When I was 18 I went travelling for the first time. I went for 6 months and was thoroughly, and joyfully unprepared. I hadn't even looked at a guide book, but that just added to the adventure. Now everyone seems to be jetting off for exotic escapades, but things have changed. The facebook phenomenon ensures that I know exactly what people are doing at any given time (and in any given time zone), as well as the regular emails and text messages. I sent just 3 emails in 6 months and had not too many more conversations with my parents on the phone. Telecommunications just didn't have the capacity they do now and to top it all were expensive, so I had to keep it short and sweet.
Peru: land of the Incas
I flew into Lima but didn’t spend very much time there overall. First, I travelled to Cusco to hike and see Machu Picchu; eventful to say the least, the bus journey was 24 hours and unheated. When I was on the trail I managed to fall through a bridge, and when we got to Machu Picchu it was raining and I couldn’t see anything! After that we missed the train back to Cusco, bribed a security guard to get us on the next one, and spent the whole night learning the perils of drinking at altitude. Then it was down to Puno and Lake Titicaca which is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been, the lake actually sparkles. Not forgetting the local joke, the titi's on our side the caca in Bolivia! Also, Pisco Sours, which consist of Pisco (the local spirit), lemon juice and egg white, like the alcoholic version of a lemon meringue pie.
Bolivia: cheap, cheap, cheap
I only spent 4 days here which isn't really enough. La Paz is the highest capital in the world but it’s a bit too sprawling for my liking, Copacabana on the other hand is everything you'd want of a lakeside resort. It’s also on Lake Titicaca but its warmer than in Peru. I travelled around with an Ozzie for 2 weeks which was cool but he went back to America after Bolivia.
Ecuador: could anything else go wrong?
Basically, it was a disaster from beginning to end. I didn’t get stamped across the border so spent 8 hours at immigration in Quito, I then had to bribe a bus company to give me a ticket to prove I didn’t come across illegally (which I didn’t by the way). In Quito, I got my drink spiked but luckily was with friends so all was well...eventually...when I finished throwing up. There was an upside to the trip, I stayed in the jungle, taught English at the local school, swam in the Green Waterfall and made chocolate!
Brazil
Rio is amazing; the beach is actually full of body builders which are just hilarious to watch as they strut around in Speedos looking ridiculous. I only spent one day here as the Iguaçu Falls are 24 hours away and were supposedly a must-see. They were SPECTACULAR, the most incredible things I’ve ever seen in my life EVER! Niagara eat your heart out, everyone must MUST go see these in your life time; they are huge and there are miles of them. We went on a speed boat under one and got completely drenched and I walked around in a towel for the rest of the day but well worth it!
Chile
Santiago is a huge city with lots of hills and not much else going for it. The nightlife is perpetual but it’s nothing like the rest of South America, it’s just too like Europe. Although, they did invent the hot dog, not just your average frankfurter in a bun, oh no, add onion, avocado mustard and ketchup and you have yourself the Italiano!
Sydney
Apart from nearly getting arrested for narcotics smuggling the excitement here was minimal. The Opera House isn’t even white, which completely scarred me; I think they must use tip-ex or something on the postcards. Plus when I arrived they were meant to be in a drought that had gone on for the last couple of years, as soon as I stepped off the plane it rained continuously for a week (this is a pattern I’ve been noticing I think I should loan myself out to farmers- freak weather conditions follow me around)! Even the infamous Bondai wasn’t that great- its tiny.
New Zealand: dancing dolphins and wondrous whales
I thought seeing as it was so close it would be wrong of me not to visit and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made so far. It is so beautiful...I can’t even begin to tell you about the landscape or the people or anything because you just wouldn’t believe me! I only did the South Island and was only there for 10 days but I packed in dolphins, whales, a skydive, hot springs and a night at Dunedin Uni.
Brisbane: to be sure, to be sure
Even though it rained for a lot of the time I still love Brisbane. It’s got everything a big city has without being a big city (I’m starting to sound like a tourist information desk- sorry). I stayed for ages and for most of the time was the only English person as the rest were Irish.
Byron Bay: surfs Up
I learnt to surf which has been one of the highlights, I wasn’t very good but a good surfer always blames the board, the wind conditions or the sea, well I blame all 3!
East Coast: backpacker paradise
In true backpacker tradition I travelled up the East Coast with the rest of the lemmings, but had an utterly insane time. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world (I think) and there are no roads, so you just drive around in a 4WD and camp on the beach. It’s also the only place with pure bred Dingo’s (a fact I'm sure you'll never forget). Then it was off to the Whitsundays; a group of islands in the Great Barrier Reef national park. They were untouched and it was the most relaxed 3 days of my life- we stayed on a boat and snorkelled. I did a dive, another thing I’m not very good at but it was fun all the same.
Adelaide, Melbourne and The Great Ocean Road
I flew into see Ben (as in Goldfish) and found he was in the middle of some exams so thought I’d leave him in peace and bugger off to Melbourne (it sounds close, it’s not, it’s a 12 hour bus ride). No one I spoke to could say a bad word about Melbourne and although it was nice I didn’t really find much to do. To get back to Adelaide you can go along the great Ocean Road which is spectacular, built by WW1 vets (an impressive feat as all they had was shovels) and it takes 3 days.
Bali
It all started in Bali, where, despite everyone’s good advice it all went a bit tits up- the weather was crap (it was the rainy season), there were no other back packers (well none where I was) and I was trying my hardest to bargain but to no avail. Everyone was generally being un-cooperative but other than that Bali is great! I finally saw rice paddies cut into the mountains which were beautiful and sunrise from the top of Mt Bator was breathtaking.
Thailand: land of the smiles
I lost my nerve a bit after Bali so decided to invest in a Lonely Planet, I know I’m such a hypocrite after all I’ve said about but it seemed like the only way I would survive. Luckily all my fears were misplaced as Thailand is one of the most backpacker friendly places I’ve been. Bangkok was insane; its busy, dirty and noisy but has excellent shopping and more beautiful Buddhist temples than you can shake a stick at...I was utterly templed out by the end. I started by going up to Chaing Mai in the north where I climbed the highest mountain in Thailand (not a great feat), elephant trekking, and bamboo rafting. As you can imagine the views from the top were amazing and the bamboo rafting hilarious, I don’t know how we stayed so dry! I then headed down to the islands to warm up. Koh Samui was like something out of a dream, I had an A-frame bungalow actually ON the beach, I could open my door and watch the sunrise while I was lying in bed! I spent Christmas and not forgetting the full moon party on Koh Pangang. Although the party was great it was tinged in sadness and worry for some because it was on the night of the Tsunami, I was so lucky no one I know was hurt and that I was over the other side of Thailand, I wish everyone could say the same.
I travelled back to Bangkok and flew to Delhi which is another kettle of fish completely. At first I really like India, Delhi has loads to do and see and its nothing like anywhere else in the world however, it was hard work being constantly pestered to buy things, or talk about different cultures or just generally being unashamedly stared at because you’re a western female travelling alone. A lot of the time I just felt threatened.
Varanasi: city of the dead
Varanasi is the strangest place- those who have died are ritually burnt here on the banks of the Ganges and even though there’s a constant stream of dead bodies being carried through the streets it all seems quite normal.
Agra: ode to love
Whoever says the Taj Mahal is 'just a building' obviously hasn’t been and doesn’t have a clue what they're talking about. Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building, in fact anything that isn’t the Taj Mahal palls in comparison. It gives me faith in men and love but also the general brilliance of some people to create something like that! Unfortunately my camera also decided to give up the ghost!
Jaipur: The Pink City
Jaipur, The Pink City...or not. It was decidedly orange, I wasn’t too impressed, as well as suffering with food poisoning which I’d acquired in Agra, the rickshaw drivers seemed to see me as an easy target so I thought my last week needed to be more relaxing so I headed to Goa, a 2 day trip on the train.
Goa: beach, beach, beach
Goa is gorgeous but also full of English tourists, and generally not the best kind. Prices are seriously inflated because of the holiday makers but still nothing beats getting up at 5.30 am to see the fishing boats come in. Bartering over the price of fish and then cooking and eating your purchase on the beach.
So then it was just a case of getting back to Bombay, doing the last bits of shopping and getting on the plane home. It’s so weird to be back but I’m glad all at the same time...India was beginning to get me down a bit but I still wouldn’t trade the experience for anything!
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