Welcome to Sydney!

After a 9 hour flight from Phuket we have made it to Sydney.

To get our journey started here we have booked a hostel while we look for a more permanent residence. The hostel we are staying at is called D.Lux and is located in the center of Kings Cross. Since its the off season we got a deal where we are only paying $40 a night between the two of us. We decided we are just going to stay here until we find something better.

We have only been here a couple days now and have a potential apartment which is down the block for only $290/week. Its a 3 bedroom apartment which currently has one Aussie living there and a guy from Spain who will be moving in. We also have 3 interviews lined up so hopefully will be making some money soon so we can continue the adventures.

Its only been a couple days now but we have managed to make it to the famous Opera House in Sydney and we got to see the Harbour Bridge which apparently you can climb the top of it for $300. We plan on giving it a try after we have been working a couple weeks and have some more money saved up.

Final Days in Thailand

After spending an amazing week in Ko Phi Phi we have made our way back to Patong Beach. It was a great boat ride back where due to thunderstorms the boat was rocking an incredible amount and everyone was given throw up bags. Lucky for us we took some motion sickness pills before the start of the trip to see about an hr in the ride everyone else was throwing up. We ended up falling sleep about half way and woke up to make it safely back to Patong without any sea sickness.

The next day we decided to book a trip to go Elephant trekking because who doesn't want ride an Elephant at least once in their life. As part of our package we got to see some interesting things. We started with a snake show where I guy was playing with cobras and other poisonous snakes and giving them kisses. We then saw one of the Biggest Buddhas in southeast Asia which was really cool. We then got to go Elephant trekking where at first a guy was on the front of the Elephant and we were both sitting on a lil bench set up on the Elephants back but once we got a lil further along the trek we got to take turns riding the head of the Elephant it was really cool. Finally we went to a monkey show where we got to see monkeys grab coconuts from trees and one that would retrieve items from the bottom of the pool which amazed me cause I never knew monkeys could swim.

With only a day left in Thailand we are beginning to pack and get ready for our new adventures the lay ahead in the land down under.

Rock Climbing in Ko Phi Phi

Today is our final full day in Ko Phi Phi and the last time we will be hanging out with our two English mates Mike and Tom before we head back to Phuket and they go off to Krabi. So we decided to have one last adventure day together where we all went rock climbing. We got to the shop and after getting all geared up with our harnesses and rock climbing shoes we were off to the mountain.

After about a 10 minute walk we were approaching the base of the mountain and as we were walking along the beach we noticed a couple of monkeys hanging around. It was all good fun and we were having a good time continuing are walk up to the base of the mountain when one of the monkeys spotted the fruit in a bag Mike was holding and proceeded to fiercely approach him and attack the bag of fruit and go after Mike at the same time. Mike held his ground and brush the monkey away after a minute keeping most our fruit in tack. Once we got to the base of the mountain more monkeys were approaching so we just threw rocks at them and bang sticks together to keep them away.

We then proceed to climb 3 different routes of the cliff which had some unbelievable views at the top of them. Lauren for her first time climbing made it all the way to the top off second cliff. We were all very proud of her. After climbing the third cliff we realized it was starting to get kind of late and we decided to head back to grab some dinner. Not a bad final day on the island.

Monkey Beach

Today we woke up and go on an adventure of the island where you hop on a little boat and drive around to different beaches. The first beach we went to was a beach called Monkey Beach where little Monkeys were everywhere on this secluded beach. You saw everything from Monkeys drinking Pepsi and eating Coconuts. The Monkeys were unbelievable to look at it until they decided to start charging at you they like were going to attack you.

Fortunately we did not get attacked while we there but we did get a couple baby monkeys coming up and grabbing on to our shorts. Finally as we were walking off the island we did see a cool big sign that said "Beware Monkeys" and it had a picture of the Evil Monkey from Family Guy.

After that we continued our trip and went to some unbelievable beaches where we did some snorkeling and saw some amazing fish. As we were heading to the final beach a storm had hit out of no where which made for an interesting boat ride where we were all getting completely soaked as the rain started to come down real hard and began to feel like hail. As a result of the rain we couldn't take the boat to the final beach and had to swim from the boat to the back of the island by going through some sketchy rocks. The final beach we were going to was Maya Bay which is the famous beach from the movie "The Beach" so it only made sense that it was a challenge to get to. So after swimming over some shallow water with some pointing rocks and walking our way through the back of the island we finally made it to the beach with scratches and cuts on our feet.

It was all worth it though to be standing at what was probably one of the nicest beaches I have ever been to.

Reggae Bar = Muay Thai Fight

So after an amazing day with some great views we decided to make our way to a Reggae Bar where we heard there was Muay Thai fights. Once we got there we had ordered a couple buckets (Thai liquor and soda with ice) at the bar. We were enjoying watching a couple of Thai guys go at it when we saw a sign that said get in the ring and receive a free bucket.

The way it works is two random westerners would get in the ring and fight each other in a Muay Thai style fight for three rounds consisting of a minute each. I thought this sounded like fun so I decided to do jump into the ring and ended up having my first random Muay Thai fight and what led to be a very exciting 3 rounds of people yelling and cheering at me.

In the end I received a free bucket and got to have another random experience in Thailand.

Tsunami Evacuation makes for an Amazing View

We just arrived in Ko Phi Phi yesterday an Island about two hours away from Phuket. Once we arrived we decided to make our way towards the beach where we saw a sign that said Tsunami Emergency Evacuation route this way. We were curious so Lauren and I decided to follow the sign when we found another sign that said viewpoint this way 50 Meters. We figured it was pretty close so we made our way up a descent amount of stairs to find an OK view.

Then we saw another sign that said viewpoint 2. We came up a ways and we were curious so we decided to follow the signs to the next viewpoint to realize about 30 minutes later its was a little further then we expected. We had come so far that we decided to just go for it. About an hour later we made our way to near the top of the mountain to see an unbelievable view of the entire island. Ko Phi Phi is a little island that you can walk the whole thing in about 10 minutes with two huge mountains next to it one of which we were climbing. So the island looks like a big H. It was an amazing view.

After we ended up seeing another sign for view point 3. So after enjoying one amazing view we decided to go for it. On our way we found a random shop in the middle of the woods where I guy with a goat was selling some Coconut milk. So for 50 Baht we decided to share a Coconut and drink some of the most delicious milk I've ever had. We continued our trek up to view point 3 where we saw another great view and stayed up there till nightfall where we quickly made our way down the mountain back to the hostel.

Advanced Open Water SCUBA Certified!

3 more dives and I have completed my Advanced Open Water Scuba Certification!!

Diving was amazing we did three more dives starting with deep dive where we got to go down to 30 Meters/90 Feet.

The next dive was a wreck dive where we got to go down about 25 Meters to see a ferry boat that sunk about 13 years ago. The wreck was really cool and there was a ton of fish swimming around it so there was a lot of marine life to look at. We swam around the boat and got to see some underwater toilets from the boat that were still intact. We also went around to the back of the boat where we got to swim through part of it into the middle which was really cool.

The final dive was a naturalistic dive where they taught me about different kinds of fish in the ocean and how to identify them.
Overall it was an amazing experience and hopefully will get to do one more dive before we leave Thailand now that I got my deep diving certification

Advanced Open Water Diver Certification

After a couple days in Thailand of relaxing its become time to be productive again. So I decided to get my Advanced Open Water Certification for Scuba diver. Its been over a year since the last time I went diving so I did the refresher course where we went over all the skills in the pool yesterday.

Today we got to go out on the boat to an amazing dive spot. The boat was real nice and consisted of free breakfast (fruit and toast) and lunch (rice with vegetables). The ride out there was a little rough and we had to take a pill before we left to prevent sea sickness since the waves were incredibly choppy. Once we got to the dive spot it was time to start the skills in the water. The first dive I did was navigation where I had to use a compass to navigate myself in a 10 x 10 Meter square. The next dive we did was buoyancy control where I learned to control my body so that it floated right above the ocean floor and I could swim effortlessly above it by using my breath to control how much I hovered up or down. So far its been a great two dives.

Tomorrow I have my final day of SCUBA training where I get to do three more dives for my certification. (A deep dive, wreck dive, and marine life dive where I get to learn about different types of fish and how to identify them).

Life of a Beach Bum

So we have made it to Thailand and our staying at an amazing hostel called Cheap Charlie's. Life here has consisted of some late nights and long days at the beach. Not a bad life ... I'm starting getting use to being a beach bum.

Muay Thai Street Performers

Dr. Fish

So tonight we decided to go out in Phuket when we discoverd Dr. Fish. Apparently there is a new trend going on in countries in Asia where little fish suck on your feet and help clear dead and damage skin while also relieving fatigue and anxiety. For 100 baht we let these little fish suck and tickle our feet for a very interesting 15 minutes.

Backpacking in China

I just finished teaching English in Baoding and after a little over 4 months of work I went backpacking through China where I got to see and do some amazing things. Everything from visiting the Terracotta Warriors in Xian and Big Buddha in Leshan to Kayaking on the Li River and Rock Climbing in Yanghuo. Finally I made it into Hong Kong where I met up with Lauren we saw some amazing views and did one of the highest bungee jumps in the world.