I need to have everything packed by the evening of 28th of August :) and no I'm not overplanning. The deal is the same as last year: I will be organizing a triathlon event that starts 6am on 29th of August and ends around 3am on the 30th of August. I have to be at the airport bit before noon on the 30th, which gives me couple of hours to get some sleep and that is it :)
The progress so far is:
- plane tickets bought and initial dates for all flights fixed
- travel, health and luggage insurance done
- Australian visa gotten
- training in San Jose arranged and U2 concert tickets purchased
Nothing else needed really :) Easy trip this time huh? Maybe I'm just a bit more spontaneous, maybe it is just the nature of the countries I'm going to - I don't know, but besides few accommodation arrangements (San Jose and Atlanta) there is nothing more to do :) I have decided that I won't arrange any local trips up front, I have looked up what I'd like to do and I'm betting on walking into organizers office the same day to take the trip. Same with car rental. So I just need to pack my bag at some point and that is it :)
It all seems so far away though, I'm not even thinking about it yet, no excitement, nothing. Must be the current busy schedule? Very strange.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Curious about the land down under
I've always wondered about what is there in down under, what is it like to walk upside down that is :D No need to wonder any longer as this is where my travels during fall vacation take me. Somehow I've always explained of why I have chosen a certain area for the next destination so here it comes again: my friend Ave moved to the down under land this year :) Her initial plan is to stay there for a bit, so I figured to go and visit her.
As usual, I got limited time for my travels and as usual I'm going to try to take most out of those few weeks I've got. Planned routes and destinations:
1. Cairns, AU - good 3.5 days
Will arrive there through Stockholm, London and Hong-Kong (please make it so that there are no tropical storms in the area this time, although I will be in Hong Kong airport almost to the date a year later!). Activities should definitely include some adrenalin kick, for an example bit of whitewater rafting? Definitely some ocean activities on a boat to study the Great Barrier Reef and water animals.
2. Brisbane, AU - for about 5 days
Noosa and Rainbow beach here I come with my surfing gear to have the best pancakes in the world :-P ! Hopefully some animal parks will be open during my stay, will check out some sand hills in the ocean (islands made entirely of sand!), the city and the beaches and spend time with my friend, and night clubs and all that this area has to offer.
3. Sydney, AU - 3 days
Of course the city, perhaps some cultural events. Oh and close to Sydney there are mountains called blue ;) and something about a tramway, will see what i can manage there.
4. Tasmania, AU - 3 days
Everything that this little island can offer in 3 days, will be in Hobart area, driving around by bikes and cars like a maniac :-P
5. Christchurch, NZ - 6 days
The city and the most beautiful train ride in the world plus ice climbing on glacier and ocean life with itsy-bitsy dolphins and couple of museums and animal parks hopefully, perhaps even some activities full of adrenalin rush.
6. Auckland, NZ - 6 days
The caves and more Maori culture and Rotorua and Rongitoto and all kinds of fun.
7. San Jose, US - 3 days
Short training course, work related, will try to snap out of the vacation mode and be down to earth for just 2 days.
8. Santa Cruz, US - 4 days
"surf city" is the nickname of this wonderful town in California, so I'll be just surfing.
9. Atlanta, US - 1.5 days
Just to attend U2 concert on the 6th of October in Georgia Dome :)
As of today I will be traveling mostly alone, I got one potential travel companion, but this is to be confirmed still. I'm particularly happy about the U2 concert on the last evening of the trip, tickets to the event are purchased :)
As usual, I got limited time for my travels and as usual I'm going to try to take most out of those few weeks I've got. Planned routes and destinations:
1. Cairns, AU - good 3.5 days
Will arrive there through Stockholm, London and Hong-Kong (please make it so that there are no tropical storms in the area this time, although I will be in Hong Kong airport almost to the date a year later!). Activities should definitely include some adrenalin kick, for an example bit of whitewater rafting? Definitely some ocean activities on a boat to study the Great Barrier Reef and water animals.
2. Brisbane, AU - for about 5 days
Noosa and Rainbow beach here I come with my surfing gear to have the best pancakes in the world :-P ! Hopefully some animal parks will be open during my stay, will check out some sand hills in the ocean (islands made entirely of sand!), the city and the beaches and spend time with my friend, and night clubs and all that this area has to offer.
3. Sydney, AU - 3 days
Of course the city, perhaps some cultural events. Oh and close to Sydney there are mountains called blue ;) and something about a tramway, will see what i can manage there.
4. Tasmania, AU - 3 days
Everything that this little island can offer in 3 days, will be in Hobart area, driving around by bikes and cars like a maniac :-P
5. Christchurch, NZ - 6 days
The city and the most beautiful train ride in the world plus ice climbing on glacier and ocean life with itsy-bitsy dolphins and couple of museums and animal parks hopefully, perhaps even some activities full of adrenalin rush.
6. Auckland, NZ - 6 days
The caves and more Maori culture and Rotorua and Rongitoto and all kinds of fun.
7. San Jose, US - 3 days
Short training course, work related, will try to snap out of the vacation mode and be down to earth for just 2 days.
8. Santa Cruz, US - 4 days
"surf city" is the nickname of this wonderful town in California, so I'll be just surfing.
9. Atlanta, US - 1.5 days
Just to attend U2 concert on the 6th of October in Georgia Dome :)
As of today I will be traveling mostly alone, I got one potential travel companion, but this is to be confirmed still. I'm particularly happy about the U2 concert on the last evening of the trip, tickets to the event are purchased :)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Home sweet sweet home
Thanks to the wireless, my time at Portland airport flew by. Flight to Amsterdam was very nice and peaceful. Probably one of the best flights I've had in the past 10 years. Plane was less than half full, 75% of people did not have to share their row with anybody (well, not the whole row but the seats located right next to each other I mean: 2+4+2 seats in a row and 3 people sitting in one row only). As I was quite up front I got all the luxuries one can imagine, 2 seats to myself, electric outlet, personal TV's/entertainment center and so on. There was very little turbulence and again I managed to get few hours of very good sleep on the plane. Although it was a tough decision to sleep as there were many good movies to watch :)
Amsterdam airport - well free wireless is really nice of course, but it is truly useless if there are no electric outlets by the most sitting areas. I found one plug, but none of my cords fit in there and the adapter was in my checked in luggage :( Flight to Tallinn seemed to last forever. Plane was not very full, which made it a bit better, but oh the minutes were just dragging by. After 2 long flights and 12 hours of sitting at the airports I was really anxious to be done with flying. And my luggage did not make it :( they forgot it to Portland and will be delivered to me later :( My coat was packed in there though :) so run to the car was fast :)
My family was there to greet me at the airport - with flowers and birthday songs :) Thank you!
It is always nice to return home, no matter where one comes from or how long one has been away. Although I really would not have minded to stay in Hawaii for couple of more months :)
As always, I'm getting great ideas already about my future travels. Plans are forming in my head, ideas are there and my imagination is running wild. More on the subject in couple of months - stay tuned!
Thank you for visiting, reading and comments. Take care and spread the love (suggested by my boss on Valentines :) ) - hang loose!
Amsterdam airport - well free wireless is really nice of course, but it is truly useless if there are no electric outlets by the most sitting areas. I found one plug, but none of my cords fit in there and the adapter was in my checked in luggage :( Flight to Tallinn seemed to last forever. Plane was not very full, which made it a bit better, but oh the minutes were just dragging by. After 2 long flights and 12 hours of sitting at the airports I was really anxious to be done with flying. And my luggage did not make it :( they forgot it to Portland and will be delivered to me later :( My coat was packed in there though :) so run to the car was fast :)
My family was there to greet me at the airport - with flowers and birthday songs :) Thank you!
It is always nice to return home, no matter where one comes from or how long one has been away. Although I really would not have minded to stay in Hawaii for couple of more months :)
As always, I'm getting great ideas already about my future travels. Plans are forming in my head, ideas are there and my imagination is running wild. More on the subject in couple of months - stay tuned!
Thank you for visiting, reading and comments. Take care and spread the love (suggested by my boss on Valentines :) ) - hang loose!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
21.02-22.02 Getting home
My plane from Honolulu left at 23:40, I sat down on my seat and fell asleep immediately. I did not open my eyes once during the 5,5 hour flight :) I did regain counsciousness couple of times but then fell back to sleep almost instantly. I have never been able to sleep on a plane, seems that I'm learning slowly, I even managed to have dreams this time!
Now I'm just trying to pass time by in Portland. Luckily here they have wireless internet coverage throughout the aiport - wohoo. But they do not have any good shops here :( At least the food court is decent. I keep myself busy with updating my blog, uploading pictures and watching movies. I still have 3,5 hours till my check-in, ugh, I guess another movie coming up :)
See you all in few days, some sooner some later. I'll try to manage another long flight and then I'm almost at home already :) Lots of hugs!
Now I'm just trying to pass time by in Portland. Luckily here they have wireless internet coverage throughout the aiport - wohoo. But they do not have any good shops here :( At least the food court is decent. I keep myself busy with updating my blog, uploading pictures and watching movies. I still have 3,5 hours till my check-in, ugh, I guess another movie coming up :)
See you all in few days, some sooner some later. I'll try to manage another long flight and then I'm almost at home already :) Lots of hugs!
20.02 Hawaii: Oahu
Getting up at 5 am was more painful than ever, I guess last nights tough packing just wore me out :) I don't know why have hotels not thought of a packing service - so that they pack the suitcases for you :) ? Anyways, got up, showered, ate as much breakfast as possible as there was gonna be lots of food left behind and headed to the airport. Our first flight from Kahului to Honolulu went 5 minutes apart, me flying NW and others going on United. It was a short flight, just about 30 minutes in air. Once at the airport we rented a car and headed straight to Pearl Harbor.
As Pearl Harbor is still an active military base then the security is quite intense there - no bags or purses or camera bags are allowed in the area, had to check all that into luggage check. First stop was the movie theater where they gave an overview of what happened in Pearl Harbor on the 7th of December, year 1941 and why it all happened. From the theater we were taken to the memorial of Battleship Arizona across the bay. Memorial was built on top of the sunken ship called Arizona and it lay in the middle of the water, we went there by ferry. This was a bit depressing to say the least, we were instructed to keep our voices low as many lives were lost and they still lay beneath the surface.
Once back from the boat ride we wondered around in the museum. Now the museum was quite good, it was well documented and organized, had lots of detailed information and photo material as well as scale models of the ships and plans of attack routes. From the museum we decided to go to Battleship Missouri - we were taken there by shuttle as it was all the way on Ford Island where the base is situated. Now the battleship was enormous. I wonder how many marines actually got lost in there during their first weeks on the ship :)
Once we were done at the ship, it was after 3 and we were all dying of hunger by then. It was decided to head to Honolulu city center to find some nice place to eat. We ended up having one of the nicest meals yet by an enormous shopping center right next to Waikiki beach. After dinner we took a quick detour and walked to the beach for a bit. Then back tot he airport where we had good 4 hours to kill.
I liked it here in Hawaii a lot. loved it! It seems so entirely different from the rest of the US that it is even hard to believe it is part of this big country. History of Hawaii is so rich, the culture goes back centuries, they have their own native language, nature is gorgeous, people are friendly and most enjoyable of all - everybody is so relaxed and happy, hang loos' :) It is a wonderful place to be. Although I have to mention that it is a bit on a pricier side as a lot of it built up on tourism.
This was definitely one of the best holidays I've had. Mostly thanks to a great Spranget family. At the airport the inevitable had to take place - saying goodbyes. It is difficult to say farewell to people dear to you. Sometimes I wonder how have I gotten so lucky to have so many such special people in my life. And it is definitely amazing to reconnect with people who you were once inseparable from. I hope the future is good to me and I can keep in close contact with all those dear people even 30 years from now. I will do everything in my power to make it happen.
As Pearl Harbor is still an active military base then the security is quite intense there - no bags or purses or camera bags are allowed in the area, had to check all that into luggage check. First stop was the movie theater where they gave an overview of what happened in Pearl Harbor on the 7th of December, year 1941 and why it all happened. From the theater we were taken to the memorial of Battleship Arizona across the bay. Memorial was built on top of the sunken ship called Arizona and it lay in the middle of the water, we went there by ferry. This was a bit depressing to say the least, we were instructed to keep our voices low as many lives were lost and they still lay beneath the surface.
Once back from the boat ride we wondered around in the museum. Now the museum was quite good, it was well documented and organized, had lots of detailed information and photo material as well as scale models of the ships and plans of attack routes. From the museum we decided to go to Battleship Missouri - we were taken there by shuttle as it was all the way on Ford Island where the base is situated. Now the battleship was enormous. I wonder how many marines actually got lost in there during their first weeks on the ship :)
Once we were done at the ship, it was after 3 and we were all dying of hunger by then. It was decided to head to Honolulu city center to find some nice place to eat. We ended up having one of the nicest meals yet by an enormous shopping center right next to Waikiki beach. After dinner we took a quick detour and walked to the beach for a bit. Then back tot he airport where we had good 4 hours to kill.
I liked it here in Hawaii a lot. loved it! It seems so entirely different from the rest of the US that it is even hard to believe it is part of this big country. History of Hawaii is so rich, the culture goes back centuries, they have their own native language, nature is gorgeous, people are friendly and most enjoyable of all - everybody is so relaxed and happy, hang loos' :) It is a wonderful place to be. Although I have to mention that it is a bit on a pricier side as a lot of it built up on tourism.
This was definitely one of the best holidays I've had. Mostly thanks to a great Spranget family. At the airport the inevitable had to take place - saying goodbyes. It is difficult to say farewell to people dear to you. Sometimes I wonder how have I gotten so lucky to have so many such special people in my life. And it is definitely amazing to reconnect with people who you were once inseparable from. I hope the future is good to me and I can keep in close contact with all those dear people even 30 years from now. I will do everything in my power to make it happen.
Friday, February 20, 2009
19.02 Hawaii: Hana trip
Today's main (and only) activity was trip to Hana. The tour was organized this way that we departed from Kahului heliport around noon, helicopter took us all the way across Haleakala to Hana and from there we took a scenic road back to Kahului by 5 in the afternoon.
After watching the introduction of where the first aid kit is and how to evacuate the machine we took in line and boarded the helicopter. For seating we were distributed by our weight, computer did all the magic and allocated us as evenly as possible. I got to sit on the front seat! The ride was great of course :)
We started from Kahului, climbed all the way to the top of Haleakala, looked around the crater and then started to descend. On the way down we flew over the rain forests of Maui where it rains every day, this in turn creates lots of waterfalls throughout the valley. Saw many waterfalls, some as tall as 200 meters. It was great how the pilot flew by the waterfall and then made a sharp turn to fly by so that that the people on the other side could see the beautiful waterfall as well :) When approaching the city of Hana we were flying alongside the coastline - that was fabulous. Dark rocky coast, bright blue water and pure white waves crashing at the coast. After about 30 minutes we landed in Hana international airport and were guided to our next transportation vehicle - limo van.
Our van driver was a local guy who seemed to know everything about Hawaiian culture and history. He had many great stories to tell throughout the ride. First we ate lunch by a beach and then started our drive. Along the way we got to stop in many scenic locations and took tons of pictures. Scenic road means 50 km and 617 sharp turns, the speed limit was mostly about 15km/h :)
As it turned out the van driver had been to Tallinn just last year :) Although he was the 5th person to point out that I'm the first Estonian he has ever met at Hawaii. My surf instructor said the same thing and then added a note that us Estonians must not get out that much :D
At the end of the "scenic road" I started to feel sick of all the turning, luckily shortly after that the curves stopped and we were able to continue driving with 70km/h.
All in all the day was pretty much better than any of us could have expected. Once Gene picked us up at the heliport we heard that the road to Lahaina had been closed all day due to a big accident on the road, so he was stuck at Maalaea the whole day. While we tried to make our way back towards Lahaina we were still struggling in the traffic jams that still had not cleared up due to the closed road. It took us 2 hours to drive back.
Now I have all my stuff packed and I'm all ready to go to bed. Tomorrow morning we are taking an early fight to Honolulu and will spend a day at Oahu island, visiting Pearl Harbor. In the late evening we are all flying out to mainland US, me through Portland and others via Los Angeles. Then comes the most difficult part - 48 hours at airports and on flights. I'm not sure if I have any internet access in any of the airports to update my blog and upload the latest pictures. If so then you will see tomorrows news this week and if not then you have to wait a bit longer. Either way, lots of hugs to all of you!
After watching the introduction of where the first aid kit is and how to evacuate the machine we took in line and boarded the helicopter. For seating we were distributed by our weight, computer did all the magic and allocated us as evenly as possible. I got to sit on the front seat! The ride was great of course :)
We started from Kahului, climbed all the way to the top of Haleakala, looked around the crater and then started to descend. On the way down we flew over the rain forests of Maui where it rains every day, this in turn creates lots of waterfalls throughout the valley. Saw many waterfalls, some as tall as 200 meters. It was great how the pilot flew by the waterfall and then made a sharp turn to fly by so that that the people on the other side could see the beautiful waterfall as well :) When approaching the city of Hana we were flying alongside the coastline - that was fabulous. Dark rocky coast, bright blue water and pure white waves crashing at the coast. After about 30 minutes we landed in Hana international airport and were guided to our next transportation vehicle - limo van.
Our van driver was a local guy who seemed to know everything about Hawaiian culture and history. He had many great stories to tell throughout the ride. First we ate lunch by a beach and then started our drive. Along the way we got to stop in many scenic locations and took tons of pictures. Scenic road means 50 km and 617 sharp turns, the speed limit was mostly about 15km/h :)
As it turned out the van driver had been to Tallinn just last year :) Although he was the 5th person to point out that I'm the first Estonian he has ever met at Hawaii. My surf instructor said the same thing and then added a note that us Estonians must not get out that much :D
At the end of the "scenic road" I started to feel sick of all the turning, luckily shortly after that the curves stopped and we were able to continue driving with 70km/h.
All in all the day was pretty much better than any of us could have expected. Once Gene picked us up at the heliport we heard that the road to Lahaina had been closed all day due to a big accident on the road, so he was stuck at Maalaea the whole day. While we tried to make our way back towards Lahaina we were still struggling in the traffic jams that still had not cleared up due to the closed road. It took us 2 hours to drive back.
Now I have all my stuff packed and I'm all ready to go to bed. Tomorrow morning we are taking an early fight to Honolulu and will spend a day at Oahu island, visiting Pearl Harbor. In the late evening we are all flying out to mainland US, me through Portland and others via Los Angeles. Then comes the most difficult part - 48 hours at airports and on flights. I'm not sure if I have any internet access in any of the airports to update my blog and upload the latest pictures. If so then you will see tomorrows news this week and if not then you have to wait a bit longer. Either way, lots of hugs to all of you!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
18.02 Hawaii: Surfing, cocktail cruize and whale watching
Today had 2 highlihts: surfing and whales. In the morning we got to sleep in till 9, then got ready to head to Lahanai for early lunch.
My surfing lesson started at 12:30. This time I had a private instructor, no need to do the whole 30 minute instruction on the sand first and no need to stand around by the buoys waiting for your turn :) Also, this instructor got a bit different apprach on how to get up on the board - oh was I glad, as the last instructors guidelines were just so complicated that getting up on the board seemed impossible and took forever. Todays lesson was not about getting up on the board anymore, now it was all about getting up fast and manouvering. Oh it was great. I got so much background information on how the waves hit, how to time the glide, pointers on what I'm doing wrong, how do the rules go on catching a wave and so on and so on. During the breaks when we were waiting around for the waves we were just chit-chatting about life. It was great time, very informative, yet relaxed and fun. Also, the instructor, he was a real eye candy :) I wish I could sqeeze one more lesson in :D, but unfortunately our time is all booked and we are leaving the day after tomorrow already.
Mostly the experience is gathered by being in the water of course. Also each location is different, surges and drafts are different, waves form differently and so on. When surfing at a new location then the best bet is to follow the more experienced surfers and perhaps get somebody to explain the waters and help a bit with lineup. I guess the first time should be with an instructor if possible and then try to go out on your own couple of times.
In the afternoon we had scheduled a cocktail sunset cruize. Cruize was organized by Pacific Whale Foundation again. We got to see many many whales very close up, doing surges, flips, sprinkling water and going for deep dive. As the captain said we are swimming around in a whale soup :) There was a mommy teaching her calf how to jump out of the water, they did it couple of times - mommy first and then the baby followed, they were real close to the boat while jumping :) Then there was another one, little baby, who was clearly trying to do some sort of flip or go for deep diving, but did not manage and only had his tale stuck out of the water. Some people on the boat were joking that it is doing a head stand :)
Hawaiian language is great, they have all kinds of long and funny names. For one example is the state fish of Hawaii called "humuhumunukunukuapua'a" :) Street names and peoples names are funny like that as well.
My surfing lesson started at 12:30. This time I had a private instructor, no need to do the whole 30 minute instruction on the sand first and no need to stand around by the buoys waiting for your turn :) Also, this instructor got a bit different apprach on how to get up on the board - oh was I glad, as the last instructors guidelines were just so complicated that getting up on the board seemed impossible and took forever. Todays lesson was not about getting up on the board anymore, now it was all about getting up fast and manouvering. Oh it was great. I got so much background information on how the waves hit, how to time the glide, pointers on what I'm doing wrong, how do the rules go on catching a wave and so on and so on. During the breaks when we were waiting around for the waves we were just chit-chatting about life. It was great time, very informative, yet relaxed and fun. Also, the instructor, he was a real eye candy :) I wish I could sqeeze one more lesson in :D, but unfortunately our time is all booked and we are leaving the day after tomorrow already.
Mostly the experience is gathered by being in the water of course. Also each location is different, surges and drafts are different, waves form differently and so on. When surfing at a new location then the best bet is to follow the more experienced surfers and perhaps get somebody to explain the waters and help a bit with lineup. I guess the first time should be with an instructor if possible and then try to go out on your own couple of times.
In the afternoon we had scheduled a cocktail sunset cruize. Cruize was organized by Pacific Whale Foundation again. We got to see many many whales very close up, doing surges, flips, sprinkling water and going for deep dive. As the captain said we are swimming around in a whale soup :) There was a mommy teaching her calf how to jump out of the water, they did it couple of times - mommy first and then the baby followed, they were real close to the boat while jumping :) Then there was another one, little baby, who was clearly trying to do some sort of flip or go for deep diving, but did not manage and only had his tale stuck out of the water. Some people on the boat were joking that it is doing a head stand :)
Hawaiian language is great, they have all kinds of long and funny names. For one example is the state fish of Hawaii called "humuhumunukunukuapua'a" :) Street names and peoples names are funny like that as well.
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