Friday, 20 May 2011
Thursday, 19 May 2011
A crazy crazy, fast moving world is just outside my window....
Where would that be you ask? Mumbai, India--
It is crazy, and wonderful, and speedy, and chaos, and heart-warming...
How else can you describe this world that I have just stepped into for the first time in my life but have barely made a dent? I arrived here 3 days ago, after an excruciating 30+ hours traveling. My flight path: Minneapolis->Boston->Paris (delayed plane..technical difficulties, crew change..5.5 hours)->Mumbai!
Even though getting here had some difficulties it was worth it, it is HOT and HUMID here to the 5th degree! About 90 degrees during the day with 70% humidity or so? Woofta! Hello summer!
How did I get here?
Well, considering my insane lifestyle right now of traveling, and no work, and no school... I decided to take this time off to finally take a trip to India where my mom is working for three weeks. Thanks to my wonderful parents this was possible and ma and I are having a great time.
First impressions?
"IT'S SO HOT!" ... and... "HOLY CRAP THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE!"
I didn't step foot into Mumbai until 5:30 in the morning because of my delays and still I was sweating as soon as I got outside and surrounded by a bajillion people. I'm not sure if people even sleep here? Driving to the hotel was my first India experience and wow... Driving is crazy here. The lines don't really mean anything.. you just go wherever you want. There are tiny little rickshaws all over the roads weaving in and out of cars.. its honestly amazing that there is not accidents everywhere. But somehow, this chaotic driving works and I have not witnessed any cars or people being hit... yet. Besides the crazy driving there is also piles and piles of trash on the side of the roads, but somehow it almost seems normal, no one even pays attention to it so thats kind of how I have decided to treat it, there are so many dogs aimlessly roaming the streets, people sleeping on corners, on the top of trucks... On my way to the hotel the thing I remember most is seeing carts, about 10 in a row on the side of the road and people sleeping, in rows on these carts and covered up with a large white sheet... I've never seen anything like it in my life. It is a new kind of poverty to see, and it seems weird to sit in this large, expansive hotel while the native indian world lives life completely opposite outside these walls.
Everyone seems lively though, and is very, very friendly... greeting you with a good morning ma'am or a good evening ma'am every time you see them. Getting to the hotel was also interesting... you leave the streets, full of people, animals, cars, and noise to a basically gated community of renaissance hotels. First, the driver pulls up the the security guards where they open your doors, greet you, while also checking inside, and the trunk, to make sure there is no extra baggage or persons...they also slide these.. mirrors on wheels basically, underneath the car to check for anything below... something I have never seen before. Then you proceed, driving past another set of guards until you reach the front entrance. At this point the driver hops out of the car as fast as possible in order to open your door before you even can unbuckle, he wishes you well and then you move onto the front entrance security... all bags must go through a scanner and the you step through a body scanner on your own, in the evenings they even wand you. However, they will not do this process in front of other people if you are woman... so, they lead you into this small set up black room... wand you over.. and you are free to go in. It's quite the process but begins to feel normal after only my 3 days here.
I have already been feeling a little ill here.. I am not sure where that is coming from seeing as I have not had much indian food yet. Concerned that it may be effects from my malaria pills so I will probably need to stop taking those if this continues. This morning at breakfast I got sick before we ate... which could have been due to any number of things... us going to the bar last night and being fed a billion bombay saphires and tonic... working out this morning without food in my stomach... or my pills...or just my jumbled life from traveling... who knows! Just hoping that tomorrow will be more stable!
Tonight, I went to ma's work at 8pm by myself.. I wasn't sure where to sit in the car because I was by myself? So I chose the front seat... and apparently that is weird... I guess I will remember that for last time. The driver must have just been too kind to tell me that I was being awkward... Anyway, went to work and met all of her Indian friends.. they all seem so wonderful and nice... I hope I get to see them much more before I leave. This one girl, Ponju ...( I think??) seems very nice and is going to take me shopping sometime during my trip so I can get indian attire :) They had a potluck tonight with traditional homemade indian food.. so glad to say that that was my first meal here. Oh my god, it was so delicious. All the new flavors and spices... incredible. And a lot of eating with my hands. I felt horrible because I only stayed to eat and then had to catch a ride back to the hotel with Kate because she is heading back to the U.S. tonight and needed to pack. I hope they didnt see that as rude... becuase that is truly how I felt.. But I am so grateful to have met them and got to share their food. Yummm!
Here is a picture of a rickshaw
(not my own picture.. but exactly like the little buggers driving around here!)
And from the pot luck dinner...
My feast :) yum yummm! The rice looking dish on the far left is called Biriyani and is made with goat or chicken (this kind was chicken) and is spicy. It was one of my favorites of the night...and also probably the only one that I can remember the name. Also, for dessert my favorite dish is Galub jamun which is these small balls covered in some type of syrup, it is very sweet and delicious. If you look in the picture of the table covered in food it is in the right far back dish. but looks like this up close...
Galub jamun
It is crazy, and wonderful, and speedy, and chaos, and heart-warming...
How else can you describe this world that I have just stepped into for the first time in my life but have barely made a dent? I arrived here 3 days ago, after an excruciating 30+ hours traveling. My flight path: Minneapolis->Boston->Paris (delayed plane..technical difficulties, crew change..5.5 hours)->Mumbai!
Even though getting here had some difficulties it was worth it, it is HOT and HUMID here to the 5th degree! About 90 degrees during the day with 70% humidity or so? Woofta! Hello summer!
How did I get here?
Well, considering my insane lifestyle right now of traveling, and no work, and no school... I decided to take this time off to finally take a trip to India where my mom is working for three weeks. Thanks to my wonderful parents this was possible and ma and I are having a great time.
First impressions?
"IT'S SO HOT!" ... and... "HOLY CRAP THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE!"
I didn't step foot into Mumbai until 5:30 in the morning because of my delays and still I was sweating as soon as I got outside and surrounded by a bajillion people. I'm not sure if people even sleep here? Driving to the hotel was my first India experience and wow... Driving is crazy here. The lines don't really mean anything.. you just go wherever you want. There are tiny little rickshaws all over the roads weaving in and out of cars.. its honestly amazing that there is not accidents everywhere. But somehow, this chaotic driving works and I have not witnessed any cars or people being hit... yet. Besides the crazy driving there is also piles and piles of trash on the side of the roads, but somehow it almost seems normal, no one even pays attention to it so thats kind of how I have decided to treat it, there are so many dogs aimlessly roaming the streets, people sleeping on corners, on the top of trucks... On my way to the hotel the thing I remember most is seeing carts, about 10 in a row on the side of the road and people sleeping, in rows on these carts and covered up with a large white sheet... I've never seen anything like it in my life. It is a new kind of poverty to see, and it seems weird to sit in this large, expansive hotel while the native indian world lives life completely opposite outside these walls.
Everyone seems lively though, and is very, very friendly... greeting you with a good morning ma'am or a good evening ma'am every time you see them. Getting to the hotel was also interesting... you leave the streets, full of people, animals, cars, and noise to a basically gated community of renaissance hotels. First, the driver pulls up the the security guards where they open your doors, greet you, while also checking inside, and the trunk, to make sure there is no extra baggage or persons...they also slide these.. mirrors on wheels basically, underneath the car to check for anything below... something I have never seen before. Then you proceed, driving past another set of guards until you reach the front entrance. At this point the driver hops out of the car as fast as possible in order to open your door before you even can unbuckle, he wishes you well and then you move onto the front entrance security... all bags must go through a scanner and the you step through a body scanner on your own, in the evenings they even wand you. However, they will not do this process in front of other people if you are woman... so, they lead you into this small set up black room... wand you over.. and you are free to go in. It's quite the process but begins to feel normal after only my 3 days here.
I have already been feeling a little ill here.. I am not sure where that is coming from seeing as I have not had much indian food yet. Concerned that it may be effects from my malaria pills so I will probably need to stop taking those if this continues. This morning at breakfast I got sick before we ate... which could have been due to any number of things... us going to the bar last night and being fed a billion bombay saphires and tonic... working out this morning without food in my stomach... or my pills...or just my jumbled life from traveling... who knows! Just hoping that tomorrow will be more stable!
Tonight, I went to ma's work at 8pm by myself.. I wasn't sure where to sit in the car because I was by myself? So I chose the front seat... and apparently that is weird... I guess I will remember that for last time. The driver must have just been too kind to tell me that I was being awkward... Anyway, went to work and met all of her Indian friends.. they all seem so wonderful and nice... I hope I get to see them much more before I leave. This one girl, Ponju ...( I think??) seems very nice and is going to take me shopping sometime during my trip so I can get indian attire :) They had a potluck tonight with traditional homemade indian food.. so glad to say that that was my first meal here. Oh my god, it was so delicious. All the new flavors and spices... incredible. And a lot of eating with my hands. I felt horrible because I only stayed to eat and then had to catch a ride back to the hotel with Kate because she is heading back to the U.S. tonight and needed to pack. I hope they didnt see that as rude... becuase that is truly how I felt.. But I am so grateful to have met them and got to share their food. Yummm!
Here is a picture of a rickshaw
(not my own picture.. but exactly like the little buggers driving around here!)
And from the pot luck dinner...
My feast :) yum yummm! The rice looking dish on the far left is called Biriyani and is made with goat or chicken (this kind was chicken) and is spicy. It was one of my favorites of the night...and also probably the only one that I can remember the name. Also, for dessert my favorite dish is Galub jamun which is these small balls covered in some type of syrup, it is very sweet and delicious. If you look in the picture of the table covered in food it is in the right far back dish. but looks like this up close...
Galub jamun
Lady Travelbug is born!
I've decided to turn this blog into an on going travel diary... considering that my travels have not come to an end since leaving New Zealand but in fact -- the completely opposite effect has happened. I am now completely addicted to the world of travel. I have officially caught the travel bug. So, today, a new blog starts to follow my journey through the world and whatever it brings my way in the ways of meeting new people, seeing new places, revisiting old places, and learning from all of those experiences.
This blog is intended to create a story that can be relived over and over again in an attempt to constantly be reminded of the amazing places that I have been and how I felt while I was there. While having a conversation with my roommate and best friend last week about our travels and adventures all over New Zealand we both realized that we are already losing grasp on what it felt like to be there, what we had seen, and then personal progress we had made. We decided that these experiences would be easier to retrieve and relive if only our lives were something like a movie, where you could rewind and relive those once in a lifetime experiences because over time you lose memories, you lose feeling to amazing experiences.
Sadly, I cannot turn my life into a movie that can be rewound and relived over and over again. But in some small attempt by this blog I can create stories of my life as it happens in hopes that a fragment of the feelings I have now can get passed on to my future.
So, today... we bid farewell to BreezyDownUnder to make room for the new and improved Lady TravelBug... Let the adventuresbegin continue!
This blog is intended to create a story that can be relived over and over again in an attempt to constantly be reminded of the amazing places that I have been and how I felt while I was there. While having a conversation with my roommate and best friend last week about our travels and adventures all over New Zealand we both realized that we are already losing grasp on what it felt like to be there, what we had seen, and then personal progress we had made. We decided that these experiences would be easier to retrieve and relive if only our lives were something like a movie, where you could rewind and relive those once in a lifetime experiences because over time you lose memories, you lose feeling to amazing experiences.
Sadly, I cannot turn my life into a movie that can be rewound and relived over and over again. But in some small attempt by this blog I can create stories of my life as it happens in hopes that a fragment of the feelings I have now can get passed on to my future.
So, today... we bid farewell to BreezyDownUnder to make room for the new and improved Lady TravelBug... Let the adventures
Monday, 20 December 2010
Oops.
Dear blog...
I am so sorry that I have completely neglected you the past ...month...of my life. Please forgive me?
Love Your faithful owner,
Bri
Okay this is no laughing matter.. SO many things have gone unsaid! Where to begin... Good thing I keep this helpful travel journal as my constant companion..aye? So when the internet can't be there for me.. this little red notebook is.
After Queenstown we went to the Milford Sound and camped next to Lake Gunn for two nights. We kind of just waited around for good weather because that part of New Zealand gets a lot of rain ALL the time. Woke up around 9 AM and drove to the main tourist area of the sound and waited around until 3 in the afternoon when the sun finally decided to come out. I got a lot of reading done, and basically finished the book What is the What by Dave Eggers. Really good book and I would recommend it even though that has nothing to do with travelling in New Zealand. It is a true account of a Sudanese boy (one of The Lost Boys) that escaped the civil war in Africa and his journey to America. Really really interesting. Okay, back to what I really came here to talk about. We went Sea Kayaking in the Milford Sound and it was I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E! It was only us, our guide, and these two other girls from Australia (who complained the whole time)... Not really sure why they thought they would enjoy sea kayaking honestly. We went in two person kayaks, Ruth in the front and I was in the back, and the back person has pedals by their feet to control where the kayak goes. I had NO idea! It was really cool and we got a great arm work out ;) we were on the ocean for 4 and a half hours and during that time we got to paddle under a waterfall....really scary...and we got a little bit wet. Then the wind picked up and the two girls that we were with decided that they couldn't do it anymore and got their kayak leased the guides (I'm pretty sure they normally only use that on little kids). Well, Ruth and I definitely stuck it out and braved the HUGE waves. Overall, the experience was incredible. Sitting in a small kayak surrounded by the gigantic mountains of the Milford Sound really lets you understand how small you are compared to the rest of the nature.
After that, on the 1st of December (see how far behind I am??) we left the Milford Sound and Te Anau and drove to Invercargill for a pitstop on our way to The Catlins. Went to see a movie there and that was about it... All of the cities have their christmas decorations up now and it is really awkward. The sun is shining, I'm wearing shots and a t-shirt and there's CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS. The Holidays will definitely not feel very .....festive...this year.
Once we got to the Catlins we decided to spend a weekend there.. hoping for good weather and instead got a cold front from antarctica. I'm sure I don't have to describe to you what that felt like. Just imagine polar bears or something. we drove to the most southern part of the south island (i cant say that ive been to the most souther part of new zealand because of the islands..lame) and that was pretty....COLD. haha. just a sign pointing to the south pole and the equator basically. Aroud sunset we went to Curio Bay and got to see the Yellow Eyed Penguins coming on shore... That was really cool. I've never seen penguins in the wild before and these one are really anti-social and don't huddle in a group like you are used to seeing on national geographic and all of that.
After Dunedin we went to Christchurch and I really really like that city. It just has a really great feel to it and has an awesome center where its pedestrians only and theres a bunch of street performers everywhere and just a lot of stuff going on. While we were there we went to go see the musical production of the Rocky Horror Show and it was actually narrated by Richard O'Brien who wrote the original. It was SO funny and soo much fun. At the end everyone in the audience stood up and did the Time Warp dance. Hahhaa, I loved it sooooo much. I wish everyone could see it that way. And the performers all had such great voices. In Love with it. The next day we met up with my friend tom in town (who actually also goes to UMD) and went to the gardens and out to lunch with him. Then left christchurch later that day.
Next on our trip was Kaikoura where we went swimming with dolphins. And, this was not swimming with dolphins... like orlando type of stuff... this was like swimming with dolphins in the middle of the ocean. Wild Dusky Dolphins. The boat would find a pod of dolphins, (consistently around 100 dolphins in these pods) and we would jump off the boat in our snorkling gear and try to entertain them enough to swim with us. Hahaha, it was a funny sight to say the least. But such a great experience. They would seirously swim in circles with you...and just stare at you. haha, lots and lots of fun. Ruth and I had a good time.
In other news my parents finally booked their tickets to new zealand and I am SO excited I can barely take it. It will be a lot of fun to see my favorite places again and then get to show them around as well. CANT WAIT! :)
what else..
ooh yes. we also went to Abel Tasman National Park (insanely beautiful...wow!) and went for a 2 day hike on the coastal track. Ummm, yeah, i don't think we could have pushed our bodies any harder on that walk to be honest. We got a water taxit to take us 12 hours out on the boat and then we were going to walk back over the course of two days. Don't know what we were thinking when planning that one? I mean, compared to our Mount Pirongia hike it was easy peasy but ...I couldn't feel my feet for the next 3 days. Ouch.
Other than that... It's been raining for the past 5 days. Except two days ago there was an afternoon of sunshine which ruth and I celebrated by tanning on the beach. Unfortunately, I forgot to put sunscreen anywhere other than my face and fell asleep in the sun for 2 hours.
I have a really impressive sunburn to say the least.
When will I learn my lesson????
--BreezyDownUnder
I am so sorry that I have completely neglected you the past ...month...of my life. Please forgive me?
Love Your faithful owner,
Bri
Okay this is no laughing matter.. SO many things have gone unsaid! Where to begin... Good thing I keep this helpful travel journal as my constant companion..aye? So when the internet can't be there for me.. this little red notebook is.
After Queenstown we went to the Milford Sound and camped next to Lake Gunn for two nights. We kind of just waited around for good weather because that part of New Zealand gets a lot of rain ALL the time. Woke up around 9 AM and drove to the main tourist area of the sound and waited around until 3 in the afternoon when the sun finally decided to come out. I got a lot of reading done, and basically finished the book What is the What by Dave Eggers. Really good book and I would recommend it even though that has nothing to do with travelling in New Zealand. It is a true account of a Sudanese boy (one of The Lost Boys) that escaped the civil war in Africa and his journey to America. Really really interesting. Okay, back to what I really came here to talk about. We went Sea Kayaking in the Milford Sound and it was I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E! It was only us, our guide, and these two other girls from Australia (who complained the whole time)... Not really sure why they thought they would enjoy sea kayaking honestly. We went in two person kayaks, Ruth in the front and I was in the back, and the back person has pedals by their feet to control where the kayak goes. I had NO idea! It was really cool and we got a great arm work out ;) we were on the ocean for 4 and a half hours and during that time we got to paddle under a waterfall....really scary...and we got a little bit wet. Then the wind picked up and the two girls that we were with decided that they couldn't do it anymore and got their kayak leased the guides (I'm pretty sure they normally only use that on little kids). Well, Ruth and I definitely stuck it out and braved the HUGE waves. Overall, the experience was incredible. Sitting in a small kayak surrounded by the gigantic mountains of the Milford Sound really lets you understand how small you are compared to the rest of the nature.
After that, on the 1st of December (see how far behind I am??) we left the Milford Sound and Te Anau and drove to Invercargill for a pitstop on our way to The Catlins. Went to see a movie there and that was about it... All of the cities have their christmas decorations up now and it is really awkward. The sun is shining, I'm wearing shots and a t-shirt and there's CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS. The Holidays will definitely not feel very .....festive...this year.
Once we got to the Catlins we decided to spend a weekend there.. hoping for good weather and instead got a cold front from antarctica. I'm sure I don't have to describe to you what that felt like. Just imagine polar bears or something. we drove to the most southern part of the south island (i cant say that ive been to the most souther part of new zealand because of the islands..lame) and that was pretty....COLD. haha. just a sign pointing to the south pole and the equator basically. Aroud sunset we went to Curio Bay and got to see the Yellow Eyed Penguins coming on shore... That was really cool. I've never seen penguins in the wild before and these one are really anti-social and don't huddle in a group like you are used to seeing on national geographic and all of that.
After Dunedin we went to Christchurch and I really really like that city. It just has a really great feel to it and has an awesome center where its pedestrians only and theres a bunch of street performers everywhere and just a lot of stuff going on. While we were there we went to go see the musical production of the Rocky Horror Show and it was actually narrated by Richard O'Brien who wrote the original. It was SO funny and soo much fun. At the end everyone in the audience stood up and did the Time Warp dance. Hahhaa, I loved it sooooo much. I wish everyone could see it that way. And the performers all had such great voices. In Love with it. The next day we met up with my friend tom in town (who actually also goes to UMD) and went to the gardens and out to lunch with him. Then left christchurch later that day.
Next on our trip was Kaikoura where we went swimming with dolphins. And, this was not swimming with dolphins... like orlando type of stuff... this was like swimming with dolphins in the middle of the ocean. Wild Dusky Dolphins. The boat would find a pod of dolphins, (consistently around 100 dolphins in these pods) and we would jump off the boat in our snorkling gear and try to entertain them enough to swim with us. Hahaha, it was a funny sight to say the least. But such a great experience. They would seirously swim in circles with you...and just stare at you. haha, lots and lots of fun. Ruth and I had a good time.
In other news my parents finally booked their tickets to new zealand and I am SO excited I can barely take it. It will be a lot of fun to see my favorite places again and then get to show them around as well. CANT WAIT! :)
what else..
ooh yes. we also went to Abel Tasman National Park (insanely beautiful...wow!) and went for a 2 day hike on the coastal track. Ummm, yeah, i don't think we could have pushed our bodies any harder on that walk to be honest. We got a water taxit to take us 12 hours out on the boat and then we were going to walk back over the course of two days. Don't know what we were thinking when planning that one? I mean, compared to our Mount Pirongia hike it was easy peasy but ...I couldn't feel my feet for the next 3 days. Ouch.
Other than that... It's been raining for the past 5 days. Except two days ago there was an afternoon of sunshine which ruth and I celebrated by tanning on the beach. Unfortunately, I forgot to put sunscreen anywhere other than my face and fell asleep in the sun for 2 hours.
I have a really impressive sunburn to say the least.
When will I learn my lesson????
--BreezyDownUnder
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Queenstown!
It is our second day in Queenstown and I am absolutely in love with it. I can't even really explain to you what it's like here...but I will try my best! There are mountains surrounding the town in 360 degrees, a big lake in the center, so many shops you cant even imagine, tons of outdoor activities (most of them adrenaline filled and crazy), so many people out and about and the sun is shining. Basically, it is the perfect day to be in Queenstown. The high today was a nice 77 degrees and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Ruth and I drove up to The Remarkables ski area to check it out -- obviously it is not open this time of year but there was some remaining snow-- and i had a snowball fight and made a snow angel in my shorts. There are pictures to prove it if you do not believe me. It was great! Sooo good to see snow this time of year.. even if it was just little patches at the top of mountains. It's almost december... it just eased my mind a little bit to see some. We actually made an adventure out of the ski area and climbed up one of the mountains and we got a vew of the whole mountain range, including the mountains that are in the Milford Sound so that was realllyyy spectacular. However, the drive up to the ski field was TERRIFYING and.. i dont honestly know how people drive there in winter when there is snow on the roads. It was a super narrow road and barely any of it had guard rails on the side and just gravel road. Oh my god. Ruth's driving about had me peeing my pants. But we made it. I honestly have to say that going down was probably more scary. It looked like you could just fly right off the cliffs! Sooo nerve wrecking. The experience was really great though, we found some streams that were gushing water from the melting snow and drank some.. bet its the cleanest water in the world! Mmm! And there was a little lake hidden up at the top between two of the peaks which had gorgeous blue water.
We are staying here for another night at the same campground as last night which was really beautiful and by a lake so hopefully we'll get some time to go swimming tonight! Then tomorrow we might start to make our way towards the Milford Sound... cant wait for that. I really want to go kayaking there.. it is supposed to be one of the best places to go in New Zealand. The south island just has sooo much to see. It's really cool to experience. However, this sun is going to destroy me.. I think I got sunburned AGAIN today. Ever planning to travel to New Zealand?? Bring a shit ton of sun block. You were warned.
Peace, Love, & Sunblock,
--BreezyDownUnder
We are staying here for another night at the same campground as last night which was really beautiful and by a lake so hopefully we'll get some time to go swimming tonight! Then tomorrow we might start to make our way towards the Milford Sound... cant wait for that. I really want to go kayaking there.. it is supposed to be one of the best places to go in New Zealand. The south island just has sooo much to see. It's really cool to experience. However, this sun is going to destroy me.. I think I got sunburned AGAIN today. Ever planning to travel to New Zealand?? Bring a shit ton of sun block. You were warned.
Peace, Love, & Sunblock,
--BreezyDownUnder
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
On the Move!
Today we are heading for Franz Joesph, which is on the west coast of the south island, just further south of where we are right now. Closer to Queenstown. One of my friends that I met while living in Hamilton is working there right now with her boyfriend at a restaurant so we are hopefully going to get a few days to hang out with them! As always, the situation with my student permit is up in the air again.. so I will probably have to get myself to a larger town some point soon so I can work on getting a visitors permit before school gets mad at me and kicks me out of the country. No, just kidding. That won't actually happen... but I do need to make some things happen in the next few weeks. Other than that, today is a not-so-beautiful day in the land of the long white cloud so I guess it's a good thing that we are going to be driving for most of the day. We should make it to the glaciers today which according to Ruth is absolutely incredible ( I think I will take her word for it, it sounds pretty spectacular...just the word glacier is pretty suave, aye?)
Anyway, just wanted to check in while I still have use of this free internet... yesss. Don't have time to get pictures up yet again today... (one day it will happen.. i promise) but there are a wholeeeee ton up on facebook if you are feeling extra curious :). Peanut butter & banana TOAST (hostels allow you to have that luxury) and English breakfast tea is the perfect start to this chilly morning in Greymouth, New Zealand.
Peace, Love & flannel tshirts,
(I bought a new flannel shirt yesterday..i forgot to mention that... but im pretty excited about it.)
--BreezyDownUnder
Anyway, just wanted to check in while I still have use of this free internet... yesss. Don't have time to get pictures up yet again today... (one day it will happen.. i promise) but there are a wholeeeee ton up on facebook if you are feeling extra curious :). Peanut butter & banana TOAST (hostels allow you to have that luxury) and English breakfast tea is the perfect start to this chilly morning in Greymouth, New Zealand.
Peace, Love & flannel tshirts,
(I bought a new flannel shirt yesterday..i forgot to mention that... but im pretty excited about it.)
--BreezyDownUnder
Friday, 19 November 2010
Hi From the Road!
Kia Ora!
I have just had my first experience with high speed internet for the first time in two weeks... it feels very odd. Our adventure that was Mahana Lodge is now over... we stayed for two weeks at a Luxury Accomodation lodge in the Marlborough Sounds working for the owners, Ann & John, cleaning the lodge and working on small projects. In return we received food and accommodation as a form of pay. It was such a great experience and really tough to say goodbye to them this morning.
Now we are sitting in Nelson, it is on the west coast of the south island of New Zealand, at an internet cafe trying to get some things taken care of. We will be staying at a campground for the night with Ruth and then taking Brittany to the airport in the morning so that she can begin her journey back to the states. Her grandfather passed away while we were working at Mahana Lodge so we have been trying to work out a way for her to get home on Ann & Johns dial-up internet connection for the past few days. It may have consumed a few (a lot) of hours of our days but at least we got it sorted. It is sad to see her go earlier than expected as we have been having such a great time travelling together for the past few weeks and on top of that we have been inseparable for the past month or so... it's going to be a little tough. However, I now have her friendship to return to once I get back to Duluth after I finish my travels so that's actually pretty neat.
My plan is now changing to spending the next month or so travelling the south island, most likely with Ruth. We have plans to go on a surfing adventure for awhile and just see where the waves take us so that should be a lot of fun. After that, I will head back North to meet up with my friend Katie in Hamilton and then go to Rhythm and Vines with her for 5 days during the New Year. After that, my parents should hopefully be nearly arriving in New Zealand (as long as they decide on some dates and book a trip!) around that time so I will show them around for a few weeks. Then, off to Australia? Who knows! Time is going by so quickly, its really crazy....
Well, I wish I had pictures to share today but unfortunately they are all on my computer and I am using a public computer to give you the 411 on my where abouts! So, they will have to wait.
Also, I went bungy jumping. Yes, I'm dead serious. Brittany and I did it in Taupo and it was one of the most exciting things I've ever done. It was soooo much fun! Basically, I loved it so much that I need to do it again before I leave this country :)
Other things that have been accomplished,
1) saw baby Orca whales. (thought they were dolphins at first so not really sure if that counts)
2) saw jellyfish
3) touched a jelly fish
4) saw dolphins multiple times (3 different kinds, 5 times)
(all in the wild, might I add because at this stage-- the zoo doesn't count!)
5) got my tan on / horrible sunburn for one day
6) got destroyed by sandflies
7) went fishing on the ocean (4 times!) and caught my own dinner (Kahawai)
8) got an insane tan line from my barbie bracelet (this one is for you Angela)
And now.. my sea legs are kicking in and the screen is starting to rock back and forth so.. I think I'm going to get off of this computer and find myself some food. oh dear lord...
Peace, Love & Relaxation
--BreezyDownUnder
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