Sapa

I flew from Danang to Hanoi and arrived around 10am at my chosen hostel rather than check in I decided to book an organised 2 day trip, through the hostel to the northern town of Sapa. I spent the day chilling around the backpacker area surrounding  hostel to kill time before taking the sleeper train to Lao Cai (a city in the north of vietnam) a further 1 hour bus journey and I arrived in the mountain town of Sapa which has become a destination for travellers who wish to trek through the hills and meet authentic Vietnamiese tribe folk.

My schedule consisted of around 5 hrs treking on the first day to a home stay located at the bottom of the valley of which Sapa sits at the top of. This would have been a lot easier than planned however the previous days rain made the descent very hard and muddy work. We were also accompanied by the local tribes woman who had to help us on many occasions (they made the walk look easy even in their flip flops and traditional dress). However there was a price to pay for being helped and at lunch we were bombarded by them with bracelets, bags, fabric and even babies. It was a relief to make it to the homestay which was really good and looked out over the rice fields and hills of he valley. However it kind of lost its nostalgic feel when I discovered the wifi, tv, beer fridge and local bar which was pumping out rhianna! We were treated to rice wine and local food before hitting the hay.

The second day envolved a smaller trek to a waterfall... which was in full flow as it rained all day. We returned to sapa for a shower before returning to Lao Cai for the return night train to Hanoi. The trip on the whole was amazing and it was good to get out and do some physical activity and sweat out some of the beer from Hoi An.

Pics FYI.

Hoi An

The partying of Koh Rong meant my body was starting to feel and smell horrible and due to ferry transfers not working in my favour i had to stay the night in Sihanoukville before heading to Saigon. I travelled with Taylor a Canadian i met at Vagabonds we both needed a shower and a room with AC... which we got for $6. To have a room/bed without sand was amazing! We spent the following day wating for our sleeper bus in Top Cat cinema complete with AC and latest films for $4 in your own private room!

After a 15hr night bus from Sihanoukville (Cambodia) i arrived into Saigon (Vietnam) and booked a sleeper train to Danang. I originally wanted a "soft sleeper" carriage however these were completely full and I had to resort to a "hard sleeper" carriage. TBH the hard sleeper was good i requested the lower bunk which was equipped with power socket, reading light, table, pillow and blanket and after watching Casino and The Departed back to back i fell asleep with ease (even with a box chickens next to me). The train arrived in Danang which  is about an hour north of Hoi An.... i arrived at the Sunflower Hotel Hoi An approx 16 hrs after leaving Saigon but the journey was worth it and after dip in the pool i was more than relaxed.

Hoi An is a city located approx in the center of Vietnam on the coast,close to Danang, it has a real colonial feel and the ancient timber fronted shops make Hoi An a great place to chill out and relax. The main area centres around the Japanese bridge crossing a river and there are lots of cool coffee shops and bars to watch the world go by.

Daytime:
I hired a bike for a few days and cycled around the city and to the beach stopping off at watering holes whenever i wanted. The beach itself is nice, not as picturesque as those in Cambodia but still... The most enjoyable day was spent on a motorbike riding with Canadians Mike and Ben to the Hai Van Pass. The views were amazing and the roads were awesome to drive.We stopped in Danang on the way back for food at the Vietnamiese version of McD's "Lotteria" which was packed full of school kids who all stood around our table watching us eat ahahahah.... I also spent many hours in Kimmy fashion. These were my chosen tailors to make my tailored shirts and flag for the Lions tour. In short it was a ball ache trying to tell the staff exactly what i wanted.... but the end result is fantastic and i am really pleased with the flag and the shirts.

Evenings:
These were rotated between going out and more relaxed evenings boozing in cafes around the Japanese bridge. The main nightclub (Volcano) was i ended up and is similar to any small town club back home but it still made for a great night given the right company. The plus side of Volcano is that 3 quid gets you as much booze as you can drink. The food in Hoi An was really good the local specialities were amazing my favourite being the Cao Lao noodles and Stuffed squid from Cafe 43. The Noodles worked out at roughly one pound and they were truly amazing. I also had the pleasure of some amazing Indian food with people from my dorm for a fellow travellers birthday again the food and night out was good the latter being the better. All in all Hoi An is a brilliant place i ended up staying for 7 days. The city was so relaxed, not over priced and good nightlife. I could have quite easily stayed longer.

Pics and Videos FYI.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvss8cIEdb4

Koh Rong Island

I headed to Koh Rong from Sihanoukville by ferry...The $5 trip was more than worth it. 

Koh Rong in my opinion is what the Thai islands would have been before the mass influx of tourists (sorry to sound like an over pretentious traveler; JOKE!). The island has no electricity by day and the island establishments run their generators from around 4 pm to midnight dependent on the trade,this means no A/C, no fan, no WiFi and using a torch at night to navigate around the beach. The island is stunning the main beach is similar to any but the 7 km aptly named Long Beach is truly out of this world....

I stayed at Vagabonds for the bulk of my stay and took advantage of the brilliant $7 deal which included accommodation  breakfast, unlimited instant noodles, water refills, 1 hr of free beer per day and two 2 hr happy hours. The hostel was awesome...so relaxed and located right on the beach front. The bar floor was the beach itself and although this meant endless amounts of sand in your bed everybody just get on with it because "your in paradise right!!!!"

Most days centered around well.... doing nothing (sorry if your reading at work).... well i say nothing i mean sitting on the beach and waiting for the free beer at 4pm Ahahah BRILLIANT! Food would then follow the free beer usually a BBQ on the beach my favorite was the BBQ fresh Tuna awesome (for $3.5)! Then guess what a few more drinks taking advantage of the Vagabonds happy hour. The mood was relaxed and chilled everybody had chance to put there own music on which made for a great atmosphere. The best night was the Israeli party which was led by my friend Michael (who was working at Vagabonds). A few nights in and i had made some great friends from the UK, USA, Canada and Argentina... everyday was spent with these guys and was awesome so thanks to you all!!

The short boat trip too Long Beach was amazing the water was so clear and the sand so white. It was that soft my foot just sank into it. When you walked on the sand it was so fine it made weird sound it was BRILLIANT!!! This trip along with swimming with the luminous plankton which glows as you swim with it at night was truly an amazing experience.

I have created a you tube channel and uploaded some videos so search the following name and hopefully you will be able to see them: jaxkthelad 

http://www.youtube.com/user/jaxkthelad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVcmZWTH4uI

Photos as per normal FYI.

Peace and Love Jack xxxx

Otres Beach

My first night bus (10hrs) resulted in me ending up in Shianoukville. Its a costal resort centered around the beachs of Serendipity, Ochetual and Otres. I spent two nights at Otres beach in the beachside hostel "Wish You Were Here" Otres kind of prides itself on being the real traveling expierence. It was pretty cool tbh. The main road was an un made dust track, power cuts were often and showers were cold (welcomed in the 35+ heat).

My hostel was really good and the food was good also... although eating has taken a back seat given the heat. The beds were covered with moscito nets which again was a first.

Daytime:
I spent the day chilling on otres beach itself. My second day I took the now obligatory boat trip around the islands  dotted around the cambodian coastline. The most impressive being "Bamboo Island" which has apparantly been bought by a businesman with plans forma major development.

Evenings:
The vibe was pretty chilled so I a few beers in the hostel and at the beah bars surrounding it made for a relatively early nights. The company and food was brilliant as always.

Pics FYI

Siem Reap

Siem Reap was another long bus journey away from my previous destination.... its in the North of Cambodia and is also near to Tonle Sap (Asia's largest lake).

Siem Reap is visited by most people as it is very close to Angkor and the famous temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Tom to name but a few. I was no dofferent and also visited the temples.

The town is pretty cool and you have the option to go big or chill out in smaller and more chilled bars. There is a lot of places to eat and drink and the food I had was reasonable at around $5 for a curry with rice and a drink. Amok being my favourite so far. There is also a night market for shopping etc all in all a cool place.

Daytime:
I took a tuk tuk from the hostel to visit the temples of Angkor Wat, Angkor Tom and Ta Prom aka tombraider (the location of the film Tombraider). The temples were amazing and the shear size of the things made them very impressive.... Angkor Wat has a 100m wide moat around its whole perimeter. I also visited a landmine museum which was really informative and showed off some good charity work which is currently being carried out.

Evening:
The first evening was spent with the local guys who worked at the hostel... I ended up in some Cambodian hip hop bar where I was the biggest person in the place. Locals kept coming upto me and touching my arms and asking how big I was (very strange). I felt like the BFG in an episode of the borrowers.... The other nights I chilled around the hostel and took advantage of the free pool table before heading to  "Pub Street" for a few more beers.

Phnom Penh

I reached PP (the capital of Cambodia) by bus from Saigon. Only after I crossed the border did I realise that I had a single entry visa for Vietnam... so I now had to by another visa to re enter after I had finished in Cambodia. I had used a six month visa in 3 days annoying but funny now looking back at it. The Cambodian visa cost me me $25 and was a pretty simple affair.

The streets of PP where packed with scooters and tuk tuks like everywhere in SE Asia it just something ive become accustomed to by now....

Daytime:
The two days I had was spent visiting the sombre and eary sights left behind by the Khmer Rouge ragime in the late seventies ruled by communist leader Pol Pot. Basically the guy was a nut job and believed that all interlectuals, teachers, doctors etc were not needed and he sent everybody out to work the land. Anybody he didnt like he killed or tortured until the vietnamiese invaded and ended the ragime.

I visited the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum a former school which was turned into prison where men, women and children were detained and often tortured before being killed at many of the "killing fields" throughout Cambodia. The prison hasn't been changed since it was discovered so as you can imagine its a pretty terrible place and very hard hitting. I also went to Choeung Ek (one of the kilking fields which has been made into a memorial), again a gruesome place where bones and teeth are pushed to surface when it rains due to the amount of people buried in mass graves. Obviously I didnt take loads of pictures as it wasnt really appropriate but the place really made you think about life.

It wasnt all doom and gloom as I also visited the royal palace which is home to some impressive buildings and Sisowath Quayside which was pretty cool with locals flying kites and feedoing pidgeons. Obviously enjoyed this few from a nearby bar! Champagne for everyone!!!!

Evening:

I only really went out the one night and it was pretty good. After the hostel happy hour I ended in one PP's cool little bars a few shot of tequlia later and the rest is history. Great night and the music was pretty decent too!

Pics FYI

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

Leaving thailand for Vietnam was hard. I was with some great guys coming to the end of their travels and leaving the islands for a mad city was a wake up call. The city itself is very busy and their are thousands of motorbikes making crossing the hard a complete nightmare.

Although it was busy I preferred it too Bangkok as the bars were more chilled out with most of them sprawling out onto the pavement with tables and chairs were I sat and drank beers for around 40p brilliant.

The weather and humidity made walking around hard work but navigating around the city was easy enough with most of the sights being around the same area.

Daytime.
The first day was spent seeing the main sights of Saigon these imcluded the War Remnants Museum, Notre Damm Cathederal, Opera House and Central Post Office. The war museum was very thought provoking and the most interesting and hard hitting part was the exhibition on the use of agent orange the American War (as they call ii in Vietnam). The next day I took an organised trip booked through the hostel to the Cu Chi tunnels.... as used during the war by the Vietconh. I managed to do a 20m stretch of the said tunnels and fire an M16 rifle which was pretty strange feeling. We also visited a Cao Dai temple (a newly formed "fusion" religion worth googling). TBH it was nothing special and I am a bit templed out after Thailand.

Evenings
Were spent around the backpacker area near to my hostel where I shared a few drinks with room mates Ruud and Josh. My last night was spent on the 27th floor of a hotel (Chill Bar) looking out over Saigon making my gin and tonic last as long as possible as it was very expensive.

All in all a few very good few days with some good sights and nights out.

Pics FYI