We have been in Cambodia for a week - in comparison a relatively short stay but after our time in Vietnam, just the respite we needed! We travelled in a very comfy and spacious bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh - the capital of Cambodia. What should have been a relatively straight forward border crossing was somewhat complicated to say the least! In true Vietnamese custom, taking a bus load of tourists across the border is another way of making a few extra quid! On getting on the bus we were all asked to hand over our passports [View Full Entry]

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After our hectic but exciting adventures on two wheels around northern Vietnam we felt the need to chill and relax for a day or two before continuing south down Vietnam. We booked ourselves on to a Halong Bay trip - one of the few 'package tours' of our travels. We were picked up from our hotel (sixteen of us in total) in the pouring rain, dark grey clouds looming and were reserved to the fact that we had paid a small fortune to go and see and experience some of the most amazing sceneries in the world - only to be [View Full Entry]

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After a relaxing end to our time in Laos we took a flight to Hanoi - contrary to lots of stories we had heard from various people on our travels we were pleasantly surprised. Horror stories abound of travellers being scammed from the moment they depart the aeroplane to their arrival at the wrong hotel because the one they wanted was 'fully booked'. We left the airport, climbed in the waiting Vietnam Airlines minibus and got taken to our hotel... for $4 each, no problems! It was noisy, smoggy and hectic and in many ways similar to Bangkok - a city [View Full Entry]

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After a 9 hour bus trip which was not high up on the list of most comfortable bus journeys taken, we finally arrived in Vientiane (Laos Capital). We paid extra to travel on the 'VIP' bus, the main difference between the VIP bus and the air-con buses transpired to be the presence of a toilet which didn't flush! All in all a long journey on a very hot day with not the best Air-Con! We spent the first couple of days chilling and planning the next stages of our trip - mainly, how on earth are we going to get to [View Full Entry]

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A whole week in Luang Prabang and we're finally starting to relax into the pace of life here in Laos. We've visited the markets on several occasions and found them a delight to wander round compared to the chaos of Bangkok, where vendors almost chase you down the street for a sale if you are spotted giving their stall even so much as a sideways glance! Here, you are greeted by the stallholder then left to browse their wares. They only show interest if you ask prices, and then expect you to haggle with them, which we've found to be another [View Full Entry]

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After possibly one of the smoothest border crossings ever, we made it in to country number two on Wednesday. The Mekong River forms the northern part of the border between Thailand and Laos, and there is no bridge between the two border towns. No problem though, as we quickly got our passports stamped on the Thai side then hopped (carefully!) in to a long tail boat for the 2 minutes whizz across the river. A long old form greeted us on the Laos side, but equally quick once it was filled in and passed to the somewhat grumpy immigration staff (are [View Full Entry]

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We are now nearing the end of the Thailand leg of our journey. On 9th May we endured a seven hour long and hot bus journey from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong, near the border for Laos. The plan being to spend a few relaxing days in the far north of Thailand before continuing to Laos. We have a lovely bungalow with a balcony overlooking the Mekong River and Laos, perfect for chilling out. Yesterday we hired mopeds once again and had a day driving through the countryside. We saw a sign for a waterfall so decided to follow it... and [View Full Entry]

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A lot has happened and a few miles travelled since our last blog. We spent a few days at the Generation Journey project which turned out to be not quite what we were expecting! Their website was somewhat misleading shall we say? That aside we came away with the knowledge and skills of how to make mud bricks and lots of them. Something which we may consider when doing our next house project! Gayle was able to spend some time with the only two residents in the village - both of whom had neurological problems and were in need of some [View Full Entry]

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Thailand is an interesting place, which goes from opposite extremes in every sense! When walking the streets of Bangkok, the only place to look is down at the floor as you dodge open manholes, pot holes, 2 foot high curbs, whilst listening out for the motorbikes using the pavement as a footpath. However in the same city, cross the yellow line on the skytrain platform and receive a ticking off from a guard! The roads are something else... lanes change direction with no common sense, right of way is determined by nerves and size (therefore pedestrians are lowest of all priority)! [View Full Entry]

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What a chaotic few days, so much for getting away from it all and relaxing! Monday was mad, we had to find the one office in Bangkok where we could change our flight tickets, which turned out to be right next to a train station so was easier to find than we thought. The lady in the travel office was lovely and altered our tickets without hassle. Job one done, and in good time. Next we had to head to the Southern Bus Terminal as Lonely Planet said we needed to get bus tickets the day before travel. We could see [View Full Entry]

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