Arrived in Hong Kong on 22nd June. On the flight in we had to fly around in circles for a couple of hours due to the poor weather. When we did land, it was pouring, and it hasn't stopped since. We managed to get out, dodging the rain with varying degrees of success. Whilst not ideal, we still got out and explored the city. Interesting place. Some great buildings (Lisa not so bothered) and apparently some great shopping (yawn). Messed about on the water, expl...

From Kanchanaburi we returned to Bangkok for a few days before our flight to Hong Kong. After our time in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia it was wonderful to have marked prices in shops, instead of having to bargain for everything. Bartering might be good fun when you want to buy a rug in Egypt, but after 2 months of bartering for every bottle of water, it gets a bit tiring. There was plenty we needed, but the prospect of shopping for shampoo, soap, toothpaste, e...

As we stepped over the border into Thailand, it was like being in a different world. The first thing we came across was an air conditioned convenience store. It was luxury to go into a proper shop instead of a stall in the street or in someones front room to buy water. Next to this was a starbucks equivalent. I was so pleased to get back to what, after 2 months in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, I now regarded as luxuries. The bus that picked us up at the border...

A long bus journey brought us North West across Cambodia from Phnom Penh to the town of Siem Reap. The road was appalling and the bus had certainly seen better days. However, the bus had been modified to meet the needs of the modern Cambodian traveller and featured a TV, Karaoke DVD player and flashing lights all the way up the bus. We were subjected to loud cambodian karaoke music and locals singing along for the duration of the 6 hour journey, stopping only to ...

Cambodia only recently opened its doors to the outside world and whilst tourism here is in its infancy, infrastructure poor, crime and rip offs common (it aint called Scambodia for nothing) we were eager to travel through the country to understand its turbulent past and see the place. An estimated 3 million people (half of the population) were executed or died in forced labour camps under Pol Pots Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. In his bid to creat...