Simon and Alex

The latest instalment of our blog comes from Japan, a place of extraordinary contrasts and completely different from any of our previous destinations. One of the things that is likely to prove most memorable is the friendliness of the people and (refreshingly) their courtesy and respect for one another. Here people queue patiently for public transport (and do not use their mobiles whilst on board), wait for the green man to cross the road, greet and thank customers profusely for visiting their cafe or shop and smoke publicly in designated smoking zones. At the same time, they are incredibly into their fashion (for those who are interested, Chanel-esque jackets, trenka leggings and shorts are big news for the ladies, teamed with the ubiquitous LV, Prada or Coach handbag - while boyband hair and shiny suits seemed ... read more

Day 1 After our overnight flight, which had been largely incident-free, we arrived at Nairobi International Airport and were transferred to Wilson Airport for our flight to the Masai Mara. The flight took just 40 minutes, although Alex at least was unable to appreciate the views as she promptly fell asleep following several sleepless nights of excitement/nerves in the run-up to the wedding! We arrived at the Mara shortly before lunch and expected to be driven straight to Richard's Camp, where we would be staying for the next 4 nights. However, our guide Leng, who met us at the airstrip, had other ideas and drove us first to the Mara river, where we had a good look at some hippos wallowing in the shallows and a croc basking in the sunshine on the rocks. From here ... read more

It has been a while since we graced these pages but after a brief jaunt across the Irish Sea, we couldn't resist the chance to fill you in on our lovely holiday (even those bah humbugging, who have been at work for the past two weeks). So, it has to be sure been a lovely holiday in the Emerald Isle, one which we have largely spent enjoying beautiful scenery and large meals, interspersed by pints of Guinness and Bulmers (Alex got told off by a waitress for calling it Magners). Our trip began, as most do, with a brief delay at the airport, however it then continued with a taxi down the runway during which Simon proudly pointed out the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow and his portacabin next door (Alex feigned interest but appreciated his ... read more

Wednesday 10th Due to the early escape to bed the previous night we woke up early. We managed to drag ourselves the few yards to the sea for a pre-breakfast swim which was nice and refreshing. The weather was rather cloudy but we decided to hang around our guesthouse, Seaflower, for the day. We passed the day playing volleyball with two English guys and generally relaxing on the beach. The afternoon was more of the same. We spent the evening in the restaurant/bar where I nearly died from a Jungle curry which Alex had coaxed me into eating and Alex struggled through the spicy fried basil with chillies - we were very grateful for a couple of Singha beers each to take the edge off. Thursday 11th I managed another pre-breakfast swim and then we sorted ... read more

Friday 29th December We had one last day before flying on again and decided that we should really explore Melbourne a bit after spending several days in the area but not really exploring. The first stop of the day was a short walk to the Victorian market. The place was huge and sold everything from food to didgeridoos. We had a good wander around and Alex bought herself a fancy looking hair pin which calmed the shopping urge for a bit longer. We then caught a free tram from near our hostel which took us on a circuit of the city centre. Half way round we decided to jump off seeing as the tram was fit to burst with all the locals and tourists getting a free ride. We crossed the Yarra river to the southern ... read more