Updated	What Have I Got to Say?
27/07/07	Back in Britain, after an unexpected overnight stop at Stansted: earlier today, a photo machine in Boots told me to "Share and Enjoy", so Scotland has become more surreal since we left ...
23/07/07	Our last week in Quito was very much in wind-down mode: we've done hardly anything except wandering the streets and sitting around drinking coffee. We set off later today for Bonnie Britain (apparently being flooded as we speak - hopefully London's airports will be open), getting to Edinburgh around 22.30 tomorrow.
16/07/07	Well we spent the last ten days staring at boobies, which was fun. But now we're back in Guayaquil where (oddly) all the maintenance things we want to do are difficult and/or expensive.
04/07/07	We're in Guayaquil, which is a big city and where our Galapagos flight leaves from. Hopefully there won't be any updates for a week and a half or so, since there probably won't be an internet connection on the boat Hah! Hey - don't be jealous. I mean, snorkelling with sea-lions is going to get pretty dull after the first few times ...
01/07/07	We're kicking our heels in historic Cuenca at the moment, waiting for Thursday when we fly to the Galapagos for a week from Guayaquil. After that, we're taking a couple of days at the end on our own, away from the cruise and passengers and guides and stuff.
26/06/07	Ecuador turns out to be cheaper than Peru, except for the Galapagos - ouch. $3,200 so far, and more to pay later - for a week. I donīt know if thatīs whatīs taken my breath away, or whether itīs altitude sickness again.
20/06/07	Well, Peru's been pretty expensive for tourists (eg. postcards only cost 15p each, but over Ģ1 each to post!) as well as awkward and irritating to travel in. However, we're right up at the north at the moment, and should be crossing into Ecuador (our last country this trip) within the next few days.
09/06/07	We're in Cuzco, former Inca city, which is very nice and very Spanish and at 2800 metres is a lot lower and more comfortable than Lake Titicaca at 3800 metres (which will be remembered for nausea, headaches and so on). Next up is a meander through the Sacred Valley and then up to Machu Picchu (to bankrupt us).
03/06/07	And so, across the Pacific to Peru where it's cold and winter. In Lima at the moment, home to Paddingon's Aunt Lucy.
30/05/07	So, in expensive Easter Island (the place with the giant stone heads). Still, much cheaper than Tahiti - about as much as Eastern Europe. Oh, and the heads are very atmospheric - we're sure they walk around when it's a full moon.
23/05/07	Well, we're in Tahiti for Milla's birthday: next stop Easter Island (see map). Gotta go ... internet access here is $11+ per hour .....
19/05/07	After a very brief stop, we're leaving later today to Tahiti. I've updated the map accordingly, but don't know when I'll be on - internet seems to be limited and very expensive there (like the whole islands - two bunk beds in a dorm will cost us over US$50 for one night).
18/05/07	Got to over-priced, dull, plasticky Singapore and were treated to an excellent thunderstorm yesterday. Only here for a couple of days, though.
12/05/07	So - we survived our 5th anniversary yesterday, and are still together. For our treat we went swimming with sharks, as you do. The wilds of Taman Negara next, oldest rainforest on the planet.
02/05/07	Washed up back in Kuala Lumpur, where we seem to have missed the Wesak Day celebrations (we didn't know about it). Ah well, there's always next year ... And Happy Birthday to Ailish (4).
26/04/07	We're in Sarawak, on Borneo (see map!): we've seen Orang-Utan and Crocs, admittedly in less wild or isolated circumstances than we might have liked, but that pretty much wraps up all there is to do here. So, back to the mainland next.
20/04/07	Well, we got to Malaysia. After a couple of days in Penang, we're now in the Cameron Highlands where the only things to do seem to be either strenuous jungle treks, or visiting strawberry plantations and butterfly farms - somewhere in between was probably what we were looking for.
15/04/07	Okay - a week and a half of tropical islands has proved too much for us, and we're on the move again. "On the move" in this case means being stuck in Hat Yai because we got here too late to cross to Malaysia.
08/04/07	Happy Easter, apparently. Oddly, it's the same date as Orthodox Easter this year. We're washed up on one of those idyllic tropical islands at the moment (Ko Pha-Ngan), chilling out. Some hassle with flight dates, after getting the visas sorted out, means we have to spend an extra two weeks here and two weeks less in South America (where we're going to have to be pretty vicious, therefore, about what we do and don't see). So we have a little re-planning and re-scheduling to do, which is pretty much what we're up to (as well as snorkelling).
03/04/07	Back in Bangkok (trying to sort out visa questions for Milla) Hopefully away pretty soon (we've seen it all, and it's pretty expensive - actually, all of Thailand seems pretty expensive: something to do with Easter).
28/03/07	Well, it took three days of serious effort but we've pretty much seen all of Angkor (what?) So I suppose that's us pretty much finished with Cambodia ...
22/03/07	Still in Phnom Penh - the Thai Embassy decided it needs two and a half days to issue Milla's visa. Meanwhile, on account of running quite late at this point, we're pretty much decided that we're going to skip Vietnam after all - everyone we've talked to says it's really stressful because the people are horrible.
19/03/07	Hooray (?) - we've reached Phnom Penh, in Cambodia. It's all in dollars, and (for a poverty-line south-east asian country) pretty expensive ($2.40 for a burger, $0.50 for a can of coke, etc.)
09/03/07	Out of the wilds of Laos, we came into Luang Prabang this afternoon (by speedboat down the Mekong). A couple of days of tourist/backpacker stuff and then it's down the neck of Laos to emerge (hopefully) in Cambodia. Though there's no official border crossing there ...
03/03/07	Okay, we've reached the People's Republic of Laos (rhymes with "ow!") and looked around. Rather disappointingly it's pretty much the same as a bunch of other places we've been: big hippy backpackers' scene, lots of seventies music, drugs and so on. Full of 80s people trying to create what they imagine the 60s was. We'll strike away from the capital as soon as possible.
28/02/07	Well, a combination of a bus which didn't exist plus Milla feeling unwell has left us chilling out in Sukhothai rather than steaming towards the Laos border. That'll be later.
25/02/07	Chiang Mai is much cooler than Bangkok (where it's over 30 at midnight), but those who've mastered clicking on the globe will see that we're pretty much as far north as we can go in Thailand so we're heading south again.
22/02/07	Gosh - it's quite easy to just let time slip by in Bangkok. Actually, the whole place is a really easy destination (after India). Nonetheless, we're heading north today to Chiang Mai, via the old capital of Ayuthaya. Chinese New Year, when we finally caught it (third attempt), was okay - all lights and noise and long dragons.
15/02/07	New city, new country, same continent. Yes, we made it in (more or less) one piece (as long as you don't count my trousers) to Bangkok - just about in time to celebrate Chinese New Year (18th and 19th)
09/02/07	It's been a while. Most of the last few weeks was spent in a mad dash across the north of India, taking in Varanasi, Khajuraho, Ajanta and so on. We came out at Mumbai, confirmed our air tickets to Bangkok and now we're in Goa. Not the beach-y sort of Goa (which we'll visit), but the Portuguese, tropical small town sort of Goa. Relaxing and shopping.
19/01/07	Well, Konark Temple half-way up the east side was something of a highlight, but otherwise the long journeys have taken their toll. Milla's down with a bad back at the moment, so we're temporarily laying low in Kolkata (yes, most of the signs still call it Calcutta).
13/01/07	Heading north now, through Chennai. We took a bit of a detour south, hired a two-person houseboat for a day in the Keralan backwaters (which was a bit of a pose, but pretty cool), but now we're heading north to colder and less humid climes.
03/01/07	Happy New Year! We spent it at Mamallapuram, which is a would-be hippy beach resort between Chennai (Madras) and Pondicherry, Which was pleasant enough, though not exactly exciting in any way. Now we're heading back south to do the bits we skipped on the way. Oh - and I've managed to get a bunch of photos on the various "week" pages, almost up-to-date!

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