SIngapore Sling

Arrived lunchtime admid a tropical downpour - not that we were complaining as it seemed to take the edge off the stickiness. Managed to navigate our way to the hostel at Mt Emily (yes a mountain - at least 200 steps up to the hostel, not good for the mood).

Dropped the bags into our room, showered and decided to brave Orchard Road for a little retail therapy. It was more like we needed therapy after about half an hour - talk about overwhelming! Couldn't believe our eyes at the number of shops and people and that even in the underground walkways there are more shops just in case you have withdrawals between malls! Wandered about a little wide eyed and not really indulging in all that much purchasing - well and truly thrown in the deep end back in the western world. Had a nostalgic wander through little india and suprisingy enough we were both ready to sample some more curry delights!

Headed off to Mt Faber for a wander and panoramic views of the city. Had to laugh at the fact that we were part of such a minority actually walking anywhere - a local laughed at us later in the day saying 'Singaporeans don't walk'.he mercury was definately rising and the feet suffering a little in their first outing in shoes for three months - the resulting blisters were hideous and are still on my feet now (almost three weeks later). High rises as far as you could see but nice to be out in the fresh air, doing something active (albeit very sweaty). Wandered back into town and through Chinatown before heading to Clarke Quay area to meet old school friend of Colin's. Spent nice afternoon with Paul, Katherine and Freya suppping reasonably priced continental lager (7 pound a pint!!!)and chatting. Walked to the waterfront area before the feet completely gave out and i had to hobble back to the hostel.

Started early with a visit to the Botanic Gardens - Colin was especially loving the Ginger Garden!!! Laksa lunch and then chill out in the afternoon in an attempt to regulate the body temperature. Adventure tot he Night Safari that evening saw us both very excited. Scored a quiet audience with one of the tigers which was pretty special. Freaked out a little in the bat cage and were in total awe of the flying squirrel. Had some laughs in the gift shop - all in all a fun night!

Last day we missioned to the burbs for the science museum and exhibition on 20yrs of pixar animations. Saw Toy Story in 3D (anna's first time viewing) and were blown away by the creativity of the team involved in putting together each film. Such full on process and was really cool to see all the various stages of the process and the associated art work.

Back to pack our bags and headed to have dinner with Paul and Katherine before our late night plane to Australia.

Marvellous Malaysia

A mammoth transport mission from Cambodia to our final destination of Cherating, Malaysia. (Tuk Tuk to airport, flight to KL, metro and train to bus station, bus to and Kuantan then local bus and walk to Cherating).

Arrive Cherating in the cover of darkness and make our way to Payang Guest House our home for the next four nights. Cherating is a laid back surf town (though there is only surf in monsoon season), half way down the east coast with a lovely beach and jungle river inlet. Spent the next day reacquainting ourselves with the sun, sea and sand. Got a little too familiar with the sun and managed to burn ourselves right royally for the first time on our trip.

We spent the next day hiding from the sun so decided to hire a bike and head to the next bay, home to a Turtle Sanctuary. Think they were possibly the crappiest bikes in the world and it must have provided a few laughs for anyone watching us attempt to make it down the road. After some slight mechanical adjustments (Colin unclipping the brakes and straightening the wheel with an aircraft engineers swift kick) we were at least able to make it there - albeit very ungainly. Turtles were cute but we were shocked by their carnivorous attempts at munching each others back flippers.

Did a boat ride up river through the jungle of mangrove swamps to try and see some wild life - caught sight of some monkeys, monitor lizards and jellyfish but was not a lot else around - far too hot. Did see some other animal action - though think we would have preferred not to. Cute little puppy who we had fed an ice cream the previous night, reappeared the next day and as Colin was attempting to give it a pat another dog - no wait a minute, a monkey approached from behind and proceeded to traumatise the puppy - very funny but not at all natural.

Did a night trip up the same river however to see the fireflies and we were transported to a time where we were kids.... cue lots of excited oohing and aaahing as the fire flies come towards you like little fairies all lit up and fly around you. Very cool!!!

Headed further up the coast to the Perhenthian Islands and picked up a wee Irish friend, Shaun along the way. Bus to Jerutah for lunch and load up with supplies before catching the ferry from Kuala Besut to the islands. Bone and baby shaking 40min ride (RJ holding on for dear life) for some more sun, sea and sand - the last stint of our Asia travels. The beaches on the island were amazing - the best that we have seen all trip and probably at the top of our all time favourites. Spent the first three nights at D'lagoon which was a little place with its own beach at the northern tip of the island - an hour walk from the main tourist beaches. The first night the turtles were laying on a nearby beach so we were able to walk across and watch - quite magical but I am sure that i definately don't want such an audience in Sept! Made the most of the beaches - in between some impressive tropical thunderstorms, with plenty of reading, snorkelling, sunbathing and sand castle design. Headed for a change of scene to the main beach for the last few days before packing away the togs and making our way back to the mainland.

The next night in Khota Baru meant we finally had a chance to sample some real Malaysian cuisine at the local and night markets. Unfortunately we were there on a friday and most muslim towns seem to come to a complete standstill and close everything down so it was a day of eating, blog updating and watching a movie in the backpackers before heading to the station for our overnight train to Singapore.

They know wat is wat but they don't know wat is wat, Angkor Wat, wat the @#$%!

Arrived by bus from PP early afternoon to Motherhome Guesthouse. Colin fell in love with the cool minty towels offered on arrival (we were soon to find out that not only did you get these the first time you came but every time you got back - had to stop him from just walking in and out of the front door!)

Headed in to Siem Reap town for a look around and some dinner. Very hot and muggy so didn't wander to much in preparation for the temples.

Made the mad decision next day to bike for our first exploration of Angkor Wat. Started with a 12km bike to the entrance of the park and then another three km bike to the first temple. We were in awe of the sheer grandeur and craftsmanship. We ducked in and out of shade as we explored with numerous water stops to read up on descriptions - only to realise on exiting that we were completely confused as to which temple we were in and unbeknownst to us we had actually just done Angkor Wat - only the most significant of all the temples. (whoops maybe we shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss all those eager guides1)

Right compass/map/guidebook and colin and anna now all reading from the same page and facing the right way went on to continue our cycle tour. Next stop Angkor Thom - the ancient city and home to a number of different temples, palaces and other ruins. Temperatures were soaring and we consumed a vast amount of water much to the delight of the sellers following us around. (think we consumed at least 7litres of water, couple of ice blocks and several cans of coke). Lots of shade stops as we took in the magnitude of it all- so hard to put it in words. Decided to call it it a day and save the rest for when we had a tuk tuk to take us around.

Lazy start the following day as we decided to split our next couple of days at the temples into a sunset and then sunrise trip. Sunset was busy but great to watch the changes in the colourings of the stone and laugh at the stupid tourists clambering for the perfect pose. Took in a show of traditional cambodian dancing that night - by the third dance we realised that it just seemed to be a repeat of the first either speed up/slowed down or with coconuts added. Had a look through the night market and managed to avoid the relentless barrage from fish massage/tuk tuk drivers and tat sellers.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat - finally a temperature we can handle, pity it has to mean a 4.30am get up. Again another horde of tourists jostling for position so we sat back a bit and took it all in. Went to Ta Prohm, main temple from tomb rider, which has been preserved as actual ruins. Was our favourite out of all the temples we and spent a good while wandering through the ruins and trees. Said goodbye to Angkor and pottered around ready for our departure to Malaysia. Hemorrhaged at the cost of sending a postcard abroad, tried to find a hotel with a swimming pool that didn't want us to mortgage our house to swim in it and waved goodbye to Cambodia as we boarded our air asia flight to KL.

Note - bump starting to be a bit more promenient so have put in a side on shot of me and rj at the temples for those requesting - be warned bikini bump shot in next update.

phnom penh

Arrived in Phnom Penh in our usual way - under the cover of darkness, via bus from Vietnam. Straight to Fancy Guest House and the energetic and enthusiastic hospitality of owner Mr Phannark. Full of helpful info and insight on what life is like in Cambodia, (didn't mention the extra curricular activities of the local ladies that the night porters let into the hotel with foreign gentlemen or quite how as a 36yr old he managed to secure an 18yr old wife.)

Had a sobering first day visiting the Killing Fields and S-21 (Khmer Rouge prison in Phnom Penh) which prompted lots of discussion and philosophical debate. Saw an old man leading a group of locals around who informed us he was one of the seven survivors of the prison. The rows and rows of pictures of faces from the very young to quite old, some with eyes of bewilderment and others with eyes of resignation will stay with us both for a long time.

Found Phnom Penh to be an interesting mix of east and west - lots of western style shops, restaurants and cafes that were very funky and stylish but also your real typical Asian plastic chair roadside restaurants/markets. Never realised that Cambodia had become the 52nd state of America which you would be lead to believe seeing as all the prices were in American dollars, talk about falsely inflating the market.

Day 2 was a sweaty tour of the main sights in the city. Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda (silver floor not entirely made of silver - slight false advertising) and National Museum - all amazing buildings. Also managed to brave the markets for souvenirs - a tough task when it is one giant tinned roof maze (not great in 37 degree heat). Had several planned escape routes for re hydration and regrouping. A foot massage was a necessary reward and was for a good cause - Cambodia is full of great projects to help all aspects of society (street children/ impoverished women and children/ mine victims) through restaurants that do training and donate proceeds, shops that sell handmade products or providing training for students in massage (that's were we came in to help out!)

Coach ride day three Cambodia to Siem Reap - wat for? Angkor Wat that's wat!!!!!!

Sun, Sea, Sand, Snorkelling and Saigon Pt 2

Sun, Sand, Sea, Snorkelling and Saigon

Left Hoi An for a further stint on the beaches down south. First stop Nha Trang - apparently Phuket of Vietnam, after a seemingly painfree 6 hour train ride. Temperature definately creeping up a couple of degrees, god bless ice creams!

Nha Trang was a relatively quick three night, two day stopover but we made the most of the beaches and a few extra beachside luxuries (manicure/pedicure - i was sick of the ridicule, and a massage for colin). We did a half day snorkelling which was amazing, beautiful clear water and soo much to see. Spent a good few hours in the water, we were definately prunish by the time they made us get back on the boat. Had to giggle at our Chinese friends on board with us - not sure when high heels became essential sea faring attire.

Next beach stop - Mui Ne a 6hr bus ride south, according to the guide books the best beach in Vietnam. First experience of a sleeper bus, which are long enough for locals, who funnily enough don't look like 6foot plus bearded ginger bloke. The driver was mad and we think in training for the Paris - Dakar. Made it safe and sound but a little frustratingly realised that we again managed to time out arrival with a major festival/celebration (35th anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam)which saw prices of accomodation more than double.

We stayed for four nights and spent a good while working on the tan, reading our books, getting our fill of seafood and watching the windsurfers and kitesurfers as we knew it would be our last beach stint for awhile. Did a day trip out to see some dunes for sunrise, a fishing village (and watched an eastenders worthy barny between some local fisherwomen), and a random place called fairy springs - amazing colours. Did also run into Simon and Marie - friends from london who were randomly in Mui Ne for a couple of days on their way back from a trip to NZ, very spinny.

Sadly we said goodbye to the beach with an arduous post holiday drive to Ho Chi Minh city along with every Tom Dick and Harry (or Tong, Dong and Hong). Arrived to the bright neon lights and heaving mass that is District 1 of Saigon. A little overwhelming for us and soooo hot and sticky.

Next day we visited Cu Chi Tunnels. We thought it was hot above ground, try adding another 4 degrees in the tunnels - sweaty and not to mention claustrophobic. We both braved a short walk through the tunnels however we did pass up the chance to fire M16's, rocketlaunchers or throw grenades at the firing range (sorry shaun!). Spent a harrowing afternoon at the Vietnam War Remnants Museum which outlined the atrocities of the war from the Vietnamese perspective. Continued our sweat fest with a wander through some markets and back to the hotel for a shower and regroup.

Headed out for our last night in Vietnam, can't believe it has gone so fast. Did manange to bump into the brits we meet on our Halong Bay tour which gave us a chance to share the various tales of our respective journeys south and enter into some last minute watch barginning - got to love team casio.

Note: We have decided that the Vietnamese penchant for pyjamas is something that should be adopted worldwide. These people do not care when or where they wear their pj's and they look so cute and damn comfortable!

Next stop - Cambodia. Phnom Penh by bus from Ho Chi Minh.

say cheese

After numerous requests for more photos......

A'hoi An

Our return to Hanoi heralded some wet and windy times which saw the two of us staying close to porcelain. Was not exactly a highlight of the trip but luckily it didn't linger too long and we did make our day trip to Tam Coc and even managed some cycling. Was amazing scenery and we loved cycling and high fiving the little kids as we cruised through the village. Also did a boat ride through rice fields and some caves - became a slightly captive audience for our paddler who proceeded to open a grey box full of goodies that she was very keen for us to buy, not cool.

Caught an overnight train from Hanoi to Danang and both of our faces dropped as our compartment companions - a couple and a four month old baby joined us just as the train was pulling out. Have to say though it was a much easier travel companion than some of our Indian friends and there was not a problem. He was most fascinated with Colin, much to his fathers (a 60yr retired army officer) amusement, maybe this was the reason for him buying colin a beer at 8am in the morning!

Was beautiful scenery as we made our way down the country and we could start to see the calibre of beaches in store for us. Arrived Danang (home of China Beach - Janet I was thinking of you!) and caught a taxi to Hoi An.

Arrived at the Hai Au, in Hoi An to a very enthusiastic welcome from the reception team (Anna, Yemmi, Souw and Minh) who were amazing throughout our whole stay. Hoi An a very cute little town with a pedestrianised old town (well no cars - cycles, mopeds and motorbikes allowed)

Spent a couple of days cycling to and from the beach as we hadn't seen proper sunshine since India and had been having slight withdrawals. Beautiful white sand, lined with palm trees and clear blue water - just what the Doctor ordered.

Made the decision to get some clothes made as Hoi An is home to the majority of Vietnam's tailors (basically you can't move for Tailors shops). Colin got a suit and a jacket made and Anna decided that it was time for some clothes with a little extra give as the bump seems to have decided it is time to start growing. Really happy with the end result - Colin looked very dapper, now just needs a job in banking. Crazy how quickly they can get it all done - particularly as Anna ended up sending hers back a couple of times as she wasn't quite happy - think a hot day and raging pregnancy hormones probably didn't help.

Young Mr Redfearn celebrated another year on earth whilst in Hoi An and we decided to spend the day ar Redbridge Cooking School. Splashed out and decided to do the whole day course which ended up seeing us as the only students - private cooking class, what more could you ask for. We started with a trip to an organic herb/vegetable garden in the country and then a country market to get bits and pieces for our cooking. Made four traditional Vietnamese dishes - Pho (Beef noodle soup), Cha Ca (Fish Hot Pot), Shrimp, Lemongrass and Chili in Banana Leaf and Chicken Vietnamese Salad. We even learnt how to make our own rice noodles. Also got full use of the schools swimming pool, free bar (great for birthday boy), boat ride home, recipe book and apron and everything we made to eat! Was a great day and we can't wait to try out our new recipes and skills - any volunteers?

The birthday was topped off by the lovely ladies in reception who welcomed us back from our day out with a beautiful birthday cake for colin.

Good Morning Vietnam!!!!!!!

So far Vietnam has surpassed all culinary expectations! It feels like it has been an eating tour of Hanoi thus far, but with so much on offer and so cheap and tasty - plus feeding an extra how can we say no. The lowest point of any dining experience has been the seating. The time of day has had a factor on just how close to the ground Anna's seat can be (full bladder and lack of warm muscles).

Has been an easy city to navigate, they actually have road signs and obey traffic lights unlike India, and it is a lot more friendly than reported. Have had several days in Hanoi, all very cultural - Ho Chi Minh Mauseleum and Museum, Water Puppets, Literature Museum, Vietnam History Museum, Night Market and of course lots of sampling of local cuisine.

We headed up to Halong Bay for a 2 day, one night tour. The weather was a bit grim but it did manage to clear in parts to allow us to enjoy the scenery and take some good pics. We were very lucky with our tour as there are soooo many to pick from and all seemingly doing the same thing all for different prices. Our boat the 'Poseidon' was actually one of the nicest that we saw and we were thankful that there were three likeminded young brits onboard that kept us entertained, cheers Toni, Tim and Matt. Did a tour of the limestone caves and a little bit of kayaking around the floating villages. Evening entertainment consisted of a not so successful attempt at fishing for squid and a laugh a minute karaoke marathon. Must admit Anna had to call it quits when the rice wine came out and the singing did deteriorate somewhat - only so much a sober person can cope with!

Back in Hanoi for a day or so - a day trip south to Tam Coc planned for tomorrow and night train for Hoi An in the evening.