Chris and Charly's Passage through SE Asia - chrischarly
This passage will be our longest one and it will be during our time in SE Asia visiting Malaysia, The Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, proabaly in this order before...

Bye Bye Chris and Steve xxxxxxxxxxx
Colombo, Sri Lanka
This morning we awoke far too early to catch our plane to Malaysia. The hardest thing however was saying goodbye to Chris and Steve...
A little note to you both... 'Thanks so much for treating us we have had a fantastic time with you both and we will both miss you loads and Steve, it's such a shame we didn't video you doing your widths!'
So happy to have the extra leg room seats... Air Asia makes Ryanair leg room look spacious!
Our plane we just came off next to a highly decorated other plane
Our flight wasn't too bad considering it was a cheap budget flight only costing £40pp. It did in fact arrive 25 mins early!
Very very sleepy but excited
Luxury trains
Where Chris' dad said we should be staying
Then after buying a local sim card ad topping it up with credit (that didn't work) we headed off to find accomodation. We managed to find somewhere not excatly cheap but really nice at £32 pn and chilled out for the night pretty exhausted and ordered a Dominoes PIzza!
written by  chrischarly on February 3, 2011 from Colombo, Sri Lanka
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Passage through SE Asia

Walking around Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Today we walked for hours and hours around KL enjoying the sunshine and planning what to do when Neil, Haze and Reggie come and visit us in 2 months...
Our first sighting of the towers
Beautiful and clean KL, complete opposite to India!
Me and the towers
Chris and the towers
Everywhere we go we have the twin towers in our photos they are that huge
Walking around the lovely KL park
The largest twin towers in the world
Chria and a bunny
Outside the Pavilion
Malls all decorated for Chinese New Year
Beating one of the many good luck drums
A Dragon
Sitting in a cafe in a nice air-conditioned mall to cool down
Lovely day!
Oh, apart from the fact that we discovered this morning when changing our clothes that Chris left his favourite t-shirt and all of his underwear apart from pair he was wearing back in Sri Lanka! Good job there's a Debenhams in KL!!
written by  chrischarly on February 4, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Passage through SE Asia

Blisters...
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
We had a fanatstic day exploring KL once again. We went to the Bird Park which is the largest free-flight avery in the world and walked for hours and hours until our feet were covered in blisters
A strange looking hornbill
Charly under the waterfall
If you could only see the sweat !
Lizard running up a tree
Flamingo
Charly and a duckling
Charly and a chick
before going up the KL Tower
Our apartment viewed from KL Tower
Another view from KL Tower
Niah Caves viewed from KL Tower
Charly finally gets her audio guide working
Petronis Towers from KL Tower
Petronis Towers and the rain coming
Check out the rain coming !
Shangri-la doesn't even have a pool on the roof !
City skyline
Our apartment block is on the right
and ending up at another wildlife Sanctuary.
written by  chrischarly on February 5, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
from the travel blog: Chris and Charly's Passage through SE Asia

Malaysian food...
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Due to the blisters on our feet we took it a little easier today.
View from top of our apartment block
Our roof-top pool
Charly in the rooftop pool at night, its tough here !
Reflection View of KL Tower
Fountain outside Pavillion
I tried proper Malaysian food this evening. Still not convinced that I like it though! Dessert tasted like dentist mouth wash mixed with soup whilst the soup was a little bland...
My first Malaysian dish
Chris breathing in Curry Laksa, yummy !
Chris excited about his not-so-delicious dessert
Chris enjoying his strange Ice dessert
Chris dribbling his dessert
Chris will KILL me for saying this though! I think I'm going to struggle the over the next few months with Asian food!
written by  chrischarly on February 6, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Last day in KL
Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
Today is our last day in KL for a couple of months so we relaxed a smuch as possible before catching the monorail into town,
KL monorail
then a train to the bus station where we went to the LCC Terminal.
Rustic, but very clean inside
The outside of our flat
Our living room
Our kitchen
Our messy little room
Our flight wasn't until 1am so quite a long day of just hanging around and waiting...
written by  chrischarly on February 7, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

Flying...
Manila, Philippines
Our plane to Manila
At just gone 1am we boarded our flight to Manila, the capitol of the Philippines which took around 3 1/2 hours.
Our customary on flight photo
Happy about having extra-leg room seats from KL to Manila
When we arrived in Manila there was very little to do but take little power naps and drink rubbish coffee for 7 hours before our next flight to Tuguegarao
Our plane run on propellers
last ones on the plane
Our tiny plane
Chris all squished in
Chris and I very sleepy on the plane to Santa Ana
where we kindly were picked up Trev and taken to his beautiful resort in Sanata Ana! How exciting! We have a lovely room surrounded by lovely people for the next 2 months! Perfect!
written by  chrischarly on February 8, 2011 from Manila, Philippines

Already getting stuck in
Tuguegarao, Philippines
Trev, Jo and Me
Chris is quite in his element here in Trev's and Jo's resort already taking over the kitchen sharpening knives for hours and cooking his first Filipino dish, whilst I've been trying out my Excel skills drafting out spreadsheets and researching Valentine Menus!
written by  chrischarly on February 9, 2011 from Tuguegarao, Philippines

A little recovery
Santa Ana, Philippines
3am in the bar
Last night after I had already written the blog entry we stayed up late drinking with some of locals on the beach, one even sneakily stealing a bottle of our wine!! So today we were a little tender slowly doing some work taking a little rest bite on the beach occasionally; Chris doing a little fishing and myself some reading...
written by  chrischarly on February 10, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

Windy, rainy weather
Santa Ana, Philippines
The pool at night
You would think we were in the U.K by taking a look at the weather here, so we have mainly been working inside on the computer in the kitchen today as there's very little else to do except taking a walk earlier when it stopped raining for 1/2 hour. We haven't even been in the pool or sea as yet as it's too cold!!
written by  chrischarly on February 11, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

Work and chill, work and chill
Santa Ana, Philippines
Enjoying a glass of wine
We've just been doing a little bit of work followed by a little relaxing taking walks along the beach with Trev and his dog Max, we just hope that the weather clears up a little before Valentine's Day!
written by  chrischarly on February 12, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

A nice day finally to enjoy the beach :)
This morning Trev decided to treat us to Dim Sum- a Chinese brunch at a casino close by, and it really was delicious! We couldn't take any photos there unfortunately but it really was a fantastic! It did however look quite out of place here in The Philippines where everywhere else surrounding it was a great deal poorer.
Then, in the afternoon as the sun was finally shining for the day, we did a little work before hitting the beach for a couple of hours,
Chris preparing his bait
About to cast
Chris casting
Chris doing a little fishing whilst I pretended to watch by reading a book...
Relaxing and reading
He did manage to catch 2 fish though!
Yes, it's small but at least he tried :)
Ugly fish
That was however until the sky started to change colour and we wathched the rain coming in again...
Yucky rain clouds

Happy Valentine's Day xx
The bar on Valentine's Day
The bar at night
Chris today taught the kitchen staff with me as his assistant how to make his delicious freshly baked bed and then made his legendary pizzas! I then re-wrote the specails board introducing them to the local Filipino guests and remarkably they went down a storm that we even sold out! :)
My valentine xx
Moi

A trip into Appari
Aparri, Philippines
The busy street of Aparri
Today Trev took us out to Appari town about 90 kilometres away, which is the nearest town to buy supplies!
A motorbike with a carriage attached to the side
An extended motorbike
We really are out in the sticks here!
One of the many extended vans used as buses
A local bus/truck driver stood proud infornt of his pimped-up rides
We both had a great day just walking around picking up a few supplies and seeing some funny sights!
written by  chrischarly on February 15, 2011 from Aparri, Philippines

...
Today we spent the day around the resort doing bits and pieces, Chris pretty much spent the time in the kitchen in between spending hours untying his fishing line before we went for a walk late afternoon.
Chris untying his fishing line
A boat
A truck on a little boat

Anguib Island
Trev today took us to Anguib island on his Speed boat.
Our boat tied up
The beach
Our speed boat
We took some staff with us as well as some were off duty and we all had the most amazing time.
Trev and I outside our hut on the beach
Paradise
White sand, perfect blue sea!
Fantastic white sand and the most perfect clear blue sea,
Burying Cora
Making it a little more realistic
Cora and Mary-Jane
Staff at Jotay
Authentic and O'Natural!
Chris, Pearla and I (you would never guess Pearla was a guy!)
the photos still don't do the pretty little island justice though!

A visit to Saint Anthony's College
This morning Trevor took us to Saint Anthony's College which is ran by the Order of Franciscan Sisters and today a group of voluntary army doctors and dentists came here to give free medicaton to the poor people of Santa Ana who cannot afford any medical treatment elsewhere in the town. This is because all the doctors and dentists in The Philippines are private so many people come here to seek medical assistance.
Eating maize from the sisters
The sisters are so tiny, cannot imagine them using this!
Absolutely no idea how they fitted this jeep in a tiny room!
Me, Chris and Sister Irene
Trev and Sister Irene
It was a great morning and we were treated as V.I.P guests and the Sisters gave us free food and a tour of the museum as Trev is quite a celebrity here!

Work...
Once I sorted out the fridge, nice and organised!
Wide load
Today we spent most of our day at the resort, Chris as usual in the kithen whilst I did some training out front...
Pigs in the back of a trailer!

A Voyage to the Lighthouse Island
Jordy, Melissa, Jill, Chris and I
good balance
the island
mini islands
resting after our mammoth climb
Last night we met a friendly couple Melissa and Jordy with tiny 5 month baby Jill who said we could join them on a fishing boat to another nearby island to visit a lighthouse with some breathtaking views.
The cliff
lighthouse
The lighthouse
Blue sea
The island
fantastic view
We had a lovely day after some climbing we went snorkelling again, but unfortunately I looked down and I was surrounded by loads of jellyfish! They really hurt! I don't think I have swam so fast in my life to get away from them!
Us
The view from the lighthouse
the lighthouse from the boat

A walk along the river with Max
Beautiful
Max
The river
Glad he's not doing that stood by me
Max over-looking the river

Arranging for free clothes in Santa Ana
A guy posing with his cute little kid
Trev's sister sent a huge box of clothing for the poor people that live in Santa Ana. So today after arranging all of the clothes and sorting through them we went down to the children's clinic and then walked around half of the town giving out tickets to the small children and their families so they can attend on Sunday to Jotay and pick out some clothes.
Kids playing basket ball...
It was quite faninating and upsetting at the same time to see so many of the children here living in poverty but we can imagine it will be pretty chaotic on Sunday! Still many more tickets to give out though as we had over 380 items of clothing sent from the U.K, which cost over £150 just in postage!

More tickets distributed
The kitchen staff
Today we finished distributing the rest of the tickets around the village and you'd be amazed just how many children there are per household! Once we finished we came back up to the resort and before we knew it, there were people coming up and asking for tickets 'as they were at the market'.
L-R Anna, Chris, Jarret and Mary-Jane
Word soon spreads around this place and unfortunately you cannot provide for everyone, but we still had around 100 more tickets requested for! It's so hard to say no to them though

Another day at Jotay
The beach
Local fishermen bringing in a huge net. 2 1/2 hours total they were at it!
Our beach

And another day...
Playing basket ball
Locals playing basketball outside the resort
Kids playing basket ball...
Today we finished off making the last few prperations for 'The Gay Night' tomorrow evening and the clothes distribution on Sunday

The Gay Night
After spending the day making last minute preperations for The Gay Night after having a busy day at the resort as we had a conference that lastest a little longer than expected in the morning we were all ready.
Carla's first glamerous outfit- made out of a curtain!
We were secretly looking forward to it as we would get to see loads of the locals all dressed up and as the tickets were all given out it should have been a fantastic evening!
Carla and I
My job was to sell tequila to all the guests, although customeres only ever drink beer, so thought this would be quite a challenge!
Chris and Carla- perfect couple!
However, Carla, one of the members of staff who helped organised was the first and unfortunately the last person to turn up though!
Carlos and GeeGee admiring Carla's back!
So this was in fact very disappointing :( Somehow though, I still managed to see 45 shots to other customers here! But poor Carla was broken hearted and went to bed early after getting dressed up not just one but twice! :((

Sunday- clothes give away!
Following the failure that was last night, we were a little anxious about today hoping that nothing would go wrong as it was horrible weather with really bad rain storms getting everything and everyone soaked!
Cold Max
Puppy-dog eyes
But then again, this was giving away free clothes to the locals and for a good cause.
By 8:15 we were all se up and ready and although the first group wasn't due until 9am and the second until 10am, there was already a massive queue!
Before opening
Queue of people waiting to get in and pick clothes
Out of 380 items of clothing and more donated later by some of the staff, not one piece of clothing even unmatched socks were left by 11am...
A cute boy with a bag almost as big as him stuffed full of clothes!
Clothes day
Busy, busy, BUSY!
Waiting to get in
It was crazily busy, but a great success! It was a just a shame we couldn't have provided to everyone, but at least everyone who had tickets were provided with at least one item of clothing.

Jai Alai
The court
This evening Trev took us to see a Jai Alai game.
The score board
At the Jai alai
This game is shown all over The Philippines on television and online for people to bet on.
Playing jai alai
It was actually quite an interesting game although the commentator obviously didn't agree
The commentator has obviously lost interest!
It doesn't usually have spectors, so we virtually had the place to ourselves!
The only spectators
Very exciting being on T.V to millions of viewers!

1st proper day on duty
Today both myself and Chris got written into the rota, so now we are both working proper shifts for our last 2 weeks at Jotay. Chris is working 8-11 and 1-6 whilst I will be working 2:30-10:30pm.
Having a swim
Locals all swimming in their clothes
Happy little boy
Locals playing in the sea
We had a good day although it wasn't as busy as we expected just doing general tasks.
written by  chrischarly on March 1, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

OJT's last day
Today was Mary-Jane and Mayette's last day at Jotay as they are students and they came here to do some On the Job Training (OJT) for a month. So I helped write their references and took photos of them pretending to work as they didn't have a camera so they could show their tutors...
Pretending to work on reception
Pretending to make beds
At the bar
Happy at work!
Predending to clean a mirror
And then cooking
Prentending to look in the fridge
Mayette pretending to wash-up
Mayette pretending to lay up a table
Predending I'm a happy customer
Then Mary-Jane...
After training Mayette how to carry a tray of drinks
Mayette, Anna, Carl, Mary-Jane and Fender
Front of House Staff
The Staff by the pool
written by  chrischarly on March 2, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

Decent Chinese Food...
This evening Trev, Jo, Chris and I went out to our friends', Carlo and GeeGee's Chinese restaurant, and to be honest I really enjoyed it; nothing at all like Chinese food you get back in the U.K... Yummy!..
Carlo and GeeGee
Trev and Jo
Yummy food
However, the zoo they kept outside wasn't very nice to look at, I swear the Chinese eat anything!
written by  chrischarly on March 3, 2011 from Santa Ana, Philippines

Another day at Jotay
Jo and Max
Jo playing with Max
Oh and we forgot to say in a previous blog entry... We saw dolphins the other day whilst sitting in the bar looking out to see; they were really close it was amazing!

Lovely day
Sunset at Jotay
The sunset
A gorgeous day followed by a gorgeous sunset!

Another day of fishing for Chris
Fishing
The further he walks out, the better his chance??
Almost tripping up
Walking in once again having lost his bait
Admiring his rods
About to cast
Chris patiently waiting
Chris still fishing
Although we are working, Chris always manages to find time for some fishing!

Jotay
Staff
Not a great deal to say about today to be honest, another day of work in The Philippines, Chris in the kitchen and myself out front, almost feels like we're back in the U.K!..

Last day at Jotay
Tiger prawns freshly caught and about to be prepared
And then, the prawns cooked... I practically licked the plate clean!
Today is our last day at Jotay as we have decided to move on a little earlier than planned.
Firstly as we think we have both achieved as much as we wanted to whilst we were here.
Secondly, as I have itchy feet having spent a month in the same place.
And thirdly so we have more change to explore...
Did you know there are 7107 islands which consist of The Philippines, amazing huh?! So far we have visited only 3; so don't think there will much chance of even visiting the 7 islands!
So we stayed up having a few drinks with Trev to say goodbye to him before packing once again for our next adventure!!!
How exciting!!!

Fire drill at Jotay-gorgeous beach in Pagudpud!
Pagudpud, Philippines
As mentioned yesterday, today is our last day at Jotay and Trev arranged for us to get picked up at 10:30am after a fire drill took place at the resort.
The drill itself was in fact very entertaining!
The pretend fire at Jotay
About to call the 3 fire departments with the chief
We made a pretend fire just outside the main entrance and then called 3 different fire departments to check their response time.
Impressive fire hose
The size difference between the state fire department and the volunteers vehicles
They were remarkably very quick as well as efficient we were all very impressed, but felt a little guity though when they all rushed in as they themseves were unaware they were being tested.
The Eatern Hawaii Fire departments volunteers
Can yoelieve this tiny vehicle is the state fire engine???
Also, if all 3 fire departments were on call, then we dread to think what would happen if there were a real fire!
After the fire was put out- time for photos
Nice jacket!?
After the drill everyone was given loads of free food and we said goodbye to Trev and made our way to Pagudpud in a local's van which was so basic and run down we were amazed it could even drive!
Trev, Max and the 3 fire departments
Once in Pagudpud, we had to remember that we are now once again backpackers so had to walk from one resort to the next to haggle down the Price and considering it is a major tourist destination the place is seriously a ghost town which left plenty of room for negotiation.
Kehana resort
Our room before we made it messy
Our balcony
Relaxing with a buka juice
Loving Pugudpud
Once we settled in we took a walk down to beach to grab something to eat and the beach we had to ourselves as well which suited us just fine!
written by  chrischarly on March 9, 2011 from Pagudpud, Philippines

A lovely walk around Pagudpud
Pagudpud, Philippines
Big smiles!
Today we decided to make the most of our own private beach as there is yet to be any tourists still in Pagudpud so we took a lovely long walk to the end of the beach.
Blue sand, white beach, what more could you want??
The beach
Taking a stroll along the beach
The gorgeous beach at the far end
From looking at our end it really didn't look that far but it in fact took ages and by the time we made it to the end we both had pretty sore feet from the stones along the way so couldn't face walking the beach way back.
Charly likes to walk several yards behind Chris
So instead we found a road and navigated ourselves back.
Goat and Kid on long walk back from beach
It was one of the most beautiful walks as just behind the beach is countryside, pady fields and many little villages with friendly locals.
We must've walked Miles and Miles but it was so worth it even though our legs were killing and we had popped and bleeding blisters to show for our hard work! The Philippines is just so beautiful it is simply breathtaking...
written by  chrischarly on March 10, 2011 from Pagudpud, Philippines

The day of the Tsunami..........by Chris
Pagudpud, Philippines
The day started off like any other………..We slept in late. Then had breakfast at our nice little guesthouse. Met our new neighbours, a Canadian couple, plus their cousins, two Filipinos. Then, we ventured to the beach for a swim in the beautiful, clear, aqua blue water. After splashing around in the very still water for an hour or so, we headed back to the resort to chill out after our tough day.
Blue sand, white beach, what more could you want??
When we got back, about 3pm, our Canadian friend Ryan came and knocked on the door and said there were rumours of an Earthquake in Japan and a Tsunami on its way.
I figured it was best to take a quick look online and checked out the news channels. I quickly found reports of an earthquake and Tsunami on Wednesday (2 days ago) and decided that TIP (This is Philippines) and that it takes some time for news to travel here. At the same time of checking, Joel senior sent me an email sending a warning of Tsunami. This seemed a little strange as he usually has his finger on the pulse and thought it odd to be two days late with such an important warning.
Me being confident my few minutes of internet research must be accurate I proceeded to inform our neighbours as such, and started to draft an email to dad explaining my undertaking and if required, we will strap ourselves to some pieces of wood. After I had finished writing, I had a nagging feeling that this was so unlike dad that I better double check. So I went online and looked up some more scientific websites. I happened upon the PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre) and figured that this had a good name to hold such relevant information. There I saw again the Wednesday warnings but below them was a warning from an hour or so ago and upon reading I found that there was a new report, much like the Wednesday ones, that gave a full Pacific warning listing countries and estimated impact times. I used my limited knowledge of the Philippines geography and calculated that the estimated time our peaceful beach would be prime for surfing would be in about 30-60 minutes.
A photo of the resort in case it wasn't there after.......
I gently urged Charly to chuck what she could in a bag and then went and told our neighbours the news and asked Alberto, the manager, to organise some transport to higher ground. Whilst we were waiting for the van, (as nothing here is as quick as you would like it to be) we actually had time to fully pack, other than our wet clothes that we had just washed, figuring they were wet already, what was a little more water going to do? Also, we had time to send a quick email to the folks to say we were moving. We also saw a passing Dutch couple (Thomas and Ellen) heading back from the beach and offered them the news and exit strategy. At all times keeping one eye on the beach for signs of the sea disappearing……
Ready to leave with 30 mins before predicted Tsunami hits
Our rescue chariot
All smiles as we fled for the mountains
Once the van arrived, we crammed ourselves in, and quickly headed about 6 km inland and up the closest mountain to a very nice mountain resort. Whilst on the way, we saw many locals packing their whole lives into small tricycles in attempt to get as far away from the beach as possible. At the resort, we had a lovely view of the coast to watch any impending disasters.
Our Tsunami retreat in the mountains
We had a good view of the sea 6 km away
After a small hike, we found ourselves a little garden cabana and settled in. Over the next few hours, several people arrived and the resort that probably didn’t see many customers was full to bursting. I know they couldn’t have planned such a thing, but they had no food in, and for some reason wouldn’t head down to the store on the coast?!
Our Canadian/Filipino Tsunami team
Thomas and Ellen from Holland
Entertaining ourselves with beer, crisps and travelling stories we quickly got to know our newfound friends. The more beer, the more amusing the stories, especially Ryan’s OCD with flashlights (owning over 30) and permanently having one on his head.
Ryan and his flashlight OCD
We also got visited by an older German fellow, who was a little bit crazy and from suspicious heritage, coming from East Germany and having parents who named him Adolf ?! He was a little annoying, but harmless, and after a few beers, Thomas and I took great pleasure in winding him up, without him even knowing.
Our Dutch friend Thomas and the crazy German
It was growing late, I’d managed to get online and emailed everyone, and check my new Homepage – PTWC, only to find that the Tsunami had struck the Philippines and we hadn’t even noticed, the size of the wave a massive 0.25m! After this, at around midnight, I was ready to head back but our van driver had decided to go home, so we were stranded. Ryan managed to negotiate with the resort owner for a pretty small double room for 1000 Pesos (started at 2500). We managed to cram ourselves in covering bed and floor, only by moving all the non-essential furniture to the balcony. However, we had an issue, the water wasn’t working so we reported it to the manager who remembered she needed to turn the valve on which was under the balcony. Let’s just say that Ryan couldn’t wait and it was a matter of luck that whilst relieving himself off the balcony managed to finish just seconds before she appeared to turn the valve! So, as you do when sharing a small room with 6 strangers, we shared some toilet humour and more amusing stories from Ryan until attempting to sleep.
Sleeping on the floor at Tsunami Escape Resort
Us and our new 6 friends all squeeze into one double room
We managed a few hours of broken sleep on our hardwood floor before emerging to a beautiful day and finally headed back to our beach for a swim in our perfect, clear, calm ocean.
Exhausted and looking very miserable!
written by  chrischarly on March 11, 2011 from Pagudpud, Philippines

Back on the beach...
After an exhausting night sleeping on a cold wooden floor we were delighted to be picked up and taken back to our comfy hotel after hearing that it was perfectly safe to do so.
Chris waving to me
Chris' hand-stand
Chris jumping out of the water
Chris playing dead
So after a power nap we headed to the beach where Chris went swimming for a while and we found a palm tree growing in the wrong direction...
The strangest yet gorgeous palm tree
Chris enjoying the view
Me after climbing my first ever tree!
And finally we saw another amazing sunset...
Yes another amazing sunset
Very arty sunset shot by Chris

A trip around Pagudpud
Today we had a friggin' awesome day, going on a trip around Pagudpud with our new-found tsunami refugees...
Great view on trek to the falls
Our guide to the falls
A turtle the locals had caught, dinner me thinks !
Kids playing in river
Trecking back from the falls
The highlight of the day had to be swimming at the base of a 30m Waterfall!
Kabigan Falls
Charly looking good at the falls
The team at Kabigan Falls
Ouch again !
Chris getting a serious head massage
Such a hero !
Ouch it hurts !
Us taking a romantic moment at the Kabigan Falls
Then we went to a place called Aqua Grande
Agua Grande
This was via an amazing road attached to the side of a Cliff which was overlooking a shipwreck
Amazing viaduct road built around the North Luzon Coastline
Ship Wreck on North Luzon Coast
We then went to
Bantay Abot Cave, not really a Cave, more a hole
But I didn't like it, so Chris went solo
Bantay Abot Cave with Thomas
Charly waiting as we go to Bantay Abot Cave
Chris in Bantay Abot Cave
Before finally ending up at The Blue Lagoon- a lovely beach with some cool surfing waves that Chris and the boys enjoyed...
Blue Lagoon
Then, dinner in the evening!
Dinner back at the beach after the Tsunami scare

Poorly Chris and stupid, stupid virus makers
Local children playing
Chris was up all night feeling really poorly, so although our plan was to leave today we decided it would be best to post-pone until he was well enough to travel.
Rice Farmers house
It turns out that it was the right decision as we turned the laptop on a little later to discover that a virus had hacked its way in! Why do people even create them in the first place?! So, so selfish! So most of our day consisted of trying to fix the problem...
A cock

From Pagudpud-Vigan
Laoag, Philippines
This morning after starving Chris all day yesterday feeding him only water he was back to being his usual self, so we decided to move on to Vigan.
A local shop
Shacks by the river
This was actually a lot easier than we thought it would be, taking a tricycle to the highway and then a bus came almost instantly!
Our bus ride to Vigan
The bus was so comfy the ride didn't seem that long.
Entering Vigan
A Jeepney
We found accomodation quite easily in an old House extended into a hotel.
The room we could have had if we weren't backpackers!
Chairs at the hotel, not made for Charly
Our hotel, Grandpa's Inn
We then decided to go walking around the town for a while surprised at just how modern Vigan is.
Unesco Heritage city with old Spanish buildings
written by  chrischarly on March 15, 2011 from Laoag, Philippines

A day of alternative public transport
Vigan, Philippines
Today we went exploring around Vigan.
Us in tricycle sidecar
Us squeezed into a tricycle sidecar
Firstly we went to a place where they make traditional terracotta pots crammed into a sidecar on a tricycle.
Guy making pots, very quickly
Guy making pots old school
Lots of pots
Arty shot of clay pots
50m kiln built in 1823
Inside the 50m kiln which was built in 1823
Kevin the clay trampling Karibu
Then we decided to get a horse-and-cart to go around the old town.
In the carriage
Our horse and carriage
Our driver
Locals playing cards
Passing another horse and cart
Vigan Cathedral
What we really wanted to do was go through the MacDonalds drive-through whilst we were on it.
Chris' new church
Chris with Reverend Ronald
But due to our inability to speak Ilocano or Tagalog (the two local languages) we failed and instead went back to our guest House! We still had an awesome day though
written by  chrischarly on March 16, 2011 from Vigan, Philippines

San Juan
San Juan, Philippines
Leaving San Juan on the bus
Having felt we had made the most out of our short trip to Vigan we left early this morning after breakfast and travelled to San Juan.
View from our balcony
Where we stayed
This is predominately aimed towards surfers, which obviously we are not, as the sea is pretty rough but that didn't stop it from being a lovely stop-off on our way to the mountains.
Amazing sunset
Another amazing sunset
written by  chrischarly on March 17, 2011 from San Juan, Philippines

A chill out day
San Fernando City, Philippines
As we arrived pretty late in San Juan yesterday afternoon, Chris just wanted a chill day relaxing on the beach, watching the surfers.
A guy with only 1 leg who was surfing - amazing !
Watching the surfers wishing we could do the same
So we took a break and did very little except taking a short walk along the beach.
A walk along San Juan beach
written by  chrischarly on March 18, 2011 from San Fernando City, Philippines

A day of truly nightmare public transport!!
Baguio, Philippines
This morning we left San Juan very early for us and took a walk up to the main highway. From there we took a jeepney to San Fernando where there was a huge parade going on through the town.
Street Parade
Street parade
Therefore, it took quite a while to navigate our way through the town and find an ATM and then a bus to Baguio. Once we finally found a way out and a bus to Baguio it was only supposed to take 1 1/2 hours. However, due to the parade and the bus refusing to leave until it was full, meaning that it took twice as long to arrive there, which wasn't good as we had another long journey of 7 hours ahead of us!
Rice and plenty of it
Once in Baguio it was really hot and humid and we had to navigate our way to the other side of town to find a bus to Sagada. Luckily, there was one just about to leave, so we begged them to take us as well fearing it may be the only bus that day and after a bit of persuasion the conductor said there were only two seats left, so gratefully we took them.
Feeling delighted that we made it with only seconds to spare we climbed on the bus and we didn't see any seats at all. Thinking they had made a mistake we spoke again to the conductor and showed us our allocated seats, fold-down ones in the centre aisle right at the back!
Not only were they broken so every time we turned a corner they snapped into place; we were going to be driving through the mountains on tiny, bumpy, windy roads. I swear the journey only got worse and worse though.
Only got centre seats, comfy !
To my left, there was a newborn baby fast asleep that I had to try not to bump into and as I was squished this proved difficult. To my right there was a diseased person who was coughing constantly. Behind a guy sneezed on my back, and yes, I could feel it. Then finally, in front a poor child vomited the whole way. NICE! Also, why do Filipinos get so cold when it is boiling hot? The windows were closed the whole way and as we were in the middle, there was nothing we could do about it apart from drip with sweat.
On the bus thru the mountains
So much for taking this journey to witness the beautiful scenery around us when we couldn’t even see a window and why have all of our short journeys have been in comfortable coaches. So unfair!
Charly with new friend on the bus
About 10 minutes before it was our stop, finally 2 people got off so we grabbed seats quickly and forced open a window and finally saw some of the amazing mountains that friends have told us about!
The mountains of Sagada
One of the many amazing views
View from bus enroute to sagada
So when we finally got off the bus we were truly ecstatic! Sagada is a cute town and we found some fantastic accommodation for the cheapest yet. Think we may just stay here for a few days!
written by  chrischarly on March 19, 2011 from Baguio, Philippines

Trekking!
Sagada, Philippines
Starting the days trek
Today Chris and I got up bright and early and decided to go trekking! I know it sounds unbelievable and we almost couldn't believe it ourselves but we did!
Hanging coffins in Echo valley
Our first stop was to Echo Valley to see some hanging coffins. However, we soon got lost following Lonely Planet directions. Refreshingly, we weren't the only ones and we found Sophie, a lone traveller from Switzerland with the same problem. So together, we finally found our way.
Sophie our new Swiss friend
View across Sagada
Then, still feeling adventurous, we headed out Lumiang Caves to see some more coffins, this time on the ground.
Looking down into the cave
Some of the coffins here were over 500 years old! Very impressive! We did however find it very strange to only see small coffins, thus concluding that there were many children in coffins or seriously short people, shorter than myself.
Chris with the 100's of VERY old coffins, spooky !
Later though after doing some further research we discovered that when the bodies are placed into the coffins, they are put into the fetal position; therefore leaving the world the same way they entered. Although the cave was amazing, as we didn’t take a guide with us, we thought it would be sensible not to wander through, as we didn’t know what scary things might be inside.
Up from the coffin cave
Alter the cave we decided to find some more hanging coffins (and thinking about it now, it sounds pretty morbid trekking after coffins all day). Signs in The Philippines are non-existent so finding them proved challenging, but by talking to a friendly local he pointed them out to us, right behind his own house hanging off a cliff!
Hanging coffins
They were even his ancestors!
Two local kids with their ancestors behind in the coffins
We found out from him that the reason why they are hanging instead of being buried so their spirits could roam around the valley and that way they can watch over them I suppose.
After our trek, all three of us were exhausted. Sagada has no flat ground and is surrounded by mountains but we were in fact very proud of ourselves!
View whilst trekking around Sagada
Old bug
written by  chrischarly on March 20, 2011 from Sagada, Philippines

Day 2 of trekking
Sagada, Philippines
Our washing
This morning we woke up and I literally couldn't move! My legs hurt so much I couldn't face getting out of bed. However, after a little attention seeking I got up after Chris rubbed my calves back to life.
Feeling optimistic and wanting to get the most out of the day again, we decided to go trekking once again, thinking a little pain didn't really hurt anyone. So, we met up with Sophie at 9am and found a lovely little cafe to have breakfast before we went on our way.
The view from our hotel in Sagada
Our early start to leave and go trekking though didn't go as planned and we made a few friends there and we chatted away the afternoon where we watched the staff make civet coffee.
watching them roast their own coffee
grinding the beans
civit coffee beans
Cat poo coffee half full
This is famous coffee all around the world and supposedly costs $50 in the USA. Wild civet cats eat the coffee plants selecting only the finest beans and the poo them out. The poo is then collected and made into coffee! It sounds pretty disgusting but Chris loved it.
Feeling guilty about not making it further than the cafe we reluctantly waited until it cooled down a little and headed off at 2pm, taking a new friend Jonjo with us as our tour-guide.
It was an exhausting yet very rewarding high up in the mountains and through a forest. Completely beetroot in the face and doubting that we would ever be white-skinned again, the heavens opened and it poured down with rain. Surprisingly though, in the middle of nowhere there was a shack built in the forest that we ran to and Jonjo pulled out some beers from inside his bag, we were secretly delighted to have the chance to cool down!
Enjoying a beer after finding shelter amazingly from the rain in the middle of nowhere!
Once the rain stopped, we made it to the viewpoint and were amazed at just how high we had climbed and the view beneath us.
Chris as usual ahead of me!
Just look how high we climbed!!!
Chris 'wowed' by the view
More rice terraces
Admiring the view
Rice terraces full after the rain
An amazing view of rice terraces
The view in the mountains
Trekking is hard, but very rewarding even though it is seriously tiring!
written by  chrischarly on March 21, 2011 from Sagada, Philippines

Secluded Mainit
Mainit, Philippines
This morning we left Sagada to head to Mainit. It was quite a hard decision to make, as we really loved Sagada but there's just so much to see in The Philippines!
Chris squished in
A little girl, 'May' wondering what to make of the ginger man who is taking her photo
The lady wit the stick suspiciously looks a lot like yoda
To get there we had to take a jeepney to Bontoc and then we took another to Mainit. However, there was an annoyingly 4-hour wait between the two but we filled it with a long lunch.
Sophie and I
The Jeepney was planned to leave at 3pm but we got there at 2.15pm, and it was a good job as the Jeepney was pretty full with people and goods. Well at least we thought it was full, but apparently not to Filipino standards as it continued to be loaded up until 3.15pm. Once we finally got the Guinness Book of Records approval for most people, rice, veg, and beer in and on top of a Jeepney, we set off on our hour-long trip up a steep and windy mountain track.
On route, we found out that we were travelling with the owner of the two guesthouses in Mainit, and so we had our rooms sorted before arrival. We got off and carried our bags on a little track through the tin houses until finding our little tin house.
Our guest house
It was basic but had a nice view and a little pool fed from the hot springs.
The view from where we stayed
The pool outside with water fed from the hot springs, aka a bath
Our crazy land-lady Gesto
Geston, our eccentric if not better described as a little crazy host, took us through the village so we could see the hot springs and also all of the pig stys along the way adding that little extra flavour to the spring stream.
The pig stys right by the springs, with waste running down, yuck.
Children playing
You could literally feel the heat
Bubbling Hot springs
Outside our guest house
Hot springs
Mainit village
Children eating sweet potatoes freshly boiled in the hot springs
There was also two communal baths, male and female, where all the locals were happily cleaning themselves.
The women's and baby's bath
The men's bath
We returned to the guesthouse and Geston made us some rice, which we enjoyed with a selection of bread that we had picked up along the way.
Our a-la-carte meal of bread and rice... tasty...
For dessert, we had a lovely piece of Belgium chocolate thanks to Sophie and then retired early before our early start the next day to repeat it all in the opposite direction.
written by  chrischarly on March 22, 2011 from Mainit, Philippines

The Eighth Wonder of the World
Banaue, Philippines
This morning we were awoken to Geston our crazy landlady loudly giving us our unrequested 6:45am wake-up-call by bursting into our rooms shouting, "it's 15 to 7, get up!” ...
That was a shock to the system at stupid-o-clock! So we grumpily got up, dressed, and made our way to take a jeepney to Bontoc at 8am in order to catch a 9am bus to Banaue. There was only one jeepney a day leaving for Bontoc and the last bus to Banaue was the one we were hoping to make it in time for and considering it takes over an hour to get there, we were cutting it fine!
The driver's seat
The jeepney from Mainit-Baguio before it fills up
The jeepney wasn't very full so although it was a bumpy ride it was relatively comfortable. We arrived in Bontoc dead on 9, jumped out the back of the jeepney to see our bus driving straight past us. Feeling gutted that we had missed it; our jeepney driver took pity on us, told us to get straight back in, and followed it to the next stop. He then parked in front of it to prevent it from leaving again so we made it! What a nice guy!
The journey to Banaue was a little over 2 hours but it was a nice change to get a comfy bus again!
Nice saw
Banaue is famous for its rice terraces and is considered to be the Eighth Wonder of the world. It truly is amazing here and the rice terraces are spectacular as they are over 2000 years old, with fantastic irrigation systems made out of bamboo, thus water can flow freely from the rivers and rain to the terraces. Even the bus journey to Banaue was spectacular!
Rice terraces
The land-slide road we're about to drive onto
A cute village
Just outside Banaue
Lush green rice terraces
And again, rice terraces
Entering Baguio- the view from the jeepney
So we got ourselves booked into a nice guesthouse with perfect views and there we chilled for the rest of the day planning our next few days and trying to get rid of hasselers that just wouldn't quit and leave you alone. Something we hadn't experience in The Philippines so far and we had forgotten just how irritating it is...
Rice terraces in Banaue - the 8th wonder of the world
Banaue village
The view from our room
written by  chrischarly on March 23, 2011 from Banaue, Philippines

Hapao Rice terraces
Hungduan, Philippines
Me and our tricycle driver
This morning we went to Hapao to see more rice terraces. These are supposed to be the best in the area at this time of year as they were 100% green. To get there we took a tricycle and the bumpy journey took a little over an hour. We had supposedly paid for a tour guide but once we got there the driver just pointed us in the direction and said, 'Enjoy!' so we found our own way around.
Rice terraces
This probably was for the best as we could make our way and daudle along at our own pace.
Fantasic views
Unfortunately the weather wasn't great and not far along the walk it started to pour down with rain. It was great to walk amongnst the terraces and we had the place completely to ourselves.
Cable system for taking goods and people, across
The Hapao rice terraces
Enjoying the view
Hungduan rice terrace sign
Hapao rice terraces
More rice terraces
More rice
Rice
Rice terrace adventurers
River running through and watering the terraces
View from the terraces
Is she lost ?
Luscious green terraces
Yes more rice!
Tour guide Charly finding the way
The steps up from the rice terraces
Nice view walking in the terraces
Rice Terraces
A river through terraces
After around 2 hours we took the steep walk back and headed back to our hotel. As it had been raining though the road was really bad and as most of it was made out of mud due to recent landslides we got stuck countless times and had to get out and walk. Chris even had to push it a few times.
The road which we got stuck on
The Tricycle stuck in the mud
Local taxi
So by the time we got back we were filthy and very wet! We were glad we had booked our room for an extra half day so we could get showered before our long but journey.
So for the rest of the day we met up with a couple of friends and at 8pm we took another tricycle to catch the bus.
We had paid a little extra to get a luxury bus to Manila as it was 10 hours long and over-night, but the driver was truly a selfish idiot. Throughout the night he kept switching the air-conditioning on and off, on and off despite people coming up and complaining and it was FREEZING! At 2am he also got a little bored and whilst we were trying to sleep he decided to put a CD on loud! I got so annoyed, I found his CD player and switched it off, but two hours later he worked out how to overcome this and started playing the radio... It was a very long night!
written by  chrischarly on March 24, 2011 from Hungduan, Philippines

Tired us from travelling
Cabanatuan, Philippines
We finally arrived in Manila at around 6am, a little later than scheduled due to some major road works on the way, but then we weren't in any rush.
Although the bus driver was an idiot throughout the journey, he did kindly drop us off right at the bus terminal which was a little out of his way. So it was in fact really easy!
We were also in luck that a bus was leaving for Batangus Pier as soon as we arrived so from one bus to another in a couple of minutes.
The journey wasn't too long, around 2 hours and it dropped us off just outside the pier, which reminded us more of an aiport with all its security and regulations.
The boat to Puerto Galera
There were many boats to choose from with twice as many sellers trying to infuence you which ticket to purchase. We took pot luck and selected the once with that was supposedly leaving first (which it didn't).
Us knackered on our last leg
On the boat
Once on the boat, all the locals put on life jackets that we thought to be unnecessary and annoying, but the journey was very choppy and a little scary with the engine breaking down on numerous occasions.
Unhappy about wearing life jackets
The Ferry dropped us off on White Beach which was hectic and very loud so after a drink we quickly caught a tricycle and escaped and found a secluded beach and resort a few Miles out of town.
written by  chrischarly on March 25, 2011 from Cabanatuan, Philippines

Meeting some crazy Brits abroad...
Manila, Philippines
Chillaxing reading a book
Today we decided to have a nice chilled out day doing some reading and relaxing. The reason why we chose this beach was due to it being a lot quieter than the beach 5km away.
Guess who Chris loves more??
However, then some other Brits checked in, Zack, Skippy and Shaun... We soon realised that peace and quiet were not on the agenda for them!So we hung out with them until the early hours at our hotel.
written by  chrischarly on March 26, 2011 from Manila, Philippines

My new Tattoo!!!
Batangas, Philippines
Wow today was certainly crazy!!! Having enjoyed our new frinds company last night, they persuaded us to go to White Beach with them for a pizza... To get there I had to overcome my phobia of going on a motorbike ever since falling off my own 5 years ago, and jump on the back of one of theirs, it sure was scary! But we both thankfully made it in one piece! The plan was to meet them in 1 hour at an Italian but 3 hours later we were still waiting! Eventually they called us to say they had lost one of their friends and were waiting for him in a bar down the road, so we went to join them for a quick drink but that was where we stayed... all night! It was definately fun, but the pictures tell the Story better...
Skippy, Zack and Chris
Chris and I with our new friends
Chris dared me to get a tattoo with his name on my neck... so I did!
Showing everyone my new look
Chris loving my new tattoo
Chris a little tipsy
Chris unable to cope anymore
P.S...
It's only henna Mum. Don't worry!
written by  chrischarly on March 27, 2011 from Batangas, Philippines

Recovering...
Puerto Galera, Philippines
The view from our place
This morning we both felt a little tender so we woke up early to say goodby to Zack and Skippy, (Shaun somehow went home last night??) and at 8am found them wide awake starting the day agin with a beer! How they do it we don't know!
Chris trying repeatedly to ring his mum to wish her a happy birthday
We went back to bed for a couple of hours, then watched a film before finally making it out of bed to get our pizza we were supposed to have 24 hours ago..
Eating authentic Filipino cusine
The day was pretty uneventful apart from that...
written by  chrischarly on March 28, 2011 from Puerto Galera, Philippines

A day of walking and exploring the lovely beaches around
Puerto Galera, Philippines
Happily taking a stroll
Today we went for a lovely walk along the 3 beaches around here.
A river crossing on the beach
Our beach
To get there we had to do a Little Rock climbing and running to avoid some big waves!
Some of the rocks we climbed over
Chris climbing on the rocks
Clambering over rocks
Upset that I just grazed my knee
It was a lovely but challenging at times walk.
A log that looks suspiciously like a crocodile
Walking along the beach
The view of white beach on the rocks
White Beach
When we got back to our resort they were amazed we made it, saying it was pretty dangerous, but we were blissfully unaware. Maybe the trekking and walking we've done recently has done us some good?! Chris' clothes hardly fit him anymore they are so big!
Wearing our head torces and a candle due to a power cut
written by  chrischarly on March 29, 2011 from Puerto Galera, Philippines

A productive day...
Puerto Galera, Philippines
Walking back quickly as rain looks on its way
As it is our last full day we decided to make it as productive as possible. It was really windy today so a perfect day for drying our clothes. We must've washed our whole, albeit small, wardrobe. Then Chris trained me on how to sew better, it's amazing how quickly our clothes etc. get ruined whilst you are away as you use them all the time.
Being all demesticated and sewing up our day bag
Then we went for a walk along the gorgeous beach one last time.
A dog swimming up to a boat desperate to get in
The dog safely on the boat
written by  chrischarly on March 30, 2011 from Puerto Galera, Philippines

Last day in The Philippines
Manila, Philippines
One last look back at Mindoro
One last look at where we were staying
This morning we woke up early, packed and had our last Filipino breakfast before taking a walk to the Ferry back to Batangus.
Our ferry to the mainland
It was a lot smaller than the one we caught over and the sea was pretty rough making us instantly regret breakfast.
Chris and Jiri on the ferry
Chris and I on the ferry
I forgot to say previously, that on the way over to Puerto Galera, there were loads of dolphins swimming next to our boat but they were far too quick for a photo unfortunately. Once we got to the pier, many locals advised us that there weren’t any more buses to go back to Manila for the rest of day. Usually Filipinos are trustworthy so we almost believed them and took an extortionate taxi, but refusing to pay the prices quoted to us, we decided to search for a bus ourselves and just around the corner, there must’ve been about 20 waiting to go. Why do people lie all the friggin’ time?! It’s so irritating, especially when you start trusting people! Anyway, so we got onto the bus and it was nice as it was almost empty. However, half way to Manila it broke down and our bus conductor had to stop another bus to take us.
Waiting for another bus to arrive
Our bus conductor flagging down another bus for us
Once we arrived in Manila, it was just a short taxi ride to the airport and a 4 hour wait for our flight back to Kuala-Lumpur at 9pm where we bizarrely bumped into a few people we know!..
written by  chrischarly on March 31, 2011 from Manila, Philippines

2 ferries, 4 buses, 2 flights, 1 taxi and a great deal of walking
Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
Chris showing me where we are going
The view of Manila at night
Chris enjoying his extra leg room seats to himself
Me peeking through at Chris
Our flight left on time for KL and once there we had a 7 hour wait for our next flight to Johor Bahru near Singapore. Although the flights were really cheap it would’ve better in hindsight to just catch a bus as there would’ve been less waiting around as the flight was only 45 minutes long.
A very sleepy Chris and Charly on our 45min flight
Transport as usual was easy, we got straight onto one bus, which took us to another and then a Ferry across to Tioman Island.
Chris stood outside our bus in Johor Bhuru
The ferry we took from Mersing to Tioman Island
Our first sighting of Tioman off the ferry
We are amazed just how hot Malaysia is now as walking around finding accommodation was hard, sweaty work but we did find a bargain room for around £8 a night. Then after taking 2 ferries, 4 buses, 2 flights, 1 taxi and a great deal of walking we could finally relax and get a little sleep!
written by  chrischarly on April 1, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

Beautiful Tioman Island
Johor Bahru, Malaysia
We were still pretty tired after travelling so today we didn’t do a great deal apart from going on a nice walk the whole length of the beach. Tioman Island is really beautiful with clear gorgeous blue sea and loads of wildlife. We saw many monkeys, which look like they have beards,
Monkeys running away from us
Monkeys and one in the background drinking beer??
A very hairy monkey
A monkey climbing a palm tree
A monkey which looks like it's about to sneeze
Monkeys
a few water monitor lizards,
Monitor Lizard on the Beach
Monitor Lizard on the Beach eating something
Monitor Lizard in our Garden
A tiny baby monitor lizard
A litte monitor lizard
lots of birds, and there’s apparently 26 different species of snakes, which thankfully we haven’t come across yet.
written by  chrischarly on April 2, 2011 from Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Snorkelling for 4 ½ hours
Mersing, Malaysia
ABC Beach
Yesterday we made a new friend called Rob who is a scuba diver instructor. Although neither Chris nor I quite have the courage for scuba, yet we went out snorkelling and Rob said he would show us around and come with us. It was great actually; as he spotted some things that, we would’ve never seen and taught us a lot about different species of fish and coral.
Tioman Beach
I wish we could remember everything we have seen, but here is some of the things, a huge parrot fish that was about the same size as me, 3 blue spotted stingrays, a dead shark, thousands of beautiful sea urchins, lots of nemo fish, bat fish, angel fish, loads of soft and hard corals, a couple of crisp packets, 1 plastic fork and a million other amazing creatures! We didn’t realise just how long we had been out, as when we came back I realised that my legs were pretty sore and burnt and it had been 4 ½ hours since we left the beach! A long swim but fantastic!
written by  chrischarly on April 3, 2011 from Mersing, Malaysia

A very long walk to tekek
Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia
Rob and I walking
Today we decided to go for a walk to the next beach along from ABC beach, which we are staying on to Tekek.
Tekek beach
We thought it really wouldn’t be that far but it was about 3 Miles away and it was blisteringly hot so it was hard work! Tekek is the main place where you can buy supplies and duty free but apart from that there isn’t much to see.
Tekek marina
However, we did manage to buy some bread that isn’t full of sugar and some brie and Camembert so the walk was definitely justified!
The airport run way
A plane about to land
A plane landing in Tekek
By the time we walked back, we were exhausted and thankful that we wore hats and sun cream and enjoyed a few gin and tonics and some music with Rob on his balcony.
written by  chrischarly on April 4, 2011 from Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia

A nothingness day
Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia
Me taking in the scenery
We had a great relaxing day today taking a nice long walk along the beach and just appreciating just how beautiful this island truly is.
My delicious boyfriend!
Chris in fact doesn't ever want to leave it is that chilled and idyllic here!
written by  chrischarly on April 5, 2011 from Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia

Another last day of snorkelling
Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia
A house which looks like it's collapsed
Today is our last full day on Tioman Island so we decided to make the most of it and go snorkelling one last time. It wasn't however as enjoyable as the previous trip as there were lots of stinging plankton in the water which is apperently unpredictable and changes with the tides so we didn't as much time as we did before.
The river outside our place
We swam to a marine park another beach along and this is where they feed some of the fish. It is basically a tourist attraction for non-swimmers with life jackets, but we decided to go along as well. So, you swim into it and there are lifeguards throwing bread into the water whilst you are swimming. It was actually pretty good as it was just like being in a huge fish tank. However there was one lone barracuda in amongst the other fish- which wasn't supposed to be there which was a little scary!
A tioman bird
written by  chrischarly on April 6, 2011 from Kampong Ayer Batang, Malaysia

Back once again to KL
Today we sadly left Tioman Island and went back to Kuala-Lumpur in preparation for the Grand Prix. Travelling was easy but took some time and arrived in a huge thunderstorm and then headed out to the city to a bar with fantastic views of the city...
written by  chrischarly on April 7, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Chilling in KL
Today was the practice day of The Grand Prix but we decided to miss it and instead sort out our visas for Vietnam and Indonesia. However this was a little more difficult than expected so intead we achieved virtually nothing all day and went out for dinner in the evening with a group of guys from the U.K we met.
Chris helping the lamb kebab chef
written by  chrischarly on April 8, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Qualifying
Sepang, Malaysia
After taking a lazy day Friday, we decided we would head down to watch the GP qualifying with our new friends, seven 50 year old blokes from UK out for a beano.
We took the Monorail to Sentral where we picked up the Air Asia Skybus special to the Sepang circuit. The trip was pretty easy and we were entertained by our friends team T-Shirts that had Malasian GP (spelt incorrectly) on the back - Oops !
On arrival we we advised that no food or drink could enter, so downed a couple of litres of water before going in. We found out that this was a way to make you buy the overpriced rubbish they had inside. Or in our case, how we could come up with ideas to smuggle in the next day.
Charly enjoying the zoom zoom
At the main enterance we left our new friends to head around the other side of the track to our stand, this was trickier than expected as there was no direction or signs on where the shuttle buses run from, after asking, and getting blank expressions, from about 6 people who apparently worked there, we found our own way.
The stand had a good view of a number of corners and first on was Malaysian Super Series - a mixture of cars ranging from Ferraris, Lambos, Astons, Porches plus a random mix that even inclued a Fiat 500 Arbath, much to Charly's pleasure !! It was a 10 lap race that consisted of a car stalling at the start, another rear ending it, 7 laps with the safety car then 3 where one Lambo and one Porche had a little race of there own.
Little accident in the Super Series
After that we had a short break then the GP qualifying. That was when we really understood the necessity of the earplugs as the noise was intense. Unfortunately we only had one pair and I wore the noise reducing headphones, that are not made to reduce such loudness, but did manage to cut down the bleeding from my eardrums.
All in all it was pretty predictable, and Vettel cruised into Pole.
After, we headed back to the city which took about 2.5 hours and was very hungry so went straight out to food street and visited our favourite Chinese, yummy !
GP tomorrow, bring it on !
written by  chrischarly on April 9, 2011 from Sepang, Malaysia

GP day!
Sepang, Malaysia
After a night of trying to sleep with ringing ears, we awoke, got ready and met the team to head to the circuit. On the way there we devised our smuggling plans to get some water and food in, due to the poor security we didn't have to try too hard, and really only needed a sacrificial bottle filled with tap water to give them a sense they had found and confiscated illegal contriband. However, Charly still insisted in putting a banana down the back of her trousers just in case !?
Camera heli coming back in
Heli
Another cheesy C and C photo
We saw the second Super Series race, which was slightly better than the first and then the JK series which were smaller Formula cars, pretty average. We did find out that we could pick up radio on my phone so we could listen to the Circuit Radio station, pretty useful to work out what was going on. Another way to find out what was going on, was to take a photo of the TV screen and zoom in, especially useful during the F1 race.
How we worked out what was going on in GP - zoom zoom !
All the flags before the race
Grass hill stand
Nice circuit view from the heli
Starting grid before the race
Zoom Zoom
Zoom Zoom Zoom
The race was pretty predictable, and we were hoping for rain to mix it up a bit. All in all an awesome experience to see it, hear it and get the great atmosphere.
Zoom
Vettel on victory lap
From our stand at the GP
After the race we decided we would try and walk back to meet the guys at the main entrance, which was a bit of a mission taking an hour up and down hills, the whole way we saw no shuttle buses, and then just before the end realised why, when we saw them all parked up not being used !
All the shuttle buses parked up, thanks !
We met the guys, got some pics at the entrance then headed over the where there was a free concert by some Asian superstar called Rain, we entered and immediatly where given vouchers for a free Chivas Regal and Coke in return for contact details. Don't worry we didn't use all our friends !:-) We did however work out that we could exit, rip off our wrist band, and re-enter to get more tickets. I figured that they wouldn't notice the 6ft, ginger big bloke keep coming in and I was right, making 3 circuits, twice with 2 tickets (one for Milko). The free whisky passed the time and we watched a beauty contest and they kept promising Rain, but as per the race, it/he never came, so we all got bored and decided to head back.
At the GP entrance with the gang!
Concert stage at GP
Stuck up bueaty contest runner up
At the free Chivas area after the GP
When we got back, we took the gang out for a very late Chinese at 12:30am (yes same place) and enjoyed a few beers.
Chris helping the lamb kebab chef
Enjoying our favourite Chinese after the GP
All in all, a great day !
written by  chrischarly on April 10, 2011 from Sepang, Malaysia

The King of Fruit
Night market in KL
Carrot cake stir fry - strange but nice
Food on a stick, boil, fry or grill all in a custom built truck
This evening the owner of the guest House we are staying at, Christine took us to a night market.
Charly and Christina at night market
Food, food and more food, Chris was happy !
It was great and Chris was in his element trying all the tasty treats Christine advised us to try.
Genius food van - would it work in UK ?
Fresh Fruit Juice at the Night Market
Quail eggs on a stick - genius !
Food stand at night market - yummy !
Yummy peanut pancakes at the night market
Then after we were all stuffed she took us to a durian restaurant where we got to try something completely different.
Lots of stinky Durian Fruit
L-R Anna, Eva, Me and Chris eating durian
Charly and Eva enjoying some Durian
Durian is called the 'king of fruits' renowned for smelly foul but tasty delicious! It is hard to describe the small, almost like gas I suppose, but locals around Asia love it! It is like their drug. Once you are their for a while you kind of ignore the smell and it isn't that bad and to us it tasted like creamy leeks and very rich.
Chris at the stinky Durian Fruit shop
Durian rubbish
Then again it really isn't that bad as they say our blue cheese smells a great deal worse and I suppose I agree with them.
written by  chrischarly on April 11, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Cheap £4 a night accomodation
Kuantan, Malaysia
Our KL to Kuantan bus
Mosque in Kuantan
On the bus to Cherating from Kuantan
Today we left KL and headed to Cherating with lovely beaches, chilled atmosphere and seiously cheap rooms for £4 a night. Bargain! Admittedly they aren't the nicest and with shared bathrooms but it's clean enough!
written by  chrischarly on April 12, 2011 from Kuantan, Malaysia

Bed Bugs!
Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia
Our place
Our guesthouse in Cherating
After a shocking night's sleep constantly itching, we checked under our sheets and found many bed bugs stains on the mattress! So we went and spoke to the owners and kindly they moved us to another room a little nicer for the same price without any itchy friends in the bed. I suppose we can just consider ourselves lucky that we haven't come accross them sooner on our travels, or maybe we have but just never noticed and written them off as mosquitoes.
Ours is first left
The chalets in Cherating
We then spent the day on the beach at a cute beach bar completely chilled.
written by  chrischarly on April 13, 2011 from Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia

Beach
Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia
'Don't Tell Mama's' Beach bar
Chilling and reading
James and Harry playing pool
Nothing entirely memorable happened today but it was roastingly hot, so a good excuse to spend the day in a beach bar!
written by  chrischarly on April 14, 2011 from Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia

And another chill day on the beach and in the sea
Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia
Chis and James far out but still not deep
An evil looking cat called one foot
The dog that followed us home
Chris' shadow and a motorbike on the beach
Full after our dinner
Our last day on Cherting beach so once again we made the most of it and enjoying the sunshine and the marathon walk out to deep water.
written by  chrischarly on April 15, 2011 from Kampong Baharu Cherating, Malaysia

To yet another island...
Marang, Malaysia
This morning we met up with Graham, Harry, and James our new travelling buddies for the next week and left Cherating to go to Kapas Island, where we are hoping to swim with sharks!
Us in the car from Cherating to Merang
To get there we took a car to Marang and then a Ferry across.
Graham, Harry and James
Getting wet on the boat
The island looked a little like a smaller version of Tioman. Once there Chris and Graham left Harry and James and myself in a restaurant whilst they went searching for some accommodation. Of course, they took about 2 hours longer than they should've stopping for obligatory beers along the way. They found us a lovely little place right on the beach just a little over budget but worth it, and straight away we found some snorkelling gear and headed off to enjoy the lovely warm water!..
written by  chrischarly on April 16, 2011 from Marang, Malaysia

Snorkelling but so far no sharks...
Pulau Kapas, Malaysia
The beach where we snorkelled
This morning we woke up and walked 2 beaches away apparently with the best snorkelling. And to be fair it sure was fantastic, with some amazing coral and fishies. Ther are supposed to be loads of ssharks swimming around and we are desperate to see one, if not more, but as yet our luck hasn't been with us. Everyone else that seems to be going out finds at least one, but not us just yet!..
All smiles after snorkelling
written by  chrischarly on April 17, 2011 from Pulau Kapas, Malaysia

Poorly Chris
Pulau Kapas, Malaysia
Poor Chris woke up today with bad stomach cramps, so we didn't do a great deal today as I wouldn't let him go in the sun or sea whilst he wasn't feeling well. So we instead chilled and read books whilst dosing Chris up with the tasty rehydration sachets listening jealously to all the tales once again of people seeing many sharks, but not us :(
The view
But then again, I can think of worse places to be chilling and reading!
written by  chrischarly on April 18, 2011 from Pulau Kapas, Malaysia

A 6 or 7ft shark!!
Pulau Kapas, Malaysia
Nice sunset from our beach on Kapas
Our lovely beach
More Kapas Beaches
Today Chris was feeling a lot better so we went out snorkelling again determined this time to see a shark... We were in fact in luck and we managed to see the back of one swimming away from us! Unfortunately, we never got the chance to see its face but it was unquestionably a shark either way! But it was so quick so we didn't have time to be scared, just happy that we had finally seen one; even if it was just its tail!
written by  chrischarly on April 19, 2011 from Pulau Kapas, Malaysia

Bye Kapas
Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
Another amazing Kapas beach
Our private beach on Kapas Island
This morning we woke up, packed, and took the Ferry back to Marang before catching a bus to Terengganu before catching another bus to Kota Baharu.
Leaving lovely Kapas
El' Capitano
Clear water just off our beach
Gemas Island off Kapas
We decided to go to Kota Baharu to get on the jungle railway the next morning, even though we would be flying straight back up there in a few days when we have met Haze, Neil, and Reggie. Then again, it seems we just love travelling around everywhere, and by looking at the map of Malaysia that we have travelled so far on this blog; it seems like going in circles seems to be our preferred route!
written by  chrischarly on April 20, 2011 from Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

The Jungle Railway
Kota Baharu, Malaysia
Here it comes
All over the internet everyone had raved about 'The Jungle Railway' that you can take from Kota Baharu straight through to Singapore, including many travellers who claimed it was the highlight of their trip to Malaysia, so we were determined not to miss out!
Charly waiting for the train
So we woke up at stupid-o-clock and caught a taxi to the train station. We decided not to go all the way to Singapore though as it would've been pointless and get off at Gemas as we would have gone through Taman Negara already which is the famous jungle in Malaysia.
On the Jungle Railway
It was a 10-hour journey but to be honest was an anti-climax; very over-rated! Pretty much all you could see was dense forest and yes, it was luscious green everywhere, but that was pretty much it and we did get a little bored and as everyone except us slept pretty much the whole way, we think they felt the same!
Another rock in the jungle
Another brown river
A bug that chased Charly
Nice brown jungle river
More jungle from the train
Nice view from train
The jungle view from the train
Once we arrived in Gemas, we had to take another train to Tampin.
A nice simple map of Malaysian penninsula
This wasn’t a long journey but I did however manage to break a new flat screen T.V by putting on my backpack whilst leaving managing to co-inside with the same time the train decides to break, so I fell backwards on to it hearing a loud, 'POP' sound. "Oops" was all I managed to say in response and myself and Chris quickly jumped off the train and ran around the corner! After a speedy 10-minute walk to find a bus to take us to Melaka, we got on easily and without hassle on an ultra-cheap local bus ride. However, things obviously weren't going to be that easy as half way the bus driver chucked us and the 3 other passengers off the bus in the middle of nowhere at a bus stand saying the bus wasn't full enough for him to continue, so he was going home! We couldn't exactly do much about that so we did as he asked and waited for another! Around 20 minutes later another local bus did arrive and we were so pleased to arrive in Melaka, but not where we hoped it would drop us, so after looking for yet another bus, we gave up and paid for a taxi. Accommodation wasn't cheap and after looking around a few, we chose to splash out and stay in one for £10 a night, which is in fact luxury for 2 nights, and with air-con! Then finally, after 14 hours of travelling we went exploring around Melaka.
written by  chrischarly on April 21, 2011 from Kota Baharu, Malaysia

Exploring around Malaka
Melaka, Malaysia
Today we went sight seeing around Melaka.
Old Portuguese ship
A Famosa Fort
Chris showing off his cannon
Not sure what she's trying to do here ?!
A' Famosa in Melaka
Christ Church since 1753
Funky rickshaws
Our lovely guesthouse
She was late to setup, but pushed through the crowds
Jonkers Walk
And Chris finally decided to get his hair cut!
Chris after his haircut - nice look !
Good Friday celebrations in Melaka
Melaka at night
Famous Jonkers walk in World Heritage city Melaka
written by  chrischarly on April 22, 2011 from Melaka, Malaysia

And back once again to KL
Today we headed back to KL to stay over just one night before we go and meet the others and the airport tomorrow morning!! We are so excited about seeing them, we cannot wait!! So we just spent another night in KL wandering the streets...
Chris wondering what is between his legs ?
Chris and Charly strage shadows

Seeing Hazey, Neil and Reggie again... YAY!!
Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
OMG we woke up so excited this morning; me especially could hardly contain myself, I was that excited!! We woke up bright and early and caught the monorail into Sentral where we caught a bus to the airport. It was quite a long journey at that time of the morning, but we could hardly complain as the other had been travelling for practically forever to get here. We arrived just as Reggie got off the plane and after a BIG hugs and blocking everyone else from getting out Haze and Neil weren't far behind to deafen the crowds and KLIA with shreaking. We then caught a bus to the other airport about an hour away in preparation for our next flight to Kota Baharu- even though we have only just left there.
Neil, Chris and Reggie
Haze is obviously very excited to see me!
Then after an hour's flight we then did the same in a taxi to catch a Ferry to Perhentian Islands!
The ferry
Neil, Chris and I
Me, Daisy and Reggie on the ferry
We found our accomodation relatively easily which is set back away from the noisy beach but is to be fair, a mission to hike up with your bags and chatted the night away...
Our huts
Our balcony
Haze's first Malaysian dish
written by  chrischarly on April 24, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

A lovely day on the beach
Kota Baharu, Malaysia
One of the many anchors on the beach designed to trip you up
This morning Chris woke up before 7am and was so excited to have everyone with us he was like a little boy!.. Thus it took a great deal of persuasion to stop him from waking the others. Neil however wasn't so lucky as Chris snuck off and started banging on his door dragging him down to the beach for an early morning swim.
Perhentian Island
The gorgeous beach
We got Haze and Reggie up at about 10am and then we all had breakfast and headed to the beach for the day finding a lovely shaded spot to base ourselves before splashing in the sea and taking Haze snorkelling for the first time.
The lovely sea
Shade
Yet us girls weren't as lucky enough to find sharks as the boys were!.. Plenty of time left though and an awesome snorkelling trip we are planning for a couple of days time!
written by  chrischarly on April 25, 2011 from Kota Baharu, Malaysia

Beach Party
Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
Table and chairs on the beach
Today we spent the day on the beach again, snorkelling, swiming and Haze of course sun-worshipping, and then went back up to our resort to chill out, drink beer and gin before heading back down to the beach for a beach party!
The beach bar
It certainly was a late night, ladies got free drinks which of course was a bonus even though they were pretty strong and not that nice. But it was quite entertaining especailly when the bar got raided by local poilce officers stealing all the alcohol.
Haze, me and Chris
Fire dance
Neil
Reggie
Chris and Neil
Chris
Yet 30 minutes later they miraculously found a lot more beer and spirits stashed away somewhere!
Monkey juice!!
The monkey drinking monkey juice
The boys drank monkey juice which are served in buckets (that are traditionally used to make sand-castles) which is a whole bottle of rum with a can of lemonade.
Love is in the air??
4 monkey buckets later it was 4am and Chris decided to go for a late night swim resulting in me wrestling him on the beach the whole way down...
The night ended hazily at around 5am somehow back at the hotel... Good and messy night!
written by  chrischarly on April 26, 2011 from Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

The day after...
Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
The morning after...
Although the plan was to go on the snorkelling trip today, none of us actually felt up to it understandably, so we decided to hit the beach again and have a chill day...
Chris getting ready for a swim
Haze laughing at Chris
The walk down
Contemplating going in...
Chris finally making it to the sea
A romantic milkshake for 2
A restaurant on the beach
Chris laughing
Chris laughing even more!
Neil looking good
Nel looking like he's just been slapped in the face
Chris seriously enjoying his snickers milkshake
Eating out- Haze as usual laughing at Chris
written by  chrischarly on April 27, 2011 from Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

Snorkelling in Perhentian, or not !
Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
A ghecko with it's tail missing
We woke up bright and early and had breakfast at our hotel before picking out snorkels and fins for our snorkelling trip. We were all really excited about the prospect of seeing both sharks and turtles as they are pretty much guaranteed so hurried to get ready. However, just as I left our hut with Chris just slightly ahead, I somehow managed to slip backwards as I was wearing my stupid croc flip-flops that have zero grip and I should've binned them both ago. I'm unsure exactly how I managed it, but as I was falling backwards I managed to rip a huge chunk out of my knee even though I landed on my bum?? All I could feel was excruciating pain and I started screaming especially when I looked down to see blood everywhere and fat hanging out of the sides with leaves, dirt, sand and stones buried deep inside. Neil, Haze, and Reggie weren't in any rush to come over, as they said that when they heard me screaming they just thought it was Chris winding me up!
Obviously, I needed to get it cleaned and stitched up, so the guy we were supposed to go snorkelling with called a water taxi to take me to the other side of the island to go to the clinic. The guys thought it would be really funny if they put me in a wheelbarrow to transport me to the beach but I wasn't convinced it would be the best plan. So with Chris on one side and an Aussie friend Dave on the other side, they helped me hop down to the beach leaving a lovely train of blood behind me. The water taxi guy was in fact really nice and pulled the boat right out of the water for me so I wouldn't get wet, and tried to make jokes with me the whole way, which was about 10 minutes away although it did feel like forever. Bless Haze, she refused to go snorkelling and instead wanted to stay with me, but I managed to persuade Neil and Reggie to go.
Someone must've rang ahead as when I got off the boat and to the jetty there was another wheel-barrow waiting for me although I still hadn't plucked up the courage to go in it. The clinic was empty which to be fair isn't surprising as it's a tiny island and to be fair I swear it is a lot cleaner than anything you would get back in the U.K and the staff were really friendly.
A baby monitor lizard
As soon as I got in, they laid me down onto the bed and started taking the bigger things out of my knee, whilst I had Chris on my right and Haze on my left squeezing the life out of their hands. The nurse kicked Chris, the doctor and the water taxi driver out of the room whilst she gave me a tetanus jab in my bum. Chris used this as a perfect opportunity to go outside and have a cigarette as I think deep down he couldn't take much more. The taxi driver was also the same; throughout my time there he acted as a translator for us and the clinic staff and helped pin my feet down and it would've been a great deal harder if he weren't there, but he kept having to run out of the room, as he kept turning green. However, he did find it very amusing as did everyone else to hear my constantly swearing as they must never have heard a woman swear before as they kept giggling like little girls!
Palm trees
Eventually they got me cleaned up and although I kept begging for a general anaesthetic, they gave me a local one. I was feeling optimistic and thought that it would be just the same as the previous injection they gave me, but I was wrong. The local anaesthetic was probably more painful than cutting my knee open in the first place! I swear I screamed the whole of Perhentian Islands down, I have never felt anything like it as it's supposed to be a pain killer! Then then had to stitch me up, 7 in total, but at least there wasn't any pain, but the feeling was still really weird, I just wanted to throw up everywhere! Then finally, it was all over once they bandaged me up. I then had to sign a declaration to say that I am willing to let them operate on me and stitch me up, a little late now though. Then they gave me some hard-core painkillers to use only when the pain is unbearable, and only for 3 days, no idea what they were, but they worked, 8 anti-biotics to take a day, anti-inflammatories, iodine, bandages and some gauze pads. All this for 15 ringgit, which is £3! That includes all the treatment, stitches injections and everything! We were expecting to pay a fortune! Not even worth claiming on my travel insurance! The three of us then went outside and waited for Neil and Reggie to arrive for their lunch from their snorkelling trip and we were right near to their stop.
Haze and Reggie when they were out snorkelling
Haze
Hazey and Reggie snorkelling
I then managed to persuade Haze to go and join them for the last little bit so she didn't completely miss out, so Chris and I went back to our resort and I passed out on the sofa in the bar...
Charly after her traumatic day !
Even though these aren't our photos from snorkelling, it was our camera bag and this is what the others saw...
Turtle!!
A turtle!!
Coral
Fish
Sharks!!
Fishies
Clams
Underwater
So anyway...
If you are squeamish it would be best if you didn't look any further down this blog entry as there are photos which Haze dedicatedly took whilst my leg was been stitched up etc. But for those of you who like a bit of gore...
Jus after falling over
At the clinic
Cleaning it
Putting the stitches in
One I'd been stitched up
Me high off any the drugs they gave me
written by  chrischarly on April 28, 2011 from Long Beach Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

Delayed...
Kota Baharu, Malaysia
A tractor on the beach??
Chris and I
Chris' little friend
Monkey guiding the boat
Monkey gathering the rope together
Monkey lifting the engine
The monkey pulling the boat in
This morning we sadly had to leave the Perhentians and catch the Ferry back to the mainland before taking an hour's taxi ride to Kota Baharu to catch a flight to Penang.
The reason why we decided to fly was to save time, yet as the flight was delayed by 3 ½ hours it really wouldn’t have made much difference. Then again, you cannot really expect these kind of things.
So we all just chilled out in the airport; Neil bringing out his 7-in-1 board games he brought in Heathrow on the way over and competitively played Ludo until we were called.
Once in Penang we already had somewhere booked and had a stroll around in the evening ending up in a delicious Chinese restaurant.
Hazey and I
written by  chrischarly on April 29, 2011 from Kota Baharu, Malaysia

A stroll around Penang...
George Town, Malaysia
Today we decided to make the most of our day by eating our way slowly around George Town in Penang tasting all of the tasty treats this city has to offer.
Chicken and Egg Roti
First we took a stroll around Little India...
Budhist Temple
Then we went to an Old Mansion which Chris, Neil and Haze wandered about whilst Reggie and I chilled at the bottom not wanting to face all the stairs...
Neil diving on the antique bed in the Chinese Mansion
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We then went to Fort Cornwallis!
In the evening we found a British pub where had a couple of drinks (soft drinks for me unfortunately) and chatted the night away.
written by  chrischarly on April 30, 2011 from George Town, Malaysia

From Backpackers-Flashpackers
Taiping, Malaysia
Ever since we have met up with Haze, Neil and Reggie it is as if we have been morphed it Flashpackers aka, no longer on a strict, tight budget. You would be amazed at just how much money we have spent being with them! Soon, we will forget our backpacking routes and want to live they high life again as we are getting far too comfortable and used to it! Today Chris and Neil woke up bright and early to pick up a lush 7-seater hire car to drive to take a slow drive to Taiping in preparation to go to the night zoo in the evening. Taiping really isn't geared up for tourists and we were throughout our stay there the only Westerners we saw.
We did manage to find a hotel eventually after looking at some seriously run-down places and managed to get one with quite a nice view of the city. We then went out for something to eat and ate amongst the locals at a very rustic restaurant. At 8pm we left and made our way to the night zoo and the lady behind the counter was so happy to see us there that she literally screamed in excitement, 'Where you from?!' The zoo was really cheap and included within the price was a train ride around the whole park, which as great as it was huge, although the commentry wasn't in English so we had to work out ourselves in the darkness what was there.
They had so many different types of animals there including tigers, lion, elephants, rhinos, kangaroos, orangutans, zebra, crocodiles and so much more it was a great evening. After the train ride we then walked around some of the park so we could take a few photos, although it was dark and without a flash proved quite difficult!
We left at midnight when the park was closing listening to the orangutans banging and screaming refusing to go inside which was quite scary!
written by  chrischarly on May 1, 2011 from Taiping, Malaysia

A 3 hour drive taking 9 hours?!
Tanah Rata, Malaysia
On our way from Taiping
This morning we made a quick stop off to get some local breakfast before leaving Taiping and heading to The Cameron Highlands. Chris suggested we take the scenic route there so we didn't have to stay on the main highway the whole way, we all agreed this would be a good plan so off we went...
Nice rockface in Cameron Highlands
However, about 2 or 3 hours into the journey the scenic route soon turned into more like a dirt track with landslides along the way, but we continued on certain that it would get better.
Landslide
It didn't though. We came across a very dodgy piece of road that was full of wet sinking sand/clay and we all got out and planned the best proposed route through.
We then decided to walk over it ourselves to reduce weight in the car and all got filthy whilst Chris drove through.
We didn't get far though and soon got stuck and being a real-wheel drive sank further and further resulting in Chris getting out and Neil then taking over the driving with us all pushing from behind. But there was a wall right beside us and we slipped and managed to wedge the car right up against it. Now we were truly screwed and didn't know what to do as we were risking stractching the hire car more than we have done already.
Whilst trying to come up with a better solution, a member of the indigious tribe from the mountains came down with his son on a motorbike and came to see if he could help. Somewhere on his bike he had a huge machete hidden and then started hacking against the wall so we could push again.
Luckily it worked and we got through, but with plenty of spray-back clay hitting us in the process. We gave the guy some money (equivelent to £10) and he was over-the-moon constantly thanking us and we both went our separate ways.
We then continued on with a tiny bit of help using the guys directions even though he didn't speak a aword of English. About an hour later we came across an even worse part so decided that instead of getting stuck once again we would just turn around and go back and take the highway.
Whilst we were discussing this, 2 4x wheel drives came along and said they would follow us in case we got stuck again and off we went. But with a bit of speed and this time going down hill we made it without any problems and finally went on the right track to Cameron Highlands, working out that we took a turning too soon which was why we got stuck.
When we arrived in Cameron Highlands, we had already booked accomodation so checked in and then went out to get some food and relaxed whilst it poured and poured down with rain.
written by  chrischarly on May 2, 2011 from Tanah Rata, Malaysia

A day exploring the Highlands
Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Today we went for a drive and many stop-offs at The Cameron-Highlands. Although it was really cloudy so the views weren't fantastic but still a great day. We saw many hill stations and although they weren't as great as in India they were still impressive and it was the first time Neil and Haze had seen them so it was well worth it.
We then we to a tea factory that was unfortunately partly closed before going to a strawberry farm to eat some tasty strawberry treats.
At the Strawberry farm
Then in the evening we stayed at our guest House and had some beers whilst chatting the night away.
written by  chrischarly on May 3, 2011 from Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Monkeys!..
Bukit Fraser, Malaysia
This morning we woke up, it was still cloudy and raining, and we had breakfast before hitting the twisty turny roads.
Hazel enjoying the scenic drive
There were many landslides on the way, which made life difficult for Chris driving. Especially as he hilariously pointed out that every stream of water was a Waterfall, however we did find an awesome Waterfall mid journey where we saw.
Waterfall in Cameron Highlands
On the way, we saw many monkeys playing on the side of the road so we decided to stop to take some photos. However as soon as we stopped a massive one came jumping on our car and looking through our window and Reggie even opened the window but soon closed it again when we started yelling at her to close it quickly!
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The journey ended in a really roller coaster in a single-track road whilst everyone else tried their hardest not to vomit. Upon arriving in Fraser’s Hill, we started the traditional dance of flitting in between many different types of expensive and disgustingly run-down accommodation ending up back at the first bungalows we first looked at, which frequently happens.
Our apartment in Frasers
We then had a few relaxing beers brought from some seriously miserable staff overlooking the clock Tower roundabout.
Bukit Fraser aka Frasers Hill
written by  chrischarly on May 4, 2011 from Bukit Fraser, Malaysia

And one again, in KL
After waking up, we went to a little food court for breakfast before everyone except me went on a walk.
The Wild Ginger
Nice flowers by Haze
Millepede, we think !
Centipedes doing it !
Neil in the Jungle
On the trek in Frasers Hill
They had a great time and poor Chris even found a leech eating his ankle having made it through his socks!
The smallest Leech in the world on Chris' ankle
We then gathered up our things and left Fraser’s Hill heading to our second home, KL.
It was a nice drive and it was amazing at how the temperature slowly creeps up the closer you get to the city. The hottest we saw it was at 43 degrees when we arrived and it was stifling, but stupidly we forgot to take a photo of the temperature gage, remembering only later when it had dropped to 42.
42 degrees, after just dropping from 43
Looking down the mall
We were checked in before going to the Petronas Tower to grab something quick to eat before going to the Aquarium.
Stingrays
A turtle
Jelly fish
Underneath a shark
A scary shark
My leg was hurting and as it was a huge place they gave me a wheelchair to go around which was nice. Everyone seemed to love the Aquarium and unfortunately, we were quite late entering so we missed all the feeding times, but it was still worth the visit. We then headed back to the hotel before going to a night market similar to the one we went to before but in a different location and this time, Chris was tour guide.
Food
The food court where I had to scramble through to get to the bathroom
Bless Haze isn’t used to foreign food yet so struggled to eat most of it, but Chris did manage to find her a ham and cheese crepe to eat instead that smelled just like pizza, so she was happy!
written by  chrischarly on May 5, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Manic day
Kuala Selangor, Malaysia
At the breakfast food court
Chris and Christina
The food court where I had to scramble through to get to the bathroom
Christina took us for breakfast this morning at a Chinese wet market not too far away. We ate like locals trying new things but unfortunately some of it was really spicy and I somehow got some on my finger and then rubbed my eye. Chilli in the eye is painful and trying to navigate my way through the full street with tables and chairs everywhere and into a bathroom to wash, it out when I couldn’t see or walk properly was a mission. After, we went to a place that sells loads of local chocolate with many free samples, yummy before Christina took me to her local doctor to get my stitches out. Unfortunately, only 3 of the stitches were ready to come out and the other 4 had to stay for an extra 4 days. The doctor also had to pick all the scabs off to get to them and he wasn’t as gentle and the other in the first clinic. My knee was then tender for the rest of the day and bleeding.
An explanation into Pewter
Things made out of pewter
Me
We then went back to our guestHouse for a while before going to Royal Selangor where they make Pewter, which was really interesting before the others climbed the Batu Caves and I sat and waited at the bottom.
The furthest I got to seeing Batu Caves
Looking up
Looking down at the hundreds of steps
A temple
Haze taking over the job as receptionist
We then went on a lovely drive through the forest and saw some huge waterfalls and some fantastic scenery before heading to Christina’s House before all going out to dinner at an Indonesian restaurant.
A waterfall
Everyone and the Indonesian Restaurant
Haze enjoying some Indonesian food... pasta
We then went to one last stop, which was at a lookout point not too far away where you could see the whole of KL lit up including the Petronas and Sky Towers before the lights went off at midnight.
KL at night
Kuala lumpur at night
Chris and I
Me and my oober gorgeous sister
Neil and Reggie looking cute!
written by  chrischarly on May 6, 2011 from Kuala Selangor, Malaysia

Another crazy day in KL
All dressed up and looking good
Neil and Daise
One of the stops on the Heriatge Walk
A mosque
A tortoise
Lizard
Today was our last full day in KL for a while and everyone except me went to the Heritage Walk, which was about 2 hours long before Chris came back to meet me and the others went up the KL Sky Tower.
The view from the sky tower
We decided not to go as we had been already and we met them at the Pavilion for something to eat before heading back and meeting Christina and some of their friends to continue exploring. As we had a hire car, it made sense to explore some other places instead of just staying in the centre.
Reggie looking like she's loving the durian
The beloved durian
Durian
Eating durian
Our first stop was to get some durian for the others to try and Neil seemed to quite like it, whilst Reggie hated it and Haze slept in the car.
Neil and his new friend
Monkey with a HUGE tail
On the train to see the monkeys
A monkey with it's baby, a different colour when under 2 weeks old
Neil
Reggie
Haze petrified at the monkeys trying to grab food
We then went to Kuala Selangor to see some tame monkeys to play with and feed before going to a tasty seafood restaurant for dinner and to watch the sunset over a pretty river.
A lovely sunset over the river
A cute boat
At the breakfast food court
Houses on stilts
A man and cute child
We then took a further drive to go and see thousands of fireflies.
Chris squeezing into a life-jacket!
The best photo we could get of the fireflies... aka nothing
Apparently, there are only 2 places in the world to see fireflies in huge groups and we went to one of them at about 10pm at night taking a rowing boat along the river to see them in groups on trees. It was pretty incredible to see them all together and flashing in unison 3 times a second. Then after the fireflies, we took the long drive back, exhausted, and then packed to leave tomorrow before finally going to sleep at around 2am. Another long day.
written by  chrischarly on May 7, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Bye bye Daisy xxxxxxxxx
Mount Kinabalu
Today was a really sad day as Haze left… We woke up at 6, were showered and then drove to KLIA. Chris and Neil then dropped Haze, Reggie and myself off to get Haze checked in whilst they took back the hire car. Checking in was pretty easy and then we sat and waited for the guys to show back up so Haze could say goodbye to them before she went. I walked Haze as far as I could before security and guided her as best as I could in what I thought to be the right direction hanging over the balcony waving for as long as I could until she eventually disappeared. As soon as she was gone, I missed her loads. It would be so quiet without her and a long time until I saw her again. We then took a bus to LCC terminal in preparation for our flight to Kota Kinabalu, which took 2 ½ hours.
The market with lots of lovely fresh fish but too much blood
Once there we took a short taxi, ride to our hotel, and instantly fell in love with the place and the town. This side of Malaysia is so different; you would think you were in a different country if you didn’t know any better. It is nowhere near as built up as the Peninsula and seems a lot poorer but in spite of this, we love it even more. We once again feel like we are travelling again!
Bloody vigin shots!!! Yummy!!!
In the evening, we walked around a huge night market full of locals selling fresh fish, vegetables, and cooked foods. We decided to eat there for dinner and then went to a cheesy locals bar called ‘BED’ afterwards.
written by  chrischarly on May 8, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

And the last of the stitches
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Outside our lodge
Neil and Reggie woke up early to head to an island just off from Kota Kinabalu making a brief stopover at the dentist as poor Neil’s Wisdom tooth is coming through whilst me and Chris enjoyed a relaxing lie-in! The reason why we didn’t go with them was because I had to once again go back to the clinic and it’s pointless us all going. The clinic was nice and the doctor was friendly and spoke amazing English so it was pretty easy. I finally got the remaining 4 stitches out of my knee and it wasn’t as painful as I expected it to be, luckily. I do however have 2 holes in my knee where the stitches have moved which isn’t good. The doctor also wasn’t too pleased about it and considered putting in more stitches, which thankfully he decided against. He then contemplated gluing my knee back together, but it wasn’t clean enough to do so, so I now have to keep it covered again and rest it as much as possible as well as keeping it straight. Exactly the opposite to what we all thought would be best, which is probably why the stiches have moved. Not exactly ideal with Neil and Reggie here and trekking that we’ve planned to do this coming week, but never mind.
The food court where I had to scramble through to get to the bathroom
We then went back, chilled at our hotel, and got chatting to some other travellers especially a NZ girl called Justine who is a crazy ass traveller who is now planning to meet us in Sepilok once the others have left.
written by  chrischarly on May 9, 2011 from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Off to Sepilok
Sepilok, Malaysia
Neil pointing at a flying squirrel
This morning we woke up from a pretty rubbish night’s sleep due to a group of British teenagers partying late at night and then coming back and making so much noise outside our paper-thinned bedroom. Due to this I struggled to get back to sleep as I was so irritated and then got up to go the toilet almost tripping up over a girl who had passed out outside our door and then saw the reason why as there was sick all over the shared toilets. Nice. And highly respectful in a Muslim country. No wonder we have the bad reputation as ‘Brits Abroad’! At 7:30am, we met Neil and Reggie downstairs to have breakfast before making a brief stop off at the ATM before catching a taxi to the bus station.
On the bus to Sepilok
Chris had already booked the bus in advance through the hotel and when we turned up it was an ancient old rickety bus, not ideal and the most comfortable for our flashpacker friends! So Chris being clever went up to the ticket master and said, ‘You told me on the phone it was a V.I.P. bus’ which they didn’t and they gave him a full refund! Next to this bus was a super luxury one with tickets the same price but with more than double the room so we got on there instead! Hehe… So off we headed to Sepilok! The journey took around 7 hours and when we arrived; we were picked up and taken to our lovely guesthouse in the middle of the jungle.
Our dormitory
Chairs we dare not sit in
Once there we spent the evening sat in the bar, relaxing before retiring to our 12 bunk bedded dormitory.
written by  chrischarly on May 10, 2011 from Sepilok, Malaysia

River cruise
Sukau, Malaysia
About to go on the boat
Where we stayed
After a surprisingly perfect night’s sleep we awoke to the sun blaring down on us as our wake up-call before having breakfast and waiting for our pick up to take us to Sukau at 11:30am. It was quite a long drive about 2 ½ hours over a bumpy road. However, when we arrived, it was gorgeous to be in the jungle by the side of the river. We had booked a package which included 2 river cruises, 3 meals, tea, and coffee all day and accommodation for £30pp. So we settled into our rooms before having lunch and then we went on a 2-hour river cruise along the river hoping that we would see orang-utans, elephants, proboscis monkeys and so much more.
A probiscus monkey
The lovely river
Our place we stayed
Excited about our trip
Moi
2 probiscus monkeys
A croc
A crocodile's head
A very shocked expression!
A white-crested hornbill we think
2 pig-tailed monekys at it and looking straight at us!
We weren’t so lucky with the elephants and orang-utans but did manage to see loads of monkeys, proboscis, long and pig-tailed masques, kingfishers, a water monitor Lizard and loads of pretty birds. It was really nice and peaceful out there it was great. In the evening, there was an optional night cruise as well, but we decided to give that a miss figuring there wouldn’t be much to see in the pitch black, so we just relaxed and drank the night away!
written by  chrischarly on May 11, 2011 from Sukau, Malaysia

2nd river cruise at stupid-o'-clock
Sukau, Malaysia
Way to foggy to see anything decent!
The foggy morning cruise
We had to get up this morning at 5:30am to be in the restaurant ready to leave on our early morning cruise at 5:50. However, when we got into the bar, over the river was thick with fog, so pointless to leave. So we waited an extra half hour when the fog began to disperse praying we could have spent that extra time in bed instead of waiting.
Us on the boat
A big bird
Another hornbill
One of the many kingfishers we saw
A hornbill
This river cruise was really nice as well but mostly the animals awake were birds and considering we are not ‘twitchers’ we can’t say it was as enjoyable! But still well worth it. Then we came back and showered quickly before our transfer back to Sepilok.
Another ginger photo!
We then had lunch before taking a free shuttle to the Rainforest Discovery Centre, which we walked around for 2 hours. There is an opportunity to see lots of wildlife there but to be fair we saw virtually nothing except a few pretty birds, a black squirrel, and a bright green Lizard.
On the canopy walkway
A lizard
A Black Squirrel
In the rainforest, it was so humid it was literally unbearable, it was actually a relief when the minibus came and picked us up at 4pm!.. In the evening, we all just relaxed and played cards before going back to our dormitory. This time before checking into our dorm, Chris picked the one furthest away and luckily we were the only occupants!
written by  chrischarly on May 12, 2011 from Sukau, Malaysia

A shed load of photos of orang-utans
Sepilok, Malaysia
Outside the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center
Today we woke up after yet again an amazing sleep in a dorm, had breakfast and met Neil and Reggie, who slept in a room instead of choosing the dorm option due to Chris’ snoring! We then got into a minibus to go to the Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre. There are 2 feeding times there, one at 10am and one at 3pm. We decided to go to both to make the most out of our ticket and it was awesome!
An orangutan hiding!
An orangutan holding on tight
An orangutan holding on by it's legs, whilst eating... impressive
Orangutan
Eating
Gorgeous orangutan
Monekys at it yet again....
Monekys at it again...
And again....
Monkeys once again....
Orangutan eating
Orangutan disgusted by the monekys in front of him
An old orangutan with a disgusting moneky's arse
Neil and a monkey
Basically, the centre is for rescued orang-utans either saved from being captured and then kept as pets or orphans alone in the jungle, and their aim is to eventually release them back into the wild when they are fit enough and able to do so, taking around 10 years to accomplish this.
An orangutan
Swinging
He looks like he's about to sneeze!
That pose looks painful
A very thoughtful expression
Poser
Nice bum shot
A hanging orangutan
The orang-utans themselves are 96.4% human, according to the facts and they are just fascinating to watch.
A posing monkey
3 orangutans
The guy feeding the orphaned orangutans
We actually got really close to them at feeding times, but the wild masque monkeys scared them away after about 10 minutes, which was irritating.
Orangutans scared of the monkeys
Orangutans
Full-on kiss
Ahhh...
Orangutans comforting each other from scary monkeys
Kissy kissy
2 Orangutans
Bestest friends
CUTE!!
You wouldn’t think they would be scared of them considering they are 3 times the size of the monkeys! At 4pm, we took a transfer back and relaxed in the bar for Reggie and Neil’s last night with us…
written by  chrischarly on May 13, 2011 from Sepilok, Malaysia

Bye Neil and Reggie, and Hello Justine!
Sepilok, Malaysia
Lets offroad !
We waved a sad goodbye to Neil and Reggie today when they got picked up outside our lodge to be taken back to Kota Kinabalu before flying back to KL for their last night. It sucked to see them go especially after spending time with them for the past 3 weeks but I’m sure it won’t be too long until we see them again, possibly in New Zealand or South America, or more likely, both. So, all of a sudden, it was quiet again, and the 2 of us had to make conversation with each other again. Luckily, Justine came and rescued us a few hours later by rocking up in her 4x4, tiny hire car and we spent the day and night chilling out with many other backpackers drinking gin and beer.
written by  chrischarly on May 14, 2011 from Sepilok, Malaysia

A little off-roading
Tawau, Malaysia
Borneo 4WD tours Ltd
We checked out this morning heading to Tawau over some pretty dodgy roads in the 4x4 driving slowly and enjoying the scenery of Borneo, as it really is beautiful out here.
Nice smooth road
Jungle storage
If the road can break them what hope do we have !
On the jungle route
More jungle passing us by, literally
Once in Tawau, we found a really nice hotel to stay in for the night being the cheapest as well as the best so we settled in and chilled out for a while before taking a wander about enjoying being the only tourists around and receiving special treatment from the locals.
written by  chrischarly on May 15, 2011 from Tawau, Malaysia

In the middle of nowhere
Keningau, Malaysia
Lost at the end of the road
We got up early today leaving Tawau heading towards Maliau Basin (Sabah’s lost world) Conservation Area, trying our luck getting in without a prior reservation. It is basically a circular basin with pristine forest inside, has only been open to the public since 1981, and receives very few tourists. It was really pricy but the chance to stay in the middle of a rainforest in the middle of nowhere and nobody else around us was too good an opportunity to miss, so we decided to go for it!
Malau basin was open but no car to drive us in, poo !
In order to get inside, someone had to pick us up, as our little 4-wheel drive wouldn’t make it, so we sat and waited… and waited… Eventually Chris went to go and find what was going on and we discovered that the owner of the place had left with the car keys to Kota Kinabalu, which is about 300km away from here! This was the only vehicle insured to take tourists so we had no choice but to continue on our adventure.
There goes some more virgin Borneon jungle
Roadside cafe, Borneon styley
We then made our way to Sapulut to try our luck with somewhere to stay. Once there we realised that we were once again in the middle of nowhere and stopped at a random shop to grab a drink, which was dirt-cheap and sat surrounded by indigenous locals trying to work out our next plan. A trucker came along after a while who luckily spoke a bit of English and acted as translator for us so we could ask where would be best to stay. He told us there was a missionary just down the road and we could stay in the Catholic Church, but apart from that there was nowhere except to stay with the shop owner and we could negotiate staying at her house. But as she didn't speak any English and quite possibly lived in a tiny shack with all her family and not wanting to offend anyone if we turned up there and it was horrible, we made a quick getaway.
Elephant poo, we were on the trail
All we can say is, not often !
We waited, and waited!
Wee stop #1
Then we headed towards Keningau, which was the closest city in search again of finding somewhere to stay. So after about 11 hours of driving on some very dodgy rounds, written in the Lonely Planet as virtually ‘impossible to travel to on your own’ and only if you were ‘a proficient 4 wheel driver’ you could give it a go, we made it and found a great place to stay for really cheap.
Keningau stop night #2
We then wandered around once again no tourists whatsoever amazed at how happy everyone was to see us in their city, pointing, giggling, and wanting to be our friends.
written by  chrischarly on May 16, 2011 from Keningau, Malaysia

Satu Kopi Susu!!
Telupid, Malaysia
Very local town
Gravel, not bumpy at all!
Boat building
This morning we woke up, found a cute local roti restaurant sitting with locals who spoke not a word of English so we got the chance to practice speaking the local language (Satu Kopi Susu= 1 coffee with milk) as well as just pointing and luckily, we got what we wanted! The locals all loved us and the pretty Muslim girls all wanted to have their photos taken with us especially enjoying the novelty of being with a pink and yellow haired Justine!
Car lost for a while we think !
Deep Borneon jungle
Strange insect, we discovered it !
We then checked out of our hostel and started our next adventure going around in circles due to getting seriously lost before doing some mega off roading and driving through a fast-flowing river, all of us being quite surprised that us as well as our car made it.
There was a road but then it rained
Lets just go for it and dont stop, whatever !
Nice offrad track
Roadside cafe, Borneon styley
We then made our way to Sabah Tea Gardens in Ranau to work out where we could stay the night from talking to the locals, before finally finding somewhere to sleep in Telupid, with dubious stains on the bed and cockroaches running about. Nice.
Amazing skies
written by  chrischarly on May 17, 2011 from Telupid, Malaysia

Finding plenty of untouched places
Pitas, Malaysia
Justine watching the Roti maker
Tea plantation
Through a rough track then we fing a bus stop ?!
We found an awesome roti restaurant again this morning, but didn’t really get anything we ordered but it still tasted good! Once again, as we were in a really small local town not even mentioned in the Lonely Planet so virtually non-existent in the eyes of a tourist, we got a load of attention from the locals before once again setting off for our next adventure.
Black squirrell eating bananas
Offroad adventurer!
Palm fruit off to the refinery
Another end of the road, great navigation Justine !
Extreme !
Offroad adventure
Getting a bit tricky
Palm workers suprised to see us
Justine leaving car whilst moving ?!
We drove on a windy road up North towards Pitas and then got lost, yes, again as we planned to do some 4-wheel driving and managed to find some pretty exciting roads before finally finding the right way and headed in search for a beach.
Beach at 2nd tip of Borneo
On the 2nd tip of Borneo
Amazing beach middle of nowhere!
We found the beach !
We did manage to find it after asking for many directions and ended up driving through a palm Plantation to get there!
Through a palm plantation to the beach
It really was simply beautiful as well as being untouched.
So much so that there was nowhere even remotely close to staying so we relaxed and splashed our feet for a while before driving almost to the tip of Borneo to finally find somewhere to crash for the night in Kudat driving through massive thunder storms with practically no visibility of the road ahead. Scary!!
written by  chrischarly on May 18, 2011 from Pitas, Malaysia

Staying with a lovely Muslim family
Tuaran, Malaysia
Off on our 4WD adventure
Crazy Justine off across the swingy bridge
The river of browness
So confident, look 1 hand !
Slowly slowly
Difficult passing move
On the swing bridge
Coming down from the swing bridge
We woke up early this morning and had a curry breakfast before heading to Tuaran to stay with a Muslim family Justine has stayed with before. Of course, along the way we got lost once again but arrived not long after 2pm.
Cooking at our private retreat
Cooking out our private retreat
Although it was a guestHouse, it felt a lot more like staying with the family at their own House as we were made to feel so welcome.
Amazing sky before the storm
Amazing skies on our last night with Justine
In the evening, we cooked at made dinner for them, and it was amazing to have mashed potato again, and chatted the night away.
Justine chewing on beetlenut... yuck
Justine, Annie and her mum
written by  chrischarly on May 19, 2011 from Tuaran, Malaysia

Bye Justine!!
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Nice local bridge
Today was Justine’s last day and the kind lady (I’ve forgotten her name) made up Nasi Goreng Kampong (fried rice with salted fish) for breakfast before we drove Justine to the airport and dropped the hire car back off. It was sad to see her go as well, but we made plans to spend Christmas with her in NZ so it won’t be long. We then checked back in to the place we stayed previously in Kota Kinabalu and prepared ourselves for leaving Sabah and heading to Brunei tomorrow!
written by  chrischarly on May 20, 2011 from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

2 ferrys and a bus to Brunei
Kampung Sagoking, Malaysia
Me early morning waiting for the ferry to Brunei
We woke up far too early this morning to ensure we got first dibs in the showers and toilets as there’s only 2 per floor so we wouldn’t have to queue. We then skipped a vile breakfast before taking a taxi to the Ferry terminal and taking the Ferry to Labuan where we had to wait a couple of hours for the next one.
The ferry port
The second ferry we went on
Chris outside the first ferry
Once in Brunei, we took a bus into town and then found accommodation relatively easily and then decided to go for a wander in the smallest capitol city in Asia, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the smallest in the world!
Another photo of the mosque
The mosque at almost sunset
It takes pretty much no time at all to have a walk around and it’s pretty expensive here, so don’t think we will be spending loads of time here. But nevertheless it’s still a nice place to go and visit.
A crazy Manakin
written by  chrischarly on May 21, 2011 from Kampung Sagoking, Malaysia

Walking around BSB
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
The mosque over the river
Today we had a bit of a lie-in and then met our friend Laura to go for a walk around Bandar Seri Begawan.
The pretty village
Water village
Walking around the water village, the biggest in the world
It was a really hot day and even more humid but still a great day. We took a walk around the water village which the locals nickname it as ‘South East Asia’s Venice’ and it is apparently the largest water village in the world. It was huge and has been there for over 600 years so was great to get the chance to walk around there. We then went to the Sultan’s Museum to have a look around, this was mainly due to it being fully air-conditioned so we could dry off before rushing back to a café as it started to rain.
Our driver
Me enjoying passing through the water village
A shell garage
Filling up with petrol on the river
Local boys going for a late night swim
A fire station on the water
Early evening we decided to go on a boat trip around the river managing to haggle the trip down to 15 ringgit (£3) and saw probiscus monkeys, fireflies, the Sultan’s Palace and went through the water village again. Photos didn’t however turn out great as it was dusk but well worth the trip.
The River Brunei
A firefly that landed on Chris' hand... Look closely and you can work it out
A tug-of-war game we randomly came across
When we got off the boat though, the skipper tried to rip us off by saying that it was 15 ringgit per hour and as we were gone two, it was double the price and certainly NOT what we agreed, so basically just laughed at him and walked off, which was a shame as we thought he was lovely.
written by  chrischarly on May 22, 2011 from Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Scary lady!..
Miri, Malaysia
A waitress in training
Today we left Brunei after our short visit and got onto a bus at 7am to go back into Malaysia this time visiting Sarawak. The journey was ok taking only 4 hours and that included crossing the border. Once there we waited ages for a local bus to take us into Miri city centre as many locals told us it would arrive, but ‘soon’ was the only time scale they could offer and not in a very friendly way either. So, we eventually gave up waiting and met our next ‘friendly’ person, a taxi driver. He was so miserable with us acting as if it was a massive favour by him taking us somewhere. He dropped us off with a bit of persuasion at a guest House called ‘The Highlands’ and after climbing what seemed to be a million stairs we were greeted by the most eccentric Asian lady we’ve ever met. In fact, eccentric may be a tad too polite and politically correct, possibly a full-on psycho would be more precise. However, we realised this once we had already checked in and paid, unfortunately.
The cutest girl giving me change
She was supposed to be a tour guide as well and this was supposed to be like a tourist information centre as well as a hostel, which was why we decided to choose this place in the first place. However, if you need to ask her a question, she pretty much mocks you and says the exact opposite of the correct answer. Very irritating! So we soon ran away to the beach with our new friend Jess for the night to watch the sunset and came back to find us no longer speaking to us, laid in silence watching the T.V. which I was secretly glad about, but trying to book a tour for tomorrow was difficult. Then, into our beds for the night, completely exhausted, to find that the mattress has no springs, like a thin cushion sinking through the thin and hard slabs. ‘The Highlands’ is definitely a top pick for travellers!
written by  chrischarly on May 23, 2011 from Miri, Malaysia

A 'trip' to Niah Caves
Niah, Malaysia
At the entrance
Well the scary lady that we stayed with only got more scary and irritating today but I cannot be bothered to list all the reasons to why today as it would take too long and make for a huge blog entry, but I’m sure I’ll include some of the highlights.
Dreading the 8.2 km walk
We woke up prepared to go on our trip this morning to Niah Caves about a 1 ½ drive away. They found 40,000-year-old human remains and artefacts here that are the oldest found in SE Asia, so quite impressive! We managed to eventually book our tour through ‘scary lady’ and we were really looking forward to going although it would be a lot of trekking, 8.2km to be precise and as my knee isn’t completely healed I was a little worried. Once we got outside we were expecting to see a mini bus to take us considering it was a tour, but no a miserable taxi driver was waiting outside to greet us with a disgusted look on his face and said, ‘You’re late’ and so the drive continued in silence... Thus the tour we had booked was in fact just a taxi ride and with no tour. Anyway, we were determined to not let it dampen our day so found our own way to the caves once we arrived and the driver sat and waited for us in his car.
Us about half way to the caves
Along the side of The Great Cave
The beautiful walkway to the caves
Vines hanging down from the trees
Inside The Great Cave
Me, sweaty and exhausted, yet not even half way!
A pretty bird
An pretty plant
Just inside the entrance of a cave
The entrance to one of the caves
Climbing up a shed load of steps
A bright red centipede hiding
A very spiky plant
Lighting up the way with our head-torches
Finding some light
About to go into pitch black
Inside a cave
Looks like the cave was being held up by just 1 stick!
Me 'wowed' by the tree
Amazing roots from a tree
It was a long trek but most of it was shaded and on a slabbed platform outside the caves but inside it was quite dark and slippy as the ground was just layers upon layers of bird and bat poo. However, we did have a great yet tiring day; as it was so humid, so on the way back after getting some much-needed lunch I just passed out in the back of the car. Chris also was exhausted so decided to find himself a quick beer when we got back and I walked to our room to chill for a while. I unfortunately left the key with him, so had to ring the doorbell to get inside; something ‘scary lady’ was not happy at all with and glared at me in such a way, I’m actually surprised she didn’t punch me before telling me off as if I was 6 years old! By this time I had had enough so made a vow with Chris and Jess that we would be checking out first thing in the morning!
written by  chrischarly on May 24, 2011 from Niah, Malaysia

Arriving in the delightful Mukah
Bintulu, Malaysia
Chris looking deep in thought
This morning we checked out, which I was delighted about and took a taxi to the bus stand to go to Mukah which one of the locals was very excited about us going and said that it ‘has beaches like Hawaii’ and although we doubted that he had ever been to Hawaii we appreciated the gesture! So we were pretty excited especially as it didn’t seem like an area tourists generally visit. The bus journey was a little bumpy but we managed to book front seats having 2 to ourselves so it was a comfortable ride. After 7 hours we arrived and got dropped off in the outskirts of town but without a taxi insight, map and anybody who spoke decent English we were unsure of which direction to head in so finding accommodation was a challenge.
Jess chillin'
After about 40 minutes walk though we came across a little gem that was really cheap, free Wi-Fi and in a good location close to the river, although we had yet to find the beach?!
The river branching out to the sea
In the evening, we took a little walk a found a nice restaurant with friendly staff overlooking the river, which served really cheap beer- 3 for £2, so Chris, was in his element and there we stayed for the night.
Boats on the river outside a tasty seafood restaurant
written by  chrischarly on May 25, 2011 from Bintulu, Malaysia

Finally finding the beaches like Hawaii???
Mukah, Malaysia
The very over-rated beach :(
Today we woke up determined to find the beach. So, we asked the manager where we were staying for directions, and decided to just walk until we found it and he also said that we would love it and it is one of the nicest beaches. We packed light, as we knew it would be quite a walk and planned to find a nice little restaurant to camp out in once we got there. After about a 45-minute walk in the baking sun and leaving civilisation completely we found it! It was nothing like we imagined it to be. We heard many reports that it was gorgeous and had loads of palm trees we could sit under, but as soon as we got there, it seemed that all of these had been sadly chopped down. So the sand was pretty much covered in logs to climb over and there wasn’t anywhere we could see to stop for a quick drink, which sucked, as we brought no water. We decided to walk for a while to see if we would come across one, but no, nothing at all there so we found a different route to walk back along the road praying we would come across a shop soon. No, was the answer.
A refreshing drink/ice-cream treat after a stupidly long walk!
So after about 2 hours of walking we made it back into town and downed as much fluid as our bodies could take and although we were wearing sun cream we were burned and a little dizzy from the heat. Also, just to prove how hot it was, when we got back we jumped straight into the shower and my bikini bottoms elastic had melted and stuck to my skin! Later, after it had cooled down a bit, Jess and I took a walk around town for an hour or two leaving Chris back at the hotel as he wasn’t feeling great to check out flights before going back to the riverside restaurant for some tasty seafood in the evening.
written by  chrischarly on May 26, 2011 from Mukah, Malaysia

A 11 1/2 bus journey to Kuching
Sibu, Malaysia
Us at the back of the bus
We left Mukah first thing this morning and got on a 7:30am bus to Kuching in preparation for our flight to Indonesia in a few days time. It sure was a long journey with us arriving at 7pm but at least it got all the travelling out of the way. When we arrived at the bus station there were only 2 seats available and they were right at the back, but as this was the only bus going directly to Kuching we decided to just get on, ignoring all of our previous experiences travelling right at the back of old bad suspension buses. It was a ‘luxury V.I.P. bus’ though so only had 3 seats across so we had tons of leg room and the chairs were huge so it wasn’t too bad.
A view of the bus
But as soon as we got going, every bump ensured we left our seats so it was not very comfortable, but we could see the funny side as I almost landed in Chris’ lap a few times and he in mine! When we arrived in Sibu, which was about 4 hours into the trip, we had a 20-minute break and as this was a main stop, many passengers got off, so Chris went and used his charm to get our seats changed to 4 seats up the bus, so just behind the middle. We were both so grateful! However, as soon as we set of, we realised that the air-con unit was leaking just above my head, so just like Chinese water torture apparently. So I continuously was dripped on with ice-cold water for the rest of the journey, and as all the seats had once again been sold, I had no choice but to put up with it.
Chris relaxing
Once in Kuching we tried to get a taxi into town, but they refused to give us a decent price so we went and found a local bus stop to take us, although no one told us there were no buses running in the evening! After about 30 minutes waiting during a thunderstorm, a mini bus pulled off dropping some passengers off so we climbed in, not knowing that he had finished his rounds for the night and was only a private bus, but he kindly took us to town anyway. Then we had a short walk, somehow managed to strike lucky, and find our hostel and we were absolutely drenched through! It was a really nice place though and we had booked 2 dorm beds and when he checked us in, there were only bizarrely 3 beds per dorm room, and it was just the two of us, much much cheaper than getting a double room but just the same! Bargain!
written by  chrischarly on May 27, 2011 from Sibu, Malaysia

Junk, junk, junk
Kuching, Malaysia
Sarawak Parliament Building
Not sure what this is
Where we are staying
Today we decided to go exploring around Kuching and planned what we would do for the next few days here. So we went walking around enjoying the city marvelling how they could have huge streets with shops next to each other selling identical junk! Right at the waterfront there must be almost 50 souvenir shops and on the back street there must be the same amount of jewellers! How these people stay in business we’ll never know especially as there were never any customers! Must be a SE Asia thing…
written by  chrischarly on May 28, 2011 from Kuching, Malaysia

Sarawak Cultural Village
Kuching, Malaysia
Men picking up huge wooden things with their teeth!
Chris looking out a window in a traditional Malay house
Today we woke up early and caught a shuttle bus to Sarawak Cultural Village in Damai. We had heard great things about it and as they were celebrating their Harvest Festival this weekend we thought it would be a great time to visit.
Chris walking along a mission of a bridge
Climbing up very thin steps made out of a tree trunk
It wasn’t however how we expected it to be.
A mask
A statue
I had heard wrong and thought it was a real longHouse village from years ago, but really it is so touristy and they had built replica longHouses from the different tribes.
A typical bedroom
Inside a longhouse
It was a great chance though to see what a real long House looked like even if it had never been lived in.
A long house
A Long house
Some figurines
An iron-man competition
Me looking at gongs
An old-style bed
Ladies making cakes
But there was very little to do and it was very pricy to Enter at £12pp and for Malaysian standards that is high.
Chris and I waiting for the dances to start
Another Mr. Joel staying at a longhouse...
There was an iron-man competition going on which was weird in such a setting with loud music blaring all day, so it didn’t make the whole experience life-like.
Dancing
A traditional cultural dance
Impressive!
A man balancing on a stick
But what we did see were a few cultural dances which were impressive from different tribes around Sarawak.
Ladies in traditional clothing
Shooting blow-darts
However as we were sitting right at the front we noticed they were all the same dancers dressed up differently for each dance, which was also a great disappointment considering it was advertised to be tribes that were dancing.
Ladies dressed up as they would in tribes years ago
There's something not right about this picture??
Nevertheless we did have a good day and did manage to see the funny side and were pretty tired once we got back.
written by  chrischarly on May 29, 2011 from Kuching, Malaysia

A nice stroll around Kuching
Kuching, Malaysia
A statue outside a Chinese temple
Today we went for another walk around Kuching and wandered around some of the museums before finding a few back streets to take a walk aimlessly down. It was a pretty easy-going day!
A tasty Lebonese Restaurant
Oh and finally the scab fell off my knee, now a month later I'm left with a big hole in the middle and a rank scar!
My knee a month later, with a hole and scars all round... yuck!!
written by  chrischarly on May 30, 2011 from Kuching, Malaysia

Last full day in Malaysia!
Me eating tradional Malay food... Chris was soooooo proud!
As it was our last day in Kuching, and well our last full-day in Malaysia we decided to go out and try some of the local foods that Sarawak is famous for. Chris had a ‘Sarawak Laksa’ and I had ‘Tomato Keow Taow’ which is fried noodles cooked in a tomato sauce with other bits in which were tasty but I have no idea what they were.
????
We then went back and did last minute preparation for tomorrow, as we still haven’t worked out what we should do once in Jakarta.
Staff
And now that it is the evening we are going to have a few drinks to toast Malaysia!
The lounge in Wojia Lodge
Probably not the best plan before a day of flying, but we'll deal with that tomorrow! :)
Our German friends, David and Tanya

A long, long day
Changi Airport, Singapore
Queing up
Well today was certainly a long day! We woke up bright and early after a rubbish sleep due to our neighbour watching loud films on his laptop until 2am! It took ages to work out where the noise was coming from, as we didn’t know there was anyone staying there! So I went walking around the whole hotel checking that no T.Vs were left on and getting the manager to check. We just couldn’t work it out, as there were thick concrete walls into the other room next to us, which we thought were the only other people staying on our floor. Very irritating! In the end, I worked out that part of the wall was just thick cardboard basically, so hammered on there for ages, but it didn’t help until I banged on his door continuously until he shut up! I then found out that it was a staff member who was being so noisy, so I was even more wound up! So after 3 hours sleep, I wasn’t really prepared for the day ahead.
The pilot of our plane reading his newspaper
We took a taxi to the airport as there were no buses running that early and the flight left for Johor Bharu at 9:30am. Easy. We then took a bus to the main bus stand before getting on another through into Singapore airport. Then, from there we had to just and wait for our flight. As we were 4 hours early we couldn’t drop our bags off which was a pain but as there is very little to do in the budget terminal, it wasn’t a big deal. There were huge storms in Singapore as soon as we arrived so we were praying our flight wouldn’t be cancelled, which luckily it wasn’t, just delayed by 30mins.
Chris very excited about going on a plane in Singapore
When we got onto the plane, we somehow managed to get the extra legroom seats, which was great as we didn’t even pay for them, or even ask. Maybe the lady took pity on us at the counter. Once we arrived in Jakarta is was manically busy, but there was a great bus system operating just outside the airport so caught a bus really easily into Jln Jaksa, which is the main backpackers street, right next to the train station. The bus took about an hour and just looking out the window we were amazed at just how busy as well as huge Jakarta is! Phenomenal is the only word to describe this place! Java is apparently the most populated island in the world for its size, amazingly beating India, which we didn’t think possible, so as soon as we arrived we tried to plan our escape route, by walking to the train station and trying to get any train out of there as quick as possible, not caring about the destination.
Our mosquito-ridden room
This however wasn’t possible as we just missed the last train as it was already 9pm. We then tried to book tickets to leave for Yogyakarta in the morning but they were unfortunately fully booked! So it seemed that we would be stuck here. So we then went on a mammoth walk (well so it felt) to Jln Jaksa not realising just how far it is and tried to find decent accommodation. After over an hour of searching in complete shit holes (and there is no other way to describe the places here) with having people constantly coming up to us trying to sell us things and places to stay when all we wanted was to be left alone, we eventually found somewhere with friendly people and gave up and stayed there.
This photo doesn't really capture the filth
Chris swears that it was by far the worst place we’ve yet to stay in and absolutely hated it, and maybe he was right but I think some places in India were worse though, but then again I may have been a tad bit optimistic. We then didn’t want to face the people, the hassle, and the streets there so although we were hungry we stayed in too scared to leave again.
written by  chrischarly on June 1, 2011 from Changi Airport, Singapore

Quickly escaping from Jakarta
Jakarta, Indonesia
Chris and I
This morning after a surprisingly good night’s sleep, but covered in mozzie bites, we woke up at 6am and decided to make a run for it and leave Jakarta. Although we went to the train station last night and tried to book tickets to go to Yogyakarta, we decided to not take ‘Full’ for an answer! So we jumped in a tuk tuk to the station and Chris managed to blag his way onto a luxury train. Prices weren’t cheap at all, but as soon as we got onto the train, the money was instantly justified, as it was so comfy, clean, and spacious with air con and unbelievably plug sockets! Perfect!
The lovely comfy train
Leaving Jakarta
An over-flowing bin just outside of Jakarta
The scenery along the way was great as well. There were just miles and miles of rice terraces and cute little villages to look out at.
On the way
Rice paddies with a huge mountain or volano in the background
However, just over half way the power was cut off, thus no electricity and worse, no more air-con! My God, it was simply like being in a sauna, it just got hotter and hotter, and as it was an air-conditioned train, none of the windows would open, so no breeze so we were left to bake for the next 3 hours! I felt so sorry for a local family trying their best with 3 young children to keep cool, using everything they could to fan them down even though sweat was literally pouring down them!
Rice paddies
farmland
So, we were relieved when we finally arrived! Finding accommodation wasn’t as easy as we thought, as most of the nice ones were full already. But after about walking in and out of 10 of them, we found a nice little place for good value but unfortunately, we forgot to check the bed! As soon as we sat down on the bottom right corner, Chris almost fell through! So we lifted up the mattress and found a huge chunk of wood missing! It was very funny though, but it didn’t matter as long as we avoided that area of the bed! In the evening after having one of the most refreshing showers, we went out for something to eat and got chatting to a friendly English couple, Nadia and Sam who gave us loads of great tips on what to do in Indonesia until late at night.
written by  chrischarly on June 2, 2011 from Jakarta, Indonesia

A walk around the bustling, hectic Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Chris sitting on the balcony
After having a lovey lie-in this morning, we went for a walk around the streets of Yogyakarta. It was so hot and humid today, which didn’t help the stinky smells of the city. It is also so loud here with all the mopeds and cars driving around honking their horns. I swear I have never in all my life seen so many motorbikes in such a confined area, it’s literally crazy here. It is like being back in India again for so many reasons. We can’t walk more than 10ft without people coming up to us and asking us a zillion questions and by lunchtime, I was already exhausted.
Chris and I sat in a cute restaurant
However, the majority of people are really friendly though, but it doesn’t make it any easier to keep your smile plastered on your face!
written by  chrischarly on June 3, 2011 from Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Buddhist vs Hindu build-off
Borobudur, Indonesia
This morning we woke up at 4:30am to get ready for our trip to Borobudur, Mendut Temple, and Prambanan.
Firstly, we took a minibus to Borobudur, which is an amazing Buddhist temple constructed in the 9th century AD.
We took a guide and learnt all about the symbolism of the temple and in short, it shows the journey of Buddha from birth through to enlightenment, sharing the guiding principles along the way.
This monument was actually lost and destroyed by various volcanic eruptions and only rediscovered and renovated after 1814.
It’s like the biggest, most complex jigsaw puzzle ever attempted. Plus, it took 10 years and they still have several 10,000’s pieces left over.
Also, every time Merapi erupts, quite regular of late, it is buried in ash and they need to clean it all! Don’t fancy that job!
Afterwards we went to Mendut Temple, which houses a 3m tall Buddha. Some believe it was supposed to be put on top of Borobudur, but they couldn’t work out how to get it up there. I can see them scratching their heads and saying ‘Oh Bugger’, all those years ago!
Finally on our thoroughly cultural day, we went to Prambanan, which is a massive Hindu temple complex, built, would you believe it, in the 9th century AD.
Once again my cultural mind could see the Hindus and the Buddhists having a build off, the Buddhists finishing first but the Hindu’s saying 'you ain’t done till you get that big Buddha fellow on top, suckers!'
written by  chrischarly on June 4, 2011 from Borobudur, Indonesia

To the nice cool climate in Kaliurang
Kaliurang, Indonesia
Today we left Yogyakarta and made our way to Kaliurang in preparation of climbing Mt. Merapi Volcano tomorrow, which is currently the most active Volcano in the world. So to get there we had to catch a local bus to the main bus station and then change buses. However, once we were on the bus, it emptied out, the driver and conductor said they would take us all the way there for a cheaper price so we wouldn’t have to change! Perfect and extremely nice of them!
However, I think it was an excuse for them to have a drive and thus enjoy some lunch and time off! When we arrived in Kaliurang they unfortunately as well as 3 other locals gave us incorrect directions for Vogels, which is the guesthouse we were staying in. So we wandered around and around for ages before working out that it was right where the bus had dropped us off! As soon as we checked in, we instantly fell in love with the place and the owner Christian and enjoyed a chilled evening in the restaurant.
written by  chrischarly on June 5, 2011 from Kaliurang, Indonesia

Merapi- Mountain of Fire
Kaliurang, Indonesia
It’s 0320am and we awake earlier than planned full of excitement of going to see Merapi. A few facts, to get you warmed up:-
1) It's rated currently as the MOST active volcano in the world…
2) It’s been in a near-constant state of eruption for 100s of years; last major eruption was November…
3) It wiped out a staggering 10 Million hectares of forest and land…
4) It destroyed 22 villages…
5) It killed 300 people (found), another 100 never found…
6) 30,000 people evacuated some of which can never go back…
7) It erupts clouds of rocks (some as big as houses) and gas all at about 1500 degrees C that travel down the side of the mountain at 150kmph. It looks like traditional lava, but it’s actually the rocks crashing into one another and exploding into flames and sparks…
8) Only Christian (a legend in these parts) can lead into the danger zone (3km from peak), which is exactly what we did!..
We get ready and go the restaurant to meet Richard, another trekker, and Christian our incredible guide and have our first of apparently 3 breakfasts before being briefed on how dangerous this is!
We then set off through town guided by the stars and up a dark path and steps into a forest.
Getting to the top of the ridge is about 30 mins before the sun starts to break.
We wait here and as the sun creeps up and the stars disappear, we can see the silhouette of Merapi smoking in the distance. As it lightens, the sheer magnitude of the devastation is revealed. Chris tries his best to capture it on the camera, but it was impossible to reflect what we saw. Basically, massive hardwood trees have been smashed just like a domino effect all along the slopes down, and on the slopes in the distance there WERE villages. Some people are still believed to be buried under the 2m of volcanic ash!
A house that had a tree landed on it
Up Merapi volcano
Walking
The climb up was pretty slow, as it was more scramble and climb than actual walk, but we made it through without any significant damage. It was only 3.5kms but it was tough and very rough and some of the ridges drop off several hundred meters. You don’t want to slip, so you go very slowly.
Merapi
Happy tpo be in the danger zone
Entering the danger zone- hence red flag
We retuned back and saw some of the damage to houses in Kaliurang, which was mainly protected by a hill. We then had a second local breakfast (soyabean burgers, sticky rice with whole green chillies, yummy) and returned to the guesthouse for a full breakfast. Chris got double as he recognised the smell of the Cinnamon leaf on the tour. So much for all the exercise.
A TRULY AWESOME DAY and it was only 10am.
written by  chrischarly on June 6, 2011 from Kaliurang, Indonesia

Back to Yogy
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Outside our accomodation
Chris chatting to his Mum
We spent most of the day before leaving Merapi trying to get our flights confirmed for the following day understanding that flying in Indonesia is really not that easy as many airlines don’t accept U.K credit cards so you have to book through a travel agent online, which is a real pain. Once we had finally finished we left to go back to Yogyakarta so we were close to the airport in the morning. Unfortunately where we stayed before was fully booked, but we still found somewhere nice to stay. We chilled out for the rest of the evening taking an early night after strolling around eating some cheap street food.
written by  chrischarly on June 7, 2011 from Yogyakarta, Indonesia

To gorgeous Flores island
Denpasar, Indonesia
Sitting in the waiting room waiting for our flight
Our Garuda flight
We woke up really early today and took a taxi to the airport, which wasn’t far, about 30mins away. It was a tiny airport so we checked in and made our way through departures really quickly.
Chris and I enjoying our free plane food
Mount Merapi from the air
We flew with Garuda Airlines to Bali which is a great airline to travel with and a nice change from low-budget airlines.
View from the plane
Mount Bromo from the air
Once in Bali we checked straight in to fly with Merpati Airlines to Maumere in Flores noticing a nice 2-hour delay but at least it wasn’t our first flight and our second that was running late.
The plane
Kelimutu lakes
Merpati has a reputation of cancelling, delaying, and even crashing planes, which we discovered after booking it, so Chris for once wasn’t that excited about flying. In the airport, we made 2 new friends, Rod and Isa who were also going to Maumere so we decided to travel with them once we arrived.
The view of Flores
A view of Kelimutu lakes from the plane
But it was quite a surprisingly long journey there as the plane stopped off on the way to another island, Sumba, to drop and pick up more passengers, so we all had to get off and wait for a while, but a good excuse for a quick cigarette break!
About to board our Merpati flight
Walking to Bali airport
Then, in Maumere airport, we took a taxi to 25kms away from the city to stay on a lovely beach at Sunset Cottages just in time to watch the sunset, which was gorgeous!
View of the sunset when we arrived
Rod passed out on the floor after waaaay too much arrack!
After this, we had a great evening with our new friends whilst Chris and Rod especially got drunk on local Arrack.
It got a bit messy!
written by  chrischarly on June 8, 2011 from Denpasar, Indonesia

Enjoying the lovely local village 25km out of Maumere
Maumere, Indonesia
Maumere beach
The beach we stayed on 25km outside of Maumere
Today was a great do-nothing-day but enjoy the peaceful and practically empty beach and sea, and going for a walk around the village for a couple of hours.
Fishing boat
First we met a local diver who had caught an octopus and some other delights.
The local guy proud of his catch
An octopus
After this we trekked through some swamp until coming across a small family living and working on a coconut farm.
Picking the coconuts for us
A guy climbing a tree
Cutting open the coconuts for us
The village
They were lovely, gave us the biggest coconuts to drink/eat, and showed us how they make the coconut milk. Very impressive.
Coconut mincer
Where we got the coconuts
Chris drinking a coconut
Local guys digging
We also saw some local women weaving in the traditional way.
A happy guy
Weaving
Then back to Sunset Cottages to sit, relax and enjoy a beer whilst watching another fantastic sunset and have a beer.
written by  chrischarly on June 9, 2011 from Maumere, Indonesia

Waterfalls and Hot Springs
Gunung Kelimutu, Indonesia
Where we stayed
On the beach
Today we woke up, packed, and walked to the end of the road to catch the bus to Moni. It was a small mini bus, so a little cramped but it was nice to take local transport.
Walking to the main road
Locals
A fish stall
Ojeks
A view on the bus
Cocoa beans drying on the road
Digging on the road
Locals on a van
Rod and Isa at the back of the bus
When we arrived in Moni we walked around for a while before finding some cheap accommodation which we had to haggle hard for before going for a nice long walk in the early evening for a few hours to a Waterfall and then to some hot springs.
Preparing to walk the bridge
A cow
Windy road
Nice view
Rice paddies
Local children
The hot springs- aka- a burst pipe
The waterfall
Rice fields
Hot springs- aka baths
Cute kid
They weren’t exactly what we expected them to look like, considering all the locals were bathing in them and they didn’t look that hot either?!
Local woman
In the evening we went for a local dinner (Mountain food), the ingredients had to be gathered from the Mountain in the afternoon. It consisted of local rice cooked in a strange leaf, Banana flower and other Mountain vegetable mixed and an amazing vegetable soup, which was smokey as the veg, had been roasted on a fire beforehand. VERY tasty and nice to have something different.
written by  chrischarly on June 10, 2011 from Gunung Kelimutu, Indonesia

Kelimutu Volcano
Ende, Indonesia
The sunrise
Chris and I waiting for sunrise
Today we woke up at 4am and quickly got ready to meet Isa and Rod outside to get in our bemo (minibus) to take us to Kelimutu volcano. It was about an hour’s drive listening to loud old pop music from the 90’s. Bit too much for first thing in the morning! Once there we had to climb the rest of the way to the top, which was a mission climbing what seemed to be never-ending steps but at least we managed to warm up as it was freezing outside and we were all wrapped up in fleeces. The reason we got up so early was to watch the sunrise come up and if it is a clear morning, the views are meant to be spectacular!
Chris drinking un-filtered local coffee
We were unfortunately unlucky as it was a foggy and cloudy morning so we saw nothing!
Our first sighting of the black lake
Cloudy day
But it did have a nice eerie feeling to be able to watch the fog and clouds slowly disappear once the sun came out.
Just as the clouds were lifting
The black lake still a little foggy
An explanation of the lakes
At the top of Kelimutu there are three crater lakes to see which all change colour at different times in the year, one even going a burgundy colour, but not while we were there.
'Fanch' means fence by the way
Coffee
Rod taking a closer look
The blue lake
Chris, Isa and I
Local children on our walk down from Kelimutu
Nice blue sky finally
Very cloudy
The black lake
Beautiful view
us really cold!
Then we walked back 13Km to Moni, taking an off-road walk with a few wrong turns before ending up on a banana farm, but one of the kind barefoot ladies working there led us back to the path, it was quite rough going but we finally made it!
Monkey checking out the view as well
Coconuts
Rod and his new friend
Chris walking over a waterfall
Local man also cold
The guy who served the coffee
Local woman
Local man also cold!
As we took ages to get back to Moni, the owner of the guesthouse we stayed at was pretty annoyed with us for checking out late, especially as we didn’t pay him any extra! We then grabbed something quick to eat as we were famished and took a bemo to Ende as we missed to bus to Riung.
Me
On the bus
Chris and his new buddy
Ende is a really dusty city and everyone avoids it as it’s not the nicest of places, but we really enjoyed it there. Chris and Rod finally found some Bintang (beer) which was not easy, we sat outside the shop we brought it at, and a cow soon gathered to look and chat at the Westerners!
Local man
Locals
We counted at one time almost 40 people surrounding us and most of them children, who were so funny and friendly.
Cute kids
Check out the youngest posing with her hands on her hips!
It was a great evening, great day and seriously long, but so worth it!
Us eating at a local place
written by  chrischarly on June 11, 2011 from Ende, Indonesia

Helpful local information
Riung, Indonesia
Market
Well we were really achy this morning. It was such a struggle to get up and out of bed, but we had no choice as we still had to find out times for the bus to Riung as we couldn’t face getting up for the 6am bus. The locals all told us different times:-
‘There is only 1 bus and it is at 6am’
‘Only 1 bus at 7am’
‘No buses in the afternoon’
‘Yes there are buses in the afternoon’
‘There are many buses’
‘The only bus in the afternoon is at 12pm’
‘The only bus in the afternoon is at 1pm’
And finally, ‘the only bus is at 2pm’.
grafitti
So with all of this reliable information, we decided to just get there and see what happens. We arrived at 12pm and we were lucky as just at that time one bemo arrived! I could see why the locals get confused as we had to wait over an hour for it to leave, and yes there was only one bus in the afternoon so we just had to wait until it decided to leave! We also were over-charged by the bus, and we knew the real price but arguing proved pointless as they knew they had won as it was the only way to leave Ende so we were so annoyed!
A nice road
It was such a bumpy and uncomfortable journey but it was nice travelling and chatting to the locals along the way. When we were half way we stopped for what we thought would be a quick break, but after waiting 1 ½ hours for the bemo driver to appear Chris and Rod went to find him discovering him sitting in a restaurant drinking Bintang! He was planning to stay there another hour, but the boys compromised with him, saying they would join him for a quick beer as long as they left straight afterwards, and luckily he agreed as we were sooooo bored!
Local woman
Local man
When we arrived we found a nice place to stay infested with millipedes and woodworms, but apart from that, it was perfect, with clean crisp white sheets, something we haven’t seen in a long time!
written by  chrischarly on June 12, 2011 from Riung, Indonesia

Impossible Riung...
Riung, Indonesia
2 local guys
It felt like today we were just banging our heads up against a wall. Trying to book or get anything sorted here in Riung feels like it’s impossible! We wanted to go on a snorkelling trip for tomorrow but it was so difficult to organise! We met 4 other travellers yesterday who also wanted to go snorkelling so we went to the market in the morning before meeting up with them to find a trip.
Chopping up a coconut for us
After a lot of haggling we got what we thought to be a fair price, but with everything else an extra price, it still wasn’t a bargain. We then had to go and find snorkelling equipment to take with us and they only had 3 masks and snorkels, that weren’t great, no fins and considering there were 8 of us, it wasn’t enough.
Locals
After about 2 hours we finally got it all booked and sorted, but it wasn’t easy as we thought it would take 10 minutes, tops. We then got ready and tried to find transport to the beach, which is 14km away, this again wasn’t easy.
House on the water
There were no bemos around as the market had closed, and the only way to get there was to take an ojek (motorbike). You could either hire one or rent your own, but watching the way they drive with no helmets and dodgy bikes we didn’t want to get on the back with someone else driving, and neither Chris nor I could drive a geared bike, we were stuck again for 2 hours, trying to work something out.
House
Isa and Rod hired their own as they often ride bikes, so we told them to go ahead without us whilst we tried to work something out.
Man with a big gun
Eventually we managed to find a car to take us, and we haggled the price down from £22 to £3.50 after ages of negotiation yet again.
Us being given coconuts
So finally, about 5 hours later than planned we made it to the beach, which was amazing!
Goats on the beach
It wasn’t white sand and perfect turquoise water but still great.
Fish
A sea urchin
We found some locals who cut us down some coconuts to eat and drink and we shared biscuits with the local children whilst Chris played football on the sand/mud with some older kids and we played in the sea.
My new-best-friend after feeding him biscuits!
Cute boys
Chris playing football with the local kids
Chillaxing
After a mud fight
The beach in Riung
Lovely day in the end...
written by  chrischarly on June 13, 2011 from Riung, Indonesia

Snorkelling in Riung...
Riung, Indonesia
Lovely beach
On the boat
Nice straight jetty
Entrance to the 17 islands
We got up at 7am to have breakfast, before walking to the harbour to go on our snorkelling trip, stopping off at 3 places along the way to pick up snorkelling gear that we had reserved with different people.
Unfortunately, the other 4 travellers we were going with took all the best gear from the town, so we were left with the not-so-great equipment.
Flying foxes
Me and Isa
Rod
Our first stop on the trip was to see hundreds of flying foxes, flying from tree to tree which was an amazing sight before going to our next stop to do some snorkelling in the middle of the Ocean. It was a really windy day though so it was really wavy, and as there were no fins small enough to fit me it was so difficult to swim against the current. My mask and snorkel also both leaked so I soon gave up and slowly made my way back to the boat highly disappointed to wait for everyone to come back. The next stop on the trip was a lot better though.
Us
We stopped at a small island and went snorkelling from the beach, which was amazing, and the coral was beautiful so we had a great time there and Rod was kind enough to lend me his mask and snorkel so I could appreciate it as well.
Swimming in the sea
Chris
Isa and Rod
Fish
Star fish
Coral
Beautiful coral
Rod trying to catch a lobster
Rose coral
We stayed there for a few hours having a tasty fish BBQ on the beach before going back to Rihon late in the afternoon.
Fish BBQ
written by  chrischarly on June 14, 2011 from Riung, Indonesia

Cultural villages...
Bajawa, Indonesia
Today we got up and caught the bus at 6:30am to go from Rihon to Bajawa. The journey was only 4 hours long but it is supposed to be the worst road to travel on in Flores so wasn’t great but luckily, it wasn’t that long! We arrived in Bajawa at about 11am, found accommodation, and then hired Ojeks (motorbikes) to go to 2 cultural villages just outside the town after Rod taught Chris how to ride one.
Me and Rod pulling over
Chris and Isa all smiles :)
Me on the back of Rod's bike
Local children
I am in fact so proud of ourselves for finally plucking up the courage to do it! Rod and I went on one, and Isa and Chris went on another and neither of us fell off! The cultural villages were nice to walk around, but it was quite set up and the first on we went to, all the young children kept shouting, ‘GIVE US MONEY!!!’
Cultural village
Not looking very happy!!
An old man
An old lady
Buffalo horns
Kids playing in the fog
Me holding vanilla pods
Me standing next to where they sacrifice
This was really irritating and upset us quite a bit, you had to give a donation to enter which we didn’t mind so much as long as it went to the community, but we also had to pay the locals to take their photos and with children asking us for extra annoyed us and didn’t make it feel so natural. So, we left and found another village that wasn’t in the Guidebook hoping that this one would be better. We did have a far better time here and we met with one of the villagers who had learnt English from speaking with tourists so she was great to speak to so we could learn about the culture and the history from her. She also gave us coffee, roasted sweet corn and some local spirit to try, which was kind.
Inside a local home
inside a local's home
inside a local home
She also didn’t ask for any money, although we did offer, so we instead brought a couple of souvenirs from her. On the way out, the chief’s wife asked us to sign the guest book and to give a donation, which was fine, but you had to write down the amount you were going to give and hand it to her personally instead of putting it into a box, like the one before. So we all put an amount together and gave it to her, and then she just said, ‘More’. We were so disappointed and we were then forced to give her double and as it was a donation and not an entrance fee, it made us realise just how places like this have been destroyed by tourism, so we left there quite disheartened and decided to just go back and leave the rest of the villages.
Laughing
Kid firing a sling-shot
written by  chrischarly on June 15, 2011 from Bajawa, Indonesia

Horrible bus journey... but with arrack
Labuan Bajo, Indonesia
road blockage
This morning we woke up at 5:40am and caught the bus we had booked to go to Labuan Bajo. Things didn’t start off great as the bus was over ½ an hour late, which annoyed us as we had gotten up so early!
On the bus
Once on the bus, 5km down the road the bus parked up and we sat and waited for almost 2 hours before the driver finally decided to leave! He said to us, that he would not go until the bus was completely full!
Chris and the bus conductor
We were so angry as we knew it would take 10 hours anyway! Eventually though we all persuaded him to go and it really was the bus journey from hell! (Well for me anyway as the boys really enjoyed themselves though as they started drinking arrack, which is a local spirit at 9am with the bus conductor!)
Isa and Chris looking exhausted!
But I have the stinkiest of colds and was feeling really sick, so just after half way I ran off the bus to throw up in small forest. Yuck. The journey was so bumpy and up and down mountains and on a small bus seriously uncomfortable!
Waiting for the road to clear
We finally arrived at Labuan Bajo at around 7pm to then start to look for accommodation and there were loads to choose from thankfully.
Chris with bintang!
But here is nowhere like the rest of Flores as it is so touristy and many people hassle you to book tours with them and from around 30 companies to choose from we didn’t know where to start so decided to leave it until morning and finally got left alone.
written by  chrischarly on June 16, 2011 from Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

Excited about going to see Komodos tomorrow!
Labuan Bajo, Indonesia
A local man
Today we spent a few hours walking around Labuan Bajo finding the best company to book our Komodo trip with.
Local house
Gorgeous scenery
We eventually found a nice woman to book through who was flexible so we managed to make our own tour hopefully avoiding many of the other tourists who will be going to Komodo and Rinca Island as well… can’t wait!
written by  chrischarly on June 17, 2011 from Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

KOMODO DRAGONS!!
Rinca, Indonesia
Choppy sea
me on the boat
trekking
Today we went and met the captain of our boat at 5:45am to go on our boat trip for 2 days. We were so excited about seeing the Komodo dragons we couldn’t wait! Our first stop was to Rinca Island, which is the first of 2 islands to see the dragons.
Komodo Dragon
We were the first ones to arrive as we left 2 hours earlier than the other tourists and on Rinca, we had the best chance to see the dragons but as they are wild animals it wasn’t guaranteed so we had our fingers crossed.
Trekking
A baby Komodo
wild buffalo
A wild pig
As soon as we got off the boat and walked to pay for a guide, there was one walking towards the ranger’s station and 5 sitting outside the kitchen where the rangers were cooking their food, as they could smell it! So we had already seen 6 before we even started the trek!
Where a buffalo once sat
However, we still wanted to see some out in the wild so we went on a 2-hour trek around the island and there we saw one baby one and a large female. When we got back to get on the boat, there were loads of other tourists getting off so we had timed it just right!
Komodo National Park
A Komodo on Komodo!
We then made our way to Komodo Island, which took a few hours on the boat, also when we arrived there the everyone else had already left so again we had the place to ourselves!
When we got off the boat, there was one Komodo dragon walking down the jetty from the boat so again we were so lucky as we had spoken to many travellers before going on this trip and they didn’t see any at all on Komodo Island!
Me and a Komodo
We also went on a trek there, but this time just for one hour, as we wanted to spend some time snorkelling in the evening.
Komodo
We didn’t see any on the trek, but again when we were about to leave we walked past the ranger’s station where they were cooking food and there were 3 dragons sitting outside the kitchen.
Us
This did however make us wonder if the rangers feed them, which they swore that they didn’t, but then it doesn’t make a lot of sense as to why the dragons would be sitting outside? So maybe they are not completely wild after all.
Wild deer
On both of the islands, though we did see wild deer, pigs and buffalo, which is the dragon’s diet, but I suppose we will never know for sure whether they are fed or not.
Orange moon
After Komodo Island, we made our way to Red/Pink beach to do some snorkelling, which was in fact incredible! We were lucky enough to swim with 2 turtles as well as see some amazing coral and other pretty fish.
On the boat
This is where we stayed over the night, which was perfect as no other boats slept here, but instead off another island to watch some flying foxes, but we saw them a few days before in Riung, so we chose to sleep here so it felt as we had the whole place to ourselves!
The sun about to set
In the evening just after eating some delicious barbequed fish we watched the moon come up slowly over the sea which was a lovely orangey red colour, the end to a perfect day before our captain, Matt brought us some mattresses down so we could sleep on the deck underneath the stars.
written by  chrischarly on June 18, 2011 from Rinca, Indonesia

The best snorkelling in the world!!!!!!!!!!
Komodo, Indonesia
Fast asleep still
We woke up this morning excited about a whole day’s snorkelling ahead of us. At 6am, we had breakfast before heading to Manta Point, which is the place where we would have the best chance to see Manta Rays.
Isa
Beautiful Coral
We all had our fingers crossed, as there was still no guarantee at all that we would see them. When we arrived at Manta Point, the current was really strong, so Matt dropped us off, and we had to follow the current back to the boat. We were so glad he dropped us off as it was impossible to swim anywhere but where the current took us, we travelled about 1km every 10 minutes so that’s how fast it was.
Huge Sting Ray
A Manta Ray!
After about 20 minutes in the water, right at the bottom we saw a huge manta ray! We were so excited! However, it was about 15 metres deep so too far for us to dive down and see with the current flowing but still amazing! Then, after we saw this one, there was 7 more just lying on the bottom all different sizes, we were all so happy! When we climbed back into the boat, we told Matt that we saw them, but unfortunately, they were all just still and not swimming. So, he told us that we would wait an hour until slack tide when they will all be moving and we would go back in again, so we went to another point not too far away where we snorkelled for ½ hour before going back and on-route we saw one even jump out of the water!
Chris with a manta!!!
He was right about waiting, and although we only saw 2 this time, they were huge and one swam right up close to us before it flipped over and swam away! Amazing!
Amazing!
Gorgeous, massive turtle
Rod with a turtle
Then on the way back to the boat we saw a huge turtle swim right past us, swimming so fast, we didn’t think it could be possible, so it was a fantastic spot and we were all so delighted.
Chris going very deep
A puffa fish
Chris diving deep
Hundreds of fish
A Napolean Fish
When we got back, Matt then took us to another spot, which is supposed to be the best snorkelling point in the region and to be honest it was spectacular.
It is just a huge rock and it is covered in coral surrounded by loads of big and small fish, and definitely the most beautiful spot we have ever snorkelled. So we spent about an hour swimming around and a 1 ½-meter white tipped reef shark swam just underneath me!
Chris
Chris and Rod
Me!
We then went to 2 more spots before going back, but we had definitely been spoilt, as they couldn’t compare to what we had seen previously today, turtles, manta rays, and sharks in one day! We were so happy and glad we picked carefully before writing and picking our tour. Then when we got back to Labuan Bajo we booked our bus and ferry tickets for tomorrow, sad that our 2-day trip was already over as it had gone by so fast!
written by  chrischarly on June 19, 2011 from Komodo, Indonesia

A very long journey...
Sape, Indonesia
Our first ferry from Flores
We woke up early yet again, seems to be a habit with our Flores adventures, to head to the ferry for our epic journey.
On our first ferry
We boarded our luxury liner fully decked out with hard metal chairs and flat screen TVs on which were shown whatever the captain felt like watching. The journey of 9 hours was fairly uneventful although I did get to spend a few hours with Rod getting many hints and tips on our further destinations.
Team Flores, on the roof of our bus
On arriving in Sape, Sumbawa, we waited for the crowds to disembark and then made our way off in search for our bus. This was a mistake. See our nice 40 seater bus, ok acceptable bus, was not here, but 2 hours away and awaiting us was a 25 seater minibus. Most people buy this trip as a package and therefore most of the 40 passengers were here for the same minibus! I peeled away the metal lid and peeked inside only to find as expected about 35 people crammed inside. In previous similar situations like this there would have been some shuffling and squeezing and we would have got in, but this was beyond full. We asked our driver if there was a second bus and he chuckled and pointed to the roof. Hmmm, options here, get on the roof, or miss our bus……
We're not scared , honest
Passing through a village from the roof of the bus
Photo from roof of our bus
We climbed the ladder and the four of us setup camp sitting on our bags on top. It all started off fine, we had great views and the locals thought it highly amusing requiring us all to wave continuously like the queen on a tour.
Charly holding on tight
From our bus roof
We weaved round the mountains and all was well before we got stuck behind a banana truck on a dusty section, we got clouded in dust and couldn’t breathe.
Passing banana truck causing lots of dust, yeh!
After passing said truck we went through some villages that had some lovely trees lining the streets, only problem was that the low hanging branches had never come across big European travellers on the roof and we had to continually shout “Canard” and dive for the surface. We made it through, with only a few scratches and a nice fake tan from the dust.
View from top back seats
We waited at the bus station for 2 hours before getting underway for our night bus adventure……..To be continued.
written by  chrischarly on June 20, 2011 from Sape, Indonesia

Our epic journey cont...
Lombok, Indonesia
More roof travellers passing us on Sumbawa
Lucky as we are, Charly and I ended up with back seats on the bus, 3 seats wedged in where there should be 2 and right next to the toilet. Isa was nice enough to donate me a sleeping tablet, Charly, well she can sleep anywhere, this, was going to be easy.
The locals on the bus all must have been saving up for the trip, as they ALL decided to go to the toilet just after departure. The problem was my big legs were in front of the door, so everytime someone wanted to get in, or out, I had to move. I was not happy! Anyway, I soon settled into a slumber, the pill working its magic before being awoken by boxes of crisps, drinks etc, being shoved in our face and shouts of “Buy Mister”. I politely (well maybe not) declined, ushered them out of the back door and closed it in their faces. A few minutes later, the door opened again and I was about to kick off when I saw a scooter being lifted in. They kindly wedged it in front of us and tied it around some seats and the door handle, nice fellas.
We started underway and I started to dose off as the scooter started to roll back and forth, trapping Charly’s legs and banging about. I considered this for a moment, knowing that sleep was impossible until this problem was solved. Option 1 – I quietly untie it, open the back door and on a sharp bend re-inact a scene from the Italian Job; or, Option 2 – secure it better, thus ensuring it didn’t crush us and avoiding arrest. I took the latter and using my noggin, something the previous fellas had not done, decided to tie the brakes on. It worked a treat and sleep was back on the agenda. Shortly after we stopped for dinner, or was it breakfast – 3am?!
After floating into the reststop, eating and making it back to our cosy back seats we finally slept until reaching the ferry at Poto Tano.
Inside the ferry
A short trip of 1.5 hours entertained by some locals singing 1 verse badly then coming around with their hats, they really need to think about their audience more. I woke Rod up as we approached Lombok, to show him sunrise and the Rinjani mountain, that he and Isa were planning to climb. Good luck guys.
Our fine ferry to Bali
After hugs etc, we boarded the bus again and after 30 mins the guys jumped off to make their way up to Base Camp. They were great travelling friends who pushed us hard and we had some amazing times. Hopefully see you in Oz!
Sitting on the last ferry
We continued across Lombok to Lembar for our final ferry journey to Padang Bai, Bali. No seats on the ferry meant we sat on hard metal deck for the last 4 hours of our epic 36 hour jouney. All in all not that bad really!!
written by  chrischarly on June 21, 2011 from Lombok, Indonesia

Off to Ubud
Padangbai, Indonesia
Outside our place
Our lovely place in Padang Bai
Me about to leave Padang Bai
After sleeping like babies, we got up at 8am to get packed before catching a bus to Ubud. It was a small mini bus but as there was only 4 of us it was really easy journey lasting only 1 ½ hours, but transport is so much more expensive on Bali than anywhere else we’ve been in Indonesia about 3x more. We decided to stay just outside Ubud so walked about 1km North and found somewhere cheap to stay which is in fact really nice, so we had a great chill day sorting through over 2000 photos of the past few days…
written by  chrischarly on June 22, 2011 from Padangbai, Indonesia

A 25km long walk!.. Exhausting!
Ubud, Indonesia
Hard work
To escape the intensely touristy centre I thought a nice walk around the rice terraces and villages to the North of Ubud was in order. Using the ever accurate Lonely Planet map, I planned a walk of around 10km………
Rice paddies
We started off across the rice paddies and it was very nice, the weather was fine but not too hot, the views pleasing to the eye. Only, whats this up ahead, a tourist shop, and then another, and another. Ubud really is saturated.
Living amongst the rice terraces
We marched on up asking for directions to Keliki (LP said it was about 5km), we kept going and going and we arrived in……………….Tegallalang?!
Rice terrace workers
Looking at the map and the road signs we were about 9km outside Ubud. Oh well, we took on some refreshments and got some new directions and headed up this hilly road for 3 km until we finally found Keliki.
A house with only the door finished
We were starting to feel the burn now and the constant up and down hill was not helping, but we powered through, thinking of our friends probably struggling up Rinjani, this was a breeze!
A cute house
There is nothing in Keliki, it just looked a nice distance to walk, so upon arrival, we left.
The sun decided that it was time to come out as we worked our way back around 12km to Ubud, via the Campuan Ridge walk.
The ridge walkway
Getting tired now!
Along the ridge walkway
Outskirts of Ubud
By the time we got there we were fairly exhausted but pleased with ourselves. We showered, and headed out for some dinner and a well earned Bintang!
written by  chrischarly on June 23, 2011 from Ubud, Indonesia

Chill day
Ubud, Indonesia
Temple
A temple
After our walk yesterday we were quite surprised that we were not too achy. Maybe we are a lot fitter now than before! We didn’t do a lot today, walked around Ubud for a few hours which although touristy it’s a nice place to walk about.
written by  chrischarly on June 24, 2011 from Ubud, Indonesia

Another walk around the bustling streets of Ubud
Ubud, Indonesia
van blocking other transport
Anything can fit onto a vehicle here
Not much to say about today... just another nice walk around the busy and slightly chaotic Ubud... Still a great day though!..
written by  chrischarly on June 25, 2011 from Ubud, Indonesia

Dead sealife and hidden local transport
Jimbaran, Indonesia
Chris outside our place
Today we lazily got up and ready to travel to Jimbaran. As Ubud is mega touristy, it was difficult to find cheap transport as everywhere has rip-off tourist shuttle buses and ‘Tourist Information’ here doesn’t mean anything as no one offered up any information on local transport.
So as usual, we worked it out for ourselves, as if you look hard enough and walk to the market area and haggled hard to the local bimo drivers to take us to Batabulan using our limited Bahasa (Indonesian lingo)to try to give the impression we had been here a long time so knew the correct fare.
A very strange statue?
Once in Batabulan, we once again had to haggle hard to get local transport to Jimbaran. It took about 3x as long to get there, but it was over ½ the price it would’ve been if we took tourist transport, so we were happy when we finally arrived. The bimo driver did however drop us off quite far out of town, to save on fuel,
Wavy sea
so we had a long walk to find somewhere to stay, where we had to negotiate our butts off to find somewhere cheap. Bali sure is hard work if you are a stingy backpacker! We did find somewhere though in a kind family’s home along a backstreet alley, but it was lovely
Me finding a dead baby dolphin, sad!
and good value. We then walked down to the beach and walked almost the length of it trying to find some cheap and tasty seafood for dinner, which was unfortunately not possible, so we ate in a local backstreet restaurant instead. All over the beach, there are dead fish carcasses, which
Dead dolphin :(
have been thrown away by the fisherman so walking along the beach was like an obstacle course dodging dead fish guts and bones. Yuck. But what was even worse was that we saw a dead dolphin lying on the end of the beach,
A blue marlin's head!
which we think must’ve been caught by a fisherman by mistake, as not far away from it, we saw the remains of a blue marlin’s head. Very sad.
written by  chrischarly on June 26, 2011 from Jimbaran, Indonesia

Last day in Indonesia
Jimbaran, Indonesia
Looking back at the beach
Sadly our last day in Indonesia. 28 days is so not enough time here. It was not the nicest of days raining on and off and very grey and cloudy, but a nice temperature to walk about, so that’s what we did all day; walked aimlessly along the streets and beach of Jimbaran.
Just landing
Just before sunset, Chris wanted to walk to the far end of the beach right by the runway of Bali airport to watch some of the planes taking off to help build up his excitement about flying tomorrow.
The airport from the beach
Air Asia flight just landed
written by  chrischarly on June 27, 2011 from Jimbaran, Indonesia

To Thailand...
On flight to Hat Yai
We got up at stupid o’clock (3:45am) this morning to catch a taxi to the airport about 10 minutes away and then checked in quick and easily for our Air Asia flight returning once again to KL before flying to Hat Yai in Thailand. We arrived in Thailand at around midday (2 hours behind of Indonesia) and booked a shuttle bus to take us to the bus station in Hat Yai. That was the plan but the bus driver dropped us at the train station. We wanted to go to Satun and there is no train station there.
On rickshaw to Hat Yai bus station
We were touted to take a minibus for 700Baht, when we knew the price should be about 180Baht. We then tried to get a taxi to take us to the bus station and even they were trying to overcharge us. Damn them all!
Our amazing bedroom
After getting a bit pissed off, and very hot, we decided best thing was to walk away from the train station, aka tourist rip off area, and after walking a few minutes got a taxi to take us for the right money. We immediately managed to get a minibus for the right fare. Rip-off Touts 0: Chris and Charly 1
Our nice cheap noodle place
We arrived in Satun a few hours later and found a really nice guesthouse that we had seen on LP-online and Trip advisor. They only had an AC room for 550Baht, but we were too tired to care and it was really nice and we managed to get it for 500Baht. They had free super-fast Wi-Fi so we made the most of it and chilled the afternoon away before going out for our 1st Thai meal. We were not disappointed and even Charly liked it, Thai food 1: Charly 0.We headed back to our room thought about watching a film, realised we couldn’t be arsed so fell into a deep sleep.
written by  chrischarly on June 28, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

Did nada
Satun, Thailand
Got up late, went for a walk and lunch, read our books, surfed the net, went out for dinner, went to bed.
Huge bathroom at our hotel
Cool bar
Funky decor at our hotel
View from our hotel
written by  chrischarly on June 29, 2011 from Satun, Thailand

Satun to Krabi
Krabi, Thailand
We decided to leave Satun today and move on to Krabi. We took a rickshaw to the bus station only to find out that the next bus wasn’t for 2 hours. Oh well, we were in no rush. There was a little shop selling food and got some fried rice with squid (think this was the cause of tomorrow’s bad stomachs!).
A frog in the restaurant
We were about half way to Krabi when an Aussie lady came running down the bus screaming for them to stop, and something about a door open. We thought someone had fallen out the back. It soon became apparent that the luggage door had opened (at 90kmph) and 2 bags had fallen out. Ours were quite near the door so I had a moment of panic, before running outside and seeing ours still there. Phew! There were a Swiss couple who got on later than us and they were not so lucky! They got a moped to go back and pick up the slightly scratched and ripped rucksacks. Note to self: always make sure the bags are well inside the luggage hold.
Got to Krabi and found a really nice guesthouse for £4 a night, went out with 4 Swiss to get some yummy dinner at the night market.
Thai fishing boat
written by  chrischarly on June 30, 2011 from Krabi, Thailand

Feelin' pretty sicky :(
Krabi, Thailand
Eating yummy sandwiches after our dodgy bellies
Today we didn’t actually leave the hostel until 6pm. I spent the whole night last night and day today running from the bed to the shared bathrooms so I suppose quite an active day after all. It’s typical though that the one time we are ill we pick a place where there is no bathroom inside the room and it would’ve been lovely if we could’ve afforded air-con and a bed that didn’t feel like a slab of wood! Anyway, by 6pm I was desperately craving a nice ham and cheese Sandwich; something plain and reminded me of home, so we slowly and weakly went on the search remarkably Chris found me a cute café that served my dream dish and put a smile back on my face!
written by  chrischarly on July 1, 2011 from Krabi, Thailand

Railay Firedancing
Railay, Thailand
Our longtail boat
Waiting for more passengers for Railay
Feeling quite a lot better this morning, we decided it was time to venture to Railay (or Rai Leh), an isolated beach area a boat ride away from Krabi. We went to the long-tail boat harbour at 11am and had to wait until there were 6 passengers, about 90 minutes. But it was nice to just sit and watch the world go by.
Captain
On our longtail boat Krabi to Railay
Charly struggling up the steps to our bungalow
We took the boat along the coast and came up to East Railay with amazing limestone cliffs surrounding a very mediocre beach.
Nice view from beach
We disembarked and took a walk along to the end and up some steep steps to find Railay Garden View resort. Chris had already researched and found this place on the web with great reviews. Chris went to have a look and the chalets were nice but they wanted 600Baht (£12) a night for them. Chris, using his best skills, managed to negotiate them down to 350Baht (£7) which was within our budget.
Beach at low tide
Mudflats and mangroves
Long Tail Boats on East Railay
Very scenic
Cliffs around the Beach at East Railay
Interesting new boat?!
High tide
An American couple who also took a chalet joined us and we all went out later for dinner and to watch the 11.30pm fire dance that actually started at 1.30am.
The whole stage on fire!
firedance
Still performing the fire dance even though it's raining
It was awesome and we all had a great night.
written by  chrischarly on July 2, 2011 from Railay, Thailand

Beautiful Thailand!
Railay, Thailand
Going for a swim
After getting in a 2am and then messing around on the computer for a while we didn’t wake up until 12.00.
We then wandered out for some brunch and then over to Phra Nang Cave beach.
The beach was amazing with warm, clear water and beautiful scenery all around.
I was completely ‘Wowed’ by the sheer beauty of this beach.
We spent the afternoon chilling then went back for a few hours before going out for some scrummy Thai food.
Cute monkeys
A monkey about to rip down the posters
The walk to the beach
So beautiful here
Perfect beach
Amazing beach!
Enjoying a swim
Lovely beach
written by  chrischarly on July 3, 2011 from Railay, Thailand

Swam, read and sunned ourselves...
Railay, Thailand
West beach
Chris reading
Got up, went to the West Railay beach, swam, read, and sunned ourselves. This was also a gorgeous beach, but I think any place will struggle to top the scenery of yesterdays.
Me enjoying a swim
The lovely west beach
After feeling the effects of the sun headed back via a little noodle bar (yummy), and then went back, showered and went out for the evening.
written by  chrischarly on April 4, 2011 from Railay, Thailand

Back to Krabi to go to Koh Lanta
Krabi, Thailand
The ferry
Today we sadly left Railay as it was so lovely here, but we wanted to find somewhere a little less touristy but equally as nice for Chris’ birthday tomorrow, so headed to Koh Lanta. We took a long tail boat from Railay to Krabi but it dropped us off somewhere different to where we took the long tail boat a couple of days ago.
A ferry like the one we were on
As it wasn’t high tide, we had to wade through the mud and the sea, which at points I sank almost to my knees in the mud, so I was drenched by the time we walked to the edge. Not exactly ideal for the start of the journey. When we booked the transfer to Koh Lanta, the lady told us that once we got off the boat, a mini bus would be waiting for us to take us straight there.
Enjoying a nice Chang beer
This of course wasn’t the case and thinking about it, transport is never that simple, efficient, and easy in Asia! We were picked up by a mini bus, but only to take us to an office on the outskirts of Krabi.
Happy days
There we sat for 30 mins before being told we needed to get on a pickup truck to another office in town. We then waited at office number two for 1 hour before departing, this did mean Chris had time to go to buy some rolls and cheese and made lovely cheese rolls.
A frog outside our door
Eventually after the minibus left, it took about 2 hours including 2 car Ferry crossings to get to Koh Lanta and the lovely Long Beach Chalets.
Long beach on Koh Lanta
We then took a walk down to the beach about 5 minutes’ walk away and although it wasn’t as nice as Railay, we had it practically to ourselves apart from 4 other travellers walking by, so was great!
written by  chrischarly on July 5, 2011 from Krabi, Thailand

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!!!
Ko Lanta, Thailand
Chris' birthday present from the staff
Chris’ birthday! Chris had a great day today especially loving the fact that I was practically his personal slave for the day unable to say no to him today as the response would be, ‘It is my birthday though’…
Chris and I in the pool
No, I’m only joking, it was a fantastic day! We got up, had breakfast and everyone say ‘Happy Birthday’ to him and the staff gave him a decorated flower piece, which was really pretty, and a great touch.
Enjoying a nice swim
Nice handstand Chris!
Happy Chris
Blinded by the sun
Our pretty towels
Wondering how our tapas lunch could be this expensive!
Then they gave us a lift to another resort, which had a swimming pool so we chilled out there for a while before having a small tapas lunch before walking back to our place on Long Beach. It was a mission of a walk as we underestimated just how far it was, we had to climb over rocks for ½ an hour before we finally came to the beach.
Having a break midway on the rocks
Camp Chris
Chris' birthday cake
Enjoying white wine out of a tumbler with ice, nice!
At the end of the walk every part of our bodies were sweating so we jumped straight into the sea, which is in fact warm so didn’t cool us down a great deal but it helped! We then went back, showered and found some gin, tonic and wine to have with our special Surprise dinner cooked by the 3 Mum’s of the place, who sang Chris a 'Happy Birthday' for the 2nd time today...
Us about to go to dinner
Eating durian for dessert
Enjoying a G&T
Chris happy with all the food in front of him
Chris happily tucking into some crab
Perfect day, but unfortunately we ran out of time for Chris to have his massage, but can save that for tomorrow!
written by  chrischarly on July 6, 2011 from Ko Lanta, Thailand

Exploring Koh Lanta and Chris' painful massage from a tiny Thai lady!!
Ko Lanta, Thailand
Us on our nice pink bike
A beach we had a break at
Today we got up and hired a scooter for the day to drive around Koh Lanta. It was a lovely hot day so perfect to be on the bike!
Matching helmets!!
Hot and thankful to stop for a quick coke
Terminal Point
Terminal Point (the most southern point in Koh Lanta)
Chris really did looked funny though in his pink helmet that was too small for his head, driving on a cute pink bike! But he was still happy and loved riding around!
Taking a photo of us riding along
In Asia you can do anything with a moped!
When we came back, Chris quickly showered and headed of for his Thai massage. About 1½ hours later he returned, feeling so sorry for himself, having never had one before and didn’t realise it was more like GBH than a massage he has had before! I actually felt quite sorry for him as he said he had to stop himself from screaming pretty much throughout it all! I’m glad I gave it a miss!
written by  chrischarly on July 7, 2011 from Ko Lanta, Thailand

Bye Koh Lanta and Hello Trang!
Trang, Thailand
One of the chalets
The restaurant
Long Beach Chalets' reception
Today we left Long Beach Chalets in Koh Lanta, which was a shame as we loved this place, the staff and pretty much everything about the place! But time to get backpacking again and back to being on a budget!
Trang clock tower
So we made our way to Trang to optimistically get straight on a train to Bangkok.
Boy happily sitting in the back of a pick-up
The trains were completely full so we decided to just spend the night in Trang and catch the train tomorrow evening. So we looked around and found somewhere really cheap to stay for about £2.50 a night!
Our budget room
Our very small double bed
But it was a shock to the system having staying in luxury for the past 3 nights! We were really glad we did though as we found an amazing night market with some delicious street food that was remarkably cheap and very local compared to the touristy food we have been munching on recently, so we were delighted!
Awesome meat stand
Tasty sausages!
Chris enjoying his soup
A market stall brought on a moped
Chris was quite in his element trying weird and wonderful treats and we spent ages walking up and down, up and down!
But we came back to find another lodger in our room, who wasn't very welcome...
Our new lodger
written by  chrischarly on July 8, 2011 from Trang, Thailand

Over-night train journey...
Surat Thani, Thailand
Kung-fu panda eyes Chris
Cramped in a seat for 1 to watch a film
We woke up, checked out, had some nice lunch, wasted a few hours in a coffee bar with free Wi-Fi and then headed to the train station at 5pm for our overnight train to Bangkok. At the station the night market was just starting to get going so we got lots of tasty treats to eat on the train. The train journey was in fact really comfortable but we both had top bunks to sleep on, which normally would be fine as you get more privacy that way. However, for security reasons they kept the lights on all night so it was really REALLY bright, so pretty irritating, but apart from that, great journey!
The train
The strange cafe on the train
written by  chrischarly on July 9, 2011 from Surat Thani, Thailand

An exhausting first day in the bustling Bangkok
Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand
Waiting for the underground
After an ok’ish night’s sleep we arrived in Bangkok. Chris was adamant not to stay in the backpackers area of Khao San Road so we ended up getting the metro to Lumpini, where we searched out a guestHouse and found a nice one with AC for 400 Baht (£8).
The super-fast and scary escalators
We got ourselves showered then headed off to see the weekend market at Chatuchack. At the hotel they told us a taxi should be 120Bahtr, but when we got in we soon found out it was going to be more like 190Baht, by the time the driver
Chris enjoying an authentic kebab
realised we didn’t want to go for that much he kindly said sorry and let us out, just short of the metro station, result!
Tasty prawns
We took the nice AC metro for 40Baht each all the way to the market. It was huge with over 10’000 stalls and probably 10x as many people.
Karaoke in the market
We strolled around for a few hours savouring some nice food and soaking up the atmosphere, whilst also soaking in sweat.
The underground
It soon became too much and feeling tired from the night on the train we decided to head home. We made it back to the guest House and ended up having some yummy Thai noodle soup before crashing out for the night.
Long queue for the tickets
Charly was very annoying and kept 1) demanding that the AC was turned down and 2) stealing the duvet. Chris did not have a good night…….
written by  chrischarly on July 10, 2011 from Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand

Cheap transport
Bangkok, Thailand
A water-monitor lizard in the middle of Bangkok???
Today we woke and went for a walk around a huge park near where we are staying. For a massive city such as Bangkok, it was a nice find.
Walking along avoiding the main streets
We then tried to find our way to the sky train but it wasn’t as easy as we thought it would be and ended up bumping into a local who gave us some friendly advice on the cheapest way to Siam Square.
The nice park
He advised we take a tuk tuk for half the price, so optimistically we went to haggle one, the driver having none of our suggested price so the local bargained for us, stopping off briefly to pick up a free map on the way.
We then walked around Siam Square for ages until the heat became too much.
Manic Bangkok
We then tried to negotiate a tuk tuk back home and worked out that if you agreed to let the driver take you to a shop and you walk around inside of it for a minimum of 7 minutes he gets a great commission and only charges you 30p for a 40 minute drive home! Bargain!
Chris really blending in with the locals
So that’s what we did!
Stationary in the middle of Bangkok traffic
Well it was all great until he broke down in the outside lane of a 4 laned highway and Chris had to push us for a while.
Chris pushing the tuk tuk
So we ended up walking the rest of the way and didn’t pay anything! So we think we have got travelling finally sussed in Bangkok!
written by  chrischarly on July 11, 2011 from Bangkok, Thailand

Crazy Asia
Bangkok, Thailand
Chinatown
As there is just so much to see in Bangkok so we again went for a walk around, first catching the underground into China Town where we walked around and around in circles, well so it felt anyway.
Locals drying chillis which are the pigeon's dinner
Then we walked to the India quarter and it was amazing just how much it did resemble India.
Room for a small one
In China Town there were just markets everywhere down tiny alleyways and we were just totally overwhelmed by it all.
Market alley
You just had sections that seemed to last forever with the market-stall holders selling exactly the same things, or more accurately, junk.
One section would be handbags, and for about a 20 shops in a row this was pretty much all they sold, well with a couple of food stands in amongst them, then a HUGE sections selling girly things, like bracelets and hair accessories.
Woman who kept abusing Chris with Peacock feathers
Then a huge section of florists, jewellery, chillies, you name it; it was probably there in the masses.
Crazy market alley
However, saying that, you could probably walk around for miles and miles but most of the items sold were so random and the shops so compact you wouldn’t know where to start!
Pretty flowers
We just had no idea at all why they couldn’t spread themselves out so they weren’t selling the same as their neighbours?
Outside one of the many florists
It was just crazy!
Chillis
We have also learnt a lot about Asia, and I know this is pretty much the same in the whole continent when it comes to markets and cities especially…
It all got a bit much for this guy too!
It all got a bit too much
1. As mentioned above with every shop in a mile radius selling the same stuff
2. You can never walk in a straight line, whether its avoiding pedestrians, pedestrians carrying what you believe to be ridiculously impossible as the item is so huge, or anything with wheels, and this includes motorbikes, driving down a tiny alleyway you think only 1 person walking can fit down.
3. Every one of your senses is either abused or fulfilled every second of the day.
4. People are continuously shopping, shopping shopping! Every shop seems to be full of customers and you have no idea where they came from!
5. Nobody ever stops eating.
6. You sum up whether it is more dangerous to either walk on the road with all the traffic or on the pavement, which is so uneven, wobbly, and with tons of holes you can fall down.
written by  chrischarly on July 12, 2011 from Bangkok, Thailand

Another day sweating in Bangkok
Bangkok, Thailand
Another temple we think
Nice smoked duck
And again we walked around Bangkok soon becoming exhausted by walking for so long in this heat and humidity and we realised that we have in fact covered a lot of ground in the past few days, ticking off many of the main tourist sights and things to do.
Memorial bridge monument
Indian food stall
(Even if it meant just peeking over the wall into palaces as we weren’t dressed appropriately).
Nice old houses
Making our tasty spring rolls
We decided to go and see Th Khao San (road) which is the main backpacker’s street, which reassured us that where we are staying in Lumphini was the perfect choice away from the scams and hassle in a local area.
Temple
A sneaky photo of monks from behind
One of the many busy streets
A temple
Inside one of many temples
The train station waiting area
To get there we took the underground, which is our favourite mode of transport for efficiency in Bangkok, the sky train and then a Ferry and in between all this, a lot of walking.
The skytrain
Inside the skytrain
Just set off
Chris and I on the very cheap ferry
Another boat
A river boat
A house on the water
Wat Arun (Dawn Temple)
Outside the entrance to Th Khao San
A bridge
It was a nice day and although we have yet to see some Thai Boxing and a Ping-Pong show, we’ve decided to leave that for our next visit here and went to the train station and luckily managed to book the last 2 train tickets to Chang Mai for tomorrow evening.
The train station
Just managed to cross the road in time
written by  chrischarly on July 13, 2011 from Bangkok, Thailand

Day 366 of our travels
Phichit, Thailand
Chris and Graham playing chess
We had to check out at 12pm today and as our train wasn’t due to depart until 6:10pm we had a lot of hanging about to do with our bags until then. So we decided to make a brief stop-off at an internet café to search for some accommodation in Chang Mai, but a heavy downpour of rain, so heavy you could hardly see through it meant we stayed there for 3 hours as we were unwilling to get ourselves and all of our belongings drenched.
Kyra and Chris' legs
Eventually the rain did ease off so we missioned it to the underground and then onto the station where we brought some cheap market food before boarding the train… Again, on the train we had top bunks, and yes that also meant that the lights were left on throughout the night. We did however make 3 new friends so time passed quite quickly whilst we played games with them until gone midnight (well until a moody British lady told me to ‘shut up’) whilst the rest of the train was sleeping…
Everyone tucked up in bed
On another note, it is exactly 1 year ago today that we left Essex and got on a plane headed for South Africa! We can’t believe it’s been a year already, it seems to have gone so quickly yet I suppose we have seen so many amazing things since then including visiting 14 countries in that time (not including going back to the U.K. for 3 weeks). Fingers crossed our money is able to stretch for another amazing year!
written by  chrischarly on July 14, 2011 from Phichit, Thailand

Exhausted us
Lampang, Thailand
A tuk-tuk driver fast asleep
After a 16 hours train journey, we arrived in Chang Mai only 2 ½ hours late, but as it was still morning it didn’t matter. We had already booked somewhere to stay, C.M Blue House so we had made our lives pretty easy, so it was just a tuk tuk ride away.
The pretty river
It’s actually a really nice room for the price, so after a quick shower we happily went for a walk around Chang Mai.
Chris excited about his dinner
We were actually surprised, but more disappointed just how touristy this city is.
Tasty food
We were hoping to escape this by travelling up North, but we have found that the whole of Thailand is very much this way.
6 mouths in jail ???
But saying that, it was quite nice walking about for a while before the temperature got too much and every single part of our bodies were caked in sweat, it was quite disgusting, so back to our guestHouse for shower number 2 before some dinner, closely followed by shower number 3 and then an exhausted sleep…
written by  chrischarly on July 15, 2011 from Lampang, Thailand

Chiang Mai invaded by tourists
Chiang Mai, Thailand
One of the many temples
A huge wall
Nice gold temple
Another day of walking about Chiang Mai, possibly seeing more tourists than locals…
Also, another thing we’ve noticed is how many temples there are here for one city?!
Chris guesses about 50.
I gave up counting and taking photos of them.
Good day though; just uneventful to write about…
written by  chrischarly on July 16, 2011 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

Last day and night in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Lots of tobacco
Lots of stuff I have no idea what it is though
Nice unbrella to cover the hole!
We decided today would be our last day in Chiang Mai. The main thing to do here is to go on one or more organised tours but we haven’t exactly heard many positive things about them.
Enjoying a G&T
Firstly, they are far too pricey; geared mainly for package tours but there is one,
The bar
which did in fact sound really good as you could go and visit the tribal villages and people in the jungle.
View from the bar
However, by reading up about it a bit further outside of tour agencies, we heard that many of the tribal women are captured Burmese refugees made to live in these villages.
Chris chatting to his mum
So, Chiang Mai, apart from the tasty food is a bit boring if you don’t go on these trips, hence why it’s our last day. But we did have a great evening, enjoying a nice Chang Beer and a G&T in a roof-top bar, before wandering around the busiest market, we think, in the whole world! It was CRAZY!
Bustling, chaotic, insanely busy market
Jam-packed market
Lots of people getting a foot massge
Ancient Ice-cream? Yuck...
written by  chrischarly on July 17, 2011 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

Hitchhikers guide to Thailand
Fang, Thailand
Moving on is something that we are quite accustomed to now, after a year of travelling it’s one of the constants. Unbeknown to us this was going to be yet another interesting journey………….
The bus
We set off for the bus station by Tuk-tuk, it wasn’t far, but 2km with backpacks and the humidity of Chiang Mai made it a worthwhile £1 spent. On arrival at the bus station, our very nice driver toured around until he found the bus to Tha Ton – the Indian tuk-tuk drivers should take a leaf out of the Thai book of tuk-tuk service. The conductor was there and waiting to take our bags and load them under the bus that was plastered with Chiang Mai to Tha Ton signs,so we thought to ourselves, this is really easy, but wait….
He then directed us to the ticket counter and using my best English I requested two tickets to Tha Ton, the response I got was not eligible, but I could have sworn she said something about Elephants?! A kind lady behind got involved, and translated that what I heard as “Elephants” was in fact “Only Fang”. Still slightly confused I grabbed the Lonely Planet and realised that Fang was in fact a town 30km short of Tha Ton, it all becomes clearer….. The kind lady said that she was also going to Tha Ton and she would help us get the right sawngthaew (a covered pickup truck with two benches in the back) onwards to Tha Ton. All good, I purchased the tickets.
On the bus
The bus ride was pretty standard and we immediately got a sawngthaew on to Tha Ton. We spoke more to “kind lady” and told her our ultimate destination was Mae Salong. She told us that we need to get another sawngthaew from Tha Ton, no problem we thought. When we got off at Tha Ton, we spoke to some sawngthaew drivers who said that we needed to get a sawngthaew to a junction 13km from Mae Salong and then another up the side of the mountain to the village. Ok we thought, maybe we might break the record for the most sawngthaew trips in one day, but at least we would get there.
In the sawngthaew
As usual, I requested a price from the driver and got back a response of 130Baht, or I thought and gave he some bemused abuse that it was too much, only to realise that he actually meant 1 person = 30, oops, he seemed ok – or so we thought – and we got on our way. He stopped at a layby by a junction with a sign to Mae Salong and as driving away smiling said ok, sawngthaew here……
A really cute kid
We again spoke to some drivers and people, none of whom could speak English, but the general laughing and shaking of heads was not a good sign – NO more sawngthaew to Mae Salong – oh bugger. After 10 minutes or so, some crook offered to take us for 400Baht and I politely laughed at him, and decided it was time in our travels to try hitchhiking. We set off up the steepest of hills with our bags and 13 km of mountain ahead of us, showing the internationally recognised (I hoped) sign of a thumb out. Car number one, two laughing people.
Crammed in the back of the pick-up
Finding this very funny!
200m in to our journey, Charly had nearly passed out and requested a stop, it was going to be dark in 6 hours, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. At that moment a chariot was sent from the skies to rescue us, I say a chariot, more like a mini pickup with about 15 kids in the back. They pulled up and asked us where we were heading, and quickly got all the kids to move up to fit in all our clobber and us. We travelled about 8 km and it started to rain, why wouldn’t it, no problem they pulled over and told us to wait in a shelter while they run the kids back to their home village, promising they would be only 10-15 mins.
Chris drenched from the rain
Waiting for our lift to return
Loads of locals behind us travelling like us
As they said, they came back sans kids, and loaded us up and drove us all the way to Mae Salong, and to the doors of the guesthouse we wanted. I’m pretty sure they weren’t even heading this far, but were extremely kind and generous people, who would not take 1 Baht from me for their trouble. We thanked them profusely and they were on their way. The guesthouse was lovely with the friendliest happiest owners and once again realised that getting away from the tourist hoards is definitely the way to go!
written by  chrischarly on July 18, 2011 from Fang, Thailand

A very surreal day and night spent with some drunkeds
Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand
Nice view
Charly had a bad night with upset stomach and in the morning was still bad. I was a little rough but my consistency is a tad stronger, must be all the beers and chilli I eat that kill everything.
Pretty nice smelling flower
After nursing her for a while, she told me to go for a wander and I did, heading along the undulating road through the village to the day market – not much here, but some nice stalls selling veg and many local teashops. It started to rain so I ducked into a local coffee shop and enjoyed a nice brew with 3 Italian ladies who were passing through.
Nice produce at the local market
Heading a little further down the road, I was called over by a crazy looking German fellow, Ulrich, who asked me to join him for a beer, hmm, tricky decision. I went and sat down with his crazy drunk Thai girlfriend (Pim) and he disappeared on his moped, returning 5 minutes later with a crate of Leo (an ok local beer). I chatted with them for a while and enjoyed some beers and after a while a French guy, Sebastian, who had spent the night there after too much beer and whiskey, joined us. (Exactly my kind of people!)
After an hour with them I realised that whilst very nice people they were complete pissheads and a bit crazy too, so offering the excuse of needing to check on poor Charly I decided to head back. My offerings of some money for the beer was turned down with a simple, “you come back later, drink more beer!”
Local tribal village
I strolled back and checked on my poorly sick girl who was very much ‘getting it out of her system’, and had no intention of being further than 10m from the toilet. After a few hours of more nursing she told me to go out and have a good time, so I made my way back armed with a big bag of Leo’s. We spent several hours chatting about travel, Germany, France, England and anything else that semi-drunk people ramble about. Pim made some tasty soup and Uli made a fire and some pork BBQ. It was very basic but helped soak up the beer.
Crazy German and Thai couple Chris met
Time flew by, and soon I realised it was nearing pumpkin time; I made my excuses and left returning to cuddle up to my poorly girl for the night.
written by  chrischarly on July 19, 2011 from Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand

Still recovering...
Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand
View from our guesthouse
Our nice room
Charly chilling outside our room
Nursing a slight hangover and with Charly still recovering we had a day of doing absolutely nothing. We made it as far a 7-11 to buy some yoghurt, cheese, and Gatorade – essential recovery ingredients - and got some bread from a local baker to make cheese sarnies. We watched some Apprentice and played some Angry Birds. We headed down to the restaurant so I could have some yummy pork with Thai basil, Charly stuck to cheese sarnies. It was a tough day!
P.S Happy birthday Victoria!! xx
written by  chrischarly on July 20, 2011 from Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand

718 steps to a temple
Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand
Tom Set - like tom yum but with pork
It rained most of the morning so we chilled in the room a little restless having not done or achieved much in the last couple of days...
At about 12pm the rain finally stopped and feeling better all the time, we headed back to the local bakers for lunch. Charly still recovering had a, no you guess… whilst I had a yummy NE Thai soup with pork, similar to Tom Yum but called Tom Set.
Afterwards, we went to the market and then headed up the 718 steps to the temple and amazing views.
718 steps to temple
View from the start of our climb
View from Temple, nice!
Temple and Charly
Temple
Temple guards
Arty shot from within Temple
In fact, it was 718 steps after 10 minutes of steep hills. Absolutely exhausting especially as we weren’t still feeling a 100%, but we took our time and eventually made it. Well done Charly! We took our time looking around at the amazing temple and beautiful views and on the way back took pictures of the many different types of caterpillar and insects we saw.
Me and Patricia
In the evening we went out with a nice Swiss couple for a couple of drinks before finding the most expensive local place to eat in Thailand as all the other were closed but nevertheless still had a great time.
P.S. Happy birthday Nan!! xx
written by  chrischarly on July 21, 2011 from Ban Ho Mae Salong, Thailand

Ice-cram pasta...
Mae Chan, Thailand
No idea which direction= accomodation???
It was a struggle but we managed to leave Mae Salong this morning and the reason as to why it was a struggle was due to the nice cool temperature it is here and the amazing bargain room we had a Little Home Guesthouse. But it was time to once again go somewhere new and a little closer to the Laos border. So we caught 2 sawngthaews to Chiang Saen and were dropped off by the Mekong River overlooking Laos without a map or anyone close by who could speak English… We did strike lucky though and find Chiang Saen Guesthouse, which was written in The Lonely Planet. But to be honest is run-down and has what we call as ‘Lonely Planet Syndrome’ (aka as soon as they are listed, the owner cannot believe his/her luck and stops looking after the place) and could do with a smiley face, but it’s ok for a night or 2.
My ice-cream pasta... vile!!!
Absolutely starving we then went out to find something to eat and came upon a small restaurant that had what looked to be a tasty menu and as my tummy still wasn’t great, I ordered some mushroom pasta, thinking it would be bland and simple, so basically just what I needed. It didn’t however come out like this and instead the richest and possibly most bizarre and disgusting thing I have ever eaten, or tried to eat. They had obviously seen a photo how mushroom pasta looks like and cooked it looking like a carbonara, but it had a very strange taste and after a couple of mouthfuls we worked out in the sauce
Wendy the Wok lady
they used vanilla ice-cream! Chris thought it was hilarious and kept winding me up about it resulting in me gagging loads until I eventually moved it as far away as possible from me! Yuck. So completely put off food I continued to be hungry until the evening when we went out to the market and had 2 courses of tasty Thai food for both of us all for just over £1. Bargain!
written by  chrischarly on July 22, 2011 from Mae Chan, Thailand

The Golden Triangle...
Chiang Saen, Thailand
Our transport to the Golden Triangle
We headed to the Golden Triangle centre today in Sop Ruak, this is where the borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos connect along the Mekong. It’s a pretty touristy spot but we had a nice time wandering around and visiting the Opium Museum that was very interesting, and gave a history of Opium and the Golden Triangle.
Click to enlarge and read
Very life-like model of a guy smoking opium
A photo of a photo of a lady smoking opium
A photo of a photo of a tribal lady
Funny drawing pof a guy smoking opium
Photo of a photo of a lady from the Karen tribe
Statue of Buddha
Burma=left Laos=right stood in Thailand
The Golden Triangle
After we returned, the heavens opened and it rained pretty hard for a few hours, so we missed out the night market and headed to a local Chinese restaurant. It was surprisingly good and even Charly enjoyed her Cabbage and Bacon dish. Early to bed before moving on to Laos tomorrow.
written by  chrischarly on July 23, 2011 from Chiang Saen, Thailand

And yet another painful journey!..
Chiang Khong, Thailand
Us in our shit ponchos
At 7am, our alarms went off to see torrential rain outside; great start to the day… So, considering we had been carrying our yellow ponchos around for 3 months we decided to give them a try so we wouldn’t be drenched all day.
Chris really not happy!
Well, they weren’t exactly ponchos, and more like yellow thin carrier bags, so before we had even left the guesthouse Chris had managed to rip a huge hole down the back,
Chris on the bus with a monk
and the same happened to me as soon as I put on my backpack.
When we got to the bus stop we were happy to see a sawngthaew waiting, but the bad news was that the
Crammed in the tuk tuk
driver refused to leave until it was full. As there were only 3 of us there waiting we knew this would take a while as ‘Full’ for them is 16 people!, which we thought was impossible to cram that many people inside until 2 hours later when we finally left he achieved it!
Monks in the rain
What a squeeze! I can’t say it was the most comfortable ride I’ve ever been in but it wasn’t too bad. We hit the border crossing at Chiang Khong and passed through easily into Laos,
Crossing into Laos
We decided to change our plans and head direct to Luang Prabang. We waited in the bus station for 4 hours and were on our way. It was supposed to be a VIP bus but it was pretty uncomfortable and not helped by really bad roads; it was a painful night that even the sleeping pills purchased by a 10yr-old local boy didn’t help…
written by  chrischarly on July 24, 2011 from Chiang Khong, Thailand

After 28 hours of travelling... we made it!
Louang Namtha, Laos
Me stood by our broken-down bus
Trying to fix the bus
Well the bus journey continued to get worse during the night as we guessed it inevitably would and we broke down about 2 hours short of Luang Prabang and we had to wait for a sawngthaew to take us the final stretch.
First view of Laos
Our bags on top, but no room for us!
Worst of all was our bags got loaded on the first one and there was not enough room, so we had to wait 1 hour till the next, with our bags on their way. Very worrying.
The mekong
Beautiful Laos
In the beer garden
Local kids stole a boat!
Locals jumping in the Mekong
An old bomb made into a plant pot
But after 28 hours of travelling, the rest of the day did brighten up as we found a cool guesthouse with a lovely room for a bank breaking £6.15 a night and Luang Prabang really is a nice place to be!
written by  chrischarly on July 25, 2011 from Louang Namtha, Laos

Hon Lai !!! (Very Hot!!)
Luang Prabang, Laos
Team pool
Its a hard life
Pool chill
View
As it was another gorgeous sunny day, we decided to hit the swimming pool just outside of town! We did try and find bicycles to ride up there, but as it was already midday, trying to find a cheap one was impossible as all of the early-rise tourists had already grabbed them, so we haggled a tuk-tuk to take us the 3km out of town. Once there we met up with some other people staying at our guesthouse, splashed in the pool and played cards all afternoon.
Behind the temple
The Mekong
All of the tourists enjoying sunet too
Gorgeous!
Almost sunset
Crazy clouds
View of Luang Prabang
The sunset
Me with a big bomb behind me!
Amazing from from hill
Dinner at GH
Then at 5:30pm we headed back and walked up a huge hill with 300+ steps to watch the sunset with a hundred other tourists who decided to do the same. Then in the evening, we all went out for a few drinks and food at the market and stayed up chatting the night away.
written by  chrischarly on July 26, 2011 from Luang Prabang, Laos

Teaching English to the local children...
Luang Prabang, Laos
Easy stuff
Up to the bar of plenty
We go on that ?
Had a great day today and decided to continue hanging out with the people from our guesthouse, Kara and Pierre and walked about Luang Prabang until we got too tired and caught a boat across the River to a bar with amazing views, but more importantly cheap cocktails! But we couldn’t stay too long and drink loads as we wanted to get back for 6pm to go up to a local village just outside of town to teach English to the local children.
Crazy Ken
Teaching team
School class
Kara and Pierre had already done this a couple of times and we thought it would be a great opportunity to go along too and hope to make a difference, if only a little to some of the children there. It was in fact great fun and I have never seen children so excited about going to school! When some of the younger girls saw us pass in the back of our tuk tuk, they all shouted after us and started running to school! Complete contrast to how I remember my feelings about school!
Teaching the local kids
We revised the alphabet with them, something they had learnt previously, colours and how to spell them and some group games, great fun and very rewarding!
written by  chrischarly on July 27, 2011 from Luang Prabang, Laos

And now to somewhere with a little more of a local feel...
Nong Khiaw, Laos
Hmm, me thinks no
Getting a wash by GH mum
Returm from the river
Been Swimin'
Mekong
Theres caves in those hills
Main St
The mekong
Gay boys
Teaching team
Today we headed up to Nong Kiew with Kara and Pierre. The journey was fine and we found a really nice guesthouse with bunglows for 40,000Kip (£3’ish). Due to the heat we sat in the bar consuming lots of cold beer and playing cards. We headed out later and had a lovely meal at a local restaurant.
written by  chrischarly on July 28, 2011 from Nong Khiaw, Laos

Charly's Birthday Eve!
Nong Khiaw, Laos
Standing in the shade for a min or 2
Walking in Nong Kiew
A pink cow?!?!?!
Wavy river
We woke up and it was again a scortcher, so we decided to head out for a long walk to the local caves where the locals hid during the bombings. It was sweltering and although not far, felt like a long way.
I think not
The mekong
Tricky crossing
Entrance into the caves
Caves
Chris crossing the river
We made it, crossed the River, and went up into The Caves. It was pretty interesting to think of the community that used to effectively live in here, so not to get blown up by US bombs.
Boy swimming
Locals trying to cross (and falling) in river
Mmmm Turkey
We headed back and about half way stopped at a restaurant. It was pretty local, but the lady was nice and the food edible. After our feed, Charly seemed to be kidnapped to help the lady write her new sign for her guesthouse, and we asked if there was anywhere to swim nearby. Surprisingly, she said yes and led Pierre and I down through the woods and to a stream that was nice and brown. We decided that as we were really hot this was ‘good to go’ and Pierre headed back to get the others. I made my way in and just got through the VERY strong current to find a nice pool the other side. Kara turned up, and then Pierre informed me that Charly was busy at work on the sign!
Cooling off
We enjoyed the cool off and running the rapids until I collided with a big rock and got a dead leg. Charly finally made it and recalled the events of her kidnapping and slave labour. We all splashed about for a bit longer before deciding to head back. When we got back to the restaurant we met Andy and Steve who asked us to join them for a beer, who were we to say no, so we had a refreshing Lao Beer before headingback for showers.
My first candle on Birthday Eve!
We went back to the nice restaurant from the night before and consumed several Lao Lao (local fire water made from Sticky rice) Mojitos and some more yummy food and Charly got her first birthday candle (as it was her birthday in The Easter Island and Japan already!) Big day tomorrow!
written by  chrischarly on July 29, 2011 from Nong Khiaw, Laos

Eeeeekkkkkkk.... It's my birthday!!!!
Luang Prabang, Laos
Our busy tuk tuk
Charly’s birthday was finally here and it started off with a bang at 5am as a massive thunderstorm hit our small town and probably half of Laos. After a late night drinking Lao Lao Mojitos, it was not a welcome surprise and so we started off the day feeling pretty tired. We finally got out of bed around 7am to get ready to leave for Luang Prabang, it was still raining so we opted for a Minivan to the bus station – it was only 1km or so, but 10 minutes in the rain would have been enough to soak us. The minivan came and was surprisingly expensive but there were a lot of us, and all anyone seemed to be interested in was getting there so we paid and head off.
About to be puked on!
At the bus station there was a distinct lack of a bus, but after purchasing the tickets we were informed that we would be going on a sawngthaew – oh joy 3 hours on a wooden bench seat. The sawngthaew was licenced to take 15 people so we were surprised there was only 22 on board plus a basket full of chickens on the roof of course. We head off in the rain and a few km along came across the first land slide with a rather substantial rock sitting in the middle of the road.
Drenched on the tuk tuk
Oh well we thought, if our luck was out the chickens would surely take the brunt of the impact! We saw maybe 20 more land slides of varying degrees of scariness, plus several villages where everyone was either watching the raging rapids, which were once little streams, or watching people bailing out their flooded houses. This from only 4-5 hours of rain shows how they get serious floods here.
I could tell that Charly was thoroughly enjoying the start to her birthday and it got better when the young French girl sitting opposite projectile vomitted covering the floor, some feet and a local’s bag. Surprisingly and thankfully this did not cause domino puking event!
After a joyful 3 hours we arrived and took a tuk-tuk back to the guesthouse, it felt like coming home with hugs from Ken and co.
Iced coffee to start!
My yummy Pizza!
First drink of the day!
They were really busy so we only managed to get a twin room, but this was quickly rectified by a bit of furniture moving. We got settled in and headed out to a touristy restaurant so Charly could have pizza. We then moved on to get some beers and to start off the celebrations. After a few, we decided to head back to the guesthouse for a break and reconvene at 6pm. At 6pm we headed down to reception and Ken kindly informed us that he had got the “surprise” cake I had asked for (with of course Charly standing right beside me) – you gotta love him.
Pierre and I
It was once again pouring with rain so we cracked open a beer and waited for Pierre to be ready and Gill (an Ango-Ozzie we met) to arrive. We headed out to the Lao Lao bar just up the road and negotiated Lao Lao (local fire water made from Sticky rice) Mojitos for 2 for 1, so they worked out about 75p each, bargain! A few of the staff joined us and we managed to polish off 20 Mojitos in a few hours. Then the staff went and told us to come back in 10 mins.
Gill and I
Ken, Pierre and the manager
Me, Gill and Pierre
Pierre
At the GH
My tasty birthday cke from Pierre!
About to make a wish!..
Lovin' my birthday!
Chris chillin'
B-day suprise
We went back to find ‘happy birthday’ playing and we got out the cake and Charly made a wish! Very yummy cake eaten as a starter, we headed to the night market for a baguette and some sticky rice.
B-day girl
Some Mojitos soaked up, we headed back to the bar for a few more and then feeling pretty merry called it a night.Charly was keen to receive her surprise present from me, so I set it up and she happily watched the Eastenders Omnibus. I couldn’t say it grabbed my attention so drifted off to sleep about 1 episode in. All in all, an interesting day, but we all had fun and Charly was happy. Only Birthday Boxing Day to go!
written by  chrischarly on July 30, 2011 from Luang Prabang, Laos

Charly's Birthday Boxing Day...
Yummy
There really is rubbish collection in Asia!
Crazy water baby
Our GH
You count !
At the GH
Nice bar with baby
We had a lie in and then went across to meet Gill for lunch at a nice Café overlooking the Mekong. Whilst there we also saw Andy who was sitting in the restaurant next to us. After lunch we went for a stroll to the Dara market where we bargained hard for an “original”, hmmm, North Face backpack finally getting it for 50,000Kip or (£3.75’ish). We went back, chilled at the guesthouse in the afternoon, and then went to meet Andy for a sundowner over the Mekong. After a few beers, we headed for the night market for yet another scrummy baguette.

Last day In Luang Prabang
Nice!
Part of the Palace
I had to borrow a smelly shirt to enter
Strange light decorations
Very strange
The monks' washing line
Looking out of the mammoth window
As Luang Prabang is so chilled and simply just a lovely place to be and visit, we just had to spend one more night here! You can so easily get sucked into ‘The Laos way of life’ here and just never leave. For a city it is so tiny, admittedly with a ton of tourists, but in a good way and with a so many happy smiley faces, tasty and ridiculously cheap filled baguettes almost anyone who planned a flying visit with have to change their plans. So we decided to just be tourists today, and do go and visit the sights that we should’ve visited days ago, a few temples, and a palace. Then, we met up with a friend, Andy and went for cocktails in the evening. Great day. But we really must leave tomorrow, and we will go to Phonsavan to see ’The Plain of Jars’, which is one of the main reason as to why we came to Laos in the first place. Will be hard to get up and leave though I’m sure.
A monk cleaning up
Monksclearing up
Tuk-tuk
Pouring down with rain
written by  chrischarly on August 1, 2011 from Luang Prabang, Laos

Heading towards The Plain of Jars...
Phonsavan, Laos
It's the end of the road for our green bag :(
After finally arriving at the correct bus station, which should’ve taken 5 minutes, but instead took 30 as the driver of our tuk tuk pretended he understood what we were saying, so after another huge tour of Luang Prabang we just managed to jump on the bus to Phonsavan as it was leaving, luckily!
Changing a tire
The drive wasn’t too long, only 9 hours, and considering we only broke down once due to a flat tire, we considered it a good journey, well for Laos transport anyway. Finding a guesthouse was far too easy as well, as we stayed in the first place we checked out, as it was clean(ish) and cheap(ish), but more accurately,
Watching with dismay at our broken bus
it was pouring down with rain so couldn’t be bothered to look anymore! In the evening we simply relaxed, chatted to a few tourists who also decided to come here, which we were surprised that so many (8 people) had as it is Miles and Miles away from anywhere and a mission to get to and leave from! This was one of the reasons as to why we came here as no one we have met so far has managed to make it this far out, and as I had read up quite a bit on The Plain of Jars, which is the main attraction here, I was desperate to come!
written by  chrischarly on August 2, 2011 from Phonsavan, Laos

The Plain of Jars
Phonsavan, Laos
Happy to finally see the Plain of Jars
A huge crater caused by a bomb
Early-ish start for us this morning trying to haggle down a tour as much as possible, but as usual, we didn’t have much luck and the cheapest we could find was about £30 including everything. Too much for stingy backpackers on a budget! So we took a motorbike instead although the weather was not on our side and instead bucketing it down, so armed with a stolen umbrella from the guesthouse and a poncho kindly given to us from Gill our friend we hung out with a few days before, we headed on our way.
Cows and the jars
Luckily, the rain did ease up a little by the time we made it to Site 1 of The Plain of Jars so we could walk over half way round before it started again. It was in fact a really nice and peaceful place with great views and the jars themselves are very bizarre.
Looking at the cave
Me very wet
No one really knows why they are there, many suggest they were for keeping ‘Lao Lao’ in, which is a local whisky, but to me it just reminds me of a huge gravesite and when reading up a little more on them when we came back, there are many theories that agree.
A jar, partly broken from a bomb
Lots of jars
They are estimated to be about 2000-2500 years so no one really has a clue. Nevertheless, it is pretty impressive just to walk around and see them, and even more impressive to see that so many of them survived when Laos was bombed severely in that area.
Cow in the bomb crater
Jars
You cannot even walk everywhere in the site as some of the areas haven’t been cleared and checked for old bombs, but we stayed between the white markers (safe areas), so we were ok. We spent about an hour walking around but made a run for the shelter when the rain got too much where we waited for another hour for it to die down a bit before we went on our way to Hmong village (Bomb village) about 40km away.
House
A tied-up pig
Pig
Kid feeding banboo to Bull
Cute kid
A monkey tied to a bomb
The local children
Another house made out of bombs
This village is famous because the villagers there made the most out of the old American bombs and used the remains to help build their houses!
Collecting water
A monkey???
Hmong Village
The only phone in the village
Nice family
It was quite clever and very resourceful we thought! It was a really cute village, and we think it they don’t see many tourists there as it had such a nice local feel to it, really basic and yet everyone seemed so happy and smiley although they didn’t seem to speak any English or even Laos, but seemed to have their own local dialect.
An adorable local
A bomb plant pot
A house with bombs making the base
A tired, tied up pig
Our bike
Local house
After the village, we decided we had had enough of riding around and being wet so we took the bike back having ridden over 80km today.
The effect of the war
The effects of bombs...
In the evening we went to the local MAG (Mines Advisory Group) office who show videos about the bomb clearance, it was very sad to see the effect the bombs have on the local Laos people and they weren’t even involved in the war?!
Bomb something at our guesthouse
An old soldier's hat
Guesthouse armory
Bomb fireplace
A bomb cafe???
More US bombs
Bombs at entrance to our GH
MAG Office
written by  chrischarly on August 3, 2011 from Phonsavan, Laos

Locals munching on Live Stuff...
Vang Vieng, Laos
Our room key (a bullet)
We took a very long bus journey to Vientiane, arriving at 10.30pm. Along the way, we broke down with a flat tyre and while they were changing it, Charly wandered off to find a suitable loo spot. A minute later she shouted me to come as she had found them selling weird live larvae, we only assume to eat. There was a lot of trade and they were soon nearly sold out. Sure, it’s delicious!
Moving Larve, that the locals eat!!!
Yet again, broken bus...
Local root vegetable
Catapult head
Local village
Cute children
Lots of mountains
A cute house!
Beautful scerery
A truck full of people
When we finally arrived all the guesthouses we checked were either too expensive or full, in the end we found an ok room, with no windows and walls made of cardboard, plus it was boiling! All this for 60,000Kip, what not a bargain! Hey-ho, we can’t always be lucky…
written by  chrischarly on August 4, 2011 from Vang Vieng, Laos

Walk around Vientiane
Vientiane, Laos
Arc de triomphe Lao style
View from top
Monument
View from Arc de triomphe
After a very tasty lunch of Noodle soup with Crispy Pork, we went out to explore Vientiane and walked to the Laos version of the Arc de Triomphe. It was ok but nothing special, we then headed back to the Mekong to take in sunset in a rooftop bar.
Sunset
Enjoying suset
We enjoyed a couple of beers and then headed to a bar across the road for us. (Un)Fortunately, it was happy hour and cocktails were half price. We had one from the menu and then I asked the barman to make a Lao Lao Mojito. They were very scrummy and very strong! We had 5 between us, were fairly drunk and the bill was £2, bargain! We then headed to another Indian, had a beer, and then a feast before heading back to pass out in the room.
written by  chrischarly on August 5, 2011 from Vientiane, Laos

Hung-over and travelling...
Ban Paksan, Laos
Today we awoke with hangovers after our unplanned drinkypoo’s the night before. Originally, we had planned to head to Kong Lo caves but when we emailed a guesthouse, they told us that due to flooding The Caves were closed. So instead, we left Vientiane to head to Tha Khek.
Henry and Anya
As usual with Laos, the journey was eventful with a bus as old as the arc and a crazy driver. We had fun just watching the world go by and got chatting to two Germans, Henri, and Anya. The bus surprisingly didn't break down, and we have no ide how, but our tuk tuk did instead...
Broken down tuk tuk
We arrived in Tha Khek and went to the Lonely Planet’s “Our Pick”. It was pretty poor for the price and once again the Lonely Planet let us down. In the evening, we played Yatzee with a French couple and had a boring meal. Think we will leave tomorrow…
written by  chrischarly on August 6, 2011 from Ban Paksan, Laos

From one over-priced place to another...
Ban Tha Khek, Laos
Cute girl
We left our rip-off accommodation in Tha Khek and took a tuk tuk to the bus station preparing to head to Savannakhet. But when we got to the bus station, we changed our mind, as there really wasn’t much point in going there apart from breaking up another long bus journey, so we took the hit and instead went straight to Pakse about 7 hours away. The bus though was a complete laugh. It must’ve been older than me! Not to mention uber smelly and very fragile. About 30 minutes into our journey, the seat next to us collapsed off the rail and landed with a loud thud, so the passengers sitting on it were sitting lopsidedly the whole way. We then checked our own seats as well as the others on the bus and they all looked in the same state, and sure enough, ours collapsed before the journey was over. But the driver was a speed freak so at least our misery didn’t last forever. When we arrived in Pakse, we searched in vain for cheap accommodation for well over an hour and once again ended up with rubbish, over-priced find, as all the cheap ones were full already. So another bus journey it is again tomorrow until we find somewhere worth staying and cheaper than £7!...
written by  chrischarly on August 7, 2011 from Ban Tha Khek, Laos

Violent waterfall
Pakse, Laos
View from our place
After a not-so-early start, as neither our friends nor us could be bothered to get the first bus, we took the second at 11am to Tad Lo. The journey was 90km and should’ve taken a maximum of 2 hours, but due to our driver mistaking himself for a snail, stopping everywhere, and reversing often, it took considerably longer. However, the bus itself was ok, although packed with locals, rice and other junk; at least we had a seat that was relatively comfortable.
View of waterfall from balcony
Upon arriving in Tad Lo we had the usual tuk tuk negotiation and decided amongst ourselves that the correct fare should be no more than 5000kip; certain he would eventually agree to our price all 4 of us stood our ground until he surprised us all by driving away! Well, we never thought that would happen!
The violent river
Gutted, and as he was the only tuk tuk driver around we shamefacedly began to walk the 1.8km into town due to a 20p extra in fare we didn’t want to part with. After walking about ½ a km the tuk tuk driver reappeared and we finally got a ride for 5000kip. Then we meandered around town to find somewhere cheap to stay and found somewhere beyond basic but with great views of a very violent Waterfall.
written by  chrischarly on August 8, 2011 from Pakse, Laos

An amazing find...
Tad Lo, Laos
On the balcony at our 1st place
Our nice, but messy room
After a rough nights sleep in our £2 bungalow, we decided to move to another place we had seen and whilst away from the River was really nice and chilled overlooking rice paddys.
Our view
Later in the day Henry and Anya decided to move too, and took a really funky bamboo hut were each visitor leaves something behind. It was very cool and original with an eclectic mix of travellers' unwanted stuff. We checked into the most expensive room at about £4, but it was huge with our own bathroom and large Terrace.
Balcony of 2nd place
Our hut
We chilled the rainy afternoon away and then helped make a nice Laos dinner of Pumpkin Soup, Laap, Laos salad and Sticky rice. We all sat down and enjoyed it with the family.
Bon Apetite
Eating all together
written by  chrischarly on August 9, 2011 from Tad Lo, Laos

A small walk around Tad Lo
Tad Lo, Laos
Enjoying a juice by waterfall
We awoke to heavy rain so decided to stay in bed, might have had something to do with the beer the night before too! We got up about lunchtime and headed out for a walk to the other side of the River.
Stood at the base of Tad Lo waterfall
We found a nice, if overpriced, restaurant right next to the falls. We then crossed back and walked up to a resort that has elephants and where you could see the upper Waterfall, the actual Tad Lo Waterfall.
Elephant
After this we wandered back to the guesthouse and planned a tasty western dinner of pasta, fried Chicken, salads and garlic bread.
Another guest, Eleana from Scicily, and I prepared most of it and more people kept getting added to the party.
Tad Lo waterfall
In the end we had to cook for 16. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and it was nice to have some Western food. After dinner a group of us retired to the bamboo hut balcony for more beer, and Lao-Lao. We ended up telling stories, playing games and listening to tunes until about 3am.
written by  chrischarly on August 10, 2011 from Tad Lo, Laos

Chris going bald...
Tad Lo, Laos
We did nothing, so nothing to write about. We truly are becoming a true Laos citizen!.. Oh... Apart from Chris finally getting himself a haircut!
Before
1/2 bald
Now bald
Chris' hair
written by  chrischarly on August 11, 2011 from Tad Lo, Laos

Waterfalls
First sighting of the waterfall
To the waterfall....
Feeling bad about doing nothing for a few days the 4 of us planned to go on a 4km walk to a big Waterfall, the weather was hot so we took it slow. We walked 3km to the village nearby and stopped for refreshments. After this some local kids decided to guide us to the base of the falls.
The water pump
The local bath
We started off on a slippery mud track that soon got hilly and very slippy. Henry and Anya had flip-flops but soon discarded them for bare feet. We had our trainers on but to no avail as once they were clogged up with mud it was like skating.
Chris drenched with sweat
Sweaty and exhausted
We made it nearly all the way there and gave up, the barefoot Germans did the last stretch and then we all walked back in heavy rain and two rainbows.
2 rainbows
At the base of the waterfall
After a shower we went for another yummy dinner and some beers.

Last day in Tad Lo
Locals fishing
Along the river
In the rice paddies
Our hut
A local village
The steps to our place
Well it's our last day today in Tad Lo and the 4 of us decided we would do what we do best and do nothing. Just chill, play some games, have a few beers and watch the world go by before helping cook dinner at night.

To the 4000 islands
Ban Dondet, Laos
The tractor
We left our guesthouse in the back of a tractor to the bus stop and then caught a bus to Pakse. It was really easy and not much waiting around and the bus moved surprisingly quick. When we got to Pakse we then caught a huge tuk tuk to Ban Nakasang.
Climbing on the tuk tuk
It was supposed to take about 3 hours but with the speed we travelled we made it in 2. We got dropped off right where the boats left and it was just a quick boat ride to Don Det.
Inside our big tuk tuk
Chris unfortunately banged his head on the top of the boat and took a small chunk out of his head but managed to be brave about it. :)
On the boat ride over
We found acomodation for so cheap it was ridiculous, quite possibly the cheapest we've had yet at £1.70 a night, but it was very basic, just a shack, with nothing but a bed, but with great views of sunset and the River. So we chilled in a hammock for a few hours before we went and found some food at 7:30pm as we hadn't eaten for the day and were starving!
written by  chrischarly on August 14, 2011 from Ban Dondet, Laos

A catch-up day...
Ban Dondet, Laos
A massive tree
Sunset from our balcony
Not much to say today... just tried for hours upon hours of catching up with this blog but only managed to waste time as the internet is so slow even in internet cafes here on Don Det.
written by  chrischarly on August 15, 2011 from Ban Dondet, Laos

Rain rain go away
Ban Dondet, Laos
Raining so hard you couldn't see
Raining so hard
Busy day of achieving not a lot due to the rubbish weather. We need an umbrella...
written by  chrischarly on August 16, 2011 from Ban Dondet, Laos

Lazy day again...
Loving the hammock!
Chillaxing
Small kid trying to get back on his bike
Sunset from our balcony
Sunset in the bar
End of sunset- strange colours
Henry and Anya were planning to go for a bike ride to the other Island but only made it as far as their hammocks, another one of those days! We, once angain, enjoyed a day chilling and having a few beers with them before they depart to Cambodia.

Bye Henry and Anya...
Chris fishing
Fishing from a hammock
Chris happy
Chris' HUGE fish
The curry was even too spicy for Chris!!!
Henry and Anya left today to head to Cambodia. We surprised ourselves by managing to get up early to say goodbye to them! Impossible to do a lot today due to the terrential rain that didn't let up all day, so we instead drowned our sorrows in a bar, and once again had an Indian! :)

Stupid rain...
Tiniest kitten in the world
Small kid trying to get back on his bike

An expedition...
Leading the way...
We awoke to sunshine so decided it was time to stop chilling and go on an expedition. Charly nominated herself as expedition leader (EL) and chose the mode of transport as foot, the other option being bicycle. Our itinerary was to walk down the sunset side of Don Det then cross the bridge to Don Khon to see the waterfalls.
The bridge to the other island
We sunscreened up and set off along the track that follows the riverside, although the sun had dried out most of the mud, we soon found ourselves up against a small lake where once was a path.
2 fishing boats
Our fearless EL, went off in to the bush to create a new path around this obstacle. I followed on behind, unworthy……
Trying to avoid the mud
We soon had crossed several obstacles including a large slab of beef and had reached the end of the path along the water. We decided to ask a local guy who strangely offered us a massage (in the middle of nowhere) and then once we declined he asked our ages.
Ducks
Our form of communication was to write in the dirt and we soon learned that this very athletic local guy was 62?! We gave over our ages and he then drew a large clock type thing in the sand and proceeded to tell our fortune. Amused by this we were until he wrote down 10,000Kip or $1. We politely excused ourselves from Mystic Meg and headed inland to find the main road.
Oops
I was quickly reminded of the fact that I was just a lowly “expedition reporter” as I lead us down a path through the rice paddy to a dead end. Under a dark cloud cast by EL we headed back to the junction and took the other choice.
2 Local kids fishing out of a big pond
A little way along we found an old bridge and could see the road, but the paddy had flooded across the road and it was a rather large lake. Whilst EL made her strategy of attack we were joined by Meg who gestured for us to follow him across the lake. We de-shoed and EL headed off guided by Meg and I hung back to watch and enjoy.
An outside oven
I was pretty sure they were going through a deep section when Meg pointed to the water were EL should place her foot. She placed it down, and then down further and further until, oops, there she goes straight in up to her waist.
A bull in our way
Meg dragged her out and once again I had let down the expedition by not having the camera to hand, and by laughing too much to get it.
Locals boys leading a bull
I made my own route and made it through only shins wet, EL was covered in mud and wet. No problem, Meg led us to a nearby guesthouse and took EL to the back. EL came back looking violated, after apparently Meg was very, maybe too keen to give her bum a good wash with hands and hose.
Me after I'd just fallen in
This concluded our expedition and after a short break we walked, EL squelched back to the guesthouse and a nice shower……………………..

Messy night...
Road repair?!
Last day in Don Det today after spending 8 days here. It was nice just spending a while in one place and not travelling continuously so the chances are we will forget how to do it! The reason why we spent so long here was that we couldn’t Enter Cambodia any earlier or we would over-stay our visa before making our way back to KL to fly to Australia.
Just before the cat weed&stained my trousers
We went for a nice walk around again in the baking heat, of course a nice change to rain, but wow, it was hot!
Scary-looking clouds
In the evening we went to Adam’s bar expecting to watch a film there and have a quick drink before calling it an early night. This however, didn’t happen.
Adam's bum
When we turned up, Adam,
Adam dancing on bar
the owner and his friend John had been on a heavy session all day and invited us to join them, involving many shots of vile local whisky and many beers. Not sure when we stumbled home, but it was a great night and we didn’t even spend a Penny as Adam was adamant he was paying! Bonus!

Robbing bastards...
Stoeng Treng, Cambodia
Leaving don det
Woke up this morning still drunk from our impromptu piss up at Adam’s bar. What better way to be crossing the border?Then, made our way down for our 8am boat which finally left about 9.15. Once we crossed onto the mainland we were ushered to an office where we were given visa forms and told that the cost of the visa would be $28 if we did ourselves, or, $29 if we gave to the tour company to arrange. The actual price of a visa should be $20 but this border is known for its ‘extras’ that obviously make the officials very rich men.
Monk using free wifi
Obviously, we decided we would do it all ourselves, which upset the organiser, meaning that he refused to speak to us from then on, or anyone else for that matter. Hey ho! Finally got on a minibus to the border and went to the Laos departure office, here started the fun….. They requested $2 per passport for the exit stamp. We politely told them ‘No’, and then requested a receipt but to no avail, it’s simple, no $2 no stamp. Robbing bastards!
Huge fishing nets
Then when we walked across to the Cambodia side there was a health check point, that seemed random as several people walked past, but obviously they stopped us. They asked us to fill out a little yellow form then asked for a $1, we politely said no. They then asked for yellow fever certificates, which we had at the bottom of our main bags, we fished them out but were told they had expired, they hadn’t as they last 10 years and not 1, so again told them no $1.
Gorgeous!
Then they aked us if we had a gonorrhoea vaccination, do they even exist?! At this point, we told them that under no circumstances were we paying them, (well maybe involving a tad bit of shouting in a less polite way than stated) picked up our bags and walked away, they did not protest. Next stop our visa on arrival, $23 not the $20, but we just argued a little then paid.
Huge beautiful storm in the sea
Then when we went through the checkpoint they requested $2 per passport for a stamp, argued a little then paid $1 as a compromise to get it over with. So we made it through for $26, but pretty sure that $6 was all falling into back pockets. If we want to ever get work whilst travelling we will definitely try and get an immigration job. With the 100’s or maybe 1000’s of people crossing this border each day, they must be very rich men! We then found our bus and it was nice and we soon left for Kratie. When we arrived we checked a few guesthouses and found an ok one for $5 close to everything. We went for a nice walk along the river and had the most amazing fruit Smoothie consisting of banana, pineapple, apple, dragon fruit, avocado, condensed milk and ice, amazing!
written by  chrischarly on August 22, 2011 from Stoeng Treng, Cambodia

Irawaddy dolphins
Kratie, Cambodia
Excited about seeing the dolphins
We spent the morning walking around Krati to see if we could find anyone else to join us to see the Irrawaddy Dolphins in the afternoon, but without any luck, which would’ve helped drop the cost a little.
The mekong from the top
We went regardless though stopping off beforehand to climb 360 steps to the top of a Mountain to see some great views of the Mekong River.
Lovely view from the top
When we arrived at the dock to go the boat, we were lucky enough to find Andy, a solo Chinese traveller, so he joined us to save us a whopping $4.
Lots of steps
We were out in the boat for just over 2 hours and we were lucky enough to see many dolphins during this time and some pretty close.
Buddhist monk statues
Irrawaddy Dolphins are mainly freshwater dolphins and there are about 70 in this area, with a total of just 200 left in the world,
Little house on the water
meaning they are seriously endangered and are sadly expected to be extinct within the next 10-20 years. In the morning we put our camera battery on
Off to see the dolphins...
charge to ensure we could take loads of pictures and videos whilst we went out for the morning. Unfortunately we didn’t realise that as soon
Dolphins!!!
as the guests leave the guesthouse they switch all the power off in the rooms! So we were ½ way through our trip and the battery run out, just as the dolphins came closer! So upset!
Dolphins
Unfortunately the photos we took didn’t come out that great, one due to our limited battery life, and two because they move so fast! But still an amazing afternoon and a great chance to see them before they sadly disappear.
written by  chrischarly on August 23, 2011 from Kratie, Cambodia

Garden party
Kampong Cham, Cambodia
Bus arrived, then broke down...
Got up bright and early (well 7.30am) and had a quick coffee before checking out and making our way to the bus stop heading to Kampong Cham. The bus did surprisingly arrive in Kratie on time, but broke down as soon as it arrived?! But after just ½ an hour’s wait another bus showed up,
The supposedly impressive lighthouse
so as sheep we were promptly ushered onto this bus and straight into the remaining seats at the very back, nice! Shortly into the journey, due to the bumps and eating just before getting on the bus, I started to feel very sick, so Chris playing nurse gave me a nausea tablet and I passed out for the rest of the journey awaking only when we arrived, perfect!
Outside Mekong sunrise guesthouse
Kampong Cham is a bit of a sleepy town, and as we had seen the dolphins yesterday, there wasn’t a great deal to do, but an ideal stop-over to break up the journey to Kep.
Where we stayed in Kampong Cham
We found a nice guesthouse easily called Mekong Sunrise that had $4 rooms overlooking the River, and we met up with 4 other travellers, Jo, Johnny, Claire and Neil and enjoyed a few drinks with them in the evening after going to a garden Party for dinner.
Our massive terrace
This is basically a place where they cook spit-roast beef, I know it sounds strange, but it tasted good, and it is a real local thing to eat when in Cambodia. Unfortunately, they tried ripping us off with the bill at the end, charging almost double the price on the menu, which left a slightly bad taste in our mouths after a great meal.
written by  chrischarly on August 24, 2011 from Kampong Cham, Cambodia

Yummy yummy seafood with Kampot pepper
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
View from our balcony at tree tops
The owners of Mekong Sunrise guesthouse were kind enough to arrange free transport for us to the bus stop, and then we were able to get straight on the bus, easy travelling once again. We took the bus to Phnom Penh then had to wait for 1 ½ hours for the next bus to Kep.
Restaurants on the water
It didn’t take long to get to Kep and as Chris had already had a look at places to stay, our life was pretty easy! After chatting nicely to a local on the bus, he spoke to the bus driver on behalf of us at dropped us off at the bottom of the drive to ‘Tree Tops’ and from there just a 700m walk where we got a nice hut with views of the sea for just $5. Perfect.
Delicious prawns...
The most awesome crab dish!!
As well as Kampot, Kep has some amazing seafood so in the evening we gorged ourselves on crab and prawns cooked with green Kampot peppercorns, delicious and very decadent for us backpackers!
written by  chrischarly on August 25, 2011 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Exploring Kep
Kep, Cambodia
We decided to explore around Kep today, firstly going to the crab market and then a walk around the coast.
Lady getting out the crabs
Bringing the crabs in
Lady cooking our prawns
Making our sugar-cane juice
Then we decided to go a bit further afield and as there were 4 of us, it was cheaper to hire a tuk tuk for the day instead of hiring 2 bikes. So after some hard negotiating we were on our way. First stop was to some caves about 30km away from Kep and it was a great disappointment.
The caves
Limsestone cliffs
Entrance to cave
Walking up to caves
As it is rainy season, The Caves are completely flooded, but of course no one was willing to tell this when planning our adventure, especially not the tuk tuk driver, or when paying The Entrance fees when we arrived.
Just inside the entrance of flooded cave
Cannot go inside cause of flooding
So we could only go just inside The Entrance and even though we said countless times that we didn’t want a guide, 7 children joined us adamant that they would offer their guide services to us.
Inside the cave
Inside cave
As far in as we could go
But I’m sure they are great to look around during the dry season, but during wet season it is a waste of money for both transport and entrance fees. But then again we have seen many caves, so I’m sure we didn’t miss much. After this, we went to a pepper Plantation was which in fact really interesting.
Green peppercorns
Peppercorn vines
Kampot pepper is really famous and quite possibly the best pepper you can buy and we even got to try some.
Lychees
Huge papayas
Me though, hating anything spicy or very peppery embarrassingly had to spit it out. Then in the evening, back to Kimley’s restaurant for the tasty crab dish again!
written by  chrischarly on August 26, 2011 from Kep, Cambodia

Hanging out
Kep, Cambodia
A very big crab
The gecko before Becks grabs it
A tree growing sideways?!
Becks holding a BIG gecko with BIG teeth!?!?
Had a nice chill day today hanging out with some other travellers.
Went down into town about 1 1/2 km away, nice walk. But on the way back it was pouring down with rain and as there were 5 of us decided to call a tuk tuk. The price should be 1$ but he quoted $2 so we refused to pay it and walked back in the pouring rain, all of us soaked through, literally. So now we have no dry clothes as we just did all our washing, and they are just as wet as when we first did them. All this for refusing to pay $2 between 5 of us. Such cheap-skates we are, but it was the principal of the matter, you know?
written by  chrischarly on August 27, 2011 from Kep, Cambodia

Yucky day...
Kep, Cambodia
Enjoying the sea breeze
We woke up and it was still pouring with rain, it didn't stop at all during the night, so everywhere was so muddy and disgusting and our clothes were soaked, so we put on wet clothes and spent the day pretty much waiting for the rain to stop… yucky day…
written by  chrischarly on August 28, 2011 from Kep, Cambodia

Kampot, Cambodia
In Asia, always lots of motorbikes
Today we left Kep, our clothes were pretty much dry and we decided it was time to move on and stop eating the most delicious seafood and go back on a budget and the best way to do that would be to leave. So we caught the 1st bus to Kampot. It wasn’t far, just an hour bus journey. Finding accommodation was easy as well, and cheap. There is a whole street with $5 rooms and they were all ok, so we picked the best of a bunch and checked in to Pepper Guesthouse. I was feeling a bit rough today so didn’t feel like doing much, but Chris successfully managed to persuade me to go next door to Blissful Guesthouse for happy hour. From then on, we stayed for 8 hours, ate some Comfort food with REAL Cheddar cheese and our bill grew a bit too much. Chris got chatting to the owners and they discovered our previous experience working in bars etc. and instantly offered us both jobs, and then wouldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer. So even though we went away adamant we wouldn’t work anywhere (except in the Philippines) as we went away to escape work, and for me, especially work in bars or restaurants, here we were agreeing. We are weak people…
written by  chrischarly on August 29, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

Joining the working masses in Cambodia...
Kampot, Cambodia
Dick, someone? and Ezzer
Well after a night of drinking, we woke up and remembered what we agreed to last night, so thought we better talk it through a little more with alcohol in the system… So we headed next door and met a sober Dick and Ezzer and spoke about what would be required of us if we did decide to work, and we found out that basically we wouldn’t have to do much, so we thought we would give it a go. We could only work for 13 nights as we still want to do a little more exploring, and in return for working, we wouldn’t get paid, but we would get free accommodation, free alcohol, as much as we like (Chris loved this part), free food, as much and whatever we want, free laundry (yay- a break from hand-washing!) and even free cigarettes!
Ezzer and Chris in the 'Royal Chair'
So we thought, why not. It’s raining pretty much every day anyway so we are limited to what we can do, so why not have a free 2 weeks! So had a free breakfast and then got ready to start work after some chatting… 4-12pm are our working hours, and tonight it was pretty quiet, complete opposite of last night, so our 1st shift consisted of not a lot of work, a lot of sitting and chatting. Chris being ‘King of the Bar’ in his royal chair behind the bar keeping an eye on the ‘till’ and over-seeing everything (aka nothing) and I just had to take a few orders and take out some food- something I can do with my eyes closed… So a good night, Chris managed to consume about 8 pints and I had a couple of glasses of wine… Think we’ve got it made here! But better not speak too soon, will keep you updated!
written by  chrischarly on August 30, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

Poker Night
Kampot, Cambodia
Poker night
Went for a stroll around Kampot today. Not a great deal to see, but nice to see some sunshine again! Very hot! Then came back, showered, changed and got ready for our 2nd night’s work. Compared to yesterday it was really busy from 6-10pm, didn’t stop at all!
Chris however, is getting quite used to his chair behind the bar and is reaching distance to pretty much anything… hmmm… think I picked the wrong option working out front?!?!.. Then, to top it off, it was ‘Poker Night’ so from 8pm- midnight he played poker and drank beer with a group of other customers, so that was his ‘work’ for the night… Yep, definitely picked the wrong role…
written by  chrischarly on August 31, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

It's a hard life... :)
Becks, Ana and Rhie
Woke up pretty tired from running about working, so was fast asleep until 11am when Chris started banging on the door, he had already left and eaten breakfast before I even surfaced! Hard life I know! Just chilled the afternoon away trying to fix the laptop- no idea what’s wrong with it, but very irritating! Then, started work at 4pm- very quiet to begin with, but a little crazy from 7:30pm when the customers started to flock in. I forget just how tiring running about a restaurant is, especially in this climate, the humidity just kills you!
written by  chrischarly on September 1, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

All keeping our fingers crossed for Darran xxx
A kid escaping the playground
The bar was ridiculously quiet all day and night. So didn’t really have to do much, just serve a couple of people. So, we locked up at 10pm, a nice change from the usual 1:30am. Chris and Dick went out to another local bar with local music and didn’t resurface again until gone 3am and I sat outside for 4 hours being eaten alive by mosquitoes trying to keep updated on my poorly sick brother… So hope he pulls through and is better soon… We’re all thinking of you and praying for the best xxxx
written by  chrischarly on September 2, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

Same, same... But different
A bright blue gecko
Another pretty gecko
Not a lot to report about today finally dragged myself out of bed at about 1:30pm after a rubbish sleep due to Chris’ snoring and fidgeting all night. The bar got pretty busy for a while in the evening, full of fussy and impatient customers which reminded me of working back in the U.K. with a forced smile plastered on my face. But closed up early at 11:30pm as everyone left early.
written by  chrischarly on September 3, 2011 from Kampot, Cambodia

Work...
It's a Sunday, so roast dinner for me!
Dick and Chris eating Chris' home-cooked steaks
Working again today, and again not much to say about it as most of you back home are also working, so don’t really want to read about it.

Quiet day
Local houses
River dividing Kampot in 1/2
Seriously quiet at work today.
Tried to keep ourselves busy as much as possible.
So, ended up sitting at the end of the bar with a glass of wine in hand…
Can’t complain.

Long day
Fruits of Asia roundabout
Long day today.
Stayed pretty much glued to the computer as I have done for the past week awaiting news on Darran.
Got an update that he is now critical.
So have been worried sick and praying all day.
Oh yeah, work was boring.

R.I.P to my brother Darran :( xxx
Sadly my brother, Darran passed away today. So a very sad and emotional day for everyone who knew and loved him, especially Sharon, his wife and Bridget, his mother and I know myself and my Sisters and Stuart my brother. Many people grieving today. It’s really hard being away from home when all this is happening. Glad I have Chris.

Chris Dancing
Haha... look closely
Think I finally dragged myself out of bed at 2pm.
Had the worst night’s sleep ever.
Quiet again.
Locked up at 10:30pm.
Nothing much occurred.
Apart from the biggest cockroach in the world landed on Chris.
Highly amusing watching him dancing behind the bar trying to shake it off.

Back to being busy
Kampot town
Lee, Dick and Chris... 'advertising'... or, slacking
Yay the bar was actually pretty busy today, so actually did a few hours of work with a glass of wine sneakily hidden at the end of the bar at all times.

Something's been eating my clothes...?
Chris hard at work, watching cricket and beer in hand
Bungalows outside
I currently own 3 pairs of trousers. Put 2 of them in the wash yesterday and 2 of them have come back with holes down the left leg. Gutted, they won’t last much longer and they were good ones, can’t buy decent clothes out here like that, and no way can afford the same in Oz. Think a rat might have eaten them, or the stupid washing machine. Either way not good. Busy day at work again.

Stupidly messy night...
Old building
Had a nice roast Chicken lunch today, well shared one as they are huge. Had a pretty busy evening and enjoyed a few beers throughout the evening , and some very tasty Mongolian vodka, courtesy of Clement, an old Blissful barman who returned today.
Ezza was on top form as Clement was back and we all ended up pretty pissed by close-up and then headed to Madi’s bar on the River,
before making our way to Bar Red. It was pretty busy and we ended up drinking heavily including beer, G+T’s, shots of various description.
An old building
We staggered home at about 5.30am to discover we didn’t have our keys. Tried climbing over the gate unsuccessfully but the barbed wire scared us. We then staggered back to Bar Red to see if we had left our keys there. Nope. So Chris thought it would be the perfect opportunity for yet another beer. Then phoned Ezza who reluctantly got out of bed to let us in just as the sun was rising. Found our keys, Chris had left them behind Blissful bar when working. What a muppet… Top night!

Hungover
Old picture of a bridge
Ouch! What happened last night. Had many ice coffees, Royal D’s (vitamin isotonic drinks) and Comfort food. Oh and no beer. Had another fairly busy night, glad to get to bed…….

Day 2 of hangover
The bar
Monks
Day 2 of the hangover for old man Chris. Managed to get out for second round of the pool championships between Chris and Ezza. Chris lost 5-4 so now 1 match each, decider scheduled for Saturday. Had a fairly quiet night and a few beers then early night.

Again... poker night
Poker night
Poker night again. I spent 2 hours teaching a very hung-over Olly (another traveller) how to play before I started work as he had never played before as he was
desperate to play.
Olly passed out
But after all my hard work playing teacher, to make him feel better and get rid of his hang-over,
Dieke dancing on the bar
he drank 5 shots and 7 beers and managed to pass out by 6:30pm, and pass out is literally an understatement as we worried a few times if he were still breathing! He managed to sleep solidly for 6 hours so missed poker unfortunately. But many other travellers showed up and the bar was packed out. Very busy night.

12 days of work originally, now 3 weeks...
A 5yr old candle
Well, we were supposed to absolutely leave today, after delaying it day by day and finally go and see Ankor Wat,
Blissful bar
The killing Fields and S21. But we decided instead of rushing it, we would just have to come back again… one day...
Mr. Tith (waiting staff)
Dick and Ezza want us to come back and work here again,
Almost closing, J snoozing
so you never know what might happen in the future?! But either way, we have been useless tourists missing out 3 major things to see and visit. As everyone always says when trapped in Kampot and find themselves wasting away the days… ‘Next time’…

Another quiet day
Scrappy
Fat Boy (yep, that's his real name)
Very quiet and boring day. Very few customers, so the night dragged slowly by. But we did finish up early which of course is a bonus.

Oh dear...
Flaming sambuca from 1 glass to another
Well it is our unofficial last day at Blissful and as tradition goes, Ezza, Dick and co planned to get us wasted! First off we had the big pool final, previous matches had been won by Chris 5-4 then Ezza 5-4, so this was a big deal, so we headed off to Wunderbar at 11.00. We started without a beer, but after 3 games realised it was time. The match was a whitewash and Chris won 5-1; this started Ezza’s downwards role. After a few in Wunderbar, we strolled into Rusty’s for a few more and then it was apparent that we were getting slightly pissed, well Ezza was anyway. As I knew I was getting tagged teamed with Ezza on the early and Dick on the late, Chris thought it best to take Ezza out of the game.
Drinking the fumes of sambuca
On his last two beers, he gave him a shot of vodka in the bottom and he didn’t even notice. We staggered home well past when we were supposed to and Ezza disappeared to bed about 6pm. Another victory to Mr Joel. After this point it all went decidedly down-hill, many shots were poured and drunk and after several hours of this, including some dancing on the bar, and some Sambuca fires on the bar it all becomes a blur for Chris. The details are best left for the night, and only remembered over beers in the future. All in all a good night if slightly too drunked!!

Last day at Blissful...
Blissful
Well now it is our official last day at Blissful and we spent it hungover and trying to recover. Nice to spend a day the other side of the bar, watching rugby and nothing not a lot else. Nice early night!

And now back to Thailand...
Krong Kaoh Kong, Cambodia
Our bags hanging ot of the back, drenched
We said our fond goodbyes to everyone. The kitchen staff responded by saying, ‘Charly we love you!’ That was so lovely. Will miss their lovely cheery smiley faces. Even Ezza, J and Tith managed to surface to say goodbye at the early hour of 8am! Made us feel nice and appreciated! Then caught a local minibus for a long drive to the Thai border, which was tiring and long. Passed through border easily, no hassle coming out of Cambodia compared to coming in, which assured us that they were rip off ********. Then caught a minibus into Trat, which was easy peasy. Decided against taking a tuk tuk, they said it was 3km into town, we thought they were lying so walked. After going 3km we were exhausted and sweaty and wished we were more trusting but found a nice place to stay for 200 baht. Then chilled there in the evening, quite enjoying Trat.
written by  chrischarly on September 19, 2011 from Krong Kaoh Kong, Cambodia

And now, back to KL...
Trat, Thailand
After a brief stop-over it was time to move on, so, checked out at 8am and caught a tuk tuk to the bus station and the bus left promptly on time at 9am. Nice bus and very good journey, really fast driver and arrived dead on time at Bangkok airport at 2pm. The wait was way too long, but it was our easiest transport option with no messing around so we didn’t mind. Flight was also fine and left at 8:20pm to KL. Arrived in KL at 11:30pm, ran through immigration, got bags as quick as possible, then ran to get tickets for last bus to Pudaraya, which is the closest place to Sarang Vacation Homes, our favourite place in KL. So happy we made it to the bus as didn’t think we would. Then found the bus, relieved and then had to wait for about ½ an hour, maybe longer for it to actually go. They said it was direct, they lied of course. Went via the other airport. When we arrived in Pudaraya, decided again to walk instead of getting a taxi, took us about 20 minutes to get to Sarang Vacation Homes. Then had to wake up Terry to let us in. When we got upstairs realised it was 2am and we told them we would get there just gone midnight. Oops, exhausted, sleep time!
written by  chrischarly on September 20, 2011 from Trat, Thailand

Arriving in KL at 2pm, perfect start to the day... almost like being home:)
Blagging our way through into convention
Andrew's birthday cake
The highest counter in the world!
Pretty coffee
100% chocolate
Back in KL, of course happy, it feels like coming home we have been here so much, went to see M&C in their office after having breakfast. Then they told us about a foodie convention that was on, Chris was excited until he found out he had to wear trousers and shoes to get in, another sweaty day in KL. When we arrived, we lied and said we still owned a pub so we could get in for free. Haha. Walked around for about 4 hours having loads of tasty free food and drink samples. Awesome. Then came back far too stuffed for dinner and had an early night chilling out.
written by  chrischarly on September 21, 2011 from Bangkok, Thailand

Lady making fresh noodles
Chef cooking our yummy pork
Woke up, didn’t have breakfast as Michael said he would take us out again. Chris had gotten up before me and done a little shopping whilst I slept. Then went to a local noodle place, advertised as one of the top 10 things to eat ever in KL.
The yummy pork
Yummy noodles
So we thought we must try this too! So we did and it was so delicious! Completely stuffed and thinking we couldn’t possibly eat anything else, Michael said we must try this belly pork that is also famous here. So reluctantly we agreed and went to have some too. This was also great but I was about to burst and made him stop taking us places to eat so we went back instead for a rest for 1 ½ hours before we met up with him again. As soon as I got in I passed out and fell fast asleep, completely unplanned and Chris woke me up an hour later saying we must meet up with them again. Then we did and Michael took us to a super market where we brought groceries for Chris to cook dinner for later and I got my hair cut. Stupid guy only cut half my fringe, so one side in 2 inches longer.
Chris cooking
Chris busy cooking
Then went back and Chris cooked roast lamb dinner, had an awesome night before taking a taxi back home.
All sitting around the table
Chris' lamb roast dinner
written by  chrischarly on September 22, 2011 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Bye SE Asia blog... off to Australia!!!!
Perth, Australia
Weird porridge and intestine dish?!
It is our last day now in KL for I don’t know how long. Would love to go back again, and to be honest, pretty damn sure we will. Christina and Michael are like family to us now and once again we spent the day with them. Went out for breakfast at Imbi market, the place where I painfully got chilli in my eye a few months back. Then came back, did a little shopping, packed our bags up and went out for an Indian for dinner. Then said tearful goodbyes before they dropped us off at KL sentral to catch the bus to the airport. We planned it a lot better this time so didn’t have a painfully long wait before boarding at 11:30pm, fingers crossed our 700+ cigarettes manage to get smuggled through security into Australia!..
written by  chrischarly on September 23, 2011 from Perth, Australia

A statue outside a Chinese temple

A tasty Lebonese Restaurant

Me eating tradional Malay food... Chris was soooooo proud!

Staff

The lounge in Wojia Lodge

Our German friends, David and Tanya

Queing up

The pilot of our plane reading his newspaper

Chris very excited about going on a plane in Singapore

Our mosquito-ridden room

This photo doesn't really capture the filth

Leaving Jakarta

The lovely comfy train

On the way

Rice paddies with a huge mountain or volano in the background

An over-flowing bin just outside of Jakarta

farmland

Chris and I sat in a cute restaurant

Chris sitting on the balcony

View from the train

An old-style bed

Ladies making cakes

Chris looking out a window in a traditional Malay house

A long house

A Long house

My knee a month later, with a hole and scars all round... yuck!!

Merapi

Up Merapi volcano

Sitting in the waiting room waiting for our flight

View from the plane

Mount Bromo from the air

About to board our Merpati flight

View of the sunset when we arrived

Maumere beach

Rod passed out on the floor after waaaay too much arrack!

The beach we stayed on 25km outside of Maumere

The local guy proud of his catch

Picking the coconuts for us

The village

Cutting open the coconuts for us

A guy climbing a tree

Coconut mincer

Where we got the coconuts

An octopus

Local guys digging

A happy guy

Almost setting

Sitting on the beach waiting for sunset

Almost touching the coast

Touchdown!

Waiting for the bus

Ojeks

Cocoa beans drying on the road

Digging on the road

A view on the bus

Preparing to walk the bridge

The waterfall

The hot springs- aka- a burst pipe

A pig

The sunrise

Chris and I waiting for sunrise

Our first sighting of the black lake

Cloudy day

Local children on our walk down from Kelimutu

Just as the clouds were lifting

'Fanch' means fence by the way

Monkey checking out the view as well

The black lake still a little foggy

Rod taking a closer look

The blue lake

Chris, Isa and I

Nice blue sky finally

A lovely sunset

An explanation of the lakes

Coconuts

Rod and his new friend

Coffee

Very cloudy

The black lake

Isa

Huge Sting Ray

Beautiful view

Me

Chris and his new buddy

Cute kids

Check out the youngest posing with her hands on her hips!

Cooking our tasty but simple dinner!

Cute kids in Ende

Hot springs- aka baths

Nice view

Local children

Blue lake

us really cold!

The guy who served the coffee

Local man also cold!

Moni

Chris walking over a waterfall

Us eating at a local place

Local man

Market

grafitti

A nice road

House on the water

2 local guys

Chopping up a coconut for us

Man with a big gun

Us being given coconuts

Goats on the beach

House

My new-best-friend after feeding him biscuits!

Cute boys

After a mud fight

Chris playing football with the local kids

Chillaxing

The beach in Riung

A sea urchin

Me and Isa

Flying foxes

Lovely beach

Isa and Rod

A volcano

Cultural village

Me holding vanilla pods

Buffalo horns

Me standing next to where they sacrifice

inside a local's home

inside a local home

the conductor

road blockage

Chris and the bus conductor

Island

me on the boat

trekking

Komodo Dragon

Trekking

Where a buffalo once sat

Rod???

Choppy sea

A Komodo on Komodo!

Komodo National Park

Me and a Komodo

Komodo

Nice straight jetty

Rod

Star fish

Coral

Swimming in the sea

Fish BBQ

Entrance to the 17 islands

Gorgeous scenery

Local house

A local man

Chris with bintang!

Not looking very happy!!

An old man

Laughing

Kid firing a sling-shot

An old lady

Kids playing in the fog

A 80 something year-old lady

Inside a local home

Isa and lots of local kids

An island

Monkey

wild buffalo

A baby Komodo

A place where a buffalo once sat

A wild buffalo

The choppy sea

Komodo on Komodo!!

Wild deer

A wild pig

A deer with one antler missing :(

The sun about to set

Orange moon

Fast asleep still

Sunset

Our table on the beach

Rose coral

Rod trying to catch a lobster

Beautiful coral

Isa and Chris looking exhausted!

Riding along the beautiful countryside

Chris and Isa all smiles :)

Me and Rod pulling over

Me on the back of Rod's bike

Waiting for the road to clear

Chris and I on the boat

Amazing!

Gorgeous, massive turtle

Rod with a turtle

Beautiful Coral

A Manta Ray!

Hundreds of fish

Chris going very deep

Chris diving deep

A puffa fish

A Napolean Fish

Chris and Rod

Me!

Chris with a manta!!!

Our first ferry from Flores

On our first ferry

Team Flores, on the roof of our bus

We're not scared , honest

Charly holding on tight

Passing banana truck causing lots of dust, yeh!

View from top back seats

From our bus roof

Passing through a village from the roof of the bus

Photo from roof of our bus

Sitting on the last ferry

More roof travellers passing us on Sumbawa

Our fine ferry to Bali

The boat approaching Padangbai

Outside our place

Our lovely place in Padang Bai

Inside the ferry

Me about to leave Padang Bai

Hard work

Living amongst the rice terraces

Rice terrace workers

van blocking other transport

Anything can fit onto a vehicle here

A cute house

A house with only the door finished

The ridge walkway

Getting tired now!

Making our dinner

Along the ridge walkway

Outskirts of Ubud

The airport from the beach

Me finding a dead baby dolphin, sad!

Chris outside our place

Wavy sea

A blue marlin's head!

Dead dolphin :(

A very strange statue?

Just landing

Air Asia flight just landed

Looking back at the beach

Huge bathroom at our hotel

Our nice cheap noodle place

Cool bar

Funky decor at our hotel

The cill out area

Our amazing bedroom

View from our hotel

On rickshaw to Hat Yai bus station

On flight to Hat Yai

Eating yummy sandwiches after our dodgy bellies

A frog in the restaurant

Our longtail boat

Thai fishing boat

Waiting for more passengers for Railay

Captain

On our longtail boat Krabi to Railay

Mudflats and mangroves

Nice view from beach

Long Tail Boats on East Railay

Very scenic

Cliffs around the Beach at East Railay

Interesting new boat?!

Beach at low tide

Charly struggling up the steps to our bungalow

The whole stage on fire!

firedance

Still performing the fire dance even though it's raining

The walk to the beach

Cute monkeys

A monkey about to rip down the posters

Going for a swim

So beautiful here

Perfect beach

Amazing beach!

Enjoying a swim

A frog outside our door

High tide

Miserable-looking Chris

West beach

Chris reading

Me enjoying a swim

The lovely west beach

The ferry

Happy days

Long beach on Koh Lanta

Enjoying a nice Chang beer

A ferry like the one we were on

Chris' birthday present from the staff

Enjoying a nice swim

Happy Chris

Blinded by the sun

Nice handstand Chris!

Chris and I in the pool

Wondering how our tapas lunch could be this expensive!

Camp Chris

Having a break midway on the rocks

Our pretty towels

Enjoying a G&T

Enjoying white wine out of a tumbler with ice, nice!

Chris happy with all the food in front of him

Chris happily tucking into some crab

Chris' birthday cake

Eating durian for dessert

Us about to go to dinner

A beach we had a break at

Us on our nice pink bike

Hot and thankful to stop for a quick coke

Matching helmets!!

Terminal Point

Terminal Point (the most southern point in Koh Lanta)

Taking a photo of us riding along

In Asia you can do anything with a moped!

One of the chalets

The restaurant

Long Beach Chalets' reception

Our very small double bed

Our budget room

Boy happily sitting in the back of a pick-up

Trang clock tower

Awesome meat stand

Tasty sausages!

Chris enjoying his soup

A market stall brought on a moped

Our new lodger

Kung-fu panda eyes Chris

Cramped in a seat for 1 to watch a film

The train

The strange cafe on the train

Waiting for the underground

Chris enjoying an authentic kebab

Tasty prawns

Karaoke in the market

Long queue for the tickets

The super-fast and scary escalators

Walking along avoiding the main streets

The nice park

Stationary in the middle of Bangkok traffic

Chris pushing the tuk tuk

Our broken down tuk tuk...

Our local Thai restaurant, all for £2.60

Noodle soup lover

Arty photo by Charly

Nice smoked duck

Chinatown

Room for a small one

Market alley

Woman who kept abusing Chris with Peacock feathers

Crazy market alley

Memorial bridge monument

Pretty flowers

Outside one of the many florists

Chillis

Locals drying chillis which are the pigeon's dinner

It all got a bit much for this guy too!

It all got a bit too much

Indian food stall

Nice old houses

Making our tasty spring rolls

Another temple we think

A sneaky photo of monks from behind

The train station

Just managed to cross the road in time

Bottom level=cars, next level= pedestrians, next=sky train

The skytrain

Inside the skytrain

Just set off

Chris and I on the very cheap ferry

Another boat

A river boat

A house on the water

Wat Arun (Dawn Temple)

Outside the entrance to Th Khao San

A bridge

One of the many busy streets

Inside one of many temples

The train station waiting area

Chris and Graham playing chess

One of the many temples

A huge wall

The pretty river

Chris excited about his dinner

Tasty food

Nice gold temple

Everyone tucked up in bed

The river Ping

Nice unbrella to cover the hole!

Lots of stuff I have no idea what it is though

Lots of tobacco

The bar

Chris chatting to his mum

View from the bar

Bustling, chaotic, insanely busy market

Jam-packed market

Lots of people getting a foot massge

Ancient Ice-cream? Yuck...

The bus

In the sawngthaew

A really cute kid

Crammed in the back of the pick-up

Finding this very funny!

Waiting for our lift to return

Chris drenched from the rain

Loads of locals behind us travelling like us

Enjoying the nice views in the back of the pick-up

Yummy Yunnan food

View from our guesthouse

Our nice room

Crazy German and Thai couple Chris met

Charly chilling outside our room

Tom Set - like tom yum but with pork

Nice produce at the local market

Local tribal village

Pretty nice smelling flower

View from the start of our climb

Big ant

718 steps to temple

Scary spider

Temple guards

Arty shot from within Temple

View from Temple, nice!

Temple and Charly

Very ugly catapillar

Nice pic catapillar

Stripy catapillar

What is it ?

Odd catapillar

Green catapillar

Yummy catapillar

Deadly catapillar

Cheeky catapillar

Flutterby or Moth ?

Cocoon

Very furry catapillar

Catapillar inside something

Strange insect

Another catapillar

Ugly catapillar

Yellow catapillar

Fuzzy catapillar

Me and Patricia

My ice-cream pasta... vile!!!

No idea which direction= accomodation???

Wendy the Wok lady

Our transport to the Golden Triangle

A photo of a photo of a lady smoking opium

Click to enlarge and read

A photo of a photo of a tribal lady

Very life-like model of a guy smoking opium

Funny drawing pof a guy smoking opium

Photo of a photo of a lady from the Karen tribe

Statue of Buddha

Burma=left Laos=right stood in Thailand

The Golden Triangle

Us in our shit ponchos

Chris really not happy!

Chris on the bus with a monk

Monks in the rain

Crammed in the tuk tuk

Crossing into Laos

First view of Laos

Our bags on top, but no room for us!

Me stood by our broken-down bus

Beautiful Laos

The market

Me with a big bomb behind me!

In the beer garden

An old bomb made into a plant pot

Local kids stole a boat!

Swimming pool full of tourists

Locals jumping in the Mekong

View

The swimming pool

Behind the temple

The Mekong

All of the tourists enjoying sunet too

Gorgeous!

Almost sunset

Crazy clouds

Chillin'

View of Luang Prabang

Amazing from from hill

Team pool

Its a hard life

Yuk

Pool chill

We go on that ?

Easy stuff

Up to the bar of plenty

School class

Dinner at GH

Gay boys

Hmm, me thinks no

Theres caves in those hills

Tricky crossing

Caves

Dunno

I think not

At the GH

Crazy water baby

Our GH

Nice bar with baby

Teaching team

Teaching the local kids

Standing in the shade for a min or 2

A pink cow?!?!?!

Walking in Nong Kiew

Wavy river

Entrance into the caves

Boy swimming

Locals trying to cross (and falling) in river

Chris crossing the river

My first candle on Birthday Eve!

Our busy tuk tuk

About to be puked on!

Drenched on the tuk tuk

Iced coffee to start!

My yummy Pizza!

First drink of the day!

Pierre and I

Gill and I

Ken, Pierre and the manager

Me, Gill and Pierre

My tasty birthday cke from Pierre!

About to make a wish!..

Chris chillin'

B-day girl

Yummy

Nice!

I had to borrow a smelly shirt to enter

Tuk-tuk

Pouring down with rain

A monk cleaning up

Monksclearing up

There really is rubbish collection in Asia!

Strange light decorations

A huge butterfly

Changing a tire

Watching with dismay at our broken bus

An ugly bug

Happy to finally see the Plain of Jars

A huge crater caused by a bomb

Cows and the jars

A jar, partly broken from a bomb

Lots of jars

Cow in the bomb crater

Jars

Looking at the cave

Me very wet

Kid feeding banboo to Bull

Pig

A tied-up pig

Cute kid

Our bike

The local children

Hmong Village

Nice family

Collecting water

The only phone in the village

A monkey???

Another house made out of bombs

A monkey tied to a bomb

An adorable local

A bomb plant pot

A house with bombs making the base

A tired, tied up pig

Bomb something at our guesthouse

An old soldier's hat

Guesthouse armory

More US bombs

Bombs at entrance to our GH

MAG Office

Bomb fireplace

The effect of the war

The effects of bombs...

A bomb cafe???

Our room key (a bullet)

Moving Larve, that the locals eat!!!

Yet again, broken bus...

Local root vegetable

Catapult head

Local village

Cute children

Lots of mountains

A cute house!

Beautful scerery

A truck full of people

Chris busy typing

Monk using free wifi

Arc de triomphe Lao style

View from top

Monument

View from Arc de triomphe

Enjoying suset

Broken down tuk tuk

Henry and Anya

Nice sign

Before

1/2 bald

Shaven

Chris' hair

Now bald

View from our place

View of waterfall from balcony

The violent river

On the balcony at our 1st place

Locals fishing

Along the river

Our nice, but messy room

Our view

In the rice paddies

Cute girl

Balcony of 2nd place

Our hut

Bon Apetite

Eating all together

Enjoying a juice by waterfall

Stood at the base of Tad Lo waterfall

A little boy fishing

Elephant

Tad Lo waterfall

A local village

The steps to our place

First sighting of the waterfall

To the waterfall....

The water pump

Sweaty and exhausted

Chris drenched with sweat

The local bath

At the base of the waterfall

2 rainbows

The tractor

Climbing on the tuk tuk

Inside our big tuk tuk

On the boat ride over

A massive tree

Loving the hammock!

Sunset from our balcony

Small kid trying to get back on his bike

Sunset in the bar

Chris happy

End of sunset- strange colours

Tiniest kitten in the world

Chris' HUGE fish

Chris fishing

Fishing from a hammock

Raining so hard you couldn't see

The curry was even too spicy for Chris!!!

Raining so hard

2 fishing boats

Leading the way...

Ducks

Oops

2 Local kids fishing out of a big pond

An outside oven

Locals boys leading a bull

Trying to avoid the mud

The bridge to the other island

Me after I'd just fallen in

A bull in our way

Just before the cat weed&stained my trousers

Road repair?!

Scary-looking clouds

Adam's bum

Adam dancing on bar

Leaving don det

Huge beautiful storm in the sea

Excited about seeing the dolphins

The mekong from the top

Lovely view from the top

Lots of steps

Buddhist monk statues

At the bottom of the hill

Dolphins!!!

Dolphins

Little house on the water

Off to see the dolphins...

Huge fishing nets

The supposedly impressive lighthouse

Outside Mekong sunrise guesthouse

Our massive terrace

Where we stayed in Kampong Cham

Delicious prawns...

Bus arrived, then broke down...

The most awesome crab dish!!

Enjoying the sea breeze

View from our balcony at tree tops

Bringing the crabs in

Lady cooking our prawns

Making our sugar-cane juice

Restaurants on the water

A tree growing sideways?!

A very big crab

The caves

Limsestone cliffs

Walking up to caves

Cannot go inside cause of flooding

Inside the cave

Lady getting out the crabs

Inside cave

Entrance to cave

Just inside the entrance of flooded cave

Green peppercorns

Peppercorn vines

As far in as we could go

Lychees

Huge papayas

The gecko before Becks grabs it

Becks holding a BIG gecko with BIG teeth!?!?

In Asia, always lots of motorbikes

River dividing Kampot in 1/2

Haha... look closely

Local houses

Fruits of Asia roundabout

Kampot town

A kid escaping the playground

Ezzer and Chris in the 'Royal Chair'

Dick, someone? and Ezzer

Becks, Ana and Rhie

Poker night

A bright blue gecko

Lee, Dick and Chris... 'advertising'... or, slacking

Another pretty gecko

It's a Sunday, so roast dinner for me!

Dick and Chris eating Chris' home-cooked steaks

Chris hard at work, watching cricket and beer in hand

Restaurant

Old building

An old building

Blissful logo

Bungalows outside

The garden outside

Old picture of a bridge

Monks

Blissful

A 5yr old candle

Mr. Tith (waiting staff)

Almost closing, J snoozing

Blissful bar

Fat Boy (yep, that's his real name)

Scrappy

Flaming sambuca from 1 glass to another

Drinking the fumes of sambuca

Olly passed out

Dieke dancing on the bar

Blagging our way through into convention

Our bags hanging ot of the back, drenched

100% chocolate

Pretty coffee

The highest counter in the world!

Lady making fresh noodles

Andrew's birthday cake

Chris cooking

Yummy noodles

Chef cooking our yummy pork

Weird porridge and intestine dish?!

The yummy pork

Chris busy cooking

All sitting around the table

Chris' lamb roast dinner

So happy to have the extra leg room seats... Air Asia makes Ryanair leg room look spacious!

Very very sleepy but excited

Our plane we just came off next to a highly decorated other plane

Luxury trains

Chria and a bunny

Outside the Pavilion

Beating one of the many good luck drums

A Dragon

Malls all decorated for Chinese New Year

Sitting in a cafe in a nice air-conditioned mall to cool down

Our first sighting of the towers

Beautiful and clean KL, complete opposite to India!

Me and the towers

Chris and the towers

Everywhere we go we have the twin towers in our photos they are that huge

Walking around the lovely KL park

The largest twin towers in the world

A huge bunny

Where Chris' dad said we should be staying

Train coming...

Closer

Closer...

View from top of our apartment block

Our roof-top pool

Swimming

Yellow bird

Charly in the rooftop pool at night, its tough here !

Another blue bird

Two birds

Bluebird

An upside down lovebird

Hmmm, lets call it white bird !

A pigeon, no really it is !

Two lovebirds

A big bird

Some chciks

A peacock

A strange looking hornbill

Some flamingos

A big hornbill

fishies

Charly and a duckling

Charly and a chick

An ostrich

The bird is the word !

Emu up close

Peacock arse

Not sure, like an Emu

Flamingo

Nice view of flamingos

Red bird

Lizard running up a tree

Charly under the waterfall

Bird eating its way into a cage !

Reflection View of KL Tower

If you could only see the sweat !

Another view from KL Tower

Niah Caves viewed from KL Tower

Charly finally gets her audio guide working

Petronis Towers from KL Tower

Petronis Towers and the rain coming

Check out the rain coming !

Shangri-la doesn't even have a pool on the roof !

City skyline

Our apartment block is on the right

Our apartment viewed from KL Tower

Anyone remember Dusk till Dawn ?

Charly at top of KL Tower, well nearly the top

Don't look mum

Iggy

Ahhhh, run away

Blink and you'll miss it

Monkey magic

Big tortoise

A very strange monkey

Mini croc

A very big snake, don't look mum

It could eat you Charly, don't look mum !

Kermit

Is he trying to escape or something else ?

Is it dead ?

A very small crocodile

My first Malaysian dish

Chris breathing in Curry Laksa, yummy !

Chris excited about his not-so-delicious dessert

Chris enjoying his strange Ice dessert

Chris dribbling his dessert

Fountain outside Pavillion

Ais kacang

Rustic, but very clean inside

The outside of our flat

KL monorail

Our living room

Our kitchen

Our messy little room

Our plane to Manila

Our customary on flight photo

Happy about having extra-leg room seats from KL to Manila

Our plane run on propellers

last ones on the plane

Our tiny plane

Chris all squished in

Chris and I very sleepy on the plane to Santa Ana

Trev, Jo and Me

3am in the bar

Enjoying a glass of wine

The pool at night

The bar on Valentine's Day

Kids playing basket ball...

A guy posing with his cute little kid

A boat in the making

Yes, it's small but at least he tried :)

Ugly fish

Moi

The bar at night

My valentine xx

Local fishermen bringing in a huge net. 2 1/2 hours total they were at it!

Chris preparing his bait

About to cast

Chris casting

Our beach

Yucky rain clouds

Relaxing and reading

The busy street of Aparri

A motorbike with a carriage attached to the side

A local bus/truck driver stood proud infornt of his pimped-up rides

One of the many extended vans used as buses

An extended motorbike

Chris untying his fishing line

Playing basket ball

A boat

A truck on a little boat

Sunset at Jotay

The sunset

Jo and Max

Jo playing with Max

Our boat tied up

Trev and I outside our hut on the beach

Paradise

White sand, perfect blue sea!

Cora

Making it a little more realistic

Our speed boat

Burying Cora

Cora and Mary-Jane

Staff at Jotay

Authentic and O'Natural!

Wide load

Eating maize from the sisters

Chris, Pearla and I (you would never guess Pearla was a guy!)

The sisters are so tiny, cannot imagine them using this!

Absolutely no idea how they fitted this jeep in a tiny room!

Me, Chris and Sister Irene

Trev and Sister Irene

Pigs in the back of a trailer!

Locals playing basketball outside the resort

The kitchen staff

Jordy, Melissa, Jill, Chris and I

good balance

the island

the lighthouse from the boat

lighthouse

mini islands

resting after our mammoth climb

The cliff

The lighthouse

Blue sea

The island

fantastic view

The view from the lighthouse

Once I sorted out the fridge, nice and organised!

L-R Anna, Chris, Jarret and Mary-Jane

Beautiful

Max

The river

Glad he's not doing that stood by me

Max over-looking the river

A horse disguised as a buffalo

The court

The score board

The commentator has obviously lost interest!

Playing jai alai

The only spectators

Mid-game

At the Jai alai

Fishing

The further he walks out, the better his chance??

Almost tripping up

Walking in once again having lost his bait

Admiring his rods

Chris patiently waiting

Chris still fishing

Having a swim

Locals all swimming in their clothes

Happy little boy

Locals playing in the sea

Carla's first glamerous outfit- made out of a curtain!

Chris and Carla- perfect couple!

Carlos and GeeGee admiring Carla's back!

Carla and I

Busy, busy, BUSY!

Waiting to get in

Before opening

Queue of people waiting to get in and pick clothes

Clothes day

A cute boy with a bag almost as big as him stuffed full of clothes!

Puppy-dog eyes

Cold Max

Tiger prawns freshly caught and about to be prepared

Pretending to work on reception

Pretending to make beds

At the bar

Happy at work!

The messy staff quarters !

Predending to clean a mirror

Predending I'm a happy customer

And then cooking

Prentending to look in the fridge

Mayette pretending to wash-up

Mayette pretending to lay up a table

Then Mary-Jane...

After training Mayette how to carry a tray of drinks

Mayette, Anna, Carl, Mary-Jane and Fender

Front of House Staff

The Staff by the pool

Trev and Jo

Carlo and GeeGee

Yummy food

And then, the prawns cooked... I practically licked the plate clean!

Mouldy chips

Nice jacket!?

About to call the 3 fire departments with the chief

The pretend fire at Jotay

Impressive fire hose

The size difference between the state fire department and the volunteers vehicles

After the fire was put out- time for photos

The Eatern Hawaii Fire departments volunteers

Can yoelieve this tiny vehicle is the state fire engine???

Trev, Max and the 3 fire departments

Loving Pugudpud

Relaxing with a buka juice

Big smiles!

Kehana resort

Our room before we made it messy

Our balcony

Blue sand, white beach, what more could you want??

Taking a stroll along the beach

The gorgeous beach at the far end

Charly likes to walk several yards behind Chris

Goat and Kid on long walk back from beach

Our rescue chariot

All smiles as we fled for the mountains

A photo of the resort in case it wasn't there after.......

Ready to leave with 30 mins before predicted Tsunami hits

Our Canadian/Filipino Tsunami team

Thomas and Ellen from Holland

Huge Grasshopper

Even the insects were fleeing

Ryan eating a grasshopper, not really!

Our Dutch friend Thomas and the crazy German

Ryan and his flashlight OCD

Sleeping on the floor at Tsunami Escape Resort

Us and our new 6 friends all squeeze into one double room

We had a good view of the sea 6 km away

Exhausted and looking very miserable!

Our Tsunami retreat in the mountains

Chris waving to me

Chris' hand-stand

The strangest yet gorgeous palm tree

Me after climbing my first ever tree!

Local children playing

Very arty sunset shot by Chris

Yes another amazing sunset

A cock

Dinner back at the beach after the Tsunami scare

Great view on trek to the falls

A turtle the locals had caught, dinner me thinks !

Our guide to the falls

Rice Farmers house

Crossing a river on the way to the falls

Charly looking good at the falls

Kabigan Falls

The team at Kabigan Falls

Chris getting a serious head massage

Such a hero !

Ouch it hurts !

Us taking a romantic moment at the Kabigan Falls

Trecking back from the falls

Agua Grande

Amazing viaduct road built around the North Luzon Coastline

Ship Wreck on North Luzon Coast

Bantay Abot Cave with Thomas

Bantay Abot Cave, not really a Cave, more a hole

Charly waiting as we go to Bantay Abot Cave

Chris in Bantay Abot Cave

Blue Lagoon

Our bus ride to Vigan

Big arena for Cock Fighting

Charly on the bus playing Bejewelled

Vigan Cathedral

Chris' new church

Our hotel, Grandpa's Inn

Us in tricycle sidecar

Chairs at the hotel, not made for Charly

Us squeezed into a tricycle sidecar

Guy making pots, very quickly

Guy making pots old school

Lots of pots

Arty shot of clay pots

50m kiln built in 1823

Chris with Reverend Ronald

Inside the 50m kiln which was built in 1823

Kevin the clay trampling Karibu

Chris looking gorgeous

Our horse and carriage

In the carriage

Our driver

A Jeepney

Entering Vigan

A local shop

Shacks by the river

Unesco Heritage city with old Spanish buildings

Locals playing cards

Passing another horse and cart

The room we could have had if we weren't backpackers!

Kids playing in river

Ouch again !

Leaving San Juan on the bus

View from our balcony

Amazing sunset

Another amazing sunset

A guy with only 1 leg who was surfing - amazing !

Watching the surfers wishing we could do the same

Street Parade

Street parade

Rice and plenty of it

A view from the bus after finally getting a decent seat

Only got centre seats, comfy !

On the bus thru the mountains

The mountains of Sagada

Charly with new friend on the bus

One of the many amazing views

View from bus enroute to sagada

Starting the days trek

Hanging coffins in Echo valley

View across Sagada

Old bug

View whilst trekking around Sagada

Coffins at the cave

Chris with the 100's of VERY old coffins, spooky !

Looking down into the cave

Sophie our new Swiss friend

Up from the coffin cave

Hanging coffins

Two local kids with their ancestors behind in the coffins

Our washing

watching them roast their own coffee

grinding the beans

civit coffee beans

Cat poo coffee half full

Enjoying a beer after finding shelter amazingly from the rain in the middle of nowhere!

Chris as usual ahead of me!

Just look how high we climbed!!!

Chris 'wowed' by the view

More rice terraces

Admiring the view

Rice terraces full after the rain

An amazing view of rice terraces

The view in the mountains

The view from our hotel in Sagada

Chris squished in

A little girl, 'May' wondering what to make of the ginger man who is taking her photo

The lady wit the stick suspiciously looks a lot like yoda

Sophie and I

The view from where we stayed

The pool outside with water fed from the hot springs, aka a bath

Our guest house

Outside our guest house

Hot springs

Mainit village

The pig stys right by the springs, with waste running down, yuck.

Children playing

You could literally feel the heat

Our crazy land-lady Gesto

Children eating sweet potatoes freshly boiled in the hot springs

The women's and baby's bath

Bubbling Hot springs

Our a-la-carte meal of bread and rice... tasty...

The driver's seat

The jeepney from Mainit-Baguio before it fills up

And again, rice terraces

Rice terraces

The land-slide road we're about to drive onto

A cute village

Just outside Banaue

Lush green rice terraces

Nice saw

Entering Baguio- the view from the jeepney

Rice terraces in Banaue - the 8th wonder of the world

Banaue village

The view from our room

Me and our tricycle driver

Fantasic views

Local taxi

The Hapao rice terraces

Tourist office collecting money for entry

Hapao Rice Terraces

Enjoying the view

Hungduan rice terrace sign

Hapao rice terraces

Cable system for taking goods and people, across

More rice

Rice

Where is the rice ?

Rice terrace adventurers

What a tour guide she is !

River running through and watering the terraces

View from the terraces

Is she lost ?

Luscious green terraces

Yes more rice!

Tour guide Charly finding the way

The steps up from the rice terraces

Nice view walking in the terraces

Rice Terraces

A river through terraces

The road which we got stuck on

The Tricycle stuck in the mud

Us knackered on our last leg

Unhappy about wearing life jackets

The boat to Puerto Galera

Skippy, Zack and Chris

Guess who Chris loves more??

Chris trying repeatedly to ring his mum to wish her a happy birthday

Chris and I with our new friends

The view from our place

Chris dared me to get a tattoo with his name on my neck... so I did!

Showing everyone my new look

Chris a little tipsy

Chris loving my new tattoo

Eating authentic Filipino cusine

Clambering over rocks

Happily taking a stroll

Some of the rocks we climbed over

Chillaxing reading a book

Chris unable to cope anymore

Upset that I just grazed my knee

A log that looks suspiciously like a crocodile

Walking along the beach

The dog safely on the boat

A river crossing on the beach

Chris climbing on the rocks

The view of white beach on the rocks

A dog swimming up to a boat desperate to get in

White Beach

Walking back quickly as rain looks on its way

Wearing our head torces and a candle due to a power cut

Being all demesticated and sewing up our day bag

Our ferry to the mainland

Chris and Jiri on the ferry

Our bus conductor flagging down another bus for us

One last look back at Mindoro

Chris and I on the ferry

Waiting for another bus to arrive

Me peeking through at Chris

Chris enjoying his extra leg room seats to himself

Chris showing me where we are going

The view of Manila at night

A very sleepy Chris and Charly on our 45min flight

Chris stood outside our bus in Johor Bhuru

The ferry we took from Mersing to Tioman Island

Our first sighting of Tioman off the ferry

Monitor Lizard on the Beach

Monitor Lizard on the Beach eating something

One last look at where we were staying

Monitor Lizard in our Garden

ABC Beach

Monkeys running away from us

Monkeys and one in the background drinking beer??

A very hairy monkey

Me taking in the scenery

My delicious boyfriend!

A tiny baby monitor lizard

Tioman Beach

A litte monitor lizard

A monkey climbing a palm tree

A monkey which looks like it's about to sneeze

Monkeys

A house which looks like it's collapsed

Tekek marina

The river outside our place

Rob and I walking

A tioman bird

The airport run way

Tekek beach

A plane about to land

A plane landing in Tekek

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Zoom Zoom

Charly enjoying the zoom zoom

Heli

All the flags before the race

Grass hill stand

Nice circuit view from the heli

Starting grid before the race

Grass hill stand - only 60 Ringet (£12) for 3 days

Another cheesy C and C photo

More crane action

Zoom

The cranes got some action at least

All the shuttle buses parked up, thanks !

Stewards celebrating the work being over

At the GP entrance with the gang!

Concert stage at GP

Stuck up bueaty contest runner up

At the free Chivas area after the GP

Chris helping the lamb kebab chef

Enjoying our favourite Chinese after the GP

How we worked out what was going on in GP - zoom zoom !

Carrot cake stir fry - strange but nice

Food on a stick, boil, fry or grill all in a custom built truck

Night market in KL

Charly and Christina at night market

Food, food and more food, Chris was happy !

Quail eggs on a stick - genius !

Food stand at night market - yummy !

Genius food van - would it work in UK ?

Durian rubbish

Charly and Eva enjoying some Durian

Fresh Fruit Juice at the Night Market

Lots of stinky Durian Fruit

Yummy peanut pancakes at the night market

Our KL to Kuantan bus

L-R Anna, Eva, Me and Chris eating durian

Mosque in Kuantan

Chris at the stinky Durian Fruit shop

A mini in KL, taken for Mark

Our place

On the bus to Cherating from Kuantan

Our guesthouse in Cherating

Ours is first left

The chalets in Cherating

Chis and James far out but still not deep

Chilling and reading

Sat at a river view rubbish restaurant

James and Harry playing pool

Revitalising

Chris' shadow and a motorbike on the beach

'Don't Tell Mama's' Beach bar

An evil looking cat called one foot

The dog that followed us home

Full after our dinner

Graham, Harry and James

Getting wet on the boat

The view

All smiles after snorkelling

The beach where we snorkelled

Nice sunset from our beach on Kapas

Our lovely beach

More Kapas Beaches

Another amazing Kapas beach

Our private beach on Kapas Island

Leaving lovely Kapas

El' Capitano

Clear water just off our beach

Gemas Island off Kapas

A nice simple map of Malaysian penninsula

Charly waiting for the train

Here it comes

On the Jungle Railway

Another brown river

A bug that chased Charly

Nice brown jungle river

More jungle from the train

Nice view from train

Melaka at night

The jungle view from the train

Old Portuguese ship

Chris after his haircut - nice look !

A Famosa Fort

Not sure what she's trying to do here ?!

Chris showing off his cannon

Charly chilling in the shade

A' Famosa in Melaka

Christ Church since 1753

Funky rickshaws

Our lovely guesthouse

She was late to setup, but pushed through the crowds

Jonkers Walk

Good Friday celebrations in Melaka

Chris wondering what is between his legs ?

Chris and Charly strage shadows

Famous Jonkers walk in World Heritage city Melaka

Great Pakistani meal in Melaka

Amazing tandoori!

Funky peddle rickshaw

Neil, Chris and I

Table and chairs on the beach

A restaurant on the beach

Haze's first Malaysian dish

A ghecko with it's tail missing

Shade

One of the many anchors on the beach designed to trip you up

The gorgeous beach

Perhentian Island

The lovely sea

Our huts

Monkey juice!!

Fire dance

On the beach at night

The monkey drinking monkey juice

Love is in the air??

The beach bar

Neil

Haze, me and Chris

Chris and Neil

Reggie

Me trying to stop Chris going for a 4am swim...

Chris getting ready for a swim

Haze laughing at Chris

The walk down

Contemplating going in...

Chris finally making it to the sea

The morning after...

A romantic milkshake for 2

Chris laughing even more!

Chris laughing

Nel looking like he's just been slapped in the face

Neil looking good

Chris seriously enjoying his snickers milkshake

Eating out- Haze as usual laughing at Chris

Turtle!!

A turtle!!

Sharks!!

Clams

Underwater

Fishies

Haze and Reggie when they were out snorkelling

Haze

Neil, Chris and Reggie

Me, Daisy and Reggie on the ferry

A tractor on the beach??

Monkey gathering the rope together

Monkey lifting the engine

The monkey pulling the boat in

Hazey and I

A baby monitor lizard

Palm trees

The Wild Ginger

On the trek in Frasers Hill

Nice flowers by Haze

At the Strawberry farm

Landslide

Millepede, we think !

Scary Monkey

Our apartment in Frasers

Bukit Fraser aka Frasers Hill

Centipedes doing it !

Chris contemplating the day ahead

The smallest Leech in the world on Chris' ankle

View in the jungle

Charly after her traumatic day !

Neil diving on the antique bed in the Chinese Mansion

On our way from Taiping

Chicken and Egg Roti

Hazel enjoying the scenic drive

Nice rockface in Cameron Highlands

Neil in the Jungle

Budhist Temple

Waterfall in Cameron Highlands

Scary Monkeys

Looking down the mall

Stingrays

Underneath a shark

A turtle

Jelly fish

At the breakfast food court

Things made out of pewter

Chris and Christina

An explanation into Pewter

One of the stops on the Heriatge Walk

Everyone and the Indonesian Restaurant

The furthest I got to seeing Batu Caves

All dressed up and looking good

The view from the sky tower

A tortoise

Reggie looking like she's loving the durian

Lizard

Durian

Eating durian

Neil and his new friend

Houses on stilts

A lizard

Monkey with a HUGE tail

A lovely sunset over the river

A man and cute child

A cute boat

Food

Haze enjoying some Indonesian food... pasta

A waterfall

KL at night

The beloved durian

On the train to see the monkeys

Bloody vigin shots!!! Yummy!!!

Outside our lodge

Chairs we dare not sit in

About to go on the boat

A crocodile's head

Neil and Chris drinking coke floats

Another ginger photo!

A scary shark

A cute animal

42 degrees, after just dropping from 43

Kuala lumpur at night

Looking up

Looking down at the hundreds of steps

Neil and Reggie looking cute!

Me and my oober gorgeous sister

Kuala lumpur

A happy monkey

A mosque

Neil and Daise

A monkey with it's baby, a different colour when under 2 weeks old

Chris squeezing into a life-jacket!

The best photo we could get of the fireflies... aka nothing

Trees

Neil pointing at a flying squirrel

Excited about our trip

A hornbill

2 probiscus monkeys

One of the many kingfishers we saw

A very shocked expression!

Another hornbill

2 pig-tailed monekys at it and looking straight at us!

Way to foggy to see anything decent!

Us on the boat

The foggy morning cruise

On the river

Another probiscus monkey

Orangutan

A probiscus monkey

Haze petrified at the monkeys trying to grab food

A white-crested hornbill we think

Our place we stayed

On the canopy walkway

A pit viper!!!

Eating

And again....

Monkeys once again....

Orangutan eating

Orangutan disgusted by the monekys in front of him

Monekys at it yet again....

An old orangutan with a disgusting moneky's arse

Monekys at it again...

Gorgeous orangutan

Neil and a monkey

An orangutan

Swinging

He looks like he's about to sneeze!

That pose looks painful

A very thoughtful expression

Poser

Nice bum shot

A hanging orangutan

A posing monkey

The guy feeding the orphaned orangutans

3 orangutans

Orangutans scared of the monkeys

Orangutans

Full-on kiss

Ahhh...

Orangutans comforting each other from scary monkeys

Kissy kissy

2 Orangutans

Bestest friends

CUTE!!

An orangutan holding on tight

A Black Squirrel

Outside the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center

Jus after falling over

At the clinic

Cleaning it

Putting the stitches in

One I'd been stitched up

Me high off any the drugs they gave me

Keningau stop night #2

Marmite chicken, yummy !

Borneo 4WD tours Ltd

Nice smooth road

Jungle storage

If the road can break them what hope do we have !

On the jungle route

More jungle passing us by, literally

There goes some more virgin Borneon jungle

Roadside cafe, Borneon styley

Elephant poo, we were on the trail

Wee stop #1

Strange insect, we discovered it !

Gravel, not bumpy at all!

Malau basin base camp

All we can say is, not often !

We waited, and waited!

Nice offrad track

Deep Borneon jungle

Amazing skies

Lets just go for it and dont stop, whatever !

Very local town

There was a road but then it rained

Car lost for a while we think !

Boat building

Justine watching the Roti maker

Tea plantation

Offroad adventurer!

Palm fruit off to the refinery

Another end of the road, great navigation Justine !

Extreme !

Black squirrell eating bananas

Offroad adventure

Justine turned the dead snake over for a better pic

Palm workers suprised to see us

Getting a bit tricky

Through a rough track then we fing a bus stop ?!

Dead snake on our 4WD adventure

Beach at 2nd tip of Borneo

Through a palm plantation to the beach

On the 2nd tip of Borneo

Justine leaving car whilst moving ?!

Amazing beach middle of nowhere!

We found the beach !

Lets offroad !

Nice local bridge

Off on our 4WD adventure

Crazy Justine off across the swingy bridge

We found this swing bridge whilst lost

The river of browness

So confident, look 1 hand !

Slowly slowly

Difficult passing move

On the swing bridge

Coming down from the swing bridge

Cooking at our private retreat

Lost at the end of the road

Cooking out our private retreat

Amazing sky before the storm

Another photo of the mosque

Me early morning waiting for the ferry to Brunei

Justine chewing on beetlenut... yuck

The ferry port

Chris outside the first ferry

A crazy Manakin

The second ferry we went on

The mosque at almost sunset

The pretty village

Water village

Walking around the water village, the biggest in the world

The mosque over the river

Justine, Annie and her mum

The cutest girl giving me change

A shell garage

A fire station on the water

Filling up with petrol on the river

The River Brunei

Me enjoying passing through the water village

A firefly that landed on Chris' hand... Look closely and you can work it out

A waitress in training

A tug-of-war game we randomly came across

Local boys going for a late night swim

Dreading the 8.2 km walk

Us about half way to the caves

A pretty bird

Inside a cave

Looks like the cave was being held up by just 1 stick!

Me, sweaty and exhausted, yet not even half way!

Inside The Great Cave

Climbing up a shed load of steps

Just inside the entrance of a cave

The entrance to one of the caves

About to go into pitch black

Lighting up the way with our head-torches

Finding some light

Along the side of The Great Cave

The beautiful walkway to the caves

A bright red centipede hiding

Me 'wowed' by the tree

A very spiky plant

Amazing roots from a tree

An pretty plant

Vines hanging down from the trees

At the entrance

Waiting for the shortest boat journey ever!

A 40,000 year-old skull!!

Jess chillin'

Chris looking deep in thought

The river branching out to the sea

Boats on the river outside a tasty seafood restaurant

The very over-rated beach :(

A refreshing drink/ice-cream treat after a stupidly long walk!

Chris relaxing

A view of the bus

Us at the back of the bus

Where we are staying

Not sure what this is

Sarawak Parliament Building

Ladies dressed up as they would in tribes years ago

Ladies in traditional clothing

An iron-man competition

Chris and I waiting for the dances to start

There's something not right about this picture??

Men picking up huge wooden things with their teeth!

Dancing

A traditional cultural dance

Shooting blow-darts

Impressive!

A man balancing on a stick

Another Mr. Joel staying at a longhouse...

Some figurines

Inside a longhouse

Me looking at gongs

A mask

A statue

Me walking along a bridge

Chris walking along a mission of a bridge

Chris walking along

A typical bedroom

Climbing up very thin steps made out of a tree trunk