So here are my pics from my six-night break in Tasmania - better known down under as ´Tassie´! Based in Hobart, I sailed to Tasman Island, visited the old penitentiary and convict settlement buildings of infamous Port Arthur (chilling and v spooky - especially the asylum!) and was uber-impressed by Hobart´s surprisingly funky modern art galleries and museums. My only regret was not hiring a car and taking myself off to the likes of Wine Glass Bay and Cradle Mountain. Ho hum - I´ll just have to go back one of these days!! Enjoy the pics. :) [View Full Entry]

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We couldn´t help ourselves! We had to do it. We had to do something we couldn´t possibly do back home at Christmas. So yip. We hired ourselves a motor and disappeared off to beautiful Appollo Bay, Victoria for crazy Christmas antics on the beach. Of course before all that, we began Christmas day in Melbourne. A whizz in the kitchen, Jane prepared a special Christmas breakfast for us. We had delicious mouth-watering pancakes with scrummy maple syrup. Mmm. Heaven on a plate. And it was just as breakfast was about ready that I made my grand appearance dressed as Santa Claus. [View Full Entry]

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Inasmuch that not even a technicolour troupe of all-singing all-dancing munchkins were enough to keep poor Dorothy from pining for her dear Aunt Em and a way back home, I was shocked (and am sure you´ll be astounded to learn) that after five months down under in a land affectionately known as Oz - enjoying glorious sunshine, golden beaches and phenomenal vineyards - I involuntarily found myself clicking my Merrell trainer heels and thinking, yup, Dorothy, you were right - ´there´s no place like home, there´s no place like home´!! Shockers, I know!!! :-0 What can I say?? Melbourne just ain´t [View Full Entry]

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OK - here's how it's gonna be - short and snappy! The ghastly truth is that after Beijing I neglected my paper journal with entries fizzling out about now. It was such a frenzied transit from Shanghai to Saigon and then onto Singapore that my recollection is really rather fuzzy. All I can dredge up is this itty-bitty thumbnail overview. Shanghai: We sallied forth from Beijing in uber budget fashion taking the sleeper train to Beijing but opting for a seat only. What with next to no leg room, a man on my left nursing an infant child (to the Scots [View Full Entry]

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It was the great thinker, Confucius, that said: "when a friend comes from afar, is that not delightful?". The people of Beijing really took those words to heart surpassing themselves by showing extraordinary hospitality and offering an unforgettable welcome during the 2008 Olympics. As soon as we alighted from our train at Beijing Railway Station, there was a veritable taskforce of English-speaking local volunteers offering assistance for getting around and expressing how pleased they were that we'd come to visit beautiful Beijing. Such earnestness, it was hard not to be touched. One of the gr [View Full Entry]

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Traversing some 2000 miles overland, discovering China was an epical adventure. And yet staggeringly, we never left the east coast. Still so much of China to see, it's one of those destinations we quickly realised would require multiple return visits. China challenged. Flying in the face of so much of the rest of the world, English is not widely spoken. Not that in this I found cause for complaint. The obscene laziness of the English-speaking west is quite appalling. We reproved ourselves for our own shameful want of effort to grasp basic Mandarin before entering China. Fortunately for the [View Full Entry]

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It was a short voyage on the hydrofoil ferry from Hong Kong to Macau but, avast me hearties, the seas were choppy. We had to suffer the sounds of retching passengers for most of the crossing! Thankfully, Kerry and I had good sea legs. Back on land at Macau Ferry Terminal, we passed through immigration and onto tourist information to make enquiries about last minute accommodation deals. We snapped up a bargain booking at the East Asia Hotel where the rooms were comfortable and remarkably spacious - a delightful change from the tiny dimensions of our Hong Kong hostel. You can't [View Full Entry]

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I felt a quickening as soon as I stepped off the plane. As magical as our trip to India was, it felt great exchanging its myriad intensities for the sane streets and reviving bright lights of Hong Kong. In a strange way, it felt a bit like coming home! As folks will tell you, get me talking about Hong Kong and I'm all hands-waving, manic-stares, full of animation for this fun and vibrant city. Here, on our second visit, I relished the fact that we had almost a whole week to explore. Here's a taste of what we got up to: [View Full Entry]

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We'd made so many friends in Delhi that when it came to leave, it was a crazed mad dash to wish everyone farewell. Alex, one of the staff at Asha, who had taken such good care of us and had been a real lifeline to us when beset by some of the lows of living in Delhi, was someone with whom parting was especially sad - we really looking forward to meeting up with her sometime in the future. Another significant individual was Freddy Martin, also of Asha, who helped marvellously when poor Kerry suffered her leg injury. He really could [View Full Entry]

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At about 10,000 ft above sea level, you do feel quite literally on top of the world in Ladakh. And curiously, there's also almost some sort of palpable sense here of being close to the horizon where heaven and earth meet. The air is pure. The location remote. And the snow on the encompassing mountains is dazzling white. This place is a veritable mountain Shangri La. The flight up was very exciting. The aircraft passed through mountain corridors meaning that looking out the windows on either side all you could see was wall after wall of sheer rockface. Soon after arrival, [View Full Entry]

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