February the tenth was the start
An unknown adventure awaited
On my own, but free as a bird
An amazing journey unfolded.
I felt the coldest of colds
Had sun scorch my neck
Wind batter me senseless
Cool breezes relax me.
I entered the Arctic Circle
Broke in to the tropics
Europe’s furthest north
Australia’s most eastern.
I saw mountains of green and white
Golden yellow sands
Jungles and [...]

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So it’s over. My sabbatical from work has finished, and I’m back to work tomorrow. I have to write that again for it to sink in – I’m going back to work tomorrow.
I’m sure there’s a number of you reading this feeling a little smug that after my big jolly I’m about to go back [...]

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I’m sitting in a small room at Beijing airport with a thermometer
underneath my armpit. Chalk up another experience…
My ridiculously long journey home started what seems a lifetime ago,
flying from Melbourne to Sydney. A few hours’ wait there and then an
11 hour flight to China, 7.5 hours’ wait and then another 11 hours to
Heathrow. The sooner [...]

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I’m sitting on a BMX bike on a ramp on a wobbling tower that is some stupid height off the ground ready to pedal my way into thin air. And I’m damn scared, I can tell you. How the heck did I get into this position? Let’s go back a bit to last night…
 
So the [...]

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On Sunday we embarked on a Whitsundays Islands cruise – a three day,  two night trip on a boat around what is considered to be one of the best places in Australia to visit. 74 islands in clear blue waters offering stunning beaches and idyllic settings.
Our vessel was a smallish sailboat with a motor, and was called [...]

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I haven’t blogged as much as I thought I was going to on this trip. This is mostly due to the fact that it does take a while to blog and I’d rather be out there doing things! Plus the Internet is not always available, can be costly and sand plays havoc with your PC! [...]

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I think I surprised a lot of people by my decision to go down the backpacker route. I mean, it’s me – hotel and suitcase all the way, normally. My own bathroom, towels, maid service, privacy, a nice comfy bed, coat hangers and room service. That what I like. To be honest, I didn’t exactly [...]

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Did that grab your attention?
I’m staying in a capsule hotel in the famous Shinjinku area. What can I say about this? The facilities are top notch – sauna, bathing area, Internet (that I’m using now) massages, restaurant, sleeping lounge etc. But the accommodation – tiny! The capsule just fits me in length and has enough [...]

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Today I went to Hiroshima. As you should know, the city is known as the first city to have an atomic bomb dropped on it. On August 6th1945, during World War II, the Allies exploded a bomb over the city, vaporising thousands in a single moment. A reported 200,000 citizens died, mostly instantly during the [...]

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4am and my alarm goes off. What the heck am I doing? I went to bed gone one o’clock last night and am about to get up to go see some dead fish!! Why? Should I just stay in bed instead? Sod it, I’m awake now and the fish market is supposed to be one [...]

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