Alberta,Canada

Melbourne, Australia The Great Ocean Road

My trip begun in the Whitsundays where it rained for the entire 3 days of my staying so it was time for Plan B since road closures prevented me from getting up to Cairns. There I was days later on a flight into Melbourne Victoria to do one of the world’s greatest coastal drives on this side of Australia. We picked up the Astra at the car rental and begun our 2 day journey clocking our Kilometres at just over 900 Km. It was a new experience driving on the “wrong” side of the road but after a few roundabouts and the assistance of our GPS we found our way and made some very memorable moments. The Great Ocean Road drive begins in Torquay where we witnessed a marvellous sunrise and ended at Port Fairy’s lighthouse. A Koala bear, a Wallaby and heaps of different bird species were some of the wildlife encountered on our drive. The coastal drive is full of lookouts and awesome views of the Victoria Ocean. The highlight of the trip was definitely The Twelve Apostles where the majestic limestone stacks rise up out of the ocean. The Twelve Apostles among other limestone formations, small coastal towns, and miles of beach and windy roads took my breath away.

Sydney Australia

Sydney, Australia... I made it!!! The best way to describe these 4 days was a mini vacation into the big city. The short flight over from the Sunshine Coast Area was a breeze and arriving midday gave me a chance to discover the city. I did the tourist thing and jumped aboard the Double Decker tour bus (a great way to explore the city) purchasing a concession ticket that gave me hop and hop off privileges for 24 hours. I made it to the famous Bondi Beach which was filled with beach goers, lifeguards and got a glimpse of the camera crew who were filming Bondi Rescue a reality TV program that shows lifeguards rescuing the many tourists who are attracted the area). The next day I headed over to Manly Beach by Ferry where I was able to capture some great photos of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge; two very famous landmarks in the city of Sydney. I went all out and did a Blue Mountain tour on my last full day. It was worth every penny. We started out on the air-conditioned coach and arrived Featherdale Wildlife Park for a walk through and photo opportunity with a cuddly Koala. After our buffet lunch we did an hour scenic cliff drive and arriving at Echo point to witness the majestic views of Three Sisters and Jamison Valley. Here I was able to take a ride on the scenic skyway cable car, ride the worlds steepest incline railway and return by scenisender cableway. The tour ended with a ferry ride back to Darling Harbour where I grabbed some dinner and hit the Casino...of course! No luck but good fun. The following morning I was able to walk around the city for a couple of more hours before my departure back to the Sunny Coast.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Originally we were planning on taking the bus into Siem Reap, and then we were over long bus rides and decided to fly from Bangkok into the city of Siem Reap. We were able to find our Gecko’s group who were still on tour for a couple of more days. Spending the day and evening with the group was a blast, especially dancing the night away at Angkor What Bar and then a farewell in the early hours of the morning when we checked in our final and last room of this one month journey in Asia. The dozens of temple ruins in the Siem Reap area was our main focus of this destination in Cambodia. We hired our Tuk Tuk driver for the day for US 20.00 (this is how it’s done in Siem Reap), who had the most adorable smile on his face driving us through the temples of Angkor. The temples vary in importance, interest and condition often kilometres apart. We began our journey entering through the south gate of Angkor Thorn. This area is a 3Km walled royal city and was the last capital of the Angkorian Empire. There are five entrances (gates) to the city crowned with 4 giant faces. From this point on, it was temple after temple after temple and more temples. It really was surreal standing in front of these ancient monuments and reflecting on how these landmarks are so well known across the world. The highlight of our day is the famous Angkor Wat. It is a massive three tiered pyramid crowned by five lotus-like towers rising 65 meters from ground level. It is surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall measuring 13000 meters x 1500 meters. There are nearly 2000 carvings on the walls throughout the temple depicting stories and characters from ancient times. This is the centerpiece of any visit to the temples of Angkor. We ended the day at the Phnom Bakheng temple for a view of the sunset. Good times in Siem Reap and its ancient temples.

Laos, SouthEast Asia

Laos is the least populated country in South East Asia. Tourism in Laos is not as huge compared to the neighbouring Thailand with 100,000 travellers crossing the border every year. Our border crossing from Thailand to Laos was a breeze! We got our departure stamps in our passports, and then walked down to a slow boat where we boarded and did the 10 minute ride across the river and reached our first destination in laos... Huay Xai. After spending the night in this small village, we walked to the pier where we boarded a slow boat for our 7 hour journey down the Mekong River. This was one of my favourite days in Laos. The family on board who own the boat made us a traditional Laos meal and we ate like Kings and Queens. Our stop midday was Houay Palam Village consisting of 55 families that originated from Cambodia. Surrounding this village is lush trees and bush, Mekong River and wild chickens, that I’m sure are a main food source. Before the sun went down we stopped in Pakbeng where we were introduced to local Laos Whiskey. In the morning we continued on our journey down the Mekong for another full on day. Peaceful, tranquillity and serenity are words that come to mind. Before arriving Luang Prabeng, we stopped to explore the amazing Pak Ou Caves which contain hundreds of Buddha statues. Luang Prabeng is a beautiful town with temple roofs, French architecture and stunning mountain backdrop. The highlight here was the beautiful Kuang Si Falls and of course the yummy fruit shakes. We spent 2 nights and 3 days in the preserved city in South East Asia. The night market is a great place to do some shopping. We then made our way to the village of Vang Vieng, located on a bend in the Nam Song River. The highlight of this village is definitely the pub crawl down the river in a tube. From this destination we travelled south by van into the town of Vientiane, the Lao capital which is located on the banks of the Mekong River. After our night we left the tour group and crossed the International Friendship Bridge into Thailand where we did the 13 hour night train back to Bangkok.