Georgetown (Penang) When we eventually arrived in Georgetown (situated on the East Side of the Malaysian Island Penang) it was getting late. So, having checked into a scummy little place (which was costing us much more than it should because of Chinese New Year) we headed off in search of food. We’d been speaking to a Spanish bloke (who lived in Ko Lipe and spoke English with a Scottish accent) and he’d told us about a ‘great Indian place’ that we could go to get some dinner. The meal wasn’t particularly noteworthy, aside from how the place was run. H [View Full Entry]

---

---

This is going to be a mini blog. A bitesize titbit of our last days in Thailand. There are two reasons for this entry being so small. The first is because it seemed silly to mix Thailand and Malaysia but the main reason is because I’m writing about places we visited several weeks back and can barely remember where we went, let alone what we did… Still, at least you’ll be saved from the usual ramblings. Probably. Getting to Krabi from Khao Lak was a pain, I remember that much (sorry - looks like you won’t be spared my babble after [View Full Entry]

---

---

After the last experience of travelling on a boat we would have both opted to fly (or even swim) to our next destination, Ko Phangan. Unfortunately though, Ko Tao doesn’t have an airport and neither Helen nor me were feeling that energetic after spending a few days relaxing. Still, as we’d been in Ko Tao for 4 days, it’d given the weather a chance to calm down and we did the crossing with no problems at all. In fact it was lovely and relaxing and we spent the journey listening to our I-pods and deciding where we would aim stay on [View Full Entry]

---

---

For me, the defining ‘wow we REALLY don’t belong here!’ moment was when ‘Coy’ (a kindly member of the hotel staff keen on saving us the embarrassment of trying to pronounce her real, consonant concentrated Thai name) showed us to our two pairs of flip-flops each. One pair for wearing inside our room and the second for wearing to the hotel’s private beach. Next to the flip-flops was a ready prepared beach bag complete with towels. The tour of our room (which must have taken about 10 minutes) progressed to the massive TV (with accompanying TV guide), shower ro [View Full Entry]

---

---

As we stood waiting for Pao and Nui (friends of my dad whose apartment we would be staying in), we didn’t know quite what to expect. They had said that we would be staying in their apartment, which we assumed meant we would have our own private room, but not much more. Still, it wouldn’t matter, we only planned to spend 1 or 2 days in Bangkok, to see some of the sights we had missed before, and then we would get a move on to the south of Thailand. When Pao and Nui turned up they did so in style. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Quite a few of you have left us comments on the blog over the last month or so, which we are very thankful of (Helen loves getting new messages!). However, due to…erm… being too busy…? We have neglected to reply to most of them (sorry!)… Therefore we thought we’d use the opportunity of a break in our hectic schedule to send some messages back and to let you know how our journey has been so far. So, if you’ve been waiting for a reply, want to know what changes we have made to our plans, how much over budget we are [View Full Entry]

---

---

I’m sure Dave won’t mind me telling you that we were both a bit scared about Cambodia. For every person that said they loved it, there would be another that said they ended up in hospital sleeping on a bloodstained mattress having handled a grubby baby thrown at them by a desperate Mother. (Admittedly there was only one girl with this particular tale but I think you’ll agree that one is plenty). We caught a bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh. It took about 4 hours to get to the Cambodian border where we were issued our visas [View Full Entry]

---

---

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, our last stop in Vietnam, on the 23rd of December. This gave us only one day to sort out what we would do for our first Christmas ever outside of our home towns. Therefore, having had a decent nights sleep at a hotel, we set off early the next morning to find somewhere a little better to stay. Walking around we initially found a few decent looking places for around $50-$70 a night, but none really stood out. This soon changed. One hotel we went to had rooms available for between £$35-$65 (a discount [View Full Entry]

---

---

After a few hours sleep in the hotel our recent bus journey became something of a blurred memory. Like a nightmare. Only worse. We rose about 11am and set about deciding what to do in our new destination. Nha Trang is a coastal resort of Vietnam that has the feel of a Mediterranean island. The people are friendlier, the food tastier, the booze a bargain (drink responsibly) and the hotels better value. In light of this we decided to put culture on hold for a few days and spent our first afternoon visiting the island resort of ‘Vinpearl’ by cable car. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for the transport… Over the last week and a bit we’ve been making our way down Vietnam and stopping off at quite a few places along the way. I’ll update you on the locations in the title, and in a few days Helen will update you on everywhere else we visited before reaching Saigon for Christmas. Sorry, but I think this is going to end up being a long one. Probably best you read it once you’ve made yourself a cup of tea… Transport 1 After Halong Bay, our next stop was a pretty small [View Full Entry]

---

---