Round the World

So after about seven months I've finally said goodbye to Australia! So so sad to leave but it had to be done, and now I'm in the beautiful country of NZ! So far the welcome hasn't been great, I'm in Auckland with huge storms and horrible rain, but I'm looking forward to exploring some more.

Thought I'd just give you a little insight into my last month or so in Australia. I spent a few days in Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation, at the very northern end of the East Coast, soaking up the sunshine and relaxing...

Then I headed over to the West Coast and explored there a bit, there are much fewer travellers there than on the East Coast and it is so beautiful. We hired a camper van and drove down south from Perth, it was beautiful but so so cold! And sleeping in a van in freezing temperatures is definitely not an experience I'd like to repeat!

How cool is the van?!

So following the sunshine, I travelled from Perth to Broome by bus, a huge distance of 1047 miles, which took me roughly ten days. We were driving right through the outback so it was very remote. Not a place where you'd like to get a flat tyre!

But I got to see so many cool things, including dolphins in a place called Monkey Mia which swim right up to the shore,

Some great sunsets...

And some beautiful natural scenery in the heart of the National Parks...

It's been awesome travelling through Australia and I was sad to say goodbye to all the friends I'd made. Only 7 weeks left till I get home and I need to make the most of it, so I'm excited to explore New Zealand and Fiji and then live it up in NYC! Much love to everyone xxx

Right, after a tantalising interlude of 125 days I've decided it's time for another installment...I know most of you will have lost interest by now (I definitely have) but I figured if only for one person, here's a blog for you Dad! In the hope that it will satisfy you, and you will stop requesting to be my friend on Facebook! There's way too much to catch up on in words, so here's a 'top ten' of my photos from the last few months...

10

Let's start at the beginning, where all the trouble began...pulling my first pint. I'm ready and waiting for all the 'you're not old enough to serve alcohol' and 'how did you manage to see over the bar' jokes, so come on people, give it your best...

9

There's been heaps and heaps of dressing up - all in the name of 'hard work' obviously. The bar I was working in held loads of themed nights, and obviously I loved getting involved, especially when these sexy numbers were on offer!

8

Although it was strange being away from home for my 19th Birthday, I got made a fuss of at work and had a brilliant night - standing up on stage so the whole bar could sing happy birthday to me (cringe...) complete with feather boa and fairy wand.

7

Spent 3 days on a boat in the Whitsundays and after the initial seasickness had subsided, it was amazing. Scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef was incredible. Had a bit of a panic the first time I went in, fat lot of use that 'PADI qualification' was to me! But once I got used to it again I couldn't get enough.

6

Great day out at 'Australia Zoo', which has now become virtually a shrine to Steve Irwin! Got to chill with the kangaroos, cuddle a kolala and see some awesomely massive crocs.

5 & 4

We've visited loads of amazing beaches, but the top 2 most beautiful places have got to be Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island and Whitehaven beach in the Whitsundays. They both had the whitest, purest sand I've ever seen in my life. The lake was amazing, absolutely massive and of course, being the athlete that I am (uh huh...) I took it on myself to swim across it and nearly died trying. Those gruelling Windsor Swimming Club training sessions definitely came in handy for once...

3

Had a pretty scary ride on a scooter with a top speed of 80km/h through the deserted roads of a little village called Agnes Water. Couldn't believe how fast it felt like I was going and how bloody cold it is! Definitely gonna get myself a nippy little scooter when I get home..

2

Watching the sun set whilst sailing on the Whitsundays was pretty awesome and really beautiful...

1

The top photo has is definitely the skydive, jumping from a moving aeroplane at 14,000ft has got to be the most exhilarating thing I've done yet in my life (I'm waiting to do the bungee jump to compare...) and totally amazing. The DVD is hilarious, lots of swearing and flapping chins all over the place.

I'm so lucky and I'm having the time of my life, meeting incredible people and seeing beautiful places everyday. I have a month or so left here in Australia before heading off to New Zealand for 6 weeks, Fiji for a week and then back home via NYC. I miss you all but am making the most of everything out here, and really looking forward to seeing everyone in September before I start uni. Love to everyone, always xxx

Contrary to popular belief (thanks for starting that rumour, Dad!) I am not just drinking and partying out here. Well not ALL the time.

Last week I went on a day trip to the Blue Mountains which was pretty cool,

(Admittedly hiking with a hangover is not the easiest thing, but the fresh air tends to help...)

The Blue Mountains are about a 2 hour train journey out of Sydney and we got off in quite a tiny sleep little town called Katoomba and explored from there. We took in the views, went for a walk, went on the 'World's Steepest Railway, climbed up a waterfall...

I made a new friend...

Last weekend I spent at the beach in Manly, supposedly to get some sun but it ended up raining for 2 of the 3 days we were there!

I absolutely love it out here. I started work on Monday and worked from 7pm till 3am - the time went so quickly but I was definitely ready for bed when I finished. No such luck for me - once the place was all cleared I had to stay for obligatory 'initiation drinks' with the staff. Crazy times.

Dad gets here next Friday which is pretty exciting, I'm sure you're all waiting with baited breath for the next 'guest presenter' slot!

Love to everyone, thinking of you all xxx

So this Saturday, 26th January, was Australia Day and it was such a great day. It's a reasonably big deal, these guys get a long weekend so the Aussies use it as an excuse to get very drunk. Obviously, we didn't conform to this trend and spent the weekend visiting cultural exhibitions and avoiding the drunken crowds...

I spent the day down at the Rocks, with my new friend Mike, or not so new actually. I met him a few days ago when he sat down on the computer next to me in the hostel. I totally recognised him and kept staring, and it turns out that we went to school together at Eton End when we were like 5! What a crazy small world it is. So anyway, there was live music down at the Rocks, loads of people and street performers. It was such a nice atmosphere and a really beautiful day, we walked all around the Opera House and down through the Botanic Gardens.

In the evening we all headed down to Darling Harbour to watch the fireworks, which were actually incredible. I had donned my festive gold and green 'Australia' t-shirt (the perfect way to indicate to the locals that you're a tourist!) and adopted my fantastic Aussie accent along with my alter ego name 'Kyyyyylie'. There were hundreds and thousands of people down there but I managed to grab a perfect view over the harbour. (People take pity on the midget girls).

It was such a great weekend, topped off by a lazy Sunday on Bondi beach soaking up the rays...(just to make you REALLY jealous)

I got down to serious business today job hunting, and managed to bag myself 2 jobs in one day! Sorted! The first, and far less appealing option, was to be one of those much hated people who work for charities and ask random people for money in the street. The pay would've been pretty good but the thought of being universally abhorred didn't really appeal so much. So then in comes the offer of a really classy job of being a bar girl in my hostel bar! Can you guess which one I chose? So I start work next week!

I'm having such a fantastic time out here, there's so much to do and the lifestyle is amazing. Thinking of you all lots, wish I could just transfer you all over here and it'd be perfect. Loving you always

Right, now this is the point when I'm going to have to start censoring my blog! I'm having such a fantastic time out here, travelling over here is understandably so much easier than in India. I'm staying in a great hostel which is really central in the city and have met loads of really nice people. I've been looking for work (well 'looking for work', as long as I hand out one CV per day then I don't feel so bad) and I did find somewhere to live, but then changed my mind and decided I want to stay for a bit longer in the hostel because it's so safe and sociable.

This is just a really quick, rubbish post to let you know that I'm alive and well. It's Australia Day today so we're off to the Rocks to celebrate, I'll write again tomorrow when I've got more time, love you all xxx

So seeing India 'Mum's way' has been an experience in itself. After having warned her over and over again that she would be so very shocked when we arrived at Delhi International Airport, after having told her that she would DEFINITELY be accosted and mobbed by the masses, overwhelmed by the smell and the heat and that nothing, absolutely nothing, would be easy, I was so disappointed to find that it was exactly that...easy. We were met as soon as we picked up our luggage from the belt (4 suitcases for 2 people for 2 weeks, excessive? Definitely not.) which came out practically first, and then shepherded through a lovely VIP door into a beautiful VIP air conditioned car and driven immediately to our lovely VIP hotel. How disappointing! I couldn't wait for Mum to finally understand what I had been through when I arrived, how difficult everything is and how shocking. Her response to the arrival in Delhi was, 'Hannah, what is all the fuss about?'

I was absolutely certain that if nothing else, then Delhi train station would definitely break her resolve and give her a taste of what India is really like. Once again, so disappointing! The posh car dropped us off practically outside the door to our compartment (no wading through the hoards of crazy people and searching desperately for the platform for us!) and we slouched into our executive chairs without so much as a dirty look.

I think that the people of Delhi were more shocked than we were, seeing Mum walk through in her heels and her Miu Miu bag was definitely a first for them!

Not that I'm complaining! I absolutely LOVED being looked after and that fact probably had a lot to do with how happy I was to be back in the country again! I'd missed the craziness so much, the colours and the noise and it was lovely to back, and seeing it all in comfort!

The rest of the holiday was amazing, yoga everyday twice a day, reading hundreds of books and eating the healthiest food ever. What more could you ask for? And all in a beautiful restored Raja's palace overlooking the Himalayan mountains. Mum was also explicit in the fact that she wanted me to point out that we did do a few 'cultural' things during the time, which included a 3 hour trek to Kunjapuri Temple, watching the children of a local orphanage perform traditional Indian dance and a visit to the Lotus temple in Delhi.

So we got back to Delhi late last night and then early this morning I had to say a very sad and bleary eyed goodbye to Mum as I left to catch my train to Agra to finally, after having been in India for 3 months in total, see the Taj Mahal!

It truly is beautiful, more so than any pictures can show, and it was amazing to finally be there. It is the most touristy place, with good reason, that I have visited in India which was a little bizarre. I'm not used to seeing so many Westerners and having to compete so much for space to take a photo! Aside from that, it's a lovely space and beautiful whichever way you look at it. It was built by an Emperor in memory of his wife who died giving birth to their FOURTEENTH child, and took only 12 years to complete using 20,000 workers. Can you tell that I had a pretty enthusiastic guide?

It's very strange without Mum, miss her already, but tomorrow I leave Delhi to fly to Mumbai and then onto Sydney, before finally arriving in Sydney on Saturday! I am really excited now, and can't wait to be in the sunshine. Love to everyone, xxxx

I'm coming home! So I guess I just can't stay away from you lot for any longer, I'm flying back in to London and spending a month at home to get well and see the people I love and then flying back out again after New Years to continue my travels. It may seem a little weak, but I know that it's the right thing to do, I am absolutely spent, I feel like I have reached a natural end to this part of my journey and can't possibly push myself any further. It has been the most incredible thing I have ever done but also the most draining, and my body needs a break, I have only just ventured out of my room after yet another bout of feeling horrible and every inch of me is telling me to go home. I havn't visited half the places that I wanted to in India but I guess that's always the way and I know that I will be back in the future to explore this country again. I can't wait to see you all and hear about everything that has happened while I've been away, love to everyone xxx

We made it! 12 days later, complete with aching feet, new friends, throat infections and unbelievably smelly clothes, we've returned.

It was absolutely amazing, and I feel really deflated now that it's over. I am, however, incredibly pleased to be warm and clean again, and I was very nearly killed in my rush across the road to reach an internet cafe and connect with the civilised world again.

Before this trip somebody asked me whereabouts in the country I would be trekking and I replied 'In Nepal.' I had left the fine details, in fact all the details, to Dad and so had absolutely no clue as to where we were going, for how long or who with. It turns out, for those of you who are interested, that we went to the 'Annapurna Region' and completed a twelve day trek on the inside of the mountains, with our highest point being the Annapurna South Base Camp at a height of 4,130m.

It was absolutely bloody freezing at this altitude and for much of the climb up, and it became something of a challenge when it came to keeping warm at night, whilst still remaining absolutely stylish of course...

Aside from keeping warm, the other main challenge (well, to begin with) was attempting to keep clean. We were staying in little wooden huts with incredibly thin walls (so that the entire camp could hear my hacking cough at night) and a shared 'bathroom' between everyone. This consists of a smelly hole in the ground and, despite every lodge advertising 'Hott Showers', very often a bucket of tepid water between six. So you can imagine how excited we were to visit the hot springs at Jeenu, and despite being the only female there, and getting some fairly unimpressed looks, it was the cleanest I felt all week.

It's just a shame that we then had to walk steeply uphill for 2 hours in the sweltering heat, thus making me just as smelly as before!

Not only did we grapple with the cold and the dirt, but we also tried to embrace the local cuisine. Dal Baht is the standard food up in the mountains and consists of huge helpings of rice and a yellow lentil soup along with whatever vegetables happen to grow in that area. I could say that Dad succeeded in overcoming his fussiness and wholeheartedly embraced these foods. But that would be lying. Let's just say that the words 'Fried egg and chips' were uttered more than once.

The beginning of the trek coincided with the festival of Diwali, and so along the route we were pleased to discover that we would be entertained by the singing and dancing of children celebrating. It wasn't quite so entertaining, however, when the same kids barred our path and refused to let us pass unless we gave them 'pennies' or 'sweeedddies'.

At night we also enjoyed some local entertainment, with singing and dancing and drumming continuing until the wee hours of the morning. Or until 8 'o clock if we're being honest.

I wish more than anything that I could've captured the look on Dad's face as he was dragged up to dance, it was absolutely classic and the first time that I've ever seen him even attempt to dance!

We walked through local villages and really got a feel for life up in the mountains.

We had many bridges to cross, and Rich, with your love of heights, this photo is for you...

We saw the sun rise and set over the mountains most days and enjoyed breathtaking views over the whole range.

These views were made all the more spectacular by the fact that we had well and truly earned them, walking for around 6 hours a day, through the snow and hail and rain and sweltering heat.

So now we're back in Pokhara, staying in a beautiful lodge overlooking the lake. It's nice to be back around civilization but also quite overwhelming. Tomorrow we leave to go to Chitwan National Park for a few days, and hopefully see some wildlife. Love to everyone, xxx

So Hannah has graciously (kicking and screaming) allowed me to be a guest presenter on her blog.

When I went on holiday with Rich a couple of years ago, we kept calling each other “Bro” in very loud voices so that people didn’t think that we were a couple. Likewise, Hannah keeps calling me “Dad” in an overly loud voice so that people don’t think that she is my child bride. Hence, we are of course, the odd couple.

Anyway, we have both arrived in Katmandu in preparation for our trek, which begins on Wednesday. We met each other in the hotel lobby and it was a bit of a “moment”… to quote Richie from 100 years ago, I think I must have got something in my eye.

I made the mistake of letting Hannah use my phone last night. This morning I woke up and it was saying that I had 16 messages waiting for me. For a moment, I thought that I was popular, only to remember that they would all be for Hannah (it would take about months to accumulate 16 messages in the normal course of events). Popularity, would of course have been a ludicrous notion.

We had a massage last night, and we agreed that it was Wow it was Best Massage Ever! I have got a gammy toenail from my marathon so every time the girl went near my foot I was petrified that this toenail was going to come off in her hand. “Oh what’s this Mr. Russell? Oh it’s your toe nail!” Lovely thought.

Hannah decided to book a facial for today, and in a moment of madness I agreed to join her. Get in touch with my feminine side, or something along those lines. First time I have even washed my face in 47 years. Anyway, the good news is that the lines on my face weren’t wrinkles after all… the bad news is that they are just layers of fat.

Bizarrely my facial was about twice the price of Hannah’s. We all know that this is not down to head size as Hannah has a ridiculously large head. This will therefore remain a mystery, although I wonder if the newly-haggling daughter managed to secure herself a discount on the quiet.

The place is just crazy mad during the day. It is non-stop noise. If New York is the city that never sleeps then Katmandu is the local junkie high on crack cocaine. We were walking along the pavement last night when a motorcycle rider who was also riding along the pavement beeped at us to move to the side.

Some of the signs are hilarious, but this one is my favourite. The “Fair Price Pashmina Shop”.. I was thinking of buying a fairly priced pashmina and was wondering where to go…hmm let me think about that. I keep chuckling about it, and Hannah keeps saying, “Look Dad it’s not that funny” so of course that just makes me laugh more.

I think that me being here has really had a beneficial effect. If she was getting homesick at all, I think that she may have had false romanticised memories about how nice her family is. I am performing her a great service and showing that her father, at least, is a real pain and therefore makes her appreciate her self imposed exile even more.

I have to apologise about the standard of writing and the content. I know that you have all become used to Hannah’s brilliant writing and fantastic photos. From Hannah you get the Golden Temple, from me you get the Fairly Priced Pashmina Store. But I have been persuading Hannah that this entry is of value, if for no other reason that to make people realize just how good her blog is when she is writing it. I am here to make Hannah look good.

Of course, I have seen a change in my little girl, albeit not in stature. But it is so funny to hear her taking charge in situations and haggling with taxi drivers. She has also been saying things like “60 rupees (about 50 pence) for an hour’s internet usage that’s a real rip off, it should only be 30 rupees”…

I have to go now. (Need to buy a pashmina, probably one that is Fairly Priced)

Not sure if Hannah will invite me to make another contribution. As I said, we are going trekking on Wednesday and then we go on a mini safari, so we could be off-line for the next couple of weeks.

I would like to think that would be a huge groundswell of public opinion of support for the Guest Presenter, so that next time (?) I can start with the words “Back by popular demand…”

So I think it's a really great thing that I left Goa when I did, I was beginning to get a little sick of all the Westerners! As soon as I was on the road again I felt so much happier, sitting on the deserted train platform at Canacona, with the hundreds of midges literally devouring me alive. I also felt lucky to be alive after my clearly fairly drunk rickshaw driver had collected me from the hut, diven me completely haphazardly through pitch black roads, then veered off the main road onto a tiny dirt track, all the while my heart pounding and furiously trying to remember the emergency code for India. It turned out that the train station was along this dirt track, thank god. Just after we pulled up outside the station a big jeep full of armed police officers arrived and I was sure that they were there to rescue me from a crazy kidnap attempt...or not. It was a 'dry day' so no alcohol was supposed to be sold or consumed and they were checking that this law was being enforced. I laughed as my rickshaw driver tried very hard to look sensible and sober.

There was, of course, a 2 hour delay for the train and so I sat on the platform, constantly being eaten by the mosquitos and wishing that I hadn't put the repellant at the bottom of my rucsac! There was, surprisingly, another single female traveller, a French lady called Carol, as well as a Dutchman and a Polish woman. It was strange to be travelling in the company of so many other Westerners.

My bed on the train was next to Carol's so we struggled onto the train with our big rucsacs and snuggled down for the night, at half past 2 in the morning. The train was long but the views were amazing. It's completely bizarre how different the South is from the North. It's so green and lush, with hundreds and hundreds of miles of rivers and lakes and palm trees and fields.

We arrived at around half 5 last night and shared a taxi from Ernakulam, where the train station and other transport links are, over to Fort Cochin, which is a peaceful, idyllic town on the other side of the harbour. I had booked my hotel on the sole basis that the bible, Lonely Planet, said that all the rooms had bathtubs! I was dreaming about that bath the entire train journey and I wasn't disappointed...!

The town is so lovely. The people here are a million times more friendly than those in the north, they call out and say hello for no other reason than politeness and the hassle from shopkeepers is limited and easily dissauded. The houses are all painted different pastel colours, giving it a really happy feel and it seems somehow much more prosperous than other cities in the North. The harbour is pretty, with these Chinese Fishing Nets which are massive contraption hanging over the waters edge and requiring 5 men to operate one.

After my bath I headed out to dinner with Carol, which was nice as most of the restaurants here are very pretty and serve great food. I spent the day today exploring, we visited an Art Gallery and found this cafe called 'TPot' which was in honour of old English Tea Rooms, with thousands of teapots lining the walls and the tables, and hundreds of different types of tea, so much better than in England!

I wanted to go on a canoe today to have a tour of the backwater canals but found out that everyone is on strike so I was unable to, hopefully I will be able to do that tomorrow. It's so nice and peaceful here, with just the right ratio of tourists and locals, I could stay here for a while and just drink green tea!

Love you all