Being back...

... so, its been just over a week since we got back to the UK where we have been trying to make our 'travel bubble' last as long as possible...

We've been recovering from a stinking great amount of jet-lag, heading out to Manchester to buy some new, warm clothes... as its bloody freezing here, catching up with family and just generally trying to get our heads around being back. And, we're kind of getting there...

Its been a tricky transition from getting up everyday with no real pressure or expectations to having the question 'what are we going to do now?' and having to think about how we are going to get some cash coming in.... instead of the opposite direction...

Its also been funny coming back and having nothing but the bags we went away with... we have no car, no house, no phones... its all very nerve racking this starting again lark... but its quite exciting too.

But it isn't the end of the travels... we have fallen in love with seeing the world and we will deffo be heading out again at the earliest (and most convenient) opportunity... but initially we have other fish to fry (not a great analogy coming from 2 vegetarians)...

Anyhoo, thanks to those who kept in touch during our travels and hopefully the blog was an easy way for folk to see where we were up to.

For now, this is Matt and Trace signing off... but watch this space

Byeee mwah x

p.s - I (TB) would just like to say a huge 'Thank You' to Matt. I've absolutely had the time of my life over the past 13 months and i couldn't have done it without you. You've been the most fun, caring, energetic, patient and just all round amazing person and I've felt very lucky to have you all to myself! I'm already looking forward to spending the next 13 months with you, whatever we may be doing... xxx

the end... for now

Yes that's right, our travels are over and we are now back in Blighty!

Although this may seem a little sudden, our flights were actually booked a while ago but we couldn't mention it on the blog because a certain Miss Parker was having a very important Birthday and we wanted to surprise her!

But from the last blog, the final journey went something like this...

We flew from Hanoi to Bangkok where we shopped ourselves silly and enjoyed the Khao San Road hospitality before we headed off to what we thought was going to be a nice relaxing beach break in Pattaya. Ohhh how wrong we were....

We'd heard it was a little bit seedy but we thought it'd just have it's 'little area' like most places we'd been to and the rest would be for families and couples, but no, it was the capital of seedy places and if you weren't an ugly single man with at least a few young Thai girls... or boys for that matter on your arm then you stood out like a sore thumb. We don't think we're the prudest people in the world but that place is just wrong! So, we cut our stay short and headed back to the bright lights of Bangkok... and how nice it felt to be back. We indulged in lots of cheap food and even more cheap beer before setting out on a 24 hour train journey to Malaysia.

It was our first over night train journey and we were actually quite excited, especially when the guy came round at 8pm to transform our seats into cute little bunk beds (little being the operative word!). The views from the train throughout the day were just so captivating - from shanty towns set up along the railway tracks to the rolling green fields and crossing the border to Malaysia it all completely transformed again into jagged cut off mountains and hills....it made the stinky toilet very worth while!

24 hours on the train and another 5 hours on a bus later we arrived in Kuala Lumpur (again!) and headed to our hotel in China Town.

I'm just going to point out at this point that the reason we had to back track to places we'd already been was due to the fact that the only flight we could get on our tickets was from Singapore. Whilst it seemed a pain going all that way back it was actually very nice to revisit the places and this time be familiar with where to go and to just enjoy being there rather than worrying about making sure we saw it all.

After a lovely few days in KL we caught a bus back to Singapore where we spent a fab weekend shopping, eating, drinking and just generally enjoying our last few days together on our little adventure...

Then, home...

Vietnam (Part 2)

... it's been a while since the last blog, and in all honesty, apart from just namedropping where we have been we have actually done very little! We have chilled, chilled and then chilled...

It all started with a not-so great time though. We headed out to Dalat, which was meant to be this great cultural place full of things to see and do... except there was nothing to see or do... we couldn't even find a decent place to have a brew! Gutting! We spent about 10 hours on a really dreary coach journey only to arrive in rain (which persisted for our whole stay!) and be dumped in the middle of a pretty bleak hole! Eventually, we got to our hotel and it was OK... no great shakes or anything, but OK... that is until we were awoke every morning by the loudest group of Chinese Tourists and Schoolchildren(!) who seemed to use our corridor as a place to scream, shout, play games, play the drums... OK, so the last one was a lie but you get the idea that they made a lot of noise.... It wasn't even us being lazy either, because we checked the time and it was 5am!!! My God! We had to leave... we cut our stay there short and got away as fast as we could book the coach and do one!

Next stop was Nha Trang... the beach destination of Vietnam. We loved it! It was such a lovely place with loads of chilling to be had! It had a paradise beach about 6km long (so plenty of private chill space), loads of ace restaurants and bars (ask Trace who is the World Champion at Pool? hehehe), good shopping, a quiet hotel and even a rather splendid waterpark! Yep, we had a great time in Nha Trang just dossing about really :)

However, we chilled just a tad too much and suddenly realised that we had spent longer than we should have as we only had a limited visa of 1 month... so, we had to cut out a little bit and decided to fly straight to Hanoi.

... and we were dead organised and everything. We booked a hotel and even a taxi pick-up from the airport... oh, and how lovely did our hotel look on t'Internet! Plush as you like with ace reviews!

However, the taxi dropped us off outside a right hovel with about 100 kids playing on the entrance steps. 'Oh well' we thought, 'it may be nice inside'... hmmm... it still looked a bit of a sh*thole once we got in as well actually... still, the room might be really nice- just what we need after a horrible flight... Somewhere to chill, have a bath, watch some TV... um... well... it was awful! This was not the place advertised on the Internet at all! It was a dump... in fact that is a compliment! It was so bad it made bad look good! So, in no uncertain terms we told them we were not going to be staying there as it was not the place we had booked and we picked up our bags and wandered the streets of Hanoi (just like the littlest Hobo- except he wasn't under threat of being eaten) to find somewhere new... we did, it was nice and we enjoyed Hanoi thoroughly! It's a great city full of fab buildings, nice cafes and lots of artsy little things to do, like the Water Puppet show, which was a good chance to hear Vietnamese music and see the crazy instruments they play! One such instrument plays one chord only and can only be played by men as it does funny things to women- who are also not allowed to hear the instrument until they reach a certain age or else they are bound to fall in love with the player... !!

We also walked around the lake in the Old Quarter (which was on BBC World today!) and visited the Pagoda there too... yep, we had fun and chilled a lot in Hanoi :)

Vietnam (Part 1)

Leaving Cambodia was really sad and although we managed a couple of lovely relaxing days in Sihanoukville by the beach, we could deffo have spent longer there! However, Vietnam is a country quite strict on its visa policy and we gave the date of entry as Aug 1st and so had to either be there by then or start losing days of our one month allowance. So, to Vietnam it was...

Getting through customs and the journey were really painless for once (except a 45 min wait in a mentally humid room!) and we got to Ho Chi Minh City (the former Saigon) early afternoon- just in time for a brew :)

We originally booked to stay here for 5 nights, but after falling in love with our cushy hotel and the area, we have eventually stayed for 8 nights :)

In all honesty, there hasn't been too much to do here, but we have enjoyed the relaxing and messing about because we know that on the next leg of Vietnam we have quite a lot of ground to cover in a pretty short amount of time. However, we have been up to a little bit...

It all started with a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels, which were fab! I'd read about them in a book I stole in Malaysia so knew how invaluable they were to the Vietnamese during the war against the US. We had a great guide for the day who explained loads of stuff about them, and we even got to crawl through some... well, we tried... Trace kinda flipped out and just couldn't get her head round why they didn't have any electric lights in them... LOL! But, they were pretty darn scary... and considering they had been enlarged slightly to about 80cm wide by 120cm high, they were still a VERY tight squeeze. And, they were very dark (the old couldn't see your hand in front of your face jobby), very hot and sticky and apparently sometimes full of mozzies or even snakes! We managed to do 30 metres out of a possible 100 metre tunnel before exiting at the first opportunity!

However, the highlight of the tunnels for me was getting to do something I had been quite excited about... firing a gun! I had heard that you got the chance to fire an AK-47 or M-16 or even some full-on automatics at the tunnel grounds... However, as we were doing our tour and I could hear other people shooting... I actually started to get quite nervous! The sound was really like nothing I'd heard (or felt before)... It's difficult to describe, but it is a powerful sound if that makes any sense....

... and as we got closer, it just got scarier, louder and more powerful...

So, I started to prepare for bottling out and talking about what a rip-off it would be (hehe)...

Then we got there and it was literally deafening every time a shot was fired from the range. The cost was $1.3 per bullet and you had to have a minimum of 5... I was ready to forget about it (not the cost, I was really, really nervous!)... but Trace wouldn't let me.... and the old male ego took over...

So, I paid and picked the AK-47... we headed to the range, with my 5 bullets in hand (which I'm sure can't be that safe for a clutz like me!!!). And, it was ace! It was really scary- I had the bullets put into the magazine by my own little personal soldier dude and he pointed me in the right direction... So, I pulled the trigger and had no idea where the shot went! It was so frickin' loud that you are deaf for a second or two after firing! Even with the mufflers on, it was scary! Then I had my second shot and started to relax a bit... and this time I could see where the bullet went... wide of the target, but not too far off... same with the third too, but I was getting the hang of it! On the fourth and fifth shots both hit the target and my little soldier dude kept telling me they were good shots! Wow! It was an amazing experience but really scary too...

As our last blog mentions, we also celebrated our first year on the road (thanks for the comments and emails!) and so knew that a drunken night would be in order! Luckily, it was also the same day as the Community Shield and we got a chance to watch United beat Chelsea... YEY!!! (Sorry Gary!) Then, we stayed at the bar, drinking, eating pizza and realised that the music being played was on a PC a bit too close to us... so, feeling leery, we grabbed the mouse and started changing the tracks being played... before you knew what was happening the bar was being bombarded by classic tracks from Alice Cooper to The Beatles! ACE! We ruled the roost... people were making requests and everything... we were right little DJ's...

Next day, we recovered and did very little... except, I finished the last Harry Potter book... wow! I was and still am so sad when I think that it is all over..... Trace is reading it at the mo, so I won't say too much.

Then, it was time to become tourists again and so we headed out the the War Remnant Museum, which had some amazing photographs from the conflicts and also some awful ones of the victims of Agent Orange.

... and that pretty much brings things up to date... we leave for Dalat tomorrow, which is supposed to be lovely and full of waterfalls and walks. So, we're looking forward to the waterfalls... :)

Oh, and a final pic just to show you that we get rain out here too sometimes... :)

Happy Birthday to us...

... well, its been a year today since we hit the road and started this travelling stuff... and I'm not sure quite where it's gone... that is until I read through some of the old blog entries and realise its been a pretty eventful year.

Its been a really strange, but amazing experience. We've missed a lot of things about home and there have been times where we have both been really pining for just being back. But of course this is balanced by the times when we just don't want what we're doing to ever end. It isn't always as easy as it sometimes sounds on the blog, and what occasionally gets a brief mention in an entry is sometimes a really stressful time. Albeit a stress not like any we have ever had in our UK lives. Travelling is a false reality and we both appreciate that- its not like selling a house, studying to pass your degree or raising a family... But obviously, everyday isn't roses and there have been times when we have felt a bit low or wondering where we will ever fit back into the UK... but the one thing that has helped us and reminded us that we do have a place is when we hear from anyone back home. We love getting the emails and catching up with what everybody is up to. Its a nice feeling to know that when we get back there is a place for us. And, its just nice to know that we are in your thoughts. Thanks all who have kept in touch you really have made us realise just how lucky we are to have the family and friends we do.

Also, another great help in the travelling has been the people we have met out here and on the road- we really have made some great friends who have helped and augmented good times and experiences. We hope you have enjoyed the shared times as much as we have. Thanks :) and we will be in touch for a long time to come yet! You will never get rid of us gypos.....

Please do not think that we are saying travelling has been bad or anything- we have loved it! But, we just thought that it should be mentioned that travelling is really different to having a holiday. And, after all, we have now been on the road for 1 year, which means travelling has become our job. We catch buses, planes, book hotels etc... for a living... weird! But awesome!

We have seen 7 countries in the last 12 months and as the blog shows we have done things ranging from walking on glaciers to visiting orphanages. I'm not trying to 'big us up', but it is an amazing feeling for us because we are so proud of everything we have done. And, we've enjoyed sharing it in the blog. We hope you have enjoyed reading it, and thanks to all those who have taken the time to comment or again keep in touch through it.

... and, finally, I (Matt) would just like to say that after 12 months of being with the same person day in and day out, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week... I love you Trace, more than ever :) x

Cambodia (Part 2)

Sorry, this may take some time....

Before leaving Siem Reap we decided we should take a trip to the Land Mine Museum. Initially, we thought it was quite close to where we were staying- but our book was a bit out of date and it had actually moved nearly 2 years previous to about 25km's out of town. So, we negotiated a price with the tuk-tuk driver and headed out there. WOW! During the 1 hour journey we were both sitting there with our mouths just gaping! The sights, the scenes, the colours... just everything! It absolutely blew us away. Cambodia is such a beautiful country- especially when you get out to some of the more rural areas and see it 'raw', so to speak.

The Land Mine museum itself was rather small and quite uninformative- a few grisly pics, horrible stories and lots of UXO's lying around! But, the journey alone made up for it and we both came away feeling really, really pleased for taking the trip out.

The next day we jumped the bus to Phnom Penh with apprehension.... after the journey into Cambodia we just weren't sure how bad it would be. However, we got on the bus and it was really nice! We had a great 6 hour journey there, and again, saw some amazing scenery en route.

When we arrived in Phnom Penh, we were shocked at just how mentally busy it was- it was seriously crazy! It made Bangkok look like Nantwich Town!! Crossing any road is a serious hazard to your health- you really do just have to step out and hope that everyone is going to swerve around you- or, you'll never cross... or end up squashed!

The first night we headed down to the Quay and had a bit of an explore around the river- where it meets the Mekong. It was a brilliant area and just sitting there letting it go dark and watching the craziness of everything around you was ace! However, there were some really sad sights- lots of mothers with very disabled babies, amputees and very hungry looking children. It puts everything and anything into perspective. We've heard so many different things with regards to the begging situation out here- you shouldn't' give them money as it encourages them to not work, never give children money as it makes them not go to school, the amputees have done it to themselves on purpose as it gets more sympathy from tourists.... However, even with all these stories (and obviously some make more sense that others), once you are here and see everything it is so hard to just be cynical and turn a blind eye. It really does make you wonder what you can do to help.

Having fallen so madly in love with Cambodia (I hope I'm making that really clear!), we were not looking forward to going to the Genocide Memorial at Choeung Ek (The Killing Fields) and finding out more about the disgusting atrocities that befell the country in the 70's and 80's by the Khmer Rouge.

Again, it was a lovely ride out there- as the monument is about 14km's out of the city- but as you near and start to see the signs, it suddenly becomes a terrible reality what you are about to visit. We entered the grounds, and the silence that would normally be a welcome relief having come out of such a mad city, was really, really eerie.

We went inside the stupa (that holds thousands of skulls) to pay our respects and to try and truly feel the magnitude of the horror that occurred here.

Words cannot really say the right thing about all of this, and hopefully the pictures will speak for themselves.

Whilst the Killing Fields were a very sad place to go- we had a nice encounter while we were there. As we were walking around the area, 2 children ran up to a fence and started singing a song to us- 'one, two, three... smile!' They wanted us to take their picture- obviously once we did this we knew they would want some money, and no matter how difficult it is to try to listen to the 'apparent' right thing to do (and not give them any)- it is hard in reality. We spoke to them for a couple of minutes and their English was really good, and Trace asked where they lived. They pointed to a decrepit little hut about 1/2 mile away. Anyway, the little girl told us we could take a picture of them and 'I can look sweet.' We think she did a good job :)

Our next stop was to head to the Tuol Sleng Museum, which was a former Khmer Rouge prison (the most famous one formerly known as S-21) where the prisoners were sent before being taken out to the Killing Fields. We thought that we had already visited the most harrowing place- but we were so wrong. From out of the 30,000 prisoners that passed through the gates, only 7 lived to tell. All in all, it is estimated that up to a quarter of Cambodia's population were killed during the Khmer's rule, and it is really true that you do not see many 'old' people here.

The place itself was on the outskirts of the city and whilst wandering the grounds you could hear the noises from a nearby school and chants from a nearby monastery. It created a very surreal ambiance. We saw thousands of photos of prisoners who were brutally murdered- with no real favouritism towards male or female, young or old. Seeing face after face of the people- some of whom you could see knew their fate by looking at their scared eyes, and others who managed a smile- perhaps through not knowing or just hoping. Again, words cannot do any kind of justice to the magnitude of the events that took place in Cambodia, and I could never claim to have really understood the situation before coming here- I still don't understand why it all happened, and I doubt I ever will. I do know how it made us both feel though.



It was a very sad day, but also a day that made us realise just how special Cambodia and its people really are to have been able to come through so much and still be smiling.

The next day we wanted to try and do something positive and so went to a local orphanage with some food, pens, paper etc. for the children. It was fantastic! The orphanage is called The Lighthouse Orphanage and receives no support from the government whatsoever. It is managed by a Cambodian called Mr Lee who gave us a tour and introduced to some of the naughty little things! He told us that the children were there because maybe their parents were dead, too ill to look after them, had HIV, or simply just couldn't afford to take care of them. How kids with so little could be so happy was just unbelievable! They really were amazing!

As soon as we got there the whole classroom turned around and shouted 'Hello' to us. Then, we made friends with a few who held our hands and showed us where they slept and convinced us to wear bracelets they had made. It was brilliant and they were just so damn cute! I've always been a major cynic when it comes to the whole Brad and Angie thing- but having seen an orphanage and met some of the children, I can completely understand it! We wanted them all!

If you get time have a look at the link above, it tells you a little more about it and how to help etc. Its not advisable to send money for obvious reasons and also you're not always sure where or who it goes to. If anybody did want to donate anything you could let us know because we'll be making another visit before we leave Cambodia in a weeks time and we could buy the food, toys or toiletries etc for you. It's just a thought...

Cambodia (Part 1)

Our first impression of Cambodia was SCARY!

We'd just spent 4 hours on a barely air-conditioned bus, with seats the size of postage stamps only to be told that we had to walk (with all of our bags!) a 1km stretch between Thailand and the Cambodian border of Poipet. So, we headed through Thai customs and had our passports nicely scanned on the latest state of the art technology in a lovely new building. Then, we walked out the other side and through the gates to the 'Kingdom of Cambodia' to be met by hoards of children, beggars, carts, dirt, rubbish and the occasional scally type looking person. So, clutching onto our bags just that little bit tighter, we headed to the immigration area in order to get our visa sorted. We were met by a friendly person who told us what to do and passed us the relevant forms, which we filled in. We took them back to him and he asked for an extortionate amount of money so we could get our visa.... however, there was sign behind him telling us how much we should have to pay! We eventually brushed past him after telling him we weren't going to pay him and would only pay an official (who was seated just behind the scammer and obviously knew what was going on!!). The official eventually acknowledged us and took our payment and told us to sit in the waiting area. We did.... and we suddenly thought Cambodia may be a mistake....

It was so different to anywhere we had seen so far. The roads were mud... the children (and some adults) were barely clothed and dirty, and it was a scene that felt so mayhemic it was surreal. However, we had been told that this was the worst border crossing in Cambodia and that we shouldn't let it jade us. We tried.....

Eventually, we got our visa and headed off to try and find some transport to take us to our hotel in Siem Reap (about 130km away). There is one road between Poipet and Siem Reap and it is common knowledge that a particular airline pays the government to 'delay' construction on it, and keep it rather bad. Well, bad is an understatement! We opted for a taxi in the end (thank god) because a bus would have taken some 7-8 hours to do the journey and we could do it in apparently 3 (it turned out to be 4 though!). And, the road was seriously the worst thing we have travelled on since we arrived in... well, anywhere in all honesty! It was mud, sand, water, holes (sometimes 3-4 foot deep!) and it looked like it had been bombed constantly for about the last 100 years! How it could even be hailed as a road was a serious question! It appeared that there was no rule to driving on it, except to avoid damaging your own vehicle, and so you would be careening all over it and heading towards, trucks, people, dogs, goats, cattle even children on bikes! It really was a very scary and uncomfortable experience.

But, when you weren't busy peeling your face from the roof of the car, the views outside were pretty special. There were small shanty towns backed by amazing stretches of green, which were met by mountains in the distance. We even got to watch a storm breaking in the clouds miles away. The paddy fields were really pretty and seeing people wading in them and working, or even washing was a really different scene to what we were used to. Already, it made Malaysia and Thailand feel positively futuristic! The difference was astonishing!

Eventually, we arrived at the hotel in Siem Reap... and after travelling for 4 hours through scantily populated areas, it was a welcome relief to see street lights, shops and especially tarmac! We checked in, were served with our 'mocktails' and cold towel (did we mention it was a 5-star hotel :)), and headed up to our plush top floor suite... hehehe, we only booked it because we knew the journey may be difficult. Still, its a good job we did because the journey had taken its toll on poor little Trace and she was really, really crook! We're talking projectile stuff here! But, we thought we may both need to eat, so, I offered to head out and try and get us a takeaway from across the road. I set out, and stepped outside the hotel. Before I even crossed the road, I had been asked if I wanted a woman, drugs, a massage... and even approached by a rather 'nice' male, who asked me my name and kept smiling... oddly, and looking me up and down :( But the one thing I actually wanted, a pizza, nobody could help me with!!!!!

So, our first day in Cambodia had been mental... and we were a bit nervous about where it would go from there.

After a day chilling and letting Trace recover (we think it may have been a 24 hour bug probably caught off dirty backpackers on the bus!), we decided to head out and explore Siem Reap a little. Pleasantly surprised, the town was nothing we imagined it would be and everyone was friendly and in good spirits, which seemed a complete contrast to what may be expected with such a tragic recent history. Bartering was fun and the stall holders would joke with you and the tuk-tuk drivers were cheeky with their prices- but really harmless. And it just felt like an innocent, almost unassuming place when compared to the sometimes tourist hardened Thailand. Most of the locals have fantastic English and, again, it is their humour that really shines out. The children will be cheeky and instead of direct begging they will play games with you (for example, I got thrashed at noughts and crosses by a little boy who was selling postcards. He told me if I won he would give me some for free... but, if he did, I'd have to buy them, and if we drew, he would leave us alone). We also saw a group of landmine victims who had formed a band and played music on the street- for entertainment, rather than just expecting money from tourists. It just seems a happy place and the people seem to have a real sense of pride. Suddenly, we felt very different about Cambodia and booked an extra 3 nights in Siem Reap.

Anyway, we couldn't come to Siem Reap and not visit the temples of Angkor Wat. We were both quite excited, but having seen a few temples now, we weren't sure how much it would all hold our attention. We could not have been more wrong- words cannot describe how amazing, significant and vast it all was. Hopefully, the pictures below will give some sort of idea. We cannot recommend Angkor Wat enough to anyone (especially Bayon in Ankgor Thom and Ta Prohm- where some of Tomb Raider was filmed)!

Cambodia is definitely no longer thought of as a mistake or scary... at least not for the moment.