Froggin' Delish Man

After having beers by the lake we headed back to the river side to get some food, we planned for a traditional Cambodian bbq in which you cook your meal yourself over some hot coals in the middle of the table. After a little bit of searching we were unable to find the restaurant so we stopped off at a nearby bar and had a few more beers – feeling in the festive mood we had our pictures taken with santa. We then stumbled (literally) across a shop selling santa outfits and decided to get our outfits for Christmas full moon party. With outfits bagged up we headed to the nearest restaurant. I (liam) decided to go for the frogs legs – I can honestly say they were lovely, like chicken wings but with more meat on – I will definitely be getting them again!

Whilst eating, one of the young staff saw my santa mask and asked about it as I got it out to show him the outfit came out and he got VERY excited – this led to both outfits being pulled out and tried on by all 15 of the waiters in the restaurant, bearing in mind Aileen’s outfit was a dress this was one of the funniest things on the trip so far! Pictures are on Flickr.

Phnom Penh - 7th December 2009

Woke up to a lovely bright day and we set out to the river. After sorting the intricate plans of our onward journey we decided to follow the lonely planet city walking tour. We missed the royal palace and the tour seemed to be a walk around the busy dusty streets – with absolutely nothing to see!! It did give an insight into how busy the roads get though – scooters up on our path and all at some points.

Managed to make it to the lake where most of the backpackers stay – we found it was nice and laid back which was very different to the rest of the city – if we had of stayed in Phnom Penh longer it would have been nice to stay there.

Saigon to Phnom Penh - 6th December 2009

Woke up with a pumping headache and had to get packing for a bus to Cambodia. Thankfully checkout was at 11 – the other couple we had been drinking with had a tour planned and had to get up at 7am - don’t think we would have been able to make it!

Bus to Cambodia was 6 hours - which was not too bad as we had to stop at the border and get our visa’s – which worked out to be hassle free which was a relief as we had heard some horror stories.

We arrived in Phnom Penh just as it was getting dark and just at rush hour - we got a tuk tuk straight away and it was easily the scariest ride yet with the craziest driver. This is saying a lot as most of the time on a tuk tuk you take your life in your hands. We’d also read about bag snatching in Cambodia but when the driver tells you repeatedly to watch your bag (as tuk tuk can’t follow moto!) we were extra cautious. We got a room in a hotel on the 6^th floor – after taking our bags up we were knackered – we went to the nearest place to eat and then headed back to the hotel for a well earned sleep.

Ho Chi Minh City - 5th December 2009

Set out today to see the past of Saigon and its recent communist incarnation – Ho Chi Minh City. We had a guided tour of independence/reunification palace. This was first built by the French as their base in indo china and taken over by Vietnamese during their independence, then to be taken over after the Vietnamese/American war by the communists. Lots of cool things in the building - tanks, a helicopter and an airplane, and the guide was very helpful. We then went to the war museum after that, which was very sad and very emotive.

After all the walking of the day we headed off for a KFC which was absolutely lovely – first proper western fast food since Malaysia. Ordered the whole menu!

Whilst heading out that night to the food festival to work our way around the missed stalls from the previous night we ran into a couple from Cork who we had met in Laos and whom we had then bumped into here and there throughout Vietnam. Needless to say the food festival was cancelled again and we sat down in the small chairs on the street and indulged in many 16p beers. We ran them out of beer in the first place and had to move on, ended up in a small Irish bar til very late that night.

Saigon - 4th December 2009

Landed in the hustle and bustle of Saigon at 6.00 in the morning – was so tired it was hard to walk the streets and so we walked with caution so we would not get run over. Had the worst sleeper bus ride yet as we were forced to the back of the bus where you can feel every bump of the road. We got cozy with 3 other people in the back (spooning) and the sleeping tablets did not work so it was a long ride. (That was Liam’s perspective…Aileen had the best of her sleeper bus experiences as could actually lie out straight and got nearly 5 hours sleep!!).

Got an ok room for that time of day and after some rest managed to go and have a look around. We were right in the heart of the city and in the local park nearby was a world food festival. We set out to taste the world and started off well when we got a lovely samosa – next stall was a Russian beer tent where we ran into some people we had met in Nha Trang – so the tour of the world pretty much stopped there! But had a good day with them and we managed to go to another stall where Aileen got a nice Vietnamese pancake – finally figured out how to eat them properly too!!

Planned to meet the crew we had been drinking with that day at their hostel later as they had a bar – while walking up the stairs a rat ran down and over Aileens feet- GROSS! Told a girl we met on the stairs and she was not perturbed “well at least he was running out”! Glad we are ‘flashpacking’ and not slumming it.

Vin Pearl - 3rd December 2009

The bus out of Nha Trang was at 8 o’clock at night so we spent our last day at the crazy world of Vinpearl. This water / Amusement park is something to be seen – to get there you have to go on a cable car across the sea to an island that is hung 100’s of feet off the ground - lucky we got nice weather as I felt that even a slight breeze and we may blow away! You can see the height of this in the pics. We got there at about 1 which we thought was late but there was no one there and the place was ENORMOUS and loads of staff walking about. It did get busy after but was a bit freaky for a while walking around the rides and shops alone – bit like the film 28 days later or westworld.

Upside of this was that the waterpark had no queues and we ran about it like kids, from one ride to the other. The joint rides were the most fun as I could hear Aileen’s screams close up and she FREAKED out (in a good, fun way) on every slide for all to hear! We met a lovely family (mum, dad and daughter – Eimear!) from the north of Ireland and had a chat with them about the state of football!

The aquarium was great with a moving walkway that took you through the tank with all the fish – madness! The funfair part was not so great….there was a mini rollercoaster but we were a bit daring with the next ride. It held us completely upside down for nearly the entirety of the ride – NOT COOL!! The great thing was that the entry fare covered the cable car, water park, aquarium, amusement park and arcade games – a great way to spend a day waiting for the night bus.

Nha Trang - 25th November – 3rd December 2009

After Hoi An we went on the sleeper bus to Nha Trang. The first sleeper bus (from Hanoi to Hue) was great craic: we had beers and (more importantly) a TOILET!! Those of you who know Liam know that when he even thinks of liquid he needs to know there are facilities nearby…..ssssssssooooooooooooo…..think of the trauma to get on this next sleeper bus to have a toilet with ‘No Working’ on the door!!! Thankfully we hadn’t been drinking alcohol that day but even I (the machine!) fell pray to the constant niggle of subconscious…there wasn’t much sleep going to happen. To be fair they did stop the bus from time to time (every 4 hours!) but it’s not the same. To make things worse Liam had to swap beds with me as one of the relief drivers was sleeping on the floor beside him and kicking his nearly cured infected leg – yikes! We did hear tell from another traveler who had a driver next to him on the floor but it got more intimate….spooning anyone?! The whole journey down was awful – it really felt like the driver was driving on a pothole riddled dirt track and consistently driving over ramps….thud, thud, thud.

Wonderful, wonderful Nha Trang! We arrived at 6am and although I’d read that most places are early to bed, early to rise and that most workers go to whatever beach for their pre-work swim and avoid the daytime sun I couldn’t BELIEVE the amount of activity along the shore (6km stretch that the city’s built next to). There was swimming, tai chi, badminton and all sorts….needless to say we didn’t see that again during our stay!! The beach is really well kept and there are a couple of bars where you can hire comfortable cushioned loungers during the day to while away hours watching the fabulous waves crashing against the shore.

Our room was lovely – with TWO double beds for some reason- but in this place even though we stayed within budget it was a bit harder to find lower priced caffs. There’s always street food which is guaranteed to be cheap but when you want to sit down (and not hover inches above the ground in a nursery school chair!) it was nigh on impossible to find the lower end places. We did however have some fantastic food here….i was particularly adventurous one night and had THREE soft shell blue crabs…..I’m talking back, legs, head (do they have one?) and all! To be fair if you batter and deep fry anything I’m sure it tastes good! We did find a great place for cheap beers…although as cheap as Hoi An it was the same price but for half pints. It’s pretty hard to imagine but we were in some state after spending just over 3 GBP!!

Hoi An - 14th – 24th November 2009

So after Hue (pronounced Hurray! but with an Elmur Da Fudd rr) we went on a sitting bus to Hoi An. Again we followed our new friends to their hotel (just like the tuk tuk drivers were following us in Hue they couldn’t shake us off!) it turned out to be really good value for the area– even if the ‘swimming pool’ was a puddle under the stairs! They left after a couple of days and on their last night we went out for dinner & drinks….but not in that order!

I have been seriously unlucky with my health since I have been out here and I think I caught something in Laos as now every time I am bit I the lump swells and is painful. On the bus down I was eaten alive and got 10 bites on the top of my leg which all swelled and blistered. Not gonna go into to too much detail but it was quite nasty – hard to walk and even sit so spent most of the time indoors and Aileen was my saviour getting me plasters/painkillers and food and drink. I was spending lots of time indoors but after 2 days in I got a rash all over my body – Aileen thought it was linked to the bites and googled my symptoms and convinced me I had MRSA! We then upgraded to a posh hotel which actually had a Jacuzzi and the rash cleared up.

Only other event for me was the Ireland France game – got very nervous when it didn’t come on the sports channels but just at kick off we managed to get it on TV5 the French channel - French commentary by Emmanuel Petit was no good for us so we listened to RTE radio over the internet. Will not say anymore on this subject as it still hurts and the FAI and Roy Keane have said enough!

As that’s all Liam has on the subject I’m (Aileen) back to fill in the rest!! With Liam laid up that left me to wander and explore at my leisure. Hoi An’s well known for it’s cheap tailors but for some reason even though I’d all the time in the world I thought I didn’t want to put more stuff in my bag so thinking I’ll wait for Bangkok…..or charity shops in Oz!!

The heat again for the first couple of days was unbearable to the extent that going out during the day was too much – evening strolls were the name of the game. Thankfully the weather turned….it was cloudy and rainy with only a few heavy downpours so much more manageable for daytime wandering! Hoi An is a beautiful ancient fishing village with all the buildings in the old town pretty much the same as they were 8 generations ago.

The market here really is a local market to the extent that you almost feel out of place walking through with the fish wives pushing through and the stink of meat and farm! I had some lovely food in this town and tried all the local specialties: Cau Lao (fat noodles), White Rose (Rose shaped dumplings) and Wanton (crispy and yum!). We also became fans of the roadside dumplings that are omnipresent throughout Vietnam (and most South East Asian countries I’d wager). They’re a lot different to the thin covered dumplings you get in Asian restaurants generally….these are a thick almost sweet bread with some sort of meat (?!) or vegetable mixture in the middle and always with a tiny egg in the middle. Unfortunately it’s hit and miss from stall to stall so you have to take your chances and hope for the best!! Liam reckons If you close your eyes they taste a little like a sausage and egg mcMuffin!

Beeronomics

The economist looks at the strength of a currency by comparing it to the price of a Big Mac – burgeronomics http://www.economist.com/markets/bigmac/, for instance you can buy 4 big Mac’s in Korea for a Dollar but in Sweden you can only get a quarter of one. Whilst traveling we have tended to use the same kind of gauge as we get a new currency. We have currently used 6 currencies so far on our travels and the mental math we do each day comparing it to pounds/dollars to make sure we are not ripped off is the only part of our brain we have used for weeks! …..Any way, as laundry is pretty much the same everywhere we have been and you can get a cheap/mid range/expensive hotel in each place the best test is good old drink. In Thailand a beer was roughly a pound, then in Laos we could buy a bucket of tiger whisky and mixer for 2 pounds. But so far the best has been Vietnam – Bia Hoa costs us 4000 dong which is about 13 pence a pint! You have to sit in plastic seats on the pavement/road to drink it but we have gone out and got smashed on ₤3.

Tombing - Not Tubing - 13th November 2009

Finally a touch of culture on our travels – Hue up until 1945 was the capital of Vietnam and home to the Emperor’s Palace. We went on a day trip to see the Citadel which was the old city and the emperors palace and then to see the tombs of the dead emperors. There was some stunning architecture and the photos will be up in flickr soon. It ended up with a ‘dragon’ boat ride up the river.

While on the trip I actually met a guy called Alex who worked in the Railway which is the pub at the end of my road – we even knew some of the same people – it is a small world after all!

A: Having decided to move on the next day it was time to confirm the bus ticket before the morning – what a run around that turned out to be! The hotel said our ticket needed to be confirmed by the tour operator and gave me directions to go there. When I went in they said the ticket we had (just a slip of paper – stupido!) wasn’t theirs and to basically go away. I went back to the hotel to try to contact the tour office in Halong Bay or Hanoi and started to check out trains as a last resort. On my way back to the pub (where Liam was all the while!) I met the couple we had followed and they told us to go to this other place they had been to and sort it out there. The woman in the office was not 100% but said she’d check with Hanoi and to come back at 8am in the morning for the proper ticket. When we arrived (with bags and all) there was yet more hassle and it was only when I was able to show them on a map the two offices we’d been to (in both Halong Bay and Hanoi) that they finally gave in and gave us the official ticket. Thank god I’d met that couple the night before or else we would have had to pay twice! LESSON LEARNED: any future tickets if not on official paper should most definitely be accompanied by a business card to contact the place of purchase!

Hue - 12th November 2009

Arrived in Hue early in the morning and we hitched a ride with the couple who were on our bus who had booked a room and had a free transfer, we ended up with a lovely room. Walked around Hue for the day but it was far too hot for us so we ended back at the room dripping with sweat and completely knackered. Nice town but you get hassled an awful lot the bicycle tuk tuk drivers do not take no for an answer and cycle slowly beside you talking to you trying to get you to take a ride – at one stage we had a bicycle tuk tuk following us and a guy on a motorbike following us up the road trying to pick us up. Had a lovely meal that night and went to bed early.

Return to Hanoi - 11th November 2009

With a Hangover after the night before we awoke on the boat to a SCORCHING day – just our luck as we had a 4 hour bus ride back to Hanoi and then a 12 hour bus ride to Hue. We got back to Hanoi, a place I did not want to return to and went straight to an Irish pub for something to eat before the second bus – met an Irish lad who had been in Hanoi for four years (just to highlight the danger of Hanoi roads and why I nearly had several heart attacks over Aileen crossing the road - he had been in 17 motor bike accidents since being there!), met a nice guy from Ballincollig who had just arrived and then ran into 3 people we spent a couple of days tubing with – so in the end we did not want to leave Hanoi!

But the bus was booked and we headed off – the sleeper bus does exactly what it says on the tin – and is the best way to travel – everyone has their own bed and the 12 hours just flew by. Met another lovely couple and played cards to wind down the some of the time. We tried to bring on some beers for the journey – but the driver confiscated them - I even tried to bribe him but to no avail - but he was fine with us after and he did let us take them off the bus and drink them at the first stop - and continued to laugh at me at every stop thereafter as my hangover grew.

Halong Bay - 10th & 11th November 2009

Halong bay was absolutely gorgeous - a really lovely place where we went to a cave first and then Kayaking. Cave was quite impressive - the guide was picking out shapes of the stalagmites and stalactites (10 bonus points if you can tell me which is the one which hangs down and which is the one on the floor) at first it was dragons and tigers but by the end he was clutching at straws and naming shapes of the shadows that were clearly not similar to the shape he was saying – but hilarious to us. The pics on Flickr do not quite capture the scenery, which include a floating village, but it was a really lovely day and a nice boat trip. Got a lovely bunch of people on the boat and had good fun relaxing during the day - after dinner and a few beers the guides brought out the Karaoke machine – BIG MISTAKE – as we were fairly sober at the start we did not join in but let the French contingent take up the Karaoke reins (they did this sober – which was a bit odd to me!). After a game of cards in which the loser had to sing the madness began, two Canadian sisters lost first and massacred a Bon Jovi tune. Then another girl lost and went up, but by this stage we were getting drunk and so we took to the stage – I chose “the wheels on the bus go round and round” and it went down a storm! (There is some video evidence but I will try to destroy this when Aileen is asleep so it never makes the light of day) After this everyone got involved and Aileen went down a storm with “Quando, Quand, Quando” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAhIvzD4xGU ) It descended a bit after this and led to us driving the rest of the boat to the top deck. The crew had to turn it off shortly after as I think we wrecked their heads but to be fair – I thought our version of “can’t touch this” – by MC Hammer was exceptional.

2 months in, the count so far.......

4 countries down

100’s of friends made (because of tubing)

Not much book reading (because of tubing)

1 trip to hospital (because of tubing)

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM.......

Hi sorry – couldn’t resist it! Aileen has handed the blog torch over to me for a while and so I have started as I mean to go on. Aileen will of course be making cameo’s when I am Drunk / hungover - so you’ll probably see as much of her as there is of me. If you feel I’m not doing Aileen's effort justice you can use your voting buttons on the comments page. Please leave comments as the facebook in Vietnam is not fully working and it is nice to hear from you all.

THE STRAPS ARE OUT!!! Halong Bay - 8th November 2009

After exactly 2 months of our trip Aileen has finally embraced her backpacker status!! We had booked a bus to Halong Bay with 8am pick up from the hotel but as we were on an alleyway off a road wrought with construction we knew the bus would never be picking up from outside the door. There was nothing for it but to get the straps out and get on with it! I had a dry run in the bedroom the night before and Liam was so proud of me jaunting off down the road after our guide – which was about a 10 minute walk so lucky we’ve the best and most comfortable bags in the world- THANKS GUYS!!

Our bus ticket is a single to halong bay but we’ve joined a tour group who have booked on a boat trip staying one night on board then back to Hanoi. We kind of thought we wouldn’t want to go back to Hanoi so will suss out tomorrow about doing a day trip perhaps….

Hanoi - 7th November 2009

We decided to give the place a go for one day and knew there was a lake close by so thought that’s give some respite to the narrow manic streets we were living on. But this being Hanoi even the serene part has not got much spare space and is busy and noisy! That night our evening stroll resulted in Liam nearly having heart failure a number of times afraid of me getting knocked down. Seeing really is believing – again we’d heard the stories but at night time in the centre on a Friday night you really get a taste for the madness. Most people say you just need to stroll across the roads as the many bikes will go around you but at nighttime I don’t think these rules apply so strictly!! Exhausted after all the effort we’re glad to be leaving early the next morning.

Hanoi (Vietnam) - 6th November 2009

06/11/2009 – On the last day of our Laos visa it’s time to leave so next stop Vietnam!! We knew better than to even contemplate the 25 hour bus ride so we got some pretty cheap flights from Luang Prabang airport to Hanoi on – wait for it – our favourite airline:LAO AIRLINES!!!! I must say that this was far less painful a trip than from Thailand to Laos; in part because we were not suffering but also because the plane was far bigger and looked more reliable!! Even the in flight snack was more than edible – it was nice, and I got TWO cups of tea.

We’d heard many tales of scams in Hanoi where taxi drivers try to take you to their own hotel where they get commission so we were hoping to be prepared for it. We booked a hotel in advance which supposedly had free airport pick up but it appeared my request didn’t get through/was ignored. We had to take an airport taxi which looked pretty legit and gave him explicit instructions for the hotel address. When we got to the city he still brought us to his buddy who got in the car, waving a business card of the hotel we were booked into and telling some story about how the hotel was now full (a couple had apparently cancelled a trip and were staying an extra night so therefore our room was taken) so he was going to take us to another hotel run by the same people with the same everything. It took a while but our constant questions eventually wore him down and when we started insisting we wanted to go to the booked hotel to make sure our card wouldn’t be charged he gave up. Talk about hard work! We ventured out that night for something to eat and even though we didn’t get that far it was a mission – the paths are too narrow and over cluttered to walk on and the minute you step onto the road you’re really taking your life into your own hands!!

Luang Prabang - 2nd - 5th November 2009

These next few days Liam’s feeling poorly again (another infection) so doesn’t actually see much of this fabulous place. I on the other hand relish the long walks down by the rivers (the Nam Than meets the Mekong) and seeing the saffron robes of monks a plenty everywhere you go. The night market is fab, the streets and alleyways idyllic and the food is lovely! I even made the trek up to the highest point (a sacred hill in the middle) so you can see some great pictures of the views from above.

Vang Vieng - 1st November 2009

Aileen wakes at 7am and not feeling so bad proceeds to sort out our exit outa here!! Bus booked to Luang Prabang for the following morning means that our time in this place has finally come to and end. Even a trip to the pool is pointless as it’s gotten so busy we barely get a seat in by the bar!!

Vang Vieng - 31st October 2009

HALLOWE’EN and what better day to have as your last day tubing?! The creativity with costumes is something else – check out the pics. That evening I have the BEST grilled fish EVER! I’m not sure if it’s the fact that they basted it in about two inches of salt but the flavour was superb and the texture just lush…..yum yum

Vang Vieng - 30th October 2009

Day off – I go to the pool while liam dies. When I come back in the evening things haven’t improved so I go out for a takeaway cos I’m the best!

Vang Vieng - 29th October 2009

One day tubing; realization dawns that this has to end some time!! We swam across the river (with Liam holding my handbag above water and some friends taking the camera in their dry water bag) and decided to walk back from there. Without shoes and with a bit of a forest ahead of us we thought our feet would get destroyed. Thankfully there was a pile of discarded flipfops of varying shapes and sizes just at the entrance so we took our pick – gross!! There was some agro at the bridge (the locals were saying it was too late to cross back – we’d stopped at a couple of bars on the way!) which me and liam stayed well clear of. While the foreigners were arguing and refusing to pay a pittance to have it opened we found a FREE boat just a short distance downriver. Despite roaring up at the people on the bridge to follow they ignored us so we got across pretty much hassle free. And even though he protested we insisted our ferryman take a token for his efforts. It was a pity that so much bother was caused over such a meaningless thing. Yes, we were being taken advantage of as we were a big group of foreigners with little or no other options but really in the grand scheme of things they were asking for less than 1 GBP so principles or no principles pay the man and be on your way.

Vang Vieng - 28th October 2009

A well deserved day off and I feel awful; liam on the other hand feels fine so turns a day by the pool into a party! It’s also dad’s b-day and when I ring I get the added bonus of talking to Sheila and all the kids!! Some phonecall – I’m sure it was hilarious on the other end with the queues!! I’ve excluded alcohol from my diet today….liam hasn’t!! He plays ‘beer pong’ which is pretty funny but goes on all night!! I’m just thankful that bars shut around midnight here so I can go home to bed (boring!).

Vang Vieng - 26th & 27th October 2009

Back on the wagon again with two more days tubing. Decided to stay dry these days so brought a handbag and camera and stayed on one side of the river and walked down. So you can finally see some snaps/videos of this madness….and I mean madness! No matter how many people I knew who had been here before and told me how crazy it was words really don’t describe it. Even though Thailand is great craic and the full moon party is mad it’s all quite spread out and there’s so much going on it can be over whelming for just one night. Here there are a handful of bars in quick succession that you can quite easily see so you know which one is busiest and you meet people that are all having the best time! It’s becoming clear to me now why so many people you meet have gotten jobs here and are staying for the long haul.

Vang Vieng - 19th - 25th October 2009

I really love this place. Where else can you have the best of both worlds?? Most places are either party hearty (where you sacrifice peace and tranquility) or relaxing and beautiful (without a pub for miles!) but here you can pick and choose as you see fit. Well for this whole week we chose the latter option unfortunately mostly because of Liam’s pretty bad injury. He went to the hospital after a couple of days of the cut getting more infected and they cleaned it out but it meant a course of antibiotics and not much movement for a few days. It did mean that aileen finally skyped and got in touch with people – it truly is amazing to be able to get in touch with (and SEE!!) loved ones so easily.

Vang Vieng - 17th & 18th October 2009

Two more days tubing and on the second day I finally didn’t get a tube. It saved us 75,000 kip (just under 6 GBP but a LOT of money here – it’s SO cheap!!) and I actually did okay. I just had to swim across and back once and the worst part was getting OUT of the water as the current is that strong. Getting the tuk tuk back was SO much easier these nights as it hadn’t been raining and the lights were working most of the way so the path was far more navigable. I’ve promised Liam two whole days without me asking him to do anything so I’m going to go out and get him some food and then try to get this notes up on the blog!! As a postscript I’ve been tearing through books lately: Liam bought Revolutionary Road here recently (he’s currently reading my Blood River which took me two years and a re-read to complete!) and it was riveting. I’ve now moved on quite late in the day to The Kite Runner which I both thank and apologise to Grainne for! It’s taken me, what 2 years to START this on but hey, I did bring it with me and I’m over half way through in a couple of days so THANKS!! Books are pretty expensive here (more so than Thailand) costing nearly 7 GBP for a second hand one – Liam’s best cost him pence in charity shops back home!

Vang Vieng - 16th October 2009

Even though I wasn’t feeling too bad today the decision for another pool day was made which is just as well as we ACHE all over. I’m typing this listening to the intermittent chirping of a ghekko in our room. The room itself is nice but the bathroom has a healthy family of ants and so far we’ve seen 3 or 4 ghekkos coming through the bedroom. Liam also got a cricket out of the room the other day so we’ve definitely got lots of company! Although I’m usually pretty squeamish with the creepy crawly types these ones don’t bother me as I quite like ghekkos and as long as there’s nothing in the bed or on my stuff that’s fine with me. I don’t think I mentioned but there is a photo from the kohl anta of the FREAKIEST looking centipede/spider thing that was under my stuff on my first morning. Liam diligently got it out of the room but that definitely made me jump!!

Vang Vieng - 15th October 2009

Yes, with one day of recovery we were back at it again and I made the promise to myself to be a bit more adventurous this day. Although I didn’t touch the first (and highest – think I’ve mentioned that) swing I did every other one which included zip wires and swings of varying height. Although we didn’t make it to the slide bar I wouldn’t have gone on that again as far too painful. Again with just one tube we were asking everyone where the best/closest place to get a tuk tuk back was. This time it was apparently close to the mud bar (does exactly what it says on the tin). And even though we’d hosed the muck from ourselves before setting off we needn’t have bothered as the path was awful! With no shoes for grip we slipped and slided (liam seriously coming down on his arm into thorns at one stage) about 10 minutes back to the car park. We really need a better game plan for getting home the next time…

Vang Vieng - 14th October 2009

Although not yet 9am I’ve a feeling today’s a duvet day. Liam’s snoozing beside me and I reckon we’re too old (well maybe just me!) but two days partying in a row seems to be all I can handle these days! I’ve been pretty rubbish with the communicados lately so it’d be good to try skype some people later too. By the way we missed the Ireland wc qualifier on Saturday (bars shut early and no wifi access) and were gutted to see italy had equalised so late in the game. We caught a replay yesterday so saw some of the action at least. there’s a hotel down the road that has a swimming pool that overlooks the river that we can use for less than 2 quid a day so if liam doesn’t get up perhaps that’s what I’ll do…..i’ve also got just a few pages left in my book so that’s my next port of call!!

Vang Vieng - 13th October 2009

day two tubing and we thought we’d be right old smarty pants and just get one tube between us to save on a bit of cash. It’s pretty clear now that the first four bars are completely accessible by dry land but at the time we didn’t realize that so I put myself forward as the ‘swimmer’ (/clinger!). needless to say within a minute or two I had cut my foot on a rock (same foot and side as the recently healed coral cut people!) so that role was relinquished to the far more competent liam! We had factored in tuk tuk fare back to town and stayed at the last bar til well after dark thinking we could get a lift from there. We might as well have saved our money and floated all the way back as the distance to the nearest pick up point was actually pretty far and when we got there we had to walk bare foot up a pretty rocky path to get to it! Although we went home and showered and went back out the night before we headed straight out and then went home to stay.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet but I’m not sure is it because of us westerners or is it the French influence but the amount of lovely bread here is astounding! In Thailand if you got toast with a breakfast it was made with really sweet small bread. Here if you get a salad it’s accompanied by a pretty large baguette of warm fresh bread! There's street hawkers here that sell all sorts but inevitably within a few paces you’ll come across someone selling filled rolls! So although we’ve been sampling the local food as much as possible, these last two days have seen us having bread for breakfast and for dinner! It’s a good base for a day out on the river and an extremely cheap way to eat!

Vang Vieng - 12th October 2009

we caught our first tube today man (rough quote from point break said keano reeves stylee!!). so even mum had heard of bad things on this river and within 30 minutes we saw an example. The first bar had a ‘swing’ that dropped people from a serious height into the river and as I have a fear of cutting myself (especially after the coral incident) I kind of knew that although higher up the further out you swung the chances were the water was deeper too so it was probably safest. The first girl to do the jump that day that we saw clearly thought she’d done her achievement by jumping off the platform and let go of the swing far too early to do a spectacular belly flop into shallow water. She managed to swim close to shore pretty shook up but the second she made contact with a tuber she passed out. She came to and was fine after that and continued her day but it was certainly a lesson that although hilarious to watch people jumping, if you’re lacking in confidence it’s a bad idea! Naturally my confidence grew as the day went on and although liam jumped on the first (and highest) swing and tried out pretty much everything there was, I saved myself til the 5th bar and lowest swing to have a go! We also tried the slide which I thought would be pretty harmless but boy did that hurt! With no control over entry as you’re catapulted at speed from the bottom you end up slamming your back on water which is never a good thing. It had started to rain by that stage and light was fading fast so it was back to the water to try to go home.

As we’d seriously under estimated the deposits we needed to pay for tubes and dry bag rental we had spent all our money on alcohol and hadn’t enough for the tuk tuk fare back to town. We knew the drift downriver from the last bar was approx 50 minutes so we set off in a pack of tubes all clinging on to each other! Within minutes we had separated and it was me and liam and one other guy on our own in the dark and with rain and now thunder and lightening to guide us! Thank god he was there because I reckon on our own I would’ve freaked out! We made it back and will look back on that journey with fond memories but knew we would not be doing it again too soon!!

Vang Vieng - 11th October 2009

the realisation has finally dawned that the traveling part of traveling is actually quite exhausting. This town is known primarily for it’s party style tubing (literally sitting on a tractor inner tyre and floating from bar to bar down the nam xong river) but we still couldn’t muster up the energy. If Vientiane reminded me of cork then vang vieng definitely reminded me of goleen (west cork)! First impressions showed us an incredibly laid back, relaxed and sleepy town. We should have known but there was actually more than 200 people out on the river doing all sorts of craziness!

Vang Vieng - 10th October 2009

One day was really enough to see the sites of Vientiane so we took off to our next destination on a 10am bus with 9.30 pick up from the hotel. If I was petrified on the flight to laos then I was most certainly uncomfortable on the bus! For a vehicle that might squeeze in 16 people for a 5 hour journey the fact that they managed to get 23 on is quite amazing. The aisle had collapsible seats so that every conceivable space was used - very enterprising! No overhead storage space either so carry on bags were either on laps or given valuable leg room for the journey. We literally took the first hotel we were offered on arrival and slept for most of the day.

Vientiane (Laos) - 9th October 2009

Took us a while but we eventually got up and did a big walking day trip around the ‘city’. It reminded me of cork for some reason…the fact that it was a capital city but was actually quite town like! Sat by a bar to watch the sun set into the Mekong river…although it was high and powerful all day it somehow disappeared 20 minutes before sunset…liam captured it quite well on camera I think. You can really see the French influence is still pretty evident – we walked along the champs eleysees to the laos arc de triumphe after a glass of rose at a French wine bar followed by our most expensive meal yet at a French restaurant that night. Liam’s fine accent saw me dining on a taste of home – ‘pomme de terre purree’ yum yum yummy!!

The fifth corner - 8th October 2009

Getting a flight from the island of koh samui (with 3 hour stopover in bangkok) to vientiane (capital of laos) was probably twice the price of 20 hours bussing it but we were assuming more than twice as comfortable/tolerable. This may be true but at the time I must say it was an ordeal. It was probably in most part down to the fact that we were feeling awfully sorry for ourselves – not to mention ill – and yes this was self inflicted but I will relay the tale to you at any rate! The following is taken from notes I scribbled on the flight from bankgok to Vientiane to keep my mind preoccupied…..

We couldn’t believe our luck when our extremely friendly check in clerk offered us seats on the earlier flight to Bangkok (thus saving us a wait of 1.5 hours – we’d over estimated on travel times!). not only this but he offered to check our bags through to Vientiane even though we’d booked with two separate carriers! He advised us that we needed to check through ourselves in Bangkok for our boarding passes and gave us a slip of paper with the appropriate gate/section. He also put stickers on us and we were on our way! With no time to get water for our dehydrated throats we boarded the Bangkok airways flight outa there! There was an in flight service but to our dismay there was nothing for sale (where’s ryanair when you need them ey?!) so we had to make do with the thimble size cups of water and juice to quench our thirst. This as you’ll rightly say is no big deal…..the trouble started when we got to Bangkok! I had been thinking on this first flight of the next flight we were to catch – with Lao Airlines. This instantly brought images of ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ back when Indi escapes the evil Lao by getting on a plane with the taunt of ‘Better luck next time Lao Che!’ of course to close the door to reveal that he’s doomed on board ‘ Lao Airlines’. What fate was to behold us?

Upon arrival in Bangkok our stickers had identified us to a lady who directed us off to a security entrance where she subsequently closed off the entrance behind us. Although we had at least 4 – 5 hours until our flight we felt like we’d just made it on time as we were hurried through! It wasn’t until we were upstairs wandering into the ‘transit lounge’ that we realized we’d no boarding cards for the next flight. This then produced the wild goose chase that was trying to locate the check in desk as per the details on the slip of paper we had. It took us nearly 2 hours to find despite numerous directions being given. It really was trying to find the fifth corner of a square room as we were wandering around concourses 'a –d' only to be told we needed to get to e!! we eventually found the elusive entrance to that particular area which was a door with no handle on one side HIDDEN BEHIND A WALL!!

So we get to the pretty small plane and with the propellers outside the wing it really did hark back to the Indiana Jones image. In my musings on the previous flight I wondered why we were supplied with life jackets and not parachutes as surely they’d be far more effective than a device you can only use if you’ve survived the plummet into the ocean?! Indiana Jones didn’t have a parachute or a life jacket…but at least he had a raft. That’s more than I can say for us! Liam wondered what the sign “USE BOTTOM SEAT CUSHION FOR FLOTATION” meant on the back of the seat in front. This question was answered upon reading the safety leaflet. Nope, no life jacket for us as it wouldn’t fit under the seat most likely. Yes, we were expected to actually rip the seat cushion up and use THAT as our saving floating device!! The noise is deafening and my stomach’s lurching as much as the plane did during take off…..

Needless to say we survived the flight and managed to muster the conversational chatter to share a cab into the city, get some food and collapse exhausted into bed for hours.

Koh Samui - 7th October 2009

So finally we’ve come round and decided instead of extending our thai visa we’re gonna leave the country. Caught the boat to koh samui and coincidentally met our friends from home who luckily showed us a sweet hotel that was super cheap! Had another BIG night which we most definitely regretted the next day…..

1 month in, the count so far..

3 countries.........
3 books.....
2 trainers....
2 pairs of flip flops.....
3 tv series & many films
numerous t-shirts /tops/shorts
and 1 camera

photos are now on flickr from Koh Phagnan....

Koh Phangan - 5th & 6th October 2009

Day one of recovery despite the optimistic start of alcohol just after breakfast. There was a pretty big group continuing the party in the bar downstairs but I really didn’t have the stomach for all that so we retired to the room pretty quick!! I discovered a serious and cheap indulgence in the 7eleven at the top of the road – a POPCORN machine, seriously the nicest popcorn I’ve ever had. And no it’s not sweet, I’m old school and favour the butter and salt combo!!

Day two and not suffering too badly but as it’s our last night here and the visa’s running out (Friday) and typhoons are battering the places we wanted to go next a rethink is needed…..but not in the mood for it today!!! By the way…on day 19 of coral cut watch it appears to be nearly completely mended, i.e. I’d be happy going into the water again – imagine that: such a hot place and - apart from a drunken pool party – not being able to go swimming!! Also, we’ve bought a new camera so have some snaps of Koh Phangan. Unfortunately trying to upload them is taking a bit of time so we’ll just have to add them at a later date… :(

Koh Phangan - 4th October 2009

FULL MOON PARTY, body paint is the name of the game. As you’ll see from the pics Liam dabbled in his own art whereas I went for the more professional look! Great craic had by all and the moon shone brightly for all to see…not so great was the amount of people (male and female) using the sea as their wc….glad we’ve a pool to swim in now and when we’re back!!

Koh Phangan - 3rd October 2009

A day of lounging by the pool then met up with buddies from London (arranged not coincidence). Liam convinced three others to join him in more poker…..and he took all their money, plus the money of 16 strangers!! A free night out, woo hoo! I did have to have a word with Liam about the dangers of fire….even though we’d been told (and seen the guy after) a horror story about someone completely catching fire after jumping through a SKIPPING ROPE OF FLAMES…..he still did it anyway – I nearly lost my life.

Koh Phangan - 2nd October 2009

The weekend of the Full Moon party is upon us so there’s a big fight (Thai boxing) plus pool party but we’re not able for it after last two days….Liam tried his hand (and lost) at poker in a pub down the road so who knows if he had won he might have been up for the party!

Koh Phangan - 1st October 2009

Woke up and thought – why not we’re on holiday, so continued the party all day!!

Koh Phangan - 30th September 2009

Christmas shopping isn’t so exciting but just really finding accommodation for Christmas and New Year. Christmas isn’t the problem it’s just the New Year’s full moon party is the busiest night of the year so all the resorts that take pre-bookings are full. There were a few that didn’t book in advance but for the time of year that’s in it we wanted somewhere nice and confirmed for when we come back! You’ll be glad to know that although it’s taken a few days we’ve now booked a lovely place (bit pricey but worth it we hope) with pool and most importantly – FREE WIFI!!! To celebrate our long day of trekking about we went to the pool party at our resort. Not so sure how great it is living just upstairs when someone (Liam!) suggests getting swimmers on and getting in!! He seems to like the pool after a few drinks…..well at least it’s not the sea!

Koh Phangan - 28th - 29th September 2009

A couple of days of chillaxing – we’re getting too old for parties! – and besides we’re planning on going CHRISTMAS SHOPPING tomorrow so need to have our wits about us!!

Koh Phangan - 27th September 2009

After staying one night in a pretty pricey ant infested room we moved down the beach to a cheaper resort with a pool…and pool parties!! The half moon party was on in the jungle that night which involved a taxi ride there and back – great craic!

Koh Phangan - 26th September 2009

Time to move on, this time to Koh Phangan to take in a full moon party on the 4th October. The journey took 8.5 hrs to complete so it’s lucky we had a combination of card playing, movie watching (Liam’s media player – god send!) and a packet of biscuits to keep us sane!

Ao Nang - 24th - 25th September 2009

Nothing much but rain these next two days but we had changed hotel which had free wifi so happy days. Managed to download skype and give some people a call so please let us know who has it so we can do it for free next time we have the luxury!!

Ao Nang - 23rd September 2009

Collected at 8am for a day trip which included rafting, quads and elephants….and a hell of a lot of driving in between to get to these places!! I know I’ve said I’m not keen on getting on an elephant (I’m not keen on getting on donkeys/cows/horses at home) but it seems like EVERY day trip includes them as part of it. Needless to say I won’t be doing that again, poor things! The other activities were ace, especially the rafting, defo doing that again when we can. Unfortunately the torrential downpour we missed at lunch at the raft site we caught up with when we got to the quad biking place. The guy on the bus said bring your camera etc and poor liam had the task of trying to mind it while we went around these now flooding mud tracks in the pouring rain!! So yes the camera broke which will explain the lack of photos over the coming days. We drowned our sorrows too that night with some whiskey in the room and then out to recreate the craic liam had the night before. Unfortunately the strip of bars he’d ended up on (with a couple we had met, not on his own thankfully) was absolutely teaming with ‘ladies’ of the night so we moved on pretty swiftly.

Ao Nang - 22nd September 2009

Lounged by pool all day, really beautiful and SO quiet! Had a pretty mellow night as we had to be fully prepared for our big day the next day…..

Ao Nang, 21st September

Left Koh Lanta for Krabi and didn't stay there very long (20 minutes perhaps). Headed straight for the beach resort of Ao Nang and have bagged us a lovely hotel which has a swimming pool on the roof – lush! Liam went out that night but not for me as finally suffering from dodgy tum and need my foot to heal!!

New Site

Hey all

Welcome to the new site - all pictures are now on the flickr website - if you click on the picture icon to the right you can look at our pictures - any problems use this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/7818959@N05/ and use the use the folders on the right to get pictures from the places we have been.

Hope it is as easy to use as the old one - we also have a map of where we have been that will alway be at the bottom of the page - you can zoom in and out and move the map to find out where we are or go through the link to get it as a full page on google map. Just click on the VIEW OUR JOURNEY SO FAR IN A LARGER MAP to go through and see it more clearly.

On the new blog it shows 5 entries per page and you can look at old diary entries by clicking on the archive section on the right of the new blog, or on "older posts" at the bottom of the page.

A&L

x

Koh Lanta - 20th September

Being our last full day at the resort we had thought it'd be a good idea to see some of the island and hire mopeds. While I was dying in bed Liam had busied himself with the task and next thing I'm being hurried out to give it a go. Being very hungover my senses weren't the best so it took me a few minutes to get my balance right. We stopped up the road (did NOT want to go out on the main road without a LOT of practise runs in safety) and I realised I couldn't turn! Liam's attempt to show me ended up with him and moped in the ditch so needless to say we returned the vehicles and got our money back post haste!

Koh Lanta - 19th September

After the realisation that nowhere was accesible by foot (road a bit dangerous as no path) we decided to make the most of the nightlife in our resort (with 4 other people!!). A good night had by all with buckets a plenty!

Koh Lanta - 18th September

Another day another boat trip - this time to Koh Lanta, away from the hustle and bustle of Phi phi. The resort was very pretty with two swimming pools that overlooked the sea. The beach was sandy but the sea extremely rocky so it was a good excuse to lounge by the pool all day and not have to deal with sand everywhere!

Phi Phi - 17th September

Unfortunately using the free wifi in a bar meant that we had quite a few drinks but had also committed to going on a boat trip the next day! Getting up at 9am this morning to sit on a long boat with TEN other people wasn't the best cure of a hangover but we got through somehow! The stops included the real monkey island where one woman got too friendly and soon regretted it. Then it was my first experience of snorkelling at Shark point - and yes Liam saw one!! I had difficulty with this initially as I was trying to breathe normally which was far too quick. As always Liam was there to help me out and in no time I was breathing like Darth Vader under the sea. One lesson learned - although I had applied factor 50 it's not enough to cope with an exposed back out of water, ouch! Next stop Bamboo island with lovely white sands and some shallow water snorkelling for me. I think the next stop was Mosquito island where we saw island people living just above the sea in the rocks. We went snorkelling in what was apparently deep water but even though I took the stairs into the water when I kicked my leg back I got a pretty nasty cut from the coral. I stayed in the sea for a while regardless but once the pain was getting too annoying I went back to discover I was bleeding pretty badly - good jobs it wasn't shark point!! Once wrapped up the next stop was Maya Bay - the scene of the famous 'The Beach'. With my coral cut and Liam's hangover we decided to give it a miss, afterall a beach is a beach right? It seemed like people found it pretty difficult to navigate the rocks to climb through to the other side and with the tide out I get the feeling no one was that impressed!! As a whole the group decided against sitting in the sea for 20 mins to watch the sunset but some of the group jumped off a cliff on the way back.

Phi Phi - 16th September

After a night of CONSTANT rain we ventured out and got a longboat (to ourselves) around the coast to Long Beach. After a few more showers it cleared up so we ventured into the water which was extremely rocky so not so enjoyable. Had a pub crawl along the three bars on the beach before coming back again. Have just had a lovely indian curry cos as we leave this busy tourist island the day after tomorrow we know we won't see such a thing for a while again!

Phi Phi - 15th September

Today is a duvet day after a pretty hard night - LIam hasn't left the bungalow (which we've taken for another 3 days, it's lush!) - I got us takeaway toasties for breakfast, I'm such a giver! Fancy some fried rice later methinks; that's one thing I've not mentioned yet: every meal we've eaten has been AMAZING and Liam has yet to use his spork as we've not been given chopsticks yet!!

Phi Phi - 14th September

Monday was pretty cloudy (but still hot) so we took a kayake out on the sea to a beach around the coast called monkey island. I (Aileen) was up front on the boat and FREAKED out with the size of the waves and the fear of falling in and not being able to get out. Liam talked me down and we were soon rowing as a team - tough work though; Grainne how did you do it for Gaelforce and how long was it?! We struggled on two 20 minute trips! The tales of monkey island were of pests that would take your stuff from your boat so we were prepared for a fight. Perhaps it was the weather but only one monkey was visibile and pretty content eating biscuits from another group so we escaped any pilfering. Went out last night and got DRENCHED on the way home - taking shelter was pointless as the rain just didn't let up. The rain hasn't been constant but it has been pretty regular. To be honest I quite like it, I'm no good with too much sunshine - must be my Irish blood!!

Phi Phi - 13th September

Went up to the viewpoint (also tsunami evacuation route) at 1pm- BIG mistake at that time: idea was to get up early to do the trek before the heat but a big lie in meant we suffered the ascent in the hottest part of the day! Well worth it at the top though, it's pretty clear why the Tsunami wreaked such damage as the main part of the island is a thin strip of land with the sea on either side. A slice of perspective was given to us on our way down too - while we were sweating on our walk there was building going on on the side of the hill with no such thing as machinery to bring the materials up. A combination of manual pulley plus sheer manpower made us realise we had it pretty easy after all. That night we went to another of the nightly beach/bar parties where there was a fire show which involved lots of drunk people doing the limbo under a pole of fire and jumping through a ring of fire in exchange for free shots! We've since seen a proper fire show with a skilled performer but letting drunk amateurs do it is madness!!

Phi Phi - 11th - 12th September

After one day and one long night (woken at 4am) of incredible rain the move to phi phi was under way. Got a LOVELY bungalow not too far from the village so feeling right at home now. First proper night out - liam experienced his first bucket which was quickly followed by a lost bet on thai boxing! Ended up at a party on the beach until 4am so getting up at 10am to negotiate a lower rate on the room for the next 3 nights wasn't the easiest....taking it easy today, might hit the beach for the first time in daylight later. Missing everyone and happy that you're here with us on this fabulous trip (typing this on our new laptop in a free wireless bar with bacardi breezers for the hangover!). Spread the word of the blog cos don't think it's publicised enough!

Thailand, Phuket - 10th September

The road to Thailand begins with a mid-day flight to Phuket. We need to think of a plan of action on what/where happens next! Landed in Phuket and got the bus to Phuket town, found a cheapo hotel for a fiver for the night....need to work out how to get off this island quick cos Liam needs a beach with hut!! The one flight of stairs without lift means another ruthless culling of clothing etc is on the cards....

Our Journey So Far.......

Click here to see map

Kuala Lumpur - 9th September

Spent the day on foot around KL, a great way to see a city is to walk around looking for the computer centre!! We walked all day in the balmy heat getting some respite in the a/c malls. Thankfully a bargain was struck so we're able to bring you these notes.....Walked down to the Petronas towers that night to swing from it's heady heights - see photos!

Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur - 8th September

Landed in KL and got pretty straightforward cab but were unknowingly dropped too far up the road the hotel was on!! We dragged our non backpacker luggage through a busy market street for 20 mins before finding the place in the opposite direction to where we'd been told to go! Needless to say some clothes were dumped after thissweaty work....

Our Journey So Far.......

Our flight to KL

The long goodbye.......

So we've been saying farewell for what seems like months now and the end is really nearly in sight!! The latest round of goodbyes was Powers Bar in Kilburn Thursday night which was an emotional roller coaster but great craic! I'm going to attempt to upload the photos and videos so you can all cringe along.....