http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Where r u Matty D/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Where r u Matty D en-us Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:59:21 BST Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:59:21 BST After our cooking class we went across the boarder and into cambodia. I won't lie to you I was starting to get a bit overwhelmed by the Thailand travelling experience and was dying for a change of pace....I certainly got it. 5 hours from bangkok to the poi pet boarder you see the black and white photos in my blog i thought i would be artistic. So we waited for people to get there visas done the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-294881.html We caught the train north stopping in lopburi in the hopes of finding some monkeys but only managed to find a reggae bar and a bottle of rum. It was my birthday and i had a 10 hour train journey ahead so we thought we may as well do it in style. see pictures of the celebration. We arrived in Chang mai and had a day of sight seeing and then jumped straight into a 3 day 2 night trek... which consi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North/Chiang-Mai/blog-293149.html Over night in AyutthayaCOnocida antiguamente como la capital del reino de Siam es un lugar lindo para pasar 1 o 2 noches contemplando los templos y las construcciones antiguas aunque se puede hacer por elefante o tuctuc la manera mas divertida definitivamente por bicicleta que fue lo que nosotros hicimos.. es interesante tratar de ocnocer la ciudad y al mismo tiempo cuidarse de no tropeza http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central/Ayutthaya/blog-291051.html Bangkok Baby what a city.... I think this place has a little bit of everything.We left the full moon party tired but happy with our island hopping efforts and ready to see another side of thailand We caught the 12 hour overnight bus to Bangkok and were dropped off at the side of the road near the ko san strip. being 5am We figured anywhere would do but we wern't sure about ko san as we had hear http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central/Bangkok/blog-291047.html We left ko phi phi in a hurry we had all our clothes in the laundry so when we asked if the clothes were ready 30 minutes before our boat left it caused a bit of a panic behind the counter they had to raido back to the house and informed me that the clothes were still wet... no problems i said just bring the clothes so we can leave but this was not going to do they insisted on drying the clothes e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South/Ko-Samui/blog-288046.html Back on the travelling scene again and this time south east asia I got a bit held up by a delayed flight and ended up in phuket close to midnight luckly the hotel i was staying even though was not 24 hour check in was still open. I was a bit worried because they said they were going to close reception and sonia hadn't arrived but they said i could wait out front and i could let her in when she go http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-286346.html i have included this blog to describe the crazy things that happened on my last days travelling in South America and to document how ripped off i was at the new zealand airport customs check on the way home. Well technically i have gone all the way around south america catching a plane from bogota to quito gt santiago chile gt then Buenos Aires... it has definately been a trek even thoug http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/blog-144661.html They say sequals never live upto the original and one reason i don't like to visit the same place twice but i was drawn back to bogota and didn't regret it either. I spent the first day souvenier shopping as i hadn't bought one gift for my family yet... a combination of the fact that i am lazy selfish and never think of others a crap shopper and the fact i am travelling and couldn't be arsed ca http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Buenos-Aires/blog-144643.html So i decided to check out the close by city of Medellin since my time in south america is rapidly coming to an end... what did i find well quite a nice city in my opinion not quite as nice as Bogota but quite similar in many ways once the drug trafficing capital of the world today it seems quite a safe but busy city. in the centre markets line the streets selling rip off brands i almost picked http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Medellin/blog-144501.html After a extremly long sleep in and late breakfast Sonia me Jamie Andrea Andreas boyfriend and a carload of others set off for Villa de Leyva for the weekend. Sonias family set off earlier and we would meet them there later in the afternoon. We arrived a tad late but stopped by a local hippodrome and besides my persistant requests to sonia asking if i could put some money on the races she tol http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Villa-de-Leyva/blog-141026.html Well i have flown into bogota and was really impressed Me Jules and Robbie grabbed a taxi to our hostel which was located in the historical center and quite a nice section of town to walk around. being quite late we grabbed some dinner at a nice resturant and finished the night off with a couple of beers. The next day i had a chance to see a bit more of the city walking through Bolivar plaza an http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Bogota/blog-141020.html Well i have had to back date this blog a tad as i have been off the radar for a few days. from where i left you guys in Manaus i have had to catch a quite expensive plane trip to tabatinga... which of course i had to pay in cash... this meant another trip to Bank do Brazil and 5 hours waiting in lines and getting my credit card approved. not the most pleasent day in manaus but i managed to get my http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Leticia/blog-140606.html still under the weather and barely eating i signed up for a three day jungle trip. I really wanted to do more and head deep into the jungle and visit some crazy amazonian witch doctor and drink and eat wierd amazonian animals but after my disatarous boat ride and the fact that i didnt have any malaria pills i decided on a bit of a tamer version. for those of you that want to know... i looked eve http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Amazonas/Manaus/blog-137101.html Day 0 technically not classified as a boat day as the boat dosent kick off tilll 9 pm but i have started the diary today as i have had to board the boat early and watch my hammack space around the dodgey characters that move about and setup their own hammocks beside underneath and above me... yes i am riding economy class where there are no designated hook spaces it is basically everyman for th http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Amazonas/Manaus/blog-135659.html Once again i have defied the odds and managed to navagate from my last blog destination in Forteleza to Belem... running low on funds as everything was shut during carnival i jumped on a bus to belem a 24hour bus ride from fortaleza hoping when i got there the banks would still be open. Yes the race against time was on once again... firstly the likelyhood of a brazilian bus being on time was extre http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Par-/Bel-m/blog-132137.html It has been six days some may say way too long but with the craziness of carnaval and booking hostels and my rapid travelling through brazil it has been a welcomed change of pace.I tried to stay in Macieo but it failed dismally when i couldnt find a place to stay... so since salvador it has been a 8 hour bus ride to Macieo which was extended by four hours as the bus broke down then 12 hours walki http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-Grande-do-Norte/Natal/blog-131398.html over enduging in arrial d ajuba required me to either catch a bus into salvador which would arrive at 9 pm at night or catch a plane slightly more expensive but arriving at a decent hour. With my track record of being ripped off in Brazil i opted for the plane.The city of beaded necklaces.... Salvador is a really cultural slap in the face. i stayed in pelorinho which is an old but very cultural se http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Bahia/Salvador/blog-128025.html all right puerto seguro ... what can i say my favorite place in brazil so far very chilled beach town more or less safe and heckeling free... a must if you come to brazil and head north in my books.the first day i met up with guga a great brazilian from my room we then headed off to the cultural centre and walked through some markets and watched some great capoera shows i will try to post the vi http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Bahia/Porto-Seguro/blog-127343.html Alright i have mixed feelings about rio... somethings i absoulty love others not so much. It all began when i got off at the bus terminal in centro rio. yes once again i was unprepared and i turned up at 900pm i didnt want to but that was the way the bus schedule from sao paulo worked out.anyways i am rushed straight into a taxi where the guy had me lined up right from the start... he first pull http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Rio-de-Janeiro/Ipanema/blog-125397.html Wow i didnt think portugese was that much different from spanish after 2 months of struggling with spanish which i thought i was getting the hang of...it is time to start again. The last few days entering brazil have resembled an episode of the amazing race. ... contantly checking my watch to see if i have time for the next bus... constant phone calls trying to recover my credit card... beads o http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Sao-Paulo/blog-123103.html