I entered Queensland in the town of Tweed Heads, where a memorial monument for Captain James Cook is built, the first European to make contact with the Australian indigenous people in the 18th century. It is built on the border of New South Wales and Queensland. I was heading for Brisbane though, one of Australia's major cities. Before arriving in Brisbane, I passed through the Gold Coast, which is a long stretch of beach and towns with mass tourism just like on the Spanish Costas. Luckily, I didn't have to stay here, it was not really my thing. After staying in cheap hostel dorms for over a week, I was feeling like I deserved a nice place on my own, so in Brisbane I booked a really nice hotel/apartment right in the middle of the city ... read more

I left Singapore for Sydney in the new king of the sky in passenger travel: an Airbus A380. This airplane has two floors over the entire length of the plane. It was impressive and comfortable! I arrived in Sydney in early morning and had booked ahead a backpacker hostel for a couple of nights. I was sharing a 4-bed dorm room with 3 other guys: another Dutch, a French and an Indian guy. Since I didn't sleep much on the plane, the first day was mostly relaxing and sleeping. On the second day I went sightseeing with a walk around town. I met my friend Sandy in the morning for coffee. She lives in Sydney and showed me around the Opera House and botanical gardens. It was only a short visit, because she just gave birth ... read more

Melaka was my last stop in Malaysia, and from there I took a bus to Singapore. I stayed in Singapore for a few days before flying to Jakarta and after Jakarta I came back to Singapore again. I'm still in Singapore now and since my Indonesian adventure is already over, I'll start with that! Jakarta I went to Jakarta to spend some time visiting friends and to scan (very prematurely) the city to see if I would be interested in investing some money in a business (with the sadly low interest rates these days, it's hardly worth putting money in a savings account!). I met my friend Aghy in Holland when he was staying there with his sister Nita, my then girlfriend. He and his family showed me around some places in Jakarta and I enjoyed ... read more

After a week in Bangkok with my friend Erik, I got a flight to Kuala Lumpur and checked myself into a nice hotel with view on the famous Petronas towers that were, until 2004, the highest towers in the world at 452m. The bridge connecting the two towers is accessible to tourists, but since it's not even half way up the towers, I didn't bother going up. KL is a big city and has some interesting old "colonial heritage", but on a personal note, I didn't like it as much as some other Asian capitals like Bangkok or Hanoi. I did spend a day or 2 strolling around the Little India and Chinatown districts. The unique thing about Malaysia is the mix of cultures, most notably, Malay, Chinese and Indian. That makes this country interesting, diverse ... read more

After my failed Mount Kinabalu attempt, it was time for something more relaxing, so I planned to go diving at Sipadan Island (one of the best diving sites in the world) and chilling out a couple of days and celebrating x-mas at Mabul Island. I first heard about Sipadan Island from my friends Patrick and Marije, who also got me into getting my PADI diving license. They were at Sipadan last year and came back with rave stories. Something that can't be missed, if you're a diver, and in Sabah/Borneo. To dive at Sipadan Island, you need to book ahead. Only 120 people a day are allowed to dive around the island, and there is no accommodation. A few weeks ago, I booked a 6-day package, where I'd be staying in Semporna for 4 nights and ... read more