Grey but never dull: Dalat

In an attempt to keep this short (maybe even sweet?) our first stop out of Saigon was the seaside resort town of Mui Ne. Never have I seen so many extravagant hotels and spas in one place. To be honest, it was all a little too much. The beach itself was nothing to write home about and the town was way too expensive for us little backpackers. We searched under the moon light for a cheap place to stay, but our luck was out, it was going to be another 7$ night. Unfortunately this time, the cost wasn’t really reflected in the accommodation. The strip we were staying on was like walking down something from a 90210 episode, ‘life styles of the rich and famous’ came to mind.

We left the following morning.

Back on the road and possibly on the bounciest bus imaginable (my back will never be the same) we headed towards Dalat, high in the hills and famous for its coffee and wine: two of my favourite things. As we climbed the mountains, views of lush greenery surrounded us and made for a strong contrast from the cities and seaside places we had visited so far. We expected Dalat to be a small town, tucked away between the hills. It turned out to be quite different. Tucked between the hills yes, small, not so much. As we topped over the final brow of a mountain, Dalat spread out beneath us, far larger than we both imagined.

Sock horror, we weren’t dropped miles out of the centre. Things were looking good, but there was a reason why our little mini bus had struggled through the afternoon traffic to drop us at the first hotel. I think there were some family ties between the driver and hotel staff. Admittedly, it was a nice looking place, but way out of our league. It didn’t take long before we started walking. With no idea of where we were going, and only a vague idea of bearings, we started down the hill – an easier option than trekking upwards. This didn’t last long. Soon we were at the bottom, with only one option regardless of what road we picked; we were going up.

The weather here took us completely by surprise. From 30 degrees in Mui Ne, we had arrived in a place where the weather resembled something more of a British summer: cool, overcast and a little grey. This helped us as we climbed the endless hill to our guesthouse.

The large building looked good from the outside, and didn’t really disappoint on the inside either. The rooms were spacious, but there was no fan? We knew it was 6$ a night, but still, surely we would fry at night? Like I said earlier, the weather was too cold for any need of external cooling systems. In fact, after a rummage around at the bottom of our bags, our jumpers came out, albeit smelling a little damp. Nice.

It was a family run guesthouse and although not a home-stay by normal definitions, it really felt like we were part of family. It was lovely playing with the young children and the host spoke great English which really helped us out. We went through different tour options and tried to set an itinerary whereby we could see as much as possible. This was a none starter. The distances between all the attractions were just too great, and the costs of doing everything over 2 days was quickly climbing to an unfeasible high. Whilst here, we wanted to see some coffee plantations, explore the countryside, visit the Elephant waterfalls and ride elephants, surely not too much to ask for? There was only one solution, another scooter hire.

Malene’s new friend.

Early the next morning, we hired our scooter (unfortunately not pink this time), filled it to the brim and set off into the mountains. It was incredible. Everything was so green and the soil was a rich orange colour that made for a dramatic panorama as we hurtled our way through the hills. Our first stop was the Elephant waterfalls. Supposedly named because the rocks either side of the water resemble elephant heads, we couldn’t quite see it though. What we did see, was nature at its finest. After a slightly daunting descent, over slippery rocks and down to the river, we were rewarded by a beautiful waterfall. Not a bad place for breakfast we thought, and so grabbed our sandwiches and tucked in, occasionally being splashed by the cascading water.

Slippery slopes, was it worth it?

Yep!

Behind the water.

Back towards Dalat, we stopped at a coffee farm. Their most famous coffee is the weasel variety. Not sure on the name, we enquired as to its origin, not expecting the answer we got. As we walked into a little back room, we saw large cages with sleeping weasels. The process behind this coffee is as follows: feed the weasels coffee beans. The weasel then excretes the coffee beans. Make coffee out of what comes out. I was pretty disgusting and I really don’t know who thought of the idea. Ingenious or a little twisted? You decide.

My total concentration face.

After filling up our trusty 2 wheeled steed in Dalat, we continued to head through the city center and out the other side. It didn’t take long before we had to come off the main road and onto a pot holed ridden side track. But it was fun, occasionally felt like motocross and kept us excited for our next stop: Elephant island. To reach the small remote island, we had to cross the lake. The skies were starting to grow a little darker and with the silent water, it was all a little eerie. The island had the same feeling. Desert of people, we stumbled over large tree roots and passed empty swinging chairs. Eventually we found a guy and saw what we had come to see: an elephant. We promised ourselves that we would only go for ‘a ride’ if the animal looked like he was in a comfortable, nice place. With so many stories of animal cruelty, we definitely didn’t want to be part of that. But this elephant was having a great time. And as we climbed the rotting wooden stairs and onto the platform, we gingerly stepped over and onto the wild beast. It was a slow, surreal experience. He (I think it was a ‘he’?) plodded carefully through the forest and down to the waters edge. All the time chewing on a huge bamboo shoot. Naturally, I felt like I was sitting on top of an Imperial walker from Star Wars, another dream fulfilled!

Eerie lake.

Riding through the forest.

Same same but different.

The entire day was something of a dream. This was kind of the underlining tone for this entire trip so far. Right from the start, at the orphanage with the children, to the playground of Nepal and Thailand, Cambodia and now Vietnam: we were ticking so many life long ambitions. It’s all going so well and hopefully won’t change. The way things are turning out…how can it get any better?

We’ve lost out camera.

It turns out that Malene had hidden our camera behind the television in our room in Mui Ne. Without blaming her entirely, I was left in charge of packing our things together in preparation for the bus. Silly me for not checking behind the tv! Okay, I should have done a simple checklist of all important items, but it had happened and we needed to fix it. Luckily, we managed to get in touch with the previous hotel and they had found the camera and were keeping it safe. They then popped it on the bus and we were reunited with our trusty camera later that evening. I was seriously considering buying a new one, as the scratches on the lens are starting to get really noticeable. I hope the photos in this post are passable, as it was my trusty phone that took them.

Our final near miss came when we were to board our bus to Nha Trang. The confusion started with the fact that there are 2 buses, heading in opposite directions and leaving at the same time. We were supposedly booked on the Nha Trang bus, but in fact, the booking hadn’t gone through, leaving us potentially stranded. Luckily (using that word a lot at the moment!) our host managed to book us with a different company which all went through fine. What it does mean is that the company we brought our open bus tickets from, would have had to pay for the same journey twice. Mistakes on their behalf had started, and this would echo for the rest of our Vietnam trip.

Nha Trang here we come. With more beaches and Malene itching to take her PADI open water diving course, we were both eager to get there. We just had to ride out the 12 hour bus journey it would take for us to get there. Good times.

Hard to say goodbye to these views.

4 million motorbikes, must be Saigon.

It’s starting to become clear that the buses and taxis are all working together. Like a not so sneaky plan, the bus drivers drop fresh faced tourists off on the outskirts of a city and then literally feed said tourists to the pools of taxi sharks lurking at the bus door. I’m positive there is either commission or/and a cut that the bus drivers take from the taxi drivers after tourists pay the extortionate rates they offer. I haven’t met a traveller yet, who has coughed up the price of a taxi (motorbike or car), and frankly, if I did meet him/her, I’d probably want to slap them. Laziness and stupidity come to mind. You’re often being dropped in a bus station, with other buses, many of them local. It doesn’t take to much energy to realise that the chances of one of these local buses going your way at a fraction of the taxi price are pretty high. Maybe I’m being short sighted, but that last option is what Malene and I tend to do and Saigon was no different. After barging our way through the crowd of blood thirst taxi men, we eventually found a local bus that was going the right way. Not only saving money, but making it a little easier for future travellers passing through. If tourists insist on paying these crazy prices offered by taxi drivers, then there’s no reason why they should ever lower the price of their services. If more and more travellers use local methods of getting around, then hopefully (I might be wrong, it’s happened before) taxi drivers will bring their prices back down. Just an idea.

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city in the guide books) is an alive and buzzing city. With its complex road system as its veins and the motor bikes its blood, its life. Yes, there are 4 million motor bikes racing around the streets but its these two wheeled machines weaving in and out and over pavements, that give the city it’s energy. It’s totally daunting at first. Even deliberating crossing the road seems like an impossibility. Waiting for the green man at the zebra crossing doesn’t help either as (a) they can still turn right on a red and (b) 70% percent of them don’t actually adhere to the traffic lights. So watch out when the little green guy gives you the nod to cross…have a good look first, in all directions. That’s another strange rule that we’re slowly getting accustomed to, you can ride on what ever side of the road you like. For example, people in Vietnam drive on the right. However, if they turned left out of a driveway, and wanted to turn left further down the road, then the would stick to the left hand side of the road, thus saving crossing the road and traffic. Whether that makes sense or not, rest assure, it’s always a challenge crossing a street, but kind of fun at the same time.

After dropping Malene and our bags off at a very expensive coffee shop and ordering one ball of ice cream (cheapest item on the menu), I headed out it the sweltering heat in search of accommodation. With our bags getting heavier and heavier, this was always the easiest option, and since I can use the map on my phone a little better, it was often my duty to search out shelter. It often felt like a cave-man-era thing to do. I would go out, make a hut out of dried palm leaves and then kill a pig for dinner. In reality, I just wanted to find the cheapest place possible. Cheap and Saigon don’t really go hand in hand. 15$, 20$, even 25$ for a room, in the heart of the backpacker district, this was ridiculous! After a little more sweat and a few more tears, I managed to find a few places for 10$ a night – still way over budget, but probably better than sleeping on the streets. We took it, along with its incredible A/C and fridge! Living a life of luxury.

Saigon is a great place to just wonder the streets. There is so much happening that you really don’t know where to look. I would say, keep one eye on the traffic (both front and back) another eye on the food stalls and street life and maybe your final eye on the fantastic architecture found in the buildings that line the roads. Sit down at any of the beer Hoi stalls in the evening and watch tourists dodge traffic and locals blow flames of fire from their mouths. Eating wise, it has to be street food. Vietnam is so famous for its delicious range of food and no where serves it up better (or cheaper) than the little glass cabinet vendors that you’ll see everywhere, normally with a sea of locals around them.

Feeling a little bit more fashionable.

Exhibit from the excellent war memorial museum.

Street food, the best there is.

We took a one day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, approximately an hours bus ride from the city. Again the sun was blazing hot, which we tried not to complain knowing what it was like back home. These tunnels are the original homes of the Vietnamese during the war and were dug by the Viet Congs in order to protect themselves and battle with the invading Americans. They dug tens of thousands of miles of tunnel networks and included booby-traps, secret entrances, kitchens, hospitals and weapon making factories. We got to go down and feel heat and closeness of the tunnels – even if they had been made wider for us fat tourists! In parts, I was on my stomach crawling through, almost imagining the American army squads walking just a few feet above me. It’s a well preserved and historically, very important area. We both gave it a big thumbs up and recommend it highly.

One of the many secret entrances.

A fat tourist.

Standard tank pose.

M60 time.

We made a lot of plans here in Saigon for the rest of our Vietnam travels, often slightly under the influence of cheap Bia Hoi. One thing we decided was to buy an open bus ticket that would take us all the way north to Hanoi and stop in all the cities we wanted to visit. At 40$ a ticket, it felt a bit expensive, but we were assured that its a lot cheaper than buying individual tickets along the way. We just hoped it would all run smoothly, and with just a receipt in hand, we left the bus office. We had no idea how many problems we were about to have.

First steps in Vietnam: Chau Doc

Our first bus of the day took us to the border. We had heard horror stories of fake visas, but everything went without a glitch. This bus dropped us in Ha Tien where we waited at a little cafe for another bus that would take us to Chau Doc. This second, local bus was packed full of people, it was hot, fast and incredibly bumpy. The countryside already looked different to Cambodia and everywhere seemed to have a lot more energy and life. Unfortunately, the bus dropped us a couple of miles outside of the centre and so we had to take 2 motorbike taxis. As we raced through the traffic, Chau Doc wasn’t really what either of us had expected. Very busy, built up and noisy is probably how I would describe it. Still, we found a hotel quickly and although the room was basic (at best), we used it only for sleeping.

That evening, we strolled around the market in the center of town. Everything comes to life at this time, when the locals come out and eat on little plastic chairs that cover the pavement, often spilling out onto the road. With the food being so cheap, all the locals eat out rather than in their homes. This creates an amazing atmosphere of togetherness and friendliness. It’s also great to sit down and watch the buzz around us. This was also the first place where we tried sugar cane juice. Pressed right in front of you, this drink is full of sugar (obviously!) and tastes so good. It also keeps you buzzing for a number of hours!

Crushing the sugarcane. Sweet and delicious.

Fruit market.

Chau Doc is in the middle of the Mekong Delta. An area covered by river networks and where the real life happens. Everything from fish farming to vegetable markets, all is found on the water. Our second day here, we hired a guide to take us on his boat and explore the area. This was definitely the hi-light of our stay here. The life on the water was far more relaxing than the busy streets, but so much was happening. First we visited a little fish farm and got the opportunity to feed the fish through a hole in the floor boards. The fish then proceed to go crazy as they struggle to be first to the feed. That was certainly a wet experience!

Loving life on the river.

Fish feeding frenzy.

From there, we continued along the river and saw the houses on stilts or built directly on top of old, disused boats. Everything was so basic and pure. A civilisation built on the water and totally self-sufficient. We visited a market on the water and watched as locals haggled and exchanged products. Fruit and vegetable stocks were being thrown from boat to boat. There was a lot of shouting and it all seemed so natural for the locals, it was a great insight into their day-to-day life. On the way back, we watched a local fisherman cast off his net with great precision and technique. Obviously a life long role that he and his wife had perfected, again, amazing to watch.

Boat. house.

Floating petrol station.

Pass the parcel.

Staying mobile.

Traditional fishing.

Although Chau Doc town didn’t really impress us that much, the river certainly made up for it. We had set our expectations high for Vietnam, but it was a slow yet promising start. The next place was certainly a biggy for us: Saigon, the city of 4 million motor bikes…expectations were again, high.

Kampot: pink scooter, crab and coffee

The riverside town of Kampot is a charming place. It’s relatively quiet streets are easy to walk around and the people are warm and welcoming. There were a few things on our itinerary for Kampot, but weren’t sure how to tackle it. The sea side fishing town of Kep was just 15km away and then there was the locally grown coffee plantations that sounded like fun. As our final stop in Cambodia, we wanted to make sure we could see as much as possible, but didn’t want to be tied up in an organised tour. It left us one option: scooter hire! This would be my first time on a scooter, but more importantly, my first time on one in Asia! As a keen cyclist, I felt that my road sense was good and we both decided to go for it.

I’ve got to admit, hiring the scooter was the best thing we have done in Cambodia, possibly the best thing on this entire trip. Being free to see what you want and at the speed that you’re comfortable with makes the whole experience so much more enjoyable. The roads were not over crowded and we felt safe on our hot little pink scooter! A couple of occasions, the road got pretty bumpy, but it was fun traversing the holes. We had incredible weather, and with the constant breeze cooling us down, we didn’t think too much about the raging sun. Of course my arms were covered in a generous coating of sun cream, but it was the back of my hands that really suffered. A few days later, I had blisters full of water, not pleasant!

Hot in pink.

We found a coffee plantation and walked around the strange towers of green bushes. These bushes are dotted with little green and black coffee pods and really interesting to see. For those coffee lovers out there, traditional Vietnamese coffee is quite different. I wouldn’t say it’s an acquired taste, but its consistency is a lot thicker than normal and it has quite a chocolate taste to it. It is usually served in glasses with their own drip feed system (excuse the poor terminology) and condensed milk. It is…delicious. It’s so think and creamy and filling, it also has a good amount of caffeine in it to kick start your day!

Amazing Coffee maze.

From the farm, we followed the map on my phone and zoomed along towards Kep. This town is famous for its sea food, more specifically, it’s crab dishes. On arrival, we walked around the fish market and watched the ladies as they dragged in their wooden wicker baskets hopefully full of crabs. They would then delve their hands in and pick specimens out. How they haven’t lost a couple of fingers is beyond me.

The locals…who all had 10 fingers.

We walked down the main sea front street, and browsed through menus. Crab is expensive! 5-6 dollars is the going price at the moment – a lot when you consider we were paying 50 cents for a meal on the street. Still, it was something we really wanted to do and in the end, we found a place that did a sea food platter and rice for 2 people and for 10 dollars. We sat on their balcony over looking the sea and watched as the fishermen worked hard out in the waters. Our platter included a red snapper fish, octopus, squid, prawns, crab and a few other delights. It was so fresh and tasty and we felt like royalty dining in a 5 star restaurant. The meal was served with a black Kampot pepper sauce, mixed with lemon that was so delicious and of course local.

The best sea food platter ever…and the view was pretty good too.

A few kilos heavier, we hopped back onto our scooter, did a loop of Kep and then headed home. We stopped on the way back to walk around a little floating village and saw salt fields which was certainly interesting. Back in Kampot, we gave our trusty steed in and then noticed just how dusty we were. I had perfect sunglasses marks and looked like I had spent a week on a sun bed. Time for a shower and bed.

Looking like a cross between a Mexican and a miner.

The following morning we arranged a bus to pick us up and take us to our new distinction and our final country: the highly anticipated Vietnam. Needless to say, we were both very excited!

On a final note, Cambodia…WOW! This entire country is full of mystery, love, history and happiness. We had the pleasure to meet some amazing locals and feel so lucky to have had the chance to visit this beautiful part of the world. I might go as far as saying that this is my favorite place so far. We could have easily spent longer visiting different places and hopefully one day, we can return and do just that. Thank you Cambodia, we will certainly miss you.

Paradise found: Koh Rong Samloem

The last time we were able to walk down a sandy beach and gaze across the blue ocean was in Goa, India. If you’ve read that post, then you’ll realise why why weren’t so impressed with that place. On the other hand, the beach itself was dreamy, and that was something we definitely missed. Our beach shorts and bikinis were repacked to the top of our bags and we set off for Sihanoukville; again by bus.

5 hours later and after more never ending Cambodian musical films, we reached the outskirts of Sihanoukville (named after king Sihanouk). Unfortunately, we were dropped about 3km out of the center, and being midday, the sun was way too hot for us to walk it. The haggling began. After attracting a crowd of tuk tuk drivers who all wanted us (we felt so special!), we agreed on a price and actually got a taxi, with A/C to take us to our first guest house. It was a charming little guesthouse, covered in trees and potted plants. The 3 French guys who were there were very welcoming, even if they were more concerned with smoking the greenery rather than watering it.

That afternoon, Malene and I took a long walk down to the coast and explored the thriving beaches. It was a busy place, packed full of bars and eateries: hardly the paradise we had expected. Still, after a few hours of walking around and checking hotel prices, we found a cheap place, no more than a minute from the white sands. We booked ourselves in for the following day.

The next morning, we again packed our bags. This has now become second nature to us and although we’re getting faster and faster at the ritual of stuffing our sacks, the sacks themselves never seem to get any lighter. Although it was early, the sun was already raging down on us. We were quick to drop our bags in our new room and head straight for the beach. After a ten minute walk on the burning sand, we found an idyllic spot away from young travellers who were already set on partying. We claimed our sun loungers, ordered a beer (you had to buy a drink to use the seats – I had no choice!) and quickly settled in for a morning of nothingness. The water however was just too inviting. Deep blue and nicely warmed by the summers sun, we often took a quick dip and then returned to the comfort of our shaded seats. We began to wonder just how long we could stay here.

I had no choice but to buy the ice cold beer – honestly.

Practicing walking on water.

That evening, we wondered around the food markets and watched the place come to life. Music blared out, sun loungers were replaced by soft bean bags and tables and travelers came out in their drones looking for a happy hour. They had plenty to choose from too. We took the opportunity to enquire as to the price for getting to the small island of Koh Rong Samloem. Situated approximately 2 hours off the mainland, we studied the brochures which of course looked incredible. They always do. The price: 20$ per person. Included in this price (which was a lot for us) was a return boat ride on the famous party boat, Lunch, breakfast, one free drink and free snorkeling equipment. The prices for accommodation on the island were reasonable and so we booked our tickets for the following morning. It turned out that we wouldn’t be spending much more time in Sihanoukville. A mistake?

We agreed to leave our bags in the tour office where we booked the boat tickets. Chained to each other and in a back room, we presumed they would be safe. In hindsight, this was probably not the best of moves. But I’ll get to that later. We made our way to the jetty and waited in the shade of the bar – not drinking this time. The huge ‘party boat’ slowly edged its way towards us and before long we were on board and sipping on fresh coffee accompanied by even fresher pastries, it was going well. We set off and soon the mainland along with Sihanoukville disappeared into the distance. After an hour of cruising, we reached a small island. We dropped anchor and the mornings fun began: starting with a jump from the top deck into the warm, deep blue sea beneath. We got our snorkels and explored some beautiful coral reef just off the island. Malene was loving it. I couldn’t quite get the hang of breathing and decided to head back to the boat for some more jump offs.

Back onboard, it was time for our free beer as we dried off. Another hour passed and the island of Koh Rong Samloem came into view. It was like something from a movie. As we stood on the bow of the boat, the beach and tropical island grew closer and closer. It looked like happiness and we were eager to get even closer. The boat stopped a few hundred meters from the shore line and a smaller boat came to pick us up. That smaller boat then stopped 50 meters from the beach, and this time we were going by foot. With our bags held high above our heads, we jumped overboard and into the thigh deep, see-through blue water. We waded closer and closer to the beach. It felt like we had been shipwrecked and were now deserted.

Arriving on the beach.

Our dorm room had the greatest views. With one side of the wooden building fully open, we had uninterrupted full panoramic view of the beach and ocean. We were already excited about jumping into bed, but first, beach time! With Bob Marley playing in the bar, we soaked up the sun and relaxed into our new stress-free environment. With the bluest of waters gently crashing against the white sand, it was hard to imagine anywhere more peaceful and beautiful. I have never seen beaches like this before. I thought it was the type of place reserved for films, our overly photoshopped photos…how wrong I was.

The beach hotel

We played pool, sat in wicker chairs and got busy doing nothing. One evening, we crossed through the jungle and onto the west side of the island for a beautiful sun set. We watched the sun slowly sink down the horizon and felt totally captured by the whole place. That night we settled down in our bed and slept like babies. It was 4am when we were awoken by a crack of lightning. As we sat up in our bed, we watched a thunder storm erupt over the sea. Bellowing thunder accompanied by huge flashes of light danced over the calm ocean. It was a strange feeling that we were so safe and dry in our bed, yet we felt like we were caught in the middle of the storm. The rain didn’t last long and less than an hour later, it had passed leaving the skies to turn red as we watched the sun rise.

Sunrise from our bed.

Our days here on Koh Rong Samloem have provided memories of paradise that we’ll never forget. With all the difficulties of travelling around new countries on a tight budget, this place helped us to forget all those worries and reminded us of all the beauty we had seen along the way. Back on the main land, we returned to the tour agency to pick up our bags. Whilst there, we met another couple who had done a similar trip to us and were also collecting their belongings. Unfortunately, a bus travelling to Phnom Penh had accidentally taken their bags thinking they belonged to passengers on the bus. We were so lucky that they hadn’t taken ours. In fact, we were beginning to realise just how lucky we had been at this place. On arrival in Sihanoukville, we tried to stay at a guesthouse that was highly recommended by various travel guides. However, when we got there, it was fully booked. When we returned to Sihanoukville from the island, we actually found out that the guesthouse where we wanted to stay had devastatingly burnt down. No one was hurt, but a lot of luggage had gone up in the blaze. Again, we were very lucky…always a good thing to be when travelling.

On our last night in Sihanoukville, we met up with Jo and Tom for the final time. After here, we would be traveling in different directions and so decided to have some drinks down on the beach. It was an amazing evening, fueled by cheap beer. Meeting local people is always great and you learn so much of country by doing so. But it’s also fantastic to meet lovely, like-minded travellers. Exchanging stories and information is so much fun, especially if you’re travelling alone or as a couple. So, once again, it was time to say goodbye to Jo and Tom. For us, we would be travelling down the coast, eastwards and to Kampot. Here we would get covered in dust, eat incredible sea food and say goodbye to Cambodia…until next time.

Phnom Penh: A Dark History

There were 3 bus options available to us for traveling to Cambodia’s capital from sleepy Kratie: 7$, 8$ and 9$. We went for the 7$ option. This meant that in the mini bus, the rows of seats that usually took 3 people, would actually be taken by 4. It was a bit of a squeeze, but our new friends: Jo and Tom shared the row with us. The journey was relatively painless, with only a few legs falling asleep as the were propped up on the seats in front. As we crawled into Phnom Penh, it became instantly apparent just how quiet Kratie was in comparison. Traffic was already pilling up, skyscrapers lined the river edge and it wasn’t difficult to spot tourists walking down the streets. We felt like very little fish in a daunting and noisy new world.

As we jumped off the bus, the heat quickly inveloped us. We dodged what felt like a hundred taxi/rickshaw drivers and headed south in search of cheap accommodation. Tom and I took the lead (I was secretly just following him!) and the girls had a good chin wag a few meters behind. We had an idea of our destination, but didn’t really know if there would be any suitable hotels/guesthouses there. We walked for quite a long time. At one point, I’m sure someone attached a couple of rocks to my bag and my back was quickly giving way; time for a break. Finding a little cafe, our bags literally fell off our backs and we slumped into the fine plastic chairs provided. A cold jug of beer was quickly ordered and all of a sudden, our problems seemed to dissipate as we gulped down Phnom Penh’s finest nectar. Soon enough, Tom and I were called up by the girls to go find a place to stay. Relieved from our bags, searching the nearby streets was almost effortless in comparison with our earlier walk. It took no more than 10 minutes to find a nice guesthouse. Although it was a little out of our budget at 8$ a night, we felt that it was close enough to Phnom Penh’s main attractions (saving travel costs) and we excepted it with open arms.

Phnom Penh’s most famous tourist attractions include the killing fields, just south of the city and S21 – the school turned security prison ran by the Khmer Rouge and the site of over 20,000 killings between 1975 – 1979.

The 4 of us walked to S21, locally known as Tuol Sleng genocide museum. It was clear to see how this place was once a school. Simple buildings, full of classrooms, playgrounds with climbing frames; it was once a place of learning, happiness, you could almost still hear the children playing. But the Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot soon changed this innocent place. The buildings were enclosed with electrified barbed wire, classrooms turned to interrogation and torture rooms and the windows were fitted with bars to prevent escape. The whole place was kept, exactly as it was found back in the late 70’s. The steel framed beds remained with the chains and torture equipment. Blood stains still visible on the cold concrete floors. Rudimentary prison cells still intact for new generations to view and learn from the horrors of the past.

Classroom turned torture room.

Chalk-boards still in place.

Walking through a nightmare.

As the prisoners were captured and brought to S21, each individual was photographed. These mug shots are now on show and line the ground floor rooms. So many innocent faces, including women and young children. As you move through the rooms, the photographs of the captured turn even darker. As proof death, the Khmer Rouge soldiers would use photos of the dead prisoners as proof that they performed their duties for their superiors to see. Brutal photographs showing twisted, burnt and abused bodies line the walls. It was truly gut-wrenching to look at. Innocent babies were killed and photographed, simple farm workers, men and women alike were tortured using rudimentary tools and shown no mercy. So many images, so many faces and so many fearing and tearful eyes. A place, submerged in blood soaked history and a visit we shall never forget, nor forgive.

Barbed-wire holding the innocent in.

Once a school…

From here, we flagged down a tuk tuk and headed straight for the infamous killing fields. An area where both dead and alive Cambodian bodies were brought. Here, the mass graves of thousands are still visible. Walking around the eerie site, it’s not hard to imagine the brutality and suffering that once happened here. It is said that 14000 Cambodians are buried at this site, but no one really knows the exact amount. One poignant place here is the tree in which young children and babies were killed through bashing their bodies against its trunk. It is now used for remembrance of the lost lives and covered in red wrist bands. Although an important insight into the gruesome history that once encaptured this land, it was an incredibly hard and a very emotional day for us.

Mass graves.

Remembering those that had no chance.

The following day, Malene and I had our work cut out. We started off at the Vietnamese Embassy and arranged our visas. This was all very exciting. We were taking the first steps towards visiting what was probably my most highly anticipated country. After all the horror stories of fake visas issued by hotels, it was nice to be reassured that we wouldn’t be turned away at the border. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Vietnam was still a couple of weeks away, and we were loving Cambodia!

Second item on our shopping list for the day was our return flight ticket. We hunted down the Qatar Airways office (hidden pretty well) and began the long and laborious task of changing not only our outbound dates, but the outbound airport as well. It took hours. At one point, it looked like we were hitting an unbeatable brick wall. But our persistence paid off and finally we had our new ticket in our hands. The date was set. The airport now changed to Hanoi, Vietnam. All that remained was for it to sink in. Time to grab Jo and Tom and order a tower of beer. I mean, literally a tower. 3 liters of chilled Angkor beer for 17000 Riels or about £2.80…it was a great night with two amazing friends. Thanks for all the good times guys and even more so, all the fantastic information on Vietnam. I’m sure we’ll meet again soon.

And for you Phnom Penh, what an emotional ride you gave us. We will remember your history and feel for all the families that have lost during your horrific ordeal. A country that lost 4 million people out of a population of just 7 million is a number hard to comprehend. A history never to be forgotten.

River dolphins and new friends: Kratie

It was a long ride to Kratie. Lying south east of Siam Reap, the bus took 12 hours, a lot longer than we had mentally prepared for. With an endless Cambodian musical film blaring out of a million different speakers, it was hard to rest, sleep, think. In fact, it was hard to do anything other than watch. We won’t be forgetting this trip for a while. As the hours passed us by and getting no closer to our destination, we watched the sun set and ate our funny tasting meat-filled baguettes that we picked up at an over priced service stop. We hoped it would all be worth it.

Finally we pulled into the small, sleepy town of Kratie. According to Lonely Planet, Kratie (pronounced ‘Kra-cheh’) is a “lively riverside town” and a “thriving traveling hub”. Admittedly, it was 7pm, but we saw nothing that resembled ‘thriving’ or ‘lively’. Still, we plodded along, laden with bags and searched in the darkness for a place to stay. The place was dead. Shutters up and closed signs on windows gave us little hope. We started talking to a Dutch guy who had visited the town a few years ago and steered us towards a small opening between 2 chemist shops. Up 2 flights of steep steps, we could hear the scuttle of little animals; we didn’t investigate fully into what they might have been, probably not fairies though. Into our room, bags on bed and the usual sigh of relief as we fell onto the hard, unforgiving mattress. Home sweet home.

The following morning, we weren’t in any rush to get up early. We came to this town for the sole reason to see the ultra rare, fresh water Irrawaddy dolphins. But that comes later. We stumbled down from our room and onto the not-so busy street and wandered to a nearby cafè. There were met a few travelers, Damian the Argentinean dancer and Canadian Sam, all of who had the same plans as us…dolphins. We checked with the information desk as to the best time to see them and were informed that our best chances to catch a glimpse of the dolphins would either be early in the morning or as the sun was setting. Our hand was dealt. It was too late for the morning show and so opted for a sunset on the river. All that remained was to plan the rest of the day. Down on the river bank, Malene and I caught a boat. We were joined by Damian and Sam and together we crossed over to the habited island of Koh Trong. A circular tour of the island was 9km, to far to walk, and so the four of us hired what must have been antique bicycles. We squeaked and grinded our way down a small track. We passed houses on stilts and watched locals farm in nearby fields. It was all very calm and felt like a world away from tourists and tuk tuks.

As we traveled further along the pebble track, we reached the waterside. Floating houses and small fish farms covered the water, like a civilasation untouched by technology. We pushed further along the waterside until we reached the tip of the island. With the heat rising and the sweat pouring after the ride, we decided to go for a swim. The cool water felt like heaven. We actually bathed like elephants and sat in the shallow, rich blue water as we got to know each other a little better. It was a perfect afternoon.

Peaceful Koh Trong.

A life on the water.

A forgotten era.

Looking for directions to…nowhere.

Back on the main land, the time was soon approaching for us to head out to the section of river where we would try and find the river Irrawaddy dolphins. We knew we had to take a tuk tuk, the problem was that there were 6 of us now and tuk tuks only take 4 (tourists, different for locals!) and so wanted us to book 2 tuk tuks. This meant the ride would cost much more; not good. It was then that we met 2 other like-minded travelers: Jo and Tom. They had scoured the streets and found a guy who would take all 6 of us: nice work guys!

We crammed ourselves into the tuk tuk, trying to balance the weight out evenly. It actually felt that the motorbike that was pulling us was performing a wheelie most of the way due to the weight. To say the ride was bumpy would be an understatement. Well, ‘bouncy’ then. But the excitement kept us from feeling sick, and half an hour later, we reached the ticket office at the side of the river. We paid and headed down the steep steps to the waters edge where a fleet of boats waited for us. We gingerly hopped on board and as the driver started his rather loud engine, we set off. It wasn’t long before we were floating in the middle of the river. With the engine cut off, we waited and watched the still water for signs of movement beneath. Like searching for the Lock Ness monster, the levels of anticipation were tangible.

And there it was. Poking his dorsal fine high out of the water, the dolphin made his first appearance. Like a magical creature, gliding through the water, we watched with mouths open, in awe of the creature. This was the first of many sightings. Occasionally, 3 or 4 or 5 dolphins would surface and swim along side the boat. One even came directly towards us and only at the last second, dived underneath and past under our boat.

The first of many sightings.

Just saying ‘hello’

Going under the boat…show off!

As the sun began to set, the evening colours came to life. Deep reds reflected on the water as we continued to watch the dolphins. Cameras were out, but predicting their appearances was a challenge. Being so close to such rare creatures, kind of brought it home for us. A once in a life-time experience of nature at its finest and an experience shared with great friends; it was all we could ask for.

Kratie was a relaxed, quite stop for us. We tried the local delicacy of sticky rice cooked with coconut milk and beans then wrapped in bamboo and steamed…I would say ‘filling’ is how I would describe that one. But more importantly, we met some great people. Damian and Sam went a different direction to us, but Jo and Tom would stick around and travel with us down to the capital: Phnom Penh. More great times were just around the corner!

Good night Kratie, thanks for the great memories.

First steps in Cambodia

Crammed like sardines, Malene, our two new friends Ellen and Anton and myself began our journey from Surin (Thailand) to the Cambodian border. With horror stories of lost passports and border officials over charging for visas, we made our way through the dense heat in our mini bus, fully equipped with the worse A/C system imaginable. Although uncomfortable, with our bags sat on our laps, the journey itself wasn’t too long and before we knew it, we had arrived at the desolate border. The taxi drivers, touts and guides rushed around outside the bus as we clambered out. Fresh tourist blood was here, and they wanted us! A million polite refusals later, we edged our way towards the visa office. One ‘guide’ who appeared to dismiss our refusal for help, walked in front of us and despite all the clear sign posts, he wanted to help us, and we let him. This, in all fairness, wasn’t a terrible idea.

We filled out forms, handed over our passports, payed in Cambodian Reils (not dollars like the guidebooks said) and waited as our guide ran between offices and got all our paperwork sorted out. Then came the taxi. It took us 45 minutes to haggle for this taxi. Our ‘guide’ was clearly getting commission and wanted to squeeze as many dollars out of us as possible. We argued. We haggled. We refused silly offers and nearly decided to walk away and find our own transportation. This final ploy always works a charm. The price was almost instantly dropped and there we were, shaking hands on the grand sum of 800 Baht per couple (£18).

The guidebooks claimed the journey would take around 6 hours, on roads barely fit for mountain goats. We prepared ourselves for the worse and hopped into the car, cranked up the A/C and set off. As we made our way down the high-way, the tarmac was smooth and void of any major holes, great start. As we continued along, we were still flying, enjoying the smooth ride and watching the countryside pass us by. One section of road, no more than a couple of hundred meters long, had been neglect of maintenance and we carefully plotted the best route through; this was the worse part of the ride and within 1 and a half hours (!), we were in Siam Reap. Void of broken backs and shattered teeth, the journey was smooth and extremely pleasant…thanks Lonely Planet for yet another bang on report.

Ah, Siam Reap! Even the name for me is cool in itself. Like an eagerly unread book, we were all excited to start exploring. And that’s exactly what we did, fully laden with backpacks, front packs, side packs: all the packs you can think of! We ploughed through the thick, unforgiving heat as we searched for a place to stay. Hotels, guesthouses, lodges; all seemed expensive and we were loosing hope as well as severe amounts of bodily fluids. Finally, as our exhaustion reached a new high, we stumbled on a little guesthouse that offered double rooms for 7$ a night, free pool (pool table, not a swimming pool as I first thought), hammocks and a bucket full of charm. They gave us free water and we felt like we had found a lost oasis in the middle of a sparse desert.

There are 2 main attractions that pull tourists into Siam Reap: the old market and Angkor Wat – sometimes claimed as one of the 7 wonders of the world (Angkor Wat, not the market) and we were excited to explore both. The market area is crammed full of little shops selling all the usual riff-raff, banana and chocolate pancake vendors (delicious), bars, restaurants and tuk tuks. Ah, the tuk tuks. Never have we been so bombarded by tuk tuk offers before. I personally think its a little game they play with tourists. See how many tourists they can make angry by constantly offering a ride. These guys pop up everywhere; on the street, in shops, at the bars, out of random windows – it became the standard greeting – “tuk tuk?”

Market done, we arranged to hire bicycles at our guesthouse (1$ per day) and decided to get to the Angkor Wat temple area for sunrise. Waking up the following morning at a ridiculous time, Malene and I hopped onto our rusting bikes and headed off into the morning darkness. With sleep still in our eyes, we flew out of the city and away from the street lights: darker still. As we edged closer to the temple ticket counters, the buzz was already alive. Tourists in tuk tuks arrived and we all lined up for our day passes to be printed off. The whole process was far more professional than the border crossing: set prices left no ambiguity and we even had our mug shots taken which were then printed onto the tickets. There was certainly a few things the border crossing offices could learn from a place like this.

Still under the light of the moon, we got back into the saddle and continued for a further 20 minutes. At the main steps of the temples there was a feeling of excitement as people loaded themselves up with caffeine, happily supplied by vendors, or sugarcane juice that has a similar effect. We locked our trusty steeds up and walked towards what was now an eerie shadow of the incredible Angkor Wat. Perched on the edge of a lily lake we waited along with 200 other people for the sun to rise behind the majestic temple. It was magical. A monument stooped in history and grandeur to match, we watched in silence and overcome by its beauty. As the sun rose, it became clearer and clearer. It’s colours and symbolic shape reflected perfectly in the lake, a symbol of power and grace, it was sublime.

That day, we followed meandering tree lined roads around the huge temple site. Visiting some incredible awe inspiring buildings and truly feeling like part of the Tomb Raider film. Temples surrounded by lush green forests which gave the whole place a sense of history and mystery. The magnificent Ta Prohm with the huge tree engulfing it was definitely another hi-light to what was an amazing day of exploring.

The ride back to town was hot, but well worth it as I raced a tuk tuk (and won!) and exchanged some strange glances with its occupants. Our final evening was spent watching a local circus, and as they performed tight rope tricks and insane 3 man high stunts we felt such a warm feeling (inside and out) and thought Cambodia is already incredible, how can it get any better? ‘Better’ would be in the shape of Kratie; our next stop, a grueling 12 hour bus ride away.

Crazy market, the smells were…interesting.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Trying to get the best shot.

Religion and history go hand in hand.

Entrance to mystery.

A rare, indigenous lizard.

More rare wildlife.

Ta Prohm: What came first, the tree or temple?

Looking for Lara Croft.

On top of an ancient world.

Cycling *cough* effortlessly.

Circus time.

I don’t even know how this is possible?

We love Cambodia!

Bridges, temples and silk: Thailand

In an attempt to catch up with our travel blog, this post will cover our final 3 destinations in Thailand: Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya and Surin. All 3 were quite different from each other, and in a way, ticked most of the boxes we had for our visit in Thailand. In all honesty, we had expected more from this country. After reading so many rave reviews, we felt a little deflated as we toured around. So, apologies for those that love Thailand, but personally, we didn’t feel the magic that we expected. Maybe that was the problem; we ‘expected’ a little too much. We also appreciate that it is a huge country and we only dipped our feet in for what felt like a matter of seconds in comparison with India and Nepal.

I think our biggest issue here was money. Much like every other traveller, money and budget play a huge part and truly dictate how you travel, where you stay and for what duration. Keeping a close eye on your wallet is always good advice, despite how mundane it can be.

Compared to India and Nepal, Thailand proved to be very expensive. Certainly travel costs seemed to be far more costly, but accomodation and food were also slightly more inflated. This wouldn’t usually be a problem, but our budget was already set, and if we wanted to ‘last’ out here, then we needed to find cheap and cheerful options: everywhere. Without further ado, I present to you Thailand’s greatest asset: 7/11! Every time we entered one of these convenience stores, we felt like we were cheating. We came all the way across the world, to this beautiful country and appear to spending rather a lot of time in the heavily air conditioned 7/11 shops: crazy! But for those on a shoe-string, these shops were a real money saver. Beer (yes, I’ve started a list with ‘beer’), water, bread, noodles, toilet paper; everything is cheaper in these shops and we really roped back in some of the lost savings that we spent on buses, trains etc. Of course there are street vendors serving up delicious, often an indistinguishable array of delights, but for day to day supplies (water is the obvious big one) then look no further: and trust me, you don’t need to look for them…7/11’s everywhere. In fact, 99% of the time, you can be stood on the doorstep of one 7/11 and if you look down the street, you’ll surely spot another.

Back to Kanchanaburi, our first stop outside of the wonderful Bangkok capital. Lying 4 hours north west on the banks of the river Kwai, and stooped in history, we chose this place for rather obvious reasons. The river itself is beautiful, with water lilies dotted all over and the fantastic back drop of the nearby mountains, every photo taken was like an instant postcard. Our first of 2 guesthouses was on the water itself. Suspended on floating barrels, we felt the slow, gentle rocking motion of the water as we lay in bed that evening. The town itself has been described as a mini, relaxed version of Bangkok – relaxed, yes…but we couldn’t see any other resemblance to the big city. Like a small fishing town, with a few bars and huge flowering bushes lining the streets, Kanchanaburi felt far more rural: a perfect place to rest up for a while. Our second guesthouse was also situated on the river, slightly further away from the centre (which dramatically dropped the price) and offered great views over the river: sunsets here were dreamy, with powerful orange and red tints of light reflecting over the calm water, another postcard view that we felt lucky to part of.

The main attraction here is of course the bridge over the river Kwai. Made famous by the 1957 David Lean film, the bridge itself is a mass of black steel, with the train tracks running across it. The museum is well worth a visit and quickly paints a horrific picture of the slavery and grueling conditions the POW’s faced when constructing the bridge. The heat of the midday sun was well into the 30’s, which made it easier to imagine the suffering that they must have felt. We took the train across the bridge itself, which is a memory that will stick we me for a long time. By closing my eyes, I could feel the dead, stuffy breeze pass through my clothes. I could hear the rhythmic clunking of the track below, which painted a picture of tired men, labouring their heavy sledge hammers and constantly under attack from the brutal Japanese army. It was a difficult concept to try and understand, a lesson of modern slavery and we both felt a wave of gratitude and compassion for all of those involved.

Our second stop proved to be quite different to both Bangkok and Kanchanaburi. Ayutthaya is home to some very famous and fascinating temples. The historical park itself is spread across many acres, with hundreds of temples and Buddhist monuments, you could easily spend a couple of days getting lost and exploring. Lush green grass and shady trees adorn the park and as we cycled from one area to the next, it was fun to imagine the life and energy that once was. One of the most memorable images here was at Wat Mahathat and the stone head of Buddha entangled in the roots of an old fig tree. The huge 37 meter long (8 meter high!) reclining Buddha at Wat Lokayasutharam was also incredibly impressive and a true tribute to the past artists and sculptures.

On a slightly different note, Ayutthaya also has some of the strangest, coolest tuk tuk’s we have seen so far. Looking like something from the future, all brightly colourful and even a Batman one: fully equipped with a batman figure glued to the roof, brilliant! We stayed at a tiny little internet cafe which only had a handful of rooms, but had two things that Malene and I have been looking for all over Thailand. Firstly, it was cheap as chips, secondly, and a huge bonus, it had A/C…oh what a delight! We even had to break out the sleeping bags which were starting to collect dust. It was certainly nice not to sleep in a pool of our own sweat for once: 200 baht (£4 a night) for those interested. It was next to this place that I had my first ever Thai full-body massage. As lovely as the girl was who gave me the massage, I sort of felt like she broke me. I have absolutely nothing against larger women, but my spine has a different opinion! It will be a while before I get another massage, and probably even longer until I walk with a straight back again.

Our final stop in Thailand and possibly our quietest stop, was in Surin. North east of Bangkok and close to the Cambodian border, this sleepy town would be our port to Cambodia and our chance to see hand woven silk, a famous Thai skill and one we didn’t want to miss before leaving. Staying at a remote homestay, we started to feel a little bit more of what Thailand had to offer. Away from the buzz of big cities, tour agencies and inflated prices, it was great to finally enjoy Thailand. The silk village that we visited was equally quiet and secluded and a lovely setting to experience hand woven silk garments up close. The patience and skill the women have in weaving was breathtaking to watch. A small team of ladies, each with individual roles would effortlessly weave intricate and detailed patterns using the ultra-fine threads of silk. It was so wonderful to see the traditional methods still being used and reminded Malene and I of the simple beauties of life. Patience, hard work and dedication can all be admired and learned from an afternoon here at the silk village.

It was a brief encounter with Thailand, much like this post. Short and sweet sums our travels around this country and we wish, in some ways, that we had more time and definitely more money to explore it further. We’ve heard so many great things about the north of Thailand, but with our ‘home-dates’ firmly set in our minds and 2 highly anticipated countries to go, it was time to close this chapter and begin another. We were also lucky enough to meet two fellow travelers: Ellen and Anton who would bravely join us to cross the Thailand/Cambodian border. That journey, however, will be for the next post as I feel I have already bitten off more than I can chew for one entry!

Onto country number 4: Cambodia, will it prove to be better than Thailand?

Entering Thailand: Bangkok

Apart from sitting at either end of the plane from each other, the flight over from Kathmandu to Bangkok (via good old Delhi) was pretty harmless. Shabby food, mediocre film, but the most incredible views over the Himalayas and the mighty Mt. Everest.

I will admit straight away that I was pretty worried about our arrival into Bangkok. Hearing stories about the hussle, the dirt, the traffic and Kao San road led me to think that we wouldn’t enjoy our stay…maybe we could just stop over in the city for one night then move on. It would turn out that I couldn’t have been further wrong about the place. This is a common problem I have with travelling and pre-reading about our future stops. It’s so easy to skip all the positive reviews and weight too much influence on the negative comments. When booking a hotel, we would often flick past the ‘good’ reviews and read the negative ones, thinking for some reason that they carry more truth. It’s a crazy idea. Follow these rules and we’d end up sleeping on the streets, which obviously we don’t! I suppose its a way to try and get the best value for our money…but those negative reviews, be it for a hotel, restaurant, a tour, a temple: you name it, negativity isn’t hard to find, you just to take those comments with a rather large pinch of salt.

We arrived into the airport, struggled with our visas for a little while then grabbed our bags and headed for the taxi rank. There were no tuk tuks, no bicycle rickshaws and no vehicles that appeared to have more than 50k on their clocks: where were we? All the taxi’s, with gleaming yellow and green paint jobs, had full leather upholsteries, A/C as standard and most ran on chrome alloys; we were confused, but on the inside, a little happy! Our ticket was punched in and our taxi driver met us at the ticket counter to ‘guide’ us to his car. This car in fact turned out to be the only pink painted car in the entire underground parking lot…it was getting better and better!

The ride into the city was taken in silence, just like our first experience of Delhi 6 months previous, but for completely different reasons. We were starring at pure wealth. Cars worth more than the average house in the UK and skyscrapers draped with huge digital screens offering the latest in technology. A mere 3 hour flight from Delhi had delivered us into yet another world.

By the time we hit town, it was already in full flow. Bright lights lined the streets, blinding tourists from bar to bar. Each bar that we passed blared out various genres of music, from jazz to hip hop, classical to death metal, it was all such a mash up, like a menagerie without a theme. But it was fun, and in the nights to come, Malene and I would fully dive into the craziness that is Bangkok.

On our first day in Bangkok, we visited a lovely little art gallery and met the 2 artists whose material was on show. It was all quite surreal as we watched their art being fixed to the gallery’s walls and chatted to them about their ideas. Outside the gallery, there was an interesting array of food on offer, but we had just eaten breakfast and politely turned down the offer to try it out…

As insignificant as it may sound, one of the beauties of Bangkok, and certainly a way in which it differs from India and Nepal, is it’s use of pavements. Of course they exist in the aforementioned countries, but the difference here is that you can actually walk on them: shock horror! In Nepal, the pavement area is used as an extension to shops, or for parking, which makes walking on them impossible. In India there weren’t any, but thats India. Well done Bangkok, another thumbs up from us.

The Grand Palace is kind of a ‘must do’ for those visiting Bangkok. After the initial shock of the price and Malene had hired a pink shirt to cover her arms and chest, we waded through the hundreds of people as we gazed at the impressive temples. True, by this point of our trip, we had already seen what felt like a million temples and were running risk of what’s known as ‘temple burn-out’, but it was still an interesting area. The various monuments all surround the huge Temple of Emerald Buddha which houses a beautiful green sitting Buddha. It was particularly wonderful to listen to the chanting monks and locals which can easily entrance you as you walk around the tightly packed grounds.

Malene and I were trying to get used to the heat, which was different to Nepal and reminded us of what it was like when we first entered India in mid-September. As the midday sun roared down on us, we dived between covered markets and occasionally into air conditioned shopping centers. The only problem with the later, is your body quickly gets used to the cool temperature, and returning back into the sun feels like stepping back into an uncontrollable oven.

Moving around the city is a breeze, especially by tuk tuk, most of which come fully equipped with huge, big-bore exhausts and sub-woofers to match. One lesson we learnt quickly was the various prices for using these tuk tuks. If you didn’t mind a stop off in one or two suit shops, then the price of the journey would be minimal, sometimes free as the driver would get a token for free fuel out of it. If you didn’t want a stop off then the price goes up…a lot! We tried a couple of suit shops, pretended we were interested, maybe mentioned that we would come back another day, but it’s no fun, plus you’re wasting the sellers time, and your own as well.

On the final night, Malene and I travelled across the city to one of its biggest theatres: the Siam Niramit Here we saw an incredible show of dance, music and theatrical play. In the most amazing theatre I have ever been in, we were treated to a show that we’ll never forget. The show included the history and culture of Thailand and even had a river flowing through it. With fireworks, floating candles, elephants, rain and, well, a river: it’s a night we’ll never forget.

On this last evening, we ended up miles from our hotel and found a parked taxi. Thinking it would be wildly expensive, we in fact got a good shock. I was barely more expensive than a tuk tuk and that’s without any stops…perfect, another thumbs up for Bangkok.

We of course tried Sao Kan road for an evening out. It was definitely as wild as everyone makes it out to be. With a huge mixture of people, young and old, tourists and locals all were crammed down the street. ‘Lively’ doesn’t do it justice. With live music in every other bar, we sat down, ordered a bucket and let the street entertain us. They was even a trio of break dancers whose backflips, head spins and turtle walking had everyone in awe.

‘In awe’, kind of sums up Bangkok. The biker groups that perform wheelies down the streets at night, the local police riding around on pink scooters, the beautiful floating houses, the impressive 18 meter tall gold standing Buddha, all add intrigue and great reasons to visit this amazing city. My worries beforehand came from too much reading and too many other peoples negative responses to the city. Personally, I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. True, it is catered for tourists and the prices are double compared to India and Nepal, but for a trip back into ‘normal’ life, Bangkok ticked far more boxes than we ever imagined possible.

P.S. What do you think of the new layout? Photos within the text; fancy I know. Did you prefer the old style, making it easy to skip all the waffle and straight to the pics?