tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114181412011-04-22T12:09:47.457+10:00Hey guys, Bobbi here, thought I'd make your life easier, cause the emails were getting bigger and more frequent... For those that don't know, my cousin and are travelling the world, in particular Thailand, India, China, England, California, Scotland, France, Germany, the Nederlands, Sweden, Spain, Italy and Japan... Read on!~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1130809245974545522005-11-01T12:36:00.000+11:002005-12-04T21:27:34.266+11:00

Oceania ~ Australia ~ Toomuc ValleySurprise! I had told my family that I was arriving home on the 2nd of November, so you can just imagine my mum and Laura’s shock when I wandered in on the 30th of October. I found my way home from Melbourne airport (bus, train and taxi) all by my little self, and managed to surprise almost everyone. Was definitely worth it when I received the screams of shock

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1129778799554563922005-10-29T13:08:00.000+10:002005-10-26T17:10:13.256+10:00

Asia ~ Japan ~ Tokyo, Kobe, Kurume & YameWell, it's official, my most favourite-ist place outside of my home country is Japan. I don't know why I haven't been back here since I first came in 2000, I'll definetly be visiting more in the future. My Japanese is pretty rusty, I haven't really practiced or studied it for about a year, but it's coming back to me in droves. The customs guy at the

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1129024740120645602005-10-17T19:57:00.000+10:002005-10-20T13:50:03.940+10:00

Europe ~ The United Kingdom~ England and Wales ~ London, Bath, Cardiff, Chester & YorkDespite the standard complaint of lack of sleep, arriving back in London was great - it's so relaxing arriving in a city where you understand the customs, and you know exactly how to get to your hostel. Even the loud broadcasts over at the tube telling us to 'Mind the Gap' didn't bother us. However, the weather

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1128009400687506472005-10-04T01:48:00.000+10:002005-10-04T03:07:35.753+10:00

Europe ~ Italy ~ Pisa, Florence & RomeI don't think I have ever been as exhausted as I was when we were standing there looking at the leaning tower of Pisa. Keen to save money on accommodation, we arrived in Italy after spending the night at the Girona Airport and the night before that on a bus from Madrid to Barcelona. Finding a hotel in Pisa turned out to be a little harder than expected, for

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1127659152058757302005-09-27T00:37:00.000+10:002005-09-29T22:22:06.106+10:00

Europe ~ Spain ~ Girona, Barcelona & MadridGetting here turned out to be harder than we thought... Cast your minds back to a week ago, when poor, exhausted Bobbi and Tash stumbled out of bed to catch the 4am bus to the airport. What really happened is we got to the bus station at 4.05am, consequently missing the bus. The next bus didn't leave until 5.30am which meant we would have missed out

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1126795174068924152005-09-20T00:21:00.000+10:002005-09-20T04:01:50.316+10:00

Europe ~ Sweden ~ Stockholm & UppsalaNo-one warned us that Sweden would be COLD. To be honest, we sort of knew it anyway, but choose to ignore it and worry about it when we got here. Our first warning was when we stumbled out of the train station on our way to the hostel, and noticed everyone wearing snow jackets. Our second warning came when we realised that our hostel offered a free sauna. Hmm

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1126354279947528152005-09-14T22:00:00.000+10:002005-09-15T04:55:18.436+10:00

Europe ~ The Nederlands ~ Amsterdam & The Hague107 days to Christmas is what the sign in Amsterdam's Christmas Shop read. And to think I wasn't counting! Amsterdam is a lot of fun, in some ways the town reminds me a lot of Surfers Paradise, probably very similar to what Queenland is like during schoolies time. We've been staying in a hostel in the middle of the red light district, 24 people in

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1125916170298263922005-09-06T20:03:00.000+10:002005-09-15T04:49:32.366+10:00

Europe ~ Germany ~ Cologne, Bonn & FreiburgGermany is a really green country. I don't know if that surprises you, but it sure surprised me. Of all the images I had concocted of Germany, green forests and luscious paddocks wasn't one of them. We were happy with our flight over here from France - on Thai Airways when you finish a flight, they pin an orchid (their symbol) onto your shirt. German

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1125224381228579992005-08-30T19:13:00.000+10:002005-09-15T04:52:11.540+10:00

Europe ~ France ~ Paris & VersaillesWell, everyone had better appreciate the trouble gone into writing this... It turns out that keyboards in France are different to those everywhere else. Just small differences (the letters 'q' and 'a' have swapped places, as have ';' and 'm') but its enough to make the thought of typing an email horrendous. Anyway, enough complaining, we are in Paris, after all

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1124219291645163402005-08-23T05:07:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:09:55.976+10:00

Europe ~ Republic of Ireland ~ Kilkenny, Waterford, Cork, Ventry, GalwayI stayed at the best hostel the other night. I stayed in a castle. With ghosts. And secret passageways. AND PUPPIES!!! Foulksrath Castle is just outside of Kilkenny, it was built in 1320 and modified in 1525. Since then its basically remained the same with very few modifications (although I'm happy to note that bathrooms and

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1124180971296060322005-08-16T18:18:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:09:26.053+10:00

Europe ~ Republic of Ireland ~ Dublin, Drogheda & United Kingdom ~ North Ireland ~ Belfast & BushmillsWhat a fantastic country!!! Arrived in Dublin early in the morning, not really sure what to expect. Booked into my hostel, then set off on one of the open top, hop-on hop-off tours. Highlights of the day included Dublina (a cute little museum aimed at kids, certainly made it easier for me to

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1122729243277385202005-08-08T23:13:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:09:06.060+10:00

Europe ~ United Kingdom ~ Scotland ~ EdinburghEdinburgh is gearing up for festival season, its amazing. I've slowly got used to the idea that I'm living in a tourist town, but now we are in the middle of Edinburgh's biggest festival - or rather a collection of big festivals. The Fringe Festival, the Military Tatto, the International Festival, the Film Festival, the Literary Festival and a few

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1122137823917744612005-07-28T02:53:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:08:42.550+10:00

Europe ~ United Kingdom ~ Scotland ~ Edinburgh & England ~ LiverpoolWe've been on holidays these past few days - decided it was time to take some time off (... being a tourist in Edinburgh...) to be a tourist in Liverpool, home of the Beatles. Elysha is a huge fan, so off we jetted. Liverpool is an interesting town, used to be one of the bigger ports for England. Nowadays the port doesn't get as

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1121617877262669452005-07-18T02:17:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:08:25.333+10:00

Europe ~ United Kingdom ~ Scotland ~ Edinburgh, Inverness & Loch NessMum arrived safely and soundly, the events in London didn't significantly alter her travels, although her flight from Germany to London contained a heap of journalists and photographers. Our week has been full of the typical touristy things, it's been fantastic. Before we were able to do all our sightseeing, however, I had to

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1120668248735512882005-07-09T02:27:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:07:32.373+10:00

Europe ~ United Kingdom ~ Scotland ~ EdinburghIt's been an interesting week in Edinburgh, I've participated in my first big protest (the one that was on Saturday, see the previous post...) and I've watched a number of more violent protests - or riots if you will. On Monday, anarchists turned the city into mayhem, causing police to come out in their hundreds. The riot police were particularily

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1120481149425147662005-07-04T22:12:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:06:45.683+10:00

Europe ~ United Kingdom ~ Scotland ~ EdinburghWell, its been a hell of a week, and its only just beginning! As I'm sure everyone's aware, the G8 summit is being held in Edinburgh this week, and as a result, the city is FULL of people ready to protest. Everyday more and more people arrive at the hostel with backpacks, looking for a bed. Everywhere is full, it seems many people are just camping out

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1119189269069630402005-06-22T23:39:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:10:51.416+10:00

Europe ~ United Kingdom ~ Scotland ~ EdinburghHow typical is this? We're in one of the countries that is renowned for its cold and rainy weather and we are in the middle of a 'hot spell'. Everyone is complaining about the heat, people are having trouble sleeping at night. This morning I was eating my brekky in the dining room (one of the coldest rooms in the hostel, brrr), one of the longtermers

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1118144064514249552005-06-14T21:23:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:11:22.483+10:00

Europe ~ United Kingdom ~ Scotland ~ EdinburghBack in Europe once again, enjoying the life of the traveling backpacker. Well, not quite, as we have now settled down in Edinburgh to organise some funds until we head over to Europe to travel our last stint. We're staying in a hostel in the central part of Edinburgh, the hostel is confusing to say the least. It's just like one of those cruel mazes

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1118747810571360452005-06-13T21:12:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:11:42.363+10:00

Europe ~ United Kingdom ~ Scotland ~ Edinburgh ~ Greyfriars KirkyardWe went to Greyfriars Cemetery the other day, 'one of the most haunted places on this earth', and took some photos...Tomb of Mrs J A MacDowall & W L Gilmour, Edinburgh, ScotlandCheck out the blue line in the bottom lefthand corner - I didn't put that there, it just appeared. Yesterday we went to the information center, and found

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1117883922341891892005-06-02T20:54:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:12:15.253+10:00

North America ~ United States of America ~ California ~ San Jose & Nevada ~ Las VegasWell, what a wild couple of weeks. Am now back in the U.K., but before I go into that, I'd like to explain a little of what I've been doing... First things first, if you've read the post before this one, you'd notice I have an online 'photo album', http://photos.yahoo.com/ibbob18/ [I know, I know, dodgy url to

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1117156577240988182005-05-27T11:12:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:12:30.493+10:00

You may have noticed... I got some photo's developed the other day and I've uploaded some of them to the blog. The rest are in my yahoo photo albums, at http://photos.yahoo.com/ibbob18. Hope everyone's having fun!!!xo bobsTash & I in our yellow hats, Huang Shan, China

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1116467070116488452005-05-18T10:52:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:12:50.713+10:00

North America ~ United States of America ~ California ~ San JoseA big howdy to everyone from the sunny state of California! Yep, I finally made it here. Plane trip was long and tiring. It all began when we had all just gotten ourselves onto the plane. The pilot announced that someone had checked in their luggage but failed to show up for the flight, so they had to take their luggage off the plane

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1115322670161268002005-05-10T10:09:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:13:08.166+10:00

Europe ~ United Kingdom ~ LondonSo long Asia, now we're back to the land of English - or rather the Motherland... Arrival was full on, we got into the airport and lined up for immigration. We haven't had any problems in any other countries getting through, but after 12 hours on a flight from Hong Kong, they decided to be difficult. After getting through the line (took about 2 hours), we got to

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1114574388448912552005-04-30T13:45:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:13:24.776+10:00

Asia ~ China ~ Hong KongHong Kong is so incredibly different from mainland China that it's easy to forget that they are technically the same country. Plane trip was uneventful, although we ended up sitting next to a uni lecturer from Sydney, he leads the perfect life. Teaches during the semester, then travels the world giving talks on his research. Our pilot on the Dragon Air flight was also

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1114217485285249572005-04-23T10:39:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:13:43.506+10:00

Asia ~ China ~ Huang Shan & ShanghaiGetting ready to leave mainland China now, about to head off for Hong Kong. From Xi'an we headed down to Huang Shan and then onto Shanghai and finally back here, to Beijing.Huang Shan was beautiful, said to be the most well known mountain range in China, the 'Mt. Fuji' of China. The scenery was amazing, we stayed in a little hostel full of Chinese tourists. On

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1113393932326435852005-04-13T21:38:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:14:02.200+10:00

Asia ~ China ~ Xi'anWell well well, hasnt been long since my last bog, but so much has been happening that I thought I should write it all down... We managed to catch our 14 hour train trip from Beijing to Xi'an, home of the Terricotta Army. Train trip was good, we were in a cabin with an older Chinese couple who went to bed as soon as we got onto the train (about the same time that Tash went to

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1112779096347016692005-04-10T19:17:00.000+10:002005-09-15T00:14:18.460+10:00

Asia ~ China ~ BeijingWe've been in Beijing for *almost* a week now, and its amazing. So different to both India and Thailand... To start with, the flight(s) was hell. It took us 48 hours to get from Delhi to Beijing, which, if you were to fly direct would normally take about 6 hours. Our plane went from Delhi to Dubai, then Dubai to Hong Kong (with an hour stopover in Bangkok, something we didnt

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1112277877205835402005-04-01T00:01:00.000+10:002005-04-01T00:08:41.256+10:00

Asia ~ India ~ Agra & VaranasiHey guys, how is everyone? We're starting to get ready for Beijing (gunna be cold there, brrr). But before we go, wanted to do a quick update... In the last couple of days we have been to some of the most well known spots in India... First stop was Fatepur Sikri, which is a castle built in the middle of nowhere. The maharaja of the area built it for his 3 wives. It

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1111759906785052142005-03-24T01:10:00.000+11:002005-05-13T11:28:25.540+10:00

Asia ~ India ~ RajasthanWell well well, it's been a hectic couple of weeks. Have been to a million and one temples, forts, castles and mosques. We've been touring around the Indian state of Rajasthan, one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. We've seen many many beautiful Jain temples, made from marble, very cool on a hot summers day. Of course all the temples have there share of

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1111064327443128552005-03-17T23:30:00.000+11:002005-03-20T23:30:43.783+11:00

Asia ~ India ~ Delhi & RajasthanWe've now been in India for four days, however it seems like so much longer! Everything is very fast and full on over here. Soon after arriving at our hotel, the manager talked us into going on a tour around India, wich turned out to be a great idea. More about that later though. As part of the tour, we were given a driver and a car for a day around Delhi, so we

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1110729023194923432005-03-14T02:42:00.000+11:002005-03-14T02:50:23.196+11:00

Asia ~ ThailandHey guys, I'm now in India, but before I start going on and on about my experiences here, I want to quickly outline a few things (mainly so I don't forget) that I didn't mention in my earlier posts...The road rules - there don't seem to be any. Just advisory lanes, advisory traffic lights, etc etc. And despite all this, I only saw one accident. Almost none of the cars had

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1110726082365098042005-03-10T02:00:00.000+11:002005-03-14T02:29:31.856+11:00

Asia ~ Thailand ~ Phi Phi IslandWell well well, another day another adventure. Tash and I are just about to leave Phi Phi Island, its been like a dream. After spending two nights on trains we ended up in Phuket (Southern Thailand). The trains weren't tooo bad, the first one was a sleeper train, we had beds and everything. The second one, however, didn't have any sleepers left (we didn't book

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1110726911730423472005-03-05T02:10:00.001+11:002005-03-14T02:31:12.453+11:00

Asia ~ Thailand ~ Chiang MaiHey everyone, how is life treating you?! Life is fantastic over here, just went to dinner with my cousin and my aunt, and it cost us 200 baht (nearly $7) for 3 meals and 3 beers. We spent the day on a tour, first we went to the butterfly and orchid farm, a little boring because I'm not really into the flowers. From there we went to an elephant dung recycling factory.

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11418141.post-1110726641312703762005-02-26T02:09:00.000+11:002005-03-14T02:31:54.760+11:00

Asia ~ Thailand ~ Phi Phi IslandHey guys, how is everyone? All is well with me... I've been in Thailand for two days now, and it is AWESOME!!! We have spent two and a half days shopping, and my feet are so incredibly sore its now funny. Stirling silver rings for 100 Baht - thats about $3, I've already got one package ready to send home... Flight over here was long, didn't realise how long because

~*~Bobbi~*~http://www.blogger.com/profile/12153064003670007562noreply@blogger.com