In Ammendium

Just in addition to my previous post...

!) 1 hour on the internet at standard Koh Phagnan rates is equivalent to about 6 beers in NZ. So hopefully you appreciate every word, in much the same way as I appreciate each and every drop of that delicious golden nectar.

2) On the train down to Surat Thani, Michelle had an allergic reaction to something. Shes fine now, but it meant that we got to visit our second hospital in SEA. (Rash and swelling on her face, the poor thing! Probably caused by something she ate... great help) Unlike a NZ Hospital, we were in and out in about an hour an a half, the nurses were attentive and it only set us back about $60. Yay for second world medical care.

3) I kinda skimmed over our Ha Long bay trip, and it deserves more... We did a 3 day/2 night trip, one night staying on a beautiful and fairly new Junk in a cute wee cabin. We were served fresh fish, beautiful fresh squid (which tastes kinda like NZ Calamari, but pretty much melts in your mouth) various stir fries and soups and it was really very good. We explored a huge cave (really, HUGE - the little things in the middle are people!)
...kayaked into a hidden lagoon, then on Cat Ba Island, we climbed a muddy, trecherous path up a mountain (where the video from an earlier post was taken) stayed in a rather upmarket hotel and generally just awed ourselves with Ha Long's mystical, mythical history and absolutely stunning scenery.

Ok... back to present... Koh Phagnan is a great place to wind down from all the long travels (although getting back to Bangkok from here is one heck of a mission!) chilling by the beach drinking cocktails (and beer), swimming in the pool, spoiling ourselves with Air Con, renting a moto and exploring the hard to reach, but beautiful eastern beaches and just psyching ourselves up for the UK.

Jeepers but the time has flown for us, its hard to believe that 5 months ago we were in Auckland with all this before us, it seems to have whizzed by... even the epic bus journeys.

Will do more of a wrap up of this leg in the near future, then it will be all on for our UK and Europe adventures!!!

Catch up...

Getting to the internet is never as easy as you'd imagine, what with all the obvious distractions, and the often crippling high price of an hour of cyber-fun (more than a couple of beers... hence many beers, no blog updates!) but rest assured we're still here...

So, I see that my last proper post saw us in Nha Trang, Vietnam. At the time I was quite ill with a tropical cold, and we left Nah Trang on a so called "Sleeper" Bus... well unlike the sleeper bus in Laos, these ones just constituted long reclining chairs that folded down. Unfortunately we got the back row. Now while Dave, Christine, Michelle and I might not have slept much, the cuddly Vietnamese man sleeping next to me did! Good job too because with the air-con set to "freeze your balls off" I needed his body warmth.

Anyway, we arrived in Hoi An, and after resting most of the day we did a little exploring...

Let me just say, that if you're ever in Vietnam, you have to get to Hoi An. Very cute, rows of little Chinese shop-houses, narrow streets, lanterns and a million Tailors and Shoe Makers... Michelle and I succumbed to the lure very quickly, both getting several items of clothing and some shoes made. For that alone its worth visiting this place, but its just so darned cute!

After several days there, it was off to Hue, the ancient Imperial Capital... I say ancient but although the various Dynasty's that rules Vietnam did so from Hue, most of the interesting sights are only a couple of hundred years old. That aside, the imperial city was unexpected and stunning...

For the facebookers, photos here

for others... uh, sometime soonish...

Then it was up to Hanoi - strange city, suicidal drivers, but it certianly has a lot of energy. We went out and saw the famous Water Puppets - an amazing experience, then we bid farewell to David and Christine as they headed off to Halong Bay and we took care of a few errands (getting our insurance claim from Southern Cross sorted FINALLY!!!) and rested up after the 2 weeks of hectic and constant travel.

Then off to Ha Long Bay... utterly stunning! We payed a little extra for a "Deluxe" Junk and weren't dissapointed. It was a great group of people, and a very enjoyable time exploring the limestone islets, caves and the famous Cat Ba island.

Finally we bid farewell to Vietnam (for now, we're definately going back!) and caught our flight into Bangkok, and undertook our most epic journey so far...

Taxi to Airport, Airplane from Ha Noi to Bangkok, Taxi to Hualumphong Train Station, Tuk-Tuk to MBK to get some food, Tuk Tuk back, then on the train for the overnight trip to Surat Thani, Taxi and Minivan to the pier and Ferry to Koh Samui, and finally Songthaaw to Mae Nam beach. That's Planes, Boats, Trains, Tuk-Tuks, Songthaaws, Vans and Taxis all in one trip.

38 Hours later we finally collapsed onto the bed in our Bungalow.

Koh Samui is beautiful and interesting, we stayed on charming Bophut beach most of the time, but rented moto's for a few days and explored the entire island, including the famous (and energetic night spot) of Chaweng, then it was off to the famous backpackers party island of Koh Phangan.

Which is where we are now. Maybe not quite as spectactualr as Koh Samui, it makes up for it with a laid back atmosphere and very cheap food and drinks.

At this stage I can't quite believe its all drawing to a close so quickly! In under 2 weeks we'll be in Blighty, watching the Beeb, and since the Permiership League is on at the moment, supporting Liverpool. All very exciting apart from having to find work...

Anyway, thats it from me, net time is up and a beer is calling my name!

Shout outs to Kyle, Darren, Tamsyn and Fran - wassup you guys, hope you're still getting in a few last BBQ's. Big HI and hugs to David and Chirstine, for coming half way round the world to see us, and for sharing some of the adversities!

Ok till next time!

Vietnam Jungle

Just a quickie - have uploaded photies to FB, will post again soon (hopefully tomorrow when we arrive in Bangkok) but for the time being heres a wee vid of the Vietnamese Jungle, in Ha Long Bay. The audio is all natural...




PS - Don't worry about the stuff you're seeing on the news about Thailand - totally out of proportion, in typical media style...

Super Mega King Size Bonus Bonus Super Update

ALRIGHTY! Finally some internet time on a computer that works!!!

First up - Photos from the first leg in Vietnam...

Michelle relaxing on Long Beach on Phu Quoc Island - well earned after the supreme mission to get there.

Some boats at An Thoi Islands

Us enjoying the picturesque little bay

FISHIES!!!! Snorkelling.

Coral


Michelle catching a Fishie! They kept that one.

The first ever fish I've caught. Had to throw it back...

Beautiful beach at Phu Quoc

Floating Market on the Mekong Delta... which coincidentally looks nothing like a Francis Ford Coppola movie...
The infamous Saigon Traffic!

Ok, new stuff...

From Ho Chi Minh City we headed out to the Cu Chi Tunnels, where the Viet Cong had their base, only 70kms from Saigon. Although the trip was very touristy, we still enjoyed seeing the tunnels and having a crawl through, as well as learning about the VC resistance to the US war. It was very interesting seeing some very clever home-made weapons that the VC developed while remaining hidden from extensive US Army searches. Again a sad reminder of the horror and pointlessness of war.

Onwards north, we headed to Mui Ne (no idea on how to pronounce that one, everyone has a slightly different take on it!) where we were greeted with the surprising sight of a Desert, in the middle of Vietnam. We hired a jeep (Ginny - the only method of transport we haven't used so far is Cyclo, which we're saving for Ha Noi) and hit the dunes, explored the red canyon (which on closer inspection turned out the be caused by the drain off in the wet season), checked out the beautiful Fairy Streem, and watched dozens of Vietnamese tourists gape in awe and pose awkwardly for photos in front of the giant sand dunes.

Then it was a bery bumpy 4 hour mini bus ride to the Hill Station of Dalat. At 1500 meters elevation it gets rather cool there - something which after 3 months of steamy south east asian heat Michelle and I really enjoyed. It was even cool enough to warrant putting on long pants! Yes the chilly 27 degrees was welcome relief.

The next day we embarked on a tour of Vietnamese Kitch - Dalat is home to about the cheesiest set of attractions you could imagine - beautiful waterfalls decorated with Fibreglass Deer, Giraffes and Elephants. Elephant and Ostrich and Pony rides, Wooden frames to pose for photos in. Yep, to a Kiwi, whose appreciation of nature tends to be.. well... NATURAL, it was all very fake, though enjoyable and humorous none-the-less. So, 2 waterfalls, a gorgeous Gondola ride over the hills, the "Valley of Love", a strange flower garden, a so called Embroidery Village which turned out to be a complete tourist trap and a Tacky Art Deco palace and Michelle and I were ready for the next adventure...

Which brings us up to present.

Currently we're sitting in Nha Trang - killing a few hours before our overnight bus to Hoi An. The bus here was amazingly bouncy - sometimes we were jolted more than 10cm off our seats as our driver hit every pothole on the 120km journey with as much speed as he could muster. Its going to be a very long day, but hopefully (and without doubt) Hoi An will prove to be as enjoyable as the rest of Vietnam.

Since my last lot of Shout Outs were so well recieved, and its my blog, I'm going to go right ahead with round 2...

a big WASSUP to Paul, Scotty and Brendan. Missed the bbq's and beers a lot. Talking sh#t with myself doesn't cut it. Wassup also to your respective wahines, for putting up with you b#stards. A big YO (which is also Vietnamese for "Cheers") to the Courtier's, old and new. Hi to Mum and Dad, hope mums birthday went well, looking forward to updating you in August. Word up to Niv - Happy birthday to you also bro, see you in just over a month...

Ok thats me.. much love till next time...

Delays...

Sorry, sorry, sorry...

I'm really trying to update and get some photos up, but the internet is unfortunately so sh#te that many hours of attempts have yielded nothing...

Rest assures though, we're still alive and well, Michelle is feeling much better, Vietnam is exciting (though a little touristy) and we have amazing photos! If only the internet would co-operate long enough to get some uploaded!!!

We've shortened our trip, but we're very excited to be heading to London on the 8th of May.

Will update ASAP, as soon as I can find an internet cafe with reliable connection!

Take care... thanks to the response from the shout out - we love hearing from you all!!!

Goooood Morning VIETNAM!

6am Start. Catch one Tuk-Tuk for 1 hour from Kampot, down Highway 3, turn off at the 5th village on the right. Wind though rice paddies, past tiny rural villages on a tiny dirt track, past the water buffalo's and kids yelling "HELLO" and into the middle of no-where, where the dirt track becomes too rough to continue. Take your pack and put it on the front of a Moto (125cc Yamaha Scooter), and ride as pasanger while the driver takes you further down this rock-hewn path until you reach...

The Cambodian /Vietnam Border near Hatieng.

Cross the borderwith mininal fuss (apart from a thorough customs inspector wanting to see our vaccination certificates). On the Vietnam side the dirt track is immediately replaced by a nice clean paved road. Get to the ferry terminal after 2 hours, only to find that the ferry left nearly an hour ago. Find another couple of Moto's "convieniently" hanging around to take you to another ferry, 1 hour away (for a small, yet not insignificant fee, of course).

Wait at the ferry dock for an hour in blistering heat while they unload a dozen more motos off the boat. Catch ferry for 1 and a half hours to Phu Quoc (Yes, it sounds like Phew Cock) island.

Watch while Vietnamese men get into a huge roaring fight overwho's going to take you to the beach resort side of the island, and finally catch a taxi (with some very nice German and Finnish boys) to Long Beach.

1 Tuk-Tuk, 2 Motos, 1 Ferry, 1 Taxi Van. 7 Hours.

Luckily Phu Quoc was truely paradise. Almost unspoilt, set in the turquiose waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Swinging Palm trees, golden sand. Really what we needed after the filth of Cambodia. We'd arrived in Vietnam at last!

We stayed on Phu Quoc for what seemed like a couple of days but turned out to be a week. During this time we sat under a beach umbrella, read our books, ate fresh seafood, boated to some tiny outer islands, went snorkelling, fishing, ate more seafood, drank local Rum, and generally recouperated and rested up. Michelle also got attacked by sea lice, but she's asusred me that its not as bad as one time in Auckland.

Finally we tired of all that, and decided it was time to make our way back to the mainland, so it was back to the taxis, motos, boats and busses for the trip up to Can Tho in the Mekong Delta.

So far it seems like every journey in Vietnam is going to involve at least one moto.

Can Tho is a stark contrast to Cambodian cities - almost spotlessly clean, or at least it feels like it, its a busy little hub of the Mekong. Despite many attempts of our erstwhile guest-house owner to get us to take the US$40 tour, we rented our very own boat and visited the lively local floating markets for a mere NZ$25.

Veitnam is so far very exciting, lively and colourful. We can't wait to see more. We're also really looking forward to meeting Tania's Dad in a couple of days, and catching up with Dave and Christine in a weeks time.

As always, Photos to follow.

Oh oh, and since its my blog, I wanna do a shout out... MaiFM Stylez

Wassup to my Brother Tone, and Brendano - hope studying is going good. Big Hi To Brendon Russell and the New Mrs Russell. Missing you guys. And a big yo-yo-yo to my peeps in London - see you guys in just over a month. Word up to the Haines (and Ex-Haines) crew, Ed Gaines, Dan P and Hopkins. Friday lunchbeers ain't the same by myself.

Ok thats me, love to all :)

Recovery and moving on.

PHOTOS! (Sorry, the first few are quite grim)

Photo of a prisoner at Tuol Sleng, just before execution.

Torture Room at S21 - Tuol Sleng

Rack of Skulls at the Killing Fields monument

The vast number of pills that we're taking for the next 3 weeks.

Thankfully, after a few days at nice hotels eating good western food (great pies, but still nothing on Faye's) Michelle was feeling well enough to move on, so we headed down to the beach. Its amazing how much you can miss the sea. We've been inland for nearly 3 months - it was refreshing to see the glinting water on the horizon, and smell the sweet salty air again. The sea is quite warm, so its not exactly refreshing to take a dip, but still. After a few more days in Sihnoukville Michelle felt much better so we decided to take a wee boat trip to some of the outer islands for snorkeling. Well - there was one ok ish spot, but because it rained the previous night visibility was quite low, and there seemed to be another storm rolling in (although it never rained on us). Thankfully it cleared just as we got back.

Michelle on the way to Koh Russei

Koh Russei - probably the most beautiful spot in Cambodia

Michelle having a wee splash in the clear water!

Serendipity Beach - the main beach at Sihnoukville


Actually quite beautiful, although by NZ standards it could do with a bit of a tidy up. There are hawkers (you can see one in the right of the last picture) walking up and down harassing you to buy fruit, sunglasses, bracelets and loads of other crap we don't need. Still, they're just trying to make a living...

We leave for Kampot tomorrow, then to Vietnam the following day - Can't wait!