After a teary farewell to Betty in Kerala we set off to our next destination. Tamil Nadu is a very large state just to the east of Kerala where we spent a couple of days at the former British Hill Station of Ooty. Ooty is a pleasant place to explore with beautiful views over the surrounding countryside, but alas we were not blessed with great weather and as a result our trekking opportunities were limited. The highlight of our trip here was the toy train we travelled on that brought us through the mountains. It consisted of an authentic steam engine [View Full Entry]

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The Sunday Times has AA Gill and Now! Magazine has, well, Jade Goody. Cat & Pat’s Travelblog is pleased to announce Liz as guest blogger however a warning - I think I’m more in the Jade Goody league! It was very exciting to meet the bloggers in person and find out that the blog that makes us so envious is a true reflection of the great adventures they have had! And yes they do have (Irish) suntans, they are only semi-emaciated from lack of food and are in flying form. Kerala, a relatively small state on the south west coast, is [View Full Entry]

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Mumbai hits you like a spade in the face! It's Indias most populous city and it feels every inch like it. But once we got to grips with the constant noise and pace of this town we fell completely in love with it. There is so much to do here and our time was so short - just 4 days before we have to leave for Kerala and in that time we had to see all the sights, meet up with our friends Manjari and Betty, and Pat had to fulfill his dream of blagging his way into a Bollywood movie. [View Full Entry]

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Well, so says the old Lao proverb anyway, and let that be a lesson to ye! Laos is a very green country. That's something we did not expect coming from a country which boasts 40 different shades of green on its landscape. Days of heavy rains had brought new growth and the paddy fields were gleaming in the sunshine, trees were sprouting new leaves and the grasses were long and bursting onto the roadsides. Many different types of butterflies danced in the breeze and peoples smiles were warm and welcoming. After a slightly disappointing visit to Vietnam, Laos really lived up [View Full Entry]

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Our arrival into Vietnam was a fairly painless affair. After a straight-forward border crossing, we got on a Vietnamese bus to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) run by the tour company "Happy Tours". You couldn't ever forget they were called Happy Tours, as the $5 bus ticket included a quick lesson in Vietnamese and endless information on what Happy Tours could do for you, all provided by a smiling, singing Happy Tours employee. The bus dropped us off in the backpacker area, Pham Ngu Lao, where we had already arranged a hotel. We spent the next few days wandering around [View Full Entry]

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Our three day trip to the Temples of Angkor have been a definite highlight of this whole adventure. Situated in the north west of Cambodia the temples were built by the devaraja "God Kings" of the Angkor Civilisation between the 9th and 13th centuries. The nearest town to the temples is the rather touristy Siem Reap and we based ourselves here for our three day exploration of the temples. Just trying to get your head round how the Angkorians conceived these structures is mind bending enough, let alone how they actually constructed them. Even today as they lie crumbling next to [View Full Entry]

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So we crossed into Cambodia just one week ago and the experience so far has been mind blowing. After a relaxing month on the beautiful Thai islands of Ko Tao and Ko Chang we set off to the border crossing at Hat Lek (Thailand) and Koh Kong (Cambodia). We were soon far from the slick "merry-go-round" of Thailands backpacker trail and immersed in the madness of Cambodia. Don't get me wrong, the Thai people were lovely, but we found it a struggle to get to know some local Thai people as most we met were seriously worn out talking to well [View Full Entry]

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A gentle breeze sways the hammock. I look up at the coconut tree over my head and hope a coconut doesn't fall on my head. The thought moves from my head and I return to thinking of nothing much. I fall back into a semi doze. This is relaxation. At last. After three months of being on the move every few days, this is downtime. The journey here from Bangkok involved a cockroach filled journey on an overnight train to Chumphon and a ferry to Koh Tao first thing in the morning. Mind you, I had the upper bunk so most [View Full Entry]

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Sitting in a Tokyo Bay restaurant, you can make out the blurry night skyline through the rain as the Yurikamome driverless train snakes across the harbour bridge. This is the "Bladerunner" style Tokyo I had always dreamed of seeing and I can safely say its all here. The glaring neon, the heaving gadget-laden crowds pouring along the skyscraper lined streets, the screeching advertisements blaring out of loudspeakers overhead - Tokyo is a very exciting city! We arrived for our two week stay on the 1st of July and met Catherine's cousin Paddy at Shibuya station near the Hachiko statue. Thing [View Full Entry]

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Skyscrapers, temples, sunshine, shopping and nightlife, Hong Kong has it all! It's also the birthplace of our buddy Wai, "The Worthing Bear". This city of approximately 7 million people is a huge contrast to China. It has a big city feel to it not unlike London or New York. The people are exceptionally friendly, the accomodation is excellent and the choice of food is staggering! After a 12 hour journey from Xiamen, we crossed the border into Hong Kong and promptly began driving on the other side of the road. The influence from the British is still everywhere to be seen [View Full Entry]

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