Adam Smith
Hello, adamwsmith
These are the adventures of Adam, on a four month wander around South East Asia. The joy, the pain, the mosquitos.
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Travel Blog Posts
December 8th 2009
Hi There, Just a quick bunch of photos to let you know what Im doing at the mo. ... read more
March 7th 2007
Hello. No time to upload a full entry. But here are links to Lyndsey, my on the scene correspondent. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Mae-Hong-Son/blog-133251.html http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Chiang-Rai/blog-134798.html... read more
February 24th 2007
I woke to a drizzly kind of day in the hotel, which I learned was just outside Yin Bin. After paying my bill, and being unable to refuse a present of some money from the owners, I faced the prospect of my broken Minsk. It started after a few trys, and I puttered off, fighting the broken gears. I was seriously worried about finding a mechanic today, which was Tet. Imagine trying to find a garage open on Christmas day and you have an idea. Thankfully, Vietnam seemed to be generally going about it's business. I pulled up outside a chap who had a big, gleaming Honda chopper parked inside. This man clearly liked his bikes, so I figured I'd be in safe hands. Just goes to show you how wrong I can be. After ... read more
February 23rd 2007
Well, here goes the continuation of the travelblog. As for the delay, well, after Northern Vietnam, I found myself traveling with my nearest and dearest (hi guys and gals). As such, it wasn't so easy to spend lots of time writing the blog. So, apologies again! Hopefully, now I'm here on the beach with not much to do I should be able to finish. If I remember correctly, I set off from Sapa early, at about 7.30 in the morning. This was because I was hoping on making it all the way to Hanoi, a 300km trip. Before I had left, I was given a gift of an umbrella by the park ranger. How kind! I headed back down the mountain, looking for fuel and a pharmacy. After having to drink a cup of tap ... read more
February 22nd 2007
This morning thankfully my back and backside weren't hurting quite so much (although my lips were pretty badly cracked by now), and amazingly I had no repairs on the bike to do. So, after a lesiurely morning, drinking tea with the internet people in Lai Chau, I went to get some lunch before I headed off again. Whilst slurping on my noodle soup, my eyes alighted on a Boney M music cd sitting oddly amongst the Vietnamese music on the rack beside me. Was this to be a premonition (in the book "Touching the Void", the climber who falls off a mountain and has to drag himself to safety is tormented by a Boney M song running through his head)!? The road from Lai Chau leads immediately up into the mountains. It's a wonderful road as ... read more
February 19th 2007
Weel, this am I didn't feel so chipper. After last nights ATM excitement I sat down in the hotel restraunt for my meal. I was waved over by the guy who works on the recption. He asked me to join the hotel staff for a meal they were having. A freind of theirs was heading back home for Tet and this was her leaving meal. Again it ws shown how freindly, hospitable and kind are the majority of people I have met in Vietnam. The meal ws accompanined by many rice wine toasts, leaving me a little hungover in the moring. The Vietnamese certainly picked up a lot from the Russians, and toasting is just one of them. As I left in the moring, I was given a bottle of rice wine to take away with ... read more
February 12th 2007
I awoke early again, keen to kick off. I'd had a good nights sleep in the hotel, which had the distiction of having the only lift in all of Son la. It even had instructions taped to the door. Planning to leave early, I just had to find the ATM I saw yesterday. My card turned out not to work. No problem I thought, I'll just try the bank. No luck. Oh No. Was there any ATM in Northwestern Vietnam? I was beginning to panic, as I was seriously runnin low on cash. Anymore big repairs and I'd be out. I tried to set up a Western Union money transfer over the internet, but it was no use. I was becoming very stressed, and I was resolving myself to contacting my friend back in the UK ... read more
February 11th 2007
I awoke feeling very refreshed, and thankfully free of bugbites. It took me while to realize what was different. It was the silence. It was wonderful, and such a change from Hanoi. Outside I was able to finally appreciate the reason for coming to Mai Chau. I could see the valley in all its glory now, with the steep sides rising up shrounded in mist. A shaft of sunlight pierced the scene in front of me. Outside my door, women worked bent over in the rice paddies and water buffalos wandered about. I decided to have a look at the headlight, hoping that it was something easy to fix. The bulb turned out to be ok, and after taking it apart and putting it back together it worked. Must have just been a loose connection. Swelling ... read more
February 10th 2007
After five or so days in Hanoi, it was time to get moving. I'd had a wonderful time, which included 1) meeting a gaggle of Spainiards, including the very kind Ane, 2) missing the rugby but gaining a great night out with a bunch of gin drinking vietnmese hairdressers, 3) unfortunately watching Scotland lose but ending up at the hippest nightclub (well nightbarge) in Hanoi till dawn and being driven though the Hanoi peasouper to enjoy a beef noodle breakfast and finally 4) getting aquainted with Hanoi's Irish Pub, meeting some old friends again, singing lots of songs, hearing beautiful Vietnamese singing, and ending up at the worst karaeko bar on the planet. For the record, I also had a few nights in watching TV. Can't do exciting traveller things ALL the time. I finally plucked ... read more
February 1st 2007
The is the epic tale of Adam and Lyndsey's return from Cat Ba Island. A journey fraught with peril but certainly more interesting than getting a tour bus. After our day of kayaking, we had intended to head for the centre of Cat Ba Island and the park area which is there. However, Lydsey came down with a progressively worsening case of food poisoning. Instead the day was spent watching movies and paying overly close attentions to Miss Payne's gastro-intestinal problems. It's wonderful how traveling with people can really break down barriers. The next day we had to return to Hanoi, as Lyndsey was heading to Bangkok the day after that. I sprung out of bed at 5.15am, to catch the 5.45 ferry to Haiphong. It was a fine brisk morning, and Lyndsey was feeling better. ... read more
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