Brussels
We spent a night in Brussels following a 2-hour train ride from the 'Dam, throughout which I had to sporadically check to see if Wean was still breathing - he laid there comatose throughout the whole journey and I was afraid that he's died of alcohol poisoning!!! Now that he's hit the big 3-0, he ought to know that he's no longer invincible, and that hangover-free morning afters are a thing of the past!

So anyway, it didn't stop raining the whole weekend while we were in the 'Dam, and the rain continued in Brussels. We revisited our favourite haunt Delirium (where we pretty much spent all of our long weekend in Feb '05...simply because there is very little else to do, and alright, also because of the 2,500 different beers available and we felt obliged to make a dent in the drinks menu!) for a couple before heading to yet another of our favourite restaurant Chez Leon (or was it Chez Vincent? Chez Jean-Luc??) for some sumptuous mussels in Brussels.

Early next morning we set off on the 24 hour bus-ferry-bus-ferry-bus journey to Dublin via France, England and Wales. Not quite an epic journey like the Trans-Siberian, but long enough by European standards! Since arriving in Europe, the longest bus journey has been about 8 hours. The journey was rather painless, and we spent most of the night on the Hollyhead-Dublin crossing where we could put our heads down on the sofa on the ferry, which worked out well.

So....summertime in the Emerald Isle!!! Ehhh, what summer? It was freezing!! Apparently they already had their summer a week ago when the heat wave hit, so we missed out. Instead, we got a taste of the real Irish weather ie, wind, rain and hail.

Limerick
After collecting our motor from Avis, we set off southwards to Limerick to see Karrie and Tony, with whom we floated down a river on rubber tubes in Laos, beer in hand. This time, they have very kindly put us up in their new pad a few minutes from Limerick town. It was great to catch up with them again, although there was a distinct lack of Beer Laos. Nevermind, we made do with Guinness instead.

Kerry
Karrie took us to her hometown, Myvane in Co. Kerry, known as Fitzville to the locals, simply because most of the land in the tiny village is owned by her family, the Fitzmaurices!! We even got to visit her mam and dad at their garden centre and indulged in a very traditional scone and a cuppa tea before getting a pot of lillies for Iris (which we carried all the way down the drive of Meadowbrook with our backpacks and all, I'll have you know!!). A short drive away and we arrived in Ballybunnion, a seaside town very much like the Antrim coast - white foaming waves crashing on to steep rocky hills. Coupled with the mystical Irish sunshine which chose to reveal itself, the view was spectacular.

All too soon, it was time to bid our farewells again to yet another couple who have been so kind and hospitable to us two wandering, penniless bums. Well, not before Wean got a footballer-style haircut (worth 48 euros, more than a day's budget!!!) by an award-winning hair-stylist - none other than Karrie herself!!! So with his new swanky 'do, we drove northwards, considered spending time in Galway but discounting it cos the weather was pish, and pushed on till we arrived in Malin.

Malin
Malin, northern-most town of Ireland, where we spent the last night of Op X-SAS. After a wee wander to picturesque Malin Head, we checked ourselves into a wee B&B - a stunning little cosy cottage that's absolutely luxurious compared to the hovels we've stayed in on this trip. Heck, it's still luxurious by any standards - talk about going out with a bang!

Ballybogey
After 203 days on the road - some days great, some not so great - we finally arrive at our destination. It's really difficult to believe that it was only 203 days ago that we left Compassvale on the MRT towards Johor Bahru and now after countless bus/train/tuk-tuk/tram/si

Ahh, land of the windmills, clogs, tulips, and a 2-finger head on your beer!

Before 10am, we pretty much did a whistle stop of the country on the bus from Plzen and the train to Breda!!! Eindhoven - Utrecht - Amsterdam - The Hague - Rotterdam - Dordrecht and finally...

Breda
Home of the Van Meels (well, not Breda, but 20km out of it, in a wee toon called Oosterhaut, but Breda is the nearest big town on the LP map!) - John and Nancy, with whom we travelled the length of Vietnam, who gave us their address, never really expecting us to show up with our backpacks 4 months later at their doorstep! Only joking - they did expect us, and Nancy even picked us up from the train station, which was just as well cos we would never have found their house!! It's in a lovely new suburb where the houses are all built from the same style, but each with their own personal touch, and in an idyllic setting with a lake, some ducks, their very own village windmill, and a miniature zoo with cool goats, a squealing turkey and even a llama!!!

John and Nancy have a lovely home with an even lovelier garden, and because we have brought the good weather with us, we enjoyed the rest of the day winding down and catching up in the garden, amidst blooming flowers and buzzing bees. They also have a huge collection of movies to entertain us while they're at work...what more could we ask for!!!

So for 4 days we monged in front of the TV by day and enjoyed dinner in the garden by night, playing Shithead and drinking European beers...it was almost like being in Vietnam with them again, just minus the Saigon beer. We couldn't spend as much time as we'd liked with them, cos unlike us, they had jobs to go to, but we're sure we'll see them again soon enough!

Amsterdam
A trip to the Netherlands wouldn't be complete without seeing half naked women in shop window at The 'Dam, and see them (and a whole lot more!) we did with JT who joined us there for the weekend. The terribly wet weather didn't hinder our 14-hour binge drinking session one bit. The day culminated at Bananabar (yup, one of those girly bars where for 45 euros, we could drink to our hearts' content for an hour) where a vibrating luminous green cylindrical object flew (from where you'll just have to use your imagination! we can't say cos there are minors reading this!!) right into JT's G&T!!! You really couldn't make this sort of thing up! While Wean and I were doubled over in stitches, JT managed to get a new glass with a fresh G&T. What a waste of good drink, we say.

The next day was a write off for Wean cos unlike JT and I, he didn't know where the line was (duh, like you don't know that already) and drank far too many double JD and cokes than his system could take. Still, we had to push on to Brussels - which we did, eventually!!

Czechoslo-what-ia.... exactly!!! The Czechs denied the Slovaks all those years ago, and no one paid attention, but hey, it's now the Czech Republic!!

Prague

We used to think no other city comes close to the old town splendour of Edinburgh (with Edinburgh Castle towering above while M&S and Jenners thrive on Princes Street, it's a sight to behold) but Prague certainly comes close, or might just even supercede it. (Heathens!!!)

Once in the city centre of Prague, you are confronted with a labyrinth of cobble-stone streets (yes yes, again you say - but they are all over Europe, and we never tire of them!) each lined with ancient buildings so ornately-carved you can spend ages scrutinizing the details (which we didn't. Why waste time we could spend in the beer garden drinking cheap Czech beer?). We embarked on a wee walking tour past a few cathedrals, a random hanging man bronze statue (which was, literally, hanging off a pole about 6 metres high and swaying precariously in the wind), Wenceslas Square, the famous Charles Bridge which offered a splendid view of the Old Town (chocker full of tourists and your usual touristy tat stalls, although from our photos, you'd think we're the only people in Prague, from the lack of other tourists in the pictures), and on to the Statni Opera House, where we caught Puccini's Madama Butterfly. What a magnificent interior! From the painted dome to the cherubs adorning each pillar...it was worth the 2 quid we paid for the tickets just to go in and see the theatre itself. While I was paying much attention to what was going on onstage and trying hard to recall the English-translated text of the opera which I studied in uni (for the opera was, of course, in Italian and the surtitles in Czech...not very helpful), Wean was snap-happy with the camera. Well, we both enjoyed our time in the theatre.

The next day in Prague, we witnessed a massive thunderstorm in the comfort of a cosy cafe, sipping mulled wine. The wind was howling and the heavens emptied for a long time, and afterwards, the town was refreshed and it was lovely to walk across Charles Bridge again sans the humid weather. We ended up (surprise, surprise) in a microbrewery not far from the centre of town downing cheap beer, beer ice-cream and hearty Czech food (lotsa of potatoes and meat, hurrah!).

Plzen

A 90-minute bus ride from the centre of Prague and we arrive in a sleepy wee student town, Plzen, home of the Pilsner Urquell lager. (Read: even cheaper beer)

Maybe because it was the weekend and all the students were away home, absolutely nothing was going on in town, and all the shops were closed. So left with nothing to do, we found ourselves a lovely beer garden and spent the rest of the day there, taking full advantage of the 50p Pilsner draught.

As far as accommodation in Plzen was concerned, we lucked out, getting a cosy log cabin at a campsite not far from town, with a brilliant view of the lake from our window. A great place to lay our weary heads after one or ten pints.

While in Plzen, we had to visit the Pilsner brewery. The tour was much like any other brewery tours, but the facility itself was pristine - gleaming advanced machinery all looking very far away from the days where the beer was matured in barrels. The beer tasting took place in a cold underground cellar with rows of barrels from whence they pour the beer, loads of ambience indeed! After a game of massive chess (where the pawns are Pilsner bottles) in the compound of the brewery, we found ourselves yet another beer garden to spend the rest of the day. Oh, what a hard life!

All too soon, time to leave the Eastern block and head for central Europe, where we are going to have to spend even more on beers!