STA Explorer Laura has posted on her and boyfriend Jamie’s return from travelling.

Yes, for Jamie and Laura the adventure has come to an end and they’re back in London,

“Was a strange feeling, we were happy to finally be going home as we had had enough of the whole backpacking lifestyle (night buses, squat toilets, packing and repacking the backpack every other day), but at the same time I didn’t want the trip to end. I’d planned it for so long, it’s hard to believe that it’s all over now

[…]

Very sad to be spending my days writing covering letter and applying for a million jobs (mostly unpaid!) rather than going to beautiful beaches, wandering round crumbling temples or enjoying a few glasses of goon with dorm friends. The post-backpacking blues have well and truly arrived!”

Their final days in Thailand were spent in Mae Nam and this being the end of the trip the funds were running low, which meant the majority of these days were spent on the beach. There was time for a BBQ before departing, that Laura reckons was the most her or indeed Jamie had eaten in quite a while. The meal was also accompanied by a glass of wine, the first since Australia.

Laura finishes her post offering her advice to anyone who’s thinking of doing a similar trip, so if you are, don’t be shy. Just get in touch. For now though Jamie and Laura’s Great Adventure blog will most likely be dormant, that is until the next travelling adventure begins. But for now, on this particular journey, the sun has set…

Angkor Wat in Cambodia is probably the most recognisable of the temples in the region and with good reason as STA Explorer Laura explains,

“We started off at Angkor Wat, which is the famous one you see in all the pictures and on postcards. It was amazing, absolutely huge and covered with carvings. I’ll put photos up as it’s hard to describe!”

Jamie and Laura’s post contains some more information on temples, tips on surviving cycling in the city and a bit about what they got up to in Phnom Penh – Dr. Fish anyone?

Now for a change of pace, as we join Amar in Sydney for the Platform 3 Hip Hop Festival,

“When I came across the words “free” and “hip hop festival” I was in. I went to the Platform 3 Hip Hop festival in Redfern, Sydney of all places to dig deep and figure out: What is Hip Hop?”

Amar spent the day being amazed by the talents on display. Whether it was break dancers or DJs, graffiti artists or beatboxers it was all superb. So what did he learn about Hip-Hop? Click through to Gap Year Escape to find out.

If you’re interested in being an STA Explorer then do just as Henrietta did and get in touch with us. Before you know it you’ll be sharing your adventures of, in her case, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan and Australia with a community of likeminded souls. You can say ‘hi’ to Henrietta @ffmfreedom…

Jamie and Laura have left Australia and have been experiencing the best of Thailand beaches. They arrived in Koh Lipe and have been working on the tans for a couple of weeks now.

“Koh Lipe is really small, you can walk to most places in about ten minutes. There are three main beaches, Sunrise, Sunset and Pattaya. We stayed on Pattaya beach which was the busiest, but the best beach was definitely Sunrise.”

The post besides giving great information on the beaches they’ve frequented also names the restaurant Spidermonkeys and the Thai Pancake Shop as great places to get a feed. Also they make a note that the book swapping shops aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, and therefore suggest taking plenty of reading material with you to save on the baht.

Moving on to Koh Phi Phi saw lots of snorkeling (see above) and they also visited Maya Bay, which is where the Leo DiCaprio film The Beach was filmed. Unfortunately a low tide meant rather than clear crystal waters there was just exposed grey coral, not what they’d expected, but this didn’t but too much of a downer on the day.

Since leaving the beach scene they’ve passed through Phuket to Bangkok. There they had a full day to celebrate Jamie’s birthday, which they did with golf (on the 18th floor of the Baiyoke Hotel), ice-cream sundaes and a massage… very nice.

Laura has witnessed the majesty of the Whitsunday Islands, and all from aboard the Camira. Although intent on Having a Ball from NZ to SE Asia, there is a budget and it had to be considered when touring the Whitsundays,

“We wanted to do an overnight sailing trip round the Whitsundays but they were quite expensive so we decided to just do a day trip instead. Our boat was called the Camira (means ’strong winds’ in aboriginal) and was a massive purple sailing catamaran.”

The day trip wasn’t so bad though, free drinks all day which saw Jamie (Laura’s boyfriend) ‘cracking open the beer’ at 11am. And despite the onset of what Laura referred to as a ‘monsoon’ the weather cleared up plenty, allowing for a trip to Whitehaven Beach and an ‘amazing BBQ lunch’ on the boat.

Laura and Jamie also spent some time in Airlie. The weather was hot, so the couple spent most of their time in the man made lagoon, a must due to the sea being full of Jellyfish. And, as the friendly types they are, the evening saw them back with some of the guys they’d shared the Camira with for some good old fashioned disco-dancing,

“Went to the bar at Beaches hostel which had a guy singing live, but that closed at 12 […] so we went on to a club called Evolution. The music there was pretty rubbish, loads of techno electro stuff, but was fun anyway.”

Ok, I admit that I have no concrete evidence of disco-dancing, but you’d like to think that was part of the deal, right?

Laura has had, as ever, a rather action packed time since we last checked in – this time visiting Lady Musgrave Island.

Travelling to Agnes Water by coach they arrived at what Laura believed to be possibly the nicest hostel they’ve stayed in so far. From here they took a rather choppy boat ride to Lady Musgrave Island,

“Me and Jamie lasted 40 mins before we started throwing up (we managed to do it at the exact same time which was a lil’ spooky).”

After arrival, and another moment of ‘upchuckness’ that doesn’t need to be detailed here, Laura and Jamie donned their flippers and snorkels and began to examine the beautiful coral of the Great Barrier Reef. The coral is much less damaged than that around Cairns, the reason the guys decided to dive there.

During the dive Jamie was stung by a bluebottle jellyfish, which needed only minor attention in the form of ice. This seemed to greatly disappoint Laura who was expecting far more drama. After a walk around the island and then more snorkeling, the pair headed back to Agnes Water, a far less hectic journey than the outbound one.

The following morning they spent some time in Agnes Water’s neighbouring township of 1770. And here’s a tip from our statravelbuzz pal Pete – if you want to skydive, do it in 1770, it’s where you’ll find the best price!

Laura would’ve liked to spend some more time in 1770,

“[…] but sadly we don’t have many spare days, and can’t really afford to do much else as we’ve just paid for our trip in the Whitsundays.”

A report on that coming soon.

Laura, the STA Explorer known as Having a Ball from NZ to SE Asia has updated on her movements north on the Australian east coast.

At the time of writing Laura was in Brisbane arriving from Sydney via Byron Bay and Surfer’s Paradise. She especially likes the easy going lifestyle around Byron Bay,

“I loved Byron Bay last time I was in Oz and now I remember why! It’s so laid back and has a real boho hippy kind of feel to it – there were even a couple of hippies on the beach with a guitar, singing folk songs! Could easily have stayed there a couple of weeks and just chilling on the beach and spending my evenings getting henna tattoos and playing the bongos. But sadly all the hostels were full and we could only stay one night.”

In Surfers Paradise the Laura and her fella Jamie let time get away from them, literally. Forgetting that Queensland time is an hour behind that of New South Wales they spent the best part of two days doing everything an hour early. A noteworthy piece of info should you be traversing timelines during your own Aus travelling.

Once in Brisbane Laura and Jamie visited the street beach, a man made beach and lagoon beside the river. Her idea of getting one in London is nice, though I’m not entirely convinced we have the climate for it. There was also time spent by the rooftop pool of their hostel, which looks from the photos as described – amazing. Next up Rainbow Beach and a Fraser Island adventure… Cam and Sam jealous? Never…

We’re back, and normal service is about to resume, but before it does a run through our friendfeed – the place to keep up with us and our tribe of STA Explorers and their travelling experiences – has spilled the details on all that they’ve been up to over the festive break.

We have to begin with this tweet from Escaping the Grind, Alice in Down-underland and Hang 10 and Party or, Marianne, Alice and Chris, stating that they miss us. Aww. It’s great to see Explorers getting together and having an ace time! We miss you too. Marianne has also posted on the experience of spending Christmas on Bondi Beach and being one of the 1.5 million people bring in New Year in Sydney…

Samantha’s Christmas in Melbourne was all good once the pressies had arrived and the tree was up,

“I could have nearly mistaken it as an English chrissy until walking outside to 40 degree heat…dreaming of a white Christmas, no chance Sheila!!”

Her new year was spent at the Falls Festival, a celebration of the arts, where she welcomed in 2010 with acts including Jamie T and Moby.

Laura and Jamie, Having a Ball from NZ to SE Asia, enjoyed mince pies on the beach and had ‘the best NYE ever’ in Sydney.

Alex welcomed in the New Year with 12 grapes, taking part in a Spanish tradition of eating one on each stroke of midnight to bring you good fortune for the coming year.

Like Marianne, Amar hit Bondi Beach despite the weather being somewhat less favourable than glorious sunshine. He was there for New Year also,

“The atmosphere, the 20,000 people at your side, everything. Makes me grin like an idiot just thinking about it again. Yesterday will be with me for the rest of my life. When that bridge lights up it truly is a magical moment. I hope one day that you’ll get to see it for yourself.”

Well, you can see it for yourself thanks to Amar and the power of YouTube.

OK, admittedly not the same, but if it makes you head there next year…

Finally we have Our Little Jaunt who didn’t just celebrate Christmas and New Year in Sydney, it was also their first wedding anniversary. Congratulations!

I think we’re just about up to date. It’s 2010 and we’re looking to expand our community as always, so if you had a superb Christmas break while travelling, or are about to head off to far flung lands let us known via email or Twitter.