Mexico City, Mexico (North America)

Hi, the 32nd in the revised 34 country World tour brings me to a place I hadn't really planned to go. I planned to go to Vancouver, Canada by train from Los Angeles but a man I met, from Vancouver Island, in Hong Kong advised me to stay well clear as the weather was really bad and suggested Mexico City.

About two weeks ago I emailed the Mexico City Hostel just to see if I could book some where in advance other wise I probably would not of come with the things people were telling me about violence and kidnappings. Usually places want a deposit or credit card details but a woman called Paulina emailed back to say that she had reserved me a room so now it was just trying to book some tickets to get there. When I got to Los Angeles airport I went to the American Airlines desk and asked how much it would be, they told me a price but said to ask the Mexicana counter and see the price there. The price was more expensive so I booked with American Airlines but the flight was actually run by Mexicana.

I got to Mexico City and the hostel said they offered a taxi service so I thought I would use that instead of being conned or kidnapped by the local taxis. I rung the hostel and they sent the taxi which cost about 4 pounds which is 100 pesos. The hostel it self was just about 100 yards from the centre of Mexico City so for half a day I walked around the centre taking photos and arranging what I was going to for the rest of my stay. I booked a tour to the Mexican pyramids. It was fine walking around and there looked to be a big police presence in the centre.

On Thursday I woke up really early and called into the 24 hour cafe at 3 o clock in the morning for some tortillo wraps. I went to San Juan Teotihuacan to go and see the Mexican pyramids which lasted 9 hours. On the way we stopped to have a look at the Square of the Three Cultures which has three buildings which represent the three periodsof Mexican history which are pre-Columbian, Spanish colonial and the mestizo which means Europeans and Amerindian people living together in a Latin American country. It also has remains of Aztec temples and commemerates the Tlatelolco massacre in which 300 people were killed. We next stopped at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadulupe which was built on boggy land so you could see that it was sinking in the ground. As well as the old building they have built a new building as well which is very nice inside. It is the most important church in Mexico and millions of people flock for the feast on the 12th December. The churches denomination is Catholic. After seeing the church we went to see some of the biggest pyramids in the World. Mexico has the biggest, by volume, pyramid in the World with the Great Pyramid being second and the pyramid that I climbed in San Juan Teotihuacan, which is the Pyramid of the Sun, being third. It lies on the Avenue of Death inbetween the Pyramid of the Moon and the Ciudadela. It took some doing but I reached the top and there were some fantastic views of the city and nature.

On Friday I got my Mexicana afternoon flight to LA and got the shuttle back to my hotel. Next flight I will be taking will be to New Orleans and I shall be staying there for one night before coming back to LA and then going on to Madrid, Spain, connecting at O'Hare (Chicago) airport. The last stop of the around the World ticket.

Take care.

Robert

Auckland, New Zealand (Oceania)

Hi, the 31st country of the 33 country World tour and the last new country of the around the World trek as the next two countries are the USA and Spain which I have been to. I come to the country that brings me to the closest I am ever going to get at being around the other side of the World. New Zealand lies just west of the International Date Line.

The only thing I really knew about Auckland is that they had a big tower called the Sky Tower so I decided that this would be the place where I would rest, save some money and relax. I have big plans for Los Angeles and I am knackered so time to get my thoughts together and rest.

On Monday I went to the Sky Tower and went right up to the Sky Deck and saw all of Auckland and that was about all I did apart from going to a Japanese restaurant and eating some weird and wonderful food. Did a bit of shopping and walked about a bit but nothing major. I lost AU$600 at the hotel in Sydney so I rung them up and they said it would cost me AU$110 to send them to my hotel in Auckland so I asked for the codes of the cheques rung American Express and claimed them back from a bank in Auckland with no cost.

Next will be Los Angeles where I hope to get flights to New Orleans and Mexico City but might just do New Orleans depending on how I feel and the availibility. I emailed a good hostel in Mexico City and reserved a room for two nights and they actually emailed back to confirm so thats promising. I will ask at the hotel reception and ask to book a night in New Orleans or go there and find some where but I have asked other hotels before and I got the feeling they couldn't be bothered. See what happens It's coming to an end now with only 2 weeks,book some other jaunts when I get back home.

Take care.

Robert

Sydney, Australia (Oceania)

Hi, this is the 30th of 33 countries in the World tour. It brings me to the continent of Oceania and the one of the most recognised city in the World. There is so much to see, do and enjoy.

I got to Sydney at 6:25am on the overnight plane from Singapore which was good as I had the rest of the day to go book tickets and get a general feel of the city. My hotel was on the same street as the Bridge Climb offices so I went there first and booked a ticket for Tuesday. Next I went to the Circular Quay to see if I could book tickets for the Taronga Zoo and they said I would have to come on the day and buy a ticket. I then went to the Sydney Opera House and booked a tour of the Opera House for Wednesday. Next I went to the Sydney Tower to book a ticket and they had a deal running for Sydney Tower, Sydney Aquarium and the Wildlife World which aren’t far from each other so I booked that and the ticket lasted 3 months so I could go any day I wanted up to when I leave for New Zealand which was good. As I was walking back to my hotel I saw a sign for Sta Travel and I had heard they were quite cheap for tours and I wanted to go to Canberra. I booked a tour for Saturday. All I needed to do now was go to each place, Bridge Climb on Tuesday, Sydney Opera House on Wednesday, Sydney Tower and the Aquarium and Wildlife World on Thursday, if the Wildlife World was no good then I would of gone to Taronga Zoo on Friday, Canberra on Saturday and fly to New Zealand on Sunday.

I started my tour of Sydney on the Harbour Bridge. It lasted 3 and a half hours but was worth it. The only disappointment was that they would not let you take a camera with you so I did not get any pictures but bought the pictures that they took. First of all you got changed into these overalls which were quite comfortable. They put a radio on you so that the guide could talk to you as you go up and you had to be attached on to a cable which ran from the bottom to the top and back down again so that you didn’t get lost. You climbed all the way to the top of the Harbour Bridge on one side and then went down the other side. There were some great views of Sydney and the Opera House and the whole experience of walking up one of the most famous bridges in the World was fantastic.

After being on one of the most famous bridges in the World on Wednesday I went for a tour of one of the most famous buildings in the World, Sydney Opera House. We went around the theatres and concert halls and the guide told us all about how the Opera House was built. The Sydney Opera House is two buildings in one, the exterior made of concrete and designed by Jorn Utzon, the interior is made of granite and wood and designed by Peter Hall after Jorn Utzon resigned. The Opera House looks white but is actually made up of cream tiles stuck on the outside of the building. The building is meant to symbolise the harbour in its shape and colour. The Sydney Opera House was opened in 1973 by Elizabeth II, still the Queen of Australia and her head is on the five Australian dollar note. They are currently refurbishing the Opera House and Jorn Utzon has come back and designed the changes. After the tour I felt I had to see a show so I booked tickets to see the Vertical Hour, it was a bit boring but it was good just being there.

On Thursday I relaxed in the hotel and went to the local pub for a tiger prawn pizza which was nice and that was about it.

On Friday I used my ticket and went to the Sydney Aquarium, Wildlife World and the Sydney Tower. The Wildlife World was good and I got my picture taken at the side of a Koala Bear which was nice. Wildlife World was quite small but had spiders and all kinds of venomous animals. Sydney Aquarium was a bit boring but I think aquariums often are. The Tower was good as you could see all of Sydney but the most famous sights were covered by buildings so it was hard to see them. After all that then I went to the Circular Quay and got a boat to Taronga Zoo. The Zoo was very big and had all sorts of animals in it, nice to walk around and very interesting.

On Saturday I went on a tour of Canberra from Central Station at 7:20am. A man turned up in a car and there were only three of us so the tour was better. We went to Canberra and it took us about 3 hours to get there. We first went to the National Museum which was split into 3 sections, land, nation and people. It was quite interesting to see the history of Australia and learn about the Aborigines and what the government did to them. After that we headed for Parliament House and I could not believe how open everything was and how you could go in the Houses of Parliament with out too much hassle. It was good to see and compare the Parliament to the Parliament in Britain and there are some definite similarities. Next we went around the embassies and consulates and you could see from the outside that the buildings were designed to represent the country that had the embassy or consulate. Next we went to the Australian War Memorial which was very interesting and they had light and sound shows to show what war was like. At 5pm when the Memorial closes a man plays lament on the bagpipes at the closing ceremony. We then went back to Sydney and I got a train from the station to my hotel.

Sydney was superb and I really enjoyed my stay here. Next for me is Auckland, New Zealand and I want to have a rest because I am tired not feeling good so I had better get myself fit for my plans for Los Angeles.

Take care.

Robert

Changi, Singapore (Asia)

Hi, the 26th of 33 countries in the World tour brings me to the first hot country of the around the World ticket. 30 degrees celsius a constant with sweat pouring from the brow. A country that has great travel links and some very nice and beautiful people.

The first thing I did when I got there was to get on the MRT to Tanjong Pagar and walk down to the Singapore railway station which is the southern most point on the Malaysian railway system that runs from Singapore, through Malaysia and on to Bangkok. I booked tickets to Kuala Lumpur and needed to book tickets when I got to Kuala Lumpur. I did not get to go to Bangkok by train as the tickets were not available but I got to go by plane instead.

I went to Kuala Lumpur by overnight train going and afternoon train coming back. The next day I went to the airport and asked about tickets to Bangkok, I also knew that I could get to Indonesia so I asked about getting to Jakarta. I ended up buying tickets to get to Bangkok from Tiger Airways and Jakarta from Garuda Indonesia. As I booked the tickets going one day and coming back the next so I had to book accomodation complex near the Lavender MRT station. I went there straight away and the first shop I went into had the hotels so I booked 2 hotels for 1 night in Bangkok and Jakarta. I went to both of the cities and came back on the 3rd February 2008.

The next 2 days I just relaxed in my hotel room and went in the gym for an hour and a half session and thought of where I could go for the rest of my time in Singapore. I thought I could go around Singapore, go to Kusu Island (Turtle Island) and go on the cable car to Sentosa Island.

On Wednesday I went around Singapore City for the day going to the sights such as Raffles Hotel, Parliament House and the City Hall. It was hot and sticky but very nice. I stopped in a bar, had a drink and it was really nice and relaxing. It was good not to have to wear a coat when going out. I stayed up until 3 o clock on Thursday morning to watch the England game but fell a sleep as it was not the most exciting game and I don't think the team did any better. I'd better give him a chance though.

On Thursday I got the MRT to Ang Mo Kio and the bus to the Singapore Zoo which was very good and quite interesting. They had all kinds of animals including orangutan and the white tiger. I walked around there for a couple of hours and got the bus back to the Ang Mo Kio MRT station. I then took the MRT to Harbourfront for the cable car to Sentosa Island at the bottom of Singapore. I got there and all the streets were lively with a band playing music and a man with a snake, all good fun. Went on the Carlsberg Tower and saw all of the island which was very good, took plenty of pictures. The I got the cable car back and the MRT back to my hotel as I was very tired.

I was in Singapore for the Chinese New Year so it was very busy. I was watching the TV and it showed the Guangzhou Railway Station being packed with people trying to get home but because of the bad weather no one was going any where. I was in that station 2 weeks ago when I went there from Hong Kong so I thought myself very lucky.

For the next two days I just thought about my next destination and what I would do. I fly overnight to Sydney, Australia in a Boeing 747-400. Sydney is where I am going next which I will enjoy as there's many famous landmarks such as Sydney Opera House and Harbour bridge. All being well I can take a tour of the Opera House, do the bridge walk on Harbour Bridge, go to Taronga Zoo and see the Koala Bears, go for a day trip to Canberra and go up the Sydney Tower. I will let you know how I get on.

Take care.

Robert

Jakarta, Indonesia (Asia)

Hi, this is the 29th of 33 countries in the World tour and it brings me to the island of Java and the capital of Indonesia. If you have watched the news in the last couple of days Jakarta has been flooded and I only got to know this when I got on the plane and they showed me the news so I didn't know what I was going to face.

I booked this trip at the same time as I had booked Bangkok only using Garuda Indonesia instead of the budget airline Tiger Airways as they didn't go to Jakarta. My flight was at 10am so I got there at 8am to check in. I got a taxi to the airport and left my flight documents and hotel voucher in the taxi. From that moment on I just knew it would be a bad day. I checked in at 8am and waited until 10am then the flight was delayed until 12:55pm. I got speaking to a Canadian woman called Patricia. We had a chat and I bought her a coffee, she was going to the same island but getting a connecting flight to another place on Java. I waited until 12:30pm and the plane was delayed again, the reason being because of the flooded airport, the plane which was meant for Singapore couldn't take off as there was only one runway in operation. The plane was delayed until 4:30pm and as time went on I was getting annoyed as I was only spending one night in Jakarta and would not have a lot of time to look around. I decided to ask for a refund and after going through all the procedures of immigration and customs I went to the Garuda Indonesia desk for a refund and they said they would not give me a refund as it was the weather to blame and not them so I said at 4:15pm get me on the plane for 4:30pm. Thankfully the plane had been delayed again to 5:30pm so I got the plane.

It takes one hour and twenty minutes to get to Jakarta and time flew. I got there at about 7pm and after getting a visa and going through customs and immagration I finally stepped foot on Indonesian soil, I was happy. I then got a taxi to the hotel which was near the centre of Jakarta, usually it would take thirty to forty minutes but because of floods it took three hours and at times you were driving through water it was that bad. The driver took me through all the residential areas and you saw people on the side of the street with no shoes on there feet, homes flooded and people wading through the water to get to where they want to go. I finally got to my hotel at 10:30pm. Had something to eat and went to bed. I was very tired.

Next morning I had very little money and only travellers cheques on me so I tried to change some money and because it was Sunday no banks were open. The so called money changers wouldn't change travellers cheques which I thought was strange. I was limited to what I could do so I decided to get a tour for a couple of hours and then go back to the airport as I didn't know how long it would take me and I didn't want to miss my flight, I just had enough money for this. I drove around the city and the driver showed me Chinatown, Sukarno era statues and the National Monument. After this the driver drove me to the airport which took only one hour so I think the first driver didn't know where he was going.

I got to the airport spent up and ready to come back to my nice hotel in Singapore. I went to check in and the man got me an earlier flight which would get me back to Singapore for three. He then said I had to pay 100,000 rupiah for airport tax. I had no money left as nobody would exchange my travellers cheques so I had to go to the ATM machine and draw some money out then go back to the check in desk and get my boarding pass. Everything else went smoothly and I got back to Singapore at 3pm. All's well that ends well.

Take care.

Robert