Back in Melbourne

A long flight, the plane left late but all is good, I am now home.

Universal Studios

Universal Studios opens at 10am so I have a full day ahead of me. A train, then a small bus gets me to the entrance and line-up was huge. The quickest way to get in was the ticketing machines, I am only coming here once I so I get the VIP ticket to avoid the lines.

As soon as I walk in, I go straight into the first thing I see, the House of horrors. It was a bit of fun, a couple of young girls behind me made me laugh, they were screaming allot with characters jumping out from hiding places.

Everything runs like clock work, need to really organise everything around the show times.  I realise on my way to the simpson's ride, that the VIP was a great idea, the line had to be near an hour long. A 5 minute wait, I am ushered through to the front and into the virtual roller coaster. This ride was the best of its type that I have been on, it was awesome, it felt like I was on a real roller coaster.

Terminator 2 3D felt like a pretty old, the show had both actors and 3D effects up on the big screen. They took us forward in time to blow up the main computer, it was entertaining but probably needs an update.

Onto the main reason most people go to Universal Studios, to do the studio tour. The sets were awesome, its crazy to compare real life to the movies. The 3D ride where you drive in on tram and everywhere around you for 360 degrees, you see King Kong saving us from a Tyrannosaurus Rex, pretty cool.

The Mummy and Jurassic park rides were right next to each other, down 3 sets of long stairs. The Mummy ride was a quick roller coaster ride, fun, fast but I would have loved it to be longer. The Jurassic Park ride was in a boat, dinosaurs everywhere and it was cool getting drenched because it was so hot.

The special effects stage showed us how everything has progressed and the importance of technology in evolution. A heap of volunteers got involved, flying around the stage and put in different situations.

Quickly I head off to Shrek 3D, hoping to see whatever else I could. Turns out that this was the same as the one in Warner Bros on the Gold Coast. It was good but ended up being the last thing I did.

It was near 5pm, I am getting picked up at the hotel at 7:30pm so I decided to give the last couple of things a miss. I look back and think I got to see so much, yet I think some unlucky people might have only seen 3 or 4 things max.

A small bus, then a train back to the hotel, all is good, the shuttle arrives and I catch the plane that night.

LA Angels

I head off early this morning, the plan originally was to go to Universal Studios, those plans changed when I worked out the only time I can watch a game of baseball was this afternoon. I go for a walk to check out the home of the LA Lakers, the Staple Centre and ESPN has a massive big X-Games festival on today. I walk around, its got some cool stalls and some of the contests would have been awesome.

I look up the metro lines to see how to get to Anaheim, the only one I find is out near Long Beach, a fair distance away. I get out there around 11:30am for the 12:30pm start between the LA Angels and  Texas Rangers. The instruction on the web seemed easy, get off the train and go across the car park. I see no car park and nothing even close to a ball park.

I wander around, ask a couple of people who don't know what I am talking about, I get to a Holiday Inn. They advise me that I should have headed over to Anaheim in Orange County. Instead of a Taxi, I get a hire car which will save me a bit of money and I have 20 minutes to get there. The guy speeds, I arrive at the end of the first innings but it costs $90 including a nice tip.

The game was low scoring, LA kept a lead for most of the day, my seat was down in the sun not to far from the play. Texas put a bit of scare into the locals at the bottom of the 9th with bases full but LA came up on top.

I find the correct train back, turns out it is a rural train, which only runs so many times a day. I get lucky with the last train of the day running a little bit late. I get back to the hotel, really tired, dehydrated and hungry, I didn't really look after myself today not wanting to eat the rubbish served up at the baseball.

Happy to eat Subway and recover for tomorrow which is going to massive day, I head to the room early and relax for the night.

Welcome back to America

I wake up feeling fine this morning, no hangover, nothing, just the after effects of a day I wasn't sure how to take in. I get a knock on the door, it seems I have organised a ride to the airport, I decide I should renegotiate the price, the price halved before I am happy.

I get through security with about 3 hours to wait, I eye Bubba Gumps, for a decent feed and it also provided free wifi. The Rib Eye was the most expensive thing on the menu at $30 and exactly what I felt like. The time seemed to go slow, the flight left on time around 2pm.

A long day of travel, I arrive into LA at 8pm. A wait for the shuttle into town took longer than expected, I organised it earlier this morning online in Cancun. I get to the hotel around 10pm, get some food, have a quick look around and head to bed. For a saturday night, I was surprised how quiet it was in downtown LA.

Last Night in Mexico

I woke up this morning with a massive grin on my face, a good sleep, everything paid for and was looking forward to getting some breakfast. The buffet was alright, a couple of non alcoholic juices and straight back up to my room to plan the day.

I read on the balcony for a bit, letting my tummy settle and down the gym for a workout. This place is hot, so I sweat up a storm and head back to the room for a shower before its pool time. The weather was awesome, relaxing in the pool drinking cocktails. I don't like waiting for the pool bar, so I like to walk up out of the pool to another bar, and then jump back in.

This works well, talked to heaps of people, enjoying myself. I started ordering bigger shouts, they were going down nicely and I was giving some to others also. I am pretty happy, half way through the afternoon, I order another 4 drinks, on my way back, I slip over spilling all the drinks. I think nothing of it, picked up the drink which was atleast half full and kept going.

Turns out, the hotel were not impressed, they grabbed me, ripped off my arm band, kicked me out the front of the hotel and called the cops on me. That, alcohol and being scared witless that all my money and passport were in the hotel had me in a state of panic.

More than 2 hours later, the cops look at me, I am told that for one last night, you can stay in the room and can go no where else. In my state of panic, I was scared that they might come back, I take this as being kicked out so I grab my stuff, and leave as quickly as I can in a taxi to the airport.

I get there, its getting late, I was hoping to change my flights to find somewhere to sleep. I go from terminal, to terminal but all was pretty much stopped. It was after 10pm at this stage, I find some dodgy dudes in there taxi, who take me to a hotel and I can atleast sleep it off. For $210, they get it all organised for me and atleast the hotel was real nice, the end to day I would prefer to forget.

Cancun

The tour ends this morning, I was planning to go with David and Anne to Cancun but I wasn't ready so they left at around 11am. I had a bit of lunch, got myself back together and left at around 1pm. I arrive at the hotel around 3pm, wait for a while for the hotel to work themselves out, drop my stuff in room and at the bar by 4pm.

This place is massive so I grab a drink and keep moving. Anyone who loves resorts, good weather and heaps of people would really enjoy this place. It has a pool bar, a beach bar, and a couple of bars spread out around the place. I start off on beer, soon realise, cocktails were free also so I moved onto them.

A bit of walk down the beach I descovered the Parasailing centre, I hadn't done it before so off I go. I didn't know what to expect, it is mainly cruising up in the air about 50 metres looking into the distance. Relaxing and enjoyable but no adrenaline rush at all.

A few more drinks at the pool, a buffet meal with a glass of red and I decide to head back to my room and catch up on sleep from the Mexican tour.

Playa Del Carmen

Wake up this morning around 9am, go have a bit of breakfast and go for a small walk. We don't head back to Cancun until 1pm, its a 25 minute boat ride. We arrive and get straight into taxi's for the bus stop, another hour to go down to Playa Del Carmen.

This place is a mini, more classy version of Cancun from what I am told. We have a few hours to ourselves before going to dinner, I decide to get a sports massage. The lady absolutely destroyed my shoulder, she found a notch and did everything in her power to level it out, hopefully doesn't hurt to much tomorrow.

We go to dinner at a place called Go Natural, healthy stuff. I chose enchilada's and a tropical juice with a splash of tequila, a nice combination. Next stop is a pool bar on the roof top of a hostel, it was real nice and prices were pretty good. The night ended for everyone else at that point, I wanted to go check out some clubs on the last night of tour.

I joined a group of people from the hostel, the were from a wide range of nations, France, Germany, England and Denmark. A bit of a pub crawl then onto the best club in town, the Blue Parrot. The girls got free drinks, I just got my hold on one of there drinks before a bouncer threatened to kick me out for not buying the drink, he could have waited 10 minutes for me to finish it. The club was on he beach, great fun and I stagger back to the hotel at around 3:30am.

Isla Mujeres

Up a bit later today, you spend it however you like. I was catching up on stuff from home, updating websites Dolls Clothes and Ashwoodfc, the morning disappeared. Mid afternoon, I have to go do some something on this beautiful little island so I go and hire a moped for an hour. The island is 8km long and 1km wide, I get around in an hour only just. Speed limits sucked, 20kmph in the centre with 40kmph for the rest of it, I opened up a couple of times but the speed humps were everywhere.

The island had beaches and piers everywhere, a turtle hatchery and place where you can swim with the dolphins. I was happy to just look around and get the moped back on time, beer on the beach was awaiting me. 5 beers before dinner on the beach went down a treat, then off to meet the others.

Back down the main street, a beach style restaurant with sand on the floor and a live band. The kebab I ordered was huge, I was lucky to get through it and the 2 for 1 margaritas, $3 is a steal. We all moved on to look for other places open, they all give up so I went on alone.

I went to a bar where you can smoke waterpipes (seesha's or hooka's). Started to order, then I recognised a girl walking past the talked to last night who was sitting by herself in the bar. I invited Victoria over for a few beers,we chatted about her life of travel and her new company Swish Wetsuits. Her life sounds awesome and she was a real nice girl, we said our goodbyes and I head back to the hotel to crash.

Chichen Itza

Up at 5:30am, a taxi to the bus station, our bus leaves at 6:30am. We arrive at Chichen Itza at 8:30am, drop off our bags in storage and a guide meets us. Chichen Itza is one of the 7 famous wonders of the world. It gets allot of tourists because it is so close to Cancun.

The guide took us around most of the temples and told us stories of the Mayan people who lived here. 2012 is believed to be the end of the world by some people but Mayans lived in 52 year cycles, at the end of the cycle it gave you a chance to live a different life or change something about yourself, 2012 is the end of the cycle. The main temple was built to show a serpent on the northern side on March 12th, the serpents head is down the bottom of the stairs and the sun sets in the right direction to show a slithery body which attaches to the head.

Allot of stories on the sporting heroes, how the captain would be killed at the end of each match and there ashes would be spread over a certain temple. The game involved a 3kg rubber ball and each team consisted for 7 players. You had to scale the wall once with it to win the game, I reckon a few games wouldn't have lasted to long.

Just as the tour finished, the heavens opened up and we got drenched. Back onto the bus to Cancun before getting a ferry to Isla Mujeres, our destination for this evening. This place is a huge tourist destination, with the place setup for just tourists. A walk down the bar strip had every type of restaurant and 2 for 1 specials everywhere. I went through the list of Daiquiris and plenty of tequila shots before eventually calling it a night.

Cuzama Cenotes

Today we follow the advice of a few other guides that Adam had talked to, a journey out to the springs. Off to the bus station, after a few wrong turns we arrive just before 10am, the next bus to Cuzama was at 10:45am.

A ride that took more than an hour, we get off and straight onto some motorbikes with 2 seats at the front for transporting people around. The guys drop us off at the company that takes you to the springs, they use horses to pull carts with 4 people along a little railway track.

After a 2 ½ hour wait and a very badly run business, it starts bucketing down. The company gives you a cart driver, that's why it took so long, a busy day and all the drivers were out on the track. At last we get onto the track, not long after we have to pull the cart back off again to let others pass, the tracks were only single lane. The horse was probably the slowest one they had, he kept wanting to stop and down the hills he was lucky that the cart didn't run him over.

Cenotes are naturally formed underground caverns that house pools of crystal clear water. The 3 cenotes were deep in the earth, you had to go down stairs or steps down to the water hole. The first had a cool 2 metre platform to dive in, great fun. Onto the second one, we stay long here, it was way to crowded and it didn't look as impressive as the first. The third one involved us climbing down a slippery ladder to a small platform, about 3 metres from the water, that was also great fun and did a somersault off this. We stayed long enough before it got way to crowded and we couldn't miss the bus back. The horse ride back took around an hour, around 11km, the horse decided to speed up on the way home.

Motorbike back into town, then a small bus was offering an easier way back to Merinda at the same price. We didn't get back to the hotel until around 8pm, a long shower then some Hungry Jack's. I went back to the room around 10pm to get on the internet for a bit, after a long day.

Merinda

I was up real early this morning, not knowing the time because my second phone decided to play up. The bus leaves at 8am for Merinda, at full day of travel ahead of us. Stopped 3 times by police, the bus checked for drugs, eventually we make it to Merinda at 5pm.

Straight into the pool to wash away the day long travel, then off to dinner. I had been keen to get nacho's for the last week but our restaurants hadn't been serving them. These nachos were enormous, beef pieces, refried beans, guacamole and cheese. A few beers then back to the hotel, a relaxing evening tonight.

Palenque

Up at 8am for breakfast, 9am leave just down the road to the Palenque Ruins. Got to talk to Bronnie for a bit, put a smile on my face. It turns out the Palenque Ruins is the 8th wonder of the world, only 5% has been uncovered and it is so mystical.

The scripture temple was made right next to the palace by the son of the ruler, the mother must really love her son. It is filled with hieroglyphics and it was the tallest temple in the village. His tomb was protected by 6 people who gave there lives, behind a hidden door and inside is the best art that has been found in Moran history.

For lunch, we walked just down the road, then David and myself decided to go for a run. 4km to the ruins and back in 30 degree heat, 80% humidity. Good to get a bit of exercise into me, looking forward to having a game of footy when I get back.

A quick shower and then a 6km walk with Adam and David into town for a look around. Interesting place, walked around for a bit, went off the beaten track and decided on a bar. It was covered up, so you couldn't see who was in there, we chose the one with the most sunlight getting in.

As we ordered the beer, I quick glance to my right and I straight away noticed a guy dressed up as a girl. Adam clicked as quickly as I did, but it took the until he said cheers for David to catch on. Not long after, he was very direct and offered a head job to me, then the others, we thought he must be a prostitute.

After a while, Adam decided we would, for a bit of fun ask how much he was charging. He responded free for me, he wanted to taste me. I could only work out some of this, with hand signals and facial expressions. After not getting the hit, he started offering anything I wanted, making allot of rude gestures. He seemed fascinated by me and I couldn't speak a word of Spanish other than “ no thank you”. I found it a little amusing but there was no way I was leaving until we had finished our beers.

The next bar was Adams turn, the local bar maid, around 40 years in age, with gold caps on her teeth decided that she wanted to ravage him. We had only just ordered the beers and here we go again. Another couple of beers and it was time to go back to the hotel and the restaurant nearby.

A few beers, some wood fire pizza and live entertainment was good. Every seemed more interested in the proceeding for the day, oh well, a good story to tell I guess.

Agua Azul

Off at 8:30 via a private shuttle, our destination is Palenque tonight. We stop at the Agua Azul waterfalls around lunch time. A long walk to the top, with views of waterfall after waterfall, left us all pretty warm. The water was so brown after heaps of rainfall of late, it scared most people from going in for a swim. Not me, the water tasted like dirt a little but it was a great temperature and easy to swim in.

We had a late lunch, chicken, potato and cheese in some kind of tortilla, cooked in oil. A few beers helped wash it all down, I was pretty content and ready to continue the journey. About 30 minutes later, we get stopped by a friendly protest, no way around, no way through. A chain up in 2 places has stopped everyone on a very busy road. A plan of a 2 hour wait sounded mighty fun in very warm day.

The road block ended up lasting allot longer, we missed out on the second waterfall for the day and arrived at the hotel in torrential rain. I was surprised the locals didn't all get out of there car and cut the wire cable or at least fight the guys who were lucky to number 20. The walk to the cabin had my feet underwater, everything seems flooded, good times.

Tonight, we couldn't go to the local restaurant, it was flooded and most of it was under water so we brave the rains and catch a cab to the closest joint about 2km's away. A few beers and a good meal made it all feel better again.

Chamula and Zinacanton Villages

Up at 8am, I decided to avoid the hot breakfast to get a juice and a few bananas. We leave at 9:30am on a private little van to go check out some local native villages, Chamula and Zinacanton. A guide had been organised for the trip to help us understand the people and there customs.

Our first stop was Chamula, we walk through town to the Priests house, as part of taking the office he has to make a place in his home where people are welcome to pray. It had allot of fresh plants through hanging from the roof and pine needles on the floor. They are believed to ward off evil spirits. As part of the visit, we all tried some fire water, a home made alcoholic drink at about 48%, it warmed you up and wasn't to bad.

Next stop was a huge church in the middle of town. It had pine needles on the floor that were replaced every few days just like the last place and was filled with around 1000 candles all through the church. On the walls, statues of all the saints were displayed with tables in front of each for the candles. Medical men were on the floor, opening a space in the pine needles to get down to the tiles, setup a heap of candles on the floor, spit alcohol onto the flames while having a few drinks themselves and doing there magic. All people that pray in this place must be constantly drunk as they aren't allowed to knock back a drink of fire water if it is offered to them.

We get back into the van and head up to Zinacanton, a much smaller town. The church is very different to the first as it is allot quieter and only has pine needles on the floor on special occasions. Our guide then takes us up to a local families house to watch them cook and make fabric. 5 generations live in this house with all the building spread out. We got to have tortillas made there on the spot with a little cheese, pumpkin seeds, salsa and chilli, they were real nice and very filling. That was our last stop, so we all tipped and thanked the family before going back to the hotel.

The afternoon and night was mainly checking out bars around the area and celebrating Barbs birthday. A bar full of locals had beers at the best price in town and the place we had dinner gave 2 for 1 margaritas, probably should have stayed on beer.

San Cristobal

We arrive in San Cristobal at 9am this morning after surprisingly getting a bit of sleep on the bus. Everyone looked a bit ruff and we didn't get any chance to freshen up as the hotel wasn't ready for us. A bit of breakfast, organise of 4kg of washing to be down at $6 and a walk around town eventually we have some rooms.

Ray, Barb, Adam and myself head to a couple of churches on different sides of the city. Both up big hills with rather nice views. You can tell this place is in celebration as balloons are attached to the taxi's and streamers all through the streets. At one of the churches, it had stalls around it with games and tasty treats.

Adam and I decided then to find bars around town by doing a bit of a pub crawl. We found some really classy bars, It's funny, the expensive places only charge $3 for there dearest beer. On the way back to the hotel, I called in at a falafel joint, they were amazing. Freshly made on the spot and cooked, it melted in your mouth.

That night, everyone went out for dinner, I was happy to have desert and a drink. Tequila Sunrise and an ice cream covered in whipped cream was a little gay, it filled me up a little to much. Most of the crew went to a documentary on Mexican independence, Ray and I went to a karaoke bar. Good fun listening to music in English but the karaoke didn't start so we left and called it a night.

Oaxaca

This morning we meet at 8:45am to view the Monte Alban ruins. They weren't as big as the last ruins but they sat on top of a hill offering priceless views. These ruins were declared a national heritage trust site in 1987 and were known to be the ancient capital of the Zapotec culture.

Back into town around lunch time with heaps of free time. We get a bit of food in the main square, it turns out a little earlier today in the square there was a riot and police were still everywhere in there riot gear.

A bit of looking around in the markets, I arrive at the Santo Domingo Cultural Center, the home of world-famous treasures of Tomb 7 - Mitla, Yagul Lambityeco, Dainzú, Huijazoo and other prehistoric sites. The only bummer, it is closed on a Monday. I go for a walk to a chocolate (mole) factory at the other side of town. A few tasted and I avoid the tour, the stuff is horrible.

A few beers, before checking out a couple of churches, the Santo Domingo De Guzman is a famous one for the town. That night, we are going on an over night bus to San Cristobal. Adam and I sneak a few beers onto the bus to help us sleep, an 11 hour trip.

A day of Travel

Up at 5:15am to catch the 6am bus down the road. We have to travel all the way back to Mexico City, before heading to our next destination, Oaxaca. Our bus got moved to 6:30am but we made up heaps of time to arrive back in Mexico around 9am. We catch a taxi over to another bus station to find out that all the bus's are booked out, we need to upgrade and wait until 1pm was our only option.

After a few hours in the food court, mainly surfing the internet, we get on the bus. For an upgrade, I think our first bus to Taxco was nicer. We arrive at the hotel around 7pm, check in and get out ready to look around. Today is the first day of the holiday week in Mexico, this place is absolutely packed with markets and people.

After a little walk and some searching we arrive at a roof top restaraunt for dinner. A lasange and a few beers were mighty tasty before we got to enjoy the celebrations. Fireworks went off, the bands were playing and all the streets were filled with people. It was a special night for the Mexicans, the first night of Guelaguetza.

Taxco

Meeting down in the lobby at 7:15am to try and catch a coach at 8:30 towards our next destination. The coach had heaps of space for each seat, allowing you to lay straight out. It was weird watching Wolverine and only understanding about 3 words.

We arrive around lunch time, get some nice tucker before getting access to our rooms. I got a lovely large room with a massive bathroom on the far side of the complex, hopefully nice and quiet.

We head off around 2pm toward the main square and up to the Santa Prisca Church. The church was beautiful, with walls of sculptures with in depth detail. Taxco is famous for being the first place in North America to mine Silver, so there were heaps of silver shops. We catch a van to the cable car, only $3.60 for a return trip to the top of the mountain. Up the top we have a beer at a hotel, that looked dodgy from the outside but had a fantastic pool and bar area out the back.

Back into to town, where we grabbed a few margaritas in a can. Up on the roof of the hotel, it had a fantastic view of the city, so a great place to drink them. That night was a quiet one, into bed around 11pm.

Teotihuacan Pyramids

Up at 8am to meet the new tour, I knew it was going to be small but 6 people plus the tour manager. It looks like we use public transport to get around which should add to the excitement. I am also lucky as I am the only single male so I get upgrade to a single room, been a while since I haven't shared, might get lonely.

As a group we head on the local bus to the bus terminal and catch a couch to Teotihuacan. I should really read about my tours, I didn't have a clue that we were doing this. The place was pretty cool, well preserved. The coach there picked up a couple of locals, who sing to you for a few pesos at the end.

We got a guide while we were there, it lasted around 2 hours. I wasn't to happy with the stories behind the Pyramids though, it turns out that they would sacrifice people on the current level, then leave them there before building the next level of the pyramid on top. These people were normally important people, kings, rich, and it turns out, even captains of the winning sporting team would be sacrificed, wouldn't be to keen on that job. At the end of the guided tour, most of us climbed both the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon.

Back to the hotel around 3pm, giving plenty of time to look around Mexico city. After a walk around, it reminded me of a cleaner version of Cairo. Shops all over the street, great architecture covered up by advertising and mobile towers.

That night we head to a cafe a few blocks away, there speciality is a pepper dish, chile en nogales, normally only gets served at news years, the Mexicans love it. I only managed to eat half of it, tasted like mushed up lentals served up cold in a piece of leather, not my type of tucker. Turns out Adam, our tour manager tried it last week and thought they must have cooked it wrong, nope, it is always crap.

The boys went off to a little pub with a live band, drinking a few local drops, the girls went back to the hotel. The beer was served up in big cocktail glasses, they were going down a treat. We thought we would check out another bar that denied us early because it was full and they wanted to nice little amount under the table to let us in, they were still full but the drummer was downstairs and was happy to talk to us. He got us in, great live music, the place was only full with seated people, no one was standing or dancing which I found weird. Eventually I get back to the hotel, 6 hours of sleep before I get up nice and early.

Welcome to Mexico

After getting up at 5am, a change of a couple of time zone, I arrive in Mexico City. I knew there native language was Spanish but I was struggling to find anyone who speaks English. I prepay for a taxi which is the safest way to not being ripped off, eventually arriving at the hotel around 9:30pm. Dump the bags and time to taste my first enchiladas in Mexico at the hotel restaurant. Not to bad, Bronnie's are better, I will have to give them another go just she can claim bragging rights.

Vancouver

Some of the boys had to come knocking on our room or probably would have stayed in bed all day. A big breakfast was the plan and a small place down the road had a big breakfast on for $6. The only thing on the agenda for today was exploring Vancouver before flying out to the Mexico the next morning.

Walked the streets for a few hours with Dave and Luke, I found a homeless guy to give my hat too before a break at 2pm for a couple of quiet beers. Vancouver turns out to be very quiet and small, the only thing we could think of doing was going to Stanley Park. Back to the hotel around 6pm to relax.

We got to see a heap more people off that night, in a room party, the rest of my beaver licker's were finished by the girls and the boys were enjoying a few Canadian Molsen's before getting to bed around 11pm.. Tomorrow should be enjoyable with a 5am wakeup call.

Last night of Contiki

We travelled to Vancouver today for our final night of tour. Dan left us at Calgary, planning to live it up, this is the end of the line for the rest of us. The bus left at 8am hoping to get to Vancouver at around 4pm, it succeeded, so the girls could get all ready for a big night.

One of the optionals was a river cruise as the last function that left around 6pm. I was pretty drunk before we got onto the boat, 1 ½ bottles of beaver licker was the cause. The relaxing atmosphere was nice and the food filled the tummy nicely.

Onto a club called celebrities, a pub not far from the hotel. A gay bar with a tonight being for straight and gay. I am a little surprised that this is the best place in town on a Tuesday but the line was huge when we arrived, lucky that our group was already on the list so we could jump the queue. It was fun, everyone partied and said there goodbyes, back to the hotel at around 2.

Vernon

Today is the end of the Rockies, we left the hotel at 8am to travel through 3 national parks on our way to Vernon. Our first stop allowed us to gain a bit of breakfast and a walk to 1 of 2 waterfalls. It was a good 20 minute walk so I would needed twice that to make the second waterfall. There was a cave that allowed us to get very close, the sprays removed any thoughts of a hangover.

Lunch time was at a truck stop with a few dinners and takeaway joints. Subway was my option of choice, attempting a chicken and bacon ranch burger. Some guys waited the whole hour to just get served, which is pretty disappointing service by the diner.

We called in at a little place that hand makes traditional ice cream. Everyone had a taste, I was keen to try there most famous option, chocolate in a thick shake. Way to easy to have 4 large scoops of ice cream in this format.

The meal that night was at a place called Temptasian, wow, the meal was fantastic. A banquet of main meals, the lemon chicken, the prawns, everything tasted fantastic. The place was very classy, not looking anything like a traditional Asian joint, Well done Contiki on this meal.

Calgary Stampede

Needed to go via train to the stampede today, so a bunch of went at 10:30 to arrive around 11am

when most of the festivities begin. First thing was finding a bar to watch the World Cup final between Netherlands and Spain. This turned out to be allot harder than expected, we left the grounds and found a place not to far from the main entrance.

It turns out we got our timings wrong, the game starts at 12:30pm instead of 11:30am, means we can only watch half of the game but can still drink the same amount of beer. The game was frustrating, 6 yellow cards in the first half and no scoring. Spain seemed to be dominating so we left thinking they would win and the game wasn't much special to watch.

1:30pm the Rodeo began, we purchased tickets through contiki for this and the evening show. Bull Riding was the highlight, there was also events with people riding bucking horses, racing horse around cones showing control on tight angles, lassoing a small calf off a horse and wrestling a calf to the ground. Contestants took it serious as they win prize money for the day and helps decide if they make to the finals later in the week. The last event was a bit of fun, 3 small children trying to jump onto small horses that are running away from them.

From the Rodeo, Luke and I went onto this skyride that overlooks the whole park it was massive, it seemed like a huge version of the Melbourne Show, rides, games, markets, displays and most importantly stages for performances.

The Bell circus had 3 performances that repeated all day. Diving, Freestyle Motor Cross and Acro Slam. I got to see the end of the Diving, a dude finished off with a dive about 30 metres high with numerous spins into a pool below, the guy must have balls of steel. The Freestyle Motor Cross was awesome, superman's, back flips, the place was packed for this show. The final show was the spamming dunking, 5 guys putting on heaps of different moves, ally oops, flips and was pretty entertaining. They got the crowd involved, volunteers to offer passes up, a bit of dancing and joke telling.

At 7:30pm, back into the big stadium again. It started raining not long before which left everyone wondering, thankfully it stopped and didn't reappear. The first event was the Chuckracing, 9 races, 4 teams, each team having a wagon and 3 out riding horses. The race was won by the wagon, penalties could change the result if the outriders weren't within a certain distance of the wagon.

The night show was amazing, 2 lead singers, one does Lion King on Broadway, the other won a major talent competition on TV. The highlight was 4 motor bike riders in sphere, going at full pace while other riders were doing jumps and cool tricks over the top of them. It was a full on musical performance with singers and dancers taking over the stage, a couple of songs were dedicated to Michael Jackson. A small break in the middle had a comedian come out, very funny man.

We finished off the night at Nashville North, huge tent in the complex in the Stampede, it was huge and full. The band was playing modern country and in between sets, a DJ controlled the dance floor. A couple of beers before the place closed at 1am, time to catch a taxi and back to bed.

Calgary

We leave pretty late today as Calgary is only 1 ½ hours drive from Banff. We were given $12 each back to buy ingredients for breakfast in Banff, a huge breakfast is cooked up with everything left over. Arriving in Calgary at around 1pm, I get a bit of lunch and have a couple of beers. Dan and I went in search for more ingredients of Beaver Licker's and thought we found them. Turned out I bought 2 bottles of rye whiskey branded Maple, oh well, I attempted to fix it by adding maple syrup to it. Didn't turn out to bad, smooth with a little bit of a kick as it hit the chest.

That evening, I tried contacting Rory and Tara but things didn't enable us to catch up which is a major bummer. That night was at Ranchmens, an establishment across the road from the hotel. It was huge, we went to the tent at the back as it had several sections. The ice buckets full of beer was a great idea, saving heaps of time instead of lining up at the bar. The country band was good fun and everyone seemed to have a good night, getting back after 2am.

ATV and Horseback Riding

A jam packed day today and I have started off the day in pretty ordinary condition. ATV quad bike riding was going to be an interesting experience. The ride out the track was very painful, it was forgot to mention that it was a 1 ½ hour car ride each way.

The track was pretty good fun, we would speed right up and then slow back down in a hurry. The ladies at the front set the pace so we would slow down and then fang it to catch back up. Jules went straight into a tree very early into the trip, a few bruises gained and the guides bike was stalling so they paired up.

I got very lucky, my bike didn't have the speed limiter at 50kph, I wish I looked at the speedo more just to see where I peaked. The trip back involved another nap and we were in a hurry to have a quick shower before going horse riding.

The horse ride wasn't to bad, mainly a slow walk with the occasional trot. It was pretty painful on the inner legs and I am expect it to hurt a bit tomorrow. My horses name was Daly, our destination was a purpose built bbq area to have a big steak fry. The tucker was gold, a nice piece of porter house and a few sides. I surprising myself by actually liking caesar salads.

That night we headed to the hostel not far from our Chalet for a pj and karaoke night. It was great fun, belted out few tunes and the rum was only $2.50. It was so hot in the bar that most people were sweating large amounts and I snuck out at 1am.

Athabasa Glacier and Peyto Lake

Off at 7:15, a few people didn't actually go to bed, good on them. First small stop was at a Athabasca Falls, with raging rapids, stuff like that I could sit there all day and watch.

We arrive at the Athabasca Glacier around lunch time and take the Ice Explorer a fair way up. The Ice Explorer is a purpose built bus, heavily re-enforced exterior with massive 60” tyres. A bit of fun putting ice down peoples backs but we couldn't have a snow ball fight because the ice was allot different to snow, it would have taken someone out.

On the way to our next stop we got to see another black bear, it was about the 7th we have seen. Some tourists noticed we stopped and got out to have a look, they weren't to far from the bear. People like this deserve to be attacked and I was disappointed not to see it at least tell them to piss off with a growl.

Onto Peyto Lake, wow, the way that minerals had changed the colour of the water was stunning. A fluoro blue colour, the place you could have stayed there and taken 100's of pictures.

Our last stop for the day was at Lake Louise, to have a walk around and see the Chateau. It was beautiful, so relaxing and staying in the Chateau would have cost a fortune. It was very similar to Peyto lake but much larger and it had heaps of people kayaking.

That night we went to a bar called Hoo Doo's, oh man, $2.50 white samboka shots got me demolished. Sol our tour manager was lighting up the drink in his mouth and it was gold. I attempted it a few times, successful on a couple. Not sure what time I got in as my memory fades later on in the night. It turns out that most of the Beaver Lickers I bought disappeared that night, all good fun.

Maligne Lake Cruise

Getting to the bus just before 10am would normally be easy, but everyone looked a mess after last night. Beaver Lickers, half maple whisky and half butterscotch were very popular. A 2 hour drive before a nice 90 minute cruise. The view on the boat was superb, I was enjoying it while reading a book, very relaxing. The lake was filled by glaciers keeping it at a lovely 4 degrees and destination was Spirit Island where we stopped for around 10 minutes before heading back.

A few photo stops on the way back to Jasper, the Maligne Canyon which is the deepest and longest limestone canyon in the Rockies and some crystal clear lakes. I spent a few hours when I got back at the post office, hopefully nothing breaks on its way home.

That night night was meant to be a quiet one, but that very rarely happens. Pizza before heading out to a few different bars. I tried a couple of local drops, lucky lager wasn't to bad.

White Water Rafting

We start off the morning at 7:45am to get to Jasper in the afternoon. The view was amazing, seeing the tallest mountain on the Canadian side of the border. We take some amusing pictures with a fake moose at the visitor centre and was lucky to see a bear on the side of the road as part of the trip.

White water rafting was organised at 1:30pm and we get there just before to get a sandwich. The river was a grade 3 and I was so keen to go up the front of a raft because I know that is the best way to hit the river. It was good fun, at one stage we had to get out and take the rafts around a waterfall. That was the half way point, where we swapped over the front seat to give others a go, up the back still wasn't to bad.

That night was going to be a big one at the hotel, dinner was first at a pub down the road. The hotel pub was great value, and the word on everyone's mouth was Beaver Licker's. They are a shot, half butterscotch and half maple whiskey. They were so good, real easy to drink and rounds were two at a time. Good fun and I crashed around 2am, struggling to walk straight.

Whistler Gondola

Needed to be ready by 10 this morning to go up the top of Whistler on a Gondola. The view was fantastic, then went on a second Gondola over to Blackcomb. Got to see 4 bears on the way up and then the same group of mumma and 2 baby bears on the way down. Pretty cool watching them play with nothing else on there minds. On the return from Blackcomb, we got the lucky silver Gondola on the way back which had a see through glass floor.

A couple of photos stops before we arrive at Kamloops in the late afternoon. A couple of beers before dinner went down a treat, then we converted to pouring our own beers at dinner from a massive cylinder, I love those big beer cylinders.

Nothing much on that night so bunch of 12 head over to the casino. I probably shouldn't have but why not. Playing 4 card poker was a little different and it took a while to adapt. Was down $140 at one stage, the dealer changed so I thought why not double up. I hit a straight flush which put me up $500, pulled a 3 of a kind on the next hand. I shouted everyone a drink, played a bit longer and left with a rather healthy profit.

Bungee Jumping in Whistler

Up this morning with heaps more energy and was down to breakfast around 8:30am to decide the plan for the day. Bungee and Zip Lining were the choices and I some how had to get them to fit in. After a lot of organising, I ended up going to the Bungee myself because timing just wouldn't work with anyone else. My Zip Lining was booked for 1:50pm and the rest of the boys keen were in the morning.

Bungee Jump was at 11:30am and I just had to do it, I let it pass up in New Zealand and these things seem pretty safe. The site was about 20 minutes out of Whistler and was purpose built. I think Whistler is trying to be the next Queenstown in New Zealand, they have a long way to go.

The boys up there were great value and It seems I was the first Tasmanian to ever do the jump. I went backward as they said it was more scary and It was over in a flash. I lost all the breath in my lungs and it was a crazy feeling, I can see how people get hooked on these. If the guy didn't count down from 5, I might have struggled to make the step required.

Back into town and straight onto the Zip Lining. It was a purpose built course with heaps of flying foxes to get from the top of the mountain down to the base. I was doing most of mine with Ty and we were getting up some ridiculous speeds. It was a good time and it was great to see the sun come out for us during it. Two of the rides made my eyes water, base jump and godzilla.

Back to the hotel around 5, gives me time to gym, swim, spa and finally sauna before dinner. I decide to go it solo for the tucker and a couple of quiet drinks before heading out.

Whistler

A 4am wake up and Dave didn't quite make it so I got up to his room and made sure he was on the bus. I was surprising clear thinking for still being drunk and less than half an hour of sleep. Plane left at 7am, having 12 members making the venture.

The plane had no tv, no food and was your true budget flight for 6 hours. We were picked up at the airport by the Contiki tour manager and driver before heading onto 2 locations to pick up all the remaining members for the new tour.

A couple of small stops for photos and food on the way to Whistler. We arrive at 3pm, 4 hours to look around before dinner. I slept, got dinner at a spaghetti joint, a couple of beers with the new members before going back to bed, hoping to be full of energy tomorrow.

Niagara Falls

Last night when I got to the hotel, I made some calls, made a big speech at Dinner time and gave up all my plans for today to go see the Niagara Falls on a full day trip. It turns out that 7 other people loved the idea, and for $75 it was a bargain in my view.

Bus arrived at 8:30, all were paid up and everything was going to plan. The driver was a legend, very funny and knowledgeable. First stop was at a lovely little winery called Pillitteri Estates in the Niagara area, wine is the second biggest income earner for the area behind hydro power. The place is famous for it's ice wines which were tasty but very sweet. I purchased a 2008 cabernet sauvignon to take home, as it needs a few more years to mature in my view.

Onto the little town for a 40 minute break called Niagara, which is stuck in the 70's with no large commercial companies allowed to operate. The local speciality, the maple and walnut on a sugar cone was mighty tasty. The bus made a few stops for snaps at the smallest ever church, then the whirlpool which used to be the start of Niagara falls before our next major stop.

The Helicopter ride over Niagara Falls were fantastic, this was the first time I had seen it and was very surprised to see the second set of falls called the America Falls. A maximum of 6 people got to go up, so I was left out of the group with other Contiki members but to my joy, I got to go in the cockpit when my turn arrived. Wow, well worth it, and the day just keeps getting better.

We had been allocated 3 hours to spend at Niagara Falls as free time. Everyone went straight into the Maid of the Mist for the boat ride right in under the falls. Fantastic, we got given poncho's but still got drenched, the spray from the falls went miles. Blue Steel made an appearance in the blue poncho.

A lazy walk down to the edge of the falls before I took the tour down behind the falls. An elevator and tunnel had been created in the rock to give you a face to face experience. At the end of that, it was time to head back to Toronto.

Straight back out of the hotel to see the CN Tower. We had already paid as part of the Contiki optionals and were lucky that they changed the time to allow us to still use the ticket without the rest of the group. Superb views and the glass floor had a few people scared.

A pub crawl was organised for that night at 8:45pm, the last night with most of the tour. 1 pub and 2 night clubs with everyone ending the night at the last club right next door. I made a little speech at the first pub to thank Troy and Brianna for there efforts, which I thought was a fitting end. I have 30 minutes to sleep before I get back up to catch a flight, It is going to hurt.

Canada Day

Onto the bus at 6:45am to try and avoid the traffic. A very depressing day, I got accused by a girl on tour of stealing her wallet that turned out to have $1000 in it. A good chance she left it in the taxi but I was acting strange and got out of the taxi first so I must have stolen it. It made me ridiculously angry, that I was shaking, eventually I shook it off with the support of the bus. She is now hated and I pity her for it.

The 1000 island cruise was beautiful, manicured green islands and the highlight a castle on an island the shape of a heart. It was never lived in because they split up before it was finished, a real shame.

We stopped in at some dodgy Big Apple stop for a quick break, they make apple pies and created a massive apple to get tourists to turn up. That night we went to a free concert and fireworks display at the docks. It was pretty cruisey with most of the tour members there and into bed by midnight because tomorrow is going to be huge.

The Best of Montreal

A tough morning was made worse by me going to the gym, dehydration didn't come to mind till I felt like fainting on my way back to the room. I left the hotel a little later than I should have, around lunch time to meet Karen, she had offered to show me the city. Dave joined me at the train station, in a lot worse condition than I was and happy to join us for the day.

First stop was the Bio Dome, a little disappointed it was closed because of a strike, luckily the train ride wasn't waisted, having the Olympic stadium right next door. A shuttle car lets you go to the top of observatory, giving superb views of the city. We walked around inside the stadium and it was still in fantastic condition, having all the stands around the pools still there.

A late lunch was at a famous little smoked meat place called Swartz's. The sandwich was huge, more than an inch full of meat, mighty tasty, reminded me of mum's Silverside. Lunch was followed by a walk to the top of Parc de Mont Royal, giving another great location for scenic pictures.

Back town to downtown involved quick stops at the Montreal University, the oldest in Canada and the Bell Centre, home of the Ice Hockey team, Montreal Canadiens. It was time for a beer as the rains started to come down a little.

Dinner that night was at a Vietnamese place that served up ridiculous sized soups. The beef is raw and it cooks in the soup as your eating it. I probably shouldn't have had an entree of steamed spring rolls before attempting the soup.

That night we met up with Ricy and Kelly for a Hot Chocolate and some of the Jazz festival that was in town. We got to see the main act that involved a heap of well known musicians up on stage together belting out some tunes. A good way to end the day, having an early morning tomorrow.

Jet Boats

Leave at 8am to move onto Montreal by early afternoon. The first thing I do when we arrive is to try the Quebec special, Poutine, a chips, gravy and cheese dish. At first it didn't do much for me but by the end, I can see how it is a favourite here.

The jet boat ride was classic, I ended up at the back of the boat so the experience was a little weak but that gave me the opportunity to sneak a few snaps. The boat went out in the rapids near the centre of the river, some I wouldn't want to be near with a raft as they would swallow us up. The first 2 rows go smashed by wave after wave and it looked like they were getting a bit of air up there.

Straight back to the hotel to get ready for a night out. The trip back into town was delayed by more then an hour because of traffic, the one bridge back in, didn't seem to be moving. Winchester Church Hill was the club we went to afterwards. $2.50 spirit was always going to be dangerous and I counted into the high 20 drinks. The place was crazy, a real meat fest with allot of people picking up. One girl from the tour even had a couple of very attractive blond locals drink vodka off her open top. The night ended with a taxi ride back to the hotel, the taxi driver taking us on a road trip which doubled the cost.

Quebec City

Onto the bus at 9am for a bus and walking tour of Quebec City. The day was freezing cold so allot of people didn't bother with the walking part of it. The city is over 400 years old, the walking tour gave us allot of history of about the French and British fighting over rights to Quebec. At the end of the walking tour, I couldn't wait to have a hot chocolate.

The Chateau Frontenac is believed to be the most photographed hotel in the world. It had wonderful views that overlooked the city, I found it amusing that anyone could use the elevator so I went to the top level to take a few pictures.

I got pretty bored in town with mainly souvenir shops, about 10 of us decided to head back to the hotel early. The pool was good fun, playing ball games, we were pretty hopeless at trying to keep the ball out of the water, like hacky sack.

Tonight was a quiet one, a nice meal in town before a few drinks back at the hotel.

Welcome to Canada

Up at 7am to leave for Canada and Quebec City. I was still drunk from last night, having only a few hours sleep. For lunch we stop at Mayne, our first Walmart. The place is huge and has everything. Late afternoon we eventually cross the boarder into Canada with Luke and James being the lucky ones to have all their things searched.

We arrived at Quebec City in the evening, got changed quickly before going out for dinner. That night we went across the road to a club, this was the first time we had most of the Tour members out. The night was a huge one, heaps of fun, I got up on the stage a couple of times. The highlight was foam which sprayed the dance floor.

Contiki and onto Boston

I arrive at the Skyline hotel in New York around 7am for a 7:45am departure. All was going to play but 1 person was rather late which delayed us a little, onto Boston.

A couple of stops on the way before stopping for lunch at New Port, Road Island. I classy like wharf convinced me into a Shepard's Pie and a couple of beers which went down a treat.

Arrive in Boston late because of traffic, a quick bus tour then off to the hotel which is a fair way out of the city. A quick transition and back into town for dinner at Dicks. Dinner was fun with the waiters playing it up, putting hats on people, ballon's in peoples hair and napkin fights.

The night ended around 2am after a few more pubs and a heap of dancing, a good time.

Visiting the Dinosaurs

Today I get off to a bit later start after doing a bit of hand washing and attempting to backup my pictures onto DVD. I eventually leave to find a pub, New Zealand was playing in the soccer and I should support. I found a nice pub which was pretty empty not to far and away and sat next to a guy that originated from Switzerland. He had been watching all the games, lucky fella, owns his own business. The result was bitter sweet, New Zealand didn't get through but the Italy game was a classic and it was great to see them not make it.

First real thing I do for the day is walk 40 blocks up through central park to the Museum of Natural History. I wanted to see the dinosaurs as something different to do and I wasn't disapointed. The T Rex was there and plenty of the famous ones.

After leaving, it was a bit into the next games of soccer so I found another bar to have a watch. These games weren't as inspiring, Japan dominating and Holland in cruise control. I left after 1 beer, to do a bit of shopping and meet up with the new Contiki crew.

I went into one store, they didn't have a change room and I wasn't sure on size so I got 2 different pairs of jean shorts. At $15 for 2, why not give them both a go, the ripped pair will have to rest in peace.

I head down to the Contiki meeting that was rather quick and head out to dinner with a couple of the members. Everyone is keen for an early one, but I stay up to finish the rest of my beers in the fridge.

Statue of Liberty

Start off the morning finding myself a little pub to watch the soccer. I was keen to watch the England game and had totally forgot about the USA playing in the same timeslot. The first pub wanted $10 to enter so I kept walking and noticed a busy pub a few blocks away which looked like a great location.

It had 60 and 50 inch plasmas all up the wall so I could watch both games and I found myself a nice little spot. It turns out that this place must be popular as CNN and NBC both turned up with the camera's. Live crews were interviewing spectators and get a vibe for the American public towards soccer, I am sure I was in the background of a few of the shots, wasn't to keen to be interviewed. The game was spectacular, USA almost robbed again but the eustacy of the. injury time goal to get through was huge. Its great to see England and the USA advance.

I travel down towards the Staten Island ferry to get a good view of the Statue of Liberty but that will have to wait until the end of the Aussie vs Serbia soccer match. I eventually find a pub that serves my purpose but I was surprised there wasn't more pubs down Broadway near the shops because I know I would need to visit them often if I was shopping for long periods. The Aussie game was good, I was the only one going for Aussie and the owner was nice enough to put the game on in front of me, all other tvs were on the Germany game.

Australia won but wasn't good enough to advance to the next round, I had a guy from Serbia beside me and we had a little bit of banter but all in good fun. I got a few free drinks from the Bar which was gold and onto the Ferry.

It was a rather large busy ferry, free for all and it goes pretty close to the Statue for a good photo. Getting back to dock, I have 1 ½ hours to get back to the hotel, get changed and then onto Time Square. It was tough and I ran a fair bit of it, to find Pippa couldn't make it because of work. A few beers and I call it a night.

Seeing New York on a Bike

I decided at 10:30pm last night to book in a bike tour for today, a few beers may or may not have helped but all good. I get a bit of breakfast early before heading down to the bike store at around 10am to commence the tour.

We did see heaps, it was one for their largest groups with 12 people being signed up. Went to a few parks, learnt about the gay rights movements at the Stonewall Inn, visited the World Trade Centre precinct and had a wander around Wall Street. A couple of random things was seeing an old car sitting on top of a yacht and some Irish ruins which had been transported over brick for brick after the potato famine. Stupid me put my knee through my jeans so might have to do the unthinkable and go shopping while in NY.

Lunch time was in a little Chinese restaurant in China Town, food was good and we shared around 10 plates between us. A small walk afterwards showed us through a hidden tunnel network which used to connect all the building for gang activity, very interesting.

After lunch we got to ride over Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, a bit of a ride around Brooklyn and heaps of great views of the city, well worth the ride. It was very slow but shouldn't have any after effects tomorrow.

Adrian and I head to Hooters for some tucker, he was real keen because it was the scene for some of the Big Daddy movie. On the way it started pouring down with rain so we arrive to the restaurant drenched. The buffalo wings were nice, cooked in hot sauce which had a small kick to them. The waitress was nice, we took a picture with her and then back to the hotel.

Welcome to America

I arrive in New York, straight through customs and get onto the Public transport to get to our Hotel the Urban Oasis. I will be sharing with Adrian, a guy I met on my Contiki UK trip which should bring down the costs nicely.

A few beers at a local Irish pub with the locals and then hit the sack at around 12. A big day of bike riding planned tomorrow.

Steak oh Glorious Steak

So I head back to Helsinki for a night to relax before the flight over to New York. This morning has been a late wake up to say goodbye to the remaining members of the tour and then a small flight over to Helsinki from Tallinn.

I arrive at the hotel around 6pm, I think its time for a quiet one. I go for a walk around the place see the options then go back to the hotel to have a steak in one of their restaurants. It was only 200 grams but it went down well and Its the first steak I have had in near 10 weeks.

Watch the soccer with a couple of quiet beers in the hotel before calling it a night.

Welcome to Estonia

Off nice and early to catch a ferry over to Tallinn. After settling into the hotel around 11am, we head off on a walking tour of the city. Got to see a large number of churches, one was used by the KGB for a large period of time and the town hall was pretty cool.

Free time from now until the Australia vs Ghana at 5pm, we find a small bit of lunch in a Wild Bore pie which was tasty and then I decide to see if I can send some stuff home to lighten my bags a bit. Sleeping bag and another 5kg of stuff is now on its way home and for the cheapest price that I have found in Europe.

The soccer game started off real well with an early goal, then another red card sealed our result, with the guys trying hard but a draw isn't going to be enough.

Dinner was at a very dark medieval kind of establishment where I tried the Highland style lamb. It was very tender and the honey dark beer wasn't to bad, very dark but the honey saved it.

A heap of beers followed and it was time to say goodbye to most of the tour group.

Helsinki

Up at 7am for a few hour trip down to Helsinki. Most of the people on the bus were dead to the world with only 2 hours sleep. We arrive into Helsinki around lunch time for a driving tour before getting dropped off the for the day. We made quick stops for pictures of the Sibelius Monument and Temppeliaukio Church which is built out of solid rock.

Spent the afternoon with Bestie, Jazza and Caps, took pictures of the Palace and a couple of churches. The market at Market Square didn't have much on offer so we headed to a few different pubs for a few quiet ones. A burger at a restaurant near the central train station before heading back to the camp site to watch the England vs Algeria world cup match.

Student Town

We head off at 8:45am this morning on our way to Jyvaskyla which is known as a student town. Didn't really do anything until we got to the final destination so everyone was pretty keen to stretch their legs and have some fun that night.

Most of the boys bought 1 litre cans of beer which went down a treat as pre drinks and by 9pm, we were on the public bus heading into town. The first stop was the London Pub and we stay there for 1 drink before heading upstairs for Karoake and a DJ. Good fun, I got involved in a couple of solo's and plenty of group singing. I decided to walk back to the Hostel, a nice little 45 minute walk just to sober up a little. Allot of people will be hurting tomorrow.

Welcome To Finland and Santa Clause

A day of rest after the midnight sun allowed most of the crew to get plenty of sleep, clean clothes and for me, 3 games of world cup soccer. Off at 6:30am with a long day of travel into Finland.

We arrive at the only real stop for the day, Santa's Workshop. A picture and a small chat was good, but not really much here. It turns out that the location is right on the Arctic circle just like back in Norway. Heaps of stuff to buy but I was surprised that more was targeted towards the Arctic Circle than Santa.

Our first night in Finland was the end of the Viking Olympics. Our last event was dressing up using garbage bags and foil for an alcoholic punch night. Our team dressed up in formal where making a suit for the boys and cocktails dresses for the girls. We won and walk away with a little souvenir bag and a couple of chocolates for winning the Olympics.