Sihanoukville is Cambodia's main beach resort. There are about 5 different beaches in the area, but most people stay around Serendipity Beach as this is where the best nightlife is. I arrived quite late in the day (around 6pm on the last bus from Phnom Penh) and struggled to find somewhere to stay, so I ended up in a place costing $9 a night. Shocking eh!! I was down to my last $100, so I knew I wouldn't be able to stay there and still eat, but I figured I could find somewhere else the next day. After travelling all the [View Full Entry]

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On www.travelfish.org I'd read about a homestay experience that sounded interesting. A couple, Don and Kheang offered an experience to see what rural life is like in Cambodia and the reviews of the experience had been great, so when I arrived in Phnom Penh I rang Don and organised a visit. Don is an American that's settled down in Cambodia, with his Cambodian wife and two children Ra and Na. They are a really interesting couple that have both had fascinating lives and it was just so interesting hearing their stories!! Kheang had actually been alive while PolPot was in charge, [View Full Entry]

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Phnom Penh sometimes feels like one of the poorest areas in South East Asia. Its not often you come across so many people begging, so many people without limbs and so many run down areas. Most of the streets are dirty, there is traffic everywhere - half of it going the wrong way up the street. It seems like complete chaos, just how you imagined a third world capital city to look. However there are two sides to Phnom Penh. Along the riverfront there are fancy restaurants, there are lots of posh hotels and you see a lot of tourists who [View Full Entry]

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My adventure to the Mekong Delta began in Saigon on New Years Eve. All the budget tour companies offer trips to the Mekong Delta, finishing in Phnom Penh - some of them for as cheap as $26 for a 3 day trip. However I decided I wanted to see as much scenery as possible, so I booked my tour with Delta Adventures, as they leave Saigon by boat instead of by bus, also the journey to Cambodia is mostly by boat instead of by bus, so I would see a lot more scenery than with the super cheap tour companies. The [View Full Entry]

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I only ended up staying in Ho Chi Minh City for two days, but I had a fantastic time!! Me and Rebecca arrived at 6am after an awful overnight bus journey (it was the bumpiest yet!!) and we got dropped at the backpacker area, which really reminded me of the Khao San Road, which I love!! On the first day I spent the day on my own as I wanted to organise a trip to Cu Chi Tunnels and to the Mekong Delta, whereas Rebecca wanted to shop, so we both headed off on our own and arranged to meet up [View Full Entry]

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Hoi An is a gorgeous little town in Central Vietnam where all the buildings are really well preserved so it looks really quaint and picturesque!! There are lots of cobbled streets and its by a very pretty looking river. It also seems to be the tailoring capital of Vietnam and every other shop is a tailors. I arrived after dark, after a VERY long journey from Ninh Binh. The guy I bought the bus ticket from had told me that I'd be on a sleeper bus all the way to Hoi An and that the bus would go directly there. Instead [View Full Entry]

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My latest stop, Nha Trang is described in Lonely Planet as Vietnams biggest, brashest beach resort with a reputation for wild nightlife, so given my love of the sunshine and partying, I thought I'd best check it out!! The beach itself is a really long stretch of sand that looks a lot prettier from a distance than close up. The sand itself is unfortunately a bit grainy and because of the wind there were a lot of waves - so no calm turquoise water for me!! It's a bit of a strange place really as half of it is a busy [View Full Entry]

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I woke up this morning with the worst hangover ever, but somehow still made it to the train station by 9.30am. The party last night was wicked, but this morning it really didn't feel worth it. The train to Ninh Binh is hard seat only, so it was quite uncomfortable sitting on a hard wooden chair for 2 half hours, but it was quite interesting. I was the only Western person in my compartment - I don't think many people to go Ninh Binh independantly, most people just do it as a day trip from Hanoi. Some of the Vietnamese people [View Full Entry]

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Sapa was the place in Vietnam that I had been most looking forward to and it didn't disappoint!! I was going to visit Sapa independently, but when I got to Hanoi I was so exhausted that I couldn't be bothered to organise it, so I just booked the three day trip through my hostel. I chose the option of a two day trek with a visit to a local market, Bac Ha market, which is supposed to be the most colourful one in the region. The trip started Saturday night as I had to get a sleeper train to Sapa. Two [View Full Entry]

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Halong Bay is beautiful!! I booked a two day tour from the hostel I was staying at as that seems to be the cheapest and easiest way of seeing the bay. I went with the cheapest tour on offer, which was a two day tour for $40, which seemed really good considering you get to sleep on the boat and all food and transfers were included. The tour was really good fun!! I got picked up early in the morning as it's about a four hour drive to Halong Bay and I met a couple who seemed really nice on the [View Full Entry]

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