Lauren's travel adventure

Our journey to KL from Phuket airport began with a strange moment. We went through security and all was fine so we proceeded to passport control. There was nobody to be seen and when we finally found someone to ask, we were told passport control were on lunch and to come back in half an hour! Things certainly work differently here :-)

We headed straight for Petaling Street, Chinatown to make our base. Prices for hotels are more expensive than Thailand but we were trying to stay out of hostels for as long as possible. We found a room at the Excel Inn with the noisiest toilet flush ever! Also we could hear the man in the next room snoring. Perhaps in hindsight a hostel may have been a wise choice.

The Petronas towers look amazing at night and they didn't look too far away so we decided to take a walk. How long could it take? We got home at 1am! Walking around at night probably wasn't our best decision but the towers did look fantastic. Unfortunately they were being renovated, which meant we wouldn't be able to go inside at all. We decided to get a view from the Menara KL tower instead which was brilliant as we had a good view of the towers.

Menara Tower

Petronas Towers

Only a few minutes walk from Chinatown is the Central Market, a heritage site with crafts and foods from Malaysia, India and China. This became favourite place for us to eat.

We decided to check out the Berjaya Times Square Mall, the 5th largest building in the world, including a shopping centre with a theme park and a 5 star hotel. Also our favourite option in the centre, the karaoke booths! We picked the cheesiest and probably hardest songs we could find (Whitney Houston, Britney and Celine Dion!) and sang at the tops of our voices, great fun and a bargain :-)

The next day we went to see the beautiful Lake gardens, the Orchid garden and deer park. I had read about afternoon tea at the Carcosa Seri Negara hotel nearby, so me and Becca went on the hunt for the hotel. Unfortunately for us a storm had arrived the same time we started walking. Unprepared for this, I had no rain coat and got absolutely soaked. Giant claps of thunder sounded like they were directly above us and lightning seemed to be going off all over the place. After walking up the longest road we arrived at the hotel buildings, in the torrential rain we missed the sign saying no entry and walked straight to the door for some shelter. The building we picked was actually the office but the people working inside were lovely and invited us in. On the wall were pictures of a lot of extremely important people that had visited and stayed at the house, including the Queen, Nelson Mandela and many political figures. We were directed back to the building we had walked past but given umbrellas. We were sat outside on the veranda and enjoyed our feast. Yummy scones, cakes and sandwiches made thewet walk worthwhile after all.

Carcosa Seri Negara Afternoon Tea

We needed to make our way to Singapore for the connecting flight to Melbourne. This meant it was back on a long bus journey for us. It was while waiting for the bus that one of the weirdest things happened to me. Sat there minding my own business, an Indian couple came and sat next to me. Without saying anything they handed Becca their camera to take a picture of themselves with me. This was my first occurrence of my pale skin and hair being such a novelty but not the last!

When we arrived in Singapore, we caught the subway to Little India for our first hostel experience. We had been well and truly priced out in Singapore. We stayed at Footprints hostel. It's very clean and well run so was a pretty nice start to hostel life.

We had been waiting since our original flight to Thailand to visit the Singapore zoo as it looked amazing, we were definitely not disappointed. The design allows maximum visibility into the enclosures as the animals are kept in by water, hidden barriers and glass walls.

Again the rain was following us and we stayed at the snake display to keep out of the downpour. We went up and held some snakes for a picture, even though the majority of the queue consisted of children with parents. We never grow up!

Singapore Zoo

We also stayed for the night safari, a great day out!

My second strange encounter happened at the hostel, when I was asked to be in a music video by a singer. Blonde hair and pale skin can get you far in Asia! lol

A trip to Singapore wouldn't be complete without paying Raffles a visit and treating yourself to a $20 cocktail, whilst throwing some peanut shells on the floor! We also went to the Clinic, a very hip bar where you can have your drinks served to you in a drip bag and the chairs are wheelchairs! (wheelchair racing optional but highly recommended!). Definitely worth a visit.

Raffles

After 8 weeks travelling around Asia it was time for the flight to Australia!!

As we arrived back in Bangkok in time for the weekend, this meant we had the chance to go to the Chatuchak Weekend Market (the largest in Thailand covering 35 acres!). I'm certainly not going to turn down the chance to shop, so we battled with the crowds and extreme heat and spent the majority of the day getting lost within the market. It was here I bought my infamous hat, which has spent a large percentage of my travels being protected in a bag and not on my head! (I will wear it, I promise). After also spending a day checking out the Chatuchak parks and eating as much western food as we could get hold of, it was time for the trip south.

We flew into Phuket via Bangkok Airways, I cannot praise them enough! Not only was it the cheapest flight we found, they have a lounge for all passengers. Free internet, food and drink! Was I in heaven? No, no just a little haven in Bangkok airport. Easily pleased? Moi?

We stayed at the Nai Yang Resort which was beautiful and just across from the beach, they have 3 pools and cute pet tortoises. If you want relaxation this is a great place to come. The beach is very quiet unlike Patong.

Sunset

We had chosen to do the khao Sok National Park discovery trip, so it was a 2 and a half hour drive to Surat Thani, squashed in the back of a Jeep. First up was the Elephant ride. I was really excited about this but at the same time, not sure how well the Elephants would be cared for. The Elephant took us up the muddy stream while the Mahout gave his commands. Parts of the route were pretty steep and slippery and I felt sorry for the Elephant. We were then told we were very lucky, as there happened to be a monkey in the trees. As we walked over, we were instead greeted by a monkey tied up to the tree by a very short chain! The Elephants were able to roam around freely enough but my personal choice will be to say no to any future Elephant rides. Something just didn't sit right for me (Pardon the pun :-)).

After this, it was time for the canoe ride down the river, to the lodge we would call home over the next couple of days.

The canoe ride was definitely my favourite part of the trip, even though it started to rain. Going through a few small rapids was so much fun, more so for me as Becca was getting soaked at the front of the canoe. The scenery was very beautiful, the guide pointed out mangrove snakes sleeping in the trees, monkeys (not tied up to trees!) and stunning blue birds. I think this was by far the best way to see what the river has to offer.

The last experience was the trek. We saw monkeys, Elephant foot prints, snakes and thousands of leeches! Thankfully we had our lovely tour guide, Pik to help us with our freak outs when the leeches crawled onto us.

Koh Sok Park

After all these extreme activities (ha ha), we really deserved a couple of weeks relaxation on some stunning beaches. First stop was Koh Samui, even though this island is often referred to as very commercial, it still had a lot to offer (mainly, my new found love for dubious designer handbags) with pretty beaches and a good night-life.

Koh Samui

Koh Phangan - We arrived a couple of days before the black moon party and headed straight for Munchies resort to stay in a beach bungalow. A beach bungalow sounded really lovely to me, it was not! I have never seen so many webs in my life. Under the bed, on the walls. Munchies resort is a great place to stay. It has a very nice, chilled atmosphere and is situated on a beautiful beach plus the staff are very friendly. If you can deal with webs then you will love it here.

We met the lovely Aussies Tara and Allie and spent the afternoon getting ready for the party with neon paint and a few drinking games. A good night was had by all, although washing off neon paint in the early hours with cold water is not so much fun.

Koh Tao - The boat ride from Koh Phangan to Koh Tao was really choppy and a lot of people were feeling sick. Luckily it wasn't too long before we had arrived. Koh Tao is mainly known for its diving but will not disappoint if that's not what you come for. I also visited the stunning island Ko Nang Yuan. The snorkeling here is amazing, as soon as you step into the water there are beautiful fish around you.

Ko Nang Yuan

After all the relaxation it was some time for some evening culture. yes, you've guessed it....a lady boy cabaret! The outfits, the songs, you couldn't fail to be entertained. Even the guys that protested about going enjoyed it so much they went again the next night!

After enjoying the East Islands, we took the long journey via boat and minibus to the West. We were back in Phuket but headed straight down to Patong this time. Patong is like the Vegas of Thailand, lots of neon lights, men with boys/girls far too young for them and bars as far as you can see. The beach is nice but too busy, everywhere you sit the parasailer people decide that's where they want to launch customers from!

We did treat ourselves to a drink at the Paradise hotel roof top bar. 24 floors up in a glass lift attached to the outside of the building provided a very good view.

Phi Phi Don- One of the most beautiful of the islands I visited. So many lovely places to visit too. From here we visited Maya Bay on Phi Phi Lay where the film 'The Beach' was partially filmed. To get to the bay you have to get out of the boat in the water and climb through the wet rocks and up a net! When we left the tide had really come in making it even more slippery. I bet Leo didn't have to go through that to get there!

Maya Bay

There is also plenty to do on Phi Phi Don, we watched some Thai boxing, the bars on the beach were great and they also hold some spectacular fire shows.

The last stop was Ao nanag, Krabi. Had a nice day on the beach and had a massage and pedicure both for 300 baht. Bargain!

We caught the longtail boat for a 15 minute journey to Railay beach. This was definitely not to be missed and turned out to be one of the most beautiful beaches. This part of Krabi is quite pricey though so we struggled to find a cheap hotel. We found the ya ya hotel which was in a good position. The only problem was it was full of mozzies but only a short walk to the stunning beach.

Railay Beach

Thailands Island hopping was amazing and I will definitely return :-)

Well our trip to Vietnam began in Saigon, unfortunately I was so ill that I spent my whole time here in bed, so don't really have a lot to say about the place. The only thing that stood out for me were the incredible amount of motorbikes/mopeds everywhere you went. Even alleyways weren't safe from them.

The next stop was along the coast. Mui Ne is a very pretty, quiet beach stop with only a few stalls and shops. We stayed at the Hai Yen hotel which was clean and in a good location. Unfortunately for us it was raining for the majority of the time we spent here. Luckily though, Vietnam does have some pretty good TV stations and we spent our time watching our new favourite channel - National Geographic :-)

When the rain did stop we went for a walk along the beach. This was our first beach stop of the trip and after the city it was a welcome change to feel the sand beneath our feet and the warm sea. This calm and serene feeling didn't last too long however, I spotted a giant dead rat on it's back and alerted Becca. Apparently this was too much for her as she turned and pegged it for the nearest exit. Funnily enough, that was the last time we went on the beach in Mui Ne.

Mui Ne Beach, Vietnam

We then moved onto Nha Trang, this is a much more westernised and bigger beach resort and party town.
Lots of sky scraper hotels and neon lights. I'm not going to lie, normally I wouldn't be too fussed about a place like this. However after travelling through Cambodia and the quietness of Mui Ne, I was quite excited to see more familiar food and drinks on offer.

We finally managed a day on the beach soaking up the sun and shell collecting. It certainly was a hard day for us :-) In the evening to celebrate the Mooncake festival, fire dragon dances were taking place outside the restaurants. This was really fantastic to watch.

We stayed at the Sunday Guesthouse, which was very good value for money and run by a lovely couple who were really helpful. Definitely recommend staying here.

It was time to get a bit more active so we decided to go on a boat trip around the 4 Islands. First of all when we arrived at Nha Trang port, I was a little confused by the lack of walkway between the boat and the safety of the path. Surely we don't have to scramble up the side of the boat on tyres? Well that's exactly what we had to do. Health and safety??? Not in Vietnam.

The first stop was an aquarium which we were really looking forward to. Unfortunately there were hundreds of sharks, rays and turtles squashed into each tank. Not a great place for anyone who actually cares about animal welfare. Next up was some snorkeling, this was pretty good and saw some pretty fish. Once we were back on the boat they made everyone sing karaoke for your country. Rebecca and I had to sing Hey Jude. Now I don't know anymore than the chorus and Rebecca thought the song was called 'Hey Dune'. I think it's safe to say we didn't really do Britain justice.

After the boat trip we were leaving for our 14 hour bus trip to Hoi An, this has come to be referred to as the bus trip from hell. Any sleep you tried to get was disturbed by being catapulted out of your bed by the break neck driving on the twisty roads. If you have ever been in a car with someone that drives like a crazy person in England (maybe me?) then times that by 100 and you have a normal Vietnamese driver! I have now come to realise that overtaking on a wet, slippy road with oncoming traffic is the correct way to do things. You just need to beep to let them know you are coming. This works even better when driving an extremely aerodynamic coach!

About 20 minutes into the journey a Vietnamese family got on the already full bus. This is when I met my companion for the journey. An elderly lady who slept beside me on the floor. I felt pretty sorry for her as it wasn't the most comfortable even in the bed. She seemed to sleep better than I did though.

When we arrived (safely) in Hoi An at 8am, it was fight time again as we were surrounded by taxi touts. We finally arrived at the hotel after what seemed to be the longest taxi ride through Hoi An. Our hotel was the nicest we had stayed in. There was a pool, free internet and our very own balcony so we were pretty happy. We hired out bikes and cycled to the beach, it was really nice to be on a bike. Made a nice change to walking everywhere.

Once again the rain had followed us and we had to cycle back and got very wet.

The next morning was an early one to catch our flight to Hanoi from Dha Nang. Luckily this all went fine until we got the taxi from the airport to the hotel. That's right, it was scam time again! As the taxi pulled up to the supposed hotel we had asked for, a man shoved himself into the taxi claiming that he owned the hotel we had asked for but it was fully booked and pointed at the building. Strange I thought, the name is different on the building? He claimed they had just changed the name! Really? Then how come the address is different too? Detective lauren was on form that day! lol
So we insisted on being taken to the correct address. Total nightmare!

Hanoi was just as manic as Saigon and finding a path was quite a challenge. We did find a nice vegetarian restaurant called Tamarind. This is situated right in the backpackers area. Later on we found a nice spa for a nice massage. The S F Spa was very modern and clean and had a very luxurious feel to it.

With the help of a couple of flights, we did Vietnam in 8 days! I think with the combination of my illness and the bad weather following us, this was the least favourite part of our trip so far and we didn't get to experience the best that Vietnam has to offer.

So only 5 days in to our trip and we are moving on to our second country, Cambodia. Home of some amazing temples but also a tragic history. The two main cities could not be more different but first we had to get into the country!

We went to the bus station in Bangkok, prepared for our 4 hour journey to the border. This was the simple part. We met Michael from Israel on the bus and decided to go through border patrol together. The bus only takes you to the border where you then have to get a Tuk-Tuk to the actual border patrol. Unfortunately the scam of the day is to take you to a fake visa office and try and get you to buy a visa that is worthless. Fortunately we had read about this scam in the bible (the lonely planet book) so insisited on being taken to the real border. We were finally taken to the right place after a minor disagreement with the scammers.

We finally made it through the border, then had to fight for a decent taxi price which we finally managed. All in all, not the easiest border crossing I have ever made. We got to Siem Reap an hour and a half later and checked into the hotel the 'popular guesthouse'. Just enough time to check out the night market and have some dinner before bed. This was the first night Becca set up her army issue mozzie net. Although watching her set it up was quite entertaining, I was quite jealous of her cocoon of safety and was pretty sure I would wake up covered in mozzie bites. Luckily this was not the case and they left me alone :-)

The next morning we were ready for something nicer than being scammed, we decided to spend the day visiting the temples at Angkor Wat. Taol, our hotel Tuk-Tuk driver, took us to the temples and waited outside for hours, that's patience! To say this temple complex is amazing is an understatement. These buildings are awesome, not just because of there size but also the fantastic designs. Definitely well worth a visit and I'm pretty sure will be one of the major highlights of my whole travelling experience.

Angkor Wat Temple

The next morning we went for breakfast at the Butterfly Garden, now to say I was excited about this would be playing down the fact slightly. Those of you who know me well will know I have a small (healthy!) obsession with all things butterfly. I'm pleased to say I was not disappointed at all. The garden was very pretty and there were hundreds of butterflies of all different colours everywhere we looked. The food was pretty amazing too. If this place was in London it would cost an absolute fortune, luckily for us we were in Cambodia and it was an absolute steal!

Now the day went slightly downhill after this, we were taken to a war museum (aka, someone's back garden filled with tanks, guns and uranium!!) and lets just say Kleenex was required. Thank goodness for sunglasses! The man who showed us around had lost a leg from a landmine and had shrapnel still under his skin. He told us about the horrendous things that the weapons he had lying around were capable of. He also had the shell of a tank which had been blown up and still had human remains/bone inside. This was one of those car crash moments, you know you shouldn't look but somehow you just have to. Luckily it was pretty overgrown but he had some pieces of bone on the side of the tank specially to show visitors :-(

Next it was time to move on to Phnomh Penh, the capital of Cambodia. We found our hotel (The Sunday Guesthouse) and crashed after a long day. Next morning we got in the Tuk-Tuk for a tour of the killing fields and the S-21 prison. First stop was the killing fields, this is where under the Khmer Rouge regime headed by Pol Pot, people seen to be opposing the regimes views and intellectuals were executed. Just under 9,000 bodies were exhumed in 89 of the 129 graves found at this one site.

Next up was the S-21 prison, this was a school until the Khmer rouge took over the buildings to use them as prisons and torture rooms. Some of the rooms have been left as they were found on the day the prison was uncovered by the invading Vietnamese. The beds and torture instruments still in the room with a photograph on the wall of the last prisoner found executed. The pictures were the most disturbing part for me, seeing all the faces of innocent people that had endured terrible torture and had no way of escaping or making it stop. It is so hard to think that such an atrocity was allowed to happen just over 30 years ago!

So here I am on the trip of a lifetime! I have decided that 28 years into my life might be a good time to see what the world outside Surrey has to offer.

My trip begins in Bangkok after 1 stop over in Doha and a 14 hour journey with Qatar airways. Fantastic airline, every hour seemed to be another food extravaganza! Plus a great opportunity for a mega film catch up. Easyjet has a lot to learn :-)

After landing and sorting out the confusion that is the visa, we took a taxi to our hotel on the Khao San Road. Arriving at the end of the road is quite an experience. This road is the mecca for backpackers with offers for everything (mainly ping pong) coming from all directions. Once we had checked in to our room, we went to explore and of course sample the Phad Thai (yummy and a bargain at the equivalent of a £1!).

The next day we crammed in a trip to Wat Pho (9 wonders and home of the reclining Budha) with lots of Gold and ornate statues, walked to the standing Budha, had dinner and cocktails at Macaroni (cool restaurant with a waterfall) where we also kept pestering the waiter to teach us some Thai words. Had my first Thai massage (great but ouchy) and went to a ping pong show in our very first Tuk-Tuk which was an experience in itself! I still don't know how something on 3 wheels can be driven like that. The less said about the show, the better, ha ha

Standing Buddha

For our last day in Bangkok we decided to go to the Golden Palace, where the heavens opened and we got absolutely soaked, which proved to be a great amusement to the Japanese tourists. Obviously after this traumatic experience we needed a bit of pampering, so the next stop was the fish pedicure shop. I have seen the shops back at home but these tanks had double the amount of fish and because they don't get used (fed) as much, they were majorly hungry. I think it was about 10 minutes after I put my feet in the tank, I managed to stop squealing! Once you get used to it, it's quite a relaxing feeling and they leave your skin feeling super soft. Next up was massage time (at £6 a massage, who wouldn't have them 2 days in a row??) This time I opted for a swedish massage as I wasn't feeling brave enough for the pain of the Thai version. This was slightly less painful but they still used yoga moves like they wanted to snap my back in two. No pain, no gain I guess.

Fish Spa

Well this pretty much sums up our time in the 'city of angels'. Little did we know we would be returning in a couple of weeks of time.........