"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope."

-- The Shawshank Redemption




We currently have the honour of having our travelogue residing on the front page of travelpod.com. I think it lasts for a week. I've been asked to stick up a kind of highlights list of the last 83 entries for all the millions of new readers we're going to be getting any... second... now.

We're Mike and Vinny, and we're travelling around the world without flying. Why? Because everyone tries to do something different, and everyone ends up doing the same thing. Or because it's fun. Or because we quite simply have nothing better to do. Devoid of jobs, homes and commitments, we are bums of an international scale.

At the time of writing, we are currently in Australia, and have been on the road for nearly six months. Our Journey thus far has taken us through Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Estonia, Russia, Mongolia, China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

We like our travelpod page. It has been described as "The best and most funny travelogue I have ever seen", by me, and "mildly humorous self-indulgence" by everyone else - what further accolade could you ask for?

Where to start? Obviously, it's all good - and it's run through with that same self-deprecating modesty that characterises everything we do. What I've done is glanced through it and picked out ten entries that give a kind of whistle-stop tour through our journey so far... Enjoy.

In chronological order then...

England 1 Paraguay 0 - this is a lovely account of what being in Germany for the world cup was like, complete with lots of lovely pictures.

Vinny's Vision - the first of my travelling companion's contributions and still his favourite.

How We Ended Up In A Sofia Strip Club Is... - this is a tender and heartfelt account of the struggle for freedom, set against the back drop of a Strip Club.

From Russia With Love - highlights our experiences with St Petersburg nightclubs and our failed attempt to attend the G8 summit. Also some interesting facts about Stalin and Bruce Cambell.

Europe... A Retrospective - this is a retrospective look... at Europe.

Trans-Mongolian Express: Day 1 - our Mongolian visa adventure, our willingness to get the hell out of Russia, and hopefully enough of an exciting cliff-hanger ending to make you read the whole thing... which you should, of course. Particularly the one about the shower.

Near Death Experience - Thinking of taking bus trips through China? Read on.

Because It's There - Tiger Leaping Gorge, our highlight of China.

A Thousand Words - Reflective meanderings.

Theodor Storm - Want to know what it's like being on a cargo ship for 6 days? Voila.



xxx