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Sally & Jason Knight
"Following the light of the sun, we left the old world.", Christopher ColombusKnightsontour
After 15 years combined service at Philips, it was time for a couple of qualified management accountants to have an adventure that didn't involve spreadsheets. Above all, it was time for a new challenge - no, not getting home in daylight, but seeing a bit of this beautiful world we live in. After promising ourselves countless times, this would be the year we did it, we eventually headed off on our hard earned career break on 19th January 2007 to travel for 4 1/2 months, taking in :
6 wks Australia
4 wks New Zealand
4 wks Singapore/Malaysia/Thailand
4 wks Cambodia/Vietnam
As well as keeping our family and friends updated on what we're doing, we have tried to include details that will be helpful to fellow travellers - particularly any hostels that should be avoided at all cost!
And what an adventure it is proving to be. Log in at anytime to keep up to date with our blog-fest...but don't blame us if there aren't any new blogs since the last time you looked.
Travel Blog Posts
May 26th 2007
A sort of Homecoming It was very fitting that Bangkok was the last stop of our 4 1/2 month adventure; this place felt like a second home to us after our previous visits (blog: ). After the often unwelcoming Vietnamese (blog: ), it was like coming home to an old friend. And despite our previous visits, there was still plenty more we wanted to see and do in Bangkok. Enjoying the last of our backpacker's budget with plenty of shopping was high on the agenda, as was a Thai Cookery course and catching those last rays of holiday sun before returning to a washout summer at home. This is an incredible city with so much to offer, so there was still plenty left for us to experience - and yet we still wouldn't manage to find ... read more
Halong Bay and a likeable nutter on Cat Ba Island
Published: February 13th 2008Asia » Vietnam » Northeast » Quang Ninh » Halong Bay
May 24th 2007
Halong and Hang Sung Sot cave Leaving Hanoi early (Blog: ), we headed by road for the 100km+ journey to the coastal Halong City, taking in the views of daily Vietnamese life along the way. We stopped for a break at a slightly tacky/touristy shop along the way (along with several other bus loads) which sold various Vietnamese arts and crafts; I wouldn't exactly save your Dong for this visit if you are on the same Intrepid Tour that we were on! As we closed in on Halong, we passed countless stalls all selling pineapples. In fact they all looked so samey, I couldn't imagine how they'd all make a living from this. There was nothing to persuade anyone to stop at one over the other. Perhaps this, along with the star and sickle flags we'd ... read more
May 23rd 2007
Arriving from the last of our 3 overnight train journeys from the south to the north from Hue (Blog: ), Hanoi would be little more than a brief encounter. This was because our two nights here sandwiched a night in Cat Ba island, with much of the day before spent cruising in the shadows of the hanging limestone cliff's of Halong Bay. We knew we needed to make the most of our short stay in Hanoi but, after waking up at 4:15am in readiness to hop off the train, we waited patiently for our hotel rooms in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, hoping to get that extra couple of hours sleep that would get us sanely through the day. There weren't any available until people checked out, but eventually we got one room between us. The ... read more
Hue: Seven cyclos, two Catfish and a case of the missing Forbidden Purple City
Published: August 8th 2007Asia » Vietnam » North Central Coast » Thua Thien - Huế » Hué
May 20th 2007
The road from Hoi An to Hue Leaving Hoi An (Blog: ) by mini-bus, we had the option of a scenic coastal drive past China Beach, Marble Mountains, through Danang and over the Hai Van Pass. New Zealand had taught us that any road with "Pass" in its name tended to be spectacular, so I barely listened to the alternative route our guide (Quan) offered, but hearing the word "tunnel" was enough for me! I hadn't come all this way to see the inside of a tunnel and couldn't believe our guide was even offering it as an alternative. Fortunately the other 5 agreed. This may be a Communist country, but a little bit of democracy ruled here...the Pass it was. With the relationship between the group and our guide souring due to his apparent laziness ... read more
Hoi An. Suits you, sir...
Published: August 8th 2007Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Quảng Nam » Hoi An
May 17th 2007
Arriving by overnight train from Nha Trang Hoi An was everything I had expected Melaka in Malaysia to be (Blog: ) and so, so much more! A historical town with architecture reminiscent of old European towns, with a bustling market, waterways, many great restaurants and the ultimate place for tailoring. Then, if you have time with all there is to see and do here, between fittings at the Tailors you can escape to the beautiful surrounding countryside by hiring a bike - no doubt, with man carrying tape measure running after you! We arrived in Danang far too early in the morning after our second overnight train from Nha Trang (Blog: ), all desperately in need of another couple of hours sleep to get us through the heat of the day. Travelling past China Beach little ... read more
May 15th 2007
The Overnight train from Saigon This was to be our first of 3 overnight train journeys, travelling from south to north Vietnam. We waited at the station with some trepidation at what our bed for the night might look like and, more to the point, how bad were these trains going to be? We'd come fully armed with snacks, drinks and our new gastronomic discovery, the fresh spring rolls from Saigon (Blog: ). We'd been warned off the on-board food...the tone of our local guide's warning was enough for us to heed it. The last thing you want is to have a dodgy tummy and only have a train toilet (actually, a hole in the floor) for relief! As the train pulled up, the moment of truth arrived. The trains were average, not too bad - ... read more
Playing chicken with the traffic in Saigon
Published: August 8th 2007Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City
May 11th 2007
Leaving the real land of smiles Before heading into Vietnam, we had to contend with one last, early morning tug of war at Phnom Penh bus station (we were the rope). No matter, the same rucksacks that hindered our progress to the public bus, as Tuk Tuk drivers and various vendors tugged in demand of our dollars, made useful battering rams where several smiling "No thank you"s clearly were not going to be enough. Nonetheless, Cambodia had been amazing. Ten days had not been enough. We were saddened to be leaving behind the most incredible, friendliest, smiley people we'd ever met (blog: ). It took a good 4 hours to reach the border with Vietnam and a further couple to get to Saigon...I mean Ho Chi Minh. It was easy to forget the name change, given ... read more
Phnom Penh - city of stark contrasts: from the darkest of mornings, to teaching kids English
Published: August 8th 2007Asia » Cambodia » South » Phnom Penh
May 9th 2007
Again, travelling by public bus, after a 5 hour journey from our beach getaway Sihanoukville (Blog: ) we arrived in Phnom Penh in time for lunch. Of course, there was the usual mayhem at the bus station as we forced our way off the bus, with Tuk Tuk drivers jostling for business. Arriving at the bus station, you can't fail to notice what I think is probably a defining building of Phnom Penh; an art-deco, crumbling central market. Sadly, I never got the opportunity to get a good photo of it for being harassed by locals after my money. The Russian Market Known to the locals as Psar Tuol Tom Pong, this is the place to come to for cheap clothes, CDs, DVD, dodgy PS2 games and much more, including the usual tat. To me it ... read more
May 6th 2007
Some beach side action We were pretty much awake at the crack of dawn, not long after the family we were staying with started their working day by taking the Ox out. Feeling a little jaded from a lesser night of sleep at the homestay (Blog: ), we were bound for the beach side city of Sihanoukville. We were all keen to arrive and have a shower. After another bumpy road (although nothing like Highway 6 from Poipet to Siem Reap), we eventually arrived just before lunchtime, so swifty headed to check out Occheuteal Beach and a beach side restaurant bar. Again, my visions of abject poverty everywhere were somewhat blown away; this city is well and truly set up for some beach side action with an impressive array of restaurants, bars and lodgings. In some ... read more
May 5th 2007
The journey from Kampong Cham to Takeo Again, we were pleasantly surprised by the condition of the public buses - they were good, we even had aircon. However, there would be little chance of any sleep on this journey from Kampong Cham (Blog: ). I don't think the driver ever gave his horn a rest for any longer than 30 seconds. It was quite a violent, loud beep at that too - a very rude reawakening if you did manage to drift off. We'd had another early start, so really weren't in the mood for his incessant beeping. All of us were very close to committing murder. Half the time we really couldn't understand what he was beeping at, the other half seemed to be several beeps to warn people we were going to overtake them, ... read more
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