Back on the coast we arrived at Hue to find it raining and cold. We expected that weather in the mountains, not here! Oh well, we dug out our jeans and coats from the bottoms of our rucksacks and it almost felt worthwhile carrying them around for the last two Read more…
Da Lat was spared from heavy bombing in the American war so the are still many French Colonial buildings there, however now these are joined by many flash new hotels to cater for all the weekend visitors who fly in from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, as well as Read more…
Ooh where to start ?????? We spent a few days on the coast in Mui Ne. It is known (and surprisingly popular with Russian tourists) for its wind allowing for kite and wind surfing – or lots of local fishing in a most bizarre and unstable-looking sea-going vessel (like a Read more…
Pete’s foot is finally healing well, no longer swollen and today was his first day back in flip flops! Bliss! Now it is Janet’s turn. After a sore throat for the last eight days and, the last two days with swollen glands in the neck that looked like the growth Read more…
Often you visit places and the history is so old it doesn’t really seem relevant to you. Here in Ho Chi Minh that is definitely not the case. Most of the history we have been reading about is since the Second World War with lots of twists and turns and Read more…
Sometimes it is the random acts of kindness that stay with you and really make your travels special. We have had some great examples of this on our trip so far such as a hotel receptionist coming to find us at the bus station at 10pm even though it was Read more…
In South East Asia you get many opportunities to see elephants but not always in the best way for elephants. We have already seen elephants being ridden with big baskets on their backs in two different places and we passed “sanctuaries” in Thailand where the elephants had no space to Read more…
Here in Modulkiri Province there is a lot more jungle, hills and greenery and suddenly no people living at the side of the road for miles. Only as we came into Sen Monorom were there once again lots of houses, shacks, stalls, shops etc. It is also cool (or not Read more…
We have been trying not to look at weather forecasts or temperature gauges for fear of phsyching ourselves out, but let’s be clear, it is hot hot hot!!!! Our last hotel had a gauge behind reception (which was hard to miss) and at 9am yesterday it read 29 degrees centigrade Read more…
So after the last sombre post we thought we should show you some of the lovely parts of the city. The Royal Palace is open in parts for you to wander around (although you can’t always take photos and have to cover up to show respect). The whole of the Read more…
So I have found my limit of not wanting to rent a bicycle or moped. We arrived in Phonm Penh on Friday afternoon and took our lives in our hands walking about 1.5km. The pavements are filled with parked cars, stalls and waiting tuk tuks. So mostly you need to Read more…
Stop the press! There is big news – we wore our jackets for at least 10 minutes the other day!!!!!! We went up the Bokor Mountain to the old abandoned colonial Hill Station and going up through the hill mist on the scooter we put on our jackets!!!!! Even though Read more…
We have taken a fast craft (1 hour) to the very north of Koh Rong Samloem (the smaller island to the very popular Koh Rong) and are staying at the rustic Sunset Bungalows (very aptly named). In this part of the island (M’Pai Bay) there is little wifi (I am Read more…
We made our way to Otres Beach 2 which is a small part of the Sihanoukville area that thankfully hasn’t yet been developed by the locals and Chinese. We found some locally owned bungalows and a little strip of maybe 15 accommodations with beachside bars and restaurants – bliss! From Read more…
Everywhere we travel we always seem to find food that we love and Cambodia is proving to be no exception. I love the salads (green mango and banana flower salad), Pete loves the Cambodian curry (a bit like a thai red curry), and the Amok is yummy. So we decided Read more…
Today we decided to rent bicycles and cycle out to some of the further away temples. To do this we had to go past Angkor Wat again – more photos ! To get out before the worst heat of the day we set out soon after 8am but it still Read more…
If you know Pete, you will well know that he has rarely ever seen a sunrise (more often on the way home from a club than at the start of a day) so yesterday was a miracle. We left out guesthouse just after 4.30am, bought tickets and arrived at Angkor Read more…
So after a 12 hour bus journey (supposed to be 6 hours) from Laos where our driver took 3 extra locals and drove sharing his seat with a young lad (eek!), we arrived in Siem Reap. After I had been sick all through the prevous night (maybe too much Mekong Read more…
So we thought the instructions for tubing were “light” but for kayaking they were equally lacking. The guide did say “Man must go at back” as Pete got in the front of our kayak but Pete told him I was a “pro”. Thankfully for the rest of the unexperienced group Read more…
Some days it has been 39 degrees here and on the 4,0000 Islands (we stayed on Don Det) there was no breeze. The best way to stay cool is to get into the water (The Mekong River). So first we went tubing. For 10,000 kip (87p) we rented lorry inner Read more…
Around all the backpacker accommodation you see adverts for VIP transfers by air conditioned express mini vans. This can include the changes in transport required to get you to the popular tourist destinations. Happy days! The downside …… hmm, where to begin: – you may or may not really get Read more…
We have loved seeing and enjoying a more simple way of life here in Laos. People go to bed when it is dark (unless a wedding or karaoke leads them very much astray) and get up when the cockerals crow. Yes, the people are poor but seem pretty happy. We Read more…
So after much deliberation it seemed the best way to get to the 4,000 Islands was to get a sleeper bus to Paxse which left sometime between midnight and 1am. The guy at Wang Wang guesthouse said kindly if we slept he would come and wake us and, just after Read more…
With the locals singing karaoke (badly) late last night, an early start wasn’t looking likely. So we chilled, had a late breakfast and headed off towards Tha Khaek. Some great twisty roads and sights to see. We kept passing the three French guys (thankfully no more accidents for them) and Read more…
So The Loop is an anti-clockwise route but the last third of the route (145km) back to Tha Khaek is along a busy highway . Having been on a bus hurtling along that road, beeping and swerving around everything in our path, we decided that it may not be the Read more…