The bus journey was much quicker than Chris and I expected. Maybe because I was chatting to a Portuguese girl the entire way, and Chris for a change couldn't keep his eyes open! It's normally me asleep! Unexpectedly, just as we left the main town the driver pulled over and the ticket conductor jumped off quickly to pray to a roadside shrine. I could only assume it was to pray for a safe journey - slightly nerving from our point of view. Or as it came to l...

Amelia and I splurged for 2nd class tickets on our first rail journey in Sri Lanka. With our 450 rupee (£2.25) reserved seat tickets we boarded a train at Colombo's central station and gladly left the pollution behind. Compared to the trains we experienced throughout SEA this particular one felt quite modern and speedy! We arrived 200 kms north of Colombo in about four hours. Even though Anuradhapura is known for its ancient temples we were there for a compl...

For the first time in nearly 14 months, Chris and I left SEA and headed west to visit Sri Lanka. A country we did not expect to travel on this trip but both funds and time would allow us to. We had recently met a few backpackers that had travelled Sri Lanka on their way to SEA and had said it was a definite up and coming place for backpackers. For us it had always appeared to be a country for holiday makers, but we were keen for the backpacker challenge! We arriv...

The journey from Koh Chang to Bangkok was tedious, made worse by a dodgy stomach and a NGV (natural gas vehicle). For one reason or another our driver decided to adopt a 'little and often' approach to refuelling. Which, to us, seemed like a ridiculous concept, especially when the NGV stations have the longest queues and filling just half a tank on one takes at least ten minutes! Subsequently we arrived into Bangkok later than we'd predicted. Our arriv...

It was a nice quick flight back to Bangkok where we had a prearranged minibus waiting to drive us towards the island of Koh Chang. Chris and I tucked into the ribs from dinner the previous evening as we began the six hour ride. The driver only stopped twice (briefly) and seemed as though he was on a mission to arrive at the ferry. This was good for us as after the short ferry crossing we arrived on Koh Chang. Most tourists head to the west coast of the island whe...