so like i think last time i left it was i hadn't done anything after the whitsundays.

our trip was pretty cool around there. we were on this big MAXI racing yacht which was well coool, but for the whole three days we didn't get to use the sails cos the weather was so calm! Lame! but we sill got nice and brown and did some serious snorkelling and went to Whithaven beach, the no.3 beach in the world (we should be going to no.1 soon, Ko Phi Phi Lee). ricky and charles did a quick dive as well on the last day!

we got back to the mainland and had a few days to hang about and not do much, just chill and swim in the man made lagoon. we said goodbye to ben as he was leaving a day before us.

next we got the bus up to townsville which took a few hours and from townsville we got a ferry to magnetic island ("Maggie") and a bus to our hostel (another BASE). 15 mins walk from the nearest town, the rooms were kinda cramped but it was well hot and the pool was lush! we did this fort walk one day where we walked up this cliff hill thing to were some WW2 gun turrets and battlements were. it was cool, we saw a wild koala which was ace! another day we went to the koala sanctuary where we held a baby croc and a snake and a koala which was also very coool.

we left magnetic island and after our ferry we got our next bus up through mission beach (which was apparently s***e anyway) and straight on to cairns. we stopped at a crocodile farm were we saw lots of crocs including this f***ing massive 5.5odd metre beast! looked like a bloody dinosaur or something.

we got to cairns and had booked into a hostel called gilligans which we'd heard was good and turned out to be f***ing ace! 5 star hostel (not hotel, different star system). it also turned out to be one of the cheapest hostels we'd stayed in in Aus too. cairns was mainly a chill out for me cos ricky and charles were off doing their dive course for four days (out of 7). i explored the city a bit and did a bit of sunbathing and reading (i'd bought rainbow six by tom clancy!) and generally not that much. one of my spare days i'd booked a helicopter ride over teh great barrier reef (which mum had insisted on!) and to be frank, it was abso-f***ing-lutly incredible. went a bit over some rainforest and then over teh reef for about half our. so so so so SO GOOD! we landed on a pontoon in the middle of a bit of reef and i did a semi-submerged boat ride (where i saw a blacktip shark1!!) and then did some snorkelling which was cooool! had a boat ride back to port douglus then a coach ride home.
me and the guys were back together now and we did a bit more hanging out and walking round and stuff and before long it was time to fly to singapore!

the airport was routine stuff, checking in and hanging round for ages. we boarded and had a stopover in darwin for half an hour. completely randomly oddly enoughly we bumped into 'the two Katies' who were on our south island Kiwi bus and who we'd bumped into in Noosa. even more weridly enough, the were in the seats directly infront of us. words can't really describe the weridness of the coincidence of it all.

the flight was cool and i paid some dollar to watch the curious case of benjamin button (that odd brad pitt film that is quite odd). ricky and charles jsut watched my screen, but didn't have audio so were asking me stuff every time something interesting looking happened!!

we landed and used some free internet in the airport to find out our boooked hostel hadn't resevered our beds. luckily the two katies had their hostels number and they had room so that was all cool. their hostel was literally the otherside of a high rise to our first one. andrew, the proprietor (charles' word), was a bit of a ledge.

SINGAPORE!!!!!!!!! WAS!!!!!!!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry, btw, at my distinct lack of adjectives! haha) we had some chinese steet food on our first night which was lush! then we did a open top bus tour thing which was well good. we stopped at a well big mall and then stopped and got off at the singapore botanical garndens which were well good as well. i can't get over how much of a coool city singapore is, with its huge modern sky scrapers and then its old colonial buildings and then its run down looking chintown and little india. so so so so so so AMAZING!!!

that night (the 17th, the night before my birthday) the katies and their friends from home were getting pissed and going out so we thought we'd join them as a birthday celebration for me. we drank in our room then got cabs to clarke quay, the 'going out' centre for downtown singapore! it was pretty fun to be honest! got well pissed (which i hadn't been doing much cos i got ill). the next day this guy called david that charles was talking to took us our for a lush chinese and then PAID!!! for it all! well random, but welcome and we thanked him loads. we went to sentosa that afternoon which was also well cool. swimming in the sea properly for the first time since noosa!! lush.

the next day we walked to the train station and bought a ticket for the night train to kuala lumpur and then just hung round the city a bit. we said goodbye to andrew and the girls and made our way to the station in the evening. it was well hot walking and the customs was easy enough to get through. the train left on time at about 10pm. the traing was nice and airconned, and turned out to be a bit over airconned and we all donned a hoody or jumper. it wasn't particually busy to begin with, but it was kinda noisy. anyway, i barely slept a wink (i think i got about 2 hours of sleep, 4am to 6) and read most the time. i wrote some postcards which i am still to send.

WE ARRIVED IN KL Sentral Station!

and i shall leave it there for now! cos i've done f***ing loads and can't be arse to do more!

laters!

(4 goals from Arshavin much??!! and come on cardiff!! get promotion1!!)

xxxxxx