Uncategorized – John & Megs continued adventures around the world

Day 734: London to Detroit to Chicago

After 4 months of working at Bill Gosling we decided to leave and go do some exploring with the money we had earned. We presumed since Bill Gosling has a high turn over that us leaving wouldn’t be a big thing. We were touched how many individuals made an effort to say bye and pass on their email address to keep in touch.Wearing the call centre headsets for the last time!

It was strange leaving Emmalines house after staying there for a while but we were excited to get back on the road. Our last day in London consisted of boring jobs like printing visas and packing but we also had one cinema ticket to use.

On the 1st December we finished packing up our room at Emmalines place. After not being on the move for a while we had lost our touch in bag packing which resulted in cramming items into our bag with the zip nicely strained. It was ever so weird leaving Emmalines house and slightly depressing, good byes are never pleasant. Our last night with Emmaline, a fabulous host!

Emmaline very kindly gave us a lift in her car to the coach station. We then boarded the bus at 10.50am, luckily we were able to sit together. The coach journey was with greyhound, the seats cost approx $23 CAD each. The journey to Detroit was lovely what with it being a sunny day and pretty scenery. The only downside being the smell from the toilet. Nevertheless we crossed the border control without any issues and set off to stay in another air bnb house, our host named Joseph.

Once we were off the coach we searched for a public bus to try and get a fraction nearer to where we were staying. An hour later we managed to get on the bus (costing $1.50 USD each) juggling around our bags as to avoid them swinging into some poor local. Twenty minutes later we were off the bus and 2 miles away from the house. We were told by the US border control security the further from town you stay the tougher the area. With that information in mind we hot footed it to our accommodation.

On arrival at Joseph’s house we discovered nobody was in (perfect luck) so we waited on his door step expectantly. We were there for a good 10 minutes which resulted in us collecting his post for him. A few moments later a lady appeared next door who turned out to be Joseph’s wife. She let us in and gave us a tour of the house, also advising us not to go out after dark. Two girls were also staying in the house with us, the hosts comment understandably made the girls worry about the well being of their car! Our room was pleasant with plenty of room and a comfortable bed. Despite being out of the city the room was $40 USD for one night.

As we didn’t want to go out in the dark and walk aimlessly looking for a supermarket we ordered in. Despite the food being 2 hours late we were happily fed and watered for the night and certainly ready to go to sleep! Later in the evening we managed to meet Joseph himself. He was a nice man who enjoyed talking about his 5 children, his own travel experiences and his views on Donald Trump!

After sleeping soundly for a good 10 hours we woke up fresh and excited for another day ahead. Our next coach wasn’t until 2pm but Joseph had kindly told us we could check out whenever we wanted.

We planned to leave the room at 12pm. Having a lazy morning was all fun and games until John discovered the bus was at 12.15pm. We managed to do a 10 minute walk with one minute to spare with 10kg on our backs and a wheeled suitcase in our hands. Nevertheless we made it in time and managed to get a seat – costing $1.50 USD each.

A few random snaps of Detroit on route to the bus terminal

Our next trip, Detroit to Chicago was with Mega Bus – we preferred Mega bus as they leave on time and have reserved seating. We were seat 3 and 4, little did we know we had front seats – a prime view! The tickets cost about $11 USD including booking and reservation fee.

By 2pm we were on route to Chicago and nicely fed with a sandwich John managed to find for $16 USD total. Although the weather was chilly it was lovely and sunny – a good day to watch the scenery pass us. On the coach on the way to Chicago

By 4.30pm we stopped at a rest station to stretch our legs and use the toilets or ‘washrooms’ as they call it. John spotted a handbag for sale in the shop, which turned out to be a fashionable gun carrier! The label quoted “keep calm and carry weapons” – no thank you!

We arrived in Chicago around 7pm (we dropped a hour, now 5 behind the UK) the city was clean, plenty of people about (not gangsters) and the general feel of the place was great. Despite Chicago also being known for being a little on the rough side we wouldn’t of known whatsoever. We are staying a few blocks from the University so there are plenty of students walking around. Lovely views from the sun setting as we arrived in Chicago

We reached our accommodation, an apartment owned by a man called Juan. We already knew before we arrived that Juan wouldn’t be in the apartment when we got there but we knew where the key was etc prior to arrival. We were greeted by a loveable house cat who seemed to love fuss. The apartment was lovely and clean, our room a little small but we were only planning to sleep in there and be out for the day. A furry friend for the next 5 days

The following day we went exploring. We did a lot of walking but we managed to see a lot. We were very lucky with the weather too as it wasn’t too cold and the sun was shining all day – we even got too hot at one point! Chicago City Centre

By 1pm we managed to stop for some lunch at a convenience store where we got a packed lunch for $9 USD total. By 3.45pm we had walked 11km so we enjoyed a 20 minute flop on the sofa we found in a mall!

After walking around for a little bit longer to see all the Christmas lights lit up in the dark we eventually headed home. As soon as we realised we had walked a total of 20km we understood why our feet were throbbing. We had a fantastic day and Chicago is definitely one of our favourite cities, plenty to do, see and explore.

The ”Bean’ sculpture, full name ‘Cloud Gate’ that was designed to look like liquid mercury! The City by night! & Johns furry friend enjoying a back rub

The following day we bought a one day travel card for unlimited use throughout the day. The card cost $10 USD each. First things first we headed for Chicago’s free zoo. We were a little sceptical to if the zoo was free or not but only one way to find out. We caught the train there and only had to walk for ten minutes or so before we arrived at the zoo.

The zoo was indeed free and also very impressive, they had tigers, snow leopards, monkeys, gorillas, camels, kangaroos and a variety of birds including penguins. Luckily the zoo was quiet as it was a Monday and the animals were all very active. Admittedly we did expect the zoo to be full of sheep and equally not so exciting animals but we were pleasantly surprised.

After a couple of hours at the zoo we then went to visit the theatre and the alley where the famous criminal John Dillinger was shot after being on the run from the police for years after seeing a theatre production.

We then took the train to see one of Chicago’s German markets. We walked around and took in the delicious smell of mulled wine whilst looking at the overpriced stalls and ice rink with Christmas carols playing in a the background. It certainly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Our next activity was a comedy show which we had bought tickets for on the previous day. We then went back to the apartment in the hope of having a shower and having a hot meal. When realising it was a 40 min bus journey to get to the show we swapped a shower for a change of clothes and a hot meal for a cereal bar.

We then ran to the bus stop to catch the bus by the skin of our teeth to discover our 24 hour travel pass had cut off after 8 hours meaning the bus ticket was yet another fare out of our pocket. We then ran to the train station to discover the pass was working so we’d lost money for no reason. Perfect.

Two trains later and we arrived at the comedy club. We were seated right at the front, practically on the stage! We treated ourselves to a drink each which came with a pricey bill as well as the tip (?!)

Unsure whether or not our humour varied massively to those in the USA but the show was not one bit funny. Whilst everyone was loudly laughing we were wondering if we’d missed a hidden punch line somewhere?! At one point one of the ‘comedians’ was stood right by John on stage so unfortunately the spot light was on him also. As John was also in the lime light he had to pretend to laugh so that we didn’t look confused/unamused Brits for the night!

Nevertheless it was nice to officially see a show in Chicago and it was good to see everyone in good spirits.

The stage! (And how close we were)The rather forced smiles we painted on our face for the night

The following day we needed to find somewhere to exchange money. Such a simple task you would expect to take 20 mins or so. However unlike in the UK, banks will not exchange money unless you have an account with them. We spent two hours looking for somewhere.

Eventually someone told us of a place called Travelex Currency Service. We discovered Travelex didn’t open till 3pm so we headed for a hot drink in a cafe as the winds were painfully cold on our faces and snow was starting to fall.

The currency rate was shocking at the exchange shop so we ended up withdrawing from an ATM. It was rather amusing as the banker thought we were millionaires when we told her we had bank accounts in England, Canada and Australia! The bank we withdrew from was called BMO Harris, the conversion rate was better than any other we had found.

Later on we braved the cold winds and did some final sight seeing around the town – we even bumped into a girl from London UK!

Ice rink in the town centre The crown fountain that shows a series of moving faces before spitting water out! Luckily the water feature had been turned off but we stayed at a distance just in case!The famous Chicago Art Institute A strange frame made of old tyres?We re visited the Bean to capture the city sky line in the reflectionTaking a picture of anything Christmassy – of course!More Christmas lights to pose with!Our final pictures of Chicago’s impressive city!

Overall we have had a fabulous time in Chicago, we wished we had a few more days there in fact. We have been waking 20km each day and have still not seen all the city! Would certainly recommend the visit and we would defiantly return given the chance. Next stop…Cincinnati!

Day 700: London to Toronto to Niagara Falls

We managed to find a job in London, Ontario pretty quick after arriving. We worked for Bill Gosling, an outsourcing company that provide emergency road side assistance to hundreds of insurance companies within the USA and parts of Canada.

The work was in the form of a call centre, we spent eight hours a day with a head set on with angry Americans shouting in our ears. Some of the days were dull and long and other days were speedy, however the money made was going towards our next trip which made it all worth while.

Our English accent seems to amaze some and confuse others. Both of us have had Americans asking if we speak English or can they be transferred through to someone who does speaks English. Re-assuring them that we do in fact speak English as our mother tongue is usually met with disdain followed by a handful of abusive words and ending with them calling us liars. We do get the occasional nice client, who is very understanding and helpful but these seem to be few and far between. In typical human fashion everyone believes

they are the most important and should be serviced instantly and priorities to the top of the list. So when informed that they may have to wait an hour for service, the verbal abuse starts up once again.

The job was located in the city centre, in London’s main shopping mall. The term, shopping mall should be used loosely. It housed two discount stores going by the names Bulkbarrel and Dollarama, a spattering of clothing stores along with a college and the call centre.

We stayed with a friendly lady, Emmaline for a short while before having to move to another ladies house, Janice. Although Janice’s has two loveable cats we preferred Emmalines location due to the walk to work being shorter and the area being more friendly.

The two cats at Janice’s house were named LuLu and Laila, which we nicknamed fat kitty and little kitty. We will let you decide if you can work out which one was which. Little kitty was four years old and loved to play not to mention mischievous. Fat kitty was a little bit more relaxed and enjoyed to pass the days by lounging on our bed, spread out to take up maximum space.

Both of the cats seemed to enjoy waking us up in the morning in their own unique way. Fat kitty would insist on jumping onto the bed and would cause quite a fright making us jump out of our skin. She would then hurriedly curl herself up in the warm spot where we had just jumped from. Little kitty would much prefer to paw through our belonging until she found something of interest, whether that be John’s trouser toggles or a set of batteries which she managed to open and chase around the bedroom. If you’re wondering how loud a set of batteries on a wooden floor is, we assure you it is loud!

Despite both cats being little devils we certainly missed them as we made the three mile walk to settle for the last time at Emmelines. Finally having a place where we would be stationary for a good couple of months we could now focusing on arranging other things. In particular, a halloween night out, a trip to Niagara falls and our American road trip.

Being one of Johns favourite holidays we made an effort to get our Halloween outfits together for a weekend in Toronto. We were excited to check out the nightlife and to see Canada’s version of Halloween in comparison to Australia the previous year. Previous years have seen us go as The Joker and Harley Quinn in England, The Mad hatter and Alice in wonderland while in Australia and Captain hook and Tinkerbell for this year in Canada. Always preferring to put costumes together ourselves another visit to charity shop was in order.

Judging from promotions alone, halloween is a much bigger holiday in North America than Europe or Australasia. Only a handful of clubs were available for a night out in Australia while every club in Toronto seems to be selling tickets for some sort of spooky event, there are even two cruises heading out to sea for party goers, aptly named ghost ships.

On the 27th October we headed for Toronto, where we stayed with a lady called Cheryl. We took the Greyhound coach to get to Toronto. We couldn’t sit by each other as the unsociable group on our bus all wished to sit by themselves taking up two seats each so all families and couples were split up for journey. As expected the group was already a little rowdy and getting impatient as the coach was running late. We couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the driver as it wasn’t his fault that there had been accident on the highway.

We arrived in Toronto, got off the coach then took a 45 minute walk to arrive at a shop. Little had we known we were going to be living above a shop for the next few days. Cheryl turned out to be a lot older than expected, perhaps in her 70s. We got the impression that Cheryl prided herself as having a hippy lifestyle, as she took us on a tour of her small apartment. She seemed a nice lady and seemed willing to chat to us and give us tips about the neighbourhood.

After a good nights sleep we decided to head out despite the rain. We ended up buying a day pass and getting the train around the city to explore. We also visited Mckenzie house where we saw how the old newspapers used to be printed.

Later on in the day we headed out for our Halloween celebrations as Captain Hook and Tinkerbell. Unfortunately after all the planning and outfit preparation we ended up in a extreme gay bar unknowingly which wasn’t really the vibe we were after. After blowing our budget on entrance to the club and one drink each we were sober and fed up which resulted in a early night – nevertheless it had been fun to dress up.

The following day we decided to go for a walk in a national park. The autumn trees were beautiful and it was really lovely to stretch the legs, get fresh air and make the most of having nothing to do. At 2pm we stopped for a picnic lunch then by 3.15pm we headed back into the city. We spent the remainder of the afternoon/evening exploring. We managed to see the harbour, the Flat Iron building, the Distillery District and pretty much everything in between as we did the majority by foot.

On our last day off we went to visit Niagara Falls. With a early start of 8am we walked with our belongings to the coach station once again. After a fast paced 5km walk with heavy bags on our shoulders we were sat on the coach, we even managed to sit by each other this time!

When we arrived in Niagara the weather was pretty miserable. With a 3km walk we arrived at the Falls. Time seemed to go extremely quickly as we walked up and down to view both the USA and Canadian side of the Falls. We then decided as we would only get the chance once that we would take a ride on the ‘Maid of the Mist’.

The Maid of the Mist was a 20 minute boat ride in which you get extremely close to the Falls. We had a really fantastic time and got absolutely drenched in the process. For once in our travelling lives we were more than happy to be carrying round the majority of our belongings as it meant we could change out of our soaking clothes – if not we would be in our wet clothes for 5 + hours.

To round up the day we headed for a local coffee shop to warm up and to get some refreshments before the descent back to London.

We had a really fantastic time in Toronto despite the not so great weather and looked forward to our next adventure. Another bonus was that we only had to go back to work for two days before we could have another two off!

Day 606: Iceland to Canada

On the 19th July we left Iceland and headed for Toronto, Canada. The Iceland airport had poor organisation but we eventually took off for our 6 hour journey.

With on board entertainment and regular free drinks the flight seemed to go quite fast. We arrived at 5.30pm UK time, 12.30pm Canada time. On the plane from Iceland to Toronto, Canada.

Due to having a working holiday visa we had to join a line before we could collect our bags. An hour and a half later we could collect our bags which had been dumped on the floor since they were the last bags of the flight.

We then discovered we needed change for the bus. Having not eaten for 12 hours (and that was a apple and a slice of bread) we decided to break into a note and share a sandwich.

We eventually got on the public bus on the way to our air bnb accommodation. The temperature was 27 degrees so we felt pretty warm dressed in thermals and coats!

We were staying in someone's converted basement which had a full kitchen, dining room, bathroom and bedroom. First we went to the supermarket which was a refreshing change to be able to afford food again!

After a great nights sleep from a combination of it being dark (after 24 hours of light in Iceland) and jet lag we decided to spend the next day exploring. We instantly looked like tourists from the amazement of seeing a skunk and a black squirrel in the park!

Unlike the day we arrived, the day that was dedicated to sight seeing was pouring down with rain which was unfortunate. We still enjoyed walking around the city and getting a feel for the area and people. Toronto in the rain!Standing undercover waiting for the rain to calm down!

The few Canadians that we have spoken to have highly recommended a coffee shop called Tim holtons. As we were far from the apartment and in the rain we decided to get lunch and a hot drink – for a fair price we were impressed! Our first Canadian Coffee!

Eventually the rain stopped so we continued exploring. We went to st Lawrence's market which is a 'must see' followed by a walk to Ontario lake where we could see the city sky line and tallest tower in the world, CN. St Lawrence MarketPlenty of tourists at St Lawrence's marketToronto CityLooking at Toronto City by Lake Ontario The tallest tower in the world, called CN

By early evening the sun had come out! So we spent a few more hours looking around. After walking 13 miles we decided to go back to the apartment and rest – we had a fabulous day!

On the 22nd July we headed for London. However our train wasn't until 5.30pm and we had to check out of our air bnb at 11am. We ended up taking our bags with us to a coffee shop and sipping a coffee slowly!

By 3pm we were at the train station with our tickets to hand. The train station was a lot busier than expected! We boarded the train at 5.15PM, the seats had enough leg room for us both to lie down! We were going to be nice and comfortable for the 3 hours. On the train ready to departWe were impressed with our leg room!

We arrived at our next air bnb place at 9pm with a very friendly retired lady called Emmaline. She even gave us some spaghetti since we hadn't eaten.

After a good nights sleep we went exploring through London city. It was a warm sunny day too which was a bonus.

We spent a few days finding our feet, opening a bank account, getting a social insurance number and looking for work.

We managed to both get a job in a call centre where we answer the phone to Americans who have broken down in their cars and need picking up. We continued to look for work in the hope something better would come up.

On the 30th July we went to watch the Pride festival in the street, it was a lovely day and many of the locals had appeared to sit on the grass and watch.

As expected there was a selection of people there including drag queens, gay choirs and much more! Somehow we obtained loads of free gifts including flags, beach balls, beads, sweets and fly swatters.

The following day we had our first day at Bill Gosling Call centre. Let the work begin!

Day 594: UK to Iceland

On the 13th July we departed from the UK after a fabulous 3 weeks of catching up with everyone. We packed our bags full with warm gear and a pair of new walking shoes each.

At 1.30pm we left for Iceland! By 5pm English time we were out of the airport and we ‘found’ our rented car- rented from someone we weren’t even staying with on air bnb. The car was left in a hotel car park with the key hidden on top of a tyre. The car was much bigger than expected! John had to quickly adjust to right sided driving- luckily the car was automatic too.

We arrived at our air bnb apartment 30km later. The host wasn’t overly welcoming but the room was pleasant and we were only staying for one night.
We survived our first night of constant daylight! We felt like we were taking a nap at 1pm rather than going to bed for the night.
First we took a drive to Reykjavik and went exploring by foot. The city centre was a little underwhelming and grey but we had a nice walk and managed to see a few views. For lunch we shared a pack of £2 crisps, the supermarkets were extremely pricey, for example a box of cereal for £10, £27 for beef mince and a bag of grapes for £9.

We then popped to the petrol station where a man decided to fill up for us (despite not doing it for anyone else?) which unfortunately meant we had to pay £45 (5p extra per litre) this was a bit of a sting to the £100 budget.

Later on we reached our new accommodation, another air bnb apartment. The apartment was new and was owned by a young man who worked nights meaning we would be able to have plenty of time to ourselves.
The following day we decided to take the Golden Circle drive, a 140 mile round trip looping from Reykjavik to the southern uplands of Iceland.
The drive to the Golden Circle was beautiful, the sun came out and the green views were spectacular. We even managed to see wild Icelandic horses on the route.

The three primary stops on the route are the pingvellir national park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the geothermal area in Haukadalur which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur.
Though Geysir has been mostly dormant for many years, Strokkur continues to erupt every 5–10 minutes. Other stops include the Kerio volcanic crater, the town of Hverageroi, Skalholt cathedral, and the Nesjavellir and Hellisheioarvirkjun geothermal power plants.

After a fabulous day we decided to go back to the apartment and rest. The following day we decided to head for the places we had missed.
Our first stop was Selfoss followed by Hella and Vik. We also went to see the remains of a crashed plane and to a black beach. We then went to a second black beach and we managed to see some wild puffins! – unfortunately they were a little too quick to get a picture!

Taking the 3 mile walk to see the plane wreck

We were ever so pleased with our sightings for the day. The 3 hour drive home was just as stunning, green open land for miles and miles.
On our final full day in Iceland we went to visit the Blue Lagoon. At a pricey £60 each we had taken a big blow to the budget, however 80% of tourists visit the lagoon and we didn’t want to leave without taking part.
Our time slot was 7am meaning we had to leave the apartment at about 6.20am. Unfortunately the weather was pretty miserable so we were hoping it would brighten up by the time we got there.
We spent a good four hours in the lagoon and we had a brilliant time. We both agreed the experience wasn’t worth £60 each but we were glad to of made the trip. We had a free face mask included in our ticket so we had two of those whilst in the water. The weather was pretty poor whilst we were in the water, strong winds and cold rain hit us but luckily the water was 37 degrees so we were lovely and warm.

It’s pretty hard to have a kiss with face masks on!

After a wonderful time in Iceland it was time to pack up and prepare for the 6 hour flight to Toronto, Canada the following day. We had a great time and would recommend the visit – just bare in mind the cost!

Day 566: Romania to Bulgaria to the UK

On the 10th June we left Dubai to head for Romania. We were sad to leave our luxury hotel but we had throughly enjoyed our stay. We enjoyed Dubai, but would have preferred the weather to have been a little cooler to be able to be out and about more.
Our flight wasn’t until the evening so we decided to go to the cinema before heading to the airport. After a train and a bus ride we were at the airport.
This airport was one of two of Dubais airports. The airport was pretty secluded with minimal transport links. The place was empty! There were 4 flights for the evening in total to give an indication of how quiet the place was.

View of Dubai as we took off into the night

We arrived in Romania at 12.35am (new time zone). The flight was mediocre, Wizz air was a very cheap and budget airline meaning seats weren’t that comfy and the plane rattled during take off. However we landed safely. Locals started clapping when we landed like it was the norm – either happy to be home or relieved Wizz Airplane didn’t fall out the sky?!
We then caught a taxi to our hotel with it being 2.15AM. It was a strange feeling to be in Europe and to see so many European people!
We stayed in Pensiunea Tabu hotel in Cluj for £25 for the night (the cheapest place we could find!) The manager was expectedly a little disorientated to be meeting us at 2AM but the room was clean and comfortable so we had a good stay.

By 10AM we were out exploring by foot. It was a pleasant change to be amongst Europeans and to be in a town so clean and fresh – we couldn’t stop smelling the air as it felt like a cool summers day! (Rather than the strong smell of pollution like in Asia)
The Romanian language was a little hard to follow, not one word was similar to ours but we had a few days to get used it!
The town felt very pretty. Lovely houses and plenty of flowers/greenery which we hadn’t seen for a while.
We really loved walking around aimlessly and admiring the buildings and architecture whilst people watching!

We were lucky enough to catch the end of a opera performance at the theatre. We had gone in to look around and the guard let us sneak in for the end. We weren’t sure what we were watching but we certainly enjoyed what we saw.
At 4PM we left Cluj and headed for Turda, only a hour away on the bus. We were really impressed with Cluj. Every where was clean and every corner we turned had beautiful scenery. The weather wasn’t too hot, nor too cold. Each building or house was unique in terms of design and decoration. There wasn’t any part of the town which uncared for. In-between buildings, shops and restaurants was gorgeous greenery, plants and flowers.
Our next hotel was called Green House, for £14. Green House was a family house which had wooden cabins in their back garden along with lots of chickens. The hut was lovely and the host seemed a nice lady.
After a good nights sleep with a lovely breakfast of Romanian cheese, breads, omelettes and home grown cherries we headed out.

We walked to Turdas Salt Mine.
We had a good couple of hours at the Salt Mines. We explored the tunnels and looked around the futuristic looking mines. There was a salt lake which you could take boat rides on but we opted out.
Later on we went to collect our bags from the guest house and walked to the bus stop to catch a bus to Hunedoara. We then discovered we had missed the bus by 20 minutes so we had to wait 3 hours before the next bus.
We arrived in a rough town but nice hotel called Hotel Rusca for £23. We slept well and breakfast was better than expected.
In the morning we went to visit a castle, Corvins Castle. The castle was very well kept and extremely pretty/medieval. We paid a little extra to take the audio tour which was very good- just a little hard to understand at times with the tour being in a strong Romanian accent.

The views from the castle were equally as good. We ended up spending a few hours there.

That afternoon we caught a bus to Deva followed by another bus Sibiu. By 8.30pm we had reached our Guesthouse, Central Apartments for £30. The apartment we owned by a perky young man who spoke good English. The apartment was lovely and we couldn’t be in a more central area if we tried.
There was a festival on in the street so the square was filled with stalls, music and performances. We headed straight out to explore and to look at what was going on.
The following day we headed back into Sibiu town centre. We wondered around the cobbled roads and walked down all the pathways we could find.

At 1.30PM we caught the bus to Brasov. We reached our hotel, Pension Noemi by 5pm costing £14 for the night.
The following morning we caught the bus to Bran to visit Bran castle aka Dracula’s castle. The castle has existed for over 600 years. Bran castle also represents the castle from the Dracula story.
The castle was very busy so we felt a little rushed walking around but we certainly enjoyed what we saw. We had a walk around the outside of the castle too which was lovely.

Later that evening we caught a bus to Busteni. We reached our deserted hotel, Mona Guesthouse for £10. The place looked like it hadn’t been popular for a while. There was no shops in sight so we frantically looked for some sort of take out food place.

We had no luck so we hot footed into the darkness to find a single restaurant. We ordered takeaway and sprinted back aware of all the bears, wolves and big dogs in the area.
After a good nights sleep we headed out to catch a bus to Sinaia to visit the castle Peles. This castle was certainly our favourite with the detail and beauty of the building inside and out. We even managed to get in half price as we were under 26 – John managed to get away with saying that too!

Unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures inside of the castle and we had to wear bags on our feet to protect the floors but we were certainly pleased to have made the visit.

That afternoon we took a train to Bucuresti where we had booked a air bnb place for two nights. Our host was a friendly chap who spoke great English.
The apartment was fantastic, we had a kitchen a bathroom and a washing machine. The place was clean, comfortable and in a perfect location.
The following day we treated ourselves to a few extra hours sleep before heading out. We then went for a walk and saw the second largest parliament building in the world. The building also has the title of the heaviest building in the world.

Later on we took a walk around the ‘Old Town’ and dipped into the occasional shop to have a nose around.
The following day we were due to leave Romania and head to Sofia by train. The train journey was supposed to take 10 hours and departed at 12.45pm.
The weather was raining and miserable so it was the perfect day for a 10 hour journey by train. We shared a carriage with a couple from London who were really friendly and we were talking to them for the majority of the journey.
We arrived in our hotel/apartment at 11PM – a little small, rather a room than a apartment but it would do the job. The apartment was called Panagyurishte and we paid £17 a night.
The 20th June approached, we flew home with Ryan Air, back to the UK. Home and refresh for 3 weeks then on to Iceland! What a strange feeling going home after 18 months!

Day 558: Sri Lanka to Dubai

On the 4th June we left Hikkaduwa and headed to Colombo by public bus. As always the bus was busy so we crammed ourselves into the seats with the bags.
Typically, we managed to catch the bus with a dodgy bus conductor. Instead of paying for our tickets once seated as we have been the conductor insisted we pay once we reach our destination despite taking every locals payment without fail.
We felt this wasn’t right so we tried to ask locals what would be the conductors logic behind this payment method. The locals were just as unsure as us. The conductor even tried to stop the locals talking to us at this point. Thanks to this easily avoidable scenario we spent the 3 hour bus journey on edge wondering what was planned for us at the Colombo bus terminal.
When we arrived the man didn’t try any funny business which was a relief. We then had to get another bus to the airport to then go to our next hotel.
We arrived at our hotel by 4pm, Sun Up Hotel for £10. We were 2km from the airport which was the only reason we chose it. The place was pretty grotty and we arrived during a power cut but luckily it was only for the night. The hotel had thousands of mosquitos flying about, we were contemplating going to the airport early and sleeping on the chairs there.
After not much sleep in the worst hotel we’ve stayed in by far we were up and about at 7AM. We were at the airport by 8.40AM.
Sri Lanka’s airport system was a little crazy with random crowds of people all over the place. We were a little worried when we went to check in as the woman told us our names were not on the system. Luckily they found our seats and we were sat ready to board by 9.45AM.
After a comfortable flight we landed in Dubai at 3.45PM (new time zone) we then had to catch a bus to our hotel.
Our hotel Suba Hotel was lovely. A stunning room which was clean and comfortable. First dilemma, Megs bag had a ants nest inside! We had to throw everything in the shower since there were so many eggs and ants! – most likely picked up from the previous hotel judging by the state of it!

First we went for some food, we hadn’t eaten for 28 hours! As it was Ramadan restaurants were closed. Fast food joints were open on a take out basis and supermarkets were open. Dubai was hot but it was nice to have a dry heat rather than humid.
On the 6th June we went to visit the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. We took the metro there which was nice and easy to understand what with all the English signs.
We passed through Dubais largest mall, along with the hundreds of designer shops we saw a ice rink, cinema, indoor theme park, waterfall and a aquarium.

We then reached the Burj Khalifa which was equally as impressive. Surrounding the building was a huge fountain display and a stunning view of the city. It was extremely hot, the benches were too hot to sit on! During Ramadan public consumption of food and drink is against the rules so we had to find hiding spots to have a sip of water.

Standard unflattering selfie due to having to take picture at low angle to fit building in!

City view with fountain area outside Dubai Mall

The city felt very clean and modern. The area wasn’t very busy what with people fasting and wanting to save energy.
The following day it was HOT! Very very hot! Going to the supermarket less than 1KM away was a challenge. We decided it was way to hot to venture out, especially as we couldn’t freely drink water.
We decided to spend the afternoon in the pool. The pool was on the rooftop. Despite continuous cold water being pumped into the pool the water was still rather warm what with being in the direct sun light. The pool was fairly small but it was lovely to cool down.
When we felt cooler we went for a evening walk. By night, the locals emerge for food. Restaurants were all lit up and ready for business until the early hours. The city looked ever so pretty too from all the bright lights and the modern buildings.
On the 8th June we went on a sand boarding tour. The rep picked us up at 6.40AM (earlier than expected) and we set off to the sand dunes. By 7.15AM it was 34 degrees! This was going to be a hot day!
We picked up a mother and daughter with us to go on the tour, they were from Switzerland. We drove through the desert and saw a few wild camels!
First we went for a 4×4 ride over the desert. We drove at high speed skidding in all directions. We also flew over high sand cliffs and did several tricks sideways and backwards. It was evident the driver enjoyed his job..make tourists feel sick in the back seat!

When we arrived at the main sand mountains we had a few turns each on the sand board. John went straight into standing up (same technique as snow boarding).

Meg had a few goes at sitting on the board to start with (like sledging) and then progressed to standing. The man named Meg the ‘sand bug’ as she managed to get absolutely coated in sand- the man found it hilarious. We both fell off numerous times but it didn’t hurt. The main effort was walking back up the steep hill on the hot sand carrying the board. We both had a great time, maybe we will progress to snow boarding!

By 11.30AM we were back at the hotel, it was now 43 degrees!

A local man decided to put this on John’s head with the hope he would buy it!

The following day we went exploring. We headed out as late as possible in the hope that the temperature would be slightly cooler.

First we took the metro to the Marina. We admired all the tall and modern buildings along with the sleek walkways and businesses.

Next we went to admire the worlds only 7* hotel! Each room is apparently 2 stories high! Unfortunately we couldn’t afford to spend a night there but we still enjoyed taking a good look from the outside- oh, we also spotted the helicopter pad of course!

We then went to the beach to watch the sun set which really was beautiful. The sands were white, the sea was calm and everything was clean,tropical and warming – paradise!

After watching the stunning sun set we headed back to the hotel. Hundreds of people were getting our food and drink after fasting for the day. The city soon lit up, food outlets and mosques were suddenly crowded – the town felt very alive for 7.15PM.