Why did the chicken cross the road?

On a given bus journey in Laos, you will encounter more chickens/pigs/goats/dogs/cows/ buffalo crossing the road than you will see other vehicles. I found that rather amusing. Travelling in Laos is wonderfully easy and generally hassle-free. That is not to say the public transport always runs smoothly but that is hardly surprising. Our final ride to the border was the most memorable as we were crammed into a truck with about 20 other people, various live chickens, dead fish and a few hundred coconuts. I would not have been surprised if the roof had caved in (there was a motorbike, many rucksacks and a few more people up there) so I was certainly not surprised when one of the tyres blew. We made it to the border eventually where we were sorry to leave Laos but happy at the prospect of visiting a Seven Eleven store.

We began our journey through Laos by crossing the Mekong from northern Thailand to the small town of Huay Xai. It was immediately evident that Laos is a country in which you can relax. From there we boarded a slow boat for a two day trip down the Mekong to Luang Prabang. We passed through some beautiful scenery and glimpsed numerous small villages in the hills. Our arrival into Luang Prabang coinsided with a rather lovely sunset.

Soon after arriving, we bumped into our Hungarian friend Gary whom we had met at the Cambodian border. From then on we had a very sociable time as we also met up with Rosie and Neil (who we spent time with in Cambodia) and a whole bunch of other people. Our sightseeing activities around Luang Prabang included a day exploring on bicycles and a visit to Tat Kuang Si, a stunning multitiered waterfall. It was possible to walk up the side of the falls and stand in the water at the top. Below the waterfall were a number of natural pools in which we could swim.

After Luang Prabang, we headed south through the hills to the activity centre that is Vang Vieng. Laos is an incredibally beautiful country and Vang Vieng has a good share of the scenic spots. We spent a day on motorbikes exploring the tracks through rice fields, villages and limestone peaks. One of the major activities in Vang Vieng is tubing- floating down the Nam Song river in a huge inner tube. Along the way are various bars, volleyball courts, ziplines and swings over the river. Naturally we gave it a go! We also exerted ourselves by doing a day of rock climbing. It was the first time I've properly climbed outside and I loved it.

Next stop was Vientiane, a city which feels more like a town than the country's capital. It was pleasant enough although I shared my skanky dormitory bed with a large family of bed bugs who feasted on my blood as I slept. Not so nice. Here, we bid farewell to Rosie and Neil and headed south. Right down near the border with Cambodia, the Mekong stretches 14km across and houses a network of small islands. The area is therefore known as Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands). We opted for Don Det, a very laid-back island where we spent three days reading in hammocks, exploring on bicycles and making friends with Buffalo- a lovely way to end our time in Laos.

We are now back in the crazy city of Bangkok where we shall do a bit of shopping before flying to Hong Kong on Monday.

My family and other animals

On our return to Bangkok, Matt and I spent a couple of days eating street food and soaking up the carnival atmosphere of the Khao San Road before being joined on the 18th by our parents ans sister Liz. We had saved some of the main sights to explore together so the first day consisted of a scenic boat ride and a visit to the Grand Palace and surroundning Wats (temples). The main thing to say about these buildings is that they are insanely shiny! So much gold and sparkle- very impressive.

Once the others had recovered (well partially) from their jet lag, we begun our journey north. First stop was Phitsanulok, an unremarkable town which we used as a base for visiting the historic city of Sukhothai. We spent a lovely day riding around on bicycles past ancient temples and taking in views of the surrounding countryside.

From Phitsanulok, we bussed up to Chiang Mai, gateway to the northern hills. The city itself was much bigger than I'd expected and not as atmospheric. We did, however, find an amazing vegetarian restaurant where we happily washed down delicious veggie food (not massivley abundant in lots of Thailand) and BROWN rice with our Chang beers. Very nice. We also visited a nearby handicraft village that specialised in ornamental umbrellas made from paper or silk. They were so beautiful- I wanted to buy one for all my friends but had to settle for just one.

We then headed along windy roads into the hills to the town of Pai. Now Pai really is charming and laid-back and generally a great place to spend time. We did as many people do and headed off on a 2-day 'trek' which involved a day of walking and a day of white-water rafting. We spent the night in a forest camp where our guide Jacka entertained us with his party tricks and music. The scenery was absolutley stunning and the rafting was good fun. Some bonus extras included a spot of cliff-jumping and a 'visit to a cave' which turned out to be more like potholing- all good! Our rafting trip ended very close to Mae Hong Son so we wound our way back to Pai through some incredible scenery. On our third day in Pai, we hired motorbikes to explore the local area. I didn't take to well to driving so promptly handed my bike back to the rental place and opted for the passenger seat. I love being on the back of a bike- such a sense of freedom. Also, it is possible to see small villages and out of the way places that you would not otherwise see. On our excursion we passed a few elephant camps where we got trunk hugs in return for bananas. Liz and I had a minor scrape due to some tricksy gravel taking out the front wheel but no real harm was done.

Sadly, we had to leave Pai to return to Chiang Mai. We spent one final night there before Mum, Dad and Liz took their bus to the southern beaches. Then there were two again. Since then Matt and I headed a bit further north to some small villages. We ditched our walking plans due to the relentless rain so could not make the most of being in the middle of nowhere. Today we headed for Chiang Rai, our final stop before moving on to Laos tomorrow.

This is Cambodia!

In our first few hours in Cambodia, we got ourselves into a bit of a stand-off with the local 'mafia'. It turned out to be a very entertaining and surprisingly enjoyable day. Basically, two guys who said they worked for 'The Company' latched onto us at the border and tried to sell us their extortionate bus tickets to Siem Reap. We had other ideas and headed off in search of a better deal. Little did we know, although it soon became apparent, that our guys were "the law in this town'' and no taxi/bus/truck drivers could take us without their permission. Together with two Hungarian and two other British tourists, we sat at the roadside and drank cold beer with the hope that these guys would get bored. Meanwhile, a small crowd was gathering round us and the big man of the town started making little threats, telling us that "this is not like your country, the police won't listen to you, they listen to me, this is Cambodia!'' Three hours after crossing the border, we finally got permission to leave in a taxi which cost us about a third of the bus ticket price. Mind you, there were six of us, six large rucksacks, six little rucksacks and a driver all crammed into the car! The road to Siem Reap is a famously potholed one so we bumped along for three hours but still arrived with smiles on our faces from the comedy of the afternoon.

Very close to Siem Reap are the temples of Angkor, including the famous Angkor Wat (largest religious building in the world). The temples, constructed between the 9th and 13th centuries, are a testament to the grandeur of the Angkorian Empire. We spent a lovely day exploring the area on bicycles and enjoying the beautiful countryside at the same time. Many of the temples are in incredibly good condition, with beautiful carved patterns and bas reliefs adorning the stone. My favourite temple has succumbed a little more to the power of nature and is gradually being pulled apart by the roots from some enormous trees. We also visited the Cambodia Landmine Museum which gives a background into the history of landmines and the terrible suffering which they cause. Cambodia remains one of the world's most heavily mined countries with an estimated three million still remaining. Amazingly, many countries refuse to halt the production and use of anti-personnel mines.




After Siem Reap, we took a seven hour boat ride to Battambang along what was supposedly a river but looked much more like a lake in places. It is the wet season and, believe me, there is a lot of water around. We passed through many small villages, made up of houses on stilts or boat houses which can remain despite the dramatically changing water levels. In every village, we were greeted with children's shouts and smiles which got even larger when we returned their waves. Battambang itself, with its many shuttered windows, has a very French feel. However, it is evident that there has been little in the way of building maintenance since the French left in 1953 so the town had a very run-down kind of charm.

Further south, we spent some time in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh and the provincial town of Kampot. The highlight of our trip to Kampot was the bus journey there and back. The Cambodian countryside is absolutely beautiful. The rice fields here are huge, flat and dotted with palm trees. They shine an incredibly lurid green in the afternoon sun. In the background there are tree-covered hills and in the foreground there are water lilies, buffalo, fishermen and playing children. The roads in Cambodia are noteworthy as they are seriously bumpy and dusty when dry and just as bumpy but very muddy when wet. On the way to Kampot, our bus went over one bump too many and refused to continue. We settled down on the roadside to enjoy the timely sunset and await the replacement bus. The other passengers gradually gave up waiting and opted to pay for onward rides from the all-too-eager moto drivers. Therefore, only Matt and I remained to witness the arrival of the second bus. Just before reaching us, the driver carelessly swung the bus off the road in order to do a 180 degree turn. It got stuck! Matt and I sat there giggling for a few minutes before joining the pushing and pulling effort. No amount of pushing could free the bus so we now had two useless buses! As we weren't in a hurry, we found this all rather amusing. In the end, we too had to opt for a moto ride for the remaining half hour which, in the cool early evening, was very enjoyable.

Whilst in Phnom Penh, we visited both the Tuol Sleng Genocide museum and the Killing Fields of Choeng Ek. Back in the early 1970s, Tuol Sleng was a regular high school but in 1975 it was transformed into Security prison 21 (S-21) by Pol Pot's security forces. Between 1975 and 1978 about 17,000 people were detained and tortured at S-21 before being transported to Choeng Ek to be murdered. Much of the prison remains as it was, with rusty beds and instruments of torture in otherwise empty classrooms. The most sickening display was of the prisoner's mugshots that had been taken on their arrival at S-21. Rows and rows of faces- sad, scared, defiant, proud. All but seven of those held at S-21 were killed, their bodies buried in mass graves at Choeng Ek. It is estimated that around two million Cambodians died between 1975 and 1979 as a result of the Khmer Rouge and their horrific policies. I felt sick and guilty in a way for visiting these morbid sites but I think it is important to acknowledge their importance and understand their significance in a country which is still recovering.

I am turning into a Thai green curry

Well, they do say 'you are what you eat' and I have consumed copious amounts of green curry since arriving in Thailand. It is fragrant, incredibly tasty, slightly creamy and with just enough of a kick to show who's boss. There are worse things I could be. To be honest, although I can say with certainty that I have never consumed one, I am also starting to resemble a beached whale.

Over the last few weeks we have sampled some of Thailand's famous beaches, both on the Andaman (west) and Gulf (east) coasts. As expected in monsoon season, the weather has been somewhat changeable and has often provided entertainment in its own right. The first few days, which we spent on Ko Lanta, were a complete washout. The storms didn't hinder our motorbike adventures, however, and we actually quite enjoyed getting pummelled by the rain.

Our next stop, further up the West coast, was Railay beach near the town of Krabi. The sandy beaches, blue seas and jagged limestone made for some dramatic scenery. It was really very beautiful. During our five day stay we explored some of the surrounding cliffs, caves and islands both on foot and in a canoe. For various reasons we didn't actually do any climbing which was a bit disappointing. Maybe next time.

Switching coasts, we headed to the islands of Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao. After beach hopping round some of the quieter spots, we arrived in Ko Pha Ngan's Hat Rin just in time for the monthly highlight. The world famous Full Moon party saw the beach transformed into one long strip of DJs and sound systems, glow sticks and fire shows. Along with some ten thousand other people, we danced by the light of the moon the moon. We danced by the light of the moon. Awesome.

Our final beach destination was the slightly quieter, but ever-so cool, Ko Tao. The tiny island is surrounded by coral which we found to be both extensive and pretty varied. We stuck to snorkel and fin rather than opting for scuba diving as we didn't want to part with too many pennies.

We are now in Bangkok on our way to Cambodia. One night here and the world will be our oyster, or so I've heard.

Blood, sweat and...a bit more sweat

After caffeine-ing it up to the max in the Cameron Highlands, Matt and I headed to Taman Negara for some jungle fun. This is Malaysia's largest and most important National Park and is home to rainforest that dates back 130 million years. Crikey beans. Needless to say, there are all sorts of exotic creatures prowling, crawling and jumping around in the forest's depths. We decided to do a bit of wildlife spotting in the hope of seeing these mighty beasts in their natural habitat. After stocking up on supplies we hit the tracks for three days of jungle walking. I can honestly say, I have never sweated so much in my life so we arrived at the animal hide (where we slept) covered in sweat, mud and patches of blood from leech bites. Nice. Seriously though, the jungle was awesome, complete with buttress roots, hanging creepers and patches of muddy water for us to negotiate. In the late afternoons and evenings we sat quietly in the hide, watching patiently for animals and listening to the incredible jungle sounds. The tigers and rhinos remained elusive, as did the elephants, but we did see a troop of monkeys moving through the area. We also found elephant dung and bear prints so I was altogether happy with our tracking skills.

Three buses, two boats and a train ride later, we found ourselves surrounded by very different scenery. We ended our time in Malaysia with a visit to Pulau Perhentian Kecil, a small east coast island which is famed for its white sand beaches and turquoise water. After our exertion in the jungle, it was great to swim, relax and let our feet mend themselves for a few days. On the second day we went on a snorkelling trip where we saw rays, a small shark and plenty of 'everycolour' fish. Unfortunately, much of the coral in the area has been destroyed so it didn't match up to the reefs of Australia or Lombok but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

We have now crossed the border into the kingdom of Thaliand. Time to learn a new language again- I'd best get stuck in to my phrasebook!

Cup o' tea bab?

We did very little with our four days in Jakarta except avoid the heat, smells and mosquitoes by wandering around air conditioned shopping malls. To be fair, Jakarta is not the most beautiful city I've ever been to and the public transport system is rubbish. Singapore was a completely different world. The city is clean and efficient with a speedy subway system and equally amazing internet. Additionally, we had tea. Proper tea with fresh milk. I have been missing a good cup o' cha so I was a happy lass. We only stayed for two nights so had to whizz round the main attractions in one day.

After Singapore we hopped on a bus that took us to Kuala Lumpur. Coincidentally, we arrived on the eve of Malaysia's 50 years of independence, a brilliant night to be in the country's capital. Everyone was in party mode so we took to the streets and joined the fun. In both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur the people are from three dominant ethnic backgrounds- Malay, Chinese and Indian. Consequently, the food is abundant and wonderfully varied. We enjoyed curries in Singpore's Little India and stir-fried seaweed in Kuala Lumpur's China Town. We'd better watch the waistlines!

We are now in the Cameron Highlands, towards the centre of Peninsular Malaysia. Due to a higher altitude, the air is fresher and the nights chillier than anywhere we've been for while. It is the perfect place to pull on a jumper and curl up on a sofa with a nice cup of tea. We're in luck there as the surrounding hills support Malaysia's largest tea plantations. Despite getting absolutely soaked, we enjoyed a walk through one of the plantations and learned a bit about tea production. The rain held off for a walk today but we are heading into monsoon season so we're going to have to get used to the wet stuff. ''Well it is your turn!'' I hear you say, and indeed it is.

The wheels on the bus go round and round...

…and round and round and round and round! This week has seen us travel from mid-Sumatra all the way to Jakarta- one 34 hour bus journey and another of 10 hours. Man! It was worth it though as Sumatra was beautiful.

We spent a total of five days in Bukittinggi exploring the town and surrounding area. The region, known as the Minangkabau, is dominated by rice fields, plantations and water buffalo. Indeed, Minangkabau literally translates as ‘winning buffalo’. Here, the women own the land and houses and pass them down to their daughters along with their mitochondrial DNA. However, families have to buy husbands for their daughters with buffalo, the required number depending on the man’s status. After Bukittinggi, we spent a few nights on the shores of Danau Maninjau, a volcanic crater lake. It was peaceful and beautiful, a stark contrast to Indonesia’s cities.

Following the previously mentioned 34 hour bus ride, we arrived in Bandarlampung, southern Sumatra, just as it was getting dark. With no map and very little information about the town, we wandered around unsuccessfully looking for a hotel. After a while, a nice guy in a shiny car came to our aid and drove us to a hotel. He shrugged off my thanks and said ‘’hey, Indonesian people’’. Yeah, right. Unfortunately, we have encountered far more people all too eager to lie and trick their way to our money so this genuine act of kindness was welcome, but a surprise nonetheless. Due to a complete lack of tourists, and therefore budget accommodation, we were forced to stay in a slightly more expensive hotel with hot showers and air con. Gutted! To my delight, just next door to the hotel was a Pizza hut. Now, I don’t really like the fact that Pizza Hut, along with the likes of KFC and McDonald’s, has taken over the world. However, I had no desire to inflict rancid-looking street food on my poor digestive system that had already been suffering for 10 days from the ill effects of food poisoning. We ate and slept like kings.

The whole point of going to Bandarlampung was to visit the nearby national park. The Taman Nasional Way Kambas is an area of lowland rainforest on the southeast coast of Sumatra. It is home to elephants, rhinos and prowling Sumatran tigers. Sounds lovely hey?. We didn’t go there. It seems that the tour agencies that used to organize trips to the park were either hiding or have packed up shop due to the decline in tourism that is so evident in Sumatra. We found no information about the park and no buses that went there. Shame. Instead, we boarded a bus to Jakarta, our final stop in Indonesia. We have a few more days to explore the city before flying to Singapore on Tuesday.

Stomping up through Indonesia

Kuta improved slightly after Matt joined me on August 2nd. We stayed there another few days venturing into the sea for surfing, body boarding and generally getting thrown around by the waves. A random afternoon posing as a married couple also provided some amusement. We were dragged off the street by a funny little guy whose job it is to take people to a posh hotel where they sell time-share. Rather than actually targetting couples who fit the requirements he has set up a whole set of people to cover for him. Matt and I were no longer 24- and 25-year old brother and sister on an eight month trip but a married couple of 29 and 25 who were in Bali for just two weeks. And so the lies began. We didn't feel comfortable about it but what can you do? Most ridiculous was my explanation that we had achieved a tan in the garden back in England. Also, when different questions were matched together, it transpired that we had spent our honeymoon staying in youth hostels in Scotland. The whole thing was a joke but the guy gave us free use of a motorbike for three days in return for our troubles. Having seen how people drive in this country, I was a little anxious about jumping on a bike. Thankfully, Matt mastered the driving pretty quickly and I just sat on the back and watched the world go by. We explored the Bukit peninsula, south of Kuta, and also headed west along the coast to Pura Tanah Lot, a pretty Balinese temple perched on a section of rock in the sea.

We then waved goodbye to Bali and got a bus to Probolingo on Java, jumping-off point for Gunung Bromo. Bromo is one of three volcanoes that rise up out of the ancient 10km-wide Tengger crater. We set off on foot at 3am in order to reach a viewpoint on the crater for sunrise. We struggled in places to find the path so arrived with only a little time to spare to discover that half the tourists in Java had gone up in Jeeps-lazy buggers! We got some decent views all the same and continued our walk for another few hours down into the crater and up Bromo itself.

That evening saw us back on a bus, destination Yogyakarta. We spent a few days taking in the sights of the city including the Sutan's palace, a lovely batik gallery, and the streets that bustled with people and rickshaws. A trip to a silver workshop and the Buddhist temple of Borobudur was a highlight for me.

The prospect of over 40 hours on buses to reach our current location was not appealing so we braved the Indonesian skies and flew to Padang on the west coast of Sumatra. Padang was not a place to hang around so we quickly moved on . We are now in Bukittinggi, a hill town surrounded by volcanoes, jungle and rice fields. So far so good. I think we'll stay here a while.

They import The Daily Mail to Kuta

The title says it all about Kuta. It is nothing like the rest of Bali and, I've got to say, I think it is a hole. The waves are good for surfing and the internet is better than anywhere else we've been. There, I've said something positive about it. Now I can berate it all I like. Kuta is the most touristy, commercial, smelly, crowded and generally un-indonesian part of Bali that I've visited. I don't know why I'm bothering to write a blog as I have nothing interesting to say. I have spent the last week reading loads, feeling sad that my boy has left and trying to avoid people who want to sell me stuff. Oh what a grump I am!

It is not all bad. I had a lovely walk along the beach the other evening and stood in the shallows whilst the sun set. That was pretty special. I also had a realy cool surfing lesson. I was able to stand on the board for a good while, even managing to turn it a bit. I avoided injuring myself and the many people who kept getting in my way. Unfortunately, the surfing instructor guy made things awkward by following me around and trying to get me to go out with him so I've been avoiding the beach. Why don't people understand the word NO in this country?! Ah well, my bro is arriving on a jet plane this evening so we can surf together.

Far from the madding crowd

Since my last blog Mike and I spent about a week on Lombok, Bali's slightly less touristy neighbour, before returning to Bali. On Lombok, there are a large number of horses and carts that jostle with the scooters and cars on the crazy roads. The beach town of Sengiggi and the beautiful island of Gili Air, about 5km off the mainland, provided some excellent snorkeling ground. Despite their partial destruction by boats and people, the soft coral reefs were colourful, with an abundance of tropical fish. Our stay on Gili Air, a stunningly undeveloped, laid-back island, was very relaxing although slightly spoiled by us both being ill. Back on Lombok mainland, we headed to the mountain village of Senaru near the base of Gunung Rinjani, Indonesia's second largest volcano. For various reasons we didn't undertake the four day trek up Rinjani and left Senaru feeling a little frustrated. On Thursday we boarded the ridiculously slow public ferry back to Bali. Seriously, I could run faster, probably with only one leg.

We have seen a different side to Bali this time around. The guidebook contained a pitifully small paragraph about a place called Tirta Gangga but the words 'small', 'isolated' and 'quiet' jumped out at us. It is a pretty little place in the midst of absolutely stunning scenery. A walk from the village took us through verdant paddy fields and subsistence villages. Conveniently situated at the foot of Gunung Agung, Tirta Gangga proved to be an ideal place from which to climb Bali's highest and most sacred volcano. This we did at night, setting off at 2am so as to arrive at the crater for sunrise. The climb was worth the effort and we watched the sun come up behind Lombok's Gunung Rinjani.

In addition to enjoying Bali's scenery, I have attempted to gain an insight into its unique religion and culture. Balinese-Hinduism actually seems to have arisen from an intricate mix of Buddhist, Hindu and animist influences. Indeed, many of the Hindu temples house a Buddha, who is worshiped in addition to Shiva. Daily offerings are made to both the Gods and the Demons, illustrating the constant strive for equilibrium between good and evil. In Bali, the elaborate displays of dedication to the Gods is combined with large doses of superstition and the occasional Black Magic.

Mike and I have now returned to Ubud, where we will spend a last few days enjoying each other's company before Mike leaves for Thailand and then home. Back in England, I graduated from my PhD this week. Theretofore, henceforth I shall be known as Dr Emma Jo Bowles. Only joking, but it feels good.

Ants in my pants

Now then. Until recently I have regarded ants with huge respect and admiration. This week, however, they have shown themselves up a tad. When digging around in my bag the other day for articles to be laundered, I discovered to my disgust, about a million ants all crawling around in there. Ok, slight exaggeration but there were loads. I wondered at what food scraps or crumbs could possibly have attracted them. There were none. The entire reason for their pilgrimage to the depths of my bag and into my walking boot was a packet of panty liners. They munched right through the wrappers to reach their treasure. What possible nutritional value these could have I simply cannot imagine but there you go. Ants are not so clever after all and I was not impressed. Once upon a time I wanted to become an entomologist when I grew up. That was back in the day when I failed to notice the majority of insects and thought that butterflies were the most wonderful thing on earth. I grew out of that one, just like I grew out of wanting to cut up dead people. We have seen some seriously big insects in the mountains over the last two days. Their singing filled the background, day and night.

Adakah kamar kosong?

Since arriving in Denpasar last Sunday, Mike and I spent six days in Bali and have now moved on to Lombok. We spent a couple of nights in Sanur, on the peninsula south of Denpasar. It was nice enough but extremely touristy. From there we headed to Ubud, an arty crafty town to the North. We were able to walk through some rice paddies around Ubud and take in the Balinese scenery. We also vistited a Monkey sanctury where the monkeys are allowed to live almost as if in the wild. They were not caged and therefore free to move away if they pleased. Clearly, with so many people visiting the sanctury and feeding them bananas, they are living a life of luxury and have no intention of going anywhere.

What can I say about Bali? It is green and beautiful, chaotic and noisy. The air smells of traffic fumes mixed with incense. The most popular mode of transport is the scooter. It is amazing how many people and things get piled onto them. Two adults, a todler and then maybe a baby, some bananas or budgies, no worries. The roads are therefore a tad crazy with scooters weaving in and out all over the place. We had a little scooter ride oursleves when we visited the Mother temple of Pura Besakih as there was no public transport to take us back to the town we were staying in. All quite safe, I promise. Our trip to the temple was a mixed experience. It was cool to see the buildings and get a glimpse of a Hindu ceremony. However, we were ripped off a number of times that day which all got a bit frustrating.

Everywhere we go there are so many people trying to sell things. You can hardly take a step without a ''hello, transport'' or a ''please look in my shop''. It is hard not to smile and talk back to people when they say hello in such a friendly way. I guess I'll get used to it after a while but I hate to be rude, especially when I know that I'm the tourist who can afford to travel to their country and they are pretty poor. Ah well, I really don't want a rucksack full of sarongs, necklaces, fake designer watches and ugly paintings. If I was here on a short holiday I would take a suitcase home half-filled with beautiful sarongs and scarfs. The textiles here are so colourful and the silk is stunning. I'll just stick to one sarong for now.

Kadadu du du, push pineapple, shake a tree

Last weekend we did as many Perthites do and escaped the city for the beautiful area around Margaret River. Mike's cousin Emma, who is currently living and working in Perth, very kindly used her free weekend in a house for us all to enjoy. It was such a luxury to cook in a properly equipped kitchen and without other people getting in the way. Lasagne, mmm.

Despite the rain (yes it does actually rain in Australia), we managed to take in the sights of Margaret River and around. A major attraction of the area is the presence of countless vineyards and wineries. With Mike as 'skipper' -because he is lovely- we visted a number of cellar doors for tastings. Clearly we had no intention of buying the $60 wine but no-one seemed to mind us trying it.

Whilst driving around, we finally saw some Kangaroos! They hop hop hopped right in front the car. We hopped into the bush after them but they were long gone. Kangaroos are amazing- the embryos enter the pouch only 35 days after fertilisation! After this they are reliant on suckling, with little or no placental attachment. Additionally, fully grown kangaroos use only 1/5th the energy of a mammal of the same size. Hopping is blatantly the way forward.

Since flying from Perth on Tuesday, Mike and I have been soaking up the sun of the Northern Territories. Darwin is smaller than I expected but has a lively atmosphere due to the numerous restaurants and bars that line the main street. We have spent the last few days in Kakadu National Park, one of Australia's largest. Having opted for the cheaper option of getting a bus to the park, we had to rely on hitching to get around. This was a bit hit-and-miss, as ever, but we successfully got to a number of the major attractions.


The main draws to the park are the wildlife, of which there is an abundance, and the Aboriginal culture. The countless crocodile warning signs kept us well away from the water but we did see one sleepy croc having a nap on the bank. We were almost constantly serenaded by the raucous birds and also got friendly with a range of different ant species. The park really was teeming with wildlife.


It was also very interesting to learn a bit about the Aboriginal people who own the land. It is thought that they have lived there for about 50,000 years and the Rock Art that we saw has been dated back 20,000 years. It is quite amazing how they adapted as the environment underwent its dramatic changes, always maintaining their laws and partnership with nature. Unfortunately, the destruction of their culture and land in the last few hundred years has completely wiped out many of the clans and left many more in terrible poverty. Sometimes I hate being European.

In search of outback WA

Mike and I are now back in Perth having spent a week driving part way up the West coast and back. We realised that it would be very difficult to access many of the sights without being on a stupidly expensive tour bus or getting our own wheels. No contest. We hired a very nippy Toyota Corolla in which the miles flew by, even when faced with crazy outback roads.

The West coast consists of a long string of beautiful beaches which quickly changes to bush when you go inland. We were both amazed by how much 'nothing' we drove through. Much of our driving time was spent on Kangaroo watch, our eyes scanning the bush hopefully. Unfortunately, the countless Kangaroos we saw were all dead- they seriuosly need to learn some road crossing skills! Our various stops included The Pinnacles desert which was created by columns of resistant rock that were left standing when the surrounding rock was weathered away. We also saw the sights of Kalbarri National Park, a place of red rock and gorges.

One of the highlights for me was our trip to Coral Bay from where the Ningaloo reef can be easily accessed. I went on a glass-bottomed boat and snorkelling trip of the reef. The minute I got in the water I was compeletly surrounded by fish of all colours. It was amazing. To top it off, we swam a bit further out and found oursleves hanging out with a couple of sharks. They were only about my size, and completely uninterested in us, but it was still a little scary when one swam directly underneath me, only two metres away. Pretty damn cool.

For the most part, our free camping was successful and we found oursleves cooking and drinking wine on deserted beaches or in the bush. We weren't quite so lucky in Coral Bay, however, as camping was prohibited. We didn't think anyone would notice if we pitched after dark at the foot of the dunes. What we hadn't anticipated was that some crazy folk think it normal to go fishing at 3am so we found oursleves in the headlights of a 4X4. We had to pack up and run the hell away to avoid a possible fine. Ah well. Sleeping in a car is not so bad.

We now plan to head south of Perth for a few days where we will find some vineyards and more beaches.

BTW- I have now changed the settings on this blog to allow people to post comments without signing in as I know it has been frustrating a couple of you. Big love to all xxxxxxxxxxxx

The only Kangaroo we've seen was roadkill

I now find myself in sunny Perth. It is a pretty crazy distance from Auckland but I have only stopped in a couple of places along the way. Matt and I flew into Melbourne a week ago where we met up with Mike again. Melbourne itself looked like a pretty cool city to spend time in if you have the money- Australia seriously eats cash even before you indulge in the many shops, bars and cafes. We decided to hire a car to drive The Great Ocean Road which is said to be 'one of the most beautiful in the world'. An evening's drive took us to Warnambool at the far end of the route where we cheekily camped in a car park near the sea. This left us until 5pm the next day to wend our way along the coastal road. Our days studying GCSE geography were happily brought back as we gazed upon the limestone cliffs, complete with caves, arches, stacks and stumps.

After Melbourne, Mike and I boarded a bus to Adelaide and left little bro to begin his trip up the East coast. The highlights of Adelaide included a well needed catch up on sleep, a trip to Australia's Museum of Wine, and being entertained over lunch on the beach by a gaggle/herd of seagulls.

We were due to ride the Indian Pacific train across to Perth. The two and a half day trip journeys right across the outback and includes the longest section of straight track in the world. Unfortunately there had been a freight train de-railment so we were hastily shoved onto an aeroplane instead. We therefore arrived in Perth a little earlier than anticipated. From here, we are heading up the coast in search of Australia.

Racing up the North Island

The last week has taken us across Cook Strait to Wellington and all the way up to Auckland. We only left just over a week to take in the sights of New Zealand's North Island as we leave for Australia shortly. We had intended to do a two day tramp up Mount Holdsworth which is a couple of hours north of Wellington. However,we suffered a car breakdown (Mike's friend Jen was driving us there) and hence had to re-think. We headed instead to Tongariro National Park, home of The Lord of the Rings' Mordor. The Tongariro Crossing is said to be New Zealand's finest one-day walk and it did not disappoint. We threw in an extra three hour side-trip to the summit of Mount Ngauruhoe (a.k.a. Mt Doom). I give serious respect to Frodo and Sam because it was quite a challenge- the 36 degree slopes were covered in volcanic rock, scree and dust. I was pretty exhausted by the time I reached the crater. The descent was much more enjoyable as we were able to slide and jump our way down. A huge bonus to our stay in Tongariro was the indoor climbing wall in our hostel which we put to full use. We are now spending some time in and around Auckland before flying across the Tasman.