I knew I’d love Laos, even before I got there. I wasn’t disappointed. Quite simply, it’s combination of placid, often cheeky locals, untouched natural beauty and lazy lack of commercialism makes it unforgettable. Pronounced ‘Lao’, but spelt ‘Laos’ owing to a French spelling error - tourism is a very new concept here. Within minutes of arriving in Huay Qai - Laos border town (just a short boat ride across the Mekong from Chiang Khong, Thailand) I receive a marriage proposal. Lan is a good foot shorter than me, has an irritating laugh, terrible jok [View Full Entry]

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Chiang Mai exuded charm and culture, instead of tack. Like the night market stalls selling artwork, jewellery, lanterns and fisherman pants, instead of ugly shopping complexes. Many fellow backpackers were in Chiang Mai to do courses in massage, meditation and cooking. Others were there for the delightfully slow pace, exceptional food, Buddhist influence (more than 300 temples within the old city) and hippy lifestyle. Becs, a friend I’d met doing TEFL in Melbourne, was staying in Chiang Mai - so I went to join her at Spicy Thai Backpackers. A two-storey house, turned boutique backp [View Full Entry]

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The ferry to Penang is all cockroaches, vomit and karaoke - perhaps not an unusual combination for South East Asia?! It's also stinking hot. I'm grateful for my gut of steel and for my blocked nose. I'm even more grateful for my sense of humour! My destination, Penang, the so called 'pearl of the Orient' was first settled by the British back in 1786 and prospered as a major trading hub of the east - attracting many Chinese merchants to the area. When I arrive in Georgetown, Penang's capital, I quickly realize this isn't your garden variety SE Asian Island. There's [View Full Entry]

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Langkawi hosts between 99 and 104 islands - depending on who you talk to and whether the tide is up or down. It's on the west coast of Malaysia, just south of the Thai border. Reminiscent of Thailand - but quieter, lazier and unspoiled by pushy touts peddling 'same same' t-shirts. Pantai Cenang, Langkawi's gorgeous main beach, features a wide strip of beach, with sand like cocaine (ironic in a country where drugs are a guaranteed death penalty) and fabulous palm trees overflowing with coconuts. There's one main road, with a strip of shops, budget hotels and restaurants which spill out [View Full Entry]

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I start my trip in Kuala Lumpur on the back of a dirt cheap Jetstar flight. With the excitement of my leaving drinks and other associated festivities - there'd been no time to even open the guidebook. I arrive in town with a picture of the Petronas twin towers in my head and expectations of a deliciously quaint and seedy Chinatown. It's late evening when I drag my pack onto a couple of trains, then sweat my way across Chinatown to one of the cheapest hostels in the book - $4 a night. Gold. Making out the hostel desk across a [View Full Entry]

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It's been one manic month. Vacating my apartment in Port Melbourne and moving back to the family home in the burbs, travel vacs, training my replacement at work, a market stall to sell my clothes, TEFL course locked and loaded, farewell drinks ... So now I'm off! What's the plan? How long will I be gone? What will I do for money, for work? So many questions... The plan is to backpack SE Asia - Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia ... and Vietnam if I have time. Then I'm off to India (via a visit to my good friends Donna & Scott [View Full Entry]

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New Zealand is a brilliant place. Just like Australia 25 years ago. The kind of place where the trampolines don’t have fences around them, the playgrounds don’t have woodchips at the bottom of slides - basically they haven’t discovered lawsuits yet. Perhaps this is why they get away with the crazy stunts (think AJ Hackett) that make NZ the adventure capital of the world?! The place is green and lush -enough to bring tears to the eyes of us Aussies on stringent water restrictions. But the best thing about New Zealand has got to be the people - some of the [View Full Entry]

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One could be forgiven for thinking Spring Racing was all about the horses! Any Melbournite knows the best time to be in town is for the carnival. Spray tans, hats and stunning head pieces (fascinators to the fashionistas) - it's a milliners heaven. The gardens at Flemington Racecourse are in full bloom and the fashions on the field (where a mere $350,000 is up for grabs!) is held by the heel-sinking green lawns. Three races ... one week. Thankfully the PM sees the importance of this non-stop party week and we're given a public holiday for Melbourne Cup Day. Yep - [View Full Entry]

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Back in Melbourne the jet-lag, dirt and tan have well and truly worn off. Travel or backpacking - whatever you want to call it, was so much more than a holiday. It was more eye-opening, challenging and personally rewarding than I ever expected. A few of you have asked what my highlights and challenges were ... so here goes! Travelling can be hard work. Problems you encounter relate directly to your day to day survival. Certainly having your identity questioned at the Russian border or your coin purse pick pocketed in Barcelona or an enforced riot curfew in Nepal are frustrating, [View Full Entry]

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Los Angeles was the antithesis of my round the world trip. It screamed glitz, frivolity and all things bold and brashy. Brighter bling, faster cars, little yappy dogs toted around in handbags. Two heroin-chick blondes sat under a palm tree holding a handmade sign 'we are two out of work actresses and our rent is due, please help us'. People in the street quite literally looked you up and down - the Hollywood sign looked down on you from hills that are home to the rich and famous. This was not a culture stop; it's fair to say LA was shamelessly [View Full Entry]

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