Last Stop Saigon!

With another early morning arrival from the sleeper bus, we had a look around the local hotels in Pham Ngu Lao- a local hangout of the backpackers and the travelers. Down another 'budget alley' we soon found our hotel the Ngoc Linh. For $15 a night we get big room, hot water, satellite TV, free breakfast, free Internet....you really can live it up for a little in Vietnam! After a short sleeper bus catch up we decided to head out into the big city! Having read our trusty lonely planet guide book we decided to make a start on the walking tour around the bustling busy busy city!!!


On day 2 we completed the rest of the walking tour by going to all the major attractions such as the War Remnants museum, Reunification Palace and HCMC History Museum and Ben Tanh market. The War Remnants Museum is a must see, it's a heart wrenching museum currently showing a exhibition of war photographs from a number of countries including Sri Lanka. The rest of the museum also contains photographs from the Vietnam war, some of which are truly harrowing and make you question humanity, some of the things the Americans did to the innocent Vietnamese and their country is simply disgusting.

As a day of relaxation and in order to allow Geth to release the child trapped within went to a water park one day - fantastic fun!
We also booked ourselves on a day trip to the Mekong Delta and (despite our apprehensions due to previous day trip experiences) found ourselves on a highly enjoyable and relaxed tour! We took a minibus - yes we in a reasonable sized group for once! - to the Mekong Delta and then hopped onto a boat to the floating market, from there we then went a coconut candy factory and rice paper factory. After this we went to an island for lunch and a bike ride before heading back to the mainland and the bus. A very pleasant experience indeed!
We also took a half day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, felt a little bit like sheep on this one but crawling through tunnels was great fun! We were a little gutted we didn't get to fire the guns on offer but the bullets were simply extortionately priced for our limited budget!

After a week exploring in Saigon we were then getting ready to jet off to our fifth country in as many months...Malaysia!

My apologies once again for the lack of photographs but yet again the computer won't upload for us...we will hold an exceptionally long and arduous slide show upon our return to which all family and friends will be made to attend and bored to death...jokes!

Much love to everyone back at home
Susy and the Ginger One x

Mudbaths and Booze Boats!

Nah Trang!

We arrived early hours off another sleeper bus in Nah Trang, the coastal town just south of the Vietnamese centre. Know by travels for it's beaches and laid back attitude, giving you a chance to sip cocktails by the sea! We soon found accommodation down 'budget alley' But we had to wait for people to check out before we actually got into our room! we were right next to the sea front in perfect view of the Hollywood style VINPEARL sign over the sea from us. Vinpearl is an island which the Vietnamese have decided to turn into an amusement park/show/man made beach..... not really our scene! We slept off our bus hangover!

Having made our way to Nah Trang for one reason only, go visit the islands. we booked ourselves onto a boat trip at Mama Linh boat tours. Known for their party tours with some drinking and dancing but also to get a good look at the islands for only a few dollars. (since we've been in Vietnam it all works in dollars, going to be strange to get back to good old sterling!) The tour also include a floating bar which we thought could be a lot of fun, all the pictures of past boat trips looked great. We arrived on our bus to find that we were the only white westerners......

Having taken the bus we soon picked up a few other 'whites' and soon arrived at a very busy dock! our boat was already filling up and it even included a very strange Swiss guy.... we'll talk more about him later! We were heavily outnumbered by Vietnamese children and families, not really the boat trip we'd booked! and soon we were at Black Island, headed into the sea for some snorkeling! it wasn't Thailand but the waters were clear if a little busy with bodies off our boat. we soon found a good spot and watched the world beneath! got a look at a yellow box fish which was cool! i even manged some high diving off the boat! getting off the boat did cost us a fair bit unfortunately!

our lunch was served on the boat at a different location just around the corner from Black Island. it was good food if not a little strange.... our Vietnamese friends got to eat upstairs on their own, they had an awful amount of booze by the time they came downstairs! As food was cleared we were told there would be a show! Brought out by one of the crew was maybe the best musical instrument ever made, a drum kit made entirely from old bottles, or plastic barrels! the band treated us to to some Vietnamese songs before the real party began! first up was our strange Swiss bloke, a little pissed by now! he sang some song, and he was followed by a wealth of nationalities including English, French, danish, Chinese, Korean but no Welsh! sorry guys but i lied and said i was English to stop the embarrassment of having to stand up and sing!

we were allowed to go swimming and the rolled out the floating bar.... a man on a tyre in the sea holding a crate of Vietnam mulleberry red wine... rancid. the western people had to share one rubber ring and even our now steaming swiss friend decided to make an appearance, swimming up through the ring..... hysterics soon followed. he didn't quite know why? our sanity was saved as we got chatting to some of the guys on the tour especially a Aussie/New Zelander couple and a lovely chap called Raphael! We regaled other with Vietnam stories! we stopped at a 'beach' and paid to get off the boat once again! no idea as to why as the beach was about 20m long with stones and murky water, and about 150 tourist! no more money!

We arrived at our last destination which was a aquarium on another island, but along with most of the other westerners we stayed on the boat, not wanting to waste any more cash! we made our way back to shore and with some new friends decided to meet up for dinner! this was a short taxi ride outside town, a restaurant where you cook your own food on grills! we were all top chefs if i do say so myself!

having finally found a decent gym i decided to spend some of the morning there until myself Susy Dan and Ange headed off to a mud bath. Nah trang didn't really have much to offer on the old beach front so other activities were greatly snapped up! these mud baths were impressive. Mud bath was so odd, and it took ages to clean it all off! luckily one of the showers was like a fire hose!! we followed this with an all angle hot shower, and hot hot herbal bath. We got the chance to swim after our long day soaking. imagine a swimming pool full of bath hot water! swimming was just to hard!

the day before we tried to book a train to Saigon, having found all were booked for 3 days to come we had to fall back on the sleeper bus again!!! our worst enemy of the trip so far! but this time we had a plan! we wanted a few drinks to get that little bit sleepy! Thankfully for the 3rd time Dan and Ange decide to join us for the drinks! good support! but we met at 5pm thinking our bus was at 6.... soon realized it was at 8! 2 drinks became 4! and after no booze for months this took its toll!

Bus was by far the easiest journey.... funny!

next stop Saigon/Ho Chi Min City!

Love lots xx

Tin Tin and Snowy in Vietnam!

After our adventure in Hue we moved onto another old town called Hoi An. This town is situted in the old South Vietnam. Having heard great things from my parents we decided to extend our stay here to three nights! We were not to be dissapointed!

We decided to book a train for the first time on our tour of asia, it was our first journey but not through lack of trying, they are so cheap that we can't seem to book tickets most of the time! We took the train from Hue to Danang and it was gorgeous view after gorgeous view. Anyway back to Hoi An, having arrived and looked for accomodation, having arrived on the verge of a Vietnamese holiday we had trouble finding a room at first! And struggled with our bags out of the main town to finally settle in the only place we could find, a little out of town but it offered free bikes! An offer we couldn't refuse! It even had a pool!!!

Beautiful Hoi AN!

After some much needed recovery time we set out to explore the nearby town of Hoi An on our trusty steeds.... these bikes were just plain shit. Looked about 25 years old but despite her previous 2 wheeler mishaps Susy soon fell in love with hers. She's a little bit odd. Having only the late afternoon to look around, that's pretty much all we did. All our plans were for the next day!

Susy and her "bike"

See the vietnamses lady in the background... don't they look alike!

After an early wake up we decided to hop back on our "bikes" and set off on a day of adventure! On our tour of Hoi An we were set to buy an old town ticket and see all the sights but having realised early on that it was just possible to have a look for free we took the slightly cheaper option. First stop was one of Hoi An's museums. Small place with some amazing relics!

Susy in front of a 11th century electric fan..... (it was desperately hot ok!)

Cannon and Ball!

We then headed off to look for the Japanese Bridge and after some miscalculations we ended up at Hoi An Old Town Heratige Centre type place where it was possible to see a wide range of old working techinques, including silk spinning and pottery.

Silk Spinning!

They did the pottery a little differently to most but it sure was a good way! One older lady was shaping the clay whilst another would turn the clay table with her foot!

Pottery!

We then left our "bikes" behind and headed through the old towns art galleries. these streets were so colourful and full of sellers. and finally we found ourelves at the japanese bridge!

For all you history buffs (or that's just me), it was built by the japanese settlers in Hoi An. As the fable goes, a large monster (whose head lay in China, body in Vietnam and tail in Japan) would move about and everytime he did he would cause a flood or an earthquake.... for this reason they built the bridge on where his weakest point would be and therefore killed him. The Vietnamese took pity on this and built him a museum inside the bridge. Another cool fact was that they biult the bridge to be earthquake proof..... who knows?

Me in front of the bridge!!

After a spot of food on the river front, we called it a day and relaxed back at the hotel, knowing what we had planned for the next day. During our day out we booked ourselves into a sunrise

tour to an ancient champa relic ground. We decided on the sunrise tour to miss the crowds but it came at a 4.30am wake up call cost!! The Champa Relic Ground was called My Son (pronoced me sun). Having woken and arrived so early we were blessed with an empty(ish) veiwing of the relics. Built between the 5th and 12th Century the champa people rulled Vietnam for over 1000 years and they were very fond of reproduction and the art of sex. Goes some way to explain the next picture! yes that is supose to be a penis........

We positivly sped back from My Son, unbeknown to us the driver had to pick another group up and we arrived back at 9am, strange thinking we had already done a days sightseeing. Back to bed!! After a cat nap we were back out into Hoi An old town and got a little old lady to take us on an hour boat trip up and down the river, so peaceful and easy going. Even though we did stop a few time for her to pick up garbage?!?

Susy and our little lady!

We finished up with Hoi An and headed overnight on another sleeper bus to Nha Trang, a beach side resort town, just a way of breaking up a very long journey to Saigon!

Love lots Gethin and Susy xxx

DMZ

Having studied History throughout school and University, Vietnam and the 'Vietnamese war' has always intrigued me! Having spent our first week in the North of Vietnam (old communist regime) we had only experienced Old Vietnamese life, on our trip to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) we encountered something new. Another early start set us up for a 13 hour round trip from Hue (ancient capital of Vietnam) to our destination slap bang in the middle of Vietnam. Along Highway 1A

For a little bit of history, after the French had left Vietnam in 1954 they decided alongside Ho Chi Min at the Geneva conference to split the country temporally along the Ben Hai river, allowing the Vietnamese people to decide whether they wanted to live in the north or the south. The south canceled the following elections, and during the Vietnam War the DMZ became the site of some of the most famous televised battles of all time.

We began our tour travelling to Dong Ha for breakfast, this would not be the only time we visited Dong Ha...... after food we started on our way to the monument which was built in honour of the North Vietnamese armies who lost their lives, in an ambush on the TET holiday. a swift ambush attack which diverted the Americans away from the TET offensive, the turning point of the war. In the middle of the Statue is a lady fighter! over 20% of the Vietcong army were ladies! It was really big! Back on the bus (3 hours already....) to cross the Ben Hai River, for all those paying attenition in my first lecture (see above) this is what separated the north and south. There were sets of loudspeakers on both sides of the river used during the war to shout abuse at each other. Childish.

Vinh Moc Tunnels was next on the long trip! but this was well worth it! The tunnels were used by the North Vietnamese to shelter themselves from the American bombing Campaign. There were three levels 10m deep, 18m deep and 23m deep. included in this was a medical room, in which 14 babies were born during the War, family rooms, and a conference room which doubled as a school..... it was truly amazing to be down in the tunnels. They even opened up onto a beach!

But unfortunately it was time to get back on the bus! our next stop was Dong Ha! again! this time it was for lunch, off Highway 1A and onto Highway 9! We didn't bargain for our next 2 hour trip! Firstly we went to see the Rockpile, a very tall Rockpile which the Americans used as a look out point over the DMZ, we got about 2 km away and then had a look...... you guessed it a pile of rocks. I really looked forward to our next destination. Ho Chi Min trail! after some more time on the bus we arrived at a new Highway. The Ho Chi Min highway..... well the trail isn't there anymore because the built a big new road on top. again we looked from a far and left........ gutted. Getting a little fed up with looking at roads now!!!!!

Our last attraction was the Khe San Combat Base, this site included old war helicopters, Guns, Clothing and mortar bombs.... i had a read through the sign in book, and it was moving to see old war veterans writing about re visiting this was site. (500 Americans and 10,000 North Vietnamese died on this battle field). A fitting end to our trip! then back to Dong Ha!!!!!AGAIN! for a drop off then back to Hue! 13 Hours later!

Having finished with the Ancient Capital of Hue, we set course for Hoi An! Luckily this time we took the train, quite a spectacular experience with some incredible views of the coastline, I'm sure in a few year Vietnam will get the reputation of becoming a stunning beach holiday! Having heard good things about Hoi An, this was one town we looked forward to exploring!

Gethin and Susy

xxxxx

Pictures! sorry about the wait!!!!

first lot, war cemetary!

Trip To Bridge Over The River Kwai!

It takes far far longer than we expected to download so we shall try again with more soon (sorry Jock!!)

Gooooood Morning Vietnam!!!

It is now our sixth day in Vietnam and as with (almost!) everywhere else we've visited we love it here! We started of with a few days in Hanoi, staying in the Old Quarter. Whilst we were there we went to see the famous water puppet show, a very different experience but very enjoyable! As we made our way outside the theatre to continue our exploration we realised it was absolutely pouring down with rain so we decided to hop in a taxi back to our hotel. Having read our trusty lonely planet guide we were aware that a lot of taxi drivers rigged their meters for tourists and knew how much it should cost to get back. No sooner had we gone 100m in the taxi we realised we were in one of these delightful scam cabs! Instead of driving us straight up the road to our place he started to drive round in circles as the meter rocketed, we then asked him to stop and told him we were not going to pay more than the going rate for taking us nowhere - he was NOT happy! After giving him the money Geth got out but my door was locked so as I started to climb across to get out the other side I felt a very sharp and painful slap against my thigh - the bastard had hit me!!! And he was NOT going to get away with it! I rained down a torrent of abuse on him and by the look on his face (and Gethin's!) I think it did the trick! We ran the rest of the way back to our hotel!

We also went to visit the Ho Chi Minh Museum - not quite what you'd expect and not nearly as informative as I'd hoped! We also tried to go to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum but it closes at 11am so we'd missed it. Not one to be deterred we got up the next day ready and rearing to go and see a dead man's body only to find that that day they decided to close early so once again we missed it!!! So instead we went souvenir shopping to lift our spirits!

After Hanoi we booked ourselves on a tour to go down to Ninh Binh. We went to the old capital of Hoa Lu to visit the last two remaining temples where the Vietnamese worship the Emperors of the Dinh and Le dynasties. After lunch we then made our way to Tam Coc to go on a wonderful boat ride around the area. It is said to be 'Halong Bay on rice paddies' and the area is absolutely stunning and would be extremely peaceful if weren't such a tourist trap! With huge jagged rock formations soaring skyward out of the lushest of green paddy fields, travelling through caves and all done on a tin boat paddled by a Vietnamese lady called An! It was brilliant!

A tip for those who get tired when rowing long

distances - just use your feet!!!

We then stayed the night in Ninh Binh instead of heading back with the rest of our tour group. The next day we went on a trek through Cuc Phuong National Park where we visited the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre. We were incredibly relieved to see that the people working and doing research here were truly doing a good deed. The monkeys are rescued from dealers or those keeping them as as illegal pets, many of whom are endangered, are bred here in an attempt to stop them from becoming extinct due to poaching for meat, medicines or pets to people who don't have a clue. As a result of poaching still being rife in Vietnam they cannot release back into the wild yet and so instead they have set up semi-wild areas in the nearby park safe from harms way! They were cute as! We then trekked on to a 1000 year old tree and back again through thousands upon thousands of butterflies!!

Monkey!

Two monkeys!!

We are now in Hue. We took the sleeper bus down last night - in essence a dorm on wheels with sort of real beds which were a little too short for Geth! We were also mildly misguided with regards to the toilet facilities, it was a squat toilet. These are challenging enough for the western female tourist when stationary but add to that a moving, bumping, braking bus and only having one hand free as the other holds the door shut because the lock is broken and it becomes an entire new mission - needless to say I only went once during the 10 hour journey! On the upside we're staying a very good value for money minihotel and have booked ourselves on a tour to the Demilitarised Zone tomorrow - 6am start...

Love to everyone, especially Iago, Mabon, Cassie and Ellie!!!
Susy x x x and Gethin Smart x x x x x x x x x

Pat Pong = Ping Pong

It's now our last real day in Bangkok! and i must say just a little bit sad! it's been such an amazing place to stay. Can't say we've done much except sun it up and have some good nights out, but that's what Thailand is for! Anybody who has traveled to Thailand will know where I'm coming from with that statement.

Having said that, on Friday we decided to do something slightly cultural! we booked ourselves into a day trip to go see a province just north west of Bangkok. Our trip included going to see; Allied war cemetery, river Kwai museum, the bridge over the river Kwai, travel over the bridge of death on a train, elephant riding, waterfall and finally tiger temple! our only problem was the 7am start - considering Bangkok does not sleep until 2am!

Having little or no sleep we headed out on our trip, we got onto our very quiet and very small minibus and drove 2 hours to our first stop The Allied War Cemetery. Buried here were the POW's that built the bridge or died trying.... for any one who doesn't know the story, you should look it up. Having only one day to see all the sights we we're quickly moved on by our guide to go and see our second stop, A 'Museum'. Granted it was built overlooking the river Kwai. But this was not a museum!! We then walked over the River Kwai bridge alongside some of the other members of our group.

We then headed off to a Train station to board the train over the death railway. Was as it's name suggests. Most of the track was from it's original wooden beams put down during the second world war, quite a beautiful journey! Having finish our ride and sat down for a very large thai meal we were ready for the second half of the day and the best. We headed out to an elephant riding camp. We climbed a small wooden structure to be greeted by an elephant! 18 year old female from Burma (the elephant!) and her 16 year old Thai Guide! Getting on top of an elephant was a brilliant experience and we headed out on a little trek, our guide had been with his elephant since he was only 11 and their teamwork was amazing! She would lift him up to her head from her trunk, or put out her leg for him to get down! We got some amazing pictures, and had a unforgettable experience, we even got to feed her a basket full of bananas!

We next headed to a waterfall, which in fact was a Thai amusement's park, well it looked like that anyway?!? unfortunately we got there in dry season, so I can only expect the place to look even more magnificent with some prior rain! Our next stop was the Tiger Temple! Having heard a few rumors as too why the predators at this temple were able to be on such a close proximity to humans, i gad my worries; including drugging, a way of life, being too hot and my favorite Monk Power! We began at Tiger Canyon!!! sounds dramatic right! as you can see from the pictures we managed to get really up close and personal with the tigers. Some of them were huge and really quite playful! I know that I wont be able to be so close to a creature as magnificent as this again! that is unless Ponty zoo opens up?? The tiger temple was really living up to all expectations! We headed over to the tiger cubs next, and they gave me the answers to my questions as to why these creatures were so docile! The cubs were full of life and well up for a fight, had a little scuffle with one! Makes me pretty scared to think of meeting one of these guys in the wild! These little guys were amazing, some even got told off for getting to rowdy! Got to get one of those for myself! After such a brilliant ending to our day tour we headed back to bangkok for some well earned rest.

The tigers made it all worthwhile!

Last night we finally ventured onto Patpong Street, esentially the red light district of Bangkok and Thailand. In the day we spent our time in MBK, it's pretty much a big shopping arcade looking for presents. Heading out on the bus to Patpong with our new American companion Maddie we were full of excitement, me more than them I guess! Arriving onto Patpong was strange to say the least. We first walked past the Thai boy stretch, we'll come to that later.... Patpong red light district also has a night market, a good cover for anyone who doesn't want too look like a right perv! We came across loads of guys trying to sell us shows. and loads of men trying ti act as if they were there for the market!! DIRTY!


PRIOR WARNING!!!


Here are some ideas. Sorry if I offend anyone; (they all came with pictures)

• woman opens bottle
• women blows a whistle
• women smokes a cigarette
  
• woman eats banana
• woman writes a letter... Sorry!
• woman plays ping pong! as you can tell this one is a little more popular than most!

We headed for our first bar, not much going on and we didn't last long. Next bar which turned out not to be a ping pong bar, but just a brothel with drinks.... and after I ordered the only drink we made a quick exit! Again a little disappointed with our next adventure, only dancing! After some deliberation we finally decided on WILD CAT! sounds good right??

Having been tempted in by the very cheap prices and good oppertuntiy to see a live show we couldn't wait! drinks were 100 baht or 1.50p (there are no pound signs on these computers) again we had one each, after some confusion we got brought 5! Anyway as they say the show must go on, and good god it did! Our first act showed us how to keep a bunch of flowers hidden. our second act played some ping pong, which landed at me feet and brushed Maddies leg. ewwwwww.... next act opened a bottle of soda water! Susy got a good splashing.... i'm really sorry i'm going into so much detail! and finally we saw her blow a whistle and you know the magic trick where they reveal lots and lots of cloth from their hand..... you know the rest.

Now for the fun part, having felt we'd seen enough we thought about leaving and wanting to pay our 300 baht/3.80p bill...... we were handed a bill for 3,600 baht/58 pounds!!!! from two very stern women! claiming that we had drinks costing 900 baht, watching the show cost 2,100 baht and buying drink for the ladies on stage 600 baht!!!!! To say I was a little pissed off is an understatement!!!! claiming all these prices were made clear to us as we arrived. Luckily we knew about scams in this area and I refused to pay, I handed over 300 baht for drinks and left to a tirade of abuse! FUCK YOU!! Charming!

What a night! Could it get any better! We'll we went down to the Thai boy street, made me very scared, sorry Simon! and after a look inside a club I made a very quick exit!!! That's where my Pat pong experience ended. Won't be forgetting that one too soon!

Anyway after this enormous blog, we're now in Vietnam. Flew over today from Bangkok to Hanoi! check this space again soon!

Geth!! xx

Ko Pha-Ngan - Bangkok (again!)

Sorry for all our avid readers sooooooo keeping up to date with our adventure so far, (yes that's you dad) we've had a short delay due to the extortionate internet prices on the Thai islands!

Having spent 3 nights in Railay in which we loved, we got a longtail boat, mini bus, public bus, ferry and Sawngthaew! (bigger tuk-tuk for anyone who has travelled Asia) to our next port of call, Ko Pha-Ngan! Known throughout Asia and the world as a party Island, and we were heading here for Thai New Year. We arrived in late evening of the 11th of April (Happy Birthday Ed) and checked into Venus Resort, some really really nice bungalows just off Haad Rin Nok Beach- this is the party beach. We then had a very chillaxed night out for food! Who knew what we were in store for..... well we could kind of hear the music a few miles away!

Our second day was a very laid back day on the beach (we were getting very used to this way of life by now!) We had a stroll around town to get our bearings and then headed out in the evening... we'd decided to have a 'proper' night out, the first in a very long time! The atmosphere in the clubs that extended onto the beaches was amazing, the beaches were lined with booze stands selling buckets of all different kinds of cocktails for no more than a couple of quid!! The entertainment was a lot of Thai men playing with fire, very talented men throwing fire sticks, ball and chains, jugglers etc. They then get the crowds involved with huge a flame skipping rope which 2 Thai blokes hold up either side and swing until some fool thinks they can get in and start jumping - some made it, many didn't!!! Unfortunately there is no photographic evidence of this night and the next due to the fact that Thai New Year tradition is to completely soak everyone...water guns, hoses, buckets whatever you can get your hands on! We got utterly drenched in a brilliant water fight with the guys who worked at Drop In Bar - well recommended! That is how the night continued to be...I think....

Our third day was actual Thai New Year and we woke up to an incredibly weak shower - not that this wasn't something we hadn't experienced on our travels - and we soon discovered why...we took a stroll into town for breakfast and got ambushed! Soaked with yet more water guns and buckets and now with the added treat of powder paint!!! Thai New Year was officially upon us! If we honest, we got off quite lightly! Everyone was in such good spirits that day it was a really good vibe to be around (to quote David Brent). We then headed back down to the beach. That night we ventured out again expecting more of the same only to find a slightly more subdued night - imagine going on the piss on New Years day itself! However, instead of boozing that night we took an hours course in Thai relaxation. I wanted to sort out my shoulder hence having a back and shoulder massage (turned out to be full body - bargain!) Susy had a head, arms and leg massage ("Divine"). All of that for only 500Baht - that's 9quid!

Feeling mighty relaxed on our last full day we managed to drag ourselves down to the beach again and did nothing all day! But in the night we decided to go and have our final meal on our South Thailand holiday and as all good dates go I took Susy to watch Jackass 2!! It was playing in the rooftop bar serving 2for1 cocktails - score! This was then followed up with a final visit to Drop In Bar to watch the very drunk try to jump through a ring of fire. To which I might add I jumped through twice successfully on Thai New Year - evidence not available :(

Sad to say, we left Ko Pha Ngan yesterday to travel back to Bangkok - another fun journey, it's all about saving the pounds though! It took us the best part of 18 hours door to door. We're now back in Bangkok staying at The Four Sons Inn hoping with a non-ill Susy to experience some of the big city attractions.... PING PONG SHOW!!!! (Susy would like to point out that this one of the activities Gethin has added to our To-Do list) Susy wants to go see old temples and elephants... nice one gran.

Pictures to follow...

Love everyone lots
Geth (narrator)
Susy (typist - she needed a real job)

xxx

Finding Nemo!

We are quite simply in Paradise at the moment!!! But before I make you all jealous with that...

Unfortunately on our first night in Thailand the gorgeous food we raved about ended up giving me (Susy) a very bad stomach - ironic considering we'd managed to survive our entire trip in India without an illness!!! After 2 days of illness I ended up having to visit a very nice Thai doc who gave me tablets to get rid of the agonizing cramps and antibiotics to kill all the nasty bugs - have no fear Mother I really am ok and it wasn't too serious really, plus thanks to a change of plans I'm recovering on the most gorgeous beaches you've ever seen!!! And don't worry my parents i've been fine (geth)

As a result of not feeling too great we decided to change our plans around and instead of experiencing the neon lights and ping pong shows of Bangkok (which we are sooooo looking forward too!!) for the first week we headed down South to Andaman Coast. So, on Sunday night we took a bus down to Phuket and then hopped on a ferry to a nearby Island, 20 hours after leaving Bangkok in a VIP bus..... the film choices were a little strange! Walking Tall(the rock) and John Rambo (worst and most graphic film ever). Finally after getting very lost we arrived on THE island in Thailand - Ko Phi Phi! (for those of you who don't know Ko Phi Phi's little sister, Ko Phi Phi Leh, was were the film The Beach was filmed but is not inhabited hence everyone stays on Ko Phi Phi Don which is of the same standard - ahhh yeah!!!) We were not disappointed with our decision to head South for a bit of R&R! The ferry over was a pleasure in itself, the views of all the islands and cruising through deep green sea with the sun on your back was perfect after sitting on a bus for sooooo long!! When we arrived at Ko Phi Phi, whilst staring up at the magnificent limestone cliffs all around us, we hunted around for some budget accommodation - not easy on the island where all the honeymooners hang out! But we managed to find a room in our price range that we could (just about) live in for a night. Then we headed out to explore our new surroundings and gawp at the fact we were in such a stunning place! And the more time we spent out of our 'room' the better! wish we could do this with all the money in the world!

The next day we got up early, rented out some scuba gear and jumped on a long tailboat over to Long Beach. A very surreal experience... as soon as you put your head under the water you're greeted by fish staring right back at you!! Swim a few more feet and your above the reef and into a whole new world! I never actually thought I would experience this kind of thing without being at an aquarium, so many different types of fish, so many different, vivid colours, all swimming about in front of your face! It felt unreal. After swimming about in amazement for an hour and a half we got out and grabbed some food then headed straight back in again! It was on our second swim we found Nemo!! He was going about his business with his Dad in their anenomy home just like in the film!!! Unfortunately after another hour we had to drag ourselves back to a boat in order to get our stuff and catch the ferry to Railay...

Another 2 hours later and we're wading through yet more turquoise sea up to the beach of Railay. We're a staying in some really cute, really basic and really cheap bamboo bungalows on Railay East called Rampalla Bungalows!. Just a 5 minute walk across and your on Railey West Beach which is, once again, heart stoppingly stunning!! White soft sand, clear turquoise sea, walled in by soring limestone cliffs and views of the nearby islands - life really doesn't get much better than this!! We've spent today chilling out on the beach and floating about in the sea and plan to do pretty much the same again tomorrow! There are a couple of coves nearby which may explore tomorrow but it will only be to lie on a different white sandy beach!

We're in Railay for tonight and tomorrow night and then we head to Ko Pha-Ngan where the relaxation takes on a slightly different form - it is THE island for Full Moon parties and pretty much any other party down this end of Thailand, the 12th April is Thai New Year...we'll be staying there from the 11th to the 14th...anymore explaination needed???

Brilliant Bangkok!!!

We're finally in Thailand - YAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!

After the incredible and unforgettable experience of India it feels brilliant to be in Bankok! We arrived off the plane at about 6am this morning and after only having about 2 hours sleep it was a struggle to strap on our backpacks and get ourselves organised!! But we hopped in a taxi which took us the backpacker mecca that is Banglamphu. We managed to seek out a guesthouse and once we'd had some breakfast we crashed out in the room and slept until 2pm!

We've now been exploring our surroundings and simply love everything we find here! The people here are friendly, happy and it's a breath of fresh air not be hassled by persistent touts for once!! We sampled some of the food at one of the many street vendors which was divine and ridiculously cheap! I'm now in seventh heaven again with regards to shopping as there are street stalls galore with everything you could possibly want but once again room in my backpack and money prevent me from splurging (at least until I can get rid of some of Geth's things on the sly so I can use his backpack!!) The humidity here will take some getting used to as even at night it's still swelteringly hot!

Geth has finally managed to get his hair cut in a way he likes and I may even bite the bullet and try getting mine done here too! We've also had a scout around at the many many MANY guesthouses and hotels in the area and have now managed to find an even nicer guesthouse for less money so things really couldn't be better for us at the moment!

Tomorrow we will be exploring further afield and hopping onto the skytrain to go into the centre of Bangkok and breath in the pollution!!

Hope all is well with everyone at home and we look forward to hearing how you're all getting on with you working lives!!

Lots of Love
Susy x x x

Taj Mahal! Worth the Agra......

Having only been able to look at the Taj Mahal from a distance, we finally got our chance to go have a closer look! And i can tell you it's worth it 100%

We started out at 6am, to beat the crowds. and hopefully catch a glimpse of the Taj with the sunrise! We beat the crowds but managed to pick a pretty sunless day. Not to worry the Taj made up for that no problem. Had a few issues with the security at the Taj, seem to pick up on tourists and not locals. Walking up to something so grand and beautiful was amazing.

We got some brilliant pictures of the Taj, obviously got the sit in front of the Taj Mahal Photo(sorry Jo and Jock). Got a little Korean lady to take it, though they are good with cameras.......

Seeing the tombs inside was quite chilling considering the whole taj mahal was only built as the tomb of his dead wife.... sorry 2nd wife! Romance isn't dead!

We left for Delhi pretty much as soon as the taj was over, as we've found with many places that hold one structure there really isn't much point staying much longer. We got to Agra Bus stand, where i witnessed enough things to ensure we really did leave then! Next stop was Delhi...

We arrived in Delhi later that day, and we'd planned to go stay North of the main city for a bit of peace and quiet. We arrived at our location in a small suburb called Manja -ku - Tilla. We found that we would be staying in a Tibetan Refugee Coloney!! Walking through the camp we saw the walls layered with pictures of the dead from the Tibetan riots in China, really hard to see and makes you think about the struggle that Tibet is in. Now I'm not saying I'm boycotting anything though... sorry. Went to Conaught Place in New Delhi which is a weird place, felt a lot like London! We used the Delhi Metro to get around which can only be described as perfect!

On our Second day we traveled back down to the center of Delhi too see the National Museum and Ghandi's Smriti! Both we're so interesting, especially reading some of what Ghandi had to say. On our last day in Delhi we spent our time looking around the Tibetan refugee coloney, really a special place full of friendly people! Off to the airport now for our flight to Thailand!

Must say we are really looking forward to Thailand! Please feel free to leave comments! Keep checking our Blog!!

Boys can't do anything right...

It's Susy here, thought I'd let you guys know how smart Gethin Smart really is...

You see I made the mistake of letting a boy organise something and as a result this is actually the second blog that has been created...the first blog was created with the website address: gnsdoaisa.blogspot.com - smooth move Geth!

Anyway, as Geth says, India is very smelly, dirty place where men have nothing better to do than stare at you all day and night - HOWEVER, it's definately an experience that you would never get anywhere else and one that will last for a lifetime! Plus if we start our trip here lets face it things can only get better!!

When I look back on it I'm sure I will be glad that I've come here, the culture is so far from anything else and with sights as magnificent as the Taj to see it is worthwhile coming here. You simply have to work a little harder to enjoy it that's all!!

Taj Mahal here we come....

Jaipur, Agra and men peeing on the street... (29-03-2008)

Next Stop Jaipur!


Having left Goa, and finding no trains we flew into Jaipur late Friday (28th March) night, arriving in Jaipur at 9pm it was still 27 C outside!! Were picked up by our hotel owner and taken through the city to our Guest House (Krishna Palace.... Not a Real one)

Spent our first night in Jaipur, up early then to see the sights of the Pink City, according to history it was painted pink by the Maharaja Ram Singh to impress the Prince of Wales (later became king Edward VII) Painted pink the colour of hospitality.

We started by taking our first ever cycle rickshaw to the centre of town, a novelty but not speedy!! took a good 10 mins.... We got a little lost but finally found the Iswari Minar Swarga Sal ( built by the then son of the Maharaja, he killed himself when about to be attacked by the Maratha Army) and as an act of love his 21!! wives killed themselves at his funeral by mutilation! nice! City Palace was our next port of call, right in the Centre of Jaipur, really old, really beautiful, really hot! Pictures of our travels are to come.....




Spent our final few hours in Jaipur back at the Palace..... Hotel Palace this time! and having been fed up with the lack of food available, unless that is you like to eat food off the street! Sorry to all the purists but we ordered Dominoes pizza 'Large Cheese Pizza just for me' (home alone) + Large Pepperoni Pizza, they even worked as breakfast the next day!


Up bright and early the next day we were sitting on a bus to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal . Not forgetting that before we got on the bus, men continue to film Susy (Susy: I know I look good with a tan but these guys are just down right pervy and it really starts to grate on you after a while, especially when dress head to toe in baggy clothes to try and hide yourself in 35C heat!!) The bus journey took 6 hours and although we slept for a lot of it when your eyes are open you really do see India... green or grey water down the streets, men pissing on the side of the road (sorry for those with weak stomachs!), litter literally everywhere you look, street children black with dirt and hungry and huge expanses of dusty land....


However, we're now in Agra and staying in an ok guesthouse called Kamal Hotel, we picked it because it was the best of a bad bunch with views of the Taj from the rooftop - looks stunning but we won't be getting up close and personal sunrise - a nice early 6am start!! India is definately one of those places where you have to preservere to get a glimpse of the good stuff!!

Goa (pretty shitty city..)

Thought that we'd finally start a blog, yes maybe a little to late for Sri Lanka but just in time for our 2 month trip around South East Asia. First Stop Goa, (West coast of India)
Wikkipedia on Goa: Renowned for its beaches... LIES!!!
Having spent 6/3 months in a country as beautiful as Sri Lanka coming to Inida has been quite a shock for us! Getting off the plane into Inida we didn't see much difference but the very sleepy drive showed some signs..... We arrived in Anjuna (North West Beach in Goa). For anyone intested in the news, you'll see it was the same beach in which a 15 year old girl was killed in February.... Anyway enough with that!
Found a little (clean) room and did many hours of sleeping that day! flew out overnight.... Day 2:Hit the beach, not clean, not white, not blue sea, not much going for it. Day 3: Went Panjim(capital of Goa) to book train tickets to Mumbai and onto Ahmedabad. Not clean and so on, also found out that trains were full, unless of course we wanted to go travel lowest class.... not for 29 hours no. Booked a plane to Jaipur instead.
There are a few heartbreaking things, the amount of stray animals and so many beggars. Some of them are more creative(bastards) which ever you prefer. A Group of men as you walk to the beach will pretend you have something on your ear and ask to put a metal rod inside to clean it out for you.... at a cost. luckily were not stupid..... but some are.
So far no illness... Touch wood. Few rumbles but were putting that down to malaria tablets. On the bright side food is really good, had some nice meals and some good nights eating out.
Today is out last day here as we fly to Jaipur tomorrow. Will keep you posted from there!