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Kirsti Mathiasen

Kirsti Mathiasen

Based out of BC and WA. Exploring the world. En savoir plus
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    • Kirsti MathiasenKirsti MathiasenAsia-Pacific 2017

      Manly Beach and Cruise Day 1 - Departure

      22 avril 2017, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      I woke up on time thanks to Matthew loaning me his second phone to use as an alarm and we met up with Mom just as planned. It was so great to see her! Lots of hugging going on and i'm pretty sure people were staring but oh well haha. Was very nice to see her again! We met at about 9 am so we went and ate breakfast at a place on the Harbour. When we were finished we still had time to spare so the three of us hopped onto a fairy to go to Manly beach for the morning. Mom's one and only beach experience in Sydney! We lugged all our luggage on the ferry and thank god for Matthew because I don't know how I would have handled mine and moms ;) She was so exhausted I felt bad for her and we offered to help out. We didn't actually go swimming but just walked over there and sat for a while, had a coffee, and chatted. The water was fairly calm and there weren't all that many people in the water.

      When we decided we had enough we jumped back on the ferry and had lunch in the harbour. After lunch Mom and I said goodbye to Matthew and we got in line to board the cruise ship. That was quite the process. First dropping off our big bags, then Australian Immigration, then security, then finally we got on board and found our rooms. The ship is massive! It's going to take some getting used to, figuring out where everything is. When we found our room we settled in as much as we could while we waited for our luggage to be delivered. Mom was so kind as to bring me my old S3 so that I can now be connected to the world! We bought an internet package, the most basic one, so I'll be able to keep in touch periodically :) It seems to work okay, and honestly I've been surprised by how well the S3 is functioning... It works about as well as my S7 was in it's final days, guess I really didn't notice how poor the performance was, probably the first indication it was going to fail on me.. Anyway, we ventured out for an early dinner at the buffet as we didn't want to deal with the dining room. After dinner mom crashed and I went out to explore a bit. I met my first friends here, at the bar of course. I walked by and smiled, then decided to be bold and go over under the pretense of needing another drink (which I actually did need). They're two guys close to my age, from Australia, that are moving to Vancouver to work and decided that cruising over was the way to go. Names are Adrian and Pods, and I think that we're going to get along splendidly! We all seem to be on the same page with our attitudes, mindsets, and drinking styles... We had a couple drinks at the pool bar, got the awkward small talk out of the way, and then went to find the "night club" on board which had a whopping 8 people on the dance floor. but that's okay! We had our own fun. Great times. Closed down the bar at 1 am and were told there was another bar open until 4 am. I guess because it was the first night it wasn't actually open which honestly was probably a good thing.. No need to be too out of control on the first night ;) Oh, I had also bought the unlimited drinks package, which pays itself off after only 4.5 drinks sooooooooo seems to have been worth it so far!      En savoir plus

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    • Kirsti MathiasenKirsti MathiasenAsia-Pacific 2017

      The Rocks & Darling Harbour, Sydney

      21 avril 2017, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      The Walking tour for the Rocks started out at Cadaman's Cottage in the Circular Quay, the smae area that yesterday's walking tour ended. The tour took us through the old part of Sydney, the Rocks. This tour was shorter and was in the evening so it was a bit cooler, I'm glad that I kept my long sleeve shirt from Nepal... not sure why I wasn't expecting the cooler temperatures as compared to Bangkok. Anyway, the tour was pretty interesting as well! We heard about some of the darker history of Sydney from days of Sailors. We heard abou how Sailors would be robbed, kidnapped to be slaves, murdered, and just taken advantage of in general. There were some pretty funny stories about all that, even though it was a dark history. Our guide was great. You can tell that the Rocks is an older area, the streets are narrow and hav cobbles. The buildings are stone and short in comparison to the neighbouring high rises and the alleys are on the dark side. There's one buiding that is raised on stilts so that you can see the old ruins below that were excavated to remove bodies of folk burried there a long time ago. In the rocks district there are 3 pubs competing for the title of oldest bar in Sydney and we walked by all of them. There really isn't a way to tell which one is the oldes, one has the oldest liquor liscense but another has older building materials, so they're in constant competition, which much bring people in so really they all win. We ended the tour by going up to the observatory where we had a view of the harbour bridge and the fair below over the water it was quite pretty. There were more than a few couples enjoying the romantic setting, until we intruided of course.

      After the walking tour I tried a frozen coke for Alanna as promised and the white truffle parmesan fries from McDonald's to kill time before Matthew arrived from Melbourne!! It was so cool to see him.

      We walked down to Darling Harbour which is quite the contrast from the Rocks. All new buidings, which some interesting architecture, but still quite tame in comparison to some other larger cities like Singapore, or even Vancouver. Seems that Sydney is fairly reserved in their architectural styles. Or would it be moree polite to say conservative? Aside from the Opera house of course. Anyway, we walked around the Darling Harbour and found a place to have dinner, a steak house. Man was it great to have a decent beer, good glass of wine, and amazing steak. What a treat! We had a blast just catching up too, I'm so glad that I get to know my cousins so well. After dinner we walked back to the hostel the long way through Hyde Park, which had a little building reflecting quite prettily off a pond. They do seem to value their green space here which is great! When we got back to the hostel it was almost midnight so we called it quits and went to bed, getting up early to meet Mom tomorrow!!      En savoir plus

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    • Kirsti MathiasenKirsti MathiasenAsia-Pacific 2017

      Bondi to Bronte Coastal Walk, Sydney

      21 avril 2017, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      I didn't set an alarm this morning and had a great sleep in. My phone stayed alive long enough for me to call Mom and catch her just before she boarded the plane to Sydney! We chatted briefly and confirmed our meeting spot before she had to go. I then decided I should do something with my day and caught a bus to Bondi Beach. And the beach was gorgeous! White sand, clear blue water. Absolutely stunning. I can see why so many people here love the ocean and couldn't imagine leaving. Especially since the beach was only a 30 minute ride away...

      I started out my beach experience by doing part of the Coastal Walk. I walked from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach, which was only about 2km. The entire trail is about 6 km long but there were so many stairs that my knee started bothering me part way through. So after passing a few beaches, I stopped at one that had a fish and chip shop along the street. But first, the scenery on that walk was breathtaking. Jagged coast, clear blue water, lots of greenery, it was lovely. Instantly I started smiling when I saw what the walk entailed and smelled that salty air! Another reason that I stopped at Bronte instead of Bondi is that it was far less busy. Despite it being fall here there were still tons of people on the beach, although I hear that it gets a lot busier in the summer to the point where you can hardly find a place to sit on the beach. Glad I'm here when I am! The 25 degree weather is so nice and refreshing after Bangkok. I actually find myself almost chilly a lot of the time actually.

      I had fish and chips along the boardwalk that was phenomenal. I really wasn't all that hungry but it seemed like the thing to do, like when you're at White Rock. So good. So hot and fresh and yummy! After lunch I decided to change into my swim suit and go for a dip! It was chilly out but I felt that I needed to go in at least one just to say that I did :) And boy was I unprepared for the strong currents and massive waves. I had been watching the waves crash along the rocks as I was walking but it didn't register just how big the waves were until I was smack dab in the middle of them.. The first one took me under and rolled me around a bit until I came to my senses and started handling the waves properly lol. I've swam in rougher water before but after the calm, tame beaches of Vietnam I was a little bit unprepared. Of course I quickly adjusted! I loved it. I was having so much fun just body surfing and jumping through the waves. At one point I was standing in knee deep water and by the time the wave came through I couldn't touch, I'm pretty sure they were about 3 m high if not taller! The only reason I didn't stay in longer is because I had left my stuff unattended on the beach. I wasn't really worried about it but didn't want to tempt fate too much by leaving it alone for too long... Twas a blast.

      I caught a bus back to the hostel to shower and pack up my bags before heading out to Circular Quay to start a walking tour of the Rocks... More about that in the next post!      En savoir plus

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    • Kirsti MathiasenKirsti MathiasenAsia-Pacific 2017

      Arrival in Sydney

      20 avril 2017, Australie ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      We arrived in Sydney on time at 7:40 am and I made it through customs, got my bags, found the train, and made it to my hostel within an hour and a half tops. Maybe even less, I think I checked in at about 9:15 or so. An easy city to navigate that's for sure! Upon checking in I claimed my bed in the hostel and unpacked a bit before showering. Then went in search of breakfast and had an amazing Smashed Avocado with egg sandwich at a local restaurant. It cost me though... This is going to be an expensive couple days! Good thing I've decided not to drink at all while I'm here. I have no desire to even see alcohol at this point... What a gong show the last few weeks have been. I'm looking forward to a couple days of quiet. This Hostel doesn't seem like a party place and for that I'm quite glad. Anyway, after breakfast I had a nap because I didn't sleep much on the plane and forced myself out of bed to make it to a free walking tour on time. And as soon as I turned off my alarm my phone and dragged myself out of bed my phone quit working....... It started restarting literally every 2 or 3 minutes, keyboard wouldn't work, no gps, photos not taking properly, no screenshots, no WiFi, nothing.... What a frustrating experience! after the walking tour, which I will describe shortly here, I even went to the Samsung store to see if they could help. But the phone wouldn't stay on long enough for them to even run a diagnostic test... And because it's a different country they can't repair or replace the phone. So annoying! but they were super kind and helpful, great people the Australians. Anyway, after giving up on my phone, turning it off, and leaving it to charge to 100% it seems to be working ok. I won't take it off the charger though for fear that it'll quit working. The Samsung techies suspect a failing motherboard... Don't really know what that means or why it seems to be working now but I just hope it continues to work! mainly for photo taking purposes. When I meet up with Mom she'll bring my computer so I won't need it for anything other than photos...

      But anyway, I went on a free walking tour of the city that was incredible! The guide was a student named Indigo and of course asked for tips at the end but she 1000% deserved them. Funny and knowledgeable we got a great backstory of the city. We started out at St. James Cathedral and ended at the Opera House. There were so many landmarks that we stopped at on the way, I'm incredibly glad I went to the tour instead of doing it on my own. We happened to end at the Opera House at sunset too so that was pretty neat to see. Clear blue skies and warm colours reflecting off the structure... Overall, I had positive impressions of the city and was really interested in hearing all the quirky history of Australia from how it was founded to how the capital city was selected to how booze was once an official currency to how the original settler population were criminals, etc etc. There was so much information that I can't possibly record it all but I really did enjoy the tour. There's a second one that they offer that gives a tour of the Rocks and the criminal history of the area that I'll probably go to tomorrow. Will be tough to get a guide as good as Indigo was though!

      Anyway, as I mentioned, after the walking tour I went to the Samsung store but I also went to check out the meeting point that mom and I agreed upon for the 22!I'm really looking forward to seeing her :) I scoped out the meeting spot and hopefully she won't have any issues finding it. I stayed up tonight to try and call her even though I'm exhausted. I'll be seeing her soon enough! I had dinner at, don't judge me, McDonalds. I needed some comfort food after the stressful phone situation that actually wasn't really all that stressful... I found myself impartial to the fact that I didn't have a phone. Honestly I've become so detached from it in the last while, not having internet access doesn't bother me too much and I don't feel I need it. I was mostly annoyed that I lost access to my books and music! but again, seems to be working but who knows how long that'll last... Maybe it has something to do with the heat? Though it's significantly cooler here than in Bangkok at a lovely 24 degrees in the sun and a chilly 10 degrees at night. Much prefer it to the instant sweat though! Any who, McDonalds has fries with Gravy here as well as truffle parmesan fries and frozen cokes. I'm gonna go back just for the truffle fries and frozen cokes at Ms. Georgia's request ;) Not that I needed any sort of tempting! After dinner I walked to a book store and picked up some physical books the first that I've bought in a while....

      I then returned to the hostel and used their computer to send meeting instructions to mom and talk to Matthew! He's working out of Melbourne right now and has decided to come visit me in Sydney tomorrow night!! I'm super excited about that and am hoping that he'll be able to join mom and I for breakfast the following morning at the very least :) Can't wait to see my cousin again, didn't think it would happen here of all places though haha. After saying goodbye to him I tried to sleep but was too anxious about getting in touch with Mom.. so I read my book on the lovely rooftop patio of the hostel, Big Hostel, until it was an appropriate time to call home. 7am their time, not that they're answering my calls right now, but I left a message! That's all I can do. Just so looking forward to seeing some familiar faces from home <3      En savoir plus

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    • Kirsti MathiasenKirsti MathiasenAsia-Pacific 2017

      Last Day in Bangkok

      19 avril 2017, Thaïlande ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

      I had a long sleep in and still felt incredibly tired when I woke up. So I had a nice relaxing day! I had fully intended on visiting Wat Po, a nearby temple but decided against it in the sweltering heat. Instead my roommate and I decided to go visit a fish spa! I was so against them for so long because I was convinced that it wasn't good for the fish to be living in those conditions but I've been assured that they're well taken care of.. I sure hope so. Anyway, that was a crazy experience. Keeping still was incredibly difficult with 50 fish nibbling on your feet! It wasn't so much ticklish as it was tingly, like you were being mildly electrocuted or something. We only did 15 minutes, I don't think that I could have done any longer it was too strange of a feeling! We decided instead to get a foot massage afterwards which was the best decision I've made in a long time ;) Afterwards, we went back and lounged by the pool until it was time for me to say my goodbyes and head to the airport.. I'll see them again for sure! Especially my roommate Kelsey who also lives in BC.

      On my way to the airport I again was struck by how big Bangkok is... It took an hour to get to the airport and there are just huge buildings everywhere! The density is incredible and the amount of traffic. I realize we hardly even scratched the surface.. I'm confident that one day I'll be back to Bangkok though, even if it is just as a layover stop to different destinations :)

      The airport is also massive. And there are silly rules associated with the airline... Like the fact that I couldn't bring bottled water on board even when it was bought after security?! I've never heard of that before.. But whatever, I just kept disturbing the airline staff instead to quench the incessant thirst I seem to develop on flights. All that dry air or something... But I will say that this was the nicest airline I have ever been on for an economy flight. I booked with Qantas but it was operated by Emarites and I understand why people rave about them now. Tons of leg room, wide seats, great entertainment selection, good food, wifi on board, allowing people to data roam, etc etc. They were fantastic! I'd for sure fly with them again.

      The flight is an over nighter and scheduled to arrive in Sydney at 7:40 am! Hoping I can sleep...      En savoir plus

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    • Kirsti MathiasenKirsti MathiasenAsia-Pacific 2017

      Back to Bangkok

      18 avril 2017, Thaïlande ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

      We arrived back at Bangkok early this morning off the night train and thankfully were able to check in to our rooms at the Wild Orchid right away. We went to Ricky's for breakfast and I had spaghetti haha. Afterwards I did some research on things to do in Sydney, called mom, and spoke to Alanna for a while. Then I repacked my bags and somehow managed to get everything into my backpack plus a carryon! I don't even know how that's physically possible considering that I had a full backpack and carryon plus the bag I had left behind at the Wild Orchid before leaving for Chiang Mai... My Tetris skills are improving I suppose :p from there I went out to the market one last time to pick up a few last minute items before heading to the pool to relax! A big part of the group was also there so we shared a few drinks just enjoying our last day together. We went for dinner at some strange place called Hippie Bar where I had a "set" meal that consisted of a soup, fried "chicken", and spicy rice. Apparently it was a Thai meal but nothing I've ever seen before. Tasty, but strange... The fried chicken tasted more like pork and was little strips of deep fried meat. The soup was a clear soup with small noodles that was quite tasty actually and the rice was far too spicy for my tastes, oops. After dinner we went out to Khao San Road for one last hurrah! I wasn't feeling well so I took it easy and went home fairly early, before midnight I believe. Stomach is feeling better but still not 100% at this point!En savoir plus

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    • Kirsti MathiasenKirsti MathiasenAsia-Pacific 2017

      Last Day in Chiang Mai

      17 avril 2017, Thaïlande ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      Today was technically only a half day as we boarded a night train at 2:30 pm to return to Bangkok. We had breakfast at the bagel house once again and said some teary goodbyes. I was really sad to see those girls go! The ones not officially part of our tour that I've been spending all my time with, including Jess. They're headed to Pai today while the rest of us end our tour.. It's getting close to done with Asia for me :(

      And it poured today. Haven't seen rain like that in a long long time! I kind of enjoyed it and of course went out for a walk in it :) the train ride has been uneventful thus far and all I want to do is sleep but the beds aren't made yet. Soon I hope! Also my stomach is feeling mildly better, less issues than before. Either the antibiotics or the probiotics or a combo of the two are starting to work their magic! Hope it keeps up..      En savoir plus

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    • Kirsti MathiasenKirsti MathiasenAsia-Pacific 2017

      X-Centre, Chiang Mai

      16 avril 2017, Thaïlande ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      Today was a slow start. Kind of. I had breakfast at about 7am because I couldn't sleep and then went back to bed until noon. First priority was washing all those disgusting clothes... And taking antibiotics because I definitely ingested some of that water. One of our friends actually went in to the hospital last night because it was so bad for him and that's what they recommended for him. So we'll see if the antibiotics and then probiotics work for me. If not I'll be seeing a doctor in Sydney! It's all just intestinal discomfort and I'm sure that it'll be fine in a few days...

      But anyways, in the afternoon we went ad a large group to the extreme sports centre or X-Centre. I didn't participate but had a lot of fun watching others do drift carting, bungee jumping, and xorbing. The xorbs were my favourite haha. Looked like fun!! So did the drift carting but I didn't want to be in a car that was being bounced around with the condition my body is in lol. It was good to participate though!

      Afterwards we went to a Sports bar for some pizza before retuning home for a nap. It's our last night together in Chiang Mai so I felt obligated to go out with everyone. I napped until 9:45 and then met up with the group. I managed to make myself a pretty damn good Bloody Mary that helped me feel a bit better. But I still wasn't up for continuing the party when the bar closed at midnight and went back to bed for a solid nights sleep.

      Oh, today we also learned that 226 people died over the last 4 days of Songkran.. Mostly vehicle or alcohol related.... And over 5000 were injured... Dangerous holiday to be on the roads! Glad we all came out unscathed :)      En savoir plus

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    • Kirsti MathiasenKirsti MathiasenAsia-Pacific 2017

      Songkran Day 3

      15 avril 2017, Thaïlande ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      We were expecting today to be the wild day but it was definitely not as busy as the first two days. Maybe the colder weather had something to do with that.. But it was still fun! The group rented trucks with ice water bins and went out to get soaked. I didn't join them because my friends weren't officially on the tour, so we tried to look for then instead but never actually saw them. We did actually watch the parade for once though! Each day there was a parade of different groups, some university groups, businesses, etc. Wasn't all that exciting to be honest but we were in a good viewing position and didn't want to leave too quickly. We didn't waterfight as long today, one of our friends had to catch a flight at about 2:30 so we walked her back and said goodbye. Another was leaving shortly after so we hung out at the hotel for a while instead of going back out into the mayhem.

      After our friends left, we dried off again and went to try and meet the group at the tattoo shop where they were having a tattoo party similar to the one we did before. But, we weren't told that the owner has 3 locations and went to the wrong one... Couldn't find them at the end of it so our smaller group did our own thing which turned out to be more fun anyway! We went back to the international food market, had some snacks, and listened to the band that was playing. Our friends even managed to get people up and dancing when usually they don't. Fun times! Afterwards we just went back to the guesthouse for a few more drinks and conversation.      En savoir plus

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    • Kirsti MathiasenKirsti MathiasenAsia-Pacific 2017

      Songkran Day 2

      14 avril 2017, Thaïlande ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

      Day 2 of Songkran was just as wild as the first day. The group returned from the Jungle Trek yesterday evening so today we had an even larger team for fighting. And we broke out the wild costumes! We again loaded up on drinks and water and went out. Just as fun and crazy as the day before! But this time we didn't end up at Stamps, we went to a different hostel instead with some new folks we met. I'm pretty sure I accidentally ingested moat water yesterday because today my stomach has been giving me nothing but problems, I've never had it this bad on all of my travels. But, I didn't let it stop me! We continued water fighting well into the day and then repeated what we did yesterday. Dinner, change of clothes, backpackers, leave early because it was too busy haha.En savoir plus

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