Cairns (and a missing week or so)

Right been in Australia for about 2 weeks now, and posting stuff for this has proved pretty tricky, and so this is gonna be another fairly bulleted list of things that i've been up to
Three days in Melbourne were really cool, going to the Melbourne Aquarium and seeing all the little penguins there
Also got to see the Cat Empire, and they're absolutely amazing!
From Melbourne I flew up to Alice Springs, spent a couple of days touring around Ayre's Rock, the Olgas, and Kings Canyon, which were all really impressive, then got a bus tour up to Darwin, stopping at a few things en route, like the Devils Marbles, and a couple of waterholes with waterfalls in them.
When I got up to Darwin went out to the Kakadu National Park, and here I found the most impressive view I've ever seen at Ubirr, which words can't even describe how amazing it is!
Now I'm out in Cairns, aobut to head on the Great Barrier Reef for the next three days, then a mad charge down the east coast, so in other words, next news will prob be in either Sydney, or when I get to New Zealand!

Filling in the blanks (part 1)

Ok so I said I wouldn't update this thing as often as perhaps I should have, but its been over a week since I last put anything on, so what happened? Quite simply Tokyo happened. Instead of spending 5 days days exploring around Japan, I focussed just on Tokyo, but still found more than enough to keep me entertained for my time there (while still missing out quite a few things too). Highlights of the trip have to include;
Seeing the first of the cherry blossoms, which I thought that I was going to miss out on seeing entirely
Visiting the Tsujiki Fish Market, may not sound like much, but probably the most impressive thing I saw. They work their way through 20,000 tonnes of fish every year there, mostly whole tuna (for those of you who don't know, tuna don't in fact come in cans, instead they're huge fish, over a metre long, shaped like a very fat cigar. They cut them up with band saws, similar to the ones used in workshops!) Aside from tuna, theres almost every other type of fish, and seafood under the sun, and so many people working on it, the energy coming off it is amazing. I then had some sushi from next door...unsurprisingly very fresh!
The pedestrian crossing at Shibuya; this is one of the classic things people think of when they think of Tokyo, millions of people crossing the road all at once, covering the entire road. Its just as crazy and manic as its made out on films and the like!
The many Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples (best of these that I saw were the Meiji Shrine, and the complex around Asakusa). They're so peaceful and elegant, quite a feat where metres away, the rest of Tokyo rages around them.
Seeing the Roppongi district by night; this is one of the main party neighbourhoods, where things regularly go on until it gets light, though I was boring, and went back on the last train of the day.
Thats main stuff dealt with I think, there are one or two pictures...somewhere in excess of 400 on my camera, which will be uploaded whenever I get the chance. Now I'm in Melbourne in sunny Australia, ready to begin next leg of my travels, so when will the next update be? Who can say!

What time is it? Where am I? Actually, what day is it?!

Well I'm now in Seoul, which appreciate wasn't really listed on the grand scheme of things, but is still part of the plan, as had to make a change here to fly on to Tokyo, but to get the cheapest flight onwards, had to stay here overnight (as they say, you can take the man out of Yorkshire...)
Nothing overly interesting so far, apart from seeing police in Schipol ariport on Segways, and a spectacularly bad breakfast somewhere over China (scrambled eggs shouldn't look like that...and were safely left alone!)
Bit of an interim kind of thing to be honest, but trying to stave off the effects of jetlag for as long as possible, so I can switch my body clock around as quick as possble (currently a mere 8 hours ahead of England time) Though will quickly mention some of the bizarre adverts, including a billboard advert for the "one and only colon" which dosen't bear thinking about, and one on tv featuring some form of animated root vegetable wearing a tie and doing press-ups...ideas? Anyone?
Onwards and upwards from here, and hopefully start taking a few more pictures too, so I can start uploading them too.

Ready for the off...

Well where to begin? At the beginning I suppose, normally the best place to start, but beginning of what exactly? If I go for the start of space and time, I could be here a while, so I'll skip to the important bits. Me. Am travelling. Around World.

Now thats done, time for specifics. Bright and early tomorrow morning I head off to sunny Teesside airport, to begin the first leg of my travels to the land of the Rising Sun, Japan. Not really sure what to do there, so any suggestions for things to do (preferably in Tokyo) will be welcomed. After a week there, I'll be making my way onto Australia, for more fun and high-jinx, but more on that later, if and when I remember to write anything.

Hopefully photos should also find their way up on here over the next 10 weeks of travels, but again depends on time constraints, and if I remember or not.

Anyhoo, can't think of anything else to write now, and probably should finish packing before too much longer, so here ends the first jumbled rambling of my travels, tune in for the next installment at some point