New blog started up for Asia... if anyone wants to flow...

New Adventure starts soon! 3 months of fun, in India, Thailand and Laos!

Link to my India blog... Starts 20th Feb 2015

What is the new adventure you may ask?

On the 19th Feb 2015 I head out to India,  this is my second attempt to get there, work, declined my leave request 6 odd months ago, only to say hey, you have to take 4 1/2 months off in 2015... (forced leave) yeah I know... how is that possible?

Well, I am about to hit 20 years at my current job,  and normally get 5 1/2 - 6 weeks leave a year.... that and I work in IT.... so it's not that easy to take it....

Anyway, was a little miffed.... (well that is taking it lightly after my last request was declined...) even more so... when just a few months later... being told to take move leave... Geeeesh.... Results: I'm taking a little over 2 1/2 months off..... Cashed in a few weeks also... to help cover the costs....

Anyway... this is just a start just to see how the android tablet handles my blogging stuff..... (may create a new blog.... as omgcouchsurfingeurope doesn't really fit......2 months of India, and 2 weeks in Asia....

36 days to go.... :-P

After 4 long years....

Right, this is the first test, of the fancy, well not so fancy $30 tablet, I brought for the current trip.... toshi, my old netbook was stolen, in a breakin a few months ago, Insurance replaced it with a HP, very very slow, very very heavy netbook... :-/, and I feel, it's not worth taking with me... the $30 tablet.... has 3g!! Yeah baby, that means internet all over...

I have a pretty cool Bluetooth keyboard.... and a tablet stand... to see how it goes..... typing seems ok.... altho I think having the netbook would be better....

Anyway this is the first test with blogger to see how it goes.....

Also my camera was stolen in the same breakin,  Insurance replaced it with a new Panasonic FZ70 it feels different to the old FZ40... but should do the job.....

Ok, test post using my nokia n9

Ok, it isnt Europe this time, but Tahiti, moorea!!! :-) havent worked out how to do pics yet

Trip overview, highlights and useless stats

Ok, it's finally over, I am back at work now, in the middle of Winter... leaving 34 degrees in Rome... to 13 Degrees in Auckland OMG it is soo COLD!...

Anyway.... the goals of my trip was to see a few of my surfers again, ok, I couldn't see them all, but I did my best....

Highlights would have to be Nantes & the Royal De Lux, that was amazing, probably one of the best weekends of my life! Thanks again Fred!, now! I just need to get married! and have some kids!! so I can take them to Nantes to see the elephant and the little giant... yes... be afraid... VERY afraid!

Favorite museum, Warsaw rising, in Poland, it had my so close to tears it wasen't funny.

Best Toilet paper, Czech Republic, omg it was GOOD!
Worsed Toilet paper, Romania (sorry guys! I was like WTF is this? we use this at xmas time for decorations)


Flights 
Auckland -> Rome (Return)                                    800€
Internal flights in Europe (mostly last minute)             1800€
Actual Spending Money                                       4000€
Budget                                                     16000€

Couchsurfed                                               72 Days

Hostel                                                    14 Days
Total Flights                                                   9
Rail Journeys                                                  11
Bus                                                             3
Car                                                             1
Hitchhiked                                                      2


Most expensive City, London
Cheapest Country, Romania
Favorite Location, Bavaria/Austria

Worsed country to be vegie in, Portugal, Best, Belgium

Fastest CS Reply Paris, 1 Request and a reply back within 30 mins 

Days of bad weather 4 out of 86

Drunk, 6 times (Sad I know)

Camera Panasonic FZ40, was amazing the battery life was unreal, it could even handle my shaking!.

Low Points, Barcelona (was depressed when I arrived), Airport at London (Customs holding me for 3 hours)


If I was going again, I wouldn't pack as many clothes as I did, and buy clothes as I needed them on the way.
Also, Icebreaker style gear is AMAZING... seriously you don't need to wash it... well worth the money


Always BOOK a hostel!! well in Barcelona anyway!, always have a backup plan, if your CSing host lets you down at the last minute (yes it happened twice!)


NEVER change your money at the airport! the prix really rip you off (lesson learn't in London)


Don't carry cheese with your carry on luggage (prix will throw it out /cry)
have your shirt hanging out at the airport (to cover your belt, my belt buckle didn't trigger the metal detector) if they see the belt, they will ask you to remove it... 


View Final Route OMG couchsurfing Europe in a larger map



Special thanks again, to everyone for  making the trip so amazing!

The end is almost near...

only 2 more sleeps to go... I am still in Wein (Vienna/Austria), spend the day with Evelyn, started off going to an south african concert, which actually wasen't too bad... dancing... beating of drums etc etc... they really forced people in the crowd to join in... Evelyn even got up and danced....

After that we went off to a Sikh temple, got to put something on my head, and sit cross legged for like 40 mins to an hour.. OMG... I am soo not used to that... legs were arching afterwards.... later... we had to be fed... (if you go to a Sikh temple you can never leave hungry) soo much Vegie food!... was amazing... but again we were cross legged... very painful for one that dosen't normally do such things...

Later... we went back off to the Danube island, the concerts were still on, Evelyn and her friend... did some rock climbing (they had some walls you could climb...) I gotta free medical test... said I am 30% body fat! pfft!.... hate to think what it would have said 1 1/2 years ago!!.... but everything else tested ok.

Anyway... I've come back to and empty apartment... Tomorrow I travel from Vienna to Rome... arrive in at 5-6pm... to spend my last night in Europe... before flying out to KL and finally Auckland.

Day 2 Wein, lets visit the island!!

Ok, I visited some man made island in the middle of the river. I am guessing it's from all the crap they dug out for the subway system? it is actually really big...  a few km's long... some parts 100-200 metres wide...

There was some free concert, with 7-8 stages all over the island, it was actually really cool, once one lot of music fades off you hit the next stage.... for the next lot. There was plenty of places to drink/eat with side shows, power company/army/fire etc etc, alot of security & police. There was even some strange camera on the back of a van.... turning around scanning people, it was huge... I am guessing it's scanner for weapons? who knows....

This is the reason why kids in europe think cows are purple!

Me Relaxed on the island....

Bar in the sky....

Cocktail anyone?

Another view

wtf... we honestly are getting totally ripped off at home... 20mbit/s is FAST for NZ

close up of the bar in the sky.... nah I didn't go up....

Random photos

This was huge.... I am guessing it was over 4km's, friend said there was like 80,000 people at the main stage last night... I came home early... 

Another view... sitting down at the main stage

Jumpin into the river! ok I missed the guy bouncing up duh!