Leaving the (semi) civilised shores of Australia behind - we were now back on the real backpacker trail - smelly, overcrowded buses, strange food, language barriers and squat toilets... welcome to Asia! However, before all that, we had a very gentle introduction to Asia in the modern metropolis of Singapore. This city state is much decried on the backpacker circuit. With its clean streets, visible wealth, designer goods and it's general orderlyness, it's considered a bit, well, sterile. The tone is set at the ubercool airport, with it's cut price ipods, free music, massages and internet, a [View Full Entry]

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Well, enough of the cappucccinos, the beach by day, freshly grilled barramundi washed down with a decent chablis by night, urbane lifestyle of the Australian eastern coast cities - it was time to see the real Australia - the vast emptyness of the virtually uninhabitable middle. This tortured land, only pioneered by europeans 2 generations ago, is still frontier country, where men are men, and sheep are worried, and a bloke would never be seen dead drinking wine. Firstly, a flight to Alice Springs - the heart of the outback - and the furnace like heat (46 degrees) hit us like [View Full Entry]

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And so to the land down under.. flying into a wet & sticky Brisbane, it was with great pleasure that I was met by my old uni chums - particularly Mark Currell, whos wedding we were to attend that weekend. Now Cuzza has really landed on his feet here - not only is Justine lovely, smart and a thoroughly delightful person, but her family are very much Brisbane glitterati - and that made for a quite spectacular wedding week. Initially the boys headed down to the ever lovely Byron Bay for a couple of days of leisurely drinking and beach cricket [View Full Entry]

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Rolling off the car ferry into Picton, the port at the top end of the South Island, is like driving into a slightly different world. The fjord like scenery of Malborough Sound gives a slightly mystical introduction to a land of lakes, mountains and waterfalls - where sheep are many and people are few. No wonder that this has become one of the "must sees" on the international backpacker trail... A real frontier land wilderness. There are towns and villages scattered about, but they tend to be sleepy affairs with some of the regular facilities, a couple of bars, a cinema [View Full Entry]

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Following our beach odyssey across the South Pacific, we were greeted with wind and rain when we arrived in Auckland. New Zealand's largest city, where a quarter of her population live isnt quite the bustling metropolis of Sydney, but it is lively enough, has a stylish renovated waterfront bustling with cafes and restaurants, and its landmark Skytower (highest building in the Southern hemisphere)dominates the skyline and gives great views of the huge harbour area, and the several extinct volcanoes that are dotted around it's suburbs. Auckland is also very cosmopolitan - Koreans, Chinese an [View Full Entry]

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With no job, a ridiculous shaggy haircut, and not a lot of money, I have very quickly become distant to my former life as an International Playboy. And the final remnants of my former existence ran out at the end of 2004 with the expiry of my British Airways Executive Club Card. It did, however, give me one last hurrah, as it gained me access to the Qantas lounge in Auckland airport during our 10 hour layover in between arriving from Tahiti, and flying out to Fiji. With the Auckland rain dissuading us from a sightseeing trip around the city; we [View Full Entry]

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I've got it all wrong... I was pretty cocky in planning this trip.. the timing of things, the exotic locations I had selected..they were all perfect... but I have got it wrong. In allowing a year to explore the world, and 2 weeks for the South Pacific, I have got things the wrong way round... a year here would be just fine... this place is simply the place that daydreams are made of. Tahiti.. the name conjours up images in your mind, I bet, of reef fringed lagoons of baby blue water, swaying palm trees, pretty polynesian girls wearing floral patterns [View Full Entry]

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I must confess that the favourite part of planning this big trip has been these 2 weeks.. Crossing the South Pacific really has been a bit of a dream to me on many a rainy afternoon sat at my desk at work back in London, and here I was, finally about to do it... Easter Island, Tahiti, Fiji - a slightly more exotic Xmas and New Year than back at home!! Now, this is an expensive part of the world, so we were looking to save money what ever way we could, and the ultimate in budget accomodation is, obviously, to [View Full Entry]

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Now that we were at the end of the world.. we had to go north, So with a short flight, we arrived in the Argentinian town of El Calafate. This is the heart of prime cattle and sheep grazing land, and was the scene of violent labour uprising in the 20s.. Nowadays, it is a pleasant, touristy little town that attracts visitors primarily because of the Los Glacieres national park nearby, and in particular, the Perito Moreno Glacier. As we headed West, the arid, barren plains gave way to pine forest, then to the mountains. Then, nestled at the bottom of [View Full Entry]

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We are coming accustomed to the long range bus journeys here... our latest, the 16 hour hop from Bariloche, near the Chilean border to Puerto Madryn, on the Atlantic coast; followed the pattern that is developing.. we get on the bus late afternoon/ early evening.. we are treated to a couple of pretty decent films, in English, with Spanish subtitles. However, the volume is always at an annoying low/medium level where action scenes and arguments can be heard easily, but intimate conversations cant... as a result, following the plots can be difficult. So if anyone can tell me what happens at [View Full Entry]

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