Hello there all blog followers :-),

I thought it was about time I updated you all on my whereabouts, shenanigans and experiences since leaving Malaysia (which feels like a lifetime ago)!

Over the past two and a half weeks, the girls and I have traveled north and then east through Thailand and across Cambodia. We have taken 7 coaches, sailed on 6 ferries and ridden on the back of one pick up truck (all of varying standards and validity, none of which would have been acceptable or allowed in Britain haha) from Langkawi in to Phnom Penh (where I am today).

After leaving Malaysia on the 30th March, we spent the next 9 days island hopping around the south east and west coastline visiting 3 beautiful islands before heading north to the Thai capital, Bangkok.

Our first taste of Thailand was the small coastal resort of Krabi. Here we got to experience Thai food at its best as we ate the delicious street food and sampled Thailand's famous pancakes for the first time. Krabi was a great introduction to Thai life and we were lucky enough to experience it with two veterans of the trade, Rhiana and Iain, a lovely couple we met on our journey to Krabi who had been in Thailand only two weeks before. It was perfect meeting such a nice couple as they were kind enough to show us places to go, food to try and hostels to stay in. Krabi was a lovely town and from the moment I arrived, I knew I would love Thailand.

Rhiana and Iain traveled with us to our next destination, the smallest island on the south west coast which is assessable only by boat and then by foot, Koh Phi Phi. We spent two days browsing the market stools and soaking up the sun on one of Thailand's best beaches (which was also the setting for the Leonardo Di Caprio film, The Beach).

Here we unfortunately parted ways with our new friends and headed east across the breadth of the country to our second Thai island, Kho Samui. Samui is possibly the parallel opposite of Koh Phi Phi. Unlike Phi Phi, this island was extremely busy, heaving with tourists, cars and the famous ladyboys hahaha. Phi Phi gave us tranquility, Samui gave us a party. It was another great stop and one I will never forget - mainly because of the Moulin Rouge show we watched haha. The ladyboy show was pure hilarity from start to finish. It was, hands down, the funniest hour of the tour so far. The girls (or guys) were outrageous but looked and performed fantastically. I was so happy we went and watched it.

From here we traveled to Kho Phangan for our, much anticipated, Full Moon Party. For all those who are unaware of the custom, every full moon on this island sees thousands of people descend onto one of Phangans beaches, Haad Rin, for a giant party. The tradition started relatively tamely with about 20-30 people partying in a wooden hut on the beach almost 30 years ago. Today sees thousands, literally thousands, of people (predominately tourists) visiting the island to experience a party like none other. Forget Freshers Week, forget your 18th birthday or even the first time you get sick from alcohol, this party is out of this world and brings even the most experienced drinkers to their knees! There was a water slide and water fight at one end, a designated sleeping area for all those people who peeked to early at the other, and endless stalls selling deadly buckets in between. We had a great time but it did result in a certain Miss Blake spending the entire following day in bed, only rising from her bed when tempted by a full English roast dinner haha!

Bloody hell was that dinner good! After 11 weeks of foreign food, all of us were craving our British traditions. Rhiana and Iain had told us about an English pub on Koh Phangan. At first we were slightly skeptical of its ability to produce a genuine roast, we need not worry! Set deep in a Thai mountain was this Edwardian country house which looked like it could have come out of any country village in the UK. And it was so popular haha, we walked into a bar full of travelling Brits in search of our home comforts and boy did it deliver :-). I had a full roast pork dinner which came with 10 pieces of meat and 9 ROAST POTATOES! Amazing haha! Portion control isn't high on Thailand's list of priorities haha.

Phagnan marked the end of our beach days for a while as we headed inland to Bangkok. Our journey from Koh Phagnan to Bangkok was potentially our longest and the most tiring. Not only did it take 19.5 hours, we also experienced the petty theft that travellers are often victim to as the entire coach had our bags raided. None of us had anything of any particular value stolen although all of us had worthless items taken making this journey our worst to date. The thefts haven't deterred us at all as it is another one of those things that comes with travelling. We are now wary however that similar experiences will occur again.

Apart from the negative start to our Bangkok experience we all really enjoyed the city. We continued to eat amazing food from the food stall on Khao San Road (the main street in Bangkok and the location of our hostel) and we visited the famous floating market just outside the city. Pressie shopping occurred in abundance during our time in Thailand so for all the beneficiaries, be prepared you'll be receiving some Thai wonders upon my return haha.

Last week we traveled across the border into our 8th country, Cambodia. You could instantly see the difference in wealth between the two. The begging and harassment by the locals and children increased significantly. You can't blame these people as they are obviously desperate but they are also targeting the tourists which becomes tiresome.

Our first stop in Cambodia was Siem Reap, popular with tourists as it's the location of the renowned and beautiful medieval Angkor temples (see pics for more details :-)). On our first day in Siem Reap we visited 4 of the most well known temples including Ta Prohm, the location of the Tomb Raider films :-). The temples were beautiful and, being a history geek, were pretty exciting to me.

The following day we visited a floating village situated on the largest lake in Cambodia, Tonlé Sap. The visit was such an eye opening experience. We saw the extreme poverty which has ridden this beautiful country. Families of between 7-12 people are living in corrugated iron shacks, floating on terribly dirty water with no proper sanitation and limited facilities. 7000 people live on this floating world, of which 90% of them are fisherman. As a result, competition for income is extensive making families terribly poor. Many children can't go to school (although there is a floating school available) as their families need them to work from as soon as they are physically able. These people live such humble lives and it is shocking how much we, as a nation, take for granted!

We ended our Cambodia tour and this chapter of my blog (I bet your happy as I'm sure you're bored of reading now, I'm certainly getting bored of writing haha) in the capital Phnom Penh. Here we have spent 2 days and 2 nights exploring the city.

Yesterday we visited the Killing Fields and the Genocide museum which awakened us to the atrocities this nation went through during the 70's. None of us had any idea of the terrible crimes that were inflicted on this nation by its own people. I have no photos of either the Killing Fields, where thousands and thousands of people were tortured and buried in mass graves, or the museum, which is the site of the old prison used to hold innocent people before they were sent to be killed. Naturally, this did not seem like a photo opportunity.

We are off to Vietnam in an hour or so for country number 9! Time is absolutely flying by at the moment. I can't believe we've been gone 12 weeks already. Another 6.5 and I'll be back again, irritating you all with endless stories about my amazing gap yah hahaha.

Love to you all and til next time, take care

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