All good things come to an end

Hello from Railey!

The holiday is coming to an end now but we've found a nice place to chill out for the remaining days. We're in a little resort called Railey which is south of Krabi on the west coast of Thailand. We've been in Thailand for a couple of weeks and have done nothing more strenous than island hop from Koh Lanta to Koh Phi Phi and finally here.

Tomorrow we return to Bangkok and then it's back to London.

The Thai part of the trip has been somewhat shorter then we intended but that's because of our extended stay is Austrailia. We haven't done a great deal over the last couple of weeks but have drunk a lot of Singa beer and eaten loads of nice spicy food.

The Thai people have been very much as I remembered: pretty laid back and always quick to smile. There seems to be a big "rasta" thing going on around these parts and it's getting difficult to find places that do not play The Best of Bob Marley on an endless loop. That said we had a pretty interesting experience the other night when we walked up to the Skunk Bar which is a little removed from the tourist areas. Frequented mostly by Thai-Rasta guys we witnessed the birth of a new form of Thai-Reggae-Ska fusion which was very entertaining. As the night wore on an the patrons became more and more "laid back" the original band line-up started morphing as local "talent" took over instruments and singing duties. The resulting free-form style of music (involving multiple concurrent melodies and time signatures) was a liberating break from traditional music.

Goodbye Oz, it's been a ball

We today is my last full day in Oz as tomorrow afternoon me and Woody fly to Bangkok. It's been an excellent 5 weeks and we've been lucky enough to see some really great places.

After leaving Melbourne in the two "Wicked Campers" we headed North East towards the Blue Montains. Never travelling for more that two or three hours a day we took a leisurely trip across country driven by the desire to find the ultimate pie. Yes, it's true that the Australians share alot in common with the English, but I believe that it is in the appreciation of the humble pie that our joint heritage is shown to be most strong.

From the Blue Montains we headed towards Syndey and up the coast always is search of better pies. Having forsaken the quest for decent Austrailian beer we resorted to the "goon" (cheap boxed wine) which despite the number of chemicals it contains did nothing to ward off the mosquitos.

We made it to Australia Zoo and paid our respects to the great Steve Irwin but were a little disappointed by the Irwin families stance on eating Kangaroo, Emu and Crockadile... Surely these are the tastiest of all pie fillings?

So tonight we have our last meal with Damian and Julia and wish them a safe onward voyage.

All in all, it's been a great time and I can't wait to see what Thailand has to offer!

Sunny Melbourne

G'Day...

It's a sunny day here in Melbourne and we've finally got around to finding an Internet Cafe. Over the last couple of weeks we've flown from Perth to Adelaide and met up with Damian and Julia. After a hiring an estate car in Adelaide we bought a tent and have been staying in camp sites on the coast from Adelaide to Melbourne. The weather has been significantly cooler than the 40C we experienced in Perth but it's been generally fine and it's getting better by the day. We arrived in Melbourne yesterday (along with the other 100,000 or so that came for the Formula One) and have ditched the hire car in favor of a couple of camper vans.

We have so far resisted the temptation of going on the Neighbors site seeing trip and confined ourselves to mooching around the town center. Over the next couple of weeks we're planning to head up the coast to Sidney and beyond.

USB is disabled on all the PC's here so no more photos yet ...

Easy Life

Well, we've been chilling out in Perth for a few days and the digestive "issues" brought on by the India leg of our journey have started to subside (i.e. it's now possible to venture over 100 feet away from a toilet without fear of accident).

G'Day from WA

Well, today you find me in a little suburb of Perth, WA staying at my good friends: Rob and Sarah. After two rather alarming aborted landing attempts the good humored Quantas captain announced our arrival at 4.15pm. Good ol' Rob was waiting for us at the airport and we were spirited away into the the 'burbs to dine on what else ... yep a good old fashion ozzy barbie.

Not much else in the way of news but be sure to check out my Flickr site where you'll find a 100 or so pictures on the India leg of this journey!

Singapore Sling!

Wow ...

Coming to Singapore and wandering around I can't help but feel that I've somehow returned to the First World after a month of India. The streets are clean, there's no stench of sewers, there's an abundance of nice bars and restaurants, there are no hawkers or beggars waiting to harass you at the first chance, there are litter bins!

Yes, the affluence of Singapore is made all the more poignant after travelling around India. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to get into a rant dissing everything to do with India, but I must admit it's a lot easier being a tourist in a place like this.

We touched down yesterday morning after a shortish place trip from Mumbai (home of the world's least impressive international airport). Hotels seem to be at a bit of a premium here but we got ourselves booked into a very good 4 star place a short distance from the down town action. A pleasant walk down the river brought us later on to China town where we feasted on excellent food and cold Tiger beer. A little bit of a stroll around to check out all the shops and then we sauntered back to the hotel to enjoy the air conditioned luxury of the hotel bar.

Today's been a similarly chilled out affair only slightly spoilt by a torrential downpour that shows no sign of going anywhere for some time. Being the tourists that we are we've been to Raffles and had Singapore Slings ... not the best I've ever had, I'm waiting to get back to the hotel where the barman swears he can prepare a far more authentic version.

Tomorrow we've got an early flight to Perth and from there on in it's fun and frolics down under!

Yet again I've failed to find a PC with a USB port so I haven't uploaded any photos but I'm hoping to hog Rob's PC when we get to Oz, so hopefully the next blog entry will be accompanied by a feast of colour photos!

Farewell India

Well it's only a couple of hours now before we hop on a bus and make our way to Mumbai international airport to take a 5 hour flight to Singapore and then a couple of days later to Australia.

India has been a very interesting experience, we have chilled-out on beaches, seen a few temples, seen some pretty dirty and chaotic cities .... everything has been an experience!

Something however leaves me feeling a little disappointed. Perhaps it's me, but I seem to have failed to fully appreciated "the magic of India" that other travellers rant on about in bars and cafes. Sure, it's been very thought provoking but I can't honestly say I was "touched". Still, I don't regret a moment of the trip and who knows perhaps in different circumstances I'd return and be more open to the experiences of India?

Photos to follow.

Cities, Beeches and Elephants

Well, this is more like it ... We're currenty chilling out in a small costal resort called Varkala. It's in the south of Kerela and unlike the rather busy and ultra-touristy areas of Goa it's actually quite laid-back. We've been here for the last few days as the urge to continue travelling onwards, day-after-day has temporaily left us.





Yesterday was good fun, we got word that there was a festival at one of the local temples so we hiked it up the beeches for around 30 minutes and happened across a local gathering ...






These guys know what pleases the crowds ... we want elephants!

For the past few days we've done nothing except gentle walking, reading, eating and drinking. Being back near the sea has brought back a sense of calm after the madness of Mangalore and Bangalore.

So long Goa

Paradise??? Lost

Well, today I'm sitting in an air conditioned internet cafe in Mangalore. To cut a long story short the Goa experience was not quite what I had in mind. Now don't get me wrong I'm sure that if you had local knowledge and patience you could find some nice chilled out places but what we found was a bit too close to Costa Del Sol for our liking. Now if I were a surf dude or beech bum it would have been great but somehow something didn't push the right buttons. That said it was a nice place to hang out and relax for a while. Perhaps being in my early twenties and thin would have helped as well ...





So yesterday we jumped on a "local train" from Canacona (Goa) and headed 400 km due south to where we are now. The train journey was quite an experience given that it was a local service and had none of this 2nd class, 2-tier A/C, 1st class reservation stuff that gets you a reserved seat. So we went cattle class and spent 6 hours getting numb backsides on a wooden bench. Fortunately I didn't need to use the toilet which would have been an adventure too far ...

Interestingly although Mangalore is a busy city we haven't experienced any of the hassle we received in Goa. Rather than view you as source of easy cash they just leave you to yourself to get on with it.

Neither of us appear to have suffered the dreaded Delhi-belly yet but given the interesting places we're eating in I'm sure it's only a matter of time. It might just be me but I'm kind of surprise that nothing i've eaten so far has been particularly spicy. Perhaps the waiters just ask the chef to tone down the flavour for pale Europeans but there's definitely an element of vitamin Chilly missing from the diet.

South Goa

Well, it's been an interesting week so far ...

Shortly after arriving at Mumbai airport the overwhelming desire to get as far away from Mumbai as possible overcame the two of us. A quick flight later we were in Goa. We've drifted around this week and have started to get into the spirit of things.

One things for certain, you have to adopt a good sense of humor to get on as as a tourist you are somewhat of a magnet for everyone trying to make a few rupees. That said everyones been friendly so far and as long as you don't forget that they're trying to make a bit of cash then everything seems fine.

Of the more extreme sports we have engaged in is taking taxis. These taxi drivers have a very liberal view to the application of traffic laws. One cannot fault their bravery however as they constantly amaze us at their ability to overtake on blind corners and make it back onto the correct side of the road before oncoming traffic causes any nastiness.

Sorry, but no photos today ... next time I promise to upload some pretty Goan sunsets ... arrrhh

Launch Day has arrived

Well it's seems like ages since we booked our tickets for the mini-adventure. Next time I blog I'll be somewhere in Southern India. Looking forward to chilling out in Goa for a week or so before heading further down south in search of culture and new experiences.

Only 1 tube journey and an 8.5 hour flight to get through and India here we come!

90 days holiday ... fantastic!

T - 1

Well, the wait is almost over. I finished work on Friday and have spent the time since reflecting on the events to come (i.e. have been frequenting the pub regularly). I can't believe I've got 3 months off work ...

Schedule:

• 30th January arrive in Mumbai
  
• 26th Feb arrive in Singapore
  
• 1st March arrive in Perth
• 6th Match arrive in Adelaide
• 30th March arrive in Bangkok
• 28th April arrive back in London

Hopefully we'll meet up with Rob, Dames and Jules, Geoff and Stu during our travels.

It's going to be an interesting learning experience!

Picture of Cowes

Just testing ...

T-20, all systems within operating guidelines

Only 13.5 more working days until the adventure starts.

Spent last weekend on a short sailing course. This was the first time I've been out in rough weather and I am proud to announce that I definitely do not get sea sick. The wind was force 6 to 7 and the rain came down in sheets but that only added to the experience. Learned a lot of valuable things over the course of the two days which will definitely be helpful on future excursions. Didn't do too many nautical miles (probably only around 20) but it got the message through that you have to be respectful of mother nature when you're floating around at sea in a little boat.

The plane tickets arrived in the post today ... another thing less to worry about.

Advice on visa acquisition

Well, getting an Indian Tourist Visa was an interesting adventure ...

My advice to anyone seeking a visa is to get to India House early (well before it opens) and ensure you take a good reading book with you. Be prepared and don't let frustration get the better of you. Stay calm and everything will happen in time ...

T-27 and Counting

I'm getting excited ...

It's now less than 4 weeks before the start of the Spring 2007 Mini-World Tour!

Only 17 days more hard labour before the shackles of a working life are temporary removed. Even returning to work could not remove the spring in my step today. Suddenly the thought of a cold January in the UK doesn't seem too bad. Whatever happens in the next 27 days will soon be past and I will be out of the country and onto a mini tour of India, Australia and Thailand.

There's precious little of a travel plan sorted yet, simply a list of flights to catch. The whole concept of "winging it" for a few months seems so appealing, such a contrast from the ordered life that is dictated by a permanent job.