First impressions of Auckland having gotten through a strenuous visa and baggage check are pretty positive. The bus from the airport is speedy but pleasant and takes you through a range of motorways, leafy suburbs and then into the city itself. Auckland is not really somewhere for us to come to so as to spend time here, it is simply the cheapest place to fly to and more likely to possess a suitable van for us to travel elsewhere. A short amount of looking around in the hostels and its simply a case of waiting for responses to SMS. Off to [View Full Entry]

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So having returned to Bangkok to meet with Lucy’s father we decide to finally head off to Chang Mai. Gareth has spent several weeks saying yes, then no, then yes again etc etc about going to Chang Mai. Someone in his school told him that it was nowhere near a rain forest and that was it, their word must be gospel over anything that the internet, guide books and our friends say, those friends who live in Thailand and used to live in Chang Mai. Once the stresses and strains of converting Gareth to the truth are completed it is a [View Full Entry]

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Cambodia's capital retains an undeniable charm, despite its tumultuous, often violent past. The crumbling colonial architecture makes an attractive backdrop to bustling streetside cafes and the redeveloped riverfront precinct. Visiting the major sights, including many emergency trips to the loo we took in: Royal Palace and the two magnificent pagodas in the Palace Grounds, the Silver Pagoda and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, are among the few public buildings in Phnom Penh really worth seeing. They were built in the 19th century with French technology and Cambodian designs, and have s [View Full Entry]

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Newcastle 2-0 Fulham [View Full Entry]

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Do you guys realise the arduous conditions I have to work under to bring you this sh1t? I remember using better computers in school than they have over here. Good old BBC computers, probably handles broadband better than these ones anyway. 3 days of temples and I am suffering with temple fatigue and a very bad gut. No worries though as Kriss is on hand to race me to a toilet at the first sign of trouble! I wont tell you about the temples as you can see pics for yourself at XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX One of the highlight of the trip here [View Full Entry]

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Before arriving in Cambodia, Lucy and I are not in the best mindset possible. As has been documented previously we have had no end of troubles with Lloyds TSB blocking one or even both of our Debit cards due to taking out cash too often. I was livid with the bank again yesterday morning as again they have blocked my card. Worse still they have allowed us to take out cash and then block my card but then allow a card cloner to make a further 8 transactions on the account! So let me expalin this to you, Lloyds Wank will [View Full Entry]

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Four days, not a pedo in sight, nowhere near as sleazy or scummy as ppl make it out and overall a really pretty nice place, thats the gospel according to Mike. OK all we really did was go to Phuket gym, the beach and spend a lot of time in bed. Finally, we took in a girly show. After a couple of nights of walking up and down the stip hoping to see something exciting we gave in and went for a gander at one of the many shows on offer. What we saw, despite being promised "ping pong", disappointed us [View Full Entry]

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Ko Phi Phi is a small archipelago in Krabi Province. The named islands are Ko Phi Phi Don, the largest and only populated island and Ko Phi Phi Leh (also known as Ko Phi Phi Lai), a smaller island to the south, popularised when parts of the movie "The Beach" were filmed there. Uninhabited apart from bird nest harvesters and a few Maya Bay wardens. Whilst in Krabi we were told that a single day on Phi Phi would be enough as there is very little to see and do. We headed this advice and duly booked a single night at [View Full Entry]

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Just for the hell of it, we signed up for a snorkeling trip. A tour to four different islands off the coast started out looking a bit sketchy, but ended up being a great day. 3-4 days in Krabi town doing very little is enough to drive anyone mad although the girl that cut and shaved me was very nice and gave me another good experience. Krabi is a small city with a population of around 18,000. Located just upriver from the coast, it has no beaches and hence visitors make a beeline for Had Yao, Ao Nang or Rai Leh [View Full Entry]

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Finally, it is time! I can leave Malaysia today and go back to Thailand where I can eat some solid food and not curry. The trip to Thaialnd is expected to take approximately 8 hours. The reality is that we are sutck in a tiny, tinny van for 10 hours. The missing 2 hours are due to the van NOT being full and the driver driving around, and around and around and around trying to fill his van. At one point I drfted off and awoke...in the same bloody town as the driver was still trying to fill the van. On [View Full Entry]

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