Hanoi

We arrived in Hanoi from Hue on the train. Our second experience was a lot better than the first, this time getting the bottom two bunks in a soft sleeper four berth. Much more comfortable.

Sa Pa

For the last few days of our around-the-world trip we decided to head up to Sa Pa in Northern Vietnam near the Chinese border.

Best known for the ethnic minority groups that live here we booked up for a two day trekking tour across the sloping rice terraces, forests and waterfalls that the locals call their home. 

Magestic Ha long Bay

We couldn't leave Vietnam without visiting Ha long Bay so that was our next step after arriving in Hanoi.

Ha long bay is in the north east of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, about a four hour drive from Hanoi. Made more recognisable to tourists after featuring on 'Top Gear's' Vietnam special the bay is made up of thousands of little islands or limestone karsts.

Hue: An imperial city

Next stop along the road was Hue. Only a three hour bus journey from Hoi An we were to have only a day and a half in the city as we needed to move on to Hanoi before our trip of a lifetime comes to an end.

Hue was the home to the Nguyen emperors who ruled over Vietnam on and over for a few hundred years. Needless to say as their capital Hue is the centre of Imperial Vietnam and all the glories that went with that. Today its is a Unesco World Heritage site and rightly so, even though many buildings we destroyed in the second world and Vietnam wars.

City of lights: Hoi An old town

We arrived in Hoi An hot, tired and a little grumpy after getting off the train from Ho Chi Minh city.

Checking into our hotel Ving Hung 3 we found though that we were in the thick-of-things and after a short relaxation went for a walk to explore. 

The centre of the old town is not very big so easy to navigate around, and to my delight we were soon in a maze of tailors, silk, leather and handicraft shops. 

Good morning Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh city

After much to-ing and fro-ing we decided to get the bus from Phnom Penh into Vietnam as it was the quickest and cheapest route and given the heavy rains we didn't fancy our chances out on the river.

First stop was Ho Chi Minh city, or Saigon as it was formerly known. We were staying in district 1 the heart of the old city and spurred on by our education in Cambodia wanted to use our time here to uncover some of the history of this infamous country and city.

Kep: a seaside town to rival Craster

After our few days in Phnom Penh we took the bus to Kep, Cambodia's top seaside resort in the 1960s before it fell victim to the Khmer Rouge.

Nowadays it is re-establishing its position and although it falls far behind Sihanoukville in regards to attracting hoards of tourists that only elevates its charm.

The sombre side of Cambodia's capital: Phnom Penh

Like most capital cities in Asia Phnom Penh holds a certain appeal. Fast paced, high living inter-wound with the traditions of the local culture and faith is abundant and the contrast is particularly apparent as local markets and temples sit alongside western bars and restaurants on the riverside.

While this is all well and good, it is the recent history and monuments that play testimony to it that drew us to Phnom Penh.

As I've already mentioned Cambodia suffered extensively at the hands of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge and it is the atrocities committed though their rule that are exposed in many ways here. We spent the day visiting the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleung Museum and as we learnt and saw more of what had happened we encountered a myriad of emotions including shock, sadness, anger and awe.

Cambodia's children

As you might remember from our earlier posts when we first met Toria and Adam they told us about the Angkor Help the Children Organization (AHCO formerly AOEO) in Siem Reap they were going to volunteer at. Kindly inviting us to join them we organised to visit the centre together after our tour of the temples at Angkor.

Firstly to put things into context it is worth noting that Cambodia is currently the poorest country in South East Asia. Little do people realise that the country has suffered extensively over the last 50 years: being drawn into Vietnam's war with America (where the US extensively bombed and mined rural sites believed to be Vietnamese training camps); the tragic genocide and rule of the Khmer Rouge which saw a quarter of the population (approx. two million people) slaughtered; followed by the Vietnamese occupation of the country. Today the average wage is less that $1 per day with 50% of the population under the age of 50.

Siem Reap

We arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia after a very trying journey and border crossing from Bangkok. Tired and hungry we were pleased to see our friends Toria and Adam and meet their friends Gary and Lucy on the first night and head out for a few drinks and some dinner.

We were to spend the next week in Siem Reap with our time split evenly between exploring the temples at Angkor and volunteering at a local orphanage. It seems wrong to lump the two together and with that in mind I will do a separate post on our time at the orphanage.

Where to start with the glories that are Angkor...

Pai

It takes about four hours to get from Chiang Mai to Pai on quite treacherous roads but the views make it worth it.

Pai is a small town in the Mae Hong Son province that excludes charm and captures the hearts of most visitors.

We had three days here and slowed the pace down a bit to sit back and enjoy the beautiful landscape around us.

Chiang Mai

From Bangkok we boarded a night bus to Chiang Mai. Twelve hours later we arrived in the heart of Northern Thailand.

Almost immediately we realised the city had a different atmosphere to the rest of Thailand, very laid back, boho with boutique shops and coffee houses. With only three full days to explore we set about getting to know the city straight away.

Bangkok

As we had been to Bangkok a few years ago we decided to stay in Bangkok for a short visit only while traveling across the rest of the country.

Koh Phanghan

We arrived on Koh Phanghan amid full moon party chaos.

Our visit here was for one reason and one reason only - to party.

Koh Tao

After Bali we headed across the water to Thailand. After a short stop in Bangkok (more on that later) we headed down to the islands. First stop Koh Samui. Unfortunately on arrival, after a very long bus and boat journey, we realised Samui wasn't our cup of tea. After two nights we decided to move on to Koh Tao.

Koh Tao was an entirely different experience. On approach the rocky cliffs, crystal waters and sun-kissed beaches are very appealing.

Para...Para...Paradise

As we hadn't had our fill of rest and relaxation in Bali, we decided to head to the Gili islands off the Lombok coast for some more beach time and cocktails.

With a recommendation of 'one of the top 10 places to see before you die' from the Lonely Planet we were expecting a lot. We were not disappointed.

Beautiful Bali

After missing our flight to Bali - doh - we finally arrived in Denpasar a day late and 400 pounds worse off.

First stop was Kuta for some RnR. Our base for the next few days we headed out to the beach where Mike continued his quest to become a pro surfer while I lay on a sun bed getting manicures and foot massages.

One night in Singapore (well ok two)

On our way out of Oz and into Bali we had a stopover in Singapore. We had originally planned to just stay in the airport as we had heard it was pretty cool but on arrival decided otherwise and headed into the city to explore.

During our 24 hours (combined) we managed to take in a few sights.

Our favourites included a nighttime stroll around the stunning harbour and exploring the all encompassing shopping malls - jeez these people like to shop!

I'm the king of the swingers ...

So from Australia we headed north to the island of Borneo, via a layover at Singapore (more on that later).

Now ever since I first watched The Jungle Book, I have wanted to see an Orang-utan (Man of the Forest) in the wild... and lets be honest with his monkey obsession Mike was unlikely to object, so there was one reason and one reason only we chose to visit Borneo.

Uluru

For those who have never been to Ayers Rock or Uluru as the indigenous call it, it is definitely worth a visit. It is expensive though so we decided to do an organised tour from Ayers Rock to Alice Springs which took in Uluru, the Olgas and Kings Canyon.

Rather than write too much about the trip I will let the photos speak for themselves. What I will say is that the trip ended up being the highlight of our time in Australia, where we felt most inspired. Of course we got to meet some great people too including Hannah and Ellie from the Uk who deserve a mention not solely because they shared their beer and and cider with us.

We may not have enjoyed a glass of champagne as the sunset behind the rock like my Mum and Dad did but thanks to Hannah and Ellie we did get to have a 'tinnie'.