around the world 1990 to 1991

Although I'd been to Europe lots of times before 1990, mainly inter-railing and skiing, I'd yet to venture further overseas. Being seriously bored of my job, as a design engineer, working in a rundown factory with no windows, I eventually summoned up the courage to quit and see a bit of the world. Mentioning my plans to a couple of friends, Robin and Carlton, prompted them to do the same and off we went, with little or no planning, following a "typical" backpacker route. Our ticket was London - LA - Hawaii - Fiji - New Zealand - Sydney - Bali - Jakarta - Singapore - overland to - Bangkok - Hong Kong, with final leg back to London bought in Hong Kong. The ticket was about £1200 through STA Travel plus £300 for Hong Kong to London. Yes, just as expensive as they are now, 13 years later! If you're doing such a trip, plan ahead more than we did, you'll get more out of it, even if your plans change half way through.

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usa and canada 8 weeks

Realistically there are only a couple of ways to travel around North America, that's by private transport or by backpacker bus (eg. Trek America or AmeriCan Adventures ). Public transport is hopeless in the states, with trains only being a realistic option around larger cities and on the east coast. Buses are even worse, since the places you want to stay, are usually miles from the bus station. On arrival we bought a car in LA for about $3000, which we sold for $1500 at the end of our 11000 mile trip through the US and Canada. We could have got a better deal but it was cheaper than renting a car and more flexible.

We arrived in LA fairly disorientated and in my case without any baggage, which had been sent on its own holiday to Auckland for a few days. After the first night in an airport hotel (what did I say about planning!), we spent a few nights at the Santa Monica YHA which is fine, if you can't avoid going to LA (book ahead it's popular). Buying the car, we headed north to San Francisco, across through Nevada, up to Banff in Canada and then took a fairly straight line down through the prairies (yawn) to Tennessee and onto Florida, then back to LA via New Orleans.

What did we do on the trip? Saw a hell of a lot of America (30+ states). And did a lot of driving too. Encountered some very funny accents, ate some very large dinners, went to the pub as often as possible (you can buy beer in petrol stations yet not more than a couple of beers in the pub), saw some spectacular scenery (except in the middle bit which is very flat) and almost fell out (three's never a good number). The highlights were San Fransisco, the Nevada Desert, Wyoming, Banff and driving from New Orleans to Tuscon, Arizona in one go (about 1400 miles). Take great care in the cities, always remember to tip and try to wear the right clothes (see right). We stayed mainly in cheap motels and the few YHA available. Don't forget to take lots of money, since the US is a very expensive country to visit! For more pictures on the nicer parts of the US and Canada see later pages.

hawaii 1 day

Yes you read that correctly, don't laugh, I've stayed in Hawaii for one day! This again illustrates how badly this trip was planned. Okay Honolulu is a bit of a concrete jungle but there is some amazing scenery in Hawaii and if it's anything like Rarotonga or Fiji, it must be worth a longer visit. We spent our time there eating at McDonalds. An opportunity missed.

fiji 2 weeks

We arrived in Fiji in the early morning. Why do all flight to the pacific island arrive and leave at such inconvenient times? What a change from the US. Despite having a large population (half a million) and being  westernised, Fiji has a very relaxed feel to it. Fiji is made up from hundreds of islands, most of the population living on the larger islands, with Nadi (pronounced Nandi), being the main airport. To get the most out these islands, travel to one of the smaller outlying islands.

We spent most of the first week, travelling around the main island Viti Levu along the south coast towards the capitol Suva. We then saw sense and booked a trip out to Weya in the Yasawa group, off the north west coast. At the time Waya had very limited tourism, with only a handful of tourist being allowed to stay there, on the beach in huts. The company which ran this has since gone bust (the owner liked a drink or two and had left all three of her children on the island, while she went partying in Suva) and tourism on this island has since gone upmarket. It was an idyllic place to spend some days (see below), is generally drier than the main island and was one of the highlights of the entire trip. There are also more touristy places in Fiji - you have been warned!

Fiji's also a relatively cheap tourist destination, being much cheaper than places like Tahiti and Rarotonga. It's also a great place to go diving and get your PADI certification. However unlike Rarotonga (or Tahiti), it doesn't give you that desert island feeling of isolation and tranquillity, due to its much larger population (half melanesian, half indian).  In summary, great if you can find an out of the way spot, but not as peaceful as Rarotonga.

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