chloe don

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 was uneventful and having arrived there we got checked into the first guesthouse we could see and headed off on our usual adventures to take in our surroundings. Bars, restaurants and very little else it ... read more

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 new home. It was a good choice. Shabby in comparison to the Hilton in Siem Reap but it had a good vibe and the surroundings were wonderful, not forgetting the FREE POOL in the bar!!! ... read more

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 little café in the middle of nowhere. General grumpiness increased when we realised a thief had been lurking in the luggage hold and had gone through every bag. Fortunately it seemed he was only been ... read more

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 hello and smile at us. And we seen Monkeys. As a jeep cruised by there were a few lads sitting on the back and 2 monkeys. Not sure if they were pets or not. Further ... read more

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 might not mean much to you but for us, who have been in Australia for a couple of years, this was quite exciting. We were all watching out of the window as we passed, making ... read more