Went out to sea on a whale watching trip. We were lucky enough to see 4 sperm whales ... named because when their heads are cut open, the oily substance inside looks like sperm.... read more

Travelled up the coast, past Newcastle, where we met up with old friends Bill & Helen who live at Soldiers Point near Port Stephens. A very enjoyable few days doing very little. We spent a day visiting the Hunter Valley wineries .... there are so many to choose from but we visited (and sampled) ... Lake's Folly Rothbury Tyrells Rosemount Lindmans Brokenwood M'Guigans Di Bortoli Lovedale On the way back to Soldiers Point, we called in to say hello to Kimo, Helen's beautiful horse. ... read more

It is so nice to return to Sydney, Australia. Especially straight from Asia - the immediate reduction in traffic noise - no continuous horn honking, or noise from dodgy old motorbikes with a family of six precariously perched... anyway.... The sights in Sydney are iconic - the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and of course the beachs. Over a few days we visited them all. Took the Manly Ferry from Circular Quay to...where else... Manly. Pleasant walks through the parks and gardens and a bit of pre Christmas shopping. All in all a riot! ... read more

Got the bus from Siem Reap down to Phnon Penh and have been enjoying cheap beers by the river - where the TONLE SAP and MEKONG meet. Visited the royal palace and silver pagoda etc - all very nice... the old market perhaps not so - but still colourful - you can buy fried bugs (look like cockroaches) and peeled frogs if anyone wants to email an order! We also visited the killing fields and the notorius S-21 prison where Pol Pot's victims were tortured before being sentenced to a brutal death...very sobering...... read more

Well its takem 10 years to come here and the temples are really as fantastic as imagined! Hired Kim Leng our "Remorque- Moto" driver for the day for a quick intro of the many temples of Angkor and around. Off we set early in the morning - befire realising that my camera had no batery No problem we could always rely on Emily's. We proceded past the "Mother of all temples" ANGKOR WAT - we would be returning later - straight through the south gate of ANGKOR THOM with its impressive stone heads and gate tower. We climbed up the BAYON temple with its 216 coldly smiling faces in the early morning sun. Pretty impressive we thought... and this was just the start... Rather than describe everything here you really should visit yourself. Highlights include PREAH ... read more