http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Wanderly-Wagon/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Wanderly Wagon en-us Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:46:32 +0000 Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:46:32 +0000 When we flew out of Hanoi we went on a two day mission to get to Ko Phangan. We flew into Bangkok airport did a bit of shopping and eating in the MBK shopping centre and then got on a night train to Surat Thani that evening. Next morning we got a bus and then boat to return to the island where we spent a few days with Cathal and Meave for the Full Moon in November. This time we were returning to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ao-Nang/blog-459745.html Our trip to Halong Bay began with the usual not knowing what the hell was going on but I guess people want to know more about Halong Bay rather than how annoying and frustrating Vietnam can be. We boarded our boat at 11am for our 3 day two night tour and set out for a nearby island where we would see some rather large caves. First up was our first meal on the boat. There was no shortage of foo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Halong-Bay/blog-455444.html The last 10 days have been incredibly tough. To say it has been one thing after another would be an understatement so much so that I need to do this over two blogs. Our impression of Vietnam has been for ever tainted by the previous week or so and unfortunately will not go down as one of our favourite places. Vietnam is a marmite country. You either like it or you donrsquot. Everyone I have ta http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-455499.html This is hard to say but we have just got stamped into our last country. Although wersquoll be returning to Thailand again this is our last new country. The border crossing this time wasnrsquot that bad but I still cant figure out why you cant just walk up to the counter the official checks and stamps your passport and you just go on through. Your passport always needs to go through many d http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-453079.html Our bus journey wasnrsquot as bad as we thought it might be though the mini van driver we got to the station was a lunatic. Traffic was bumper to bumper with traffic coming up and down both sides of the road. Our driver was more what you might call an ass . Three times young girls tried to cross the road in front of him and every time he blocked them off or got faster. Each time he only ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-452633.html Irsquom going to try and not dwell for too long on our first impressions of Cambodia as it doesnrsquot make it sound like a nice place to visit. Saying that by the time Irsquom finished typing what I have to say this could 1000rsquos of words long. Our bus dropped us at the Thai Cambodia border. Our exit from Thailand was easy and all we had to do next was cross the friendship bridge to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-452117.html To skip over the boring bits this is how we got to Ko Phangan from the 4000 Islands in the south of Laos. We left 4000 Islands on Tuesday morning by boat then mini van tuktuk and bus to Vientiane. Then we took a public bus to the border of Thailand. Then another across the border and a tuktuk to the train station. Then an over night train to Bangkok and that night another overnight train to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-450894.html Meet Bobby the Dog. Bobby came and stayed at our hut on the first day and never really left our sides for 3 days. He slept outside our huts came for walks when we went exploring and to the restaurant when we were eating. This is Bobbyrsquos blog.Before he starts his blog Irsquoll do mine first The journey to the 4000 islands was as much adventurous as it was painful. Let me explain. Firstly http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/South/Don-Det/blog-448924.html We were up bright and early to catch a bus from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng. As usual at the bus station we were told everything but the truth from the touts. We eventually found which was the public bus and hit the road at 8am. The journey all the road to Vang Vieng was spectacular. The road side was littered with little villages along the way all living in very basic accommodation but with hug http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-449059.html One of the best things the French left behind for backpackers anyway was the 10000kip baguette. 80c in other words for a full baguette. The choice of filling is simple and revolves around chicken or bacon and a bit of simple salad They fry the bread first before filling it just to make it extra tasty. Luang Prabang has more baguette roll stands than it needs. This does not take away from the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-448914.html We booked our ticket from Pai to Chiang Khong where we would cross the border into Laos. We could have got a ticket the whole way to Luang Prabang Laos but decided to DIY it from the Thai border. The bus journey from Pai back to Chiang Mai is an almighty pain in the ass. You are constantly swinging from left to right because of the mountainous area we travelled through. You cant sleep either fo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-448904.html Our 2nd class train journey from Phitsanluk was a bit unadventurous. The aircon was flowing and the fans running overtime so it was a case of trying to keep warm more than anything else. We also got dinner included with our ticket just to make the journey that little bit more unadventurous. The train arrived as usual about an hour late. A nice security man came from his office to tell us this in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Pai/blog-445225.html Remember the last blog where I said 3rd class train to Sukothai would be adventurous Well it was. It was also torturous and horrendous. We arrived at the train station to find that the next train was fully booked and the next one was three hours later. ldquoNot to worry Irsquoll have two of those tickets then pleaserdquo. As we sat down to get comfortable for our wait Michelle asked wha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Sukhothai/blog-443470.html We had two options to get to Ayutthaya from Kanchanaburi. One was euro20 for the two of us directly to it and the other was euro4 and not so direct We decided to take the euro4 option. The first bus we got on was cramped and busy and had five seats in a row 2 3 where most buses have four 2 2. We sat in the three seater part and hoped no one would want to sit beside us. We were wrong http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ayuthaya/blog-443187.html I finally found a place to develop some of the photos but they are not the best quality. Better than none though So this is the updated versionWe were picked up at 8am to go for our tour to see a seven tiered waterfall visit Hellfire pass and take a spin on the train over the Death Railway. Our trip would take over and hour to get to Erwan falls so we just watched the fantastic scenery and c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Western-Thailand/Kanchanaburi/blog-443179.html We were glad to be leaving Malaysia after spending nearly a month there. Not that there is anything wrong with the country its just not the best place we have been. There arenrsquot many sights to see and everything involves doing an expensive tour. The tours though are excellent but with a budget in mind there were a bit out of our range. We did do some but probably not as many as we would ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-441671.html This is my 100th Blog entryWhen we arrived at the bus station to go to Sandakan we were accosted by all the usual touts trying to get us to use their bus company. As we had already booked our they just left us alone straight away and picked on some other easy looking targets. We collected out tickets and realised we were on a not so comfortable bus http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Sepilok-Orang-Utan-Sanctuary/blog-440096.html After our freezing cold bus trip to Miri we had a quick look on the air Asia website and got a 45min flight to Kota Kinabalu instead of a 10hr bus journey. It wasnrsquot worth another bone crunching artic cold night travelling through the Borneo jungle. Although a little more expensive it was worth it. It was strange getting a flight for 45mins if thatrsquos what it even was We got our tax http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Kota-Kinabalu/blog-438922.html Miri was our next destination after leaving Kuching. It was a 14hr bus journey to get there. A company was recommended to us by our taxi driver and the bus we would be taking was pointed out to us. Of course when it was time to get on the bus it wasnrsquot the same one and you could say a little less comfortable looking. We could only get two separate seats as it is the end of Ramadan here and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Miri/blog-438210.html Since I last blogged we have been back to Kuala Lumpur to catch a flight to Borneo. We landed in the city Kuching in the province of Sarawak. It was here that we were going to try and stay with a village tribe in the Borneo jungle. We had booked in to a certain hostel that had offered better and cheaper tours into the jungle and it was highly recommended by others. When we arrived they told us the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-437250.html