needles are not nice

I don't want to have all those vaccinations - don't like the idea of all those needles. Polio vaccine on a sugar cube sounds alright though ... - Rosa

shopping for bags

We have been shopping for rucksacks. Today we went to Birmingham and tried some on in Blacks, Field & Trek and Oswald Bailey. We also looked at a few little bits and bobs, fun stuff like solar showers and freeze-dried meatballs in case the food is horrible, which it probably won't be. We looked a bit at shoes, found some nice looking ones, but of course they weren't the right kind. - Melissa

Where we're going (with a map!)

Well, this could be where you read all about the parker-hinton-campbell 2004-05 world tour. We'll try it out, and see what we think after a while. Our current plans are as follows: Sept 2004: Beijing, and touring a little with our hosts Hong Wei and Yu Jin Oct/Nov: India & Bangladesh - including a beach in Kerala and at least one train Dec 2004/Jan 2005: Kenya with Naomy and family: animals, Africa and anopheles mosquitoes Feb - Mar: Thailand Mar - Apr: Cambodia with Meng Tre Apr: Australia, but we might only be able to afford a week or so! May - June: Mexico, including visiting some Hintons June: Jamaica and Cuba July: Palo Alto, and then home and that will do for my first post - Mark

How to Use This Blog

This is for all the people we meet who haven't ever seen a blog before, and say they might look at ours. One day. Right.

This 'blog' (short for web log) is an online travel journal, that we can update with words and pictures from (nearly) anywhere with internet access, and to which you, dear reader, can add comments of your own if you like. Here's what you need to know:

Content is dated

This blog, like most, is organised in date order, with the most recent entries first.
This means that:

• As you scroll down the page you come to earlier entries and comments
• To avoid being really slow to open, a limited number of the most recent entries are the only ones visible on the main page, so:
• To see earlier pages, you should click on the links to monthly archives visible on the right of the main page. (For example, you can look at all the entries for November 2004)

When we haven't blogged (or just haven't added photos) for a while, we sometimes add things in at the date they happened, rather than the date we finally found a working internet cafe:

• This means that new stuff sometimes appears not at the top of the blog ...
• ... but we usually mention this in a 'properly' dated blog entry
• - which basically means that if you read regularly, you won't miss anything.

'Thumbnails' and bigger photos

Those of our readers who post comments tell us they like the pictures. So that we can show lots of them, we make'em small. You may like to know that:

• If you let your mouse rest on a picture for a few minutes a little caption will pop-up - sometimes a witty one!
• If you click on a picture, a bigger version will open - usually in a new window.

Comments: Have your say, here today

So, you read what we wrote, and you want to let us know how cool / rubbish / interesting / predictable / moving / meaningless it all is. Here's how:

• At the bottom right of the fascinating post you just read, find the word comments in bold type (it will have 0 or another number in front of it)
• Click it - a pop-up window will open called 'Blogger: Post a Comment'
• (If you can't find the word comments to click, check for a link called Post a comment, below any already posted comments, and click this instead. The same pop-up window will open)
• Read any comments already posted, scrolling down as you go
• Type your message into the box titled 'Leave your comment'
• Underneath, below the heading 'Choose an identity', click the button labelled Other
• Type your name in the box labelled Name (or we won't know who you are!)
• Click the button at the bottom left to Publish Your Comment

That's it! Try it now with the comment or Post a comment link at the bottom of this post. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.