We couldn't really say we had visited Australia without indulging in the ancient Anglo-Australian art of imposing on distant relatives. Gill and Bob fullfilled their role admirably. After much thought and discussion we decided that Gill was Kim's second cousin. But only after a bottle of wine or two. The meeting had been suggested by Charles, Kim's Grandfather, who at the age of 95 has recently picked up email and the internet and is following our progress via this blog. Thanks to the introduction of Richard Branson into the Australian market internal flights are now very affordable - last time I bussed the whole way round. I shudder when I think how many thousands of miles that was. We had looked at bus or train from Cairns to Brisbane but a check on the map told ... read more

Apologies if the nonsense to photo ratio goes to DEFCON III in this article - I just couldn't be bothered lugging my camera around Singapore. Lots of lovely photos of Bali and Lombok coming in the next report, plus the odd briny tale of adventure and derring do. To my recollection, which is not always the best, the only time I have been served a pint of foaming ale by a completely stark naked barman was in the Tumbledown Dick, Farnborough, Hampshire. I had just left college and was sharing a flat with two other young men of (fairly) like mind, in a splendid mansion-like property slap bang in the heart of middle-class, middle-management commuterdom. Our large property was divided into four separate flats, with a grand drive, allocated parking spaces and leafy gardens. Although we ... read more

It was a brave man who once said "Aaaaz fray Wukintun". Thankfully, after more than eight years, he remembered me, and was equally brave to invite us to stay with him in Hong Kong. At first, "Whamsey", or in his new cosmopolitan Hong Kong playboy incarnation, "Holmsey", apologised for his flat, saying we would have to sleep on the futon in the small living room, space being at a premium in HK. To make matters worse, he is an IT night owl whilst his flatmate is an early rising fitness guru. What ensued was a high octane ninety-six hours which left us both bruised, battered and desperate for sleep, with our host apologising "We're not normally like this in HK." Our train from Guilin to Shenzhen on the HK border was perhaps the best in China ... read more

Unrest in the Southwest - foaming torrents and gurgling stomachs in Yunnan Provence. As ever we left Chengdu by overnight train, arriving early in the morning in Panzhihua, close to the Sichuan/Yunnan border. Overnight we had passed through some high mountains, with Kim's popping ears keeping her awake much of the night. We were swiftly bundled onto a dishevelled old bus ready for the tortuous eight hour trip up through the mountains to Lijiang. But first, of course, there were the usual formalities - a ten kilometre journey, which due to roadworks in this narrow and steep-sided section of the Yangzi River valley took nearly an hour. Then everyone piled off the bus (remember the "Chinese Fire Alarm" anyone?) at the bus station to buy tickets. Due to our "most favoured idiot" status some chap took ... read more

Jung Chang, in her 2003 introduction to "Wild Swans" makes the following observations about her visits to modern day China - "Exhaltation and excitement are exhausting. So are exasperation and outrage, which dog my every step here." Well, on a slightly less dramatic level, we know how she feels. In the interests of anyone reading this, I'll save my winge to the end. Our overnight loogie express from Beijing deposited us surprisingly refreshed in Xian, although without a Pacsafe cuddling my camera gear for the night I wouldn't have slept a wink. I've always scoffed at them but given the layout of a Chinese hard sleeper it was essential. We got picked up at the station along with several others, and by 9.00am we had ganged together to charter a minivan to the Terracotta warriors. ... read more