Australia

We paid a little extra for a pre-booked Taxi from our hotel to the airport- we couldn't be bothered wondering off onto the main roads with our bags to flag a "proper" meter taxi. (Most of the ones outside our hotel prey on tourists, refusing to use the meter and charging unbelievably ridiculous prices- like 600 Baht for an 80 Baht journey.)

Once our bags were checked in, I decided for the first time ever to "have a few" before our flight, using the last of our Thai money. Very surprisingly, I also had one of the best Tom Yam Goong soups during our stay in Thailand, at a sports bar in the airport while watching mixed martial arts fights and downing large bottles of Chang lager. Nice finish to our trip.

The flight was almost empty, which may be why nearly an hour before take off, the "last call" for boarding was being announced. This lead to a sprint, with painfully full-bladder, from the sports bar through security and into the aircraft toilets, in a panic that we were going to miss our flight. Damn Chang beer.

Dinner, a few whiskeys and a sleep later and we landed in Sydney. I figured it would be a lot cooler than Thailand, so I wore a vest under the bush-shirt I've taken to wearing when travelling.

It wasn't a bit cooler. It was bloody freezing!

The Aussies are still wearing their shorts, flip-flops (thongs) and T-shirts. But in my hiking boots, cargo trousers, shirt and dusty fleece, I was still feeling the temperature difference, apparently adjusted to hot and humid Thailand.

I wont go into the family meeting here as it's personal, but it was great, and the past couple of weeks have been cool (literally too- it's STILL freezing cold, and it rains a lot too!).

Mrs Grasshopper and I were also able to meet up with Shirley, our good friend from Africa and India, and Jenny, our Aussie friend we met in Goa. It was great to see them again and catch up on what we have been up to. We went to Manly beach for the day, and watched the surfers in the rain, as well as wondered about taking photos and visited a museum. It was strange to do a tourist thing here. It was easy to forget Shirley is still travelling, where we are on a family visit having "done" Sydney already, and Jenny is a local.

It feels strange to think we have now finished our journey. We are going to do something "touristy", maybe visit a vineyard, or even fly over to Melbourne for a few days. But somehow it wont be like true travelling, the learning curve being flatter, and the ride so much easier. The culture is so similar to ours, albeit prehaps more consumerist, with it's drive-thru donut shops (!), unbelievably cheap fast food, 3 litre V8 car engines and radio stations with traffic helicopters... (in the UK, even the emergency services struggle to afford a helicopter...)

It's been a great trip though. Anything worth mentioning I'll post, but in the meantime I'll put some of our photos and videos up over the next few weeks, now that I have ready access to the internet and a PC. Need to do something, as we now have plenty of time on our hands.

I ain't heard Bob Marley for ages...