We have been in the United Kingdom for over a month now and last week decided it was time to settle down and get a job (the NZ dollar does not go far over here, quite a shock to the system after South East Asia). But it has been great seeing some of the uk and being made so welcome by all of Sams family. Christmas was amazing, we now know why we sing about "dreaming of a white christmas" it snowed all day and in the beautiful scenary of the Lake District it was breath taking. We brought in 2005 [View Full Entry]

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Cambodia has been interesting to say the least. Our first experience of Cambodia was the border. Apparently unless you have a guide to bribe the officier behind the desk to stamp your passport, you can not get out of Vietnam. We waited for a good couple of hours in the 40 plus heat, not impressed. After a bumpy bus ride we made it to the capital, phnom penh. The next day we headed off to the Killing Fields, a very sobering experience. Approximately 2 million cambodians were executed in the late 1970's by the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot. We [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Vietnam on Tims birthday (15th Nov for those who unspeakably forgot it) The cultural differences between Vietnam and Thailand have been subtle yet evident. The first one that struck us was the fierce nature of the Vietnamese women, unlike the more reserved thai women they run the show and are not to be messed with. The moterbikes swarm like bees, this is a very vibrant country. We havent enjoyed the food as much as thai, but the 'make it yourself' spring rolls are pretty cool. We spent 5 days in Hanoi the capital, staying in the 'old quarter' [View Full Entry]

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The boat ride to Ko Phi Phi to Ko Lanta was immaculate sailing conditions, clear flat water and blue skies, that is until 1 minute out from our destination, the thunder storm hit with full force out of no where. Thunder and lightning in thailand is very impressive! but not so good for the 1/2 hr ute ride to our hut. We spent two sun filled days in Ko Lanta riding elephants and drinking cocktails on the beach. Next stop was Ko Jam, a secluded island with no electricity, roads and few tourists. The sunsets were breathtaking, a very relaxing two [View Full Entry]

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Arrived in Ko Pha Ngan after a rough ferry ride to be greeted by the firendly staff from our resort. Long Beach is amazing, is still is our favourite place so far. We spent four great days relaxing and soaking up the sun. We went to the legendary fullmoon part at Hat Rin which definately lived up to its wild reputation!!! On the 31st we made the 12 hour trip from east to west coast, destination phuket. We were not that impressed, too built up but we still enjoyed ourselves. Next was Ko Phi Phi, where we are writing to you [View Full Entry]

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Well we are here in thailand and we have lasted our first week, But what a ride! The plane was horrible and there was no individal tv's or video games on thai airways (Who told me that!) anyway we arived in at Bangkok at 4:30 thai time and stayed awake plotting our day. We organised a tour of the local temples and city, so come midday sam and i jumped in the van and off we went. Bangkok is an absolute mad house, every one is doing something or selling something or scamming someone, the hussle and bussle, the heat and [View Full Entry]

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