Diving with Roctopus!

One of the guys we met on Koh Phangan just happened to work for an awesome (and very small) dive company called Roctopus Dive so we checked them out and booked to do our SSI open water course with them which would allow us to dive anywhere in the world!

Now any body who knows me knows that I'm petrified of the sea and have not been in the sea above my knees since I was little. It has been an aim of mine to conquer this fear whilst we were away and after 4 dives to up to 17m I can well and truly say the fear is conquered!

We started off with some theory and a pool session then on day 3 we were off out into the big blue! The weather was admittedly pretty poor and so the visibility underwater was not great either, we could prob see a max on 3 meters which also probably meant that we did not see as much as we could have but what we did see was pretty amazing! We saw lots of different types of coral and clown fish, angel fish and trigger fish and parrot fish, all of which are amazingly coloured, as is the coral and the plants that grow on it!

We had a videographer following us around on the last day so she did a lovely (albeit expensive) video as proof of our underwater adventures!

Bring on more diving in the rest of our trip!

Steph x

The Moon is Bright!

Chiang Mai really was a magical place, the weekend markets were brilliant and we managed to get involved in another kings birthday.

But the full Moon party was calling so we booked our selves onto a night train to Bangkok and started a 43 hour journey down to the Thailand Islands. This consisted of two night trains, a coach and a boat! A tiring experience that saw us not change for three days... we got used to the smell after a while!

Koh Phangan was an interesting experience, we decided to head over for the Full Moon party as we'd met so many people that were going and thought as we're here why not?

We stayed about 20 mins drive away from Had Rin (which looked like Malia), where the party takes place, in a really nice bungalow resort with our own private beach, perfect!

The party itself was insane! We rocked up not really knowing what to expect. The beach was great fun filled with bars offering various types of entertainment but the main theme being fire! Lots of people with twirling sticks on fire and the main but scary thing was a massive skipping rope on fire for the public to jump! As you can probably imagine we gave this one a miss - well I nearly went in but a bloke before me fell on his face on the rope - ouch!

The night was a great laugh filled with buckets and dancing, we bumped into a group of lads who were staying in our resort who turned out to be a good laugh. We also saw the lunar eclipse, well we didn't know what it was until the morning but the moon looked awesome!

Whilst Steph and I were taking full advantage of the ultra violet paint we met a group of lads who turned out to be dive instructors on Koh Tao (our next stop) and gave us some advice for when we get there!

Next stop - the sea!

Lets get our Trek on!

So the two day slow boat turned into a three day travel session, this was helped by our boat breaking down on the 2nd day meaning we had to spend the night in a small town right across from the border.

Once we got into Chiang Mai our epic journey was worth it as we met the nicest landlady to date. The staff at Libra Guesthouse really couldn't do more for us and it was topped off when we booked a 2 day trek through the guesthouse. This was brilliant and it was shared with a couple from America who had recently retired, I hope I have an ounce of their energy when I retire. Hugh and Lynne were great to be around especially as Lynne wanted to know everything about where we were so we learned so much about the local villages.

The trek started with a trip to a 50ft waterfall then onto a hot spring. The water was so hot I could only stand in it for a short time but it was really cool to see it.

We then took a 9km trek through the jungle across three mountains. This is the most exercise we've done since we've been here and it was quite hard going. (It didn't help that we had a little bit of a hang over from doing pretend Karaoke into phalic shapped carrots with some random Thai people the night before!) We saw some amazing views though!

It was a welcome sight when we got to our camp for the night with the most basic bed ever and the guide cooked us the most amazing massuman curry!

The next day 2 obviously tame but otherwise free to roam elephants rocked up to take us on our trek, but first we got to help wash them and Mike had an unexpected bareback ride! We then jumped onto a bamboo raft which we thought might be boring... until we got to the rapids and had to hang on for dear life!




The trek was all in all amazing and gave us some awesome memories!

Luang Prabang you beaut!

After the carnage that was tubing we set out to Luang Pabang. What a joy that was, if only we could of stayed there longer. A beautiful city with really nice people and a lot of coffee shops!

We bumped into Sean and Katy who we met in Hoi An and spent a day with them touring around the town, we found a rickety bamboo bridge that you had to pay to cross as the locals have to rebuild it every year. On the other side we went into this really nice open air restaurant, we originally were just going to have a beer but decided to stay and have the beef fondue! It was brilliant and a great way to spend the day with Sean and Katy hearing about their adventure and what they're doing next. We then went to see a temple which was 300 odd steps up a hill in the center of town, it had the most amazing views and added to our now many sunset pictures.

The next day we joined an activity day which started off with a morning mountain bike. The bikes were a bit rubbish and we had issues with our chains but it was good fun anyway, the views were brilliant and topped off when we got down to the river and jumped into a kayak, five minuets later we were at the bottom of the most incredible waterfall we've seen so far which had a group of elephants in the bottom section. This was a bit touristy and I was sad to see the elephants being hit by their keepers but I guess this is how they do it here. We then jumped into the kayaks and had a very extreme 3 hour boat ride, well kind of extreme!

Luang Prabang was so much fun, we really didn't want to leave but Chiang Mai was calling so we took a 2 day slow boat up the Mekong river towards Thailand.

Mike and Steph

Booze Tube - Vang Vieng

So... we'd heard about the tubing in Vang Vieng (Laos) from travelers far and wide and we were rather skeptical, imagining it to be Blackpool on water. We were quite close but it turned out to be a lot of fun! We rocked up to the river at around 2pm with our rubber inner tube and were faced with basically a massive riverside party which you float from bar to bar on your tube. Unfortunately we don't have picture as we didn't trust ourselves with our camera that close to that much water but if you imagine the videos you've seen of the USA's 'spring break' (woooooo) on the side of a river you've pretty much got it!

There were also certain 'activities' you could do. So I swung off a trapeze into the river and Mike jumped off a high dive board and went on the biggest slide ever! And the best thing was we also bumped into some guys we met on the boat trip in Nha Trang so we boogied on down with them until we realised we were late for getting our tube back and would be fined - wooops!

Earlier that morning we explored Vang Vieng which itself is a beautiful place surround by mountains. We went to a massive cave and got to swim in the 'blue lagoon' which was the smallest patch of water but it was amazingly clear and went into a cave which was cool!

Vang Vieng was short but sweet but it defiantly gave us a taste of Laos and we're a bit disappointed we can't spend longer here!

M + S xxx

Lets get Extreme!

After a lot of sight seeing and visiting a lot of towns we decided to go and be active. As we were in Hanoi, Halong bay isn't too far way so we spent a whole day visiting every single tour company that have 2-3 day tours around Halong Bay with a few activities thrown in. We weren't quite convinced and the cost was a bit much for us. We found a bus and boat combo ticket that got us to Cat Ba - an Island in the Halong bay area. We ar so glad we did it this way, not only did we meet a group of really cool people but we also went to see an action adventure company called Slopony, let the fun begin!

Cat Ba was absolutly beautiful and we got see a lot of the rock formations in Halong Bay on our day trip we took with Slopony. The day started at 8.30am with a short bus trip to the harbour to jump onto our Junk Boat, we took an hour boat ride out to the rock formations and then split into two smaller boats to get closer to the rocks as the first activity of the day was... 'Deep Water Soloing' where you climb onto the rock and the boat leaves you, you then climb up as high as you can or traverse across and then make a leap off into the water, TOTALLY AWESOME DUDE! What a rush that was, not only was I crapping my self from the climbing I then had to jump off!!!

At one point I was concentrating so much I forgot I had to jump and realised I was actually quite high, well for me anyway. We both gave it our best shot but didn't manage the hieghts of some of the other guys. One of our guides got so high the sound of him splashing into the water echoed across the bay.

After a heavy morning of climbing we went back to the boat to have a well deserved hearty lunch. Now it was Kayaking time!
Steph and I spent the afternoon cruising around the bay going into caves and lagoons. It was a truely amazing experience and one we will definately not forget.

The next day we spent relaxing on a beach, Cat Ba was an absolute joy.

Cooking up a storm in Hoi An

Hoi An was our next stop, a town famous for it's many many suit makers. Every corner has a tailors able to make you what ever you desire - unless your Mike and Steph who'd rather spend their money on a cooking course, boom!

We spent the day at the red bridge cooking school, we first visited a farm to pick up some fresh herbs and then onto the local market which was a proper locals market not the ones just for tourists. Everything was so fresh and brightly coloured, it was great to see the real Vietnam.

Back at the restuarant we learnt how to cook pho bo (beef noodle soup, a fav of mine and stephs) prawns in lemon grass seasoning, bbq chicken and green papya salad and a sea bass claypot - bellissimo! Everything went smoothly untill Steph nearly took half her thumb off with a meat cleaver, it's all good though her nail saved the day!

It was a great day which we finished off in the pool, slightly stuffed from all the food we ate!

M & S
x

Riding Easy!

After much to-ing and fro-ing and many recommendations we decided to jump on the back of guided motorbikes for a full day Easy Rider tour round the beautiful mountainous countryside of Dalat. And were so glad we did. We started off with Trung and Haoi who were very nice about the fact that I was pretty damn nervous about getting on the back of that bike!

The day was amazing, we saw flower gardens, coffee plantations, rice paper and wine making, silk farm, waterfalls. And much more. But the best bit about it was thae beautiful veiws as we we wizzed around the mountain roads!

There was one slightly hairy moment when Mike was in front and his tour guide was a bit chatty and wasnt paying too much attention when a masive truck rounded the corner and Trung had to do some nifting weaving, it didnt even phase him though (these guys had been riding motorbikes for longer than I've been walking)!

All in all it was probably one of our most memorable days so far and we would definatly recommend it!

Beach bum's

So we've spent more than our fair share of time lazing on beaches since we've been in Vietnam. We visited a quiet little town called Mui Ne which is meant to be one of the quietest beaches on the tourist trail. It was fair to say that we (I) were a little disappointed with the very thin strip of beach and murky waters that we were presented with on arrival, but I think we had just been spoilt by the beaches in Cambodia!

The most interesting thing we did in Mui Ne was the sand dunes which are pretty epic and the sand changes colour, from red to yellow to white the further away from Mui Ne you get. We were a little disappointed by the sand sleding, after hiring our plastic sheets we ran up the dunes like kids hoping to race each other down! The reality was very different as we had to push ourselves down and we literally went at a snails pace!

Next beach up was Nha Trang, holiday destination of all Vietnamese! Again fairly standard beaches. This time we went on a boat tour to '4 islands' although when watching carefully on the way back it appeared that we may not have actually left mainland Vietnam at all, just sailed through some islands! All the same it was a good day, jumping off the boat and crazy Vietnamese singing! Also we treated ourselves to a pampering day of mud baths and mineral hot spa, so if we are looking fresh faced on our more recent photos, you know the secret!

Finally was the beach near Hanoi, I think this was my favorite, and not for the beach at all but for the scenic 4km bike ride we took to get there (although we managed to get lost, even though its pretty much a straight road, so it was probably more like 6 km!) Getting lost was the best bit about it though as we managed to cycle through the smallest villages. Ate some Pho Bo (Beef noodle soup) on the beach front and cycled back... perfect!

Meandering down the Mekong

Whilst in Saigon we noticed a lot of tour companies offering various tours and excursions (yes I did just say excursions,I'm either growing up or getting old) so we decided to do a 3 day tour around the Mekong Delta as it would be a bit tricky doing it on our own.

The three days were great. We were shown around a honey farm, rice paper factory, coconut candy factory and many floating markets. The 2nd day was our favourite as we got to go on a rowing boat with a really sweet lady who let us have a go, not that we were any good at it.

We then took a speed boat down the mekong through the jungle where we saw the most amazing birds and scenery. Our guide took us to a very local restuarant where we feasted on local food such as fish and pork in a claypot which is one of my favourite dishes so far,they're soooooo tasty.

Cantho was the next stop which is the biggest city in the Mekong Delta. The great thing about being here was that there weren't many westerners about. It felt like not many come here either as we noticed a group of teenagers following us around the local supermarket laughing at us!

The last day was basically a trip back to Saigon with a tour around a fruit farm. All in all it was a great experience, we did feel a bit like a group of hearded cattle but it was a great way to see local life.

Back in Saigon, getting ready to head to the beach in Mui Ne, life is bliss.

Mike and Steph

Crazy Saigon

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam after the looong bus journey from Phnom Penh and our first impression was... this is a crazy place! There are twice as many mopeds and no one acknowledges the zebra crossings so you have to be very confident to cross the roads! Although this was a very busy city we immediately liked it!

After a little nap we set about exploring the backpacker area and stumbled across a sister shop to one we had been to in Phnom Penh, Mekong Creations, the lady in there was so nice and helpful and gave us a map and lots of info about the city even though we didn't buy anything from there, that was great as we had heard mixed reviews about the friendliness of the Vietnamese people.

We then met up with Cassie and Ciera the Irish girls we met in Battambang which was great and spent a couple of days with them again.

We went to the Cu Chu tunnels which was where people hid from the USA army during the Vietnam war, this was interesting to see, even more so for the heavily one sided propaganda video we were shown which dubbed the USA soldiers as 'Crazy American Devils'.

The tunnels were not for the claustrophobic as your had to bend right down and shuffle through some parts, Mike and I were the only ones to complete the full 200m!!

We also visited the War Remnants museum which was not for the faint hearted, walls lined with gruesome pictures of the War and the after effects of Agent Orange were hard to stomach, but again a must if you are to understand the Vietnamese past.

Other than that we just enjoyed wandering around this city, enjoying the hustle and bustle, seeing the very french influenced architecture and just easing ourselves in to the Vietnamese culture.

'Notre Dame'

For saying we had not really got excited about Vietnam, it seems like an amazing place and we can't wait to see more!

S

Phnom Penh

After a great time chilling out on the Beaches we headed for the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. A buzzing city with lots to see. We managed to find the cheapest guesthouse so far called "No 10 Riverside Guesthouse' at $5 a night, bargain! Well you certainly get what you pay for, an absolute stink hole with an all night party outside our bedroom window plus the added bonus of a fan which sound like a helicopter. Cut to the morning, Steph is not happy 'I'm not staying here another night!', fair enough - I generally sleep through anything but I was done with the all night rave!!!

Sam and Rachael (from Koh Rong fame) had mentioned 'Fancy Guest House' which they had stayed in the week before at $15 a night, a bit more than we wanted to pay but we decided to jump into a tuk tuk first thing and head over. We were greeted by the friendlest guest house owner we've met so far, big smile and couldn't do more for us. He showed us to a spotless room with amazing aircon, done! That night we had the best sleep ever! We also managed to book a sleeper coach the next day which takes us to Saigon (Ho Chin Minh City, Vietnam) but more about that later.

Phnom Penh was certainly an interesting one. We visited the historical sights; S21 and the killing fields. These were more of Pol Potts and the Khmer Rouge doings, another sad but insightfull trip of the horror Cambodia went through. Apart from the sadness we also saw the charitable side which was my favourite part. There are a lot of charity organisations out here which have various agenders, we dropped into Daughters of Cambodia first which is this great little cafe and shop that sell home made goods made by the staff. We met a Canadian lady who voulenteers there and was so nice, Daughters employ sex workers who want to get out. They use to go into brothels and try get women to leave but they found that just by offering an opportunity was more succesfull. They give them on the job training such as cateering, hospitality and craft making skills and are paid from the start. We met two of the cafe workers who were so nice to us and very chuffed that we had learnt a few Khmer words (hello and thank you, we're trying to learn politness in every country) and it was great to see that these schemes are working. 'Freinds' was another establishment which offered a similar deal, they had a shop which sold arts and crafts as well goods made of recycled meterial, the walets made out of paper trimings were cool! They also had a tapas resturant which was bloomin AMAZING! The staff were really friendly and helpfull, another great insight into people actually doing something about their bad situation.

We managed to be in Phenom Penh at the same time as the Kings Birthday, they had two massive fire work displays (which we both loved as we knew we'd miss out on bonfire night, sad face) and a few things going on in the the center. The locals were all having a great time, it was great to see a nation who clearly respect their royal family.

After the fire works we waited for our night bus which was due to arrive at midnight, Fancy Guest House let us hang out in their foyer which was great. We were told the journey was going to take 6 hours and was a sleeper (a coach with beds) will we ever learn not to believe what we're told. The tuk tuk driver was late, but we got to the bus station in time and I was very chuffed as the bus which was the same as the snazzy picture on our ticket was waiting by the station, I went into the staion to give our details. The guy behind the desk pointed out our bus, you can just imagine the comdey - I looked to the snazzy coach with great delight to then see a clapped out dirty bus on the other side of the road - 'what that one???' "YEAH!'. Damn it! We spent the next 10 hours on a crappy bus with seats that didn't even recilne! However there was an up to the story... we got through the border with no hassle which was great - Saigon here we come!

To be continued...

Koh Rong - Paradise

So the day after the old man hit 30 we jumped on a boat to take the 2 hour scenic trip to Koh Rong, an island largly undeveloped with just a handful of resorts and a bucket load of jungle and beach.

On the boat we saw Aaron (the Aussie guy) and also met with a couple from Cambridge called Sam and Rachel who we ended up spending the majority of the time with.

As we approached the island I can only express it as breath taking... chalk white beaches, crystel clear sea and only a handful of people as far as the eye can see. (I can definatly see why our friends Olly and Gemma chose this place to get engaged last year!) We were shown to our beach hut which was literally a very girlie stones throw to the waters edge. When I say hut I mean hut, it was made out of palm leaves and had massive gaps between the walls and the roof so we were very at one with nature (we were definatly bunking with a family of geckos and a questionable furry animal Mike swears he saw!)

We pretty much just chilled for two lovely days and three nights, we played a lot of cards, drank a bit of Chang beer, saw an amazing guy do fire twirling and swam in the warm sea a lot.

Our best day was when we decided to go on a group adventure. We had been told about a desserted beach that you could just see poking out at the end of our beach that you could only get to by walking through the jungle (which we had been warned off due to the snakes). So after spending the morning building up enough courage and practising snorkling we doned our snorkle for the 45 min very scenic swim around the rocky edge of the island to the beach. It was awesome for me being the first time I have ever spent that long in the sea and my first time snorkling. It was mainly dead coral but we saw some many different types of fish and even some weird sea urchins! And it was definatly worth the swim...

We rocked up on this beautiful 400m stretch of untouched snow white sand and the beach was that kind where the sea went out for ages and your still only ankle deep! No shops, no people just sun, sand and sea! So what did we do with our time on this peaceful, desserted beach?? Well we played 'down on one knee' with a small buoy (not boy!) we found in the sea!

Unfortunatly we didn't have our camera on us because of the snorkling to get there so that amazing picture will have to stay in our heads!

The final night we had the most amazing storm which we felt we were right in the midst of due to our none sound proof (and slightly leaky!) hut. It was actually a bit scary when the thunder and lightening was directly above us but it made way for the most amazing sunrise I've ever seen the next morning!

Its safe to say we were very sad to leave Koh Rong... especially as we had to leave it to spend the next day waiting for 5 hours in a bar for our post (cash cards) to be delivered, but amazingly arrive they did!!! Thank you June Mckenna, you're a legend!

S xxx

Birthday time!

So the time has come to turn 30, everyone that knows me knows that I wanted to celebrate big and do something exciting!

The first round was a massive joint party I had with Steph to celebrate us traveling and my birthday back in September. We both had such an amazing time and were suprised by the amount of people who turned up. Thanks to all that came, it was such an amazing day and a great way to say goodbye!

Secound round was the big trip, back when I was 21 I knew I wanted to go traveling and to do it before I was 30, things don't always happen the way you planned and I wouldn't want it any other way, I started before the big 3 0 and I get to share this amazing experience with Steph!

Round 3 was the big day it self and the final part (I think I've dragged this on enough, don't you think?) and what a way to do it, it started with Steph waking me up with a present, she'd bought me this really cool leather bound diary! We then went for breakfast and had poached eggs on toast (my fave) then headed to the beach!

The night before we had arrived in Sihanoukville which is basically your standard beach resort, lots of bars, hostels and beaches!
We made our way to Otris beach which was the quietest one a good ten min hairy tuk tuk ride out of town.

We found our spot and just chilled...

We also went for lunch and met a really cool Ausie guy who was pumping out the tunes which encouraged us to get on it, or at least have a cold beer! Jonny had been traveling last year and found Otris Beach. He loved it so much he came back 6 months later and is currently building his own guest house on the beach, legend!

We then intended to have a nice romantic meal out but in true Mikey and Steph style it didn't quite happen like that! We went for a quick drink and met another interesting Australian (who we'll hear more of later) called Aaron. Aaron had literally rolled into town after an epic 24 hour trip out here. The drinks started flowing and it wasn't until we'd downed the first jager bomb of the night that we realised we hadn't eaten - fried chicken and chips to share? Yes please!!!

The rest of the night is a bit of a blur but evidence shows us Steph managed to find some ultra violet face paint!

All in all a bloomin brilliant birthday! Thanks again to all that messaged me, you added to the perfect day!

Lots of love from a very chilled out Mikey
Xxx

Battambang!

After a sad fairwell to Siem Reap we made yet another epic journey, Battambang here we come!

Another early start of 6am saw us take a mini bus to the 'port' for a boat trip, what this actually meant was a 20 min drive out of town to a flooded village to then change to a cart and a tractor, one for us and the other for our bags, amazing! After a 10 min bumpy but hillarious journey we found said port - a hill with a boat floating on water! This was our boat which would take us through some incredible floating villages and finally end at Battambang. The boat trip didn't go fully to plan (I'm seeing a pattern to our trips), after about an hour of cruising over a river we found ourselves confronted by a massive mangrove blocking our route. Our captain was not phased by this and floored it straight through the mangrove!!! As you can expect we finally came to a stand still stuck in the middle, brilliant! The next hour consisted of the boat men digging us out with various methods which saw us free but wait what's that??? The captain had wraged his steering wheel so much it broke. He then took it apart, fiddled about a bit and then re-assembled, forgetting one screw which a passenger found later on (no worries we don't need that bit!)

We then went on our merry way which took us 7 hours in total including a 15 min stop to a floating cafe which had the most amazing toilet; a small hut hanging over the water with a hole in it! As we arrived into the Battambang port (a hill) we could hear some shouting and cheering, I thought there was some sort of party going on but no this was the many tuk tuk and taxi drivers shouting for our attention, I found this hillarious but it got even more funnier and slightly scarier as the boat pulled up they all ran onto the boat to get us to stay with their guesthouse!!! On our boat trip we met Cassie and Ciara, two cool Irish girls who are coming to the end of their year trip, we ended up going to the same guesthouse as them and also spending the next two days hanging out.

Once we got booked into our guesthouse we then went for a walk to find our bearings, after a coversation with the guesthouse Tuk Tuk driver (more on him later). Battambang is a nice little town with a busy market and a few bars but a lot quiter than Siem Reap which was a nice break.

The next day we decided to meet up with Cassie and Ciara and do a couple of the sights, we were then greated by the guest house tuk tuk driver - Burney! Who asked us if we wanted to do a trip with him, this was the third time he'd asked us and to be honest we just wanted to do our own thing and fobbed him off with 'we'll think about it' As we were having a fruit shake and waiting for Cassie and Ciara they both came out with a bemused face, Burney had told them we were waiting for them to then go with him to the sites... um what? We went off for lunch and laughed about it untill I heard a Tuk tuk pull up beside me "Hey Mike!" Burney had followed us (stalker) and said he hasn't had any work for 5 days and needed the money. As horrible as it sounds I fobbed him off again as I was shocked and a bit freaked out! We managed to loose him during lunch but spent the next day looking over our shoulder for a Burney shaped shadow!!!

After lunch we flagged down a tuk tuk driver, not Burney, and managed to get our trip for a lot cheaper. We also managed to stumble across a really cool driver who gave us a mini tour around the city with comments, perfect. He showed us a monument; after the Khmer Rouge had collapsed the local people called for an arms collection and collected all the weapons used in the civil war. Everyone gathered in Battambang and burned all the arms, they all wept as they knew the war was over. Once the fire had stopped a few locals collected the melted metal and created the monument as a symbol of the cease fire, I thought this was really cool but I think our Tuk Tuk driver told the story better.

He then took us to the grand finnally which was the bamboo train, oh my goodness this was AWESOME!!! It's the only train track going through Battambang (for now anyway, they are building a high speed one at the moment) and they do tourist rides, the 'Train' is basically an empty wodden bed frame which sits on two wheeled brackets that speeds accross the track, it was actually quite scarry! But loads of fun, we stopped at a local village and hung out with the locals for a bit which was really nice and then made our hair raising journey back!

Battanbamg was short but sweet, but now it was time to start celebrating - 30 is nearly here!

Mx

All Templed Out!

Sorry for the silence folks but we've been busy busy busy and some places we could not get WIFI or internet so I'll back track a bit.

Soooo... Temples of Angkor, Siem Reap. We spent a pretty amazing 3 days (spread out over a week) and a total of about 20 hours wandering around Cambodia's amazing Angkor complex.

Day 1 we started with a very moody Tuk-Tuk driver. We started at Ta Prohm which was, I think, both of our favourites! This is the temple where they filmed some of Lara Croft where humungous tress literally grow out of the ruins of the temples, they have decided not to resore this temple as it is so beautiful in its ruinous state. The rest of the day was spent around some of the less well known (but no less impressive) temples including Banteay Kdei, Preah Khan (this was surounded by water and I ended up having a very damp foot for the rest of the day!), Neak Pean, Ta Som, East Mebon and Pre Rup (Lots of steps!).

Day two was after a few drinks the night before so we went in the afternoon and did the Rolos Group which are the older pre-angkorian temples. The first one was pretty small and ruined but we met this great Cambodian guy who used to be a monk but now is learning to be a teacher and he showed us his class room which was below where the monks live! To finish off we went back to Pre Rup which is one of the highest temples and climbed to the top to watch sunset which was awesome (although slightly precarious climbing down in the near dark!)

The last day was pretty epic. Up at 4am to be picked up at 4.30am with a guide to watch sunrise at 6am over Angkor Wat. Amazing and beautiful, although I don't think me and Mike were the most attentive students for our guide at that time in the morning. We then made our way around Angkor Wat and then to Angkor Thom and saw our first elephants and saw the equally amazing Bayon Temple which is made of over 200 smiling faces!

Love S x

Lets get our party on, Siem Reap Style!!!

Meeting up with Helen has been great as not only has she shown us round, given us tips Helen also introduced us to her Volunteering buddies. On Friday we all met up for a 'couple' of drinks which turned into a heavy night consisting of getting to know the 'Bucket drinks

which is basically half a bottle of spirits with a splash of mixer in well... a bucket! All for around 3-4 quid. It's safe to say we didn't realise how potent these were and spent the following day resting our weary heads (we left the hostel twice, for food) It was a great night out which ended up in Angkor What? which is one of the many party bars on Pub Street, we danced on the tables till the cows came home (normal western behavior) We then had to perk our selves up on Sat night to join the crew again for a 'Same, Same but different' night. We all bought T-shirts with 'Same Same...' written on and a pair of the coolest (fake) Ray Bans we could find, I've got some sweet ones that look like they're made of wood and Steph found a pair of purple rimmed ones :) We were taken back to our student days by being given a challenge card which saw us swapping our tops, doing a human pyramid contest, getting a kiss from people with a name beginning with a letter from our name and many more silly but fun games. We were wise to the buckets this time and actually made it out of our room on Sunday. As well as getting involved on the very touristy pub street we also went for a Khmer BBQ! A hot plate arrived on our table as well as a veggie plate and a stack of interesting meat plates... We started off cooking up the beef which was lovely, next came the prawns, then the crocodile (oh yes I said crocodile) then onto the Snake (yep that's right) and we finished off with a couple of frogs legs, yum yum! It was all really tasty apart from the Snake which was very chewy! We still have more to tell about our Siem Reap adventure, we'll fill you in soon. Much Love, Mike and Steph.

Around Siem Reap

So we've been in Siem Reap for 6 days now and we've seen some pretty amazing things (besides the floods getting ever higher!) A few of the more random things include 2 people on a scooter carrying a dead cow, Monkeys in the middle of the road, minding their own business, two inter-locking evil looking dogs to name but a few. We've spent some time getting to know the harrowing history of the Khmer Rouge and have seen many things that remind you that it really was not long ago!

We stopped by an amazing little photography gallery adjoined to the children's hospital set up by a photographer who raised money to build a hospital for the mine victims and the children around Siem Reap as the infant mortality rate is horrendous (still 1 in 15).

And today we took a 1 hour tuk-tuk ride with Helen to the Cambodia Landmine museum which was a real eye opener... Founded by a guy who was recruited as a child soldier at the age of 10 and was made to plant landmines as young as 5 years old, he has dedicated his life since the war to clearing landmines. His story is amazing and something that you could never even imagine but now he has also set up an orphanage which teaches 36 poor, injured and sick children of which many have gone on to higher education and full time employment.

Due to Helen knowing one of the girls who volunteers there, we also got a rare opportunity for a tour around the school (not open to visitors) and saw some lessons being taught and all the plans for the physiotherapy department (to be opened soon!!) Needless to say we were all very moved and became more aware of how lucky we are to have had such a stable upbringing.

Aside from all of this one thing that you really get from being here is that the Cambodians do not feel sorry for themselves, they get on with their hard life and it is safe to say they are the most smiley and happy people around.

Sorry for the depressing post but we both feel it was important to share these experiences with you. If you want to find out more about the Cambodian civil war you can google 'Pol Pot' (as I knew pretty much nothing about it). S x

Thailand to Cambodia.

So after staying in our lovely shoe box in Trat we headed down to get a mini bus at 7 am to Chanthaburi where we were ambushed by taxi drivers and had to virtually run into the bus station.

Next we jumped on a coach to Aranyaprathet which was a bus ride and a half. For the first hour I swear the bus driver didnt top 30MPH as he stopped every mile or so to pick up more people. Then he suddenly just decided to put his foot down and we spent the rest of the journey clinging on as he over took mopeds, pick ups and even lorries at break neck speed! We eventually make it in one piece to the bus station where I endured the 'squat toilets''! We then jumped in a tuk tuk to the Thai-Cambodia boarder where the fun really started.

We were dropped off outside a Cambodia Visa place and told we had to búy it there for 1000 baht 20 quid/$30. But we were wise to the scams and I left Mike standing confused as I ran away, it takes him a while to get his bearings! Anyway we then managed to get through Thai customs where we managed to pick up a 'very helpful volunteer for the boarder crossing''. Had to pay the officials 100baht for an ''express passport service'' and our little friend was still following us. At this point we knew he was not just being helpful and would probably try to scam us at some point.

After having our fingerprints taken and getting into Cambodia (and picking up a nice South Korean guy to share the taxi) we got shuttled to the bus station (volunteer in tow) where we were advised to exchange our money for the local Cambodian Riel (at an outrageous exchange rate) so we wouldn''t seem like foreigners (I think our white skin and map are tell tail signs!) and get in a taxi which was double to price of the ones on the road. Anyway got the cheap taxi (Taxi driver had to pay volunteer a fee, HA!) and after an annoying 2 1/2 hour journey where taxi driver stopped to 1, pick up his mate, 2. get fuel and 3. have his car washed!!! he dropped us about a 5 min walk out of town where we were meant to get in one of his mates tuk tuks but we were stubborn and walked it.

The guest house room smelt funky and did not have hot water as promised so we got them to move us into a sweeter smelling one with a balcony, score! Siem Reap is great, even the floods aren't a problem (if you don''t mind being ankle deep in water all the time)

. And we bumped into Helen, who is a friend of Lisa's and she is going to show us the town this weekend! So stayed tuned for more Cambodian adventures! Love x

And Relaaaaaaaaaax!

Hello you lovely people!

After our hectic few days in Bangkok we set off on an 8 hour journey to Koh Mak. We set off at 4am in a taxi to the east side Bus Station where we turned up not really knowing what we were doing but managed to find the right ticket office and booked our self onto a bus which left at 6am to Laem Ngop where we eventually got to a pier in the middle of no where and jumped onto a speed boat, how we managed to get this far I have no idea!!!

The speed boat was a 45 min bumpy but refreshing ride (it's bloomin hot out here) which left Stephs hair resembling Bridget Jones after an open top car ride. We arrived onto the small and quiet island of Koh Mak, and what an amazing site it was. We took a truck ride to the resort and drove past hundreds of palm trees and a massive rubber plantation, we really were in rural Thailand. As we were being taken to our VILLA, we spotted our good friends Olly and Sally. It was so good to see them and they gave us tips and ideas for our trip as we lazed around the pool and then had dinner with them, although I think they got a bit of a shock as we ruined there sun bathing session.

Koh Mak really was a great place to be but we realised this was a massive treat and needed to make our way back budget-ville so Tuesday saw us take the first speed boat back to the main land and head to Trat where we stayed in a 200 Baht a night guesthouse, 4 quid a night - boom! Trat is a small town and acted as the perfect go between, we are now about to make an even bigger journey towards Cambodia, first stop Siem Reap. Lots of Love and stuff,

Mike and Steph. xxx

Bang - WAT!!!

Being in Bangkok has certainly been a learning curve.

Thursday was our first full day which we spent dodging scam artists telling us the Temples were shut, which they weren't. This is one of the main scams we heard about so we knew not to believe them and eventually got to see the many Wats and Budda's that surround Bangkok. It is slightly annoying being asked time and time again 'You seen Black Budda? Where you from?' but it has been awesome, the sights and smells are incredible but three days is certainly enough.

Another mishap we had was getting pick pocketed! They are so slick, I was sat having a drink with Steph talking about how guarded I am and I need to just relax, how ironic is that! But it hasn't ruined our spirits! We've managed to get in everything we wanted to see including Siam square and China Town.

We have now decided to go to an Island called Koh Mak where Ollie is staying. We realised we needed to just stop and have a think about where we wanted to go and which route to take.

We've already met some really nice people and hopefully we'll bump into them on the way, they have also had a few scams thrown at them so it isn't just us. We'll be staying at the Koh Mak Retreat, check out the webpage it looks awesome! http://www.kohmakretreat.com/

Right the lady boy receptionist has ordered us some amazing Thai food! I'm off. Lots of Love Mike and Steph x

we should have learnt thai!

So after spending the last hour first trying to get onto the internet and then trying to figure out how to change the language on blogger from thai to english (all the instructions were in thai which was helpful!) we are finally ready to make our first blog from thailand! So the whole process of getting here was pretty smooth and we had a lovely taxi driver who tried to teach us how to say hello and thank you. We've met our first lady boy (the receptionist in the hostel) had our first pad thai, had a wander down the Kho San Road and got caught in our first torrential rain shower! We are very much looking forward to our first full day in bangkok tomorrow. Peace out fools!

Let the Journey Begin!

Over the last year and a half myself and Steph have been hiding away saving ever penny like a pair of saving squirrels!

We are now set to go and fly to Bangkok today! Can you believe it???

We'll be updating our blog when we can, to keep you all posted on our movements, we hope we don't make you too jealous.

Be safe and we'll see you on the other side.

Lots of love and hugs

Mikey and Steph

xxx