Author: Natalie 6/8/05
Well we have been a bit quiet on the travel blog scene over the last few weeks so sorry to our readers.
There has been a number of reasons for this, including getting our new bluetooth keyboard to work and the cost of uploading data from our PDA in the UK.

I will backdate our new posts so you can get an idea of what we did when. I am still having difficulty uploading photos mainly due to the expence, time and finding the right computer but I think I should be able to start getting a few up on our site.

If you would like an email notification when we post a new entry, send me your email address and I will see if I can set it up. Our email address is damien_natalie@yahoo.com.au Alternativly, you may be able to set up a notification yourself from our Boots 'n All web page.

So now I have our keyboard in action and I don't have to type with the PDA thumb pad or tap in letters with the stylus, look out of more regular blogs.

Post script: mmm, it is now the 16/9 and I wrote this over a month ago. So I'm not sure how regular our updates will be but we will try.

Captains log, start date 23.08.2005 13:00 hrs.
Beam me up Scotty. That’s right, we're currently in Scotland.
SCOTLAND
Having spent over a week in the beautiful lakes district in northern England, who's beauty I thought surely could not be surpassed, until experiencing the breath-taking views around Glencoe has left me in awe of what nature is capable of when she gets out the easel.
Nat, Mum and I stayed for a couple of days at Inverness near Lock Ness and did the touristy thing. We checked out the Original Lock Ness Monster Information Centre as opposed to the genuine Lock Ness Monster Information Centre (the latter much less reputable). Its amazing how so much information can be compiled on something that's pure existence is based on innuendo and imagination. It's funny though what your imagination can do when given encouragement. For instance, all three of us were headed back to the caravan park after visiting the Original Lock Ness Monster Information Centre when something amazing happened. We were rounding a pretty sharp bend in the van and in the corner of my eye I am sure I saw the supposed creature of the deep, fondly known as Nessie, the water horse or the water kelpie in these parts. This creature about 30' long rather leathery in appearance with teeth dripping in blood (probably highland cow blood) darted across the road in front of us causing me to take evasive action in the car. I heard this strange pssssssst noise and didn't really think much more of the experience apart from something very unusual, the creature was wearing iridescent yellow floaties. Anyway, after much calming of the other two passengers (me having nerves harder than steel and not needing calming) we continued on our way. When we arrived back at camp and were getting organized, something happened that still sends an eerie shiver down my spine, and I’m sure yours too. On the left hand rear view mirror I did in fact discover a deflated yellow floaty. I'm not saying that I did see the Lock Ness monster but rather no scientific explanation has been able to explain away what indeed did happen on that quiet bend near Inverness.
Don`t believe me, well have a look at the photographic evidence attached and make up your own mind.

'Tis a lovely morning being greeted by a familiar figure in the mirror. Who is that handsome fellow (ignoring the rambunctious sleep hair) that dare bestow such radiance upon this delightful morn?
Hey! Are those manboobs finally firming and resembling pectoral muscles after the previous weeks hard yakka? I think so, especially with a touch of imagination and the right lighting.

Well.... must get ready for a big big day.

And what a day it was.
Little did that ignorant reflection realize, just what a hectic day was about to unfold.

With an incredible rush to the airport by taxi to make the 12:10 flight to Guangzhou from Nanjing, Natalie and Damien were already caught in an uncontrollable chain of events which there would be no escape. A spiraling vortex void of any compassion.

Anyway ........
They sure backed the wrong horse today thinking that they could withdraw some funds from Guangzhou INTERNATIONAL Airport.

They wasted an amazing two hours in a fruitless endeavor traipsing around Guangzhou airport trying to get their hands on some local cash. Essentially penniless and in urgent need for cash to allow the next stage of their journey to unfold, they were increasingly becoming more and more desperate. Anyway, after locating the only known ATM in the airport which is absolutely massively huge (the airport is huge, not the ATM) they soon discovered that it was out of order. This was after waiting for twenty minutes in line at a money exchange facility which incidentally does not accept American travelers cheques.

Eventually upon realizing that not only had they backed the wrong horse, the horse was in fact decomposing and a long time dead and they were profusely flogging it.

The good news is that there is always a second option. This option involved getting a taxi from the airport as planned previously, however, we added a bypass to the ATM which I’m elated to announce was nothing short of a miraculous success, thanks to the phrase book and lots of miming with plastic (ATM card). Now we're finally cashed up. Watch out Hong Kong!

NANJING-(LOCATION-300KMS N.W. SHANGHAI)
Today we have been tantalized by lots of stanky stink smells which I’m sure are raw sewage being released into the storm water system and/or food from road-side cookups.

Sometimes we get asked "where are you from?" Australia doesn't invoke a response, so I say kangaroo! Then the penny dropps with a response "haa kangaroooo - Straya".

Nat and I have been experiencing the local cuisine and I have come to the conclusion that Coke, Mcdonald`s, Pizza Hut, Vioet Crumbles and KFC all taste the same as in Australia.

Ordering food is a breeze, you just point to a menu and say eg. #7 preese and you get a cheese burger.

We experienced Wall Mart for the first time last night and got two 600m soft drinks, two 1.5 littre waters, box of wagon wheel things, 6 bananas, rock mellon and potato chips for about $5.00 Aus.(what a bargain).f

Overall our impession is pretty good, especially since I upgraded our accommodation from dead set dive to five star - really flash (from ¥140 or $25 per night to ¥730 or $120 per night with two breakfasts) the former accommodation had eight steps out front, hard as rock beds (matress about 1.5 cm thick) and only squat toilets with the latter completely suitable.

Tomorrow we will fly to Hong Pong and then on to smelly Delhi (just kidding, I’m sure they both smell like a lovely blend of lavender and rose).

Over and out - Damien and Nat.

Ps. We had dinner tonight near the Confusus Temple. It was good to experience the local delights, however, I soon discovered what the roadside cookup smell was. Ick! I think it's duck fat. Not very settling to the foreign stomach.

Author: Damien
G`day to all. Hope everybody well.

Shanghai is absolutely huge with a population of about 14m people.
Best way to get around is by taxi. 25 min ride is about ¥24/$4.00 aus.
The scale of construction here is massive with huge high density housing developments popping up everywhere. Lots of sewer work going on too.

Author: Natalie
We were farewelled by Damien's family at Albury, where the weather was quite mild for an Albury winter's morning. The Qantas flight to Sydney was uneventful but with only two hours between our connecting international flight, it always was going to be cutting it fine.

The driver of the domestic/international shuttle bus with his wrong turns, didn't speed our rush to the international check-in counter, despite his erratic driving that sent Damien rolling uncontrollably up and down the aisle at every turn. Then when we did finally get to check-in, the clerk had difficulty proceeding our details in their system because we had come in from a domestic flight. Thank goodness our luggage was checked in at Albury through to Shanghai.

Finally we got through Immigration etc with only enough time to pick up a sandwich. We had to leave all the duty free shopping for another day. All that said, we just made it to the boarding gate in time for them to load Damien & his chair on before all the other passengers.

The in-flight services were good but I couldn't enjoy them as I felt nauseous from motion sickness for the majority of the 10.5 hour flight. I couldn't say that the flight was particularly turbulent but the 300 km/h winds outside buffeted the plane, which made it shudder like going in an old school bus over a corrugated gravel road. All this aside, we landed in Shanghai with the flight service manager bidding us a personal goodbye and saying that we would love Shanghai and would have a great time.

Our house was finally sold today. Suddenly there is lots to do - packing up, putting our stuff in storage, getting shots, visas, booking tickets etc.

We plan to take 6-8 months (or until the money runs out) travelling around the world. Starting with China and India. Then driving through Europe & the UK in a motorhome and doing the same in Canada and the US. Home via Fiji for some R & R before returning to Australia.

All this with Damien's manual wheelchair, a flashpacker budget and a strong dislike for advanced planning and group tours. Watch as our trip unfolds.