The YearAway

Belgian beer, football and itchy feet

28th June 2002 · Hull, United Kingdom

~4 min read · 4 photos

Homeward Bound

18th May 2002 · Prague, Czech Republic

~5 min read · 3 photos

Monks and mantras

4th May 2002 · Darjeeling, India

~9 min read · 9 photos

Calcutta - City of Crows!

8th April 2002 · Calcutta, India

~7 min read · 5 photos

An assault on the senses

28th March 2002 · Nainital, India

~7 min read · 9 photos

Palaces, forts and tigers

23rd March 2002 · Bharatpur, India

~8 min read · 6 photos

Goan Hospitality

16th February 2002 · Benaulim, Goa, India

~5 min read · 4 photos

And now for something completely different...

10th February 2002 · Goa, India

~5 min read · 1 photo

Balloons and ice-picks

29th January 2002 · Queenstown, New Zealand

~6 min read · 2 photos

Yet again, we haven't written an installment for absolutely ages and we've received a few complaints. Our only excuses are that we have been on the move quite a bit and also that being on holiday for so long tends to make you a tad lazy!! When we left you last we were just heading down to Sydney a

Kiwi Country

31st December 2001 · Queenstown, New Zealand

~6 min read

Of late, people have been asking us how we're going to be able to lead a normal life when we get home from this trip. When asked, we looked blankly at one another and proclaim that we basically don't have a clue! And, we don't! So far, this trip has been absolutely amazing. We've seen and done t

Home Comforts

19th November 2001 · Gold Coast, Australia

~6 min read

After a four hour flight we finally arrived in the hot steamy part of Australia, Cairns, in the north east. It’s just amazing that you can fly for four hours and still be in the same country. Cairns feels like a made-up place for tourists – and there are plenty of them! We quickly headed north to

The Sunshine Coast

5th November 2001 · Cairns, Australia

~6 min read

As we were flying over the spectacular Great Barrier Reef this afternoon we realised that, once again, it has been a while since we last wrote an entry. In the last three weeks we've done just so much - after all, Australia is just so big - and we've been doing our best to fit in as much as possibl

The Great Ocean Road

25th October 2001 · Adelaide to Melbourne, Australia

~8 min read

So, what are the Aussies like then? Do they all dress like Mick Dundee out in the bush, wearing hats with dangling corks and wrestling crocs without spilling a drop of grog? Or, is this just a fictional character and Neighbours is real life (but with better acting I hope!) Well, the Aussies are fa

Down Under

5th October 2001 · Perth, Australia

~8 min read

Sitting here in our luxurious apartment in Perth, Australia, quoffing an exceedingly good bottle of red, Sue reminds me that we haven't written a yearaway.com entry in ages. So, I guess we'd better let you know what we've been up to. Well, after a few more days at Bill and Theresia's place being f

Jalan Jalan! (Just walking)

23rd September 2001 · Bali, Indonesia

~6 min read

'I never thought we?d actually get here!? said Sue as we sat among the stupas at the top of the Buddhist temple of Borobudur. We were up there at five in the morning waiting for the sun to rise. As it did it slowly revealed the surrounding hills and, Mount Merupi, which spewed some red hot lava fr

Into the Southern Hemisphere

3rd September 2001 · Ungaran, Central Java, Indonesia

~6 min read

So, the decision was made and we headed down to Melaka, probably the most famous and therefore possibly the most touristy place we'd been to in Malaysia so far. Melaka had once prospered as the most important trading port in the region, first in the hands of the Portugese, then the Dutch, then the

And so Melaka it is?

19th August 2001 · Melaka, Malaysia

~7 min read

We're back in KL again and there is a decision to be made. Should we go back up to Penang and sit on a beach for a week or do we pay a visit to the historical town of Malacca? Mmm.. what a decision! I suppose we should start by letting you know why we are in KL again. Well, we have just spent th

Kimurasan shows us Japan

7th August 2001 · Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan

~9 min read

The slow, bumpy bus ride back to Kota Kinabalu seemed to last forever. Exhausted, bruised and battered we dreamt of pizza and beer in bed on our return. Unfortunately, we decided to check our e-mails before we went back to the hotel and found out that Nathans folks were due to arrive tomorrow inst

Happy Holiday!

27th July 2001 · Sabah, Malaysia

~4 min read

Sitting at my desk at work I often dreamt of those lazy days relaxing in a far flung coffee bar, sipping cappucino and watching the world go by. On the road we seem to always have a busy schedule. There's always so much to see and do and we don't want to miss a thing. But, today is one of those r

I came, I saw, I nearly conquered

14th July 2001 · Kinabalu National Park, Sabah, Malaysia

~6 min read

The orangutan is an endangered animal and can now only be found in two places on the Earth - Borneo and Sumatra. When you see one it's impossible to imagine how anyone could harm one of these amazing creatures, no less than kill them, but they have done and that, plus the forest being replaced by p

The Wild Man of Borneo

10th July 2001 · Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia

~4 min read

We flew into Sandakan on Borneo in a twin propellor Fokker aircraft, which was adventure enough for Sue as she hates flying at the best of times! We then headed out on a boat with Wildlife Expeditions to an island in the Sulu Sea called Selingan. The neighbouring island is Phillipino territory so

Into the heart of Borneo

9th July 2001 · Sukau, Sabah, Malaysia

~6 min read

Raffles Hotel (http://www.raffleshotel.com)at 1, Beach Road, Singapore is probably the worlds most famous and luxurious hotel and we were about to be lucky enough to stay there for 2 nights. We approached this famous institution with the kind of excited energy reserved for Christmas mornings when y

A luxurious interlude at Raffles Hotel

4th July 2001 · Raffles Hotel, Singapore

~6 min read

We arrived in Malaysia after a very long overnight train journey from Bangkok feeling knackered and skungy only to find that the first train to KL didn't leave for another ten hours! This wouldn't have been so bad had we not been in Butterworth where there is absolutely nothing apart from a train st

On the road in Malaysia

30th June 2001 · Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

~4 min read

Arriving back in Bangkok marks the end of the first stage of our trip. This part was Sue's baby really. I was the apprehensive one. But, we have both enjoyed the last 60 days immensely and feel a little sad, but excited nonetheless, about moving on to the next stage. We both feel that a rounding

End of Part I - Indochina

15th June 2001 · Bangkok, Thailand

~4 min read

Mr Rithy

6th June 2001 · Siem Reap, Cambodia

~3 min read · 1 photo

We were somewhat cautious as we arrived in Phnom Penh because of all the warnings in the guidebooks about armed robberies of tourists. We were expecting to have to eat evening meals in our hotel because it was too dangerous to venture out after dark. We're not saying that those things don't happen

Somphal and Paul show us the sights

2nd June 2001 · Phnom Penh, Cambodia

~5 min read

Same same but different

31st May 2001 · Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

~6 min read · 2 photos

Where the dragon flailed his tail

17th May 2001 · Halong Bay, Vietnam

~4 min read · 1 photo

Greetings from the Tonkinese Alps

14th May 2001 · Sapa, Vietnam

~3 min read · 3 photos

Just a quick entry to let you in to our first few days in Vietnam and to give you some of our first impressions. Well, first off, customs wasn't as horrendous as the guidebook had made out, in fact the uniformed chappy behind the desk checked our passports swiftly and with a smile! So we weren't i

On the road in Nam

9th May 2001 · Hanoi, Vietnam

~4 min read

In the middle of a very hot afternoon we boarded the train from Chiang Mai and headed south to Nakhon Lampang. The train was a wonderful way to see the country. The prehistoric diesel locomotive ambled through the countryside enabling us to see everything that was going on around us. Lampang, jus

Last few stops in Thailand

2nd May 2001 · Phitsanulok, Thailand

~4 min read

Chiang Mai, according to the guidebook, is a quaint, moated and walled city surrounded by mountains with legendary mystical attributes. It still kind of is, but it has also become pretty modern and cosmopolitan. It has over 300 temples, which in a city this size makes it look pretty good, with tem

Up country

23rd April 2001 · Chiang Mai, Thailand

~3 min read

The name Bangkok comes from 'Bang Makok' which means 'place of olive plums' and refers to the original site which is today the old part of the city - that's where we've been staying. The whole of Bangkok has the Thai official name of "Great city of angels, the repository of divine gems, the great

A few more nights in the capital

20th April 2001 · Bangkok, Thailand

~3 min read

Our last night at the Retreat turned into a real wildlife fiasco. Sue was sitting there writing her diary for the day when from the top of the wardrobe next to her came the BIG sound of a lizard barking and when I say BIG sound, I mean BIG, HUGE enough to make us both jump out of our pants and scoo

Beach life - Tamarind Retreat to Tongsai Bay

15th April 2001 · Koh Samui, Thailand

~5 min read

We flew out of Bangkok on Saturday lunchtime in a super-dooper modern plane (Thai style!) with propellers. It was a bit scary really, but we got here in one piece so propellers are okay after all! We arrived in Koh Samui and it was HOT - really HOT. In fact, it's taking a bit of getting used to

Rest and rehab

11th April 2001 · Koh Samui, Thailand

~3 min read

Arrived in Bangkok - only just though - we got a little caught up in the airport and only just managed to get on the plane. Needless to say we were rather hot and bothered by the time we did get on! Not much to say really except that we're here and it's DAMN hot (36 degrees). We're staying at a h

One night in Bangkok

6th April 2001 · Bangkok, Thailand

~1 min read

Well, Saturday was the wedding and everything went really well, but it was all extremely nerve-racking. Neither of us heard much of the ceremony because we were so nervous! There were plenty of tears, lots of champagne and heaps of very good food so we were happy! Feels a little weird to Mr and M

Nearly there!

3rd April 2001 · Weybridge, United Kingdom

~1 min read