As we had some time to spend in Cambodia before our Vietnam visas started we decided to head to Sihanoukville on the coast for a while. It's like Cambodia's beach resort so we thought we'd spend some time at the beach as well as at the nearby Ream National Park. Our visit to Ream involved taking a boat down the mangrove-fringed river to an island where a walk through the jungle brought us to a beach. We hadn't realised that we would be going to a beach and weren't dressed for it at all so instead we walked slowly back through [View Full Entry]

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On our first day in Phnom Penh we went to the National Museum. Allee really enjoyed the museum which was full of carvings and statues, mainly from Angkor, but I wasn't feeling too good and so stomped through the exhibits. The highlight of the museum for me was walking around the edge of a pond with lots of big fish following me expecting to be fed. I've felt ill at some point every day for the past week as my malaria tablets seem to disagree with me and make me feel sick for an hour or so after I've taken them. [View Full Entry]

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Since we last updated the blog we have arrived in Cambodia. On our last day on Koh Phayam we got up early to do some snorkelling before breakfast. It was going really well until Allee spotted a sea snake winding it's way between the fish. After a 2 hour boat ride and a total of 13 hours on the bus we got to the border where every con artist and his dog surrounded us trying to get us to arrange a visa with them, get into their taxi and all sorts of other things. The problem is that the border [View Full Entry]

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We are now in Koh Phayam (also spelt Ko Payam) in the South of Thailand. On our last day in Kanchanaburi (Friday) we relaxed, popping into a couple of book shops to part-exchange the ones we've finished and I went for a shave. This was at a barbers where the chair was laid back dentist style and the cut-throat razor whipped out. It was a bit nervy at first but then I nearly fell asleep a few times. I haven't been so clean shaven in months. It was then a bus to Bangkok and an overnight bus to Ranong where we [View Full Entry]

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On Wednesday morning we got up at 05:00 to try and get the 6 o'clock train along the Death Railway to Nam Tok. This is the furthest that it is now possible to go as the line between Nam Tok and Burma was torn up after the war. Arriving at the station we were told that the train was delayed. We sat and watched the sun rise, had a breakfast of water and chewing gum from the only open stall, read until I finished my book and played 19 games of cards. At 09:30 the train rolled in. By now there [View Full Entry]

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We spent our final day in Bangkok relaxing and then, yesterday morning, caught the bus to Kanchanaburi, site of the famous Bridge over the River Kwai. There are many guesthouses and bars here, many with suspiciously English sounding names and serving things like cheddar cheese sandwiches. It's a nice place though. Yesterday afternoon we went on a trip to the Tiger Temple in the hope of stroking tigers which have been given sanctuary by monks. We have mixed feelings about the place. It's the only opportunity we'll have to pet tigers (I even sat with one's head on my knee which [View Full Entry]

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On Friday we got up fairly early, the plan being too visit the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. Wanting to get there by boat we took the long way around to get a river boat up towards the palace. There are lots of boats on the Chao Phraya river - the river ferries we took, longboats, cross river ferries and smaller individual boats. Many of Bangkok's sights can be seen as you cruise up the river as well as numerous other temples and the ramshackle homes of people who live and work on the banks. As we got off the [View Full Entry]

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Hello all, We are now in Bangkok and it's the first time we've had time to get onto a computer. On the 12 hour flight to Hong Kong we were lucky enough to have a row of 4 seats between the two of us so we managed to get a few hours sleep which was nice. The only problem was that, because we were sat in the middle of the plane, the only way to see out was to lean against the exit door. This was a bit nerve-wracking at first and I kept imagining falling against the handle and opening [View Full Entry]

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