Ruthie On The Road

So we arrived at the airport in Las Vegas and found out our flight was delayed over an hour which would mean we would miss our connection.  This caused us both to panic me first, shortly followed by Helen when I pointed out our predicament.  Our turn at the check in desk came and we were told that we would be flying with United, they had booked us on a direct flight with no baggage check in fee and arriving an hour earlier than the original flight.  We were obviously completely appalled and given discount vouchers for our next flight and meal vouchers for the airport.  The journey was reasonable with complimentary drinks and a movie.

We caught a shuttle bus from Dulles International to the hostel only to find that 2 minutes after we arrived, a photo of us was posted on twitter.  Helen has already touched on the subject of the conversation with a probable murderer at the Petrol station so I won’t go into that.

The following morning we got the underground to Union Square and walked around all the major landmarks of Washington including the Jefferson, Lincoln and Vietnam Vets Memorials and the White House where Helen started singing ‘Oh say can you see, we’re in Washington DC’ to a load of tourists.  Unfortunately the President wasn’t accepting visitors so discussion of nurses pay and the oil spill were off the agenda.

A few hours later we collected our bags and headed for the Greyhound terminal to go to Baltimore.  We managed to get a private room but on arrival found that it was a double bed.  Unable to switch rooms and Helen being concerned she might smother me in the night I volunteered to sleep on the floor, which was surprisingly comfortable with a few blankets. We spent 2 nights in Baltimore exploring both the Charles street area where we were based, and with the use of the free buses, Market Street and the inner harbour area.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous without the humidity of neighbouring Washington.

The next morning we were on the move again back on the greyhound for a very complex transfer schedule to get to Niagara Falls.  We were late for all 3 transfers but by some miracle managed to catch all the buses but to the detriment of our stomachs because by 8pm we had had nothing to eat all day and Helen was seeing the ground move.  We got to Niagara at 9.40pm having managed to eat a disgusting microwaved spring roll burrito myself and a rather non-descript meat burger for Helen, further enforcing the point that greyhoung bus stations are not exactly conducive to a healthy balanced diet.

The next day started with a walk down to the falls.  The weather was again beautifully sunny and we knew we were nearly there when we heard the roar of the water and felt the vapour in the air.  We walked past the American falls on the opposite side and round to get a better view of the Canadian side. Deciding this was still not close enough we donned our very sexy blue hooded bin bags and took to the water on the ‘Maid of the mist’ into the falls. This was great but I didn’t see an awful lot after the first deluge of water across my glasses.

Back on dry land we continued walking and found ourselves at the gift shops and the top of the falls.  I was mesmerised by the water torrents falling over the edge, which is receding up to 2 meters per year in places, and into the abyss below to get carried down to Lake Ontario. Nestled on the shores of Lake Ontario sat our next destination, Toronto and by 6pm we had dumped our bags at the hostel (university halls of residents) and we were walking back to Yonge Street and to the cinema.

It seems to have been a while now since I updated the blog and I felt the last one was more a snapshot.  The days have been full of activities and nights packed with music and conversation and thoughts of what has been have taken a back seat.

I spent Saturday exploring Ganges market and meeting a few local characters.  The market is made up of Saltspring residents selling their creations.  It is amazing to see there is so much talent on one Island, even local youngsters are getting in on it selling homemade sweets and candy or singing their hearts out for the masses.  It is one of the highlights of the week for locals and tourists and this one was a big deal because it was a bank holiday weekend.  I tasted my way round the cheese stalls and bought bread and biscuits.  I also found a lovely stone necklace and one of Jess’s screen printed scarves without going for my usual brown or turquoise tendencies.  A breadth of inspiration for any budding artistic entrepreneur.
Sunday morning saw us catching the ferry to Vancouver Island and going to the 147th annual Victoria highland games.  After the obligatory bagpipes, marching bands and highland dancers I reveled in the 6ft kilt wearing bear like creations on display in the heavy weight highland games event.  I was only disappointed to discover they were nearly all wearing shorts under their kilts.  After we had our fill we went into town for Trevor to do some last minute shoe shopping and for a late lunch at one of the many pubs  on Government street.

Bank holiday Monday I left Trevor and Chenty packing up the house and drove down into Ganges going for a coffee and trying on shoes that I really can’t buy.  Past Ganges I found a nice shell beach and sat their whiling away the day alternating between studying the fantastic scenery and my latest book.  Later we went out for dinner and listened to some live music at Saltsprings coolest music venue ‘The Tree House’.  On ground level but nestled around a tree this cafe/restaurant plays host to local talent every night of the week in the summer months.  I have driven and walked past this place for the past week and have never seen it without a queue out the door and a waiting list on the board, while other restaurants surrounding it sit empty.  They were holding a Bob Dylan night in honour of his 69th birthday.  we listened for a while and then went back to the house and I packed my bags for the following morning.

Which brings me to today.  I caught the early ferry with Chenty and Jess to Swartz Bay where I got straight on another ferry to Vancouver city.  I am spending a couple of days here before getting the bus to Banff on Thursday.  I went to the tourist information to look for other hostels in the city.  I have taken to just going with the Hostel International hostels and these are quite often more money then some of the others.  I am after all 5 months into the trip now and in real need of cutting corners where I can.  I found the Samesun Backpackers and resolved myself to the fact that the money I saved could at least pay for the taxi I needed to take to the bus station due to lack of local public transport at 5.30am!

I walked round some shops and posted another parcel home at the post office.  I found the Library which is a mammoth building that looks a little like a modern take on the Coliseum in Rome.  I have also never seen a library with a pub attached.  All emails sorted, information gathered and a plan set out for tomorrows activities I went back to the hostel, that also has a cheap bar and restaurant, for dinner.

It was a long journey from Adelaide down to Port Fairy but I had glanced at the map and figured that was where I needed to get to to start on the Ocean road the next day.  The clock was ticking from the second I picked up the van and I had to deliver it to Sydney, in 1 piece, in 4 days time.  It was massive, it had a big double bed, sink, gas cooker, shower, toilet, microwave and air conditioning.  It was much longer than I expected it to be so I had to remember I needed more room to get the back to go in the same line as the front!

I had a really nice campsite right next to the beach on the first night and this meant the obligatory walk along the beach to watch the sunset.  In the morning I packed up the van and headed east to the B100, otherwise known as the Great Ocean Road.  It is said that this is one of the best drivers in the world, and it really didn’t disappoint.  First came the Bay of Islands and the shear scale of the cliffs and the razor edging to the rocks became quickly apparent.  Only minutes later another walk to see The Grotto, London Bridge and The Arch.  The sign for the 12 Apostles confused me a bit because it points left when the sea is on the right.  This takes you to the car park and the helipads.  The walkway goes under the road and emerging on the other side I could see the skies were littered with at least 10 helicopters taking the more extravagant tourists on the guided tour over this stunning natural landmark.

The first part of the road was along the cliff tops but then the road headed inland and through the Great Otway National Park, zigzagging down to Glenaire, back up to Mariners lookout and then back to sea level at Apollo Bay. From here the road hugged the shoreline with cliff face on one side and sea on the other.  Police cars stopped the traffic at Wongarra because someone was filming a commercial and after only a short delay the journey continued through Lorne, Fairhaven, Anglesea and Torquay were the Ocean road ended and I was on the freeway to Geelong.  Another couple of hours on the road and I pulled into Seymour for the night.

The rest of the journey really doesn’t warrant another post it was long and although there was nice scenery on the way, you couldn’t see it from the rest stops because of the trees and if I was going  to make it on time I couldn’t keep stopping every 5 minutes.  Day 3 was a 700km day and I decided I would stay overnight at Bungonia in the Morton National Park.  Only when I got there did I find that the park was closed for a month for animal culling so I went back to Goulburn for the final night.  I think it will only be another 300km from here tomorrow to get the van to the airport then into Sydney for a few days.

I have written these last 2 posts out on the road ready to go on the computer when I get to it but I am finding that I am getting more and more symptoms of Internet withdrawal.  I will be pleased to be back in touch with the modern world.  I have really enjoyed the past 4 days with the camper that I have affectionately named FEB (F***ing Enormous Bus) and will be sad to give him back.

A quick apology for not posting anything from Australia yet, it has all been really manic and trying to get paperwork, online courses completed and MRSA swabs done.  I have had a great week here and will tell you all about it in the next couple of days. Promise. Thanks again for all the comments and I am still enjoying receiving them, its nice to keep a link to home.

A few key words can be used to describe Langkawi:- Spectacular, sunsets, seafood, sweltering heat, sailing boats and sedentary appeal.

Langkawi seems to pull off both budget and luxury like  nowhere else I have visited so far.  It is suited to both and there are legions behind the island that only seems to add to its mystical appeal.  The story of Mahsuri is one of these legions that has shaped the island into what it is now.  Basically she was a very beautiful women that every girl wished they were and every guy wishes he was with.  As a result of this jealousy she was killed as various people accused her of being unfaithful to her husband.  She claimed she was innocent and she cursed the island for 7 generations. She supported this curse by saying that if she was telling the truth, her blood would run white.  They uses a Kris knife between her shoulder blades and her blood ran white.  A lot of the locals followed this story and the 7th generation curse was eventually over in the 1980s.  Maybe due to the lifting of the curse or pure coincidence, but this was the same time that the island started to prosper with the tourist trade, and has seen great financial gain from tourism since.

There are loads of things to see and do whilst on the island and we started by Shukor taking me on a tour round the island and going to Babylon bar on the beach to take in the sunset.  Pantai Cenang is the main area for cafes and shops and the main hangout for both backpackers and hotel dwellers when they venture out of their resorts.  We had seafood at a great restaurant and the tiger prawns were massive and totally delicious.

Saturday was spent again riding round the island, visiting the construction site of the boutique resort development that Shukor is managing and taking in the views from various different vantage points including the giant eagle of Langkawi.  We decided again that Babylon bar was the best place to be for the sunset having not given ourselves enough time to get anywhere else!  I can’t believe how quickly the sun disappears. From when it first touches the horizon to being gone completely only seems to take a few minutes. The only reminder that it was there is the glowing red sky. I keep thinking I am going to wake up from the dream soon.

Another 2 days gone and I am back on the plane to Singapore. When I started this trip I had not imagined that I would be flying from place to place so much but I didn’t really understand the practicalities. Plane travel is so quick, cheap and widely used here that it would seem stupid not to take advantage of it. Plus it has the added benefit of being able to detatch myself from my rucksack for a while!