Travel Chaos

So, you may or may not have read in the news there's a bit of problem with travel this week. Planes, trains and roads are all in complete chaos as piles of snow descends on the UK with no means of stopping and unfortunately I managed to get caught up in it. On Friday we flew back from Beijing into Heathrow Terminal 5, the flight was fine but once we'd landed the pilot announced that we'd have to wait "tens of minutes" for a gate to become available for us, this seemed ok as the plane was still running and you could see the terminal building so it wasn't like we were in the middle of nowhere. About 30 minutes later the pilot announced that we were waiting for a gate and would be stuck there for the next hour. He explained that we were 16th in a queue of planes waiting for a gate and it should take about an hour to clear. Although this was frustrating they kept the in flight entertainment on and continued to serve drinks. Once that 1 hour was up the captain announced that we would be stuck for another hour. People were really starting to get annoyed now, we'd already been stuck for 1 1/2 hours after we thought we'd off the plane and setting off home and now there was the possibility that we'd be stuck for another hour. Little did we know. The captain did explain that it was a problem on the ground, that the staff couldn't de-ice the runways quick enough for flights to take off, which was why we were waiting for a gate. This all seemed completely ridiculous as Terminal 5 had cost so much to make and open why couldn't they ensure that there were good practises in place for such an event? I know everyone goes on about how it never snows much in England, but it's been pretty heavy the past 3 years so you'd think they'd be a bit more prepared. Anyway, as the hours rolled in the situation became less funny and more stressful. Everyone was hungry, thirsty and annoyed and the cabin crew didn't have any new information. Eventually the captain announced that we had a gate and we slowly made our way there. Everyone seemed pretty relieved to be getting off the plane.......no such luck. Once we'd parked at the gate we were told that because we were so far away from the terminal building we'd have to wait for buses to take us from the plane there. It really did seem that everything was going wrong especially as we were at the back of the economy cabin so we'd have to wait until everyone else had got off before we had the chance of catching a bus. Another 30 minutes passed by and we EVENTUALLY made it off the plane (good riddance) and onto a freezing cold bus. We'd landed at 3.10pm and now it was around 7.30pm so it was getting cold. Once we were in the terminal it was slightly better, customs and border control were pretty quick affairs but the baggage hall was a nightmare. You literally had to fight to get your bag back as there were hundreds of people waiting for theirs. I was so glad to finally get through arrivals and away for Heathrow and I honestly have never felt more relieved to be home especially after seeing on the news about how flights have been cancelled all across the country and people have become trapped abroad. Phew is a understatement. It was a stressful end to 3 amazing months in Asia that I'll never forget. I think I'm currently in a state of shock as it sinks it that it's all over.....for now anyway. Who knows what 2011 will bring? Hopefully not more snow.....

Beijing Bliss

So, I have finally arrived back in the UK (post to follow over the next few days once jet lag has buggered off) and I'm trying to catch up on everything I've failed to blog about so here's a quick one about our stopover in Beijing. Beijing is a complex city, for one it's absolutely massive. The city and surrounding districts is roughly around the size of Belgium, absolutely mind boggling to someone whose once bustling country seems tiny compared to China's 1,331,000,000 (roughly) population which itself is growing at a rate of knots. The city is a constant building site, creating new homes and jobs for the masses and if you've never seen anything on this scale before it really is incredible to see. The subway is packed, if you think you've seen rush hour on the tube, the Beijing subway is about 10 times busier and no one queues, which can be great when you need to shove in at the front of an escalator. The residents of Beijing themselves are lovely people, very charming, inquisitive and shy, some stare at you in curiosity, some with pure fear and some just out of interest. You have to become pretty thick skinned when visiting the city especially if you aren't a fan of staring because people will stare. All the time, everywhere, for prolonged periods of time. You find yourself becoming completely oblivious to it but it does take a few days to adjust.


The city itself is a big hub of ancient history and modern consumerism, throw together in a weird but fantastic mix and there's always something to see and do., We kept ourselves busy with the usual, Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall and Mao's embalmed body and tonnes of shopping, there's so many malls it actually makes me drool to think about it. Before we got to Beijing I didn't have a particularly good impression of it from what other people we'd met had said, so I was really pleased to find I loved it. Although we'd spent lots of time in busy Asian cities, full of cars, motorbikes, hagglers and the sellers and the like, Beijing is in a league of its own and everyday there was something new to amaze me. I'd recommend China to anyone and am definately going to go back and visit whenever I can scrape funds together to pay for a flight (or if Heathrow ever re-opens). There really is something very special about Beijing and here are a few of my choice photos to let you see what I've been lucky enough to see.

Goodbye Vietnam, Hello China

So it has definatly become more difficult to blog. The last 2 weeks have been such a big blur of activity that I've found it impossible to sit down at a computer and write anything. But I've managed to squeeze in a few brief minutes to update on the adventures. After the last post of Halong Bay we head to the mountainous region of Sapa in North Vietnam. Compared to the scorching weather we had experienced in the bay this came as a bit of a shock at first, and we were both quick to comment on how "freezing" it was (we'd clearly not checked the weather forecast for china). The vietnamese don't seem that big on central heating so we were stuck in a cold room with no hot water, bit of a bugger as we'd just disembarked a 10 hour coach ride. Eventually after hot showers and lots of hot chocolate we set off to explore the old French hill station of Sapa, which is so beautiful. It was really weird, being in the middle of Vietnam yet feeling like you were in the Alps. The town itself has adopted a real alpine ski lodge feel to it and apart from the hordes of hilltribe people we could have been anywhere in Europe. The first night was spent exploring and catching up on much needed sleep and on the second day we set off with our new tribe "friends" (i.e women who want to sell you stuff). The men of the town work in the village and surrounding fields and the women learn english, make crafts and head off out to sell them to tourists. They are quite good company though and help you along the way, especially when it got really muddy on the second day trek. The first day was quite tame, 12km trek across flat ground with quite nice weather. We were teamed up with a nice german man called Torsten and an Australian woman called Hayley, and it was nice to have an intimate group. After the day trekking and haggling and buying, we ended up in our hilltribe village, complete with a hilarious sign with such phrases as "DO disrespect local laws" and "DO dress sexy when visiting the village". Clearly the local teenagers had fun with that one. We were staying in a simple house with a lovely family who cooked us the most amazing buffet style dinner and insisted we drink some horrendous local rice wine. There was no sipping involved and after several shots and a long bout of drinking games with some friendly americans it was time to call it a night.

The next day was a shorter walk, only 6km but as it had rained the night before it was so much harder. The clay had become slosh and made it impossible to walk up or down any sort of incline. The only way we made it was through sheer determination and the help of several tribe ladies, some with babies strapped to their backs. We eventually made it back to Sapa, freezing, muddy and covered in blisters but triumphant, the trek was really enjoyable and we met some really lovely people. We caught a disasterous night bus to Hanoi that night and spent a few days in the city before flying to Beijing last sunday. And that's where we are now, hiding from the freeeeeeeeeeezing temperatures outside and enjoying the company and hospitality of the Kemp family. Off to see the Great Wall tomorrow before heading home on Friday after three incredible months. When we return to blighty I'll be sure to write an update on China. Until then..............

On a Boat

So folks it's yet again been a while since I've had a chance to sit down and update this blog. Vietnam has been hit hard with the wifi stick too so I've been keeping connected through my itouch, which is notoriously difficult to type on so I must admit I've yet again left the blog for a bit too long. Sorry blog.

So we're about to enter the final week, the last few have gone by in such a blur it's amazing to think how much we've done, seen and the people we've met. It all started when we left Hoi Ann for Hanoi, after a dreaded night bus, in which I ended up next to a drunk Vietnamese man who took up so much space I ended up sleeping on the floor (not best pleased) we arrived in Hanoi around 7am and were whisked off to a guesthouse owned by a really lovely Vietnamese family. We had to wait a while for a room, as it was so early other guests hadn't checked oout and we couldn't view the room etc etc so whilst we waited Hien talked us through their tour packages for Halong Bay and Sapa, two places we knew we wanted to visit. 1 hour and several sweet coffees later we had an entire week booked up and planned thanks to Hien's expertise and persuasive talk. And the 4 coffees I drunk.

Anyway, 8am the next day we were picked up and taken to Halong City to board our junk boat setting sail for Halong Bay, a beautiful archipeligo of islands off the north coast of Vietnam. Here's a few prime shots:

We'd paid a bit more for a deluxe boat which turned out to be brilliant, although we were the youngest people on the boat, many of the others were older couples or old polish people (who were determined not to talk to anyone else on the boat, EVER). We ended up befriending a hilarious German lady named Evie who introduced herself and was quick to mention that she thought "all Germans are very rude". Priceless. We also met a lovely Canadian couple called Jessie and Marc, who added to my belief that canadians are such a good bunch of people. I know you can't really generalise people according to their nationality, but every canadian we've met since we've been travelling have been amazing. The first day and night were spent kayaking, visiting various island caves and drinking and eating. The food was absolutely amazing, fresh seafood everyday and massive portions. It was served in a buffet style so it was easy to share and what not. The boat staff tried to get us to do kareoke but suprisingly no one wanted to have a go so after a few glasses of local wine everyone headed to bed. The sea was so calm so there were no problems sleeping that night in our posh deluxe cabin.

The next day we left the boat at Cat Ba island and joined another group on the not-so-deluxe boat next door. There were 27 of us in total (our guide made a point of telling us this) and we were introduced to our tour guide for the next day, Mr Ice T. I can't remember why he was called this but everyone in asia seems to have some sort of hilarious name. We went to Cat Ba National Park and embarked upon a 5km bike ride to a nearby hospital cave. During the war it was used by Vietnamese troops to treat their wounded as Cat Ba island was quite heavily bombed. It was really eerie and absolutely massive, it even included it's own indoor swimming pool and cinema. The bike ride was really laid back, there was an assortment of old city bikes and new mountain bikes and despite Mr Ice T telling us we could only cycle 2 side by side we managed about 6 without him minding. Back at the minibus we drove to the port and took a boat to Monkey Island, where we would be spending our second night. It was beautiful, and completely deserted except for our bungalows so we were really lucky. The sun was out, the sand was white and we soon settled on some loungers and found ourselves sipping cocktails. Started talking to two Australian boys who, VERY weirdly happened to have lived in Bath for a year in 2006. Very very small world seeing as not a lot of people you meet out here have heard of Bath anyway. This led to more cocktails and some beer before we were decided to go with Mr T for a "small trek" across the island to find the monkeys. We wore flip flops and "small trek" actually resembled a hardcore rockclimb up the island. But thankfully we eventually found the monkeys so it was worth it. Except one of the monkeys bit someone, so that was a tad harsh. The evening was spent drinking local beer and playing drinking games until the early hours, the other boat was full of backpackers our age so we could let loose a bit more.

Saturday morning- we got picked up quite early and started our long journey back to Hanoi. It included boat + minibus + another boat + coach and once back in Hanoi we boarded the night bus to Sapa, but that's another post! Check back for more updates, soon to fly to China and for the adventure to be over (sob sob).

Shopping Heaven

Hoi Ann is amazing, actually amazing. If you like shopping then this is definately the place to be. We've spent the past 4 days in various tailors and shoe makers, having fittings and re-fittings (sometimes re-re-fittings) and this is the final result. 3 pairs of boots, 3 dresses, 2 winter coats and 1 skirt is the final result of 4 days of shopping, planning and changing your mind/colour/style/shape etc. Phew, it's been a hard slog (haha). But now we are off to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam for a brief stopover before spending some time on a junk boat in Halong Bay and a mountain village visit to Sapa before flying to China in 12 days. Eeeeeeek. It's flying by now, I cannot believe that tomorrow is December 1st. We've barred ourselves from singing any christmas songs until then (i've definately got a few stored up) and it really doesn't feel like we're on the cusp of December, let along the end of 2010. I know the weather in England is bad, although snow is surely better than rain? Yes. Right off now for a "comfy" 16 hour bus to Hanoi......

Nearing The End

Hoi Ann, beautiful little Hoi Ann. Where China meets Vietnam, with beautiful little alleys and narrow side streets, cute French inspired buildings and over 200 tailor shops this place really is heaven. We've only been here just over a day but are both already in love with the place (maybe something to do with the cheap tailor made boots I just had made, no?) and I'm sure we'll stay a few more days. There's just something enchanting about this crumbling little fishing town.

Once you'd raided the various tailor shops and are awaiting your goods there's little to do except visit old historical buildings and shophouses, drift along the river in a fishing boat or gorge yourself on cheap local beer (9p) and freshly caught fish. It's no wonder people come here and stay a while, I'd recommend it to anyone.

Moving North

It's 7.28am here and we've just arrived in the beautiful historic town of Hoi Ann on the west coast of Vietnam. The weather is definately different up here, probably what everyone has been warning us about so far. It's relatively warm but definately cloudy, it could almost be an English summer day! But no no no, it's definately Vietnam, there's little people in connicles everywhere. I've spent the past 11 hours on a bus shooting up the coastline, very very uncomfortable, the seats were clearly made for Vietnamese people (who, if you didn't know, are TINY).

The last week or so has been a proper beach time. We've been lounging by the pool reading, sunabthing, swimming, watching the sunset with a few beer Saigons', the usual. In the whole 10 weeks we've been away we've never actually spent time sunbathing or relaxing and enjoying ourselves. When travelling you spend a lot of time seeing sights and always thinking you must be doing something but after the intense history lessons of Phnom Penh and Saigon, I think we needed a few days to unwind and gather our thoughts. The north promises more history and culture and China will be rife with it.

We'll probably spend a few days in Hoi Ann, which is famous for it's cheap, tailor made clothing. I will most certainly be stocking up on a winter coat, my own version of some lovely Jeffery Campbell clog boots and a nice new years dress. I'm glad we came here last because I have a better idea of how much money I can spend on things, as we've only got 2 weeks left in Vietnam and 5 days in China.

I love travelling, I really do, but I am very much looking forward to coming home. All my stuff is filthy, and stinks and no matter how many times you get it laundered it still doesn't come out right. It's weird sleeping in a different place every few days and you do tend to get very sick of living out of a bag. But I will miss the freedom. Obviously returning to the UK means a return to employment, so that's a slight downside but this trip is only the beginning of (I hope) a life of travelling so I guess I need a job to fund that.

Right that's all for now, it's weird thinking that 3 weeks today we'll be landing at Heathrow, I bet it'll feel like nothing's changed. Look forward to seeing everyone very soon........

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11814894

I was so sad to log onto the news this morning to read the story about the tragic cambodian stampede in Phnom Penh. It doesn't really feel real as we were only there just over a week ago and the capital was such a vibrant pumping place. As a country cambodia has got such a terrible history and has been through a lot so it's really sad to read that such a disasterous event has happened. It would be bad enough if this happened somewhere like england, but cambodia is still such a poor country and doesn't have the medical resources that we have to cope with such an event. hopefully they will receive help off other countries if it's needed to get through this disaster.

And This One.....

Rush hour traffic anyone?

Over and out...

Saigon

Try crossing this road........

Impossible.

Cambodge

Cambodia, or Cambodge to the French. What a country. I thought I loved Thailand and Laos but Cambodia is by far my favourite. I think it's because as a country it's been through so much, and yet the people are so hospitable and friendly you can't help but fall in love with the place. We started out in Kratie, an old riverside town in the northeast nearly 2 weeks ago, then moved to Siem Reap, a beautiful French colonial town in the West, home to Angkor Wat, and several hundred amazing restaurants and bars and now we're in Battambang, where we have experienced the delights of the bamboo train, an old, soon to be disused railway line where you can sit on a rickety bamboo platform in wheels powered by a motor and shoot through the countryside. Although it was a tad bumpy it's such a lovely little experience, and you get to see a really rural part of the country. The people in the village you stop in are really kind and giving, which is such a change to everyone trying to sell you something or rip you off. They're going to stop running the train in the new year so the government can make a proper railway through Battambang linking it to the rest of the country but it will be such a shame to lose something that is so special and such a tourist boost to the people of Battambang because to be honest, apart from a few beautiful old french villas there's nothing going on here. We leave tomorrow to head to Sihanoukville, then onto Kampot and finally Phnom Pehn before we cross over to Vietnam sometime next week. It's suddenly dawned on me how little time we have left (4 weeks between now and our flight to China) so we're having to hurry a little bit and spend less time in places, which is fine. We did spend a while in Siem Reap but oh well, that's the luxary of backpacking, you're not tied down to any specific time limits anywhere, it all depends on how much you like somewhere.

While we were in Siem Reap (for a whopping 8 days) we managed to get a few days volunteering work at an orphanage. Well there wasn't much work to be done you just spent time with the kids, dancing, drawing, playing badminton, football, singing etc. Basically anything that will knacker you out will entertain them greatly. I'm so glad we got to do this, the kids were lovely and really happy and energetic, half the time you felt as if you were at a school, not an orphanage, and they're well looked out for. We bought them some new books/pens/sports equipment and donated some clothes on the last day we went as it's dirt cheap to buy and it was a bit sad how little they had.

Right that's all for now, we're off to the beach tomorrow so hopefully we'll do a bit more snorkelling and cycling before heading to Kampot for a hardcore uphill trek and some serious history lessons in the capital.

Photos Galore

This is a link to my second set of photos to date if anyone hasn't seen them or (dad) doesn't have facebook. It's getting a bit more difficult to upload them, as since Laos/Cambodian internet is much slower/less common/very expensive. So I'm about 2 weeks behind on the whole uploading front. But I will push through! There are some great ones of waterfalls and Mekong sunsets that I'm dying to upload.

Link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=34924&id=264600154&l=0ef09df466


Also, I've been corrected on my previous post about America bombing Laos during the second world war, it was during the Vietnam War, which, in hindsight I did know this as they bombed the Hoh Chi Mihn trail which went through Laos but I obviously wasn't thinking as I typed. Thank you Mr History (Dad again).



After another border crossing, which seem to be becoming increasingly more and more weird we are in Cambodia. We spent 2 days in the south most region in Laos called '4000 Islands'on a pretty little island called Don Det. There's really not much to do except cycle around, laze in a hammock or get very drunk/high. We did the former! We are now in Kratie (pronounced Kra-chey) in northeast Cambodia and tomorrow we're off to see the Irrawaddy dolphins, which are an endangered species so that should be great. Have been reading the Cambodia chapter of Lonely Planet which is really interesting and has got me geared up to soak up some Cambodia culture and lifestyle. It's a country riddled with war and suffering that's only recently brought itself out of it. So I am excited for the next 3 weeks. Then only 3 weeks in Vietnam and a week in China before home. It's definately going far too quickly.



Right, off to freshen up and watch another Mekong sunset.

Love to all.

COPE Centre

So, whilst waiting for our vietnamese visas today we went to a place called the COPE centre across the city. COPE is a centre that details the effects of an american bomb campaign on Laos during the second world war, and how it affected the country then and still now. The time is known as 'the secret war' and it serious was, I had no idea that there was such a campaign on Laos, but it did happen:

http://www.copelaos.org/index.html

American forces dropped over 250million bombs on Laos over the space of 9 years. Around 78million of these didn't detonate and are still live somewhere in Laos. Every year 300 local Laos people die from accidently setting these devices off, many of them being children. It's genuinely shocking to hear the statistics, and to see the photographs, especially since most people who visit the centre have no idea it even happened. They sure don't teach that part of history in schools back home. I found it quite disgusting that something like this happened and so many people don't know about it, Laos is such a lovely country with laid back people and it has such a terribly history. Other countries have spent years abusing it, stealing land etc. It's really really sad. If you can, please read through the website and spread the word about the COPE project, as it really needs to be highlighted.

Long Time No Blog

Sorry blog, I've totally deserted you. It's been a busy few weeks and getting good internet access is hard so for this, I am sorry. But I'm back now and promise to treat you better.

We are now in Laos, which is a lot like Thailand, but completely different. The people look the same, the language is similar but it's much more laid back here. There's a thing called "Laos time" which means nothing ever happens according to any time limit, so don't get stressed, just chill out and ride it out. We've come face to face with this a few times, namely with transport. But can bet your bum that the 8:30am bus won't leave until 10:00am, that the "VIP bus" you've booked isn't as VIP and new (i.e it's a broken down public bus) as you'd been led to believe by the kind guesthouse lady. Everything here is much slower, a much more laid back pace of life. Which is really nice after the hustle and bustle of Thailand, where you can't even walk down the road without someone trying to sell you something/take you somewhere. Very annoying. Laos people also aren't as pushy as Thai's, they're still very curious, especially when faced with two pale English girls. You just have to smile back if you catch someone looking at you, they're not doing it to be mean they're just curious. Laos is also one of the poorest countries in the world, so we have been making a big effort to avoid restaurants and instead opt for street stalls and local shops for food and toiletries. By doing this you can ensure you are helping the local community, rather than a big chain. And there's lots of chain restaurants in the bigger towns. The price is also so much better, if you buy from street stalls it's so much cheaper, you can get a meal and a drink from under a pound, all the food you buy is freshly cooked in front of you so it really is the better option. Definately going off restaurant dining and having someone wait on you.

We're currently in Vientiane, the capital, which reminds me too much of Bangkok so we won't be here long (hopefully). We're going to be heading south next for the 4000 islands, which is an archipelego of islands in the south of Laos.

Very much enjoying our laid back time here in Laos, the only downside we've had has been the english people we've met (not all of them I might add)., The majority of english travellers are like us, friendly, approachable and conscious of local customs and traditions. The rest are rude, loud, obnoxious and have no idea about the damaging image they are portraying of westerners abroad. It's so frustrating when we are trying really hard to fit in with the locals, and adhere to local tradition and things when the boozy 18-21's club are also here. Very frustrating. But apart from that we've met some wonderful people, so it's not all bad.

Right that's enough for one day, I won't leave it so long next time.

Peace.

Visas, Mojitos, Markets

Haven't done much over the past few days except sort out our Chinese visa and meet friends for cocktails. It's weird meeting people from England here because you start to forget where you are, it's like you're not in the middle of south east asia it's like anywhere else. I could be in Bath it feels so natural here!

We're going back to the elephant sanctuary to volunteer for 4 days tomorrow and then we'll be crossing the border into Laos. First stop - Luang Prabang where we hope to chill out and cycle bikes etc.

Will update sometime next week when we have arrived in our new destination.

Goodbye Thailand! Part one is done.

Elephant Nature Park

Early start today to go to the elephant nature park, which is about 1 1/2 hours chiangmai. In chiangmai there are so many elephant parks, most of them do things like mahoot training, where you can learn to be an elephant carer, or camps where you can go and see elephants do things like play football or paint a picture. We decided we didn't want to go somewhere like this as it's pretty cruel so we opted for elephant nature park, which is a charity that was set up in 1995 by a thai lady called Lek. She's from a small hilltribe and has dedicated her life to rescuing abused elephants and setting up this camp. She started with 4 elephants and there's now 33, including 2 babies that were born at the camp. It's such a nice place, and relies heavily on donations from visitors or people around the world. Elephants used to be useful in Thailand as they were used to things like logging, but since that has been made illegal they are no longer deemed useful and therefore are treated really poorly. A lot of them get bought by people that ride them around chiangmai and bangkok in the evening and get tourists to pay them money so they can feed the elephant. They dose them up with amphetamines so they stay awake longer and can earn more money. This is currently NOT illegal in Thailand, and since we've been here we've already seen 2 elephants at night walking round town who looked really distressed. If you want to you can sign a petition to appeal to the government to stop this, lots of locals support the action, it's just the thai government don't deem it important enough:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/street-begging-elephants/

So anyway, we arrived at the park and began to meet the elephants. It's a really open place and they're free to go whereever they want (within the land that the park owns, although they seem to love going outside). Each elephant has a mahout, which is their carer/previous trainer etc. It just makes sure they're not getting up to mischief, as a lot of the young ones are prone to do. So they roam around and you kind of join them. Some of them you have to avoid, like the mothers of the babies because they can get quite territorial, but others you can go up to and pet, takes photos with. There are 2 times in the day where you can feed them, they eat 2 tonnes of fruit and vegetables each so it does take a while to feed them! They usually take the food out of your hands, but some of them (the older ones) like it if you put the food directly into their mouths. We got some really good photos of this so they will follow. You also get a chance to wash the elephants, which involves them stomping into a lake and you following and chucking buckets of water all over them until they are satisfied. You get very wet but it's also pretty funny.

We had such a lovely day at the elephant park, and I could go on for years about some of the abuse some of them have had to suffer. Like one elephant that can only walk on 3 legs because she trod on a landmine and can't use the fourth one. Or one elephant that broke both her leg and spine from years of work. It's really terrible which is why the nature park is doing such good work and is such a lovely place to visit. We both came away wanting to go back, they do a programme where you can live at the park for a week and be a volunteer, but it costs quite a lot and we're running out of time with our visas so may not get a chance to do it. Maybe next week, maybe next year! It's definately a place I would recommend anyone comes to see if they get the chance:
http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/index.htm

We also took 2 days out of Chiangmai to visit my friend Emily from college at a school she works at:

http://www.threegeneration.org/

It was lovely, and very chilled out! We rode bikes and went swimming and enjoyed a massage from the legendary one eyed lady and her mate, emergency back-up. Staying in Chiangmai this weekend to try and sort out some elephant volunteering and to visit the Sunday market again before heading to Laos next week via minibus and longtail boat.

Phew, that was long. Done.

Gay Town

Long time no update, we've spent the last few days moving around the country a bit so it's been difficult to get near a computer. We spent 2 nights in Phuket in the Patong region in Adonis Guesthouse, which is by far the most comfortable place we've stayed and would definately recommend it to anyone travelling to that region. There's loads of expensive Resorts and Spa Hotels around but Adonis was cheap and really good, we even had a DVD player so managed to watch a moving one night. The first night we were there we went our for dinner along the beach strip, which is full of English people. Who are all sunburnt. Seriously, Patong is fast becoming the new Benidorm. So as we were walking back to our guesthouse we stumbled upon the gay district and we decided to go for a drink. We ended up picking the worst bar on the street to have a drink in but it turned out to be hilarious, as "Emma" our brand new ladyboy friend spent the evening flashing us and asking us to come and watch her caberet. Which again was hilarious. After a few mai tai cocktails we stumbled back to our guesthouse and went to bed, as we'd booked to do a boat tour the next day.

After an early start and a trip on a minibus we got to our destination at the top of phuket where we were taken by speedboat to see a variety of local islands, such as Hong island, James Bond island, Nacka island etc, they are all beautiful but they do all start to look the same after a while! Best parts of the day were kayaking through rocks and caves and the speedboat ride through a thunder storm. Although this has left us with colds. Unlucky. That night we watched a DVD and went to bed early.

Up at 6am for a flight from Phuket to Chiang Mai. We looked into the option of getting other modes of transport like a bus or train but they would take about 24hours whereas the plane took 2 hours and only cost around 60pounds. Finally arrived in Chiang Mai on Saturday afternoon and after checking into a guesthouse we'd found in our lonely planet book we went to explore the city.

Chiang Mai is already infinately better than Bangkok, it has so much character and soul, the people are really genuinely friendly (bar the tut tut drivers) and the city itself is so beautiful. It has the old city in the middle, where you can still see relics of the old city walls and gates and then the new city outside. Last night we met my friend Emily, from collyers and spent the evening with her and her friends. They all work at a very posh and exclusive school outside Chiang Mai and were out on a boozy night to which we tagged along. Ended up in another gay zone, rode on the back of a moped and partied til the early hours.

Today we have visited lots of temples and the famous night market, which is in full swing now and doesn't seem to have an end! There is so many beautiful things to see, eat and buy you could spend hours wandering the streets. Am having to restrict myself as bit concerned about money but there are similar markets in Vietnam which is at the end of our trip (nearly) so we're going to go shopping mad there.

That's all for now, off to an elephant sanctuary tomorrow for rescued elephants. Can't wait!

Phi Phi to Phuket

We're leaving Phi Phi today and the absolutely wonderful Viking nature Resort. Honestly if you ever come to ko phi phi you MUST stay here, the staff are so helpful and friendly and will usually come and sit with you and chat for ages which is really nice. When we checked out we each got to choose a necklace to take with us, such a small thing but a really nice touch! Also the other night we came back from having a meal in town and as the resort is so quiet at the moment due to it being low season all the staff were sat around drunk singing "no woman no cry" whilst swigging thai sansong from a bucket. priceless, especially when we joined in.

We've got a ferry booked at 2:30pm going to phuket where we are staying in adonis guest house which is owned by one of Niall's friends, Phil. Hopefully going to get a chance to do some cave kayaking before heading up to Chiang Mai on friday/saturday.

Goodbye beautiful island!

Island Living

We've decided to extend our stay in Ko Phi Phi for an extra night so we can relax a bit before we head up to the north where there is more to do/see. The island is lovely, and yesterday we went on a day excursion by boat to various different islands around our one. We got to do snorkelling and kayaking whenever we wanted, lunch was included and we got to swim to the place where they shot "the beach", which was incredible, despite the beach being rammed with tourists it's a marine park, so there are no buildings or shops or people trying to sell you stuff. Ideal really seeing as that's all you get elsewhere. And our tour guide followed with a waterproof bag so we could all take our cameras, which was nice! The day was supposed to end with a sunset boat ride but the weather took a turn for the worst so we had to cut it short and head back to the main portt where we spent the evening hiding from the torrential downpour in an ice cream shop. Eventually we made it back to our hotel where we discovered the roof of our cabin/bungalow had been leaking so not only did we have no stable electricity as the fuse kept blowing, our room stunk of damp and some of our clothes did too. This was an annoying end to the day but it cant be helped, today we're in a nice clean room and drying off. We're heading for Chiang Mai on Thursday, either by a cheap internal flight or a coach/train and there we hope to go to an elephant sanctuary and do a hill tride trek and sort out our bloody Chinese visas (which are turning out to be such a headache). Also going to catch up with an old friend from college who happens to be living there at the moment. Let the good times roll!

Peace.

Ko Phi Phi

We've made it to Ko Phi Phi - the most beautiful island in the world ( it says so on the postcards you know). It's really lovely, very relaxed compared to the bustle of all the other islands and the mainland, and the taxi was a longboat. The life of luxary! Tomorrow we are going to go snorkelling and kayaking. Very exciting. More to update soon.

Peace.

Bangkok to the Beach

Finally seem to be in an internet cafe where people aren't hoarding round you to use the computer and you can feel free to write and check emails without a mad rush! So I'm a few days behind travel writing. So let's go back.

Bangkok. Wow. What a city, and I don't mean in the best way. Obviously it has it's good points and the people are lovely, but they are hard to find within the sweaty hub of street stalls, tut tuts and taxis. and it really really stinks. we stayed there for 2 days where we met russ and decided our next move down to the islands. Lots of people write about how much they love Bangkok and it's diversity but I found it too hot, too busy, too smelly and there are far too many people trying to rip you off. especially when you happen to be the two whitest girls around. there are some cute side streets where you can find the most beautiful bags and jewellery, but places like khao san road and the surrounding areas are mental. everyone wants to show you something/sell you something so by the time we were on an overnight coach to the south you start to feel relived that you're not in such a trapped, enclosed place.

So we booked the overnight coach to Ko Phan-nan for the infamous full moon party. It was meant to take roughly 8 hours on the coach and 5 on the boat, but typically our bus broke down. At 4am. On some random roadside. Therefore we all piled off and waiting an hour for the next one to show up. Finally made it to the boat and then onto the island, which, again was really really busy due to the full moon (anything up to 30,000 people can attend). Thanks to recommendations from friends we didnt stay in the main party area of Hat Rin, we stayed further up the bay in a place called Ban Kai, in the suitably named 'beer bungalows'. You literally openened the from door to our bungalow and stepped onto your own private beach. Breathtaking. There were loads of other bungalows for no one else seemed to use the beach as much as we did, which seemed such a shame but I guess better for us. Spent a few days sunbathing,reading and washing Bangkok off us before descending on the full moon party. We met some girls in a restaurant that night and ended up going with them and having a whale of a time. There's so many people it's insane, and the beach where the party takes place is very long and white and the sand was amazing. Everyone seems to have face paints and fancy dress (photos as proof) and we spent the evening drinking from buckets, watching people skip over burning ropes and slide down burning slides and dancing on podiums. Then we all watched the sunrise on the beach before heading home. A VERY good night. I would receommend to all.

Now we're currently in Krabi for the night in a really nice guesthouse (although there was a cockroach on the floor in our room. dead i might add) before heading to Ko Phi Phi tomorrow, which is apparently the most beautiful of all the islands. It's hard to upload photos so for now I'm just saving them to the camera. Let's hope I don't sit on it.

Peace and Love folks.

Island Hopping

Can't write much as im in a hostel's internet cafe and thwe bloke has just told us he's closing up. Currently in south thailand island hopping, more to come including a big post about the amazing full moon party last night! wow.

Sawasdee

Hello all (sawasdee in thai), after 2 flights and a taxi ride we have FINALLY arrived in Bangkok. Well, we arrived yesterday morning at around 8am and have slept and ate ever since. Not much more. The flights were alright, we ended up in Mumbai for 2 hours where lots of indian men kept taking photos of us in the airport (started to get a tad annoying). Felt like Lady Gaga from the paparazzi video! Also, our "hotel" is not as it seemed on the website. I mean, for 10quid a night it's what you'd expect really, but the photos on the website lied! Anyway, I will upload some photos asap, if i can find my camera cable that is. I've got a strong feeling I left it at home, which means I won't be able to upload until I get back. Big bummer.

Bangkok is insane. Very very busy, lots of westeners, on Kho San Road people will try and sell you anything, clothes, jewellery, shoes (mum you'd love it), even english university degrees. I could have just got one here! We spent last night in a rooftop bar that had a bloke doing open mike with his guitar. He spent most of the time singing Kings of Leon covers and that kind of thing. Very chilled. Today we slept a lot and now we're going to go to the Chinese embassy and sort out visas before visiting a few temples and booking a bus to take us to the islands tomorrow. It should take about 10 hours but costs nothing so is the best option. Will update again when we get down south.

P.s It's also raining. If it wasn't for the heat I'd think we'd never left the Uk!

bon voyage

so the time has nearly come to board that flight and take the plunge. i am a mixture of nerves,excitement and have those big massive butterflies in my stomach, but this has been a long time coming. although it's been sad saying bye to everyone and leaving bath it's something i definately need to do and have been wanting to do for ages. so here we go, wish me luck! i will update this blog with photos and stories of where we've been over the next few months so everyone, even those without facebook (yes that means you dad) can read it. hopefully i won't bore you to death.

massive love to all.