Selemat Pagi Indonesia!

After a day in transit at Singapore airport we arrived in Bali. I was really excited to be here as I was keen to check out some Gamelan music. I was really excited about our trip out the to the Gili islands as I have always wanted to go there. We had a Bintang beer on our balcony the first night in Bali and enjoyed a wander around the streets. Accommodation in Bali can be really cheap if you're not too fussy and usually includes breakfast so that helped us to keep the costs down. The next day we made our way to Padang Bai and took the local slow ferry out to Lombok during the crossing we saw a beautiful sunset. We arrived in Lombok late at night but we still managed to arrange a taxi up to Sengiggi. The next day we went to the beach in Sengiggi which was beautiful, the snorkelling was fun but the current was really strong so we didn't make it out to the reef just off the beach. We went for sunset beers and enjoyed some local food for dinner.

The next day we travelled up to Bangsal and took the local ferry over to Gili islands. The word Giili means island or islet in Bahasa Indonesian, this is a generic language spoken throughout Indonesia although there are many other local languages spoken you can get by with Bahasa. There are three Gili islands just of the northwest tip of Lombok, surrounded by reefs and beautiful turquoise seas they are a real Robinson Crusoe experience.

We headed to Air first and we were taken to beach bungalows by a cidomo (Horse drawn transport) as there are not motorised vehicles on the Gilis. The views were stunning and the beaches were beautiful. The snorkelling was incredible and I was fortunate enough to have an amazing birthday here, the hottest birthday I think I will ever have as it was in the high thirties early forties! We had a great day blowing the budget and enjoying cocktails and ended up singing along with the locals after our meal too! We walked around the island and generally enjoyed a slow pace of life sunbaking, eating the local food and fish.

The next stop was Gili Trawangan which is known as the party island, we spent about a week here partying, sunbaking, snorkelling and meeting great people. We went to check out the Turtle conservation places on the island but unfortunately we were too early to release any turtles, we did see some turtles that had hatched the day before my birthday. We hired bicycles and rode around the island and enjoyed soaking up the gorgeous scenery.

After a week of hanging out here we moved to Gili Meno which is the quietest island of the three. This was our favourite beach as there were trees to shelter from the midday sun, there was a really nice pineapple lady that we would buy fresh pineapple from and the snorkelling was the best here. We finally managed to see a couple of turtles and our last trip out was cut short as we saw the biggest Barracuda; it was about half the size of a leg! We ate most nights at a great little Warung (restaurant) called Ya Ya the guys there were really friendly and it was by far the best Nasi Goreng (fried rice) we had in Indonesia. We reluctantly left the islands and made our way back over to Bali. We spent a night in Padang Bai; we went to see the Black beach and enjoyed some local market food.

We were keen to get to Ubud as it has a lot of Balinese culture on offer so we left Padang Bai after one night. We arrived in Ubud mid morning and headed to the tourist information centre, this was really helpful. We asked if there were any ceremonies happening and the very helpful man pointed us in the direction of a cremation parade/ceremony. This was by far the most elaborate and energetic ceremony I have ever seen, the Gamelan groups that were a part of the ceremony were fascinating to watch and listen to. I was so pleased that we had seen this. We followed the procession along the streets to the Monkey Forest; this was where the cemetery and final part of the ritual took place. We left the ceremony there and went to have a wander around the town. We found out a few days later that the ceremony we had witnessed only happens once every five years, how lucky were we! Later in the afternoon we went to the Monkey Forest, wandered through the temples and watched the monkeys interacting with each other and the tourists that were feeding them. That night we went to the old Ubud Palace (Sareng Agung) to watch a traditional dance and gamelan performance. The setting for the performance was incredible as it was in the open air old palace court yard. Before the performance the 'stage' was lit by candles and decorated with flowers. The dance depicted a story involving Balinese gods and godesses which was easy to follow with the programme notes. I was completely bewitched by the dancing and I really enjoyed the Gamelan music. It was really nice to hear some live Gamelan music; the entire experience was really special. After a busy day enjoying Balinese culture we went for a beer and enjoyed a live cover band.

The next day we travelled to Kuta for a few days partying at the beach resort. There were many schoolies there and for those of you who have not yet encountered schoolies they are Aussie school leavers who go away to celebrate finishing school. We felt quite old when we went out but we didn't let that stop us! It was a real treat to have late night KFC and Macca's -although we did regret it after! We went to the Kuta night food market and ate at a small family restaurant that a father had passed on to his son; it was really cheap and delicious. Ryan was really excited during our stay in Kuta as we were on the countdown to our trip to Australia......

Apologies for not uploading photos for the last three blogs, I am on a time limit in the Geelong Library (which is running out quickly)!

Thailand the sequel; Bangkok

We arrived in Bangkok in the early hours of the morning and took a cab to our hotel on Khao San Road; apparently our taxi driver was falling asleep on the way -eek! We made it safe and sound. Ryan was particularly excited to be in Bangkok as we were off to see the Socceroos and I was excited as we were off to see my friend Pippa for a day of home comforts at her flat in Bangkok. We tried to go to the stadium to get our tickets but it was Sunday and the ticket booths were closed. We went to Tesco Lotus and headed round to Pippa's. Pippa made delicious Lasagne and Garlic Ciabatta for lunch and spoilt us with some yummy Lychee cakes! I went to visit her school and enjoyed seeing where Pippa worked and lived.  We went for a beer by the river side and decided to go for a curry at Pippa's favourite place for dinner. Absolutely delicious! We had a great time and were pleased that we would see Pippa again at the Footie. The next day we went to visit the Grand Palace and although this was spectacular it was no Buckingham Palace! That evening we met up with my friend from home Scott and his girlfriend Yam. We had loads of beers and ended up a very messy evening with street Pad Thai for dinner. We learnt a few useful phrases in Thai that Ryan practiced that night on everyone, this was very funny! The next day we spent the morning completing our Christmas shopping and then went to the post office to send our gifts to England. We then got changed into our Aussie shirts and made our way to the stadium. We met Pippa there and enjoyed a meal of street fish cakes and other random stuff, all delicious. The atmosphere within the grounds was amazing and the Thai supporters were in high spirits (fuelled by Chang beers). The match was a world cup qualifier that Thailand needed to win to stay in and Australia needed at least a draw to qualify. There were quite a few spectacular dives and some interesting decisions and the Thai side spent a lot of time on the turf Christiano Ronaldo style. Jing Lor!!! This made Pippa change sides and support Australia! Finally after 78 minutes of drama and near misses Brett Holman scored the first goal. The green and gold army went bonkers and it was such fun to join in! That was the highlight of the match and after a few great saves from Mark Schwarzer the Aussies had their win. I felt bad for Thai supporters as this was the end of their 2014 world cup campaign. At the end of the match some of the Socceroos came over to the Aussie fans and Luke Wilkshire and Neil Kilkenny threw their boots to the fans -we didn't catch them. Then Schwarzer threw his gloves into the crowd. After the game we ended up waiting at the players exit and Ryan met; Mark Schwarzer, Brett Holman, Bret Emerton. Holman is much prettier in real life and Schwarzer was the nicest and is actually a giant. Because of a weird camera setting I took poor photos and was in the dog house for a bit (sad times). We said our goodbyes to Pippa for a while (not too long we hope) and made our way to get sorted to leave early the next morning. I really enjoyed Thailand and I am really looking forward to the next visit there.

Photos to come soon...

Viet Nam; South to North in three weeks

Viet Nam is actually two words but they have been joined into one word in the west.  Viet means the people and Nam means the South, so Viet people living in the south. We had heard great things and were really excited for the next part of our trip.

We took the coach from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) this was by far the nicest coach we had travelled on we were given complimentary water and a movie was shown for the journey! We arrived in HCMC late afternoon and wandered around the small laneways looking for a place to stay. The first thing we needed to do was to check out bia hoi, a local draught beer served to customers sat on small plastic chairs and tables in the street.  It cost us 10,000 dong at the first place and the people watching was great. The next day we went to see Reunification palace which was the former presidential palace in South Viet Nam, this was an important victory for the Communists whose tanks broke through the gates in 1975 and marks the fall of Saigon. After this we wandered around the city looking at other famous landmarks such as the Notre Dame Cathedral. Crossing the roads in Viet Nam should be an Olympic event!  It is such a challenge! The trick is to keep walking at a consistent pace so that the traffic can pre-empt your movement. If you think about running or stopping chances are you will be hit! My map reading skills are shocking and I had us wandering off the tourist track through the local streets. This resulted in us having to cross a major road which had about 8 lanes of crazy traffic, scary times. I held Ryan's hand and closed my eyes and with the help of a local we made it. That night we found a cheaper bia hoi place for 6,000 dong -such a bargain as it was 33,000 dong to one pound! The next day we went to the Cu Chi Tunnels, about 30km outside of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).  The tunnels were a key role in the Viet Cong offensive during the Viet Nam war; a 200km system of tunnels stretching from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to the Cambodian border housed the Viet Cong and their families. The tunnels were complex and well thought out including rooms for sleeping, cooking, making weapons, making shoes and clothing, medical rooms, air holes disguised like termite mounds and well systems for water.  Not forgetting the essential escape routes out to the river if the tunnels were breached.  We enjoyed crawling through the tunnels, having a look at the home made bamboo weapons, eating tapioca and drinking tunnel tea.  We also had the opportunity to fire guns, we paid for the bullets and fired an M30 and I think a K74. It was fun, although I never want to fire a gun again as it was a bit scary.  Walking around the tunnels with to the sound of gun fire added to the atmosphere and helped us to imagine war time there. We met a fab English couple Jay and Louise who were on their honeymoon and we all went to watch the Rugby World Cup Final together (New Zealand vs France), naturally I was cheering for the Kiwi's (Shon has asked me to remind you all that New Zealand won). We had a great evening full of drinks and the tastiest Italian food we had found on the road.

We then went to Mui Ne which is a quiet little backpacker beach spot.  We stayed there for 5 nights, sunbaking, catching up with emails and enjoying the sunsets with Saigon (beer) from the spa. We went to a great seafood restaurant (Bi Bo) there and I got over my fish fear by eating fish made into fresh DIY spring rolls using rice paper, mixed greens and water -yum. The scallops there were my favourite and we went back a couple of times just for them! Ryan took part in the Mui Ne Phat Burger challenge, this was a burger that was pretty much the size of a cake, the challenge was to eat it and the side of chips within 20 minutes to get it for free and as much beer as you could drink. After a few motivational comments from me and a bit of space making belches, Rads completed the challenge within 18 minutes as far as we know is still the current record holder! Shame that Ryan could only manage one free beer after all that!

Our next stop was Nha Trang, we spent a few days on the beach here and on Halloween we took a boat trip out to the smaller islands off the coast. We stopped for snorkelling, sunbaking and a floating bar at Mun Island, Mot Island and Hon Tam Beach. We met some great people and drank far too much; the boat entertainment was pretty special. The best shanty musical instruments I have ever heard! We all met up later that night and continued to drink ourselves silly; I also made a rather drunken birthday call to my uncle -sorry about that! We spent the following day nursing our hangovers at the Mud bath and Hot Springs. Quite simply the best hangover cure ever! We made our way up the coast to Hoi An by an overnight bus, this was not the most comfortable journey.

We arrived in Hoi An at 7am and after a few hours of being messed around by a hotel we found a great place to stay which included free bike hire. We cycled 5km out of town to the beach which was stunning and we enjoyed a day there. Whilst in Hoi An we took a cooking lesson, shopped for a few Christmas pressies in the old town market and found the cheapest bia hoi for 3,000 dong a glass! Hoi An is the capital of tailor made clothes in Viet Nam so there were lots of great fabric shops and tailors everywhere, had we been on a shorter trip or holiday we would have had clothes made for us.

The next day we took the bus further up the coast to Hue, which was the political capital of Viet Nam from 1802 to 1945. We hired bicycles and rode around the town and around the outside of the old Citadel. Quite a few of the roads and streets here were flooded but that didn't stop us from exploring. We managed to catch the Viet Nam vs Myanmar (Burma) football game as part of the South East Asian games, after a few near misses the score finished up 0-0 but the Vietnamese were really animated with their support. We didn't stay very long in Hue as we wanted to get out to Cat Ba island in Halong Bay and to do that we had to get up to Hanoi.

We took another overnight bus up to Hanoi but this time paid the extra dollars to take the Sinh Tourist bus, this was well worth the money and was the best bus we took in Viet Nam. The seats recline on all of the tourist buses so that you can sleep during long journeys, there are a floor level and a raised level and the views on the bus journeys were fab. After a comfortable ride up the coast we arrived in Hanoi around 8am, we took a moto taxi out to the bus station and booked our travel out to Cat Ba Island.  Many guidebooks and internet accounts make it sound impossible to get out to Cat Ba Island but we found it really easy! After a trip on a minibus and a small boat we arrived in Cat Ba Island and began the hunt for a place to stay. We found somewhere and in the room opposite us were another backpacking couple who had been on the same journey out there. We had a chat and then ended up in a great routine of drinkies on our balcony each night with Laura and Damien. We went on a walk around the island to check out the beaches and some of the cliff side walks were spectacular and I instantly fell in love with Halong Bay! We took a boat trip out to Lan Ha Bay and Halong Bay for $18 each and Damien and Laura joined us.  We met Greg and Claire from Melbourne on the boat trip and the six of us were inseparable for the rest of the day.  Swimming in Halong bay was good fun, the stop at Monkey Island was nice, we stopped at the 'surprising cave' and its size and beauty more than lived up to the name. The highlight for me was Kayaking through the caves and quiet lagoons within Halong Bay and enjoying the stunning views. On the return trip to the port the sunset was beautiful and we decided to all meet up for dinner and drinks later. We had a great night together and this was probably fuelled by the two litres of Vodka for two pounds! Our last day in Cat Ba island we wanted to go and see the national park and the Hospital cave as recommended by Greg and Claire.  We hired motorbikes and followed Damien and Laura out along the road.  Our trip was cut short by a small bike crash that left Ryan and I a little worse for wear, especially as we were on a dirt/gravel road. Damien and Laura helped us out as did many Vietnamese people who came to see if we were ok. We went straight to the beach and cleaned ourselves off but this was the end of our exploring for that day. We took it easy for the rest of the day and were grateful that we didn't hit anyone else, that we were wearing helmets and that we didn't break anything. After a final night of hanging out with our new friends we travelled back to Hanoi the next day.

It is worth mentioning that travelling out to and staying for five nights on Cat Ba island to take the Halong Bay trip is cheaper than most of the day trips and is a lot more relaxed! After a few jokes from the mean moto taxis we got a ride into the old town and found the hotel that had been recommended. We found a great bia hoi place and ended up drinking with some locals -who shouted all of our beers. The next day we went into the city to complete our Christmas shopping, we checked out the Ngoc Son Temple on Hoan Kiem Lake which houses a preserved giant tortoise, took a xe-om (a cycle taxi similar to a tuc tuc) around the old city and checked out more bia hoi. We would have liked to have gone to visit Uncle Ho but he was in Russia for yearly maintenance work. We both really enjoyed Viet Nam; the people are really kind and mostly helpful.  The food is delicious especially the Pho (noodle soup), various street foods and spring rolls (Viet Nam is the home of Spring Rolls) and I still can't get over the fact that I could have had 11 draught (bia hoi) beers for one pound.

Photos to be added soon......

A week in Cambodia...

So I've been held to gun point to finally write another blog..... Not really, but I said I'd do it, so here goes Cambodia. Writing this from Hue, in central Viet Nam by the way!

We decided to make the long journey from Don Det in the 4 Thousand Islands to Siem Reap in Cambodia. So we booked our bus tickets all the way through to Siem Reap for $30 US. Due to leave at 8.00am in the morning, and arrive in Siem Reap at 9.30pm that night. We initially took the boat across the Mekong where we waited for an hour or so in a travel agent, before heading off to the Cambodian border. We'd heard all sorts of scams involving Cambodian borders so when the travel agent offered us to get our visas for $30 US and the official rate is supposed to be $20, we politely declined. So off we went through the border thinking we'd saved a bit of cash but little did we know we'd be giving money away left right and centre as we went. Stamped out of out Laos, with a $2 stamp fee, a $1 health check as we crossed no man's land (basically a lady pointing a thermometer gun at your head and then yelling at us 'you pay $1 now!!!'), $23 for the actual visa (above the official rate) and then $2 to put a stamp in it for a total of $28 which wasn't too bad considering we'd heard a few horror stories that sounded a lot worse. So now in Cambodia where we were directed to a restaurant. Here we sat for a couple of hours, waiting for other passengers who'd left Don Det two hours after us! We could have had a two hour longer sleep in! So eventually the bus got going and you could tell we were very late. A tyre blow out and numerous stops for food etc didn't really help things and eventually we arrived in Siem Reap at 3.30am, only about 6 hours late. After a few friendly negotiations with agressive tuk-tuk drivers telling us our guesthouse was shut, flooded and an expensive ride away, we eventually made it to bed at around 4.30am.



Sam in a flooded Siem Reap



After a bit of sleep in, the next morning we set off through a flooded Siem Reap centre to Pub Street where we were joined by loads of Aussies and Kiwi's watching the World Cup semi. Had a great time, despite the result and partied the night away in a flooded Pub St with our new mates, including a 4pm round of tequila's that set the mood for the rest of the evening. Sam ran into Pippa, (her mate from the UK) who was in Siem Reap with Paul and Grace whom we spent a lovely evening the following night catching up and eating some awesome Khmer food.

The party after the Rugby

Our third day in Siem Reap and decided to get up early and do a day tour to the temples of Angkor. We were lucky enough to have an awesome sunrise as it had mostly been cloudy/rainy as it was nearly the end of monsoon. Angkor Wat was absolute quality, as were the rest of the temples. Favourite was Ta Promh, the jungle temple which literally has a jungle growing inside the ruins.

Angkor Wat at sunrise

Me at the temple of Angkor

Me at Ta Promh

Sam at Ta Promh

Following our long day of templing, we decided to head down to the capital, Phnom Penh to get our Vietnamese visas and see the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and the S-21 Tuol Sleng prison. We'd heard some not so nice things of the capital but we actually enjoyed it, despite the shocking history and things that we learnt and saw. We made a day trip out to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and S-21. At Choeung Ek, we listened to to an audioguide of some horrific stories of some of the victims of the Khymer Rouge, one of whom was killed because a guard accused a her of stealing two bananas. We then went to S-21 which was an old school that had been converted to a prison during the Khmer Rouge regime. There were shocking photographs of the thousands of prisoners who had been held there before being transported out to Choeung Ek. It was here we ran into our Irish mates from the slow boat, Jerry and Jill with which it was decided a beer was in order later that evening to cheer us up. Had another great night out and woke the next morning with a bit of a hangover. Went off to pick up our passports and visas, then straight on to a bus to Ho Chi Minh City in Viet Nam.....

Tuol Sleng S-21 Prison

Tuol Sleng S-21 Prison

  

Map of Cambodia at Tuol Sleng

Tuol Sleng Prison rules

Memorial Pagoda at Choueng Ek

Victims skulls inside the memorial Pagoda at Choueng Ek

Lovely Laos

 
So our adventures in Laos started in Chiang Mai where we booked the slow boat tickets. We were part of a small group that travelled to Chiang Khong, on the way to CK we stopped at Chiang Rai which is famous for it’s white ghost temple. This was beautiful and we were really pleased that we got to see it! When we arrived in Chiang Khong we were taken to our guesthouse for the night which was ok. There was a rather plump man shouting orders at his wife (usual thing in Asia) and a strange Japanese bar next door. We went for a wander down the very small high street, bought some cuyshions for the boat and Rads had a shave in the local barbers (because he was looking like a hobo). We met some really nice people within our group, a nice Northern couple, an Aussie named Brendan and a nice Scotty called Neil. We sat around drank some beers and traded travelling war stories which was great.  The next day we were driven to the Thai side of the Mekong river to catch a long tail boat over to the Laos border.  However, we couldn’t find anywhere to stamp out of Thailand and the boat people hurried us along. Of course we were all plonkers and ended up having to pay to cross back over to stamp out etc… it must be a tourist trap to make extra cash. After this we successfully got our Laos visas and ended up on a bus, in a tourist shop where the man tried to make us change our minds and take the bus instead (another quick cash scheme I expect) but we all said no etc.  We eventually made it to the Mekong to board the boat (after stopping at the bus drivers mates shop etc this happens everywhere in Asia) and got on the boat.

The White Temple at Chiang Rai

The boat was quality and there was a large group of us –a mixture of tourists and locals.  There was a bit of party atmosphere on the boat and we had our first BeerLao –delicious (much better than Thai beer). So your probably wondering what this slow boat malarkey is?1 You travel from the Laos border down the mekong river with an overnight stop off in Pak Beng and then on to Luang Prabang.  The Mekong was rather big due to all of the monsoon etc but it was truly beautiful.  There would be nothing other than jungle for ages and then a small village where the kids would run down and wave, or we would stop to drop someone or something off or pick something up (like a motor bike one day).  The night stay in Pak Beng was incredible, this village has only built up because of the boat stop off and is really tiny.  We found a great hotel and a great family restaturant where we tried traditional Laos dishes.  We tried the Buffalo Laap which ia a meat salad with coriander, mint and chillies, this is eaten with sticky rice that you roll into a ball shape and dip into the laap, it was delicious. On the boat the next day we spoke to more people on the boat and met a really fab Irish couple (Jerry and Jill) and we continued to bump into them all over Laos and again in Cambodia!  The second day the boat trip was longer but just as beautiful.  I highly recommend this to anyone! 

Kids got onto the boat to sell beer Lao

Cave near Luang Prabang that houses many Buddhas

When we arrived in Luang Prabang it was stunning, a little French colonial town with all french style buildings, bakeries, cake shops, cafes, bicycles and baguettes –everywhere!  We tried some noodle soup, this was delicious and hired a couple of bicycles.  This was great fun and we rode around exploring the town and checked out some temples.  We only paid to go into one and that is because it is the most magnificant temple in Luang Prabang –Wat Xieng Thong.  We then pedalled to the Royal Palace Museum which was great and we saw a small gold buddha that gave Luang Prabang it’s name.  There were also gifts from other countries displayed, we liked the Australian gift of a boomerang that had inscribed ‘made by Torres Strait islanders or Queensland Aborigines! We went to the night market for dinner and that was really tasty.

The tree of life mosaic at the temple

We took a bus to Vang Vieng, the scenary was stunning, the mountains were so beautiful we stopped many times on the way, passing fresh landslides and passed through random hill top villages. Towards the end of the bus trip the roads were terrible, generally the roads in north Laos are a bit poor. Vang Vieng is a backpacker party spot famous for River Tubing. Basically you hire a Tractor inner tube and float 4km down the river, along the first 2km there are bars and they chuck a rope into the water and fish you into their bars!  The first day we went early and it was really mellow and we were the only few people there, we ended up with some people from the slow boat, drinking, using the swings and slides into the river and generally partying!  The next day we went again after the Wallabies Springboks game and it was like a spring break scene from a movie! I should say that Whisky shots are free and compulsory at every bar but water is expensive! Both days Rads and I were so pissed that we had to paddle 2km down the river to get our tubes back in time.  The scenary along the river is stunning and tubing was great fun, we had to get out after a weekend …..

Amazing Scenary at Vang Vieng

The end of the Tubing

One of the many hill top stops

We travelled to Vientiene with terrible hangovers and thank gosh the roads were a bit better!  Vientiene is the capital of Laos and we weren’t really to fond of it there so we only stayed one night.  There was a big festival coming up in a few days time and the entire seafront road was set up with stalls, stages and there was a big party atomsphere. The festival is to celebrate the end of the rain season and to celebrate the river and is basically a big boat race, but everyone makes their own long boat especially for the race. Sadly we missed the race and the festival.

Rads at Kong Lor Cave

We left Vientiene and took the local bus out to Ban Nahin so we could go to Kong Lor Cave which is inland and off the beaten track. This bus ride was ok and the roads weren’t too bad.  As soon as we arrived we found a guesthouse, hired a bike and rode the 40km out to the cave.  The journey was incredible driving through small village communities, rice paddies and all the kids would wave and shout Sabidee (hello) as we passed them by.  Kong Lor Cave is a real Indiana Jones experience, a 7.5 km cave that can only be accessed by boat and leads to a village on the other side mountains.  Our torch is rubbish so it was really eerie because the only light was coming from the front and back boatmen’s headtorch. Scary times!  Every now and again we would pass bats and you could here them all squeeking and chattering away to each other!  At one point you are stopped and get off the boat and walk through some magnificant stalagmites and stalactites.  The boatmen only light these up when you’re near them and it is stunning.  By far the creepiest and most beautiful caves I have ever seen!

We travelled about one third of the length of Laos in one day trying to make our way down to Siphon Don or the Four Thousand Isalnds.  However we only made it as far as Pakse and stayed there for a night before we continued on the next day. When we left Pakse we took a Songtheaw (like a bus version of a tuc tuc) and it eventually left with 35 people crammed in, including a nice Canadian couple and Ryan and I were squashed up to some monks and a rnadom girl pretty much sat on my knee the entire journey! It was coming to the end of the rainy season so the Mekong was pretty dirty and you couldn’t see many of the four thousand islands.  We found a great place to stay and met up with the Canadian guys for dinner, a great first night in Don Det. The island was incredibly muddy and it was better to walk around with no shoes on! We hired bicycles and rode around to the other island Don Khong, we got caught in a monsoon and that was hilarious.  We ended up passing a small family somewhere out near long beach (muddy/sandy beach on the river) and they offered us Laos Laos –home brew.  It’s rude to say no so of course we drank the Laos Laos and it was strong I was glad that they only gave me a little lady glass! We bumped into Jerry and Jill again and got on the beers which was good craic!! We only stayed there a few nights because the weather was a bit grim and there was sooo much mud.  We decided to book a bus trip from the islands to Siem Reap in Cambodia (it’s quite difficult to make your own way as there are no direct roads to SR).  We were excited to be heading off to Cambodia but we were sad to leave Laos as the people were so nice, it’s such a beautiful country and it is still mostly unspoilt by tourism (apart from Vang Vieng). Over to Rads for the Cambodia blog!!

My new school in Don Khong

Rads at the waterfall in Don Khong

Bridge between Don Det and Don Khong

Thailand Adventures!

So it's been a while since the last blog -sorry! We spent a night in Singapore before flying to Phuket. Although we only saw a snapshot of Singapore we really liked it. It was so easy to get around on the metro/underground and we found our hostel after a short walk. We ate at a local food court and had a nice time mocching around!

After quite a bumpy flight to Phuket (I was scared) we were excited to be meeting with our friends Heather and Garth who were on their way to Australia. We stayed at Karon beach and they were just around the corner at Kata beach. Stayed at Beshert guesthouse which was superb, would highly recommend there! We spent the next four nights enjoying dinner, beers, pool but mostly Mojitos with Heather and Garth. We also celebrated Garth's birthday with a variety of cocktails, rubgy, mini golf and the boys enjoyed some Thai whisky!! Phuket was good fun and we really enjoyed hanging out with friends.

We reluctantly left Heather and Garth in Phuket and made our way to Koh Phi Phi Don. We decided to stay on a gorgeous quiet beach around from the port -Long beach. It was stunning, I have never seen anything like it in my life. We spent time chilling on our beach and swimming in the beautiful sea! Spectacular views and there were maybe 4 other people on the beach with us! We decided to walk the 2km around the coast road to the main town to watch the rugby etc. This was a cool, a real busy party town with some cheap beer and food! We ended up going to the Reggae bar to watch some Muay Thai and drink some buckets! We had our own party that night! We bought snorkels and enjoyed snorkelling at Long beach, lots of beautiful fish! We left Koh Phi Phi Don after a few nights and made our way to Koh Lanta. 

The ferry trip to Koh Lanta was pretty rough and the boat had to stop half way to rescue a bag that had fallen off the ferry and floated away! Whoopsie! Everyone was quite confused by the stopping and it was raining so hard that the bags were pretty soggy!! Still we all made it (bags included) to Koh Lanta. We shared a taxi with some nice Aussies we had met on the boat to Klong Nin beach. We stayed in a cute bamboo shack in a small, lovely beach hut place. We hired a bike and cruised around the island checking out local food shacks and driving through gorgeous little villages. Leonardo Di Caprio has a house there so we went to find it, think we made it to somewhere nearby. We had to abort our mission as the weather turned on us, it was fun trying though! We also went walking through the jungle to find a Waterfall, this was a great adventure. Wandering up the stream/river, through bush, popped into a cave and eventually under the canapy of jungle and dark clouds we found the waterfall. We stopped off for a paddle as it the pool at the bottom wasn't very deep or big! By the time we had finished the monsoon came down -really, really heavily! We walked as fast as possible back along the stream (that was quickly growing) and through the rather soggy jungle back to the bike. It didn't stop raining for hours and hours and the roads were pretty poor on the way back. We made it safely back to the shack with a dirty bike and a funny story! The weather didn't really improve too much so we hid from the monsoon. We managed to get a few swims in and a few trips out on the bike. We even saw a big black Scorpion when we were out and about. That was very cool but very scary too! Although we didn't have the best weather I really enjoyed our time there. After a few nights we decided to head of to Koh Phangan. 

The trip to Koh Phangan was quite long as we were picked up early. We took the bus over to the ferry and crossed over to the mainland. After a furious bus trip to Surat Thani we were dropped off at a bus station. We had a bit of time before our trip to the ferry so we found a nice local place and had some lunch! We then got a bus to the ferry pier and jumped on the ferry to Koh Phangan. The ferry ride was much better than our previous trip!! Koh Phangan is stunning! We stayed at a gorgeous resort, up the rocks from a gorgeous little beach at backpackers rates! We hired a bike and explored the island, full of beautiful beaches and scenary! I had my first scooter ride here, certainly scared Rads but I really enjoyed myself! I loved Koh Phangan and could've stayed there forever! We found a few great places to eat including an all you can eat (pay for what you leave) BBQ place. I'll try and put a photo up of the BBQ place it was tasty and fun. We popped over to Haad Rin which is where the famous full moon beach parties are held. Unfortunately we missed every variation of moon party, we may pop back in November for the next full moon -not sure! I loved Koh Phangan so did Rads, I'm sure we'll head back one day. 

We left Koh Phangan and took a ferry to Koh Tao. Koh Tao is big for snorkelling and diving and there are some great deals there. We plan to revisit there to complete our PADI dive training (so many great deals) one day. We hired a bike (are you noticing a theme yet?) and explored as much as we could, there are few 'good' cement roads.  We drove as far as we could near Tanote Bay to go snorkelling. I have never seen anything so incredible in all my life! The marine life was fab, it was basically a drop off 20metres from the beach with an abundance of marine life! Everything from interesting fauna to big fishies! I loved it! By far the best place we have snorkelled! Well so far!! I'm already looking forward to our next trip to Koh Tao! We found a bar and enjoyed the rugby world cup, NRL and AFL games. The bar was called Choppers and they advertised a pub crawl there, guess what? We went on the pub crawl! It was awesome, great games and great people! If you're ever in Koh Tao and fancy a night out -do ittt!! After a pretty heavy night out we were booked on the ferry to Koh Samui the next morning! 

The ferry was really, really rough! It stopped at Koh Phangan on the way to Koh Samui where we had to change ferries, we could've easily got off and stsyed there! The ferry was not the best idea on a bucket hangover! Still, we made it to Koh Samui and shared a Songthaew (taxi like a larger tuc tuc) to Lamai beach. We seem to be on a pretty good spree of 300 baht per night rooms (£6/ $9.50) that are good quality! I liked Lamai beach, we took it easy there for a bit. Rads wanted to show me a few places around Samui so we hired a bike (again) I really enjoyed doing our own thing and exploring with the bike! We visited 2 food markets on the island and saw such a wide variety of fresh fish, meat and veggies on sale! We had the best (and biggest) bowl of Roast Pork Noodle soup for 30 baht (60p/$1). We have been really getting into noodle soup in Thailand, it's so cheap and tasty! Could go for some now (writing this from the slow boat in Laos)!  We had pre-booked flights to Bangkok and then on to Chiang Mai so we only spent a couple of nights on Koh Samui. 

The day we travelled to Chiang Mai we took a variety of different transport. I think it's something like; 1 minivan, 1 taxi, 1 tuc tuc, 1 Ferry, 3 coaches, 2 shuttle buses and 2 planes! It was a massive day! We stopped in Bangkok Airport for a few hours and treated ourselves to a Mc Donalds (something we regretted afterwards), Rads found a double Big Mac and I challenged him to get it. After minimal persuasion he had it! It was actually nicer than a standard Big Mac! Enough of the food talk, so we got to Chiang Mai and took a taxi to Junior Guesthouse, the staff there are amazing and made sure that we had a great time! We wandered around Chiang Mai visiting the temples, including the oldest temple in Chiang Mai! We hired a bike and travelled up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Temple. The monsoon hit when we were there so we took our time to go around, taking refuge under anything and enjoyed the beautiful temple. We carried on along the road to Doi Pui Hmong Village. This is the home of a hill top tribe who have regenerated their town to sell local clothes and other local handicraft. This was really cool and we were about 1,685 ft above sea level! Literally driving through the clouds to get there! We wandered around the village and paid extra to go to the gardens and waterfall. It was a beautiful place, quite and serene with stunning views of the mountains! We saw a couple of opium poppies too!! We decided to carry along the mountain to find the hill top tribe camping area and another hill top village. We stopped to help a pregnant lady and a man get their car out of a muddy lay by but it didn't work. We left but it was ok because another couple went to get help and later they drove passed us -shouting thank you and waving! Phew! We couldn't drive to the second village as the roads weren't too good and we were unsure if we would make it back with the fuel we had left! I really enjoyed this adventure though! We planned to spent the Sat watching the Rugby world cup and the AFL grand final. We eventually found a couple of places to watch the games. We met a really nice Aussie chap and his sister. They were living in Chiang Mai and ended up taking us to some great local spots. We went for dinner at 'the fish ladies' (not her official name but how she was known to the aussies) which was super yummy! I even ate fish -and like it!! We spent the rest of the night drinking, playing pool and ended up at a Jazz bar! The musicians were fab and after a lot of Thai whisky we were all having a dance! A great night with great people! The next day we went to meet the Aussies and watch the NRL final. We were massivly hungover but it was ok! We agreed dinner at Warorot market and then we all wandered to the Sunday Chiang Mai 'Walking Market'. This market was incredible! So many different stalls of handicrafts, clothes, cushions, soaps, street massages, key rings etc were on sale. Food stalls were located in temple grounds and the hustle and bustle was fab. We had some fresh juice, a few nibbles and tried Quail eggs, they were super yummy! I liked them! After walking around maybe 1/4 of the market (which took a couple of hours) we were really tired so called it a night! Loved the markets! The next day we were headed further north to stay near the Laos border. We found a deal with our guesthouse to get us to the border, but that is another story............
 

Rajasthan, Goa and back to the start -Mumbai

Jaisalmer was amazing, although it is discouraged (for preservation reasons) we stayed in the fort. This was incredible as the view was fab. There were quite a few storms and they were great to watch from the fort! Uncle Buck, you would have loved it! We visited Jaisalmer's Fort Palace which was fab! The audio tour (free with entry) was great and had lots of other info about Rajasthan, the history of the area and other cultural info! We spent a lot of time exploring the fort and resting here. It was a great stop! We caught the train to Jodhpur after two nights in Jaisalmer. 

We arrived in Jodhpur around 5am and made our way to the hotel we wanted to stay at. The rickshaw drivers (tuc-tuc) in India can be tricky and some are well documented for telling porkies about hotels being full. They do this so that they can take you to another hotel and gain commission. Lonely planet warns of this in most places but we only experienced it in Jodhpur. We resolved the issue and after Rads told the Rickshaw driver off (politely) we were on our way to the hotel!

Jodhpur is known as the blue city (all the buildings in the old city are blue). We went on a trip to the Umaid Bhawan Palace (or Chittar Palace) which is part hotel, part museum and part royal residence for the original successor of the maharajah. This was a fab place, lots of lovely things have been done for the community by the royals here. The palace was actually built to help create jobs at a time of hardship! Lots of photos and info about the relationship with the british raj and their influences. This was a great trip until I lost the camera down the toilet! I was really cross at the time but it's a funny story now! It was a good thing that I'd backed it up in Jaisalmer! 

We spent two nights in Jodhpur and we visited the Mehrangarh fort on our last day. This fort was much larger than Jaisalmer, we were allowed to see more of the former royal rooms too. Fabulous place enriched with a fascinating history and enchanting stories! We stopped for about 30mins here to shake hands, speak to and have our photo taken with lovely people! The children in India are so sweet, such big smiles and big hearts! Whilst in Jodhpur we tried some Rajasthani sweets and drinks (machiniya lassi, like a yoghurt drink with Saffron, yummy). 

We took our final Indian train from Jodhpur to Ahmedabad, which is where we flew to Goa from. There wasn't much to do there as it was Sunday and a few things were closed. We checked out a few Mosque's, Jain temples and then headed to the airport. We were very excited to be on our way to Goa! 

We arrived later than scheduled in Goa and it was just getting dark, so we had no idea how incredibly beautiful it was/is. We took a cab for an hour and a half down to Palolem in Goa's southern beaches.  

Waking up in Palolem was a dream, it is absolutely stunning! We went to the beach and found a nice patch to chill at for the day. Amazing! Such a great sunny day too! We had lunch on the beach at a great restaurant and saw the local
fishermen bringing in the catch. It looked like the entire community were there and they each took their turn to take something. I really enjoyed watching this and I have never seen such big prawns! Unfortunately the rain became quite regular (monsoon season) so we went to the beach less than we would have liked too. We still managed a couple of swims in the warm sea.  

Fortunately the majority of the community were celebrating the Hindu festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. This is the celebration of the birthday of Lord Ganesha the god of wisdom. Communities construct various idols of Ganesha and prayers, offerings of sweets, dancing and vibrant music take place during this time (Ganesha is famous for having a sweet tooth and a love of/for dancing).  The festival is marked by a big procession of the idol through the local community toward the beach. Once the idol has been taken to the beach there are further prayers and offerings of sweets then finally the idol is immersed in the sea (idols are made of clay in Goa). After this the sweets are shared amongst the community, fireworks are set off (most of the time) and the dancing begins. I believe this is the only festival that welcomes the involvement of the general public! So we were lucky enough to be involved in the dancing, fireworks and sharing of sweets! This was an incredibly special night and will remain one of my fondest memories of our time in India. 

We left gorgeous Goa after four nights of bliss to return to Mumbai!  So the Indian (and Nepalise) adventure ends right back where we started almost a month ago. Our last night in India was spent on Chowpatti beach sampling Mumbai's famous Bhel Puri and Faloodahs! We had one final great night in India. 

India has been an incredible place to experience! We will take away fond memories of the places and the amazing people! Apologies that there are no photos with this blog, it won't let me upload pictures from my mobile.

So, next stop Thailand via Singapore! Off to meet Heather and Garth (who are legends for bringing out a new camera for us) ....... I anticipate some good times,  memories and (bucket induced) stories to come!