It is with a heavy heart that we announce that this is to be our final travelblog. Thanks to everyone who has made the effort to read our entries. We had hoped to update you all over the past week or two but what with lying on Copacabana beach and the Iguacu falls we did not manage it! We fly home from Sao Paulo on Monday afternoon and should be back in Glasgow early Tuesday afternoon. Lots to do just now so must go. Thanks again and see you all soon!! Ryan and Ailie [View Full Entry]

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Our initiation into the land of Diego Maradona, Carlos Gardel and Evita Peron was anything but uneventful. The journey across the border from Pucon to Bariloche involved switching buses in Osorno. But when i raised my eyes from my book to gaze at the scenery it was hampered by plumes of smoke billowing from the back of the bus. A 45 minute wait for a replacement bus to arrive was to leave us late for the second bus to take us over the border. But, with some cobbled together Spanish and eccentric hand maneouvres, the driver got the picture and phoned [View Full Entry]

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Apologies for no accompanying blog. [View Full Entry]

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Nine hours south of Santiago is Pucon, a mecca for adventure sports. The town sits at the foot of the Villaricca volcano, an active volcano. At 4am on our first night, the town´s siren went off. We thought we were in a real life Dante´s Peak! But it turned out to be the summoning of the town´s volunteer firefighters. We can now say that we have climbed a volcano, an active one at that! Having had no previous climbing experience, we were a bit phased about what lay ahead. Crampons, what the .... are crampons?! Every time you look at the [View Full Entry]

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Asia was good, but South America has proven even better! We have been enjoying ourselves so much that the task of writing a blog has become more arduous. Detail will have to wait until our return! We spent around nine days in Santiago (not consecutive). This was not wholly down to an immedaite fondness for the city but that we loved our hostel so much. As for Santiago, we did the usual tour of musuems which was fine. Took a tram up to Cerro San Cristobal, where a huge statue of the Virgin Mary overlooks the city. It also serves as [View Full Entry]

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Since our last entry in mid-March, we have been in Singapore, Cairns, Melbourne and New Zealand's south island. Singapore is a complete waste of time if you are backpacking. Whatever sights it does have i.e. Sir Stamford Raffles landing sight and the Parliament building is overshadowed by the fact that they are total pish and there is hee haw else to do apart from shop, buy a beer for four frigging pounds or make a dodgy deal on the local stock market. Oh aye, penalties are pretty severe here. Fart in public and you could be spending the night behind bars. [View Full Entry]

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Sabadii, If you have never visited the Mekong region, i heartily recommend you do. The past month has been magnificent. From feeding elephants in the ancient city of Ayuttaya, meditating in the mountains of northeast Thailand, hanging on for dear life as a over zealous tuk-tuk driver takes a sharp bend at top speed, taking a slow boat down the Mekong river, watching the sunset over Luang Prabang in Laos. It has been time well spent. Safe to say this beats an all inclusive in Benidorm or working! A short word for Bangkok: HOLE. Three days in Singapore awaits us which [View Full Entry]

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Goodbye China! A bizarre country. Thanks to a snowstorm that stretched from X'ian in the north to Guangzhou in the south (basically top to bottom if your not up on yer Chinese geography!) we only scratched the surface of this gargantuan nation. The China leg of the trip ended with a ten day stay in Hong Kong. It is a spectacular city but ten days was far too long. Three Irish pubs within walking distance was a big distraction but when charged almost 3.50pnds for a pint and 5.00pnds for a glass of wine, there were obvious limits hence the old [View Full Entry]

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While Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Premier, flies around the country pointing at maps asking the 'people' to dig his governement out of a huge pickle, millions of people are stranded at bus stations, train stations, and airports. TWO BILLION FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY MILLION JOURNEYS are being attempted in what is the busiest time of the Chinese year. To put it bluntly, but not so bluntly as to drive my family to their rosary beads to pray for my sin....China is Donald Ducked. Today, we jumped on the metro (best thing about Shanghai is the metro, very wheelchair friendly) from Zhenping [View Full Entry]

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FIRSTLY， THE COMPUTER IS FORCING US TO WRITE IN CAPITAL LETTERS。 IT HAS BEEN A STRANGE BEGINNING TO A FIVE MONTH TRIP。 IT BEGAN WITH AN AWOL BACKPACK IN LONDON AND CONTINUED WITH THE ALARMING NEWS THAT THE PLANE WE ARRIVED ON IN BEIJING CRASH LANDED ON ITS RETURN TO LONDON。 AS FOR BEIJING？ THERE APPEARS TO BE SUBURBS BIGGER THAN GLASGOW！ THE ROADS ARE SO WIDE A BULLET FIRED FROM A GUN WOULD FAIL TO REACH THE OTHER SIDE。 PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS DONT COUNT FOR MUCH HERE。 BEIJING IS A VERY DIRTY CITY。 THE BULK OF OUR FIRST FULL DAY W [View Full Entry]

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