We've been in Australia 2 months now and have some hindsight-induced thoughts on our trip in South-East Asia: 1. The moped is king. It serves very well as both an off-road vehicle and a family car. If it fits (e.g. on a footpath, narrow back alley etc.) it will go there. Watch when you're walking. 2. When you order 2 or more meals in a restaurant they will very rarely come out at the same time. Even if you ordered the same thing. You get used to sharing whatever comes out first because you will have long finished by the time the second meal arrives. 3. Moto/Cyclo drives will often offer you drugs if you turn down their original offer of a ride. What a service (Side note: direct correlation noticed between level or Mike's facial ... read more

We arrived rather smoothly in Saigon on a short flight thanks to Vietnam Airways. Very civilised. Unfortunately, upon leaving the airport we were hounded by taxi drivers telling us the bus we were looking for did not exist. We knew it did so we kept looking and kept looking only to be constantly told 'there is no bus'. Even when we found the bus and were walking towards the bus they were still saying there was no bus! How helpful eh? Bus was good and cheap, although they did charge us for our rucksacks. There was a helpful local who told us where to get off and how much it was and all those useful things you need to know when catching a bus. We decided to stay in an area called Pham Ngu Lao, which ... read more

But it wasn't all so sad in Phnom Penh. The following day was Independence Day, so we went down the riverfront in the evening to celebrate freedom from those Frenchies! The place was crowded with festive types. It was a bit of a bonfire night atmosphere only without the cold and the rain. We sat on the sea wall waiting for the Fireworks, chatting to a local teenage girl. She was very sweet and was asking all those weird questions you get taught when learning a language at school like 'what do you want to be when you're older?' 'what's your favourite colour?' 'what's your favourite subject (at school)'. The fireworks were cool, much bigger and louder than we are allowed in the UK! 2 days later was the beginning of the water festival, which was ... read more

So we arrived in Siem Reap at dusk, and were rather surprised to see a tuk-tuk driver waving a piece of paper with our names on it. Somewhat dubiously, we went with him for our ride into town (it was free, afterall). He took us where we wanted - didn't seem to be a catch. How odd. I think they do it to try and get your business for the temples. Our driver was a very nice shy seeming guy called Lychee, so as it turns out we did give him our business for the temples. The tuk-tuks here are different. They're different in every country actually. Here they are a moped with carriage attached and are very comfy! The streets of Siem Reap were crazy - absolutely packed with tuk-tuks and mopeds and with absolutely ... read more

Our next destination was to the four thousand islands, right at the bottom of Laos, where the Mekong fans out. There are actually only 3 islands you can choose from, Don Khong, the flash one (it has electricity), Don Det, the backpackery one, and Don Khon, the very quiet one. We had 6 days before our visas expired so we went to Don Det, intending to head to Don Khon after a few nights, depending how we liked it. As it turned out, we loved Don Det and stayed there the whole time as we couldn't imagine anything better! Don Det was so gorgeous and not loud atall. Infact, it was incredibly quiet. You get a longtail boat over the walk about trying to pick somewhere to stay. You can choose between sunrise or sunset side. ... read more