Thailand

We arrived in Bangkok at midnight! It felt like rush hour when we came outside as all the cars were still coming back and forth.

We arrived at our hotel and I face-timed my friend Amy and showed her all the buildings around our hotel which were lit up. Our room was on the nineteenth floor! We have a great view at night because of all the lights from the buildings.

Next day…….

We did home work nearly all day before going out to Lumpini park. Everyone goes there to do their evening exercises. Even tourists! There's exercise stations and parks. Its something you just wouldn't see at home. Why?

We caught a TukTuk to a restaurant that Dad's friend recommended, but it was closed so the TukTuk driver took us somewhere else. When we were in the restaurant I saw the owner go over and pay our driver! The food definitely WASN'T the best I've ever had! It was a tourist trap!

Next day…….

Today we met up with one of the Irish men that we met in Lao. He's called Darren. First we went on the sky train to catch a boat to the grand palace and passed a robot shaped building. When we arrived there, the guard said that we couldn't go in because Dad and Darren were wearing shorts. At the time, we thought he was being really nice but actually he was part of a scam. 

A TukTuk driver took us to a temple, two tailors and two jewellery shops. The last four places we went to were a scam because our driver received gas  coupons if we went into them!

While we were in one of the tailors, Dad and Darren were messing about trying on jackets while an Indian man was desperately trying to sell them something. Eventually he got angry and threw us out! They laughed the more angry he became.

Afterwards we headed to chinatown where there were streets FULL of shops selling merchandise. We walked up to a bar where we ordered spring rolls as a snack. When they came out we were amazed that the owner could even call them spring rolls! The waiter was really rude to us saying "you have to pay for them" when we didn't exactly get what we wanted. Eventually Dad met the owner and it was all sorted out.

Today we left Bangkok at 5:30AM to go to Koh Tao island We drove for nearly seven hours and just made the boat in the nick of time. When we arrived at the dock, it was really busy! The one and a half hour boat journey was really rocky and LOADS of people around us were sea-sick, including Aoife, who has never been sea-sick in her life!!

When we arrived at Koh Tao we all relaxed in our rooms before going out to dinner and a little walk along the beach. Its very pretty but not as quite as its marketed as its full of back packers on bikes.

Today we hired motorbikes to go around the island. When we stopped to see a beach, we started talking to a couple from London called Jackie and Paul. We followed them to a beach bar where we spent most of the day looking at the ocean and eating. We then rode to the resort where Jackie and Paul were staying. It was really fun! I wish we could have stayed there longer!

Next day…….

Today we left Koh Tao to go to Koh Phangan island via boat.

When we arrived at the port there were loads of hawkers asking to give us a taxi but we walked all the way to the end of the pier and our driver was there. We went to our resort in the back of an open top Toyota pickup which was great fun to watch the whole world whizz by. We arrived at our resort and went straight into the pool. 

Once again it is really hot - probably 29 degrees. A man that works at our resort recommended we went to a restaurant called Fish at Thips so we walked there across the beach in the dark chasing little crabs. While I was having my chicken stir-fry, my tooth came out! It was the nicest food I've had in Thailand! 

Next day...

Today we left Koh Phangan to go to the island of Koh Samui. The boat was packed full of people! 

We got to the villa where we were staying and we had our own little swimming pool! 

We went out for dinner at a lakeside restaurant where I had REALLY tasty spring rolls and a spicy chicken curry.

We headed back for an earlier night because we had to get up at 6:30AM the next morning.

Next day...

Today we departed from Koh Tao to Phuket. We hauled our luggage up to reception where we got an enormous TukTuk to the airport.

Our hotel is right by the airport and it has a pool! 

We boarded a private mini-bus to catch a boat to an island where a James bond film was filmed. 

On the way we went to a little floating building where you can get sea-kayaks to go into a cave. We didn't do it because it cost £7! 

We then went to go to the James bond beach, but it cost £4 to get onto the island!

We went back to our hotel for a swim and a rest.

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city)

We arrived at Saigon and it was crazy! You'd be scared to cross the street with all the traffic! It was manic.

We went to a restaurant called Pho 2000 where Bill Clinton (a previous American president) went to have a meal. I had spring rolls with vermicelli! mmm..

Next day...

We did a little bit of homework before going out to a market. It was like the Russian market, but instead the Vietnamese were much harder bargainers. While we were walking, I saw a rat crawl under one of the stalls! 

After all the hard bargaining, we had to have a rest at a cafe bar!

We were going to go to a sky deck for a view but it costs $30 just to look out the window so instead we went to a restaurant on the streets. 

Afterwards, we walked past a chocolatier. I pulled Dad's arm and pointed to the shop.

He gave in and let us buy three hand made chocolates each. It took me 10 minutes to decide!

We finally arrived back to our hotel and devoured them!

They were some of the tastiest chocolates ever!

In the morning in Saigon people come out to exercise just like in Bangkok. Young people, older people and also schools doing their P.E. In the main square at 6:45 am there plenty of people playing badminton doing exercises and dancing.

Next day...

A soldier holding parts of a body they had just blown up

We went to a war remnants museum before leaving Saigon to fly to Bangkok. We saw real tanks, mini-airplanes and HUGE helicopters. We saw some cells in which the Viet cong had kept Vietnamese people. 

While we were in one of the cells, I started seeing stars and losing my hearing. I sat down and after a couple of minutes I could hear properly. Mum said I was quite close to fainting. It was so hot - c39 degrees with no breeze.

We walked upstairs and went into a room which had lots of pictures of children who had been affected by agent orange. Agent orange is a chemical used to kill plant leaves.

The Americans dropped it to see where people were hiding. People breathed it in and when their children were born, they had birth defects like downs syndrome, dwarfism, several faces and much more. It was a very one sided account unlike how Phnom Penh explained the Khmer Rouge.

We left our hotel with our guide to go to the airport. He wasn't very happy because he didn't want us to go! 

Overall I thought Vietnamese people were quite like the people in Laos but, I'd say the Vietnamese people were less smiley, more busy but still much more friendly than we are used to in the west.

Cai Be

Today I was awoken at 4:30AM by the cockerels! We were given a simple breakfast of fried egg and baguette with pineapple and banana.

We left the home stay and started our journey to another one. We boarded a boat to a floating market where there were boats FULL of fruits and vegetables. In one boat, there were more than one thousand pineapples!

We stopped at a vermicelli factory. Vermicelli is basically noodles. To make vermicelli, first, they take rice and mash it and make the rice paper. Next, they let them dry in the sun. It dries into a flexible pancake and they push this through a machine and make vermicelli! 

The boat driver pulled over for us to see a pottery factory. In the entrance, there were two puppies the size of your hand. They were so cute! Our guide brought us some clay and it felt really weird. It wasn't hard, it was squishy. 

The kilns were humungous! The pots were kept in the kiln for over a month at over 1000 degrees!

We arrived at our second 'home stay' that was more like a hostel. It was right by the river so whenever a boat went past, it would make a really loud noise.


The reason for that: the engines on the boats were re-cycled from either cars, bigger boats or maybe even factories.

We were called to start making dinner. I went into the kitchen and saw everyone who was staying there helping each other.

For once, Dad was cooking and everyone else in our family were having drinks! So this is what it feels like to be him! He was good and cooked mixed noodles, fried spring rolls and also made the mixture for the spring rolls

I was woken up in the early hours of the morning by boats coming past!  It was impossible to sleep. While I was awake I saw a rat run across a beam in our roof! From then on when I was awake, I was alert to pests and creepy crawlies. It wasn't very pleasant!

Even though the home stays we're a good experience, I wouldn't have wanted to stay any longer because it was uncomfortable and like camping in a jungle next to a boat motorway! However, it was nice to know how the Vietnamese live.

We had breakfast and walked a mile through villages and jungle to catch a boat. On the way, we went to a small fruit farm and sat with the owner who offered us different fruits including Rambutan, Water apple, Mango, Longan and Guava. 

The only fruit I liked was the water apple. Even though this might sound strange, the water apple tastes best dipped in chilli and salt! the owner was great fun and gave Dad and Mum lots of alcohol he made from fruit. 

Afterwards, we went to a place where people made coconut candy, snake wine, black seed banana wine, pineapple wine, yam wine, rice paper and popping rice. 

Popping rice is what rice crispies are made from. We were there when they were popping the rice and I tried some when it came out of the wok! It tasted like popcorn!



We boarded the boat for our resort and when the boat driver pulled in at our resort on the mekong we were given cold face towels and lemon juice. We did more homework and went for a swim to cool off.

Today we left to go to Saigon ( Ho chi Minh city). On the way we stopped at 'the ancient house' where a film called 'The Lover' was set. Margaret Duras wrote the book, then people discovered it and made a film about it. Margaret wrote it based on her own heart-breaking story as she was never able to marry the love of her life. This was because she was poor and he was rich, she wasn't Vietnamese and they had lived together as a married couple which was frowned upon in those days.

Next, we went to a local school and were basically mobbed by kids! They ran up and were asking for autographs….so we signed! It was funny. 

We went into an English class and were being asked questions like how old are you and what's your name. Someone asked me what do I do for work! We were asked by the teachers to sing a song. It was embarrassing!

Can Tho

We left Chau Doc to go to a home stay in Can Tho. Home stays are basically family run guesthouses giving people insights to Vietnamese houses and lifestyles. While we were on the journey, we stopped at a floating village. On the boat, we pulled in next to a house on water to see their fish farm under their house and also how they make the fish food.

Afterwards we went to a Cham village. Chams are Muslims. We bought lots of home-made silk scarves. The house had lots of marks drawn on the outside where water had reached during floods. In 1996 the water level would have reached the middle of their 1st floor which is a rise of about 12m.

We then went to a temple where people give offerings such as whole pigs, cakes, gold and costumes to a God called Lady Jusa. However…seeing as no God comes to take it, the guards staff and local people either take it themselves or give it to the poor.

Afterwards, we drove up to the top of a mountain to see the view and walked right down to the bottom. It was boiling hot! 

We went to a restaurant where we had frog! Even though it tasted a bit like chicken, I couldn't get over the fact that I was eating frog. It wasn't legs it was the whole frog. Dad said frogs legs were nice and lean and tasted like chicken but this was different!

When we came out of the restaurant there was a little two year old girl. She was quite shy but interested in Aoife and we had a few photos with her. They are all so happy.

We drove for miles and miles before finally stopping at the side of a road to board a small boat to our home stay and we were welcomed by the owner and his two dogs. Our room had an open window, bamboo walls, and thin mattresses with mosquito nets around them. Later, we made and cooked our own spring rolls and Vietnamese pancakes.

It felt very natural listening to the noise of the countryside with all the birds and the crickets making their noises. But, when you want to go to bed, they need to shut up!

Chau Doc and Tra Su forest

Today we left Phu Quoc island to go to Chau Doc. On the way, we went to see some Crocodiles that will be kept to eat. 

We saw crocodiles from 30 centimetres to 3 metres. 

There was a station where you could have a bamboo rod with pork lung on the end, and you'd try and get them to eat the meat. 





They jumped out of the water with an amazing snap. We then went for lunch and ate crocodile! It was really tasty! 

Afterwards we drove a long way to a bird sanctuary where we went on a boat through mangroves, and saw lots of different exotic birds in their natural environment. 

While we were driving, our guide pulled over and told us to come and look at something. It was two water buffalos in mosquito nets! The mosquitos in this area were so bad that a buffalo with a cm thick skin needed a mosquito net. 

I suppose repellant would be too expensive! We stayed overnight in a hotel in Chau Doc ready for the next day.

Phu Quoc Vietnam

We took a boat to Phu Quoc island - an island that used to be owned by Cambodia but is now Vietnamese. The boat was manic with a swell coming from the side! It was that rocky Aoife was sea-sick and no-one in our house is ever sea sick! 

We arrived and had to walk down a pier which was 100m long and just over two metres wide with our bags. 

We finally arrived at our resort and it is HUGE with a beautiful pool! 

We went out for dinner at the night market. First we walked all the way down the market and looked at what was on offer then came back.

Most of what was on offer was everyday seafood and fish we didn't know but was straight forward, but we saw 1/2 metre long snakes that would be eaten as a normal dinner!

Next day….

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

In the morning we went for a walk and we met a couple we had seen in Luang Phrabang in Lao at the beginning of our trip and had also bumped into in Don Khone islands. they are from Switzerland - small world.

We then hired motorbikes and went to Sao beach which took us 45 minutes via back roads and forests. It was like a beach off the movies. It had white sand, palm trees and clear water and was like a bath. We found a HUGE starfish. We started driving back and it became dark. Although we went to the beach by going through the forest we managed to come back by main road. When I say main road I mean dirt track. It was fun as we stopped a few times to listen to the noises of the forest.

Next day…

We took the motorbikes again today to go up to the north coast of the island called Dai beach. On the way we had a 45 minute journey through all sorts of areas in Phu Quoc like back streets and forests. 

As normal in Asia people seem to just burn stuff they don't want so we found ourselves biking through a large rubber tyre on fire. The smoke was really black. 

We stopped at a beach to have lunch. While we were there an Irish couple came onto the beach. Dad went over to talk to them. He was a roadie for some Irish Rock bands. They were great fun. The people were called Tara and Declan. 

Lots of people were pushing a boat out to sea and Dad and Declan tried to help! The boat had been damaged in a storm and they had fixed it and Dad, Declan and the rest of the locals helped push it out with the help of a towing boat.

Later one of the men that worked at the bar had come down to the beach with a big bright torch. I went over to see what was going on and he had a crab. The guy flicked the crab and it was completely startled and didn't move. I'd never seen that done before. 

We stayed there until it was dark and travelled back through the woods - although we nearly ran out of petrol. We stopped in the wilderness and turned off the mopeds and listened to all the sounds of crickets, secadas and bull frogs.

Next day…

We used the motorbikes again today and went up to where Tara and Declan were staying with a Norwegian couple from our hotel. 

We went out to a very small island to go snorkelling. When we landed, there was a big group of Vietnamese people. They took Dad over to where they were sitting and gave him a beer. They then barbecued a HUGE sea snail and literally shoved some in Dad's mouth! - Nicely. They were very friendly. The island was only 20m wide and there was now forty people on it and only 1/3rd of the island was sand.
We went snorkelling and saw lots of different types of coral which looked like it was plugged in. When I came out of the sea the Vietnamese people took me over and tried to feed me crab they had cooked over a fire! Thankfully, Mum came over and ate it. We headed back to Phu Quoc island to have dinner and sat in a little open sided hut with a table and chairs in it. On the sides there were hammocks where I fell asleep after dinner.

For dinner, Mum and Dad had sea urchin and oyster!

Ha Tien Vietnamese border

Instead of taking a taxi we decided to vote for two tuks. 

It took us right through the countryside to the vietnamese border and was really beautiful. 

We passed the children on the way to school and kids out walking animals. We packed all our bags in and whizzed off. 

Whilst it was really warm, the tuk tuk protected you from the sun and the breeze was lovely and cooled you down

We all had a feeling we were leaving something special behind. 

We arrived at the Vietnam border and it was a complete change of scene. We had to park our van and walk across a no man's land for 400metres. I felt quite intimidated because of the officers just looking at us. 

Riona and Mum were looking for something in Riona's bag whilst dad was sorting our passports out and a local came over and was asking for money.

A couple of minutes later some officers started beating him up! I mean, not just a little punch, they kicked him in the spine and threw him to the floor. 

Dad told us that the man was standing next to him at the passport control and the guy saw someone put a couple of passports with money on top across the counter (trying to get his passport looked at quicker.

He tried to steal the money and all the guards became alert and some of them went outside to deal with him and gave the guy the beating of his life. Funnily enough, afterwards, when he was on the floor they went over and lifted his hat and put it on his head as if respecting his dignity!

It took 90 minutes just to walk across the border and have our passports sorted and stamped, even though we had arranged our visas long in advance of that.

Oh, and of course, the customary but more expensive quarantine check where they check your temperature and charge you a dollar each. 

Already we could tell we were in a more western country because of the speed and brashness of some people.

Kep

Because our room wasn't ready until 2:00PM, Dad said we could go to the pool. It felt very natural because the steps were made out of shells and stones. You can swim right under them! 

We went out for dinner at a BBQ at the sailing club. It was really expensive because we're used to eating out for around £20, but this was £65!

Next day…

We woke up and it was raining so heavily that it flooded some of the town! It's supposed to be dry season! 

We went out on the motorbikes to dirt tracks near the salt fields where I learnt to ride a moped! It was scary but I just followed the instructions and did it! 

We then drove up a mountain in the jungle on a bit of an adventure. We didnt know where we were going and could hear lots of different noises that we didnt understand. 

We had a great time. I have to say, riding motorbikes is a great way to see the countryside.

We're leaving Cambodia today😢. 

So far Cambodia is my favourite country we've visited! 

Overall I thought Cambodia was a great country. The Khmer people were so kind right from square one.

As soon as we we arrived in Cambodia and saw Khmer people smiling, I could tell the Cambodians would be very kind and caring, and they were. Despite their oppression they are still so outward looking and content.

Everyone was interested in our skin colour and freckles. 

Goodbye Cambodia, we will be back!

Kampot

Today we hired a shared mini-bus to Kampot. It was probably the worst car ride I have ever been in! It was all to save $20. 

We were the fifth to the tenth people to get in, but there were four more people to squeeze in afterwards - with their luggage! 

The driver was already strapping the bags in the back of the van because it wouldn't shut! 

The luggage just hung out the back for the whole journey and it was a very bumpy road.

I had no leg room at all and my knees were up under my chin. The driver nearly crashed into a lorry and he was all over the place. 

While we were in the death trap, we met an Australian couple called Lynda and Darryl and they were really good fun and we laughed our way through the stress of the journey. 

Finally, we arrived at our hotel called The Columns and I was glad to be alive!

Next day…

We hired motorbikes with Lynda and Darryl and went up Bokor mountain. When we were going up the mountain, everyone was racing and it was so much fun!

We then came across a HUGE resort on the top of the hill and went inside. It was very posh! The hotel had its own casino, but, when we went to look around, nearly everything was half finished. We had a couple of drinks there and it was SO expensive and left to descend the mountain!

Next day..

We left Kampot to go to Kep. 

I didn't want to leave because Kampot was a really relaxed town. The car ride to Kep felt like luxury compared to the ride to Kampot and the driver was really careful because my dad made it very clear to him! 

Sihanoukville

cambodia angkor airlines Siem Reap

In the afternoon we took a plane flight to Sihanoukville with cambodia angkor airlines. When we arrived in Sihanoukville - a small airport - we went outside and found a bus to go to the OC boutique hotel.

When we went to the hotel, Dad told Riona, Aoife and I that we had a poolside room! Even though it was  cool, it was like a goldfish bowl, because unless you have the curtains closed, everyone can see what you're doing!

We did homework today, but we had a reward because we were allowed to go to our own private cinema - Top Cat.

You could choose out of 2500+ movies to watch and just ask for whatever food or sweets you wanted and someone would get it for you, then you pay it all at the end. Riona, Aoife and I went in and watched a movie, had 3 small packets of M&Ms, a big packet of crisps, and a large bottle of water for only £7.20.

Next day..

We hired 2 motorbikes with full tanks and it only cost $12 altogether! Dad, Aoife and I went on one, and Mum and Riona went on the other one. We drove to Otres beach where we spent most of the day.

It was really quiet. Aoife and I made a castle for her toy angry birds. We went for our first swim in the bay of Thailand! It was so warm - as warm a bath at home.

We had several people come and see us and offer us food. So we bought some really nice crayfish which the lady de-shelled for us then, pineapple which was peeled and de pitted. 

Mum and Riona also had their legs and arm pits 'threaded' where they use a technique with thread to pull the hairs out!

Next day.....

We drove into a forest and saw a load of monkeys. The small ones were so cute.We bought peanuts to feed the monkeys. 

All the young ones were pushed out the way by the big monkeys to get the food first! The monkeys took the food straight from our hands. We finally made our way back to the hotel and had an early night. 

We hired the motorbikes again today and went to the downtown of Sihanoukville. We all had helmets but the police pulled Dad over for not wearing a helmet. He was only just trying to get money off us because loads of people were driving by on motorbikes without helmets. Dad pointed out lots of people were driving past without helmets. The 'officer' just took the money Dad gave him and put it in his pocket. I noticed the police were only stopping tourists and didnt stop a family with one adult and five children on one bike.

We then drove to Independence beach and had lunch. Aoife borrowed a big rubber ring and took it into the sea. I walked into the water up to my knees with Riona.

I kneeled on the rubber ring and Riona pushed me out even further so I jumped off and got soaked up to my hips! We drove back to our hotel and dumped all our wet stuff to dry. 

We went out to a place called Galaxy, which is like top cat, but instead in the cinema you have a mini-bar and a private toilet. Also, you can order a pizza straight to your cinema door, so we did!

When we came out it was pouring with rain. It was the first rain since we started our trip and it poured down. 40 days and 40 nights later.

We waited in a bar for the rain to stop and played pool and the bar owner brought out connect 4 for us to play. The boy from the cinema played against us. He kept beating Riona. He was studying English at University and was working to pay for his fees and was really nice.

The centre of Sihanoukville was quite tacky and my Dad was offered drugs. There were also prostitutes on the corners of some of the beaches in the centre. My parents also pointed out that 'Happy Pizzas' meant they put drugs into the pizzas.

Just outside Sihanoukville in either direction is very beautiful however.

Siem Reap

When we arrived at our hotel called Karavansara, we went out for lunch with Serena and her family. 

Afterwards, we went to a fish spa. Dad couldn't put his feet in the tank with the fish because it tickled too much! 

When Mum, Dad, Riona and Aoife had gone inside to have a foot massage, a man with no arms came up to me to ask whether I could buy a book from him. He had lost both his arms from a land mine leftover from the Civil war. A foot massage was only $3 for a half hour!

We went back to our hotel to get ready. We went out to a street called 'pub street'. What a great name! It will be new year soon! We went for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. All of a sudden huge crowds came into the street and a big party started! 

It was a mixture of locals and tourists raving up the street to loud music, so we joined in. It was getting closer and closer to midnight. 

We finally found Serena, Daniel, April and Chris. Serena, Daniel, Riona and I went off down the street, everyone was throwing mixtures of beer and water out of the balconies and shouting happy new year! Even though it was Really busy we went back to the hotel at 2:30AM.

Next day....

Today we got up at 5:00 AM to see the first ever sunrise of 2013 over the famous Angkor Wat. 


Even though it was a good sight, we weren't the only people who had the same idea. At least one thousand people were there too, including Serena, Daniel, April and Chris. 

Afterwards we went to Bayon and Ta Prohm temples. We didn't have anything to eat until 12:30PM! 

When we did have a snack, there were lots of people around us selling things. It was quite intimidating because they were standing over you saying "buy postcard! Only one American dollar"

Next day...

We did homework all day before going out for dinner with the French family we met in Battambang. 

They had booked a cooking course for the next day but they were playing golf instead, so Sophie, ( the mum ) offered Mum and I the cooking course instead! How generous. Dad didn't get home until 5:00AM as he was with the younger de la vegas! So we left Riona, Aoife and Dad to pack our bags because we had a flight to Sihanoukville at 2:00PM and went to the course.

We arrived at the kitchen at 9:00AM, I was quite excited because I really like cooking. 

First, we were taken to the market. The chef showed us all the different vegetables, fishes and herbs. I saw loads of women just crouching down on their stalls. Then, we were taken back to the kitchen to start cooking. 

First we made fresh pork spring rolls. The chef showed us how to cut the spring rolls so people can see inside and it looks presentable.Then we started making green mango salad. 

The chef gave mum and I circular cutters each and told us to put as much salad as possible into them. 

Then we took the cutters off the plate and it looked very classy because it was in a circular shape. 

Next we made sour fish soup, which is a bit like our soups at home, but instead they have egg yolk and pineapple in it. Then we made fish Amok which is basically a fish curry wrapped in banana leaves. Finally we finished off with banana and Tapioca pudding. When it's cooked it looks like frog spawn - very appetising! 

Afterwards we ate all the meals that we cooked. My favourite meal was the fresh pork spring rolls and my worst was the tapioca and banana pudding. 

I REALLY enjoyed the cooking and it was a great experience!