Travelling Tom

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-14T12:12:00.002+01:00

I made it back home OK. I met a girl from Helston in the minibus to the airport which was totally random! She was on the same plane and everything. It was really weird though because she dissappeared while we were checking in and I never saw her again :S

The flight was uneventful. At the stop in Dubai there was a group of girls who had obviously come from India because they had all thier airy fairy clothes on and were wearing beauty spots. I could only assume they had found themselves while they were in India. Apart from one, who had already donned her matching red tracksuit bottoms AND top and had continued to keep up the platinum blonde hair dying while she was out there.

Upon arrival in the UK I tried to sort out whether I would go to Exeter to see some people or go straight home. Much to my mothers horror I choose to stay at Dicos for 2 nights with Milnesay. It was all very spontanious and great fun! However the organisation was a nightmare. First I found out that you are not allowed to use plug scokets in public places and can get your phone confiscated for doing so. I had 0 battery after 3 months of not touching my phone so I just bought a ticket to Tiverton Parkway and hoped I could get hold of someone on the way.

While waiting for the train from Gatwick to Reading I asked one of the men at the platform if the trains had sockets. He was very rude and said no as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then I started asking him if the trains from Reading to Exeter would have plugs. He inturupted me half way through without even listening to the question and said 'No! None of the trains have plugs.'

There was a plug on the train from Reading to Exeter and I was able to charge my phone and send some texts. Unfortunatly the signal was so bad I couldn't make any calls.

Long story short I texted Dico and Milnesay and we decided that I would chill out in Exeter while Milnesay drove to pick me up and we would all follow Dicos very detailed directions to rendevous at his.

We had a great time just chilling out, we went back into Exeter for a beer and some pizza that evening and went to the beach the next day where I got sunburnt a little haha! I did go swimming in just my trunks though, it was very cold but good fun.

Now I have been home for almost 2 weeks, it has gone very fast! I still dont have a job yet but hopefully something will come up soon!

Wow

2009-06-30T01:47:00.003+01:00

What an awesome last 2 weeks I have just had, I didn't update my blog because the internet there is so expensive! I am back in Bangkok now for 1 night before my flight home and feeling sad to leave.

First I went to Koh Phi Phi, we had to go via Surat Thani so the journey took a while. I met a director called Emma on the bus to Krabi and she was going to Phi Phi too so we found accomodation together in the dorm at The Rock. It is only 150Baht [or Bats, as James likes to call it] a night so it is definatly not the swankiest place we have stayed but it was fine for the week.

The island is really beautiful, easily one of the prettiest places I have been, unfortunatly my camera didn't get much action while I was there, it just didn't really cross my mind I was having so much fun. It is definatly a party town though with large beach parties nightly. Anyone staying at The Rock is clearly on a budget so the classic choice was to buy a bucket from the supermarket for 180Bats and slurp on that for a few hours and listen to some music on an iPod before heading down to the beach. There were a faily large group of us for the whole time.

Spencer and Marcus were from Australia and had done one year of uni already, so where on a short break before term begins again. Dave was another solo traveller from Ireland [I think] and he was just the funniest guy ever. His pulling technique was these crazy dances in the middle of a large group of girls. My favorite was the 3 legged crab complete with hip thrusting and arm waving which was recieved with numerous nervous glances. Luke and another Irish guy, Steven where travelling together and had already been on Phi Phi 10 days when we arrived! Finally there were 3 dutch lads, Robbert, Alex and Koen who were all legends and thrill seekers who loving talking about the 20m cliff jump they had heard about and were keen to launch themselves off.

On our first day Emma and I just headed around town to explore and visit the beach, we met up with Kieren and Sam from the boat and chilled out with them for a beer too. It was nice and relaxing but far too hot for me, I mananged to avoid getting burnt though. That night we went to the non busy end of town for the 'black moon party' Phi Phi edition. It was very bad so we went to the main beach which was a bit better. Stayed up far too late and drank one too many buckets but it was alright.

The next few day we did nothing at all, the day after that we visited long beach. It is a really nice and quiet beach about a 30 minute walk around the island. Swimming on Phi Phi is not great because there is so much rocks and coral that you just slice your feet as it is so shallow. However Long Beach is much better even though you still have to be careful. It was a nice day, we borrowed Brah's frizbee and threw that around a bit.

The day after was the big one, Koen, Alex and me booked ourselves in for the cliff jumping tour. It was only an afternoon tour but we still almost missed it because those guys are so damn lazy and must sleep for Holland. Eithger way we made it and were on a boat with a group of 7 others, 5 Irish guys and 2 girls from the US. First stop was Monkey Bay, where there are alot of monkeys living and you can feed them bananas and stuff but they can get violent and I decided to leave them to thier own devices and view from a safe distance, I didn't want Rabies so close to going home! Next was the main event, the cliff jumping. The lowest jump was a mere 8 meters whcih was pretty damn scary. Alex and Robbert jumped straight off and then did 12m right away. I was scared of the 10m jump and Koen spent literally half an hour looking at the top of the 12m. Robbertt called it a day after 12 but Alex really wanted to jump from 20, so he went straight away to do 15 and then 18m. Unfortunatly the tide was too low for him to do 20. I did 8m again and went straight up to do 12 because I was still pumped so I knew I had to do it fast, Koen finally went for 12 just as I got there so I could jump in quickly. It was amazing, easily the highest I have ever juped from the airtime was huge and I pencilled at the perfect time to not feel a thing. The nutty guide did a backflip off 10m with an excited whoop. Koen didn't want to be out done by his brother so rushed to the 15m with me and Alex in tow. Alex went forst to demonstraight then Koen jumped off just fine. The boats came round because we really needed to leave after this last jump. There was no going back for me, I had to jump off or waste everyones time climbing back and looking like a wimp. So I went for it...I tried to pencil but when I hit the water my hands were still out a little and my right wrist felt like it was ripped clean off. I was, in true melodramatic fashion, convinced it was broken and spent a few minutes asuring the people on the boat that I had broken my wrist before and would need to go to hospital for this one. They were not so convinced and the guide had a look and said it was probably just a sprain it hurt bad for a few days but is feeling better now, it didn't swell up as much as a break would. The boat cruised into a beautiful lagoon where we had a quick swim before going snorkelling around the island a bit. It was a really good snorkel because we saw nearly 10 black tipped reef sharks just feet away from us! Finally was Maya Bay, THE Beach from The Beach. It was a really nice place and we were there just as the sun was setting which was beautiful.

Most of the guys left the dorm during those days and new people came in, it all went very quickly and not much really happened, just chilling out and partying and making some really great friends.

After nearly a week we started getting bored of the constant late nights and partying so Brah, Emma and I decided to move to Railay for a few days.

Railay was near deserted and a really nice place to relax for my last few days. We didn't do much as all, just wandered around visitng a few beachs and exploring the island. We met some really cool brothers from California, Jeff and Tylor. There were both out for a few weeks on vacation and seemed to be having a really great time. Brah was going on a boat trip with them the day I left which I would have really enjoyed but unfortunaly had to head to Bangkok.

It turns out the bar I went to both nights was the one wqhere Sam had been working for a few months when he was out here which is pretty amazing. He built the wooden platform out over the beach that I wa sitting on!!

Now I am in Bangkok and awaiting my flight home in a few days. I am meeting up with Rollo tonight, he flys tomorrow and I am pretty sure I just saw Lucy Trevallion of all people on Khoasan Road. Small world.

A week in the HK

2009-06-19T19:35:00.004+01:00

Arrival:

Johnny met me at the airport and took me for dinner at a Chinese resturant in the airport. It was just a noodle soup and was pretty good. Then we got the very short bus ride [10 minutes] back to his house straight from the terminal.

He lives on the same island as the airport, not on HK island itself. The building is massive and part of a very nice complex with a club house [complete with 2 swimming pools, table tennis, normal tennis, sauna, steam room, anything else...] and everything! I met his mum and his brother who are both really nice. They live on floor 20 so they have a lovely view out to sea. We went over to his aunties flat in the same complex but the next building over, she is on the 43rd floor [ish] and can see right over the building in front into the airport which is really cool. Johnny has a trundle bed in his room so I got his bed and he was on the trundle.

Day 1:

We woke up quite late and went for breakfast with Johnnys mum, brother and gran. It was really nice, they do it nearly every weekend because I dont think they get to see much of each other during the week with both his parents working and getting home late and his brother being a weekly boarder at a local boarding school. His dad just got back from Bejing that morning and I met him just before we left for Mong Kok, the main fashionable shopping area where all the teenagers go.

I picked up a 2GB SD card for 4GBP which was the top priorety and we looked around some of the shops. A very famous market called Ladys Market is in the area too so we walked down there. It is really cool and alot even cheaper than Bangkok. I got an I love HK t-shirt for $30, which is under 3GBP.

We went home in time for tea that night but still managed to stay up till 2ish faffing around.

Day 2:

We got up fairly early and went to breakfast again, this time to a place that did 'English breakfast', it was actually delicious and one of the nicest I have had while out here!

Then we set off on the walk up the mountian to the giant Budda on top of the hill. Johnnys mum said it would take 3 hours but we were rapid and it only took us 1! On the way we got overtaken by a man riding a bike up the hill and carrying it up the steps [there were ALOT of steps]!!! Then we saw an evil lizard trying to be camoflauged on a rock.

At the top we went to a place with huge tree trucks that had been cut in half and a poem carved out of them to tell a story about life or something. Obviously I couldn't read the symbols and Johnny said they didn't really make sense and couldn't be translated but I think it was something about living your life and being a cool dude at the same time.

As soon as we got to the giant Budda it started raining heavily! The Budda is so high its top half was covered by cloud already and we just ran up the steps and took shelter in the shop underneath the Budda. We waited for age for the rain to stop and decided to make a move when it died down quite alot.

Next was a bus to another island, the name escapes me. It was a small market sort of village by the sea. Lots of fish was on sail and after walking around a bit we paid $20 [under 2GBP] to go on a 20 minute dolphin spotting cruise. They are a rare species of dolphin which is whitey/pinky in colour. I was very surprised to see any because the man selling tickets wasn't very convincing but we saw quite alot and had a nice motor round in a powerboat.

We went back to Johnnys for a swim, sauna and food before heading back out into town [Kowloon this time] to meet Johnnys friend Alex and play some Pool.

As soon as we met Alex it started raining, we sheltered in the 7/11 and got some beers. After about half an hour we got impatiant and made a run for the arcade across the road. It is so strange for me, the place to go for teens, girls and boys, is the arcade. Everyone hangs out there playing 'Midnight Club 3', 'Guitar Hero' and 'Dance Dance Revolution'. Admittedly it is very fun and so so cheap I can't blame them, it is just hard to imagine having grown up in the UK.

When the rain stopped we went to the billiards club and stayed there untill 02:30. We played a sort of round robin affair at the pool table [I won overall =D] and a 3 way game of snooker [I lost =D]. We had to wait till 03:35 for the night bus so we grabbed some noodle food from a small resturant. I mentioned earlier that Johnny lives a ways outside of town...we got home at 05:30 after the most round-about bus journey ever that drove past Johnnys house to the airport and then came back via every building even remotely connected to the airport before dropping us off. I got some cool photos of the sunrise from Johnnys window though.

Day 3:

We woke up really late and only had time to go to the peak, so we did. The peak is on the top of a mountian on Hong Kong island that overlooks the city. You have to get a stupidly steep tram up there which was quite exciting. There was an amazing view but it was cloudy so I couldn't get many good photos. On the plus side I bought a Hagen Das from the shop at the top and it was really really good.

I got to look around the financial area of town too, it was interesting to see. The buildings definatly have a fair few more floors than London.

Back in Central [the main area of Hong Kong city where the peak is] we visited a few shops, I bought 2 Nike t-shirts for 9GBP each which was a great deal. Then we went for a beer in a bar but it was quite expensive so only stayed for one. I had heard of a bar where you can go into a freezer room that is at -20 C and have a drink. It is a russian bar with the largest vodka selection I have ever seen and all the different bottles stacked up in the freezer room. So naturally we had a shot of vodka, we didn't think we could stay in there for a long drink! I got Vanilla and Johnny got Strawberry, both were disgusting and tasted nothing like the flavours suggested. Then we got a tram and wandered around Causway Bay, another funky youthful area, for a while before agreeing our legs hurt after the day befores walk and coming home.

Day4:

We went straight to the IFC tower 2 [the main financial tower in HK] because they have a visitors information portal on the 55th floor. The view was incredible and we learnt all about fake bank notes. We met Johnnys friend Billy at the mall [there is a mall at every tube station!] too so he came along. Then we went to a very posh cinema to see Angels and Demons which was great! The cinema had specially imported German leather chairs it was so comfy and only a fiver to get in!! Then we caught the ferry to Kowloon to go to the space museum but it is closed on Tuesdays! We walked down Nathan road instead, which is the longest road in Hong Kong, or one of them. When we had walked all the way to Mong Kok again we caught the tube home and watched Roles Models which was very funny.

Day 5:

To be honest I cant really remember what we did in the morning but we met up with Alex again, somewhere, and headed to the beach in the afternoon. It was 33 C and the only lovely day I had! I spent most of the time swimming and I think I got a tiny bit burnt but it wasn't visible to anyone but myself. We tried out my shuttlecock that I bought in Siem Reap that the locals do keepie ups with, we sucked big time and gave up to play frisbee instead. That was so much fun and we even had some small local kids join in as well haha! Then we went for supper near Times Square, apparently there is one in Hong Kong too which I was totally ignorant of.

Day 6:

Macau. I woke up at 5:45 because we had to leave at 6:30 and I wanted to shower and eat some Corn Flakes before we left. We met Alex at an out-of-the-way tube station that doubled up as the port for ferries to Macau and the mainland . Oh yeah thats what we did before the beach! Bought our tour to Macau! The ferry left at 08:00 so we got a Japanese breakfast. It was OK but tasted alot like I was eating the sea. The ferry took an hour and we met the tour after going through customs and passport control.

Unfortunatly for me the whole tour was in Cantonese so I didn't understand a single word that was said. First stop was a shop that sold dried ham and almond cookies, neither were great and Alex was the only person to make a purchase of cookies.

There are 2 sights in Macau and they are right next to each other. So next we drove to the fort/ wall of burnt down church. Then we walked through town a bit in 'free time'. I couldn't resist an awesome pair of grey jeans and Johnny actually bought some shorts because he was so hot in jeans!

Then we went over to the tower, it is something like 213m high and you can bungie jump off and do other extreme activities. I dont think anyone on our tour did but there was a viewing platform at the top which everyone dissappeared up. I was so tempted to do a bungie jump but it was 100GBP and although it is a 3rd the price of doing it in New Zealand [apparently] I decided I probably couldn't afford it or have the courage to jump off.

A buffet lunch at a nearby hotel was quite delicious, I even ate the head of an octopus after Johnny refused to tell me what it was and I had a nibble. It did not taste nice but Johnny claims that the sauce was not great.

Then we got dropped off at a very big casino with a ferry ticket back and left to our own devices. Naturally we went straight into the casino, the gambling floor was the size of 3 football pitches! Alex played a few games of a random dice game and came out $200 in the green which was quite impressive. Johnny and I opted not to play but enjoyed watching the tables where large crowds had gathered.

We heard that there was a free show across the road so headed over there. We had to wait 1.5 hours before we could get a viewing so checked out that casino and chilled out a bit. Incase you didn't realise, casinos are the main event in Macau. A few of the big Vegas casinos also have ones in Macau, such as the MGM Grand. It is pretty much Las Vegas for Asia. The show was pretty cool, just 15 minutes but it was inside a huge sphere and the whole wall/roof were used as a giant screen. It was something about underwater dragons, it looked more like a technological trailer than a proper show but was cool none the less. They also had a huge water feature in the middle that dropped water down and changed the colour of the light shining through it, there were steam blowers in the walls for when the dragons roared. Very nifty.

We checked out the uni because it was where Alexs dad graduated from, it was just like any other uni to be honest but only $3 for a can of coke which is like 25p.

We wandered around for ages and finally found somewhere for supper, it was a Portugese resturant and was very delicious. Then we went to the nearest pub and had a few cheap beers and played some pool. We got the 10pm ferry back to Hong Kong and went straight to bed, everyone was so tired after waking up so early and walking for so much of the day.

Day 7:

My flight left at 9pm so we still had the whole day to do stuff. We went to a mall we hadn't visited yet and went ice skating for 45minutes - 1 hour, it was so fun, the time went really quickly. The ring is used for the team to train as well so there were random people doing spins and jumps while everyone was falling over around them it was so cool.

Afterwards we headed for a chinese resturant to have Dim Sum for lunch. It is traditionally a breakfast food and it like bitesize pieces of food wrapped together in something tastey. It was so nice apart from the seafood one which was just kind of nice. The best was BBQ pork wrapped in a delicious sweet bread that was bright white in colour, really soft and a little chewy.

After that we quickly went to Mong Kok again because we wanted to go to the Lady market one more time. Johnny wanted some sunglasses and I was looking for a 2x2 rubix cube, having seen them in the Toys'r'Us at the base of the tower in Macau, and one of those leather wallet to jean attachment things. Johnny found his sun glasses first then I bartered my 'revenge cube' from $39 to $25. I didn't find my leather wallet thing but it could have been for the best because I already dont like them anymore.

Naturally I got out the cube on the tube and had the top half completed [the top colour full and the first row full] but could not at all work out the bottom! Johnny was annoyed by the time we got home and looked up how to do it on the internet. I didn't watch the whole video but I saw one of the 'algorithums' which is up, left, down, left, up, left, left, down. It is suposed to complete the bottom and leave just one more step for completion but for some random reason it filled in the whole puzzle! My first completion of a rubix cube just 2 hours after buying it!

We went for supper at the airport with Johnny, his gran, his mum and brother. I had to rush to catch my flight because I left from terminal 1 but we were in terminal 2 for food, so after a quick goodbye and a few minutes I was boarding the plane.

On the plane I did the rubix cube in the same way 4 or 5 more times, much to the amazment of the guy next to me. On the bus to Khoasan road I mixed it up thinking I could easily complete it again and found that it didn't work. No matter what I did I couldn't get it complete, there were always 3 sides that had just 1 block out. I still can't do it!

I checked into New Joes again as I had stayed there before my flight to Hong Kong. I have to pay for a double room because all the singles are full but it is only 50Baht extra and I can cope with that for 2 nights.

I have decided to go to Phi Phi tomorrow, I have only heard good thing about it and although it is touristy it is suposed to be very beautiful so I will check it out.

This entry has actually taken me an hour over 2 days to write :O

Long time no updates

2009-06-19T19:05:00.002+01:00

Angkor Wat [for real]:
I woke up very early to get there for sunrise. I had arranged to meet the tuktuk driver who took me to the hotel at 5am, he was early and I was a few minutes late but he seemed not to mind. I suggested a price of $15 for the day would be reasonable and he agreed and we set off. It took about half an hour to get to Angkor Wat, the first stop. The sun was just starting to rise and I went a bit crazy with the photos. All the other tourists had opted to sit on small plastic chairs to watch the sun rise fully but I saw most of it as I was walking towards the Wat, down the HUGE granite walkway from the moat all the way up to the front door. I was the 4th [or so] person inside the actual temple so I basically had it to myself. I was a little faster than everyone else so I soon overtook and was all alone. A guard offered to take me 'up' through the no entry sign, for a small fee of $10, to watch the sunrise. I decided not to because the sun had risen by then and I didn't want to spend the money. It was about that time that my camera announced after 2 month that the memory was full. I deleted a few crappy photos quickly and just took a few sparingly for the final section of the Wat.

I have to say that I was very impressed by Angkor Wat, people said it was big but had poor carvings and this and that but I thought they were pretty impressive and it's size was astonishing!

Before I go on I will warn you that I don't know the names for most of the temples I visited.

On the way to the next place [The walled city] I went through my camera deleting all the bad shots to try and squeeze in as many photos of the rest of the complex as I could. I managed to make enough space for the whole day which was good.

The second stop was the North Library of Bayon, the most amazing building I visited. It looked like it shouldn't be standing up, it was just so cool and too hard to describe. Unfortunatly I was so worried about my memory I only took one photo of it which does it no justice what so ever. It was part of the walled city complex [name something to do with Thom] and next I walked to the giant Budda. The lady there gave me some incense and I waved it in front of the Budda for luck. You always wave 3 sticks of incense, one for you, one for god and one for the Budda [I think]. Then I found out that [of course] this 'luck' came at a price of 1 dollar, luckily I didn't have any small money apart from 300 Riel [approx 3p] so it wasn't such a great cost. Finally I walked to another temple that is under renovation because its sand walls have collapsed the whole structure numerous times and the Frech government has finally decided to renovate it properly so it doesn't fall down again. It was just a building site so I couldn't actually go in. I just read signs about the work being done.

Then we drove to some small temples. One had been renovated by the French and the other by the Chinese. The French had tried to make it like before but the Chinese had opted to give the temple a Chinese theme which was amusing.

Next up was the one I had really been looking forward to, 'The Tomb Raider One', apparently it was the setting for the Tomb Raider movie. The fasinating thing about this temples was not that it was mostly collapsed but there were actually giant trees growing out of the walls and on top of the temple itself. It was a huge structure and like a maze inside with all the collapsed roofs. Very cool but still didn't beat the library!

The last stop was a kind of reddy temple which was heavily barrred to stop peices falling off. It was large another one of my favorites. Across the road was a big lake which only the immediate royal family is allowed to swim in, noone else. I don't know how often they take a dip but I imagine the water is very clean.

By the time we returned to Siem Reap it was only 12:30 so I had some lunch and paid the tuktuk driver $8 more to take me to the Solous group. It is 3 very very old temples, hundreds of years older than Angkor Wat and the others! They were made ina very different way, from very small red bricks. They were all falling down and in bad shape but they had incredible details and there was noone there. I really liked these 3.

Not much happened for the other day in Siem Reap before I caught the bus to Bangkok and my flight to HK...

Temples of Angkor

2009-06-10T06:33:00.002+01:00

Yesterday something amazing happened to me, it was such an honour to experience it first hand after all I had heard about it. I have to recommend it to anyone who gets the chance to see it. It was just such a fantastic feeling, like nothing I had ever felt before. I had a fish massage on my feet. It was incredible, they don't have teeth, they just have a sucker and eat all your dead skin and dry skin right off. It tickles loads to start with but when you get used to it it just feels really cool. I stayed there for 2 hours at a grand total of $2.40, it is suposed to be $3 but I didn't have that much so gave him everything in my pocket. My weary travellers feet still have loads of caluses and dead skin but alot of it has been eaten off by these strange 'doctol fish'. Someone who was there had a mosquito bite that he had itched to bleeding and had a scab. The kind fish ate the scab and completly cleaned out the wound untill it was just a little pink circle in the top of his foot! It was really cool.

Oh yeah, I went to the Angkor temples as well, they were alright.

Enter Siem Reap

2009-06-08T08:57:00.002+01:00

The bus to Siem Reap was OK, I had a sick lady sitting next to me from Phong Peng. I hope I ddin't catch anything. I arrived last night quite late and just checked into the hotel the tuktuk dropped me off at. It is easily the nicest place I have stayed but it is fairly expensive at $8 a night. I feel a little guilty about splashing out so much on accomadation but I cant be bothered to move now and my tuktuk driver is meeting me outside here tomorrow at 5am. I am just chilling out today, slept in. Did some shopping, bought some Khmer trousers but I am not sure why because I cant work out how to do them up properly so they look a little twisted. Even though the man showed me how all of 30 minutes ago!!

The town here is stupidly touristy, it is good in the evening but there is so much hassle from tuktuk drivers and children selling you stuff. Even a random kid who just wanted to beat me up!

Angkor Wat tomorrow, I am going to do some research now to choose which temples I am going to visit. It is going to be an expensive day, a ticket for the temples is $20 and then a tuktuk for the day is going to be about the same, hopefully a bit less, like $15 but it depends which temples I choose to see.

I am a bit worried about the money situation. Here and Bangkok and HK are all very expensive, I hope I still have enough left for my last 2 weeks! The bus to Bangkok is $10 and takes 12 hours[ish]. I will leave here on the 11th, have that night on Khaosan road then fly the next day to HK.

Oh that is cool, I just saw on facebook that Kris Sullings is possibly flying out to Bangkok on the 20th so I can hook up with him for my last 2 weeks, that would be awesome!!

Not so homesick

2009-06-06T13:35:00.002+01:00

Having booked my flight for the 21st I realized I don't actually want to go home yet. I paid a bit more to extend it to the 2nd so I get another 2 weeks. I will probably try to see more of Laos, I missed the south before. However I think that is the most expensive option because of all the transport and visas and I may need to a buy a Thailand visa coming back in because it will be my 4th reentry in 3 months. So maybe staying in Thailand will be a better option. I didn't get to see the west coast at all before.

Goodbye Sihanoukville

2009-06-05T08:09:00.002+01:00

I am about to book my bus to Siem Reap for tomorrow. I have been here for a week or so now. Nothing actually happens here which is why I havn't updated my blog. It is a great place first thing in the morning [which is technically early afternoon] because there are great places for English breakfast and it is nice to sit with delicious Vietnamesse coffe with sweet milk and read a bit of my book while listening to the Hostels chilled out music. I have been staying at Utopia which has a free dorm, free pool, free water and if you go flyering on the beach, free beer. I have still managed to spend about $15-$20 a day because food is quite expensive and I have been buying a book every other day.

After the breakfast reading session it gets a little boring for a few hours because it is rainy season so the beach isn't really an option. It is usually during this time that I look forward to leaving but then in the evening/morning wish I could stay longer. I have stayed here the longest of all places though and I do want to have a good few days in Siem Reap before I fly to HK on the 12th.

While I have been here in Sihanoukville [which I can now finally spell after all this time] I have read 2 books. Wow, I thought it was more, maybe I am forgetting one. Black Hawk Down, which was awesome; The Game, which was stupid but I still read in one sitting, and I am now reading The Killing Zone, which is a first person acount of infantry combat in the Vietnam war by a US soldier.

I have drunk alot of beer and slept in alot. Perfect.

I am looking forward to Siem Reap now, I met someone who arrived yesterday from Siem Reap who said it was a really cool town even for days you are not seeing Angkor Wat. I still dont know if I will do the 1 day or 3 days for Angkor Wat. Everyone my age has said 1 day is more than enough but older people seem to suggest 3 days and 1 nutter said I would definatly want a week. I will probably just do one day to be honest, a Wat is a Wat and a big Wat is still a Wat, which is a Wat. Most likly 1 day will be fine for me.

While I have been here I have also been trying to book flights. WHAT a pain. The translation on the airasia sight means that I had no idea which number goes in which box. I just did trial and error which seemed to work out OK after a few trys. I will be in HK for a week which I am really looking forward to now. I fly from Bangkok on the 12th and leave on the 19th. Then a few short days in Bangkok before flying out at 01:20 on the 21st. Hopefully.

Trying to rebook the date for my flight home has been a nightmare and is still not sorted. When I booked my flights with STA I was told it would cost 35GBP to change the date. Now it is crunch time they are charging me 110GBP to change it and ignoring my messages telling them I was quoted 35. I guess I dont really have a choice, it is just irritating for them to screw me over so badly. I tried to use my STA travelcard to pay for it but they wont acept thier own card so I will have to get mum to do it from home.

I did buy Skype credit [a bit pointless now that I think about it, just 2 weeks before I go home] so I can call home for very small amount of money. I tested it out at my dads office yesterday which was cool, I didn't get through to him though so just had a quick chat with his secretary. I will call mum after updating this to give it another go, it is quite exciting!

I was quite looking forward to going home but now my flights are booked and it is a reality 2 weeks seems like a very short amount of time left...

SHianokeville

2009-05-29T10:43:00.002+01:00

OK, I cant spell it. I just arrived, it was a horrible journey that took an hour longer than it was supposed to. I have free accommodation in a pretty dirty dorm room but it is free so I cant complain!

It is sunny for now at least but rainy season has officially arrived now and so it rains every day at some point.

The Killing Fields and S21 yesterday were very humbling, it is horrible what happened in Cambodia and I cant believe I have been blissfully ignorant of it for my whole life! It has been 30 years and still only 5 people have been jailed. The most disturbing thing for me I think is that the executioners at the Killing Fields had so many prisoners delivered each day that there was not enough time in the day to kill them all. So they had to build prisons for them untill they found the time!

I will see how the next fews days here go and then decide on my flights to HK and home.

Into Cambodia

2009-05-27T15:28:00.002+01:00

I stayed in Nha Trang for 5 days in the end. The highlight was easily Vinpearl Land which is an island just off the mainland. You get to it over the longest over-sea cable car in the world. It is a privatly owned island complete with a 5 star hotel resort, theme park, amusment arcade, aquarium and waterpark! It costs just 300,000VND [12GBP] for the whole day and everything is free once you are there. Admittedly the theme park was pretty shocking but the arcades were really cool, the aquarium was the best I have ever been to. It was a huge huge tank with a conveyer belt going through a tunnel so you are basically in the tank with the turles/sharks/random fish with pointy noses/ etc. The waterpark is really cool too, way bigger than the one I went to in Greece last summer, we spent the whole afternoon there. Basically everyone I met turned up at the same time in Nha Trang so there were about 20+ of us all there, it was wicked.

Saigon was OK, the Chu Chi tunnels were very interesting although I decided to opt out of firing a gun. It was tempting but they were all attached to the fence so there was no real aiming, just mindless shooting which I didn't really want to pay $5 a bullet for.

I got totally ripped off on my Me Kong Delta tour. It was $33 for 2 days and a night and the boat to Cambodia. I thought I would see alot of the delta but we only went to 4 different places and all of them were just the usual tour stop-offs with a few groups in front and behind us it was not the experiance I was looking for. The rest of the time was either on the bus or the boat! It was OK, I got a few snaps but it definaly was not what I was expecting. They kept trying to rip us off by getting us to pay more for fast boats. No-one paid appart from a foolish couple who paid $10 for a boat instead of a bus on the first day and then everyone got on the boat at no extra cost and they didnt get thier money back. Then they paid another $10 for the fast boat today which never appeared!! Noone could believe they kept getting thier cash out for these obvious scammers.

I read a book, ''Enders Game" straight through today. It took 9 hours and was definatly better than "Empire of the Sun'' which I also finished today but was much more of a challenge [I have been carrying it since Chang Mai"]. I tried to find a bookshop this evening but felt uncomfortable wandering around in the dark so I will wait for tomorrow.

So my first impressions of Cambodia...Well, it is certianly not as nice as Vietnam, the roads are bad, the place is dirty and I dont feel very comfortable here in Phnom Pen. Going into Saigon was fine and I got the run of the place really quickly but here just feels different. Maybe because I loked myself in my room for 2 hours as soon as I arrived to finish my book and my vision is still blurry.

I am going to S21 tomorrow morning, I wont bother setting my alarm, I need a good nights sleep. Hopefully if I go to bed early enough I wont sleep in till 2 like I did in Saigon one night. Then in the afternoon I will do the killing fields. Get all the depressing stuff over with before heading to the beach place whos name I still dont remember, to chill out and party for a week or so. I will go there the day after tomorrow and get a job in one of the bars if I can. Apparently there is quite alot of free accomadation down there if you buy drinks/meals from the guesthouses but if I find a job I should get accomodation anyway. I have heard that suncreen is a bit of a rare find in Cambodia which hopefully isn't true because I have run out and will need more for the beach!!

I checked my account balances yesterday and they are looking surpringly healthy!! I should have twice as much when I return home than I first thought!! I also met some people from HK on the Me Kong Delta tour who told me it is considerably cheaper to fly to Macau and get a boat to HK so I will look that up after I have finished this entry. Which I have.

Hoi An and Nha Trang

2009-05-22T10:01:00.002+01:00

I stayed in Hoi An for 5 days, just chilling out on the beach really. I had some nice chelsea boots made and tried to get a jacket done but it didn't turn out well so I didn't. I regret not getting a suit made but life goes on...

Now I am in Nha Trang, I leave tomorrow morning for Ho Chi Min City. I was going to see Dalat and/or Mui Ne but I have heard bad things about both and cant really be bothered to see them. I will just do one night in HCMC, see the Chu Chi tunnels, fire an AK, then hit the Me Kong Delta which Sam Robinson said is really great. Then it is into Cambodia untill the 10th June [maybe more if it is really good] before hitting Hong Kong to see Johnny for a few days, then back to Bangkok for the flight home.

Nha Trang has been quite cool. I met up with some Sherborne guys, James and James and the girls they are with atm, Charlotte [who I met in Vang Vieng], Stephanie and Lila. We just sat on the, very dirty, beach most of the time. We went to Vinpearl Land a few days ago. It is a big privatly owned island with a small theme park, an amusement arcade and a waterpark all for just 12 pounds!! There is a cable car to get on the island and then everything is free apart form food. It was a really cool day, I spent alot of time on the FZeroX arcade game and the waterpark was just intense!!

I didn't go to the beach today it is just too dirty, there was actually a poo floating in the see yesterday it was horrible! I will be happy to leave I think, I am just going to have a night in tonight as well as the bus tomorrow leaves at 7:30.

I have started feeling a bit homesick recently. I am just a bit tired of being dirty all the time and everywhere I go is starting to look the same. Maybe it will be different in Cambodia but I have heard you get so much hassle from people trying to sell you stuff I don't know if I can cope. It is bad enough here and I havn't made it to HCMC yet.

Hue and Hoi An

2009-05-15T11:40:00.002+01:00

The night bus to Hue was awesome, I slept the whole way. It was my best and longest night sleep for weeks.

Hue was not so great. It was an eventful 24 hours but only midly fun. I figured I could see all the citys sights in 1 day if I just hired a bike and cruised round. I started off about 11 and rode around the citadel for a while. A Vietnamese couple rode next to me on their moped and we had a little chat. They invited me for a beer which sounded very pleasant and I thought they were just really nice people. We had lunch and they tried to get me to buy a suit from their tailor which was for more expensive than here in Hoi An even though they tried to tell me Hoi An was $300 for a suit!! We ended up having lunch which they made me pay for [275,00 VND/11 GBP]!! They tried to get me to ring them up later for more beer and talking but I decided getting screwed over once was enough for the day.

The citadel was suitably boring and I couldn't bear the pain of the bike seat to ride to the other sights I had planned. So I ended up playing football with the local school kids for about an hour which was great, if very sweaty and tiring.

The next morning at 8am I headed for Hoi An. It is a 3.5 hour bus ride and I checked into a small hostel in a 2 man dorm. That day I just chilled out and went to the beach. There is a beach party every night here and I went to that on my first night. It was cool but the next day I woke up at 2pm. So I basically did nothing for the whole day. Watched a few films and met up with Ross and Paul from the Ha Long Bay tour.

Today I met them again and we hired bikes to ride to the ruins that are 40km out of the city. I got some cool photos and the ride was nice. I think I may have to do my CBT this summer when I get home.

Well, the power cut out as I was typing that yesterday so I can't remember what else I was going to say.

HAT TOO

2009-05-11T07:10:00.000+01:00

Someone lost my hat last night and all. So sad.

Zune is gone

2009-05-11T05:54:00.002+01:00

Someone nicked it from the storage while I was at Ha Long Bay. I am so pissed!! I wouldn't really care that much but alot of the music on it hadn't made it onto my computer yet so I have lost that too =[.

I guess I will try to replace it with the Zune 2 but you can only get them in america....

RAGE!!!!

Alive

2009-05-10T10:40:00.002+01:00

I have noticed that certian people think I have died because I havn't written in my blog for 4 days :O. I do feel like I have died but unfortunatly I am still very much alive.

The bus to Hanoi was actually surprisingly good, there was a great group of people so it went by quickly. We only had one break down where we had to change a wheel.

My first night in Hanoi we [Toby, Char, India and Anna from the bus and Louis who was in our dorm] went to the Irish bar and got some great western food before hitting the sack.

Me Anna and India walked around the lake the next day and met up with Louis for lunch at the place Jermy Clarkson ordered sparrows. The food was....interesting. I decided to sample some swan and bamboo soup. The swan was like an ever fattier version of duck and the whole dish was caked in lemon grass and corriander so it was horrible. I couldn't eat it! We did the snake village at 2pm which was awesome!! It was India, Anna and me from our group because Char is scared of snakes and Toby stayed behind with her. Alexander and an American couple were also there.

We held a non-poisenous snake first then the snake master got out a cobra and went all Steve Iwrin on us! It was wicked. Then we sat down for 'lunch', they got out a bag of snakes and took one out. Then they held it between 2 of them and one guy cut it open [still alive]. He popped out the heart and dropped it in a shot glass, then he drained the blood into a cup and the bile into another. 3 of us had a shot of blood/heart/rice wine which was really amazing! It tasted baaad but you could basically feel the heart beating as it went down your throat into the stomach. Next was a shot of bile and a shot of blood followed by a meal of the snakes cooked in various ways. It all tasted pretty foul but was definatly an experiance!

We all went on a tour to Ha Long bay the next morning at 8am. This hostel promotes early mornings which I think is a good thing although maybe not when I am waking up! It was so good!

It started with a bus ride to the bay where we all hopped onto a huge and very luxurious boat. We had lunch tehn went kayaking which was defiantly an adventure. Someones kayak sunk so we had to try and navigate our way back in the dark!! I was paired with a retarded guy from Israil so we zig zagged the whole way and paddled about 3 times farther than any other boat! I missed the rudder.

There was a sweet party on the boat that night with lots of beer and jumping off the top deck to the water. Everyone on the boat was a legend, it was fantastic.

Yesterday half the group left for home and the 2 nighters went to Cat Ba island. It was really good fun climbing to the rusty viewing tower, more rock climbing than hiking! The tower was dodgey because it was so rusty but provided a superb view of the island.

Today we just went for a quick swim and came back to the hostel. It was a really good trip and definatly worth the money!

I will stay here again tonight, see the final few sights tomorrow and get the night bus/train to Hue.

So yeah, I am alive and Vietnam is the best!

Out of touch.

2009-05-04T04:42:00.003+01:00

I havn't posted here for a while, mostly because I have been having too much fun in Vang Vieng! I tubed for 3 days in the end. It was wicked I met so many people and alot of them are going to Hanoi around the same time as me.

I came all the way up to Luang Prabang again thinking I could get the bus from here to Hanoi. I cant. I have to go all the way back down to Vientiene which is a pain but it is my fault and there is nothing I can do unless I wait here for a week and get a flight which I definatly cant be bothered with, as nice as this town is.

So that is basically the deal now. I leave this evening to Vientiene and am there for a day, then it is off to Hanoi tomorrow night. The bus to Vientine is 9 hours and the bus from there to Hanoi is 24. Needless to say it is going to be horrible!

Yesterday I went to the waterfalls here in Luang Prabang, they are beautiful!! I heard about and [eventually] found a really great natural infinity pool overlooking the valley. Noone really knows about it so I was there on my own untill another group came down. The way there is pretty treterous [spelling], I almost died. Twice. I ran into Sophie and her friend whos name escapes me, who I had met tubing. They also thought you could get a bus from here to Hanoi but they left Vang Vieng a day before me so they left last night to Vientine and got a flight instead.

I met Chris again last night, he had just got off the slowboat. I met him in Pai first, then Chang Mai and now here. We decided we wont meet again because he is going north in Laos now and he is not going to Vietnam. We went bowling [the thing to do in the evenings here] and are meeting up for breakfast this morning in half an hour [I am killing time in the internet cafe] with some other people we met last night but whos names escape me as usual.

Oh yeah I almost forgot I ran into Julian yesterday!! It was awesome but we didn't get a long chat because I was mid tuktuk ride and the driver wasn't too keen on stopping for long. He left last night so I didn't get to see him again which is a shame.

So I think that is all that has been going on in a crazy non-chronological order. I guess I will fill you in on the details of my sure to be exciting bus ride to Hanoi in a few days.

Tubing

2009-04-30T06:50:00.002+01:00

Tubing yesterday was pretty cool. I met up with Matt and Ollie at 11.00 and we headed over to the start at about 12. We were the first people there but only for a few minutes, it soon filled up. It is basically 5-10 bars on the riverside each with a swing or zip line into the river. When you are done at the first bar you just head a few metres down the river to the next one.

Naturally I decided that I was going to do an amazing jump on my first go. It turned out to be the second biggest swing and I let go right at the top. Bad idea. I went flying through the air and was so shocked by how much air time I had my jaw dropped open and I chipped my tooth when I hit the water! It doesn't hurt, I dont think it is bad, just annoying. The day went on like that drinking a beer at each bar and doing jumps into the water untill people moved onto the next bar. It is just a huge piss up with swings into the water, certianly not the safest combination but definatly good fun.

I am determined not to get stuck here though. I will go tubing today and then leave tomorrow. I wanted to get my Vietnam visa for tomorrow but it is a national holiday so I have to wait till after the weekend. While it is tempting to stay here, I feel that as long as I have to spend more time in Laos I should see another part of it. So I am thinking maybe go to Luang Prabang tomorrow and have a proper look around there [not getting hit my bikes]. Maybe go farther to north if I can cope with the horrible roads.

I met a guy last night who has given me loads of info on Vietnam and the cool stuff to do. I will write it down here incase I loose my piece of paper.

Hanoi:

Hanoi Backpackers - The best place to stay, meet loads of people instantly and they organise great trips to Ha Long Bay for a few days and trips to the snake village.
Snake Village - A place that you go ina group of 6 or so, organised by Hanoi Backpackers. They cut a cobra open, put the heart in a shot glass with rice whiskey and you can feel the heart beating as it goes down. Then do the same with the bile. It sound horrible but should be an awesome experiance!

Hue: Dont go, nothing good is there

Hoi An: Just really beautiful, no tourists and very quiet. You can get cheap tailor made clothing here. I tihnk I will definatly get some things made, everyone I have met got something and wishes they got more.

Nha Trang: A party town, go to Sailors club on the beach and Why Not bar which is open till late.

Dalat: Another beautiful town with great landscapes, quiet but nice to relax.

Saigor: Go2 bar! Chu Chi tunnels is a sort of trip where you learn about the war and get to fire an AK47 or M16 at the end for a small fee.

It all sounds so good I am very excited about it now. I was a bit apprehensive before but Dan has given me confidence and alot of advice! I will probably take 3-4 weeks for Vietnam most people seem to think that is fine.

I am going tubing again in a minute, definatly going to try and spend less money than yesterday!

Into Laos

2009-04-28T09:23:00.002+01:00

The bus to the boarder left at 12.30 and took about 6 hours. The bus was full and all the people were really cool. We stayed in a boarder village but I cant remember the name. The guesthouse sorted out our Laos visas so we didn't have to do anything.

The first day of the slowboat was not bad, it was not rammed so we had a bit of space and it only took 6 hours even though we were told it was 8! The stopover town doesn't have electricity on the mains, the guesthouses just have thier own generators which usually turn off at 10.30. I ate with 3 geordie lads, a geordie couple, 3 Swedish girls, an Irish couple and 2 Israli guys. So we had a very large and multi national group. It was a really cool night and we all chipped in to keep the generator running for another 2 hours so we could play music.

The second day was not as good at all, it was 9 hours and the boat was literally half the size as the day before with the same number of people. I was so tired from the night before but couldn't get any sleep at all. Then the boat broke down. The mechanic tried to use an empty coke can as a tool so we didn't have much faith in him. Luckily another, empty boat came and rescued us and we continued in that. It had no seats but was far bigger so we had loads of space to ly down and sleep.

We got to Luang Prabang at about 6 and tried to find out about buses straight to Vang Vieng [we being the 3 geordie guys and Swedish girls, they are travelling together and I am tagging along heh] because I need to meet Ollie and Matt, they are only here for one more day! Everyone we asked gave us different information so we paid a bit more and got a private minibus which I thought was a bit dodgey but turned out to be OK, if rather expensive.

Before it left we went to get some food and as we were going in I saw Bill from Pai! He was staying there for just a day untill his flight to Vietnam. He said it is definatly worth flying to Vietnam because the roads are dodgey, alot of the bus companys are dodgey and it is alot of hastle and takes days.

When we left the resturant I was half way accross the road when I met Scott from Bangkok and Pai! I tried to cross back and see him and walked directly into a bike coming from behind me!! I think he had seen it coming and slowed down so it wan't that bad, he was a cool guy, sounded American/Canadian. After appologies I went over and spoke to Scott. I asked him if he was going to Veitnam and if he was flying, he said he is not but someone he was with said thier friend was flying because of bad things heard about overland. I said goodbye to Scott and will probably see him again here in a few days.

So we got in at 3am to Vang Vieng and he dropped us off at his friends guesthouse which was very nice but very expensive. As it was 3am we didn't have much choice so we just went with it for one night.

The town in very small and quiet, it reminds me a bit of Pai at the moment but way more tourists and busier. I ran into Naomi from Pai, she was going tubing today but I am not sure if I want to because the bike incident ripped the scab off my grazes from mountian biking. I think I will have to risk it though, everyone says it is the most fun thye have while travelling. I have some celine solution and savlon cream so as long as I clean my cuts as soon as possible I think it should be OK.

Ollie and Matt got here yesterday and facebooked me to say they are here but not where they are staying! I havn't got hold of them today so I think I will check in with the geordies tonight again. They have met up with 3 of thier mates from home as well, so we should have a good group tonight. I am not going to drink too much because I want to save up for tomorrow. If I only go tubing one day because of my cuts I want to make the most of it haha.

Ben messaged me on facebook and said june-august are the best times for the alps in the summer so I still have a month untill it gets good there. I do want to make the most of it while I am here so I will just take as long as I like and go to Les Gets when I am done here. I will ask Ollie and Matt how long they were in Vietnam for and how long they think is good. About a week in Cambodia should be fine and I will do the same in Laos I think. I kind of wish it could have worked that I had time to go to northeast Laos but I dont think I will now because I cant face the roads for that amount of time.

I think I have just a few options for jobs in the alps, basically cleaning or driving the shuttle to and from the airport. There was a job for a DJ advertised on a Morzine but I dont think I have the music of any DJ experiance unfortunatly!

Anyway I have just seen the guy I travelling from Koh Tao to Bangkok with so I will go say hi. Byes

Chang Mai again

2009-04-24T11:06:00.002+01:00

Yesterday was a very expensive day. I paid 150B for the minibus to Chang Mai, then I paid 2010B for mountian biking today. I have to pay a further 1700B for the slow boat tomorrow and 1500B for my visa to Laos, on top of all my food and drinks. I havn't bothered to work out how much it was because it still hurts haha!

So yesterday I met so many people. First I saw Jacob and his friend from Koh Pa Ngan and arranged to meet them at a reggie bar at 7.30. Then I saw Chris from Pai in the street and had a few beers with him. We left a little late to go to the bar and got there at 8. The other guys were nowhere to be seen so we had a few drinks. Then Lisa, Katie and thier friend who I also met on Koh Pa Ngan also turned up! It was kind of awkward [i have been trying to spell it for 5 minutes giving up now] because they obviously were not my biggest fans on Ko Pa Ngan. When me, Dan and Fergus gave them our emails for facebook invites I was the only person not to recieve one. I think we will all be tubing at the same time anyway, they left for Laos today.

I spoke to Ollie Wilmot on facebook yesterday and I am now going straight to the tubing place to meet up with him for his last few days in Laos.

So mountian biking was today and it was great! I got picked up around 9.50 and got taken to the biking centre where we got helmets and bikes. It was me and one other on teh downhill track #4, the others were doing XC rides.

The other guy had all his own gear and was on his way to Whistler for the season. I was definatly the worst of the group but I forgave myself because I havn't riden in 18 months and never properly on a full susser. Our guide was called Jay and he was a very good rider and bike mechanic. I was really sketchy to begin with and fell off a few times, nothing bad just slow-speed loosing balance or locking the front wheel. My second crash [about 15 minutes into the ride] I managed to destroy the brake lever so Jay took his front brake off and gave it to me, just riding without a front brake.

The track was really cool but quite challenging for me, as I got into it it became easier and more fun though. There were 3 sections that really stood out, the first was just because I hd gotten into the flow, the track was not too steep or slippery and there was a cool drop to do as well. The second was about half way through the ride just before I got too tired where it was not too steep but fast with cool, quick turns through the trees and super fast berms. The last really great section was because it was just like bissoe back at home, really red dusty terrain that was smooth to ride and had some naturally formed jumps.

The only bad thing was thier safety equipment was quite poor and everytime I fell off the knee pads just slipped off and I got grazed anyway! Nothing major just a few scratches which was expected.

So now [as after every ride] I really want to to more biking because it is so awesome, even if I am so unfit on the bike and my forearms were burning after just a few minutes today. I will get used to it again quickly. I want to look into possibly going to Les Gets in France and working in a bike shop or something for a few months after Asia. The other guy [Drew] in our group today works in Whistler in a bike shop, gets loads of cheap gear and can afford to ride all summer because of it. A flight to Whistler would be too much and accomodation is very hard to get but France is really close and quieter I would imagine.

Anyway it is something to think about. I am heading to Laos tomorrow which should be cool. Tonight I will go to the night bazar, Drew said it is worth a visit. Then to the Chang Mai Saloon which was recommended by Rhys, you can write stuff on the walls and it is full of peoples travel stories etc.

Pai and treking

2009-04-22T13:34:00.002+01:00

Before I forget, I met a guy from Arcada on the bus to Bangkok from Koh Tao!!! How weird is that?

So I came straight up to Pai after one night in Chang Mai. It is a really cool little town, nice and quiet right near the boarder to Burma, northwest of Chang Mai. It is a really dodgey 3.5 hour minibus journey on horribly windy roads but well worth it when you get here.

I met a girl called Naomi[?] on the minibus and stayed at Mr Jan's guesthouse with her, it seemed really nice but we both had cockroaches in the bathroom!!! I was attacked in the shower. Luckily I was signed up for a 2 day trek leaving at 8.30 the next day so I didnt have to stay there long. I started taking my Malerone too, which has made me have really vivid dreams, quite weird.

So I turned up for my trek and met a German couple first, it turned out they had split up but booked the trip before the break up but at the time I was none the wiser. Then Olivier and Bill turned up and we hit the road. Olivier is French and Bill is from LA, they were cool guys too, had just met a few days earlier and come trekking in Pai together. They had done a Chang Mai trek too and from what they said I was pleased I came here to do mine and pleased I only did a 2 day 1 night job.

When we first set off I was feeling like I had made a mistake, it was very very hot, I was sweating like it was going out of fashion and the walking was hard work. The first day was not great, just walking. We got to the tribal village at around 2pm and just chilled out there untill the evening. The tribe was not at all what I was expecting. I had imagined lots of tatoos and piercings and minimal clothing, living in caves with the possibility of a sacrifcial ritual of some kind to celebrate our arrival. Apparently they couldn't have cared less about us being there and the only difference between them and any other Thai people was the lack of electricity and thier hand made wooden huts. Oh, and they spoke a different language.

Olivier and I just mulled around taking photos for the afternoon while out guides [I forgot thier proper names but one had the nickname 'small banana'] cooked the supper. Olivier has a Nikon D40 digital SLR, it is the same as Ben's I think. Anyway I love taking photos with it and I am 50% sure I will definatly buy a D-SLR in Hong Kong where it should be nice and cheap. I also had my first 'proper' Thai crouch toilet, which I have been trying to avoid for as long as possible. It was surprisingly not that bad but I will spare you teh details!

Today was much better, the walking was easier and the scenery was nicer. Yesterday we walked through alot of burnt down forest because the tribes burn it to grow thier crops on. So the landscape was barran and dead. Today it was all lush green forest with loads more wildlife and some amazing sounds, giant crickets are so loud!! One of the animals [no idea what] sounded like an electric sander haha! So yeah, I tihnk they took us on an easier path today because the Germans were struggling alot and we did alot of waiting for them yesterday. It was nicer anyway and we had more stops, learned how to make bamboo cups from the giant bamboo [see facebook photos, I cant work out how to put them on here]. Small banana also dug up some dung beetle larva which we boiled for lunch. It was truely horrible, the taste was alright but it was very oily and slimy but the bones [you eat it whole, head and all] were nastey and crunchy. After a small amount of walking in the afternoon we ended up at a huge cave which was kind of cool but I was so tired after all the walking that I didn't really take much notice and my camera flash wasn't good enough to get any snaps.

I am sharing a room with Olivier tonight, Bill left for the Laos boarder a little while ago and Olivier and I are both catching the 09.00 into Chang Mai tomorrow. I am going to get my washing done as all my clothes are dirty now, book mountian biking for the day after and my slowboat trip to Laos for the day after that.

I am spending way less money here, I paid only 100B each for my 2 nights in Pai and 200 for my night in Chang Mai so far. Food is a little cheaper too and water is half the price of the islands!! I think Laos may be even better but probably wont be as well stocked.

So Pai has been generally awesome, hopefully Chang Mai can be just as great, the same for Laos too!

Chang Mai

2009-04-20T04:06:00.002+01:00

So I arrived in Chang Mai after a horrible journey. It wasn't that bad really, I was just really hungry because I ddfin't have enough food on the train.

I found out aboutthe slow boat to Laos and I will need to leave here on the 27th if my visa expires on the 28th. So today I am going straight to Pai for a few days to do a trek, my minibus leaves at 12:30. It is malarial there so I will start taking my pills now untill I leave Cambodia, I may stop in Vietnam, it depends where I stop.

Hopefully I can get on a trek starting tomorrow and be back in Chang Mai on the 24th/25th, have a few days here, maybe go mountian biking, then get on to Laos.

Pro at Yoga

2009-04-18T07:39:00.002+01:00

So Thursday morning I turned up for yoga on the beach. I was the only person that turned up so I had a 1on1 for 2 hours. I was quite cool but I prefered the lying on the floor 'relaxing' much more than trying to do impossible posses and hold them for 'just a few more breaths'.

As soon as I sat down the instructor told me I dont do much sport. Aparently she could tell because sportsmen can't sit cross-legged. It is good for yoga though because it means my muscles have not become too contracted and can stretch more.

Some of the posses, the balance ones in particular were quite easy but others were impossible. Apparently I have high blood pressure because I got dizzy doing the shoulder stand. I don't know what the type of yoga was called, apparently there are many variations but it was fun overall.

In the afternoon I rented a mo-ped with Johnny, the Canadian I met when I first arrived on Koh Tao, and Laura, a scottish diver who is in the room opposite me. Laura and I wanted quad bikes but they only had manual ones sowe thought we would save ourselves the embarrisment of trying to work out the gears and get automatic mo-peds like Johnny.

So we set off down a random road which very quickly turned into an unpassable and trecherous[cant spell] path. Unfortunatly we had made it to the top before realising that it got worse and that it was going to be a very dodgey ride back down!! We were basically on slicks and Lauras back break didn't work at all and her front one just locked up all the time. We made it down in one peice and decided to stick to the main roads. After cruising around a bit we stopped for a bit of mini golf which was very funny [ I won :P], it even had a castle!!

Yesterday I went on a boat trip around the island, which I thought was kinbd of a sight seeing tour but turned out to be a snorkalling day. None of my equipment fit properly and I ditched my fins after 5 minutes but it was still pretty cool. It turns out I am not as good at sun-creaming my own back as I thought though. I got a bit burnt right in the middle of my back.

So now I am waiting for my taxi which will take me to the pier for me to begin my journey to Chang Mai. It will be sad to leave, Koh Tao is easily the best place I have been to so far but the show must go on and even though I have only drunk once while here, I have still managed to spend alot of money.

Bring on Chang Mai, wish me luck for my 30 hour journey!

Sick day =[

2009-04-15T03:44:00.002+01:00

So I have a throat infection. It has been hurting for a few days but I thought it would go away on its own. I have a 5 day antibiotic course for 200B. It is less than my 50 pound excess so I wont bother telling my insurance company, unless someone advises me oterwise. I also ate some dodgey cheese or a shake yesterday and have a really bad stomach, it hurts loads. I may go to a yoga class today but I may just do nothing again, I wll see how I feel later.

Fish suppers and international water fights

2009-04-14T09:31:00.002+01:00

So it has been a while since I posted and there has been lots going on.

I left my accomadation on Haad Yao to move to Lees Garden in the south to try and hook up with Ben and Ollie. Unfortunatly I didn't see them but it was a really nice location and all the guys there were really nice. As it was new years eve some Swiss guys took it upon themselves to make a delicious seafood BBQ and feed everyone who was staying at Lee's Garden!! It was so delicious and I dont usualy like seafood. Obviously I ddin't touch the shrimp but I tested out the fish, crab and mussels. All the oysters were long gone before I got there. Then we had some fireworks and firecracks which were cool!

The next morning I left for Koh Tao, I was in an open back pickup which is what all the taxis on koh Pah Ngan are like. On the new year they throw water at each other all day so me and all my belongings were soaked by the time we got to the pier.

The ferry was fairly quick and not at all rough. I met a Canadian on the pier here and went to find accomadation wit him. The whole island is packed because of the new year so i t was quite hard. We eventually got somewhere in the middle of nowhere but we had to give our keys to the cleaner because she hadn't finished. We were supposed to go back in a few hours but I got carried away with the water fight and partying so I forgot untill 2am. Naturally I couldn't get the key at that time so I had a nice sleep on the beach!! It wasnt too bad though because there was a nice hammock and there were still loads of people at the party up untill sunrise.

I am just chilling out today, enjoying the sun. I may go snorkelling tomorrow =]

Ko Pah Ngan

2009-04-09T11:52:00.002+01:00

Well, I made it to the Island yesterday morning after a very long trip!

The bus was OK, I met up with some Canadians and thier friends [1 Brit and 1 Dutch]. They were all really cool and the bus journey went fairly quickly.

When I got here I was going to meet up with Ben and Ollie again, they have rented a 4X4 and offered to pick me up. Unfortunatly I get no signal on the island!! So I can't get hold of them, hopefully we will meet at the Full Moon Party tonight.

As soon as I arrived I found my bungalow to be very grotty and not at all how I imagined it. There is all sorts of wildlife in there and the hammock was not comfy at all, not that it matters as I broke it within 10 minutes. I just fell through!

So within 10 minutes of arriving I met Fergus and Dan who are also from the UK, they have been in Australia for a few months and have just come over from Koh Tao which they said was awesome for a bit of quad biking.

I have just been chilling out with them really, we went snorkaling yesterday which was awesome, just off the shore from our beach.

The full moon party last night was pretty cool, I met the Canadians from the bus and the 2 Belgium guys from Khaosan road but I didn't manage to find Ben and Ollie or Emily =[.

I didn't over do the drinking so I am feeling pretty good today, just tired and I can remember the whole night.

I am definatly going to Ko Tao next, I don't know if I will scuba dive [10,000B] or just chill, maybe get a quad bike or something.

Last few days

2009-04-06T06:59:00.002+01:00

Well, I didn't meet those guys at the night market after all but I ran into them on Khaosan roadand we went for a drink and to 'The Club' it was a good night and the club was actually pretty cool.

3 of those peple left for the islands yesterday morning, so it was just me Lucas and Oliver left in Bangkok. Lucas also met up with some girls he met in Chang Mai a few weeks ago.

The girls wanted to go to the weekend market so we split up and went on the boat to Chinatown. It was certianly an experiance if not one I enjoyed. The 'walking street' was just a very narrow lane rammed with people buying and selling things that noone could ever need or want. Other than that it was completly empty. We walked to the train station and got the metro to somewhere I cant spell and then walked to Nana.

Oliver had read in his travel book of somewhere called Nana Plaza which is basically a 3 story courtyard full of bars with exotic dancers. A tuktuk driver said it was 100% ladyboys, so we just had a quick look around and left. It was the middle of the day so there were not many people around, it looked pretty nasty to be honest so I am pleased we didn't go at night!

We left there and had a McDonalds, I think we all regretted it but it was a spur of the moment thing to shelter from the rain. We got into an amazing Tuk-tuk that had been heavily modded with a HUGE and loud exhaust and an epic soundsystem. We speed off with it at full volume and got all sorts of jelous looks from other tuktuk drivers and passengers.

He dropped us off at a shrine which is supposed to be lucky. A Burberry shop was suposedly built right next to it just before it became a massive fashion icon. There were tons of people lighting incense and praying to it.

Next we walked to the MBK shopping centre because Lucas wanted to get some shopping in before he went home. We met up with the girls at the night bazar which is just another one of Bangkoks huge number of markets.

It was a pretty cool day all in all but my feet were definatly feeling it by the end.

This morning we all met up for breakfast. Oliver is going this evening and Lucas is going tomorrow morning. I will see Oliver at the full moon party I am sure but Lucas is going home to Germany so I probably wont see him again.

It has been raining the whole morning so we are going to one of the Hostels for a film. I am feeling a little guilty about spending my last day in Bangkok inside but I have got to see a fair bit of the sights and this will at least save money.

I also just rang the bank. The reason my card was blocked was because I had tried to withdraw more than my allowed 250GBP a day [I thought I had only tried 10,000 but aparently it was 20,000] so the machine had rejected it. When I tried again on the same machine just seconds later it assumed it was fraud [there is apparently alot in Thailand] and blocked the card. It should be working fine now, I will try it later.

I leave for the islands tomorrow at 7pm from the main train station, hopefully I wont get robbed on the bus!! My bus and ferry fare was 1100B and the accomadation is 500B per night which is apparently not bad for the islands. I dont know how long I will stay there yet but I have booked the minimum 4 nights for now. I will have my own bungalow on the beach which should be cool but it is the other side of the island to the party so getting there and back will be a bit of a mission. Ah well, I will sort it out when I am there.

This is probably my last post form Bangkok so goodbye, see you in the south.

Money Woes

2009-04-04T11:29:00.002+01:00

Well, I just spent 3100B on my bus and accomadation at ko pan yang [still cant get the Thai spellings right] so I have no cash left. I tried to withdraw some from the ATM and it didn't work. I have tried every ATM around with no luck! I don't know if they dont work on the weekend, as some Thai people suggested, or they only accept Mastercard/Visa. Either way my card is not working today or tomorrow at least!

So yeah, I am happy I have my USD in cash with me. I am going to take them all and change for Baht, I should get around 4900B which will easily see me through to Tuesday when my card arrives.

I booked my bus for the Tuesday evening so if my card is late I will be a few Baht down :S Well, I better change my USD before the shop closes ...

Lacking Inspiration

2009-04-04T05:54:00.002+01:00

So I met up with Ollie and Ben last night which was cool. I spent all my money the night before so wasn't drinking but it was nice to catch up and get advice from Ollie who has already done the whole thing.

She randomly ran into a friend of hers she had met earlier on her travels, who was from Bristol and is heading to Australia today. The guys she was with were a cool bunch and I am going to meet up with them this evening for the night market, the second biggest market in the world. I tihnk I will buy some Thai trousers, I was eyeing them up last night but wasn't sure if they were for guys or girls, apparently they are unisex so it's all good.

I saw Dorian again, he is leaving today so I said goodbye. He was the cool Candian guy I met in the internet cafe. I am trying to rush this before my time runs out...

The Palace, or not.....

2009-04-03T06:10:00.002+01:00

So I decided to actually see some sites after waking up at 2pm yesterday I headed over to the oldest Wat [I think it means temple] in Bangkok. It was amazing with gold Buddas all the way around the inside. Loads of people just chilling out there in the shade. It was very peaceful. They have meditation classes there which I may go to as I have just found out I am staying in Bangkok untill Tuesday because that it how long it takes the courier to get here with my card!

I tried to go to the Grand Palace yesterday as well, they didn't let me in with shorts on so I am wearing trousers today. There was a very nice couple from Exeter [everyone I meet seems to be from the Southwest!!] who didn't get in either so I walkedwith the to the sleeping Buddah instead. I havn't taken many photos because I don't know what the deal is with taking photos and if it is rude or not....

I got in touch with Ben yesterday on my UK phone because my Thai one refuses to work!! I bumped into a very nice women in the 7/11 who had helped me not get ripped off by the taxis on my first day. She told me that you have to dial 001 then 44 to get through to the UK, I was so excited I forgot to even thank her and just ran off to testit out. It didn't work =[. I am sure I am doing something wrong though.

Anyway, I should be meeting up with Ben and Ollie today. They are shopping on Ko Sanh [I really should find out how to actually spell it instead of guessing differently each time] Road so we will hook up, I need a hat.

I am spending far too much money, as much as 20 quid a day here!! I have heard this is one of themost expnsive places to be but it is still alot of money. To be fair I have been buying stuff each day like my lush new Ray Bans [fake, of course]. I am pretty sure I got girls ones but I am hoping no-one notices.

Ihave met loads of amazing people here already, most of whom are going to the full moon party too! Unfortunatly my STA card arrives on the 7th and the party is on the 9th so I probably wont get there in time to find accomadation :S I may not even get there in time for the party because of how long it takes to get a train ticket and I cant afford one untill I get the card, doh!! Maybe I will just use my solo card to get some cash out and buy my train ticket for the night of the 7th and pray that the card arrives on the day it is suposed to.

Maybe I wont go to the Grand Palace today after all. I think I will not go out tonight, try and make up for all the money I spent last night, see the Palace tomorrow and do the canal boat trip too, which I have been told is the best thing to do in the city, along with the Palace.

I woke up at 2...

2009-04-02T08:28:00.002+01:00

Well, so far it has been pretty good. I have met a bunch of people, it is inevitable around here. I met a man from Wellington last night who paid for all my drinks and taxis which was nice of him!!

I woke up at 2 this morning. I wont have time to see many sites today but ah well. I feel rested, haha! I havn't been eaten alive by mosquito's yet either.

I can't really think of anything to say right now so I will keep this short.

I made it.

2009-03-31T16:52:00.003+01:00

Well, I got in this evening, found a room with Chrisophe who I met on the Bus from the airport. I may meet up with him again tomorrow but I don't know his plans.

I made it safely and the trip was pretty good. Finding a room was no trouble but I will move somewhere cheaper and nicer tomorrow. I just went out for a beer and some food this evening, I need to get up early tomorrow for sight seeing. I may go to the palace and try to find a sim card for my phone.

TTFN

Packing!

2009-03-29T16:21:00.002+01:00

Well, I just finished packing my bag I think. It seems very empty, I have a bunch of extra room at the top of my bag which makes me feel like I have forgotten something.

I think I just need a mirror for shaving with and I will be set.

I have no clue how to set up my bag and as a result it is not very comfortable to wear. I have a second bag as well to use as carry on and for day trips etc. I think this will be a pain when I am moving all of my stuff around because two rucksacks will obviously be awkward to carry. I am hoping that my small bag will fit inside my main one when it is required.

I also have no way of locking my bag which is less than ideal. I think I may have to pick up one of those metal net jobs at vast expense if I can find them at the airport =[.

I am suitably scared about flying out tomorrow. I am sure I have forgotten something but should be able to pick most things up in Bangkok when I arrive.

Apparently you can pick up a sim card for just a few pounds out there and call the UK for as little as 1p a minute so I will try to get hold of one of those a.s.a.p.

Hello, blog

2009-03-25T14:14:00.003Z

Well, I set this blog up a few weeks ago now so it is about time to start posting as I leave in just 5 days!

I have almost all of my kit now, I just need some shoes/boots to go walking in.

I have not made any real plans yet apart from get on the plane on the 30th. I have no accomadation booked, I am just going to go for it. I don't think it will be a problem at all, I have spoken to loads of people who easily found somewhere to stay on thier first night with no prior planning.

My brief outline is to leave Bangkok and travel south first, through Malaysia and into Singapore. Then go back up the other coast to north Thailand and across to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. From there I will briefly return to Bangkok to catch a flight to Hong Kong and meet up with Johnny and a few other people I know from the area. Then explore a bit of China, I am really exited to see the Li River which is not too far from Hong Kong!