Christchurch was our first destination and it is a city full of charm in a very English kind of way. It feels like how I would imagine an outpost of the old British empire with numerous old colonial houses, churches and the Avon river running through it's heart. We were lucky enough to have a bright sunny day to explore the city and spent a while walking through the gardens along the river bank as ducks waddled nearby and boat loads of Japanese tourists were being punted past on the river. An Ice cream helped round of the early afternoon and [View Full Entry]

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Moving on from Brisbane past the Glasshouse mountains we traveled to Noosa on the sunshine coast, so called because most places along the coast get well over 300 hundred days of perfect sunshine a year. Here it is full of quiet neighbourhoods with enormous houses owned by the lucky affluent chaps. Lovely beaches and a national park with a nice coastal path added to its appeal. We were lucky enough to see some more humpback whales jumping out of the water. Also from Noosa we took a day trip out to Australia zoo home of the late and great Steve Irwin! [View Full Entry]

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Well, here we are in Australia! After arriving in the airport my mind was filled with thoughts of Steve Irwin, beer, kangaroos, spiders and all those other things we had learned from television! First stop was Sydney which due to the big APEC conference, was a bit of a ghost town for the first few days which was not at all what we expected. I thought Sydney had a very English feel to it as it was freezing cold for the our first few days and the city has lots of Londonish bits to it, so it was a very strange [View Full Entry]

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Sweet And Sour Chicken Hong Kong Style... Arriving in Hong Kong from Vietnam was a step back into the modern world again. All we had seen was quickly forgotten as we sat aboard a super-duper high speed train whisking us from the airport into town. The language barrier had disappeared and prices had risen astronomically but it was a city I was excited about visiting. Of course we could only afford supremely basic accommodation which turned out to be quite nice but situated in the not so nice 12th floor of a grotty apartment building in the heart of Kowloon. The [View Full Entry]

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After our adventures in Laos we headed back to Thailand, this time to see a bit of the north. We ended up spending over a week in Chang Mai, resting and recuperating from all the buses we had been taking. It was quite nice to stay still for a little while and we had several trips to the cinema (twice to see the new Harry Potter movie!) as well as some relaxing walks around the moat. We also made a visit to Chang Mai zoo where we got rather close to some hippos who didn't seem so happy to see us. [View Full Entry]

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For two weeks of our time in Laos we were joined by the hedonistic duo of Jed's Mum Christine and her sister (and Jed's Auntie) Linda. Helping us get motivated their hoilday spirit for packing in as much into every day as possible made for a great fortnight of travel and adventure. First we spent a few days in the capital Vientiane wandering the temples and museums and taking in a local dance performance and a massage. It was my first massage and I was surprised by the fearsome strength of the young Lao masseuse. More than one of us came [View Full Entry]

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Cambodia has been much more of a challenge to travel around than Thailand which is overly geared up for travellers. The hassle factor has increased but that makes every day more eventful and exciting. The border crossing from Hat Lek to Koh Kong was tiny and as expected Cambodian officials tried to overcharge us for the visa. After a little negotiation they finally said that if we wait an hour they can do it for 20 dollars (aka the correct price). Agreeing, we waited outside patiently for 5 minutes before they were complete and we were on our way again! Then [View Full Entry]

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Hello from Bangkok! We have spent the time since the previous blog travelling up through Malaysia and Thailand and have spent a lot of time exploring the beaches and islands and enjoying the sunshine! After we flew back to Kuala Lumpur we travelled up the coast to Georgetown in Penang. We had a lovely night time stroll wandering around the town, taking in the beautiful buildings and ended up along the waterfront which was all lit up with lights that flashed like fireworks. It was a really nice way to spend an evening, so pretty! The following day we had an [View Full Entry]

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After Singapore we spent a couple of days on the pleasant island of Pulau Tioman. The weather was unpredictable but the island looked like something out of lost and the people were warm and friendly. From there we journeyed to Kuala Lumpur and stayed for a few days wandering around the markets of Chinatown and Little India as well as diving into the air conditoned bliss of shopping malls. The smart KLCC complex at the foot of the iconic Petronas Towers was nice to explore as were the leafy parks on the outskirts of the city centre. During our time in [View Full Entry]

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On arrival in Singapore, my first thought after a sleepless night was "Oh my, we've got on a plane to London!" followed quickly by, "I don't remember it being so clean..." Having spent up to now in countries with extreme poverty, signs in unrecognisable languages and few resemblances to home it was a bit of a shock to arrive somewhere where everyone speaks English, the roads have crossings which are used and there are shops which sell things we have back in England. They even have Starbucks! We wandered around staring at everything like it wasn't quite real, as if in [View Full Entry]

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