Morgan Dundee

Hello there,

Having a good time in Australia. Nothing that much in these reports as all I seem to do is travel, have a look around the place. Go swim in the sea, and maybe have a night out. But there have been some good bits in between!!

Here we go:


Day 86

I checked out of my hotel room early to get to the Airport in plenty of time, because you can never be to sure about the traffic in Bangkok!! Got to the Airport, hung around, and bought a KFC with my last bit of Thai Baht.

Eventually I got on to the plane. I had a two legged flight to Sydney, Bangkok to Singapore then Singapore to Sydney. One the plane to Singapore I only had a chance to watch one of the shorter films, so I watched "Birth". Interesting film, a bit like a Stanley Kubrick film.

Anyway, got off in Singapore and read my Australian Lonely planet while waiting for 2 hours to get the connecting flight. Just hoping that my bag will make it on to this flight. Anyway, on my Flight to Sydney, there were a bunch of big bastard rugby players speaking some kind of Gibberish language. Not sure of their nationality, they had orange shirts on though. Anyway. The flight went well. Had a splendid meal for an airline flight, lamb in a rosemary jus with minted couscous. Washed that down with some red wine (I got asked for ID, for gods sake I'm 25 now!!) and settled to watch a few movies and hopefully get some sleep. There was an English family sitting behind me, whose children couldn't sit still, be silent or stop being sick. Bloody annoying south-east accents on them to, probably from Essex!! Anyway, I couldn't get to sleep the whole flight for some reason; I'm normally pretty good with things like that. But never mind. We landed safely in Sydney at 5:30 am

Day 87

Once in Sydney airport I had to get through all the passport rubbish. I was a little worried about how it would work considering I got the travel agency to sort out my visa. I hoped they had, and as it turns out, they had and I went through without any hassle!! My bag took ages to come through, they had sniffer dogs come through loads!! Then I had to declare the food in my bag to Quarantine. I went in, I got asked what I had in the bag, and I said "Just a jar of Marmite". The guy laughed and told me to go straight through. I went outside and got a bus to the central train station as I planned to go straight to Newcastle. I am going to do Sydney on my way back!! Anyway, got the train, feeling very tired, I planned to have some sleep. Then a young mother comes and sits near me with her child who continually drops his toys on to me while I was trying to sleep. Being a nice guy, I didn't blow my top. Got to Newcastle after about three hours. Now around 1pm. Still had no sleep. I went and got a hostel, which was quite nice. I shared the Dorm with two English guys who were very pleasant. I dumped my bag and planned on having a nap. I still couldn't sleep!! Got up, had a shower and me and the English Guys went down to the shop and got some beer. We then drank some on the balcony before heading downstairs for all you can eat pizza. We then went in to town as it was "Student night". We saw some local girls doing their thing on a catwalk for Aussie FHM, it was quite funny. Got in at 4:30am, had a bit of sleep, but I had to get up by 8:30am the next day to go wine tasting!!

Day 88

Woke up feeling fine, glad I didn't drink much the night before. Went downstairs to get picked up to go wine tasting in the Hunter Valley. I booked this the previous day, thinking it would be a good idea as I'm not much of a beach person!! I have to say, I had a wonderful time. We went (there was only 2 of us on the minibus) to some small vineyards which had 5 or six wines to try and some bigger ones which had 40 or more. I could have been there for a week trying out all the various wines. It was class. Some Merlot, Pinot Noir, Semillon, Chardonnay, Port, Desert wines, Schnapps, you name it, I drank it. We left there and got on the bus to go back to the hostel. Me and the other bloke from the bus (David, late 30's) were both leaving tomorrow, so we decided to go together. We got on well, so what the hell. We had a few beers in the night, but David's a bit of a lightweight, so it was an early night!!

Day 89

We had a while till the Bus arrives in the afternoon, so I had a walk around the town. Had people commenting (some nice, some nasty) about a t-shirt I bought in Thailand which is a little offensive!! Anyway, got the bus to Port Macquarie just up the coast. We got there in the night, dropped our bags off and went to have a look for a boozer. We went in totally the wrong direction, and it pissed down. We got soaked through, good fun though!! We were sharing a dorm with this crazy Aussie who kept on coughing and spluttering throughout the night.

Day 90

Had my first proper shower in days, typical. Went to the beach, caught a few waves, cut my legs on the rocks. Had a good laugh. There was this woman on the beach who was stunning, huge pair of boobs on her, which were a talking point for me and David, as to whether they were false or not!! Anyway, enough about that. We had a walk around, then went back to the hostel and booked a bus and accommodation for tomorrow in Coffs Harbour. We then went in to town to see what the night life was like. I feel sorry for some of the people in these towns, no wonder they’ll travel a couple of 100 k's to go for a good night out!! The nightclub reminded me of Barons in Swansea, a mix of old and young skanks and men with pube beards or balding heads!!. Again, we had a good laugh and I made it in at 4:30am!!

Day 91

Woke up with a stinking hangover. Check out is at 9:30 or 10am in most of these hostels. Gutted. My stomach was starting to feel dodgy, not used to this new cuisine after south East Asia. Wasted time until the bus came. The bus stopped just outside our destination and I stupidly started a chat with a guy on the bus. He started giving me his life story, the poor bastard. It appeared that he and his girlfriend had run away because she was pregnant, and she had a miscarriage. They had been mugged, had their car stolen, can't get casual employment, it was all a little heavy for me at that point in time. Said my bit, then back to the bus!! At our destination, we got picked up, shown around, had dinner then had a much needed early night.

Day 92

David and I relaxed in the morning planning what we were going to do next. In the afternoon we went canoeing in the creek just across the road from the hostel. Saw some of the wildlife, just birds, no crocs. WE then decided to join pretty much the rest of the hostel for the pub quiz at a boozer down the road. It did 15oz steak with beer for about 4 quid. Bargain!! Made myself popular in the pub quiz by giving some wrong answers, woo hoo. Changed teams and started helping these two pretty Canadian girls (one whose mother was from Swansea). Helped them quite a bit, they were very thankful of my wealth of pointless knowledge!! Anyway, after all that, we all walked back in a jovial mood!!

Day 93

Went to see some gorgeous beaches in the morning then it was time to leave Coffs Harbour and head for Byron Bay. The only hostel we seemed to be able to get was the Arts Factory. We got picked up and taken there. This was no normal hostel. It had this whole hippy vibe. You had hippy tents to stay in, dorm rooms, it had its own cinema, restaurant and Buddha Bar. It was a cool hostel. They had a talent contest when we were there. Let me tell you, there wasn't much talent on show, one both ways!!

Day 94

This was a waste day. There were storms throughout the day. David and I met up around 3'ish. He had started calling me LB (lucky bastard) a couple of days ago and this confirmed it. I missed all the showers and was under cover for them all. He got pissed on throughout the day whenever he ventured out. Ha ha!! Anyway, to wash away the misery of the weather, we went to the Buddha bar, had a few jars then headed in to town. We then made our way back to the hostel and I stayed up till the early hours talking to a young German girl. I think I may have mentioned the war!! Shocking, I apologised, she thought it was funny!!

Day 95

Woke up with a little hangover, went and met David up at a place to watch the Chelsea Arsenal game. We then got the bus to Brisbane in the afternoon. We decided to stay in the Lonely Planets "Editors Choice" in single rooms (we were getting down on the account of the weirdo's that we kept being in a room with). I tell you what, what a crap hotel. All the stuff lonely planet said was wrong. Anyway, it was time for food. David had Pizza Hut delivered and I had organised for a curry. Mine didn't come at all and I ended up having a microwaved chicken burger. Gutted.

Day 96

Again the weather was out to stop us from doing anything. Had breakfast and looked in to what to do next. In the evening we went to the city centre for dinner and David took me to a Casino for the first time in my life!! I didn't bet anything, but it took him about 3 minutes to lose his $50. We left there and we went somewhere to watch the rugby league on TV that was being played in Brisbane (we tried to get tickets). Australia strolled to victory!! Had a taxi back to the hotel with a kid from Nigeria, who was having his first night on the job. Shocking, he didn’t have a clue!! Nice kid though, I helped as David bitched. Typical bloody English eh!

Day 97

This is where David and I went separate ways. I got my bus to Hervey Bay. The bus was 1 hour late, then broke down along the way. I had organised a B&B highly recommended to stay in Hervey bay. The owners came to pick me up, they were an old retired couple. They were excellent, and the place was very nice. I basically had run of the mill there, they booked me on to a 1 day tour of Fraser Island for the following day as well. Excellent. Watched a bit of TV and then went to bed!!

Day 98

Early start, had a healthy breakfast. Had made a decision that maybe the gut wasn't feeling to good because of the shit I was eating. So it was Fruit with yoghurt and some granary bread toast, with black coffee and orange juice. The lady from the B&B kept on asking if I wanted some bacon and eggs, to which I said no thanks. She was very eager!! Anyway, got picked up at 8am for the tour of Fraser Island. The Tour consisted of a short walk in the rainforest, the beaches, a lake 150m above sea level, boat wreck, buffet lunch, seeing the different colour sands and some other stuff. It was quite an intensive day. I was shattered at the start and at the finish. On the trip though, I met a young doctor (female) called Jamie from Wales. We got talking and she asked me if I wanted a lift the following day towards Airlie Beach. Why not. There we go!!

Day 99

After another Hearty and Healthy breakfast I was picked up by Jamie and her friend Chris. I promptly let them do all the driving while I slept or passed general comment in the back. It was Anzac day, so when we stopped in Rockhampton for lunch, most places were shut!! We eventually got to Airlie Beach, which is where we were going to hit the Whitsunday’s. We stayed at Magnums Youth Hostel. It was a little full on and seemed to cover half the area with its own nightclub, bar, pizzeria etc.. Anyway, we dropped out bags off and went out for food. I got ID'd for about the 14th time by a gentlemen who said I'll age well. Jamie was gutted as she didn't get ID'd, it's strange, is it a complement or an insult. We stayed out for a few drinks before hitting Magnums nightclub where they had a foam party (they had jelly wrestling on the day I left). I managed to get a cut on my arm somehow, but we all had a good laugh.

Day 100

Chris went off in a huff from Jamie for some reason so she spent most of her day with me. We kind of just relaxed talked and had a walk around. We booked up a tour of the Whitsunday’s the following day and had an early night.

Day 101

Early start, weather wasn't looking too good. The trip was superb, we missed all the bad weather and I managed to get a very red face. First stop was one of the most gorgeous beaches (probably the best on this trip so far) I've ever been to. Stunning pure white sands, crystal clear water. After a few hours there we went back to the boat for a spot of lunch (I'm starting to eat salad, only if I must) and then headed off to go where we would do some snorkelling. It took a while to get there, but man it was worth it!! It was stunning, I couldn't sleep that night, when I closed my eyes all I saw was tropical fish and coral. The fish were gorgeous, and I wish I had a camera with me for this bit, I swam alongside a couple of Turtles. It was AWESOME. Definitely given me the taste to do a diving course up in Cairns. One thing I have to say though, it was stinger (jellyfish) season, so we had to wear "Stinger suits". It was quite funny, I looked like a super hero who had fallen on bad times!! Anyway, there was this German girl on the boat what had obviously been taking the Paris Hilton fashion thing a little too far. Her boyfriend with the mullet seemed happy enough.

Day 102

Got my Bus to Cairns, a long bus ride. Bus arrives at 10 to one in the morning. Couldn't sleep on the bus. Had to make way to hostel. Got in and I still couldn't sleep, but eventually nodded off.

Day 103

Went to my apartment that I have rented for the next week while I do my diving course. It's more expensive than a hostel, but I'll save money by eating in. So after arriving there, I went to the shops and stocked myself up for the next few days. After that, it was time to chill with a nice bottle of Aussie wine.

Day 104

Today. Going to book my diving course, this is after all, the only reason why I came up here!!

Thai me up, Thai me down

Hello, Well after all this time here comes the biggest update I have done yet. I think it's something like 40 days or so. Most of which I will break down to just the interesting parts. Here we go.

Day 45 - Day 48

Basically I just wasted my time on Ko Samui. I just read books, had some nice food and chilled. A nice relaxing time. On one of the days was a tropical storm that basically took out all the electricity in the area. That was quite interesting; the whole place had about 2 inches of rainwater on the ground.

Day 49

I checked out of my resort and made my way to the airport to get my flight to Bangkok. It was the most bizarre airport I've ever seen. Three huts; one for arrivals, one for departures and one for check in. It was quite effective and surprisingly well run, however my plane did get delayed by about 25 minutes. The flight went ok and I made my way to the hotel. Once in the hotel I went for a swim and then went for some food in the "cabbages and condoms" restaurant. It's a restaurant that promotes sex education and also gives money to local aids organizations. So, if that isn't a good reason to eat there, then I don't know what is.

Day 50

After breakfast I made my way to the grand palace and golden mount via the Bangkok sky train and a Tom-tom. The golden mount was pretty much what it sounds like. It was a golden stupor atop a mount. The grand palace was actually a quite tackily decorated affair. Lots of shiny gold’s, greens, blues etc. One highlight of the grand palace for me was that I saw a shotgun that had four barrels that was really bizarre. After touring the palace, I made my way down to the river to get a little boat trip (about an hour) around the canals of Bangkok. I saw extremes in wealth along the ride. Brand-new houses, with plush gardens, pool etc; and on the other side a houses that looked like the were going to collapse at any moment. The people all seemed quite happy though, waving and calling out. It made for an interesting trip with little boats along the route with people trying to sell you souvenirs and cold drinks.

Day 51

Today was time for me to organize what I was going to be doing over the next few days. I got myself on 2 tours that would take up tomorrow and the day after that were ideal. I needed to get some washing done, did that, and went for a swim. Had an early night, I had to be up by 5:30am ready for the pick-up for the first tour.

Day 52 - My Birthday

Got the alarm call at 5:30 am, felt shattered. Usually on my birthday, it would be a lye-in followed by some heavy drinking all day. This time, however, it was time to do something constructive. The first tour was to the river Kwai and a trip along the Death Valley railway. First stop on the tour was the Death Valley railway museum. This was a somber affair, with pictures, newspaper articles, and paintings of how the Japanese treated the prisoners during the creation of the railway. It was horrific, but a real tale about human spirit. After that, we went to the memorial park where lots of the men were buried. It was shocking to see the ages of all these men, it probably averaged at around 24 (my age, or the age I was yesterday). Many were younger and only a few considerably older (oldest was 44 that I could find). I couldn't believe how tourists quite openly take photographs of this stuff, I find it kind of creepy. Anyway, then it was on to the bridge over the river Kwai. We could walk across it, take a few pictures and walk back in time to catch the train to the Death Valley Bridge. Once on the train we had some spectacular views of the area, and the Death Valley bridge was spectacular and well worth the visit. There was a late lunch that was all you can eat, so I stuffed my face and fell asleep on the 4-hour trip back to Bangkok. Early night, another early start tomorrow.

Day 53

Today's tour was to take in 2 supposed highlights of Bangkok’s surrounding area, the Rose Garden and the floating market. To tell you the truth, neither of these, I would say, warrant a visit. The floating market, is not a fully functioning market anymore, and is just there for tourists. The rose garden was ok, but not really worth the cash. I did get to ride an elephant there so, not all bad. We did however go to a traditional Thai handicrafts center that had some very elaborate woodcarvings.

Day 54

Today, I decided to have a good long sleep. By the time I woke up, it was past midday. I went for a swim and relaxed on the terrace around the pool for a few hours. Then I got fed and made my way to Pat-Pong night market. What a sordid place, people coming up to you showing you what these women in the clubs will do with ping pong balls, razor blades, darts etc.. That was not for me, so to radio city where I had a good laugh watching the Elvis, Tom Jones and Bee-Gees impersonators. I met the band when I went to the toilet and had a little chat with them. It was quite a funny conversation: "How's it feeling out there man?" asked the 50-odd year old bassist mopping his brow, to which I replied "Alright".

Day 55

Chilled most of the morning due to the late night. Did manage to do something constructive in the afternoon. I went to Jim Thompson’s house, which was gorgeous. Jim Thompson was the guy who introduced to designers in the west hand-woven Thai silk, the kind of which gained popularity due to the film "the King and I". I kid you not, this was one delicious house. Only needed two things, a fridge for beer and chuck the big Buddha out and replace it with a plasma TV, that would be sweet!! After that, I had some food in a place called the pizza company. The waitresses there looked like hookers. They were wearing knee high, red stiletto boots. Dear me. After that, it was time to watch some kick ass Thai boxing. It was pretty quiet by all accounts at the arena. I read that the best fights normally take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and today was Saturday. Never mind, I had a splendid time. The main fight lasted about one and a half minutes. He gave this poor bastard a hiding. They also did a demo of what the original Thai boxing was like, this was awesome. Double fisted punch to the throat, spin kick off the ropes. Quality!!

Day 56

Today was a lazy day, had a look around some shops and went to the weekend market.

Day 57

Today I went to the Laos embassy in Bangkok to sort out my visa. As it turned out I didn't need to get one in advance, but never mind. This took up most of the day. In the evening I sent back some Thai-boxing gloves I bought for my nephew's birthday and a fan for my niece. Then did a little Internet.

Day 58

It was now time to get out of Bangkok. Made my way to the bus station and jumped on a bus to Ban Phe. I was on my way to another Island retreat, this time Ko Samet. Got a boat over to the Island, and got a bungalow at a resort called Malibu.

Day 59

Rained all fecking day. Highlight of which was me falling on my arse while climbing some rocks. I did however sort out a boat trip around the island that included some snorkeling

Day 60

Today was a beautiful sunny day. It was boiling hot, with not a cloud in the sky. I, of course, managed to get sunburn on my back. Not so bad that a little after sun wouldn't sort out. That night I fell a little ill probably due to swallowing to much seawater.

Day 61

Went on the boat trip around the island. Did some great snorkeling, went to see some turtles and stuff. It was a good day. However, my sunburn had now turned to blisters and I was in a lot of pain. I couldn't go on my back to go to sleep or anything.

Day 62

It was time now to get back to Bangkok ready to meet my tour group for Laos and Cambodia tomorrow. Got boat, got bus and bob's your uncle, back in Bangkok. Got little basic hotel room for the night and watched Wales bring in the grand slam. The emotion of the achievement made my blistered (and on fire) back feel cool, it was the first time we had done this in my lifetime and I was away. Bollocks.

Day 63

I made my way to the hotel to meet the Geckos tour group. The guide had arranged a meeting for 6pm. At the meeting we all started to get to know each other and we had a very mixed bunch. They were as follows:
Sandy - A rather camp middle aged Canadian
Leanne - A Canadian Woman in her thirties
Kristine - A very enthusiastic Canadian woman in her thirties
Jane - An Australian, around thirty
Candace - The most innocent 18 year old I've ever met, and from New Zealand
Sharen and Trevor - Not from up north, but from America and a jolly nice couple to boot.
Jenny and Xavier - One French, the other Swedish (brought up in Germany) but use English to speak to each other.
Nigel - My room mate from England.
Amy - Another Australian in her mid-twenties.
After the meeting we all went to dinner together. After the meal, myself and Nigel decided to go to a bar to watch the merseyside derby. We couldn't find anywhere, so it was 7-11 for some beers and back to the hotel to watch it.

Day 64

We went to Wat Pho, which was probably the only major attraction that I hadn't been to in Bangkok and the tour leader gave us some interesting insights. We then went to the grand palace and a boat ride along the canals. This boat ride was far more pleasant than the one discussed previously. Far more picturesque, with the tour guide giving info on the area. Tonight was the overnight train for chiang mai. Me and the crew of naughty people got some booze and snacks in for the train. I got drunk and fell asleep holding the bottle of cheap Thai Rum.

Day 65

Once we arrived in Chiang Mai we checked in and everyone sorted out what they wanted to do. I decided to go to the Elephant Park with Jayne, Trevor and Sharen. We were escorted by our tour guide's wife called Aow who had a far superior command of English and was jolly pretty too. Anyway, at the elephant park I saw my Camera almost get eaten, watched elephants paint, play football, dance, bathe and many other things. This may sound like exploitation, but it was done in a very caring way. Each graduated trainer gets his own Elephant for young and trains it throughout its life. Once back at the hotel it was time to go to the Thai cookery class that we had arranged that morning. We first went to the market to look and the different varieties of vegetables, herbs etc., and get told how to use them. The it was time to start the cooking. We made spring rolls, chilli+basil chicken, Thai green curry and a Deep fried Banana desert. That night people went to get their first Thai massage while, still with my blistered back beginning to shed skin, I went to get a few munchy snacks.

Day 66

We started early at 6:30 to head for the Laos border. We started off in an air-conditioned bus and then moved to a tiny local bus. At the border, we said our goodbyes to the guides and commenced our short boat ride across the Mekong to the Laos border port town of Huay Xai. This was a lovely little place, with very pleasant people. Our new tour leader (Tui, a bit of a ladies man!!) spoke to us for a little while, then exchanged some money for us (it was monopoly money I tell ya), and we all went for dinner together after watching the sunset. I ate a duck, with some rice, mmmmmmm. The town was having a festival up at its temple so we all went to have a look. It was little like a town fair, games and food stalls and dancing. It was interesting. This is where I got my first photographs of Buddhist monks. In this town I had my first taste of the local brew, a fine ale called BeerLaos, the one and only (in majority of cases) beer available in Laos. And many a happy time I shall have thinking of it.

Day 67

Today was the slow boat down the Mekong from Huay Xai to a tiny village called Pakbeng. The slow boat journey was meant to be about 6 hours but ended up taking almost 8. We saw some amazing scenery and we also got to visit a traditional Laos village. Our guide spoke to some of the locals and some of the women bought some of the hand woven fabrics. It was very interesting. We arrived at Pakbeng about 1 hour before the hordes of other backpackers turned up. We stayed in a guesthouse that was above a restaurant that was made from Bamboo. There was a warning that on the entrance to the rooms that you shouldn't keep food in your rooms because of rats. Everyone took their food out of their bags and took them downstairs for storage. That didn't stop the rats however. While we were at dinner, they shit on some of the peoples beds, bit through this bags in a look for toothpaste or whatever they could smell. It was hilarious, only myself and Amy got away scot-free!! I must admit, I barely had a wink of sleep that night due to the constant movement of the rats. They slammed in to things, I could hear them eating away at Nigel's bag, uhh. Lucky for me, a storm came that helped me go to sleep.

Day 68

It's kind of strange, but yesterday nights hell managed to bring the group closer together. We had a good laugh and joke at breakfast about everything. Today was a fast boat trip down the Mekong. We visited the Pak Ou caves, and the whiskey village. We tasted some of the "whiskey", and it was generally awful. But you could get it with spiders, scorpions, cobra's and other in the bottle with it. Interesting!! We arrived in the backpackers haven of Luang Prabang in the afternoon and went with Tui and the group for a walk around the town.

Day 69

Today was one of those days where everything you do seems to go perfectly. Nigel and I got up early and managed to fit in 5 temples (Wat Phu Si, Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Winsunalat, Wat Ahan and Wat Aphai), the royal Museum (just a big house that the king used to live in. It had some funny gifts from various countries. The pick of which was what looked like an Airfix kit of the moon land ship from the USA), changed money and got laundry done, all before lunch. After lunch we went to the Kuang Si waterfalls. We walked up to the top of this before having a bit of a swim in the ultra refreshing cool waters. On the way back in the Tuk-Tuk it started to rain, Nigel and I decided it was time to try out the Laos massage in the red cross center recommended in Lonely planet. In we went with it pissing down outside, had our 1 hour massage then we went for a steam bath. By the time we got out, it had stopped raining. We dropped our stuff off and went for something to eat. As we sat down, it started to rain again, than after we paid the bill, it stopped raining. One of the group spotted us having dinner and told us the girls had kept a table for us in the pub to watch to footy. These girls were getting trained up pretty quick!! Bye the time we got to the pub they had all left, however, the pub was packed and there was one table left, a prime table. Ahh the sweetness!! Watched the football, talked to a stunning Swedish girl who was with this dickhead who wouldn't even acknowledge her, and went home. On the way home, Nigel took a piss on something religious, it was funny!

Day 70

Today we were getting our flight to Vientiane then taking a 3 hour "chicken bus" ride to Vang Vieng. Due to our late night, Nigel and I had a little lye in. We had a late breakfast, changed some money, went on the internet and went with Trevor for a few beers while sharen had a massage. We all then met up and had lunch. We got to the Airport on time but the flight ended up being delayed by 20 minutes. The flight went ok though, there were a few rough patches. As soon as we got our bags we got straight on the transport and headed for Vang Vieng. Everyone was feeling quite sick on the ride, and because the roads were so bad, there was no way of getting any sleep. We arrived late, and everyone I think went straight to sleep.

Day 71

In the morning we visited the caves that lined the west bank of the Nam Song river. The afternoon was left up to us, with almost everyone going tubing. Basically, tubing is when you sit in a big rubber ring and let the current take you down river. This was fantastic, 3 and a half hours of sitting in a rubber ring with the water cooling you down while people on the side of the river pull you in for a beer Laos stop. Now that's a quality way to spend the afternoon. After that, a few of us watched the sun set over the mountains while having a few more beers. We all then went for food together, and I ate a whole chili that screwed me royally. Anyway, a few of us decided to stay out for a few drinks even though we had a very early start the next day. Myself and Amy were the last ones left, steaming we walked back to the hotel.

Day 72

This morning I felt terrible, the hangover was one of the worst I've ever had. Also, Amy had lost her passport, the first bit of drama on the tour. We got on the big bus and headed for Vientiane. I slept most of the way. As soon as we arrived, Nigel and I went to Buddha Park and the golden temple. We had to do this today, because everyone else was doing it tomorrow while we got our flight to Cambodia. After that, we went for a massage. Feeling relaxed, we then settled at a watering hole with some draught beer Laos and watched about a hundred young ladies do dance aerobics on the side of the beach. We all then met up and had dinner together. This was our last meal together and a rather strange affair. You get used to peoples company and then they just go, it's odd. Anyway, we took some group photo's and then headed back to the hotel. We all arranged to say our final goodbye's in the morning.

Day 73

The few of us that were going to Cambodia said goodbye to those carrying on to Vietnam this morning. Amy and Leanne would catch us up once Amy's passport debacle was sorted. So a hug and a kiss for the ladies and a firm handshake for the gentlemen. We then went for breakfast after which we got picked up to go to the airport. Everything went smoothly and I bought my first and last souvenir for Laos, a Beer Laos T-shirt. Quality. Once we arrived in Phnom Penh airport we got picked up by a representative from or tour group and got taken to the hotel. After dropping our stuff off, we walked to the National Museum (which had lots of bits and pieces from Angkor Wat) and then the Silver Pagoda. Both were not really as spectacular as I would have liked.
In the evening we met up with our new group. They were as follows: Laura - An 18 year old English girl, who reminded us of Keira Knightley a little
Susan - A young lady from Australia
Colin - A 20 year old Canadian
Christina - A 23 (I think) year old Australian
Kara - A late 30-something Australian
Bevan - A crazy (not in a good way) 60 year old Australian
Nigel - Same as before, my room mate
And Amy was to arrive tomorrow.
We all went for dinner apart from Bevan, who had already eaten. His eyes reminded me of Charles Mansons, and he always kept refusing to take his boots off. Bizarre!! Anyway, everyone was very nice

Day 74

Today we were going to discover about Pol Pot and the Khymer Rouge. First we went to Tuol Sleng Museum (or S21) which was where the Khymer Rouge tortured and killed thousands and thousands of people. We saw how people were tortured and why they were tortured. It was absurd, horrific and intriguing at the same time. Our guide told us how he had lost several members of his family here, and then told us that most Cambodians would have had at least one member of their family killed here. Out of the Hundreds of thousands of people who came to the detention center, only seven survived to tell the tale; and some of the high ranking officers of the Khymer Rouge are now holding office in the Cambodian government, and hold a majority of the countries wealth. After that, we went to the killing fields. This was an extremely somber affair. There was a giant pagoda filled with the skulls of those found in these fields. The guide showed us a few skulls and how these people must have been killed, from children smashed against a tree to headshots to adults. As we left there were all these children and people without limbs begging like hell. This was probably the most desperate country I have been to, or likely to. After this, we all went for a Khymer lunch that was very good. While the others went off to do what I had done yesterday, Nigel and I went to Wat Phnom, which was kind of unimpressive. Then we went for a blind massage (part of a empowerment for the disabled incentive by the government) that was quite superb. My masseuse even knew where Wales was, whereas these so-called "enlightened" monks didn't have a clue. Anyway, the group then got back together, went for food and we had a few drinks in to the night.

Day 75

An early start and we were making our way on bus to Siem Reap. We past through a place where spiders are a local delicacy (I didn't try any). Anyway, after arriving in Siem Reap we climbed to the top of Phnom Bakheng to watch the sunset. This was not possible because of the weather, it would have been a great picture. That night Amy, Nigel and myself went to a place called the dead fish to eat. The food was ok, but the place was also a crocodile farm (there were loads of the bastards), which showed traditional dancing, played Khmer music and had a kind of Swiss family Robinson vibe to it. It was class.

Day 76

Today we went to Ta Phrom, Bayon, Baphuon, the terrace of elephants, terrace of the Leper King, the south gate of Angkor Thom and of course, Angkor Wat. Some of this stuff was so impressive, but it was somewhat hampered by the amount and the attitude of the other tourists. Basically all Japanese. Anyway, some of the pictures I've got are breathtaking, but unfortunately, my camera battery ran out while in Angkor Wat. Due to this unforeseen problem, I now needed to buy some postcards of the change in the temples color as the sun was going down. I managed to haggle 2 postcards off a young boy for 200 Riel (about 2p). Once I realized how little I gave him, I was a little disappointed with myself, but then again, so what. Tonight we arranged to go to an all you can eat with traditional dancing. This was a little disappointing. Some of us then hung around in the hotel bar and arranged what we'd do tomorrow. Most of the group was going to wake up at 5 and go see the sunrise at Angkor Wat, then travel to some other temples. Screw that some us thought. Tomorrow was time to take it easy. Late breakfast, swimming and a massage was a call from the gods.

Day 77

Today was a total success. We all managed the late breakfast, we found a saltwater pool that had no-one else using it, and we all had our blind massage. My massage wasn't very good, and the owner apologized to me, because the person who gave me a massage had a few beers with lunch. Never mind, we all had a good laugh about it. We all then went for dinner in the evening, some of us then went to the Irish pub to drink in to the night. This girl from Ireland came up to me and recognized the accent, and she asked me where I was from. Turns out, she used to work in the cross keys in town, what a coincidence. I'm in Cambodia, and meet someone, not from Swansea, who used to work in a boozer I frequent. It was a good night.

Day 78

Feeling rough and another early start for the trip to Battambang (Colin turned up 5 minutes late, these Canadians eh!!). I tried to catch up on some sleep on the bus and boat to no avail!! I did however catch up a little sleep when we transferred to a pick up truck. After arriving in Battambang, we all had lunch and some went to walk around, while others (basically the people out late the night before) decided to have a little afternoon nap for about 6 hours. We all then had dinner together and then congregated on our balcony to tell stories in to the night.

Day 79

Today was just about traveling to the border. Nothing remarkable happened. We did however arrange what to do that evening. It was time to go to Pat Pong to take in one of their "shows". So after dinner Christine, Amy, Laura, Susan, Colin, Nigel and myself made our way to this sordid little area. First we had a little look around the market, while basically all of us trying to pluck up the courage. After getting put upon by all the touts, we just went somewhere for a drink. This wasn't a normal pub I can tell you. Anyway, after getting out of there, we went to the go-go bar called "Super Pussy". It was kind of funny, the two people who thought they wouldn't be shocked by this (me and Colin) were the ones most appalled by it all. The girls looked disinterested (possibly drugged, I don't know), and I hop no-one gets off on what they do. One funny thing was when one of the girls was opening bottles of water, and I gave her 100 Baht to shoot it in Nigel’s face, and fair dews, she got him. We then all went to a bar and had a few jars.

Day 80

Today was a relaxing day. Amy and I just chilled while walking around some markets (she wanted to get certain things, and I knew some places where she could get them) and then got a two hour Thai massage. This was the first Thai massage I had had, and it was rough. My bones must of cracked 20 times. We met for dinner, some then went to a night market while Colin, Amy and myself went back to my room for chats and to see Nigel off.

Day 81

There were now only a few of us left. Colin and Laura went to stay in another part of Bangkok, while Christina, Amy and myself were still in the same hotel. We all met for lunch and arranged to meet for dinner. I managed to get fined for dropping litter and we went to the cinema to watch "Hitch" which was shit!!

Day 82

I took Amy to Jim Thompson’s house and gave her a private tour as I had been there and now knew extensively about J.T. We then went to a hotel in search for a swimming pool, the one which we chose had a film being made while we were there. Weird.

Day 83

Went to the National Museum, did a little shopping, went for an oil massage and said goodbye to the last person from the group to leave, Amy.

Day 84 - 85

Yesterday and today I have spend my time typing up all about what I have done, maybe not as extensively as I would have liked, but I'll sort that out some other time. The rest of my time I have spent sorting out what I'm going to do in Australia.