Traveling with mum

After three weeks of work I'm well overdue for a holiday.

This time I'm going north to Swedish Lapland and the frozen landscapes of the arctic circle.

And I'm bringing my mum!

We set off from home at 4am. We had a very smooth transit over to skellefteä half way up swedens east coast. 

Mum looked so funny in her coat and backpack. She looked really cute, like a kid on her first day of school. All wrapped up warm, a massive out of proportioned backpack pulled way to high up her back. She clutched an orange in one hand a book in the other and an excited grin to complete the look.

So padded was she that she struggled to walk smoothly, like a toddler does, as she was all wrapped up warm.

We landed in Skellefteä at the perfect moment to catch a bus to town. From the town we were also just in time for the long bus to Luleå.

Luleå seems like a really nice place, snow covered and friendly with very pretty streets warmly light by subtly elligant street lights.

We arrived at the hostel and rang the bell. Then rang the bell again... Then rang another couple of bells for good measure. 

Eventually a crooked old man hobbled to the door. He wore sandals on his bright blue frost bitten toes and shuffled to open the door. He grunted at us in Swedish and looked over his wonky glasses at us.

"Umm we're looking for the hostel?" 

"You reservation?" He replied

"Yeah, Gary Nichols..."

"Ok, ok, you come in now!"

We went up the lift and out into the hostel. He told us the door code and disappeared suddenly. Leaving us alone to investigate the pleasant enough, but deserted, hostel.

Eventually he returned to give us a key and take our money. SEVEN POUNDS FIFTY FOR BED SHEET RENTAL! I was livid. So was the crooked man though, as he had to half limp, half shuffle back up the long corridor to fetch us the bedding.

Eventually we got settled in and went out for a walk around the city centre and to the supermarket to get some food.

I had been drip feeding mum all day on pointers on how to travel, be subtle, and operate in forgien countries. We sat down on a bench by the checkouts and tucked into some hot chicken and bread. I shuffled backwards and fell clean off the bench. In a fashion that could be described as anything but subtle. I let out a shout and thrust my arms and legs out in the air, like a star fish, groaping out for anything that could save me. Before ultimately landing on my arse. The whole shop came to a stand still staring at me as mum cried with laughter.

We then had another walk and met a 12 foot beaver made of Ice and painted in a park. Hilariously random!

Home sweet home

I boarded my hello kitty flight and jetted home, just in time for Christmas.

I've had such a great time traveling the world in the last twenty months. I've met some amazing people and great new friends. I've seen and done such a wide spectrum of things I can't even begin to summarise my adventures in a conclusive paragraph. All I know is I wouldn't change a moment of it as every minuet of my trip has been a joy and a lesson.

From the top of a snowy mountain the the middle of the Sahara. The Great Wall of China and ancient churches to state of the art toilets in Perth. Sleeping in dirty public toilets to a penthouse suite. Not forgetting running with bulls (and sheep) to cruising along the Mekong river. Variety is the spice of life and I think I've had a good punt at working throughout the spectrum, and I managed not to die doing it (just).

Mum, Dad and Hana came to meet me from the airport. Mum kept hugging me in the bottleneck of arrivals at heathrow so no one else could get past or out of the arrivals lounge!

We had a great Christmas.

Since being home I started my new Job eight hours after landing. I also started my motorbike training and caught up with my good friends. Ollie and BJ came down for New Years and we went to the pub with my college mates before going into town.

It was great to see Matt, Lucy, Abbie and Andy and hear all about there new families.

I saw my college friends a couple of times and went up to watch Norwich Rugby play in North London.

I couldn't help getting stuck in when Wheatar went down, and their new Physio was busy. I managed to slip and slide onto the field after he shouted out in pain. Only to find out there was absoloutley nothing wrong with him, he just wanted to rest.

I then relocated Jays finger and got on the booze bus back to Norwich. I had a great night catching up and playing drinking games.

The next day I met Lyn and played a bit of touch rugby before eating too much and having to stop the bus back to London to vom in a car park somewhere in Essex.

After another week of work and my first gymnastics class I went up to meet Toby in Cambridge for a night out. I met Sarah, Sarah, Sophie, Dave and Toby's mates Josh, Ed, Rob and Fred. We had a cracking night out. Tore up the dance floor. After the pub/club closed we went back to Toby's and stayed up until six chatting and laughing.

The drive back to Sussex was so painful I had to pull over in a service station and have a two hour sleep.

I arrived at Ollie's in Storrington in the late afternoon. We had a good meal, watched some rugby and went off to the pubs for beer, hot cider, pool and good times.

After two and a half weeks of great fun and work I think I definitely deserve a holiday! 

Off to Sweden I think!

Bangkok has me now

Nick and I had a great time in Bangkok. We went out every night for the first few nights to different bars and watched some live music.

We met Joe, my college friend I had traveled with in New Zealand and spent the day shopping before Nick and I went to a night club inside a sky scraper to watch DJ Jazzy Jeff, of Fresh Prince fame.

Every drink in the club was the same price so we lived it up with some fancy cocktails. We knocked through an 'old fashioned', a 'viper' (of James Bond fame) and a few berry coolers.

The following day I we went to a wrap party for a tv show called strike back. Starring that bloke from hotel Babylon, the manager one. with Nicks work mates and bosses. There was Hennessy on tap so we had more than a few.

On another day I went to work with Nick, I watched him doing a hydro session with the Thai Leicester academy.

 

Then off to a polo game he was covering

We also spent one morning at the worlds biggest market then off to see his Thai Leicester team play in the afternoon.

After the game we went for dinner with the team. We went to a place where four people are given a BBQ and a weird humped hot plate surrounded by water. It was a bit of a nightmare really. My meat kept flopping into the water. That was until I built my broccoli buffer. Revolutionary. 

Surprisingly neither of us got ill.

On my last night we went and played touch rugby before ordering and subsequently eating way too much at a really nice outside restraunt. There was even a tone deaf Thai singer singing Hero, by Enrique Englasias. 

It was really good fun, and a perfect end to my big trip.

The plane race

I enjoyed my ferry trip around the Sydney opera house and then train up to the airport. I had plenty of time and everything ran smoothly.

Unfortunately I had miscalculated my flight times. I was expecting a short two hour flight. Eight hours later, I was shitting myself as my next flight, kuala lumper to Bangkok was due to take off twenty minuets after my current flight landed. I was flustered to say the least.

As soon as the planes wheels touched Tarmac I was up and waiting by the door, and woe betide the poor air stewardess' that want to tell me to wait in my seat.

I finally got off the plane and ran to security where I zipped through and off to baggage reclaim. KL is, by the way, the biggest airport in the universe so I was part way through a marathon distance sprint with 35kg of baggage. The bag came through eventually leaving me 8.5 minuets before my next flight left.

I gassed it to check in and ran at the unattended first class check in lady. I begged and pleaded. She agreed to put my bag on the flight although she couldn't promise it would make it. I may have to wait for the next flight for my bag. If I ran I should get my flight though.

I sprinted so hard that not even security had the corage to stop me. I went straight passed bag scans etc as the staff laughed and waved me through. I essentially ran onto the plane, into my seat and we took off. Absoloutle madness. 

I still feel sorry for the guys sitting next to such a stinky sweaty mess.

I arrived at Bangkok airport with baited breath and was very releaved when my bag gloriously emerged through the flaps onto the belt.

I scooped up my bag and went to meet Nick who had bribed airport security the princely sum of £5 to park and wait right by the terminal door. I gave him a very stinky hug and we went back to his, with strict instructions to shower as soon as possible.

Visiting Jasmine

I got the ferry over to Sydney city centre this evening to meet up with Jasmine. I have only met Jasmine three times and always fleetingly but whenever we are together we get on so well. We're very similar in personality and interests so even though I really hardly know her we never have any trouble chatting or finding things to do.

I owed Jasmine big time as I stayed with her for three days last time I was in Sydney, just after I cut my foot open in the shipwreck. I must have been such a pain as Jasmine had planned a few days of trail running, paddle boarding and cycling. I, unfortunately was only fit to sit on the sofa. But Jasmine and her family made me feel so at home and I had a wonderful time with them all.

I started of repaying her by being half hour late and soaked with sweat.

I didn't realise the CBD bus only ran until 3pm so I sat at the bus stop for half hour before setting off on foot. I also didn't realise how vast Sydney is. After 40 minuets of brisk walking I was only half way there so I jumped on a train then still had a twenty minuet walk the other side. Ten minuets if I hadn't have gone the wrong way out of the station.

Luckily she hadn't left and was still pleased to see me. We went for dinner and some drinks and were joined by her friend who was visiting home during her working holiday in London. 

I gave Jasmine her, rather tenuous present. She had mentioned in passing last time we met -over a year ago- that she really wanted a Swiss Army knife. So I picked one up for her. It was well received but I don't think she actually remembered actually wanting one.

We had a really great catch up and I worked hard on trying to persuade her to come to the UK for a working holiday.

Wish park re-united

After bidding farewell to Charlie and her housemates (both conveniently named Sam). They dropped me at the airport for my flight to Sydney.

I arrived in sunny Sydney and got back into my normal traveling routine... Making poor decisions and taking ages to get anywhere! I missed my bus as I was trying to be a cheap ass and get one from outside the airport before realising that would mean I had to walk down a three lane motorway for an hour with my full pack on. So I waited half hour got the right bus (on the third attempt as I just kept getting on every bus that showed up. Then met an Indian guy named Sebastian who was also transferring at the local train station to get to circular quay. Due to me facing about getting a ticket at the wrong terminal I missed my ferry too. So I sat and listened to a busking swing band under the Sydney harbour bridge for half hour. Eventually I got on the ferry and sailed around the well lit opera house to Manly.

After grabbing a cheeky pie I met JJ my old school friend on the corso. It was great to see him again. He's got a pretty cool job coaching Sydney FC youngsters and is contracted to AS Roma for scouting purposes.

We went to a huge open air pub. It was a massive culture shock for me after being in New Zealand for nearly a year. Going from no young people and dancing on a Friday night with a crowd of four people to a Sunday night with a good few hundred 18-30 in this pub alone!

We had a good catch up that evening and the next morning I went surfing at Manly Beach.

JJ's board was pretty huge but I still did pretty well. I managed to catch a couple of green waves and rode them all the way in to shore. The unfortunate thing was I didn't put any suncream on the backs of my thighs. So my arse was to be red raw for the rest of my trip!

That evening, when JJ got back from work, we went to get some food from the big open air pub again. JJ and I split a burger and salmon making ourselves a very unusual surf n turf!

We then played a couple of games of pool at the harbour side before heading home.

On my final day in Manly I wanted to go surfing again, but my thighs just wouldn't take it! So I decided to go for the scene walk way. After walking only about 20 minuets I found a nice tree and had a nap until it was time to go into Sydney and meet my friend Jasmine.

Charlie Brown

Today I caught the ferry across Auckland harbour to meet Charlie. Charlie and I met in Thailand and traveled together two weeks there before a month or so in New Zealand.

We had a really great few days together. We went on a hike up the island volcano of Rangitoto. Just like every other time Charlie and I have traveled together it was grey wet and miserable weather. We still had a lot of fun scrambling up past the lava fields and enjoying the limited view from the volcanoes summit.

We also had a really fun evening game of glo-put. An indoor crazy golf course all under only black lights with balls, clubs and scenery all done up in uv. It was really cool and a lot of fun. We then had some Thai food for dinner at a local restraunt.