Vientiane - Laos A quick update - after 22 hours we finally reached Vientiane (apparently pronounced Wieng Chan). The journey was ok in the end although we got a little annoyed at the border as we had to pay an "extra" $2 fee for administration and because it was a weekend! Despite this we were rewarded with a stunning landscape as we drove the mountainous roads into Laos. After the busy and cold Hanoi, Vientiane really was a breath of fresh air. No h...

Hanoi Arrived in Hanoi around 7.00am and set about finding some accommodation. After a short search we found a room and explored the city. We’d managed a few hours sleep on the bus but still felt a little jaded. Fuelled by caffeine and adrenaline we walked around the Old Quarter for most of the morning. When we say we walked, we mean we struggled to walk, seeing as the pavements were not so much for pedestrians as they were for motorbikes, stalls, chairs, carp...

Hoi An - Vietnam We’re writing this blog whilst sat on an overnight bus from Hue to Hanoi. The whole night bus experience is quite interesting and not particularly relaxing as you might hope. In general the buses are great and really well designed, however the constant horn beeping from the driver (on average about 10 bpm –beeps per minute!) and slightly bumpy/winding roads doesn’t aid the sleeping process. If you’re lucky you might get a bed where you c...

Saigon - Vietnam Unfortunately our hopes of a smooth relaxing journey to Phnom Penh were dashed as 4 hours into the journey our driver managed to hit a cow! In the collision the already cracked windscreen was further shattered. Somehow the cow escaped with a few nasty cuts and grazes. Despite the shattered windscreen the driver pushed on (noticeably slower thankfully) and we arrived in Phnom Penh at about 7pm. After a short Tuk-tuk ride we got to a hotel and che...

Cambodia - Siem Reap We awoke feeling refreshed around 9 o'clock on Saturday morning and had a healthy breakfast with Evie a Dutch lady we had met the day before on the bus from Bangkok. Laura had scrambled eggs and I out-healthied her with a fruit salad (1-0 me!). We shared a tuk-tuk to the border and began the scam dodging process that we had read so much about. We managed to avoid the first scam of a man who claims to "arrange" your visa but charges...