After a quick swine flu check at the Vietnamese border and having to unload all our bags from the bus for screening only to find that the xray machine was broken, we were on our way to Saigon. Saigon is a bustling city with crazy traffic, crazy electrical wires and people not nearly as crazy as we were lead to believe. We had been expecting to be ripped off by just about everyone in Vietnam as so many people had warned us would be the case but everyone seemed very friendly, much friendlier than in Cambodia in fact. There was much [View Full Entry]

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Back to Phnom Penh and back to Tat where we spend a couple of days while our Vietnam visas are processed. We decide to go along to a local orphanage called Lighthouse where it is possible to spend some time with the kids and donate various items. Jack the tuk tuk driver takes us to a local store where we buy 50kg of rice which we are told is the most appreciated donation. As we drive through the gates of the orphanage the kids run to meet us all smiles and enthusiasm and we soon wish we had brought something more [View Full Entry]

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Angkor Wat, the pride and joy of Cambodia and the eighth wonder of the world is located at Siem Reap. Angkor is everything here - it is on the flag, it is the beer, it is brand names, it is the name of every second hotel on every street in the country, we are very excited. The lovely people at Tat had booked us into their brother’s guesthouse in Siem. Smileys is a great place to stay, it’s a hotel with hostel prices and we have a tuk tuk driver at our beck and call. He takes us to see the [View Full Entry]

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The bus to Phnom Penh was a fricking nightmare. I wasn’t feeling great which made me very irritable and keen to spend the journey asleep as much as possible. Just into the journey the bus driver started playing a Cambodian karaoke dvd full blast which lasted for most of the six hour journey. Cambodian music is shit. The next ‘disaster’ was that my ipod died after having been charged for most of the night so I had to share Joel’s. One earphone each, even with Dave Grohl blasting out Monkey Wrench at full volume, was doing nothing to block out the [View Full Entry]

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The Cambodian border was a little wooden hut about 100m further down the road than the Lao hut that stamped us out. We were left standing on the roadside with our backpacks for ages while visas were issued to everyone. Luckily a lovely Cambodian lady has seized the opportunity and arrived with a cool box full of drinks for sale at the bargain price of US$1. They seem to prefer US$ to their own currency here, not sure why, perhaps they think America is cooler but anyway they only have the notes so any small change is given in Real which [View Full Entry]

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Pakse We decided to head for Pakse in southern Laos as we were all keen for Cambodia and we’d heard the bus journey into Hanoi was horrendous - i.e. sick bags are distributed at the start! We booked ourselves tickets on the sleeping bus from Vientiene and a sleeping bus it was. Proper flat beds with mattresses, blankets and pillows! We got the back row which was 4 mattresses in a row. Was a fairly bouncy journey but still the best bus ride I’ve ever experienced. Pakse is a sleepy little town with not too much going on except for its [View Full Entry]

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Took a VIP bus to Vang Vieng the following day - VIP implies air conditioned comfort and pleasant journey - this bus didn’t quite fit but we got there in one piece and checked into luxurious hotel with the works. Millionaires remember. Head out to find a place for dinner and walk by countless bars showing ‘Friends’. Find a place that’s offering a roast lamb dinner and Joel can’t resist. Lorna and Nathan order carbonara and I decide to show them all up and order some Lao culinary feast. Food poisoning all night and next day. But I’m not alone, Joel [View Full Entry]

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Next step of the journey is the love train to Nong Khai on the Thai side of the Lao border crossing point. We are stamped out of Thailand and take a much overcrowded bus through no man’s land to the border to get our Laos visas. We hand over our passports with a handful of US dollars and sit on the ground for an hour or so until the visas are ready. Saw hilarious sign informing us that aliens may obtain a visa on arrival. My expectations of Laos are uncertain. Vientiene is a rery pretty little French town on the [View Full Entry]

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Met a guy from Lanark (well, Symington) on the boat to Koh Tao, had conversation about climbing Tinto - very random indeed. Checked into a little wooden bungalow by the beach and set about exploring this tiny island. Very nice vibe to Koh Tao - very pretty, much quieter and no taxis or tuk tuks...heaven! Spent a couple of nights in the bungalows, giggled at Joel feeling all uncomfortable at a lady boy show and indulged in some of the comforts only offered on the west side of the island before moving to the east side to spend a couple of [View Full Entry]

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Tonight’s the night! The Facebook event created last November has arrived, how time flies! Arrived in Koh Pha-ngan by overcrowded boat - they had to move a bunch to the front as the boat was sinking at the back and creating a rather large wave (can’t say ‘tsunami’ in Thailand.) Everyone is heading to the Full Moon Party on Hat Rin Beach. Chilled by the pool for a while until the monsoons started and we took cover. Dinner and some cocktails at the bar around the corner and then back to the hotel to get ready. The hotel supplied some facepaints [View Full Entry]

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