So here I am, back home, almost 4 months since my last blog. I was worried about coming home after so long away. I already knew how it felt after being away for 19 months on a previous trip. Losing the freedom and excitement of travel and replacing it with the mundane, the routine and lots of pitying ‘welcome back to the real world’ comments is not an easy experience. Add to this the fact that the ‘real world’ is in Recession (definitely a capital ‘r’) and doesn’t tend to allow for much hammock-time, and the picture is looking rather grim. [View Full Entry]

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We're heading home tomorrow, 664 days after we left the UK. We spent one year teaching English in Korea and a further 9 months travelling through 15 countries on three continents. Our route took us from England - Thailand - Hong Kong - South Korea - Japan - South Korea - China - Vietnam - Laos - Thailand - Peninsula Malaysia and Sabah - Thailand - New Zealand - Chile - Peru - Bolivia - Brazil - Argentina - Paraguay - Argentina - Uruguay - Argentina - England Nothing was planned further than South Korea and we bought tickets as we [View Full Entry]

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We thought we'd take a few days out of Buenos Aires to go and see neighbouring Uruguay just across the river. We booked the slow boat to cross from B.A. to Colonia del Sacramento. Normally taking a slow boat means cheaper, older and generally a bit shoddy. This slow boat however was what appeared to be a brand new ferry complete with shops, a cafe, an outside cocktail bar and plenty of space to sunbathe. I dozed in the comfortable reclining chairs and was awoken by the sound of a deep voice engaging in some fancy singing. I went to investigate [View Full Entry]

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So to continue with our Iguazu falls experience....we checked into the Hotel Inn in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina, lorded in backpacker circles as being the best hostel in all the land, we were excited to discover that it was indeed rather posh. The hostel is a converted casino with a huuuuge pool and a poolside bar providing a rare bit of luxury in our impoverished backpacker existence (ok so I don't expect too much sympathy). Our days entailed lazing around the pool and occasionally wandering over to the pool bar for an icy cold Quilmes or a cocktail. We did manage to [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Brazil on 'el tren de la muerte' (the death train). The guidebook had warned us to expect a journey from hell with long delays in mosquito ridden swampy areas, uncomfortable seats and an aisle crammed with contraband. There are many theories about how the train got its name. A common one is that it was named after the numerous deaths of passengers who decided to sit on the roof because the carriage was overflowing with contraband, people fell asleep and slipped off, or were flung from their perch when the train derailed (which happened quite frequently). After all [View Full Entry]

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We arrived into Copacabana, a Bolivian pilgrimage town on the edge of Lake Titicaca. Twice a day and especially at weekends the central plaza fills up with vehicles for the Blessing of Automobiles. The cars, buses and trucks are generally new or about to undertake a long and hazardous journey (not that there's any other kind in Bolivia). The vehicles line up outside the church, decked out in garlands, ribbons and bows and a priest blesses one vehicle at a time, splashing holy water on it, covering it with white rose petals and reciting blessings. Then the car owner goes [View Full Entry]

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We clacked and clanged our way across the Peruvian border on an ancient one-carriage train. We set off from Arica (Chile) clearing immigration at the tiny station and arrived into Tacna (Peru) where the train proceeded through the center of town behaving more like a bus than a train, navigating a roundabout and braking for a truck that wasn't planning on stopping. The train seemed ill-equipped to have 'international' status and that's because it was. It only became international by chance, when Chile claimed Arica and all of a sudden that little train was a big deal. The new responsibility [View Full Entry]

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At 2p.m. we were having lunch in Auckland and riding the subway in Santiago. We suffered the consequences of jumping back in time (17 hours) and felt exhausted and wide awake at all the wrong times. It seems that there are few South American cities that are deemed a good place to start your travels on the continent and Santiago is classed among them due to it being relatively safe and developed. Unfortunately it´s also pretty boring place to start. There isn't a great deal to do in Santiago but we spent two days in the city addressing the jet lag [View Full Entry]

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It is a well known fact that backpackers in New Zealand are expected to do some truly terrifying things during their stay. So with a very short time in New Zealand we got straight in there and found an activity that is possible on even the shortest of timeframes. Our decision to go sky-diving over the Bay of Islands was made even easier because of a promotional rate making it the cheapest place in the country (NZ$199). When in NZ the combination of an adrenalin sport and a discounted price means you have no option if your have any self-respect. I've [View Full Entry]

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The biggest hassle I encountered on the Thai-Malay border was the frequent offer of cake. We walked across at Sungai Kolok and found the usual assortment of over-eager taxi drivers and an unusual Malaysian cake / sweet stand. The cake-stand man gave us the impartial kind of advice that the taxi drivers wouldn't; the location of an ATM and how to get a bus to Kota Bharu. We were with a Swiss guy called Patrick at this point and he and Paul went off in search of the ATM while I stayed with the bags. Cake-stand man (let's call him Edmund, [View Full Entry]

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