Blogs from Surrey, England, United Kingdom, Europe

So there are 12 days to go. I think I have all the stuff I need, I'm immunised against most of the nastiest diseases (if you read this, thanks for the stabs Helen) and I'm truly excited. I haven't really got anything to say right now, I just wanted to test that this works!... read more

I had one day in Hanoi after arriving back from Sapa & saw Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and palace as well as the temple of literature. I had my walking boots shined to get rid of the mud from Sapa so that I could put them back in my bag & enjoyed my last taste of vietnamese food. My bag, all packed, weighed in at 18.5kg at the airport, which I thought was quite impressive before settng off to Hong Kong. I was impressed with the bus that took me into Kowloon & I was able to find my hotel, looking smart compared to its surroundings. During the afternoon I wandered down Nathan road & saw Kowloon park before reaching the waterfront & the avenue of stars. It was valentine's day & I was the only ... read more

just a test to see if it works x... read more

Merry Christmas!!!!! and a Happy New Year!!!! With all the commercialism, obsession with getting the right and most expensive gifts, and santa claus it's very easy to forget why we celebrate Christmas. CHRISTmas Jesus is the reason for the season, and without Him there's nothing to celebrate. I'm spending Christmas with both of my families this year. My blood one and my fiance's one. It'll be kinda weird having my Christmas with family on the 23rd and being away on the 25th but the last few Christmas we've wondered if it that one would be the last so I don't mind too much. I'm actually really excited to be with Nick on Christmas :D. So really just to give a quick update. I've deleted my facebook account as I am sick of the way communication between ... read more

The Surrey Sports Park have helped support me on my trip to Peru. Providing me with essential equipment such as footballs, bibs, cones and t-shirts. Other parties such as Westfield football club have also shown great support by putting out press release (attached) Here is the press release link: url=http://www.surreysportspark.co.uk/news/newsandpress/2011/69758_battley_swaps_computers_for_south_america.htmhttp://www.surreysportspark.co.uk/news/newsandpress/2011/69758_battley_swaps_computers_for_south_america.htm... read more

And so I got to Iceland's Keflavik airport. While in time for the connecting flight, I was actually going to be getting on the same plane anyway. And transiting here was rather odd - I was temporarily in the country. I actually got my passport stamped. Then no more than two minutes later, I received my exit stamp. Weird, really weird. Made me wonder what the point of that was. Feeling a little sleep deprived, I boarded the plane to London Gatwick, a three hour flight away. My friends Jay and Laurie were going to be picking me up at the airport; and when I landed, I was pretty happy, but cautious about the immigration process. I had problems here last time I tried to enter, and I hoped they weren't going to make it difficult ... read more

I decided that before I jet set round the world, I ought to start a travel journal. This way people close to me will be able to see what I am doing and not worry so much (Mum). I haven't quite worked out how to use my travel blog quite yet but practice makes perfect and I'm sure it wont be long till I can write a blog entry and upload photos in minutes! The countdown has begun, only (and exactly) 23 days till my plane takes off from Heathrow. It is ten past ten in the evening here and that is the time my flight takes me off to Bangkok! Hopefully by then the flooding would have eased off as I wasn't planning on taking wellies with me.... Getting nervous now, have no idea how ... read more

Please don't forget to visit www.justgiving.com/tom-battley to help me achieve my venture to Lima, Peru. It won't be long until this countdown runs out and i will be flying to the 3rd world to provide a footballing experience to underprivleged people of South America.... read more