Berlin, Germany.

Berlin has been on the top of my 'to visit' list for a while now so when given the chance to choose where we went this summer it was an easy decision. For years I'd heard tales of Berlin's rich culture, vibrant society and emotional presence... I couldn't wait to indulge myself.

The S Bahn journey offered us our first glimpses of the many sides to this amazing city. We passed large construction sites, old buildings scarred with bullet holes, breathtaking architecture and hippy communes on the river side before arriving at our destination in Friedrichshain.

For those of you who don't know Berlin, Friedrichshain is part of former East Berlin and is home to a thriving artistic community. But as we all know where there is culture the capitalists are not far behind so the area is slowly getting more developed and rent is going up, pushing a lot of the creatives out. Thankfully though Friedrichshain is hanging on in there for now with some amazing wee cafes, bars, shops and markets to explore. A must see in this area is the artists community down by the Warschauer Strasse line where there is a collection of galleries such as Urban Spree, a printmaking studio, climbing wall, skate park and collection of nightclubs where we spent one night partying in til the very early hours one day. This area also houses some amazing pieces of street art and graffiti so is well worth a visit for that alone. 

Across the bridge from here you are only a short walk away from East Side Gallery which is a free exhibition of murals painted on a remaining part of the Berlin Wall. A great example of Berlin's community taking something with negative memories and doing something positive with it in order to bring history alive and at the same time nurture their cities creativity. Ok not all the murals are mind blowing but it's still well worth a look, especially as big business is threatening to tear down this site and replace it with another generic office block of car park. From the end of the wall you can then cross the Oberbaum Bridge in to  Kreuzberg and you're now in West Berlin.  Kreuzberg is a pretty awesome part of the city to explore and is quickly taking over Friedrichshain's title of artist district. It might not seem as pretty, clean and outwardly welcoming but I urge you wander around and get lost. You'll discover some great wee eateries, riverside parties, amazing examples of street art by artists like BLU and a rich, diverse community that gives you a real insight to local life in Berlin.

History is everywhere in Berlin and it's hard to visit, explore or discuss the city without touching upon it's past, especially when there are so many visible reminders scattered across the city. The Berlin wall obviously still stands in sections which is impossible to experience without feeling a sense of how tough life behind it must have been. The centre of Berlin also seems like one big construction site, although some of this is due to what some are calling vanity projects this is also because they are still rebuilding parts of the city after it was pretty much flattened during the end of WW2. Bullet and shell holes are visible across many structures in the city as a powerful reminder of the conflict that once took place. Look down when you walk around the many areas of Berlin and you'll come across lots of small, brass cobbles which commemorate a Jewish person who died during the war placed in front of the building they used to live in. This all might sound very morbid but I think it's so important to experience these sights in order to learn, understand and feel emotion towards some of the darkest points in not just Berlin, but Europe's history. 

Another section rich with history and culture and probably one of our favourite areas visited was one of the last remaining artistic communities in Mitte in Rosenthaler Straße. This part of Mitte was the cheapest area to live in once the wall came down so many creatives set up camp and it grew in to a thriving, buzzing community which quickly attracted the big businesses and pushed the less wealthy out. In Rosenthaler Straße however one street has survived and houses a collection of galleries, studios, pubs, a cinema and cafes that are run by the residing artists. The area has survived capitalism due to the fact local hero Otto Weidt's workshop, where he saved many Jewish people during the war, is on this street and so the street is listed. Walking through entrance you are blown away by the amount of amazing street art and the friendly buzz of this place. There is an amazing art shop featuring work by local artists where I could have spent hundreds in and the Otto Weidt museum is also well worth a visit to learn about this amazing man, his family and friends. 

Berlin has everything you could possibly want to discover in a city. A thriving creative culture, determined and passionate locals, diverse communities, a rich history and exciting future. It's arrogant but humble, liberal but capitalist, poor but sexy. No matter what your background or interests there is something for everyone and I'm 100% convinced you will have a blast letting this city take you along for the ride, and if you're anything like us you really wont want to leave. 

Koh Samui & Koh Tao, Thailand.

Our original plan wasn't to go to Thailand, we were supposed to go to Japan but due to the earthquake and tsunami hitting and devastating Japan a few weeks before our intended arrival we had to re-plan our original route. This was done with a heavy heart as we really wanted to see Japan and help them out with our tourism but sadly our trip there will have to wait til another time.

So there we were in Melbourne, a couple weeks visa left and no real plans set in stone. We had two options; go home early (which we were already doing by three weeks for a wedding) or find an alternative option in Asia. It was a no brainer. Vietnam and Cambodia were our original focus as the idea of Thailand had never really appealed to me. From what I had heard it sounded completely over run with westerners and that western culture was creeping in. Our new flights were sorted out thanks to Kerry at STA (we owe all our limbs to for her incredible help) who had arranged a reroute to Singapore instead of Tokyo which was awesome as it's so cheap and easy to get around Asia from Singa. So with our flights booked it was just a matter of deciding where we'd be heading for. A late night binge of internet due to insomnia was to seal our fate. During the night googling I stumbled across a volunteer marine conservation programme on a small tropical island in the Gulf of Thailand. Knowing that Ryan loved diving it was perfect so we threw caution to the wind and booked our places hoping that the island would be as small and isolated from western culture as promoted.

Within a week we were scooting our way to Thailand landing in Koh Samui where we were to spend two nights before our placements on our “tropical island” (Koh Tao) began. Koh Samui is probably one of the better known islands in the gulf of Thailand as it's the biggest and most developed. That's if McDonalds, Tesco, fake clothes shops and English pubs are your idea of development. There's no harm in biting the bullet and absorbing yourself in the tacky lady boy, buckets of booze culture that Thailand has become so well known for. It is a great night out but just remember, there's more to Thailand than what the tourist industry has marketed it to be. Hire a scooter and you will find some awesome parts of Samui that represent a more realistic view of the Thai way of life. Some beautiful beaches, wee fishing towns and amazing temples are but a few things to explore and zipping around on a scooter is also a great way to shake off that Samsong bucket hangover. Just don't be a douche and pay to ride around on the backs of the mistreated and ill kept elephants that get promoted in a couple places on the island.

After a couple days of drinking Singha, eating Phad Thai, driving precariously around on a scooter and sweating our own body weight thanks to the high humidity and heat it was time for us to get the ferry across to Koh Tao. If you don't like sailing, don't go to Koh Tao. Unless that is you like watching a family of Chinese people vomiting throughout the entire journey due to the large size of waves and small size of the boat. It's also a bit disconcerting when you see sunk ship's masts sticking out the top of the water. Apart from all this we quite enjoyed the journey as it gives you an amazing view of Koh Phagnam and Koh Tao when you pull up to it. All these islands I should mention have become pretty famous thanks to 'The Beach' which was written whilst travelling around these islands and so making them the massive tourist attractions they are today. When you see these green, forest covered islands appearing on the horizon they fit the image that's been pumped in to your head by films and the media. They also reminded me a bit of Rio's green mountain landscape. Anyway point being, they are a strangely familiar yet spectacular site.

When we arrived in Koh Tao it was straight on to the back of a pick up truck which drove us, along with other people, to the dive school where we were to commence our volunteer work. We arrived, were briefed, shown our accommodation and were left to settle in. Our room was under £10 a night and was complete with a fan, toilet and shower. Cold sea water shower and no flushing toilet but it was so cheap you can't really complain about that and the cold showers were actually pretty nice in the high temperatures. For the next two weeks Ryan worked under the sea and I worked on land, both of us helping to make Koh Tao environmentally cleaner. Koh Tao is a beautiful island and we soon became really good friends with the crew on our volunteer team and these guys really made our stay amazing. Many laughs were had in the Sea Bar where we widdled away our nights on the beach and under the palm trees drinking Singhas, Mojitos and smoking shisha. Many more laughs were had in the Rasta bar but this was due to something else entirely. God bless the Rasta Bar and it's amazing bunch of barmen who never failed to keep us entertained with connect four, shithead, pizzas and home grown produce. Deisha also had the pleasure of inking a few of us up before our departure and I think myself, Ryan and Claire can honestly say we wouldn't have wanted anybody else to take a bamboo to our skin.

Our two weeks flew by on Koh Tao and we couldn't bare to think about leaving so we decided to extend our time there for another week. Well after a cheeky night out in Koh Samui to bid farewell to Claire and Rosie that is. Our last week on Thailand and last week of our year out was spent soaking up the sun, snorkelling, hanging out with great people and living the life some people can only dream of. It was the perfect way to spend our last week travelling and it made us realise how totally lucky we were to have experienced such a lifestyle. It did also of course make us dread heading back to the cold, industrial life of the UK but all good things must come to an end.

Leaving Koh Tao was an emotional experience. I'm not sure whether it was because we were leaving such good friends and a great way of life, were utterly hungover or because we knew this really was the end. Perhaps it was a bit of everything. The year had seemed to fly by and on the flight back to Singapore I felt a total sense of denial that it had even happened. It's like my brain wanted to forget the amazing year I had experienced in order to cope with the fact it was over. A very strange sensation and one that left me feeling pretty melancholy during the entire flight. Thankfully Ryan was his usual amazing self and had booked us in to the Raffles Hotel for our last night in Singapore. After living the year in shared dorms, on floors, in vans, in tents and in rooms with salt water showers we were now about to spend the night in one of the most famous, expensive and posh hotels in the world. It was utterly amazing and probably the best way to cheer us up and finish our year off. And to top it all off we had a flushing toilet!

Our last day was spent consuming more than an acceptable amount of Singapore Slings before catching our over night flight to London. We were walking out in to the rain at Aberdeen Airport before we knew it and we hadn't even touched down when we were already scheming our next trip away.

It has been a fricking amazing year, that's all we can really say to sum it up. We've seen and done so many awesome things, met so many awesome people and visited so many awesome places that it's hard to believe it all really happened. Without a doubt the best time of our lives was had and the best thing is knowing we're going to do it all again some day, once the bank balances have evened themselves out again. One thing's for sure, we arrived home just as lost and broke as we were when we started, and we wouldn't change that for the world.

Melbourne, Australia.

When we arrived in Melbourne we couldn't believe how cold it was. We'd spent so many months bumming around in shorts, vests and no shoes that the sudden twenty degree temperature was a shock to the system. Jeans, shoes and jumpers were now a staple and we spent the first couple of days adjusting to the weather. Luckily though we were staying with Ryan's great aunt and uncle, May and Eddie, who provided us with a nice warm welcome, room and plenty of hot meals to keep us toasty and happy.

Our first week in Melbourne was spent catching up with Ryan's family and checking out Melbourne city. Our Aussie friend Mike also lives in Melbourne so we spent our first weekend bush camping with him and a couple of mates. It may have pretty scary but we had a blast and enjoyed a proper Aussie BBQ as well as an exploding rock fire and some cheap but nice wine.

The next weekend the three of us went to the Rip Curl Bells Comp at Bells beach in Torquay. Much goon was consumed and we got to watch the women's quarters, semis and final which was just epic. It was a great way to spend the weekend kicking back with good people, good food and not so good but acceptable wine.

Melbourne is a pretty cool city. It's a lot more fun to explore than Sydney and has a slightly nicer buzz about it. You are spoiled for choice with awesome little eateries, pubs and restaurants. Take a wander down the back streets and alleys and you'll soon stumble across some real gems in the form of independent shops and cafes serving the most delicious food. Melbourne also has an incredibly vibrant arts scene with a scattering of galleries and venues waiting to spoil you with an abundance of art, music and live acts. I know I've said this before about Perth but Melbourne really does have something for everybody. The culture is so diverse that no matter what you feel like watching/eating/drinking you'll soon find something to devour.

If you're thinking of going to Australia and want to go somewhere exciting, a bit different but contemporary then go to Melbourne. You wont be disappointed.

We Like Whale Sharks. West Coast Australia.

Unlike the East Coast of Australia I'm just going to do one big clump blog for the West Coast. This is not because the West Coast is any less deserving, it's mainly because we followed a similar pattern in each destination; drive, arrive, swim and drink. It's amazing though how this never becomes dull and I have come to heavily admire the life of a beach bum, however swollen their livers may be.

Our West Coast adventure started by meeting Jenn and Cal in Perth where we stayed for a couple of nights to pick up our camper vans and to watch an Australia Football League match. For those of you who are not familiar with AFL, get familiar! It is possibly the only team sport I can bring myself to watch. I'm not going to get in to any detail as to why you should watch it, figure that our for yourself.

After Perth we began our epic journey and headed North up the coast. Our first stop was the Pinnacles. The Pinnacles, for those of you who don't know, are a variety of rock formations that span for a good few kilometres. This may sound pretty boring but they are actually quite interesting and it's good to get out and have a wander around them all, admiring their different shapes and sizes. This was also to be our first encounter of one of the most annoying species on our trip, flies. It's hard for me to describe how many flies there were without sounding melodramatic so all I will say is this; I felt like one of those orphans you see on TV with flies all over their face. This may sound a little bit harsh and yes I had food and access to clean water but I have found a new sympathy for these children and will be donating to oxfam as soon as I get home.

Ignoring the flies, which was pretty much impossible. Oh Jenn actually sneezed one out that's how bad it was. But yes ignoring the flies, next we headed towards Kalbarri National Park which in a nutshell had lots of pretty stunning views of the coastline. The sea really is beautiful in Australia and it's almost like every coast you go to beats the one before. Which seems rather impossible at the time. After Kalbarri we headed up towards Shark Bay and Monkey Mia where we got to see some pretty antisocial dolphins, grown men getting picked to feed to the before said dolphins and yet again more awesome scenery. I loved Monkey Mia as it had an awesome campsite right on the beach so you could basically roll out of your van and in to the sea. You can't ask for much more than that can you?

Next on our trip was Coral Bay where we arrived just in time for sunset and WOW what a sunset. Because we had been on the East for so long we hadn't seen a sunset on the beach (as the sun rises from the sea on the east) so it was a pretty awesome sight to behold. We spent a couple days chilling here and basking in the water where we saw a large sting ray and that's about all. On our last night we drank in the sunset by having a BBQ right on the beach which was pretty special to say the least.

After Coral Bay it was time to head to Exmouth which was to be as far as we were going to go on this trip. Exmouth is famous for it's whale shark diving and swimming tours. As soon as you drive in to the town this is made apparent with whale shark statues and drawings for as far as the eye can see. This isn't the prettiest wee town but it caters for what it's main demand is – diving tourism. We had a couple of days to wait before our whale shark charter so we spent a day or two chilling at the pool and snorkelling Ningaloo Reef from Turquoise Bay. Remember what I said about the beaches getting better and better? Well Turquoise Bay pretty much took the biscuit. This has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever laid my eyes upon. When you lie on the beach and stare out at the crazily turquoise coloured water your eyes struggle to soak it all in, it's almost too perfect to compute. The snorkelling here is unbelievable, within a couple of minutes paddling you come across the most beautiful, vivid and lively corals just buzzing with sea life. We all saw some pretty amazing fish and it was pretty surreal having them swim around us so calmly. You can only hope that Ningaloo doesn't reach the same fate as the great barrier as that would be a great shame and loss but going by the amount of dead coral washed up and the amount of uneducated snorkelers getting completely unrestricted access to this natural paradise I fear it won't be long before tourism and humans take their toll on this delicate ecosystem.

After much lounging, turning in to prunes from excess water exposure and a few bad cases of sunburn it was finally time for our whale shark charter. Myself, Ryan and Jenn were beyond excited about this and getting up at 6am seemed less daunting than it should when we had the thought of a whale shark pressed on our minds. Whale Sharks are sharks, not whales, and are the biggest fish on the planet. They are pretty elusive and we don't know much about them but we do know the congregate in certain areas at certain times of the year, usually coinciding with coral spawning as they feed of this. Ningaloo, luckily for us, is one of the places in the world where whale sharks are regularly spotted and we had pretty much been promised a sighting of one of these amazing creatures. After a wee briefing and reef snorkel our charter boat set sail full speed ahead to go on the hunt for some whale sharks. The water around Ningaloo is so clear and sitting on the boat alone we saw giant turtles, spinner dolphins, black tip reef sharks and a bronze whaler shark. The latter of which is not the most comforting sight when you're about to jump in the water with ten other people and splash around. After half an hour or so our captain had caught word of a whale shark spotting and before we knew it we were in the water swimming along side on of these awesome creatures. They are MASSIVE, very beautiful and faster than they seem! We got to snorkel twice with three different sharks and each time was just as amazing as the first. If you ever get the chance to swim or dive with these sharks you really have to grab it because it will be one of the best things you ever do.

Whale Sharks were the highlight of our tour and the marking of the end being close. We packed up our things and headed back to Perth where we stayed a few more nights, ate some amazing food and got the opportunity to join a 6am beach walk and swim with my mum's friend Helen. The West Coast and Perth are pretty cool indeed. There's something for everybody and so much to explore! We were gutted not to make it down to Margaret River so that's a must for next time. Now it was time for us to hit up Melbourne and visit many friends and family for some very good times!

Maroochydore, East Coast Australia.

Not drastically different from Noosa, Maroochydore is a more industrial feeling town that sits slightly lower down on the east coast of Australia. Surf is yet again one of the locals main focuses and this is probably to do with the fact Maroochy boasts some of the best beaches on the coast. Like many other beaches on the east coast we have found the water temp warm, the sand white and clean and the presence of surf life savers high. Not to mention the sight of those lone paddle boarders who seem to appear suddenly in the line up as soon as your tempted to go for a paddle, a nationwide problem.

SUP's aside, Maroochy is yet another pleasant place to widdle away some time. We were pretty broke while we stayed there and constricted to a $20 a day budget so most activities we pursued were of the free kind. Going for walks, lazing on the beach, swimming in the sea and eyeing up the surf for a wee paddle were generally all we did during our week here. I should mention that the weather and humidity levels were extremely high during our stay so lethargy was a big problem. Our hostel, although nice, lacked any sort of air conditioning so our nights were sleepless and our days sleepy. When the weather is suffocating like that the best thing to do is to spend all day in the sea which really never gets boring, even if you are just sitting collecting sand and seashells in your bikini bottoms. Or you could do what we did and try and perfect the art of body surfing. Be warned you will scrape your body to bits and flash your norks to the entire beach as you surface realising your bikini top has been blasted off you, but it's good way to cool down and whittle away a good few hours. It really does never get boring, honestly.

I'm sure something else exciting must have happened while we were there but to be honest I have been a bit lazy on the blog front of late so my memory is a bit like candy floss. In a nutshell Maroochy is good and we'd go back if we were ever in the area again. How's that for a travel review?

Noosa, East Coast Oz.

We were looking forward to heading to Noosa as so many people we met had told us how epic it was. I personally liked the name so that was enough to sell it to me. Noosa's not too different to Byron or Yamba, I think it's a little bit bigger but it's spirit is the same; chilled out and beach orientated. We lucked out again with a super nice hostel so settled in on our first night and looked forward to not having to move our heavy bags for the next five nights.

In Noosa you're spoiled for choice with beaches and surf spots. We accidentally timed our stay during the surfing festival too so the water was full of longboarders waiting to fight over the scraps of sets coming in. We seem to be cursed when it comes to good conditions and arrived in Noosa for their worst week (according to the local surf shop man) all summer. The waves were ok for longboarders but not so fun with our shortboards, we were pretty much two of a handful of people not on fishes or longboards. Sunshine beach would have been a bit more promising had the winds not turned it in to a hectic mushy mess. So the first couple of days were spent chilling at our rad hostel and just cruising about town. The weather was nice and everybody in Noosa is super friendly so we coped fairly well despite the lack of the surf.

When we finally got in the water, it wasn't the best but it was good to get a paddle in the super warm water and ride some of the local waves. The beach and surf comp had been evacuated out the water the day after our arrival due to two great whites but thankfully we never came across them during our time in the water. I bet they're gutted about that one, we would have made two tasty snacks after munching on fish and chips.

One of our highlights of our time in Noosa had to be Australia Zoo. It was simply epic. It's more like a safari park than a zoo as all the animals are pretty much left to roam around in massive enclosures that are acres large (the zoo is over 72 acres in total and still expanding as they create a massive Africa land). Some animals aren't even enclosed and are left to freely roam around the park interacting with other animals and all the tourists. The fact that loads of the animals could easily escape but choose not to said a lot about the place. Highlights of the zoo had to be holding a baby Tasmanian devil, being able to walk around and feed kangaroos in their fields and getting to feed the giraffes. We weren't allowed too close to the giraffes as they are easily scared, skittish and can kick or lash out easily but it was still an awesome experience. It's probably the first zoo we've ever been to where we haven't felt sorry for the animals or felt that they are hard done by. On the contrary many were rescued animals or severely endangered species that were the result of a breeding programme.

We were a bit gutted that Steve Irwin wasn't there but he still has a massive beyond the grave presence, appearing on every animal information plaque, on all information leaflets and even plastered on the side of the bus you take the zoo. You even watch Stevo films on the one hour journey to and from the zoo. It's Stevo overload but I think he's a legend so it kept me amused throughout.

Noosa seemed to attract a lot of mellow people so we had good times just hanging around the hostel in between visits to the beach and food shop. There was also a sun melted ping pong table that we utilised during our ciders, just a shame there was no champagne on offer to indulge in cham-pong. When it came to our last night we begrudgingly packed up our bags, which by the way seem to be no lighter despite sending home about 20kg of clothes each. We woke up early and pulled our heavy shells on to our backs and trudged to the bus where we met our first arse of a greyhound driver and headed back down the coast to Maroochydore. Again I liked the name of this place so I had a good feeling some good times would be had. The theory had worked out so far.

Surfers Paradise, East Coast Oz.

Yeah, it's a dump.

Byron Bay, East Coast Oz.

Byron Bay. Where reprobates from around the world flock to smoke as many spliffs, munch as many mushrooms and live the lives of people way before their time. It's hard not to like Byron Bay. As soon as you arrive you feel at home except your home doesn't have quite as much tie dye or smell of inscent sticks 24/7.

We were staying at the Arts Factory which is pretty infamous in Byron for it's relaxed attitude and fondness for parties. The Factory was a hippy commune in the 70s which later became a music venue in the 80s and 90s before settling in as a hostel. It sits a bit out of town in a swamp land/forest and it's easy to imagine all those hippies many years ago living a pretty happy existence there. The main part of the hostel is open plan with no doors or partitions blocking your way to the outside. In the courtyard you have many chill out areas, hammocks and pathways leading around and between the swamp lake and forest campground. Water Dragons are everywhere basking in the sun and weird giant turkey like birds run around continually foraging for food. When you're sitting swinging in a hammock taking in your surroundings you feel completely content and can quite understand how so many people get sucked in to never leaving this place. Then you hear one of the many annoying American or British people that seem to congregate there like an Ibiza club 18-30 posse and you quickly feel like escaping to the pub.

But yeah Arts Factory aside Byron is a pretty nice place to spend some time. You have the main beach pretty much right in the centre of town and point breaks along the coast as well as more spots in nearby towns/places. The town itself is pretty mellow and you can walk or skate around just taking your surroundings in without feeling swamped by people or tourists. It's only really when the Greyhound bus appears and offloads all the backpackers or when everybody heads in to the crappy nightclubs do you feel the massive presence of tourism. We were tourists ourselves of course but a lot of the tourists who came to Byron had a different agenda to us.

On one day we knew the surf would be pomp in Byron so we missioned it through to Coolangatta to watch the Quiky Pro Finals which was just epic. To see the world's top surfers shred at Snapper Rock was just surreal and the blazing weather only made it all the much better. Coola's only an hour or so away from Byron but it was amazing to see how much better the surf was there, we were pretty gutted we didn't take our boards and left swearing to return one day.

Like many places in the world we've visited, we were sad to leave Byron. If it had mountains near by I would move there in an instance but I'm not sure if the constant stream of (mainly British) tourists would become annoying after a while. Either way we'll be gutted if we never go back so it's been added to our quickly growing list of places to return to in the future. Next was Surfers Paradise which we'd heard was a total dump but we decided we might as well see it while it was so close.

Yamba, East Coast Oz.

We only stayed 3 nights in Yamba and didn't really get up to much in this wee coastal town as the surf was pretty rubbish whilst we were there. Yamba is an awesome wee place though. Everybody there seems to have the same agenda and chilled out doesn't even begin to sum up the atmosphere.

We were also stoked with the hostel we stayed in there. The only one in town we didn't have much choice but we couldn't have asked for a better place to stay. It was a YHA which we usually steer clear of as they tend to be pretty clinical and over priced but the staff at the Yamba place couldn't have been nicer. They upgraded us to a private room at no extra cost and sold $2.50 beers to all residents so we were pretty happy with all that!

We were pretty sad to leave as we met some really cool people there, the town was awesome and the surf points looked to have real potential but the forecast for the following week was pretty poor so we decided to scoot up to Byron pronto after seeing their forecast was looking a little more promising.

What bridge? Sydney, Australia.

In typical fashion we'd booked a hostel right splat bang in the middle of Kings Cross, the red light district of the City. So our first glimpse of Sydney was it's seedy underbelly of alcoholics, strip joints and drug addicts which we had strangely missed the sight of in New Zealand. Our first night was spent wandering around Kings Cross and it's neighbouring areas trying to find our bearings and soak in a little bit of the city.

What we're quickly learning is that if you've seen one city, you've seen them all. Yeah one might be bigger, one might have a taller and more extravagant “sky tower” and one might have more money than the next, but really they're all the same format; rich shops in one area, arts quarter in another, harbour with fish market and a tourist viewing spot usually at a square or “plaza” of some sort. Throw in a couple of museums and subways (the takeaways) and there you have it, another city.

Sydney of course however has it's world famous and iconic bridge, so famous indeed that I never really knew it existed until I was standing looking at it. I know I'm such a philistine. No, bridges don't do it for me. They serve a purpose that I can appreciate but as far as demanding some sort of aesthetic praise they need to be a little more visually innovative than just your average bridge design. Sydney Opera House however is slightly more interesting. As you walk around it you can appreciate the time and effort that went in to creating this symbol of Sydney. I still don't think it would stand a chance in a fight with perhaps say Sagrada Familia but it's impressive to see none the less. We viewed it both during the day and night and would definitely recommend the night as a better time to soak it in all lit up with the dark oily water surrounding it. At night time you also have an amazing view of the city all lit up reflecting on the waves below, oh and of course the bridge has some lights on it too.

In an attempt to save money we decided to walk everywhere during our stay in Sydney. This is a great way to see the city but be prepared from some long stages between different locations. After our first day of walking back and forth we literally felt like our legs had bags of sands on the bottom and the final steps towards the hostel felt as if we were trying to reach Mount Everest base camp. It helped keep us semi fit though so we can't complain too much. For those who told us Sydney was expensive we would like to boast how we survived on a $20 daily budget between us. Now we're not saying this was pleasant but it's doable and wasn't too much of a struggle. We found a pretty cheap, nice supermarket that had fresh and reasonably priced food to cook with and if you fancy takeaway we found an awesome Mexican which did deals on tacos and burritos. There was also Pie Face where you could get a pie with mash and gravy for around $5! Yeah you kind of have to throw your healthy diet out the window to embrace the $20 a day budget but beggars can not be choosers.

One of the first things we noticed when we arrived in our hostel is how much heavier your average traveller is on this side of the world. Perhaps this is Sydney specific but we reckon it's a prime example of cheap eating and heavy drinking resulting in putting on those extra pounds (in some cases more severely than others). We witnessed a few people having piles of toast for breakfast, pasta for lunch AND dinner and we all know that's a disaster waiting to happen when you throw in a goon bag a night on top of that carby diet! We do our best to eat as healthy as possible but over here it is actually way more expensive to eat healthy, so if we look like that bird that turned in to a blueberry in Charlie and the chocolate factory by the end of Oz, don't be too surprised.

Ok to save me making this in to a large ranting blog that most of you have already stopped reading I am going to squish most information in to my favourite style of writing – A LIST! So below you will find what we found to be the best things to do and see in Sydney;




- Sydney Aquarium. Now we're not the biggest fans of animal captivity but they have a banging shark conservation area where you can see sharks moving in their eggs, baby sharks and also walk through a shark tunnel for a close encounter of experience. EPIC! Oh they have seahorses too.

- Sydney Maritime Museum. Yeah another shark exhibition but it was EPIC!

- White Rabbit Gallery. This is probably the best gallery I've ever been in. The staff are super friendly and the collection really interesting and more importantly fun. That word rarely gets used in relation to exhibitions or art for that matter.

- Sydney Fish Market. Fresh fish cooked for you on the spot and bring your own booze, do I really need to say any more?

- Sydney Opera House. Yeah you might as well ey?

- Giant Bats. Yes, giant bats. Walk through the city at dusk and you might be lucky enough to see the swarms of these beasts fly right above your head. Don't go in to the parks though, I'm sure we heard them kill and eat a baby.

- Chinatown. Just the same as all other Chinatown's really but you can score some cheapish food if your budgets higher than ours.

- Paddy's Market. The biggest collection of cheap shite you will ever see.

- Guzman y Gomez. The best cheap Mexican food you will eat in your life. And they speak to you in Spanish so you can feel like a total Tursista answering back in the ill learned Spanish you picked up in South America. Winner!

- Drink a Goon bag. Basically cheap nasty wine which apparently has no title (pinot etc.). It comes by the box, costs around ten bucks and is filtered through fish guts. A classic Aussie drink which tastes a bit like a glass of watery butter.

- Walk everywhere. It might seem a long way. It is. But it saves you a tonne and you see a lot more of the place.

- Stay in a hostel and feel thin even if you're not. Because nobody else is.

- Get a Greyhound bus pass. This doesn't strictly apply to just Sydney but it seems like the best way to travel around to us. You get bundle passes where you can travel up the entire east coast and hop and off as much as you want for 90 days, our pass cost $180. The buses are standard and the drivers have banter so it's a win, win situation really unless you're super unlucky or super picky.

So that's about it I think. Sydney in a nutshell. I'm sure there is much more things to see and do, Bondi for example. But we found 3 days enough for us to spend in a city and were pretty stoked to get on the over night bus and head up north to the coast away from all the hustle and bustle. Next on our list is Yamba, so mysterious it would seem that not even Sydney locals had heard of it. Don't they have maps in Sydney?

Pavlova anyone?

It's been a while since I've stuck a wee yarn up on here so I thought we should honour the end of our time in New Zealand with a classic blog post.

So we've been here for almost 6 months now and time has flown. When we first arrived we thought the day would never come for us to leave but time's funny like that and now we're getting ready to embark on the next leg of our trip. After the initial blood curdling regret of leaving South America too early we have settled in to the kiwi way of life and made a home for ourselves in this funny shaped island. I got a job in Takapuna which is just outside Auckland and through this job we met some amazing people and made some life long friends. Without sounding too sentimental I don't know what we would have done without this crazy bunch. They opened up their arms and welcomed us in with complete generosity and many large drinks. That is the best part about travelling. Meeting people who restore your faith in human kindness.

Once you relax and open your eyes to New Zealand you can begin to appreciate it for what it is. A beautiful island with endless green landscapes and breathtaking coasts. You're spoiled for choice with top class surf spots and there's always “New Zealand's best pie shop” around every corner you turn. Ok I admit it's not drastically different from Scotland but I can't help but think that this is what Scotland would have been like a 100 years ago before oil, capitalism, Stewart Milne and the Scottish Government took a big steaming dump on it. New Zealand seems almost untouched in comparison. The people are proud of their scenery and haven't yet seemed to succumb to ruining it with ugly constructions for the sake of a quick buck. I guess we'll see what happens in the future.

Anyway enough of the heartfelt analysis suffice to say New Zealand's not as bad as we thought it was when we first arrived. If you're thinking about coming here but don't really know much about the place I decided to make a list of observations that may or may not be useful;

- Kiwis don't like to wear shoes. I don't know what this is about as I'm pretty sure they can afford them.

- If you're a fat girl you're pretty much guaranteed to hook up here. FACT.

- Racism is acceptable, especially if aimed at asians. I think they might just be jealous of the fact they have shoes.

- Every pie shop is “New Zealand's Best Pie Shop”. Even the petrol stations.

- Everybody is your brother.

- The ozone layer above NZ is no thicker than cling film stretched over a toilet seat. You burn faster than spit roasted boar so slap on that sun cream!

- There's a crap load of christians. It's like the 50s but everybody dresses better. Oh and the churches look like nightclubs. Maybe this is why there's so many, maybe they don't realise they're churches.

- It's ok to be rude, everybody does it!

- You don't have to tip. I think this falls under the rude umbrella.

- There are sharks everywhere but apparently they don't eat anybody. Likely story.

- A lot of the places sound a bit like swear words. Giggle.

- Rat tails are IN. I'm not sure why the memo from France during the early 90s didn't reach them.

- Everybody has a super nice car. The chavs ride classic motors like mustangs and ford cortinas.

- Burgers are massive and awesome. This could explain the fat birds.

- Everybody is SUPER FIT (apart from the fat birds).

- Cider is classy and beer is common.

- Everybody hates Aucklanders. I'm not sure why, we thought they seemed ok.

- The wild life is RAD. Apart from the man eating sharks.

- HELLS PIZZA. Pretty much the best.


So yeah I think that's all you really need to know before coming here. Screw you lonely planet guide book!

When we first came here we thought the kiwis were a funny wee bunch. Having lived here for a while now we have come to learn their ways and laugh at the ones who at first perplexed us. Everybody I worked with is a perfect example of a rad kiwi; super friendly, up for banter, proud of their country and unbelievably generous. Yeah there's a lot of rude douchebags but you get that anywhere in the world and I guess maybe it's not rudeness, just a culture difference.

Come to New Zealand if you want epic surf in amazing aqua blue sea. Come if you like eating meaty pies and chugging rich tasty ales. Come if you like trying to fit your arms around massive trees. Come if you're a total nerd and obsessed with Lord of the Rings. Come if you want to feel like an idiot trying to pronounce name on road maps. Don't come if you want to see a kiwi bird, you wont.

New Zealand, the North Island, Part Uno.

Stepping foot on to the North Island of NZ is like arriving in an entirely different country. The people more diverse, the climate hotter and the swell noticeably bigger. We hadn't had much luck on the paddle front down South so we were hungry to feast on the October swell that was dominating the West coast. After a couple of uneventful days awaiting our medicals in Wellington, we speeded up North a-sap towards Raglan with our arms still feeling like pin cushions. Raglan for those of you who haven't heard is the NZ Mecca of surfing. Pretty much every town on the North Island's coast claims this title but only Raglan actually deserves it. A sleepy little coastal town with a handful of surf spots nearby, all brimming with beautiful leftys. We lucked out time wise and had arrived just in time to catch the end of the bigger winter swells. The next few days were spent in the water feeding off the sets of almost perfect waves which tumbled in one after another for what seemed like hours and hours. We knew this dream couldn't last forever and right enough after a few awesome days the sea turned eerily flat which was enough to motivate our lazy arses to shift in to gear and seek out new spots to revel in.

My new boss had tipped us off about a sweet surf spot right up North called Shipwrecks Bay which is apparently home to the longest lefty in NZ. He also told us the swell was looking good for the next few days which was enough to convince us to hop in to Plop and cruise up the winding mountainous roads of the North which feel more than a challenge without power steering. Five hours after leaving Takapuna we arrived at Shipwreck bay just in time for waves to be picking up. Full of anticipation we jumped in our wetties and paddled out in to the amazingly warm and clear aqua water. We soon found out the rumour of Shippers epic leftys was no lie. In almost perfect symmetry wave after wave broke, peeling along in perfection for as far as the eye could see. Even the smaller breaks that would usually be mush on a regular beach were perfect little waves peeling away happily in to the shore. And crowds, they don't exist here. We're talking about 3 or 4 locals who spread out along the reef and beach break too busy having a good time to spoil anybody else's fun. Yup Shippers was peachy and we even scored an awesome camping spot right on the bay which was owned by local Maori Willy; “complete with flushing toilet and warm shower”. Well you can't ask for much more than that can you?

Shippers was sweet but it only works every so often when the swell checks in to town, which at this time of year wasn't as much as we'd like! So off we headed again back down South towards Raglan where we spent a few more days before we caught wind of giant swell hitting the Coromandel and Mount area which was on the East coast about two hours away from us. After yet another mellow drive we arrived in Whangamata and pulled up to the bay to see around twenty keen surfers in what can only be described as utterly massive waves. The currents were wreaking havoc though and not knowing the spot too well we decided to play it safe and head for Mount Maunganui which was just down the road and catching equally good swell but with a bigger beach to play on. Again we pulled up to a sea full of little black spots of people so decided to catch some zeds and head out for an early surf instead. The next morning was just as busy so we drove along the beach until we found a slightly less crowded spot. The waves were huge but the currents were there in force to make sure you didn't have too much fun. Paddling out was a bitch but our perseverance was rewarded with monster waves, a few of which were our biggest yet standing tall at around six foot. After a couple of good days of getting two sessions a day in the sea yet again turned flat. Which was probably for the best as we found out just before we left that a couple of three to four metre great whites had been spotted lurking in the water. That explained the helicopters then.

With a lack of enthusiasm to head anywhere too off to radar we decided to head back to Raglan again where we had established a nice little group of friends and so it was starting to feel a bit like a second home. Alas by now the Summer had rolled in to town and so along with the sun came the drop in swell. Yes there was always waves but the winds always in the wrong direction or the swell never really big enough to salvage much. But beggars can not be choosers and as long as the surf wasn't complete and utter mush we'd be out there trying to make the most of it. And so this brings us to present day. I (Katie) start work in a few days so gone are the days of complete freedom to chase the swell and live the search. It's only three days a week though so we're hoping we can cram in a lot of adventures in between office hours. And plus summer is here now so if all else fails there's always a sunny beer garden just waiting to be exploited by a couple of rowdy Scots.

New Zealand, the South Island.

After a long over night flight from Santiago we finally arrived in Auckland bleary eyed and kind of bushy tailed. I was perhaps more bleary eyed than usual after not getting a wink of sleep for fear of missing out on the free drinks and food. The thought of bed couldn't have excited me more when the plane touched down so you can just imagine our delight when the pilot announced our arrival time as 4AM, not 4pm like we had expected. And guess what? Our hostel didn't open until 10am. So we had five lovely hours in Auckland airport to enjoy before catching a bus in to town.

Our journey in to Auckland city was the start of our major culture shock. Gone were the rickety old cars, tiny happy people and laid back attitude of South America. Everything was big, clean and brash with not a touch of orange dust or brown smog in sight. We quickly came to miss the happy, chilled out people of SA when the first kiwis we had the pleasure of meeting turned out to be pretty rude, arrogant and bizarrely bitter about the fact we were Scottish. It also probably didn't help that we were still replying to any question in Spanish as a reflex.

We'd met a couple of awesome kiwis in SA though so we decided that they couldn't all be that bad and chose to persevere rather than do an about turn and hop on to the quickest flight back to Chile.

The plan for NZ was to travel by van so we utilised our unexpected twelve hours to find our home for the next four months. I'm not sure whether it was love at first sight our a hasty decision brought on by jet-lag but by 3pm we had Plop, our very own racing red 1991 Toyota Hiace. Complete with double bed, gas stove and burnt cooking pot. As you can imagine we hadn't expected to pick up such a beaut so quickly so there was only one way to celebrate, with a pint.

Off we plopped the next day making a speedy descent towards Wellington where we were to catch the ferry to the South Island. Due to our ignorance, lack of knowledge (and to be honest lack of actually giving a toss) we had no idea that Wellington was the capital of NZ. We later greatly offended a native kiwi by stating that we thought it was quite small. Well I stand by that statement, as far as cities go it's nae big but it's nice enough.

The ferry ride to the South Island was a strange one. Any ferry crossings that last more than four hours should, in my opinion, be spent in the bar. For a start the bar was shut. So that was the end of that idea. I looked around the ferry lounge for some sort of inspiration but was instead met by a wall of silence reinforced by what I can only describe as a group of lethargic zombies. Nobody was uttering a single word and it was beginning to freak me out. What was wrong with these people? Had we some how coincided our crossing with the entire population of deaf and dumb kiwis? Perhaps it was me that had turned deaf? No I could still hear Ryan snoring......so why the hell was nobody talking to each other? I never did find out the answer to that one suffice to say I was overjoyed to get off that boat pronto when it docked in Picton.

After our first proper sleep in Plop we headed towards Wanaka to meet an old friend of mine that I hadn't seen for years. It was coming to the end of the winter season but the mountains still had a respectable dusting of snow and looked stunning in contrast with the vivid aqua blue lakes which lay below them. Wanaka, like every where else it would seem, was much smaller than we expected. On first appearances it reminded me a bit of Quebec with it's wooden Canadianesque houses. This is where the similarities ended. Wanaka is where we also discovered that the kiwis think they invented the pie and that Scottish people are apparently tight bastards. Enough said on that one we think.

Next on our trip was Queenstown where Euan and Ailsa now lived so off we plopped through the winding mountain roads accompanied by my good friend Lisa. No journey to Queenstown was of course complete without a visit to Arrowtown's “FAMOUS PIE SHOP”. Granted the pies were good but we were all pretty shocked by the rude woman who served us, she put any grumpy weegie to shame. Later on we found out this shop was just as famous for it's service without a smile as it's gourmet pies (I.e bolognese).

It was pissing with rain when we arrived in Q-T and we felt like we had warped back to Scotland during the journey. The next few hours were spent drinking copious amounts of beers with Euan and grabbing a famous (yup everything here is famous) Ferg Burger once Ailsa had finished work. Fergs is basically THE fast food joint to be SEEN in in Queenstown and it sells abnormally large burgers. We felt so ill after so much meat and beer that we had to have an early night which almost resulted in me having to go to the toilet in the cooking pot.

After being the star contributor of a word puzzle, drinking large quantities of alcohol and eating way over our RDI of meat it was time for us to head to Dunedin where Lisa now studied and lived. We had heard the surf was epic at Dunedin so we were pretty amped to get back on the coast. The swell however had different plans. The first few days were spent checking out the flat sea hour after hour until we struck it lucky and got a good couple of days of waves. We also met up with some old family friends who went to uni with my mum and dad and it was rad to see them all again along with Martin's wee boy Ethan who's dead cute and Martin's girlfriend Vicki who will be a good friend from now on. D-town also had an amazing selection of sushi restaurants which we indulged ourselves in daily.

After spending a good few weeks there and fitting in a quick trip down South to the Catlins we decided it was time to check out some other spots on the South Island. It was sad saying goodbye to all our new and old friends but we hope to see them again in the future. Off we plopped again and headed back towards Queenstown where we spent another couple of boozey days with Ailsa and Euan and also got to bungee jump which was an epic experience (Many thanks to Euan for hooking us up with that).

Next on the cards was Fox Glacier. There was a rad wee camp spot here where we spent a couple of rainy days before heading to Rangitata River where we did our first ever white water rafting experience which was so much fun. Neither of us got flipped out of the raft so we considered that a pretty good effort.

It was at this point that funds started to become low so we decided to start seeking for some part time work. I emailed pretty much every surf/skate/snow store in the country and was stoked to get a bunch of interviews so we headed North sooner than planned after dropping off for a quick overnight visit at our friend Erin's in C-church where we enjoyed beers in the sun and some awesome homemade burgers.

The South Island had been an experience in a half shell. Although a hard adjustment from SA living we met some amazing new (and old) friends, saw some utterly breathtaking scenery and gave a good effort in seeing as much as we could in Plop. The North Island was calling us though and we were excited about seeking out it's infamous surf spots and basking in it's warmer climate. So off we plopped back on to the ferry, which was slightly more lively this time, and began our journey back upwards.

Machu Picchu, Peru.

Like all good travel adventures, things rarely go to plan and Machu Picchu was no exception. After spending a week or so in Peru everybody we had met had been telling us that we simply HAD to climb Huayna Picchu as it was the highlight of the Machu Picchu experience. We had never heard about HP before arriving in Peru but soon learned it was the larger of two mountains that overlook MP in all the photos you will see of the site. Great we thought, sounds amazing. The only snag was that only 400 people a day are allowed to enter the HP site which means you have to get to the entry gates of MP super early in order to be one of the lucky few to get the access stamp on your ticket.

Always up for a challenge we decided to chance our luck and headed towards the Ollantaytambo train station in an attempt to change our train tickets to enable us to arrive in Aguas Calientes earlier than planned. We were lucky and managed to get the 11pm train out of Ollan that night which arrived in AC at 1am. The only flaw in this plan was that we had not arranged a hostel so we decided that we would either find one when we arrived or sleep rough at the MP gates. We had to get up at 4am to trek to the gates anyway so we figured this was no biggie.

Our train rolled in to AC bang on time and when exiting the carriage we were harassed by a few locals touting their hostels. We decided to chance it and agreed to a room for 20 soles that some guy that looked like a wrestler was selling. We quickly began to regret this decision as the huge man and his skinny sidekick started to lead us down some dark streets. We finally arrived at a door which led us in to a basement with what looked like a common room and one bedroom. The room was basic to say the least and I didn't get a wink of sleep expecting the wrestler to come in at any moment armed with rope and some chloroform. I was so happy when the time came to leave the hostel, relieved we hadn't been turned in to human traffic.

The next twenty five minutes were spent walking towards the first set of gates of Machu Picchu. We were quite pleased to arrive in good time but our happiness was to be short lived. It turned out that we couldn't buy our MP entrance tickets at the gates, we had to go back to AC to get them. Annoyed and gutted at the misinformation we had been told by other travellers we headed back up the hill towards AC. The worst part was that the ticket office didn't open until 5am and we knew we had to be at the top entrance gates of MP by 6am at the latest to get the HP access stamp. There wasn't much we could do except wait so while Ryan stood outside the ticket office I joined a line for bus tickets up to MP. We decided this would be our best chance of getting up the hill quickly and a nice Canadian bunch of ladies who had been before helped us out which was awesome.

We finally had our tickets and boarded the bus up to MP at 5:30. The long winding road seemed to last forever but in fact took around forty minutes so we were standing in line at the entrance gates by 6:10. We were however to be in luck and managed to attain 10am access stamps to HP. Relieved that our ill planned strategy had worked out we entered the gated of Machu Picchu just as the morning sun was bursting through the clouds.

The Inca ruins on Machu Picchu really are a sight to behold. As we sat on the top of the ruins it felt surreal to be looking down on the image that we knew so well from books and internet sites. It almost felt like our eyes were playing tricks on us and we were actually just looking at a photograph . We spent the next few hours running around and exploring as much of the site as we could. It's a bit of a labyrinth and new things can be found around every corner. Llamas, lizards and wee rabbits with curly long tails could be seen everywhere, as if we had stepped in to some bizarre friendly Jurassic park.

There were many other creatures though that weren't so friendly. One of these being the sand fly. If you're not familiar with the sand fly it's basically a 1-3mm little black fly which lives in dry, mountainous areas of South America. The female of the species has a keen taste blood which was something my legs were to find out. There I was just standing there waiting for Ryan to take a photo when for some reason I decided to look down. This turned out to be a very good idea as I discovered my legs were covered in hundreds of these little black buggers. Within seconds my legs had been eaten to shreds with twenty nice red bites swelling up quickly. This was enough for me to put my trousers back on but sadly the damage had already been done and I was to spend the next few days with sore, swollen, oozing and itchy red lumps on my legs.

Traumatised after the attack of flies we found a quiet and fly free area in the ruins and settled down for an hours snooze before heading to the gates of HP to begin the climb. We woke refreshed and excited about the challenge ahead. Many people had warned us of the treacherous and difficult path up HP and that it should be avoided unless extremely fit or an experienced trekker. Those of you who know us well will know that we are neither of these but we like a challenge and guessed it couldn't be any worse than Colca Canyon. Turns out we were right and we whizzed up the steep and uneven staircases in a record time of fifty minutes. We were told the trek would take at least an hour to an hour and a half so we were chuffed with our time. The views from the top lived up to their reputation and we tucked in to lunch feeling special to be amongst some of the lucky few to conquer HP.

After slithering back down HP we headed up towards the Inca Bridge. We actually meant to head towards the sun gates but took a wrong turn so the bridge it was. The route was a fairly pleasant stroll which led us around the mountain side with amazing cliff drops surrounding us the whole way. We finally reached the bridge which I found slightly anticlimactic, a three meter gap in the track with four planks of wood leading across it. Oh well at least we saw it. Feeling dehydrated and tired we decided to call it a day and headed back to base camp to grab some disgusting over priced food and a nice cool water.

It had been an amazing, once in a lifetime day and the Machu Picchu stamp in our passports just topped it all off. It was hard to believe we had just walked in one of the seven wonders of the world. We left fulfilled and happy but it was almost hard to leave knowing we may never see the site again. To witness with your own eyes what the Incas created is a very special experience and leaves you in awe of their capabilities. It's something that I think will always stay with you and it has definitely left an impression on us during our travels.

Our time in South America had come to an end and we had only three more days before leaving for New Zealand. I don't know what we expected SA to be like but it definitely exceeded all expectations. Here you will find some of the most amazing places to explore and the friendliest people you could meet. Not to mention super cheap accommodation and food. It had always been a dream to visit and now that we'd actually done it we were stoked if not a little sad to say goodbye. We'll be back though that's for sure. Hasta Luega South America it's been a blast! See you on the flipside.

Ollantaytambo, Peru.

Ollantaytambo is a wee village that sits an hour and a half from Cusco and is one of the main connecting villages to Aguas Calientes where you access Machu Picchu from. We had heard that Aguas Calientes although closer to MP wasn't as nice so we opted to sleep in the less touristy town of Ollantaytambo. After grabbing a connectivo (shared taxi) from Cusco we were soon in the mountains and in the sleepy village for a bargain price of around 10 soles.

Ollantaytambo is one of those hidden gems that people ignore in their rush to get out of their taxi and on to the train up to Aguas Calientes. It sits surrounded by some of the first Inca settlements in Peru, meaning you can easily trek some amazing Inca and pre-Inca ruins for free. If that isn't enough for you, the surrounding mountain landscape also offers a long list of outdoor activities such as downhill biking and white water rafting (we heard the water was full of jobbies now though).

We stayed here for 2 nights and managed to squeeze in two free treks, one to some ruins an hour or so uphill behind our hostel and another around some amazing ruins at the end of the village. The latter shouldn't have actually been free but we snuck in the backdoor and did the trek in reverse. Confused a lot of people but we enjoyed it.

Our hostel was more like a hotel so we couldn't cook our own meals which was a bit of a stinger on the old wallet but we found this amazing little cafe called HEARTS in the village square. This cafe was started by a british woman who came across a few years ago to establish aid for abused woman and children in the village. The cafe does amazing food at reasonable prices and all profits go towards supplies for the woman and children of Ollantaytambo. This made eating out feel a little bit better.

Ollantaytambo is a rad wee village. If you ever get the chance to visit Peru this has to be on your lists of places to see. We could have spent weeks there but we had to get our butts in gear for Machu Picchu which was next on our list of Peru To Do's.

Cusco, Peru.

When arriving in Cusco we didn't exactly come the pretty scenic route. I'm quite a fan of the grimy underworld but Ryan wasn't too impressed as we rolled through crumbling areas full of litter and suspicious looking characters. Keen to make a shuffle on to our hostel we got a taxi which took us through some amazing parts of town. My favourite was what I can only describe as the meat street. A long street lined entirely with butchers which had slabs of beef just lying on tables in the middle of the pavement and plucked chickens nailed to their doorways. The lack of refrigeration, amount of people and dust from the streets flying around these stalls was enough to convince me that any sample of this produce by an unhardened Scottish stomach would result in a swift case of food poisoning. None the less it was an amazing street to behold and the vibe in the area was buzzing.

After checking in to our over priced (by Peruvian standards) hostel we went off to explore the city. The centre of Cusco is much nicer, depending on your definition of nice, and the Spanish influence on construction is very apparent. Like any other city in Peru you'll find the Catholic churches created by the Spanish when they invaded. What we didn't know before arriving is that that most of these churches were created on top of Inca Ruins which the Spanish destroyed in order to build their houses of worship. What they didn't destroy to build on top of they destroyed in order to use the stones to build with. But it's not all bad, some Inca stone walls remain intact and can be spotted around the city if you have a sharp eye. It is however apparent that the Spanish did take one huge, steaming dump on Peru's history during their oppression.

Cusco was nice but we couldn't understand how people could spend weeks there. A usual amount of touristy things to see and do but we found a couple of days was enough and that we were ready to head up to the more rural area of Ollantaytambo where we were to chill before hitting Machu Picchu a few days later. Our time in Peru was flying by and we couldn't believe it was almost already time for us to do what we were expecting to be the highlight of our time in South America. So after meeting the most obnoxious Scot we had ever met (Oxford student, says it all) it was time for yet another early night in preparation for the winding road up the hill the next day.

Puno, Peru.

We arrived in Puno at around 7pm and the city was in full swing with street vendors lining the narrow roads and people bustling about everywhere. A taxi was cheap and easy to acquire so we were soon standing in the reception of a local hostel asking for a bed for the night. I am going to say right now NEVER stay at a “Point” hostel. Although nice enough we were later astounded to discover that they charged for the use of the kitchen. They tried to assure us this was common but after three months of dossing in hostels we knew that this was utter pomp. So the first night we had the luxury of paying five soles (which isn't actually that much but hey it's the principle!) to cook our super noodles or pay their supposed five star chef for a pizza. Ok rant over.

For those of you who don't know Puno is a city that surrounds part of Lake Titicaca which is the highest lake in the world and also home to the famous Uros (floating) Islands as well as other islands which are the home to different colonies on the Peruvian and Bolivian side of the lake.

We booked ourselves on to a one day tour of the lake which included a visit to the Uros islands and Taquile island which was 2hrs away from the Uros. It was another early start of 5:30am where we were picked up and dropped off at our boat to begin our journey to Uros. The boat journey was one of the slowest ever with a guide giving us random facts about the lake. We listened for a while before popping on our ipods and catching a snooze. We awoke just before arriving at the Uros and were rewarded with an amazing first glimpse of the floating islands appearing beside our boat. These islands we learned are made from one meter of dead roots which cause the islands to float and are then topped with another meter of reeds which grow in the lake. When you first step on to these islands it's a strange experience. The ground is spongy but the islands feel stable as they are anchored to the bottom of the lake bed with sticks. Everything on this island is made from reeds, the islanders even eat the root of the reed which provides them with a great source of calcium. What they need but cannot get from the lake they trade for at Puno with reeds. This is the islanders only real way of attaining what they need as they have no money other than the little they make selling hand made goods to tourists who visit the islands.

After Uros it was back on the boat and another two hours or so before hitting the island of Taquile. This wasn't a floating island and pretty average in standards as far as island aesthetics go. The beautiful aqua blue water surrounding the island definitely added to it's advantage though and once on the island the sight of eucalyptus trees was quite interesting. Once on Taquile we trekked to one of the local towns and were treated to the sight of the locals performing a traditional dance for us. We then got invited to dance with them which of course we both grasped unlike many others who rudely declined. After shaking our asses about with the locals in what was a very similar dance to Strip the Willow we wandered around to look at what they were selling. The job of the men on Taquile is to knit and the women to weave. Once a Taquile boy turns seven he works in the afternoon after school and learns how to make a traditional hat that all men on the island wear for their entire life. Before marriage they wear a half white half red hat and after marriage they wear a completely red hat. The standard of a hat represents the standard of the family, so a well made and decorated hate will demand much more respect. The men also wear white shirts which represent the moon, Black waistcoats and trousers which represent the sun and rainbow tastles on their hats which represent the indian flag of which they worship. The women in comparison wear the usual Peruvian clothing but with a black shoal with rainbow pom poms. Smaller pom poms mean you're married and bigger ones mean you're single, as the bigger ones suggest flirting.

After browsing through the usual collections of hats, blankets and bracelets we settled down for lunch in a local restaurant. Trout from the lake is one of the islands main food sources so we tucked in to some after polishing off some tasty veg soup which was made from island produce. Coca tea is a firm fixture in Peru so we supped on the leafy concuction before heading off back up and over the island towards our boat. It was a pleasant enough experience but didn't wow us as much as the Uros islands but all in all an interesting day out.

Back to the hostel we trotted to relax before, through spite, we decided to eat out at one of the local restaurants. We had heard good things about one in particular called Mojsa so headed directly there and weren't disappointed. An awesome two course meal by any standard plus two large beers came to the grand total of £20 so we rolled back to the hostel happy and full that night. The next day it was another early start to catch the bus to Cusco which we were pretty excited about. So it was another early but sleepless night thanks to excitement.

Arequipa, Peru.

When you arrive in Peru you realise this is the South America that you have dreamed of. It fits all the clichés of what you would expect a South American country to be like. Local women carrying heavy loads on their backs with multicolour blankets, men sleeping on benches with massive hats on, street sellers hassling you on every street corner to buy their products. This is the experience we had been looking for and it was a refreshing change from westernised Santiago.

Our first stop in Peru was Arequipa, we missed out Lima as we were tight on time and had heard from almost everybody that it was a hell hole. Arequipa however was amazing. We arrived in Peru in the run up to an election so our journey from the airport in to the centre of Arequipa was full of walls adorned with different paintings of party symbols (hats, spades, three leaf clovers!) and different candidate names. It might sound a bit boring but I loved to see all these wall murals which somebody had spent so much time and effort creating. It didn't stop at party pushing either; shop fronts, cars and restaurants could all be seen with hand painted advertisements across them. It was a welcomed change from mass produced, picture perfect posters and billboards.

There was however a reason we had come to Arequipa and that was to do the Colca Canyon trek. For those of you who don't know Colca Canyon it is the deepest canyon in the world, yup that's right it's NOT the Grand Canyon which was of course named by Americans so we can't take it's title too seriously. We decided to do the three day/two night trek which gave us the opportunity to stay with a local family who lived in one of the traditional towns at the bottom of Colca Canyon. We picked Land Adventures to do our trek with as we had heard so many good reviews and we were not let down. They were utterly amazing at looking after us and offering the best experience possible we could have had during our time in Colca Canyon. We highly recommend you check them out if you are contemplating any tours in Peru.

Our trek began at 3am in Arequipa where we were picked up bleary eyed to start out 6 hour journey to Chivay where we stopped for a quick lunch which included some disgusting, non de-script juice that nobody at our table seemed to be able to identify. It was back on the bus for another hour or so where we then stopped at Cruz del Condor where we were lucky enough to see around ten massive condors circling above us. Peru have protected this species which was almost extinct a few years ago but now thanks to Peru there are around fifty living in Colca Canyon alone. They are an impressive and beautiful sight and one we will never forget. Next it was back on the bus and another hour or so til Cabanaconde (3287m) which is a small village that sits above the part of Colca Canyon we were to trek. A tasty lunch was grabbed here before we began the descent in to the canyon. We were lucky enough to end up with a great group of trekkers which included one English couple and one German couple.

The descent from the top of the canyon was narrow, steep and in places really rocky so you had to be careful with your footing or you'd end up falling over the edge to become a condors dinner. It took our group around three hours to trek to the bottom of the canyon and in the blazing hot sun. We didn't think that was too bad and it was an awesome journey down. After a quick catch of breath at the bottom it was back on our feet and our first taste of an ascent in the canyon. The thin, dry air and altitude quickly became apparent and what would usually seem like a moderate climb up hill turned most of us in to wheezing cripples. We managed though and were pleased to see the little village of San Juan de Chucco (2200m). From here it was only another thirty mins or so until our final destination for the day and the newly green scenery full of avocados and cactus fruit was an easy distraction along the way.

We arrived at Cosnirhua (2450m) just before sunset and met our hosts for the night. I didn't catch any of their names but it was a middle aged couple and their teenage son who lived off farming the land surrounding their home. They work hard and long days of manual labour in the canyon, starting around 4am and finishing around 8pm and that's 6 days a week. The locals speak the pre-Inca language of Ketchua which is a dying tradition in the area as almost all of the young have left the canyon to live in the cities and speak the official national language of Spanish. It was a shame to hear how the culture of the villages in the canyon may become extinct once the current inhabitants die. This made us feel extremely fortunate to be able to experience life while it still existed in these villages.

Dinner was prepared for us on a traditional stove before we headed to bed and rested our tired bodies in our basic but comfortable rooms. We all knew the next day was going to be a tough one so we were all eager for an early night and as much shut eye as possible.

After a tasty breakfastof pancackes we hit the path again and headed for the neighbouring village of Malata (2450m) which was a pleasant and donkey filled warm up to the day. In Malata we went to a wee local ran museum where we saw the canyon way of life and got to try Chicha, the local alcohol made out of fomented corn. Happy with our daily booze fix we continued down hill towards Oasis Sangalle (2160m), which although pleasant sounds much more exotic than it actually was. We spent a good few hours here basking in the man made swimming pools which were filled with water off the mountains and soaking in the hot sun.

After lunch enough was enough and we had to strap on our climbing legs and lungs for the ascent we had all been dreading. We started around 3pm and although later in the afternoon the sun was still burning hot, making our first few steps much harder than they had to be. We were told the first part was the hardest, which was a lie, the whole thing was bloody hard. But we all trekked on all keeping the end target in sight, well apart from me who thought this random flag about three quarters the way up was the end, quite a disappointment I must say. The German couple were the dominators of the group absolutely storming up the steep, rocky and slippery ascent. I was starting to wonder if they were actually bionic as the hot, thin air and high altitude seemed to have little effect on their bodies. The rest of us Brits kept true to form and took our own sweet time climbing up the narrow paths whilst taking regular stops for blethers, drinks of water and contrived photo breaks. After three and half gruelling hours we made it to the top elated, over emotional and bloody knackered.

Little did we know we still had another thirty minute walk in the pitch dark before being rewarded with a three course meal and a comfy bed. I would add sleep but we had the fortune of experiencing a political party demonstration Peru style which basically involved a bunch of pissed men playing trumpets and drums all night long until they passed out, with their trumpets presumably still attached to their lips as the occasionally hoot could be heard during the early hours.

We woke up sorer than we have ever felt in life but utterly stoked we had conquered the deepest canyon in the world, well part of it anyway. We hopped back on our uncomfortable little bus and headed to Chivay where we were to catch another uncomfortable little bus to Puno. It was quite sad saying goodbye to our companions we had just spent three hard days with and also experienced so much with; laughter, swearing and at one point even vomiting. They were a great bunch and we were pleased it was them we trekked and struggled up hill with. Muchos Gracias amigos y Colca Canyon.

Santiago, Chile.

This was to be our second visit to Santiago as we had stayed her a couple of nights before heading to Ritoque. The first time we stayed in the Bellavista quarter which is famous for its art and music hang outs. We were told Bellavista was dangerous but we had no problem there and found it a pretty amazing part of the city. The second time we arrived in Santiago we had a cheap but awesome apartment sorted in the Providencia quarter which is mostly residential so pretty quiet in comparison to Bellavista.

Santiago is home to 50% of Chile's population and is accountable for around 70% of the countries economy. This is easy to tell when walking through the crowded and loud streets of the city which lie below the thick, grey smog that lives permanently above Santiago's inhabitants with only the tops of the buildings seeming to break free. The city is also divided in to four quarters (funnily enough); Bellavista, Providencia, Las Condes and Downtown. The Metro is awesome in Santiago and can transport you to all of these areas quickly, safely and more importantly cheaply.

It's easy to forget you're in Chile when you're in Santiago. If you spent the day without talking to anybody and had an ipod plugged in to your ears you would be forgiven for thinking you were in London, Barcelona or any other big city in the world. Westernisation has hit this city hard with bastardised American culture oozing out of every shop front and magazine advertisement. This then leads me on to the food. If you come to Santiago don't expect your taste buds to be tantalised. The mass majority of food is either fast food (american style) or badly done Italian. Bland is the only word to sum these options up. It's not all bad though, if you're up for a bit of exploring and eating off the beaten path you will be rewarded with some typical Chilean dishes which although not extremely exciting are a tasty and welcomed change from the typical lomitos (hots dogs with everything on them, and I mean EVERYTHING).

I might be making it sound like we hated Santiago, which we really didn't. This city may be less exciting than more rural areas of the county but it did have it's bonuses. We spent a few awesome days riding El Colorado and Valle Nevado where we lucked out with fairly good winter conditions. Valle Nevado is definitely the resort of choice with it's weekly lift pass discounts and more expansive area. Another area we highly enjoyed was the Santa Lucia hill, which sat in Downtown Santiago and offered the most amazing views of the city. Santiago is also full of Artisan markets which are fascinating to explore and a great place to pick up a cheap and reasonably unique item. A high light for me during our stay was our visit to bar La Piojera which was infamous in Santiago for its 'terremoto' (earthquake) drink; a pint of cheap white wine topped with pineapple ice-cream and fernet. Although utterly disgusting this bar was full of boozey locals, all consuming terremotos and singing and dancing to a drunken folk band playing in the corner. We had finally found an authentic glimpse in to local Santiago culture and it was all thanks to a disgusting drink that you stirred with a straw.

One whole month passed and it was time for us to leave Santiago and move out of Chile. We had a blast there, spent time with friends and created some awesome memories, most of which were fuelled by pisco. But it was time to move on and to be honest we couldn't bloody wait. Peru was calling and our feet were itching so it was time to hoist on those backpacks and hit the road again only partially lost and a little bit broke.