Once again we've packed our bags, made the two hour trip to Brisbane airport and boarded a flight at the international airport. This time we are heading back to Asia. Initially we'll be spending a fortnight in Taiwan before flying to Vietnam, China and Malaysia. It was a long sleepless 22 hours from leaving our house to arriving at the hotel in Taipei. Two flights with Singapore Airlines, a three hour transit stopover in Singapore and another hour on a bus before we were greeted with smiles at the lovely Ambience Hotel. Our room is sparkling all white with a five star bathroom. Double shower and state of the art toilet - heated seat, and all manner of spray options! After resting for a while we headed out to have a meal at Shilin night market. ... read more

The next few days in Siem Reap passed quietly though too quickly. We enjoyed each others company as we wandered the shops and markets and spent many hours relaxing in the pool at the Frangapani Hotel. Mum and Suzie were eager to see ABC and Rice where the girls had volunteered so we visited the school one afternoon. As it was school holidays there were no students there (other then one little boy who due to a difficult living situation sadly spent most of his days in the school grounds) - at least he had somewhere safe to retreat to. They were very impressed, as I had been, with the colourful wall murals Deb and Ginny had painted. The temple where the monks's cremation was to be held was very busy still with mourners chanting and ... read more

After arriving 24 hours before our expected arrival time and checking into the guesthouse where my sisters and niece we staying it was a bit of an anti climax to find them not in the guesthouse enjoying their lunch break. They were all working as volunteers at ABC and RICE school and usually spent the few hours they had off in the middle of the day relaxing in their rooms. There was no point waiting around for them so we caught a tuktuk to the Blue Pumpkin, an airconditioned cafe in the tourist centre of Siem Reap. Half expecting them to there instead we were once again disappointed - but we did however enjoy lunch before heading back to Bou Savy Guesthouse. Not long after they returned and were suitably surprised to see us. We were ... read more

Arriving in Mukdahan after our uncomfortable bus trip from Nakhon Phanom we climbed onboard yet another tuktuk which took us down to our prebooked hotel on the banks of the Mekong River. The river was a surprisingly long way from the bus station so the city was obviously quite large. Our hotel (once again it was named the Riverside) was very comfortable and at only $20 a night a bargain. We couldn't see the river however as the bank was lined with dozens of stalls selling food and general tourist tat. It really wasn't very attractive and we promptly decided to only spend one night there - not the two as originally planned. After settling in we wandered along trying to find somewhere to eat. The food on display at the long row of food stalls ... read more

Arriving in Vientiane after a thirty minute flight we cleared customs and immigration before catching a taxi to the the Friendship Bridge (built with Australian money in 1994) which crosses the Mekong River which is border between Laos and Thailand. We had decided not to spend any time in Vientiane as we had visited the city twice before. A bus took us the short distance across the bridge and a small local bus dropped us at the Nong Khai bus station about 8 kilometres away. From there a tuktuk drove us to the riverside hotels, stopping enroute so we could take some Thai baht from the ATM. A lot of luggage changeovers in a short time! We found a lovely guesthouse - the aptly named Mekong River Guesthouse - and though our comfortable room didn't overlook ... read more