I arrived in Thailand on Thursday afternoon. I dumped my bags at the hotel and went out and grabbed myself some food. I had been craving some Asian food for a long time and Thai food was just what I had in mind. After a long walk, I happened across a small street full of hawkers. I sat down and quickly ordered myself a Tom Yum Gong and a Pad Thai, it was delicious. After that I wondered down to the Patpong night market (in Bangkok's notorious red light district), the market was great, cheap prices with a bit of bargaining. I decided my visit to Thailand would not be complete without baring witness to the infamous ping pong show, and it didn't take long for me to find one. I won't go into details but it was funny/nasty. No photos, sorry. The next day I headed out to see the temples and Buddhas of Thailand. At the temple of the golden Buddha they had a row of Buddhist fortune telling slot machines, sort of like a pokie but instead of getting a chance to win more money back you get a fortune, bizzaro. Walking around the temples and checking out the various Buddhas was good, but very hot.
After that I went to Lumpini stadium and got a ringside ticket to watch a Muay Thai kick boxing event. I paid 1700 baht for my ticket (around $65 AUD) and got a seat right up the front. The early fights lacked the speed and power that Muay Thai is famous for, however the main event and the preceding match definitely made up for that. In the match preceding the main event one of the fighters was knocked out and taken away on a stretcher. The main event was an even match up that saw Autthachai from Fairtex camp win on points. Autthachai (red corner) unleashed a couple of nasty left elbows on Petchmankong's right temple (at around the 50 second mark in the video I uploaded) creating a bloody target for Auttachai's later strikes. I went back to the warm up area and pushed my way through the crowds to get a photo with him after the victory.
The next day I headed to Bangkok's Chatuchak weekend market. It was kinda like the Victoria market but about 10 times bigger. I bought some clothes there and ate some great curries. That afternoon I caught a plane back to Melbourne.
I got back into Melbourne this morning and I couldn't help but smile every time I heard an Aussie accent from the workers at the airport. Dad and May Ann met me at the airport and took me back to my sisters place where I saw my mum, brother-in-law and niece (Beatrice) who has grown up a lot since I last saw her (she is around 8 months old now), she is already developing a great personality and is a lot of fun to play with.
I have to say my bed is very, very, very comfortable. Home is good. I am going back to work tomorrow. The end for now.
Im slowly and not surely recovering from a massive 4 nights in Barcelona. Got into Barcelona on Wednesday and checked in into the best hostel I have stayed at so far. Its a small hostel (Albareda Youth Hostel) but has a great common room and a cosy feel. After a quick siesta, I met a bunch of great people staying at the hostel and we quickly got involved in a drinking game (Texas holdém) after that we went out and to a bar then a night club called Fellini´s on Las Ramblas(it was crap, bad music, expensive drinks and shitty atmosphere). The next day I headed out to La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi´s best known work in progress. It is truly amazing, the nativity facade was my favourite, you could sit there for hours, and I did, admiring the detail and the originality of the work.
The passion facade is on the other side and it is extremely different, I liked it, but I thought it clashed a bit with the rest of the church (it was designed by a different artist).
After queuing for about three quarters of an hour I got inside and took an audio tour. The audio tour was intersting but I would recommend you spend your 3.5 Euros on a well earned kebab after.
Once inside I was greeted by another queue to get into the escalator and ascend on of the spires. This queue was 90 minutes long, luckily I had some reading material. The wait was definately worth it, there were great views and an amazing spiral staircase.
After that, I headed to Casa Batllo, another of Gaudi´s buildings. Not as impressive for me, but still very original. Unfortunately the 16 Euro entry fee was abit too steep for me, so I just viewed it from the outside.
That night we headed out for dinner to the Travellers bar which promised a 1 Euro meal of chile con carne at 8pm. Unfortunately it failed to deliver on both counts, first of all their ass clown of a cook hadnt even started cooking the rice when we arrived so we had to wait 1.5 hours before the meal was ready, secondly the wasnt any meat in it! It was just mushy rice with a few sultanas and abit of soyasauce in it. We were not happy, even if it was next to free.
A couple of girls from the hostel went around passing out flyers for a local ¨beach party¨. We all thought it was a good idea and headed out in shorts and thongs. After a 30 minute walk, we were knocked back by the Baja Beachclub, because we looked too ¨beachy¨. So we walked next door to a club called Catwalk, it was 18 Euros entry but we managed to find a promoter and get in for free. The drinks were expensive, 7 Euros for a beer, but curiously shots of tequila were only 3 Euros. Making shots of tequila more than half the price of beer is dangerous when you have cheapskate lightweights like me around. Anyway, I opted for the cheap tequila shots, and got pretty mashed. Heres me, throwing Zoolander style devil horns, with Heather and Jackie from NYC.
One of the funny things that came out of that night were the photos. Pierre, a French canadian, snuck into the background of Yuen and Mikes photo and gave a bonehead style peace sign. Just in case your wondering what a bonehead is, check out this video, then look at the picture.
And here´s another bonehead...
The next day I hung out with Pierre and went looking around Las Rumblas for a place to develope my disposible camera. After visiting a couple of shops and being told it would take a few days I gave up. I then headed out to the beach with a couple of Dutch girls who were studying medicine and had come down for a study break.
That night I headed out with Pierre, Michelle and Karl to Las Rumblas for an Absinthe and a few beers. Heres me boneheading behind Michelle and Karl (Thanks for the inspiration Pierre, you have taken boneheading to a whole new level!)
We found a really drunk guy on Las Rumblas who had collapsed in the street, stuck his hand down his pants and pissed himself (so naturally, I posed semi-bonehead style with him)
After that we headed off to a club called Jamboree, which was less than average, then went home.
The next day I headed to Park Guell. This park has some great views of Barcelona from the top, but is more famous for the pieces by Gaudi it contains.
My favourite part of the park was the columns which provided a great place to hide from the sun, chill out, read and listen to the busker who was playing great classical guitar tunes.
After the park, I gathered the troops at the hostel and we headed out to Bar Marcella (a 200 year old Absinthe bar, where Hemmingway used to drink). Unfortunately or fortunately, I left my camera at the hostel so I dont have any photos, but it was great. I´ll try and track down Cyrille or Sammy on facebook for the photos because they had some great ones. The Absinthe is served in a wineglass (2 shots of 70% alcohol) you then take a sugar cube, balance it on a fork and strain water through it until it turns cloudy (don´t set it alight, we did this but were told it is not the way to do it). After 3 drinks (6 shots) we started to get a little rowdy and we were asked (actually more like told) to leave by the bouncer (who we had just witnessed bash another person on the street). We ended up at some nightclub and tried to dance again (this was my fourth night at a a night club in a row and I was getting pretty tired of them).
The day, I got up hungover but determined to see some Picasso as entry is free on Sundays. Unfortunately, every man and their dog had the same idea, and the queue was gigantic.
After about an hour queuing, we saw the exhibition. Sammy, Louise and I were a little disturbed by one of Picassos pieces which depicted a man squatting with his pants around his knees, holding a plate of chicken in one hand, masturbating with the other, all whilst defacating. To be honest, the exhibition was a let down for me. None of his major works were there, however the photographic exhibition by Lee Miller about Picasso was vaguely interesting.
After the exhibition I headed back to the Hostel for a nap. When I got up, I met some of the new comers to the hostel, Melissa from Canada and Tal a guy from Dubai. We all got together and went for a walk to Plaza Espana for the fountain and lights show. This is possibly the best free show in Barcelona, check out the video below. Actually sorry the Thailand government has blocked youtube.com so I cant upload the video, so pictures will have to do for now.
I got up early on Monday morning and joined forces with Michelle to get a scooter and head up to Montserrat. The ride took about an hour and was extremely dodgy due to the fact that our scooters only went up to 80 kms an hour and the freeway speed limit was 120 kms. We wanted motorcycles but they were very expensive, 300 Euros for 3 days minimum. Montserrat is a great place to go for a walk and see some awesome views, unfortunately the weather was a little cloudy and we couldnt see the Pyranees or Mallorca.
That night I went out on a wild goose chase through town with 18 people from the hostel and ended up at my favourite hole in the wall pub where we had a few beers and a good chat.
The next morning i had to catch a plane to Madrid, but first I headed out to explore the fruit and veggie market in Barcelona with Melissa, who was also heading to Madrid that day. The fruit and veggie market was great, but the pasta they sold was the best, 3 Euros for a big serve of Carbonara.
The next day, I met up with Melissa again for some churros and chocolate and went for a brief walk around Madrid before I had to jump on another plane for Thailand.
To be honest my few days in Rio are barely worth mentioning. It rained pretty much the entire time I was there, making hang gliding impossible and anything outdoors unpleasant. I ended up spending my time arranging flights and accomodation for Spain and Thailand and hanging out with Pils and Melissa (we went and saw Transformers, pretty sweet movie, especially if you like gigantic fighting robots that change into various kick ass vehicles and Megan Fox. Anyway, after an uneventful few day in Rio, I got on a plane and headed to Madrid, Spain. It turned out to be a good move, sunny and 36 definately beats raining and 15. Madrid is actually a really nice city, I have heard people constantly bag the place, but I like it. Maybe its because I have been in South America for so long now that streets surrounded by nice old buildings without rubbish and gigantic holes in them seem to be abit of a novelty. Pretty much no one speaks English here, so I have had to use Spanish again, which is now a little bit screwed up with Portuguese after my brief stint in Brazil. I have found myself saying "oi" and "obrigado" far too often. I caught up with Digger and Fordy last night for a couple of beers and a few tapas. They have just finished a 3 week holiday in Portugal and caught a plane this morning for Menorca(another Balearic island, near Mallorca). Today I spent most of my time walking around Madrid and looking for a new digital camera. I ended up buying an Olympus water-proof one (you know the one in the ad where the owner feeds his camera to the slobbery dog) Unfortunately, I only have 2 shots of Madrid on my disposible camera, (which i will hand in for processing when i get to Barcelona, apparently it takes 2 days to put it on CD). Tomorrow morning, I fly out to Barcelona.
Illa Grande could possibly be paradise, if it wasn´t raining, overcast and cold during winter. Illa Grande (Big Island) is the 3rd largest island of Brazil and is located about 150 Km south west of Rio de Janeiro. The transfer to the Island was arranged by Dodgy Brothers Inc. It included a 2 hour Combi ride, during which the driver over took 3 cars at a time (exceeding speeds I thought impossible in a Ferrari let alone a Combi) whilst forcing oncoming traffic to swerve off the road. When we arrived at the beach, we found we were to recieve a 10R discount as the speed boat we had been promised was out of commission, as was the pier (it was due for completion in September. Instead we were hearded 4 a time on to a tiny 2 man rubber dingy (that was already half filled with water) and joined by an additional 2 staff who proceeded to row the dingy, Pochahontas style, from the beach to the awaiting fishing boat. The water around the Island changed colour as we drew closer, it went a dark sort of turqouise under the overcast sky, you could imagine it would be crystal blue under clear skies. The Island itself looked like something out of Jurassic Park, huge jungle covered peaks rising out of the ocean and into the clouds. I met a few other aussie blokes on the boat, all from Melbourne. Turns out they knew my cousin Nick Owen through Melbourne Uni. On arrival at the Island, I threw my pack into my tiny room and started to explore the island. I got as far as the town, then saw the aussie blokes I met on the boat and sat down for a beer. A couple of other aussie blokes rocked up and joined us. Turns out one of them is Mat McCutchin, a guy who I went to primary school with. Small world huh? Anyway, later that night I attended an all you can eat BBQ and what was promised by the hostel owner (a shady character, who looked kinda like Jeff Goldbloom in aviators) to be the biggest party of the millenium. We all suspected he might have been talking it up, except for the two 18 year old pommy guys, who got were hanging on his every word. For me, it turns out he was exaggerating a little, I went to bed before 12. The weather was still miserable in the morning and I headed out to do some hiking, I joined forces with my room mates, a girl from ireland and a girl from scotland, and we headed out to explore the island. The jungle walk was good, got to see some tiny monkeys, an aqueduct and an old abandoned prison. That night there was a black out over the whole island, so I decided to catch up on some rest and went to bed early. I´m back in Copacabana now (the weather still looks crap), after the same dodgy transfer.
After a few solid days relaxing on Ipanema beach, I decided to move to the cheaper part of town, Copacabana. It´s pretty good here in Copa, a little bit seedy but cheaper and due to the Pan American games, police are everywhere so its pretty safe. Didn´t get much sleep last night, the galeforce winds made a huge racket and actually smashed a window in the building nextdoor. Listening to galeforce winds smash windows and the thought of hang gliding in them, or more like, spiraling out of control in them, helped keep me awake nearly the entire night. I was supposed to go hang gliding yesterday morning, but the pilot got back to me and told me the wind conditions were terrible and it would be too dangerous to fly. So, instead, I decided to do some touristy things around Rio. So I jumped on a bus and headed to Sugar Loaf (Pao de Acucar), which is a massive stone monolith that dominates the south eastern beaches of Rio. The cable car ride was slightly expensive (35R) but well worth it, the views from Pao de Acucar (396 meters high) are amazing. After that, I headed back to the hostel for lunch and got a tour to Corcovado (the mountain with the big statue of Christ the Redeemer on it). I managed to the resist the urge of posing in front of JC in a crucifixion/embrace pose, but think I might have blinked on the only photo taken of me in front of JC with my disposable camera. The statue is pretty cool, but I found myself spending most of my time checking out the expansive view of Rio. Santa Teresa was my next stop, its the older, more colonial part of Rio, old trams still run through the tiny streets. Then I went to the staircase of Lapa and walked up that, which I really enjoyed taking my time and reading all the tiles. I would go on, but I have to run right now and get a bus/boat to Illa Grande, where I will be staying for the next 2 nights.
Finally some decent weather, its about 23 degrees celsius and sunny in Rio at the moment, great weather for walking and chilling by the beach (which is all I have done for the past couple of days). Went out last night with a few blokes from the hostel, we ate some mexican food then went out to Lapa and mixed with the locals. Ended up in a real Samba club (cant remember the name) which was full of Brazillians, I am pretty sure we were the only gringos there. Got back to the hostel and hit the sack straight away, unfortunately I had 5 new very loud tenants who got in about an hour after me and proceeded to turn the light on and have a loud conversation for the next half hour or so. When they finally settled down one of them started snoring, actually it sounded more like someone scraping gravel off the pavement with a shovel. Pretty soon, the snoring woke up everyone in the dorm, and his mates started yelling at him in the middle of the night. He woke up for 2 seconds then fell asleep again, and unfortunately started snoring again for the remainder of the night. I didnt sleep much last night. Anyway, on a good note, when I got up this morning, I discovered the hang gliding ban had been lifted and that it was possible for me to change rooms.
Bad news, my trusty old ixus 500 digital camera has bitten the dust, or the sand to be more precise. Whilst taking photos of the dunes in Florianopolis, there was a big gust of wind which clogged my camera with sand, now the camera refuses to work. Ahh well it´s time for a new camera anyway. Unfortunately, Brazil sucks if you want to buy a digital camera, they are overpriced and the range is very poor, so in the meantime i have bought a disposible camera, which i intend to put on CD and upload later this week. In the meantime, check out old mate Italy´s Youtube video of the view of Sao Paulo from the the Edificio Italiano. Yasmin, Ryan and I arrived in a wet Sao Paulo early in the morning on the 16th after a 10 hour bus ride from Florianopolis. I had heard many stories about the crime in Sao Pàulo and had prepared myself for the worst, but it never came. I walked the streets day or night and felt quite comfortable. It probably had something to do with the area I was staying in. On the 17th I visited the Edificio Italia, which is the second tallest building in Sao Paulo, it was only 41 stories high but the views were spectacular. Sao Paulo is truly massive, it made Manhattan look like a bit of a lightweight. Later that night, the tragic Sao Paulo plane crash happened. The next morning, Ryan and Yas got up early and caught a bus to the beach town of Paraty and I headed to Rio de Janeiro by myself. A 6 hour bus ride later and I found myself surrounded by the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Arriving in Rio de Janeiro was somewhat disappointing due to the weather. It was overcast and muggy, not really the setting I had expected. I quickly got a cab and headed to Ipanema passing iconic structures like Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf mountain. and settled into my hostel (which was even more disappointing than the weather). After dropping my stuff off I walked up Ipanema beach and got a Maracuya juice (the juices here are really cheap and good). I went back to the Hostel to have a read, when I got into my dorm, there was a white looking guy sitting on the bunk under mine. I assumed he spoke english and greeted him with a ¨hi, hows it going, my names Ed. Whats yours?¨ he looked at me blankly like he didn´t understand and then said to me in a snotty, thick French accent ¨Pierre, do you speak Spanish?¨ I shook my head and answered ¨porquito, not enough to hold a proper conversation.¨ he sighed and asked almost rhetorically ¨do you speak Portuguese?¨ I shook my head and said ¨no but I can speak a little Cantonese if that helps? Ni hao ma? Bei ngoh sam goh cha siew baos¨ (translated means ¨how are you, could you please give me 3 roast pork buns¨ which is about the extent of my Cantonese) He looked at me blankly again, and went back to reading his book. After my stupid conversation with Pierre, I headed downstairs and got stuck into a few beers. The bartender was English which was a bit of a relief and we had a brief chat about the crapness of the weather, he assured me it would come good in a day or two. I met a couple of other English folk and an Aussie bloke and had a yarn and a bit of a laugh before calling it a night. Today I am gonna try and arrange some rock climbing because I have just been told that Hang Gliding has been banned for the rest of my time in Rio de Janeiro due to a ¨clear sky¨ security policy implemented for the Pan American games. Good idea, I can really see Osama getting on a hang glider and launching a 9/11 style kamakazi attack on the beach volley-ball final... Needless to say, I am pretty pissed off about the hang gliding right now.
