The Thai Bride Saviour



True to form, our last Hawaiian bus journey (to Honolulu airport) had its share of “characters” on board:

OAP sits across the aisle from an 18 year old cheerleader type,and gesticulating animatedly, he gets her to take out her Ipod earphones.

“Hey, your really prerrrty, you look like a model in my (favourite - couldn't hear name) magazine. I love your casual clothing style”

“Oh - thank you” she said understandably nervously - almost everyone was unsure what type of magazine he meant, but one guy next to the OAP, adds to try to minimize the embarassment:

“ Yeah, I like that magazine too, its got interesting articles and quizzes and stuff” (not sure he helped the situation much!)

The flight from Honolulu to Sydney went well, although I was dissapointed that there was no rum based initiation ceremony for the passengers like myself who were crossing the equator for the first time. I tried to kill some time seeing if the water really did rotate the other way in the sink, but the vacuum seemed to pull the water straight down - shame.

Arriving in town we had enough time for a couple of beers next to the hostel (in Kings Cross - you can take Kings Cross out of London, but you can’t take the sleaze out of Kings Cross it seems). We shared a table with a two brothers, who it turned out were having a mini stag do before one of them left for Bangkok to marry his Thai bride, who he was clearly bessotted by. I like to think I may have given them their first wedding present, as in his euphoric and inebriated state he left his bag, complete with flight bookings, passports and wedding plans under the table as he left. Fortunately they hadn’t got far, so I managed to alert him, possibly saving the day!

No caption required!

No caption reqd pt2!

We’ve spent two days sightseeing in Sydney so far. To my mind its location tops both San Fransico or Vancouver, and the opera house and the harbour bridge are both as enigmatic as I’d hoped. My favourite part so far has been the botanical gardens, and the parks surrounding, which are perfect for strolling around the edge of the harbour. The gardens have a spectacular range of plants and trees, but the Flying Foxes (large bat like animals) are the highlight, even though they are pests who are apparently damaging the trees.

The boat trip to Manly through the outer harbour was also great, with beautiful ocean and harbour beaches surrounding the town. There wasn’t many people sunning themselves as the weather has been a bit chilly, and there were only a few surfers out as the swell looked small and not consistent.

Ursh had arranged for us to meet up with a couple of friends, who are now OZ based, and we had drinks and food in chinatown on Friday, followed by a trip to the Football (yep - “Soccer”) to see the Brisbane Roar take on Sydney FC. We were routing for Brisbane, along with 25 or so away fans (it is a long way away....) Given that I’ve previously lived within easy reach of half a dozen premiership footbal clubs, it was starnge to see my first professional football match in OZ, but it was a chilled out way to spend an evening, and not too expensive either. Sadly the 1:1 score didn’t do anyone any favours.



"We are the Brisbane Roar - we are the Brisbane Roar - Repeat - Repeat"

Beard Watch - The goatee

If I have my way he'll be sporting mutton chops nexts!

Beard Watch - Day 16

Cats, "Dog" and other Fauna

Following an uneventful transfer back to Oahu, we've been travelling the island on the local buses. Much of the time this is much like public transport back home, the same mix of young people, OAP's and some slightly off beat (and given the climate - usually smelly) eccentrics. The one thing that does take getting used to is the tendancy for random conversations to crop up:

"You tourists?" - as a seasoned london transport user, my spidey senses instantly shout nutter, or whats he want to sell us????

"Er - yes"

"This is where dog the bounty hunter is filmed - do you see that in australia?"

"Oh, were from England, think they show it sometimes..."

"And that (points to nameless hill on the horizon) is where the cemetery is - great views of Honolulu"

"OK - thanks"

At this point he shuffles away, disappointed we dont communicate more. The reality is that he's not really a nutter, hes just very proud of his islands (the aloha spirit again) and doesn't realise there is any taboo relating to talking on public transport - maybe I'm in the wrong!

We've been up to the north end of the island for  some camping. Bit of a performance this, as there are strange rules on this kind of thing - must book in advance on internet, no camping on wednesday or thursday allowed any where on the island???? Fortunately we were rewarded with one of the most beautiful camping locations imaginable, with the tent right by the beach, and sunrises that were amazing

There were also animals everywhere, with feral cats surely numbering in the hundreds, and smallish sea turtles often gulping air and being washed about in the surf. The most entertaining animals however were the small white crabs, with eyes on stalks and one big claw

What the crabs lost in size, they made up for in numbers, with thousands of eyes appearing to follow you as you walk along the beach, which is a little unnerving. Needless to say a simple wave of the hand can have them running for their sand pits.

During the camping trip we ventured to the posh resort of "Turtle Bay" possibly best known as the location for the film "Getting over Sarah Marshall". We intended to simply use the wifi (how did people organise travelling before the net?) but the draw of the beachside restaraunt was too great, so burgers and salad, with Mai Tai's and Blue Hawaiian's to follow were the order of the day.

Tropical plant - sadly not found in jungle but part of the resort gardens 



Maui sign off

Starting early to make the most of the no windsurfing before 11 rule, we headed over to west Maui for short hikes on Sunday and Monday. As with other hikes and activities we would have been lost without the "Maui Revealed (Andrew Doughty)" guide book - thanks to Caroline for the loan.

Waihe'e Ridge trail

This part of the island is very reminiscent of all the films and tv shows filmed on Hawaii - so much so that you almost expect a Jurassic park T rex to appear round the next corner.

All along this trail there were Passion Fruit trees, many of which were dropping fruit onto the ground. We both tried some, but sadly they were way too sharp to be worth eating.

Nakele Blowhole

The geography of this part of the coast is the result of constant sea erosion attacking the porous lava, and looks about as other worldly as any place I have ever been too. The ground is incredibly abrasive, you get the feeling that falling over would hurt - a lot.

The Blowhole was amazing, and regularly threw welcome cooling water over the surrounding area. Sadly it was particularly difficult to film without getting goofy tourists (like us I guess!) constantly standing in the way



We've had a great time on Maui, and seriously considered extending our stay here, but its very expensive. Budget accommodation seems almost non existent, and a hire car is virtually a necessity, so we have to leave tomorrow to keep some cash for elsewhere. Definitely looking forward to coming back some day.

Not sure when we will next have a decent internet connection, so Mahalo for now.

Never meet your heros (because you may try and copy them and look like a ****)

For the uninitiated, Maui's North shore is probably the ultimate windsurfing destination. The primary reasons for this are that the geography of the island accelerates the more or less predictable N Easterly trade winds (by squashing the wind between two mountains) and the swell that is formed over the length of almost half the pacific ocean which creates waves when reaching the land mass.

View of the north shore - west on the RH side

The western section of the coast is called Kanaha Beach Park, and is where the majority of windsurfers and kitesurfers head from. The reason is partly ease of access, but mainly due to the off shore reefs preventing the majority of the swell from reaching the shore. This makes launching easy, but waves are still accessible by sailing away from the beach.



Further to the east of Kanaha is Camp One, which is where the luxury houses are on the sea front, and isn't an option for launching unless you are paying thousands per week to stay. Fortunately its an easy upwind sail from kanaha, as the waves here are really good. Beyond here you get to sprecks beach. The waves are supposed to be bigger here, but didn't look it on the day I went, so I haven't sailed this section yet. According to the signs, Kitesurfing isnt allowed and the penalty is 3.3Million US! I'd like to think this is simply because windsurfing is better, but the reality is that the main airport runway ends a few hundred metres away, and kites and planes probably don't mix to well!  Beyond this area, you need to go past Paia (no launching available), and on to the previously mentioned Ho'kipa. Ho'kipa is hardly protected by offshore reefs, so the waves are bigger and faster, hence its the destination of choice for the windsurfing pro's.

Today (Sunday) we drove up to Ho'kipa to check out the conditions. While we where there Antoine Albeau (the worlds most successful current all round wind surfer), and Robbie Swift (perhaps the UK's best) turned up. Also there was V111 (venezula pro) who was sailing some amazing switch stance loops. We spent half an hour watching - it was amazing to watch sailors for whom a fully planing loop off a big wave was simply something you do whilst warming up for your next wave ride on the way back in. 



Robbie Swift and some horribly talented 12 year olds launching



Albeau's kit - 1sqm bigger sail than anyone else out

 
Unfortunately I then decided this was a once in a lifetime chance to sail with the worlds best, which reputation or not I had to go for. I rigged the 90L global wave with the 5m Force sail, and with legs visibly shaking ventured into the water. Shore dump is nothing new for most UK sailors, so I was confident I'd be ok, and I planned that once I had got out, I'd stay out where the water was a bit calmer (the waves were only really braking within 150m of the shore)

Ready for the off (ish)

The next bit was a bit of a blur..... I thought I'd timed it ok, but as I dropped the board into the water I think the water from the wave I had just stepped over was rushing back into the ocean, and caught the fin and spun the board around, causing the wind to take the sail out of my hands. I managed to get the board and rig back into the correct position for a hasty water start, but couldn't work out why there was no power in the rig to get me up and going. Unknown and unheard to me, some of the best sailors in the world were on the beach shouting your mast is broken (you ****(insert as appropriate))

Wish you were here?????

The net result of this was that I broke a mast, which then tore a smll hole in mast tube of the very new rental sail. We nipped back to the Naish shop, where they were amazingly relaxed - the masts are warrantied so probably wont cost me a thing, and the sail can be patched for about 40-50 US. This is dependant on the manager who wasn't there, so things could still change.... - Chuckles - fyi the rental cost is $249 for the week, which is suddenly becoming amazing value! Not seen much RRD kit though, so your current RRD fetish may have to go unsatiated.

One carefully modified carbon mast

Ursh then rightly said I should get out the same day, so I headed back to Kanaha for an excellent 2 hours

on the 90L and 6m ATV sail (I didn't have ther nerve to ask for another 5m and 400cm mast - fortunately the 6m was perfect). Despite the earlier episode, my sailing has improving a lot - I'm far more confident in the jumps, and I'm hardly dropping any gybes apart from when I get tired. No loops yet though.

One problem I have is that I'm still slightly shark obsessed. On Friday morning I was looking out over the harbour from ther hotel window, and there was clearly a black shape that was braking the water nearby. It looked a bit fin like, and was spinning around much too fast to be a diver (maybe "it" had cornered something by the waters edge?) Ursh saw it too, but I dont think she was as convinced as I am....The next day "deep blue sea" (a really bad shark B movie) was on the TV, as if to compound my paranoia. Fortunately the only animals I have seen whilst out on the water are huge sea turtles. They hardly seem to move, but are apparently quite friendly and come over to investigate if you stop. Every so often they lift their turtle heads out the water and take a long leisurely gulp of air, and then go back to do whatever sea turtles do.

trees, craters and mullets

We've had a great last couple of days exploring Maui, its such a chilled out, friendly place. The weather, perfect beaches and aloha spirit certainly make a great start to our trip. A couple of days ago we did a coastal drive from Kahalui to somewhere on the way to Hana, its a well touted tourist route because you can stop off at various places and trek through tropical forests, view water falls and paddle in crystal clear pools. Its a really great drive along narrow bendy roads with the cliffs falling into some of the brightest, most tourquoise water I've ever seen. Mike did a great job driving the FBI-wagon along the road, I know I would be wary driving along it in my car and it's about a third the size! We did this little trail to a pretty impressive water fall (everyone loves waterfalls) and whilst it was beautiful and the forest so lucious and colourful the thing I remember the most is the smell. There were guava trees everywhere, and they were so ripe with fruit that would squish underfoot, they made the air so deliciously sweet you could almost live off it.

Yesterday we headed to Haleakala national park. Its a massive altitude crater, absolute moonscape. It's always thrilling to be above the clouds, and whilst the air is noticably thinner its so crisp and eerie fresh its really exhilerating. There are various trails, we chose one that was a bit ambitious but only about 700m change in altitude. We;ve both trekked at altitude before so we thought it would be about 3 hours in total. We got a pretty heavy health and safety debrief from a ranger, but the thin air was obvioulsy getting to me because I found everything totally giggle inducing. His advice made me change from shorts to trousers and I'm really glad. It took about 5 hours, was unbelievably hard work and totally knackering! Great scenery, volcanic geology is fasinating, all reds and black, void of greenery but stunning in its baroness. There are these cool native plants that ancient Hawaiians called greygrey as they are silvery but they has no such word as they had never seen silver before.They really stand out against the all the red.

Last night we went to an 'old school disco', there isn't much in the way of night life in this part of Maui, so we had been looking forward to it all week. It was local, cheesy fun. We had a great night dancing to Madonna and Lionel Richie with the friendly locals, even if we did feel a bit young and in need of a mullet. The cheesyness didn't really matter, it was just good to party and meet people. After Mike went to bed I hung out with Cory and his family and collegues, a great bunch of people that were born islanders who worked in the local mall, kept their emotions near the surface and were fun and welcoming. I definitly want to hang out with some more islanders before we go!

Ho'kipa 1 - Mike nil

I’m sure that there is a travellers moto regarding making the most of buffet food, and if not there should be! Expedia.com did us proud with the Maui accomodation by getting a good rate on the budget (but more than adequate) hotel, and then throwing in breakfast as well.

Sustained for the morning, we headed off to the town of Paia, home to yogis, and guru’s of a wide range of beliefs. The town is identified in the guidebooks for its quirkiness, and we both liked the ramshackle nature of the place. There is also a complete absence of chain shops and restaraunts, which is very welcome and must be practically unique in the US.

Paia is the nearest town to Ho’kipa, perhaps the best known windsurfing beach in the world.

The wind and waves looked good, and shortly after 11am a couple of very handy sailors went out. (Apparently before 11 there is no windsurfing allowed - a rule enforced very rigorously by the local surfers....)

Fortunately discretion overtook valour and I decided not to venture out. The sandy launch area is tiny, and the light winds close in to the shore made a trip to the jagged rocks look almost inevitable. I decided to head back to Kanaha for a 3+ hour session on the same kit as the day before. The wind was much the same, but the waves were just a bit lower, meaning that my sailing was a little more controlled, but still great fun.



Ho'Kipa



Please Jim, can you fix it for us to live here!

We have reached Maui, the promised land (and water) - home to the most famous windsurfing locations in the world. Geek warning - non windsurfing followers will find the next bit impossibly dull.......

The car rental company had arranged for us to have a "mid sized" car ready, but the person in front of us got there first, so we were given a Lincoln town car. This thing is huge, and is the typical all american motor, with wallowy suspension and handling to match. Needless to say it needed some accessories, so it was off to the windsurf hire shop to kit it out.

Fbi car under cover

My windsurfing brand allegiance stayed true, so I collected my kit from the Naish centre - a "Global wave" 87Litre board and 5m and 5.7m "session" sails. Sadly the godfather himself (Robby Naish) wasn't there, I imagine his wind and kitesurfing empire leaves him little time for shop work!

After a quick lunch, we headed over to Kanaha Beach park for what was supposed to be my easy introduction to Maui windsurfing. I rigged up the 5.7 in my customary "rig just a bit bigger than everyone else" mode (I have been eating holiday buffets recently), and headed out probably just a little overpowered. This place is such an amazing location, the wind is constant (ish), the water is almost bath temperature, and there is flat water around for an easy launch, but waves by the reefs if you want some jumping on the way out and wave riding on the way back in. I stayed out for a couple of hours, getting as many waves as I could, but had to come in as my fitness let me down, especially after getting a rinsing on a couple of the bigger waves. Following some of the other sailors, I reckon the biggest waves were close to logo high (2.5 - 3m approx) - which I guess is normal round here, but for a UK sarf coast sailor like myself, they are a bit of a shock. The waves also move completely unlike UK waves - when you fall in you get dragged around, where back home you mainly bob up and down.

Tropical tale pt1

10 hours to LA followed by 5 hours in a dull airport and another 6 to the island of Oahu should have been a nightmare day, but surprisingly it went by OK, with books finished and unusually edible plane food eaten. Admittedly we were a bit zombie like getting the number 19 bus from the airport to the hotel ("travellers" don't take taxis....), but the aloha spirit really does seem to work here, with helpful bus drivers telling us where we were, and a local bringing up maps on his smart phone and practically insisting on walking us to the front door - my doubts over his motives were completely unfounded.

Waikiki where we stayed is very much the tourist capital of Hawaii, with chain hotels of 40+ floors everywhere. Possibly not the Hawaii that springs to mind, but everything is so easy here, from Buffet food everywhere (when in Rome), to beach activities and shops for almost anything. The beaches, although crowded, are great and there are surfers everywhere, with 3-4 foot high, clean waves almost all the way along the sea front while we around.

Following a post travelling day relaxing , we took the bus the next morning to the other "windward" side of the island. The town of Wailea is far more relaxed and less touristy than Waikiki, and has a beach straight out of a brochure photo, with impossibly blue water and white sand.

Wailea Beach

The mountains in the middle of the island are all jagged and volcanic looking. They have very lush forests, the islands having a much higher rainful than I expected, especially in the mountain area.

10.10.10.10.10.10

Here we are in sunny Waikiki on our first day of travelling. Totally buzzing. Happy doing nothing. This photo was taken earlier at approx. 10.10.10 on 10.10.10!!

sofa protest

Less than a week to go, woo hoo! Today we took a load of furniture and stuff to sue ryder and tomorrow we're making our final trip to the dump (Mike's final time, my first and final time actually - unless I manage to get out of it). I am loving Mike being off work, but the thing is he wants to do everything now. He wants to pack the tv and sofa away tomorrow. Tomorrow?! We have 4 whole days left here. I want to enjoy our stuff whilst we can and pack everything apart from the sofa and tv until the last day. I'm gonna have a sit in and hug the tv like Homer Simpson and chain myself to the couch.

Fab Friday

On Friday we both woke up salary less, and after debating the options of a full day spent watching telly, (with maybe a short break for pizza and lager) we both realized there was stuff to do, places to go and people to see.
For me (mike) the obvious choice was a pleasant trip to the seaside.......

• Driving rain, forced along by near galeforce winds - check
• Backdrop of a scenic nuclear power station - check
• Murky brown water - check 
• Dog poo on the sand - check

Sand, pebbles and the occasional kite surfer were blown along the beach 

The wind was full on, so I met Tom at the beach and we both went for wave sailing kit (85litre and 4.5sqm for me, 91 and 4.4 to start for Tom, followed by a first blast on the new 75litre). We soon realized that we had underestimated the wind, and most of the time a 4.0 would have been better. It was a great sailing day though, and we both got some well powered jumps in and some excellent wave riding, with more than a few high speed crashes to throw into the mix.

Toms sailing has improved massively since his euro trip, and his jumping looked more confident than mine, not to mention his better fitness allowing him more sailing time. Still reckon my gybes were smoother though!

Sandblasted kit on the beach

Hastily packing up, a quick journey via the M20 and M25 (on a friday evening - yes I am joking...) took us both to the comedy night at Bracknell for a works do. Several pints and a lot of stolen chips (thanks Sherv and Natalie!) made the evening start well, and the comedy was great too. Are there limits in stand up comedy was the question many asked - I think they came quite close with the KFC gag half way through, definitely the best laugh of the evening though. Thanks to Graeme for organising an excellent evening - if he could have arranged for a fuzz free head and a sane taxi driver on the way back to collect the car the next day it would have been even better! Also, thanks to Michael for his good humour at my wayward directions when giving me a lift home.

It was so good to see so many of my colleagues at the do, its been great working with you all and I look forward to seeing you all again soon.