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Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
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  • Dan Squire
  • Chelsea Haith

Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025

Moving from Sydney to the UK in the slowest way possible. もっと詳しく
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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Oar blimey
    The bat caveOn top of the national parkInspecting the construction site, just men doing manly thingsBlinding light showLan Ha Bay kayakingLan Ha Bay kayakingLan Ha Bay kayaking2One successful dive to disguise all the failuresFloating fishing villageOne of our island excursions in the bayOne of our island excursions in the bayFireworks at dinner (and lanterns made from beach buckets)Dan smashes 'Foreigner' at karaokeLeaving the island before the horde arrives!They built the world's tallest cable car towers for Cat Ba, but the cars stop moving every 9 mins 🙃

    Cat Ba

    5月28日〜31日, ベトナム ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Our next stop has been on the island of Cat Ba, on Vietnam's northern coast. We wanted to visit Lan Ha Bay, which connects to the famous Ha Long Bay, two birds one stone. We hoped that doing it from Cat Ba would mean smaller crowds... we were both right and wrong in that regard!

    The Vietnamese government is clearly ploughing an enormous amount of money into developing Cat Ba as a tourist destination, to increase their capacity for visitors. So much so, they have completely destroyed the main bay and reconstructed it 500m further out to sea, in order to build a huge resort complex on the newly reclaimed land. The grand opening of the new beach, and the start of the Vietnamese summer holidays, was the day after we left. So luckily we *just* managed to avoid the big crowds that were descending on the weekend. We got a glimpse of the mob on our way off the island, and think we were very lucky to just about steer clear.

    Cat Ba town is going through a huge development, but the island itself is mostly protected by a national park. On day one we went for a hike up to look around the caves and hills. A leaf-nosed bat flew straight into Jason's head, and we eavesdropped a Vietnamese man explaining 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen to a non-plussed German tourist. We also finagled our way into a rooftop pool in the evening, where we could see the speedboats and flyboards rehearsing for the bay’s opening performance.

    The next day we took a cruise from Lan Ha Bay into Ha Long Bay, with kayaking and swimming excursions. Dan tried and failed about five times to do a 'gainer' backflip off the boat, including landing flat on his back. A backflop?

    We wrapped up the visit with a karaoke night, where Jason wowed us with ‘Take On Me’, Jess did a few sassy Supertramps, Chelsea managed some Florence & The Machine and Dan showed off his encyclopaedic knowledge of the Flight of the Conchords.

    This was the end of our overlapping holiday with Jess and Jason from the UK, so we're back to being just a double act again 🥲 next stop, mountains...    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Lying Dragon Mountain peak
    Trang An river boatsThe curse of travelAncient ladies pedaling with their feetBich Dong TempleHeading through the Trang An cavesIs this the Lying Dragon?Horsing aroundI'm a big fanEgg beer triptychHoa Lu old town, before we realised we were in the wrong placeThe highlight of Hoa LuDrizzly day at Joe Bai-Dinh pagodaTitanic dining room at Bai Dinh"I used to be something of a rocker myself"Parade of bizarre Buddha poses

    Ninh Binh

    5月25日〜28日, ベトナム ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    We're in North Vietnam 🤩 After a long coach up from Phong Nha, we arrived in the Ninh Binh region just south of Hanoi. That means we've finally reached somewhere less than 30⁰C... we never thought we'd be so excited for the respite of clouds and mild drizzle!

    Even more excitingly: we are joined by Jess & Jason, friends from the UK who have coordinated their holiday to coincide with ours for six days. Lovely to catch up 🙌🏼

    Meeting friends has also forced us to be more active in planning excursions. The pace of a two-week holiday is much faster, so we're cramming more activities into each day. The four of us took a rowboat tour around the Trang An river, where ancient ladies manoeuvre the boats with just their feet. We caught an electric bus to the local temples, on which two boys insisted on sitting up front with the driver, and were treated to a beautiful view of a mutt getting railed by a labradoodle in the middle of the road. One of the temples had a poster with a long list of sins and their consequences. Unfortunately for us, apparently too much frivolous travelling leads to mobility problems. Damn.

    In the afternoon, we walked up 500 steps to the Lying Dragon Mountain (not sure if the dragon is resting or just dishonest), and Dan pretended to jump in a lotus pond, which temporarily caused Chelsea’s soul to leave her body. In the evening we found the cheapest beers in all of Southeast Asia so far, by quite a big margin—just đ7,000, or 20p 🤯—and Chelsea took a chance on an 'egg beer', with mixed results.

    On day two, we took a crazy taxi to Hoa Lu old town. This was honestly a bit unimpressive, with recently built 'old' facades for tourist shops underwhelming, until we realised that there is a difference between 'old town' and 'ancient city', the latter of which is a much more credible historic site a few kilometres away. This was the capital of Vietnam between 968-1010, and had some REAL old structures to see.

    The same F1-aspiring driver took us to Bai Dinh pagoda, which we thought would be just one building but turns out to be an enormous temple complex, built way back in the mists of time (2003-2010). The infrastructure at Bai Dinh is like a theme park: there's a colossal parking area, hundreds of electric shuttle buses, cavernous dining areas, etc. Disney land for Buddhists. Unlike Disney Land, the food courts were totally shut, and it was very quiet, as well as being down season and rainy. This gave us plenty of time to enjoy the bizarre Buddha statues, humongous iron bell, and giant pagoda in peace. We eventually convinced a few listless ballroom staff to rustle up some lunch around 3.30pm, and were served the most enormous bowls of rice in an entirely empty wedding/conference venue, our hysterical laughter bouncing off the gold-plated furnishings.

    Our taxi driver was late picking us up, so we nicknamed him Sleepy Joe Bai-Dinh (a pun that makes much more sense out loud than written down), though unlike his namesake he very energetically attempted to aqua-plane on the backroads of rural Ninh Binh. Surprisingly safely back in Tam Coc, the drizzle pushed the four of us indoors for hot stone massages. We forgot to mention to Jess and Jason that this would include the SEA tradition of getting bopped repeatedly on the forehead. After, we went for pizza at a place in the rice paddies with loads of motivational posters exhorting 'be number one in your field'. They clearly followed their own advice: it was definitely the number one pizza in that particular field.    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Once a duck leader, always a duck leader
    Close upWilling to held as long as I'm fedThe happiest man in VietnamDown by the riverCycling in the heatA reprise!A hard lifeDan makes a friendBridge crossingLove it hereHappy hour Hudas by the poolPhong Nga cave entranceThe recessed double entranceInside the caveCool and quiet in Tien Son caveAnother worldTemple of the Cave GodSon River2

    Phong Nha

    5月21日〜25日, ベトナム ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    After days on bikes we took advantage of a rest stop in Phong Nha Ke-Bang, a lush green national park at the narrowest section of Vietnam. It was a key staging post in the war, using the world’s largest caves as storage and training facilities for the north Vietnamese liberation army. The proximity with Laos allowed materials and troops to skirt the DMZ before re-entering Vietnam in the south, on the Ho Chi Minh trail roads we drove up on.

    These days, tourists and backpackers come to visit the mind-bogglingly huge caves and hike in the national park. Chelsea visited the area in 2017, and insisted we stay at the Phong Nha Farmstay. It is even more lush now, with a pool long enough for laps, and views of water buffalo wallowing in the muddy fields. Idyllic! While it’s a bit out of town, this meant we could get to the main attractions (for us), on bicycles.

    The Duck Stop has a big TikTok following, which made us wary, but it is actually better than one might imagine—Dan has never looked so happy. We took turns being the ‘duck leader’, fed them from our hands, feet and laps (confusing, but doable). After a (vegetarian, duck-free) snack, we cycled onward to the famous Pub with Cold Beer. They’ve put in concrete roads since Chelsea was last here and getting to the pub involved significantly less mud. They also have a pool and a lot more hammocks, so we stayed for hours and spent a grand total of £5.75. In the evenings, we’ve been watching war movies and laughing at how unlike Vietnam the filming locations are (Apocalypse Now was shot in the Philippines), while once again marvelling at Vietnamese resilience.

    On our cycle through the paddies, we paused to pick up some Pop Mie for dinner, and had beers forced on us by some fairly fruity locals. They only had about four words of English between six of them, so we never really found out anything about them except that they wanted us to have some beers. One gent opened his can by tearing the entire top off with one of his three remaining teeth, achieving with dental insouciance what we could only manage with a can opener. Another edentulous man spent the entire 45mins gazing rapturously at Chelsea and asking ‘Children?’ Not with you, sir. We kept trying to leave, and only after a third refusal of additional beers and accepting a handful of plums were we permitted to cycle on.

    Our last day in Phong Nha the weather cooled slightly, so we explored the caves with a young French couple. Phong Nga cave is absolutely enormous, and could shelter a whole army and all their material, but the Americans failed to successfully bomb it because of the surrounding mountains and its extremely low receded entrance. From there we hiked up 500 steps to the Tien Son cave, which we had to ourselves. The silence in the depth of the cave is heavy and the swirling stone structures reminded us of interstellar storm clouds. The stalactites resembled jellyfish and billowing curtains.

    We have a travel day next, heading further north for some much needed time with old friends!    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Abandoned water parkTony makes a dash for suppliesWho wore it best?Suspicious 'happy water'Mmmmm, prawn brains...Scenery montageInspecting the ordnanceTime lapse montage, to show how bendy the roads areRacing the sunset with Ernest in tow

    Ho Chi Minh trail

    5月20日〜21日, ベトナム ⋅ 🌧 32 °C

    During our bike journey from Hoi An to Hue, our guide told us about a "crazy," secret route. It runs through the mountains and jungle, along the old Ho Chi Minh trail, to Phong Nha national park. Since Phong Nha was our next stop anyway, and we had plenty of time, we decided to go for it. It became less and less clear what constitutes ’crazy roads’—crazy winding, crazy beautiful, crazy potholes, crazy steep? (All of the above.)

    The journey entailed strapping our bags to the bikes again and setting off for a two-day ride, with an overnight stop in the famous Vietnam War battle site at Khe Sanh. On the route we stopped at the airfield-turned-war museum, two waterfalls, and an abandoned water park.

    Abandonment was definitely a theme. Unlike our previous journey, which mostly ran along a major highway, the old Ho Chi Minh trail is too bendy and remote to be any use as a commercial road. It's basically empty of other vehicles, apart from occasional maintenance crews zipping along with strimmers to keep the road from getting overgrown, and a few people crossing the porous borders with Laos. There ARE animals though, obviously: across the two days, we shared the road with cows, goats, dogs, chickens, ducks, buffalo, lizards, frogs, snakes, and even an eagle.

    Tony promised us that there was a 0% chance of rain, and it would be 100% sunny the entire time. In fact, it rained torrentially both afternoons 🤡 As if the road wasn't ropey enough already. There wasn't anywhere to shelter, so we pulled on our fetching plastic coveralls and carried on. Chelsea was very glad to be sitting behind a professional driver.

    We got to know Tony better over dinner, during which he encouraged us to eat our prawns whole, including heads and shells. He also drank half a bottle of 'happy water' (read: homemade whisky in an old water bottle). The only English pronoun he used with any confidence was ‘him', which makes his stories hard to follow. For example, when talking about his wife: "him work in government,” and the Vietnam traffic police: “him don’t care”. He also expressed a serious commitment to growing monkey orchids. A real character, much admired.

    We also added a very gentle middle-aged Canadian to our convoy on Day 2; he was biking alone along the same route but got lost. He doesn't drink and takes motorbiking very seriously as a hobby; perhaps inevitable with a name like Ernest.

    Over two days, we rode about 450km, along some of the most beautiful roads we've ever seen. Our bodies are pretty exhausted from 8hrs a day on the bikes, and Dan's throat is a bit sore from self-inflicted constant karaoke. It's hard to keep it up without repetition: the trip started with classic road trip songs like AC/DC and The Eagles, but ended scraping the barrel with Atomic Kitten, The Wurzels, and the soundtrack to Disney’s Hercules 🎵

    In the end, we made it all the way to Phong Nha with no incidents (miraculously), except for Ernest slipping over in the dust about 100m from the finish line. Now time for a well-earned lie in, massages, and caving!    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Imperial Citadel front courtyard
    Dan's favourite symbol (you'll spot it very often in other photos)Palace stepsFrench colonial manor, now the ceramic museumMany thousands of scenic archwaysA bridgeAnother bridgeWhat a nice symbol, where have I seen that before?This building is, variously, the Royal Treasury / Military Barracks / College of Fine ArtsMore sweet archesJust a minor relative's tomb at the Tu Duc MausoleumHmmm, a familiar symbol...1Hundreds of girls in white dress taking photos in the woods at sunset, bit of a horror movie energyTu Duc mausoleum... very modest.Koi lake1Look at those beautiful curvesFunky mausoleumMore pond shotsLooking cuteBun Bo Hue

    Hue

    5月18日〜20日, ベトナム ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Hue is the former capital and the seat of power of the House of Nguyen Phuoc, which ruled from the early 1800s until the Communist Party decided they were done with feudalism in the 1940s. We only had one full day in Hue, and the main attraction is the imperial citadel.

    We knew it would be hot, so we went very early, only to be collared inside the gate by a woman who was cheerfully insistent that her teenage son practice his English on us (he didn’t want to), and that we also speak to her daughter, adorably named ‘Kimchi’. Vietnamese must have the most subtle vowel variations of any world language, so it was mutually and hilariously frustrating for all parties that they couldn't hear the difference between ‘live’ and ‘leave’. "When do you leave? Oh, just around the corner." To be fair, we are clearly mispronouncing cao lau (cow law?) and keep getting mystified looks from anyone we try to discuss this meal with.

    Inside the palace (finally), Dan was swarmed by schoolchildren who all compared heights with him, and one adult woman who demanded he pose for pics with her (Chelsea was not asked to join).

    The citadel itself is stunning, and has been rebuilt in beautiful detail since it was heavily bombed in the Vietnam War. Even in the years since Chelsea's last visit, the improvement is remarkable. Highlights: Chelsea enthused about the ceramics, and learning the lineage of the entries (including a seven-year-old boy-Emperor, Duy Tan, who was a puppet for the French before being exiled to Réunion). Dan discovered the 'symbol for happiness and longevity', and then began noticing it EVERYWHERE.

    In the late afternoon, once the heat had subsided, we checked out the Mausoleum of Tu Duc. This is a gorgeous park housing the tombs of a former emperor, his wife, sons and concubines. It is known as the Tomb of Modesty, and it is… strikingly immodest. There is an autobiographical epic poem by the emperor on a stone monolith at least a storey high. A park featuring a boating island on a lake. Dragon-adorned burial complexes for his 'minor wives' (read: harem). Very demure, very mindful, very modest.

    We wrapped up with Bun Bo Hue, a delicious, local variation on noodle soup. People in Hue are proud of having the best cuisine in Vietnam. Our motorbike guide Tony told us it's because the emperor would summon the best chefs from the north and south of Vietnam to Hue, and if they weren't any good, ‘they die’ (slashing hand-motion). Not sure it was a paragon of workplace psychological safety. But we're grateful in the long run! To cap the night we visited the (in)famous DMZ Bar, a throwback to Chelsea's 2017 trip. The ceiling still shows a map of the demilitarised zone in flashing lights, in which we scoped our route for the next few days.    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Not a bad view
    Marble Mountain bridgeDan climbs through a Marble Mountain caveHilltop shrinesMarble Mountain cavesDan nearly takes out some ladies in Da NangDan makes a friend on a coffee stopVietnam is quietly serving beachesHai Van Gate fortressOn the roadHeading for beachside lunchAdorable entryFull of prawnsWasabi oystersWinding highway into the mountainsOn our way to a waterfallLanterns on the Japanese bridgeAncient courting bridgeTony expertly navigates the rice, which local farmers spread in the road to dry.Rice in the roadRice paddies burning (and Dan)Burning season + sunset

    Hai Van Pass

    5月18日, ベトナム ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    This was going to be included in the next blog entry, but we had so many good photos that we decided to give it a separate post. Despite Chelsea’s white-knuckle experience in Pakse, we are back on the motorbikes! The occasion: a ride over the Hai Van Pass from Hoi An to Hue.

    To settle the nerves, Chelsea rode pillion behind our guide Tony, and was chief photographer, while Dan braved the road on his own. This was a great solution, because Dan could sing AC/DC to himself all day, while Chelsea could play teacher's pet and ask Tony questions for the whole ride. We suspect by the end of the day he was probably sick of talking about the agricultural produce and import/export ratios of the region, and would have happily traded Chelsea for the Highway To Hell jukebox passenger.

    We started with a cruise through Da Nang, marvelling at the massive development and infrastructure—the hotels and Miami-style beach strip were NOT here during Chelsea's trip eight years ago! This was the most urban and busiest part of the ride, just to throw Dan in the deep end on the chaotic Vietnamese highway 🙃

    We also realised that we had the wrong helmets, so Chelsea looked like a bobble head while Dan's was so tight it was cutting a circle into his head. This was solved at our first stop of the day, the Marble Mountain. Fortunately we had learned our lesson about sunburn in Laos, but that did mean our long sleeves and trousers were a bit of a hindrance once we got off the bikes and started climbing around in the midday sun on an exposed hilltop 🥵 The Marble Mountain is where they mine lots of the stone for making local crafts and carvings throughout central Vietnam.

    Next: leaving the city and winding our way over the Hai Van Pass. It's a mountain pass which was a strategic military base for the French and Americans, sitting between Communist North and Capitalist South. Central Vietnam is very slender—we are closer to Pakse in Laos than we are to Saigon or Hanoi. The Hai Van Gate, at the high point of the pass, is now a symbol of the reunified nation.

    Through the afternoon we wound along an extremely scenic highway, stopped for the most ridiculous wasabi oyster meal on the beach, and visited an ancient romantic bridge, built in the 1500s so that people on either side of the river could court without getting their feet wet. Lastly, to make up for the sweaty experience on the Marble Mountain, we took a refreshing dip in a waterfall full of Vietnamese children in life jackets.

    The rains are still not fully upon us, so the farmers keep burning the fields, even while the rice is being shovelled into sacks and the next harvest is being sown. This meant the last part of the ride—zooming into Hue through burning fields along rice-covered country roads—was an atmospheric conclusion to the day. More on Hue very soon.    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Over-ordered at the food market, as usual
    2Surprisingly good train food (plus pineapple hairstyle for added seasoning)Hotel poolHeart of Darkness beerBusy riverside at sunsetHai-weh de YellBanh mi dinner for just 90p on the street? Yes please!Temple touringJapanese bridgeMask painting master at workChelsea's masterpieceOriginal fitsDon't understand what this fountain sculpture symbolises, but why the hell notEverything is very cute around here20k banh mi is less than 60p for a delicious stuffed baguette 🤯The river in a rare uncrowded momentGrab bikes to An Bang beachThe bikes took us past a burning field and across a bridge still under construction 😬An Bang bevsStill skinny, in spite of Project FishcakePile of insufficiently used items deemed worthy of returning to the UK

    Hoi An

    5月12日〜18日, ベトナム ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Per the last post, we left Ho Chi Minh City on an 18hr sleeper train taking us over 1,000km up the Vietnamese coast to Hoi An. We expected to share our four-berth sleeping cabin with a couple of people; unfortunately, it was a young Vietnamese child and her mother, whose plan for keeping the girl occupied was to let her scroll through TikTok without headphones for ten hours straight. You'll learn how close the backing track for 'Funkytown' is to sleep deprivation torture when you listen to a fragment of it repeated 40+ times after 10pm.

    Our destination, Hoi An, is a small historic town in central Vietnam, just outside the larger city of Da Nang. It's famous for its 500+ tailors, so it has been on our radar for most of the year as a checkpoint for us to refresh our wardrobes with some new clothes. Our plan was to spend a few days here, buy new garbs, and send a load of stuff back to the UK. More on that later!

    The town itself is beautiful, full of paper lanterns, cheap and delicious local food, river boats, colonial balconies and temples. Luckily, we're here in the low season for tourists—it's fairly busy even now, so we dread to think how packed it must get in summer. You could walk across the river at sunset just by jumping from boat to boat of Chinese tourists with coloured lanterns. Very beautiful, but also very Instagram-friendly in the worst way possible. There were never fewer than two drones in view during the evenings.

    Don't let that suggest that we don't like it though: this place is beautiful! In between visits to the tailors, we took a morning to paint ceramic masks, made several visits to Mrs Diep's stall in the food market (our new favourite food vendor), and tried a few pints of the questionably named 'Heart of Darkness' beer. We also spent an evening at the incredible Bamboo Circus gymnastics show (thanks to Dan's mum for the recommendation), and sat people-watching by the riverside with banh mi dinner. There's live music in a lot of the pubs, including a Vietnamese AC/DC tribute band who we are now considering flying back to the UK for our wedding.

    On our last day, we jumped on Grab bikes for a beach day at An Bang. Who knew Vietnam had such beautiful beaches? Chelsea did, because she's been here before. But even so. They had an attendant who came along with a feather duster to brush the sand off your lounger and feet. Or at least, he did for everyone on the beach except Dan 😭 What's wrong with Dan's feet? Is his sand not good enough?!

    Knowing that we'd have a chance to send things home from Hoi An, this has been a checkpoint in the year that we've been anticipating for a while. After just over 4 months on the road, we have a better sense of what's worth keeping, and what is too big or heavy to justify carrying until December. In some cases we've just finished with things but don't want to throw them away, like Chelsea's scuba mask. Some of the stuff we've decided to jettison include:
    - Binoculars
    - Camera tripod
    - Scuba stuff
    - Various souvenirs
    - Notebooks we've filled up
    - Dive bag
    - Tin mugs
    - Extra clothes

    We've managed to dispense with ~5-6kg of stuff (plus a few tailored clothes), which makes a big difference to our backpacks. We'll have a new spring in our step as we head onto our next destination tomorrow. And plenty of space for clothes to bring the weight back up 🫠    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Cafe Apartment with view of Skydeck
    50 years of Reunification1Tiny roomVendor braves the rain outside Warning Zone 761Warning Zone bar (maybe Agent Orange themed? Seems unappetising but okay)Veggie curry and the first of many razor sharp breadsLingas in all their gloryAn example of the museum rhetoricKids' reactions to learning about the Viet CongBit rich of the French to protest...Notre Dame (been under scaffolding for longer than the Parisian version)Post Office starring Uncle HoBeer flight on Pasteur StCafe ApartmentsOld opera houseView from Skydeck1Monsoon rains coming inVery happy to get a GrabSmall tunnelPeekabooTrain time

    Saigon

    5月7日〜11日, ベトナム ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Good morning, Vietnam! After our week-long transit through Cambodia, we caught the bus from Phnom Penh into Vietnam, heading for Saigon (officially: Ho Chi Minh City). Gambling is illegal in Vietnam, so there are hundreds of grim casinos right on the Cambodian border, and busloads of gambling tourists making this the slowest border we’ve had so far. Taking about one hour, it was still MUCH quicker than the 4 hours Chelsea endured in 2017—Vietnam has loosened up since then and UK passports now get 45 days visa-free. This was our last land border in SEA, and they’ve all been surprisingly simple. Nice!

    We just missed the 50th anniversary of reunification celebrations (the end of the Vietnam war was 30 April 1975), but Saigon was still decked out, making for a very festive atmosphere. Arriving at a very nice hotel, we were confused given how cheap our room was... just £10/night. That was until we were shown to the *tiniest* room, most of it window. There was no floor that wasn't mattress. We realised on departure that we’d slept in the wrong direction given even Chelsea’s feet hung off the mattress 🙃

    On the plus side, Saigon is great! We trotted out to two museums and were impressed by the no-nonsense tone of Vietnam’s self-declared history. In summary, the Ho Chi Minh City History Museum taught us: ‘this is a scrappy nation that absolutely cannot be invaded or defeated, and all comers are cowardly losers’. Noted! The War Remnants Museum was heavy, given the history of the Vietnam War and America’s genocidal tendencies. The exhibitions on the war correspondents who died in the conflict and the ongoing consequences of Agent Orange are particularly arresting.

    After the museums, we extended by two nights to wander the city, see the Cu Chi tunnels, and visit the historic Post Office and Notre Dame cathedral. The Cu Chi tunnels are interesting to see, and extremely small, further proving the grit of the Viet Cong who lived and fought in the tunnels for years during the war. Dan crawled through 100m (as much as they’d let him) and Chelsea stood in the rain, thinking about the monsoon scene in Forrest Gump. We decided against paying extra to shoot AK-47s, but could still hear them blasting our eardrums from a few metres away while we sat in the cafe listening (incongruously) to Vivaldi.

    We had a very foodie few days, starting at the strangely themed 'Warning Zone 76,' which was filled with toxic barrels and gas mask illustrations. We also dropped in at the Cafe Apartments building and Ben Nghe street food market, sampling noodles, skewers, and many many spring rolls. Dan has also absolutely lacerated the insides of his mouth with several Banh Mi. He'll need a liquid diet for a bit to recover: more pho, less crusty bread.

    We’re currently on an 18hr train north, listening to a three-year-old play games on her mother’s phone. Chelsea is excited to be going north and seeing how much has changed in the last eight years given Vietnam’s rapid expansion. So far, so good!    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Bassac Street: a tiny alleyway full of micro-bars and street art.
    Rooftop dinner viewAspirational cafe nameS21 prison museumDidn't take photos of the most harrowing exhibits. But here's an artist's interpretation.Monument at the Killing FieldsMemorial offerings at the harrowing Killing TreeCambodian amok curryWe lucked out with a tiny boutique hotel called 'YK Art House', complete with library reading roomIndependence monument insidePigeons in Royal Palace ParkRoyal Palace artistic shotBassac Street micro-bar. It was called 'The Library', we couldn't say no.Evening drinks with Laos friends Milly and CharlieEk (the smiliest Tuk Tuk driver) waiting for ChelseaA monk walks past the Royal PalaceProud member of the Khmer Swimming FederationPost 2km swim, slowww after months on the road

    Phnom Penh

    5月4日〜7日, カンボジア ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    So long Cambodia! It's been a shorter stop than other countries we've visited, because we have some set dates when we need to be in Vietnam. But we still managed to squeeze in a week here, rounding things out in the capital city, Phnom Penh.

    We had no idea what to expect here, except very intense genocide museums. And boy did we get them. We did these sites on day one, so we'd have some time to decompress afterwards. After taking power in 1975, the Khmer Rouge regime attempted to turn Cambodia into an agrarian communist society. They forced millions of people out of the cities to work on brutally punishing farms. The communist leaders had no understanding of agriculture and set impossible targets, which meant they increasingly had to use children as slave labour. At the same time, they rounded up millions of perceived anti-revolutionary enemies (especially educated people, teachers, lawyers, doctors, and anyone wearing glasses), tortured them and their families, and executed them en masse. From 1975-79, the regime murdered three million people—around 40% of the population. We visited the infamous S21 torture prison, now a museum: of 20,000 prisoners, only 12 survived, 4 of them children. Then the Killing Fields at Cheoung Ek, the site of mass graves where the executions took place. They are eerily peaceful now, though cloth and bones continue to surface in the dirt. The two sites are well curated, respectful of the victims and careful in acknowledging that this could happen anywhere.

    The Khmer Rouge began their reign of terror less than 50 years ago. What's stunning is how developed urban Cambodia is today, given the devastation of that genocide. Phnom Penh is a modern city, with bustling streets and cool hipster neighbourhoods full of bars and cafes. They have skyscrapers and boutique hotels and a waterfront promenade on the Mekong. People in Cambodia’s two major cities speak better English than anywhere else we've visited in Southeast Asia, except Singapore. After the harrowing history lesson, we spent our remaining time in the capital enjoying all of these things and marvelling at Cambodian resilience.

    Chelsea took the rare chance for a proper swim, taking two dips in the national Olympic pool. Cambodia is *not* a swimming superpower like Australia, so the pool was pleasantly uncrowded. She also bought herself a whole camembert as a snack and then felt guilty—she’s reading an excellent book on France’s activities in Indochina (which glommed Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam together). She also visited the Khmer Women’s Food collective (fish amok!) and took in the Independence Monument and the Royal Palace, enjoying zipping around in a tuktuk with the extremely cheerful and patient Ek. They shared a moment of excitement seeing the royal cavalcade passing in the traffic. Meanwhile, Dan took the opportunity to relax in nice cafes and make some progress on his writing. Perhaps inevitable in a city with 'Pen' in the name. In the evening, we caught up with Charlie & Amelia, who we met in Laos (they're traveling through Cambodia and Vietnam in the opposite direction to us).

    We only booked two nights here to start with, but ended up extending for a third. We did the same thing in Siem Reap too. That's because... *drum roll*... Cambodia is excellent! The people are lovely, the food is great (although not as spicy as we usually like), the culture feels vibrant, the beer is cheap and tasty (Cambodia draft for ~60p), and the country is clearly developing at a rate of knots. In some ways it's a shame we've had to do such a whistlestop tour, but even with a whole year on the road we still have to make some compromises.

    We're currently on the bus to our final southeast Asia destination: Vietnam 🇻🇳    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    The 'Tomb Raider' tree at Ta Prohm
    Sunrise 1Sunrise 2Sunrise 3Sunrise 4... a time-lapse that the American and Japanese tourists made us send them on WhatsAppAngkor WatNgl, these guardian lion statues are thicccMonastery poseSand stupasCaffeino RoyaleTuktuking around the temple complex—it would be impossible to cover the area on footTa Prohm 1Ta Prohm 2Ta Prohm 3Ta Prohm 4Ta Keo pyramids stepsTop of the pyramidMiddle of the pyramidDemons pulling on a snake—one of the more iconic safety railings we've ever seenBayon 1Bayon 2Bayon 3

    Angkor Wat

    5月2日, カンボジア ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    We've generally only been uploading one post per place that we stay in, but we decided to make an exception this time. There are too many photos that need to be on the official records!

    We're in the second city of Cambodia, Siem Reap (more about the journey down here and our other Siem Reap adventures in the next post). But the biggest reason for visiting is for a chance to explore Angkor Wat 🇰🇭

    Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious structure. In February we visited Prambanan Temple in Indonesia, the world's fifth largest Hindu temple... Angkor Wat makes that seem like a Lego house. Originally a Hindu temple built by the Khmer emperor Suryavarman II in the 12th century, it then evolved into a Buddhist temple too. It's enormous! And Angkor Wat itself is just one of the temples in a huge complex, with more than 70 other monuments spread through the surrounding jungle.

    It is also an extreme tourist magnet, so we held our noses and set our alarms for 4am, so we could be there in time for sunrise to avoid the crowds. This meant we were lucky enough to get a front row spot in prime location for the sunrise... although it didn't deter the masses. We reckon there were at least 1,000 people watching the sunrise with us, and if we'd arrived even five minutes later we would have been standing ten people deep in the pack, trying to get a glimpse through a forest of raised phones.

    After sunrise and a wide-eyed wander around the temple, we went for breakfast at one of the on-site cafes. It was called 'James Bond'. Other cafes were called Harry Potter, Captain Jack Sparrow, Spiderman and Angelina Jolie. We asked the proprietor why it was called James Bond, and she said she called it that because she likes James Bond. We should have known. It also said 'License to Coffee' on the sign, which is fun, but feels like a missed opportunity to say 'Caffeino Royale'. If you have other puns, drop them in the comments.

    Angkor Wat is incredible, but the other temples we visited in our 8-hour tour were somehow even more magical. Ta Prohm is famous for being used as the set for the Tomb Raider movie, and features trees growing through the temple ruins. Bayon Temple has over 200 giant stone faces carved into its towers. Ta Keo has an ancient pyramid with views across the jungle.

    We'll let the photos speak for themselves though...    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Noodle lunch
    Gallery of 1,000 BuddhasBuddha's footprintsOne of one thousandAngkor National Museum aestheticSo many ways to eat noodlesThe most hungover lads we've ever seenFinal food tour stop for bugs Pick n MixNot loving dessertBeetle wing fangsPhare circusBehold, rice!Siem Reap River channel, constructed during the Angkor periodEnormous baguette and suitable coffee (French and Aussie influences coming through strong)4Siem Reap book fair delivering the goods.Market scenesSleepy timePool arvos much appreciatedShowing off

    Siem Reap

    5月1日〜4日, カンボジア ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    After crossing the border from Laos, our first stop in Cambodia was Siem Reap, whose major economic activity is Angkor Wat tourism. As a city previously under French control, the bread and coffee options have vastly improved. Our host at the ‘Villa du Bonheur’ was the extremely flamboyant Michel, who spent the evening getting increasingly drunk and enthusiastic about his own 80s playlist. What a life.

    We explored the Angkor National Museum to learn a bit about the ancient Khmer empire. They claim to have been the largest in the world between the 6-9th centuries, which perhaps needs a fact check. It boasts the Gallery of 1,000 Buddhas, which did seem accurate, because they have a LOT of Buddhas.

    The next day we made a very early morning visit to Angkor Wat (see previous post) and then scurried back to the cool of the hotel pool to rest. The temperatures are hitting the high 30s every day, with +70% humidity; it’s a sweaty exercise just going for lunch. Fortunately, the Grab app operates in Cambodia—we felt its absence in Laos—so a tuktuk across the city costs less than £1.

    We zipped around on a food tour with recurring pals Jess and Ian, plus two horrifically hungover lads from Kent. One of them could barely speak, except to express sweaty regret after eating a whole birdseye chilli. Not such a big man after all. We tried several new dishes (pin noodles, amok, deep fried garlic dough balls). Cambodian fare is much lighter than Thai, with chilli available as a side so you can manage your own spice levels. The tour concluded with a pick-and-mix selection of fried bugs and frogs from a street vendor. Chelsea braved an unusually spicy locust and Jess retched on silk worms, while Dan and Ian peeled a few water beetles. The crickets were the least objectionable option.

    Friends back home tipped us off to the Phare Circus as an absolute must in Siem Reap. They were right! Incredible gymnastics, virtuosic musicians, live painting, and lots and lots of rice (surely a trip hazard?!). It’s got it all. The circus is an empowerment programme to enable artists to earn a living in Cambodia; it pays to fund the arts!

    Chelsea wandered around town, exploring the markets, and happily stumbled across a book fair. The stalls sold mostly earnest academic fare, self-help, and children’s books. However, a few were more ambitious, selling Korean lesbian romance and gay Buddhist demon love triangle smut (see photo). Chelsea’s opinion of Cambodians is even more positive now.

    We finished Siem Reap with a night out, starting on ‘Night Market St’, which contained no night market. Disappointed, we headed instead for the famous Pub Street, which did in fact contain pubs. After putting on a bold defence in beer pong (played with vodka-cranberry buckets), the girls danced into the early hours at a bar playing 00s club hits, while Ian read a chapter of The Count of Monte Cristo and Dan caught up on his beauty sleep.

    Next up is a hungover 6hr bus ride to the capital. More to come...    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Exploring the islands by bike
    Nakasong long tail ferriesNakasong to Don Det on the long tail'Can you believe we paid £10 a night for this?'Dan indulges in a frozen Lao mojito at our beloved Mama Tanon'sMama Tanon's on Don DetLocal fishermen2Cycling dayCrossing the historic bridge to Don KhongDan showing off his steady-cam "skills" on a very flat roadTemple in the forestWaterfall swingMama Tanon's lunchWaterfall visited by tractor rather than kayakCambodian militaryTuk tuk respite from paddling'The Pearl of the Mekong' (and Chelsea)The largest waterfall by volume in AsiaDon Det viewed from the kayakTough day at the Torture BarDon Det sunset

    Si Phan Don

    4月27日〜30日, ラオス ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Our final stop in Laos was Si Phan Don ('Four Thousand Islands'). Here, the Mekong fragments into a delta of—you guessed it—4,000 islands, before flowing into Cambodia.

    After a 4-hour bus from Pakse and a short ferry, we landed at our target island: Don Det. The hotel we’d been recommended was closed, the troubled-looking German owner ranting about his misfortunes. We beat a hasty retreat to the Crazy Gecko. This was an apt name, because their outdoor lighting attracted enough insects to feed the entire gecko population of Laos.

    The tourist season is very much over, with most guesthouses and restaurants in hibernation, the proprietors confused that you might want to give them money for a bottle of water. But this did mean we had the island almost entirely to ourselves to enjoy, although admittedly in oppressive heat. It is even cheaper this far south: our family-sized ensuite room cost £10/night, and we rented bicycles for £1/day to see the ‘old port’ (broken down concrete structures that could be 100 or 5 years old). Beer Lao was less than £1/pint.

    On our last day in Laos, Chelsea went for a full day kayaking tour around the islands, leaving Dan to read and write. A large section of the trip was completed on a tractor, which is about as quick as walking but more rattling, and advisable only if you don’t want to carry your kayak from one side of an island to another. There are many waterfalls in this part of the Mekong: the largest in Asia by volume is Khone Pha Pheng, though thankfully Chelsea was not required to kayak through it.

    She drifted past Cambodian military posts on the border and took a sneaky pic, although we suspect that the blue tarp shack will not yield much in the way of military intelligence. There was a particularly unfit couple on the kayak tour, sharing one kayak while Chelsea was paired with the guide, Soot. It became clear that they had never kayaked before. Ahead of a tough stretch, the guide asked Chelsea to switch kayaks and take the ‘big man’ for the rapids, while the guide piloted his wife. Chelsea took the back seat and thus found herself acting as both power and steering through grade 2/3 rapids while our hero lay on his back in the front seat. Her arms ache today.

    Meanwhile, Dan spent all day relaxing at the dubiously named ‘Torture Bar’—an agonising afternoon drinking iced lemon tea and watching the river flow by. Don Det was also the spot where we finally had a chance to swim in the Mekong, after spending three weeks travelling along it.

    Don Det felt like a fitting finale for our Lao adventures. Like everywhere in Laos, it sits on the Mekong River but still manages to be extremely hot. It is astonishingly cheap; we spent around £40-50 per day for two people (our average for all of Laos was £80/day, which is the cheapest country we've visited by a good margin). It was mostly empty of tourists and you had to go on a determined crusade to get any customer service. But that aside, it is (along with Indonesia) our favourite country in Southeast Asia so far; much more laid-back and authentic than Thailand especially! Our three weeks here have been great, and we'd highly recommend it to anyone thinking about a visit—we have plenty of notes to share 🤩

    Next up, Cambodia 🇰🇭➡️    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Pakse 🥵
    A spacious double bed for us both to squeeze into on the way down from VientianeDay one sunburn outfitsPost-sunburn dip at Tad Hang fallsWith all the grace of a leaping salmonOn the open roadAnti-sunburn outfitsClouds coming inForced pit-stopPerfectly safe conditionsOur freshly-watered farmstay3Farm friendsExhausted evening mixology with scorpion whisky (distilled rice spirit from our Mekong River cruise)Drying out the wet socks (and thawing Chelsea's foul mood)Project Fishcake at the evening buffet dinnerVery manly beddingThe benefits of staying on a farm: fully home-grown breakfast (and anti-malaria tablets)Countryside coloursAbove Tad Yuang fallsIn Tad Yuang falls (that's Dan swimming)With all the grace of a resting perchOur trusty steeds (just before the return journey and Steppenwolf sing-along)

    Bolaven Plateau

    4月22日〜27日, ラオス ⋅ 🌧 39 °C

    Having finished our adventures in North Laos, it was time to head down south. Reviews of the capital, Vientiane, are universally grim, confirmed by a brief taxi ride through trash-strewn neighbourhoods, so we decided to skip it and catch an overnight bus straight down to Pakse. Pakse is another former French colonial town on the Mekong River (like everywhere in Laos), though much hotter—up to 39⁰C—and with far less to do. It is however the gateway to the Bolaven Plateau Loop: a self-guided motorbiking trail around the countryside, which is Laos' answer to the (very popular) Ha Giang loop in north Vietnam. We figured we'd rather bike tour here, where there’d be fewer tourists and better opportunities for smug gap year one-upmanship in future.

    Day one: the anticipated first 85km required 108km in blazing sun, due to a detour when Dan missed a turning. We visited a climate-stricken coffee plantation and got stuck for ages behind a massively overloaded cassava truck which Chelsea refused to overtake, much to Dan's chagrin Root veg was spilling onto the road in front of us, smashing like Mario Kart traps.

    Eventually we arrived at our first stop, Tad Lo, exhausted and sunburnt. Turns out having your knees and forearms exposed from 10-1pm is not ideal. Dan has burnt a red patch around his watch which looks a bit like the Laos flag. We vowed to start earlier and wear long sleeves for the rest of the loop.

    Day two: Now that we’d got the hang of it, we vowed no more mistakes. We had a quick ‘shower’, taking it in turns to pour a bucket of water over one another’s heads, and were raring to go. Our host promised that she'd be up at 6am to start breakfast, so we planned to be on the road by 7am to avoid the worst of the sun. She emerged groggily after 7, and our bikes were locked in the garage until she’d sold us pancakes and coffee. We got on the road after 8, and immediately took another wrong turn and 20km detour.

    Around 10:30am, high up on the plateau with only miles of forest in sight, clouds began to gather. Then a lightning strike. Moments later, we were in the middle of a torrential downpour. What happened to 'hottest time of year'?! The only long trousers Dan had brought on the loop were his pyjama bottoms, which he was wearing to protect his legs from the sun. They got nicely soaked before we pulled over for 'pop mie' (instant noodles), and contemplated the deluge while a small child tried to stab Chelsea in the leg with a fork.

    The rain also turned all unsealed roads into mud slides. This wasn't a problem for most of the journey, but the last stretch to our second farmstay was a dirt road. We skidded our bikes over in puddles three times (luckily no major injuries), Dan plunging shoes and PJ bottoms into the mud while Chelsea muttered darkly about sprained ankles and never leaving the house again. We were very relieved to dry out indoors on arrival at ‘Shared Happy Farm’, aided by pets and some scorpion whisky we’d wisely packed.

    Day three: Surely we’d get it right on our last day! The plan was an 80km ride back to Pakse, with a coffee stop and a waterfall dip. After waiting out another rainstorm, we decided to make a dash while the sky was clear-ish. The local custom requires that women cover up in the waterfalls, so Chelsea wore her leggings and t-shirt into the falls... aaaand then dripped all the way back to Pakse as the last of the rain spattered against her glasses and the wind chilled her soaked clothes. Dan could only see a glimpse of Chelsea's gritted teeth in her wing mirror, and thought she was grinning. He followed cheerfully along with his soggy pyjamas flapping around his ankles, singing 'Born to be Wild' at the top of his voice.

    These minor inconveniences aside, it was a really fun loop, highly recommended. Motorbikes are exciting! The rolling mountain views are incredible. The waterfalls we stopped at along the route were stunning. The food in the countryside is cheap and fresh and excellent. Dan has been stuffing his face to regain the weight he lost during his illness in Thailand. He's never going to bulk up to be a beefcake, so we're calling this 'Project Fishcake'.

    ...We did however spend a bit more (a whole £29!) on a plush hotel once back in town, where we could have a proper shower and sleep in mosquito-free aircon. It is unlikely that we will need to do the Ha Giang loop in Vietnam now 😅    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Getting rattled in the tuktuk
    Pool with a viewGetting his hair caught in swing ropePutting on a show for the touristsBest practice includes an eight year old on the ticket boothBlue Lagoon 2Beautiful scenery, boys chatting football in the backgroundDan, Ian and Jess on the hobby horse at Blue Lagoon 3Hike attempt 1Just before the path disappearedLooking for another hike pointA castle in the countryside. Of courseSweaty workNam Xay viewHiking is so great2Who did it better?Vroom vroomStorm looming menacingly in the backgroundJust before we had to dash inside carrying our plates and glasses1Vang Vieng rail station

    Vang Vieng

    4月18日〜21日, ラオス ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    Our second stop in Laos was the storied party town of Vang Vieng, which we felt some trepidation about given our experiences in Thailand. However, the Laos government reformed the infamous ‘tipsy tubing’ about 10 years ago and Vang Vieng is now more of an outdoor activities town these days—much more our speed.

    We hired a tuktuk for a day and visited three of the Blue Lagoons with Jess and Ian, pals from the Mekong river boat. The roads were atrocious and the tuktuk has no meaningful suspension. Dan pulled a muscle in his shoulder hanging on in the tuktuk. We also had to ford a river where a bridge had collapsed, which doesn't fill you with confidence as a passenger.

    At the first lagoon, Dan twisted up in the rope swing and got his hair trapped; he's still not used to dealing with flowing locks yet. Having lost two inches off the back of his head, Dan then instigated a 'lagoon crawl' starting with the first beer at 9:30am. We are now absolutely certain that Beerlao is the superior beer, despite the earnest efforts of the recently established Vang Vieng Lager.

    Despite the consistently oppressive heat, we opted for a high-octane second day, hiring mountain bikes and cycling out to a couple of hike points. We were, of course, the only muppets on bicycles, sweating sunscreen into our burning eyes as locals and tourists buzzed past on scooters. We attempted one hike but decided that it was too overgrown and we did not want to risk becoming a UXO stat. Instead, we cycled even further out, to the famous Nam Xay hike and hauled our sorry selves up some serious elevation. We posed for the ubiquitous bike and flag shot, and hustled back down for ice cream. Chelsea crawled on all fours like a crab to protect her still-healing sprained ankle 🦀

    After indulging in some much needed pool time in the afternoon, we eventually stirred our battered bodies to get massages, unwittingly signing up for more battering. The traditional Lao massage is similar to the Thai, but with some additional pretzel manoeuvring. This was particularly amusing as Dan was issued with a minuscule pair of net panties that concealed *nothing*. We also had salt body scrubs, which revealed every small cut and minor sunburn in agonising clarity. Once flayed, we cycled gingerly over to a rooftop bar, and watched as a spectacular thunderstorm moved in across the dragon’s teeth mountains, sending us scurrying indoors.

    There are a couple of long travel days ahead, taking the Chinese-built bullet train to the capital, and then a 13hr overnight bus to do the same distance again to get south. Wish us luck!    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Sian, Joy, Chelsea, Ding, and Dan pre-Pi Mai
    Dan's hair taking on a life of its own in the smoky Burning Season airRescued Ellie loves bananasKeeping on the poo-free side of the elliesElephant Village pool to cool offMiss Number 6 at the pageant inspiring Beatles-level maniaDiscovering our new food obsessionPi Mai elephant paradeYou can't tell but it was about 39°C7-headed Naga (serpent) on Phousi HillLiterary Easter egg for the puntersRoyal Palace from Phousi HillRoyal Palace gardensKuang Si fallsMoon bears rescued from wildlife trade #FreeTheBearsCalm before the stormSabaidee Pi MaiiiiiiiiPower madNovice monks getting into the spirit of Pi MaiSome statues are dignified and beautiful. Just... not this one.UXO artHmong fashion at the TAEC

    Luang Prabang

    4月10日〜18日, ラオス ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    We've been in one spot for eight days, so have a chunky update. If you just want the SparkNotes and pretty pictures, here's a summary in 10 words: Lao New Year, beer-fuelled water fights, elephants, thunderstorms, quitting Instagram.

    Luang Prabang is the former capital and royal seat of Laos, and the most important cultural hub in the country. Its downtown area is almost entirely a UNESCO world heritage site. You can immediately feel the difference here compared to Thailand — almost all the buildings are single or double storey, with wooden cladding and roof tiles, traditional architecture and a terracotta and cream colour scheme. It's very nice! Dan embraced the beauty of the place by immediately blocking the toilet with a large deposit as soon as we arrived. He was too embarrassed to ask the staff for help within five minutes of checking in, so filled up the plastic bin with water from the sink and managed to flush it manually after several tries. Little did we know, it was the first of many buckets of water we'd be throwing this week...

    On our second day in Luang Prabang, we went to a shop on the high street to book an Elephant Village tour. The high street was quite chaotic; Laos holds its New Year celebrations (Pi Mai) on April 14-16, and the best place to be is Luang Prabang. Pi Mai is the equivalent of Songkran in Thailand: the world's biggest water fight. The city centre was gearing up for it days beforehand, with military-grade water blasters on sale in all the street stalls. So all the high street shops set up tables where punters can drink beer, refill their water guns from huge barrels, and get completely soaked. In the spirit of Pi Mai hospitality, the staff at Elephant Village invited us for a drink and snacks with them after we'd booked. We went into the back room with them for a quick, polite drink, and stumbled out four hours later (still in full daylight). It turns out Lao people love giving free beer to guests at New Year. This was on the 12th; the party hadn't even started properly yet.

    The closer it got to Pi Mai, the more hectic the city became. Hordes of people race around the city on scooters and mopeds (up to five people per bike), wielding their water guns, faces covered in red and white flour, like a budget Mad Max reenactment. They will squirt anyone indiscriminately, so you have to keep your valuables in plastic bags. There are also flatbed trucks driving around with full paddling pools in the back, full of more kids with guns and buckets. In return, shop owners and their families will fire hosepipes back at pedestrians or vehicles. This seems dangerous for the overloaded scooters, but everyone appears to be having fun so we tried not to think too hard about it. The shops also have industrial speakers hooked up to blast out Lao club music at deafening volume (every shop plays something different, in close proximity). Everyone is getting drunk throughout; it's bonkers.

    Luckily for us, our friends at the Elephant Village tourist shop invited us back to join them for another session during the festival proper. It meant we had a base to keep our bags dry in relative safety, and also a near-unlimited supply of free beer. We invested in some big water guns of our own and took a stand on the street to terrorise all passersby. It's surprising how quickly a big gun makes you give up any pretense of following the Geneva convention. We even had a small army of child soldiers armed with buckets, for whom we provided cover while they darted out and fully drenched our worst enemies. These included people with neatly groomed hair, those with any dry clothes remaining, those unwisely trying to film the festivities on their phones, and groups of Americans wearing matching Hawaiian shirts.

    Aside from Pi Mai, we also crammed in a bunch of other activities during our eight-day stay. The Elephant Village tour — an ethical sanctuary where we could feed and wash rescued elephants — was really special. Even if we were extremely hungover and one elephant did shit in the river upstream of Dan so it coated his legs as it flowed past.

    We went to a night market to watch 'Miss Pi Mai', where girls from across Laos compete in a sort of beauty pageant to decide who gets the honour of riding the tiger (not a euphemism) at the big parade. The rabid screaming of the supporters and their vuvuzelas was a bit incongruous, considering this was a painfully slow procession of identically-dressed women for three hours. We skipped out after 45 minutes to get Lao BBQ skewers for dinner which, FYI, are maybe the best food discovery of the year so far (and only 30p each).

    On the final night of Pi Mai we went to a slightly more upmarket hotel restaurant for their daily screening of 'Chang', a 1920s silent film about jungle life which was filmed in the area. We thought this would be relaxing after a few hectic days. In fact, the screen was right next to 500m of gridlocked Lao and Chinese teenagers, revving their engines and blasting their horns. To make matters more intense, during the first half of the film there was a flash thunderstorm, with apocalyptic winds and sideways rain that tore down palm fronds and sent bins rolling down the rapidly emptying street. The staff had a frantic rush to bring in anything not bolted down, which made it feel a bit like being in the dining room on the Titanic. The film itself was also slightly traumatic.

    It’s not been all chaos and hedonism, we’ve also visited the Kuang Si waterfalls and several museums. The gold-leafed royal palace is a time capsule from the end of an empire and the UXO exhibits are extremely confronting. Laos is the most bombed country in the world per capita. Dozens of people are victims of unexploded ordinance every year, even 50 years since the American shelling ceased. One particularly brilliant museum is the Tradition Arts and Ethnography Centre, spearheading the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative to stop fast fashion brands from appropriating the heritage of the local Hmong tribes.

    One last note in an already long update: we've decided to give ourselves a break from Instagram. We really enjoy writing this blog and Chelsea's monthly email newsletter. But Instagram has felt like a chore. It sucks our time and energy, we increasingly hate the content, and we're not sure who we're doing it for. Just making the decision to ditch it feels liberating already. It's a shame it took us 100 days to make the call.

    We're now on a bullet train to our next stop. Updates should be back to normal frequency from now on!    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Plenty of reading time
    Thai-Lao Friendship BridgeShe's happy because there's unlimited tea on boardNo-nonsense food captions2View from the toilet windowDiscovering the pleasures of extremely tasty and affordable Beer LaoPosing in front of a burning fieldPack mule in Pak BengConstruction in Laos: just dump all the bricks in a pile, and pick one up whenever you need it.Laos is a former French colony, so we're seeing more signs and place names in French alreadySunset drinking spot in Pak BengBreakfast in the morning light30mins time lapse of river cruisingThis is honestly an excellent beer. Very excited to drink nothing else for the next few weeks.Entering the Pak Ou cavesPak Ou riverscapeCave BuddhasMore cave BuddhasSmiling because it was very hot, and we can walk downhill to the boat again.Sitting at the front, in the way of anyone who wanted to say 'I'm flying Jack!'Rickety bamboo bridge to the whiskey village2Lao whiskey made from purple sticky rice

    Mekong River

    4月9日〜10日, ラオス ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Country #7 unlocked: we've entered Laos 🇱🇦

    A few weeks ago we learned that you can get a boat from the north of Thailand to Luang Prabang in Laos, following the Mekong River. We weren't originally planning to come this way, but the boat sounded very compelling so we changed our plans to include it.

    Crossing over the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge at the border, the first thing we noticed was: they drive on the right! We've somehow managed to make it a quarter of the way through the year without leaving any left-hand drive countries. But now we've finally entered true alien territory. The minibus drivers here also use normal gearsticks, instead of the gross, customised, phallic ones they used in Thailand, which is a big plus.

    Once we were on the boat, our job was to sit back, relax, and enjoy cruising along he Mekong for two days. We read, napped, and played many hands of Caracole with newly met Sydney-based friends Elodie & Felix (there cannot be any French people still in France, they all live in Sydney). Chelsea continued her spectacular Caracole losing streak from New Zealand, taking impossibly high scores international.

    The Mekong river is one of the longest in the world, starting in the Chinese Himalayas and running through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and emptying into the sea in Vietnam. We're traveling in the dry season, so the level is fairly low, exposing a lot of terrifying looking rocks. At one point in the river, a rather worse-for-wear Hello Kitty plush doll has been tied to one of these crags, like an anime Prometheus.

    Our overnight stop was in the small riverside village of Pak Beng, where we took out some currency and bought SIM cards. The currency in Laos is Kip, which is roughly 28,000 to £1. However, USD and Thai Baht are also widely accepted. We have all three currencies, but have come up with a foolproof way to decide which one to spend: shag, marry, kill.
    1) Kill the Thai Baht, as we don't need it any more. Spend it as soon as possible.
    2) Shag the Lao Kip. Extremely transactional, we'll use it heavily in the short term, but it doesn't have a future with us.
    3) Marry the USD. Feels icky to marry an American right now, but we may need dollars in Cambodia and beyond, so we're keeping this for the long term.

    On the second day we had two stops along the river, at the Pak Ou caves (only accessible by boat, full of hundreds of Buddha statues brought in by worshippers) and at Xang Hai village. Xang Hai specialises in distilling Lao whiskey, which is made from fermented sticky rice. This can hit 50% ABV, and they boost the flavour by adding various small animals to the bottles. We bought one to drink along our travels — no spoilers, but expect to see a picture of that in future updates.    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Dan discusses spiritual enlightenment with a local sage
    Impressively embellished and blueRecently renovated, clearly well funded (the temple, not me)Extremely large white Buddha within the Blue TempleDan unsure about the AI-rendered spiritual artTried for the sunset but the burning season put paid to any good lightTouristing, but not as hard as the Russians who reenacted their engagement in Thai traditional dressVaccine bottle in that skull's mouth, in case you'd forgotten about the pandemicAlien seeking Nirvana too2What. Whaaaaat.White on white on whiteConsidering mirrored exteriors for our future homeDazed and amazedThe Golden Temple housing a Ganesh statue that you can't seeTerrifying catfish getting overfed by touristsFurther confusing early 2000s art on a now-familiar themeEven the monks were posing for Insta shotsOne of many statues and paintings of Kositpipat that are dotted around the templeChelsea ordered a snack to the temple but all she got was DanDan enjoys more leg room on the coach northLast day in Thailand, cheers

    Chiang Rai

    4月7日〜9日, タイ ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    The final stop of our month in Thailand was in Chiang Rai (not to be confused with the previous stop, Chiang Mai 🙃). We entered the country at one of the southernmost land borders a month ago, and Chiang Rai was the last stop before exiting from one of the northernmost border posts (see our next post for a watery border crossing).

    The city itself is quite small, but its economy is clearly adapted for backpackers and tourists. There are a lot of western-coded bars (Steve’s Hangover Bar, Siam Corner, etc) and international restaurants. The markets are mostly full of souvenirs and mass-produced clothes made in China. The major temples are apparently exceptional examples of contemporary spiritual art and seem heavily geared for tourists and photo ops. That said, we definitely took advantage: Dan got some new clothes, we enjoyed a rare Italian dinner (a traitorous decision on our last night in Thailand), and visiting the modern temples was a *UNIQUE* experience.

    The two big landmarks in Chiang Rai are the Blue Temple and the White Temple. Both are relatively modern, and that means the decor is extremely strange (or, at least, not what we expect when we think ‘Buddhist temple’). The Blue Temple is surrounded by a large car park, and is full of what appear to be AI-generated portraits of the Buddha, as well as huge fibreglass statues covered in skulls. It feels like a Disneyland parody of Buddhism.

    The White Temple, somehow, managed to be even stranger. It was designed by 'nationally renowned artist', Chalermchai Kositpipat, who accepts no donations over £250 so that his artistic vision remains untainted by big donors. His vision is so untainted that it is blinding. The whole place is incredibly intricately adorned and startlingly white, with tiny mirrors embedded in the plaster, so that it looks like a bleached coral reef on land. To enter, you cross a bridge between two massive fangs, over a pool full of demonic grasping hands. A recorded voice shouts ‘Do not stop on the bridge, please keep moving’ in English, French, Spanish, German and Mandarin, on repeat, at volume. Very spiritually profound. Once inside, the real fun begins: the deep red interior is overlaid with a mural of Buddhist symbology and religious figures interacting with various icons of Western pop culture, including Yoda, the Terminator, Harry Potter, Spiderman, the Minions, Pokémon, Angry Birds, Michael Jackson, and many more. It’s like stepping into a twentieth century pop culture-themed vagina. To really bring the point home, the mural also includes a painting of the 9/11 attacks, the planes soaring out of oil wells. We snuck a photo on the assumption that the spiritual purity of the place couldn’t be any more sullied than it is by MJ moonwalking across the back of a guardian naga serpent while the War on Terror begins.

    For regular readers, you may remember we are keeping a 'spiciness index' for each country we visit. We can now include Thailand too. In descending order:
    - Malaysia: 9/10
    - Indonesia: 8/10
    - Thailand: 7/10
    - Singapore: 4/10
    - Timor-Leste: 4/10
    - Australia: 0/10

    Our overall review of Thailand: there are some really beautiful areas of this country, the food is delicious, and it's very affordable. However, we struggled to get past how touristy a lot of it is. Obviously we are tourists, but we prefer places that arent entirely oriented to providing for our needs - we want to have to learn a little of the local language, be forced to figure out how things work, not totally mollycoddled. We often found ourselves among crowds of visitors, overwhelmingly white, which made a lot of the experiences feel inauthentically adapted for a Western gaze. There is clearly a richness to Thai culture which we caught glimpses of in the quieter areas, especially Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai, but often it gets obscured by the easy, western-friendly hospitality industry. For a relaxing family holiday or a beach resort break, it is surely one of the best places in the world. But for a more involved backpacking trip where we want to be immersed in the local culture, it left something to be desired. We much preferred Indonesia by comparison! It will be interesting to see how the rest of Southeast Asia compares... we'll report back over the next few weeks.    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Rooftop pool, with minor background smog
    Night market food tour with guide TJAt the Khao Soi stall1Edible cicadas (we did not indulge)The durian experienceTeacher's pet at Doi SuthepFewer tourists, more coloursHappy Mother's Day!The golden pavilion at Doi SuthepWat Pha Lat hidden templeFind someone who looks at you the way this happy baby Buddha looks into the middle distanceWat Pha Lat hidden templeWhy do Thai bus drivers love these obscene gearstick grips so much?!Posing at the lotus farmBottom of the sticky waterfallIn a pub called 'Grumpy Old Men', drinking pints of 'Sexy Grandpa' local amber ale.Bit of kicking to liven up the eveningDonald Trump levies 36% tariffs on Thai economyBig gong at Wat Chedi LuangThis is just half the food we ordered at the Hummus restaurant

    Chiang Mai

    4月4日〜7日, タイ ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We weren't originally planning to come to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, and didn't know anything about it except that the air quality is often abysmal during the burning season, when farmers set their fields alight to clear dead crops. However, the city shares its name with Chelsea's favourite Thai restaurant back in Oxford, and since we have a pretty flexible itinerary this year, that was enough justification to make the trip. We booked a nicer hotel with a pool, so that if the air was awful we could just hang out there instead.

    We didn't need to worry though! Chiang Mai is perhaps our favourite place we've visited in Thailand so far. We have been quite lucky to arrive in a good year when the smog from the burning season is minimal. And since we were able to go outside without gas masks on, it meant we had plenty of time to appreciate Thailand's second biggest city.

    We started with an evening food tour of the Chiang Mai night markets, where we finally managed to get some properly spicy Thai food. We also took the opportunity to try durian fruit, which we had been both dreading and looking forward to for a while. This fruit is so smelly, it is banned on all public transport in Southeast Asia and you have to eat it with plastic gloves on so it doesn't get under your nails and stink up your life for days. It is an acquired taste, but people in Asia go crazy for it — you can get durian ice cream, durian coffee, durian cake. It can't be grown in China, so you see busloads of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand just to eat different types of durian. A Chinese national was arrested last year with a suitcase full of Thai soil, trying to take it back to China to work out how they could grow the fruit there and start a local industry. We were warned that 90% of locals like the fruit, whereas 90% of western tourists find it disgusting. Unfortunately, however much we wanted to be "not like other tourists", we did also find it repulsive. But it was worth a try!

    Next day, we took a day tour of Doi Suthep, a temple on the hillside just outside town. We were the only ones on the bus — we've finally made it past the overcrowded parts of southern Thailand! Doi Suthep temple, the 'hidden temple' at Pha Lat, and Wat Chedi Luang in the city centre were so much more peaceful and pristine than any of the temples we visited in Bangkok. It's really beautiful up here, and much less touristy. Chiang Mai has definitely improved our overall perspective on Thailand.

    We also had a chance to walk up the 'sticky waterfall' at Buathong. This runs over porous limestone, meaning the rock is very grippy, and you can walk uphill through it in bare feet. Chelsea was pleasantly surprised (heroic) and managed it even with her recovering (deeply bruised) ankle. Maybe it wasn't so bad and she's just been a crybaby about it the whole time, or perhaps she’s pushing through the pain due to FOMO.

    Even though we've been enjoying Thai food for 90% of our meals, we did get very excited to find a good quality Middle Eastern restaurant called ‘Hummus’. Perhaps TOO excited. In our enthusiasm, we ordered so much food for lunch that they had to pull two tables together to make enough space for it all 🫃 By the time we had eaten a large meal's worth of falafel and labneh, they were still bringing out more dishes that we forgot we had ordered. Clearly we didn't realise the level of our chickpea withdrawal symptoms.

    Lastly, we made sure to get tickets to a Muay Thai show on Saturday night. Muay Thai is the national sport: a martial art that is like boxing, but with shins, elbows, knees and feet involved too. Basically, you can hit your opponent anywhere except the groin, with any part of your body. Some of the fights were fairly poised and strategic (the women and the leaner men), and some were just slugging it out (bigger lads, and the title fight). It was terrifying and also very impressive. We consistently backed the wrong fighter in every bout, discovering our total ignorance of this extremely athletic sport and witnessing several knockouts plus a fair bit of blood.

    We're currently on the bus to our final stop in Thailand, with a big doggy bag full of hummus for the journey... stay tuned!    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    AI'd out the fence and wires, but not Chelsea's bandage, for authenticity's sake
    Sunset exploreRiver cruiseOasis at Baan Luang HarnChelsea must've said something amusingClucking aroundNot sure about this poultoonMuch sweatier than it looksCalm.Wat.Ohm.When you've 'Ohmmed' too hard800 years give or takeWat.Hold tightFramingA what? A Wat.Wat ChaiwatthanaramA rare break from the compression bandage (and the heat)Pop mie and pity me

    Ayutthaya

    4月2日〜4日, タイ ⋅ ☁️ 34 °C

    Leaving Bangkok to head north is like entering another country: quiet, calm, dignified. Southern Thailand was an education, but arriving in Ayutthaya provided actual, physical relief. You don’t realise how much you’re bracing against the noise, pollution, and odour until it lifts. All this to say, we loved Ayutthaya.

    As the former capital circa ~1380, it is chocka with ancient ruins connected by wide, empty streets. Dan found a gorgeous little oasis of a hotel, and after some much-needed reading time, we jumped straight on a river tour around the island city to visit three of the ancient sites. We were permitted to wander around both working and defunct temples, seeing the daily working and prayer of the Buddhist monks. After a sunset exploring Wat Chaiwatthanaram, we had a swim and then the first truly spicy curry of our time in Thailand.

    It wasn’t all plain sailing. After complaining about repetitive Spotify playlists in Bangkok, our restaurant in Ayutthaya decided to go one better: a single song on loop. Our meal was accompanied by 23 consecutive, uninterrupted plays of ‘Drive’ by The Cars.

    The following morning we borrowed bicycles, chuffed to add a new mode of transport to our trip log. It was, however, an extremely muggy day, and we arrived very sticky to each consecutive Wat (four almost indistinguishable ancient temple ruins). There was one stand-out, a temple ruin populated by an army of chicken statues, Buddha as wing commander.

    We only stayed one night in Ayutthaya, using it to break up our long journey northward. We are writing this entry at 5am from Chiang Mai, having caught an overnight train, this one with actual berths! Not much sleep in the rattling bunk, but it was very clean and at least one of us could stretch out (Dan was curled up tight and had to be hurriedly shaken awake on arrival). We’ll be in one place for a few nights now, and very much looking forward to catching up on laundry, calls with friends, and adding to our reading tally.    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Chinatown by night
    Overnight train to BangkokSleeping pod in the space hostelRiver boat? More like river GOAT.Wat Pho(toshoot)Wat Pho(toshoot)Sliding into the DMs like an enormous, golden, reclining BuddhaWe used AI to remove a random tourist from this photo at Wat Pho. Can you tell where?Chinatown by dayChinatown by nightSecret cocktail bar entranceSecret cocktail bar in ChinatownOutside the Temple of the Emerald BuddhaCome back and speak to me when YOUR demon battles mosquitoes for youOutside Temple of the Emerald BuddhaRoyal PalaceRoyal PalaceDrag show with Canadian ZachPatpong drag showStealing the limelight

    Bangkok

    3月30日〜4月2日, タイ ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Bangkok is a weird place. In some ways, we found it surprisingly modern and relaxed, considering it's an Asian city of 17 million people that has just been through an earthquake. On the other hand, if you scratch below the surface you can definitely find exactly the kind of chaotic seediness that it is famous for.

    We arrived at 4am after an uncomfortable overnight train, with Chelsea still suffering from the Koh Tao gastro. Unable to check into our hostel until at least 12:30, we had to just sit in the lobby and try to nap on the hard chairs. This was made worse because we were staying in an absolutely bizarre place: an outer space-themed backpacker hostel, with bunks designed to look like pods on a spaceship and alien decorations everywhere. The man behind the desk had a playlist of about six songs (mostly Bieber) that played on a loop for hours. It also, inexplicably, smelled of BBQ sauce everywhere. We thought the space pods would be funny, before we knew we would be sick, and regretted it immediately when we arrived. Hard to imagine anything worse than being trapped in a claustrophobic airlock in the middle of the night when you are desperate to "evacuate". We stared into the void, and we did not like it, so we booked another hotel and returned to planet earth.

    After a good night's sleep in a comfortable bed, Chelsea was back to full strength, so we were finally able to get out and explore Bangkok. We took a river boat (very cheap, excellent public transport option!) to Wat Pho, to see the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, and then caught a tuktuk (more expensive but great fun) to Chinatown — the largest in the world. The stalls were filled with exactly the kind of unexplainable, alien stuff that you expect in a Chinatown, but we did also find a small road with cute, indie cocktail bars to spend the evening.

    The next day we caught another river boat to the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and watched a traditional dance show at the Royal Theatre, before meeting an old friend of Dan's for happy hour drinks. Chelsea likes to think she's the globe -trotting one with the international friendship web, but this time it was one of Dan's old uni contacts from his year abroad in Canada that we caught up with. So that's one in the eye for Chelsea and her Rhodes network.

    Later, we all went to Patpong Night Market (the red light district), which was... enlightening. This was the seedy Bangkok that we had been expecting, full of ladyboys and sex workers and gross old white men looking for various kinds of service. We knew it couldn't all be efficient public transport and beautiful monuments! The drag show we watched was extremely impressive, while other parts of the district were a lot less so. All in all, a worthwhile cultural visit, but perhaps not somewhere we're desperate to go back to! 🙃

    On the plus side, it feels like we've finally left 'White Lotus resort Thailand', and accessed something a bit less polished. We're looking forward to what North Thailand has to offer over the next week or so!    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Piggy back taxi back from ER
    New inmate at White JailMixed messagesGood vibes, before the cataclysmAesthetic road junction'Baby Rasta' reggae barSunset cocktailsIt was all so promising...She's a sucker for the golden oldiesThe view from our hostel, which we spent three days enjoying instead of anything else on the island.The Whitney Houston barWhitney herselfThe scene of the crime. To be clear, it was the tiny ledge, not the big one.Cheerful despite foot damageYaaass-troenteritisWaiting for the Bangkok overnight trainHeroically carrying both large backpacks so that Hop-along can limp behindBrave faces for the 7.5hrs to Bangkok

    Koh Tao

    3月26日〜29日, タイ ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Strap in for a dramatic update. We left Koh Phangan with high hopes for our three nights on the next island, Koh Tao, but got more, and less, than we bargained for.

    It all started so well. Arriving in the afternoon, we checked into our hostel, the 'White Jail'. We're not sure if this is because of the building design, or because it's where white people get trapped on the island - based on our experience, both could be true. The dorm has helpful signs that say things like 'good prisoner', but don't clarify anything.

    We enjoyed some cheap rum and coke at a rickety, reggae-themed bar made of driftwood, then found somewhere with a beach view to enjoy the sunset. After that, we got dinner at a Thai restaurant where the server decided to put on a wig and lipsync to YouTube videos of Whitney Houston after midnight. So far, so good.

    The next day was fairly uneventful as we read our books and nursed mild hangovers. But luckily, we knew we had two more full days to enjoy the delights of Koh Tao - the viewpoints, the beaches, the scuba diving. What could go wrong?

    Well, before dinner Chelsea slipped off a 1-inch ledge and damaged her ankle so badly that we had to take a taxi to the emergency clinic. The x-ray showed it was just a sprain, not fractured, but it was still swollen and bruised to the size of an impressive ALDI sweet potato. Dan gallantly provided a piggy back to return to the hostel, joking that he would spend the next day exploring the island without her.

    In fact, the next morning Dan was assaulted with an awful case of gastro and was bed-bound all day. Meaning between us we were almost entirely incapacitated. A true White Jail experience.

    While we were in lockup, we also had news of the huge earthquake in Myanmar, which affected Bangkok (our next destination). This led to some hasty planning, to decide whether we could/should still go, or whether to stay longer in our island prison. The latter didn't seem very appetising, since lots of other people in the hostel were also sick, and there was going to be an all-day power outage which would mean no aircon or flushing toilets (less than ideal during a gastro episode). We'd also lose a bunch of money on non-refundable transport and accommodation if we changed plans.

    In the expectation that Dan would revive, we decided to plough on and leave Koh Tao for the mainland. We were correct that Dan would feel better after 24 hours. The only problem was that now, during the power outage and ahead of a long travel leg, Chelsea developed the gastro too.

    We're writing this update in good spirits but very poor physical condition from the overnight train up the spine of Thailand. Annoyingly, Dan is now mostly fine while Chelsea has BOTH a strapped ankle and gastro. Overall, it's fair to say our trip to Koh Tao was a complete failure - but hey ho! See you in Bangkok.    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Ready to potter along at a safe and responsible speed
    One-off leg room experienceDonsak Pier ahead of ferry transferQuick walk from the pier in Koh Phangan to our hostelTiny dog taxiDan and a non-menacing dinner friendDan and a more-menacing hike friendDisgustingly humidMade it 635m above sea level at Khao RaThe Menace waiting for Chelsea to donate her shoes to a worthy causeWaterfall dip post-hike, with fish nibbling our toesFirst hummus since we got engaged in JanuaryBeach bar recoveryChasing Dan through the streets of Koh Phangan,

    Koh Phangan

    3月24日〜26日, タイ ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Not yet done with sea and sand, we have spent the last couple of days on Koh Phangan, the island most famous for its full moon party, which we avoided entirely by being there on a quiet week and on the other side of the island. We are all partied out for Thailand 🫠

    The transfer from Khao Sok to Koh Phangan heralded a South East Asia first: Dan finally got enough leg room on the bus! (See photo).

    Our two days on Koh Phangan gave us time for a lightning visit, so we got up relatively early for a hike up to the highest point on the island at Khao Ra. Pulling out his hiking shoes, Dan discovered the lost wallet from two weeks ago, which he must have ‘cleverly’ stowed in his boot on the night out in Ao Nang and then forgotten about in the morning. Needless to say, everything in it is now useless: all the cards have been cancelled, a new driving license is already on its way, and the padlock key is pointless as we used bolt-cutters to destroy the lock. But at least his masculinity is restored and he no longer has to carry random loose notes in his pockets when Chelsea occasionally entrusts him with cash.

    The Khao Ra hike was 3km uphill and then 3km back down the same way. Even starting early, the heat and humidity were intense, and we sweated buckets. The hike was made more complicated by the presence of a large, black Labrador puppy, with no obvious owner, who followed us and some Russian hikers all the way up and down the hill. They gave her the zippy nickname ‘Chernokozhiy’. This was all fun and games until the dog inexplicably decided it was time to attack Chelsea's shoes and prevent her from walking, and wouldn't be deterred by stern warnings or physical restraint. She was very happy to bite our hands playfully when we pushed her away, loving the ‘game’. We spent about 20 minutes getting increasingly concerned (including a real worry that this dog might give us rabies or tetanus). Eventually Chelsea had to concede we needed help and Dan went to ask the Russians for assistance, who arrived only to find the menace had calmed down and was innocently tearing apart an abandoned shirt. Gaslighting masterclass.

    We are getting better on motorbikes, although Chelsea did manage to tip hers over, very slowly, on an incline at the Khao Ra carpark. Humiliatingly, this also required the assistance of the spectating Russians. Like Western Europe in 2022, we found we relied too much on their resources, and have been humbled.

    After the hike, we rode our bikes around the island to recover at an Israeli-dominated beach at Srithanu. Dan’s Saturday school knowledge of the Hebrew for ‘fish’ surprisingly useful in this unique setting. The west side of Koh Phangan has loads of Israeli tourists, with quite a lot of raves advertised in Hebrew. More significantly, this meant this was the first time since we left Australia that we have seen hummus and falafel for sale. After two months of rice and prawns, no political tension could stop us from indulging our base desire for chickpea products.

    Lastly, in the evening we bought supermarket beers to enjoy sunset at our hostel. The ranking of Thai beers goes:
    - #1, Singha (⭐⭐⭐⭐)
    - #2, Chang (⭐⭐⭐✨)
    - #3, Leo (⭐⭐)

    Our good luck so far this year with hostels finally hit a snag. Chelsea was on a bottom bunk, which made a repetitive creaking noise and slight movement for the entire night. We thought the man above her was wanking, but he appeared to be lying perfectly still, and surely couldn't keep it up for 10hrs straight without a medical emergency. However, in the morning he left and we tried to find out what was wrong with the bed, but couldn't find the fault. The mastur-mystery remains unsolved.

    Two final thoughts:
    1) We found an electric scale outside a pharmacy and discovered that Dan has managed to lose around 3-4kg while travelling. This explains the presence of so many rib shadows in all our photos.
    2) The Thai language has two words you can put after a sentence to indicate politeness, based on the gender of the person you're speaking to: "khat" for men, "kaa" for women. But you have to know someone’s gender to get this right, obviously. This feels like a genius linguistic prank in a country where there are more gender-ambiguous people working in hospitality than anywhere else in the world - it's a misgendering minefield! 😅
    10/10, Thailand, keep us on our toes!

    More island adventures to come in a few days time...    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Early morning lake zen
    Longtail boat through the national park to the bungalowsFloating BungalowsFrom our bungalow straight in the lakePosePoseMolly and Jack having a paddleChelsea on her way to talk to some treesThe Go-Pro understood how Chelsea was feelingYoga to faceplant triptychEqually obsessed and disgusted by this phallic gearshift

    Khao Sok

    3月21日〜24日, タイ ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    Being back on dry land has left us a bit discombobulated, so we decided on a slow reacquaintance with stable accom and booked a night in a floating bungalow in Khao Sok National Park on the Ratchaprapha Lake.

    We narrowly avoided missing our transfer after our dive trip thanks to the chaotic driving of a hastily negotiated taxi. Our driver, demurely veiled, insisted she both loved the English and that if an Englishman who had promised to marry her abandoned her she would ‘box him.’ Chelsea agreed this seemed fair. She handed out dainty chiffon cakes while careering across the twilit roads and we made it to our transfer location slightly late, but still a minute ahead of the shuttle.

    Trips to the floating bungalows are bookended by a stay in Khao Sok town itself, which heaves with daytrippers between 3pm and 9am as sweaty tourists are shuttled to and from the pier. Once at the bungalows we had an afternoon messing about in the water with Molly and Jack, newly met friends from London, and Jack and Dan demonstrated that you *can* do a forward flip into the lake after three large Changs, but you must do a funny little run beforehand (see video).

    The lake itself is man-made. In the late 80s the Thai government built a dam to generate hydropower for the as yet undeveloped southern Thailand, and today the dam hosts gorgeous floating bungalows and eerie trees amid the island tops of what used to be mountains.

    At what point does a mountain become an island? This was one of many lofty questions we hazily contemplated as we finished off our hash brownie supply. Chelsea went for a kayak and came up on the lake, which was a *time*.

    Returned to Khao Sok village for a catch up with Jess and Jason in the UK, who we'll cross paths with in Vietnam in May. It’s great being on the road and meeting new people, but the prospect of a few days with close friends is like a conversational oasis in a desert of ‘so where are you from?’ smalltalk.

    Before leaving on our next transport leg, Chelsea indulged in an absolutely enormous paradise crepe (a crepe filled with watermelon, mango, pineapple and banana), and accidentally sprayed maple syrup on her hands and shorts. We're posting this from the bus, onto which we were ushered quickly (and sticky-ly) to make our way to the east coast of Thailand. We're booking less than a week in advance at the moment, and the results have been a mixed bag: we won’t actually have berths on the overnight train next week because we didn’t book soon enough, but the flexibility is often worth it to allow us to stay longer in great places. More island time coming up!    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Complementary boat fits
    The Gentle GiantOur main antagonist, the Chinese RastafarianDive entry at Hin DaengA zen experienceHard to show how rich the sea life is in photos. This video does a decent job!Butterfly fishReading on deck in our surface intervalsBannerfishSea anemonesMuch to explore, crystal clear waterFishing boats put green lights on at night to attract fishRocks!On the dinghy for a beach break on Koh SimilanSand so white it creates the impression of Dan having a mild tan2Batfish posseFunky starfishEntering the shoal1When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a moray.Watching the waves crash from belowClimbing back on boardWell deserved sunbathing sesh

    Andaman Sea

    3月15日〜21日, Andaman Sea ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    We finally got around to our only pre-planned 'big ticket item' for the year: a week-long scuba diving trip around the Andaman Sea. Whereas most of the year is fairly unscheduled and flexible, this was one thing that we booked in advance about six months ago, so a lot of our timings for the first months of 2025 have been working towards this milestone.

    We caught a ferry from Koh Yao Noi across to Phuket and, after a quick detour for replacement toiletries, boarded the 'Gentle Giant' liveaboard which would be our home for the next week.

    Dan went to the toilet as soon as we boarded, only to find out immediately that it wouldn't flush, and also that we're not meant to flush toilet paper on the boat. So he went back to fish out the offending paper, and then tried to fix the plumbing too. Meanwhile, the crew were preparing a traditional 'good luck' ritual for the boat, consisting of fireworks set off right outside our cabin door. So while Dan was crouched behind a befouled toilet, fingers still wet, trying to work out why the cistern wouldn't refill, he was suddenly victim of what seemed like a terrorist attack or catastrophic maritime explosion.

    The good luck charm clearly worked in the long run though, because they fixed our toilet and there were no more explosions for the rest of the week.

    Some notes on our fellow passengers: there were a bunch of Europeans, a couple of Chinese, and four Israelis (including a white dreadlocked girl and a stacked guy who we theorised was her bodyguard). Thailand is full of Russians and Israelis, which makes it feel a bit like neutral Switzerland during WW2. Our main enemy on board was the Chinese man who was diving in our group. He was bald, but wore a fake Rastafari swimming cap, and swimshorts that said 'Wang' all over them with pictures of pugs. He also swam aggressively after every fish in the ocean, scaring them all away, with all the energy of an idiot chasing sheep in a field. Basically, what we've learned is: inappropriate dreadlocks = 100% confirmed evil.

    In between these cartoon villain episodes, we actually had some incredible diving all up and down Thailand's west coast. We covered Hin Daeng, Koh Haa, Phi Phi, the Similans, Koh Bon, Tachai, and finished at Richelieu Rock. Those won't mean much to anyone who's not familiar with Thai diving, but suffice to say it's a lot. Of the 22 scheduled dives across six days, we managed 20, with just two respite breaks.

    The sea conditions were excellent for 90% of the trip, with visibility of >30m, no strong surge, current or waves, and temperatures consistently at 29-30⁰C. Chelsea did all the diving in just a rash vest, no wetsuit. The only exceptions to the perfect conditions were one dive where we had to rapidly swim away from a huge dust cloud of cold water, along with all the other fish in the ocean, which was quite intense. And then on the final night, we hit very rough seas on our way to Richelieu Rock, which rocked the boat so hard all night that Chelsea started making Titanic-style survival plans. We tried to sleep, but spent the night being thrown from one side of the bed to the other. No sea-sickness as we seemingly have cast iron stomachs, but a sensible amount of fearing for our lives as the waves crashed against our cabin door.

    Here's a partial list of the stuff we saw on the dives:
    - Turtles!
    - Sting rays!
    - Eels!
    - Sharks!
    - Seahorses!
    - Groupers!
    - Clownfish!
    - Barracuda!
    - Sea urchins!
    - Trevally!
    - Cuttlefish!
    - Crabs!
    - Sea cucumbers!
    - Puffer fish!
    - Lobsters!
    - Squid!
    - Starfish!
    - Anemones!
    - Batfish!
    - Shrimp!
    - Nudibranches!
    - Lionfish!
    - Stunning coral!
    - Huge underwater boulders!
    - Shipwrecks!
    ...and much, much more.

    We're now thoroughly exhausted, and have only just managed to avoid missing our transfer, to the next stop, but it has been refreshing to spend six nights in one room for once. Now, we're back on the road - and with no more milestone experiences booked in the months ahead. The adventure continues...    もっと詳しく

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  • Chelsea & Dan’s Gap Year 2025
    Very professional bikers
    Island taxiOur hostel on stiltsHostel companionsFurther companionsHumble abodeReading in the rainPot noodle for dinner – a budget friendly option!Stilt hostel by nightGetting to gripsBreakfast pancakes at Sea GypsyYoga retreat cafeBeach dayBeach dayBeach feastYou can feel the adrenalineOur Supaporn ferry to Phuket 😅

    Koh Yao Noi

    3月13日〜15日, タイ ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    After party central in Ao Nang, we wanted somewhere a bit more relaxed for a couple of days. That meant we needed to avoid the more popular spots around Krabi and Phuket, so on some good advice from Dan's parents, we caught a speed ferry to Koh Yao Noi. This is about halfway between the two party towns, but surprisingly quiet and off the tourist radar. It is majority Muslim, meaning there has been a strong push from the local community to avoid it becoming a boozing zone, although they are happy to welcome visitors who are looking for a more relaxed atmosphere—just the spot for our hangover recovery! We also have a big adventure coming up (more info in our next update in a few days), so this was a necessary pause.

    There's no public transport on Koh Yao Noi. Rather than spending unnecessarily on taxis, we decided it was a good time to practice our motorbike skills, in case we need them later in Southeast Asia. This was probably a good decision, because we clearly need some practice (both as drivers and passengers). Going from 'stationary' to 'moving' was a challenge. Dan nearly zoomed into a pond, Chelsea was consistently confused by her left and right. We'll need more experience to get accustomed to the controls and manoeuvres. Either the speedometer was broken, or we never went fast enough to register more than 0kmh... very emasculating. But with our extremely brief riding experience, we now feel totally prepared for the wild streets of Bangkok and Hanoi 🙃

    Chelsea visited a yoga retreat for a drop-in session and then we drove, precariously, to a secluded beach where we both read about half of our current novels. We are at least getting through loads of books!

    The main benefit of Koh Yao Noi has been a respite. We probably should have spent one more night here and one fewer in Ao Nang, but hey ho. One of the challenges of this gap year—something neither of us has done before—is working out how to pace ourselves. The lack of routine, the constant movement, the mixed levels of comfort, all catch up with you even while you're ostensibly having fun.

    We're also thinking a lot about what it means to be productive while we travel. Should we be trying to 'achieve' something, or is the trip an end in itself? If we spend a whole day reading instead of 'doing something', does that mean the day has been wasted, or well spent? What does it mean to have been to a place—do you need to 'complete' it? How do we keep a generous mindset so that we appreciate all the things we are doing, rather than regretting the things we've missed?

    We have the next couple of stops planned due to advance bookings, and then from March 23 we're into the unknown: no more landmark dates in the calendar for the rest of the year. Wish us luck!    もっと詳しく

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