Erm, so yep you guessed it, it is time for a little update (prompted by Lucy!) Our last stop in South East Asia was to Singapore. After our other adventures to cities we both were a little dubious as we were not loving them, but with open minds we stepped off our bus into Little India (cheap cheap!) We ended up having to stay in a different hostel to Emma and Lorna as they were too darn organised and booked ahead - unlike us. But once settled we soon met up to sit in our bar and watch the rain pour down for a good couple of hours. The afternoon was whiled away drinking lemonade and eating silly amounts of chocolate! Emma finally motivated us to actually go and explore, so with our rain macs on we ventured out.
We got the train through to Clarke Quay where we all got silly excited at the pretty coloured buildings and rainbow bridges. We spent our time wandering up and down trying to take good photos in the dark and rain! We then mosied along to see the Christmas lights and ooed and ahhed for a while. It was an early night for us as the travelling had taken it out of us! So we headed back to our giant dorm for a much needed sleep.
The next day Lou and I decided to go on a ducktours thingy to see the city in a different way, so after a stop to Hooters to buy t-shirts we headed to the dock. We boarded our boat to take us to the meeting point for the tour, where we sat back and soaked up the sun whilst listening to a commentary about the buildings perched on the harbour. It wasn't until lou pointed out that we were heading back to the same dock that we realised we got on the wrong boat! Eventually we managed to get the boat to the right place, but we had missed our slot for the tour - luckily they booked us on to a later one phew! Whilst waiting we went on the Singapore flyer (just like the London eye but a tad taller) We listened to the commentary about the feng shui of the buildings and took in the breath taking views. By the time we finished on the flyer we realised that yet again we had missed our time slot for our tour oops! Again the very kind guy booked us on the next one. To be sure we didn't miss it again we ended up sitting in the duck tours shop for a good half hour!
The tour was fun, but by this time we had seen a lot of the city already and it had started to rain. We did enjoy going from the land to water and screamed suitably at this point. Oh also in the harbour there were loads of white floating beach balls with messages on ready for NYE, both Lou and I wrote our own wishes for the coming year and added ours to the hundred already floating ready for the light show. So if you see Singapore bringing in the new year keep your eyes peeled for our messages...
That evening we headed out again to Clark Quay as it was our final night with Emma and Lorna before we parted ways for the last time. Also I was trying to arrange with Andy and his friends (who were over to do the marathon!) to met up for a drink or two - this was some what hard as we didn't have a phone and it wasn't looking hopeful. After a few drinks in some random themed bars we ended up bumping into Andy and the other Brunei lads and ending up going clubbing till the wee hours - pretty impressive for guys who were meant to be running the marathon that weekend! It was a fun farewell and a great greeting that topped our time in Singapore of nicely!
The following day I went back into town to say bye to Andy, who just happened to be staying in the swishest hotel in town (the one with the boat on!) and then Lou and I prepared for our 8hour flight to Oz. We also gained our first cringy 'dorm sex story' with a couple on the bottom bunk not much caring for the other 8 people sleeping in the room! Again not really a story to be told on here, but a funny one that I'm sure will continue to make us girls giggle!
We hugged Emma and Lorna goodbye for about the millionth time and headed to the airport in plenty of time ready to start the oz adventure. We both loved Singapore and were pleased to end our South East Asia section on a high! It has been a crazy couple of months filled with experiences that we never even dreamt of, and hope that we continue the journey in the same way (minus the stolen phone, Lou hurting her back and tag along urchin)
Lots of love to you all, especially to Lora and Matt on their special day and Katie and Rob celebrating a year of marital bliss!!
Steph and Lou x x x
Sunday 19 December 2010
Monday 6 December 2010
Malaysia, the sequel
So picking up from yesterday... the slump that was Penang was soon dug out of by an amazing couple of days in Cameron Highlands. We took another long(ish) bus journey inland and upwards to the highlands and arrived early evening. After sorting out our accomodation we realised that we were sharing a squat loo, (please bare in mind I have only used one of these toilets once the whole time out here) In the end it wasn't actually that bad and I wondered why I had been making a fuss for so long! Lou was right at home as nothing could be worse than THAT toilet at some border... That night we stayed in and watched movies at the hostel. I finally managed to see eclipse, though we were mocked from the start the tv room soon filled up and a debate of team edward/jacob begun. On a side note, just because I have seen it does not mean you get out of watching the movies with me Sean!
Anyways, the next day we signed up for a tour. We were a bit miffed that we were the only ones on our tour, but soon realised this was a good thing as we had our own private tour guide! We started of by visiting the 'BOH' tea plantations which were crazy as they had to pick the leaves whilst standing on hillsides. We went around the factory (slight yawn) and then had some tea. I fell in love with a lemon & lime iced tea whilst Lou had gold blend mmmmm yummy. We then went to the highest point of the highlands and climbed this metal tower - I was slightly wary at this point mainly due to Lou being clumsy, but we both managed to climb up and down without injury (although lou did fall out of the jeep at one point)
We then went for a trek in the jungly/forest which was amazing! Climbing over trees, down mud slide paths and along muddy tracks with sheer drops. At one point I was hanging on to two trees but my trousers got caught so I couldn't move, the guide was too far down to help so Lou had to scrabble down to free me. My height for once was a good thing in Asia as I found the giant steps we had to take a little easier than poor Lou. At one point me and the guide were a bit ahead and Lou was stuck up this moundy thing. Our guide had to hold onto both her hands, whilst I was encouraging her to jump down (I didn't have to jump so it was easy for me to say!) I think our guide liked this as he from then on kept on holding his hand out for us both. We finally realised that sliding about on our bottoms was an easier if some what unorthodox trekking method. Our guide found this funny and took great delight in taking a photo of our muddy bottoms muttering 'best photo ever' as he took it!
We then went to a butterfly farm and Lou enjoyed butterflies landing on her and taking photos to make Lorna and Emma jealous! I on the other hand didn't really enjoy it and was a little scared of them. We saw lots of creepy crawlies and to my delight and Lous dismay they were all safely locked away. After the butterfly farm we went to an aborigonal village to try blow pipe hunting. Basically you blow into a bamboo pipe at a stuffed teddy!! We both managed to get the target first time...and then missed every other one afterwards. The final part of our day was spent at a waterfalls - again this meant us being led through the jungle over rocks and streams, but by this time we were pros (meaning we knew to hold our guides hand!!) and took in the breathtaking waterfall. An amazing day that we still are grinning about now weeks later.
After Cameron Highlands we headed downwards to KL, here we stayed in chinatown and had a pretty chilled out day of wandering the streets taking it all in. The evening we went for a couple of drinks and cheap food! The next day we spent exploring the city further, I spotted on the map a craft fair where you could see artists at work which Lou was intereasted in. So after walking around in the rain (me limping because of my foot!!) we finally arrived at the 'craft fair' It was very bizzare as there was no one around and there was no fair or artists. I slight disapointment you may say. That evening we went to the twin towers as we wanted to see them at night, they looked amazing lit up and we tried our hand at taking some different photos there. Oh we also rode the monorail alot - with me singing 'monorail' from the simpsons and Lou exclaiming 'this is amazing' everytime we went on it - Proper Tourists!
Our next destination was to the sleepy town of Melakka which comes alive at the weekend. Unfortuatly we were there mid week so didn't get to experince the night markets. We met up with Jenny and Hannah (who we met in langkawi) and then with Lorna and Emma the following night for a few quiet drinks. During the day we saw parts of the town, but this was by default as we ambled alonged to be pampered at the spa. It was so cheap so we decided to treat ourselves before Oz and the big expense that is. So we basically spent the whole day be looked after and de-grotty-fied for less than a tenner :) So Malakka was our last stop in Malaysia. We both had mixed feelings about the country as we had equal amount of amazing memories and places we would rather forget! But yet again, now reflecting back on it we were both glad we went to the places we went to - even if we only take away the thought of knowing we would never return! Plus we are both proud that we survived the rest of malaysia injury free (and more importantly less of a worry for our parents!)
Love and Kisses (annie how many days till xmas??)
Steph and Lou x x x
Anyways, the next day we signed up for a tour. We were a bit miffed that we were the only ones on our tour, but soon realised this was a good thing as we had our own private tour guide! We started of by visiting the 'BOH' tea plantations which were crazy as they had to pick the leaves whilst standing on hillsides. We went around the factory (slight yawn) and then had some tea. I fell in love with a lemon & lime iced tea whilst Lou had gold blend mmmmm yummy. We then went to the highest point of the highlands and climbed this metal tower - I was slightly wary at this point mainly due to Lou being clumsy, but we both managed to climb up and down without injury (although lou did fall out of the jeep at one point)
We then went for a trek in the jungly/forest which was amazing! Climbing over trees, down mud slide paths and along muddy tracks with sheer drops. At one point I was hanging on to two trees but my trousers got caught so I couldn't move, the guide was too far down to help so Lou had to scrabble down to free me. My height for once was a good thing in Asia as I found the giant steps we had to take a little easier than poor Lou. At one point me and the guide were a bit ahead and Lou was stuck up this moundy thing. Our guide had to hold onto both her hands, whilst I was encouraging her to jump down (I didn't have to jump so it was easy for me to say!) I think our guide liked this as he from then on kept on holding his hand out for us both. We finally realised that sliding about on our bottoms was an easier if some what unorthodox trekking method. Our guide found this funny and took great delight in taking a photo of our muddy bottoms muttering 'best photo ever' as he took it!
We then went to a butterfly farm and Lou enjoyed butterflies landing on her and taking photos to make Lorna and Emma jealous! I on the other hand didn't really enjoy it and was a little scared of them. We saw lots of creepy crawlies and to my delight and Lous dismay they were all safely locked away. After the butterfly farm we went to an aborigonal village to try blow pipe hunting. Basically you blow into a bamboo pipe at a stuffed teddy!! We both managed to get the target first time...and then missed every other one afterwards. The final part of our day was spent at a waterfalls - again this meant us being led through the jungle over rocks and streams, but by this time we were pros (meaning we knew to hold our guides hand!!) and took in the breathtaking waterfall. An amazing day that we still are grinning about now weeks later.
After Cameron Highlands we headed downwards to KL, here we stayed in chinatown and had a pretty chilled out day of wandering the streets taking it all in. The evening we went for a couple of drinks and cheap food! The next day we spent exploring the city further, I spotted on the map a craft fair where you could see artists at work which Lou was intereasted in. So after walking around in the rain (me limping because of my foot!!) we finally arrived at the 'craft fair' It was very bizzare as there was no one around and there was no fair or artists. I slight disapointment you may say. That evening we went to the twin towers as we wanted to see them at night, they looked amazing lit up and we tried our hand at taking some different photos there. Oh we also rode the monorail alot - with me singing 'monorail' from the simpsons and Lou exclaiming 'this is amazing' everytime we went on it - Proper Tourists!
Our next destination was to the sleepy town of Melakka which comes alive at the weekend. Unfortuatly we were there mid week so didn't get to experince the night markets. We met up with Jenny and Hannah (who we met in langkawi) and then with Lorna and Emma the following night for a few quiet drinks. During the day we saw parts of the town, but this was by default as we ambled alonged to be pampered at the spa. It was so cheap so we decided to treat ourselves before Oz and the big expense that is. So we basically spent the whole day be looked after and de-grotty-fied for less than a tenner :) So Malakka was our last stop in Malaysia. We both had mixed feelings about the country as we had equal amount of amazing memories and places we would rather forget! But yet again, now reflecting back on it we were both glad we went to the places we went to - even if we only take away the thought of knowing we would never return! Plus we are both proud that we survived the rest of malaysia injury free (and more importantly less of a worry for our parents!)
Love and Kisses (annie how many days till xmas??)
Steph and Lou x x x
Malaysia Part 1
Yes I know it has been a while but we have been busy bees and now have a few days of nothingness so I thought I would update y'all on our Malaysian part of the journey. So we arrived safely over the border onto an island called Langkawi where for the first night we stayed in the worst accommodation to date - it was dingy, dirty and smelly (couldn't think of another d word!) and the door didn't lock properly. Having already paid a deposit we couldn't leave but did insist on changing to a room which we could actually lock!
After our first night terror (I had weird dreams about girls screaming...) we moved on to a nicer guesthouse. Though this was only a little step up as we had some cockroaches visit us. I tried to be all brave and capture on that was squirming around on its back, but when I looked up I saw a massive one on the wall. Screaming I informed Lou that actually I couldn't make the bathroom cockroach free! Our solution was to leave the door open so we could run out if one tried to attack us (yeah I know a tad dramatic!)
So the next couple of days we appreciated the white sand beaches and cooling off in the clear(ish) water, unaware of the jellyfish bobbing alongside us. We found this chilled out reggae bar called Babylon on the beach that played live music and spent many a night sipping a chang and chatting to other backpackers. We met two guys who told us about this amazing Indian restaurant that was open 24hours, so after one particular night out partying to the wee hours we tried some of the food and fell in love with the place, visiting it for cheap curries at 4 in the morning!
One of the days we decided to do an island tour, we saw the hill(mountain?) that looked like a pregnant lady had fallen over, went to a national park that was over run with monkeys which tried to attack us! We also stopped at a fresh water lake which we could swim in, which was pretty amazing. On the way back to Langkawi we stopped at an island called Beras Basah - a postcard beach! We had an amazing time in Langkawi with the locals and other backpackers being really friendly and welcoming but decided to head back to Thailand for a few days to an island recommended by Emma's boyfriend.
Hopping back over to Thailand to Koh Lipe was an adventure in itself - we managed to get the front seats of the open top ferry and could not believe our eyes as the water and sky looked the same colour, it was kinda magical! To say we were a tad excited when we 'landed' in Koh Lipe is an understatment, the water was so clear and the white sand beach was littered with wooded beach huts. That night we watched a lighting and thunderstorm from our balcony which I loved (lou was a little bit scared!) We spent the next couple of days soaking up the sun and generally chilling out in paradise.
On the third day we decided to go another beach on the island called Sunset beach, surprisingly named as you could watch the sunset there. So after a 30min walk around the unmarked dirt tracks we stumbled onto our new beach, which only had 4 other people on! Laying in the sun for about 10mins I spotted some rocks in the middle of the sea/lagoon thingy and decided to go for a swim out to them. Leaving lou on the beach and her warning of 'be safe' ringing in my ears I started to swim out. Having just read the book the beach the thought of sharks did cross my mind, but I soon relaxed and enjoyed the swim. I climbed up onto the rocks and waved to Lou wondering if she could see me and more importantly of course take a photo - not seeing if she had I stood there for a while. I decided to get down and swim back and that is when my foot slipped in between two rocks. I felt a sharp pain in my foot and fell forward into the water, looking at my foot I had loads of spikes sticking out of it! I started to panic as I was unsure of what I had stepped on and started to swim back to the beach. My foot felt numb, but now I think I was just in shock a little, and found it quite hard to swim back. Yet again I'm grateful for all those years swimming!! When I got nearer the beach I started to shout at Lou, which of course panicked her - I shouted to get help but she didn't want to leave me alone swimming back.
Eventually I got back onto the beach where a local boat man was, he quickly told me I had stepped on a sea urchin and that it wasn't poisonous phewww. Lou went on a hunt for some tweezers to try and get them out but couldn't find any. A very kind German couple tried to get some of the spikes out with a pen knife (at this point we didn't know not to do this!) but eventually we decided to go to the medical center which was on another part of the island, so a boat trip was in order. Once at the medical center and I had calmed down a little the doctor cleaned my foot and said I had protein in my foot and they have to work their own way out. We were instructed to keep the foot clean and wait it out. Now I don't want to be too girly and gushy here but part of the reason why I wanted to do this part of the blog was to say how much I appreciated Lou's help. She held my hand, sat on the floor of a wooden motorbike thingy, cleaned my foot for me as I was too much of a woss and looked after me when I wanted my mum the most! Yes looking back it is not that bad and loads of people get urchin spikes stuck in them, but at the time it was scary and painful and she really looked after me - so thank you!
We spent another couple of days in Koh Lipe before getting the ferry back to Langkawi where we met up with Emma and Lorna again. We had a few days with them on the beach and partying at Babylon and Samba, where one particular night we managed to stay out till sunrise! From Langkawi we then travelled over to another island called Penang. We went with a guy called Kristopher who we met at our hostel. We spent the first night in a hostel called Love Lane Inn and shared a 3 bed room with him, this was our first time sharing with someone else and did feel a little odd - but it was something we had to get use to. Up till now we have been kinda spoilt as it has been just as cheap for us to have our own room rather than a dorm! We moved the next night to a nicer hostel with a larger dorm.
During the day we were a little stuck on what to do as we didn't really want to walk around Georgetown, so we ended up shopping a little and going to the cinema twice (saw Unstoppable and HP7!) We went to Red Garden for food as Penang is meant to have the most amazing food, both me and Lou couldn't really see the major fuss but I suppose we all have a different definition of 'amazing food.' Again we met up with Lorna and Emma and bid a farewell to Kristopher who was heading to Thailand. From Georgetown we decided to go the beach at Batu Feringgi by this time we were both feeling a little sorry for ourselves as Penang wasn't really what we thought it was - so we ended up going to the Hard Rock Cafe that night! We did feel a little guilty spending 10 pound on food rather than only 1, but we needed something to smile about!! We spent the next couple of days avoiding the horses on the beach and generally just lazying around. Our next stop was inland to Cameron Highlands... we both hoped that we would enjoy it more than Penang!
Well that is part one of the two parter...stay tuned for Malaysia the sequel, coming very soon to a computer near you.
Love to you all
Steph and Lou x x x
After our first night terror (I had weird dreams about girls screaming...) we moved on to a nicer guesthouse. Though this was only a little step up as we had some cockroaches visit us. I tried to be all brave and capture on that was squirming around on its back, but when I looked up I saw a massive one on the wall. Screaming I informed Lou that actually I couldn't make the bathroom cockroach free! Our solution was to leave the door open so we could run out if one tried to attack us (yeah I know a tad dramatic!)
So the next couple of days we appreciated the white sand beaches and cooling off in the clear(ish) water, unaware of the jellyfish bobbing alongside us. We found this chilled out reggae bar called Babylon on the beach that played live music and spent many a night sipping a chang and chatting to other backpackers. We met two guys who told us about this amazing Indian restaurant that was open 24hours, so after one particular night out partying to the wee hours we tried some of the food and fell in love with the place, visiting it for cheap curries at 4 in the morning!
One of the days we decided to do an island tour, we saw the hill(mountain?) that looked like a pregnant lady had fallen over, went to a national park that was over run with monkeys which tried to attack us! We also stopped at a fresh water lake which we could swim in, which was pretty amazing. On the way back to Langkawi we stopped at an island called Beras Basah - a postcard beach! We had an amazing time in Langkawi with the locals and other backpackers being really friendly and welcoming but decided to head back to Thailand for a few days to an island recommended by Emma's boyfriend.
Hopping back over to Thailand to Koh Lipe was an adventure in itself - we managed to get the front seats of the open top ferry and could not believe our eyes as the water and sky looked the same colour, it was kinda magical! To say we were a tad excited when we 'landed' in Koh Lipe is an understatment, the water was so clear and the white sand beach was littered with wooded beach huts. That night we watched a lighting and thunderstorm from our balcony which I loved (lou was a little bit scared!) We spent the next couple of days soaking up the sun and generally chilling out in paradise.
On the third day we decided to go another beach on the island called Sunset beach, surprisingly named as you could watch the sunset there. So after a 30min walk around the unmarked dirt tracks we stumbled onto our new beach, which only had 4 other people on! Laying in the sun for about 10mins I spotted some rocks in the middle of the sea/lagoon thingy and decided to go for a swim out to them. Leaving lou on the beach and her warning of 'be safe' ringing in my ears I started to swim out. Having just read the book the beach the thought of sharks did cross my mind, but I soon relaxed and enjoyed the swim. I climbed up onto the rocks and waved to Lou wondering if she could see me and more importantly of course take a photo - not seeing if she had I stood there for a while. I decided to get down and swim back and that is when my foot slipped in between two rocks. I felt a sharp pain in my foot and fell forward into the water, looking at my foot I had loads of spikes sticking out of it! I started to panic as I was unsure of what I had stepped on and started to swim back to the beach. My foot felt numb, but now I think I was just in shock a little, and found it quite hard to swim back. Yet again I'm grateful for all those years swimming!! When I got nearer the beach I started to shout at Lou, which of course panicked her - I shouted to get help but she didn't want to leave me alone swimming back.
Eventually I got back onto the beach where a local boat man was, he quickly told me I had stepped on a sea urchin and that it wasn't poisonous phewww. Lou went on a hunt for some tweezers to try and get them out but couldn't find any. A very kind German couple tried to get some of the spikes out with a pen knife (at this point we didn't know not to do this!) but eventually we decided to go to the medical center which was on another part of the island, so a boat trip was in order. Once at the medical center and I had calmed down a little the doctor cleaned my foot and said I had protein in my foot and they have to work their own way out. We were instructed to keep the foot clean and wait it out. Now I don't want to be too girly and gushy here but part of the reason why I wanted to do this part of the blog was to say how much I appreciated Lou's help. She held my hand, sat on the floor of a wooden motorbike thingy, cleaned my foot for me as I was too much of a woss and looked after me when I wanted my mum the most! Yes looking back it is not that bad and loads of people get urchin spikes stuck in them, but at the time it was scary and painful and she really looked after me - so thank you!
We spent another couple of days in Koh Lipe before getting the ferry back to Langkawi where we met up with Emma and Lorna again. We had a few days with them on the beach and partying at Babylon and Samba, where one particular night we managed to stay out till sunrise! From Langkawi we then travelled over to another island called Penang. We went with a guy called Kristopher who we met at our hostel. We spent the first night in a hostel called Love Lane Inn and shared a 3 bed room with him, this was our first time sharing with someone else and did feel a little odd - but it was something we had to get use to. Up till now we have been kinda spoilt as it has been just as cheap for us to have our own room rather than a dorm! We moved the next night to a nicer hostel with a larger dorm.
During the day we were a little stuck on what to do as we didn't really want to walk around Georgetown, so we ended up shopping a little and going to the cinema twice (saw Unstoppable and HP7!) We went to Red Garden for food as Penang is meant to have the most amazing food, both me and Lou couldn't really see the major fuss but I suppose we all have a different definition of 'amazing food.' Again we met up with Lorna and Emma and bid a farewell to Kristopher who was heading to Thailand. From Georgetown we decided to go the beach at Batu Feringgi by this time we were both feeling a little sorry for ourselves as Penang wasn't really what we thought it was - so we ended up going to the Hard Rock Cafe that night! We did feel a little guilty spending 10 pound on food rather than only 1, but we needed something to smile about!! We spent the next couple of days avoiding the horses on the beach and generally just lazying around. Our next stop was inland to Cameron Highlands... we both hoped that we would enjoy it more than Penang!
Well that is part one of the two parter...stay tuned for Malaysia the sequel, coming very soon to a computer near you.
Love to you all
Steph and Lou x x x
Saturday 13 November 2010
Can't believe I forgot to mention this...
So I missed a major 'cultural' experience from the last blog entry. My only justification is that I'm trying to wipe it from my memory. Whilst in Patong we decided to go and see a ping pong show - what proceeded can not really be described in words, and certainly not for parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents to read about! It involved ping pongs, razors, fish, a bird, flowers and darts and a balloon - I'll let you imagine the rest! All I can say is that I felt sick throughout the whole show and Lou got the giggles (a reoccurring pattern for the way we deal with different situations!) The show was one of those things that I'm glad we went to but would never ever again want to go back! Anyways on a funnier note (sort of for me, not Lou) I also forgot to update you on the clumsiness of Lou. Whilst at a toilet break on our way to Satun she slipped over, again, on her back - ah poor Lou I hear you say, will she ever learn? Apparently not as on her way back from the toilet she slipped again, in exactly the same place, much to the amusement of the local men! I'm still trying to come up with a way to stop her falling over - any suggestions are more than welcome.
Much love
Steph and Lou x x x
Much love
Steph and Lou x x x
Friday 12 November 2010
Morninnnnng Thailand
So I am sitting in an Internet booth whilst the sun is shining outside, this is because I got over excited yesterday and may of over done it a tad yesterday. So I'm letting my body rest a little! Im going to pick up where Lou left off with Northern Thailand.
After our epic boat journey to get to the Thai border we were all relieved to cross easily back into Thailand. Our journey was broken up by a visit to a temple, by this time the whole group were a little templed out as we had seen alot in the past month. This one was different though, it was the white temple that is still being completed. From the outside the temple glistened and had goblin/devil masks hanging with signs saying no smoking/drinking. Inside the artist was working on the interior painting which was really interesting to look at. It showed the 'sins' of the world and how to reach enlightenment. Some of the sins shown were pictures of superheroes, clothes and shoes. It is interesting to see other religions take on right and wrong, though I don't really understand how converse trainers are bad - but each to their own I suppose!
We stopped off in the evening and had a quiet night as we were preparing for another journey to Chang Mi. The next morning after a few hours on another bus (I am never ever going to moan about the length of a journey ever again!) we arrived in Chang Mi. Now forgive me for being a little excited but the first stop was to Subway for a sandwich - much appreciated after days of rice and noodles. We didn't have long in Chang Mi, so we did what we do best - got pampered. My hair was looking very rugged after a month of neglect so I decided to get a wash and hair cut. Yes this seems quite normal, but having your hair cut by a lady who doesn't speak any English and communicate with hand signals was a little nerve wracking. Luckily it looks alright and for less than a fiver I can't really complain. Lou decided to have a massage as she was still in pain from her previous tumble in the shower. On a side note this is one thing new I have learnt about Lou so far - she falls over ALOT! Yes I knew she was clumsy, but seriously she should be wrapped in cotton wall!
Anyways in Chang Mi we said goodbye to Alex and Jennie, as they left the tour to explore a little more and so we were down to 6. That night we took another sleeper train to Bangkok. This train was a little different from the others with fold down beds and lights left on all night. Most the evening was spent on 'cockroach' watch - which basically consisted of us seeing a bug and getting Kerrie to whack it with her flip flop! After being made to go to bed at about 8ish I wasn't holding much hope for a good nights sleep, yet we all must of been tired as there wasn't a peep until the rather loud train conductor man walked up and down shouting 'mooorrrning' (Lou does an amazing impression!)
Well we were back in Bangkok the starting place of our adventure, we spent the rest of the day shopping, getting lost in tuk tuks and doing washing. We had a final meal as a group and then decided to hit Khao San road as it was Halloween and their was a street party. Getting into the spirit of things myself, lou, Lorna and Kerrie all got our face painted. I did have some vampire teeth (Becky gotta love a bit of twilight!) but couldn't seem to drink with them in so they were soon redundant in the bottom of my bag. The night was spent dancing and drinking into the wee hours - a great last night to the tour.
So now officially we were left to our own devices. We took a flight down to Krabi with Lorna and Emma, and decided to stay in Ao Nang as it had good links to other islands etc. When we arrived it was absolutely tipping it down which put a dampner on our spirits, this only got worse as we began to read reports of 'severe weather warnings' over most of Thailand. Being typical British we decided a little rain couldn't hurt so stayed put. We were rewarded with our stubbornness by the next couple of days being boiling hot, which resulted in lots of chillaxing on the beach and dipping into the sea. One particular evening whilst having dinner we spotted alot of lady boys going down a side street, so we decided to investigate... we found the street was full of bars and spent the evening playing crazy jenga and pool. Curiosity did not kill the cat then! We also bumped into some guys from St Albans, which was strange as we are thousands of miles from home yet we still bonded over having a drink in the Slug and Lettuce!
We took a day tour to Phi Phi island which was so beautiful with its clear water and white sanded beaches, again we had another moment of 'wow' as we bumped into Romi and her boyfriend who were also visiting Phi Phi! I suppose it is a small world after all. We reluctantly boarded the ferry to head back to Ao Nang, all wishing we stayed a little longer to explore Phi Phi some more. I suppose we will just have to come back to it one day :)
The next day we decided to head to Koh Lanta, another epic bus/ferry journey later we arrived on the rather odd island. Having no idea where to go we befriended a girl called Bea who was stranded from her friends. She took us to some beach huts which had only been open 5weeks. Compared to Ao Nang, Koh Lanta was so peaceful, we literally slept with the sea at our door which I loved. I think we have grown as travellers as both me and Lou spotted cockroaches in our 'bathroom' and didn't scream. Due to it being low season we were literally the only people there, with no activities so we decided to head somewhere a little more busy which led us to another bus journey but this time to Patong, Phuket.
We arrived quite late in patong and finally managed to find somewhere for all four of us to stay - it was a little dingy with no windows, but at least it was clean! Both Lou and myself couldn't sleep so we left Emma and Lorna to catch up on their beauty sleep and went exploring. We randomly bumped into the guys we met in Ao Nang who persuaded us to go back get showers and get dressed for a night out - no need to ask us twice! We then proceeded to spend the night in various bars including a rock metal one! We finally called it a night, but when leaving the club it was light outside - some how we managed to stay out dancing till 7am!! On a side note my mother seemed a little concerned that all we seem to do is go out dancing and drinking. I promise this is not the case, there is just more to say and take photos of when out rather than 'and we sat on the beach...again'
Anyways getting back to the update... Lorna and Emma decided that they wanted to head north after Phuket whilst myself and Lou wanted to go South, so we bid a sad farewell to our travel buddies with the promise of meeting up again in Malaysia. So this was it, after over a month of travelling we were actually on our own for the first time! We went down to Satun, not a place I would recommend visiting, but it did it's job as a rest place until we could catch a ferry out of there. Only having a couple days left on our visa we thought it would be best not to rush the rest of Thailand but to go to Malaysia with the intention of 'hopping' back over the border in a couple of days.
So Thailand has been amazing, with alot of relaxing on some of the worlds best beaches (do I sound like a travel guide - sorry!) but its onwards and downwards (geographically speaking) into Malaysia.
Much love to everyone at home, and those of you who are also on adventures!
Steph and Lou x x x
After our epic boat journey to get to the Thai border we were all relieved to cross easily back into Thailand. Our journey was broken up by a visit to a temple, by this time the whole group were a little templed out as we had seen alot in the past month. This one was different though, it was the white temple that is still being completed. From the outside the temple glistened and had goblin/devil masks hanging with signs saying no smoking/drinking. Inside the artist was working on the interior painting which was really interesting to look at. It showed the 'sins' of the world and how to reach enlightenment. Some of the sins shown were pictures of superheroes, clothes and shoes. It is interesting to see other religions take on right and wrong, though I don't really understand how converse trainers are bad - but each to their own I suppose!
We stopped off in the evening and had a quiet night as we were preparing for another journey to Chang Mi. The next morning after a few hours on another bus (I am never ever going to moan about the length of a journey ever again!) we arrived in Chang Mi. Now forgive me for being a little excited but the first stop was to Subway for a sandwich - much appreciated after days of rice and noodles. We didn't have long in Chang Mi, so we did what we do best - got pampered. My hair was looking very rugged after a month of neglect so I decided to get a wash and hair cut. Yes this seems quite normal, but having your hair cut by a lady who doesn't speak any English and communicate with hand signals was a little nerve wracking. Luckily it looks alright and for less than a fiver I can't really complain. Lou decided to have a massage as she was still in pain from her previous tumble in the shower. On a side note this is one thing new I have learnt about Lou so far - she falls over ALOT! Yes I knew she was clumsy, but seriously she should be wrapped in cotton wall!
Anyways in Chang Mi we said goodbye to Alex and Jennie, as they left the tour to explore a little more and so we were down to 6. That night we took another sleeper train to Bangkok. This train was a little different from the others with fold down beds and lights left on all night. Most the evening was spent on 'cockroach' watch - which basically consisted of us seeing a bug and getting Kerrie to whack it with her flip flop! After being made to go to bed at about 8ish I wasn't holding much hope for a good nights sleep, yet we all must of been tired as there wasn't a peep until the rather loud train conductor man walked up and down shouting 'mooorrrning' (Lou does an amazing impression!)
Well we were back in Bangkok the starting place of our adventure, we spent the rest of the day shopping, getting lost in tuk tuks and doing washing. We had a final meal as a group and then decided to hit Khao San road as it was Halloween and their was a street party. Getting into the spirit of things myself, lou, Lorna and Kerrie all got our face painted. I did have some vampire teeth (Becky gotta love a bit of twilight!) but couldn't seem to drink with them in so they were soon redundant in the bottom of my bag. The night was spent dancing and drinking into the wee hours - a great last night to the tour.
So now officially we were left to our own devices. We took a flight down to Krabi with Lorna and Emma, and decided to stay in Ao Nang as it had good links to other islands etc. When we arrived it was absolutely tipping it down which put a dampner on our spirits, this only got worse as we began to read reports of 'severe weather warnings' over most of Thailand. Being typical British we decided a little rain couldn't hurt so stayed put. We were rewarded with our stubbornness by the next couple of days being boiling hot, which resulted in lots of chillaxing on the beach and dipping into the sea. One particular evening whilst having dinner we spotted alot of lady boys going down a side street, so we decided to investigate... we found the street was full of bars and spent the evening playing crazy jenga and pool. Curiosity did not kill the cat then! We also bumped into some guys from St Albans, which was strange as we are thousands of miles from home yet we still bonded over having a drink in the Slug and Lettuce!
We took a day tour to Phi Phi island which was so beautiful with its clear water and white sanded beaches, again we had another moment of 'wow' as we bumped into Romi and her boyfriend who were also visiting Phi Phi! I suppose it is a small world after all. We reluctantly boarded the ferry to head back to Ao Nang, all wishing we stayed a little longer to explore Phi Phi some more. I suppose we will just have to come back to it one day :)
The next day we decided to head to Koh Lanta, another epic bus/ferry journey later we arrived on the rather odd island. Having no idea where to go we befriended a girl called Bea who was stranded from her friends. She took us to some beach huts which had only been open 5weeks. Compared to Ao Nang, Koh Lanta was so peaceful, we literally slept with the sea at our door which I loved. I think we have grown as travellers as both me and Lou spotted cockroaches in our 'bathroom' and didn't scream. Due to it being low season we were literally the only people there, with no activities so we decided to head somewhere a little more busy which led us to another bus journey but this time to Patong, Phuket.
We arrived quite late in patong and finally managed to find somewhere for all four of us to stay - it was a little dingy with no windows, but at least it was clean! Both Lou and myself couldn't sleep so we left Emma and Lorna to catch up on their beauty sleep and went exploring. We randomly bumped into the guys we met in Ao Nang who persuaded us to go back get showers and get dressed for a night out - no need to ask us twice! We then proceeded to spend the night in various bars including a rock metal one! We finally called it a night, but when leaving the club it was light outside - some how we managed to stay out dancing till 7am!! On a side note my mother seemed a little concerned that all we seem to do is go out dancing and drinking. I promise this is not the case, there is just more to say and take photos of when out rather than 'and we sat on the beach...again'
Anyways getting back to the update... Lorna and Emma decided that they wanted to head north after Phuket whilst myself and Lou wanted to go South, so we bid a sad farewell to our travel buddies with the promise of meeting up again in Malaysia. So this was it, after over a month of travelling we were actually on our own for the first time! We went down to Satun, not a place I would recommend visiting, but it did it's job as a rest place until we could catch a ferry out of there. Only having a couple days left on our visa we thought it would be best not to rush the rest of Thailand but to go to Malaysia with the intention of 'hopping' back over the border in a couple of days.
So Thailand has been amazing, with alot of relaxing on some of the worlds best beaches (do I sound like a travel guide - sorry!) but its onwards and downwards (geographically speaking) into Malaysia.
Much love to everyone at home, and those of you who are also on adventures!
Steph and Lou x x x
Thursday 11 November 2010
Bucket time!!!
From Hanoi it took us 11 hours to reach the Loas border by bus, it wasnt that bad as we slept for most of the journey lol! we stopped off at a really small village called Lac Sao. it was really stange as it only had one shop, one restaurant etc and was completly different to Hanoi. The restaurant was very strange and we were the only people in there, we ordered our food which was chicken with rice ( the usual) and that wasnt what we got, infact no one got what they ordered lol!!
The whole village was alittle scary and it seemed like we were in a horror film, what made it worse was the hotel only had one english channel and a horror film was on :(
The next day we left Lac Sao at 7am and travelled for 6hrs to Vientaine (the capital of Loas) it was completly different to Vietnam, no bibbing of horns or thousands of motorbikes, It was alot quieter. We attempted to hire some bycycles when we arrived there but found out they were pretty rubbish and had no brakes so decided against it lol! in the end we got a Tuk Tuk and expored the city, we stopped at the Patuxai monument and got a classic photo with us jumping off the fountain with the monument in the background :)
In the evening there were fireworks going off everywhere and floating lanterns filling the sky. it was amazing!! we realised it was due to the 'light festival' there were crowds of people everywhere lighting candles. it was so unexpected and very beautiful. We bought a floating candle, lit in and placed it on the mekong river with thousnads of others, it is seen as an offering to the gods and you will get good luck for the rest of the year. It was an amazing sight.
The next day we travelled to Vang Vieng (the home of tubing) we decided to go tubing as soon as we got there, the weather hadnt been that good so it didnt matter if it rained as we would be floating down the river in rubber rings anyway lol!! we signed a disclaimer which none of us knew what it meant and got a tuk tuk to the river with our rubber rings attached.
when we arrived there were bars complete with body spray, rope swings, slides, music and shots. Each bar we passed through out robes to help us in from the river, they also gave us shots of god knows what, all i know is that at the bottom of the bottle there were crickets and snakes errr!!!
As it got later obviously it got darker and we were still floating down the river, we managed to get out but a few people carried on down the river and lets just say Steph had to do a rescue mission in the dark, all those years of swimming paid off, although she did come back without any flip flops or shorts lol!!
As we had so much fun tubing we went again the next day, however i was alittle more careful this time as i slipped over in the shower right on my butt lol!! (has been an occuring thing on this trip) i decided not to do any of the jumps or swings but steph did. i was petrified for her but i knew she wanted to do it, everyone was cheering and encouraging her. we also managed to get to the end of the river before it got dark woohoo!!
After Vang Viend we headed to Luang Prabang, the bus journey was 7 hrs and it was the most uncomfortable journey so far, the roads were really windy and bumpy, not very good for 7 hrs lol!! we arrived at UNESCO heritage listed town and stayed in a guesthouse, it was so pieceful so we decided to hire bycyles to explore the local area, i loved the bikes :) we stopped off at a bar called utopia, it had a river view and you could lie down looking over it, it was so relaxing. in the vening me and steph ordered a bbq for dinner, this consisted of cooking the food ourselves at the table lol! was very strange cooking in the middle of the table whilst having a conversation with other people.we had buffalo which was lovely. after dinner we browsed the night market , the loas style of selling was much more enjoyable as they let u look and didnt hassle you.
in the morning we went to the Elephant village , a santuary for elephants. they previously worked in the logging industry and are very old. we went on a trek on the back of the elephants through rough terrain and a river it was incredable. on a few occasions i did think we may fall out lol! we also fed them bananas, they eat 250 kilos a day!! whilst feeding the elephant a banana it got confused with what was my hand and what was the banana and my hand nearly got eaten hehe!!
after spending time with the elephants we headed up the river on a small thin boat to the waterfalls, we swam in them but the water was freezing, i climbed up the watrefall and jumped in lol!!
the next 2 days we travelled up the mekong river passed Pak Beng to the loas/ Thailand border. on the way there we stopped off at a small village and saw how they live, it was so basic, living in little wooden huts. the children were so lovely and followed us back to the boat hehe!!
our adventure leads us to Northern Thailand, we will keep u updated :) x x x x
Lou and Steph x x x x x x x x
The whole village was alittle scary and it seemed like we were in a horror film, what made it worse was the hotel only had one english channel and a horror film was on :(
The next day we left Lac Sao at 7am and travelled for 6hrs to Vientaine (the capital of Loas) it was completly different to Vietnam, no bibbing of horns or thousands of motorbikes, It was alot quieter. We attempted to hire some bycycles when we arrived there but found out they were pretty rubbish and had no brakes so decided against it lol! in the end we got a Tuk Tuk and expored the city, we stopped at the Patuxai monument and got a classic photo with us jumping off the fountain with the monument in the background :)
In the evening there were fireworks going off everywhere and floating lanterns filling the sky. it was amazing!! we realised it was due to the 'light festival' there were crowds of people everywhere lighting candles. it was so unexpected and very beautiful. We bought a floating candle, lit in and placed it on the mekong river with thousnads of others, it is seen as an offering to the gods and you will get good luck for the rest of the year. It was an amazing sight.
The next day we travelled to Vang Vieng (the home of tubing) we decided to go tubing as soon as we got there, the weather hadnt been that good so it didnt matter if it rained as we would be floating down the river in rubber rings anyway lol!! we signed a disclaimer which none of us knew what it meant and got a tuk tuk to the river with our rubber rings attached.
when we arrived there were bars complete with body spray, rope swings, slides, music and shots. Each bar we passed through out robes to help us in from the river, they also gave us shots of god knows what, all i know is that at the bottom of the bottle there were crickets and snakes errr!!!
As it got later obviously it got darker and we were still floating down the river, we managed to get out but a few people carried on down the river and lets just say Steph had to do a rescue mission in the dark, all those years of swimming paid off, although she did come back without any flip flops or shorts lol!!
As we had so much fun tubing we went again the next day, however i was alittle more careful this time as i slipped over in the shower right on my butt lol!! (has been an occuring thing on this trip) i decided not to do any of the jumps or swings but steph did. i was petrified for her but i knew she wanted to do it, everyone was cheering and encouraging her. we also managed to get to the end of the river before it got dark woohoo!!
After Vang Viend we headed to Luang Prabang, the bus journey was 7 hrs and it was the most uncomfortable journey so far, the roads were really windy and bumpy, not very good for 7 hrs lol!! we arrived at UNESCO heritage listed town and stayed in a guesthouse, it was so pieceful so we decided to hire bycyles to explore the local area, i loved the bikes :) we stopped off at a bar called utopia, it had a river view and you could lie down looking over it, it was so relaxing. in the vening me and steph ordered a bbq for dinner, this consisted of cooking the food ourselves at the table lol! was very strange cooking in the middle of the table whilst having a conversation with other people.we had buffalo which was lovely. after dinner we browsed the night market , the loas style of selling was much more enjoyable as they let u look and didnt hassle you.
in the morning we went to the Elephant village , a santuary for elephants. they previously worked in the logging industry and are very old. we went on a trek on the back of the elephants through rough terrain and a river it was incredable. on a few occasions i did think we may fall out lol! we also fed them bananas, they eat 250 kilos a day!! whilst feeding the elephant a banana it got confused with what was my hand and what was the banana and my hand nearly got eaten hehe!!
after spending time with the elephants we headed up the river on a small thin boat to the waterfalls, we swam in them but the water was freezing, i climbed up the watrefall and jumped in lol!!
the next 2 days we travelled up the mekong river passed Pak Beng to the loas/ Thailand border. on the way there we stopped off at a small village and saw how they live, it was so basic, living in little wooden huts. the children were so lovely and followed us back to the boat hehe!!
our adventure leads us to Northern Thailand, we will keep u updated :) x x x x
Lou and Steph x x x x x x x x
Saturday 23 October 2010
Beep Beep Vietnam
Morning, so why beep beep I hear you ask from across the globe. Well as mentioned before, there are no rules to driving over here - except to beep you horn at every passing vechicle, person or animal... even if they are no where near you. Yes this does not sound that annoying, but try sleeping on a uncomfy bus with a megaphone beep beep horn and then maybe you'll see why we hate beep beep horns soooo much! Anyways back to the adventure that was Vietnam.
So we arrived in Danang after a 13hour sleeper train journey and then got the bus to Hoi An. Now Hoi An definatly made up for the icky journey as the fishing town is soooo picturesque. The buildings are a burnt yellowy colour and it has a river running through the old town with fishing boats bobbing along making the town look very tranquil. We soon realised that this town had sooo many tailors, where you could order any clothes in any fabric and have them custom made especially for you - a shopaholics dream one might say! So Lou and I proceeded to think very carefully about the most practical things we needed...erm which of corse involved pattern dresses, some even made from silk... an essential for backpacking yes? In the evening we had a lovely meal and our first dessert of the trip! ( we are sooo easily pleased)
The next day we had to go and collect our clothes and make sure they fitted right, unfortunatly I had taken a turn for the worst and was not feeling my best - the dresses soon cheered us up though. Whilst the rest of the group decided to hire bikes to explore the town more I really needed to go back to the hotel to lie down, so Lou (being an excellent nurse) and I started to trek back to our room. After about an hour we realised our 20minute walk had gone a bit wrong as we arrived back at the tailors from where we started... not great in the heat especially as I was trying extremly hard not to throw up in the street!! Eventually we managed to get back via the doctors where I was given medicine (I know everyone is sighing a big sigh of relief.) In the evening Lou and the rest of the group went to a cooking class. It involved exloring the local food market and then making salad rolls, crispy pancakes, mango salad and chicken marinade. Lou assures me that she will be cooking all this when we get back to anyone who is willing to try it!
We sadly waved goodbye to Hoi An to start our journey to Hue. We travelled up Hai Van pass (seen the top gear episode where they go up here on motorbikes?) which had amazing views. Once we had arrived in Hue (which is actually said like who) we went on a motorbike tour. Sorry if I go on a bit at this point as this is a major highlight of the whole experince so far. We were on the backs of bikes (and yes dad we had helmets on) and were driven around by locals - needless to say there was a lot of smiling, thumbs up and nodding. When we first started I was gripping on for dear life, but soon realised how much fun letting go was and proceeded to wave my hands around in the air for most the ride - I know so cool right! We visited alot of places including the emperors tomb 'Tu Duc Tomb', Ho Quyen where there use to be elephant V tiger fights and a pagoda where the young monks trained and lived. Our local tour guide really made this a tour we wouldn't forget as he put on a one man show and acted out different scenes showing the different parts f the history of Hue. We also stopped at a place where they made the cone hats and incense - Lou had a go at making some incense and seemed to do a good job. That evening we visited a restaurant that is run by a family that are deaf and dumb, they allow their customers to right messages on the walls and ceilings as this is very visual for them. Lou and I left our mark too! This was an amazing day and an experince we won't forget in a hurry.
We were meant to leave the next day but unfortunatly the flooding had stopped any trains running so our only option was to fly out the next day. At the time this was a bit of a bummer but after hearing horror stories of trains being flooded and people on buses drowning I think we were all relived to by pass such an experince. Lou and I decided to explore the shops of Hue a little more - not one of our best ideas as the market was so claustraphobic with it low roofs, maze like alley ways and 'intereasting' smells. We got out of there pretty sharpish. By this time we were in dire need of water so headed for the supermarket, where we proceeded to walk around gormlessly in our fruitless search. All in all a pretty non-eventful day but all part of the adevnture I suppose!
We arrived in Hanoi after a short flight and transfered to bus for a 4 hour journey to Halong Bay. Lou and I had a balcony over looking the beach and the islands which was amazing! We then went on a private boat tour and had a late lunch of various sea food which was yummy. The boat took us to the caves in Halong Bay which were spectatular, we also visited a floating fish farm nestled amongst the smaller islands. Here Lou very bravelly held a massive crab which looked part ailen part sting ray - sooo brave!! We then meandered through the islands as the sun was setting, a truely magical day.
After travelling back to Hanoi the following day, we had free time to explore the city. We took a wander around the streets and realised we were a tad lost so decided to get a taxi to the lake to go on pedallos. Our cab driver was very funny and played some 80's asian pop - we think he enjoyed our singing and dance moves. That evening we went to drink 20p beer on the street sitting on plastic chairs - a different kind of experince! We then proceeded to a local Vietnamise bar where we stuck out like sore thumbs, however we were soon accepted when we danced our little hearts out and sang along to the english tunes. A funny night was had.
Our second day in Hanoi was a little overshadowed by tiredness, but we put on a brave face and trekked down to the 'world famous water puppet theatre show' - Now when you see something that is world famous it is not too silly to expect something amazing. Hmmm oh how you are wrong, Lou spent the whole show laughing and I nearly fell asleep. It was a very odd show with no story and puppets in water for some reason oh and was in Vietnamise so we understood nothing. Again I think we will just have to put this one down to part of the experince.
So that was our time in Vietnam, we were often stared at or laughed at which was sometimes uneasy, we bartered hard at the markets (even over knickers - some how I have lost 6 pairs of undies in the space of three weeks, our theory is when we put our clothes into the local laundrette they keep a pair??) and survived floods. I can't say it was my favourite country but we definatly had some of our best memories made here.
Lots of love to you all
Steph and Lou x x x
So we arrived in Danang after a 13hour sleeper train journey and then got the bus to Hoi An. Now Hoi An definatly made up for the icky journey as the fishing town is soooo picturesque. The buildings are a burnt yellowy colour and it has a river running through the old town with fishing boats bobbing along making the town look very tranquil. We soon realised that this town had sooo many tailors, where you could order any clothes in any fabric and have them custom made especially for you - a shopaholics dream one might say! So Lou and I proceeded to think very carefully about the most practical things we needed...erm which of corse involved pattern dresses, some even made from silk... an essential for backpacking yes? In the evening we had a lovely meal and our first dessert of the trip! ( we are sooo easily pleased)
The next day we had to go and collect our clothes and make sure they fitted right, unfortunatly I had taken a turn for the worst and was not feeling my best - the dresses soon cheered us up though. Whilst the rest of the group decided to hire bikes to explore the town more I really needed to go back to the hotel to lie down, so Lou (being an excellent nurse) and I started to trek back to our room. After about an hour we realised our 20minute walk had gone a bit wrong as we arrived back at the tailors from where we started... not great in the heat especially as I was trying extremly hard not to throw up in the street!! Eventually we managed to get back via the doctors where I was given medicine (I know everyone is sighing a big sigh of relief.) In the evening Lou and the rest of the group went to a cooking class. It involved exloring the local food market and then making salad rolls, crispy pancakes, mango salad and chicken marinade. Lou assures me that she will be cooking all this when we get back to anyone who is willing to try it!
We sadly waved goodbye to Hoi An to start our journey to Hue. We travelled up Hai Van pass (seen the top gear episode where they go up here on motorbikes?) which had amazing views. Once we had arrived in Hue (which is actually said like who) we went on a motorbike tour. Sorry if I go on a bit at this point as this is a major highlight of the whole experince so far. We were on the backs of bikes (and yes dad we had helmets on) and were driven around by locals - needless to say there was a lot of smiling, thumbs up and nodding. When we first started I was gripping on for dear life, but soon realised how much fun letting go was and proceeded to wave my hands around in the air for most the ride - I know so cool right! We visited alot of places including the emperors tomb 'Tu Duc Tomb', Ho Quyen where there use to be elephant V tiger fights and a pagoda where the young monks trained and lived. Our local tour guide really made this a tour we wouldn't forget as he put on a one man show and acted out different scenes showing the different parts f the history of Hue. We also stopped at a place where they made the cone hats and incense - Lou had a go at making some incense and seemed to do a good job. That evening we visited a restaurant that is run by a family that are deaf and dumb, they allow their customers to right messages on the walls and ceilings as this is very visual for them. Lou and I left our mark too! This was an amazing day and an experince we won't forget in a hurry.
We were meant to leave the next day but unfortunatly the flooding had stopped any trains running so our only option was to fly out the next day. At the time this was a bit of a bummer but after hearing horror stories of trains being flooded and people on buses drowning I think we were all relived to by pass such an experince. Lou and I decided to explore the shops of Hue a little more - not one of our best ideas as the market was so claustraphobic with it low roofs, maze like alley ways and 'intereasting' smells. We got out of there pretty sharpish. By this time we were in dire need of water so headed for the supermarket, where we proceeded to walk around gormlessly in our fruitless search. All in all a pretty non-eventful day but all part of the adevnture I suppose!
We arrived in Hanoi after a short flight and transfered to bus for a 4 hour journey to Halong Bay. Lou and I had a balcony over looking the beach and the islands which was amazing! We then went on a private boat tour and had a late lunch of various sea food which was yummy. The boat took us to the caves in Halong Bay which were spectatular, we also visited a floating fish farm nestled amongst the smaller islands. Here Lou very bravelly held a massive crab which looked part ailen part sting ray - sooo brave!! We then meandered through the islands as the sun was setting, a truely magical day.
After travelling back to Hanoi the following day, we had free time to explore the city. We took a wander around the streets and realised we were a tad lost so decided to get a taxi to the lake to go on pedallos. Our cab driver was very funny and played some 80's asian pop - we think he enjoyed our singing and dance moves. That evening we went to drink 20p beer on the street sitting on plastic chairs - a different kind of experince! We then proceeded to a local Vietnamise bar where we stuck out like sore thumbs, however we were soon accepted when we danced our little hearts out and sang along to the english tunes. A funny night was had.
Our second day in Hanoi was a little overshadowed by tiredness, but we put on a brave face and trekked down to the 'world famous water puppet theatre show' - Now when you see something that is world famous it is not too silly to expect something amazing. Hmmm oh how you are wrong, Lou spent the whole show laughing and I nearly fell asleep. It was a very odd show with no story and puppets in water for some reason oh and was in Vietnamise so we understood nothing. Again I think we will just have to put this one down to part of the experince.
So that was our time in Vietnam, we were often stared at or laughed at which was sometimes uneasy, we bartered hard at the markets (even over knickers - some how I have lost 6 pairs of undies in the space of three weeks, our theory is when we put our clothes into the local laundrette they keep a pair??) and survived floods. I can't say it was my favourite country but we definatly had some of our best memories made here.
Lots of love to you all
Steph and Lou x x x
We are billionaires in Vietnam
Yes it is true, we are billionaires here in Vietnam! We have both achieved what Travie and Bruno could only sing about... shame it is dong and not pounds though. Anyways, so it is my turn to update our blog and tell you all about our adventures in Vietnam. As many of you know I was a tad ill (sob sob) so some of these mini adventures are just from Miss Vas I did not do some things and laid in bed feeling sorry for my self (sob sob some more.)
So Vietnam started of in an interesting way of having to bribe the officials to speed up our crossing! Whilst waiting for our passports to be stamped I was stroked on the arm by a local lady - amazed at my height and white skin. At the time I thought ahhh how amusing, little did I know that this was just the beginning of the stares, stroking, laughing and being pointed at! Lou braved the toilet (squat loo) and in her words 'the worst toilet ever seen in the whole entire world!' This was not helping me overcome my fear of using a squat loo, as I still hadn't used one!!
So we arrived in Saigon after a short bus journey (only an hour) and went on a tour of the fishing town which is built on the river. We stopped at one of the floating fisheries and saw how they go about their daily lives. Both Kerry, one of the girls on the tour, and Louise tried to catch the fish with their hands (the local way) but just weren't quick enough. We also stopped of at one of the villages and had to climb a rickety bridge to get to it - a tad scary. They keep a pole which shows how high the water gets during the floods, in 2000 it was higher than me!!!!
The next day we arrived in Ho Chai Minh the capital. I have never seen sooooo many motorbikes in all my life! There don't seem to be any road rules here at all - just alot of beeping! When crossing the road me and Lou even held hands, the best method was to walk slowly and keep looking straight and let the bikes swerve round you, and what ever you do DO NOT RUN! We went to the local market and did what we do best - shopped! Lou bought some shorts, but had to change behind a small blanket thingy in the middle of the market held up by me - very funny experience, especially as other tourists stopped to have a look!
So by this time I was suffering bad with my tummy (I know I may of mentioned this once or twice!) but decided I wanted to go with the rest of the group to go and see the only remaining tunnels from the war - bad decision on my part as I spent most of the time in the loo. So Lou and the rest of the group had the chance to crawl through one of the tiny tunnels used by the soldiers, apparently you had to crawl along on your knees and it was v hot and claustrophobic - can't imagine what it was like for the soldiers who had to live underground during the day. That afternoon the group went on a tour of HoChai Minh, but Lou was a bit vague about what they saw, so I don't think I missed out on too much!
That evening we took a night train to Nha Trang. It was Emma's birthday (another girl from the tour!) so we decided to celebrate on the train. I for some reason thought the alcohol would help my tummy and was quickly convinced by the others to join them in the celebrations! Vaughn our tour leader managed to bump us up to 1st class so we were travelling in style, sort of! Our cabin became the party cabin and needless to say alot was drunk, cake was eaten, rice wine was tried, songs were sung and confetti was stuck to our faces - kindly licked by Louise!!! Around 3 in the morning after about an hour sleeping I heard banging and shouting and was convinced we were at our stop, so I woke the cabin (Lou, Emma and Lorna) and we all got ready really quickly and in a panic.... that was until Lorna pointed out it was 3 in the morning and we weren't arriving in Nha Trang till 5. Let's just say the girls still haven't let me forget it yet. oops!!
Once we had actually arrived in Nha Trang sleep was in order. Once we were all refreshed we decided to go to the mineral mud baths for some pampering. This was amazing and refreshing - though trying to clean mud out of your bikini in a public shower is not for the shy! After our lazy day we decided to go and sample the local night life. We ended up in this bar called Oasis, where Lou and Lorna played pool with a local woman for agggeeess - the cheap alcoholapparently made them pro pool players! So about 2ish we decided to head home, but Jaff (our only male on the tour at this point) pointed out that while we had been busy dancing the night away the road had turned into a river. Somehow he managed to convince us our only option was to stay at the bar and continue with the dancing and drinking. Eventually we headed home about 4ish when the road was a little less like a river.
So the next day was a bit of a washout and was spent at the beach and in the pool. generally recovering from the night before antics. That evening we boarded our second sleeper train, but we were not in 1st class this time and we sure noticed the difference! Beds already been slept in, stains we rather we didn't see and bugs. Luckily we didn't see any bugs in our room, but we heard many a scream from the girls next door! Needless to say we all started to creep ourselves out convinced bugs were going to attack us in the night. The night was spent looking like a mummy wrapped in our sleeping liners and spraying bug repellent! An experience yes, one we want to repeat... no!
So I have been waffling on now for aggeeeess and still haven't told you everything about Vietnam so stay tuned for the next installment tomorrow and hopefully some more piccys uploaded onto facebook! We hope everyone is good at home and we both love getting messages so please keep them coming :)
Till tomorrow, much love
Steph and Lou x x x x
So Vietnam started of in an interesting way of having to bribe the officials to speed up our crossing! Whilst waiting for our passports to be stamped I was stroked on the arm by a local lady - amazed at my height and white skin. At the time I thought ahhh how amusing, little did I know that this was just the beginning of the stares, stroking, laughing and being pointed at! Lou braved the toilet (squat loo) and in her words 'the worst toilet ever seen in the whole entire world!' This was not helping me overcome my fear of using a squat loo, as I still hadn't used one!!
So we arrived in Saigon after a short bus journey (only an hour) and went on a tour of the fishing town which is built on the river. We stopped at one of the floating fisheries and saw how they go about their daily lives. Both Kerry, one of the girls on the tour, and Louise tried to catch the fish with their hands (the local way) but just weren't quick enough. We also stopped of at one of the villages and had to climb a rickety bridge to get to it - a tad scary. They keep a pole which shows how high the water gets during the floods, in 2000 it was higher than me!!!!
The next day we arrived in Ho Chai Minh the capital. I have never seen sooooo many motorbikes in all my life! There don't seem to be any road rules here at all - just alot of beeping! When crossing the road me and Lou even held hands, the best method was to walk slowly and keep looking straight and let the bikes swerve round you, and what ever you do DO NOT RUN! We went to the local market and did what we do best - shopped! Lou bought some shorts, but had to change behind a small blanket thingy in the middle of the market held up by me - very funny experience, especially as other tourists stopped to have a look!
So by this time I was suffering bad with my tummy (I know I may of mentioned this once or twice!) but decided I wanted to go with the rest of the group to go and see the only remaining tunnels from the war - bad decision on my part as I spent most of the time in the loo. So Lou and the rest of the group had the chance to crawl through one of the tiny tunnels used by the soldiers, apparently you had to crawl along on your knees and it was v hot and claustrophobic - can't imagine what it was like for the soldiers who had to live underground during the day. That afternoon the group went on a tour of HoChai Minh, but Lou was a bit vague about what they saw, so I don't think I missed out on too much!
That evening we took a night train to Nha Trang. It was Emma's birthday (another girl from the tour!) so we decided to celebrate on the train. I for some reason thought the alcohol would help my tummy and was quickly convinced by the others to join them in the celebrations! Vaughn our tour leader managed to bump us up to 1st class so we were travelling in style, sort of! Our cabin became the party cabin and needless to say alot was drunk, cake was eaten, rice wine was tried, songs were sung and confetti was stuck to our faces - kindly licked by Louise!!! Around 3 in the morning after about an hour sleeping I heard banging and shouting and was convinced we were at our stop, so I woke the cabin (Lou, Emma and Lorna) and we all got ready really quickly and in a panic.... that was until Lorna pointed out it was 3 in the morning and we weren't arriving in Nha Trang till 5. Let's just say the girls still haven't let me forget it yet. oops!!
Once we had actually arrived in Nha Trang sleep was in order. Once we were all refreshed we decided to go to the mineral mud baths for some pampering. This was amazing and refreshing - though trying to clean mud out of your bikini in a public shower is not for the shy! After our lazy day we decided to go and sample the local night life. We ended up in this bar called Oasis, where Lou and Lorna played pool with a local woman for agggeeess - the cheap alcoholapparently made them pro pool players! So about 2ish we decided to head home, but Jaff (our only male on the tour at this point) pointed out that while we had been busy dancing the night away the road had turned into a river. Somehow he managed to convince us our only option was to stay at the bar and continue with the dancing and drinking. Eventually we headed home about 4ish when the road was a little less like a river.
So the next day was a bit of a washout and was spent at the beach and in the pool. generally recovering from the night before antics. That evening we boarded our second sleeper train, but we were not in 1st class this time and we sure noticed the difference! Beds already been slept in, stains we rather we didn't see and bugs. Luckily we didn't see any bugs in our room, but we heard many a scream from the girls next door! Needless to say we all started to creep ourselves out convinced bugs were going to attack us in the night. The night was spent looking like a mummy wrapped in our sleeping liners and spraying bug repellent! An experience yes, one we want to repeat... no!
So I have been waffling on now for aggeeeess and still haven't told you everything about Vietnam so stay tuned for the next installment tomorrow and hopefully some more piccys uploaded onto facebook! We hope everyone is good at home and we both love getting messages so please keep them coming :)
Till tomorrow, much love
Steph and Lou x x x x
Sunday 17 October 2010
We loved Cambodia!!
Firstly I appologise for not updating everyone sooner.u know what I'm like lol! Since arriving 2 weeks ago me and steph have been so busy and loving every minute of it.
Crossing the border into Cambodia was pretty hectic.we both witnessed a pick pocket stealing a phone from someones bag.from then on we knew that we had to make sure we were safe with all our bags.after crossing the border at poipot we made our way to siem reap.this was my favourite place in Cambodia.when we arrived at our hotel they welcomed us with cold towels and orange juice.we felt like royalty :)
we have been really lucky with the hotels we have stays at.we have both had a double bed each.
The first evening in siem reap we went to a place called new hope,a foundation that has been set up 2educate children. The children that go to new hope live in slums and are very poor so most of them couldn't read or write before.
We went there on tuk Tuks.was the funniest journey as it was down a dirt track an the tuk tuks were going all over the place was difficult to stay in lol! We met the children and went in the class which was so amazing.we then had a traditional dinner cooked for us. One of the courses consisted of crickets and snake mmmm!!!
We also visited Angkor temples in siem reap.we got up really early 2 see the sunrise but we never actually saw it coz it was cloudy hehe! We will be putting photos up soon so u can see the 1000s of pics that were taken there.
We also went to the night Market,it was filled with pretty much everything.we also had a doc fsh massage which is where tiny lil fish nibble on ur toes and eat ur dead skin.pretty sick but was really good for our feet, I also had a whole body massage,I was swung round like a rag doll lol! I felt so good after it though.
Not only have we eaten crickets and snake but we also tried tarrantula.walking back from the Market some man asked us if we wanted to try some and we both thought why not :)
after siem reap we heads to phonm Penn the capital of Cambodia.there we went to s21 prison and the killing fields.that was quite a shocking day,seeing how millions of people were tortured and killed.we saw the mass graves and there is still clothes and bones coming ups from the ground when it rains and washes the top layer of soil away.it was awlful what happen and even the people of Cambodia still don't know why it happened.
Me and steph also tried to visit the royal palace in phonm Penn.when we left our hotel it was raining slightly,we thought it would stop but it didn't for about 30mins.by the time ut stopped we were knee deep in rain water and trying to make our way back to the hotel.was the funniestexperinces I have ever had.
The last stop in Cambodia was sihanoukville.on the bus journey there steph ha here iPhone stolen.have no idea how ut happened.very sneaky!! She also got btten by ants as she was stood on an ants nest when we stopped for a loo break.
The first thing we did after we checked into the hotel was go to the beach.I saw a jelly fish in the sea so didn't go in lol! Such a wimp!!
We had the best meal on the beach in the eve and we also had buckets of vodka lemonade and lime.they were very stony lol! After dinner we went to a uv club and painted ourselves with paint.was such a good night.pics of that will be up soon aswell.
We are now in Vietnam but will update u about that very soon. We are both loving every minute.
Missing everyone lots
love lou and steph x x
Crossing the border into Cambodia was pretty hectic.we both witnessed a pick pocket stealing a phone from someones bag.from then on we knew that we had to make sure we were safe with all our bags.after crossing the border at poipot we made our way to siem reap.this was my favourite place in Cambodia.when we arrived at our hotel they welcomed us with cold towels and orange juice.we felt like royalty :)
we have been really lucky with the hotels we have stays at.we have both had a double bed each.
The first evening in siem reap we went to a place called new hope,a foundation that has been set up 2educate children. The children that go to new hope live in slums and are very poor so most of them couldn't read or write before.
We went there on tuk Tuks.was the funniest journey as it was down a dirt track an the tuk tuks were going all over the place was difficult to stay in lol! We met the children and went in the class which was so amazing.we then had a traditional dinner cooked for us. One of the courses consisted of crickets and snake mmmm!!!
We also visited Angkor temples in siem reap.we got up really early 2 see the sunrise but we never actually saw it coz it was cloudy hehe! We will be putting photos up soon so u can see the 1000s of pics that were taken there.
We also went to the night Market,it was filled with pretty much everything.we also had a doc fsh massage which is where tiny lil fish nibble on ur toes and eat ur dead skin.pretty sick but was really good for our feet, I also had a whole body massage,I was swung round like a rag doll lol! I felt so good after it though.
Not only have we eaten crickets and snake but we also tried tarrantula.walking back from the Market some man asked us if we wanted to try some and we both thought why not :)
after siem reap we heads to phonm Penn the capital of Cambodia.there we went to s21 prison and the killing fields.that was quite a shocking day,seeing how millions of people were tortured and killed.we saw the mass graves and there is still clothes and bones coming ups from the ground when it rains and washes the top layer of soil away.it was awlful what happen and even the people of Cambodia still don't know why it happened.
Me and steph also tried to visit the royal palace in phonm Penn.when we left our hotel it was raining slightly,we thought it would stop but it didn't for about 30mins.by the time ut stopped we were knee deep in rain water and trying to make our way back to the hotel.was the funniestexperinces I have ever had.
The last stop in Cambodia was sihanoukville.on the bus journey there steph ha here iPhone stolen.have no idea how ut happened.very sneaky!! She also got btten by ants as she was stood on an ants nest when we stopped for a loo break.
The first thing we did after we checked into the hotel was go to the beach.I saw a jelly fish in the sea so didn't go in lol! Such a wimp!!
We had the best meal on the beach in the eve and we also had buckets of vodka lemonade and lime.they were very stony lol! After dinner we went to a uv club and painted ourselves with paint.was such a good night.pics of that will be up soon aswell.
We are now in Vietnam but will update u about that very soon. We are both loving every minute.
Missing everyone lots
love lou and steph x x
Monday 4 October 2010
Things we have learnt....
So it is half four in the morning and I am waiting for our tour to Angkor Temple, so I thought why not share some of the things me and Lou have learnt in the past couple of days... and hopefully give you a little insight into our travels so far.
Love S & L x x x
- No matter how excited you are, sitting on the tarmac at Heathrow for over an hour is boring.
- It is HOT in Bangkok i.e. leggings and hoodie are not great clothes to arrive in - also trying to fix a broken bag (louises) is not great in heat either!
- Don't be smug: Went to bed at 11 on the first night thinking ooo we have no jet lag, only later to wake up at three in the morning and not able to get back to sleep!
- Local bus rides here are an adventure all by themselves.
- We can read a map! Walked back from the market all by ourselves with a map that only showed hotels. Pity there wasnt a scale, as it took us agggeeeesss.
- Re walking through Bangkok: Two white girls, one who is tall and the other curly hair get alot of stares!
- Thai food is yummy
- Pack your bag the night before - v stressful having to pack our bags for the tour in the morning!
- Bugs love me - have been bitten alot since being here even though I have been dousing myself in repellent :(
Love S & L x x x
Friday 1 October 2010
See you later...
So the day has arrived and in approxiamtly 7 hours we will be leaving for the ariport! I finally finished packing my bag last night and have managed to cram everything in steph style - no doubt the things I need the most will somehow end up in the middle of the bag, but oh well! Louise has been a tad more organised (what I hear you say!!!) and packed a couple days back, but somehow cannot fit her toothpaste in and asked me to take it for her - hmmm I think she just doesn't want it to explode in her bag or is using me as a drugs mule (this is a JOKE mother)
Have said alot of goodbyes - but someone who likes to think they are a little wise said it's not goodbye its just 'see you later' which I like :) A highlight see you later was when Lousie and I were sung through all the things that we would miss i.e. halloween, xmas, new year, chinese new year (?) birthdays and Hannukah ( I like to think this was mentioned because adam was there?)
I think I am a little too excited as I keep putting my bag on and wandering around the house imagining im at the airport... on that note I have to go and finish my list of things to do - just to give you a little insight it involves re-painting nails a less depressing colour and getting my eyebrows done. I know these are possibly the most two important things I need to do before leaving the country.
Next blog will hopefully be from Thailand... if we get on the right plane, dont lose Louise, dont lose tickets/passport etc.
See you laters x x x
Have said alot of goodbyes - but someone who likes to think they are a little wise said it's not goodbye its just 'see you later' which I like :) A highlight see you later was when Lousie and I were sung through all the things that we would miss i.e. halloween, xmas, new year, chinese new year (?) birthdays and Hannukah ( I like to think this was mentioned because adam was there?)
I think I am a little too excited as I keep putting my bag on and wandering around the house imagining im at the airport... on that note I have to go and finish my list of things to do - just to give you a little insight it involves re-painting nails a less depressing colour and getting my eyebrows done. I know these are possibly the most two important things I need to do before leaving the country.
Next blog will hopefully be from Thailand... if we get on the right plane, dont lose Louise, dont lose tickets/passport etc.
See you laters x x x
Sunday 12 September 2010
Hello
So after much deliberation I have decided to set up a blog to document the next 7 months or so. Hopefully we will keep this as up todate as possible with both myself and Louise posting our adventures. Please leave us a message or two :) x x x (18 days till departure eek!)
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