The train from Beijing used to travel east through the Great Wall at Badaling, where we had been a couple of days ago, but since late 2007 takes a new route north of the city that avoids the steep climbs and switchbacks of the old route. Even so, the new route is spectacular as it winds up through the mountains and valleys of the San Gan river towards Zhangjiakou where the old caravan route between Beijing and Russia crossed the Great Wall. The new rail route parallels the Wall south east, only truly passing through it for the last time after the city of Datong. We are now headed into Chinese Mongolia (Inner Mongolia) and the early reaches of the Gobi desert. The population is only about 15% mongolian these days as the Chinese government has ... read more

When we arrived in Hong Kong the pollution blown down from China made it almost impossible to see more than a few hundred metres. On day we left, the threatening typhoon blew the pollution away and we were able to see the hills and harbour at last - but only briefly. It also blew in heavy rain and strong winds and, as the train to Guangzhou crossed into China, we were pleased to be leaving. The night before, we met our three travelling companions for the journey: David, an ex-geologist and current teacher living in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, a seasoned traveller with many countries under his belt; Michael, American-Irish and pretending to be a leprechaun with goatee beard, longish grey hair and carrying a big stick - also a seasoned traveller who has ... read more

Didn't mean to raise a blog for this but have had a few phone calls from concerned people. The Central Coast and Newcastle were declared a disaster zone following a cyclone which passed through the area on Friday and Saturday. Several people have died and many places have been flooded. Sylvia and I are both well. We were in Sydney when the cyclone struck. Our house has some minor damage but is essentially whole. An awning was blown off but otherwise we are unaffected. Thanks for your concern. ... read more

Travelling north from Longreach, we are moving into Waltzing Matilda country. The unofficial Australian national anthem, this song has been heard around the world, yet few people are aware that it is based on actual events. Winton (pop. 1140) is the next main town on the road north and claims to be the place where Waltzing Matilda was written although there is some doubt about this (see below). It is also the town where Qantas opened its first office, despite Longreach's claim to be the home of Qantas. Even though the Waltzing Matilda Centre in the main street offered audio-visual displays and an art gallery, we thought it was overpriced so had a cup of coffee and left without going in. We had also heard some bad stories about the town caravan park so decided to ... read more

The road to Dalby from Murwillumbah is standard expressway for most of the distance. Only after Toowoomba does it start to get interesting. The early part of the journey goes via the Gold Coast, a much over-rated tourist region of high-rise hotels and enormous houses on artificial canals created by real estate developers in order to separate Victorian retirees from their money (for the geographically challenged, Victoria is a southern state of Australia). Shortly before reaching Brisbane, the road west turns off from the main highway and starts to meander its way across the Brisbane basin towards the Darling Downs. As British people know, all true Downs are really up. Toowoomba, at the edge of the Darling Downs, is 400 metres straight up from the Lockyer Valley. It is the last major town before the road ... read more