So many beautiful buildings
29 Nisan 2017, Kamboçya ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
We decided to have an explore on foot day today. Our hostel is situated near both a temple and the royal palace so it made sense to make the most of it. We struggled to find the first temple but after some wondering around we stumbled across it. It's quite a small temple at the top of a mound and we enjoyed exploring around the building and the grounds. By this point it was already so hot and knowing that it was going to hit 33 degrees today it was only going to get hotter. We decided at this point to get a tuktuk to the royal palace and for only a couple of dollars you can't go wrong. Unfortunately we found out it closes between 11am and 2pm so we couldn't go in yet but it did mean we got some good photos with no one else in them. We thought we'd go and have an early lunch and visit the national museum and then the palace after. The museum was in a gorgeous red building with a picturesque courtyard in the centre with 4 fish ponds. The fish would all swim towards you as we stood on the edge, leaping in and out the water to get closer to the edge. The museum had lots of things to see but was quite heavy with information on the audio guide and in the heat it was hard to keep up with it. After the museum we went back to the palace where I had to purchase a very stylish white men's Cambodia branded t shirt to wear to cover my shoulders. The woman was also saying I needed to buy trousers but I pulled my shorts right down and they were lower than most people's who were being let in so I disputed this and managed to just get the t shirt. The palace was impressive with very ornate gold patterned buildings and intricate silver monuments to past kings. There wasn't much to see despite being a large site and no information on anything so we were glad we went last thing in the day when the crowds were minimal and it was cooler in temperature. After the palace we found out there was an Aeon Mall in the city, a mall which we loved in Japan so we had to visit! We walked along the river front to get there and it took a good 40 minutes of navigating and getting lost to find it. We were both feeling quite drained but a Krispy Kreme and Starbucks later we were ready to find somewhere to have some food. The restuarant we chose seemed very reasonable but unfortunately this was reflected in the potion size but you live and learn! We took a tuktuk back to hostel and had a relaxing evening video calling Aeryn and Jen before bed. She loved showing off her new scooter!Okumaya devam et
A very wet Cambodia!
28 Nisan 2017, Kamboçya ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
We've made the next step in our travelling journey and left Vietnam and arrived at the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. Our bus left at around 8.45 to make the journey across the boarder. The journey started well as they provided water and pastries, although we didn't eat them, and played 'fantastic beasts and where to find them' at the front of the bus and although you couldn't really hear they put on English subtitles so we were able to enjoy the film. This pretty much took up all the time until we reached the boarder where we had to disembark and queue to have your passport stamp for leaving Vietnam. We boarded back on the bus and got comfortable again only to get off 2 minutes later at the entry point to purchase our visa and have fingerprints taken. There was little direction for the guy on the bus but it went better than we had expected with getting through immigration. We had a lunch break after before setting off again to the capital. This part of the journey took forever and this time they played another English film but chose Korean subtitles! Out of all the languages to go for! Finally we made it to the capital and unfortunately we were dropped at a different place than we saw on the website. We were so excited as we were meant to be being dropped a 3 minute walk from our hostel but it wasn't meant to be. Still determined we tried to find the river which our hostel was on. We were sent in a general direction continously but with no real help on how far it was, and that's when the heavens opened. We were caught in a downpour which was actually quite refreshing after the bus ride but 15 minutes later and still walking with no sign of a river it wasn't so pleasant to anymore. In the end we gave up trying to find it on our own and flagged down a tuktuk. Turns out we were going in the general direction for the river but the complete opposite way to the section where our hostel is. It felt so good to get there and then check in to probably the best room we have had so far. The hostel is lovely and modern and clean with very friendly staff. There's a great communal area so we're quite excited to be here and hopefully will meet some other travellers. After showering and getting settled we just headed out for some dinner before coming back and watching a good couple of episodes of miranda on YouTube. Such fun!Okumaya devam et
Last day in the amazing Vietnam
27 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
What an amazing last day in Vietnam we have had! We booked ourselves onto a tour of the Mekong Delta river and paid a little extra to be in a small group of 8 instead of the large 40 persons group. We were so pleased that we did! We started the trip with a cycle ride around a local village that lies on one of the islands in the river. It was very hot but we were pleased we did this first thing before the day became too unbearable. Our guide was very informative pointing out many fruits and explaining the meanings behind certain aspects of the houses or surrounding area. After the cycle we went back on the mini bus and headed to an amazingly beautiful temple. The temples in Vietnam have been the best we have seen in terms of decoration and level of maintainance and upkeep. We were shown how to make three wishes inside the temple as the local people do with incense before we had time to explore and see the 3 Buddhas they had there; one lying, one standing and one sitting laughing Buddha. We had lunch at a guest house further up the river which was beautifully prepared and all homemade. At this point we boarded a boat that took us up the main stretch of the river which has a few floating houses on and is a lot wider than you imagine. A coconut candy making workshop was next on our list and I was surprised to like it when I don't like coconut, although to be fair it was mixed with sugarcane and peanuts so not much coconut came through in the flavour. We sat down to some local fruits and tea while the local people sang and played some traditional music of the Mekong Delta although they did throw in 'if you're happy and you know it' as a crowd pleaser. Nick took some fruit for the road of course! At this point we boarded small rowing boats in two groups and enjoyed a breath taking ride down a small canal branching off the river. The scenery was so beautiful and we were able to have a glimpse into the lives of people whose houses are on this stretch of the river. Once we left the boats we were able to try fresh honey from a bee hive by pushing your finger into the honeycomb and we even got to hold the racks of honeycomb which were covered in bees. Amazingly they do not sting and she assured us they never have or will. We tried some honey products such as tea, honey covered bananas and a peanut brittle style sweet, the peanut one in particular was so good. Afterwards we had the chance to hold a python! Something I've never done before and was very nervous about but we both did it and are super proud that we did. The snake was so much heavier and smoother than I imagined. That concluded our tour and we went back on the main river by boat to get to the mini bus to bring us back to the city. We had such a great day and it was definitely a lovely way to end our time here in Vietnam.Okumaya devam et
A very eye opening afternoon
26 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
After a very jam-packed tour yesterday we decided to take it easy this morning and head to Starbucks after breakfast to do some planning for Cambodia. I do feel like we should be brand reps for Starbucks now with all the different ones we have visited! After a couple of hours of researching and booking we went for some lunch at a place we'd seen the night before that looked promising. Sadly it was our most disappointing food experience yet. As you can see from my photo we were happy with the food, even though it looked nothing like the pictures at all we remained optimistic. It however tasted awful with different elements being hot and cold, cold noodles are not nice, and we had about half the portion size as shown. We didn't enjoy the meal at all and experienced the staff chatting and texting out the back, grunting when Nick asked where the toilet was and complete lack of serive. The biggest disappointment however came when we went to pay, when we finally got the bill that is after 20 minutes. Extra money had been added and when I asked what for she said it was for the wet towels we had been given during the meal to wipe our hands, baring in mind they had no napkins on offer and we didn't ask for these towels. Obviously we were very annoyed she hadn't told us this when she gave them to us which lead her to look through about 7 menus to find one with the correct page that says about the charge in small at the bottom on the back page. We gave up disputing it and walked off very disappointed and in need of an ice cream! So that's what we got! We didn't let it ruin our day and headed to the War Remnants Museum which we wished we had given more time in the day to visit as it was so informative and eye opening to see. Having been to Auschwitz at 15 I felt a little prepared for this museum but I was so wrong. The section they had on the imprisonment and torture of the Vietnamese soilders was so hard and difficult to read. Differently to the museums regarding the Nazi concentration camps this exhibit listed every brutal and unthinkable method used with photographs and real accounts of torture used of different individuals. How anyone even thought of some of the things they did to people is just disturbing in itself. The level of suffering inflicted with torture during this war seemed far greater than I had learned about previously in Germany. The museum was so informative and eye opening that it was a shame we didn't get to finish it all with reading everything before they closed. Afterwards we headed to see the local cathedral which is designed based on Notre Dam as well as the post office that was built by the French also. For dinner we went somewhere more westernised and had an amazing pizza to make up for our awful lunch. Nick had our second sugar cane juice of the trip and I discovered a love for passion fruit panna cotta. A very trying day but eye opening day indeed.Okumaya devam et
Soaking up the culture and history
25 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
For our first proper day in Ho Chi Minh City we booked an excursion with our hostel to visit a temple where we can witness a prayer service taking place and then also to go to the Cu Chi tunnels which were used during the Vietnam war. We woke up early to make the most of the free breakfast before being collected by our tour guide from the hotel. My cold has become more of a cough now so it's hard when on a mini bus with others and all you want to do is continously cough! Our first stop on the trip was one we were not aware of. We stopped at a workshop which has been government funded to provide disabled people, who became disabled as a result of the war, craftsmanship jobs involving making beautiful pictures using broken egg shell and mother of pearl inlay. The level of detail and skill was so impressive and you do hope that more centres like this one exist elsewhere in the city and Vietnam. At this stop Nick also go very friendly with a cute puppy who was hanging out in the toilets and seemed to belong to the attendant. We headed back on the road and after more driving we had a quick stop for some lunch. The food was quite disappointing and we ate really early so that was a little bit of a shame. We next found ourselves arriving at the temple and wow it was breath taking. It was so beautifully painted and decorated in such soft colours and this ornate level of design continued inside as well. When we entered a service was being held so we were able to watch as the songs were sang and everyone prayed. It was a lovely thing to see and experience first hand. After taking in all the decor we went back to the bus and drove on further to the tunnels. The museum itself was very interesting with lots of things to see and many interactive sections. Nick was able to try and fit down a secret tunnel entrance and they also had examples of traps they used on the Americans and Vietnamese set up. We then headed down into the tunnels themselves and walked through a large section of one completely bent over. The last section was very narrow and would involve crawling so no one decided to do that last part. We had quite a long drive back where my cough got pretty bad and the traffic was just mental. We found out that there are 13 million people in this city and there are 7.5 million motorbikes and mopeds! I definitely would not have liked to have been trying to drive through the traffic we saw today.Okumaya devam et
Sunrise, train rides and selfies
24 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
And it's time to move on again! Today we had a train ride to Ho Chi Minh City so we decided to get up early and make the most of our east facing beach to watch the sunrise. It was a little cloudy but it was lovely just sitting on the sand and watching the red sun come up. It was surprising how many hundreds of people were up at 5.30am to have a morning swim. After checking out at the hotel we made our way to the train station to begin our epic journey. We left at 8.50 and arrived at 3.50 so a grand total of 7 hours in the end. The ride was less bumpy than our night train and we had snacks including Toblerone which we were very excited to discover in the shop! They also played Madagascar 3 as entertainment which cut out after 20 minutes so I was thinking it was like Monster Trucks on the plane all over again but a couple of hours later they started it again and it played the whole thing so that was handy to kill an hour or so. The toilet was grim and trying to go and not touch the seat while being thrown around the room is very challenging. Nick went about 5 times and I managed to hold off and only go once which I am very proud of! We had a very rude man at the end who appeared to work for the railway just come and sit next to us and started blasting our techno music from his phone which was very annoying and inconsiderate. Luckily we arrived about 15 minutes later so we didn't endure it for long. After a struggle to find the hotel with the driver and then discovering it is down an alleyway after walking up and down the road 3 times we made it! We settled in and headed out for some much needed food before coming back and chilling out watching Britain's Got Talent on YouTube before bed. We have an excursion planned for tomorrow to a temple to see a prayer service and then to the Cu Chi tunnels which were used during the Vietnam war so we're up bright and early for that.Okumaya devam et
Temples and beaches are our lives now
23 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
I had a great and much needed lie in today. After a poorly night it was definitely needed and I woke up feeling a little better. Nick was lovely and went out earlier to get fresh juices for us and we headed out afterwards for some breakfast. We went to a nice little place and I had some "lemon" and sugar pancakes which are actually created with lime. Either they don't think there is a difference or they are named the opposite way round to the UK. After breakfast we caught a taxi to a very ornate and decorative temple. Above the temple was a huge white statue of a Buddha. Nick had researched before and found out that the 7 statues that sit around the base of the Buddha are portraits of 7 people who sacrificed themselves for their religion in the 60s by setting themselves on fire. The views of the city at the top were stunning but we were so overly hot that we didn't get to enjoy them for long. We encountered our first group of tourists wanting photos with us in Vietnam. They didn't want any with Nick, just me, and one woman even took his sunglasses to wear on his head as I was doing. It was a constant rotation of women posing with me and all touching my very sweaty skin! After the photo shoot we left the temple and headed for the beach to have a lazy afternoon and to get in the sea. The beach had a Miami feel with the sky scrappers in the background and palm trees. We set up on some loungers and headed for the waves. The water was warm but so refreshing. Unfortunately it felt very dirty though and had a lot of rubbish in it so it was a little off putting. After a swim we chilled out on the loungers before having an early dinner and heading back to the hotel to do some planning and pack up ready for our train journey tomorrow!Okumaya devam et
We survived the train! Just about
22 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C
We were awoken on the train at about 5am when the family below us decided it was time for their breakfast! We'd had 6 hours of very broken sleep and unfortunately I don't think either of us had another sleep after that point. I've developed a cold so that was keeping me up most of the night and combined with a very rocky train it wasn't the most pleasant of journies, but we made it! I was feeling rather rough indeed but we only have two days in Nha Trang so I wasn't going to let it stop us. We managed to check in earlier and got changed before heading to a water and theme park amusement island, the best in Vietnam apparently! We rode the cable car across to the island which had a very annoying women saying the same thing over and over about the island in about 4 languages. I think we know her speech off by heart now! The park was pretty cool indeed. It had some small rides, not Alton Tower standard, a water park, aquarium and various other attractions. We spent the morning on the rides thinking it'll be better to get those done and then head to the water park to cool off. It was so hot and Nick felt ill after the pirate ship, bless him, so we went for lunch instead and then hit the water rides. We mainly stuck to rides which we could go down together on a two person float which was nicer to be able to enjoy it together. Nick's favourite would of course be the lazy river! He greatly enjoyed pretending the be a pirate or a cracken and try to tip my rubber ring over. We stayed on the rides for hours before collecting our things from the locker and heading to the aquarium. Unfortunately at this point the tiredness and illness really hit me so we didn't spent too long walking round. After some much needed rest and food we decided to head back to the cable car. Luckily by chance as we were walking we saw down an alleyway a water and light show that was starting so we sat and watched the first few songs of the show. It was a pretty incredible sight even when feeling rubbish. We beat the crowds to the cable car and didn't really enjoy our windy and rocky 12 minutes ride back in the dark. It was very cool to see the Eiffel Tower inspired pillars that hold up the cable car all lit up at night though. We returned to the hotel for a much needed shower and sleep with the hope of feeling better tomorrow!Okumaya devam et
Travelling in true Vietnamese style
21 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C
Today was our last day in Hoi An before we caught the sleeper train in the evening. Luckily the manager at the home stay we were staying at is lovely and let us store our luggage there all day and also arranged a moped for us to use for the day, Nick's license coming in handy once again. Mopeds and bikes are the way to get around in Vietnam for sure so it had to be done really. We made the most of the 12pm check out by getting up early and spending the morning planning and booking some of our Cambodia trip. We were given a local noodle delicacy for breakfast which wasn't fantastic but it was nice to try the local food of Hoi An. We left our luggage at the hotel and hit the road and travelled about 20 minutes to a cat cafe. Unlike the one we visited in Japan this is a cat sanctuary set up to rescue cats and kittens from the cat meat trade or from vehicle accidents. The owners took in there own stray cat called Jack who later turned out to be girl when she gave birth to kittens. The sadest part of the story is that when the kittens were 2 weeks old Jack went missing and after many weeks searching they came to realise she had probably been stolen to be killed for meat. This is when the couple decided to set up the sanctuary to not only raise and rehabilitate injured and unwanted cats and kittens but also to educate the community on the thefts of cats and how to keep their pets safe. It was a beautiful place where the cats had full roam of a large garden and indoor area. They even managed to help a cat who couldn't walk due to being hit by a motorbike accident where his spine had fused together to learn to walk again, with round the clock care. They devote their lives to these cats and it felt like we were helping just by visiting and paying the entry fee alone but we decided to also have quite a few drinks there and lunch as well, where all the profits go into the caring of the animals. Sadly it came the time to leave and we got on the bike once more and tried to find a beach that is meant to be the most popular one near where are staying. We got lost of course but just riding around in the breeze was quite liberating so we didn't mind at all. It did get a little windy on a bridge we crossed however! We eventually found a beach, not the one planned but a beach none the less and stayed for a couple of juices and a chill out on the loungers. After some dinner we headed on the bike once more for one last ride before heading back to the home stay. At this point the sun was setting so the ride was amazing as we chased a beautiful pink sunset. The owner of the home stay had also offered us to use a room to shower in before our train so we looped back and went to take him up on his kind gesture. I couldn't imagine having to sleep the train without having a shower! After relaxing for a bit we headed off to board our train. We booked a 4 bed cabin and hoped to have one set of bunk beds but unfortunately we are both on the top bunk and also have a baby in with us so hopefully we get some sleep, fingers crossed!Okumaya devam et
Bike ride in 33 degrees? Why not!
20 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C
When it's 33 degrees what is the best thing to do? Hire bikes of course! It's so incredibly hot! We're not use to this after cold rainy Japan that our bodies are struggling to cope. We're about a 20 minute bike ride from the old city of Hoi An so we woke up early and set off after breakfast. After dodging all the motorbikes and some directions we made it to the old quarter where we parked up and had a wonder around. The roads are closed to motor vehicles for most of the day so it made walking and cycling around much nicer. We paid for a ticket that gave us entry to 5 different things to see in the old town. Luckily we just managed to make a showing of a traditional art performance that consisted of music and dance. It was very interesting and entertaining to see. By this point the heat was really building and we had only reached about 11am! We went to visit a temple nearby before setting our sights on a juice bar but unfortunately there had been a power cut so no juices for us. We did find somewhere with power and enjoyed a nice refreshing drink. Nick ordered a coconut and it was honestly bigger than his head! It was also ripe enough to eat some of the flesh inside. They were being cut up by our table so we saw other people being given ones half the size of Nick's so we definitely got good value for money. It seems I'm very bad in the heat. The sweat was just pouring down me all over and I even had salt crystals forming on my legs. Literally was melting but we pushed on through to see another temple that was so incredibly beautiful. Outside it had a dragon statue made from broken pottery and glass and inside the temple itself hung large coiled incense sticks which were burning with prayers hang inside. The aroma and atmosphere of the temple was lovely. We luckily walked around the edge to discover a garden at the back that it seemed no one else went to see. It again had a huge group of dragons as a statue and also small ponds and bridges. It's probably the prettiest garden we've seen. We also visited a 400 year old Bridge that has a temple on it and a traditional Vietnamese house. After some lovely food we got on the bikes once more and headed to an island that is meant to be lovely for cycling. We stayed to the main road so didn't see many views but it was a peaceful and easy ride through quieter streets and a good experience to see where people live. The road was quite long and didn't lead to anything more than houses and the edge of a river at the end so we turned around a headed back. By this point we were so ridiculously hot so we headed for one last juice in the old town before returning back. Our plan was to get changed and head to the beach but having arrived at the beach at about 4pm it was a lot cooler than we expected and we didn't fancy actually getting in the water in the end. Instead we just chilled on the sun loungers and had some fruit and ice cream before heading back to the restuarant we went to the night before for tea. We had a lovely day exploring, even with the heat Vietnam is so beautiful.Okumaya devam et
Off we go again!
19 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
We've packed up again and caught a flight from Hanoi to Hoi An. With the free visa we only have 15 days in Vietnam so we are trying to make the most of it and go to as many places as possible. The flight only lasted an hour and we had been given seats by the emergency exit which meant so much leg room which was great! We're not sure why we had these seats when many others were free on the plane. After landing we had a long taxi ride to our home stay hotel as the airport is in the next city from Hoi An. We arrived expecting to be staying in someone's house but it does feel more like a hotel than a home stay. We now feel maybe they call the equivalent of a B&B back home a home stay here. The room is lovely and even has a balcony with a pretty nice view, the only downside is so many bugs! Even a dead huge beetle in the toilet upon arrival! The mosquito net we bought yesterday is definitely up and ready. After getting ourselves sorted we walked the 15 minutes to the beach where we spent the rest of the day. We sat and had food, lots of fruit juices and Nick had a coconut as well. We braved the sea which was a little bit cold and with our goggles had a little surprise when I saw a jellyfish in front of me! We were a bit freaked out to start with but discovered they were swimming quite far from the shore and went back a few times to have a look and take photos with the go pro. After about 2 hours of swimming and a final mango juice we found somewhere on the way back for dinner. We're looking forward to our first night under the mosquito net and here's hoping there will be no fresh bites tomorrow!Okumaya devam et
Goodbye paradise
18 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Today our short but amazing trip to Halong Bay and Cat Ba unfortunately came to an end. After breakfast at the hotel we headed back around the island to board the boat to take us back to the mainland. This meant another beautiful ride through another part of Halong Bay and it certainly did not disappoint. We sat on the back of the boat again on the way and just enjoyed soaking it all in one last time. During the ride we had a demonstration of how to make a Vietnamese spring roll with rice paper and traditional ingredients. I did give it a go although it wasn't the best thing I've eaten and it was hard to construct with the wind blowing on deck. We had an early lunch on the boat which was a little frustrating as we then had at least a 40 minute wait afterwards while the boat refuelled before we docked. I feel lunch could of been a little later but it was still amazing. Today we had home made Vietnamese version of fish and chips with other plates such as rice, a chicken veg mix and even lightly sugared peanuts. The food on the trip has all been outstanding and we've tried some great dishes, although not quite brave enough for oysters! The refuelling was also entertaining and scary to watch as they used a normal fuel pump nozzle and put it in an opened up water drinking tank bottle which was on a stool and the had a long tube that went down to the boat. It was disheartening when they had finished to see them just pull up the pipe and get petrol everywhere in the water and the shore lining steps. When we finally were able to get off the boat we had to board a smaller vessel to take us to shore. We all spent longer putting on the life jackets than the ride actually was! After another wait we got on the bus and began our 4 hour ride back. This evening we spent our time finding Nick some new walking sandals as the metal connection on his had rusted and snapped off and we also were hunting for a mosquito net. For some reason they love me, not Nick, not anyone else on the trip, just me! 10 bites I got last night! Luckily we found one but trying to hang it in each place will be entertaining. After some great Vietnamese food we rounded off the night with a walk back to the hotel along the lakeside and treated ourselves to an ice cold bottle of water! We know how to live!Okumaya devam et
Jungle trekking and monkeying around
17 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
What a jam-packed day! We started our day bright and early by going on a small rowing boat into a beautiful cove through a passageway that had been carved through the mountain. Inside the cove we saw monkeys scrambling all over the cliffs and water front hoping for some food to be thrown from the tourists. After returning to our boat we set sail again and enjoyed another amazing boat ride through Halong Bay to reach Cat Ba island where we are staying for the night. The wonder of how these mountains and rocks were formed and the feeling of how small you are in comparison will never go away. At the point of arrival disaster happened! I slipped down the stairs from the roof of the boat and in stopping myself falling I had to let go of my water bottle and sure enough it went in the sea, our amazing £35 filtering water bottle! Luckily it float and one of the crew managed to hook the karabiner with a fishing line and pull it to safety! Disaster diverted. We had a short try to the national park on the island where we began a 2 hour hike through the jungle. It was very changing and in parts so steep and rocky to climb but we pushed through the sweat and red faces to make it to the top and the view we were rewarded with made it so worth while. It's so unusual to see a view of the jungle where not a single man made object can be seen, but we found it and just wow. After some well needed lunch we checked into our hotel and with half the group headed to monkey island. This involved a scenic boat ride through the floating villages which in itself was incredible to see. So many floating houses have dogs which I find slightly cruel! We reached the island and the beach was heavenly. White sand and blue waters and to top it off monkeys as well! It was slightly sad because there was lots of washed up coral on the sand and you just hope that it hasn't died from the now every growing amount of tourists here. A highlight of the island was seeing a monkey make off with someone's fanta and within seconds working out how to drink from it and sitting smugly in a tree drinking away. We enjoyed swimming, walking up to a small view point and watching the monkeys before returning to the boot. We saw a group of children approach a baby Monkey who was on a hammock and could tell it wasn't going to end well. A girl, roughly 12, sat on the hammock and tried to either feed or touch the baby and then before you knew it the mother Monkey came charging in and jumped up and grabbed her top by the neck before clawing and trying to bite her knee. We're not sure if she was bitten but it was scary and sad to think her parents hadn't warned their children that these are wild animals and we are in their space. After the boat ride back we had dinner and had a scroll round the harbour in the evening. A pretty good last day before heading back to Hanoi tomorrow.Okumaya devam et
Halong Bay, what can I say?!
16 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
This place is incredible. I don't think I've ever seen anything so weird and wonderful as this bay full of almost 2000 huge rock islands. We woke up early and were meant to be picked up from the hostel but after half and hour of waiting the reception received a phone call to say we needed to meet them on a street corner, lucky one of the staff took us there. The journey there was long but the time seemed to go quickly. We boarded a small boat which took us to our larger boat that we would be staying on. We sat down as a group to our first prepared meal together before checking into our cabins. Once settled we headed up on the top deck to enjoy the boat ride through the bay and it was breath taking. My phone camera gallery will prove how amazing I found it! Every few metres a new mountain would just appear and the horizon view would change all over again. Our first stop was a large cave inside one of the mountains and I'm pretty sure it is the largest cave I have ever been to. After a walk around the caves it was back on the boat where we headed to an island that has a beach at the base. Wow this place was packed with tourists! I'm pretty sure the beach is man made as well so that ruined it a little bit. We decided to climb to the top of the mountain which was a stepped path all the way up. Hard, but worth it for the views we were greated with at the top. The sun was beginning to set as well so even though it was a gloomy day it was still a spectacular sight. We braved the freezing cold water and had a lovely refreshing swim in the sea before heading back on board the boat once more. We drove the short distance to a small cove where we moored and spent the night. It was peaceful with only a handful of other boats floating near by. After dinner we had free time and some people tried squid fishing. I was up for having a go until someone caught a squid and we found out it couldn't be returned to the sea and it also wouldn't be eaten and we saw it just pass away in a bucket. Fishing for sport is just as bad as hunting foxes or poaching animals in Africa in my opinion so as you can imagine we didn't take part. Instead we headed up on deck to the back of the boat where they have a wide flat platform that goes to the edge with no railing. We lay on the platform just gazing up at the stars for well over an hour and I don't think I've ever felt more happy or content by something so simple.Okumaya devam et
We love Vietnam!
15 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
It's so amazing to be in a new place and more so in a country where you can just walk down a street and see so many beautiful and wonderful things. Our hostel is right in the centre of the old town of Hanoi and right on the side of a legendary lake. We had a line in this morning to allow some recovery from the flight. When we did finally emerge from the room we had missed breakfast but the lovely staff here provided us with coffee and fresh pineapple free of charge. It felt so good to eat fruit! She also gave us a map and pointed out the places to see and where to eat. We headed off for our day and began exploring the area. After a failed attempt to find a cathedral we began walking around the lake. There was just such an amazing vibe to the lakeside. The road was closed to vehicles and children were running and playing on electronic cars and bikes and there were so many street sellers selling anything from balloons to fruit. We visited a temple that is on the lake which you enter by crossing a red arched bridge. It was the most beautiful temple we have seen so far. The statues and display inside was incredibly and it felt very moving while visiting there. Afterwards we went to buy our tickets for tonight's water puppet show and luckily they have 2 tickets for 5.20pm left otherwise the only time available was 9.15pm. For lunch we found a place that overlooked the lake on a balcony and had so amazingly fresh food, something we'd missed in Vietnam! From the balcony we saw three men we had seen before who each had a parrot on their shoulder. Two of them would let their parrots fly and then call and whistle to try and get them to come back. It wasn't very successful before but this time they were not having any of it. By the time we left and exited the building we looked up to see the parrot sat on the roof, 6 storeys up and the owner on the roof trying to coax him down. You'd think they'd learn that they don't want to come back to them! After some shopping and calling home we headed to our puppet show and it was a great thing to see. The puppeteers are in the warer behind a screen and I still have no idea how they made the puppets do all they did which just a pole attached to them. They had a band playing traditional instruments to accompany each little scene. Our evening consisted of visiting the old gate of Hanoi and a walk down the night market street before eating at a famous Vietnamese restuarant. I wasn't such a fan as Nick was so afterwards we visited burger king and I got an ice cream with hot caramel sauce. As I was paying I looked over and saw Nick who was sat down playing on the table with his hands with a little Vietnamese girl who had shuffled along to him from her table with her family. It was such a precious moment to see, the lack of fear from the child to speak to and interact with other cultures and it just reminded me that this is why we are doing this, this is why we are travelling for moments like this.Okumaya devam et
What a lot of travelling... and selfies!
14 Nisan 2017, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
We left Japan, finally! What a long tedious journey it was though. Osaka's international airport which was a stones throw away from where we were staying doesn't actually international flights! We had to travel down south to a man made island which is only home to the airport. We did a little last minute booking of our final accommodation in Vietnam and the coach to Cambodia before setting off on our epic journey at 9.30am. After two tubes and a 45 minute train we made it to the airport much to the relief of our backs. We were so glad we booked that coach! Upon checking in the woman was very strict because of the fact we were going to Vietnam. She wanted to see evidence we were leaving the country within the 15 visa free days you get as a UK citizen. Luckily we had the bus confirmation to show but even that took 3 members of staff to confirm that it was acceptable proof. I'm a bit over the top with checking in early for flights we have discovered so we had plenty of time to kill so out of the limited restuarant options Starbucks was our choice of course. I even had a hot toasted cheese and ham baguette and I cannot tell you how good it was to eat cheese again after 2 months! We were pleased to discover that the plane was going to play a film during the flight so we put our stethoscope style headphones that were provided and enjoyed watching Monster Trucks and just as it was getting to the big finale to find out if they manage to save the day it cut to an advert. Not only that but after the 2 minute advert the film just started playing again! Low and behold the next time we got to the same point it cut out once again. So we will never know if they save the monsters and get the girl after all! At least the flight meal was our best one yet of a lovely pork stir fry style dish. After our first flight we had 4 and a half hours for our connection flight when we landed in China. The time went quickly which was helpful and we managed to video home and before we knew it we were boarding our next flight which was our first flight to be under booked. We had no one sitting next to us which was a dream! By this point it was late but luckily it was only a 1 hour 45 minute flight so you didn't feel you had to try and sleep. Luckily we had booked a hostel that offered cheap airport pick up so we were greeted at the airport and taken the 30 minute drive to the hostel. We finally got into bed at 2.30am Japanese time, a total of 16 hours travelling time over all but we made it to Vietnam!Okumaya devam et
Planning and retro games day
13 Nisan 2017, Japonya ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
It's our last day in Japan! We realised that we don't have enough money for our journey to the airport tomorrow which is super annoying when it costs £2.50 to withdraw money so we decided that we'd head back towards the main area of Osaka to change up some money at a money exchange and to visit a retro game bar we had wanted to go to as a final treat in Japan. We needed to but in some more work to our Vietnam plans and the route we are taking from there first however. We spent the day researching, planning and booking so we now have a better idea of how long we want in each place and how to travel between each. It feels good to have some ground work from and we would of booked more if we had more funds in our travelling account and didn't have to wait for a transfer to clear. We packed all our stuff and had our last supermarket food tea before heading across the city to the exchange shop and then the bar. It was a very small bar that could sit around 12 people at a push so we were lucky to arrive when a Sega machine was free. We played some sonic to start with which brought back so many memories as well as other games I hadn't seen before. Even a Michael Jackson fighting game! It was a pretty cool way to spend our last evening before we head to Vietnam tomorrow.Okumaya devam et
Was that really the sun we saw?!
12 Nisan 2017, Japonya ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
We had a great plan in place today. Our intention was to travel to the centre of Osaka and have a look around and then head to a housing and living museum. The museum shows the Japanese housing through the eras in life scale models and you can also dress in kimonos to walk around. It was a great plan, it was a shame it didn't work out that way! The area around Osaka station is now very urbanised with businesses and not much to look at if your a tourist. It seems as it's very north in the city when the building of the area ventured south from the centre the more attraction areas were built into the design layout. This was a shame as we thought being the original centre it would have some charm to it. We did find a supermarket which happened to sell dairy milk! This is the first time we've had nice normal chocolate in so long so this was a very happy moment indeed! I pretended it was the easter egg I won't have on Sunday. We headed to the area where the museum was and it was just our luck of course that it is closed this week for renovation! We had the idea of going swimming but after so research found also the few best pools here are also closed for renovations! Our plan was swiftly failing. There was a long street next to the museum with lots of shops so we decided to walk down it with the hope of finding an arcade. It took about 3km for this street to actually end and sadly no arcades or anything worth while visiting. We walked further and found a beautiful river however and realised we'd almost made it back to where we began! At this point we called it a day and headed back via a few shops. We went back to the place we ate the night before for some more delicious pork but on only be given beef instead! Everything that could of gone wrong, went wrong. But we still enjoyed our day getting out and walking and the meal was still delicious. Nick was less impressed at me playing on the tablet in the afternoon as you can see!Okumaya devam et
Rain, rain, go away!
11 Nisan 2017, Japonya ⋅ 🌬 13 °C
What a gloomy, miserable day today was! It's rained most of the day and after having a lie in, putting off going out because of the rain and using it as an excuse to sort things out we decided we couldn't stay in any longer. Rocking one of my new £1.40 tops we headed back to where we had visited yesterday knowing that a lot is under cover and with the hope of visiting a gaming bar we had seen online. Nick spent ages trying to get a picture of me with the plant behind in line with the brolly! We visited Starbucks, of course, and then meandered through the shops getting the odd bits here and there. My legs were hurting for some reason and we were hit by a wave of tiredness all of a sudden so decided maybe tonight wasn't the night for gaming. We decided we'll save it for another night and head back to where we are staying to visit a restuarant I'd seen by the station. The dish was amazing! We had ramen noodles with a delicious meaty broth and topped with melt in-the-mouth pork belly. It was so tasty and the guy seemed so happy we were there, even coming over with tiny children's forks at one point with bears on as he thought we couldn't handle using chopsticks. It was quite late when we got back so just a night of relaxing, watching miranda on YouTube and bed for us! We did have our first bath each since we left the UK which was fabulous! Even if the bathtub is half the length of a normal bath and the water is so deep it goes up to your armpits when sitting in it, it was still a lovely and welcome change with a small comfort of home. Lesson learned from today: Japanese rain doesn't ease off.Okumaya devam et
On the explore again!
10 Nisan 2017, Japonya ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
What a great day we've had! We headed back over to the shopping area we'd visited before after finding out that further up from where we went is one of the most popular areas to visit. The day started of course with a Starbucks, we needed the WiFi I promise! After some googling we headed to a second hand shop that sells all manners of books, games and clothes. It was amazing! I could of spent hours in there looking at the hundreds and hundreds of clothes. I was after some nicer tops and a vest. Sadly no vest but I got 3 lovely tops for the grand total of 600 yen or £4 in the UK! How crazy is that! Nick was very pleased when I had finished though but secretly I'm looking up where other ones of these shops are so we can "happen" to stumble across one. I also have a few items that don't fit or I don't like so I plan to sell those to the shop if we get the chance. We also found a little temple/shrine nestled amongst the rows and rows of shops. It was such a lovely place to visit as nature had still managed to take over even in such an urbanised area. Moss covered the main statues. We stopped off for lunch before hitting a few arcades, it wouldn't be a day in japan without it! We were lucky enough to find a retro arcade upstairs in one of them which had old fashioned games to play. The only downside is you were allowed to smoke in this area so that was a little off putting but we stayed for a bit playing on the games. After more wandering and going in a few shops we headed back to face the issue of washing. Our Air B&B host said he had a washer/dryer but turns out it doesn't dry and he admitted that once we were here trying to translate Japanese on the machine. We had to buy a second washing line and with two 5m lines and some extra string we managed to hang all our clothes to dry. Hopefully they dry by Friday when we have to leave!Okumaya devam et
Gloomy castle days
9 Nisan 2017, Japonya ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
We've definitely lost our sunny, spring-time weather here in Osaka but we didn't let the thundery-looking clouds stop us from venturing into the city. We managed to navigate the windy streets with a very poor map and eventually found Osaka Castle, one of the most beautifully decorated buildings we have seen so far. We had a lovely stroll through the grounds of the castle with it's wide moats, lined with blooming cherry blossom trees. If it had been glorious sunshine we would definitely of seen more Japanese girls dressed in kimonos coming to have pictures with the cherry blossom, something we have seen very often so far. We were excited to go inside the castle and after queuing in a rather long line we made it inside but it wasn't at all what we expected. Instead of great halls and stone walls with coats of arms we entered what felt like a newly built gallery or museum. It was hard to even remember that you are inside a castle when everything was so modern and newly built. There were 8 floors and we headed up the flights of stair, a tough climb, to the top first to get 360 views of the city. The other floors had information on the castle and families who were involved with all the events that happened there. After a while the mammoth of information was quite overwhelming so we decided to leave as we got down to floor 2. We spent the rest of the day walking back and visiting our favourite supermarket before eating tea and watching the last film we rented. Despite the weather it was a pretty adventurous day trip in Osaka.Okumaya devam et
Tourist information trips are the best..
8 Nisan 2017, Japonya ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
We discovered that Osaka is much bigger than we thought and unfortunately the place we are staying is quite far out of the main area. In Kyoto our life saver was a paper map so we decided this is what we needed if we are to the tackle this city on our own. We found a tourist information center about 30 minutes tube ride away so the plan was to head there and explore the area surrounding it before returning to do some washing and shopping. We managed to get the map but not much else information on attractions or where to go so it wasn't as useful as we'd hoped. We enjoyed exploring around the station area however where we discovered China town and our favourite place- an arcade! Overall it was a pretty uneventful day apart from discovering that although on the listing of our Air B&B it states we have a washer dryer we have discovered it doesn't dry so our room is currently like a laundry shop. Thank goodness we brought our own washing line with us!Okumaya devam et
Train rides and treat night
7 Nisan 2017, Japonya ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
It was time for us to pack our bags and head off to another city once again. This time our destination was Osaka. We'd booked an Air B&B room for this trip but unfortunately we were unable to check in until 3. Having checked out at 11 from our hostel and knowing it would take an hour to get to the new place we had some time to kill. We headed to the station and visited our favourite coffee shop, Starbucks. Having spent quite a lot of the morning there we then had a pretty satisfying noodle dish lunch to share before beginning our journey to Osaka. Nick had discovered that if we walked to another station about 1.5km away we could do the journey much cheaper and end up at the station right by where we are staying. 1.5km walk with a very heavy bag is quite tough though! Mine is proving to not be that comfy and I'm so close to just giving up and buying a suitcase but I'm trying to persevere! We even saw our first double decker train at the station when we arrived. We made it to Osaka and had a lot of trouble finding the building among a maze of streets that all look the same but eventually we did around 4pm. Upon opening the door to our room we were greeted by what can only be described as a war zone! The room hadn't been cleaned so we were initially wondering what we had signed up to but Nick contacted the guy who told us our room had changed to across the hall. It has all we need really with a mini kitchen, fridge and microwave so at least we can make of our own food to save money. We explored the area and found the local supermarket and decided that tonight we were going to buy a Google Play card to watch movies on our tablet and get snacks and treats. I had the Japanese version of a pasta ready meal and it was great; and only £2.10 to boot. Bargain! We had a pretty relaxed evening of watching Finding Dory and The Jungle Book before an early night ready for our first day tomorrow!Okumaya devam et
Beating the arcade at it's own game
6 Nisan 2017, Japonya ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Today we decided to have a bit of a break from sight-seeing and headed to an arcade instead. Once again we walked there and back. It was only a few blocks before we found ourselves at our first arcade. Here we played a pirate shooting game, where we defended against hordes of skeletons. Awesome game! Then I saw a grab machine with a cute pink bunny rabbit that I had to have. I thought 'why not, let's give it a go' and surprisingly on the third and final play it flipped over the shelf and was all mine. Our second arcade toy win! To savour the victory we broke for some lunch, at a place we ate the other night, and a bit of shopping. We also treated ourselves to a joint ice cream on our day of no sight-seeing. Then we moved on and found another arcade, which was huge, spread over several floors and full of so many different games. We had an explore and on the first floor there was a host of sweet machines. Nick noticed a group of teenage boys excitedly surrounding one of the machines and went to watch; a stack of boxed sweets had fallen and they were filling their pockets. They were so concentrated on their own machines that they hadn't noticed other sweets falling from other ones. When Nick returned later he noticed the sweets were still there. Free sweets! Whoop. We headed up and found our favourite floor, the floor where you play slot machine style games with token coins. We like to walk around and collect any coins we see on the floor, under machines or left on the counter to use. Usually this results in about 3 coins and a couple of 1 yen coins but boy were we in for a treat! We collected so many of these coins it was amazing. The photograph was taken also before we found at least another 15! When you pay 1100 yen for 300 coins (just under £8) we were laughing. We then spent a good half an hour or so playing on a particular slot machine and actually doing rather well. As always the coins run out but it felt great that we got to play the machines for free. We had planned to come back and pack our bags before heading to the castle near back to watch the illumination of cherry blossom tress but unfortunately the rain has stopped us from venturing out again. It's looking like a lazy evening of watching YouTube and chilling out.Okumaya devam et
Unintentionally climbed a mountain!
5 Nisan 2017, Japonya ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
We decided it was about time we visited the number one attraction in Kyoto, Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine. The shrine is situated south-east of the city and would, by far, be our longest walk yet. We set off and quickly got into a good rhythm of walking. After about 30 minutes we stumbled across a grand looking temple with beautifully ornate buildings so decided to deviate from our plan and have a look around. Unfortunately we were unable to go inside any of the buildings but walking around the huge courtyard and admiring the intricate details outside was good enough for us and also meant we didn't go away from the plan for too long. We continued our walk and luckily our map shows us where Starbucks are so our first destination was to head for the closest Starbucks to the shrine to recover, have a tea and eat lunch. After about 2 and a half hours of walking we finally arrived at Starbucks! Sitting down felt amazing and then accompanied by an English breakfast tea was just fantastic. We regrouped and then set off for the Shrine. We couldn't find the entrance but actually entered from a side path, it seemed, and all I can say is wow! We were greated by a continual channel of huge archways in varying shades of red depending on age. It was incredible to see. The columns of each archway were also engraved with black Japanese symbols. We joined what seemed like a busy path and began our walk through the arches which are surrounded by forests. Not long in we saw a sign to a path off the main track so decided to go and explore, we were so glad we did. We found a little shrine but then behind this a path through a bamboo forest and into the wilderness. We decided this was to be our route. We didn't have a map but later saw one on a board that showed this path as a side loop from the map area. This way we stumbled across waterfall shrines, small sacred graveyards and little Japanese houses and farm land. Eventually after an hour or so the path led us upwards and that's when the mountain climb happened! We were about 50 steps up and a guy coming down told us we were nearly there. He lied. We weren't anywhere near but we did it and eventually reached the path of archways again. A few more shrines on and we reached the summit. When in the forest though there is no nice view nor at the summit. Luckily about 10 minutes down the other side, along the arched route, we got to enjoy a beautiful view of the city and felt such a sense of achievement. After meandering back down we began our walk back, where after about an hour and half we went back to our favourite mall to revisit the pet shop and have dinner. Most of the puppies and kittens were still there but a few had gone which was reassuring. We will definitely miss where we have dinner because we order one bowl of curry covered udon noodles and then bulk this out with the free spring onions and crispy batter they provide, and I mean really bulk this out! We decided, after all that food, to get the bus back from the station to our hostel. Given the long trek we endured I think we earned it!Okumaya devam et