I fly to Bangkok today and am looking forward to it. So far most of my trip (Canada, USA, New Zealand, Australia) has been in cultures derived from and related to the British culture. South East Asia should be very different and for me this is where the proper travel starts; what came before was more closely related to a holiday. That is not to say the trip so far has not be good, its been a lot of fun but with the exception of Samoa not exactly challenging or educational.
I’ve done a little preparation for the next stage : buying extremely expensive malaria tablets, clearing out the pack and sending the excess home or binning it (should be 5kg lighter), doing laundry and getting my hair cut. Basically making my initial couple of days there as easy as possible whilst I get used to the place.
Australia has been interesting, the trip into the Outback being superb, it was great to meet up with relatives but with me failing to make the best of Sydney. The lack of entries in this journal for my time spent in the city is an indication of how little I achieved here. However I suspect that after 5 months or so in Asia I will quite look forward to my return to Oz in the middle of the year. Suggestions on the most interesting route to take between Darwin & Perth are welcome.