Monkeys Abroad

As I mentioned in the last update, we flew from Ecuador to Panama on 26 May 2009 on our penultimate flight of the trip. Leaving Ecuador marked the end of our South American leg and as our passports were scrutinised by customs officials at the airport, it also became the most difficult Country to leave! I can’t imagine who the customs staff thought we were as we just had our scruffy back packs and looked like typical “gringos” on holiday but as they tried in earnest to peel our passport pictures away from the paper backing, all we could was stand back and watch in horror! After a lengthy delay in customs we just reached the boarding gate in time when Deep was told by the air stewardess that he should step to one side as ... read more

The lofty latitude of Bolivia makes it the highest and most rugged of all South American counties. Landlocked between Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Peru, Bolivia has some of the most extreme weather conditions around. Warm, dusty days to cold windy nights mean that travellers to Bolivia have to come prepared for anything. Due to the altitude of this amazing country, the weather can change very dramatically so whilst t-shirts are good for the sunshine, in the shade you need at least another layer, a fleece and a scarf. We arrived in to Bolivia on 1 April after having travelled from the Argentinean boarder town of La Quilcha to the Bolivian town of Villazon. The difference between the two countries was immediately recognisable as we crossed through immigration control. Everything looked different within just 20 metres ... read more

Hola! Well, we are now in South America after having arrived safely in to Chile from Auckland. We flew in to Santiago, the capital city, a thriving hub of unexpectedly western living and culture. We have just finished in Chile after spending 3 weeks there and in all honesty, we have been continuously surprised by the level of development and progression both economically and socially. Santiago for example is a vibrant metropolis that offers tourists a huge variety of attractions and services. With free “wifi” spots in chic coffee houses, a clean and efficient metro service and an important financial hub you could be excused of mistaking Santiago as a modern European city. On the contrary, walk 500 metres away from the contemporary buildings in the financial centre and to the cobblestone streets which surround architecture ... read more

G’day everyone! We’re now officially “down under” and have just finished travelling down the east coast of Australia from Cairns to Melbourne. We started in Cairns on the northern side of the east coast back on 10 December. Our flight from Singapore arrived at about 8am local time and after collecting our luggage, we were both surprised to be stepping out of the airport into temperatures of 32oc! We had arranged a local hostel to pick us up from the airport so the transfer was relatively painless and only took 15 minutes door to door. Unfortunately, when we checked in to the room, we discovered it was infested with cockroaches! As they are my biggest phobia, we asked to change rooms to the first floor. The owner’s response to my concern was that I should expect ... read more

Hi all, Since last updating, we have visited another three countries in South East Asia!! It's been a rather tight schedule over the past few weeks so now that we have finally reached the Islands of South Thailand, we can look back and reflect on our whirlwind trip through Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. I remember saying that Thailand was the most beautiful country I had ever visited. However after having seen Laos I now have to retract that statement! Laos was the first country we visited after leaving Thailand. As we previously mentioned, our trip from Thailand to Laos took three days including a slow river boat trip for two days. We left Chiang Mai on 19 October on a six hour bus journey to the Thai border crossing of Chiang Khong, which is the main ... read more