Back from seeing the world. I've been to Hong Kong, Cairns, Melbourne, Sydney, and Bangkok. Just getting over some nasty jetlag but I thought I'd share some photos with you and bore you silly with my tales.

First stop Hong Kong. Crowded polluted but clean if that makes sense. Probably the best skyline you will ever see, especially at night. Massive sky scrapers and huge appartment blocks over fifty stories high that the population squeeze into.

Next onto Cairns, probably my favourite part of the trip. Stayed in a hut in the Jungle, with a short walk down to a private beach. Pure heaven! Went to the great barrier reef and did some snorkelling. Didn't see any sharks though which was a shame. But did see some kangeroos in the wild, and a beetle the size of my fist.

From there went onto Melbourne just in time for the cup, and Makybe Diva fever. Watched the race in federation square and witnessed sporting history. Took a trip down the Great ocean road and saw some Koalas in the wild. Which is quite rare as 90% live in parks and zoos. Took a Helicopter flight over the Twelve apostles, which was stunning. Also visited the Gaol where Ned Kelly was hanged. Then onto Sydney. Wanted to do the Bridge climb but funds were running low and as it was $160 each and you couldn't even take your own camera up decided against it. Did go up into the blue mountains though which was beautiful and the views were fantastic. Still awake?

Then onto Bangkok. This is a mad place. Very hot and humid talking up in the early 90's with a 90% humidity. To top it all off the pollution you can taste. Lots of wonderful temples fighting for space amongst the urban sprawl. People selling all sorts of stuff on every street, from wierd food and fake designer clothes and watches, to stuff they've pulled out the garbage. Real east meets west stuff, but no matter how poor and unfortunate some of these people may seem they are so friendly and welcoming. Also visited the infamous Patpong Rd. Where guys try to lure westerners in to view one of the many shows that occurs. One guy seemed most perplexed that my wife wasn't interested in seeing a show involving bananas and ping pong balls. An experience indeed!

Thats some heck of a journey. Beautiful shots as well.

Heres some shots of wildlife encountered. Koalas, Grey nurse shark, Bird eating spider, Giant Lizard, and dead Hammerhead. The lizard we found wondering about 20 metres from our room in Cairns. The dirt track is actually used by cars, so all in all he was about 6 feet head to tail. The Hammerhead I found washed up on the beach in Cairns. The others appeared in various zoos and parks we visited. Thats all so you can wake up now! p.s to all the Aussies here, fantastic country you should be very proud!

Thanks for the travelogue, but I was hoping for pirate stories. Arrrrrrgh!!

Fantastic trip you did! You obviously got a lot of valuable memories and hopefully inspiration too!

I'm a Aussie and I'm so Happy you had a good time while you were here, great pick by the way, cya M8..

Never went to sleep.....photos of distant places are always interesting to view....you have some fantastic pics of cityscapes too.

Wow. Those are just excellent shots. Lovely colourful looking places...

Wow Joe. What an amazing odyssey you just experienced! I'm jealous as hell! I can see why you loved the hut in Cairns so much and the dip in the outdoor "pool" looks like it was quite a refreshing experience. Thanks so much for sharing your pics with us - I enjoyed each and every one!

~arry
(who hopes you'll save a spot in your suitcase for me to tag along next time...;)

Thanks guys, stony broke now but it was worth every penny. Still waiting for some shots of the 12 apostles and blue mountains that was taken on a 35mm camera.

Thanx to share those so magical and wonderful moments Joe!!! This is fabulous!!!!!

indeed. cool shots! and we're glad to have you back! :)

Wow. Sweet pictures. Thanks for sharing. :)

Welcome back! nice shots!

Ditto the above and thanks for sharing.......i dont need a holiday now! LOL.

No snoozing here! Thanks for sharing your travel pics.

Excellent. I'm green with envy, you know. I'll have to go to a safari in Africa to top that. :-)

Thanks for the pics of your trip. It was fun to view them. :)

great story, hope to see some of these experiences back in your render art. ;)

Great photos! So you went by Balloon or what?

Hey, looks like you soaked up the sites Joe. Excellent shots mate, postcard quality:) Shucks, we Australians are special ;)

Giant lizard is a goanna :) Also, researchers have just found out that Australia's lizards are poisonous too... Mahray

Wow! Those pictures are amazing! That's gotta be the most awesome assortment of 'travels' that I've ever heard of!

Lol @ Mahray. Is anything down under not poisonous? When we went snorkelling the guys on the boat said not to touch anything and told us about the Lion fish whose venom attacks the nervous system paralysing the victim. Thing was the place swarms with fish and you can feel them banging into you so your pretty much screwed if one bumps into you. @Arrianah I'll gladly save you a spot in the suitcase, but after this trip all I'll be able to afford is a wet weekend in Skegness.

Ahhhhhhhh, wet weekendS, how nice it is to be English!! :(

Fantastic images! Looks like you have a wonderful time traveling around the globe. I'm sure this trip will inspire your future artwork. Bird Eating Spider, hey? Good thing they don't eat 3D artists :-)