Day 55 - Saturday 24 November After being rudely awoken at half six so that we could change from the bus to the ferry, it was just after 11am when we arrived in Ko Pha Ngan. Instantly I took a dislike to the place, not wanting to sound like a travelling snob but it was full of tourists on a fortnights vacation. They stand out a mile away. Not only are they quite willing to pay extortinately high prices which then screws the rest of us but they also act like they do back home, as if they own the place. [View Full Entry]

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Day 50 - Monday 19 November Even though its not far away on the map having to get a combination of taxis, buses and the ferry it took most of the day to get to Pattaya. The sun was already beginning to set by the time I arrived. Immediately the place reminded of Blackpool its a sh*ithole but if you want you can probably have a great time. The place is also teaming with prostitutes. As well as lining the seafront every bar with their red lights and packed full of girls leaves you in no doubt whats for sale here. [View Full Entry]

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Day 47 - Friday 16 November Took the early morning ferry over to Ko Chang. Dennis had recommended 2 places I should check out. Treehouse 1 situated at lonely beach (which apparently isn't that lonely), and Treehouse 2 at Long Beach which he described as quiet. As there was a free pickup going to Treehouse 2 I opted for that one. When Dennis had said it was quiet he wasn't kidding. The place was in the middle of nowhere, no shops, bars or resturants , just a few beach huts and the guesthouse bar/resturant and that was it. You could't even [View Full Entry]

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Day 46 - Thursday 15 November Today I attempt to cross the border back into Thailand. As Russ had already left at midnight last night I've now started travelling solo. My free pickup to the bus station was supposed to arrive at 7:30am so I could catch the bus at 8am. Finally at 10 past 8 it arrived. This meant that although the bus was still at the station it was now full and there was no more room. "No problem sir they said we have other bus to take you". A few minuites later a taxi pulls up with two [View Full Entry]

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Day 44 - Tuesday 13 November Some of Russ' friends from back home are on a fortnights holiday in north Thailand so Russ has decided to join them in Chiang Rai for a few days. (He must be really fed up with me already as he paid an extra 100 pounds just so he could get there 12 hours earlier). To be honest I was quite glad after 6 weeks of travelling together 24/7 I could do with a break and some time to myslef. Whilst he spent the day arranging taxis and flights I spent the morning looking at alternative [View Full Entry]

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Day 41 - Saturday 10 November I'd been planning to sleep most of the bus journey but when the bus arrived we were the last to be picked up. This meant the only seats left were both corners of the back seat. The worst position for legroom on the whole bus. Not being able to stretch my legs was a killer and made the journey a nightmare there was no way I could get any sleep. There was another 2 hour stop at the border because once again the Vietnamese border guards decided to keep us waiting before stamping our passports [View Full Entry]

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Day 38 - Wednesday 7 November Arrived in Saigon at 7am and was greeted by the usual croud of hustlers trying to get you to go to their hotel. I was still tired at not in the mood. After settling on one it was time to go back to bed for a few hours. Watched a reply of Liverpools champions league game over breakfast then it was time to sightsee. Out of all the places in Vietnam I'd been looking forward to Saigon the most, mainly due to the pictures and stories I'd read back home about the war. First stop [View Full Entry]

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Day 36 - Monday 5 November It was raining yet again when I woke up but we've decided to move on south in the hope the weather improves. If needbe we were going to go all the way to Saigon but reaching the coastal town of Mui Ne after 5 hours, the rain had stopped, the sky was blue and the beach looked great. It's taken 36 days but I've finally made it to a beach were the sun is shining and I can relax. We checked into a beach hut on the beach and spent the whole afternoon sunbathing listening [View Full Entry]

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Day 34 - Saturday 3 November Arrived in Nha Trang just after 7:30 am. Nha Trang is a beach resort thats great for snorkling, diving, booze cruises and sunbathing. Unfortunately were in the middle of a monsoon and its raining like you wouldn't believe. As I was still a little tired I decided to go back to bed until lunchtime in the hope that it might stop raining. Woke up at lunchtime and it was still raining heavily. Russ decided to brave the weather I decided to give it a bit longer. Although everynight is like a saturday night when backpacking, [View Full Entry]

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Day 30 - Tuesday 30 October As the bus to Hoi An wasn't until 2pm we'd planned to spend the morning visiting one of the royal tombs. However it was seriously raining outside so instead we just sheltered and waited for the pick up. A few hours later we arrived in Hoi An our home for the next day or two. As it was still raining heavily when we arrived we delayed the exploring until tomorrow. Day 31 - Wednesday 31 October It had rained heavily all night and woke up to find the river has burst its banks and half [View Full Entry]

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