DazandJen

So we are now back on British soil and it feels surprisingly great! I’m not too sure we’ll be so enthusiastic when were back at work and reality hits home, but for now its really nice to see everybody and to have our home comforts back.. Vimto, flushing toilets, kebabs, cider, our bed, the list is endless!! We had a great last week in Thailand, we spent a few days in Bangkok shopping, then headed back down to Hua Hin to Kris’s house for a great few days of R & R.. check out the pics from the Intercontinental’s pool, it was absolute bliss and the perfect way to end our trip! Our final weekend was spent in Bangkok with Kris, Oay and Abi. Darren had his ‘lads night’ with Kris and Mark which thankfully didn’t ... read more

Sihanoukville After a pretty full-on few days in Phnom Pehn, we were really looking forward to hitting the beach at Sihanoukville and having our ‘holiday within a holiday’ that we have every so often. We checked out of Europe Guesthouse in PP on Weds morning and Seng, the owner, sorted our transport to the bus station. The bus ride was about 5hrs with a 15min stop half way, only $4 each so couldn’t complain. When we arrived in Sihanoukville, we tried a couple of guesthouses which were all full but luckily there was a room free at ‘Hoohaa’ for $10 a night, which was basic, but fine for what we needed. We went for a stroll around Serendipity and Ochheuteal beach and found our bearings, had a couple of drinks on the beach and hoped the ... read more

It was dark when we arrived in Nha Trang at 5.30am and the bus just dumped us on a random side street, so we had to find our bearings (which is quite hard when you don’t have a map!). We just headed to the beach as we knew our guesthouse, Truong Giang, was there, then asked a few of the locals who were all up doing their early morning exercises, and within 15 minutes we‘d arrived. We were exhausted from the bus journey so slept until midday, then we ventured out to see what ‘Vietnams Number One Beach Resort’ was all about. Russian people and big waves it would seem! Immediately it became apparent that there were a huge amount of Russian holidaymakers here.. We felt like dwarfs, they’re all so tall!! We hit the beach ... read more

Stray Tour around Laos The minibus arrived in Chiang Mai around midday to collect us and we got chatting to our new travelling buddies. The first stop was the thermal pools just outside of Chiang Rai, where the locals actually boil eggs in the natural hot spring water. The second stop was the White Temple (see pic), which was amazing. The White Temple was basically designed by a very wealthy Thai famous artist, who refuses to charge admission into the temple or accept handouts or donations from the government. His vision is quite different from anyone else’s (inside the temple, theres hand painted images showing Osama Bin Laden and George Bush painted in the devils eyes!!), and he does not want to be controlled by anyone who may influence his ideas. Its a 90 year project, ... read more

The two hour boat journey over to Chumpon from Koa Tao was the roughest boat ride we’ve probably ever had. Fortunately we weren’t sick and managed to get onto the coach for our four hour trip up to Hua Hin. Once we arrived in Hua Hin, we dressed up our bags in tinsel and put our xmas hats on, before we got a tuk tuk to Kris’s house. When we arrived Kris was in the garden hosing down the driveway, and just laughed his head off when he saw us. It was so good to see a familiar face. Over the next couple of days we just chilled around Kris’s house with Ann Kris’s step daughter and Abi his three year old daughter. Oay his wife was in Bangkok working and wasn’t due back until Xmas ... read more