Another Update

Well I haven't really done a whole lot since I last wrote but here's what I've been up to: job and flat hunting, trying to avoid being blown up by more terrorists, reading lots, watching the cricket and F1grand prix, catching up with friends etc etc. The weather (sorry to start talking about the weather this early) up until the last three days has been fantastic - over 30 degrees most days and it's just like being back in Hawke's Bay for summer, I've had a sweat up anytime I've ventured outside the flat. Everyone keeps saying 'enjoy it while you can as it won't last' so bearing this in mind Craig, Marsha and I went out to Windsor/Eton the weekend before last and saw the sights. Went to Eton college and around Windsor castle although not inside as we thought we'd come back in winter when they open up more of the rooms and we'd get better value for our money - hey I still don't have a job yet!! The job hunting has not been as bountiful as I had hoped although I suppose it is still early days. My dream job while I am over here is to work for McLaren (the Formula One team founded in the 1960's by Kiwi Bruce McLaren) so I've sent them off my CV and even took a trip down to Woking, about 30 minutes south of London, where they are based to try and find them, without any luck. So far I haven't heard anything back and realistically I don't really expect to but at least I've tried and you never know. As a back-up plan I've contacted some job agencies and will settle for a more mundane job if I have to, as I'm really needing to start to earn some pounds. Besides the job hunting I've been reading quite a bit, and enjoying it while I can, as it's usually my first leisure activity to go once I start working. I've read The Alchemist which one of my trainees gave me before I left BNZ and which tells of the mainly spiritual, as well as, geographical journey of a Spanish shepherd. It is quite relative to me at present, well besides the fact that I'm neither Spanish nor a shepherd.

I am also racing through The Da Vinci Code (which I'm sure needs no introduction) and am thoroughly enjoying it (will probably finish it tonight). I totally recommend it to anyone who hasn't already read it, if there is still anyone out there that hasn't.

I'm having absolutely major guitar withdrawals at the moment and it will be the first thing I buy when I get my own room. I haven't played now (except for a few minutes in instrument stores) for about seven weeks and it's driving me mad. Before I left NZ I was playing up to four hours a day and that was just for pleasure. My fingertips have gone soft and I'm sure I will be very rusty when I start again, but you can't always get what you want.

As I'm sure you are all aware, there were some more (failed) bombings last week and although no one was really hurt, they have almost caused more distress than the first. I think everyone thought that they were just going to be a one-off incident. The fact that there was another"round" only two weeks after the first has certainly made everyone very much on edge, as it now appears that they may be an on-going event. I know a few people who are only here, like I am, through personal choice and the general feeling seems to be that if there are many more bombings then some people will probably move on. Nina, a German girl that I have made friends with is cutting her scholarship with Vivienne Westwood short and is moving back to Germany on Thursday. Personally it will probably be a last resort for me, but another bombing and I will certainly consider moving elsewhere in England.

I can't help but wonder how I would be reacting to these events if I was still back in NZ, you don't actually realise how sheltered we all are down there until you get out and away. I know 9/11 was very disturbing for me personally, however, when all this terrorism is going on all the time you somehow become almost accustomed to it and it no longer has the same effect until you are actually in the "warzone".

On a lighter note, it's been great to be able to watch the cricket (the first ashes test) live and free on TV. I personally believe that the introduction of pay TV channels has contributed to the ongoing problem of child (and therefore adult) obesity in NZ, and probably elsewhere in the world.

Let me expand on my theory: when I was younger and there was sport on TV I would watch it for a while and then it would motivate me to actually go outside and play the sport myself with my brother or the neighbours kids or whoever. Now, unless a child's parent(s) are sports followers they are not subjected to the same amount of sport on TV and therefore they don\'t have the "heroes" to look up to and inspire them to do the same. In this day and age of modern entertainment it is probably easier for them to go and play on their Playstation or Xbox rather than make the extra effort to entertain themselves. I also blame Kiwisports and political correctness as a whole, but there's a whole other topic.

Anyway, I seem to have gone off on a tangent here so that's probably enough of a rant from me for one email. Hope you are all well.

Signing out,

Ian "the philosopher"

My Scandinavian adventures: Part One - Denmark and Sweden

Originally written 11 July 2005

Well this is the comprehensive log of my adventures in Scandinavia, I'll divide it into three or so sections as it's going to be quite long and I appreciate your time constraints (and attention spans, Scott :-)). I'll try and keep it relatively concise and not waffle on, however, I've seen and done so much in the last three weeks that I can't promise anything. I've basically survived on an average of 4-5 hours sleep a night with a few cat-naps on the bus (thank God for Berocca), have travelled in excess of 8,000km on the bus alone, with probably another 1,000 to 2,000km including walking and boating. I know you are all probably dying to see my photos and I'll get them sorted as soon as possible.

Anyway, I started my tour in Copenhagen, Denmark on the 14th of June, flew in on EasyJet about 4.30pm and got a taxi to the hostel where we were staying. I went to get in the taxi driver's door as I forgot that they drive on the right over there and he asked if I wanted to drive, which I politely declined. It was a very strange sensation as it's the first time that I have experienced driving on the other side.

Met the rest of the tour group that evening which consisted of 43 people plus the tour manager, driver and cook. I was one of four Kiwis, including the tour manager (who was affectionately nicknamed "Sheepshagger" by the Australians) but the tour was mainly made up of Aussies (you travel almost as far from home as you can and you still can't get away from the buggers, although it was great when they got beaten by Bangladesh in the cricket, and also later on when it took a Kiwi to settle an argument on how many stars they have on their flag!!! It was all in good fun though and I've discovered that New Zealanders, Aussies and Canadians are basically fellow siblings when you are this far from home) with a few Brits, a couple of Americans,
anyone I've forgotten.

A few of us went out on the first night into Copenhagen and had a couple of drinks, then we went in again at 8am the next morning on the bus and did a city tour of the main sights - the Royal Palace, theHans Christian Anderson statue, the Little Mermaid statue from the fairytale, etc. Then did a tour of the Carlsberg brewery which was quite cool.

We were left to do what we liked for the rest of the afternoon and early evening so a few of us formed a group and walked around the city. We saw a bit of the National Museum, then had a look in the Church of our Saviour which was really ornate and it had a huge organ (tee hee) inside as well. Climbed up the spiral steeple on the outside of the church which gave a 360 degree view of Copenhagen (it was a fantastic day as well) - not for those with a fear of heights or vertigo as there is only a small handrail to stop you from plummeting earthwards. Went to Christiania next, which is a social experimenttown of around 1000 residents on the outskirts of Copenhagen that developed in the 70's after an influx of hippies, artists, musicians, and poets etc. It has it's own commercial life, political structure, schooling, radio station and weekly newspaper and was in total contrast to the rest of Copenhagen but rather interesting.

Did a canal cruise which was very cool, and then we had dinner in town and headed back to the hostel about 9.30pm.

Left early the next morning bound for Sweden, we headed north toHelsingor (still in Norway) and saw Kronborg castle which was made famous by Shakespeare in Hamlet, then across on a ferry and we were in Helsingborg, Sweden. Spent most of the day driving to Stockholm and arrived early evening at our campsite next to a lake and we had ourfirst experience of Sweden's mosquitoes, I think I was the only one that had packed repellent so I was a popular guy that evening.

Up early again the next morning and we headed into Stockholm on the bus. Did a tour of the town hall where they have the Nobel Peace Prize and saw some other sites. Then went to the Royal Palace and watched the changing of the guards. Went to the Vasa museum which houses the Vasa galleon which sunk on it's maiden voyage in 1628 and was raised in the 1960's from the harbour and restored. They have calculated that if the ship had been made 30 centimetres wider itwould not have fallen over and sunk. This was one of the things thatI had read about before I left NZ so it was great to see.

Saw the world's largest palace that is still in use - 608 rooms. Then did a Viking boat cruise which took 90 minutes and gave some spectacular scenery. Out for a group dinner in town that evening for a traditional Swedish smorgasborg (Sweden is where the smorgasborg originated), then to The Icebar - a bar made completely of ice along with the glasses, and which is kept at -5 degrees. They give you these big jackets and gloves to wear and we all had a ball there, I'm told that there is one in Queenstown as well, so you can experience it there if you don't have the time to scoot over to Stockholm.

We carried on and went to a night club where the expense of Scandinavia really hit home. I ordered two drinks of spirits and expected that it would not come to anymore than 120 Swedish Kroner(SEK), I then had to pick my jaw up off the floor as the barmen asked for 208 SEK (somewhere around $39 NZD), they were doubles in a tall glass but still...I regretted it even more when after one (or maybe two) too many drinks for the day, I had a chat with the urinal and deposited them, and the dinner, down the bar's toilet in the early hours of the morning, and was not-so-politely asked to leave.

We headed off for Norway the next morning and I was feeling very under the weather from the night before (got home about 3.30am and was up about 6.30am). We stopped at a very picturesque lake in Sweden for lunch on the way and I had a wild snake slither passed my leg while sitting on the bank, which was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise, I didn't even know that they have snakes there so I have no idea if it was poisoness or not, I just wish that I'd had time to take a photo.

Got to our campsite which was about an hours drive from Oslo that evening.

Part 2 to follow, I haven't written this yet so please be patient.

Thanks

Originally written 8 July 2005

Wow, I just opened up my inbox and was absolutely blown away by all the really nice messages sitting there waiting for me after the London bombings. Thanks so much, it's really great to know that I've got so many friends.

Thanks for all the other emails that you've sent as well and keep sending them through cause I love receiving them and I know that I haven't replied to many of them but that doesn't mean that I haven't wanted to. Hopefully, now that I'm back in London and not on the road everyday, I'll be able to send a few more personal ones back, even if they are only very brief. Anyway, thanks again, and I'll send the first past of my Scandinavian travels through shortly.

An update from London

Originally written 11 July 2005

Well things have settled down here in London after last Thursday's events (they will probably become known as 7/7) and I was back on the buses and tube on Saturday and have been into central London everyday since. I figure that there's not much you can do besides remaining vigilant and if your time's up, then your time's up and it's just fate. So I'm not going to let anything spoil my stay over here, although I must admit that I was glad when I got off the tube after my first ride in.

Craig and I got up early and went over to the Walkabout pub in Shepherd's Bush (a Kiwi/Aussie stronghold in London) on Saturday morning to watch the All Blacks beat the Lions (again), so that was good.

Caught up with some friends that I'd made on my tour on Saturday night and had a dinner on The Strand, then a couple of drinks. The pubs close at 11pm over here which takes a bit of getting used to and theTube stops running at 12.30pm as well, which makes it hard to get home if you miss it, as you have to use the night buses which are not as user friendly. Just made it home - caught the last Tube by a couple of minutes on Saturday night, as I had problems getting between stations as some lines are still not open because of the bombings. Just as an aside - I actually quite like getting lost while I'm travelling as I figure that I'm getting to see a new part of the city that I probably otherwise wouldn't get to see.

Had lunch in town on Sunday with some more of the tour group as a few of them were/are leaving soon. Then went to the celebrations commemorating the 60th anniversary of the the end of World War 2, then came home and cooked dinner for Craig, Marsha and I.

It's been really hot over here the past couple of days - high 20s and early 30s, so I may even get a sun-tan as it's meant to like it all week. The Tube is like an oven, so I was really happy to get home today after going into Regent St to activate my UK bank account. They've only just started using PIN numbers on their debit (EFTPOS) cards over here so it's quite strange to think that we've had them for 16 years back in NZ. Actually lots of things are very old-fashioned here and they are definitely still waiting to learn about customer service!!

Well, that's me for the moment. Take care, Scandinavian adventures, to follow.

My intial reaction to the first London bombings

Originally written 7 July 2005

Well I was going to send out the detailed account of my adventures in Scandinavia, which I will do at some point, however, as you are probably aware London has experienced a series of terrorist attacks this morning so I'm not really in the best mood right now. I've been watching it on TV and it's a bit surreal. I don't know if all my friends are ok as I haven't received texts back from all of them yet and I'm feeling a bit isolated.

I've only been back in London just over a day and am staying with my friend's Craig and Marsha, who are both ok, out at Harlesden which is a wee way out of central London (Marsha rang me just before and it looks like they will have to walk home which will take hours). I was actually going to head into Regent St today to pick up my cards etc for my UK bank account, however, I won't be going into the city anytime soon and will be rather hesitant to get on the Tube or a bus from now on.

We are all still waiting to hear the extent of what has happened so I really don't know what I will do from here, I will just wait for everything to settle down. The city has gone from euphoria with getting the 2012 Olympics, to shock. At least they have been prepared for it, one of the first things I noticed when I got here was that they don't have any rubbish bins at the Tube stations for fear of bombs being dropped in them and the emergency procedures seem to have gone to plan. Anyway, that's all I have to say right now.

Hi from Finland

Originally written 30 June 2005

I just wrote a much more detailed email but lost it all by bumping the wrong buttons on the keyboard before I could send it (stupid computers!!!!!!!!!!!!!). So this one will be short and sweet and I'll send a more thorough account at a later date as I have to get back on my bus in 15 minutes.

Basically I'm in Helsinki (capital of Finland) and coming towards the end of my Contiki tour - only three days to go now. I've literally had the time of my life over here and wish it didn't have to end, going back to London will almost be an anti-climax after this. I've been to Denmark, Sweden, Norway and now Finland and it's just been an awesome experience.

Anyway, I really have to get going now so I'll email again when I get the chance. Thanks for all the messages, it's great to read them and catch up.

D'yer no wad I meen

Originally written 7 June 2005

Well this is the second exciting installment in the series of my new exciting adventures on the other side of the world, and I have already made some improvements, this being the new, improved, non-jet lagged version. Well since I last chatted I've been around a bit more of London and hopefully I'll be able to send some photos once I find an Internet cafe that actually has the facility to put a CD into PC but here's what I've been up to in the mean time. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention last time that the pub that I had the drinks at on Friday (the Slug and Lettuce) is right in the Jack the Ripper area of London, so that was pretty cool to know.

I stayed in a backpackers in Earls Court on Saturday night and have been staying at one out at Stamford Bridge (two stops further out from Hammersmith if that means anything to anyone) ever since, and will be there until I depart on my Contiki tour to Scandinavia on the 14th. It's £15 per night but I'm trying to get out of the habit of converting everything back to $NZD otherwise I would probably be staying on a park bench somewhere. I'm quite enjoying it there, of course it's got absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'm the only guy in a room full of girls - an Aussie, South African, Spaniard and German. It's a hard life sometimes but I suppose someone has to do it.

I've already settled into the ways of the backpacker and am making the most of the "free" breakfast, which for me was 6 pieces of toast and a bowl of cornflakes yesterday. McDonald's and Subway have been the other main food sources recently (someone please let me know if I'm starting to "supersize". Does this McDonald's make my ass look fat???).

Went to the Camden markets on Sunday, which was really good. Heaps of ethnic stuff - food, clothing, etc and other stuff like Cd's, DVDs, tee shirts in fact almost everything. Some other interesting items as well, yes you could even buy magic mushrooms legally, and no I didn't buy any, but I will send the photo when I'm able.

Met up with one of my Kiwi friends, Trish, who has just got over here as well and we saw some of the touristy things yesterday - the London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament (complete withmachine gun wielding policemen), Leicester Square etc etc etc. It's actually just like playing original version Monopoly for me at the moment, except that I haven't bought any property, gone to jail, or won second prize in a beauty competition, but there's plenty of time yet.

Trish kindly invited back me for dinner where she is staying in Whitechapel so I had my first UK supermarket experience at Sainsburys, which consisted of a roast leg of NZ lamb (how patriotic is that), vegetables (although she wouldn't buy the NZ Kumara, but who am I to complain) and Jaffa cakes. I provided the beer (Becks of course) but they don't seem to have Tui over here for some reason. Saw a bit of the East End on my way back to the train station aboard a doubledecker London bus, and went home very contented.

One thing about staying at hostels is that you never really get a full nights sleep. Got woken about 2am this morning by a bunch of (presumably drunk) people leaving the hostel then again about 5.50am by the Aussie girl going to work, but it's all part of the experience and so far I'm loving every second of it.

Had lunch in town with my mate Craig today (yes it was McDonalds again), and almost got run over by both a London bus and a London taxi in two seperate incidents. Have spent most of the afternoon (and now evening, gee where has the day gone?) in a couple of Internet cafes. Firstly, trying to book a cheap flight over to Copenhagen in Denmark for the start of my Contikt, secondly, converting my CV into UK format which was a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be, and thirdly writing this novel - is anyone still actually reading this? Cause if you're not then let me know and I'll stop giving myself RSI.

With regards to the Contiki, it looks like the cheapest option for me is to fly into Malmo in Sweden and get a bus to Copenhagen (only about30 minutes by all accounts) which is where it starts on Tuesday next week. I'm really looking forward to it.

Anyway, I've been staring at a screen for way too long (I almost feel like I'm back at work) so I'm going home. Take care all, see you again, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.

The first email from the UK

Originally written 4 June 2005

Well I've arrived safe and sound in Ol' Blighty. Not too much to report as of yet as it's only been 33 or so hours but I'll fill you in on what I've been up to.

Left Napier at 8.05am on Thursday morning NZ time and flew to Auckland, caught up with a couple of friends there and had coffee, bought travellers cheques etc. Flew out of Auckland at 12.50pm bound for Hong Kong, thankfully the plane was not very full so I had a window seat and an empty seat beside me. I had 11 hours thirty minutes to kill and only got about 4 hours sleep the night before so I tried to make use of the empty seat beside me, which even with my smallish frame was rather uncomfortable, however, I did manage to catch a few ZZZ's every now and then in between watching Million Dollar Baby and a bit of TV etc and trying to avoid deep vein thrombosis.

Got to Hong Kong about 8.30pm local time (it was amazing flying in and seeing the all the lights etc through a dim haze) and spent the 3 hours 30 minutes stop-over time checking out the duty free stores and getting a bite to eat. I was worried about falling asleep and missing my flight so I made sure I set my alarm just in case as I was absolutely exhausted and wondering how I was going to survive another 12 hours 50 minutes on a plane to London and was praying for a rather empty plane so that I could sprawl across a few seats and basically sleep the rest of the way. However, I got on the plane which was stiffling hot, and arrived at my seat to find myself stuck against the window with two guys in the other 2 seats. I was close to both throwing up and passing out so I took my seat and opted for the later (and I hadn't even had one drink the whole day), thankfully when I woke up the guy on the aisle seat had moved and the one next to me had taken his place, so at least I had a bit of space.

We left Hong Kong and I actually got a reasonable amount of sporadic sleep, broken up by a bit of turbulence every so often. The trip actually seemed shorter than the one to Hong Kong and we got into Heathrow about 5.25am (20 minutes early). I actually got quite excited coming in over the Thames and it all finally started to seem a bit real, after 24 hours flying time I had arrived. I was absolutely amazed at how slack the UK security is, and after hearing a whole heap of horror stories about UK Customs not wanting to let people on UK working holiday visas into the country, the only question they asked me was how long I planned to stay in the UK, simple as that and I was in. Picked up my bags and walked through the "nothing to declare" section (they didn't even have anyone working there to check anything!!!) and I was free.

I soon discovered how quickly something can go missing as Iaccidentally left a bag of duty free wine (which was destined for my friends Craig and Marsha who I was meeting) and my polar fleece top on my baggage trolley. I only discovered I'd left it there once I got onto the tube. I got off before it got going and went back to get it but it was no where to be seen. Thankfully I didn't lose anything really valuable and it has certainly made me a lot more aware.

Met Craig and Marsha at Earls Court station and went back to their flat. Tried to stay awake etc and managed to, but couldn't stop the floor from moving (stupid motion carry-over from 24 hours flying. Went into central London (Liverpool St) and had lunch and walked around and saw some sites. I had to keep resting every so often and couldn't really focus on anything for very long. Went to the Slug and Lettuce pub with Craig and Marsha and met some of their ex-work mates for a drink, had a Becks but they are only 270mls over here and so moved on to Kronenborg which seemed a bit better value - still £3.05 for a pint. After a couple of these I was feeling rather happy and managed to fall asleep multiple times on the train home. Got to bed about 10pm and it has never felt so good to actually sleep in a bed.

Came into Wimbledon today and am trying to find a backpackers to stay at until I leave for my Contiki to Scandinavia on the 14th, and that's basically where I'm up to now.