 Donna and Neil - Donna and Neil | All Comments |
Comments | |
| 2nd June 2008 Leon | Thanks - From: Thieving and scamming in Cambodia Thanks for your very interesting stories and the warnings about Cambodia. It makes me sad to read about the thieving going on at the beach and hotels. I travel to Asia frequently and your blog makes me aware that I need to be more careful, it is easy to get into a comfort zone. |
| 2nd June 2008 james | alcohol - From: Vodka picnics under the starry sky .. at the risk of sounding like donna's parents.. please lay off the alcohol for a while i'm getting a bit concerned for your health and well-being. stay healthy guys. we love what you do and we want you safe and well. |
| 30th May 2008 Sophie and Dale | Oh dear! - From: Thieving and scamming in Cambodia Shame to hear your recent report of Cambodia was not great.. super helpful to know about what they try to get away with though, we will def. remember this when we are there (in about a years time!!!) x |
| 29th May 2008 Liz MacKenzie-Barrett | a shame - From: Thieving and scamming in Cambodia Yay. You're back. But boo. This really sucks. I loved Cambodia - and S'Ville - when I was there two years ago. I was particularly fond of the people. Sigh, all good things come to an end. Hope you and Neil have fully recovered. And I hope your next stop is more positive. |
| 27th May 2008 james | warp speed bus - From: At a crossroads in windy Malapascua your video of the bus in warpspeed made me laugh to tears. thank you for the video, it brought back my childhood memories growing up in negros/cebu. |
| 9th May 2008 Donna and Neil | Take an umbrella - From: At a crossroads in windy Malapascua Yes ...we stayed at Dano's but if you are going in June we would recommend you take a strong umbrella and some waterproofs. Chances are you will either experience th edge of a typhoon or the southern monsoons! |
| 8th May 2008 Aimees | which lodging? - From: At a crossroads in windy Malapascua Did you stay at Dano's? I'm going there this June. Nice pictures, by the way! |
| 28th March 2008 Derek | Malaria danger - From: Neil says: 'what do you mean there are only 4 hours a day of electricity?!' sounds like you had a nice time in Palawan, unfortunately my wife and I weren't so fortunate. She contracted malaria and almost died, she now has to live with malaria and the chance that it could come back. I just wanted everyone to be aware of this danger. Cheers. |
| 28th March 2008 Donna and Neil | not tired of writing! - From: Boils, beaches and Barbie taxis no this isn't our last blog entry, we are now just visiting places we have already been to and think to write more blogs about these places aren't necessary! As soon as we get to somewhere new we will be publishing a blog. Thanks for reading. |
| 27th March 2008 Scott | Update? - From: Boils, beaches and Barbie taxis I'm just wondering if this was your last post, as your next stop was home? Or did you get tired of writing? |
| 24th March 2008 nomad_ninja | Amazing Adventure - From: The city with the worst luck What an amazing adventure... Keep on writing... :) |
| 16th March 2008 Fiona | So that's what a red panda looks like .... - From: Lesson 8: When you take Donna to see Panda bears, expect her to ask for one for xmas There are allegedly two red pandas at the MAC kiddy zoo park in B'ham. However, they hide right up the top of the trees so all I could see was a dark shape and was therefore somewhat dubious as to their panda authenticity, they could have been very large squirrels having a laugh for all I knew! Ace blog, though the details of the skanky toliet has made me feel rather ill ... |
| 15th March 2008 liz | - From: Boils, beaches and Barbie taxis i'm going to guess Myanmar. |
| 14th March 2008 Marco | Ah, Bali - From: Rain and scuffles in Bali Hear, hear...Ubud was a bit of a disappointment and those street hawkers and vendors. I would agree. Still a great blog! |
| 6th March 2008 bill | keep up the good work! - From: Boils, beaches and Barbie taxis i love your blog! really good fun! as to where to next, india prehaps? |
| 29th February 2008 Shahril | Malaysian hospitality - From: It's good to be a friend and not a foreigner DEAR DONNA AND NEIL, I AM VERY GLAD TO READ YOUR TRAVEL NOTES FROM MELAKA.. THE HISTORICAL CITY .. AS MALAYSIAN WE ALWAYS PRACTICE AT ALL TIMES FRIENDLT AND SMILE ATTITUDE TO EVERYBODY.. THE MALAY WORD CALL MESRA. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GREAT COMMENTS ABOUT MELAKA AND MALAYSIANS REGARDS SHAHRIL |
| 26th February 2008 Donna and Neil | we are fine! - From: Rain and scuffles in Bali well staphlycoccus infections and broken ribs aside anyway! Just been out of contact a while due to no internet...we'll get caught up on the blogs eventually! Thanks for getting in touch...nice to hear from you! |
| 26th February 2008 Donna and Neil | Taraw cottages - From: Neil says: 'what do you mean there are only 4 hours a day of electricity?!' hmmm...staying at Taraw cottages was not a good experience for us at all. First when it rained the roof leaked, not just a little bit but the whole room was swimming with water and all our things got soaked. There was also a rat in the room which bit through one of our bags and destroyed all the rest of the food in the bag. The cottages are really badly maintained with holes in the roof, toilets which don't flush (and you pay extra for this!) and the family which runs the cottages put really loud music on at 5am every morning, without a care for the guests staying there...there were several grumpy guests which were not happy with this! We ended up moving out of the cottage after the first night. It was awful, we would not recommend staying there! The other thing about Taraw is that it advertises a restaurant, but every day we asked for a veggie curry and nearly every day they did not have any vegetables at all (only some potato, carrot, cabbage and green beans!) and most of the time didn't have any drinks at all in stock. When we asked for other things on the menu we were told they had used all their stock on the big groups of day trippers. This is a big problem as Taraw only seems to care about these day trippers that it caters for, most of which come from Puerto Princesa every day. The people running the place don't seem to care about maintaining the cottages or running the restaurant. Our advise is not to stay there...there are better places for the money! |
| 26th February 2008 Liz MacKenzie-Barrett | where are you - From: Rain and scuffles in Bali your updates have slowed and it's a little worrying. everything okay? |
| 26th February 2008 Jeffry | - From: Neil says: 'what do you mean there are only 4 hours a day of electricity?!' hi there it looks like you realy a wonderfull expercience, anyway sory sory for the sandflies.. the place was so cool and I really missed those places from sabang to bort barton down to el nido there are still a lot of paradise that we are still to discover specialy at el nido. by the way to aussie82 regarding to your stay at sabang try my place at taraw lodge and if you want to go to port barton there is a lot but I suggest green view cottage they are warm. thanks and goodluck. take care... |
| 26th February 2008 James | Hey - From: A vulcanologists wet dream Hi, I have just spent the past 3 days reading your blog while sitting at my desk in rainy UK. I am due to go on my RTW trip in 5 months (and counting.....) with my girlfriend and am so glad that i discovered your blog as it has given me a good insight into a lot of places. |
| 26th February 2008 Mark Bate | - From: Rain and scuffles in Bali Hello! I'm from Hartlepool too, and recently went to Bali. Not that impressed with it really. Sorry to hear about your scuffles.... |
| 8th February 2008 Toby and Em | Agree! - From: Rio versus Nha Trang...same, same but different? Absolutely agree on the North to South comment. We've gone from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang, Hoi An and are now in Hanoi. Every stop on the trip is better than the last. The scamming and touts in HCMC and Nha Trang was particularly annoying! Hanoi is much more interesting and picturesque. Enjoying your blogs - very entertaining. |
| 25th January 2008 peter | - From: Lesson 10: You can only wear the same clothes for a certain amount of time before people notice! i have liked reading your entry, thanks!!! |
| 25th January 2008 rath | - From: Lesson 9: Leaving an electric blanket on high power overnight can burn your arse! i just love your blog, really funny writing, great photos, and videos too! those cliff edges looks scary!! i can't wait for your next entry to kunming! take care. |
| 9th December 2007 Lee | North Pole - From: Lesson 6: Donna and Neil break down in the cold Hi Cuz and co, lee here, not the chinese one. pics of this place look amazing, really interesting streets, especially when empty. i have just explained to mahesh that you are both travelling the world, and his immediate question was a very excited "Have you been to the North Pole yet?" SO come on, what do i tell him? love, lee in London |
| 5th December 2007 Marco | Shanghai High - From: Lesson 4: If given a whistle and uniform you must let the power go to your head Was just there a couple of days ago...your blog hit the nail on the head! Spit? Drivers? Forgot to mention the number of people on Nanjing Road! So true! Funny! |
| 3rd December 2007 rath | - From: Lesson 4: If given a whistle and uniform you must let the power go to your head hey another great entry! all the "liverpool-esque" bund needs is the super lamb banana! :-) the two signs in chinese says. 1) chinese people gets to eat shanghai style dim sums, 2) foreigners gets to eat chinese style dim sums. it doesn't make much sense in chinese neither i guess... |
| 30th November 2007 Angela | Merry Christmas and a Happy New year - From: Lesson 1: How to eat peanuts with chopsticks Loving your blogs they make me laugh out loud which is often not the best when your at work!!!! I love reading about your adventures and must say makes my package holiday with 15 mates seem less of an adventure than i thought it was. Quick Christmas and New Year wishes as i will no doubt forget nearer the time. Take Care. x |
| 30th November 2007 rath | the painted veil... - From: Lesson 2: Make sure your arse is adequately padded when attempting a 50km bike ride hey another great entry, you guys look alot like naomi watts & edward norton in "the painted veil"! :-) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446755 |
| 30th November 2007 rath | what a great blog!!! - From: Lesson 1: How to eat peanuts with chopsticks thank you donna & neil for such a great blog! really funny and inspiring! :-) i think they're selling dried herbs for chinese medicine in that shop and that neon sign is for "pizza hut"! :-) i can't wait for your next blogs when you head up north! |
| 29th November 2007 Jane from Vietnam | Been there done that - From: Lesson 2: Make sure your arse is adequately padded when attempting a 50km bike ride This is so funny because we did exactly the same thing when we went biking around the country in Yangshao, including having to pay to get our bikes rafted across the river and having to speak in sign language to get directions. |
| 29th November 2007 lonelybiker | I must go there - From: Lesson 2: Make sure your arse is adequately padded when attempting a 50km bike ride Hun!It looks so great!I will go there someday! |
| 25th November 2007 Kevin | Number 23? - From: Lesson 1: How to eat peanuts with chopsticks 23. You no longer use toilet paper AND remember to not eat or shake hands with the left hand? |
| 25th November 2007 Iris | Hi to you both, - From: Lesson 1: How to eat peanuts with chopsticks You certainly seem to have cracked this travelling around the world lark! I have kept track of you, and it has kept me both worried at times but also a fit of the giggles, which usually has someone coming to read and see what it was that was so amusing. We all wish you a Merry Christmas and a Great New Year, It no doubt will be more interesting to hear, as I have not a clue where you will be enjoying the festive season. Take Care and look forward to the next blog. Love from the Kitchings. xxxx |
| 25th November 2007 Aries and Rinka | very funny! - From: We would walk 500 miles to find the King of Chow. I like all your Philippine posts. I am from the Philippines but never traveled my country extensively the way you guys did. Funny, that I am actually trying to get tips from a foreigner blog to get insights on where I should go when I go back to the Philippines for the holidays this December. It was great that you are also detailing both the nice and bad things about Philippine travel. Having a Japanese wife, I guess I should be sensitive to the few setbacks foreigners may experience traveling in the Philippines. I am very excited to go back home and experience sun, sand and smiles. Thank you. |
| 7th November 2007 Rodrigo | About Rio - From: Itīs a grower! Hey! I found your travelog accidentaly and I read about your trip to Ri. Iīm Brazilian and "carioca", and I thought really funny the story you told. Do you really think strange to eat in a restaurant and pay acording to the foodīs weigh? This kind of restaurant is very popular here in Rio. I tought ti was common in other countries, isnīt it? unfortunately the story about de dodgy bloke you told, happens many times. Iīm glad you were lucky and didinīt got mugged. Foreingners must be very carefull because they are the top target of that guys. and you are completly right about the weather... Rainy days are not so popular amog cariocas, and we usually donīt go out in rainy days. But Iīm diferent, i like rany days too. Iīm glad you enjoyed Rio and I hope you come back some day! |
| 22nd October 2007 Marco | Oh no...Phi Phi is a disappointmet? - From: Phi Phi is paradise.............................................................................NOT! Too many tourists? Too many developments? That's sad. Good thing we'll only be here for a day. |
| 22nd October 2007 Marco | Transportation Nightmare - From: The mysterious pull of the alien HQ! Seems that you might need to have your transportation luck exorcised...i see a pattern here. |
| 19th October 2007 Donna and Neil | been there done that! - From: Don't say hello unless you mean it! Hi...thanks fo your comment. We also went to Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, Palawan, Boracay, Malapascua etc and enjoyed some of them very much (see our blog entries). We like the PI bu it has its good sides and its bad sides....like anywhere. Just a shame that some foreigners dont venture away from Boracay, Mindoro and Manila to see some of the less travelled areas! |
| 19th October 2007 roy c merano | understanding you! - From: Don't say hello unless you mean it! hey guys, i feel so sorry about your experience here in my country. just like you, i enjoy travelling a lot. i enjoy going to different beaches here in the philippines. unfortunately, sabang beach is not included in my list cause it's really not that famous for its white sand and crystal clear water. how is wish you went to the beaches in palawan, cebu, bohol or camiguin island. well, boracay beach is a very nice one, but it's too commercial. i think you prefer serene/peaceful place (just like me). anyway, who knows, you might change your mind and come to the philippines. afterall, my country has 1,100 islands with lots of ethnic groups, with different culture and tradition. wish you good luck in your next travel to whatever destination it is. |
| 19th October 2007 vilma | Hinunangan - From: A little slice of history...for a change! It's a pity you did not visit the above town 2.5 hours from tacloban and my little island there-pics here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SanPedroIsland/ Vilma |
| 18th October 2007 aussieizak82 | Picture Perfect Paradise! - From: You're just using me for sex! Your pictures look awesome, I'm heading to Palawan myself In January with a couple of friends. I'll be heading from Sabang to El Nido. WOndering what is the name of this island? What's the name of the resort u stayed at? Is it easy to get to from either Port Barton or Sabang? |
| 17th October 2007 flydragon | massage story - From: How low can you go and awesome sunsets in Indonesia I love that massage story you guys told. So funny! I like to read you guys' blogs. It makes me feel like I am there too. Nice pictures. |
| 17th October 2007 Marco | Tacloban? - From: A little slice of history...for a change! What the hell are you guys doing in Tacloban? lol. Be sure to head out to Siargao next. Even Batanes up north...it's like the Irish countryside...sloping hills, verdant and green and not a whole lot of tourists. Really great scenery. And it's not as HOT. Ciao! |
| 17th October 2007 Marco | What can I say... - From: Don't say hello unless you mean it! I hope that inspite of the "downs" you guys have experienced, your trip was well worth it. I bought that issue of Conde Nast, lucky you guys have been to Palawan and got to see the best beach in Asia! And it's never been more true what you said about the Phils. Once you've accepted her craziness, idiosyncracies and transportation shortcomings, there's something about her you just can't quite put. Besides, there's 7,050 more islands to explore and discover. So, keep it to ourselves while the tourists are still in the mainland. And be back soon...I will be in November. |
| 16th October 2007 phaedrus | Rock On! - From: Don't say hello unless you mean it! Hahaha....great blog guys...I've been frustrated myself with the Philippine transport system but I can only laugh about it now. Looing forward to your next entries. |
| 12th October 2007 Marco | Chuckie - From: 'They hide in the trees and they are fast like monkeys...' At least you found the best chocolate drink in the Phils...did that suffice enough? HAHAHAHAHA |
| 10th October 2007 Lissa | Try Batanes - From: At a crossroads in windy Malapascua Don't know if you guys will still be in the Philippines when the rains are over, but consider a pit stop to Batanes. It's the northern-most province in the archipelago and is actually closer to Taiwan than it is to Manila. It has awesome views, and the people are quite friendly. I remember eating a lot of lobsters there (US$6/kilo) so that alone was worth it for me! You can take an Asian Spirit flight out of Manila. |
| 9th October 2007 Vince | Bantayan Island - From: At a crossroads in windy Malapascua Well, since you guys are in the area...might as well head to Bantayan Island. |
