Its A Small World

Sunday February 21th

I was lucky enough to be joined by another special guest from home and I was prepared for a good week ahead which would start off in my most visited place Bangkok. I know Bangkok so well even the locals are asking me where to go.

A quick trip to the busy Chinatown where Kaylyn had to stop off and look at every cute Asian baby we saw, which definitely added an hour to our Chinatown tour. The first two nights and two rooftop bars the most elegant two nights of my whole backpacking trip and the only time I stuck some jeans and shoes on and put aftershave on. The first was the Millenium Hilton which was empty the whole night apart from us and an amazing Jazz band, it definitely felt like I had hired the place out just for us. A 360 view of the whole of Bangkok and drinking wine this place has become my favourite venue in Bangkok. The second night was at the Sky bar the most popular sky bar in Bangkok and the view

was from outside on the roof which was a bit nervy for me at first but I got used to it after a Mojito.

By far the most touristy place in Thailand we decided to go to Phuket. We stayed right next to Patong Beach which is pretty similar to Benidorm or Magaluf. Old men with beer bellies and football tattoos and their wives with 3 cigarettes in their mouths, we knew we had to go somewhere else. Just 2 miles along the coast it's a whole different story!! Kata beach and Karon beach offer a more quieter venue with less tourists and you can actually relax. Again I witnessed even more breathtaking sunsets and fantastic beaches, but I could never get bored of the beach. A few games of bat and ball where I hold my hands up I lost to the better player and some sunset yoga, Kata beach was a good spot. Even making friends with the local crabs!!

I was eager to show off my bowling skills at the alleys of Thailand. On the Lane next to us I witnessed a women about 30 years old score a massive 0 it actually annoyed me watching her. After a few drinks and forgetting the terrible bowling skills of the women (not Kaylyn) we decided to go down the lively Bangla Road. After dodging 1000s of people asking for some kind of Ping Pong Show and honestly there are more of them than actual tourists, we went to a bar where we met an older guy who also went to Chichester University some years ago with a daughter who lives in tooting. Every bar down the road has a game of connect 4 and I gambled a drink against a random Aussie, and with clever distracting techniques from Kaylyn I was victorious and ordered the most expensive drink I could find.

After that random encounter with the Chichester bloke and finding out his life story and saying its a small world for the whole night the world got even smaller. I literally bumped into a guy from school in my tutor down Bangla Road who is now working on the doors as a bouncer. After not seeing him for 10 years we had a little catch up about what we have been up to. This conversation was probably the first time I had spoke to him as I didn't ever speak to him st school.

After enough randomness and small worldness we decided to sit with the locals and drink beer till 5am and it was one of our best nights to get to know their stories, also the free beer went down well but we met some amazing people.

Our hotel was luckily enough to have a rooftop pool which meant the floor could get a little wet. One morning about 3-4am we were in bed

and I could hear screaming and obviously a group of drunks had gone swimming and a girl cracked her head falling down the stairs. With bloody everywhere and an unciousness girl I knew we had to call for an ambulance. After a lot of crying from her drunk mate saying she wasn't breathing when she clearly was she was whizzed off to the hospital.

Many debates over getting a motorcycle were had between us but we decided not to get one due to the touristy factor of Phuket and the drunk tourists, and it was probably the right decision. We did see a couple who literally looked like mummies in bandages walking down Patong Beach but I missed the photo opportunity.

A trip to Phi Phi islands and the famous Maya Island where we done some spectacular snorkelling and saw fishes of all sizes and colours. The boat tour however was held up by an Essex couple who were late arriving to the boat after every stop off which kind of got annoying after the third time! (No offence Essex couples). After a busy week and seeing some beautiful islands and dodging the tourists it was time to move on from Thailand. What a way to end my time in Thailand and I couldn't of asked for better company. I will definitely be returning to Thailand in the near future.

Saturday 5th March

As I sit in a place called Dominos eating a BBQ Meat Feast pizza nursing a hangover I thought it would be time to write.

Touchdown in Hanoi and a depressing welcome from freezing weather and rain and I'm wearing flip flops and a vest. Had I accidentally landed back in bloody England? It felt like it after sharing a bus ride with a girl from Wimbledon to the hostel.

Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam located in the north and it feels like you are in Paris with the amount of European tourists and French restaraunts. The traffic is crazy with 95% of the vehicles being motorbikes and crossing the street is an adventure in itself. The trick is to go slowly and the motorbikes will drive round you somehow and life goes on.

Unlike Thailand and Cambodia, Vietnam has bicycle taxis rather than the motor Tuk Tuks and I was quick to jump on and experience the ride. It was quite an old guy as I thought he looked like a nice guy but it would of been quicker to walk to the Army Musuem to be fair. We encountered a hill on the way and the poor old man had to get out and start to push the bike, I just felt like getting out and pushing him up the hill instead.

Hanoi is a very cultural city with plenty of museums to go and visit. In total I visited a grand total of 4, which I thought was a good effort and even a musuem about women which was very interesting. I spent about 3 hours in the Army museum but 2 hours of that was playing in a helicopter. I even visited a water puppet show which is the thing to do in Vietnam and I thought I would take in part of the traditional Vietnamese culture. It was an experience but it was no Punch and Judy.

There a few random things in Hanoi that I had to give a go, one being egg coffee and the other being dog. The egg coffee was really sweet and creamy but it was very nice and I'm not a coffee man. I didn't really try dog but it was tempting to try after a few 10p beers. I think I would have to see a picture of what the dog looked like before they killed it to even tempt me.

Also There are several snake restaraunts where you can indulge in a nice Cobra. It's a theatrical night out where they kill the snake in front of you and then you get to eat the still-beating heart which is an aphrodisiac. They then give you snake soup and even snake wine, but this is a very expensive thing to do costing about 100 dollars and I was more than happy to drink my 10p beers.

I decided to book a Halong Bay cruise spending 1 night on a boat and 1 night on a private island. Having read my Triposo App about Halong Bay (The Descending Dragon) before my adventure, I was happy for the tour guide to quiz the group on the islands, and of course I knew all the answers I felt like Hermione Granger in Harry

Potter with a smug look on my face.

A slow boat ride with amazing views and amazing company the trip was one of my best mini adventures so far. Coasting through 1969 limestone little islands with nobody in site it was heaven. We got to kayak around one of the islands and it was so peaceful, just the sound of the paddles hitting the sea. We were very lucky with the weather which made the private island heaven. If anyone is thinking of going to Vietnam do a Monkey Island tour it is just a dream. The highlights were being able to jump off the top of the boat into the sea and the beautiful food which I probably won't be having for a while (back to street food).

A long night bus down to Hue tonight which should only take 14 hours. Hopefully I will meet my passport a few days later which has been sent for a Visa Extension. As long as it comes by Thursday when my actual visa runs out I should be alright.

If my passport doesn't arrive I will be rather Hanoiyed!!