Suzanne here... The bus ride in to Dalat was promising. Lovely scenery, and we saw coffee growing which was very interesting. We were really looking forward to our stay. The guidebooks describe Dalat as a 'petite Paris', an 'utterly charming' little town with lots of French architecture and great scenery. The town didn't look particularly pretty on the drive in, not helped by the fact that the lake had been drained. We were dropped off at the other side of town from the hotel we wanted too. A guy stood in the doorway of the bus telling us all how great his hotel was and by the time we were allowed off all the bags were inside the hotel lobby. Stubborn as ever, we retrieved our bags and marched off. A bit of a pain, but ... read more

Suzanne here... Another day, another new country. Our first stop in Vietnam was Chau Doc. Passport control was a breeze (a lovely lady took our passports and got them stamped while we sat having some lunch). We really enjoyed our boat trip along the Mekong. All along the river kids came running to the bank waving and shouting hello, a nice introduction to Vietnam. In fact, everywhere we went children waved and said hello. Walking past a school at lunchtime took some time! When we arrived there was a power cut all over town, quite common apparently. No matter, we thought we'd pop out, draw some money out (we didn't have any Vietnamese currency at this stage) and get something to eat. After a bit of a hunt we finally found an ATM. The more perceptive ... read more

David here... We arrived back in Phnom Penh with 2 goals that day; to book all our onward travel up to Vietnam and to get to the National Museum. We made our way back to the Indochine hotel which we had pre-booked during our last stay and from there booked onward travel to Kep for the next day and then the trip to Chau Doc in Vietnam on the 21st when our visas become valid. All of this was done for us quickly and easily which meant we had plenty of time to make it to the museum. It has to be said, booking travel all over South East Asia has been a doddle and we are yet to be let down by anyone. The museum itself is a very grand building, in the style of ... read more

Suzanne here... Our arrival in Phnom Penh was later than expected, after trouble with the bus. The gearbox was making a terrible grinding noise so we stopped for a roadside repair, which only seemed to make things worse. It was touch and go, but we finally made it. Once off the bus there was the usual sense of chaos and disorientation and the feeling that we were gazelles surrounded by lions, or rather tuk-tuk drivers and guesthouse owners. We grabbed our backpacks and legged it, before realising we were going the wrong way. We went slinking back the way we'd just come. Luckily the lions had dispersed. We headed towards the guesthouse we'd earmarked. There was a bit of confusion with the road names, actually numbered and in this case one side was 110 which we ... read more

Suzanne here... Well, we've fallen behind a bit, so Laos is going to have to be squeezed into a couple of blogs. I'll do the north and leave David to do the south. I can report with some authority that travellers diarrhea is very, very nasty. For seven days I felt like I'd been kicked repeatedly in the stomach, and really sick. I was starting to get a bit worried that I'd need medical treatment, but luckily I'm fine now and really appreciating my good health. Our first stop in Laos was Luang Prabang. What a lovely little town. Evidence of the French influence everywhere, and a really relaxed vibe. We went for a cheap guesthouse, but then really splurged on the food. The first night we went to the Blue Lagoon. Wow! I felt like ... read more