Byron Bay We left Surfer´s Paradise behind, in the hope that we could also leave the constant rain behind. However, arriving in Byron Bay late at night, we were resigned to the torrential rain bouncing off the pavements. Following an argument between me and the guy on reception at the hostel (I don´t understand why they need to keep passports overnight the first night, to simply jot down the information and hand them back the following morning. So there.) we were shown to our room which had a terrifying spider dangling from the window. Fortunately on the other side of the glass. My passport-stealing, aging-hippy friend on reception and his friend relished advising us that the rain was here to stay and that we wouldn´t see a glimmer of sunshine for at least a week. We ... read more

The heading is particularly appropriate, considering the recent disasters befalling the northern and southern parts of Australia. It seems bizarre that some Australians were up to their necks in floodwater, while at the same time others were frantically attempting to escape the bushfires. Fortunately we left Victoria a few days before the fires broke out. As we left, the temperature had creeped up to 44 degrees and the wind was rising fairly dramatically. It´s easy to see how quickly a fire could spread in those conditions. Unfortunately for us, we flew from Victoria to Cairns in Northern Queensland, only to arrive in the middle of a cyclone scare. That's another story though - this entry is on my trips with Wilma to the "Red Centre" and to the Great Ocean Road. The heading really relates to ... read more

I realise the heading is a bit melodramatic, but it's pretty much the truth. Unfortunately for people feeling obliged to read this entry I'm over the speechlessness and now able to ramble on for what will probably be far too long. Also, I don't know why but I've uploaded an obscene amount of photographs. So. I left off the last time in Vietnam, with Ross having headed for Australia (apparently via a night involving Singapore Slings in Raffles Hotel in Singapore - how nice for some). Anyway, people can't seem to steer clear of Robin Williams as soon as they hear the word "Vietnam". From incessant emails to text messages from my mother quoting one-liners, I was inundated. Ironically I haven't actually seen the film. I probably don't need to. I stayed in Saigon (apparently nobody ... read more

Even though we had to get up at the unearthly hour of 3am to catch our flight from Mumbai to Hong Kong, I was so relieved to be leaving for somewhere we could walk down the street without being harrassed or horrified that I was almost upbeat. It was Ross' 28th birthday, meaning he was more than just upbeat, he was positively excited. At 3am. The flight was uneventful, other than me surreptitiously taking photos out the plane window. Is this allowed? I've never seen anyone do it before. I was slightly paranoid my camera would somehow interfere with the workings of the plane and we would end up doing an emergency landing in whatever sea surrounds Hong Kong (I had hoped my geography would improve but apparently not). Anyway, I took a couple of photos ... read more

So we are still in India one month on. It's been an interesting month. For those of you who haven't been bored with the story by email, I was in an accident (sounds very dramatic) not long after I published the last blog. I can make the accident sound glamorous or boring - I'll opt for the latter but feel free to throw in some adjectives of your own. Anyway, I was basically stepping out the back of a car, the driver inexplicably (or perhaps explicably (is that even a word?) given he's an 18 year old local) took off and I fell onto the road, injuring my knee. I could be graphic about the injury but you might be squeamish so I won't. Suffice to say, I needed staples and a second opinion (the first ... read more