Well since the last blog, I haven’t done any traveling what so ever. Well if you call going backwards and forwards to the hospital traveling then I suppose I’ve been a busy boy!! Work has been crazy at times and slow at other times but for the majority of the 2 months I’ve been here its been 11 hour days and still not enough time to get everything done. Getting up at 6.45am is no longer so much of a chore, but getting home at 9pm and having very little time in the evening has been hard to get used to. [View Full Entry]

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I’m writing this blog as I sit in a training session about Quality Management and the one thing lacking is a quality trainer. People around me are chatting on their mobiles, joking around, flirting and generally anything that means they aren’t listening to this boring woman. Others have just stood up and walked out and I’m doing this to stay awake cos all she is doing is reading slides. Poor bastards in the front row!! Anyway this blog is about Pondicherry not work. I took a local government bus for the 150km journey and I’m joined by 2 guys from my [View Full Entry]

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Every morning I'm up at 7 to make the bus for 7.30. it takes 5 or 10 minutes to get to the bus stop depending on which road is flooded. The guesthouse is in a nice quiet leafy strret in Adyar where the car horns only go every 5-10 seconds. I've a rock solid bed which makes it even easier to get my ass out of bed. As i stroll to the bus I watch the women pumping their water for the day while they watch me.....I'm sure they're a little surprised to see a white boy in the hood. Beside [View Full Entry]

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So the long awaited blog has returned. In the past 6 months the urge to travel once more has taken over as the feet haven’t just become itchy but have turned into a full blown rash that can only be satisfied by getting the back pack filled again and sweat my tits off in one of the hottest places on Earth. So if your sitting comfortably I'll begin...... I’d been told that there are 3 seasons in Chennai - hot, hotter and hottest and it just so happens I landed in hot season - and its 27 degrees with 95% humidity. [View Full Entry]

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We meet up at 6am to go get tickets for the bus at 9.30, for Ban Don Chai, a tiny village that acts as the jumping off point for the Gibbons experience. While me and Jim are waiting for the ticket booth to open we're joined by Graham and Rob who are also on the same Gibbons. They manage to squeeze to the front while me and Jim are squeezed back by a determined 5 foot old lady and a monk. 7 tickets bought and Rob, Graham and Hanah disappear off to the bank - open on Sundays in Laos, but [View Full Entry]

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Helen and I only stay in Luang Prabang for the night and we manage to get about 4 different truths of bus times and stations for travelling on to Luang Nam Tha. Seems like I'm back in Thailand already!! In the end we make our own judgement and decide for the Northern bus terminal - as we're going north funnily enough. The first leg is pretty uneventful minus the really uncomfortable kiddie seat Helen has for the first 130km so being the gentleman everyone knows I am, I take the crap seat for the remainder. We get to Oudomxai and there [View Full Entry]

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I arrive up in Vang Vieng and all is seeming very similar from 6 months ago when I was here. That is until I step on to main street and the 1st thing that hits me is there are no open sewers!! There seems to be more and more cafes and less places playing Friends!! Woo Hoo!! Although there are still some dumb asses wasting their days by watching the crap. I get settled back into the Viengsavanh Guesthouse, this time I get a private balcony!! I head down to the river to see whats going on there. There has been [View Full Entry]

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I pick up my Honda Baja 250 and get set to head to Tha Kaek from Vientianne for the first leg. I remember the bus took 6 hours but didn't realise it was just short of 400km. 2km after getting the bike the gears are buggared - it will change up but not down. I manage to crawl back to the shop where the guy gets the angle grinder out and 10 minutes later I'm good to go. I take it for a test spin around the block and again the gears are no good. I leave the bike with the [View Full Entry]

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Well, what can I say about my second time in Vientianne? It hasn't changed much except there are about 3000 more tourists than last July. The tuk tuk drivers are still offering you "something" which usually means weed, women or anything stronger!! On the bus from Bangkok I meet Gav and Nick from Shetlands and Sydney. We decide to keep the costs down and share a room in Saysouly Guesthouse (this time making sure there is no curfew at midnight). Its 9am when we arrive so breakfast consists of some fried rice and beer lao!! Its good to be back. The [View Full Entry]

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I arrive in Bangkok and the first thing I do is book my ticket out of the place the next morning. I forgot what transport was like in Thailand. The buses rarely leave on time and true to form it took us an hour and a half to get on the road. Apparantly the journey only takes 6 hours but thats a load of bollox. Mainly due to the bus driver only doing about 30km/h for the majority of the trip which really pisses me off. 6 1/2 hours after getting out of Smog city - not Middlesborough - we finally [View Full Entry]

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