From chill-out town to chilly town Tracing our steps back down the mountains from Luang Prabang, we reached Vang Vieng. The town itself is nestled onto the banks of the Nam Song river, with spectacular karsts reaching into the sky on the opposite banks like the skulls of dragons rearing from the flat farming plains. The drama increased every evening as the setting sun swept shadows between the formations and the failing light turned the sky in between every indescribable colour you never imagined. Rainy mornings clouded the karsts in mist which melted as the sun grew stronger, an [View Full Entry]

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From hubbub to hush Although our time in Malaysia was far from chaotic (with many people living in Kuala Lumpur heading home for Chinese New Year and a 10-day public holiday ensuing) when we arrived in Vientiane, the contrast couldn't have been more stark. Granted, we did arrive somewhat early in the morning, but even still, walking out of the airport was hardly the experience it is in a developed city. No cab ranks quickly (or slowly) churning through lines of bedraggled travellers, no fluoro-clad security walking about looking menacing, no glinting duty-free shops throbbing wit [View Full Entry]

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Languid in Langkawi We came to Malaysia somewhat as a surprise. Investigating flights out of Thailand, we stumbled across very cheap flights to Laos via Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia? Why not? Having not really done any research, our scant knowledge of Malaysia was made up of bits and pieces recalled from the letters of my childhood penpal, Ridzuan, of our friend Kelly’s stories of her childhood in Malaysia, and tidbits like ‘aren’t there those two big towers there? And something about a huge wave-park? And good shopping?’ So much for being worldly. Despite [View Full Entry]

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Phi Phi Island Heaven After the excitement of seeing Kim and Chris for only four days, we approached our time in Thailand with a steadily increasing anticipation. Dani and Sam, our bestus buds since childhood, were flying into Phuket on the 9th January for two weeks of whatever we wanted. The four of us had seven years prior been in Thailand (with six other friends) and were keen to return to the idyll of that holiday, particularly the highlight of the trip - Phi Phi Island. Greeting Dani and Sam at the airport was a flurry of kisses, hugs and chatter. [View Full Entry]

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It’s Relax Times! We arrived on Phu Quoc Island with a microdot of patience left in our reserves. We’d had a spectacularly crap travel day - a series of non-existent pick-ups, missed bus connections, manhandling ferry touts, unnecessary waits, suicidal moto riders and ticket rip offs. Needless to say after a two and a half hour ferry ride, sitting top-deck with the animals, smokers and sea spray (as opposed to indoors in the air-con) we were damp, tired and happy to go with the first tout to approach us. After being on the road for almost three months, we thought [View Full Entry]

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Christmas in Can Tho Christmas Eve found us leaving Cambodia and heading back into Vietnam. It was a return to the noble Mekong, which calmly carried us down towards the famous delta that so richly supplies Vietnam with its rice, fruit and vegetables. It was a peaceful journey, passing similar villages to those on the Tonle Sap. We swapped boats at the border, jumping aboard a vessel slung with hammocks. We kicked back and watched it all slip by. Pressing on by bus to Can Tho, another provincial capital, we were struck by Christmas celebrations as we arrived. Santas hooning [View Full Entry]

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Boating our way to Battambang Leaving the grace and beauty of Siem Reap behind, we headed towards the provincial town of Battambang. The boat ride between Siem Reap and Battambang was purported to be one of the most scenic in Cambodia and thankfully, unlike our experience in Ratanikiri, the boats were still plying these waters. As the dry season advances, journeys along this stretch of the Tonle Sap become increasingly difficult. The Tonle Sap floods during the wet season, creating a vast expanse of water that slowly seeps away when the rains cease. Late December wasn’t [View Full Entry]

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Angkor My favourite indulgence of the past few years was daydreaming about rambling amongst the temples of Angkor. Imaginings of sitting atop a sun-warmed stone, surveying the crumbling ruins around me or clambering over giant tree roots to access hidden inner chambers were frequent and vivid. As Duncan and I bounced our way there in a tuk-tuk on our first afternoon in Siem Reap, I couldn’t quite manage to get a grip on myself: a stupid, giddy excitement, inexplicable nerves and a teeny, tiny fear that the experience would be anticlimactic. Needless too say, the last was [View Full Entry]

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North by north east Our week in Phnom Penh put to rest our dreams of motorcycling around Cambodia. With only six paved highways, any ride would have to be undertaken on dirt bike to manage the dusty stretches pockmarked with crater-sized holes. After speaking to every bike shop in the capital, we resigned ourselves to the fact that unless we were willing (ahem - able) to double on a dirt bike (with our packs), we were getting the bus. Our first stop was Kratie, a sleepy town on the banks of the Mekong. Our reason for stopping here was twofold. [View Full Entry]

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Sua S'dei Sweet Cambodia Phnom Penh is enchanting. With its wide streets, colourful tuk-tuks, crumbling colonial buildings up against superb restorations and the spires of Khmer wats arcing gracefully into the sky, it’s a city that peacefully inhabits its space by the Tonle Sap lake. On the advice of our Lonely Planet, we did a walking tour of this flat city, as many of the notable sights are close to one another. We took in Wat Phnom (atop a tiny hill surrounded by a shady park that you can take a turn about on elephant); the American Embassy all done [View Full Entry]

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