We’re back on the road! Kind of. By “back on the road” I mean, we took a day trip from our house, in our car. Technically back on the road in my books. Our reason? To go and see Clonmacnoise, one of Irelands finest and oldest religious settlements. Clonmacnoise (in Irish Cluain Mhic Nois) , which means The Meadow of the Sons of Nos, was featured on an episode of Time Team (or one of those programs) and it got me thinking how much we really don’t know about our own country and also how by visiting these places it could fill the void left after traveling for the last year. For those who did follow our blogs before, we have settled back into ‘normal’ life, but still crave that carefree feeling of freedom you get ... read more

When we flew out of Hanoi we went on a two day mission to get to Ko Pha-ngan. We flew into Bangkok airport did a bit of shopping and eating in the MBK shopping centre and then got on a night train to Surat Thani that evening. Next morning we got a bus and then boat to return to the island where we spent a few days with Cathal and Meave for the Full Moon in November. This time we were returning to meet up with Tim and Sarah for another few nights of moon worshiping. For the first few days we went to the quite part of the island to a resort. It was quite nice but we didn’t fancy staying long as it was a bit too quiet. Instead we went booked into a ... read more

The last 10 days have been incredibly tough. To say it has been one thing after another would be an understatement, so much so, that I need to do this over two blogs. Our impression of Vietnam has been for ever tainted by the previous week or so and unfortunately will not go down as one of our favourite places. Vietnam is a marmite country. You either like it or you don’t. Everyone I have talked to is 50/50 on it. Some love, others hate it. I don’t like marmite. The bus we got out of Saigon was nothing short of torture. It was the worst journey we have taken in over 9 months of travel. It was a sleeper bus and I had a bed the width of my hips and was held in by ... read more

Our bus journey wasn’t as bad as we thought it might be, though the mini van driver we got to the station was a lunatic. Traffic was bumper to bumper, with traffic coming up and down both sides of the road. Our driver was more what you might call an ass ****. Three times young girls tried to cross the road in front of him and every time he blocked them off or got faster. Each time he only had the space of a person between him and the car in front and when they tried to move through that space he just closed it off. Not one person on these roads has any respect for others, or even for life. It’s amazing how much life has no apparent value. I have talked a lot in ... read more

To skip over the boring bits this is how we got to Ko Pha-ngan from the 4000 Islands in the south of Laos. We left 4000 Islands on Tuesday morning by boat, then mini van, tuk-tuk and bus to Vientiane. Then we took a public bus to the border of Thailand. Then another across the border and a tuk-tuk to the train station. Then an over night train to Bangkok and that night another over-night train to Surat Thani. Then bus and a ferry to Ko Pha-ngan. So that’s 3 buses, 2 tuk-tuk, 2 train’s, 2 boats and 1 mini-van. We arrived Saturday afternoon. Simple as that. In that time we had one night in Vientiane. It seems like a nice city with plenty of good restaurants and café’s. We also had a day to kill ... read more