my brother behind to continue the rest of his Asian Adventure....
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