We arrived in Siem Reap by boat - the journey was more expensive than doing it by road - but was significantly shorter and more comfortable. We were once again plagued by people trying to persuade us as to where to stay - but we already had plans - we were meeting Uncle Ian (see NZ and Australia entries). Ian had booked us into the Ivy and luckily, there was a tuk tuk waiting that would transfer us to our accommodation. Our driver Chi was keen that we used his tuk tuk when we were visiting the temple at Angkor. We [View Full Entry]

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The river journey and border crossing was surprisingly painless and in five hours we had arrived in Phnom Penh. We were not even allowed to disembark the boat before being hassled and yelled at to stay in this or that guest house or to take this tuk tuk or that taxi! Finally we made a decision and asked to be taken to a hotel of our choice only to be told that it had closed! Thinking that this was another scam our driver took us to the (closed) hotel and then drove us to one that he recommended - it was [View Full Entry]

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We opted to cross the border into Cambodia by boat. Started this leg of our trip by all going to Danang airport where we said our goodbyes to Juliet as she headed back up to Hanoi and we boarded our flight to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon). Our taxi dropped us off at the HCM bus station to take us to Chau Doc - everything appeared to be going so well.....A Vietnemese/American guy befriended us (thank God) and helped us buy our ticket from one of the many vendors. After spending some time being the centre of attraction in the waiting room [View Full Entry]

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We had a shorter bus journey through some of Vietnam's wonderful coastline and through a long tunnel whose name escapes us at the moment!! Settled into a nice hotel, this time with a pool and rooftop restaurant for only $5 more a night - we know how to treat ourselves!! Went out to explore the town of Hoi An (famous for tailors). We were immediately "befriended" by a local boy who wanted to take us to his mother's shop "just for a look!!". All the way into town we passed an amazing array of dress shops, each promising to be better [View Full Entry]

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After an uncomfortable overnight bus journey (Asian buses are not designed for people with long legs and the drivers like to use the horn, just to warn everyone that they are there - all night) from Hanoi, we arrived in Hue. After checking into a very nice hotel for $15 a night for all three of us, we were besieged by motorbike drivers who would take us on a tour of the tombs that Hue is famous for. As we had only just arrived, we put them off by promising to do it the next day and went off to find [View Full Entry]

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We opted to take a three day and two night trip into the World Heritage Site of Halong Bay. Boarded our junk in Halong City in the chaotic port and eventually negotiated our way out of the harbour. We stopped at the largest cave in the bay and some time wandering around the caverns listening to the echoes and being told some of the legends of this area. That afternoon, Juliet and I opted for a refreshing swim in the open water of the South China Sea -Sara chose to be the photographer. A jump from the top deck of the [View Full Entry]

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After an unexpected night in Bangkok..... we negotiated our way out of Hanoi Airport. We decided to stay in the Old Quarter, by Hoan Kiem Lake. An air conditioned room is a must here. Venturing out to explore the city we soon realised that Scottish methods of road crossing weren't going to be effective here - the motorbikes and bikes never stop - ever!! The only way to get to the other side is to take a leap of faith and walk slowly out into traffic..... They do slow down and do avoid you and it seems to work. After being [View Full Entry]

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After the comforts of an air conditioned apartment and the hustle of city life, Sara and I opted to go back to our roots..... We flew from KL to Sandakan (Malaysian Borneo) and checked into a bamboo hut in a jungle resort metres away from the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. Very similar to our Mexican jungle experiences - only marginally cooler. That afternoon we ventured along the jungle floor on the elevated board walk to the feeding station for the orangs. Here wardens provide a basic fruit diet for many of the recently released orphans. And we waited..... Ropes began to [View Full Entry]

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On arrival at Singapore Airport, we were greeted by the cutest baby you have ever seen (we may be a bit biased - but she is gorgeous). Gill finally got to meet her niece Chloe face to face. We were staying with Jenny and Simon whilst were waiting for our Vietnamese visas to be processed. Our first stop was back to their appartment and then off to the pub to catch up with Simon (who was in dire need of Gill's physio services as he had slipped a disc!!!). The next day all the girls went shopping on Orchard Road - [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Perth after an overnight stop in Adelaide, in a great YHA Hostel, imagine our disappointment when the Brittania YHA was a very poor relation in comparison. Still we were only sleeping there. We took a walking tour of Perth city centre and ended up down at the river front, where there was a large circus tent - curious as ever - we investigated to discover that it was the Cirque de Soleil. We couldn't get tickets for any of their shows way back in Las Vegas and we were sold the last two for the second last performance [View Full Entry]

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