Mumbai... I really don’t know where to start. After a couple of weeks on the coast we were apprehensive about going to another of Indias major cities. However we had had five days on the beach and were looking forward to another fast paced city. We had yet another grueling train journey but where lucky enough to meet some really friendly Indian students from Calcutta and chatted to them for most of the journey, learning about there culture and way of life and of course being quizzed on ours! Them students and us backpackers had a common goal on arrival in Mumbai – cheap accommodation! We decided to stick together a went on a mission to find a place to stay. As we left the station and entered central Mumbai we wondered if we had actually ... read more

So we are up bright and breezy to leave not so cutie Ooty and head for Kerala. On leaving the hotel I am confronted with five men standing in a line doing their business in the street - lovely!! If I wasn’t looking forward to the Keralan backwaters before, I certainly was now. We just had to conquer a 14 hour bus journey - this consisted of people constantly being sick on the bus (in the sweltering heat!), no air-con or fan, no toilet breaks, 70 people on a 50 seater bus and the conductor stealing some of our cash - Worst. Journey. Ever! We then arrived at a hotel room at around midnight which was swarming with cockroaches. Arrrrrrggggghhhhhh - this was the only day of the trip so far that we both wanted to ... read more

Enough!! We've loved the party town and packed beaches of of Phi Phi but its time to get some peace and quiet!! Step forward Railay: beautiful, peaceful, laid back Railay. A rock climbing mecca hemmed in between two huge jungle clad peaks. And the treasure resting below these curvacious cliffs doesn't disappoint either – chalky white sand and crystal clear water. So grand is Railays towering landscape that no large boats can get near its shore – nor can any roads be built to connect the mainland that lies beyond its rocky borders. You were stunning Phi Phi but its a silver medal I'm afraid. OK OK I will lay off the adjectives now! As you might have guessed we were quite fond of Railays charms! Of course our arrival here was not quite as smooth ... read more

I will start this blog by saying that the journey from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang was one that we thought might be our last! The roads were absolutely mental and we spent most of the journey hanging onto the side of the cliffs!! We made it though and the scenery on the way was some of the most beautiful we have seen in Asia, very mountainous and green. Kate and Laura had left for Luang Prabang straight after the tubing and for this I take my hat off to them, those roads on a drunken hangover = hellish! On our first day we were up at the crack of dawn to see the monks collecting the alms(rice/food) in the main street. A long line of orange stretched for as far as the eye could see. ... read more

Hey everyone! After leaving Hoi An behind it was a hop, skip and jump up the Vietnamese coast to the coastal town of Hue. We were really looking forward to this stopover as we had arranged to meet up with Claire's friend Tina and her boyfriend Paul here. We spent the rest of the afternoon exchanging travel tales before all catching our first sleeper bus up to Hanoi. After surviving countless Vietnamese action movies, blaring local radio shows, fellow travelers motion sickness, constant toilet stops and the inexplicably small sleeper bunks (not designed with the Western frame in mind...) we arrived in Vietnams bustling capital city. Short of sleep and a little spaced out from the night's seemingly endless mix of entertainment we checked in at our guesthouse and spent the rest of the morning recuperating. ... read more