Our continued efforts to find some summertime conditions led us further up the coast, out of New South Wales and eventually into “sunny” Queensland. Brisbane made for a sensible stop, despite what some Brisbaners we met in Vietnam told us: “It’s a great city to live in,” they said, “but not worth visiting.” Well, never to be deterred by mere modesty, we rocked up hoping for a respite from winter and a few days of cosmopolitan living, Queensland style. more»

We weren’t sure whether or not we’d actually make it to Byron Bay a couple of days ago. Our “plan” has turned out to be incredibly flexible, making it uncertain where we’ll be at any given time. That kind of freedom is great, but it creates constant decisions, some of them split-second. It was one of those “Do we turn off the Pacific Highway or not?” decisions that led us to Byron Bay, instead of continuing up to Brisbane and Queensland in search of warmer weather. The reason? Whales, of course. more»

Along the east coast of Australia, you can’t help but bounce back and forth from the beautiful and dramatic sea to the stunning hinterland of forests and mountains. After Port Macquarie, it was time to hit the woods for a good old fashioned camping trip. more»

The koala is a ridiculous animal. It looks like a plush toy, but it could rip your face off in no time. Yep, the koala is high on our list of animals we expect and are expected to see in Australia. more»

The North Coast of New South Wales is gorgeous! We’re currently in Port Macquarie, soaking up the incredible sea views and relaxed grassy parks while we figure out what’s next. more»

Local tourism authorities highly recommended checking out the colony of flying foxes in a rainforest nature preserve in Wingham, NSW. It was well worth the side trip. Check out the hundreds of large, loud bats hanging from the trees, as we did, without having to watch out for all the poop, or guano, or whatever you want to call it. more»

Finally, our latest episode from Burma. Things have been pretty hectic since we started our gig in Australia, but I managed to put this short (3 minutes) video together highlighting our trip to this interesting land. In it are all of the places we mentioned in our posts: Shwedagon Pagoda, Inle Lake, and the weekly market. Hope you enjoy.

Our tour of duty got off to a slightly rough start, as we picked up the van on a day of heavy wind and rain in Sydney. The nearby Blue Mountains were sure to be too rainy to enjoy, so we figured we’d escape the stormy, cold city and head north, perhaps taking in some wine tasting in the Hunter Valley. Over two hours later, we had barely traveled 100 kilometers in heavy traffic and increasingly violent storms. We got word that the lower Hunter Valley was flooding, and an elderly couple had been swept off the road in their 4WD vehicle. more»

Singapore is dripping with money. At least that’s what it seemed like after spending 8 days in Burma! more»

Whether or not you should travel to Myanmar (or Burma) is still debated. If you are unaware of the situation there, basically the government is harsh and repressive, and the leader of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, has called for an international tourist boycott of the country, fearing tourist dollars will empower the current regime. She is currently under house arrest in Yangon.

Because traveling to Burma is something of a weighty decision, we made a difficult promise to ourselves before setting foot there: to shed 9 months worth of thick traveler’s skin. This is the stuff that you get from traveling to places like Egypt and India, the wariness of dealing with locals who, in those places, seem to only ever want to get at the contents of your wallet. more»