Kata on a Saturday night

I got dropped off in Kata yesterday evening by the guy who works at the hostel, and decided to hit a couple of bars. I found a nice bar just opposite Kata Beach and had a couple there, and then hitched a lift on some blokes motorbike to Kata Noi to search out a bar called 'Ska Bar' which I'd heard was a cool place to go. I never found it, just spent an hour walking in circles... I grabbed some dinner in a restaurant (after falling on my arse because the chair was broken) and then headed back to the bar for a few cocktails.

I grabbed a taxi back to the hostel and noticed a little cafe across the street, where I joined the family that worked there and theirt friends for a beer, and some unidentified shot. The woman knocked up some beef stuff and we all sat around drinking, eating and chatting. I think I managed to get a couple of photos before my batteries died...

Today has been a quiet day... Wat Chalang tomorrow I think!

Tom Yum's boots...

Jumped on the back of a motorcycle taxi to Kata beach this morning. I was going to rent a bike but there were too many police around so didn't seem like a great idea.... The beach is gorgeous, although I'm led to believe there are better ones. Stopped off for some Tom Yum in a little restaurant just off the beach, which with a beer and the obligatory rice set me back 180 Baht. That's about 3 quid.

Took the bus back to the hostel - I'm not sure it's supposed to come via here but gave the driver some tobacco in exchange for a Thai cigarette and had no problems getting him to drop me off... The bus is great - it putters along at about 10KPH (we were getting buzzed by mopeds) and struggles to get up hills, but it just doesn't matter - all the people in the cafes along the roadside smile and wave and it's awesome fun.

The Thai people are lovely (when they're not trying to fleece you - oh yeah, the motorbike driver quoted 300BHT to get to Kata - I said no and walked off, suddenly the fare was 150BHT! *grins*). They're really friendly and as long as you're polite and smile a lot they're lovely to chat to, even with the language barrier. I'm off to get the sand out of my clothes and then I may just have to see what happens in Phuket on a Saturday night!

Miss you all heaps. Really. ;)

Thailand

So I flew out of Sydney yesterday afternoon (an hour late but never mind) and touched down in Phuket at about 9pm, where I was immediately hit by the 25 degree heat. I was dog tired so accepted (almost) the first taxi fare I could get to the Hostel. That was when the fun began.

The taxi driver didn't know where the hostel was, although I had obviously checked he did before we left the airport. We ended up in the middle of nowhere with me on the phone to his controller trying to sort things out (meantime the taxi driver is looking at every little shack at the side of the road asking 'here?', 'here?'). We eventually asked some locals and they pointed us to the hostel, and then we discovered reception was shut. My taxi driver went for a leak up the wall of the hostel and spotted someone inside, who let me in and I managed to get a room. The trip took an hour and a half (it should have taken about 40 minutes) and at one point I was starting to think I was going to get murdered and have my stuff stolen. Trusting soul that I am, but I honestly know now how Ewan McGreggor felt when he went on the 'mad video game ride in the dark' to one of the hotels he stayed in on 'Long Way Round'.

Things are much better after some sleep (so hot though, so hard to sleep) - reception guy gave me a voucher for a free breakfast at the little store next door to the hostel, which was simple but delicious (fresh pineapple, toast and jam and some tea), and I'm now sitting here sweating like a Scouser in court at 8am. Time to go exploring I think!

Finishing off in Australia

So, after the Blue Mountains what did I get up to? I went to Palm Beach, which most people probably know better as 'Summer Bay'. We took the dog and got our knuckles rapped a couple of times as we really shouldn't have had her on the beach, but she was having a whale of a time so it only seemed fair to let her have a run. Luckily she didn't see the dolphins swimming just off the shore or we could have had problems.

Before we went to Palm Beach we went over to the national park on the other side of the pitt water where there were some fantastic views - I'm sure I'll get the photos uploaded at some point.

As I left Sydney, World Youth Day was in full swing, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go and tease some pilgrims before I left. I headed down to Circular Quay where the crowd were gathering waiting for a glimpse of the Pope (who looks far too much like Joe Pesci for my liking), and mingled with the crowd enjoying the atmosphere. I then managed to get a quick snap of myself holding a sign saying 'Blessed are the cheesemakers' - it had to be quick as I didn't want to get lynched! I even saw the Pope's 'boatacade' - seriously, that's what it was called. I also got roped in to help a street performer do his show, where he juggled knives and flaming torches on a bike atop a 22 foot pole....

We also went out for Vietnamese food for Hannah's birthday, which was great - very similar to Thai food and who doesn't like Thai? Talking of which...

OZ update

So, what's new since the last update all that time ago?

Ok, the Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour. Schmeh, I wasn't overly impressed with the museum itself, although it was ok I guess if you like your Australian Maritime History. Far more interesting (IMHO) were the war ship and subamrine located outside the museum which you could look around. The fact you had tour guides explaining everything helped, as I wouldn't have known what half the stuff I was looking at was otherwise. It was pretty cool, especially being in the submarine - it's crazy how cramped those things are.

Hannah and I popped over to Sydney Fish Market for lunch, which was nice - let's face it, you're not going to find fish much fresher than at the place the fishermen take it off the boat. I made a complete mess with the grilled Tiger Prawns but they were really good...

I had a really nice day out at Bondi, strolling along the beach and sitting in the sun on a balcony overlooking the sea. Bondi's not quite what I imagined, it's smaller for a start. It's a lovely beach though and the fact the weather held pretty much all day was a blessing. The surf wasn't too high whilst I was there although there were a few surfers there catching the odd wave.

Circular Quay is where you'll find the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Botanical Gardens. I spent some time hanging out by the Opera House taking photos and then headed for a stroll through the gardens. After that I headed over to the harbour bridge and walked across it (well, half way and back), where you can get some great views of the harbour. There was a guy being pinned to the floor and handcuffed by the police as I walked across, although I have no idea why. Probably trying to jump.....

After that I headed over to the Observatory and had a look around there, and also had a stroll through The Rocks, which I understand is the oldest part of Sydney - now home to trendy cafes and shops (and road works).

I spent an evening at my Aunt and Uncle's summer house up the coast, whicih was nice. It's way out in the Wop Wops and really quiet. We had to be up early on the Sunday morning though as we were headed in to the city for a Chinese breakfast, which was gorgeous. Lots of dishes, and lots of tea... Definitely recommended!

Manly Beach made fot a pleasant day out - it seemed a bit larger than Bondi, and the surf was definintely more in evidence. I got soaked walking down the beach but dried out fairly quickly as I walked back towards town. After a quick lunch I headed towards Shelly Beach, which is tucked around the corner of the shore and is far quieter, and very beautiful - it looks like something out of 'Lost'. I headed up behind Shelly Beach and found a path that takes you through some bush and eventually up on to some rocks that overlook Manly. It's a really lovely spot with some great views, well worth the climb which isn't particularly difficult.

The trip across to Manly is by ferry (ferries are easily the best way to get from one part of Sydney to another) so you can chill out for 30 minutes before going for coffee in Circular Quay on the way home. All good!

I headed up to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains (which aren't blue). Maybe they're called the Blue Mountains because it's so bloody cold you start turning blue when you get there? There are loads of walks around the mountains that go from Katoomba so I did as many as I could. I started off at Echo Point and did the Cliff Edge walk, and then headed down towards Katoomba Cascades, before walking back up to Echo Point and heading for the Three Sisters and the Giant Stairway.

The Giant Stairway. God almighty, why did I do that? I walked down to the Three Sisters, saw the stairs and thought 'why not?' 900 or so steps later (and a very long way down) I reached the bottom, and then had to climb back up again. To say the stairs are steep is an understatement - at times they're almost vertical. It was really, really hard work to get back to the top (especially with my backpack) but I made it eventually. I headed to the hostel after that for some food and a nice sit down....


The next day I headed down to the Katoomba Falls Kiosk and from there down the Furber Steps walk. I went off on the Underfalls Walk to see Katoomba Falls, and then headed down to the bottom of the Furber steps. I had a walk through the rainforest and did the touristy walks down there, before getting the worlds steepest railway back out of the valley (it had taken 2 hours to walk down, I wasn't walking back up as well).