Shell & Baddles tour(some of)the world

Hmmmm, so 3+ months later here i am again. No excuses really (again) cept there's been just too much to do & very limited computers at hostels if any! So i should start with a Merry Christmas & Happy New year to you all! Goodness, 2012 huh? We've only got 3 weeks left til we land back in London as well = GASP, very hard to get our head around.

So what have we been doing since i last wrote i hear you ask - PLENTY! Last time i left you we'd finished with Central America and were on our way to NZ. Since then we've also done some of Indonesia, Oz (Melbs & Sydney), Thailand & we're in Cambodia as i type! I'm sure some of you know this from the facebook updates, for those that aren't on FB i apologise & will try and get us all up to speed... Goodness where to start...Don't worry, i'll give you the readers digest version so you don't fall asleep.

We've been so lucky to see many of you in the last few months - visiting both our home towns & meeting each others nearest & dearest. The 3 weeks spent in NZ was great (and i've never watched so many rugby games in my life! Thank goodness NZ did it as i didn't want to be there if they didn't - there's only so many grown men you can see cry in the one place! haha) We managed to fit in a road trip down to Wellington - thanks to Ken Baddiley - and proceeded to catch up with many friends of the 3 of ours & have many drinks in celebration. Our last 2 days in NZ were spent in Auckland and again tried to fit in as many catch ups as possible with old London crew = mission accomplished!

Then we headed to Sydney & stayed with my amazing friend Tina for a few nights before we headed to Indonesia. First Bali which we liked, as soon as we could get away from the really touristy parts that were full of Aussies! it was so strange to be somewhere foreign & hear the very ''occa'' Australian accent more than the local one. First stop - Legian, where we were lucky enough to be there the same time as Ang, Junior, Sarah & Kath - some of my old friends from London, was great to catch up with them after so many years.

Then we headed to Ubud, made 'famous' recently by the film of 'Eat Prey Love'. I really liked Ubud, it has a very chilled, peaceful vibe to it & we did an amazing day trip with a driver around to many sites including stunning rice terraces & incredible temples. It was also the place i fell in love with banana pancakes & i've not eaten any since that rival them. Salivating at the thought of them now as i type...

After Ubud we hit the Gili Islands, off Lombok = paradise. We expected to stay maybe 5-6 days, we stayed 12 & really struggled to leave. they are incredible & i HIGHLY recommend you all go there. They've no police, and no motorised vehicles, if you want to get around the island you either: walk, ride a bicycle or get a horse and carriage! Brilliant! We spent 5 nights on Gili Trawangan - the 'party' island, full of bars with either techno or Jack Johnson cranking & loads of dive schools. Then another 6 on Gili Air, the more chilled, older brother of Gili T. This was our fave by far - more live music & cover bands in restaurants, less busy & oh so chilled. Our hardest decisions were where to have breakfast/lunch/dinner & what beach to park up on or where to watch the sunset from so i could take 100s of photos!

We did a days snorkeling trip around all 3 islands that was incredible - the variety of fish & their mesmerising colours had us grinning from ear to ear.Reluctantly we left the Gili's and headed to Sengigi on Lombok (don't bother, stay on Gilis) then back to Bali to head down south to Bingin (after a sensory overloaded 24 hours in Kuta.) Binging was great - a little town which numerous guesthouses built into the cliff side and a nice beach below. We had a room with an incredible view & spent a lot of time watching the surfers catch waves on our doorstep.

Then we hit Melbourne, and surprised my dad for his birthday :D sadly it was only 6 days there but we packed as much family & friends in as possible & i'm so glad we managed to add it in. Back to Sydney we then headed & I got to see my beautiful God sister Gina & God Mother Glenys - many many years since i've seen then. An AMAZING long weekend was spent in Palm Beach for Kate & Dritans wedding. I struggle for words when describing how amazing this was - the whole weekend was fully of love & great old friends & i thanked my lucky stars we could make it.

Then we hit south east asia - the last 2 months of our trip - eek how it's flying! First stop Bangkok, Thailand. My how crazy it is, then we headed down south to the islands - Koh Samui & Koh Phangan. Unfortunately weather left A LOT to be desired the whole time we were on both these islands, not too rainy but just overcast the whole time = what are no doubt beautiful islands didn't have their normal charm. We met our rocking German friend Annett again on Samui, we originally met her in Guatemala & have been leapfrogging each other around the world ever since. Needless to say, drinking with a German involved Jaggermeister (shudder) & we lived to regret it the next day but had loads of fun that night!! Once on Koh Phangan we chilled in hammocks a lot & read/wrote in the diary etc and one day explored the island with a scooter we hired & had a great adventure, Baddles even met his first elephant! I couldn't believe he'd never seen one before, but i guess i only had in Melbourne zoo.

Then we headed back to Bangkok for a night & up to Chiang Mai for 5 - including Christmas. I love Chiang Mai & could easily go back - it reminded me a bit of Ubud in Bali - quite chilled, but lots to do & not too crazy. We did a day tour here that took us up into the mountains where we fed & then went for a mini treck on elephants = amazing. We were lucky enough to be paired with the mum elephant that had an 11 month old baby with her - he followed us the entire way & it was so so sweet watching him struggle to get over tree trunks & mum giving him a helping hand (aka trunk) up & over them.

On this trek we met a great English couple - Sarah & Chris who we got on with like a house on fire, so much so that that night, the next & the one after that (which was Christmas) we had dinner & too many drinks together. For Christmas we found an English pub that was putting on a roast with all the trimmings & had an almost traditional (well the UK version, not the sunny nz/oz seafood smorgasbord vsn) Christmas dinner.

Next we headed back to Bangkok again & picked up my amazing friends Rebecca Coomes & Robin Hastings from Bangkok airport & headed to Koh Chang island = WOO HOO!!! For the next two weeks we traveled with them & i don't think i've ever laughed so hard or so much before. I have to hand it to Baddles he did very well travelling with 3 girls, and i bet he was thanking his lucky start we're not 'girlie-girls' as well (also bet he secretly loved it!)

We spent 5 nights on Koh Chang, and saw the new year in there as well with some traditional thai buckets - dangerous alcohol content yes, but thankfully the hangovers weren't as bad as expected! Another day of scooter adventure was had on this island as well, but every other day was spent at the same beach side restaurant/bar working on our tans, reading books, cooling off in the ocean & eating great food. The amount of seafood we consumed on this island was incredible & so so delicious.

From Koh Chang the four of us headed over the border (what a ridiculous farce of a 'organised' border crossing this was!) to Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Both Robin & Bec had been here before, about 8 year previously & were horrified at the mass development this place has undergone, what used to be a sleepy beach area of town with not much around - Serendipity Beach - is now a buzzing beach with restaurant upon restaurant as far as the eye can see!

Their faith was restored some what when we ventured further afield, sadly on our last night, to Otres Beach & stumbled upon a great beachside family run bar/restaurant called Bamboo Shack, with the sweetest 14 year old waitress looking after us. She was divine & we had a great time chatting with her & drinking the many cocktails she brought us through the evening. The food was incredible as well, if you're in Sihanoukville, definitely visit.

From there we headed to river-side Kampot for 2 nights & from there did a day trip to seaside Kep as well. The crab market in Kep was insane & like nothing i've ever seen before so i'm glad we ventured out there to see the craziness. The last place we ventured with Bec & Robin in tow was Phnom Pen, for one night before we headed to Siem Reap - where we are now - and they flew back to Melbourne (*SOB*) We had an amazing last lunch at Friends Restaurant. Aside from the fact that the food was DELICIOUS, the restaurant supports local disadvantaged young people & is a training ground to help them get into the hospitality industry = type of place that's right up my alley! Highly recommend this place.

The next morning there a teary farewell as we bid the girls a due & hopped on a bus to Siem Reap. This was the worst bus of the trip i think. We were in the last row, next to the toilet & above the motor = it was hotter where we were sitting on this "air conditioned" bus than outside in the sweltering sunshine. Not a great 6 hours let me tell you! We found a room & headed out to Angkor Wat for sunset = stunning! Then headed back there again to explore all day yesterday. What an amazing, mind-boggling, stunning place!

We're loving Cambodia & the amazingly friendly people here, the kids that all wave at you as you go past in a tuk tuk with a grin on their face are super cute! By the weekend we'll be in Vietnam, our last country, with a mere 18 days left of this amazing adventure, before we fly out of Bangkok back to The Don... sigh...

Well i think that's pretty much everything, sorry it's a bit vague (and still not really brief!) & I'll leave you with a few other tidbits...

- Baddles loves going to Temples (Wats) and markets! PFFT, actually that'd be me & it's now become a bit of a joke how much he "just can't wait" to do another
- Our tally as it stands is 9 countries & 49 different towns/cities.
- when we get back i will be looking for a job for the first time in a decade!!!!! No idea what i really want to do yet... any suggestion welcome...
- i've uploaded only a few more photos now, with loads more to come, promise! These ones are all from my lil digi cam only so far as quicker to upload & will do more & of my dslr when i can, but my tummy's grumbling & i'm hungry for dinner...
- i've not got a recent tally of how many photos i've taken but i hazard a guess at over 7000! hehehe

So it's ciao for now people... hope 2012 has started brilliantly for you all and continues that way & for those of you in London we are really looking forward to seeing you again, please bear with us if we seem a lil sad the dream is finally over! ... But only til our next adventure! xxx

ps: apologies for any spelling mistakes/nonsense etc, too hungry to read over again! haha! xx

Hello again!

It´s about time for another update isn´t it? This time i´m hoping to get you all up to speed on the last ... oops, month since we left Cuba! It´s been a jam packed month, full of Mexican Mayan ruins, Guatemalan bliss, birthdays & a bit too much booze! We can´t beleive we´re almost 3 months in to the trip already & our Central american part has mere days left, it´s absolutely flown. On tuesday we´re bound for NZ!

So i left you last at the end of Cuba but had uploaded some photos from the next few following weeks as well. I´m uploading more pics now as well & will explain all!

Our flight leaving Havana, Cuba took us to Cancun, Mexico, which we had no absolutely intention of spending any time in. From everything we´d read or heard it was too similar to the 'all inclusive´ Varadero hell & basically just catered for laziness & glutony = no thank you! From the airport we took two busses and a ferry to get to Isla Mujeres, an island off the coast of Cancun. Long day of travel but worth it to be on a beautiful little island. Have to say though so many poeple had told us how amazing Isla Mujres was that i think we expected more. It has some beautiful beaches, which we spent about a day and a half on (weather permitting - it is the rainy season after all) but was a little more commercial than we were expecting. Never the less it was a nice few chilled days there.

From there we went back to the main land and down to Valladolid, a town 90 mins from the first Mayan ruins we wanted to see - Chichen Itza. It´s a very clean, quaint town with colourfully painted building all the way along many of the streets. It was also where we found a supermarket, and we were like kids in a candy store. Until now we'd not come across one at all, not a full sized one, and had to make do getting things from 7-11 type stores. A lot of the hostels didn't have kitchens we could use to cook in anyway, some did, but nowhere nearby to get said food to cook. Wow did we go to town and luckily the awesome hostel we were staying in had a great outdoor but undercover kitchen (along with two little dogs and two cats who all got a lot of TLC from both of us!)

Chichen Itza was amazing, we were up early to avoid the tour bus crowds and the heat, which we were very greatful for doing as by midday it was scorching! As with all three ruins we visited, the mind boggles as to how the Mayans did it in approx 600 AD and their knowledge of astronomy is remarkable. Next was Tulum, which was also temperatures in the mid 30's, but much less impressive. Where it was situated though was, right on a cliff on the oceans edge. This was the day we discovered Mexico Cenotes - water holes and boy were we thankful for the cold refreshing water! Absolute magic, we wished we'd gone every day we were there! Then there was Tikal in Guatemala - our favourite of the ruins, for me the view from the top of Temple 4 "had me at hello" we were on top of the world and no other tourists were with us for at least 20 minutes. Bliss. All we could hear was the howler monkeys in the forest below and the wind in the trees.

From Tikal we headed to Lanquin, to meet up with Brad Anderson (old London crew) and the three of us travelled together for the next 3 weeks. Needless to say there was a lot more drinking going on, and plenty of laughs. Lanquin is stunning, it's a tiny town with not much in it, but the hostel we were staying at was situated on a hill in a valley surrounded by mountains - simply stunning and it couldn't help bring and instant smile to my face every morning when i looked outside! From here we did a day trip to Semuc Champey to do a cave walk we probably shouldnt have the day after a massive torrential downpour! Some of the photos we've seen since at travel agents etc of it show people in the caves totally dry and sitting down, maybe in ankle/knee deep water... we sometimes couldnt even touch the ground and were holding on for dear life on the edges so the current wouldn't take us away!! Anyway we survived to tell the tale and are glad we're all strong swimmers!

The same day had us climb up and over a mini mountain to reach the beautiful limestone pools which we happily bathed in for a while whilst tiny fish nibbled at our feet - very strange sensation. Can't beleive people go to beauticians in London and pay money for that!!

With great sadness we left Lanquin a day or two before we really wanted to - the Guatemalan elections meaning that there'd be no transport anywhere for 2 possibly 3 days, depending ont he results and if any violence followed. Brad and his friend Iris had to travel on as Iris had a plane to catch she couldn't risk being too far away from and we wanted to stay with them. Also 5 or 6 days here, though it was LUSH and so so peaceful could be too long, and could be dangerous in that the hostel only ran a tab system until you checked out AND they we're having a 'happy day' as opposed to a happy hour on the election day (even though legally no one should drink) to convince people to stay. So reluctantly we left (probably a blessing in disguise though as the budget would have been in even worse state than it is!)

Which gets us to Antigua, a nice enough large town but as it was election time i'm not sure we saw it as it normally is. But there's always a way around a drinking ban isn't there?!? Being gringos we were hapily seved cubre libres in coffee mugs as long as we didn't sit near the windows! Baddles and I made the mistake of letting Brad convince us to climb a volcanoe, and in the afternoon... we saw nothing... in fact at times we couldnt even see 20 metres infront of us let alone the other 3 nearby volcanoes that made the view amazing! Needless to say we haven't let Brad live that down.

The we reached Lake Atitlan... beautiful, could have stayed there forever, didn't want to leave... Lake Atitlan. There is someting about being there that just calms you and sucks you in. Again waking up to a stunning vista is so good for the soul. The first 4 nights were spent at San Pedro, one of the larger towns on the massive lake. We found a pub that was run by a Scotish guy who met a local woman 10 years ago, fell in love and parked up here. He had a pool table, could stream both the afl and the rugby games, and the cheapest cubre libres in town... needless to say the boys were sold!

From there Baddles and i took a boat across the lake to San Marcos (Brad and a fellow Aussie traveller Shavan, were to join us again the next day) - this was more my type of town! Well it's more like a village i guess, has two main 'streets' which are pedestrian only and only one road at the top of town that vehicles can get in and out from. It is said to be quite a spiritual place and has drawn many 'hippy/earthy types' (for want of a better word) to it. Which in turn brings an air of tranquility. You can do everything from month long meditation courses to seeing a psychic here along with having sessions in various other therapies (massage, reiki, yoga etc.) Everyone in this village was super chilled and lovely and so happy to be there. We again met many expats who decided to park up and enjoy the Lake's lifestyle. We followed a path along the cliff/rocks of the lakes edge and came to a beautiful spacious wooden platform/deck with seats for people to sit and take in the view, or jump off the 10m into the lake if they so pleased. Saldy it was too chilly for any of us to feel the need.

Too soon it was time to leave Lake Atitan and move onto Xela (Quetzaltenango) as it was soon Shavan's birthday and then mine two days later. Both days were celebrated large and too many birthday shots consumed, along with the mandatory hangovers the next day. I did start my birthday with a trip to Guatemals best thermal pools - and couldn't have asked for a more peaceful, relaxing start to the day. When we hopped back in the car to head back to town i could feel how warm my organs were, and then the cold water i drank moved the whole way through them! strange sensation! Dinner that night was at a delicious Lonely Planet rec'd French restaurant, the steak was incredible and the red wine delicious. Very happy Shell! We ended up at a bar near the hostel and were having a great time, until the police turned up. I'm not sure if they were just ruffling feathers (as the bar had only been open 3 weeks) but everyone was asked to leave... as we walked out the door past the 3 policewith machine guns (still not used to all police and even security guards in stores in Central America being heavily armed) we waked onto the street to see half a dozen police vehicles all with armed cops inside or around them. Crazy and slightly excessive i think!

Then we hit ChiChi (ChiChicastenango - say that 10 times really quickly!) which hosts Guatemalas biggest market, and yes it was huge! It pretty much takes over the whole town twice a week and all the wooden stalls are errected and dismantled each time. Shop we did, but i was surprised (as was Baddles) that i didn't buy more!

The next day we said a final teary farewell to Brad and Shavan, who were heading east to Rio Dulche (one on our list we saldy never made it to - next time!) and we needed to head west back to Mexico. Neither of us wanted to leave Guatemala, having both absolutely fallen in love with the country. So it was full of reluctance we got a bus to San Cristobal, which is a beautiful town in the Mexican highlands we spent a few days here before we got an overnight bus to where we are now, Oaxaca (pronounced Wahaca.)

It's all a bit strange as we feel we're just waiting now to hop on planes... another night bus tonight back to Mexico City, one night there before we fly to LA, stay one night, then fly to NZ the next day (next Tuesday!) As i said when i started, these 3 months have flown, it certainly doesnt feel like London was that long ago, but we're definitely looking forward to parking up in The Bay for 3 weeks and not having to be on the move every couple of days and can't wait to see everyone either!

PHEW! thanks for baring with me through all that, i've uploaded loads more photos as well.

Until next time!! XXX

Hello again all, how are we? Baddles and i are great, in San Pedro on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala at the moment, its stunning! Have been here 4 nights so far and can only see us going across the lake to another town or two for the next week, its so peaceful and beautiful. We´re here with Bran Anderson as well, one of the old London crew, who we´ve been travelling with for about 10 days. Needless to say there´s been way too much alcohol consumed and a few hangovers as a result. The boys are in the pub across the road as i type watching NZ v Japan in the Rugby.

So since i last left you we´ve been to 11 different towns or cities, including here in San Pedro, spread across 3 countries. I´ve just spent almost an hour uploading and commenting on photos so i don´t think i´ll be on the net for much longer, sorry gang! But i will tell you a bit about our time in Cuba. In a nutshell, it was AMAZING, and we want to go back. Havana swept us off our feet from the moment we landed. The old school cars mixed with the dilapidated buildings and the locals who were so happy to meet you and have you in their country was intoxicating. We filled our 3 days there as fully as we could and even made it to a club one night where we people watched for hours (there´s NO way i was getting Baddles to salsa!) From Havana we went to Trinidad, another mesmerizing town, for all different reasons. People get around by horse and carriage, or bike or walk more than they do in cars, and as the Lonely Planet describes it perfectly - it´s like the clock stopped in the 1950´s. In both Havana & Trinidad we stayed in Casa Particulars - peoples homes that rented out rooms, and it was great, we could request lunch or dinner there as well & it was some of the best food we´ve eaten. Especially one fish meal in Trinidad - red snapper apparently - neither of us had ever seen fillets so big or tasted so good.

We ended up back at Trinidad's main square each night where various local bands would always be playing. The ´Casa de la Musica´had many restaurants and bars surrounding the open square & plenty of table for people to sit at & enjoy the evenings events. The later in the night it got the more diverse the entertainment, from magicians & fire twirlers to drag acts and jugglers. The band we saw the first & again the last night were brilliant, and old school, all at least in their 50´s i think. They were so much fun & their music so good, that i ended up buying their cd. The sleeve inside says copyright 2001! Then we realised that it was in fact them as the guys in the photo on the cover were playing for us looking much older! Trinidad also had the most beautiful beach we´ve been to so far this trip - Playa Ancon - it was so clean, with the clearest water, little fish swimming rounds, loads of tiny crabs (and bigger ones scurrying round on the beach under the trees) and just a general great family/holiday vibe.

From Trinidad we went to Varadero, which if we´d had time to research more thoroughly before we booked this package in London, we would have asked NOT to go to. The benefit of it was it was all inclusive, so we didn´t really spend any money at all - all accom, food and booze covered. BUT we were in áll inclusive hell´ with hideous families and their little shit kids running round, no one staying there seemed polite at all & we felt sorry for the staff. I know its not our scene at all it probably wasn't that bad, but we LOVED Havana and Trinidad so much that we didnt want to be somewhere that wasn´t iconic-ally Cuban, Varadero could have been anywhere, it was just hotel after hotel after hotel of the same glutenous shite! Eugh! Anyway, we were happy to have a tv in our room for the first time in ages & made the most of that as well! haha.

We were very sad to hop back on a plane out of Cuba & have promised to return one day and explore more of the country. 10 days is certainly not enough!

And this is where i will leave you for now, sorry i´m still weeks behind in our travels, but the photos are pretty much up to date - i hope you like them.

Hope alls well with you all & i´l be back with more soon xxx

Here i am again finally, sorry these seem to be few and far between (and yes i've copped some shit for this) but we're just having too much fun! Well, mainly, we did lose the majority of last week due to Montazumas revenge! WOWZERS were we unwell, had to get some antibiotcs and everything as we just couldnt shake it. 3 days i didnt even leave the hostel in Morellia for fear of being too far away from a bathroom! Anyway, i wont go into details, but it did mean we missed one town we'd have loved to see unfortunately & headed straigh to Mexico City... but lets begin from where i last left you...

i realised i totally forgot to mention that i went to the Grand Canyon for a day as well, oopsey! If you've seen the photos & my comments, you'll already know i loved it!! The vastness of it is mind boggling as are the stunning vistas. Superb.

So our first Mexican stop was Mazatlan, we flew there from San Diego. What a town, we loved it. Found a really cheap place to stay right on the edge of the old town & far away from the gringo-tastic 'Golden Zone' that is too commercial & overpriced for our liking. This was the chillout time we needed after the fast & furious pace of every day sightseeing etc in USA. We explored a lot of course, but also enjoyed chillaxing on banana lounges on the beach with a few beers. The seafood was amazing as well. Mazatlan had magic sunsets, a few photos i've uploaded here, but it also had crazy wild thunder storms. 2 nights in a row we were woken at 3am by the loudest claps of thunder i think i've ever heard, right above us, and they rolled on for 10 seconds or so. They were of couse complimented with a spectacular lightning show that had me wishing so much we had a room with a view to watch the spectacle. Naturally, these thunder & lightning shows were also accompanied by torrential downpours that had us up one night & racing to move all our possessions to higher ground as the water was beginning to lap under the door. Each storm lasted for at least an hour!

One such torrential downpour set in just when we needed to get from our hotel to the bus station to catch a bus to our next stop, Morelia. In what seemed seconds the roads became rivers as the gutters were struggling to deal with the sudden influx of water. We'd already planned to get a cab to the station but the rain meant most were already full when we tried to hail them. After about 15 minutes of trying and our sneakers being lakes themselves we managed to find one. The trip was a bit longer than normal as the taxi physically couldn't drive down some of the waterlogged streets!

But we made it to Morelia, what a beautiful place, it's main square is world heritage listed & its full of quaint charm. We were there 2 days before we were hit with Montazumas revenge, and spent the rest of the time there almost bedridden unfortunately. Luckily the hostel wasn't busy & we had a 4 bed dorm to ourselves. The guys that ran the hostel were so friendly & helpful as well which made it easier to bare the sickness.

From Morelia we had planned to go to Guanajuarto for a few days but unfortunatly had to skip it to give us enough time in Mexio City without rushing it. Which is where we are now, and have been almost a week. What a place, it's so vast that we decided to do the touristy open top bus tour to get our bearings and see where we'd like to go back to on following days. We head to Cuba tomorrow and are very much looking forward to it & different food! Our appreciation for Mexican food took a downward turn when we were sick & it took until days after we were finally better again to attempt it once more! Mexico City is great, there's so much to do and see, we even went to Lucha Libre - mexican wwe wrestling - one night. It was so funny & ridiculous we laughed our way though it. The Presidential Palace has some amazing murals that tell the stories of Mexico's history.

We've sadly come to the realisation that with only 5 weeks after Cuba before we fly to NZ, we wont be able to do all we want in Central America, including Costa Rica which i had my heart set on. So with much deliberation & attempts to find non-existent cheap flights i had to re-shelve my dream of being in Costa Rica to another time, but only after i made Baddles promise we'd make it some day! it does make much more sense though when we need to get back to Mexico City at the beginning of October for our flight. So we'll explore Belize & Guatamala once we've spent a week in Mexico getting from Cancun south to Belize etc.

And on that note i'll love you and leave you, i've uploaded loads more photos as well, i hope you like them.

Hasta Luego xxx

ps: re the subtitle to this entry, yes we were asked if NZ is in Europe!!!

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