Happy Christmas

We are in Bangkok celebrating Christmas with my Dad! After opening our Christmas stockings, we spent the morning sunbathing and swimming in the pool. We have just got back from our sushi lunch and are looking forward to turkey and Christmas cake tonight!

Happy Christmas to everyone, lots of Love Alex, Steve and Nigel XXX

Siem Reap

After relaxing for one day we decided to sort out some transport to take us around the temples for the next 3 days. We thought a Tuk Tuk or moto might be a bit uncomfortable for the 3 of us and I organised a car. Without realising I signed us up for the full works, a shiny new luxury VIP people carrier with a driver and an official guide for 3 days. After the initial excitement about this royal tour we were soon brought back down to earth with a thump when the guide launched into his well rehearsed spiel in a loud robotic voice ruining any atmosphere or time to take in the surroundings at the first temple. Fortunately he calmed down a bit and after politely asking him to let us find our own way around for a bit, things got better.

The temples were mind boggling to see, we went to 16 sites in total and although the guide was annoying at times we did learn a lot from him. This is a picture of Angkor Wat at sunrise, a great finale to our 3 day tour. We went back again for sunset, it is the largest temple and the most spectacular.

Boat trip from Battambang to Siem Riep

Somehow Steve managed to persuade me to go on the boat trip from Battambang to Siem Riep even though it was described in the Siem Riep Visitors Guide as ‘the boats in no way meet international safety standards’!! Fortunately I did not read the bit about frequent breakdowns in the Lonely Planet until we were on the boat! However it did seem marginally preferable to the 6 hour local bus ride on what was described as torturous roads!

After a 5.45am start we boarded the boat at 7am and got the best seats on the roof! We passed the most amazing scenery which consisted of floating villages, waving locals, tropical birds (including eagles) swooping by and numerous bamboo fishing net structures. Part of the journey involved navigating waterways barely large enough for the boat to pass so we had to duck as branches swept by, hoping there was enough water below to stop us from running aground.

After several stops to deliver various goods to the locals we arrived 7 hours later rather sun stroked and very hungry! We had pre booked a guesthouse and were relieved that they still had our booking however when we got to the room it wasn’t up to standard! As it was our last 5 nights on this trip and we had slummed it all the way (!!!!!) we decided to upgrade ourselves to their best room with our own mini garden!!

My Dad arrives this evening so we are going to meet him at his very plush hotel where hopefully he will spoil us!!

Battambang

After spending a couple more days in Phnom Penh we boarded a bus and headed up to Battambang. We were a little nervous at the start of the journey being the only westerners on a packed local bus but after making friends with the children next to us, it was an amusing trip. The only slight hickup was when the bus broke down and we all had to get off and push it to jump start it going again!

For fear of any more eco-lodge experiences the only way Alex was persuaded on this adventure off the beaten track was to stay in a decent hotel. However when we arrived they did not have our booking but fortunately had a room for us which was lovely.

We spent the next 2 days with a great Tuk Tuk driver meeting his family and the locals, exploring the countryside and really experiencing Cambodia. One of the highlights was riding the Bamboo Train which you can see in the picture above. We flew down the railway line at great speed which felt like a rollercoaster ride and when the Phnom Penh train was in sight we had to jump off so they could take our train off the tracks to let it go by!!

Sihanouville

We are now in the south of Cambodia relaxing by the sea and there are no scary bus rides or animal stories (apart from the rat that just ran past me!) to tell!

After looking at 7 places to stay and telling the taxi driver about a million times we did not want to stay in the cheapest place in town (where he got commission from) we eventually found a hotel with a normal looking bathroom and a swimming pool - luxory at last!!! We have been here for the last 5 days and plan to stay a few more as our day involves sunbathing by the pool, going to a bar to watch the sunset and drinking from about 4.30 onwards!!

We ventured out to Ream National park yesterday but after not seeing monkeys and dolphins as promised, having a very bumpy boat ride there and back on a lopsided boat and then being told about a million times by the guide how poor he was, we decided to give the day trips a miss..... relaxing is much more fun! Not very cultural but something we both needed!

Phnom Penh

Anyway after all the traumas we found a room at a decent hotel and spent the night in their suite as it was the only one available!! So with a river view and living room we spent the night in watching tv and ordering room service! Our friend has been to the doctor this morning so she should be ok too.

The last 10 days have really put everything Alex is scared of to the test and although there have been a few tears and threats to fly back to her Dad's in Bangkok, I think after a few days here she will be ready to continue on the rest of the trip!!

Yaklom Hill Lodge, Bang Lung

It is described in the Lonely Planet 'äs a completely different experience to the places in town' It was certainly that!! Set in the jungle, Alex began to worry when the man showed us to the room and said don't worry the spiders you might see are not
dangerous. That night there was a massive spider in the bathroom I pretended to Alex that I had killed!! In the morning after breakfast a big spider was in the mosquito net and our friends had spiders in there room. We trekked to a near by lake and the man asked if I wanted a stick in case we saw any snakes! The lake was beautiful and we spent the day swimming there.

The Journey to Phnom Penh by Local Bus/Taxi
After all this plus only having electricity 4 hours in the evening we decided to get to a city quickly. What we didn't anticipate about the 12 hour journey was that it was on a local bus. The first 4 hours were on extremely bumpy roads and it was not long before the child next to me began throwing up everywhere. To make things worse one of the two girls we were travelling with began to feel very ill. She had parasites in Laos and the pain had come back. After 5 hours we abandoned
the bus and got a taxi for the next 6 hours.

The taxi man was not friendly and a bit gangster like, he kept combing his hair and talking on his mobile. He stopped and filled the boot of his car with blocks of wood, drove down the back roads and did not stop at a petrol station when we could see he did not have enough petrol in the car to get us to Phnom Penh, Alex was convinced he was going to kidnap and kill us until we eventually go onto the main roads and filled up with petrol. Fortunately he didn't and we made it to Phnom Penh!

Don Kon

We found a floating bungalow on what was decribed as the island where you will get a more Laos experience. What they mean is there are no other Westerners and nothing to do. Anyway it was beautiful and as usual plenty of bike rides, waterfalls, beautiful sunsets etc. The one new experience we had was when a long snake swam past our feet while we were relaxing on our balcony. I convinced Alex it would not appear on our
balcony but unfortunately it did about 30 minutes later!

The Boarder Crossing
Now by road not by river, quite dull. After we crossed the border we crossed the river on a boat and there was a local guy sitting near us with a severed arm bleeding all over the floor which did not put Alex at ease!

The Journey to Ban Lung
We met up with 2 English girls and joined forces to get a taxi to Ban Lung. The road had apparently been recently repaired but it was still 4 hours of bumping
up and down on a dirt track. The windscreen was cracked all the way across a number of times but fortunately it did not fall in on my lap!!

Pakse, Champasak and Tad Fan

After a 10 hour bus journey from Vientianne(which was actually quite comfortable!) with another fellow backpacker Kostas, we arrived in Pakse in the south of Laos.

We spent the afternoon in a tuk tuk going to the Tad Fan waterfall but on the way it poured down (1st rain we have seen in 3 weeks) and when we arrived at the waterfall we saw it for about 5 minutes before steam rose up and it dissapeared! On the way back we stopped at a local school and the children were so sweet and loved our digital camera so the next day we got one of the photos of them all developed and left it with their teacher. We saw some local villages and everyone was so friendly. It actually felt like we were the only tourists they had ever seen although I doubt it!

The next day the same tuk tuk driver took us to Champasak for the day to visit the temple ruins. It was a good hike but with amazing views over the countryside. On the way down Steve tripped and cut his toe and there was blood everywhere. Although I had the plasters and the antiseptic wipes I wasn't a very good nurse but this Italian lady who was a doctor grabbed Steve's toe and sorted it out. Fortunatenely it was better than it looked so Kostas and I didn't have to carry him down!

Champasak is on the other side of the river to Pakse so we had to take a car ferry across. This consisted of 3 boats joined together with bits of wood on top! While waiting for the ferry on the way back, a local bus got stuck trying to come off and we spent the next 1/2 hour watching them try and get it of with all the people on. Eventually, the got it off and we could make our way back across the river but the bus was ruined!

That evening we went and stayed at the Tad Fan waterfall in a bungalow that had an amazing view of the waterfall. There are 2 of them which plunge 150 metres to the bottom of the valley so we decided to go on a trek to get closer to them. If I had known what we would be doing I would not have agreed! The trek started with a 45 minute clamber down the side of a really steep hill and we had to cling onto the roots and branches of trees to stop us slipping. We arrived at the top of the 1st waterfall and made our way across it, very scary when you have seen how far it drops from across the valley! I was petrified and when we started our next climb to the next waterfall I completely panicked and the guide had to hold my hand for the rest of the way! Having arrived safely on the other side we were then confornted by a mad local who was chasing a snake that was in the bushes just where we were about to go swimming! If I had been able to I would have turned back but fortunateley the route back was much easier than the route there! Steve continued to do a full days trek but I spent the afternoon recovering on the balcony of our bungalow staring at the waterfalls not quite believing that I had walked across them!

After 3 nights there we took a 3 hour bus further south. We were the last ones on the bus and I sat next to the driver. There were 3 massive holes in the windscreen right in front of my face that looked like bullet holes and with no seatbelt on and blood on the ceiling I didn't exactly feel at ease!

We arrived in 4 Thousand Islands and Steve will now continue the rest of the last 10 days which get progressively worse as far as my sanity is concerned!

Vientianne

We are in the capital of Laos and it is certainly not like Bangkok! We are supposedly staying on the best street for shopping which consists of 2 t-shirt shops and a gift shop! The pavements are something to laugh about and not something you would want to walk down after a few drinks! There are these big pot holes and if you arn't looking who would end up floating in the local sewage!

The restaurants and cafes are great though and after a continental breakfast of croissants and freshly squeezed orange juice, we have had crepes for lunch and then (only on one night) steak and lamb chops for dinner. As you can see we are really slumming it!!!

Bug Update - not many to report here apart from on our first night we were sat by the river watching the sunset and this UAH (unidentified animal head) appeared from the top of a bamboo stick! We did not want to get too close so took a photo and zoomed in on it and after concluding it was definitley not a snake we decided it was a frog / gecko!

Travel Update - On our way down here the bus was overbooked so 3 poor lads were given plastic seats and had to sit in the aisle of the bus, fortunateley it was only a 4 hour journey!! Tonight we are heading down to the south or Laos (Pakse) which involves a 10 hour journey and if we end up on plastic seats we wont be happy!!

Vang Vieng

Seeing as Alex has written every entry I thought I would add some comments on our last few days. The journey down to Vang Vieng from Luang Probanh was not for the faint hearted, it was 5 hours of twists and turns through the mountains with plenty of big drops on the side of the road. Luckily our minibus driver did not see himself as the next Nigel Mansell and was a relatively slow driver by SE Asia standards so we arrived safely. The scenery was amazing and we drove past a few Laos villages which was interesting to see the locals going about their day.

On arrival we checked out a few budget places as we thought it was time to start slumming it more. After the few we checked out had not hit standard we clambered up a river bank to find ourselves by a nice hotel swimming pool to the amusement of the guests. We expected to be escorted off site by security but managed to get ourselves to the reception and with some negotiation secured a lovely room with views of the river and mountain backdrop for next to nothing. So yet again we are living it up with aircon, fridge, balcony, swimming pool etc.

Vang Vieng seems to be a major stop on the route through Laos as there are loads of traveler's here and we have met a lot of like minded people, although some we have avoided like the plague. Alex particularly enjoyed yesterday when we hung out with 3 young Swedish guys for the day and went tubing down the river. Maybe we will meet some young Swedish girls soon too!

Tubing involved sitting in a tractor inner tube and floating down the river stopping at riverside bars on the way which were pounding out mostly good music. A lot of Beer Laos was consumed and I enjoyed throwing myself off wooden towers on swings into the river, Alex was just a spectator as you might have guessed.

There is a lot to see here, tomorrow we are hiring bikes and off to the Blue Lagoon and will check out some caves.

4 weeks of not working now, Life is sweet!!!!

Luang Prabang

We have been here the last 4 days and have loved it. It is so relaxed and the people are so friendly we feel like we are in a different world.

We went to this amazing waterfall and Steve decided it would be a great idea to climb to the top so relunctantly I ageed! The only reason I kept climbing was becuase I was too scared to go back down again but when we reached the top the walk across the waterfall seemed even more scary so we had to climb down again and I reverted to crawling on my hands and knees! The swim at the bottom was great though and worth the hike!

We have been doing loads of exercise, climbing to the top of hills to see sunsets, cycling around the town and masses of walking. But to compensate we found a little beach on a bank of the Mekong where we relax on sunbeds every evening and watch the sunset (not more sunset photos I hear the poor people say who are going to have to look at the photos!).

Bug Update - We almost ran over a snake on our bikes yesterday but it wasn't too big (infact it was tiny!). What was more scary was the huge red centipede that we spotted walking home in the dark one night. If that has made it's way in our backpacks I will not be happy!

Travel update - We have been on one boat trip here and it was fine, the boat didn't sink (I did manage to spot a leak though), there was no stop and it didn't rock too much. In fact I can almost say I am not scared of boats, on a river. One fear down a million more to go!

We are leaving here on Friday morning and heading to Vang Vieng. It will be Steve's first trip on an Asia bus but I persuaded him to take a mini bus rather than the public bus so it should be ok!

US!

Just in case you forgot what we looked like!

Bangkok

Just a quick update from Bangkok!

Last night we went to a Loi Krathong party at a friend of my Dad's. We were the only Westeners there and were treated like royalty. I am not sure why as they were the ones with the hollywood mansion style house! After having food and drink poured down us (we have never been offered so much by so many different people!) we had to launch a little flower and candle display into the Klong (river) that floated around the garden. We were then asked to participate in some thai dancing which we were hopeless at but 200 or so Thai's that were watching found it very amusing!! It was when we were asked to participate in some karoke that we decided it was time to make a quick exit!

We are off to Laos tomorrow on our 7 weeks of real backpacking.........help!!

Koh Yau Noi

We have spent the last 3 nights on this non touristy island called Koh Yau Noi which Steve had to spend alot of time persuading me to go to! It was really nice and great to get off the beaten track. We spent one day cycling around the island on mountain bikes which we hired for the day and saw what Thailand used to look like before the tourists arrived on mass. The beaches were not great but the setting where our bungalow was beautiful and I even prepared myself for Laos and Cambodia with no hot water, fridge and god knows what flying around the mosquito net! We saw the sun rise over the sea this morning as we got up to make our way to the pier to catch our boat to the main land. The boat was meant to leave at 7.30 but when we arrived there at 7.15 it was just leaving. Fortunately we managed to get it to come back and collect us otherwise we would have had to pay 40 pounds to get to the mainland to catch our flight back to Bangkok as there was only one boat a day!

We are heading back to Bangkok today to spend the weekend with my Dad and are then on the proper back packing trip for 7 weeks. Not sure how we are going to last as we have only been on the road for 2 weeks, my clothes are filthy and I need a hot bath!!

Koh Phi Phi

Next was Koh Phi Phi and after our first hotel not being up to standard (it wasn't just me!) we relocated to this cute bungalow overlooking the bay. We went on a sunset boat trip around the islands and Steve was very dissapointed not to see sharks while snokelling at shark point, funilly enough I was relieved! We then hit a storm which caused a minor panic (the waves were at least a foot high!!) and then did some snokelling over some great coral which was not shark infested. About 3 hours into the trip I started to relax and we saw another beautiful sunset. We went out to this cool fireshow bar and then ended up at a bar with some crazy rock band! They even played Bon Jovi and Guns and Roses so we could sing along!

Railay

Our first stop after leaving Bangkok was Railay Beach which we loved! The beach was gorgeous, we went on a long tail boat trip around the islands, did kayaking and snorkelling and saw some beautiful sunsets. The surrounding cliffs are amazing but we didn't attempt rock climbing (that would be far too energetic!). I recommend the Sand Sea Resort if anyone goes there.

We have Arrived!

As we have been here for 4 days we thought we should do a quick update in case you are wondering what we are up to!! The picture is us outside my Dad's appartment, Sarin Place.

We have been rushing around since we arrived, getting our visas for Laos and Cambodia, sorting Steve out with some prescription sunglasses (Burbury ones, he even got a chav case to keep them in) and getting some suits made as we are missing work so much we want to wear something to make us feel at home NOT!!).

We have also had some 'free time' relaxing by My Dad's pool, the weather is much better than expected so we have been able to top up the tans. We have had some great Thai meals and even managed sushi for lunch, darling.

As you can see our traveling budget has not quite kicked in and I think the 5* accommodation that I was hoping for in Krabi will need to be down graded to 2* after the first 4 nights!

We are off to Krabi tomorrow for 2 weeks to hopefully do some island hopping I the sun so look out for the next update!!

A&S X

Leaving Today!

AHH! The big day has arrived!! We have just finished our packing which is quite fortunate as we are leaving in an hour!! Thai Airways would not extend the luggage allowance so I had to get rid of 5kg of my clothes and the suitcase so we look like real backpakcers as we are actually using our backpacks!

Anyway we have had a great last week despite the tearful goodbyes but we wont be far away with the blog!!

A&SX

The Plan

In case we have not bored you with our plan, we are going to live in Sydney in January 2007 for 2 years after travelling around Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. We leave the UK on 16th October and are going to stay with my Dad for 5 days before we have 2 weeks relaxing in Krabi and Koh Phi Phi, hopefully there will not be a Tsunami! Then we are backpacking through Laos and Cambodia for 7 weeks, spending Christmas and New year in Bangkok and leaving for Sydney on 8th January.

So if you are interesetd we will be doing an update of what we get up to on our blogspot.

S&A X

ps) I hope you like the wedding photo, Steve will kill me but I couldn't resist!

12 Days to go!!

This is my first blog message so I hope it works!

Not that we are counting but not long to go now! The house is a tip with boxes everywhere, we are eating off the garden table and sleeping on the futon but it will all be worth it!

Good Luck!

Hi Alex - this is our present to you!
You said you hadn't had time to set up a blog site, so ... here it is!
Have fun, and make sure you keep posting the whole trip so we can see what you're up to.
Bill will give you lessons and explain photo downloads if you need it, but it's very easy.
Love Jack & Bill