Vang Vieng- nothing pretty about the town but surrounded by beautiful mountains and forest. In the town there are loads of "TV bars", cushions and back to back Friends or The Simpsons. Not very cultured but enjoyable. Its amazing how funny Friends is after a few Beer Lao's. On the second day we decided to go kayaking. we went with an Australian couple who HAVE THEIR OWN KAYAKS so guess who looked like we have never seen one before... Stephen sat at the bac...

Sabai dee (Hello in Lao), we even take time to learn the local language!!! Very glad we came, after an uneventful twin prop flight we arrived at a lovely guest house in Vientiane. Not much to do here except eat (Stephen Very Happy), mostly French cuisine Ooo La La!!! They even have a fake Arc de Triomphe here. Off to Vang Vieng tomorrow for some more action. There is kayaking, trekking and mountain biking (sounds tough) but Jo is mostly looking forward to floatin...

We got up at 4am this morning to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. (it was pitch black when we arrived, we had no torch, so nearly broke our ankles) It was worth the early start, Stephen took some great photos. However, I am decidedly "templed-off" and think 3 days is plenty for the rest of our trip! There is a lot of poverty in Siem Reap, children and dismembered people begging, and I find it quite depressing. We visited the Land Mine Museum yesterday, run ...

We arrived in Phnom Penh via a river border crossing and bus journey (no hitches, although border security very interested in Jo's new passport). We have visited the S21 prison and the Killing Fields a very sombre experience - travelling isn't always about seeing the nice things in life !!! The rest of our time here has been great, visiting Palaces, Pagodas and Museums. We are unsure where to visit next the beach or the temples - life is full of tough cho...

We met Thien by the lake in Dalat, he is one of 70 "Easyriders", motorcycle guides who take you almost anywhere in Vietnam, showing you interesting sights on the way. We both think that the 4 days we spent with these 2 guys was the highlight of our trip so far, we saw so many things (see the pictures) and it really opened my eyes to the real Vietnam. Both Thien and Nam fought in the War, and they had many interesting stories to tell and knew so much about the his...