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Al's epic odyssey "A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." - Lao Tzu

Trip: South East Asia

There are [16] stories from my trip: South East Asia


Chiang Mai and back home

THAILAND | Monday, 9 Nov 2009 | Views [799]

I caught the overnight sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. It’s not that cheap, but if you take into account that you’re saving a hotel room, it makes it worth it. The train is incredibly slow and rocks around like crazy, the single track ... Read more >

Tags: chiang mai


Hanoi & Halong Bay

VIETNAM | Sunday, 1 Nov 2009 | Views [1673]

The overnight bus from Hue to Hanoi was the longest so far, 14 hours with two or three stops. What made this one worse is there was nothing blocking the oncoming headlights in my face so I ended up trying to sleep with my head under the blanket. ... Read more >

Tags: halong bay, hanoi


Nha Trang - Hoi An - Hue

VIETNAM | Sunday, 25 Oct 2009 | Views [1323]

The first day is Nha Trang was a bit rainy but gave me a day to wander around the tourist zone and sample some of the restaurants, pubs and scenery. The beach in Nha Trang is beautiful - miles and miles of wide sandy beach with only intermittent coconut ... Read more >

Tags: booze cruise, mud bath, scuba diving, suit


The Vietnamese Central Highlands by motorbike

VIETNAM | Friday, 16 Oct 2009 | Views [1555]

Delat is quite a small town, quite pretty, but not a lot to do in the town itself. I’d mainly come here as it is the base of a company called Easy Riders, who offer guided motorcycle tours all over Vietnam. I’d arranged a three day motorcycle tour ... Read more >

Tags: central highlands, delat, easy rider


Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the Mekong Delta

VIETNAM | Monday, 12 Oct 2009 | Views [959]

Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon as it is still referred to locally is a sprawling city of some 8 million people (and apparently 6 million motorcycles). It’s hard to say where the city starts or ends as the roads in this part of the world are inevitably lined ... Read more >

Tags: ho chi minh city, saigon


Battembang and back

CAMBODIA | Thursday, 8 Oct 2009 | Views [826] | Comments [1]

Battambang is the second largest city in Cambodia and not at all tourist orientated. It’s such a pleasure to not be hounded for massage, tuk-tuk, motorcycle etc. Walking around town I actually get stared at. Either because I’m so devilishly handsome ... Read more >

Tags: battembang


Siem Reap and the Floating Temples

CAMBODIA | Sunday, 4 Oct 2009 | Views [1438]

Having learned my lesson on the bus trip up from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh, I paid a little extra for my ticket to Siem Reap and found a seat further back, out of sight of the front windscreen and almost out of hearing of the horn and the karaoke ... Read more >

Tags: angkor wat, siem reap, temples


Phnom Penh - passing through again

CAMBODIA | Tuesday, 29 Sep 2009 | Views [818]

It seems that everything passes through Phnom Penh, so I was back in the city for a few days before heading further north. The drive up from Sihinoukville was interesting. I was on a much cheaper bus than the one I went down on and as ... Read more >

Tags: phnom penh, touls slang genocide museum


Sihanoukville, Cambodia

CAMBODIA | Thursday, 24 Sep 2009 | Views [794]

Sihanoukville is apparently the closest place that Cambodia has to a typical resort town, but it still has some way to go to emulate the Thai beach resorts (I’m not saying that that’s a bad thing). There are a mix of relatively unspoilt beaches ... Read more >

Tags: sihanoukville


Phnom Penh - just passing through

CAMBODIA | Sunday, 20 Sep 2009 | Views [901]

When I flew in to Phnom Penh I was amazed at the scale of the monsoon flooding. There was water as far as you could see. The river banks and settlements were raised high enough to see them but there was water everywhere. I was worried that we were ... Read more >

Tags: phnom penh


Bangkok / Pattaya / Jomtien, Thailand

THAILAND | Wednesday, 16 Sep 2009 | Views [1170]

My last few days in Thailand: Bangkok – Pattaya – Jomtien In hindsight, I probably could have spent an extra day on each of the islands to make best use of my time; however I decided to head back up to the Bangkok area as I needed to fly ... Read more >

Tags: bangkok, jomtien, pattaya


Khoa Sok National Park, Thailand

THAILAND | Saturday, 12 Sep 2009 | Views [1269]

Sawardee krap. It always seems to rain when I leave a place or move around, I’ve been very lucky so far. It rained pretty much the whole day whilst travelling from Koh Lanta to Khao Sok. And boy did it rain! I booked a single night ... Read more >

Tags: khoa sok national park


Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand

THAILAND | Saturday, 5 Sep 2009 | Views [986]

I’d not intended to visit Phuket as I’d heard that it was very tourist orientated and quite expensive; however in low season there are bargain packages to be had. The prospect of flying across to the other coast instead of taking an 8 hour bus ride ... Read more >

Tags: patong beach, phuket


Koh Samui

THAILAND | Monday, 31 Aug 2009 | Views [720]

  I hadn’t booked ahead for accommodation on Koh Samui, relying on the advice of my ‘Rough Guide to South East Asia’. I randomly picked the ‘Your Place Resort’ as it was cheap and cheerful and on the beach at Chaweng. Chaweng is the main hub ... Read more >

Tags: koh samui


Koh Tao island - scuba diving

THAILAND | Thursday, 27 Aug 2009 | Views [867] | Comments [1]

The Thai people have a lot of respect for their elders and while I don’t personally consider my self an “elder” I suspect that I’ve been given some advantageous treatment lately.   [I consider myself a 27 year old trapped in a 47 year old body] ... Read more >

Tags: koh tau, padi, scuba diving


Bangkok - first impressions

THAILAND | Monday, 24 Aug 2009 | Views [841]

Bangkok is mostly hustle and bustle, yet with areas of peace and tranquility; some parts decadent and yet generally conservative. I love it, but I suspect that it’s best served in small doses. The flight to Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur was a ... Read more >

Tags: bangkok, grand palace, thai massage