Hi everyone I think my last email was action packed this one is exciting but not as daring as the last. Since the last time I wrote I have been down Milford sounds down in the south of NZ which was amazing but I think I have been spoilt by too much amazing scenery and it didn't have the same effect on me I think it should have had. We also took a trip down to a rugby match in Dunedin which was great fun. We visited a brewery beforehand and then got given fake swords and shields and facepaints to support the local team unfortunately they lost but it was a great night. We then spent a few nights in Queenstown which is the party central of NZ and eventually the partying took its toll. We headed from there up to Christchurch which is more english than england. I was really sad heading to christchurch as it was going to be my first night travelling alone and I'd had to say goodbye to my Oceans 13 crew which I had made travelling on the bus for 3weeks. Most of them had left the day before, 3 of them were leaving me half way on the bus to go rafting and one (my mad scottish lil sis) we left in Queenstown. I turned up in my dorm in Christchurch only to find that 3 of the boys I'd said goodbye to the previous day had not been able to get the bus out that day and were staying an extra night in my dorm room result!! It was nice seeing some friendly faces again. They left early the next day and I headed off to swim with Dolphins. It was amazing the sea was freezing but the dolphins were really inquisitive. They were called Hecter dolphins and are the worlds smallest and rarest they were amazing!! We swam with about 7 of them for 40mins by which time I was frozen. I was given some stones and had to knock them together to try and attract their attention. The more noise and movement you make the more the dolphins come to see you. We headed bk down to Christchurch were a couple more of my crew had turned up from their rafting trip. We had a nice last meal together before the Canadian guys caught their flight at 4am. I left Christchurch the next day and flew up to Auckland where I stayed for a few days at Nikki and Terry's house who are old friends of Nana and Grandpas. I had a great few days of luxury with my own room!! I went in to the city and got taken out for dinner and to the beach very spoilt for 3 days it was great! From Auckland I flew over to Singapore where I stayed with Ian and Val, again some friends of Nana and Grandpas. Here too I was staying in luxury with my own room. Both families are lovely and I really enjoyed being back in a family environment for a few days. I had a great few days exploring Singapore and doing lots of window shopping (no room in the bag or the budget for any spending altho I did treat myself to some percy pigs from M&S). I got a lot of groud covered on the first day and visited China Town, Clarkes Quay, Boat Quay, Orchard avenue and the Botanic Gardens before meeting up with Ian for a St Patricks day pub crawl around his 5 bars (perfect timing). It was great a proper St Patricks day with lots of Guiness! The next day I headed to Sentosa Island and spent some time on the beach and then went to little India and Raffles before heading out with the whole family to the night safari which is a zoo you can only visit at night to see all the nocturnal animals which was brill. The next day I caught the bus up to Kuala Lumpur. KL is quite like Singapore in that it is really westernized all the same English shops and things. The first day I just walked around the city and found out the F1 GP was going to be on that wkend at the circuit about 1hr away. Well it was too good an opportunity to miss really and when I found out the tickets were only 30 pounds for the whole 3 days it changed my plans completely. I spent fri, sat and sun up at the circuit and met a really cool aussie called Jarrod who managed to get me and him tickets in the grandstand for the race on sunday and down to the front of the paddocks and the end of the pit lane!! We spotted Fisichella and Sutil and Button as well as all the ITV commentators very cool- its good to know the right people. The guy who managed to get us the tickets is the editor of F1 magazine! The race was amazing it was so loud I thought my ears were goin to burst and the view was great opposite the honda garage in the pits just down from the start finish line. I met a really cool group of people in the hostel and we all went out after the race in to the city centre to watch the Liverpool-Man U and Chelsea- Arsenal games. The night turned into morning and before I knew it it was 8am and time to go and get my flight to Borneo. Unfortunately being in a half asleep and hungover state I wasnt really paying attention at the airport and kinda missed checkin so had to buy myself another ticket for a flight the next day opps!! So after a 4 hour round trip I arrived back at the hostel at midday just as everyone else was crawling out of bed I got some really confused looks especially from the people who had been up at 8am to say goodbye. I had to explain that I had missed my flight and got quite a few laughs (howver I wasnt the only one as many people had missed buses and checkout!). We all spent the day mouching round teh hostel watching films and just chilling. This morning I was up extra early at 4am! to get my flight to Kota Kinabalu where I am now. I met up with a couple of guys from KL in the hostel this morning and spent the day wondering around the city with them. Tomoro I am heading off to Sedankan where I will be going to the Turtle Island and the Sepilok Orangutan reserve which I'm really excited about. That's it for now not quite as action packled as the last one but I've really enjoyed my few days of family life and non dorm living and have got to grips with travelling on my own which is actually great fun and I have forced myself to chat to some great people and made some really good friends. Asia is so much cheaper than Oz and NZ I have eaten both lunch and dinner out today and they cost me a pound each for a big meal and a drink!!!! baraginess its great,. Right i'm off to bed in my 1.95pound dorm room tehe. Lots of love Jo