Hey Y'all!

Another state, another culture change and another great experience on this trip of a lifetime.

I have reached Nashville, Tennessee and managed to eventually meet up with my parents. Over 4 months of travelling and I've made every flight and connection so far. Unfortunately my folks weren't quite so fortunate as they missed their connecting flight and arrived 5 hours late.

Like any concerned son would do, I investigated the cheapest way to get downtown and got the party underway.

I went to a place called Tootsies on broadway, which is a place I'd highly recommend. The place had a buzzing atmosphere with a country and western band, which actually sent shivers down my spine when they orchastrated the crowd to join in with the chorus of John Denver's "Country Roads".

As I am travelling on a budget, I decided that the last bus for $1.60 was more appealing than a $25 taxi. Also I was looking forward to catching up my parents and they were due to arrive at 10pm.

Unfortunately the lack of communication was an issue, as my parents went downtown to find me. We eventually caught up and sank plenty of blue moons as I was summarising my trip so far.

Day one of the bus trip was an intense schedule of touring the city of Nashville, the music hall of fame and RCA studio B where Elvis Presley recorded most of his hits.

The highlight was the RCA studio as our fantastic tour guide Keith provided an in depth description of his 20 year experience of working at Studio B. We also had the opportunity to play a piano that Elvis himself played thousands of times.

An interesting fact was that 35,000 records where recorded here of which over a thousand were top ten hits. Other artists such as Dolly Parton, Buddy Holly and more recently Leanne Rimes all recorded at this studio.

The evening consisted of a trip to the Grand Ole Opry which was a collection of Country artists performing. This was a great experience and it's a historical place.

I'm not trying to portray a bus tour with 50 & 60 year olds as lively as Koh Pan Ngan, but lucky for me my parents have party in their blood and we caught the last bus out to tootsies downtown. What a great night as once again a country/rock band was playing. It's was a fine mix of country music with the odd ACDC track thrown in, and it was cowboy hats galore.

After yet another late night/early morning, we're currently on the way to Gracelands in Memphis, where Elvis lived. I'm bracing myself for a tearful afternoon as mother reminisces on her love for the King of Rock and Roll.