One of the most endearing things about Australia, and I mean this most sincerely, is the fact that 95% of the country is covered in a vast expanse of nothing. After leaving the hustle of city life, the coach to the Gold Coast passes almost the whole way through miles of untouched virgin forest land, National parks and huge lakes with shimmering blue water. Being in the middle of nowhere with no light from cities to illuminate the sky, a coach trip at night is rew...

When I first visited Sydney back in 1995, it was at the end of an organised tour of the country with AAT Kings - a large Australian coach tour company. On that occasion I had been travelling with my father, and on our first night back in Sydney we had met up with one of his friends for a meal at a local restaurant called "Edna's Table". The choice of venue for the meal may well have had something to do with the fact that dad's friend knew the owners, but I didn'...

Note: The following entry, and others to follow, were written during my tour of Australia at the end of 1998 - please don't send me heaps of email pointing out that it isn't Christmas. I am aware of this. It's been the season to be jolly for some time now, but the difference would seem to be that the Australians have noticed. Back in the UK, all the shops had already started selling Christmas cards before I left but The Thais, being mainly Buddhist, naturally wo...

As I mentioned back in Kuala Lumpur, Eloise has never really been one for big cities. However, on our world tour in 2002 we had a couple of nights stopover in Sydney before heading for the Gold Coast and northern Queensland, and I felt sure that she would enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of Darling Harbour and the waterfront restaurants and bars . It's strange how memories can get warped over time, and I was convinced that I remembered walking along George Street loo...

Leaving Hong Kong by Chep Lap Kok Airport is substantially different than it was at the old one. At Kai Tak, the plane had about 300 yards of runway in which to take off, and then had to bank sharply left in order to avoid hitting the apartment blocks on the side of the hills surrounding it, something which never failed to scare the willies out of me every time I did it. If you happened to live anywhere in the vicinity, looking out of your window must've been a n...