18 Aug - Paestum, Pompeii

Walked around the ruins of Paestum first thing this morning. Pretty impressive. Three big temples and lots of smaller buildings. All in pretty spectacular condition.

The reason the description above is so brief is because of where we went this afternoon. Paestum was amazing. Pompeii is something else. It is completely unbelievable.

We left the Paestum ruins aiming for Sorrento, driving through the Amalfi coast on the way. Big mistake. It was busy as shit, the roads were narrow and it wasn't really anything that special anyway. We decided to cut through the mountains, and head straight to Pompeii.

The entire town was covered in ash. It suffered a disaster, and yet it was this that saved it and kept it in the condition it is today. There's no real way to put it in words, just walking around, seeing the houses, the mosaics, the plaster cast bodies. All of it was amazing. Looking over the city at Mt Vesuvius is pretty cool too.

The hotel we're at is about 200 metres from the entrance to Pompeii, and has a pool. Woo!! Pretty nice place.

Signing off...

5 Aug - Venice

I got up early and got downstairs to get out of the hotel and to the airport. For a second it looked as though they'd lost my passport, but they tracked it down. Got outside and waited for a taxi. Ended up getting a private car to the airport. Probably cost more, but there were no taxis around.

The airport was pretty uneventful...oh I did get my Cinnabon on before the flight. Tasty.

The flight was ok. Watched Iron Man (good) and the last 2 thirds of Kung-Fu Panda (better than I expected). This flight was even quieter than the previous, so plenty of room...except I had a damn Nun in front of me who kept leaning her chair back...smacked the lid of my laptop in my face one time.

Got to Venice, and went to change money to pay for the bus to the island...man they had bad rates here. Ended up using an ATM, even after the $5 fee, it was still better than the money changers.

After a pretty short bus trip, I met up with mum and dad on Venice island(s). Didn't really feel like nearly 5 weeks since I'd seen them. After going to the hotel (we have two separate rooms for the first night, but are going to change tomorrow night) we went for a wander around Venice. It's a beautiful place. Wasn't too hot, and the water didn't smell so it was good. We walked all around to the Rialto Bridge. Some nice things on the way. Too much to talk about individually, just look at the photos. All the photos on here are just a quick selection and a bit of a touch up.

We had dinner at a place on the water, sat next to a guy from Brisbane who's been working in London for the last 9 months. He had the Black Sauce pasta (black as in ink from a squid black), which is apparently a specialty of Venice. I think I'll try tomorrow.

Went out for a bit of a wander and more photos after dinner, then turned in for the night.

Signing off...

4 Aug - Dubai

Big day ahead of me today. I have the 4x4 desert safari this arvo, so have to get as much in as possible before then. I got up and went looking for a taxi. Not as easy as I thought. There were plenty of taxis around, but most of them full. A couple were empty but just kept driving when I tried waving them down. Finally got a taxi, and headed towards the Burj Al Arab, the big hotel. On the way we passed through the CBD of Dubai. Saw the Burj Dubai from a bit of a distance...HUGE!

Got to the Burj Al Arab to find out you can only get right up to it is you have a reservation at the hotel. Took a couple of photos from the front gate, then headed to the Spice Souk (market). This was a bit of a let down, so I decided to wander along the foreshore of the canal sort of thing. My hotel was pretty close so I could walk back. It was great walking along, seeing them loading the old wooden boats with everything from toys to fruit to tyres.

Took a bunch of photos but started suffering in the heat when I ran out of water. Easily over 40 degrees and it was barely noon. Stopped at a little cafe place for lunch and a needed drink, then headed back to the hotel intent on going for a swim before the 4x4 trip. The pool was closed. How fun.

Hung around my room, had a bit of a nap, realised I had to call the tour company to confirm the time of the trip, then waited.

Finally the car came to pick me up. I was in a car with a couple from Brisbane (Lyle and...I'm going to say Margaret...possibly). They were heading around Europe after Dubai. The 4x4 trip started with us driving to the desert...about 15 minute. It was not to bad in the desert. Over 45 degrees, but dry so it felt better than the humid city. The dune bashing part was pretty tame, even for me who's never been before. There were about 6 cars of us in Landcruisers. I felt sorry for the "VIP" group in the Hummer. The thing is about twice the size (and probably weight) of the Lancruiser but had about the same ground clearance, would not have been a comfy ride.

After a bit of dune bashing we stopped at a pretty tall dune which we climbed and then at a camel farm (pretty dull, we have more camels back home anyway) and then onto the campsite for dinner. This was a pretty fake desert camp, with camels rides (walking in a 20 meter wide circle) and sand boarding (down a slope that barely qualified as a dune. There was also a falconer and some Sheesha and Hookers...I mean Hookahs. I was going to try the Sheesha...but I forgot.

Dinner was nice and I ate plenty, then there was a belly dancer...who looked like she'd spent the year in England...she was pretty pale.

After the belly dancer we headed back. I headed to my room and got ready to wake up at 6.30 the next day to get to the airport and out of Dubai for Venice.

Signing off...