Sometimes we are just in the right place at the right time. 4.30pm on Monday 10th December was one of those days.
I got these incredible shots on London’s Tower Bridge over the Thames River. Just stunning.
And it was just a little snappy camera!!
Sometimes cloud cover and dim light produces fab images!
Loving London
Tower of London
I am not going to be naked!!!
But I will be travelling with my new pal, Nudie Plushie.
We will be travellign around the world together. India, UK, USA!!!
Nudie and I will be getting up to some crazy adventures and I am super excited to finally have a travel buddy!!
We’ve left our message with Santa and now we’re ready to get on the road!!!
Like what you read?
Read more on Explorer Girls – http://www.explorergirls.com
Check out Nudie.com.au for more Goodisms and add them on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/nudiejuice
Travelling with Nudie – http://www.explorergirls.com/node/5581
There is a time for travel, and there is a time to work . The time now is work time.
Don’t get me wrong! I love living in Sydney and being here with friends and family and exploring my city. But there are also some countries that are in my heart that I miss terribly throughout the year and CANNOT WAIT to get back to.
1. INDIA
India has not just been a place I have visited. It is a country that now rests in my heart. I can honestly say I think about it every day and I’m just so excited that I get to go back again in December this year. To taste the curries, to party in Goa and to laugh again with the wonderul, warm and kind people of the country.
Sunset in Goa
2. MEXICO
Mexico, tu eres en mi corazon. This is very wrong. haha This in literal translation says Mexico you are in my heart, but they don’t say it like that. Mexico is fun, vibrant, interesting, complicated and diverse. It’s rich in culture and extremly proud of it’s heritage. The people are fantastic and I really felt at home when I lived there. Quiero ir a Mexico pronto. I want to visit Mexico soon.
3. ENGLAND
England will always be my second home as my family lives there. I feel a strog sense of self when there and can really relate to the country. I love the history of the country as it is so much older than my baby country Australia. Whenever I hear a pommy accent, my heart instantly melts and I become nostalgic and longing. Ello ello ello!
4. GERMANY
Ich liebe Deutschland. I visited Germany in 2006 for the first time and subsequently reuturned twice more in the one year. I was lucky to have good friends spread out in many cities in Germany but I really found the people I met there to be so friendly. The food is amazing and I crave it constantly. It’s carb heaven! Prestzels, Knudle, Liebkuchen, Stollen, Magenbrot, Weiss wurst and the best breads you have ever tasted. Oh and of course, BEER!
5. USA
I know this may seem like a funny one to add as some people think that the USA is a lot like Australia, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Our cultures are completely different, as are the histories, the diversity of people and the food. I must admit, I don’t miss the kilos that I piled on there whilst eating the junk food. But I do miss the interesting and surprising places that I visited. USA is HUGE and there is so much more I need to see! Also, one of my favourite people in the world, my Cuz Bill lives there!
So my Top 5. I hope to get back to all of them this year.. but we have to wait and see!
This week is an exciting DOUBLE DOSE with the travelling duo – Thom and Sean from the UK.
I met Thom and Sean via their great posts on Twitter and by xploring their awesome blog, http://www.thomandsean.com. These two certianly know how to write. I can’t wait to follow the guys as they travel around the world and eventually arrive in Australia to party with me!
Here Thom and Sean reflect on their home country, England and share the best with you.
1. Name
Thom Cornall and Sean Fraser
2. Occupation
Theatre technician (T) and photographer (S)
3. Country of Residence
Currently the United Kingdom
4. Country of Origin
United Kingdom
5. Website
6. Why do you love Travel?
I think for us it’s the opportunity to meet new people and experience new things, trying out the world and seeing what else it has to offer.
7. Favourite place in your home country and why?
Sean: I think the favourite place that we both share is Brighton. It’s a seaside town (technically a city) on the south coast of England and it is brilliant. It has gorgeous Georgian architecture, friendly people, lovely little shops and vintage interestingness and then there’s the beach. Although not a sandy beach but a pebble beach it’s still fantastic.
Thom: Definitely agree with Brighton, it’s a damn lovely city. I’d probably throw in Chester too. It’s where I went to university so holds lots and lots of good memories for me. The town itself is quite small and easy to get around but holds loads of interesting shops, pubs and restaurants within the (Roman) city walls.
8. Best place for tourists to visit in your country?
If you accept that London is a given for every tourist, which it should be because it has so much to offer, then we would recommend WHERE????
Thom: I guess it depends on the tourist! The UK has got so much to offer and can cater to pretty much any taste! If you like the countryside and fancy yourself a bit of a rambler then head up to the Lake District and Northumberland or down to Cornwall and Devon. Both areas host stunning natural beauty spots and the very best of the English countryside!
If you’re a history buff, your in luck – we’ve got shedloads of it. From Tudor houses Roman ruins you could pick pretty much any town or city and have something to look at. For me, Edinburgh would be the pick of the bunch simply for the castle alone.
If you like you nightlife and consider yourself very much a city-based tourist, then it really does have to be London. Huge, sprawling and crowded it may be but you could spend weeks here without running out of things to do!
Sean: I think I would recommend London, you can’t avoid it, but once you have I’d pick somewhere like Bath, Bristol or Manchester. London gets a lot of stick from the rest of the UK for not being a true example of British life. So, mix it up and visit somewhere outside the south east of England.
9. What other country would you live in if you had to leave your country?
Thom: Difficult one to answer this. I’d probably go for Australia. Good climate, good beer and good people. What more could you need?!
Sean: The United States. The older I get the more I appreciate the liberty and freedom of the USA. Also, I like the eccentricity. I know I’ll love Australia but I don’t know if I can live that far away from everything else that I know? Part of our year there is to find out if we can!
10. Best travelling experience anecdote in your own country?
Sean: When me and my friends were 16 we went on a mini-holiday to Bristol where we were going out to celebrate a birthday (bear in mind the legal drinking age in the UK is 18). We walked through all of Bristol trying to find a guest house with vacancies and we finally found one that we named Toad Hall. There were statues, pictures and toys of frogs EVERYWHERE. The landlady was something out of a Hammer Horror Film who insisted: “NO MONEY, NO KEY, NO MONEY, NO KEY”.
Suffice it to say we told her we would go and get cash, at which point we legged it! We found a new hotel and 10 or more years later we still chant ‘NO MONEY, NO KEY!’
11. Favourite activity when around your city?
Thom: Going down to the Greyhound Racing track in Wimbledon and putting on a few bets! Such a fun night out and very easy to pick up.
Sean: Photography. London is just absolutely amazing for photography, there is every conceivable kind of back drop or setting and I know that I’m really going to miss that flexibility and inspiration once we’ve left.
12. Do you feel you know your country well, or is more exploring of your homeland needed?
Thom: I’d certainly like to do some more exploring as you can always learn something new about a place. Saying that, I think I know the country quite well. As a kid we couldn’t afford to go on family holidays abroad so I’ve been to many and varied places in the UK.
Sean: I definitely need to explore the UK some more, I’ve still not been to Northern Ireland (or the Republic) and the last time I was in Cornwall I was a baby. I think I’ve got a fairly good handle on my country though. The south is hard and stuck up and the north is soft and friendly. Luckily for me I like stuck up and I like friendly!
13. Any warnings for travellers visiting in your country?
Thom: Um, not that I can think of. It’s a very safe place. Of course, city’s and towns have there dodgy areas, as they do anywhere, but nothing major springs to mind.
Sean: The UK is expensive, I think Japan is one of the only countries more expensive than the UK. You won’t get value for money I’m afraid. Visit now though because the £ is barely worth the paper it’s printed on so it won’t seem so bad!
14. Must see movie featuring your country and Why?
Thom: Withnail and I. Possibly quite dated now, but a very very funny film. And very British.
Sean: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The British are a sarcastic bunch and also quite leftfield in their comedic tastes. If you can’t get the sense of humour then a visit here is going to leave you stranded.
15. The best book to read before visiting your country?
Thom: I honestly can’t think of a single book that’s worth reading set in this country.
Sean: Probablysomething by Dickens or Shakespeare (technically plays not books)
16. The must eat dish or delicacy of your country?
Thom: The classic Sunday Roast. Roast beef, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, veg, stuffing, horseradish sauce and lashings of gravy. Perfection.
Sean: Yeah, Sunday Roast is the best!
17. The top three sayings to make travellers stay in your country easier? E.g. How much? Too expensive or Hello.
Thom: Beer comes in pints or halves. “I’ll have a pint/half of lager please barkeep”
The Underground public transport in London is called the Tube not the Subway. (Sean: and it’s pronounced ‘Choob’ not ‘te-u-be’
Never try to use Cockney rhyming slang – you’ll just end up sounding like a tool.
Sean: If someone asks “You alright?’ when you walk into a shop or when you first meet it means hello, how’re you? It doesn’t imply that you look distressed or dissevelled. You should respond in kind: ‘Yeah, you?’
‘Quid’ is slang for ‘pound’, eg that’ll be five quid = £5.
‘A cuppa’ is what everyone calls a cup of tea – ‘I fancy a cuppa’, ‘do you wanna cuppa?’ British tea comes with milk and often sugar, if someone asks how you like it they’re not getting fresh. ‘One lump or two’ means one teaspoon of sugar or two!
18. Best time of year to visit?
Thom: I’m a summer man myself. Always lots and lots going on over the summer – music festivals, fetes, outdoor concerts.
19. The 4 words that best describe your country:
Thom: Eclectic, Historic, Contrasting and Innovative.
Sean: Old, quirky, sarcastic, beer!
Follow the guys on Twitter @thom_sean
or see their blog -http://www.thomandsean.com
Pete is a world traveller in the true sense, havng lived in Sweden, France and the UK and regularly travelling throughout Europe.
I met Pete in a hostel in Madrid in 2006 and we have been great friends ever since. If I ever need travel advice, he is the first one I turn to.
Pete now lives in Sweden and is loving the summers and the random coffee breaks. Also, of course, the hot swedish girls!!
Name
Pete Hodbod
Occupation
Videogame Designer
Country of Residence
Sweden
Country of Origin
UK
contact/ website
http://thehamsterfactor.com
Why do you love Travel?
The world is such a big interesting place, and I feel a need to see as much of it as possible.
Favourite place in your home country and why?
The Supermarket, because it has everything I miss most from home under one roof!
Best place for tourists to visit in your country?
The Archipelagos – just beautiful.
What other country would you life in if you had to leave your country?
London – It’s so different to the rest of the UK, it’s like being in another country. It’s probably the most international city on the planet and you can travel just about anywhere on the cheap.
Best travelling experience anecdote in your own country?
The Swedish government deliberately go out of their way to make it difficult for you to buy alcohol. Supermarkets can only sell beer up to 3.5%, so for anything stronger, spirits, or wine, you’ll need to go to the state run “System Bologet” where they deliberately close when you want to buy it most – after 6pm on weekdays, or after 3 on Saturday. Swedish people have learned however to stock up in advance.
Favourite activity when around your city?
Fika. It’s a Swedish obsession to stop for a break in the afternoon for coffee and cake.
Do you feel you know your country well, or is more exploring of your homeland needed?
Sweden’s a big country, and so far I’ve seen only the big cities and the South West. The country goes all the way north into the Arctic Circle (where they have the famous Ice Hotel), so there’s a lot left to see.
Any warnings for travellers visiting in your country?
Wait until summer before coming!
Summers are short but beautiful while winters are long and cold. Many Swedes take holidays abroad in winter but stay home in summer.
Must see movie featuring your country and Why?
You should watch the Wallander detective series (Version Original) to get a feeling for everyday life in Sweden.
The best book to read before visiting your country?
“The girl with a Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson for a taste of modern, gritty, and brutal modern Swedish crime literature.
The must eat dish or delicacy of your country?
Kanelbullar (Sweet Cinnamon rolls). I gained a 5-a-day addiction when I first arrived, but have since managed to ween myself off them.
The top three sayings to make travellers stay in your country easier? E.g. How much? Too expensive or Hello.
Swedish people generally speak excellent english and enjoy using foreigners as a chance to practice their english. But saying Hello, Thanks and Goodbye in Swedish is always polite.
Hej = Hello (hey)
en öl, tack! = one beer please (en url tack)
hejdå = goodbye (Hey-doh)
Best time of year to visit?
May to September
The 4 words that best describe your country:
Hot Blond Swedish Girls!
It had been 5 long years since I had celebrated the National Day of my country in my own country. I had forgotten what it was like to celebrate with Australians, in the heat of Summer on our own turf. So this year had to be a big one and 2010 certainly lived up. My Australia Day was jam packed full of Aussie goodness! Beaches, bikinis, Bondi and burnt to a crisp. What a day!
I wanted to also take this time to review my last 5 Australia Days:
2006 – Delhi India.
I actually forgot it was Australia Day until the enving as it is also Indian Republic Day
2007 – London, England
Beers at 9am, watching the movie Chopper, singing the Anthem on the train and being denied from the Temple Walkabout. An English Australia Day with all the class.
2008 – BIG WHITE, BC, Canada
Working in housekeeping until 12pm, started drinking 12.30pm, BBQ outside our snowlobile hut. Riding a Snowmobile in my Australian Bikini before heading to Happy Valley Tavern, The Happiest Place on Earth! Freezing Cold, but we still wore our bikini’s and boardies.
2009 – Monterrey, Mexico
Student Exchange in Mexico with 35 other Aussie students provided us with an unusual setting for our Australia Day Celebrations. Triple JJJ Hottest 100 on the 25th (the day before due to timezones) and all day BBQ as we returned from a weekend in the dessert, followed by a Birthday Party/ Australia Day BBQ on the 26th. VB shirt was donned and beverages were consumed. FIESTA!
2010 – SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Bondi Beach, Havaina Thong Challenge (http://www.havaianasthongchallenge.com.au/), Mr Muscle Sprout (www.musclesprouts.com.au), my best girls, sun, sand and fun!
My Day in point form:
EPIC DAY! Amazing!
I am so lucky to have been able to share my National pride over 5 countries over the past 5 years. I must say though…. There is no place like home!
Thanks Sydney for a truly memorable Australia Day 2010
Only 8 hours left of 2009 and it’s time to reflect on the year that was. I thought 2009 would be a big one for me, but I don’t think I realised how life changing some of the events would be. When you face the year ahead you make goals, plans and set targets for yourself, having direction is a great thing. Often though, it’s the unexpected and the changes, the things we never could have foreseen that really make us.
I’m not making any really big new years resolutions. I made a list of plans and things I would ‘like to’ achieve as I feel this is a much more flexible and approachable way to look at our future. The list of resolutions can often be reflected upon at the end of the year as a list of failed attempts. We shouldn’t feel discouraged and let down if we don’t get to do everything that we set out to do. So I’m saying for 2010, give it all you got, have a blast and make mistakes, it’s the best way to learn. Most of all, enjoy! Nothing is a waste of time as long as we learn from it and at differently in the future.
These are of few of my highlights from 2009:
What a great year! 2009 has taught me a lot. I just can’t wait to see what 2010 holds.
HAVE A FANTASTIC NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Thank you http://www.worldvision.com.au and The Tanzania office. Amazing!
Going to Tanzania to visit my sponsor child was my primary reason for going to East Africa. Who knew that I would be so mesmerised and completely changed after the visit. Nairobi and Northern Tanzania, Arusha, were like no-where I had ever been before. There is so much room for growth and development- but the people also seem happy and thankful for what they have.
The people I met, the experiences I had, and the encounters with animals have left me yearning for more! I will visit Africa again in 2010 and seek interested people who want to carry a message and a mission!
Let yourself experience something completely new and open your eyes to the world of possibilities- and share those possibilities with people of the world.
Kenya, Tanzania – 10th – 14th December
Well, lets just say this was THE MOST interesting experience of my life. Going to Africa COMPLETELY alone, with no contacts apart from the tour group I booked it with. I experienced extreme culture shock after my HORRIBLE 5 hour flight on Kenya Airways, and after spending 2 hours or more on the Tarmac, arriving at my hotel to find literally a 2x3m room, I was not impressed.
After the initial panic attack and multiple attempts to contact any damily member I could, I grabbed some dinner. My lovely tour arranger Chris (www.eastafricashuttles.com), who was so welcoming, helped me to get in contact with mum. I was nervous at first but he really made me feel comfortable and assured me that no matter where I was in Africa, they would take care of me. For this reason, I think sometimes it is better to travel alone. Scary at first, but then you get more interaction with locals and you are often able to receive more help.
The next day I caught a very interesting 6 hour bus ride to Arusha Tanzania – It was interesting to say the least, the roads aren’t exactly the best and I wouldn’t call the bus ‘spacious’. But I got to see a lot more of the land this way and many small communities. Look, if anything, it’s an experience!! That’s what I will keep telling myself in any case…
The hotel in Arusha was much better and my lovely new friend Hakim helped me settle in, another great staff member of east Africa shuttles. But I had major panic attacks that night because I couldn’t contact World Vision and I was meant to be seeing my Sponsor child Lazaro the next day – I was devastated and I collapsed into bed that night over it, exhausted and desperately sad.
Turns out my panic was FOR NO REASON- All was fantastic!!!! Isack came to get me from my hotel, I got driven to the site in the Shambaraii district, I cried when I met the people in the office, it was the most emotional experience of my life. (im actually crying now as I write)
When I met Lazaro we both fell to the ground in a bundle of emotion, he was so overwhelmed,. For him, this was a completely one off and first time experience, he had no idea how to act. The whole village came out to meet me and I got to hold this sweet, kind, innocent little boy that I had been sponsoring for 4 years. We were in the middle of the desert and I was in a real MASAI TRIBE.
I cannot express how it feels to have a parent look you in the eye, like Lazaros parents did, and say thank you and know that you have done so much for this persons quality of life.
WORLD VISION!! PLEASE EVERYONE; SPONSOR A CHILD TODAY. Its only $40 a month and its the best thing you will ever do!! www.worldvision.com
We played soccer with the new ball I gifted to him and the family then cooked me a very special traditional meal. I gave him more gifts and we cried again, and then he gave me gifts for my family. A bracelet and a necklace. We took a tour of the village and I played with the other children. 2 children walked with me at all times on either side holding my hand. The translators and office workers walked with us and explained the community. INCREDIBLE. How many people get to experience this type of culture first hand. It is truly moving.
It was so hard to leave him but I know I will be back to see him. HONESTLY THE BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE and I want to do everything in my power to help. I sat in the car on the way back completely numb- shocked to the core and extremely contemplative. an experience like this makes one feel so small. So helpless. It really puts you in your place and makes you see that there is so much out there that is just so much bigger than us. Bigger than we can ever fathom.
Another day in Arusha, just looking at Markets and a night out with Hakim. Then the 6 hour bus again and the fun with visas and immigration to get back into Kenya.
Next I would have a night and day in Nairobi. I went to Carnivore Restaurant . The most meat you will ever see in your life and the tastiest- including ostrich, turkey, beef and then some weird stuff like crocodile and giblets…. hmmmm.
My last day in Africa was so busy!!! I went to the David Sheldrick Elephant orhpanage (where I adopted an elephant), A giraffe sanctuary (where I kissed a giraffe) a crocodile farm ( where I held crocs, watched them feed, patted an angry camel, ran away from ostriches) and then back to the Elephant orphanage to play with my little Kimána and then off to my drivers house.
My drivers house was in a little village outside of Nairobi, where I was most definitely the only white person. I got to hold his new born baby and he said this was very special for his lovely wife Ann. I also met his nieces and nephews who liked playing with my hair and looking at my photos. A very unique experience to go to a real African home and simply through chatting with my driver and asking if he would take me there before he had to drive me to the airport. He was so happy and proud to take me there. He was worried that he would not be able to see his relatives and I had ended up having him out longer then it was meant to be. But being so obliging and giving me 110% service he stayed with me, so I said that I would go to his house with him so that he could see his relatives, If he didn’t mind. To see someone smile the way he did was such a great gift! The only sad part… my camera died.
Then another 14 hour flight…………………… to LONDON!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48882&id=511114236&l=7b55c05ed8- Visiting my sponsor child
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1076375&l=a5ea52173f&id=511114236- Kenya
Please Sponsor an Elephant. You then have the opportunity to go visit them in Africa and hold one as I did:
The trouble with travel for a flighty, spur of the moment and adventurous person like me is the planning of a trip.
I do love to adventure and trip around but to be bound by schedules and times and dates really does take a little bit of the excitement out of it. And yes, there is the option to “wing it” and just off and trip and see how you go, but there is always the initial planning of getting to the place before you can become foot loose and fancy free.
I am currently making plans to go to India for a wedding, Nepal to see a friend and then on to London, Scotland and Germany to see family and friends. Sounds like an amazing trip huh! But the problem is trying to arrange the dates, flights, locations and people so that it all fits neatly into a step by step travel path….. it’s not working!
There are some great websites like STA and Student flights which allow you to map out your trip. Trouble is, the computer then decides what the best route is for you- and does not take into account the time, cost or whether or not your Aunt Beryl will be in Scotland when the flight is best scheduled to arrive.
I know once it’s all planned and set that it will be fine and I will have a great time, but really and truly the amount of time and effort that goes into the planning process is crazy.
Sigh- the things we do for love.
There is always a few times before a trip that you start to doubt the nutty idea you are having to trek all over the known world. And with good reason!
Undertaking an overseas trip is a big thing! It’s exciting, scary, emotional, fun and daunting. You are set for totally new adventures and new experiences with every step you take. For some this sounds like heaven, for others this sounds just horrible. For me, it’s the dream!
BUT! And that’s a big BUT! It does not mean that I don’t worry, feel scared, anxious or nervous before trips. I mean, there is so much to do!
I have over the last few days had a number of “I can’t do it” moments when thinking about my fast approaching trip to India. I have decided to go to not only India, but whilst I’m out the country and spending loads of cash head to another few destinations. I would like to go to Nepal then come back into India to visit another 7 cities before I head to England just in time for Christmas. For New Year I am toying with the idea of Scotland and then on to Germany to visit friends in 3 cities.
Approximately 8 weeks all up. Mostly staying with friends and family. However, it is now dawning on me that I need visas, money (and lots of it), contacts, trip planning and least of all flights!
I started to think… perhaps best not to go. Or I could go to Delhi, India, for the wedding and then just potter on home. I can’t even imagine going on such an adventure now. But then I will get there, see the beauty, feel the bug, and regret greatly the decision.
So, although we have these minutes or hours or even days of doubt, ultimately the experiences we have abroad will reward us in so many other ways that these fears will be long forgotten.
After much fretting and worry, I know I will take this trip and you will read about the many adventures! If you have fears or worries then just acknowledge them, contemplate the various options and decide what is best for you!
The rewards for taking the risks and taking the adventure far outweigh these worries and concerns. Trust me!
Happy travels!
