Nha Nha Nha Nha Nha Nha Nha Nha NHA TRANG!

The bus journey was surprisingly good. A couple I'd already met were getting the same bus, so I was talking to them for a bit. After a few hours, I sought to 'borrow' a blanket from one of the drivers, as I didn't have one and the gale force Air Con was freezing! A guy helped me to mastermind the mission, guess where he was from? Knowle! His girlfriend from Horfield! Haha I love travelling. So we talked for much of the way which seemed to pass a lot of time, and I actually managed to sleep on this bus...for a bit anyway,
Luckily, we were late arriving into Nha Trang - I'm not sure as to why, but I do recall the driver driving for about 20 minutes in First Gear. This bus, whilst slightly comfier in its seats, filled me with as much confidence as the bus to Hoi An, but this bus was climbing mountains and winding round cliffs.
We arrived at 6am, and after saying goodbye to the 4th and 5th people is met from Bristol, I set off in search of my hostel, which only took about 15 minutes. I arrived around 6.30 and told that I'd have to wait til 12 to check in. Great. So I set about trying to work out how long I could waste on the computers. I briefly caught up with the Patchwegians, who were leaving that morning. It was nice to see them again, and the briefed me on Nha Trang, before leaving - but not without the promise of knocking on my door to ask me to come out to play on their return :)
Luckily, I was allowed to check in at 8, which meant I could go to bed earlier - for all of an hour. I did awake , however, to the friendly, familiar faces of Charlie and Archie #1, who were staying in my dorm (Archie #2 was downstairs). It was nice to see a familiar face again! Later we went to the beach and relaxed...well I say relaxed, Archie2, Charlie and I hit the waves - which were 10-15 foot and bashed us around. It was good fun, the fear of timing going under or over a wave just right or risk getting a wet slap in the face! This was all fine until I caught one that I wasn't expecting, crushing me on the sea floor and bending me in half...the wrong way.
After a bit of a chill on the beach, we went back to the hostel for a bit before heading out again for dinner. The guys had found a little place, literally cooking out of their front kitchen. Despite the simplicity, it was very tasty, and good value! The guy was really friendly too, offering us free extra rice. We headed back to the hostel bar after dinner, this is where everyone goes. It was buzzing! After a few games of pool me and Charlie gate crashed a game of Ring Of Fire - I haven't played this since Uni and I wasn't gonna kiss another opportunity! It was awesome! There was about 15 of us, mixed nationalities all learning things about each other that their close friends didn't know (defo in the case of two people, funny stuff! I love this game).
It was after this I came into my own. Archie2 grabbed me en route to the toilets to ask if I fancied talking to a group of girls he'd spotted. Basically, my job was to play Wing Man, the other 2 being preoccupied with their own missions.
So we set about our task. The girls were Norwegian but spoke very good English. Archie2 set his target and my job was to occupy and amuse the other 2. I've been a very successful wingman in my Time, so I was quietly confident. We moves to the next bar, Why Not Bar (why not indeed), my job becoming easier as one girl went home. Why Not was a wicked bar(much better than its name sake in Hoi An!) with good music, cheap beer and lots of seating. I disnt want a late night, but ended up staying out til 3.30 because of the duty bestowed upon my, but the mission was accomplished after I managed to persuade the girl I was talking to to play pool - a simple, yet effective tactic - and separated the girls, leaving Archie to work his magic. Absolute Classic.
NB I want to say this might paint me, and all guys in a bad light, but this isn't the case. The girls were genuinely lovely and I enjoyed talking to them. Both guys and girls do this, (Girls do, but it's slightly more subtle than guys, as with most things girls say guys are bad for).
The next day we were all feeling a little delicate, so we decided the best thing to do would be to go to the Vinpearl waterpark resort! We had to get there via the longest cable car in the world, but the Vinpearl Island was unbelievable. Essentially man made (the mountain was at least) it had a Waterpark, 2 storey arcade, theme park, 5star luxury resort, Golf club and more! It was amazing! The only downfall? The fact it rained all bloody day. Lucky we were getting wet anyway or I'd have been miffed!
We went with 2 guys and a girl we'd met in Hanoi, which was nice to catch up and enjoy some banter with things we all could actually relate to (like Sofie falling into the lake in snake village haha).
The waterpark was pretty awesome, it's rides as fun as any in The West but without the Health and Safety, which was both a blessing and a curse.
See, being in Asia, all the rides and restrictions were made for Asia people, not Westerners...especially 5 Western guys weighing over 13 stone each and a girl! This was fine on some rides, like the Tsunami, which meant as a threesome we were the only ones that touched the top of the first dip, but not so good on the "Family slide". This was a ride design for a maximum of 6 people, all sitting in a raft. We were not ready for what we got.
The ride was stupidly quick, with really steep sides..but the sides weren't quite steep enough for Westerners in a raft. Every turn we nearly fell out, nearly falling over the sides. A couple of times, one hand grasping a bit of cloth was all that kept me from flying out the raft! It was mental! There is no way in hell that ride would be legal in the West! But, for some reason, we rode it 3 times! Everytime coming closer to doom...the attendant, realising how close we were coming to falling out, actually gave us a massive push start! What an idiot! (I had the last laugh though, I grabbed his hand as he let go and pulled him half down the slide with us :p) nonetheless the ride was certainly an adrenaline rush, so I loved it.
There was also a wave machine, which was a fiddle compared to the waves at the beach! Waning other things, we had shoulder fights (one person on another's shoulders) between us. Josh picked up a little Russian boy of 12 (God there were so many miserable Russians in Nha Trang!) who, on fight off, proceeded to slap Archie2 right in the face! We were only play wrestling! It was hysterical!
We left earlier than planned, cos ye rain got so heavy all the theme park rides closed. On the way back, we nearly got in a fight with our taxi driver, who refused to give us a discount after he'd gotten lost and driven a long way past our hostel! What a nobhead! After trying to reason with him, we just walked away - we paid less than he wanted, we refused. It was his fault, if he didn't know he shouldn't have said he did! Having said that, we were arguing over 50p, buts the principle! They've got to know that ignorant white Westerners are always right! (I'm joking, of course)

Tailor Town

Hoi An
Just a short bus ride and I was in Hoi An - though by the look of the bus, I wondered if we'd ever make it at all! The bus was so old in made Westward Travel buses look state if the art! Nevertheless we made it safe and sound.
My hotel had sent a minibus to pick me up, and just 10 mins later I was at my hotel. And what a hotel! It was tr nicest place I've been since I've been travelling (with the exception of Mine and Lucy's Koh Tao resort, which was spellbinding). The room was a double, small, but with everything I'd need - tv, Shower,toilet, Bed, Minibar (not necessarily in that order). The only downside was this hotel seemed to house couples and families - neither of which seemed overly approachable here.

After a shower I took a wander into Hoi An 'Ancient' Town, 15 minutes walk away (I tell you, I'm gonna be fit coming back after all this walking!)...(or fitTERat least). The town wasn't what I was expecting. Whilst all the old buildings and streets were beautiful in their quaint and old design, every single building was either a souvenir shop, tailor or bar/restaurant - this place was either a tourist's heaven or hell. There was an obscene number of tailor shops, many springing up due to tourism rising, many not actually tailors. Despite the constant barrage of locals trying to make me buy stuff that would serve no purpose in my life other than to remind me how I'd been scammed out of £5-10 I didn't wanna spend on something I didn't want, the walk round was pleasant (it would have been better had the weather been better). Walking through the market was a laugh too - I do like markets for the weird things you see, like old women sleeping on a table whilst someone decapitates chickens. The town was divided by a river littered with boats of all different sizes - big ones, small ones, some as big as your head (this would never have happened under Mufasa...) and the centre piece was the Japenese Covered Bridge...which whilst beautiful and intriguing, couldn't capture your attention for overly long.
I managed to shake off the desperate attempts by 'tailors' to buy a suit, or even go in and look, though I admit I was kinda tricked into looking in one less than 15 metres from leaving my hotel!
That night, I met up with the Archie's and Charlie (did I mention these before? I met them in Hanoi and again Hue) for free cocktails in their hotel. We then headed out for dinner and fresh beer (literally a day old, which made it so refreshing...and at 13p a glass seemed a good buy. Funnily enough, at the same restaurant we met Mike and the people he was staying with! After we ate we headed out to enjoy the Hoi An nightlife - and enjoy we did, including a free motor bike ride with a nutcase local between bars!
The next day, whilst nursing a very slight hangover, I watched films in my room...all day...not even joking, I only left my room for 20 mins to get dinner! I must have watched about 20 films that day! It was nice though, just having a bit of privacy. So not much interesting to write here...
The next day nearly promised to be the same, til I forced myself out of bed. I hired a bike and cycled the 5km to the beach. The beach itself was really nice, but the lack of friends and decent weather meant my stay was very short. Instead I much preferred my slow cycle to and from, cutting through countryside. It was really quite stunning and interesting. Hoi An, although not having an awful lot to do there, is a really pretty place. I headed back to the town for lunch, where I bumped into Mike again. After another lap of the town, I headed back to my own private theatre (A bit of a waste of time I know, but I was knackered! Plus Rocky was on).
My final day really has nothing to report. I checked out, wandered round town again looking for a bargain in the market, before coming to the conclusion that anything I bought would be for the sake of buying something, for me or others). My bus left at 6, and arrived into Nha Trang for 5am, where check in to my hostel was at 12... I couldn't wait.

Hue

A 14-hour long, uncomfortable sleeper bus ride south (and boy do I mean long) stood between Hanoi and Hue. The journey was made all the longer after they turned off the lights after an hour, so I couldn't read. All I could do was watch Titanic, which they were kindly playing for us....but with the sound too low to hear, and subtitles in Vietnamese. Helpful.
I eventually arrived to find a group of taxi drivers, hotel sellers and ladies selling all kind of crap - it was like
Being greeted by the paparazzi, they're like vultures, not even letting me get my bag off the bus before telling they're place was the cheapest, the best, blah blah blah. Eventually I got a taxi bike to the hostel...which was fun, having my big bag on the back too, feeling like I was gonna fall off at every turn...as well as clothesline every rider coming the other way.
The hostel was nice enough, a lot smaller and simplistic compared to the one in Hanoi, but was still nice. I actually arrived at the same time as my friends from Hanoi, which was nice (I feel like I'm writing a Year 8 English story, everything's nice).
I went for a quick wander round the bit of Hue I was staying in - soon realised that it was a world away from Hanoi - for a start, the roads could accommodate at least 1 car and a person at the same time. It was a lot quieter than Hanoi as well, not nearly as crowded or people goading you into buying crap you don't need (this is obviously not including the people at the market...who knew being White made you seem important....). Hue is actually quite a pretty City, lots of green, and the riverside flanked by parks with statues and other things.
I then went back to the Hostel for a bit of a chill, and met a guy from Leeds in my room (Ottley, actually, but as you travellers know, so many people here don't know where you live, you just say the closest big city to you...for most Englishmen, it's London(being the only city anyone knows)).
He tagged along to to me and the Patchwegians, adding a fourth wheel, making me feel slightly better about the situation.
We went and grabbed some food, then went for a few drinks somewhere offering a free bucket and free pool. The beers flowed. We made our way back to the hostel for Happy Hour, and made our way through the 16 Vodka shots above the bar (Nb. During the day, we noticed that they were all different flavours...and not conventional ones, so made a pact to get through them all).
In a game of chance, each of us had 2 shots. My 2 were Fishermans Friend (actually very nice) and Garlic (not so nice, almost as bad as Snake Blood...) Stevie had Arse flavour (fish, though some American's belief it must be fart flavoured is much funnier, especially when accompanied with his mine of funnelling it into the vodka). Among the other flavours, Jon had Chilli. We thought this was gonna be fine, having had chilli shots at home...but not like this. This was vodka fused with about 50 chillis...hot chillis, even for the locals. So few people drank it, it sat on the shelf stewing, getting stronger an Stronger. After the initial taste of vodka, and the brag of how easy it was, Jon was in the toilets 5 seconds later. I was in stitches. We all were. We ended up getting 4 others to have it too, just to add to the hilarity. There mouths we're numb for hours.
We moved to a bar, Brown Eyes, which boasted that they stayed open 'until the last one passes out'. It didn't take long to realise that was an accurate statement. After ordering a round of beers, we were then bombarded with free nibbles and shots - proper shots, sambuca - and then presented with a flaming Sambuca Tower, prepared on our table before us. There was free pool, music, and lots of locals. We had a blast. So much so, we went back the next night!

I'll give a little break in the text for day 2...that enough?

The next day, the 4 of us took a Cuty tour of Hue, taking in an incense factory (more like a stall on the roadside, apparently the campaigners for workers rights hasn't got to the incense industry yet) 3 temples (they were all amazing, but writing about all 3 would take forever, so you can just look at photos on Facebook later) a martial arts show, the Citadel (which whilst interesting, was a slight disappointment, as all the main buildings short of the Gatehouse had been destroyed and yet to be rebuilt, though planned for within 15 years, when it will be spectacular) and a Buddhist Pagoda, which was pretty awesome and has the car that the guy drove to the protest when he burned himself alive (it's on the front of one of the Rage Against The Machine Albums, it's in the picture! It's famous! Go check it out!)...oh yea, and a boring 30 minute dragon boat down the river, which was slow, noisy and offered, souvenirs from Venezia! The tour was awesome, I got to see some awesome sights, and it was nice to see something and know what it was and why, as opposed to touring on your own and going 'Ooh that's nice, wonder what that is'. One funny thing on the tour was that one of the temples was by a Banana plantation, and with loads of people trying to sell bananas (made a change from coke and water). The way they sold though was different. One woman held (in a very bad way) her disabled son as she tried to sell. The rest of them, mostly children, attempted to sell by using clearly the only line of English they knew, in a chant that was quite unnerving (but kind of funny) - 'Mister Madame you buy Bananaaaaa?'. There was also one little boy, about 3, who the tour guide was toying with (much to our amusement), as he was trying to sell in the watchful eye of his mother. After the tour guide asked the price, the optimistic little boy asked for $5! He was so cute, the tour guide gave him 10,000 Dong - 30p.

As I said that night we went back to Brown Eyes, but not after meeting up with more friends from Hanoi and a lovely Aussie guy. Being more of us, we had even more fun that night...meaning my head hurt a lot more the next day.

The next day, it was just me and Mile left, and we went for another wander, to the market. It was huge, and really quite fascinating with some of the stuff they were selling. The hustle and bustle of a proper market was awesome, something I'd been looking for. Anyway we kind of used that day as an admin day, I blogged and read and sorted stuff for Hoi An. After trying some local food, we headed back for an early night...but not in that way...2 heavy nights had taken their toll!

Hanoi Part Deux and Snake Village

So on returning from Halong Bay, Lucy and I had one full day before she had to leave and go home....sad times. Guess what exciting times she had planned? Shopping! Oh the joys....

Actually to be fair it was quite fun, looking at all the 'Same Same but Different' things in all the shops, dashing all the shopkeepers hopes nd wasting there time by not buying anything :p and the haggling was fun too, arguing the toss over £1/£2, just cos we could. Though it was a lot d money to them.
We ended up getting quite a lot for not a lot, quite a few bargains (though not as many as Lucy may have wanted, she was better than me at haggling, to the point I was getting her to buy my things, to save that extra 50p ;p)
We visited the markets that day too, although they werent really all that. Interesting, but not exactly what we were after. If you want good fake clothes and a bag or wallet, then you'd love it.

The next day, Lucy was gone :(

But I moved Into Hanoi Backpackers, and soon moved on :p haha only joking. But Hanoi Backpackera was a real Backpackers hostel, busy with travellers who were getting drunk (some starting on Gin from 10am!) and I soon met a few people from my dorm and round the bar - what with it being St Paddys day, the hostel was in full swing. I met a guy who had motorbiked up Vietnam, and he took me for a spin round Hanoi on his Bike - which considering how chaotic the roads are there, was really thrilling! He even gave me a quick lesson down the alley, not that I achieved much. I got into 2nd gear, but then stalled and burnt my leg on the exhaust. Think I'll stick to cars...at least for a bit :p

The weirdest thing was, I ended up bumping into only the 2&3 people I've met who also live in Bristol...a young couple in my year...and as it turns out, they live 10 doors down from me! How mental is that! Yet we've never seen each other before! How bizarre! We ended up spending the next few days (in Hanoi and Hue) together, including St Paddys night, though the massive party under the bridge, as it had been billed, was actually a crap band at a bar next I the bridge. The only thing going in under the bridge was guys using it as a urinal.

I spent the next two days chilling round the hostel, taking advantage of the fact it had everything I needed - wifi, bar, restaurant, pool, cinema (or a big flat screen which showed 3 movies a day, remember the Lion King Blog?)

On the Sunday night however, I took part in one of the most bizarre nights of my life - Snake Village.
Bear in mind, I did this on the advice and guidance of my Friend James, who said it was awesome. He was kinda right.
There were about 20 of us, 18 backpacking Englishmen (and the odd canadian) and a Brazilian couple, who were just as up for it. We were taken to a little village restaurant place, about 10 minute minibus ride (which included a lot of drunken singing, including 'back seat of the bus', for all you Uni people, you'll know this song. Our record was 12! Not bad on a mini bus!
On arrival, we were allowed to handle the snakes that we would be eating, nothing new or exciting there, I've done it in Cairns. But then the big one. A King Cobra. Watching the cobra get angry and flare up and attack at the handlers was pretty cool.
We were then taken to our little room, one of many little bamboo huts on a pond. The room was nice, and would be the scene of a lot of drunken banter...and some barbarity. When we sat down, we were called one by one to a space, where we invited to help cut open the snake, and bite our the heart, which the hosts and scooped out. No this sounds bad, but taste wise it was fine, it was more the thought of it. Not that I particularly wanted to do it, but I couldn't really back, especially with the drunken rabble I had ended up with.
After the hearts, we returned to
Our table, donned in war paint, and we were invited to 2 toasts - one with snake blood, one snake Bite, both mixed with rice wine. That was horrible. We were then treated to 8 dishes, all snake. Snake meat, testicles, rib, liver, skin. It was actually quite tasty I must admit!
The night was made more interesting by the fact that we had to have a shot of rice wine for every toast made by a different nationality. There were 8 nationalities in total. (including the guides). Then, every toast that someone wanted to make. We ended up having about 15-20 shots of rice wine, which was in fact Moonshine, made by the restaurant itself, with no knowledge of how strong it was. I can tell you, friends, how strong it was. Bloody strong. It was like drinking Vinegar and White Spirit. And with a chaser of Beer, it didn't take long for the effects to harvest amongst my peers, who resorted to boyish acts of punching each other in the nuts to see who was hardest. (as in most manly, you dirty minded people, it wasn't that kind of trip)
All in all, the experience was awesome, one ill never forget. It was a lot of fun, if completely bizzare. On return to the hostel, we were rewarded withies
Beer, and with everyone else we headed for a nightclub, where I had yet
More beer. And danced. A great night had by all.

Oh and thank you to anyone that prayed for my Grandma, as far as I know the Op went well as Shes doing great, even better news :)

Pray for my Grandma

Hello all, slight detour from my normal lighthearted blogs, getting a little serious.

Please can everyone pray for my Grandma. She's having an operation today and it's really hard for me being over here while she's not at her wind-surfing best!
Oh, and #prayformuamba

Thank you, carry on....

Monkeys!

Halong Bay, Part 2

We were woken up at Stupid o'clock for breakfast as we had to transfer to another boat to get to Cat Ba Island, our next destination. Luckily, there were two other couples going too, an English Couple from Frome (small world) and the German Girls. I say luckily, because when we eventually got to Cat Ba after an Hour or so, the 6 of us were dumped by our 'tour guides' and sent onto a minibus, away from the scores of other people arriving at Cat Ba. We then drove for about 20 mins before arriving at Cat Ba National Park.

We were made to follow another group after they arrived at the park (after having to wait 15 mins ourselves, armed with an info guide to the park) into the park,passing into the 'Garden of Eternal Happiness'...I didn't see one smile the entire time I was there. When we walked the 500 yards or so,wecame to the start of a massive hill/mountain (it was bigger than what I'd call a hill, but not as big as what I'd call a mountain...) where there was a cafe/bar and a 'happy room' (this is what they called the toilet... which meant I didn't really want to go in there, if it was full of Vietnamese getting 'Happy').
It was here that the tour got interesting - I use the word tour here very loosely, you'll see why in a minute. Once all the groups had arrived (possibly about 30 people or more) our tour guides explained the itinerary - I kid you not,this is what happened to the word - "You go on the walk now to the firetower, good views. 1 hour there. Go right then Left, left is slippy" and then promptly F####d off! 30 of us left trek up a step hill, which was muddy and slippery, armed only with the knowledge to go Right then left, and then just up. Half the group didn't even know we were going on a walk, let alone mountaineering. The poor English girl on our 'tour' was wearing only flip flops! That walk was horrible. Wet and muddy, slippery, no one knowing where to go. How no one died on this trip I'll never know. Everyone got covered in mud, cuts and bruises all over.Near the top, there path included broken ladders and a cliffside which couldn't fit more than one person at a time...not good when you've got groups passing up and down. And for what? The view wasn't even that good! Cos of the fog and drizzle, you could only see the hills around us, which you could see at the bottom! It wasn'teven like it wasa nice walk with wildlife and pretty trees or anything like that, just mud and rock, numerous death traps and 'endangered trees', though they'd planted so many I doubt that a lot! It's never a good sign when the tour guides don't go on the walk with the tour! What happened to the pleasant walk we were promised in our brochure?

It took us 2 hours round trip. This was still in the morning. It exhausted all of us, so much effort and concentration went into climbing it and not dying that we just wanted to flop. Think we had that luxury? We were frogmarched pretty quickly by everyone elses tour guides back to the bus, where again us 6 were ostracized from the others. We were driven to our hotel in Cat Ba Town, right at the bottom of the island, about another 30 min drive. Luckily, this hotel was actually quite nice, otherwise the Shit was gonna hit the fan! As nice as the receptionist was, he allowed us only 10 minutes before we had to be down for lunch. He could clearly see we were all knackered and covered in mud, but he couldn't possibly budge from the itinerary could he?! This is despite the fact that we were clearly the only buggers in the hotel! (I've noticed in Vietnam...and Thailand come to think of it, that if they're late, they really couldn't care less and make effort to catch up lost time; but God forbid you ever be late! You get the Evil stare). Well wasn't in the mood for eating lunch covered in Vietnam's finest mud, so I showered...and took my time (what a rebel I've become) before lunch, which wasn't ready anyway. A Vietnamese buffet Lunch, it was quite nice, though getting a bit samey after having similar for dinner the night before on the boat (and again for dinner that night...and lunch on the boat the next day).
After Lunch (or rather half way through lunch when we were given the info), we were given just 20 mins before we could leave for Monkey Island. The name sold it to me. We were taken to another little harbour and got on another little taxi boat and taken to Monkey Island, about 15 mins away. We were not left disappointed. The 25 other people promptly followed the 'tour guides' adivice and wandered into the wood (not that you could see it for the trees) and up small hill,on the promise of Monkeys. Us 4 (being Lucy and I and the Fromers, as I have decided to call them) stayed at the beachside bar and had a drink, thinking that monkeys would run away from a noisy, big group,so though it best to go later when everyone else returned. Our plan worked, though not according to plan exactly. A family of monkeys descended onto the bar and started playing and exploring,which was awesome to watch. We then continued to watch one as it got a bit braver and came towards us...and stole Lucy's Fanta! It was hilarious! She hadn't even drank any! We watched it drink it...then watched a local give it a beer! What fun! This provided the entertainment for the next hour, especially when the others came back and started feeding and drinking them too! Monkeys are so cool! Though I admit the entire hour I was singing Baby Monkey, sometimes in my head, sometimes out loud. (If you don't know what Baby Monkey is, then you should hang your head in Shame! Though I will help you out...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_sfnQDr1-o

Anyways, we eventually left island, which was really pretty but again spoiled by the weather and returned to our hotel. At the harbour we were all given a leaflet for a bar which was round the corner from our hotel, so we decided as a four to check it our after dinner. The bar itself was nice, but we were the only 4 in there. and they made us sit at the bar,so we couldn't even chat! After a couple of (weak) cocktails (which the barman had to read the recipes for as he was making them, which made me chuckle) and watching Catwalk TV (which was put on just after we got there, turning over from football, stupid people) we left early, knowing we had to be up early the next day for our return to Hanoi.

The return trip was largely unevenful (though the boat did play a Michael Jackson Greatest Hits DVD with all his videos, so I loved it). At the harbour were passed from tour guide to tour guide like a friend at party that no one wants to be with (We all know someone like that and if you don't, it's probably you). Eventually we found one that got us on the mini bus back (we fought our way onto the bus first for decent seats, result) and funnily enough the views were exactly the same going back, so nothing new to report there.

And then Back to Hanoi!

Halong Bay, Part 1

I did just write all this, on a proper computer, but the stupid Vietnamese computer decided it didn't like it, and deleted the whole bloody thing. I'm fuming, I'd been writing for like an hour.
So you guys have to get the iPod version, which probably won't be as good I'm afraid, but it probably will be shorter, meaning you can go back to work sooner (good news for all you dissertation writers!). The only good thing is that Lion King has just been put on, so at least I'm smiling (and mouthing every word and lyric as i go) which means it'll be a happier blog than had it would have been!

We left for Halong Bay about 8.30. We should have been picked up just Before 8 but our hotel staff, as lovely and helpful as they were, sent our bus away to pick up the others as they thought we were eating breakfast, rarer than calling us and making us miss out. Lovely gesture, but it meant Lucy and I were last on, meaning we had to sit on the crappy fold out chairs in the middle aisle (not sure why I said Middle, it was a minibus not a...place with many aisles...Church! That will do) which were so uncomfortable. Basically a seat, with a bar and cloth to support your back...not that I had the luxury of a back support, the girl sat behind me had her legs in the way (she was German...nuff said there). The journey itself, well the road was as potholed as the A38 in Gloucester, and the suspension in the bus was shot to pieces. Added with the erratic driving of everyone on the road, it was like being in one of those simulator arcade rides.
The country side was cool to look at, even of it did get a little repetitive a miles and miles (or Kilometre after kilometre, as it is here) of paddy fields, and not much else. The landscape was awesome, not that you could see much cos of the overcast weather. Also dotted all over were little Gravesite, containing anywhere between just one and tens of graves - all shaped like crypts, none big enough to actually hold a body.
After 3 long Hours (which was broken up by Monopoly and Game of Life) we arrived at the Harbour. We were picked up by a little taxi boat (which crashed into the side of the harbour, the driver (I know it's a boat just go with it) clearly forgetting the harbour side was stepped when putting tyres at the top of the boat, not the bottom where it crashed) and taken to our boat...not the boat we were promised I hasten to add, but we've come to expect such things out here. The fact it was a boat was a start.
And it wasn't an awful boat I suppose. Lunch, whilst very Vietnamese was quite nice, especially considered the kitchen it was prepared in. We met 2 guys from the Wirral at lunch and they provided much conversation entertainment over the day. After lunch and after we had Been shown our room (which was nice considering it was the size of my box room at home) we were taken to a cave. The cave itself was awesome, carved by the water leaving some spectacular grooves and shapes, much like Cheddar, but without the health and safety and other regulations. What was not quite so good was the tour guides. Not that they gave much information, but also they were pointing out bales that really weren't there. In Cheddar, the Witch looks like a Witch. In Halong Bay they tried to claim a lump of rock, which looks like a lump of rock, was Buddha. They tried to claim a tall pillar of rock, which looked like a tall pillar of rock, was Buddha's mother (or wife, depending on the guide-they had a fair amount of artistic license after all). They tried to claim a bit of rock sticking out of the cave was the 'famous Happy Finger' even though everyone agreed it was the absolutely the most perfect Erect Penis anyone had ever seen.
On the way out, the path took you to an opening high in the Cave, which looked out into the bay. Halong Bay is amazing, but the weather really let it down. It was still awesome but it would have been stunning had the sun been shining, allowing us to actually see more than the 5 islands closest to us which the fog and drizzle allowed us (funny it was the closest I've felt to being home for a while).

After the cave we went to a little floating Hamlet. As we went round the Bay we realised there were quite a few of these little hamlets, all having houses, supplies and fishing equipment (and in many, either a dog or cat, which is kinda cruel baring in mind these were about the size of 2 badminton courts and only pieced together by planks). This was where we collected our Kayaks (not that we'd won a competition-as cool as that would be we'd never get the budgets home) in which we were allowed to "enjoy and explore halong bay for ourselves" - for 30mins. Not that you can get far in 30 mins! Lucy and I were determined though and actually covered quite a lot of ground in that small half an hour, so much so I'm thinking of trying us out for the Olympics. We managed to see a few other caves (which was cool to go in and see, as they were so small) as well as watch a magnificent looking hawk soar and dive for food.

Back on the boat, after a shower/anothercaseofhavinganoldmanpissingonyou we were treated to dinner, again surprisingly nice - I was even brave enough to try eating the muscles and fish, which was presented to us whole. And then mid-meal...you guessed it, Karaoke time! No one actually selected songs, they Vietnamese hosts just played sons and trusted microphones into anyone's face that looked up. It was kinda fun to be fair, especially watching the two Wirral boys sing a beautiful love song to one another. The Karaoke finishes around 9 and the staff went to bed, some in the bar/eating area where we all still were. Not that that bothered us, we proceeded to play cards - a Thai game called Ching Chong (I'm not racist, that's honestly what the girl called it) and a massive 15 man (and girl) game of Sh*thead, which was a good laugh!
Bed time, think that's a good place to stop for this bit. Part 2 to follow....

Hallo Hanoi....

After a very comfortable 2 hour flight courtesy of Qatar Airlines (in which I managed to watch the new Muppets film, which was awesome and had me laughing the whole way, much to Lucy's disgust) we landed at Hanoi about 9.45, about 30 mins late. The customs at the airport was the easiest (though not sure if that means best or worst, depends on your intentions I suppose) and we got through in about half an hour or so, which considering we had to receive our Visas too was pretty good. Our Taxi driver, though quick to point out our unavoidable tardiness (there I go again with those big words mum!) was waiting for us at the door with a sign with Lucy's name on it, which made us feel important!
The drive to Hanoi was about 45mins/1 hour long and gave us plenty of time to stare out the window and enjoy the music our driver had carefully selected for us, recognising that we were Young and British and so changed CDs from soothing, lovely Vietnamese music to trance and rave music.

On approach to our hotel, we noticed that the roads must have been designed at a time where Mopeds were the only things in vietnam that were motorised - there was not enough room for one car once you left the main roads, let alone two cars...let alone 2 cars and a moped...let alone 2 cars and several mopeds...let alone 2 cars, several mopeds and lots of pedestrians/stalls! Nevertheless me and Lucy loved it, really quirky and full of character even though we had only seen it from our taxi window. We found our hotel after our driver said (in very broken English) that he could go no further and that we'd have to walk down a small, dark alley on our own, which we thought was preposterous (again mum look!) after we'd seen it online, but we did indeed find it in this little alley...it was tiny! Or at least width wise it was. It's probably smaller across than my house at home, but 7 storeys tall, hidden by another hotel of similar build...actually most buildings are built like this, hotels, houses, it's a bit odd, but again adds to the character to Vietnam.

Despite arriving gone 11pm the receptionists were still up, actually concerned for us as we were so late, thinking maybe we'd missed the taxi! A guy and a girl, they spoke very good English and were very friendly, showing us to our room, which was (and still is, come to think about it, not much has changed) very nice. We pretty much crashed when we got in, exhausted after nearly 2 days of moving around (remember the fun bus journey we had?)

The next day we ventured out into Hanoi, armed with a map, to explore and see some sights. The streets were as exciting/scary in the day as at night! Mopeds outnumbering cars and people combined everywhere, weaving in and out of pedestrians, cars and stalls. To cross a road here, you literally have to just walk slowly into the road regardless of how many mopeds, car or buses are coming - the idea being if you walk slowly, they have time to swerve and miss you, by just enough that you don't get hurt but you Kack your pants with fear. It's quite fun though!
We walked towards the centre and found ourselves outside a water puppet show...why not? It was about an hour long with 11 parts. It was...different. Traditional music by a live orchestra sat to the side accompanied each act, which told either a Vietnamese story or fable. It was quite enjoyable, the puppets being both simple but quite effective with how the puppeteers controlled them from behind a curtain several feet behind them. The main drawback being the entire show was in vietnamese with no English translation - or any translation - except for an A4 programme explaining each act, badly. This wasn't too much of an issue where there was no dialog...in 3 of the scenes...but nevertheless we enjoyed it.

After the show we visited Hoan Kiem lake, which is in the middle of the city, and some sort of shrine/memorial to someone famous in Vietnamese history (someone to do with the army that defeated the Chinese in the 14th century or something, feel free to Google it, I'll wait for you.............back? Cool I'll continue)

The lake itself was centuries old, with the little temple/hut/thing was built in the early 19th century. It was quite impressive, with a little bridge into the middle of the lake to reach it and all the shrines in the hut itself being pretty spectacular, with natives visiting the shrines ti offer money and other offerings as a thank you .Whilst impressive, the hoards of (bloody) tourists took away some of the majesty of it (the overcast weather didn't help either). After another little wander around the streets we headed for some dinner...(boring skip forward)....after dinner we headed for the Night Market, which we had heard lots about and was excited to go visit. To be honest, it was crap. Just full of tat, most selling either phone cases or very bad fake clothes, no little nik-nak, quirky Vietnamese items that we were looking for. Needless to say we didn't stay long. And a good job too! We had to be up early for our trip to Halong Bay! Stay tuned Blogees....

Journey from Hell

We had to spend another night on Samui, not doing an awful lot, staying in a really bad hotel (Lucy's idea in mine, as per ;) ) before heading off the next day back to Bangkok. What a trip this was. And not in the Hippee/Drugee way. More in the Holidays From Hell kind of ways.

Firstly when we booked it, we nearly got ripped off (again) being made tipsy almost double what we ended up paying (it pays to shop around in Thailand!) when we eventually got on our bus, we were taken to another port, where we were promptly made to get off and walk onto the ferry by a guy that didn't talk english, though there was clearly no pedestrian path onto the ferry.
On the other side, we found our bus and after getting back on, made our way from Dansak to Surathani, about 2 2 hours drive. When there, we were made to get off the bus in the kiddle of nowhere, cross 8 lanes of traffic and head off with a guy down a dark alley. Me and Lucy said our goodbyes to one another and I turned myself onto Ninja mode, looking for ways to escape.. We were eventually led to a small cafe come garage that housed many tourists, all heading back to Bangkok. Whilst most of them got on the bus waiting outside, 26 of us were made to get into a 15 seated Minibus with our bags (I promise I am not exaggerating this for comedic effect) and driven 10 minutes to find another bus. Although this bus was packed, luckily we found 2 seats next to
Each other, though was kinda uncomfortable. And clearly not the bus we were meant to get as there was no air con, making it very hot....though we were treated to the First Harry Potter film on the first leg of the journey.
After 10 hours we arrived in Bangkok, though not exactly where we were promised. I didn't think much of it at the time, but te drivers got the bags off the bus extremely quickly (especially compared to other buses I'd been on) and made off. It was only then after being approached by a Swede (being a man, not a vegetable, though I admit that would have been a better story I admit...maybe next time) 50m down the road asking if I had anything stolen, as he had lost his shoes and sleeping bag. After checking my bag, I realised my ribbon which I had used to tie by zips together had been ripped off. My bag and been completely ransacked, nothing where I'd left it. Lucy checked, same with hers. Everyone had had their bags going through, many having lost items. Luckily (but somewhat sadism many ways) neither Lucy or I had anything of value in our bags, so had lost nothing, but that did not Mean we didn't feel somewhat a little peeved off!
We now had over 12 hours to kill before we flew to Vietnam, and there was not a lot open at 6 am...McDonald's, though that loses appeal after a few minutes, and Mulligans Irish bar, open 24 hours but whose only customers at this hour, apart from 2 tired English travellers were 7 rowdy Thai Pissheads. Needless to say, we ended up going to the airport a lot earlier, mostly in a bid to save money, as anywhere we'd have gone in Khoasan Road would involve spending money to stay somewhere! It's amazing how quick 7 hours can pass in an airport when you have Monopoly, Starbucks and an untidy bag and an amazing girlfriend, whom I love dearly, but does have a mild form of OCD when it comes to tidy bags....

Mu Koh Ang Thong!

The next day (though this is a few days ago now) we left for Koh Samui, en route for Mu Koh Ang Thong. The only problem was, the only way to get to Ang Thong is by tour boat, which all leave in the morning, before we could get to Koh Samui. That meant we had to lose a night on Ang Thong and spend the afternoon and night in Koh Samui, but staying where the port was, Nathon. Unlike the Eastern side of Koh Samui which is touristy, full of hotels, restaurants and beaches and things to do, there is practically nothing for tourists in Nathon, it is a locals place. Great if you're a local, not us though. We headed for Nikki Beach, which on the map we found looked like a nice beach, which it was - for those staying in the resort. All along the beach was resorts, nothing for the average joe like us. This meant that after walking up and down the beach? We had to get a taxi from the resort back to Nathon, which cost an arm and a leg. At least our hotel had air con...
The next day we headed for Ang Thong on a tour led by a Crazy Thai guy who was funny and a German woman who was not. Funnily enough on the met over we met a girl from Horfield! How random! (Horfield is two towns over from where I Live, for all you none Brizzle Folk!)

Ang Thong itself is beautiful, a national park made up of 42 Islands West of Samui. Our first stop on the tour was to an island with a small bay and a Lagoon, which you had to walk up steps a small 150m to see, as it was in the middle of the island. Sorry did I say steps? I meant to say Vertical Ladders. Or that's what it seemed, basically on all fours climbing the bloody things...but it was worth it, stunning Lagoon as well as a beautiful view of some of the islands.

After a little paddle on the Beach ( I sound like a Victorian holidaying in Brighton) we were back on the boat for lunch, some sort of Curry and chicken thing. Whilst lunching we moved to another bay on another island, where we would in fact be staying. The island was stunning, so beautiful. Our Bungalow was behind the restaurant and Park Office, just a room, a bathroom and a bedroom but pretty an all we needed. Surrounded by green and trees and water, we quickly fell in love with this island.

There is a walk on the island that takes you to the highest point, giving you an amazing panoramic view of the islands. By walk I mean Hike.
And by hike, I mean 500m, climbing 260m.
And by hike, I mean often walking through parts which were actually inaccessible. Like the 50m before the summit, which was walking on the aide of jagged cliff, nothing to break your fall. I haven't done exercise for 2 months. And I wasn't exactly fit before that, though in sure that will come as a shock to most of you...I nearly died on this walk/hike. There was a viewpoint every 100m and at 100m, Lucy looked liked she was on a stroll...I looked like I had come out of the worlds hottest shower. How I made it up that mountain I'll never know - though my walking boots were a big help! But I'm so glad I made it - the view was fantastic. So beautiful. Literally stunning, in the sunshine.

The walk down was just as difficult, as coming up, the rock and uneven ground, as well as the sheer steepness of the hill, which was annoying and tiring going up and, at parts dangerous coming down. Though we were rewarded towards the bottom when we saw monkeys! Well, langurs, that actually looked like a family of Black and White Minstrels in the trees, but they were awesome to see.

After an afternoon on the beach, we got back on the boat and headed to Samui for another boring night of not-muchness, actually quite sad to behaving Ang Thong after just one night.

Awesome Koh Tao

When we eventually awoke from our slumber, we explored our hotel a bit more - the place was truly stunning. Set North of Sairee in a little cove in the hills, Thipwimarn (I think it's spelt) was beautiful and very posh (well for me anyway!) on arrival we were given a lovely ice cold drink, took in the views overlooking the bay and down Koh Tao and then shown to our hut-that's right hut. In this hut was an en-suite with a power Shower (how I've missed them), tv, Minibar and a balcony looking out the bay - truly stunning. The only real downfall was that the Thatched Roof (did I not mention that it was thatched? Must have slipped my mind...) was so low that we kinda missed the sun, but as the only downfall that's not bad! We spent the afternoon exploring the Cove and the infinity pool area (although the plants had kinda overgrown since the picture, still, you got the gist of what it was meant to be like) - I spent a lot of time in the hammock...I want a Hammock!
By night time, we still hadn't left the hotel - well to be honest there wasn't much point! Everything we needed was at the hotel! Plus after her journey (and the awful boat ride) Lucy wasn't feeling great...so what better way to celebrate being rich Westerners than to order room service! Spring rolls and ribs, delicious! Though the Pad Iew was...not quite so, partly due it's horrible taste, partly due to the power. Cut we had during cooking, and apparently the Chef had forgotten to turn the oven back on afterwards....as English tv was left a little wanting in the room, I decided to check out the hotels DVD collection...not good. I ended up plumping for Harry Poter and the Goblet of Fire, which wasn't too bad,(Dumbledore, No! Though did like it at the start when he said to Harry "take my hand"...*SPOILER ALERT* couldn't help but chuckle and yell GAY at the screen immature I know but made me laugh. Still need to watch the last few.

The next day comprised of us trying to find a way to Ang Thong to make our accommodation booking, though that eventually turned into disappointment, we'd have to lose a day and spend it in Koh Samui, going to Ang Thong the next day. How did we deal with the disappointment? Thai Massage on the Beach!

This was Lucy's idea, she wanted a massage, to be honest I didn't really care, so it was easy to agree that it would be nice...
Which I suppose it kinda was. Well, bits of it. It started with them trying to break the top of our neck with their fingers After rubbing Vick Vapour Rub into them. And half way through, the lovely masseuse (though masseuse assumes she was qualified, and I can't remember seeing a certificate...) Decided to test my Candidacy for a place on the Thai Olympics Gymnastics team - my hips and legs have never bent in any of the directions she was making them! I still think maybe I was under some sort of voodoo spell as a doll replica of me is the only way my legs could have done those things!
Other than that the massage was relatively nice (although me and Lucy both got groped, free of charge, No Happy Ending though)
We then took a Taxi Boat to Ngan-Yuan, 3 islands just off Koh Tao. It's a national park (which means they charge you 100baht to enter, cheeky gits) so the entire island is only open 9-5, unless you're staying on the island Resort. The island is really lovely, full of snorkelers and divers, as well as those just looking for a quiet beach day. Despite some Snorkel and Mask Malfunctions it was a good mini trip, the coral was pretty (though not Reef Standard ;)) and there were entry of fish to look at, many of whom decided that my legs were very tasty and so proceeded to help themselves the buggers - not so tough covered in batter are they!
When we got back I left Lucy tanning in search of those rarest of species but most beautiful of specimens that is Nick Long! Nick (a school friend, for rhose of you reading this that don't know him) is travelling Asia too (check out his blog) and on the island at the same time so seemed silly not to catch up! I met his friend Luke and had a chat whilst watching people attempt to trapeze above us...
We spent the evening lying on beanbags at a beach bar with a drink (as you do) watching the beautiful sunset. We then went to Choppers Australian bar for food as it was ladies night, mean half price food and cheap drinks (though this didn't stop some people walking out without paying? Leaving us to face some angry Thai Waiters who continued to watch us from the opposite table to ensure we didn't follow suit!) Nick and Luke also joined us, as well as some girls we had met earlier and the evening was enjoyed by all. The End.

Not really, just seemed like the end to a fable or something. We went back to the hotel about 10 to stop us getting locked out our room after reception had closed (though not after arguing the price of the taxi, which was the same price for half the distance we'd travelled the day before). After a quick dip in the Infinity pool overlooking the lights of Koh Tai and beneath the (almost) full moon and more stars than I've seen since Madame Tussauds, we went to bed, more travelling awaiting us the next day...

Khaosan Road to Koh Tao

Sorry Bloggees, I haven't neglected You! Ive just been busy thats all :) hope you coped without the updates! (hopefully Jo this meant you had to actually Do Some dissertation work ;)

Saturday I spent the day in Khaosan Road, just pottering around the markets and seeing the sights. Khaosan is a very interesting place, just imagine Southmead Market but hot and humid and a lot cheaper. Got myself a few bargains so all is good :) its a funny place, Thai people are quite friendly but once you've looked at something on a stall, even if as you're passing by, they're onto you like Ruch at a G Star Raw sale. They don't let you go without a fight, which works out in your favour really as you end up getting a good price if you're willing to be a tight fisted git, which I can be at times ;)
I met. Group of Manc girls in the hostel who invited me out with them that night and a couple of Brummie lads, who might as well have been speaking Thai, I could not understand their accent whatsoever. We watched the football then headed to Prince Palace, where there is a rooftop bar which looked over Bangkok - absolutely Stunning, with all the lights on and stars out. They also had Karaoke, so u gave it a go - when in Rome and all that ;)
The next day I pretty. Much just chilled, I was knackered....plus Lucy Arrived! :) I got to the airport as she landed (at about 3.15 then proceeded to wait unit about 4.45 when she actually made it through customs....thank god for my iPod!
I was told the cheapest way to get back to Khaosan was by train, although it involved a transfer but supposedly simple. That's what I was told anyway.
The ticket cost 40Baht each, which was cheap, but then at the end of the line were were still at least 15 mins from Khaosan. No worries, we'll just get a taxi right? There's millions here....wrong. 5 or more taxis turned us down, a mixture of not wanting to take us and not knowing what we were saying. In the end we flagged down a tuk-tuk - not really something you wanna do with a 15 minute journey ahead of you, as thats 15 minutes to give the driver as much chance to kill you or someone else as possible.

We were supposed to be picked up from my hostel at 7.30 to be taken to the bus which left at 9....but 7.30 came and gone, no pickup. We started to get a little worried. I asked every travel "agent" in Khaosan where the bus left from so we could run after it, but no one knew...how could no one know! It's the only bus! Everyone sells it!
All we got was a hint that we walked down an alley to the next road...which turned out was too small for bus!
So we devised a scheme....ask ANYONE with a backpack if they were getting the bus and we'd find it. Foolproof! Apparently it was, cos the first person we asked was getting the bus! The office was in the road, the bus was on the roundabout down the road - that made much more sense!
Anyway 8 hours later we arrived in Chumphon...then after a 2 hour wait the boat ride from hell to Koh Tao. I'm not normally seasick, but I was really struggling, head down all the way, though not actually Sick. Poor Lucy was a lot worse.
We gathered it wasnt going to be a great journey as 5 mins in the wall of bags the staff had made which must have been 8 ft tall across the front of the boat started moving and eventually collapsed, despite great efforts of the front row to stop the collapse...rescue teams are still searching for survivors in the rubble...

We arrived in Koh Tao around 9.30 and after a pause to thank god for land we got a taxi to our hotel, which turned out to be absolutely stunning. Beautiful. So peaceful and amazing with great service and views out into the bay...not bad for £20 a night!

Then we slept.....

Land of Ping-Pong...sorta

So the time has come for me to leave the land of the British criminals and set sail for the of Thailand (though set sail is a bit misleading, as no boats were involved at any point).
On my last day in Oz, I had another wander round the City, encompassing the Harbour Bridge. For $11 you could climb one of the towers (or Pylons£ at the City end of the bridge, and look out at the area. As well as this, there was an exhibition telling the history of the building of the bridge which was actually quite interesting. To give them credit it's a hell of a bridge, especially considering it was built 1926-31 [though would like to point out to any proud Aussie that it was designed by a firm in Middlesbrough, so technically English - Ha!]

Now the journey to Bangkok was a hell of a trip, one that stressed me out quite a lot. Firstly on arrival at the airport, I was politely told that as I didn't have proof of how I was leaving Thailand (ie a ticket) that I wouldn't be allowed entry. So I then spent an hour trying to find a computer and book a flight out of Bangkok, baring in mind that I had to coordinate this with Lucy as we'd both be getting the flight out. After I eventually did this, I was turned away from the check in desk as my email confirmation which I had on my iPod was not good enough proof - I needed a paper copy. So that meant I had to find a printing area and pay $3 for something I had on my phone. By their good grace this was good enough for China Airlines to let me in - in the end I wasn't even asked about it going through Customs in Thailand!
After I got through security I promptly
headed to Duty Free (like all good Brits). This was only because I wanted a bottle of Bunderberg Rum which I've never seen in the UK but is really nice. However, I was told by the cashier that as I was transferring in Taipei, that I wouldn't be able to get them through security because they were Over 100mls...despite the fact I was walking off the plane straight to the departure lounge.... Stupid bloody terrorists, ruining it for everyone....
Luckily, the flight was actually quite good. I was welcomed onto the plane by Harry Gosling's Chinese Cousin Again the film choices were top notch and the food, whilst heavily Chinese-influenced was good. The it bad thing is that during my 9 hour flight to Taipei, 3 hour transfer and 4 hour flight to Bangkok, I only slept a couple of hours, so upon arrival it was fair to say I was knackered! I then had to queue for an hour to get through customs, not happy!
The taxi ride to Khaosan Rd then took nearly an hour itself, partly due to the fact the airport seemed to actually be in Burma rather than Bangkok, partly due to traffic.
Now the famous Khaosan Rd is mental. It's absolutely packed with tourists and Thai people trying to flog them stuff. I walked around for over an hour trying to find a hostel, and in te end picked an absolute dive - standard. At the end of Khaosan Rs (which does actually mean I get a pretty good view of it), no a/c just a fan that moves the hot air around to warm up parts of the room that might be slightly cooler - though I say room, I think they cleared out the Janitor's closet for me.
At night, the atmosphere changes. Slightly cooler (which is a godsend) The Del boys and Del girls come out in force, and you can't move for looky-looky traders or Tuk Tuk drivers offering to take you to a ping pong show, accompanied by the noise of...such a thing. In fact by the end of the night, they were just making the noise, not even saying it!
After wandering the streets I met done guys from Kent, who were waiting for their mate to arrive from Australia (clearly fate) and so had a few beers with them - and half a fried frog, which actually tasted like the bottom of a slightly over-fried egg.
When their mate arrived, we got a Tuk Tuk to their hotel, about a 10 min drive away. Now, 4 people and a 26kg bag on what was basically a 3wheeled scooter that at the best of times could take 2 people was and experience (though nothing to Uganda's Buda Buda's, still my favourite form of transport anywhere in the world, especially down a dirt track!) we then headed back to Khaosan Road and had a few beers before I nearly passed out from exhaustion...

That's effectively all that's happens so far here, given its quite a lot in a day. On the bright side - Lucy gets here Tomorrow :)