London to New York ...

So with Phnom Penh really throwing up every conceivable emotion a person can summon, we went north to experience a more chilled out vibe in Siam Reap. As a city it is very sparsely set out with no real congestion, a rarity in Asiam cities we've found! We unfortunately arrived in the middle of a huge storm which had flooded the streets and knocked out the power to the area but our tuk tuk driver (Joe #2) battled through and got us to our hotel so we booked him up for the next day!

We headed of for Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples early that morning to get the best of the day which unfortunately was scorchingly hot and sunny (terrible I know) which left us sweating through the day. Angkor Wat was much what we expected seeing it countless times on pastcards and posters left little surprise. It was nice wandering through the temple though the restorations taking place scuppered the perfect kodak moment but was good none-the-less. The next two temples i personally thought were much better than the big one which is obviously striking in its size but had none of the character of the next couple. Bayon, a much smaller site, had brilliant character with dozens of huge faces sculpted into the rocks at the top giving it a real sense of awe and was great to wander for a bit. The next was my favourite, Ta Prohm. This is the real deal for ruins, the temple itself is in pretty bad shape but the result is fantastic. Much of the walls have collapsed or are bent our of shape giving it a real Indiana Jones feel but the real eye candy are the HUGE trees growing on and into the the ruins with their roots cascading down and around anything in their way making it extremely awe inspiring. The last couple we went to didnt have as much in the way of comparison to the others though we guessed we probably saw the 3 best ones so no hard feelings for those ones.

Thinking our day was done we had some lunch in town before one of the waiters asked if we were interested in going to the local orphanage with him to teach for an hour or so with a couple of others which we jumped at. Walking into the classroom (a hut in reality) of around 20 children was quite intimidating, I was suddenly the teacher after not long ago being the pain to them! It turned out to be great fun helping them through their ABC's and numbers before eventually teaching them head shoulders knees and toes! They were clearly excited to have real Englishman teaching them and it was pretty funny hearing them imitate my accent on repeating my brilliant teaching!
It also turns out Siam Reap is pretty geared up for travelers drink wise, $0.50 beers throughout the night in a road nicely called pub street! We of course went for a few and met up with some guys we met in Saigon who strangely went Langley but are a few years below us but 2 played football under Jimmys dad and are friends with his brother, and to make it more unlikely, one lives the road next to me. It is indeed a very small world it would seem!

So this is actually my blog up to date (it wont last) and we're off to Bangkok tomorrow where Im sure I'll have some stories and then on to the full moon party ala Koh Phangan!

After a great time in Vietnam we had high spirits coming into Cambodia. Our stay would be quite short lived with us just visiting Phnom Penh and Siam Reap due to time restraints but the core of Cambodian travel is much set into these City's so it wasn't a real issue. On arriving into Siam Reap we instantly saw what made the Cambodian people so famous. They're amazingly smiley, polite, funny, everything that you wouldnt expect from them considering the turmoil the country has so recently gone through.

With our time short we immediately signed a tuk tuk driver up for a 2 day stint with us. We're not sure what his name was (they pronunciation is crazy) so we just called him Joe! Joe came up with a nice little itinerary for the next day starting, of course, at the gun range. this was a strange experience in a lot of ways. Firstly the restaurant type menu they present filled with everything you can fire from pistols to shotguns, to sniper rifles to a rocket launcher! I chose a shotgun and the AK-47 which are frightening pieces of machinery. The shotgun's power is astonishing, it literally knocks you back after each shot and left the shoulder quite sore after only a few shots (the pump action reload was very cool though!). The AK-47 again was powerful but obviously not as much as the shotgun. The real power was the speed it fired the bullets with the shells falling like confetti by my feet, the clip was almost instantly gone but was definitely an experience. Afterwards we had the adrenaline pumping though we both surprisingly had very mixed feelings about the whole thing what with their purpose and probable use in killings and recent wars, it brought up things I honestly thought I wouldnt have thought I would have considered but the feel of firing it brought them about.
It also had a bearing that we were now on our way to the Killing Fields, the mass graves of the victims of Pol Pots disgraceful ruling of Cambodia and the subsequent deaths of millions of the people of Cambodia. The place was horrendous in its brutality. Walking in was a large pagoda style building which as you entered was very nice. It was only as you got closer you realised it housed the skulls and bones of those they had dug up, some 8000 skulls, all divided by age and gender. As well as this there were boards explaining what happened in certain areas including the 'magic tree' which held a speaker which made noise to cover up the moans of those being executed. Walking around there are still bones poking out the ground including a skull we found half out the ground which made it somehow more grim. The fact this happened only 30 years ago brought it home that the majority of those in Cambodia had lived through this atrocity and is still a very sensitive point.
After this very humbling experience we went off to watch some Khmer (Cambodian) boxing which we were surprised to find out was free although it was being broadcast on mainstream TV and held 6 different fights so it was a real treat. The boxing was pretty fierce, some fights more than others including a disqualification for a shocking low blow (we both cringed as the knee struck) and a guy who lost because his head wouldnt stop bleeding! An extremely mixed day for very different reasons but one of the best because of it.

The next day we rounded off the grizzly history of Cambodia with a visit to S-21, the site where they tortured the victims of Khmer Rouge before sending them to the killing fields to be executed. The eeriest thing about this place was that it was an old school in the middle of a normal suburb with barbed wire along the top the only real distinguishing feature from the street. As a visual it may not be as gruesome as Killing Fields were but you only have to imagine the lives of those held there to get a sick feeling to the atrocitys committed so recently.
The past of Cambodia is remarkably bad and to see so many people as happy as they are (also considering its one of the poorest) is a testament to the hope they all seem to hold for a better future. An amazing country

After some great days up north we started are descent down Vietnam, the next stop being Hue. In honesty we only stopped here to break up our journey and give us some rest from exploring so theres not a huge deal to say about there...so moving on!

After our Hue stopoff we got into Hoi An where we had been looking forward to getting our suits made up maybe a little too much. Our hotel actually needs a mention just because it had a cold indoor swimming pool just behind the reception which to us was heaven given the temperature firmly bordering the 40 degree mark for the time we had been in Vietnam so far! We got straight down to business after dumping our bags by heading down to the tailors to get some quotes and get some ideas. The site of Hoi An is freakishly strange, it has somewhere in the region of 600 tailors in a small area so the streets are just tailor after tailor! We spent around 3 hours ironing out what we wanted from our selected tailor including material, colour (just navy doesnt cut it, they have EVERY shade!) button style and placement, pockets fit, collar, literally everything to the smallest detail! I eventually decided on a navy blue cashmere wool blend slim fit suit with custom interior (led zeppelin 4 symbols across the back!) 4 tailored shirts, 4 ties and a pair of all leather tailored shoes for around $200, an absolute bargain! The next few days we went back for countless fittings and alterations, you definitely need 3 days at least to get everything perfect but it isnt tiresome. The fittings took around 20 minutes then youd go back in the evening allowing us to head to the beach and generally laze around whihc was nice. The beach was brilliant though the sand was unbearably hot! The seas were clear and the sand was perfect to go along with the token palm trees stretching along the length of it, a good way to pass the hours. I also got a Vietnamese haircut which was pretty nerve racking not quite knowing what theyd do! Knowing the obvious language barrier I went armed with a picture of Brad Pitt (sorry, but I had to) to show them not to do anything outrageous! They actually did a great job but obviously didnt get many tourists as I had a full audience for the duration and the poor guy doing it looked like he was going to implode with the pressure but he persevered and for 4 quid I wouldnt have complained (unless i had a nike tick in the back!)

With Hoi An somewhat of a business stop to get our suits and bits done we got down to Nha Trang, somewhat of a 18-30's-esque place with great beaches and better drinks deals. These 3 nights were spent purely partying, something we hadnt had too much to do so far so we seized the opportunity gratefully! The best parts were undoubtedly the cocktails by the bucket, beers for 40p and the Sailors Club whihc had great tunes, a good backpacker vibe and deckchairs on the beach! Other than the night life I wouldnt really have a lot to recommend though the beaches were stunning. I also had a go at wakeboarding, waterskiing on a board basically, which was harder than I thought. I got up a few times which made all the faceplants and swallowed sea worth it, it was crazy just bombing over the waves with the beach in the distance before the eventual faceplant back into the sea, great fun!

After completely destroying my body along with a camera and my ipod we departed from Nha Trang much less healthy than when we arrived to venture to Dalat, a small town up in the mountains with rumored cooler weather which we were now desperate for! We arrived after a 5 hour coach journey into the mountains through torrential rain and lightning which was a bit dodgy seeing as the roads were pretty narrow with the mountainside sitting under my window! We obviously made it to the town of Dalat which wasnt exactly what we expected. It had been tipped a french colonial town but in reality its another asian town, pretty standard stuff! We did something the next day but I cant remember what. The next day we did the hotels own easy rider tour which allowed us to drive our own mopeds again which we still loved. We twisted down the mountain and rode for around 20 minutes before we stopped to have a look at a cricket farm and even got to try some samples of fried crickets. Unsurprisingly me and Jimmy loved them and pretty much cleaned the plate while the rest looked on a bit horrified but they were actually tasty! Not quite as nice was worm wine, rice wine (bad enough) which contained a huge amount of silk worms to ''ádd tot he flavour''. It definitely did something but its not something I'll ever order a round of! We then headed to a local market which wasnt too inspiring but the next stop was great. After about another 45 minutes riding we got to a nice waterfall we could go stand under which was an experience before we carried on our journey. We rode on a bit further to eventually arrive at a silk factory which was frantic! The noise, the speed of the machines and the speed of the workers was fierce, not to mention the crazy designs of the looms. how they didnt just fall apart still confuses me. The last stop was at a minority village where we got to ask and answer questions and see how they lived which was really interesting. The ride home ended up being treacherous. It rained for nearly the entire hour and a half journey back with real driving winds that pounded our faces, the fact we were doing 90kph odd made it impossible but we had to carry on following our guide which was pretty rough going but we made it back so no worries!

The next day we headed off to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for 2 nights which was our last stop before Cambodia. The City was pretty grubby, rats quite openly scurry through the streets and there wasn't much really going for it. The one good thing was litres of beer for 50p and the fact we bumped into a couple of recurring Scotsmen we had met in Nha Trang and Dalat that were a good laugh. We did the Mekong Delta tour on our day there which was great, basically you head up the Mekong river seeing and doing different things along the way. Among them was banana wine (wine in asia means vodka pretty much!) which was nasty, eating fresh coconut fudge which was nice, holding a python, feeding alligators, visiting sufferers from the agent orange used in the war and rowing through the reeds and trying the local fruit. It was a really nice trip and would highly recommend it!

So after just under 3 weeks (I think) we had done our trip through Vietnam and it had absolutely flown by. As a country it was amazing, it has such a mixed bag that everyone will find something to fit their needs and it definitely a refreshing experience after China! But the show goes on, the next stop Cambodia!

Right, so having finished our travels through China we headed to probably the place we were both most excited about, Vietnam! We had both heard countless good things about the country in terms of its people and its natural landscapes from other travellers that it really had set a high bar for it to live up to. Happily, this wasn't to be a problem...

First crossing into Vietnam the first thing you noticed was the intense heat, which for the first time, wasn't coupled with crippling humidity, a factor already putting it in favour over China! The journey was smooth enough through the border, it was all done in about 2 hours which was mainly due to Asia's seemingly enforced no queing rule with every 'que' simply being a free for all which can be annoying.

After all the formalities were dealt with we arrived into Hanoi. Hanoi is a hugely bustling City with narrow streets, countless shops and restaurants all swarming with what would become a familiar sight of endless mopeds darting through the roads. We headed straight for some lunch having checked in, choosing an innocuous place with cheap meals, about 2gbp for a full meal and drinks! This turned out to be my best meal so far. It was simply named 'fish in a clay pot' which i later discovered was a mid section of barracuda which was marinaded in the most incredible sauce ever created, one of the few meals where every bite seemed a surprise to how nice it was! Later that night we headed to a English pub for the England vs Germany game which doesnt really need talking about (bad times) but we did meet a great group of English guys and girls out for one of the guys birthdays which we ended up going along with and had a great night. We also got talked into (quite easily) joining them on one of the Ha Long Bay junk boat tours the next day which meant our stay in Hanoi was very short lived but with few things to do and the heat unrelenting, a boat trip was too tempting.

So with our stay in Hanoi abruptly ending we headed on to Ha long Bay via a grizzly 4 hour minibus ride with 8 of us nursing our hangovers all along the way. Getting onto the boat was a bit more of an effort than needed, our guide getting the wrong jetty a couple of times before finally remembering where he was. The junk boats were near enough all the same in their appearance, though the more expensive ones were noticeably a bit more elaborate but ours was comfortable enough. Moving out through the Bay it was instantly the most amazing panoramic views you're likely to see, the limestone peaks stretching off endlessly behind one another and all around us. The views didnt cease and would have easily been worth the money spent for the tour just to see but after cruising for a few hours we pulled up to a floating fishing village which was amazing to think existed, there were banks, schools and shops all floating in their quaint quiet lifestyle, there were even a few dogs there looking very out of place! Here we boarded a local boat to take us cave swimming though it wasn't at all what we expected. Rowing through a low ceiling through a mountain the 'cave' was actually a circular enclosure about 50m in diameter with limestone cliffs towering about 100ft all around us giving the place a very eery calm though coupled with outstanding beauty. It was like something from 'the Beach' which with a group of nice young backpackers was a dodgy realisation!! We all dived off the boat and swam around for a good 30mins but we could have stayed for hours, it was paradise.
We set off again through the Bay eventually stopping at around 5pm in the middle of a group of peaks where we were finally allowed to jump off the boat! We spent around an hour throwing ourselves off the boat in various ways (including a 20ft cannonball/face plant from myself) and coaxing the more reserved to give it a go, it was pretty awesome! So being suitably bruised and with salt water now making up around 50% of my body weight we dried off and chilled on the top deck with a few beers while watching a stunning sunset behind the peaks over our dinner.
We spent the rest of the evening watching the moon rise while a distant storm rolling with lightning lit up the horizon with huge bolts thhttp://www.travellerspoint.com/my_blogeditentry.cfm?blogid=22207&entryid=210004ough it happily never approached us. We spent the rest of the night sleeping on the top deck under the stars which were the clearest Ive seen before eventually falling asleep. It was quite a day to say the least!
The next day had us up at 6am for kayaking around the bay which was horribly early and was in all honesty quite boring. After we did enough kayaking we ventured back to the boat for our journey back to the mainland which allowed us on last experience of the Bay, a place I will return to without a doubt. That night we stayed in Ha Long City for some recovery where we decided to head to Ninh Binh as we had a few extra days. It turned out to be our best decision yet!

Set somewhere in between Hanoi and Ha Long to the south sits the small town of Ninh Binh. Having only really given it a quick read in the lonely planet we didnt really hold any big expectations. With the town being much more reserved than the previous 2 stops we decided to give the mopeds a go for the day. We each got a fairly new automatic moped which the hotel owner kindly gave us along with a 20 minute crash course in how to drive it and how to handle the roads. The literal rule of the road is the bigger vehicle wins and nothing else but we soon learned the seemingly mad roads were actually an organised chaos once amongst the throngs of traffic with everyone carefully minding everyone else but never really stopping so you have to be constantly alert. After getting off the main road iot quietened down considerably and we were really enjoying the ride. We headed over to a river called tam coc where you lazily coasted down its waters surrounded by lush greens all around, along with peaks rising up near and far, including a few you went straight through (It must be one determined river!) and to top it off the rowers used theyre feet and Im still not sure why! It was definitely a pleasant beauty we didnt expect but very happy we saw. After that we spent a few hours getting lost in tiny villages and even ended up riding along a slightly dodgy dirt track between a couple of paddy fields which was great fun! For such a simple day it was amazingly fun, the adrenaline our first moped experience definitely contributing!

After 50 hours of painful boredom we stepped off our ferry from Japan and set our eyes upon China! Well we tried amidst the smog which blanketed Tianjin port but had to wait to get on land to see it. This may sound like an exaggeration, and it is, but the smog blanket was amazingly thick in reality after hearing so much about it.

Pollution aside we headed on to Tianjin station to catch our transfer to Beijing Via the worlds fastest train which hits a top speed of 205mph covering the 117km distance in little under 30 minutes, all for around 5gbp (take note british rail). Once we got out in Beijing we soon realised we had somehow forgot to book any accomodation, a problem which after 2 hours search, we finally resolved. With bags down and absolutely starving we ventured out to try the first of the real Chinese cuisine. The best way to explain real chinese food is the fact that in a menu spring rolls were listed under a page titled 'Western food' which gives some idea on how it compares! The real deal is much nicer with intensely strong flavours being found in every dish and amazingly nearly all we ordered was very spicy, something I would have never associated chinese food with before!
In Beijing we went and checked out Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City which were extremely underwhelming, Tianamen has been massively tourised with a huge screen TV showing adverts at its centre while the Forbidden City, though having high walls, holds no true spectacle.
We also went and ventured out to the Olympic City to catch a glimpse of the birds nest which was more impressive than i thought it would be. The design of it is crazy and the size of it only adds to its ability to wow. We also saw the aquatics centre with its famous bubbly exterior which again was more impressive than you'd think!
The main reason for our stay in Beijing came on the last day there in the form of the Great Wall of China and the first on my 7 wonders of the world ticked off my list! We ventured outwards to the Jinshanling part of the wall and did the 10km trek to Sinatao and would fiercely recommend this to anyone thinking of seeing it. Apart from astonishing views that went on forever, old crumbling parts that made it that much more sensational and being away from the throngs of crowds and tourists, well, you get to zip line back to the bottom over a lake which though toursity was great fun after a gruelling climb. The only annoyance was the perpetual sales-people pushing for you to buy things at every tower though they are common place at any tourist hot spot.

After the spectacle of the Great Wall it was Xi'an's turn to wow with the Terracotta army. The transport this time turned out to much less smooth having to settle for a 12hr overnight train on a 'hard seat' as it was called and soon found out why. Needless to say we arrived in Xi'an the next morning at 9am having not slept a wink but ventured on by getting a tandem bike (I know...) around the city walls. This was entertaining in its own way, the wall itself was big yes but not particularly exciting or interesting until you're racing locals along it and trying extreme tandeming with no sleep to your name, then it was fun! After this debacle we went onto the Terracotta army the next day which was astonishing. Though you couldnt spend all day here its definitely worth the trip with warrior after warrior stretching out beneath the roof of the main excavation pit with amazing intricacy in their design (not one face is the same) and to think they were only found 30 years ago after thousands of years buried only adds to their wonder. Xi'an was also home to the first of the England games which did disappoint so I wont stop too long on this point (especially as we're already out while writing this) but we did end up staying up through the night as we had our next horrible journey in the form of a 14hr trains at 8.50am to Yichang where we'd start our cruise along the Yangtze river!

So after 16hrs later thanks to a delay we wound up pulling into Yichang at about 1am the next morning with someone from our hostel thankfully waiting to pick us up. Our accommodation was and still is the worst we've had, our door didnt actually fit into the frame unless you picked it up and shouldered it in, not to mention the chicken roost outside the window with a nocturnal cockerel, definitely not ideal after the journey but there we go...
So the next day we boarded our ship to start our cruise down the Yangtze river and the three gorges. This turned out to be horrible in the complete opposite to our accommodation, it was too nice! We expected a quite simple ride down the river among other travelers doing likewise but ended up on a 50+ type cruise with nearly all the western passengers being...German. The excursions were extremely average with exceptions to the damn which was awful and the Shennong Stream excursion which was very good and things to do on the boat were limited unless you wanted a massage for 30 quid. The saving grace was the actual ride down the river with the panoramic views being brilliant entering the three gorges though once in they definitely lost their wow factor. It also served as our transport to Chonqing where we'd start the southern part of our China adventure.

We had just one night in Chonqing but it was enough to satisfy us trying its most famous dish Huoguo, literally translated to 'firepot', needless to say it was pretty hot! The dish arrived in a huge metal pot atop a portable oil stove on our table which kept it cooking throughout the meal. The sheer number of chillies in the pot let us know they werent kidding and when all the waitresses and even the cooks came out to watch, we thought we might have bitten off more than we could handle. It turnt out to be close to my favourite meal yet (Vietnam holds that, more of that later...). The duck was amazing, the bamboo shoots were amazing, everything in there was just incredible. It was bloody hot though, after our first bites we were dripping with sweat (the weather not helping), our mouths were on fire and our heads were swimming but it tasted too good for us to care about any of it. The aptly named 'Snow' beer definitely helped too! I feel the old town we stayed in needs a mention too as it was brilliantly still styled in the old traditional town fashion with narrow winding streets and sloping roofs sloping off each building, it was great. But our stay was short and we needed to venture on.

So the next stop was Guilin which we got to after our worst journey hopefully of the trip, a 20 hour sleeper train. It turnt out ok with the previous 2 preparing us somewhat though im glad theyre behind us until Australia! Guilin was toted as China's paradise city but easily fell short of its name. Though nice and quaint, it didnt serve up the brilliant images conjured when thought of, or indeed shown when reading about it. In truth its much another Chinese city with a few limestone peaks off in the distance. After a bit more research we found Yangshuo was the true paradise we sought and after a bit of thought we decided to trade in seeing Hong Kong to instead risk a trip here. It definitely paid off with it being both our favourite place so far in China as an actual town/city. The fact we were utterly surrounded by peaks, the river running next to us with bamboo rafts going up and down its length (coupled with our rooftop bar to enjoy the views) gave us the beautiful ladscape we had keenly saught. The 1st day we decided we needed a swim so jumped into the river much to the amusement of the locals. Unfortunately the current was too strong so we had to stay about 2 metres from the sides but we go to chil out nonetheless so we were happy. The next day we had an early start (8.30am - thanks paige and breann!) to venture out to the caves famous to the region. Theyre easily deserved their fame, after a short boat journey into the cave and a short walk (with the tour guide skilfully making up animals the rocks looked like) we came to a 100m waterfall coming through the roof of the cave which was a spectacle in itself. We later found the mud baths which allowed us to mess around in waist high mud and slide down mud into mud for a good 30 minutes, i know it shouldnt be but it was awesome! The last stop was the hot springs which were my highlight of the trip. Set into seperate pools scaling up the cave wall were cascades of hot water filling each to create your own baths to sit and just chill out while staring at the cave ceiling some 40ft above you, it was epic.
Being suitably relaxed (and muddy) we headed back to Yangshuo to enjoy a quiet night before setting off for Nanning. Well I planned a quiet one but in the end got talked into a night with some Kiwi's and a Brit culminating in a graveyard (a glass filled with every shot and topped with beer) and being crowned beer pong champion of Yangshuo along with my fellow Brit beating Canadians, kiwis, Aussies all in the process, not bad for 3quid. Needless to say I fell out the top bunk that night forgetting I wasnt at home and am still sporting the bruises up my side 8 days on...good times!

So with China suitably tried and tested we were left to pass through Nanning (nothing happened) on our way to hopefully pass the Vietnam border (it was fine, Im here now and its AWESOME) to see why everyone has talked so highly of it (cos its AWSEOME!). Hopefully I'll be able to be a bit more up to date with my blog there (im not, 8 days in and Im just finishing this). On to Naaaam!