Free travel pass users will need DSP photo ID

Private bus operators across Ireland will from next month require a Department of Social Protection photo ID to accompany the standard free travel pass issued by the Department to pensioners and a number of other groups of people, writes Brian Byrne.

This is to combat what is believed to be widespread fraud by people offering versions of the standard pass, which doesn't have any method of proving the bearer is the person entitled to use it.

For some time, private operators such as JJ Kavanagh have been asking those showing the passes to also show a form of photo ID, such as a Driving Licence.

And anyone residing in Dublin with a travel pass has been required for some years to get a special photo ID from the Department or Dublin Bus before the pass is accepted in the city services. Pass holders who wish to use rail services to and from the north of Ireland also need a photo version of the pass.

"There has been wholesale abuse of the system," a driver for one of the private operators said. "On one occasion recently I had half my passengers on passes." He intimated that a significant number of these were probably fraudulently used. "But we have no way of telling them to get off the bus."

Private operators get a lump sum from the Department to compensate for carrying travel pass customers. "But that payment hasn't been increased in years, and bears no relationship now to the much-increased numbers of 'passes' being produced."

Finally fed up of what they see as widespread fraud, the private operators have now got together to require the DSP ID card.

Is it a snail? Is it a limo? No, it's Superbus!

It looks like stretched snail turned into a long limo, but this will be the bus of the future if the vision of a Dutch engineer comes true, writes Brian Byrne.

If it seems out of this world, well, the conceptualiser is Holland's first astronaut, Wubb Ockels, who also happens to be a professor of engineering in Delft.

The Superbus could drive at 155mph, along special highways. On these 'Supertracks', steering would be done by the vehicles computer and an array of sensors. On smaller roads, an operator would do the driving.

Superbus is 50 feet long, can accommodate 23 passengers, has gullwing doors, and there's a driving prototype which you can see here, explained by its designer designer Dr Antonia Terzi.

'Free buses' call

Green Party transport spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe has called on Dublin Bus to provide free bus travel for commuters during European Mobility week (16-22 September) to encourage more people to switch to public transport.

The week culminates in a car free day 'In town without my car' on September 22nd.

Mr Cuffe says it is a good opportunity to encourage some of those 64,000 who drive into the city during the morning peak hours, out of their cars and onto buses.

The Oz Bus: Bali, and Oz ... at last!

We have arrived!!! In Oz!!! Finally!!! And it only took 12 weeks by bus! But let’s get back to last week when we arrived in the beautiful Bali …

On Friday 7th August we checked into The Simpang Inn, just a 15-minute walk from the beach and located amongst all the main clothes shops and nightlife. The group trotted down to the Hard Rock Café for a savage feed of burgers and fajitas. There was no doubt that any of us were missing the traditional Indonesian cuisine of rice and chicken! After stuffing ourselves silly, and paying five times the price of what we were used to paying for dinner so far in Asia, we headed to The Bounty bar/nightclub.



This kitsch club was filled with staff dancing on tables dressed as sailors trying to lure clubbers to dance on stage. And the Ozzies were only too delighted to oblige! It made for quite entertaining viewing!



The next morning most of us with sore heads headed on down to the beach for a spot of sunbathing, boogie boarding, surfing and tattoos … things to remember whilst in Asia including Bali, haggle everything! Most of the group came back with their brand new henna tattoos that cost $5 to $10 for similar designs. That evening was spent clubbing again whilst others headed to the cinema only to be disappointed to find a two-screen cinema.

Sunday was spent the exact same as Saturday. Bali might well be a great place to do sightseeing but after two and a half months of sightseeing we were more than happy to chillax on the beach for the three days and take in the sights of the hot surfer dudes there … !

On Monday evening we took the 9pm flight to Darwin eventually arriving at 3am Australia time at The Youth Shack Hostel right in the town centre. This hostel has everything you need (including Shennanigans Irish bar next door!!) and it would have been brilliant only for the bad attitude of the hostel staff at the desk, who looked bothered and annoyed that you had asked them a question.

Tuesday night it was Anna’s birthday so we celebrated it with a meal in The Fox Bar which was also holding karaoke that night. We stayed until midnight belting out the hits until the bar closed and we wobbled off to The Discovery Club down the road. We were shocked to discover this huge club full of half-naked girls dancing on poles, a very classy establishment indeed, but we stayed until it closed at 4am! Be warned, drinks in clubs in Australia are twice as expensive as in the bars.

On Wednesday some of us visited the Crocosaurus Cove across from our hostel, it houses the most different species of reptile in Oz and for $120 you can swim with the crocodiles (in the safety of a glass Perspex box though!). The rest of us headed down to the beach, or lagoon, it was more of a manmade mini beach on the edge of the water. Beside it they had an artificial wave pool, and for $5 you can spend the whole day there boogie boarding on the waves!

We had lunch in Shennanigans next door and I must recommend the Beef & Mash in Guinness Gravy! Yum! Other things to do in Darwin are visit the Fanny Bay Goal, The Darwin Museum (it’s free!), The Deck Chair Cinema and Fish Feeding at the Wharf.

On Thursday 13th we hopped on our new bus, with the Adventure Tours Company and met our new bus driver/guide, Wombat! (Not his real name of course, but that’s what he wants us to call him, so fair enough!). We were driving to Kakadu with a stop-off at the Spectacular Jumping Croc Cruise.



For $20 you sail down the Adelaide River and witness crocodiles jumping up out of the water trying to catch the meat that the boat staff are hanging out of the boat at them! It was unreal to see these reptiles at such close range! The staff were really informative and we learnt that if any of us fell out of the boat we would have about 5-10 minutes to live before a croc would devour us! Nice!! However if you’re in the “safety” of a life jacket you would about 30seconds as the bright colours attract their attention. Fun bedtime stories!



Next stop it was time to learn about the Aboriginal culture. We drove to Ubirr and met some local Aboriginals who blessed us by “spitting” water from a local Billabong on our foreheads. Then they taught us how they make didgeridoos and how to play them. It’s REALLY difficult! The women taught us how they make their bags from leaves, one bag can take up to seven months to make. The men taught us how to throw spears when hunting for “Bush Tucka”. They told us about their ceremonies and beliefs and we all found this really interesting as most of us knew very little about Aboriginals except for the negative press we had heard about some alcohol problems.

We then trekked through the Ubirr national park where we discovered ancient Aboriginal Rock Art and Wombat told us the stories behind them. After watching the sunset from the top of the rocks we went to set up camp. Adventure Tours have a lot of their own areas set up in camp resorts so we arrived to find pre-erected tents (nice one!) and set about cooking our group meal.

Friday was spent travelling to Katherine with a few stops along the way at Mamukala wetlands for a spot of birdwatching, then onto the Warradjan Aboriginal Culture Centre, and finishing up in Edith falls for a dip in freezing cold croc-infested waters!! Crazy!! We also stopped to collect firewood beside termite mounds that were as high as seven feet!

That night we set up camp on Ward Creek Cattle Station and poor Alex lost his finger nail during some log shifting!

Up early again the next morning as we had a lot to do! We headed to Nitmiluk National Park, where some of us canoed or cruised down the Katherine gorge. Wombat then took us to a local Aboriginal Artists gallery, where the artist Emmanuel held a paint workshop and showed us how to paint Aboriginal Art. We painted our own pictures with the traditional colours of Red, Black, Yellow and White. Wombat cooked us up a cracker of a barbeque while we painted and soon it was time to head on down south. After a short distance we stopped off to relax in a crystal clear thermal pool at Mataranka. And then it was time to set up camp at the famous outback pub at Daly Waters, the oldest in the Northern Territory and the first international airport in Australia! After a delicious feed of their famous Beef & Baramundi (local fish) we shot some pool and then headed for bed in our tents or swags.



Swags are like big sleeping bags that you put your own sleeping bag inside so it gives you the option of sleeping under the stars. A popular choice for most of the group. (Note, if you ever go to visit Daly Waters Pub make sure to look out for our Oz Bus 9 t-shirt we all signed and left as a souvenir!).



On Sunday 16th August we passed through Tennant Creek and checked out the Devil's Marbles, precariously balanced granite boulders sacred to the traditional owners. Wombat told us about the weirdest petrol station in the area, where there had been hundreds of UFO sightings, so eager to satisfy our curiosity we stopped for a photo, and it was the strangest little place, full of newspaper clippings and artifacts and blow-up alien dolls and UFO paintings.



After feeling a little freaked out we headed to the Barrow Creek Pub to view the historic Telegraph Station and onto Ti Tree to purchase authentic Aboriginal Art.

Once we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn we were into Alice Springs to stay at The Haven Hostel. If you ever visit Alice Springs it is essential that you head to Bo Jangles! This pub is on the web 24/7 so your mates back home can go online and see you and even buy you drinks! Luckily us Galway Girls managed to get a few back home to get up from their Sunday morning hangover (we are nine and a half hours ahead of Ireland!) and got some sponsored beverages to keep us going for the night … until we had to get up early again the next morning to head to the fantastic King's Canyon!

Make sure not to miss out on next weeks’ blog as this will be the last blog as we head into our 13th and final week of the Oz Bus Trip. Next destinations Kings Canyon, Ayers Rock, Adelaide, Canberra, and final destination … SYDNEY!!!

Til next week, slán!!

Sara, Emily and Jacinta.

Oz Bus: Indonesia

Well, it’s been a tough week here in Indonesia as we’ve had so many long gruelling bus journeys along the way.

We left Malaysia at Melaka and caught the ferry (Malaysia Express) to Dumai. When we arrived in Indonesia we collected our visas which cost $25 (the visa is cheaper to buy in US dollars as they rip you off if you pay with Indonesian rupiahs.) The Indonesian people seemed shocked to see us walking through and one of the blonde girls was a bit freaked out when she had people coming up to her asking to touch her hair!! Once we were sorted with the visas we went through customs and got onto our new bus!

We travelled through the windy roads and arrived in Pelcanlaru. When we arrived here we were expecting that it would be out in the middle of nowhere with no shops. So we were shocked to see that it’s actually quite a built up area. Some of us were even more delighted when we got to go to KFC for dinner!



The next morning we headed off for another long day's drive (it was like 12 hours!) to Jambi. Along the way we stopped off at the equator to take a few photos. Eventually, after what seemed never ending drive, we arrived at hotel Abadi. This hotel was gorgeous and it also had a very nice bar, the downside to this was that it was also ridiculously expensive. There were only a few of us in the bar when the band arrived to play. It was a bit awkward at first as there were 10 people in the band playing to three of us sitting down! Thankfully they were really good so we didn’t have to try and make an escape to leave them playing to no one!! As the night went on more people joined us, and it was overall a very good night.

The next day was yet again another early start as we headed for Palembang. Here we had a group meal included, so we had a meal on a boat restaurant, mainly consisting of rice chicken and fish. Mixed reviews on the food: some people thought it was nice and others didn’t and had to eat another meal when we got back to our hotel someplace. Here the hotel also advertised that it did karaoke, which it did not. So a few of the group headed off to the Japanese karaoke down the road from the hotel. They got their own private room and had a buzzer to push for whenever they wanted to order any drinks. Everyone who went to this agreed that it was great fun.

Once again the next day we got up early, for a long day's drive, and caught a ferry to get to Bandar Lampung. The staff on the boat seemed to be there just there to rip us off. The cheek of them, they tried to charge us for sitting down and there were pillows that they wanted to charge us for that we weren’t using. There were also Indonesian passengers on the boat who weren’t getting charged. When we asked why we had to pay and not them the answer seemed to be because we were white. Needless to say, we didn’t pay. We arrived at our hotel, which this time actually did have karaoke ... but the only music that they had to sing was old fashioned 60s and 70s love songs.

The next day we headed off early but this time it didn’t bother us because we knew we had the beach ahead of us and it was also only a six-hour bus journey before we arrived in Bandung. We arrived and the hotel (Hotel Sunset) was gorgeous. This place was like fantastic. Some of the group went off to hire a boat and go few canyons, which they said was brilliant and really beautiful. The rest of us headed to the beach (which was across from the hotel, happy days!!). At the beach you could hire out boggy boards and surfboards or you could just relax and catch up on your tan! It was great by the beach with the boards as we swam out and tried to catch some waves while most of us were just being dragged along by them! Also a few people tried out surfing, which was fun to watch as some people struggled pretty bad to try stand up while others were flying it and putting the rest to shame!!



We stayed in there for two nights and on one of those nights it was Barbra’s 55th birthday, which was a pretty cool night. Barbra had bought us all a few drinks to enjoy in her room before we headed to the Relax Restaurant. Here we had our own private section and we were also allowed to bring in our own drink. Also a band came in and played and one of the band members took a special interest in one of the girls (you were in there, Sara!). He basically sat next to her and sang to her but sadly the poor man hadn’t even the slightest chance. We all had a great time here and were sad to go.



Next on the list was Jogjakarta. Here the hotel was lovely and had a swim up bar! Here we had another birthday, woooh April! So after she'd been pulled into the pool we went out for a meal. Afterwards most of the group went on to Liquid night club to keep the partying. The night club was like a proper nightclub (it’s been a while, we’ve mainly just had bars!). Here there was also a band in the nightclub before the DJ. April had the pleasure of being pulled up on stage and having the band and the club sing happy birthday to her! At night a few of the group went back to Liquid but not to the club instead to some good old singing at the karaoke section. Note to anyone going to Jogjakarta, vodka can be really hard to get!!



Next on the list was Mount Brono. This was once again another awful long 12-hour bus journey but we stuck it out!! (There were extra seats because six people from the group flew to Bali from Jogjakarta!) When we were 45 minutes away from our hotel we had to jump off our bus and squeeze onto a mini bus as the roads are too narrow and bendy for big vehicles. We stayed at Yoschi’s Hotel, which was lovely but in the restaurant don’t expect fast service or for half the dishes on the menu to actually exist!



We got up early in the morning to go to the volcano where we had a painful trek up, but it was so worth it once we got to the top, it was pretty amazing. When you get to the top you can actually walk around the edge of it. For the trek you can hire ponies to take you, so you’re not nearly dead by the time you get to the top!

Next Bali, and then finally Australia.

Emily, Sara and Jacinta.

Oz Bus: Thailand and Malaysia

Hello all! We’re sad as we write this because we have to leave the magnificent Thailand and Malaysia and are currently on our way to Indonesia.

We flew into Bangkok on Thursday 16th July and stayed at the Hotel Oriental near Coussan Road, the party street, where you’ll find bars, clubs, street food, people doing henna and hair braids and we even found a man selling fried grasshoppers and maggots … yummy! We spent all our four nights here and met other travelers all there for a good time too!

During the day the Oz Bus group visited the floating markets, for €10 each we got a boat to take us around for an hour and a half and bought souvenirs, coconut milk and local specialty dishes like Pad Thai (fried noodles with vegetables and shrimp in a local sauce, must try this if you come to Bangkok!). After our money was well spent we visited the Jeath Bridge Museum and then took the two-hour train journey along the bridge on the River Kwai, this was interesting for our history buffs and for anyone who has seen the movie 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'.

The following day was spent wandering the 500 shops and 90 restaurants in the enormous MBK shopping mall. This is the place to go for whatever you need in Bangkok and also has a Boots pharmacy store! Exciting when you haven’t been able to buy your normal moisturiser in two months! For the Harry Potter fans in the group we couldn’t miss the new movie and enjoyed it in our comfortable air-conditioned digital cinema. Bangkok though to be fair wasn’t half as unbearably hot as the previous countries we had been in.



That night the whole Oz Bus group went to Coussan road and enjoyed a few Vodka Buckets, for €7 they put a naggin, two Red Bull and Coca Cola in a bucket for you. But be warned, the Red Bull here is not for the faint-hearted, it’s very strong and made a few of the group quite ill! We all ended our night in 'The Club' throwing glow paint on each other and went to bed about 5am.

The next day was spent shopping again and we left on Monday morning to get the ferry to Koh Samui. But not without its drama as the three Galway Girls after a heavy night out slept in and had to be woken at 6.10am, 10 minutes after we were supposed to leave, and required help to pack our luggage! Ooops!

The ferry took an hour and a half to get to the island of Koh Samui and as soon as we arrived we knew we were in Paradise, we had four days to spend here at the Home Bay Resort, where we all had lovely beach huts.

On Tuesday most of us hired out jeeps and mopeds and drove around the island. It’s only about 60 km long so a full day is long enough to see most of it. We visited a safari park and held a baby tiger, we swam by waterfalls, and we went to a snake house. After some saucy noodles for dinner we headed to the party street on Changweng to be greeted by lady boys and hostesses dressed as nurses trying to lure the men in our group into their bars. It was all quite seedy so we headed for the Reggae Bar.



There is also a very cool bar nearby called the Ice Bar, the only ice bar on a tropical island. It will set you back about €8 entry and the drinks are much more expensive but it’s well worth a visit. The next day was spent relaxing and buying outfits because tonight was none other than the famous Moon Beach Party on the island of Koh Phangan. Anybody who has been to Thailand will tell you about these beach parties! We got a speed boat over at 10pm and arrived absolutely saturated! We proceeded to get our glow in the dark paint tattoos all over our arms and legs and after much haggling the Irish girls managed to get a pot of glow paint for ourselves and destroyed any poor soul that happened to pass! The night was spent dancing in the sand to techno and running in and out of the water until 6am when our speedboats brought us all home again.

Thursday was spent lying on the beach and in the sea until sadly we had to leave on Friday. It was a sad goodbye to the Home Bay Resort as all the staff were so wonderful and friendly and helpful.

The next day we kept travelling on the bus in order to get to Malaysia. We stayed in Penang on Saturday where there is so much to see and do we were disappointed we didn’t have more time. We did manage, though, to visit the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, depicting the typical home of a rich Chinese Baba more than a century ago. This comes highly recommended and is only €2 entry. Although it is not customary in Malaysia to tip as it has been in every other Asian country we’ve visited, our guide was so helpful we gave him something.

Our next stop was Little India, a market street selling Indian silks and food and souvenirs. Nice if you haven’t already spent nine days in India, like us! After this we headed for some traditional local Malaysian food, try the Curry Mee or the Hokkien Mee with a The Tarik to wash it all down.

With our bellies filled we went to visit the Toy Museum, Asia’s first and the world’s largest toy museum with a life-sized Leonardo the Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtle greeting us at the door.

Down the road we enjoyed a pint in Shenanigans, the local Irish bar with the prices to match Ireland, alright!! And after empty promises to the barman that we’d return the next day for some Irish Stew we headed home ready to head to Kuala Lumpur the next day.

There we visited the Petronium Twin Towers, the highest buildings in the world until recently, and enjoyed three hours shopping in Marks and Spencer, Topshop and all the faves from back in the west. We even managed to get a lovely Irish sandwich and scone from O’Briens Irish Sandwich Bar. At this stage we were starting to feel a little homesick for the 1st time ... and then a Westlife song started playing in the supermarket! Sniff!

Sunday night we stayed in Melacha and wandered down the busy Johpur Street which is a type of Chinatown, offering everything from fake designer bags to fried squid. We stopped off at the Geographers place for a nightcap and headed off home to be up early for the ferry to Indonesia.

We loved Thailand so much because of the Thai people, they are so bubbly and friendly and love to laugh! We found Thailand and Malaysia very clean and much more organized in comparison to the rest of Asia we have visited. It’s very modern, yet they don’t seem to stress out like a lot of the western countries. Most of the people in Thailand are Buddhist but in Malaysia there is a mix of Muslim, Buddha, Hindi and Christian but you will see a lot more women wearing headscarves and traditional dress here. These are two countries not to be missed and for us three Galway Girls personally it has been our favorite part of the trip so far, along with the amazing Nepal of course.

For the next two weeks we will be facing tough times in the countryside in Indonesia, look out for the next blog!

Slan!! Sara, Emily and Jacinta

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The Oz Bus: Kathmandu and beyond

This week was spent mostly in Kathmandu, which up to this point we think was everyone’s favorite place so far.

First on the agenda was a place called 'The Last Resort', this is where we all get to risk our lives and scare the crap out of ourselves! After being out the night before the bus journey to the top of the mountain was undesirable to say the least, but worth it once we got there ... four hours later!

As soon as we got off the bus we had to walk across the scariest, highest metal bridge (160m), over an amazing valley, where later most of the group either did a bunjee jump or a swing-100 metres freefall and swung across the crazy valley at 150mph ... it was realy cool but absolutely terrifying!



The worst part was actually the hike back up the mountain afterwards — absolute killer, but well worth it in the end ... the feeling was so awesome!

The next day some of the group went canyoning, where they abseiled down waterfalls ... not to be missed if you like that sort of thing, they all loved it — Go Emily!!

We all loved it at The Last Resort and nobody wanted to leave so we all highly recommend a visit there. The staff were really helpful and friendly and the accommodation was good too, although it was pretty much just glorified tents!



We got back to Kathmandu town and spent the next few days shopping and eating our hearts out. It was the best food since we left home, yay! We spent our nights drinking in all the random pubs and bars. Our favourites were 'Sams Bar' 'Tom & Jerry’s' and the 'Reggae Bar'. We also found an actual nightclub there too, which was a major plus!

There were lots of other tourists there so everyone was happy for some normality after the previous few weeks!!! We stayed at the 'Hotel Tradition' which was really clean and comfortable, and the staff were nice and friendly too. There was a good hostel nearby which was called 'Kathmandu Guesthouse' where a lot of travelers stay. It would be a cheaper option and better for meeting people.

It was a sad day when we had to leave as we were destined for India again, this time Calaguri, Moltan and Calcutta, just one night each. We didn’t really get to see these places as we were just driving through and stopping to sleep. One of the best things about India this time round was the fact that we had a sleeper bus with enough beds for all ... best road journeys ever! All buses should have beds.

We had a birthday in Moltan ... Happy Birthday, Emily ... you are amazing! The staff at the hotel were gobsmacked at our antics, all we needed was an i-pod, some speakers, alcohol and we were off!

Calcutta was our final destination in India before our flight to Bangkok. It was quite poor there but the people were friendly and not so in your face as other places we visited previously in India, a very pleasant surprise!

The next morning we head to the airport … roll on Bangkok!

Jacinta, Emily, Sara :) xoxo

The Oz Bus Odyssey: Nepal

Well it’s been an amazing week for us so far as we left India and headed for Nepal. On our last few days in India we visited Varanasi. In Varanasi we got up at the crazy early hours of the morning to go to the Ganges which, no word of a lie, was one of the smelliest rivers that we have ever been to, and it’s also one of the most polluted.



We hired out a boat and a guide and went out onto the water where we were told how it’s a very spiritual place and funerals take place on the river bank where people are cremated and their ashes brushed into the water. Also, bodies are thrown into the water if they are babies or if they died from snake bites. It’s such a religious and spiritual place that people actually travel there to die. So after hearing all this you could probably imagine the look on our faces when we saw people bathing in the water and also drinking it.

We went back in the evening for the sunset. This time the roads were closed off because of the crowds gathering, so we had to hire out bike rickshaws to take us to the Ganges. I swear to God, on the journey some of us basically saw our lives flash before our eyes as the crazy pedal drivers were going ninety down the road, with us on the back holding on for dear life!!

This time on the boat we got to witness cremations take place and also saw from a distance a dead baby being placed into the water. The women are not allowed to take part in the funeral for fear that they might throw themselves into the fire while the body is being cremated. The following day we packed our bags and headed for Nepal.

Nepal, aka Never Ending Peace And Love, which it really was, and such a change nice change from India! A downside to it, however, is that they don’t have fast food outlets like Pizza Hut, which was a bit of a shock for some!

We visited Chitwan which is also known as heart of the jungle. We stayed in Parkside Resort where they greeted us with refreshment drinks and also an elephant!! The elephant was kind of cool as it had a big frock of hair on it! We fed the elephant bananas and one particular individual felt the need to peel the banana for the elephant and then let out a scream when the elephant went to take it off him. He threw it at the elephant then!



We went for a tour around the little village where the dude that runs the resort explained to us how 10 percent of the profits that they make goes towards the schooling of the children. He also showed us the scars on his legs from when a tiger wandered into the village!

We went down to the river where we were getting used to people using the elephants to make their way around! As we sat by the river sipping our cocktails we saw a big huge crocodile making its way across the river. It was the first of many that we got to see!

We went back to our resort for dinner and finally managed to have a glass of wine. For us wine lovers it has been over three weeks since we last saw wine, so we actually did get a little over excited!!

The following morning we left for a trek through the jungle. It started out with canoes to go up the river where we saw many crocodiles, and then kind of realised how close we were to them. But it was all good as they just ignored us, thank God! The trek through the jungle was fine. Unfortunately, or for some fortunately, we didn’t see too many animals, just a few birds and a deer or two!



We made our way to the Chitwan elephant safari park where we fed some of the baby elephants cookies. After returning back to the resort to change we headed off back to the river to go swimming with the elephants. It was an absolutely hilarious experience where some of us were bawling laughing, and others coming close to bawling crying with fear, while climbing onto the elephant's head to get on!



After we had enough some of us walked back and the extra lazy people got an elephant to take them back! In the evening we went on an elephant safari through the jungle where we actually saw a few rhinos this time!!

The next day we headed to Pokhora where we stayed for two nights at the Lakeside Hotel, which was so beautiful looking over the lake with the mountains behind it. It was a lovely little town, but unfortunately they also had a lot of really nice shops which we ended up spending a lot of money in!! Also while we were there some of us went kayaking along the lake.

As we left for Kathmandu some of us stopped off to do white water rafting, which was absolutely brilliant!! Word of advice if anyone hasn’t done it before, is to dose yourself in sun block and cover your legs, as some poor people ended up looking like lobsters afterwards, which was not cool!

We arrived in Kathmandu where we stayed at Hotel Tradition. For the night we headed to Sam’s Bar, which is just around the corner from the hotel. Here we met up with another overland group that were also on their way to Australia. It was a good night and some romances blossomed from it!!

That all for now. Bye!

Emily, Sara and Jacinta.

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Oz Bus: India a shock to senses

“Attack of the senses!” “A culture shock!” There are many phrases used to describe India but nothing could have prepared us for what we witnessed on the streets when we arrived into Amritsar last Wednesday 24th June.

The cow is sacred in India so expect to see them casually walking down the street as you drive past. Don’t be surprised to have a monkey run past you or a man have his cart pulled by a camel or even an elephant down town! Public bathrooms consist of mens urinals at the side of the street with the modest covering of a small tile wall. At least these men have some modesty, other men will casually excrete on the side of the street in full public view. The smell will hit you before the sights though, food, spices, urine, faeces, cows and other odours that we have yet to pin point!

However don’t let that put you off!

We began our journey through the Wagha border into Amritsar where the border control officers asked us what on earth we were doing coming to India in June during weather of 40 degrees plus! Our only escape was our air conditioned bus and our hotel, or so we thought …

We arrived at Hotel Jay Vee Continental where air conditioning consisted of a simple fan blowing the hot air around our room. Power cut out frequently, although to be fair this is a regular occurrence throughout India. And the hotel staff made any excuse at all to casually waltz into our rooms. Our tour leader had warned us about this though, in India their concept of personal space differs to ours.

Another trait you will find with the locals is that no matter what you ask them they will answer yes, just to keep you happy! It doesn’t mean that they are giving you the right answer though!

That afternoon we headed to the very lovely Orchid Restaurant where we enjoyed Tandoori platters for about €4 and then we headed to the Golden Temple. This beautiful temple lays in the middle of a man-made lake in the city. It was so calm and relaxing we stayed there all evening. A lot of people came up to us asking where we were from and taking photos of us, like in Pakistan we were celebrities again!



The local people were very friendly and curious. It’s just the pushy people who try to sell you items and rip tourists off that we had problems with. These type of people would put you off India if you hadn’t met the real genuine local people.

The next day we headed to New Delhi, and that’s where the drama began! Our hotel double booked us and shoved us into a lower standard hotel nearby where we had the friendly company of gekos and cockroaches. Fair play to our tour leader, she was having none of it and after getting the hotel manager and owner down to us we ended up getting a better hotel for the second night and a free dinner.

On Friday the heat was so unbearable it was hard to do much, we visited the Baha’i House of Worship, aka the Lotus Temple and the National Gandhi Museum. Both of these attractions are highly recommended and free. We ended our day at the Gandhi Memorial Park and had our evening meal at the hotel.



Now, after two weeks in Iran and Pakistan you can understand that a few of us wanted to have a nice cold drink in a bar for a change. We are on holidays after all! We had come across the very cool Mocha Bar and decided to head there after dinner. Big mistake! Whilst flagging down a rickshaw and trying to haggle on a price, about 50 men started to surround us, curious about these tourists. They began to touch us and two younger boys grabbed one of the girls bum. It was very scary and intimidating. We jumped into the rickshaw and after about five kilometres he told us to get out because he was lost and didn’t want to go further!

So here we were stuck in the middle of a road in New Delhi with no idea where we were when we noticed what looked like a disco nearby. There were pink canopies and loud music and bouncing castles ... it turned out to be a local wedding! And the guests were only too delighted to have some Western visitors. After some snaps and videos we decided it was time to give up and go back to the hotel, vowing never to try go out pubbing in India again!

The next day, Saturday, we headed to Agra, home of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Taj Mahal. That evening we visited the Baby Taj and watched the sunset on the river side. We got up at 5am Sunday to catch the sunrise at the Taj Mahal, which costs 750 rupees to visit for a foreigner and 20 rupees for an Indian. (€1=60 rupees.)



That afternoon we watched a Bollywood movie in the local cinema and visited the Red Fort, (visit here for the best views of the Taj Mahal). That evening we enjoyed a traditional evening meal in the Indiana Restaurant and headed off on Monday morning for Lucknow.

If you can get past the smells, pushy sellers and sleazy men, then India is a great place to visit. It’s definitely a good place to do a bit of soul searching or to see a completely different culture to our own. Oh, and we almost forgot … be prepared for the scary drives and constant blowing horns. Cars don’t have wing mirrors here so they signal to each other to move out of the way by blowing their horns!

Next week’s blog will be about Varanassi to the Ganji River and going to Nepal … party time!

Till then … slan!

Sara, Emily and Jacinta.

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On the Oz Bus: Pakistan

So this week started and ended in the crazy country they call Pakistan! The first thing to hit us all was the wall of heat as soon as we landed in Karachi, but it wasn’t long before we found our air conditioned minibus and we could actually breathe again. This is when we were introduced to our local guide Amjad and our bus driver Arshad. Nicest and funniest guys ever!



As we drove through the city we couldn’t help but notice the crazy driving antics of the locals. Everybody just drives all over the place and beeps constantly. Not for the faint-hearted (Sara!). The next crazy thing was the local buses decorated to the nines, multicoloured designs, tassels, the lot. The hippies would be proud...!

After checking into our hotel the first thing we did was head to the beach, where there was the very welcoming sight of MacDonald’s. Mmm. So, after we all filled our bellies, we headed towards the shore to find an entourage of camels awaiting our arrival. Most of us decided it was a good idea to go for a bumpy ride across the beach, which gave us all a good laugh!



Later that night we decided to go for a group meal on Barbeque Tonight rooftop restaurant. It was a delicious buffet of local food, spicy to say the least! After getting back to the hotel we all enjoyed a cold beer (well deserved after the six-day drought in Iran! Seriously!)

The next morning we headed for the town of Multan. Here we picked up an army of policemen armed with loaded machine guns and the works. They were apparently there for security purposes, but to be honest they just caused more of a hassle than anything else. When we arrived at our hotel they had the whole street closed off and no other guests were allowed to use the hotel just because we were there. A bit much, if you ask us! In saying that, though, they were all friendly, and just making sure nothing went wrong for us.

Our next stop was the city of Lahore where we had three days to wander and explore the city however we pleased. Some of us visited a fort, a museum and a mosque in the first morning, which was interesting, while some of the others chilled out in the hotel watching movies, a privilege we don’t have most of the time! In the evening the group went to Wagha on the Pakistan/India border to watch the flag-changing ceremony between the two countries. The atmosphere was brilliant and it was hilarious to see the over-the-top marching (think the 'Ministry of Silly Walks'!!) and the locals on each side chanting for their countries, really enjoyed by all!



The second day we visited Lahore Zoo. The animals were really cute, but it was really sad to see them kept in such confined spaces, especially in the heat. The third day we wandered up and down the streets in the scorching heat, did some shopping in the local mall, played some air hockey at the local arcade and in the evening we ventured to the bazaar and the Liberty Market where we did more shopping! Girls will be girls!

Overall, we loved Pakistan and all it has to offer. The people were so friendly and generally really inquisitive. We posed for so many pictures, we felt like celebs by the time we were leaving! It's a place we’d all recommend tourists to visit. Despite what we hear on the news and read in the papers, it is a lovely place to visit and has so much culture to offer, as well as being really cheap -- which always helps!

Next on our list is India, which we're sure will have plenty to keep us entertained. So until then ...

Jacinta, Emily, Sara.

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Oz Bus Odyssey: Bulgaria and Turkey

Well, what a hectic week it has been for us!

The first half was mostly spent travelling on the bus as we were making our way towards Turkey. At the moment everyone’s starting to get to know one another a lot better and thankfully we all seem to be getting on and no fights have started just yet!

We arrived in Belgrade last Monday where we stayed in Hostel Belgrade with jam-packed rooms but a nice common room with a laid-back atmosphere. And it had a TV, which was a bonus!

Most of the group went out to a restaurant called La Taverna along the main street and sat outside even though it was raining (I think we were all just in denial about the rain!). After some yummy cevapi, a traditional Bulgarian dish, (for only €2.50!) we separated and one poor passenger got completely lost on the way back but it was OK because there was a hot policeman around to help her find her way!

On Tuesday morning we boarded the bus early and headed to Sofia where the rain was there to greet us as we arrived. We stayed at the Mosodov Hotel which was brimming with muscular men as the European Arm Wrestling Competition was taking place there. After a very wet walk through the nearby park we enjoyed an Italian meal in Da Papas next door for about €10 each. Although the hotel rooms left a lot to be desired, we were impressed with the bar on the 19th floor where we could look over the city.

The following day we left for the Penguin hostel in Plovdiv. Plovdiv was a beautiful place where we had a walking tour of the city for €2 each. However some of the passengers left early to go shopping! That night was a bit bizarre as we went to watch the local ballet competition while enjoying a few drinks, which is not how many of us thought that we would be spending our night!

Finally the next day we got to Turkey, the visa for this country cost €15 for Irish passport holders. We stayed three nights in Istanbul which is full of lunatic taxi men driving crazily on the roads. We stayed in the Orient hostel which is in a great location and only a 10-minute walk from the Grand Bazaar.

The Grand Bazaar is a huge market with over 4,000 shops and is where we girls went to so that we could buy outfits and headscarves for Iran. And we are going to look so damn sexy in them that there shall be no photos, as we know people will just get far too jealous of us!



Back at the hostel, Mehmet, the party animal who runs the hostel, organised a night in the hostel's bar for us (Mehmet with Jacinta, Sara, and Emily above). The night consisted of Turkish food, drink, shisha pipes and belly dancing. A few of the Irish lads were dragged up (some against their will) to belly dance which was hilarious to watch them trying to wiggle their hips and bellies. One lad in particular was disgusted when the belly dancer asked him for money, his face just said it all!



During the day some of the group went to the traditional Turkish baths where they got scrubbed and cleansed. The people that did this highly recommended it although for €75 we said we’d skip it for now. Instead the rest of us went on a guided tour of Istanbul and a boat ride up the Bosphorus river where you can see Europe on your left and Asia on your right! (Jacinta and Sara below.)



Istanbul is a great place for shopping too if you go to Taksim, the main shopping and clubbing strip. We had a pep talk about haggling when we arrived in Istanbul but we never got the opportunity, most people just said final price. On our last night in Istanbul we went out on a pub crawl with Mehmet and other guests in the hostel. The night was brilliant and a few romances blossomed inside the club. After the club we went looking for food and it made us realise how much we miss Supermac’s and garlic cheese chips at the end of the night because other chips just don’t compare.

That’s all for now, next week we’ll be in Iran so I’d say it’s going to be a culture shock for us!

Till then, slán!

Emily, Sara and Jacinta.

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The Oz Bus Odyssey, Part 1

A week ago, our three wandering Galway girls, Sara, Emily and Jacinta, introduced themselves and their plans to take a bus to Australia. After their first week on the road, here's the first of their regular reports. If this is just the start, we hope they'll survive the whole three months ...

Wow! What an amazing jam-packed, fun-filled week! We left London at 7am on Sunday 24th May on the Oz Bus with another 17 crazy adventure-seeking travelers, Kim our tour leader and Martin our bus driver. The bus consists of 15 women and five men so it's an oestrogen-filled trip! The age group ranges from 19 to 60-something but everyone has a similar frame of mind about the trip so age isn't really a factor.

We headed straight for Bruges in Belgium and arrived at 15.30 at the very funky hostel Charlie Rockets, where their bar was the reception. We went to meet Jos from Quasimodo Bicycle Tours. For €22 Jos showed us all the beautiful sights in Bruges and we enjoyed a beer in the oldest bar in Bruges, Café Vlissinghe. After a traditional meal in La Passage for €14 we headed for Eiermarkt for a few drinks (beers are €1.50) and some group bonding and got to bed after 3am, after a delicious frikandel from a local vender.

In the morning we left at 8am headed in the direction of St Goar in Germany. On the way we stopped at the Marksberg Castle for a tour for €5 and eventually arrived at Herman the Crazy German's Friedenau Camping site where he cooked us some yummy schnitzel for only €9, including starter and dessert, and gave us a wine-tasting course for just €5.


Our trio in Prague with some of the rest of the group, and a couple of sailors who took them for a river trip.

We left again in the morning at 8am for Prague and after quite a long journey we arrived at 17.30 at Plus Prague Hostel. This place was great and had its own huge bar. After a few absinthes (one of our happy campers had seven in total before being brought to bed!) and dancing on the tables, it was time for bed. The next day we visited the Charles Bridge, did a boat tour on the river for €10 and relaxed in the square. Others on the bus visited the narrowest street in Prague and took a bus tour around the city for €14. That night we naturally ended up in an Irish bar, watching The Champions League Final.

After two nights in Prague it was time to see Vienna. We loved Vienna, we stayed in the M Hostel which is located beside a big shopping street. We visited The Spanish Riding School to see the morning training for €12. These horses are amazing, walking sideways, jumping on all fours and doing other tricks. After visiting numerous buildings, including the palace and its maze gardens, and the biggest wooden Ferris wheel in the world, we headed out for a few drinks.

We left at 9am the next day and headed for Budapest, arriving quite early at 12.30 at Domino Hostel. At the end of our street was a huge indoor market full of hundreds of stalls on two separate floors where you could buy anything from handbags to legs of lamb to souvenirs. We then headed for the traditional Turkish-style baths and relaxed there from 3-5pm for €12. We met some Australian Olympic team guys in their Speedos, definitely worth the €12!

As it was a Saturday night the whole group decided to go out and party! (ED NOTE: What have they been doing up to this?!) The hostel recommended Club Corvin Teto, just a 15-minute walk away. We came to a big supermarket where we found a secret side entrance and, after a climb of four flights of stairs, we arrived at a really cool club where the DJ actually mixed his own tunes, unusual compared to most clubs back home! We danced until about 3am and after a hunger-busting doner kebab we dragged our tired legs home and slept until 1pm on Sunday ... well, it is the day of rest!


Emily, Jacinta and Sara, underground in Budapest.

Sunday evening, for €11, we visited the labyrinths underneath Buda castle, then ate goulash in a traditional Hungarian restaurant before retiring to bed, ready to set off for Serbia on Monday morning. Next week we'll tell you about our travels in Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Iran!

'Til then, slán!

Sara, Emily and Jacinta.

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Off on the Oz-Bus

Recently, we heard that a trio of Galway lasses were heading off to Australia. But instead of flying, they're taking a bus. So we asked them would they keep us in touch with their three-month journey on the Oz-Bus. And, guess what, they will. So here are Emily, Sara and Jacinta introducing themselves.



Most people heading to Australia crib about the 30 hours of air travel and airport time, but we three decided to take a more adventurous way, the three-month haul overland on the Oz-Bus.

We, Emily, Sara and Jacinta, are three 22-year-old Galway girls and have all been good friends since secondary school. We had always wanted to go to Australia once we finished college. Mainly because Emily is an Ozzy herself! Emily is going back to Oz to live, Jacinta intends to head to New Zealand after a year in Oz and Sara wants to travel the world for as long as she doesn't run out of money!

Emily and Sara went inter-railing around Europe in 2007 so we've had a taste in backpacking and alternative methods of transport than flying. However Jacinta gets severe travel sickness so we'll see how that fares out ...! So why on earth are we getting the Oz Bus then? Well how many people can say they've visited places such as Iran and Pakistan ... India and Nepal ... etc? We think that this is an adventure of a lifetime! We want to travel the world and the Oz Bus is giving us the opportunity to see 17 countries in three continents in 13 weeks with a group of other fun-loving people with a mutual love of adventure! It's so exciting!

Sara has been doing the bit of research into the countries we're going to but Emily doesn't even know half the countries on our trip! There is so much preparation before we get on the bus that at this stage we're expecting our Oz Bus tour leader to be guiding us on what not to miss but in all fairness we will have plenty of time to read our travel guide books once we're on the bus.

We've had a few leaving parties at this stage and I think we're still in denial that we'll soon be gone. I think there may be a few tears before we get on the bus ... our Mammies are having multiple panic attacks, Emily's mother offered to pay for her to fly from Turkey to India so she could skip Iran and Pakistan! "Why can't ye just fly to Oz like every other normal person!!"

Our friends think we're crazy too ... spending three months on a bus! Some of our friends are going to fly over and meet us in Sydney in September. Luckily none of us will be leaving behind any broken hearted boyfriends -- we got rid of 'em as soon as we booked the bus! :). The last thing we want to be worrying about are boys! You're only young once and we'll only be young free and irresponsible once, we have no mortgages, loans or children to worry about so if we don't go now ... we never will!

We'll keep you updated as we travel along, check out our weekly diary on www.carandtravel.ie to hear about our crazy antics on the Oz bus!

Slán,

Emily, Sara and Jacinta.

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Irish keen on marathon bus to Oz

Oz-Bus, the overland journey from London to Sydney that is more about the experience than the destination, seems to have found a niche in the hearts and minds of the travel-loving Irish people.



Almost half the latest group due to depart London for Australia on 24 May hail from Ireland, the highest percentage ever recorded since Oz-Bus launched in 2007. The route takes in 18 countries across three continents over 90 days.

Oz-Bus works with local bus operators as much as possible throughout the journey. Simple hotels and B&Bs now make up the accommodation until Australia where camping is standard.

The 90-day journey reaches its final destination –- Sydney, Australia –- on 23 August, having visited some of the most spectacular and remote places on the planet. After Europe, Oz-Bus travels through Turkey, India, The Himalayas, Pakistan, Thailand and Indonesia before finally arriving in Australia’s Northern Territory and making its way south through the Red Centre to Sydney.

Oz-Bus has three more departures for 2009, including a specially-extended Sydney New Year’s Eve tour that departs London on 27 September and arrives in Australia in time to join Sydneysiders celebrating at the most vibrant and spectacular New Year’s Eve Party on earth. The departure schedule for 2010 has already been announced and for the first time will offer a ‘hop on hop off’ service which will be totally unique to Oz-Bus.

From 2010, the 13 week journey will cost £4,399 including all ground and ferry travel costs, necessary flights, tour leaders and guides, accommodation and breakfast, some meals, and tents in Australia. The extended New Year’s Eve special journey costs an additional £500 and includes the extra stay in Sydney.

For more information visit the new Oz-Bus website, www.oz-bus.com, or call +44 800 7319427.

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