After a 14 hour bus journey from Sydney I arrived in Melbourne exhausted. I slept for the first day before climbing out of bed to re-explore my favourite city in Australia. The city has changed a lot with a massive economic boom causing lots of new shops and businesses to pop up all over the place. The docklands have now developed into flash apartments and offices while the city has become so clean and a pleasure to explore. Luckily the free circular tram is still running, so I spent my first day running around all the famous sights of Melbourne. I [View Full Entry]

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I have just spent the last few days backpacking around Kanchanaburi and Ayutia which is in central Thailand. My first stop was the old capital of Thailand known as Ayutia. I spent the day wondering around the old ruins which are very similar but on a smaller scale to Angkor Watt in Cambodia. I climbed around the ruins with a few other travellers I met along the way. We visited one of the largest leaning Buddha in the world and got lost a few times around the city. We visited multiple temples which are dotted all over the place. I found [View Full Entry]

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I've just been riding around the roads of Koh Tao on a Quad Bike while taking in the spectacular views of the island. Koh Tao has developed considerably since my last stay way back in 2002, but it still remains one of my favourite islands in Thailand. Even though the main strip now has five star accommodation the Thai people seem to have neglected road maintenance. I assume its because they make so much money from insurance companies following the daily motorbike accidents that it would not be in their best interests to eliminate such a profit making scheme. Everywhere you [View Full Entry]

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On the eve of the full moon party you can almost feel the anticipation building up to the largest party in South East Asia. The islands vibe begins to change into full on party mode and everyone begins gearing up for a night of insanity along the beautiful beach of Haad Rin. Yes its the world renowned but over hyped Full Moon Party. Its 20 hours of mayhem fuelled by drugs, fire, music, sex and alcohol. But more importantly its a night most people never remember, or purposely choose to forget! We arrived on the party boat from Koh Tao allowing [View Full Entry]

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I have finally arrived in the party capital of Thailand - Haad Rin beach. Its on the run up to the world famous Full Moon Party and the vibe is getting stronger as each day passes. It is a completely mental place with different parties kicking off every night. I don't think I have ever drank so much in my Life. I have been on buckets of Vodka Redbull for only 100THB. No wonder everyone is in such a state... but then again it could be the mushies they seem to slip into the shakes or the dodgy amphetamines dropped into [View Full Entry]

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After an entertaining night out in Hong Kong while miserably losing at a pub quiz and getting a random drunk bloke arrested and fined for smoking in a non-smoking bar, we decided to leave China and head for the beautiful beaches of chilled out Thailand. It is now my 6th visit to Thailand, and I still love the country as much as the first time. Lots of things have changed in the name of progress, but Khao San Road is just as mental as I remember. Flying around Bangkok in a turbo charged Tuk Tuk is always a hair raising experience, [View Full Entry]

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After a 14 hour Bus - Boat - Rickshaw - Longtail journey we have finally arrived on the secluded Bottle Beach Resort on Koh Phangan. Its really nice to be back on this beautiful little backpacker beach resort with the slowest pace of life imaginable. When I first arrived here there was only a handful of hippy type backpackers. I have the nicest little beach hut, its very basic but I don't need much else :-) I can't believe how easy it has become to travel around Thailand. When I bought the journey from Bangkok to Koh Phangan I really didn't [View Full Entry]

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Well, it all started when I decided to join a tour group to go and see the most touristy route on the Great Wall of China (Badaling). It was my last day in Beijing and Glyn had managed to get an earlier train for the 24 hour trip back to Shenzhen, leaving me with a day to kill before catching my train that evening. Our visas were due to run out the day after, so it was imperative we were out of the country and back into Hong Kong the following day. I don't usually do official tour packages when backpacking, [View Full Entry]

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Over the last few days we have had a fantastic time in and around Beijing. We independently made our way to one of the best parts of the Great Wall Of China in Samatai. I can't believe it is actually 2 hours out of the centre of Beijing by bus. Even then we had to get a taxi from the local town to the wall. The size of the wall is amazing, and Samatai remains relatively remote from the tourist boom, although you need some good hiking boots because its one hell of a long walk over broken parts of the [View Full Entry]

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Guoliangcun was another one of those small towns that was incredibly difficult to find. We left Shaolin in the early hours and got on a local bus to Luoyang and then made our way to the long distance bus station in Dengfang. At first we struggled to find the long distance bus station, because everyone kept pointing us in different directions. I got the feeling they didn't have a clue what we were asking and they just wanted to get rid of us. Occasionally we would approach people for directions that would give us a confused look and then proceed to [View Full Entry]

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