BARMY BIKERS!

3rd August 2010

That's what we were doing yesterday, fleeing around SiemReap, both of us on the back of the same motorbike!!We were heading for a silk farm, where they produce beautiful silk using a process that is thousands of years old, from the worms to the weaving on wooden looms by skilful artisans.With some designs, it takes one artisan a whole day to produce one metre of silk in this way!No wonder good silk is so expensive and of course we were assured that Cambodian silk is the world's best, not like Chinese rubbish!Back on the bike and off to have a Khmer massage from masseurs who are blind.Blind they may be, but my goodness they are strong - we both emerged feeling as if we'd done 10 rounds in a boxing ring.

We are now back in Bangkok, returning to UK on Thursday. Though we are sorry our epic adventure is ending, we are very excited about meeting up with family and friends again - actually, we can't wait!I thought with this final blog, I would avoid writing some boring travelogue, but rather just highlight some things which might be of interest should anyone feel the urge and have the time to visit some of the places we have been.

Firstly, should anyone fancy a travelling adventure as we've had, we cannot fault 'Thailand Travel', the company who organised our itinerary for us.There was not one hiccough during the whole time we were with them.Travelling arrangements worked perfectly and every time we arrived at a destination, plans for the next leg of the journey were waiting for us.Everything happened on time and as planned.We travelled by plane, bus, car, tuk tuk, boat, bicycle and train (I'm saying nothing more about the motorbike!) which ranged at the bottom end from a cockroach infested rickety, clanking train with a stinking toilet, to a luxury coach organised like a plane, including cabin crew, snacks and drink. We vowed to take the rough with the smooth no matter what and let's face it, after PNG, nothing was rough!

Although we were armed to the teeth with tablets for every type of diarrhoea that exists, we are bringing them all home with us.Mind you, we were very careful not to eat anything raw, drink unbottled wateror have ice in anything (believe me, G and Ts are not the same without it.)Although it's allegedly the beginning of the monsoon season, while we experienced some bouts of heavy rain, it never prevented us from doing what we wanted, as the showers tended to happen during the late afternoon or at night.The bonus is that everywhere is lush and green with plentiful waterfalls and flowing rivers.

A place we would recommend to any traveller would be New Zealand, South Island.A camper van exploration of the coast was magical.We loved the Australian cities of Cairns (good diving around The Great Barrier Reef), Brisbane and Sydney, though all quite expensive we found.

Bangkok, as you would expect, is a hot, steamy bustling city and Ho Chi Minh is total madness.Not for the faint hearted because of the heat, the constant cacophony of blaring car and motorbike horns and the overwhelming number of motorbikes, all competing with the cars for road space.Crossing the road is a life threatening experience and zebra crossings and traffic lights are generally ignored, as are one way streets.But beautiful, elegant women, even when astride a motorbike with one babe in front and three children behind!

Kao Tao, the island off the east coast of south Thailand was a beautiful spot, though the visibility wasn't very good for diving and the sea temperature in the afternoons was ridiculously hot - even in the deep water it was around 32 degrees!The disappointing diving paled into insignificance for John however, as he buddied up with a luscious French dive instructor.He pretended he was using up his air too quickly (I wonder why?) so she shared hers with him.He came back smiling after every dive!

Chaing Mai was a delightful place.We did most of our exploring on bikes, so got right down to the noise and smells of the place.Plenty to see there in addition to the numerous wats (temples).

One of our more 'rustic' venues was a raft house at Surat Thani.It was a floating hut on a lake.No electricity or water, so washing was in the lake - it was fun.One 'highlight' was meeting up with Lisa at 3am and having a family trip to the loo, which was accessed by walking over uneven planks spanning the water, then climbing a steep incline lit only by our torches.It wasn't that which worried me, but rather what creatures we might meet on the way - that freaked me out! Still, I had brave John and Lisa for protection!

Vientiane, the capital of Laos, was disappointing.We expected elegance, in the light of one time French occupation, but the buildings were tired and dilapidated though plenty of building work was going on.Much of Luang Prabang too was under construction and the highlight there was a lovely night market, restaurants by the river, an interesting royal palace and of course the inevitable wats.

One day we climbed up a hill to look at some Buddha statues, only to come across a group of 'baby' monks, all around 10-15 years old.They were lurking behind a building having quiet fags!!Sadly they declined to allow us to photograph them - what a photo that would have made!It was reminiscent of school days - catching the layabouts smoking behind the bike sheds when they should be in lessons!

Another 'rustic ' site was at Tad Fane, a log cabin situated high up on the side of a deep valley, amongst the forest and within a stone's throw of a huge waterfall.We went for a trek here with three young people, one Dutch, one Belgian and the other from Finland.Two of them were keen hockey players.Not ground hockey, but underwater hockey!This is not a joke, it is actually played in UK too and I believe there is a national team (not a very good spectator sport I suspect!) The strange thing about this place was that we saw no birds, monkeys or small creatures at all on our trek.The explanation seemed to be that they'd all been eaten by the locals!

We travelled down the Mekong River by boat to cross into Cambodia.The border crossing on land was interesting.We were required to bribe three different sets of officials to get through!The small town we arrived at, Stung Treng, seemed full of women and girls in pyjamas - that seems to be the work mode of dress in Cambodia.It was the only place during our whole trip, where we felt less than welcome.The people appeared very wary of us and reluctant to help, which certainly hadn't been the case up till then.The further south we travelled, the friendlier people became.We enjoyed Phnom Penh, though the genocide museum and the Killing Fields was pretty gruelling.

We then had a day visit organised by World Vision, which enabled us to meet a Cambodian girl, Lek, who we have sponsored for about 5 years.It was a marvellous experience - not just meeting Lek and her mother, but being shown around many of the projects being undertaken in the area by World Vision, in an attempt to help the community overcome their terrible poverty.We were impressed by their work and were made very welcome by all the staff.Of course we had to 'do' Ankor Wat, the famous temple ruins at Siem Reap.It was quite a test of endurance, as there are many ruins to see and it was blisteringly hot.We stuck it out though and our guide made it very interesting, though I have to admit that by the end of the day, after climbing what seemed to be endless sets of steep steps and negotiating frequent mounds of rubble trying to avoid breaking our necks, we were quite relieved to leave the temples behind.

So here we are back where we started, preparing for the long flight home.It will seem strange not to be packing up and moving on every few days and even more unsettling to think that we are jobless, old age pensioners!Still, the thought of linking up with the family and meeting our new grandchild, Nicole, is a wonderful prospect.

Before we sign off finally though, I want to thank you all for your support over the past couple of years.I can't tell you how much it meant to John and I to receive your emails, it often lifted our spirits when things were tough and made us laugh when we felt down, but most of all, kept us in touch with what was really important and provided sometimes much needed encouragement.Every email you sent was greatly appreciated and enjoyed - thank you!

John and Jacquie X

Ps We will have no phone at home when we get back, till we sort it out. Will let you know the number as soon as we get connected.