There’s something seedy and a bit dodgy about Khao San Road and for some reason the travel agents in that area don’t really instill a lot of confidence in me. It probably has something to do with the shady VIP buses they organise that never seem to go all the way to their destinations and tend to arrive with things missing. So when we decided to get out of Bangkok on a short break, I wasn’t exactly totally confident in our friendly local travel agent.

We had originally planned to do a day trip but as we looked at the various options, escaping Bangkok for two days and a night seemed like the best bet. Three of our friends who were arriving that night decided that they were keen so we decided to do a bit of bargaining. The tour was to take in the River Kwai, a train ride, some museums, a waterfall, Hellfire Pass, elephant riding, bamboo rafting and had the option to give some elephants a bath and visit the Tiger Temple. Pretty much your standard trip out to the Kanchanaburi area. We bargained the guy down fro 950B to 810B each so we were pretty happy with ourselves but still not totally convinced that it’d be a good tour.

I started the day hungover which seems to have bcome a theme over the past month so the early hours of the tour are a blur. The first stop after a long drive was at a cemetery in Kanchanaburi, then a museum, and then I walked along the bridge over the River Kwai and tried not to throw up on it. Time ticked on and I started to feel more normal and enjoyed a train ride before having lunch at our accommodation on a floating house on the river.

In the afternoon we were dropped off at possibly the most pitiful looking waterfall I have come across. We were all looking forward to a swim but the water at the bottom was pretty festy so opted instead to climb up to the top and dunk our heads under the flowing water. My friend Kempy slipped and stacked it hard at the top which was the highlight of the day. Sympathetic friends we are not.

I took in an awesome sunset and then opted for a rare quiet night. A few of us got up early to give some elephants a bath. We had no idea what to expect but were happy to see that the elephants were well looked after. I clung onto the head of mine for dear life and made sure to clean behind his ears.f The elephant guys seemed to have a good relationship with their beasties and it was a pretty awesome thing getting to sit on an elephant as it dunked itself into the water.

We also opted to visit the Tiger Temple which is a sactuary run by monks. It was a pretty strange place. The tigers were pretty out of it, most barely awake and some outright passed out. The guy working there said it’s because tigers are nocturnal. Hrm… not sure about that explanation. It was kind of sad to see so we wandered off to other areas of the park and found a couple of random lions in a cage which was pretty cool.

So over all our mystery tour was really good. Most importantly, it was a booze free event and I was starting to feel normal again.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I really should have posted this update before my friend arrived on August 2nd and the Olympic chaos began, but it slipped through the cracks. But it hasn’t been forgotten and July turned out to be a great month coming it at nearly $2280. I hadn’t even realised I’d earned so much until just now when I pulled the numbers together. Considering how much I spent over the past month, that’s good news.

Earnings breakdown:

• Google Adsense - $359 - After falling last month, Adsense is slowly creeping back up but it’s still below the $400 mark that I reached a few months ago.
• Affiliate Sales - $1130 - I had a good month boosted up by nearly $100 in insurance sales through Clixgalore and $220 in van insurance sales.
• Linkworth & Text Link Ads - $150 - Same as last month. No changes to report which is surprising given my fall in PR across most of my sites that use Text Link Ads.
• Private Link Sales - $640 - Link sales came through this month with a few renewals and five new sales, all on my Working Holiday Insurance site. That site was miraculously awarded a PR5 (it has since fallen to PR4) and I decided to take advantage of that while I could and sold nearly $500 in new links as a result.

Ok it’s time for bed. I’m trying to cram work in anywhere I can. It’s hard when I’ve also got to catch up on emails and Facebook stuff. Too busy! One more week and I will be able to spend my days however I want to and that’ll mean a lot of time soaking up free wifi in cafes.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

My friend and I have decided to splash out a bit for a four star hotel in Bangkok in an attempt to recover from nearly breaking ourselves over the course of the Olympics. At least two events per day, crappy venue food, 50 cent beer and awesome parties each night means that we both really need to look after ourselves for the next few days.

I’m sitting in a hotel in Bangkok now called the Windsor Suite or something like that. The staff are great, breakfast is amazing and for around $50 per night for the room, it’s not going to kill the budget. Internet isn’t free though and at 600 baht per day, it’s actually pretty expensive. Plus there’s no desk or decent table so I’m sitting on the floor propped on a pillow and doing my work on a chair. Not ideal but I’ve got so much work to do that I’ll have to adapt.

The Olympics were fantastic. I had a great time and will post more about it over on my travel blog Wanderstruck but in the meantime here are a few of my favourite things about The Games.

• Volunteers - The volunteers were unreal. I have never seen people be that friendly before in my life and it was great. They all seemed to be having a blast as well and it showed.
• Spectators - Chinese people attending the Games were super friendly too and it was easy to get them cheering for your team or to get them to cheer along with you for China. Wearing China gear to events was a hit and we’d often have to spend an hour leaving an event due to all the photos people wanted with us. They taught us songs, gave us presents, and left us both with a great impression of Chinese people. Fans from other countries were great too and we discovered early on that cheering with a group of fans sitting nearby is a fun way to get into a sport if Canada or Australia weren’t competing.
• Venues - All of the venues were great and except for the occasional long line for the toilet or food stalls, everything went smoothly. It was great to get to see inside the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. Those were both highlights. The Olympic Green could have been a bit more green and a bit less concrete but overall it was a cool place to spend the day. Except for the terrible food.
• Events - My friend and I have been planning this trip for over a year and as a result had lots of tickets to lots of different sporting events. She wanted mainly swimming, I wanted more random things and it turned out well for me. We only got one swimming ticket and filled the rest of our time with things like weightlifting (very fun), handball (awesome sport), wrestling (made some friends from Khazakstan) and other sports that don’t really get publicity any other time of the year. Got to see Canada win gold at rowing too which was pretty cool.
• Parties - I had two friends in town who used to be my roommates in London and we did our best to live up to those crazy days. The bars were rocking every night and everyone I met were in great moods and having a total blast. I’m not sure I want to see beer again anytime soon though.

So I’m a huge fan of the Beijing Olympics but Im glad it’s over… for four years until London at least. Actually, I think the Vancouver 2010 Olympics might be making their way onto my agenda too. I’ve got a week in Bangkok with my friends and then they’ll all be heading back to reality and I think I’ll be off to Burma for some low key travels for a month. I’ve got a couple days of work to cram in in the meantime although that rooftop pool is seeming pretty tempting at the moment.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I attended the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and lived to tell the tale. I’m not sure how I did it, but I managed to pull it off. I knew it would be a big party, but I never expected it to be THAT big. I escaped Beijing as a shadow of my former self, my liver no doubt hating me and in need of some serious nap time. Rather than go over the Games day by day (which would be impossible given that they all sort of blend into one) I’ve highlighted a few things that stand out about my Olympic experience. I loved every moment of it, but one thing is sure, I’m glad it’s over. I’ll need four years to recover before London 2012.

• Volunteers - The volunteers were unreal. I have never seen people be that friendly before in my life and it was great. They all seemed to be having a blast as well and it showed.
• Spectators - Chinese people attending the Games were super friendly too and it was easy to get them cheering for your team or to get them to cheer along with you for China. Wearing China gear to events was a hit and we’d often have to spend an hour leaving an event due to all the photos people wanted with us. They taught us songs, gave us presents, and left us both with a great impression of Chinese people. Fans from other countries were great too and we discovered early on that cheering with a group of fans sitting nearby is a fun way to get into a sport if Canada or Australia weren’t competing.
• Venues - All of the venues were great and except for the occasional long line for the toilet or food stalls, everything went smoothly. It was great to get to see inside the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. Those were both highlights. The Olympic Green could have been a bit more green and a bit less concrete but overall it was a cool place to spend the day. The food at the venues was terrible with the only edible things being Snickers bars and Oreo cookies but fortunately the beer was cheap. Eating is cheating anyways.
• Venue seating - Seat numbers seemed to be optional and sneaking into the better seating sections was a piece of cake. Everyone seemed to sit wherever they wanted which meant forming massive cheerig sections of your country’s fans was easy and made the whole experience much more exciting.
• Events - My friend and I have been planning this trip for over a year and as a result had lots of tickets to lots of different sporting events. She wanted mainly swimming, I wanted more random things and it turned out well for me. We only got one swimming ticket and filled the rest of our time with things like weightlifting (very fun), handball (awesome sport), wrestling (made some friends from Khazakstan and scored a flag) and other sports that don’t really get publicity any other time of the year. Got to see Canada win gold at rowing too which was pretty cool.
• Parties - I had two friends in town who used to be my roommates in London and we did our best to live up to those crazy days. I nearly broke myself but it was worth it. The town was pumping every night and the atmosphere was equal parts friendly and rowdy which always makes for a great night out.

So the Olympics are over, I spent too much money, drank too much and remember very little but it was worth it. I’ve got a week in Bangkok with my friends and then they’ll all be heading back to reality in Australia and I think I’ll be off to Burma for some low key travels for a month. I’ve really loved China and will miss it but am lookig forward to some blue skies and a bit of relaxation in Thailand.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I’m busy and after a few months of cruising and doing a lot of lazing around, I’m certainly not used to it. I’ve got a friend staying with me who does a good job of dragging me out of bed to Olympics events and tourist attractions and also makes sure we hit the town pretty hard at night.

It means lots of early mornings and late nights and also means I have to think of someone else when I make my plans. Since I’ve always got somewhere to be, I’ve had zero time to devote to working which is why my blog posts haven’t really existed this month.

But it’s a good kind of busy so I don’t mind at all. It’s awesome to see my friend, the Olympics have been amazing and there will be plenty of time to devote to work and alone time in a few weeks so I’m going to live in the moment, enjoy the ride and hope that things don’t fall apart for me on the web front.

I sort of like this whole being busy thing. I’m almost laid back to a fault so having someone around to motivate me to get going and test how much I’m able to cram into a day has been a good learning experience, even if it isn’t work related. I’m not sure how much more I can take of it though!

Olympics updates to come at some point. I just got back from seeing Bolt set a new 100 meters world record which was very cool. Go Canada!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Hey all! Sorry I haven’t checked in at all. I knew this would be a busy month because I’ve got a crapload of Olympics tickets and mainly because I have some friends in town which means I won’t really have much time to myself. It’s been great here in Beijing… I’ve met some great people, seen some great events and I don’t think I’ve been sober in a week.

But it go tme thinking… I’ve been blowing money like crazy! I’ don’t even think twice before taking money out of my bank accounts or buying dinner or paying for a cab. It’s been so much fun but my bank account is dying a death.

But because I know I’ll be heading to Thailand to do this course thing I’m not really worried abut it at all. It’s sort of fun having periods of spending and periods of saving. Obviously this Olympics will mean some serious spening but since I’ve already paid for a 10 week course in Thailand, I know I’ll mae that up and com eout with a skill to boot.

It’s an amazing thing to know that studying or volunteering can mean savings!I’ll check in soon with some Olympics updates. So far it’s been unreal! So much fun.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

We couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the Olympic spirit than our first day of events. We had a 2pm women’s basketball game to kick off our ridiculously huge schedule of events and it was an awesome day all around.

The venue was great, the game was fun, beers were less than a buck, plus we wore a load of China gear complete with t-shirts, headbands and massive flags and were a hit with the Chinese fans. Inside the stadium we joined along with their cheers and outside, after the game, we were mobbed by camera-toting Chinese people.

We soaked up our newfound celebrity status for about an hour before we were able to make our escape to the train. A huge group of people in mysterious yellow shirts befriended us and posed with us for ages. At the end of the photoshoot a couple of the ladies gave us their souveneir opening ceremony wristbands wihch were only given to people who went to the opening ceremonies. I think. They’re numbered and in demand so for them to give them to us was a big deal. For us it was at least.

Hugs were exchanged, goodbyes said and we wandered off towards the train only to be reunited with them all inside the station. We boarded the train and the singalongs and that’s when the good times began! They were singing some Chinese song with the tune of ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Auld Lang Syne’ (the New Years song) was a popular favourite as well although nobody really sang any words, it was more about noise making. It was possibly one of the most bizarre and funny experiences of my life and an awesome way to kick off the Olympics.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

In an effort to cram as much in as possible before our busy Olympics schedule was to begin, we booked to head out on a tour of the Great Wall the day after getting back from Xi’an. Two major attractions in two days… looks like my lazy travel days are a thing of the past.

I stayed at Leo Hostel when I first arrived in Beijing and had heard good things about their ‘Secret Wall’ tour. People were raving about it, actually, so I figured it must be a pretty good day out. I had heard loads of times about people’s disappointment with the restored, super-touristy areas of the wall so was after something a wee bit different. I’m not sure my friends were convinced but eventually they decided to give it a go.

Another early morning saw us in a minivan with a nice group of travellers. We drove for about three hours, chatted a bit, slept a bit and eventually made it to a road with a police blockade on it. We passed through that without much delay and then a few minutes later we were detained by a bunch of villagers apparently hoping to swindle some money out of us. We waited them out for about 20 minutes and they gave up and waved us through towards our destination.

We were met by a little old man who spoke no English who led us up a hill. We couldn’t see the wall due to some serious fog/smog so we climbed up the hill blindly waiting for it to appear from the mist. When we first got to it I could tell everyone was a bit under whelmed, myself included. All that was left of it was a short, crumbling brick wall with weeds and grass growing out of every nook and cranny. But after following along for a little while we finally saw what all the fuss was about. The towers were huge and seeing the wall spread across the peaks of the hills was amazing. Unfortunately we couldn’t see too far ahead because of the fog but it sort of added a bit of mystery to the whole experience not knowing what was coming next.

We were pretty surprised to see a guy waving to us from one of the towers about two hours into our walk and even more surprised to find that he was operating a makeshift corner store inside the tower complete with snacks, souvenir books and beer. We figured a beer on the Great Wall was too good a chance to pass up and cracked one open on top of the tower and toasted our trek. Apparently the shop guy has to walk two hours to work and back carting a whole load of stuff with him and sometimes he doesn’t even have any groups passing through. Nice place to work but it’s a bit of a crap commute.

After about three hours of hiking along the wall we meandered down into a small village, had a tasty meal and were soon on our way back to Beijing. The ‘Secret Wall’ tour turned out to be a pretty good day out but I think I’d also like to see other parts to see for myself if it really is a disappointing tourist trap.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I have to admit that I’m a bit of a crap traveller. Given the choice of seeing something famous or actually doing something and meeting people, I’d probably choose the latter and just buy a postcard. As an example, I’m probably one of the few people who’ve been to New York City and not seen that big statue… whatever it’s called. Instead I spent my trip building igloos in a park, sliding down snowy hills on baking trays, and hitting the bars of Yonkers. I doubt any of those things are on anyone’s ‘must do’ list for New York.

So when a couple of my friends were coming to stay with me for the Olympics and suggested a trip to Xi’an, I wasn’t really too keen. I was hoping to dissuade them with time limits but the idea of flying came from somewhere and the new plan was to head to Xi’an on a 24 hour whirlwind tour to visit the Terracotta Warriors. At first I was going to give it a miss and let them go alone but I was eventually persuaded and I skeptically went along with the plan.

We’d had a big night the night before and had to get up for an 11am flight. My friend’s alarm clock was still on Australian time though so we ended up getting up two hours earlier than we needed and headed out to the airport very early and very hungover. It worked out well though because our flight had been cancelled and we were able to jump on an earlier one.

We all sort of wandered around aimlessly our first day in Xian. Taking in some markets, a park, loads of food stalls and walked along the inside of the city walls for awhile. I was pretty sleep deprived and sort of operating in zombie mode so can’t say I really took in a lot of what we saw in. We had booked ourselves onto an early tour the next morning to go say g’day to the warriors so learning from our mistakes, we had an early night.

The next day we went on a tour with a couple of other people from our hostel. We were taken to a place that makes giant warrior statues and were kidnapped into a silk place as well. The silk place was sort of funny. It was attempting to look like a factory but the machines were only turned on as we arrived and turned off as we left. Then we were sort of herded into a room with loads of clothes and had a hard time escaping due to the exit being sort of hidden. Do people ever buy things when they’re kidnapped into a store? It must work some of the time.

So after our forced non-shopping spree and a yummy lunch we were finally off to see some Terracotta Warriors. They’re housed in three huge warehouse type things and I have to say that it’s pretty impressive to see. The detail in them really is life like all the way down to individual strands of hair. They’ve each got their own weapons and even the horses are impressive. Loads are smashed and loads more still haven’t even been uncovered but it really is pretty awe-inspiring when you think of all the work that went into creating them. It’s even more mind-boggling when you think about them all being created just to be buried.

Overall I’m glad I went but I still can’t help but I still can’t help but feel guilty for popping into the city just to see a major attraction to check it off my list. Spending 24 hours in Xi’an really didn’t do it justice. It was a fun little escape but I’m not in any rush to do a whirlwind visit again anytime soon.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I’ve noticed that posts made on weekends tend to get fewer comments. Maybe my weekend posts are super crappy? I don’t know. I think it has more to do with people reading blogs from work where they’re chained to a desk. On the weekends people tend to flee their computers which means less blog reading.

Not having a nine to five type job, I completely lose track of what day of the week it is and have never thought about saving my posts for mid week. But maybe I should fall in line with the rest of the world? It’s always nice to get comments and whacking up a post on a Saturday followed by another one before Monday rolls around means that it gets sort of hidden away. Switching to a Monday to Firday type blogging schedule it might also be a good way for me to keep track of the days of the week. Although I have to admit, it’s kind of nice not knowing.

On a completely unrealted note… I got a message from my Couchsurfing buddy John who has some free Olympics tickets to give away. He doesnt want anything in return, but he’d like you do a good thing for someone else in return.

I really like this idea. Some of these Olympics tickets are going for crazy amounts. I played poker last night with Finnish guy who paid 1700 euros (EUROS!) for an athletics ticket where his countryman is favoured to win at the javellin throw. That’s a lot of money to watch a guy throw a pointy stick! I love seeing people who aren’t tempted by the almighty buck and would rather have that warm and fuzzy feeling by doing something nice.

Kudos John, let us know who you decide to give your tickets to and what sort of good deed they have up their sleeve.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!