Another long one i'm afraid - you might want to make yourself a cup of tea, or read in two sittings, hehe. Everyone's heard of the book 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', but I propose a new book 'Zen and the Art of How to Maintain a Stable Heartbeat on a Motorcycle'. I'm referring here to a few trips I've taken this past week, involving me, a motorcycle and the flashing of my life. When faced with sitting on the back of one that's travelling at 70kph, with no protection, on a track that's pretty much nothing more than [View Full Entry]

---

---

It seems you've been getting a few emails from me lately - sorry about that! A website flaw it seems. Final 'photo catchup' this time. A few more photos, this time for my days down on Bohol and Bantayan Islands. Once again, enjoy. Keep enjoying yourselves, Simon x [View Full Entry]

---

---

Thought I'd upload some Philippines photos - these are just 'a few' from my first 10 days or so, in Manila and the Cordillera Mountains. Enjoy x [View Full Entry]

---

---

It's been a busy few days with lots to take in, bouncing around like Tigger, often literally thanks to the bumpy roads. Much of this blog has been a bit rushedly (is that a word?) written, so it's not the best. Oh - and I should warn you now, this is not a completely happy blog. Welcome to Cambodia, a country impossible to describe in a few words of this blog with an intense history dating back millennia. Coming straight to Siam Reap from the border, my first impression of this is the vast array of temples of Angkor, built over [View Full Entry]

---

---

Now that photos are working again, this is just a few photos from the 2 weeks spent in Sabah a while back (and can u spot the 2 out of place ones?) Enjoy. x [View Full Entry]

---

---

Heyho! Thought I'd treat you to a small entry this time to make up for the last few Bible-like epics! Oh and yes, photos are back!!! Bought myself a handy little chip USB reader, so will sort out a couple of photos blogs of best-ofs soon. First I'd like to announce some really sad news though. Absolutely tragic, I cried for ages. I missed the Bamboo Organ Festival by a few days. I know, I was gutted too! But fear not, I went anyway, and some lady there rushed few a couple of pieces for me. Although it looked quite smart, [View Full Entry]

---

---

These last couple of weeks have been a mixture of the rushed and relaxed. To start at the beginning, which you have doubtless realised rarely happens in my blogs, arriving in Cebu, I gave myself a similar challenge to Manila of getting to my hostel in Cebu City without the use of a taxi. Naturally, arriving during a monsoonal downpour gave me second thoughts, but they both passed quickly, and so first I went in search of a tricycle to Lapu-Lapu City, though I am at a loss to the use of the word 'city' here. It was more of a [View Full Entry]

---

---

This last week has pretty much been a brief, round trip of North Luzon, with the eventual destination of the famous Batad Rice Terraces. However, the adventure on this trip has definitely been in the journey as much as the final destination. Some of the individual jaunts have been epic to say the least, making Batad feel that slightly bit more special. Jaunt 1: Starting smooth was an overnight bus trip to Baguio, arriving at the awkward hour of 3am and hanging around in an internet cafe waiting for it to get light. I managed to knab a 2-seater to myself, [View Full Entry]

---

---

Before I start, Afsan, one of my fellow Mount Kinabalu climbers has also added some really great photos, so feel free to take a look, especially of the one of me completely wrapped in warm clothing on the summit. http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=y3whyk9.14lf6kah&Uy=mjlfr7&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Ux=0 I always seem to have trouble with buses and airports. In Belize, I got on a bus passing the airport junction and was told "next junction." "Airport?" "Yes, yes, next junction." Then on arrival at said junction - "Airport?" "Ah, you want airport. Last jun [View Full Entry]

---

---

(sorry folks, it's my longest blog yet, as it's been a busy couple of weeks - once again, you have been warned - enjoy.) I have often mentioned in passing to people that I will be visiting Borneo, and the reply is usually "Ah, cool, that's great, right yeh...........where?". Relative to other destinations, Borneo is less well known or is seen as this mysterious land, but sadly or not (an argument not worth getting into here), is slowly being 'discovered' by the backpacking community as a stunningly beautiful and diverse region. The northern part of the island, formerly known as Malaysian [View Full Entry]

---

---