hi guys.

justa quick post today as it has been abit uneventful really. richard got lucky last night so i had to stay in another bungalow with the irish girls. its pretty much a universal rule that if you pick up your room mate has to just sleep on the beach.

we all had a bit of a headache today. i made sure i got abit of sun because i am trying to get some colour. then i went and had a whole body scrub and thai massage which was really good and cost 500B ($15).

me and the girls are going to check out phi phi island but we found out that they have thai boxing match on here tommorow so we are going to wait for that and then go the next day. we are going to do a thai cooking course thing they have here as well during the day. so its one more day of this island, then i will stay in phi phi for maybe two or three days (only if it is good- not if it is as quiet as phuket was.) then off to beijing.

i did a little bit of shopping today. i had to buy clothes while my pants are getting washed because i had no more clean clothes. i got a really funky looking 70's shirt that says "full moon party" and i got a pair of white beach pants. they were both 200B ($6) each.

i have had to make sure i start watching how much i spend and have tried to give myself a budget of 1,000B per day. it is really hard to get your head around the money thing. i am a terrible barterer. if it says 200b i say to them

"what about if i give you 100B for it"

they say "no. its 200B"

i say "o.k, here is 200B"

i cant really argue with them over the price of things when i should be. i just feel abit rude. i know they are ripping me off but its like $3. who cares.

(yeah i know, i know, i will care when i land in heathrow with NOTHING!!!!)


:-)

xO

CALVIN KLIEN MODELS BEWARE................... yeah right.





i was standing under this waterfall when the girls teased me and told me i was trying to look like peter andre.


so i naturally- insisted they take a photo but i couldnt stop laughing to make a serious "blue steel" pose.


we spent the day on a little tour run by rastfa man i guess you could call them. they run a reggae bar on the beach and it has stuff like "man made beer, god made pot. which one do you trust?" on the wall. they w\truly are a bunch of characters. they took us out to see the waterfall and snorkling which was great but not as good as the great barrier reef and they were handing out smokes the entire trip which was spinning me out that the had no fear considering the pentalies imposed by the thai goverment here for that kind of thing. i was thinking "what have i got my self into!"

the boat we went on was like a fishing boat and it was loaded up with heaps of us. we had to distribute ourt weight evenly over the boat so it didn't sink and the motor was so old that every 30 min or so it over heatedd and had to be cooled down with water! yeah- it was pretty freaky when we stopped for luch and it started to piss down with rainand the wind started blowing at gale force levels. i was like "i am not getting back in that boat till the weather clears up."

which it did so i was fine.

i got alot of sun but not BURNT today which is great because i wanna be brown when i finally get to london.



going to head of off to china mayber tommorrow or at least in the next day or so. i will try and get my vietnamese visa in bangkok because it will be easier to obtain there than in beijing.

we are having a big one tonight because richard to off tommorrow so i better go.

my phone is now working too.

i am missing having a hot shower. i will send photos of the toilets here too - they are a spin out.

so tommorow i think i will do a little shopping a organise my ticket back beijing via bangkok.
have decided too that i will send my luggage forward to heathrow as unattended baggage. i couldnt buy $400 worthof clothes for the amount of clothes i have in there and i really do need them all.

missing you all heaps. sorry i havent been replying to anyones email- i have been kinda considering this my email to you all. if i write this plus email i would be spending all my time online. :-)

love
xO

SUNRISE OVER THE OCEAN.



this is me watching the sunrise. its a beauitifull photo yeah?

NOTHING HALF ABOUT A HALF MOON PARTY.....





well the half moon party was definitly an adventure i will say that much. we all loaded up on the back of the ute which they call taxis here and headed off to the middle of the forrest. The trip was something akin to a roller coaster ride. this is a photo of the crew i am hanging with.

the guy on the left is taatoo from finland, then richard my irish room mate, then there is laura, Kay, and Ava. (that is not how you spell her name though) there great guys. if anyone has any irish jokes can you send them to me so i can start to hassle them because for the life of me i cant remember any!

it was a full on night that included rushing a strange girl to hospital after she fell over and gashed her head open! the party was o.k but not really my thing. today i went jet skiing with the girls and we went and had a thai oil massage afterwards.

its a hard life isn't it?

hope your all well . thanks for all the emails guys its great to hear form you.

Love

xO

hi everyone.

i just spemt an hour puttin g up a new post with photos and it stuffed up and i had to start again from scratch so its only going to be a little post today.

last night i got to experience the joy of partying n the beach with the bucket.

they get these buckets, put in ice, whisky, coke, red bull and some thai medicine- plop in some straws and you all sit around this little table on the beach and party on while he music is pumping and the fire twirlers are going off.

suffice to say i feel very seedy now.

im not sure if that is because i am not really eating properly though because the food is crap.

the girls im with are Kay, Laura, Ava. and me and richard are in a hut next to a finnish guy named Tatoo.

we are having a ball.

the half moon party tonight should be great.

its a shame about st.george but at least one red and white team pulled through.

sucked in to all you parramatta supporters though.

:-)

see you all soon.

OLD MACDONALD HAD A FARM.......



well now i can give you all an update and get up to speed.

Phuket.

ghost town.


there is really not much there in the way of visitors, but i am told that is because it is the off season. i was starting to get worried that i was wasting my precious time in the wrong place so i tried to book a night ticket to Ko Phangyan so i could sleep on the bus and save cash on accomadation, and could only get and afternoon ticket so i thought i will make the most out of the day...

i got up at 8.30 which is early here becuase nothing opens untill ten o clock! (how GREAT is that?) and went to Phuket Zoo because i wanted to get a photo of me with a baby tiger like marik did when he came here. i tried t oexplain to the lady at the hotel that these tigers were at "fatasea" (a thai theme parkl) but she insisted i had to go to the zoo, so that is where i went.

when i got to the zoo and found the tiger i was shocked to not find the cute little baby thing that marik was holding but instead............................ this!!!






just to let you all know how scary this was, the man that was dealing with the tiger, the tiger trainer i suppose had only ONE ARM. yes, that's right ONE ARM!!! he was saying "its o.k its o.k come take photo, come take photo for 150B ($3.20) i reallyt did not trust a man with one arm with nothing but a piece of bamboo to control this huge tiger but i thought this is really the only chance i will get, and did it. as soon as you touch him, he made this sound that is the same sound that a cat makes when it is annoyed and put his ears down- THE EXACT SAME thing that misty or alex or pheobe would do when they are annoyed. i couldnt really pose because i was terrified, so i put my sunnies on and tried to hide the fear from my eyes! they told me that they call him ladyboy now because he has had the snip to calm him down, thats why he is so 'docile'. i wasnt so sure it has taken the spark out of him, and wouldn't count him down and out just yet!


around the corner i met Billy the orangataung who was so freindly and really funny. he was facinated with my tattoo and kept trying to lick it and pick it off! he was really well trined and he knew how to pose and putt the sunnies on on you paid him the money and he would go and give it to the handler. he really enjoyed being the center of attention. i want one!



i think it probably goes with out saying but the conditions of the zoo were pretty sub standard. i felt really bad after i left for giving them any money, because that is what is keeping them in the zoo- the fact that it generates profit.




ANYWAY................
first thing in the morning i caught the ferry to Ko Phangyang, a really beautiful island where they hold the 'full moon' partys and met a group of three irish girls that are here before they head off to austraila, and one irish guy who is here after staying in china for 6months, and i have stuck with them. they seem really nice and i am sharing a room with the guy richard as it really saves you cash. my room is 300B so we are getting it for 150B each which is like $3.50 PER NIGHT! he has been in china being around no one that speaks english and the three irish girls have been in a similar spot that i was- looking to see where everyone is! so we are all pretty stoked to have found company.

i will show you a picture of the beach we are staying on when i get some tonight. tommorow night they are having a "half moon party" which is apparenlty good but not quite as big as the full moon ones.
i wish i went here first, but i guess now i know.

Shit.

my camers just run out of battery and i left my adaptor in my suitcase back in bangkok!

i will have to hunt for another one.

sorry about my phone too guys!

i had run out of batteries and couldnt re charge it with out my adaptor- and i didnt have a charger because i wasn't sposed to even bring a phone. getting that fixed.


:-)


Love
xO

FOOT MASSAGE AND A KISS FROM A CAT..... HEAVEN!




IS THAT YOUR TRUNK OR ARE YOU JUST HAPPY TO SEE ME?

well i was supposed to be in Ko Pangyang right now, but instead am in ko samui. which is o.k but it also annoys me.

just dropping a line to let you all know ia m alive. have had a big day though and will put up a better blog when i find a better internet cafe.

btw- the swannies game was supposed to start @11am so i found a pub that showed it but my bus ride out of phuket was leaving at 1pm. which i thought was plenty of tim e but with all the fluff that happens before the game kicks off i only ended up being abl;e to watch the first quarter and now just found out that it was an awesome game that was decided on the last mark!

SPEWING.

watch this space, will update it first thing in the morning.

xO

IS THAT A TRUNK OR ARE YOU JUST HAPPY TO SEE ME?


oh boy!

by the time my plane landed and i got on a shuttle bus to my hotel, (which is twice as nice as the Nana Hotel i was staying at in bangkok AND twice as cheap) it was pretty late and it seems as though everything is only at 10% capacity.

i dont know if that is because of the tsunami or what but it just doesn't seem to be full of people which makes it harder to meet people. So i thought i will make do with what i can today and then head over to Ko Samui where its appparently at.

In the morning i had a safe bet with toast and fruit at the hotel, and then headed over to a massage palour at patong beach in this little shop and they had a siamese type cat there that came over to me and i put him on my lap and he was like pppppppuuuuuurrrrrrrrrr. it was beautiful. they have siamese cats running feral around here. they are as common as moggies.

then i went to catch a tuk tuk and i asked how much and she said 200B. and i thought that was o.k because thats how much i paid to get here from my hotel at karon beach. but then she signed this contract thing and before i knew it she was asking me which motorbike i wanted!!!!

i was like "no no no!) but then i thought, well you only live once dont you?
and i asked for the smallest bike. all the men were trying to get me to take one of the big harley things but i took a little vespa thing instead. "baby Steps." i said! and so i have been cruising around the island all day on my little bike and even though the men at the rental place told me i was getting a lady bike i thought iwas pretty daring and cool considering how they drive in this place.

the general road rule is-
#1. who ever is in front has right of way. this includes when changing lanes. even if the car in the other lane needs to slamm on its brakes.
#2. when over taking if you see oncoming traffic just flash your headlights at them and they will stop for you.
#3. if you see a car on your side of the road falshing it's headlights, for gods sake STOP!!!

scary stuff.

i had an elephant ride as well. i am having trouble putting the pictures up on this computer and will post them tommorow.

love you all
xO

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!




the food here is abit off and on.

i went to a place on kha soan road and had american fried rice with prawns and crab meat. it cost 60B and it was delicious.
then i went to a place near nana square and i had the same dish and it only cost 40B ( about 1.5 cents) and it the only way to describe it is ...... it tasted like bangkok smells.

for those of you who havebn't had the pleasure of knowing what bangkok smells like- imagine a mixture of smog, humidity, smog, sewerage, sweat, smog, dirt, fish, smog, chicken, garbage and a bit more smog.

Yummmo!!!!

so i have to say i have done what i thought i wouldn't do and that is revert to eating western foods.
its not so bad i guess but i have been abit sick already and had to use those tablets to stop you getting the runs so i figure- it's better safe than sorry! ( too much infomation i know!)

i am off to phuket this arvo. i was going to go to china but i want to get in contact with my mate in hong kong first. i'd also like to get in contact with aunty janny so i can maybe organise a flight back from china to bangkok via vietnam.

i will hang in phuket for a week or too while i sort all that out. i decided on phuket because a aussie here told me it was better than ko samui so i guess we'll see.

also- the lovely people at the nana hotel have agreed to mind my suitcase with my london gear at no further charge! i have to stay there for one night when i get back which is fine because its close to the airport out of here. before you all freak out -YES. MY BAG IS LOCKED UOP TIGHT!!!!

:-)

thanks for all your emails guys. its great to hear from you all!


xO

BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER.

this is the beautiful view from my hotel window.

that huge train thing is reall high in the sky and runs through tthe whole city like a giant monorail.

well.
today did not go quite as i had planned.
last night i went to explore the market shops that pop up on the side of the streets at night, and i stumbled across an ausie bar- (they sell VB and show austrailan sport. so now i CAN watch the swannies and the dragons win!)
When i had breakfast i saw you can have a singa beer for 30B (ie- $1 dollar)
and when ever i was thirsty i went to a 7-11 and saw beer for 30B and thought.... why not?
this as you can imagine set the tone for the day.
later on in the night i thought i would go and see the equalivant of the oxford hotel i was working at in sydney, then while i meandering through the bars grinning from ear to ear because i am still abit blown away by it all when i hear " Hey OWEN!! Come here!"

i spin around and it was Stu, one of the regulars from the Oxford!

it was so great to see and hear an australian accent and be drinking with someone i knew.
we couldn't believe that we had only seen each other a few days ago.
so we had a few brews, then a few more.

and then a few more.

then we started drinking kamakze JUGS.
first a red one.
then a blue one.
then a green one.

i think it is safe to say you all know what happened next.

i was throwing up in the toilets.
then in the street.

how embarrasing.
i went to cover my mouth while this was happening and stu said "owen- just let it out mate. where in bangkok. there is spew everywhere here." , which i guess is true.

luckily stu took me back to my hotel and i have spent the whole day in bed.
i only got up now at about 4pm.
i couldnt get a refund on my ticket to my floating markets tour and stuff but it will still be here tommorow.

i am going to try and book my ticket to Ko Somiu today.

i think it is time i saw the beach.

hoping everone is well and keep the emails coming in- its great to read them.

Oh. BTW

here is my thai number if you wanna text me or ring mw on 6614467361

love

xO

o.k

its 2am in bangkok. i have been here for three hours and i am blown away already.

flight over was o.k i suppose although i was stuck next a girl my age who talked about god and tried to convert me!

haha!
she was nice enough though.
the cab ride from the airport to the nana hotel was probably the scariest thing i have ever done!

the cabbie took me through all these back streets past all these deros and prosititues and people playing chess on the sidewalk and he was speeding- buit they all do here( there are no road rules)

so yeah.

just walking to this internet cafe i have been hit on by more woman than i have in the past five years!!! lol!

the place looks amazing.

the hotel seems fine.


i will take heaps of photos to show you all tommorow!

did i say my head was spinning?
because it is!


Love
xO

well its almost time to go and i am really panicking!

i had a great day yesterday at the park and spending time with everyone. It was the best farewell i could have thought of. the weather was perfect, the food was great. i got to see people i hadn't in quite a while and best of all- i got to have a photo with ALL my brothers and sisters- which meant SSOOOOOOOOO much! :-)

i also got to see Uncle Troy and Aunty Debbie and jessica and micheal before he heads off to iraq :-( i dont want him to go but he promises me he will stay safe so i guess all we can do is wish him luck and see him when he gets back.

I am so sunburnt you have no idea!
i look like a tomato!
it really hurts- even my ears are burnt.
thanks for coming guys- i really appreciate it but now its going to be sooo much harder to hop on the plane.

today is finalising the packing- (going to get a bigger toiletries bag)


kissing my cat alex good-bye.

take my phone in to get repaired and then off to the airport!


well time is running out!
thats it for now!
See you guys in a year or too!!!!

xO

well its almost time to go now.

i was busy pack-pack-packing all my stuff and my little baby knew something was up and thought he'd better jump in a box and get packed up too because if i am going he blooody well was too!!!!
:-)

he knows that something is up poor thing.

his asthma is much better now and he barely needs his puffer but i know that hailea nad marik will take almost as good care of him as i do! i am worried that she wont let me have him back!

i have got a new camera and will be posting up photo's very soon!

it'll take me a while to get it figured out but it shouldn't take me long at all!

xO

hi guys!

welcome to Owens travel blog!!!!

i am using this to keep everyone updated on my whereabouts while i am jet setting around the world, to save on phone calls to everyone!

having said that- i still expect phone calls from you all so i know how you all are though!

so the update so far is.....

me, mum, and nana went for a trip to Canberra to get my u.k ancestry visa.

I found out earlier that you have to arrive before it opens @9am, so we ordered a 7am wake up call ( you will all know how much i enjoyed that!)

so we arrived at the british embassy @ around 8.45am only to find out that we actully had to go to the British consulate NOT the embassy! If anyone knows what the difference is between a consulate and an embassy PLEASE tell me! i mean COME. ON.)This must happen ALL the time though becuase the man at the gate had a map with direction already highlighted with the way to the right spot!

so with that we were off and the only other hiccup (yeah you know there HAD to be one) was that Nana's british passport had the wrong birthdate on it! Luckily for us, the lady working behind the desk had actully prevoiusly had a job writing out those passports and sorted it all out little fuss.

phew!

so now the only thing's i have to do really is

-travel insurance
-travelers checks and stuff
-tax return! (oops! i have left that late havent i?)
-my needles
-chinese visa
-PACK PACK PACK.

i hope i get to see you all at stuart park on sunday it should be fun and the i am off the next day!

i am going to try and add weekly updates to this page so keep your eyes peeled and you will get to hear about all the stuff i am getting up too.

Well, pretty much all the PG+ rated stuff that i get up to!!!

:D

please email me at owenkungfoomaster@hotmail.com and let me know how you all are as well!


i will be missing everyone!


xO