We arrived to Darwin and were nearly knocked out by the heat and humidity as we stepped off the plane. About 35C degrees and 98% humidity. The flight from Perth was amazing. The scenery of Western Australia was crystal clear from 37,000 feet. We flew right over the Kimberley. Just made you think about the history of the land. So rugged so empty yet so beautiful. I have never seen a place like it. On arrival to Darwin we headed to Cullen Bay to stay with Nathan and Emma. Our first order of business was to have as many dips in their pool as possible daily. I explored the local Art and History museum after a very arduous 1 hour walk through the mid day heat and humidity, albeit along the beach. As I walked along ... read more

After finally acclimatizing to the heat of summer (which we are following around the world) we arrived to Perth and it's freezing! Coming from the heat of SE Asia it is a welcome relief to have some cool weather however it has also forced us to break out our warm weather gear which we haven't done since Africa. We arrived in Perth where Tom, an old mate of Ev's, met us at the airport. The poor guy said he would put us up for the time we were in Perth. Little did he know we planned to stay 3 weeks! We made our way back to his house (our first proper house in half a year!!- joy!). He set about putting us right to work (as he should) and hopped on his dingo to dig up ... read more

After a long day and a border crossing that left us $8 overcharged for our tourist visas we have arrived in Siem Reap. Entering Cambodia left me feeling a little strange but mostly sad. I have immersed myself in reading about this country lately. Books like "First They Killed My Father", "When Broken Glass Floats" and "Memoirs of the Children of the Killing Fields" describe in detail the atrocities that happened in this country that somehow I never knew about until recently. In 1975 on Independence Day the Khmer Rouge took power and forced its city dwelling citizens out of their homes and the country as a whole into a purely agrarian society. But this is too simple of an explanation. They also proceed to murder anyone of any intellegence including those who wore glasses (as ... read more

We have arrived in Vietnam and we are now officially millionaires! Not that you can get dinner for less than 20,000 Dong (just over $1) in most restaurants but that's besides the point. Happily we survived the 22 hour airport plane ordeal that brought us from Tawau in Borneo to Hanoi. We arrived to find a lush green paddy field landscape, tall French/Asian style buildings (painted on the front only- perhaps because they don't want to waste the paint if someone is going to build on either side of them??) and stately Chinese gravestones scattered across the landscape. We drove into Hanoi surrounded by hundreds of motorbikes (a scene we will have to get used to over the next three weeks as they are everywhere). Vietnam is lovely and I feel as though we are back ... read more

Flying from KL to Kuching again left us reeling at the cost of excess baggage on budget airlines (note to self: pack light next time!). We arrived to Kuching in Sarawak. Sarawak is our first state in Borneo (yes, a part of Malaysia) where we promptly received another stamp in our passport (semi autonomous at that!). Met two Dutch twins in the airport, Patty and Vivien, and shared a cab into town as the buses don't run until September 1st (we were 2 days too early). Checked into the Oriental Hotel before taking a stroll down the waterfront which was lovely. They call Kuching a "cosmopolitan city perched on the edge of Borneo". Well I'm not sure it lives up to that eloquent description but it is a nice city- when things are open. We happened ... read more