We flew Laos Airlines into Hanoi on a small propeller plane, the guide books actually say not to use this airline cos of a poor safety record but adventure is my middle name. Hanoi is a crazy city, its sooooo busy, its full of mopeds, 3 million apparantly, and they drive in all directions and dont stop at red lights. The people park on the pavements, set up restaurants on the pavements and trees grow out of the pavements so we have no choice but to walk in the st...

We took a 7hr bus journey through beautiful mountain scenery, albeit very up and down and side to side so sleeping was impossible, to arrive in the town of Vang Vieng. It lies next to a river surrounded by towering stone hills (technical term - kirsts) which make the whole setting very picturesque, though typically it was overcast and fairly cold when we were there. Into this calm serenity chuck backpackers floating down the river on rubber rings, stopping at riv...

We caught a minibus from Chang Mai to Chang Kong ready to cross the border into Laos. After much crossing of rivers and filling in of forms and dodgy handing over of money we were finally in Laos and embarked onto the slow boat ready for a trip down the Mekong river. It was cramped and the seats were hard and we had to take it in turn sitting on the more comfortable floor before we arrived at a small town called Pakbeng for the night, only to find that they had ...

We arrived in Chang Mai after a night journey on the train which was very uncomfortable. We met up with our group for 3 days trekking in the hills which consisted of us 2, another english guy and 3 Germans and our guide Mango aka more chilli. It was 3 good days of walking and mingling with the local villagers. Layne played the local version of their football which is like volleyball only you use a wicker ball and your feet, it hurts! Nights were spent playing car...

After leaving the s@#thole that is Delhi we arrived 6 hrs late in Bangkok and immediatly headed to the infamous Khao San road in search of a beer and a burger king whopper for layne. After a month without alcohol we were desperate people and sought out the nearest sports bar to watch rugby and down a few beers. The area is crazy busy with loads of drunk westerners and the streets filled with stalls and people trying to sell you stuff. Even though layne and i were...