Departing Cervantes for the final mobile leg of our journey was a relief although a little bit more dangerous because with a long weekend beginning today hundreds more vehicles are on the roads exiting Perth, one of which came very close to hitting us near Lancelin. Our first stop of today was at the Yanchep National Park, there are a variety of activities here including caves and indigenous displays but we decided to give these a miss. We did however go view some very sleepy Koala and go for two kilometre walk around the lake. Our next stop was the Aquarium of Western Australia at Hillarys Harbour, it was extremely busy and we couldnt find a park for a motorhome so we thought initially that we would miss out. My gps had other ideas and lead ... read more

Today we needed to pickup provisions from Woolworths and use McDonalds' free wifi before setting off on the days activities. Our first stop was the Princess Royal Fortress which commands the main harbor of Albany; the fort was built in 1893 after a pre-federation agreement to share funding by the existing colonies. Britain supplied the armaments and the fort remained combat ready between 1895 until 1956 when all Commonwealth shore defenses became redundant. The site served a variety of purposes over the decades but has since been restored and now houses a first rate memorial to those who once manned the site and/or fought for Australia in the First World War. Albany is important as the first and second waves of troops left here for Egypt and then Gallipoli and the town was the last sight ... read more

Driving out of the Ceduna the last major town in South Australia’s west, I had visions of an endless lifeless plain stretching west to the gold mining town of Norseman. How wrong can a person be, apart from a “short stretch” around Yalata there was an abundance of trees and birdlife, although we saw no animals until we visited Eucla. The South Australian stretch of the Nullarbor rewarded us with sightings of the stunning Wedge tailed eagle and the stunning coastal views at the head of the Great Australian Bite. The views of the cliffs and dunes were superb and the chance to stop for lunch and to stretch our legs was welcome. It was then on to the Nullarbor Roadhouse for a very expensive fuel stop ($2 per litre) before driving two further hours to ... read more

Today I visited the World Heritage listed mosques scattered around the town of Bagerhat, the drive was very scenic and the roads for the most part surprisingly good. Bangladesh is very clean and very green in comparison to India, the roads are almost deserted and pollution is minimal. I visited the Shait Gumbad Mosque built in 1459 and the largest and most magnificent traditional mosque in Bangladesh, the Singair Mosque and the Ronvijoypur Mosque which has the largest dome in the country still none of where a patch on the Mughal architecture of India. It was then on to Khan Jahan’s tomb and the Dargah Mosque which was surrounded by a solid wall and wasn’t very exciting despite the blessing I received from the imam and the pretty nearby lake with the crocodiles. It was then ... read more

We left Aurangabad at 7am and it took seven hours to get to Mumbai not an overly interesting drive but I did see two guys and four goats on a motorcycle and what may have been a dead man on the roadside. The roads here are generally poor and incredibly dangerous, fortunately I have only been in one accident in the two months I have been here and that was a motorbike we hit the other day (not serious). We arrived at our hotel around mid afternoon farewelled our driver and checked into the hotel, I had arranged earlier in the week. Mumbai is a pleasant surprise at least the area where we are staying, it ranks with Udaipur in the pleasant city stakes, and I particularly like the rotting British architecture that surrounds us. We ... read more