Leaving the big city we were soon travelling deep into the Chinese countryside with the rain lashing at the train windows and paddy fields on either side for as far as the eye can see. Eventually we reached Yangshuo, a town surrounded by soaring limestone peaks (Karsts) on the Li River. The town itself is quite attractive and fun with loads to do, but it's the surrounding Karst scenery that is the real reason that visitors come here; it's simply stunning. We took a boat trip up the Li River and cycled around the paddy fields to get a better look [View Full Entry]

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We had six days in Beijing but were really only able to scatch the surface of this fascinating city. Beijing seems to have so many facets. The first image that greeted us was of the architypal communist city with its long wide boulevards lined with large hard looking blocks meeting at the huge Tiananmen Square with it's guards and Mao's mausoleum as its centrepiece. We stood in line to see Chairman Mao lying in state which is a strange experience as you are whisked very quickly past the 'great' man and into a Chairman Mao gift shop! Apparently there is debate [View Full Entry]

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We had seen all the things in India that we had set out to see more quickly than we had expected, thanks partly to being able to travel long distances on overnight trains without losing the days. This meant we had a spare week with no plans and with no intention of spending it in Delhi we consulted the guide books and whitled it down to two options: either head south for a week on the beaches of Goa or head northeast into the Punjab and beyond. We decided that a beach is a beach and there is still plenty of [View Full Entry]

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After almost a month in India we are at last starting to get a hang of Indian hotel room classifications. It goes something like this: Delux Room (awful); Super Delux Room (half decent); Super Delux Maharaja Palace Suite (quite nice). The forts and palaces of Rajastan were wonderful but it was time to head east to Agra to see the most famous building in all of India, the Taj Mahal. We stayed literally next door to the Taj Mahal complex within the vehicle exclusion zone which protects the Taj against pollution and has the advantage of keeping out the ever persistant [View Full Entry]

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JODHPUR (THE BLUE CITY) Jodhpur has to be the busiest and dirtiest place we have visited in India so far, but looking down from Meherangarh Fort and the palaces that dominate the skyline the city looks beautiful. Many of the houses are painted blue apparently to deter termites, but blue is also the colour of the high-caste Brahma of which there are large numbers here. The fort and palaces are amazingly well preserved and ornate, and the excellent audio guide really helped to conjure up a picture of life for the Marharajas who lived here. Despite the mayhem and mess of [View Full Entry]

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Coming from Sydney to Mumbai we couldn't have had more of a culture shock if we had tried. After a relaxing 12 hour flight, catching up with some movies and enjoying the surprising good food, we stepping out into the madness. We squeezed ourselves and our luggage into one of the small black and yellow taxis and began a long, hot, loud and fascinating drive into central Mumbai. We weaved our way through the mayhem of cars, taxis, brightly decorated lorries, and whole families on motor bikes; but it was the cows that had the ultimate right of way. Our taxi [View Full Entry]

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Before hitting Sydney we spent a couple of days in the Blue Mountains, so called because of the blue haze produced by the eucalyptus oil in the air. We stayed in the main centre in the Blue Mountains, Katatoomba, which was fairly ordinary but as soon as you got to the edge of town the land dropped away to reveal some truly spectacular scenery. The dubious sounding 'Scenic World' turned out to be a great way of discoving the area allowing us to explore the mountains, forests and famous rock formations (such as The Three Sisters) by foot, funicular railway amd [View Full Entry]

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It was great to meet up with David, Les and John who joined us in Melbourne for a three week Australian holiday. Melbourne has a big city feel and vibrant atmosphere but still manages to be relaxed and laid back at the same time. We rented an apartment above one of the narrow lanes in the city centre; bustling with cafes and restaurants that give Melbourne a more European feel it was the perfect base to explore the city and surrounding suburbs. We particularly liked Fitzroy with its bohemian bars and restaurants, and the seaside suburb of St Kilda which was [View Full Entry]

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Next stop Adelaide for the week to visit our friends Steve (who we haven't seen since he moved here almost three years ago), Stewart, Mandy and Simon. It's a lovely relaxing and cultured city and it was great to be staying with friends and not having to plan our own itinerary every day. Food and drink featured high on our Adelaide itinerary and we enjoyed a fabulous steak at The British Hotel, Coopers beer and a curry at the grungy Exeter, a boozy dinner at Mandy and Simon's house, and a barbeque in Stewart's exotic garden. By the end of the [View Full Entry]

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Strewth, it's hot! Over 40 degrees and the flies are everywhere, we should have bought those hats with corks on, but the outback is amazing. We said goodbye to the rare (for us) luxury of Cairns and caught a flight to Uluru (Ayres Rock) where things got back to basics; camping for the next few days. We were met at the airport by our guide, Smiley, who lived up to his name and was a thoroughly nice bloke and great company. After lunch at the camp site we ventured out to see Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), a stunning group of rock [View Full Entry]

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