11th December:- The trip to Leigh Creek

We were up early for the long drive to Leigh Creek. It's around 600km and is situated between the Flinders range of mountains and the Simpson desert. After checking out of the motel we stopped off at McDonalds for a latte and then made our way towards the outskirts of the city. Adelaide looks to be quite a nice city, tidy with some pretty suburbs and a fair number of very smart looking churches. All in nice pastel colours. We headed out through the wine growing regions of the hunter valley and surroundings. As we moved further north the landscape changed dramatically. Very soon we were in the outback, the little towns became further and further apart and less populated. Still quite pretty but some consisted of just a garage, a couple of shops, some houses and of course the pub with its bottle shop. Unlike the UK supermarkets don't sell alcohol. It is sold in bottle shops, drive through booze barns or pubs.

Despite the fact that I have been to Australia Several times before I have never seen a wild live kangaroo. I was beginning to think that would be the same as we drove past dozens of Roo's dead at the side of the road. Some quite recent, others little more than a skeleton with fur. We did spot some live emu though. Big buggers. We stopped the car to take some photo's as the looked menacingly over. Wouldn't want to set too close. Still no live kangaroo though. Apparently they are quite plentiful at dawn and dusk. Surprising drivers by hopping in front of cars and causing numerous road traffic accidents.

The flinders range of mountains were quite spectacular but it soon became clear why the middle of Australia is called miles of 'nothing' the roads snaked into the distance with nothing as far as the eye could see but red desert. It would be quite a query to break down as we went for hours at a time without seeing another vehicle.


At lunchtime we stopped for fuel and something to eat. The meat pie was delicious, not quite as nice as the Tesco Meal deal scotch pie but not far off.

Matt and I shared the driving, sticking to a sensible 120km per hour and eventually arrived at Leigh Creek. Not before I had unavoidably slaughtered a quite huge lizard which ran into the middle of the road and stood there. I was traveling at speed and it would have been dangerous to try and avoid it so I splattered it. I have seen a natural history programme that these lizards are monogamous and have a partner for life. When stage partner dies the other lizard will grieve for weeks by the side of the road. I felt very guilty.

Leigh Creek is a mining service town. It has a population of 500 ish and quite a lot of temporary accommodation for the miners. It was built fairly recently and has the look of a school campus. It has a hospital, school, post office and ridiculously high priced supermarket. We were to be living at Leigh Creek Caravan Park, just off the main road. Matt had to pick up the keys from the service station and once done we got ourselves installed in the mobile home which was to be 'home' for the next 6 weeks. After that we went for a look around which took all of 10 minutes and called in the 'tav' for a beer and something to eat. I was really looking forward to a steak. It was months since I had eaten proper meat so treated us to a couple of pints and a steak dinner. It was a huge T-bone. Delicious with egg, chips and gravy. Replete, we headed back to our caravan and had an early night. Matt was working the following morning at 7:00.

Location:Black Oak Dr,Leigh Creek,Australia

10th December:- A few hours in Sydney

The flight from Darwin to Sydney was long, that said, I did have two seats so got a bit of sleep. I was arriving in Sydney at 2:30 and would be flying out to Adelaide later that afternoon at 4:20 for a relatively short flight. I was getting quite excited looking forward to meeting Matt later that afternoon. I landed at the domestic terminal and then, after collecting my luggage made my way to terminal 3 which is the Qantas terminal. It's all self service and very smart. After dumping my baggage I made myself through security and then headed straight to the Hungry Jacks for some food. I was starving having not rated at all on Friday. I could have actually got an early flight but it was still only a couple of hours to wait.

It went quite quickly, I seem to have spend a disproportionate amount of time in airports just recently. Checking in I changed my seat to a window and emergency exit seat, a bit more room!

It was amusing to see the average age of the flight attendants, it must have been 60, quite possibly older than the ageing plane. We did get food though, and to my glee a nice bottle of red wine. The first real wine I had drunk for several months. It was bliss. We landed on time and as I made myself into the arrival lounge I was quite excited to see Moo. There he was, unfortunately he had not made a sign but never mind. He had arrived in Adelaide a few days before and had booked into a motel not far away from the airport. Despite this we managed to get lost...

It was quite a nice place, a kitchenette, a separate bedroom and quite large. We had a subway for dinner and a bottle of wine. An early night as we had an early start for the rather long drive to Leigh Creek which would be home for the next 6 weeks.

It was great to seemafriendly face after so long.

9th December:- Darwin - The worlds beer best drinking city....

The flight to Darwin was bang on time. So, here I was in the southern hemisphere. It is actually 21 years, almost to the day that I had last been in Australia. How things had changed. For a start it was much more expensive. The last time it was $2.50 to the £. Now it is similar to the American dollar at around $1.50 to the £ plus the prices have gone up a lot.

I had applied for an 'E' visa. I was a little anxious that things had gone through OK, despite the fact that I had the confirmation email and had boarded the Air Asia flight with no problems. On the website it suggested that you had to pay $20, but I got it for free. I passed through immigration with no problem, just a few questions around where I was going and had I planned to come to Oz. the 'e' visa gives me three months in OZ although I could leave the county and return for another three months within a year if I decided that is what I wanted to do (or if I could afford it)!
Immigration decided to follow the lead of the Bali immigration and stamp my passport from the back. Fuckwits.

In the airport terminal I got some cash from the ATM which gave me $50 notes. I knew that the place I was staying was not far from the airport but had no idea how much it would cost. I saw a change machine and without really reading it put in a $50 note. It was like winning the jackpot... I got $50 in $1 coins, not only that, the poured out all over the floor. Rather embarrassing to say the least.

I had to wait ages for the taxi, eventually though I was on my way. You can imagine my horror as the taxi meter spun round and I ended up paying $25 dollars for the short trip. Once again the taxi driver could not find the hostel. He was reasonable enough to stop the meter at $25 though.

The place I was staying was a youth hostel. As I was leaving at a ridiculous hour in the morning I had opted for a singe room. Even that had cost me $50 for the night. Well over my daily budget. At least when I met up with Matt we were getting free accommodation for a month and then the accommodation charges would be shared.

The room was very very basic, just a bed. No bathroom, that was shared. I had a quick wash a d the. Went out to explore. Darwin has the claim to being the biggest beer drinking city in the world. It was later afternoon and loads of Christmas parties were in full swing. Darwin seems to revolve around Mitchell street, it wasn't long before I was observing people staggering around pissed in the afternoon. I had a couple of beers, even they were significantly more expensive than in Asia. The weather was roasting, after a drink and a wander round ( stopping to purchase some nicorettes as I was going to make a concerted effort to reduce the number of cigarettes I smoked - for budget rather than health purposes).

I headed back to the hostel, fully intending to go out for something to eat later. I never made it....

My flight was at 7:30 in the morning so I needed to be up early. Rather than get a taxi, there was a bus that stopped at the hostel. Even that was $15.

I didn't sleep very well at all, it was so hot, unfortunately it was only about 3:00am when I realised that I had aircon as well as a fan and I was to be picked up at 5:15 for the short trip to the airport. I was up early and the bus was on time for the rather long flight to Sydney.

The bus driver was much too jolly for that time in the morning...

7th December:- Three days in Bali

Kuta is not my favourite place but I was actually quite looking forward to a couple of full days there. I had found some very reasonably priced accommodation in booking.com. So everything was just fine and dandy. The flight landed on time and I made my way to pay the extortionate $25 visa on arrival charge. For some reason the immigration officer thought he would start from the back of my passport this time. Annoying !

The last time I was in Bali was 12 months ago when I went with Lesley and the kids for Christmas. This time the weather was much better. No lashing rain and thunderstorms. It was hot and sunny. I took a taxi for the short ride to Kuta which is about 10 minutes from the airport. It looks as though they are updating the rather quaint airport and the surrounding area looked rather like a building site.

My hotel was good, in an OK area, had wireless access (yipee!) and served reasonably cheap food and beer. Bali is the holiday destination for Australians going overseas. Kuta especially is rather like Benidorm. Youngsters getting pissed cheaply and it was packed. I'm afraid I'd didn't spend any time in bars or nightclubs but still had a nice time. The beach was only 5 minutes walk from the hotel. I spent my first full day on the beach and the second day around the pool. Unfortunately the pull of cheap Bintang beer was too. And I was bintangoed twice waking up with a bintangover.

I met up with a Swiss backpacker and gave him some tips on his planned trip to the Philippines. He was planning to go there in the next month or so. I couldn't sell it enough. I'd loved the place.

I had booked a fan room in Bali, up to now I had not really felt the need for aircon although this place was probably the exception. It was roasting at night. Next time.

I only had three nights in Bali which, given the time of year was quite sufficient. I thought I had better get a few western clothes as most of my stuff was rather ethnic and I wasn't sure how it would go down in OZ.

I left the hotel at 7:30 on the 9th and headed to the airport. I was having a coffee in one of the many little caves and looked up to see a huge rat eyeing my Danish pastry. What is it with rats and me. They seem to follow me around.

The Air Asia flight once again had been changed. This was actually better for me as the flight now left at a sensible 10:30 and arrived in Darwin at 2:30 in the afternoon rather than the 2:00 in the morning. After my episode in Bangkok I decided to fuck the budget and booked into a hostel. I guess I had better get used to the prices in OZ. they are certainly more expensive than Asia. That said, I was a little in front of myself so no drama.

I boarded the plane, along with dozens for youths and headed for Australia and the southern hemisphere.

5th December:- 28 hours in BKK Airport

I had not been looking forward to this..... There was a time where I would deliberately make sure my flights were at sensible times. Now budget management meant I couldn't be so choosy. I think this was going to be a world record for me. I arrived at Bangkok at 2:00am on the 4th and would leave at 6:15 on the 5th. I would see two nights in an airport terminal. Plus, i wouldn't be able to go airside till probably 3:00 .
The irony was that i could have changed the flight except the air asia desk didn't open till 6:00 which would mean making the flight pretty impossible. The seats in the airport check in lounge at BKK are particularly uncomfortable too, to top it all it was bloody freezing. Im all in favour of air conditioning but in the airport it was positively arctic, so much so that every couple of hours i had to go outside to get warm. Since I was last at the airport they have done some changing around and now the smoking area is i the middle of the carriageway so each time I wanted a cigarette I needed to try to avoid the speeding taxis who didn't seem to understand the meaning of pedestrian crossing.

One good thing about the airport, unlike airside and many other airports is the fact that you can get pot noodles for the equivalent of 10p. I did have quite a few to try and keep warm too.

It must have been the slowest 28 hours ever but it was eventually over and I checked in for the flight and made my way airside. I had a rather nasty pizza and chicken wings and boarded the flight on time. Next stop Bali. As we took off and headed over Thailand it became quite evident that the recent flooding had caused tremendous damage around the outskirts of Bangkok. It was still waterlogged. Let's hope they get things back to normal as soon as possible.

4th December:- Back to Delhi..... Again

I had arranged a taxi from Candolim to the airport which was about 50 minutes drive. Most things were cheap in Goa but the taxi cost me about £11 quid.
I had arranged things so I could stay near the airport and not have the hassle of going back into town.

I was flying with Spice Jet back to New Delhi. The airport and Goa is quite small although it does cater for international flights, indeed, quite a few flights from the UK come over for package holidays. While I was waiting in the departure lounge there was a flight back to Manchester. Strangely I wasn't even slightly homesick a ND certainly didn't wish I was on that flight. A slight delay of an hour but the plane took just 2:30 to get back to New Delhi. I was really pleased that I had decided not to go back to Delhi. The hotel I had booked through booking.com was ideal. Only 10 minutes from the airport. As usual, the taxi driver had some problems finding the place . There is a street not far from the airport that has literally hundreds of hotels, from budget to five star. I was obviously staying budget although it was slightly more expensive than the normal Indian experience. It was rather like fawlty towers. I paid my bill by cash and was also offered an extension for 200 rupees per hour. This was ideal as the flight from Delhi to Bangkok wasn't until 8:30 in the evening ( when I originally booked it had been 11:30 in the evening).

Just down the street was a restro bar. I had a bar meal which, after the delicious food in Goa was bothe forgettable and very expensive. As was the beer!!! I did have a good nights sleep and spent the morning watching TV before leaving the hotel at about 3:00pm . I deliberately tried to get a good nights sleep as I had the prospect of 28 hours in Bangkok airport. When I had first booked the flight it got into BKK at 6:00am. This was really too close for comfort as the flight on to Denpasar, Bali left at 6:30. With Air Asia changing the times of the flight it meant that I could have gone to Bali the day before. I did not think it would be too uncomfortable to stay at the airport rather than pay two nights in a hotel ( and only getting one!)

Indra Ghandi airport is very nice. I treated myself to a McDonald's and the flight left on time. I got a good seat and settled down for a snooze.. Next stop Bangkok...

3rd December:- Goa , I could see myself wintering here

Well, my three weeks in Goa has finally come to an end and I will be soon heading off to Australia, via New Delhi, Bangkok and Bali.
I have had a wonderfully relaxing time here. Indeed, I could follow the lead of many and spend the harsh British winters here. There is a huge collection of expats here from all over the world. It's a very relaxing environment and so cheap, for pretty much everything.

The food was brilliant, as I write The blog I can still taste the tandoori chicken that was served at Viva Goa. This roadside cafe did a very tasty chicken. The first time I ordered it the half a chicken was a proper "half a chicken". The second time I had it they gave me two legs. Now, call me pedantic but if my half a chicken had two legs, the other half was going to be pretty sad. This 'anomaly' continued throughout my stay, indeed, it so intrigued me that on the last day I ordered a whole chicken, just to see what happened. I guessed there could be one of two outcomes. 1:- the chicken would be presented and we know and love them. Or 2:- I would get four legs. I could barely contain myself as I waited for the meal to arrive, I was rather unsurprised when a large plate arrived with four legs. There you go. I am In the twilight zone where whole chickens have four legs. Needless to say it was delicious, washed down with the Cashew Fenny, Kingfisher beer and accompanied by the roti and raita.

It was amusing to watch the behaviours of the local dogs. If there is one criticism of Goa, it's the dogs. They hang around in packs on the beach. All very territorial and protective of their piece of the beach. They keep out of the sun by digging a small hole under sunbeds to get some cool sand and then lay down for the day. In the evening they tend to hand around the local restaurants. There were about three or four that had made Viva Goa their home and we quite partial to the chicken bones from the tandoori chicken. One of the dogs was the clear leader and any bones thrown were his. Even if you threw a bone to one of the other dogs they were stolen. There was one particular sorry looking dog, one of his ears had been chewed off. He was really cute but was clearly in awe of the 'leader'.

The usual evening finished a 'Bob's , around the big table meeting new people and toking on the numerous joints that were passed around. A couple of Fenny and cokes later I used to stagger back to the guest house, climb into my mosquito 'cage' and go to sleep.

I did indeed get into a rather lazy routine while I was there. Up early, breakfast of Masala omelette and milky coffee followed by a day under my shade on the sunbed, popping into the rather rough sea for a piss every now and then. I read loads of 'real' rather than 'e' books. Dona Forina had a veritable library and I must have read most of the English books before I left Goa. After a day on the beach I headed back, had a shower, a trip to the supermarket for my Old monk/Fenny and a packet of fags and used to have a small sit on the balcony enjoying the sunset and having a small aperitif. If I wintered there I guess that would be my life. Very appealing I think!

I met lots of interesting people while I was there. Ernst the German hippy, his mate Martin, the Aussie backgammon master, the Dutch photo journalist, the ex CIA agent, the couple from Coln in Lancashire. it was a fascinating time.

There were also some interesting signs. "please don't wash your legs"????

My landlady, Jessica was a gem, always smily and friendly. I will miss the place.
See ya soon Goa. Next time I will get somewhere with a kitchen though. The prices are so cheap. I was paying £8 but you could probably get something with a fridge and cooking facilities for less.

See ya soon Goa........