tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-100702222011-12-15T03:06:02.806ZHello! I am cycling from London to Sydney over one year... this is my diary! Please also have a look at my website www.cyclingtosydney.com I can post to this diary from anywhere in the world so check for updates! please ask me if you want to use a picture. they are copyright etc! Arm yourself with Life Insurance before making that trip<li><a href="http://www.endsleigh.co.uk/web/policies/life/index.html">Life Insurance</a></li>kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comBlogger691100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-75544359639848536792007-06-05T20:45:00.000+01:002007-06-05T20:47:11.030+01:00

For great Holidays including World Cruises, visit Saga

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1158497878605138782006-09-17T13:57:00.000+01:002006-09-17T13:58:53.316+01:00

Travel insurance

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1145041744121063422006-04-14T17:31:00.000+01:002006-05-05T19:51:11.943+01:00

HellooooooooooAbove is a portrait my artist friend Jennifer Binnie painted for me in exchange for my vast vaaassst knowlage of web design! (http://www.jevfinearts.co.uk/)I look extreemely psychotic! I love it though. It makes me laugh every time i look at it. Now i need a house to put it in.Im looking and applying for jobs at the moment - If anyone has a interesting or fun job.... let me know!

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1143392047357291262006-03-26T17:14:00.000+01:002006-03-26T17:54:07.380+01:00

Hmmmm...Theres been a slight change of plan! Im now moving to London for the summer (working!) and will probably go out to Aus with my friend in October.P.s Anyone who hasnt been to Amsterdam should definitely go! I went to see my favorite Scandanavian Sara (pic below) That rabbit on my shoulder is actually her glove. The guy is Bill Cook.

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1137765996899215192006-01-20T12:57:00.000Z2006-11-07T12:16:36.516Z

www.Getting to Sydney somehow and not exactly by bike.comhmmmm…. Well most of you know by now that the bike trip is prematurely finito.Briefly… We had our bikes stolen in southern India and decided to come home for Christmas. Katrina wants to work in London for a while and I have decided to emigrate to Australia by conventional aeroplane method in a couple of weeks.I am disappointed but I am also

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1137684529646938112006-01-19T14:21:00.000Z2006-01-20T14:14:50.793Z

Irv's arty Eifel tower shots We were underneath at 12pm choosing a drink - the cheapest one was about £22 My arty photo The Erotica Museum (suprisingly unerotic) The Buddha bar on New Years Day The facinating Sewerage Museum (where you could actually walk over a river of raw sewerage)

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1137680386013473902006-01-19T13:20:00.000Z2006-01-19T14:19:46.123Z

A semi naked french man talking a stroll Apreciating Art at the Louve Natalie posing with our broken down car starving crepe pigsmochachino

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1137584789308381472006-01-18T11:31:00.000Z2006-01-19T12:40:43.766Z

natalie and Irv in the car on the French moterway - we had to stop on the for ages because of snow/ice.me taking a clever photo of natalie with Irvs papparazzi camerame and natalie trying to look parisien natalie and irv at the pompidu art gallery bar

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1137583863665057662006-01-18T11:22:00.000Z2006-01-20T12:40:55.220Z

camping lifestyle someone even more extreeme (danube cycle path) british jungle fowl... or cockrel (indian zoo) Spare elephant and deer feet tables at the Raj's palace ha ha ha im sooooooooo clever!

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1137583346284245242006-01-18T11:15:00.000Z2006-01-19T11:40:21.410Z

my fiance

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1137582924525289412006-01-18T10:55:00.000Z2006-01-19T11:39:48.300Z

Colombo Airport christmas decorations baby elephant walking on hot coals shivas bullbaby monkey

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1137581682291307192006-01-18T10:42:00.000Z2006-01-19T11:38:39.470Z

largest Shiva statue in the world (and it wasnt in the lonely planet! woooo!)the others were worried

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1137580904943932742006-01-18T10:25:00.000Z2006-01-19T11:37:16.296Z

Reassuring

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1137579794164385182006-01-18T09:55:00.000Z2006-01-20T12:28:53.773Z

Hustle and bustle in Mumbai (Bombay) Night time in Mumbai -Chicken and Goat sleeping together Visiting family in Salzburg. my father on the left, katrina, me, Oma (my Grandmother) Bourgi, Ziggi, Henri and Vincent.Advert for "fair and handsome" a skin whitening cream for men. All the women wear it but the new mens one has been quite controversial - see below.The ferry from Mumbai to the mainland

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1133083028229594622005-12-08T09:07:00.000Z2005-12-08T03:53:11.616Z

If you click on the menu you will be able to see bigger pictures.Painting is still going well - yesterday we changed jobs - the owner had obviously noticed the craftsman like quality of katrinas work and she was prommoted to intricate chairs. I was demoted to painting the undercoat onto backroom doors.Last night we decided to visit the capital Colombo. we took a tuk tuk and its tyre burst half

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1133847559855255582005-12-06T05:14:00.000Z2005-12-06T05:39:19.880Z

Hello,The bikes are still at large and we have flown to sri lanka. It was only a 30 minute flight but we were upgraded to business class! (for no apparent reason as we were dressed like tramps...)The other people in business class looked pretty discusted.Its quite shocking how much devestation remains here even though its been nearly a year since the Tsunami - Some parts look like a war zone with

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1133446586129102292005-12-01T14:07:00.000Z2005-12-01T14:16:26.153Z

After having such a bad time on the roads the last few weeks (see katrinas diary for more detail) we eventually decided to get the train down to thrivandrum (all i could think of was katrina under a truck). It was an overnight train and stopped about 20 times in the night. We were in a carriage near the front and the bikes were in a luggage carriage in the back (very long train.)when we got on

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1131628553797066802005-11-29T17:08:00.000Z2005-11-29T12:51:49.313Z

I’ve been receiving a lot of 'wish i was there' emails so think I should write a more realistic diary entry to tell you what the trip is actually like on a day to day basis....5.45am: woken up by alarm.6am: get up, finish packing, get ready, eat something like nuts/raisons and bananas, pack up the bikes, check out of hotel.7am: Find the national highway 17. This road has been our only option

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1133085562057835282005-11-27T09:34:00.000Z2005-11-27T10:31:45.920Z

Newsletter 3...TRIP STATSLocation: Mangalore, Karnataka, India.Miles covered since last newsletter: 550Total miles covered by bike: 3272 (5268 kilometres)Top speed: 33.5mph (kira) Cheapest hotel room in India:50pCheapest day in India: £2Falls off bikes: Katrina - numerous. Kira - 0 (I'm tempting fate...)Number of times saying hello on an average day: 300Number of times saying where we are from:

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1133072011420815802005-11-27T04:44:00.000Z2005-11-27T10:42:11.783Z

Me enjoying a delicious 'onion salad'We left the bikes etc in Mangalore and took a 3 night backpacking Harry Potter movie excursion to Bangalore and Mysore...click the map left if you would like to see the locations.Day One -Mangalore to Bangalore8 hour (but actually 12 hours) bus trip on 'Ultra Delux' bus. (you can put the seat back slighlty)Arrive Bangalore at night and its cold and raining!

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1131629884759440092005-11-22T13:28:00.000Z2005-11-22T09:18:11.570Z

Exerpt from a menu at "Hotel Pompous" resturant Hello! We have made it to Mangalore... just. The roads were very scary - placid Indians turn into total maniacs behind the wheel. We have taken a safe hotel and are going to travel on the night bus to Bangalore... stay there for a few days (mainly to see harry potter) then take the train to Mysore... stay there for a few days (eat some pancakes)

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1131627295665145992005-11-16T23:48:00.000Z2005-11-16T14:57:10.966Z

I was just lying on the beach looking up at the stars when all these huge bats started circling me. it was really exciting but also quite scary as i didnt really know if they were going to bite my toes or something like that - they were so close i could hear the flutter of their wings as they went over my body and hear their high pitched squeel. I kept laughing - that nervous sort of high pitched

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1131625823793818362005-11-10T10:15:00.000Z2005-11-10T12:30:23.843Z

View from an early morning cycle - we started right down in the valley where the mist was really thick - we were soaked.Beach dwelling Water buffalo with friend. A very reassuring sign post on the way to Goa. Hello...we are now in Panaji which is the Goa state capital.we have just been to see a modern Bollywood film... it was really shocking. here is the review http://www.apunkachoice.com/

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1131369723355251432005-11-07T13:04:00.000Z2005-11-07T13:33:37.866Z

Goa is very set up for tourists and has western food.... which is very delicious after 3 weeks of very hot- not really sure what it is but mainly based around the chilly- food.So today katrina and i went on a trip around 6 restaurants where we had culinary delights ranging from marmite and butter on toast to tuna salad, porriage and honey pancakes... it was all VERY exciting.Unfortunately my flip

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1131285380602789142005-11-06T12:59:00.000Z2005-11-06T14:00:47.630Z

you can zoom in on any of the photos by clicking them... and then by clinking the larger photo again you can see it even bigger!A fellow rtw cyclist we met in Mumbai... hes been going 20 years!!! Its a chicken sleeping on the back of a goat in central mumbai . did i mention ken has been 'on the road' for 20 years? our favorite emminent environmentalist and historian Dr richard grove! Richard

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1131281971356423492005-11-06T11:55:00.000Z2005-11-06T14:03:15.386Z

Indian Rat in Mumbai Hello! We have now cycled from Mumbai to Goa! I think it was only about 350 miles but it felt like thousands as it was SO hilly! here are some of the photos.... (for some reason they are in a random order...)The driver of our bus to Istanbul airport - we were actually on the motorway while he read this - at 60mph!! The bikes on the indian taxi after arriving in Mumbai at 3am

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1130920672801912982005-11-02T08:27:00.000Z2005-11-02T08:37:52.816Z

Tomorrow we will be cycling on to Goa... I think it will take about 6 days and there may not be any internet before then.Sorry there havent been any photos recently but these computers do not have USB or disc drives so i havent been able to upload them. I will soon i hope as i have some great pictures.Goa is meant to be tranceparty land and im not sure if im looking forward to it or not!

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1130771822932631802005-10-31T14:27:00.000Z2005-11-02T08:40:19.590Z

After a talk with Samuel (who studied law at Durham) about university league tables i thought i would check Edinburghs position!As everybody knows The Times league table is the only one anybody takes any notice of.....here is the link for this year http://www.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/finalunitable2.pdfUK top 101 - Oxford2 - Cambridge3 - Imperial4 - London School of Economics5 - Edinburgh6 -

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1130762989235345382005-10-31T11:47:00.000Z2005-10-31T12:49:49.236Z

Another newsletter done!!were in Ratnagiri. Its a town literally full of flies. The only town in the disctict with ATM and broadband though! (internet is 20 rupees an hour.... about 30p) We will be staying here for a few days over the divali festival so i will be catching up on the 168 unreplied to emails in my inbox (and ive already deleted the junk mail....)Going to exlore the town now... and

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1130761523325992532005-10-31T10:28:00.000Z2005-10-31T12:40:55.480Z

For some reason i cant upload the edited map yet.... here is a map of india and basically we will be cycling the whole coast! Starting at Mumbai. I will put the edited map up at the next internet place.Newsletter 2...TRIP STATSMiles covered since last newsletter: 510Total miles covered by bike: 2722Countries rejecting our visa applications: IranCountries accepting our visa applications:

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1130645491781576112005-10-30T03:46:00.000Z2005-10-30T04:11:31.793Z

Hello! were still alive... there is very little internet access and usually no mobile signal.Im just doing my newsletter so will hopefully send that today....

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1130128515547811162005-10-24T05:16:00.000+01:002005-10-24T05:35:15.556+01:00

We are in a little town called Srivadham. Cycling through India is absolutely amazing!!! This is why i wanted to come on the trip. Its roasting hot - like cycling in an oven. Its quite hilly and the roads are ok - sometimes quite holey.The scenery is stunning and constantly changing. I cant believe how few western tourists there are in India - we have hardly seen any -even in Mumbai. Cycling is

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1129733244907705282005-10-19T15:24:00.000+01:002005-10-19T16:49:23.856+01:00

Well... It looks like we there will be a slight delay in starting our bollywood careers... no western parts at the moment... apparently. we will have another chance in Chennai I think.We took an amazing walk through one of the poorer districts the other night. It didn't feel dangerous at all and the Indians all seemed to be having such a fun time all on the streets playing games, eating and

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1129525466149138472005-10-17T05:27:00.000+01:002005-10-17T06:04:26.156+01:00

Hopefully we are being whisked off to the bollywood studios in a few minutes (everything happens that bit slower here)Last night we had a really delicious meal at a seafood resturant... Then we decided to try one of the indian nightclubs - called 'red light' and only distinguishable by the red light outside the door. (nothing to do with the red light district... we might visit that at some point

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1129467219800851242005-10-16T13:35:00.000+01:002005-10-16T13:53:39.806+01:00

We are heading over to the bollywood film studios tomorrow! There is a chance that we will actually be in a bollywood film! (i have made a contact who works there...)we'll see - it would be SO fun! Samual is quite persuasive so theres a chance... we could be the 3 washerwomen in the background in the next big hit...India is as much of a culture shock as everyone says... Im really feeling

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1129371685580095582005-10-15T11:00:00.000+01:002005-10-15T11:21:25.586+01:00

I cant believe we are in India!!!The flight with the bikes went REALLY well. we some how avoided paying any excess... even though it should have been £135 each!!!We met a really funny English guy called Samuel at the airport. At the turkish metal detectors somebody had left some stuff and he boomed out "what johnnys left their mobile phone?" to a group of Turks.Now were staying together in

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1129195643373866522005-10-13T10:24:00.000+01:002005-10-16T13:55:29.063+01:00

Our cycling friends Rhona and Gav (http://perth2perth.org/) have now also been refused İranian visas... they asked the man at the consulate and were told that British passport holders were all being rejected... http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/10/06/blair.iran/ - So this is why the İranians arnt accepting any British visitors!We didnt bring our Australian passports with us unfortunately.We are

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1129122339886459462005-10-12T13:44:00.000+01:002005-10-12T14:05:39.896+01:00

İts so exciting! we now have our visas (very handsome 6month double entry) and our one-way plane tıckets to Mumbai (Bombay!)Were leaving İstanbul friday... İm pretty worried about taking the bikes on the plane but we have been scavenging cardboard boxes and scraps of bubble wrap for a few days. The owners of our hotel (who dont speak any English) think we are completely crazy. İ tried to explain

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1128853065452795212005-10-09T10:42:00.000+01:002005-10-09T11:17:45.563+01:00

Hello,A lot has happened since my last post...We have had to drastically change our planned route...We have become Turkish TV stars (....or... we embasassed ourselves really badly on Turkish TV...)We stayed wıth a Turkish family!We conquered some endless hills that were more like mountains.We went to see a Russian film with Turkish subtitles and found it highly entertaining.So most important news

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1127754306994552322005-09-26T18:01:00.000+01:002005-09-26T18:05:07.000+01:00

The system made me do it... how company policy is formed. Put five apes in a room. Hang a banana from the ceiling and place a ladder underneath the banana. The banana is only reachable by climbing the ladder. Have it set up so any time an ape starts to climb the ladder, the whole room is sprayed with ice cold water. In a short time, all the apes will learn not to climb the ladder. Now... take one

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1126960079356961232005-09-17T13:21:00.000+01:002005-09-26T12:21:08.740+01:00

Turkish men and our Turkish history lesson!"oh you dropped something..." we look around... "it was my heart!"At first I didnt like Istanbul at all. There was one reason for this... the Turkish men. We were staying in the touristy Sultanhamet district and literally every 5 seconds we were harrassed to differant degrees by local turks. If a woman is not accompanied by a man in Turkey she must

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1126955266222047202005-09-17T11:53:00.000+01:002005-09-17T13:18:36.883+01:00

Thanks for all your advice on İran and Pakistan!The general gist is that we shouldnt miss it. This was also how i felt before we left on the trip but i have been spooked since then!We have decided to continue as planned. İf we do find its a problem by Tehran we can always train or plane out.İ feel really really relieved..... Goıng to cycle out of İstanbul tomorrow headed for Ankara where we wıll

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1126878337732737082005-09-16T14:41:00.000+01:002005-09-16T14:45:37.733+01:00

It took sooooooo long to write that newsletter! maınly because i had to go through the whole thing and change every ı to an i (turkısh keyboards...)ı hope ıt sent ok - quıte scary sendıng an emaıl to 500 people!there ıs so much to say about turkey and ıstanbul but ı am so worn out after 3 hours of changıng i's and spell checkıng...so next tıme...polıce encounters (more than one)turkısh

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1126811117978172852005-09-15T20:05:00.000+01:002005-09-26T12:22:45.093+01:00

If you dıdn't get an email... here is the Newsletter again.TRIP STATSDays on the Road: 74Miles Covered by Bike: 2212 (13% of total)Countries Visited: England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungry, Italy, Greece, Turkey.Current Location: Istanbul, Turkey.Next Stops: Iran, Pakistan, India.Top Speed: 28mph (Kira)Falls from Bikes: Kira: 2, Katrina: immeasurableMosquito Bites (

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1126789761648838422005-09-15T13:38:00.000+01:002005-09-15T14:09:21.660+01:00

Greek women wear extreemely tıght clothes regardless of theır fıgures.Greeks are very aggressıve drıversGreeks are generally aggressıve ın other areas. For example I was phonıng home and ı had 3 dıfferant greek people lıterally screamıng at me to get of the phone even though there was another one 30 seconds up the road.The Greek notıon of personal space ıs less spacıous than ours.Above all thıngs

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1126430632574856902005-09-11T09:49:00.000+01:002005-09-11T10:23:52.660+01:00

...............................................Venice..............................................In Budapest we met up with our friends Paul 'Reds' Grocott and his lovely wife Eszti. Despite Paul being heavily sponsored by Malboro we decided to travel together to Venice so that we could take the boat to Corfu. We had a great time together. We stayed in the 4* sofitel hotel which was

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1126344863545382472005-09-10T10:03:00.000+01:002005-09-10T10:34:23.586+01:00

Hello!We finally left Corfu...Cycling in greece is VERY scary... Greece has the highest death rate on their roads of all the countires in the EU. Almost all cars have dents, the roads are packed and drivers really aggressive. We have already seen two bad accidents and several minor ones. Car horns have become the melody we cycle to.We are staying on the pavements as much as possible, especially

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1125520486469473102005-08-31T21:31:00.000+01:002005-08-31T21:34:46.473+01:00

Internet is really expencive here so this will be really short.... I will do a proper entry in Istanbul... hopefully we will be there in about 5 days.At the moment we are staying with Katrinas boyfriend on Corfu.Tomorrow we are going harpoon fishing!x x

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1124461429225175672005-08-19T17:42:00.000+01:002005-08-19T15:23:49.233+01:00

When I woke up this morning I didn't really feel like making any decisions so I spent the day under the control of our little red dice... It turned out to be one of my best days on the trip!This wasn't my original idea, I stole it from 'The Diceman' by Luke Rhinehart. It was the must have traveler's book a few years ago before 'The Alchemist'. A very entertaining book if you haven't read

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1124294348134226952005-08-17T16:44:00.000+01:002005-08-17T16:59:08.140+01:00

I just remembered... I also had my first fall of my bike! (when I was hit by the car I didn't actually fall off...)For the last few days in Budapest my father and I have been cycling around sightseeing without panniers. The bike felt so light and manouverable, we were like bike couriers... moving really fast with no regard for any road rules at all! (I even received a nod from a genuine courier!)

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1123932983831919102005-08-13T11:18:00.000+01:002005-08-17T16:43:51.753+01:00

Hi...I'm in an internet cafe in Budapest! I'm feeling a little nervous as there is a man in bright yellow shoes next to me (and I'm talking fluorescent yellow...) he keeps glancing down at my pink trainers and then looking up to give me a knowing look. I think he thinks that we are kindred spirits or soul mates. Normally "Ich bin Svenska" would surfice in this kind of situation but now we are in

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1122907277384797292005-08-01T15:33:00.000+01:002005-08-01T15:41:17.396+01:00

I was going to write an entry but the man next to me is smoking (Malboro Reds) and the fan is blowing it right in my face...just quickly.... dont see mr. and mrs Smith.... its rubbish even if you havent seen any films/tv for a month...Also I bought some trainers today to replace the ones stolen by piggy. I hate shoe shopping so I just bought some in the first shop.... As we walked along the

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1122815073384521642005-07-31T13:16:00.000+01:002005-07-31T14:04:33.390+01:00

just to clarify some of the points Katrina made in her diary...1) I am very efficient at asking for directions and I only pretend that am Swedish (Ich bin svenska) when approached by suspicious characters... for example the 3 Jehovas witnesses who approached me on the night tram in Stuttgart2) Re: my car accident... I was crossing a road when a car skreeched up to the crossing. The guy smiled/

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1122557876793696572005-07-28T13:47:00.000+01:002005-07-28T14:37:56.803+01:00

Hi everbody!Katrina is now fully recovered and we are in Stuttgart. It´s extreemely hot.Another 55 mile day to reach the city. we were SO dirty when we arrived at the hotel... seriously gross... I dont think they wanted to give us a room... but they didnt want to risk getting any gypsy curses either. They didnt recognise us when we came down this morning sparkling clean and in our good

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1122192038746626592005-07-24T08:33:00.000+01:002005-07-24T09:00:38.750+01:00

Katrina is well again and we are back on the road... Taking it easy for a few days.both feeling really happy! x

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1122119637909422192005-07-23T12:12:00.000+01:002005-07-23T12:53:57.923+01:00

50 miles to Mainz yesterday went well but Katrina has some kind of tummybug so we are staying in a hotel here for 2 nights.I left her resting in the hotel a few hours ago and it feels really strange to be alone!Germany is going pretty slowly... I now realise that smiling is not big here with cylicts and I have started to reciprocate the curt nod instead. Actuallzy the Germans are very friendly

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1121962640606703772005-07-21T17:09:00.000+01:002005-07-21T17:17:20.613+01:00

It hasnt been such a good day for smile collection today. I have been operating a blanket smile policy but have only been reciving about a 4-6% return... mainly i get a blank stare followed by a look that says "Ich dont believe it! vy are dis kinder not at schoolen yaaaahhh???I have been listening to my french language course with Micheal Thomas. Its very funny... he is also teaching an American

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1121722469949737272005-07-18T23:34:00.000+01:002005-07-18T22:34:29.956+01:00

Hellooooo....We have accidentally arrived in the German city of Köln. I had planned a cultural visit to Bonn but `fate´ (my 1987 map and sabotage by Katrina who wanted to visit “Phantasialand” on the Köln outskirts) brought us here yesterday.After 55 miles in the sun we were really exhausted! We slept for 12 hours in our lovely beds and only got up at 11 so we could gorge ourselves on the free

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1121718894963847232005-07-18T21:34:00.000+01:002005-07-18T21:34:54.970+01:00

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1121198475858469252005-07-12T18:23:00.000+01:002005-07-12T21:01:15.863+01:00

Hello!Today we arrived in Bruxelles... another computer with the keys all mixed up!weve ditched the tent and were staying in a hotel!!!! real beds and the first showers for about 5 days. The hotel we chose is in some kind of red light district - next door to the famous "hot blands sexy entertain you show" (mistakes not due to special keyboard...) There dont seem to be any other females in this

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1120834189818024842005-07-08T15:46:00.000+01:002005-07-08T15:49:49.823+01:00

Hi!!!!were in france about 40 miles from Calais... im in the local bibliotheque! the keys are all mixed up on this keyboard so this will be very short.were having an amazing time even though it has rained non stop!!!in 2 days we will be in a bigger town so i will write a longer entry.xxxxxxxxx

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1120308895976966022005-07-02T13:01:00.000+01:002005-07-02T13:54:55.983+01:00

Hello!!Yesterday we caught the train to Richmond with our bikes and around one ton of stuff to leave at our mother’s house!Some of our family saw us off at the station which was really special. We both cried a bit when the train pulled off!A really lovely Portuguese lady on the train gave us some good luck charms!---A tip for cyclists with heavily loaded bikes - DO NOT change trains at Clapham

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1119474003447724282005-06-22T21:52:00.000+01:002005-06-22T22:00:03.453+01:00

hiii,Katrina is back from Greece! I have been looking at my maps for hours and completely planned the route to budapest. A lot of it will be along rivers and cycle paths - a great start to the trip especially as we are not that fit....Ive allowed 3 days to get from our mothers house in Richmond to Dover! Its only about 70 miles but i want to start the trip nice and easy!all my possesions are now

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1118994433382129412005-06-17T08:41:00.000+01:002005-06-17T08:48:14.053+01:00

Hello! I’m feeling a bit more nervous now… a bit like I have a big exam coming up but I haven’t done enough revision! I’m looking forward to Katrina returning on Monday.

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1118831731702091432005-06-15T11:12:00.000+01:002005-06-15T11:35:31.706+01:00

Helllooooo, Wow. Only 16 days to go! I can’t believe it. We are now leaving on the 1st July to try and avoid arriving in the Middle East just in time for winter…. Speaking of the Middle East I was just looking at the Foreign Office info on Pakistan – slightly scary… It’s raining today… I hope it’s sunny when we leave! I’m tying up all the loose ends but still have a

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1118065982593373002005-06-06T14:12:00.000+01:002005-06-06T14:53:02.596+01:00

Hi,Everythings going really well...Goooood things I have most of the equipment now. my job is finito on thursday! injections are organised. Insurance is organised people are actually starting to realise that we really are going! lots of nice good luck messages recently! Baaaaad things Katrina noticed that ther passpost expires in July... and shes in greece untill a week before

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1116504527287958892005-05-19T06:05:00.000+01:002005-05-19T13:08:47.290+01:00

hmmmm.... everyone keeps asking me if im nervous. Im not at all, not even slightly! but maybe thats because I'm so busy.

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1115710110609339772005-05-10T08:12:00.000+01:002005-05-10T08:28:30.616+01:00

Hi!54 days to go! I' m so excited! We have ordered the bikes from Thorn in Bridgewater and they will be delivered in about 21 days. We visited The Eden Project at the same time - the tropical biodome is AMAZING - everyone who hasnt been should go!....Must get back to writing millions of charity begging letters! This blog will start for real once we leave.

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10070222.post-1105383302980483872005-01-10T18:53:00.000Z2005-01-10T18:55:02.980Z

The websites up, ive chosen the bike, had a few donations to the charities, getting fit, feeling very positive and excited!

kirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17393872845048828417noreply@blogger.com