Patong - Phuket

One thing I have to say about Patong is that the staff in hotels are not very polite. You pay on arrival which we have not had to do else where in Asia and once they have your money they don't care, literally.

My advise: Pay day by day then if something is not right they will want to sort it so they get your money.

We got a boat from Koh Lanta to Patong which went past Phi Phi islands. You could get off here but we stayed on until we reached Phuket.
We had already arranged a transfer from the ferry port to our hotel but you could easily pick up a taxi.

Our first hotel we stayed in was about a 10minute walk from the Mall and Bangla Road. It was in a nice local with night markets along the road and plenty of restaurants, very easy to navigate around.

We had 2 nights in this hotel which we thought we would spend by the pool but unfortunately this did not happen. We spent 2 days arguing with the hotel over our room and money. We had arrived about 8pm and there was only one guy on the desk, he checked us in and gave us a room key. The room was massive and we were very impressed with it, until the morning came when we had a rude awakening by a member of staff telling us to leave the room. We asked what was wrong and they she said we had been given the wrong room, she showed us to another room which was falling apart. We refused to move rooms and wanted to speak to the manager. On speaking to the manager we found that our card had been charged 2 days prior to our arrival. When we book hotels through booking.com we always check that we choose payment on arrival as our card company will charge us for using our card otherwise. So this was a shock and not a good one. After hours of talking to the staff we eventually spoke to booking.com direct and within minutes we were issued a refund for the hotel which included our bank charges. This was great so off we went shopping with a spring in our step.... or so we thought!!

NOTE: Any problems your having with hotels which have been booked through booking.com, call them straight away as they will have it dealt with in minutes.

After our 2 nights in this hotel we moved to another one which was further from the hustle and bustle of Bangla Road. It was about 30 minute walk to the mall, but we thought this was fine as the hotel provided a shuttle.. NO NO NO that was the old owners of the hotel, the new owners could not care less if you stayed or went. There was no staff in the hotel after 3pm until the next day so if anything goes wrong your on your own. Some people were left a note and their room keys on the desk, not a very warm welcome from the hotel. We had problems with the WiFi and our friend was coming from the UK for a holiday, we had arranged an airport transfer through the hotel but her flight was delayed by 2 hours so who do you inform?? the non speaking taxi driver of course. After about 30minutes of trying to tell him we finally had it sorted and my friend arrived safely. We did not pay the hotel until the end and we called booking.com which they arranged for us to get a discount because the shuttle bus was no longer running.

Anyway Patong itself is great, we really enjoyed the area. There is so much to do in and around Patong, things that cost and things that are free so plenty to please all age groups.

Attractions we did:

• Roof Top Mini Golf:

This is 18 holes on top of Banana Walk, which looks down onto the busy party streets below and the Andaman Sea. I love playing mini golf and do it on most of my holidays so i really enjoyed this evening. It cost 500 baht per person with a cocktail of your choice at the end.

• Ping Pong show:

You walk down Bangla Road at night and you will approached by at least 50 people offering ping pong shows. The entrance is free but they do request you by a drink. The drinks are expensive, a bottle of beer in the supermarket is around 50 baht and in the ping pong bars you will pay around 900 baht, but they are an eye opener and a great laugh. Something you have to experience while in Patong definitely.

• SF Cinema:

The cinema is on the top floor of the Jungceylon shopping mall. It is super cheap 180 baht and Wednesdays are even cheaper 120 baht,with all the new release movie so a must while in Patong.

• Fantasea:

This is a evening show is for all the family, with many different things to look at. The magic starts at the door with a beautiful waterfall, and into a village of shops selling souvenirs to jewellery, etc. Have your picture taken with parrots or looks at massive cat fish in the small rivers that run through the palace. Before the show you enjoy a sit down all you can eat buffet, which has everything from Chinese, Indian, Steak, Pasta, Salads and a great selection of deserts. After dinner you head over to the main stage where you can ride of touch the elephants that are walking around outside. Inside while you make your way to the seating area you can have you picture taken with baby tigers. We booked the day before so our seats were high but good views but i would advice booking in advance so you can be sat near the front and really experience the show. They has everything in the show from elephants, tigers, goats, rabbits etc a real fun thing to watch. We paid 800baht each but this can be bartered down and if you book as a group it will probably be cheaper.

• Quad Biking, Elephant Trek and Monkey Show:

We booked this as a package to do both but you can book separately. There were 11 of us so we got a good price of 800 baht each, it is usually about 1,500 baht. We first watched the monkey show, this was more for kids, I didn't really enjoy it, felt too sorry for the monkeys as didn't seem very happy. The preform tricks for food and then come sit on your knee for photos. It only lasts about 15 minutes.




The quad biking was the best part, zooming down the dirt tracks pulling in on occasion to admire the views across Rawai Bay. Standing on top of the hill the guide was telling us when the tsunami hit you could watch it coming across the sea before it hit the land, The views are amazing from up there and you can see how close the hotels are which got hit, but have now been rebuilt.
Advice when on the quad bikes, don't be at the back. I was and my lovely partner thought it would be funny to wheel spin the sand which blow up into my face...Twice! Pay back was given don't worry.

After that we went on the elephant trek, not the best one Ive been on, was a small walk, those stood on the platforms could see you so good for pictures. I wasn't sure how safe it was as our guide told me to get off the seat and sit on the head mid walk, was very scary as nothing to hold on to so i quickly got back into my seat. The best bit of the ride was at the end playing with the baby elephant and feeding it milk for kisses. Very cute.

•  Night market:

As a large group we organsied a bus to take us to the night market and pick us up again but you can get the local bus for 34 baht each. The local bus is called a Songtaew and is blue, you can hail it down if your not at a bus stop. The market was huge but a lot of the stalls sold the same stuff. The food market was the best bit as it had a variety of food on offer and for those of your who are brave... fried bugs, worms etc. I did try the bugs and they tasted like peanuts as long as you didn't think about what you were eating. Did get a leg stuck in my teeth though. lol. The market was really cheap, cheaper than Patong area itself so was happy to look around.

• Big Buddha:

The big Buddha sits on top of a mountain between Chalong Bay and Kata Beach which can be seen from almost anywhere from the southern part of the island. The Buddha is still under construction and weighs 22 tons of brass and stands 12 meters high. Its is amazing at how big the Buddha is and the detail which has gone into it. You can have your name carved into the bricks they are using to build the Buddha so it will be there for ever.

• Gem Gallery:

To enter the gallery you take a small train ride inside the gallery which talks you through how they mine for the gems and how they are made into Jewellery. Once the train stops you can walk around and watch the locals work on  making earrings, rings etc and the detail/time that goes into making them. After that you are shown into 2 huge rooms containing the finished products which you can buy, and given a free non-alcoholic drink of your choice.

• Beaches:

The beaches in Patong are very clean and not over crowded. You can hire umbrella's and beach mats or for the more adventurous jet ski's and paragliding.

• Bangla road:

This is an attraction in itself, there is always something to look at with plenty of bars all along the road, with kebab shops at each end for when you fall out the bars at 2am, oh sorry we are in Patong i mean 6am. lol.

We were lucky enough to be there for their New year, (Songkran) In Thailand they celebrate New Year a lot differently to what we thought, They celebrate with a 3 days water fight on the street. Be warned you can not walk anywhere with out having a bucket of water thrown over you. Everywhere has and sells super soakers and even our hotel got involved and set up water stations outside to throw over passer by. Groups of people drive through the streets and throw water over you its crazy but in the best possible way. Was the best new year Ive celebrated.

Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Alfresco Phuket Hotel, 1,890 Baht (today's exchange rate £131 ) for 2 nights. This was the first hotel mentioned at the start so we did get it at a reduced price but this is that booking.com advertises it as. Worst hotel we have stayed in.

See Sea Hotel, 28,800 Baht (today's exchange rate £ ) for 12 nights. This was for 2 rooms and it has so much potential to be a great hotel, the rooms are big and decorated nicely it is just a shame the owners don't care about it.

Buasri Phuket Hotel, 4,893 Baht (today's exchange rate £ ) for 7 nights. I never mentioned this hotel above but after See Sea Hotel we moved here. It was closed to town with plenty of places to eat near, there was a cut through from the hotel to the mall which took 5 minute walk but i think this has been closed off so the walk round to the mall will now take 10-15 mins but plenty to see along the way. The hotel had only been open for 2 months so was very clean, the staff were great and provided anything we asked for, there was a large pool but the owner was in there a lot of the time which put us off going in and there were only 2 double sun beds but the hotel was not very busy. We loved this hotel it gave us everything we wanted and would stay here again.

Krabi and Koh Lanta

So as I mentioned in my last blog to get a 30 day visa in Thailand you need to arrive via air so the cheapest and shortest flight from Siem Reap was to Krabi.

We stayed at a driving range, although we are not golfers and have never played we thought it would be fun. The owner picked us from the airport and it took us about 30minutes to the hotel. It is outside of Karbi town about 40 minute bus ride but there are shops in a Mall including a Tesco which is in walking distance.

The owners at the hotel were very nice and helpful, our first room unfortunately had a big problem with ants, it was like something out of a horror movie coming out the wall but we were soon changed to a new room which was a lot better. Although the hotel was out of the town it was so peaceful and this is what we liked.

We did play some golf, but i wasn't very good and couldn't hit it very far. There is potential for a mini golf course which i think they had at one time and its a shame they let this slip.

We grabbed a lift into town with the owner, which is a small main square with a market on but lots of hotels and restaurants around it. We had to go to the immigration office while we were in town to extend our visa, (as i can not count and missed 3 days off our visa so we would have over stayed) this is NOT in walking distance. We however did walk it on what seemed to be the hottest day. There is nothing around and is a very long walk so if you need to go get a taxi.


We got the bus back to the mall near our hotel, this was easy to find and very cheap. (you can hail the bus to stop if your not at a bus stop). We didn't stay long in Krabi so we never got over to the beaches which are very popular.

We organised a bus to Koh Lanta through the hotel and a minibus picked us up in the morning and took us across the ferry crossing into Koh Lanta. This cost about 350 baht (today's exchange rate £7) and took a couple of hours.

Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Palm Driving Range & Resort, 2,000 Baht (today's exchange rate £84) for 2 nights, breakfast was not included. The staff were very polite here and it had an on site restaurant where the food was very good. It is a very basic hotel and has locals coming and going to play golf but don't let this put you off, it really was a peaceful place to be.

Koh Lanta

At the ferry port we jumped into a tuk tuk which took us to our hotel. It was about a 15 minute drive, not far from the ferry as we did walk it. The whole of Koh Lanta is small and easy to walk, although we did find it more expensive.

At arriving at our hotel we were shown to our cabin, to find the air con not working and at 30 degrees it was definitely needed so we asked to move rooms.

The main attractions in Koh Lanta are the beaches, there are very clean and white sand with a variety of restaurants/bars. Very peaceful place and only 5 minute walk from our hotel. The shops are up towards the ferry port which will take you about 30 minutes to walk, there are some great restaurants along the ferry port as well so worth a walk. We were there March and many of the restaurants/shops were getting ready to close as the tourist season was coming to an end.


We were not very happy with our hotel so we looked at others in the area and found a great one up near the ferry port, it was very large and hardly anyone there with a huge roof top pool which most days we had to our self.

We organised a boat ride to Phuket through a travel agent near to the ferry port, they were very good and beat the price we found elsewhere, although i do think any travel agent would do this as they want the business.

Hotels we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Escape Cabin, 4,590 Baht (today's exchange rate £192) for 3 nights, including breakfast which was at a restaurant across the road. We felt this hotel was very over priced for what you got. The cabins are very small, ants everywhere in the bathroom and towels are only changed every 2-3 days, (we've stayed in cheaper places that change towels everyday), The pool was small and not very deep, there was also dead frogs in it. I thought frogs could swim?? we had to ask the staff to clean it or even clean it ourselves on a daily basis. The sunbed were poor quality and uncomfortable. Overall i would not stay or advise anyone to stay here.

Hotels we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Lanta Residence Boutique, 1,916 Baht (today's exchange rate £38) for 1 night, breakfast not included. (This price is what booking.com offers but we spoke to the hotel direct and there offered to beat the booking.com price and include breakfast, which i thought was very good). The hotel was very quiet which was a good thing as we had the pool all to ourselves. It had a huge roof top pool with views across the mountains. The staff were brilliant here and the hotel was close to shops and restaurants. I would definitely stay here again.

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

After leaving Phnom Penh at 12:30pm and with a few stops along the way we arrived in Sihanoukville around 7pm. The bus ride was nail biting and I did have to close my eyes at times as other vehicles get very close and the road surface is all uneven, but we made it in one piece and that is all that matters. 

The bus drops you off at their office and if you walk down the hill you will come to the main round about with a huge golden lion on top. If you take the first exit to your right this will lead you down the main street of bars/restaurants/hostels and all the way to the beach. There are different road leading off this one which also have restaurants and beach access.



The hotel we stayed in was about a 10 minute walk from the golden lion taking the second exit on your right. its a nice walk, quiet, new hotels being built, restaurants, laundry and our hotel was right at the end of the strip so nice and quiet.... or so we thought. we arrived when the hotel next door was being built so lots of banging all day and at 8am in the morning the whole hotel shook as they had a massive power drilling putting in foundations. We did feel let down by the hotel as they never informed us about this when we booked or when we checked in, but as you know from my other posts a complaint knocked some money off our stay so we weren't as upset. Although the staff do need to be more quiet in the morning when setting up breakfast, i am not a happy bunny when I'm woke up at 7:30am! lol.

Anyway back to Sihanoukville, we are not party people, yes we like a drink now and then but its rare, (We would not be here if we were drinkers is something we are happy to give up for an adventure of a life time) and unfortunately we felt that is all this place has to offer. The beach was dirty from people partying on it in the evening so we didn't feel we wanted to sit on it. We stayed around the hotel a lot as it has a great pool, deep and very clean with two smaller pools for paddling in.

There are other beaches which seem to be very popular, these are:

• Otres Beach

• Occheuteal Beach   

These beaches can be found 5km from the Serendipity area. (15 minutes from us), we heard this was very nice, more tranquil than Sihanoukville beach and not as loud. The hotels in this area are more expensive so you might be best doing a day trip to the beach or looking into beach huts/bungalows.

We had some nice food in Sihanoukville and would recommend:
Ernie's Burger - here you choose what goes on your burger and there are lots of fillings to choose from. This can be found on Mithona Street.

Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Grand Sihanoukville, $183 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £131 ) for 5 nights including breakfast. This would have been a very nice hotel to stay in if it wasn't for the building work next door. The breakfast was a buffet and the pool was a good size and quiet. If booking just check on the progress of the hotel being built next door.

One of the most memorable places - Phnom Penh, Cambodia

We arrived in Phnom Penh at night time and had no clue as to where we were or which direction the hotel was in so we jumped in a Tuk Tuk to make things easy.

We were greeted with cool towels and fresh drinks while we checked in. The hotel had made a mistake and pout us in a double room as apposed to the superior room we booked but this was immediately corrected and we changed rooms. This hotel had only opened a month prior and was in very good condition with new amenities, it was busy but only had 13 rooms with a lovely pool to jump in on a hot day.

We arrived in Cambodia in Feb/March time and it was extremely hot around 40 degrees Celsius every day, which sometimes was unbearable to go out so we stayed in our room with the air-con on.

We were situated very near to the Independence monument which sits in the centre of the traffic circle so if you get lost this is a good point to head back to as your only 5 minutes away from The Royal Place and shopping area.




Phnom Penh is full of history and this can be seen within the buildings around the city, if you hire a Tuk Tuk for the day they will take you round the city to see different temples. The main attractions of course are the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, the S-21 Prison and The Royal Palace. There is deep history in these places so show respect and really listen to the story's told, some can be quite moving. It pains me to think of the terror and torture that occurred in such a beautiful country.

Attractions:
We hired a Tuk Tuk for the day to take us round the attractions, they are cheap but of course you have to barter for the right price but the drivers get lunch at each stop if they take someone so better to use them than a corporate company that may rip you off. 

• Choeung Ek Killing Fields:

Here you are given an audio headset to listen too as you walk around, it is in sections and you just press play when you move into each new section, which means you can walk round at your own pace and really listen to the stories. The cost to get in is $6 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £4.20)




Between the years of 1975 and 1978 around 17,000 men, women and children were brought to the killing fields from the over crowed S-21 prison. A lot were tortured to death so not to waste bullets. There is estimated 8985 peoples remains were exhumed from the killing fields in mass graves, some of the human remains and clothing are still present in the fields. While on the tour you will here stories from the victims who survived the Khmer Rouge and from Him Huy who was a guard and executioner at the fields.

A Memorial Stupa of clear glass was erected in 1988 to house bone fragments and skulls all arranged by sex, age and how they killed.

•   S-17 Prison also known as Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum:

Admission is around $2 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £3) there is no audio around the prison but facts and pictures on walls. You can have a guided tour for $6 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £4.20)

This was not always a prison, it started off as a high school before Pol Potts took over in 1975 and it soon became the largest centre for detention and torture in the country.






The leaders kept detailed logs of each prison who walked through the gates  by taking their photograph, name and where they came from. Most of the photographs you see in the prison today are of people who were later killed. When the Phnom Penh was liberated in 1979 only 7 prisoners were found alive, they had used their skills in photograph and painting to do this.

• The Royal Palace:

(This is a small section of the Palace)
Admission here is $10 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £7)
NOTE: you MUST cover your shoulders and forearms. A scarf or shawl will not do it must be a t-shirt or jumper, we did not actually visit the Palace as i had my shoulders exposed.


 
There are many more attractions and temples to see around Phnom Penh, like the Independence Monument I described earlier, the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument (picture) which is in between the Palace and the Independence Monument and the large markets in the centre of town. Be careful at these markets as they are very tightly packed and very busy so there are a few pick pockets around. It all depends on how long you are staying in Phnom Penh as to what you see, also it was extremely hot when we were here so doing a little is tiring.



Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com.
The Sam Boutique Hotel: $302.40 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £ ) for 7 nights including breakfast. Although the cooked breakfast wasn't that great as it was very small, you could also have cereal. Very clean bright hotel, great swimming pool and the rooms were very clean and modern. i would definitely stay here again as the staff were brilliant and it was in a good location with lots of eateries around to choose from.

Moving onto Sihanoukville we booked a 12:30pm Giant Ibis minibus from their head office in Phnom Penh (street 106) which is situated in the night market and cost $10 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £7). It took 4 hours with stops along the way to Sihanoukville. When we booked the bus we asked to be picked up from the hotel but as this was a new hotel they didn't know where it was so we had to give the name of the hotel next door which they were fine with. There are only 2 bus companies that run to Sihanoukville these are Sorya and Capitol Tours, they are classed as typical Cambodian bus companies which are cheap but only good for short trips, and then there are 2 minibus companies called Giant Ibis and Mekong Express

NOTE: We did a lot of research on TripAdvisor to see which is the best company to go with, and Giant Ibis had the best reviews. It was comfy big seat in only a 16 seater minibus. (Sorya company tend to break down often and have falling apart buses, which make the trip longer.)

BEWARE: Please be aware the roads in Cambodia are not all finished in lovely tarmac, so if you are getting a bus please get a day time bus and NOT a night bus around Cambodia. If you have ever been before you will know what I'm talking about and if you haven't well, hold on to your seats your in for a treat. The roads are sometimes narrow, or have huge holes in them so through the day at least the driver can see where he is going at night he can not. The night buses are also most prone to accidents. See this link (Night Bus) for 5 reasons you should not get night buses.

Hoi An to Nha Trang

The train took 9 hours from Da Nang to Nha Trang which left at 11:41am and arrived at 8:41pm The station is not in the centre of Nha Trang so i would get a taxi when you arrive to take you to your hotel.

I don't think there is a main area of Nha Trang to stay in as there are many shops on every street. The hotel we stayed in was very popular and only a 10 minute walk to the beach.

Nha Trang is very busy and very popular and there are lots of lovely places to eat on every street. We just used Trip Adviser to see which restaurants were rated the best.

Not far from the hotel is a lovely stretch of white sandy beach that you can do a number of water sports on from kite surfing, jet ski's and banana boating. There are lots of bars long the beach which have seat actually on the beach so you don't have to go far.
There is also an outside swimming pool/lazy river which is open to the public, with sunbeds around the edges although you do have to pay for these.


You can get your hair cut and a shave on the street in Nha Trang as local people set up stalls with mirror attached to trees. You can also get your ears cleaned.

While in Nha Trang there are many different activities you can do but as we were only here for a few days we only did the Egg Mud Baths which cost about $12 (Today's exchange rate £9) These are egg shaped pods filled with natural hot mud you bath in for 30 minutes and there are hydro pools and swimming pools to relax in. Although this sounds a nice novel thing to do I wouldn't do it again, as it is not worth the money and was a small complex. Within our ticket we could eat in the restaurant which we were the only people in and the food wasn't that great.














We were here for valentines day so went out for a lovely sushi meal which again we found on trip adviser and went to the cinema which is very small but quiet and cheap. This is about a 20 minute walk from the beach in the direction of the train station.

We booked a night bus from Nha Trang which picked us up from our hotel to Ho Chi Minh City which took 10 hours and cost around $24 (Today's exchange £17 each) there are two that leave a day either 8am or 8pm. We took the 8pm bus. The bus will arrive at Ho Chi Minh City but the bus station is not in town so you will have to get a local bus into town. Ask a local for directions and they will tell you what bus to use they are very helpful. Once we arrived in the city we went straight into a travel agents and booked the next bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

NOTE: You can not book a bus in Nha Trang all the way to Cambodia you will have to book them separately as we did above.

Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com:
The Summer Hotel, $103 (Us dollars). (Todays exchange rate £72) for 4 nights. This included a buffet breakfast which was very nice, but a lot of the rooms don't have window and is so very dark and smells musky. We were a floor above the kitchen and you can hear everything and they start early in the morning so be warned. There is a roof top pool but its small and has about 8 sunbed so in high season you will struggle to get a bed. The hotel was ok but there were points that let it down. Not a hotel to stay in for long periods of time.

Hanoi to Hoi An

Thank you for coming back and reading our travel blog. Today we are talking about moving from Hanoi to Hoi An and the attractions around Hoi An.

We booked our flight to Hoi An via a travel agency for around £25 each excluding baggage. We flew into Da Nang as this is the closest airport to Hoi An, where we were picked up by the hotel which we had pre-booked via Booking.com.

Our hotel was about 30 minute walk from the old town which is the centre of Hoi An but it was very peaceful right on the river front. The nice thing about our hotel was it was only a month old so had brand new amenities and the staff were excellent. They invited us to join them for evening tea which was free and throughout our 2 week stay offered us to join the family for dinner and all the guesting within the hotel. It is only a small hotel but that's great for us, we don't like a lot of people.

Most of the hotels in Hoi An offer free bicycles to use as it is very flat and the town is about 15 minute bike ride and the beach is about 20 minutes from our hotel.







The Old Town:
The Old Town has a maze of cobbled streets all winding down towards the river and only walking or biking is allowed, no cars which is great. We loved pedaling through the streets is was very peaceful and lots of things to look at. There are plenty of dress shops for the ladies to choose from if you wanted a handmade dress. They all vary in price so ask around and there are so many i couldn't suggest which is best.
Other than dress shops you will find leather shops, souvenir shop, cafes, restaurants and lantern shops.

The lanterns are all hand made and look amazing at night when they are all lite up.

If you cross over the red bridge there are more restaurants and night markets. On the bridge at night you can buy small lanterns to let off down the river and it is a lovely atmosphere.



Attractions

• The main attractions in Hoi An are to rent motorbikes which we didn't do because we like the skin on our legs and not on the roads.

• You can join push bike tours which take you round Hoi An but it is a small place you can do it yourself its very easy and hard to get lost.

• On the river in the old town there are small boats which the locals offer to take you in down the river and to where the locals do their fishing with massive nets.

All attractions can be booked through your hotel or travel agencies.

We had our clothes washed through our hotel which they did at a reasonable price, within competition with shops offering it in town. A little bribery for a good review on TripAdvisor helped to reduce the price. (Little tip there they always want good reviews)

Hoi An was a place we absolutely loved and surprised at the amount out tourist we met that never went. The whole place is calm and easy to access and the locals are some of the nicest people we have met. The food here was also some of the best food we had throughout Asia and if you do get a chance to go visit a place called "Red Dragon" this really is great food and they also offer cooking classes.

We booked through our hotel a train ticket to Nha Trang, but I would recommend you getting a local bus to Da Nang train station and buying yourself as you will save a lot. On the train ticket the price says $22 (Us dollars). (Today's exchange rate £14)  but the hotel did charge us a lot more than this.

Hotels we stayed were booked through Booking.com

• Oasis Riverside Boutique, $126 (Us dollars). (Today's exchange rate £111) for one week. We extended through the hotel for one more week which they did as the same price as Booking.com. Breakfast was included within the price and it was mad fresh. (The pancakes were great). The rooms were big and modern with a large shower room and large wardrobe space. TV reception was good and we even had our own WIFI router in your room so it was very fast. I would definitely recommend staying here as the staff and hotel are lovely although the price has increased since we were there so not sure its worth anymore than we paid for it.

Laos to Hanoi (Vietnam).

There are only two ways to leave Laos, by bus or by plane. The bus is a sleeping bus and can take between 24-26 hours, so we decided on an hour plane ride.

We flew with Lao airlines $130 (Us dollars) each. (Todays exchange rate £86) and although it was a small plane and short ride we were well looked after. We were given free meals which included a sandwich, water and a desert, for the price we paid was brilliant.






Vietnam Visa:
You must apply for a visa before arriving in Vietnam, as you MUST print out your confirmation details to hand over at the Vietnamese boarder control. The application can take 2 or more days to process. For single entry for 1 month costs $16 (Us dollars). (Today's exchange rate £10) per person for the online application. There is an additional $25 (Us dollars). (Today's exchange rate £16) per person to be paid to the immigration office on arrival in Vietnam.

We landed in Hanoi and we had arranged a taxi through the hotel which was waiting outside. We had heard stories of people arriving and picking up a local taxi outside the airport, but the driver not taking them to their hotel until they paid a ridculous fair so would strongly advise you to pre-arrange a taxi through your hotel.

We thought we had found a bargain with this hotel at £85 for a week including breakfast but upon arrival we realised why it was so cheap. Dirty sheets, stains on the walls, never been dusted and hard very old mattrasses, but its only somewhere to sleep right?!

The city of Hanoi is crazy, full of mopeds and people, I have never seen anything like it before. We walked to the centre of town which only took 10 minutes when we worked out where we were.

In the centre there is a huge lake called Hoan Kiem lake and this is a historical feature in Hanoi. The Lake is full of turtles and is a lovely walk with a Turtle Tower in the centre of the lake which you can get to by walking over the bright red Huc Bridge. You don't have to pay to walk on the bridge but you do have to pay to enter the tower, which we didn't do so I'm not sure how much it costs. The lake is surrounded by coffee shops and restaurants and at night when the lake is all light up its lovely to see from one of the restaurants at the top of the shopping mall.
While we were sat at the lake we were approached but local teenagers studying English at school and they wanted to ask us some questions so they could practise their English, which we did with a young lady, my partner became the camera man while she asked me questions and she was very excited that someone was helping her.

The traffic in Hanoi is an eye opener, everywhere you look there are mopeds and we were told by a local that if the traffic lights are on green it means go and if they are on red it means whatever they want. Go or Stop. So when crossing the road just make sure your always looking but they will slow down or weave round you if you do make a run for it and not wait for the crossing.

Things to do in Hanoi:
There are loads of travel agencies around all wanting to find you that prefect trip, so just ask around for prices. With us only staying a week we only went on one trip which was to Halong Bay.

Halong Bay: It was a 1 night 2 day boat trip to Halong bay and I would definitely recommend it. It took roughly 3 hours from the city to reach the bay, where you will be put on a tug boat to reach your bigger boat anchored a little off shore. There are loads of tours and companies to choice from and you will see this by the amount of boats waiting to start their tour. We chose the Halong Bay Cruise Company which was a superior cruise but you can choose from superior, deluxe and luxury cruises.

Once on board the boat you are seated in the dining area for an induction on what we will be doing. You are introduced to the other members of the group then shown to your room to freshen up. 

The cabin was much nicer than i thought it would be and very spacious. As we made our way to the Hang Sung Sot Cave we were served lunch, salad, fish, rice, a very large feast for everyone to enjoy.

The Hang Sung Sot Cave is called a "surprise cave" in Halong, there are a few steep steps up to the cave and obviously what goes up must come down so there are steep steps down side the cave. You are guided round the 3 chambers covered in thousands of stalactites and stalagmites. The views over Halong bay when you reach the mouth of the cave are very beautiful.





After the tour of the cave we were given the option of kayaking, which we did. This was the best part of the trip for us we thoroughly enjoyed it. The guide takes you around various islands in the bay and it took around an hour. It is hard work especially when your partner is very competitive and even wants to beat the guide back to the boat.

Once back on the boat you had a few hours to freshen up, sunbath and enjoy the views before dinner was served. There was a huge variety of food and more than enough to feed us all. After dinner you were invited to join the team in drinks or if you didn't want to do that a spot of night fishing. This was fishing for squid and you have to be very patient. We stood for about an hour and caught nothing and a guy came over, he was there for 10 minutes and caught two so he must have had the right touch of the job.

One the second day we were taken to a pearl farm. These were floating houses and jewellery shops in the bay. We were put on some very rocky rowing boats by the locals and shown these floating villages where people used to live in houses floating on the water. Unfortunately no one lives in the houses any longer but there are other villages where people like and go to school. It is suggested you tip the person who rowed your boat as they don't have much.
 

We were then shown how pearls are made and the cleaning process that is involved which was interesting. You are then invited to look round the finished jewellery and purchase some if you wish.







Back on the boat and on our way home we were given a lesson on making traditional spring rolls which was fun, and then time to relax and say your goodbyes to the people you met before getting back on the bus to the city.

Another attraction:

Lotus Water Puppet: This is popular in Vietnam and there are a few around the city. You can buy tickets on the door and it costs 100,000VND. (Today's exchange rate £3). A traditional Vietnamese puppet show in water, with Vietnamese singing. It was funny to watch, didn't really understand what was happening as it was in Vietnamese but we enjoyed it.

 


Hoa Lo Prison: The prison was used by North Vietnam to house prisoners of the Vietnam war. It was demolished in 1990s but the gatehouse remains open as the museum. There are many different rooms with plaques on the wall giving information about what the room was used for and who died within the room, and the names of everyone who died are listed in each. The prisoners here endured poor food and unsanitary conditions often chained by their ankles for weeks. It was used to torture and interrogate prisoners and in glass cases throughout the prisons the instruments used for the torture are on display. Walking round the prison you really get a sense of sadness and pain within the walls and its hard to imagine what the people captured here went through. I would definitely recommend anyone to visit. It cost 20,000VND (Today's exchange rate £0.60).


 

Women's Museum: This is about Vietnamese women through time. Samples of clothing that was worn, giving birth and their children and marriage. To be honest it wasn't very interesting to us it was over 4 levels and most of the levels were the same. I wouldn't go again but it did only cost 30,000VND. (Today's exchange rate £0.90) which is very cheap.

• We also went to the cinema a few times, it is about 30 minute walk from the city centre. (The lake). The cinema is modern, clean and cheap as it only cost 70,000VND (Today's exchange rate £2). The popcorn and drinks however I felt were over priced.

We booked a flight from Hanoi to Da Nang to stay in Hoi An. This was the cheapest and quickest way to Hoi An but you can get a bus there if you wish. The flight cost us around £25 each with Vietnam airlines.

Note: The women walking the streets with baskets of fruit will offer you to take pictures holding the baskets of fruit which most tourist will do, well they will charge you to do this or ask you to buy some fruit. Just make sure you take the fruit BEFORE giving over the money. We gave the money first and the lady decided that the bunch of bananas in the bag weren't included. Not that we minded as it wasn't much just more about principles of it.



The hotel we stayed in booked through Booking.com:

• Paramount Hotel, $126 (Us dollars). (Today's exchange rate £85) for one week. Breakfast was included within the price and it was either a buffet or the chef would make you something fresh if you asked. However the rooms were very run down and neglected. Very dusty, wires coming out of walls, mattress was very hard and dusty. You can see that this hotel was once lovely but unfortunately has been left. I wouldn't stay here again if i was to return. 

Getting started for your travels.

Tips and planning: 
For us we didn't have a time limit on our travels so we probably spent a lot longer in places than some backpackers usually would. When we started looking into travelling we had a rough idea where we wanted to go and in which direction. Thailand - Laos - Vietnam- Cambodia, but we never had set plans, we just made it up as we went along. I think spending long lengths of times in places helps as you can research and bargain hunt on where you want to go next and how you want to get there. We also didn't know what we wanted to see in each place which is fine you don't have to have it all written down, that's the great thing about travelling you learn new things and plans change. We took the Lonely Planet book on Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia with us which we used on occasion to get an idea of what is going to be in the different places but you don't really need one as WIFI is readily available, even in Laos. Google is a great thing and hotels will provide you with information and leaflets. Talk to other travellers they are in the same boat as you, new exciting environment so you can help each other.

Packing:
Do you need a backpack? Like most people when you decide to go travelling you think about the type of backpack you want to get, and you rush out to the shops to purchase one. There are various sizes to choose and we went for the mid range 65 litre, which is pretty big when you open it up. This was our first mistake! They were very heavy, awkward and unnecessary.If you are only staying in one place for a couple of days you have to either pack strategically or pull everything out and repack. We would strongly recommend buying a suitcase, you will be much happier. Some people we met on the way agreed you didn’t need a backpack. Most people will say they are easier but even changing boats in the middle of the sea with a suitcase was easy and the staff on board will help move them for you.
Don't take too much. We definitely over packed. If we were to start again we would take 2 pair of shorts, and 5 t-shirts and that would be all. Also when your leaving home wear what you want to take, we wore thick jeans and hoodies because it was cold in England but have never worn them since so they are kind of a dead weight and costing us in luggage prices. You can wear an outfit for 2 days before it needs changing. We did our washing every 2 weeks, and you will find yourself wearing the same things over and over as they are comfy, and remember you can buy things while your travelling especially around South East Asia you can pick up some great bargains.

Important things to pack are:

• Microfiber Towels - They are light weight and fast drying.

• A pair of good walk shoes. - Although we only wore them on moving days you need something sturdy when carrying your backpack (unless you are brilliant and bought a suitcase) but a lot of activities do require enclosed shoes.

• Rain Coats - You will need these on your travels as you can not predict the weather, make sure you can roll them up small. 

•  Combination locks - We've all heard about peoples cases being tampered with and being pulled up at customs so don't take the risk. Get a TSA (Transport Security Administration) approved lock which can be opened by security with a master key. Other locks will just be broken open. We only put these on our hand luggage where our laptops were kept. 

•  First aid kit - I'm not going to list the thing to take as everyone is different but we took plasters, bandage, safety pins, antibiotics, Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, (but Aspirin is a good substitute for both these painkillers), anti-diarrhea pills, latex free gloves and ladies don't forget your contraceptive pills. These will need to be declared as the limit varies for each country. You can buy them in Australia but it can be a little expensive $80 for a doctors appointment and then $60 upwards for the pill. We didn't think we would need sickness tablets but you never know so take some with you. There are loads of chemists/pharmacies in each country that sell western brands so don't panic if you forget anything.

• Sewing Kit - Everyone laughed at me when I was looking for a sewing kit but it has played a very important roll as some washing machine eat your clothes so repairs need to be made. 

• Mosquito repellent - DO NOT FORGET THIS. Mosquitoes and flies (which are the worst), love us and even though the repellent helps it doesn't stop but we have seen people with terrible bites on their legs and you can tell they have never used a repellent.
• Sun Glasses - The sun is a lot more intense than in England so these are an essential when travelling.

• Sun Cream - A BIG MUST - The best sun cream we found is Calypso once a day. You put it on 15 minutes before going outside and you do not need to re-apply it again. (unless of course your swimming). They sell this in Wilkinsons in England but we found it for cheaper in Aldi so shop around.

• Electronics - We each took laptops with us, maybe download music and movies to put on before you leave on your trip as the TV is not great in some countries. 
• External Hard Drive - Back up your photo's, the last thing you want to find when you get home is you've lost all your pictures. 
• MP3 player - Trains and Bus journeys can be quiet long and usually through the night so take some entertainment.
• PS Vita - My partner took a PS Vita to play on bus/train journeys, but i got jealous so ended up buying one myself in Australia.
• Camera - We took a Samsung camera and our Iphone's for pictures as we didn't want to carry around heavy cameras and the camera is pretty good quality. Most of our picture are taken on the Iphone though. We would have liked a Go Pro on our travels as the seem light weight, small and easy to us, but we did not look into this before we left.

Remember you can buy anything while on your travels. If your very adventurous and plan on trekking or tenting please look further into the right things to take. We did not do this so i have not included it in our packing.

Travel Insurance:
Make sure you research your travel insurance and read the small print as we noticed a lot said they were for 365 days but you could only be out the country for 3 months at a time. There are specialised insurance companies for backpackers but we found these to be expensive so compare different ones. We went with Alpha Insurance which ticked all the boxes we needed.

Accommodation:
As a couple we wanted privacy while travelling and felt hostels would not give us this, so we stayed in hotels. I know what your thinking expensive, but you will be surprised some of the hotels we stayed in have been cheaper than hostels and they have offered us breakfast, swimming pools and privacy. We used Booking.com and just booked as we went along. We found this website to be reliable and secure and if we had any problems one phone call to them sorted it all out. Most hotels will provide a laundry service but these at times can be expensive so look around and see what the locals offer. (I will mention where we washed our clothes in each country as I go along). If you staying in one place for a while and want to change hotels walk around and ask to see rooms before booking and even ask if the hotel will do better deals than what is online many will. I will name the hotels we stayed in as we go along.

Visa's:
Check what visas and how to apply for the countries your visiting as they are all different and some require you to apply in advance and others let you get your visa from the border. In each country as we go along in the blog we have talked about the visa for that country.

Airlines and booking flights:
We found the app Sky Scanner to be very helpful to find which airlines are the cheapest and what dates. Booking through airlines own sites seems to be cheaper but CHECK the add on's. Many will automatically add extras on so you need to read everything. We found baggage to be expensive but I guess it is needed otherwise you wont have any luggage. What shocked us the most is the size of hand luggage people take on, we saw a lot of people taking 65 litre backpacks on as hand luggage. We just don't know how they got away with it and it was also frustrating because we paid for our luggage and they hadn't. Its a big thing we think needs to reviewed. We also found airlines don't space you out even though there are empty seats so don't be afraid to ask to move. As we go along we will let you know which airlines we used.

Apps:
We would recommend to download before you go (it is on iTunes and android) are:

•  XE Currency. This is great as you can use multiple currencies at once. 
• Sky Scanner. Checking and comparing flights 
• Booking.com. Easy to find hotels on the move.
• Skype. A way to make everyone back home jealous.
• Google Maps. Handy to see where you are on those night buses or trains. 
• Navmii. A Sat Nav for Australia and New Zealand which works off line. 
• TripAdvisor. If your like me and love writing reviews this is brilliant. 

Money:
Before you travel make sure you tell your bank otherwise they might cut you off. We are with HSBC and it is very easy to navigate online banking and you can also update your travel plans as you go along. There are several HSBC banks around Asia so if there is any problems you can speak to someone face to face. We will say which banks we used in each country as we go along so you know which banks charge to withdrawal. HSBC does charge a non-sterling transaction fee on withdrawals so check your bank.

DON'T be afraid to complain:
If the service you are getting is not what they advertise or what you expected then let them know. We have had numbers of discounts on hotels because of this. Remember its more money in your pocket to travel for longer or to do more activities.

Barter, Barter, Barter:
The locals obviously want to make the most they can when selling their products but these can sometimes be too pricey so always offer them a lower price. You will usually find that if they don’t accept your offer and you walk away they will come after you agreeing. So no harm trying to get things for cheap, again more money in your pocket.

The best kept secrets are kept to last, although I guess its no longer a secret but the best way in which we have saved money is joined Trustedhousesitters.com For those of you who don't know about this website, it is a MUST for you to join before you leave. We have saved hundreds of pounds joining this website and our only regret is that we didn't join it sooner.
So what is it? Trustedhousesitters.com is a website where people advertise their house and or pets to be looked after while they take their own adventure. As a person looking for a house sit we search the location we are in (currently Australia) and any house sit we find interesting or in the place we want to go to, and we apply to the home owner with a simple email telling them who we are and what we have previously done. With each house sit you do you are given references and the more your profile builds the better and bigger chance of securing a house sit.
What to do? You subscribe to the site for as little at £6.60 per month or £79.20 for a year and create a profile about yourself and who ever your travelling with. Make it an honest profile and let people know who you are, likes/dislikes, job etc. Add pictures, a friendly face can go along way and you can add videos of yourself if you wish, we haven't because I'm rubbish in front of a camera.
We have so far done 4 house sits currently on our 5th and it has been amazing. We have met some great people and made friends for life and looked after some great cuddly animals along the way. We will never stay in hotels again with this website available i can not stress enough how great it is. If you do decided to join this site before your travels please let them know who recommended you as we both might get some discounts. Our name is Travelers2015.

If you have any questions please leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading and please stay tuned as my next blog will start off in Bangkok.