Travel Location: Ko-Phangan,Thailand

Travel About: beach,island,nightlife

Following a gruelling 14hr journey from Phi Phi by ferry to Krabi, minibus to Surat Thani and another much delayed ferry, we have finally arrived in Koh Phan Ngan ahead of the masses to secure accom prior to the Full Moon Party on 6th December. To be honest we’re not entirely sure its a full moon on the 6th but the Kings 80th Birthday is on the 5th (public holiday) so most places will be closed particularly bars and such – hence it may well have been pushed back a day.

Frankly it won’t matter in the slightest because over the next few days 30,000 revellers will be descending on the island for the party on Haadrin beach. Of course since we’ve arrived early we had to get warmed up so last night we hit the beach to get a taste of what’s to come…

We hit the beach a lil early around 7pm and had a great Danish dinner at the Drop in Bar and then as you do, ran in to many of the fellow travellers we have met right across the country to date. With the Mellow Mountain looming at the far end of the beach we set off to check it out! Several Happy Shakes later with a great floating feelin we swanned back to the party which was now banging out hardcore trance and techno at various venues…each vying to outdo their neighbouring bar.

The key here is to pace yourself and drink plenty of Buckets (ultra strength Redbull being the key ingredient) and mingle from one bar to the next until you’re totally wasted and then drink thru it until 7am the following morning. The Beach is pretty nice until you realise everyone is relieving themselves in the sea or trying to get laid!

Fortunately i have pictures coz i dont remember a lot…god knows what the actual Full Moon party will be like – will probably have to take a waterproof disposable in case i end up in the sea, which tends to happen to me on pretty much every beach party to-date.

On the night of the Full Moon Party there was a real struggle to find a bus that didn’t have 50 tourists on the roof and when we eventually found one…we had to push it up the hills or walk to the top and wait for it to catch us up!

The party raged on from like 7pm to 12noon the following day (after parties and Silver Moon Party aside). We had envisioned staying on the beach all of the following day but as the tide came in it brought with it all the rubbish from the last 17hrs – hence we were ankle deep in scum and feelin shattered headed for home with our many new found friends….if you need specifics you’ll have to ask me in person!

On our way back to Bangkok we stopped off at Ko Tao but just for the day to see what all the fuss was about. Its considerably smaller than Koh Phan Ngan but the water is certainly no better and a farcry from the likes of those on the Andaman Coast. We tried to arrange it so that we took a night bus but we arrived in Bangkok at 2am so had to book into a hotel for our final night before flying to India!

Hopefully India will prove to be as fruitful as the last 5 weeks

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Travel Location: Viti-Levu,Fiji

Travel About: cultural-immersion,beach,island,trek,feejee-experience

We decided to spend our first week touring Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, with the Feejee Experience (sister company to the good old Kiwi Experience). Aboard the familiar green bus we set about getting to know our fellow travellers and the crew – comprising of our guide Té, the driver Arvin, 5 trainee guides, and the big boss lady. There were more of them than us!

The aim of the tour was to give us a glimpse of ‘the real Fiji’ rather than just the white sandy beaches and turquoise waters shown in the travel brochures – it was raining too. We were taken to a number of villages not regularly frequented by tourists, where the villagers would wave and beam at us as we passed by. Some of the kids would even pinch us to see what our white skin felt like. We took some basic stationery along to one of the village schools where the kids had great fun taking pictures of themselves with our digital cameras.

Getting dirty seemed to be the theme of the week

Getting dirty seemed to be the theme of the week. We got filthy sandboarding down muddy sand dunes – especially Dan when he prematurely parted company with his board and rolly-polied down the hill. We also spent an afternoon wallowing in natural mud pools, caking ourselves in it from head to foot. That’s our swimwear ruined!

Another highlight was a 4 hour trek through the muddy jungle in the torrential rain, which most of the guides did barefoot. We must have looked quite a sight as we eventually emerged from the jungle sopping wet, wearing our leafy camouflage hats and mud war paint, where we jumped into a rubber tyre and floated down the river to the end of our journey. A few days later the stench of a bus-load of mouldy trainers revealed why it was best to do this particular exercise barefoot – more items of clothing fit for the dustbin.

The Fijian people we met were all incredibly friendly and hospitable, although we were a little nervous when we visited the grave of the Fijian chief who holds the record for eating the most humans – but we were assured that the majority of them have now adopted Christianity in favour of cannibalism, and that they prefer beef anyway.

We made some great friends on the bus and partied the nights away crab racing and limbo dancing (I came joint first at the latter- there’s life in the old girl yet!). We also reluctantly took part in the traditional Kava ceremonies, where the root of a pepper plant is crushed up and mixed with water in a large bowl. The result was a liquid closely resembling muddy puddle water (in taste as well as appearance), which was passed around the circle and downed in one while everyone clapped 3 times. We failed to experience the reported narcotic (but perfectly legal) effects of the kava as we were unable to consume sufficient quantities of the foul mixture.

All in all we had a great time on Viti Levu – despite the weather. It had been raining relentlessly for four days causing widespread flooding. We thought we might have to spend our last night on the bus after we became trapped between a section of road that had been washed down the hillside and a river that had burst its banks. Fortunately the water subsided and we were able to pass – crisis averted.

Satisfied that we’d seen the real Fiji, we were off to the islands in search of paradise, and a little sunshine….hopefully.

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Travel Location: Ko-Samui-Region,Thailand

Travel About: beach,island,train,swimming

So we left Bangkok on Thursday and we couldn’t get out of there fast enough. One night was definetely enough with being bombarded by tuk tuk drivers who didn’t speak any english and just wanted to take you places that you didn’t want to go. Our favourite word there was no thank you but even then they didn’t listen to you. We ended up taking the night train down to Surat Thani which actually wasn’t that bad. 12 hour train ride and we left shortly after 5pm. We met a couple from England and a guy from the States and that made the trip so much better. We pretty much spent a majority of the ride getting acquainted and having some beers until we went to sleep. We arrived just after 5am, very early start to the day had to wait 2 hours for the bus that took us to the ferry. They tried to con us into paying them money to go in a pick up truck that left half an hour earlier, we said no, thank god because the bus ended up leaving at 7 am. We got to the ferry on this bus that was packed like sardines and really uncomfortable seats. They are definetely made for Thai people who are small not the average North American.

So we got to Koh Samui and after walking which seemed like forever with our packs and sweating out about 5 pounds we made it to our place we were staying at. The first thing was get into our bathing suits and go swimming. We stayed at Lamui beach which is beautiful. The water is crystal blue/green very warm, the sand is more grainy but we’re not complaining. Better than snow that’s back at home. We finally feel that after all that travelling we can relax and enjoy the trip. No schedules to worry about just working on our tans. We both already have sunburns that are quite painful where one day out of the sun is needed. We got Thai massages which were the best hours of our lives on the beach. They massage everything from your feet all the way up to your head. So relaxing and for only 200 baht. Definetely will be taking advantage of that a lot more often. Just walking the beach we have seen so many guys wearing speedos. Some of them shouldn’t but you can tell they just don’t care. We saw some beef cakes in speedos who were pretty ripped but thier tans where just over the top. IT actually looks like their layer of skin is going to peel right off. IT’s not even a brown color anymore. We have seen some women go topless and one we saw floating on the ocean totally naked. A little uncomfortable but you get over it really fast.

The first night we went out the 5 of us met up with 2 other guys from England and went for dinner and drinks. Had dinner right on the beach. The food here is so good and cheap. We then made it to the main street and went to an Irish pub, can’t go wrong there. There was a live band that was setting up and they were an Phillipine band, so we thought they weren’t going to be all that good. They were so entertaining, dancing around in their platform shoes, even the guy had them on. They just played covers from the 90\s and Tina Turner. The girl who did Tina Turner was bang on, so awesome. We were really impressed and they just gave it their all with head banging. One went to town with the tamborine, I thought her head was going to detach from her body with her shaking it and headbanging. They were the best cover band we have ever seen. They opened up with Angel by Robbie Williams, and we thought if you are going to open a set maybe you want to start with something a little more upbeat. The guys from England were saying that that song is the most popular funeral song in the UK. How depressing. They went on and sang Dire Straits, Belinda Carlise, The Eagles and on and on. After there we went to a bar that was a foam party. THey filled the dance floor up with what looked like bubble bath. We all went in and played around in it and once we inhaled it we couldn’t stop coughing. The strongest perfume smell we have ever smelt. So we didn’t go in there again, but one of the guys from England went in and was so drunk he fell in it and couldn’t get back up.. pretty enteraining to say the least.

Yesterday we took it easy by the pool and worked on our tans. Erin was in the shade most of the day and still managed to get a wicked sunburn all over her body. Right of our hotel there were these rocks, so I went with Toni and did a bit of rockclimbing to get a better view. With sandals and the heat not the best combination for climbing big steep rocks. Did lots of swimming in the ocean. Another day of really absolutely nothing. We met 2 girls from Austrailia and another couple from England by the pool. We all went out last night for dinner and drinks. Experienced my first bucket night where 4 os us shared 4 of them and now I know why all you need is one. It’s crazy man, a whole mickey of samsung 2 bottles of red bull and a bit of coke for color. The red bull here is nothing like back home. It isn’t fizzy and way stronger. It’s so nice to hear about other stories from different traveller’s.

We are now heading to the north of the island for a night to just check it out up there then off to Koh Pan Nnang tomorrow to gear up for the full moon party.

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Travel Location: Paihia,New-Zealand

Travel About: wildlife-viewing,island,sailing,ferry

So we headed back north on thursday evening, but before I leave Queenstown, I forgot to mention that Amy P., friend from New York city (no, she’s not my girlfriend) and travel partner met the man of her dreams Thursday night. His name is Taylor, and at the moment he was traveling the world for a year. Amy danced the night away with him, but bid him goodbye as we left town. A chance meeting that may lead something more (he’s from Colorado) or perhaps she will always think of him when she thinks of Queenstown.

After our flight, we rented another car and headed towards Paihia, in the Bay of Islands. It was only a three hour journey, but there was a torrential downpour and curvy roads to overcome. Meanwhile, my travel partner was fast asleep, recovering from her night out. I have to admit I was wondering why we were driving so far in one night. We finally reached our lodging a little after eleven at night.

A good respite from working again…

The next day after a sumptious eggs benedict, Amy and I split ways. I walked along the grounds where the Treaty of Wantangi was signed. For history buffs, the treaty is the founding document for the nation of New Zealand signed between the Maori chiefs and an emissary of the king of England on September 6, 1840. Unfortunately, the Maori translation does not match the english, and it has been a source of conflict as the nation has evolved. The english version states that the Maoris ceded sovereignty to the king, while the maori version states that the King will protect the maoris as their subjects, but that they will retain their legal rights. Interestingly enough, the British did not take New Zealand by force as it had elsewhere, but decided to offer the maoris protection as white settlers from Australia and other parts of the world arrived.

James Busby, the settler who petitioned the King to provide protection over New Zealand, lived in the Bay of Islands in a pre-fabricated home from Australia. He was the Bristish official assigned to the area. His home is still there. The British government only gave Busby half of what he asked for in salary, and reduced the plans for his home to include only two rooms because they couldn’t afford more. Apparently working for the government hasn’t changed much over the years.

It was an easy going day for me as I visited the grounds. I finally had a chance to continue reading “Motherless Brooklyn” which I had been meaning to finish since I left Guatemala.

Later in the evening, we took the ferry to Russell Island, where I dined on Pacific oysters at Komatura, a restaurant along the shoreline.

The next day, I went for a run and thought I saw wild kiwis in the tree, but later realized that I must have been mistaken. Wild kiwis are small flightless birds that have nearly become instinct as pigs, dogs and cats were introduced to the country. They live on the ground and are the namesake for the citizens of this country.

Later in the morning, Amy and I joined a small yacht for sailing among the islands. Our skipper was Glenn, and his boat was named “She’s a lady”. We enjoyed the ride, and I even got to skipper a bit. There were six other people on the boat. The highlight, however, was that a group of wild dolphins swam along our boat, slapping the water, playing in its wake and generally surfing off of it. It was great to see the wild dolphins playing out in the bay. Don’t worry, I took many pictures.

I fly back to the US tomorrow, and I will certainly miss the beauty of New Zealand. I will also miss the beers. Speights, Monteith, and Mac’s are good brews. More importantly, I am reminded that every adventures that ends begins a new one. I will continue my reincarnation in San Francisco, and am scheduled to start a trial Monday afternoon. This however was a good respite from working again…

yours,

asit panwala

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Travel Location: Zanzibar,Tanzania

Travel About: beach,island

I have to admit I was completely spoilt rotten by my lovely boyfriend, taking me to such a gorgeous place. The views over the Indian Ocean were absolutely the best I have ever seen. I really regret not taking photos, as the days I decided to go out with my camera it suddenly became overcast. However, when the sun shone, the sea was picture perfect with all shades of turquoise around the coral, edged with the finest white sand I’ve ever felt. As the beach was private and part of the hotel resort, much of it was untouched, so like a couple of kids ,Mark loved the coral rock pools and I loved picking up pretty shells!

For New Years Eve we were treated to live music while we ate, followed by a disco at the jetty bar. Don’t remember too much of the latter part of the evening but I do remember some pretty mad dancing! I had a lot of lost ‘drinking time’ to make up for after all my poorlyness! All in all it was a great night.

Happy new year!

Unfortunately that was it for me. I’d had almost a week of feeling great. No poorly tummy, no more pills and I even managed to have a few work outs at the gym. I thought I was just hungover on New Years day but we both turned out to have food poisoning or something for the last few days. It was a pity, especially as it meant we couldn’t enjoy the lovely pool and delicious food on offer, but at least we had a nice room. We certainly watched a lot of films in Zanzibar! Should be enough to keep me going in my tv-free life back at Mili for a while.

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Travel Location: Castro,Chile

Travel About: island,sailing,misadventure

On Saturday we woke up in the town of Osorno ready to drive several hours to the island of Chiloe. Unfortunately someone on the trip (We´ll just say that his initials are SJ) left the dome light on in the car all night. The car wouldn’t start and we tried pushing it down a hill to start it but that didn´t work either. We asked everyone we could see if they had cables and finally found some. Then I paid a taxi driver four dollars to let us borrow his car. Eventually we got the thing running and a few hours later we found ourselves in the town of Castro in the direct center of Chiloe. However, after we filled up on gas the car would not start again. We jumped it once more and drove a few blocks just to have the car die once more, this time in the middle of the street. The look on the locals´ faces was priceless as five gringos are pushing a Toyota Yaris down the street trying to find a parking spot. We just left the car there and went to find a hostel where we could stay for the night.

I assumed that it wasn´t entirely our fault because the car would not charge up and kept failing even after leaving the dome light on. What´s more is that the car had four spare tires on it and the steering was completely out of wack as the car waved back and forth when faster than 120 km per hour. Unfortunately, Alamo would not send us another car and told us to take it to a mechanic and pay for repairs, or go 4 hours to Puerto Montt to get a new car. We did neither and had fun in Castro that night. The next day we hopped on a bus and went to a town of Dalcahue where there was an artisan fair. From there we rode another bus to the town of Achao on an offshore island. On the bus is where things took an unexpected turn.

We asked to girls in front of us how much the bus was. They told us and we replied by asking where we should go in Achao. They said that there wasn´t much going on but that we should come with them to their house where we could stay the night and explore their ocean front field. We assumed that they lived down the street but after a fairy, two buses, and two motor boats, we arrived at their home on the island of Alao. We were told that around 50 people lived on the island. Cristina and her husband Felipe were staying in the house for a year while Felipe worked at the salmon farms. Cristina´s cousin Joselyn was staying for the week. We were nervous at first about not knowing what we were getting ourselves into but it worked out great. They immediately fed us and gave us plenty of beer while we all talked and laughed until our stomachs hurt around a tiny wooden table late into the night. The next day we had breakfast and lunch before leaving the island by a tiny boat once more. If the car would not have been such a lemon we would never had experienced a thing so great. We all exchanged numbers and now have new friends we would otherwise never know.

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Travel Location: Phi-Phi-Islands,Thailand

Travel About: wildlife-viewing,park,island,scuba-diving,cool-photos

Booked our longtail boat again for a mornings visit to Phi Phi Ley which was the location for the film ‘The Beach’.

We had heard lots of negative press about the Hollywood bods coming to the island and basically trashing it. We have however heard that they actually cleaned the island up and removed 4 tons of rubbish and planted extra palm trees before filming could even start.

metre high waves bouncing the boat from side to side

Our boat journey here was a traumatic one. After a couple of years working in the shipping industry I thought I had had my fair share of hairraising journey’s but this was something else.

Picture the tiny longtail boat with only a tiny tarpauling roof for protection – now picture metre high waves bouncing the boat from side to side and up and down all in one movement. Our guy brought along his 5 year old son for the journey which was really lovely except that I have now taught him every English swear word in the book.

It was a strange island – when you first see it, it looks to just be rock with no bays, then you turn a corner and this beautiful beach just appears. We were very lucky to be the first ones to arrive that morning as its normally really busy with tour groups.

You can see why Hollywood chose this location as its just perfect. After a look around the interior of the island which takes you literally 10 mins we returned back to the beach to find two more boats had arrived.

After a dip in the sea we saw a huge speedboat on the horizan and decided to leave before the crowds came. On the way back around the island – again, convinced I was going to die, we passed some beautiful coves. When we turned the headland and sailed to the other side of the island the waters were calm and Lee had two opportunities to indulge in his new first love – snorkling! He saw some beautiful coral and fish – our disposal underwater camera came in useful here!

The island is a national park and protected area because of the nests of swifts here. They are collected by locals to take birds nest soup, a local delacacy.

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Travel Location: Bled,Slovenia

Travel About: adventure,island

Another early wake up call in Zirovnica, except this time it wasn’t Papa Damien…it was Rachel Verbeek, my travelling partner from Denver who I met in Bulgaria the previous year and travelled to South America with last December.

She had quite the long flight / train from Denver to this small town in northwestern Slovenia, so Papa let us sleep a little longer before our drunk transport into town.

Hiking, Tobogganing, Rowing, Drinking

After walking around the lake again, we rented a small row boat and rowed ourselves out to the island. Although it only took about 20 minutes to row to the island, it was still a heavy workout since I haven’t been to the gym in a hot minute.

The island was quaint, composed of the main church and a couple small souvenir shops.

Everyone is allowed to ring the bell at the church by pulling hard on the long rope…definitely a little harder than it looks.

While on the island we met two great Australians, Scott and Chris, who accompanied us on yet another trek up the steep and tiring Osujnica trail…the view is too irresistible.

On the way back into town, we came across an odd recreational attraction – a long, steep summer toboggan run. It looks like a winding roller coaster, except you’re sitting on a miniature yellow plastic thing with a flimsy brake.

Well, it goes quite fast and can actually be scary at times.

While it looked like a huge run, it only took about three minutes to get down to the bottom of the mountain…an interesting time to say the least.

Back in Zirovnica, everyone had a few Union beers until Papa cut us off because it was getting late (10:00 p.m.).

We would have been mad if it weren’t for the immensely filling goulash from Mama, so we arranged with the Aussies to meet early the following morning for a trip out to Lake Bohinj (bo-heen-yuh) and Mount Triglav, Slovenia’s highest mountain.

This sentence is only here so I can get that third photo in the entry – holla!

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Travel Location: Berlin,Germany

Travel About: architecture,art-&-museum,historic,island

August 08 So this morning we got up and it was quite cloudy still from last night’s rain. We hopped in a cab to take us to the Hertz rental car place. The driver drove extremely fast, and at one point I swear he was gunning for some old lady crossing the street. When we got to the Hertz place we had to wait for dad to fill out paper work. It was really cold and I’m starting to get sick so I sat inside and looked at a hot guy for awhile. We then loaded up our rental car and started to head out of the city. We ended up sitting in traffic for quite awhile because it turned out the main highway was closed. Dad rerouted somehow, I wasn’t really paying attention because I didn’t feel like listening to him and Steph arguing. I just read and before I knew it I looked up and we were in the middle of the Dutch countryside. It’s extremely pretty, very green with the red tile roofs of the little houses contrasting nicely. I even saw an old fashioned windmill which was still working. There are way more of the new ones everywhere. They are the tall white ones which Mrs.Cameron showed us pictures of in science class. Now though they have red stripes painted on them for better visibility. I slept for awhile and when I woke up we were in Germany. It looks alot like Holland. Many cute hillside towns with the red tile roofs. For lunch we stopped at a McDonald’s. For some reason every McDonald’s in Europe is decorated very nicely. They are all very modern and chic. There are flat screen TVs and everything. The girl we were ordering from didn’t speak English but we finally got what we wanted and headed off again. We missed one of our exits twice but got on the right track. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. It just feels like we’re driving through Canada or the States, except for the fact that there’s no speed limit. This is quite scary especially when we are the slow ones going 180. Most cars are pushing 200. When we got to Berlin it took us a little while to find our hotel. This gave me a good chance to scope out the city. It certainly isn’t as pretty as Amsterdam, but it’s okay. Very gray looking, but that may only be because of the cloudiness. After we dropped our bags off at the hotel (which certainly isn’t as nice as the Amsterdam one) we went to look around a bit. We had gotten into the city later than expected so we just stayed close to our hotel. The walk/don’t walk lights are those funny little men like the postcard Mrs. Cameron showed us. A couple blocks down there is a cathedral that got bombed in WWII. Only the front of it is still standing and there is a giant hole in the middle. The tops of the towers are also missing. On the ceiling there was a gorgeous mosaic with lots of gold. It seems like it would have been a grand place back in the day. We went into some shops afterwards, then for dinner. At another Italian place. There are certainly no shortages of them and every restaurant we come across is Italian. I have eaten pasta and pizza every night! The menus are kind of hard to read here though, because it’s not as English speaking as Amsterdam. We went back to our hotel then and went to bed.

August 09 We got up bright and early to go on a walking tour through Berlin. There was a bit of trouble finding the meeting place but we found it eventually and joined the group. Then we hopped on a train to Hackescher Markt where our tour started. It turns out that it used to be an area where all the people living at the edge of society (poor, sick, blind, Jewish, dwarves, etc) lived in the 1930s. Hitler had decided he was going to round up all the people here and send them off to Concentration Camps. Many Berliners hid them though behind false partitions in closets and cellars and cupboards and saved many. I really wanted to go see a Concentration Camp but we didn’t have enough time. After Hackescher Markt we started off to an island in the middle of Berlin. There are many museums and old churches, and illegal immigrants. It is Imperial Berlin and there are many old buldings from the 1900s. On the bridge there were two little kids playing music for money. One was playing an accordion and the other was playing some weird instrument which was a cross between a flute and a piano. According to our tour guide they were part of the Mafia, and are in an agreement sort of like forced prostitution, which is also a problem in Berlin. They were very cute and played well so we gave them money. We continued onto the island and then back onto the mainland. We stopped many times at various historical sights. Some had to do with Hitler, others had to do with the Communists, and some with the royalty of Germany from long ago. Finally there was a stop for lunch and I was very hungry indeed. We were running behind schedule and what was supposed to be a four hour tour turned into six hours. Since we finished lunch early we went into a free internet cafe and I wrote a few quick emails before we started up again. After lunch we stopped at Checkpoint Charlie. It was Checkpoint C along the Berlin Wall, and it was the only checkpoint where you could cross between East and West Germany. The tour stopped and our guide explained all the politics that went along with the Berlin Wall and how the Soviets and the Americans had a stand off at Checkpoint Charlie that almost started WWIII. He also pointed out that along the line where the wall once stood there is a brick line with brass plates every so often stating the date when the wall was put up. It was put up during the night and many people woke up to find it there. It criss-crossed and went everywhere so it wasn’t a straight line. Many people died trying to cross as in some places where there was room, the wall stretched for 500 m. They had electrical fences and trenches and the wall so that people and tanks couldn’t cross. We moved on to various other buildings then to the site where Hitler’s bunker was. It was very large and he had many other people down there living with him. Our guide said he and others have a documentary coming out that there is evidence that Hitler had syphallis, Parkinson’s disease, Schizaphrenia, Male anorexia, and he was addicted to cocaine that was given to him through eye drops to cure his weepy eye due to his syphallis. When he knew the Soviets were coming for him he married his girlfriend Ava Brown and they decided to kill themselves with cyanide capsules. They didn’t believe the man who gave them to them so they tested to capsules on Hitler’s dog. It successfully killed the dog so they took them and then were partially burned because there wasn’t enough gasoline to fully cremate them. Them the Soviets dug them up and found the skull of Hitler. They took his ashes and his skull and jaw back to Moscow where the jaw and the skull are displayed in separate museums. His ashes were then flushed down the toilet. After Hitler’s bunker we went to the monument to all the Jews who were killed in the war. There were about 11 million and 6.5 million were successfully exterminated by the Nazis. The monument was a bunch of stone blocks of varying heights and sizes. It was meant to resemble a cornfield, and you were supposed to get confused and disoriented walking through it. I didn’t experience this phenomenon, but what I did find interesting was that the stones were sprayed with a material that resists graffiti so they can’t be damaged. We finished off the tour at the Brandenburg gate, which is the gate to the city. It is in the middle of the city but whatever. It is very large and is designed in the Roman fashion. It has Nike the goddess of victory riding a chariot on the top. When Steph was trying to take a picture of it someone bumped her and she dropped the camera on the cobblestones. The lens was out and bent, so now our camera is broken. We still don’t know what we’re going to do. You certainly can’t be on this kind of trip and not have a camera! It hasn’t even been a week yet! We did also got to see the balcony where Michael Jackson hung his baby out the window and shook it though. Since our tour ended up being six hours we were all quite tired so we went up a street to look for restaurants but no one was really hungry yet. We got back on the train and went for dinner closer to our hotel. Then went back to the hotel where I read for a bit then went to sleep.

I slept for awhile and when I woke up we were in Germany. It looks alot like Holland. Many cute hillside towns with the red tile roofs.

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Travel Location: Madang,Papua-New-Guinea

Travel About: beach,historic,island

In mid-August 1998, the inhabitants of Aitape on the north coast of Papua New Guinea felt a mild tremor underneath their feet. Thinking nothing more of it, they carried on with what they were doing. 20 minutes later, the same people were scrambling for cover as a 10-metre high wall of water headed towards them.

10,000 of them got away, only to be left homeless and destitute in a mass graveyard full of bloated corpses. 3,000 were not so lucky. But the real horror was the lagoon in the path of the tsunami, which trapped all the bodies which would otherwise have been washed out to sea. With cholera and typhoid a constant threat, with dogs digging up hastily buried bodies and with the stench of corpses trapped in palm trees and mangrove roots, the place was eventually abandoned. All the houses had been washed away anyway.

10,000 people got away, only to be left homeless and destitute in a mass graveyard full of bloated corpses

Hundreds of miles away in the Highlands, we were finishing our last days in Kainantu and heard the news. It didn’t seem that serious at first, and we made our way to our holiday spot in Madang without too much worry.

But the scale of the damage became clear when we got to the north coast. As the nearest major city, Madang was the base for all the emergency services going to Aitape. With two of our group training to be doctors and the other two wanting to help, our goal was to get on the first plane out there.

It wasn’t so easy. No-one wanted to take responsibility for a random group of travellers who had been in PNG a matter of weeks. In the course of an anxious day, where the chicken part of me desperately hoped we wouldn’t be able to go, we must have made 15 phone calls. But it wasn’t meant to be.

So, instead of burying bodies and bandaging wounds, we were forced to go on with our holiday (not without a touch of guilt). We decided to head for Siar Island, with its unspoilt beaches, heartbreaking sunsets and cyan waters. There’s one budget guesthouse on the island which gave us bed and breakfast for about 5 pounds a night. The accommodation was basic but clean and there were only two other people staying there.

The rest of the tiny island was deserted except for one Papua New Guinean family we spotted fishing. It was classic tropical paradise – vines you could swing on, waters full of stunning coral, sunsets that made you overuse the word ‘beautiful’.

Madang was a great holiday town too, with a posh (but affordable) club by the marina and small enough to wander around. We stayed there for a few days, then headed back to Port Moresby for our flight home.

Madang, and the whole of PNG, was beautiful, welcoming, intriguing and bizarre all at the same time. But I still wished, as the plane lifted us off the island, that the chicken part of me hadn’t had its way. I would have liked to have given something back.

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