chriskeri

Sat 20th August – Wednesday 31st August Vietnam was the last leg of our journey before hanging up our boots and taking on our next adventure of life in Oz. Keen to get cracking, we wasted no time in booking ourselves seats on the very first departure out of Pnomh Penh the morning after arriving back from our tropical paradise. The bus took us over the border without fuss (our pre-arranged visas worked a treat!), and into the big, busy, noisy, steaming concrete jungle which is Ho Chi Minh City. Our first impressions didn't improve as within seconds of stepping off the bus, we were mobbed by hawkers offering us ‘tourist advice’ and 'very special accommodation for you Mr and Mrs'. We had batted off many a hawker on the Asian leg of our travels so ... read more

Thursday 4th August - Wednesday 10th August We lay awake the night before our departure from Chiang Mai wondering just how safe the bus journey through the mountainous jungle region of northern Laos was going to be and if our chosen route was the right decision. Only about a week ago tropical storm Nock-Ten swept in from the coast of Vietnam in the north, flooding much of northern Vietnam, Laos and regional areas of Thailand. Having read reports, we were concerned about landslides, the quality of the road, the possibility of further torrential rain and getting stuck halfway in the middle of nowhere! However, our other options were an expensive flight on the reportedly dodgy Laos Airlines or a very long detour via Bangkok. It could mean missing Luang Prabang all together. We decided we would ... read more

Monday 11th July – Wednesday 13th July After a brilliant ten days back in the UK with family and friends filled with parties, dinners, lunches, cups of tea and country walks, it was time again to say our sad goodbyes and head off on the last two month leg of our six month adventure, on a one way ticket bound for our new home in Sydney. As our flight to Bangkok had a stop in Delhi we decided to take a three day glimpse of life in Delhi and Agra, and visit the magnificent Taj Mahal. Once out of the brand new airport, built specifically for the Commonwealth Games last year, it was incredibly sad to witness the all too evident struggle for life in the overpopulated, poverty stricken capital of Delhi, and its surrounding regions. ... read more

Saturday 11th June - Saturday 18th June Having not yet visited enough handicraft markets on our South American travels for my liking, we headed to the town of Otavalo, a couple of hours north of Quito to explore its famous and very large Saturday market (reportedly the largest in South America). On our way there we passed though steep green hills, patchwork fields and dust blown villages that typify this part of Ecuador. As we crossed the equator at Cayambe, we stopped to celebrate our return to the Northern hemisphere (with a must have photo with me in the South and Chris in the North, trying to pull each other to the other side). Whilst full of gringoes looking for deals, the colourful Otavalo market still manages to showcase the Ecuadorian culture - stalls selling spices ... read more

Friday May 27th – Thursday 2nd June After our stressful few days in Puno, it felt even better to be in the 'White City' of Arequipa, which has a distinctly western feel to it. It even felt quite good to see the familiar signs of Burger King and KFC.....so it would have been rude not to get involved and man, a Whopper has never tasted so good! Nicknamed the White City due to its buildings being whitewashed in volcanic stone, Arequipa is surrounded by three volcanoes, all visible from the central Plaza de Armas. Unfortunately for the locals, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are not uncommon (the most recent earthquake a few days after our departure on 2nd June!), but we had had enough drama of late and our time here was very relaxing. We explored the ... read more