Fun, adventure, frustration, missed ...

The best things about being away ...
* No need to shave regularly (or ever)
* Time was almost irrelevant
* Could wear shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops everyday

What I missed about home ...
* Driving
* Regular, warm showers
* Electric toothbrush

What I found most frustrating ...
* Being arrested in Barnaul, Siberia
* Having the ‘runs’ and not being able to go to the loo or leave the train for 6 hours whilst waiting for Chinese immigration to return our passports
* Persistent rain in Vietnam
* Mosquitos

My worst journeys ...
* The 15hr overnight journey from Krakow to Vilnius, changing trains three times and no sleep
* The 17hr minibus from Barnaul (having just been held by Russian police) to Ust-Koksa
* Frightful minibus journey along the edge of a cliff along a road littered with rocks from landslides above Tiger Leaping Gorge
* The 20hr bus from Luang Prabang to Xam Neua in Laos, some of which was spent sitting on a broken plastic stool in the aisle
* The minibus journey returning from the Vinh Moc tunnels in Vietnam ... it didn't help that I vomited on the bus and was up until 4am the night before in DMZ bar

The most unusual accommodation ...
* Camping in a two-person tent with four girls in Altai
* Camping on a beach along the shores of Lake Baikal
* Sleeping in a ger with a nomad family in the Gobi desert
* 60p a night for a room with balcony on Don Diet island, Laos
* Sleeping on bamboo sticks in freezing conditions ahead of the climb to the summit of Mt Fansipan
* Sleeping in a hammock in the Borneo jungle
* The open veranda of the Iban longhouse in Sawarak, Borneo

What I saw and missed on TV ...
* Legendary Wimbledon final with Nadal beating Federer – missed
* Tiger Woods winning the US Open despite a knee injury - watched in Berlin
* Liverpool beating Man Utd – missed
* Croatia narrowly lose to Turkey - watched in a Warsaw pub with a die-hard Croat
* Liverpool’s comeback against Man City – watched in Luang Prabang
* Obama's historic Presidential victory - watched in Hanoi

The best bars ...
* Prozac, Krakow
* Muse, Shanghai
* Anna's bar off Nanluoguxiang, Beijing
* Bar 4, tubing along the Nam Song River in Vang Vieng
* Angkor What? bar, Siem Reap
* Red Mask, Hanoi
* DMZ Bar, Hue

Food and drink ...
* Sichuan hotpot - spicy and amazing
* Dried curd offered by the nomad family in Mongolia - nasty
* Chicken wings in the hutongs of Beijing - awesome
* Yak steak in Yunnan - yummy
* Wasabi challenge rolls in Haiku restaurant, Shanghai
* Sticky rice - enough already
* Altai local brand - very good, but strong
* Beerlao - not bad for someone who doesn't do beer usually
* Chinese bhai-zhou - strong and not nice
* Laolao - a little better
* Kiau rice wine - good

The best nights ...
* Countless nights out in Beijing with Whitney and Erika
* G Plus in Hangzhou with Ed
* Muse in Shanghai with Ed and Cathy
* Karaoke in Dali
* Tubing in Vang Vieng and afters at Bucket Bar
* Night on the boat in Halong Bay
* Dinner and drinks in Kiau village, Sabah, Borneo
* Night at Sepilok B&B in Borneo playing Uno, musical chairs, Duck-Goose and darts
* Final night in Sabah playing volleyball, ping pong, Uno, and other games

More fun ...
* Olympics in Beijing, especially beach volleyball
* Pool everywhere, but especially in Vietnam
* Firing AK-47s and M60s in Vietnam
* Playing ping pong in Emei Shan

My most adventurous escapades ...
* Mountain-biking in the Ural Mountains
* A week trekking and camping in the Altai Mountains
* Horse-riding in Mongolia
* Climbing to the top of Kwang Si falls in Luang Prabang
* Tubing in Vang Vieng
* Renting a motorbike in Vietnam
* Climbing the peaks of Mt Fansipan, Mt Kinabalu and the Pinnacles
* Eating pig's head

The coolest animals ...
* Pandas in Chengdu, China
* Irawaddy dolphins in the Mekong near Kratie
* Crocs in Dead Fish Restaurant in Siem Reap
* Monitor lizards, tarantulas and proboscis monkeys in the Borneo jungle
* Green turtles coming onshore to nest at night on Turtle Island
* The orangutans of Borneo

The most amazing sights ...
* Twilight in St. Petersburg
* The Hermitage, St. Petersburg
* The lakes and mountains in Altai
* The Great Wall of China viewed from Jinshanling and Simatai
* Seeing GB win gold in the double sculls rowing at the Olympics
* Rice fields and palm trees in Siphandon, Laos
* Bayon in Angkor, Cambodia
* At the peak of Mount Fansipan in Vietnam
* Halong Bay's limestone karsts
* Russian girls in Novosibirsk

What I am unlikely to return for ...
* Brussels
* SE Asia's many hookers
* Public transport, especially buses
* Russian hospitality

What I missed and will return for ...
* Tibet
* Grand Prix in Singapore
* Lake Baikal in the winter


Bye bye