A Sappy Yet Somewhat Reflective New Year

by Tasha in Epigrams and Interludes, Pre-Trip

Okay I have no important news to share this week. No earth-shattering moral revelations, no big sprawling lists of information, no new exciting day-trips to report. Nil, nada, nothing. But it is New Year's Eve today, and with it brings reflection and sentimentality for past days.

Alex and I have come a really long way in only a few short years and as much as I would love to take all the credit, some pretty incredible people helped us get here. I'd love to say we are still super-close with everyone but unfortunately, life doesn't quite work that way. So cue the sappy montage music, this is a clip show! (click pictures to enlarge)
 

Updates and excitement!

by Alex in Pre-trip, Budgeting, Gear

Merry Christmas everybody! ...Okay, so Christmas was a couple of days ago, but shut up, I've been busy! There's been a lot going on at Didi and Gogo HQ, and there are a few quick updates I'd like to share with you. Let's not waste time:

Its Beginning to Look Alot Like...

by Tasha in Epigrams and Interludes 

Let's start with a little confession.

I love Christmas.

...I mean I really love Christmas.

It's easily my favourite time of year. It has candy canes and Christmas carols and - although tainted somewhat through consumerist coloured glasses - a general air of love and hope and forgiveness towards all people.

And yes, I realise that it is primarily a religious holiday, however I like to think that the spirit of goodwill through December trancends the bounds of religion and race and all other shackles that divide us and brings us together as just people.

I Am Ashamed

Pictured: harmless

by Alex in Epigrams and Interludes

I feel ashamed today.

As I was walking to work this morning, I saw a discarded poster lying on the ground, showing a man's face with a caption in Arabic. After a split second, I realised the flyer was for a candidate in Melbourne's recent local elections. This makes sense, since the suburb in which we live has a high proportion of families of Middle Eastern descent. But before that dawned on me, my first reaction was alarm.

Getting Back On Track

by Tasha in Pre-trip, Budgeting

There's a common anecdote about target fixation. A pilot in a fighter jet becomes so focused on his target that he either crashes into it, or misses it completely. It's one of the many pitfalls of the long road vs the quick fix. You have so much extra time to stare at your target, that it either seems unattainable or so attainable you don't even need to try.

Yes, as the sleuthy among you may have realised, this is all a clever metaphorical example that conveniently relates to my situation without me having to admit I screwed up. However, last time we were all together we talked about fear - fear of failure, fear of humiliation. So therefore, here for your scrutiny and judgement, I do declare: I, Tasha Pemberton, got so off track that I forgot what I was fighting for in the first place.

How Much is Your Fear Worth - How About $2000?

by Tasha in Pre-trip, Budgeting

I want to tell you a secret.

I am afraid.

I normally try and spin pretty words and appear like the confident gal who has all her ducks in a row, but the truth is, I am very very afraid.

Fear can be a great motivator. It's fear of being eaten alive that helps you sprint away from the lions and tigers and bears chasing you. It's fear that makes you backup all your computer data in triplicate just incase of a virus. and its fear as a child that makes you pause for a second to realise perhaps wearing a superman costume does not in fact, make you fly. These are all good fears.

Retake the City! - Sydney Spectacular

by Alex in Retake the City, Australia

Five Hours in Sydney City

Ah, Sydney. Australia's city that never sleeps (except on hungover Sunday mornings). After the eventful roadtrip up from Melbourne for a family wedding, Tash and I found ourselves with a spare day to kill before having to drive back down the Hume Highway for work in the morning. Rather than resting on our laurels, we opted to retake Sydney, and go on a one-day, self-guided highlights tour of our favourite places that may not make the travel guide.

Sydney Roadtrip and the Redemption of the Rural Mechanic

 by Tasha in Australia, In Transit

Okay let's set the scene.
 
3AM - We arise from our couple of hours of sleep bright and early (actually can you call it bright when it's still dark outside....maybe dark and early?) and are on our merry way within the hour. Spirits are high.

5AM - We pass through Seymour belting showtunes and giggling maniacly at the approaching sunrise (see there's a reason why most people aren't awake this early - it does things to people)

One Painted Elephant Balancing...

by Tasha in Retake the City, Melbourne, Australia

Whilst reviewing our mountain of awesome Sydney pictures and anecdotes, we took a short walk through the city and what did we find??????

ELEPHANTS! WILD ELEPHANTS IN MELBOURNE! MELBOURNE HAS BEEN OVERRUN!!!

Okay, I may be exaggerating slightly, however it is true that there are 50 painted elephants hidden around Melbourne - each sharing the same explanation:

Two Weeks in Three Minutes

by Tasha in Pre-trip, Budgeting

There has been so much going on and so little time to write about it, and since time travel is not yet a lower class commodity, here are just a few of the awesome things that have been happening lately:

1. Super heavy duty travel research
The ladies at our local libraries (yes, you read that right - librar-ies) were gobsmacked as I checked out a whopping 27 chunky Lonely Planet guides. They are by far not our only resource - but 90% of bloggers agree when you're looking at the drawing board, you're looking for a Lonely Planet. I have one for every specific region we are travelling to, except Poland and Turkey, which is rather frustrating really as we are planning quite a bit of time in both Poland AND Turkey. The former I already have a good knowledge base on, but for Turkey I'm pretty much in the dark. If anyone has any awesome suggestions I am all ears.

Top 5 Destinations For Travelling Nerds

by Tasha in Nerd

People are different. Some are big, some are small, some are short and some are tall (and there are some who talk like Dr. Seuss without realising it, but we don't like to talk about them....shhhh). However when travelling, it is assumed that tourists will follow the same schedule, want to see the same sights and eat the same foods. I guess on one level it makes sense as it is all different than home.

But should I then assume when I'm sitting in the food court, eating my lunch, that the mother with three kids next to me, or the Sex-And-The-City wannabe across the row are eating the same as me? After all - it's all takeout.  But no, as I sit here with my naan, dumplings and pizza (because why does all the best food have to come from one shop!) the SATC lady picks at her salad, and the mother of three dishes out the Happy Meals, we all have different tastes. I happen to be a nerd (proud of it!) and on my pilgrimage I would be remiss to bypass these holy temples of Nerd-ism. 

Retake the City! - Statues and Street Corners

 by Alex in Retake the City, Melbourne, Australia

Last time on Retake the City, We wandered together through some of the best works of graffiti art Melbourne's back alleys have to offer. But theres so much more to street art than splashes of paint on a wall. Street art helps defines a city, its character, its teeming underbelly of art and culture. On a busy Monday morning Tash and I took an amble along the street corners, staring at sculptures and bantering with buskers. Let's start from the top, coming in at number two:

My Fellow Americans (Or Not As The Case May Be)

 by Tasha in Pre-trip

Hello Persons of the Internet. I come to you in contrition.

The rumors and allegations are true. I have no explanation, no defense or justification for my actions.

I did, willfully and with no malice aforethought, leave you, my gentle and kind readers, at the mercy of having no new content. I have left you on the verge of boredom, and for that I am sorry.

What are the Pre-Travel Blues (and How to Beat it)

by Tasha in Pre-trip, Epigrams and Interludes

There are some days, beautiful days, where you can feel the momentum pulling you towards your travel D-Day. You cash in a whole grand into your travel account or you find that must-have item you've been looking for - and its a whopping 60% off! These are days where you can practically taste the Tapas in Spain.

And then there are other days.

Retake the City! - Street Art: The Viewers Guide

by Alex in Retake the City, Melbourne, Australia

My mission this week was go out and make a concerted effort to see the world of art and culture among Melbourne’s backstreets. Armed only with a tourist map and the camera in Tash's phone, we dove into the laneways and back alleys to see what all the fuss is really about. Let me preface this list by stating - all art is subjective, so I have tried to judge based on colour, condition and detail. So, with no further ado, I present for you my top three works of street art in Melbourne: 

Something different this way comes

by Tasha in Pre-trip 

The observant among you may have noticed a slight change to the site. Go ahead, have a look, I'll wait.

Can you see it?

Look closer...

Yes that's right, we have changed our blog name! Yes it is huge news! I'm so happy you're as excited as we are!

Yes I know the old name was pretty good - I'll miss it too! But you have to admit - the new one is pretty damn good.

Oh? You want to know why we changed it?

Retake the City! - Being a Tourist in Your Own Town

by Alex in Retake the City, Couch Surfing, Melbourne

Or, How To Travel Without Leaving Home.

Have you been to any of your local tourist traps? Have you ever picked up a brochure, gone a-gawking, and seen your city through the eyes of a traveller? Sure, while you're travelling you've probably gone to the big names, famous buildings, and oversized landmarks. Or perhaps you prefer to 'live like a local' while away from home, forgoing the most visited sites for some native flavour, to see the 'real' city, just like the locals do. But what about the everyday?

Spare me your Judgements and Spare me your Dreams

by Tasha in Epigrams and Interludes, Couch Surfing, Pre-trip

Do you ever find yourself listening to a particular song, visiting a particular place or meeting a particular person who invokes a particular thought, which permeates and leads you to question everything around you, the world through your eyes?

Everything you see, everything you think, everything you experience? The practical term of which would be considered an epiphany, however it appears to go deeper right down to the core of what in fact makes you you. If this experience seems familiar to you, congratulations, you have been on the receiving end of a dramatic adjustment to your world view.

Are you Dave Gorman?

by Alex in Couch Surfing, Pre-trip

One of the best things about being involved in Couchsurfing is the opportunity to meet not just travellers from a variety of countries, but also people travelling under a variety of circumstances.

This week we hosted Rachel and Andy, from Pittsburgh USA and Cumbria UK respectively. Hosting a backpacking couple was a great chance to see how other couples handle long term travel, and learn about some of the opportunities and problems inherent to travelling with a partner, rather than flying solo.

photo by: hankjames

A New-look Blog for New-look Times

by Alex in Pre-trip

Updates! Updates! We have made some pretty big changes to the workings of our little website. With our current method of slow but steady savings and purchases, major updates of any kind are well...major. Most noticeably, we have updated the big banner image hovering over our humble blog like a giant welcoming....hovering thing. While many, myself included, were fond of the previous header, we've changed it to something more in line with our original vision for the logo of our site.

Our original intention for our image involved the silhouette of a park bench, with two pairs of feet dangling from it. This started as a reference to the Waiting for Godot half of our title (the Didi and Gogo first half, for those not entirely up-to-date with absurd Beckett plays), while including subtle suggestion of moving on, to keep it clear that this is a travel blog about travelling and all the travelling we want to do.

Sacre bleu! There's a frenchmen on my couch!

by Tasha in Couch Surfing, Pre-trip

There are many ways to stretch your balance to fund extra time travelling abroad. Some are easy, some are uncomfortable, and some are plain illegal. One such way (one of the non-illegal ways) we plan to extend our travels is to cut down accomodation costs through the liberal application of couch surfing.

For those not in the know, 'couch surfing' is a method of travel akin to home exchange where those with a spare room, couch or random available surface host those in need, for no charge - merely the experience of making new friends and widening horizons.

photo by: aphasiafilms

The “Right” Way to Travel

by Tasha in Pre-trip,Epigrams and Interludes

As the savings and research continue, through my wanderings across many a travel blog and website I am confronted time and time again with the concept of a “real” backpacker. The definition of such seems to be a major conflict between many sources, however similar concepts arise.

A 'True' Traveller appears to be one that: 
- Refuses to own anything more than a decent pack, rather than suitcase or alternatives
- Packs less than a week's clothing
- Embraces 3 minute showers and 2 minute noodles
- Continually sleeps in airports
- Never stays in Chain Hotels such as the Hilton, instead always chooses the 8 bed dorm
- Will never retire as a career traveller


Lines are drawn between size of backpack, whether you camp or stay in a hostel or hotel, even if you take specific electronics, or leave others behind. Such is the state of the world that we feel the need to prove that one style of travel is superior and therefore ‘better’ or ‘truer’ than another.

The Bucket List

by Alex in Pre-trip, Epigrams and Interludes

Update: This post inspired us to write an extended Bucket List check it out to see what else made it onto to the list - and what we have been able to cross off so far.

Everyone prospective traveller has their international 'bucket list' - the list of things that they want to go and do and see before they die. In that vein, I would like to present for your pleasure, Tash and my list of sights around the world to see and do and experience before we grow old in body and proverbially 'kick the bucket':



1. Drink a glass of champagne in the Champagne region, France
2. See the Kaaba in Masjid al-Haram, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
3. See the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Israel
4. Tour the Vatican City, Vatican City (or Italy, if you prefer!)
5. Walk across Salisbury Plain from Stonehenge to Salisbury Cathedral, England
6. Tour the ruined city of Pripyat near Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, Ukraine
7. Attend a midnight mass at the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, France
8. See the Eagle's Nest near Berchtesgaden, Germany

Planning the Benjamins

by Tasha in Pre-trip, Budgeting

For months I've been scouring all over the internet for the best ballpark budgets for our Round the World trip for two. I was shocked at just how hard I found it, and how little data there is. After much research I have deduced that the internet believes me to be either:

Of Frogs and Backpacks.

by Alex in Pre-trip, Gear

Today sees Alex and Tasha taking the first concrete steps towards their Big Trip... Okay, so Tash may argue that the first steps were made with the creation of this glorious website you see before you, but I beg to differ. To me, a plan isn’t set in quick-dry cement until you’ve invested money into it, and thus we have! Embarking this morning on a window-shopping, finalise-our-research trip, we have come home with a coin purse*, two microfibre travel towels, and most excitingly of all, a shiny new 35L backpack in which to keep it all!

I know what you’re thinking – “Isn’t it way too early to be buying gear yet?”

And we are up!

by Tasha in Pre-trip

Greetings and salutations from our spanky new travel blog!

Thinking of our blog name that wasn't a horrible pun or already used has been ridiculously difficult. You have to think of something original, fairly creative and somewhat travel related. That's alot of pressure hanging over what will be our home on the web for the forseeable future. It's like picking an email address. You want to pick something interesting and memorable, but not too hard to spell or one that will hit you like a hangover when you reach midlife and realise orlandobloom4eva.com was not your finest hour.

Even if he is so so pretty!