Well it was a bit of a trial to make it to Luang Prabang, a 2 day boat journey that was both fun and punishing- particularly on our poor spines! The second day of boating was by far the hardest as we didn't even have a seat which put our comfort level down to zero, but all of us that were relegated to the floor made the most of it, putting paid to the old phrase "we're all in the same boat". Made friends with 2 girls and a boy who we travelled with all through Laos. It rained often, so [View Full Entry]

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Having mastered the Thai language (we can now say hello AND thank you) it is about time we sampled what else S.E.A. has to offer. And so tomorrow we head off on a 3 day journey to Laos, Luang Prabang to be precise. Our last day in Thailand finds us in Chiang Mai, a welcome respite from the chaos of Bangkok and Ko Phangan. We said goodbye to Chris, Kim, and beaches, but we can safely say we had a fantastic time with all of them. When last we updated the blog, we were eagerly anticipating the arrival of said Chris [View Full Entry]

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From Sydney, our trip got off to a good start when our flight to Singpore was luxury! We flew with Quantas, and we almost didn't want to get off the plane! What do I remember of our 2 days in Singapore? Malls, malls, malls! It took us a while to get accustomed to the heat ( to tell you the truth, we're still not used to it) but we soldiered on and took in a lot of the sights. We took a trip to the super-posh Raffles hotel, probably the most famous landmark in the city, and the shopping mecca that [View Full Entry]

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On an average sized map of Australia, the trip from Brisbane to Byron is roughly the width of a toe-nail clipping. But that is still an inter-state journey, with Byron bay being the first major town in the North East of New South Wales. It's a laid back hippy village by the beach that seems to have more to offer tourists than Aussies themselves- a nice beach, good weather and a lookout that is the Eastern most point in Australia ( it also boasts a hilltop that apparently catches the first rays of sunshine of the Australian day, but it is [View Full Entry]

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For the past month we have been staying with my aunt, uncle and cousins in Bardon, Brisbane. The weather has been beautiful every single day and we have truely been in the land of luxury! (a nice bed, hot meals, wonderful trips, a hot shower (for a maximum of 4 minutes mind due to water shortage!)) Our first week here we went with Roy, Rebecca, Sean and Laura to the Whitsunday Islands. Stayed in a lovely apartment in Shingley Beach with fantastic views over the marina where Rebecca the boat, and Baby Laura the dingy were moored! We took the boat [View Full Entry]

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Ahhh. Cast back! Cast back, and the fond memories come to fill my mind. It wasn't so long ago that we left dear Melbourne, but even this slight absence makes the heart grow fonder. I really have changed my tune since we first arrived there, for the first 2 weeks in the city I couldn't stand it, and did not hide it in the slightest from poor Jen. The last month and a half of us being there, we felt more like locals than travellers- cruising Smith st. shops, "forgetting" to validate our tramcard, and going to the footy at the [View Full Entry]

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Well it has been quite a while since our last update, but do not fear avid readers, no foul play or calamities have befallen your favourite mild-mannered globe trotters- we have merely set up camp temporarily in Australias cultural capital, Melbourne, for a couple of months. It has been somewhere in the area of 5 weeks since we touched down in the city and not only have we found our bearings, we have found jobs and a suitable place to stay. After one night in a "cozy" (read: flophouse) backpackers in Saint Kilda, and a full week in Hotel Discovery (where [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Nadi airport at 5am in the morning on the 19th greeted by Fijians singing and playing the guitar. How nice! Checked into a nice wee hostel called Mamas Tropic of Capricorn where 'Mama' is described as being "warmer than a cup of hot chocolate on an Alaskan night" (!) Went for a wee walk in Nadi on the first day for an hour or so... in a pair of leggings (my only suitable clothes I had after our days in the icy climate: I had been wearing them as long-johns!) So basically, I was walking around Nadi in my [View Full Entry]

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"Bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire!" Las Vegas defies all logic and exceeds its' reputation. A muliticoloured meca, smack in the middle of nowhere. The words of famous men fill my mind even now as I think of it- Elvis of course and one of my favourite Hunter S. Thompson lines: "this is what every city in the world would look like on a Saturday Night in the Nazis has won the was- this was the 6th Reich." The place was so tacky I was scraping the thick layers of glitter from behind my [View Full Entry]

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We left for Los Angeles bleary-eyed and breathless, and like most people, our only real idea of the placecame from T.V. and movies. But they're reliable? Right? We found that there is glitz & glamour, and it does have wild & wacky places, but only if you really look for them. So armed with our trusty lonely planet book, we set out to do just that. I have never before seen such a rich/poor divide as I did in L.A. We were a bit surprised by Hollywood, we stayed there for the first couple of nights and it was quite run [View Full Entry]

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