The Last Blogpost From SE Asia

Not up to much today really, just killing time before our flight out at 5 to midnight, I'll keep my progress updated on twitter, but as I doubt a lot will happen I may as well write the last blogpost now.

It has been a fantastic two months, we have done such a diverse amount of stuff and had some absolutely incredible experiences. It's been great fun writing the blog and keeping all those that are interested back in the western world in touch with what I've been doing. This certainly won't be the last ever blogpost, I will keep it going for future trips and adventures that I am certain will come thick and fast in the coming years.

SE Asia truly is an amazing part of the world, and so far away from the areas that I had experienced before, both geographically and culturally. The people, culture and environment here never fail to impress and I would certainly consider coming back here at some point in the future. I will have so many great memories of the places and the people I have met here as I'm sure has been reflected in past posts.

I'm going to end it there. Not a lot more to say.

Fantastic Countries, Amazing People - SE Asia - Well worth a visit!

Last Markets And Wandering

Went to the central Market today and thoroughly enjoyed it. I bought some shorts and a belt. I'll miss the bartering and jokes with the stall owners - always a good laugh.

From the market we had a wander down to the riverfront, sat around there and admired the views of the little boats and the people doing exercise on the esplanade, while we ate some lunch. Then afterwards went and admired the architecture of the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda - it's amazing how they have recreated buildings like that after the destruction that the city suffered both during the war and under the Khmer Rouge.

We were back at the hotel pretty early again and chilled out in the room packing our bags and sorting various things out, then headed for an early dinner down at the riverfront.

It was a great dinner, reminising about the trip and people that we've met, while enjoying the sunset and rainbows. After dinner we wandered along and had an icecream to cool us down as we walked, talking more about how strange it will be to be back in western civilization.

Back at the hotel now, watching a film. Just a lazy day tomorrow before getting the flight. I really love this country and the people here, it's been awesome, but Cowes Week awaits!

Another Day In Phnom Penh

Recovering gradually I think, feet are healing up and stomach is getting back to normal. Ear is still pretty weird, might have to grab some antibiotics for that when I get back to the UK.

Another quiet day here today really; feels a bit like we're killing time until we fly home now, but still enjoying it. We went for breakfast this morning and then walked to a huge shopping mall/indoor market where we all made various purchases; I got some fake Oakley sunglasses; doubt the lenses are much good, but will do for keeping the dirt out when mountain biking and not bad for $2.50!

Bought some lunch in the mall and then headed back to the hotel in the late afternoon, watched some tv and chilled out a bit. This evening we went down to the riverfront and had a fantastic meal, which made us all feel a lot better. Plan to do the palace and a bit more wandering tomorrow, should be another relaxing day. Just two days left before we fly out on Friday evening.

Crazy how quick the last two months have gone!

Russian Market

Woke up late this morning and caught a tuktuk to the Russian Market around midday. It was interesting, the girls went round getting presents and I went and bought a t-shirt. The place is full of factory cast offs at massively cheap prices, so quite cool.

Came back to the room and slept in the afternoon, then watched a few films. Just went out for dinner, but feel pretty rough, don't know why; first meal that I haven't finished since I've been out here.

Need a good nights rest I think.

Return To Phnom Penh

Last night turned out to be a very quite one in fact - with a massive monsoon rainstorm stopping people switching between bars. It was a bit of a shame, as it was our last night in Sihanoukville and as a four, but as we were all pretty shattered, the earlier night was welcomed.

This morning we packed and sat around chatting before getting on the bus back to Phnom Penh at 12:30. It was very weird and pretty emotional to leave Ben; we've had a fantastic two months travelling together and the four of us as a group have definitely become even greater friends.

As I write this we are just pulling into Phnom Penh, unfortunately due to traffic the bus took 6hours rather than the normal four. We can deal with that though; it's the last bus journey for us. All still pretty shattered still, think we will find the hotel, grab a bite to eat then go straight to bed!

Last Day At The Beach

Last night was a really good one - loads of UV paint and some great dancing - especially comic moments like Ben on the dancefloor rocking along alone with a huge grin plastered on his face.

Today we've done very little really; just trying to recover a bit. We booked our bus to Phnom Penh for midday tomorrow. Jess and Rosie decided to stay for one more night and travel back with me tomorrow instead.

Ready for a bit of city dwelling for a few days I think; and some early nights. The beach has been great fun, but it's not actually overly relaxing because of the late nights and we want to have a few relaxed days before we fly out, there's still a bit to see in Phnom Penh as well, so a couple of days there seems ideal.

One more big night tonight then - the last night as the "Vietnam Four". Plan on making it a good send off.

Another Day Of Wet Sand

Another good night last night, nothing overly special, but good fun. There were a load of American Navy guys in the bar who were absolutely smashed -doing beer funnels and jägerbombs - very funny to watch.

Breakfast in the hotel this morning, finished "The Killing Fields" - very interesting and moving read. Andy left to go back to Phnom Penh at just after midday. Back to the original four now! Seems a bit weird to be honest - we had a bit of team bonding this afternoon playing a bit of cards as the girls go back to Phnom Penh tommorrow, being fed up with the rain. I'm heading back in a few days to meet them there, but want to work the full moon party first. Ben is staying on here then going to Bangkok straight from here, so tonight is our last night as a whole four.

Off to work in a few minutes, UV paint night tonight, should be cool. Shame the weather here is so bad, seems like we were very lucky for the whole trip before weather-wise. Looking forward to the last few days out here though - what a trip this has been!

Surfing and Flying

Last night was really cool; very busy in the bar and lots of interesting people to talk to - couple of girls from Edinburgh Uni who were a good laugh - two were really into sailing so had a long talk about Cowes week etc; can't wait to get back and get out in a boat!

Long night though and we were up quite late - had breakfast in the hotel - it is pretty awesome to literally have a hotel room 15meters from the beach!

Then we said bye to Rupert; as he headed back to Phnom Penh. Our group is just 5 now, getting smaller by the day. After the farewell, Ben, Andy and I went for a swim in the waves; there still isn't a lot of sun, but there were some cool waves to go body surfing on - great fun! At about 3 we did some "flying" - handing out flyers along the beach for the bar, then chilled out for a bit. Ben and I went swimming and surfing in the waves again, as the wind seemed to have picked up.

Now, as I sit on the beachfront under the shelter of the hotel  awning, a huge monsoon has just rolled in. You could see it coming out at sea - massive black clouds rolling towards the land. Then suddenly huge wind and rain and the visibility drops massively - quite dramatic!

Another night of just a few drinks I think; seemed to work well yesterday, still had an awesome time - it's just pretty cool talking with new people and about their travels.

Cloudy Day At The Beach

Another great night last night, having a good time in the bar. Woke up feeling a little tired this morning and had some breakfast.

Pretty much chilled out for the rest of the day - read more of my book. This afternoon we went up to a really cool little cinema up in town run by an American guy. We watched 'Hot Tub Timemachine' - it sounds terrible and it was shocking, probably one of the worst films ever! That might be a little harsh actually, there were some funny moments, but it really wasn't worth $4 -out here that is about equal to about £15! But hey it killed a few hours because the clouds stopped us making the most of the beach.

Going to try and have a quite and earlyish night tonight, and hoping for some sun tomorrow.

A Lazy Day On The Beach

Last night was crazy - the bar got moderately busy, but still was amazing. From sitting eating free BBQ watching the sunset, to pulling people in from the beach and dancing on tables. It was great to have a good night out. We crashed reasonably early at 2:30 and slept pretty solidly until midday today, I think we were pretty shattered from the last few days and from not feeling so great a few days ago.

Once we had coaxed ourselves out of bed, and grabbed a free ice coffee and lunch, we walked along the beach handing out flyers. It's a great way to get chatting to people that you might not normally talk to and because the bar owners know the food ladies along the beach we could just have free spring rolls etc. -perfect!

In the late afternoon I sat reading 'The Killing Fields' it's very interesting to really learn about the history of this fascinating country.

Now, after a short walk into town we are chilling out for a bit before starting the evening 'shift'. Probably take it a bit easier tonight, but still have an awesome night.

We came travelling to have "experiences" and staying and working here is certianly a new experience for me, but a really good fun one, and it's great to chill out for a few days before we head home.

Crazy Arrival In Sihanoukville

Yesterday's night bus was alright actually - far better than the Vietnamese ones and because I was so tired I managed to get a decent night sleep.

Arrived in Sihanoukville at 6:30 in the morning, got a hotel and pretty much crashed out for the rest of the day - reading books and listening to music on the beach. The hotel is really cool - right on the beach, good food and nice rooms. Sihanoukville is also really nice, reminds me a bit of Croatia; White beaches with offshore islands. So we just sat and took it in for a good few hours.

This afternoon something really cool happened though. Ben and Andy spotted a sign in the bar next to the hotel saying "western staff wanted" and went in to ask. Long story cut short; Ben, Andy and I have got a job working next door for the next few days, no pay, but all our food and drink is paid for - awesome! Tonight is going to be another exciting one I think! We start learning how to run the bar in 45mins then go from there - can't wait.

An awesome and relaxing day - looks like it will be followed by an amazing and lively night - Epic!

Temple Time

I think that I ate a dodgy bit of chicken last night and was up for loads of the night feeling pretty rough, and only getting about 45 mins sleep in total. Not a great start when we had to be up at 4:30 to go and see the sunrise at the temples.

I was well worth it though. Sat watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat was amazing and we got some fantastic photos. Then we had a meal of pancakes and coffee at the side of the lake that is in front of the temple - that made me feel a fair bit better.

After breakfast we all piled back into the tuctuc and headed round the whole complex of the temples; they were fascinating, and although we were all feeling pretty shattered and not exactly at our best, we enjoyed it all the same. We went to the Tomb Raider temple and had great fun doing loads of stupid Lara Croft positions in the doorways and openings.

The temples have an interesting history and although we didn't have a dedicated guide, we picked up on a few conversations that were of interest, like how the Khmer Rouge smashed the heads off all the Buddhas in the temples when they were in power and how the places are being restored after some almost completely collapsing.

It was a great day and we all really enjoyed the experience, but by midday, having had a good five hours looking round the majority of the temples on the "Short Tour" we called it a day and got the drivers to head back into Siem Reap - there is a limit to the amount of stone you can look at, however stunning and beautifully crafted!

Back in Siem Reap we went to a supermarket to grab a little lunch, then Tom, Rosie and I went and sat in a really cool bakery/cafe for a good few hours and just chilled out and talked. I spent quite a while on the wifi looking at the feasibility of doing a four day cycle touring trip from the Isle of Wight to Lands End and back in mid September - looks like it could be a good way to build up the fitness a bit more for a few September races.

Were back at the hotel now, with a couple more hours to chill out before we go and grab a meal and then get on the night bus to Sihanouk ville (the beach), which is our last destination, before going back to Phnom Penh. Looking forward to a good week on the beach; perhaps some snorkeling and cycling and a bit of island hopping (not so much the night bus, but hey).

A great day and it's really cool to have the big group of 8; can't wait for a few days on the beach.

Markets and Angkor Wat Sunset

Ok, so last night did prove to be exciting, and very lively, and hilarious. We went to two bars and in the first proceeded to get everyone either watching or participating in a huge drinking game. Then in the second one there was a lot of shocking dancing.

As a result we were all pretty wacked out this morning, and didn't really get going until about 11. We went for a large Khmer breakfast (rice, noodles and more rice), and then went and wandered round the market. I reckon the Market was the best that we have been to, I bought a couple of things, and we all had great fun bartering down prices etc. It's going to seem quite strange having all fixed prices when we come back to the UK in a week and a half.

In the afternoon we went back to the hotel and just chilled our for a few hours. Then at 4:30, well actually more like 5 (he was late - as they always are in Cambodia) our tuc tuc arrived to take us to the Angkor Wat.

Despite the cloud, the sunset at the temple was amazing. The scale and history of the place is huge and it was fascinating to see how the architecture has been preserved. It is no wonder that the place has influenced so many writers and film directors; films like Jungle Book and Tomb Raider both use the setting. Can't wait to go back and see the sunrise and the other surrounding temples tomorrow.

We're now back at the hotel, just about to head out for dinner. It's been a relaxing day, and has certainly sparked my eagerness to see more of the temples tomorrow.

The Journey To Temple Land

Today we had a massive lie in, then caught the bus at 11:30 to Siem Reap. At first the air con wasn't working and Tom was saying we should have hired a helicopter to get there! Eventually after a few guys climbing on the roof though it all got working.

Pretty uneventful bus journey really apart from the whole bus watching Ben having a piss when he had to get off because he was almost wetting himself.

Arrived in Siem Reap at 5:30. Booked into a hotel and booked our tuc tuc to see the temples in two days time. Then went out for an awesome Mexican and now sat in a bar called "Angkor What' playing Irish snap and drinking buckets of whisky - this could be an exciting night!

An Easy Journey Back To Phnom Penh

Early start today- up to catch the bus at 6:30, which was a bit hard for some that had a bit too much to drink last night.

We had quite an emotional farewell to Chris, then got onboard for the 10hour journey.

Luckily it was all very smooth going - just two stops for lunch and breakfast and the journey seemed to go pretty quick - arriving in Phnom Penh at 4pm. We are now in a good hotel, and need to go and book our bus tickets to Siem Reap for tomorrow.

A pretty uneventful journey, considering our last one; but a relief in many ways to be back in an established, lively city.

The Last Day In Ratanikiri

Today was the last for a few things; last day teaching, last day at Thien and last day in Ratanikiri.

The day was a good one though, we were up at 7, having finally got a decent night sleep in our hamocs (shame it was our last) and cracked on with teaching at 7:30. The mornings teaching went really well and as we had mixed up the teachers a bit, I had Andy and Alex helping me, which went really smoothly and they both seemed to enjoy the hookikoki and duck&goose games we were playing with the little ones.

We had a great lunch of noodles, which was a great relief from the rice that we have been shoveling down for the last few meals. After an iced coffee, it was back to the last afternoon of entertainment.

The kids performed their concert pieces and we did our standard routine of human pyramids etc. The whole thing finished with a big rendition of the makarenna in the pouring monsoon rain. Then we loaded up the pickup and headed back to Ban Lung.

Checking into an new hotel, with aircon! We were relieved to have hot showers, especially after having washed in a muddy stream yesterday!

At 6:30 we headed out to have a fantastic curry and many drinks at a local bar, as a last night "on project". We thanked the great translators and had a big group dance on the bar and tables to songs like 'Don't look back in anger'; luckily it was only us in the bar.

Tomorrow we have to be up at 6, to get a 6:30 bus to Phnom Penh and back to some sort of western civilisation. It has been a fantastic two weeks out here in Ratanikiri, and we have enjoyed pretty much every moment, even being able to see the funny side of events like getting woken up by pigs at 3 in the morning. We have learnt so much and really see this place as a worthwhile cause. However, I think we will also be eager to do a bit more travelling and see some more great sites.

We've done so much in the last two weeks, but there's also so much more to see and do in the next two weeks...can't wait.

First Day Teaching In Thien

Despite sleeping in hamocs last night, through the worlds biggest thunder and rain storm, we managed to get a decent night sleep and woke up at the late hour of 7!

Kicking off with the first class at 7:30, we had a great morning teaching. The kids here seem to be a bit more westernised than at the other two villages; some were wearing make-up, horrifically applied, but still, shows a touch of modern society. Not sure about it when some of the boys were wearing it too though!

The teaching went well and the kids had a good time, even if they seemed a little less eager than some of the other villages, probably because they have had a school here for some time and as a result be a little less enchanted by it when they have to go every day (much like British kids).

The morning went quickly and soon we had to head off to lunch, as we didn't bring cooks with us to this village so have to go to a local restaurant. Jessie piped up that she would move the 4x4 round from the back of the school where I had parked it last night. She started it up and said "driving an automatic is so much easier than a manual", then slam, went reversing into a huge treestump, causing a large dent and dislodging the bumper! There followed a huge amount of jokes about female drivers - we're not going to forget that one in a while!

For lunch we had "swamp" the strange and rather tasteless stew of greens and meat - none of us enjoyed it much, so chris bought us ice coffees to make up for it - that sweetened the deal a bit.

After lunch we had a huge sing along in one of the classrooms, as it was pouring with rain outside. Then outside when the rain had eased we did the story telling and then handed over to the translators for their concert prep, while we went for a bit of lounging around in the sun.

We went and had a wander around the village, but apart from that, just had a chilled out afternoon, taking a bit of time out and enjoying the weather.

This evening it's back to the restaurant; apparently it's curry tonight, which should be interesting.
Another great day of teaching; strange to think that we only have one more day left before we head back to Phnom Penh and civilisation. It's been an awesome experience, and certainly one that I won't forget in a hurry.

Riding Elephants and Swimming in Waterfalls

This morning we all piled in the back of a pick-up and headed out to a waterfall a few kilometers outside town.

It was awesome; a really clear waterfall, plunging down into a secluded pool at the bottom. We had the place to ourselves and the boys went for a swim in the pool, while the girls went for an elephant ride. We had a great time swimming under the falls and sunbathing in the pool. I unfortunately slashed my foot on a rock and it swelled up like a beast, but it's going down now so can't be too bad.

Then after about an hour of mucking around in the pool, it was our turn to ride the elephants. They are such cool things - the epitamy of a chilled out animal. We went for an hours trek through the jungle - they ate so much -literally pigging out every five minutes. But it was awesome - them powering through the undergrowth and us getting an amazing view sat up on their backs.

After the elephant ride we headed back to TreeTops; checked out for the last time and went to lunch.

At about 3:30 we all jumped in the 4x4s to head out to our last village: Thien, which isn't that far away from BanLung - only 45mins by a decent road.

We arrived with no problems and now, having put up the hamocs etc, and got settled in (we are staying in the school, which is a very new building), now we're having a quick game of volleyball with the masses of kids that welcomed us in. Then soon we are heading out for dinner at a small local restaurant.

It's been a fantastic day, with a few "first ever" experiences. Can't wait to get started with the teaching again tomorrow. This looks like another great community with very keen and smiling children.

Rest Day In Ban Lung

Today we had a late start having stayed up to watch a bit of the football. After a long breakfast; reading books and chatting, we went off to the Market around midday.

I bought a hamoc and some other bits and bobs, then we had some peanut butter baguettes for lunch - boy we had missed those out in the villages. This afternoon we went back to the crater lake and had a long swim and chill out there.

We're now back at TreeTops - it's our last night here as we stay at a different guest house when we come back from the next project that we depart for tomorrow. This evening we are going to the same restaurant we went to last night called the Gecko House; great food and they let us watch the F1 last night so we are hoping for control of the Tv again tonight.

A fairly uneventful day really, but it was good to have a rest before we hit the last project hard tomorrow afternoon.

Travelling Back To BanLung

Today we were up early and down at the school by 7 to help put up some of the A-frames for the building; it was a lot more rewarding than the earth moving and the progress that is being made now is seriously rapid, and very impressive to see. These guys are essentially building a school with a box of nails, an axe and a few chopped up trees; I can safely say that it wouldn't meet building regs in the UK though!

After an hour or so, we packed up our kit and loaded up the hummer for the long journey back to Ban Lung. The children were all out to wave us off as we drove out of the village; the village chief said to us "please come back soon; the children are like clothes; if you don't keep caring for them, they ruin". It's great to see what kind of impact we have had and that they are so keen to welcome back more support in the future.

The hummer journey was pretty uneventful; just sore bums and masses of ants falling off trees. The only amusing thing was it getting stuck on the beach as it tried to reach the ferry to unload. That didn't matter though, we just took our bags and went across (mine got dropped in the water - luckily it is a waterproof sac!). Halfway across the river the monsoon began, and it rained big time! Tom, Alex and I drew the short straw and had to sit in the back of the pick up for the remainder of the journey back- ponchos came in very useful.
About 5 minutes down the road we had one of the scariest experiences of my life. The pickup swerved slightly to avoid a moped and then went into a huge aqua/mudplane skid - we went from the left hand side of the road to being in the ditch on the righthand side, then back again.
In the back we literally had our hearts in our mouths. Luckily the tyres gripped again and it was fine, but we all went very pale in the face!

When we eventually arrived back at Treetops it was a huge relief. I showered and shaved a weeks worth of stubble off, before having a sleep for an hour or so this afternoon.

We are heading out for a pizza this evening - we all decided that we needed some western food, rather than another meal of rice. Then we are hoping to stay awake to watch the world cup final (it will be a 1:30am kick off time for us).

It has been an amazing week and I have certainly seen and been to places that I have never dreamed of going to. These villages are fascinating and it's great to see that we can make such a difference to them.

Looking forward to a long lie-in and rest tomorrow - if a cockrel comes anywhere near my room...I can't be accountable for my actions!

Chai Thom Teaching Day 2

Last night we had an amazing time; we were playing cards in our hut, when we heard music playing over at the house that had been blessed earlier. We headed over and the whole village was having an huge party to continue the ceremony. There was music and masses of rice wine - we were forced to sample all the ten people's different versions! We had a great time dancing with the locals - seriously not what we expected to find in a remote Cambodian village, where only two days ago the locals were afraid to come near to us - it was a fantastic experience and we were really priveleged to be accepted so much.

This morning we almost murdered the cockrels as they woke us up again at 5am! Starting school at 7:30, we had a great morning teaching - some funny games like piggy back races and duck duck goose. After a long lunch break where I slipped in a little (very hot) sleep in, we started the last session at the PGS school.

They prepared their concert pieces in their little groups and then we had a big concert in the centre of the village. Most of the concert seemed to be spent laughing and smiling at one child, who we nicknamed "Spacecadet" for his spaced out nature: when his group did their dance, he just stood puzzled in the middle and when everyone clapped he looked confused and looked the other way - very cute.

After the concert we had a small game of volleyball, but it didn't last long due to the heat. Then it was the last wash at the bamboo pipe stream and then Rupert and I went with Chris to a meeting with the village chiefs to discuss the school and represent Portsmouth Grammar School. It was interesting to hear how the school would be run after we leave, and to thank the people for the hospitality they have so willingly offered us.

That hospitality was reflected again this evening when we had a huge singalong with the whole village. It diminshed into a bad rendition of Queen songs and football chants, so we made a subtle retreat.

It's been a great day, and a great few days; it's been great to see how much we have been absorbed into the culture and it's been great fun teaching. We are all looking forward to a proper shower and some food that is not rice tomorrow, but it's been a fantastic experience so far.

A Fascinating Day In The PGS Village

Today we were all woken up at 3:30, by a very annoying cockrel chorus. We are all completely shattered and weren't really up for another long day teaching, but we got up and it proved to be well worth it.

We had been told that the work we were doing in this village was groundbreaking, it is likely the most remote village in Cambodia; very tribal and very frightened of White people. However, we seemed to break through the barrier. After starting the day with singing and clapping to draw the children in. They seemed to overcome their fear and we had a great morning of doing sport with all ages. Sticking to simple games of shuttle runs and ball passing, their confidence increased massively and soon they were smiling and laughing.

We had a long lunch with some ice coffee brought in from the Nhang village - very very welcomed! After a few games of cards it was back to entertaining the children.

We started with singing more songs to them; including a lot of Jungle Book ones like "I wanna be like you...". Then the translators read some story books. It was while they were doing this that a very dramatic thing happened:
A new house that was being built just over from the community centre had it's first A-frame put up and the village were sacrificing a buffalo to bless the new building. It involved one of the village chiefs killing it with an axe, as it was tied to a post. Then many people came in to strip every possible part of meat from the body. It was fascinating to watch, and the fact that they were carrying out this when we were in the village showed that they had welcomed us and accepted us. It was also dramatic to see how tribal the nature of the culture is and how accepting the children were of it, as they sat in the community building having a story told to them, as we watched the whole thing unfold through the doorway.

After that, we had to change our mindset a bit to act the story of BillyGoat's Gruff, which the children and adults loved and found very amusing.

After that we headed down to the place where the PGS school was being built and were impressed to see that after our little contribution with the groundwork yesterday, they were now rapidly progressing with the frame of the building, which fits together like a massive homemade Lego set.

A quick wash in the stream, and we are now waiting for dinner again. It's been a very rewarding and interesting day, and we've seen a lot of the village culture and how we can be allowed into very remote places like this.

It is a bit like a BBC documentary being in a place like this, but it's so interesting that you cope with the tiredness and still look forward to the next day with eagerness.

Traveling to Chai Thom Village

We had a "late" start today - getting up at 6. After a breakfast, taking down hamocs and an hour of chilling out, it was back on the Hummer to head off to the next village.

It was only about a twenty minute journey to get there, although there seemed to be masses of overhanging branches trying to knock us out of the back of the truck.
As we drove into the village, the people were very curious of us. They watched from the raised houses as we unloaded our kit onto our own raised house, which will be our home for the next few days.

The village is a lot more basic than the last, it has no shops or ice coffee, just a lot of animals. Tom made the very true comment, that it is weird to think that our garden sheds would appear like luxury mansions compared to the buildings in this village.

After setting up our hamocs and getting settled in, while the children cautiously watched us from the bottom of the platform, we went and had lunch over in the small hut that is the community centre. We all fell asleep for a bit on the floor of the centre after lunch, being seriously exhausted after the last few days.

After a few games of cards back at our sleeping hut, it was 3 o'clock and Chris took us to see the PGS school that is being built here. At the moment, the foundations are just being laid and there was a fair bit of soil shifting to be done, so we all chipped in and got dirty; doing our part towards the building.

After about 90minutes of earth works, we returned exhausted to the village centre, collected our towels and wash stuff and went straight to the stream to wash.

The stream was literally a small bamboo pipe with water flowing out, and washing was throwing buckets over ourselves; we didn't care though, we were just grateful to be "clean".

Now we are back at camp, diary writing and waiting for dinner. It has been a chilled out day with some moments of intense exercise. We are all really bonding as a team though and feel ready to try and teach the very frightened but curious children tomorrow.

An exciting and great day; bring on the challenges of tomorrow! Loving the "jungle"!

Another Great Day Teaching

We were up at 5 again today with the damn cockrel crowing. We all felt a little tired as we had been up singing the night before. It was alright though, we had our breakfast and headed down to the school. It was just as, if not more, busy than yeaterday, which was reassuring. We were also relieved that we had an idea of their abilities and ages.

Our games were similar to yesterday; HookiKooki with the little ones, and races and bulldog with the older ones. It was great fun and we had a welcomed ice coffee break half way through the morning, which kept us pepped up until lunch, especially when we got involved in a volleyball game with all the older boys. Teaching is very rewarding, but I don't think I could do it as a career.

After lunch, we had a big singing session with all the school, including classics like London's Burning and Old MacDonald. Then we had a huge concert, with all the classes singing their contribution and us doing a human pyramid and the new UWS song that the girls have created.

After another short game of volleyball we were done and our time teaching at this school was finished. It has been great and we had a few little ones that we had become quite attached to - I hope that more people can come back to this school in future to teach, as the children are so keen to learn.

All shattered back at the hamocs, we got the lowdown from Chris on the school we are going to tomorrow, which is alot more remote and more tribal, another step back in time.

We have just popped down to the stream for a wash and now, feeling massively cleaner, are waiting for dinner. It's been a completely unique and amazing experience so far and tomorrow we head right to the "cutting edge of development" as Chris says - should be even more exciting and challenging!

Another great day seeing another side of this fantastic country.

An Exhilarating And Exhausting First Day Teaching

We woke up at 5:30 today: the crazy Khmer culture of waking up at sunrise when the cockrel crows. It was a great sunrise to eat our muesli to though.

As we were having breakfast we saw groups and groups of children heading over to the school even at 6 in the morning, it was going to be a busy day! So many headed over there, that when we went over at 7:30, we had to start half an hour early to keep the 170 children occupied.

At first we sang GingGangGooli to keep their attention and bring the people that weren't there over. We had them all doing the UmPa Umpa at the end. Then they were split into 4 groups of size and age.

We had a great first few sessions playing ball with the small ones and doing games like over the head and through the legs. The most amusing group was the youngest ones who followed everything we did and so we played a sort of HokiKoki with them in a huge circle. By 1030, with
the third group it was getting very hot and volley ball became a sweaty affair, even more so when the temperature was up at 38'C with the oldest guys getting really into the games of Volleyball. It was hard work, but great to see them enjoying it so much.

We had a welcomed lunch break where us sports guys had a quick shower in the stream to wash off the orange dust and sweat.

At 1:30 we went back to the school, with all the children eagerly returning too. We had the translators telling the story of the three little pigs and billy goats gruff, I was the big bad wolf and the troll, it involved me having wolf wiskers drawn on my face with the dust and rolling around in it when I had to pretend to die - the children loved it!

After that we had an attempt (successful the second time) at building a human pyramid. Then we had a game of Volleyball against the Cambodian translators, which we won, despite their bragging that they were amazing. Then it was a need for another shower and a chill out as
the school day finished.

One of the nicest things that happened was Ben, Andy and I went to get an iced coffee from the "cafe", while we were drinking, and massively enjoying our drinks - digging the bottom out of the glass. The owner came over and asked if we were the teachers, when we said we were, he bought another jug of coffee. It makes you feel really good to know that they are so appreciative of us being here and the kids enjoy school so much.

One of the most disgusting things that happened however was seeing some pigs getting rather sexuallly rowdy right below our platform!

Anyway, a fantastic day for us and the kids I think, very tiring and looking forward to dinner and bed now. Can't wait to get back to the school tomorrow too - a great expedition so far!

The Journey To Nhang Commune

Today we headed into the jungle, and boy was it an adventure.

We started off in two pick-ups and drove for an hour and a half, coming off the main road and heading towards the remote area that forms the triangle between Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. We borded a small ferry, crammed with bags, motos and people. It was a short journey across the river and then it was the start of the real adventure.

Waiting for us on the otherside was a "Cambodian Hummer" as they are known. It was like a huge 1940s truck without a bonnet and with massive tyres. We all piled in the back and headed off. We got out once for a very hot climb up one extremely steep slope that a fully loaded hummer couldn't manage, but apart from that we ploughed on. We went through everything; streams, jungles, remote villages etc. It was fantastic - a true Top Gear Adventure.

The whole journey in the hummer took about 2 hours, with a brief stop over at a stream to wash the sweat and mud off us. When we finally arrived at the Nhang Commune it was great. We stopped off at a raised platform, and all clambered straight on from the bed of the truck. This was going to be our home for the next few days.

We spent most of the afternoon setting up the school, that is a short walk away; and the hammocks, which look great - sleeping 15feet off the ground on our raised platform, with a beautiful breeze.

At the moment I'm sat at the edge of the platform, sun setting, looking out over the great little village. The only sounds are Rosie playing the guitar and some happy pigs grunting down below the platform.

This is a fantastic village, I can't wait to start teaching the beautiful children.
What a place!

A Comic Day in Ban Lung

Today was about planning and getting ready for the villages. We got up late, as we needed a bit of a lie in after a few very long days.

After breakfast we planned our sports lessons and Ben and I had a long game of catch with the little Cambodian daughter of the guest house that were staying in - she was actually really good!

After lunch we had a few more hours of prep time - mostly involving helping the art guys cutting out masses of cardboard stencils - leading to very sore hands!

Then late in the afternoon we headed back to the volcanic lake to have another swim. Just as we arrived at the lake it started monsoon raining with thunder storms, which was pretty dramatic. When the rain had died down a bit we had even more of a scare though. We were sat on the platform and some Cambodian guys came over to us and asked us "how much?", a little confused we assumed they meant the girls sat next to us, as a joke. However when they said "I love you" to me and Rupert, we realised that they in fact meant us! we swiftly bailed into the water - especially when one started touching Ben!

We went rather wet, but very amused back to the pick up and headed back to TreeTops. We packed our dry bags for the villages tomorrow and then headed for dinner.

We are all looking forward to the villages now and getting down to the teaching. Although the lack of showering could be an issue for the next 6 days. We won't have Internet for sure so the blog will be delayed until we get back next weekend. I'm sure there will be a lot
of interesting to report!

A Fantastic First Day In Ban Lung

The five gap year students in the group made the decision to get up early today and go with Chris and Sitar in the 4X4 out to two villages that we are not visiting, but RGS Guildford are the week after us.

The trip out there was awesome, and well worth getting up for. We went 45mins down a Tarmac road, bombing along with the five of us in the back of the pick-up. Then we turned offroad, the first school was about 10mins down a dirt track and was great to see; all the schools are built by local people with financial aid from UWS for the building materials. The children were amazed to see so many white people; Chris said that they had probably only ever seen 5 White people before in total, nevermind 6 in one go!

After that village we went seriously offroad; clearing trees from the path so that the car could get through, ploughing through marshland and driving up rivers - awesome! As you've guessed this village is remote; and was devastated by both American bombing and the Khmer Rouge, due to it's positioning next to the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The people here were even more scared of us and we just had to walk through the village smiling, trying to get them used to the sight of westerners. The village chief offered us rice wine that was suprisingly good and we all felt very aware that we really were on the edge of development. It's amazing to think that this area has not received aid before, as it clearly needs support and help in order to educate the people.

Back on the pick-up we headed back to the main road and Ban Lung; Chris pointed out the huge expanse of 1000hectares that has been cleared and burned for rubber plantations in the area; all in the last 4 years - it is clear that the area has been touched by the west, but not necessarily in a good way.

We met the other 5 guys back at Treetops for lunch, the whole round trip had taken about 4hours - we were all rather sore from the bumping around! After lunch we discussed our ideas for our classes and then went to the market to buy equipment.

At about 4:30 8 of us headed off in the pickup again just 5km down the road to a huge volcanic crater that has become a giant, perfectly circular lake. It was incredibly beautiful. We had our own platform at the side, where we could jump off and enjoy the setting. We spent about an hour playing with a tennis ball and I swam out to the middle of the lake. It was amazing - so quite and stunning scenery.

We are back at TreeTops now, just about to head out for dinner. This is by far the most remote place I have ever been to, but equally it is also one of the most beautiful.

Not a bad start to our time in Ratanikiri Province - looking forward to the next 12days eagerly!

A Little More Hell On Wheels

Ok, so I said travel with optimism, perhaps not in this case. When I last posted it was 8 in the evening our time. At about 1000 in the pitch black in the middle of the jungle we hit another large pothole (there are alot of potholes here) and knackered the rear suspension so the back right tyre was rubbing on the wheel arch! The driver went on for about half an hour like that, then called another minibus to come and get us.

We finally got to TreeTops at 1200: a 16hour minibus journey in total - Epic!
Quick meal and into bed!

Optimism -> TreeTops is an amazing guesthouse!

A Very Long Days Travel to Ban Lung

Today we had the prospect of a 10hour minibus journey to our base at 'Treetops' in the town of 'Ban Lung' in North Eastern Cambodia. Little did we know that it would be so much longer than originally planned.

The day started well; loading the minibus up with the bags, grabbing a quick breakfast and then heading to the airport to pick up Tom, the last member of our ten person team.

However, it was only 15mins out of Phnom Penh that the trouble began. The minibus, travelling at 70mph hit a huge double bump in the road, created by erosion each side of an old disused railway line that ran across the road. The sunk guard on the bottom of the bus wasn't complete it seems and the impact that the bus took smashed open a tank full of oil at the base of the engine. Losing oil rapidly all over the road, we pulled over and (while lighting up a cigarette!) the Cambodian bus driver inspected the damage. He said it should take 30mins to fix - yeah right! It took 3hours: including three mechanics and a moto bringing spare parts out from Phnom Penh. We passed the time listening to music and playing with a shuttlecock in the sun at the side of the road.

Back on the road, passing through a huge rainstorm (glad we weren't waiting at the side of the road in that) we made decent progress and were just pleased to be underway. We stopped for lunch around 2 at a roadside restaurant. We tried deepfried spiders - which weren't too bad actually, but we weren't going to make them our primary food! So we had plenty of Khmer dishes to stock up energy levels for the long bus journey still ahead.

As I write this we are travelling through a dramatic lightning storm. We should arrive in Ban Lung in about three hours (11pm local time) and have a late dinner before crashing.

An eventful day, but you have to see the funny side, and at least we are going to get there, at one point it looked like we might be back in Phnom Penh! - Always Travel With Optimism!

Phnom Penh Museums and Killing Fields

We met the others at 8 at the Golden Mekong, the hotel that we are in (which is far nicer and cheaper!) is about 10mins walk away. From there we went and had a breakfast at a local Khmer restaurant - quite strange operating in dollars all the time, but we had a nice meal and discussed what we are going to do in our lessons in the villages.

After breakfast we went by tuk-tuk to the Khmer market to buy sports and art equipment for the villages. Ben and I managed to get 13 footballs for a decent price after a lot of bargaining - lucky we are taking the minibus as I wouldn't want to try and fit those in my bulging rucksack!
Then the boys (Andy, Ben, Chris and I) went back to near the hotel and went to a local bar for a cold drink, while the girls went shopping at another market - ideal! It was great to learn a bit more from Chris (the charity leader) about what we could expect in the villages and how the charity was run.

Back at the hotel, we met the girls and split up into groups. Andy and our original four got in a tuk-tuk and headed for the Tuol Sleng Museum. The place is briefly mentioned in the film 'The Killing Fields', but none of us were really aware of what went on here in Phnom Penh, and the reality that likens it to the holocaust. Although I have been to Auschwitz, and that was a graphic and hugely interesting experience, there was something almost more harrowing about the events carried out by the Khmer Rouge in 1975-1979 (here is a brief explanation):

The Khmer Rouge, under the control of their leader Pol Pot "Liberated" Phnom Penh in 1975, although their arrival was far from liberating; within a day they had marched the entire city out to the countryside to work until death in poverty in the rice fields. Toul Sleng was effectively a school that was turned into a torture house for mostly high ranking officials and those that might be linked with "Rich" backgrounds that would try and prevent the Communist domination. The torture methods shown in the museum are not unlike those used in graphic horror films - including such atrocities as hanging a person upside down and repeatedly plunging them into filthy tubs of water when they became conscious, while they interrogated them.

The museum was hugely eye opening; and something that has to be seen in order to understand the country and understand why there are very few people in the country aged around 50. This fact was driven home when we got back in the tuk tuk and headed out to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. This was the place where the victims of Tuol Sleng and any other potential traitors were marched out to be brutally murdered and buried in mass graves. Choeung Ek is the largest of the mass burial sites and has a huge Buddhist temple to bless the 3 million people that died under the Khmer Rouge (1/3rd of the population at the time) - The temple itself it filled by a 17 story high box of shelves that holds skulls that were recovered when the graves where excavated in 1980.

As you can probably tell, the experience was very harrowing and very interesting at the same time. In some ways it makes you wish that the Americans had stayed in Cambodia, as they had prevented the Khmer Rouge from taking control while they were here. Either way, it was something that was vital to know about as it clearly affected everyone that was and is living in Cambodia.

After heading back to the city by tuk tuk we stopped off at a very western supermarket to grab a last bit of food for the villages and the journey there, and to get some late lunch. Then is was back to the hotel for a rest, before heading out for a late dinner in a few hours.

A very interesting day, and we all learnt a huge amount. Tomorrow we head off on our ten hour minibus journey to Ban Lung! Looking forward to the villages so much now - I think it will be an amazing experience. Will try and keep the blog updated as often as it possible.

Bring on the jungle!

Boats, Books and Border Crossings

Today was the earliest start for a long time - up at 6, we had breakfast by 7 and were on a bus or the short journey to the pier in Chau Doc.

At the pier we left our packs and went in pairs into small rowing boats. We were then taken a short distance up the river to the floating villages. Similar to the floating bars and houses in Halong Bay, these villages are completely free floating at the side of the Mekong River. We stopped at one of the houses and watched a feeding at a fish farm that are set underneath the majority of the large houses. The fish swarmed for the food splashing water all over the platform outside the house, as they clearly struggled to get to the top of the packed cages to get their food.

After the fish farm we continued another 30mins or so up the Mekong to a small island, inhabited by the Cham people. Our guide showed us exactly why the houses in this region are built on stilts; on one stilt there were marks to show previous flood water levels; in 2000 they rose to around 3meters higher than the river level was today! That is some serious rain!

At the village our group split in two; those heading for Phnom Penh, and those heading back to Saigon. The Cambodia group boarded a larger boat and we started heading up the river towards the next country.
It took about 2hours to get to the Vietnam side border station. En-route we enjoyed the sights of trading and life on the Mekong. By coincidence we all finished our books on this stretch of the journey. Jack Kerouac's 'On The Road' was a fantastic read, making me eager to extend my travelling in future and experience new methods and ways to travel. I'm now reading Rosie's copy of 'The Killing Fields' - having seen the film I'm looking forward to recalling the history of Cambodia in the late 1970s under the Khmer Rouge, as we travel through.

We arrived at the first border station and were handed our passports, complete with Visas ready to be stamped. We waited about an hour at the first border check; before boarding another, smaller boat than the first, with even more people than were on the first! - only that kind of logic occurs in SE Asia!
That boat took us over the border to the Cambodian station, where we all had our visas stamped - all ready to proceed to Phnom Penh. Then it was back on the small noisy boat to do the next stage; 3hours by boat, before a final 1hour bus journey to Phnom Penh.

The boat made Wightlink look like a luxury liner! But we endured it and made the most of the cheering children shouting and waving from the river bank and the amazing golden pagodas as we sat and played cards with the Greek and some German girls.


The boat arrived in the small town of Neak Luong; which was a strange coincidence as it is the town that features in 'The Killing Fields' at the beginning: the town that is a accidentaly bombed by American B52s. So I was reading about the place that we were passing through!


We are on the minibus now for the last hour of the journey. Hopefully we will meet up with Andy when we get there, as he arrives sometime today. Then go out for a meal later on.

A long day of travelling today, but excited to be in a new country and to meet the others for the chairty work.

Mekong Adventures Day 2

Up early today, Ben and I made the most of the free breakfast at the hotel; breadrolls, fried rice, real jam and coffee were eagerly consumed to set us up for another day in the Mekong.

By 7:30 we were all on a small dragon boat back on the river. At first it was onto the main river to see a huge floating market, putting yesterday's to shame; this one was full of sellers and buyers in the early hours of the morning.

From there we passed into a tributary and then swung into an even smaller stream, only just wide enough for two dragon boats to pass. Apart from the single cylinder engine that powered the long prop shaft steering the boat, the small river was very quite. Just the sound of children screaming out "hello" and waving frantically from the river banks also broke the silence.

About an hour down the stream we pulled up on the bank and had the oppourtunity to walk through a series of fruit trees over small bamboo bridges; sampling the different fruits by cutting them open with our penknifes. At the end of the walk, the guide showed us to a sheltered hut, just as it started to rain, where we were given even more fresh fruit - the mango out here is fantastic! We got speaking to a mother and son from Greece; the majority of the conversation seemed to be about Greek based films; 'Troy' and '300' were Ben and my suggestions, 'Mumma Mia' and 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' were the girls - the Greeks seemed a little bothered by the last one!

On the river again we headed back to Cam Tho; a brief stop at a market, where Ben bought a duck shaped alarm clock! Then we went by bus back to the hotel. It was midday when we arrived there and we had to wait until 3 o'clock until our bus would arrive to take us to Chau Doc (the last town in Vietnam). So, as we all had a fair bit of Dong to use we went to a large supermarket nearby (the first we have found in the whole country) and bought various things. Then we also bought some bright orange ponchos to use in the villages.

As I write this we are on the bus going west into the sunset. The river beside the road is still busy with people swimming and boats taking every kind of cargo imaginable. Vietnam is quite
literally behind us; Cambodia lays ahead.

"Good Evening Vietnam" - You haven't failed to impress.

First Day In The Mekong

We were on the bus to the Mekong Delta at 8 this morning; heading out of the hustle of Saigon, into the rice paddies of the Mekong Region.

We had about 4hours on the bus, luckily we slept for most of the journey, then arrived at our first stop at the floating market. We all piled off the bus and onto a small boat, getting chatting to a nice Aussie family that we travelling the length of Vietnam as well. On the boat we passed the floating market - nothing overly dramatic, but a different way of life that we had not seen yet; people living their whole lives and conducting all their work on the small self-made boats. Then came the good part; we went ashore on one of the islands and went round sampling a load of foods from the region: honey, popped rice cakes, lemon tea, rice crackers and all sorts of other interesing things like banana toffee. Pepped up on sugar we got back on the boat and out onto the main Mekong River. We went a long way up the river then into a smaller tributary; whereafter about half an hour of watching people swimming, working and fishing in the river as we motored up it, we stopped for lunch.

Lunch was good, but then we found out that the place had alligators in one of the large enclosures at the back of the restaurant. They were cool, and a lot better than the Vietnamese singing that came afterwards - squealing is an understatement! - we went down to the river to watch the boats instead.

Back on the boat it was a short journey up the river before we stopped at another market - it was a lot more "local" than most of the markets that we have been to and it was amazing to see all the masses of motorbike parts and other things that were on sale there.

We finished the day by getting on the bus that had followed us round by land. It took is on a one hour journey to Cam Tho where we are staying tonight.

In the room relaxing at the moment, before heading out for a meal and to check out the area later on. A great first day in the Mekong. Looking forward to more markets and boats tomorrow!

The Endless Saigon Walking Tour

Late start again today - none of us woke up until about 1030, and then ended up having a long breakfast of pancakes; so didn't actually get underway on finishing our walking tour that we started two days ago until about 1130.

We went back to the big market first and did a fair bit of browsing - Ben had to buy a new hat because he lost his one he bought two days ago already - Opps! The others bought a few things aswell. It's good fun just walking around and bartering for prices - especially when they drop their price to 10% of what they were originally asking! Also if you walk through the clothes section then you get pretty much mugged by all the women trying to drag you in to their stalls to look at their shirts etc. - Ben pretty much got kidnapped by one lady.

From the market we went to the Notre Dame style cathedral - quite interesting as it is almost a replica of Notre Dame (I went there last september on a cycling tour), but all of the ornate stain-glass windows have been holed or boarded over as they were all bombed out during the Second World War. After just passing past the cathedral (we couldn't get in) we went to the Re-Unification Palace.

At the palace we had an interesting tour by an english speaking guide - I'm pleased to say that it was alot more impresssive that the Summer Palace in Dalat, and it has a lot of significance as it was the household of the last ever president of South Vietnam, and the place that was "liberated" by the VietCong when the took control after the Americans left the country.

After the Palace we went through a few markets, including the War Remnants market - full of rusty dog tags and hammocks etc left behind from the war. It's debatable how many of them are genuine, but it was cool to see at least. All pretty shattered after our massive trek Ben and I stopped at a street side stall for some food then we all met back at the hotel. Still pretty wacked out; we are heading out for a meal later.

Off to the Mekong Delta tomorrow - just two days left in Vietnam!!

Cu Chi Tunnels and One Hell Of A Rainstorm

This morning we were all hanging a little bit. Rather too many Beer Hois last night - far too tempting for 25p a pint.

Anyway, we got on a bus to the Cu Chi Tunnels around 8 and settled down for the 60km to the outskirts of the city (it's a big city). Actually we couldn't settle down for long - we had a tour guide who was intent on welcoming us with a song - if you've heard Vietnamese singing, it's not great at the best of times, especially with a hangover. Luckily after she was done with her serenading, she told us some very interesting history of the city.

We stopped off at a factory that was set up for the people that were affected by Agent Orange and the genetic problems that the Dioxins caused. Although it was good that the people had some employment as we were able to watch them at work, it was debatable whether the items on sale were in fact their produce, as there was a warehouse of cardboard boxes that looked suspiciously like imported cargo. So, none of us bought anything, but we welcomed the stop at least.

We got to the Cu Chi Tunnels and were led into a short film cinema. What we were shown what was possibily the most anti-American propoganda film that I have ever seen; quote: "The crazy devil warmongers that bombed our innocent village". It wasn't exactly a balanced viewpoint, but would have made an interesting history source to show the hatred of the Americans caused by the war.

The tunnel network at Cu Chi is mindblowing: there are 200km of tunnels in total, that took 26years to build (started during the French occupation), at times there were 18,000people living in the tunnels! The entrances were so well concealed under leaves, and the airholes (made from hollow bamboo tubes) covered by termite mounds; that the Americans could barely find the complex despite it being only 5km away from the main South Vietnam/American Military base, with 15,000 Americans living there! The infastruture that the Vietcong had was tremendous and they were clearly well supported by the local South Vietnamese peoplel; suggesting that the south actually wanted Vietcong victory; so the USA were fighting against the whole country and not just the North Vietnamese!

However you have to see a balance in the argument when you look at the examples of the traps that the Vietcong left for the Americans: hidden trap doors that swing open when you step on them, sending the victim down into a hole full of barbed bamboo spears! In any other context I think that would be classified as torture, just as much as the use of napalm etc!
We looked a a few of the other graphic weapons - one of which was landmines made from unused TNT from stolen American bombs - talk about turning your weapons against you! Then we proceeded to the worlds most unsafe firing range - people could stand behind any stranger and watch them fire an AK47 or a semi automatic rail gun for about $10! It's pretty obvious that health and safety does not exist out here - in the CCF you have to be 400yards away, not 4yards!

The last thing that we did at the tunnels was actually getting down in them and crawling through a series of very dark (pitch black at times) and deep (10metres underground at times) network. Ben bailed after 120meters or so and Jess, Rosie and I after about another 60metres more - it was literally like a sweaty, dark Playzone underground...very crazy, but very cool, I don't understand how the Vietcong spent up to a week down there though; 5 minutes was enough for us!

Back in Saigon (the area at the centre of Ho Chi Minh City), Ben and I had the best Pho Noodle soup that we have had in the whole time that we have been out here - and they were huge portions; considering going back there for dinner! Then when we came to pay for the meal Rose realised that she had lost her money belt - passport and all! Very panicked she and Jess ran back to the tour operators - luckily they confirmed that it had been left at the shop at the tunnels and they can send it through to her on tomorrow's tour - thank god! Meanwhile, Ben and I were paying for the meal and got stranded in the restaurant by the biggest tropical storm that I have ever seen. We are talking bucketfulls - the street was flooded a foot deep within 5mins and was still rising. without waterproofs we decided that we had to make a frantic dash back to the hotel - Soaked!

This evening is going to be an early nighter I think - potentially meeting up with John from work who is in Saigon this evening.

One interesting morning and one crazy afternoon. More markets and monuments tomorrow as we finish off the walking tour of the city.

The Saigon Waterpark

Today we had a late start; recovering from the early start the day before. After having a pancake breakfast at a local American restaurant we got in a taxi to go the Damsen Waterpark on the outskirts of town: we had decided that we needed a day of pure amusement after the heat and education of yesterdays museums and galleries.

The waterpark was fantastic; a series of slides, pools and blow-up-boat flume rides. There were a couple of classic ones; a very long and very fast straight down flume; which gave you the worlds worst wedgie! A one where you sat in a three man boat and went up and down a huge u-shaped ramp at great speed and one that was an aerial runway over a huge pool under it, that suddenly stopped in the middle making you let go and go slamming into the water.

Actually, one of the most enjoyable and certainly the most tiring was what they called the "Lazy River" where you each sat in a rubber ring and were taken along by the current. However, it was far from "Lazy" as there were so many Vietnamese children in there that when the river bottlenecked and the rings bunched up, it turned into a huge waterfight! For some reason I swear that it seemed to be all the Vietnamese were against us as well!

We are all absolutely shattered now though; we made some quick peanut butter rolls as a late lunch, then collapsed in the hotel room. This evening we are meant to be going "out" but we all seem so tired that I'm not sure how that will work out. Anyway, a great day, even if we were bullied a little bit by 9year old Vietnamese kids!

Hoping to head to the Cu Chi Tunnels tomorrow, which should be interesting. Then one more day in Ho Chi Ming City before heading off on the Mekong River tour for three days finishing in Phnom Penh. Boy this month has gone quickly!

The Sights of Saigon

Just writing this and realized there is a Gecko crawling over my feet - that is what that tickling was! Anyway, down to business:

Last night was great; watching the football in a rooftop bar and very pleased with the England result. Through to the knockouts!
This morning was not so great - yesterday afternoon when we arrived we hadn't realized that we had picked a hotel right next to a covered over demolition site! So this morning's wake up call was an hydraulic drill meters away from our heads at 6:45 in the morning! Not great when we had had a late night watching the football. Ben and I promptly got up and spent an hour looking round for another reasonable hotel - there are so many, but also so many rip-offs. Eventually we found one, and went back to get the girls before checking in.

At about 10 we headed out on the walking tour around Saigon. First stop was the largest market in the city; and boy was it big! We spent an hour in there are still only saw about a quarter of it. I bought a Saigon branded Indiana Jones style hat - trying to keep the sun off! and a very nice collarless linen shirt - not bad when together they only cost me $5!
From the market we continued in the heat, getting a little bit lost down the back streets, to The Fine Arts Museum. That was surprisingly very interesting; with a mixture of contemporary, "politically correct" and wartime art. The displays showed the influence of the communist government on the paintings; with vast displays of similar style paintings and artifacts of Ho Chi Minh and other leaders that were prized as pieces of art (debatable when one of the artifacts is his water bottle and hat!).

After the art gallery we continued seeing a few sights; including the outside of the Ho Chi Minh Museum (lots of tanks etc) and a noodle bar where Bill Clinton ate. We eventually stopped at a fantastic restaurant where we grabbed a bite to eat and recovered a bit with cold drinks.

Full on our lunches we went round the corner to the War Remnants Museum. This was by far the most interesting display/museum that we have visited. With tanks, helicopters and planes outside only being the start of it. Inside revealed a whole side of the Vietnam War, which I had known little about, despite studying it for A-Level. The whole downstairs of the museum demonstrated the effects of the chemical warfare used by the USA in Vietnam, in particular Agent Orange. It showed the horrific after-effects of the chemicals, including genetic mutations and skin damage. Upstairs was a timeline of the Vietnam War with illustrations; it was interesting to see the "Then and Now" pictures of the Vietnamese towns and cities that we have visited. There was also an area of propaganda posters demonstrating the huge anti war movement and an area outside that showed the inhumane conditions that POWs were kept in by the French and later Americans on Phu Quoc island. Although the museum is hugely bias against the Americans, it was incredibly eye opening to see the effects on the infrastructure, people and psychology of Vietnam.

All feeling rather tired and a little silent after the museum, we headed back to the hotel via a cold drink stop in the central park, to get away from the noise: The number of motos here is crazy; don't think that we will be hiring ones as it looks like suicide!
This evening we're going to have a meal and an early night I expect, as we all had an unintentional early start. Tomorrow we are off to a water park!!

Another exciting day in an exciting city!

The Long Road To Saigon

Today was a big travelling day; up a 6, we were on the bus by 7:30, after grabbing a few last fresh bread rolls from the bakery.

The bus was thankfully quite empty and Ben and I could sprawl across the back seats to overcome the cronic lack of leg room that is built into most Vietnamese buses (they are all quite short I guess). The journey was pretty uneventful up to lunchtime, with just one unmade road with hairpins down the side of a mountain to add a little excitement. We had lunch when we pulled in at a nature reserve restaurant. We just ate peanut butter rolls though.

Back on the road in the afternoon things were a little more interesting; there was a huge downpour; serious tropical rain, coinciding with the rapidly rising temperatures. Reading Jack Kerouac at the time, and how he was scared out of his skin by Dean barreling across America at 110mph in a borrowed car, as he cowered in the back. It related rather strongly with my feelings as we hammered along passed overturned trucks in the waterlogged ditches.

We arrived in Saigon around 4 - very long journey. Seems like a great place though. We found a decent hotel in the heart of the backpacker area. Then went out and had an early dinner at a local restaurant. Tonight we are going to find a bar to watch the England game in and talk about the possibilties for the Mekong River Cruise.

A long journey - but looks like Saigon is well worth the wait. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Exploring the Centre of Dalat

We seem to struggle to get it together quickly in the mornings at the moment; despite the fact that we were all awake before 9, we didn't leave from the hotel for a day of sightseeing until past 11, which is a bit of a shame really as I certainly didn't fly all this way to sit in a hotel room waiting around.

Last night we found a good restaurant that did the best pancakes in Vietnam so far and served British food like apple crumble and bread and butter pudding! Although, it wasn't exactly the largest portions - I miss the oppourtunity for seconds that you get at home! Anyway we went back there for breakfast this morning; going back to the hotel to grab some stuff before heading out on the walking tour at 11.

The first sight on the self directed tour was "The Crazy House" - voted one of the top 25 strangest buildings in the world. The house that is now operated as a guest house, was very interesting; build in the shape of a mangled tree the rooms are dotted in random places, with tiny staircases leading all around. We explored the weird architecture; it seemed to us a bit like a giant climbing frame with the occasional bedroom in it's upmost reaches - quite amusing at bringing back childhood memories.

The second stop was the Bao Dai Summer Palace - this was built for the Bao Dai dynasty in the 1940s, and although it looks rather like a post WW2 bungalow in the furnishings - it is quite a grand building in size - remining us all of the hotel in 'The Shining'! It was interesting from a historical perspective as well; as it was abandoned in 1954 with the Geneva Convention, and it demonstrated the vast difference in attitude to architecture by the Vietnamese in comparison to say a British 'Summer House' like Osbourne House.

From the Palace, which is position high on the hill above Dalat, we headed back down towards town; intending to look at the Dalat Cathedral; however we got caught in a heavy shower and as the cathedral seemed to be closed, we just sheltered in the porch.

Then it was back into town to grab a late lunch and we headed back to the hotel again for a rest; we all seem to be a bit tired at the moment for some reason.

This evening we are going to head out to have a look at some more of the town and market and then go back to the restaurant that we went to last night; as we are keen to have a bit more of the good food; and as we left a tip last night, we are hoping for bigger portions if we ask for them - strange how stuff like that works our here!

Tomorrow we are heading off on the 8hr bus journey to Ho Chi Minh City: yet another big change again I am sure!

Dalat - The Roof of Vietnam

Dalat is certainly a different presentation of Vietnam. Today was all about exploring this new side.

We slept like logs last night after the lack of sleep the night before. Waking up around 9 we headed to the bakery; one result of the French influence in the area is fantastic cake stalls and bakeries. We bought fresh baguettes and fillings for lunch and cakes and pastries for breakfast. Scoffing down the pastries with much enjoyment, we were on the motos by 1030.

We headed south, and within 5km we came to the Tuyen Lam Lake - it was a fantastic sight - a mix that is rarely found: dragon boats floating around in a highland lake.

From there we headed down the huge mountain pass that leads up to Dalat and onto the highway that leads toward Ho Chi Minh City. We continued along this road for a while; looking for the "Chicken Village" - a village with a giant chicken statue in the middle of it. Sadly we never found it! That was a bit of a shame as it sounds pure comedy.

Instead of dwelling on the lost chicken search we went further down the road to the Gogah Ecopark. The main feature of the park is the impressive waterfall, and the canyon that you can climb down into. We had lunch at some tables overlooking the waterfall. Also in the park are a series of "Old Vietnamese Houses", these were slightly less impressive; more a series of shacks, we didn't dwell on them long and got back on the road.

Continuing further south we couldn't find the second waterfall that we were hoping to see and had to turn back as we were now 55km from Dalat. However, on the way back we saw a signpost to Bao Dai Falls that were 12km off the main highway.

The falls were well worth the detour and the precious petrol though. They were absolutely stunning. We were the only people there and it seemed like a hidden beauty. The falls must have been 100m high and 60m wide. The water seemed incredibly powerful and we took videos to demonstrate it. It was also possible to clamber a long way down towards the foot of the falls; which gave even more of an impressive angle. We left the falls feeling that it was well worth the 24km detour even if we were all looking a bit bow-legged by now and still had 45km to go back to Dalat.

We took it reasonably slow on the way back to the highway; it seemed that the falls had been a hidden beauty as the people working in the paddy fields around the road seemed shocked to see white people. Back on the Highway we stuck to a steady pace to try and conserve fuel - having to put 1/2 a litre in each bike to try and keep them going. As we ascended to Dalat the temperature fell dramatically and we urged our bikes up the 10km ascent, with the little fuel they had left.

Back at the hotel our minds and bums were grateful that we had finished the day - the concentration of riding 130km in Vietnam on a moped is intense! And the seats aren't exactly a feather cushions. It had been a very enjoyable day though, with some spectacular views again.

This evening we are going to find a good restaurant and perhaps sample some of the local wine and coffee.

Dalat certainly shows the amazing diversity in Vietnam.

Journey to Dalat

We had a very fun evening last night; went to a great restaurant where we were given free cocktails and then went to a bar next door where they were playing the number matching game (everyone is given a number and you have to find the person with the same number somewhere in the bar to get a free drink each); so we got another free drink! In the bar we also very weirdly bumped into some of Rosie's friends that went to Churches - so we had a good chat with them. There was also a group of three brothers from Florida who were a good laugh. We ended up going down to the sailing club beach party and sneaking in with the yanks. That was quite amusing although rather westernised to be honest. Finally we ended up going for a paddle in the sea before heading back to the hotel around 3 in the morning.

That late night seemed fine at the time, but the drinks and the small amount of sleep caught up with us when we had to be up at 6 in the morning to catch the bus to Dalat. Luckily it was one of the few times we were relieved to see it was a sleeper bus. So we all settled down for a well needed sleep catch up.

When I woke up we were well into the highlands - yet again we had a crazy driver - swinging the coach round hairpin bends while having a swing of water and overtaking other buses! Mental! I couldn't get back to sleep with that going on! But what also kept us all awake now was the absolutely spectacular views. The mountains and passes in the Alps seem nothing compared to this - huge green treecovered peaks up in the clouds - continuing for 75km down to the sea and Nha Trang, where we had come from. This really is an incredibly beautiful country.

We arrived in Dalat at 11, an hour earlier than scheduled (that shows how ridiculously fast the driver was going!). We booked into a great hotel just where the bus dropped us off.

Dalat is very different from the rest of the places we have been to in Vietnam so far. At around 1500m it is far cooler and looks more like a French ski resort than an Asian city; dating back to the French influence in the area.

We went and had a great lunch at a local restaurant then retired to the hotel for a bit; feeling a lot better! The girls stayed in the hotel, catching up with diaries and sleep, while Ben and I went to scout round the market: it was interesting, but most of the highland attractions are in the area surrounding Dalat; so tomorrow we intend to hire motos and explore the area, with it's waterfalls and hillside villages.

This evening is going to be a relaxed one - another meal and an early night I think.

Today was yet another day of being impressed by the beauty and diversity that Vietnam has to offer.

The last beach day for a while

Lazy start to the day today. Ben and I went and bought bananas and bread to snack on while at the beach, after having a breakfast of eggs and toast.

We went back to the spot by the sailing club and grabbed a couple of sunloungers.

Pretty easy going day; I went for a couple of long swims in the beautifully clear water. Ben, Rose and I started playing catch with a tennis ball; an old Vietnamese guy got involved and then so did the whole of his extended family it seemed. One of Ben's balls deflected off a wave and hit a guy in the face - luckily they saw the funny side!

Apart from that we had a chilled out one; speeding through the "On the Road" and really enjoying the read.

A very enjoyable day; although I was rather wishing that I was at home doing the Round the Island Race. Still, I'm excited for this evening; we're going to a great restaurant and then down to a beach party at the sailing club. I'm also really looking forward to Dalat tomorrow - they say the mountain biking is great - result!

We've had a great time in Nha Trang and on the beach; big change again tomorrow; bring on the highlands!

Mudbaths and Markets in Nha Trang

We had a great evening last night; we bought some beers and went to the beach for a chat. Really nice without the crowds and being able to look out into the China sea and see all the ships offshore. Afterwards we went for a great meal at a local restaurant near the beach, we were still a little hungry though after dinner and spotted the most awesome Italian icecream parlour over the road - caramel icecream in a waffle cone has never tasted so good!

This morning we found a nice cafe and had omlette and fried eggs for breakfast. Then we rented pushbikes and headed off towards the mudbath spa.

On the way we stopped off at the famous Cham Towers on the outskirts of Nha Trang. The towers are ancient religious temples - some dating back to the 7th Century. They were very impressive to look at and interesting to watch the religious activities. It was also quite amusing when we found a headless statue and all had to have a go at posing behind it.

From the towers we went down a small winding track through the backstreets that after a while came to the Hot Mud Baths. We paid the $5 entrance fee and enjoyed a great morning. First was a mineral mud bath that was hilarious but also very relaxing and great for the sunburn. We then went into a hot mineral water bath - which was very relaxing despite being seriously hot!
From there it was down to the pool and jacuzzi - we chilled out there until around 3; talking about some random stuff. Then had a late lunch at the resort before heading back to Nha Trang.

On the way back we swung by the Cho Dam Market and had a quick browse; I didn't buy anything, but Ben and Rosie bought masses of Cream Os (like Oreos) because they are doing a day of just eating them tomorrow - think I will stick to the rice and omlettes, however boring they get!

We also had a ride around the city trying to find the place to confirm our bus to Dalat, which we have done successfully for the 20th June in the morning - we were pleased to hear that it is just 20'C there (it's in the highlands) - should be a relief!

This evening we are heading out for a meal again before having a wander round town to see a bit more. Another great day today - my first ever Spa - at least the mud fights made it seem a bit more masculine!

Another Nightbus and A Day At Nha Trang

It was unfortunately another sleepless nightbus journey last night. We had a nicer bus and a good group of people around us, apart from some odd Vietnamese guy on the bunk below who had a small bird clasped in his hand for the whole 12hour journey - weird! But I just seemed to have a job getting to sleep - probably the eratic driving. So I spent most of the night mulling things over and watching the lightning storms illuminating the highlands - it looked like something from a film.

This morning we arrived in Nha Trang at 6. As always when you get off the bus you are hassled by guys trying to take you to their hotel. We got in one taxi and asked to be taken to a specific hotel, only to be taken to a completely different one; which I'm sure he was on commission to take us to; we eventually got him to take us to the correct hotel - The Mai Huy hotel (which Ali had recommeded we go to), and settled in.

Ben and I went for a meal at a local restaurant while the girls had a brief nap. We found a place that did basically a full fri up for $1.70 - well worth it.

We went back to the hotel and picked up the girls then headed to the beach for a relaxed day. We found some nice sunloungers in front of the sailing club. The beach was fantastic - a lot more developed than Hoi An, but still a fantastic view with very clear water. It was a bit cooler than at Hoi An as well; we had a good day relaxing and sleeping to recover from the bus journey. Ben and I swam and played frisby and catch with some Vietnamese guys - they were loving it!

We are back at the hotel now, having done some washing; looking forward to heading out in a bit for drinks, a meal and a walk along the beach now it is a bit cooler.

A very relaxing and long day; going to sleep well tonight!

Hot Hot Hoi An

We had a good evening last night with Ali and the boys, showing them the town and the good places to eat.

Woke up late this morning and went for a large late breakfast at a new place that we hadn't been to before; but it was very nice. Then after wandering around for an hour or so in the heat of the day, we decided it was not the most desirable of acitivites in +40'C. So we headed over the river to Cam Nam island (a small island just over the delta from Hoi An) and the Sleepy Gecko bar - a really chilled out bar with big wicker sofas and ice cold beer, owned by an American. The eight of us are planning on hanging out here for the afternoon; playing a bit of pool and having a bit of food. Before we head back to the hotel to grab our stuff, clean up and get on the nightbus at 5:30.

We'll all definitely have good memories of Hoi An - so far the chill out capital of Vietnam.

Another Day at Cau Dai Beach

Today it was back to the beach at Cau Dai; we grabbed some breakfast at the same cafe near the beach and returned to the sunloungers. I spent a majority of the day in the shade of the palm umbrella, not wanting to worsen the sunburn. I have started reading Jack Kerouac, which is making me very keen to travel across Americs sometime in the near future. Also, Ben and I had a long chat about the 1500mile cycle touring trip in France that we hope to do next summer.

Rosie, Ben and I had a good game of catch in the water with a tennis ball; and Ben and I went for a long swim.

Ali (a friend from work and Ben's neighbour) and his friends arrived in the late afternoon and we had a good chat sharing travelling experiences so far.
Ben and I headed back to the hotel around 5, the girls had gone back a bit earlier.

This evening we are going to show Ali and his guys what we have decided is the best restaurant in town, and undoutedly have a few drinks.

Tomorrow will be our last day in Hoi An - I think it is my favourite town in Vietnam so far.

A Day at Cau Dai Beach

Today we rented push bikes from the hotel and headed off northwest to the Cau Dai beach.
It was a 15min ride or so, and when we arrived it was stunning; a long stretch of white sand that runs north to south facing the South China sea and a few small offshore islands. We parked up the bikes, grabbed a couple of pancakes at a beachside cafe and went down to the sunloungers.

The heat was intense and we sat sweating for quite a while on the loungers before deciding that we had to try the water. The white sand between the sunbeds and the sea was seriously hot though; I actually got a blister on one of my toes from it's burn. But after sprinting across the frying pan of sand we were greated by wonderfully clear and warm water.

Back on the sunloungers again Ben and I couldn't last long in the heat, so we jogged a few kilometers along the seashore, using the sea to cool us down.

We spend the day on the beach until about 4o'clock. I got rather sunburnt on a few patches that a missed with the suncream, which was rather annoying, but nothing too severe I hope.

Afterwards we headed back into town, grabbing another pancake on the way; and changed our night bus to the 16th as we decided that we wanted more time in Hoi An. This evening we plan to find another restaurant down by the harbour, in our quest to find the best in Hoi An.

Another great day in Central Vietnam. More beach time tomorrow.

A Hot Day in Hoi An

Woke up with a leisurely start this morning. Met the girls and went down to "Emma's" tailors, where their jackets were being made. The very friendly family took us by taxi out to the house where they make the clothes so we could have a look at the work in progress; luckily the girls seemed pleased with how they were progressing. We then went back into town to grab a breakfast of pancakes and Cao Lau at the great little restaurant we found yesterday.

After that, we started the waking tour; we visited a few interesting sites and old places of worship. But by this time it was midday and after an hour or so we decided that we would skip the last two attractions and head for a cold beer on a balcony bar down by the harbour. We chilled out there for a while before Ben and I went in search of WiFi and the girls went to pick up their new clothes.
We then crashed out at the hotel for a few hours to avoid the heat and booked our nightbus to Nha Trang that leaves on the evening of the 15th. We are now heading out to the island of Cam Nam, to visit a book market and have a drink, before going down to the Old Town over the Japenese Bridge to have a meal.

This is such a chilled out place and it is very nice to have a small, local atmosphere. Looking forward to the beach tomorrow as well. Let's hope Ben doesn't get too sunburnt!

Journey to Hoi An

We got on a normal bus (not the dreaded sleeper) this morning at around 8:30 and headed off towards Hoi An. On the way we passed a huge area of paddy fields and onwards towards the region of mountains that encompasses the Hai Van pass. Unfortunately we weren't going to be able to go over the pass as it was too much of a long way round for the coach, however we still climbed to quite a height and on one side of the mountains we had a great view of the paddy plains and on the other we looked out to Danang and the Lang Co Beach - a very beautiful 12km strip of White sand.


We stopped briefly in Danang to drop off a few passangers, but we were relieved that we had avoided the town as it has been over-run with huge western beach resorts that are making the most of Lang Co.

We headed on to Hoi An and arrived there around midday. It is a far smaller town, which used to be a fishing village. It has a large number of visiting tourists, but it still holds it's large street markets and is close to a few small beaches that are known for their beauty.
We had a great lunch of Cao Lau (wide noodles with pork) and some amazing scotch pancakes with pineapple at a restaurant down near the fishing river. After lunch we went shopping round town; there were some great market stalls; we bought bracelets and a number of beer brand vests (which are everywhere out here in the backpacker community). Then we went to one of the tailors that line the streets in Hoi An and are one thing it is famous for. Although Ben and I didn't buy anything, as we decided that UK suits looked better even if they weren't tailored, but the girls are getting some jackets made that we'll pick up tomorrow.

Tonight we plan to find another good restaurant down by the quay and enjoy the relaxed feeling in this smaller, peaceful town.

Hué Citadel and the Moto Pagoda Tour

This morning after a leisurely start and a repeat breakfast of steak and omlette for Ben and I, we hire motos again and headed off through Hué to the Royal Citadel.

Hué was the home of the emperor's dynasty for hundreds of years until the first war in 1945. In both this war and the "Vietnam War" (or "The American War" as it is called here) the huge palace was bombed heavily. We paid a rather heafty 55,000Dong to enter the city and although it probably wasn't worth that much, it was an interesting experience. There was a great short movie showing a digital reconstruction of the city and as the Hué annual festival is currently in progress, the palace and it partly restored gardens were heavily decorated. It was an interesting place to visit and certainly demostrated the destruction caused by the wars with both the French and the Americans.

From leaving the Citadel we headed out of the city and got a bit lost; ending up with us getting stuck on the Ho Chi Minh highway again - we backtracked and found the correct road; finding some interesting Pagodas and Statues, all decorated for the festival.
Then at around 4, on looking to the south we saw the massive rain clouds and lightening that now seems to typify a late afternoon, so we made a dash back to the city, cutting our tour a little short; but pagodas all begin to look the same after a while anyway so we weren't too fussed.

We stopped off on the way back for a drink or ice cream by the riverside; I ordered Rum icecream, which turned out to be vanilla icecream with a glass of Rum to pour over it - Nice!
Back at the hotel we grabbed some snacks as we had missed lunch, and despite the massive breakfast were still pretty hungry. We are now sat in the hotel room listening to the torrential rain and thunder storm outside that makes a huge amount of noise on the corrugated roofs around the hotel; good job it only lasts an hour or so.

Heading out later for a meal at a nice family restaurant that we found and looking forward to the bus trip over the Hai Van Pass tomorrow on the way to Hoi An - good job we don't have to sleep on this one!

The Cramped Nightbus and An Afternoon in Huè

We eventually got on the nightbus at around 1030 last night; and boy was it full; we somehow managed to barter to get the four back bottom beds, with windows either side. However, with little to no aircon and only the highway blasting it horns through a small window to cool us down it wasn't exactly a great night sleep; it had been 38'C during the day and didn't drop much at night so it was a sweaty bus of mostly english, tired backpackers, when it arrived in Huè.

We jumped on the back of some scooters that volunteered to take us, bags and all, to a cheap, good hotel. They seemed faithful to their word and by midday we were booked into a nice room for the four of us.

We headed down the road towards the Perfume River and found a bargain restaurant where Ben and I managed to grab a brunch of steak and omlette with fresh bread - not bad for about £1.50 and it was a welcome break from the noodle soup that is a standard Vietnamese breakfast.
From there we continued into the city centre, as always having a laugh over the constant babble of sellers trying to flog anything and everything. We crossed over the river and found the Dong Ba market; it was far less tourist driven than most of the markets and we enjoyed a fair bit of browsing before Ben and I eventually managed to blag two huge, beautifully ripe mangoes for 7,000dong (28p). We went down to the nice park by the river and very messily ate them; much to the amusement of the girls. From there we walked slowly back across the river; had a bit of fun bartering for a boat trip, before deciding that really we were too tired to fully enjoy it. So, we headed back to the hotel. We're now looking forward to a nice meal out. Before hiring yet more motos to explore the citadel and pagodas of Hue tomorrow.

Today was certainly a day of experiencing a few different flavours of what Vietnam has to offer.

Cuc Phuong National Park and the Epic Moto Mission

Today we set an alarm for the first time in a few days as we were feeling well rested. After checking out of the rooms and having banana pancakes yet again for breakfast (they are so good!), we were back on the motos for a truly epic journey.

We headed north and then off the highway; as we went kilometer by kilometer further away from Ninh Binh the roads became increasingly more rural. After 40km of riding we reached the gates of the Cuc Phuong National Park, by this time we were on single track roads.
Stopping at the visitor centre to buy entry tickets and have a brief cold coke we then continued further into the national park; the roads were fantastic; deserted except for our two lone mopeds and a few buses that came through.

The first sight that we reached was a 7600year old cave/burial site. We paid a small 5,000dong (25p) entry charge and headed up some seriously steep steps to the cave. Initially the cave looked to be a bit dull; just one cavern, but after a bit of looking around we found a route out of the first cave into a whole maze of caverns and staircases, full of bats. We felt a bit like Indiana Jones with our torches and we enjoyed looking round the deserted ancient rock formations (and Ben and I enjoyed frightening the life out of the girls by hiding in the dark).

Back on the road we continued through the vast green scenery; on one hill we came very close to some small kind of cobra that was basking on the road; it actually spat out at rosie as they swerved to avoid it; rather scary.

We passed a huge tree that must have been hundreds of years old; the details weren't given, just a sign saying ancient tree. Finally we parked up to have a nice lunch in a small restaurant 19km into the park. Then because we wanted to get back to the hotel before rush hour on the highway we made a hasty retreat; bombing down the roads through the park and being careful to look out for snakes!

On the way back as we descended down onto the plains where the city lies, the views were breathtaking, it is hard to describe how amazing this country is; imagine a mixture of Jurassic Park and the plains of Africa.

We pelted back down the roads, Ben and I got a bit carried away with racing each other, but nothing dangerous. When we arrived back at the hotel it was around 4ish; in time for a shower to wash the copious amounts of dust and sweat off, and a meal. Before jumping on a night
bus later tonight to Hue.

Another epic day of exploring in Northern Vietnam.