6th january So we finally arrived in singapore, and went to the MRT station to catch a train and try and find our hotel at Bugis village, first we had to work out the train line connections. after staring motionless at the complicated map we where approached by a helpful local lady who ushered us onto the correct train our packs are so heavy it feels like our legs would buckle as we walked the hot bustling streets looking for the Hotel. We checked in at around 10pm then through down our packs and immidately set off exploring the area. (without a map) and ate some food at the local outdoor market, fried fish and rice, Ilona had chicken and rice at a grand sum of 5 euros, things were looking good so off we popped ... read more

Richard- After a good Christmas in the uk we headed for new year in sweden, first we where pampered by ilonas grandmother and fed to bursting point, then we headed North where we would borrow Ilonas aunties cabin in dalsland. it is such a beautiful area and the lake was completely frozen,, when we arrived we where surprised by the meal that had been prepared for us.....Elk meat stew!!!!!!! cooked by swedens number one hunting extroadinare (ilonas aunt) after all this spoiling, we headed to a spa to have one last relax before our big trip and to celebrate my birthday with another big meal........... Ilona- vi kommer sakna sverige! ... read more

right before the worst snowfall (in 17 years in the uk) we drove over to the lakes, for a route survey, to check out the condition of some snow and ice routes on the mountain called "Great End", Again we got used to carrying our loaded packs, which seem to get heavier with every hour that passes. We planned to go up to the top of Scafell, (highest mountain in England) but we did not have crampons or an ice axe with us so it was a little stupid to go over 850m. i am just awaiting delivery of my sportiva mountaineering boots and we plan to go back over to the lakes (if the roads ever re-open). When we returned to yorkshire we managed to get out again and walk 13km in deep snow with ... read more

finally we have quit our jobs, be it a little bit earlier than expected but thats the Holland effect!!! No more wooden shoes and cheese for us! We had a night out in Rotterdam to celebrate us never ever coming back!!!!! went into Holland Casino and pretended to be james bond and miss money penny, one game of cards loosing €15 in 25 seconds and leaving........(even though agent money penny ilona was on first name terms with all the staff??????) (double agent?) we plan to go climbing this week and to the lake district at the weekend for the mountain film festival, to mentally prepare ourselves for our new zealand adventure fest!!! ... read more

currently we are in sweden, the sun is shining and we are building a new horse enclosure for Ilonas sister ninja. getting excited now all our equipment for our back packing trip is almost bought or stolen. 5 more weeks and we quit work!!!!!!!!! this week we get our tattoos for our trip, and our injections, most importantly the yellow fever jab for south america. end of november sees us travelling back to the uk in order to arrange a few last things and do a section of the coast to coast in order to test everything for New Zealand. We also plan to do a little mountaineering in the Lake District and some Gritstone climbing in Yorkshire. but first we have some unfinished buisness with a certain climb in sweden, called the "hardest climb in ... read more