Dom n Joms Big Trip

Mzungu is the Swahili word for "white person" which East African urchins joyfully shout whenever they catch sight of a western traveller, hence I've felt like a minor celebrity ever since setting foot in the "Pearl of Africa", Winston Churchill's moniker for Uganda. Uganda is just how I'd invisaged 'Africa' since childhood: lush green vegetation everywhere, brown roads that disintegrate into quagmires after torrential downpours, people carrying a multitude of goods on their heads (no hands) and big toothy grins on the locals' faces. Ugandans and Rwandans are perhaps the friendliest people I've met in the last year - very refreshing after entountering swindlers at every street corner in Egypt - and distinctly polite in the pestering stakes; they tend to go about their business and leave you in peace, no hard sales techniques here.... After ... read more

So, after two weeks of R & R in Glasgow and London it was time to get back to the 'real world' of global travel and become reacquainted with smelly Delhi. I was last here nearly 10 years ago, but very little has changed in Pahar Ganj - the de facto traveller ghetto - although the begging lepers have moved to another colony (something to do with police and big sticks me thinks) and there are slightly more services for tourists. The main bazaar is still a total shambles with cows wandering in and out of the traffic chaos whilst dropping their guts and sniffing piles of rubble. Still, I don't really blame them, they must be nervous wrecks after listening to the incessant blaring of horns all day, enough to liquefy anyone's bowels; I'd ... read more

Western Australia (WA) was an itch that we just had to scratch - I'd spent some time in Perth back in 1999 and we'd both stayed in Darwin during our trip to Ozland ten years ago - but we'd never 'joined the dots'....so it was time to pop back to the antipodes for the roadtrip of a lifetime. Unfortunately this means we've had to jetison Japan from the Big Trip - a tough decision - but it was just tooo expensive to get there, whilst you can now catch a cheap flight to Australia from Singapore, so it was time to sample western culture for the first time in seven months.... It was strange immersing ourselves in such a big backpacker scene - catering for gap-year kids is a huge industry down under - but ... read more

The Philippines certainly packs a punch when it comes to natural wonders: spectacular beaches, beautiful mountains, awesome volcanos, stunning lakes, superb diving and colourful aquatic life - d'you see that whale shark to your right?? - so we didn't need much arm-twisting to persuade us to linger for over five weeks (our longest stay in any country so far) and sample the local delights.... The Philippines is a vast archipelago (7,107 islands) probably most famous (to us) for it's girlie bars, political corruption and Filipino nurses who prop up the NHS. Over 90% of the population are Christian (82% Roman Catholic) and the majority of people speak English. A former Spanish colony (since 1565), the USA bought the islands from the Spanish (after defeating them in war) for $20 million, then granted independence in 1935. ... read more

Here's a selection of bonus snaps courtesy of Jac, enjoy........ read more