On February 1 two inexperienced and naïve British travelers are setting out on an epic journey across asia, this is their story...

Monday, October 30, 2006

the last hurrah in brunie


ive skipped all the bali pics i know.

but heres one i took yesterday and one the waitress took just an hour ago. my last meal on asian soil. im having an indian. a perfect circle.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

pets win prizes

left card reader back in the room. so no pics. anyway, home in 7 days so u can see em then.

so... i think ive figured out why so many people (uj, hayley and i, at least) thought it was 'in the skies'. its cos - if i remember i correctly - when that lyric was sang the visual was of a transformer turning into a bird and flying away. thus 'in the skies'.

anyway. tonight will be my 8th night on bali. have been; surfing like an chinaman, drinking like an englishman, losing at chess, winning at pool, haggling for gifts, seeing wicked temples, seeing boring traditional dance shows, finding nemo whilst scuba diving, pretending to be claude makalele whilst playing footie on the beach, watching american football on tv cos i didnt want to leave the shade, sitting through crap movies cos the guy im travelling with is into cars (ie. fast and the furious: tokyo drift - jesus), playing playstation with 7 year old indonesian kids, etc...

would write in more detail but it seems pointless now im coming home on wednesday.

oh, i thought of a interesting game. for everyone who leaves a comment for this update i promise to bring them back a present. it may be small and crappy but at least you can say it came from the other side of the world.

right, bye. x

Friday, October 20, 2006

5 bullits or 6?

need a piss. heres the skinny:

1) took 28 hr ferry. was awwwwwwwfuulllllllll. slept on THE FLOOR.
2) stayed one night in jakarta. was awwwwwwwfuulllllllll. might as well have slept on THE FLOOR.
3) stayed in yogyakarta. bought presents for loved ones. you have to ask urself one question. are u lucky enuff punk, are ya?
4) saw volcanoe called bromo. was wicked.
5) am in bali. today went scuba diving! was wicked aswell.

tomoz i go surfing. im gonna be a 'surf dude with attitude, kinda groovy'.

have booked my ticket home!!!!!!!!!! see everybody on the 1st november!!!

garlen xox

ps/6?) i also have arranged to stop over for 3 nights in brunei. random, i know!!!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

leaving malaysia, time in singapore, and entering indonesia

hello there.

after a wicked time meeting loads of people and bedbugs in KL i went to the historical malaysian town of malaka. there i didnt speak to anyone apart this one taiwanese guy - who i was rooming with - who kept wanting me to reassure him he didnt have AIDS after all the prozzies he slept with in thailand. he was so thrilled by this 99% good news that he gave me his compass after i told him i was intending to buy one. i was well chuffed.

in malaka i think i must have smashed the record for the number of museums anyone has visited in 48 hrs. i reckon about 10. including a stamp museum which i sneaked into and then proceeded to play the dumb tourist when he asked for my ticket, i scurried off sharphish.

next stop was singapore where i met loads of people again. went to parks, museums, the beach, an open top bus tour, a fountain show, the famous raffles hotel (where the singapore sling cocktail was invented - they wouldnt let me into the bar though cause apparantly flips flops, shorts, vest and a baseball cap isnt part of there 'dress code'), and i even went into a borders where i read all there football magazines.

just a few hours ago i arrived in my 11th and final country. i have exactly 22 days before i plan to return home on the 1st november - will book ticket next week. right, gonna eat and hopefully catch more transformers before my 28 hr boat ride to jakarta tomoz. would have been the same price to take the plane but wheres the fun in that?

love u all, garlen xox

robots in disguise (did anybody else think it was 'robots in the skies')?





1. eating like when dame and i first started our journey in india. we're in singapore's 'little india' district. those filthy hands are mine. the guy next to me is a german porn star from the 70s.
2. can u spot me in the wood?
3. taking a pic of myself in front of a mirror. in a STAMP MUSUEM.
4. 10,873 km behind me lies colindale, and u guys!
5. after just a 45 minte ferry ride from singapore to indonesia i check into my room, switch on the telly, and watch transformers for the next halfhour!

Sunday, October 01, 2006

kuala (bear) (oomper) lumpur






1. hitchiking for the first time in my life. dont worry, ive not run out of money yet, just thought it would be fun.
2. five minutes after that first pic was taken the lengend that is 'jimmy' gave anton and myself a free ride to KL. i honestly didnt believe anyone would pick us up! not only did he refuse any payment from us he even offered us some spare change for a bus into the town center.
3. me in a shopping center (after a couple of cans of carlsberg special brew) with bruce lee style glasses. not really significant to my journey - just thought it was funny!
4. outside the petronas towers, the 2nd tallest building in the world. 266 times taller than myself, apparantly.
5. noooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, September 24, 2006

cryptic pub quiz

what dyou get if you cross a small, furry, australian bear with one of willy wonker's little factory helpers?

clue: its the place im going next.

malaysia pics 2




1. attempting to cross a dry riverbank in the jungle, cue indy jones music.
2. eating maggi noodles from the cut-off bottom of a water bottle. jungle food - yum.
3. a komodo dragon decides to block my pathway and play chicken with me. he won, i ran away after i snapped the monster.
4. how dyou get pikachu onto a bus? you poke-him-on. copyright of a certain D.Brett.

malaysia pics




1. a statue of the british colonial guy who took over the malaysian island of panang (his name i forget - there's a task for you dame) and me.
2. after walking for hours to the good viewpoint it turns out not to be a good viewpoint. thank you clouds.
3. drinking tea at a tea plantation. the sceneary behind is the massive tea field.
4. canopy walking in the jungle 25 meters high. pah, i could jump that.

Monday, September 18, 2006

malaysia so far

hello - crappy comp wont let me put pics up. so its just my boring writing afraid.

since last blog the fellas and i went crazy golfing (luke won and thought he was suddenly jesus), fishing (sean caught the most, including some garbage and a small bush), and went to the full moon party which luke, unsprisingly, slept mostly through having drank too much, again.

they caught a plane to oz next day whilst i slept on the bus to malaysia. saw another british colonial town (if i ve learnt anything from my travels is that the british really did own alot of the world in the 'olden days') called georgetown named after king george the (insert appropiate number if you know, i forget, 5th i think, possible FACTOID for you dame). then went to the cameron highlands and did some trekking which was ace as i met alot of friendly people there. after a few days went to tamen negara which is amazing. its malaysia's national park. proper jungle. hiked for 6 hours and slept in the jungle for 2 nights. the massive rats are very freindly. they dont ask b4 sharing your food. but then we dont warn them b4 smaking them with a broom handle. saw some massive birds the size of dinosaurs aswell. have just left there and currently waiting for the train to the perenthian islands. more beaches.

bye now, i'll try and put some pics up soon. xox