The Laos border was very straightforward, I took a boat over the Mekong and changed some money, getting enough Kip (Laos money) to fill all my pockets, without spending too much Baht (Thai). I got to the dock for the 2 day slow boat down to Luang Prabang and met up with Richard and Martin who had left Chiang Rai the day before me. The boat was like a very large narrow boat which was packed with many people. I met some great Australians, Kiwis, Candians, and Americans and we spent the time chatting, playing cards, and some of us were [View Full Entry]

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I got to the bus station in Chiang Rai with 4 swiss guys and we got a Soungthew (shared Taxi) to Chian House - which was a wonderful place with a pool and very relaxed cafe. The swiss guys headed off to Laos early the next morning, when at breakfast I met up with 4 Canadians and we went horse riding for the day: First we got taken to the army base, where we picked up the horses. I had only been riding once before, but after my travels I have become pretty confident with things, even if I don't know [View Full Entry]

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The bus to Chiang Mai was interesting. I met a couple of fun Australians (one was originally from Fulham) and we commandeered the back seat. The bus had suspension problems for much of the way, and we ended up coasting along the motorway for what seemed like large sections towards the end of the journey, even up some hills - we must have had enough momentum... Upon arrival in Chiang Mai I got a nice room at an eco guest house and walked about a bit. It was still a little hectic for me after the different peace of India so [View Full Entry]

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On arrival in Bangkok things were very westernized in comparison to where I had been in India. I got a room on Khao San road after a while since it was very full of travellers there and had to wait for some people to check out. Khao San road was very crazy - so many people all heading to different places from the travel mecca of Asia. On my first day there I realised it was friday, and took a very hard journey by taxi to the other side of the city to get a Laos Visa. The first taxi I [View Full Entry]

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On arrival in Delhi we checked Kristen into a room in Paraganj and then I had one of the best Thali's in India. Then pretty much straight to the airport to catch my flight to Bangkok. Kristen was heading to Varenasi before back up to Nepal to catch her flight later on. [View Full Entry]

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After Kokarn we took a bus down to Fort Cochin in Kerela with a stop for most of a day in Mangalore - which had nice food and a very nice little Memorial Park put up by a Ghandi foundation. Fort Cochin was a Christian town with huge Chinese Fishing nets and some great seafood. It was all getting a little tricky since I was soon to hace to head up to Delhi to get my flight to Thailand, and Kristen was planning to stay in the South of India for a while. I thought about when to leave, and with [View Full Entry]

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Ok, it has been quite a while, but what with Christmas and all I needed a break! After Palolem so much has happened and it has really been 99% wonderful. Kristen and I went down to Karnatka by train from Palolem. It was the superfast Kerela express from Bombay, and I think Kristen got some of my excitment about train travel. It takes me back to school travel aged 14, 15, 16 from Streatham to Dulwich and other fond memories, but she was also able to see the charm as soon as one blew past going the other direction and knocked [View Full Entry]

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Still heading South towards Karnataka on the way to Kerala - which at some point - given that I don't fall in love with a place and a girl at the same time means I will head back to Delhi to catch my plane to Bangkok. The beaches are beautiful here - the crescent shaped beach of Palolem where yesterday morning the moon was sitting on its side and smiling with Venus directly above was magical - one of many magical things I am struggling to write down without losing the experiencial side of it. [View Full Entry]

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It was a huge sleeper bus and quite ideal for us in the circumstances. The trip flew by and we settled for the next few days in Anjuna. We took in the Market in Anjuna which had traders from all over India and tourists from all over Europe it seemed. Settling at the Guru bar near the beach for a few days was a great way to get away from it all. [View Full Entry]

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When arriving in Bombay, it was very difficult to get around in the big city, so after a quick McPaneer near the huge railway station we caught a night bus down to GOA. [View Full Entry]

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