Round half the world! - Tim and Em
We are packing up our things, moving out and going to find ourselves.. not really - just in search of sunshine and of course some cultural experiences!

14 hours to go!
London, United Kingdom
We have packed our bags and are ready to go - well almost!! Had our last dinner in this country for some time..lovely steak and chips - had to go for something English! Anyway I am sure you are not all reading this to find out what we had for dinner - next stop is a short one in Hong Kong and then on to Sydney - will keep you posted...
written by  Tim and Em on January 29, 2010 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Round half the world!

24 HOURS IN HONG KONG
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
12 hours after tearful farewells at Heathrow we arrived at our first stop, a fleeting visit to Hong Kong.
Departure Heathrow
Despite being extremely tired, we decided not to succumb to sleep but to head straight out. Having been in Hong Kong numerous times, we wanted to go to somewhere we hadn't been before - shopping certainly wasn't on the cards due to budget and lack of luggage space!
We headed to Hong Kong Park via City Supermarket for some lunchtime snacks. The park is an oasis of green surrounded by Skyscrapers, there is a lake with Koi and turtles and a large aviary. We had a leisurely stroll and ate lunch on a park bench before heading to the aviary for a spot of bird watching - Bill Oddey eat your heart out!!
By this time we were starting to feel a bit weary so decided to have a relaxing foot massage before heading back to the hotel for a siesta. In the evening we met up with some friends (Martigne and James it was great to see you!) for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Central - check out a place called Bacar when you're in Hong Kong and be sure to order the tuna!
Although it was tempting to head to Wan Chai we decided to be sensible and go back to the hotel for a relatively early night as we had to be up at 6am the following morning to catch our flight to Sydney.
HK Tram
written by  Tim and Em on February 11, 2010 from Hong Kong, Hong Kong
from the travel blog: Round half the world!

SYDNEY
Sydney, Australia
Amazing how much you can do in a week, we're loving Australia so far!! We arrived at Sydney airport to be greeted by a friendly face, I love being met at arrivals - thanks Michelle. Fot the first two night we stayed at John, Jan's and Michelle in Campbelltown just outside Sydney. Although still fairly tired, we wanted to crack on with our exploring with Michelle as our invaluable guide.
To start the morning, we had a hearty breakfast of steak, prawns and eggs (yes, thats right, breakfast!) First off we drove to Builli look out with has amazing views over the forrest to Woollengong. Then it as a short drive down into the valley to the beach, one minute we're looking at it from afar and the next minute we're on it!! The weather was really hot so our chief safety officer suggested just 30 minutes lazing on the beach.
Thirroule Beach
We then went to Kiama - which was really beautiful, as was quite rugged (and reminded us slightly of cornwall - on a good day!) The fish and chips weren't bad either! On the way back we stopped off to meet some of Michelles friends - Terri and Craig.
Three sisters
On the second day, nursing a few areas of slight sunburn, we headed up to the blue mountains, the weather was cloudy and threatening rain, but it held off just long enough for us to have a walk around and take some pics.
Michelle & Tim
We went on the worlds steepest railway, which although short, was quite an experience!
Blue Mountains waterfall
After mooching around Leura, Michelle then headed onto Sydney to our next hosts - Sam and Ian.
We spent Friday lazing around Newtown, it has a very chilled out vibe and is quite bohemian. To be honest, we started to struggle as the temperature was above 35 degrees so after a spot of lunch we headed back to the flat to put the air conditioning onto max! Once Ian and Sam arrived back from work we freshened up and headed downtown to meet Michelle and Nat. We went to a couple of bars on the "rocks" in Sydney and ended up in a bar with live music (of sorts). It was a fairly quiet night (not!) - see picture and we got back around 2am Saturday morning.
Quiet night out!
Not to be outdone, we had yet another BBQ breakfast/brunch where I featured as the guest chef. Then we all headed out and wandered various parts of Sydney for the obligatory tourist photo's of Sydney opera house and harbour bridge - nothing prepares you for physically seeing such iconic structures.
Harbour bride backdrop
Also managed to cram in a few drinks at the opera bar directly underneath the opera house - nice!
Harbour bridge at night
So onto Sunday. Sam drove us to Bronte beach, again amazing even though it was drizzling with rain. From there we walked around the cliffs to Bondi for a nice romantic valentine's walk in the sand.
Valentine's walk Bondi
Ian treated us all to Champagne (show off!) which was nice although the walk back was a bit tougher because of it!
Sadly Ian and Sam had to go back to work on Monday so we headed solo over to Manly. We chilled on the beach and watched the surfers and then headed to a bar for an iced coffee. Again, the scenery was stunning (sorry will keep using these sorts of words).
Manly wharf
We ate a good Thai farewell meal with Sam and Ian - the final bit of luxury before picking up our camper van the following day.
Last supper Sydney!
written by  Tim and Em on February 17, 2010 from Sydney, Australia
from the travel blog: Round half the world!

SYDNEY TO BYRON BAY
Byron Bay, Australia
Hope everyone out there is good!?
Its been a hectic week which has seen as pick up our campervan and drive from Sydney to Noosa. Selected highlights as follows:
We picked up our van on Monday 16th, she is a real beauty based on a VW LT35 van - she has air con, a toilet and a shower, time will tell if we love or loath the campervan lifestyle! After provisioning in the local supermarket, we headed out of Sydney - we drove over the harbour bridge - how cool is that!!
Our first stop was the Hunter Valley - wine country (ummm). Found a really good campsite at a place called Cessnock. Managed to suss out the van really quickly, hooking up to the electrics etc. Got chatting to some people on the campsite who were from Padstow - small world. After a sound nights sleep, we had to be up early, we had booked a tour of the smaller vineyards which would last pretty much all of the following day.
We were picked up at the campsite at 930 by the "wine rover", a rotund Aussie called Brian who was extremely knowledgeable about the area, history, wine and the vineyards. In all, we visited 5 vineyards, tasted 53 different ones and amazingly remained fairly sober!!
It felt very strange to be drinking wine at 10am in the morning but we managed! On our budget, we couldn't afford to buy any of the wine although we were very tempted. Think we both learned a little bit more about wine appreciation - berry overtones and all that stuff. There was also cheese and chocolate - heaven!
Due to the alcohol intake, we stayed a further night in Cessnock but set off the following day heading for a brief overnight stay at Port Macquerie. This was more to break up the drive than anything else. We have started to get very good at cooking on the barbeque - each campsite has a camp kitchen which included several barbeques (and Fahitas!!). Pretty much all waking hours are spent outside the van. Still very hot here and the initial sunburn is fading.
We then drove to Darlington Beach, decided to stay here on the recommendation of the folks we met from Padstow. Campsite was again a stone's throw from the beach. Again, a great campsite, each pitch was very roomy and lots of palm trees. Lots of wildlife around, had a close encouter with a kangaroo - was coming out of the toilet block late at night and there was a Roo just sitting there - very surreal! Went back to the van and said to Em, and so we both tip toed out and watched two kangeroos, one with a joey for about fifteen minutes which was very cool. A friendly possum also paid a visit~!
We then travelled on up the coast to Byron Bay, on the way we stopped at a small place called Angourie,
which had a massive breakwall, so we walked along and watched the surf for a while. Arriving in Byron Bay, we managed to get a campsite not too far away from the beach with a pool, which was a bonus.
The beach was beautiful and not very busy so spent quite a bit of time lazing around. We only intended to stay 2 nights, but extended to 3 as we were pretty relaxed and did not want to move!! We also went to Nimbin for the day, which was very very strange, almost a bit X files! Lots of tye dyed hippy types, with a cool museum which to be honest - did not really make much sense, but was interesting in its own special way!
written by  Tim and Em on February 22, 2010 from Byron Bay, Australia

Byron Bay to Fraser Island
Fraser Island, Australia
Australia Zoo - Sleepy Koala
Australia Zoo - Kangaroo scratching his chest!!
We had to drag ourselves away from Byron Bay, as we really liked it there, but our next stop was Australia zoo, which was a 4 hour drive, so we were up and away bright and early (amazing I know!!). We weren't sure what to expect of the zoo, although lots of people had recommended it, but were really impressed with it! It was very interactive, and you could get up close and personal to the kangeroos and koalas which was brilliant.
I think our favourite bit was feeding the elephants - such a stange sensation, it felt like someone was hoovering your hand - with a bristly hoover!!
Australia Zoo - Em feeding the elephants
Had to take a picture of Tim jumping next to Steve Irwin (bless him) and have to include on here as due to my questionable photographic skills, it took me about 40 shots and 10 minutes to get this shot - must read the camera instructions!
Australia Zoo - Jumping with Steve
We then stayed in Noosa for a night, which was a nice place - quite boutiquey with a nice river and lots of gorgeous houses.
Noosa night scene
The next day we headed to Rainbow Beach, so named because there are alledgedly 70 different colours of sand on the beach. What a gorgeous place - we walked along the beach and there was no-one there.
Rainbow beach - Tim & Em
It was quite bizzare as the cliffs next to the beach are made of sand, and the trees that are growing there literally fall off the cliff as the sand blows away. The next morning we got up at 5.30 AM to go and feed the dolphins at Tin Can bay
Tin Can Bay - Tim feeding the dolphins
, which was about half an hour away. The dolphins have been fed for years, and arrive at about 7.30 in the morning for a fish breakfast, and were very pleased to see us. I was humming the theme tune to flipper all day! We then hit the road again to Hervey Bay, where we were staying with Bill and Bev, friends of Tims Mum and Dads. After booking a trip to Fraser Island for the next day, Bill and Bev made us feel very welcome with a Roast Dinner! The roast pork has been cooked on the BBQ - amazing!!
We were then up early again the next day (anyone see a trend here - we are supposed to be on holiday!) and headed off to Fraser Island. We caught the barge across and were then greeted by a 4 wheel drive 52 seater coach! This was to be our carriage for the day. We then did a bit of an island tour, went on a walk through the rainforest and then stopped at Lake Mckenzie for a swim
Lake McKenzie, Fraser Island - Tim & Em
. This is a freshwater lake in the middle of the island, with silicon sand thus almost white, the contrast with the blue water was amazing. Our guide Murray, had spent quite a long time telling us about the dingo's, so I was on watch for them - apparantly they can be attracted by flavoured lip balm, as it smells like food!
After the lake we then had lunch, which was very nice, and then headed up 75 mile beach, in the coach! It seemed slightly wrong that there were 75 miles of beautiful beach and you could not go in the sea (due to currents, jellyfish, sharks etc) and also the beach is used as a highway for buses, 4 x 4's and also as a landing strip for planes. There was a shipwreck on the beach which was pretty impressive, although we had to stay 3 metres away.To finish off the day, we saw a couple of dingo's on the way home!
Fraser Island, 75 mile beach - ship wreck
,
Fraser Island, 75 mile beach - Dingo
Thanks to Bill & Bev for putting us up, a proper bed was a luxury!! We had to be up early yet again the following day because of the long drive ahead of us.
written by  Tim and Em on February 27, 2010 from Fraser Island, Australia

Fraser Island to Airlie Beach
Whitsunday Island, Austria
We are taking it in turns to write the blog, I wonder if you can guess who writes which bit?? No prizes for guessing though! (By the way, we are not suddenly in Austria, there is something wrong on this website!)
Bill had warned us that the drive from Hervey Bay to Rockhampton was tedious so we decided to break the journey up. First was a stop to the Bundaberg Rum distillery. We were hoping that the tour would be free but alas they wanted to charge 25 bucks for the privilege and we would have to wait for an hour and a half until the next tour. So we made do with a nose around the shop, bought a fridge magnet and got a snap of us in front of the big bottle of rum.
We were only ten minutes out of Bundberg when we saw signs for "Mysterious Craters" being intrigued, we decided to investigate. We were hoping that this might be a free attraction, however we were told that we needed to cough up 7 dollars 50 each to see this magical marvel. Not wanting to appear cheapskates, we got our wallets out. Its difficult to describe the craters, but they were, well just craters in someone's back garden - see photo. What was slightly weird is that there were a few other side attractions such as a large collection of old lawnmowers and chainsaws - having visions of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we decided to make a quick exit!!
Gin Gin - Bizarre crators
Gin Gin - Chainsaw display at bizarre crators
Bill's warning was absolutely bang on, the drive was tedious with very few cars and only a handfull of small villages along the way. Having purchased a bag of cheesy puff crisps and, to while away the time, we decided to have a competition to see how many we could stuff in our mouths without chewing. It was tense stuff, I was proud of my first effort of 15 but Em trumped me with 20. I then went one further to 25 but we decided it was a stalemate as we had run out of cheese puffs. I tell this little story to give you an idea of how boring the drive was. There are also loads of signs by the road saying "survive the drive", "fatigue zone" for next 50Kms, etc. I now realise how people can fall asleep at the wheel.
Eventually after 6 hours we arrived at Rockhampton. We were extremely pleased to get to our destination but it was purely an overnight stop so that we could push onto Airlie Beach (gateway to the Whitsunday Islands) the following day.
Up early yet again to start another big drive. We had been warned about flooding and as we neared Airlie Beach it started to tip down with rain tropical style - wipers on max but they still couldnt clear the windscreen fast enough. The creeks were virtually to the side of the road but fortunately we managed to get to our campsite at Airlie Beach. Needless to say, it was very soggy underfoot.
We decided, after such a huge amount driving we would have a "down day" - spend some time on the internet and to decide which trips we wanted to do while there. After much deliberation and visiting 3 different tour operates, we parted with some serious cash for two separate trips over the next two days.
We awoke the following day to torrential rain, the small roads between the pitches of the campsite were literally like rivers.
Rough Day to be on the water!
I was very skeptical that our trip would go ahead but the bus arrived to pick us up on schedule to take us to the marina. We picked up our "stinger suits" - these are essential to protect you from jelly fish whilst in the water.
Ocean Rafting boat
We were then shown our transport for the day, a 38 foot rib inflatable with two huge engines on the back. The sea was very rough, I think there was a 3-5 swell. Immediately on exiting the harbour, the guy accelerated and started zig-zagging up the waves and the hull was slamming down really hard. It took 5 minutes before the first person couldnt handle it so we had to go back to the marina to drop the lightweights off!
The ride to Whitehaven beach was adrenaline filled, full throttle all the way in rough seas - awesome! We were absolutely drenched by the time we got there. Amazingly the weather brightened up by the time we got there. Whitehaven beach lives up to all the pictures you see, simply stunning although the tide wasn't all the way out so we didn't see all of the famous sandbars.
Whitehaven Beach - unfortunately at high tide!
Lookout over Whitehaven Beach
After a stroll and a spot of lunch, we headed off for the first snorkelling site. Due to the rough weather the sea had been really stirred up so visibility was not as good as it should be. We still managed to see some fish and the corals below. After 30 minutes here, we moved on to another snorkelling site which was much better. From there it was back to the marina, in all the captain told us we had covered 57 miles and reached a max speed of 38 knots - that it the swell was someting! Totally awesome day, it was funny to hear Benny (our captain) talk excitedly to a mate when we got back to the harbour about the seas and how we had got airbourne so many times.
The following day it was another boat trip (in a more civilised boat) to a floating pontoon on the Great Barrier Reef. It took us about 2 hours to get to the pontoon which had an underwater viewing area, a scuba dive platform, a semi submersible and, would you believe a water slide. On the ride out, we decided to do an introductory scuba dive and we had already booked a helicopter ride over the reef.
Floating Pootoon, on the reef
Whitsundays Cruise
As soon as we got there, we were ferried out to a near-by floating helipad. Em was pretty nervous, particularly when she saw the size of the chopper!!! Needless to say, the helicopter ride was incredible, the fact that it was a helicopter was exciting but the views of the Great Barrier Reef from the air were simply stunning. There was one other passenger beside Em and I and despite being able to talk to each other through headsets, none of us said a word, I think we were rendered speechless by what we were seeing. Whatever I say here will not do what we saw justice, hopefully you will see what I mean by the pictures.
Mean Machine
Heart Reef
Reef
It was then onto our introductory scuba dive which we were both a little apprehensive about. You went down with an instructor who held your hand (literally) all the way. After being shown the equipment and how to breathe (useful!), we pushed off the underwater platform.
Fish Shoal, Great Barrier Reef
It is so serene when you are underwater and the wildlife was just amazing. We saw a couple of giant clams, one of which the instructor touched so that it closed. Saw lots Unicorn fish which are quite weird - look them up on the internet, you'll see what we mean! Also saw a couple of clown fish (just like Nemo!). The different types and vivid colours of the coral was incredible. After 30 minutes under, we surfaced and have decided to look at a diving course in Malaysia or Thailand.
Tim -not having fun at all!
After our dive, we managed to get a little bit of R&R on the pontoon, spot of lunch and a few goes on the waterslide. As we were so tired when we got back to Airlie Beach, we decided to treat ourselves to a meal out - fish and chips!!
written by  Tim and Em on February 28, 2010 from Whitsunday Island, Austria

Airlie Beach to Cairns
Cairns, Australia
After the excitement of the Whitsundays, the next two days can only be described as long and boring! There is not a massive amount of things to do on this stretch of coast, so we drove about 600kms each day for two days to try and get as far as possible as quickly as we could. The roads were pretty empty, we would only see another car occasionally, and towns were few and far between!
We decided to head up towards the Atherton Tablelands, as we had heard this was really nice from a few people. We picked a campsite that was right in the middle of all the waterfalls so we were well placed for the next day. The only problem with this was that in effect we were in the middle of nowhere, and it was pretty rustic!! As soon as we pulled up I knew there was potential for nasty encounters of the wildlife kind, and after about ten minutes the only other people staying on the site told us that they had snakes (of the poisonous kind) under their van that morning. By then I was quite freaked out, everything was very overgrown, so there were no clear paths to the showers without going through long grass. Naturally I demanded that Tim would come with me and stand guard whilst I was showering. I was proved right when on the way back to the camper, we encountered the largest, ugliest toad I have ever seen.
Nasty Suprise- Cane Toad
We knew this was a cane toad, and the book said they were posionous, but helpfully did not explain in what sense they were posionous - did they bite, spray you with venom etc etc?! After taking a few pics from a safe distance, we beat a hasty retreat to the camper, and stayed there for the rest of the night!
Millstream falls
The next day we went on the Millaa Millaa Waterfall Circuit, this is a group of 3 waterfalls which are all within about 10kms of each other. All very nice, and even nicer because there was no-one else there! We then went to see some other waterfalls and a large crater (much more exciting than previous craters) which was pretty large and filled with kermit coloured sludge.. mmm nice!
Zillie Falls
Millaa Millaa Falls
Crater, Mt Hypipamee
From there we headed to Lake Tinaroo, which was beautiful, really peaceful and a lovely camping site with a nice pool too. We resisted the urge to stay two nights, as we were running out of time.
Granite Gorge - Rock Wallaby
The next day took us to Mareeba where we went to Granite Gorge to feed the rock wallabies - I recognised it from when Matty went there. Very cool - we just had to shake the bags of food, one brave one came at first but was soon followed by about 10 of them. They were really really cute - see pictures and very gentle - they would hold onto your hand while taking the food.
Granite Gorge - Tim feeding the rock Wallaby
Tim was surrounded at one point and they started climbing all over him, which was all quite funny. Funnier still when one left a little present on his leg - well I thought so anyway!!
Granite Gorge - Rock Wallaby with joey
After the wallaby feeding we then drove to Port Douglas, stopping for an iced coffee at Kuranda on the way, via what must have been the bendiest road in the trip so far!! Port Douglas was really nice, and had a 4 mile beach, which again, was deserted.
Port Douglas - 4 mile beach
We had a swim in the pool and a BBQ for dinner. We started to feeling slightly blue that the Australian leg of adventure was coming to a close and that the following day we would have to hand back our home for the last three weeks (the camper van). The following morning was fairly stressful as we packed all our gear back into the rucksacks and cleaned the van up.
We headed into Port Douglas itself to look around the local market. Em was tempted to buy a chopping board and I was thinking about buying a wide brimmed Australian stylie hat - fortunately we both resisted the urge!!
From there we drove slightly further North to Mossman Gorge. We thought it would just be a scenic drive but when we got there you could walk alongside the river and people were swimming. Despite being short on time, we ran back to the van, grabbed our swimming gear and went for a quick dip. The water was pretty cold and the current takes you downstream quite quickly, it was great to cool off though.
Mossman Gorge - swimmers
Time was started to run really short as we had to drop the camper back by 3.30pm. We wound our way back down the Captain Cook Highway, found our accommodation for the night (The Travellers Oasis), dumped our stuff off and then dropped the camper back :-(.
Cairns - Travellers Oasis
The hostel was really good and we were given various vouchers for cheap eats in Cairns (bonus)! We strolled around in the evening, Cairns does not have its own beach so they have built a lagoon along the esplande which is really cool - it even has a sandy bottom!! Sorry readers but we forgot to take any pictures - it looked superb at night. By this time our tummies were starting to rumble so we ate at a place called the Woolshed - two meals and two beers for 25 bucks, the best thing was, I had a char grilled T-bone steak which was absolutely delicious! Post dinner we checked out a local night market and ending up treating ourselves to a massage.
The following day was an administration day, very boring! We spent a lot of time on the internet updating the blog and uploading photos - I hope you lot are enjoying the updates as its pretty labour intensive!! For our last night we had a deluxe double room, which meant we had a tv, dvd player, fridge and balcony!! This felt like heaven, so we decided to make the most of it and borrowed a dvd from the hostel, cooked a pizza and relaxed! Next morning we were up early to fly out of Cairns to Auckland - via Sydney! We have really enjoyed Australia, bit worried NZ will feel cold after this.
written by  Tim and Em on March 9, 2010 from Cairns, Australia

Auckland to Tauranga
Auckland, New Zealand
Hello readers, apologies for the slight delay, yes, we are know safely in New Zealand. So, what have we being doing or, as Polly would saw WUBU2...
Had a trouble free flight from Australia although Em was particularly annoyed that she didnt get to watch all of the film-they turned the inflight entertainment off before it ended! After 3 weeks in a campervan, it was really nice to stay in a "proper" hotel with our own bathroom and a TV, there was even complimentary tolietries. After staying overnight we picked up our hire car and immediately headed north to a place called Paihia, about a 4 ish hour drive from Auckland. Paihia is the gateway to the Bay of Islands.
We had booked accommdation at a hostel called the Pickled Parrott, so called because the previous owner had a parrott who liked to drink (alcohol!) Strangely enough, the current owner also had a parrott called Rocky, as well as a cat and two dogs! Rose who owned the hostel had moved out a few years ago from Somerset.
Paihia - Pickled Parrott - Tim with parrott!
We were both pretty tired so for the first few days we chilled out, read a bit, sun bathed a bit and contemplated the many trip options available to us. On our final full day in Paihia, we booked ourselves on a yacht called "On the Edge", a racing catamaran.
Paihia - On The Edge
We had a fantastic day out, the wind was good so we managed to actual do some sailing, the captain even trusted me with the wheel!
Paihia - On The Edge, reeling in lunch
On the way out, we caught a couple of fish and within 2 hours these were thrown on the barbeque for lunch - delicious! We anchored off one of the many islands and the rib was dropped into the water. I kayaked to the beach and we had two hours relaxation.
Paihia - On the Edge - Em on boom netting
There was also an opportunity to go on a "doughnut" pulled by the rib, needless to say I couldn't refuse a go! The sail back to Paihia was better than on the way out, the wind had got up a little more and we managed to hit 16 knots sailing. Dad, you would have loved this trip.
Paihia - Bay of Islands view
Paihia - On the Edge - Tim sailing
We had our final night at the Pickled Parrott and despite hours of coaxing, we still didnt manage to get a single word out of Rocky! From Paihia, we headed back South and stayed near to Warkworth. We went to dinner at Steve and Michelle's - Steve used to live in my home town and is now resident in New Zealand. We had a lovely a lovely meal of green lipped mussels and beer battered snapper that had been caught that day. It was great to meet the kids, Heath and Caleb and also Fonzie the Bassett hound. Thanks to Steve and Michelle, it was great to see you.
Wark worth - Tim & Caleb
Warkworth - Steve, Michelle & Fonzie
The following day we drove to Tauranga to stay for a few days with my (Em) Uncle and Auntie - Phil and Laura and cousins - Laurie, Mark and Adam. As both Mum and Dad and Matthew had been to visit, it was great to finally get there and to meet Milo the dog, who I had heard so much about! We had been advised that we should climb up "The Mount" being Mt Maunganui, so went to check it out. I will be honest, when we got there, the sun was shining, and the beach at the bottom of the mount looked so inviting - that was as far as we got! However the next day we went back for another try and climbed to the top. Although not a huge mountain it was still pretty steep but the view from the top was worth it though - in every direction!
Tauranga - view from mount
On our last night we all went for proper Fish and Chips - Kiwi style - freshly caught and on the harbour - very very nice! We then went to the Hot Pools, a 5 minute drive from Phil and Lauras, which were almost surreal, very warm - like being in the bath and very relaxing! The pools are filled with water that is naturally geothermically (!) heated underground.
Tauranga - the Barretts'!
Unfortunately the next day we had to move on again - it was lovely to see everyone again, thank you all so much - special thanks to Adam for giving up his room! We resisted the urge to pack Milo into our rucksacks and departed for the Coromandel region.
Tauranga - Milo the dog!!!
written by  Tim and Em on March 10, 2010 from Auckland, New Zealand

Whitianga to Rotorua
Rotorua, New Zealand
After leaving Phil and Laura's we drove to Whitianga in the Coromandel peninsula. We checked into our hostel which was about 25 metres from a very nice beach - we could see the water from our balcony. After dumping our stuff, we then drove to hot water beach. 2 hours either side of low tide, there are certain spots on the beach where hot springs bubble out from the sand.
Hot Water Beach
Some people dug to form their own spa pool - as you can see from the photo's it was fairly busy. It's a very strange feeling to dig your toes into the sand and for it to be too hot to keep your toes there for more than 5 seconds - weird!
We went back to the hostel via the supermarket for some provisions. When we arrived back there had been a complete power cut. Fortunately, we were barbequing that night but it seemed strange to be in the pitch black for a few hours, the power was finally restored at 830pm.
Cathedral Cove
The following day, we drove to Cathedral Cove - this is perhaps one of the most photographed places in the North Island where there is a huge limestone arch which links two parts of the beach. Again, truly stunning and we managed to sneak in an hours sunbathing.
Cathedral Cove - Em & I
From there we drove to Rotorua which is the thermal hotspot of the North Island and therefore quite smelly! We checked out Wai Tapo Thermal Wonderland which consisted of various thermal wonders believe it or not!! Hot bubbling mud, thermal springs, mineral terraces, etc, etc. Some of the colours were amazing from lurid yellow (sulphur) to bronze/rust colours - check the photo's! We also watched the Lady Knox Geyser spurt.
Rotorua - Thermal wonderland
The following day we had booked to go white water rafting. According to the leaflet, we would raft down the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world - 7 metres of it. After a somewhat short safety briefing, we were launching the raft with 4 complete strangers and 1 "instructor" - Em managed to get the front seat which she was slightly concerned about.
Rotorua - white water rafting
It started somewhat tamely but the rapids built and built until we hit the big one - incredible. After going over, the raft gets completely submerged under the water but none of us managed to fall out and we completed the whole route without capsizing.
There were several points where the instructor got as to paddle back into falls to ensure we all got a good soaking - pretty chilly as we had checked the water temperature on the way down at 16 degrees!! Fantastic fun and got the adrenaline going!
written by  Tim and Em on March 22, 2010 from Rotorua, New Zealand

Cold fear at 15,000 feet.
Taupo, New Zealand
No sooner had we dried off from the white water rafting, and we were on the way to Taupo. Apparantly Taupo is one of the sky diving capital of the world, due to the good weather etc. Tim had been mentioning sky diving before we even left London, but I had been trying to block this out of my mind, as I was hoping that he was in fact joking. Unfortunately we had met a whole raft of people in Rotorua who had foolishly jumped out of planes in Taupo and thought it was the best thing ever - this was not helping my cause! Taupo was beautiful in the sunshine, so we laid by the lake for a while, and enjoyed. The next morning, we booked our skydiving - yes I was temporairly insane! I knew that if I didn't do it I would regret it, so that was that! It seemed a little weird to complete a next of kin form when we were picked up.
When we got to the airport office, there was a choice of 12,000 feet or 15,000 feet, so of course we ended up going for 15,000 (Tim reckoned 12,000 feet was for wimps!). The whole experience was to be captured on DVD and video for proof to all. After getting our gear on, we met our Tandem Masters (i.e strangers that we were going to be attached to.) Mine was a very nice man called JK, who had done over 19,000 jumps, won some medals and been doing it for 20 years, so I was pretty pleased with this. I think he thought I was crazy when my first question was did he have a spare parachute in the bag.
(Tim takes over the typing)..
So into the plane we went, basically two benches in the back of a relatively small light aircraft. We were a little bit like sardines. The view of Lake Taupo from the aircraft was amazing as we climbed and climbed. At 12,000 feet, the door opened to let the wimps out - this was very strange as I knew we would be up next. By now, my nerves were starting to jangle a little even though sky diving is something I've always wanted to do.
Em - please exit the plane!
Tim - please exit the plane
So, we get to our altitude and Alan (my tandem master) and I slide forward towards the open door - stomach in mouth time!! The first couple of seconds of freefall are very uncontrolled and then you can put your arms our so that you are falling with your legs slightedly bent. I would swear here but the feeling was absolutely amazing, like nothing I've ever done before. I was "wooing" all the way down. The guy filming us came to us in mid-air and shook my hand.
Tim freefall
Tim - yeeeee haaaaaa
Em in freefall!
Then Alan opened the canopy and we serenely parashuted back to terra firma. Alan let me control the parashute for a while which was really cool. Once we had landed, I immediately looked for Emma who was just coming into land, I run over and hugged both her and JK. What an adrenaline rush - both of us felt on a high all day and I was up for doing it again. Even Alan said I should sign up for the skydiving course.
Tim - freefall
What a truly AWESOME experience, definately want to do it again!!
Taupo - TTS plane
Taupo sunset - its nice, I like!
written by  Tim and Em on March 23, 2010 from Taupo, New Zealand

Taupo to Christchurch
Christchurch, New Zealand
Huka Falls
After all the adrenalin excitement of the last few days, it was back to more sedate experiences. A long drive from Taupo to Wellington via a detour to Huka falls. It was rather weird to be in a city again with lots of people rushing around. Had a great fish & chip supper (again!) before having an early night to catch the ferry.
Inter-Island Ferry - Driving on!
We arrived at the ferry after initially going in completely the wrong direction at 730 to catch the 830 sailing to Picton. A very scenic ferry journey to South Island. From there, it was another long drive to Marahau, the gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park. Our hostel was literally at the end of the road which we quite liked.
Marahua Beach
The weather was noticeably colder but Tim insisted that he would not wear jeans. We booked ourselves on a water taxi the following day which would tour around to Split Apple Rock and then drop as at Tonga Bay.
We awoke to torrential rain and thought this was not the best day for what we had planned. We arrived at the water taxi office and were shepherded into the boat on dry land - seemed weird. Then a tractor pulled us down the road, onto the beach and into the water and we were off!
Split Apple Rock
Abel Tasman Aqua Taxi
The boat trip reminded us of Ocean rafting in the Whitsundays, the sea was very rough and the boat was boucing around all over the place - luckily we don't suffer from sea sickness. By the time we were dropped at Tonga Bay, the weather had worsened and now included the odd bit of thunder and lightening.
We now had to hike from Tonga to Torrent Bay via Bark Bay (the lunch stop), roughly 14Kms before being picked up again by the water taxi. Due to the weather, we were dropped off an hour later than scheduled. The first bit of the walk was fine if a little wet but by the time we got to Bark Bay, the weather had cleared a little.
As we finished lunch we realised the time and that we only had an hour and a half before we were to be picked up. We almost route marched the second half of the walk and we both had visions of being stranded and spending a night in a hut. Fortunately, we made it with about 5 minutes to spare - it was the last boat of the day.
Very wobbly bridge
We only took a few pictures on the walk as we didn't really have time to stop. There was a very wobbly suspension bridge at one point which was pretty high up and was so narrow two people could not pass at the same time. We both wondered how much we would ache the following day.
Christchurch - night in a cell
Luckily we didn't feel too bad (quite impressive) and the next day we had a huge drive to Christchurch. After getting lost several times around the one way system, we found our hostel, which was a converted jail, dumped our stuff and then went to see Jo and Kane for dinner, along with Cooper and Jo's Mum and Dad, which was lovely. After spending the night in our cell - which was very cool, we were up early to drop the car off, meet Karen and Phil and pick the camper van up. We will be seeing Jo and Kane when we drop the van off again in Christchurch after our South Island Tour!
written by  Tim and Em on March 26, 2010 from Christchurch, New Zealand

South Island Circuit
Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
The van on another busy road!
It was great to finally meet up with Karen and Phil (Tim's Sister and her boyfriend), and after squishing all our stuff into the camper we left Christchurch and headed to Hokitika via Arthur's pass. As we arrived the weather started to go downhill and began to rain - just like being at home. In the evening we went to the glowworm dell, which was quite bizarre - like lots of tiny fairy lights - sorry, too dark for pictures. The next day we carried on to Franz Josef, light rain was now a full on downpour.
We were staying overnight, so thankfully the next morning was bright and sunny which meant that we could actually see some scenery, rather than just mist and rain.
Franz Josef Glacier
View from Lake Mathison
We walked up to the Glacier as close as we could, very amazing, and then continued on to Lake Mathison, which was beautiful. As the sky was so blue, we could see Mount Cook reflected in the water, yesterdays rain was just a memory! We continued on to Wanaka, and the road wound through the most stunning and dramatic scenery - sometimes slightly hair raising in a camper van!
All of us by Lake Mathison
We also stopped at an amazing beach, where people had stopped and made towers out of rocks on the beach.
Beach art at Bruces Bay
We left early the next morning for Queenstown, and the weather was still good. Once there we wasted no time and headed up the mountain on the Gondola/Cable Car - which gave us an amazing view over the lake - we also went on the luge (similar to a go-kart), which was good fun, and left injury free!
Gondola view over Queenstown
Karen & Phil on Queenstown Gondola
The next morning Tim and I went on the shotover jet - which is a jet boat that zooms through the canyon at up to 80km per hour, narrowly missing rocks and performing 360 degree turns - just what you need first thing in the morning to wake you up!
Shotover Jet - Queenstown
We then all had a wander round Queenstown and then set off for Milford Sound. As we neared Fjordland, the weather started to go seriously downhill again.
As we drove down the road to Milford Sound, the sides of the road were littered with landslides - people had been stuck there the previous week, due to the weather. The only upside of the rain was that there were literally hundreds over waterfalls - it was as though the mountains were bleeding.
When we arrived at the campsite, I asked them if it would stop raining the next day, I knew it was not a good sign when people started laughing at me! After a restless night - (how much wind would it take to blow over a campervan?) and despite the fact that it was still raining, we decided to go on a cruise up Millford Sound. Having driven all this way, we thought we might as well! Although we didn't see the beautiful blue sky etc. that seems to be on all the postcards, we did enjoy it - the waterfalls were amazing, and it was all quite eerie and surreal through the mist.
Us - Milford Sound Cruise
Waterfall Milford Sound
We then headed back to Te Anau, which felt like civilisation again. We stayed the night and then headed off to Dunedin the next morning. Dunedin was quite a nice place although we spent most of our time in an internet cafe sorting some bits and pieces out. Again, it flet strange to be in a city so big it even had a department store! Had a lovely last dinner in town and then we were up early again the next morning, as Karen and Phil were deserting us to fly up to Auckland for a couple of nights before flying to the UK.
Sunrise over Dunedin
We saw them off at the airport, having tried to persuade them to come to Bali with us - they declined - most uncharitable of them! It was lovely spending a week with them - the camper will seem empty for the last couple of days!
written by  Tim and Em on April 1, 2010 from Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

Dunedin to Christchurch
Christchurch, New Zealand
After the tearful farewells at Dunedin, we decided we would head to Mount Cook diverting a few times on the way. First diversion was Moeraki Boulders, large spherical boulders clustered together on a pristine beach. I guess it might not sound hugely exciting but they really were quite a odd, its as though a giant had thrown huge marbles onto the beach! Stopped at a cafe on the beach for an obligatory coffee!
Moeraki Boulders
We then stopped at Oamaru, mainly to stock up on some provisions and to use the internet (again!) It was Good Friday and unbeknown to us, everywhere seems to shut including supermarkets - how bizarre! We did manage to find a tearoom though which had internet access - we didnt hang around as the place seemed to be in a bit of a time warp!
Finally we arrived at Mount Count, we stayed at a department of conservation campsite which was at the foot of the mountain. I think this was possibly the best view we have had from the camper itself, we could sit there and see the snow capped peak - amazing! When we awoke the following day it was fairly grey and drizzling with rain.
Mount Cook
From the campsite, we headed to Tasman Lake which was around 10Kms down an unsealed road. This was pretty surreal as it was almost like a moonscape and the lake had icebergs floating in it - to give you an idea look at the photo with the boat - they were enormous!
Lake Tasman Icebergs
Mount Cook - Tim & Em
After fixing a quick snack in the van, our next stop was Lake Tekapo. On the way we stopped at Mount St John Observatory, which is quite high up and had incredible 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains and Lakes. We camped right next to Lake Tekapo which is an amazing aqua blue.
Lake Tekapo - Tim & Em
The next day it was time to head to Christchurch to return the van. Once this was done, Jo and Kane picked us up and we went to their house. In the evening we went to a great pizza place in Christchurch - our pizzas included Tandoori Lamb, Cranberry, chicken and brie and roast pork. They sound wierd, but the Tandoori Lamb was one of the best pizzas I have ever had - really hot and spicy!! Was great to spend some more time with Jo, Kane and Cooper but sadly the next day we had to leave - after a wonderful nights sleep in a proper bed, they took us to the airport. Thanks so much guys - it was great to see you again!
Good bye Jo & Kane, goodbye New Zealand
We sadly said goodbye to New Zealand - a beautiful country - next stop Bali - via Sydney and Singapore!
written by  Tim and Em on April 5, 2010 from Christchurch, New Zealand

Mid air drama
Bali, Indonesia
To keep us entertained on the flight from Sydney to Singapore, a man had to be restrained by the flight crew and other passengers. Whilst we saw the fracas, we weren't really aware what sparked it or what he had done. A subsequent internet search reveals he was threatening to down the plane using his mind - obviously a Uri Geller type!! He was actually handcuffed to the seat after the incident and the captain informed passengers that the flight deck was on full lock down after a secuirty incident. That kept us amused for all of 10 minutes!!
Other breaking news is that we have caved in and finally bought a netbook to ease internet use.
We have arrived safely in Bali and after being ripped off in a flea pit for the first nights accommodation, we moved to a very nice hotel in Legian. We haven't taken many photo's but the couple we have taken are of the sunset on the first night, check it out! Its great to be back in hot weather.
Bali - Legian sunset, awesome!
Well herein the real adventure starts as we lose independent transport and we have no accommodation booked in advance. Will we obviously keep you posted......
written by  Tim and Em on April 6, 2010 from Bali, Indonesia

Bali
Kuta, Indonesia
After a false start with our first hotel/flea pit, we spent our first day looking around Kuta and Legian for alternative accommodation. We eventually found somewhere nice in Legian, it had a lovely tropical garden which was a bit of a maze and a big pool for cooling off in. We splashed out a little on a spacious room! If any fellow travellers are reading, would recommend the 3 Brothers Inn as a good place to stay. It was quite a culture shock in Legian, particularly after New Zealand, you cannot walk a few yards before being asked if you want to buy something, have massage or need transport. Our politeness started to wear a little thin some days.
The other thing that took a little getting used to was traffic, in the form of hundreds of mopeds, most piloted by Kamikazees!!
To be honest, other than having a good look around, we just relaxed, caught up with some folks back home on Skype and chilled out. We did have a few very good massages though, they do become a little addictive. We also made some plans for our time in Indonesia, after Legian, decided we would head to Senggigi in Lombok, from there we would go to Gili Trawangan and then back to Ubud in Bali.
Although we hadn’t done a huge amount in Legian, we were extremely sad to be leaving the comforts of the 3 Brothers Inn.
written by  Tim and Em on April 10, 2010 from Kuta, Indonesia

Senggigi, Lombok
Lombok, Indonesia
We had a fairly interesting journey to Lombok. Firstly, there was a 3 hour journey in a rickety old people carrier – it was literally falling to bits inside with holes in the dash where instruments should have been. The driver took no prisoners on the road and undertook some imaginative overtaking manoeuvres which many a sane man would not have attempted.
We then arrived at a tourist office at the ferry port, most journeys seem to end at a tourist office (more about this later). After only a short wait we were told it was time to go, so we start to walk over when the guy from the ferry office says we need to hurry up because the ferry is leaving. With this, a guy appears out of nowhere to carry one of our bags. We were told to run, as we were nearing the ferry, cars were still being loaded but we guessed that pedestrian passengers must have to get on first. Slightly breathless, we got onto the ferry and the guy carrying one of the bag put his hand out, this is when it becomes apparent that we have been scammed, the ferry didn’t leave for another 20 minutes!
After a 4 hour ferry journey, we then get into a less knackered old people carrier for an hour and a half to be dropped at yet another tourist office – a pattern has already started to emerge! In between power cuts, the guy at the tourist office phoned around a couple of the places, that we wanted to stay but strangely there were all full, miraculously the hotel that he suggests has room! Fortunately, the place is just down the road but when we get there we’re not hugely happy. Despite being very tired, we head out and check out a few other places to stay so that we can move in the morning.
The following morning, we moved to nicer and cheaper accommodation. Senggigi itself is quite a nice beach resort although the Lonely Planet built it up as something idyllic which I don’t think it is. We checked out the town, local eateries and bought ourselves a SIM card. Chilled out by the pool from which you could see the ocean.
Senggigi - sunset
On day 2 we hired a moped so that we could get out and about and see some of the island. I considered this great fun although Emma seemed to insist on leaning in the wrong direction around corners.
Lombok with Gili's in background
We had a really nice ride around with only a few close shaves with other road users. Stopped at a forrest which was home to a lot of monkeys who seemed pretty happy for us to be relatively close to them and take pictures. Also went to a temple which is right on the beach.
Senggigi - Temple
written by  Tim and Em on April 13, 2010 from Lombok, Indonesia

Gili Trawangan
Gili Trawangan, Indonesia
Another boat journey but this one only an hour long, took as to Gili Trawangan – this is the
biggest of 3 small islands off the coast of Lombok. Pretty much as soon as we got there we knew we were going to really like it.
Gili T - pass me the Bounty
Firstly, There is no motorised transport on the island at all, the options are walk, hire a bike or pony and trap (known locally as a Cidomo). We had already booked accommodation at a place called Martas. A short stroll took us there and to say the place was fantastic would be a vast understatement.
Gili Trawangan - pool at Marta's
We had our own bungalow built in traditional style, a porch outside with a day bed where our breakfast was subsequently served to us every morning. The pool was fantastic and the garden was very pretty. Originally we planned on staying for 3 nights but we ended up staying 5.
The snorkelling from the beach was truly incredible, it was like swimming in an aquarium. You only had to swim out for a few metres before you saw fish. Saw so many fish, I only wish I knew all their names – there were tiny vivid powder blues ones only a few centimetres long to big silver fish almost two feet long. A lot of work has taken place (and still is) to maintain the reef and regenerate the coral, from what we saw they are doing an excellent job.
Really need to mention the food here as it was fantastic. A couple of places had barbeques where you choose the fish you want to eat (giant prawns, snapper, tuna, mahi mahi, etc) and they then barbeque it for you. Without doubt, we ate the best Tuna we have ever tasted here.
We hired bikes for the day and cycled round the island, well we cycled some of it, in a lot of places it was too sandy to cycle so we ended up pushing.
Gili T- Boats at dawn
To give you an idea of the size of the island, you could walk around it in 2 hours. There is a lot of development taking place on the North of the island, hopefully this will not spoil it. Currently, most of the places to eat, sleep and drink are on the South part which contrary to Lonely Planet is the best beach.
Gili T - Boats at dusk
We were both very sad to leave Gili Trawangan, it was a really really chilled out place and we loved it.
Ferry From Gili T
written by  Tim and Em on April 18, 2010 from Gili Trawangan, Indonesia

Ubud
Ubud, Indonesia
Small boat, walk, bus, walk, small boat, big boat, small boat, walk, bus – this was the sequence and 8 hours later we arrive in Ubud. The journey was incredibly hot so as soon as we found somewhere to stay, we jumped straight in the pool to cool off. I won’t ramble again about the place that we stayed but it was good and it was only 18 quid a night – bargain. After our swim we had a stroll but it started to rain, we were forced to seek shelter in the form of a massage table!! It was very therapeutic to look up from the massage table and see the rice fields. By the time the hour was up the rain had stopped.
Day two we checked out the town properly and did a big circuit of the main streets. It was incredibly tempting to buy lots of different things but unfortunately budget and space in our rucksacks would not allow. We did contemplate buying a teapot and some other cool crockery to send home but the thought of it arriving smashed prevented us.
One of the main streets in Ubud is called Monkey Forrest Road, very aptly named as on it is a forrest with....you guessed it! We decided to take a stroll through the forrest to see the monkeys and to see one of the temples within.
Nit Nurse Anyone?
Very stupidly, we purchased some bananas to give to the monkeys. Almost as soon as we went in, the monkeys smelt banana, Em was forced to throw several decoy bananas so that I could stuff the remainder in my pocket.
Who stole my banana?
There were hundreds of monkeys, they were everywhere in all sizes – from tiny babies clinging to the underside of Mum to quite scary looking Dad monkeys! There was one or two occasions where we had to run, as these monkeys can be a little scary, they have a tendency to jump on you if you give them a chance. The temple was small and some of the stone carving were amazing, I particularly liked the Komodo Dragons!
Ubud - Stone Komodo's
We hired another moped for a couple of days to try to get off the beaten track – we managed to do this quite successfully. We visited Tirta Empul which are holy springs allegedly discovered in 962 and holding magical powers
Tirta Empul - Holy Waters
.
Then we went to Gunung Kawi, these are ancient monuments which have been carved into the rock, standing 8 metres tall. The site is at the bottom of a steep valley which you have to walk down god knows how many steps to get to.
Gunung Kawi
The bonus though is that the site is surrounded by terraced rice paddies – although these views are the typical tourist pictures you see in magazines, it was so beautiful to see the lush greens – stunning!
Easy Rider!
By now, we were getting pretty good with the moped, I was able to go quite fast without being told off and Em was not only leaning the right way she had stopped clinging to me like a limpet!! The next day we were really adventurous and took an 80km round trip to see Gunung Batur, a volcanic cone by a lake – again very picturesque. Most of the tourists stay at the top of the plateau but we went right down to the lakeside which rather intrigued the locals. One guy offered to take as to his village to see a dead body in a tree – we have subsequently learnt that this is, in fact, a tradition in some parts of Indonesia where the dead are put in trees – not sure for how long and what happens afterwards. Whilst it was an extremely kind offer we declined!
Despite a couple of scams, the Indonesian people are lovely, they are extremely friendly and are inquisitive of where we are from, what our names are and whether we are on honeymoon!! I think this is what has perhaps struck us the most on this trip is the sheer friendliness of complete strangers where there is sometimes a language barrier.
To close a few stats – a litre of unleaded costs 33p, yes thats 33 pence folks, an hour’s massage is £4, a bed for the night can cost as little as a tenner, a small beer £1.40, moped hire for day is £2.96, the local dish of Nasi Goreng can cost under a pound but strangely a box of tampons is £5.11!
Next stop Java but we’re not looking forward to the journey!
Nice view for lunch
written by  Tim and Em on April 23, 2010 from Ubud, Indonesia

Smoking volcanoes
Probolinggo, Indonesia
We left Ubud and headed to Denpasar to catch a bus that would take us from Bali to Java. As we boarded the bus, the TV was playing Indonesian Karaoke, we had visions of people getting up and singing for the next 10 hours, much to our relief, the TV was switched off as the bus pulled away. Most Indonesians seem to drive like they are possessed and our bus driver was no exception despite it being a 52 seater coach. Every single small gap in traffic was an overtaking opportunity not to be missed irrespective of how close the oncoming traffic was.
After about 7 hours, we stopped for dinner which was included in our fare. This caused much amusement amongst fellow passengers as the menu was completely in Indonesian – everyone was looking at us as we were advised by the cafe owner what was what. By now we were well off the usual tourist trail and there was much interest in Em & I – more to follow on this.
We eventually arrived in Probolinggo, this was to be our rest stop for the night. We found somewhere to stay and had spotted a KFC when we came into town. Whilst I am slightly ashamed to admit it, we feasted on the Colonel’s finest chicken that night – sometimes you just have to do it!
The following morning we went in search of transport to Cemoro Lawang, a small village in the mountains which is the base for seeing the active volcano Gunung Bromo. After quite a long of hanging around in for enough people to fill a mini van, we finally set off for the hour’s journey which winds up the mountain side to Cemoro Lawang. When we got there, we checked into our lodgings and booked a sunrise trip to Bromo for the following morning. We had a look around the village, at one stage we were almost mobbed by a bunch of school kids who wanted to have their photo taken with us – there would be a recurring theme of random strangers wanting photo’s of us.
Bromo at sunrise
As we were so high up it was refreshingly cool, particularly at 3am when we had to get up! We squished into a 4 x 4 with 4 others and then trundled up to an old extinct volcano to see the sunrise over Bromo. Unfortunately it was pretty cloudy, but the mists cleared for a couple of minutes to give us a decent view.
Bromo view
We then drove to Bromo, and climbed what felt like 10,000 steps up the side of the volcano! Although I exaggerate with the steps, we were really high up and it was pretty challenging due to the reduction of oxygen in the air! The volcano was pretty amazing, as it was smoking, fortunately no eruptions while we were there. After our early start, we then went back to the hotel for breakfast (jam sandwiches!) and then we were off to Jogyakarta, on yet another epic 10 hour bus journey.
Bromo - smoking!
written by  Tim and Em on April 25, 2010 from Probolinggo, Indonesia

Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
After our usual first night, dodgy hotel charade, we found somewhere decent, which conveniently was near a decent coffee shop – heaven! It felt strange to be in a city again, but quite nice in a way. We explored some of the sights, including the local markets. The bird market was interesting but a little sad to see some of the birds in such small cages. Despite being it being a bird market, there were also bats, cats, dogs, lizards and poisonous snakes (much to Em’s relief, they were safely locked up!) Less impressive were the live maggots and various bugs and creepy crawlies that also were for sale, presumably as bait or food.
Yogyakarta - Spice stall at the market
The local produce market was huge and really interesting. We had a personal guided tour of a spice stall by the owner where he insisted we sniff, scratch, smell and taste everything presented to us! The array of chillies for sale was incredible and we managed to get some good pictures. Our visit was cut a little short by Em sighting a rat as big as a cat, this was somewhat perturbing as you could barely move through the labyrinth of stalls. We made our exit as quickly as possible!
Yogyakarta - Chillies at the market
We made friends with a becak driver and, after several different journeys, Tim insisted on having a go. The driver was most amused to sit in the front for a change and let the tourist do the pedalling.
Yogyakarta - Tim Becak
After pedalling for about 3 Kms with this guy in the front, Tim was pleased to get out of the saddle and hand the responsibility back to the driver!. These Becak drivers are incredibly fit and some are relatively old. One guy, cycles 20 Kms into town each day to pick up his Becak, then spends all day pedalling other people around town before cycling home again.
Borobudur
We had booked a bus trip to Borobudur, which is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. Unfortunately 5 minutes before we were due to leave, they told us it was fully booked and the only way we could get there was by private car i.e spending a lot of money! As it was our last day and, not to be defeated, we hired a moped, and managed to navigate the 40 Kms there without incident.
I don’t think pictures prepare you for the sheer scale of some of these landmarks, Borobudur was no exception – it was immense with 5 or 6 different levels and some extremely steep stone stairs in between. We had a good look around, it was quite sad to see that some of the ancient Buddha heads were missing due presumably to stealing. We were meant to be there for the sunset but we were kicked out just before which was quite annoying –unbeknown to us, you had to buy another ticket from the local hotel to watch the sunset at further expense!
Borobudur - Tim & Em
Borobudur is the top tourist attraction in Indonesia but, once again, Em & I seemed to be a walking tourist attraction to the Indonesians. We were asked for numerous photo’s including one large group – each one wanted their own picture, so a bit of a photo-shoot followed. We thought this rather amusing so we took our own photo of the group. It had now got to the stage where I suggested that perhaps we should start charging!
Borobudur - New found friends!
written by  Tim and Em on April 29, 2010 from Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Batu Karas
Cijulang, Indonesia
We booked transport from Yogya to a tiny village on the coast called Batu Karas – this was billed as one of the best places to learn to surf in Java. Rather luxuriously, we had a minivan to ourselves for the 6 hour journey. Although the physical distances in Indonesia are relatively small, the roads are so awful that at times it would be quicker to walk. It is for this reason it takes so long to get to places particularly the smaller, road less travelled places.
Batu Karas - Surfs up
The accommodation choices were somewhat limited but we did our usual and booked one night and found a better place the following morning. The beach was pretty nice and the surf did not disappoint! Despite all the time spent in Cornwall, I had never properly surfed, only bodyboarded, so was determined that this was the time and place we were going to master it! Tim was not quite so enthusiastic, but agreed to give it a shot. The surf lessons were run by local Indonesians, who looked as if they spent more time in the water than on land.
We had some practices on the sand, at which I failed dismally - balance not being great, I wondered how I would get up on the board in the sea, when I could not manage it on dry land! However once in the sea, something strange and unusual happened and I stood up!! Not just once either, and managed to ride waves the whole way in. Tim was not faring quite so well (a first for me to be better at something than him) and was nearly there but not quite. After having a rest day to let the bruises and aches subside a bit, we hit the waves again, and Tim was soon vertical on the board as well. At times there was a shoal of flying fish jumping all around us – very strange. The surf guys were absolutely brilliant and we loved it!
Batu Karas - Em surfing
Batu Karas - Tim surfing
Batu Karas was pretty magical, due to its size, everyone knew everyone, and we soon knew people by name and to chat to. The only negative was the lack of food choices. There were a few rustic cafes on the beach, all of which had identical menus, rice, noodles, omelettes and pancakes – breakfast, lunch and dinner. This was ok for the first day or two, but after that, I began dreaming of roast potatoes and even toast! The enjoyment of pancakes for breakfast was somewhat diminished after the discovery of shallow fried ants as a topping!
Batu Karas - Fishing boat at sunset
We had arranged to get the train to Jakarta, and had splashed out on a business ticket , which included air con. When we got on the train after a 3 hour car journey, our hopes were dashed, the aircon was a fan, and dreams of a buffet car were out the window!! After 7 hours on the train, we arrived in Jakarta, where our taxi driver could not find our hotel. After driving past it 3 times, we finally arrived at 2 am in the morning, and were so hungry we were eating dinner at 3 am! It felt pretty good – and to have a hot water shower again was heaven. Next stop Malaysia!
written by  Tim and Em on May 3, 2010 from Cijulang, Indonesia

Malaysian Borneo
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
We flew to Kota Kinabalu (KK) from Jakarta and spent a couple of days exploring the city and just chilling out. On the second night we found a nice hotel with all mod cons which, to be honest, encouraged us to stay longer than we probably should – we even managed to watch some TV! This is the first hotel we have ever stayed in where you get a choice of having a window or not, we opted for the windowless room as it was cheaper – the window/windowless room thing is quite common in Malaysia.
Kota Kinabalu - Fish market
Kota Kinabalu - Night food stalls
The main highlight of KK was the markets. During the day, there is a large wet market selling mainly fish with some meat. Come 4pm, an empty parking lot is transformed into a bustling maze of food stalls with smoking barbeques. To give an idea of size, the food stalls are probably as big as 2 football pitches, you then have 10 metre long trestle tables lined up with chairs. At the end of each length of table there is a barbeque, effectively each barbeque is a separate eatery.
You can choose the fish you want them to cook for you – Tuna, Lobster, Snapper etc. At each table there is a mixture of condiments, fresh chillies, limes and soy sauce for you to make your own dipping sauce. The fish was fantastic, we feasted on Tuna and rice most nights for less than £4. One night the place where we went didn’t have any Tuna so we simply went to the wet market, bought two large raw Tuna steaks and took it back to the barbeque for them to cook for us!
From KK we took a bus to Sandakan, the buses in Malaysia are much more civilised and we got to watch Avatar on the journey. What was not so great was the lady sitting opposite us with 3 kids all of who were travel sick in a big way. We had a lunch stop (we were not feeling hungry) and watched in horror as the lady bought each of her kids an ice cream – we don’t need to tell you anymore.
Sepilok - Orang-Utan hanging around
The main reason for going to Sandakan was its proximity to Sepilok where the Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre is based. When we visited, we were worried that we wouldn’t see any but fortunately one little cute guy (or girl) came out to play. A couple of Orang-utan facts which we didn’t know – they share 96.4% of human DNA and Orang-utan translates as man of the forest. We learnt quite a lot while we were there such as the loss of habitat to Palm Oil plantations - all quite sad. At the current rate, these lovely creatures could be extinct in 10 years.
Kinabatangan River - Proboscis monkey
We also booked ourselves on a river boat journey on the Kinabatangan river in the hope of seeing some more Orang-utans. We chugged up the river and on the way saw copious monkeys – long tailed Macaques and Proboscis, the Proboscis monkey is not the prettiest of beasts, it has a really large dangly red nose!! We continued on some more and were told that there was an elephant ahead. There in the middle of the river was a Pigmy Elephant swimming across, at times just the end of his trunk was visible – a bit like a snorkel!
Kinabatangan River - Cute Baby Pigmy Elephant!
On the bank of the river were about 30 elephants, including babies, some wallowing in the water and some on the bank – we were able to get quite close to them – truly magical, Em took a great video which includes an elephant trumpeting!!
Kinabatangan River - Pigmy Elephants
On the way back we stopped to observe a crocodile, this was a bit unnerving given the size of the boat and how low it sat in the water. By this time, it was getting dark, we have a very eerie picture where you can only see the eyes of the croc reflecting, nothing else. As a final bonus, when we got back to the lodge, we saw a snake, not sure what sort but it was about 1.5 metres long with black and yellow stripes, we were advised not to worry as it was only mildly venomous!!
Kinabatangan River - Mr Snake
Due to the current issues in Thailand, we have changed our route, so we are skipping mainland Malaysia for now. This will mean that should Thailand still be a no-go, we can travel through Malaysia with Polly when she joins us in July. Next stop Cambodia...
written by  Tim and Em on May 11, 2010 from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Cambodia - Siem Reap
Siem Reap, Cambodia
After a quick stop overnight in Kuala Lumpur, we flew to Siem Reap. It felt really good to be back again, the town had grown substantially since we were there two years ago. We had booked a hotel which had a pool, so spent two nights there. However, on a foray into town, one of the bars was advertising room for 15 dollars a night, nice room with all mod cons including free wifi – so we moved! It didn’t have a pool, but when the pool temperature is mid 30’s, its not that much of an attraction to be honest!
We had pretty much done the whole Siem Reap Temple trail when we were last there but we couldn’t resist going back to Angkor Wat to see the sunset. It turned out that there wasn’t much of a sunset that night but Angkor Wat was just as impressive second time round.
Siem Reap is a great place to just chill out and thats pretty much what we did. We revisited Dr Feet, our favourite foot massage parlour – of all the places our feet have been massaged, this is definitely the best!
Bang Melea
We wanted to go and see a temple called Bang Melea which was a bit further afield, 70 Kms from Siem Reap to be precise! We had read about it and although it was pretty much in ruins, it was worth going to see. We had found a really reliable tuk tuk driver (Mean, pronounced Mee-Ann) who had been ferrying us around and he agreed to take us there. It took two hours in his tuk tuk which was fairly interesting in itself, he stopped on the way so to show us the sticky rice sellers – basically its rice, coconut and black beans stuffed into a piece of bamboo, its then cooked on an open fire. We bought some and Tim thought it was pretty good, I wasn’t so keen, it tasted a little bit like rice pudding, but not enough if that makes sense – cue longing for a tin of ambrosia!
What we had read about the temple was very accurate, ie it was a ruin. In places, you had to clamber and climb to enable to see it properly. Although it was falling down, some sections were still intact, the sheer scale of it amazed us. As its off the tourist trail, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.
We also had a good wander round the markets in Siem Reap and had some great dinners – Cambodia was once under French rule, so the bread is wonderful, it felt a real treat after some of the places we have been.
written by  Tim and Em on May 17, 2010 from Siem Reap, Cambodia

Battambang
Sisophon, Cambodia
We wanted to see as much of the country as possible so after a few days headed to Battambang – Cambodia’s second largest city. Although developing fast, Battambang was quite rustic, we checked out the centre and booked ourselves onto a cookery course for the next day. Unfortunately, what we ate for lunch that day didn’t agree with us so we had a day knocked out of our plans – we postponed the cookery course!
We had recovered sufficiently the following day, so had a bit of tour with our tuk tuk driver (this time called David!) First stop was the peace monument, a giant sculpture made entirely out of old weapons found and handed in after the war.
Battambang - Bamboo Train
Then it was to the bamboo train – this was something I had been really looking forward to. There are no passenger train services in Cambodia and although there is railway track, it is in really poor shape. In places the locals have devised an ingenious way to move people and goods around, very aptly named the bamboo train. It consists of two axles with wheels, these are the first to be lifted onto the rails, you then have kind of platform or chassis made of bamboo on which sits a small engine. The chassis is then put onto the wheels – no bolts or fastenings, it just sits there. A fan belt is then stretched from the axle onto the fly wheel of the engine and there you have it the bamboo train! We took a ride on this thing, hurtling down the track it was great fun although the odd stray cow on the line slowed down the ride. If there are any other bamboo trains either in the way or coming in the opposite direction, you simple stop, dismantle and reassemble – it takes about 3 minutes!!
We then went to an old (disused) Pepsi factory. During Khmer Rouge times, pretty much all factories were shut down, accordingly the last bottle to roll off the production line at this Pepsi factory was in the 70’s. Although we couldn’t physically get inside, we had a look around. It was quite eerie, through the windows you could see crates and crates of old bottles, even the Pepsi logo was still attached to the building outside, if slightly rusty. There are several other factories that were abandoned during that period around the same time, sadly they have not been used for anything since.
Battambang - Rice Paper Pancakes Drying
We toured a couple of other places – a village that is famous for making rice paper, another village that makes fish paste (very smelly!) It seems as though almost each village has its own speciality. It was a massive plus having a knowledgeable tuk tuk driver with us who spoke good English as he was able to explain things and where necessary translate for us.
The next day we had our cooking course at a place called Smoking Pot (of the cooking pot variety!) We met the owner, Vannack, who was our instructor for the day. First stop was the market, where we bought all the ingredients we needed. The butchers section kinda puts you off in a way, no fridges here to keep the meat chilled, its all out in the 40 degree heat! Vannack talked us through some of the more weird and wonderful vegetables and herbs. For example, there are 3 different and distinct types of basil in Cambodia. In addition to the normal purple aubergine’s we are used to seeing, there is also a much smaller green sweet version.
Battambang - Smoking Pot Cooking Course
The course was well set up and Em and I each had our own gas wok burner, outside naturally!! It would be an understatement to say that it was hot cooking even though Vannack had set up a fan to cool us down while we cooked. The end results were quite pleasing, a traditional Khmer Amok curry, fresh spring rolls and a beef stir fry with spicy basil. Em likes spicy whilst I don’t but her stir fry was inedible due to the fact that she had put 5 chillies in it. I only put 3 in my version but it still blew your head off.
After our cooking course, we chatted with Vannack who had also just opened a new bar in town. He asked for our help to write a flyer for it. He then took us to the bar and wanted our opinion on some of the music he had – we spent two hours writing and rewriting drafts for his flyer whilst categorising his music collection!
Battambang - Phnom Sampeau
Battambang - Phnom Banan
The following day we went to another temple which involved a strenuous climb of 358 steps, still guess we needed some exercise after the cooking course the previous day. We also visited a local vineyard, I think the only one in Cambodia, and did a little bit of wine tasting. The vineyard produces 10,000 bottles each year and is distributed all over the country. That night we ate at Smoking Pot and couldn’t believe that the flyer for Vannak’s new bar had been printed and our suggestions for it had been used, word for word! There were even guys on the street handing these flyers out.
Its been quite tricky writing this entry for Battambang because we did so much there. Despite being ill, we managed to cram a lot into our stay, the above, is the condensed version!
Battambang - Phnom Banan, cooling off
written by  Tim and Em on May 20, 2010 from Sisophon, Cambodia

Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Although every place we had visited, has monuments relating to the war, all collectively known as the Killing Fields. Phnom Penh has perhaps the most moving memorials and museums relating to the the war in Cambodia. We visited the Killing Fields of Choeung EK, effectively it was an extermination camp during the war. Here they have exhumed some of the mass graves and a memorial has been built with the human remains clearly on display, it was an incredibly moving place and a graphic reminder of the barbaric regime of Pol Pot.
Phnom Penh - Choeung Ek
What amazed us, learning about some of the history, is how recent it is and what little, it appears, the West did at the time to help the Cambodians. Its something that we will probably read further on when we return home. With such a sad recent history, the Cambodians appear to be very optimistic people.
From there we went to the Tual Sleng museum or S21, it was a former secondary school that was turned into a prison during the war.
Phnom Penh - S21
The building has been left pretty much untouched since then with the razor wire still up places and the cells remain intact. The most harrowing thing were the rows of black and white photo’s of prisoners, taken like mugshots. Virtually all the people in these photos were later killed.
In all it was an extremely sombre day but I am glad we went, we learnt a great deal about the history of Cambodia of which we were previously unaware.
The following day we checked out the vast two main markets in Phnom Penh, we bought a couple of Christmas presents, not the first of this trip either. Although tempted to buy a couple of other things, we resisted because of our budget and the logistics of getting it home! Had a little adventure around the supermarkets as well as our Marmite stock were running low – I know its sad but I cannot tell you how good it tastes each morning, like a little slice of home!
In several places in Cambodia you can have a massage from a blind person, several different charities run these places. We went to a place called seeing hands and had a really good massage, its great because just by having a massage you are supporting charity and helping the people that work there – I think this is called a win-win situation!
written by  Tim and Em on May 22, 2010 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Kratie & Kompong Cham
Sambor, Cambodia
Kratie - Sunset over the Mekong
From Phnom Penh, we headed North East to a place called Kratie which is on the banks of the Mekong river. Our accommodation had an incredible outlook over the river and you could have dinner watching the sunset which was pretty cool – all this and it was the cheapest place we had stayed so far on the trip.
Kratie - Pavement hazards
We checked out the town which like most places we visited was centred round a market. Had an interesting stand-off with a herd of water buffalo that were roaming the street-this caused much hilarity among the locals who were watching. They seemed to be digging up most of Kratie to put drainage in, the central square with the market was a crazy place, pedestrians were not safe anywhere as moped riders did anything, including riding on the pavement, to avoid the trenches.
The main reason we came to Kratie was to go on a dolphin spotting trip. The rare Irrawaddy Dolphin inhabits the river – allegedly there are less than 100 left in the Mekong. Fortunately, they weren’t elusive as we spotted about 5 or 6 on our trip. Virtually impossible to get any photo’s though as you were never quite sure where they would pop up, in the end we gave up with the camera and just sat and watched them.
Next stop was Kampong Cham, we waited for the bus at the allotted time in Katie but it didn’t arrive. Instead two moped riders turned up and asked if we were waiting for the bus. It transpired that the bus had forgotten to pick us up and the moped riders would take as to the bus. Riding as a pillion passenger on the back of a moped is pretty interesting with a 20Kg rucksack on your back! Fortunately, we only had to ride about 2kms before we caught up with the bus.
Kampong Cham is one of the few places where there is a bridge that spans the width of the Mekong. Just down river from the very modern, western style concrete bridge is a bamboo bridge which links Kampong Cham to an island. The bamboo version is built every year at the start of the dry season and then washes away in the wet season. We hired a moped and went to check it out, Em was sceptical whether we should ride across it but we did (very slowly). Its about 300M in length and, in places the bamboo is very worn or non existent.
Kompong Cham - Immense Bamboo Bridge
The region is a major rubber producer and we had passed the plantations on the bus. I was keen to go and check it out so we went to the biggest, called Chup rubber. When we got there, it all looked pretty official, we had to sign in and we were given visitor passes. Thereafter, we were left entirely to our own devices and wandered around the processing plant unaccompanied which seemed odd. Workers just nodded to us as we went past. We saw the raw liquid rubber sap coming in by tanker at one end to large blocks of rubber being packed into crates the other end. It was fairly interesting although would have been even more so if there had been a guide to talk us through the various processes. One thing I will say is that rubber processing is an extremely smelly business! – never smelt anything like it and hopefully never again!
Kompong Cham - Chup Rubber factory
The following day we went to an old French lighthouse on the banks of the Mekong. Only the outer shell of the building remains but large steep steel steps have been erected inside so that you can get to the top.
Kompong Cham - French lighthouse (outside!)
What made this slightly more interesting than it sounds, is the resident mad guy who appears to live at the bottom. After a bit of gesticulating and the flash of some money, I left our crash helmets with him whilst we scaled the steps. I say we as by the first flight Em threw the towel in. I continued the climb on my own although I got concerned when I got to a wobbly section of steps. I realised that the steps were not bolted to the building at all, they merely rested against steel pins in the wall. I think this is when I had a slight dose of vertigo.
By now, the mad guy was far below me but I didn’t recognise him for a second because he had put one of our crash helmets on and appeared to be doing some kind of dance! I climbed to the top where you could get to onto a balcony outside. I took a few pictures and then could hear Em shouting at me so went back inside. She had started to shout because mad guy had a foot on the first step as though to head in Em’s direction. I started to climb down and fortunately mad guy didn’t go any further than the first step.
Kompong Cham - French lighthouse (inside!)
written by  Tim and Em on June 1, 2010 from Sambor, Cambodia

Sihanoukville, Kampot & Kep
Kampot, Cambodia
From Kompong Cham, we had a few nights back in Phnom Penh before travelling to Sihanoukville on the coast. It felt good to be back by the sea and be able to dip our toes in the water. We had heard varying reports of the place so we were a little intrigued to see what it was like for ourselves. It was probably the most Westernised place we had been to in Cambodia and it almost felt a bit Ibiza-ish with the number of beachside bars.
We stayed for a couple of days and did the usual exploring around the coast. Once you get away from the main touristy area, it is easy to find a deserted stretch of beach that you can have all to yourself. Most of the land along the quieter parts of beach have been divided up into lots, I doubt it will be very long before it is developed.
Despite being usually very trigger happy with the camera, we didn’t take any pictures of Sihanoukville, sorry about that!
The minibus that picked us up from Sihanoukville was overcrowded which lead to a passenger revolt!! In the end the bus company agreed to pay for a taxi for 3 lads, it later transpired that there were 7 people in their taxi!! Despite offloading some passengers, the driver and co-pilot still ended up sharing the drivers seat for the 1 and a half hour journey to Kampot – a little disconcerting!!
Sihanoukville - which one is driving?
Kampot - river view
Kampot is famous for its pepper and, apparently, at one stage, no self respecting Parisian restaurant would be without it. We hired a moped (have now progressed to semi automatics!) and set off in search of pepper plantations. Although you could have guided tours for most things, in the main we have done things under our own steam, this way we go at our own pace and, more importantly don’t spend as much money.
Kep - Kampot pepper
The plantations were off the main road and a couple of Km’s down a dusty track. Both the plantations were small scale affairs with very little to them. We toured the plants where you could see the pepper physically growing and bought some pepper to take back home with us.
Kampot - Temple in cave
From there, we rode round for quite a while trying to find a temple that is in a cave. We would never of found it if it hadn’t been for a little boy who run out of one the houses and offered to be our guide (for a fee of course). He hopped onto the moped with us – 3 people on a moped is nothing, the most we have seen is 6!
Kampot - Temple in cave guide!
He directed us to where we could park the moped where there was another lad who would look after the moped (for a fee). The temple visit ended up costing quite a bit of money as some other kids latched on as well. By the time we paid everyone off, it turned out to be an expensive day. The temple itself had literally been built inside the cave, from memory it was something like 7th century.
The following day, we booked ourselves on a tour to Bokor Hill Station, you could only go there as part of an organised tour. Bokor was built during French rule and used as a holiday retreat, due to the elevation, it was much cooler and gave a respite from the humidity and heat of the cities. After French colonial rule ended and the the war, it was abandoned – it was the scene of a stand off between Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese army and in many places pock marks and bullet holes can be seen. However, most of the buildings remain in varying states of disrepair.
Kampot - Bokor church
Despite it being a National Park, a large hotel group has bought a swathe of land by the Hill Station and has started to build what will become a huge hotel & casino complex – get there while you can before it is totally spoilt. There is a long access road in varying states of construction from Kampot to the hill station. For some unknown reason, the tour group could not drive all the way up.
Kampot - Bokor truck ride
At the bottom, we were herded into a pick-up truck and then about half way up we were dropped off to trek through the jungle. Although the trek was only about an hour, the heat was under the trees was stifling. At the end of the trek, we were picked up again and drove the remainder. Slightly bizarre!
Kampot - Bokor palace
As we got nearer the hill station, the temperature noticeably changed, getting a lot cooler. Then it started to drizzle with rain. By the time we got there, swirling mist had also descended. With the shells of the buildings appearing and disappearing in the mist, the whole place, although quite spread out, had a real eerie feeling to it. It reminded me a lot of Dartmoor.
We explored the whole site which included a Church & a palace. The palace was a warren of stair cases, corridors, roof terraces and rooms – it seemed almost other worldly with the mist drifting in through spaces where the windows once were. We only got to see one wing of the palace before we had to rejoin the main group to go back.
Despite our grumbles, we still had to follow the same route back down, truck, trek, truck. As we trekked back down through the jungle, you could literally feel it getting hotter and hotter the the lower we got.
Our next stop was Kep, this was a leisurely 45 minute tuk tuk ride from Kampot. We intended to stay a few nights here and it was an ideal place to cross the border into Vietnam, about an hour away. Our phones kept on bleeping as, depending on where you were in Kep, you would get a welcome to Vietnam or welcome to Cambodia text message – annoying when its several times a day.
We trawled around a couple of accommodation options in Kep before settling on a place called the Star Inn, we fondly named this place Fawlty Towers! That evening, Em went to take a shower and mid way through, the electric went. This is not unusual in Cambodia but when I looked outside, I realised that electrics in other parts of the hotel were working. I went to get one of the guys from reception and something had just tripped out. On inspection though, there were lots of dubious looking unearthed wires sticking out of the wall. When we pointed this out, we were reassured it was OK. I then went to shower and exactly the same thing happened. This benefitted us though as we were moved to another room on the second floor which should have been more expensive as it had a sea view.
Kep - Promenade
Kep is a really pretty seaside town/village with a nice beach. As it was out of season, the place was pretty much deserted which suited us. We rented a moped and had a bit of a ride around. I cannot remember the reason but there are a lot of abandoned villas, similar to Bokor in varying states of disrepair. Despite being built in the 1950’s, the architecture of these places is very modern, with really clean lines, some of them occupy fantastic positions overlooking the sea. We couldn’t quite understand why some of these sites had not been developed even though, according to Lonely Planet, they were all snapped up in the 1990’s
.
Kep - Crabs!
Crab is very big in Kep and, on recommendation, we went to a place that serves up fresh crab with Kampot pepper. The restaurant was right on the waters edge and opened up to the sea at the back. Midway through dismembering my crab, I thought a girl had spotted something in the water as she was leaning over the rail. It was only the sound effects that give it away that she was being ill, this immediately put Em off the rest of her dinner. I continued to dissect, I had got too far to give up on my crab now!!
The next day we spent a lot of time updating the blog, we seem to have fallen a little behind on updating it recently!
written by  Tim and Em on June 12, 2010 from Kampot, Cambodia

Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Prek Chak Cambodian border
It seems a little strange to go over a land border between countries. The Cambodia side was very rustic with just a one storey office prior to going through no-mans land. The Vietnamese border was a complete contrast, with a big archway emblazoned with Ha Tien International border gate. I neglected to mention in the previous blog entry that we got our Vietnam visa in Sihanoukville. This must go down on record as the fastest visa issued – literally within five minutes we had a visa printed and stuck into our passports, we couldn’t believe it.
Ha Tien Vietnamese border
We had booked a ticket in Kep that should have taken us through the border to Ha Tien and then onto a ferry to Phu Quoc. It was at the border that the guide broke the bad news that government officials had taken over the ferry that we were meant to catch. We would be making an unscheduled overnight stop in Ha Tien.
We thought we had a result when we found a hotel in Ha Tien for 15 bucks, it seemed to tick all the right boxes and seemed fairly new. Its only downside was it was near the fish market so it was a little smelly outside but, for the price, we thought we could put up with this. We looked around the town but there was little to recommend it really.
We had to be up early the following morning and just as I was nodding off to sleep, the corridor outside our room erupted with noise. It appeared as though it was being used as some form of communal meeting room for the people on our floor. In the end I had to go out and, using sign language, tell them to shut up. Eventually, the noise died down. However, at 440am the noise started again, I couldn’t believe it!! Can safely say, it was the worst night of the trip so far.
Caught the ferry to Phu Quoc the following morning feeling relatively grumpy. We were soon cheered up by the hotel, we had our own garden bungalow and the beach which fronted the resort was absolutely gorgeous. We immediately got into the swing of things and crashed out on the loungers on the beach. There were ladies that were offering massages on the beach so we couldn’t resist, the woes of Ha Tien were quickly soothed away.
Phu Quoc - Long Beach lounger
I had intended to propose to Em whilst we were away, I had been carrying a ring around since we left the UK. I didn’t know when and where I would do it but I felt that Phu Quoc was the ideal place. Trouble is when you are spending all day every day with someone, it is very difficult to organise a surprise. I managed to sneak off a couple of times, Em started to get suspicious and even asked me if I wanted some space!!
Phu Quoc - Lame Beach
I managed to arrange a boat trip where we got dropped on a private of beach for a few hours. I popped the question and Em accepted! Now, there is no need for you readers to get too excited, we haven’t set a date yet. Once we get back from lounging around, we will need to focus on practicalities of finding jobs, etc. Once we have gainful employment, we will set a date!
Phu Quoc - Lame Beach, newly engaged!
We originally booked to stay on the island for 3 nights but ended up staying a week. It was absolutely idyllic – it was the sort of place that you hope to find, quiet palm fringed beaches with clear blue water. It was really hard to pull ourselves away. Due to our extended stay in Phu Quoc and the fact that Vietnam is so long, we decided to extend our visa to give us more that the original 30 days.
Phu Quoc - Bai Sao Beach-stunning!
written by  Tim and Em on June 20, 2010 from Phu Quoc, Vietnam

Can Tho
Can Tho, Vietnam
We had quite a long journey from Phu Quoc to Can Tho which went mini bus, big bus, ferry, mini bus and then transfer onto a mini bus. The journey was made somewhat longer by the most sensible driver we have experienced in our travels to date!
Can Tho is one of the biggest towns on the Mekong Delta. It was really a whistle stop to see the floating markets, we immediately booked a boat trip for the following day – rather handy that a tour tout was loitering at reception in the hotel!
We were up at 530 as the earlier you see the market the better, it takes about an hour and a half to get there. Our captain for the day was multi talented and to while away the time, he fashioned various items from palm leaves including a mask, bracelets, rings and ear rings (I joke not). The Mekong is home to every size and shape of boat that you can think of from huge barges to small rowing boats. Some of the boats are so laden with goods, it appears as though they are half sub-merged. How they manage any forward momentum is beyond me!!
Why is this boat not sinking!
The markets were a huge jumble of boats with activity everywhere. Boats advertised what they were selling by attaching fruit or vegetables to bamboo masts. The number of boats and array of fruit and vegetables was incredible – Dragon fruit to Watermelon, Carrots to coconuts. The problem was it was tricky to take photos when our boat was always on the move! The scenes at the market were like you see in guide books, conical hats abounded!
Water melons!
Messing about in the river
We then went on a little cruise of some of the back water canals, to be honest, by this time our bums were extremely numb and all we wanted to do was get back. About 20 minutes before we got back, the heavens opened and it hammered down with rain. The small awning of the boat just collected water, the water collected would drench us every time our boat rocked in the wake of passing traffic. We got back to the jetty absolutely soaked through, we were able to wring water out of our clothes. It brought new meaning to the words rainy season.
Rain, rain, & more rain
written by  Tim and Em on June 22, 2010 from Can Tho, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Can Tho to Saigon - Technical hitch
Had a slight technical hitch on our journey from Can Tho to Ho Chi Minh, our bus broke down! No such thing as commercial rescue or AA or RAC so the driver got stuck into the engine compartment. Not sure what was wrong but after about half an hour he had fixed whatever it was and we were off again. We had a funny moment when we checked into our hotel and they announced we had been upgraded, don’t hear that phrase very often and it was a first on this trip – we luxuriated in a Deluxe rather than standard room!
I think we have touched on traffic conditions in previous entries but nothing prepares you for HCM, there are mopeds and more mopeds and more mopeds. As a pedestrian it is a dangerous place and something simple like crossing the road is only for the brave, red lights cannot be trusted and neither can anyone indicating – they probably didn’t mean to. To cross the road, you initially look at whats coming and then start to cross, very slowly without looking left or right again. The mopeds then anticipate your next step and go round you, its almost biblical in the parting of the seas!
Our first full day in HCM was a complete frustration, we seem to have these sorts of days every so often and this was definitely one of them. We had decided to extend our Visa as we wanted to stay longer than 30 days. So, we go to the visa office but as Joe Public, you cannot extend your visa, it has to be done via a travel agent, cue trawling around travel agents trying to find someone to organise it for us. The prices charged ranged from $35 to over $100 and the time required to organise from 3 to 10 days. In the end, we went for the cheaper one but then we were told we needed to pay more because we needed it done so quickly. In the end, we paid $55 for something that according to the stamp in our passport cost $10. Follow travellers be warned!
We visited the War Remnants Museum which documents the war with the US. It was really interesting but equally horrific. There was an excellent exhibition of photographs by war correspondents which really did speak volumes about that time and included some world famous pictures. One of the sadder facts was the impact of Agent Orange and its impact even quite recently on particularly the Vietnamese but war veterans of other nationalities as well. Even in the past few years lawsuits and appeals have been taking place in the US – something that I was completely unaware of.
Saigon - War Remnants Museum
Somewhat strangely, the Museum closes for lunch so our visit was cut short. From there we walked to Reunification Palace. This is effectively where it all ended for the South Vietnamese government in 1975 when communist tanks entered and unfurled the VC flag. The very weird thing about this place is that almost everything has been left untouched since then and preserved as it was, its like being in a time warp! Even the basement which was used as a war is as it originally was with steel desk, Bakelite phones and all the old telecommunications equipment still in situ.
Saigon - Reunification Palace war room comms centre
Saigon - Reunification Palace
Continuing the war theme, we went to the Cu Chi tunnels which, as the name suggests, are a network of tunnels and a stronghold of the VC during the war. This was too was extremely interesting, at its height and in this particular area alone, there were over 250Km of tunnels, in places 3 storeys high.
We had a guide to take us around and before physically going into the tunnels themselves we had a rest stop by the shooting range, I obviously use the word rest slightly tongue in cheek. Here, somewhat strangely, if willing to stump up the required cash, the average tourist can shoot live ammunition. You have a menu of weapons to chose from, from AK47 to a M60, once you have decided on your weapon of choice, you pay the required amount of money dependent on how many rounds you wish to fire and are then taken down to the shooting range. Call me a killjoy but this seemed totally bizarre to me and, no, I didn’t have a go!
We then went to the tunnels themselves, there is a section of about 120 metres that you can go in. Before going in we were given a few warnings that it was not for everyone and that there was an escape route every 50M. I wondered what all the fuss was about until I physically got into the tunnel, its only about 70cm wide by 120cm high. This means that you effectively have to waddle like a duck for 120M, this is actually pretty strenuous particularly because of the heat and you have to keep stopping because of slower people ahead of you. In some sections, it narrowed even further and you had to go up and down quite a large step. I don’t shirk from many things but I have to say by the second escape route I was seriously tempted. We both made it to the end but our legs were like jelly by the end of it, I have to say I was very pleased to be out of there. How people lived and fought in those places is beyond me.
Cu Chi - Not as easy as it looks
We got dropped back to the city by bus and started to walk back to the hotel when the heavens opened big style. Within 10 minutes you could no longer see the road and within 20 minutes, it was under a foot of water. All the kids were having great fun in the water and there were some good photo opportunities. One guy came out with his soap and stood under a gutter and had an impromptu shower! The bad thing was that the drains just couldn’t cope which forced what lived down there up, like the cockroaches, not pleasant and Em freaked!
Saigon - making the most of the rain
That night England were playing Germany and I was determined to watch. We found a bar which was more like someone’s front room with chairs on the pavement but they served beer and they had a TV with the football on. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be but once again we can all say England were robbed because Lampard’s goal was over the line!
By the way, no one calls Ho Chi Minh City by its current name, all the locals still call it Saigon!
written by  Tim and Em on June 27, 2010 from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Mui Ne
Mui Ne, Vietnam
Another 4 hours on a bus saw us in Mui Ne, another beachside location. Mui Ne is a bit of a Mecca for kite and wind surfing, originally we thought we might try our hand at it but the high cost saved ourselves broken limbs. The place itself is quite nice but certainly no Phu Quoc. We rented a moped to get about and went to the dunes, they are immense and from the photo’s it looks like somewhere in the Middle East.
Mui Ne - Sand dunes
At the dunes, Vietnamese kids try and rent out flimsy boards so that you can sledge down the dunes. Foreigners, are easy picking as we can be spotted a mile off. We quickly had new friends who each wanted to rent their board to us and also show us the best place to use it. We trekked up the dunes to a “good” spot and I tried my hand at sledging with the assistance of the back up team – it wasn’t as simple as just sitting on it. You had to sit on it just so and lean in a certain way! It was fun but a little disappointing so they took us off to the “big one”. The “big one” was pretty steep and managed to get a fair speed up but your bum gets very hot on these things presumably because of the friction. We had a good laugh with the kids although they were soon looking for other gullible foreigners once we had paid our rental charges!
Mui Ne - Sand sledging
We went exploring on the moped and came across a beach with tub like boats. I had seen these before although in the water rather than out of it. Some are made of fibreglass whilst others are traditionally woven ones. They are actually used as fishing boats but we are still at a bit of a loss as to how they get very far as there is no engine and only one oar – Em ventured that they would go round in circles!!
Mui Ne - tub boat
Fish Sauce is a very big thing in Vietnam and is an essential ingredient in some of the cuisine. Whilst it tastes OK in the food, it has a very nasty smell. In several places in Mui Ne we could smell the pungent stuff and it was only through exploring that we found a back yard full of vats of it – not nice! More nasty stories of fish sauce to follow in the next blog entry!
Mui Ne - Fish sauce vats
We also went to the so-called Fairy Spring, not sure why they are called this but several places seem to have them!! Effectively it was just a stream which you can wade through to reach the source. We decided against wading to the source but the stream cut through sand dunes and the scenery was worth a few photo’s.
Mui Ne - Fairy stream
written by  Tim and Em on June 29, 2010 from Mui Ne, Vietnam

Delightful Dalat
Da Lat, Vietnam
We arrived in Dalat courtesy of the bus journey from hell. We could have coped with no leg room & no air conditioning. However, the kids started to throw up and the icing on the cake was someone had fish sauce in their luggage and it leaked over the floor of the bus. The bus was only a 20 seater and the smell within the confined space was appalling, if there had been drop-down oxygen masks, we would have used them. We checked into our hotel but when we got to our room, we could still smell fish sauce. Upon a lot of sniffing, it was discovered the bottom of my rucksack had a decidedly fishy niff to it. It rapidly went downstairs to the laundry.
Dalat - View near Dalat
Dalat is in the Central Highlands and the temperature is noticeably cooler, it was a welcome relief from the heat of our previous stops. It seemed a little strange to be taking a jumper out in the evening though! The place is a real mixture of architecture, lots of French influence, including a telephone mast that resembles the Eiffel tower, with some Swiss stuff thrown in as well.
On our first night we headed out to a restaurant called Da Quy, from the reviews on trip advisor, it is the number 1 restaurant in Dalat. This may give you visions of grandeur in the price bracket but this impression would be very wrong indeed. The food was amazing, I think my quest for the best fresh spring rolls in Vietnam could have ended! The clay hotpots were also fantastic! It is was here that I tried Dalat red wine for the first time and have to say it is very quaffable. Despite eating like kings, having a few wines and coffee, we still left with plenty of change from 10 bucks!!
Continuing on the food theme, our hotel, Dreams, is legendary for its breakfast. Come the next morning, we were not disappointed, it was an all you can eat affair, there was fresh fruit, yogurt, bacon, marmite for the Brits & Vegemite for the Aussie’s, an incredible spread. The best thing was nothing was “extra” or “finished” which are two words we have become accustomed to in Vietnam. It wasn’t just the breakfast spread that sets this place apart though, they had a rooftop Jacuzzi and sauna which is free to use and the owners are the most lovely people you can imagine. All this for 20 bucks a night!
We rented a moped and rode out to some of the local sights of interest, unfortunately it was a bit of a wet one as it started to rain. First up was Elephant Falls, a waterfall about 30Km from Dalat, we tried to reach the bottom of the falls via a very hazardous path cut into the rocks, we stopped slightly short but apparently with the right guide you can actually go behind the falls themselves.
Dalat - Elephant Falls
From there, we had a brief stop at a silk factory, it was pretty low tech but you got to see the whole process from silk worm cocoons at one end to silk yarn at the other end. There is nothing wasted in the process and once harvested, someone comes to collect the grubs. These are eaten and according to Lonely Planet have a nutty flavour, yummy (not)!
Dalat - Anyone for grubs!?
As we had been out for a while, we decided to head back. We passed a roadside barbeque and the lady made motions for us to stop. I turned round and we had an impromptu lunch, I declined the bit of lung that was barbequing but had some of the local sausage, not sure what it was made from but it was very tasty! Despite hardly speaking any English, the locals were extremely friendly and someone offered us a glass of what we think was rice wine – whatever it was, it was strong stuff. Conscious that I was piloting a moped I had a few polite sips before heading the glass back.
There is a significant amount of agriculture around Dalat growing everything from strawberries to flowers to coffee beans. I have never seen as many commercial greenhouses, most of them growing flowers. The countryside is littered with coffee plantations, I didn’t realise that Vietnam is the second largest producer of coffee in the world.
The second day we were off on the moped again. We were heading to what we already knew was a very kitsch attraction but due its name and our newly engaged status, we felt we had to go to the Valley of Love – I joke not! The place was as cheesy as the name suggests and consisted of various romantically themed statues of lurve.
Dalat - Valley of Love (It had to be done!)
The location itself was really beautiful, it was set in a valley with a lake at the bottom. We had quite a long walk and took the appropriate photo’s before heading to the next stop.
Whilst not as Kitsch, equally weird was the Crazy House, this is not a place for lunatics but a house with a Gaudiest style of architecture. I can’t really describe it so check the photo’s out. When we visited, new Crazy wings were being added, it is the brainchild of a local architect who has designed other buildings around Dalat but presumably somewhat tamer than this! You can actually stay here although the rooms don’t look great and its expensive.
Dalat - Crazy house
We liked Dalat a lot so we stayed a night longer than we originally planned, may regret this later in the trip. The final day we wondered around the market, well I did while Em sat it out. Em is becoming increasingly concerned that I have become obsessed with markets but I cant get bored of them, lots of unusual stuff and photo opportunities abound. When I got back to Em, she was being royally chatted up by a local guy. It turned out that he was selling pictures painted onto silk, after negotiation, we took 3 off his hands – the Christmas shopping continues apace!
Tomorrow, another bus, another town and another blog entry....
Dalat - Eiffel tower lookalike
written by  Tim and Em on July 4, 2010 from Da Lat, Vietnam

Nha Trang
Nha Trang, Vietnam
The bus journey from Dalat to NT was really beautiful, winding mountain roads, forests and waterfalls. Unfortunately the spectacular scenery was lost on the driver, who didn’t stop at any of the Vantage points for photo opportunities!! We would love to do the journey from Dalat to NT on a motorbike, we did think about doing it but didn’t have the time or funds – maybe something for another trip to Vietnam!? The town itself was quite large and touristy compared to our previous stops, but the beach was really nice, particularly in the afternoon when the breeze got up. Our 2 days were spent mostly lounging on the beach.
Nha Trang - Not too shabby
There are quite a few Vietnamese that trawl the beach selling various things from fake designer sunglasses to cold drinks to lobster. Tim couldn’t resist the lobster, he chose the victim and then the lady scoots away to barbeque it for you, 20 minutes later we were tucking into fresh lobster and prawns – very very tasty!!
Nha Trang - Remains of lunch, yum!
We had now planned our route for the rest of Vietnam which meant unfortunately we had to leave. We would have liked to have stayed longer and also to travel to another coastal town called Quy Nhon but time wouldn’t allow. The journey to Hoi An was to be our first experience of a sleeping bus, basically a converted coach with bunk beds – 10–12 hours of quality sleep time(not)!! Travel Scrabble has come into its own!
Nha Trang to Hoi An - Sleeping bus
written by  Tim and Em on July 6, 2010 from Nha Trang, Vietnam

Hoi An
Hoi An, Vietnam
As we have now taken many bus journeys, we have developed a coping strategy, which involves getting a take away pizza prior to departure. Cold pizza is the equivalent of a 3 course gourmet dinner when you are stuck on a bus for eternity with stops at places that serve unmentionable things ! I won’t go into the details of the places we have stopped on these journeys, especially the toilets but all I can say is Moto services, you may be expensive, but you get my vote anyday!!
When we eventually arrived in Hoi An, I could not believe the increase in temperature – it felt about 10 degrees hotter than Nha Trang, with no breeze. Hoi An was really beautiful – it has about 800 old buildings which have been granted Unesco status and feels similar to places like Florence. We only spent 3 days there, most of which was spent exploring the old town, and then resting in the shade!
The town is also famous for its tailors, I decided to have a suit made, but was not prepared for the amount of decisions I would need to make to do this – quite incredible! I was quite concerned about how it would turn out, but the end result was pretty good. Tim also had some trousers made, and when the lady measured us up, she told us that we were both fat! This was an unusual sales technique and slightly irritating as between us we have lost a couple of stone – which we did tell her – she wasn’t interested – in Vietnam apparently we are still fat!! Having had success with the clothes we had made, the shoes that we had made were not quite such a happy story..
Hoi An - Japanese bridge
Another highlight of Hoi An was discovering a brilliant restaurant, which had amazing food – very reasonable and draft beer for 3000 Vietnamese Dong – which is about 10p – cheaper than water. Although we were only about half way up the country, we have already noticed lots of changes in the food –each place has different specialities – central Vietnam food is spicier than the south.
Hoi An - Em's chosen her dress!!
written by  Tim and Em on July 10, 2010 from Hoi An, Vietnam

Hue
Hue, Vietnam
Hue - The Citadel
After a relatively short bus journey this time, we arrived in Hue, where incredibly it felt like the temperature had risen again! We had a lovely hotel, but our stay was slightly marred by the regular power cuts. Every day the power is turned off between 6am – 1pm or 1pm – 6pm and unfortunately the air conditioning did not operate from the hotels generator, so our room quickly turned into a sauna. Our first day in Hue was spent visiting the citadel, which was pretty impressive, very old and some great buildings.
There was not a huge amount of other things to do there, unless you travelled quite far out of the city – on the second day we looked around the market, which looked very similar to all the other markets we have visited! We had planned to spend 3 nights there and catch the night bus to Hanoi on the 4th day, as this was the earliest bus we could get. However on the 3rd night just after we had ordered dinner, we discovered that we could get a bus that evening, which meant that we had to pack up all our gear and be ready to leave in 10 minutes. We decided to go for it, and just made it in time. This was another sleeping bus, this time we were the only westerners on it, for some reason they thought we were really amusing! The “beds” on the sleeping bus would be pretty comfortable if you were under 5 foot tall, anything over this and you have to perform a human concertina act just to stop yourself falling out of the bed. The roads are unbelievable, considering the road from Hue to Hanoi is a major route – to the capital, they are very bumpy – a lot of the roads in Cambodia were much better. The journey of 680km was due to take us 12 hours, but ended up taking 16.5 hours. This is partly due to the requirement to stop for food every couple of hours, we turned down the Tofu at 7am!
written by  Tim and Em on July 12, 2010 from Hue, Vietnam

Sapa
Sa Pa, Vietnam
We stopped in Hanoi for a few nights to organise the trip to Sapa (separate blog entry on Hanoi to follow as we have to return there). We were hoping to get the train to Sapa but were distraught to learn that it was fully booked. Pizza in hand, we trudged onto another sleeping bus. We awoke at about 330am with the bus stationary on a windy mountain road, looking out the window we could see several other vehicles also stopped. We got up and out and went to check out what the problem was. About 200 yards further up the road was a small truck on its side blocking the road – we knew we would be here a while.
Nearly Sapa - truck crash
The accident was miles from the nearest town, yet several entrepreneurs arrived on mopeds selling cold drinks and baguettes – only in Vietnam! At around 730 a crane turned up which we thought would move the truck out the way – wrong. From what we can gather the driver of the crashed truck did not have the funds to pay for the crane to move his truck out of the road. By this time there was quite a crowd and by bumping the truck from side to side, a large group of people managed to move the truck far enough for traffic to pass. This goes down as our record so far, it took 16.5 hours to get to Sapa.
Sapa is relatively high up so, similar to Dalat, much cooler. To be honest, the heat at our last 3 stops had become unbearable so it was really good to have cooler weather. The surrounding mountains are home to a number of ethnic hill tribes, particularly Bllack H’mong and Red Dzao each of whom have their own distinct traditional dress.
Once we were off the bus we headed for a caffeine fix and were immediately befriended by two Black H’mong ladies who were rather insistent we should buy something from them. They were actually really sweet, particularly the old lady who was seventy. They didn’t speak a huge amount of English but despite this, through their actions and gesticulations, they made us laugh. When we wouldn’t buy anything from them, the older lady wanted to make us pinky swear we would buy something later, we thought this was highly amusing!!.
Sapa - Black H'mong (Van & Shu)
It soon become apparent that the H’mong people have a tendency to latch onto and follow you around, this can be a little unnerving. I managed to teach one lady two new English words – stalker and blackmail – this after she followed us around for 30 minutes but promised she would leave us alone if we bought something.
Sapa - Red Dzao
Sapa was incredibly busy and we were both surprised at the sheer number of tourists. A couple of fellow travellers on our bus really struggled to find somewhere to stay. It was also the most expensive place we have come across in our travels in Vietnam, the extra money does not equal extra quality here as we were to learn from our hotel!
We did a day trek which took us through some truly stunning scenery, the terraced fields here are like nothing we’ve seen before, the sheer scale and beauty of it is jaw dropping. Although the weather wasn’t great, hopefully you will see what I mean from the photo’s.
Sapa Trek - View
The first part of the trek was fairly strenuous, up hill for about 2 hours, thankfully thereafter it levelled out for the rest of it. We had 3 guides for our trek, two Vietnamese guys and a black H’mong lady (Shu). As we neared the end of the trek, we passed Shu’s house and she invited us in. The accommodation was pretty basic with an open fire for cooking and although they had electric, there only had one light bulb. We were very grateful to her for showing us her home and we even met some of her family and neighbours.
Sapa Trek - Shu, Em & Tim
Sapa Trek - Waterfall
Once again, the train was full for the return journey so after procuring a pizza, we headed onto the overnight bus that would take us back to Hanoi.
Sapa Trek - Buffalo Cowboy
written by  Tim and Em on July 19, 2010 from Sa Pa, Vietnam

Halong Bay - The day that wasn't
Ha Long, Vietnam
Somethings are just not meant to be and I think we were destined not to see Halong Bay. We booked a day trip on Friday, even got up early, to be told that our trip had been cancelled because of bad weather. We re-booked for the following day hopeful that we would get to see the mighty limestone peaks rising from the sea.
We were up early again and were told by hotel reception the trip was on, we got excited! The bus journey was bumpy, its strange that the road to a Unesco World Heritage Site is so bad. An obligatory stop was made, conveniently at a large shop selling various tourist tat, we bought a coffee but it was awful (not a good sign).
After 4 and a half hours we arrived at Halong Bay to be told that no boats were currently leaving the harbour due to potential bad weather. However, all was not lost, as we could have lunch and hopefully after lunch, good luck permitting, boats would be able to go out. So, our seafood banquet on a boat became one prawn, some rubbery squid and a spoonful of rice.
Lunch was followed by more hanging around by the restaurant, the tour guide announced that there would be another announcement in 15 minutes. The news came that we could go and we were hearded back on the bus for the short drive to the harbour. The harbour itself was packed, stadium rock concert packed. We waited right on the quay, the boats were so near we could touch them and smell their fumes.
HaLong Bay Boats
We waited for an hour while the tour guide made numerous calls, presumably to his mother to ask what was for dinner as we didn’t appear to be going anywhere fast. Then there was another announcement, that we would wait another 15 minutes to see if we could go. Needless to say, we didn’t. We went back to the bus and as we left Halong Bay, the tour guide said “wave bye bye to Halong Bay”, I could have punched him.
We are still not sure why no boats were allowed to leave the harbour, we think that it was the harbour authority. However, what we really don’t understand at all is why we had to go all the way up there to find this out. Being cynical, we wondered whether the tour company took everyone up there knowing that they could at least fleece us of some money for the bus ride and a dodgy lunch. Or perhaps it was a government ploy to ensure you had to come back again? The conspiracy theories continue even as I type!
To cap it all off, we got stuck in a traffic jam on the way back to Hanoi. In all, the trip or non trip took 13 and a half hours and cost 22 dollars. This, without doubt was the most frustrating day of our trip since leaving London on the 7th February.
HaLong Bay - you can just about see it!
written by  Tim and Em on July 24, 2010 from Ha Long, Vietnam

Hanoi
Hanoi, Vietnam
We had a few days in Hanoi before we headed to Sapa and then came back again after Sapa. In those initial few days, I can’t say we were that impressed with it. The moped traffic is appalling and there are hazards everywhere from drain missing covers that threaten to swallow you whole to spitting fat from pavementside woks.
Hanoi - Street BBQ
Some local even had the audacity to try to pick pocket me, needless to say, he was rumbled mid fumble.
However, the city did grow on us slightly on the second stint. The old quarter is an assault on the senses and the clichéd scenes that you imagine in Vietnam are everywhere you look. There are little cafes that just pop up on the pavement, people selling fruit, veg, meat from just a mat laid on the ground in an alley and the offer of moped taxi’s at every corner.
Hanoi - Thap Rua Temple
The lake in the middle of the city is really pretty with a lovely temple which sits on its own island. We visited the one pillar pagoda which is an oasis from the traffic noise. We went to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum but didn’t go in...Visited the temple of Literature which was really beautiful although somewhat marred by tat shops and a cashpoint despite it being an historical site!
Hanoi - One pillar pagoda
Hanoi - Temple of Literature
We had a somewhat frustrating visit to the supermarket, admittedly we were already frustrated as we entered as it had taken us an age to even find the place. We looked around and the things that we had specifically gone there for they didn’t have. We bought a few basic provisions for the fridge at the hotel, we shook our heads when we found the Laughing Cow triangles were security tagged whilst bottles of wine and spirits weren’t!
Hanoi - Who stole the cheese
We upload this at Hanoi airport where you cannot exchange foreign currency yet duty free sell microwaves. Also very angry with myself because I forgot my Swiss army knife was in my wallet, this was obviously confiscated at security. Feel slightly bereft, the knife and me go back a long way and it has been one of the most useful things we brought with us.
Whilst Vietnam has many, many idiosyncrasies we have really enjoyed our time here and it is perhaps the most diverse country we have visited. Despite warnings from other travellers, we found the people very friendly, helpful and charming (other than the pick pocket). It is now only a few days before Polly joins us which we are really looking forward to, we are hoping she might even guest write a blog entry!!
Thailand here we come.....
written by  Tim and Em on July 26, 2010 from Hanoi, Vietnam

Bangkok (reunion with Polly!)
Bangkok, Thailand
After a huge search for accommodation, we opted to rent an apartment for 5 days in Bangkok. This, believe it or not, worked out cheaper than a hotel room particularly when you factored in extra bed charges for when Polly joins us. The apartment was right by the river and had fantastic views of the Bangkok skyline together with a pool and a gym (which we used regularly, not!)
Bangkok - View from apartment
After so much travelling, it was great to have some proper downtime, we even fully unpacked our rucksacks – the first time in a long time. It seemed very novel to have our own place and be able to go to the supermarket and do simple things like watch a film and cook a meal!
Bangkok - Meeting Polly from her flight
We had a very emotional Reunion with Polly and some tears were shed. It appears as though she has grown a foot since I last saw her. She really enjoyed flying out on her own, made that much more enjoyable by two brothers who were also flying unaccompanied. Dont think Polly got much sleep on the flight, much time was spent chatting with her new found friends and watching films!
We had to sort out Visas for Laos which meant a visit to the embassy, this was quite a trek from where the apartment was.
Bangkok - Khosan Road fish massage
In the evening, we went to the Khao San Road. Polly had already managed to lose her sunglasses in less than 24 hrs so we did a bit of sunglasses shopping.She also spotted a fish massage place and insisted on giving it a try – we left her to it as we had already tried it in Cambodia and decided it wasn’t for us!
The following day, we soaked up some sun by the pool before heading to Chatuchak market in the afternoon, one of the biggest markets in the world. We had a good wander around with Polly, once again, buying a few bits and pieces. We then went to a smaller market which sold vintage odds and sods before making tracks back to the apartment.
4am start tomorrow, should be interesting......
Bangkok - Polly chilling by the pool (its tough!)
written by  Tim and Em on August 1, 2010 from Bangkok, Thailand

Vientiane
Vientiane, Laos
Awoke at the unearthly hour of 3:45am. We went into the lounge where Polly was sleeping and were astounded to see her up and dressed already – think she was proving a point!? Not good at mornings let alone this early, even breakfast is a struggle at this time!
Our pick up was arranged for 5am to take us from the apartment to the airport. We flew from Bangkok to Udon Thani in the North East of Thailand, from there it was a taxi into town and then about an hours wait for the bus that would take us across the border into Laos and onto Vientiane. Although the journey was fairly long in total, the different modes of transport broke it up quite nicely.
After manic Bangkok, it was good to get somewhere with a more sedate pace. Although Vientiane is the capital of Laos, the population of the city is quite small. Our hotel was situated in a quiet backwater with hardly any traffic, it seemed a little surreal.
Much to Polly’s disgust, we did a large walking tour of Vientiane the next day taking in some of the bigger sights. First up was the market (groan!) and then Patuxai which looks a little similar to the Arc du Triomphe. You get a good view from the top looking down the main road towards the Presidential Palace.
Vientiane - Pha That Luang
From there we trudged on to Pha That Luang, Laos’s most important monument and (according to Lonely Planet) a symbol of the Buddhist religion as well as Lao sovereignty. Em was somewhat perturbed by a monk who was caught short there and relieving himself against the monument – I don’t know, monks these days! Although it was impressive, its not as gold as the pictures lead you to believe.
One of our objectives with Polly was to try to get her to be more adventurous with food. This was achieved on night 2 when we went to a restaurant with no English menu. We pointed to a couple of pictures on the menu and had a great meal of barbequed meatballs and make yourself spring rolls washed down with a bottle or two of Lao beer.
Vientiane - You will eat it!
The following morning we made a visit to the Thai consulate as Em and I knew we would have an issue with our Thai visa. Strangely when you cross into Thailand over a land border they only grant you 15 days in the country. Once in Thailand you can only extend for 10 days at a cost of £40. Whichever way we looked at it, once Polly had gone home, we were going to have to leave Thailand and re-enter if we didn’t sort out a different type of visa. We managed to do this at the consulate for no charge but it meant staying in Vientiane a day longer than we planned.
The next day we hired bikes and cycled to Cope, an organisation which helps people who have lost limbs. This help takes many forms - rehabilitation, provision of prosthetics and mobility devices. Unexploded ordinance (UXO), a remnant of the Vietnam war, it still a massive problem in Laos and about 40% of people Cope help are victims of injuries caused by UXO. A startling fact – Laos has 0.1% of the world’s population but 51% of the world’s UXO. I encourage anyone going to Vientiane to visit Cope (http://www.copelaos.org/index.html)
Vientiane - Cope
From Cope we cycled back to the Thai consulate to collect our Passport with a nice shiny 60 day visa contained within.
The next blog entry will be narrated by our guest editor, Polly Nicholl!
written by  Tim and Em on August 5, 2010 from Vientiane, Laos

Vang Vieng
Vang Vieng, Laos
We arrived in Vang Vieng after a 3½hr bus journey from Vientiane. We were met by the usual people trying to get you to stay at their hotel. Then Dad and Em decided we were going to stop somewhere for an iced coffee (that’s all they drink nowadays, I’m surprised they haven’t turned into one yet!).
After having iced coffee we walked to our hotel, I knew it wasn’t far, but it seemed like miles with all our luggage. Finally we got to our hotel, it was actually quite nice and had a good view of the river.
Vang Vieng - Nam Song view
Like in Vientiane, Dad and Em thought it would be fun to go for a walk as there were meant to be some ‘‘nice’’ caves nearby. We went across the bridge to a cross paths (paths because they weren’t roads!) with three signs about caves all of them saying they were the most beautiful, which didn’t help. In the end we decided on one path but the way was sooo muddy it was like walking through a swamp. I slipped and got a muddy knee, it was soo funny. We decided to turn back and try a different cave.
Vang Vieng - Walk through the rice fields
Instead, we went to Tiger Cave that led us through three rice fields, The path was only a foot wide, which I wasn’t happy about at all.
In places you had to jump across gaps filled with water, in other places bits of bamboo had been put across. After wading through a river, Em had had enough and was not going any further. Dad and I continued on as we thought the cave was really close. By this time we were permanently wading, the path had disappeared under water! It then started to rain heavily, great! We had to scramble up a steep path to get to the cave, Dad fell over and I started to laugh and then I fell over as well - we were both soaking wet and covered in mud. The cave wasn’t really anything, more like a gap in a cliff, not sure whether we got to the right place or the locals were trying to get some money !?
We trudged back to the hotel, I wasn’t really that happy that lots of the locals were laughing at me. I was so muddy, it looks as though someone had dragged me through it.
Vang Vieng - Results of a muddy walk
It seemed to be Dad’s mission for me to eat vegetables and not have any Fanta’s (yawn) . We ate in a local restaurant, I had some of Emma’s curry and it was actually quite nice. The meal was really cheap, so we decided there and then that we would probably eat here again the next night.
The following day we went “Tubing”. Tubing is where, you hire a large tractor tyre inner tube and get taken by tuk tuk to the river about 3 kms away. You then jump into your tube and float down the Nam Song river back to Vang Vieng. Within 100 metres, Em & I got stuck on reeds. The river was really strong so we managed to use each other to get ourselves out.
Vang Vieng tubing - Help, I'm stuck
There are lots of bars that are on the banks of the river and they encourage you to stop by throwing ropes to you and pulling you in. We were told that the first bar was the best one so we had only gone a little way before we were pulled in.
Dad and Emma ordered a drink that came in a bucket! I was actually allowed a Coke for once! The bar was really busy and they were playing music REALLY loud. The best thing was that they had a trapeze set high in a tree that went over the river. People would queue up in the tree and whenever anyone jumped off the whole tree wobbled.
Vang Vieng tubing - Polly on the trapeze
I persuaded dad to let me go on it, MAJOR adrenaline rush when you let go to land in the river. The first time I did a bomb so I didn’t go that deep, check this out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJewh_LS8e0 (you might want to turn your sound down!) It was aaaaaaaaaaaawesome you get thrown a rubber ring on a rope and you hold on while someone pulls you in it was really fun.
Vang Vieng tubing - Bad Tarzan impression!
I had to get dad or em on it but emma was totally against it so I got dad on , he almost chickened out but he did it and loved it. That was quite enough for him and after I had about 5 more goes on the swing we left but it was really funny coz everyone was at the bars so the river was empty.
Vang Vieng tubing - Messing about on the river!
It was really relaxing but getting out was quite hard coz we went the wrong way so a local boy had to come and save us. We all got abit bruised but it was sooo fun and when I am old enough to go with friends I will .
written by  Tim and Em on August 7, 2010 from Vang Vieng, Laos

Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang, Laos
In our wisdom we paid additional money for a mini van from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. The picture in the tour office was of a very new looking people carrier which we were assured had air conditioning. What we actually got was a pink and white van with no air conditioning! The journey wound up and down through mountains with spectacular scenery.
Luang Prabang - This is not a luxury mini van
Luang Prabang - River view
Luang Prabang is another Unesco site, it has lots of beautiful old historical buildings and is surrounded on 3 sides by mountains, bisected by the Nam Song and Mekong rivers. On our first night we had a great meal at a restaurant that specialised in traditional Lao Barbeque food. As a bonus, we got a free drink!
Luang Prabang - Free shooters, yum!
Our table was transformed into a barbeque with the arrival of a burning bucket of coal and we proceeded to cook (both ourselves as it was pretty hot –and the meat!). We all really enjoyed it and tried buffalo for the first time, which was tasty!
The following day we trawled around various tour operators, looking at elephant related activities. We were determined that whatever we booked had to be conservation based rather than just a tourist attraction offering elephant rides. After the trawl around and a heated debate over lunch we booked ourselves on a one day Mahout course for the following day.
We awoke the following day to torrential rain but were picked up from the hotel and taken to Elephant Village (http://www.elephantvillage-laos.com/). It was quite a sight when we got there to see elephants up close and personal. We first went on an elephant ride through the jungle for an hour, unfortunately, the rain had not subsided but it didn’t detract from the experience.
Luang Prabang - Elephant Village
Once we got back, our group were taught a few basic commands and then we were boosted up onto the elephants neck to have a ride. This was a totally different experience to riding in a chair (obviously). I know it is stating the obvious but you are incredibly high up and as the elephant walks you are swayed from side to side by its hips, you almost felt in a permanent state of falling off! Elephants are actually very bristly, its like a stiff brush rubbing against your knees! Its also a slight worry that you are on the elephant on your own after just a few basic instructions!
Once the mahouts were happy with our abilities, we rode the elephants down to the river to give them a bath. It felt very strange to ride the elephant into a river until they were completely submerged. We gave them a good wash down and there was lots of splashing around. I cannot begin to describe what a fantastic experience this was, it was pure magic, I think this photo maybe sums it up?
Luang Prabang - Love thy Elephant
By now the weather had really changed and it was hot and sunny. After lunch we went on a boat ride up the river to Tat Kuang Si. This is a series of waterfalls and pools which cascade through the trees. It was very picturesque and really nice to jump in the clear water after bathing the elephants in the muddy river.
Tat Kung Si - Nice!
Tat Kung Si - Yeeeeeeeee ha
Our next stop was Chang Mai, we weren’t looking forward to this journey as we were told it would take 16 hours just to get to the border. More about this epic journey in the next entry....
written by  Tim and Em on August 11, 2010 from Luang Prabang, Laos

Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, Thailand
The journey from Luang Prabang to Chang Mai was of epic proportions. We were picked up from our hotel at 6pm and the bus left the station at 7pm, a little surreal at the station as The Great Escape was playing on the TV! The bus stopped innumerable times for reasons unknown, one stop was to collect the animal they had run over (we don’t know the identity of the victim!) It is said that a picture speaks a thousand words, perhaps this is one of them?
Somewhere in Laos - Does my hair look alright!
We arrived at the Laos town of Houay Sai at around 11am, it was then a tuk tuk ride to the border itself to check out of Laos, followed by a boat ride across the river to get stamped into Thailand.
Houaysai - Lao/Thai border
Chiang Khong - Thai border
We were horrified when the guy trying to sell us a (very expensive) mini van ride to Chang Mai advised that the public bus took a further 12 hours. Ignoring him, we got another tuk tuk into town and paid £12 quid for the public bus (instead of £90 for a mini van), a further 7 hours later we eventually arrived in Chang Mai. In total the journey took 26 hours and involved 7 different vehicles/boats!
As you can imagine, we were exhausted and extremely hungry when we arrived. Polly’s face lit up when we decided fast food was the order of the day for dinner!
The next day, as we were still jaded, we just had a stroll round. We went to have a massage by blind masseurs to try to rub away some of our aches and pains from the previous days travelling. In the evening, we found a really great place to eat where you can pick your food from a number of different stalls – you choose from Thai (obviously), Indian, Japanese and Western dishes. We mixed and matched from various places and had a right feast. On the way back, Polly spotted a CD/DVD stall. After about 15 minutes we walked away with 6 CD’s of dubious legality!
Chang Mai is a kind of Mecca for mountain biking so the following day we went for a ride. We were taken by pick up to the top of a mountain outside of Chang Mai – 5400 ft according to the marketing material. Once the leader had cleared a baby Cobra from the forest floor (I jest not), we had a bit of formal instruction and they assessed our riding abilities – this consisted of riding over a branch! We then jumped on our bikes and set off.
Chiang Mai - Biking before the rain!
Unfortunately, the cloud was very low so we didn’t see any of the spectacular views we were promised. The first part of the ride was on quite a good track and was really easy. The group stopped at a coffee plantation for refreshments and then it was into the saddle again. Within 10 minutes of riding the thunder started and within 20 there was torrential rain. By this time, the track had become quite challenging in places made all the more hazardous by the streams that were forming where we were trying to cycle.
Chiang Mai - Mountain Biking
It was fairly miserable to be honest and my fellow cyclists (Emma & Polly) were extremely slow. Polly was becoming more and more disillusioned with the whole mountain bike thing, this culminated in her falling off (several times). Thereafter, she flatly refused to get back on her bike. I got increasingly annoyed and tried to ride my bike whilst pushing her bike, this resulted in me coming off my bike and pretty much impaling myself on the handlebars. In the end we had to tell the rest of the group to carry on without us. Lunch was included in the day, however it took us such a long time to get to the end, it was gone 4pm and all we wanted to do was to get back to the hotel and get out of our wet muddy clothes, but we had to polish off some green curry first!
I guess looking back it was fairly comical, like some spoof programme you might watch on the TV. However, at the time, I was fuming mad! In fairness to Polly, the track was pretty treacherous and I think I underestimated how much she had hurt herself when she fell off. Needless to say, we will not be doing any further biking activities together, EVER! Looking back perhaps we should have realised that friday the 13th was not a good day for this kind of activity!
written by  Tim and Em on August 14, 2010 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

Ao Nang
Ban Ao Nang, Thailand
From Chang Mai we flew down to Phuket and had a couple of nights there. We didn’t do an awful lot other than laze around the pool hence no separate blog entry.
We moved onto Ao Nang, this was the final part of the trip for Polly before heading home to the UK. Decided just to stay in Ao Nang for 6 nights and have day trips out rather than move around. It was really good to settle in one place and unpack our rucksacks. We pushed the boat out a little and stayed in a very nice hotel set back from the main street so it was nice and quiet.
Another horrible beach!
Booked a boat trip which toured 4 of the outlying islands on a long tail boat with some snorkelling. The islands were beautiful, all very bounty like, with white sands and clear aqua water. Snorkelling was also brilliant with quite a large variety of very friendly fish! Our underwater camera seems to have worked quite well, so got some decent photos too.
Most of the rest of our time was spent relaxing by the pool, which was wonderful.
Plenty more fish in the sea
Amazing snorkelling
On the last day we decided to go on a speedboat trip to the Phi Phi Islands. The boat stopped at several different locations, yet more idyllic beaches and snorkelling sites. One of the stops was Maya Bay, which was the location used for the film “The Beach”.
We're not having a good time!!!!!!!
It was pretty stunning, although it was full of speedboats! Despite it being rainy season we had been lucky with the weather so far, however within about 20 minutes a storm blew up. The beach cleared very quickly, a very strong wind appeared and we were in the middle of a sandstorm! It was pretty rough back on the boat, but we headed away from the storm and things calmed down again. Ao Nang beach was in sight on the return journey when the boat slowed down considerably.. we then ran out of fuel! The boat was adrift for about 40 minutes before another boat came with extra fuel and we eventually got back to the hotel.
As it was Pollys last night we decided to ignore the budget and went to a locally renowned steakhouse. We all made a bit of an effort and were almost dressed up! It was a fair distance away so we got into a motorcycle with side car taxi thing, which had been totally pimped up with huge speakers and neon lights. It was a nice touch when he specially selected a song called “Beautiful Girls” – what a smoothie! We had a great meal, the steaks were amazing and we even had wine, it felt like a real treat!
The next day we all flew to Bangkok as Polly was flying back to the UK that night. Its been great to have her with us for so long and there was an emotional goodbye at the airport. It will be strange without her but it won't be too long before we are back in the UK.
Bangkok - Farewell group photo
written by  Tim and Em on August 22, 2010 from Ban Ao Nang, Thailand

This is it!
Ko Lanta, Thailand
After 204 days, 10 Countries, 17 Flights, 72 hotels/hostels, 65 Buses, 44 ferries/boats, 13 rented moped, 2 rented campervans, 1 rented car, an unquantifiable number of taxi/moto/tuk tuk and approximately 75,000 Kms later, we are saying farewell to the blog. We came away as boyfriend and girlfriend, we return to the UK engaged to be married! We came away pale and (perhaps) slightly overweight, we return a little tanned and over 3 stone lighter between us.
Happy, happy, happy
We said a sad farewell to our Aus Screen suntan lotion. This suncream had become like a friend to us. We met in a supermarket in Byron Bay, Australia and since then he has never been far from us. Perhaps he was the most well travelled sun cream in history? We thought he was everlasting but he dispensed his last in Ao Nang, Thailand. We leave you with one of the last known shots of Aus Screen looking resplendent in blue and yellow!
Goodbye Aus Screen
For our final two weeks, we are just relaxing and avoiding any bus journeys! Currently we’re in Koh Lanta, it has been the perfect tonic to a hectic travelling trip – very quiet, few tourists and the beach pretty much to ourselves.
Koh Lanta - Long Beach, where is everyone?!
Koh Lanta - Long Beach
We volunteered to walk dogs at the local animal Sanctuary so took Punky and Crusty for an afternoon stroll.
Who let the dogs out
Crusty(in black), Punky(light tan) and Em(green dress!)
We return back to Ao Nang for a few nights on Tuesday and hope to do some more snorkelling. Then head to Bangkok for the final few days before flying home.
Thank you to everyone for looking at the blog and a bigger thank you to those who have left comments. We have had over 2200 hits on the blog since it started but we think about 2199 hits are our parents!
We appreciate that some of you may be rather blue that the blog has come to a close. However, don’t worry we’ll be home soon and we can show you the 4000 pictures we’ve taken!!
Tim & Em have now left this blog.....
No more blogging!
written by  Tim and Em on August 28, 2010 from Ko Lanta, Thailand

Bang Melea

Battambang - Monks

Battambang - Phnom Sampeau

Battambang - Phnom Banan

Battambang - Phnom Sampeau, Bats

Phnom Penh - Choeung Ek

Battambang - Phnom Banan, cooling off

Phnom Penh - S21

Kompong Cham - French lighthouse (outside!)

Kompong Cham - French lighthouse (inside!)

Sihanoukville - which one is driving?

Kampot - Temple in cave

Kampot - Temple in cave guide!

Kampot - river view

Kampot - Bokor church

Kampot - Bokor palace

Kampot - Bokor truck ride

Kep - Crabs!

Kep - Crabtastic

Kep - Promenade

Kep - Kampot pepper

Prek Chak Cambodian border

Ha Tien Vietnamese border

Phu Quoc - Long Beach lounger

Phu Quoc - Bai Sao Beach-stunning!

Phu Quoc - Lame Beach

Phu Quoc - Lame Beach, newly engaged!

Phu Quoc - Long Beach

Bai Vong - Is it a boat or tub?

Can Tho street scene

Em doing us the locals do

Water melons!

Lazy Goose

Why is this boat not sinking!

Palm leave rings

Messing about in the river

Rice being unloaded by big hoover!

Rain, rain, & more rain

Can Tho to Saigon - Technical hitch

Saigon - Having a nap

Saigon - Reunification Palace

Saigon - Reunification Palace war room comms centre

Saigon - War Remnants Museum

Saigon - Notre Dame Cathedral

Saigon- You see some funny things travelling!

Saigon - making the most of the rain

Saigon - Now a river, was a road

Cu Chi - Into the tunnel

Cu Chi - Not as easy as it looks

Mui Ne - tub boat

Mui Ne - Fairy stream

Mui Ne - Fish sauce vats

Mui Ne - Sand sledging

Mui Ne - Sand sledging dream team!

Mui Ne - Sand dunes

Dalat - Elephant Falls

Dalat - Anyone for grubs!?

Dalat - Coffee growing

Dalat - View near Dalat

Dalat - Valley of Love (It had to be done!)

Dalat - Crazy house

Dalat - Eiffel tower lookalike

Dalat market - Flower stall

Dalat market - Conical hats

Dalat market - Anyone for Eels?

Nha Trang - Not too shabby

Nha Trang - Remains of lunch, yum!

Nha Trang to Hoi An - Sleeping bus

Hoi An

Hoi An - Japanese bridge

Hoi An - Em's chosen her dress!!

Hoi An - Riverside

Hue - The Citadel

Nearly Sapa - truck crash

Sapa - Black H'mong (Van & Shu)

Sapa - Red Dzao

Sapa - Lake

Sapa Trek - View

Sapa Trek - Waterfall

Sapa Trek - Shu, Em & Tim

HaLong Bay - you can just about see it!

HaLong Bay Boats

Hanoi - Street BBQ

Hanoi - Cathedral

Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Hanoi - One pillar pagoda

Hanoi - Temple of Literature

Hanoi - Stressful job

Hanoi - Thap Rua Temple

Hanoi - Who stole the cheese

Bangkok - Meeting Polly from her flight

Bangkok - Khosan Road fish massage

Bangkok - Polly chilling by the pool (its tough!)

Bangkok - View from apartment

Vientiane - Presidential Palace

Vientiane - Patuxai

Vientiane - Pha That Luang

Vientiane

Vientiane - You will eat it!

Vientiane - Cope

Vang Vieng tubing - Help, I'm stuck

Vang Vieng tubing - Nam Song View

Vang Vieng tubing - Polly on the trapeze

Vang Vieng tubing - Bad Tarzan impression!

Vang Vieng tubing - Messing about on the river!

Vang Vieng - Walk through the rice fields

Vang Vieng - Results of a muddy walk

Vang Vieng - Nam Song view

Vang Vieng - Early morning mountain view

Luang Prabang - Elephant Village

Luang Prabang - This is not a luxury mini van

Luang Prabang - Love thy Elephant

Tat Kung Si - Nice!

Tat Kung Si - Yeeeeeeeee ha

Luang Prabang - Free shooters, yum!

Luang Prabang - Polly at Phu Si

Luang Prabang - River view

Chiang Khong - Thai border

Chiang Mai - Mountain Biking

Chiang Mai - Biking before the rain!

Somewhere in Laos - Does my hair look alright!

Houaysai - Bus station

Houaysai - Lao/Thai border

Plenty more fish in the sea

Watch out Polly, Piranha's!

Amazing snorkelling

Somewhere under the sea

Another horrible beach!

Phra Nang Bay

We're not having a good time!!!!!!!

Maya ("The Beach") Bay

Ao Nang - Hotel pool

Bangkok - Farewell group photo

Goodbye Aus Screen

Who let the dogs out

Crusty(in black), Punky(light tan) and Em(green dress!)

No more blogging!

Happy, happy, happy

Koh Lanta - Long Beach, where is everyone?!

Koh Lanta - Long Beach

Quiet night out!

Harbour bridge at night

Harbour bride backdrop

Manly wharf

Last supper Sydney!

Valentine's walk Bondi

Australia Zoo - Jumping with Steve

Australia Zoo - Kangaroo

Australia Zoo - Em & Koala

Australia Zoo - Em feeding the elephants

Noosa night scene

Australia Zoo - Kangaroo scratching his chest!!

Australia Zoo - Sleepy Koala

Australia Zoo - Tim & lazing kangaroo

Rainbow beach - Tim & Em

Rainbow Beach - Em on beach

Lake McKenzie, Fraser Island - Tim & Em

Fraser Island, 75 mile beach - ship wreck

Fraser Island, 75 mile beach - Dingo

Fraser Island - Tim & Em

Gin Gin - Bizarre crators

Gin Gin - Chainsaw display at bizarre crators

Rough Day to be on the water!

Whitehaven Beach - unfortunately at high tide!

Lookout over Whitehaven Beach

Whitehaven Beach - Nice Stinger Suit!

Floating Pootoon, on the reef

Mean Machine

Helicopter Trip

Reef

The Reef!

Heart Reef

Fish Shoal, Great Barrier Reef

Tim -not having fun at all!

Whitsundays Cruise

Ocean Rafting boat

Long Drive - Rockhampton - Mackay

Nasty Suprise- Cane Toad

Zillie Falls

Millaa Millaa Falls

Millstream falls

Lunch Stop at Mt Hypipamee

Curtain Fig Tree

Retro Cafe

Lake Tinaroo

Granite Gorge - Rock Wallaby

Granite Gorge - Tim feeding the rock Wallaby

Granite Gorge - Rock Wallaby with joey

Port Douglas - 4 mile beach

Mossman Gorge - swimmers

Cairns - Travellers Oasis

Granite Gorge - Em feeding the rock Wallaby

Paihia - Pickled Parrott - Tim with parrott!

Paihia - On The Edge, reeling in lunch

Paihia - On the Edge - Em on boom netting

Paihia - On The Edge

Paihia - Bay of Islands view

Paihia - On the Edge sails

Paihia - On the Edge - Tim sailing

Wark worth - Tim & Caleb

Warkworth - Steve, Michelle & Fonzie

Matakana - public toilets NZ stylie!

Tauranga - view from mount

Tauranga - the Barretts'!

Tauranga - Milo the dog!!!

Rotorua - white water rafting

Hot Water Beach

Cathedral Cove

Rotorua - Thermal wonderland

Cathedral Cove - Em & I

Em in freefall!

Tim - please exit the plane

Em - please exit the plane!

Tim freefall

Tim - yeeeee haaaaaa

Tim - freefall

Taupo sunset - its nice, I like!

Taupo - TTS plane

Huka Falls

Inter-Island Ferry - Driving on!

Marahua Beach

Split Apple Rock

Very wobbly bridge

Abel Tasman Aqua Taxi

Christchurch - night in a cell

Franz Josef Glacier

View from Lake Mathison

All of us by Lake Mathison

The van on another busy road!

Beach art at Bruces Bay

Gondola view over Queenstown

Shotover Jet - Queenstown

Karen & Phil on Queenstown Gondola

Us - Milford Sound Cruise

Waterfall Milford Sound

Sunrise over Dunedin

Moeraki Boulders

Mount Cook

Mount Cook - Tim & Em

Good bye Jo & Kane, goodbye New Zealand

Lake Tekapo - Tim & Em

Lake Tasman Icebergs

Bali - Legian sunset, awesome!

Senggigi - sunset

Lombok with Gili's in background

Gili T - pass me the Bounty

Gili T - Boats at dusk

Senggigi - Temple

Gili T- Boats at dawn

Ferry From Gili T

View of Lombok

Gili Trawangan - pool at Marta's

Who stole my banana?

Baby Monkeys!!

Small Puddle (we went through this on our moped!)

Nit Nurse Anyone?

Ubud - Stone Komodo's

Tirta Empul - Holy Waters

Lunchspot - Ubud Rice Terraces

Gunung Kawi Rice Terraces

Easy Rider!

Nice view for lunch

Batu Karas - Em surfing

Batu Karas - Tim surfing

Bromo at sunrise

Bromo view

Bromo - smoking!

Yogyakarta - Becak driver

Yogyakarta - Spice stall at the market

Yogyakarta - Chillies at the market

Yogyakarta - roadside refreshments

Yogyakarta - Tim Becak

Borobudur

Borobudur - Tim & Em

Borobudur - New found friends!

Batu Karas - Tim mopeding over Bamboo bridge

Batu Karas - Surfs up

Kota Kinabalu - Fish market

Kota Kinabalu - Night food stalls

Kota Kinabalu - Sunset (best one so far?)

Sepilok - Orang-Utan hanging around

Kinabatangan River -Pigmy Elephants

Kinabatangan River - Cute Baby Pigmy Elephant!

Kinabatangan River - Pigmy Elephants

Kinabatangan River - Proboscis monkey

Kinabatangan River - Mr Snake