MattandNina

(M) After bidding a very sad farewell to Lombok, the time had come to enter the very last leg of our epic journey - to Flores, one of the country’s eastern-most islands. In the end we decided to take overland public transport via the island of Sumbawa, which consisted of a gruelling 36-hour bus-ferry-overnight bus-ferry combination. So we gritted our teeth and mentally prepared ourselves for our last uncomfortable journey, backpacker style. The journey itself was pretty uneventful although we did make friends with two awesome couples from Spain and Argentina, and needless to say we had lots to talk about! Their company and deck of Uno cards went along way to passing the time, and the final nine hour ferry journey in the glorious sunshine, cruising past some of the country’s most idyllic scenery, was ... read more

(M) Indonesia being so huge, we had to fly from Medan to Yogyakarta, which is half way across Java, the next island along the archipelago. We'd decided to skip the capital Jakarta, another Asian megacity of circa 20 million people along with the full package of smog blanket and end-to-end traffic jams... it was the last thing we needed. While Lake Toba ended up being less than remarkable, the journey to the airport to catch our flight was quite the opposite. Having caught the first possible ferry to the mainland at 7.30am on the promise of an instant transfer, we then had to hang around until nearly nine o’clock before they eventually set off. By this time our stress levels were near stratospheric - our flight (followed by the only connecting one of the day) was ... read more

(M) Mulu was pleasant. We met some nice people, learnt a fair bit about conservation, and did some nice walks. But wild jungles or an epic experience, it was not. Flying into Kuching we were encouraged by seeing a long snake-like river running through expansive mangroves on its way to the sea, and thought perhaps Kuching might prove to be a touch more exciting. So we did our utmost to make the most of our time there, and did manage a few great adventures although it has to be said that the main reason we enjoyed Kuching was our hostel called Nomad. The hostel was extremely well decked out, comfortable and run by an Iban guy called Chris with some help from a few of his awesome friends. It was also very centrally located, so we ... read more

(M) After a one night stopover in Bangkok we boarded a plane for Manila, the sprawling capital city with a population of 20 million. Given the Philippines is made up of some 7,000 different tropical islands, you wonder why just under a quarter of its people decide to live in the same place, the physical appeal of which is difficult to find. But like any great city, it’s less about the place and more about the people, and I can now see the attraction... Because unbeknown to us at the time, our remarkable introduction to the Filipino people was to set the tone for the rest of our incredible three week stay. Day 1 in Manila consisted of running around frantically trying to book ferries and internal flights – with airline websites crashing with alarming regularity ... read more

(N) Aaahhh, Cambodia... I love Cambodia. Matt loves Cambodia. I cannot imagine how anybody could not love Cambodia. It is a beautiful country, less unspoilt than, say, the north of Laos, but incredibly touching and real. Poverty is omnipresent and harsh, but Cambodia’s people are continuously smiling. Seemingly no matter what hardships are presented to them or what conditions they live in, they are overwhelmingly and sincerely lovely. I am not the only one to have developed a deep admiration and love for the Cambodian people. This is proven by the countless NGOs operating in the country and the charity-funded schools and drinking water wells that are staple features of any rural town or village. After the closure of the country’s brutal chapter that was the Khmer Rouge, a lot of people came to Cambodia to ... read more