So after 2 days and 3 nights in Singapore I left for India.
Singapore was incredible- definately a place I shall have to move to some day, at leaast for a year or so... everyone was lovely, polite, well dressed, the streets were clean, pretty, the sun was shining, the exotic birds singing, the ripe sweet fruits over-flowing from the stands, the fusion of numerous asian cultures producing mind-blowing cuisine options...heaven :)
And then 2 hours on the plane to Bangkok, 3 hours at the airport, then 4 hours on another plane and voila: INDIA!!!!!
New Delhi- pretty much the above just the exact opposite :P haha...nah the people are lovely here too, but otherwise yeah, the opposite...
Got picked up by a little angry man, who had been waiting for an hour, and grudgingly drove me to my hotel at 1am...
i was soooo tired that the lack of air-conditioning, loud noises from the outside street, or even strange noises from the next room could not stop me from falling asleep immediately!!!
I woke up this morning ready to explore, you know really be open-minded, embrace the new beautiful colorful indian culture and just LIVE it.... it started out well, colors, everywhere, hassling from every single male as expected, flavorful smells wafting across the street, many many bikes, cars, motorcycles everywhere...just imagine slumdog millionaire and me standing right in the middle of it all. :)
but then it went down hill just a tiny bit when 2 ATMs wouldn't give me money ( dont worry the 3rd one did), then I had to check-out, hassle the price down by alot, arrange a bus to rishikesh finally got one for tonight), then arrange a Delhi tour by car and that is when it kind of really went wrong..it was beautiful at first, all the temples and buildings and general hectiness of delhi life BUT then we stopped at the Red Fort, I got out of the car as usual to explore the sight and meet him back at the car in approx. 30min, but by the time I got back, the taxi driver was nowhere to be seen AND I discovered that my wallet was gone- maybe slipped out in the taxi who knows but it was gone and so was the taxi driver :( that left me in the middle of wild delhi on my own without transport...oh well, I send the taxi driver love, thanking him for the lesson he taught me, hoping he learns to live a better life ( after all there were only about 800 or 900 rupies in there, luckily i had put all the 10 000 rupies and my card i had withdrawn in another pouch in my bag) and started making my way back...I did and everything was fine.. Now i am happily sipping on a lassi ( delicious, praying not to get a delhi tummy in those 24hrs I have here before I depart :P) in a little local cafe, reading and shall be making my way to the busstop shortly..
So hello India, show me what you got and I will listen, watch, learn and love you for it!!!
Dhanyavad
Shukrya xxx
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
AUSTRALIA!!!!!!! finally its happened to me...
Flew into Sydney on the 15th of May!
Stayed in wake up hostel for 3 nights- walked through Sydney for hours and hours and hours, through Surreey Hills, Central, Newtown, Chinatown, the Rocks, Opera house, just EVERYTHING!!! Drank a lot of coffee- they do that in Sydney and just sucked in the atmosphere! thsi included two nights out in some great gay bars- met some lovely people, dyed my hair red, bought some great retro sunglasses and...well just WAS in Sydney!
On the 19th flew to Brisbane - short flight early in the morning, and a quick train ride to bunk hostel!!! first things first: indian VISA!!! had to get done (do not get me started, but lets just say, a lot of hassle!! yeah lets keep it at that). after that a quick package to be sent home ( too much stuff, too little space, too many memories to throw those things away). After that I used the day to wonder through Brisbane for endless hours, they passed by real quick though, as it truly is a very pleasant city!! I decided to make my way the next day already though, because I was not in Australia to be in cities. So Byron Bay was to be the next stop!! Oh little did I know, that it would be the ONLY stop, THE stop, possible the LOVE of my life :D
Took a 3 hour bus ride to Byron Bay ont he 20th of May and resided there until the 4th of June! I arrived and before I even spoke to anybody I knew that this place was special and would really work well for me- and it certainly did!! Laiston, a tall, very handsome, long blond-haired, scruffy looking, bare footed, awesomely dressed guy from texas approached me as soon as I got off the bus and simply asked: where were you planning on staying? That was all that had to be said- I had had no plan, only having heard of the 'ARTS FACTORY" I was going to look it up once there- but with my luck, Laiston worked at the Arts Factory and so before I knew it I was whizzed away in the arts factory bus to my new home! Laiston and I go ton real good very well and so it was not long ( in fact about 3 minutes into the 6 minutes busride) that he asked where I was plannign on staing, the dorms or the campsite?! I was very very keen on camping but did not have a tent BUT once again, fate was there to guide me and Laiston offered to share his tent! Done and done!! I could, and will go on about how amazing it was, how I fell in love, how I walked on the beach( which was 5 minutes away) every day at sunrise and then again at sunset, how I walked around bare foot for 2 weeks straight, how I loved livign ina tent, how the small open kitchen became my favourite spot, how i met THE best people in he wolrd: Nick ( my actual twin), Luise, Linda ( two crazy crazy german awesome ladies), Robbie ( the one I now dream of :)- with the voice of a sexy angel and the ability to play guitarre like a...well rockstar!), Ema ( great scottish-irish girl...plus we kind of have the same pants, so we are officially very bonded to eachother), Matt ( I kind of just think of him as Gandalf- he constantly had a long walkign stick, a cape and long curly hair...come on a litle bti like a wizard dont you think?), Filipo ( the cutest italian EVER), Javier ( the sweetest spaniard ever), Patrick ( the coolest surfer dude from Luxenburg I ever knew and probably will know- after all there arent too many Luxenburgers, let alone those who surf), Johnie ( god I love saying his name - a lovely chilled out dude from Virginia), Chris ( the guy who did my dread - yes its true I now officialy have a dread), ferez ( the nosiest but lovely german) and Mauro ( the italian whom I will never forget..partly because he is just soooo cute and also because he pretty much cooked or offered to cook em dinner every night..bless!!)
And that is it ladies and gentleman- the 'Jungle hut crew!'
Why Jungle hut? Because there was a wooden hut, with open sides, wooden benches and tables, shit hanging off everywhere and it was called the 'Jungle hut'- here we resided many many many hours- jammed int he evenings, or during the day, ate - pretty much 24/7 - created some great sayings, had some unforgettable laughs and generaly just fell in love with each other and Byron Bay! What did we do all day??
Did some crazy trips: liek to nimbin ( those of you who know it must now be nodding in happy agreement), for those who don't- its this little town and basically its just knwo for its weed! Yep, it is just a little village where you go and smoke pot all day...yep, its great!! haha...
Otherwise we had a bonfire on the beach, slept on the beach, some nights we simply did not sleep at all and just talked, drank "goon" ( dirt cheap boxed wine), jammed for hours, and ( dont tell anybody) smoked a lot of weed!! Dont judne- go there yourself and then tell me that you didnt....
I also started making a lot of jewellery so in Byron bay I took a lot of time collecting beads, feathers, shells and stones and created a dozen or more earrings- I gave the most of them to the girlies who made my life so beautiful during those days there but somethign was definately awoken and I am grateful for that!!!
Otherwise we ate ALOT of chocolate ( for those experinced weed smokers- you knwo what I am talkign about?? well imagine this: they called it stoner surprise at the arts factory cafe- vanilla ice cream, then a hot chocolate and walnut brownie on top of that, then another scoop of ice cream, broken up biscuit and then caramel sauce on top, sprinkled with coco powdre - now let that drive you crazy as you think about it- and now think about the ridiculous satisfaction this calorific bombshell can create in a stoned person's life :P haha....)
We went to the buddha bar for live music 4 times a week, that was beautiful, otherwise I worked 4x a week , cleaning the fridges and kitchen of the hostel for accomodation, so I cleaned 3 hours , 4 days a week and this payed for my ccomodation, so those 15$ I would have had to pay for camping there- good deal!!
But I have to stop talkign about that now because it is making me miss it too much - after all I am no longer there!!
I departed on the 4th, made my way back to Brisbane, picked up my, finally completed indian visa ( after having rebooked ALL my flights...who cares that I am already short on money right- lets splash out on last minute flights- oh well, if you cant plan well, or stick toy our plans that it, you gotta pay for it right?), had a final stroll through Brisbane and then went to bed early to prepare for the big travellign day ahead!
on the 5th of June i flew to Cairns early in the morning, then to Darwin- short layover, and then to Singapore!!! Yep, I am now in Singapore!!
Oh hello Asia!! :P
Stayed in wake up hostel for 3 nights- walked through Sydney for hours and hours and hours, through Surreey Hills, Central, Newtown, Chinatown, the Rocks, Opera house, just EVERYTHING!!! Drank a lot of coffee- they do that in Sydney and just sucked in the atmosphere! thsi included two nights out in some great gay bars- met some lovely people, dyed my hair red, bought some great retro sunglasses and...well just WAS in Sydney!
On the 19th flew to Brisbane - short flight early in the morning, and a quick train ride to bunk hostel!!! first things first: indian VISA!!! had to get done (do not get me started, but lets just say, a lot of hassle!! yeah lets keep it at that). after that a quick package to be sent home ( too much stuff, too little space, too many memories to throw those things away). After that I used the day to wonder through Brisbane for endless hours, they passed by real quick though, as it truly is a very pleasant city!! I decided to make my way the next day already though, because I was not in Australia to be in cities. So Byron Bay was to be the next stop!! Oh little did I know, that it would be the ONLY stop, THE stop, possible the LOVE of my life :D
Took a 3 hour bus ride to Byron Bay ont he 20th of May and resided there until the 4th of June! I arrived and before I even spoke to anybody I knew that this place was special and would really work well for me- and it certainly did!! Laiston, a tall, very handsome, long blond-haired, scruffy looking, bare footed, awesomely dressed guy from texas approached me as soon as I got off the bus and simply asked: where were you planning on staying? That was all that had to be said- I had had no plan, only having heard of the 'ARTS FACTORY" I was going to look it up once there- but with my luck, Laiston worked at the Arts Factory and so before I knew it I was whizzed away in the arts factory bus to my new home! Laiston and I go ton real good very well and so it was not long ( in fact about 3 minutes into the 6 minutes busride) that he asked where I was plannign on staing, the dorms or the campsite?! I was very very keen on camping but did not have a tent BUT once again, fate was there to guide me and Laiston offered to share his tent! Done and done!! I could, and will go on about how amazing it was, how I fell in love, how I walked on the beach( which was 5 minutes away) every day at sunrise and then again at sunset, how I walked around bare foot for 2 weeks straight, how I loved livign ina tent, how the small open kitchen became my favourite spot, how i met THE best people in he wolrd: Nick ( my actual twin), Luise, Linda ( two crazy crazy german awesome ladies), Robbie ( the one I now dream of :)- with the voice of a sexy angel and the ability to play guitarre like a...well rockstar!), Ema ( great scottish-irish girl...plus we kind of have the same pants, so we are officially very bonded to eachother), Matt ( I kind of just think of him as Gandalf- he constantly had a long walkign stick, a cape and long curly hair...come on a litle bti like a wizard dont you think?), Filipo ( the cutest italian EVER), Javier ( the sweetest spaniard ever), Patrick ( the coolest surfer dude from Luxenburg I ever knew and probably will know- after all there arent too many Luxenburgers, let alone those who surf), Johnie ( god I love saying his name - a lovely chilled out dude from Virginia), Chris ( the guy who did my dread - yes its true I now officialy have a dread), ferez ( the nosiest but lovely german) and Mauro ( the italian whom I will never forget..partly because he is just soooo cute and also because he pretty much cooked or offered to cook em dinner every night..bless!!)
And that is it ladies and gentleman- the 'Jungle hut crew!'
Why Jungle hut? Because there was a wooden hut, with open sides, wooden benches and tables, shit hanging off everywhere and it was called the 'Jungle hut'- here we resided many many many hours- jammed int he evenings, or during the day, ate - pretty much 24/7 - created some great sayings, had some unforgettable laughs and generaly just fell in love with each other and Byron Bay! What did we do all day??
Did some crazy trips: liek to nimbin ( those of you who know it must now be nodding in happy agreement), for those who don't- its this little town and basically its just knwo for its weed! Yep, it is just a little village where you go and smoke pot all day...yep, its great!! haha...
Otherwise we had a bonfire on the beach, slept on the beach, some nights we simply did not sleep at all and just talked, drank "goon" ( dirt cheap boxed wine), jammed for hours, and ( dont tell anybody) smoked a lot of weed!! Dont judne- go there yourself and then tell me that you didnt....
I also started making a lot of jewellery so in Byron bay I took a lot of time collecting beads, feathers, shells and stones and created a dozen or more earrings- I gave the most of them to the girlies who made my life so beautiful during those days there but somethign was definately awoken and I am grateful for that!!!
Otherwise we ate ALOT of chocolate ( for those experinced weed smokers- you knwo what I am talkign about?? well imagine this: they called it stoner surprise at the arts factory cafe- vanilla ice cream, then a hot chocolate and walnut brownie on top of that, then another scoop of ice cream, broken up biscuit and then caramel sauce on top, sprinkled with coco powdre - now let that drive you crazy as you think about it- and now think about the ridiculous satisfaction this calorific bombshell can create in a stoned person's life :P haha....)
We went to the buddha bar for live music 4 times a week, that was beautiful, otherwise I worked 4x a week , cleaning the fridges and kitchen of the hostel for accomodation, so I cleaned 3 hours , 4 days a week and this payed for my ccomodation, so those 15$ I would have had to pay for camping there- good deal!!
But I have to stop talkign about that now because it is making me miss it too much - after all I am no longer there!!
I departed on the 4th, made my way back to Brisbane, picked up my, finally completed indian visa ( after having rebooked ALL my flights...who cares that I am already short on money right- lets splash out on last minute flights- oh well, if you cant plan well, or stick toy our plans that it, you gotta pay for it right?), had a final stroll through Brisbane and then went to bed early to prepare for the big travellign day ahead!
on the 5th of June i flew to Cairns early in the morning, then to Darwin- short layover, and then to Singapore!!! Yep, I am now in Singapore!!
Oh hello Asia!! :P
Sorry but this I am a very busry traveller you know...
Auckland for 2 days
Bay of Islands for a day- watching dolphins , plus the hole in the rock!
Rotorua one night- cutest hostel ( crash apalace), VERY smelly but omg was the rotten smell worth it, when you dipped yourself into the steeming hot natural springs...treated myself to a full body massage..oops, guilty as charged!
Flew to Christchurch on the 4th of May!!
Seeing that is was based on Canterbury it bloody well looked very much like it! Beautiful church ( went to the evening choir performance- goose bumps appearing all over again just at the thought of it).
Wondered through Botanical garden, went to the Museum of Modern Art etc...
On the 6th the Kiwi experience began!!! 10 days of wonderful fun, amazement, bonding, driving, driving and driving... :)
First day off to Kaikora- WOW!! This place took swimming with dolphins to a whole new level, when 12 of us got on a boat, got driven out to open see, and dressed in full gear dropped into the freezing open waters, with only the glass of our goggles seperating us from the beauty of underwater life. 12 of us, 250 of them- yes, 250 of them, those wild, beautiful dolphins, playing iwth us, swimming under us, next to us, with us...for an HOUR!!! but then it got freezing and I slowly started feeling more and more like a dolphin, as the sensation in my legs started to stop and I felt more like a legless creature more than anything- but as great it is to bond with animals, one does not have to risk losing his/her limbs, I believe anyway...
So after that it was time to properly bond with my new fellow travellers- the main characters in the next few days of adventures: Daniel, Mick, Kate, Chris, Julia, Martha, D, Andy and Marah!! yep, that was the crew.oh AND jonas- a boy, who i now truly believe is my brother, who actually came to pull a joke on me!! i have NEVER seen anyone resemble someone else like that before ( unless they are twins ofcourse)- so Matej, should you be reading this- you have an identical twin called HJonas from Amsterdam, 19 years old, chef, currently in NZ, and....well look for someone who looks like you- thats him!!
Next : Kaikora to Picton and then Nelson - NZ's most renowned wine region, beautiful drive along the coastline, Nelson the sunniest city in NZ- although when we were there is was cloudy..great! :) little side note: tried NZ's winning ice-cream: bronze- lavender and honey; silver- lemongrass and ginger- AMAZING!!!! just thought i would mention that.
Next: Nelson to Westport - Nelson Lakes National Park, beautiful walk, but rainy all day and Westport, osrry to be saying this so directly BUT its a s*** hole...ohnestly- nothing there!!! just a massive supermarket- yeeeyyy..so watched bridget jones diaries, shrek and ice runners with the entire crew and a massive tub of ice-cream in the hostel!!
Next: Westport to Lake mahinapua - down the famous Highway 6. Punakaiki Pancacke rocks, seal colonies, and then the POO PUB!!!! awesome place, old ( 84 year old) man looks after us all. AND cooks an amazing dinner- steak, venicen stew, corn, veggies- you have no ideas how good that tastes when you have to eat shitty cheap food ALL the time- lets just say we were all very happy! and in honour of thsi we had a 'P' party- all dressed in sth. beginning with a 'P'. i was a peacock, but there were great ideas eg. pensioner, panda, priest, present 9 the unevitable penis ofcourse), pencil etc...it was a good ( for some drunken) night!
Next: Lake mahinapua to Franz Josef - WOW! very few words needed: go and see it for yourself! massive galcier, can move up to a meter a day, clear skies, hours of walking, skydive at sunrise- yep, you heard me- 15000ft skydive ( thats approx. 4,5km for those who dont know :P), a yoga class, some clean landry ( yes that is information that can and must be included in here)...We stayed here two nights!
Next: Franz Josef to Wanaka - I LOVE Wanaka! I dont precisely know why, maybe its the cute village, the great health food store, beautiful lake and mountains, cozy cafes OR the coolest cineam EVER!! where you sit in massive couches, sip on tea or hot chocolate and cookies, freshly taken otu of the oven get served at interval- not sure, but it might be the combination of them all!!
Next: Wanaka to Queenstown - wow the trip is over!! Queenstown our final destination , beautiful, freezing, peaceful at day, crazy at night ( and i mean CRAZY- 6 words: the world bar and tea pots- oh dear!!!) had a brill last nigth in Queenstown with the crew- treated ourselves to a japanese meal, sad to leave everyone!
Next: Back to Christchurch - 8 hour drive- LONG!!! Arrived back in Christchurch, last stroll, send soem postcards and then off to bed, after all my flight was at 11am the following day!
A few things to be said about New Zealand: it is stunningly beautiful, unbelievably peaceful, people are truly very friendly, the maori culture is intriguying and very dominant, you are bound to become an adrenaline junkie - i DID! ( for future birthday present ideas: a skydive will do it :P), it is very expensive, the food ( i know that i have been slipping it in there occasionaly) is sooo expensive and all in all it is a country worth discovering! I LOVED IT!
Bay of Islands for a day- watching dolphins , plus the hole in the rock!
Rotorua one night- cutest hostel ( crash apalace), VERY smelly but omg was the rotten smell worth it, when you dipped yourself into the steeming hot natural springs...treated myself to a full body massage..oops, guilty as charged!
Flew to Christchurch on the 4th of May!!
Seeing that is was based on Canterbury it bloody well looked very much like it! Beautiful church ( went to the evening choir performance- goose bumps appearing all over again just at the thought of it).
Wondered through Botanical garden, went to the Museum of Modern Art etc...
On the 6th the Kiwi experience began!!! 10 days of wonderful fun, amazement, bonding, driving, driving and driving... :)
First day off to Kaikora- WOW!! This place took swimming with dolphins to a whole new level, when 12 of us got on a boat, got driven out to open see, and dressed in full gear dropped into the freezing open waters, with only the glass of our goggles seperating us from the beauty of underwater life. 12 of us, 250 of them- yes, 250 of them, those wild, beautiful dolphins, playing iwth us, swimming under us, next to us, with us...for an HOUR!!! but then it got freezing and I slowly started feeling more and more like a dolphin, as the sensation in my legs started to stop and I felt more like a legless creature more than anything- but as great it is to bond with animals, one does not have to risk losing his/her limbs, I believe anyway...
So after that it was time to properly bond with my new fellow travellers- the main characters in the next few days of adventures: Daniel, Mick, Kate, Chris, Julia, Martha, D, Andy and Marah!! yep, that was the crew.oh AND jonas- a boy, who i now truly believe is my brother, who actually came to pull a joke on me!! i have NEVER seen anyone resemble someone else like that before ( unless they are twins ofcourse)- so Matej, should you be reading this- you have an identical twin called HJonas from Amsterdam, 19 years old, chef, currently in NZ, and....well look for someone who looks like you- thats him!!
Next : Kaikora to Picton and then Nelson - NZ's most renowned wine region, beautiful drive along the coastline, Nelson the sunniest city in NZ- although when we were there is was cloudy..great! :) little side note: tried NZ's winning ice-cream: bronze- lavender and honey; silver- lemongrass and ginger- AMAZING!!!! just thought i would mention that.
Next: Nelson to Westport - Nelson Lakes National Park, beautiful walk, but rainy all day and Westport, osrry to be saying this so directly BUT its a s*** hole...ohnestly- nothing there!!! just a massive supermarket- yeeeyyy..so watched bridget jones diaries, shrek and ice runners with the entire crew and a massive tub of ice-cream in the hostel!!
Next: Westport to Lake mahinapua - down the famous Highway 6. Punakaiki Pancacke rocks, seal colonies, and then the POO PUB!!!! awesome place, old ( 84 year old) man looks after us all. AND cooks an amazing dinner- steak, venicen stew, corn, veggies- you have no ideas how good that tastes when you have to eat shitty cheap food ALL the time- lets just say we were all very happy! and in honour of thsi we had a 'P' party- all dressed in sth. beginning with a 'P'. i was a peacock, but there were great ideas eg. pensioner, panda, priest, present 9 the unevitable penis ofcourse), pencil etc...it was a good ( for some drunken) night!
Next: Lake mahinapua to Franz Josef - WOW! very few words needed: go and see it for yourself! massive galcier, can move up to a meter a day, clear skies, hours of walking, skydive at sunrise- yep, you heard me- 15000ft skydive ( thats approx. 4,5km for those who dont know :P), a yoga class, some clean landry ( yes that is information that can and must be included in here)...We stayed here two nights!
Next: Franz Josef to Wanaka - I LOVE Wanaka! I dont precisely know why, maybe its the cute village, the great health food store, beautiful lake and mountains, cozy cafes OR the coolest cineam EVER!! where you sit in massive couches, sip on tea or hot chocolate and cookies, freshly taken otu of the oven get served at interval- not sure, but it might be the combination of them all!!
Next: Wanaka to Queenstown - wow the trip is over!! Queenstown our final destination , beautiful, freezing, peaceful at day, crazy at night ( and i mean CRAZY- 6 words: the world bar and tea pots- oh dear!!!) had a brill last nigth in Queenstown with the crew- treated ourselves to a japanese meal, sad to leave everyone!
Next: Back to Christchurch - 8 hour drive- LONG!!! Arrived back in Christchurch, last stroll, send soem postcards and then off to bed, after all my flight was at 11am the following day!
A few things to be said about New Zealand: it is stunningly beautiful, unbelievably peaceful, people are truly very friendly, the maori culture is intriguying and very dominant, you are bound to become an adrenaline junkie - i DID! ( for future birthday present ideas: a skydive will do it :P), it is very expensive, the food ( i know that i have been slipping it in there occasionaly) is sooo expensive and all in all it is a country worth discovering! I LOVED IT!
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