Spent my final week checking out the Cu Chi Tunnels (Viet Cong guerrilla stronghold) and chilling out on the idyllic Phu Quoc Island, which is located off the southern coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand. I've felt really buggered the last 6 weeks, so it was nice not having to do much other than roll out of my bungalow (lots of ZZZ's) to the beach (relax, swim, read) to the cafe (a girl's gotta keep up her strength). But I did manage to rouse myself enough to do a snorkelling trip to the nearby An Thoi Islands and Bai [View Full Entry]

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Happy New Year of the Pig; farewell to the Year of the Dog. Or as the Vietnamese say - Chuc Mung Nam Moi. Wishing everyone lots of love, happiness, success, good health & good fortune especially to my family and friends in Australia and around the world. Flew into Hanoi on the 11th Feb and was involved in a taxi scam. Hanoi is apparently famous for them. As a precaution, I had arranged beforehand for the hostel to meet me and arrange the taxi-ride. Unbeknownst to me, someone else had espied my name and put it on another random sheet of [View Full Entry]

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Another long-winded blog entry for the punters. Like I mentioned previously, the internet in Myanmar is bloody hopeless, and not helped by the frequent power outages and random rainstorms. Caught the boat from Mandalay to Bagan. As the river was really low we had to be transported 18kms downstream to board near Sagaing. Supposed to be the fast boat, but it took 11 hours meandering from one side of the river to the other. Even Ian (bugger) got to Bagan by bus before I did. Oh well, at least I got 3 seats to myself to snooze the day away. On [View Full Entry]

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Bear with me - this blog entry is rather lengthy as the internet in Myanmar is really crappy and slow. Since it is illegal to access Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo the only way to do so is via a proxy server. Arrived in Yangon Airport on 29/1 and was organising to catch a taxi into town. The lady asks - do I need someone to share to split the cost? Sure, why not. So she assaults this young English dude named Ian (poor guy looked dazed), and we head to the same guesthouse (the friendly Golden Smiles Inn). The first thing [View Full Entry]

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Caught up with some mates in KL last weekend which was really great (Eric & Theresa, Fenella & Ethan, Dick & Hawlinn & kiddies. But not Denys as he was in Mumbai). Then it was off to Siem Reap Cambodia to catch up with Jason and Natalie (Sydney mates), and also attend the Cambodian wedding celebration of Natalie's brother Tony and his wife Solida. I was in Siem Reap 5 years ago, so visited all the temples then. Boy has it changed. The place is tourist central with tons of hotels, massage parlours, restaurants, bars and the like. It even has [View Full Entry]

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Sapa is bloody freezing! What makes it worse is the high humidity and fog, which means that the air is so moist that your clothes are always damp. It goes right through you and seeps into your bones. Our trekking group consisted of our guide Cee-Cee (cheeky 17 y.o. Hmong native), a couple of French guys, and a Jap dude. We were followed every step of the way by an entourage of local villagers whose main aim was to peddle their wares. There was no escaping them as our progress was severely hampered by the track being very muddy and slippery. [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Hanoi and was immediately signed up by the hostel management on tours to Halong Bay and Sapa. No mucking about - just sign here, and pay up. It's pretty easy to walk around Hanoi. Otherwise just hop on the back of a Honda motorbike. Visited Uncle Ho (looked very life-like, as if he was sleeping) and all the streets in the Old Quarter, and watched a water puppet show. Other than that I have been pigging out on whatever takes my fancy in the various street kitchens. Everything costs less than A$1. Took a 3-day and 2-night trip to [View Full Entry]

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Drop everything; the time to come to Luang Prabang (LP) is NOW! Whilst the tourism infrastructure has improved in leaps and bounds, LP remains the most charming town I have visited in Asia thus far. I hope the authorities control development so it doesn't become spoilt. You can do as much or as little as you like. We managed to do the absolute minimum including a walk up Mount Phousi, watching the monks collect their daily alms at dawn, and visiting the Royal Palace/National Museum and Wat Xieng Thong. The novice monks were real sweeties, and keen to converse and practise [View Full Entry]

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Sabaidee (hello) from Laos! After many hugs and kisses from the parents and relo's in HCMC, my cousin Chaudie and I flew into Vientiane on the 29th December. And immediately felt chilled out. The food is so cheap and delicious here. We have done nothing but eat since we landed. Feeling very fat and content. One night we had sukiyaki style steamboat by the Mekong riverside, followed by roadside banana pancakes. The next few days were a never-ending smorgasbord of delights such as laap, casseroles, duck noodle soup, pad thai, coconut sticky rice, and lots of fruit shakes. In between [View Full Entry]

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Landed in HCMC on Boxing Day, with free upgrade from Cathay Pacific (yahoo!). Had a belated Xmas and family reunion wiith my parents, cousin Chaudie and her folks. Traffic is pretty chaotic, but it's really easy to cross the road once you get used to it. Just keep walking; everyone swerves around you. And the food is bloody magnificent. Have been pigging out on fabbo seafood, pork chops, pho (beef noodles), fruit shakes, fresh fruit and salads, beef cooked 7 ways, and roll-your-own rice paper rolls. Visited the Ben Thanh Markets (great food) and War Remnants Museum (horrific to witn [View Full Entry]

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