OK, the idea was to find gold , but when we looked at the conditions that the gold miners endured we had second thoughts so we would just be tourists and visit the mining museums and learn lots about it ... but always keeping your eyes peeled in case there was a glint of gold at your feet. From the GunBarrel Highway we were back in Wiluna as there were big celebration with the opening ceremony for a new Shire Office and Art Gallery ... an old hotel and hospital had been beautifully renovated . The Five didn’t want to hang around for the speeches so had a chat with a guy and sneaked in the back way to saunter to view some great Aboriginal Art , Tjukurba Gallery . The interesting story there was of ... read more

Leaving England about 3 weeks ago I wondered what I was doing going away for such a long time ( about 5 months ) again and so far away but once in the air and on my 3 day stopover in Dubai I knew I was happy to be on the road again. Staying with Suzanne and Kristy in Dubai and with August temperatures in the 40s Dubai isn’t pleasant ...so one has to find indoor air conditioned pursuits and so it was one day in Abu Dhabi at the Louvre Museum. A beautiful building by the water on Yas Island and well presented artefacts from many different cultures it was interesting to see what was allowed to be displayed in this Middle Eastern culture. Nothing like the Botticelli Venus was to be seen but a ... read more

We flew from Ho Chi Min to Da Nang and then our bus took us to Hoi An . After some confusion at the hotel where we found there was no pool available , it was being renovated .. our travel company soon arranged for us to go to another hotel . It was lovely modern and bright with a gorgeous pool area and pretty gardens ..so we were very happy with the swap. Leaving bags in the lobby we set off to explore the town ..about 20minute Walk ... and on the way we were introduced to the laundry lady at number 163 ...which looked like the front of a garage for fixing scooters ( it was ) . This was our second week and by now things were getting a bit grubby so we ... read more

Yes Cambodia isn’t all temples and more temples ... we had an interesting drive out in the country side through villages with houses on stilts and swept yards with cattle, rice paddies and some other agricultural fields to visit a Wildlife Conservation area. Although the USA was not officially at war with Cambodia during the Vietnam War period the country suffered from thousands of tons of bombs being dropped mainly ( as I understand it ) because the Viet Cong supply route the Ho Chi Min Trail ran through Cambodia and Laos. So of course this had a devastating effect on flora and fauna. As the country rebuilds also following from the Khmer Rouge regime in the 70s there are efforts to research and protect endangered species. And so it was to one of these centres ... read more

(Well actually here we are in KL airport at the end of our trip , and it’s been so busy every day and evening I haven’t had time to blog.) So let’s go back in time to about two weeks ago and with our trusty guide and group of new friends we were off on a walking tour of the Kings Palace and Silver Pagoda in Phnom Pen , which was only a stones throw from our hotel. First thing we had to learn was how to cross the street: absolutely no point in waiting for the millions of cars , rattling old vans , bikes and tuck tucks loaded with everything the sun!!! You have to be confident and look for the tiniest gap in the traffic and start walking and keep walking and the ... read more