PHOTOS!b Chaing Mai is Thailand’s capital of the north and brims with Thainess! Unlike Bangkok’s high rise towers, Chaing Mai is full of market stalls and little book shops. We spent five days here; however 3 of those were spent in the nearby Jungle! As well as hiking through the forest, we stopped by a beautiful waterfall for a very powerful shower. The highlight of the 3 days was definitely the wonderful experience of riding an elephant!! We actually got to sit on her head while she plodded along. We were surprised at how rough and hairy her skin was. These “gentle giants” were so clever and agile, following their masters’ orders as we trekked along narrow and steep tracks. We also Bamboo rafted downstream, which was very fun, particularly when we went through the rapids! ... read more

Our next point of call for Thailand was the south, where we stopped first at Phuket. Downtown Phuket was pretty dingy, the dirty market stalls were surrounded by irritating Tuk Tuk drivers and flies. If anyone has seen the film The Beach, then they may be mildly impressed that we stayed in the Hotel that the “flop house” scene was filmed in. Unfortunately the place had not changed and with its rotting doors and smell of sewage it wasn’t the nicest place we’ve stayed in (although not the worst!!). Kata beach, where we stayed the next day, was a much more pleasant area, although overrun with tourists. We had a relaxing day sunbathing (Bex, not Dom) and swimming in the boiling hot sea. This is one of the areas that was hit hardest by the ... read more

We left yet another dreary day in Cairns for sunny and sticky Singapore. Immediately we were blown away, not by the heat but by the air con! (At time of writing this we both have colds from repeatedly going into and out of air conditioned buildings!). Singapore was ultra modern and densely packed with high rise buildings. Apparently Singaporeans love to eat and shop - this was evident by the sheer quantity of food stalls and shopping precincts. Singapore seems to have a little piece of every Asian culture. We stayed in Little India, which is supposed to be just like downtown Mumbai. (We will let you know if this is true when we come back from India - our next trip!!) We spent our first day browsing the market stalls in Little India and enjoying ... read more

On our second day in Cairns we went on "Safari" into the Rainforest. We visited the Daintree River, taking a cruise downstream where we spotted several crocodiles and a load of tree snakes. We took a walk round the rainforest looking for Cassowaries and learning about the various foliage. We got a little closer to nature during our BBQ lunch, when a Huntsman spider (the biggest in the world - this one only the size of a fist!!) crawled up Dom's leg and towards his head. In his haste to get rid of it he brushed it on to Bex, who luckily didn't realise it had been on her until it was swept off - otherwise there most definitely would have been tears. After lunch we went for a swim in a nearby creek - of ... read more

From Sydney we took a 12 hour bus journey to Seymour, a small town and hour north of Melbourne. We stayed with Faye and Michael (Mick) (Peter and Susan Kerr's brother + sister in law!) on thier "ranch"! We lived like royalty for the 3 days we were with them and were so lucky to have personal chauffers of Seymour (and Melbourne). We crammed so much into a small time. Between fishing with Yabbis (see picture) and Koala and Kangaroo hunting, we ate and DRANK (mick!!) more than we had in a very long time.. After Faye and Mick took us to see the delights of Melbourne, including St Kilda, the Markets and thier hilarious street performers, we decided we prefered Melbourne to Sydney (a big rivalry we gather) - despite the cold! Faye introduced us ... read more