Author archive
1 July 2010
Today I took the bus from Hikkaduwa to Colombo; it was easier than the train … I only had to walk out to the hotel gate and hail one down as opposed to having to take a tuktuk to the railway station at additional cost. It seemed too easy because I got on an air-conditioned […]
30 June 2010
This morning I took the bus down to Galle (pronounced “Gawl” in English but “Gaal-le” locally) which is less than half hour away. Things are very cheap here … the bus ride is about USD0.20 and meals are less than USD1 each. Galle has an old Fort dating back to the Portuguese, then Dutch then […]
29 June 2010
Sri Lanka Again Today I’m off on my second visit to Sri Lanka. There are a few reasons for my visit: Even though I’ve travelled extensively around Sri Lanka, I don’t have the true feel of the country and its people. We were in a rush as it was a 6-day stopover on the way […]
28 June 2010
My AUD32 flight (plus AUD67 of airport taxes and a little airline fees, making a grand total of AUD99) departed Melbourne on time at 0045. AirAsia and AirAsia X, being really cheap airlines attract first time flyers and people who are travelling internationally for the first time. I overheard the man in front of me […]
26 June 2010
The reason for stopping in Melbourne was to see my relatives … I hadn’t seen my aunt and my cousins for ten years. Lots have changed, both my cousins are now married with children. After exploring Melbourne during the day, I enjoyed dinner of Sarawak Laksa and Tapioca cake with the family. Very yummy.
25 June 2010
I caught up with a friend from Uni for a coffee lunchtime today … something which was unexpected and arrranged at short notice. What I had been waiting for was dinner with Natalia, a former school-mate and hostel-mate from my days in Yemen. She took me to a Yemeni restaurant in Ascot Vale (Union St) […]
24 June 2010
Above: Flying to Melbourne with Emirates. Today I departed on a 5 week journey but it didn’t feel like I was going anywhere. There was no real sense of excitement as the first leg was only to Melbourne, flying Emirates Airlines departing at 1745. Melbourne is somewhere which is not too different from New Zealand […]
15 June 2010
We arrived back in Auckland early in the morning. It had been an awesome trip combining great landscape, too much food and good entertainment. I enjoyed myself tremendously even though it was a lifestyle that I wasn’t accustomed to. Having said that, I’d take adventure over this any day … my next trip will be […]
13 June 2010
Above: Float planes at Vancouver Harbour. We arrived at 0700 into Vancouver but disembarkation was conducted by groups so we were able to fit in breakfast on board before our group was due at 0830. We had settled our bill beforehand. The cruise company applies a pre-set tip for their staff which one can ask […]
12 June 2010
The poor weather continued and it was a rocky ride back to Vancouver. Our amazing inhouse acrobats Duo Velikovi were scheduled to do a dedicated performance this afternoon but this was cancelled due to rough seas. It was quite helpful to have bad weather and rough seas … it takes away the sad edge off […]