Here 2 There - world travel and relocation

<body bgcolor="white" onload="CSScriptInit();"> <font size="2" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica">Here 2 There.<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"><br> Here2there.<br> <br> </font>Here to there><font size="2" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"><br> <br> When two people embarked on a world trip in November 2003, little did they know how much they would get to see and do.<br> <br> <a href="diary/menu.html">Here 2 There</a> followed the travels of two 30/40-somethings as they gandered around:<br> <br> <a href="diary/india/bombay_01.html">India</a>, <a href="diary/srilanka/colombo_01.html">Sri Lanka</a>, <a href="diary/thailand/bangkok_01.html">Thailand</a>, <a href="diary/malaysia/malaysia_01.html">Malaysia</a>, <a href="diary/singapore/singapore_01.html">Singapore</a>, <a href="diary/Australia/Australia_01.html">Australia</a>, <a href="diary/NZ/nz_01.html">New Zealand</a>, <a href="diary/tonga/tonga_01.html">Tonga</a>, <a href="diary/samoa/samoa_01.html">Samoa</a>, United States and <a href="http://www.telepathy.co.uk">home again</a>.<br> <br> They experienced coastline and mountains; scorching tropics and ice-cold blizzards; self-drive, self-cater and self-awareness. All this packed into 16 months of adventure.<br> <br> The following text is just notes from the full pages. Use the links above to access the full site.<br> <br> </font><font size="2" color="#040437" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"><b>Touch down at midnight</b> for two visitors to the mysterious sub-continent of India. Full of ancient temples, diverse countryside and over 1 billion people. What would await us in this fabled land? <br> <br> <b>Well the first hurdle</b> on landing at Mumbai was getting through customs and immigration. This in fact was a breeze and our bags were already waiting when we came out the other side. Next stop, venture outside the terminal into the land of yelling touts and taxi drivers to see if our hotel taxi had turned up as promised. Lo and behold, right in the front of the swarming mass was a small gentleman resolutely holding out a card with my name on it. Found him immediately and was escorted to the waiting bus - much to the disgust of the touts left behind.<br> </font> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"><b>Another day, another country and Thailand beckoned.</b> We had to fly via Singapore and spent a few hours in transit at the airport, after which we both wanted to move there permanently. What a place! It had everything: shops to rival Bond Street, more workstations than Bill Gates and even a full sized movie theatre.<br> <br> <b>By far the best experience</b> though was the Sunflower Roof Garden. Escaping the air conditioning and venturing in to the high humidity of a Singapore morning you were rewarded with a refreshing puff of water vapour from a series of mist-machines hidden within the sunflowers! Startling, but fab!<br> <br> <b>Tearing ourselves away from the gadgets</b>, we eventually got back on the plane to complete the last leg and landed in Bangkok on a sunny Monday morning.<br> <br> <br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"><b>Its Tuesday</b>  it must be "Tonga"!<br> <br> <b>This was our first trip to the South Pacific</b> and being raised on Hollywood movies about the region I couldnt wait. It promised to be something completely different to the other places wed visited and we both look forward to experiencing something new.<br> <br> <b>Wed planned to have a three week hoiday</b> from the frantic travelling wed done over the last five months and so were happy to try and find a good base for the duration where we could chill out on a beach and read trashy novels. Tonga, however did not have these sorts of places in abundance as we were to discover.<br> <br> <b>Our flight landed at 8pm</b> so all was darkness and even though its only a three hour flight from New Zealand, it was a world apart.<br> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"><b>Australia...One bonus of being in the same time zone as Singapore</b> was absolutely no jet lag on arrival in Perth. Nigels sister Sally, her husband Dave and their two kids, Jamie and Laura were there to meet us off the plane which was a luxury. Straight through customs, in to the waiting van and off to Hilarys Boat Harbour, a marina complex boasting bars, boats and beer. We sat in the late afternoon sunshine and soaked up western indulgences.<br> <br> <b>Although wed arrived</b> just at the start of Winter, the days were warm and the nights chilly  really the best of both worlds. We made the most of all the home comforts Sally & Dave offered us and it was the perfect point of the journey to be living in a real home again. We got to recharge the batteries and get the washing done properly and even enjoyed cooking the odd meal which was a novelty.<br> <br> <b>We spent around</b> three weeks with the family, catching up on gossip, and planning our route across Australia.<br> <br> <b>Both Nigel and I</b> had visited Perth briefly eons ago and it was interesting to see how it had changed since then. Firstly the building expansion is extensive. They were slowly eating away at the vast tracks of bush that surrounded the city and the government were releasing pockets of land for development at an astounding rate.<br> <br> <br> Back packing, here2there, world trip, gap year, world travel, travel, India, SriLanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, USA, Independant travel, Around the world, Trail finders.<br> <br> </font></p> <p></p> </body>