It appears I chose a very good time to leave the country and to travel the world for a bit. The UK couldn’t feel more distant at the moment, what with the endless reports of economic meltdown from the global recession, deep freezing winters and transport melt-down.…whereas the "wonder from down under" goes from strength to strength. Becoming the first G20 country to raise interest rates from the emergency level. Unemployment actually went down, bucking the global trend and surprising local economists who had all predicted a small rise.” Meanwhile back in Blighty: Elected members from the so-called “mother of all parliaments” disgrace themselves by being rather keen on claiming fake expenses; British Airways goes on a week-long strike - ruining everybody’s holidays and making us look like the keen as mustard strikes a-go-go French; the ... read more

Gawd Almighty!- I've been recently having some serious flash-backs of stuff that’s happened during my 13 months away - both good and bad. I realise that I’ve managed to NOT record some of the most memorable moments of my entire time away, either consciously or unconsciously. Some tasty flashbacks include: Adelaide: having spent an exotic, sunny and welcoming Christmas with Hannah and her large family and then being asked to leave on Boxing Day because I'd threatened her big mental German Shepherd Dog Koh Phi Phi, Thailand in a shitty, tiny hostel room/cell having a night time trystwith an English chick who’d gotten locked out of her room next door to mine Bangkok, Thailand being chased and attacked by a group of rabid dogs in the centre of the city behind a temple. They smell your ... read more

“Although happiness is desirable, it is a banal subject for travel.” (Paul Theroux) The modern traveller’s necessary instrument (the gods are against me - a litany) Good old Paul, allowing me to tell tales of woe without that feeling of boring people to muteness. Just two weeks into my grand tour of south east Asia I am at the entrance of a Buddhist temple in Mandalay, Burma and as I bend down to remove my shoes my camera drops to the ground. I had stupidly placed the camera in my shirt pocket and now the lens has a ‘V’ shaped crack across it. I now spend a whole afternoon being ridden around in a rickshaw through the side lanes of Mandalay visiting camera repair men; but more like camera cannibals. Nothing can be done - the ... read more

Camp site and ants in my... So the camp site or "Camp Beer" as I decided to call it because of its payment in beer was secluded in the middle of bush, surrounded by eucalyptus and gum trees. But there were dangers too. We were told to watch out for the ants Myrmecia pilosula to be exact - better known as the Jack Jumper ant or Hopper ant which is native to Tasmania. One of the world’s most deadly! It's estimated that 10 per cent of the Tasmanian population may be allergic to the Jack Jumper, with around 3 per cent suffering life threatening anaphylaxsis if attacked.. Although 3% may seem small, jack jumper ants cause more deaths in Tasmania than spiders, snakes, wasps, and sharks combined. So it was with this knowledge that the younger ... read more

Sixth Day On a break from our safari (Swahili for journey) we arrived in Hobart for a day of exploration. Hobart (1803), is the capital city of Tasmania and after Sydney the second oldest in Australia. I took an evening stroll with Maja to Salamanca Place - the historic wharf with rows of sandstone Georgian buildings. Formerly warehouses built between 1830-1850 they have since been converted into restaurants, galleries, craft shops and offices. Salamanca was named after the Duke of Wellington's routing of the French in 1812 during the Napoleonic Wars. Maja, and I had a drink in one of the converted warehouses, a pub called the Knopwood's Retreat - but it was a Tuesday night and the tumbling tumble weed factor quit... read more