Around The World

Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world. It is visited by less than 100 tourists yearly and has recently made headlines, as it believes it will be the first victim of global warming. Beyond all this is a beautiful nation with friendly locals and relaxed attitude. Tuvalu has one international airport, on the main island of Funafuti. The airport code is FUN and this country is fun.

You don’t end up in Tuvalu by accident. Air Pacific flies in twice a week with a 44-seater airplane. The runway is the centre of the Funafuti atoll and you have a crowd of onlookers waving and clapping as you exit the airplane and go through customs.

Three people on the plane with me, who were also staying at the hotel were

.Pete, an English guy living on the Gold Coast. He is a solar engineer who was building generators for outer islands. He had been previously to Tuvalu.

. William, an American who lived in Mallorca. He was retired and had travelled to most of the world. A self-made multi millionaire – he had also written a New York Times bestseller.

. Inese, a Latvian lady who was travelling throughout the Pacific with William.

Most of the people on the island have scooters and you can pick one up for $10 per day. Pete took me up one side of the island on the back of the scooter and gave me a bit of info onto the island. There were makeshift houses, chickens & dogs roamed the streets, and the amount of litter was overwhelming for such a small island. There were pigs in cages – they are not there to be eaten, rather as a sign on manhood. After Pete dropped me back at the hotel I went to the bar in and bought a beer.

VB is the beer of choice in Tuvalu, and they tend to enjoy their alcohol. At the bar, I met a man named Eddy. He tells us he will probably be the Prime Minister of Tuvalu one-day soon. Formally from Kiribati, he was a seafarer and has travelled throughout the world. A very interesting man indeed. He now trains the young men, most of which go to help on German ships. These men send back ninety percent of their income to Tuvalu and his accounts for $4Million of revenue for the country. He invited me to the Seaman’s Centre – a boys club Eddy had built where they drank VB and played pool. People come and go through there. After this Eddy took me up to other side of the island on his bike and we had a drink at the bar at the end. Eddy seemed to know everyone on the island. We went back to the hotel where I had a look at the sunsetting. Pete organised dinner with himself, Inese, William and I at 7.00pm. Before I got ready, I saw some of the local boy’s jetty jumping just outside my hotel so I went and joined in jumping into the lagoon.

Choices for meals in Tuvalu are limited. We went to the Hala Vai Seafood Restaurant – which was a Chinese restaurant. This was the nicest meal I had on this island and was reasonably priced. At dinner William ordered a whole lobster.

The next day, William, Inese and I all hired motorbikes and it took a little while to get used to riding. We planned a day where we rode up and down the island. We briefly stopped at the Philatelic Bureau. Tuvalu stamps are amongst the rarest in the world and create quite a bit revenue for the country. The girls who work at the bureau were nice and gave us some stamps for our collection.

We continued riding the bike and stopped at one end for photographs of the dump and shipwreck. We needed to stop for fuel at the fuel station, which is nothing like anything I had ever seen before. It is poured from a jerry can into the bike.

We were in search of something called David Hole. Charles Darwin had a theory about how coral atolls were formed – he theorised that they came from the rim of a sunken volcano. To test of this hypothesis he drilled a hole down far enough and if there were volcanic soil that far down it would prove this theory. He chose Funafuti to do this – and this drillhole is hidden behind bushes and a majority of the locals have no idea where it is or what it is.

We eventually went back up to the Sunset Bar to walk to the edge of the island. Again, we got some nice shorts of where the Pacific Ocean meets the lagoon. We had another drink and then Inese crashed her bike. She needed to go to hospital so I went back to the hotel to let William know. After showering I went out to the runway to find hundreds of people playing soccer and volleyball before dark.

After dinner, at the Filomena Lodge, I was told by some of the locals that there was a nightclub in operation on Friday nights. Its interesting that a place as small as Funafuti has a nightclub – but the place, called Lucky Set, was loud – they even had a $3 cover charge. It was very quiet when I was there so I went back to the hotel and had a few drinks with a guy named Colin, who was in Tuvalu working for an Asian Bank. He was pissing everyone off from the staff, to Pete but I had a few drinks with him. He was just not a nice person and one of the staff who I still keep in contact with always hates when he stays there. I went back to the Lucky Strike – and it was now packed. They played a variety of songs, from western songs, to local songs and I ended up meeting some people there. The club closed at 2am. We went out in search of something to do, and ended up seeing some kids getting arrested. I’m sure that it doesn’t happen often – the country prison has a grand population of five people.

There were a couple of guys who work for the council who I spoke to and then I was making my way back when it started to rain. I stopped at a 24-hour convenience store – yes, they do have one! I asked the cops to take me home but they wouldn’t so was invited to come and have a few drinks with Sao – who works for the tourism department. We had an interesting chat about what his plans are for the country and introduced me to his friends. We then went driving in the back of his ute and it was raining so hard by this stage that they took me back to hotel. It was after 5AM!

I had about two hours of sleep before getting up for breakfast. It must have been a big night had by all as even the Deputy Prime Minister came into the hotel looking for alcohol, stumbling and in a drunken state. I had to return the motorbike so I did so and then Inese, William and I waited for Eddy to take us out to the Funafuti Conservation Area.

An atoll is the outer part of a volcanic rim, and years of water erosion form many islands and islets in a circle surrounding a lagoon. Fongafele is where everything happens on Funafuti atoll, but there are other islets. Eddy took us on the 12km journey to the other side of the lagoon to a little island, Tepuka. It’s the kind of island that gives meaning to the saying, trapped on a desert island. An Italian Count offered an outrageous sum of money to buy this islet but was turned down. We landed on the island and Inese and I went snorkelling and saw some awesome coral and fish. The water is crystal clear and a great unknown in the world of diving. We went back and had some food and beer and then we circled the islet. It is completely coral and not nice on the feet but the entire island is just a completely untouched part of paradise. Any guidebook you read on Tuvalu lists the conservation area as a must do, and it is quite expensive by all accounts but when you consider this money goes back into the area and the kind of day you get, it is well worth putting your hand in your pocket. The journey back can get quite rough depending on the current of the water.

Tuvalu literally means cluster of eight (although altogether there are nine islands and atolls, only eight are inhabited). There were a lot of people on this island from the outer islands for the National Soccer Championships. I went to watch some of the game. The stadium is impressive, by Tuvalu standards, but needs maintenance. The ground had been rained on so large patches of mud were affecting the movement of the ball.

Inese had to go back to the hospital to get re-bandaged. I went with her to see what it was like. There was only one nurse on duty but the hotel seemed to be pretty efficient. A few people were in the waiting room but by all means it didn’t seem like it would be a busy place most of the time. Of course, sometimes people aren’t lucky enough and when they die they are buried. Tuvalu doesn’t have cemeteries as such, rather the build aboveground graves in their front yard to honour the dead. The higher profile people have fairy lights on their graves to stand out.

We walked back to the hotel where we were asked by people to come in and have a drink, but we had a big and retired to the hotel for dinner and bed. The next morning we went to church. Tuvalu is a very religious nation, and has so many churches on the island. Inese and I went to one of the big ones for mass. I am generally not a church person but wanted to see what it is was like her, as it is a big part of life for the people here. Mass was said in Tuvaluan, bread was not the wafer kind in Australia, rather real white bread and you don’t get red wine, rather red cordial in shot glasses. Everyone gets dressed up, and streets get blocked off. Most of the country shuts down on Sunday as a day of worship.

I met a nice guy named Bastille who picked me up on his bike. His English wasn’t so good, but we drove for at least an hour while I got to take some awesome video on the back of his bike. Afterwards I had a great chat with William over lunch about his thoughts on the world. He is a very interesting man, highly successful and educated. He has a great way of telling stories and getting his point across and is the kind of person I could listen to for hours on end.

Tuvalu has a remarkably good Internet connection – so I found an Internet cafe where I sent a few e-mails. The one on the main road was closed and the kids outside were talking to me, all with varying degrees of English. They were mostly confused as to why a white person was in the country I think.

I was introduced the next day to the manager of the Vaiaku Lagi. She was preparing for a full house on the next plane with reporters from CNN and BBC all here for the king tides which would be at the peak the next week. She used to play competitive netball and lived in Brisbane. She said next time you go to Tuvalu, let her know you are there so she can introduce you to her sons and they can take you to their youth groups.

There was torrential rain on the last day and the water was getting close to the hotel room; as the highest part of the island is only 4 meters above sea level it is easy to see why people are worried the islands will disappear in the next century. There really is not much room to move when the waters begin to rise like they did this day.

For the last night the people of the hotel did some traditional island dancing for us – it is not usual they have three tourists on the island at the same time. One of the guys then took me for a ride for my final night to say goodbye. It amazing how many people are just happy to put you on the back of their motorbike and take you for a ride.

Some people have said this is the most boring country on earth, but my time there has made me very passionate about this country. People are relaxed and welcoming. As I was leaving Ioka from the hotel, Eddy and Bastille all came to give me gifts and say goodbye at the airport. The island is beautiful, albeit plagued by litter. You don’t get her by accident and I had planned this trip for a long time. I have the fondest memories of this place and met some of the nicest and most interesting people I have ever met abroad. If you want to get away, and I mean away from everything – give Tuvalu a go.

A stunning approach from air, it is no wonder why Fiji is the most popular and best connected country in all of the South Pacific. The product of volcanic mountains and warm water, Fiji is so visually impressive I will go as far as to say it is the aestetically pleasing country I have had the fortune of visiting.

I went to Fiji on a stopover on my way to Tuvalu. The national carrier, Air Pacific, has flight to USA, Canada, Hong Kong and Australia, amongst other countries, so a range of people can find themselves here. The airplane was pleasant enough. The meal was filling. The only downside was the communal movie screen, which played a movie that was up there with the worst I have ever seen.

This was my first overseas trip on my own. I was hesitant, as I generally can be quite shy. I decided a backpackers was the best place to overcome this so for my overnight in Nadi, the capital, I booked a bed at Smugglers Cove.

The dormitory provided a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. As you go through customs and immigration you pass locals playing their ukulele and porters saying to you, “sit down and relax” as you wait for shuttle. Be warned, as with most of the Pacific, the people operate on island time – which can be frustrating for those in a hurry.

I checked into the backpackers, in Nadi, and one of the guys who worked there, Carlos, took my bag and showed me to my particular bed – “your on holidays, I’ll carry your bag for you.” Where else in the world would you get this service in a backpackers? The dormitory was on the beach so I went for a walk – again I was awestruck by the scenery. Smoky mountains in the distance, calm waters – which was the warmest water you will ever hop in – and a beach. I went back to the dorm for some dinner. It doubled as a hotel upstairs and had a restaurant and bar.

The backpackers was full of people coming and going. There was one English guy who had been in Australia for a few months and was a keen diver who was going to a different island the next day. Another guy was going to Hong Kong and a bunch of Norwegian people who had been travelling together for a year through the Americas and Carribean. The girls actually made a bit of extra money posing for topless magazines – they were kind enough to show me some of the pictures!

Perhaps the most interesting person I met was the guy going to Hong Kong, Andreas, who explained that travelling solo is daunting at first but he has been doing it for near on a year and he wouldn’t have it any other way. After weighing up pro’s and con’s I figured he was probably right.

Another amazing thing about this backpackers was they provide entertainment at night – this particular night being fire dancing. We were treated to an hour of different island dances from boys and girls – doing various dances such as the hula, fire twirling with batons, machete throwing and the hukka. The light of the fire against the darkness of the beach is a lovely image as it dimly lit up the mountains in the background and this was some of the best free entertainment I have ever had.

I spent another hour relaxing in a hammock on the beach before organising a cab and wake up call for the next morning. I had to catch a flight from Nadi to Suva and then from Suva to Tuvalu. The Nadi to Suva flight runs every hour, as it is only a 22-minute flight. I got to the airport pretty early – my cab driver tried to get me to buy two bottles of gin for his daughter birthday. My flight was supposed to be at 08:15 but check in was relatively straightforward so I was put on the 06:50 flight. Suva was such a small airport and is called Nasouri airport. I breifly thought I was at the wrong airport – and since there was only one flight a week to Tuvalu I almost panicked. The staff then told me I was at the right airport and check in for Tuvalu hadn’t yet begun.

I met a nice Fijian at the airport, Neil, and his sister Rahaja. I still keep in contact with them. They were giving me insights into Tuvalu. I was soon off to Tuvalu and knew I would be back in Fiji soon (as a stop over on the way back).

Malaysia has a goal to be a first world nation by 2020; and one look at its capital, Kuala Lumpur and you will see it is well on the way. Kuala Lumpur is different to any Asian city I have even been to.

I stayed at the Maytower Hotel, in the city, and it took me an hour and a half to get there from the airport. A shuttle from the airport is about half the price of cab, but both are inexpensive and it is probably easier to get a cab, as the shuttle ride seems to take forever. It doesn’t help that airports don’t get much further away from the city than in Kuala Lumpur.

The Maytree was a lovely hotel, located in the Little India part of town; it was a high rise with a fantastic view of the Kuala Lumpur skyline. Apparently HI5 had stayed at the same hotel a week earlier. Malaysia is an Islamic country, and I was there during Ramadan so each morning there was a buffet in the restaurant before sunrise.

 The Petronas Towers dominate the skyline and are the image people have of Kuala Lumpur. From completion in 1998 until the Taipei 101 was finished in 2004, they were the tallest buildings in the world. The iconic skybridge, still the highest in the world, in between the 41st and 42nd floor is a sightseeing must and is free to visit. It does however only allow a limited number of people on per day so you are advised to get there well before opening or you will miss out on a spot. It was before sunrise when we woke and walked to the towers, which took about half and hour, and stood in line.

 We stood there for two hours, from 7.00am and were able to secure a spot on the second viewing, which was at 9.15am. You have to go through security checks before watching a ten-minute video on the towers. You then get elevated up to the skybridge and have ten minutes to look around. This will give your camera a work out.

 After viewing we went down the bottom of the towers where they have a department store, Suria KLCC, and restaurants. We had breakfast and I sat there constantly amazed at how modern Kuala Lumpur was. It was, I felt, very Western, and living here would be easy.

We got a cab to Chinatown, which most people consider to be the highest quality markets in Asia. We all made a few purchases and then went into a massage parlour. This was no ordinary beauty parlour – you get a massage and put your feet in a fish tank. There are fish which nibble on your dead skin. I don’t like my feet being touched and this was the most uncomfortable thing I think I had ever done.

 Officially known as Resorts World Genting and a self-proclaimed City of Entertainment, Genting is Malaysia’s low budget, family-friendly, sanitised attempt at Las Vegas. The primary draw is that Genting is the only place where you can gamble legally in Malaysia and on Saturday night we made the ninety-minute ride to the casino.

We had an interesting driver, from India, and he gave us a brief run down on Malaysia. Going up to Genting was amazingly scenic and apparently there are still some tribes living in the forest near here. I am not one to gamble but thought I would make the most of it. I used 10 Malaysian Ringgits (approx $3AUD) and kept winning money on the poker machine, aptly called one armed bandits. The drive back took over two hours as we hit traffic which meant that we got to the Kuala Lumpur tower about ten minutes too late to go up in the needle for dinner. We then went to a restaurant in the city for dinner.

 We had a quick plane ride home to Coolangatta, mainly because I found three good movies and watched them back to back. Being the hub of Air Asia, Kuala Lumpur is set to increase its tourism market and the city is a great place for a stopover on your way somewhere. Such and easy city to navigate, it no doubt will be a first world place very soon.

Bali is awesome. It is one of over 17,000 islands in the Indonesian Archipelago and is just over two kilometres east of the island of Java. Eighty per cent of tourists to Indonesia visit only Bali. Indonesia did experience I massive earthquake when I was in Bali, on the island of Java, and I was fortunate enough to be safe from this.

It is a right of passage for every Australian to make their way to Bali, and I thought this would be one large, touristy craphole. Many people come back again and again and you can see why.

 I stayed at the Oasis Hotel, in Kuta. It was a funky little hotel just off JL Legian and an easy five-minute walk from the centre of Kuta. There is an abundance of restaurants, markets, entertainment here and you could see the place pumping. I had a sore throat and felt horrible after the plane so I took some painkillers and I woke up fine.

I had a look around town the next day. I found my way up the legendary Poppies Lane before I became the victim of a scam. Looking back it was one of the best things that could have happened. A local came up to us with win cards. One of the cards told us we had won either: $10,000; a free hotel accommodation voucher; a voucher book or $1000. The catch was we had to go to Nusa Dua, a town 20 minutes drive from Kuta and we were almost pressured into an intense sale of time-share. The local’s name was Abus and he was so thankful as he got a bonus for taking us there that he became our tour guide for the duration. The hotel we went to was nice and Nusa Dua is somewhere I didn’t think I would go to.

 I did end up making it back to Nusa Dua on the last day for some of the cheapest jetskiing you will find anywhere in the world. I had never been jetskiing before but was given free use of the port for fifteen minutes. Some of the best fun you can have on water.

Bali is not just all chaos and party. The next day we had a cultural day. Abus picked us up and took us to Ubud. Ubud is almost smack bang in the middle of the island and it where all the carvings are made. We were taken to some markets where all the wholesale products were. After this we went further up the mountains to have a look at rice paddies and tea plantations. After this we went up the top of a volcano lunch. I highly recommend anyone do this as you sit on the edge of the volcano overlooking the rim. The land is so arid that there are actually some townships there. Ubud is also the location of the monkey forest – home to thousands of monkeys. The place garners a lot of tourists and the monkeys are happy to accept bananas of people. They are greedy creatures however so make sure you indicate you don’t have any food on you or they will attack you.

Another must do is to have dinner at Jimbarayan Bay – about fifteen minutes south of Kuta. Abus dropped us off to shower and picked us up. You overlook arguably the nicest beach in Bali where there are hundreds of tables on the beach – I was with my friend Craig and his parents Barb and Tunney – and we enjoyed some drinks while the beautiful sun set over the beach as planes came in to land at the airport. We were able to go and pick out our fish, which had been freshly caught, for dinner.

A lot of people say Bali is a shopper’s Mecca. I think it is overrated. It is different from Bangkok in that the markets are all around the streets and not in sectioned areas. I think if you weren’t interested in Bintang shirts, fake Louis Vuitton and penis shaped bottle openers (“Bali Bananas”) then there wasn’t a lot of offer. I did have a changed mindset by this stage of travelling though, where I was less interested in souvenirs – would rather save the money for the next trip. It was fun though testing my bartering skills for Craig’s parents – and the sales people seemed nice enough – except for one woman who took my hand and started cleaning my nails, without me asking, then demanded money. I was quick to tell her where to go. I did spend money on a custom-made leather jacket while in Bali though as the price was around $70 and that is cheaper than I could ever buy it for in Australia.

There is so much to do in Bali that five days is not enough to cover anything. I think you could stay for a month before getting bored and as I said, people go back year in year out. I was determined to go for a swim everyday in the beach. Famous for surfing, Kuta Beach is popular for its close proximity to the town. You can’t go to the beach without being hassled for surf lessons or a massage. The water inst particularly nice and you need to watch out for rips in the water. It is nothing like what is on the Gold Coast – in fact the sand it quite gravelly. I didn’t get to learn how to surf which was a bummer – but there just wasn’t enough time to do everything. I did however manage to swim in the Indian Ocean, which meant I have now swum in the two of the three largest oceans and the world’s longest river.

Indonesia has a tough stance on illicit drugs. Many high profile foreigners have been locked up and even killed by capital punishment for drug offences. One night we were offered mushrooms, ice and marijuana from men who pop out behind the bushes. Usually these people are working with corrupt officials who will them bribe you up to $20,000 to stay out of jail. It is not worth getting involved at all.

Perhaps the most famous prisoner in Bali is Australia’s Schapelle Corby. A beauty therapist from the Gold Coast who was caught and convicted with 4.1kg of marijuana in her bag at Ngurah Rai airport and is serving a 20 year sentence in Kerobokan Jail. The news story has captured Australia like no other, with people divided over whether is she is innocent, as she has vehemently maintained or guilty. The book I read on the plane was her biography and one morning Abus took us to the prison, 30 minutes from Kuta, to visit Schapelle. Once there, I was informed that Schapelle had a list of 103 people she would see – people like her family and lawyers – and that these people only were allowed to visit. I then asked if she could sign my book but was told by the prison guards that this was not possible. I gave up trying and went back to the hotel.

One of the best parts of travelling is the people you meet. In Bali, we met some interesting characters. One night whilst having a swim in the hotel pool I was invited to have a few glasses of Moet by four Vietnamese boys who were staying in the same hotel. They spoke varying degrees of English and were in Bali studying. After about an hour of drinking and talking it became apparent that they wanted something more – kept offering there beds to us to sleep in, asking us to keep the door open while we went to the shower etc. We were both beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable so made up some excuse to leave.

It would be amiss to go to Bali and not pay some respect to bombings. In 2002, Kuta was the scene of a terrorist attack. In the main part of town, one night a bomb went off in one of the main nightclubs and also a car blew up on the street. Hundreds of tourists died, a lot were Australians, and it affected the tourism in Bali for years. They have made a really nice memorial in the centre of Kuta district.

Poppies Lane is magical, and the memorial is only at one end of it. A narrow street, which is cramped, busy and somewhat dangerous – it somehow works and keeps people coming back. It was pouring rain for my last day visit to Poppies Lane and I needed to fund a bottle shop for some alcohol. That night we went to a restaurant we hadn’t been to yet. We had some alcohol, got massages from the locals and also bought some CD’s from some guy selling them on the street. I remember this restaurant for the $4 jugs of Long Island Ice Tea. After Barb and Tunney left we decided that we will never drink with this value again – there was a karaoke machine set up which we both gave a go at singing.

It does take a lot to get me to sing so I must have had a few. There were two Russian people at the restaurant that seemed to be entertained. After the restaurant closed we went out clubbing – Paddy’s Bar and The Discotheque were the two places – I drank so much alcohol, namely Jungle Juice, that I don’t remember getting home that well. I did have KFC in my room from the journey home, and managed to pick up a padlock somewhere along the way. Looking back, I can say this is probably the best night I have ever had out at the nightclubs so far. The next morning we had to leave, and it wasn’t feeling well until well beyond the airport. All that aside I look forward to going back to Bali and doing it all again.

For the first time I planned a trip without a travel agent. I wasn’t 100% happy with the how my previous trip had been handled and thought about all the money I had spent for their commission. I decided it would be fun to do it myself. It was a decision, which probably had a big part in me leaving my high paying bank job to be a travel agent.

Generally, airline tickets are the biggest expense for any traveller and finding the best deal can potentially save hundreds of dollars. Budget airline, Air Asia has opened up travel through Asia and has a model that has been successfully copied by many other airlines.

Air Asia’s hub is the low cost carrier terminal in Kuala Lumpur. It flys into Australia, Europe and Asia. Unlike full service airlines, Air Asia is a point to point carrier only. To make up for the cheap fares, you pay money for your baggage, meals and in flight entertainment. You can also pay extra money to pick your seat and purchase insurance. If your flight is delayed at one point, it is a case of ‘too bad’ for your connecting flight.

It was exciting; hoping all would go to plan. We had to be up in the early hours of the morning as we had a limousine picking us up to drop us at the Gold Coast Airport. Limousines are surprisingly good value when you consider the cost of a cab and split between four people they are excellent value. Splash out and get to the airport in style. Why not I say?

The plane was comfortable and on time. As I got to Kuala Lumpur LCCT I had to race through immigration and customs to catch a connecting flight. This part didn’t go so smoothly. The world was going through a swine flu endemic. I must have run a fever and the thermal scanning had picked me up and I was led to a cordoned off area for further testing. I was nervous, and not completely aware of what was going on. The last thing you are told on the plane is that Malaysia has a death penalty for drug offences. Was there drugs found in my bag? Horror stories of Schapelle Corby were running through my head.

Anyway, it took about ten minutes before they cleared me of swine flu and I got in the line for immigration. I suggest the airport change this system. I got in a line, which had two immigration officers serving it. All the other lines had four or five people serving it. I was getting very stressed about missing the connection. Ah, the airports. Sometimes, they are half the fun of the whole trip.

The Africa trip was drawing to a close and I couldn’t wait to get to the Novotel Sukhumvit in Bangkok for a good nights sleep before flying again. We had spent a month away, mostly camping, and a five star hotel seemed on the cards. I didn’t want to waste time in Bangkok though – I had money to spend and was in the city to do it. Bangkok, however, was in a state of emergency. The hotel was in lockdown.

I was there when the below (copied from wikipedia) was going on.

In March 2009, Thaksin Shinawatra claimed via video broadcast to a UDD rally that Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda masterminded the 2006 military coup, and that Prem and fellow Privy Councilor members Surayud Chulanont and Chanchai Likhitjittha conspired with the military and other members of the ‘Ammatayathipatai’ (aristocratic polity) to ensure that Abhisit became Premier. Although Abhisit denied the accusations, thousands protested in Bangkok early April demanding that Abhisit resign from the Premiership and that Prem, Surayud, and Chanchai resign from the Privy Council. Thaksin called for a “peoples revolution” to overcome the alleged aristocratic influences of the Abhisit government.2009, 100,000 UDD demonstrators, rallied at Government House and the nearby Royal Plaza by the evening. The government decided to declare the State of Emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas, and military forces were brought into the capital. Fighting erupted between anti-government protesters, government supporters, and the general population. At a demonstration in front of Prem’s residence, a yellow shirted driver plunged her car into a crowd of UDD protesters injuring several before driving away; she was not arrested. Abhisit denounced the UDD protesters as “national enemies”. Abhisit also issued a red shirt decree that empowered the government to censor television broadcasts.

In the pre-dawn of Monday 13 April, Army soldiers used tear gas and fired live and training rounds to clear protesters from the Din Daeng intersection near the Victory Monument in central Bangkok, injuring at least 70 people. The Army later claimed that live rounds were only fired into the air while training rounds were fired at the crowd. However, Human Rights Watch confirmed that there were some cases where the Army fired live ammunition directly at protesters. The UDD claimed that dozens of protesters died from gunshot wounds sustained during the military’s attack. However, the Army later claimed that the wounds were not caused by an M-16, the standard Army rifle. Also on Monday the government ordered the red shirt blocking of satellite news station D Station, an affiliate of the UDD which, at the time, was broadcasting the clashes. Several community radio stations were shut down and searched upon suspicion of supporting the UDD. I truly believe that there will always some sort of unrest somewhere in the world for the rest of our lives. Why cant we all just get along?

If there is one airport in the world you want to spend some time in; chances are it is Changi Airport, Singapore. A frequent winner of the world’s best airport, Changi is renowned for its shopping, eating, design, efficiency and atmosphere.

It’s a perfect come down to the high you are on when you are on Singapore Airlines. Chances are that if you had to spend time in economy long haul, it would be Singapore Airlines.

Singapore is an island county off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres north of the equator, in the Southeast Asian region of the Asian continent. It is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north, and from Indonesia’s Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. A city-state, Singapore is the world’s fourth leading financial centre and a cosmopolitan world city, playing a key role in international trade and finance.Airports excite me. People going, people coming. I think I could spend all day there. I dream of getting an airport job just people watch. I left the doors of Changi Airport only once – to get a tobacco hit – and my few hours spent here were no where near enough.

Landing in Johanesburg for the third time in a month was weird. First time I was excited to be in Africa, second time I was excited to be going to Egypt but this time I was on the way home. Two tours. One month. I was exhausted wanted to sleep for days in my own bed. It was the first time I had been overseas for more than a week and certainly the first time where it was anything but luxurious.

Johannesburg International Airport is the main hub of South African Airways and the major primary airport for both international and domestic travel in all of Africa. After going to a few duty free stores looking for books and dvds, I took some photos of the World Cup Memorabilia. The 2010 World Cup would be held in South Africa and it was an exciting time for the city and the country to showcase itself to the world. As such the airport had been doing massive improvements.

It has recently been renamed O R Tambo Airport after Oliver Tambo. In 1985 he was elected President of the ANC. He returned to South Africa in 1991 after over 30 years in exile, and was elected National Chairperson of the ANC in July of the same year. Along with Nelson Mandala, Tambo played a pivotal part in the abolition of apartheid. Tambo died aged 75 due to complications from a stroke on April 24, 1993.

As you walk to the departure gate there is a great big sign that says, ‘We hope to see you again in Africa soon.’ Trust me, I hope so too.

Egypt is perhaps best known as the home of the ancient Egyptian civilisation, with its temples, hieroglyphs, mummies, and – visible above all – its pyramids. Egypt stimulates the imagination of western tourists like few other countries and is probably one of the most popular tourist destinations world-wide – too bad its national carrier didn’t give me the best introduction – unfriendly staff, bad movies and bad food. The only upside was the view from the plane as we descended. The Nile.

The plane landed in this ancient land early in the morning and we were met by Shaggy, a representative of On The Go who picked us up and got us through this massive and busy airport quickly.

The tour was beginning that morning and the meeting point was the hotel Oasis. We were allowed into one of the rooms to shower and get ready for day one.

Anyone who has ever been on a group tour before will agree that a tour leader can really make or break the experience. Fortunately, our leader for the next week was Sharif, an Egyptologist. Sharif was a funnyman – he had the catch phrase, which he said, before any monument – “Get ready, get excited, this is the moment you have been waiting for your entire lives.”

The first stop on day one was in a town called Giza. One of the premier attractions of Egypt, if not the world, the Pyramids of Giza represent the archetypal pyramid structures of ancient Egyptian civilisation and – together with the Sphinx at the base of the Giza plateau – are the iconic image of Egypt. The Great Pyramids consist of the Great Pyramid of Kiza, the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre a few hundred meters to the south-west, and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure a few hundred meters further south-west. The Great Sphinx lies on the east side of the complex, facing east. Current consensus among Egyptologists is that the head of the Great Sphinx is that of Khafre. Along with these major monuments are a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as “queens” pyramids, causeways and valley pyramids. Also associated with these royal monuments are what appear to be the tombs of high officials and much later burials and monuments (from the New Kingdom onwards). At the time of their construction and for many years after, the Pyramids of Giza were the tallest structures on the planet. Khufu’s pyramid originally rose 479 feet but has been reduced to 449 feet with the loss of its limestone casing. Khafre’s Pyramid had stood 471 feet at its completion while Menkaure’s Pyramid stands at a modest 218 feet. “In 1300 AD the Great Pyramid was surpassed as the tallest structure in the world by England’s Lincoln Cathedral.” but to this day remains the most massive structure on Earth.

Of the seven ancient wonders of the world – the pyramids is the only one that remains. We were able to climb on the pyramids, although officially forbidden and were able to go through a 1x1x1 tunnel for approx 100 meters in the second pyramid into the ancient burial chamber. We were able to get some nice pictures from the Giza Plateau and then ride a camel through over to the pyramids.

Afterwards, we went and visited the Sphinx, which is the oldest and largest monolith statue in the world. I always believed it was Napoleon who destroyed the nose of the Sphinx, but it is now thought that heretics did to prove non-existence of gods. If there were really were gods, it would be magically replaced they tried to teach the people of Egypt. After this we went to the Saqqara.

Saqqara is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara features numerous pyramids, including the world famous Step pyramid of Djoser, sometimes referred to as the Step Tomb due to its rectangular base, as well as a number of mastabas. Located some 30 km south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara covers an area of around 7 km by 1.5 km. At Saqqara, the oldest complete hewn-stone building complex known in history was built: Djoser’s step pyramid, built during the third dynasty. 16 other Egyptian kings have built pyramids at Saqqara, which are now in various states of preservation or dilapidation. High officials have added private funeral monuments to this necropolis during the entire pharaonic period. It remained an important complex for non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3,000 years, well into Ptolemaic and Roman times.

 Cairo is the most populated city in Africa and one of the most populated cities in the world. You tend to get used to the sound of beeping horns when you here. A downside to this is that there is extreme pollution. Massive piles of debris clog either side of the Nile. We navigated our way through the city to a legitimate papyrus store. We were able to purchase some papyrus before having dinner and making our way to the train station for our overnight train to Aswan. After arriving in Aswan we caught a boat to a hotel on an island, in the middle of the Nile. The hotel was called Isis and was the reportedly the nicest in Egypt.

We had some day tours lined up. One of which was a trip to Lake Nassar. This is the largest artificial lake in the world and is created from catching from the Aswan Dam – one of the biggest in the world. Aswan Dam was build by the Russian’s in the 1940’s in the hope of getting Egypt on side during the world war. It serves great purpose at is takes away the effects of the annual flooding of the Nile which had devastating ramifications on the country prior. The temple in Philae is a temple that had been moved to its own island due to damage. It is thought to be the resting-place of the god Osiris and is held in high respect by both Egyptians and Nubians for its historical significance. The markets in Aswan were different to anything I had ever seen before. Unlike in places like Thailand, where they know that no means no – the Aswanian’s did not take no for an answer. You were offered marijuana among other things, and it is an ordeal to make it out of the place. That night we had dinner at the Isis Hotel with Katie H and Sarah from our tour group.

 The next morning was an early rise – 2.30am – we could catch a flight to Abu Simbel on Memphis Air. Abu Simbel was one of the highlights of all of Egypt and I was probably more impressed with this than I was even at the pyramids. The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh, and to intimidate his Nubian neighbours. However, the complex was relocated in its entirety in the 1960s, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir.

The relocation of the temples was necessary to avoid their being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River. The temples were created in perfect alignment to the sun and have certain spots inside where the sun projects to light up paintings on the wall. After we flew back to Aswan we were then about to board our two-day Nile cruise on a felucca.

A felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat used in protected waters of the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean including Malta, and particularly along the Nile in Egypt, Sudan, and also in Iraq. Its rig consists of one or two lateen sails. They are usually able to board ten-some passengers and the crew consists of two or three people. Despite being made obsolete by motorboats and ferries, feluccas are still in active use as a means of transport in Nile-adjacent cities like Aswan or Luxor.

They are especially popular among tourists who can enjoy their quieter and calmer mood than motorboats have to offer. We were joined by Sarah, Katie H, Colin from New Zealand, Sam from USA, Debbie and Adam – Kiwis living in the UK and Katie M and Rachel – Melbournites living in the UK. When you are living in such proximity to people you end up making really good friends with them and I still keep in contact with over half the people from the felucca cruise today. It is such a great way to see the see the Nile as we cruised down stream. One night we went to a traditional Nubian House to learn Belly Dancing and smoke the hashpipes; another night we had a Belly Dancing competition, which I was the representative for our felucca, around a bushfire. We were chased by kids with pitchforks and sold necklaces by other kids. I couldn’t leave Egypt without having a swim in the Nile.

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It was a major source of life for the Ancient Egyptians and is probably the most famous river in the world.

 We got off the Felucca after two nights and went to two temples – Komombo and Edfu. I was a little templed out by this stage. One of them was an ancient doctor surgery and one was a place for mummification and burials.

In Egypt, it is very likely you will come across a snake charmer and whilst waiting for other people in the group I got as close to a cobra as I ever want to get. We eventually arrived in Luxor – a beautiful city on the Nile where we got to have dinner. Our particular felucca group had a party in one of the hotel rooms here and named ourselves Cult Broccoli after some in-jokes from the trip. We decided to make a human pyramid and spent some of the night practicing whilst drinking.

The next day was for three purposes.

1. Valley of the Queens – The Valley of the Queens is a place in Egypt where wives of Pharaohs were buried in ancient times. In ancient times, it was known as Ta-Set-Neferu, meaning –‘the place of the Children of the Pharaoh’, because along with the Queens of the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties (1550–1070 BCE) many princes and princesses were also buried with various members of the nobility. The tombs of these individuals were maintained by mortuary priests who performed daily rituals and provided offerings and prayers for the deceased nobility. In Queen Titi’s tomb we were able to see the skeletal remains of a foetus, which has, been preserved.

2. The Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut is situated beneath the cliffs at Deir el Bahari on the West Bank of the Nile near the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Designed by the architect Senemut, the mortuary temple is dedicated to the sun god Amon-Ra and is located next to the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II, which served both as an inspiration, and later, a quarry. It is considered one of the “incomparable monuments of ancient Egypt.” Hatshepsut’s temple is considered the closest Egypt came to the Classical Architecture. It marks a turning point in the architecture of Ancient Egypt, which forsook the megalithic geometry of the Old Kingdom for a temple which allowed for active worship, requiring the presence of participants to create the majesty. The linear axiality of Hatshepsut’s temple is mirrored in the later New Kingdom temples. The architecture of the original temple has been considerably altered as a result of misguided reconstruction in the early twentieth century AD.

3. Valley of the Kings The area has been a focus of archaeological and egyptological exploration since the end of the eighteenth century, and its tombs and burials continue to stimulate research and interest. In modern times the valley has become famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun (with its rumours of the Curse of the Pharaohs[7]), and is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. In 1979, it became a World Heritage Site, along with the rest of the Theban Necropolis.[8] Exploration, excavation and conservation continues in the valley, and a new tourist centre has recently been opened. We visited three tombs in total – Ramses 1, a joint tomb – the largest in the valley; and then the tomb of Sipah. The walls were still bright with colours and size was amazing.

That afternoon we went to the temple of Karnak – made famous in the Indiana Jones movies. Stone had to be imported from other parts of the country and the sheer weight showed they were well ahead of their time. We managed to complete our human pyramid here before some of the group continued their tour to Dahab.

We joined Katie M and Rachel for dinner at the Ritz, in Luxor for dinner and boarded another overnight train to Cairo that night. When we got to Cairo we went to our hotel and the water was not working. It took a few hours to get it ready. It was also a coincidence that it rains 3 days a year in Cairo and this particular day was on of them. We were able to have a final breakfast with Katie and Rachel before they left and then we went to the Cairo Museum.

The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities contains many important pieces of ancient Egyptian history. It houses the world’s largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities, and many treasures of King Tutankhamen. The Egyptian government established the museum, built in 1835 near the Ezbekeyah Garden. We didn’t get Sharif for this visit; rather another guy who didn’t seem interested in showing us the main things on everyone’s mind – the death mask and the mummies. These particular treasures are world famous and behind tight security. Tutankhamun’s treasures were solid gold and mummies were so lifelike and well preserved you could see fingernails and hair. You can tell if a mummy is royal or not by their fingernails as the royals all had manicured nails. Among the mummies was that of Ramses II, the greatest pharoah in Egyptian history.

We had a brief stopover at a perfume store and then onto the Cairo markets for some shopping. We went and had some dinner before going back to the airport for our returning flight.

The land that wets our appetites more than any other leaves you with so much history and memories and has you begging for more. One visit was not enough and I cant wait for the day when I get to go back and walk with the Egyptians once more.

Victoria Falls Airport was a small airport – it was the first time any duty free store actively tried to bargain with me. We caught a South African Airlines flight, which seated only 38 people, to transit through Johannesburg’s OR Tambo airport. I had 8 hours to kill before catching my next flight so I caught up on some e-mails, sent some postcards and tested out the airport food – which is the worst KFC I have eaten.

How amazing is it that we travel to the other side of the world, dine on bugs, antelope and crocodile and then find a way to criticise the one food they like the best. I always like to try out the local fast foods. I tend to enjoy McDonalds everywhere in the world but the KFC tastes better at home.

 Dagobert D. Runes said, “People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.” And it was as I sat in different parts of the airport that I really began appreciate this. I would usually be pulling my hair out with nothing to do in seven hours and here I was people watching in absolute amazement. The travel bug had finally hit me and I couldn’t wait to go to Egypt and explore even more.