Page 3 of Andy and Emma Travel Blog Posts


Asia » Vietnam » South Central Coast » Khanh Hoa » Nha Trang February 24th 2010

So the next morning feeling a little bit hazy from Beer Saigon we awoke before 8:30 to go and meet Mr Lok. We realised that we didn't really know what was happening and how the whole process would work. We had visions of the two of us on the back of a scooter with a pensioner trying to keep the bike standing as we pelted round the countryside. When we got downstairs we found two bikers but no Mr Lok. Apparently he had another commitment so instead we were to have Mr Hong and Mr Lot. They were again older gentlemen but to our immense relief they had a bike each and matching helmets for me and Emma (a big fashion faux pas). Both the Easy Riders spoke amazing English and as we set off they ... read more
Dragon Temple
Strawberry Fields (forever)
Me speaking to the Easy Rider

Asia » Vietnam » Central Highlands » Lam Dong » Da Lat February 20th 2010

So onto Dalat and what we hoped would be a completely different experience to any we had before. Dalat is based in the mountains 1500m above sea level. Because of this we had heard that the temperatures rarely exceed 25 degrees and after a month and a half of baking hot nonstop sweating this sounded like heaven. The road up to Dalat however was not the cool calm start we had hoped for. The coach was winding up huge roads and round tight corners onto even steeper inclines. We were both trying to get some sleep on this trip but a certain morbid curiosity took over and we pressed our noses to window to savour the beautiful views and our imminent death. We survived and the coach dropped us off outside the our tour operators Hotel ... read more
The big drop next to it
Adopt the foetal position for safety
We are wearing jumpers

Asia » Cambodia » South » Phnom Penh February 14th 2010

So we were off Koh Tonsay and set off for Kampot as we needed an ATM and more conditioner (not really but she did need some type of cosmetic). We checked into somewhere with warm water and air conditioning and 24 hour electricity - finally! Kampot was fairly small and on the first night we went in search of an ATM only to get stuck out in the dark. After feeling our way home ( yes they had electricity but not so many street lights) we decided to leave the exploring to the next day. We soon discovered that there wasn't loads in Kampot but it did have a nice relaxed feel and wasn't too busy after we had gone Swiss family Robinson on the island just a few days before. We stayed for two nights ... read more
The worst spring rolls...but Andy ate them...shock
Kampot
Kampot

Asia » Cambodia » South » Kep February 7th 2010

We had heard and read good things about the island Kho Tonsay (Rabbit Island) which is on the south coast of Cambodia and so with the lure of sitting on a beach for a few days we set off. In an effort to save money we opted for the night bus to save a nights accommodation. The downside was that the night bus did not leave till 8pm and our hotel kicked out at 12 so we had 8 hours of wondering around not doing much (we ended up taking advantage of the $0.50 beer...the theory was it would help us sleep...it didn't it just made me wee a lot). So eventually we got on the bus and while I'm getting better at sleeping on things its still going to be difficult for anyone to ... read more
Posh Hotel we stayed in for 1 night
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Asia » Cambodia » North » Angkor February 3rd 2010

Exactly what it says above... read more
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Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap February 1st 2010

We arrived in Siem Reap knackered. Our shared taxi had dropped us off in the outskirts - conveniently next to a lot of tuk tuks who were ready and willing to take us into the main town area. We had seen the name of a hotel run by a charity called Sala Baiis. When we got dropped of we lugged our bags back from the main area to this hotel. Only to find out that the place was fully booked as a Michelin star chef was there that weekend to promote the charity work being done. Oh well. Of to the main tourist area to try and find anywhere we can stay and get our bags off our backs. We put up in a place called the shadow of Angkor. We were originally put in their ... read more
Being a mozzie after being mobbed by them
Andy reading the guide book again
and again

Asia January 28th 2010

So we decided to head north to Bangkok after Andy had finished his diving. It was an alright journey in the end (more so for me as I had gone to bed earlier than Andy and also not drunk my own weight in Chang beer - its like Tskie beer but worse). The first bit was probably the worst as we had to walk up a massive hill at midday with our backpacks. After that it was a bit of a scary van ride to the port and then on to the catamaran. Rather than the horror of the cargo ship and a 9 hour journey, we were heading to the different part of the coast a bit further up (and a route a bit more well traveled) so had the luxury of an airconditioned ... read more
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The pier
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Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Tao January 23rd 2010

Well the boat trip went a lot better than expected. Far from the oil tanker tugboat hybrid we expected when we heard cargo boat it was a medium sized wooden boat with a huge space setup for sleeping in the middle and then supplies for the island strapped to every other part of the boat. One local even stuck his scooter on the front of the boat. I managed to sleep with my eyes open and freak a few people out and Emma slept a little bit. I can't help thinking it would've been more if the Norwegian gentleman next to us hadn't told her that he got these all the time and they only sunk/capsized occasionally. He also managed to point out to her that the crew were obviously confident as they were tucking into ... read more
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Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Surat Thani January 23rd 2010

So we left Pangkor and begun a bit of an epic trek up into Thailand. The plan was to get to Hat Yai which is a sort of transit town via a sleeper train and then head to the island of Kho Phi Phi which is on the west coast. We said bye to our lovely hut thingy on Pangkor and got a taxi to the other side of the island then it was a 40 min boat back to the mainland port of Lumut. From there we got on a bus to Ipoh to wait for the train. We got to Ipoh pretty late and so with backpacks in tow we walked in what we hoped was the right way to the train station. Eventually we found it and were quite impressed when we did. ... read more
again...eww
Andy
Ipoh

Asia » Thailand » Southern Thailand » Hat Yai January 21st 2010

We stayed 2 more nights on the Island taking a day to visit the main port Pangkor (the only place on the island with a cash machine) We didn't get up to much here - adding the last blog - the highlight was the odd pancake snack we had. It was like a pancake or crepe but made from dough rather than batter. Mine had egg fried in with it and a curry, Emmas was the sweet option and caked in strawberry syrup. Emma spent the time eyeing mine up until eventually I let her have some curry. It was delicious. A 12 Ringot pink and yellow taxi ride back to our camp and it was getting on and we were far too tired to do more than just lie on the beach - so we ... read more
The first beach we pulled up onto
Our Kayak
Emma claims the beach




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