gz55

In what seems like a former life, I can remember sitting at home and watching a TV programme that followed a woman's travels through Vietnam. And what a journey it was. She took trains to remote destinations, drank ant 'lemonade' with the locals, and downed a stiff drink that had a freshly removed and still beating cobra's heart floating in it, amongst other unique experiences. Our travels weren't quite so eye-opening, but I've tried the independent travelling thing and as adventurous as it may be for some, the reality of it just isn't for me. Plus we were pushed for time as I only had two weeks of my four week visa remaining - a visa that I'd had to buy in advance in Bangkok. There's a lot to see and do in Vietnam, and being ... read more

Bangkok was the next stop after my island-hopping and I wasn't too pleased to be back. The sun, sand and sea of my previous month was now replaced with noise, smog and rain. Already familiar with the city, I found a very basic room for about 2GBP a night. Central location, quiet, shared bathroom and nothing but a bed, small fan and four close walls. Perfect. It wasn't long before I'd spoken to Fern, the Thai girl that I had met a month previously. We'd stayed in touch while I was away from Bangkok and we agreed to meet up and go out. It was to be the start of something special. We had a lot of fun together on our first day out. We started off by going to the top of 'Thailand's highest hotel' ... read more

Cambodia is a country with an interesting and diverse, if often disturbing, history: In 1975, the Communist 'Khmer Rouge' launched an offensive that eventually destroyed the Khmer Republic that had previously governed the country. The Khmer Rouge soon turned Cambodia into a land of horror. Immediately after its victory, the new regime ordered the evacuation of all cities and towns, sending the entire urban population out into the countryside to till the land. Thousands starved or died of disease during the evacuation. Many of those forced to evacuate the cities were resettled in new villages, which lacked food, agricultural implements, and medical care. Many starved before the first harvest, and hunger and malnutrition - bordering on starvation - were constant during those years. Those who resisted or who questioned orders were immediately executed, as were most ... read more

Once again I'm playing catch up with my travelblogs! James and I spent about six days on Perhentain Kecil Island, one of the two main Perhentian Islands. We arrived in early July and we would probably have spent longer there if we had not had to make our way up to Bangkok for mid-July. Nonetheless, six days was time enough to recharge from the exertions of mainland Malaysia and to generally just chill out on this small isolated beach. I doubt I'll ever find a beach and sea that I like more than this one. In the six or seven weeks that have passed since my time there I haven't found a place that can challenge its number one spot on the 'Chris List', although some have come close. It's also pleasing for me to have ... read more

I was having trouble finding a word to describe Singapore until somebody told me that they found it to be 'sterile'. I like that word. Singapore is also described as a nanny state - it's illegal to chew gum and until recently it was also against the law to dance on tables in clubs (?!?). A plus point to this government hard line is that there is very little litter and the areas that we saw were very well kept. Although Singapore is very multicultural with friendly people, I felt that it lacked a real atmosphere, without being boring. If that makes sense? Our arrival didn't go too smoothly as we hadn't booked ahead. We were surprised that the first few places that we tried were fully booked; our best offer was a night under the ... read more