Europe!!

Its now been 3 months and im flying back to Australia tomorrow.. But this is what I've been up to for the last three months in Europe.
Firstly I stayed in England with my cousins for a week.. Went sight seeing in London.. and jst hung out with the family, nice break from constantly travelling and i had my own bed so weird!
The i got a job on Majorca one of the Spanish Balearic Islands, working behind a bar.. It sounded like a pretty sweet deal over the phone and on the net but when i got there i didnt enjoy it.. i was working 60hours a week and living above the bar.. it was right on the coast and the view was amazing but all i did was work.. not my idea of fun so i quit 3 weeks later and started travelling again..
First stop Barcelona! I hated it!!! The city was so dirty, smelly, and there were sleezy guys everywhere! Every1 I had spoken to had been pick pocketed and id found out it was becuase of all of the Morroccans that are there illegally.. I had met a ton of people that worked there and loved it but i couldn't see what all the fuss was about??
A few days later I went to Pamplona for the 'running with the bulls' festival with a bus load of people and IT WAS THE BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!!! The bus broke down on the way there (this didnt even happen in Asia haha) so we didnt get there until 11pm.. but when we got off the bus the streets were packed full of people wearing red and white iv never seen so many people in one place in my life! and it was freezing no one expected it! We all got off the bus loaded up on sangria and hit the streets.. fireworks went off at midnight and there were stages and bands everywhere.. We didnt have anywhere 2 sleep which didnt matter cos we didnt plan on sleeping! and for those who did they jst joined every1 else sleeping in the park haha.. we partyed all night then at 7am the track was packed.. and the bulls were set loose.. the spanish are crazy! iv never seen anything so wild in my life.. the runners end up in an arena and one by one the bulls are set free to run amuck i cant even describe it! Pamplona is just a small town and during the week everything is let go there is no food and the streets are full of plastic cups and what not.. BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!
The next day I had to get to the bus before 9.30 or the bus was going to leave with all my stuff and i'd lost every1 i had 2euros 2 my name and had no idea where the bus was i should have taken notice the night before.. but i didnt! I walked around for an hour and had no idea where i was going then finally when i sobered up a bit more i realised id walked past it 3 times haha loser! I was half an hour late but thank god the bus waited for me!
Next stop was Biarritz, France for the surf camp! Biarritz is so beautiful and the south coast of France has some of the best surf in Europe.. so I camped there for a few days and went surfing with a surf program thats organised!
The manager of the program asked me the next day if id drive a van all the way back to barcelona for him and he'd pay me.. how could i turn that offer down.. so me and 2 english girls id met hit the road 'road trip'! It took us about 10 hours but it was kinda fun and we got to c more of Spain..
Got back to Barca and me and the girls decided to go out.. we jst left the hostel and a morroccan ran up to Ali grabbed her bag and legged it.. he came out of no where.. way 2 ruin the night! this is why i never take anything out with em especially in Barcelona.
The next day I met Bridie!!! Actual champion! Shes from the Goldy unfortunately haha but we r similar in so many ways.. and i ended up travelling with her for the next 2months; the end of both of our trips! I ended up fallin in love with Barca strangely? Its such a cool city.. its so beautiful every single building is stunning i cant really explain it but its amazing.. and the night life is crazy! Me and brides got a job working on the bar crawl 4 nights a week until i quit and she got fired because we had a fight with our manager about living arrangments long story.. but even tho Barca is a little dangerous i love it.. when all of the bars close at night there are these little illegal bars with roller doors as doors.. all you do is knock on it and the owners slide an eye peeper thingo over and then let u in.. just like the movies haha.. I met some awesome people in Braca and had such a good time.. stayed for a month and then me and brides decided to head to the next destination.. We'd decided on florence.. good old game of rock paper scissors
We met some Kiwi guys the night before we left and they were doing the van tour thro europe and said theyd give us a life which worked out really well!
There were 5 of us sleeping in the van for nearly a week a little cramped haha but it was good fun.. oh and we had 2 shower in the beach showers so embarrassing lol
We drove thro the french Provonce.. French Riviera (So beautiful) and Monoco (the 2nd smallest country in Europe).. stopping at every beach we could find on the way.. It was all so rich iv never seen so many rich, beautiful boats in my life.. Then we stopped at Pisa, Italy for the night to see the leaning tower and umm all there is in Pisa is literally the leaning tower haha but we did camp for the night and listen to the guitar..
we were in 3 countries in 1 day so strange!
and finally we arrived in Florence! as soon as we got there me and brides looked at each other and said id tn wanna stay here haha we had all these big plans to start our own bar crawl.. but its kind of impossible in a city that doesnt have bars lol we probably should have done our research.. But florence was nice.. alot of history but thats about it and its not near the ocean so we left the next day!
Brides had already been to greece and spent time on a greek island called Ios and said we have to go there.. who was i to say no?? So that was our next destination
3 days later.. a night sleeping at the port.. 2 overnight ferries.. a train ride and a bus ride we finally got there.. we were only planning on staying for a week tops but i loved it as soon as we got there.. on our first day wed found a house to live in and both got jobs we dnt mess around haha..
Ios is the craziest place iv ever been.. but also the most relaxed.. So many things happened there that no1 will ever understand.. seeing people naked.. passed out.. peeing themselves.. not to mention a ton of other things jst became normal hahaha seriously it was so weird
Me and bridie moved into 'the cave' with some aussie boys. we called it cave bar and everynight we had randoms come in and drink with us it was so much fun!!! I quit my job 2 days later by the way.. i chose the mature decision to get drunk every night instead.. This is travelling everyone lol..
Theres too much to write if i were 2 mention everything that happened and it was all kind of a blur anyway everynight sort of mixed in with others.. and dreams.. it was hard make out what happened and what didnt?? During the days we spent it down the beach.. rock jumping and hanging out it was awesome!
Highlights of Ios were stealing an ATV with brides and nabs and riding it down a massive hill.. stealing aka borrowing a dingy with the boys using 2 sticks as oars and going for a morning paddle to c the sunrise dnt worry we put the boat right back where we got it.. 40 of us going to a secluded beach camping.. we had a massive bonfire.. fire twirling and the boys played the guitar all night and then we slept in hammocks which jst happened to be there.. weird.. and living in 'the cave' and the boys we lived with were the most fun in the whole entire world!! Me and brides were on Ios for a month and jst flew back to England where Iv spent a week with my family before heading home..
ITS BEEN AMAZING!!!
Its weird thinking im actually about to go to Australia.. well after 3 days catching planes because i was originally going to go to NY, LA and Auckland on my world ticket i still have to fly to all those places on my way there.. oh well
My reasons for going home early to follow summer (a year of summer im not ready for cold yet) and to see my little brother Josh who was bron after i left.. Im only planning on staying for a few months then heading off again.. South america is next in my agenda I promise il be more up to date next time!
Adios chico's and chica's xxxxxx

Thailand <3

I am well aware i have not writen on here for nearly 2 months now.. my excuse for not doing it in thailand is because i was having way too much fun! I would move to thailand in a heart beat absoultely fell in love with it! Il jst list some of the main things i did.. In Chaing Mai i went on another trek.. it was freezing and raining def was not used 2 it.. when i got back i found out there was a cyclone in Burma not far from where we were which explained it. I rode elephants again but hated it. Id heard the stories about thais treating the elephants badly and its true they had little sticks with hooks on the end to hit the elephants when they went off track a little.. i jst wanted to get off!!! Then we went bamboo rafting which was fun our raft had a little thai boy and his dad ´steering´it and it was pretty much jst the 10 year old bay with our life in his hands lol.. i stood on the back helping steer. Not alot else happened in Chaing Mai.. a dutch family on my trek offered me a place 2 stay and a job in holland if i go which was really nice of them.
Then i went 2 Bangkok.. my favourite city by far.. it was jst amazing.. the atmosphere of koh san road.. the food stalls on the side of the street.. the fruit carts.. the taxis.. the tuk tuks.. the partys.. the massages.. the shopping.. the people.. the thai ability to turn a servo into a bar at night.. for me Bangkok is perfect!
I ran into Michael, Dave and Jen some people i travelled with in cambodia as well so we had alot of fun! Then me and Dave went down to koh phi phi where ´the beach´was set and the tsunami hit.. such a beautiful place! This is the place i was introduced to ´Papaya´the most amazing resturant in the whole wide world.. i would dream about this place and we eat there breakfast lunch and dinner.. i was also introduced to ´the rock´where we all met.. there were 10 of us.. best crew of the whole trip.. we stayed together for the rest of thailand.. these people i will never forget! Me, Dave, Helen and James all worked at the biggest club there the ´regae bar´it was not work at all.. we had 2 hand out flyers and i always wondered off to watch a movie at another bar haha whoops.. then wed go inside get drunk with every1 for free and got paid enough for our accommodation and food yew! The regae had a boxing ring inside with thai boxers and people would get a free bucket if they got up and fought each other so funny! 4 of the boys we were with got up they all had black eyes the next day haha! Then upstairs there would be something different on everynight.. wet t-shirt comps.. lady boy caberas so much fun! Oh i got a tattoo as well with michelle.. we both got thai writing on our wrist.. it meant something 2 both of us but i will not say what it says! They were done the traditional thai way with bamboo.. such a good invention it doesnt hurt.. doesnt bleed.. u can get it wet the next day amazing! We also stayed a night on Koh phi phi leh which is a seperate island where ´the beach´was actually set most beautiful place on earth!
After that we went to Koh Phan-gan for the full moon party... OMG!!.. Too much fun to even describe.. it was insane! the beach.. the fire shows.. the skipping ropes on fire.. the hoops of fire.. the weather.. the atmosphere.. the music.. the partying.. shroom mountain.. THE DROP IN BAR (where we stayed).. sleeping most of the day partying all night.. free buckets.. oh i miss it! Seriously i wanna cry i miss it that much!
We then went 2 Koh Tao where i got diving certified.. it was great i got 2 do 4 dives and they were all totally different and so beautiful! I actually had 2 study tho and do an exam what.. my brain doesnt work anymore i was not ready for it lol
Koh Tao was alos awesome great party.. and the fire twirlers here were brilliant.. i didnt think they could get better than the drop in bar boys but i was wrong it was amazing! I fell in love ith 1 of the thai boys John haha
then back 2 bangkok jst me and meagan now.. people slowly dropped off.. i only had the day until i flew out so i went shopping and reminised.. i was so sad 2 b leaving i was actually crying.. sad i no.. and then an hour before i had 2 be at the airport it started pouring and thundering.. the loudest thunder iv ever heard.. the first time it had properly rained since id been away.. and me and meagan were 15 mins walk away from the guesthouse.. so we walked in the rain.. drenched.. THAILAND WAS UPSET AND MAD THAT WE WERE LEAVING!!! haha well thats what we believed!

Thailand (Chiang Mai)

THE GIBBON EXPERIENCE

AMAZING!!!! Wow seriously the coolest thing I have ever done! If you don't know what I'm talking about the Gibbon Experience is a trek in Laos that helps preserve there forrest and save the endangered Gibbons but more importantly its so much fun haha
There are zip lines set up from tree to tree up to 1km long and 100 metres high and you have a harness on and literally zip thro the jungle.. the first time was crazy as i have already said Laos is so laid back and well our guide just zipped off leaving us to figure it out haha which i loved all thegirls were like "omg he didnt even check our harness what if something goes wrong" and i was like yewww catch you later" haha.. AMAZING! We had such a cool group as well there were 6 girls and a 40 year old guy from Singapore named ALBERT hahaha he was such good entertainment.. he took photos of absolutely everything.. does he not realise he is from asia and in asia??? It was hard work tho we trekked for about 4 hours a day most of it was uphill and there were leeches everywhere.. why were leeches created?? Worst invention ever! Every step we had to dodge leeches.. they got in our shoes.. our socks.. everything!!! And they hurt when you pull them off ahhh. On the last morning we woke up at 5am to go trekking and the leeches were blood hungry it was crazy they were evil instead of dodging 1 every step there were about 5.. not happy Jan.. But every time we got to a zip line it was so worth it!!! Oh I forgot to mention we slept in tree houses which was so cool!!! We were about 100 metres high in a huge tree in the middle of nowhere and the only way to get there is to zip haha we spent a whole afternoon zipping in and out of the tree house it seriously never got old! There were rats in the tree houses at night.. how they get up there i do not know but we all had our shoes and socks out to dry.. i had two pairs of socks and in the morning one of my socks was in the toilet and the rest gone.. they didnt touch anyone elses stuff so im pressuming my feet smell extra nice haha
So to sum it up it was the coolest thing I have ever done.. food was good.. trek was good.. zip lining was awesome! Thanks mum and nanna best birthday present ever!!!
LAOS=BEST COUNTRY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

The bus ride from hell

Last night i made a stupid stupid decision to catch the night bus from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai.. i am still now deciding what the worst part of the trip was so i will let you all decide for yourself....

• spending 15 hours on a bus
• the seats not reclining
• there being absolutely no leg room
• it being 40 degrees
• the windows not opening or closing properly
• the bus being way over crowded
• hearing someone coughing up phlem in front of me
• 15 minutes later feeling my feet get wet
• then realising the coughing was the lady in front of me throwing up
• chuck being all over my feet
• 10 hours later the lady in front of me still throwing up
• looking down the aisle and it being covered in spew
• holding my feet up all night so they wouldnt touch the ground
• THE SMELL
• at 1am 4 kids on the bus crying all at the same time
• 2kids asleep in the aisle.. stealing my spot haha
• a kid asleep on my foot
• one of the kids on the seat in front of me wetting his pants
• ONCE AGAIN THE SMELL
• watching the sun rise once again.. sounds pleasant but iv seen enough of unwanted sunrises on this trip
• the bumpy bumpy road
• only having one hour sleep
• knowing that the only thing getting me through was writing this blog

Im sure there was more but i can not remember right now.. but please let me know what you think the worst part was.. I don't think i would have made it without Sarah.. an awesome aussie chick i was sitting next to.. it was just me and her and the crazy laos people.. but sarah came prepared with incence.. my life saver!!!!

Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng is the best place in the whole entire world!!!! Maybe i havnt seen the whole world but its up there!! It's a little town surrounded by limestone mountains with the Mekong thro the middle and there is so much to do. The town is set up for tourists tho so its a massive party everynight and friends and family guy are played over and over again all day and night.. I cant believe Joey falls in love with Rachael?? Iv never really got into friends but now im addicted haha
On my first day here i went rockclimbing which was awesome!! I was climbing with a dutch girl Leila and the first few climbs we were like wow this is pretty cruisy we were zooming up the mountain.. then.. the instructors put up a new rope and wow it was the hardest thing iv ever done.. seriously i didnt think id make it but my guns didnt fail me and i got up haha
The last two days iv been tubing, which is so much fun! Tubing is the lao way of sitting in a tube floating down the river stopping at the bars lined up next to each other on the banks.. great fun
The aim is to make it to the end of the river and i seriously tried to do it but both times i only made it to the smile bar which is about the 4th bar down and 20metres down the river.. very poor effort.. but at the bars they have massive rope swings into the river.. so much fun and volleyball courts
Unfortunately for the last 4days iv been so sick throwing up.. not sleeping.. wanting to die.. so i missed out on seeing the caves in Vang Vieng and also the waterfalls in Luang Prabang not happy at all.. but iv got the gibbon experience in 2days so im trying to concentrate on that.. oh well guess im going to have to come back and see what i missed out on
So Im in Luang Prabang now i havnt seen anything but my bed, the main street and the doctor but its such a beautiful place! I feel like im in Europe.. apparently alot of french come here and rent little houses on the river front for a month for $70,000, which is crazy this is asia? There are little bakerys everywhere and a night market everynight, which is so hard not to buy things from.. im catching a bus to Huay Xai tonight for the Gibbon experience yewww cant wait to zip line thro the forrest!!
I know i keep saying everything is amazing and awesome but there are no other words to describe how good this country is!!

Laos.. 4000 islands (don det) & Tad Lo

I had no problems getting my passport back it all worked out really well.. Im now in Laos and it is by far my favourite country so far! It is so relaxed everyone is just happy to see you and aren't trying to rip me off
Its been new year here and its been so much fun.. they celebrate by throwing water at each other and drinking alot of lao beer they really know how to celebrate as well cos the holiday is for 7days.. why don't we celebrate for 7 days?? haha
The first place i went was 4000 islands which is very south of Laos where the mekong fans out into 4000 islands in the dry season.. I stayed in Don Det island which is the most relaxed place in the mst relaxed country in the world.. there is only 4 hours of electricity a day and the island is so pretty, covered in palm trees and there are animals roaming around everywhere.. I was with a group of 6 people me and Karen met on the bus.. the first day me and Karen rode bikes to another island and cycled to some waterfalls and went swimming.. the waterfalls were huge considering its the dry season here i cant even imagine how much water there would be in the wet season.. we thought it would be a good idea to go off the main track and see what we could find and ended up on the bumpiest road ever i wouldnt even call it a road more like a bunch of huge rocks piled up on each other!! We got to the end of the road and i was like 'wow im so proud of these tyres for not puncturing' yep i spoke way to soon im riding along struggling while Karen was fine.. turns out my tyre was flat haha and it was a 2 hour walk back to the guesthouse.. Nooooo!! Literally 2metres down the road there happened to be a tyre puncture repair shop so im guessing it doesnt happen very often haha..
The next day we all drank with the locals and jumped off the resturants into the river it was so much fun.. then we went on a boat tour to another island where the locals go to celebrate the year and it was such an experience the whole island was packed and we were the only westerners there.. everyone stared at us.. awkward.. at first all the kids ran away if they got too close to us but when we were leaving the island we walked down the hill to the boat and seriously 100 kids ran after us with water guns and water bombs.. we had no chance lol so we had a massive water fight with all these kids it was so good!!
The next few days were jst much of the same celebrating with the locals everyone is so friendly when they see you the smile and say 'sabaidee' which means hello.. oh i also rode a wild water buffalo haha it could have turned out really badly because i had no idea how it would react.. but it jst kept doing what it was doing and eating the grass lol great pic tho im jst waiting 4 Karen to upload it.
I have been in Tad Lo for the past few days which is an even more beautiful place the bugalows are right on the river front with a massive waterfall right on your doorstep.. As you have read Ive now seen my fair share of waterfalls.. they are absolutely everywhere
Me and Josh (a weirdo i met in Don Det) rode a moto there and got absolutely drenched every 10 metres down the road.. the streets were lined with kids throwing water, there was no way of avoiding it and if it wasnt the kids wetting us it was a group of drunk adults in pick up trucks driving past hahaha
The New Year was even bigger in Tad Lo there were stages set up everywhere with music all day and night and stalls set up everywhere.. the waterfall was covered in people swimming it was such a good atmosphere.. I ate breakfast with a Laos family one morning by the waterfall everyone is just so friendly!!! The group i was with and I drank beer Lao and danced with the locals all night.. and by all night i mean until 11pm because Laos has a Kurfew off 11pm everywhere.. this is what i mean by laid back
Oh i nearly forgot i went on my first elephant ride.. It was freaky to start off with, i felt like i was going to fall off every step it took.. Most people sit on the seat on its back but i got to sit on its neck which was so much better and a few minutes into it my guide jumped off and walked behind us singing so me and the elephant got some serious alone time haha i love it! Iv also heard from other travellers that when theyve had elephant rides the elephants had been treated really badly and hit with sticks and what not but the elephant i went on was treated really well my guide didnt even touch it which was a massive bonus!!!
Im now in Vientiene which is the capital of laos.. the bus here was a nightmare the bus was packed and i had no room.. i was cold.. and i couldnt sleep.. it was a 10 hour ride which i usually dnt mind but i jst couldnt sleep.. it was 3am and i was frustrated!!! So i climbed over the lady next 2 me and slept in the isle of the bus for 3 hours.. im sure it will be funny in a few years time BUT NOT NOW!!!
Im also solo again for now which is good i have been waiting for a night on my own.. so today i rode around the city seeing the sights and got really really lost haha.. but i met 2 guys from adelaide who are here playing Football tomorrow.. and Im talking real football.. aussie rules!! Which is not what i expected im in Laos?? haha but anyway im going to watch the game tomorrow which should be good
Im know i should be putting pictures up as i write new blogs but its hard because all the pics that relate are still on my camera but i will put some up soon
miss you all dearly x