Our food cravings at various points were pizza, pasta and sandwiches for me, and Indian curry, chilli and roast dinner for Sup. We spent almost an entire month eating pasta in New Zealand, and almost an entire three months in South East Asia eating curry. We have consumed more fast food than we will ever eat again, and to counteract this damage, we have eaten a vast amount of fresh local fruit and drunk gallons and gallons of bottled water.

The highlights of a trip filled with a million memories are hard to decide, but being famous for a month in Hollywood was a childhood dream come true for me, and for Sup seeing the world in itself was a huge dream fulfilled.

We calculated our own countdown on our return as a stunning summary of our experiences:

20 kilos Nic's average weight of bag (Sup's was 22kg)
19 longest hours on Greyhound bus, USA
18 metres dived under the sea
17 main places of worship
16 waterfalls
15 airports
14 currencies
13 countries
12 Lonely Planet books
11 exceptional sunsets
10 National Parks
9 yucky food
8 big event celebrations around the world
7 pesties pesting us
6 archaeological ruin sites
5 celebrities
4 exceptional sunrises
3 continents
2 jobs worked and
1 engagement proposal & acceptance

Our blog is now successfully completed. It has been hard work at times but a source of great pride and pleasure for us both, and an incredible documentation of a year in our lives where Sup and I have taken on the world together and returned happier and healthier and closer than ever.

Random silliness...

Confused translations...

The Rudies...

Sup & Nic's 2010 World Tour... DONE!!!

We drank freshly squeezed orange juice from little bottles sold on the street, ate chunks of freshly cut pineapple and braved a few meat sticks, while veering well away from the locust and scorpion stand - we would both need a big pay packet to attempt a bushtucker trial thank you very much! Speaking of pests, we busted this little guy desecrating a street shrine munching away on whatever offerings had been left by Buddhist worshippers!

]]> Sun, 31 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=180847 0 13.75 100.5166667 Cambodia was the last country left to visit. I have to warn you that some of you may find this entry difficult reading/viewing. We travelled by bus from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh arriving in the afternoon. We opted to stay in the cheap backpacker district by the lake. The accommodation was great value, the staff were friendly, the food was awesome and the hammock decking out the back was suitably chilled. Some of the houses were in need of urgent repair!

The following day we hired a tuk-tuk for the day in order to learn about Cambodia's devastating past.

A brief intro to the history....

The French withdrew from Cambodia in 1953. US supporter General Lon Nol and his Cambodian party Khmer Republic overthrew King Norodom in 1970. With support from the new government the US bombed the Cambodian countryside in an attempt to destroy the Viet Cong. A bitter peasant army soon developed, fronted by a man named Pol Pot. King Norodom Sihanouk named this army the Khmer Rouge and called upon them to fight against Lon Nol.

In April 1975 the peasant army soldiers of the Khmer Rouge stormed government buildings, offices and houses in Phnom Penh. Those that weren’t executed immediately were marched to the countryside where they were forced into slave labour for the next 4 years, to meet Pol Pot’s dream of creating his ideal and perfect country. Approximately 1.7 million people died in total.

First stop was a visit to the Tuol Sleng Museum, formerly the Tuol Svay Prey High School that was taken over by Pol Pot and his army and transformed into the S-21 prison. At the time it was the largest incarceration centre in the country.

After taking power the Khmer Rouge set out to completely change Cambodian society. Khmer Rouge ideology was influenced by 4 interrelated principles of: total independence and self-reliance, preservation of the dictatorship, total and immediate economic revolution and complete transformation of Khmer social values. The first step involved reforming the urban classes through hard labour so they could contribute to the new agrarian economy which fundamentally focussed on a huge increase in rice production. They transformed the country into a rural and classless society by abolishing money, transportation, private property, religious practice, non-revolution entertainment and traditional Khmer culture. Buildings such as hospitals, schools and places of worship were either shut or turned into prisons. The Khmer Rouge believed that only the “pure” were qualified to build the revolution and anyone they did not regard as “pure” was arrested and executed, which included intellectuals, city residents and minority people.

The prisoners were expected to adhere to evil, rigid and extreme rules at the S-21 prison.

In mid 1976 the Khmer Rouge felt threatened by the possibility of revolt by the general population and internally within its own ranks. The Khmer Rouge leaders believed that “hidden enemies were burrowing from within”. They conducted a second wave of arrests against anyone they deemed to be “suspicious”, killing people immediately or imprisoning them where they were interrogated and tortured into making “confessions”. Many of their own soldiers and party members were accused of being traitors.

The classrooms were transformed into torture chambers where the prisoners were held captive and subjected to extreme forms of suffering and/or death. Blood stains were still visible.

Barbed wire was used to prevent the prisoners from jumping and committing suicide.

One of the rooms housed an exhibition displaying interviews with former members of the Khmer Rouge. Many stated to have joined the regime for fear that Khmer Rouge would kill them and their family if they resisted. Ex members appeared to have dampened their role, claiming that they did not partake directly in the actual torture or killings. In my opinion a certain degree of denial and diffusion of responsibility was present throughout.

Photographs of the victims were displayed in a number of rooms.

Profound statements had been written on the wall of another room.

Former chief of the S-21 prison known as Duch, ordered for his subordinates to take the survivors of the prisons, including the S-21 prison, to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek for execution. Choeung Ek was the largest genocidal camp in the country, approximately 14km from the centre of Phnom Penh. 86 of the 129 mass graves found were excavated and approximately 8,985 corpses exhumed. It was hard to imagine the horrors that took place so recently. Remains of clothing, bones and teeth had surfaced. A disturbing experience.

The tree Pol Pot's men used to kill babies as their mothers were forced to watch before they themselves were brutally murdered. Duch ordered for babies and children to be killed to avoid revenge in later life.

The memorial on the grounds comprises a towering glass stupa displaying the skulls of 8000 victims and their remaining clothing. The stupa was erected to preserve the remains and commemorate the death of the Kampuchea people under the Pol Pot regime. The 17 tiers of the memorial house different types of bones. We lit incense at the entrance as a mark of respect.

The Vietnamese invaded on 25 December 1978 and Cambodia was liberated from Khmer Rouge rule on January 7th 1979. Faced with severe famine, 625,000 people died from starvation the following 2 years. Although Pol Pot is now dead there are still a number of Khmer Rouge leaders alive. Duch is the first (and highest ranking) Khmer Rouge official to stand trial for the mass genocide that took place. He has admitted to being responsible for the execution of 15,000 people that passed through the S-21 prison. The remaining 4 senior leaders awaiting trial deny all knowledge of the atrocities that took place. Some younger Cambodian's argue that the costs associated with bringing all those responsible to justice would actually be better spent on the development of their economy. Controversial.

Just as we were leaving I was about to take a photo of Nic in our tuk-tuk when this little lad ran across and wanted to pose for the picture. The day had been hard going and by the end we felt emotionally drained and sickened by the extent of what people can do to each other. It is scary how history repeats itself and people do not learn.

Arriving back at the hostel we were greeted by little fish as the water level of the lake had risen above the decking. Although at first it did seem pretty cool having fish literally swimming in our hostel, we didn't quite realise the extent of the situation.

We took a bus the next day to Siem Reap passing some beautiful landscape along the way. Seeing some of the begging children during our rest stop was a little emotional.

Child sellers were a common scene in Siem Reap. They appear very confident, approaching you and asking where you are from and then proceeding to reel of a list of factual information about your home country like a robot. Child slavery is a big problem in Cambodia and while buying from the children can appear to be supporting them, it is damaging for the long term as it is only encouraging others to exploit them further.

The food stalls served up cheap and tasty noodles = good times!

On one of the evenings we were treated to some traditional Apsara dancing and live music. We stepped up on stage for a quick photo...

We arranged a tuk-tuk to see the temples of Angkor for the following day.

The temples were as expected, very impressive and the site was far bigger than I anticipated. The main temples situated in a circuit so our tuk-tuk took us from one to the next. It was like we had travelled back through time as we explored some of the ruins. Below are some of our favourite ruins.

The Banteay Kdei ruins....

Many of the temples had intricate carvings and the locals made rubbings on rice paper to sell to tourists.

The Ta Prohm temple was our favourite and you may recognise it from the Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider films.

The tree roots were crazy! They have literally grown though the ruins... very cool indeed!

I thought there would be more restrictions as to where you could go (as there were at Chichen Itza in Mexico) although I am sure it won’t stay this way forever.

Below is my impression of people that like to get in the way of my photos!

Nic climbing up high.....

The view from the top...

There were many sellers all around the ruins, most of them situated just as you approach each temple. Although we were successful in our gaunlet run we found this little girl on top of top of the temple trying her best to sell a postcard to Nic. She was very sweet but I was king of the castle!

We prepared for another downpour...

The final temple of the day was a visit to the famous grandaddy of all temples, the national symbol Angkor Wat. We captured some great photos, but unfortunately there was some restoration work taking place so we didn’t get to climb the steps. It was only when we walked around the main level that we truly appreciated its size.

The approach to Angkor Wat...

The Cambodian people were an inspiration. They have been though such a horrific time and come though the other side with great hope for the future. The people have such pride for their country and love that tourists want to visit. They are some of the friendliest and genuine people we have met on our travels, similar to the people of Laos in that respect.

Final stop... Bangkok. We had heard quite a few savage stories about the journey from Siem Reap to Bangkok so we set off on our way open minded. I am happy to say that other than a 2 hour wait at the border the journey was not actually that bad. Time for my belly to begin its preparation to eat as much Thai curry as humanly possible... bring on the stomach ulcer... off to Bangkok for the last stop of our world tour... Woohoo!!]]> Mon, 11 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=180604 0 11.55 104.9166667 With the luscious beauty of Laos behind us, we were now ready to face the hustle and bustle of the city once more. Unfortunately for us, to get there would require a 26 hour journey across the border on a sleeper bus...on my birthday!! The bus arrived late and by the time we had sorted our accommodation in Hanoi it was about 9.30pm and my birthday was fast running out.

The following day we were still becoming accustomed to the insanity that is Hanoi, and we took a walk down by the river before escaping to view the mayhem from a distance, chilling on the roof terrace of the local KFC!! Hanoi was to be revisited twice more after our initial stay as it is the hub from where we ventured North-West and East. In our subsequent trips, we found better food, were still harassed beyond belief by tuk tuks and taxi drivers and managed to fit in a visit to the Hoa Lo Prison Museum, aka the 'Hanoi Hilton'.

We walked around the prison learning of the brutal treatment of prisoners and seeing the disturbing remains of history, as well as reading about the bold escapes, and later of the captured American fighters who were kept at the prison during the Vietnam War, one of which was US Senator and former Presidential candidate John McCain.

That night another long sleeper bus journey took us on to our last Vietnamese destination of Ho Chi Minh City, but not before throwing us out at 5.30am in Nha Trang while we waited for another transfer. We didn't mind too much though, as the couple of hours off the bus allowed us to enjoy sunrise on the beach and a nice breakfast. Many locals were up early engaging in Tai Chi, running and all manner of exercises in the park by the beach which put us to shame. Visiting Nha Trang also gave us the opportunity to see our first Vietnamese beach, although we both later agreed that the beach of Muni that we glimpsed out the window during our travels looked even better.

Ho Chi Minh City, previously known as Saigon, was a really nice surprise for us. Although still a hectic Vietnamese city, we felt it had a far better vibe than Hanoi and a real charm to it. Our accommodation was great and the street where we were staying had fantastic souvenirs, food and awesome donuts! Apart from eating and shopping though, our main aim was to learn more about the Vietnam War. This meant a trip to the War Remnants Museum. Twice. The museum was fascinating and gave us considerable insight into the complexities of the war, the involvement of the USA and the horrific consequences that still continue to this day.

Sup provided a quick background history for those who don't already know (including me!)...The French colonial domination in Vietnam lasted for nearly 100 years, until they surrendered to Ho Chi Minh's communist Viet Minh forces in 1954 and independence was granted to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Shortly after, Diem, the anticommunist leader of the southern zone, rejected the agreement for a unified government, questionning how 'free elections' could be expected to take place in the communist north. Vietnam was officially divided into North and South. The Vietnam War was fought between North Vietnam (supported by its communist allies) and the government of South Vietnam (supported by the anti-communist US who claimed to be helping the whole of South East Asia from communist takeover.). The Viet Cong, a Vietnamese communist guerilla group was founded to fight against Diem.

They had an impressive collection of aeroplanes, helicopters and tanks outside and we overheard an American family in high spirits loudly and proudly discussing which plane the father had flown in the war. Later walking through the gallery filled with photographic evidence of the devastation caused, we watched the same family leaving the room in quiet distress, holding their father up as he visibly struggled with the demons of his past.

A haunting photograph captured the moment when an ex-guard of the prison years later met with a man he had tortured daily for several years. The strength of the victim in facing his torturer, compared with the weakness of the man who was forced to face the horrors of what he had done was a moving image.

In contrast, and in true Vietnamese spirit, there was also a whole area dedicated to presenting with pride the progress that Vietnam has made in the post-war period. It is amazing to see how the country has picked itself up in relatively little time and transformed its war torn landscape back to life. We certainly came away from the museum understanding a little more about the Vietnamese people's fierce pride and determination.

In between our museum visits, we took a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels, stopping off at a fantastic little factory along the way where people with various disabilities made the most beautiful souvenirs, creating pictures using crushed eggshells and seashells.

Our final day in Vietnam was spent at the Independence Palace, the site that marked the end of the Vietnam War as the North Vietnamese tanks rolled into the grounds and Saigon surrendered to the North.

Vietnam was without a doubt the most challenging country of our travels. We were exhausted at times by the effort we had to make to dodge the con artists and find legitimate travel and tour operators, exasperated by the attitude of some of the more defensive hostile natives, and exhilarated by the beauty and rich history and culture of the country. Vietnam was an eclectic mix of amazing highs and frustrating lows, a real rollercoaster ride that pushed us to the limits and delivered rich rewards. We had to work to get what we wanted out of Vietnam and we learned some valuable lessons along the way. If I could do it all again, I wouldn't change a thing. ]]> Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=180576 0 21.0333333 105.85 With Thailand successfully completed we embarked on an overnight bus journey from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang in Laos. We were lucky to stop near the border for one last Thai temple exploration. The white temple was the king daddy of all temples and our mission through the rain was indeed worth it. The temple design was one of the most diverse I have seen. In the photo below you can see the walkway leading to the temple and the eerie section of hand sculptures reaching up from the ground.

We took a trip to see the Kung Si Waterfall in the afternoon. We were greeted at the Park entrance by a big happy sun bear! The reserve has a conservation scheme for bears rescued from poachers. He looked in good shape and we were both impressed with the size of the bears enclosure.

Later that evening we met up with Rich, an Australian guy we had met on the way to Laos and went for some drinks. It was a great evening, although as I have been drinking less since coming away travelling I have turned into a bit of a lightweight. It's all good, it made for a cheap evening!

Tubing is of course the main activity that people come to Vang Vieng for. This is basically where you float down the river in a big old tractor inner tube, stopping along the way at make shift bars before jumping back in the river via rope swings! We were a little disappointed to learn that the tubing operators weren't due to open because of the high waters the previous few days rain had bought. After grabbing a bite to eat we were pleased to see that with no sign of any further rain in sight the tubing operators had in fact opened so we picked up our tubes and took a tuk tuk to the launch site. We were informed of how 3 people have died tubing already this summer through a combination of high river conditions, back flips, drink and mushroom shakes. We were beginning to wonder if we would make it through alive!

The launch point involved sliding down a big metal slide straight into the river... great fun! The river was flowing pretty fast so as soon as I hit the water I was off. Nic was up next and the strong current had made her veer off to the wrong side. She ended up getting stuck under a bridge because the water was so high. It was a little scary to be honest but me and another lad nearby got her free. We re-energised with a big hug (after the obligatory screaming in my ear for 10 minutes from the shock!) and then jumped back in our tubes and made our way to the first bar, which by now was rammed with travellers. The rope swing had to be done so I stepped up first. It looks pretty damn high when you climb up (especially when you are just on some rickety old bits of wood). I reached for the swing and took a big jump which felt like I was plummeting for eternity before I was plunged deep in the river. You then get thrown a rope so you don't end up floating off for miles. Nic stepped up next and seeing her face was priceless! The photos aren't the best (no waterproof camera) but you get the idea! Floating down the river surrounded by such amazing views was epic.

Our Kayak tour turned out to be one our Laos highlights. We kayaked 18km downstream and there was no better way to see the stunning surroundings of Vang Vieng.

Next up was a stop at an organic tea farm for a fine cuppa before continuing kayaking further downstream to visit one of the other nearby caves called Tham Non, also known as 'sleeping cave'. In order to enter the cave we had to pass through a cool spring which was very refreshing. We had to swim upstream through the cave clinging on to bits of rock and forming a human rope line. It was great fun and such an experience to explore an undeveloped cave with nothing more than candlelight. Awesome! Once we made it to the end we able to explore the the main cave room. It was an impressive room that was home to hundreds of locals that took refuge from the bombs during the war. It was hard to imagine people living in the cave day and night.

Having found a rock climbing operator in the area I signed up and enjoyed a days climbing over the amazing scenery below me. First we had to hike a short distance to get to the rock face crossing farmland, streams and a rocky incline towards the end.

The limestone cliff provided us with some great climbs although the midday sun made it hard work at times. It appears that Laos climbing safety equipment is not quite up to the same standard as Thailand , however. The woman who was also climbing with me was an experienced climber from Australia and after she inspected the anchor at the top she was looking rather anxious. There were also no bolts on route to the top, but instead there were slings (loops of rope attached to the rock) so when our guide asked if I wanted to lead the climb (climb with the rope and attach it to the top) she strongly advised me against it. I thought it was best to listen to her as she seemed to know what she was on about.

Despite the slight safety issues we had a great days climb and it did give me more determination not to fall off. I also completed a 6b+ climb which is my toughest climb yet so I was chuffed. We had another tasty barbeque lunch which our guide cooked up... top stuff.

Laos has blown us away. The country has matched up to the old style South East Asia I had pictured in my head. It was a part of Asia that I had not yet come across. The country is beautiful and we both enjoyed being surrounded by the natural beauty rather than travelling far to find it. There appears to be a positive future for Laos and the local people seem to recognise that too. The issues surrounding Laos have made me think about communist and capitalist politics and the future that lies a head for the country. It has sparked an interest and I look forward to learning more. It is great to see the country benefiting from tourism and rising out of poverty, but this comes at a price. With a growing number of tourists the country will no doubt change at an alarming rate just like it's Asian neighbours have done over the years. Will it manage to retain its soul? Now that is the question.]]> Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=156193 0 19.8855556 102.1347222 After passing through Bangkok for one night only, our final Thai destination was to be a short stopover in Chiang Mai, before our adventures began in Laos. Unfortunately, a rogue mosquito in Koh Phangan changed our plans considerably when it went beyond the normal pesky bite, and a 5 hour wait at the local hospital followed by a blood test confirmed that I had been infected with Dengue Fever.

Sup had found that although the town had a lot of lovely places, it was not a lovely place in itself. The nightlife was seedy throughout and it was hard to escape this, even in seemingly ordinary restaurants. The gentle Thai vibe seemed to have been lost here and seeing a young guy parading a scared baby elephant around the busy town on a chain for money further added to the general dubious atmosphere we felt here.

Then came the final fight of the night, and the one we had been waiting for – a tough looking Thai facing off against one hulking great beast of a man from England. We had watched him prepare throughout the night, being spurred on by his little Thai lady, smearing Tiger Balm all over his muscles and generally strutting like a true boxing champ. And that he was. Within a couple of rounds the brave Thai was pulverised into a heap on the floor and the crowd went wild.

It was a hilarious experience, as were the tricks we were shown by another mahout and his elephant. Using her trunk as a lift, she hoisted her master up onto her almighty back, and then scooped his flip flop up from the ground and passed it up to him without even being asked!

There were times when our awesome ride became a little scary – the mud made the elephant slip occasionally and we had to duck from the heavy branches that came crashing towards us as he wrenched down the trees, all the while clinging on for dear life.

After shooting down a vertical rock face at 100 miles an hour into a freezing waterfall pool, I was ready for more and we set off for a double rafting session. Our first rafting experience was in an inflatable dinghy on a rapid river – kind of a tame version of white water rafting that left us wanting more. After bouncing over a few gushing waves, we then transferred to a traditional bamboo raft for a lazy float down the river, with Sup as the captain. No waterproof camera = no photos unfortunately, but we were left with some fun memories.

We visited a local village on the way home and gained some insight into the simple life, meeting some of the residents and admiring their homemade crafts. Further on down the road we stopped by a huge swing made by the villagers and we both jumped on for some good old-fashioned fun!

The next day we finally moved on from Chiang Mai on an overnight bus crossing the border to the land of Laos. Thailand was officially done - the islands had introduced us to the stunning beauty of Asia, the town had suggested something darker lurking underneath, and we were about to enter the emerald realm of luscious Laos, an Asian backdrop of epic proportions...]]> Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=155838 0 18.7902778 98.9816667

On our first night, we had enjoyed dinner in a lovely little restaurant on the beach inches from the sea, however after sampling the food made by our guesthouse, we were soon living the high life and ordering dinner to be sent to our room so that we could eat on our private balcony overlooking the beach!

Following the loony antics Full Moon Party, we slowed our pace for the next few days and relaxed on the beach, sometimes with new found friends. Thailand seems to have so many friendly dogs full of character, and one cheeky guy took a shine to me and took Sup's place on his sunbathing towel next to me when he got up to take a photo!

Once we were fully recovered we rented a moped for the last time so that we could see a bit more of the beautiful island of Koh Phangan, so often missed in the shadow of the Full Moon frenzy. Once again, the views did not disappoint and the journey was wonderfully smooth compared with the drama of Koh Tao. It was fantastic to be able to enjoy both the hedonistic spirit of the Full Moon Party and the chilled out paradise of the rest of the island and we both felt it was the perfect place to end our Thai island adventures.

On our last night, we soaked up every last second of the brilliantly colourful beach sunset, although after far too much time paying attention to the sky I started to demand Sup's attention back onto me and rightly so!

]]> Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=153865 0 9.7166667 100 Koh Tao exceeded all expectations and gave me one of the best experiences of my whole life. Diving! But in addition than that, it became our home for 6 whole nights – a fantastic dive resort on a stunning beach, with a chilled out vibe, great people. incredible sunsets, delicious Thai curries and a lot of affectionate dogs.

The Padi Open Divers course was something I had been considering, but due to time, money and competency worries, I was at first reluctant. Sup, however, made me see sense and encouraged me to go for it as he knew that I would love it. And that is one of the million reasons I love my man!

Even the thought of going 'back to school' for 3 days was exciting to me and it felt good to be in front of a text book learning something new. The resort we chose for my course was beautiful, aptly named Coral Grand, and situated on a gorgeous stretch of white sand with turquoise waters that were perfect for swimming in even long after dark. I had the first night off to relax before getting started, so we explored the small town and soaked up the last rays of the setting sun. The sunsets on the beach were absolutely spectacular in Koh Tao and Sup was in his element.

With just a couple more theory sessions under my belt, I soon found myself on a dive boat sailing out on the open water ready for dive 1 and 2 of the program, with more than a few tingling nerves. Sup came along to master his snorkelling technique, and it was great to have my partner in crime there with me to share my first open water experience. And what an experience it was!!

I zipped up my wetsuit, attached my weight belt round my hips and eased on my buoyancy control device (BCD) with the scuba tank securely fastened to the back. With the respirator in my mouth and my mask over my eyes I took a giant stride off the boat and landed with an almighty splash, inflating my BCD right away so that I could float safely in the choppy water. As a group we then swam over to the buoy line and prepared for our descent, although nothing really could have prepared me for the incredible experience of sinking down into the ocean to discover the magic of the underwater world. It was truly spectacular.

Our 1st and 3rd dives were fun dives, with the 2nd and 4th dives being designed to test our skills and ensure that we were eligible for certification. Over a 2 day period I became more confident in the water and by the 4th dive, when we were clowning around underwater and being filmed for the DVD, I felt less like Tinkerbell of Hollywood Boulevard and more like The Little Mermaid!

When I received my Open Water Certification after passing the final exam, I immediately booked to do 2 fun dives the next day, along with renting an underwater camera so that I could capture the brilliant fish of the Gulf of Thailand. Taking photos while diving made the whole experience even more incredible, and while I ran out of air a little early on the first dive from getting overexcited chasing fish, I was smarter the second time round and conserved my energy to ensure a longer stay in the depths of the sea.

The Bannerfish were my personal favourite, along with the brilliantly coloured Butterflyfish. For one scary moment we came across a grumpy Triggerfish, which is a little bit daunting as these can actually cause fatalities if you catch them on a really bad day. I was brave for about a second in order to snap one photo, but then moved on swiftly before he decided to object to my presence. The Pink Anemone fish were adorable, bobbing in and out of their home to check us out, and I was ecstatic to see a family of Clownfish on a previous dive, better known as 'Nemo', circling their coral real estate, although I was unfortunately without a camera at that time.

Bannerfish...

Butterfly fish...

Trigger Fish...

Pink Anemone...

Not to be deterred, we continued our journey in another direction and were rewarded with some beautiful views and a rather impressive skeleton of a whale shark on display after being found stranded on the beach some years ago.

On returning home to a throng of topless young Thai guys wearing pants and leather studded belts, we soon realised that we may well have inadvertently booked into the gay district of Koh Samui. I enjoyed a good old giggle as the cheeky guys tried to flirt with a horrified Sup and the 'Boyzone' club and men's massage suddenly seemed glaringly obvious...!

Having been approached a total of 6 times in a space of 10 minutes by various sellers of food, clothing and general junk, we decided that perhaps Koh Samui was a little less chilled than our previous Thai destinations. The scores of Italian Stallions in their tight Speedos with their bronze, thong clad ladies trotting alongside them also gave the game away as to the package tour feel of the place and suddenly we realised we may well have been the only scruffy backpackers on the crowded beach for a change!

That night on the beach, a relaxing Thai massage was the perfect end to our 4th Thai destination. And when I say relaxing, I mean in the 'bone breaking' sense of the word...these little Thai women can bend steel! As we lay listening to the sounds of the sea, our legs and necks were pummeled and cracked and we had the entire weight of a human being concentrated on the small of our backs. At one point, I opened my eyes to come face to face with my torturer, a young Thai female grinning sadistically as she entwined her whole body with mine and turned, forcing me to bend ridiculously with her, vaguely reminiscent of a WWF move, I felt sure! It was actually a great experience and we felt refreshed and surprisingly relaxed afterwards, psyched and ready for our next big adventure in Turtle Island, the magnificent Koh Tao.
]]> Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=153106 0 9.5333333 99.9333333 Railay... what a magical place. This was the Thailand I had imaged in my head: beautiful beaches, long tail boats, and limestone cliffs jutting out of the sea. The long tail boat travel was again a little hairy but we kept good faith in our boat man. It was a good job we both loved the place on arrival as we were to be spending the next 4 days here.

It was vital I got to grips with the basic knots as these would be responsible for keeping me safe, especially on my descent. A good dose of repetition helped nail it home. Belaying involves keeping your partner safe while they are climbing on the rock face. It is a process of securing the climber by using a rope and belaying device to hold the climber's weight should they fall. Top Roping involves climbing up a rock face attached by a rope that has already been taken up the rock face by another climber I.e Jay my instructor. The rope will have been run through a fixed anchor at the summit of the climb. Once Jay was back on the ground I could then be attached to the rope so that I could climb safely. The photo below shows my view looking down.

Jay was happy with my practise runs so we moved on to one of the larger rappels in the area... which happened to also be out of a cave (above photo)! The only way down from the cave was by rappel so Nic was also going to have a taster (with Jay performing the rope work). The view from the cave was awesome! I went first and it was a great feeling knowing I was in full control of my descent as opposed to the previous day when Jay had been in control. Below is a photo of the cave and if you look carefully (in the second photo down) you can just see the back of Nic as she prepares for her descent.

At the start of my course I was climbing grade 5 climbs (based on the French system). By the end I was climbing grade 6A+ which I found very challenging (although probably relatively easy for an experienced climber). The start of these climbs usually involved a overhang that required you to just use your arms until you were high enough to position your feet. No-one else in the group was able to tackle the start of the climb which you can see in the photo below and I did feel a great sense of achievement tackling it on my first attempt ;-)

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of my rock climbing course and would recommend it to everyone who likes to physically push themselves. It was such a great feeling being responsible for the lead climbs and also for rappelling myself back down. The views from the top were an added bonus and were an excellent way to appreciate the hard effort made to reach the summit. Being that high up a rock face and knowing it was only me that could get myself to the top was a challenge that seriously gave me a buzz. It is definitely an activity that I could really get into and I would like to pursue further once back in England.]]> Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=146728 0 8.0666667 98.9166667 Ko Phi Phi was stunning. Phi Phi consists of 2 islands: Phi Phi Lee and Phi Phi Don, the latter one being the inhabited island where we were to stay. The tsunami hit Phi Phi in a devastating way, in terms of loss of life and damage to property. Standing on the beach it was hard to comprehend what actually happened on that disaster day.

Later that evening I nursed my chilli overloaded body with some of the renowned Thailand buckets! We opted for vodka, lemonade and Thailand's famous red bull. There were a number of street stalls selling a variety of drink combinations. They were good value and did the job.

The trip was centred around a visit to Maya Bay which is where the film 'The Beach' was set. The sea was so rough that half of our group decided to stay on the boat and not pay the visit. Not the rest of us though, we jumped straight in. Getting to the Bay was the best part as it involved swimming across choppy high seas and scrambling up a ladder to the entrance of the bay. Nic recognised parts from the film instantly and was excited to be on the set of the film. Unfortunately we couldn't take any photos of Maya Bay as we didn't have a waterproof bag for our camera ;-(

Phi Phi was great fun. We were off to a brilliant start in Thailand and we knew it was only going to get better. We were really enjoying the ease of travel within the country. Thailand is so touristy that travelling around has currently involved little stress at all (once we had adjusted to Asia time of course i.e lateness!). There are so many different modes of transport and companies to get you from A to B and the hardest decision is merely chosing which one. Next up... it was time for me to make like a gecko in Railay...

]]> Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=146666 0 7.756068 98.794813

Below are some of the photos taken from the resort we were staying at. It was a great place for little money so it was a winner!

I had of course been very much looking forward to the food of Thailand and I am very glad to say that Koh Lanta sure did deliver! Red and green Thai curries became my staple diet. This was awesome news.

We had one last beach left to visit and as the sun began to drop we hurried ourselves on to make it in time for the sunset. It was definitely worth it! We decided to engage on a sunset tour stopping at various beaches we had passed along the way! Below are my favourite photos from the journey.

Later in the day we stopped off at an area of forest known as Mossy Forest (for a pretty obvious reason). Our guide taught us about the plants around us and their medicinal purposes. Also present were some crazy flesh eating plants. I feel I can now give good old Bear Gyrylls a run for his money!

Moving on we made our way to Gunung Brinchang, the highest point in the area. When we arrived we were surprised to see that a statue of me had been erected! Climbing the tower we were rewarded with superb views that were surrounding us. We were able to see as far as the town of Ipoh in one direction, and in the other direction we could see as far as Taman Negara National Park.

Making our way back we stopped off at B'oh tea estate to see the processes of turning the picked leaves into drinking tea leaves – a process of withering, rolling, fermenting, drying and sorting the leaves. We also sampled a fine cupper overlooking the very impressive Sungei Palas plantation. The Sungei tea plantation is one of the smallest in Malaysia producing 600,000 kg a year. As Nic is now a huge fan of both tea AND coffee, she picked the Teacino - an interesting combo but apparently pretty damn good!

We checked out Fort Cornwallis and learnt some interesting information on how it came to be. Captain Light arrived on the island in 1786 and developed a free trade port hoping to lure trade from Britain's Dutch rivals. Surrounding the fort we passed a number of Penang's grand Colonial buildings.

The weather the following day was overcast but we decided to ride the cable car anyhow as we thought the experience would be cool even if the views from the top were going to be obscured. The incline of the cable car ascent was quite steep, 45 degrees in places! Our ride took us to the top of Gunung Machinchang, 708m above sea level. On the way out we saw this guy with a BIG sack trying to sell a photo with the beasty 14ft python and Nic stepped up with no fear while I kept my distance!

A very early start the next day led us to another trip on the monorail and our destination was the famous Petronas Towers, a must-see landmark in Kuala Lumpur, the headquarters for the mighty Petronas empire, and subsequently a great source of National pride. The recommended early start became clear when we joined a queue of hundreds of people waiting for the distribution of free tickets, but the wait wasn't toooo long, and by the time our turn came, our eyes had become fully accustomed to the daylight.(!)

From the theatre we were guided in a small group to a lift that transported us from level 1 to 42 in a matter of seconds and we were allowed free reign to admire the panoramic views from the skybridge. The building is really something. 88 steel-clad storeys reaching a height of about 450 metres, designed by an Argentinian architect with Islamic influence in the tower's 5 tiers, representing the 5 pillars of Islam. (See, I do listen sometimes in class!)

As always, we had to be thinking and planning one step ahead which led us on a big mission to locate bus tickets for our onward travel to the Cameron Highlands for the following day. This involved much travel, a lot of questions to locals, blank expressions, wild gesturing, and a bit of a headache until we tracked down the required bus station – miles from the original that was apparently being renovated. Within the giant marquee there were about a hundred independent stalls and we managed to locate a trustworthy private company among the barrage of touts trying to bully us into submission (no chance!), buy our tickets and escape unscathed to enjoy the rest of our stay in Kuala Lumpur in peace.

Our time in the Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur was fantastic – again, like Singapore, the fusion of Asian culture and Western influence made for a great combination. It was also fantastic to learn of the real drive for success evident in the Malay culture, and to experience so many cultures existing so peacefully together as we only wish could be the case worldwide. There are many places that could learn a lot from the modern '1 Malaysia' ethos and its 8 values of Acceptance, Perseverance, Education, Integrity, Meritocracy, Humility, Loyalty and Culture of Excellence.

Thirsty for more, we continued on in search of the famous and wonderful tea plantations of the Cameron Highlands, along with some cool and fresh highland air...]]> Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=136335 0 3.1666667 101.7

On the Sunday we made our way up to the base of the mountain. We had an early start the following morning so it allowed us to get a good nights sleep. We stayed at a lodge just outside of the National Park giving us beautiful views of the mountain we were soon to climb. It's a good job the views were so good as it made up for the general shabbiness of the cockroach infested lodge and the rudeness of the staff. They soon realised they were no match for us when we fogged the room with an entire can of the bug spray they threw at us and deposited the giant dead cockroach in a glass on their reception desk for all to see the following day...!

We turned the corner for what seemed like an endless set of steps (and as we were soon to find out there were over 2500 steps just on the way to our mountain hut alone). Nic's face said it all ;-) I did think we had bitten off more than we could chew. Nic was distressed and ready to turn back. This called for drastic measures, we needed to regroup, change tactics and flip this on the B side (should we have just climbed the standard route?!). Off came the clothes, out came the water and it was time to live life like a tortoise for a while as we slowed down the pace. Things improved immensely and we were soon making good progress.

Nic was snapping photos of me calling me a cocky little bugger as I raced up the mountain! Here is a selection of the best few...

It was unrelentingly steep in parts and I don't think I have ever sweat so much in my life. The muscles in the top of your thighs really begin to ache as a result of the repetitive motion. We had 8.2km to climb to reach our hut for the night. 8.2km doesn't sound that far but when it is uphill it is a different story. There were markers every 500m showing our progress. In some sections the markers did seem to take a long long time to come round. Our guide said we should be aiming for 1km per hour in order to make it before nightfall. We made it to the hut in 5 and a half hours so naturally we were pretty chuffed with our first day's effort. We ate some dinner and rested our aching muscles before getting an early night's sleep (our mountain hut pictured below). It rained solidily that evening and I was a little worried it wasn't going to stop - if it is raining in the morning you cannot climb to the summit :-(

1:30am the alarm went off. It felt like we had only literally just fallen asleep. We forced ourselves out of bed, got ready and went to get breakfast. The weather had cleared up just for me! We left at 3am in order to reach the summit by 6 in time for sunrise. This part of the climb differed greatly from the previous day. It was pitch black on the mountain and the only light available was from our head torches. The first section involved crossing the sheer Panar Laban rock face. There were ropes fixed in place to help haul us up the thick slippery steep granite sheets. It was nice to give the leg muscles a rest!

The last section of the ascent involved climbing from the Sayat-Sayat hut to the summit. It was again becoming steeper yet and our determination and stamina were keeping us going. 750m from the summit (so close yet so far!) Nic was finding it increasingly difficult, feeling breathless, nauseous and a little frustrated. Hani and I helped by propping Nic up (over each shoulder) and I took her bag. Sunlight was fast approaching and my motivational speak with Nic appeared to have worked as she had a new lease of life. Reaching the final section we scrambled up the last few boulders... we had done it!! The views from the summit were amazing - in every direction. The weather was very cold at the summit so all of the warm clothing we had packed and lugged up the mountain paid off (the temperature changed drastically throughout the climb which explains why we have more clothing changes in our photos than a Bollywood movie). It was such a great experience to be up that high and see the sun come up over all of Borneo and also to see exactly what we had been climbing up over the last 3 hours.

Below are some of the photos taken on our trek back down the mountain. The ropes that we used for support on the climb...

The steepness of some areas we crossed. The photo below (left) is actually the same section that you can see Nic holding on to the rope in the photo above...

You can see the excitement on Nic's face when we reached the 1.5km to go marker!

We couldn't have been more wrong!

The festivities ran all day and gave Sup the opportunity to see some music tutorials on percussion and have a beer and some chicken (of course!) in the sunshine before celebrating in the evening along with 10,000 other people from all corners of the world with an array of music, from India, Indonesia, Iran and so many more.

Our last adventure from our base in Kuching was a trip to Bako National Park. The park was reached via a gorgeous boat ride and the views were breathtaking. Due to high and low tides, we couldn't stay too long on the island, but we managed to fit in a brisk 3-4 hour stomp around, covering a multitude of different landscapes in a relatively small space and testing our muscles for future ventures.

Sarawak was a fantastic place, even with the constant staring and laughing at me and my lily white face...! Although the start to our jungle adventure turned out to be very different from our expectations, we had a wonderful time in Sarawak and were eager to experience the wonders of Sabah, including the biggest damn challenge of our journey so far...!

]]> Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=135814 0 1.55 110.3333333

The spectacular city of Singapore was to be our first destination. We flew in late, so had time to catch a taxi out of the airport and see the city lights sparkle in the dark, before finding our hostel and settling in for the night...well, settling in after we found that our door didn't lock and the owner had to improvise with a screwdriver!

Our hostel was in the region of Little India which was a fantastic experience. At 5am we awoke to the eerily beautiful sounds of chanting music and later that morning we discovered the origin of these songs as we were greeted with the sight of a spectacular and elaborate mosque.

Singapore was an incredible city, a real fusion of Chinese, Indian and Malay culture, with the swagger of Western wealth. Hungry for more Asian delights, we decided to leave the city and all its wonders behind to plunge in at the deep end and fly straight out to Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo for some jungle adventures!]]> Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=135067 0 1.2930556 103.8558333 Arriving in to Picton in the late evening we were keen to find a close place to camp for the night. It wasn't until daylight the following day that we could appreciate the scenery we had unknowingly slept besides. We both knew that South Island was going to be special. The reflective waters of the South Island were a big winner with me, hence the number of reflective photos in this entry!

First up on our itinerary was Abel Tasman National Park. We set off on our journey, stopping along the way of course for photo opportunities and a picnic. I did get trigger happy with the camera and as a result we didn't make great time (but who can blame me when we were surrounded by such beautiful scenery?!).When we finally did make it to Abel Tasman the heavens decided to open (and not stop) so I donned my waterproofs and set off on a stomp feeling confident in my new waterproofs ability to live up to the challenge of keeping me dry. How wrong I could have been. I was drenched by the end of it but I enjoyed my coastal trek nonetheless.

The jump itself was crazy, the freefall was the most intense experience ever, very surreal indeed. If you haven't done a skydive and you are wandering what it feels like, it feels like what it looks like... like you are falling out the sky very fast! There is a complete contrast of calmness once the parachute opens and you begin to float through the air. I was of course very proud of Nic as she had always said it was something she would never do. We were recommended Wanaka by a number of people to do our skydive and I have to agree I don't think there was a better place to jump.

Later that evening we found a place to park up and spend the night. We may have accidentally missed the 'no campervans allowed' sign on entry to the car park, however paid the price at about 4am when we were woken up by a security man banging on our van shouting 'I know you're in there'! Nic was apparently panicking, although she had to inform me later of her panic as I naturally slept through the whole escapade. The intruder announced that the police would be on their way and as he drove off, Nic finally managed to shake me into consciousness. Before I had a chance to fully wake up, she had dived into the front of our van, shoeless and wrapped in half our bedding, and the next thing I knew we were on our way to the nearest official campsite we could find. Eventful to say the least.

We stopped off for a walk around Lake Matheson, a lake famous for its crystal clear reflective waters. On clear days you can see the reflections of Mount Cook, although we could only see the bottom part of the mountain as it was a little cloudy higher up. Again it provided us with some great photo opportunities.

New Zealand was absolutely stunning. Both Nic and I agree that it is one of the best countries we have visited so far. I knew it was going to be awesome and it by far surpassed all of Nic's expectations. Winter was a perfect time to visit, not only was the scenery one magical wonderland, but there were also fewer tourists and cheaper rates throughout. New Zealand pat yourself on the back brother land, I take off my hat and raise a glass to you. Now it's time to raise the temperature, on to the last leg of our journey and the place I have most been looking forward to... Asia!!

]]> Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=135033 0 -43.5333333 172.6333333

It turns out that touring New Zealand in our campervan was one of the best experiences we have ever had. And Sup had known it would be all along, the cheeky devil!

We named the campervan Manaia, after the Maori name for Guardian – I felt that we needed some protection and after driving in some incredibly tricky situations and scary conditions, we were extremely pleased that our 'Manny' lived up to his name. Barbara once took us up a mountain with a sheer drop in the pitch black on an icy night, but we won't hold that against her..!

Needing a little peace to recover from the excitement of the day, we took a walk after the sun went down by Lake Rototua and took in the almost ethereal view.

The holiday parks were nice little places to stay, and although the nights were cold, we were toasty warm snuggled up in our little mobile home.

The next stop on our journey was the town of Taupo situated like Rotorua on a beautiful lake. We visited a site called 'Craters of the Moon' and walked around a large field of steaming fumeroles and giant craters burping with gloopy mud. With no other person around, it looked as though we were the only survivors of Earth's destruction, or a nuclear holocaust – spooky, atmospheric and pretty cool. Sup continued on with his vast collection of leaflets, which seemed to take over the whole of our van – New Zealand certainly knows how to promote, that's for sure.

By this time we had figured out a way to save money – free camping. We decided that every third night we would stay in a holiday park for decent showers and to power up the camera, and the other two nights we would find a suitable place to park ourselves up without being disturbed. It worked very well and we were proud to be hardcore! We were also rewarded with waking up to some of the most amazing natural views.

After our antics in Tongariro National Park, we continued on to Wanganui where we were met by the gorgeous Lake Virginia. We spent some time walking around the lake, feeding a few of the thousands of ducks and visiting the bird sanctuary, as well as the indoor botanical gardens, before an over zealous goose chased us back into our van! We spent the night by the lake and then took a scenic drive the next day on the Wanganui River Road.

The Wanganui River Road was a scenic loop following, you guessed it, the river. Much like The Forgotten Highway, it gave us impressive scenery and we enjoyed cruising around at our leisure, pleased to have visited NZ in winter. We were told by locals that in summer the road becomes one giant traffic jam.

The following day we went for a walk at Charles Plimmer Park and had a lot of fun on the swings that someone had constructed high up in the trees overlooking a view of the whole town. We then climbed further to enjoy a gorgeous panoramic view before coming back down to earth to make our way to the ferry.

]]> Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=133855 0 -36.8666667 174.7666667

We spent 1 night in Nadi on the mainland organising our trip to one of the islands. We secured an awesome deal... Not only did we get '2 for 1' but we also got upgraded to our own beach front bure which is a traditional Fijian hut. It was nestled away far from the main building providing us with our own private beach. Good times!

The following day we caught our boat back to Nadi. We spent our final day in Nadi town visiting the local temple, visiting some of the shops and experiencing some of the local food. Our time in Fiji had come to an end. It was an amazing place with such warm friendly people and they will be missed.

Our plane flight was very early the following morning so we were lucky enough to capture a beautiful sunrise. I made the most of my shorts one last time because we were moving on to New Zealand in their winter... bring it on Mr Cold!

]]> Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=11169 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=132307 0 -8.35 160.7833333