Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Chapter 1. Give it some vegemite!

Mike of Mike's Whips must have gone to the David Beckham school of speaking. Amusing and strange were his soft tones. Volunteers lined up to crack whips. With one hand on their hips the other hand twirling a whip above their heads and Mike whispering instructions. "That's it mate, nah win the whip is behind ya hid pull it down towards the graand and behind ya. That's it mate. Nearly, nah give it some vegemite!

Birthday girl in Bali

We arrived in Bali 5 days before my birthday and every day felt like a birthday to me. Russell worked really hard to make sure I enjoyed the last few days of my 20's. He bought me presents & a Shellac manicure & pedicure, we ate at places I wanted to go to & we basically did what I wanted to do. Great way to see out my 20's.

Bali. Surfs up.

The beach is a little dirty. The sand has a muddy feel to it and the sea resembles the sea of Blackpool. But, the surf is good! Gnarly waves beat the hell out of me. I caught a few and loved it. My shorts and chest were badly damaged. Possibly by a shark. Possibly by the board.

Well over due Review

Believe it or not I haven't done a month review since 22nd March. I'm totally blaming it on crappy wifi, I have tried a few times to do it but haven't been able to. So I'm going to do a review from 22nd March to now. Then I guess the next one I do will be when we're back in sunny Leeds in the middle of June (ish).

Boracay - sunsets, beaches, eggs & more sunsets

Boracay was the reason we went to the Philippines, I had heard about the beautiful beaches & best sunsets in the world. The main beach most stay on is called White Beach & has 3 areas - Station 1, 2 & 3. Station 1 is the more expensive, luxurious accommodation, Station 2 is the mid-range area where most of the bars & restaurants are and Station 3 is cheaper & quieter. We chose to stay on Station 3 & we're glad we did. We walked to Station 2 each night along the beach for food & drinks but wouldn't have wanted to stay there - you could hardly move on the path it was so busy.

Peurto Galera

We were supposed to fly straight out of Manila to Boracay but had a change of heart last minute & decided to check out Puerto Galera which was just a 2 hour bus ride & then a 2 hour boat ride from Manila. There are 2 main areas in PG - Sabang & White Beach. We couldn't decide between the 2 so decided to do both as they're quite near to each other.

Philippines. Manila all filler, no thriller.

You will find yourself in Manila whether you like it or not if you travel to the Philippines. All roads lead to Manila. We have seen the capital three time in less than a month. The first impressions of Manila were all good. The customs guys were cool about the bullet keyring and the man inside the currency exchange kiosk said that I looked like Kurt Cobain. Nice compliment, but a lie. Leaving the airport with poverty under the cover of darkness. I found myself surrounded by all these stretched super shiny Jeeps. Manila's most popular form of public transport. The Jeepney.

Singapore. Day Four and Five.

Singapore has the coolest Chinatown we have ever seen. Home to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. It's an impressive looking multi storied temple that has Buddha's tooth encased in a golden box which can be viewed via video link on an LCD TV. Very strange. There is also this 'secret rooftop garden' & giant prayer wheel. I'd read about the 'secret garden' & it had a sign pointing the way. Huge secret. We got lost around level 3 or 4 & walked around places where I don't think we should have been. It was pretty cool. Unlocking doors and walking outside onto the balcony facing Chinatown's Food Complex. I could see people playing chess & others taking a nap on the tiled benches. We lit Joss sticks & made a little prayer. I always find the offerings to Buddha very interesting. Strawberry Fanta must be a favourite of his as half empty cans are always at these shrines. Skittles was a new one.