Bye Bye South East Asia...

As we sit in the centre of busy bustling Bangkok, it is time to reflect on the end of a most memorable stage of our trip and our lives. SE Asia has been just the most amazing place for us. There has not been a place or experience that I can say we have not enjoyed and there have been many places which have just won a place in our affections. We have been going for 3 months here and it has felt like a lifetime in so many ways. Vietnam was fun and a real mix of interesting experiences we met lots of great friends there and hope that we keep the friendships going!

Saigon was one of the blackest days of my life...

Cambodia was a challenge to us both. It challenged what we think about humanity and really shocked us to the core. I would say it was one of the personally most important places I have been to and probably will visit on this trip.

Laos was a gem, a country where we only visited 3 places but totally fell in love with them.

Thailand was fun fun fun. We have now been to Bangkok 3 times and each time I have enjoyed it more. I love the big city feel, the aspirations of the people, and the grittiness of the residents. The papaya salad and Pad Thai is awesome too!!!!!

Before we arrived in SE Asia I was worried that it was going to be overrun by gap year 18year olds, complete with standard issue backpacks and Beerlao t-shirts. Sure it was exactly like that in parts, but that was part of the fun. However I could also see that I am 31 yrs old now and feel that I want something different from the travelling experience. SE Asia has it all – the fun, the culture, the history, the classy stuff, the vista and most importantly the more amazing people you could ever meet. We only travelled to the mainland SE Asian countries and now want to visit further in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines – there is so much more to do!

More generally I feel that we have really hit our stride now on this trip. We have been going for over 6 months, and on our current plane we have just about exactly 1 year left. Over the last few days I have been feeling that we are in the real enjoyable part of the trip, in terms of timing. We are well experienced and well versed I the ways of the backpacker, but we are still not jaded or feel so over confident that we lose sight of the amazing things that we are seeing each day.

Having a year left to go is a great feeling, because right now it just doesn’t seem that this trip will ever end! There is so much we have done and seen, but yet there are bundles of things still to come! Once again I am humbled and proud at the same time that we are able to do this trip.

The tale of the boomerang shoes

One of the big things to do while in Luang Prabang is to go trekking. The hills, rivers and villages that totally surround the town are just beautiful and make for some really rewarding walking. We booked ourselves on to a 3 day trek that took us high into the hills and to some hill tribe villages. For most of the first day all was great. We had a great group of fellow trekkers and the weather was perfect. The route took us through a number of small rivers and streams that just meant that you had to get you feet dirty!! No problem for me, I had my super duper trekking boots that I was ever so proud of (you can see where this is going right?!!)

After a tough first days trek, we arrived at the village where we were to do a home stay. I couldn’t wait to get my shoes off and let my feet dry out, so off they came and I put them to one side next to the hut. It’s safe to say that the next morning when we were to get moving for day 2, the wet socks were still there, but no shoes!

Our guide did a whole search of the village and got the village leader to set up a meeting of all the men in the village. They seemed to think they might have known what happened, but the chief suspect was from another village some way away, and therefore they could follow up the lead there and then. We even discussed a potential bounty for the returned shoes of 200,000kip. This sounds pretty spectacular but was £15!

We needed to move on, so I ended up doing the whole of the second day in Flip Flops, which actually where not too bad. However each step I was thinking of my boots and how someone was striding around in them right at that moment, I was really not happy.

Anyway, to move the story on, while spending days trying to explain to the tour company about needing a report for the insurance claim, we heard the village had chased (literally I guess) the lead they had and one night the boots mysteriously reappeared at the village. They were in perfect condition and had even by dried out!!

I did have to pay the ransom money, but to be honest I was over the moon that they were back. It just shows that we were so right to spend more days in Luang Prabang; otherwise if we had left we would have missed them.

So thankfully new boots are off my shopping list! And despite being £15 lighter, I have my chunky shoes nestled at the bottom of my bag again...

Anand Birthday blog

Lucky for me my birthday landed in the middle of when we were in Luang Prabang, so we were able to celebrate with a really special day. Urvi once again worked wonders and we spent half a day elephant trekking. This was the first time I had ever been this close to an elephant and I tell you, it is the most amazing experience! Despite being so large that they could swish even me with their little toe they are soo nimble and delicate. The terrain was not hilly or anything but still there were some parts where if I was walking I would take extra care, and the elephants were getting through it as if there were steps, it was a sight to behold.



When you take an elephant trek, there is a real silence that is more than any other trek I have been on; with horses the clop clop of the hooves is noticeable, with elephants all you hear is the swishing of branches as this amazing animal sets through the jungle. It was a most wonderful birthday experience.



On saying good bye to the elephants we headed back to town and had a lovely sandwich lunch with awesome coffee in Joma. Joma is a great bistro coffee shop in Luang Prabang and was our haven where we would retreat from the sun, the rain or a place just to read the paper and play cards!



I then continued my wonder day with a 3 hour session of Lao massage. Now I am not really one to go for these kinds of things but trust me, even I was convinced by the end of it. It is soooo relaxing and pretty good for you. The Laos massage is similar to the more famous Thai massage. It is really nice and I came away from the afternoons inactivity totally chilled out and relaxed.



The day’s theme seemed to be Elephants, as we then rounded the day of with dinner in one of Luang Prabang's most upmarket eateries - L’Elephant. It was a really special meal, and the service was outstanding. Despite most of the servers and waiters being school/college age, they were really very professional and a credit to the restaurant. It was like being in a Michelin starred restaurant in Laos!!!



31 years old, so many things to think about and improve on, but a perfect day to forget everything and enjoy, and look forward to celebrating 32!

Luang Prabang – lose yourself in noodle soup or coffee

We are now in the northern half of Laos and the jewel of South East Asia for me – Luang Prabang. I kind of think of it as a mix between Hoi An and Don Det. It is so cultured and beautiful that it makes you feel like you have gone back in time to a small French colonial getaway – just like Hoi An. On the other hand it is sleepy and welcoming and takes you slowly by the hand just like Don Det. In truth Luang Prabang is unique and not like anywhere else.



If you arrive by bus here, it is a windy adventure through the mountains that leads to this misty lost outpost. Once you are here, you can’t feel alone, there are so many travellers and also main stream tourists that there is always someone to talk to and share travelling stories with. Although there are none of the big 5 star hotel here yet (thank goodness), there are plenty of boutique hotels to cater for the sneaker wearing high spending American Chinos. Thankfully there are also many wonderful small guesthouses that cost no more that $5 per night for a room. There are plenty of things to do around the town also (trekking, kayaking, caving elephant tours etc), but when you walk around it, and lose count of the days you have been here, you know that Luang Prabang has got you.



It is times and places like these that I truly feel the freedom of a trip like ours. No 3 week deadline and no need to get back to work. We can sit back and sip coffee all day until the sun disappears, and then do it all again tomorrow! That pretty much what we did some days and totally loved it.



Luang Prabang is a world heritage city, and totally justifiably. Once again, it’s the people that make it even more special. Each night the main road, that runs through the heart of the main town is overtaken by the most wonderful night market. Sure there are lots of tourist souvenirs to be had, but there was none of the strong arm tactics of the Chinese or Vietnamese sellers. The ladies were so nice, and the young girls who were learning the trade were so adorable. You can tell that people in this market were not selling for grim survival. Sure people were not rich, but this was their trade and not a last ditch attempt at staying afloat. For me this was much more relaxed and made for a far nicer window shopping experience. We walked round there so many times, it was a bit of a routine, and made for a lovely end to a busy day of doing not very much!!



During one of our walks around the town we came across this amazing charitable programme called @ my library. Set up by an American who came to visit and stayed for 8 years(!) the library was set up to help young adults learn and improve their English. They loan out books, have computers and a host of learning aids and games to help the guys and gals out. They also have cameras and printing facilities, and support kids to learn photography.



I was really impressed with some of the work they had displayed - it was amazing. It showed me that photography is not just about big lens and expensive kit. It is fundamentally an art of using your eyes and mind to capture what you see around you. I was so motivated by the place and the work of the kids that I volunteered to take some guys out and help them with their photography. I did this for a day and it was the most nerve racking thing I have ever done. Don’t really know why, but I guess I was teaching someone something that I am still learning. I had to condense my thinking on photography into something that would be useful for the guys and I wanted it to be fun. This was all in one session and when we had never met each other before. The guys i went out with were great, one – Sek, did not know English at all, but was so keen and interested to take pictures, it was a real inspiration to me. It was a great day, and I think I probably learnt more from it than they did!! I hope that we can do some more ‘work’ like this through the trip. I want to contribute to others lives not just enjoy what their country has to offer me, let’s see how that goes...

Luang Prabang has been an experience for me in so many ways. Both Urvi and I have had time to slow down, and really talk and think about many things. Also purely from a travelling perspective, I have enjoyed being in now place for some time. Somewhere new and unfamiliar that we could make our own and make familiar for US. So much so that we had our own range of local eats that we would visit and Urvi’s favourite was thee noodle soup lady – we ate at the same noodle soup stall so many times, that she knew our veggie order, and even before we made it to the stand she would be starting to make it. It was a really warming feeling...

All the guidebooks say that Luang Prabang will hold you and not let you go. I totally see that. We loved it and would love to spend more and more time here. However as will all good things they must come to an end, and India is calling......!

150 Not Out

Hi All!!

We made 150 days, seems like only yesterday when we left, but trust me SOOOOO much has changed in us, its a new lifetime....

loved it all, wouldnt change anything.

SE Asian food - thank you France!!

We have been travelling in SE Asia for around 3 months now and to be honest the food has been no problem. This I put down to Urvi’s originality in finding places – like the veggie Thai restaurant in Bangkok which was truly awesome or the Tofu hotpot in Hoi An – so cheap but soooo good! However it’s also down to the origins of a lot of the food here being French influenced. The countries of SE Asia were ruled over by the French and they have left a legacy of their food. This is noticeable in Laos even more than in other places. The food here is awesome! You get amazing noodle soups and rice and veggies, but the coffee, bread, pastry shops, shakes and other treats just adds to the wonderment.

If I compare to India, the British left us an amazing railway system, the rule of law, education and a whole bunch more, but they didn’t leave any food behind!! When you travel through India I would say there is no evidence of colonisation, however in SE there sure is. The hot favourite places for food have to be the French cafes of Hoi An, the pancakes in Thailand and the coffee in Vietnam and Laos. Also top of my list would be the sticky rice of Laos not really a French invention, but the sticky rice here is a wonder and makes eating your lunch so much fun!!!

4000 Islands - wonderful time in Paradise

From Angkor and Cambodia we moved on into Laos, the last of the 4 countries we planned to visit in SE Asia. This journey took 3 days and saw us take a bus from Siem Reap back to Phnom Penh. From there we took another bus to Stung Treng in east Cambodia. We stayed overnight there and then moved on by minibus to Laos and the aptly named 4000 islands. Apt because during the dry season, when the water level drops there are thousands (4000 I guess!) small and large islands that emerge from the Mekong. Most of them are small sand banks that are barley large enough to set up a tent. But the main islands are permanent settlements to the most chilled out and welcoming people I have ever met.



We stayed on the small island of Don Det. Not much more than a 1km in length Don Det houses a community of farmer/fishermen. Each has also built up a small number of really really basic bungalows that perch over the Mekong River and give you the best place to kick back and swing in your hammock all day. There is hardly anything to do and it is just bliss to lose yourself in a book or in a discussion about the meaning of life or such like!



I must say that for us we could not stay for more than 5 days, and we were getting a bit stir crazy after that. But this says more about us than it does about Don Det. Why is it that after 1 or 2 days of doing nothing people need to be distracted in some way? I think this is a major failing of mine – strangely in our normal lives we crave the peace and tranquillity and then when we are presented with it in the heavenly setting of Laos we want distraction and ‘fun’.



The overriding memories of Don Det for me are the sounds. The strange lack of noise and the abundance of sounds. There were no cars so no horns, no planes and no modernity to clutter the atmosphere. All there were were sounds. The deafening croaking of frogs and crickets in the night. The continuous swish of the river past our bungalow, the mooing of the buffalo and the alarm call of the roosters in the morning (although our rooster at the farm seemed to have a sore throat and was a bit lame!) as you walked around all you heard from every corner were people calling out ‘Sabadee!’ this is hello in Laos. It wasn’t quiet at all but somehow the whole thing just fitted together perfectly and nothing was out of place.





A wonderful few days in paradise.

Angkor Wat - Speechless and out of breath

Some of the wonders of the world might leave you with mixed emotions about just how amazing they actually are, but not the temples of Angkor. This complex of over 30 temples, hidden away deep in the Cambodian jungles is so huge and so beautiful that there is something for everyone. Some will be blown away by the physical presence the temples have – Angkor Wat itself is the largest religious building in the world and the whole site of all the temples is larger than Manhattan! Some will be struck by the age of the temples – most are over 1000 years old some over 1200. Other people will be taken by the architectural wonders and magnificence of the construction – arches and curves where you can’t imagine and trees intertwining with the temples forming a most beautiful dance between man and nature - just wondering at how these temples were built blows my mind! But easily the most amazing thing about them for me is the quality and intricacy of the carving. It is spectacular.

I would easily add the Angkor temples as one of my speechless moments on this trip



The temples are Hindu in style and story and were the result of Indian traders spreading knowledge and learning when they arrived in the Khmer worlds nearly 1300 years ago. The king at the time and many after him started building large temple cities to show just how strong his reign was. It worked. These places were mystical and magical, and were in fact lost to the world until early in the 20th century when they were rediscovered. One can now walk amongst the ruins and the well preserved and get a sense of the grandeur of the king’s plans.



We bought a 3 day pass and went in to the site for the 3 full days of walking, cycling and tuk tuking around the temples. It was enough for us to see a wide range of temples, and snap over a 1000 pics - There is a picture around every corner!!! You can also get a 1 day and 7 day pass. I think the 7 day is for the serious photographer or history buff and the 1 day pass is not nearly enough and unless you are on such a tight timescale but then you shouldn’t waste even that 1 day then! The 3 day pass cost us $40 each, and is totally worth it. It is better to break up the temple spotting with days in Siem Reap also. This helps you to not gloss over them. Also definitely buy one of the guide books from the kids at the temples. This will really help in terms of the context history and significance of what you are seeing. We were lucky and we got one in the book swap at the guesthouse we stayed at.



Angkor Wat is on the top of my list of world sites; let’s see what can knock it off! It amazes me how such buildings of this scale were even conceived and then built. Even to carry one stone, or carve 1m worth of wall, was a feat. I can’t imagine just how large a challenge a whole temple would have been. I don’t think anything in the modern world compares to these places.



As I have said there are loads of temples, some hardly recognisable as temples, rather a collection of boulders now. There are others however that just oozed class and intrigue. The pick of the bunch for us were: Bantae Sreah (best carvings), Ta Prohm (most atmospheric and the one with the amazing trees), Bayon (the famous heads of Angkor), Angkor Wat (the leader of the pack, best at sunrise). We probably liked them in that order too.

I feel proud to say that I have seen and touched the temples at Angkor. It is a privilege to have a connection to the past like this. It shows us that humans can do amazing things, as well as the awful.



Cambodia has been tough for us, with the knowledge of the recent suffering of the people. Being in Angkor has freshened my mind and shown me that this great civilisation was so dominant in the past and despite the barbarism of Pol Pot, the beauty and culture of the Khmer shines on.

PS do check out the the 2 compilations of pocs from Angkor on the pictures pages. we are pretty proud of them and hope you like them too. This was the first time Urvi wnet mad on taking photos!!!

Phnom Penh Cambodia - The best and the worst of Humankind

Cambodia is complete assault on the senses and has shown us the best and the worst of what humans can do. It is a pretty poor country and because of that the infrastructure and other signs of ‘development’ are sparse, however you soon become engrossed by the warmth and smiles of the people. I have to say that if Thailand was a great chill out, and Vietnam felt like proper ‘travelling’ Cambodia has woken me up about people, humanity and generally what is important in life.



Our route into Cambodia took us from Chau Doc, a small town right on the Vietnam/Cambodia border. We could have taken a bus or even flown into Cambodia, but instead we took the slow boat up the Mekong and through to Phnom Penh. The journey took a total of 8 hours and involved a visa stop and border crossing. Although the river didn’t change, the atmosphere was tangibly different the moment we crossed the border. It is a wonderful trip that if you get the chance you must do. sitting on my little deck chair on the boat as it put put putted up the river was so nice, on the banks you pass endless floating houses and villages, people living their lives and so cut off from the towns that the river is the only thing that matters to them.



The border crossing itself was a breeze, especially when I recall Mongolia, China and even the trip into Hong Kong from the mainland. The boat driver took our passports and $22 each, oh and a couple of the passport photos that we had helpfully gotten done before we left on the trip! Another couple were struggling as they had no pics, or dollars – made me feel bit smug!! So after a combined passport control and lunch break, we were in Cambodia, and from that moment I really warmed to the place. All the kids would run to wave to us from the banks and there was clear sense of friendliness.







Phnom Penh was a funny experience. There are pockets of the city that you feel like you are in the nicest parts of a big Indian city. The riverfront is full of nice coffee shops and there are Mercs and shiny range rover sports whizzing about. However I soon got the sense that this is a city in transition, being the capital there is some money here, hence the glossy facade in places, but Phnom Penh still felt like a small – big town. Anyway, the outstanding thing about this a place is its rebirth. Just 30 years ago the whole of the city was torn apart by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge fanatics (more below), the city was seen as the home of evil westernised corrupt people, and as such everyone was driven out and the place left to ruin. Pol pot believed in the ruralisation of the country. With that in mind I think it is amazing to walk the streets, where such terror reigned so recently. I felt pretty humbled and to some extent, it increased my respect for the place. Sure it’s rough around the edges, but then if you are beaten up to an inch of your life bruises show for a while. Again like most of south East Asia, there were so many young people everywhere. Maybe this will be the strength of the region in the next years, the population long hungry to push forward in their way, I didn’t feel that the Indochina region were as totally driven by a western/US vision of the world – there are NO McDonalds or Starbucks here and it feels like years since we have had a Frappucino or McFlurry!!!! Good thing, that.

So some of the best of people was the friendliness of people here, the smiles of the kids and the continual and very good English that they would be keen to practice with you. I think by far the most horrific things I have seen in my life were also here, in the killing fields and the s21 prison. To understand these place a little history is needed:

1970s Cambodia is fighting with Vietnam and generally the area is pretty unstable, the US is in the middle of another disastrous bit of meddling in the Vietnam War, and they are also bombing parts of Cambodia. General things are not good

1975 Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge basically take over Cambodia, in something of a coup, in which they enforce a comprehensive and ultimately barbaric regime based on a doctrine of ruralisation and with the intention of demolishing all class structures, all ‘western’ hues, and anything that differentiates one person from another. This meant one type of clothing, one hairstyle, one message, no culture, no religion, single tracked education, and definitely no class distinction. Pol Pots aim was to return Cambodia to the greatness of the Khmer past and the Angkor culture.

Unfortunately he and his henchmen were totally ruthless and barbaric. Everyone was sent to the countryside, with the sole aim of rice production, and to live the village life. Conditions were harsh, and in order to achieve the goal of increasing the annual rice crop 4 fold, everyone was set to work like slaves, 18hours a day, little food and no healthcare or adequate housing everyone became a slave in their own country. Anyone who didn’t confirm was killed, and over 4 years from 1975 – 1979 2 million totally innocent people were killed. If you were too pale, you were accused of being Chinese – you died. If you were a doctor, you were too educated – you died, if you lived in a city, you moved to the country and if you could not work – you died.



If this was not bad enough, Pol Pots insane paranoia led him to decree that anyone who could harbour any thought of revenge against ‘Angkor’ and the regime must die also, so the WHOLE family were killed. This was genocide at its most horrific.



People were shot, battered with stones, poles stick, axes anything that could be found. The killing fields that covered the whole of the country flowed red with blood for 4 years. 2 million people – 1 in 5 of the population, man, woman, child, grandparent. It did not matter. How can anyone cultivate such thoughts in there might and how can they order the extermination of such numbers – everyone totally innocent of any crime. Unbelievable.



Just reading about it was numbing enough, but to visit the killing fields outside of Phnom Penh and the S21 prison in the city, just left us totally struck by it all. S21 used to be a school in Phnom Penh before it was taken over by the KR and turned into the largest prison in the country. Rooms for learning were turned into torture and death cells. Thousands of political and other prisoners were brought there, tortured and interrogated and ultimately killed. The prison is now a museum, but has been left very much untouched. This adds to the horror, as you walk over the beautiful floor tiles, thinking of the horrors that took place. The cells that were made in the classrooms are as they were, again walking through sent a chill through us. Everyone who visited came in smiling and talking, and left totally silent and unable to comprehend what they had seen.



We also visited the killing fields or Chueng Ek. About 15 kms out of Phnom Penh, this was the killing camp that people were sent to die from Phnom Penh. 84 of over 140 graves were opened when Cambodia was liberated. Thousands of bodies were found, in shallow graves, and a memorial has been erected, that contains the skulls of some of the dead. This stands in remembrance to the fallen. At its peak over 200 people were killed each DAY at this place.

You walk around and you can’t really say anything, for one moment the place looks like a tranquil field, but just one moments thought of what had gone on turns the place into hell. You still see torn clothing trodden into the ground, teeth poking out of the soil. It’s too much...

Even more profound for me, is the fact that this is RECENT history. 30 years ago, there were pictures of the ‘prisoners’ dated Oct 1978. That hit me pretty hard. You can forget things if they happened 800 years ago, but when you are being born in one country and a few thousand miles down the road a country is being wiped out, at the same time, something hits you. As we walked around Cambodia I felt that there were so many people, probably everyone in the country today would have been affected by this. Many would have been there, and they live such fruitful lives now. I am blown away by that, it makes me feel totally inadequate and fairly meaningless. To have you heart torn out and then to live again is something.

I think in visiting Cambodia we have seen where hell on earth was. The only thing that makes Cambodia survivable is the people, who save you from everything. They show me what humanity should be about, and despite the relative poverty, people feel rich in their history, community and faith.

In the same week we saw hell, we also saw heaven, in the form of the Angkor Temples. Of a different time, the temples of Angkor show just how strong the Khmer culture was and powerful they were in the region 1000 years ago.

Phu Quoc Island – going back in time.

As a last jaunt to the beach before heading inland and then uultimately to the Himalayas we decided to take a short break on Phu Quoc island, off the south western edgae of Vietnam. Basically this place is in the bay of Thailand, in the same seas as Kho Tau, Kho Samui and Kho Phanang. It is a large island but has a small population, right now the tourist industry is still pretty underdeveloped, but the sealed roads and new ‘jet capable’ airport are on the way at which point things are likely to take off big time.



Visiting Phu Quoc is a bit like going ‘back in traveller time’ as it feels the way thailands islands probably were like 20 years ago. The infrastructure is fairly limited and things are really still very innocent however the islands possesses the key ingredients for a memorable stay – amazing lan beauty, great beaches and a killer sunset. It is really breathtaking to watch the sun dip under the horizon and then set the whole sky alight in a show of colours that you just cant describe and shouldn’t even try!

We are all running out of time before the sights and sounds of our world get taken over, all we can do is see as much as we can now before the time runs out and all the uniqueness disappears from the world.

We were in Phu Quoc for 4 days and the overriding thought that i had as we travelled around and also spent time at the beach, was do the locals know about the tsunami of tourism thats on the way?? This is the first time i have been to a place before it has become developed, and i am glad we came. The lack of coffee shops, and pizza was really refreshing, all you got was fresh local food that gave you a sense of living like a local. The locals were so warm and friendly always waving and smiling at us, it was so nice. What will Phu Quoc be like in 10 or 20 years time, when our kids go on their world travels will they be overwhelmed by resorts and scuba diving joints everywhere? I amm sure the travellers to thailands islands felt the same way! Our kids will have to find their own piece of yet to be discovered paradise.