Friday, May 30, 2003

10 Things we love about Australia - in no particular order...

1. The bluntness of their signs - e.g. FOXOFF (fox poison laid here), Stop, Revive, Survive (road safety - stop every 2 hours), 'Will all shoplifters please smile for the cameras on the way out' and 'Free lift to police cell for all thieves...'
2. Pubs are open 24 hours and by law all of them have hotel rooms...so if you've had one too many...
3. The people are so goddamn funny, self-depricating humour, everything's done with a smile
4. SPORT is so important here - they live and breathe it (even if it is the ones played by men with odd shaped balls)
5. The weather is (generally) great - even in winter
6. Their animals (roos, wallabies, koalas et al) are so much more cuddly and fun than our wild animals (ferrets, rats rabbits etc...)
7. They worship eating - fast food abounds, every town has a KFC/McDonalds and copious amounts of kebab houses
8. The beer is served in pumps that are so cold they ice up...honestly!
9. Facilities for travellers are unbelieveable, yet they don't look to fleece you. Sydney is such a travel friendly city - such a contrast from London.
10. The wide open spaces, scenery, lack of traffic jams, well signposted areas...I could go on...

Things we hate

1. They always beat us at sport
2. Their country's infrastructure is so much better than ours
3. They get taxed around 30p (total) in the pound - that includes all GST/income tax - everything

That's about it...and to honest all 3 bad ones are things that are good about Aus anyway. I would move out here without a second thought but it's not as easy for Jen as last time we looked into it (about 2 years ago) there was a surplus of dentists in the major cities making it pretty difficult for her to move...ho hum, only 7 months til we're back in England and all it has to offer....

Thursday, May 29, 2003

Port Macquarie was a one-nighter - not a whole lot in that particular town. Very funny when we tried to get some food at about 9.15pm - everywhere was shut as (according to a taxi driver) 'everywhere shuts at 9 sun-thurs'. We did find a chinese that was open though and had a bloody awful one. We did find one fantastic place however - a Koala sanctuary. Here we got the opportunity to have photos taken with the cuddly buggers and also got to feed Kangaroos and Wallabies for an hour or so...very cathartic. We now reside in Coff's Harbour - between Byron Bay and Port Macquarie, and probably about half way (or just over) on our jhourney up the coast. It's OK here - Jen has badgered me into going horse-riding tomorrow...Pat is considering doing a skydive whilst H & R are off sea-kayaking...we should hit Bryon Bay on Saturday all being well.

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

The Hunter Valley is huge - we found this out when we decided to walk from the first group of wineries to the second - 3 1/2 kms away, in the rain. We started the day at The Hunter Valley Cheese Factory, where we tasted a variety of great cheeses and finally settled on the priciest but most amazing tasting cheese I think I have ever tasted. It is a 3-year old blue cheese that's soaked in port - amazing. Then off to our first winery - McGuigan's, run by Bruce (not Barry). Here we booked on a tour where we were shown the whole wine making process from picking to cellar. No bottling though as that takes place else where. The guy showing us around had a real enthusiasm and knowledge and we learnt loads about Oaking, Fermentation etc... that I am sure we won't remember past tomorrow. After a good tasting session we settled on a Shiraz and walked to another couple of wineries after lunch.

The 3km walk ended at Lindeman's and Rosemount Estate where we sampled some of the more mass market stuff which tasted just fine too. Last year Lindeman's exported 23 million bottles to the UK and their Bin 65 Chardonnay is the 2nd best selling wine in Aus. It's easy to see why - they're a slick operation and, again, knowledgabloe staff led to an interesting tasting/buying session. I was so comfortable there that I even found time for a little nap - much to the amusement of said staff.

So, a bus ride back and tea of chicken chasseur to come, tomorrow we're starting the real long haul up the coast with me and Jen driving (eek) the first port (quite literally) of call is Port Macquairie where we are hoping to do some white ater rafting and the like.We will hopefully manage to get better weather as it's horrid here - it's that really fine rain that soaks you through (copyright Peter Kay - 'it's spitting...').

Monday, May 26, 2003

Our campsite in the Hunter Valley is great - we've got a powered site with an en-suite toilet and shower, it's funny but 6 months ago I never thought things like that would be a luxury...Last night was quite eventful - whilst Rich was cooking his steak (that he's looked forward to for days) something plasticy set on fire behind the grill causing some fairly toxic smoke and more than a bit of panic before we managed to find the fire extinguisher and put the inferno out...

Couple of pints at a bad Irish pub was needed after that so that was what we had. Today is 'winery' day - we are starting bizarrely enough at a cheese factory and then we're off to Tyrrells - one of the oldest vineyards in Aus. They do a full tour and free tasting and no doubt we will buy some wine to accompany tea. We're off on a long drive tomorrow again so have got to cram in as much as we can today.

Sunday, May 25, 2003

The weather here is bloody awful - max of about 6 degrees today and the blooming fog isn't lifting. Not letting that daunt thus we went out searching for the Blue Mountains and we saw at least a little of them. We started off with a train journey on the world's steepest furnicular railway, which lasted all of 3 minutes and was more akin to a kind of bad rollercoaster. The funniest part was when they played the Indiana Jones music at the start...classic. It was, in fact, an ex-mining track from the late 19th/early 20th century and led us down to an area they have now boarded called, imaginatively, 'The Boardwalk'; no sign of Bruce Willis or The Drifters under it, however. We spent a good hour or so walking through the rainforest and got some great views of 'The Three Sisters'. The Three Sisters is a rock formation which, legend has it, are made of local aboriginal women who got turned to stone. They would have been hundreds of feet tall so we thought that particular tale may be more than a little unlikely. In order to ascend we took the Sceniscender - which is basically a cable car. We managed to get a couple of shots before the mist descended and we retreated back to the Campervan. I spent the afternoon sorting through photos and there are a few below courtesy of Pat's laptop and GPRS phone - very slow internet on the move - wahey!! Tonight Jen is determined not to be the shithead and seeing as H & R are so bloody good at the game the likelihood is that it'll be me as it is my turn. Tomorrow we're up early as it's over to The Hunter Valley - we're going to visit a few wineries and sample their wares so tomorrow night's edition may be a little confused...

As I've said above, thought it about time to upload a few piccies...hope you like them...

Sydney - us at the Aussie Stadium for the rugby, and a photo of our 'BridgeClimb (Tm)' photos...



Sydney at Sunset, and me on the Manly ferry with the Opera House in the background.



Us at the Sydney Opera House, and us on Manly beach.



The only time we'll ever be anywhere near an Olympic Podium, and us (me looking very camp) on Bondi beach.



Me with my fave big fiah - a clown anenemefish, unfortunatey it costs $140 (AUS) and is bigger than my rucksack...and finally us with the 3 sisters rock formation in the background - the Blue Mountains...

Friday night was a kind of non-event really proving we are all absolutely useless at partying. We didn't even manage a game of cards and, after watching the rugby on TV, had an early night in preperation of the campervan-picking-up morning ahead.

Arriving at Britz Rentals (ironically a German firm) we saw an assortment of campervans from brank spanking new to old and knackered, some looking like the one of that backpacker that was murdered a few years back. Obviously preparing for the worst we signed our papers and were pleasantly surprised, nay amazed, when we received a brand spanking new Mercedes with only 15,000 miles on the clock. After fannying around for about half an hour putting things in cupboards and the like Pat voluteered for the first drive of the day - Sydney to Byron Bay and then onto Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. The good news is that I got to sit up front as navigator, and after hitting a curb a couple of times we arrived at the place where Cook discovered Australia some 250-odd years ago. If you're wondering why it was good to sit up front...a) I didn't get abuse from people in cars with reference to my brothers driving....one particularly amusing bus driver signaled to the other three that they would need a drink or two and should stop at a nearby pub, and b) I got to play Championship Manager for a full 2 hours as Pat has bought a cable that converts cigarette lighters into mains plugs - amazing eh?

Byron Bay was a bit of a non-event really given that we didn't manage to find the memorial or the historic landing site. We did find a fish and chip shop called Danny's though so it wasn't all bad. The trip to Katoomba was pretty uneventful, only one obscene hand signal from another driver, and no accidents. I'll stop at this juncture to describe the van...well it's kinda great, we've got all the amenities you need, shower, bog, toaster, fridge et al...and we've even got a heater that we found we needed last night as it's bloody freezing here. Katoomba is the gateway to the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are supposed to be one of the most spectacular areas of natural beauty in Aus (other than Kylie's backside of course). I say suppose because we have been surrounded in fog since arriving. To be honest we don't know if the mountains are there - let alone if they are blue. Nethertheless, invigored by a great big Mum-esque casserole last night we are doing the typical Brit abroad thing by not letting the weather affect us so we're off on a hill-walk today. There is also talk of a cable car and train at some point...

Katoomba itself is similar to any number of resort villages in the Lake District, with a good mix of tourist and local amenities and we have to keep reminding ourselves where we are - it feels just like home. Bizarrely enough, to emphasis this my brother stated 'We could be in Norfolk' this morning....well quite. Tomorrow we're off up to the wine-making districts of the Hunter Valley after an early start.

One other slightly bizarre note of interest - last nights card game (round 2) ending in a victory for Tricky Dicky, with Jen last (Helen won before with Pat last). Technically speaking, and due to the name of the game Jen is now the 'Shithead', and Pat is relieved of those duties...please don't ask.

Friday, May 23, 2003

We decided (one day late) to take a trip out to Bondi Beach. After about 309 mins on a bus and 30 mins walking after we missed the stop we should have got off at we finally arrived at the famous sand-pit. It was pretty much like the Cornish coast although the surf was a bit higher and it was a little warmer. We then walked about 6 km from Bondi through a town called Bronte (no sisters on view) and through to Coogee which is a bit like Blackpool, withour the raw sewage. It was f aun way to spend the afternoon even tough our feet hurt now. In the evenihng we met up with Vanessa wjhom we met in Thailand and went out for Nando's and a coule of drinks. Pat stayed out (we were knackered) and had a very interesting evening spent in the company of an Aussie butter called Mick. at was so scared of the sinister Mick that when said headcase went for a loo-break Pat sprinted out of the door and ran home...

After an early start this morning we made it up to Taronga Zoo where I made the mistake of spekaing my thoughts out loud on the ferry over there. What I said was 'I dunno why we're going here I bloody hate zoos'. At least the Yanks in front laughed... As expected there were some cuddly Koalas and sleeping kangaroos and that was about it. Pretty poor to be honest but hey I felt fairly vindicated...we then went for a bit to eat and a trip round Sydney Aquarium which was everything the zoo wasn't - informative, interesting and incredibly large meaning the fish got a reasonable tank space. There were a few triggerfish and some very cute clown anemone fish (my faves - see sections on diving) and also a Giant Crested Maori Wrasse - a great way to spend an afternoon. On the way back we stopped off for a couple of games of pool and I remain underfeated in the Antipodes...

Thursday, May 22, 2003

The Olympic Park is amazing. A huge site containing what was a 110,000 all-seater stadium (it now only holds 80,000 - they reduced the capacity after the Olympics), the Aquatics Centre, a couple of other stadia, oh and a McDonalds. There are numerous exhibits that have gone on show since the Olympics. Perhaps the most impressive are a couple of exhibits near the main entrance of Stadium Australia (now named The Telstra Stadium). One of these is a set of poles with the names of all 74,000 voluteers who helped with the smooth running of the games - there are 5 Cornwells on there - wonder if we're related to any? There is also what also looks like a beahc hut but is basically 12 TVs done in a circle inside the roof where they play a rolling 2 hour tape of the Olympics with all the best bit. So we got to see Sir Steve Redgrave doing his bit in really dramatic and well-edited fashion. Great.

We managed to get a couple of concession tickets for the Stadium tour and duly spent about 90 mins being showed roundthe huge complex. It is so well planned and built it really makes you wonder if we've got what it takes to do something like this and to be honest the only pang I had of real disappointment in the whole thing was along the lines of 'Why can't Britain do something like this...?' The site itself of course is huge and are we ever going to be able to find an accessible site of that size in London - of course not (if we did the cost of the land would be too much anyway...) therefore why do we persist with a London bid not Birmingham/Manchester etc...? Anyway back to the stadium. We got to see the changing rooms, commentary suites, Gold and Platinum members areas and even got to stand on one of the genuine podiums from the games and had our photo taken. Not quite a perfect photo as those masters of one-up-manship the Aussies make sure that every photo has a huge beaming Aussie flag in the background - nice touch! Before the Olympics you could buy a ticket for the Platinum Area for $34,000 (AUS) - about 15 grand. This gives you 2 tickets to every event to be held at the stadium for 33 years, in the best seats, with bar and food thrown in...hmmmm tempting eh? Unsurprisingly since these limited tickets went on sale only 2 have since chenged hands (after the Olympics) for over $70,000. Sounds like a great initial investment to me...

Arriving back we decided to venture out to Hard Rock Cafe and great fun was had by all, cocktails, shooters, vodka redbull, guinness (!) and some great food was consumed but we all feel a little worse for wear this morning. We think it was the richness of the food. Off out now to Bondi beach and we're going to do a 6 km (!) cliff-top walk to Bronte and Coogee. Should be fun.

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

Well it's now my birthday and I am 28. I got a number of presents...an apron and big jar of marmite from Mum and Stepdad, a 'rub my tummy make me smile - Happy Buddha t-shirt', a 'dive sites of Australia book', and a couple of presents my brother had obviously spent alot of time getting. One - a signed Cambridge United 'Happy 28th Birthday Daniel' picture and the other - a NEW RUGBY TOP. Those of you not familiar with the rugby top saga - I had my house rugby top for 14 years until a trip to a Thai dive site when it fell of the back of the boat and is now presumably a house for fish and the like. They don't make the same top any more so my brother had one commissioned just to appease all you sarky sods who like to comment about how 'I can't believe you've still got that top' and then smirked inwardly when I lost it...it's back - coming to a photo near you soon.

The weather's not good enough for the planned party on Bondi Beach so we're off to the Olympic Village to see Stadium Australia et al. No idea what we're up to tonight, sure it'll be raucous though.

Tuesday, May 20, 2003

Our first real day exploring Sydney has been a resounding success...what a great city! Our early start of 8am (weird to think that it was still 11pm last night back home) was a real struggle, but struggle we did and we made it in time for the bridge climb. Since it's opening as a tourist attraction in 1998 over 1 million people have climbed the 1,439 steps and walked the 1.8kms to the summit of Sydney Harbour Bridge (these are stats for the round trip). The summit is 139m above sea level and, after a good hour and a half's climb/walk, we reached our goal. The views were stunning, from Sydney Opera House to the Blue Mountains over 100kms away in the distance. Our guide, Mel, was excellent and even organised an impromptu performance of 'Happy Birthday to You' at the top, albeit a day early. Despite originally having a lifespan of only 70 years (this has recently been extended to 300 hundred years - hey it was finished in 1932 - you do the 'Math') the bridge built at the cost of 16 lives and with over 1 million rivets to it's name is something of a national symbol and climbing it was, for once, something I was glad Jen talked me into.

I went for lunch with an ex-colleague of mine from my MP days - Guy Baynes. He hasn't lost any of his boyish good looks and sparkling repartee (!) and we shared a couple of old anecdotes and grievances before departing - me to the Opera House and him to work. We agreed to meet up for a beer tomorrow night. Guy has been the custodian of all our guidebooks for Aus/NZ and South America as well as our 'Teach Yourself Spanish' book. We have no excuses for not starting now. Cheers for looking after them, see you tomorrow.

The opera house was built in the 60s and the estimated cost was $7m (AUS). The Scandanavian designer who won a competition to design it went so overbudget that the government took control of the building resulting in him leaving before it was finished. To this day he has still not seen it completed. Maybe he was some sort of Anti-Australian corporate spy as the eventual cost to the Aussie taxpayer was a whopping $103m (AUS). Remember this was in the 1960s!! He's now 87 so I guess he'll never see it, as he declines the annual invitation sent via the Australian government.

After the opera house we jumped on the ferry to Manly, and spent some time on the beach watching a bloke with a metal detector (he found $3 in the half hour we were spectating - it's all action here you know ) and some surfers with varying degrees of ability. All good fun. After an amazing hot melted chocolate drink we just made it back for tea of Bangers and Mash! Tonight we're off to the cinema to see the Matrix Reloaded as we (well H & R) found some cheap tickets and stop off at a bar to see in my birthday with a cheeky half. We have no plan for tomorrow except to go out, have a few beers and go dancing. Should be great fun. Also should have some pictures up at somepoint tomorrow.

Monday, May 19, 2003

We've spent the morning having our first look at Sydney. First impressions are great - really bright and airy, with a great mix of modern and contemporary architecture. After a great baguette lunch and a quick haircut, where the barber was moaning about illegal immigrants, we had a quick run around the shops. Fortunately the girls had already decided they wanted to go off on their own so we were spared the 'women shopping' routine...For our sins our only responsibilty was to decide on, and buy, the food for the next couple of days. As we are on a pretty strict budget here we also vowed not to spend money on anything else...oops!

The sum total of our escapade is as follows:

One Set of BBQ tongs/slice/fork (bargain of the day at $8 (all prices in Aus dollars - divide by 2.5 for UKP)
One CD/MP3 Cassette Adapter so we can listen to to music on the car stereo - $30
A Bullmastiff Coaster - $5 (Pressie for Jen - we're both missing the dog)
A BBQ Grill Set - $18
An Adaptor to turn 12V cigarette lighter into 240V so we can use Pat's laptop on the move ($80)
Pressie for Jen - $enough
Food/Wine/Booze shop - $190 (!)

So it's mince, mashed potato and peas tonight and sausages and mash tomorrow. Great to be cooking again...tomorrow we're going up the Harbour Bridge on the Bridge Climb and exploring the rest of the Manly and the harbour. Hopefully the weather will hold up as it has been lovely and sunny today. Am also meeting with an ex-Michael Page colleague for lunch tomorrow. He too has left MP and now works for TMP!! Who'd ever be mad enough to do that???

In other news Rich has now confided that he has fired over 10,000 rounds whilst in the TA and he spent all his formative years training in the gym and kickboxing. I am scared. If you never hear from us again you know why...If you read this Rich - only joking big man!!

Sunday, May 18, 2003

'We love ya mate' - and so do 'Crazy John's' the biggest mobile phone retailer in Aus. The reason I mention this is that a) It was repeted ad nauseum at the rugby match this afternoon and b) from the little we've seen from Aus so far 'we lova ya too, erm ,mate...'

Singapore was fun, we find the place more than a little sterile at the best of times though, and without the hustle and bustle of hundreds of tourists and locals it was a bit weird and almost more sterile than usual. Raffles haven't developed a BOGOF mentality and we duly paid $64 (Singapore Dollars) for 4 Slings. We spent the afternoon buying Pat a new camera (well he bought it not us but you know what I mean) and then returned to the centre for a few beers and a meal at a Teppenyaki place - they cook all the food at your table and it was great! Couple of piccies below, Raffles then Teppenyaki.



After a few hours sleep we wearily met up again at the airport and managed somehow to blag Helen and Rich into the Club Class lounge. We were informed that our upgrade request (we were top of the queue) was looking unlikely as Business Class was full....bugger! It duly was, no one dropped out or died or anything and we took our places in Economy albeit in the additional legroom seats. The flight was smooth and we arrived in Sydney at around 6.30 local time - that's 9 hours (we think) ahead of the UK.

Our hostel is in King's Cross and it is less than salubrious, but at least it's reasonably affordable - $75 (AUS) for a night for a triple room and we've got our own cooking facilities and sofa so it can't be all bad. Hell they even carried the FA Cup final live last night and I managed to turn the contrast down just enough as not to keep anyone awake...good game I thought...shame about the result. The football was only interrupted by police sirens, screaming prostitutes, and drunk Aussies. This all occured on the streets outside, not at the Millenium Stadium; well, to my knowledge anyway.

This morning was a kind of sorting out/washing clothes morning which we duly did. We've booked a 6-berth campervan and are off up the coast via the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley (major wine-producing region) from Saturday. We have also sorted a kind of itinery (that's the royal we - it was Helen really) which will mean we're going to take in a whole lot of stuff over the next few days. The harbour bridge, opera house, Manly ferry (ferry to Manly not just a ferry for 'Manly' blokes), a couple of museums, The Rocks - they're all on the agenda. As I am 28 on Wednesday obviously we're taking things a little easy on Thursday but we have yet to sort any kind of itinery for the 21st...ideas on a postcard. We wanted to have a BBQ on Bondi beach but unfortunately the weather is cold and rainy at the mo although we're promised a heatwave by the weekend...

In readiness for the big trip north and as an aside we decided to come up with our 'on-the-road' names - the rules were that they had to be a pun on a musical artist/band and involve driving and our names. We came up with the following:

Van HELEN
Steeleye-SDAN
RICHARD ClayderVan
JEN Van Jovi
PATsy Transit (Kensit)

At the time very funny, not as funny now they're written - any better ones on a postcard to the usual address...

This afternoon we went to see Sydney City Roosters Vs the Newcastle Knights (Rugby League not some kind of Chicken Vs Medievil Man combat game). All great fun and a win for the home team (defending NRL Champions) by 34-14. The man of the match was one of only 2 'poms' playing over here - Adrian Morley. Depite him being ex-(dirty)Leeds we cheered him throughout.

Tonight we're cooking pasta and a tomato sauce and will undoubtedly polish some off the ridiculously cheap wine - less than 3 quid for a bottle of Rosemount Estate - marvellous. Jen's happy as she's got the wine option in addition to the alcopop option. I'm happy 'cos I've found salt and vinegar crisps - even if they taste like Sainsbury's own broand not Walkers...beggers and all that...

You will all be extremely pleased to know that tea last night consisted of a massive donner kebab and chilli sauce - my first in about 6 months - WONDERFUL!!!


Friday, May 16, 2003

Sorry we haven't written for a few days - everywhere we've been either hasn't had access or Blogger was down. Oh well here we are anyway in bustling Singapore. Just to update you on the last few days - we left Koh Tao for Samui where we went on another dive trip to 'Sail Rock' which has a vertical chimney. I felt bad again (all light-headed etc...) so Jen did the chimney with someone else. Vis was poor again so not a great dives diving all in all. After this we had a couple of games of bowling yesterday before meeting up with Pat again in readiness for our flight to Singapore.

We flew with Bangkok Airways on a propellor plane which is usually against all my morals but it was actually really good. Excellent service and with only 25 passengers (and 70 seats) there was more than enough space to spread out. There was also free beer and wine and an OKish lasagne.

So here we are in singapore - we're staying in 5* luxury once again (haha) here and it is wonderful - they upgraded us to a premier room (on the 11th floor, basically one down from a suite) free of charge and considering we're paying 100$ less than rack rate for one night (the other is free) it's as cheap as staying in a hostel for 2 nights...marvellous. Pat's got an ethernet connection in his room too so he's a happy bunny.

After a good night's sleep we trundled into town via Underwater World (shut - going back later) and the cable car (glass bottomed and all - gave us a great view of, erm, a couple of ferries) and met up with Helen and Rich. We had a Singapore Sling in Raffles and Burger King (Pat wants to compare fast food throughout the world) and got all exciting about our forthcoming campervan adventure. We've pretty much decided that our first 'trip' in Aus will be 12 days travelling via Campervan/Motorhome up the coast from Sydney to Brisbane via wineries, Byron Bay and Surfer's Paradis - me on a surfboard - do they make 'em big enough....? Rich appears to be either a) a fantastic outdoor adventurist, or b) a complete nutter (or both) as he proceded to tell us about how to skin a leg of lamb and cook roadkill (I've made that bit up) and the like...they've even got a stove and a couple of pans so we can cook potatoes too...should be a laugh. We've also kind of floated the idea of the four of us (less Pat when he's gone home) travelling through the outback to Western Australia...have to see how we get on for 12 days first we all agree...

So, tonight we're meeting up again for a few beers (they've gone off to do all the wandering around type stuff we did a couple of years ago) and we're off to play mini-golf and see the fishies. The next time I update this we'll be on the other side of the world...

Tuesday, May 13, 2003

The 'music' was there again in full effect the next night. At around 2.30am we decided to go down to check that it was our resort making the noise in readiness of our 'toy throwing' session at reception the next day. The sight that greeted us was not only bad music but of Phil Stephens doing his patented dance. Whilst hammered. Hilarious. It is a kind of throwback to the early 90s rave (little fish big fish cardboard box) and is his speciality - I remember it well from the Page days. It was incredibly reassuring to see all the Divemasters and Instructors we were trusting with our wellbeing absolutely slaughtered just 5 hours before they were due on the first boat of the day.

We complained the next day and got a reduced room rate, an apology, and cheaper fun dives - all without me getting stroppy (honestly I didn't even raise my voice!). We also explained we would be writing to PADI about a number of safety issues on the boat. At this point it was very funny to see Phil skulk out of the adjoining internet cafe without being noticed. I have never known him so quiet - who says there's no poetic justice in this world...We spent the rest of the day debating what to do and when to get to Samui/Singapore etc...

Pat then threw a bit of a curveball when he announced he wanted to stay a couple of days to complete his advanced course. We had already decided we wanted away from Ban's and onto Singapore (and Aus) so we decided to leave him there a couple of days and hook up with him on the 15th in order to fly to Singapore. He seemed happy with this as it enabled him to do the course with an instructor he trusted and a group he liked. Fair dos. So here we sit in Ko Samui - staying at the same place we did back in February - creatures of habit us.

It has been a pretty entertaining day all in all. On the ferry we overheard some Thai guy telling someone about some friends of his who flew (last week) from Singapore to Sydney and were quarantined just because they left the airport area in Singapore. Alarm bells started ringing. He also said he'd read it in the Bangkok Post. Now as the literacy rate in Thailand is very low and this bloke only spoke broken English (the Post is written in English not Thai) we found this a little unlikely but decided it may be an idea to check if there was any credence to his story. Deciding to kill two birds with one stone I called BA. If you remember we've been having problems on and off for 2 months and they haven't replied to any of our 4 emails in the last 6 weeks. Eventually we got through to Customer Relations and more specifically a woman named Allison. She recapped our problems, read all the emails (which they had got, just not replied to) and, firstly, apologised profusely and unreservedly. She explained that the emails were being taken so seriously they had been referred up (yay!) and that it finally hit the Duty Manager's desk on the 12th (yesterday). She seemed genuinely aggrieved on our behalf and said she would take personal control of the matter and sort it our for us 'within a couple of hours'. And she did.

Following us faxing over the receipts from China and explaining the Singapore scenario she said if we needed to re-route (via Bangkok) she'd waive the fee. She also refunded the China ticket re-issuing fee (see 1st April) immediately. Well within the 2 hours she called back and explained that 'Thai ferry bloke' was wrong and we'd only be quarantined if we showed symptoms of SARS, and this would apply from wherever we arrived from. We would, however, have to go through some sort of medical screening. As long as they don't check my liver I should be OK then...She also said she would be refunding all the re-route charges we had paid and she then went even further, as a gesture of goodwill (I remember this phrase from by Sainsbury days when giving out gift vouchers when meat had gone off), by giving us a further 50 quid or so towards our phone calls. UNBELIEVABLE!! So a cheque from BA is on it's way as we speak. Hoorah! Amazing that one person can do that in 2 hours really isn't it, I guess it's like everything some people are good at their jobs and others...She also said she would ring Qantas to try to get us upgraded on Saturday. That would top off probably the most fantastic piece of customer service ever...here's hoping. If we can get upgraded we are then going to have to get down on bended knee and plead for another two upgrade places as Helen and Rich have changed their plans and are now booked on the same flight as us on Saturday. They're currently in Malaysia and we all should be meeting up for a Singapore Sling in Raffles (how cheesy??) on the 16th.

We've booked a day's diving for tomorrow at Sail Rock which is kind of between here and Koh Tao. It is probably the last of the really famous sites in Thailand and should kind of complete the Thai diving experience for us. It has a vertical 'chimney' where you can enter at 19 metres and then reach the sea again at about 5 metres - should be great fun. We have also booked our flights to Singapore - on a propeller plane (arghhhh!!!!!!!) on the evening of the 15th. When we arrive at Singapore we have this to look forward to - free of charge. They basically messed up 18 months ago and owed us a favour and to cut a long(ish) story short they've offered us a short stay for nothing...! So, one day diving, a day travelling, a day in Singapore, and then Aus... we can't wait!!

Sunday, May 11, 2003

A lie-in was the order of the day after we were kept up til the small hours by some very bad karaoke and the So Solid Crew (it was difficult to distinguish which was which). So after being woken at around 11.20 by Pat (in all my life I don't think he's ever woken me up...) we went for an early lunch. We then decided to go out on Pat's boat and joined his group (kind of) for a couple of fairly shallow dives just to get back in the water and to take a few photos.

This we duly did, snapping some great bannerfish and a really neat little gobie who poked his head out of the sand just for the photo. On the second dive the weather turned (again) and we were tossed about on the surface when returning to the boat - worse than yesterday in fact. We held onto the buoy line for dear life (!) and eventually made it onto the boat. The main problem was that the waves were causing the steps at the back of the boat to lift completely out of the water and then come crashing down moments later...didn't particularly want to get too close to that. Once back on the boat a few people saw their lunch for the second time (not us - oh no we're way too hardy for that...) on the way back.

Tonight is the end of the football season (although the FA Cup final is next weekend...we're flying to Aus at the time...d'oh!) so we'll probably end up somewhere cheering for someone...not sure where ort who yet though. Pat isn't back in the water nutil late tomorrow and we're planning our last beach/lazy day for a while so we may have a few beers tonight.

Saturday, May 10, 2003

Back on Koh Tao - the trip on train/ferry was pretty uneventful. Pat very kindly brought travel scrabble with him so have taken up scrabble again. He's also downloaded a 2 and 3 letter word list - just like being at school again. All 3 of us played and then i played Vs Pat and scored over 350!! Not bad considering it's 16 years since the 'Daniel Scrabbles to the Top' headlines...if you don't know don't ask!

Koh Tao hasn't changed - we're booked into the new wing at Ban's which has hot showers - woo hoo! Pat has enroled and done the first day and a bit of his course, and we've been diving with a divemaster - none other than Phil Stephens. Phil is a guy I worked with for 18 months at MP and he's currently scousing it up on the island of Koh Tao. For those of you that know him, yes I heard him before I saw him. He's lost 4 stone on the Atkin's diet and currently has a Thai girfriend (or two).

Today's dive however was a nightmare - we got down at 25 metres, after entering through 3 metre waves, only for my ear to hurt and my mask to fill up with blood (literally). I signaled to Jen that I felt awful (very lightheaded and starting to panic a little) by giving her the 2 thumbs up signal for 'I need to surface'. She looked up and shrugged her shoulders, seemingly looking for a passing whale shark no doubt. By this stage we had lost Phil and the other diver who had swum off into the blue yonder - the visibility was only about 5m at this stage. Evenetually I managed to communicate via my 'slate' 'Feel bad!' and we surfaced, although our descent was a little quick and my dive computer reminded us of that fact as it made us stop for 4 minutes at 5m. We did so and surfaced only to be battered for the waves until we eventually struggled to the boat some 15/20 mins later. The conditions were utterly appalling and I, and a couple of others on the boat, were amazed they continued to dive. The boat had a kind of pre-pubescent schoolboy feel as it contained a number (around 18) Divemaster trainees. These guys basically get to dive for free until they are divemasters, ogh and they take groups of divers around. One of them even decided to dive in a poncho. COCK...this is 30m underwater for God'
s sake. The arrogance of these guys is pretty unbelieveable and there was a real marked difference in the level of professionalism between this boat and others we have been on recently. For Americans read frat party - for British read tossers. They were so irritating and immature that Phil was easily the most mature and level-headed one on the boat...We've made a decision not to dive with Ban's again...and to give my ear a couple of days to recover. It feels fine noiw - I shouldn't have gone down without taking my lucky Sudafed!!

Pat is progressing well on his course and has met some nice Canucks...meeting up with a couple of them for a beer tonight. Tomorrow is a chill day...the weather here has turned horrid (storms all day not just the night - hence the 3m waves) though so probably won't make it to the beach...as I've said before - roll on Australia...

Pat has very kindly uploaded the movies of us with Mantas and Whale Sharks - they can be found here - I suggest you download them to a separate file by right-clicking your mouse button. The diver in 2 of the movies is Jen by the way!! ENJOY!

MOVIE 1 MOVIE 2 MOVIE 3

Thursday, May 08, 2003

After a bit of a lie-in - the Bangkok heat is making us even more lethargic than usual - we ventured out around mid-day. The first stop was the Museum of the Royal Barges. We got dropped off on some backstreet in the middle of nowhere, and asking about 5 Thais the way and following the arrows on various walls we got there. Once a year these 8 barges are joined by a number of others and basically go up and down the river. Some dated from the last century (well the 19th but you know what I mean) and some more were being painstakingly restored. What was a bit bizarre is that these are national treasures, right? So, in the UK, would you have yours stored sitting over stagnant water and piles of old crisp packets etc...? No, oh well they do here. After being convinced (not) by some long-tail boat man that 'no ferries stop at this pier' we duly boarded a ferry. The constant lying and hassling for Farang pennies and pounds is starting to wear us down again - roll on Australia...

After jumping on said ferry we changed boats and visited Wat Arun - the Temple of Dawn. It is best viewed from the river but close up it's pretty impressive too as it's coated in lots of pieces of ceramics. It's like someone just got a load of bathroom tiles one day, smashed em up and built a temple. But prettier. The hawkers were in full effect here - we had our photos taken in those hilarious, Blackpool-esque face-cut-out-tradional-Thai-costume thingies. Then realised there was a charge. We donated to Buddha then paid the entrance fee. Worst of all was when Pat had his photo taken with a snake and a Thai woman (!) and they changed the pre-agreed price straight after said photo was taken. Hilarious. Needless to say we didn't pay and walked off to a stream of abuse. I know, when there's no tourists let's try our hardest to alienate the ones here...fantastic logic.

After what seemed an eternity (yesterday was the hottest day of the year in Bangkok - 38.6 degrees) waiting for a boat to get us to Skytrain, we finally boarded and enjoyed what will probably be our last views of the river for a few years. The usual few people washing and fishing in the pollution made us glad for what we've got back home...

In the evening we ventured out to a restaurant we'd always meant to go to but somehow had always missed - Cabbages and Condoms. The restaurant's name derives from the fact they are a registered charity and give all their profits towards sex education as Thailand currently has one of the highest HIV rates in the developed world. It was nice to support such a good cause especially as the food was excellent and relatively cheap, hell we even splashed out on a bottle of wine. At the end of the meal instead of mints they give you a condom each. Thought they tasted a bit rubbery but boy the bubbles you could blow...

So we're nearing the end of our time in Bangkok - we do love this city loads although the constant hassle does irritate the hell out of us as you may have guessed by now. Our train leaves at 7.15 tonight and arrives at 4am - it's then a couple of hours on the ferry. We're booked in at Ban's - where we did our advanced course a few months ago.

Below are a couple of piccies I've nicked off my brother's website - we'll upload ours at some point. Still not done those vid files...will try and get them done today.

Us on the Baiyoke Tower and a group shop at Cabbages and Condoms.



Tuesday, May 06, 2003

When it's hot in Bangkok it's hot - really hot. We set off for the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew this morning at around 8.30am. By the time we arrived 40 minutes later it was a scorcher...felt at least 40 degrees, but really sticky with it. The Grand Palace has been through a bit of a revamp since we last went - gone was most of the scaffolding and, to be honest, most of the tour groups - it was almost deathly quiet. We spent nearly 2 hours wandering round, showing Pat, and seeing again for ourselves, the Emerald (it's actually made from a lump of Jade...another Thai scam?) Buddha and others, before heading off to one of our favourite temples - Wat Pho. Wat Pho is home to one of the world's largest reclining Buddhas. Last time we can it too was under scaffold but this time it has been almost fully restored and we got to have a good look and take the obligatory photos. The feet are inlaid with mother of pearl and are about 5 metres high - very impressive as the rest of the Buddha (50 metres long??) is pure gold.

From here we went to Khao Sarn Rd to laugh at the hippies although there weren't many around...maybe SARS has got to them all? Who knows, maybe they've all decided to go home and get jobs...no I doubt it. Had some nice spring rolls and went for the holy trinity - Burger King. Yup that's McD's, KFC, and BK in consecutive days...YUM!

On the way back the taxi driver decided to take us via Aberdeen (seemingly, although didn't see any grey buildings or seagulls the size of dogs) and refused to turn down the road we're staying on saying it was 'one way'. When we stopped at the lights we jumped out and hired another cab without paying. He didn't kick up a fuss so for once we felt that was a submission that he knew he was in the wrong...

Muay Thai boxing tonight at Lumpini Stadium, followed by some more temples and the Royal Barge Museum tomorrow. We've booked and paid for our tickets out of here - we're off to Koh Tao on the overnight train on 8th so we should be diving on the 10th. Pat will hopefully start his course on the evening of the 9th. Not sure what we're doing after his course ends - I guess if he likes it he may do the advanced...

Pat keeps uploading pictures onto his site - here. He's got a much easier way of uploading them than we have and more space so hence why we're directing you here. We should have those vid files up in the next couple of days.

Monday, May 05, 2003

Last night was fun - back to Patpong and went to a bar of ill repute for Pat's benefit. All good fun though...

Got up late - we were all feeling a little dodgy - must have been the food (!). We then went off to Chinatown and toured around the backstreets, taking in the sights and smells all over agin. It was somewhat quieter than on Chinese New Year (!) but was still heaving. It was also very hot. We went for a traditional Chinese lunch (KFC) and then taxied it to Jim Thompson's house. Jim was a Silk magnate in the 50s and 60s who mysteriously disappeared in 1967. His house is almost colonial in style and consists of 6 houses somehow joined together. It's an oasis in the heart of the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. We had the guided tour and then decided to have a small siesta back at Suk 11.

This evening has been a much more sedate affair - sunset at the Baiyoke Tower followed by some more tradional Asian cuisine at Hard Rock Cafe...

Tomorrow we're off to the Grand Palace and a nbumber of temples, inclusing Wat Pho and Wat Arun - the 'Reclining Buddha' and the 'Temple of Dawn.'


Sunday, May 04, 2003

My brother is here - he's showered and has refreshed a little so we're dragging him out tonight...should be fun. Not alot else to report really, he's brought a few provisions, and, of course, Championship Manager...woo hoo! Off out to show him Bangkok now.
My brother is not only bringing a laptop but he got this loaded on it. Oh Boy. What with the Salt and Vinegar McCoys he's also bringing life doesn't get any better.
Third time I have written this - bloody computers.

Had an email about the length of my hair - it's getting cut in Aus - don't trust the barber's here - most of them are brothels.

Market was great - huge and everything under one roof...a one stop shop...but it was sweltering, with no air-con or fans and thousands of people milling around. We didn't last more than a couple of hours. You could literally buy anything from a new pet to a new kitchen. Amazing place.

Last night we went out for a couple of drinks with Alexandra - Jen's cousin. We haven't seen her since her brother's wedding a couple of years back. We spent a very pleasurable few hours catching up and eating the most wonderful Thai/Lao food, all washed down with a couple of bottles of Singha. The drink menu was slightly limited (Water, Coke or Beer) so Jen dabbled in the latter. She's still not 100% sure though...We had such a good time that we're all meeting up again tonight (+ Alex's friend - Paula - a fellow teacher) as we drag my jet-lagged brother around Patpong. That should mess his head up enough. Our theory is that if we can keep him on the go until around midnight he should sleep like a baby and be over the jet-lag sooner...Not sure whether Connect Four or Jenga are on the agenda tonight...

We are busy devising some sort of schedule for Pat (at his request) to include all the Bangkok highlights. We're off down south for the diving (night train this time - flights are too pricey) probably overnight on the 8th, arriving in Koh Tao around 10am on the 9th.

So far the schedule includes:

The Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha
Wat Pho
Wat Arun
The Royal Barge Museum
Chinatown on Mayday (tomorrow - poor soul won't know what's hit him)
The Baiyoke towers for sunset drinks
Khao Sarn Road to laugh at the 'travellers' who inhabit this hell-hole
Ladyboys at Patpong...

Should be enough - and no, we're not dragging him to the godawful Floating Market.

Saturday, May 03, 2003

First things first I guess...we got our tickets, no extra hassle or guilt trips. We also got a (very fast) trip to the airport as planned, and here we are in Bangkok. Only two things have changed since our last visit. The buses from the airport have been suspended/scrapped and the weather has turned very rainy in the evening/night. That aside, same same at Suk 11.

Today (Saturday) is market day - the Chatachuck weekend market to be precise. Thought to to be one of the largest markets in the world, with over 6,700 vendors, and over 200,000 people in attendance. For once I'm not dreading a trip to a market as this one is said to be something else. Alongside the ceramics, fabrics et al there are many many food stalls - some of the best in Thailand apparently. Great! Tonight we are meeting up with Alexandra, one of Jen's cousins, who has recently started a teaching job in Bangkok.

Now the bit you've all been waiting for - the photos. These go back to when we re-arrived back in Thailand - the island hopping really - through Krabi, Koh Lanta, Phi Phi over to the Similan's. There are some good (ish) fish pictures too, all, I promise, taken by us.

First up - arty photo of view coming into Krabi, and Jen in Krabi.



Boats in Krabi and a picture of the Bay.



Jen and sunset on Koh Lanta, and the motley crew - Jen, Dan, Helen and Rich - a night out in the rain on Phi Phi.



Jen & Helen, Dan on Phi Phi.



Sunset on the way back from Hin Daeng, and Jen in Scuba mode.



Dan entering a cave, and Jen on the boat.



Dan in scuba mode and sunset over the Similan's.



FISH TIME (and a turtle - not strictly speaking a fish - I know!!!)

Clown Anenome Fish - very cute, and a Titan Triggerfish.



Leopard Shark and a couple of the Turtle.





Manta Rays and Whale Sharks....these pictures definitely don't do them justice.







We do have some video files but don't have enough room to load them straight onto the blog. With my brother arriving tomorrow afternoon we are hopeful we can get them up for Monday or Tuesday - they are so much better than the photos!!!


Friday, May 02, 2003

Just a few things to report this morning.

1) Had a great night's sleep - 8 uninterrupted hours (Jen had 10) on a bed straight out of the Sealy catalogue. Marvellous.
2) Got our Visa's extented by 10 days - took all of 10 minutes. The charge was 40B extra than that advertised (about 60p) and the notes went straight into the immigration officer's top drawer - ahem!
3) Having hassle with agents/internet cafe owners - what is it about Patong (we're pretty sure it isn't us this time!!!). Firstly, after we paid and left the internet cafe last night the lady chased us up the street saying we'd underpaid and owed them 120B. After we'd agreed a price and paid. We were getting nowhere refusing so settled with 50B - they weren't happy, but hey we've found a faster cafe nearer to our hotel this morning so yah boo sucks to them!
The other hassle is a little more worrying in that the agents we swapped tickets with last night grabbed us in the street this morning and said we should have paid a 50% (about 18 quid) 'cancellation fee' lst night. 'Her boss' didn't know about the fee when he served us and the money was to be deducted from her wages if we didn't pay. A tough one this as she told me how much she earns a month on our last sojourn...about 5000B - 75 quid. A month. This loss of about 1200B would mean she couldn't feed or clothe her child. We did what every self-respecting person who has heard a million and one sob stories and has been scammed a thousand times in Thailand would do. Refused to pay - threatened to call Thai Airways and get the police involved. We are picking the tickets up at 12pm...in theory. I can see us losing this one. What we find most appalling is that her boss made the mistake but is making her pay the penalty (so she says...) If we sound a little harsh on her you obviously haven't travelled much in Thailand, or maybe we've gotten too cynical (is that possible for me to get MORE cynical???).

Thursday, May 01, 2003

We're now safely back on dry land, and what can I say?I could say 'what a four days', but that would be an understatement. For the uninitiated the Similan's are to divers what Augusta is to golfers, and Wembley is to footballers (well, was...), except that with these crown jewels commoners like us get to 'play' on them!! After our 2 hour minibus trip north to the port of Khao Lak we departed heading out to the Similan's. The plan, explained by our superb host, Milton (who incidentally runs and owns the company too, he's been diving in Thailand for 15 years so kinda knew just a little about the sites...), was to have two days at the Similan's for exceptional reefs, lots of fish, and unusual but well maintained coral. From there we would travel north to Richelieu Rock - the best place in the world to see whale sharks (the biggest fish in the world - only eats plankton not divers though...), although this year only 2 of Milton's 36 previous trips had been paid a visit by the gentle giant. Finally we were to travel back towards mainland Thailand stopping at Koh Bon where we 'should see a Manta or two'. Again, for those not in the know Manta Rays and Whale Sharks are like the holy grail for divers. So if you want a picture in your head to see them at these sites would be like lifting the FA Cup at Wembley. Well, kind of, for divers.

The weather was a little nasty so we didn't leave port until around 9pm, arriving at the Similan's sometime around 2 in the morning. Our cabin was a little cramped (hey this was a dive boat...) but live-in-able, especially after we discovered the switch for the air-conditioning. On day 2.

So, to the diving - I figure if I went through every dive I would bore you all senseless so I'll whizz through the first couple of days at least...the last couple were a little more interesting to say the least...

We started off with a check dive to check (duh) that all our equipment, weighting etc was OK - it wasn't we couldn't get our buoyancy right so adjusted and then were fine, the rest of the first day consisted of two more (we didn't do the optional night dive) dives in 25m visibility where we swam around with a friendly triggerfish(!), and even saw a Hawksbill turtle - got a great piccie and some movies too.
The last dive we swam into the strongest current ever, and just as we were approaching the buoy line I cramped up, and started drifting into the deep blue - one of the divemasters on the line saw this and came to my rescue...I could still be down there if it wasn't for this guy - thanks Goran!!

After a slightly cooler night's sleep (it was still too hot on the top bunk though and we had to sleep top to tail on the bottom bunk...) we were woken at 8am for our second day's diving in the Similan's. Our final day dive was a significant one for us - we saw our first sharks, at least two, if not three, leopard sharks, asleep on the bottom and swimming within about 10m - excellent!! Another great day, which we topped off with the night dive. This was done in really poor visibility and neither of us particularly enjoyed it. Seemingly all the fish had gone home to bed and all we were left with was a couple of lobsters and a huge crab.

So, off to Richelieu Rock - would we see the elusive whale sharks. In most years you almost fall over them, but this year they have been driven away by currents and the effects of a couple of tropical storms, thus sightings have been few and far between (as described above)...could we buck the trend and make it 3 out of 37 on the final 4 day liveaboard of the year?? The first two dives were fairly mundane, all the usual suspects turned up, and we had good fun navigating around the rock (it is just above water in low tide). On the third and final dive at Richelieu we went off on our own for the first time (all the others were with a diveguide who knew the sites) and made a decision we thought would haunt us for ever...we turned right at the rock to resurface for boat pickup - most others turned left...guess what they saw just after they turned left...guess what we didn't see. Only arriving back at the boat did we realise what we'd missed. All the other liveaboard boats (about 6/7) were crowded round this area about 100m away and those not diving were snorkelling. It was a whale shark alright, an adult (about 6m - 20 feet - long). We commiserated with Brice, Jeff and Leah - three American's who'd surfaced moments earlier. The exhalted throng of other divers then returned to the boat, all smiles and back slapping, leaving us to lick our wounds. There was to be no time for snorkelling as we were off to Koh Bon for the night dive. Or so we thought... After we'd showered and got out of our wetsuits the chinese whispers from other boats suggested another sighting so we threw our fins on, donned mask and snorkel and charged head first into the water. We swam about 100m before suddenly, about 5 m below us we spotted it. It was the most unbelieveable sight, incredibly humbling but magical, almost like being in a David Attenbrough documentary. This huge creature moved with such grace and a real prescence that defies description. Thus, between our 25th and 26th dive we saw our first Whale Shark. It was our turn to whoop with joy (along with the American's!! - woo yeah! - U S A, U S A ) before heading back to the boat. The decision was already made in most people's minds but Milton confirmed it...did we want to get straight back in, hope we'd get a better view of the shark and scrap the night dive? Stupid question to ask and everyone kitted back up and jumped straight back in. No night dive at Koh Ban...shame...!

So to our fourth and final dive of the day. We swam to the edge of the ridge where the shark had been sighted earlier and waited all of two minutes before she reappeared. We must have been all of 5m away and this time watched as she passed, not once, but three times, accompanied by what looked like miniature sharks but what were, in fact, remoras. An amazing sight, and boy were we lucky, you hear of divers who wait 20 years and 5,000 dives to see one of these, and then only for a second or two. We had a twenty minute show on dive 26! Back on the boat everyone was elated, beers were drunk and Jen could only utter one word all night - 'amazing'.

Onwards and downwards to Koh Bon, arriving somewhat later than planned at around 10pm. At least that's what we were told...everyone was asleep by about 7.30! Sweet dreams though no doubt. Our early morning dive was a disappointment, no Mantas in sight, a stupidly strong current; we were starting to sense a bit of an anti-climax. We could only hope they'd had a lay in and would reappear about 11am - the time of our second dive. On that second dive, deciding to stay quite shallow, we hovered at around 12m in the channel they usually inhabit, and yet again, we were not to be disappointed. Our first encounter with a Manta was at Hin Daeng 10 days or so ago. Back then we saw it for precisely 10 seconds before it swam off into the Gulf of Thailand (not wearing my rugby top though). This time we saw it four times, and at one point Jen was less than 2 metres from it as it swam right at her...'utterly amazing'. We have got some great pictures and some video clips which we're going to try to upload in Bangkok at the weekend, but it's safe to say that these, whilst pretty good, do not do either the creatures or the experience justice. Again, we returned to the boat overjoyed and headed back to the mainland.

So there you go - 28 dives under our belt and we've seen more than most divers do in a lifetime. We are lucky - there's no doubt about that. Maybe we should quit while we're ahead...can't do that though - got the Barrier Reef to come. The good news as well is that Jen's ears are OK (a little wooly to start with but fine now) and now I have found a way to equalise my left ear mine are to. No pain, no blood, no deafness. YAY! It's hard to describe just how good the trip was, from the food to the diveguides, the sites to the animals - one of the best trips we have ever made, and one we'll never forget. I would recommend West Coast Divers to anyone, Milton's a top bloke, they were really professional and even gave us a free t-shirt at the end. OK so the air-con wasn't great and we had to pay for our soft drinks and beer but these were (very) minor grumbles. Definitely the (dive) trip of a lifetime.

Back to earth with a bump though as we're back in Patong (Phuket) although staying on the other side of town from the taxi-driving wife beater. We have switched our 17 hour train tickets for flights and should arrive back in BKK sometime tomorrow evening. Back to same old, same old - Suk 11. On Sunday (we're told today is Thursday) my brother arrives in Asia - hope you've packed some shorts and some sunscreen - you also might need an cagoule too as the monsoon has just started to hit in the late afternoon/early evening. He's bringing more crisps and stuff - yay! After showing Pat the sights of Bangkok (he's in for a real culture shock having never been outside a 'Western' country) we're off to Koh Tao again for some more diving to train Pat up, before heading down to Singapore and then onto Aus on 17th May.

In other news I have managed to get a couple of tickets for the 3rd (and hopefully deciding) State of Origin game on 16th July. This is basically the biggest rugby league game of the year and tickets are like 'rocking horse shit' (apparently). Good-o! We are slowly getting through a mountain of email - we will reply to you all by Monday I promise!