"Right guys, grab yourselves a swag and give it a good shake to get rid of any scorpions, snakes and spiders that are probably living in there!" Tour guide Rory puts us all instantly at ease about the prospect of sleeping in the outback. ALICE SPRINGSAs hard as it was to tear ourselves away from Perth and the comforts of life with the Bolton's, we set off, ever onward to the red centre. Life in Alice couldn't have started any bett...

“Well, we’ve got that cold front that’s still sticking around, but that should b***** off within a couple of days. About bloody time too”The local Perth weather report was all the confirmation we needed that we had arrived ‘down under’  PERTHIt’s difficult to put in to words the joy we both felt as we stepped off the plane in Perth. As much as we tried not to let it happen, this was all we had been thinking abou...

 And so, we say goodbye to Asia...  BANGKOK the return.It is true to say that we were not wholeheartedly excited about the prospect of our return to Thailand's capital, but our initial reluctance was swept away in a whirlwind of excitement as we landed at the brand new airport on its first day of opening – whooh! Film crews massed in numbers to film our plane touching down on the freshly laid tarmac, another glimpse of celebrity for lj and Dan...

"Todie prugrem, eat dha bee quest, an dhen, chekking indhe ferrets"! Translation: Today's program after eating breakfast will be trekking in the forest. Our Ha Long Bay tour guide had the full attention of the whole group. HANOI The capital city was to be our base for a number of activities in the north of the country that would take us the best part of a week. We were initially excited about our arrival in yet another Asian capital as the other ma...

...so how much have we spent today?? Can we afford a Snickersâ„¢???" Lj fully gets to grips with back-packing budget priorities. HOI AN After three hours in yet another over peopled mini bus, followed by 15 hair raising minutes on the back of a motorbike taxi, we arrived in the attractive little town of Hoi An. An old merchant trading town, recently awarded world heritage status, and it is the compelling sense of history in the mellow streets of this...