Having A Jolly

Fear... It spread over us like a disease. How were we going to cope?!

We’d become quite settled into the Asian lifestyle. The sun shining everyday, drifting through towns, countries, lying in, doing what we wanted to do, eating out for every meal, spending little on accommodation, clothes, trips...

How were we going to adjust to the winter weather? How were we going to be able to go back to work after six months frolicking about in Asia?

Given, we weren’t going home... we were going to Sydney. It was still daunting.

We’d have to stay in a hostel!! Horror!

Luckily everything is so cheap in Asia we’d been spoilt rotten. Now we’d have to share with other people and have a shared bathroom!

We booked a hostel in Kings Cross called the Jolly Swagman. The dorms were girls or boys only and there were four per room. Not so bad. I still wasn't particularly looking forward to it. What if there were weirdos living there or we didn't get on with our room mates?

Assuming we’d stocked up on winter clothes in Bangkok, we got off the plane to find that what we had imagined would be suitable was completely not! It was freezing!
Okay, okay.. not as bad as London in the height of winter, but still it was a shock to the system!

Walking through seedy Kings Cross, past strip clubs and tacky shops, I felt even more nervous.

We planned to stay in the hostel maybe a week or two, work, then find a flat. That was the action plan.. but I should've known our plans never stick!

The hostel was was clean and cheap and we were only sharing the room with one other girl.

A few days after arriving I had my birthday. It was the first time I'd ever had a cold birthday. We went to a museum and afternoon tea at the Victoria ballroom (yes I know it's more 85 than 25 - but I enjoyed it) and then we met up with my friend from university, Sophie, in Darling Harbour and got on the cocktails! I had a great night and was very tipsy indeed!

A few days later we realised we needed to find work, our purses were being stretched to the limits. Everything was just so expensive. Gone were the 50p Pad Thai noodles and the 10p bottles of water.. It was stressful for a couple of weeks but then work started trickling in and we could afford to live again.

Sydney is cold in winter, expensive and completely different to Asia, but the thing that has been making it for us is the hostel. We’ve made a great gang of friends. People come and go, but the majority of people just hang out and have a laugh. It’s just like being in halls at uni!

‘So how long have you been staying here then?,’ we’d ask the residents. Some would say 7 months. How could anyone live in a hostel for that long, we would have wondered before. But now we understand.

We've discovered Goon! It's wine in a box.. cheap and nasty, but it gets you drunk quickly and it doesn’t break the bank balance at 10 dollars a box.

There is a variety of ages in the hostel, but mainly young people. It's incredibly sociable, so you’re guaranteed to never be lonely.

There’s a TV room with bean bags in it. They have a $3 pizza night on a Tuesday, where you can get 2 slices of pizza, a beer, then everyone goes to World Bar and you get two free drinks and free entrance if you are a lady and if you are a man free entrance and one free drink! Men have been known to dress as women and try their luck!




The last couple of weeks a group of us have been going down to Bondi Beach. The weather has been gradually improving. Although it’s ‘winter’ you can still get away with sitting on the beach, maybe with a cardigan on!.

There have been pub crawls, nacho nights, BBQs, popcorn and dvd nights. We had a great time at the pirate party in World Bar, everyone made the effort to dress up and all the different hostels in the area came to the event.

We've had a bit of a taste from home. Our friend Hayley, who I went to primary school with, has been in Australia for the last two years. She has loved the hostel life so much that she’s been hanging out with us and even staying, we've snuck her in!

My pal Mel, who I went to college with, came over with her boyfriend and enjoyed a hostel night out with us! Lynsey's parents came to see us aswell. They were good sports and even attended a hostel night out and pizza night! We took them to World Bar where you can get teapot shots (you freepour the drink into shot glasses from the teapot, I don't know the point but it's fun!) It comes with a card saying stating that it's illegal to drink from the spout - but you see the odd rebel breaking the rules!



I was full of fear before I came, worried I wouldn’t be able to cope with working and adjusting to the weather. These things have become almost irrelevant.

So all in all so far.. success story.

I think we may just live the hostel life forever!

Rose Tinted Glasses

Dear Vang Vieng,

How I loved you...

The tubing, the weather, the night life, the atmosphere, we had some great times...

It was sad to leave you, I had to tear myself away, it was hard but I had to move on, it was for the best...

But I missed you too much, so I went out, bought new dresses, had my hair done, I was so excited. It wasn’t part of our trip but I thought what the hell, just one last time just to see you again...

So I went back but it just wasn’t the same..

This is why you should never go back...



The last time we were together it was March, you were sunny all day, every day. The river was calm and not too dirty or fast. The majority of people about were 24/25 or older. All your clubs were open - all of which are outside. You played Drum & Bass and Electro House, everyone had a great time. 18 days of bliss. We partied hard, I just enjoyed being there.

So what happened in July? Did I do something wrong? You rained every day. Every night I had to deal with a complete downpour. The open bars had to be closed because the rain completely washed them out and it ended up like a mud bath. Fun at first but not so fun when my dresses were ruined! The river was fast and dirty.

It was the end of the school holidays and the beginning of University break, so everyone was under 21, which was depressing. It was like a day at the youth club. What happened to the music?! Pop?! It was like going to a cheesy disco night. I’m all for that, but VV you had such a cool image before.... You have changed and I miss the old you.

Despite all these things, I still had a great time. Sorry to be ungrateful. It wasn’t as special as the time before.

I’d still recommend you, and I’d definitely go back to you one day – maybe not in the school holidays or when it’s in the middle of the rainy season.

I do know that I'll never forget you....

It’s time to move on though and this time it’s not so hard to say goodbye.

Thanks for the memories.

Forever yours....

Swapping Tuk Tuks for Tricyclyes

7000 tiny islands make up the tropical Philippines. Often this unique paradise is missed by travellers due to its location in the North East region of South East Asia. It’s not the easiest of places to get to.
To sum up the entire place - unique.
Reaching the capital you feel as though you are on the continent. It has one of the biggest malls, all the buildings have a Spanish twist, there are no temples or mosques but instead grand cathedrals and forts. It’s as though we flew into South America with the shanty towns across the river and instead of tuk tuks are men with tricycles with a slight Spanish lilt. It’s also very Asian – the food, the people, the same dirt roads, the atmosphere.

Manila, South Luzon
The capital, and due to the uncertain political situation it is not advised to go there. We, however, spent a few days in Manila. It was rich in culture. You can visit the Fort Santiago where national hero Rizal was put in prison.
Poverty is everywhere, yet it has some of the nicest and most expensive places to eat and shop.
I’ve never seen so many men carrying guns, it seems as common as women clutching handbags! Signs are dotted around outside shops asking for weapons to be left outside, which is quite daunting. Every security guard carries a 30inch revolver! I’m not sure whether I felt more safe or threatened.
After a couple of days we decided we’d seen enough and wanted to head to a beach.

Mindoro – Sabang and White Beach
Beautiful sandy and tranquil beaches make up this island south of Luzon. We were there during a religious festival, so there were live bands marching round. We barely saw another backpacker. The island did however have older white men with young Filipina girlfriends.
Sabang, the busiest beach has a spiralling close knit centre of lanes, similar to Phi Phi island. This place is the livelier of the two beaches, with clubs, bars and restaurants. White Beach has the nicer beach. Tricycles are one of the best ways to get from beach to beach.
We found the locals to be very friendly here and the beach huts to be nicer than anywhere else. They even included a kitchen which was a novelty for us!

We didn’t manage to get to Boracay the party island. We will definitely have to go back and explore further. Two out of 7000 islands is as good a start as any!

Borneo - The King Of The Swingers

Anyone who knows anything about Borneo knows that it is home of the Orangutans.

These beautiful ginger fuzzy haired creatures are extremely loveable and Borneo is worth visiting just to go to an orangutan rehabilitation centre or orphanage and get a glimpse of them monkeying around.

Borneo also has a lot of other hidden treasure..

We only managed to go to a few places in Sabah (the Eastern province in Malaysian Borneo) here's what we did ...

Kota Kinabulu

The capital. I was expecting something out of the Jungle Book like canopies, greenery and lots of animals. In fact this place is very built up and also on the coast, so there are beaches a plenty.

We managed to stray into the national park to do some canopy walking (which was, at it's highest, 26 metres high). We also managed to see Mt Kota Kinabulu, a mountain half the size of Mount Everest. We didn't climb it, as we thought we'd climbed, walked, trekked up enough mountains/ volcanoes/ hills etc in Asia. We just took pictures from the ground.


Poring

The Poring Hot Springs is a natural bathing place. They have hot springs and also a cold pool. We spent about an hour in the hot water and about half a minute in the cold one. It was very refreshing though.

Sepilok

We headed to Sepilok (which is actually in the middle of the jungle) on a local bus. It was a six hour drive through the meandering mountain range.

We were in for the shock of our lives when the bus driver pulled up at the side of the road and called us off the bus. We'd been dumped in the middle of nowhere. Luckily some taxi man was driving past and picked us up. Realising we had no money we asked him to go via a cash point - which we later discovered, half an hour into the drive, was 12 miles away. Couldn't complain though, the whole trip including the six hour bus ride and taxi via the ATM cost about £10.50!

We stayed in a nice jungle lodge not too far from the orangutan orphanage, and managed to see some of the beasts at the feeding in the morning. They were very curious but at the same time shy. It was impressive seeing them swing through the over growth. Sad to also think that they are an endangered species.

We didn't have long in Borneo this time round. There are so many other things I'd like to do, like see the turtles and go scuba diving (it's apparently a very popular place to go).

I guess I'll have to go back. With so much to do it's definitely somewhere you could go ape.

Gold Digging in Brunei

So we're both young free and single. We were also heading to a place that would be full of rich people, maybe even young single men! Brunei has a lot of oil and the Sultan is one of the wealthiest in the world - he's worth 54 billion dollars (now that is a lot of money). The only down fall was that the whole country has no bars or pubs. In fact Brunei has an alcohol ban, so how on earth does anyone get chatted up?!

Worried that it was too expensive for our budget, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't ridiculously so. I was expecting magnificent mosques and skyscrapers looming over the city.

Brunei, what an anomaly.

It has the potential to be built up and bustling. It was very quiet, had no major buildings except the mosques and it was a little deserted. There were only a few small shopping centres, some coffee houses and a handful of hotels / guest houses.

Unlike the rest of Asia, the roads weren't dirt tracks, they were paved, (this is now how I tell how westernised a country is by the paved roads, trust me it's a novelty!)

It had a beautiful mosque called the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, which was golden domed. We went to see it at night, when it has been lit up and appears to float like an apparition over the lagoon it's next to.

Another mosque worth visiting is the Jame'asr Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque, which is just out of town and is the largest in Brunei.

I was intrigued about the Sultan. Surely if he has all these grand mosques and is one of the richest men then he must have a splendid palace. We attempted to visit it, but we couldn't see it for the trees.

We did see the other side of Brunei, the poorer side, as in the Fishing Village, which has been there for centuries (and looks like it has too). It seems every country in Asia has a fishing village somewhere. This village in the harbour of the city is basically a floating town, the second largest town in Brunei after the capital. It even has it's own fire station and schools.

All in all the country wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be. The people are incredibly friendly. Lynsey and I even managed to hitchhike (that's a lie we didn't, we got lost and a family took pity on us and dropped us back at our hotel! There aren't any taxis lingering around, so we were massively grateful.)

We had a relaxing few days here. We even watched a Tug of War competition in the city's stadium, which was rather random. We even managed to have a look at some muscly young men! So this is where you pick them up!

I felt as though we had a great few days in this peaceful place. Even if I didn't get to actually see the palace or get a proper feel for Brunei's wealth ... I did however hear that the Sultan was divorcing one of his wives .. She was previously a reporter, which I thought was very interesting. Apparently he'd also divorced one who was an air stewardess. I started thinking Lynsey worked for BA and I worked for a magazine... maybe, just maybe, we should hand in our CVs .....

Interesting Indonesia

Indonesia is very much the Australian holiday place. A bit like how us English flock to Benidorm for a bit of sun, sand, English nosh and tacky night life. Indonesia, or Bali even, is every Ozzy's dream place. Surfing the turbulent waves, scuba diving at various spots, white water rafting, hiking up volcanoes and cheesy nights out. There is an abundance of activities (mostly surfing).

Bali

We stayed on Kuta Beach. I was expecting something to rival Australia's Gold Coast in beauty. Unfortunately not. It just had good waves. We got stuck in though and had a surf lesson; this cost 33 dollars at the Big Kuhuna Surf School. They guarantee in the first lesson you will stand on the board, if not you get a free lesson the next day. Amazingly I managed to stand on the board a good few times. I did also get a black eye ... the board went into my eye. I wasn't paying attention and the wave crashed the board into me as I fell off it.

We also went white water rafting where, unlike the one we did in Chiang Mai (Thailand), the water was actually pretty fast and we went over a dam.

The nightlife wasn't really that great here, so we didn't bother going out much. We did watch the World Cup at every opportunity so we did get to drink some beer!

Mount Bromo

The best thing about Indonesia in my eyes. We decided to get an over night bus to east Java to climb Mount Bromo - an active volcano. The mountain is freezing so we had to purchase scarves, gloves and hats. At 4am they pick you up from your log cabin to take you up the volcano to see the sun rise. This was unreal - hence why I got a little too snap happy. The place was crowded so we were lucky to get a good spot.

After this you go visit the crater. It's a steaming crater too and the views are out of this world. My breath was completely taken away. It was phenomenal and to say it was stunning does it no justice, words cannot even express it. To finish off we had a nice horse ride down the volcano.

Yogjakarta

We stayed here for a couple of nights to visit the legendary Borobodur, a 9th century Buddhist temple. It is described as the Angkor Wat of Indonesia. It's not as spectacular but definitely holds it's own in architecture and grandeur. We also tried Python and Cobra here (which tastes surprisingly like chicken ... maybe we really are living in the Matrix). I also had my hair re-bonded for about 20 pounds (this process basically is where a chemical is put onto the hair to permanently straighten/ relax it until it grows out, it's a couple of hundred pounds in England, so this was a bargain!)

Tulamben
This is an area in northern Bali. Here I did a wreck dive. There was a warship called the Liberty that sank just off the coast here. It now has beautiful coral covering it and hides a massive selection of fish within it's ghostly remains. We managed to see a stingray and even a baracuda. It was nice to try a different type of scuba dive.







We didn't get to go to Jakarta or even the Gili Islands. We will definitely have to go back to Indonesia on a visit. I'm guessing that when we get to Australia there will be lots of cheap holiday packages to Indonesia, seeing as the place was swamped with those from down under. If we're living over there for a bit then maybe Bali can become our new Benidorm.

Swarve Singapore

Getting off the bus and looking around what was in front of me I had to blink a couple of times, as I didn't feel as though I was in Asia any longer.

No dusty dirt tracks but paved streets. Everything was signposted in English. It was very modern and clean.

I can only describe Singapore as Glamorous.... Glamorous Singapore... Here's why...


G is for Glitzy. There's valet parking, security on the complexes. Walking into the huge malls I felt as though I was walking on a red carpet. Everyone looks the part - i.e. swanky - in this cosmopolitan city.

L is for Lucy, our friend who lives there. Thankfully she put us up, as otherwise trying to find a guest house or hostel would have been tricky and cost us a bomb! Unfortunately poor Lynsey had to go into hospital with Gastric Enteritis, so we ended up spending a lot more time in Singapore than we planned. When she started feeling better it was great to do girly things like go to the cinema (we watched Sex And The City 2), we went for sushi, we went for dinner, we went shopping, had our eyebrows done. Just nice normal girly things that we couldn't really do elsewhere in Asia like at home.

A is for Appetite. This definitely came back. I spent a lot of time cooking, either for when Lucy came home from work and just for fun really. We had two roasts in the space of a week! We also went out for dinner. We went to Lucy's favourite restaurant RAW, which is so quaint and also nice and great value for money.

M is for the Marina. It is so pretty, with tall skyscrapers such as the boat building and a big statue of the Merlion.

O is for Organisation. You cannot buy chewing gum, there is no litter on the streets. They have traffic lights and zebra crossings that actually do what they are supposed to (a rarity for Asia). It is a very safe place with very little crime.

R is for Raffles Hotel. This is a colonial style hotel dating back to 1887. Known for being prestigious and upper class. You may not be able to afford the 350 pound-a-night rooms here. However it is a very popular tourist attraction. There's a court with Tiffany's jewellery shop and also a souvenir shop. We just admired it from afar during the day.

O is for Out of town. This place more than anywhere I've been in Asia had a really Chinese feel to it along with a western feel to it. 5 million people live in this island country. Most of them Chinese, Malay, Indians and white. 42% of people living here are foreigners.

U is for Universal Studios. We did not visit this place so I can't actually comment, but they have one here. So maybe you can go and then let me know how it is!

S is for Shopping. There are over a hundred shopping malls. If you have the money - unlike us poor backpackers - then you will really appreciate it here.


On top of the glamour and architecture in this modern city, there was an okay night life - Clark Quay and the Loof cocktail bar are some of many places to visit. It was also an excellent way to spend a few days in the middle of the trip despite Lynsey being poorly. We watched a lot of telly and just chilled out - in Lucy's apartment with the swimming pools, squash courts, tennis courts ..... just like home (not really!). We had a lovely time, we did do one touristy thing - we went to the Night Safari, which was really fun, even though the animals like tigers and lions roam freely near the walkways. How they don't attack anyone I have no idea - maybe like Singapore they are sophisticated too!

Manic Malaysia

Luckily I'd decided to go travelling with Lynsey, who - let's face it - is equally as clueless as I am. Despite this, and never knowing what we are actually doing, it's worked out pretty well so far. It's quite nice to have a buddy to speak to on long 12 hour bus journeys, someone to help me search the room a thousand times when we leave it in fear that something will be left behind and then to calm me down when I worry about it after and she's by my side all the way to share the experiences with.

People go travelling on their own all the time, I personally don't think I would have coped as well. That's just me. I don't doubt that I'm confident or friendly enough. I just think I'd probably end up on the wrong continent.

It's not just the two of us all the time anyway. We've made so many friends along the way. When we went to Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan we met Emilie and Tom and then the McHairy boys from Liverpool and also our Aussie friend Quinn. Then we bumped into Kristian in Bangkok and spent time with him in Chiang Mai and Laos. We also had the bus crew in Vietnam and Cambodia. So going back to the southern islands in Thailand, we found we didn't really make any friends to hang out with. We didn't go out as much and spent most of the time just the two of us. It was lovely and chilled. Even though it was just the two of us, we were looking forward to meeting more people!

In Kuala Lumpur, where my auntie lives, I knew I'd be visiting her and her family and that was something to look forward to. I was looking forward to going to Malaysia.

So when Stacey, our friend from home, told us she was going to come meet us for a holiday there, we were thrilled!

When she arrived we'd made her a big banner and she in return gave us some things our parents had given her to bring. It was like Christmas. I have never been so excited about receiving dresses, magazines, sun lotion, tax forms and a sim card! All necessities that will make the rest of our backpacking a lot easier!

In the ten days that she was with us we ended up trying to cram in as much as possible in Malaysia.

Here's where we went.....

KUALA LUMPUR

The capital.

We visited the Twin Towers. I'm not going to pretend that I went up to the Petronas Bridge, that would be a miracle for a vertigo sufferer, but I had a very nice view of the towers at night time, when they were all lit up like Christmas trees.

The Nightlife we saw was The Golden Triangle. It's not really geared for backpackers, mainly locals. We ended up in one club that was playing The Cheeky Girls songs all night. I still had fun though prancing about taking the micky out of myself. A lot of places offer women free entrance and free drinks (how it hurts to be the female of the species...). The only trouble with this area is the number of hookers there are walking the streets.

PENANG

Five hours north of Kuala Lumpur, Penang is a beautiful island off the west coast. The beach is beautiful. The night market is very long and interesting. We had bracelets with Chinese sayings made here for cheap.

Tours - We hired a taxi for the day to take us around and see what the place had to offer. We started off at a spice farm, which was different and interesting. Then we went to see a waterfall, a fishing village that stank, and afterwards a Malaysian village, which we didn't even leave the car to see as it looked quite built up. On the way back we stopped off to try some tea, coffee, chocolate and honey tasting. Coconut coffee tastes so good!

There was no night life whatsoever in Penang. I'd recommend couples and adults/ families to go here, as it is picturesque.



LANGKAWI

This, like Penang, is beautiful, but when we went there were not many backpackers and also no nightlife.

We did a tour called the Island Hopper. We went to see different islands - such as the Pregnant Maiden Island. We also visited a lake and saw some monkeys - not cute, scary. We were warned they may have rabies and to not touch or feed them. Somehow, out of the whole tour gang, a monkey decided to attack me, well my bag. I ended up throwing the thing at it and running off. Some kind gentleman managed to retrieve my bag for me, but I was pretty shaken up.
After this we were taken 'eagle feeding'. We were under the impression the eagles would land on our arms to be fed or near the boat at least. We went in boats near some mangroves and the tour guides sprinkled bird food onto the river. Here the eagles came down to eat and we took pictures, trouble was the birds were so far away, as the boats moved back from where the food was. Luckily Stacey had her long lens camera.




PERHENTIAN ISLANDS

After an overnight bus ride here we were shattered when we arrived in paradise. Taking a small boat to outside the island, and after being told in the middle of the sea we needed to pay for a taxi boat to the actual island (there was no choice; take that, or swim with the backpack on), we finally reached Long Beach. Beach shacks were stretched along the beach, a few restaurants and dive centres. We managed to find the only place on the island that has 24 hour electricity (we're girls and we're flash).
Stacey and I went scuba diving, which was really cool. We took an underwater camera with us, so we spent most of the time taking silly pictures under the waves.
We found a slither of nightlife and drank buckets of Monkey Juice - no one knows what is in this stuff - all kinds of alcohol I reckon. On our first real night out on the whole holiday, it managed to belt down with rain, so we all looked like drowned rats, but we had a nice night anyway at Pandora.
Restaurants were really nice here, steak at Pandora was delicious. We had a not so nice meal at another restaurant behind this place. The lasagne came out cold.

We took a little jungle trek to the other side of the island, Coral Bay. Here it is more remote.

I imagine this place is what Phi Phi was like before tourists flocked to it. It is very untouched and a bit more like The Beach, the film.



All in all Malaysia was exhausting, but I really felt we did as much as the country had to offer and it's great that Stacey managed to experience some backpacking with us.

It was really nice to see someone from home.

It was sad knowing that she was going, but I was also looking forward to Lynsey and I cracking on with the rest of our trip around Asia.

I Can't See Me Loving No Island But You For All My Life..

Even it's name, Koh Tao or Turtle (what it stands for), gives you a clue to the relationship anyone who stumbles across it will have with the island located near the eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand.

Turtles are monogamous creatures and when you are in Koh Tao you feel as though you've found bliss, a potential life home. The thought of leaving it would be like the thought of cheating on it. I spoke with so many people who worked here (mostly dive instructors) and the majority have stayed on the island for a few years, have not really ventured to other parts of Thailand and intend to never leave.

Even the seductive call from nearby Koh Pha Ngan and it's crazy Full Moon parties is not enough to tear some away.

The Nightlife
The resorts and bars along the beach are enchanting with fairy lights glittering along the top of them. You can chill on the beach on big bean bags, have a chilled beer and watch fire dancers perform along the sea front. In land there are huts and restaurants. Rowdier places are Castle Club and Lotus Bar - which sometimes has a live band.

Diving
The very reason people flock here to get their Padi Diving Certificate. It's cheaper than elsewhere in the world and the sea has many great dive sites. Some hotels/ guest houses will do a package deal for accommodation if you do a Padi with them. I didn't do my Padi, but I did go diving in Mango Bay and then Twins. Here I swam into a school of Needle fish - which are about 30 cm long. I also spotted a Trigger fish, Clown fish, many different types of sea cucumber and a sting ray. Butterfly fish were my favourite (they would be). The grand prizes here are spotting whale sharks and turtles. However, the sea is not a zoo, with animals in cages, so it's pot luck to what you see.

Beaches
White fluffy sand, calm shallow sea at the main beach Hat Sairee. You could lie forever here.
Other beaches/ snorkelling spots - Light House, Koh Nangyang (which is a taxi boat ride away), Shark Bay and Mango Bay.

Fishing
We went on a fishing boat for a day and tried three different types of fishing. First we tried to catch bait (Mackerel) using a line that has hooks that look like flies. We then went to another spot and used these fish to catch bigger fish. Then after this we used pieces of fish to catch even bigger fish. I've never done this sport before so it was quite a learning curve. Lynsey had a fantastic time, she got stuck in the toilet, threw her flip flops over board, even managed to tangle up her rod. To be fair I was no better, but fluke/ luck (not skill) would have it I somehow caught a Starlee fish, which we later had for our dinner. I thoroughly enjoyed the day, it was frustrating at times, but also calming too and we had a good day basking in the sun on the sea.

Food
Koh Tao has such a variety of food houses. Mexican, Indian, Italian, BBQs on the beach... sea food here is a must. White and red Snappers, Tuna, prawns, mussels, lobster (not that we can afford this) - the full works.

Hidden Gems
The crazy golf and bowling alley a ten minute tuk tuk ride from Hat Sairee.
The view points dotted along the island with some extraordinary views.
Don't book expensive boat tours to go snorkelling - hire a taxi boat and they will provide you with the equipment and take you to some great spots for half the price.

All in all we had a great week in Koh Tao, I'd definitely go back (maybe to get my Padi - it's ridiculous how many dives I've done and I'm not even fully qualified!). The way of life here is just so chilled.

Who knows maybe I'll even become a dive instructor here one day?!

Maybe I'll never leave.. and enjoy the turtle pace of life.

Falling Back To Earth

I guess when you ride a high, there's got to be a point when you should expect a fall. Nothing is so good it lasts forever.

The problem I found was the higher the wave I surfed the more it hurt when I came hurtling back. I pretty much crash landed.

Boy, did I feel the pain.

Travelling has done me the world of good. I was never unhappy ever, but things like the rain at home would bother me, or if there was a delay on the tube going into work. It's the little stresses that I didn't realise I was having.

Asia has been amazing and care free. I've been having the time of my life. Some days I wake up in the morning (with a hangover) but my mouth is sore at the edges from where I've been smiling or laughing so much.

If anyone needs therapy - I recommend travelling... honestly.

We'd had a chilled couple of weeks in Phuket, after deciding to avoid Bangkok and the riots with the Red Shirts.

We'd had fun at the Thai Water Festival, Songkran, where everyone goes around with water pistols and squirts each other. It's supposed to be a spiritual cleansing warding off evil spirits on the hottest day of the year - but I know it's secretly a huge water fight and a day off!

Here we'd managed to find ourselves a really nice hotel for cheap - it came with a kettle, which is an absolute luxury (heaven - see what I mean, tea on tap - doesn't take much to win my heart!)

I was just getting into the swing of being away from home, work, life in general - I'd reached my peak of happiness.

So hearing about the delights of Phi Phi - white sand, calm clear sea, no roads, absolute perfection..... I should have known something was bound to happen. Leo thought he had found his Utopia in the film The Beach, but he, like me found that there is such thing as the curse of Phi Phi. It lures you in and then it all goes horribly wrong.

So getting off the boat at Phi Phi, we had a little drama trying to find accommodation, but once that was sorted I was ready to get stuck in - not stuck on the rocks!

What a silly move. I don't know why I thought it'd be easier to climb over rocks to get to another beach, when there was a path connecting the two. I guess I thought I was being clever. I literally hit rock bottom scrambling over them.

So it was done, I had to stay in bed for a few days. This nearly drove me insane.

Poor Lynsey, sitting by my side, she must've been going out of her mind.

The doctors splinted my middle toes and then strapped them to my big toe for support. I was given crutches and anti-inflammatory tablets and antibiotics for infection.

I hardly slept at night because of the pain. I was drugged up to the eyeballs and a complete invalid. I couldn't move about and when I needed to I had to be wheeled around in a cart - there are no cars on the island.

How could I complain though? I was in paradise.

I guess it was my punishment for having such a great three months before hand. Surfing my mountain of joy, I slipped off the board and landed down with a thump - on my toes!

It's made me appreciate my whole trip a lot more, I'm never taking for granted how lucky I am again.

Thank God for my feet too - without them I'd never have been able to walk myself around Asia in the first place!

Raiding Tombs

A ghostly history, too many skeletons (literally!) in the cupboard and I'd heard lots of scary situations that backpackers had landed themselves into. I can't say hand on heart that I was looking forward to venturing into chaotic Cambodia.

I expected Gary Glitter type men with very young prostitutes, armed body guards on buses, tourists being mugged or held hostage at the border crossings.

See I'm not selling it to you, and I wasn't convinced either....

Until I went....

On the bus journey into the country from Saigon (HCMC), my palms were sweating... but it went surprisingly smoothly. We had a pleasant local ride in, we were even given food, drink AND hot towels (good for the old palms!)

Looking out the window into the capital, Phnom Penh, there were lots of golden temples, a large palace and lots of greenery. This place had a majesty to it, a lot of history both good and bad. Which country doesn't? Unfortunately this country had some very horrible things happen that only ended just over a decade ago. I guess the past comes back to haunt you, but here the country is still trying to get over it's.

Three Main Towns to Visit in Cambodia

Phnom Penh
Tourists come here to see the eery Killing Fields, the Genocide Museum, the school where the torture took place under the old regime, the Khmer Rogue. The one day we had in Phnom Penh, I ended up going into the Phnom Penh Post and then headed to the palace, so we didn't get chance to see the rest. From what I've heard though, it's tragic and it's brutal - it's also surreal and hard to get your head round; you detach yourself from it. You still see bones and skulls untouched in the mass graves. Not for the faint hearted. This is history at it's rawest.

Sihanoukville
A much needed break from the horrific Killing Fields. It has a beach, a few clubs - the place had potential, but while we were there it closed early and only one bar and one club was open!
There are also nice restuarants here, it's cheap and it's friendly.
There is poverty lurking everywhere. Children with lost limbs will disturb you on the beach begging.

Siem Reap
If you like seeing ancient buildings, then add Angkor Wat (City Temple) to your list. The Pyramids of Giza are impressive and these temples hold their own against them. Built in the early 12th century, they started off as places of worship for the Hindu faith, but were eventually updated so that they had a Buddhist feel to them. To say they are beautiful is an understatement.
They are breathtaking.
Bayon is the site with the huge stone faces carved onto the walls, there's the famous Tomb Raider and Angkor Wat that sits grandly on the river, to name a few.

However, a little secret... I couldn't really appreciate this until after I'd looked through my pics. Stupidly we'd decided the night before to go for ONE drink down Pub Street. The bus crew, who we'd travelled with for over a month through Vietnam, were heading to Bangkok and we were diverting to Phuket (to avoid the Red Shirts and riots in Bangkok), so it was our final goodbye. FIVE pitchers later... yep you guessed it, we spent the only day we had in Angkor Wat, in the 40 degree heat, with a serious hang over!! And I may have, just may have, thrown up a few times in a plastic bag I'd brought with me to the temple when I first got there. I am so sorry and so ashamed! The history junkie that I am, I should have been relishing in these ancient monuments and all their glory... but instead I was sleeping off my hang over in a hammock ten feet away, with Lynsey - who was feeling just as ropey - taking snaps on my camera for me! I did walk around a few sites - don't get me wrong. I will definitely have to go back one day, and make sure I don't drink the night before!

So to sum up, Cambodia is brimming with culture, it's full of life, has a very diverse history from glorious ancient sites to mass genocide graves. It's one of the few places in Asia I've been that you get to witness the horrors of the regime but also marvel at how beautiful it is. The ghosts are still very much there. It's really worth going to see. If you want to see something real, and feel you've really learnt the truth about the place.... then this is definitely the place to go.

Hand on heart I recommend it.

The Race Is On....

Two weeks, three night buses, a boat trip, hardly any sleep, a bus gang of friends who were powering through the country in a short space of time like us.... There was no hanging about, we sailed through Vietnam in a flash.

It's not as touristy as Thailand, there's not as many young people as in Laos. You walk into a shop, try and order something, the shop keeper gives you something else. You argue it's not what you ordered, then they say, "same same but different". Which actually doesn't make any sense.

Six Places I advise to Visit In Nam

1) Hanoi
One of the craziest and busiest cities I've experienced so far. Guaranteed to see at least a hundred mopeds on one street at one time. Whether on the road or parked / sprawled across the pavement. There are random shops especially tacky toy shops dotted everywhere. Hanoi has no traffic lights, so you pretty much take your life into your own hands when crossing the road.

Must Sees - Ho Chi Minh (a previous leader), The Embalmed Turtle Temple in lake (we went but missed the turtle, as you do. We're clueless, you knew this already!), Water Puppet Show - different and ancient, the only drawback is that the whole hour long show is in Vietnamese and pretty hard to follow.

The Good - True to it's roots. Hardly anyone speaks English, so it's not too touristy and it's cheap.
The Bad - Nightlife, although we had fun in an Irish Pub on St Patrick's day, apart from that it was pretty dry. There's also nowhere to get food late at night.
The Ugly - Traffic and also clothes shops. Think Joan Collins, Dynasty, zebra print with shoulder pads!

Rate out of 10 : 3

2) Ha Long Bay
This place is in the process of trying to earn recognition as one of the natural wonders of the world. It's picturesque, tranquil and a nice break if only to get away from hectic Hanoi for a bit!

Must Sees - Two or three day boat trips. Luckily for us our bus gang came on the trip so it was more of a booze cruise than anything else. The Caves are interesting, they have unnatural lighting and man made springs, unfortunately. Tour guides will try and convince you that rock formations look like certain things, but it's a bit like cloud gazing and down to your own personal opinion. We saw a remote floating village (including ATM and souvenir shops!). You can also go kayaking and swimming in the beautiful surroundings. Cat Ba island has a mountain you can climb which has a great view. We were under the impression we were taking a 20 minute stroll on flat land, so wore dresses and flip flops for this! I did have to trade my sandals with the tour guide for his trainers as it was nearly impossible to climb.

The Good - Nature and scenery
The Bad - The Tour Guide's English
The Ugly - No set price for the trip. Some people pay 30 US dollars, some pay 40 dollars, some even 70 dollars and they all end up on the same boat trip.

Rate out of 10: 6

3) Hue
For those history junkies like myself, this place is teeming with it. The DMZ tour or Demilitarized Zone Tour takes you into the small and restrictive tunnels where people hid for years during the Vietnamese War. You also visit a US army base and learn exactly what happened in the lead up and during the conflict.

The Good - Interesting tour and not too upsetting.
The Bad - Again tour guide not speaking great English. Between what I knew, had googled and the email my dad sent me breaking it down into understandable snippets of information, I managed to work out what the tour guide was talking about.
The Ugly - Outside the US Army Base some punters were trying to sell genuine badges and medals, which they'd taken from corpses.
Rate out of 10: 7

4) Hoi An
Like stepping into a pretty French riviera town, this place boasts fancy restaurants laced in ivy, boutiques, dress and suit shops on every corner, a meandering river with spectacular Chinese lanterns dangling from it. It definitely has class. Here we ate well and even had dresses and shoes made (and for cheap!)

The Good - Excellent quality of clothes, which you can have personalised or a high standard copy made.
The Bad - You get harassed all the time for suits/ clothes/ shoes.
The Ugly - It's hard to find much ugly about the place, I guess I'd have to say the nightlife stank. There was nowhere that stayed open late and one very small bar that had nobody in it.

Rate out of 10: 6

5) Nha Trang
This place has a beach, so it propelled itself quite highly in my estimation before we even arrived. Unfortunately there was no sun to go with the beach, just huge waves and lots of rain. A lot more nightlife than Hoi An here too.

The Good - The beach would have been good if there had been even a hint of nice weather. Also, the food in the Sailing Club, which was fancy and inexpensive.
The Bad - Nightlife as I said before was better than Hoi An, but then again my living room has more life than that sleepy town! Nha Trang had two places - Why Not Bar, which was okay and usually busy. Then the Sailing Club. That was it though.
The Ugly - The Redbull in the vases (drinking vases). I didn't sleep for about three days.

Rate out of 10: 7 and a half


6) Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Markets, night markets, food markets.... wait... more markets!

The Good - It's like Hanoi, but better as you can walk down the street
The Bad - The traffic, but better than Hanoi... only just.
The Ugly - Did I mention this place had markets? Well did I mention the stroppy market sellers? They're annoying, persistent and quite rude also.


So Vietnam.. we rushed through it, but we still did everything we intended. Vietnam is unique, different, untouched, frustrating and beautiful.

The thing that made it good for me was the bus crowd. It was nice helping each other along the way to find hostels, or tell each other what to see, where to eat etc.
The bad bits were the language barriers, but on the flip side, apart from in the markets, you weren't hassled too much.
The ugly part was the traffic, the driving, the lack of traffic lights, the way families would pile onto a bike with no helmets on, the pollution and the constant noise of horns beeping drove me up the wall.

Besides that, I had fun, I'll never forget it, and I'm knackered now.
Although it's typically Asian, it seems to be like nowhere I've ever been before in South East Asia. Same same but different I'd say... So would a local for that matter!

Bewitched

After spending a few nights in Laos's capital Vientiane, we felt very lethargic and chilled. It's a beautiful little town with a French feel to it. This may be because Laos was part of French Indo-China up until the 1950s. There are lovely bakeries, steak houses, nice promenades, greenery, interesting buildings. An obvious hot spot for middle aged couples. Our hotel closed at 11.30 every night, due to strict laws, so we ate well, slept well, took leisurely visits to temples and Buddha Park that hosts Buddhist statues with a Hindu twist to them.

Heaven.

So when we decided to head to Vang Vieng, three hours south, we stepped off the bus and thought we'd landed in hell.

Dusty, dirty, full of young drunk twenty somethings. So unlike sleepy Vientiane.

The food was hideous, we had to check out of our hotel after two days because of the insects - ants everywhere and cockroaches. We went to a lagoon and visited the caves and then thought we'd only stay a couple of days, then get the hell out of here.

That was until we went tubing and got a whole new perspective of the place!

What was once one man's poison became our meat, and we devoured it and stayed 18 days. Here are the reasons why we HATE to LOVE (and we do love) Vang Vieng......

1) The nightlife is great - Bucket Bar with free buckets, free shots of whiskey through a pineapple. So you get smashed for free. Good music too, the clubs play Electro House and Drum and Bass.

2) There are so many English people here, you feel like you're at home. Good, but I love a foreigner!

3) Despite the town's ugliness - it looks like it belongs in a Mediterranean 18-30s resort - it's surrounded by majestic mountains, lagoons and a meandering river.

4) The food isn't great, the service is slow. But there are a few hidden gems - Nazim's Indian restaurant and the salmon place next door.

5) The currency is ridiculous - 13000 Kip to the pound, but at the same time I've never had so many notes in my wallet at once!

6)The shopping is terrible. You mainly get things for tubing like 'waterproof' bags, that aren't waterproof. The underwear doesn't fit me, the flip flops are impossible to wear. We did manage to finally find some dresses though.

7) The lagoon is lovely but the roads to it are really bumpy. We took a Tuk Tuk to it one day and it nearly fell apart - literally - the seats in it collapsed.

8) There's not really much to do in the day - you can go for bike rides, but there's no where to ride them, and the bikes are old. But if you want you can sit in the Friends and Family Guy bars, where they play videos on loop.

9) Vang vieng is safe and everyone's up for a laugh. We've seen some funny costumes tubing - cowboy hats and face masks. Even Santa!

10) TUBING - is the best. You start off in a rubber ring at the top of the river and there are bars dotted along the side. They throw you a line to catch and then haul you into the bars. The music is great, you can jump in, swing in from a trapeze, you can even play Mud Volleyball or do mud wrestling in some bars. We had a friend who started off at the top of the river and skipped all the bars and floated all the way down. He thought why does everyone rave about this - the water's really calm! It's not the tubing itself it's the bars, the atmosphere.

I can't put my finger on it but maybe we were put under a spell... It was hard to leave.