Friends

Having someone who knows you and loves you unconditionally is the greatest gift and I must be the most fortunate girl in the world to have such amazing friends. They have the key to my soul and know the code that reaches right to my heart.

We couldn't stop touching each other and loving every moment.

We went back to my neighborhood Sundbyberg and had chilli at Texas Longhorn and wine at the Bishop's arms.

I had to lie to the bus driver but oh how I love the buses in this city. One ticket is valid on any communal transportation within the zone for one hour. How great is that? But you cannot buy the ticket on the bus. Tickets are sent via text message. Simply text 'h' for full price and then the zone where you want to travel. For example 'hab' for me to travel in zone a and b. 40 SEK. 5,61 AUD. I got home at 1 am and the sun was peeping over the horizon.
Never dark. Just dusk and dawn.

About Sweden

A great site: Visit Sweden
Spånga

Åland

So I booked my boat trip to Åland for midsummer. And offered to pick up people in my car. Ticket was 74 SEK = 10,33 AUD and takes three hours.
Book your own trip at Viking Line.

The little differences - Buses

Stockholm: Say hello to driver when you get on.
Sydney: Say thanks to driver when you get off.

Through my bedroom at my dad's place

Sunrise - Sunset

The following table shows the approximate time for sunrise and sunset in Stockholm and Kiruna:

	Stockholm		Kiruna
Period	Sunrise	Sunset	Sunrise	Sunset
January	8:47am	2:55pm	Darkness 24 hours
February	8:01am	4:01pm	8:59am	2:45pm
March	6:48am	5:12pm	7:02am	4:41pm
April	6:17am	7:26pm	5:52am	7:33am
May	4:52am	8:37pm	3:43am	9:29pm
June	3:47am	9:44pm	Sun does not set
July	3:40am	10:02pm	-
August	4:35am	9:13pm	3:02am	10:29pm
September	5:46am	7:50pm	5:08am	8:10pm
October	5:54am	5:21pm	5:53am	5:04pm
November	7:08am	3:54pm	7:50am	2:55pm
December	8:19am	2:54pm	10:14am	12:41pm

Heading to Sweden

Took me ten minutes to walk to Central. 13 minutes on the train and an hour to check in.
Flight was ok. Sat next to a 23 year old girl who was going to travel Europe for seven weeks. In a group. Staying at hotels. She had heard about Harrod's and Portobello road so I recommended her to go to Primark on Oxford. I loved the food, but she kept sending it back, asking for bread, complaining about the bread, asking for water, smacking and trying to talk to me whilst full of crumbs. I watched Out of Africa and slept.

Bangkok airport is no fun. It's like walking around in a big space vessel. Around and around, same shops all over again. And again.

Met up with Viktor and his friends and managed to sit next to them on the flight to Stockholm. The movie they chose to show was not very child friendly. I slept the whole way.

Landed at Arlanda a little early and dad was there waiting. That felt good. We gave Viktor a lift back to Solna where he lives, and then got back to Spånga and had some brekkie. Talked about what we want to do while I'm here. We're heading out in our old tracks in Ursvik. It's our hourly walk and I've missed it.

Then we went to pick up the car that dad has borrowed from Gun-Britt's daughter. New breaks. I drove to mum's place. She wasn't there so I sat down in the sun and waited. Then I sent her a text telling her I was home. She was in Spånga so I got back int he car and drove to pick her up. We went to her new place to check it out. Beautiful. Then back home, sat in the sun, had some smoked salmon and ice cream. Bikini weather. Lovely! So hot! And her garden smells like a dream of flowers.

Then I talked to the insurance company and manage to sort out my insurance for my stolen iPhone.

Then back to dad's. My brother Jimmy and his kids Max and Alex came by and we hugged a little.

Then we went out for dinner. We went to my home area Sundbyberg and the Bishop's Arms for some Biff Rydberg. Oh my god it was good. It's fried potatoes (not deep fried), chopped beef and horseradish butter. Yummie.

Then I was ready for bed. Been drinking lots of delicious Swedish tap water. Fell asleep 8 pm, woke up 3:30 am and it was bright outside.
Loving it.

Taste of Masai Mara

JAMBO!

I don't think I have too much time to write right now. I'll just give you a taste of what we've been up to.

Flavour of DAY 1
Meet up with Bill in Doha.
Arrive Nairobi.
Game drive to Lake Nakuru Park.
A little bit of rain. Apparently that brought us luck cause we were fortunate enough to se a rhino family at close range.
We also saw buffalos and baboons.
Nice welcome at the logde with beautiful singing.

Flavour of DAY 2
Early morning and game drive in Nakuro Lake.
Giraffs
Rhinos (We got really close. All in all I think we saw over 25 of them!)
Voultures
Hyenas
Storch
Wart Hogs
Baboons
Lots of beautifuyl birds
Buffalos
Zebras
Elephants
Impalas
Dikdiks
Lizzards
Lions sleeping. One female and one male. They mate for four days, about 60 times a day. No wonder they were tired.
We got to see them feed the hyenas at night.

Flavour of DAY 3
Visit to the masai village and school.
Game drive
We saw some of the migration. Buffalos and zebras.
Voultures eating on a fresh buffalo carcass
A lonely giraff resting under a tree.
Cheetas.

Flavour of DAY 4
Really early morning game drive.
Lion cubs hidden in a bush.
Fly to Mombasa in tiny plane.
Arrive Mombasa Southern Palms. We all have connecting rooms. Ka kaaaw!!

Flavour of DAY 5
A monkey stole my banana at breakfast.
Hanging out, chilling. Planning and checking out dive and fishing opportunities.
Monkeying around.

It's been so many impessions I feel dizzy.
The lodges we stayed at were really nice and right in the parks. Everyone is so friendly.
The kids are smiling and dancing.

The nature is absolutely stunning and we have so many nice photos to show you! I've seen some of the ones Jimmy and Bill's been taking and they are just amazing.

This blog post sucks and doesn't give my Kenya visit justice at all. I'll have to sort that out later. It's just too much happening around me and so many impressions. I need time to sort it out and let it sink in.

Ka kaaaaaw!!!

Hakuna Matata!

So I'm off to Kenya.
Since I don't have a camera I guess pictures will be added when we get back. But I thought I could share my itinary with you guys. Let you know where we're at.

14th July 09
Arrive 13:10 Nairobi from Doha on QR 532, collect and drive to Lake Nakuru, p.m. game drive, dinner and overnight Lake Nakuru Lodge

Doha
Lake Nakuru (Swedish)
Lake Naukuru Lodge

15th July 09
Drive to the Mara for lunch, p.m. game drive, dinner and overnight Mara Sopa Lodge

Masai Mara
Mara Sopa Lodge

16th July 09
Full day of game drives in the Mara, dinner and overnight Mara Sopa Lodge

17th July 09
Early a.m. game drive, breakfast, flight to Mombasa and transfer to Southern Palms Hotel

Hopefully the weather will be clear enough for us to see Mount Kilimanjaro from the plane!
Mombasa
Mombasa (Swedish)
Diani Beach

25th July 09
Transfer to Mombasa airport for flight to Nairobi and international flight departure on Qatar QR 533 at 15:00



Travelmarket:
Att Karen Blixen gav sitt hjärta till Kenya är det inte svårt att förstå. Det omväxlande landskapet, som har allt från ökenliknande slätter till frodig regnskog, har ett fantastiskt djurliv.I de många nationalparkerna görs en jättestor insats för att skydda det ursprungliga djurlivet mot civilisationen. Bland annat har de lyckats rädda noshörning från att utdö. Men Kenya är också mera än nationalparker, och vid kusten mot öster gungar skuggiga palmer på finkorniga sandstränder. I Kenya hör man Afrikas ljud.

Info om Kenya:

Lokalt namn
Kenya

Huvudstad
Nairobi

Areal
582.650 km2

Huvudspråk
Kenya har två officiella språk, engelska och swahili.

Största religion
Kristendom är huvudreligion. Yttermera är katolicism och de inföddas ursprungliga trosriktningar utbredda.

Invånare
28.808.658 (1999)

Regering
Republik

Geografi
Kenya ligger i Östra Afrika. Landet sträcker sig från den Indiska Oceanen i öster, till Uganda och Victoria-sjön i väster. Landskapet varierar mycket. I norr ligger torra öknar och vid kusten fruktbart låglands. Västerut höjer sig de snöklädda bergen och i söder ses savanner.

Flavour of the day is

packing.

Anna is

looking forward to seeing Bill in Doha!
Ka kaaaaaw!

Anna is

looking forward to seeing Bill in Europe!

Where the hell is Matt?

Summer in Sweden

Stockholm today
Sun up at 03:35 (3:35 am)
Sun down at 22:04 (10:04 pm)

Tips for Fiji

Bula and ka kaaaaw!

I so envy you guys going to Fiji. Wish I could join you! But it’s far too expensive (same price going to Fiji as my around the world ticket) and besides, weather in Sweden is best in July. I’ve been in my bikini the last four days. Borrowing a motorcaravan and doing a road trip across Sweden…

Ken: I also looked up the Beqa Lagoon when I got to Fiji. It is on the other side of Fiji and it will take you too far away from the islands. So you really need to choose what kind of trip you would like. I would go for the islands. It’s a party atmosphere, weather is great.

I would fly to Nadi and get on the Yasawa Flyer within a couple of hours or so. (GoogleEarth Fiji and you will see the islands north west of Nadi.)

Either book it all before you leave, contact the Tropical Awgasm and see what the options are.

Or:

Get a “Bula Pass” which is a pass for the boat around the Mamanucas and the Yasawas.

Once you get on the Wanna Taki you can book your accommodation on the boat. They are very helpful and organised. Say Hi to Eleanor for me. I got her on tape singing the Fijian national anthem. Sounds horrible.

Bula pass or accommodation pass: http://www.awesomefiji.com/passes-accommodation.aspx (Book this before you get there)

You can either live in dorms (very basic but then you all eat and live together anyway) or in Bures (huts). Some Bures have toilets and showers but not all. What they do have is some privacy and a patioJ You can see photos of both the dorms and the bures on my blog.

Spend a couple of days o the Wanna Taki: http://www.awesomefiji.com/wanna-taki.aspx (Book before you get there See if there is a pass for you that includes a stay at the wanna taki) I did my dive from the Wanna Taki and the Manta Ray resort. Ask for the cave dive. I did and it was worth it. Everyone thanked me for insisting.

Idea about prices for dives on the islands: http://www.awesomefiji.com/awesome-dive.aspx

Island hopping suggestion: (based on the ones I visited and what I heard from the people I got to know) I generally liked the smaller places better. The ones that were run by Fijian people.

South Sea Island I stayed here. Cool dive instructor. (too quiet fo you guys)

Beachcomber: I didn’t go but heard much about it. (Party island. Some people wanted to stay there for the entire week. Don’t know about the diving though…)

Waya Lailai Ecohaven: I stayed here and enjoyed it. Did the summit walk here. The snorkeling trip from Waya Lailai was fantastic. You go to a reef 25 minute boat ride from shore. The Fijians dive down with spears holding their breath for an unfeasibly long time whilst spearing fish and feeding them to the friendly reef sharks.

Octopus Resort: is supposed to be a really great one! I’m sure they have great diving there. (More hotel feeling than hostel)

Wanna Taki: diving, snorkelling, kayaking, air conditioned and they have hot showers and great food.

Manta Ray Island Resort: I stayed here. It was nice and almost more a hotel feeling to it. Diving centre. I did my dive with this diving centre when I stayed at the Wanna Taki.

Korovou Eco-tour resort: I liked it. Lots of activities like volley boll. There is a man called gecko man here. He climbs up the coconut palm tree and picks a coconut and then climbs back down with his head first. He also knows the ka kaaaw.

Sunrise Lagoon Resort: Lots of mosquitoes. Funny woman in bar called Eta. She’s the one who told me quala mara. Run by a gay Fijian man called Queen. I wouldn’t go here again if it wasn’t for Eta’s humour and massage, and the fantastic scenery on the other side of the island, the blue lagoon. Man it was beautiful. On the island of Nanuya Lailai. Very quiet.

Coral View Resort: Heard good things about it from the guys I travelled with... On Tavewa Island.

By now you’re pretty far out.

I would recommend an itinerary like:

Octopus (1 nights) – Coral View or Waya Lailai (1 night) - Wanna Taki (2 nights) – Beachcomber (2 nights)

Food: No restaurants except in the big hotels. What they serve is what you get. I liked the food, which tended to get poorer the further away from Nadi we got. Also, you all eat together at certain times. Don't drink the water on any of the islands even if you're told it's safe. It may well be rainwater but it's probably been sitting around in an unsealed tank for a while. We learnt the hard way. The only exception to this is on the Wanna Taki cruiser which uses a desalinator. Bring re-hydration salts just in case.

Mosquitoes: Worse that SWR.

Money: Between FJ$60-$90 per night for a dorm (including 3 meals) or FJ$75-$200 per night for a share twin/double bure (including 3 meals).

Pirates: DO operate on the islands. When I was there we had a couple of people who lost EVERYTHING on Bounty Island.

Ka kaaaaw: At the Wanna Taki and say hello from me.

Drinks: They do not have everything. They have cans of whiskey/coke and rum/coke. Beers and sometimes local spirits.

Fijian people: Are so funny. They sing and dance all the time and have a dirty sense of humour. “Quala Mara” makes them smile.

“Bula”: Means pretty much anything. Use it as we use Ka kaaaw and hello. Literally it means “life”.

Language: They all speak English, even the kids. Bula: hello. Vinaka (vaka levu): Thank you (very much). (Venandu: Thank you. Venandu Riki is thank you and thank you very much in the Yasawa dialect)

Kava: Is something you have to try. I’m sure you’ve heard about it. (Here is all I could find and agree with: http://lifesabigbowlofcherries.blogspot.com/2008/03/kava.html)

Time: Don’t be alarmed by the fiji time. Sega na Lega: No worry – no hurry

What to bring (besides the obvious): Flash light, proper shoes if you want to do some hiking. Deck of cards. Booze, which I don’t know if you may, but I would do it anyway and prepare your drinks in your bure. If you can find it in your hearts I would love it if you could bring balloons, chewing gum, chocolate (drinking maybe so that it doesn’t melt) and such for the kids on the islands. I did and it was so appreciated. They have nothing…

Need to know about the Awsome Adventures: http://www.awesomefiji.com/need-to-know.aspx (How much money to bring and time tables etc.)

I also scanned the time table I was given and attached it for you. It gives you an idea about the distances between the islands. Hey. I’ll just scan all about diving from my Lonely Planet Fiji and attach as well. Why not!?

RE: Billy’s e-mail

Boys,
I spoke to Anna tonight and she will be sending her 2 cents in the next day or so. The few points I got from her are:

There are many girls travelling by themselves who need comforting. Anna: They need party company.

The Mozzies are bad and we should bring spray. Anna: I was there during the rain season so I wouldn’t know if it’s better or worse in July, but bring everything you got.

There is only 1 dive operator, so if we buy a 6 or 10 pack of dives it is good across Fiji. Anna: There are more dive operators, but on the Yasawa Islands there is one that operates on most of the islands.

They have floating hostels. Anna, how do the hostels compare to Pro Dive Cairns?

Our cell phones won’t work on the island. Anna: Some islands have internet facilities but it’s very slow and expensive.

There are no ATMs or credit card machines. Anna: No use in brining a pad lock really, cause there are no lockers. Pirates do break in sometimes, so keep your valuables close and use common sense in talking about money.

There are relaxing islands and party islands. We need to find which is which…

The two things that cost money in Fiji is diving and drinking. Anna: (Bring drinks or extra cash. Dive centers accepts credit cards, I think)

Ka Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I also involved my travel companion in Fiji, Jason, in trying to help you get as much out of your Fiji trip as possible. Here’s his two pence worth:

“If you have the Bula pass you can book your accommodation on the Yasawa Flyer (not Wanna Taki). It's probably worth mentioning that it's actually better value to book a package e.g. Tropical Awegasm but I preferred the flexibility of the Bula pass and it seems you don't always know what you're getting with the packages e.g. people on same package had different itineraries.

I bought some accommodation vouchers along with my Bula pass but that seemed to be a bit of a waste of time. More often than not you need to pay money on top of the voucher as the vouchers don't always cover the full cost of a night at each resort. There were a few cases where it actually costs less to stay at a resort than the value of the voucher but you don't receive any refund.

Spend as little time in Nadi as possible.

Spend some time on a local bus it's a lot of fun.

There are places that are worth visiting on the main island but only if the weather's good. I went to a hostel south of Nadi called Rendezvous where you could surf but some sort of tropical depression came over and it rained solidly for three days. I've never been so bored.

Bula and ka kaaaw!”

-------------
Anna,
Thanks for sending all of this. You are a super star!
Cheers,
Bill
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A G R E E D !!!! That was fantastic info and I've been looking through it all day. Thanks for taking the time to think all of this out. We have much to get working on.
Ken
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Anna, you are the purest form of excellence. I will admit however that I have not had a chance to read it. But will be printing it out and having a read through on the train.
Chris
------------------
I just love you guys.
Big hug from Anna Banana Hotley

Happy birthday Anna Banana!

I've had the best year in years.

And I got some more photos from New York from Christoffer's camera. Him and his friend Rille came to Stockholm and Sundbyberg for my birthday party in the park. I'll post them later. Oh, and the onces from Egypt as well. They should also be here. I'll get it done...