http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Natsausage/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Natsausage en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:09:23 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:09:23 +0000 The flight to Kuala Lumpur was only 5 hours but they didn't stop feeding us Seriously every 5 minutes they were walking round passing out nuts drinks beer sandwiches We even got a huge meal veggies with rice a croissant cake fruit Ace Kuala Lumpur's a very energetic city at first it's a bit overwhelming but it's loads of fun once you get used to it. It was really hot though and we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Pahang/Pulau-Tioman/blog-415627.html Today is our last day in China We are off to Malaysia tomorrow for some beach action After Chengdu we went to Xi'an. It was ridiculously hot there Xi'an is one of the only Chinese cities left with the old city walls they are pretty impressive. There is also a bell tower and drum tower we didn't go in them because we had to pay. There is a Muslim quarter there as well surrounding the old m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-411093.html The flight here to Chengdu was fine I couldn't stop trumping though that always happens to me on planes. The food was alright too we got some noodles with chicken a bread roll and some watermelon. Yum yum. When we arrived we got the airport shuttle bus into town then we had a bit of a hairy moment because I didn't have a map to find the hostel just the address and directions written in Eng http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Sichuan/Chengdu/blog-407102.html Shanghai is a shithole. Sorry Mum but it is. It's just a massive dirty smelly building site The people are really rude and racist and they spit all over the floor. Gross.We really wont be taking many good memories of this place We went to the Russian embassy to apply for our Russian visas and they got rejected. Horrible day spent all day queuing and being shouted out at by Russians to be tol http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-405784.html We're back in China and after Japan it is a real shock Japan is so clean and civilized and the people there are lovely and friendly. It's so clean we saw people scrubbing the pavements and road signsAfter the sumo we went to Kawaguchiko which is a lake near to Mount Fuji. As we were leaving Tokyo we could see the mountain from the train but we weren't sure if it actually was Mount Fuji be http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-404127.html We are staying in a capsule hotel with free internet We have to pay for the showers though. We went to see the sumo today loads of fun We paid for the proper cheapo tickets. From 8am 2.30pm it's the unranked trainee wrestlers not many people bother going to see them so it meant we could sit right at the front in the 150 seats It was pretty amazing but a bit scary in case they fall on http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Shinjuku/blog-399915.html I will have to be quick the internet is well expensive here. 70p for 20 minutesWe have done 2280 miles in the last week Starting from Hanoi we got the bus to Nanning in China that took about 9 hours then we took the train to Shanghai which took 30 hours It actually went pretty quick though. Shanghai is a world away from SE Asia so different. And it was really difficult to order food al http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Asakusa/blog-399114.html My Mum and Kate flew home today it's very strange it feels like they were with us the whole time and have gone on a day trip today. I keep expecting them to come back to our hotelWe had a great time with them though I'm not sure my Mum would describe it as great I think she was very shocked by the way of life here. It is dirty and smelly. Hanoi is very very busy as well and there are motor http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-396750.html My Mum and Kate are now here with us in Hanoi we are off to Sapa tonight. I think we gave them a pretty good welcome. On the way to the hotel from the airport we saw a bad motorbike accident and 2 dead bodies on the road. Our hotel was bad. To me and Matt it was ok. Hot shower bed their room even had a window. Things took a turn for the worse when we went out for tea last night though. Someon http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-394297.html We're in Hanoi now my Mum will be here tonight Can't believe it though yesterday was the hottest day ever and today it's rainingAfter Saigon we went to Nha Trang which could of been anywhere It felt like Rhyl. We had lots of fun though the beach was nice the sea is different here. It's quite cold in Thailand it was like getting into a bath Matt played in the sea while I sunbathed an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-393636.html We're now in Vietnam It took 12 hours to get here but the journey went really quickly. On the way we stopped for food and as usual there were lots of kids selling fruit and drinks. I decided to stay on the bus and Matt went to the toilet I watched him get off the bus talk to a girl selling pineapple then jump and run back onto the bus it turned out she had a massive tarantula and waved it http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-390217.html We were supposed to go and see a traditional Khmer dancing on Sunday but we missed it because Matt said he saw a huge lizard in our room. I was really mad so I went for an amazing massage instead. Then I was super relaxed so I got a bottle of wine and some ferrero rocher to get in bed with and watch TV. Then I saw the massive lizard too It was pretty huge about the size of my forearm we had to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-388675.html We're in Siem Reap and it's lovely. Much less frantic than Phnom Penh there are still lots of beggars but I'm getting used to it nowWe got 3 day passes to explore the temples of Angkor. The first day we braved the crazy roads and hired bikes to cycle to the temples. We went to see Angkor Wat then to Angkor Thom where the Bayon is then up to Preak Khan. The Bayon is amazing and Preah Kahn is lov http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-387520.html Well we have been in Cambodia for over a week now and to be honest I'm finding it really difficult to enjoy it. We booked a bus that went from Thailand to Sihanoukville. The bus dropped us off at the border and disappeared we had to go and get our visas and some men told us they would take us to the bus and help us get our visas. They filled out our forms which we are capable of doing ourselv http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-385460.html I decided to get a tattoo In Thailand they do them traditionally they are called bamboo tattoos. They are hand done rather than using a machine so they take a lot longer but the lines on them are a lot finer and they don't bleed and heal quicker.I thought about going for something small but I felt brave so I went for something huge It took 5 hours to complete but it's ace I love it It http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ko-Chang/blog-383351.html Yesterday it was really cloudy so we spent a couple of hours on the beach then it started spitting so we went back to our bungalow. The sky went black so we thought there would be a storm so I sat in my hammock waiting. There was a bit of rain not a lot though so I was quite disappointed. Then it started pouring down the roar of the rain was so loud me and Matt had to shout to each other to be http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ko-Chang/blog-382755.html After tubing we got on a coach to Vientiane which is the capital of Laos and stayed there for a couple of nights. It was ok there wasn't very much to do and it was obscenely hot so we decided to get to the beach as quick as we could. And so started our monster journey to Ko Chang.We got up early and crossed the border back into Thailand to Nong Khai. We booked our train tickets then had a few http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ko-Chang/blog-382418.html We went tubing on Monday it was loads of fun. Basically you just get in a big rubber ring and float down the river. There's loads of bars on the way though. We made it about 20 meters down the river stopping at every bar along the way then it went dark and we were too drunk to float so we had to get a taxi backSo yesterday we went tubing again This time we only stopped at a couple of bar http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-380717.html It's been ages since I updated last sorry mum so I've got loads to write now. Have been in places where the internet was too slow also been having a problem with this blog let me know if anyone else ever has problems getting onto the site because I might change to a different one...Anyway Suppose I'd better carry on where I left off which was in Sukhothai that seems like aaages ago Matt wa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-379892.html Oh my god It is ridiculously hot and humid It's about 35 degrees but they have forecast thunder this afternoon and it is very heavy and stuffy bleughWe went to Wat Arun on Thursday it's very impressive. We climbed up the extremely steep steps then i felt sick because i knew I had to get back down them I managed though and the temple was worth seeing. We got ripped off on the way there http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Sukhothai/blog-375469.html