Itchy Feet

Bangkok Again

ymoughton — Sat, 8 Aug 2015 23:00:00 GMT

We headed back to Bangkok for a couple of days before our flight to London departed on the 6th. We stayed at the same place we had all those weeks ago at the beginning of our trip and met up with another Thai Intro group being led by Adam. That evening we went out clubbing with them all on Khao San Road just as we had on our second night in Bangkok and reminisced about our first week with Thai Intro.

The next day we slept in for half the day and decided that Full Moon and more clubbing had killed us - time to stay off the alcohol for 5 days and let our bodies recover before the week long festival we're going to in Budapest! We did a bit of present shopping in the afternoon before meeting up with Huub to go to the Sky Bar, 64 floors up at the top of the hotel where 'The Hangover 2' was filmed. I can see why the producers chose that location to film from as the views are stunning. It was nice to see a different side to Bangkok (upper class swanky rather than hippie traveller) however our budget's were certainly more suited to the hostel, street food scene. Having spent way more than we budgeted for the whole trip our pockets were tight for the last few days so we just had the one cocktail each!

On our last day we ventured out to the market for more shopping and wandered around taking in the atmosphere. That evening we met up with my flatmate from Uni, Margaux, who had just landed in Bangkok to start her month of travels. We had the most delicious yellow curry for dinner and toasted her first and our last night of our travels. Afterwards we went to the spa to use up the rest of our Thai Baht and had a pedicure and foot scrub.

Travelling is the best thing I've ever done and I've had the time of my life over the last 9 weeks meeting great people and seeing amazing places. I certainly have the travel bug and am itching to go again!

Y x

Koh Phangan Full Moon Party

ymoughton — Mon, 3 Aug 2015 22:29:00 GMT

Vicky and I decided that we wanted to have a few 'holiday' days at the end of the trip so splashed out on a private beach hut with air con and a hammock on the balcony - all for £10 a night each! As you walk down the steps of the beach hut you are straight on the secluded private beach, paradise.

After missing the Full Moon first time round we came back to Koh Phangan for 4 days to experience the madness - 40,000 people descending on Haadrin beach for a massive party!

We arrived in Koh Phangan after waking up at 4.30am to get the first ferry over. The weather was cloudy so we went shopping to pick up some UV paint and Full Moon tops. When we got back we sunbathed for a little bit and chilled in the hammock reading our books.

The night before the Full Moon is a big party called the Jungle Party. We got ready and went to another hostel to pre drink and met up with James, Alec, Sam and Bianca from Vietnam. It was some sort of Holy day in Thailand which meant they weren't supposed to be selling alcohol until midnight so every time the police came past we all had to hide our drinks and turn off the music. Just after midnight we all headed up to the jungle where the queue for tickets and to get in was crazy. Everyone was pushing and shoving, it was chaos. Thank god we were with the boys as they protected us a bit from the crowd and made sure we made it in in one piece! The party inside was just as crazy as the queue outside. We went to the front of the crowd to 'dance' but we could hardly move and then Vicky and I managed to get up on the platform so were able to dance more. We partied until about 5am and then piled into taxis home.

For most of the next day Vicky and I nursed our hangovers in the hammock and slept for most of the day. We woke up at half 7 in the evening and got ready for the Full Moon party. When we got to the beach we went up on a balcony to see it from above and I've never seen anything like it. The whole beach was packed (think The Mall in London on the Royal Wedding) with a big dance stage in the middle and different DJ's playing all along the beach. By an absolute miracle Vicky and I managed to find George and Huub (from Vietnam) and danced/drank all night (we reckoned we consumed between 25 and 30 units each - my poor liver!). At one stage in the night Vicky and I made friends with 2 guys called Ben and spent a good hour or 2 dancing on their shoulders while the sun came up. We continued partying on the beach until 10am with the last of the party-goers when the music was turned off and we had to go home. We collapsed into bed and didn't wake up until 5.30pm when we went for breakfast. Our hangovers were unreal but it was so worth it, definitely one of the best nights I've ever had!

Y x

Phnom Penh

ymoughton — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 21:37:00 GMT

One thing that really bugs me about travelling is getting hounded by tuk tuk/motorbike/taxi drivers as soon as you get off the bus in a new place. They are like bees round a honey pot and don't like to take no for an answer. Even though the likelihood is that we do need some sort of transportation to get to the hostel, the stubborness in me begrudges feeling forced to take their service so we wander down the road a bit further and choose our own tuk tuk/taxi.

After a full day of travelling from Sihanoukville we were quite tired so had dinner and went to bed - not easy when your dorm is next to the hostel bar!

With only one day to spend in Phnom Penh we went to the killing fields and the S-21 prison. Both were horrific. The two of us barely said a word to each other during the audio tour of the killing fields as we listened to the horrors and were stunned into silence. The fact that such atrocities happened not that long ago and those responsible had only started being prosecuted in 2009 is awful. The worst part for me was the 'killing tree' which was discovered with blood and brains all over it as the Khmer Rouge murdered babies by whacking their heads against the tree. There are still bones etc being discovered and you can see fragments of them still on the ground as you walk round. The tour concludes with the Memorial Stupa which is full of skulls colour coded by how they were killed.

Just as we were leaving the heavens opened and there was a thunderstorm which lasted for hours. We got back in the tuk tuk and drove to the next stop, the S-21 Torture Prison. This place was originally a high school which makes it all the more eerie - it feels like a prison but it also feels like a high school. It certainly gave me the chills to wander round seeing pictures and reading about the horrific ways in which they tortured the innocent prisoners. In total 3 million out of a population of 8 million Cambodians were killed under Pol Pot's regime.

Y x

Koh Rong

ymoughton — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 22:14:00 GMT

This is the most stunning island I have ever seen. The water is crystal clear and the sand bright white - utter paradise. Life really couldn't get any better!

We arrived on the island after a vom inducing speed boat ride with an awful hangover and wandered round looking for a place to stay. We settled on a beach bungalow (the hostels really were terrible) with a balcony, a bathroom, a fan (no air con on the island anywhere!) and best of all 2 double beds!

We spent the day on the beach taking in the gorgeous scenery and then I treated myself to an Aloe Vera massage in the evening. We went for dinner with 2 girls we had met to a place called Sigi's that other backpackers had told us about. It was basically just a shack and one guy, Sigi, who cooks your meal to order right there and then as if it were his kitchen at home. When we arrived the place was rammed so we had to wait a while for our food but it was definitely worth the wait, so delicious!

We wanted to spend the day at Long Beach the next day so arranged a taxi boat to take us over there and bring us back. The plan was for the boat to drop us at the beach and wait until sunset and then bring us back. Naively we paid the return trip up front. The boat dropped us at one end of the beach and we were told there were restaurants at the other end where we could get some lunch and water. It didn't look too far so we started walking along the most beautiful, quiet beach. Well, Long Beach was bloody long! It took us an hour and 40 minutes to walk the 7km beach to get to the restaurant - the only thing on the beach. The sun was blazing down and I could feel myself burning the whole way even though I kept topping up my suncream. When we finally made it to the restaurant desperate for water they said they had only one large bottle left! We sat down, glugged the water and ordered some lunch. I got a cold flannel and sat there with it pressed to my face to try and calm down my sunburn.

Once we had cooled down a bit and hydrated we were able to appreciate just how gorgeous the beach was. With only us and 5 other people on the whole beach it really was lush. After lunch we swam a bit and relaxed in the shade. As the sun was setting we realised that we need to make it back to the boat but it was going to take too long to walk. There was a tiny fisherman's village in the distance so we walked there and asked if they would take us back to our boat - obviously for a hefty fee. The journey took longer than expected and by the time we got back to where our boat was supposed to be it was dark and there were no boats to be seen. For another hefty fee we convinced the fishermen (2 ten year olds who Captained the boat!) to take us back to the main beach where we were staying. Thankfully we made it back safely and had some much needed Gin and tonics!

Unfortunately we were only able to spend 2 days here but I'll definitely be going back one day. At the moment the island is pretty much untouched except for a small number of restaurants and hostels/bungalows but there are no roads and the island is pretty basic. Sadly they are already starting to build more so in a few years time Koh Rong probably won't be so unique. At least we were lucky enough to experience the island like it is now.

Y x

Sihanoukville

ymoughton — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 15:42:00 GMT

After another fun overnight bus where I got loads of sleep (not - the air con was broken and dripped on me the whole night so I was freezing cold and soaking wet) we arrived in Sihanoukville and went straight for a nap.

There isn't all that much to see in Sihanoukville, it's mainly just a backpacker place on the beach, so we spent all day by the pool chatting to other backpackers. I did actually do some lengths in the pool after realising how badly we've been eating recently!

I had finally finished my course of antibiotics so we had a big night out that night. We bumped into a girl we met in Mui Ne in the bar and then the barman let me make our cocktails - it didn't go that well... Having had a few drinks by then I was excitedly making the cocktail and then it came to shaking it which I did while dancing to the song - only I hadn't held the top on properly so shook the cocktail all over myself, much to the amusement of everyone round me!

We had a great night down on the beach dancing til the sun came up and even managed to get on the DJ decks which is always fun.

Y x

Siem Reap

ymoughton — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 18:17:00 GMT

After a long day in Bangkok airport waiting for our second flight of the day we arrived in Siem Reap and went straight to bed. The next morning we made full use of a private twin room with air con and had a lazy morning reading our books until check out.

We checked into our next hostel and went for lunch. Vicky had read in the guide book about a lovely cafe called The Glasshouse which served delicious homemade ice cream. The cafe was very quaint and served great food - I had amazing arancini with ratatouille (not very Cambodian I know!). Vicky tried the ice cream after lunch, which apparently lived up to it's reputation, and we sat there booking hostels and making solid plans for the rest of the week. Given that we are now tight for time (less than 2 weeks left!) we are trying to cram everything in so can't take each day as it comes anymore which is a shame. After having a look at dates and what is still left to do we reckon we can fit it all in, just.

We headed off in a tuk tuk (again, awful at bartering) to go and play crazy golf at Angkor Wat Putt which was a lot of fun. I was winning until the last few holes and then Vicky overtook me to take the crazy golf crown!

In the evening we went to Pub Street, the main street in Siem Reap, for dinner and then to Angkor What? Club for drinks.

The next morning we were up at 4am to go to Angkor Wat for sunrise. It was absolutely stunning. There were so many colours and it was amazing to see the different stages of sunrise. After taking some great photos we wandered round the temple which is the largest religious building in the world. By 6am it was already scorching!

The next temple on the list was Bayon which is the one with the faces - there are massive faces carved into the rock which was pretty spectacular. After that we headed to Ta Prohm where Tomb Raider was filmed. This one was our favourite as it had trees growing out of and around the stone while also having quite a bit of rubble where some of the temple had fallen down which added to the authenticity and made it feel like we had just discovered the ruins ourselves.

That evening we took a 12 hour overnight bus to Sihanoukville on the south coast.

Y x

Ha Long Bay

ymoughton — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 13:35:00 GMT

We booked on to the infamous Castaways tour to Ha Long Bay - one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. Castaways is full of backpackers and is essentially a 3 day party on a private beach and a boat.

After the 5 hour trip from Hanoi we got to the island and spent most of the day on the beach. That evening we had live music and some fire dancing on the beach.

The next day we went on an all day booze cruise - although as I'm now on antibiotics it was more cruise than booze for me! It was such a fun day jumping off the boat, kayaking and partying on the boat. In the evening the party continued and we had open mic night (there were actually some really good singers in our group!) and then danced til the wee small hours. Vicky and I went for a midnight dip in the sea to see the glowing plankton which were absolutely incredible! Our whole bodies were sparkling in the water from the plankton and it was totally mesmerising - something I've never seen before, just amazing.

The scale of Ha Long Bay is so impressive; quite a unique landscape and an excellent place to spend our last few days in Vietnam.

Y x

Sapa

ymoughton — Sun, 19 Jul 2015 04:22:00 GMT

We took a bus 5 hours out of Hanoi to Sapa in the mountains near the border of China. We had decided that we wanted to see a bit more of rural Vietnam so organised a homestay for 3 days with a Vietnamese family up in a mountain village near Sapa called Ta-Phin.

It's much cooler in the mountains but also rains a lot - not surprising given that we drove through clouds to get up here! Bright green rice paddies cover the mountains in a tiered formation which makes for stunning scenery. Lots of different tribes inhabit the mountains and speak various dialects of which our host, Dat, can speak most of.

We arrived early afternoon while Dat was taking another group hiking so sat upstairs on the balcony reading our books which was quite relaxing. When they all got back Dat took us to the herbal baths which are wooden barrels filled with steaming hot water infused with herbs and are supposed to be good for the body. It was so relaxing especially with the gorgeous view of the mountains.

For dinner Dat and his wife had cooked up a feast which the 6 of us staying in the homestay gobbled up. He then brought out all these different rice wines that he had brewed including snake, artichoke, herbal and opium infused wines. My favourite was the plum one which tasted a bit like sloe gin. He told us that he has 5000 litres of rice wine in barrels and he doesn't sell it, he just gets it out when he has friends or family over and they tend to drink a litre each in an evening (a lot considering it's 40% proof!). He also explained that he had built the house and all the furniture himself - the house is a two-storey wooden cabin, a bit like a ski chalet.

We woke up early for a day of hiking and Dat had made us pancakes for breakfast. We hiked all over the mountains through the rice paddies off the beaten track and saw more of the breathtaking scenery. On the way we stopped at a large rock (which reminded me of pride rock from the Lion King) where Huy, our guide, picked out fresh cucumber from the crops and we sat there eating them. We headed down to a waterfall which we swam under and then sat next to it eating our packed lunch. We hiked up and down the mountains for the rest of the day before returning home for a (freezing cold!) shower.

We had another Vietnamese feast for dinner and ate rice from their family's rice paddy as well as banana flower 'salad' using the banana leaf that Huy had picked on the hike. Dat explained how they grow rice in the paddies and that they plant each rice plant by hand - I couldn't believe it. I found it mindblowing that all those thousands and thousands of rice paddies we saw had been planted by hand - I'll definitely appreciate eating rice now! He also told us that all the rice paddies in the mountains are only grown to feed the families in the mountains, not to sell. They harvest the rice once a year so they have a year's supply of rice for each family.

The next day we had a leisurely morning and headed into Sapa, a town which reminds me of an Alpine ski resort. We wandered round Sapa for most of the day before getting the bus back to Hanoi. However, (another transport mare to add to our long list!) I got locked in the toilet just as the bus arrived. Everyone had got on the bus and Vicky was wondering where I was as I was frantically trying to open the door. She came to find me and eventually I managed to free myself but delayed the bus in the process, a stressful start to the journey!

We had an amazing few days in the mountains and feel very lucky to have experienced all this.

Y x

Hanoi

ymoughton — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 18:21:00 GMT

After taking an overnight bus to get to Hanoi, which went without any hiccups, we got ripped off as soon as we got to the city by getting in a taxi with a rigged meter - we ended up paying 10x the price it should have been. We thought about contesting with driver but decided to just accept it and pay.

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and has unreal heat. It's disgusting - so humid you can't even go outside. We spent 2 days in the hostel in Hanoi because we'd both gotten ill but even just lying down all day in a fanned room was unbearable.

We met up with 2 girls from Hoi An and went to get foot massages - £3 each for half an hour, bargain! The next day we went back for another one just so we could sit in air con for half an hour!

Y x

Hue

ymoughton — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 17:41:00 GMT

7 of us had booked a dorm room in the hostel together but they had fully booked so we got upgraded to 2 hotel style private rooms - for the same price of $4 a night! Huub, Vicky and I ended up sharing the room and it was luxury, just what we needed after spending 10 hours on the bikes.

Vicky and I spent the day in Hue wandering round the Imperial City while the boys got their bikes fixed. Hue used to be the capital city of Vietnam before Hanoi and the Imperial City is where the Emperor and his family lived. Lots of it got destroyed by the many wars but they have restored a lot of it and are rebuilding it too.

We had a 'last supper' with the boys that evening - after spending the last 2 weeks travelling together we're going our separate ways as they have more time in Vietnam than us so are stopping off at various places on the way to Hanoi whereas we're going straight there.

After dinner we headed to Brown Eyes club which was definitely a local hangout. It was filled with Vietnamese people (including a few Mum's and Grandma's!) who absolutely loved us and danced with us a lot. It was pretty easy to spot us as we were head and shoulders above most of the crowd! We had such a fun night and ended up bumping into some people we met in the hostel in Hoi An.

Y x

Hoi An to Hue Motorbike Tour

ymoughton — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 17:28:00 GMT

We realised that we'd be missing out massively if we didn't do a motorbike tour from Hoi An through the Hai Van Mountain Pass to Hue which was made famous by the Top Gear Vietnam episode - Clarkson praised it as 'one of the best coast roads in the world'.

Neither of us have driven motorbikes before so we found a tour where we had a driver and we sit on the back of the bike taking in the scenery and enjoying the ride. It was a family company called Le Family Riders and I'd definitely recommend them to anyone - they were brilliant. Huub came along too on the bike he'd bought while the other 4 we were meeting in Hue decided to drive separately.

The first stop of the tour was Marble Mountain. We wandered round for an hour or so and visited the caves there. It was just as well we stopped here as Huub's bike had broken down - turned out there was no oil in it whatsoever!

The next leg of the ride was the Hai Van Mountain Pass which was just stunning. We stopped a couple of times at the side of the road to take in the view. After making it over the mountain we stopped for lunch at a floating restaurant on a fishing lagoon. There were buckets of all the live seafood so you could see how fresh it was. I've never really liked shrimp or clams before but I actually liked them here.

After lunch we headed to Elephant Springs where we swam about under the waterfall for a few hours. We drove into a rain shower on the way to a Fisherman's village. Our guide explained that these people were extremely poor but very happy. Their children don't go to school but learn from a young age how to fish.

We drove on to Hue where the tour finished. Thank god Huub had decided to ride with us as his bike broke down again but the guides were able to get it started so he could make it to a mechanic!

Y x

Hoi An

ymoughton — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 17:07:00 GMT

We arrived at 7am after the 12 hour bus journey - which thankfully went relatively smoothly except for the crazy driving and awful bumpy roads! We sunbathed for most of the day around the pool in the hostel and played some pool (pretty badly). That evening a group of us went to Ganesh Indian Restaurant which had been recommended by both the hostel guy and the Lonely Planet guide book - sure enough it was amazing! I had the chicken coconut curry and it was the best I've ever had! After dinner we headed down to Why Not bar/club and played some more pool (strangely Vicky's coordination skills get better when she's drunk so she actually played pretty well!). Vicky and I started to feel a bit sleepy so we had a quick 20 minute power nap in the club and when we woke up were ready to party again! Which we did, we danced all night.

The next day we slept in (although woke up for the free buffet breakfast then went back to sleep - we did not want to miss out on pancakes!). When we woke up we went for lunch and had the most delicious Vietnamese curry. Hoi An is famous for having over 200 tailor shops which make suits, dresses, anything you want - shopping heaven! We went dress shopping for most of the day which was so much fun. You can choose the style, fabric, pattern, lining, everything. Both of us got 2 maxi dresses each - I got a Grecian style halter neck maxi as well as a backless maxi, both of them silk lined with chiffon material all for £60!

After indulging ourselves we wandered round the old town as the sun set. We loved it. It's such a beautiful place with a great atmosphere. There are lanterns everywhere including disposable lanterns flowing down the river, very serene.

The next day we were up early for a Vietnamese cooking class. The class started with a tour round the market to buy our ingredients. I couldn't believe how unhygienic it is. All the meat is sat out on cardboard with no packaging, no refrigeration and to choose the meat everyone touches it to see which is the freshest! The worst bit is the lady who sells the meat handles all the meat, chops it up, answers her phone, handles the money all without washing her hands! Later on in the cooking class the chef said to cook the beef however we preferred; rare, medium rare, well done - well there was no way I was doing anything other than cooking the s*** out of that beef!

After buying our food at the market we had a cruise up the river to where we were cooking. To begin with the lady showed us how they made rice milk - grinding rice and water together between two stones. We then made 4 dishes: fresh spring rolls, Vietnamese savoury crepes, beef noodle salad and beef noodle soup. All of them were delicious. My chopsticks skills are also improving after only using chopsticks to cook (much harder than they make it look).

Afterwards we went for our dress fittings which we got very excited about. That evening a big group of us went down to the old town and had dinner at a sweet looking rooftop restaurant. We found a better bar/club at Infinity and had a great night with everyone.

We picked up our dresses the next morning (and spent ages prancing around the shop in them) and then went to the beach for the day.

Four of the boys had gotten suits made and us two had bought our dresses so we decided to have a 'prom' night and get all dressed up. It ended up just being four of us as two of the boys had their suits shipped home but it was still really fun. We had another Indian dinner that evening and ended up at Infinity again.

Y x

Nha Trang

ymoughton — Mon, 6 Jul 2015 16:52:00 GMT

We really don't have much luck with the sleeper buses - our bus to Nha Trang crashed into an oncoming truck! Luckily no one was hurt but we had to wait for another bus to come adding about 3 hours to our journey. We're both nervous for the 12 hour bus journey to Hoi An today, praying for no hiccups!

When we finally arrived we ended up walking round Nha Trang trying to find our hostel and we were beyond starving - it was 9pm and we hadn't eaten since breakfast. Needless to say we were both pretty grumpy!

Vicky was planning the first day so it wasn't surprising when we ended up doing something quirky - an egg themed mud bath. It was basically a giant egg filled with mud that you bathed in. The whole resort was egg themed including the food in the restaurant; I wonder who thought of putting eggs with mud and coming up with a spa facility?! We had a really relaxing day and reflected a bit on the trip so far and what we might do next.

The hostel we stayed in on our second night had come highly recommended. Mojzo Inn has the cutest Vietnamese girls running it (Twin, Snow and Gem) and they completely made our stay there. So adorable!

We met up with Huub (one of the guys from the group in Mui Ne) in the evening and the three of us went out for dinner and on to a bar. He had us in stitches most of the night with his hilarious stories! The next day we had to check out in the morning but the bus to Hoi An wasn't until 7pm so we spent the day at the beach.

I can't believe we're half way through!! It has gone so quickly and we are having way too much fun!

Y x

Note: One thing we've learnt is that conditioner is like gold dust; if you leave it in the hostel bathroom it will get nicked...

Mui Ne

ymoughton — Sat, 4 Jul 2015 16:23:00 GMT

We had an eventful start to our few days in Mui Ne. After almost missing the bus from Ho Chi Minh City, it blew a tyre a few hours into the journey. It took the drivers about 2 and a half hours to fix it and screw a new one on at the side of the road. This meant we arrived in Mui Ne 3 hours late at 3am. The bus dropped us off (only about 5 of us were getting off here) in the middle of nowhere. There were a couple of random Vietnamese guys with motorbikes offering to give us a lift to our hostel but we declined. They told us it was 2km down the road so off we went walking with our backpacks in the darkness - thank god for the maps.me app that assured us we were going in the right direction! We made it to the hostel safe and sound just very tired!

We met up with Ben and George again in the hostel and some of their mates from Laos. Having spent the last week doing cities, we had a day by the pool in our hostel. It was just what we needed, especially with it being so hot. We met loads of people round the pool that day and all of us had a massive game of pool volleyball.

By the evening we had a group of about 20 of us and we all went out for dinner to this Mexican restaurant next door. We all came back to the hostel bar for 'pre drinks' before going on to Dragon Beach Club down the road. It was such a good night with a lot of laughs.

The next day everyone (particularly me) was feeling rough. The morning was spent by the pool and then the whole group had booked onto the sand dunes tour.

The tour started with a visit to Fairy Stream. We walked all along this stream in the water to see the waterfall at the end, however when we got there the waterfall had dried up as there hadn't been any rain.

The next stop on the tour was Fisherman's Village which absolutely stank so luckily we didn't stop there very long. After that we went to the white sand dunes, something I've not seen before. It was so much fun running down them and quad biking but it hurt when the wind blew the sand everywhere. Never in my life have I been covered in so much sand! We then went on the the 'red' sand dunes (although I would say they were orange) to watch the sunset.

That evening everyone just chilled round the pool and in the bar still broken from the previous night!

Mui Ne has definitely been a highlight of the trip, both of us have really enjoyed it.

Y x

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

ymoughton — Thu, 2 Jul 2015 14:11:00 GMT

We're now in Vietnam which is the part of the trip we were most excited for. We spent 2 days in Ho Chi Minh City visiting the War Museum, Cu Chi Tunnels and a waterpark.

The sound of the city is the beeping from all the motorbikes (of which there are thousands!) and cars on the road. It's a complete free-for-all. There don't seem to be any rules whether you're a pedestrian or a road user which means you take your life in your hands every time you try to cross the road!.

We arrived in the city early evening and promptly joined in on the pub quiz going on in our hostel. Surprisingly, our team came third, none of which was down to me! We continued the night at a rooftop bar round the corner with the guys we'd met at the quiz and ended up bumping into two guys from the year below at school - small world!

That evening Ben and George had told us about this really fun waterpark in the city which they were headed to the next day so we decided to join them.

We went to the War Museum in the morning with Ben who hadn't seen it yet and all of us were almost moved to tears. It was so harrowing to see the photos of the horrific effects of agent orange and the extreme deformaties these people have. There were even 'specimens' preserved in formaldehyde of still born deformed babies which really made it hit home.

One of the stories on the wall was about an American massacre of a family believed to support the Viet Cong. The American soldiers had sliced the necks of the grandparents then brought out their three grandchildren who had been hiding, killing two and disembowelling the little girl while making the grandparents watch. Disgustingly, one of these soldiers went on to be a Senator in the US and admitted to the slaughter in 2001. Shocking.

I also hadn't realised that there had been Americans dying for the cause in the US. There were a few shootings of people who were campaigning against the Vietnam war and a few martyrs who set themselves on fire in protest.

All in all the War Museum was pretty tough to visit but it's so important to understand what the people of this country have been through so I'm really glad we went.

We had a lighter afternoon at the waterpark with the boys going on all sorts of scary/fun rides. Our favourites were the slides that you went down on in a rubber ring because the rides without them were a bit painful! The other one we really enjoyed was a zip wire across a waterfall and then you drop (or rather splat) into the water.

The next day we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels 50km North of HCMC. The Americans destroyed Cu Chi so the people created a network of tunnels and bunkers up to 10m underground in which to live in. The network was massive and spanned 250km.

On the tour they showed us the different types of boobie traps that the Cu Chi people left for the American soldiers. The actual tunnels were only 50cm high and only large enough for Vietnamese people to fit in. The government had made one set of tunnels larger so that tourists could go in and see what it was like. We went in one and they still felt tiny! I couldn't imagine living down there let alone being born there and never seeing the light of day for 6 years.

Our favourite part of the tour was the gun range. They had a number of guns you could pay to shoot and the sound made the tunnel experience seem all the more real. It was £1 a bullet and we both bought 10 rounds for the M30 machine gun. Yes, I fired a machine gun! (Jamie and Rhianna are you jealous?!) It was so much fun, the gun was mounted on the back of a truck and was sooo loud!

We had a night bus to our next stop, Mui Ne, booked for 8pm and the coach from Cu Chi got back to the travel agent at 7.30. We hadn't eaten all day and were starving so we thought we'd have time to grab a pizza from Pizza Hut to eat on the bus - mistake. The pizza took about 20mins and the walk back to the hostel (where the bus was picking us up from) was about 20mins;much longer than we'd anticipated! We ended up legging it all the way back to the hostel, taking it in turns to hold the pizza out in front as we ran - we looked hilarious! Luckily we made it back to the hostel with minutes to spare before the bus came but we were exhausted - I have not run that much since sports day at school!

Y x

Kuala Lumpur

ymoughton — Sun, 28 Jun 2015 17:58:00 GMT

KL has been a bit of rest stop for us which was just what we needed after the craziness of Thailand! We're staying in a nice hostel called Sunshine Bedz which has a great location within the Golden Triangle. The luxury at this hostel is being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet instead of putting it in a bin - it's the small things!

We did sooo much walking on our first day in KL so were subsequently knackered in the evening. We wandered round Central Market and the street markets and bought Vicky some shoes to replace the ones she lost.

The main thing that we both wanted to do in KL was see the Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Tower. In the evening we went up the KL tower to see the view over the city aiming to be up there for sunset. However, on the way we got completely lost and walked round for 40 mins trying to find how to get there - we could see it up above just couldn't work out how to get there on foot! Even though we missed the sunset it was still amazing to see the city at night time. We were also allowed to go into the revolving restaurant which was cool.

Afterwards, we walked across to the Petronas Towers which were amazing. We didn't go up them but it was still great to see the sheer size of them from down below.

We've utilised the multiple shopping malls here to stock up on various bits and bobs we need before heading to Vietnam where, according to two Australian guys we met, "it's so povo there, you won't be able to find Western stuff like shampoo and conditioner".

Malaysia hasn't been my favourite place but I'm glad we came here anyway.

Y x

Penang

ymoughton — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 18:18:00 GMT

We had a bit of a mare at Phuket airport because Vicky had lost her immigration departure card. Luckily we fluttered our eyelashes, played the innocent young traveller card and the immigration officers took pitty on us and wrote her new one!

After making it to the gate we sat watching the planes coming into land, totally oblivious to the fact that everyone else had boarded and it was the final call! We rushed through the gate just as it was closing - what idiots, who thought it would be a good idea for two ditzy girls to go travelling together on the other side of the world?!

Penang is known for being the street food capital of the world and is certainly a holiday for the senses. The night we arrived we headed straight out for some food, although it didn't turn out that well. After wandering around looking at the variety of food on offer we settled on the handmade dumplings and spicy chicken stick. You buy the dumplings by the piece and then they make it to order. Turns out both the dumplings and the chicken were super spicy, much more than either of us could handle! We powered through and ate it all but my mouth and lips were burning. To cool down the spice we tried the local dessert, Cendol. Disgusting. It was a combination of bright green sweet noodles, condensed milk in crushed ice and sweet red beans; it did not look appetising. We ate half of it but really couldn't stomach the rest. Oh well, at least we tried it!

On our main day in Penang we did an audio tour of Penang Hill which was interesting. I wish we'd learnt more about the Colonial era in school as I had no idea Malaysia had been colonised by the British.

In the afternoon we wandered around 'Little India' and soaked up the smells and Indian atmosphere.

We're staying in a really cute, friendly hostel called the 80s Guesthouse and it has such nice showers (a real luxury on the backpacker scene!). We accidentally booked double bed bunk beds so we're having a couple of cosy nights together!

Y x

Koh Phi Phi

ymoughton — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 20:59:00 GMT

We booked the first 3 days on Phi Phi through Thai Intro. On the first day we had a boat trip all day. It was really sunny and I got my first bit of tan! The boat did a tour of a few tiny islands: bamboo island, monkey beach and some secluded little beaches. They were all stunning; white sand, clear blue sea, exactly what you see on Google images but don't believe they actually exist. My favourite was Monkey beach as it was just our boat of 15 people who were there.

At Bamboo island there were loads of tourists and to get to the beach we had to kayak but there weren't enough so some people had to swim. To get back to the boat I thought I'd give someone else a turn in the kayak so swam back to the boat - mistake. It was about 400m of swimming against the current and was much harder than it looked. I sliced my toes on coral on the way and it took ages to swim back. Definitely the most amount of exercise I've done all year!

When we got to monkey beach the four of us decided to clamber into one kayak rather than swim, particularly as it was more rocky in the water. The monkeys were so cute and it was a first for me to see them in the wild. However they soon became less cute when I tried to take a selfie with the little one and about 4 of the swarmed me and clung onto my legs. Naturally, I started running away screaming until they got off, much to the amusement of everyone else.

The next day we checked out of our hotel and boarded the Maya Bay sleeper boat. Maya Bay is famous for the 90s Leonardo Di Caprio film 'The Beach'. It is filled with tourists during the day but everyone has to leave the island at 6pm except for this one sleeper boat of about 20 people. We watched the sun set in the idyllic bay before enjoying a homecooked Penang Curry. We then went back into the water to see the glowing plankton which was really cool (although it doesn't look like it does in the film!). We were also told to keep an eye out for sharks which someone managed to spot! Also unlike the film, these sharks are harmless.

We bedded down to sleep on the beach with a thin sleeping bag and a wicker mat. It was so peaceful to fall asleep to the sound of the waves and looking up at the stars. However, we didn't get much sleep that night thanks to the mosquitos feasting on us! It became a decision between being too hot in the sleeping bag and hoping for some protection or cooling down out of the sleeping bag and getting bitten alive. I kept changing my mind so ended up with both. I didn't get bitten as much as Megan though who woke up with about a hundred bites that covered her legs! We've all been itching constantly since. It was totally worth it though for such a unique experience, one I'll never forget. The four of us couldn't believe it was actually real, that places like that exist in the world.

For our last 3 days in Phi Phi we found a hostel on the beach. We shopped, sunbathed and partied a lot.

Given that none of us had seen 'The Beach', we spent one evening watching it at the open air cinema on a rooftop bar spotting which bits we recognised.

Sadly, this is where Gemma and Megan go home and Vicky and I go it alone. On our last day in Phi Phi we booked our flights and hostels for our week in Malaysia. We went to a restaurant called Anna's for our 'last supper'. I had the best Massaman Curry of all the ones I've had so far and the customer service was the best we've experienced - I'd definitely recommend the restaurant to anyone.

We partied hard for the last hurrah (drinks are strong out here, vodka is measured by the teacup!) which made for an awful hangover on the ferry to Phuket. I now associate ferries with feeling hungover given that we have been for every ferry trip out here.

Bit of a long post but that pretty much sums up our 6 days in Koh Phi Phi!

Y x

Koh Tao

ymoughton — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 16:50:00 GMT

We've now left Thai intro which means the four of us our fending for ourselves!

After managing to get to Koh Tao and find our hostel we bought tickets to go on a pub crawl of the island. This included a brilliant ladyboy cabaret. They were amazing! How they managed to walk/strut in heels that high I have no idea and their bodies are incredible...jealous!

We spent our second day exploring the island a bit more and made our way over to Nang Yuan (google it and see!); the only place in the world where 3 tiny islands are connected by one strip of sand. We hiked to the top of one island where the viewpoint is - a bit of a struggle in the sweltering heat and flip flops! Totally worth it though to see the stunning view.

For our last day in Koh Tao we booked 2 scuba dives - the main reason why people visit the island. Like my previous scuba dives I had trouble equalising at first but found it easier on the second dive. It's amazing to see a whole different world under the sea with all sorts of colours, coral and fish.

We went out that night with the guys we met scuba diving and stayed up all night to catch our 5am ferry to Koh Phi Phi. The journey is long; 3 hour ferry, 3 hour bus and another 2 hour ferry but at least it's giving us time to sleep! I'm writing this in the travel company's office as we got chucked off the bus in some random rural place as apparently we have to wait 2 hours before taking another bus to catch the final ferry, something we were all confused by!

Y x

Elephants!

ymoughton — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 20:30:00 GMT

On the final day of Thai Intro we went to an elephant sanctuary, it was amazing!! I was really surprised by how hairy they are and how coarse their skin is. We fed them bananas and it was so funny to see them sniff out the bananas and take it from your hand.

Vicky and I were the first ones to sit on the elephants and it was hilarious. When they walk it really feels like you're going to fall off. The elephant took is over to the water trough and started soaking us with water, so much fun!

Once we got back to the hotel we had Thai massages on the beach. It started off really relaxing but by the end the positions they were putting us in were things I never thought my body could do!

That night we had our farewell dinner and partied on the beach all night, by the time we went to bed it was 7am and the sun was up! Needless to say, not feeling too fresh today.

Y x