It is a well known fact that backpackers in New Zealand are expected to do some truly terrifying things during their stay. So with a very short time in New Zealand we got straight in there and found an activity that is possible on even the shortest of timeframes. Our decision to go sky-diving over the Bay of Islands was made even easier because of a promotional rate making it the cheapest place in the country (NZ$199). When in NZ the combination of an adrenalin sport and a discounted price means you have no option if your have any self-respect. I've [View Full Entry]

---

---

The biggest hassle I encountered on the Thai-Malay border was the frequent offer of cake. We walked across at Sungai Kolok and found the usual assortment of over-eager taxi drivers and an unusual Malaysian cake / sweet stand. The cake-stand man gave us the impartial kind of advice that the taxi drivers wouldn't; the location of an ATM and how to get a bus to Kota Bharu. We were with a Swiss guy called Patrick at this point and he and Paul went off in search of the ATM while I stayed with the bags. Cake-stand man (let's call him Edmund, [View Full Entry]

---

---

Fantasies of a Thai beach holiday have no doubt sustained countless people through months of mind-numbing workplace drudgery. Mine got me through a long Korean winter spent shivering in unheated classrooms. Admittedly I felt slightly less deserving of a holiday after being more or less entirely hammock bound during our time in Laos but landlocked Laos is no substitute for the idyllic Thai islands. So we had a little holiday. Infact it was quite a large holiday where the rigours of travel were replaced by lazing on the beach, relaxing by the pool, swimming, snorkeling, and long lie-ins. T [View Full Entry]

---

---

A 100% guaranteed way to eradicate stress and re-vitalise; go to Laos. Doctors should forgo prescribing medicine and give out Laos visas instead. If you've just been in neighbouring Vietnam you will find Laos is the perfect tonic of peace and tranquility to your hawker headache. Everything slows down and nothing seems to matter. Life revolves around simple pleasures; a breeze as you swing in a hammock, a sunset Beer Lao, a meal down by the mighty Mekong.....and yes please, I would like a job for the Lao Tourist Board. We crossed at the Lao Bao border and continued on to [View Full Entry]

---

---

Just a short walk across the Chinese-Vietnam border and I went from 'Miss' to 'Madame' with the occasional 'OY!' to keep me grounded. Six years on from my first visit to Vietnam and the motorcycle is still king. Not just a motorcycle they also function - amongst other things - as sofas, tables, family saloons, taxis and removal lorries. 'Xe om' (motorcycle taxi) guys have the ability to make a motorcycle look as comfortable as a sofa; leaning back with their feet up whilst awaiting their next fare. Families make motorcycles look as spacious as saloons with families of four (and [View Full Entry]

---

---

We were ditched unceremoniously on the outskirts of Dali new town with no idea as to where we were. A girl on the bus made some effort to help us by talking at us in Chinese and pointing at Chinese signs. The bus driver revved his engine and eventually shouted at her to get back on the bus. We spent some time on a couple of local buses and finally made it into the old town with the help of a bus driver gifted in sign language and guesswork. We walked in the wrong direction, staggering under the weight of hiking [View Full Entry]

---

---

Got to stop moving so fast and writing so slow. A few weeks have passed and we are now in beautiful Guangxi Province in the stunningly located and stunningly annoying town of Yangshuo. We've come here via Fenghaun and Hong Kong both of which deserve their own entry but due to lack of time and crashing computers aren't going to get one. Our trip to Fenghaun was the most pleasant yet (despite it being a pain to get to). First we took the train to Huaihau, I can't remember how long it took but can safely say it was in double-figures. [View Full Entry]

---

---

We left for Xi'an in the 'hard sleeper' compartment of the train. This was our first experience of Chinese rail travel and it was fantastic. The beds were big and comfortable with 3 stacked on top of each other, facing another three on the opposite side. If you are on the top bunk it's really high up and with no ladders you have to climb up monkey-style using footholds that flip down from the wall. We managed to sleep most of the way through until we were awoken at 7:00 by load announcements and music, annoyingly unecessary seeing as we didn't [View Full Entry]

---

---

Palyondong post office started the proceedings in befitting style by shutting earlier than promised and thereby rendering us unbelievably, excruciatingly laden for the first part of the trip. We arrived sweating at the post office to see not so friendly looking roller shutter doors and cursed the fact we would have to start 'backpacking' with 3 extra boxes of stuff meaning our total weight was up to 70kg. We took the first challenge in good spirits (or at least we tried) and grimaced our way up to Seoul. We managed to relieve ourselves of the boxes in the more reasonable Seoul [View Full Entry]

---

---

So this is it. We’re out of here. ‘The Hermit Kingdom’, ‘The Land of the Morning Calm’…..‘The ROK.’ When we said we were going to Korea the initial response invariably involved one of the following words: ‘War’ ‘Danger’ ‘Nuclear’ ‘Wired’ ‘Dog’ ‘Nice’ ‘Why?’ Ok so it’s probably most famous for the war and its nuclear neighbour and danger by default. Admittedly ‘nice’ only came up once in an alarmingly stereotypical respon [View Full Entry]

---

---