Sally and John

Well we are home at last !!! Our trip has been amazing but before we sign off we need to tell you a few things about our “Golden Triangle Tour”. (Sorry no computer to record there!) First we found India a country of massive contrasts- real poverty with families living on rubbish dumps with any available material for roofs etc to very modern large houses. It is still very male dominated in some areas so Sally’s blonde hair caused quite a stir, especially when we stopped at traffic lights!!!! We toured from Delhi to Agra to Jaipur and back. Our favourite place was Jaipur with its colourful shops and wide streets with camels, oxen and horses all travelling on the roads with the cars and bikes, even sometimes just nibbling food in the middle of the ... read more

Back again avid reader and now reporting from second island paradise. Not that much to say as we have been spending the last few days listening to the gentle surf on the sand, watching the coconut trees sway in the light breeze and slapping on the sun cream!! Our balcony where we are forcesee joy a continental breakfast has gorgeous views along the bay and across to Koh Phangan - clearly visible in the distance. Lots of activity on the beach - well from other people that is - boats in and out of all shapes and sizes and a small water sports "bit" which has provide some amusement but probably not for the group of testosterone fuelled 20somerhings that hired jet skis for the seconds time and had a minor bump!! Deposit and presumably a ... read more

Hello gentle reader - firstly apologies for the uncharacteristic delay in bloggers' corner but computer station at hotel in Siem Reap was well hot and stuffy! Rest of hotel was fantastic though. Boutique hotels in Cambodia are no more than 2 storeys high and suppposed to have very lush tropical gardens and lovely pools - well this baby did not disappoint. Prettiest hotel and best pool to date and a superb restaurant which was very reasonable. This was particularly useful cos when you're 'templed out' (and they are amazing) and you will be(!), it's really nice to have a good dip, force down a cold beer or, if you're Sally a Mai Tai or Singapore Sling, and then slip into the restaurant. Particularly good after the 05 am start on day 2 to check sunrise at ... read more

John back in the blogging saddle again so hold tight! Thank the Buddha, Confucius and Tao Di that we have only one train journey to do on this trip and we've done it!! A two hour train journey from Hue to Da Nang delayed by over an hour, seats that were either bolt upright or completely horizontal and a loo I'm not even going to attempt to describe - and this blog addicts was First Class...and in comparison with the rest of the train it was!!! Still it got us there and Sally enjoyed a bit of 'living on the edge' although I noticed she didn't go to the loo. However scenery was dramatic and gorgeous and we met some nice fellow travellers on the way. As rough as the train was, Hoi An is beautiful ... read more

Back again at last avid readers. Slight delay as it took us some time to find a computer that we could understand but we are now on our last ful day in hanoi after some more superlative adventures. Last day in Chiang Mai went to Orchid Farm and humongous waterfall in national park - lovely. Walked our socks off first day in Hanoi. Fascinating and crazy city (cue amazing Blog Fact - Hanoi has 9 million inhabitants and 6 million motorcycles!!...and they are everywhere. If Ho Chi Min City is "worse" ...can't wait!!). Went to oldest temple in Hanoi - closed on Mondays! Ho-hum. Temple of Literature beautiful - 5 courtyards with gorgeous flowers, ancient architecture including tablets of stone set on stone turtles with the names of the the scholars/graduates from the temple. All based ... read more