The Netherlands.

First we caught a domestic Jetstar flight to Cairns, Qld. From there it was a Cathay Pacific flight to Amsterdam, via Hong Kong. A gruelling flight that was, almost 26 hours including a few hours layover in Hong Kong.

The Netherlands was very nice. Arriving there in spring, all up we stayed for around 6 weeks. This got us into the start of summer. The weather was great. We spent a couple weeks in Amsterdam, another couple of weeks in a North Holland city named Alkmaar, then two more weeks in the east of the country close to the German border in a town called Den Ham.

We did lots of sightseeing, eating out and having a fantastic time. We mostly made use of public transport, buses/trains/trams, but for the last two weeks we hired a car. This allowed us to travel around where the public transport didn't go. It certainly was interesting driving on the wrong side of the road! Overall the cost of living in The Netherlands was on par with Australia (expensive).

Next stop, Bali !