http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/vodka-donna/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from vodka donna en-us Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:04:30 +0000 Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:04:30 +0000 We are finally back in the UK now. We got back to our house at 9.30pm after being up for nearly 24 hours but it was all worth it. What an amazingly holiday its been with our wedding and honeymoon and getting to share it with so many friendsfamily. Thanks to everyone that came out you helped make everything really special for us.Well back to our last week of the trip our honeymoon. We had chos http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-609336.html I was so sad to say goodbye to Koh Phangan as I had such an amazing time but I was coming back to the island for me and Nat's honeymoon so it wasn't goodbye for long. Plus now I had something amazing coming up the wedding I could barely contain my excitement the day was finally nearly here After saying our goodbyes to Karla the person that helped run Lighthouse Bungalows we were on ou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Samui/blog-607251.html Sorry this blog is so late its been a crazy few days Me and Nat ended up having the most amazing time in Koh Phangan despite my foot being poorly. I was told by the clinic not to get my foot wet dirty or to walk on it too much. Unfortunately I'm not very good at following advice and chilling out I just can't sit still for very long so I'm afraid I ended up doing all 3 things I wasn't suppos http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-606926.html It was Songkran on 13th April so I'm a bit late writing this blog but its been a busy few days what with Lisa Beckie Kate and Sam arriving. Great to see everyone Back to Songkran though. What an amazing dayI wasn't sure whether to go to Thong Sala the capital of Koh Phangan to celebrate Songkran as my foot was supposed to be kept dry and I wanted to heal as quickly as possible. However it http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-594361.html Me and Nat woke up early as our bus to the airport was at 8am so the day didn't have the best start. Its no fun waking up at 6.45am when you're on holiday but we had to eat pack and get to the bus stop so we thought it best to get up as early as possible. We made it to the airport in plenty of time and it was actually a very painfree process. by the time we got to the gate it was almost time t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-594154.html Well I finally made it back to Thailand and I was shocked by the heat and the smell that hits you the minute you step off the plane. Its like a hot but sweaty oven. But as I looked around at all the colour and chaos of Bangkok I felt like I'd come home. Just walking through arrivals gate i noticed lots of Thai girls or were they Thai boys dressed up for a festival. In 3 days time it is due to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-594142.html 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 wo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Sihanoukville/blog-235366.html 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 a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/East/Kampong-Cham/blog-235362.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-232782.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/blog-231880.html 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 Del http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-231179.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Khanh-Hoa/Nha-Trang/blog-230371.html 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 tic http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Quang-Nam/Hoi-An/blog-230369.html 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' http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Ninh-Binh/blog-229010.html Hanoi is a crazy place In the early hours of the morning everyone seems to get up and there are motorbikes everywhere I've never seen traffic like itI stayed in the Old Quarter which seemed a really nice area. In Hanoi you seem to get hassle wherever you go to buy something or to get a ride on a motorbike. Its crazy how often you get accosted However on the street I stayed on I got no ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Red-River-Delta/Hanoi/blog-228641.html 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 col http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northwest/Lao-Cai/Sapa/blog-228649.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Northeast/Quang-Ninh/Halong-Bay/blog-228648.html Well Ko Pha Ngan was exactly how I remember it being. Complete and utter madness The first night me and Kim were very sensible we'd been on a bus or boat for about 15 hours so we collapsed into bed early. However the next day the partying startedIt started at about 67pm we got a Samsong bucket 80 percent proof rum with redbull and coke and sat outside our little bungalow drinking. T http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Pha-Ngan/blog-227190.html Ko Phi Phi is truly paradise We arrived early in the morning after a great boat journey from Railay where me Donna and Kim sat outside sunning ourselves. At this rate my tan will soon be as good as Kims actually who am I kidding I'll never be as tanned as Kim. However we had already visited on a day trip the day before. On the day trip we went by speedboat around the island and also to a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Phi-Phi-Don/blog-224151.html Well after travelling for 32 hours on 2 buses over 2 days we went straight from Vang Vieng to Krabi a very very long journey we finally reached Railay a stunning beach resort in the Krabi province. Railay is made up of 4 beaches Railay West a really pretty beach but quite expensive to stay on Railay East pretty at high tide but just mud flats at low tide so not possible to sunbathe http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Railay/blog-224139.html