Sorry, you don't get to go to Perth, I heard about Nigaloo reef, that must be so awesome(my buddies on the 4 hour plane ride from Singapore had wonderful stories to tell, that's where they were headed.) I regularly went to WA australia when we lived in Singapore, I so enjoyed the solitude, the remoteness, friendly people, breathtaking ocean and dry air(compared to Singapore).Be exciting to find out what other exotic locations you'll be dragging your wife off to. I can understand her reluctance to take this inhumane plane ride from England. From here it is even worse, that's why I haven't even thought of going back, believe it or not worldtripper HATES to fly, isn't that a joke....So cowgirl hugs from Houston, and hope to visit again soon.

said worldtripper 2006.03.27 at 10:23:51 PST

Yeah, Eric, I think we so easily forget the horrible tragedy that struck just a little more than a year ago. We didn't hear much of the Maldives and how they were affected, but knowing that they're only a few feet higher that sea level and relatively close to Sri Lanka which had so much devastation, it doesn't come as a surprise. A horrible event like this really affects much more you deeply if you've visited the places firsthand, know and love land and people. This is what I felt like when horrible images from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia kept being replayed over and over again and the death toll kept mounting. For us it kind of got overshadowed by the horrendous hurricane season this year, where almost a 1000 mile strech of coastline between North Florida and Just 60 Miles east of us in Texas was devastated. But at least most of these folks had a warning (except the levies breaking in New Orleans). The 250,000 people that lost their lives in the Tsunami were just taken by the sea on a beautiful sunny day. So enough of the gloom, I've just been thinking about it since I got your message..

said worldtripper 2006.03.27 at 10:18:06 PST