I'm Leaving On A Jetplane...

... Don't know when I'll be back again!

So that's the cheesy introduction out of the way! But soon is the actual trip.

I've made all my preparations, listened to Dr Bombay & Cornershop, watched (the incredibly long) "Ghandi", "The Darjeling Limited" and a few episodes of "Goodness Gracious Me" which I think is enough to get ready for India!



In a few hours my flight takes off for Qatar. It's a very intersting trip, as I have no idea what to expect, a New Years Eve without alcohol will really be original! However I believe everything is packed and my checklist for the trip is prepared, it involves:

* Sit on the roof of a moving train
* Go swimming with elephants
* Call a Native American an Indian and still make it politically correct
* Play a game of cricket
* Meet the Dalai Lama
* Go on a tiger safari
* Star in a Bollywood Movie


Hopefully I can check some of the planned ticks off, but you never know! My flight from from Sweden leaves in about 6 hours so I better get myself some sleep!

I hope everybody who reads this has a Happy 2009!

I read the news today... Oh Boy!

So I haven't written anything since my last travels, I had a great time at all destinations and got home just fine as planned, however it was very cold. So since then I've basically been thinking of where to go when Stockholm gets too cold again, which happens to be... about 2 weeks ago. 2008 has been a nice year, not too much out of the ordinary, although the first half provided a fantastic season for Manchester United who managed to win both the Premier League and Champions League in May. I have also managed to end a 4 year long relationship in October, when I had a difference of opinion with staff of the bar at which I've been a regular for so long; Treat. Hopefully one day can be "Just Friends." Other than that it has been pretty much same old story, working at a pub called Papagallo most of the time and looking forward to warmer weather.

Today's top story is of course about the terrorist attacks in the tourist areas of Bombay (Mumbai) this happens to be one of the main stops for my planned winter-trip, which starts on New Years Eve. If things go to plan my friend Joshua and I ring in the New Year in the capital of Qatar, Doha (where alcohol is prohibited.) We stay here for two nights before flying to India where we will travel around for maybe two months before heading over to the location of the next biggest news-story of today, Bangkok where riots have forced both Bangkok airports to close and could result in a military coup. Things really seem to be going our way at the moment, so keep a look out for news involving Doha or Qatar (which happens to be the headquarters of the Arabic news channel Al Jazeera.)

I’ll write back with more information before I leave…

Is This The End?

Time is running out. My Sixty-One days have soon been spent. Since writing last time I have discovered the Maputo night-life scene, thanks to Saroya and Karin (the daughters of two of my mother's colleagues.) I went to a a great concert, on stage was one of Cape Verde's biggest stars. Her name was... who am I kidding I can't remember her name, but Cape Verde has got talent. I've also been hangning out with a few of the very happy and friendly locals, Marcos and Edgar to name the two I've met the most. I even managed to squeeze in a new country on my list, adding Swaziland as my parents and I drove over and spent a night in a small lodge. Swaziland's landscape was amazing, with high mountainous hills and steep valleys, quite different to it's neighbouring countries. But now my trip is coming to an end, or is it? Tomorrow at 14:35 my plane takes off from Johannesburg airport, in order for me to catch that plane I need to take a flight from Maputo at 7 o clock in the morning. I still haven't managed to get a ticket for that flight, but I hope to sort that minor issue out within a very near future, or else I will be stuck in this continent for eternity!

10 Days In Africa

Time sure does fly when you're having a good time, my trip is allready coming to an end. Africa has been amazing, and it's been really interesting to explore a new part of the world (to me). We stayed in Maputo for the first few days, then took a trip across the border to South Africa where we visited "Kruger National Park" which is a huge safari-park (roughly the size of Wales.) We stayed overnight and saw loads of beautiful animals but unfortunatly none belonging to the cat family. We then travelled back to Mozambique and drove up north to a coastal-town called Xai Xai. Here we rented an amazing house looking over the indian ocean, at a place named Paradise View. My brother, Niki, Nina and Johannes just left heading back for Sweden, and we've all had a great time. My trip back to Stockholm is not until tuesday next week, but I haven't quite decided if I'm going to prolong my african stay or be homeward bound... Perhaps next time I write I will know...

Mozambique

After fligths from Bangkok, Addis Ababa and Johannesburg I eventually got myself to Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique on friday night. This being my first time in Africa I've had a lot to take in, it's not extremly different to Asia, quite dusty, warm and a lot of poverty, the biggest difference so far is that I am no longer anybody's friend, all of a sudden I am everybody's "Amigo" this being an old portuguese colony. At the moment it is extremly hot and humid and you can't dry for many seconds. So far I haven't got much done in this new continent, I am staying in my parents appartment, with them, two of my cousins (Niki and Nina) Niki's boyfriend Johannes and my brother Danny, who arrived the morning after I did. Now I've got to go, as our full-packed itinerary does not have time for me writing anymore. So until the next break in the schedule...

Slow Night Boat

Allright so if I was trying to get tourists to use my boat service the term I would use would probably not be "Slow Night Boat" but I guess it's better than what it actually was, "Slow Night Garbage Boat." To be fair not many people had made the same misstake as I did, I could easily count them on one hand. The trip was a bit smelly, but I was too tired to care and fell asleep in the surprisingly comfortable beds. I'm now sitting in the town of Chumphon which is waking up at a far more rapid rate than what I am. My bus for Bangkok leaves in about an hour, and my plane in about 19... First though I'll squeeze in some speed shopping and see what I can fit into my bag.

Fool Moon Party...

After a 24 hour train and boatride inlcuding severeal scam attempts Ida, Moa and I finally arrived on the island of Koh Pha Ngan last friday, the day of the famous full moon party. However due to some kind of election on the following saturday you are not allowed to serve alcohol the day before or onb the day, so they moved it forward to sunday the 24th. Here I met up with Marcus and Isabelle again and a few other people. During our entire stay the weather was bad, loads and loads of rain, so mostly what we saw of the island was the hotel restaurant. When the party finally commenced it was still raining quite a bit, but the beach was still packed with people, rumoured to be around 30 000. Basically people just dance on the beach apparently alot of drugs are involved but I didn't really notice any of it. However I did notice the apparent criminal side of the party as I lost both my wallet and mobile-telephone... but I'm in a buddhist country and I've learnt that possesions aren't that important... F*ck that, I really want my phone back! Anyway the morning after the party we took a boat to the neighbouring Koh Tao island. Koh Tao is more relaxed and calm than its two bigger brothers Samui and Pha Ngan, and very famous for diving. However I haven't got time to get my divers permit so at most I might get some snorkeling done. Weather still isnt that good and really I haven't seen the sun since leaving Phuket soon two weeks ago. Tomorrow I head back for Bangkok, my plane taking me to Africa leaves Thailand early on friday morning. And allthough it feels like I could use another few months to fully explore this part of the world I'm really excited about seeing a new continent.

Pnomh Penh

Once again I'm writing from Bangkok. I got back from Cambodia last night after a 14 hour long bus-ride. In Bangkok I met my friend Ida from Stockholm and her friend Moa. Cambodia was very interesting, probably the dirtiest country I've been in. I stayed in the Kingdom 3 nights, 2 nights in Siem Reap and one in Pnomh Penh. I think Pnomh Penh was the nicest of the two but unfortunately I had to make the stay a short one. I visited one of the Killing Fields from the awful Pol Pot era, which was quite a tragic sight, but something you should see to properly understand the country's history. I stayed in a guesthouse with Jocelyn, Will and Tamsyn on the big lake, which was cool, but falling asleep on the veranda is not something I would recommend, as I woke up eaten alive by the mosquitoes. The cost for three nights accommodation in Cambodia came to a grand total of 6 US dollars, so all of a sudden Thai prices seem a bit pricey. Tonight I take the train down south, to the island of Koh Pha Ngan where there will be a full-moon party on the 22nd. Probably a chaotic event but definetly something I want to experience before leaving Thailand.

Angkor What?

After writing the previous post I went to the movies in Bangkok. We saw "Charlie Wilson's War", but the film wasn't the main experience. Before the film had started everyone was required to stand up and pay their respects to the King, before sitting down in our Joey and Chandler-like reclining armchairs. After this I went to watch United's amazing FA-cup match against Arsenal, after 90 minutes United had only managed to beat the Gunners by 4-0, but it could have been loads more. This result could not be let by without celebration, I was up all night until my bus left for Cambodia at 7 o clock in the morning. This is when I split up with my friends again to go off on my own. The bustrip was extremly long and allthough I tried to sleep through it, the bumpy roads between the Thai-border and Siem Reap kept me awake most of the 14 hours it took. Some people believe the reason for Cambodia's poor roads is due to the government of Thailand. Legend has it that every year they pay the Cambodian leaders, to keep the roads in a terrible state, therefor making more passengers choose the more comfortable plane-ride which is owned by the Thai-state.
On the bus I met a few people, one of them an american girl called Jocelyn, she knew about a cheap guest-house where her friends (siblings Will and Tamsyn from Cornwall) were staying so I stayed with them for the night. In the morning we all went to see the impressive Angkor Wat temples. It really was worth visting despite the high price. As usual I haven't got pictures, but it's basically loads of old temples in ruins. Imagine the place where King Louie lives in the Jungle-book but without singing monkeys. Tonight we're going out for a bit and then going to the Cambodian capital Pnomh Pen.

Bangkok again

I'm now back in Bangkok after a long stay in Phuket. Phuket was alot of fun, allthough I imagine it was thanks to my company and not so much the actual place. Some places were extremely crowded, but as we had good tour guides in Marcus and Isabelle we managed to find some hidden paradises. We also took a trip to the Phi Phi Islands which is where large parts of the film "The Beach" was recorded. It was beautiful in some parts but I've been told that it was even better before the Tsunami in 2004. In Phi Phi I also managed to fall into a hole, and bash my knee quite badly. It swelled (or is it swole) up to about twice it's normal size and for a few days I could hardly walk. Now it's getting better and hopefully it will be completely fixed before too long. Bangkok has been nice, I'm only staying for two nights then I have to leave the country. I was really looking forward to a trip to Laos, but due to time restrictions I will have to make that trip another time. I think now that I will take a bus tomorrow morning instead, heading for Cambodia. Where I'll stay for a few days seeing the touristy parts before coming back to Thailand again. I don't know if I will upload any pictures for a while, but I'm doing my best... Ok really I haven't made a single effort to put any up, but usually internet is so slow that it would be a nightmare. I'll write more after I've been to get my new visa.

Still in Phuket

Just a quick update of what's going on. Still in Phuket (as the title might have hinted.) Nothing special has really happened. The boys have arrived now, Josh and Stevie flew down from Stockholm, and Patrik who has been studying in Brisbane flew up. Also Stevies friend Zahra has been staying with me, I had never met her before, but we had no problems getting along when she arrived a few days before the guys, after she had a nightmare stay in Bangkok. It's been mostly relaxing during the days and some beers at night. We've had a few poolside BBQ-parties at Isabelle's parent's amazing house, it is like stepping into an episode of Mtv's Cribs. We fly up to Bangkok on Thursday, then I have to flee the country at some point as my visa expires soon. I'll try to keep writing frequently and maybe upload some pictures eventually.

Phuket

Im now in Phuket, on the west-coast beach called Kata. Geting here from Koh Samui was quite a horrible trip for five and a half hours on a bus with no functioning air-condition, allthough I was actually not delayed. When I got off the bus i met 3 british people who I decided to share a taxi with. We decided on a price with driver and agreed on two different stops. However when we arrived at the british stop, the taxi driver refused to go on to my stop. When I said I wouldn't pay him in that case, he took my bag and locked it in his trunk. We stood arguing with the man for a while and when he was tired of us, he decided to take out a big sword from the trunk and then ask if I would pay him, I stopped my arguing. and gave him my money and got my bag. Then I took a different taxi to meet my friends Marcus and Issabelle in Kata Beach. So for the past few days I've been hanging out with them taking it easy on different nice beaches, eating great food and will probably do so for quite a while longer. I'll write more when I get time, but now I need to go quench my thirst for beer.

Rabies?

Ok, Barbados was amazing, but Koh Samui kicks that islands ass in some aspects. I spent three weeks in Barbados desperatly looking for monkeys, to no prevail. On Koh Samui I can sit on the beach drinking beer and wait for a guy with a monkey to come to me! This happened last night whilst celebrating Uniteds victory against Tottenham. I paid the monkey 100 baht (roughly 20 kr) and took loads of pictures with him sitting on my head and shoulders. However during him climbing all over me, I found out the hard way that monkeys have very sharp claws, and now I have three big scratch marks in my forehead, but they go well with my two previous scars. What symptoms do I look for to find out if I've got rabies? I guess I'll find out sooner or later. Koh Samui has been great, good weather most of the time good nightlife and fun in general. Tomorrow morning I head further south to meet up with friends in Phuket. Everyone I've met and asked about Phuket say that it's truly an awful and horrible place, so I'm really looking forward to it!

Operation Koh Samui

I speant one more night in Bangkok, but took it quite easy, then the morning after i took a swim in the roof-top pool of my hotel. Amazingly I bumped into two friends, or rather friends of friends from Stockholm, it's a small world after all. I speant the day with them, but then I had to leave for the trainstation. I had decided earlier that morning that my first destination after Bangkok would be Koh Samui, partly because it was mentioned in one of the best films of all times (not as voted by the Screen Actors Guild) "Meet The Parents."

The trip I decided on, took me down on the night sleeper-train. This was going to take 11 hours, but as this trip goes with delays it took me 13. This of course meant that we missed our conecting boat and had to take another one, it took us an extra hour and a half to get to this ferry-station, and when we finally got onto the boat it broke down after 2 minutes travel. It took them over an hour, but they managed to fix this and eventually I arrived at the beautiful island of Koh Samui about 5 hours later than planned.

Im staying at a Bungalow-resort on the south-east beach, called Lamai. It really is a paradise-like place allthough driving through Lamai it was hard to see anything but swedish-flags. I'm staying here four more nights then heading down to Phuket to meet up with some friends. I'll try to get some pictures up here soon, but until then you'll just have to imagine.

One Night In Bangkok...

Ok so I was a bit delayed, and got to Bangkok quite a bit later than i had expected, instead of 18:00 I got into town at around 03:00 the morning after, without any luggage. Anyway at Heathrow I met two guys, Henrik and Robert from Littleland (Smaland) Sweden. As they had the exact same flightplan as I did, we got all the same delays and our three bags turned out to be the only three bags missing. Robert and Henrik seem to have planned their trip a bit better than me, so when we got in to their hotel in the morning we could easily put an extra bed in the room. We stayed at the same hotel the second night as well, as this was the adress where the bagage could be delivered to. However the second night everything was booked up, apart from the two bedroom-suite, so we stayed in that of course, definetly not expensive with european measures but it will probably be the most expensive stay of my trip. Bangkok is amazing and quite unlike anything I've ever seen before, on our first night out we somehow managed to end up in brothel, honest mistake as the tuk-tuk driver misunderstood what we were saying. He then drove us to a huge night-club called Hollywood which was interesting. When we got home our bags had arrived, and that's where I am now, sitting in a shop writing this. I've moved to a youth-hostel, probably just for one night and then i might head southwards or check the north out, haven't really planned anything yet, we'll have to wait and see what happens.

Off to a Flying Start...

Not really a flying start, at the moment I have 2 minutes and 45 seconds to use of somebody elses Airport internet time. I'm way to tight to spend 29 kr/hour on this shit. First plane from Arlanda is allready 3½ hours delayed, hopefully it won't be more delayed, because at the moment I think I should still make my connection from Heathrow. Anyway times running out...

Two-Thousand and Eight...

It's now been almost a year since my last entry to this facinating blog. A lot has happened, kind of... Got a new job otherwise things have been pretty much the same old usual. However I'm not writing to sum up 2007, I'm writing to tell people that maybe 2008 will be a better year for this sad blog, and lets face it, if it isnt better than 2006 and 2007, it will be pretty f*cking awful.

2008 started with a funeral for a close relative, which to be honest wasn't the best of starts, but those things happen and from there on its been an amazing year. I've allready been on more coach-trips this year than ever before in my life due to my travels within the U.K, where I visited family in Brighton and got to stay with my two dear friends Joanna and Sonja in Leeds and Nottingham (Thank you and all your friends for showing me that the north of England isn't shite). I also squeezed in the highlight of my life so far whilst in the North, when I went to my Mecca, Manchester United's home stadium, The Theatre Of Dreams, Old Trafford. The Theatre of Dreams is a very fitting name for this place, as the whole experience was completly overwhelming and amazing. We (Manchester United) managed to beat Newcastle United with the unbelievable tennis-figures of 6-0 in the end!

Now I've been back in Stockholm for 3 days, but in about 36 hours I'm leaving on a jetplane for Bangkok, Thailand which should be great. Then from Thailand I fly to Mocambique to see what exactly my parents are doing there. I've got a lot to do before my trip, just decided that I can't be doing with the whole backpacking experience, so first thing tomorrow morning I have to find a new suitable bag, we'll see how that goes.

Anyways... hopefully I'll be able to keep this page updated regularly during my travels to keep you dedicated few informed about what I'm up to. This is Paul Skinner wishing all of you a great 2008! Good Night.