Many years ago I saw a travel poster for the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, it was a cool retro poster from the 1930’s hinting towards the chic and exotic nature of Singapore and the place to be to enjoy it was the hotel. For many years this was the image I had for Singapore and hoped one day to visit this place.
Read MoreFood Courts
We got tipped off by a foodie friend in Sydney to the delights of food in Singapore. He suggested being on a budget we need to merely go to one of the many shopping malls to enjoy a cheap but fantastic meal!
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An Aussie Good-Bye!
We have been staying with our Aussie family on and off for 2 months now and we cannot thank them enough for their hospitality! They have really made our time in Australia special and given us a real feel for their country.
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Ripper Mate!
Our time is up and we are leaving these fair shores, but before we go we wanted to say thanks to everyone who made our stay so memorable
Read MoreAustralian Walkabout Soundtrack
A few tunes for your listening pleasure from our journey around Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales, this was the soundtrack to our aussie walkabout.
Read MoreThe Good Doctor
I met my good friend Alex (The Good Doctor, and he is a real Doctor) whilst at university; although we did not study at the same university we worked together at the local theatre and venue De Montfort Hall in Leicester, UK.
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New Depths
From my very first dive back in 2009 in Bonaire, I was hooked!! Diving gives you that weightless feeling one can otherwise only experience in space! It is so relaxing and peaceful and the amount of life underwater is just astounding!
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Night Swimming
Steph and I had been night diving before in Mauritius just over a year ago, it was a nervous first dive, but amazing once we got into it. On this trip we were going to get two night dives which we were really looking forward to.
Read MoreInto the Tropics
I think we missed the 50 Year storm at Bells Beach and found it in Cairns. We arrived to a wet Cairns that was being hit by the tail end of a tropical storm, you forget the size of Australia sometimes, geographically we were in the tropics and it was humid as hell.
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The Grand Prix
Thanks to the greatness of one of our Friends with Benefits (see stephs blog) we were able to get free entry into the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne; this is a great race to be at for many reasons including the fact that it is the first race of the season.
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The Great Ocean Road
The Great Ocean Road is one of the most vaunted road journeys in the world, now it was with great excitement that we embarked on our journey. However it also had some work to do, don’t forget our experience in New Zealand its road journeys were amazing.
Hanging with the Neighbours
I watched the Australian soap opera Neighbours for years, I watched during the years of my primary, secondary and university education, it was my 5.30pm TV cheese.
Read MoreA Postcard from Sydney
Like some of our previous countries we are not going to write about everything we did and saw but we thought Sydney was deserving of a postcard from the McMiniens.
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Crowd Care!
Now, whilst in Australia I have discovered that volunteering is a great way to do and see things that we don’t have the budget for.
One such opportunity is for Music Festivals. I am a big fan of festivals and am a big music head. I have been going to Music Festivals since I was 14 and back in Reading, home to one of the greatest and legendary festivals in the world!
Sydneysiders: The Soundtrack
Living life in this great city by the sea I have had a varied choice of music adding its charm to our stint as Sydneysiders.
Read MoreWear & Tear
So I thought I would write a little update about the toll 6 months or so has taken on our belongings. Now keeping in mind we have been limited to clothing and belongings we have taken on this journey because of our backpacks so certain things get worn or used often if not daily.
Read MoreBarney the Wonderdog!
Whilst staying with my old friend Darren and Vanessa we were introduced to their new puppy Barney! He is a brown Dachshund just like my dog as a child, same colour and same loopy mannerisms!
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6 Months on the Road - Leap Year
On the 29th Feb 2012 we celebrated 6 months on the road, what a journey so far, we celebrated in style visiting the Sydney Opera House, a couple of museums...
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Does My Bum Look Big In This?!
After several weeks of being on the beach in Australia I feel the need to make some comments! To be fair the average Aussie does very well at making this slightly rounded fellow question his diet and exercise regime, but there are a few that I feel I cannot help but judge and let the world know that simply certain things on the beach are wrong!
Read MoreBondi to Bronte
Apparently the walk between Bondi and Bronte beaches, in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, is supposed to be the most famous walk in Sydney and one of the best in the world, we were unawares of this fact until after our walk. It’s a 6km walk one way so we did the return journey as we are on a budget and public transport is expensive!
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