The flight we booked from Auckland to San Francisco involved a two hour transfer in LA. From the beginning this looked a bit challenging, with immigration and customs to take into account. When we arrived at Auckland to discover a two hour delay on the Qantas first leg things looked to be coming unstuck. However, after initially checking us onto it regardless we were taken off it again. Bad news out of the way we were given the good, we had been booked instead onto an Air New Zealand flight direct to San Francisco. I'm not sure why, not the same [View Full Entry]

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From Wellington we travelled up to Napier. Hawkes Bay, the area surrounding it, is known for it's wine so we showed a suitable interest. Napier was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1931 very much in the art deco style. It has some fine examples, but it's no Miami I think. Not that I've been to Miami. Onward we moved to Lake Taupo. Hot springs kept us entertained for a day before the journey south to Tongariro National Park. It was at this point the weather turned on us, the trip up Mount Ruapeha (otherwise known as Mount Doom) was pretty much [View Full Entry]

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Especially on the south island. That's what we were told and people know their stuff. But with winter come bargains and we picked up a campervan deal in Christchurch for about a third of it's peak season price. Van in hand and wearing our new coats we made our way to the airport to pick up Pascal then decided on where to go. There were two places under consideration, Hanmer Springs for some hot spa action or Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. We decided on Akaroa, arriving there the next day. I still don't understand why the arrival was followed by [View Full Entry]

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The plan for Australia changed a bit. With Tom's budget at full stretch and a diminished inclination to do any work, we're cutting it short to make seeing New Zealand feasible. While here though Tom had things to do, a wedding in Queensland to attend and friends to visit in Melbourne. So after a few days in Sydney he made his way north. I decided to spend the spare week taking a look at Tasmania and booked a flight to Hobart. I booked a hire car for the duration, a bit of a luxury but it made sense with lots to [View Full Entry]

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For the last bit of Asia we returned to Malaysia. After a straightforward border crossing at Sungai Kolok we caught a taxi (the only way to get there) to Kuala Besut in time for the last boat of the day to the Perhentian Islands. Early on, back in Goa, I wrote that the beaches there were paradise as far as I knew. Now with a wide selection of Thai beaches behind me I'd still say it was true, but the beaches here compare well. White sand, no unexpected rocks under the surface, nothing stinging in the water. It was good to [View Full Entry]

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From Battambang we travelled to Bangkok. On the Cambodian side the road to the border has still not been made and is a bumpy potholed ride, it must get a whole lot more unpleasant when the monsoons hit. The well known rumour that there's an airline involved in keeping it from seeing tarmac must have some truth. With the better quality roads arriving in all corners of the country this one is long overdue. After a few days in Bangkok we took a night bus down to Chumphon, arriving by 3am for a few hours sleeping on the floor of the [View Full Entry]

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We took the journey from Siem Reap to Battambang by boat. It passes some scenic river life in an eight hour journey. In the wet season they use bigger boats that only take five hours, but the locals don't like those because of the damage they cause. As it was even with the smaller boat there were a few angry people shaking their oars at us as we passed. But it isn't just a tourist boat, the locals take it too, so I'm not going to feel bad about using it. The oar shaking was far outweighed by the smiles and [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Siem Reap and made straight for Dead Fish, a guesthouse chosen by Pascal (who we’d met in Phonsavan, then again in Saigon and Kratie) who had arrived a day earlier. It’s a slightly odd place, the rooms named after other hotels. Our room was the Hyatt, the Holiday Inn was just down the corridor. The oddness didn’t end in the guesthouse, the attached restaurant had multi levels and pulley systems running between the decks to carry food around. Oh and a pond with live crocodiles in one corner. We were off out reasonably early the next day on [View Full Entry]

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A small detour on the way to Siem Reap brought us to Kratie. The highlight of a trip to the area is a visit to see the Irrawaddy dolphins on the Mekong river. There are less than 100 dolphins left but 15 kilometres from town at Kampi they are always there to be seen. They don't come close to the boat though so the pictures are excusably poor. We spent a relaxing hour drifting in the river with occasional sightings. For the dolphin visit we once again hired motorbikes, and for the first time there weren't any automatic ones available. So [View Full Entry]

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We had a few days in Phnom Penh and did the necessary visits to the S-21 torture prison and the killing fields at Choeung Ek. Both are calm places with a gruesome history and the recency of it all really hits. In Cambodia, the dollar rules, even the ATMs hand out dollars. The Riel only comes into play as an alternative to Cents. It's more expensive than Vietnam was for most things, but hotels/guesthouses are the exception. The standard of room has dropped but the cost has dropped further. There is one thing we now always seek out in any new [View Full Entry]

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