Nying nying nying nying-nying nying!

Hello England, god how I hate you now.

I left Will and Helen tearfully. They have been so good to us and shown us so many wonderful things, and been brilliantly fun company too. Keir and I are already entertaining the idea of returning in a couple of years to bother them some more :) this time with driving licences (at least one anyway).

We spent my last couple of days in Sydney poking koalas and kangaroos and cockies in a koala park, and snorkelling at clovely bay, one of the best snorkelling spots in sydney. It's sheltered and calm, and the fish are plentiful and friendly. The highlights were poking strange and foreign (potentially poisonous) squishy rockpool things, and plucking up the courage to swim out into the deeper water to meet the local blue groper fish. He was lovely- almost 2ft long, flanked by smaller fish that fed in the clouds of debris he dug up from the bottom as he grazed away. He had massive blue lips and a smiley looking face, so I didnt panic too much when he came straight towards me. Other divers were swimming down to try and touch him.

I left Keir at Sydney airport after failing to not cry (I fought hard not to cry in front of the immigration woman), and subsequently spent most of the first flight getting teary eyed every time some sad music came on my ipod, or someone in a film died of cancer.

Beijing airport is the loneliest place in the world when it's 5.30am and you look homeless, have no money and have six hours to kill. You cant just buy a sandwich and sneak off somewhere to eat alone. Nowhere sells sandwiches. Or snacks. You have to go and sit in a resteraunt or cafe and be scrutinized by hundreds of chinese people. I was glad to get back on the plane, at least until seven hours in when the air con was just redistributing farts and I had watched every film that wasnt Troy or The Simpsons movie (again), including a chinese comedy which featured as it's leading comic character a cross eyed villan who couldnt do martial arts and had bowel trouble. Amazing.
So thus concludes my astounding adventures in Australialand- I've had the best time of my life, and it pains me deeply to come home again, but I have unfinished business to attend to. That is, as soon as the snow stops.