A taste of home

Ah the Minogues; they've really blossomed since leaving Australia. I know many of you would like to see what's on page 3, but I've deemed it a bit too rude. I'm sure google will find her for you though - try searching on "Dannii Minogue nude breasts xxx porn". That should do it.

An update on activities since last post (which was some time ago now; my apologies) :

• If today's weather is anything to go by, summer appears to be over. That's ok - I don't feel quite so bad about still being injured (previous post).


• Notting Hill carnival this weekend - biggest street festival in Europe apparently. That should sort out my ankle nicely.
  


• Saw the World Press Photo exhibition at Royal Festival Hall yesterday. Brilliant.
  


• Just heading off to the pub to watch England v Germany. It's only a friendly though, so I'm sure there'll only be a moderate amount of violence.
  

London!

We're back in London!..Beijing was great fun, but when we arrived at Heathrow to blue skies & could see further than 500m, Beijing's pollution problems really struck home. Even the air being pushed down the platform by the oncoming train at Holborn station smelled like we were in the Scottish Highlands. The other strangely indulgent thing I did as soon as arriving was to drink from the tap....sometimes it's the simple things.

As exciting as it is being back in London, 2 days here has immediately brought home the shocking realisation that the mighty Aussie dollar isn't going to last too long; and so the job hunt begins. Hopefully before too long I'll get a chance to wear that suit I've been carrying around since day 1 in Bangkok 6 weeks ago.

Dear Diary

...woken up 6am by banging on the door. Turns out a middle aged Japanese guy had taken the overnight train & wanted a dorm room, so they decided to put him in with me...so he turned on the light & decided I was up for a chat! This despite me lying on the bed with my eyes closed.After going to the loo with the door open & aiming at the middle of the bowl, he finally figured out I wanted to sleep so went to bed himself - he'd already claimed fatigue due to the overnight trip from Xi'An on a hard seat.He then began to snore. Loudly. I already had earplugs in but genuinely thought someone was dragging furniture around upstairs until I removed the earplugs & discovered the shocking truth.

With 2 nights ahead of me with this guy & having had only 6 hours sleep, I made the immediate decision to find another hostel. I got up & showered, which amazingly prompted the snoring Japanese guy to assume I wanted another chat - so he woke up & wouldn't shut up. I told him I was going for a walk (at 7am with nothing open), which also surprised the hostel owner as it was raining heavily. It took me an hour to find myself a single room haven from snorers for all of AU$15. I had to tell a white lie to the hostel owners (I'm off to stay in the same hostel as my Danish friends), but they saw straight through me & offered to change rooms. Great idea & they were very nice, but what then would I say to the Japanese guy? I changed rooms because....(suggestions anyone?).

Anyway, problem solved for now; private room, private toilet, which you never know, could come in very handy before too long...