Greetings from Warsaw! We are having the most wonderful day, possibly one of the most rockin' days of the entire trip. I am not sure if it because of the friendly people, the great food and shopping; or the fact that we made it out of Russia in one piece. Russia was bloody amazing, but we stayed in some shady hotels and my diet has been quite dodgy so my gums hurt and my skin looks like a dog's breakfast.

Before we got here we were in Minsk. My prior knowledge of Minsk was limited to the Seinfeld episode about the movie called Rochelle Rochelle -- the unforgettable story of one woman's erotic journey from Milan to Minsk. I didn't have any erotic adventures in Minsk, except for the brief thrill I got from changing 10 euro into Belarussian rubles. 27000 rubles! Rich beyond my wildest dreams!

Yesterday we spent four hours on the Poland/Belarus border. Everyone whinged and moaned as we were trapped on the coach in 30 degree + heat. But we shut up pretty quick when we got to the other side and saw hundreds and hundreds of people queuing and did not have the luxury of air conditioning and Pringles.

The drive to Warsaw was green and full of storks. Their huge nests were plonked atop every power pole and chimney. I thought to myself, I must ask Witold about the storks. What's the deal with the storks, Witold? You'd know, right? Much in the same way that as an Australian, I know everything about kangaroos and beer. Mwahaha.

I wish we had more time in Poland. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful with a great sense of humour. We have been walking around all day saying, "Man, I LOVE Poland!", and that is not just when we saw the handsome army lads. In fact, everyone agrees that Poland has the highest percentage of attractive blokes out of the five countries seen thus far.

My head is still stuffed full of information and traces of vodka, there's so much to say, so much I've learned, so much to appreciate about life and people and blah blah blah. For example, just say you found someone who DOESN'T think it's a great idea to play two Dido album's back to back on a coach ride from Moscow to Yartsevo, you should thank your lucky stars and RUN to them and tell them you love and appreciate them because you are bloody lucky to have found them. Because sadly there are plenty of people who think this is a fabulous idea. Grrrrr.