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The Post-Trip episode....

 Hello again! I know what you're thinking... "You wait all month for his final travelogue email and then he sends me two in a day!"   Well, yes that's right. I actually finished writing the supposed final episode last night and it was all a bit of a rush in the end - fingers-a-blur - as I frantically strived to finish my 'gloat list' before I had to go off and play 5-a-side football.   After a 12 month absence I am back playing my beloved game of football again twice a week. Infact, my first game was played 22 hours after we got back! Absolutely useless, of course, but the old skills are coming back again now and once more defenders are being left standing by my lightning pace and sublime ball skills!   Well, I thought I'd write a little epilogue; Let you know how we're doing trying to adjust back to so called "normal" life...   You know when you go away on holiday, when you come back something has always broken whilst you were gone? For ins...
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Beijing to St. Petersburg - The final leg....

Greetings to you all! I hope you are all healthy and fit. Well, Lynn and I are now back in England. Our tremendous year on the road has, sadly, come to an end and we're now back in the land of mortgages, pensions and bills... how thoroughly depressing it all is! Anyway, sincere apologies for not writing this last episode sooner. I could give you 101 excuses as to why I haven't done it but I'll give you just the one and a damn fine one it is too. Excuse No. 1 for not writing sooner: We had no internet connection. See, I told you it was good. Now we've got Broadband installed though my excuses have dried up and so here I am, back at the computer, about to embark on a lengthy bit of typing so you can finally read about the last 12 days of the trip. Read on my friends... On Tuedsday 7th February we wake early and pack the last of our stuff. At 06:40 we have to be at the Beijing Central Train Station for a 07:40 departure to Moscow. Most of our packing involves sorting out t...
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A quick trip through China....

Ni Hao! That's "Hello" in Mandarin Chinese and is pronounced 'Neehow' . The discovery of this word means I now have a useful collection of 7 Chinese words at my immediate disposal, the other 6 being "Kung Fu", "Feng Shui" and "Chow Mein". The fact that I am here writing this blog after 2 weeks in China is evidence enough that you really don't need to learn anymore unless you're trying to show off. So, it's just under 3 weeks since my last update and a very scary 12 days until we finally arrive home again to England. Tomorrow morning (Wednesday 7th February) at 07:40 we step on to a train at Beijing Central Train Station and 6 long days later we arrive in Moscow. With the return of our passports yesterday from the Mongolian Embassy that means the last of our visas are now secured. All parts of the Russian leg of the journey are also booked and paid for. We're just about ready to go. All that's needed is a quick trip...
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Racing north to Hong Kong....

Hello again to you! It's been a while hasn't it? We had a lot of problems with the internet over Christmas and so it just wasn't possible to write this next episode before now. Unfortunately that means I've got a month's worth of travelling to tell you about this time instead of the usual 2 weeks! We've covered alot of ground in this last month as we headed north from Phnom Penh in Cambodia to Hong Kong where we are now. Ultimately we're on our way to Beijing where, in 3 weeks time, we should hopefully be boarding the train to Moscow for the last big trip before going home. As I've got so much to write about this time I shall attempt to do what many of you will undoubtedly think is impossible by now and that is to not go into quite so much detail. If I write in my usual style then we'll both be here forever! Oh, a quick message before I begin: GOOD LUCK with your trip, Noel. I hope and believe you'll have a wonderful, wonderful experience!!! So,...
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Cambodia: Emerging from the past....

Hello there! A week to go until Christmas and also our final day in the lovely country of Cambodia. I think therefore that it's time for an extended session in the internet cafe again! Before I begin though I'd just like to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I guess the work's Christmas parties have all been and gone and you're now desperately scouring the shops for those final few Christmas presents. I bet the rain, the wind and the grey skies are making frequent appearances too for all those back in the UK. After 10 months away do I wish I was there? Nope, not really! Well, we've been in Cambodia for a little over 2 weeks now and on the whole it's been quite a wonderful experience. So, I guess I ought to let you know what we've been up to... We left Bangkok and Thailand on Saturday 2nd December and it was a most unpleasant day. We had reserved a couple of tickets on the bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap in Cambodia with a travel agency on the inf...
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