May 2012 - Sydney and Home

PHUKET TO SYDNEY

We had a short flight from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The airport was very modern and had a funky "rainforest" in the centre of it where you could go outside and walk through. It was pretty tiny and didn't feel quite real but at least it gave us something to do while waiting for our next flight. It wasn't too long and pretty soon we were on the longest flight we had been on for a long time. It was a night flight so we hoped to get some sleep as we winged our way to Sydney, Australia.

SYDNEY - DAY 1

Our flight arrived early in the morning at Sydney International Airport. It was a long time since we had been in an English speaking country and it was all a bit a unsettling. We were now very close to home. We caught the train from the airport and into town. Our hotel was not far from the station and fortunately we were even able to check in early. Although we had some sleep on the plane, it hadn't been good sleep and we were happy to get a couple more hours. Marcus was still feeling terrible so stayed in bed for the rest of the day. Jess got up and had a look around the neighbourhood, but didn't venture too far, other than to grab some food.

SYDNEY - DAY 2

We only had a couple of days in Sydney so no matter how Marcus felt we were going to have a look around today. Jess had managed to do it across half of South East Asia, so Marcus could do it here. We found a local cafe and got some breakfast. It was still very disconcerting to have everything in English. It felt like it was all too easy.We continued on down George Street towards Circular Quay, popping in to the odd shop along the way, including a walk through (but no money spent) in the old Queen Victoria Building, a Victorian style covered shopping arcade.

We arrived down at Circular Quay and took our obligatory photo of the Sydney Opera House. We then walked back around the waterfront and out to the point around the Opera House and looked back towards the Harbour Bridge. We carried on around and into the Botanic Gardens which run up along the side of the CBD. We sat down and watched children playing amongst the bushes and sculptures and then went for a bit more of a walk. We cut back into the city again and paid a visit to the big David Jones Department Store. There was plenty for sale but nothing that caught our fancy, so wandered back through the centre of town for a a bit of a rest at the hotel in the afternoon.

We ventured out again at dinner time on the hunt for a meal. We went for a walk in the other direction down to Darling Harbour. We had a look at the restaurants along the waterfront, but with Marcus' stomach still pretty delicate we didn't see any point in having a fancy dinner, even if this was our last night away...We eventually found a restaurant in the shopping centre overlooking Darling Harbour which served some nice but not too fancy fare. It was a quiet walk back to the hotel before tomorrow...a very big day...

SYDNEY TO WELLINGTON

It was with great apprehension that we arose today. Only a train ride and a plane ride and we would be back in Wellington, with our family and friends who we grew up with. Our big adventure would be over. The train took us to the airport, we check in our bags and waited for our flight to board. It was fitting that we had left New Zealand by Air New Zealand and that our flight back to New Zealand was going to be Air New Zealand too. We were actually paying for this flight with the airpoints earned on that initial flight out.

As soon as we boarded the plane we could tell that we were surrounded by New Zealanders. The familiar (yet a little forgotten) accent and that relaxed look that comes from living somewhere with lots of space. We were both feeling pretty anxious on this flight. It had been a long time since we were going home. This was the end of a long journey. Would we enjoy being back in Wellington again? Would it be the same as we remembered it? Would people be the same as we remembered them? Would landing at Wellington airport be like a roller coaster?

After a few short hours we would have answeres to these questions and more. The plane came in over Makara and through the strait over a glorious, sunny and calm day in Wellington. It touched down without incident, we made our way through Customs and before we knew it we were exiting into the Departures Lounge to see our smiling parents waiting for us. We loaded up our bags into our parents cars, Marcus with his parents, Jess with hers and seperately drove out to Marcus' parents in Lower Hutt. There was the odd new building in Wellington, but in general it was all just as we remembered it. We arrived at Marcus' parents, tired, sick and thinner, but home. Before long we were joined by the rest of our family for an afternoon of catching up.

The next day we decided to make the most of being in another new (but old) city. After catching the train into town we wandered the streets, checking our Lambton,, Cuba, Courtenay, Frank Kitts and all the other neighbourhoods around the CBD. We signed up for cellphone numbers and we were back in society again. A proper coffee and a (expensive) beer and we were integrating ourselves back into what it was all about to be in Wellington. The next month was spent catching up with our friends and family, and all the babies they had made since we left, Marcus returning to work to pay off our trip, Jess finding a new job and then finally returning to our house. Once we moved back in we felt we were really home and we had decided we were happy to be here. Once we got used to the fact that things run a bit more slowly and people need their personal space we knew that this was where we wanted to be. And so, after three and a bit years of adventure it was time to settle down and see what kind of life we could make for ourselves here.

May 2012 - Thailand

BANGKOK - DAY 1

Our plane touched down in Bangkok, the start of so many backpacking adventures for many young people, but for us was close to our traveling coming to an end. After grabbing our bags, we went hunting for a taxi to take us into our hotel, but before we found a taxi a lady found us and before we knew it she had whisked us off to the taxi stand and negotiated a price for us with the driver, including her commission. We then zoomed off in our bright pink taxi through the busy streets, past the King's residence to the Banglamphu area, where our hotel was located.

After chilling out a bit we decided to go check out the neighbourhood. We weren't very far from
Bangkok's famous Khaosan Road, perhaps the world centre of backpackers (having done plenty of travel and met plenty of backpackers, we aren't too sure whether this is a title to be proud of...) It is a reasonably short street full of shops, stalls, restaurants, bars and white people. We hadn't seen so many white people in one place for a while and it was a bit disconcerting...

We checked out the street food vendors before deciding we could probably go for something a bit nicer for dinner so find a marginally nicer place in a small restaurant which looked out over the street. A serving of Pad Thai and a green curry later, all washed down with a couple of Chang Beers, and we were feeling full but not yet amazed. After another wander up and down the street to walk off our dinner we made our way back to the hotel where we hit the hay.

BANGKOK - DAY 2

It was a day of sightseeing ahead so, as is our way, we set off on foot towards the Grand Palace. We had heard a couple things about visiting the Grand Palace. The first was that you needed to have your legs covered if you were going to visit as it was also the site of a number of temples. The second was that you might get approached by people telling you it was closed and instead trying to sell you an all day tour. We expected this might come from Tuk Tuk drivers, but were very surprised that ever person we met along the way, stall vendors to simply people walking along the street, told us the Grand Palace was closed. They certainly had us doubting ourselves, but we carried on determined to see for ourselves. This turned out to be the right thing to do, because the Grand Palace was opening and operating and in fact there were loudspeakers announcing that you should ignore anyone who tried to tell you that the Palace was closed because it was in fact open for visits. The Palace is a complex of various grand buildings built under the reigns of various Thai Kings. There were many huge buildings with massive Thai style spires on top stretching into the sky. There was also plenty of gold around. Very opulent. You couldn't go into many of the buildings but one which you could visit was the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which houses a little Jade Buddha, seated high above you, looking down on the worshippers.

After stopping for an ice-block (Marcus went with red bean..perhaps not the best choice...) we left the Grand Palace and walked down the road to Wat Po, a Buddhist monastery and site of a massive gold reclining Buddha. It is 43 metres long and as it is inside a building with lots of tourists looking at it, it is pretty difficult to see one end from the other. We also checked out the grounds which are a bit quieter but had some cool statues of men in robes and top hats. Not sure what the story was but it was nice to see something different than a Buddha statue.

We were still up for some more Buddhist temples, so we made our way down the street to the river and caught a ferry across to the other side. There were ferries all over the river going in all directions but we ended up on the correct one. Directly across the river is the temple of Wat Arun. This was a really tall temple. We didn't go inside this one, rather we climbed up the steep outside where we got an amazing view across Bangkok along the river and all over the city. It was really hot and the climbing up in the beating sun helped us work up a pretty heavy sweat. After making our way down the temple we found some cold drinks, which we quickly drained, and jumped on another river boat which took us down the river again back to Khaosan Road. It was pretty packed so we didn't get to see much out the windows but it was definitely a good way to get from one part of the city to another.

We wandered back down Khaosan Road, checking out the stalls, before heading back to the hotel to cool down a bit after being out and about in the heat all day. Once dinner time came around we headed back out to Khaosan Road where we found a restaurant down a side street. We had a table in the middle of a courtyard and got some tasty Thai curries for dinner. It was nice and peaceful and the light was low. It was a nice break for us from the hectic city that is Bangkok.

BANGKOK - DAY 3

For our third day in Bangkok we decided to do a bit of shopping. As it was the weekend we were able to head out to Chatuchak weekend market. After a bit of studying we found out that there was a local bus that would take us straight there from a nearby bus stop. We weren't really sure what we were doing, but we managed to find the bus stop and before long a bus with the number we were expecting came along. We boarded, bought some tickets and we were away. The bus was pretty basic, with wooden floors with plenty of holes in them, but we managed to find some seats and after quite a long drive and a few head shakes from the driver when we looked to be getting off at the wrong stop, we made it to the market.

We followed the crowds and entered through one of the many gates. The market was huge. There was basically a path that went in a circle around the middle with stalls as far as they eye could see on either side. Like any good market it was divided up into different sections, clothing for locals, clothing for tourists, food, souvenirs, pets, home wares. If you needed something you would be able to buy it, or some version of it here. The place was also teeming with people so it was slow going through some parts. We wandered our way amongst the stalls, buying the odd thing but mostly looking. We grabbed some tasty street food for lunch, all finished off with a beer and chocolate and hundreds and thousands coated banana.

Much of Bangkok is connected by the Skytrain, a monorail system which travels above the roads. There was a station nearby, so we decided that once we were done with the market we would jump on the skytrain and head down to another shopping area around Siam Square, in the centre of the city. There are a number of big shopping malls around the square selling all manner of legitimate and knock off goods. It was nice to be in some air-conditioning after all that time in the hot sun. There were floors and floors of shops and stalls selling all manner of items, although a day of shopping was starting to take its toll on us and everything started looking the same. There were only so many Pikachu's, iphones and t-shirts with Tuk-Tuk's on which you can look at in a day so we decided that having done a good job on the public transport today we would stop while we were ahead and we took a taxi back to the hotel. All that walking around and looking at shops had taken its toll on us. We were pretty tired, Jess especially, so Marcus had dinner by himself at the hotel while Jess got a couple of hours extra sleep.

BANGKOK - DAY 4

We weren't 100% sure how we wanted to spend our last day in Bangkok so we started out by going for another walk to visit the temple of Wat Saket. It is a reasonably new Buddhist temple built on the top of a hill, which was the remains of a collapsed old temple. There is a path which runs around the outside of the hill, through pretty gardens with statues dotted throughout. Along the way there are places where you can stop and admire the craftsmanship. The temple is right at the top and you can walk through from one side to the other. Wat Saket is known as the Golden Mount and from the top you get a good view out around surrounding Bangkok and in particular to the huge skyscrapers in the distant business district.

It wasn't too far from Wat Saket to China Town, so after walking past a bunch of car part shops we finally manged to come across a series of narrow streets, packed full of various cheap wares, including food, shoes, plasticware and everything else you could imagine. It didn't look particularly Chinese so it took us a while before we were sure we were in the right place. We wandered up and down look at what was for sale, but not buying as nothing tickled our fancy. We came close when we came to the funeral paper area, where you could buy anything you could imagine made from paper so you could burn it at your funeral and it could accompany you to the next life. There were little houses, ornaments and even pineapple! We decided that that was a bit too morbid a souvenir, so instead we start on the walk back to the hotel.

After resting our weary legs we decided to have a drink down at the hotel bar. There was a nice garden bar outside where you could sit in the warm and enjoy a refreshing beverage. We got talking to a Thai guy who was there about our travels and where we were from. He said that he was friends with the owner of the hotel. Apparently he sells them all their carpets. After talking for a while he invited us to go with him to experience some proper Thai street food, not the stuff at Khaosan Road. He seemed nice enough so we went with out into the Bangkok night. Before long we reached a street full of food stalls with tables all around and not a white person to be seen (except us of course). He ordered us some authentic Pad Thai, the best in Bangkok, he said. Before long it arrived and unlike what we had had before this was wrapped in an omelet. It was amazing! So much better than any food we had had in Thailand so far. About half way through our meal a man from a neighbouring table started talking to us in English. He told us about his daughter who was studying in Australia. It looked like our host was starting to get jealous. I wouldn't have thought white backpackers were a novelty in Bangkok, but was nice to be popular.

After a yummy dinner our host encouraged us to go and visit another Buddhist Temple. This one was less on the tourist track. We weren't sure but thought we shouldn't be rude as he had been so welcoming. The temple was a bit more modern than many of the older ones we had seen but still had steps leading up to the door and there were a lot of people worshiping, rather than a lot of people taking photos. We were welcomed with smiles from many of the people who made space for us to sit down on the mats and worship. We felt very humbled and welcome. This made up for all the people who had tried to trick us the day before. Our host was keen for us to continue touring around Bangkok with him, but we had an early flight out of Bangkok on the meaning so had to bring our impromptu exciting night to an end.

BANGKOK TO PHUKET

We got picked up early in the morning by a taxi to take us to the airport. It was a domestic flight this time down to the south of Thailand, another popular tourist destination, the island of Phuket. We hadn't arranged any transportation from the airport to our hostel in Phuket, but we didn't need to worry because we had only been off the plane for a few seconds when we were being bundled into a minivan shuttle. The shuttle filled up with people and then zoomed off through rather uninspiring countryside along wide main roads. After a while the van pulled into a travel agent and took turns to take people off the van and try to sell them holiday activities. We were looking quite grumpy by this point and they knew to give us a wide berth. The van eventually got going again and we had the long trip of stopping at people's accommodation. We had decided to avoid the tourist mecca of Patong, instead deciding to stay at the quieter beach of Kata, a bit further south. What this meant is that we were the last ones to be dropped off, but we did get there eventually.

Jess was still feeling a bit poorly, so decided to have a sleep, while Marcus went for a walk to try and see

what the neighbourhood had to offer. It was about a 15 minute walk to the beach, along paths past people's houses and then alongside a stream that went out to the beach. It was a nice long beach as Marcus walked past all the Swedes and Danes (apparently it is a popular north European holiday spot). There was a resort at one end but clouds forming in the distance heralded the afternoon monsoon rain. Marcus made his way back to the hostel to see how Jess was doing.

After the rain had subsided we both made our way back down to the water for a walk along the beach together. We took our time to get to the resort end where we had a look around. There were a few shops around the place but nothing that sold more than tourist fare. We stopped for a drink and some Pizza at the resort bar on the beach. We sat back watching the sun set and then slowly wandered our way back to the hostel.

PHUKET - DAY 2

We slept in the next day before rising, packing our towels and heading down to the beach for a lazy day lying on the beach. We went for a few swims in the sea but otherwise it was a nice lazy day. We thought about doing some travel around the island on the local bus network (mini trucks with open backs filled with seats) but decided we had traveled plenty over the last while. We had to retreat for the afternoon monsoon, but after that we came out again in hunt of a restaurant for dinner. We found a place that served seafood and after some yummy prawn curry (with MASSIVE prawns) some delicious fresh fish we made it to bed satisfied with our day.

PHUKET TO KO PHI PHI

It was another early start as we met our transfer to the port in Phuket town. It was a bit of a gray and overcast day as our taxi wound its way around the central hill in the middle of the island to the town of Phuket, a relatively drab town where it was clear that people lived, but it didn't look like there was much reason to visit. We climbed onto a packed ferry with loads of other backpackers and a handful of locals and after waiting for a while we were on our way to the island of Ko Phi Phi.

The sea was pretty rough on the way out and there were plenty of passengers rushing to the toilets with green faces but after a couple of hours we came up on the small dock on Ko Phi Phi island. We disembarked and went hunting for some transport to our resort. We were staying on Long Beach, which was one bay away from the main part of the island. Apparently it was only 10 minutes ride away on a long boat. We figured it would be a bit nicer and quieter. Unfortunately we soon discovered that with the rough weather there were no long boats willing to take us there. Apparently it was too rough to land there. A little disheartened we eventually found a boat who was willing to take us to the far side of the main bay. It was closer to our resort but we would still have to walk over the hill and back down again to get to Long Beach.That was easier said than done. With our heavy packs on our back we made our way across the soft sand and then up the muddy rutted path trying to avoid the puddles and trying not to get stuck in the mud. We followed the signs and got to the top of the path before heading off down a side track. We met a guy who pointed us in the direction of a rope which was tied to a tree and then dropped down a steep path towards the beach. Apparently that was how we got down to Long Beach. It was pretty steep and slippery. Thankfully the guy helped Jess with her bag and we were pleased to get to the bottom. We made our way along the sand until we found the first resort where we got onto firmer ground and made our way to our resort, about halfway along the beach.

By this time we were pretty hungry. Unfortunately the restaurant at our resort was closed for the off season, but luckily the restaurant at the first resort was open so we grabbed a table by the beach and got some sustenance. It was warm but not tropical, so after unpacking our stuff into our beachfront bungalow we went for a walk along the beach. It had been a bit of an effort to get there but we certainly felt like we were away from it all on our tropical island. We tried for a swim  in the afternoon, but before long the pouring rain came pounding down and we retreated back into our bungalow. Fortunately it passed after an hour or so and we were able to head back down to the beach.

After chilling out for a couple of hours it was time to do a bit of exploring. We made our way up beach
and climbed the rope we had come down earlier. Unfortunately the 10 minute long boat road to the town wasn't an option so we had to settle for a 45 minute walk. After climbing across some roots, walking along a couple of beaches and traveling through some other resorts we finally found a concrete path which we were able to follow to take us into town. Town was a series of concrete buildings with concrete paths in between. The rain decided to come back again just as we arrived in town so we stopped at a bar on the beach for a couple of drinks. Apparently they did a fire show there at night but we couldn't really see it happening with the wet weather. The rain eased off a bit so we went in search of dinner. After avoiding the Australians who were trying to force us into booking a dive tour, we found a place that served cheap and cheerful Thai curries. The surroundings were pretty basic, but the food was solid and just what we needed. We did a bit more exploring around town but there wasn't a lot to see so we started to make our way back to town. However, along the way we got waylaid by a shop full of fish tanks and tiny fish. We had seen this at Camden Market and thought it looked a bit unhygienic, but figured we had earned ourselves a foot massage performed by little fish. Our worries about hygiene were unfounded as the woman who ran the shop actively scrubbed our feet clean before letting us anywhere near the fish. We then plonked our feet into one of the fish tanks and the little fishes came flocking to eat the skin off our feet. We couldn't help but giggle as they tickled between our toes, but we could feel them gently massaging our feet too. It was a relaxing experience, even when the drunk Chinese man came blundering into the shop and tried to put his feet into the nearest tank. The Thai lady struggled to sort him out but managed to get his feet clean in the end. Our feet feeling clean we then made the long walk (often in the dark!) back to our resort for some sleep.

KO PHI PHI - DAY 2

We decided to make the most of the beach front again and hung out on the beach for the morning. Some reading and swimming and relaxing was what we had in mind for this part of the trip. After a few hours of this we checked out the map of the island and saw that there was a path from the edge of town which led to a viewpoint on the top of the island. We made our way around the path to town but then turned off at the edge and went looking for paths up. We found the right road and carried on into the jungle. By this time it was pretty hot and the road was actually pretty steep in places and there wasn't much shade to keep the sun off us. After about an hour of walking we had a good sweat on, but fortunately it was at this point that we could turn off the road and onto a path into the jungle. The paths were not every well marked, but we kept heading up and eventually, after climbing up and around and over logs, rocks and dirt we came across the viewpoint which gave us a view out over the town and the bays on either side of
it. Like any good tourist spot there was a shop where we could buy some drinks to replenish some of the fluid we had lost on the way up. We decided to head down the path which took us into the middle of town. After 20 minutes of climbing down steep stairs and watching people puffing their way up we were pretty pleased that we had chosen to go down this path rather than up it.

The clouds were coming in at this point so we jumped into the nearest bar and grabbed a drink and some food to eat (burgers, very un-Thai...) and sat back while the rain wore itself out. We checked out some of the tourist shops before the walk back to Long beach. We chilled out for a couple of hours and decided we had done enough walking today so visited the restaurant at the resort at the end of the beach for some dinner. It was nice and quiet, unlike the busier town which was a nice way to end the day.

KO PHI PHI - DAY 3

We had hoped to go on a boat tour today, but the sea was looking pretty rough in the morning so we decided to put it off and put up our feet for the day, hanging out on the beach, doing some more reading and generally taking it easy, dodging in and out of our bungalow into between rain showers.

Having had a lazy day it wasn't too bad walking to the town to find some dinner. We found a place with bright orange walls down a quiet side street. The menu looked good and as it turns out, it was, with amazing fresh noodle dishes. Other than the street food in Bangkok this was definitely the best meal we had had in Thailand.

KO PHI PHI - DAY 4

It was our last day in Ko Phi Phi so  regardless of the weather we would be going on a boat cruise today. Fortunately it was looking reasonably settled in the morning, so we made our way off to the town to get some of the included breakfast and meet up with the Long Boat for the tour around all sorts of exotic locations, including Ko Phi Phi Lei, the island we had been looking at in the distance (it is the island from the Leonardo Di Caprio movie, The Beach) and Shark Bay. The breakfast was nothing exciting, but that wasn't why we were there. It was a big long boat but it was still full of various young people and one older couple. We had decided we wanted to take the long boat rather than one of the bigger ferries. We piled into the boat, grabbed our seats and then we were underway. It didn't appear that our driver an older Thai man, or his assistance, a younger Thai guy who scampered all over the boat trying to impress the girls, spoke any English so it was up to us to work out what we were up to during the day.

The boat ride was OK as we made it out through the bay, but as soon as we got out into open water the force of the waves got stronger. There were some anxious looks on people's faces and some tight knuckles holding seats as the boat slow made its way towards Ko Phi Phi Lei. We rocked back and forth but eventually arrived at the island and entered through the entrance to the bay which was our first stop. There was a white sand beach with jungle behind it and cliffs surrounding the bay. Disappointingly there were also about six other boats, all bigger ferries who were also visiting the bay at the same time and whose passengers were teeming across the beach.

Our boat went further in to shore but the driver didn't want to go right in to shore for fear of getting stuck. So we had to leave our bags on the boat and then drop into the water in our togs. This meant no camera as we didn't want to risk losing it to the sea. The old Australian decided to stay on the boat with the captain. We swam in to shore, walked along the beach and then went back into the water again for a paddle around with the crowds.

We had only been in there a few minutes when the sea around us started sucking out towards the mouth of the bay, black clouds were forming outside the mouth of the bay and people started running out of the bay. We were struck by strong winds and rain and decided out of the water was the right place to be. Then BOOM! The heavens opened and it started to pour with rain and the winds blew a gale around us. We desperately looked for shelter. Most people were huddling under the nearest cliff. There was a tiny shack just up from the beach and we ran for it and hunkered down behind it along with a bunch of other people. The rain continued to pour and the wind continued to blow, battering our exposed flesh with sand from the beach. It actually seemed to be getting worse rather than better. After a while the wind started pulling away parts of the walls from the shack. This was a worry and  before long, one of the tour guides from the other boats told us to get away from the shack because it could collapse at any second. We joined the masses under the cliff which was much more exposed to the sand and the rain and tried to wait it out. The wind and rain did let off a little but it was still coming at us pretty hard. While we had been hunkering down the boats in the bay had been moving around to try and combat the big waves. Some had left the bay to avoid being smashed against the cliffs. Unfortunately one of the boats had ended up stuck on the beach and members of the crew were trying to push it out into the water again. Marcus joined a bunch of other men to help push the boat back out into the water. It was hard going with waves pushing the boat back into the beach every time they managed to get it out, but eventually the boat got turned around and they put it out into the bay.

The weather had settled down a little but was still pretty rough, so we decided to move from the "safety" of our cliff and made our way into the middle of the island. There were big muddy puddles everywhere, but there was also a building where we could get out of the rain and wind. There was no power in there though so it was pretty dark and cramped. We were also starting to feel pretty cold. We had our towels (which were soaking wet) but our bags were still on the boat. Marcus decided to head back down to the beach and see what he could do to get our stuff back. He got to the beach and our boat was now also stuck on the beach. It had come ashore to let the old couple out, but then they hadn't been able to float it again. The captain and his man were trying to push the boat out but weren't really getting anywhere. Marcus had a look over the side of the boat and could see why. It was half full of water. That boat was not going to float again. The captain started handing Marcus bags, shoes and anything else that was loose in the boat. Marcus took as much as he could carry, and took it back to the building before making a few more trips with other people's stuff. The boat was listing dangerously on the beach and the captain was

trying to move it from inside but was getting thrown around like a rag doll. He was looking pretty dazed and it was likely that he had hit his head more than once. A few of the other men from the boat had come down to the beach and we started pushing on the boat in the hope that we could get it back into the water in the same way as the ferry earlier. Unfortunately after a long time of pushing and pulling and stripping out everything from the boat to lighten it (including the seats) our boat was not going anywhere. Ironically we should have known that a boat called "U Rip" was probably better called "U Rip Off."

By now the weather had settled down some more and the ferries had started coming back and taking away their passengers. We weren't quite sure what was happening with us, but the impression we got was that we weren't going anywhere, and we might have to stay the night on the island. With a flight out of Thailand the next day, we weren't very happy with the situation. The captain was still wandering around the place trying to encourage people to eat the rice and shrimp lunch which was in the chilly bin from the boat. Marcus decided to tuck in. Might as well get something out of the day. We waited around for a while longer and then all of a sudden one of the other passengers told us to come to the other side of the island because a boat had come to pick us up. Hooray! We grabbed our bag and barefoot (our jandals were long gone) made our way through puddles and pools to the other side of the island. We came to a pool which we had to wade through to get to some stairs on the other side. The stairs took you up and over a stone wall. However, you had to time your trip up the stairs properly, because every time the waves crashed on the other side of the wall a massive blast of water came through a hole, soaking whoever was unlucky enough to be on the stairs. We made it to the top without getting blasted, but what greeted us was not something we had expected. We were at the top of a stone wall where waves were crashing against it below. We were told that if we wanted to get back to the main island the only way was to jump into the thrashing sea and grab a rope which was tied to a boat about 50 metres out in the water. You then had to use the rope to swim across to the boat and haul yourself over the side. The other New Zealand couple from the trip and the old Australian couple weren't having a bar of it. With our flight leaving the next day we had not choice. Fortunately they had a waterproof bag we could put our backpack in to hopefully keep it dry as we swam out to the boat. The sea was thrashing around us as the rope ducked under the waves but eventually we each made it our to the boat. The boat was full of the other passengers from the trip, many of them crying or vomiting over the side as the boat rocked in the rough seas. Eventually the boat started to make its way back to the main island. Fortunately it was a speed boat so it could make it back to the main island in reasonable time. Unfortunately the boat captain was an idiot and decided that this was the best time to be pulling doughnuts in his boat. This did not do anything to help the crying and the vomiting.

We arrived back at the main island, disembarked from the boat and all the people from the tour wandered off. There were no apologies or even acknowledgements from the tour operator of what had happened. We tried to explain to them that there were still people stuck on the island and that they should be doing something to get them back, but the man who must have been the head of the tour company was busy getting his legs massaged  and his lackeys weren't interested in talking to us. Eventually we had to give up and made the walk, barefoot, back to our resort. We spent the afternoon feeling pretty annoyed that our multi-stop tour had barely been a one stop tour but pleased that at least we should be able to get to the airport the following day. The weather was still pretty average so we chilled out for what was left of the afternoon, before making one last trip back to the main town for dinner at the place we had eaten the night before. It had been an exhausting day and we had had enough of Ko Phi Phi, so made our way back to our resort to pack our bags for the early ferry ride the next morning.

KO PHI PHI TO PHUKET

We awoke to some pretty miserable weather on our last morning in Ko Phi Phi. There was a steady drizzle and unfortunately the long boats were still not picking us up from our beach, so we had to make our way to the port by foot. Fortunately we could wear shoes for the trip. We made it without event to the port and piled in the boat. It was pretty full of people, but we managed to find some seats on the lower deck. The boat eventually got underway, but the rain and wind had picked up by now. We were pleased for our downstairs seats. Unfortunately the rice and shrimp dish from the day before was a bad move on Marcus' part. After all these weeks on the road travelling and eating foreign food, the stomach bug had finally caught up with him with a vengeance. We were keen for the boat ride to go as quickly as possible. Unfortunately there was another storm which had built out in the main sea and the ferry had to go slowly to safely travel through it. That didn't stop the boat from rocking up and down and left and right. Marcus wasn't the only person on the boat feeling queasy. It didn't help when the water from outside started dripping in through the roof. Our hopes that we would at least stay dry were also in vain. An hour and half longer than it was supposed to be, the ferry finally arrived in Phuket town and we gladly disembarked. We managed to get ourselves onto a shuttle which took us to the airport. We had a long time until our flight left, but with the way Marcus was feeling and the disaster of the last 24 hours we weren't up for any more sight seeing. Instead we hung out at the airport, reading and sleeping until boarding the plane too get us out of Thailand...We weren't in a hurry to come back...

May 2012 - Cambodia

HO CHI MINH CITY TO PHNOM PENH

We were leaving Vietnam today by our least favourite form of long distance travel, the bus. However, once we arrived at the bus station we were pleased to see that it was a large air conditioned coach that would be carrying us over the border into Cambodia. It was pretty quiet going until we reached the border at which point we all had to get out and hand our passports to the bus driver before entering a large wooden building. We waited on either side of a barrier as slowly but surely they read out the names of everyone who had provided their passports and you were allowed to make your way through to the other side. Cambodia was one of the places we had been unable to get a visa for in the UK so that was what they were doing with our passports. We piled back on to the bus again and traveled along the noticeably bumpier road towards Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The driver decided it was time to put on a Bollywood movie now so we watched a confusing story about a bad boy motorcycle driver and the girl who he couldn't get. It was confusing but colourful.

We arrived in a hot and sticky Phnom Penh late in the morning. We all piled out of the bus and were immediately surrounded by tuk tuk drivers keen to take us wherever we wanted to go. We picked/were picked by a nice young looking guy with a spacious looking tuk tuk. He drove us through town so that we could drop our bags off at the hostel. We were pretty hungry so asked the driver to find us somewhere to get some good Cambodian cuisine. The tuk tuk driver took us along the river in the centre of town and stopped in front of a Khmer restaurant. We encouraged him to join us for lunch so that we could get what he recommended and learn a bit more about Cambodia. There were lots of other tuk tuk drivers waiting outside, and along the streets, so ours was pretty lucky to have someone to drive around for the day. Our driver encouraged us to try the fish amok. It was spicy and creamy and very delicious. Turns out our driver was studying English and had gotten a scholarship to study at an Australian school. If he did well he would get to study in Australia. The tuk tuk driving was to pay the bills for his family.

After lunch our driver took us around the city showing us the sights before dropping us at the Royal Palace, which is a series of ornate structures which has served as the home of the King of Cambodia, although he doesn't actually live there now, because he has a big house in town. As you would expect the buildings are ornate with lots of statues, high gold pointed roofs and surrounded by beautiful gardens. You can't actually go in to most of the buildings so just need to enjoy them from the outside. One exception is the Silver Pagoda, which houses the Emerald Buddha, a small green Buddha situated high on on a ledge. There were a lot of people worshiping when we came to visit so we paid our respects for a while before continuing to walk around the complex, past ornate painted friezes and a miniature model of Ankhor Wat. We were perhaps a bit hasty in leaving the Silver Pagoda. All of a sudden the clouds rolled in and it started to pour. The rain was bucketing down. We fortunately found some shelter pretty quick but we saw plenty of other people drenched to the bone. The only ones who seemed to be enjoying themselves were the big toads who were coming out for a swim. The tiled squares had turned into swimming pools.

We finished up at the palace and went out looking for a driver. We couldn't find him but as we hadn't yet paid him anything so didn't want to just go with one of the many other drivers who we were waiting for business. Eventually our driver turned up again and we got him to take us to the Central Market, an art deco French dome with four arms that stretch out and lots of tarpaulins keeping the stall holders somewhat dry from the rain, which had now dropped to a drizzle. Lucky it was hot so the drizzle was a welcome relief. The market sold pretty much everything you could imagine, fruit and veges, fish, clothes, jewellery, cleaning products. It was clear that although there was some touristy stuff this one was for the locals to get their day to day needs. We didn't find anything that we were particularly interested in so got the driver to take us to the oldest building in Phnom Penh, Wat Phnom, a Buddhist temple on the top of a hill with a  park surrounding it. It was a bit of a climb to get to the top but luckily there were plenty of stairs with Buddhist lions and Naga, seven headed serpents, escorting you up. As expected there are a series of Buddha inside but unlike the Silver Pagoda this one was relatively empty. We journeyed down past a huge Naga weaved from Bamboo and met our driver. He was keen to continue driving us around but we were pretty tired so got him to drop us back at the hostel.

After a bit of a rest we needed to get some dinner. It was still raining pretty heavy, but we decided to go and check out some market food at the night market. The rain meant the place looked like a giant tarpaulin house and had seemed to keep people away because it wasn't too busy. We found a place to order some food and sat down at the little tables to eat our dinner. It was a all a bit grim to be honest. The food wasn't great, being just greasy and relatively tasteless. There were also a lot of children begging which made us sad. After a quick look around the market we decided to carry on, stopping for a drink at a local bar, where there were too many old white men with young Cambodian women, before heading back to the hostel to hit the hay.

PHNOM PENH - DAY 2

Unfortunately Cambodia is probably most famous for the oppressive regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge who oppressed and murdered their people like no other regime in recent history in an experiment in instantly transforming the country into an agrarian community with no major cities and no intellectual elite. Today we decided we would visit some of the sites that still remembered those dark times. Our driver from yesterday picked us up and took us to S21, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former school which became a prison for political prisoners during Pol Pot's rule. It has been left more or less intact as to how it was discovered when the Khmer Rouge were overthrown. There are empty rooms containing bed frames, leg irons and pictures of the many victims who had lived and died in the prison. It was all pretty basic which just added to the sense that not even a coat of paint had gone on this place for the tourists. They also showed a documentary all about the prisoners who had been there, with a special focus on one woman and her life and the fact that the leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime are still on trial nearly 35 years after their regime was overthrown and many of them still deny any wrongdoing.

After that grim experience we returned to our driver only to find that there were other people in the Tuk

Tuk. It turns out that while we had been visiting the Palace yesterday, our driver had gone off and gotten another fare. Fortunately there were four seats in the Tuk Tuk so there was enough room for anyone. We weren't in any great hurry so were happy to share. Maria and Louis were a couple who lived in Switzerland. She was Swiss and he was Mexican, but they both spoke English in their day to day work so could easily converse with us. Our next stop was in infamous Choeung Ek, better known is the Killing Field. Another horrific site of oppression from the Khmer Rouge regime. Over one million people were executed here with bodies being tipped into mass graves. It was brutal with guns rarely being used, instead rocks and branches were smashed into people's heads and babies were even thrown against trees. Truly sickening stuff. Now it is a peaceful field which you walk around, listening to an audio guide which tells you about all the horrors which had occurred where you were standing. A sad and surreal experience. The tour finishes with a large tower which houses many of the bones and scraps of clothing which rise out of the ground every time it rains.

After a grim day we got our driver to take us somewhere where we could unwind a bit and have a bite to eat. We seemed to have timed things well because before long the torrential monsoon came in again so we spent the next little while eating some more Khmer food and having a couple of drinks. It had been an emotionally draining day so after chilling out at the hostel we stepped out again, grabbed a small bite for dinner and went to bed. It was an early start tomorrow.

PHNOM PENH TO SIEM REAP

We checked out of our hostel early and after getting a present of a piece of money wrapped up to look like a suit and tie our driver took us to the bus to Siem Reap. We had hoped to travel by ferry on the Tonle Sap lake through the middle of the country  but eventually we had given up on that idea as everyone told us that at this time of year the water wasn't high enough and the ferry's often ended up stranded on sand bars. That didn't sound to appealing so eventually common sense prevailed and we decided to book the bus. We met our friends from yesterday and piled on to the bus. This wasn't one of the fancy coaches we had had to date. It was a reasonably basic but we had a seat each and there was room for our bags so no complaints. The journey itself was relatively uneventful. The consistent theme from the city to the country where we were now traveling was still the poverty. Life in the country was pretty basic. Shacks on sticks to keep things dry and pest free. Existence for these people must be pretty tough. We stopped along the way for a toilet and snack break. We decided to play it safe and bought some chippies rather than a bowl of fried bugs, which seemed to be the other main option.

It was mid-afternoon when the bus pulled in to a dusty lot in Siem Reap. Our driver from Phnom Penh had arranged for his brother to meet us and be our driver in Siem Reap, so before long we were on our way to our hostel. After arriving at the wrong place (who knew there would be two hostels with banana in the title?) we eventually got ourselves sorted and checked in. It was pretty fancy, with buddhist and hindu statues throughout the garden at the front and lots of dark wood paneling inside. It was hot, so the complimentary drink was very welcome. After dropping our bags upstairs and freshening up we met out driver again to go check out the famous sunrise over the temple of Angkor Wat. It was a fair drive out of town and the clouds seemed to be rolling in pretty quickly. Our driver assured us we had nothing to worry about so we continued on. We stopped at the edge of the

Angkor Region to buy our passes to visit over the next few days. By this stage the clouds were thick and before long at started to torrentially pour down. However, as we were almost there we decided to carry on and check out Angkor Wat. After taking advantage of the person selling rain ponchos we made our way into the temple. We seemed to be going in the wrong direction, with people flooding out and us being the only ones to be going in. Despite the downpour it was still very impressive, with its huge stone walls, long causeways and giant towers. The rain meant we didn't get to see any of the famous sunset but we did make it to the temple. After a bit of poking around we were advised by a monk that it was time to go so we made our way back out to where our driver was waiting. The rain was still pretty heavy. We happened to see our friends from Phnom Penh so got our drivers to drop us in Siem Reap for a beer. After a drink we were pretty hungry so went looking for something to eat. We found a restaurant in Pub Street that served Cambodian BBQ, so decided to check it out. You get a charcoal brazier with a metal cone on top and sliced meat all around it. As is often the way with these sorts of things you get your meat, dip it in some sauce and then fry it on the cone. We had the usual chicken and beef, but we also had more unusual meats like ostrich, crocodile and snake. This was the first time we had eaten snake. Although perfectly edible it all ends up tasting much the same. It was enjoyable social dining but after a few hours we were knackered, so we bid farewell to our new friends and took a short walk back to our hostel.

SIEM REAP - DAY 2

After last night's sunset debacle we decided we would give the sunrise a miss too. However, by the time we got going it was a pretty clear morning so we were happy with our choice. After breakfast we met our driver who took us out to Angkor Wat again. This time we had all day but we also had a lot to see. We made our way back into Angkor Wat and along the causeway to the main temple. There were still plenty of puddles around from last night's downpour. A close look in some of the puddles revealed that we didn't want to step in them, not because we were worried about the water but more because they seemed to be a favourite place for scorpions to have a swim...The temple itself is a huge square and along each of the walls are intricate carved friezes depicting various events from Khmer history. Keeping watch on the temple were many monkeys, mothers and babies watching you hoping you would give them some food. They were pretty cute but we didn't get too close. In the middle of the temple you climb up to a plateau where there are three towers that you can climb. It was pretty hot already and there were people sitting in the shade wherever it could be found. After a bit of water we climbed up the towers to get an amazing view of the surrounding jungle. Scattered around the temple were a number of Buddha statues, each of them draped with an orange robe and incense surrounding them. Even the damaged and broken Buddha statues were revered.

Many people end their tour at Angkor Wat but we decided to get our driver to take us around some other temples too. Next stop was Prasat Kravan. This was a much smaller temple of one big central red brick tower and several smaller towers all in a line. After that we visited Banteay Kdei. This was a bigger temple complex, although not nearly as tall as Angkor Wat. You entered through cool gates topped with Buddha heads. We felt a bit more like explorers in this temple. Much of the complex had not been restored and many roofs and walls were collapsed.  Across the road is a man made lake Srah Srang. We had a look out over it and stopped at some of the stalls nearby to pick up souvenirs. It is a hard life for the people who live in the region, because they aren't really allowed to use any of the land to make a living so a lot of them have to resort to selling souvenirs around the place. We then carried on our way to visit Ta Prohm which made us feel even more like Indiana Jones and Lara Croft. Again it was full of collapsed walls and roofs. The jungle was also present throughout with trees having grown in and around the walls giving a cool contrast against the stone walls and carvings. We spent quite a bit of time here peeking in and out of the nooks and crannies. Next up was the temple of Ta Keo. This one was like a pyramid with a flat top that had three towers on top. It was pretty hot now and with no shelter around it was hot going climbing up all the stairs to get to the top. As usual there were Buddha to be found in the towers.

We stopped at a place across the road for lunch which the driver recommended. The food was pretty basic but it was tasty and kept us going. A lady and her children were doing the cooking. At one point chaos erupted and the children started running everywhere. The lady had a bag full of frogs and it had split with frogs going everywhere. The children were trying to catch them, our driver joined in and we even had a go although we aren't sure we were much help. One thing that was also prevalent, and sad, throughout the temple complex were little children, some of them maybe only 3 or 4, who had baskets full of souvenirs and had been taught a few English phrases to try and sell them. Some of these children were around where we were having lunch. We couldn't buy souvenirs from everyone but a few plastic tikis seemed to put some smiles on the kids faces. We carried on around the Grand Tour (that is the name of the route we were taking) and stopped at Chau Say Tevoda, a small complex of interconnected buildings across the road from Thommanon, a single tower temple with a couple of little buildings off to the side. It was also the site where we saw a big green snake. Fortunately it was dead and the ants were working at removing any evidence of its existence. Got to watch where you stand around these parts though.

Although Angkor Wat is the most well known temple in the region the biggest complex is Angkor Thom, which used to be the capital city of the Khmer Empire. You approach the huge walls along the road, which is guarded by statues on either side. You then enter through the massive gates and carry on through the jungle, with small buildings on either side until you come to the centre of the complex.There is a wall/walkway which runs down the centre of the complex. We climbed up onto the Leper King Terrace and carried on to the Terrace of the Elephants, which has many sculptures and carvings along it. We were pretty darn hot and tired after a long day, but we kept going along. We decided to skip the Royal Palace, but carried along the terrace until we got to the Baphuon Temple. There was a raised terrace to access this so we decided to check it out. It was another raised pyramid style temple which you could climb up and walk around the outside. The late afternoon clouds were starting to come in but we still had one more temple to see today. We were pleased that we did as the Bayon temple was one of the coolest ones we had seen all day. You climbed up through the entrance an into the upper terrace, where you were watched by 200 Buddha faces covering the towers all over the terrace. It was pretty amazing how they were able to make a structure that also had Buddha faces everywhere. As we were satisfied we had seen enough, the rain started to come down on us, so we scurried out of the temple and back to our driver to take us back to the hostel.

It had been a massive day and we were truly exhausted. Fortunately we had had some foresight and booked a Cambodian massage at the hostel. It was very welcome as they massaged out the hours of walking and clambering from the day. Weary and relaxed we had dinner at the hostel before a well earned sleep.

SIEM REAP - DAY 3

After a good night sleep we were up for some more temples. Our driver picked us up and away we went. Last night's rain was a thing of the past, but there were still some clouds around to keep the temperature a bit cooler. First stop was the temple of Pre Rup, another pyramid type temple in red brick with three towers on top. It was good to give our legs a stretch early on as they were a bit stiff from all the walking and climbing yesterday. Down the road we got another chance to climb at the temple of East Mabon, which was pretty similar to Pre Rup, although a bit more run down.

These were the first stop on the Small Tour, but we decided to take a break from that and head off on a long 45 minute drive on the Tuk Tuk to Banteay Srei a temple away from the rest, but still a huge draw for the tourists, as the buses and visitor centre proved. It was pretty impressive, with red bricks and was almost like a mini version of some of the other temples we had seen, with mini towers, mini walls and incredibly detailed carvings and statues throughout. It was surrounded by nice green forest and although the  place was busy with tourists it still felt peaceful.

After the look around we jumped back on the Tuk Tuk and travelled back to the main part of Angkor, past children riding bikes and little wooden huts where people lived. We stopped along the way and our driver picked up a soft drink bottle full of brown liquid from a bamboo rack outside someone's house. You wouldn't want to drink this one though. Instead it was for pouring into the Tuk Tuk. It was petrol! After stopping for lunch, we carried on down the road where we got another chance to climb at the temple of East Mabon, which was pretty similar to Pre Rup, although a bit more run down, although one of the terraces had some cool Elephant Statues along it.

We crossed over the river in the Tuk Tuk and visited the temple Ta Som. This was another small temple with a Buddha Head entrance gate. It was kind of like a square house inside with a tower in the middle. These smaller temples were much quieter so it was nice to just wander around and soak up the history and culture. Next up was Neak Pean, a very different temple than what we had seen so far. You walk along a long path with wetlands either side (probably full of snakes and scorpions...) until you come to a gate. On the other side of the gate was a moat, although with no water in it when we were there so they could undertake restoration work. in the middle of the space was a little tower which acted as a temple and hospital when it was built. You couldn't cross the gate but it was nice to see something different.

We jumped back in the Tuk Tuk and it took us further along the road to Preah Khan. The grounds of this temple are nearly as big as Angkor Wat but not nearly as high and grand. We walked down the wide path with statues along it on either side, politely declining to buy the books that boys were selling along the way. You walk through the tower gates and greeted by long Nagi on either side as the path continues. There is a sprawling house/temple complex on the other side. It is still not that restored so there are a lot of ruins that you have to clamber over to get around. The forest has made its way into this complex too. We spent some time walking around and then made our way back out to the driver.

We headed back down towards Angkor Thom, but we had visited that yesterday so just drove straight through, past the temples and terraces we had walked all over. Our next stop was Phnom Bakheng, but unlike the rest of them it wasn't just a case of driving up to the door. This temple is atop a hill, so you have to follow a path that winds up and around to get to the top. The temple is another pyramid style temple (these are actually mountain style, but you get the idea). Once you reach it you can climb up the stairs and as we climbed higher and look out we got a view over all of the temples that we had been visiting over the past couple of days. Apparently it is a popular place to watch the sunset over Angkor Wat. We hadn't timed it right for that but it was still impressive. This was the last temple we were going to visit and was a really nice way to wrap up our visit to Angkor.

By this time it was early afternoon. Our driver had encouraged us to go see a Khmer cultural performance and dinner, so we agreed for him to set it up for us. As we had a bit of time, he took us to a local monument to the many people who had died when the Khmer Rouge had ruled. Phnom Penh wasn't the only place that had suffered.

The cultural performance was in a large hall and as you expect at these sorts of things there was a large buffet dinner with plenty to choose from, both Western and Khmer. It was pretty tasty. Marcus tried some of the gooey noodle stuff in thick milk, which seemed to be a popular dessert, but Jess wasn't game. We watched the dancers and singers and performers twirl and twist their hands with elaborate tall headdresses as they moved around the stage before our driver picked us up and dropped us back at the hostel for a well earned rest.

SIEM REAP - DAY 4

We woke on our last day in Siem Reap and after having breakfast at the hostel, we went to check out a cultural crafts centre across the road. It was a series of buildings that operated as both a craft school for local young people to learn how to  perform traditional crafts like wood carving, leather work, metal work and jewellery making. We walked around each of the rooms to watch people working on the crafts before visiting the shop. There was some amazing stuff for sale but it was all outside of our budget at this stage of the trip so we decided to head into town and check out the local market to see what they had instead.

We walked along the river and crossed a traditional bridge. We went to a money machine to get some

cash before visiting the market when we were stopped by a pregnant woman with a baby in her arms asking for us to buy her baby formula from the local supermarket. We decided that we would help her out and Marcus accompanied her to the shop where she bought a tin of infant formula. After that sad detour we wandered a couple of blocks until we reached the local market. It was similar to many markets we had seen on our travels although each of the stallholders had a little shop, rather than simply a table like we had sometimes seen. You could buy all sorts, from fruit, veges, meat, counterfeit books and of course many many souvenirs. We had a particular souvenir in mind, as it was an image we had not seen in any other country, the Naga. We searched high and low and although there were many cool Naga statues they were all too big and there is no way we would have been able to fit them in our bags.
Eventually we compromised on a small Buddha statue with a series of Naga around its head.

We were happy we had seen what we needed to in Siem Reap, so after grabbing some lunch at Pub Street, watching the world pass us by, we made our back to the hostel where our driver was waiting to take us to the airport. We had decided to fly to Bangkok, our next destination, as we had heard that the roads across the border were really windy and horrible to travel. We passed under the King of Cambodia and his parents before boarding our plane and winging our way to Bangkok.

https://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/May2012Cambodia

May 2012 - Vietnam

Chengdu to Hanoi

After finding a local bakery for breakfast we packed up our bags and then jumped on the Metro for a couple of stops and then onto the bus to the airport. We were concerned when they kept pushing our flight back, as we had a connecting flight in Hong Kong but eventually our plane was underway. As we landed in Hong Kong it felt like we really were getting closer to New Zealand. Hong Kong had been the first place we had visited on our trip. The fog and low cloud were exactly as we remembered them. The plane arrived in time for a quick (expensive) sandwich and then we were boarding the plane to Hanoi.

We arrived in Hanoi and waited for our luggage...and waited...and waited and after a while it became clear that our, along with about 20 other people's, luggage was not arriving. We joined the baggage queue and what should have been a simple exercise took an eternity as the five different English women shouted and gesticulated about how completely unacceptable this all was and how put out they all were, without actually letting anyone else near the front to provide their details. Their husbands stood by flacidly, looking defeated. We finally made it to the front to lodge our details. They told us we would have to wait a day...so we made our way out into the main airport hoping our transfer had not left. Luckily he was still there and he whisked us away along with two Canadian girls who were teaching English in China. We knew we weren't in China anymore as the roads were much emptier coming into the city, however once we got into the city they became more and more packed with people riding scooters. The closer we got to our hostel the denser these scooters became. Our driver started to stress out as we weren't really moving and time stood still when his car clipped someone...Luckily everyone was OK and we got to the hostel without further incident. The hostel was concerned that we might not be coming and that we seemed to be traveling light (perhaps we really liked Vietnamese Fashion?) . We explained our luggage troubles and they immediately understood. After a long day we decided we weren't in the mood to go out so immediately collapsed into bed.

HANOI - DAY 1

We didn't really enjoy changing back into our dirty clothes from the day before but after a good breakfast and friendly hostel staff we got going. We were staying close to the Hoan Kiem  Lake, the heart of old town, so decided to spend the morning going for a stroll around it. (This did not take that long as it is more of a pond than a lake.)  There are a couple of islands on the gate. One of them has a multi-tiered gate, with the tortoise tower on top of it. The other houses the Ngoc Son Temple which you can visit across a bridge. It is full of Buddhas and sacred objects as well as people worshiping them. We then went for a wander in the streets of the old town looking for lunch. Along the way we were stopped by  a guy with a basket and before we knew it he was gluing up Marcus' shoes. It must be a bit of a scam because before long there were another four trying to glue up Jess' shoes. We kept them at bay but allowed the first guy to continue on Marcus' shoes because they actually had some quite major holes in them. He got his twine out and was carefully stitching away, gluing up all the holes. Eventually his work was done (more than he bargained for we're sure) and he quoted a very high price for the work. We assumed this was part of the game and offered him a price we thought was fair. However, he wouldn't budge and when he nearly started to cry we felt uncomfortable and paid him what he asked.

Newly hoofed and starving we found a restaurant where they served us some sort of mixture wrapped in steamed parcels of noodle like material. They were incredibly tasty and we were happy that the hostel had recommended the place to us. Nice and full we walked back to the lake, where we had tickets for the performance of the water puppet show. We didn't know what to expect so came with open minds. The stage was a pool of water with curtains at the back, through which came a series of puppets of all sorts of things, from peasants and fish to water buffalo and dragons. The whole thing was very entertaining with lots of swishing and splashing. Turns out it was invented in the countryside and initially performed in the rice paddies to entertain the farmers. By this time all the walking around in the heat in grubby clothes was making us feel yuck. Our bags had still not arrived so we went and bought some new clothes and essentials like toothpaste so that we could clean ourselves up. Might as well use our travel insurance eh? There wasn't a lot of choice but we managed to find what we needed. Getting a receipt wasn't always an option so we will see how the insurance claim goes...After getting cleaned and changed we felt much better.

Refreshed we went out again and checked out the local night market. It stretched block after block but all the wares were pretty standard. We decided that dinner was more tempting to went hunting for 'Cha cha la vong'. After wandering a few streets and alleys we eventually found a cha cha la vong house. We sat down and they handed us cards telling us they only served spiced fried fish so we knew we were in the right place. Soon they brought us out a hot brazier and frypan filled with fish and various bowls filled with noodles and veges. We had looked around when we arrived and saw that you throw everything into the pan and get cooking. (The other white people who arrived later needed to be shown what to do...) The food was tasty and it was pleasing to see that our tip was all given to the young pregnant waitress by the other ones. After stopping for a drink we made our way back to the hostel, happy with our first day in Vietnam.

HANOI - DAY 2

Happy having checked out the old town in Hanoi we decided to venture further afield. We headed in the direction of Ba Dinh Square, the main square of Hanoi. We met a couple from Singapore who were also going to the square, but they were heading in completely the wrong direction. We walked with them after setting them the right way round and then left them to visit the Temple of Literature, Van Mieu, a huge Confucian Temple built 1000 years ago, and Vietnam's first university, hence the name. It was busy, but not packed like in China, and as always very peaceful. It was full of statues of scholars and floral representations of books and scrolls.

We grabbed a water to combat the heat and went in hunt of lunch. Across the road is a restaurant called KOTO, a restaurant in the style of Jaimie Oliver's Fifteen. It was set up to help disadvantaged young people. The food was great, tasty, fresh Vietnamese rolls and noodle dishes. It also felt good to know we were doing something to help the people who the restaurant supports. Full of food and a bit cooler we continued on to Ba Dinh Square.

We passed a random statue of Lenin and passed the Hanoi flag tower before arriving at the square. The main feature of the square is the large Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, containing the body of Ho Chi Minh, preserved like Lenin and Mao. We didn't complete the trio though because it was closed for Vietnam Independence Day (Independence from America). Behind the Mausoleum is the Ho Chi Minh Complex which was also closed but we did get to look at the One Pillar Pagoda, so named because for some reason it has been built on the top of a pole.

A trip through the square to the tunes of "Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh!" with the guards sparkling in white looking on and we wandered up to West Lake, a much larger lake which looked to be a site of some prime real estate in Hanoi. It is also the site of another temple, this one, Chua Tran Quoc, was multi-tiered and full of Buddha statues. It was nice to check out but the heat was starting to get to us so we decided to wander back  to the old town. It was a bit of a walk past pro-Vietnam statues, risking our lives as we stepped into the streets full of scooters. They don't stop, even at a red light, so you just have to step out in the middle of them and pray that they will drive around you. We decided that we had earned some "Fanny." That is the name of the ice-cream shop just down the road from the hostel. Green Tea and Mango flavoured ice-cream did the trick. The place was packed, and with the heat we understood why. The lady at the hostel was sad that we hadn't brought any back for her however.

With it being a public holiday, half of Hanoi seemed to have come down to the lake by our hostel. Whole families, Mum, Dad and kids were all packed onto scooters (the same scooter) and were busy doing the laps around the lake. There were also a series of stages set up where performers were busy entertaining the people. We wandered around for a bit before stopping for some dinner. It was time for an authentic Vietnames Pho. That is noodle soup with meat. Then you add your own chilli and salad. It was hot hot hot but tasty tasty tasty. You get it like you would buy McDonalds but it was definitely better for you. After checking out some more of the performances we decided it was time to rest our weary legs for another day.

HANOI - DAY 3

We had looked into going on a day trip out to Halong Bay but experience had taught us that day trips out places far away usually involved a lot of time on a bus and not much time at the place you were going so decided to give it a miss and have another day in Hanoi. We decided to check out a landmark which had been made famous by Americans and the Vietnam war, the "Hanoi Hilton". Contrary to its name it was actually a prison called Hoa Lo Prison, although now serves as a museum. In fact it had been set up by the French and used to house Vietnamese revolutionaries before being used by the Vietnamese to house American POWs. There was a lot of information and as always some of it was pretty grim but interesting to see how people can behave to each other. You had to take some of the presentations with a grain of salt because according to them the Vietnamese were perfect and always treated the prisoners well and it was the French and the Americans who had behaved terribly. We expect the truth is somewhere in the middle.

We wandered back to Old Town. It was a pretty quiet day again so lots of things were closed, but we

saw the French style Hanoi Opera House. We then had a look at the big statue of Ly Thai Tho, a former Vietnamese emperor. The square where the statue was situated also seemed to be a popular place for kids to drive around in little battery powered cars. Unlike in China there were children and families everywhere. We managed to find a restaurant that was open (and air conditioned...phew!) and got some tasty fresh prawn rice paper rolls and a sweet Vietnamese curry. After that we were pretty happy with what we had achieved in Hanoi so decided to sit down by the lake and read a bit in the sun. After a rest we found a local supermarket and then picked up some supplies for the next leg of out journey. We were back on the trains again.

We made our way to the train station and waited for our train to arrive. It looked similar to the trains we had taken across Russia, Mongola and China although perhaps a bit older. We were sharing our cabin with two English women who were traveling through Vietnam with one of the women's 3 year old son. Braver than us. This train had trolley service with a man selling snacks and drinks. It was still stinking hot so we grabbed some cool beers and chatted with our cabin companions as the train made its way out of Hanoi before eventually deciding to call it a night.

HUE

It was a bit of a rough sleep. Where the cold train in Russia had overdone the heating the hot train in Vietnam overdid the air conditioning so we had spent the night freezing. Our train came in to the ancient imperial city of Hue and we left our cabin companions who were continuing on to Hoi An.  After being selected by a taxi driver (they fight over you) we made our way to our hostel and checked in. Although it was early our room was ready so fortunately we were able to check in and pick up a couple of hours sleep before heading out to see what Hue had to offer.

We had big plans to see the Purple Imperial City and then head down the river to check out some Emperor's Tombs. We had not reckoned with the heat. We walked down to the Perfume river and then across the bridge to the Imperial City. There were lots of Cyclo drivers offering to give us a ride, but we stubbornly continued by foot. The Imperial City is a big walled Citadel with a number of residences and temples throughout and had been where the Emperors had lived from the early 1800s until the mid 1900s. Much of it has been destroyed following the Vietnam war but there are steps underway to restore it. We walked around in the heat finding shelter where we could. The buildings were impressive but with the heat it was hard to take it all in. We stopped for an ice-cream but it was so hot that the freezer wasn't working properly so our ice-creams were pretty soft. After several hours walking around in the heat we came to the conclusion we would be mad to try and go see the temples too so retreated back to the air-conditioned safety of our hostel for a couple more hours sleep.

We ventured out again to try and find some dinner. There was one straight a couple of blocks away that seemed to be packed with restaurants and ladies dressed in long Vietnamese dresses encouraging you in. We picked one which looked good and found ourselves a seat. The food was a combination French Vietnamese fusion and we had some tasty spicy seafood and Vietnamese greens. Jess decided to get into the swing of things and ordered a cocktail made in a hollowed out coconut. One way of combating the swelter.

We wandered back to the hostel for some more sleep. Unfortunately something in Jess' dinner (or possibly the cocktail) had not agreed with her and after weeks of traveling we finally appeared to have out first case of food poisoning. It didn't help things when a giant flying cockroach managed to find its way into our room and we had to chase it around until eventually managing to get it out the door. So much for another good night sleep.

HUE TO HOI AN

After breakfast at the hostel we shared a taxi with an American couple to the train station. It was only a few hours on the train today so we were traveling in seats instead of beds this time. The train was packed full of people heading home for the holidays. We were a bit worried when our seats seemed to have a Vietnamese man in them, however, after some gesticulating and talking to the guard we worked out that he was in the right seat but there were two Australians in our seats, so we managed to get them to move. There was no room for bags so we had to pack them in around us. It was also stinking hot again which didn't help with Jess' delicate tummy. This stretch of the train journey is apparently famous for its coastal views on one side and mountain views on the other. We had managed to score coastal side seats and got some great views of the beaches and little fishermen huts on poles over the water.

The train pulled into Da Nang and we were happy to get up and get some fresh air. As we exited the station we were again selected to take a van on the half hour drive to Hoi An. We shared the van with the Americans from the morning and the Australians from the train (no hard feelings). We were the first to be dropped off, which suited Jess as she still wasn't feeling great and decided to have some sleep. Marcus had some lunch next to the pool before going for a walk to see where the nearest shop was. After walking around many local streets he managed to find a place with soft drinks and local chippies. It was lucky he made it back because the clouds quickly gathered and all of a sudden it was pouring with rain. We decided that it was a good sign that we should take it easy for the rest of the day and leave heading into to town till tomorrow.


HOI AN - DAY 2

Jess was feeling a bit better the next day so we decided to get up reasonably early and caught the hotel van into the town. If there is one thing that Hoi An is famous for it is tailors and when you go there you really appreciate why. Every second shop seemed to be a tailor. We had done a bit of research before coming and settled on Mr Xe. Marcus had intended to get two suits and some shirts. We wandered the streets for a bit resisting the requests from other tailors to come into their shops until we got to Mr Xe's. We went inside and the ladies swarmed around us asking us what we were after. Before we knew it there were fabrics out and pictures of suits and shirts all over the place. While Marcus was selecting his fabrics and designs, they had taken Jess next store and she was working out which dresses she would like to get made. Once it was time to get measured up they got on the phone and five minutes later Mr Xe showed up on his bike. He whipped out his measuring tape, slapped Marcus on the bum and before we knew it he had the measurements he needed and then he was off again. We left the ladies to carry on with their day and we went for a bit of an explore around Hoi An.

The town centre is quite small but it has been done up quite nicely for the tourists with lots of shops, restaurants and, of course, tailors. We decided to check out the Diep Dong Nguyen House. It is a private house which is open to visit and was originally built for a Chinese Merchant in the 1800s. It was very black inside and had furniture and ornaments from its history. We also got introduced to our Vietnamese Star Sign, which was very close to the Chinese zodiac. Marcus was still a monkey and Jess was still a doggy. We wandered down to the waterfront which was lined with palm trees and full of traditional fishing boats before we grabbed some lunch.

Hoi An has a lot of Japanese influence  and the most known symbol of Hoi An is the Japanese Bridge

(Chua Cau). It is a covered bridge with a Buddhist Pagoda in it. There is also a statue of a Monkey at one end and a Dog at the other so we felt we had a special relationship with it. (Hope you were paying attention earlier). We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out various other Buddhist temples, where the shade was a welcome respite from the heat, and we checked out some cool features like paper lanterns with moving shadow figures, Buddhist drums, beautiful garden sculptures and detailed murals, all very much open to the beautiful weather.


After heading back for a relax at the hotel we came into town again for dinner. It was the celebration of Buddha's birthday so the place was humming with people. We walked along the river and there were lots of families selling paper lanterns. Apparently the idea is that you buy from them so their family will get good luck and then you light the lantern and send it down the river, which brings good luck to you. Everyone is lucky. It was pretty cool watching all the lanterns drift off into the night. We wandered back into town where we had arranged to meet our friends from the train for dinner. Unfortunately they didn't show up but we still had a tasty Australian/Vietnamese fusion meal. The food in Hoi An is definitely catered towards the tourist market rather than the local market. There was still plenty going on in town after dinner so checked out what appeared to be some sort of live game show going on in the street. This was geared to the locals with singing and audience interaction and all sorts of jokes from the presenters. The jokes were in Vietnamese so we didn't get them but it was cool to see everyone having such a good time. We also went back to the river where many more people had sent out their lanterns and the river was full of little lights floating away. Magical.

HOI AN - DAY 3

We still had plenty of time in Hoi An so decided that we would just take it easy. We had to make another trip back to Mr Xe's to see how our tailoring was coming along. It was stinking hot again and even hotter in the tailors shop, even with all the fans cranking away. The shop ladies had the right idea as they sat around in their Pyjamas. Marcus tried on his shirts and suits but he was all hot and sweaty so not sure if they fit properly or not. To make extra sure they got him to jump on a push bike and, with a Vietnamese lady sitting on the back, he rode a couple of blocks to the suit making factory for another measure up. The men were all working away at sewing machines, cranking out the suits, all of them just wearing shorts. In the heat that was a smart idea. Then it was back to the main shop again to talk to the ladies, where they convinced him even though he had ordered two suits he actually needed two more. Who were
we to argue at that price?

Although the central part of Hoi An town was geared towards the tourists , after only a couple of blocks you were in locals territory again. There was a local market with low hanging tarps everywhere keeping the sun out off the vendors. We ducked our way through, finding a few souvenirs, but otherwise not looking to buy the local produce.

Deciding that we didn't need another whole day walking around in the heat we decided an afternoon reading next to the pool at the hotel was the way to take it easy.

HOI AN TO DA NANG

We were pretty happy we had seen all there was to see in Hoi An by our last day. However, we still had to pick up our suits. One last sweaty try on and we were happy with the fit (although there wasn't much room to put on any weight). They even shipped them back to NZ for us. Beats lugging them around in our packs.

We had a last wander around the town and a visit to the old fashioned wood panelled post office to send some postcards before making our way back to the hotel to chill out a bit. We had a car booked to take us back to Da Nang. When we got to Da Nang, we booked into our hotel before taking a wander around the city. You could see why most tourists went straight to Hoi An, avoiding Da Nang altogether. It was a big city without the pretty old world charm of its neighbour. We wandered the streets, helping some students with a marketing survey, before coming down to the river. The riverbank had been done up with a promenade all the way along. This was busy with people walking, running, dancing or just relaxing. We took our time people watching for a while before heading back in hunt of some dinner. We found a restaurant just around the corner that served a tasty platter of Vietnamese dishes. They also had great service and air conditioning so we were left happy and full.

DA NANG

The Hotel arranged a driver for us for the day to take us wherever we wanted to go. Fancy eh? After having some breakfast we made our way in the air conditioned car to check out the Marble Mountains. They are five marble and limestone hills just south of the city named after the five elements, metal, wood,

water, fire and earth. The locals had certainly been making the most of the resources. There are hundreds of shops selling marble statues, from tiny little items to go on the mantlepiece to gigantic statues bigger than a person. We weren't there for souvenirs though the Marble Mountains are also apparently home to a number of Buddhist and Hindu temples. It was a hard climb in the heat up the steep stairs that had been carved into the side of the mountain. It was a welcome relief at the top and fortunately there were benches for us to rest and have some water. The temples were ancient but still in use with the Buddhas well looked after and draped in fine silks with incense burning. Our favourite was definitely where you go through a stone gate and into a tunnel where stairs go down into the mountain. When you reach the bottom you come into a big cave and across from the stairs is a big Buddha carved into the side of the cave wall with the sun streaming down through a hole in the ceiling just like you are Tomb Raider. Up and over the top of the mountain and back down the other side were more temples, this times more Chinese in style with hexagonal towers and pointed roofs. The other side seemed to be a bit less well used and there were beggars asking for money. In fairness they weren't exactly beggars because before they asked you for money they took you around through the temples and showed you where all of the Buddhas were, even if you didn't want them to.

After a couple of hours climbing it was time to descend back to the air conditioned coolness of the car. We got the driver to take us to My Khe, also known as China Beach. Before chilling out on the beach it was time to get some lunch. There wasn't a lot of restaurants around but we eventually found one that looked like it was geared for the big Chinese tour buses, with row after row of tanks with live fish you could choose before eating. We went for an old fashioned ordering off the menu but it did the trick. We then found a guy to rent us some chairs on the beach where we caught some sun and went for a swim. The beach stretched for miles but it was pretty empty. The car took us back to the hotel and we went for a last walk along the riverfront before heading to the train station for another night in the sleeper. This time were sharing with all Vietnamese people and they were already in bed so we climbed straight into our bunks and hit the hay. Fortunately today they seemed to have the temperature about right.

NHA TRANG - DAY 1

Another early arrival, but after a short taxi ride we checked into our hotel. Fortunately we were able to get our room on arrival so we caught up another couple of extra hours sleep  in a non-moving bed. Nha Trang is a beach town so we decided that the best way to deal with the heat was to grab a lounger on the beach, get some sun and relax. The town itself didn't look to be very picturesque with big multi-storey buildings that you could see in any other city around the world so we didn't feel like we were missing out
on anything by hanging out on the beach. The beach was nice but when you got up to the water it wasn't the cleanest, with bits of rubbish around the place. If you wanted some refreshments there was a local lady doing the rounds with her chilly bin along with calls of "Pineapple! Mango! Happy Hour!". We think that was probably the extent of her English but we were happy for the cool drinks in the hot weather.

It looked like there were a few streets which had some restaurants, so when the sun went down we went wandering looking for somewhere to eat.  You could tell it was a tourist town because most of the restaurants seemed to sell standard fare or be bars geared towards going out and getting drunk. We stopped at one place and had a drink but decided to move on and managed to find a restaurant that donates a lot of its money to the local orphanage. They brought us out a bucket filled with hot coals and a grill for us to cook our own dinner. There was a tasty selection of seafood and meat and some yummy fresh salad. We finished our first day in Nha Trang very happy.

NHA TRANG - DAY 2

We had booked in a boat tour of the islands off the coast for today. We were picked up after having breakfast on the roof of the hotel and taken to the port. There were lots of boats and lots of tourist, both foreign, like us, and also Vietnamese. Everyone started piling on to the boats and before long it was our turn. We were a bit worried we might be on the wrong tour as we were the only white faces but the boat guides were happy to have us and they spoke English and by then the boat had left the wharf anyway.The boat headed out under the gondolas to Vinpearl Resort on Hon Tre Island.

Our first stop was a little island  where the boat docked and everyone came ashore. The idea was that we go snorkelling so we grabbed the gear and took to the water. There were a few small reefs and some fish swimming around. It was no Great Barrier Reef but it was good to get into the water, it being another scorcher of a day. There weren't a lot of people swimming, with most of the boat passengers just hanging out under the shade of the trees on the beach. After swimming around for a while we spent some time drying out on the  rocks before it was time to head back to the boat.

The boat journeyed out again and the crew brought out lots of bowls with various Vietnamese dishes and massive bowls of rice. The old ladies on the boat encouraged us to try the local specialties of yummy meats and veges. After lunch it was time for some entertainment, so the crew brought out a full band kit, including drums, and before long they were rocking out. The young tourists seemed to be enjoying it, but the older tourists and Buddhist monk on board looked bored. We docked at a floating wharf along with another boat from the same company. All of a sudden things stepped up the next level when one of the crew whipped off his shirt, threw a towel around his waist, somehow stuck some cups of jelly to his

nipples and started dancing like a crazy person. He flipped over some benches in the middle of the boat and boogied away, pulling up members of the audience to dance with him, including Jess who was lucky enough to be chosen to shake her groove thing. Apparently the next part of the cruise was the swim up bar. We weren't quite sure how that was going to work,  but the crew threw a piece of plastic with metal handles in into the water and then dived in after it. One of the crew jumped up on top of it and continued to dance and then told everyone who wanted to to jump into the water. An American Vietnamese lady grabbed Jess by the hand and before long she was swimming in the water and swimming up to the bar where they were handing out cups of some orange soft drink mixed with some unidentified booze. Marcus joined them before long and took part in the festivities. We met another New Zealand couple who were heading off on their OE, as opposed to us on our way home so it was nice to share some experiences travellers wisdom. We assume it was welcome...

After that surreal experience the boat carried on to another island, this time to what was basically a private resort, with a pool, bar and beach loungers. After the craziness we had just been through it was nice to find a lounger, sit back and get some sun. It was still hot though so it wasn't long before we were swimming in the sea again and then drying out again on the lounger. Before long we were off again to the last stop on our tour, Trí Nguyên Aquarium. It was sure a different sight as we came into the bay where the aquarium was. There was a giant shark and other giant sea creatures all along the shoreline and the boat carried on past them to a giant pirate ship, which housed the aquarium. The whole thing was carved in the concrete inside and out and the tanks were filled with all manner of fish, some of the massive, and there were even albino sea turtles, which were pretty cool. There was also a big pool outside where you could buy food to throw in. We didn't buy any but plenty of the other people were and as the feed hit the water the turtles came up to grab some, but before long they wandered off and were replaced by sharks who were feeding with frenzy.

We piled back onto the boat after a great day out and made our way back to Nha Trang before being dropped back at out hotel. We changed out clothes and ventured out again looking for dinner. Nha Trang seemed to be a popular destination for Russian Tourists, with many of the restaurants having menus in both English and Russian. Marcus was wearing a white short sleeved that night and must have been looking Russian because a number of people tried to speak to him in Russian. Unfortunately his limited vocabulary he had picked up in Russia meant he couldn't say anything back. The various menus weren't exciting us though so we did something we rarely do and went back to the same restaurant as we had last night (SIN!). It was just that good and again it didn't disappoint as we had some more tasty seafood for dinner before going for a nice stroll and then off to bed.

NHA TRANG - DAY 3

We decided that we should probably try a bit of sightseeing on our last day in Nha Trang. It was still hot but we figured we could walk where we wanted to go. Before checking out the sights we decided that we would go and get breakfast at the Banana Split Cafe. We had read that it was the place to have a tasty breakfast. We got a good appetite from walking to where the Banana Split Cafe was supposed to be, unfortunately we walked all around checking where we thought it was and looked high and low until eventually we had to give up and just grab something to eat from a local bakery. Not what we had in mind but at least we were fed.

We carried on in search of the Dragon Mountain/White Buddha Pagoda to check out the giant white
Buddha statue there. It was a long walk but at least we found it this time. It was pretty quiet by the time we arrived but we were met by local "students" who told us we needed to buy some postcards to support their studies as an entry "fee". We were pretty sure they weren't students and it wasn't an entry fee but they were pleasant enough so we played along and bought the cards. We carried on toward the Buddha only to discover that it was closed with no visitors for another two hours. There wasn't really anywhere to wait that wasn't in the sun and the monk on duty was adamant that we weren't going in.

Disappointed with the lack of success we decided that this was a sign that we were trying too hard and instead we should be taking it easy. We made our way back to the beach and grabbed some loungers at the Sailing Club, a bar and restaurant on the beach. This was much better, with shade, cool drinks and food. They even served banana splits! We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, drinking their locally brewed beer and reading our books in the shade. This was definitely a better way to spend the rest of the day. Our friend from the other day Pineapple, Mango Happy Hour! was still doing the rounds. There were also other people selling various trinkets and we did end up buying some artwork off a man who said he had a gallery but liked to meet the people on the beach to sell it too.

After dinner at the Sailing Club we packed up our gear and made the way to the train station for the last night on the reunification express. We were joined in the waiting room by some people who seemed to be on an Intrepid Journey tour. We were pleased to be on our own as much like the other group on the train in Mongolia, these people seemed to be stressing each other out and generally having a much harder time than they needed to. We got onto the train no problems and gently rocked ourselves to sleep.

HO CHI MINH CITY - DAY 1

Our train rolled into Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City, the biggest city in Vietnam. We were well into our trip now, so not so excited about the adventure. Instead we jumped in a taxi to our hotel and they took us through the streets to get there. We were able to check in and catch up on some sleep again before heading out the streets. The streets were bustling with traffic and people and the buildings were much taller than what we had seen in other Vietnamese cities. We came across the Tran Nguyen Han Statue in the middle of a huge roundabout. He was a Vietnamese General and the statue has him riding

on a horse, nothing like Chingis Haan though...The statue is outside the Ben Thanh market so we decided to check out what was going on inside. It was the usual wares, cheap clothes, electronics, general souvenirs etc. If we hadn't been to 100 markets already on our trip it would have been great but there wasn't really anything we hadn't seen before. We carried on through the city checking out the Opera House, and the Buu Dien Central Post Office, which felt more like a train station inside but had a big picture of Uncle Ho looking over everyone and the Notre Dame Cathedral which shared a square with the Post Office. It was impressive, although not like its Parisian namesake. We continued to walk through the streets, avoiding scooters and Cyclo drivers trying to take us for a ride. The usual shoe fixers and coconut sellers were around although not as active as their counterparts in Hanoi. Probably because it was that much hotter down here. Nearby the hotel there was a park, so we decided to go for a walk through it to catch some shade. There were various playgrounds and the bushes made up to be like animals. Not always sure what type of animals but still pretty cool. After grabbing a cold drink we continued on back to the hotel. Our timing was pretty good as the rain decided to make itself known, so we chilled out a bit before heading out again for some dinner. We found the local Pho restaurant and grabbed out tasty broth where we showed up the other tourists by knowing to add your own herbs chilli and nuts. The rain was still coming down outside, so we made our way back to the hotel to turn in for the night.

HO CHI MINH CITY - DAY 2

There wasn't actually a lot that we wanted to see in Ho Chi Minh City but there was still on major sight on the agenda, the Reunification Palace, formerly the home of the South Vietnamese President during the Vietnam war and French Governors before that. It is now a museum to the Vietnam War. After entering the ground you travel around a huge fountain the front yard to go to the entrance of the palace. It is a strange collection of meeting rooms and offices on the inside, almost identical to how it was when the

last US helicopter fled from the roof as a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the gates, marking the end of the Vietnamese war. There is even a helicopter on the roof although this one is for show rather than evacuation. In the basement are all manner of  listening devices and spying equipment. It all looks a bit dated now but was cutting edge at the time. Outside there are jets and tanks on the lawn although they don't let you drive them.

After our visit we continued wandering around the streets of the city, but there still wasn't much we wanted to see so once the heat got to us we retreated to the hotel again for a relax. The rains came again in the evening so we decided to head up to the roof bar and restaurant of the hotel. It was nice to have a drink and something to eat and look out over the lights and roofs of the city.

CU CHI TUNNELS

For our last full day in Vietnam we decided to head out of the city on a tour. They picked us up at the hotel before driving around the block a couple of times and then dropping us at the tour bus. Sometimes it might be better to walk? Our tour guide was reminiscent of the tour guide we had at the Great Wall of China. Round and jolly. The first step on the tour was a lacquer factory staffed by victims of Agent Orange and land mines left over from the Vietnam War. It was pretty sad seeing all the people with missing limbs and deformities but they seemed to be happy and getting on with their work. We spent some time looking around their shop but just couldn't find anything that we liked or that we thought would survive the remainder of our journey in our packs.

The bus continued on to the Cu Chi district. This is another Vietnam War museum, only this time is outdoors and demonstrates all the ingenious inventions the Vietcong used to defeat the USA in the

Vietnam War. There was some nasty stuff, with pits filled with spikes where not only do you get stuck on the spikes but the roof of the pit continues to spin around, bashing you in the head and pushing you further down onto the spikes. The area is also full of tunnels. The Vietcong were renowned for appearing out of nowhere, raiding the US troops and then disappearing into thin air. One of the ways they did this was by having a complex network of tunnels under the ground that they could travel around in and holes in the ground with lids covered in dirt so they could hide till the US troops had passed.When you see the holes you wouldn't believe you could fit a person down there. Certainly not a big burly American soldier. There are tunnels which whitey can go through, although they have made them substantially bigger to fit our hulking frames. We decided to give it a go, duck walking our way along. It was still pretty tight and apparently it got tighter the further you went along so there were escape tunnels throughout for the claustrophobic, when the top of Marcus' head was touching the roof and each of his shoulders was rubbing along the side of the tunnel he decided to pull out. Jess was tougher and made it through until the end. There was an opportunity to go off and shoot machine guns at targets, but we decided to spend our money on a cool drink instead while we drunk it in the shade.

The bus took us back to the city again where we found a place for dinner before a cruisey last night in Vietnam.

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