Into Indonesia

Our very early morning flight led to two grumpy Brits sat in an airport terminal flinching every time the tanoy imparted messages that not only could we not understand but that were also broadcasting at decibel levels intended to reach those still circle in aircraft over head. Upon arrival we had a brief panic when we realised that the authorities are charging for visas, information that the lonely Planet has reliable provided for each previous country. Having no cash on us (at all- Blakey spent the last few pence on a mask at the Malaysia airport) we soon realised it wasn't too drastic but we were the last through customs, no change there then.

A short taxi ride took us to the Losmen Setia Kraman where soon after we checked into our room the "full" sign was displayed. Phew! We had found ourselves a really nice place for the next few nights with comfy sofas, magazines and free tea and coffee, plus a lush breakfast thrown in. An artistic group run the place and the walls are covered in psychedelic murals of elf like faces melting into each other and all seeing eyes. groovy!

After a short stroll and a tasty breakfast it was straight for a lie down on the super comfy mattress. Our previous night's sleep had been cut short not only at an ungodly early hour, but was severely postponed by the next door club trying to extend the party into our room by pumping bass laden R and B through the thin walls. Unsurprisingly we over slept and so did little more than explore the vicinity of our hotel on our first day in Indonesia.


However, our extensive sleep recovery was useful for our 5am start the next morning for sunrise at Borobodur, a huge Buddhist monument a little way out of town. Sunrise had actually started by the time we hi the road, but the light was still low and atmospheric as we circled the pyramid like structure covered in domes and intricate stone carvings., all set in a picturesque location with an impressive mountain to one side and a field of palm trees surrounded in morning mists to the other. the new camera got an excellent trial!

In the afternoon we headed into town through rows of market stalls and the usual hard sell. Everyone here wants to take tourists to a batik gallery so we fended off the repetitive greetings of "Hello, where you from? England! My relative/friend/boss is there. I'll show you something as you're English!/ It's your lucky day/ have you seen the art exhibition?!" We have heard it so many times now that we have stopped being polite and no longer "speak English" It seems to be working but unfortunately may have given the wrong impression when Blakey dismissed two young boys before realising they were innocent students just keen to have their photo taken with him. We hope they understood our apologies!

We headed around the corner for the water palace in the 40 degree heat, walking through the bird market where a tray of fluorescent chicks caught our eye. Indonesia is making a very artistic impression on us, aesthetics are considered everywhere from dying chicks a range of colours to elaborate murals painted on any wall space available. however, sign posting is less prolific and although we knew we were close we could not find the place!

Looking lost we were obvious targets for a tout and soon someone had given us directions but "kindly" offered to accompany us. he followed us the whole way through the complex and we were almost relieved when we ended up at a shop, understanding what was in it for him. having no money on us ensured we were not ripped off and I did not begrudge the pound he asked of us for the information, though I still resent the lack of choicer we were given in hiring his services!


The following day we were to visit another impressive temple, though this time for sunset. Arriving at Prambanan we were instantly more drawn to the decorative Hindu architecture. The huge towers were surrounded by piles of stone as an earthquake in 2006 had caused a lot of damage to the area. restoration work is still very active as large puzzles are being assembled around huge site and scaffolding surrounds some of the structures.

As the sun started to dip we headed for a meal with the Belgian couple that had come from our hotel with us before heading back to watch an incredibly impressive version of the Ramayana Ballet performed on an open air stage directly in front of the flood lit Prambanan. the costumes and lighting were rich and exuberant and the staging truly epic, particularly when large bales of hay were lit sending flames metres into the air. thoroughly impressed we returned to sort through hundreds of pictures and prepare for yet another move the next day.

OK in KL!

Malaysia has been a total success so far and there is something in the air that makes us both want to come back in the future and give it a proper look over- to think we were going to skip it! Today though we left the stunning green tea hills and headed towards the capital city, Kuala Lumpur, where we stayed in the Golden Triangle area which is bursting full of life with slick towers reaching high in to the sky.

A dull five hour ride on an even more drab bus landed us in the city centre. For the mass amount of vehicles on the road and hives of people here everything looks pristine and under complete sensible control. There's traffic lights and road signs tat traffic actually obeys and it doesn't small like a dead carcass either unlike most capitals we have encountered so far!

We checked into a very homely guesthouse although it seems like pics have more than doubled in the last few years compared to what we had read and expected. We went for a cheap bite to ea, eventually settling on a place after walking around for a good half hour and realising there is no where cheap to eat; we would just have to splash out in this city. I had promised Jane to take Laura for a romantic meal so hopefully this would fit the bill! Our meal ended up costing more than our room but it has to be said it was blooming tasty and I had my best carbonara yet (I've been trying one in each country to see if they can beat my Mum's homemade wonder, it was a better challenge than eating McDonald's in every one like a good friend suggested!)

We then moved down to Low Yat Plaza as we had read it was a great place for electronic goods. Our camera, which we had just got repaired before coming out, was playing up badly, and with such amazing shots anticipated everyday for the next 8 months we are not going to put up with it doing circus tricks! We hit the huge shopping complex and first shop in there were cameras and gadgets everywhere at reasonable prices, but not quite as cheap as we had hoped for. Second shop in, all our digital needs, third shop, ohh the same, in fact, this entire plaza is dedicated to selling exactly the same stuff. How on earth does each retailer survive?! Prices were all over the show and whatever the amount labelled on the camera said would always be instantly reduced by the sales assistant upon asking. With almost every shop selling the same product and changing the deal for us it lead to a lengthy visit into each and every one, and it wasn't just this massive plaza, no, the plaza next door had a whole floor dedicated to electronics too!! You can imagine the state of our brains by the end of the 20th shop asking for the 20th time the same question over and over again so we left for bed and an email back home for advice from the king of photographic knowledge, Mr Phil Whiting!



The next morning we ate a scrum my and totally free breakfast given to us by the guesthouse, most rare in what we are used to on our budget! After a bit of a slow start as Laura was still feeling a little rough with stars in front of her eyes we went to Menara Kuala Lumpur which is the fourth highest telecommunications tower in the world. Around 56 seconds in a speedy lift got us as high as we could go and to an impressive panoramic view of the city full of cutting edge sky scrapers reflecting on to one another. However, there was one other place from which to see the city in a truly breath taking manner, and that was to jump from the highest point of the tower! This wasn't an option open to the general public thankfully (as I might have been tempted) but we would watch on as one by one people were hurtling past the towers over packed traffic and urban chaos below to land in a marked (and rather small) grassy spot below (hopefully!).

Next up we walked to the Petronas Towers which until 2004 were the world's tallest sky scrapers, but as the view wasn't meant to be as good as from Menara we left it at ground level and instead entered the absolutely ginormous Suria KLCC Shopping Complex which puts everything else to shame, including what I've seen in London! Kuala Lumpur is seriously on it and seems to be the place for the fashion world of South East Asia, and with us in our hobo travelling clothes we certainly felt out of place and in need of a good make over.


It took us hours to walk around the different floors and to decide where to eat out of the stacks available, though after finally reaching a decision what did we choose... McDonald's for me and a Subway for Laura! Why oh why we don't know but we were so hungry and it felt so close to home...comfort maybe? Is that good enough?!

After buying absolutely nothing apart from food (well done us!) we went to find the Komplex Budaya Kraf which was a mall full of handicrafts. I was looking to add to my mask collection which has so far receive ed an addition from each country we have visited. We stepped outside and it was absolutely heaving down, and our five minute walk turned out to be twenty, resulting in us been completely drowned looking rats. It was quite hilarious really, especially when we squelched our way through the expensive antique shops. It was all over priced and out of our range so we left, in a taxi this time to avoid drowning, and headed back to the Plaza to buy a lush new camera. We got the best deal in town (we should know, we really did check!) and left hap[py bunnies eager to shoot some pics. This has been one capital we'd love to stay in longer and explore but tomorrow we have to be up at 3am for our taxi to the airport where we're getting a flight to Indonesia's Jogjakarta!

Living the High Life

Further into Malaysia and on to the Cameron Highlands. Getting here was a mission, with a 5 am start and on to a packed yet surprisingly comfortable minivan. Needless to say we fell asleep as soon as the engine started and were surprised when the driver stopped to give us a break what felt like 5 minutes later, but what in reality was over an hour in. Being bleary eyed we chose not to get off which made me feel very guilty when another hour later I awoke to a very ominous sick feeling. Oh dear. Waking Blakey to ask for help stopping the coach whilst I tried to hold the contents of my stomach in place, the friendly bus driver promptly turned around to stop at some very nearby toilets. Thank goodness, it was not pleasant but most immediate!

By our arrival at Father's Guesthouse I was not feeling much better so it was nice to arrive somewhere so welcoming and reminiscent of home. the minute we entered Malaysia the left hand driving on a dual carriageway marked exactly as the English are through green fields has felt so familiar, and the three pin plugs in our room, fish and chips on the menu and tea served as we do in Blighty has been disproportionately exciting, so travelling to the cooler climate of the Cameron Highlands and the British colonial town of Tanah Rata to find a room full of comfy sofas to flop on and two gorgeous dogs (one a German Shepherd!) was almost pant wetting! I had been looking forward to a lovely cuppa and a cream tea for weeks now, but today was not the day.

We were shown to our basic but comfy room in a Nissen hut, which after remarking how similar it looked to the makeshift air raid shelters of World War Two I later found out were used by the British forces stationed here at that time. I promptly fell asleep under the cosy blankets and stayed there until 6pm. Whenever I did awake the sound of the rain on the tin roof soon sent me back to my slumber and Blakey, though not feeling unwell, took advantage of the downtime with intermittent sleep and diary writing.

By the evening we wandered through the village in search of some sustenance- Blake opting for the fish and chips and me for the tomato soup- equally comforting and patriotic as we thought compassionately of home, and we rounded the whole thing off with a pot of tea and scones. Bloody marvellous!

By the next morning I was back on form and so after a great big breakfast (to make up for all the food missed the previous day!) we headed for a jungle trail. We had been warned that though the trails are there, the jungle grows fast around here and soon engulfs the paths, so with provisions in our rucksacks and sturdy walking boots on we headed out in the morning sunlight. We soon found ourselves scrambling through streams, clambering over fallen tree trunks and clawing our way through vines as we followed the muddy path through the woods. The plants in the jungle are on a massive scale- leaves grow to huge proportions and there are plants on plants on plants. Although aware of the less pleasant forms of wildlife we could encounter, long trousers and sleeves to stop the bugs biting and checks for spiders and snakes each time we put out hands or feet down, the most we came across were some pretty little birds, some playful squirrel like creatures (they moved too fast for us to get a proper look) and a funky looking centipede. Most pleasant was that it was just the two of us, and we reconfirmed our plans to have a house set n woodlands one day!

Eventually the trail led to a long winding road which we followed up hill towards the Boh Tea Estate. The walk was incredibly picturesque with farmlands and tea plantations carpeting the undulating hills in thick, lush green and bright vibrant flowers scattered at the edge of the road. As we walked further and further up the hill the afternoon clouds started to gather and mists rolled across the mountains in the distance adding to the magical beauty of the views.

When we eventually reached the estate we were a little disappointed to find it closed on a Monday. Still, we were able to appreciate the panorama by ourselves and headed up to the viewpoint for photographs and a picnic, still completely alone. When it started to rain we threw our raincoats on and used a rucksack liner as a makeshift tent before heading back down to the closed tea room where we grabbed seats on the canopy-protected patio and watched the rain pour. A few visitors came and went whilst we waited for the storm to die down, but when the thunder and lightening started immediately above us we knew it was time to descend.

Although the thunder had started the rain seemed less heavy and we had walked for less than five minutes when a bus back to the village came trundling along the road. WE hopped on into the dry and admired the scenery from the comfort of our seats, though the extremely old and noisy engine impacted on the tranquillity somewhat! After a fairly long ride back (making us feel accomplished in our walk there!) we had our tea and scones n the village, unwilling to miss out entirely.

With the evening stretching out before us we planned hot showers followed by hot drinks in our cosy room. Having the one wash bag between us we decided to share a cubicle and don't get any ideas- the concrete block is no setting for romance! A few minutes under the hot water, soap in hair and over body, Blakey decided to kill the mood further by using the toilet and then, horror of horrors, flushing the chain. Suddenly the shower stopped altogether and we were both stood stark naked and covered in soap suds in a freezing cold, wet concrete cubicle with a significant and chilly breeze passing through the broken windows. We tried again and again to bring the hot water back but could get no more than a freezing trickle of water from the shower head. By the time we started shivering we gave up, tried to wash the suds off us with the pathetic stream of water and dressed as quickly as we could. After that hot drinks were a necessity and our room seemed even more inviting.

So we finished the day tucked under the blankets writing postcards and eating biscuits. It is strange how after the tropical beaches of Thailand we are so excited by the cold, wet and cosy weather of the Cameron Highlands!

Malaysian Medley

All set and ready at 7.45 am we got into our mini van for an eleven hour ride across the border to Malaysia. This country has been a "do-we-don't-we" destination for the last few weeks as we are getting close to our departure from South East Asia with a flight from Bali on November 9th. WE have pretty much kept sot on with our schedule though and realising how fast we have moved through countries and over vast amounts of land we decided to squeeze this one in.

Our long journey there seemed to fly by, maybe thanks to our comfy leather seated and air conditioned van. The border crossing was quick and smooth for us too but another group travelling with us were not quite as lucky. Two couples consisting of old, unattractive men both stuck in a serious fashion time warp and there younger and somewhat more attractive Thai girlfriends, a situation that often leads to questions regarding the sincerity of feeling, had a spot of bother. It turned out one of the ladies didn't own a passport and her arrogant man decided he would attempt to bribe her across into Malaysia, a plan which failed miserably and resulted in them leaving the van and hurrying back for fear of the police catching up.

Eleven hours later we arrived in Penang, also known as Georgetown, and checked into a 5 pound a night guesthouse before heading to the streets for some recommended Indian Restaurants. The glass displays full of food at the entrance to each place were slightly off putting giving the impression that things may have been sat around somewhat longer than we would leave it at home, but hopefully it would taste amazing? It was a bit hard to tell if my Chicken Korma was any better than the made-for-British-taste-buds ones at home as it was stone cold and looked s bit like something you'd find in a dog's bowl, so I was a tad disappointed. However, Laura's veggie filled omelette and naan bread was lovely!

It didn't matter about the meal as we were really excited to be here and looking around it seemed to be a very exciting place for us to explore. We hit our beds in preparation!

Waking up the next day at 11am wasn't quite our plan but at least it gave us some energy back. After breakfast we hit the streets starting at the sparkling end of town in Lebuh Buckingham where every shop is full of jewellery, guards holding shotguns and some ridiculously cheap prices that had Laura's eyes light up somewhat!

Moving swiftly away before we spent a fortune we headed through the streets of Little India and Chinatown. This is where the place becomes a totally unique and amazing experience as there are so many ethnic groups living here, all with their different religions from Islam to Hindu to Christian and many more all with their own trades too. One minute you are walking past a Chinese stall selling rice noodles and the next entering beautiful Sari shops pumping out Indian Bollywood pop. The buildings are all grey and wearing away but the vibrant street colours bring this town to life in a spectacular way. There is complete freedom of religion here although Malaysia is considered a Muslim country and it is amazing watching everything work together.

Evening came around fast after a really enjoyable day of nosing around and we sat to eat at one of the street vendors stalls. Laura's request for noodles "no meat, no fish" were not so veggie as they were served complete with duck and pork, but I managed to fit it in alongside my double cheeseburger. Thank you Laura!

Andaman coast

Another boat and bus took us across the Thai peninsular to the Andaman sea in search of more glorious beaches. After a long journey our first night spent here was in Krabi town where we wandered around the night market and were served some very tasty green curry by a very proud chef- so good we returned for an early breakfast the next morning before another boat trip to the beautiful island of Ko Phi Phi. This island is amazing- sapphire waters that beg to be swam in and beaches full of sand as soft as talcum powder. As soon as we secured a bungalow for the night we caught a long boat taxi for an off-shore view of the island and a ride to (our exact brief) "somewhere beautiful and quiet, away from the crowds, we're looking for romance!" We were not disappointed, the journey itself was lovely, the dramatic karst scenery jutting out of the water and everything covered in palm trees. It seems crazy people are allowed to wake up to this every morning!

As we headed around the island the boat pulled into a very secluded bay- potentially one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Behind the white shoreline was a jungle of palm trees and there were just two people on the beach. Just amongst the palms was a little shack selling cold drinks and right across the bay we could see two bungalows balanced on the sloping hills that surround the bay.

After setting ourselves up with a peaceful little spot it was straight on the phone to Blakey's mum to wish her a "Happy Birthday". Even in the most idyllic of places we are thinking of home and missing everyone, so you can all rest easy that we will return one day! Unfortunately the reception was not good here (why would it be?!) so we decided to try again later. For now we were to spend our time swimming in the cool crystal waters and lazing in a particularly indulgent fashion. Bliss!

Our boat came to pick us up as the sun was starting to set (and the insects starting to bite- the biggest irritant out here!) so we headed back for a refresh, a proper phone call home and an evening stroll around town. Within minutes of walking from our beach side bungalow we had arrived at the shoreline on the other side of the island where many restaurants were trying to tempt us in. We settled for one with candles sunk into holes in the sand and deck chairs looking out to sea and for the second time since leaving Eb\England allowed ourselves to get a little merry sampling the cocktails from the menu. Finding alcohol that tastes as refreshing as orange fruit pastilles means it doesn't last long!

Next day saw a relaxed morning on a slightly more crowded beach and an afternoon ferry ride to the more affordable Phuket. After a failed attempt to walk in to town we blagged a super cheap taxi to the hotel where "The Beach" was filmed. Our very basic room has a slightly grotty feel but we don't plan on spending much time awake in there so no matter. An evening stroll around town showed this is an artistic community with lots of art galleries and coffee houses in which we sampled some spectacular banoffee pie and spent a fantastic evening in the "Bohemian cafe" where the owner, Suzie, greeted us like old friends and made us feel at home- we played a free game of pool and Blakey even got some playstation action. The whole time we were entertained by her gorgeous son, Am, a bright and happy little boy who was keen to make friends (especially after pinching chips from Blake's plate!)

So with one day in Phuket the locals made sure we got up nice and early by setting off hundreds (no hyperbole!) of firecrackers and banging drums loudly as tehy enjoyed the Vegetarian festival. Not only does the whole place go meat free for "soul cleansing" (imagine how clean my soul is!) but many of the males perform crazy stunts such as walking across red hot coals or climbing ladders made of blades. As we quickly dressed to find out what the racket was about we found a large gang of guys, all stood in a tight pack whilst people threw firecrackers amongst them. They then tried not to flinch at the heat and noise emitted. mental!

So after breakfast it was straight to the main attraction on these islands for us- the beach! Although lined with some tacky blue parasols and deck chairs it was still fairly quiet and both of us spent the majority of our time there in the water, allowing the strong waves to carry us forwards as they crashed to shore and then drag us back out to sea again, getting plenty of salt water up our noses for good measure.

As if to send us out with a bang our final night in Thailand was spent exploring the festive stalls of the vegetarian festival where copious amounts of delicious food and drink was being sold to satiate the appetites of the locals who are not as accustomed to such a pure diet! We walked through the whole crowded street buying a little of what we fancy along the way and and ending with a lot to munch at a plastic chair to the side of the action. Our week in Thailand has done wonders for our tans and photo album. Tomorrow Malaysia!

Pha-Ngan-ing Amazing

These night buses seem to be getting worse by the journey but seeing as we were to be lazing on the tropical island of Ko Pha-Ngan for the next two days I reckon I can forgive this gruellign trip. aftre getting off at the station we were approached by a very nice and very effeminate man called Tan, who had been working on the island for 16 years and assured us that everyone there knew him; it wasn't hard to imagine why. He offered us a hut on the beach for just 2 pounds each situated away from the mroe banging side of the island and aimed at the more romantic couple- well, that was obviously us and with such a cheap deal and such a likeable guy we accepted.

We still had two hours to wait for a bus to take us to the boat and somehow within minutes we manged to fall asleep on our hard plastic chairs in the middle of the busy bus station. Every time i woke up I noticed the patch of dribble on y T shirt doubling in size and hoped that nobody else had, especialy whilst I wiped away the long thick stream hanging from my beard.

One bus, boat and slightly airy taxi ride later we arrived to our resort at Haad Gruud and a quick walk around confirmed that we had blagged an amazing deal! Our 4 pounds had landed us with not only a lovely shack with en suite but also a private white sand beach, an infinity pool, a tasty filled menu in a chilled out restaurant complete with hammocks tied to palm trees and a killer view out to sea. to top t all there was a serious lack of other people staying there; this really was paradise! It wasn't long before we hit the absolutely scorching sand to soak up the sun. There was only one other person on the beach who left soon after we arrived and we instantly knew there was no point exploring the rest of the island, we had everything we had come for right here. The day had moved from beach, to pool, to deck chairs watching one of our best sunsets ever. We followed it up with some realy powerful cocktails and a huge Thai curry sat outside with the waves gently breaking in front of us.

The next day we couldn't find a better plan than to do it all again. Breakfast, pool, beach, pool with a slight difference when we walked to a cash point and a lookat an alternate beach which whilst bigger was more crowded and a little dirtier, not nearly as good as ours! Later we encontered our only slight niggle in the shape of a rather loud and even more crude Austarlian woman and her quieter yet equally charismatic husband with beer belly and tattoed head. Her stories of touching up the owner's wife's boobs and being chucked off a plane for being too drnk amused us for a while, but we kept telling ourselves when we had to move on that it would have started to grate had we stayed longer. As evening came we bought tickets to take us across Thailand to Ko Phi Phi. From what a few girls had told us it was going to be even more beautiful tehre, ooh yes please!

Banging-kok

After an epic bus journey lasting over 12 hours from Siem Reap we arrived in Bangkok to a majestic sunset. Journeying into the depths of the city it as clear we were only going to see a fraction during our pitifully short stay. Aftre a short trek around the infamous Khao San Road with a quite probably high character trying to sell his friend's hotel with soe aneaky back-handed suggestions we managed to lose him and find ourselves a cheap and sparse home for the next two nights off a nearby Soi. We very nearly had to look elsewhere as the lack of plugs sockets and a range of batteries needing charging nearly put Blakey into panic mode, but reception allowed us to use a socket down there and all was well.


After such a long day we headed out bleary eyed but empty bellied and walked the festive and heaving Khao San. Market stalls selling plenty of tat and some good Tshirts were everywhere along with stalls for getting dreads or worse, braids (not whilst travelling- it's so ciche! Some people even had henna tattoos, fisherman pants AND guitars- that's just overboard!) On our way through from our Soi a short cut took us through a restaurant selling hummus and falafel, so we filled our bellies with garlicky goodness and were soon ready to crash beneath our pathetic yet noisy fan.

Next day it was up and out for the best of Bangkok! We headed straight to the cultural centre (after a suitably late, large and lazy breakfast) to see the Royal Palace and Emerald Pagoda. On the way a very nice man stopped to give us directions and chatted for a while, keen to tell us where to go and the scams to avoid, as well as pointing out the two colour number plate system on the tuktuks and taxi- one for trusted government run and the other for privately owned who may try taking you to a silk shop where pressure sales are the name of the game. he also mentioned that the palace was very busy in the morning, suggesting we head to the big buddha first and told us of the TAT- Thailand Authorised Tourism. Suddenly he'd flagged dow a tuk tuk and negotiated a 20 Baht fair for his suggested day and we were off.

Within oments it was clear that it was set up- just looking at the privaetly owned cars and public buses it was clear he had switched the license plate rule. Still, we took our time wondering around the Buddha and when our taxi driver took us to a "TAT" travel agency to get some"information" we did no more than that. Finding they charged three times as much as our hotel for onward transport and were desperate to secure a sale there and then ("why not pay now, we have special offer, today only!!") we soon left. Returning to our smiley driver, he soon didn't look so cheerful when his casual "so where are you going next in Thailand" was met with "we don't know". A short argument later and we managed to convince him there was no point taking us to another travel agency so we reached our destination for an extremely cheap price. Let's hope we spot all the scams out here!



The Royal Palace was yet again stunning. Brilliantly coloured glass glittered in the once again dramatic sky and plenty of photographs were taken.ome of the approaches to Buddhist philosophies were questioned when we saw decorative and expensive looking food bowls created for high ranking monks in this religion that advocates the rejsction of material possessions and a woman tried to sell us caged birds, with the promise that Buddha would bless those that free the poor creatures. Surely Buddha would rather bless those that do not fund the inital capture of the birds, so we turned her down.

After a long day traipsing around we returned to our hotel for a quick catch up on the blissfully air conditioned net and a good nights sleep. As we had booked a night bus for our onward jpurney we spent the next day doing exactly what Bangkok wanted us to, spending money. We searched all the stalls for the best T shirts and summer dresses and bargained our little socks off, coming away with planty and another parcel sent home. We made a short stop midday for a coffee in a very cute shop run by artists serving deleicious waffles and sat down just in time; suddenly an almighty thunderstorm, huge in volume of sound and volume of water ounded the streets and soaked passersby. We felt suitable smug as we nursed our warm drinks from dainty tea cups in the dry comfort of our seats and just stared at the amazing weather.

Day over it was time to journey on. We were goignt o sleep well tonight, tht is, until we realised that our night bus was a regular coach with regular seats and the loudest Australian girl on the planet. Thank God for iPods.

Laura Croft

Leaving Phnom Penh at 10am we arrived six hours later to a water logged Siem Reap. It seemed Typhoon Ketsana had only just past here with flooding nearing the top of our buses wheels but in fact a whole week had gone by. Thinking we were going to have an all too familiar wet stay, we were pleased to see that by the time we had driven further into town towards our hotel that we would leave the water behind us.

The moment we stepped out of our tuk tuk to a now dry and sunny Siem Reap we were asked if we wanted to see the sunset from the top of Phnom Bakheng a short ride away. We had been travelling all day, not eaten lunch and we would have to leave in just five minutes time in order to catch it. Our hotel owner said it had been raining for days on end so we thought it might be the only chance we would get so we dashed to dump our bags, get essentials and headed off swiftly!

The journey up to Bakheng got us pretty excited about being here though no matter how sleepy we were as we drove alongside thick lush jungle with vines twisting in between the trees complete with monkeys overhanging a river on muddy roads full of pot-holes making us boing from our seat. When we arrived at the base of the hill we were greeted by a very persistent group of young kids flogging the usual postcards, books and bracelets not really taking no as an answer!

Escaping the sales we saw at the start of the climb a sign saying the temple would close at 5.30pm and guess what time it was now...? Yep, spot on, but seeing others still walking up we carried on hoping not to be disappointed and with the sun already halfway down it didn't look promising. Reaching the top of Bakheng after climbing some incredibly steep steps, it was all totally worth the visit as we walked around the beautiful ruins and night sky. It was a great taste of what was to come for tomorrows exploring of Angkor.

We trekked back down to our tuk tuk and returned to town for a huge bite to eat, words cannot describe how hungry we were at that point. We found a swish looking Mexican restaurant in the main high street and at that point could have ordered everything from the menu. We did pretty well and while we ate our super tasty meal we sat back in our comfy chairs watching the lively night life unfold and scanning the interesting shops we would finish. Within minutes after leaving I had bought what I had tried to resist buying in China- an amazing sounding two stringed instrument played with a bow called a Tro Ou. In Hanoi it cost $165 but here just $16, waaheey! Getting it back to the hotel I gave it a go, thinking with my guitar skills I'd make some sweet sounds to woo Laura with but it sounded just like a dying cat and when I had attempted to play violin for the first and only time. Give me some time and I'll woo you all you'll see!

The following morning was our earliest yet with alarms piercing our ears at 4.30am in order to see the sunrise at the eighth wonder of the world- Angkor Wat! The blast of cold air in our faces along with the now familiar severe pot hole poundings on our ride there surely woke us up quick and my feet were tingling with anticipation.

Angkor is of huge importance and pride to the people of Cambodia especially after so much devastation and grief the country has seen in the years. There are literally hundreds of decaying temples here that would take a good week or more to see but we would just visit a handful of the most magnificent ones.

Unlike yesterday, we arrived in plenty of time ahead of the sun and as we began to cross an enormous bridge full of great slabs of stone over a ginormous moat we were met by an even bigger and most staggering Angkor Wat with it's silhouette of sky high tower peaks reflecting into the water beneath it. We walked further in and reached a lake where a large group of photographers and pesky salesmen had gathered and were informed that this was the best place to watch the sun breaking over the temple. It looked perfect and with hot coffee now in our hands we sat on some logs by the water and started snapping some rather impressive pictures if I may say!

Over the next hour daylight had crept in and although the clouds had covered the sun from cracking through we were more than pleased with what we had seen. We got breakfast and again were pestered beyond belief from children and women begging to buy yet more postcards and silk. Some just would not leave us alone keeping on and on to a point you wouldn't believe and if you buy a set of postcards from one kid then the others will expect you to buy from them too and they will not understand why you don't need any more. It's ridiculous to hear when for example at the start of a conversation you can get say 5 bracelets for $1, then after saying no countless times they will have upped the deal to 20 bracelets for the same price. Laura is still dealing with them well, but I am truly starting to loose my rag!

After a massive amounts of photos outside we began our real exploration of this immense sized monument passing through spectacular vast corridors leading to grassy courtyard ruins with impressive tower peaks touching the sky. There was so much to take in and even more to look around later throughout the day so after a few hours we moved on to the next temple named Bayon. I instantly loved it even more here with it's elaborate carvings incorporating 216 huge crumbling stone faces along with 16,000 figures decorating the walls. What could be the worst possible thing to happen whilst arriving to one of the most jaw dropping places I have ever seen? Our camera had less then half a battery bar left! This frustratingly ended up with us taking only the most out of this world shots which happened to be every 10 seconds.



Anyhow we moved on to the next series of temples which were a lot smaller in size but no less astonishing and then arrived to the wonder of Ta Prohm. This temple was used as the set for Tomb Raider, and whilst there was no Angelina I had an excitable Laura Croft with me beating off villains and climbing the crumbly walls leading to some highly amusing video footage. What is so spectacular here is teh giant sized trees with their thick roots permeated the tone structures; the jungle really has taken over here and it is absolutely mind-blowing. Unfortunately it's where our camera died, five minutes in to our exploration. We simply were not having it and refused to leave Cambodia without some shoots so we persuaded our driver to rtake us back to the hotel for two hours to charge the battery and get lunch, to which he agreed for an extra $5. Two hours later we were back and snap happy amongst the incredible stones and tree roots. Eventually we left the ruin and drove to a final destination to round off the day. This was full of carvings, cracked doorways and pillars. the wonderfully decorated ruins led to a lovely end to this remarkable highlight in our travels so far. We could have done endless days looking around more temples but were feeling absolutely satisfied- what a day!

Next day we were completely knackered from our action packed adventures so rather than catch the 7am bus we needed some time to relax. With no alarm followed by a luxurious lie-in we took a late breakfast, served to us on a large white sofa with the same leg room as our beloved Horder in a white miniamalist cafe. A day exploring the relaxed town and its sprawling market was topped off with a therapeutic massage from the "Seeing Hands" of the blind massage school. We could hardly believe that our Cambodian adventure was over so soon. Tomorrow to Thailand!

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh promised to be one of the most effcious cities from the outset. Cambodia's recent horrific past is within the living memory of many of its inhabitants and it is painfully clear that the economy is still struggling to recover. When we arrived we were instantly struck by the difference in living standards here. The streets are grimy and covered in rubbish in places, everything looks older and more used. But visiting this city felt important, a task that should be done despite some of the painful and shocking truths we were to witness.

On arrival the usual horde of tuktuk drivers were waiting and desperate for our business. We have come to realise that in these Communist dominated countries the strive for Communal wealth and equal status has led to a drive to eradicate difference, and in doing so has created nations of people all offering the same set of services. We spend so much of our day saying "No thank you we've just bought one/ organised it/ eaten..." This was to happen instantly as our friendly driver secured our business for the following day, taking us to the city sights, a service offered by every guy with a motorbike we passed as we walked to the riverfront. However, rather than undercut or insist we reconsider as was oftenn the case in Vietnam, people gave huge smiles and wished us luck.

As we reache the riverfront it was clear the tourist dollars were spent here. The streets were clean and the shops looked-after. Alongside this were groups of grubby looking children selling photocopied guide books or useless souvenirs. One boy followed me a great distance up the road with his huge puppy dog eyes pleading for a sale. Finally he gave up and suggested I buy him an ice cream instead. I refused, but decided to get him something more substantial if he really was hungry, handing him a 40p pot noodle the most nutritious instant meal I could find.

The next day we were up early to visit the horrific Killing Fields of Choeng Ek. After Pol Pot's terrifying and perverse reign ended in 1979 a large number of mass graves were discovered here, locating thousands of the 2,000,000 victims of the brutal regime. Walking around the quiet fields, large holes now covered in grass, the deepest filled with water like small ponds, placards described theior final journey. We learned the disgusting way they were bought here in darkened vans, blindfolded and threatened into silence by electric lashes and horded into blackened sheds to wait. As the regime's paranoia intensified so did the disposal of victims so there were often waiting periods of 24 hours before they were pulled out and disposed of, often by blugeoning with a hoe to save bullets. The piles were then soaked in chemicals to stop the smell and kill those who were buried alive.

Walking around in shocked silence it was sickening to think that human nature can allow such crimes to happen. In the centre of the field stood a large glass stupa, shelves full of recovered skulls from the vistims and a pile of clothing. The shocking memorial exposes the sheer violence of the events in an attempt to prevent a reoccurence.


The tuk tuk driveto Tuol Sleng was in absolute silence as the horros were so fresh in our minds. We were now heading to the school that was converted to a detention centre for many of the victims before prior to their murder. Walking down the corridors of each block, cells were left with a single bed, one or two items of torture or restraint and a single, horrific black and white photograph of a victim on a similar bed. It was not difficult to visualise the suffering that had happened in this exact location.

After walking through the larger cells we walked through the rows of cubicle cells, about the size of a public toilet seperated by brick or wood that were built as the prison filled. They were followed by large open cells with metal rings and chains cemented to the floor every few metres, used for mass detention. In some of the more open rooms were hundreds of passport style photographs of the victims taken by the Khmer Rouge of their victims before their transferal to Choeng Ek. MAny of the faces looked tired, eyes deadened, thugh some of the babies seemed unaware in their innocence. the most haunting were the faces of those who clearly understood their fate, crying or terrified, pleading with the camera for some alternative.

Needless to say, it was an emotionally draining morning. utterly shellshocked we could do little more than head for coffee and let things sink in before continuing. Knowing there was more to Phnom Penh tha the misery fof those four years we headed to the majestic Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda.


When we arrived we were glad we had,our previous mood had led us to contemplate returning to the hotel, but the palace was magnificent. Bold bright colours of gold with red, blue and green accents adorned the ornate and intricate architecture, looking all the more dramatic for the blackened clouds hanging ominously above.

To finish the day on a hgh note we headed out to "Friends", a restaurant run by ex-street children picked up by the charitable organisation and taughtto cook and serve in order to progress to jobs in the blossoming tourist industry. We enjoyed a selection of dishes served like tapas- the most delicious meal out here so far.

Wandering back to our cosy hotel we were once again reminded of the poverty, seeing a mother and a child sleeping on camp beds covered in mosquito nets under a shop canopy and spying the feet of people under plastic sheeting used to protact their roadside stalls during the day. What do they do in a typhoon to keep safe? We wre so glad to have come here to get some perspective on the country as a whole and to experience the extraordinary cheer that eminates from so many of the people. Tomorrow we head for the more opulent Angkor Wat where I expect to see many similar contrasts of historic wealth and current poverty.

Bats for Lashes

We had lazed on the beach for long enough and now it was time to move on to the more manic paced Ho Chi Minh City (now renamed Saigon by the locals once again). First we had to catch yet another night bus and judging by the heated argument in full swing as we got on we had a feeling it wasn't going to be a barrel of fun. A swarm of travellers were shouting at a woman who was organising the trip and they proceded to tell us right in front of her what a "total bitch" she was and how we had got on "the bus from hell!". From what we could work out, the only problem was that we weren't allowed to use the bus toilet which we had paid extra for and instead the bus driver would stop whenever we needed it. That didn't seem a problem for us and we were starting to feel quite sorry for the lady as she was beginning to crack under all the verbal abuse.

Eventually we got under way and a far greater problem was at hand. The next 11 hours were to be spent sleeping on what I can best describe as a kid's slide. If you didn't have your feet firmly pressed on the bar at the bottom of your bed with legs constantly tensed up then literally every time the bus would brake or turn a corner, you were sent sliding down into a crumpled mess. It wasn't just the angle that was an issue, as the actual width of the bed was so small you would have to overlap your arms on to the person next to you and vice versa. We've done sleeper buses many times before but this one in particular really was hell and when we finally arrived in Saigon we had only managed to get around one hours sleep.

It was bursting full of life here and seeing as we were the complete opposite, we decided to check into the first hotel we came to regardless of its gloomy and in need of a serious paint job interior. We could have slept for hours but we soon dragged our sluggish zombie bodies out to the streets to check out why Saigon is regarded as such a splendid place to visit. Within a few metres walk we had been asked countless times if we wanted food, postcards, hammocks, silk scarfs or a tuk tuk ride, but surprisingly everyone had backed down as soon as we had said no to them and wished us a nice day and maybe we'd come back later. A much better approach at selling to us!

This didn't last unfortunately, as when we entered the Ben Thanh Market we were both literally grabbed by the arms with three to four women each showing us how wonderful their t-shirts and jewellery were. They were completely harmless but their aggressive sales put us right off and we hurried through to the other side to leave as it was all too much- a shame considering there looked like there was some interesting things to buy but we weren't going to be forced into it.

Next up we entered the Presidential grounds of the Reunification Palace where on 30th April 1975, two communist tanks smashed through the main gates at the entrance whilst a helicopter had bombed the building from above. It was the same day as Saigon surrendered and apart from the gates being repaired, the Palace has not been touched ever since. We were really intrigued to have a nose about but it didn't take long to see that the very 60's looking rooms had been closed off for re-decoration and the whole building looked way too clean. The basement was slightly more exciting, looking a bit like a level out of 'Medal Of Honour' with it's stark grey walls and rooms with just a table, chair and communications radio. It didn't really do much for me but was it worth a walk around and to read what important events had occurred here in the past.

From here we headed for a bit of perspective on the events with a visit to the War Remnants Museum. This was a painfully graphic and disturbing gallery showing the devastation and aftermath of the Vietnam war. The hardest section to view was the Agent Orange room full of photography of people that have come into contact with the horrific toxin that the Americans had used to try and defeat the jungle forces of the Vietcong. Whether through physical contact or being passed the effects through family genes, the victims shown were severely disabled from missing limbs to huge inflammations or tumours or being born without any eyes. When the war was over, the Americans left huge containers full of Agent Orange underground and it is still causing difficulties for thousands of people especially farmers and will continue to do so until something is done.

We headed to the upstairs exhibition for yet another dose of brutal yet amazing imagery. Some truly breathtaking photography of soldiers on the battlefields along with displays of the weaponry used. Many of the pictures put the Americans in a bad light as soldiers posed with horrendously beaten enemies, mostly woman and children. Every one had a gruesome story explaining the image and it didn't take too long before we needed a breath of fresh air.

A very noticeable mood had come over us and as we walked away from the museum neither of us really muttered a word. It had been far more real for me than the countless war films I'd watched and enjoyed at home and has left a massive imprint in my thoughts for what I think will be a long time to come.

We followed up next with a tasty meal in order to try and bring some life back into us before leaving the city. It helped the mood but we were simply shattered and bed was the next call of duty.

The activities planned the next day were along the same gritty lines as we were to head over to the Cu Chi Tunnels, a complex system built deep underground on many different levels designed to help defeat the American forces. First though we were to have a short 20 minute visit (after a three hour bus ride) at the Caodai Temple to watch the ceremony held there at 12pm. The temple was massive and its beauty even more so and with the black clouds gathering above the building it seemed to glow a rich gold colour ideal for some tasty photo moments. The moment the prayers and singing got underway was followed by the moment it was time to leave already.

We got back on the bus for another lengthy drive although time seemed to go pretty quick due to some truly unique and brilliant characters on it. First being our lively and talkative guide for the day, Joey (which he said meant baby kangaroo) who would sit at the front of the bus telling us how it really is here in Saigon. Everything from the three B's in life, that's Beer, Bacon and Baby (meaning woman) to what everyone in the country really thinks of tourists especially the Americans and their President who he called, dare I say it..."a chocolate baby". Thankfully he told us they love them and that Obama was a very good leader. He then continued to talk about ''3 dollar bills'' (meaning gays) and lady boys, the latter he didn't seem as keen on lets just say. He was a very funny guy but it at times no one knew whether to laugh or shut him up before he offended anyone on the bus which had more than a few Americans on it.

The other characters that both bought laughs and disbelief were the couple in front of us, one an overweight and rather unattractive old American man with an obvious amount of money and a loud voice to go with it, and his stunning young Vietnamese girlfriend who hardly spoke a word of English. The man continuously asked our guide ridiculously dumb questions throughout the entire journey much to the hilarity of the other people on the bus, who made it quite clear what they thought of him and his young lover. It was beyond cringe worthy but made for an interesting ride and our favourite moment being when he asked his lady if she knew what wrestling was and if she would like to do it with him- ohhh the images.

Anyway onto the main event of the day, the Cu Chi Tunnels. After arriving and watching a short war documentary followed by an interesting talk on the secrets of the tunnels and what they consisted of, we were taken to the main jungle area where the 200m underground system started. Our guide cleared away some leaves and revealed a secret trap door about half the size of a sewer lid, it was tiny and extremely well hid from the enemy. This first tunnel of the day was only a few metres long and we were to squeeze down into the complete darkness and crawl on our hands and knees and pop out the other end- ohhhh and our guide then adds that there are bats down there so watch out. Half of the group declined it instantly but Laura and I were getting to be pros at poking through small dark holes. Sure enough there were bats hanging from the ceiling along with their droppings all over the floor, but as we lit up their bodies with our only light coming from our camcorder, they actually looked vaguely cute. That was until we were about halfway along when they started to fly around- nice!

We then were taken through a large selection of booby traps that were placed in the tunnels for the invading enemy to fall to their death or at least inflict severe pain on them before dragging them to a POW camp. This normally involved a floor trap door landing you into a pit of spikes or a hole full of poisonous snakes and scorpians. Many of these traps were still working in the tunnels so there were only a few areas we were allowed to travel under to.

We then went back into the ground for a shuffle around far longer than the previous one but minus bats and air-conditioning due to tourists collapsing from having health conditions such as asthma- lucky for me then! It was a lot of fun indeed, we sweated buckets in the muggy heat and captured some true 'Blair Witch' moments on camera.

After a much more lively and enjoyable day we headed back to the city for more good food and a great sleep to match!

Beach Bums

So another sleeper bus took us to the white sand beaches of Nha Trang. The bus journey was long and bumpy, and I helped to keep Blakey entertained when after hours of trying to sleep in the noisy racket , my newly-discovered- broken iPod providing no comfort from the human snufflings around me, I finally managed to drift off. Once in a fairly deep slumber the bus decided to stop at a roadside cafe, putting all the lights on and the other passengers suddenly surrounding me with the kind of noise that echoes around inside your skull followed by, worst of all, people bringing their snacks back to eat on the bus. I was engulfed in eating noises which those who know me best understand I am almost phobic of, so intense is my dislike and so physically tense is my reaction to when confronted with!! When Blakey then dumped our water bottle on my feet, right on the spot where I had finally reached a level (a low one, but still) of comfort for my squished legs and poor bent knees, I was driven to sit up rather moodily and dumped it on his feet with "the grumpiset expression he'd ever seen", causing him to vibrate softly for the next 5 minutes whilst he tried to stifle his laugh. In the daylight I admit I am a little embarrassed, but at that moment of time in that particular place I was experiencing a mini breakdown!

So we were very glad to arrive early the next morning in the beautifully sunny, sandy and spankingly clean Nha Trang. After a quick kip in possibly the swankiest hotel so far we headed in search of refreshments. We stopped first at a cafe full of locals where the terrace was shaded from the bright sun with beautiful flowering plants draped across mesh above our heads. We ordered our usual lemon juice to quench our thirst and a coffee to kick our brains into gear and were treated to a complimentary iced tea, so we sat there for almost an hour enjoying the relaxed ambience.

After we headed for the shore where the beach was almost deserted save for some grass parasols and sunloungers for rent. Finding two isolated seats we soon stripped off and made ourselves comfortable, if still a little hungry.

Not to worry! I understand that the Vietnamese are considered industrious at the best of times, so in low season they are like blood hounds on the scent of Westerners,. hungry for a dollar or two. Blakey's breakfast soon became fresh lobster, barbequed right in front of us where he was also treated to his first taste of sea snail all in the home made sauce provided by the lady. My less exotic potato snacks and oreos were just as satisfying if a little less adventurous!

After attracting hordes of beachside merchants we finally managed to make them leave us alone as Blakey proved his wallet was empty. I will not understand the logic of them trying to sell us the same things time and again- when we explain that we already bought what they are selling elsewhere (or even from them the previous day!) they offer it cheaper, and no amount of "you don't understand, I don't want or need another" will satisfy. But a lack of money in exchange will so they eventually dispersed.



After their departure we spent an idyllic afternoon in peace and sunshine, me reading my book and Blakey following crabs, camcorder nin hand, in that enthusiastic and animated way that only Blakey can. As the afternoon grew late, satisfied with our relaxing day, we headed back for cool bath and the shock of realising the impression our clothing had left on us- we tanned quickly today, not so flattering when you have been wearing rather large bottoms!

A slow evening of getting ourselves ready infront of a film and we headed out for a walk and some food. Being friendly suckers we find ourselves palming people off with empty promises of "later" and "maybe", so after passing a restaurant where the owner had charmed Blakey into this promise, but unable to resist the call of Mexican food from a restaurant further up the road (quite happily too- it was delicious) we took an alternate and pretty indirect route back to our beds in order to save embarrassment.

It was such a good day we decided to repeat much of it today, though the beach did not prove quite as peaceful as salespeople were a little more aggressive and insistant with thoroughly useless goods and we have practised saying "No" with authority and definity in our voices a great deal, which still resulted in having to look the other way whilst people sat at the side of our sunloungers refusing to stop looking at us for at least 5 minutes (doesn't sound long, but in those instances almost an eternity!) before giving up and moving on. We stuck it out and wrote another round of postcards, trying to maintian the serenity of the setting ion preparation for another sleeper bus and our eminent arrival in the second major Vietnamese town, Ho Chi Minh City. Fingers crossed for more success than Hanoi!

Suited and Booted!

It has been an emotionally draining couple of days full of excitement, nerves and boredom. Most of all though, a really interesting experience to be apart of. Watching how locals and the country deal with such a powerful force every year whilst maintaining their everyday lives. It had almost come to an end now as just all to be done was a mass clean up which the army seemed to have done in a day already. So far 50 Vietnamese had lost their lives and many more homes wiped through but everything here seems to get to normal at incredible pace.

A long bus wait over and we happily got on board to leave for Hoi An after being stuck indoors for way too long. There was even better news, not only were we still alive but I was now to share the back of the bus (which looked like a kingsize bed) with five rather attractive ladies, me squeezed comfortable in the middle with the hottest (Laura) to my side- this would be a fun journey. It certainly made up for the male dominated trips in China!

A very quick ride a few hours later and we arrived to a gorgeous hot day minus water on the roads in Hoi An. There was alot of trash everywhere msinly from trees and bushes but again things were being swept up very efficiently.

The hotel was right at the bus stop so after checking in we pretty much headed straight out away to see what was on offer. Here it's all about getting clothes tailor made, whether it is having a full suit designed from scratch or just getting a cheap simple summer dress, you can ask for anything and they will do it. Flick through catalogues or bring your own and they will copy the design and make it within 24 to 48 hours at a quarter of the price!

Every one-in-two shops do this and staff are eager to invite you in to try anything your eyes should touch upon for more than a second. With so much choice it really was hard knowing where to start or which of the hundreds of shop makers to go with. You could easily have a whole wardrobes worth made and get it all sent home like many visiting here do.

Many shops later we arrived at the Old Town centre and the flooding appeared again. The whole street vanished as the main river which flows through it had risen dramatically. The electricity has been cut off now for three days.

Lunch followed and then another dose of clothes shopping. The men's suits were ridiculous value for money so I went in to get a smart swanky one made for a third of the price and the next day I would get to try it on already!

Laura has loved tons from huge cheap winter coats to sexy evening dresses but this would still costquite alot to send back so we couldn't get too carried away and left to think about what we'd really like.

As night fell, the sound of beating drums and clanking bells started to build. Then appeared a clourful and highly lively dancing unicorn which looked more like a dragon (controlled by two boys, one on the other ones shoulders). A few minutes later and we reached a crossroads where a massive amount of traffic had come to a stand-still. There, surrounded by a large crowd danced a further three unicorns performing tricks on high woodenpoles in the air. We had come to Hoi An just on the right day as it was the Mid Autumn Festival which only happens once a year. This whole three day fest was specially for the children, mainly boys as it seems girls are only allowed to watch! We even had our own performance of the noisy rhythmic kids alongside a masked clan while we sat eating in a restaurant. They play for you and then you are supposed to place money on a giant feather to be placed and gobbled by the unicorn.

Getting back to the hotel we booked to go to My Son, Vietnams most important ruin and attempted sleep in a rather dank smelly room.

Waking up and getting ready for being at the reception desk for 7.30am was quite a task today and quickly munching our breakfast before the bus came we were disapointed to here it had been cancelled due to the on going bad weather.

With parents eager to see the storm pictures and new blogs we strolled down to find an internet cafe that actually had electricity. This proved harder than we thought and more than four hours later we hadn't sat down in one yet and had spent more time popping back into countless clothes shops again. Laura and I both shelling out less than 50 pounds altogether for two trendy looking winter coats that would have cost easily over 150 each back home.

Three hours were then spent in a sticky internet room again full of young kids playing first person shooters all day long.

The second night of the festival started to kick off again and tonights perfomances had almost tripled the amount of onlookers. A long time later after squeezing past what seemed the entire population of Hoi An we made it to the shop where my suit was ready to try on. The cut couldn't have been more perfect and well made. I had certainly got more than my moneys worth and it would probably be the only moment on this world journey that I'd actually feel smart for five minutes. Sleep then followed!

The next day started as an exact repeat of the previous, but this time the bus to My Son actually came. When we arrived it seemed we were not the only ones who had been waiting to see it as the place was heaving tourists. A highly animated guide then told us of the plan for the next few hours and warned not to tread away from the path as landmines are still discovered here- errr great!



A lengthy toilet queue later and we rejoined with the guide who had named our group "Michael Jackson" for some unknown reason. He handed out ticket passes for the group and released there were two people too many and questioned who was not meant to be here. A minute later of confused heads turning and looking at each other we noticed we didn't actually recognise any here from our journey down. Oooooh dear, yes it was us and somehow within seconds of stepping out of the bus we'd landed ourselves in completely the wrong group and ours had been stood waiting at the main entrance- woooops.



It was a shame also because our actual tour guide hardly muttered a single sentence and failed to tell us everything we needed to know. Anyway we walked on ahead to the main ruin complex full of Hindu Temple-Towers made from brick though strangely built without mortar, a controversial technique used by the Champa people. It was hard to fully appreciate the beauty of it all here when every few seconds you would find yourself having to move out of the way from other peoples constant photo snapping. The route around the site was also confusing with different paths to choose from, many of them overgrown and knowing not to go off track it was a bit frustrating. Time was rushing past and we had to be back at the bus stop soon, not wanting to be the late ones again added to the pressure of not going the wrong way. When our time was up we trekked back to meeting our group, thinking we'd missed out seeing half of the grounds, but when we saw a map with pictures up on a flip chart it seemed we'd managed to do the lot. We clambered back onto a very hot bus and headed home again. I'm not sure if it was my grumpy head that I had on today being exhausted and not in the mood for the horribly muggy weather or the fact there were too many tourists everywhere but I came away from the Unesco grounds quite disapointed. As the afternoon continued I think it was my mood and it was my first day out here I think I could have been happily locked away in my cold dark hobbit hole of a music room at home.

The day still brought some good strolls walking around the parts of Hoi An we previously could not have seen due to being flooded. With the river back where it should be we got to see the extent of damage and rubbish left by the storm and a big clear up was taking place by the harbour.

Evening followed with the third instalment of street festival madness and at this point I had definately had enough of the loud cymbol clanks as we tried to get some sleep. Tomorrow we would move on though and all in all it's been a brilliant stay.

Rising Damp

Having spoken to a kind chap that owned a hotel down the road we discovered the cheapest way to Hue involved a six hour stop in Ninh Binh. Having read about nearby Tam Coc we opted for this and set off on a hot and sticky journey on some rather gritty buses- Blakey managing to send small children into floods of tears simply by smiling at them (I think it's the beard).

Arriving at Ninh Binh and transferring to the hotel we were to be picked up from, by balancing on the back of motorbikes, the cheerful owner set about organizing our afternoon. After a bite to eat we headed to the beautiful Tam Coc, described as Halong Bay on the rice paddies. This was a smaller-scale fresh water version of the karst mounds, but no less amazing. We were paddled around on a little rowing boat by a very charming couple who managed to get a tip and a sale from us due to their friendliness and good service rather than pushiness and aggression as seems the way in Vietnamese business when to comes to westerners.

After two blissful hours of peace, watching the sun slowly drift down through the sky as we paddled through the little stream waters and under limestone caverns we returned to the hotel. Our day of travel had brought with it the unexpected treat of visiting this place and once again we were forced to admit that though our first impression highlighted the negative aspects of this country, there really is a lot of positive to focus on.



A crowded sleeper bus in which Blakey got hugged by the chap next to him in our thin bunks saw our early arrival in Hue. Drizzle filled the air and talk of an upcoming storm had been mounting, though was still ill-informed at this point. After a quick breakfast we impressed ourselves with our determined stamina heading for the Citadel where we wondered around the beautiful architecture and secluded gardens but after visiting so many temples and palaces over the months the rain here really did put a dampener on the whole experience. More than the surroundings we enjoyed winding each other up and after taking a feeble amount of photographs and starting to chill more severely we headed for a lunch/dinner (we seem to have become accustomed to two meals a day now).

Sat in the restaurant we asked our helpful waitress to give some impartial advice on the storm- worried that our hotel may try to scare us into business with them and aware that "typhoons" happen once a year here, so our relatively mild experience of weather may lead us to over react. Although unable to help us initially when we went to pay for our meal we realized she had spent the duration waiting for us researching the forecasts on the internet. She suggested we stay put for another day at least as flooding was a real possibility and described how last year it had come up to her knees in the restaurant we were sat in (far closer to the river then our hotel thankfully). Wondering how they cope with such events annually I asked if she would be at work tomorrow or staying at home and she described how ten years ago the worst floods in her memory, she had served pizza whilst wading through hip deep in water- hardcore!

After returning to our hotel and questioning whether we should warn our parents of the dramatic events soon to arrive we discovered that news of the freak storm at Halong Bay had reached home after three tourists had died at sea. We went to the lobby of our hotel to use the internet where another group of British tourists were also deciding whether to move to Hoi An the following day. After relaying the advice from our waitress and checking the weather forecasts (it seems to be heading straight this way!) they decided to sit it out with us in Hue.

We started to discuss Halong Bay and were shocked to find they had spent a day on the boat with the tourists that died but by a twist of fate were taken back to the island when the accident happened. It has given us all a shock and made us think carefully about taking any risks. We really were lucky that Blakey hurt his back as we would have been on the water that day when the winds seemed to come from nowhere.

After a night of listening to the wind and rain pelting outside of our window and watching CNN for more dramatic reports of the upcoming storm (two months of rain to fall in 24 hours!) we decided to head out and stock up on grub before things got too bad to leave. Too little too late it seems! When we went downstairs and left the hotel we were ankle deep in water, when we reached the road knee deep and when I crossed the road holding a locals hand for support, it came right up to my thighs. Ohhh my! The shops were all closed so we returned and gave our hotel some business instead.

After a day spent rolling in our room having another bath for the novelty of the tub and watching three quarters of Men in Black before the power cut out again- this time indefinitely it seems we were shocked to realize the water had risen to knee deep outside the hotel door in just a few hours and we are still waiting for the actual storm to hit.

Hungry, but uninspired by our hotel menu we decided to test yesterdays restaurant ad ordered pizza. 30 minutes later, exactly as promised, a beaming couple brought delicious food to our door through the deep water, their ponchos more colourful in the canal like streets. Now that is service!

When Blake went down one last time that night the waters had finally breached the hotel steps and the entire ground floor was submerged in murky water. As we fell asleep listening to the rain we wondered what an earth it would look like in the morning. So imagine our surprise the next day when the water had gone down significantly. Our hotel and the cafe across the way were back to their pre-flood states with no hint of the previous days events save the stream running through the alleyway between them. We actually headed out for breakfast (and a few photos obviously!) before retiring to our room for another marathon film session. Over the last couple of days we had watched most of Men in Black and the December Boys (power stopped in both films at crucial moments!) Zathura, Space Adventure, Shoot Em Up, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, I am Legend and some black comedy about getting off drink to be a better mafia killer as well staring for too long at some really crap TV like "My College Roadtrip". When we weren't watching films we were generally watching news for updates or emailing home to let our poor parents know that we are ok. Still, one good thing has come from their worry, my mum has finally worked out how to search for things on the internet and is now working out exactly where I am in the world with what the news and weather are doing there.

By the end of the day we had both had that muzzy feeling that comes from a day indoors and went for a short stroll to get some fresh air. Things were so much clearer, people were in full tidying mode and very soon it would be difficult to tell anything had ever happened. Satisfied with the improved conditions and bored of our hotel walls we booked a ticket for the next day. We may as well see a soggy Hoi An as a soggy Hue, right?!