HCMC - Mui Ne - Nha TrangJason & Kirstyn O Our first beach stop was the lovely beachside town called Mui Nei. Made up of heaps of resorts lining the coast, we enjoyed a relaxing time chilling out on the beach, amazingly with not a single tout to annoy us! We even played a bit of frisbee (or to the purists - ultimate disk!). There are also a few sites to be had around Mui Nei which we visited in a rusty old Russian 4wd! These included the Fairy spring, fairly uninspiring and complete with child guides (well they tag along then ask for money!), the Red Canyon which was pretty cool, and the main attractions: sand dunes. The white sand dunes were very scenic and we tried out a bit of sand surfing here, which ... read more

Phnom Pehn, Sihanoukville, Kampot, Phnom PehnJason & Kirstyn O After almost 3 months we finally got to see the ocean again, very refreshing site after being landlocked in Laos for the previous month. Sihanoukville is another tourist mecca (by Cambodian standards), with many beautiful white sandy beaches, turqouise water and a million touts selling bracelets ("You buy bracelet, maybe later okay?"). We spent our first day roasting in the sun on deck chairs on Serendipity beach, hence we both looked much like our lunch time lobster meal by days end. A bottle of moisturising cream later, we wisely stayed out of the sun the following day, sitting in the shade and reading books, very relaxing. Next day we were still very sun wary so hired motorbikes and ventured further afield to some of the many other ... read more

Kratie - Siem ReapJason & Kirstyn O Another long day riding a bus (getting used to it now) to get to Siem Reap - the home of the World Heritage Listed Angkor Wat temples. We were picked up off the bus (in a secure compound to limit the no. of drivers there) by a Remorque (motorbike with trailer with seats on back) whose driver, Arong, told us we were his first job in two weeks. They only get a job every 2-3 weeks as there are so many of them trying to find work. He owns his motorbike and hires the trailer from a company. On most jobs he earns about 30-40 USD.....is hard for us to imagine as that is easily equivalent (or less than) what we would earn in one hour or spend in ... read more

Pakse to Don Det (4,000 islands)Jason & Kirstyn O Found out that another early start was needed as only one 6 am sangtheaw. With time on our visa getting short we had to do it! Lovely dinner that night (absolutely starving) with some slightly suspect Beer Lao (??sweated - limited electricity) and off to bed early! Dragged ourselves out of bed and carried our gear out to the road for the Sangthaew. Was absolutely chockers with gear and people. At one stage we counted 32 people with a least 3 on the roof (they comfortably seat about 10). We transferred at Ban Na Hin and by the time we reached Voen Kham we had managed to make several more friends on the rest of the journey to Tha Kek. The ladies ooed and aahed over Kirstyn's ... read more

Vang Vieng - VientianeJason & Kirstyn O Caught a bus, full of tourists from Vang Vieng in the morning and arrived around lunch time to the Capital city Vientiane. Trudged around in the scorching heat trying to find some reasonable accommodation (much more expensive here) and eventually settled on a splurge room with air conditioning, private bathroom and sattelite TV!! Very expensive though.... a whopping $12US a night, funny how your perception changes so quickly. Vientiane is very westernised. As with Luang Prabang the French influence here is very evident and there are many restaurants and bakeries catering to western tastes. Today was Kirstyn's birthday so she was treated to a relaxing Herbal Massage, although her neck is still not right she promises that it was good. By this stage Jason's stomach decided to g... read more