merry xmas and have a great new year!!!

only 2 more days until xmas, although it does'nt feel like it too much here, i'm looking forward to new years eve at sydney harbour, that should be good....it will be at 1pm new years eve your time.

i went to palm beach the other day which was a lovely place, i got a milkshake at the kiosk they use for home and away and i bought a keyring and took a seashell which looked good. i will include the keyring and seashell in the things i send home soon. it took 1hr 45 mins by bus from central station by the hostel and was $11.20 return (around 5 pound). i saw the summer bay surf club and the wooden fences with the tree's around them just above the beach where the cast shoot scenes occasionally (although they are off until mid-feb, i will go back there at the end of feb and hopefully catch some action)

ive not done too much this weekend, just some shopping which has saved me some money.

i am looking at spending 2-3 weeks in NZ mid-march and catching a test match in wellington and napier (they do good passes for 100 NZ dollars, around 35-40 pound, where you can watch all 5 days)

i want to spend a week in the blue mountains and then maybe hunter valley from jan 9th but i'll see how it all goes.

hope all is going well back home,

take care and have a great xmas and new year

g

got tickets for the ODI today!!

hi, just to let ppl know i got the tickets for todays ODI between australia and NZ at the scg.

its 11:40 am here so i'm going to take a trip to hungry jacks then head down to the ground around half 12.

btw - i did the laundry for the first time here, takes a while but was good enough.

later

g

the first week

hello everyone, the first week here in sydney has been pretty good. ive been to sydney harbour to see the harbour bridge, opera house and the harbour in general, very beautiful place. I spent some time in kings cross and in the main CBD, which is close to where i'm staying.

the hostels were getting booked out pretty quick so i extended my stay until jan 6 - my last surfing lesson is jan 8 so i might look to check out on jan 9 and spend some time in the blue mountains, dubbo or wooloomooloo. i went to a meeting on tuesday at the work and travel office and filled in my tax form and application form so they are looking for work for me although its harder before xmas. i would like to start working asap or my money will get drained.

i've booked the sydney harbour bridge climb for tuesday at 1:05 pm.

i still want to go to taronga zoo, palm beach and bondi which i will be doing soon.

i've also noticed that australia are playing NZ in a ODI tomorrow at sydney so i'm just off to the scg to see if i can get a ticket.

take care, g

australia...just arrived!!!

hi all, just a quick post again, bangkok was a pretty kool place, lots of interesting ppl.

i arrived in sydney about 3 hours ago, the person who was supposed to meet me never showed so i had to get a taxi back to the hostel but everyone is meeting with them at 9am tomorrow to sort things out like the bank account, jobs, city tour, etc..........

i just arrived at the hostel and it seems like a great place, quite lively, there is 4 to a room but it should be an interesting place.

i will be on msn on wednesday night at 10pm your day and time if anyone wants to chat.

my e-mail add's - nfl202020@hotmail.com in case anyone's forgot

catch you all later,

g

bangkok - quick post

hello all, just a quick post to say i hope your all well. its 17:00 on tuesday here. yesterday i walked around the city and looked around nana shopping complex then i got a tuk-tuk to siam square (it was only a 10-15 min ride but he tried to charge to 500 baht! (around 7 pound) but i said no, 100 baht - eventually i agreed on 200 which is only around 2.80 mainly because i was hungry and just wanted to get to the hard rock cafe and get something to eat, then he tried to get me to go to his sponsors, a tailor and lok round so he would get free gas but i said it had to be straight to hard rock cafe with no stops which he eventually agreed on, alot of hassle, taxi's are easier although i got a tuk-tuk today and there where no problems, its also quite fun to zip in and out of traffic as well as quicker then taxi's as you can zip through the traffic at times) - HRC was good where i got some hickory chicken. Today i had a lok at river city shooping complex and then round chinatown which was good (i picked up 2 little pink purses in chinatown at one of the old markets which looked very sweet, one had a cartoon kitty on and the other some cartoon hamsters, they are only little and i will post them in sydney with the postcards - they are for emily and sophie (you can choose who has which one leanne, does emily like hamsters or kittens better? lol) - hopefully it wil all arrive by xmas.

btw - the phone calls i made home cost a combined 40 pound home to mum/dad/jamie, paul and leanne so it must of been around a pound a minute - i will call when i get to sydney, a little expensive but just one of those things, it was good to speak to everyone - i could look into getting a phonecard but i will just wait until next week or so to call)

how did the kestrels do this week?

ummmmm............anything ive forgotten??? i just saw england were blowing the cricket and will probably lose - i'm in lumpini park and i will have a look around then get some things at 7/11 to take back - i will probably look at going into chinatown or patpong tomorrow night but i doubt i will do too much tonight - i will probably go to the grand palace on thursday, i'm not sure what to do tomorrow - its the kings birthday here tomorrow and there are alot of things up in the streets. maybe there will be a festival or something going on, i shall see.

a quick hello too to julie/david/katie and ashely - i heard you all sometimes check this blog, how are you all doing? - i bought a postcard for you all which should arrive by xmas)

how is you fantasy team doing? in the playoffs? i lost by a few points this week so crashed out!!

anyway, i better go (turned into quite a long post)

take care and speak to you soon

byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (G)

The first complete post

Hello to everyone, i have tried to edit the 1st post but it has still came out funny, you might be able to make the words out. I think it was part in hindi, does anyone know how to read hindi? lol

anyway, its just gone 11 on thursday morning and i am in chaweng typing this, i will be going to the beach soon and then onto a really good 'restaurant' called datung kitchen where i went the other day and got a lovely red snapper fish in chilli sauce with egg fried rice, a choc. shake and coke. last night i had a meal at 'the wave' which was'nt very good, the chicken was burnt, the satay sauce too strong and the omelette was'nt great. i had a margerita with it but it was very sharp.

The people at the resort are very friendly, there is a kool guy from sweden who is trying to stay our here permeantly, a few irish guys and 2 girls from woking and bordon who arrived the other day, last night the 2 thai guys at the resort put on some music and were given us free drinks until 1-2 in the morning which was good. I thought i might get up late today but i seem to wake up at 8-9 every morning.

The resort is in a beautiful location and oversee's half the island, the weather has been good so far and was very hot yesterday when i went on the safari day which was 9-5 - there was a group of around 7-8 and we drove around the island and took in a monkey, crocodile and elephant show, did some elephant trekking which was really good, it was quite nerve-racking when the man jumped down and let me sit at the front of the elephant to take a few pictures, it was very high up and bumpy going through the jungle.

I also say the big buddha, mummified monk and they showed us how to get rubber from the rubber tree's. The monkey show was good as it showed the monkey working the cocunuts and climbing to the top of the tree and biting and twisting 6 cocunuts so they fall to the ground. the 2 people in the crocodile show put there hands in the mouth and were quick as it snapped shut very quickly, they also put there head in there and retrived a 20 baht note from the stomach.

I appreciate the replys and in case anyone has tried calling or texting my battery has run down and i need to get a charger, maybe from bangkok or from sydney.

I've also been down to lamui beach which was good and spent part of last night in chaweng's centre which was interesting.

On the safari we were in the back of a jeep and as it was riding through the mountain jungles in was very rough and throwing you about but it was all good fun.

i will post again soon and try to find a way to phone before i get to sydney.

hope everyone is good, drop me an e-mail or comment anytime. i have a few postcards i will try and send back soon.

how did the kestrels do on sunday?

thanks for the comments leanne, they are good to see, i will try to call soon but its difficult to say when, hopefully before i get to sydney.

how is everyone at mitie doing? are you still looking at buying a pub sometime in the future kevin, hows that going? and a big shout out to the lovely lovely louise, hows it all going?

How are nan and grandad? have they got the new sofa yet?

I hope julie and sharon are doing good as well, drop me an e-mail anytime - its been great heaering from lee, really appreciate that.

oh, before i go, if you're reading this paul i did go into svenssons and it was fantastic, some really big chocolate ice cream for 1-2 pounds. - btw - i saw the the nfl scores, we blew a lead mainly due to the ST's but its been poor all season so no real surprise, i saw the miami score!!!!! maybe it was a typo but it said 3-0 on nfl.com - must have been an exiting game, to be fair the D must of been very good as pitts. are strong at home, i heard the conditions were bad, how is beck looking?? any first downs yet? lol - i saw this morning about sean taylor too, very sad.......reminds me of the 2 denver players, these things should'nt happen

take care everyone

G

कोह Samui

Hello, welcome to the first post in my blog. The flight from Bangkok to samui yesterday was delayed by a few hours so i did'nt get to the island until 6pm local time (although i was very impressed with bangkok airport, very spacious and i had a lovely breakfast there, i got a taxi from the airport to the bottom of the mountain and then the taxi driver had to कॉल the jungle club resort who came and picked me up as the resort is in the mountain and jungle and the taxis cannot go up there, i was picked up in a 4 x 4 jeep and it was very very bumpy। i checked in and went straight to bed as i was exhausted after being up 30 plus hours। i awoke at 6am on the monday and it was raining outside which was a little worrying, i went back to sleep and awoke again at 8.30 to beautiful sunshine and you would never have known it had rained at all, the weather has been very hot all day. At 9 am i went down to the cocktail bar in the resort and started the day with a black russian cocktail and a bottle of heineken as i waited for the free ride from the resort to the main area of chaweng at around 10. The ride down was fantastic, i was sitting in the back of the jeep on the outside in beautiful sunshine and going down the mountain and into chaweng and the scenery was incredible, its such a gorgeous little island. The people at the resort are very friendly to talk too and i met a lovely german women who told me she had been travelling around australia for almost a year and working and going home soon।i have spent मोस्ट ऑफ़ the Beach ऎंड had a maal oeph karab in karrii povdar, along vith paark noodals nd a phruit joos, a phev kokes nd a nis aais karen। i have phound a svenssons hiyar (tel pol) nd i vil tarii thaat letar in the viik। aur maybe tumoro।i vil be buking 2 phul de tours, van on vednesday vhich inkludes yelephant trekking, a vaalk in the jangal, siing the mummiphiyed monk, the grandmother nd grandphaather rochks, siing the krokodiles (somone told mii yoo kain put your hed in tere maauth but i vil sii!!!), siing the monkeys vorking the kokunut triis nd a phev other things vhich i phoraget। the other toor vhich i maay do on phriday is to spend the de phishing in the saauth chaainaa sii on van oeph the laarge phishing boatsd vith a nis lanch, yetak.....the jangal hat i eum staaying in has a laarge bed nd a baatharoom, i heard lotas oeph diphpherent yeniimal noises laast nighat but nothing kaam in!! lol nd vith the moskuito net i diid not get biit mach iph at al। the door is siiled at the bottom nd al the ve raaund nd has a padlokk to sikyor the propartii asnd i just kiip the ke vith mev (i kno mam vaas bound to ask।hovs yeveryone at mitii dong? i appreikaate ther kol laast viik nd i hop yoo al kiip in kaantaakt, vhen is thaat go-karting nighat? oh, btv kevin - the amount oeph stunning voomen hiyar vould blo yoo aave, chaveng baach is like a goldmine।i vil post bek agan letar in the viik oeph vhenevar i kain, iph iv missed anything then just se, i'm oeph to have a litil vaalk around chaveng nd मय्बे गरब सोमेथिंग to एअत।ब्त्व - आईटी इस स्त्रंगे टाइपिंग थिस अस आईटी इस अल in थाई बुत इ कैन'टी कनवर्ट आईटी to इंग्लिश उन्तिल the एंड।एनी क्यू'एस थें लेट मी क्नोटेक करे, g

मोंदय २६ नवम्बर २००७ @ ४:30 पम

अह्ह्छ!!! नो इ कैन'टी फंड हाउ तो चंगे थे फॉण्ट, इट्स वोर्केद ओं सोम वोर्ड्स। आईटी मिघ्त बे इन इंग्लिश ओं यौर पीसी'एस, इफ आईटी इस ग्रेट, इफ नॉट थें यू कैन जुस्त हिघ्लिघ्त थे टेक्स्ट ऎंड चंगे थे फॉण्ट इन्तो इंग्लिश, बाय bye