Good Bye, Adios, Au revoir, La gohn for now .....

So we have finally arrived in the land of Toronto, Canada . Flight from London to Toronto with Air Transat was SHIAAAT! As our luggage that we have been carrying for the last 7 months did not fly with us and instead remained at Gatwick airport, London. After, an hour of searching for our luggage that was not even in the country, going through customs and immigration and all the chaos I managed to become a Canadian Immigrant, annnnnnd unpacking our Sydney stuff that was shipped over earlier in the year, attending weddings, buying furniture, opening bank accounts and getting a tax file number i think it's safe to say that our first week in Toronto has not been easy. The inevitable has arrived.



As promised our highlights and lowlights from our makin' moves across the globe journey:

Uriah's top five Highlights:
- Gibbons Experience in Bokeo Nature Reserve, Laos.
- Diving in the Similan Islands, Thailand.
- Eating Banana Que on the beaches of Boracay, Philippines.
- Tailor Frenzy in Hoi An, Vietnam.
- Sumo Wrestling Tournament in Nagoya, Japan.

Lowlights: well not much mostly all the long bus rides from one country to another.



Derek's top five Highlights:
- Back alley neighbourhood Cockflights; Pardo, Cebu, Philippines.
- Zip lining at the Gibbons Experience, Northern Laos.
- Exploring Kampot & Bokor, Southern Cambodia.
- Trekking, Northern Thailand.
- Eating whatever you want, whenever you want everyday and paying virtually nothing for it in Asia!

Lowlights:
- Paris, France in August!! The hordes of tourists is overwhelming.
- The third and last day of our Similan Island dive trip when I had tooth and sinus problems and couldn't dive.
- One morning a few weeks ago when I realised our trip was ending and that we would have to get jobs!



It is weird that our 7 months journey around the world has ended so fast for us, but stay tuned everyone as there may be makin' moves across the globe part 2. We are looking at 5 months in South America and a possible Trans Serbia trip from Russia to China and on to Nepal, Tibet and India. Maybe even a return to South East Asia to see the stuff we did not cover on this trip and finally New Zealand. Of course, this is not going to happen any time soon unless we win the lottery. You will all be informed.



We would like to thank all of our followers we hope that you all have been entertained and this is only a goodbye..... for now.


Much love,
uriah and derek xoxoxoxox

Beach Bums and boobies - Mallorca!

So, our last stop in Spain and for our little trip is the Spanish island of Mallorca. We thought it would be a good idea to take some time to just relax and enjoy the sunshine and beach to finish our trip. Mallorca seemed to be a good fit.

It would of been a good fit if it wasn´t for the fact that Mallorca and more specifically Magaluf (where we were staying) happens to be where all the young package tourists from England come to party and get rowdy. The type of tourists that trash hotels, vomit in the hallways, leave trash and beercans all over the beach and throw toilet paper rolls into the trees! After getting use to how loud the Brits can be all day everyday, we managed to get in some R & R and for the most part enjoyed our stay in Mallorca.

Magaluf is extremely touristy with more British than Spanish. We did however catch the train to Soller in the northern part of the islands. It´s a lot different up there with more Spanish locals and German retirees.

Uriah on the train thats been running since 1912


The beaches of Port of Soller


Derek heading to Soller, mmmm.....mussells



The beaches of Magaluf where at least 50% of female sunbathers are topless!



Stay tuned for our next post where we´ll cover the highlights and lowlights from our trip!

- Uriah and Derek

Si!

Barcelona is cool. It´s got a good vibe to it. Since we are in the last leg of our trip we decided that a little splurging was in order. No more $4 rooms people, we had to switch it up to 4 star (****) hotels! Having a nice place to bunk makes life that little bit nicier. So what that we ended up spending more in four days in Barcelona than we did in like three weeks in Laos! We´re livin the good life for a bit (sort of).

Uriah and some passed out crackhead, Barri Gotic (the gothic quarter)


Barcelona has got a bit of everything. Its got historical sites, art with heavy influence by Gaudi, a decent beachfront for a city (not as good as Sydney though) and shopping and good transport. It is however expensive to eat and find a place to sleep.




We did what we normally do with most destinations. Lots of walking around in the sun, sightseeing and pigging out on food. This trip has made our eating habits terrible. We eat what we want whenever we want and that includes lots of junk foods.

Sunset at Bogatell beach and Derek at the park designed by Gaudi


The city view & Las Ramblas


From Barcelona we darted for Mallorca where we are writing this. We´ll cover that on the next update.

- Derek & Uriah

Ireland

Welcome to Ireland!


This is kind of a common sight on the bus. Big night out?


Flying in from Paris, we got to Dublin with no problems at all. We flew with Aer Lingus, Ireland´s national airline. We had to change our flights last minute as their pilots were suppose to go on strike the day we intended to fly so we pushed our flight one day ahead and got to spend an extra day in Dublin. Well worth it too.

Dublin was really good and Ireland and its people are awesome. A lot like aussies so its really easy to relate. We stayed with some friends we made while travelling in Laos and that made it all the more fun. Their housemates were all good people as well.



Ireland is a tiny country and Dublin is pretty much the place to be in if you want city life. We checked out the major sites including Trinity college and the usual old buildings and cathedrals. Tasted the local treats including black pudding, white pudding, beef and Guinness hot pot and of course the beer itself: Guinness. Its suppose to be tastier in Ireland and I think its true.



We did a couple trips out into the countryside and saw Wicklow, Glendalough among others and visited Newgrange. Newgrange was kinda cool as its a burial chamber thats older than the pyramids of Egypt. I wasn´t really paying attention but I think the lady at Newgrange was saying its the third older burial site in the world. There is heavy demand to visit the site on the winter solstice of each year. Its because once a year the sun is perfectly aligned so that sunlight fills up the entire chamber with light (the builders did this on purpose). There use to be a six year wait if you wanted to see the solstice but now they just do a lottery draft. Its that special.

The wicklow, Newgrange, Glendalough and some other place? (I forgot already!)



Us and Fergus & Anna


Our trip is rapidly coming to an end, Im sad and happy at the same time. Will miss the constant change of environments but it´d be nice to wear some different clothes. I only packed 2 pairs of socks for the trip. It didnt matter at all in asia because I was wearing flip-flops but in Europe its too cold most days and shoes are necessary. Unfortunately, that means wearing dirty socks. Sometimes 3 days in a row. Yes, I know, its kind of gross but thats life on the road.

- Derek

Oui Oui France

In France it seems like their favourite past time is good eating and living well. I can get use to this. Waking up early in the morning, lining up outside the local Boulangerie and just enjoying breathing in that fresh bread smell. Once you feel you have all the fresh bread you want for the day, you can not pass by a passterie without buying a profiterole look a like (only better as it is two tiers and chocolate mousse inside) ...... i'm droooling while writing this blog, so delicious. All the while you constantly think " umm what should we have for dinner". What's made our France trip so special????? We didn't spend much money thanks to the generousity of Charito & Daniel (Friends of Derek's parents).

They have been treating us to THE best French food and they've provided us with wonderful accommodation. See pics below.

Chateau in Limeray, Dessert at Le Train Bleu


Roast Lamb & Au gratin, Escargot (SNAILS!)


You know...an apartment in Versailles and a "Chateau" (Castle) in Limeray where the neighbours include the likes of Mick Jagger. It's crazy sleeping in a bed room that is bigger than my parent's entire house. Oh the life. So a big merci beaucoup goes out to Charito & Daniel.

Our days in Paris were spent blending in with the horde of other tourists from all around the world wanting to see all the major sites. Every site I absolutely loved from the Arc de triomphe, the Musse de lourve (just managed to see the Mona Lisa painting from afar, i got lucky), Sainte Chapelle, Notre Dame, Moulin Rogue, Funiculare and of course the Eiffel Tour (tower) to name a few.

Notre Dame & the horde around the Mona Lisa!! How fun.


View from the Funiculare, Us in Versailles


I had so many " I can't believe I'm here moments", that I would look into my husbands eyes and melt with so much love for him, while he looks at me with a " get me outta here, I hate all these friggin tourists everywhere taking pictures of everything" look. What a contrast.

Melting moments, Mr. Annoyed

France we shall see you again.
-Uriah