Some Tour Statistics

Some Random Stats from the tour
Photos Taken - 4300 (Thailand 65, Malaysia 72, Singapore 15, Australia 462, New Zealand 1274, Fiji 34, USA 1285, Canada 1232)
Items Stolen - Half a Baguette, Cheese and Ham (The cheeky idiot actually made a sandwhich)
Items Lost - A few socks, 1 Baseball Cap, Olly the Otter :(
Number of Flights - 18
Problems with Homeland Security - 1
Best Friends weddings missed - 1 (Sorry dude)
Miles Driven - TBA
Miles Hiked - TBA


If anyone in Australia finds Olly the Otter then please contact me

A big Thank You

Oct 22nd. I just want to say a big thank you to all the awesome people I met during my trip and everyone who bothered to read my blog (Including my 'friends' at Homeland Security). It was you all who made it a very special 9 months. As to what I do next, who knows - I am free to go wherever I want so having lots of options is good. It is certainly good to have my own room again - no more bunk beds and strange people at hostels for a while.

Any Questions?

JFK to London - The Final Leg

My flight is due to leave at 20:30 and after a slight delay due to traffic on the runway I am off up into the Sky for the 6 ish hour flight home. The in flight entertainment is sweet - Everything is available on demand and you can pause movies/TV shows as well. As it is a BA flight then the food is pretty good (so far as airline food can be good). The only problem is my inability to sleep on planes so I arrive in London (8:40 local time) absolutely exhausted. Clearing Passport control is a breeze - Homeland Security take note - you can do your job and be pleasant at the same time.

Final Day Fun

Oct 17th. Well it has finally arrived - the last day of the World Tour 2007. I head into town with a new friend I made the previous day - Michelle from Oz with the purpose of doing a bit of shopping and wandering aimlessly around. We start out having a look at Macy's - the biggest store in the World - 1 block and 9 storeys - it really is huge and looks big from the top of the Empire State Building. We are in search of some trainers (sneakers) for her and some baseball caps for me and maybe some tourist crap to take home. After successfully getting what we wanted, we head to lunch and Michelle bursts out laughing as Shrek and a Camera crew walk past the window behind me. We head off 'Shrek hunting' and find him immediately in Times Square and he is kind enough to pose for some pictures inbetween filming something. Also we get some pics with NY policemen - They were happy to pose for the camera but when I suggested they pretend to Arrest Michelle, they weren't as amused. After some wanderings we end up in Starbucks where I have a Strawberry Mocha Latte Crapachino or something like that and am delighted to find someones hair in it - The serving girls look scared as they are expecting me to pull out a DIY lawsuit from my pocket but I settle for another beverage. After this we head back to the hostel so I can pick up my bags, have a final cup of tea and then after saying our goodbyes, I get the subway to the Airport. This is about Rush hour and brings back 'happy' memories of the Tube in London - It was a pleasant 2 hours with my bags but I finally get to the airport with 2 1/2 hours to spare.
Pictures (Left) - Shrek and I in Times Square, (Right) - Michelle with NY's finest, (Bottom) - 'chelle and I sporting our Baseball Caps in Starbucks

Yankee's Suck

Well, I was going to do a Stadium tour around the famous Yankee stadium in the Bronx but when I inquire I am told that they aren't doing it today. Must be something to do with them getting knocked out of the play offs early unlike my team (and arch rivals) the Boston Red Sox. I enjoyed wearing my Red Sox cap around here anyway.

Load of Bull

I walk again past that Charging Bull Statue - It is less busy so I take some pictures. Check out the cajone's

Ellis Island

Well, I couldn't be bothered to see Ellis Island so here is a picture of it as the boat went past. The views of downtown Manhattan itself were cool as we head back to South Battery Park to end the trip.

The Statue of Liberty

Oct 16th. After watching the Cleveland Indians defeat the Boston Red Sox last night (Damn), I head out to Liberty Island to get a close up view of the Rusted icon of the Statue of Liberty (Originally it was bronze before rusting green after 30 years). The boat heads to Liberty Island and the weather is sunny again. The Lady herself stands proudly over the entrance to NY. Security is tight before boarding the boat and once we reach the island, I do a walk around it and then catch the boat over to Ellis Island.

The Empire State Building

After an abortive attempt to go to Liberty Island due to excess people in the queue, I head back into Central Manhattan and go and check out the Empire State Building. Since 9/11, It has regained its place as the tallest building in New York and it offers spectacular 360 degree views of the city. The only down side to the experience was the incessant people trying to sell you a Skyride or Upgrade to 102nd floor or listen to Joe the Taxi drivers commentary or get a map of the top so you know what you are seeing. OK, this is fair enough before I have bought my ticket so I know the options but after deciding to get the thing, I don't want to be asked every few steps whether I wanted to buy the things that I just turned down. I had timed the visit well as I didn't have to queue too long - sometimes during the busier days you can be waiting for 2-3 hours.
Pictures (Left) - The Empire State Buildnig, (Right) - View of Uptown, (Bottom) - View of downtown

Random Animal Pictures #89

A Turkey by Battery Park in South Manhattan near the Staten Island Ferry terminal. Quite what it is doing here I don't know but it seemed to get on well with the local squirrels.

The United Nations

Oct 15th. The day starts out cloudy but clears up into bright sunshine (again). I head over to the United Nations which actually sits in International Territory (owned by 192 member nations) rather than on US soil. After clearing security, I do a guided tour around the place seeing the chamber where Economics are debated and also the General Assembly Chamber. Unfortunately the Security Council is off limits as they were discussing Iran at the time - bit inconsiderate really. We learn some interesting facts along the way and also see various presents that some of the member countries have given - The Japanese donated a garden, The Chinese a sculpture made of Ivory!! (before it was made illegal).
Pictures (Left) - The UN tower houses the offices, (Right) - The General Assembly Chamber, (Bottom) - Pictures of all the UN leaders, Now a South Korean

The Brooklyn Bridge

Carrying after a couple of slices of NY Pizza for lunch. I walk across the Brooklyn bridge which offers cool views of downtown and also uptown as well. The bridge used to be the longest Suspension bridge and was completed in the 19th Century (I think). Anyway it is a popular thing to do and some cyclists were not amused with all the pedestrians in their bike lane.

Ground Zero

Located in the heart of downtown NY is Ground Zero where the Twin Towers stood till 911 in 2001. It is a very strange feeling to see the place now and try to imagine that there were two huge skyscrapers here until recent times. The current site is a mass of construction and the square is a huge slice of real estate. Some of the damage is visible on the surrounding buildings as well. There is a little place which houses a list of names of everyone killed here as well as what the plans for redevelopment are. Some people were visibly distressed as well and unfortunately there are some people trying to cash in by selling pictures/post cards etc which isn't right.

Wall St and Downtown Wanderings

After getting back from the SI ferry, I wander up through Battery Park and then head up past the Charging Bull Statue with the enormous testicles to Wall Street. Here I have a look at all the huge buildings including the Trump tower. Nestled in here is where George Washington gave his inaugural speech at Federal Hall. Also I see the outside of NY Stock Exchange where they trade things like Gold, Silver, Oil and Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice.
Pictures (Left) - Wall St, (Right) - George Washington Statue by Federal Hall, (Bottom) - NY Stock Exchange - Pork Bellies, I knew it!

Ferry to Statten Island

Oct 14th. It is a gloriously Sunny day in New York, so I take the Statten Island Ferry - This ferry offers cool view of the NY harbour and the Statue of Liberty. As soon as the ferry lands, I reboard it to get back onto Manhattan Island itself as there isn't a great deal to do on SI itself. I then begin my day of wandering around the downtown area taking in various sights.

Ice Hockey at Madison Square Garden

My first action in NYC is to go to the Sports Mecca that is Madison Square Garden (The self proclaimed 'Most Famous Arena in the World' - How American). I am watching some NHL - New York Rangers versus Ottawa Senators. The game starts slowly with New York just looking terrible and Ottawa looking tired after there long road trip. The first period is scoreless then Ottawa explode for 3 goals in about 2 minutes in the 2nd which leads the New Yorkers booing their own team. I have heard about how fickle the NY crowd can be and it is hilarious - One player in particular gets booed every time he gets the puck. There is a Quality fight in the 2nd period and the Refs just stand by so the crowd get their moneys worth - some decent blows are traded too. It looks like NY will be held scoreless especiall as they couldn't score when Ottawa were reduced to 3 players for 1 minute due to penalties (which lead to some fantastic booing/jeering/comments). Another fight happens which leads to a NY player being led groggily off the ice. NY finally nick a disputed goal with 1 minute to go but that is it as far as the scoring goes. Final NY Rangers 1 Ottawa Senators 3.

An Englishman in New York (via Amtrak)

Oct 13th. After a slightly lethargic start to the day - I do have a moment where I think I may struggle to get my train (me being stupid rather than anything else). I get the train and enjoy the extra comfort (and cost) of this service rather than being packed like a sardine on the Greyhound. I arrive at Penn Station on 34th Street and I have to work out how the subway system works - Not too much of a problem and I have got kind of good at public transport during my time away. The hostel is located on 103rd Street in an Old Hospital. Quite a nice place although 12 beds in a dorm room is a little much. The earplugs will come in useful as usual.

The Old Post Office Tower and an Irish Bar

The only place where you can get an aerial view of Washington DC is up the Old Post Office Tower (A good tip from Amy). It does give pretty neat views of the Capitol Building and also the Mall stretches further afield as well. After this, I head back to the hostel and then get ready to go out to the Irish Channel Pub where I am meeting up with a friend I made earlier in the trip on the Dive boat on the Great Barrier Reef. Meeting some of the locals is cool and it certainly is a mixed crowd in the place. Anyway it was cool to see my friend again and catch up and reminisce about Brian the Turtle et al in Australia. It really seems to be in the distant past that I was there.

Arlington Cemetary

I start the day by queuing up to get a free ticket to do a tour of the Capitol building. It leaves me with an awkward time to kill between then but I decide to head to Arlington Cemetary. This place is the Military Cemetary and is quite an eye opener as you walk in and can see white graves as far as the eye can see. Also here is JFK's grave and his brother Bobby. I check out JFK's grave and then head to the grave of the Unknown soldier. There is a ceremony going on as I show up with some high school kids placing a wreath - The bugler plays Last Post and then everyone troops off. There also is a plaque with tributes to the 2 space shuttle crews (No NASA jokes please). I head back in to town but realise I have no way of making it to the Capitol building which is a shame. Never mind - maybe next time I am in the area.
Pictures (Left) - Soldiers Graves, (Right) - JFK's grave, (Bottom) - Grave of the Unknown Soldier

The National Archives

Oct 12th. More historical stuff here and about as historical as you can get in the US. I head to the National Archives to see the original Declaration of Independence and the original Constitution as well. Both documents are housed in state of the art cases to preserve them but they are pretty faded already. It was cool to see the original ones though - no flash photos are allowed but it doesn't stop some people 'accidently' forgetting to turn the flash off. I gave some guy a lesson on how to use his camera as he claimed he had no idea how to turn the flash off. The rest of the building was not really interesting to me (Do I really want to see Bill Clinton's high school card?) - I also was hoping to see one of the 4 Magna Carta's left in existance here but it has gone back to wherever it was loaned from.

Museum's and School Kids

Oct 11th. I get up after attempting to sleep in (Not easy in Dorm rooms). And head out on a slightly cooler day to see some of the Museum's. All of the ones part of the Smithsonian Institute are free which is sweet, but first I head to the International Spy Museum. This features lots of cool spying gadgets and stories from various stages of history. Unfortunately, the place is packed with school kids who are taking over everything and not letting me play with some of the toys :-(
I carry on regardless and see some of the exhibits including some cool things from the Cold War, the museum actually isn't really for kids apart from the 1st section of gadgets - The rest of it is mainly reading and watching stuff. After this, I head to the National History Museum which has some cool exhibits - Dinosaurs and stuffed wild animals - although I prefer to see animals live and in the wild, there were some pretty rare ones there. After this I went to the Air and Space Museum which has old Rockets, Lunar Landers and historic planes to see as well as lots of interesting information on the Space Race and the birth of flight itself. These 2 museums are the most popular ones here and it is easy to see why - Admission is free too - result!
Pictures (Left) - The obligatory T-Rex, (Right) - Rockets, (Bottom) - The Wright Brothers plane

Cooking a Salmon

After our whistle stop tour, I check in to the hostel and Amy has kindly asked me round for dinner. She has some Salmon to use up and I have cooked some before so I am put on Salmon duty while Katarina sorts out the veg and spuds. She lives over in Virginia just over the water from central DC in a nice little suburb and has 2 very cool dogs Rocco and Remy who are quite big but softies at heart. Unfor tunately, the Salmon takes longer than anticipated and we are outside talking so it ends up getting slightly overdone (Oops). This does mean the Amy's husband Jason gets back from work in time to eat with us and I bore them all silly with my travel tales. After this it is time for the dogs to get lots of attention from me before Amy drives me back to the hostel taking the scenic route around Georgetown and the enormous catherdral. The amusing thing about this random encounter is that if the person who had originally taken the picture at the Lincoln monument done a good job then I never would of met these guys (They at least would of not had overdone Salmon though).

A bit of Art, Gardens and the Capitol

Amy continues to guide us along the sights - We wander through the Sculpture garden which features some interesting modern art stuff, Following that we do a whistle stop race around the National Art Museum which features lots of Paintings, Monet et Al as well as an Edward Hopper exhibit (He painted the famous Nighthawks picture). After a cheeky Gelato in the Art Museum cafe, We head to the Capitol building to have a look at where the Senate and House of Representatives are. After this it is into the Botanical gardens to see some plants.
Pictures (Left) - Rabbit, (Right/Bottom) - The Capitol Building

The Jefferson and Washington Monuments

Continuing on with my new friends we head to the Jefferson Monument - One of the founding fathers and much revered character. Again, it is like a temple with the man offered almost God like status. After this we check out the Washington Monument which towers over the centre of The Mall. You can climb up it but you need to get the free tickets in advance (and it is a bit too hot to be honest). Amy has been living in Washington for 10 years with her husband and imparts lots of cool bits of knowledge as we walk around.
Pictures (Left/Right) - Jefferson Monument, (Bottom) - Washington Monument