KateandTerry

04/03/12 Singapore The next day we caught the bus to Singapore for RM19pp - £4. We wanted a bus to take us all the way into the centre of Singapore but they were all full. Melaka is a big destination for people from Singapore especially on a weekend, unfortunately we were making our trip on a Sunday. Therefore we caught a bus to the Malaysian/ Singapore border where we then had a buy our ticket through to Singapore. Was only around £2 each so very cheap as it was a board the public buses. The first bus we jumped on took us to the Malaysian border which was only a short 10 minute drive away. Here we jumped off, walked through immigration, got our passport stamped out and then found the bus again to take us ... read more

11/2/12 – 13/2/12 Ko Lanta - by Terry Leaving Ko Lipe was a massive comedown for us. We peaked with paradise a little too soon, but you don’t realise that until you leave and visit the next place. Our trip to Koh Lanta was a ‘Five Parter’ – Boat, Minibus, Minibus, Speedboat, Songthaew (that’s a pick-up with seats in the back). We had paid 850 Bht (£17pp) on Koh Lipe to leave at 9am and arrive at 4pm the sameday. The ferry ride back to Pakbara, on mainland Thailand, was as crammed as it could have been. I’m very sure they just keep selling tickets until the boat leaves and operate under the principal ‘nobody gets left behind’. For each wave we hit the roof of the boat flexed downwards under the pressure of luggage piled ... read more

Leaving Cambodia The bus to the Thailand border was uncomfortable. The bus was very old and the seats were in a uncomfortable recline position that could not be adjusted but it got us to Poipet on the border with Thailand. Here we were instructed to get off the bus, walk through immigration before embarking on a different bus once in Thailand. They gave us all red stickers to wear that were instead of a ticket. You lose this sticker you need to find another way to Bangkok they told us. We walked through Cambodian immigration and was stamped out but it took 3.5 hours of queuing time to get through Thai immigration. People were jumping the queue which irritated everybody and you could see some westerners who did not like to wait, mostly Russians, who must ... read more

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City HCMC) We left Mui Ne early on the 15th and was picked up by a very nice air con coach, looked brand new. We only paid $5 each for the journey which included pick up from the hotel so was very happy. We arrived around 4 hours later in Saigon and were dropped off right in the central district where most of the budget hotels were – bonus! We were getting a little bit of hassle from touts trying to advertise their hotel so I went and sat with the bags and had a brew whilst Terry had a good mooch around. He only found rooms that were between $10-$15, with the cheaper rooms being windowless cells that were very smelly. The $15 rooms were very smart, balcony, plenty room. We ... read more

Sapa On the 2nd Jan we booked a train to leave that evening to Sapa which is North of Hanoi and in the mountains. Meant to be colder then Hanoi but I looked on the web and temperatures seemed similar at around 10-15c which we could handle I am sure. We had booked the cheapest sleeper compartment on the train possible which is the top bunks in the hard sleeper section. 6 bunk beds in one lockable room with the top bunks being the cheapest because you do not get as much head room as the other bunks but you do get a compartment at the bottom of the beds to keep all your belongings which is safer then storing them under the bottom bunk. Terry was not happy at first as really was a squeeze ... read more