Scooting around Thailand

We love Thailand! It was great to move on from Malaysia and to trade in the roti for the spicy Thai curries. And they are delicious!

We had a great start coming into Thailand. As soon as we got off the boat, a bus left for Krabi, our first stop in Thailand. We got chucked on a motorbike and brought straight to the departing bus. A few hours later we got to Krabi, a very crowded touristy town. Despite the crowds, Krabi was great. Initially we only wanted to stay two nights, but we stayed for six! We just couldn’t get enough of the food and beaches. Krabi also made us a bit greedy. There are so many market stalls there with so much stuff you don’t need, but it’s all so cheap… We splurged out on tailor-made suits and they turned out really nice. We sent them straight home, so hopefully the ship will make it to Melbourne in three months.

Ko Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh (where ‘the Beach’ was shot) are only a short boat ride away from Krabi, so we decided to go there for the day. The ‘the beach’ beach didn’t quite look like the beach in the movie and was packed with people! The water was beautiful though and the rock formations were quite spectacular so no wonder they shot the movie there. We got the opportunity to snorkel a bit around the islands, but this wasn’t too exciting. It was just gorgeous to see all the huge rocks sticking out from the sea. The water was so clear and so blue, it was really nice. Though we won’t go on an organised day tour again…

Again we rented a scooter for a couple of days and we happened to ride past a Honda shop. We were curious about the price of a new scooter and the cheapest was only about $1200, new. That got us thinking and we ended up shopping around for a scooter the whole day. Just as we were about to buy one, we found out that, as travelers, we’re not actually allowed to just buy a vehicle. We needed some papers from the Thai immigration. We had to wait for them to open again on Monday, so we had a bit of time to ponder over the possible scooter purchase.

We got to the immigration office early on Monday morning. We wanted at least try to obtain this permit to be able to buy a bike. The immigration office told us we needed our hotel to sign some papers (to proof we stayed there) and to come back once the papers were signed. The immigration office was located half an hour’s ride away from our hotel, so we got on our scooter and left the office to get the papers signed. They were a bit hesitant and the hotel to sign the papers for us and wanted us to check in for another night (we had just checked out, thinking we might be on our way that day with our new scooter, how naïve!). Eventually we got the papers signed without having to pay for another night, so off we went to the immigration office again. Once we got there, they told us the papers we just got the hotel to sign weren’t enough; we needed to obtain some photocopies of the owner’s ID as well as some other receipt… We got the immigration officer to write it down for us in Thai, and off we went again for that half an hour ride back to our hotel. Once there, the staff were again a bit hesitant to give us the paperwork and told us to go back to the immigration office to meet the owner of the hotel there. We found this a bit strange, but OK, off we went again for a half hour ride to the immigration office. Of course the hotel owner wasn’t there. After we asked the immigration officer some more questions and told him we really only wanted to purchase a motorbike, he got onto it for us and found the documents needed. Apparently they were already in the office when we were asked to get them from the hotel! Anyway, the paperwork was prepared, the money paid and after only 5,5 hours we had the permit to buy a scooter!

Because we had already looked around on Saturday we knew what we wanted and where to get it. Eventually we bought a second hand Honda Click scooter (110 cc), dubbed ‘Eleanor’. Buying Eleanor wasn’t as straight forward as we had hoped, but with lots of giggles, hands, feet and a calculator we agreed on a price, a new front tyre and a different seat. If we’re going to travel around this country by bike it may as well be comfortable.

Eventually we stayed at our hotel for another night. While we had bought the scooter, it wasn’t registered in our name yet. On Tuesday we headed for the land and transport department, where no one seemed to speak English. We got there at 8.30am with all our stuff and Jenny had to sit and wait with the bags while David was going to arrange the paperwork. The shop we bought the scooter from was happy to arrange this for us, but it was going to take a couple of weeks. We eventually arranged all our paperwork and at 11am we were on our way! By the way, our motorbike is registered until the year 2553 - Thailand is a few hundred years ahead of our western time.

The first day on the bike was an experience. We got so sore after only 30 km! We pushed through though and ended up about 140 km further north, at Kao Sok national park. Stunning rock formations and rivers were part of the scenery and we were very happy that Eleanor brought us all the way there. We stayed at a lovely and cheap guesthouse (we paid a lot in Krabi, compared!) and got a bit drunk from the Chang beer, probably to soothe our stiff muscles.

The next morning we took off for Ranong, another 260km away. This time, the ride was much smoother and more comfortable, we were already getting used to it! Saw some elephants on the way, eat nice food from a local market and just putted along the highway. Eleanor can do about 100 kph with the two of us plus luggage. Not a bad little bike. We got to Ranong, stayed the night and moved on to Ko Phayam (after storing Eleanor away safely for a couple of days), a little island just off the coast where Thailand and Myanmar meet. It’s very laid back here with a nice beach and a few little places to eat. After Ko Phayam, we push on to the north, after a visa run to Myanmar first.

So far Thailand has impressed us a lot. The people are nice, the food is delicious, the beaches are beautiful, the roads are good, the temperature is pleasant, and so on. We love Thailand!

Family fun in Malaysia

The past couple of weeks in Malaysia have been great. Jenny was very happy to see her family again and with her parents we travelled through Malaysia for ten days. Not too much, because they’re not quite used to (or want to be involved in) ‘chicken bus’ transportation, or sitting in a bus for hours on end. So our first stop from Kuala Lumpur was the Cameron Highlands, supposedly ‘only’ 3,5 hours away from KL.

Unfortunately David had, unknowingly, purchased a ticket for the old, normal bus (as supposed to a VIP bus). This bus was an old piece of crap and not very comfortable, but at least it moved, albeit very slowly. All the other buses passed us along the freeway. Since the Cameron Highlands were quite high up (hence the name), about 1800 meters above sea level, the bus started climbing up with a lot of effort. Eventually, after five hours and only twenty kilometers more to go (which could have taken another hour), the bus gave up and started smoking badly. Black smoke entered the bus very quickly and we were sitting right at the back, and all these Malay people got off the bus very slowly. We got off and the bus was declared dead. Luckily, another one passed not too long after, and squeezed all of us in, it had way too many people on board! After a long trip that should have been comfortable and taken only about half as long, we arrived at our guest house. Now this is how we normally travel, mum and dad, sorry to drag you into it! We really tried to arrange some comfortable transport! At least the rooms were nice.

We stayed a couple of nights in the Cameron Highlands, where we visited tea plantations, the main attraction of the Cameron Highlands. We had our own taxi driver for a few hours. We felt so rich! It was a great way to get around. Up in the mountains the weather was wonderfully cool, a nice change for us, since we’ve spent the last five months in hot weather. The nights were spent playing ‘Kolonisten’ (Settlers of Catan – board game) and eating lots of stroopwafels, pepernoten and rookworst!

Penang was our next stop. We spent a few days in our own apartment with swimming pool where we entertained ourselves with more Kolonisten games! The beach was a three minute walk away and local busses brought us to Georgetown and Penang National Park, where we saw big monitor lizards and something that looks like a salty (small one) in the water, but it could have been a lizard. Penang has great food and we introduced the parents to the spicy Indian food. We love the roti and curries they sell at the Indian shops and we’ve had it basically for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past three weeks. All the kilos we lost in Indonesia have come back in Malaysia. The food there was wonderful in comparison!

Langkawi island was our last stop and we spent most of our time there. We stayed not far from the beach, although the water wasn’t as nice as what our travel guidebook had promised. We rented a scooter and explored the island for three days, which was a lot of fun. Langkawi was a very relaxing holiday with a bit of swimming and lots and lots of Kolonisten! It was a good opportunity for David to learn Dutch, and he’s done very well these last couple of weeks.

It was such a great opportunity to meet each other in Malaysia and it was a lot of fun! After ten days we had to say goodbye at Langkawi airport. Jenny’s parents left for Kuala Lumpur and we were going to Thailand the next day.

We are in Thailand now and it has a good vibe! We thought we might find it a little too touristy here (which it is, actually), but it’s nice! We’re staying on one of Krabi’s beaches and it’s just so full of people, food stalls, restaurants, cafés, shops, touts, lady boys, etc. It’s very vibrant and we like it! The beaches are nice and the water is very clear. Tomorrow we’re going to be the ultimate tourists by day tripping to Ko Phi Phi, where the movie The Beach was filmed. Last night we choose three suits and five shirts to be tailor-made for us, so we have to go through a few fittings today and tomorrow. We’ll have to work again soon (we’ve already been away for over six months!), so we may as well look good for the interviews!

Shop till you drop

Welcome to Malaysia, the world of mega malls! At least in Kuala Lumpur. It's lovely to be back in Malaysia. A couple of years ago we went to Borneo, which we thoroughly enjoyed! The last week has been a bit of a waiting game; waiting for Jenny's sister and her boyfriend (Anke & Tim) and her parents to arrive, but it has been very nice and relaxed!

(Jenny in mega mall, complete with rollercoaster!)

David was looking for a new Deuter bag, new shoes, new sunglasses. And Jenny needed new flip flops, new prescription glasses, a new camera and a new phone. And we found it all (except the Deuter bag, still looking!)! Kuala Lumpur is a shopping mecca. It is quite cheap here and Jenny has been very impressed by David's shopping abilities! We shopped till we dropped to find his beloved Trans Alpine Deuter bag. Unfortunately, we haven't found the specific bag yet (only the fake thing), but it allowed us to shop and shop and shop and to hop from one mega mall to the other without Jenny even having to promise David an ice cream once we finished shopping!

Poor David couldn't find any shoes in his size, so he had to get is old shoes fixed on the corner of some street. It worked out well. In one shopping plaza, the ceilings were so low our heads actually touched the ceiling! We're not being giggled at so much anymore, but people still stare in amazement at our height (and we're not that tall!).

Apart from shopping we have admired some old Dutch architecture in Melacca, a city ruled by the Portuguese, Dutch and English before Malaysia was finally independent 50 years ago. Melacca was a nice relaxing place and we stayed in the best hostel ever. While we are happy not to be in Indonesia any more (although of course it wasn't all bad), we admit to miss bungalows with private bathroom and banana pancakes for breakfast! However this hostel in Melacca was great. Cheap and very clean. And very important, free WiFi, but that seems to be everywhere in KL as well. But new to us...

The weight we lost in Indonesia due to sickness was easily gained in this last week in Malaysia, due to the delicious Malay/Indian food we've been consuming. We've forgotten what hungry feels like and stuffed our faces with roti, roti, roti and devil curries to die for!

Yesterday we had a wonderful family reunion! Anke and Tim, Jen's sister and her boyfriend, had a stop-over on their way to New Zealand and we got to spend 12 hours with them! We had a great time catching up. It's been nearly two years since we last saw Anke and Tim and David hadn't seen each other for over three years! we had a great time, although it was a bit short!
(sisters reunited)

Jenny's mum and dad are arriving in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning and we will spend ten days with them. Our plan is to go to the Cameron Highlands and then to Langkawi. Perhaps they might set their big toe in Thailand, since we're so close to the border once we're in Langkawi, but we'll see.

Back to the northern hemisphere

We spent the last week exploring Flores and we are ready to leave Indonesia. We’ve seen some great scenery and did a couple fantastic dives, but Indonesia hasn’t really impressed us. Traveling in this part of the country is very slow and expensive. Towns are not that nice, accommodation is very much below standard and quite expensive. To be fair, it is really nice to be in a part of the world that is a bit less traveled and not set up for tourists, but on the other hand, we have been disappointed with the costs and quality of things. Shitty accommodation is still costly and it takes forever to get from A to B. Probably due to the fact the island of Flores is dotted with volcanoes and mountains, which makes the scenery absolutely stunning. So a negative does turn into a positive. We also know there are so many other countries waiting to be explored, and traveling on south east Asia’s mainland is a lot easier and cheaper. In addition, we have both been sick pretty much the entire time we’ve been here, which hasn’t helped. Hygiene is very poor and food seems to make us sick all the time. We have had a couple of really nice meals, including one fantastic home-cooked meal in Sulawesi, but other than that it’s been rather disappointing.

We left Flores by public ferry. It was very cheap to get across to Sulawesi by ferry, but it was going to take 48 hours, someone had told us. While we mentally prepared for the trip, we also stocked up on supplies with overly sweet jam, crackers and instant noodles. When we boarded the ship, there was no room for us anymore. All seats had been taken, mattresses were already reserved… we looked a bit lost. So a few friendly locals made some room for us on the floor so we could sit/sleep there, which was very nice. They were very interested in us and we tried to have a bit of a conversation with a little word list of Bahasa Indonesia helping us. It was great fun chatting to them, listening to them playing music and just watching people. We spoke to lots of different people and they told us the trip was only going to be 24 hours, not 48! We didn’t believe them at first, but when we heard it from different people we were so relieved! It turned out our supplies weren’t going to last us two days either. After we found out the trip was going to be halved, we also heard that we weren’t going to Makassar, but Bira, about four hours south of Makassar. Luckily we booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur from Makassar on Friday, that would leave us two days to get there from Bira. 24 hours was definitely enough on the boat.

The people on the ferry took good care of their personal hygiene and everyone there had at least two showers while we were stinking away in our sweaty tshirts. However they do not care about rubbish around them. After a day the boat was absolutely filthy with food leftovers, cigarette butts, plastic bottles, dirt, fruit peel, rice and anything else you can think of thrown away on the floor. Loads of plastic just got thrown overboard as well. Bins were provided but were only half full and we saw one parents balancing his little boy on the bin to pee in it! Yet the passengers were very anal about us taking our shoes off when we went to the toilet. We had to sleep on a floor that was covered with a bit of carpet, but was also quite filthy with bits of peanut, chips and biscuits stuck to it. Halfway through the night another load of passengers came on board from a tiny island, waking us all and wanting to grab any space they could find (but there wasn’t any so we just got shoved out of the way). It was an interesting experience, but never again, at least not economy class. It was literally cattle class, with about twenty buffaloes on board, as well as goats and a horse! The poor buffaloes slipped on their own poo and pee all the time and they were tied up with a ring through their nose on a very short leash, so when they slipped the ring painfully pulled on their nostrils (at least we think it would be painful).

Bira was a nice place to stumble upon. The waters of this southern little fishing village of Sulawesi are picture perfect! We stayed in the best and cheapest guesthouse and they cooked us an awesome meal. We wanted to stay another day, but we fly from Makassar on Friday, which is a muslim holy day, which means transport might be hard to get. So we left on Thursday for Makassar, which took us six hours in a cramped little bus. Makassar is apparently famous for its food, but again it has disappointed us. David got sick and had to vomit it all out again. But Makassar seems a nice city, very alive! Tomorrow (Friday) we fly out of here, happy to leave Indonesia. But we did have a great last few days here in Sulawesi.

White beaches, beautiful sunsets

Forget what we’ve written before, Indonesia is great! We might not have liked Kuta Bali and Gili Trawangan, but Lombok is beautiful. We spent 2,5 days exploring the north and south of the island by scooter. Kuta Lombok (not to be confused with Kuta Bali) is a great little place that isn’t overdeveloped yet. The beaches there are spectacular and the sand is rather fine rock, so it doesn’t stick to everything, which is really nice too. The food there was great and people very friendly. The north of the island has some spectacular waterfalls. It was about a 100 km scooter ride to a very cool waterfall. On the way there we had something to eat… And then it happened. Jenny didn’t feel too well after lunch. Food poisoning. The journey home took us hours because we had to stop so often because of Jenny’s vomiting and diarrhea. On the side of the road we had lots of spectators looking at this white chick getting sick. A little wave goodbye after the show gave us lots of smiling faces! After a horrible 2,5 hours on the scooter we finally made it back. Luckily it cleared up overnight so we could enjoy our four day boat trip to Komodo and Flores.

It certainly was not a luxurious boat we stayed on. The engine was horribly loud and the boat was very uncomfortable. The toilet was the usual squatting style, complete with cockroaches and there was no fresh water on board (besides the bottles drinking water – only five bottles per person for the four days, not enough for a shower). But the company was great! We met some really nice people on the boat and heard all about their interesting itineraries. Everyone got along really well. On our trip we saw lots of dolphins playing in the water and stopped at a few places to go swimming and snorkeling. One night the boat had to sail for about twenty hours straight and during the night we felt we might tip over. That was really scary, but we made it through the night and the next morning we woke up to a magnificent landscape of islands dotted everywhere. Amazing! The beaches around these little islands are so beautiful, the colours of the water so turquoise – just like a little paradise.

One of the islands we went to was Komodo, to see the Komodo dragons. It was great to see these huge lizards in real life. They’re only found in Komodo, Rinca, some other island we can’t remember the name of and northern Flores. So it was quite special to see them in the flesh.

Eventually we made it to the island of Flores, the end destination of our boat trip. Labuan Bajo, the village we are staying in at the moment, is very nice and quaint and nobody bothers us. All of the people on board ended up in the same restaurant at night which was good fun.

Today we did two dives around Komodo Island. When we were diving in Sipadan Island in Borneo two years ago, someone told us the only dive sites that can top Sipadan are around Flores. She was definitely right! The diving was absolutely amazing, the best ever! The temperature differences in the water, together with very strong currents bring loads of exotic sea creatures to these waters. We saw the brightest corals teeming with fish – huge fish! Everything here seems on steroids! We saw turtles, sharks, huge manta rays, the biggest murray eels, everything! Very, very much worth our money for sure!

This evening we’re meeting some people at a restaurant for the sunset, but before that we might pop into a café with free wifi to publish this.

Our plan for the next two weeks is a bit hazy. We are definitely not going to make it all the way to Sumatra, so the flight that we booked from Medan to Kuala Lumpur we just have to cancel. So our options are to either go back to Bali or Lombok and catch a flight to KL from there, or to sail to Sulawesi and go to KL from there. We prefer to go to Sulawesi (another two day boat trip), but we’re not sure if this is the most economical way to get to Malaysia. We’ll see. We’ll get there somehow before the 3rd of December.

Indonesia

Indonesia. So far it has had trouble making an impression on us, but it is slowly starting to get better. We were not impressed by Kuta, the very touristy, chaotic city in Bali everyone seems to end up in for the first day (or some people, poor buggers, spend two weeks there!). After one mandatory night in Kuta we found an escape to a more pleasant town on the east coast, Padangbai. From here we took a ferry across to Lombok.

Padangbai was nice and quaint and we had some lovely food from a street stall, which we haven’t been able to find since. It took us a whole day to get from Padangbai to a little island just off the coast of Lombok, Gili Trawangan. This island also failed to impress us. But we did have some fantastic views of Lombok. Lombok is just a gorgious lush and mountainous island. We’re back in Lombok now and starting to enjoy ourselves a bit more. We’ve just had a lovely swim at one of the great beaches and rode around on a little scooter. We also booked a trip to Flores by sailing boat, which will also bring us to Komodo to see the Komodo dragons. We’re very excited about that!

Accommodation here has been fantastic. We haven’t had to go to a dodgy hotel just yet and it’s all quite cheap. We haven’t found great food yet and that really is disappointing. If we want burgers and pasta, we’ll go to a Western country. We’re hanging out for a good Indonesian meal. Surely it will happen sooner or later.

The people here are very friendly and we only get hassled a little bit around town (except Kuta). Traffic around Kuta in Bali is absolutely mad. There are so many scooters and little 125cc motorbikes there and they’re all in each others way! But somehow it seems to work and we’ve not seen anyone come off. The slow pace must have something to do with this. These scooters carry up to four people at once!

We have seen a lot of little baskets on the streets with offerings for the gods. These baskets include bits of fruit and flowers, which the rats gladly take. We’ve seen some fat ones running around! And of course there is an abundance of geckos, cockroaches and other little creatures you’d rather not see in your bathroom. The streets are full of stray cats and dogs, kittens and puppies and cats are going for it in the streets! We also see chickens running around everywhere. But apart from the little creatures, stray pets and rats, Bali and Lombok are relatively clean. Especially the bungalows we stay in. As soon as we step onto the porch, the tiles are nice and clean and the place is generally quite nice and tidy (a few exceptions of course).

We really hope Indonesia will have impressed us after the sailing trip to Komodo and Flores. If not, there’s still Sumatra to check out before we move on to Malaysia.

We can't include photos yet, because we have only taken photos with Jenny's camera and she forgot to bring the USB cord! Photos coming soon.

Unemployed - and loving it!

We both had our last day at work today! David's day was uneventful and Jenny watched DVDs all day and even had a nap! Tourist season is ending up here so the last couple of weeks have been very quiet, hence the sleeping whilst on the job...

Jenny had a night out with work colleagues and they were very hungover today! Here's a before and after photo.

Dave's flying in a Harvard T6 on Sunday. Other than that we're just chilling out until it's time to fly to Indonesia next week!

Attention readers

(David took this photo in our backyard)

We're almost on our way again! Keep an eye out on our blog, because from the 5th of November we're traveling again. Hopefully all the natural disasters in south-east Asia will have settled down by then...

We've just been working in Darwin so we've slipped into a slightly 'boring' lifestyle. But every day after work still feels like a holiday.

We got broken into last night and Dave's wallet and Jen's bag got stolen. Apparently five other houses were broken into as well. We lost about 100 dollars and all our cards. Jenny has been busy organising new cards all day. Luckily, her bag was found a few hours later, and the car key was still inside! So just a lot of hassle but not a great loss.

We will promise to write more exciting updates starting from November :)

Change of itinerary

We have slightly changed our initial itinerary by including south east Asia and India in our trip! Darwin is only an hour or so away from Indonesia, so we thought 'while we're here, we may as well'! We have a rough idea of what we want to do, but our plans tend to change a lot... The initial plan is to arrive in Bali early November, island-hop to Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo and Flores. Catch a plane to Java, make a trip to Sumatra and then land in Malaysia, where we have a small family reunion with Jenny's parents, sister and brother-in-law early December! After that, we would like to go to Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Once we've seen all these countries, we want to go to India. We thought 'while we're so close, we may as well'!

Life is good in Darwin. We're both working and adding to the bank account in order to finance our trip to Asia (and hopefully have some left over to continue our trip down the west coast). Jenny has had a few more interviews, but no luck in securing another job. But since we've only got seven more weeks to go, she may as well stay where she is. David is still happy in his job and managed to get a company car as well.

The weather is getting hotter and more humid every day. It's amazing how much this humidity affects us! People in general need three showers a day here and it will only get worse according to the locals. It is too hot to sit in the sun so we're slowly losing our tans :( But we won't complain too much!

Last weekend we did some touristy things and went back to Litchfield to swim around the waterfalls and did a jumping crocodile cruise on the Adelaide river. There were so many crocs in the river, it was unbelievable. The people on the boat fed a few crocs and made them jump for their food. It was quite nice to see these large beasts coming out of the water. Loads of birds of prey (eagles, etc.) were circling around the boat, hoping to get a feed.

We're happy to be working for now, but happier with the tickets to Indonesia! Not too long until we can continue exploring!

Photo slide show

Visuals on our trip! http://www.slide.com/r/oa7FgJyT5D_n8IwI2vYTvIQd89IDvPx5?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

(copy and paste in a new browser)

Darwin update

We've been in Darwin for a few weeks now and we have gone 'back to reality' as some have phrased it... yes, we're working again! It wasn't too hard to find work here. We started searching for work on a Tuesday and by Thursday we both had a job. While David could not seem to find any work in Melbourne, here in Darwin he got two job offers on the same day! He obviously choose the one with the more convenient hours and better pay and is now employed as an electrician. He's in charge of a project and, to an extend, gets to boss people around. Perfect job for Dave! Jenny, on the other hand, is being bossed around a lot. She's working long hours and weekends in the tourism industry, renting out camper vans. You'd think most people would generally be happy and cheery, considering they're on a holiday. However, their holiday spirit is properly challenged by the poor state some of these vehicles are in. Quality control is not their strongest point yet. Jenny also gets told off for spending too much time with customers! But considering the moods of these people after the company's poor quality standards they should be happy she's cheering the customers up a bit :) (that's her opinion, anyway).

Jenny's got another couple of interviews lined up for some more serious jobs. So hopefully in the next couple of weeks we can give you another update on our working life.

We are sharing a nice house at the moment with a lovely couple from Melbourne. We have impressed each other lately with our cooking abilities. And we've been served some killer cocktails over the last weeks! The Bacardi doesn't last too long and the beers just seem to taste extra nice. Perhaps it's got something to do with the NT's tropical temperature...

Darwin is quite nice. It's very small (though for some people we've spoken to in outback NT, it's way too busy) and everything in Darwin is about ten minutes away! Jenny's drives to work in five minutes (the scooter takes a whole 15 minutes!!!) and David's work is about seven minutes away. We live close to the CBD, about 1,5km away. The city has got some busy cafes, restaurants and bars situated along one main street and a mall in another street. Then there's the waterfront and that's pretty much it. A bit out of the centre there's a few parks and beaches. Not that you can swim there, the crocs live there. Darwin's got a great night market along the beach twice a week during dry season - Mindil Beach Sunset Market. A great place for food and souvenirs and very busy.

We're quite lucky to have found such a nice place to live. Our house is located on a corner, which means our townhouse has a garden. And the sprinkler can be turned on at any time. When we're a bit too hot, we hop out of the hammock and jump around the sprinkler for a bit. It's great fun! We haven't seen one drop of rain for two months, but it is getting more overcast these days. But still no rain. It must be bucketing down in December for everyone to waste water like this! And everything's so green, too. we're surrounded by palm trees and other tropical growth.

Darwin is fun and we're happy! Now we've got to go back to the cocktails - they're getting hot! Cheers!