Bangkok, Thailand (26/5/07 - 29/5/07)

I was glad to be arriving into some better weather but nervous about not knowing the language again. However, I'd booked a tour of Thailand with a Thai and English speaking guide. The tour wasn't scheduled to meet until tomorrow, so I just settled into the comfortable hotel, had a swim in the pool and sauna. At night, I ventured onto the streets for some Pad Thai. Although just like pizza in Italy, I believe these dishes taste better in Australia. Maybe it's what I'm used to or maybe we have higher standards. Before hitting the sack, I got a well deserved massage.

The next day was all about meeting the tour group. I was a little disappointed as most of the group had been travelling together in the Northern parts of Thailand for a few weeks. I was out of the loop in a lot of the conversations. Some of the group were a little annoying too, especially a girl from Montreal who thought she was the best thing since sliced bread but ironically was ugly as hell. We had dinner with some of the group while the others went to a seperate dinner to say goodbye to their previous tour leader.

The 1st day of the tour included a trip on a long tail boat, followed by a songtaew (bike taxi) to the Grand Palace. The river stunk and was extremely polluted but the experience in a new form of transport shadowed the negatives. The Grand Palace was what you would expect to see in Thailand and fairly impressive (especially if you were religious). We got to see the famous reclining Buddha. Buddha's everywhere.

Upon returning to the hotel, we prepared for the overnight train journey to Surat Thani - where we would catch the ferry to Koh Samui. The train was comfortable but since it had a mini disco where I could play tunes from my iPod and drink with the group, I didn't spent much time in the cot (the person standing with their back facing is a lady-boy).

Return rating: 5

London, UK (23/5/07 - 25/5/07)

Since Garth had a major project at work to be completed by Friday, I decided to stay with Joel. Coincidently, it was the Champions League final and a London team had made it. Arsenal would ensure that most pubs would be packed for the 7pm kick-off. The Poms sure love their soccer.

With my bags in the corner of the busy pub, we watched the game. I ran into an old friend from my junior tennis days, Andrew Sabitino. Arsenal lost the game and we called it an early night as London was in a bad mood.

The next day, I went back to the Big Ben for another look around. In the evening Joel and I went out for another few drinks.
On the Friday, I organised my bags and prepared to say goodbye to London again. I wouldn't know the next time I'd be back but I was sure I would one day return. I lugged my bags to Edwards and caught up with Dave. He let me put my bags behind the bar while I went off to meet Nick, my manager at the bar when I worked for Edwards. Garth met us for a drink and left for a night out with Gareth. I went back to Edwards feeling somewhat emotional as this sector of the trip had come to an end.

And that's it for Europe - for the second time. I'm fairly content with the travels I've done through Europe and can hold out on another visit until I might appreciate the finer aspects to it's culture... rather than just getting blotto in every country.

Helsinki, Finland (21/5/07 - 23/5/07)

Like I always do, I rocked into Helsinki without any accommodation. This time it would catch me out. There was a conference in town so every hostel and hotel room was booked solid. The tourist centre was only able to help me find a hotel 20 minutes out of the city by train, costing 98 Euro/night. I had no choice but to take it.

After looking around the city for a bit, I made my way to the hotel and organised myself after the benders with the boys. I was exhausted, so I just watched some TV and caught up on sleep.

The following day, I jumped on a tour of the harbour in the freezing cold weather. Apparently the bay completely freezes over and people skate on it in winter. Accommodation was still impossible to find, so I spent some of the day trying to change my flight back to London for the next day. Again, Helsinki had some nice scenery and people but there wasn't a great deal to do. I visited another famous building and headed back to the hotel for a sauna. That's one thing the Scandanvians know how to do - it was damn hot!

In some ways, I guess I didn't give Helsinki a proper chance as it was mainly recovery from Stockholm and I'd picked a bad time to visit with the city completely booked. Maybe it would be better during warmer weather with some friends.

Return rating: 2

Stockholm, Sweden (18/5/07 - 20/5/07)

Jock and Garth were already in Stockholm and checked into the hostel before I even landed. That was good news for me cause I was totally sick of arranging everything. They met me at the bus stop and showed me to the hostel - one of the better ones that I've stayed in. We wasted little time in getting ready and out to a bar in the CBD for the Friday night drinks slot. We were a bit amazed that the bar had oderly lineups behind each tap. There would be no squabbles about who was to be served first. However, the cost was astronomical. I forget how much it cost but it was by far the most I've ever paid for alcohol.

We were surprised at how well everyone spoke English. Maybe we could meet some locals. We hopped through another few bars including one where they insisted Garth check his jacket... and pay for it. Garth didn't want to check his jacket and certainly didn't want to pay for it. Seem Sweden can be a bit too regimented. We ended at some club.

Feeling a bit hung-over, we climbed out of bed in the early hours of the afternoon. Walking the cold streets, we discovered the Vasa Musuem in Djunrgarden... a ship museum. That's all it was... a ship that had suck because a king had ordered more cannons to be built on it than the ship could handle. Essentially, a museum was created due to an idiot!

Still feeling a little lazy, we headed for TGI Friday's for a meal. The meal was OK but the best part was to come when the waiter brought the bill. The fool gave us the change for our meal and our original payment. Effectively, they paid for us to eat there. The boys were a little skeptical about taking it but followed soon after they saw me out the door.

Thanks to TGI's, half the nights drinks were free so we decided to get back on the wagon with some beers and shots. This time we went to the more upmarket area but found the bars to be too posh. It wasn't as big a night. Maybe we're finding it tough to backup in our old age.

We were still a bit hung on Sunday and only managed a walk through the Gamla Stan, eventually collapsing at a clock tower. We tried to do the Absolute Ice Bar (vodka drinks in an ice igloo) but it was booked out for the day. Of course, more beers were needed for the 'hair of the dog'. It would be the last time I'd see Jock for a while so I pushed myself some more and only allowed myself 3 hours sleep before my flight to Helsinki. Making it worse, I'd left my laundry with the reception which was closed by the time we got back from the pub. It was a tough time searching the room in the dark while 5 others slept but I eventually found it in a bag on the floor. Luckily, I still had undies for the next city.

Return rating: 6 (nice place and people but not much to do)

London, UK (15/5/07 - 17/5/07)

Since returning to Australia from my UK working visa in 2004, I'd always wanted to re-visit friends. When I used my 12 month return flight, I had hopes of finishing the 2nd year. But finances made it too difficult and I settled into my 'old life' again at UniSA.

I was using this time to discover if my heart was still in the UK.

After another long day in airports and planes, I almost felt like I was home. The underground was surprisingly exciting to travel. However, my kind hosts for the next few days, Paul and Jenny's residence wasn't close to a tube station in south east London. Luckily, I knew a little about the bus system but I hadn't seen much of this side of town. It took another two buses and 10 minute walk before I reached their doorstep at 11:30pm. I felt bad for keeping them awake on a school night but it was just like old times when the door was opened and I was welcomed inside with a beer. Such a relief to put my bags down and see old faces that I trusted.

I woke the next day, pumped to rediscover what I consider to be my second home. Wanted to see if anything had changed. I took the same route I always used to take to work at Edwards. Edwards had changed significantly: it was called something else and nobody I used to work with was still there. So, I walked down Hammersmith Road to see if one of my good mates was still working at another location. Dave was starting at 5pm. I went to get my photos from South America developed and killed some time at the internet for an hour before heading back and catching up. Dave seemed to be stuck in the same job and hadn't really moved on. I knew I wouldn't be happy in his shoes and he didn't seem to be totally happy either.

Taking the long trek back to Tran's, I was excited to have dinner with another ol' Adelaide boy, G-man. Classic home made pizza and beers tasted good in the company of great friends.

Thursday was sleep catch-up and more recovery before I moved all my gear to Garth's. Tran and Garth live a good hours trip apart. Afterward setting my stuff down again, we met Gareth at another English pub and called it a night after some Burger King went all over the night bus back to G-man's.

On Friday, I met one of the guys from my Peru tour, Aneurin. We reminised about the good times over lunch and did a quick walk through Buckingham Palace with a traditional English tea in hand. Aneurin had to go back to work and it was just about time to meet Jock. I made the trip back to Garth's to meet Jock. Garth finished work and we went out to meet Claire and have some Gourmet Burger Kitchen. Loved the beetroot. Jock and Garth had a much earlier flight, so we called it a night and saved our energy for Scandanavia.

I have learnt that London has moved on without me... some friends have gone home and more will do so soon, I would have to start job searching and house hunting all over again and the weather is still average. I would have felt like I was living in the past and going backwards by living in the UK again (even if visas weren't a problem). Essentially, I realised I can do everything I want to do from Australia and just visit these places when time and finances allowed.

Return rating: 9 (feels like a second home)