Beijing here I come!! Just about to begin descending for Beijing Airport and can't explain the excitement. I slept a little on the plane, however struggled with one or two incidents. First of all why do I always have to sit behind the idiot who finds the recline button. Seriously, this guy was literally on my lap!! Then just as I was about to dose off I begin to hear 2 Polish women cackling like hens!! After an hour of ear ache I finally get to sleep and d...

Beer o'clock!! As I type this I'm currently an hour into my 9 hour flight to Beijing (17:45 BST). I've had a brief power nap and I was kindly woken up by the flight attendant offering me a complimentary drink. I caught a glimpse of London Pride in the drinks trolley and before I knew it, it was beer o'clock. I'll wait for my inflight meal before catching some more valuable shut eye. Although it's only 6 in the evening BST the local time in Beijing is 1am. ...

So here I am sat down in Manchester airport, and the tearful farewells are finally over. There really is no turning back now (unless I get the 2.15 train back home from Euston!!) It's a strange feeling really. I'm excited about the great adventure I'm about to go on and apprehensive about what challenges I'm going to face. I think it's the first time I've arrived at the airport without heading straight for the bar! Not just because it's only 10am(hasn't stoppe...

1 flight down, 8 to go!! I'm not sure if I've flown with British Airways before, but it's certainly the first time in long while. What a pleasant flight it was. Manchester to London in a little over 30 minutes, 3 or 4 times quicker than the train at half the cost. I barely had chance to tuck into my complimentary snack & drink (Still no booze!!) before we descended for Heathrow Airpot. I've lived in the capital for 3 years & never before have I seen ...

The night before. So here we are, nearly a years worth of planning, electrical nightmares and about 250 leaving parties!! This is my final night in the UK before I jet off to Beijing. I've heard plenty of stories about how little English they speak, how many parts of the World I'm visiting are poverty stricken, but still I am extatic about the prospect of travelling to places I've never visited before. Ironically when asked what my last supper should be, I cho...