So many things to love about London, but what strikes me most about returning after a few years, is how cheap it is for Aussies. Food and drinks are cheap, travel is cheap, and keep in touch is cheap.

The best deal I have found is an Orange prepaid simcard is 15 pounds a month, for unlimited data. You never get unlimited data in Australia, here it is incredibly cheap. Never have to worry about data again.

The secret to surviving the day after Australia day, is a full scottish breakfast. With everything you could want, including bacon, sausage, egg, hash brown, black pudding and haggis.

There are so many Aussies in Edinburgh, Australia day ends up being a huge day, even bigger than Burns night, which is on the 25th of January. So if you are around on the 26th January, make sure you head out to an Aussie pub (Bar Oz on Candlemaker row, Walkabout at the Omni center or the Globe)

A beautiful mosque, just off Chulia street.

It is very easy to eat very cheaply in Malaysia. There are many option, road side cafes, cheap restaurants as well as huge food halls.

One of the specialties of Malaysia is a Laksa soup, a coconut milk based soup, either spicy or sour. You can get a great bowl of this soup for about 4 Ringgit. There are also a number of other soups for around the same price, from Chinese or Indian cuisines.

Malaysia has a large number of food from China or Malaysia, so there are lot of options when eating out. You can easily get a full meal for around 10 Ringgits.

Currently the exchange rate is about 1 USD=3 Malaysian Ringitts.

If you are going to catch a train in Thailand, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, be careful, they do not always run on time.

The other thing to note is that they will fill up, and sell out. When this happens, they will not add more carriages, so it pays to buy a ticket at least the day before hand. If you can get to a train station, it will save you quite a bit. If not, then buying a ticket from a travel agent will guarantee a seat.

One of the most popular destinations for tourists in South East Asia, is the full moon party, in Haad Rin beach, on the island of Koh Phangan, Thailand.

The full moon parties only happen on the night of the full moon on Koh Phangan, you can see the dates for 2012 below. But there are a number of other parties as well, including Pool Parties, half moon parties, waterfall parties, and many more. You could find a party on almost any day.

The parties are a lot more common down south, so if you want to get away form the party crew, or have a family, then head up North. Not that you will have a problem at most resorts down south, mainly the ones in Haad Rin share a lot of noise.

Full Moon Party Dates 2012
Sunday 08, January
Tuesday 07, February
Thursday 08, March
Friday 06, April
Saturday 05, May
Tuesday 05, June
Tuesday 03, July
Saturday 04, August
Saturday 01, September
Sunday 30, September
Tuesday 30, October
Wednesday 28, November
Tuesday 25, December
Friday 28, December
Monday 31, December

Full Moon Party Dates 2013
Sunday 27, January
Monday 25, February
Wednesday 27, March
Thursday 25, April
Saturday 25, May
Sunday 23, June
Monday 22, July
Wednesday 21, August
Thursday 19, September
Saturday 19, October
Sunday 17, November
Tuesday 17, December
Wednesday 25, December
Tuesday 31, December

If you like beautiful and peaceful beach paradises, the amazing islands in the South of Thailand are the place to go. These beaches stretch for miles, and offer lots of conveniences such as ocean side bars and restaurants.

If you want to stay close to the beach, then you can’t do better than a hut on the beach. You can stay in a hut with cold water for about 300 Thai Baht a night, 400 Baht for hot water. Or you can pay up to 2,000 Baht for a lot more luxury, including air conditioning, TV, fridge and much more.