Stockholm

Was lucky enough to get a place on a training course in Stockholm through work. Flew over on Saturday so was able to have a couple of days looking around the city before the course started on Tuesday. Weather was a bit miserable on Saturday evening so just hung out in my hotel, the Scandic Anglais. Accommodation in Stockholm is really expensive and my room was a tiny little cabin room in the basement, but it had got free internet and was pretty comfortable to so I liked it.

Sunday I went to Gamla Stan, the old town. It was nice and sunny so I managed to get some nice photos. I also found an Irish pub where I had my dinner and watched the Ireland Argentina game. Another disaster! Went shopping on Monday but didn't buy too much as it's fairly expensive. Matt and Dave, who are also doing the course, arrived over on Monday and I moved to a different hotel for the rest of the week, the Radisson SAS Strand Hotel. It was much most luxurious with a great view but very pricey. The course ran from Tuesday to Thursday, and on Friday I showed Matt around the city and we went to the Vasa Museum before flying back to London. Photos here.

Paris for the Rugby

Went over to Paris for a few days to see the Ireland France match. Very disappointing game but had a nice few days in Paris. Went over on the Eurostar on Friday morning, a great hassle-free way to travel, and stayed in the Hotel du Levant. Went to the match on Friday evening (don't want to talk about it) and spent a sunny Saturday wandering around the city including a visit to the catacombs and catching some more rugby in the local pubs. Sunday was another sunny day so we did more sightseeing before heading back to London on the Eurostar in the afternoon. Photos here

Liverpool 4, Toulouse 0

Finished off the bank holiday weekend by going to see Liverpool play Toulouse in Champions League. A good win. Probably was the most interesting bit was when they played Z-Cars (the Everton theme tune) before the match in honour of Rhys Jones, the young Everton fan who was recently murdered. His parents and brother were on the pitch with Rafa. Very moving.

Homeward bound

Managed to avoid extra luggage charges (the highlight of my day!) before flying from Sydney to Hong Kong, hanging out there for a few hours (had a pedicure for want of anything else to do), and then flying on to London. After a million hours travelling I finally made it back to Swansea completely wrecked and totally not ready to start back at work!

Last Day

It's my last day and I'm gutted. Matt has decided to stay on another week to go and catch up with a mate of his in Melbourne...he might as well make the most of his career break! Today was again spent wandering around Sydney taking photos, but we also went to the Telstra stadium in the evening to watch the Australia Wales game. Great match -- thought the Welsh might take it one point.

All packed and ready to go home now :-(

Bondi to Coogee

Thankfully we were a bit more productive today than yesterday. We caught a bus to Bondi beach where we had lunch, and then walked from Bondi to Coogee, which is a lovely walk over the cliffs...the views are really spectacular.

Recovery

It was very difficult to drag ourselfs out of bed at all today with Matt being very grumpy over Liverpool's loss and both of us very tired indeed. But we did manage to leave the hostel to go to the Aquarium which was nice and relaxing.



We had a nice big dinner in PJ O'Briens before heading back to the hostel for a well deserved early night.

Bumming around Sydney and the match

Didn't do a whole lot today except wander around Sydney. Took a taxi boat from Darling Harbour to Milsons Point and took a few more photos from that side of the water...



Then we walked over the harbour bridge and wandered around a bit more before catching a boat to Manly for some ice-cream. On the way back we passed a Health Insurance advertising stand offering free health screening and for some reason we thought it would be funny to get a test. Matt was a complete wuss about it, scared it would hurt him so he forced me to go first. We decided on a cholesterol test, and Matt was pretty confident his would be better than mine -- after all he's far fitter and eats a bit healthier than me. Imagine his surprise when mine was too low to get a reading and his was just under the recommended maximum. Ha ha! He was very grumpy about it! A bit of a strange thing to do on holiday though...

We had to have a restful evening (to be ready for the big match) so we cooked in the hostel (spag bol) before relaxing in the room for a few hours. Around 11 we headed to pub for the match (it wasn't starting until nearly 3am but we had to make sure we got in). It was a very long and very disappointing night. By the time we rolled out of the pub it was fully bright and almost 7am. Tired!

Sydney

More travel today as we dropped the car off at Perth airport and flew to Sydney. We checked into WakeUp Sydney near central station before heading to King's Cross for some food at a Thai Place Matt had been a regular at a few weeks back when he was here for a while. Lovely! We then took a walk from Kings Cross to Circular key where we managed to get some stunning night shots of the harbour. I just love Sydney!

Lancelin

After the past few days taking it easy or being stuck in the car we were ready for something a bit more energetic today. So we decided to head up the coast to Lancelin to go sandboarding. We didn't have a great start to the day as Matt was 'in a mood' and refused to either drive or navigate or get directions or be of any use whatsoever. He was lucky I didn't kick him out of the car. Eventually I managed to find our way to the right road and we headed for Lancelin.


Thankfully the day improved from there. We hired some sand boards and headed for the dunes. It was excellent. Scary, but great craic. I was completely useless at it and Matt wasn't much better but it was a laugh anyway. Here are some photos of us at our best!

On the way back we found a good spot to take some night shots of Perth.

Tomorrow we drop off the car and fly to Sydney.

Kings Park

Today we went for a long walk and managed to find our way to King's Park.This is a huge park with great views over the city. It has lovely lakes and foundations, a botanic garden, and a war memorial and Flame of Rememberance. It was a lovely day so it was great to spend it outside. We took loads of photos and enjoyed the time relaxing in the park.

Fremantle

Today we took the train out to Fremantle to check it out. We went to the market and had a stroll around the town. We've overdone the sight-seeing over the past few weeks so we ended up in an arcade playing games. Well it was something different to do anyway! Not much else to report....no driving today for once!

More driving....

Another day spent mostly in the car. We've made it back to Perth and we're staying at Globe Backpackers on Wellington Street. Unfortunately the dive trip tomorrow which we booked a couple of days ago and were looking forward to has been cancelled as it's far too windy. Ah well. I did some of the driving today, and got breathalised (!) when we stopped off for lunch.

Nothing planned for the next couple of days....we'll just play it by ear.

Wildlife and Speeding

Today was another long day spent mostly in the car. We left Tom Price this morning and drove past Mt Bruce as we headed south in the direction of Perth. The road was very quiet and the only thing that slowed us down was stopping to take photos of the wiidlife we spotted on the roadsides. We saw eagles, lizards and emus -- lots of things you don't see driving around Ireland....we even had to stop to let a big lizard cross the road!

We stopped off for lunch and I offered to take over the driving but Matt was happy to continue driving -- a good thing too!! About half an hour after lunch, a police car coming towards us flashed us, so we pulled over. I stayed in the car, trying not to laugh too much, hearing Matt discussing his speed with the policemen. Apparently we'd be caught by a speed camera just outside Tom Price a few hours beforehand and a message had been sent to the police in the next town to come out and meet us....just goes to show how few cars there are on the roads around here. When we first rented the car, I suggested we split the cost of any tickets we got, but Matt wasn't up for it. Ha ha ha!

Tonight we are in Cue, a small gold-mining town 600km north of Perth, so we still have a way to go. Not much to do here so just watched a bit of TV before bedtime.

Karijini National Park

Woke up early this morning to get ready for our tour. It was very cool so see
Kangaroos on the way to the bathroom in the morning. At 7.30 the bus and driver from Pilbara Gorge Tours turned up to take us on the tour. We were the youngest on the tour (by a long way!). It took at least an hour to get the park. First stop was Dales Gorge, where we had a look down at Circular Pool from the lookout before moving onto Fortesque Falls,where we climbed down to the falls and on to Fern Pool. There we had a chance to swim in the pool and under the waterfalls. The water was very clear and refreshing, although not the warmest. Matt impressed us all with his diving skills ;-).

After that, we dried off and got back on the bus to head to the visitor centre. There we had morning tea and a toilet stop. Next we stopped off at Joffre Gorge, where there is a 70 metre waterfall. There wasn't much water there today, but in the rainy season it can be very impressive. Before lunch we went to another couple of lookouts, including Oxer Lookout, the junction of 4 mighty gorges - Red, Weano, Joffre and Hancock. There we heard stories of the dangers of flash flooding in the gorges and the fatalities which have occured over the years.

After a picnic lunch, we moved on the Weano Gorge. This was the most exciting part of the tour, as we climbed down into the gorge through the water to the handrail
pool, which is a pool surrounded by 20 metre rock walls. It wasn't a difficult walk though the guide was overly cautious in making sure we all got there safely. We had to climb down to the handrail pool using a rope, but that was the most challenging bit, and easily done. The scenary was truly spectacular -- bright blue skies, contrasted against the red earth and the green leave. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Back at the tourist park that evening we were both pretty worn out. We picked up a pizza in town for dinner and then just chilled out. The next couple of days will be mostly driving as we head back to Perth.

Just driving

Today was spent mostly in the car driving between Exmouth and Tom Price. First thing this morning we picked up our photos from the dives....so disappointing! Most of them are rubbish and a waste of money. We dropped into the dive shop on our way and 'donated' them our dive cameras, though I think you'd be better off just enjoying the dive rather than wasting time and energy (i.e. air) trying to take photos which don't come out anyway.

After that we hit the road for the long drive to Tom Price. There was a minor panic about half way there when we stopped for petrol and I thought I might have left my wallet in Exmouth, but thankfully I hadn't. We have a packed lunch so stopped off for a picnic along the way. As we arrived in Tom Price, we spotted a snake on the road and managed to get some photos -- the highlight of the day. On arriving in Tom Price we went to the supermarket to pick up supplies, and then headed to Tom Price Tourist Park where we are spending the next couple of nights. They didn't have a private room available, so we're in a shared dorm with two other guys. Another early start in the morning -- we're being picked up at 7.30 for a tour of Karijini National Park

Chillin

Today was a quiet day, spent just relaxing in Exmouth, catching up with our washing and our emails. Nothing exciting to mention at all! We managed to plan what to do for the next few days. We were meant to fly to Sydney on Friday but we've now changed this to Tuesday week to give us a few extra days in the sun. I'm delighted that it will be our last night at the potshot -- definitely the worst place we've stayed and the place where we've stayed the longest. Doh!

Advanced diving course -- Day Two

Wow. What a day! We had the most fantastic dive ever. Once again it was up early for day two of the course at the Muiron Islands. The first dive was at JL.80, and was our peak performance bouyancy dive. It wasn't entirely successful as we both got caught in a swell and popped to the surface, but that's the way it goes. We took our cameras with us for the first time and tried out taking some photos -- not easy! There was some great coral at this site though. Dive 2 was at Cob Sanctuary and was completely amazing. As soon as we got in the water, we saw a massive manta ray at a cleaning station. This is where little fish swim in and out of the manta rays mouth and gills and clean them. We all sat on the bottom of the ocean and watched as the manta ray swam over us and played in our bubbles. It was truly fantastic...an amazing experience. After the manta ray moved on, we got on with our dive and tried to find things to photograph as this was our Underwater Photography dive. We spotted a Wobbegong shark in the reef, and as we went up to take a photo there were another two! There were loads of fish everywhere too and as we headed back towards to boat we saw a couple of white tipped reef shark. Wow!! It was by far the best dive I have ever done and even AJ said it was a one in a hundred dive, and he's done thousands of dives.

We had lunch on the boat and went for a swim and a wander on one of islands. Then it was back to the dive shop to complete the paperwork and we're both qualified Advanced divers -- Woo Hoo! Both delighted. It was well worth doing!

We planned to move on tomorrow, but this evening we tried to find accomodation for tomorrow night and a Karijini National Park tour for Tuesday, but unfortunately neither were available. We did manage to book accomodation for Tuesday and Wednesday night and a tour for Wednesday, so we'll have to hang around Exmouth for another day, which means two more nights in the Potshot :-(.

Advanced diving course -- Day One

Today was the first day of our advanced diving course and what a cool day it was. We both absolutely loved it. We did three dives today, all at Lighthouse bay. We are the only two people doing the course so we have the instructor, AJ, to ourselves. The first dive was at Helgas and was our deep dive. We went down to 30 metres - it was really different to other dives I've done where I've only been to 20 metres max. It was much darker and there were much more fish. Neither of us suffered from Nitrogen Narcosis - it was almost disappointing. Just before we ascended we saw a massive Queensland Groper -- absolutely huge.

Our second dive was at Blizzard Ridge again, and was the navigation dive. Matt has no sense of direction above ground so I wasn't sure how he'd manage it under water. First it was his turn to navigate. The idea is that you start at one point and you have to go a certain distance in one direction and then go around in an exact square to get back to the place you started. So Matt headed off in one direction. When it was time for the first turn he went in the opposite direction from what I expected and I couldn't persuade him to go the other way, so I just followed him. He didn't quite make it back to the start point, but it was a decent effort for him. Then it was my turn. Navigation is certainly more difficult than it looks but I did manage to make it back to the start point -- I just didn't see it any kept swimming right by it -- Whoops! I was a little bit disappointed with this dive as for some reason I used up loads of air and we had to finish the dive early.

Finally the last dive of the day was fish id. Not much to this, we just swam around and looked at fish. Easy.
It was late afternoon by the time we got back to the dive centre and sorted out our gear. We wandered around the shopping centre and then relaxed for a while, before heading out for some chinese food. Some of the people who were saying in the hostel in Coral bay with us are now at the Potshot so we had a few drinks with them. A couple of them went out on the whale shark trip with Ningaloo Reef Dreaming and saw two sharks and got to swim for an hour with them. And they got a video and photos of the day. Ah well, you live and learn.

Kangaroos, kangaroos, and more kangaroos

Well we've decided. We're going to do a PADI Advanced Divers course . So we set out to book this in the morning, which turned out more complicated than we first though. We went back to Exmouth dive centre, but they wouldn't allow us to do the course on Sunday as that's the day they go to the Muiron Islands and they don't do the course at the islands. Their course takes three days so it would mean staying at least til next Wednesday and we can't really afford the time. We were very disappointed that they wouldn't allow us to do the course at the Muiron Islands, even though we offered to pay more. Not great customer service. Then we went to Ningaloo Reef Dreaming and were about to book with them when we discovered it wasn't a PADI qualification they were offering but some other equivalent qualification. We both wanted to stick with PADI so moved on from there. The next place we went to offered a night dive which we really wanted to do but no course. Another dive shop weren't doing ANY diving during whale sharking season (!) so finally we booked with Village Dive , who were the only dive shop offering exactly what we were after -- a two day course with dives at the Muiron Islands. We then had to go and get some underwater cameras as we both want to do the underwater photography option of the dive course.

By this time it was well past lunch time. We quickly had something to eat and packed our snorkelling gear to head to Turquoise bay in Cape Range National Park. It was a nice drive round the coast to Turquoise bay and we spotted some wildlife, like a big black lizard crossing the road. We settled ourselves on the beach, but we didn't stay long. There were loads of massive flies around and they kept landing on us. We couldn't be sure that they were not sandflies so we just couldn't relax....the last thing we wanted was a load of sandfly bites. So we got back in the car and decided to head back towards Exmouth. It turned out to be a great decision. I thought I spotted a Kangaroo in the distance, so we both got out our zoom lenses and tried to take some pictures. We were pretty excited at having seen a life kangaroo in the wild -- we had seen so many dead ones up until now. It was coming up to dusk and suddenly we learned exactly why it's so dangerous to drive at this time of the evening. There were kangaroos everywhere, really close to the sides of the roads. It took us ages to get back as we stopped to take photos so many times. I couldn't believe it when we saw one kangaroo with a joey in her pouch sitting right at the edge of the road watching us. We also saw some emus, a bustard, and a huge wedge tailed eagle.

We also stopped off at some sand dunes for sunset. It was really weird walking on the dunes as there were no other footprints -- it felt as if we were the first people ever to visit or something. And the light over the dunes was really lovely as the sun set. Another day over and the next couple of days we'll be diving. We've booked into the potshot resort for the next three nights even though I hate this place -- it's full of cockroaches and the sheets are filthy. But we won't have chance to move before going diving in the morning so we haven't got much choice. No harm to slum it once in a while I guess.

Diving at last

Woke up early but excited this morning....I was going diving for the first time in almost 2 years. We were both extremely tired as there was a lot of noise at the hostel last night. There were people up drinking and making noise right outside our window until pretty late and then one guy went completely mental, screaming and hitting things before starting puking. Nice! The dive centre is just around the corner from where we're staying so we wandered over there to get kitted out with wetsuits and gear. There were about 10 people going out on the dive trip. We all got in a bus for the short drive the jetty where we got on the boat. Soon enough we were at Lighthouse bay, and the first dive site, Blizzard Ridge. I was a little bit nervous about this first dive as it had been so long since I did a proper dive. But I had no need to be nervous, it all went really well. We spent almost an hour underwater and for once I didn't even get cold. We saw some really big sea snakes, a Wobbegong or carpet shark and loads of lion fish. The visibility was really good and it was great to be back under water.

The second dive site was the Labyrynth. Again we spent almost an hour in the water. This time we saw some White Tipped Reef Shark. I wasn't sure how close we should get to these but the guide seemed relaxed so I followed her lead. One of them swam right by me, it was great to get such a close up view. We also found a green turtle hiding among the rocks and saw a blue spotted ray. Overall a great dive.

Back on the boat we had lunch and then headed back shore. Unfortunately Matt was feeling sea sick on the way back but thankfully he recovered once back on dry land. It was mid afternoon by the time we got back to the hostel and we were both exhausted -- I have no idea what it is about spending a day on the boat that tires you out but it really does. We hung around by the pool for a while, before cooking at the hostel in the evening and having a few beers. We enjoyed today so much we are now thinking of doing an Advanced Diving course. We'll check it tomorrow. For the moment, it's great not to have to set the alarm for the morning.

A short trip

Time to move on again, so in the morning we checked out of the hostel and got the car packed up yet again. We heard about a quad biking trip that's meant to be really good so we decided to try to do that before heading off. Unfortunately there was nothing available until the sunset cruise this evening and we wanted to be in Exmouth by then so no joy. Instead we went to the beach for a while and spent the morning swimming, chatting and reading. We snuck back into the hostel to cook lunch before starting the short trip to Exmouth. We've booked into the Potshot resort for the next 3 nights and we got there early in the afternoon. The room is pretty tiny but we've got our own fridge, TV and bathroom so I guess it's not too bad.

In the afternoon we checked out Exmouth and booked a dive trip to Lighthouse bay with Exmouth Dive. Exmouth used to be a military base and seems a lot different to the other towns we've been in in Western Australia. It's much more spread out so you definitely need a car to get around. There doesn't seem to be a nice beach in the town either. We picked up some food and then went to play mini-golf. And then it was time for yet another early night as we have to at the dive centre by 7.15 in the morning.

Swimming with Whale Sharks

It's whale sharking day. It was an early start and a long day on the boat. First stop was the dive shop to pick up wet suits and any other equipment we needed, then we headed to the boat. I didn't know a lot about whale sharks before today but here's the basics from the Ningaloo Reef Dive website:

"This fish, the largest of the shark family and the largest fish in the world, is a harmless plankton eater. Reported to reach 18 metres (60ft) but averages 12 metres (40ft) in length, the whale shark is easily identified by its huge size, wide mouth and distinctive pattern of white spots. Thought to mainly inhabit worldwide temperate and tropical seas, it is rarely seen in shallow coastal waters, but is a daily visitor to the Ningaloo Reef every year between late March to June or July when up to 12 whale sharks have been spotted close to the reef feeding on the plankton in the nutrient rich waters"

A lot of the morning was spent with the boat crew explaining the rules of swimming with whale sharks and what would happen if a shark was spotted. Basically a spotter plane flies ahead to try to find a shark. If they spot one they radio to the boat and the boat tries to get to the shark as fast as possible. We were divided into two groups as only 10 people are allowed swim with a shark at a time. There are lots of rules about not swimming in front of a shark , or diving below the shark, and keeping 5 metres away from it etc. I have to admit I felt quite nervous by the time everything had been explained. Then we were all dropped off the boat to go for a snorkel, basically to confirm to the crew that we can all swim competently. After that it was a case of waiting.

It wasn't long until we got a call to say a shark had been spotted, and we all excitedly started putting on our wetsuits. We were then told that the shark was about 40 mins away so we relaxed again. At least an hour later we finally got to the shark and there were two more boats there already. So we waited our turn to swim. It all moved very quickly from that point. Our swimmer got in the water and got near the shark then put her arm in the air so we could see where to swim. The boat got nearer the shark and the first group jumped in and swam. Soon it was our turn, and it was all a bit panicky. The driver was shouting "Group B, jump in, group B jump in", so in we jumped even though I wasn't really clear where I was supposed to go once we were in. Everyone was swimming frantically and I was looking around but didn't see much. I kept lifting my head out of the water to check I was still near the others as I was terrified of getting separated out there. After about 5 mins, everyone stopped swimming and some of the group were like "Wow, that was amazing, did you see it?". I was gutted. Hadn't spotted a thing. Thankfully I saw Matt looking equally bewildered and a few others in the group didn't see it either. Very disappointing but at least I wasn't the only one.

We hopped back on the boat and a few minutes later it was our turn again. This time I tried to concentrate on looking for the shark rather than swimming and watching the others. So I put my face in the water and looked ahead. The visibility wasn't great, 5 metres max. Suddenly, there is was, right in front of me and coming towards me. I nearly died of fright. Matt was just to my left and equally near the shark. All I could think, was get out of the way fast....those eyes and mouth were the scariest thing I have ever seen. Matt headed left and I headed right.....I panicked a bit as there was someone to my right, and I thought I wouldn't be able to get out of the way but eventually I got there and turned around the see the massive tail of the shark go past me. I tried to swim with it, but it was moving very quickly and soon it was out of sight. We re-grouped and I discovered that Matt had had a similar experience to me except the shark was moving to the left as he moved to the left so he had even more difficulty in getting out of the way. Bloody hell!

Back on the boat, I didn't know what to think. I had definitely seen a whale shark, but it happened so quickly and I wasn't sure I actually enjoyed it. Another shark appeared and we had a chance at another swim which I wasn't sure about, but the shark dived before we got the chance anyway. Afterwards it was a very long journey back to shore. We stopped off for lunch along the way, and then did some more snorkelling which was pretty good. We were completely exhausted when we arrived back at Coral bay in the early evening. So was it worth it? To be honest I'm not sure. It's an incredibly long day on the boat and a very short glimpse of a whale skark. But it is a once in a lifetime experince and these creatures are very unusual. The shark we saw was about 8 metres long, I can't imagine what it would be like to see one bigger than that. I guess it's just something you have to try when you're here, but I'm not sure I'd bother if I came back again.

Coral bay is really lovely so we decided to stay around for another couple of days but unfortunately the hostel is fully booked so it's off to Exmouth tomorrow after all. In the evening we ate in the hostel again, and then played pool and killer table tennis with a group of people from one of the tour groups. It was brilliant craic and amazingly I ended up in the final a few times but never actually won. Matt got over competetive as usual, and was very disappointed to be beaten by a girl in one final. I chatted to a few people about the whale sharking trip and was shocked to hear some of the stories about the cons the companies pull. If you don't see a shark you are supposed to be able to go again for free on the next available trip -- however, their definition of 'next available trip' is not really what you'd expect it to be. It's basically the next trip when they have a space left on the evening before the trip and you don't necessarily get to go out on the same trip as the person you booked with initially. Not fun! So I guess we were lucky to at least spot the shark on the first trip.

Refresh dive

First thing this morning we booked a whale sharke trip for tomorrow with Ningaloo Reef Dive. This is something we've been looking forward since we arrived in Western Australia, but it's very expensive and we might not even see a shark. We also weren't sure if it would be better to do it from here or from Exmouth, but in the end we decided to give it a go from here. So fingers crossed we'll be lucky.

I haven't been diving for a couple of years so it seemed sensible to do a refresh dive before going on a full dive trip, which we plan to do in the next couple of days. Turned out the place where we booked the whale shark trip were running a refresh dive course this afternoon so I decided just to go for it. In the morning we did some snorkelling -- I bought a new mask and fins so wanted to try them out. The snorkelling wasn't great but it was a beautiful day so it was nice to be in the water. We had lunch back at the hostel and then I headed off for my refresh dive while Matt headed for the beach with his book.

The refresh dive was ok -- worth doing I guess, but we only went to about 2 metres deep and there was zero visibility, and I was last to carry out my skills so I ended up getting very cold waiting on the bottom for the others to finish. Ah well, at least it's done now and I'm looking forward to some proper diving soon.

In the evening we cooked in the hostel kitchen (not barbeque for a change) and chatted to some travellers from a tour group who are also staying in the hostel. It's an early start in the morning for the whale shark trip but we're both very excited.

On to Coral Bay

We woke up early this morning and decided to go check out the dolphin feeding once again. The second feeding of the morning had just finished when we arrived so a lot of people were heading back for breakfast. Soon enough the dolpins were back and the third feeding of the morning begin. typically Matt fluttered his eyelashes at one of the female feeders and actually got to feed a dolphin. More exciting though, was the fact that the dolphins spotted some live fish under the peer and proceeded to hunt them. It was mayhem as they flew through the water chasing the fish -- they can really move fast -- they came quite close to our legs and we were lucky not to be hit by them.

After that excitement we headed back to the room to pack up and check out. We had a quick breakfast before starting the long drive to Coral bay. This was a very uneventful drive especially when you consider that the first 150km were back along the road we travelled on Friday. There was a scary amount of roadkill though, a constant reminder of how careful you need to be on these long straight roads. We stopped off in Carnavorn for lunch and stocked up on food in a big Woolworths there, as the Lonely Planet says that Coral bay is very small and groceries are expensive there.

We've booked into the Ningaloo Club for the next three nights and arrived there in the early evening. It's a decent enough kitchen with good kitchen facilities and a nice bar, with a pool table and some table tennis tables. Once again with had a barbeque dinner before having a couple of beers and playing a couple of games of pool in the bar. Not sure what the plan is for the next couple of days -- we'll have to get organised in the morning.

Dolphin Feeding

The alarm went off at 7am this morning and we dragged ourselves out of bed to go see the dolphin feeding. The hostel is right on the beach so it's only a short walk to the dolphin feeding area. Since the early 60s dolphins have been coming to shore at Monkey Mia, swimming around the shallows and hoping to be fed. Dolphin feeding here is now strictly controlled (No feeding after 1pm, no more than three feeds per day and no more than a third of the necessary fish intake) to ensure that the dolphins still learn to hunt in the wild and don't become reliant on humans for food. Only adult dolphins are fed -- calves have to learn to hunt for themselves. There are also strict rules about how the dolphins are fed and what sort of interaction is allowed - no touching, no feeding unless under Conservation and Land Management (CALM) officers supervision, remaining only knee-deep in water and avoiding the use of sunscreen on your legs to prevent irritating the dolphins eyes.

When we arrived at the dolphin interaction area there were already quite a few people in the water as well as a couple of dolphins. The dolphins provided some entertainment by frolicking around in the water while they waited for their breakfast. Soon the CALM officers arrived with buckets of fish and instructed us to get out of the water. On hearing us getting out of the water, the dolphins knew it was breakfast time and lined themselves up along the shore. There were about 5 fully grown dolphins as well as some calves including a very cute little one called Yule who was born on Christmas day. The CALM officers told us a little about the dolphins before choosing some spectators to feed the dolphins. Soon the feeding was over and the dolphins moved back out to sea. It was a stunning morning so we hung around the beach for a while, taking photos of more pelicans before going back for breakfast.


Then it was time for our wildlife cruise abroad the Aristocat 2. While waiting on the jetty for the boat to leave we saw the dolphin feeding again, this time from a different angle and with less people around -- very cool. The we boarded the Aristocat 2 and sailed out to sea. The first stop was a Pearl farm, which I wasn't that excited about and Matt didn't look that keen either, but it turned out to be very interesting. We learned about how pearls are formed and harvested -- a very delicate process by all accounts. There was an opportunity to buy pearls at the end but nobody pushed us to buy -- quite refreshing after our experiences in South East Asia a few months ago. The rest of the trip was spent watching out for wildlife and relaxing in the sun. Unfortunately there wasn't much wildlife to see, but we did spot a turtle and a couple of dugongs in the distance.

We arrived back in Monkey Mia in the early afternoon and had a late lunch. We didn't have anything planned for the afternoon so we lay on the beach and read for a while. I actually fell right asleep for about an hour and luckily my sun cream did it's job for once and I didn't get burned. In the evening we headed into Denham for dinner and had some really nice food in the Old Pearler restaurant. Tomorrow we check out and it's another long drive to Coral bay.

Pelican Feeding and the journey to Monkey Mia

We did manage to get up early this morning to watch the Pelican feeding and it was really enjoyable. In 1970 a local Kalbarri man, Cliff Ross, started feeding the pelicans every morning with scraps after he'd cleaned his morning's catch of fish. He would do this about 8.45 am every morning before going to open his local shop. Soon the pelicans got used to this and started turning up every morning. If Cliff wasn't around they would cross the road to his shop to look for scraps, which was a bit of a traffic hazard. Eventually other local volunteers started feeding the pelicans too to keep them on the safe side the road, and now every morning, rain hail or shine, the pelicans are fed at 8.45 and up to 20 pelicans turn up looking for food. The pelicans are really big and friendly, though the noise their massive mouths make as their jaws snap together after catching a fish is a bit scary.

After the feeding, we went back the cabin for a quick breakfast and to check out. Before starting out on the long drive to monkey mia, we made a detour to Red Bluff as it was a beautiful morning and there are fantastic views from here. We also stopped off at Hawk's head, another lookout in Kalbarri National Park. The view was beautiful as it was a much nicer day than yesterday with lovely blue skies but the most interesting thing we saw here was a group of some sort of caterpillars crossing the path as we walked to the lookout. The were crossing the path in a line which looked like a length of thin rope but was actually about 50 caterpillars all travelling one after another, head to tail. They crossed the path and started to climb the earth on the other side all in a straight line....weird!

By mid morning we were off on the long drive to Sharks Bay. For lunch we stopped off at Hamelin Pool for another barbecue and some ice cream. Here we saw more stromatolites. These were much more impressive than the ones in Lake Thetis, and you can get a good view of them from an educational boardwalk over them. Here we learned that stromatolites are the earliest known form of life on earth, and that they produce oxygen through photosynthesis.They provided the early Earth with much of its oxygen atmosphere billions of years before plants appeared. without them, air breathing forms of life may not exist, including humans!

In the afternoon we stopped off at Shell Beach and Eagle's Bluff. Shell Beach is another unique place -- the entire beach is made up of millions upon millions of tiny coquina shells and, at low tide, it is possible to walk a hundred metres into the bay all the time treading on a seemingly endless surface of shells. The shell build up is 8-9 m. deep. At Eagle's Bluff there's a scenic walkway which is supposed to be a great place for spotting marine life such as sharks, dugongs, turtles and dolphins. Not for us though -- the sea was clear but we spotted nothing. We stopped off an Denham to pick up some beer before finally arriving at Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort which we have booked into for the next two nights.

We had an early evening walk on the beach -- no sign of any dolphins -- and decided to eat in the bar before getting an early night as today has been a really long day and tomorrow we have to be up early for dolphin spotting. This wasn't as simple as it may seem as the electricity went off in the whole resort so the chefs weren't able to cook any food. We hadn't brought any food with us either so we almost had to drive into Denham for dinner -- luckily the electricity came on just on time and we avoided having to do that. I'm very excited about the dolphin feeding in the morning and we've also booked a "wildlife cruise".

Kalbarri National Park

The jet lag is still having an affect on me, so we didn't wake up until mid-morning this morning. We did some shopping to get some food for lunch and dinner before heading to Kalbarri National Park. It was lunch time by the time we got there so we made some sandwiches and sat in the sun (and flies) to eat them. Then we headed off on the Loop, an 8km hike starting and ending at Nature's window. Nature's window is a natural rock through which there is a lovely view of the Murchison Gorge. There was a big sign warning us not to attempt the walk unless you are cautious, fit and agile, prepared to scramble, confident with heights, with a companion and carrying water. Obviously we completely ignored this sign. We're young and fit (well Matt's fit, and I'm young) and it's only 8km - how hard it can it be? There's no way it could take us 3 - 4 hours anyway and neither of us could be bothered carrying a big bottle of water. Big mistake!

The walk started off quite well. The instructions were pretty simple -- start out at Nature's window and keep the river on your right, follow the markers and eventually you arrive back at Nature's window. The first few km were fine, but then we had to climb down into the gorge, and when we got there the most obvious route seemed to be to the right even though that put the river on our left. Without thinking about it too much we carried on right....thinking we might have to cross the river at some point. After walking for about 10mins it became clear we weren't sure where we were going....we just coudn't understand why the river was on our left and if we needed to cross the river. After some discussion (with Matt trying to blame me) and some climbing up rocks to get a better view (with Matt showing his very childish side but making sure he climbed higher than me) we decided to head back as we must have gone the wrong way. Eventually we were back at the sign we had looked at briefly about 45 mins beforehand -- this time we studied it a bit more carefully and it seems we should have gone left on entering the gorge. At this stage we were both starting to get tired, hot and thirsty. Still not far to go to get back right? We must have covered 4km already. Unfortunately the trail back was quite difficult, and we had to scramble over lots of rocks and try to avoid falling into the gorge, and follow signs like the one in the photo. Very confusing. Also there were thousands of flies buzzing around us all the time -- very annoying. When a couple ahead of us stopped for a rest and a drink it was all I could do not to mug them for their water. Finally we spotted Nature's window again and we were on the home straight -- almost. For some reason when we climbed back up the rocks to the car park level we ended up going the wrong way again and walking away from our destination. We worked that out soon enough though and finally we made it back the car park, desperate for some water. We were delighted to gulp back bottles of water which were now almost at boiling point having been left in the car in the sun all afternoon.

By this time it was late afternoon, so we went for a quick visit to Z-bend, another lookout over the gorge before heading back to the campsite, for a well deserved rest. Tonight we cooked on the campsite's free BBQ -- beef kebabs and sausages....delicious! Tomorrow we're going to drive to Monkey Mia...another long drive...and if we can manage it we're going to get up early to watch pelican feeding here. I'm a little concerned that my neck and arms are very red after a day in the sun with no sun cream on. Doh!

On to Kalbarri

I woke up at about 3.30am to hear someone running down the corridor of the hostel. The room door burst open and there was Matt jumping up and down with excitement. Liverpool had scored against Chelsea. I dragged myself out of bed to watch the rest of the game. It was nearly morning when it was finally over and Liverpool went through to the Champions League Final in Athens after penalties. :-).


So it was back to bed for another couple of hours sleep before having breakfast at the hostel and checking out. We headed down to Thirsty Point lookout to check out the views before starting the long drive to Kalbarri. We stopped off for lunch in Geraldton along the way. This was by far the biggest town we came to today. After having lunch in a local restaurant we wandered around the down a bit and visited St Francis Xavier Cathedral, a very pretty cathedral which look great with the blue skies in the background.

From what we've seen so far there aren't going to be many good places to eat along the highway we'll have to travel over the next couple of weeks. However, there are loads of barbecues along the roadside which you can stop off and use for free. So we've decided to pick up some supplies and cook along the way. In Geraldton we dropped into Woolworths (a proper supermarket here, not like at home) to pick up supplies. We got some food to cook and some other bits and pieces like paper plates and plastic cutlery, as well as some BBQ tongs. In Geraldton too, we visited the HMAS Sydney Memorial, which commemorates the loss of 645 soldiers aboard the HMAS Sydney in World War II. We couldn't spend too long there though as it started to pour down rain.

We arrived in Kalbarri in the early evening and checked into the Kalbarri Tudor Caravan park for the next two nights. We've got a really nice ensuite cabin with our own TV and cooking facilities so we're very happy. There's a pool too though I'm pretty sure it won't be warm enough to use it. Another plus is there's a mini-golf place next door which seems to be Matt's new addiction. We headed out for a game, which Matt won by a mile. I think he was very disappointed that I don't really care.

A guy in the Cervantes Lodge had recommended that we eat at Finlay's Fish BBQ and the campsite owner had lots of good things to say about it too, so we decided to head there for dinner. Located in a old ice works Finlay's is a traditional aussie style barbie -- you queue up and order your food, pick up your number and then go pick up your food when your number is called. The food was really good -- a really nice steak with chips and an all you can eat salad bar. After dinner, it was back to the cabin for a little TV before bedtime. The plan for tomorrow is to explore Kalbarri National Park.

The Pinnacles Desert

We had an earlier start this morning (although not that early by anyone's standards) and had to get packed and out of the room by 10pm. I already seem to have more bags than I came with - how did that happen? We then headed to Hertz to get the car. As per usual, the car ended up costing us more than we expected as we decided to go for the no excess option. If we didn't the excess would be $3000, unless it was a single vehicle accident where it's $5500. The small print also said that if the car was damaged the entire amount of the excess would be charged to the credit card on the account immediately and then refunded if the amount of the damage turned out to be less than $5500. Too much risk for me, so we opted for the no excess option which wasn't too expensive but it's annoying that there also seem to be extra charges when you book a hire car.

We made our way back to the hostel, packed up the car and managed to find our way out of Perth and onto the Northern Highway without getting lost -- thanks to my excellent navigation skills. After a couple of hours we were getting very hungry but disappointly there doesn't seem to be anywhere decent to eat along the highway -- we'll have to plan for that in future. We got to Cervantes, 250kms north of Perth, in the afternoon and checked into the Cervantes Lodge for the night. Cervantes is a small town with a population of about 500 which is most famous for the being the "Gateway to the Pinnacles". We grabbed a Pizza for lunch and picked up some groceries for dinner and breakfast before heading to Nambung National Park. Last night we considered going to Lancelin on our way to Cervantes but decided against it since driving from Lancelin to Cervantes (directly) involves a lot of driving on unsealed roads which we weren't sure our hire car would be able for. After the short drive to the Pinnacles we were sure this was the right decision. It was only about 20km but we have to drive painfully slow as the 'roads' were fairly rough and it took ages.

Anyway we stopped off at Lake Thetis, one for the few sites in the world where living stromatolites are found. Stromato - whats? Stromatolites are defined as the "fossilised remains of a colony or mat of 'cyanobacteria'. Hmmm. Cyanobacteria is known as blue-green algae, they produce food and oxygen through photosynthesis. They form stromatolites by trapping and binding sediment and precipitating calcium carbonate from the water. Stromatolites are very slow growing - the ones at Lake Thetis are more than 1200 years old. It's hard to describe what a stromatolite actually looks like -- to be honest they seemed like funny looking rocks to me, but very unusual.

After a few minutes at Lake Thetis trying to understand what a Stromatolite actually is and take a few photos we headed on to the pinnacles desert, for another Geology lesson. Here thousands of huge limestone pillars rise out of yellow sand, some reaching up to three and a half metres tall. The raw material for the limestone of the pinnacles came from sea shells. These shells were broken down into lime-rich sands which were brought ashore by waves and then carried inland. The formation of the Pinnacles would have taken many thousands of years. We decided to park the car and walk the 3.5 km route around the desert rather than driving. The desert is fairly spectacular and very unusual so it made an interesting walk. Sunsets are meant to be spectacular but unfortunately it was a cloudy evening. However the moon came out in the pink sky in the early evening which made for some interesting photos.

Afterwards we headed back to the hostel where we relaxed for the evening and cooked some dinner for ourselves. It's Liverpool v Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final second leg tonight (3 am) and Matt has set his alarm to get up and watch it. Hmmm.

Organisation Day

Today is our last day in Perth so today it was time to get organised. I was disappointed to discover I had a small hangover after a few drinks last night and I'm still suffering from jet lag and the weather still isn't great so I think it's time we left Perth in search of the sun. We went to a couple of backpackers travel agents and picked up some more brochures for things to do over the next couple of weeks. The plan is the head north but we have no definite idea of how far we'll get or how long we'll spend in each place. There are loads of tours going from Perth to Exmouth and beyond so we'll probably follow the routes described in their brochures and see how it goes.

I don't really know much about Western Australia at all but managed to pick up some surprising facts about it today. It's massive, bigger than the whole of Western Europe but less than 2 million people live here, and 90% of those live in or around Perth. The Kimberly region in the north is 3 times the size of England and has a population of just 26000.

We had Indian for dinner which was very nice even if they did forget to bring us our Poppadoms and then went for a walk around Northbridge before getting an early night - we'll have to get up earlier tomorrow than we have in the past couple of days to pick up the car.

Jet Lagged

Woke up feeling exhausted this morning (almost afternoon really). The plan was to see a bit more of Perth, go to King's Park and maybe even go for a jog, but unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side. It was very changeable. One minute it was nice and sunny and the next lashing down with torrential rain. We managed to get into town for lunch in a food court without getting completely soaked but when it clouded over as we headed to King's Park for a walk we panicked and legged it back to the hostel. We're both wrecked anyway -- the jet lag is really getting to me and Matt also has "jet lag" from the two hour time difference between here and Cairns (I'm sure it's nothing to do with the boozy week he had in Cairns!).

The plan for the evening was to go to Rosie O Grady's as they have a backpacker's "session" on Sunday nights. First we had Italian for dinner, and then we had to wait ages for a break in the lashing rain so that we could make it to Rosies. In the end we decided to just run for it -- so that was our jog for the day after all. The session turned out to be a little bit disappointing -- the pints were cheap but the live music only lasted for about half an hour -- to be fair we missed the first half of it, but it finished a lot earlier than we expected. We tried to find some more craic but ended up in a couple for fairly rubbish bars and ended up giving up and heading back to the hostel. I'm hoping to feel a lot less tired tomorrow.

Day One in Perth

I woke up pretty late today after a long day's travelling yesterday. I had a long overdue shower which reminded me of one of the things I love about Australia --
great showers everywhere. After a very slow start I finally managed to drag myself out of the hostel and wandered into central Perth around lunchtime. I picked up a quick lunch and then sorted out some admin stuff -- like going to the tourist office and picking up some brochures and buying an Australian SIM card. The sun was shining but it was cloudy and anytime the sun went behind the clouds is was pretty chilly. I wandered down to the Swan River and saw the Swan Bell Tower - reputedly the largest musical instrument in the world. Then it was time to go to the airport to pick Matt up.

We went out for dinner in Northbridge tonight and ate in a nice Thai restaurant before going to Rosie O'Gradys for a couple of drinks and some soccer on the TV. Matt was exhausted after a busy week in Cairns and a long day travelling so we headed back for an early night.

On the plane

This entire day was spent either on a plane or running between planes. I didn't really sleep that much on the flight to Singapore, as I was cramped in a middle seat. I watched The Pursuit of Happyness -- pretty good - and read loads. Unfortunately at Heathrow the check-in lady wasn't able to check my bags through to Perth so when the flight into Singapore was delayed by about an hour leaving me with about 30 mins to changed flights I started to get a little stressed, especially when they started announcing the gates and boarding times for ongoing flights and my flight was due to board about 20 mins after we were due to land. Thankfully Qantas customer service proved amazing and there was a guy with my name on a board waiting for me as I got off the plane telling me to quickly go the flight transfers to get my bag checked through the the next flight. So after a quick dash to flight transfers and another jog back to my gate I was on the flight to Perth - didn't even have time to go to the toilet.

After another 7 hours I was in Perth, and surprisingly so was my bag. I managed to find my way to a shuttle bus which took me to my hostel, Governor Robinsons in Northbridge. The hostel seems pretty nice and I have a massive room so I'm happy enough. Now I just have to try to sort out the jet lag......

Another trip to Heathrow

Yet again, I made the trip from Swansea to Heathrow on a Thursday afternoon. This time I'm heading off for just over a month -- how exciting is that? The journey was uneventful and apart from a bit of confusion at check-in when there appeared to be three Niamh Gills booked on the flight (seems unlikely!) everything went smoothly. Managed to get a bite to eat and pick up a few books and magazines before getting on plane for the first leg of my long trip to Perth. Fingers crossed I manage to get some sleep.

I'm off again ....

Flights are booked....off to Australia on April 26th for a month. Yipee!

Blue Skies

I had an early start this morning. Steven dropped me off at the airport on the way to work. I couldn't believe it when I saw the blue skies along Sheikh Zayed Road as we went to the airport --- it was hazy the whole week I was there! Typical!

I did some shopping at Dubai duty free and got a great deal on a camera lens, despite a minor panic when I realised they'd given me a Nikon lens instead of a Canon one just before I boarded the plane. The flight back went quickly and soon I was back in Heathrow and picking up a car to drive back to Swansea.

Heading to Ireland on Thursday night so I don't feel too bad about being back but I'll soon be planning my next trip away.

Shopping

I didn't have any specific plan for today and didn't really do much. I haven't slept that well for the past few nights so I'm pretty tired. Karen and I headed to Ibn Battuta Mall for a bit of shopping. I bought a road trip and a few postcards.

That evening we went back to Lan Kwai-Fong for crispy duck -- again it was delicious. Then it was pack to the flat to pack up and get ready for the trip back tomorrow.

Hatta

It's the weekend! We had planned a day trip to Hatta so we headed off in the 4 x 4 reasonably early this morning. The journey there was fairly uneventful apart from realising about half an hour out the road that we might need our passports as some of Hatta is in Oman, so we headed back to pick up Karen and Steven's. Turned out to be a waste of time as we didn't need our passports all day - I was disappointed not to get more stamps!

The plan was to get to Hatta and head to Hatta pools before coming back to Hatta Fort Hotel. We spent ages in Hatta trying to get directions to the Hatta pools before eventually finding the right road. Most of the journey from Hatta to Hatta pools was off road and the scenery was pretty spectacular. However, there were no sign-posts whatsoever and I'm not sure we actually found Hatta pools. We thought we found them, but from the descriptions we got later on, I'm don't think we did. Ah well. It was a good trip anyway. On the way back we turned off onto a side road and found a really nice wadi which was much nicer than what we thought was Hatta pools, so we hung out there for while.

We then drove back to Hatta, and to the Hatta fort hotel, which is a tourist attraction in itself. We had a snack there and relaxed for a while. It looked like a really nice place to stay, with little cabins and lovely pools. Then it was back to Dubai.

That night we went to Dubai Irish Village for dinner and a few drinks. We met up with ex-pat friends of Karen and Stevens and it was a lovely relaxing evening.

Tomorrow is my last day and I don't really have any plans....will just play it by ear.

Walking, walking and more walking

First thing this morning it was time for my facial which I was looking forward to -- how wrong was I? It was far from relaxing -- the therapist spent about 10 minutes using some sort of metal implement to remove my blackheads, during which time I had tears running down my face. It was so painful! I'd have a bikini wax any day!
After some recovery time I got in a taxi to Dubai Creekside Park. The very helpful taxi driver dropped me off at a gate which was closed but eventually I found my way around to a gate that was open. I really enjoyed walking around the park in the sun -- it's a lovely quiet place in the middle of the city. The are date palm groves and botanic gardens as well as cable car which runs the whole length of the park. I had planned on riding the cable car but I took the fact that nobody was using it as a bad sign and decided to walk instead.

I spent a couple of hours in the park I decided to try to get a taxi up to Deira and the gold and spice souks. Unfortunately that was easier said than done and I ended up walking the whole day, sometimes along dual carraigeways with no footpaths. By the time I actually arrived in Deira I was completely exhausted and had a headache - probably from the fumes of the cars and the noise -- Dubai drivers constantly beep their horns. I had a quick wander around the Spice souk, but I'd lost interest. To be honest I find the souks a bit intimidating on my own -- they are full of men and you rarely see any other women. So then I got a taxi to Dubai heritage village, but really I should have just headed back at that stage as I was too tired to enjoy it. After a quick wander around I went to find another taxi back to the flat.

That night we had dinner in the flat, but heading to the Movenpick hotel around the corner for a comedy night in the Jimmy Dix bar. The line-up included Karl Spain, Jeff Innocent and an american called Reginald D Hunter. Maybe I'm biased but Karl Spain was by far the funniest.

Then we headed back for an early-ish night. Tomorrow is Friday so it's the weekend and we're planning a day trip to Hatta.

On the Beach

Today Karen had the day off work so I had some company for the day. The plan was to go to the beach at the Jumeirah Beach hotel, which was supposed to cost 100 dirhams or £15 for entry for the day. Unfortunately when we got there we discovered it was 400 dirhams for the day and decided it was too expensive and to go somewhere else. We ended up in the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Resort, where we hung out on the beach and by the pool all day. This is a nice place in itself but the fact that it's surrounded by so much construction takes away from it....there are cranes everywhere you look and new high rise buildings going up everywhere. After a nice relaxing day we decided to head back to Souk Madinat Jumeirah so I could take some better photos. We took a detour to Dubai Marina on the way so I could see just how much construction there is and how many high rise buildings there are -- one of the girls here calls it Gotham city and I could see why. There seem to be places where you can barely see the sky.

We spent a couple of hours wandering around the Souk and taking photos. It's a stunning place, and definitely may favourite place in Dubai. It has a lovely atmosphere and if I decided to come back and had loads of money I'd definitely stay in the hotel there.

We then jumped in a taxi, got stuck in traffic and ended up getting back just in time to have a quick dinner at the Lan Kwai-Fong chinese restaurant. Once again the food was really good. Then it was back to Karisma for a girly treat of a massage each. It definitely wasn't the best massage I ever had and there was some confusion about my appointment which resulted in it being much shorter than I expected, but it was enjoyable.

So another day over. Tomorrow I'm having a facial (am I turning into a "Jane"?) and also plan on visiting Creek park.

The Big Bus Tour

Unfortunately I didn’t wake up that early, but finally made it to Wafi centre and onto the Big Bus by midday. The Big bus tour is run by the same company that run the big bus tour and has the same hop on hop off system, where you buy a ticket which is valid for 24 hours and get on and off the bus at any time during those 24 hours. The first part of the tour goes by a lot of the sites I walked around yesterday so I stayed on the bus for these stops. The tour ticket also included a free Dubai Creek Dhow Cruise, and as there was one started at 1.30 I decided to do that. It was a little disappointing though as it was very slow, and didn’t go that far down the Creek or out to the Gulf. Yesterday when I walking by the Creek I was offered lots of abra tours which would go much further for a fraction of the cost of the Big Bus tour ticket. I did get some good views of the buildings on either side of the creek but the weather was still very hazy so the photos aren’t great. It was very hot today and an hour on a boat in the strong sun wasn’t ideal for my white Irish skin --- I have some really red patches on my shoulders and arms after it.


After the cruise, and a wait of about half an hour I got back on the bus and header for the Deira Shopping Centre. This is the stop where I could change lines, and get from the city tour to the beach tour. I planned to do the beach tour and then head back to the flat, but after all the waiting around before and after the cruise it was already almost 4 by the time I got on the beach bus. It was only then I discovered that the beach tour takes almost 3 hours and I had agreed to meet Karen at 6. Whoops! I went to the first stop on the beach tour anyway – Jumeirah Mosque. This mosque allows non-muslims inside on certain days of the week, in the spirit of cultural understanding. It’s pretty spectacular and definitely worth a visit, even if like me you only get to wander around the outside.

In the evening I went out with Karen and her workmates for some Thai food to another restaurant called Lemongrass in Lamcy Plaza. I am so impressed with the food over here – this Thai was gorgeous and really reasonably priced. As usual I had the yellow chicken curry with potato and was completely stuffed after it. After that we headed back to Deira Shopping Centre for a bit of late night shopping.

Not as good a day as yesterday as I don’t think the bus tour is that good. But Karen’s off work tomorrow and we’re going to the beach so I’m looking forward to that.

Old Dubai

Today was the day I started sightseeing in Dubai. Unfortunately since I got here, although it’s been warm, it’s been hazy and the visibility has been very poor….and today was no better….so not many blue skies in my photos. After waking up later than expected I headed to the Burjuman Shopping Centre for brunch. This is a massive exclusive shopping centre with shops like Saks of Fifth Avenue, Christian Dior, and Burberry, just to name a few and is definitely one of the ‘tourist attractions’ in Dubai. I had lunch and a wander round there, but once again didn’t buy anything.

After lunch I jumped in a taxi to Dubai Museum, located in the Al-Fahidi Fort which is thought to be Dubai’s oldest building. I am thinking of doing the Big Bus Tour tomorrow and that gives you free entry to Dubai Museum so I was considering leaving this until tomorrow until I discovered the entry fee is 3 dirhams or about 45 pence. I spent well over an hour in the museum and found it very interesting. There are lots of exhibits on traditional life in the Emirates, with replicas of abras, the traditional boat used to cross the creek, and windtowers, which were used for air conditioning in the past, and barasti or palm-leaf houses. There is a replica of a old 1950s souk and displays on Bedouin lifestyles and pearling. There is also a multi-media presentation on Dubai through the ages, including the 21st century which shows all the development that’s going on in Dubai at the moment, like Dubai internet city, Dubai Sport City, Dubailand etc etc etc – far too many to mention.


After the museum I had a walk around the Bastakia Quarter, a heritage site with restored buildings and windtowers which were originally built by Persian merchants in the late 19th century. From there I walked down the creek to have a look at all the impressive buildings (mainly banks) on the other side of the Creek in Deira. Ended up walking much further than I wanted to, trying to get good photos. I then walked back up towards the museum area and had a walk around Dubai Old Souk and passed a couple of more mosques, including the colourful Iranian mosque before deciding to head back to the flat.

One of the annoying things about Dubai is the lack of public transport which means you have to get a taxi everywhere. Taxis are very cheap but difficult to find in rush hour. I spent a good half an hour trying to get a taxi with a number of drivers refusing to take me ‘cos the traffic would be too bad, until one driver finally took pity on me. He them proceeded to tell me that it could take two hours to get back ‘cos traffic would be so bad – but we got back in 15 mins! Good thing too ‘cos Karen was locked out of the flat.

In the evening we decided to do one of the more unusual activities in Dubai – Skiing. Ski Dubai is a huge indoor ski resort build in Mall of the Emirates. It has real snow and 5 different runs, which are very short, but fun. It’s ages since I’ve been skiing so I got off to a rusty start but I was loving it by the end and already thinking about a ski holiday next winter. It was very strange to be skiing right up until 11 at night.

On the way back we picked up some chicken shawarma, a traditional middle eastern wrap, a bit like a kebab. It was a bit of a late night, but I had a very enjoyable day. Tomorrow I plan to do the big bus tour, so need to wake up early to make the most of it.

“Jumeirah Jane”

Decided to immerse myself in the Dubai culture today, by behaving like one of the rich women in Dubai who are dubbed “Jumeirah Janes” – I think we would call them “ladies who lunch”. This meant a long lie-in, a late lunch of nice pastries from Spinneys, a pedicure and a wander around the shops. A very lazy day. There are spas all over the I went to a place here so I decided have a pedicure ‘cos my feet are a mess since all the walking around in Cambodia. I want to a place called Karisma Ladies Centre just around the corner from where Karen and Steven live. This is an exclusive health club with only women allowed it. I laughed when the therapist asked me if a pedicure in Dubai was the same as a pedicure in Ireland – how the hell would I know? It was very relaxing though – I could get used to that sort of thing. After the pedicure I went for wander around Lamcy Plaza, but didn’t actually buy anything – I did manage to pick up a few tourist brochures so I can work out what to do with the rest of the week – don’t think I can be a Jane all week.

In the evening we went to a restaurant called India Palace in Garhoud. This is a lovely restaurant with a nice atmosphere and genuine Indian music playing – and the food was fantastic!!! Probably the best Indian I have ever had – absolutely delicious!

Tomorrow the plan is to actually see a bit of Dubai and hopefully visit Dubai museum.

Souk Madinat Jumeirah

I think all the travelling caught up on me today as I was wrecked all day. Woke up at about 8.30 and dragged myself out of my tent. After a leisurely breakfast, we put the tents away (why don’t they fold up as small as they were yesterday and fit back into the same bags?), packed up the cars and eventually were ready to head back to Dubai. After a small detour ‘cos we got lost we basically headed straight back to the flat, were I fell asleep on the couch for a couple of hours.

In the evening we went for dinner in an Indian restaurant in Souk Madinat Jumeirah, an Arabian style market selling lots of souvenirs, textiles, and gold. Dinner was lovely even if waiter was a bit pushy.There are fabulous views of the Burj Al Arab, one of the worlds most famous hotels and an icon of Dubai, from here so afterwards we wandered round and I got my mini-tripod out to practice my night photography skills. I got some good photos but some of them were blurred which I put down to not having enough light. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered the lens was accidentally on manual focus, hence explaining the blurring! Ah well, it just means I’ll have to go back to take them again.

Arrival in Dubai and straight to the desert

I arrived in Dubai at 8.30am. Passport control is fairly straight forward, even though the guy is a little surprised when he asks what area of Dubai I’m staying in and I don’t have a clue! Karen and Steven asked me to pick up some booze in duty free (and Steven said he wouldn’t pick me up ‘til I’ve got it!), so even though it’s 4.30 am my time and I’m finding it hard to imagine drinking, I pick up some beer and wine. By the time I’ve done that my bag is through so I’m ready to go.

Karen and Steven picked me up in their 4x4 and we head off to their flat near Lamcy Plaza. After a couple of hours rest and a shower, we got ready, packed up the car (two tents, two airbeds, four chairs, ice boxes, water, beer etc etc etc) and went to meet some of Karen and Steven’s friends to go camping in the desert.

I really enjoyed the journey to the desert. I’ve been to the Australian desert before but never to a proper desert with massive sand dunes, camels and goats (!). While looking for a campsite we managed to get close to some friendly camels, and watching loads of quad bikers flying up and down the dunes. Eventually we all agreed on a campsite and pitched our tents. I’m ashamed to say I had never pitched a tent before (I think it’s to do with being a culchie – we don’t find camping in the country a very exciting thing to do!) but you learn something new every day and with Karen and Steven’s help I worked it out. After that we got the fire started and relaxed as it got dark. Us girls let the boys do the cooking, but it was very tasty indeed. Then it was time to get the guitar out for a bit of a sing song round the campfire until the early hours of the morning, and when I eventually went to bed I slept very well for my first night in a tent – but then I was completely exhausted after travelling all night the night before.

It was an incredibly clear night with a beautiful full moon – it was bright enough to wander away from the campfire without a torch – I’m just gutted I didn’t take my good camera and tripod with me to get some good photos of it!

Off again

It’s Thursday afternoon and that means another journey from Swansea to Heathrow for me. This time I’m travelling on my own, but I’m just about as tired as I was last time, so I stock up on diet coke and head off again. The journey goes well and I arrive at the airport in plenty of time.

Checking in and getting through security was far less stressful this time as Terminal 4 was a lot less busy than Terminal 3 and I’ve used BA’s online check-in service so only have to queue to drop off my bag which doesn’t take long. As usual it does take ages to get through security and a lot of people are complaining about all the new regulations, including two posh English women in front of me who comment on what “these wretched people are putting us through” – and I don’t think they meant the airport security staff. But eventually I’m through, and have plenty of time to pick up some books and get a quick bite to eat before boarding the plane.

I fell asleep almost immediately after the flight takes off and sleep for most of the flight – even though my left knee is aching worse than ever :-(.

Another long flight

Today was mostly flying. We got to the airport in plenty of time this morning, and everything went smoothly. The flight felt incredibly long, I wasn't tired enough to sleep much and felt very restless. Heathrow was as busy as when I left it, and we had to queue for ages to get through passport control and wait for our bags -- take me back to Bangkok! It was very late when we got into central London so we only had time for a quick dinner.

Tomorrow it's back to Swansea --- but only for 4 days before I head off to Dubai. YAY!

Last day :-(

When I woke up this morning I couldn't believe that it was the last day of my holiday already -- the time has just flown. We headed back to the Canon centre first thing and Matt was delighted that his camera had been cleaned and the firmware reinstalled at a bargain price. We then headed to the Wat Traimit - the temple of the Golden Buddha. The Golden Buddha is 15 feet tall and weighs 5 and half tons - and it's all solid gold. At some point it was covered in plaster in a trojan horse style disguise but the disguise was so good it was forgotten about and it was only in 1955.

We then headed towards the river and caught a boat to the Khao San Road area where we had lunch. From there we walked towards the Grand Palace. We had a bit of an annoying experience on the way -- we were approached by some people who tried to give us some seed to feed the pigeons. I wasn't keen on this at all as I hate pidgeons but they kept pestering us and shoving seed into our hands and saying happy new year. We didn't want to insult anyone and were worried that it was some sort of tradition for Chinese new year so eventually we gave in and a few handfuls of seed. Things turned nasty then when they started trying to make us pay then for the seed. One of the guys followed us quite a long way and Matt ended up having to get a bit aggressive with him and give him 50 baht. This was alot more annoying than all of the begging we had experienced in Cambodia.


We finally made it to the Grand Palace. This is completely breath-taking -- everywhere you turn there are stunning buildings decorated in gold. There's even a replica of Angkor Wat. The Emerald Buddha is housed here. This is the most sacred statue in Thailand and is actually carved from jade rather than emerald. Wat Phra Kaew, the temple which houses the buddha was packed with worshipers on their knees.

After spending a couple of hours and the Grand Palace and taking hundreds of photos, we headed towards Wat Pho and the temple of the reclining buddha. The reclining buddha is gold plated, 46 meters long and 15 meters high....it really has to be seen to be believed.

The last week must have caught up on us because by late afternoon we were both wiped out. We headed back to the hotel for a few hours. Later on we had a really delicious dinner at the Lemongrass restaurant very close to our hotel, and the headed to Patpong to experience a different side of Bangkok. The less said the better!

It was quite a late night and but we don't have an early start and I didn't want our last day to end.