Electric Picnic 09- My predictions

ok...tomorrow is the lineup announcement..in the meantime..here's my predictions from various rumours, what bands are free around the date of the festival etc and a kinda wish list

bat for lashes
Flaming Lips
the national (praying for them!)
Super Furry Animals (they'll only play outdoor gigs...seems likely)
John Butler (now doing solo tours..long overdue back here)
Fleet Foxes (fo sure!)
CSS
MGMT
The Doves
Modest Mouse

here's what I'm hearing on the Grapevine today from various sources and Jim Carrolls blog

BellX1 (pretty much confirmed)
Madness
Brian Wilson(seen him 4/5 times?! amazing!!)
MGMT (As I predicted)
Explosions in the sky

thats all for now..watch this space!

keep on rokin'
C

Pol Pot's Chief Torturer On Trial In Cambodia

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Cambodia-Khmer-Rouge-Trial-Pol-Pots-Chief-Torturer-Duch-In-Dock-In-UN-Backed-Trial/Article/200902315224248?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_2&lid=ARTICLE_15224248_Cambodia_Khmer_Rouge_Trial%3A_Pol_Pots_Chief_Torturer_Duch_In_Dock_In_UN-Backed_Trial

about fucking time!!

homelife

So after 6months and 2 days on the road...im back...a month and 4days..and sitting at my desk in my new job watching the clock...reality has finally kicked in.

Christmas was weird, mainly due to the jetlag and the cold and darkness of it all after nearly 6 solid months of gorgeous weather...In the space of 5 days earlier this week I got a new job, Quest Zones Ireland in the Digital Hub,so far theres me and the CEO...so its a weird working environment at the moment, they want to train me in all this IT internet stuff and send me to the UK/Canada on training, now I'm all for travelling especially if someone else is paying for it, but dont want to spend all my time holed up in a room and not seeing the city..will have to wait and see how that one plays out, moved into a new flat with Con on Thomas Street, we're together 6months today and now live together, life is good AND finally I passed my theory test, oh and turned 26...thanks for all the birthday messages..sorry for not replying to them all, don't have the internet yet in the new place, hopefully get that set up very shortly...Back to Vicar Street very soon which is very exciting because I havent been to a "real" gig since last June and now sitting alone in the office watching Arcade Fires very first national television performance on the Jools Holland show, it's made me even hungrier for live music...oh and now i just watched some old school vintage interpol..i wonder what they're up to at the moment..hhhmmm

I havent really done much other than the above since I got home...drank very little, well bar a few nights at christmas, watched all of heroes from season 1 onwards to whats available out there, damn you Conleth!! I didnt celebrate my birthday, mainly because I hate them, mainly because it was a tuesday..and there's nothing really to celebrate about turning 26..Con and I finally got to make up for lost time by spending alot of the last month together at my parents house or his, travelling between the two while looking for work..i signed on for 3 days and signed off 3 days later when I got the job..the shortest amount of time anyone has ever signed on? possibly...Dublin is still great, i missed pennys, supermacs, jambons, cadburys chocolate buttons and having my own place..and now I have finally somewhere to unpack all my stuff...flat warming soonish, so keep your eyes peeled for an invite..

My boss had to fly over to London urgently this morning so here I am reflecting, wishing the cold January winds away...is it bad I'm dying to fly away for a weekend already?! is that greedy of me, if so my name is Ms Greedy..right I cant eat anymore grapes..im going for a walk

toodles
C

the long slow goodbye..and so it ends

so this is the second time i have to type this...i just deleted the first by mistake!

so here i am, sitting in front of a fireplace in my parents house, wearing a santa hat and socks...my toes dont know whats goin on!

6months and 2days has gone by so quick..we left in June and now its cold, wet december and the trip is over and done with but the memories will last forever

i learnt so much about myself on this trip and about different cultures, countries, history, that im claustophobic and afraid of jumping from heights despite doing a 15,00ft sky dive and a 42metre bungee jump..and just little things like what to do in certain situation when everything goes wrong and your half way across the world and only have limited supplies and help..and countless other things.

some of you well 99% of you thought I was home tomorrow, when in fact nici and i wanted to surprise our family and friends so we told them tomorrow..after a MAMMOTH day of shopping for bargains in BMK centre in Bangkok, my new mecca, we had less than 24hrs to do all that shoppin, pack, shower and groom before heading on our plane to london and then connect to Dublin where Simon and Conleth were waiting patiently for their women to come home...what a welcoming it was...very emotional and surreal...plus Con if you are reading this..I was jetlagged this mornin im a MUCH better Ninja than you!

we spent the day with our men, and Simon kindly drove Nic and I home, as Con went back to Kildare to catch up on sleep after only arrivin home from Oz three days ago...my parents had no idea and the look on my dads face was priceless...even better was my mams...dad turned of the xmas tree lights and when she came home from shopping asked why they werent turned on, so dad said maybe a bulb blew, she marched into the room, turned on the over head light and got the fright of her life when we saw me sitting there...worth every second..priceless moment

im so overly jetlagged and my phone has been beeping all night, i can barely read what im writing but i'll say this..if you ever get the chance to go around the world...do it..dont hestiate, take out a loan and go..money you can pay back, but as you get older and settle down and have other financial worries and kids and houses, it will be hard to get the time..it was worth every bus journey, flight queue, every time my credit card and lazer cards were over drawn..carrying around the biggest rucksack, missing family and friends...i met some of the greatest people i might ever know on this trip nd look forward to seeing them again, and met my wonderful boyfriend too...caught up with old london and US friends and generally saw the world as I wanted to see ith, with my own eyes and not through the TV or travel magazine

right ive been awake way too long and have a hot water bottle bed wating for me...lastly want to thank 5 very special people for my trip

Nici- the best friend a girl could want..we lived in each others pockets for 6months and I still love her to bits...couldnt ask for anything more...

my parents- financially, emotionally and in alll other ways they were with me step by step, trip was worth every second just to bring it back to you..i can never repay you, but maybe a start will be not to get a 5th tattoo ;)

Con- for making me believe again...despite only knowing each other a very short time and then being seperated for months, couldnt have asked for a better friend and boyfriend...you have great patience :)

to my famiily and friends who kept in contact, read the blogs and left comments, it meant so much you shared this trip with me..cant wait to see you all again...buy me a pint?! im broke!

and yes i still cant spell!

keep on rockin'
C

Phi Phi islands and onwards to Bangkok!

so..we left Laos with sad and heavy hearts..our home away from home...but it was time to get some of Thailand in before we came home..and so began the mammoth 32 hr journey or something stupid like that, involved buses times many and tuk tuks, and border crossings and waiting around and crap road side food, and taxis and a race to the other bus station to get the other 11hr bus to Krabi only to miss the ferry and spend the night there, where against my good judgement i ate KFC...it's all Cons fault :D

so dave, nici and I stayed overnight in the klassiest of hotels and after such a long journey showered and slept like logs, for an early start to another day of travelling by ferry to Phi Phi Island or as I like to call it the island of never ending weeeees.

the journey lasted just under 2hrs and we came to the glorious sunshine island, full of tourists of all shapes and sizes..we had a bit of a challange carrying our 24kg bags around the island looking for CHEAP accomodation in high season but stumbled upon a modest little place across the swampy river...hhmm fresh air smells...what a way to wake up...after applying some sun cream it was of to the beach for some extreme frisbee better known as playing with Dave that boy sure does have a strong arm..

we worked on our tans, ate ice lollies, also called ice pops! dave, and chilled out enjoying the beautiful views...i still cant and couldnt get my head around what happened there on boxing day in 04, the island was up and running still some construction work but more or less you'd never have known cept for the tsuami warning signs and where to run all over the island..yes i spelt it wrong im up since 05.30am leave me alone...

anyway...we ate dinner and headed to the beach for a full moon party which wasnt much of a party since everyone was on another island where the major full moon party happens, our island was pretty dead, but we knew we'd need to get there then to get cheap accomodation and since we were running out of time...

we drank many buckets and got drunk and stumbled home..not much of a hangover the next day which was good because we'd planned a day trip around some of the islands, including monkey island, WAIT until you see the photos rachel and ciara! cliff jumping, i chickened out and its one of my regrets from this trip and basically a day snorkelling, swimming jumping of the long boat and visiting the island where they filmed the beach

we spent the next few days on the island, swimming, sunbathing i wandered around alot on my own, getting lost and going for walks..saw alot of fire swinging, and fire rope jumping etc, drank alot of buckets especially the last night, saw some real thai boxing including lots of drunk people who fought each other for free drinks and ate some good food...very relaxing and hot way to end the trip

we had a sad goodbye to Dave and Chris our Chilean friend, the prick :D and start the long and slow journey back to Bangkok where the bus us was empty and we all had two seats to ourselves each..result.that NEVER happens!!!

we arrived here at 05.30am, found a place to stay until we check out and now have two days of shopping in bangkok to do before we fly home..

so one last sad blog and the trip is over...where did the time go!?

stay tuned!
C

tubing, lazing in the sun, swollen eyes, valium and mud baths

so here we are still in Vang Viang, the party capital of Laos, which only has 4 main streets which lay in a square shape...

we've spent the week sunbathing, working on those so called tans, down by the river on floating bamboo islands beside the bars, or beside the swimming pool overlooking the mountains in town..this place is incredible..if you are single and drunk you will never want to leave....im neither and i Do and I dont want to leave..its definitely a MUST on SE ASIA trail..

So the other night we decided to go join a few friends for some drinks at the bucket bar, where a bucket of whiskey and coke is less than a euro..and being the tourist I am, I partook, plus it was cheaper than a bag of chips..so there we are dancing and drinking beside a bonfire, with the stars above us shining brightly in the sky...having one last day with Tamara our Argentianian friend who was leaving the next day...we've been bumping into her on and off for the last month..so all of a sudden my eye gets really sore and im thinking, might need to change my lens or just take it out, so i bid everyone farewell and went back to the guesthouse

i take out my lens, my eye is still aching and im thinking, best solution a half of a valium tablet, block out the noise from outside and ill get some good sleep and my eye will be fine in the morning, but i woke two hours later in extreme pain and dozy as feck from the tablet..my eye is swollen and red and aching even more, eventually i get back to some sleep but not much as i wake very early to a very very red, swollen shut eye, tears streaming down my face..the pain is unreal...i feel like theres glass in there...i get up with half of the other eye open, go to the chemist, she takes one look and tells me to go to the hospital...i jump on a moto..still in my pj's btw...get ripped of by the driver who drives me down the road for 2 mins and then has no change, the pain is unreal so i just walk away into the emergency room, where some lady, a doctor or nurse, i have no idea...and she doesnt speak english but she can see the problem...she pokes, prodes, does all sorts of stuff to the eye, ointments, washing it out, holding it back touching it...ick...and then asks me to pay...im sitting there BLIND with the other eye closed over now too, a voluntary reaction and tears streaming down my face...i pull out some notes, she gives me an eye dressing to wear to help keep the eye closed and then says to leave...which is great considering im actually walking blind..

no moto drivers outside, so i walk back with the sun in my eyes and only half of one eye open....get back into bed and spend the day texting Con, listening to my ipod and taking valium to get some sleep..i wake up the next day and my eye is 95% better..which is an amazing feeling i can see again..but i didnt wear a lens for two days just to be safe..getting sick in a country like Laos is not ideal...they can only deal with BASIC medical problems..anything more serious than an eye infection or stitches you need to get to thailand pronto...

we went tubing twice this week..the first day was with Tamara who hadnt gone tubing before...we had a great day making new friends, dancing and drinking beer beside the bon fire but it was pretty tame unlike the day with alistair..until yesterday...

so we went again with some friends...sat at the first bar watching people do all their tricks of the swing which is about 20ft high, then onto the next bar, where the music is BLARING and distorted so i go up to the guy and ask if i can change the setting and make it sound better..he likes me, he says and he asks me to give out flyers to his bar, the bucket bar, which is where EVERYONE goes EVERYNIGHT of the week..in return i can get as much free drink and food there...so i wander around the bar, handing out flyers, meeting new people and within 20mins they're all gone...so are hidden in our dry bag ;)

i was then given a bucket of whiskey and after already having two beers and a shot before 1pm i decide to share it with a bunch of irish boys..they drink it in seconds, i pretend to drink it...i am that smaart...we continue to tube and float on down the river..until we get to the mud bar...dave and his friends have been plotting and planning to throw us in...i already said since its my last time tubing i'll get in on my own time, but this wasnt good enough and i was rugby tackled in...its just the nastiest thing ever..and its waste high, it was mayhem there so many drunk people in the mud pool..i had to jump into the river and swim to wash some of it off but it took a 20min shower...

i left tubing around 4.30 not able or wanting to deal with all the drunk people getting tuk tuk backs, hada feast of a dinner after not eatin all day and then went to sleep on and off from 7pm that night, despite having as much free drink as i wanted....i must be getting soft in my old age...

so its sunday...might go visit some caves today or just work on my tan...life is good..13 days to go!!
C

Bandits! Tubing! and making decisions!

so we left Luang Prabang..man it was SOOO cold up there..im going to die when i get home in december..18 days to go!? where has the time gone...i swear it's been the quickest 6months of my life

so we drive back on our 8hr journey, the scenery was just amazing again, i was just awed the whole way down until we drive by two kids, squatting on the side of the road, holding AK47 GUNS!! i nearly shit my pants! i was like WTF?! i asked if anyone else in the mini bus of 12 people saw them, and no one did, so i started doubting what i saw until we came to a man in the road, trying to flag us down and across from him was another man with a AK47 gun too! we drove past thank god, considering we were driving through bandit country...its well known in travel books, and apparently two english tourists were killed there last year...we saw a few more bandits on the way down, casually walking around on a sunday morning with AK47's dangling of their shoulders..the world has gone mad!

we also passed a bus heading up to LP while coming down and they had an armed man on the bus with a gun for their protection..it was very eerie to say the least..so we're back in sunny Vang Viang, home to tubing, beer, friends repeats and not much else..we had some dinner in our local friends cafe, the guy there loves us as we eat there 3times a day and bring him great business...we're staying in our old guesthouse in a better room and the sun is shining, so it's all good

went tubing again yesterday, the water is FREEZING..so we drank beer, danced around bonfires and remained dry from the shoulders up...came back into town with the intention of going out again with friends, but sitting around in the sun all day and drinking just makes you sleepy so thats what we did. in tracksuit bottoms, a hoodies, socks and a sleeping bag with the guesthouse blankets on top..its soo unbelievably cold at night, or maybe just to us, we've been traveling since June, we hate the cold..i suspect we shall die from it in late december

so with all this mess in thailand, we're flying to Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and after that, we've made no plans..waiting to see what the weather is like and how much time and money we have to go further afield, but at least we're half way between bangkok and singapore, at the moment our only main worry is how and where we're going to fly home from, so unless all ends in thailand we might have to start panicing paying airfare to get home in time for xmas! so keep those fingers, toes and eyes crossed for us!

sun is shining i need to work on my tan...dont be haters!

C