Our Adventures

19 hours of travelling to get to cat ba island.......

emmaandsarah — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 19:36:00 GMT

I'm feeling much better after 2 days of antibiotics and a bit of rest 😀, which was a good thing as I wouldn't have managed 19 hours of travelling otherwise. To get to Cat ba island we took an overnight train from Hue to Hanoi (14 hours) - each compartment had 4 bunk beds but we were lucky that it wasn't a busy train and we had the compartment to ourselves! We got off the train and jumped into a taxi at 5am and raced across Hanoi to the bus station to catch our bus connection to Haiphong (2hours). The bus dropped us at Haiphong harbour where we caught a fast boat to Cat ba (45 mins over flat seas 😊) We then got another bus across Cat ba island to the main town and gateway to Lan Ha bay. We were so glad to arrive at our hotel and eager to explore the beautiful Cat ba island. We headed out and arranged our plans for the next few days, one day kayaking (at last!!) around the karst islands (limestone pinnacles) of Lan Ha bay and a days trek through the national park. We had read that it would be northern Vietnam's winter, as it was for most other countries we have visited, making it just about bearable for us, but it was actually much cooler and the island was very quiet.

An early start the next day we were picked up by 2 motorbikes for a short ride to the other side of the island to launch our kayaks. Luckily it turned out to be just us 2 and a really sweet local guy called 'Minh' who could speak pretty good English. We had a kayak each (most around here are either sit on tops or double kayaks) and Minh started off by saying just practice going right and left - even though we had said we kayak at home and think he was surprised when we got in and moved away from the pier saying 'Oh, you're more professional than I thought'.....Well, I wouldn't say we were professional, but we ironically ended up giving him a few pointers about manoeuvring! We started off paddling around the floating fish farm village, the boats were lovely and colourful, but the reality of this was the rubbish in the sea 😞 Almost each little place had a dog or 2 which surprised us and when we asked Minh if they get chance to go to land to run around he said no - which explained the crazy barking at us as we passed - and I think they use them as guard dogs. Anyway, we carried on and it was beautiful and peaceful - no ugly cruise ships or noisy junk boats 😊 which was why we chose to explore the water off Cat Ba instead of the busier and much more touristy Halong Bay. As we pulled up to our last stop Sarah asked if Minh was happy for her to roll. He was quite surprised and asked if he could record her! After a successful roll we pulled the kayaks ashore and we both went in for a chilly swim - not for too long! We were both pretty tired at the end of the day but it had been 1 of our best - amazing! 😀

The following day there were 4 of us for the trek and our guide; Phuoc. We took the public bus to the start of the trek stopping off on route at the hospital caves. A hospital built over 3 floors with 17 rooms in a cave. It was pretty impressive, it even had an operating theatre and exercise pool, but not a place or time I would want to have been nursing. It was built during the American war and was also used as a safe house by government leaders, it was never found by the Americans and never damaged by bombs. We started the trek on flat ground but were soon heading up hill and doing a lot of scrambling up and down over steep sections of loose boulders and rocks. Some areas were quite dangerous as the rocks were loose and falling would have resulted in broken bones, it didn't help that neither of us had any confidence in our 'guide'. After 5 hours of exhausting trekking we made it to our lunch stop in a pretty village nestled in the mountains. After a break and an interesting chat with our trekking companions on American politics we jumped on bikes and peddled the last 5km to the boat harbour. The bikes were mountains bikes but hadn't been looked after, sarahs chain came off, gears got stuck and Olga hit a pot hole and skidded off her bike. We eventually made it to the harbour and took the boat through the karst islands around to the other side of the island and back to where we started. It was an exhausting day, but good to get out and moving after all the travelling, think we have been spoilt with all the beautiful scenery we have seen in the last 3 months and didn't find the trek overly impressive, but it was pretty, we were also surprised by how little wildlife there was.

The following day we caught our bus, boat and another bus back to Hanoi where our adventures in South East Asia will soon end!!!!!!

Hue

emmaandsarah — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 16:53:00 GMT

We left Hoi An by train to Hue and had a seat each on a train that wasn't packed, which was a nice relief. The train journey gave us some lovely views along the coast looking out to sea, on beaches and harbours, and as it climbed the side of mountains you could look up and see the clouds covering the mountain tops and little streams coming down. The journey only took about 3 hours - also I didn't mention the tv's the coach had, which halfway through the trip started playing some Vietnamese pop tunes - I'm glad I had my music!

We arrived at our hotel late afternoon which was nice enough and clean, then later wondered into town to find some food - Emma's tummy still wasn't right and finding veggie food out here, especially even a little selection to have a bit of choice is not proving easy, but we found a little place and strolled back to leave more exploring to the next day.

Day 2 we decided to walk across the bridge over the Perfume River to the Citadel: A former imperial city of palaces, ceremonial halls, houses, gardens and lakes. Emperor Gia Long began building this site in 1804 and it has since been part destroyed by typhoons and the American bombings, although reconstruction has brought some of the buildings back to life and more work is still underway here. After exploring the Citadel we were going to walk around the northern side of the river, but there didn't seem to be much we were interested in and Emma still wasn't 100% and I was also starting to feel tired, so we headed back to have a little rest and some quiet time! Hue is much more built up than Hoi An and much busier with local sellers constantly hassling you, which is getting quite tiring now! Anyway, we found a lovely place to eat later on, which had some good reviews - trip advisor is becoming more and more useful!

Day 3: I think we were both hoping Emma's tummy would slowly get better, but today it has made another bad turn 😞 on the antibiotics now and a rest day to try and sort it out 🙏 I have wondered out for a bit of food, popped back in to check all is ok and back out just around the corner for a little hair trim for £3............with a free bit of shoulder and head slapping massage at the end!! - I was a little shocked as she started, but went with it!

Anyway, I'm playing nurse today, mint teas, coke and anything else I can do, although I feel pretty helpless. Fingers crossed rest and drugs do the trick. We have an overnight train booked tomorrow for Hanoi.

Last days in Hoi An

emmaandsarah — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 21:37:00 GMT

After placing our clothing orders on our arrival here we had 3 full days before our next move. We spent the following day exploring the old town a bit more and went back to our tailors for our 1st fitting. We both left the tailors having ordered a few more items of clothing!!! The next morning we had booked a cooking course but unfortunately had to cancel as Emma was ill, we spent the day doing not much at all, Emma made it through the last fitting in the afternoon and our tailor had our clothes delivered to our hotel (the one and only time we will ever be able to say that!!). We slowly made our way back to the hotel and that was enough for Emma for 1 day so In the evening I took a little stroll on my own to an Indian restaurant I had noticed advertised on our map which was very nice....along with my first glass of red wine, very nice - apart from Emma not joining me.

The next day, which was our last here Emma was feeling better and we agreed to take a slow cycle to the beach. Luckily the road was as we were told: flat and only a 20 minutes cycle. The sea was rougher than I had expected and actually a bit chilly!! We walked along the beach to find a quiet spot and chilled there for an hour or 2 - no swim though (it is much cooler here than anywhere we've been so far, so not quite so inviting). After cycling back late afternoon we wondered into town and had a little boat ride along the river by a lady with a Greenland style paddle (well more of a Greenland oar!)- Emma and I couldn't resist having a little go and luckily didn't manage to crash or capsize us!! On our paddle back we saw 1 of their big fishing nets being winched up from under the river - no fish, so it was returned back down! We later strolled back for an early night and organised bags ready for our onward journey to Hue via train.

Hoi An 😀

emmaandsarah — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 20:09:00 GMT

We flew into Danang and had pre-arranged a transfer to our hotel in Hoi An which all went smoothly 😊. We were very warmly greeted by our hotel and it seems lovely, clean and well located which is good as we're here for 4 days! When we stepped off the plane we were both shocked at how cool it was (around 20 degrees) which is refreshing and a nice change from the humidity, although it also seems to rain here quite a bit - it's our 2nd day and its rained both afternoons, but hey we're British and I actually quite like a bit of rain. Anyway, enough about the weather!

After checking in we got some directions and a map and walked into the old town, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site. It was only a 10 minute walk and we were both pleasantly surprised at just how lovely this town is; no motorized vehicles are allowed to come through the old town (a relief after Saigon!), the buildings are a mix of small old Japanese merchant houses, Chinese temples and ancient tea warehouses and there's a river running alongside with little wooden boats offering rides and sweet little bridges to the other side 😊 Hoi An is well known for its tailors and we had previously thought we should get something made for us whilst we are here. We found many tailor shops and walked into one that seemed a little smarter than the others and within 10 minutes I was ordering a custom made waistcoat and shirt and Emma was getting measured up for a jacket and dress! It was amazing, you chose the style and material and they measure you up and ask for all of your requirements from the piece of clothing which is very reasonably priced, especially when comparing the same work you would get back home. We finished the day off, sat outside a bar overlooking the river with the colourful lanterns lighting up the street and bridges 😊

Insanity in Saigon!

emmaandsarah — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 01:21:00 GMT

So, yesterday afternoon we caught our short flight from Con Dao Island back to the mainland of Vietnam into Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon. We had pre booked the hotel on a recommendation from another traveller we had spoken to a while ago, so we could get a taxi straight there which saved a bit of hassle. I was glad we were inside the taxi and that I wasn't driving - it was madness on the roads, crazy busy and not really much order.

We arrived at the hotel and were 'upgraded' to a balcony room - which sounded great, so we were pleased to accept. On the 6th floor we stepped out onto our balcony (only big enough for 2 of us) and looked down onto our crazy, noisy street - in district 1, which is where most of the interests are.

We had a quick read of our lonely planet to sync ourselves with the map we were given and find somewhere for dinner. It was dark by the time we braved the streets and made our way crossing these crazy roads - whereby, basically you just have to start stepping out into the road with full on traffic - cars and mainly mopeds and motorbikes weaving in and out beeping their horns. We would say 'Ok?, ready?, go' followed by quite a bit of swearing!! Anyway, we had some dinner at a veggie place which was ok (Emma enjoyed it anyway!) and safely made our way back. The noise from our room was like we were in the middle of the street, pubs, bars and clubs were all turning up the volume, this mixed in with people noise and traffic - so, needless to say we didn't sleep much!!

Today we asked for another room and were kindly moved to the back of the hotel which seems much quieter so hopefully we'll get some sleep tonight. This is our only full day in the city, we had prioritized our time with other hot spots further north and cities aren't really our thing, also, there doesn't seem to be a huge amount to see here. So, we had a walk around and hopped, skipped and jumped our way through the traffic finding another veggie restaurant for food - over the last few months there has been very little choice for Emma on menus so I was quite happy to find veggie places in the city, luckily this restaurant was very nice - I just had to pick the tofu out 😛

Back to our quieter room now, alarm is set for 05:20. We have an early flight to Danang then transfer to Hoi An which we're both looking forward to 😊

Blown off the bikes!!!!!

emmaandsarah — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 00:11:00 GMT

Our last full day on the island and we decided to chill - catching up on emails, downloading photos, washing clothes, a little walk along the beach etc.

We were told you could see the sunset from a beach on the western side of the island when we first checked in and so towards the end of the day we decided to cycle around the edge of the island (instead of trekking over the big mountain) to see the sunset. So off we went, unfortunately another long slow incline but that was nothing - as we rounded the headland the wind was whipping around and we suddenly became aware of just how windy it was that side! We decided that we found the beach - according to our map, although it was a grassy verge off the road (we later read that the beach is only seen at low tide), so we laid the bikes down - before they fell down in the wind, and walked down onto the outstretched grass and found a large rock to sit on and see the sunset - luckily it was just the 2 of us (i think no-one else was crazy enough to sit in that wind, although there was another couple that came by taxi - they stepped out, snapped there sunset photo and jumped back into the comfort of the taxi before the sunset!). The wind was so strong you could see the spray sweeping across the sea as it whipped up and there was a low haze of sea spray as we looked on to the sun setting. As soon as the sun went, Emma said 'right, let's go!'..........We had limited time before complete darkness - and our bungalow was the other side of the island which would be even darker. We were fairly sensible and took our head torches, so they went on - me at the front with front white head torch and Emma at the back with torch at the back and red - fairly good plan! We started off cycling but soon the wind became too strong and the gusts brought us both to a stop! We started to get a bit concerned, it was getting dark, very windy and the road hugged the island so we were looking down onto the sea as it climbed and the sharp corners meant we couldn't see what was coming and they wouldn't see us - oh and the electricity cables above us were being blown onto each other and started to spark occasionally!! Anyway! We hoped back on the bikes when we could and a few times approaching sharp corners were once again literally blown off the bikes! After a while we managed to get further down the road on our side of the island which became more protected and we carefully made our way back down ...........with those very dodgy breaks again!!!! 😕. We were both glad to get back to our bungalow and cracked open a cold beer!!!!

Dam Trau Beach.......paradise with sand flies!

emmaandsarah — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 23:45:00 GMT

Decided to head to a beach on the southern side of the island, we were told that although it was only 12 km away the road was steep, windy and judging by the mix of words and hand gestures unsafe for cycling to. Our option was to go by car or motorbike....... We thought we would brave a motorbike although neither of us had the first clue how to start it! When the guy realised we hadn't ridden he looked slightly panic stricken and said too dangerous as strong wind & our inexperience would probably mean we would come off the road & plunge into the sea (this again was through broken english/Vietnamese & hand gestures!!). We opted to be driven to the beach, so finally we left in the safety of a car. The beach was stunning (those on Facebook would have seen the picture & mum I emailed it to you 😀) and only 2 others shared it with us for at least two hours. We grabbed a couple of deck Chairs and admired the view, when we got too hot we went for a swim in the cool turquoise water. By lunch time we were ready for food and there was a food shack that did fresh seafood and beer......well we had to try it really. So we ordered barbecued prawns, crab and beer (I tried not to think about how the prawns had been caught, the coral reefs around here are supposed to be stunning) 😀. After 5 hours on a stunning beach we found the sand flies were biting and we were getting too hot, so we dragged ourselves away and were driven back to our little bungalow.

Cycling, trekking, monkey's & our 1st swim in the sea

emmaandsarah — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 14:25:00 GMT

An early ish start we hired a few bicycles and set off with a map and a few directions to the national park of Con Dao Island. After about 1/2 an hr we found the ticket office for the national park and were given our free tickets 😊 then carried on another 10 mins to the bottom of 1 of the mountains, leaving our bikes and setting off into the rain forest to So Ray Plantation. We followed a rough path up, through dense and very humid forest, hearing wildlife around us but not able to see anything, which was a bit eerie 😮 It only took us just under an hour to reach the old plantation where we found some disused buildings and a look out tower which we went up to giving us views onto the town and southern part of the island. After a little rest and water we headed back down and started spotting the wildlife around us which included a few lizards that were about a foot long with a reddish under belly and 'The Black Giant Squirrel' which at first I thought was a monkey! Further down we heard some bigger rustling in the forest and louder noises, we waited for a while and then we saw a few monkeys coming out from the forest followed by the rest of their big family which turned out to be about 14 with baby monkey's!! 🙉😀 They happily grazed on the leaves right in front of us, climbed the trees, slept and the little ones played - it was amazing! After about 20 minutes we forced ourselves to leave them and carried on back down to find our bikes.

Back on our bikes we headed on to the other side of the island to find Ong Dung beach. Unfortunately most of it was up hill which became exhausting in the heat, well for me and ended up walking a little bit - Emma carried on a bit more before giving in to a walk! Anyway, we got to the top of the beach and made our way down several steps and found a big shallow stoney bay to ourselves with a hut and bench under the trees where we had our picnic. Unfortunately by the hut there was a small tank with a turtle in - there was a little note on the tank saying it was called lucky because it was born deformed with 5 flippers. So they 'saved' the turtle and were keeping it safe in the tank - hmmmm, I'd say that's not so lucky! 😞 If it wasn't for a few locals in the hut I would have been very tempted to get the poor thing out and put back in the sea and let nature take its path. Anyway, we had a little paddle then back on our bikes - downhill this time with dodgy breaks!!!!!😕

We returned safely back to our bungalow and went into the sea for our first sea swim of the trip 😀 Cool, but not cold, very nice! It's very windy on this island so the sea on our side was a little rough but good fun to play in for a bit. A great end to a super day 😀

Good Morning Vietnam!

emmaandsarah — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 00:42:00 GMT

Arrived in Ho Chi Minh and stayed in a hotel next to the airport. The room was cheap but didn't expect it to come with cobwebs and black mould, Sarah had a word and we were given a room in the new part of the hotel, which was much better 😀. We spent the afternoon searching for somewhere to eat and planning our time in Vietnam.

The next day we headed back to the airport and flew to Can Dao Island. We finally made it to an island and no traumatic boat journeys this time just a pleasant hours flight! We're staying in a triangle shaped bungalow with a sea view 😀. The island is quiet, with lots of mountains and beautiful turquoise sea, unfortunately it's winter here (the temperature has dropped to a meer 26-30 degrees!) so its very windy with rough seas which means no boat trips or snorkelling for us. We finished the day with a short walk across the road to a local Vietnamese restaurant the receptionist suggested. It was kind of like a small open warehouse, with plastic chairs, strip lights and a line of tanks with various fish waiting to be picked for someone's dinner! We played safe with seafood noodles and rice - avoiding the fish head hot pot, sea snake & snails.....not a place we want to go back to!

On our second day we explored the small town of Can Dao, found the local market and stocked up on fresh fruit then headed to the local shop and brought picnic provisions to go with the fruit😀. We then spent the afternoon learning about the islands history at the museum, looking around the old prison buildings and tiger cages. The island might be beautiful but it has a dark and sad history.

Last day in Cambodia!!!!

emmaandsarah — Thu, 8 Jan 2015 19:30:00 GMT

Our last day here!!! I can't believe we've been traveling through Cambodia for a month now, it's certainly had it's ups and downs, but we've both had an amazing time and experiences we'll never forget!

Anyway, last day wouldn't be the same without some kind of 5am wake-up call!! We've had calls to prayer in Kampot echoing all around at 5am directly followed on by wedding music/chanting/singing through very loud speakers and of course cockerels, which have been every morning....today we had the wedding mixed in with cockerels!!!!

So a fairly early start we had arranged for a Tuk Tuk to pick us up to go out to 2 of the temples further a field; Banteay Srei and Kbal Spean. After about an hour we arrived at Banteay Srei, unfortunately just as a few coaches pulled in - not much escaping the crowds for us! This was a sweet little temple that was said to be engraved by women as the work is so fine & intricate. Our camera decided to give up on us and we didn't have our other one with us! - hopefully we'll get it to work again. We then went on to Kbal Spean which was much quieter 😊 It was a 1500 metre walk to the top through a thankfully shaded rocky path under the trees and lovely spiral vines that hang down with some wrapping themselves around tree trunks. We arrived at the top to see the engraved stone riverbed and followed it down to a little waterfall which was beautiful, with the vines and trees overhanging, butterflies and dragonflies dancing over the top of the water 😊 ........no swimming in this 1 though, nowhere near enough water!

We have arrived back late afternoon for some chill time, food, drinks, email updates etc and last visit through the markets 😊

We have an early flight tomorrow to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: our last country and last month!!!

Temples of Angkor!

emmaandsarah — Wed, 7 Jan 2015 18:10:00 GMT

Day one

We hired a mountain bike each and after breakfast we cycled from Siem Reap along some insane roads (they drive on the right here but sometimes they choose to drive against traffic on the left!!!) to the angkor temple complex (8km). We arrived at the impressive Angkor Wat first but had decided on an alternative Angkorian exploration to try and avoid the tour groups, so left Angkor wat behind and headed straight for the Angkor Thom complex with bayon at its centre. It was amazing every stone was carved or inscribed and the huge four sided faces were stunning (There are 54 gothic towers, each decorated with 4 huge faces, 216 in total).We were still surrounded by other tourists, annoying as it was we knew no temple was going to be empty. Before heading on we explored phimeanakas temple, the terrace of elephants and a few other small temples.

Heading out of the east gate we carried on to Ta Prohm temple, one of the most well known tree temples in the complex. This temple was commissioned in 1186 AD by king jayavarman VII and dedicated to his mother. We were too late....... the tour buses had descended, we found a few quiet corners and I scrambled up some piles of ruins to find some great views but soon found others following me (grrrrr). The trees growing out of the walls were impressive and Sarah couldn't resist the odd Lara croft pose. Hot and tired we headed on to Sra Srang, once the royal bathing pools. We were hoping for a lovely view over a huge pool but unfortunately it had been left to the elements, the water was stagnant and the stone walls and statues ruined beyond recognition. We didn't stop long, deciding instead to head to Angkor wat for sunset. The circuit completed we had done 17km in the 35 degree (and high humidity) afternoon heat. We made it into Angkor Wat and found a shady spot to sit, rest & rehydrate. The complex looked daunting and we were both exhausted and knew we still had a half hour ride back so reluctantly we decided to leave exploring Angkor Wat until the next day, hopefully refreshed enough to enjoy it more.

Day two

430 am alarm call, left at 5am and cycled in the dark from Siem Reap back to the temple complex, again we wanted to avoid the worst of the tour bus traffic so instead of sunrise at Angkor Wat with thousands of others we carried on past it to Phnom Bakheng. A hill temple built by Silverman I (889-910), it has 5 tiers and 7 levels. We climbed the hill by torch light to find only a few other spectators and a quiet peaceful atmosphere. It was a cloudy morning so sunrise wasn't the spectacular seen in photographs but it was beautiful and atmosperic, well worth the early start.

From Phnom Bakheng we headed through the Angkor Thom complex with a brief stop for photos in the early morning light and left as everyone else was arriving. This time we headed out the north gate and straight for Preah Khan, one of the largest complexes at Angkor. While still quiet we explored in the morning light, again very beautiful in a tumbled down sort of way with tree-walls, vines, stone carvings and inscriptions but we were beginning to feel a bit 'templed out'. We pushed on to Preah Neak Poan a water temple built in the late 12th century by Jayavarman VII. We followed a sodden walk way through a flooded forest which was quite eerie to the temple......not impressive more stagnant water and a lot of imagination needed, I'm sure it was amazing in its day. Apparently theirs rumours that when the Angkor casino is eventually but inevitably developed at las Vegas, Preah Neak Poan will provide the blue print for the ultimate swimming complex!!

Next up Ta Som and then on to Pre Rup, famed for its sunset views. It was amazing, built from a reddish brick in a pyramid form with many mini temples on each layer, I can imagine it would make for a stunning sunset......but not for us. Back on the bikes we headed past Sra Srang and finished the circuit at Angkor Wat. Today's circuit was 25km again in high heat and humidity so after a quick stop for some much needed lunch (our breakfast of cheesy Pringles hadn't lasted long) we finally braved Angkor Wat, it was staggering. Out of all of the temple Angkor Wat has never been abandoned to the elements and has been in nearly continuous use since it was built and it shows. It was in much better condition than any other temple and the grounds were immaculate. We managed an hour of exploring before giving into exhaustion, we found a shady spot and a cold drink for a quick rest before saying goodbye to the temple complex and slowly cycling back to Siem Reap.

Day Three

After an amazing but exhausting two days of cycling the temples today is a rest day. We planned a lie-in but as its wedding season here a local family chose today to start the wedding celebrations.....at 5am with a loud speaker and very loud music as is tradition!!!!! Apparently the music is loud to let the town know and as an invitation, sending out invites might be the way forward 😕. We headed out for breakfast and stumbled on a fab cafe that did the best cooked breakfast since we left home and I had a soya latte....yay 😀😀. Fuelled and ready we headed to the markets for more hassle and bargaining! By mid afternoon we were ready for a rest and took cover in a cafe with iced fruit shakes. The rest of the day holds more exploring of markets and little lanes to see what bargains can be had 😀. Tomorrow more temples but this time by Tuk Tuk further out of town in the jungle.

new years day, then back to Phnom Penh

emmaandsarah — Wed, 7 Jan 2015 17:36:00 GMT

We had a lovely relaxed new years day. Chilling in our bungalow admiring the view and playing cards! We finally dragged ourselves out in the afternoon and walked along the dusty road to another eco guest house which had an amazing menu 😀. We ate and enjoyed the quiet cool surroundings, had a cheeky ice cream and then headed back to our bungalow to watch a stunning sunset. A fantastic start to 2015.

The next day we took a Tuk Tuk to the bus station and a bus back to Phnom Penh......only 4 hours this time, still had very little leg room and crammed on the back row but getting used to the interesting bus journeys. Stayed in Phnom Penh for 2 nights in a guesthouse with a swimming pool. We did a bit more exploring and sampled some lovely cocktails at the foreign correspondents club (fcc) 😀 before catching the early boat over tonle sap lake to siem reap on Sunday.

The boat journey was a calm one this time, we could get up & walk around so the 6 hours went quiet quickly and we went past lots of floating villages. It was a half hour Tuk Tuk ride to siem reap from the boat harbour along more very dusty roads. After a quick freshen up at our guesthouse armed with a map we headed out to explore the town. We found the main area, the night markets and 'pub' street! It was insane Tuk tuk drivers everywhere hassling for a ride and the lady's on the market stalls all shouting for business. We thought Morocco was bad but here even the young kids are hassling you at every turn. We found a cafe for a rest before heading exhausted back to the guesthouse.

Kampot and Eden Eco Village

emmaandsarah — Thu, 1 Jan 2015 15:15:00 GMT

We had seen Eden Eco Village advertised in the Sihanoukville local guide whilst we were in our hotel and emailed to book 1 of their bungalows/huts by the river. They were all booked (they only have 6) so we had their tall hut just set back from the river for 5 nights and went on to a riverside bungalow for a further 2.

Eden Eco Village is a small place a 30 minute bike ride from town along a very dusty road. It uses solar panels, compost toilets and recycles - which is very rare around here! The huts have no electric points and therefore no fan or a/c which didn't take long to miss - we would have a cold shower and once we had dried off would start sweating again!!

Over this last week we have been taking it easy....ish. We took the small boat across the river with bikes and cycled to the local spa where we both took part in yoga, Emma had her nails done and I had a massage. We were able to relax on their big overhanging deck looking onto the river and had some lovely smoothies and lunch before cycling back and calling our boat back with a 'whoop woop'! - It's a very small wooden boat with a lady standing in the middle as she rows across.

We also also had a Stand-up paddleboarding/SUP lesson which was very cool. We paddled through the mangroves then back out onto the main river - and neither of us feel in! 😊 .....something else to save for when we get back!!

We cycled into town 1 day and by the time we got to a cafe that had good reviews we were covered in red dust! But washed off a bit in their toilets and lazed there for 1/2 a day chilling and eating before cycling back along the dusty road.

Kampot is famous for its pepper and as I love pepper so much I thought we should visit the local pepper plantation. We agreed $17 for a Tuk Tuk to take us there and back (45 minutes each way). The pepper plant naturally climbs up trees, but in farming it they use brick towers to get more growth. Black, red and white pepper all come from the same plant but the colour varies due to the treatment of the pepper. Anyway, we tried some fresh off the plant which was very spicy and bought a few packs of pepper to take back home.

Our last day now at Eden and in Kampot and we are chilling in our riverside bungalow. We have our own little deck, a hammock and steps down into the river so we can swim off from 😀 .....although the owner said a few days ago she saw a 3 meter long snake swimming in the river 😮 ......We've been in already luckily but if I go in again I may try to put that to the back of my mind!!!!

We spent new years eve relaxing in our riverside bungalow with a few beers and a bottle of wine, watching the fireflies flit around and splashing the water to see the phosphorescent glow!

This brings our blog up to date again so Happy New Year everyone!!!!!! We miss you all, hope you're all well and very best wishes for 2015!!! Lots of love xxxxx

....and then we had food poisoning!!

emmaandsarah — Thu, 1 Jan 2015 14:50:00 GMT

The next day following on from the terrifying boat trip we decided to chill, have a swim in our hotels pool and make a new plan for the new year. After deciding to spend new year in a town called kampot & sorting accommodation we walked towards town for food and booked our bus ticket to Kampot - 2 hours east of where we were for 4 days time. We stepped back out into town and Emma said 'Do you mind if we go back to the hotel?', straight away I agreed (normally a good move anyway!) As I had started to feel dodgy. As we walked back we realised both of us were suddenly not feeling good at all. Luckily we made it back to our room in time and without going into too much detail we both were emptying our entire digestive system and all the bile we had in us over the next 12 hours.....and somehow almost managed to do this alternating toilet use!!!! I have never felt so bad!!!

We realised this wasn't just an upset tummy and when we started to keep down water we started to take antibiotics that we brought with us for bacterial gut infections. Over the next 3 days (over Christmas) all we could do was lay in bed, try and hydrate on nasty rehydration sachets and slowly started to eat little bits of food. Also, luckily we had a tv and I found a channel & we watched the last 1/2 of frozen which cheered us both up 😉 - simple things!!!

In a way we were lucky to have been where we were: a clean hotel with all the toilet facilities we needed and staff that brought us water, coke, food and toilet roll!!!

The morning our bus picked us up we were just starting to feel normal, we had a bit of energy and were safe to travel!!!!!

With no good memories and no photos we left sihanoukville or shitty-Nouk-Ville as we had named it, ready for a fresh start.

Sihanoukville and the worst ferry crossing ever!

emmaandsarah — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 15:56:00 GMT

So, the plan was to stay in Sihanoukville just for 1 night then go the next morning to our beach side hut with hammock on Koh Rong Samloem: a quieter beautiful island a 2 hour ride away from the mainland of southern Cambodia, for a week over Christmas.

Well, Sihanoukville itself was slightly worse than we thought. We knew it would be touristy - hence just 1 night stop over, but you couldn't sit down on the beach without getting hassled to buy something, which was a real shame because the Sea was gorgeous. Anyway, we booked our ferry for the following day and grabbed some food after a brief walk about.

We arrived early the next morning on the pier, there were about 25 of us heading to the island on a small 'speed ferry'. As we were getting on the French manager of the boat said its going to be an uncomfortable crossing as there are big waves today, followed by ' but this is normal for this time of year' - kind of took it with a pinch of salt thinking, yeah, yeah, that's fine, I love the sea and waves! After half an hour it started to get bumpy, people were getting soaked, water was around our feet washing up and down with the boat, then as we finally came in to the big bay of the island the captain was riding in with the waves and as I looked at the back of the boat sometimes all I could see was a wall of water. Everyone was so relieved to get there but as we tried to come along beside a wooden pier it became clear this was gonna be tricky. We were a good 2 metres away from the pier and rising and falling away from it just as much with the waves coming in. The locals got a big wooden plank board and for a few seconds at a time it stayed in contact with the boat and the pier, about 4 people took the leap of faith across with small rucksack but eventually our boat manager called it and thankfully said it was to dangerous! - you think?!!! Realisation kicked in when she said we'll have to go back, half the remaining people on the boat kicked off and said there's no way they were gonna go through that again, so she stepped up and announced 'I am the manager of this boat, you can jump off and swim to the beach at the risk of your lives but we're going back!'. I love swimming in the sea but with our luggage thought it might be tricky.......We were going back as did everyone else......shit!!!!! Emma and I were luckily at the back - quick escape if need be! I soon got drenched as the little plastic sheet that acted as a window came loose and the mass amounts of spray poured in. Back through the waves we were climbing up then came slapping back down, people started throwing up then it got a bit scarier and they were asking for their life jackets, the manager held on whilst pulling a few down from the top, then I got scared enough to stand up and grab a few for both of us, it was pretty terrifying, almost waiting for it to capsize, I left my rucksack and decided to hold on to seats instead although they started coming away from the floor as we rocked, Emma was started crying and although I tried to smile and tap her leg I couldn't say it's gonna be alright.

Anyway!!! It started getting calmer and my white knuckles started to release their grip, we got back to the pier we had left about 5 hours later, shaken and soaked!! We were met by another lady in charge of these boats being very apologetic and explaining the other 2 boats that left that morning turned back after 1/2 way, 1 had a window smash in and chairs pulled away from flooring......great, so we carried on because???!!!???

Anyway! We were refunded and both agreed we were not going to attempt to return to the island and so we had to realise we weren't going to be on our dream island over Christmas that we had booked for the week!

We found a hotel in town and booked up to see us through the busy Christmas period. We knew things wouldn't run smoothly throughout this trip, but that was scary and a real blow! Hey hoh, we had somewhere to stay, got food, showered and chilled!!!!

Phnom Penh, The Royal Palace and The Killing Fields

emmaandsarah — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 11:30:00 GMT

We left Sen Monorom early on a much nicer bus than the 1 we came in on (with twice as many that should have been, the chickens etc!) And we even had our own seat!! We shared a Tuk Tuk with some friends we had made at the elephant valley project who were also coming into Phnom Penh and went straight to our booked guesthouse.

We were pretty knackered and both felt rubbish, so only slept and went out for food in the evening.

The next day we were refreshed and walked to Wat Phnom (hill temple): legend is in 1373 a lady called Penh found 4 floating Buddha statues in the Mekong and had this built to house them, hence the cities name; Phnom Penh.

We also had a visit around the royal palace. It was very well kept with impressive Khmer roofs, temples and stupas, and again, lots of Buddha's.

The following day we set out fairly early, to visit Choeung-Ek (the killing fields) and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, not one of those things you look forward to, but something we felt we should do. First stop was Choeung-Ek, about a 30 minute Tuk Tuk drive away from the city, 1 of the 300 killing fields in Cambodia. We were given our self guided audio tour which was narrated by 1 of the very few survivors and walked around the grave sites/pits where Cambodians (all: men, women, children and babies) were bludgeoned to death by there own people and pushed into mass graves. I was vaguely aware of what had happened, Emma was more informed (standard!) That this was all part of Pol Pots Khmer Rouge regime (1975 - 1979), not even that long ago! There is now a tall memorial stupa here with glass walls where 9,000 skulls of the victims are stacked. I can't find words to describe how this all made me feel. We finished our trip at the Genocide Museum: an old school that had been turned into a prison and torture rooms. There were photographs and drawings of victims and events here, again, horrendous.

We went back to the city and spent the rest of the day walking along the riverside with a trip to the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) for a cocktail, before heading back to pack for our early morning bus ride to Sihanoukville - the Sea!

The Elephant Valley Project, Sen Monorom, Cambodia

emmaandsarah — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 20:25:00 GMT

We booked 2 days at the project to watch the elephants in their natural habitat (no riding!) and get stuck in and help out as volunteers.

Early starts took our group of about 10 out into the projects rented part of the forest. Our first day we spent the morning following a group of 4 elephants, watching them bath in a pool in part of the river, then walking up the mountain through the dense forest - I didn't realise elephants are so nimble. Watching them bathe we realised that these elephants had to relearn their natural behaviour from being captured at a young age for overwork in the logging industry. 2 of them got straight into the pool and were happily lying on their sides with trunks coming out occasionally to breath, whilst the other 2 had to be washed by their mahouts. We followed them for a few hours, keeping our advised 5 metres distance as they ate their way through bamboo bushes. After lunch we were put to work with hoes and machete knives. Emma and I were given knives and asked to cut down weeds growing around the banana trees. After an hour we were sweating and had both already collected several blisters on our hands...and I had made some very big reddish ants unhappy as they started crawling up the knife and my trousers with 1 attaching its pincer things to the end of my finger!!!! - it was a determined little bugger and took a few attempts to get it off!! Anyway, we had done our bit, back for dinner, cold showers in a blackout from power cuts and sleep.

Day 2: We were put straight to work with our morning job to cut down banana trees that had already fruited and trees that had bunches of bananas ready for the elephants to eat.

Fact of the day: It can take up to 2 years for a banana tree to grow 1 bunch of bananas, then that's it, it has to be chopped down for the process to start again!!! Appreciate those bananas!!

Anyway, this was much more fun then the previous day and we forgot about our blisters popping and got on with it!! We both had turns in chopping the juicy trees down and then cutting them into sections to carry and pile up - ready to be taken to some of the elephants that weren't getting enough calories. This was a great satisfying job 😊

After lunch we had our last afternoon following a different group of elephants in another area of their forest. Just 2 of them this time. We sat on some rocks on a river and watched them bath and get scrubbed down by their mahouts below us in a little pool. Then out to eat the banana trees and bamboo. It was much more open here so we watched them without having to scramble through trees and bushes. We were asked if we wanted to stroke them - as these were much more placid then the others we had followed the previous day. We both went up and separately stroked the elephants tough skin on its side whilst it ate its way through bamboo keeping an eye on us!!

So despite lots of blisters, aching muscles and Emma's had a cold, we absolutely loved our 2 days observing the elephants and helping out a great project. 😊

How many can you fit on a bus?!

emmaandsarah — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 21:54:00 GMT

After promises of a seat each, air con & no stops we got on the bus to find the isles and foot wells crammed with bags of rice! Grabbed a seat at the back and hoped for a not so full bus! We then set off stopping every 10 mins to pick up more people. Our bus had about 20 seats plus 4 pop up seats in the isle.....At every stop we thought you can't fit more on, but they did......40 people, 2 live chickens tied together and a baby in arms later accompanied by their weekly shopping & luggage! Lots of stops & over 5 hours later we arrived in Sen monorom! We were dropped off in the middle of a busy, dusty street but we managed to get some directions to the guesthouse we had booked with the elephant valley project and found it. We were shown to our room for the next 3 nights: small, a bit dark with green walls and Ben 10 blankets, oh and a small bathroom with the shower literally over the toilet! But hey, it's clean ish and we're only sleeping there!!

Found heffalump cafe & felt we had to test their lemon passionfruit cheese cake & the chocolate cake with some locally grown coffee.....amazing, made the bus ride seem worth while. Have 2 days to recover before the next bus ride on Thursday to Phnom Penh. Not looking forward to the 5 hour (hopefully) bus ride or the museum's of the country's history we're going to in Phnom Penh but we can't not.

Anyway, our 2 days at the Elephant Valley Project starts tomorrow..... 😊

Cambodia!

emmaandsarah — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 01:06:00 GMT

Hello Cambodia we are pleased to have made it!

What a day......we started the day at 8 waiting for a boat to take us to our bus.......as with everything in Laos it happens when it happens. Got on the boat about 0830 after much to-ing and throwing, stopped to pick up another couple on the way and headed back to the main land for our bus. We were told to follow the road, 'bus down there' (helpful!) So made our way back to the bus park where we had been dropped off at only to be told to go back the way we came 'bus on left' (equally useful) eventually found it showed our scrap of paper & we're given 2 bus tickets. Then we waited.......and waited, we were given visa forms for Cambodia & told to fill out & give him $40 and our passports so they could get our Vista's for us.....hmmmm yeah right, didn't want to let our passports out of our sight so declined & said we would do it ourselves at the border (not sure it went down too well).

Bus eventually turned up at 1030..... and everyone piled on, after several ticket checks much confusion and more ticket checks we set off. It was a bumpy and dusty ride, with roads still being laid in some places. We got through the border & managed to get our visas fairly easily ourselves without any demands for bribes - Amazing! Then back on the bumpy road....this time more confusion & those heading for siem reap were told the 'new' road was closed and they had to stay in the bus for a much longer detour that would mean them arriving in the early hours of the morning.....not happy customers and sad to say this happens a lot with people being told they will be using the new fast road then oh no sorry you have a 14 hour journey ahead of you. We happily arrived in Kratie after only 5 hours on the bus, still nearly 3 hours later than the promised time! Oh well we made it to Cambodia, our guesthouse is a dump but can't complain for $6 a night, let's hope the bed bugs don't bite! Off to Sen monorom first thing in the morning then on to the elephant valley sanctuary 😊😊.

Sabaidee!!

emmaandsarah — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 19:54:00 GMT

...hello in Lao...We are learning a few words, although this is our last day in Lao so we'll have to learn some new words for Cambodia next!

We headed out fairly early (not too early, it is a holiday after all!) To the other waterfalls on our little island to try and get there before it got too hot. There was a huge series of rapids and waterfalls, I think too dangerous for a bit of white water kayaking and unfortunately too dangerous to swim in, even the little flat bits had strong currents in. The first waterfall led on to a little beach which looked lovely but it was way to hot for sitting on the beach (no shade) and very frustrating seeing the water but not being able to swim! So we dipped our feet and headed on to another beach we had heard about. This beach was a bit larger but had no shade and although the guide book had mentioned swimming here we could see a lot of currents & didn't want to risk it.......so no swim for us today 😖.

Back to our little wooden lodge by midday, shower, chill then we both had a Lao massage which was nice, but I couldn't help but think 'you need to be working to the heart not away, watch your wrists, less lotion, more pressure...' but was good to have a rub down and a little stretch. I've also braved a little haircut....for 80p!!!! - Emma refused to cut my hair so I took the risk and think it's all ok, no worse than usual!!

Plan is to take a boat and bus ride into Cambodia to Kratie tomorrow then onto the elephant valley project for a few days before heading to pnom phen and then Angkor wat (for Christmas). Hopefully we'll stay out of the typhoons way as we're not planning on heading to Vietnam for another month!!

Love to all you guys xxxx