Despite thoughts of Blighty already filling the mind of our intrepid traveller Mike as he nears the end of his epic journey, his adventures seem no less exciting – and ‘loving life in one of his favourite places on the trip’, he tells us of the wonders of Singapore,

“The amount of free things Singapore offers visitors and we have had a fairly hectic (not to mention sweaty!) past week and a bit in which we have drunk nothing but bought plenty of ridiculously cheap clothes.”

Thailand and the surrounding area had, by all accounts, seen ‘some of [the] best times’ – but ever moving on, Mike was on his way to Malaysia – offering some sage advice ‘wish people had told us how much cheaper Malaysia was going to be as we wouldn’t have bought clothes in Vietnam and Thailand.’

“Prangin Shopping Centre which was undoubtedly the best shopping centre I have ever been to in my life both in terms of price and stuff that was there. Pairs of trainers were generally around 10RMB (1.70pounds) although sizes were mostly too small for us”.

For more travel advice, and plenty more stories from Asia, read the full blog post here.

This year sees STA Travel celebrate their 30th anniversary!

Since being founded in 1979, STA travel have accrued three decades of experience and knowledge helping those after adventure and new horizons find what they’re looking for. In keeping with this, their celebratory offer will be doing the same.

We can’t give much away as the details are all top secret, but, without a shadow of a doubt, this is the best deal they’ve offered in their history. The announcement isn’t far off and you can stay in the loop @STATravelUKDeal so follow the updates and get yourself prepared to take advantage of their generous party spirit!

Anyone fancy a barbeque on the beach to celebrate…?

Working out the right company to travel with is always a difficult decision, and some interesting tips were suggested recently to PearlJamManda’s question on Yahoo Answers where she asked “Where can I find cheap decent flights from England to Australia?” It’s always worth ‘using flexible dates and alternative airports’ suggests Carlos O, while jaluo reminds us that the answer is liable to be different depending on whether it is “a return air fare or a one way”.

“STA Travel I find the cheapest” says boson82 – whilst a number of options are suggested by different users. Go and take a look at the full thread over here, or leave your thoughts below.

The Taipan may have returned some while ago, but it is with interest that we note that he has updated a whole swathe of photographs from his recent travels in Thailand, many with a particularly nautical theme. It is not, for him however, all dry docks and dingy looking fishing ports – but magnificent blue stretches of ocean, skylines that could set alight even the least poetic of souls and lush green scenery that has to be seen to be believed.

All his photos can be seen over in his flickr collection over here, but I’ve picked out my favourite of his recent efforts – this tender tree silhouette arcing in front of a beautiful Thai sunset while the water ripples restlessly behind it. Take a look below, and I challenge you not to want to up-sticks and leave for Thailand in the next few days!

A new STA Travelbuzz Explorer has toppled over the horizon and landed in our travelling lap! AJ is a 20-year-old geography student committed to surfing and will be cruising around the USA with his board strapped to the roof.

“I plan to travel to Chicago, Washington DC, the Outer-banks, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. I plan to buy myself a surfboard and take that with me on my road trip as I can surf the whole way down the coast.”

As a keen photographer we can expect glorious images, hopefully of AJ hanging ten and road trippin’ like an American dream. You can see his portfolio here and I think you’ll agree that we can expect the majestic. As for text updates, his previous travel blog Gap Year ’08 will be reborn and filled with new adventure.

AJ, we christen you STA Explorer Surfin’ USA - welcome aboard the STA Travelbuzz covered wagon!

Our Geographer Abroad, of the blog Backpack Geek, has made it home! The last we heard he was in New Zealand, and April was coming to an end with Rob in love with the land of the Kiwi.

In the two months since then though – and after a spot of sky-diving, a visit to Lake Mahinapua, a full day hike up the Franz Joseph glacier and a visit to Milford Sound, he headed to Auckland to board a 12-hour flight to Los Angeles.

“ [Today] we had a better explore, and properly looked at the stars on the street down Hollywood Blvd, went to the Chinese theatre to see the handprints on the ground.”

In doing so Elee, travelling partner to Rob, discovered that Will Smith has considerably bigger hands than her. With this fact secured, they conquered Universal Studios (the Indiana Jones ride receiving high praise), before taking in Las Vegas and hitting New York - all the finer details can be found here.

And with Rob and Elee back, there is evidence that the travelling bug is continuing to bite, so who knows… we maybe following them again soon,

“So there you have it, three months of travelling is noted for you all to read! We really did enjoy ourselves, and there were so many great things we saw and did. […] Keep a look out for another one, because I want to go again, maybe Africa, South America, the North Pole…”

Sounds like Mike has been having a magnificent time in Thailand, and amidst hearty beach parties, swimming in clear turquoise bays, cliff jumping and romantic sunsets – he has managed to update his blog – despite the pricey internet cafes he came across on the remote islands. I doubt it’s worrying him too much though, judging by some for his experiences…

“The night before Full Moon was amazing and we stayed up and watched the sun rise on the beach and had the most amazing night.”

Taking inspiration from the Thai language while he’s there, Mike and Beki (his travelling companion) have also come up with a nice idea to help remember their stay forever,

“Anyhow on the third day we went through Taking Back Sunday and Brand New’s lyrics for things we could turn into Thai to make cool tattoo’s. I decided I am going to get “We’re just protecting ourselves from ourselves” from Taking Back Sunday’s One Eighty by Summer and Beki is going to get “We sleep inside of this machine” from Brand New’s Jesus Christ”

Anyone else have any travelling tattoos?