A Montage Of Moments

Cambodia, Phnom Penh- Firing Range

FULL MOON PARTY

Vietnam!

The Old Quarter of Ha Noi where we have been staying is even more hectic with motorbikes everwhere who are constantly using their horns. We booked a tour to Ha Long bay- one of the natural wonders of the world and it didn't dissapoint. The cruise ship was drastically different from the one adveritised, but perfectly decent condition with great seafood meals. The first day we met Jack, George and Matt, all from England and all on gap yahs like ourselves, that had been doing he the exact same countries a different way round so it was useful to gain experience from them and vice versa. The price of the drinks was extortionate- $2 for a small can when you can get the equivalent  amount on the street out of a keg for 15p. We managed to find some water vendors who row around to the different tourist boats selling food and drink who sold tigers for half the price and so got a good few in, much to the captians anger. The next morning was a struggle to wake for sunrise, which wasn't that spectacular because of the clouds (sunset was better) but was stil pleasant. We bid farewell to our English friends who had booked an extra day and were off to another island and relaxed, taking in the scenery on the top deck. Our transfer back to Ha Noi was cramped and the 4 hrs seemed alot longer. Finally we were back and wasted no time in sampling some tastey street food and cheap draught beer. We slept well that night and the next day visited the mausoleum of Ho Chi Min which turned out to be closed as I forgot to check the opening hours. We returned to the old quarter for some more food and beers before boarding our sleeper bus to Hué. We managed to find perhaps the worst seats once more- a 5 man upper cave at the back of the bus with no room to manouver. The 15 hrs passed very slowly, and little to no sleep was had by the time we arrived in Hué. We had breakfast and got a taxi to drop our bags at the travel agent before heading into the old citedal. Vast and at times overun, it was difficult to picture a complete complex of buildings but nevertheless it was interesting. To get back to the travel agents we hired cyclos- bikes with carriages attatched to the from of them. On the bus to Hoi An we made sure we got single seats, and they felt like luxury in comparison, although still a little cramped. We drove through a big rainstorm which managed to get my bag wet even though it was in the hold. When we arrived we found a decent hotel With a pool for $5 a night, not bad considering Hoi An prices and immediately made use of it going for a dip to cool off. Next it was time for a few beers, this time for 3000d or 10p a glass, it was rude not to have several! We continued our ongoing pool championship for drinks at the Aussi Aussi bar, who were offering free buckets with any drink purchased before returning home in the early hours to get some rest for the next days activities. We rented some bikes for $1 each and cycled the 5km to the beach in the sweltering heat. When we got there we bought a football and quickly found ourselves playing with 6 or 7 locals. Next we went for a swim, the water was nice and warm and we played piggy in the middle with the locals. The sand literally burnt feet if you stood still for too long so we headed to a 'street' restaurant on the beach by some palm trees and had some coconut water (fresh out of the coconut) and some cao Lao- a pork and noodle dish. We chilled playing cards and more footie before biking back through the beginnings of a storm to return the bikes. When we boareded our sleeper bus we were told it was too full to take us so we would have to change. The new bus was a another sleeper and was entirely Vietnamise who spoke little English. We were made to pay $5 for the switch which probably went straight into the pocket of the baby roach who was organising proceedings. After and average night sleep we were told to get out at 5.00 to pick up our original 'full bus' which dropped us in Nha Trang centre. The sunrise over the beach was awesome, I know I'm looking forward to a couple of days of beach, watersports and nightlife.  Harry, Dan and Josh

Vietnam

Laos!

Luangprabang had a strong French influence that was evident from it's numerous bakeries and small cafés. We quickly found the oudamphong guesthouse, recommeded in our guides and caught up with a couple of hours sleep after a tiring overnight bus. Next it was time to explore- we had lunch at the ...... café - widely acclaimed for it's sandwiches, and it didn't dissapoint. Next we headed to Wat Xieng Thong, before heading onto a 100m high vantage point to see the surrounding mountains and take some pictures.  Our transfer to Vang Vieng was due to take 6hrs but it actually took around 9. The roads were bump and the minivan cramped and uncomfortable. On the way we drove through the mountains and so saw the most amazing scenery. We also went through one of the many rainstorms we would be encountering as some of SEA entered it's wet season. When we arrived we checked into Jammee guesthouse,and had our first sample of the countries' beer- BeerLao. The next day we went tubing and met Nick, Nick and Johans from Denmark who we would be hanging around with for the next few days. Tubing was probably he best experience so far, with lots of activities to do like slides, zipwires, swings, basketball etc. Infact, Dan won us a free bucket after getting 3 baskets in a row. We returned at 6pm In order to get our deposit back and headed to a restaurant to have food with the Danish guys. That evening we went to the bucked bar- offering free buckets before 9.30 which we took full advantage off. There we met a tour guide who said he could take us to the caves by motorbike the next day and we agreed. Unfortunately I managed to lose my camera at the bar with all our tubing photos and videos on- such a shame! Biking the next day was interesting, whilst Dan rode with our guide myself and Josh rode alone down the dirt track roads. The cave was a 200m climb up but was worth it, toruist free, with unmarked paths and pitch black inside it felt as though we were the first ones there. We spent about 1 and a half hours there before returning to the blue lagoon for a swim and more platform acrobatics. The water was turquoise and there were loads of fish- a perfect place to cool off after the sweaty caves. After returning to our guesthouse  it was time to have a few more beers before the return of the bucket bar that evening! We were sad to leave the next day- VV was the place were we had had the most fun and it was a shame we had to move on. Our bus to Vientiene took 4 hours, the movie of choice being King Kong. We arrived had a few fruit shakes and boarded our sleeper bus, the bus we had been looking forward to becuase of the flat beds. Hysterical Laughter because of the disbelief of our beds ensued. We had be place in 'the cave' a triple bed (usually room for two) at the back of the bus, with a ceiling so low we couldn't sit next to the toilet. Dan also worryingly pointed out that we would be probably dead if hit from behind- bring on the 24hrs! On the way we passed a sad sight- a lifeless man on the road with his bike ontop of him- instead of stopping people just drove past! We reached the border at 2am but were woken at 6 to go through formalities, us and the Argentinian girls who were above use were made to walk about 1,5km to go through various checkpoints whilst the locals got a lift with the bus. We thought the crew resembled a nest of cockroaches especially the boss who we dubbed papa roach because of his angry nature and suicidal driving. We were relieved when we reached Ha Noi, exactly 24hrs after we had set off, and were looking looking forward to what Vietnam brings Harry, Dan and Josh 

Laos snaps!

Chiang Mai 2k12

So we had reached Chiang Mai: 16 hours covering about 600km (probably as fast as Usain Bolt in full flow). We arrived at about 2 (on Thurs 10th May) found a nice guesthouse called JJ to stay at as well. We'd decided that this being one of the most laid-back cities in Thailand would be the perfect place to do a variety of activities. But more of that later...
Obviously the main reason we were going to South East Asia was to see temples, and become scholars in Buddhism. We paid a visit to Wat Phra Singh (a large temple which the Thai PM was visiting the next day) and we all felt... a little enlightened. We then moved onto the night bazaar - Chiang Mai has some of the best markets in Thailand, food, clothes, laser pens: everything a person could ask for.

So the next day we'd booked an action-packed day of white-water rafting. Well because it was off-peak season apparently the company had closed (feasible) so we did a 1 day excursion: some elephant riding including feeding them bananas and them snotting on our hands: it was fairly cute and they made a face like I didn't really mean it, so it was all ok. We then had an hour walk to a waterfall (we've almost seen as many of them as temples) where we had a swim, and a pad thai wrapped in a banana leaf (but not simultaneously).
Then luckily, we did have some white water rafting and a little bamboo rafting which we all really enjoyed. In the evening we had a few drinks and if we're honest a McDonalds - the 3rd in 4 days.... poor form, but we set some teachers from England and the US and played a bit of pool.

The next day we did a bungee jump: we all dropped into a pool of water at the bottom, it was really cool, a fairly unique feeling compared to the rest of the trip/temple-hopping. In no contrast to the theme of the day, we then went to the Chiang Mai zoo, where we admired giraffes, kangaroos and many other unheard of animals. It was a really nice place, spread out, open to walk around... there were tigers and lions everything you could want to see. We then walked to Huay Kaew waterfall had a nice swim, came back to the GH and went to see some Muay Thai boxing! That was something difficult... there was even a blindfolded match where people were randomly kicking the air, doing windmills etc. and the ref even drop kicked someone when he got hit. We bet on a couple of matches, unfortunately our gambling addiction meant we lost about a couple of hundred Baht... that 2-3GBP was never going to come back... it put a real downer on the trip so far.

Our penultimate day, we went to the flight of the gibbon: it was a series of ziplines and abseiling all through the forest and we did actually see a gibbon there! It was good fun. In the evening - pretty tired we went to the Sunday Walking Street - another market but we had been told it was the best shopping experience in Thailand and I think that was probably right, the row of stalls/shops never ended it had a bit of everything - buskers etc.

The next day we were heading to Laos, a minibus in the morning took us to Chiang Khong where we crossed the border (by boat) to Huay Xai. We then caught a bus to Luang Prabang at about 5, and we got there 6am the next morning... it was about 19 hours of travelling in all...

But we were in LAOS!

With love from Dan, Harry and Josh

More Nepal and Thailand

When we returned from pokhara, we attended a birthday party - yes, such sophisticated socialites we are, we even get invited to birthday parties in Nepal. This was Arjun's nephew's birthday: and there was cake, fruit, our old friend dahl bhat and of course... Dancing.  The days that followed were much the same as the last week as we settled in more to our routine of dal baht for breakfast and dinner, as well as teaching and looking after the kids. As our farewell, the children danced and sang, presenting us with tikka an wishing us 'best of luck'. We were inconvienienced slightly by the lack of organisation from Asim and co. which meant a 4am bus from Thulakhet to Pkk for a 7.30 onwards connection for KTM. The Happy Home that greeted us seemed like a 5* Hotel with pillows, and moreover the western toilets (with paper). We were excited about moving on to Thailand and this was carried onto the flight when we made full advantage of the offer of free beer. After a tight connection (after a longer toilet stop than planned by Dan) we were on the plane to Bangkok! Once there we checked into the Merry V guesthouse afte a recommendation from the lonely planet and a fellow 55yr old traveller who we shared a tuk tuk with to Khao San Rd. Pretty quickly we realised that the measly fan would probably do little to counter the increased temperature and humidity in comparison to Nepal and consequently for the 2nd night the upgrade was made. During the day we did the major sights- the big Buddha, Chinatown (closed for labour day) and several tailors due to the tuk tuk commision scheme that runs in Bangkok- petrol vouchers for the drivers (and so better rates for us) if they drop tourists at designated shops. We fell for one more clever one- because of the labour day we were told the government were handing out vouchers for discounted entry, of course the offer was only valid for today. We were skeptical, but continued based on the fact that we were going to be taken to the TAT (Tourism Authority Thailand), a government place. Where we ended up, unbeknown to us was unseen adventures a travel agent, and £150 later we had a trip to Koh Samui booked ready for the full moon party. the trip has been great, with luxury accomodation and a wicked party) but perhaps we did pay slightly over the odds for it. The bus down to the port was overnight and took a good 10 hours and 5 hours after that we were in our accomodation- silver beach resort with a 'bungalow' (triple room with ensuit) to ourselves. We spent the remainder of the day relaxing on the beach and taking a dip into the warm sea as the sun set. The next day we saw 2 of the 4 waterfalls on the island, accompanied by an elephant ride at the first and swimming in the plunge pool of the waterfall at the second. On the way back we tool a taxi to see Hin Tay and Hin Ya- essentially rocks shaped like genatils (yes on the tourist trail!) which were overrated for a tenuous resembelence, they have some kind of spiritual connection but we certainly didn't feel it as we returned home. The next day was preperation for the full moon. Water was consumed and stomachs lined ready for a heavy night. We booked the boat over at 6.30pm and partied all night returning home at 9.30am. The drinks were served in buckets-usually 20cl of spirit mixed with coke and redbull. This proved a little too much for Dan who passed out and showed us the contents of his stomach a few times (must have been dodgy meat?!) whilst Harry and Josh kept going through them. 4 hours later and some excellent medical attention, Dan was up dancing again on one of the several massive platforms on the beach. The scale  of the party was unpresidented to us- from the platforms all you could see for about a mile were people dancing, truly amazing. Once home we slept until 4 until a double omlette and 4 toast from our local resaurant serving 'poon pan' cuisine helped sober us up. After that we once again relaxed by the sea and contemplated an overpriced massage. The next day it was time to say goodbye to the luxury and say hello to the sweatboxes of Bangkok. The boat was late and consequently we were on the last overnight bus- a suprisingly modern and spaceous affair with few people on it. The later the bus left, the more reasonable hour we arrived so it wasn't all bad. When we did arrive (6.30) we went on the hunt for accommodation and found it in the form of Ban Saabi guesthouse- recommended by the lonely planet. They let us crash there and so we did for a few hours. After that it was time for more temples this time and extended visit to Wat Traimit and the stunning Wat Arun. In the evening we visited the famous Patpong night market, home of the fakes before giving in to our cravings and having our first mcdonalds of the trip, over here they do triple cheeseburgers and double big macs! Returning to our room at 1am gave a tough early wake up in the morning, especially after the poor night we had had on the nightbus, but we were due to have a  free guided tour of the National Museum, which was intersting but did drag on. After checking out our bags and leaving them at the station ready for our 10pm sleeper train to Chiang Mai, we once again visited the maze that is the huge MBK centre, but the cool aircon was a welcome relief to the hot and humid outdoors. That evening we paid Chinatown a visit, which had more street sellers than central Bangkok, some even selling delicacies like shark fin soup! We resisted and settled for rice and pork with a mango shake (total cost about £1) before walking to the station to get the train; older and slower than we thought, but still more comfortable and cheaper than the bus. We hope you like the latest set of pictures, we finally have a card reader so it will be much easier to upload. Please excuse the poor grammer- done on the iPhone   Harry, Dan and Josh

A touch of Thailand - Bangkok and Koh Samui