Ben and Fi

Fi wasn’t happy about being forced to get up at 8am on the part of the holiday that was supposed to be all about relaxing, but we had a boat to catch! We wolfed down some breakfast and wandered down to the beach, where the Lady Sarojin was bobbing gently at the end of a jetty. There were twelve of us all heading out for a day of snorkelling in the waters of the Similin Islands. The boat powered away from the shore, heading for the islands. Fi did her normal thing of falling asleep as soon as it started moving. Then the engine coughed, spluttered and died. The crew got out their toolkits and a large hammer and started poking around the engine. After half an hour it was looking like we were going to ... read more

Felt a bit hazy this morning, maybe slightly too much wine last night. To recover we went up to the pool on the roof and sunbathed for a few hours. Then it was time to pack and head off for the airport - next stop Bangkok! The flight was uneventful, Fi spent most of the flight watching crazy Japanese game shows. I think it was called Beautiful cooking and it was a bizarre mix of Blind Date and Ready, Steady, Cook. After out little transport adventure in Hong Kong we were glad to see someone holding a sign with our name on. One thing about the hotel we stayed in - it was tall, real tall. Our room was on the 53rd floor and had a great view of the river. We got changed and went ... read more

Yet another early start for us this morning, as we had to rush back to Sydney to catch the plane to Hong Kong. The hotel had made us a packed breakfast, which was huge - everything from freshly made tea and bacon rolls to fruit salad and pastries. You could have found a grassy hill and fed 5000 with it. The traffic getting into Sydney was terrible, as there was a jack-knifed truck that had closed the motorway. So we ended up crawling our way through Botany, glancing nervously at the clock. We made it with little time to spare and hopped on the flight. The eight hour flight flew by thanks to the excellent entertainment system that Qantas have. You can watch any film or programme on demand. The only bad part of the flight ... read more

Got a nasty surprised this morning as we were getting ready. Fi was in the shower (that’s not the nasty surprise) when I saw a huge brown spider crawling down the wall towards her. I did what any Brit would do when his lady was in peril (no, not run away screaming - though the thought did occur), I grabbed a glass and piece of paper and snared the beast. We left the Hunter Valley and headed off towards the Blue Mountains. As we were leaving, it occurred to me how different the Hunter looks to the other wine regions we’ve visited. For example, in the Napa or in Marlborough, almost every piece of good soil is covered in vines. But in the Hunter, the vines are in the minority and are sometimes hard to spot ... read more

We had a lie-in this morning before getting up and going for lunch in the Rocks at an Italian. Then we had a wander through Circular Quay and the Botanical Gardens. The weather is superb, 30c and sunny. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and get ready for a night out at Aria, which overlooks the harbour bridge and opera house. We wandered down to the opera house intending to get some drinks at Bennelong (a bar / restaurant in the smallest of the opera house’s sails), but we were disappointed to find that it was closed for a private party. So instead we went to the opera house bar, which is outdoors and looks out towards the bridge. It was a warm and sultry evening and the bar was packed. We grabbed ... read more