Days 168-169 (Fri 22nd – Sat 23rdFeb) Sen Monorom, Mondulkiri So, I got a midday bus to Sen Monorom, Cambodia’s wild east. The bus took around 5 hours and a pretty uneventful trip. I arrived around dusk. It was pretty wild on first impressions. It was very windy and significantly colder than anywhere else in Cambodia has been. I checked into a guesthouse, had a cold shower as there was no cold water, then popped out for dinner. Within 20 seconds of leaving the guesthouse the power in the town went. As I had no idea where anything was and it was completely dark I went back into the guesthouse until the power came back on. When the power came back on I went to a restaurant called the Khmer Kitchen and had some food. I ... read more

Day 157 (Mon 11thFeb) My last morning in Saigon was one where I had to pack up and move on. I got sorted and headed to the tour shop who’d organised my taxi to the airport. Got out to the airport in way too much time giving me 2 odd hours sat around in the departure lounge. Watched a bit of tv then boarded my plane. I was flying to Phu Quoc island. Phu Quoc is Vietnamese although a lot closer to Cambodia and is sort of disputed. The island is also incredibly similar in specification as the Isle of Man, where I’m from. It is the same length, width, size per sq mile and population. Only difference is its nicer, cheaper and far hotter. I got to my guesthouse to be told they were fully ... read more

Days 148-149 (Sat 2nd – Sun 3rdFeb) Da Lat Luckily my bus to Da Lat wasn’t an early start or a night bus so that was made me more positive for the trip. The bus left around 11am and we got in around 3pm. During the trip I first watched Top Gear and then spent the rest of the trip looking out the window. Da Lat is 1500m above sea level so it is a windy road all the way up. The views are pretty impressive if not a little scary at times with some large drops. On arrival at the bus station, there is free taxi/motortaxi to your destination. The idea is you get a free lift and they get 5-10 minutes to try and sell you a tour for the next day. On arrival ... read more

Days 135-137 (Sun 20th Jan – Tues 22ndJan) Ha Long Bay cruise After an early night in preparation for my cruise I woke up at 7am. I got my free breakfast in the hostel of omelette and toast, I waited for my pick up. Got picked up around 8am, we went around town picking up a few more people and we headed off from Hanoi around 9am. Everyone was keeping themselves to themselves first thing so I put my earphones in and listened to some music. We stopped half way there at a factory where all the staff are disabled in some form, the factory making all sorts of items, from paintings, kitchenware, pottery and such. The goods were very impressive but I am never hugely keen when tours drop by these sorts of places to ... read more

Day 125 (Wed 9thJan) My first full day in Vang Vieng would be spent with David and Sam as the girls were resting after their long and not so enjoyable bus ride. We had decided to go see the Blue Lagoon which is advertised everywhere. The tours say it is 7km away so we figured we’d walk it, get good exercise whilst seeing the place. In hindsight we think the guides lied. It took us nearly 90 minutes to get there meaning it must have been further as we were walking at a fair lick to get there. On arrival we had to pay which we weren’t impressed with. A lagoon is a natural thing so paying seemed a bit of a joke. Also a bit of a joke was the lagoon which was more like ... read more