Thailand, Bangkok 21.01.02 Nearly 6000 miles of travelling and, surprisingly, not too tired. Bangkok Airport absolute chaos. People everywhere with signs to pick up other passengers. The best thing though - nobody else knows anymore than we do. And there are loads of people with luggage far bigger than mine!!

Got a taxi from the airport - cost about 600Baht, about £12. The ride to the hotel was very quiet - neither of us could speak due to being over awed by the new surroundings. Lots of traffic, lots of smog, lots of people!

Hotel (Royal Benja in Sukhumvit Soi 5) is much bigger than expected. We're staying on the 26th floor! Got ourselves together, went for a walk around locally then took a taxi to Pat Pong - The Red Light district. Though seeing how some people live their lives is fascinating - it's scary to see such young girls working on the street. Pat Pong is literally crammed full of tiny markets selling every piece of trash you could imagine.

There are also a lot of homeless people and people begging. The fashion seems to be to carry a mini karaoke around your neck, pretend your blind and walk around bumping into rich European tourists. I say 'fashion' because it's all as fake as the Rolex's…one guy even opened his eyes at one point to see where he was - but I suppose you never know. I shouldn't be so cynical.

Saw a couple of very young elephants wondering among the traffic. They look so sad and are trained (and probably beaten) to play up to the tourists. You pay 20Baht (40p) to feed them bananas - I did it, but it upset me. Just like seeing one in a zoo really.

Went for a Thai massage (250Baht, about £5). Wanted just our shoulders done but the people didn't understand us (or us them) and we ended up having a full body massage. It was the most bizarre massage ever. Had to put on weird pyjamas and lie down on two beds next to each other (Scott and I). Two men then came in and gave us weird tea before stretching and bending us all over the place. Quite painful at times but very tickly - I couldn't help but laugh.

22.01.02 Early start today it was the only full day to check out Bangkok. The plan was to go to Wat Po to see the Reclining Buddha - however the taxi driver wouldn't take us and instead took us to his 'Uncle's' boat shed where we got stung 600Baht (£12) to go on the slowest, most boring boat ride. Eventually we got to Wat Po…but it had just closed for prayer. Luckily the locals here are very friendly and helpful - a man took our map and drew pictures of places we should see before Wat Po opened again. He also sorted out a Tuk Tuk to take us around all afternoon for just 100Baht (£2).

Went to see the Standing Buddha - very huge, very gold, very beautiful. Then on to some other temple (think it might have been a Peace Buddha temple). There was a monastery there where several locals spoke to us and told us about the monks. Apparently the Buddhist monks are second only to the Royal Family - and one of Thailand's most famous monks lived in the monastery we visited.

Following this we were supposed to go to another temple but didn't make it as the crazy Tuk Tuk driver took us to his 'brother's' shop and told us - "Take your time please". (Scott got fitted for a suit at 2pm - it was delivered to our hotel room at 8pm that night and fitted perfectly!!)

Eventually we got to Wat Po - after much more crazy Tuk Tuk riding, to find it was well worth the wait. It's absolutely huge and is filled with the most ornate buildings and sculptures. None of the photographs I took will do it justice. The Reclining Buddha is incredible - it makes you feel very peaceful, and very little.

After a lot of walking, we grabbed a drink and a seat and took in the incredible surroundings. A group of school girls came over and asked if we could help with their school project; they were learning English and wanted to ask about our country and what we thought of Bangkok. After asking us a trillion questions they offered us some Thai sweets and a souvenir - then we took photo's for each other and said goodbye…in very broken English/Thai.

Night time took us again to Pat Pong for souvenir shopping…and the Tuk Tuk ride from hell. Hysterical but I swear I thought I was going to die.

Bangkok…very smoggy, very smelly (drains), very friendly, very crazy people!

Australia - Cairns, Queensland 24.01.02 After another long haul to Sydney, and a further 3 hours domestic flight - we finally arrived in Cairns, Queensland. It's very quiet - but after Bangkok, the peace is welcomed with open arms. Our hostel, 'The Calypso Inn', is a bit of a hovel, but we're only here for a night before moving further into to the town tomorrow. Been for a walk into the town centre; nice place - some pretty cool shops and the locals are very friendly. Trying to decide what to do over the next few days - possibly Scuba Diving?!

26.01.02 Went Scuba Diving on the Great Barrier Reef today - incredible! We both did the introductory course and first dive, were both a bit nervous but soon got the hang of it. Being so deep under water and having very large fish so close to you is indescribable.

We were allowed to touch some of the sea-life and coral - and when our instructor threw fish food into the open we were swarmed by hundreds of fish; amazing. The biggest fish we saw was about 4 feet long and silvery blue in colour - it's very hard not to hold your breath when you see something so incredible; not very clever when you're artificially breathing on the bottom of the ocean. We were under water for about 30 minutes before coming up for lunch and a gossip about what we'd all seen. A couple of us went out on another dive later in the afternoon. This time with a different instructor and to a different part of the reef. This time we saw more coral and schools of fish. It was good to have a bit more freedom but it wasn't quite as exciting as the first time.

The reef we dived on was called Agincourt and was right on the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. It took us a good few hours to get there but was worth the wait. We also got to see a bit of Port Douglas on the way back. A brilliant day - we're both very proud of ourselves.

Brisbane 28.01.02 Arrived in Brisbane yesterday tea time. Sorted things out at the hotel (okay but not as good as Bangkok, or as cool as The Global Palace), before heading out for some exploring…first impression - Brisbane is LegoLand. We're both a bit disappointed, especially after Cairns being so lovely. The people aren't quite as forthcoming as up North, and the buildings look like they've been dry cleaned and dropped in from the sky.

Went for a walk about the city and checked out the art gallery and museum. It passed some time but nothing particularly fascinating. However, the art gallery had a really good piece; a tree on the wall made up of thousands of pieces of paper. On each paper people from all over the world had written a wish. Some were very general; wishing for love and peace, holidays or more wishes. Others were moving - even humorous and down-right comical. The best one read: "World Peace - Inner Peace - Johnny Depp (a big piece!)"

After more walking we found a man made beach right in the city. It was good, and of course fantastic to do nothing but lie by the water for the afternoon - but weird that you were obviously still in the city.

Tomorrow we're going to Moreton Island to visit Tangalooma. We plan to stay quite late to feed the dolphins in the bay after sundown. It's giving us something to look forward to - at last we can get out of the city. We've also arranged a day at Wet'n'Wild a bit further down the coast. It'll be a really childish day out and a proper chance to work on the tan.

31.01.02 Just waiting in the airport now for our flight out of Brisbane. We're both happy to be leaving as our time here hasn't been as good as we'd hoped, though our day trips out of the city have made our time here more worth while.

The trip to Tangalooma Bay at Moreton Island was very relaxing. The beach was beautiful and very picturesque - with a couple of old ship wrecks along the coast which made us both feel like extras from a Robinson Crusoe movie. It was a bit to windy for snorkelling so we spent the morning lying in the sun instead. What a hard life!

After lunch we took a 4WD trip into the desert area of the island. Incredible to see and as the sand dunes have been struck by lightening so many times lumps of sand have fused together and if you scraped away the upper sand it changed colour into richer, golden brown colours due to all the chemical reactions - it looked burnt. While in the desert we did some sand tobogganing. Hysterical! - we had to climb to the top of a 160 foot dune and launch ourselves off the top clinging only to a 6mm thick plywood plank. Great fun - lots of sand in pants too!

As the sun set we headed back to the jetty for the long awaited arrival of the wild dolphins. To see such wild animals was incredible and we were lucky enough to be allowed into the water to feed them fish. The dolphins come into Tangalooma Bay most nights though staff don't always feed them - this way the dolphins don't rely on having food provided and continue to hunt. Really beautiful animals. The largest ones were about 200kg's in weight and up to 3 metres long. We saw about 6 in total.

Wednesday we took a bus trip a little further down the coast to the Wet 'n' Wild theme park. A fun day acting like 10 year olds on the flumes. We both caught the sun a bit and are developing some rather attractive strap marks. Very much looking forward to Sydney. Next update…when it's cool enough to write.

Sydney, New South Wales 01.02.02 Arrived in Sydney yesterday afternoon. We had already arranged our first nights accommodation - which as it turns out was a very posh hotel in the very dodgy area of Kings Cross. Shame we hadn't booked to stay here for the week as it's far too expensive to book on the spot…damn, it had a queen size bed too!!

Took a walk into Sydney and did a bit of exploring - even though it was raining!! We walked for miles - went right down to the bottom of the Botanic Gardens, round the Sydney Harbour, the Opera House and the Bridge. Thankfully then we stopped for a bite to eat and a much needed rest before setting off again through 'The Rocks' - a trendy area near Sydney Harbour, full of shops such as Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton. Not really within my budget unfortunately. We were supposed to be looking for a youth hostel to stay for the rest of the week, no luck in this area though as they're all too expensive. Instead we went back to the first hostel we'd seen and booked in there for the rest of the week.

The awful weather looks like it's set to continue for the rest of the week- proper Scottish rain in the middle of Sydney! Checked in to our new hostel…no where near as posh as the Millenium Hotel, it's a right backpackers place but provided a roof over our heads. Despite the weather we didn't want to waste any time and so took a train into the Townhall area for a bit of shopping; from there it's only a short walk to Darling Harbour so we went down for a look. So cool; lots of nice bars and the 'home' club is there too…yippee! Might go down there tomorrow night for a dance and some much missed dance music.

First impressions of Sydney…shame about the rain but it's still a nice place. Reminds me a lot of London.

01.02.02 It's raining again! Saturday was so far, the only decent days weather we've had since being in Sydney so we took the opportunity to head down to the Sydney Harbour again to take some photo's. Also, caught up on my shopping as there are a few good shops around Circular Quay. Checked out the Sydney Aquarium - a little disappointing, particularly after actually swimming with much bigger fish when we went diving in Cairns.

Saturday night we glammed up, well only a bit as the dress code at 'home' is a bit odd, and headed out for a dance and some good music - at last! As we were leaving the hostel for our night out, the guy who runs the place gave us what we thought were flyers for the club. As it turned out they were actual tickets - not flyers at all so we got in absolutely free. Once we'd made it past the incredibly hard security and got into 'home' itself we were chuffed to bits - it's a notoriously difficult place to get into, and such a fantastic venue Sunday was spent checking out the market down at The Rocks.

Monday the weather's worse than ever. It hasn't stopped all day and I've never seen rain like it before. We had planned to climb the bridge but it just wouldn't be worth it; instead we went to the AMP tower to checked out the Sky Tour and observation deck. Unfortunately the view wasn't that great due to loads of clouds but it was still interesting. And later went to the Hyde Park Barracks Museum to see a bit of history.

06.02.02 Yesterday we plucked up the courage to do the Harbour bridge climb. It takes about 3 hours but it's all very relaxed and good fun. At the top there were some fantastic views right across Sydney. We could even see the rain clouds hurtling towards us!

Today being our last full day in Sydney we were determined to cram in as much as possible regardless of the weather, so this morning we went to the Pylon Tower of Sydney Harbour Bridge - there's an exhibition there of the bridge's design and construction, and an observation deck. After that we took the train out to Featherdale Wildlife Sanctuary where we got right up close to the Koala's and Kangaroos. There were also Tasmanian Devils, Wombats, Emu's and a whole bunch of different, native Australian animals. By the time we'd made it back to Sydney city it was nearly tea time but we decided that if we didn't go then, we'd probably never make it to Manly Beach. The weather was still pretty dull but at least we can say we've been there. Lovely beach but just not the same when it's empty - covered only with dark clouds rather than tanned bodies.

It's been unfortunate we've had such bad weather while we've been here - we both feel like we've missed out on some things Sydney has to offer. Never mind…we'll just have to come back again soon to make up for it.

Melbourne, Victoria 10.02.02 Arrived in Melbourne a couple of days ago, thankfully the weather here is slightly better than in Sydney and for the first time in ages we didn't need to wear a million layers. St Kilda's, where we're staying is just on the outskirts of Melbourne and I love it. Very quirky, retro and cool. The beach is really close to where we're staying…lots of space for roller blading.

So far we've taken the tram into Melbourne city for a look around. The trams aren't the easiest thing to work out but we managed and even found a free tram that takes you around the city on a guided tour. And have been to the Old Melbourne Gaol ('jail' as we call it) to check out the Ned Kelly story. While we're inMelbourne we're staying with a good friend of mine - brilliant because you we get to meet so many other people and they all have suggestions of things for us to do.

12.02.02 God weather…yeehaa! At long last it's a full on sunny day and we've been able to go to the beach - God I was forgetting what a beach was. We went to Edithvale beach and despite the sand being so hot we could barely walk over it, the water was absolutely freezing. After leaving the beach - all completely blessed out - we headed home only to be rushing out again to meet up with another friend for tea and a walk around the South Bank area of the city. The area's most famous for the Casino. Not really my kind of thing, though was everything I imagined it to be - very glitzy and very cheesy.

14.02.02 Sitting in the airport - leaving Australia and off to our last stop on the road home, Hong Kong.

Yesterday we drove down the Great Ocean Road. As far as Appollo Bay, passing through Torquay and Lorne, we saw some really beautiful coast line not to mention a million different beaches. We had planned to stay over night but changed our minds so we could spend our last day cruising around Melbourne. On the drive out we stopped at Bell's Beach (famous in the movie Point Break) and a couple of other spots to take pictures and enjoy staring at the never ending ocean. I have never seen so much ocean in my life.

I still have a load to write about our Great Australian Adventure but for now (seeing as we're about to board the plane) I'll finish and spend the next little while chilling out and planning my next trip.

Hong Kong 15.02.02 Arrived in Hong Kong early yesterday morning after spending nearly 11 hours on one of the worst flights ever.Luckily our hotel is really nice so we could at least relax properly and stretch our legs, Unlike on the Quantas 'chicken coup' express. As the weather was quite good we took the tram to Victoria Peak to check out the views of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon -although a little misty we could see miles and miles of sky-scrapers. Had lunch at the Peak before getting the tram back down and walking around the central areas of the island. A lot of the side street are crammed full of markets selling fruit, vegetables and meat - a real eye opener. There are boxes (only inches deep) filled with huge fish in water - desperate for air, baskets full of chickens and rows of tables covered in pigs heads, tails, trotters and every other animal part you can think of. Who needs McDonalds when you have fresh cow's arse with a side of chicken's feet!! Spent most of the day just walking around and checking out Hong Kong Island and later took the underground to Kowloon. The guide said there was a really good market there but it was just full of trash fakes. Pretty much the same as Bangkok only no where near as crazy. By 8 o'clock we were both ready for bed and couldn't walk any further if our lives depended on it, so we headed back to the hotel for an early kip.

Today, after eventually finding somewhere for breakfast, we caught the ferry over to Lantau Island to see the Sitting Buddha (Tian Tan) up in the mountains, it's a massive 34 metres high and cast in bronze. We have only one day left in Hong Kong, but with having to check out of our hotel and wait for ages for our flight I expect it to be a pretty quiet day. I've enjoyed Hong Kong, I don't think I'll be back though as there's not actually too much to do unless you plan on shopping yourself to death. Hong Kong in the shopping respect is a bizarre place - there are entire shopping malls filled with only the top international designers boutiques, yet on the same block there are massive tower blocks of flats that seem very run down, and fruit and veg. stalls on the corner.

Looks like it's home time then…

Off all the places we've visited; and in such a short space of time - we've managed to pack in a load of thing's we'd never expected. From tearing around the streets of Bangkok in a Tuk Tuk; to feeding Kangaroos and Dolphins; to hurling ourselves down the side of sand dunes at a million kilometres per hour. I doubt I'll ever get around to remembering everything - but I know I'll never forget how much fun I had doing it all. I will definitely go back to Thailand and will undoubtedly go back to Australia -though next time I hope it will be for much longer. Hong Kong was good but I feel I've done it and don't think I would ever need to go back.

So, of everything, I'd recommend the following…

Bangkok - Get to know the locals, very friendly and very helpful. Remember you will never see any one person again, if you get fed up - walk away. Go to Pat Pong for the cheap markets and for a laugh at the pimp's on the street. Don't pay to feed the elephants - I did and regret it. Go to Wat Po - you'll be blown away. Try to get to the Grand Palace too; we didn't have time but it looks spectacular from the outside.

Australia, Cairns - Stay at Global Palace…very cheap, very clean and very nice staff. Go to Fitzroy Island and hire your snorkel gear yourself when you arrive - it's much cheaper. Check out the beaches and snorkel around the rock pools - you can usually see turtles there. Absolutely must do a SCUBA dive at the outer reef - need I sat more!?

Brisbane - If you can't avoid it completely, take a day trip to Moreton Island where you can snorkel, dune board and feed the dolphins…just remember to go for your dune boarding pics before the shop shuts!

Sydney - Do Darling Harbour for good food and bars. 'home' is to the left of the Aquarium but dress casual and take your passport as ID. Ask if your hostel has any flyers/tickets - you might be pleasantly surprised. There are more good bars behind the aquarium. Incidentally, avoid the Aquarium - it's not that brilliant. Avoid 'Virgin Backpackers' in King's Cross - instead head to the hostel on the corner of Kent Street and Bathhurst Street (I think that's right), it looked quite good and is very central. And of course, check out the shops. Featherdale Wildlife Sanctuary is worth a visit but only if the weather is good.

Melbourne - Visit St. Kilda - it's unbelievably cool and you'll never want to leave. Go see the penguins at Philip Island - wrap up though, it's freezing down there. Do the Great Ocean Road - it's a great drive. Do it over a couple of days and just stop at every beach that looks any good. Especially stop at the Surf Wear outlet in Torquay - it's bikini heaven! Definitely go to the Casino - it's hysterical.

Hong Kong - Just follow everyone else, they are all tourists too! Make a visit to Tian Tan on Lantau Island - The Buddha is incredible and they sell really crazy hats up there.

Most of although - don't pass on any opportunity, do everything you can and have a ball. Enjoy it while you can - who cares if you get into debt!