Days 643-644: Back in ‘Nam
05.10.10-06.10.10: I arrived in the Chinese town of Nanning exceptionally early in the morning and looked about for transport to the border. I honestly can’t
Day 645: Charlie Don’t CouchSurf
07.10.10: Arrived Saigon at about 9am and scooted over to District 1 to meet up with me auld mucka Stan, here in South East Asia
Day 646: Slumdong Millionaire
08.10.10: After a good couple of hours kip, I was roused by Thro on his way out to work. I started uploading my epic Korea
Day 647: Nobody Does It Better
09.10.10: The bus arrived at the Cambodian border at around 3.30am, and we had to wait until the damn thing opened (at 7am) before we
Day 648: The Golden L-Shape
10.10.10: BANG! Before my brain could register where I was and what was going on, the front of the bus bounced a good foot off
Days 649-650: To The Ends Of The Earth
11.10.10-12.10.10: After two hours kip (I actually didn’t bother using my bunk – the communal area of the backpackers did just as well), by 7.30am
Day 651: Lion City
13.10.10: Singapore! World’s End! You can get here all the way across the mega-continent of Eurasia from John O’Groats to Raffles via the Channel Tunnel,
Day 652: You Don’t Know Jakarta
14.10.10: Thursday took a while to get going. While my fellow travellers (in another cabin and arguably less full of Johnnie Walker) were rudely awoken
Day 653: As The Miller Told His Tale
15.10.10: First things first, I called the ferry company and found out when the next ship to Borneo was departing – not today but tomorrow,
Day 654: Time and Tide
16.10.10: The most irritating thing in the world – aside from Russell Brand – is when your infernal debit card gets declined at a foreign
Day 655: Monty Python’s Floating Circus
17.10.10: ROLL UP! ROLL UP! For one day only: the magnificent, the hilarious, the intrinsically fascinating BLOKE WHO’S NOT FROM AROUND HERE! Yes, I get
Day 656: When I Left School
18.10.10: Borneo. The second biggest island in the world, home of the mighty orang-utan and some of the last virgin rainforest left on Earth. It’s
Day 657: Precious Cargo
19.10.10: Before dawn could shift her crack off my face we were at the border that separates Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan) from Malaysian Borneo (in this
Day 658: The Battle of Brunei I
20.10.10: Although when seven o’clock wheeled around with alarming speed I thought sod it and hit the snooze button. Today I needed to fight my
Day 659: Gods And Monsters
21.10.10: Up at 8am and onto the bus to Sandakan – the port town where the boat leaves for country 182: The Philippines. Happily, the
Day 660: A Tale Of Two Rangas
22.10.10: Another late night followed by another early morning: I ejected myself from by bunk at 7am and was already at the seaport for 8am,
Day 661: The People’s Republic of Spock
23.10.10: I had purchased a AC ticket for the ferry to The Philippines. I didn’t really know what the difference would be, but after sleeping
Day 662: Surviving Zamboanga
24.10.10: After a (much needed) lie-in I head out to the park ‘Jardin Maria Clare Lobregat’ with Jenn, safe in the knowledge that ladyboys to
Day 663: And The World Will Be Better For This
25.10.10: I was woken by Jenn knocking on my hotel room door at 7.25am. It was time to go. We grabbed some breakie in the
Day 664: Return To Sanda
26.10.10: It was early afternoon before the ship pulled into Sandakan. I’m now going to be backtracking over the exact route I took last week,
Day 665: The Battle of Brunei II
27.10.10: Urgh, I thought as my mobile blipped my alarm: not again. Today’s mission – very much like last Wednesday’s, was to make it through
Day 666: Such a Chill
28.10.10: I awoke with my teeth chattering like I was camping naked under the stars in Svalbard: my jumper, jeans, waistcoat, sleeping-bag AND blanket were
Day 667: Captain Bob
29.10.10: So last night I arrived onboard the ferry from Pontianak on Borneo to Jakarta on Java. As I entered the passenger area, what could
Day 668: Back in Jak Jak
30.10.10: So I was expecting the ferry to arrive in Jakarta this morning. HA! Considering the boat was eight hours late getting out of port,
Day 669: One Hell of a Halloween
31.10.10: I left the Mariott with a spring in my step. I had my book back and I had plenty of time to get to
Days 670-675: I’m on Bali
01.11.10-06.11.10: Many moons ago, when I was a wee nipper running around the playground in shorts annoying the hell out of people (not much has
Days 676-677: BUNGEEEEEEEEE!!
07.11.10-08.11.10: On Sunday I met up with Justin for my bungee jump at AJ’s, but sadly, no AJ. He was there earlier, but not now.
Days 678-682: The Exquisite Clutches of Calypso
09.11.10-13.11.10: By Tuesday afternoon I still hadn’t heard back from Simon about whether or not my laptop could be fixed in Bali. At this point
Day 683: The Long Goodbye
14.11.10: It was too early to fathom what was going on, but I seem to have found my way into a taxi and it seems
Day 684: The Slow Fast Boat
15.11.10: The bus drove through the night, arriving in the eastern port town of Sape at 8am, just in time for the ferry to Labuanbajo
Day 685: A Bunch of Flores
16.10.10: The next boat that would sensibly get me to the island of Timor is leaving the southern port town of Aimere on Friday morning.
Day 686: Here Be Dragons
17.11.10: Onboard my boat to see the Komodo Dragons were a couple of mad Italians from Milan called Franco and Frederico. The two-hour ride from
Day 687: There Be Hobbits
18.11.10: One of the things about living out of a backpack is that it’s so easy to forget things. I’ve probably got about one hundred
Day 688: Executive Class
19.11.10: Last night I stayed in the grottiest pension I think I’ve ever seen. Aimere is most definitely a one horse town as the only
Day 689: Kupanged!
20.11.10: A sticky and uncomfortable night on the ferry was compounded by the tuck shop’s (pot noodles and skinny cans of Sprite – it’s the
Day 690: Oh Dear
21.11.10: Kupang is a little dull. Here’s a list of my ten favourite place names in the world: Azerbaijan – Sounds like something a magician
Day 691: The Authorisation
22.11.10: It was a 9am showdown at the East Timor Consulate in Kupang. Luckily for me, Simon and Chesa where there, and Chesa, being Indonesian,
Day 692: The Moral Landscape
23.11.10: What’s worse than having to get up at 5am for a bus? The bus turning up at your hotel twenty minutes early! And then