Clutching our pre-paid ticket we emerge into the sticky dawn air. Bloodshot eyes and aching limbs. The inertia of several hours flight lingering. Clambering into the battered taxi we open the window: Whoosh- the dusty, sticky night air hits our senses like a punch to the stomach of western sensibility. The nauseating smell of rubbish and stagnant water making our insides churn and our minds regress in an instant… Memories of India, dulled by time, romanticised by upbeat soundtracks and western marketing. Everything is flooding back, as the taxi violently swerves between oncoming trucks and side assaulting motorbikes, a feeling of being overwhelmed washes over us. Horn blazing we lurch amongst a pack of stray dogs. 45 thrilling minutes later we step out into a hail of noise and take stock of our surroundings. Throwing our ... read more

WOWZERS, WE ARE MARRIED! So after the wedding of our dreams - well mine anyway - we needed a relaxing break away from the stresses of seating plans, song lists and all that other stuff you have to do to organise a wedding. It was time to enjoy being newlyweds! So we jetted off to a posh all inclusive resort in Cancun, Mexico. Not our usual holiday style I know but what a relaxing week we had! We arrived to welcome drinks and after some trouble with the room key we finally made it in. Our first night at an all inclusive restaurant was a bit over the top. We ate and drank everything we saw, feeling like we had to at least "try" each dish. Luckily after a few meals we calmed down and ate ... read more

So after some more exploring of Egypt (blog to follow!)() we made our way up to Nuweiba where we would get a ferry over to Aqaba in Jordan. Nuweiba seems to be the armpit of Egypt as far as we can tell. I'm told that the beaches away from the port are lovely but as we drove in from Taba all we could see for ages were unfinished resorts and muddy looking sand. It felt so depressing and abandoned. We now refer to Nuweiba as the Azkaban of Egypt, as it fills you with a soul destroying emptiness. Here follows Sam's remonstrations about Nuweiba! We reached the port and attempted to find a room in one of the few hotels. We found one which was very expensive and had quite an odd smell to it. On ... read more

Stepping out into the cool night air we headed for the local buses and found ourselves emersed in another culture once again. Despite a few pre-conceptions, the bus full of Egyptian men proved themselves to be freindly, honest and helpful. One gave change without ripping us off and another went out of his way to help us find our hotel in this maze of a city. The conversation inevitably turned to football and which English players they knew. Beckham, Gerrard and surprisingly Peter Crouch came up. Followed, as always, by a mime roughly translated to tall and gangly. Eventually we found our accomodation and we were officially on the road again. The people of Cairo have proved to be very friendly and welcoming towards us which always makes for a nicer time. The traffic, as expected, ... read more

We flew to Raratonga, the main island in the Cook islands where we would spend a week over Christmas. On route crossing the International date line meaning we arrived the day before we left. Effectively giving us another go at the 23rd of December, which was nice if a little confusing. We arrived late on Saturday night and went out to see the town the following day. It was the last Sunday before Christmas and so we were surprised to find everything in town closed. They really take their day of rest very seriously! We decided to explore and find the nearest beach and after a long walk and an encounter with some big angry Alsations we found it. (They have lots of stray dogs here!) More or less the entire beach surrounding Rarotonga is beautiful ... read more