After a few days in Bangkok, we booked our trip to take us to Singapore. We first headed up to the old capital of Thailand - Attuhaya and looked at many temples and Buddha's. Caught the overnight train to Chiang Mai - 14hrs!!!!!! Comfy and slept most of the way so it was quite fun!

Arrived in Chiang Mai ready to start our trekking with a group of 8 of us (all of whom were a great bunch!) We rode on an elephant through the jungle and the river before having a little swim in a waterfall. We had no idea what was up next...a 5 hour trek through sun and rain storms through the jungle (Jamie had a funny stomach and when asking the guide where the toilet was, was told take your pick of any bush! - thanks Mummy Grove, tablets and tissues were a great idea!)

All of this drama paid off though - we finally got to the hill tribe where we were staying the night. Jamie played a game similar to football with the local tribe boys (he was in his element!) After many beers and dinner, we were greeted with songs by the local school children and dances around the fire!! (Gemma then decided to give them a taste of an english song...which know one knew!!!) EVERYONE KNOWS MY OLD MAN MR. GROVE!!!

Slept on wooden beds a few metres off the floor. The night wasn't without drama - someone went to the toilet (in pitch black) and didn't come back...he fainted in the most skankiest toilet ever and crawled his way back through the mud (...and poo) to try and find his way back! No-one knew (including his wife) this drama until the next morning!! HAAARSH.

Morning came and round two of trekking began..this time the novelty had worn off! 4 more hours with tears and laughter (Gemma!) and got to the river ready for bamboo rafting!! It was all worth while, one of the best experiences we have ever had!

We are missing you all. We are loving all of your messages!! Lots and lots of love
Jay and Gem xxxxxxxx

written by  Jamie & Gemma on March 30, 2009 from Bangkok, Thailand
from the travel blog: Jamie and Gemma's Round the World travels
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Next few days were bliss, just chilling out after a good few weeks of hardcore sightseeing. White sands, and clear blue sea catching up on tans. We had to get into town to stock up and the cheapest form of transport was...MOPED!! It was much cheaper than getting a taxi - jokes! Stocked up on beers ready for the half moon partay! Wicked night - loads of drinks, loads of dancing, loads of flourescent paint!

SAMUI -
We were greeted at Samui pier by a huge thunderstorm! But it didn't stop us from exploring. Rain jackets came in handy! Not much to say again here - just making the most of the bsun and beach. Found a free BBQ on the beach! Lovely jubbly (this is one of many meals we have managed to blag for free haha) Went to our first club since being away! Gemma pelting out on the dancefloor (shock!)

KRABI - (crabby!)
Again...greeted with another thunderstorm but checked in and straight out again on the road! We found the beach (amazing views with little rock islands to explore as tide out) it went down hill from here. first of all, crabs EVERYWHERE! As we got closer, the sand became more like mud/quick sand and we were knee deep. Gemma then decided to have a panic attack! Crying her eyes out she did not want to go any further nor did she want to go back. IT WAS HORRIBLE! But definately laughing about it now!

Found more stunning views and beaches where we came across a group of wild monkeys! We managed to get close enough and a monkey came up to us and held our hands - awwww. But he didn't like Jamie and decided to have a nibble on his hand! Such an amazing experience.

We found an old wooden walkway over the top of a cliff to find a secret bay. We had to sign in by security as it was a private beach for a 5* hotel. Best beach we have been on by a mile!

PHI PHI -
We were greeted not by rain this time but by waterguns! It was their Thai New Year and we were not prepared for the best day ever. Checked in our gorgeous bungalow SOAKED! We dropped our bags, changed, bought a watergun each and joined in the party! People dancing in the streets covering each other in baby powder (don't ask us why?) and not holding back with the water! This followed through to the night where we had the best beach party with the locals. BEST DAY EVER!!!

A couple of days later we decided to book a little tour for the day to take us to the famous 'Maya Beach' (filmed for 'The Beach') this included some kayaking in a huge cove and some snorkelling. Gemma's second panic attack...where she was petrified of the amount of fish surrouding us (didn't realise they guy chucking in food next to us!!) but she got over this and got back in th water (just goggles this time!!) WELL DONE GIRL! Finished up with lovely home cooked food on the boat watching the sunset go down listening to chilled out tunes!

So wish we had longer in Phi Phi (three days in total) but another excuse to go again!

...photos to follow shortly

written by  Jamie & Gemma on April 22, 2009 from Krabi, Thailand
from the travel blog: Jamie and Gemma's Round the World travels
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Ama showed us all the best places (clubs!) in Singapore. Just like any other night in Basingstoke town! (had an awesome night - as you will tell from the photos)

Not much else to tell you about Singapore other than we went to our first museum of the trip!

written by  Jamie & Gemma on May 2, 2009 from Singapore, Singapore
from the travel blog: Jamie and Gemma's Round the World travels
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In the mean time we obviously had to do the tour around the harbour taking in the amazing views of the Opera House. We were reccommended to walk around the botanical gardens were we fed WILD cokatoo's+parrots! (check out the pics!) We had the pleasure of viewing HUGE bats and spiders. We met up with Gem's friend from Bath Uni, Millie for some dins and drinks.

We finally picked up the beauty! The four of us headed up towards Katoomba to see the famous Blue Mountains. It was freezing and tested Jay's fear of heights the limit where we HAD to cross a rope bridge - sheer drop - to get the last train back up in time. Very amusing but he did it!

Port Stephens - (attempted and failed...)
Our aim was to find port stephens to see the massive sand dunes - This was the first time I realised Gem can't navigate to save her life, we ended up an hour and a half past port stephens!!! However every cloud has a silver lining...dark, tired, hungry we hunted for the nearest campsite. Down a dark lane - 20minutes later and just about to turn around we came across a place called Seal Rocks. In the morning we opened the camper door to find ourselves only 3 metres from the beach! We never wanted to leave! This is where we had the pleasure of seeing our first shark in the sea - eeeek! (OK...it was a tiny grey nurse shark but still!)

Byron Bay -
A lively/hippyish town and decided to stock up on a few bevy's and head for the town with the couple we met from the airport. Half around the world and we end up in a club called liquid!! Small world.

Went to see the famous lighthouse where we spotted our first glimpse of dolphins playing in the sea with the surfers - was amazing to watch!

Surfers Paradise -
Jamie Grove gets his first ever haircut in the hairdresser's - nerveracking time's (nothing compared to Mumma Grove's work of art!) The campsite we stayed at was something different - surrounded by sky scrapers! As we planned to split up with our friends from here on we couldn't not have a good farewell outing - bar crawl around the town! Was great fun. A random reunion with Gem and her two friends from home!! Such a small world.

Noosa Heads - (sorry no pics, this is where our camera broke!)
As we are now camping pro's - we keep bumping into people we have met along the journey at other campsites! We spent a few days wondering around the beautiful national park spotting the koala's, massive lizards and the odd nudist!!

Hervey Bay -
We had hoped to see Fraser Island but this did not happen as the weather was horrible + the trips extremely costly. Bit disappointing but still made the most of our time,walking on the beach (collecting shells for Charlottes bday), spotting our first Kangaroo and visiting the first town ever to be built in Australia.

Rockhampton -
We were heading for the Whitsunday's but as it was such a long journey we had to make an overnight stop in Rockhampton (the cowboy capital of Australia - even their accents sounded different!). The campsite had signs up saying beware of the crocodiles - best nights sleep we've ever had!

Whitsundays - We loved this place!!
After to two long days of driving we arrived in tropical Australia where the weather was lovely but the mosquito's were back!

We managed to get a buy one get one free on the tours - one day of snorkelling on not the barrier reef but the GREAT barrier reef (as the tour guide would say!) and the other sailing around the islands - free bar! The rucksack came in handy and kept us going for a few days hehe. Met some great people on these trips, ages ranging from 19 to late 60's - had the best time!

Atherton Tablelands -
Here we saw as many waterfalls as you would ever want to! So tempting to swim but these crocodile signs put us off! We stayed at a castle called Paranella Park where we had a night tour and saw some scary wild life, and another beautiful waterfall.

Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation -
A few days in Port Douglas. We had the best fish and chips for dinner on the park right by the sea! Can't put into words how amazing this was!! And who forgot the camera...DOH! We took a blanket, bottle of wine, watching the sunset and eating our amaizng fish and chips with sail boats going out to sea - bliss! Had a few days by the beach chilling before we headed up to Cape Tribulation.

Had to corss over on the ferry - felt like we were in a different country. No signal, no petrol stations and no food stores deep in the rainforest! Stayed in a campsite within walking distance to the beach.

We have had a great time in Australia, met fantastic people but ready for a new challenge in New Zealand where we can ski!! YAAAY! Keep your messages coming - we love hearing from you all x

written by  Jamie & Gemma on May 29, 2009 from Sydney, Australia
from the travel blog: Jamie and Gemma's Round the World travels
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