RJ Escapades

So we’ve been here for 8 months now and the time couldn’t have gone quicker! We came in through Sydney and got a shock! Staying in a hostel for a night that cost us the price of three nights stay in Malaysia!! We were staying in a place called Kings Cross which has the reputation of being a bit rough but we didn’t see any problems. Our plan was to get a campervan so we could get on our road trip as soon as possible. That’s how we ended up paying way too much to rent a 1992 Trivago Toyota that some Bristolian con-carman originally from the U.K tried to sell us for $10,000. If it wasn’t for our trusted Ozzy friends we would have probably made the worst decision on our travels so far (yes ... read more

Right then...Cambodia. We made our way from phuc coq island on a ferry and bus that were booked so that we could cross the boarder into Cambodia with no problems. Little did we know that they attempt to scam you at every turn! Wanting us to pay extra for the privilege of them taking our passports to get stamped and then extra for a visa that cost $30. Some people may be reading this and thinking we're being stingy, why didn't we hand over the extra $10 to get us safely into Cambodia? Well I'll answer. firstly we are stingy! ? we've been travelling the world so it's not like we can afford an extra $10 when that's the price of a room over our heads and a meal! Secondly we were fed up of people ... read more

We arrived at Bangkok Airport at 4am in the morning, too late to use the metro system. We anticipated being ripped off by a dodgy taxi man outside the airport like I was 10 years previous. We found the taxi rank with no trouble and to our surprise found a touch screen which dispensed a ticket number, the taxi lane, taxi registration plate and driver name on it. This was the first of many surprises we found in the highly advanced city. We stayed in Happy Hugs Hostel which was great and near the metro system (that we didn't use). The Staff were really helpful until Jodi tried to use the washing machine and got told off by the cleaner. Jodi got evil looks the rest of our stay. We were honestly told we could use ... read more

I'm starting this blog with a few unpleasant facts about India. This is not to condemn and judge the whole of India but just to highlight some issues they have here. Firstly beggars and the soundless babies they carry. Many are not there babies. They have usually been stolen from deprived area hospitals where security is none existent. These babies don't cry, many of them hardly look like they're breathing. This is because they are drugged or given alcohol to keep them subdued. You should be asking yourself how can they get away with this? Why is nothing done about it? This brings me on to my second point. Many of these beggars and the homeless are called the 'untouchables' or 'outcastes' .They have no place in a caste system which dictates a hierarchy in India. ... read more

We arrived in Colombo airport a bit worse for wear. Our traveling had left us without proper sleep for 35hours. We managed to find a taxi desk and easily got transport sorted to Cinnamon Red ,our hotel, in the city centre. This hotel was proper fancy. We had tea and coffee in the rooms and an infinity pool on the 26th floor overlooking the city. We even treated ourselves to a buffet breakfast which was amazing. We spent the first full day on the roof sunbathing, relaxing, recovering and mainly waiting for Jodi’s parents , Jayne and Paul, to arrive from their flight from London. We did have a few walks around the city but we found it quite expensive in my standards. On the Sunday before we left colombo we took a lovely stroll down ... read more