Week 6

Met some aussies and we decided to go up table mountain on the cable car for tea as it was meant to be half price after 7pm but it wasnt and we ended up watching the sunset on one of the trendy beaches of cape town. That nught we went to a traditional african music club across the road from the hostel - Mama Africa - and listened to 7 african guys go nuts on the bongos...beats any concert i've ever been to - it just draws you in and envelopes you. I'm a bit pissed off thaty i forgot to buy a CD cause it was just soooooo sweet.

The aussies, a canadian and i hired a car and headed back along the garden route to George to one of the Canadian's friend's houses. It was a mansion, and her mum cooked up the first lamb roast i've had since i left home...it almost rivalled mum's..almost. Oz lamb just tastes that little bit better! Went to Knysna and sampled some of the local fare - how's this one - Forester's Lager! Very tasty. On the way back to Cape Town we stopped off at some caves that werent really interesting, but the highglhight of the trip home was us going through Barrytown (aka BazzaTown), which is not only blessed by having magnificent mountains surrounding it, but also by it having such a great nickname....

We arriverd back in Cape Town just in time for the start of the third test between South Africa and Australia. I went to the first two days, which involved the following:

-watching a huge ass-kicking take place

-drinking heaps of forester's lager

-yelling abuse at the Cricketboks on the ground

- yelling abuse at the South African idiots in the crowd

-having a chat with Big Merv

- just a little bit more drinking

On the third day he rose again...and headed for Namibia.  A huge 17hr bus trip was the order of the day androcked up in Windhoek with no sleep at 7am.  Wandered around the most boring capital city Ive ever been to (even worse than Canberra) for a couple of days then got a minibus to the coastal town of Swakopmund with a big Pommy hippy guy.  This town is seriously plonked right in the middle of the desert you walk for 5 mins from the center of town and youre in sand dunesits quite mad.  We bought some bits of chipboard with one smooth side and some floor polish and headed off into the dunes, spending 3 out of the next 5 days zooming down huuuuuge dunes at breakneck speedfrickin amazing I tells ya..one of the best things Ive ever done.  Other than sandboarding, there was shiteloads of drinking and eating to be done, and this was completed satisfactorily.  Back to the exciting Windhoek for a few days to wait for the train to Tsumeb, near Chobe National Park.  I didnt get a lift into the park, so I moved on.

Week 7

Another minibus escapade later and I turned up in the stinky little town of Rundu, where I got a lift to Bagani, in the Caprivi strip with a rally car racing team from Zambia who were on their way back from  Tsumeb.  I got dropped off in the middle of nowhere and was lucky enough to con a poor taxi driver into taking me 15km out of his way for $5 to a bush camp on the Okovango River.  I got to hole up in a cool little cane hut on the river.  I asked them for a lift to the Botswanan border the next day so I could catch a bus to the dug out canoe (mokoro) camp on the panhandle of the Okovango Delta, hoping that they would give me a lift all the way there out of the goodness of their hearts, but they decided to drop me at the Namibian side of the border, and I had to walk while they drove the 200m to the Botswanan border post, then left me on the side of the road while they zoomed off. What a nice person. Consequently I had to walk 5km to catch a bus to wait 5 hours for another bus which took 4 hours to travel the 80km to the camp.  It was ok though as they let me ride on top of the bus Priscilla Style for 3 hours until a nice Botswanan copper asked me to get my arse down off the roof.

I spent the next couple of days sitting with my bum stuffed in a dugout canoe cruising around the Delta, and taking game viewing walks. We saw heaps of hippos, elephants, buffalo and a coupleof million  mozzies! I then cruised down through Botswana to Maun for a night then up to Kasane in the most overcrowded ute Ive ever seen!  There were 3 in the front seat, and 10 people (including a little kiddie) stuffed in the back. Fun you say? Come a bit closer so I can slap you. Not the most amazing time for a guy who is 6foot5 having to sit in a 3 foot space for 6 hours I tells ya. Finally got to Kasane, right in the North East of Botswana, after passing THE most overturned truck Ive ever seen only half the cab was above the ground, but the driver was wandering around unhurtquite amazing. I missed the border crossing to Zambia by 20 mins (the driver of the ute sat on 95 the whole way), so I was destined to wander around the town for 2 hrs trying to find a place that cost under $100 (very touristy and right next to a big game reserve).  I finally hooked up with a couple who let me spend easter with them in their tiny little house, but it was very cool.

Week 8

Over into Zambia via the scariest looking ferry in the world.  This thing was carrying 40 ton trucks on no more than a few bits of wood and some wire mesh, and across to Livingstone, where I headed off straight away to Victoria Falls.  Absolutely firckin amazingthere was more water coming over this thing than there is coming out of me after a hard night drinking! Spent only a night in Livingstone and headed by bus with a Kiwi chappie who I met to Lusaka, the capital.  The plan was for us to head to Malawi and then meet up with his mates and they would decide what to do from there.  Maybe not..I got to the border (after a 6hr bus ride) and found that my passport had mysteriously disappeared from my money belt.  After trying for an hour to make two phone calls at the border post, we headed back into the nearest town, Chipata and stayed in a dodgy motel (which we later found out to be a male visiting house), and nearly got beaten up by a bunch of drunk locals; so we could catch the early bus back to Lusaka to try and find my passport.  I though that it would be in the safe of the hostel in Livingstone, as it wasnt in the hostel in Lusaka, but the people in the hostel said it wasnt there. Meanwhile, my Kiwi mate had to head off to Malawi to meet his buddies so they could sort out their plans.  After waiting for the British Consulate to open, and after filling in the forms for a temporary passport: I was just about to take out money to pay for it when I got the news that they had, infact found the passport in Livingstone, and it was just the fact that the people there were too lazy to look hard enough that cost me 4 days of my trip!  What still perplexes me is how my passport got out of my money belt when it was zipped up in the first place.hmmmm

Anyways..

Week  9

After getting my passport (Yay!), Had 16 hours of bussing and some interesting run ins with money changers at the border to get to Blantyre in the south of Malawi.  Headed to Monkey Bay (but I was the only one I ever saw there) to catch the passenger ferry, the Ilala  for two days up the lake to Nhkata Bay.  Had some magnificent scenery to contend with the whole way up, and it was interesting to see whole villages of people come out to watch the boat and meet the people getting off when it stopped. The first night was clear as a bell and we got to see a whole lot of pretty stars, but not so the second night.  The first-class deck (ahem!) had only a tiny bit of cover, so when it started to pour down, there were 10 of us trying to fit in a space for 6.  Very interesting.

We arrived in Nhkata Bay at 5am, to be accosted by kids trying to get commission from the hostels in town for bringing in new customers.  I changed my mind about staying in Nhkata bay by mid afternoon it seemed like a grubby version of Lorne in the 50s, but with more annoying people trying to get money from you!  I decided to get a move on north to try and get to Tanzania by night fall, but found I could only get to a small town near the border, Karonga.  The bus ride from Mzuzu (100km from Nhkata Bay) to Karonga was THE most bumpy, painful, and airborne trip I have ever taken, and by the time I arrived in the dirty, sleazy haven for Tanzanian smugglers in Karonga, I was absolutely buggered!

Week 10

I managed to get into Tanzania for $30US and made it to a little hole called Iringa about halfway to Dar-es-Salaam.  I wasnt too happy when I got there, due partly to the fact that I was more airborne in the bus than yesterday, and that it took 7 hours for the bus to go 300km.   It was due mainly to the fact that the bus wasnt full and the bus had to stop all the time to pick up or drop off someone in the middle of nowhere so the bus driver can make a bit of extra money.  Express bus my arse!

Another dodgy sleazy, mozzie infested resthouse later (I spent 45 mins killing the bastards!), I got on another bus to get to Dar-es-Salaam.  It was the first time that I had seen a bus in Africa that left when it was meant to.and of course, I was 5 minutes late!  A friendly taxi driver drove like a madman to catch up to it though, and I was on my way.figuratively speaking of course, as the bus ride again took 7hours to go 300km,  was bumpier than yesterday - I definitely spent more time in the air than on my seat!

Got into Dar at about 1.30pm and headed towards a place mentioned in the lonely planet to stayonly the map in the book was two blocks out, so I spent an hour walking around this huge smelly and people-infested city with my 2 backpacks in 35 degree heat. Fun for the whole family!  After finding out that the place I wanted to stay at was full, I then spent an hour trying to get money out of 3 banks, and finally found the first ATM I could use in 3 countries.  I was hot and stinky and getting a bit peeved so I decided to catch a ferry to Zanzibar and relax. Wrong!  I then proceeded to give my hard earned $50 to a guy who said he was going to get me a cheaper price on the ferry and then promptly ran off with it when I wasnt looking. Yay.  Lucky for him I didnt see him again, or I was going to put the coke bottle I was holding through his head.

I definitely wanted to get out of Dar then, and a nice local fella directed me to a bus to Bagomoyo, a little fishing village to the north of Dar, where I could catch a Dhow (a local fishing boat) overnight to Zanzibar. It cost about a third of the price of the ferry, but took 6 times as long and the sandbags I was sleeping on werent the most comfortable things in the world to spend 12 hours on.  I was also sitting behind a petrol container that had leaked into the water that had seeped onto the ship and I can tell you that 6 hours of sniffing petrol makes the stars look extra pretty! Although the constant feeling that you were about to throw up was a bit of a drawback

Found out that I had infact arrived illegally onto Zanzibar, and got away with not paying the arrival tax. Apparently only locals are allowed to arrive by Dhow. About to check in to the Florida Guesthouse when I found out some friends I met in Lusaka were staying in the north of the islandso I headed up there.

The next five days consisted of laying on the beach, laying on my bed, walking down the beach, swimming, drinking (bartering for the price of your beer at a bar is really fun dont think you can do it anywhere else!), eating, laying on the beach, drinking and doing shite all! The place was like a tropical paradisepalm trees and all that..very schmick. Pity it rained most of the time though  Then back to Zanzibar town to get lost in the maze of alleys and tiny streets for a couple of days.  Quite an interesting town.  Didnt bloody stop raining though.

Week 11

Jumped on  the ferry back to the mainland, and was more seasick in an hour and a half than I was for 12 hours on the way over.  Got a bus pretty much straight away and headed to Moshi, in the north, right at the base of Mt.Kilimanjaro.  The plan was to spend a couple of days looking at the big fella. HmmmI guess the 5 minutes that I saw the peak (but nothing else) was better than most people (all 4 tourists that were there) as they had their highest rainfall period in 6 years while I was there!

Then off to Nairobi to stay for a few days while waiting to fly to Europe.  Three words can describe Nairobidirty, smelly, overcrowded and big. Wait, thats four. Oh well. It was all of them but a bit more exciting than the major cities that Id been to in the last 2 months. I wandered around the streets for hours trying to find a pair of sandals and some jumpers but had no luck as the stuff was more expensive than back homeeven after a bit of bartering.  Ate a silly amount of chips though.its the staple fast food in Nairobi chips and watered down tomato sauce. Yum Yum Yum.

Went up to Mount Kenya with a couple of girls I met at the hostel in Nairobi, which was also covered in cloud, except for about half an hour at 6 in the morningso it wasnt too bad.  Apparently there hadnt been anyone at the hostel for a month, and they were so excited that they actually turned on the power for us for a couple of hours!  We almost couldnt leave because the guys running the place decided to raise the price when we were about to go, but a little bit of persuasion on my part set them straightand they even gave us a lift half way back to the nearest town so we only had to walk 4km to catch the bus back to Nairobi!

Was befriended by a big African guy on the last night in Nairobi before flying outhad to convince him that I didnt really want to be his special friend and had to respectfully decline his offers to go back to his house. Hmmm.I know Im good looking and all that, but when a big smelly African fella decides to make you his special friend, you just have to feel special.......

Wallys Moochooting Adventure PART 1 - Continent 2.....Europe!!!!!

The man that is wally graced the shores of a NEW (and improved!!) continent on the 30^th of May 2002..and what a joyous occasion it was for all the Europeans.fan fares and parades throughout all the capital cities were to honour the almighty ones arrivalI almost cried.

AUSTRIA

Flew into London from Nairobi, then after a 2 hour layover, onto Vienna, where I was met by a lovely Austrian lass, Valerie, that I met while touring with my Granny in Bundaberg. I spent the next week at her place, her giving me the royal tour of Vienna, and even letting me experience one of the most amazing things Ive ever done.i bought a beer in McDonaldshows that for weird? Hmmmm.. Went down to their sea..which means a lake that is a maximum of 2 metres deep and has stones for beachessaw the world windsurfing competition though..not too bad. Vienna is a gorgeous city..get your arses there! Spent a day wine tasting in the hills east of Vienna with her parents and then made a move east

GERMANY

I was then off to visit a mate, Falk, that I met in South Africa, who lives in Cologne, and decided to go via Berlin for a couple of daysas I got on the bus, the driver told me in really bad english that I needed a visa for the Czech republic, as the bus cut through there to get to Berlin. As I didnt know this, I was left at the bus stop not knowing what to do, but luckily the bus to Cologne pulled up, so I decided to surprise Falk by turning up a couple of days earlyand boy was he happy! The next week entailed of me wandering around the city for a couple of days while Falk was workingtrying all of (or as many as possible) of the local beers as I couldnow I though we in Victoria had small glasses for beer..known as the pot but the residents in Cologne and Bonn and the area drink out of 200ml glasses that should be used for girly drinks as their normal beer measureso if you hear of a German that can drink 30 glasses in a nightask which part of Germany they come from!

Went up the Cologne Dom (Cathedral) spire about 170m and shiteloads of steps, also went and saw a game of handball in Falks home town, after an amazing motorbike ride along the autobahns we were sitting on 180km/h (which Falk said was slow), and cars were still passing us VERY easily! Oh yes..handball..- ,mad men that throw themselves on the floor of a baskeball court at every opportunity and throw as hard as they can at the head of the goal keeperfun for all!..the defence is a bit boring thoughbit like zone defence in basketball.

Something here for the forestry guys and gals.went to a nightclub called The Ding one night in Colognenot many haybales or blundstones, but plenty of people getting pissed in dodgy checked shirts and denim!

One more thing to know about the Germans and Austrians.they dont know the meaning of a light breakfast. Breakfast for them consists of a few different types of bread and bread rolls, some different cheeses, a few types of meat pig, cow, chicken etc, juices, spreads, fruits, and the list goes on.Now you can see why I learnt German in High school! Yum Yum.

On to Pommy Land.. THE UNITED KINGDOM Part 1 - ENGLAND

Bus overnight form Cologne to London via Brussels, Calais ---Ferry---Dover, then to London. We lost a fella from the bus at the border post in Doverhe was from one of the baltic statesthe immigration fellas just came and grabbed his stuff and buggered offmade me double check that I had my passport this time!

Got into london at half past 4 in the morning and dropped off in a side street in the middle of nowhere (according to me). Took me a while to find a train station, then had to wait half an hour for the underground to open. I also managed to take an hour and a half to take a trip that should have taken half an hour..it was perfectly timed that one the trains to where I was going decided to stop in the middle of two stations, blocking all traffic in the direction I was going. Yay! I finally got to my cousin Carolyns Pub (The Bell) in Ealing at 7.30am and woke them up. Surprise surprise they werent too happy to be woken up as they had finished work at 1am.

I stayed in a spare bedroom there for a couple of nights while I hunted around for jobs, one in a pub in the middle of nowhere west of London, and got a job with the second try as a Chef yes a Chef (I knew all my wonderful cooking creations at Creswick would lead somewhere in the end!) at the Walkabout Inn funnily enough an Australian (and Kiwi) bar in Shepards Bush the Dandenong of the inner suburbs of London. I had a couple of training days there and then moved into the staff house, where I managed to share a room with the loudest snorer Ive ever come acrosseven louder than my mum!

The pub was pretty quiet during the day, but at night at the weekend, it is the maddest place Ive ever been towhen it was packed, no one would order food, so spent Saturday and Sunday nights dancing on the side of the stage in my chefs uniform..very cooland a good vantage point!

I worked there for three weeks, and took my days off to go and visit another mate and his girlfriend that I met in South Africa, Ben and Chloe in Essex,and found out that there were some nice places to England, and not just a smelly, dirty, expensive city! After finishing up there I nipped over to Germany for a couple of days (!) to visit Bonn and a friend I made while visiting Falk in Cologne. Still cant get used to being able to jump on a plane for an hour and be in a different country!

I then worked a couple of nights at Carolyns pub, then spent a week up in Essex with Ben and Chloe, where we spent a day in Cambridge and did some punting, then came back to London to meet with Jo who was coming over for a few weeks from Melbourne. Played tourist in London for a few days, then headed off in my new car little 1989 black Fiat Uno called Rupert up to the top of Wales, where I would leave the car and catch the ferry over to Dublin to meet Jo and got on a 6-Day all Ireland Paddywagon tour. Yeehaw.

Stopped in Stratford-Upon-Avon (birthplace of Shakespeare), various castles, and a few little towns in Wales on the way to catch the ferry at Holyhead not after managing to have to be pull-started twice as Ruperts battery was flat. I solved that problem by parking it on a hill and roll starting it to get it a new battery in Holyhead before catching the ferry.

IRELAND

Got into Dublin and headed straight to the hostel I was staying atthe cheapest one (at $26 a night) and went off for a wander. Met up with a yank called Ross and we went off into the big party area, Temple Bar and got accosted by a groups of Americans who were sailing around Europe doing a semester of uni at seapoor buggers! Wandered around more of Dublin with Ross for the day and decided that Dublin wasnt the nicest or most picturesque of citiesbut it sure was expensiveI managed to pay $9.40 for a pint of beer. No shit there I tells yahmm.

Jo turned up and we spent the night at the hostel of the tour company before heading off after a diversion to the Guinness Brewery as their way of placating us for turning up late. Managed to have 7 free pints in the hour that we were waiting for the bus..hee hee! We then made a beeline for Belfastwhich was a good idea cause if we stopped anywhere in Northern Ireland in a protestant area in a big green bus, I dont think there would have been much of the bus left. Went on a Black Cab tour of Belfast and saw how f**ked up the people there really aretheir places were covered with these huge murals saying how shot the other side was and how good and right they were. They had big fences between the hardline areas and I think we did well not to be stoned or paint bomberd or blown up!

We stayed in a place of total contrast..a nice little coastal village, and spent the night watching a nerdy little lady try to do irish dancing in a pub. Went to Derry the next day (Bloody Sunday) and spent the night near Donegal, where my mums side of the family originate from (ODonnell). On to Galway the next night, then to Killarney for two nights, then back to Dublin, a place where Jo and I both decided that wed had enough of so we caught the ferry back to Holyhead (got in at 1am) and spent the night in the car on the side of a country road.

THE UNITED KINGDOM Part 2 WALES

One recommendation to you all that I have so far for the UK is to definitely go to the Snowdonia National Park in Northern Wales, especially if you couldnt be buggered to go up to Scotlandits bloody amazing. We drove from near Holyhead to the longest named town in the world, then to the north coast and visited Llandudno and Conwy. Then headed south into Snowdonia and ended up in a hostel on the bank of gorgeous lake Gwynant, which is in a beautiful valleyit would get bloody chilly there in winter though.the snow line is only about 100m above the hostel!

The next day we headed off down the coast and ended up in Aberystwyth, a bigger version of Lorne, where we stayed in a nice little pub. Then down to Cardiff via the Brecon Beacons National Park, which wasnt as nice as Snowdonia, but still much prettier than London. We stayed in a caravan park right in the middle of town and went and had a rump steak at the Oz Bar not bad at all. Cardiff is probably the nicest big city Ive seen in the UK and I was hoping to work there over summer, but I found out that the cricket leagues over there dont let foreigners play..bit of a bugger!

Back to ENGLAND

Zipped down to Bath the next day and spent the night there, meeting up with Jos cousin Adele the next day. Saw the Roman baths, then drove to near Stonehenge, where we stayed in a B&B that you could easily mistake as your nannas house. Saw Stonehenge, then headed off towards Brighton, the most popular summer resort in EnglandI dont know how..i mean, what they call a beach is just a big pile of stones.the place still had a summery feel though even though there wasnt any sun in sight!

Almost got a room there until I found out that I would have to share a double bed with a girl from Quebecshe was rather cute, but still.I bet she smelt anyway.

Back up to London via East Grinstead, and stayed a night in Stoke Newington an equally dodgy place on par with Shepherds Bush but in the north of London before heading north to Essex and then to Saffron Walden, near Cambridge, where I was in a house for a week next to a rubbish tip and on an old cement works, to try and look for a better place and some work for the next couple of months..but alas, the work was to shitty, as were the rooms (not to mention expensive) for this upper-class boys standards.

I was then offered a place in my pommy mate Bens house by his parents for a little while, so I cansave up a bit of moneyso I gracefully accepted this spot and am working at the Braintree Golf Club for a bit so I can save a bit of money to do a bit more moochooting around the world - which i did for about 6 weeks. Magnificent spot in a little country village about an hour and a half out of london.  I felt like i was back at home doing the everyday thing but with a new bunch of people, who were really cool by the way..the Whites deserve a round of applause for putting up with me for so bloody long. hoorah!

SCOTLAND

Right. Now. After the stint in Great Saling, I ventured on a Ryanair 8 pound flight to Glasgow to start off the Scotland Invasion. Willy Wallace was a pussy compared to the REAL Wally. 

To Fort William, at the bottom of the UK's biggest 'mountain' Ben Nevis (a mini 1400m). sweet as spot, but only stayed a night before moving onto the Isle of Skye which blew me away...literally. Frickin windy in parts. I got called a highlander by asinger on stage at the Sligachan Hotel. Absolutely magnificent scenery - mountains, lakes and islands. Lovely spot. Everyone has to go there. Now, dammit! THe people are nice, the beer and whisky are tasty, and the scenery is well, scenic.

Then right up north to Thurso via Inverness, then accross to Durness by the post bus. Highlights of Durness include SMOO CAVE and seeing how many times you can be blown over. Then onto Inverness where i stayed for 5 days, doing cleaning at the hostel in exchange for accommodation. Its a nice little town, although loch Ness leaves a whole lot to be desired - looks like any other lake you would see anywhere...and no big green slimy things hanging about - unless you count the fat scottish blokes that is.

Edinburgh. One of the prettiest cities I've ever been to, well the downtown area is anyway. I stayed there for a couple of weeks, doing some more cleaning, and cooking a meal for 100 people in the hostel for free nights. also worked in the kitchen of a big posh school. went out drinking every night cause there were so many cheap places to drink. it also was the place, coincidentally, where i started getting fat! Met heaps of cool people and will definitely be going back. Dunno why i even worked in london at all. Tasty.

Bought my 60day eurolines bus pass and headed back to london to be in time for my cousin carolyn's baby to pop out...almost. I missed the birth by about 2 hours - was just boarding a plane from heathrow to stockholm when Amber Louise appeared.

SCANDINAVIA

To Stockholm for 3 days where i met up with my mate Greg's girlfriend helena for a day. Gorgeous city based on the water and some islands, but rather expensive for accommodation and drinking. 11 buck for a beer in pubs. it wa a bit more reasonable to buy grog at the government run liquor stores though.

Bus to Copenhagen - another pretty city, and a bit less expensive. Geez scandinavian women are good looking! Didnt even go to the sex museum...12 bucks was a bit steep to see fat greek people having fun. Did do a heap of walking though.

GERMANY  Part 2

Berlin was the port of call - stayerd in two hostels cause the first was a bit institutional. Wandering around the city you can still thee the division between east and west, and that there's a huge amount of construction and reconstruction going on. worlds biggest builkding site or something. Reeally got stuck into the 1.50 euro kebabs(souvlakis) magnificent.

Then to Cologne again to see falk for a coule of days. Pretty much spent the time eating and drinking and sleeping.

To Freiburg to visit a friend i met in Namibia. It also has a nice downtown and is a very green city.

FRANCE

Strasbourg was a one night whing while waiting for a bus to Munich, but it was worth it. So many old buildings and it had a great atmosphere about it. manages ot pay 12 bucks for a beer at a club. hmm. FOund out that some french people dont speak ANY english at all..or maybe they just didnt like me...either way, it wouldnt be easy to try and pick up a french bird if that is the case!

Germany (Again)

Munich. The land where beer flows like wine. Big steins and buxom lasses delivering them...his name was Franz and he was about 60 and 5foot2 with sparse hair. gorgeous.

Went to Dachau Concentration Camp. It was a bit hard to picture the crap that went on there, but looking at the big cremation ovens that looked like bakers ovens, it helped to create the mood...

A BIT MORE OF FRANCE - ie PARIS

Stayed one night, and did the touristy things. THe downtown and northen central area were madly packed with people, and the beer was expensive at bars. Other than that, it was good..for one night. that is.

BACK to ENGLAND

Visited the family, both Carolyn who got married and my english family out in the country. Lovely wedding in a parish church that looked like St.PAt's cathedral in Melbourne (ie bloody huge!)

SPAIN, ITALY (Part1)

To barcelona by bus for three days - took 26hrs to get there. Wasnt really worth the big trip...mainly due to the SHIT hostel i stayerd in. Do NOT stay in the Ideal Youth Hostel if you ever go there...it definitely isnt!

Also took a day trip to Andorra, only about 3hrs by bus from Barcelona - but with completely different weather - it was about 22degrees in Barcelona, and when i arrived in Andorra, it was 4 degrees and snowing. Typical of me, i'd only packed a thin jumper too. Needless to say it only took two hours to walk around the capital city, after which i spent the rest of the time waiting for the bus in a McDOnald's drinking beer. yes beer. quite tasty too.

Bus to Venice (23hrs) and when i got there, there was nowhere to stay, so i walked around for a bit and took some photos, then got on a train to milan, to wait for the bus to Salzburg that was leaving at 7am the next morning. Milan is not an interesting town, especially if you havent slept for 2 nights. I still managed to keep myself awake for the night by wandering around the streets, paying 20 bucks for a beer, then did some more wandering, got lost and almost missed the bus. fun for all.

AUSTRIA part 2

BUs from milan to Salzburg via Innsbruck was one of the most amazing rides i've ever had, along with through the canadian rockies. Got to the hostel in time for the nightly happy hour, which i frequented all 4 nights i was there. 1L steins for 6 bucks - cant go wrong. The castles right in the middle of town and the mountains really made the place - along with random Austrians and tourists running wround the streets singing ditties from the Sound of Music. They even had a cow painted with the kids on it...and the hostel played the movie at 10.30 every morning. what a great start to the day.

BELGIUM

Finally, after the last two times of passing through brussels, i decided to stop for 2 days on the way to meeting CLINT the lazy prick in AMsterdam...which was one day too many. I spent the second day with a couple of aussie guys drinking copious \numbers of 24cent 'Kaiser Pils' cans, and constructing a replica of the town hall with the empties. Magnificent.

THE NETHERLANDS

tee hee. Now, Amsterdam. Met the fat bastard CLint at the bus station then headed for the first night to a mate's place who i met as an exchange student at UBC in Vancouver a few years ago. Him and his mate took us out for the 'tour' of the Dam, which included the fabulous redlight district (window shopping at its best) and a few of the tasty coffee shops where one could actually buy coffee, along with other green, smokable substances. Neeless to say we visited both of these again every night we were there. Just for interests sake of course.

ITALY Part 2

To Florence (28hrs) for anight, then to Rome via Siena. Florence was a nice city with all sorts of arty stuff for arty farty people to enjoy. lots of naked men and women up on pedestals too for all you perverted arty farty types too.

Stayed in rome for 2 nights and had a look at the coliseum, spanish steps, and other bits and pieces then headed with a kiwi girl, Rebecca to the isle of capri for a night then to the amalfi coast. Both are absolutely amazing, and are my favourite bits of italy by a long stretch. THen back to rome for a night before the flight to Singapore on the 27th of November. MAnaged to get abosultely pissed on the last night and didnt get to the Vatican City as planned, and almost missed my flight. Good one.

Thats it for that continent.

Wally's view of Europe: Most of it is Crowded; 99% of the cities are at least majorly dirty; every person and his dog, cat and pet orangutan smoke, ALL of it is expensive (except for most of Spain apparently), and yes, it is not as much fun now that i have left....

boo hoo.

NOW to asia...mwooohhahh haaahh