Ant and Allee

On our first morning in Bangkok we took the Chao Phraya River Ferry to Wat Pho. The journey is an experience in itself as the boat glides past temples, churches, and everyday Thai life before bumping into the next pier on it's route. An absolute bargain at 14 Baht (Around 25 pence). At the temple we got a guide to show us around. He had a mouth full of little black stumps and was hard to understand at times but still informative. It also helped us to slow out visit down and take things in. He thought that Dad was the 'Father of All', brilliant as he's the youngest after me. We saw the Reclining Buddha and put coins in the one hundred alms bowls for luck, as well as looking around the other buildings and ... read more

The only moment of note on the flight to Hong Kong was boarding. When people realised that the plane wasn't full they rushed around to snap up empty rows. One woman was so excited that she couldn't move properly. She just kind of jumped up and down on the spot and shook until she realised that all decent spots had now gone when she sat back down where she had started. A smooth flight and a few hours sleep later and we arrived in Hong Kong. Mongkok on a Sunday afternoon is a well and truly chaotic introduction to Hong Kong. People were shoulder to shoulder, the noise of constant voices and traffic makes heads spin, while the smell of street food attracts nostrils. When we finally found Hong Kong Budget Hostel it was basic but ... read more

After leaving Uncle Tan's we headed for Semporna (Waddya wanna watch? I wanna Semporna!). The sole purpose for going there was for some of us to have a go at diving but when we got there we fund that there was also a regatta on that weekend. The harbour was full of decorated sea gypsy boats and there were stalls and plenty of people. One young boy took a shining to Mam and walked around the market with us, getting hold of her hand before waving to any of his friends. There were lots of children around, many of them probably homeless orphans who have ended up here as illegal immigrants from nearby Indonesia and Phillipines. For anyone out there thinking of setting up an orphanage or school somewhere in the world, Semporna would be ... read more

We flew to Indonesia with lots of preconceptions of what the country would be like. These were based on government warnings about travel to Indonesia on the FCO website, which had us fearing that all Indonesians would be terrorists intent on kidnapping us or blowing us up, and western media portrayal of what 'muslim countries' are like. It turned out to be completely different to what we expected. The first suprise on landing was that, far from being a bunch of western-hating extremists, Indonesians are friendly, welcoming people. A guard took us straight past the immigration queue at the aiport and people would smile, shout hello, point us in the right direction and be generally helpful. On the train one lady even brought her children over to say hello and shake our hands. The second ... read more