Ik ben Kelly
Ik ben een vrouw en woon in Antwerpen (België) en mijn beroep is Freelance HR Consultant.
Ik ben geboren op 22/06/1981 en ben nu dus 43 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Bootcamp Pilates, Spinning, Bodypump, Bikram Yoga, travelling, cooking, reading.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
Follow us on our trip around the world!
20-02-2011
Our life in Perth
Hello everyone!
I know that it has been a while since I posted an update but we have been busy sightseeing and spending time on the beach
We have arrived in Perth on the 6th of January and we are still here. Initially we planned on buying a campervan immediately but since it took us longer than expected to sell our car in Belgium, we decided to rent a house in Perth and look for work.
I have worked a few nights in an Italian restaurant but the atmosphere was bad and they didn't pay that well, so I didn't continue. Bart has been working in the local golfclub for the past 2,5 weeks and he really likes it there. When he is at work, I go to the beach, so that's a good compromis
We currently share a house with 3 other people in Northbridge, which is very close to the city centre. We have our own bedroom and we share the livingroom, kitchen, bathroom and garden. Our housemates work fulltime so we only see them at night which is a good thing because they are not very sociable! (I hope I didn't give them the address of this blog)
Since Bart and I wanted to do some farmwork, we decided to put an advert on Gumtree so that people could contact us. I received a call from a Danish guy last week who was looking for 2 people to work on his farm in Pinjarra (100km South of Perth) so we met him on Wednesday in Mandurah and had a good chat. He is looking for people to help him with construction work and to help with the pigs from time to time. Since he was interviewing more people, he told us that he would get back to us asap which he did on Thursday and he offered us the job!! We are both very happy because although we love being in Perth, we would like to see a bit more of Australia and I would like to work a bit (you can't go to the beach every day So, we will be leaving Perth next Saturday and we will start work on Monday the 28th. We will work 5 days a week from 5 am until 1 pm which is good because that means that we will not work during the hottest hours of the day (it's still between 33 and 38 degrees at the moment) but it will probably take us a while getting used to the alarm getting off at 3.30 am... Anyway, I am not complaining because although I know that it will be hard, it will also be an adventure and I'm sure that we'll learn a lot!
The past few weeks we have done some sightseeing and we went out a couple of times with our Perth based friends KV and Sara, which was great. We have also met some new people (mostly backpackers) which has also been nice.
We haven't taken a lot of pictures so far but I'll make sure that we'll take a few before leaving Perth
I'm not sure whether we'll have an internet connection whilst we're on the farm, but if not, I will go to an internet cafe to update this blog: that's a promise!
Btw: for those of you who don't know this: you can reply to my posts (so that I know that people actually read them Just click on 'reageer' and leave us a message: it would be nice to hear from you!!
Op 5 januari zijn we dus vertrokken in Chiang Mai en vlogen we naar Kuala Lumpur waar we 1 nacht zouden blijven. We arriveerden in Kuala Lumpur rond 12u s'middags en omdat we honger hadden, zijn we eerst gaan lunchen bij McDonalds (geen goed idee) en daarna hebben we een taxi genomen naar ons hotel. We hadden een superior kamer geboekt maar bij aankomst vertelden ze ons dat we een upgrade kregen naar een Deluxe Suite dus dat was leuk nieuws De kamer was enorm groot, had een hele mooie badkamer en een leuk terras met een prachtig zicht op Kuala Lumpur. We zijn een paar uur op de kamer gebleven en om 18u besloten we naar de bar te gaan waar we wijn aangeboden kregen. Nadien hebben we gegeten in 1 van de restaurants in het hotel en we zijn vroeg gaan slapen omdat we om 5u30 moesten opstaan. Toen de wekker afliep, hebben we vlug een douche genomen en zijn daarna gaan uitchecken. Onze taxi arriveerde 5 minuten later en bracht ons naar de luchthaven. Toen we daar aankwamen was het nog maar 6u45 maar het was al erg druk. Toen het onze beurt was om in te checken, vertelde de onvriendelijke check-in agent ons dat ze ons ging upgraden naar Business Class! Dit was geweldig nieuws dus we waren hier heel gelukkig mee!
Onze vlucht vertrok pas om 9u40 dus hebben we een tijdje rondgewandeld in de luchthaven en ben ik mijn laatste Starbucks gaan halen (in Perth hebben ze geen Starbucks dus moest ik ervan profiteren Toen we dan eindelijk op het vliegtuig zaten, konden we relaxen en genieten van de Business Class service: lekker eten en veel ruimte. We konden onze stoel veranderen in een bed en dat heb ik dan ook gedaan toen we gegeten hadden
Om 15u arriveerden we in Perth en hebben we onze huurwagen opgepikt en nadien zijn we boodschappen gaan doen in het dichtsbijzijnde shoppingcenter. Nadien zijn we naar Cloverdale gereden waar we 3 nachten zouden logeren bij broers die we via Couchsurfing gevonden hadden.
So we left Chiang Mai on the 5th of January and flew to Kuala Lumpur. It was a short flight (less than 2 hours) and we arrived at the airport around 12 o'clock. We decided to take a taxi because the hotel we booked was a 40 minute drive from the airport and the only other option was to take the train but that would take a lot longer + it would not get us all the way to the hotel and we'd still had to take a taxi for the last 10 km. Since we were hungry, we decided to go to McDonalds first (which we regretted as soon as we finished our meal!) We then took a taxi which was very expensive (compared to Thailand) and 40 minutes later, we arrived at the gorgeous Shangri-La Putrajaya hotel. We had booked a superior room but upon arrival, they upgraded us to a Deluxe Suite, which was very nice The room was gorgeous: very spacious, it had a terrace and a gorgeous bathroom + the bed was brilliant (I have never slept so good!) The views from the terrace were magnificent and it was a shame that we would only stay for 1 night (but we will definitely go back)!
We stayed in our room for a while, enjoying the great views and at 6pm we went to the hotel bar where we offered a few glasses of wine. We then went for dinner in 1 of the hotels' restaurants and had a great meal + a great bottle of wine
We decided to go to bed early because we had to get up at 5.30 am
The next day, we got up, took a shower and went downstairs to check out. 5 minutes later the taxi arrived to take us to the airport. When we arrived there, it was only 6.45 am but already very busy. We went to stand in line to check in and when it was our turn, the unfriendly ticketing agent told us that she was going to upgrade us to Business Class We couldn't belive it because she hadn't even said 'hello' but nevertheless, we were very happy with our upgrade!
Our flight wouldn't leave untl 9.40 so we decided to walk around a bit. I bought a Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks which was going to be the last for a long time because I knew that they don't have Starbucks in Perth
When it was time to go through security we got a bit excited because we'd never flown Business Class
It was absolutely brilliant! We just sat for a couple of minutes when they came around with drinks. Our seat could be transformed into a bed (something I tested a couple of hours later the food was great! We had a 3 course menu and everything was delicious! I decided to watch 1 movie and afterwards I turned my chair into a bed and slept for almost 3 hours
When we arrived in Perth at 3pm, we picked up our rental car and drove to the nearest shopping centre where we bought some stuff for the first few days. We then drove to Cloverdale where we would stay for the first 3 nights.
As mentioned in the previous update, we left Bangkok on the 28th of December and flew to Chiang Mai. We would stay there for 8 nights but had only booked the first 3 nights in a hotel just outside the city centre. When we arrived in Chiang Mai at 5 pm, we decided to take a taxi to the hotel. The hotel was even nicer than expected and the room was very big (45m²), had a seperate livingroom area and a big terrace. We decided to have dinner in the hotel restaurant (on the roof) which offered great views (and the food was good too ) The next day we woke up early, had breakfast and went for a walk. There was a big street close to the hotel where there were loads of restaurants and also a shopping centre (and more importantly: a Starbucks ) After walking around for a while, we went back to the hotel and decided to relax beside one of the 2 pools. At night, we went for dinner at Pizza Hut, which was yummy! The next day, we woke up early and decided to go to the zoo. We took a taxi there and ended up spending the whole day at the zoo because it was very big. At 6pm we took a taxi to the night market and arrived there after 1,5 hours!! (luckily the taxi's are very cheap and we only payed 6 euro). We walked around at the night market, which was bigger than we'd expected. We then went for dinner in a Thai restaurant and afterwards we took a taxi back to the hotel. The next day we decided to stay at the hotel and relax beside the rooftop pool: it was brilliant Since we had only booked 3 nights at this hotel, we had to decide what we were going to do. Initially we wanted to do a 3 day trek but we decided to do this another time (we will go back to Chiang Mai in a few months). We went to reception to ask if we could stay for the next 5 nights but since the hotel was fullybooked on the 4th night, we had to leave for 1 night and then we could return. We thought that this would be too much of a hassle and decided to book a hotel near the night market for the next 5 nights. We found a hotel which had a good review and decided to book it online. Since it was New Year's Eve, we went out for dinner and found a great Japanese restaurant where we had a couple of sushi rolls, sashimi, 2 glasses of wine and a bottle of water for just under 16 euro! We walked back to the hotel after dinner, bought 2 bottles of champagne at the 7eleven and went back to our room to watch the fireworks on our terrace. It was a great night! The next day we left our hotel just after breakfast. A taxi brought us to the next hotel, which turned out to be a big dissapointment! The room was small, dirty and didn't have airconditioning. The sheets on the bed were dirty and the mattress was very thin. The towels in the bathroom were dirty and the walls were very thin so you could hear everything. We decided to only stay for 1 night and to go back to the first hotel the next day. We didn't want to stay in this hotel so we walked around for a couple of hours and decided to go for a nice massage We then went for dinner in an Italian restaurant and then back to the hotel. We didn't sleep a lot that night but luckily, we left the next morning and arrived back at the first hotel, less than 24 hours after we'd left We decided to spend the next 4 days beside the pool and only took a break in the afternoon to go for a walk. We wanted to visit a couple of temples and do some more sightseeing but we were just too tired (and a little bit lazy )
We left Chiang Mai on the 4th of January and flew to Kuala Lumpur. More about this in the next update!
It has been a while since we`ve updated our blog so here is a short summary of the first couple of days.
While I am writing this, I am sitting in Cloverdale (suburb in Perth) where we are staying with 2 brothers we found via Couchsurfing.com and while I am updating our blog, Bart is watching `That 70s show`
First things first; our departure on the 24th of December didn`t go as planned.... We left our place at 6 am and arrived at the airport in time, so far so good. We checked in our luggage, grabbed a Starbucks (they gave me a Tea Caramel Macchiato instead of a Coffee Caramel Macchiato which was interesting and waited to board the flight. 15 minutes before departure they announced that the airport would be closed until noon due to the heavy snowfall of the previous night... at that moment we knew that we would miss our connection flight in Frankfurt
I called Singapore Airlines to see if they could help us but the only thing they could do was rebook us onto the next flight to Singapore which would leave in Frankfurt at 10 pm but it meant that we had to find a way to get to Frankfurt by ourselves....
We tried calling all the car rental agencies in Belgium but there were no cars available and then we called the NMBS; they had tickets left for the train that would leave at 2.30 pm which meant that we would arrive in Frankfurt at 5.30 so we decided that was our best (and only) option so we booked the tickets, went looking for our luggage and then took the train to Brussels Midi. We arrived there at 10.30 so had to wait 4 more hours in a freezing trainstation but somehow, we survived Our train did not arrive at 2.30 but we didn`t worry because we had plenty of time.... it arrived 1 hour later so we left Brussels at 3.30 and we thought that we would arrive in Frankfurt by 6 pm... That didn`t happen. We arrived in Frankfurt at MIDNIGHT!!! Our train had to stop several times because during the heavy snowfall and the cold, the rails were frozen... then they told us that we had to leave the train in Keulen and that another train would bring us to the airport. We arrived in Keulen at 8 pm and still thought that we would make it to the airport in time (it`s a 45 minute drive to Frankfurt) and the next train was supposed to arrive within 10 minutes but it didn`t.... we waited for more than an hour and by the time the train arrived, my feet and hands were numb because it was so cold and we had been waiting outside the whole time... They then told us that the train would bring us to the airport but it was a `stoptrain` so it would have 14 stops before arriving in Frankfurt!! At that moment we knew that we would miss our connection flight and I got a bit worried... When we finally arrived in Frankfurt, we found a hotel close to the airport where we stayed for exactly 5 hours before we went back to the airport because the Singapore Airlines helpdesk would open at 6 am and we wanted to be there first. When we arrived there, they told us that there were already 8 people on the waitinglist for the next available flight to Singapore which would leave at noon, so we were number 9 and 10 on the list.... At that stage, we lost all hope and assumed that we would leave Frankfurt until 10 pm (the evening flight had a few available seats) so I prepared myself for a day at the airport. But then half an hour later, the ticketing agent told us that she found a way to get us on the next plane She also told us that we would be on the waitinglist for the flight to Bangkok, but we didn`t mind, we just wanted to get out of there asap! So we left Frankfurt at noon and arrived in Singapore 13 hours later.... we immediately went to the Thai Airlines desk and they told us that the next 2 flights to Bangkok were fully booked and that we could only get on the 6.30 pm flight which meant that we had to stay at the airport for just over 9 hours.... I didn`t like this news but there was nothing that we could do so we walked around in the airport and sat a couple of hours in the sunflower garden (at least the weather was nice
So we finally arrived in our hotel in Bangkok at 9 pm on Sunday instead of at 11 am on Saturday.... it was an adventure and we met some nice people on the train but I wouldn`t want to go through it again!
Our 3 days in Bangkok became 2 nights and 1 day so we made the most out of it and had a nice day beside the pool, went for dinner at an Indian restaurant and had a few cocktails in the most impressive open-air bar in Bangkok, which was nice
On the 28th of December we flew to Chiang Mai for 8 nights and I will tell you all about it within the next couple of days; it`s beachtime now
Op vrijdag 24 december was het dan eindelijk zo ver: ons langverwachte vertrek ging die dag plaatsvinden. Om 5u liep de wekker af en na een snelle douche en een bagage check, konden we dan eindelijk vertrekken. Yves & Sandra brachten ons naar de luchthaven waar we mooi op tijd arriveerden. So far, so good... We hebben meteen onze bagage ingechekt en nadien was het tijd voor Starbucks, waar ik een Thee Caramel Macchiato kreeg ipv een Koffie Caramel Macchiato... het was te druk om terug aan te schuiven dus heb ik hem maar opgedronken (was eigenlijk nog niet zo slecht ) Toen we de security passeerden was het 8u15 dus mooi op tijd voor onze vlucht die om 9u30 zou vertrekken (dachten we) Om 9u mochten we het vliegtuig op maar terwijl we in de rij stonden, werd er omgeroepen dat de luchthaven gesloten was tot 12u omwille van de hevige sneeuwval en dat er dus geen enkel vliegtuig kon vertrekken.... Op dat moment wisten we al dat we onze aansluiting in Frankfurt zouden missen en dat we een andere oplossing moesten vinden. Ik heb eerst naar Singapore Airlines gebeld waar ze ons zeiden dat ze nog plek hadden op de vlucht van 22u van Frankfurt naar Singapore en 2 uurtjes nadien zouden we dan naar Bangkok kunnen vertrekken maar dan moesten we wel op eigen houtje in Frankfurt geraken. We hebben dan meteen alle autoverhuurbedrijven gecontacteerd maar er was nergens nog een auto beschikbaar. Uiteindelijk konden we met de trein vertrekken en die zou 3 uur onderweg zijn vanuit Brussel Zuid en dus zouden we om 17u30 in Frankfurt arriveren, ruim op tijd dus.... Het is wel even anders uitgedraaid: we zijn meteen vertrokken om onze treintickets op te halen en hebben 3 uur in de koude gang van Brussel Zuid doorgebracht... toen het tijd was om de trein te nemen, zijn we naar het juiste spoor gewandeld maar geen trein in aantocht.... uiteindelijk kwam hij een uur te laat aan en zijn we pas om 15u30 vertrokken maar op zich nog geen groot probleem, omdat we pas om 20u in Frankfurt moesten zijn.... Na ontelbare keren te hebben stilgestaan omwille van problemen met de wissels, moesten we om 20u de trein verlaten in Keulen en wachten op de volgende trein die 6 minuten later zou arriveren... uiteindelijk kwam die trein pas om 21u15 en wisten we dat we onze vlucht naar Singapore gingen missen... Deze trein bleek een stoptrein te zijn waardoor we pas iets voor middernacht in Frankfurt aankwamen. Daar hadden we de keuze: in de luchthaven overnachten of een hotel zoeken en hebben we het laatste gekozen. Na 4 uur te hebben geslapen, zijn we terug naar de luchthaven gegaan om te kijken of er plek was op de vlucht van 12u. Geen geluk, want er werd ons gezegd dat er al 8 mensen op de wachtlijst stonden, wij waren dus nummer 9 & 10.... Gelukkig had de Singapore Airlines medewerkster medelijden met ons en heeft ze ons bovenaan de wachtlijst gezet. Om 9u30 kwam dan het verlossende antwoord dat we op de vlucht van 12u zaten!!! In Singapore stonden we dan op de wachtlijst voor de vlucht naar Bangkok maar dit waren zorgen voor later Na een welverdiend ontbijt zijn we dan richting gate vertrokken en hebben gewacht totdat ons vliegtuid zou vertrekken. Fast forward 12,5 uur en we komen aan in Singapore. Meteen naar de Ticketing Agent van Air Asia gegaan maar die wist ons te vertellen dat er al 15 mensen op de wachtlijst van de volgende vlucht stonden en 6 op de wachtlijst van de vlucht daarna... De enige optie om zeker te vertrekken was de vlucht van 18u30 (toen we dit te horen kregen, was het 9u s'ochtends...) Aangezien we geen andere keuze hadden, hebben we ruim 9 uur in de luchthaven van Singapore doorgebracht met rondslenteren, Starbucks drinken, in de flower tuin zitten en elkaar oppeppen Dan was het eindelijk tijd om te vertrekken en 2 uur later stonden we in Bangkok (zondagmiddag 14u Belgische tijd) dus 56 uur nadat we thuis waren vertrokken.... We konden niet wachten om in het hotel te geraken en hebben meteen een taxi genomen die ons 20 minuten later netjes voor het hotel afzette. Na het inchecken hebben we vlug een douche genomen en zijn we meteen gaan slapen: 12 uur later werden we wakker
Here I am again The reason why I don't update this blog more often is because there is not that much that I can say at the moment except that we are COUNTING THE DAYS!!
We have found a venue for our party AND we have found a DJ so I am very happy that that is sorted out! Hopefully we'll see a lot of our friends that night (I have learned that it is impossible to pick a date that everyone is available
The next couple of weeks are going to be busy because both Mr B and I are still working fulltime and we are trying to see our friends and family as much as possible + I need my pilates fix a couple of times a week so I don't have much time for anything else, but that's ok, it's better to be busy than to be bored
Work is going really well. I am on a great project now until the 22nd of December and time flies + I am seeing good results so I can't complain
I have bought myself a brand new backpack a while ago because the one I had would be too small for this trip (and I considered putting all my stuff in Mr B's backpack but that wouldn't be fair -) but I am happy with my purchase and it's definitely going to be big enough!
In the meantime, we are still packing and moving some of our stuff whilst we are looking for a tennant for the apartment and a buyer for the car. Hopefully we'll be able to sort this out before we leave.
Anyway, I better get back to work but watch this space, because in a couple of weeks time, you'll be finding a lot more updates and pictures here!!
It's been a while so here I am with an update We have finally set a date for our farewell party and it will be on the 11th of December! We are still looking for a venue that we can rent that night because our apartment is not big enough and I suppose that there are some people who would like to dance
An 'official' invitation will follow soon and I do hope to see everyone there that night because it will probably be the last time we get to see a lot of people before we leave
The theme of the party is going to be 'Cava and Cupcakes' so we will make sure that there is enough Cava for everyone and Eva and I will do our best to make some delicious cupcakes
We haven't made any extra arrangements for the trip (apart from going to the Tropical Institute to get a few necessary shots). I will need to buy me a bigger backpack though so that Mr B doesn't have to carry all the heavy stuff!
Well, there is not much more to say at the moment (I can't keep on repeating that I am counting the days so I am off for now but I will try to write the next message soon.
Only 72 days to go and hopefully they will go by very quickly because it is getting colder and darker and it gives me all the more reason to want to leave asap We have pretty much arranged everything for our first 2 weeks abroad so that's good and it allows me to concentrate on the things that need to be done before we can leave! Our next stop is the Tropical Institute where we have an appointment on Friday to sort out all our vaccinations so that's going to be interesting and hopefully not to painful Next on our list is moving all of our stuff to my aunt who will give us her spare room to put all our boxes in. I didn't think we would need a lot of space but apparently we have more stuff then I thought Luckily I will rent the apartment furnished so we just have to move our personal belongings (books, clothes, cd's,....) and so far, we have 10 huge boxes full of (mostly Bart's) stuff
We still need to re-paint the entrance hall and the terrace but that's something that we will do in 2 weeks because this weekend is going to be hectic since we have a wedding to attend to (which I am looking forward to!!)
I am already thinking about our farewell party which will be either on the 11th or the 18th of December so I will send out invitations soon. I have come up with a nice and original theme and I hope that a lot of people will be there!
Dit berichtje is voor onze Nederlandstalige 'followers'
Zoals jullie waarschijnlijk wel weten, komt er bij zo'n lange reis heel wat voorbereidend werk kijken. Aangezien we ons appartement gemeubeld willen verhuren, hebben we besloten om samen te werken met enkele makelaars om zo onze kansen te vergroten om een huurder te vinden. Het is daarnaast ook handig dat zo'n makelaar de contracten regelt en een nieuwe huurder zoekt indien nodig (want wij zullen er natuurlijk niet meer zijn). Vanaf volgende week gaat ons appartement dus geadverteerd staan op enkele sites waaronder www.immoweb.be en hopelijk vinden we snel een geschikte huurder! Indien jullie iemand kennen die op zoek is naar een gemeubeld appartement, mag je zeker mijn contactgegevens forwarden.
Daarnaast zijn we ook op zoek naar een koper voor de auto: Audi A6, S-line, hij is bijna 5 jaar oud en is nog in perfecte staat. Foto's zijn te verkrijgen op aanvraag. De auto en het appartement zijn beschikbaar vanaf 1 december.
Next step is het halen van de nodige vaccinaties en het aanvragen van enkele visums die noodzakelijk zijn om bepaalde landen te bezoeken en daarna moeten we ons adres nog laten wijzigen zodat onze post opgevolgd kan worden wanneer we er niet meer zijn. Aangezien België het land is van de vele (overbodige) procedures, verwacht ik nog wel enkele bezoekjes aan het postkantoor en andere instanties
Ps: Op bijgevoegde foto zijn de landen die we willen bezoeken in het rood gekleurd.
I have been spending most of my spare time surfing on the internet to find cheap flights and accomodation since we are travelling on a budget
This was quite easy for Thailand and Malaysia but it isn't so easy to find cheap accomodation in Australia (especially in Perth).
Therefor, we are considering to contact people via the website www.couchsurfing.com where you can find people all over the world who have a spare room, so that could be interesting.
So far, we have arranged our accomodation in Bangkok, Chiang Mai (thanks to my Connections giftvouchers and Kuala Lumpur so that's all sorted! We have also book our flights from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, from Chiang Mai to Kuala Lumpur and from KL to Perth.
For all of you who are planning a trip, I advice you to have a look on www.booking.com if you are looking for a hotel because they usually have the best offers (and believe me, it did spent a lot of time comparing prices!)
Well, I better go now and continue my search for a (cheap) hotelroom in Perth
Mr B and I have decided to create a blog to keep everyone informed about all our adventures
As most of you know, we are leaving Belgium on the 24th of December for a trip around the world!
Our first flight will be a long one: Brussels > Frankfurt > Singapore > Bangkok.
Once arrived in Bangkok, we will spend 3 days beside the pool, relaxing and hopefully enjoying some good weather! We are flying to Chiang Mai on the 28th of December and will be there for 8 nights.
On the 5th of January we'll be flying to Kuala Lumpur for 1 night and then we're off to Perth where our Australian adventure will start!!!
Our plan is to buy a secondhand campervan in Perth so hopefully we will find one easily!
Get ready for the countdown: only 86 days to go and we're GONE!!!
