We were up early again today to catch our bus to see the Vietcong tunnels at Cu Chi. We made the most of our free baguette breakfast at the hotel then hopped on the bus just after 8. The bus, which we rather naively expected to be a minibus, was a full blown tour bus full to the brim with the tourist types. Also as we were one of the last on, I got sat next to a big bloke so i spent the 2 hr journey riding sitting sidewards as i didnt fully fit on the 1/2 of a seat left for me. Our guide, Tung, was an eccentric character. He had fought for the Vietcong in his youth and bore a nasty scar from where hed been shot by a US helicopter. He sang ... read more

Up at 7am to catch our 8.30am bus to Saigon. Bus was really good. Firstly, there were freebies- free water, brekkie and handwipes :) Secondly, they showed a western film. Lastly, there was a guide on the bus who spoke really good English and walked us through the border crossing procedure which was very helpful. We had no problems with the crossing just the usual waiting around. Only difference with this one is that they insisted on scanning all our bags so we had to unload and reload the bus. Differences between Vietnam and Laos and Cambodia were apparent pretty quickly. It's more built up here and there's lots more traffic and people. There are also less wooden shacks and more proper buildings well in Ho Chi Minh anyway. They also have pavements and manicured parks. ... read more

Got to the bus station to go to Phnom Penh a little early this morning (11:20, bus left at 12) but as the 11am bus hadn't left and had loads of empty seats they let us just get on that one instead. Pretty uneventful journey, I read nearly all the way (about 4hrs). Sights from the journey inc. a truck full of dead pigs, a big rain storm which still didn't slow the driver down, a crash involving a car, a van and 2 bikes and a man carrying a live goose by its wings while dangling it off the side of a motorbike. When we got to GH we booked bus tickets for Ho Chi Minh, so 8am tomorrow morning we're on our way to Vietnam :) For tea we ate our favourite special curry ... read more

Had a really good day today. Wandered down to Victory Beach which was nicer than I thought it would be (Lonely Planet had warned of its skankiness!). There was a bit of rubbish but then there was at Serendipity Beach too. Victory kind of looked like the resort that time forgot. There was however a really cool bar there called The Airport that was built in the shape of an airport hanger and had a plane hanging up inside it! It was really big and plush with leather sofas and even a bell service hahah. Next we wandered to The Snake House which is a resort equipped with a reptile house inc. a crocodile farm. Was really cool, loads of snakes (my fave being the bright green long nosed whip snake), lizards and croccies. It was ... read more

Waited 45mins for bus to Sihanoukville, think the guy at our GH is just really determined to get us to eat breakfast there but we again declined and instead sat sweltering in the searing heat. When bus did turn up it looked like something from the 70's but least it was cool and shock, horror not full to capacity. Journey only took just 2hrs and then we got tuk-tuk to a GH we'd seen in Lonely Planet at Victory Hill. Driver was struggling to find it but soon fathomed this was because it had changed name as the previous owner had died! It's now ran by this French guy who seems quite canny and straight down the line. French restaurant there does seem a bit out of our league like but at least the rooms weren't, ... read more

Had baguettes for brekkie, they seem to be some kind of delicacy here especially with laughing cow cheese spread! The bus station was manic and hot and the toilets were minging. Bus was ok and the air con worked which is a necessity here at the min. Read a bit on bus. Saw lots of cows, chickens, wooden shops and houses on stilts, rubbish, motorbikes, green fields, abandoned buildings, women in pj's.... At stop we had some corn on the cob which was delicious and went to the toilet in what seemed to be showers?! Started to rain part of the way there and we noticed that lots of the fields and muddy streets were flooded. We were chuffed when we got off the bus as we hadn't booked into a GH but had one in ... read more