Well, Chiang Mai was better than I thought it would be. I'd heard reports varying from "I love it!" to "It's a repulsive human zoo!" so I was wondering how I'd feel about the place myself. To be honest our welcome wasn't the greatest. We arrived a couple of hours later than estimated, the bus spilling out its contents (that is, us and several other assorted westerners) on the door step of a hostel with no idea where we were. Common enough but we hadn't gotten caught in that trap for ages. Mildly annoyed, Jim went to get our bags from [View Full Entry]

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Bus rides, crazy 'speedboat' adventures, World Heritage Cities, night markets, hopes and dreams dashed... read on for the latest instalment... Ok, prepare for a bit of a ranting tirade here. I'm actually in low spirits right now because we took a gamble that didn't pay off. We heard about the Gibbon Experience in Nam Tha (Bokeo Province, Laos) that sounded amazing. It's only been operating for a year and a half, is remote and is home to a type of gibbon thought to be extinct until they found them there. There is about 70 left in the world. The project is [View Full Entry]

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Ok then. BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! Gee, I've always wanted to be able to say that :o) Yes, I am committed to bringing you the news of my travels, though by the lack of entries for the last 3 or 4 months I guess it might be hard to tell. Lets just chalk it up to the phenomenon know as 'blog lag'. In blog circles thats the name for what I've done. And it is comforting to know enough people do it that there IS a term for it. That coupled with the fact that this is the 4th entry in [View Full Entry]

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A day probably isn't enough to truly appreciate Laos' capital, Vientiane, but that is all we spared for it. Due to our laziness on the beaches of Railay (Thailand) we've sadly left our time for Laos too short and already I'm feeling that this was a mistake. Laos is a wonderful country. Some people say that Vientiane is a dump and not worth spending much time at but I disagree. They say that the infrastructure is bad and the city not aesthetically pleasing enough but this is exactly what I like about it. It is the least capital city-like capital city [View Full Entry]

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Well, we are back in Bangkok and staying at our home away from home - Asha Guesthouse. We went to Soi Cowboy district last night. It was certainly interesting with its epilepsy inducing flashing neon and assortment of odd and unsavoury characters. I must say it has to be one of very few places on earth where you'll see hookers, elephants and children all in the same space. Soi Cowboy houses your run of the mill strip joints. If you want to see the infamous, crazy sexshows (complete with pingpong balls) you need to venture out to Patpong - which we [View Full Entry]

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Well, we got waylaid on a beach again. It's so easily done though, isn't it? After the dive trip we were planning to head straight up to Laos but then another option was offered up: Railey Beach near Krabi, 2.5hours south. It was in the opposite direction but somehow we managed to justify it and shared a cab/mini van with the polish couple, Jarek and Danuta, that we'd dived with. I have to add that Jarek and Danuta are by far the most generous, warm, lovely people you could hope to meet. RAILAY BEACH It's actually part of the mainland but [View Full Entry]

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Well it was magic! Manta rays, turtles, huge moray eels, clown fish (nemo fishies, that is), an amazing array of tropical fish, schooling barracuda, the odd large pelagic such as tuna or giant trevally, giant gorgonian fans, an assortment of hard and soft corals, clear, warm, warm water (most of the time) and a great boat. What more could you ask for? Well, whale sharks perhaps but lets not dwell on the negatives... Oh, and I didn't get a photo of the manta ray so you'll just have to take my word for it! GETTING THERE Getting there was ok. I [View Full Entry]

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Ahhh, beautiful Halong bay. I was afraid we wouldn’t see any of it through the fog but it cleared a bit and although it was still overcast the scenery is, none the less, impressive. Spectacular even. GETTING THERE The actual trip was fine and it only takes a few hours. The only problem was the Hanoi Factor. This is the name I’m giving to anything and everything that doesn’t go quite right in Hanoi. And - for us at least - a lot seems to not go quite right in Hanoi. I’m going to blame it on some evil curse or [View Full Entry]

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Well. If you read my previous entry “Hanoi Sucks” then you’ll have an idea of the setbacks my relationship with Hanoi has endured already. I must say I am only back here because there is no other way to get from Sapa to Halong Bay. We got to Hanoi at some ungodly hour of the morning, got ripped off twice by cab drivers and largely due to this it took us just over 2 hours from disembarking the train to finding a room and checking in. My flu had freshened up a bit after all the exercise and air-con and not [View Full Entry]

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I know. The title is awful. Sorry. Well, I've been feeling a little 'sapped' but I love Sapa (okay, that's the last sad attempt at a pun for the whole entry, promise), even as the icicles form on my eye lashes. While typing this I am sitting in an internet cafe wearing a singlet, 2 t-shirts, a long sleeve shirt, a hoodie, beanie and a pair of gloves. It's difficult to type in gloves, something I've never had to try before. Something I didn't think I'd find out in South east Asia! Its damn cold and I've caught a bit of [View Full Entry]

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