http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Ish-Jak/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Ish Jak en-us Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:44:23 +0000 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:44:23 +0000 HelloAfter a very late slow and delicate start a result of the lads late night out in Toronto the previous night we all drove down to Niagra the two lads half asleep groaning and feeling rough for the entire hour and a half journeyhellip.We first headed for Niagra on the Lake which is about half an hour from the famous falls themselves a very quaint town with some old shops and nice re http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Niagara-Falls/blog-384232.html Thursday saw the last real leg of our lsquowiderrsquo travelling here in Canada and proved to be a very busy dayhellip....to give you an idea we had an early breakfast in Montreal lunch in Ottawa and dinner albeit at nearly midnight in TorontoWe dropped the hire car back in Ottawa and managed to get a last couple of hours sightseeing in the capital before heading to the station. We to http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Toronto/blog-384207.html HelloJax drove us from Quebec City down to Montreal on Monday and as usual James slept all the way with no problem. Wersquove been really impressed with Montreal in fact itrsquos probably our favourite city so far. Wersquore staying in a wonderful hotel right in the heart of the old town. As we arrived and checked in James struck up an instant rapport with the woman on the desk who cou http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Quebec/Montreal/blog-382547.html Hello once againWe left Tremblant National Park a few days ago and drove about five hours to Quebec City. The drive was fairly easy despite all the road signs being in French pretty much one long straight road for most of it. We have struggled a little bit with the language here its much more French than we expected and many people we have needed to speak to only speak very limited English. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Quebec/Quebec-City/blog-381916.html Greetings allSince our last entry we've picked up a hire car a big jeep which is just what we've needed here and driven about two and a half hours to Tremblant Natonal Park the ski area. We're staying in a fantastic chalet right in the village with friends. We've been wanting to 'do' the chalet thing for years and it really has proved as much fun as we'd hoped. Our chalet is perfect it l http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Quebec/Mont-Tremblant/blog-380297.html Hello allWersquove been in Ottawa a few days now and are having a fantastic time. The flight over with James was surprisingly painless part due to the excellent staff on Canadian Airways and part due to James being generally very well behaved. Contrary to our expectations he didnrsquot make a sound on the take off and found the whole flight quite an adventure. This was all helped by on http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Ottawa/blog-378846.html Hello all OK so we're not exactly travelling through South East Asia this time but thought we'd drop you a few lines to say hello as the blog was welcomed before and of course we can't be bothered to write any postcards while we're taking it easy So we've been in Jamaica for a few days now and it's absolutely fab just what we both hoped for...... rum reggae and relax they call it the 3 http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Ocho-Rios/blog-167203.html Hello allOn Monday morning we took a short taxi ride to Bo Phut Beach at the north of the island. It was nice to have a short transfer for a change although we seem to be quite used to the whole airport routine now we're up to ten flights in four weeks nowWe had already visited the north coast to check out the beaches and arrange the hotel a couple of days before so we knew what to expect. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Samui/blog-104815.html From the moment you arrive on the plane Koh Samui feels like a tropical island. After another short flight we arrived at the airport which is effectively a runway next to a scattering of beach huts. The island is small with the most famous beach being Chaweng have to admit we were a little bit put off this when we read that it had a McDonalds and a Starbucks but wanted to try it as it's http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Samui/blog-104517.html Hello all just a quick oneWe've just finished a rather unique experience........Annie the elephant took us on her back for an afternoon's stroll around the jungle. Neither of us had ever been on an elephant before so we were quite keen to have a go. We had no idea what a scary experience this would be....to start with at least. You have no idea how high up it feels to be on an elephant the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Chalong/blog-103584.html Well ok we're not starring in the sequel to the beach but we did feel like extras on our trip to the most beautiful islands today........One of the most popular trips seems to be to Koh Phi Phi pronounced Pee Pee where the film 'The Beach' was filmed. Phi Phi is actually split into two separate islands Phi Phi Le which is the film location and Phi Phi Don which is a larger more inhabited http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Phi-Phi/blog-103278.html Guys and Gals Well what a difference from Bangkok.......a one hour flight down to the island of Phuket and we feel a million miles away from the confusion of Bangkok. We found a fantastic resort down in the southeast corner of the island called Cape Panwa. The area itself is fairly quiet but we've checked into a big hotel resort with all the usual swimming pools bars restaurants etc. The h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-103272.html We arrived in Bangkok a couple of nights ago via a small propeller plane from Cambodia very noisy flight Bangkok is not what we expected and not sure we're that keen on it. Maybe this is because the countries we've just come from blew us away or maybe it's not our cup of tea. Perhaps we've not seen the right bits Any fellow bloggers reading this please feel free to send us a message if y http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-102287.html OK so for those of you who know us well you will be amazed to learn that Chris has finally found a curry after a staggering 12 days without. AND Jackie had her first alcoholic drink of the holiday. The curry was not quite the same and we were sat out on the street on wicker chairs the wine was Cambodian red but very good even by Jax's tough standards. Half a glass and she was wobbling all http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-101494.html hello loveliesWell here we are in Cambodia in amongst the greatest Temples in the world and they really are mind blowingToday we hired our own private tuk tuk like a rickshaw but pulled by a man on a little moped to take us to the temples around Angkor. Would you believe we set out at 4am having vowed to take it easy and sleep in while in Cambodia after our hectic schedule in Vietnam http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-101484.html We've arrived in Ho Chi Minh City what used to be called Saigon on the last part of our vietnamese tour. First thing you notice is the change in climate down here we're about a thousand miles south of Hanoi where we started. It feels very hot and humid compared to the North but still a nice temperature for us holiday makers This city is much more western than the rest of Vietnam the buil http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-100755.html Hello allBoth keeping well and still really enjoying Vietnam a few insect bites and mild dodgy tummy but nothing to worry about.We flew from the North to Danang yesterday and went straight to Marble Mountain. We both climbed the mountain not quite as strenuous as that might sound but still hard work in this heat. Took a bus ride to Hoi an and took a tour round the old town very quaint sm http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/North-Central-Coast/Hue/blog-100737.html Wersquove taken a fourhour bumpy bus ride out to the coast. The Vietnamese countryside is just as you would imagine miles of endless rice fields with workers in colonial hats farming they really do wear those hats everywhere. Lots of cattle and water buffalo roaming around.The roads are not as bad as we thought they might be the biggest problem is the constant noise even out of the tow http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Halong-Bay/blog-99754.html Since we last wrote we spent another busy day touring Hanoi and didnrsquot have much down time. Saw a selection of temples and went to Ho Chi Minhrsquos mausoleum but couldnrsquot se his body as itrsquos currently away in Russia for lsquorestorationrsquo. Had a look at the presidential palace and braved some more hairy roads.When we fancy a quick break wersquove found an interest http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-99736.html Ok so not milliionaires really but it did make us laugh when about fifty quid gets you over a million dongs Makes you feel rich anyway.... Hello all arrived safely in Hanoi after a long days travelling and a very average flight with Thai airways. Having come straight from England Hanoi seems pretty mad the first thing you notice is the roads often ten deep with motorcyclists who don't s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-99326.html