Day 224 and I had a very lazy start to the day. I was up by 11ish and Helen who had got up earlier told me that loads of people had gone fishing. I wasn't to bothered about this and as the sun wasn't out decided to sort out some photos and write some of my blog. The rest of the guys got back late from fishing and we then had lunch which was some Greek lasagne style dish. After lunch we all went to lie on the beach even though it was cloudy. It was our last full day on Robinson Crusoe so we didn't plan on doing anything strenuous. Helen had her free 15 minute massage in the afternoon and about 5ish we all got showered and ready to welcome our last night cruise. Just as we sat down at the tables before dinner, this guy we had got to know Aaron, who is a pro photographer, asked us to all do piggy back races and build a human pyramid and he would take some photos. It was all good fun but we all got hot and sweaty, and sand all over us as were falling over in the sand. Dinner was a Roast dinner as with all night cruises and we all stuffed ourselves silly. We watched our final night show and the fire spinning was excellent. After dinner we played some cards and had a few drinks before heading to bed.


Day 225 and I knew as I woke at 9ish that today would be the longest Thursday ever. At 9am we saw Charlie and Kat off but we would see them later on. The sun was out so I spent an hour or so catching the last few Fiji rays and getting really hot. After showering and checking out, we left the island at 1130 on the boat and said bye to all the cool staff we had met. The boat took about half an hour and then we got a bus to Nadi which took about an hour. On the journey one of the tyres burst so we had to drive the last few miles really slowly. When back at Smugglers Cove we went next door to Horizon Backpackers for the awesome $10 burger and chips. After using some free Internet we went out to the beach behind Smugglers and lay in the sun even more. I then had a shower in the hostel for free but this is when things went downhill. At some point from having a shower, and going to the toilet, and changing out of board shorts I managed to lose my wallet. I couldn't believe it. I asked security, searched all the areas I had been and asked at reception but no one had seen it. I was pretty annoyed as we only had 14 days left of our travels and I had lost my wallet with bank card and drivers license as well. I was still annoyed at 630 when we got a taxi to the airport for our flight to LA. It was well busy at the airport and it took us about an hour to check in. Our flight left at 10pm and instantly I was disappointed with the flight. The movies were rubbish and didn't work, and the food was very poor. I also had a massive fat guy just in front of me and he would constantly stand next to us as we were near the toilets and cough really loudly. After watching Marley and Me, there was nothing else to watch, and reading for hours we arrived in LA at 130pm local time. So we had gone back in time 9 hours since leaving Fiji. In the terminal we instantly saw police with guns and guards shouting at everyone. After a good hour or so going through customs we got into a shuttle bus to our hostel in West Hollywood. It took a while to get used to seeing cars on the right of the road. There were so many 4x4's and massive trucks. Our hostel was very spacious and nice for only $25 a night. We spent all afternoon doing washing, relaxing and using the free Internet. For dinner we had a $5 meal the hostel puts on. Burns and I watched some NBA while Laura and Luke went to sleep. Helen and Burns went to bed next and I stayed up calling home and doing my blog.


Day 226 and we were up and ready to head out Venice beach for the day. The hostel provides a free breakfast during the morning so we all had lots of toast and cereal. The lady who runs the breakfast offered me 4 bits of toast. I only took 2. We got 2 buses to Venice beach which took us about an hour and a half. There were so many weirdos on the bus and on the streets, but not as many fat people as I had expected to see. Helen was also having a moan about the fact that nowhere would give out change. She had $20 and $10 notes and was desperate to get some change for the bus but no shop or hostel would give her any. Once at Venice beach we went and lay on the beach and it was roasting. It wasn't as hot as Fiji but I was still burning up. There were cops everywhere, and there were also a lot of strange people and street performers. We would also find out that the Venice Beach strip area is known as the Freak Show. I got burnt in the sun as we didn't realise how strong the sun was. There were also some really annoying and stereotypically stupid Americans. They were loud, arrogant, rude and just generally annoying. After short wander up and down the strip we got the bus back about 530ish. About 8 we headed out for some food and ended up at an Argentinean Grill called LaLa's. We ordered 3 different beers and us lads tried the 3 varieties. We agreed that the Bolivian Beer was the best. The waiters were constantly bringing up baskets of bread and we got worried that we would be charged for them. Burns had to politely ask whether the bread was 'complimentary' or not. It was. Also, the girls managed to get soft drinks with free refills. The portions of food were huge and Helen couldn't finish her steak and chips, so Burns finished it for her. Back at our hostel we bumped into Jamie and Dave from Fiji and also had some free beer. After the free beer was empty we walked down the street and met Charlie and her sister at their hotel. We watched TV and read girly magazines. Luke was disappointed with the girls as they didn't have Girlfriend magazine. We left and were in bed by 1ish.


Day 227 and we were all up by 9ish for our tour of LA and Hollywood. Our guide was called Jeffery and he drove 12 of us around in a big van. We drove down Melrose Avenue and saw some restaurants that were bought and owned by Marlon Brando, and also Frank Sinatra. There was an American diner which we were told Tom Cruise used to hang out at before he got to famous. We reached the walk of fame and went up and down the pavements trying to recognise the names. Most of them were Americans we have never heard of but there were the odd classics we knew (Kenny Loggins, Tony Curtis, Morgan Freeman, Michael J Fox etc). I made Helen get a photo of her with Bruce Willis, as she really likes him, and Celine Dion as she really likes her music. After the walk of fame we went up into the Hollywood Hills were we saw the Hollywood sign. We then drove towards Beverley Hills and sunset strip. On the way we saw the chicken shop which Brad Pitt used to work for by dressing up as a chicken, and the intersection were Hugh Grant famously got arrested. Jeffery was constantly telling us which bars and clubs were the hangout spots for the stars. We saw some the homes of The Osbournes, Lauren from the Hills, Dr Phil, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Tom Hanks, Nicholas Cage, and the Playboy Mansion. We had lunch at Venice beach and Jeffery told us all about the Freak Show and its strange goings on. At one point when we were walking along eating our food a crazy loooking guy with a quilt and some crazy clothes was skating around on roller blades playting an electric guitar. He was really good and skated next to me and played an entire song. He then asked "A chip for the song?". Well thats what I thought he said, so I offered him a chip. Apparently he said "Tip for the song?". I then realised why he looked so annoyed when I offered him a chip and he just skated off. After the beach, we went to Rodeo Drive, the famous shopping district. We didn't see any celebs, but some people in our group saw Arnold Schwarzenneger getting out of his car. Us lads bought Ice Cream just so we could say we bought something on Rodeo Drive. Back at the hostel we got ready for dinner and went out with Charlie and her sister Liz. We had dinner in Frankies, the restaurant bought and owned by Frank Sinatra. The host, Frankie, was very friendly and got us a table for 7. The bread was free so we had loads, and we all had soft drinks as we could get as many as we wanted. The waiters would constantly come round and refill them without us having to ask. The portions of food were massive. Helen for the second night running couldn't finish her meal so she got a doggy bag. I had to do the same as the pasta and chicken I got could have fed 3 people. It took us 10 minutes to count all our pennies and pay the bill.