18.07.09 Bia Hoi in Hanoi

We spent some time wandering around the old quarter of Hanoi. The street scale is lovely and although it is hectic because of all the motorbikes we enjoyed this city much more than bangkok. During the evenings we enjoyed some bia hoi - the local draught, sitting on childrens plastic stools on the street corner. From here we could observe the moped near misses and be intrigued by what the women had in their selling baskets.

From here we get the night train to lao cai in the mountains - we are pleased to be leaving the cities behind us for the country.

13.07.09 Bangkok

5 days in Bangkok:

Arrive 5am... expensive hotel, sleep, vietnam visa (2 days), green curry, bad films, sleep, shopping mall, pizza, cinema, cheap hotel, cambodian visa (10 minutes), cards, beer, sleep, cooking course, crazy dancing singing Mai Kaidee - http://www.maykaidee.com/, reclining budda, gold bling, green curry, beer, sleep, search for a real floating market, grand palace, gold, bling, tut tut scam, gold buddah, flower market, sleep, flight to vietnam.

highlight: green curry and Mai Kaidee.

06.07.09 Shark Search

So it took a while to get there but after a day or two travelling we made it to our island paradise - ok so there were a few others on Koh Tao too but it was to be a fantastic week of resting - well as rested as Charlie and I could manage.

We found ourselves a lovely wooden hut with perfect views over the sea at Sunset Bungalows. The next day we decided to do a snorkelling trip around the island to introduce it to us. When Charlie saw there was the possibility that we might see sharks he couldn't hide his excitement. The coral and brightly coloured fish were amazing - such variety. Unfortunately Charlie and I don't know all their names and so cam't really say what we saw! Yellow ones, ones with pointy noses and others that were multi coloured. First up was shark bay and we scoured the bay to the max - to the point where the rest of the boat as waiting for us to swim back from the other side of the bay - I am not fit! we didn't see any sharks but another woman on the boat did. I could see instantly that we would be here every day until we saw a shark - I wasn't sure whether to be excited or scared!

Wednesday we had a relaxing day as we were worn out from the previous days swimmming and I dont think the sunburn on my back was helping! Besides we needed to plan our approach to shark hunting.

Thursday was shark day. We got up at 6.30, hired a kayak and snorkels and headed for shark bay. After some hunting for the right spot we saw one, and then another and suddenly I felt as if they might be circling us! We snapped with my camera in the waterproof bag but to our dissappointment the above is the best blur of a 'black tipped shark' we managed to capture!

For our final day we decided to check out the rest of the island ... including the magnificant view from the top of two view restaurant (310m high hill) - after trekking up a dirt track that clearly becomes a river in the rain we finally stumbled across a sign to the restaurant (small run down huts with hippy type locals just hanging out) and so we stopped for a cup of tea. Then the rain began!! After the most delicious thai green curry and more hot beverages we decided to give the view from the top of the hill a miss (a friendly german informed us it wasn't worth the effort and it was raining gecko's and monkeys) and trecked home .. down the river!

Time to leave and after many days deliberation we agreed to throw the budget out of the window and booked the slow boat (4 quid) over the night boat (2 quid). After 3hrs of hanging about waiting for our boat we finally worked out it wasn;t running when we stepped onto the fast boat (free upgrade). Although having heard the horror stories from the passengers disembarking and watched the previous captain almost sink the pier ... any hope for a calm crossing didn't really exist. I was pleased to reach the other side without being ill and keeping my flip flops clean.

01.07.09 Cameron Highlands

So... we planned a non touristy route from the jungle to our next destination in the highlands by public bus / train. The sole purpose of this was to avoid usiong a 'tour company' that had a direct minibus for ten pounds each (extortionate in Malaysia) whom we had decided we didn't like. Any way two very cheap bus rides landed us on the wrong side of the highlands and the normal story of 'there are NO buses... but you can get there in a taxi' .... lets just say we ended up paying more than the tour company wanted back in the jungle!

Two waterfalls and a lot of rubbish:

- On the first day we decided to trek to the nearby waterfalls... one 1 hour away and the other 2 hours. Maps, distances and directions here are a figment of the imagination - after a couple of hours and walking along paved paths that are more dangerous than the natural terrain we had seen enough of both of the mudddy torrents that spawned plastic and nappies over some rocks and called it a day. Tomorrow we would attempt Gunung Brinchang at a staggering 6666ft.

Gunung Brinchang was awesome... the cooler weather of the highlands (trousers and jumpers at times) made this 2 hr hike / climb to the summit a great trip through mossy woodlands and along treacherous arretes - the views from the top were awesome (excluding the television aerials). As we wanted to stop into BOH tea plantation http://www.boh.com.my/ on the way back to the hostel we decided to take the road down the mountain instead of the goats path we had followed on the way up.

We stopped at the tea centre and spent the rest of the days budget on tea and cheese buns (we would have gone all out for scones but these were 10p more). The tour was brief but provided sufficient information to process the tea leaves that had brushed off the plants into our pockets on the way home.

28.06.09 Jungle Fever, Taman Negara

From Kuala Lumpur we took a bus to Jerantut where we were able to transfer to a long boat to motor up the Tembeling river to the Taman Negara National Park Rainforest. It was a very relaxing way to travel and made you feel like you were going to the middle of nowhere.

After settling ourselves in our room we got a map of the walks in the area and wondered how we would ease ourselves in to jungle trekking. We thought we would have one easy day to figure it out and then do a two day trek with a stay in a hide overnight. Unfortunately the hide was only available for the next night so there would be no easy day and we would be thrown in at the deep end. We set off in the morning starting with the canopy walk - a rope walk up in the tree tops - very cool. Then at about 10.30am it was into the main hike. We were on a route which loosely follows the river and therefore crosses a number of tributaries - as we found out this meant a lot of up and down!! We were on our own which we felt fairly happy about but after a couple of hours realised we really were on our own - we hadn't met anybody - and luckily hadn't met any of the tigers or panthers either (although kind of would have liked to seen one!). After another couple of hours we were sure we should have reached the one landmark that was on our sketchy map.....but there was nothing, were we on the right track?! And then out of the jungle appeared a couple of concrete steps.. a sign of the right track, and then came the bridge over the river, brilliant we musn't be far from the hide then. We decided to stop on the bridge as this was the only place we could be sure the leeches wouldn't try to scale our boots and latch on- eww, horrible little things. Unfortunately we had not really taken a proper break before now and I had forgotten to eat and drink enough in comparison to the sweltering heat and humidity! I started to feel a little bit special once the adrenaline stopped going and had to lie down on the bridge and drink some water before we could get going again! I think Charlie was wondering what on earth he would do with me!

Off we went feeling refreshed. After another while trekking we met a mass group of about twenty - some of them seemed slightly concerned that we were without a guide, it turned this was because they had just picked up a man who had been lost in the jungle for 4 days - and he looked like he had been in a fight with a tiger! Anyway we made it to the hide and were first there of the 12 people who were booked into it. It was a fantastic place to stay with views over a salt lick. Unfortunately we didnt see any big animals - I think with the amount of noise our group was making, there never was any chance! There lots of fireflies which look beautiful. After a dinner of cheese pringles and raisin bun I settled into my wooden bunk above Charlie but I was woken at midnight by the thunder, lightening and heavy rain. The idea of wading through the river the next day suddenly didnt seem so appealing!

We decided to walk back the same way the next day with three other english people we met at the hide, apart from being stalled in our tracks by a couple of wild boar, a snake skin, a monitor lizard, blisters and a few leeches we made it back to the comfort (and shower) of our hotel room.

We had an amazing time in the jungle. Jungle Boogie!!

21.06.09 Beijing

We had a wicked week in Beijing. It started as we got on a flight full of potential swine flu carriers. When we landed at the airport the health officials were rightly cautious and fumigated the plane before they came on to scan all our head temperatures. We were then allowed off the plane and again scanned before they would let us in. We finally got there and decided to spend some of our first day in the forbidden city - as it turns out the forbidden city is massive and needs a whole day! Charlie decided to treat me to a vegetarian dinner - vege pigeon, vege fish, vege beef...mmm!!

The next day we decided to go modern and visited the olympic complex. We took some photographs... and then charlie took some more..., nipped inside the water cube and then went away for dinner and decided to go back to see them lit up at night.... and charlie took a lot more pictures!! (I shouldn't joke they are all very good!)

On wednesday we decided to have an easier day as over the last two days we seemed to have walked about 15km and wanted to make sure we were ready for the great wall. We went to the Temple of Heaven and the ancient architecture museum... and walked a lot in between!

Thursday was the great wall of China. We organised to go with the hostel who take you to a bit which is unrepaired. We did not have the minimum 3 people required but managed it anyway so off me, Charlie, the guide and the driver went. After arriving at the local village a local farmer made lunch for us. I had not been feeling great the previous day and so wasn't feeling like much. The first three plates looked lovely and plenty food for us all but by the time she brought the 10th plate out I was wondering when she would stop! After a rest to let our feast go down we went to the wall. It is pretty immense and seeing it wind off into the distance was brilliant.

19.06.09 Kuala Lumpur

After a few hours on the train and a temperature check at malaysian borders we arrived in Kuala Lumpur. We visited the petronas towers with a full free 3 minutes on the bridge with views over the city! (followed by boring promotional videos) We went up another observation tower to get a different view on the city and then walked miles! Enjoyed the food at the street markets and planned our next move.

16.06.09 Singapore

Charlie and Wes had an awesome time surfing their way across Bali and Java. It was time for me to join them in Singapore. I just about managed to recognise Charlie at the airport with his long locks, beard and moustache! They gave me a whirlwind tour of Singapores sights and then we sadly had to say goodbye to wes as he went back to work.