http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/auroracamel/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from auroracamel en-us Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:04:41 +0000 Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:04:41 +0000 I was a bit nervous about Ko Pha Ngan I honestly thought that it was going to be a hovel similar to the costa del sol in Spain dirty trashy full of Irish and English louts. I was pleasantly surprised. We decided to stay in a place that was a bit more up market because we were worried about our stuff getting robbed as we had heard that was a problem on the island. We booked into the Milky Bay http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-361765.html After another long and tiresome journey in the less than promising thai bus service. We arrived in Ko Tao tired and sleep deprived. We were happy to be there however and it was one of the prettiest places I have seen as we pulled up to the harbour. After a short ride on the back of a pick up truck we arrived at one of the holiday villages and checked into a resort on the beachfront. This place was http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Tao/blog-276133.html All roads lead to Bangkok the big Thai Capital... It was still dark and early when we arrived it was cold and the touts were out in force. After no sleep and having to sleep upright and cramped in our supposed sleeper bus we were in no mood for the melee outside. Well accustomed to the business peddlers at this stage I was able to ignore their frantic pleas and shouts. We arrived on the infamo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-295214.html After such a brilliant time in Pai and for that matter the whole of Asia we both felt that we needed the detox. After the obligatory feed on junk food the night before we were ready to have our body and mind cleansed. When we first arrived I have to say we were both more than a little shocked. We were expecting it to be a detox in a nice enough place near a traditional Thai Village. Instead we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Soppong/blog-272923.html The journey to Pai was reminiscent of Laos winding steep roads with gorgeous green vegetation surrounding us. I read somewhere that it was one of the top motorcycling roads in the world and I could see why it would certainly be challenging. I thought that we were heading to a secluded gem off the beaten track where loads of hippies had settled and decided to call home. Granted there were alot http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Pai/blog-294664.html Arrived in Chang Mai safely no worries at all. The first thing that struck me about the place was how commercial it was. Reminded me of a trip I took to America with its Dairy Queens KFC McDonalds big Cars and flat hot landscape.The first night there we checked into our guesthouse which was pretty dismal in comparison to the place we had stayed in Luang Prabang. The bed was broken it was st http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-282343.html I have heard many tails of nightmare journeys in Laos where people end up over the side of mountains or with armed gun men on their bus. Thankfully our journey to Luang Prabang was pretty uneventful in that sense. However it was one of my favourite journeys on the trip scenerywise. We had a roller coaster like ride curving round and up the stunning green mountains. Luang Prabang is a stunningly p http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-273710.html Ah what can I say about Vang Vieng the stuff that is made from backpacker legend. Everywhere that I traveled I heard tales of insanity and fun in this little picturesque town that is framed by limestone Carsts and the Nam Song River. Most people that had traveled through South East Asia had named Laos as their favorite destination with Vang Vieng being their favorite town. As we climbed higher a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-279513.html I had a few hour lay over in Pakse on our journey from the Four Thousand Islands to Vientienne. I was disappointed to read in the Lonely Planet that there was not much going on in Pakse that it was a sleepy town and quite boring. They couldn't have got it more wrong or perhaps they haven't been there for the New Years celebrations. There were a few interesting Watts and a river to check out so http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/South/Pakxe/blog-279548.html We finally arrived in Laos with some regret at not being more organised. I guess it is one of those you live and learn moments. It was well worth the effort though as Laos is amazing Arriving across the border the difference in the landscape was marked. It was more green and luscious. We drove to a small harbour town and got a long tail boat the rest of the way. We had to pass through some of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/South/Don-Det/blog-272932.html I had heard that you could get your visa for Laos at the CambodianLaos border. Unfortunately this turned out to be an urban legend. I was faced with a longer stay than I first anticipated while I sent my passport to Phnom Penn to get an express Visa sorted out. I was in a little town called Stung Treng close to the border. When we arrived there was only one room left in the hostel. I was horribl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/East/Banlung/blog-265586.html Nha Trang is a nice beach resort similar to something like the Costa Del Sol in Spain. The tourism industry is in full swing here along with all the negatives that brings...sky rise hotels hawkers and robbers. Everywhere you go there is people trying to sell you stuff and they don't give you any respite even when you are trying to enjoy a nice meal. I had my bag stolen with my camera phone and s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-263467.html Alone for the first time in a month I headed off to Phu Quoc Island to get off the beaten track. It provided me with some of the most amazing and memorable experiences of my whole trip. On my way there I had to get a minibus with only Vietnamese people. It was a strange feeling being the only westerner that I saw for over a day of travelling. It was a role reversal to be in the minority and I was http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/Phu-Quoc-Island/blog-263469.html I decided not to spend too much time in Saigon as I am not really a city slicker. Think I made the right decision. Arrived really early into the city dumped my bag in a guesthouse and went on the 1 day Mekong Delta Tour. It was a nice experience. Got to see how they make the sickly sweet Coconut Candy a snake some traditional South Vietnamese music drink honey tea and travel on the water in Lo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-263468.html Siem Riep is a slow paced city with old school charm. It is geared up towards the tourism industry so there are lots of Western type bars and restaurants dotted around the place. The locals are pretty friendly and quite laid back. Well apart from our tuc tuc driver that we got from the bus station. He said he would bring us anywhere we wanted to go but this turned out to be anywhere as long as it http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-263509.html Phnom Penh it is a progressive place today with a real need to move on from its past you can see the wealth everywhere as the tourism industry really takes off and the western influences start to come in. However it for years it was home to one of the cruelest regimes the Khmer Rouge which is remembered mainly for the deaths of up to 3 million people under its rule through execution starvati http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-263449.html The long sweaty bus journey to Hoi An was certainly worth it. Right from the offset I fell in love with this quaint picturesque friendly town. It has all that you could ask for a lovely beach tastebud tingling good food a UNESCO heritage Old Town tempting tailors and a beautiful harbour. At this stage I was travelling with three other people we had all decided to rent mopeds to do a bit of e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-259859.html On your travels you meet so many people and you make so many friends some you travel with for a while and some you just meet once one particular friend that I had made while in Halong Bay was a Dutch Guy from Amsterdam called Arne. We had decided to go and see Sapa together. The day we were due to head off to Sapa he got the worst news that anyone could get from home. One of his bestfriends had http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northwest/Sapa/blog-259845.html Visited the Unesco World Heritage Site Ha Long Bay. On the way there unfortunately I was witness to my third car crash since I arrived in Vietnam. Between a car and a truck carrying chickens who were the only ones seriously injured. They really should reconsider their driving laws seems senseless the amount of crashes. Anyway that aside we arrived in Halong Bay and were able to forget about the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Halong-Bay/blog-258166.html So I naively thought that Hong Kong was a culture shock boy I wasn't ready for the crazy quirky land that is Vietnam The minute a stepped foot outside the airport in Hanoi I was mobbed by blood thirsty taximinibusbus drivers vying for my business. Eventually after much toing and froing and procrastination I got a minibus to Hanoi for a prearranged fare of 2. The trip was like something http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-256539.html