Camels, Oil, Gold and a little bit more Gold…..

Dubai the true sunshine state.

Eventually leaving Beijing after lengthy delays and possible cancellations I jumped onto my Airbus A380 and left for Dubai. I landed at 5am in 34 degrees. Having spent a week in Dubai 34 is actually fairly mild and you feel like putting a jacket on… I wish I was serious… It's the desert!!! ITS HOT ALL THE TIME!!!! 

I admit that I have slightly fallen in love with Dubai, the people and the culture. What makes Dubai so fantastic is it's diversity. I have not experienced a city with as many cultures and religions coexisting. Spending time in Dubai you will see people from all over the world who bring their own foods and cultural peculiarities to the huge melting pot that is Dubai.

When visiting Dubai a safari is a must. I was lucky enough to do two desert safari's. The first was a 4x4 dune bashing safari in land cruiser's. This was hysterical, well actually maybe the funny thing was seeing all the other cars stopping for people to throw up! (I guess they couldn't take ascending and descending dunes that are over 100 metres high) THEY ARE MASSIVE. The next safari was very similar to the first however I was going up and down the dunes on a quad bike. Best experience on a quad bike! The rush of adrenaline you receive can't be described, it must be experienced. I never knew how beautiful sand could be, and the desert sand in Dubai is glorious.

After the fun and games up and down and over the dunes like Prince Ali, I was taken to a desert camp where an Arabian feast was awaiting to be devoured. At the camp I enjoyed camel riding, sand boarding down the dunes and henna tattooing.

Dubai is certainly known for its malls. The two biggest being the Mall of the Emirates and the Mall of Dubai. These malls I guess you could say are incredible. Home to an ice rink, aquarium, thousands of shops and of course the indoor ski field. Maybe more ridiculous than incredible. Like everything in Dubai the mall's are larger than life, crazy and over the top. Dubai is certainly an experience. 

Live your dreams.

My month with the Chinese!

China, China, China…..

Where do I begin!?! First I will apologise for seeming distant but Facebook and Blogging are strictly blocked in China.

Nothing can prepare you for the sights sounds and smells that greets you everywhere in this gigantic country. No where else in the world have I heard a national sound quite like China's (I will explain what I mean by national sound). Walking down the street marvelling at the historical buildings and all of a sudden you hear someone hocking back their saliva and getting ready to spit that lurgy wherever they desire. China's answer to G-day mate I assume. So, if you think you can stomach the most obnoxious sound in the world, then China is the place for you to visit. All in all I have racked up a total of 18 UNESCO World heritage sites here in China and none more amazing and spectacular than the Great Wall. 

The food in China in my opinion leaves a lot to be desired for. Lemon Chicken, Honey Chicken, Beef in Mongolian sauce, what the hell are they?? You can forget about all those familiar dishes we find at home. Here you will find dishes such as Crispy Boiled Godmother and Salt and Pepper Longsheng Pupae… don't even ask me what they are, you eat what you are given! 

My month in China started in the New York of the West, Shanghai. Shanghai is filled with beautiful historical buildings from the British occupation in the early 20th century. The buildings along the Bund are a glorious site of Romanesque, Gothic, Neo Classical and Art Deco architecture. The must see sites in Shanghai are definitely the Yu Gardens, French district and of course the Bund. All will give you a good insight into the cities long history. From Shanghai the next stop was Guilin then onto Kunming, Lijiang, Xian, Tianjin and finally Beijing. Unfortunately I cant tell you every detail about each city, for fear of losing your interest (but i'm guessing i've already lost some people). So for those of you who are still with me on this journey thank you.

Guilin offers a number of attractions but the most interesting is the Li River which is over 100km long and flows into the Yangtze River. 

Kunming is only good for one thing and that is the Petrified Forest also known as the Stone Forest. This forest of shard like rocks is believed to be formed over 270 million years ago and they are caused by dissolution of limestone, a must see! 

Lijiang was by far the most beautiful city. Lijiang is a world famous old town and has a history going back more than 800 years. It was once a route for trade along the old tea horse road. The old town is famous for its systems of waterways and bridges. 

Next stop was Xian, if you are not familiar with the town Xian I will forgive you, however if you are not familiar with Xian's most famous site the Terracotta Warriors you need to get out more. This is one thing in China I was itching to see and they certainly lived upto their expectation. It was so surreal seeing the warriors, something I have only seen in pictures and The Amazing Race. The warriors were built by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. They were a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210-209 BC and their purpose was to help the emperor guard his empire in the afterlife. What I find most amazing is that the 8000 terracotta warriors were only discovered in 1974 by three local farmers. 

Final stop on this epic Asian adventure was Beijing. Unlike Shanghai, Beijing doesn't have any remarkable or spectacular large city buildings as the city is primarily a 'factory' city.  Beijing does however have The Great Wall and it most certainly is Great. If you have been to Beijing you will understand how epic and how incredibly huge the Great Wall is (how can you some up one of the most famous sites in the World). Beijing also plays host to Tiananmen Square, the largest public square in the world - and it is large. Tiananmen Square is famous for many things but possibly none other than the riots in 1989 where over 800 protesters were killed, the famous image Tank Man was taken in Tiananmen Square during the protests. Next to the Square are many spectacular buildings including Mao's Mausoleum, Museum of China and the house of parliament. The square was also the gateway to The Forbidden City. The Forbidden city is the centrepiece of Beijing built in 1406 to 1420, the palace has 980 buildings with 8,707 rooms and covering over 7,800,000 sq ft. The Forbidden City was home to the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, ending in 1912 after the abdication of Puyi, the last emperor. The other must see sites in Beijing, The Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven and the Ming Tombs. 

Beijing is the last stop for me in Asia. I feel that it is a very deserving place to receive that title. Next stop is Dubai in the UAE, I am preparing myself for camel rides, dune bashing in 4x4's, evening dune buggy safari's and many glorious sunsets over the Al Maha Desert. (After Dubai its Sailing around the Dalmatian Coast off Croatia)

So until then thanks for reading. 

Live Your Dreams 

x

Li River cruise with Madeleine

Exploring the Stone Forest aka The Petrified Forest

Terracotta Warriors in Xian

The entrance to The Forbidden City

At the highest point of the Great Wall

Keeping those rabbits out of China.... Thank you Telstra Ad.

Wish chimes in Lijiang

Angkor Wat is history..... Children are the future.

Cambodia….. hmmmmm where do I begin? I am two months into my trip and I feel as though I just left yesterday. I must take my hat off to Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and Danish entrepreneur Janus Friis who have aloud me to keep in close contact with my Mother and the rest of my family through the wonderful invention that is Skype. Without which I would know nothing about home…. (that actually doesn't sound like bad thing)

I have been in Cambodia for three weeks now. I will start by telling you about one of the most amazing creations I have ever seen. The region that is Angkor, the UNESCO World Heritage site. The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the town Siem Reap. It has been determined that Angkor was the largest preindustrial city in the world and it's ruins stretch over an area of about 1,000 square kilometres. The largest and most famous is Angkor Wat which is the largest religious building in the world. I feel I must admit to you all that when I walked over the moat and through the main gate and saw Angkor Wat, a tear did come to my eye. When people asked me what I was most looking forward to on my trip, my reply was always Angkor Wat, and it certainly lived up to my expectations! Equally impressive as Angkor Wat is the temple Ta Prohm which was depicted in the Angelina Jolie movie Tomb Raider. Made famous by the silk-cotton tree and the strangler fig. The only way to understand how incredible Angkor is, is to come and see it yourself, I promise that you will not be disappointed!!!!

Before I departed for my World Expedition I knew that a few weeks were going to be dedicated to volunteering at an orphanage here in Cambodia (If you don't know much about Cambodia I strongly recommend you do some background reading and learn a bit about this countries deplorable history). 

Three weeks ago I was walking down a street in Siem Reap, just taking in my surroundings, when I came across CDO (Children and Development Organisation). I walked inside and was greeted by a volunteer who gave me a tour around the orphanage. I met Sui and Morn (aka Mum and Dad) and the 27 children all with infectious smiles and laughs. After spending the day playing with the kids and observing one of their lessons I decided that this is where I would volunteer for the next few weeks. 

The children all come from Leap Chass Village, which is one of the poorest areas in Cambodia, an area which has no health services, education or clean water. Many of the kids do in fact have parents (which is the case in most orphanages in Cambodia) however their parents lack the money, knowledge and basic life necessities to take care of their children everyday. 

I travel everyday for 15 minutes on a bike to get to school, this is when I win the lottery everyday. Dodging and weaving through oncoming trucks, buses, bikes, doors, dogs, cats and the occasional stray child. The children at CDO are tough as nails and they certainly know how to eat rice! In fact the 27 kids together go through 15kilos of rice per day, thats breakfast, lunch and dinner. The children all live in the same house, girls in one room, boys in another. They really are like one big family. The kids all get along very well and a very grateful for the opportunities that they have been given. I now have much more respect for teachers (so thanks to all the teachers out there). Teaching the kids is incredibly rewarding and it has taught me a lot about myself. Also being in countries such as Thailand and Cambodia you learn the art of patience, and that things nearly never go as you planned.

As I write this blog I am finding it terribly hard to describe to you what impact volunteering here has had on me. It will most certainly leave a lasting impact and will probably be the highlight of my entire trip. Walking through the gates of CDO every morning and being greeted by Sambo, Vechera, Meak, Sinh and Khamma (to name a few) will be something that I will NEVER forget. I know I will be back one day. I have created such a strong bond and relationship with not only the kids but with Sui and Morn who run the orphanage, so after four weeks it is going to be terribly difficult to say goodbye.

Finally I would like to send out a HUGE thank you to all my family and friends who have collectively donated over $2000 for the CDO Orphanage. I honestly can not thank you enough. With your help we were able to build new roofs, buy new tin, buy concrete and buy food. We also were able to make a start on the chicken farm which will house around 1500 chickens. This is a huge investment for CDO as they hope to become more self sufficient and less reliant on donations from volunteers. 100% of their income comes from donations from passing visitors and volunteers. With your help the future of these children is a much brighter and healthier looking one, however there is still a long way to go! Thanks again. 

Live your dreams.

x

THE CDO SCHOOL

SOPHY and VECHERA

The grand opening of the toilets..... now they have four instead of one.

Cow anyone?

Dancing in the rain with SOPHY and MEAK

Chammouron trying to drown me.

New roof over the toilets.

The chicken farm

And now with a roof!!!!

From Bangkok to....... Bangkok.....

Well my friends I am now well on my way to becoming the first person to have successfully seen every square inch of Bangkok. 

As I write this blog I am back in Bangkok.

What can I say? I guess you would like to know how I have spent my last 3 weeks. Well it all started with a train journey………

On the 25th of June I left Bangkok for my trip to Phuket. After a 12 hour overnight train trip down the coast to Surat Thani, a 2 hour break and then a 3 hour bus trip to Phuket (Patong Bay) I was ready to sleep. 

I don't know how to sum up Phuket. I hopped off my bus and suddenly felt as though I was down at Frankston Beach on a hot summers day. Oh it was so comforting to hear the bickering and screaming from hundreds of Australian tourists, all looking burnt to a crisp running around in boardies and thongs. 

I knew that Phuket and I would not get along, which was the case. So after two days I had certainly seen enough of the over crowded beaches and had been hassled one too many times about buying a watch, having a massage or taking a bloody tuk tuk ride. Phi Phi Island was my next destination. 

Phi Phi Island was amazing. Anyone who has been there or seen the movie The Beach will certainly know what i'm talking about. On my second day I organised a day trip to go snorkelling and cliff jumping, and boy was that fun!! I met a great group of people on this tour. The tour took us to Monkey Beach where we watched hundreds of monkeys in their so called natural environment…… Cliff jumping from a height of 18 meters was an experience to remember… and so was landing on your back after your 5th jump and winding yourself to no end!!! The tour also took us to Maya Bay which is home to "The Beach" in the film the Beach (like I said to mum, just google it!). My time on Phi Phi was spent with good company and a few sleepless nights. But the scenery is like nothing else, and terribly hard to capture in a photo. So it's my advise to just come over and experience it yourself!

It was at this point that I  decided to leave Phi Phi Island and head on down to Kuala Lumpur. After another long journey of over 12 hours of travel time I finally made it to my beautiful boutique hotel in Kuala Lumpur (when I say Boutique they really actually mean a hostel and rooms with no windows). Kuala Lumpur was different to what I thought it was going to be. I guess I have found out for the first time how much religion plays a part in different societies and countries, in Australia we are lucky to have such a diverse nation full of different religious groups and many different cultures. Malaysia's predominant religion is Islamic and Thailand's for instance is Buddhism. You instantly notice a difference between the people and the day to day activities of both the countries. Malaysia has so much to offer in terms of food. They are lucky to have so many different types of beautiful fruits and lots of fusion style foods. 

I left KL in the wee hours of the morning to fly back to Bangkok to go to the island Koh Samed, which was about a three hour drive from Bangkok. The beaches on this island were exquisite. I spent the weekend with three friends I had met previously when I was in Bangkok. I ate a fish eye which was interesting…. apparently they are good for you, and I haven't got sick yet so lets hope I don't. The weekend was filled with lots of drinks, fun and laughs. Probably a perfect end to my first month away. 

Bangkok is a marvellous city. Many people I spoke to told me how disappointed they were with Bangkok, I just think you need to give it time. Speaking of time, it's only a month until ill be meeting my sister in Hong Kong. So i'm thinking that I will be leaving Bangkok on Wednesday and busing into Cambodia. So i'll be speaking to you next from Cambodia.

Live your dreams. 

x

1 Week Down..... How many to go????

1 week down and who knows how many to go!

So I have just completed one of the most amazing weeks of my life! I arrived last Thursday morning to a hot and humid city, also known as Bangkok! I will endeavour to tell you everything I did in a nutshell! So in no specific order…….. The Grand Palace - This was one of the most incredible places I have visited, a word to easily sum up the palace and temples is GOLD. The sheer beauty of these temples can not be explained in words, just google search and you will see what I mean. After the Grand Palace I ventured to Wat Pho which is home to the reclining buddha, then on to Wat Arun which is certainly not the most glamourous of temples but is one of the best! Scaling up the steps to reach the top of the temple has certainly been a highlight. When I was waiting in the line to get pants to enter the temple I met a British girl Rachel. We ended up spending the day together exploring not only the temples but also parts of BKK including Chinatown. 

Later that day I went to Rachel's hostel and met up with her and the other people at her hostel. After spending a few hours at the hostel we made our way to Chinatown for what's said to be some of the best street food in Thailand (ironic?). Of course I saw a bowl full of chillies and thought how hot can they be????? After tasting one I lost all sense of taste in my mouth which made my dinner extra special!!! After dinner we all jumped in tuk tuk's and went to Khoasan road. For those of you that don't know Khoasan road is the BIG nightlife area for backpackers in Bangkok (mum don't go here). We spent some of the night at the club called 'The Club' this was rather interesting… as for the rest of that night…. the rest if history. 

Bangkok is filled with so many malls, all making Chadstone seem incredibly small. MBK you can buy everything that fake. Siam Paragon is filled with all the high end retailers, Hermes, D&G, Chanel and the list goes on all legit too. However the more interesting places to go for shopping are the markets such as Patpong night market (also known as the red-light district of Bangkok) also Chatuchak weekend market, which is home to more than 15,000 vendors and is one of the largest markets in the world. Such an experience and not for the faint at heart. On Sunday night I went out for dinner with some locals. They took me to an amazing restaurant overlooking the river and Wat Arun, the food and the ambience here will be hard to top but I wont hold my breath. After dinner we ventured back to Chatuchuk market because on Sunday nights a section of the market turns into a gay Thai club. This has easily been the funniest experience I have had in a long time……

I booked myself on a small group tour up to the north to see the River Kwai and go Elephant trekking. At a cost of just $50 for the whole day excursion it will be impossible to forget. We started the tour visiting the Kanchanaburi cemetery. The cemetery is home to more than 7000 people who lost their lives in World War II from building the rail line between Burma and Siam (Thailand), the train line also plays host to the Bridge on the River Kwai. Before visiting the bridge I went into the JEATH war museum (JEATH meaning Japanese, English, Australian, American, Thai and Holland). This museum was incredibly moving, reading that over 15,000 prisoners of war and over 100,000 civilians lost their lives building the railway and the bridge made it all the more emotional walking across the bridge. After seeing the bridge I hopped onto a train which was to take me along death valley, the train line along death valley was made in WWII from wood. As passengers on the train we were urged by the staff to NOT MOVE too much, this made taking photos interesting. The railway took me down to where I was to go trekking on Elephants. This was AMAZING!!!!!! The force that the elephants move with is incredible, it felt as though you would be thrown from the top with every step, fortunately I was holding on for dear life!!!!! The day ended at a waterfall where I was exploring, I was fortunate enough to find a monk sitting at a small temple, he asked me to sit and indicated to pray with him. Words cant describe what this felt like but it did bring a tear to my eye, just one though!!!!!!!!  

All in all my first week in Bangkok has brought me so much joy. I have already experienced and seen things I thought I would never be able to. Step aside Julia Roberts because Elliott Berger is on his Eat Pray Love….. at my age that does sounds worrying though!!!!!! 

Live your dreams.

x

The time is nigh.......

So the time has now arrived. It is 24 hours until I leave!
First stop Thailand, thats if the ash from the volcano in Chile is cleared from the heavens!!! Lets hope so. This trip has been 8 months in the planning. I've already learnt so much about different countries and their history... but I cant wait to see them all in the flesh!!!!!
Now I thought I would fill you all in on my itinerary for the first few months. Keep in mind this is somewhat flexible but the main flights have been booked up until Christmas (in the UK)
Thailand
Malaysia
Cambodia
Vietnam
Laos
Hong Kong
China
Dubai
Croatia
Serbia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
UK

So they are the countries i'm heading to in the first 7 months. I have booked all my flights including my flight landing into London on the 23rd of November. But I have only booked the first 6 nights of my accommodation for my trip (much to mum's shock and horror) But I want to challenge myself and just go with the flow.... which shouldn't be a problem!

I must finish packing my bag and continue to question myself as to WHY THE HELL AM I DOING THIS!!!! hahahaha.... So as I have been saying to everyone it's not goodbye its simply i'll see you later! Next time you hear from me who knows where I will be... but lets just hope i'm safe.

This is going to be FUN.

What am I doing.......

I'm going away for a while... I am traveling the world...... why am I doing this?? Who knows!
But what I know is what I want people to see.
How many of us learn about the history but never experience the history in the flesh. What encourages us to think outside the box.
You will most likely think I am ignorant for wanting to travel THE WORLD.
People need to see real people traveling and experiencing different cultures so that they know it's possible for them to achieve. I want people to travel and experience something out of their comfort zone. Travel is something that gives us a breath of fresh air.

The world has many different types of people and I hope to meet some of them!