So this is it. We've not got long left now so this will be the final blog. Firstly, we both stink! There has been a water shortage all the way down the Caribbean coast which means the showers have been dribbles of water or a bucket and we've not been able to wash our clothes. My sandals are currently banned from our room and Neil has worn the same pair of shorts everyday for over 9 weeks! Secondly we had a throwing and catching competition on the beach and I won! Obviously I'm refusing a rematch or best-of-three. So we [View Full Entry]

---

---

We started our Nicaraguan adventure in San Juan del Sur in the south west. From the Costa Rican border we jumped on an over crowded ´chicken´ bus. These are actually old yellow American school buses just like in the Simpsons, and they provide a rattly, dusty, cramped, bone-crunching, cheap and interesting way of getting around. Nicaragua is an incredibly poor country (the second poorest in the northern hemisphere after Haiti) and has had a very turbulent recent history. It also has an incredibly young population which I think brings its own problems as there is increasing violence and ga [View Full Entry]

---

---

We´re actually in Nicaragua now but I´m going to tell you about our time in Costa Rica. We arrived dazed and shattered after a horrendous journey through the USA. It took us 5 days to get here which all passed in a bit of a jetlagged blur! We did get 800pounds worth of free flights though as we swapped flights - though getting on more planes doesn´t really appeal right now. We flew into the capital San Jose which didn´t feel very safe! Costa Rica was a bit of a culture shock after SE Asia. We were so jetlagged that [View Full Entry]

---

---

We have now finished work and are filling our days with not-a-lot! It is SOOOOOO hot here - over 35degrees - that just moving is a bit of a struggle. Before we left work we had to do a last minute visa run to the Cambodian border. Even this short journey into Cambodia was a bit of an eyeopener. It is such a poor country - especially in comparison to it's wealthier neighbour, Thailand - and as soon as we left Thai soil the cars were replaced by wooden carts piled high with rice and fabric and pulled by jaded looking [View Full Entry]

---

---

I'm going to have to start with an apology for the lack of contact lately - January was a month plagued with illnesses - Coughs and colds continually picked up from the kids as well as a particularly nasty bout of food poisoning. We think this was caught from the pool and we were both ill (in one small room!). I didn't eat for 4 days!!!! and then couldn't eat properly for a couple of weeks and we both had to be taken to the hospital. Apparently there is a well placed mistrust of GPs in Thailand which means hospital is [View Full Entry]

---

---

Happy New Year Everybody! We are now sadly back at work following our Christmas break. Most teachers in Thailand don't get Christmas off so we were very lucky to have 10 days to escape. The last few weeks passed in a blur of cotton wool, glitter and 'jingle bells' as the children did special Christmas activities. One of the schools we work at is a Christian school so we went to their Christmas concert which was far from traditional! The children wore so much make up - like you would see at a beauty pageant - even the boys! Their clothes [View Full Entry]

---

---

Well, we have managed to drag ourselves to the end of a very tiring two weeks at work! The last few weeks traveling were a bit tough. I had my first real feeling of homesickness and I think we both just wanted to unpack! After viewing a few housing options we decided that we would rather live near the town than the school, in an apartment block which includes 5 other 'farang' (foreign) teachers. The best thing by far is the huge swimming pool at the end of our corridor! It is beautiful and nearly always deserted as most Thai's won't [View Full Entry]

---

---

It's been a while since the last entry - Neil was supposed to write this one but it kept getting put off - so it's down to me to keep everyone informed of our Vietnamese adventures. Our last few days in Luang Nam Tha (Northern Laos) were spent in a slight drunken/hung over haze. One particular night we found ourselves in a deserted night club listening to the very worst Lao pop music has to offer. Luckily(!!), there was a set of musical instruments set up on a stage and so a band was quickly formed (when drunk enough, most people [View Full Entry]

---

---

We have just arrived into Luang Nam Tha which is in the North of Laos, not far from the Chinese border. We have had an incredible week - not always easy and often uncomfortable - but filled with amazing experiences. We finally forced ourselves to leave the beautiful and relaxing city, Luang Prabang, and headed west by water, bound for Luang Nam Tha and determined to get there avoiding buses when possible. The two day journey on a long boat allowed us to see incredible scenery. However, the scenery didn't really change for two days and becomes slightly less impressive when [View Full Entry]

---

---

Well, I have to start by saying that Laos is an absolutely amazing place! We love it here and it feels like such an adventure! We arrived here by night train from Bangkok which was an excellent way to travel, and got through the time consuming border crossing. Our British approach to queuing meant that we ended up constantly at the back! Anyway, we traveled to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and the difference between here and Thailand was immediately apparent. There are only a few sealed roads through the whole country and the countryside is just vast. Vientiane was not [View Full Entry]

---

---