The vague plan that I had for the final phase of my 12 month travel extraveganza was a meandering journey through Indochina. I was not sure how much I'd be able to squeeze in to my fairly short time here, but I've never really subscribed to the hang-around-for-weeks-with-other-backpackers-whilst-claiming-to-be-really-cultural travelling philosophy. The journey began in Bangkok where I rendezvoused with Riikka. We had notions of heading north to Chiang Mai and then crossing into Laos, northern Vietnam, somehow getting to Cambodia, and maybe a little time on a southern Thai island at the end [View Full Entry]

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New Zealand has it all... well nearly. It's got soaring snow-capped mountains, beautiful sandy beaches, green rolling hills, dramatic glaciers, sheep, smoking volcanoes, unique architecture, more sheep, deep fijords and sticky rainforests. And did I mention it has sheep? It has enough rediculously convolluted methods to scare yourself silly by jumping from high things that you could turn yourself into in incontinent jibbering wreck for life within the space of an innocent week-long vacation. Its like a vast adventure playground for grown-ups. What it doesnt have is very many people. Th [View Full Entry]

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A blog cant get more up-to-date than this.... Today I faced my fear of heights and won. I ascended the tallest building in the southern hemisphere and after having a look around, instead of taking the lift down, I decided to go outside and jump. Later on I climbed up again, donned a harness and climbed up the inside of the mast to the 'crows nest', a hundred metres above where most people get to. I never thought I'd get to do either of these things. The idea of clambering around on the top of a tall building, on the wrong [View Full Entry]

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Fiji Time is Any Time... no need for watchs and clocks. The people are probably the friendliest and most chilled-out people in the world. Fiji exceded my expectations. And my budget. After a day in Nadi I found the perfect place to head to for some excellent diving... Robinson Crusoe Island on the Coral Coast. I got stuck right into a PADI open water course and withing a few days I was certified (as a scuba diver, not a nutcase) and hooked. Next I wanted to see some more of Fiji and sample the diving somewhere else. A 3 day sailing [View Full Entry]

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No time to write captions for these, so I'll let you make up your own. If you think of any good ones, let me know... [View Full Entry]

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Someone recommended a 3 day white-water rafting adventure on the Rio Apurimac - apparently one of the top ten rafting rivers in the world, a few hours away from Cusco on a bumpy unsealed road. I foolishly thoughly this would be a great idea, and after a day in Cusco after the Inca Trail I was off for more physical exertion (much more than I expected) and more than my faire share of adrenaline. Class 5 rapids are a scary place to flip your boat and go for a swim. Day one we started of learning the basics and flipped the [View Full Entry]

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This was a while ago now - I started the Inca Trail a few days after my last blog entry, on September 19th, still suffering from the remenants of food poisoning but keen to get on with it. I turned up to the briefing the night before only to be told that we were leaving that night as there were bus strikes planned for the next day (typical South American answer to anything is to have a good old protest), so had to pack very quickly and spent the night sleeping on a football pitch near the trailhead. The first day [View Full Entry]

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I was planning a feature packed few days, leaving La Paz on a high and making my way to Cusco, via the highlights of Lake Titicaca: the much-hyped Isla del Sol in Bolivia and the fascinating Islas Flotantes de Uros on the Peruvian side. Things dont always go to plan though. First, an awesome day of singletrack mountain biking near La Paz was cancelled cos the 3 other participants pulled out ot the last minute. This cloud actually had a silver lining as I didnt know about the cancellation until I turned up at the house in Sopocachi, La Paz. Although [View Full Entry]

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The worlds most dangerous road runs from La Paz to Coroico. It is only 70km long, but in one year 351 people were killed on it. On average 20 vehicles plumit over its shear edge every year. That number probably does not include foolish tourists on mountain bikes. Theres one bend where 9 tourists and 1 guide have met their maker. The road is lined with crosses and monuments to those who have perished. Anyway, having built it up, you'll be delighted to know that I survived. Thats despite the best efforts of mother nature which sent unseasonal rain storms - [View Full Entry]

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Photos from my shinanigans in the Bolivian Amazon. [View Full Entry]

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