KatieHedgecock

Don't you just love the blog titles you get from traveling Asia?! For all you impatient types, I'm afraid you'll have to read through a lot of text about Saigon and the Vietnam war before getting to the part about drug smuggling, sorry ;). I arrived in Saigon at somepoint in the evening, and got a taxi into the centre with a couple I met at the airport. Once there we spent a while finding a hostel, and then went out to get dinner at a nearby restaurant. The prices here are crazy-cheap - at first glance they seem about comparable to prices in Indo: about 20,000 for a meal, then you realise that you get 30,000 Dong for the pound, compared with only 15,000 Rupiah. So, already feeling good about the money-situation here, we went ... read more

First off I want to say thanks to Gavin, who let me and Leena take over his condo for the days we were in Singapore, giving us a key, and trusting us completely, having never met us before! So, my next stop was Singapore for a few days, where the accommodation was on a price standard equaling Australia, which meant me on my 10GBP per day Asia-budget, decided to look elsewhere. I ended up staying with 30-year old Gavin, who worked as a meteorologist at Singa airport (possibly one of the easiest jobs as the weather seems to be a standard 30 degrees and sunny, with rain at almost exactly 5pm each day), who I met through couchsurfing.org. Also staying with Gavin at the same time as me was Leena, from Germany, so we ended up ... read more

Hi again, Okay, so first off that title was just waiting to be written and I wish I could've seen my mother's reaction ;). However, before I continue, I'd like to reassure any relatives that, no, I didn't get high and have a tattoo done, nor did I get arrested. I simply watched as the idiots I was with did :D. So, with that in mind, my next blog update.... To get to Pai, I ended up taking the minivan, and luckily I got a seat in the front as the road there turned out to wind up and down through the mountains. Apparently there's something like 300+ bends in the road, most of which seem to be hairpin turns. As if this didn't make the trip bad enough, the driver was a classic Thai, by ... read more

Dal Lentils Cumin Tumeric Paprika Water Ginger Potato Soak Lentils, Fry Tumeric cumin paprika and ginger, add lentils and water, boil for 10mins, add potato and simmer for an hour ish Stir Fry Chickpeas Tofu Oil Yoghurt Corriander Sweet and Sour 2 Cups tamarind Sugar Carrot Tomato Pineapple Salt Soy Sauce Chilli Potato Tofu Boil potato, fry tofu, mix everything up and simmer. Tofu Chilli Sauce Tomatos Cabbage Crumbled Tofu Ginger Chilli Lemon leaves Soy Sauce Salt Fry tofu, remove, fry everything else, add a bit of water, add tofu, simmer, add lemon leaves Fried Tofu Tofu Carrots Beans Tomatoes Soy Sauce Tamarind Rice Fry Tofu, remove, fry everything else, add tofu Avocado Shake 1 avocado 1 tbsp br sugar/honey 2 cup condensed milk or soy milk or yoghurt or milk or ... read more

We set off early in the morning in the truck to make the short drive to the kids school, in order to go camping with 200 of the scouts there. When we arrived we had to wait around whilst they did formal things like saluting and standing in columns. Whilst waiting, we were approached by a scout leader (a 40 year old guy complete with shorts and neck-tie - not a good look), who got us all to write our names next to some Thai text on a piece of paper, then split us up and made us stand with our assigned columns. I was with Tarapon and her group of "Sparrows", Yeo and his group of "Lions", and a chubby woman who was the 'Leader' and insisted on giving me an incredibly silly scout leader ... read more