Hanoi and Halong Bay… We arrived into Hanoi at 6 o’clock in the morning and it was bloody freezing!!! We were acclimatising to this cold weather as we ventured further up the coast but we were not ready to be wearing our scarves and jumpers as we stepped off the bus. We found accommodation easily as we were whisked off by a pre-paid taxi to a hotel in the Old Quarter of the city. After catching up on some sleep (the bus journey was good but a hotel bed was far more comfy) we set out on an adventure around the [View Full Entry]

---

---

Coastal Vietnam…Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue So were off to the coast to get away from the miserable weather of HCMC. Well that was how we planned it but unfortunately as usual, things just didn’t quite work out that way. Now I must say the open tour bus ticket that we bought did not disappoint. We had opted for the cheaper seated bus tickets instead of the sleeper bus, but for our journey to Nha Trang we had a sleeper anyway at no extra cost. Nice one! Maybe this was a sign of things to come. Our journey to Nha Trang [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam…. We were sad to leave Cambodia. After all it was the first country that we managed to get through without being ripped off or robbed by the locals. Malaysia had its more than corrupt taxi drivers and Thailand relieved Chloe and I of a considerable sum of money as we dozed on a bus. However, onwards and upwards. So goodbye Cambodia and Good morning Vietnam. Yeah I had to fit it in somewhere so why not right at the start. But don’t fear, I shall not be fitting anymore war movie references into this blog [View Full Entry]

---

---

Phnom Penh... The bus journey from Siem Reap was fairly easy. I, as usual, slept all the way. We arrived at the bus station outside of the city where we were pounced on by a million tuk tuk drivers. AAAARRRGGGHHH! We fought our way to a quiet spot beating off the drivers while we looked at the Lonely Planet to find accommodation. We gave in to a driver waving a poster in our faces with the details of a Guest House on the lake. No Problem Guest House, we agreed on a price for two tuk tuk’s and headed to our [View Full Entry]

---

---

"There is a magical aura about Cambodia that casts a spell on many who visit this charming yet confounding kingdom. Here you can ascend to the kingdom of the gods at Angkor Wat, a spectacular fusion of symbolism, symmetry and spirituality, or you can descend into the hell of the Tuol Sleng, and come face to face with the Khmer Rouge and their killing machine. Welcome to the conundrum that is Cambodia, an intoxicating place with a glorious past, a tragic present and an unwritten future." Lonely Planet on Cambodia. A very big thank you to Mama Jean for helping out [View Full Entry]

---

---

I was so lucky to be able to fly out to Thailand for half term to spend just over a week with Chloe and Don and Ecto, Wilson and Davey (who?), but it was a big responsibility choosing where to go from Bangkok. Feeling a bit of a craving for some sun and sea, I decided we should head down south and after talking to my Thai friend at home, plumped for Krabi. I began to have serious doubts when we were dumped off the overnight bus at first light, bleary-eyed and freezing from over-active air-con, to find ourselves at a [View Full Entry]

---

---

Bangkok - In the words of Mama Jean Climbing into the AE2 bus from the airport to Khao San Road, then a Tuk Tuk to My House in Rambutri and seeing Chloe running towards me and giving her a big hug was all bound to end in a spurt of tears. It was hard to leave this lovely little oasis of cafes, bars and stalls. sheltered by trees with squirrelly type things running about in them, for the steamy hot bustle of the city. But we did make it out to the temple of the reclining golden Buddha and wandered through [View Full Entry]

---

---

Thailand... Goodbye English speaking Malaysians, hello to confusion and hand gestures of Thailand. We have been looking forward to reaching the border as Malaysia is more expensive than its neighbour. In Thailand the minimum daily wage is about 3 quid so we knew we could live a little more comfortably here. Having taken a couple of cheap local buses to the border, we made our step onto Thai soil. The border was quite hectic but it wasnt long before we got our passports stamped and ushered along. It was excellent. We could feel the difference already as everybody wanting to say [View Full Entry]

---

---

Perhentian Islands..... So we left Penang with fond memories of the Island and headed to another island on the East Coast of Malaysia. We set off on a long, overnight coach journey with the idea that we would be arriving in the morning and we would be well rested and will have saved money on accommodation for that night. Well, the coach dropped us off in the middle of nowhere at 3am, after very little sleep on the journey we were all sleepy and confused. We managed to get a couple of taxis to Kuala Besut, our destination for catching the [View Full Entry]

---

---

Penang… Hello, it’s Chloe again, taking over from Don on the Blog front. So we had left the wonderful Cameron Highlands and had committed ourselves to the scariest 4 hour mini bus journey ever. The driver flinging us round the corners with nothing but a cliffs edge at the side of the road. Overtaking other vehicles without a care as to what round the bend in the on coming traffic. We had decided, the only thing for it was to sleep. With our seatbelt firmly secured we arrived, alive in Penang…phew! As we arrived into Georgetown we passed a TESCO’s. This [View Full Entry]

---

---