!ncredible India

Always welcoming India where serving is everything. Its hard to describe those endless rice fields and crazy highways where its not uncommon to come across with wild pigs or even elephants. There are more temples than villages and religion plays big role in everyday life. People are speaking many local dialects among 22 official languages and English in bigger places. Its amazing how economically they can live and how over half of 1,1 billion Indians still using fire as primary heat source. Sometimes it feels like going 500 years back in time except people have mobile phones and satellite dishes on mud huts. But pollution and hygiene becomes a real problem and many people dont have access to clean water. Have to be very careful with diseases and take extra care when traveling in remote areas.

Indians work hard and even when quality is questionable they still achieve a lot with their can do attitude. Doing business they always smiling at your wallet not you and trying to trick you in ever step.
Many companies are building factories in India where labor costs nothing and environmental restrictions are absent. In that sense its like highly populated China whos probably gonna lead the economy in long term. There are already more millionaires in Japan than USA.

India is crazy and if you are crazy you like it,
otherwise it might make you crazy ;)

Happy New Year!

Perth

With 1,5 million citizens is the most remote city in the world. Is like nice little oasis in the middle of desert with its friendly people and laid back attitude.

Western Australia total population reaching just over 2 million (0.84 people per km2) is quite wild and empty just some industrial factorys and mining towns. Most economy is based on those minings, minerals, iron ores and exports what brings more wealth per person than other states.
Like this Australia with its resources and China with its production might start to play key role in world economy if USA continues with their credit and consumption strategy that lead to last economic crash.

To left out Australians general 'f..king backpacker' attitude then people who are traveled by them selfs are always nice and helpful.
They like to say: "There is everything in Australia that they dont have in Europe".
But same time: "There is everything in Europe that they dont have in Australia" ;)

And there is defenely something about the sun. The higher it gets the less people seem to think including myself. Apparently there is some chemicals that body produces that make you active but same time nervous. Somehow same chemicals stop your body growing when you smoke. Thats why there are no tall people under sun.

There are total over 0,5 million indigenous people living in Australia. Last ones found in a bush around half century ago. Even thou they seem quite primitive they have other qualities, for example they often know time by sun or stars.

There is theory of Portugese discovering Australia long before James Cook was born. The maps invented in 1520s where just upside down. There is also Machado-Joseph Disease witch comes from Portugal but is somehow found in Groote Island and Northern Territory.

In the end of the year i finished my around Australia trip and went back to Darwin. There wasnt much changed, couple of high buildings finished and couple of new ones growing. Even same people on the street witch made me thinking that if you dont change anything in your life then not much changes by itself.

Adelaide

Its beautiful city with bit more than million people. The city center is surrounded with park and it takes little bit more than half an hour to make a full round on a bike. Despite goverment offering free bikes for a day my bike went to permanent ride by himself and havent returned since. The city has also interesting O-Bahn busway, witch is normal bus going fast on special track - cant see that everywhere in the world. The weather gets quite hot in the day time but cools down after sunset.

Anyway, after realizing that i have only two months left i got myself organized to travel light and quick and ended up selling my van and booked a train ticket to Perth. 

It will be nearly 3000km trip witch is mostly empty, like real wild west :) Also thats what it takes to go across Europe but its just a distance between two cityes in Australia.
From there its close to 5000km to Darwin where I will catch a plane to India.

And as always, everyone is welcome to join and share the fun in Australia ;)

Heads up!

Melbourne

Aah... Melbourne, the city full of young students, live music, marvoulous nightlife and possums. 

Most of the time i stayd in Abbotsford Convent where Lentil as Anything is showing its strenght as interesting restorant without prices. Customers can taste all sorts of indian food and pay donation based as much as they like. They also have lots of other projects to help refugees on the track by providing shelter and work. It is a place to meet nice people from all around the world.

I managed to keep myself busy doing many different types of assainments. Starting from washing dishes and baking bread to chipping playstations. 

Also become clear my future plans about India in the end of the year. My dream was to discover west coast before that so i packed bags and hit the road.

New Zealand

The Land of Long White Cloud - Aotearoa is the Maori name for this country.
The language have similar macron-like bars over vowels like Estonian. It seems like Vikings have done well because all Eastern Polynesian languages nativity spoken on Pacific Ocean islands have similarities with Scandinavian languages.

Maori's are the first native tribes to declare peace with colonizing Europe. Even when it was hooks and all the land got taken anyway. But they got it finally back from the government in 1940s.

The land is in quite active spot on the map being uplifted quietly and having crack straight through. One of main volcanoes erupted 25 years ago and native hot spas all around the country gives good hint of that. But enjoying the bath between snowy mountains with great view of Micky Way and burning you feet on hot water beach makes it all once in a lifetime experience.

On the edge...

The most southern point of Oceania is Stewart Island in New Zealand witch is accessed by copter, plane or ferry but have to be careful when booking return ticket because the island is not so small as it looks. Being almost twice the size of Hiiumaa in Estonia and having only 400 inhabitants, all living in main town Oban, makes it mostly deserted and covered with wild bush, soft moss and muddy swamps.

Island has amazing bird life beginning with famous kiwis witch are under
protection to fantails and robins who follow your walks and sometimes come so close you can almost touch them. Deer, possums, cats, rats and other animals are introduced in last few hundred years. Department of Conservation (DOC), witch is the biggest land owner in NZ, wants to get rid of those animals to protect the unique bird life and return the island to its original state. They are still using 1080 poison even when its banned in most countries in the world but luckily its washed out by heavy rain falls and hopefully soon they find other ways to solve the problem.

Northern part of the island has tramping tracks and is covered with DOC huts witch are used also by hunters. Shortest walk is has nice broad walk and takes 3 days. You can shorten your trip with water taxi or plane witch lands on the long beaches when the tide is low.

It all makes the island quite popular among bird watchers and trampers around the world but unfortunately the southern part of the island is unaccessible by land. It is probably possible to invent a track using compass and topographical map but not in the winter time when it will be more like a army operation. Because you have to sleep outside and water in the mountains is collected between strong bush roots witch may lead to being stuck in few feet mud. Perfect way to see around is kayaking in good weather conditions.

It is a land where deep fjords cut winding cracks through tall, snow-capped mountains, a land of dark forests and desolate tundra, raging rivers and foul fens - enclosed by the world serpent - a land of wondrous beauty and lurking terrors, where short summers are shadowed by long, harsh winters, and where the wild places are slowly diminished by the ever-expanding hand of civilisation.

Half Way

When i finally got rid of all my cars I had been already 1 year in Australia and my visa was ending up. I took a quick trip trough country to Melbourne to catch a plane. To prove that I will also leave New Zealand I had to spend all my savings and buy extra ticket. So there i was, half way around the world, not a penny in my pocket and no idea in my head. Funny to start it all over again. Where to stay, what to eat and how to go on...

Straight Trough

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