Koh Tao We left the hustle and bustle og Bangkok for the islands. First stop was Koh Tao, famous for its scuba diving schools. Had a bit of a disaster boat trip over where I was seasick for the entire 2 1/2 hours. Was very releived to get to dry land by the end. Al did a 4 day open water course. Then liked it so much he went on to become and 'advanced' diver! Whatever that means. For Rach and I, Koh Tao meant basically lazing by the pool and enjoying ...

BangkokAfter a bit of a false start - thought we were catching our flight the day before we actually were - we finally made it to thailand.Absolutely loving bangkok so far! Booze is readily accessible for the first time, lots of good shopping to be done and everyuthing is dirt cheap here.  Went to visit the infamous sex show the other night with the whole ping pong ball shannanigans and all that jazz! Needless to say I was incredibly shocked by it all a...

Hong KongWe eventually arrived in Hong Kong after a killer 28 hour train journey (to somewhere just outside HK), followed by a further 2 hour train journey to HK itself.  Got to HK train station only to realise our Youth Hostel was miles away and last check in was 11:30pm - about the time we go to the station.  Finally managed to get an expensive cab to the YH and arrived late at night and very ready for bed.  Sadly for Al the nigt had only just be...

ShanghaiVarley decided to come along for the ride in Shanghai.  Shanghai is awesome, very impressive when you first arrive at night with all the bright lights and skyscrapers.  Very much the NY of china.  Also quite expensive though - so quite hard to be on a budget!Seen a few of the sights here, such as the Pearl tower (as shown in the pic).  Been on a boat trip on the river, done a bit of shopping ...and of course had the obligitory drunken ...

HangzhouWell we arrived in Hangzhou after a quick glight from beijing and met up with Varley. There seem to be much lees western facesin Hangzhou and you are eternally greeted with the term 'laowei', which losely translates as 'outside/foreigner'. Nice!Not long after arriving, Varley took us to a mountain retreat nearby for what was supposed to be a relaxing couple of days out of the city.  It all started well with a nice meal, stunning views...