Was a little Drunk...

NEVER update the blog when I have been drinking! England doesn't suck, its a wicked place with great people, I probably will come home, and "beer heaven" has now turned into "hangover hell" (but hey, snorkling off the beach in Koh Pangnang sorted that out this afternoon), I don't really miss you all millions, just a bit. And my name isn't Roger, i should stop using it.
Right, glad I cleared those things up.
Chris

When Conscious Incompetence REALLY hurts!

Most of my trainer friends will know what conscious incompetence means (that's not an insult by the way guys) and the rest of you have probably experienced it when you've tried to learn something new. I've seen the harshness of it on the slopes many times. So what is it? Weeeellll, you know when you are going to try something new like say snowboarding? You feel excited about the prospect of wooshing down the slopes and looking really cool, you can hear the SSX3 or James Bond sountrack in your head whilst you picture yourself doing jumps and being very popular in the bar after for it.
But then....you actually strap your feet into the board, you feel pretty wobbly, and it is then that you realise...you're crap!
Yes and this realisation followed by a painful period whereby you keep knocking over ski schul kids over is the "Conscious Incompetence" (i.e. you know you're crap) stage of learning.
What I'm really trying to say in a very longwinded way is that I gave up on doing my PADI after the 1st day because I felt "conscious incompetence" (crap), and instead of feeling weighless, free and liberated under water, I felt claustophobic, trapped, uncomfortable. IIIIII hated it!!!
So how do you get over the Conscious Incompetent stage of learning and enter the conscious competence stage (this is when you can do it but you have to think about it - ski schul is now safe but you're still a bit stiff on the board)???
In my case I cried for about 4 days, I read "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway", and you throw up with jealousy at Chris who is obviouly loving it...and then...you give it a second go. So despite being concerned about the fact that on my first dive I was alone with a deadly poisonous sea snake for 5 minutes, I have now finished my Open Water PADI and got to have Chris as my buddy on my last two dives which was cool.
Chris is an interesting buddy....he is like a sea monkey jumping around all over the shop! He uses his oxygen up really fast because he chases EVERYTHING and he also has a habit of touching EVERYTHING. Yesterday he touched the back of a massive leathal jelly fish...I'm just glad he didn't touch the tentacles, Phew!
Before I go here are the 4 stages of learning.
Unconscious incompetence - you don't yet know you're rubbish, you are excited about learning and probably have dellusions that you'll be "naturally good at it" (especially the boys!)
Conscious incompetence - Oh oh, you just found out you're not so "naturally good at it" after all. You feel the mental and physical strain of learning something new.
Conscious competence - Ah now you've got the hang of it, you can do it BUT you still have to think about it. You'll hear a little voice in your head saying things like "turn, turn, turn, TURN TURN NOW"
Unconscious competence - You're great at it now, you can snowboard down the slopes checking out the Austrian beauty in the gold all in one and forget about what you're doing.

The end

The Swedes have spoken...

You may of guessed but that was my swedish friend. We are @ a bar next door getting quite drunk, so this is a short entry. I think the best way to understand what he just wrote is to put cut and paste it into a translator website. Hope it makes sense.
Good night and god bless from the boys in Thiland.

P.S I have a wicked story to tell you guys about our dive instructor (Alex) who was diving when the tsunami hit last November - you won't believe it, but here is a hint.... the Discvovery channel made a program about it !

Laters,
Miss you all millions.

Marge & Farge - I'm not coming back to England - it sucks.
Beer Heaven
Chris

Snacka om lurad kille

Haha, nu sitter jag har och skriver pa Chris och Sam's sida. Han tror att jag skriver massa vettig skit. ar inte det lurad sa vet jag inte vad! I skrivande stund sa sitter Danne, Stoffer och Sam och forsoker hitta pa ett bra smeknamn at Sam. Hon ar ratt "clumsy" av sig, sa det blir nog nagot sadant. Men jag tror inte att de kommer pa nagot vettigt. Hehe, som ni alla forstar sa ar jag hyfsat full just nu. Har druckit ca 7-8 Tigers. Det ar den lokala valutan i starkol har. Har inte traffat nagon tjej an, men som vi sager sa ar ju klockan bara valpen!

Na, nu blir det mer fylla och forhoppningsvis lite Stoffer som ramlar av en brygga. Jag glomde beratta det pa resedagboken, men Stoffer ramlade av en brygga haromdagen och vi hade skitkul at det.

Tack och hej leverpastej. Laterz manz

// Andreas "Crumbles" Lindstrom

Night Dive

Boring Boring -- more diving...
Went night Diving which was crazy. You each get a torch and jump into the ocean in the pitch black. It was a bit scary to start with, because your eyes don't get used to the dark so quick, and in the 1st 5 minutes i lost my group, lost the instructor and kicked a sea urchin which stung like hell. I paniced for a while because i didn't know if it would kill me or not and used up half my air. Then i saw a big fish, forgot about it and started swimming, found my group and instructor then had the most amazing time, the phosphourous glows in the dark when you kick or wave your hands, it looks like moon dust! We saw loads of cool things which i won't bore you with.
After the dive we sat on the deck and had a few beers, ohhhh what a life!
I am an advanced diver now, and did 2 more dives this morning in front of a video camera. Going to watch the evidence now.
Roger Captain
Chris

Nitogen Narcosis Part 2

Okay, you all should of read the post about Nitrogen Narcosis, and its Dangers. So today was the day we went down to 30 m below sea level. Alex (Instructor) gave us some simple sums to do on the boat before we decended (Something like 32 + 285 + 84) having not used by brain (apart from having to read the time) for the last 13 weeks it took me 20 seconds. Anyway, we reach the bottom of the sea and try to do our sums again (you use a slate to write on) the sum was (96 + 57 + 48).... I couldn't do it. For some reason i thought... 100 + 57 = 157, then just subtract 4. You think i could subtract 4 from 7 !! NO WAY!, a few others managed it but got the answer wrong. I then gave my breathing aperatus to a fish, and started digging in the sand to get deeper. Only joking... I didn't really feel many effects, i felt a bit stupid and smiley, but that was about it. I think you have to go to 40 meters to get the full 'Narked' feeling (I will do that in my Dive Master Course).
So just one last thing about Diving. I have done 9 dives already this week, but tonight we go 'Night Diving', which is supposed to be awesome, all the fish come out, and the Barracudas start hunting. I will be diving off the boat at about 18:30 local time so if at 11:30am think of me swimming around a coral reef in the dark.
Port
Chris

Team Sweden

I have been diving (yes i know, diving diving, diving...talk about something else Chris..) with 'Team Sweden' for the past 6 days. They are a crazy bunch of Swedes who love burning things, have millions of funny Swedish drinking songs, and stupid games which if you are unaware of you find yourself in deep trouble.
For Example
Dornoff:
If you burp or trump in public without immediatley saying the word 'Safe' they shout 'Dornoff' then start hitting you untill you run off to find and touch a door knob. This is quite difficult on the beach or on a boat.

Underwater:
Today on the Nitogen Narcosis 30m dive, we are all knelt down doing sums at the bottom of the ocean (See above post), when out comes a bright yellow cuddly toy called 'Yellow Guy', everyone immediatley nearly chokes to death on sea water. He swam with us for the next 5 minutes.
Later on in a 2nd dive, we are doing navigation techniques, which means 2 of you swim off into the blue, use your compass to find your way back. Dunk, and Stopher appear out of the mist holding up a massive white sheet with 'TEAM SWEDEN FOR THE WIN' written in huge letters. Again everyone nearly dies of sea water.

Great Guys, we plan to meet up with them in Oz, that is if we all ever leave this place.
I know they will read this so hi to 'Crumbles', 'Stopher' and 'Dunk'!!
Holloerrrroor
Chris

Oxygen Deprevation + Nitrogen Narcosis = A Bad day for Chris

Nitrogen Narcosis:
A unexplained phenomenom where by when a scuba diver decends to 30 meters or below the following symptoms occur:
Inappropiate Behaviour.
Lack of regard for Safety.
Inability to solve problems.
Dizziness.
Lack of coordination.

Does this remind you of anything?

Oxygen Deprivation:
A common phenomenom, the effects of which are wide ranging and seen by many if not all of my friends. Examples include:
Removal of Harrys front teeth.
Steph in a industrial tumble dryer.
Accident involving boat.
Other general incidents.

Tommorrow I will Qualify as an Advanced Diver
As you have probably already guessed, this involves me decending to 30 m below sea level. I have a buddy who is aware of the above equation and is prepared with a straight jacket.
The reason why most of us continue on to our Advanced Course is so that we are allowed to dive to 30 m and experience Nitrogen Narcosis, it is apparently wicked fun, and you don't get a hangover!! Anytime you feel to 'drunk' you just rise above the 30 m mark.
I will tell you all what happens tomorrow.
Sam and I have plans to build a bar which we lock people in and pressurise to 30 m below Sea Level (4 bar pressure). No hangover drunkeness! Perfect.

Laters
Chris

P.S Harry check out my comment to you on the post 'Sorry mom and Dad'
Ruth check out my comment on 'Europe Rocks'.

Aracnophobia

Right well you probably guessed that the spiders in Thailand are MASSIVE. Well Chris and I have had many encounters with them over the last couple of months, but to be honest most of the time they sit still looking ugly and barely move. But I just met a guy that works in the dive shop and he's been a little more unlucky.
The poor guy had had a rotten month already, he'd burnt his leg on a motorbike exhaust, then he feel off his bike and has a whole in his foot because of it, but last night....
Last night he was led in bed fast asleep when he felt something substantial on his face, it startled him but he wasn't sure if he was dreaming so he swept his hand accross his face. Suddenly POW!POW!POW! the most shocking pain erupts on his face as he realises that he has provoked a massive spired on his face that bit him 4 TIMES!!!!!!
So Nicki you see, it's not just the food that'll make you feel better about not being here, it's also the wildlife!!

P.S. Ok that's enough horror stories, next well tell you about the amazing things that are still keeping us in Koh Tao!

Culture shocks & food with rocks!

I think we anchored this post a few days ago when we said we'd write a post called the Harsh Realities of Travelling. Well we decided to go for the new title "Culture shocks & food with rocks" because yeas we have had food with complementary rocks, and despite the fact that we are now pretty accustomed to the ways of South East Asia, there have been a fair few culture shocks!
You might have other friends who have done similar trips to ours, and when they get back and you ask them how it was they'll all say "Amazing! Had the time of my life!". Now whilst that is probably very very true there are some things these friends of yours don't tell you about travelling, and we are beginning to feel this sort of amnesia about the darker side of travelling already. So before we forget them all we'll tell you about a few of these culture shocks, and ths week our hot topic is....food.
The cooking conditions are....less than unhigenic to put it very very mildly. Usually you have to walk throught the kitche in a restaurant to get to the toilets, and now days we try to avoid making pi pi until after we have eaten. Why? Well often you'll see the washing up on the floor and a dog licking out of the bowl you're about to get. Or a rat may run past you and under a kitchen unit, or the cook will come out of the toilet before you (you know what he's done in there) and you know there's no sink to wash his hands and then he makes you a nice club sandwich...it really does get an awful lot worse than this. In Vietnam in particular, spitting and picking your nose is something you'll even see the most beautiful sophisticated woman do on the street.
So, whilst most of the food is good you do sometimes get a few surprises. Here are some examples:

a) Hair: 90% of the time you'll get the odd complementary hair in your food, and you just have to pick it out and carry on eating. If you didn't then you would go hungry. But I remember a particularly bad time when I swear someone had had a shave in my fried rice!! It was awfull, the found about 30 little hairs like the ones you boys might leave in the sink after you've had a shave. I did send my food back that time.

b) Rope: Yes rope. An Australian girl we met in Vietnam was happily tucking into a spring roll when she nearly chocked on a substantially large piece of rope!!

c) Fresh bread: To our friend Laura the idea of a lovely fresh baggette filled with chicken salad sounded very appealling after a long bus journey. She nearly ate the whole thing when she spotted these black dots inside the bread, on closer inspection we discovered that the break was riddled with what looked like a nest of ant eggs! I left my baggette after that.

d) Markets: Sometimes the food itself is less than appetising. Walk through the markets of hanoi and find that it is not chicken breast that is the most expensive part of the chicken, but it's feet!
You think you've seen a nice leg of lamb and then you get closer and realise it's a chiuaua thigh on the BBQ. Skinned frogs, deep fried spiders the size of your hand, big fat honey fried worms....and so the list goes on.

So yes it is "Amazing" and we are "having the time of our lifes" but if you ever decide to make this trip remember to be prepared and we guarantee that you become immune to it after a few weeks. Sooooo, have a nice lunch and think how lucky you are not to have to look at every mouthfull you take.

Bon Appetite!

Europe Rocks

We just spent 5 hours having beers and chatting with Fabio who only speaks Italian/Austrian, Sam who speaks Spanish/English, Ben who speaks German, and I who speak English/broken Spanish, and 1 piece of paper and a pen. We spoke about everything under the sun, and it's amazing how you can communicate perfectly by drawing diagrams, making noises, and pulling faces!

P.S Fabio lives next to a Ski lift and goes snowboarding all winter for 5 Euro per day. I have his address. Annoying English friend who he wishes he never met here I come!

Sorry Mom & Dad....

We are migrating to Koh Tao. This is our new home. We are living at a place called Buddah View. I spend the days diving over beautiful coral reefs looking at Sting Rays, Trigger fish and millions of beautiful fish. You may well all be bored of hearing me say this because it feels to me like each week i see something new that amazes me, but diving here IS the most amazing thing i have EVER seen.
Marge will vouch that in the good old years when i was 6 I spent my days trying to fly (and never succeeded), but diving is the closest thing possible. You even have an up and down button!
I am on my 3rd day of my Open Water PADI dive course, and have done 3 dives, and 1 exam - which i passed with 94%....it's amazing how well i can do when i want to learn rather than HAVE to learn. I am taking my advanced diving course next week.
I have found my calling. OK, maybe windsurfing...or maybe just both.
I will tell you all a story to make you jealous, stop reading if it is raining and you hate work....
Let me begin....
Our instructor, Alex is a great guy from Germany, he and his friend from Sweden own a 22 meter yatch off the coast of Krabi (Thailand), it has 11 cabins with hot water, T.V, laptops, camera and video equipment. They charter it for $800 per person for 8 day live aboard dives around the Andaman coast and India. It is booked out for the next few months. Alex works here for 1 year instructing, while his friend captains the boat, then each year they swap. They see each other for holidays and to count thier money. We are going to stay with Alex in 2007.
Harry, interested in doing the same? We have a Gecko that will fund it.
Goodbye from Paradise.
Chris

The Videos Don't Work Anymore..

I am using a really pants free web company to host my videos. They are called Freewebs - never use them. I am trying to sort it out but am in danger of feeling like I'm back at Nortel when I spend this much time browsing the web. How is Nortel BTW ? Anyone still there...hello... ? hellOOOOO? Anyone?

Bangkok 3rd time round.

1st time we hated it, 2nd time no so bad. 3rd time good. We took a different approach this time and instead of going party mad here, we spent 2 days in the gym and at the cinema (we saw Chronicles of Narina which was crap).
Laters
Boof Head

Going Diving

We have just booked our 5 day Open Water PADI Diving course for when we are in Koh Tao. We have booked with Budda View.
We are catching the Bus/Boat down to the island tonight @ 8pm we will arrive on the beach @ 10am tomorrow morning! Who said travelling was easy.

The South East Asia Diet

Before I left England my weight was 85 kg. No matter what i did this would not change. Since I came to S.E Asia I have lost 7 Kgs! We have been away now for 68 days, which means i am loosing over 100g per day ! I'm not sure why I'm loosing this weight, maybe the heat, all the walking we do, or maybe the amount of times I have to 'make a visit' after eating Thai food. One thing it certainly isn't is stress!!
Sam has also lost about 5Kgs !

Added more vids..

Check them out..

When you think you are about to die..

...your palms go sweaty, your heart starts to race, you feel your stomach twist, and all the blood drains from your head as you being to shake with adrenalin....everyone must of had this feeling, weather you nearly got run over, caught an edge on your skis, had someone pull out infront of your car, or that split second when you realise you are about to fall down the stairs.. imagine that feeling happening about 400 times for 3 hours, and you may guess how we felt yesterday when we stupidly decided to catch a taxi from Siem Reap across Cambodia towards the Thai border.
The taxi was a RHD Toyota (in Cambodia they drive on the right) couple that with a dirt track similar to the Dakar rally, with pot holes the size of small craters, massive trucks, buses, a few water buffalo, 2000 motorbikes carrying houses on the back seat, 4000 school children riding bikes, an a CRAZY Cambodia taxi driver with 3 foot long hairs growing out of the moles on his face doing 80kmph overtaking EVERYTHING and not being able to see!
He would hurtle towards the bridges which are half the width of the roads, not aiming for the middle of the bridge - but the steal gurder on the edge, until the last meter when he would swing the car across the bridge.
Overtaking was usually 3 trucks abreast of the road, with another 2 trucks aiming head on, then pulling in with meters to spare. He would pull out to overtake (remember he cant see because of the dust, and the RHD car) I would see the truck crashing towards us and think no way can he make it....my bowels would start to loosen as he goes for it! As we were overtaking, the lorries (or us) would hit a pot hole and the car would shudder and skid towards to lorry, but some how we missed each time.
You have NO IDEA how scared we both were!!!
I can't really describe how bad it was, but Sam lost her sanity and started wittering on about Roast dinners for 1/2 hour, i couldn't really listen because my hearing had gone with the fear but occasionally she would tap me on the shoulder, stare at me then say "What about a big roast", then a second later "..is a small one better..", then "we could sell 2 types of roast", then ...." I would love a roast".. crazy.

Anyway..we made it to the border and across to Bangkok, we both have stiff necks, and a different outlook on life after the ride..

P.S The taxi drivers weapon of choice is a Toyota Campra, they are the only cars that can do the run without falling to bits, they overtake any 4x4.. and appartently never break.

My Hair Looks Ridiculous..

It really does. People here call me Boof Head !! It still hasn't been cut since July and I look like Peter Shilton.
Laters
Boof Head

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALEX AND CAT!!!!

Baby Daniel Alejandro Del Campo has finally arrived!! You've probably all heard but we just found out and we are REALLY happy for the new parents.
Best of luck to Daniel in inheriting his mothers eyebrows instead of Alexs'

XXXX

Angkor WHAT????

Hi all we have just come back from 9 hours at Angkor Wat, which is described in the lonely planet as "..simply unique, a stunning blend of spirituality and symetry, and enduring example o man's devotion to his gods"...A little bit OTT if you ask me!!
Nah not really. The temples of Angkor are pretty impressive, there's lots of them all built by kings trying to outdo their predecesors. The amazing thing is that they where built centuries ago and the sandstone used to build them came from over 50 kiometers away, so it's amazing how they managed to transport blocks that weighed a ton without the modern equipment of today (Gosh I'm so articulate!).
Aaaanyway so we got up at 5am after 11 hours on a bus the previous day (I'll bet you're laughing at us now - you just wait till we get back on the beach!).
As I said 5am!!!! To watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat, and it was a very mysterious and exciting adventure getting there via a pothole with bits of road in between. As the sun rose we marvelled at how wrong the architect got the positioning of the temple but then we moved to the side and managed to get the sun rising above the magnificent Angkor Wat.
It's great that these stunning works of art remainned untouched during the ruling of the Khamer Rouge.
But...you can get too much of a good thing sometimes. It doesn't make it any easier when you get asked if you want to give a dollar or buy a:
bracelet
bag
drink
scarf
little budda
picture
postcard
trinket
trousers
shirt
guide
book
coconut
food
pinneapple....and believe you me the list goes on and on!!

5 Wats are great, then you get into 6 or seven and the sleep deprivation starts to kick in. So we're wandering about the 12th or so Wat (i.e. temple) and it dawns on us how utterly useless most of these buildings seem to be to us. They are mostly made up of staircases, alleys, archways and corridors. Where's the kitchen, or the loo???
In conclusion, yes it's amazing but spending just one day here is not a "sacriledge"as the Lonely Planet suggests....it's enough.

So we are, as all good travellers say, templed out!

Tomorrow we get a taxi to the Thai border (crash helmet not included!) and then onwards to Banghot for the 3rd time!

Sam and Chris x

Sihanoukville..

An amazing beach resort in Cambodia we left there yesterday after 5 days of debourchery, we met up with 3 friends we made in Halong Bay and spent the entire time drunk, or getting drunk.
It has crystal water, squeeky sand, and many beach bars! We went to the Full Moon Party on Saturday night which was amazing. Wierdly the aim of a full moon party seems to be to stay up until the sunrise, so we went out on a mission, had too much beer, red bull, and black cat whiskey and ended up only making it till 4am! (2 hours before sunrise). The fact that the bar had run out of all of the above didn't help.
On a more depressing note Sihanoukville, had a darker side, walking on the beach at night was pretty nerve wracking, it was the first time in S.E Asia I felt like i needed to look behind me, and hold on tight to Sam.
Unfortunatley our worries became true when an Australian guy was stabbed in the neck and back at 4:00pm on the beach about 200yrds away from where we were sitting. He died before the ambulance could arrive, and was killed by a begger who he wouldn't pay. You have to understand that in Cambodia you get asked at least 100 times a day for money, it's impossible to help everyone, so often you have to decline.
We didn't actually see or hear the murder, but everybody knew about it and was horrified, a few of the locals warned us aswell. I checked the News on Google and BBC and couldn't find anything about it, so if anyone heard the news don't worry - we are OK and in Siem Riep sober and visiting temples.
P.S We have no pictures of Sihanoukville, too scared to get the camera out.

Videos

I have added some videos. You can find them on the right of the web page. I will add more if i find a fast internet connection. Click the link, and click open, the video should then play if you have a media player on your P.C. If you dont - then download QuickTime from Apple, it takes about 5 minutes. Uncheck all the boxes offering you free stuff, and don't enter your email.
Enjoy
Chris

Happiness Is This....

Thanks for voting, and thanks to my auntie Maggie for a great caption 'Happiness Is This' for MY Photo.. Hurrahhh (Chris). We haven't thought of a prize or a dare yet, so if anyone has any ideas... (remember to keep it clean). I suggested that everyone who voted pay 10 pounds into my bank account :O).
We are on the Cambodian Coast, Sihanoukville lapping up the sun on the beach. Its a great place, miles of white beaches, crystal blue sea, and some great friends to party with. Its Full Moon party here tomorrow night (we didn't have time to get to Koh Phangang) but this place is Cambodias answer to it, and we reckon that when our kids want to go to Full Moon parties here in the future, we shall be saying "we were there when it all began..."
Out
Chris

The Killing Fields, Kampuchia

We arrived by bus from Saigon to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh (I can't pronounce it, so have to call it Phlom Plemgh). Its a great city, we were very surprised, its clean, pretty, green parks, and flowers everwhere, and amazing riverside, with wicked people who spend the whole time laughing and joking with you (even though they are trying to sell you stuff). However, you can't get away from the darker side of this city, there are hundreds of amputees, and beggers around scarred from Pol Pots Khamer Rouge killing machine, and the remaining land mines. (50 people per day are killed or maimed by land mines + there are many amputee because of snake bites - the medical help here is so bad that they usually get gangerous infections and need to be amputated).
On our second day here we visited the School Prision S-21, where 17,000 Khamers were held captive, then taken to the 'Killing Fields' to be executed. Only 12 people survived.
The Khamer Rouge were meticulous (like the Nazis) about keeping records of the inmates, such as photos before and after tourture (sometimes during). The tousands of photos are displayed in the class rooms of the school.
The thing that shocks you most about this place is that it is so clearly a school building, which you usually associate with different things.
Outside the school are lots of beggers...one will always stick in our minds, his face was totally burnt, he had no facial features left, apart from his left eye. Very upsetting.
We them drove out to the 'Killing Fields' where the prisioners were taken to be killed. They didn't like to waste bullets so they were usually bludgened to death. 800 sculls of women, men and children are displayed in a cabinet, the fields are covered in craters, which are evidence of mass graves that have been dug up. There are still 9000 bodies buried, and as you walk on the fields you can see bones and bits of clothes poking up from the ground.
A sad day, but one we will never forget.
Chris & Sam

Best Photo So Far...

We have taken 1000 photos so far, and here are a few of our favourites. I took 3 and Sam took 3. You lot need to vote for your favourite. A,B,C,D,E or F. You may prefer other photos we have taken but don't vote for those. Either the winner will get a prize or, the loser will get a dare. Will keep you updated.

A. This lad used to come down to the beach in Mui Ne on his own at about 5 oçlock every day. He would bring his football, then stand and blow his whistle until somebody played with him. To his misfortune, it was usually me we could be bothered to play. Any anyone who knows me, knows i don't have the best aim. N.B This doesn't necessarily mean i took this photo though...


B. This photo was also taken at Mui Ne, on a windy evening just as the sun was setting, she was hiding behind a vietnamese basket fishing boat to stop the sand from being swept across her face.


C. This is a photo of a Tuk Tuk in Luang Prabang, a Tuk Tuk is a kind of motorbike/open air taxi/rollercoaster which is usually colourful, and always interesting to ride....especially in Luang Prabang.


D. You have seen this one before, but it was taken in Luang Prabang, of this little boy who was sat on his own on the curb, whislt 5 meters away a bunch of boys were playing without him, he had been crying, and was looking directly at them when the shot was taken.


E. This shot was taken in Hoi An, it is full of bikes, and this one was leaning up against the Japanses Vietnames friendship bridge.


F. This was taken on the Sand dunes in Mui Ne, i don't know why i didn't have my flip flops on. Sam clearly took this shot.

Firing Range.

We were not too sure if it was the right thing to do after just seeing the tunnels, but as it says in the Lonley Planet...'This may be the only chance you will ever get'.
We decided to go for it, and both fired a AK-47 Machine gun. I went first and couldn't believe the sound it made, it left your ears ringing for ages. The guy with me was trying to get me to aim at the target, but i got so excited that i could only smile and giggle alot, I missed everytime, apart maybe from when he put it on Automatic setting! I have a video which i will try and upload for you. What an experience, but I've done it once now, and never again !
My wife was a little different, she cooly steps up to the guy, and knocks off 5 rounds either hitting the target or a close miss. There are no smiles or laughter, just a stone cold, ice cool exterior. When she is finished, she turns round, gives me a quick glance and says 'I enjoyed that'
I slept with one eye open that night.
Chris

Cu Chi Tunnels, Saigon

The Cu Chi Tunnels are a spider-like network of underground tunnels, during the Vietnam War there was 200km's worth of these tunnels and the Vietcom built them and used them to surprise the Americans. They would hide out in the narrow laberynth of tunnels and snipers would shot at the Americans at night and then retreat to the tunnels via disguised trap doors.
We went to the Cu Chi tunnels and found it amazing! Obviously most of it no longer exist as the area was bombed and Napalmed hundreds of times, but you can still see some sections of the 1st level (the 3rd level was as deep as 50 meters underground!). The trapdoors are 25cm's wide (we couldn't believe we managed to Hudini our way in!!). Chris was first down, so check out his face when he asked if the exit was any bigger!

Some people gave it a miss but we then went along a 30 meter tunnel to arrive at what was the eating quarters, it was really hot, it was tiny (you had to crawl) AND there were bats!!! One of which kept sweeping at me in particular - the worst thing is that I had a torch and could see it's evil face flying towards my terrified face!! But anyway this is me looking fairly happy before the tunnel became smaller and smaller, darker, stuffier and the bats appeared!

Needless to say that many of us got out at the mid-way point but Chris persevered down the extra 90 meter tunnel which was certainly not for the faint hearted! The tunnel got to the point where he was lying on the floor and just about managing to drag himself along. He got out very dusty, sweating and looking a little shocked, this time there were more than just the bats!
Cu Chi tunnels was a really interesting site to see, if you're around here you HAVE to go experience it by yourself, but girls don't wear your hair down with those bats!!!

Here is Chris before it got hard core!

Google Earth Links..

I've been pretty slack on using Google Earth as I promised earlier on the Blog, but i have now uploaded the links for the 1st part of out journey (up until Luang Prabang). You can find the list on the right handside of the blog ->
Hopefully i will find time to create the rest of the links soon.
Chris

War Museum

I`m not big on Museums, especially when we both have cracking hangovers, however the War Museum in Saigon is amazing! We both left there chocked, and with new thoughts, images and ideas about the Vietnam war. We haven't seen too many Vietnam films, havent read any books, and only really learnt the history about it since arriving in Vietnam.
Vietnam has been abused by so many people, and even their own. The feelings in the North and South of the country vary widely so when you speak to people from the South they have a real hatred of the North and viceversa.
The War Museum just made us feel real sadness for everybody that was involved, and at the same time we where SHOCKED at what a human being is capable of doing to another. The images will stick in our heads for a very long time.

Arrived in SaiGon

We eventually managed to drag ourselves away from Mui Ne today, and sat ourselves on a bus that only had 3rd gear for 5 hours. Siagon is pretty much as we expected - it is loud smelly, polluted and cheap. We necked a few Bia Hois, met a freiend and had dinner then booked oursleves on a day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels tomorrow to go fire some machine guns. RAHHHHHHH. Sam wants to unload a few rounds of a Colt .45 ,and I have my eyes on a AK-47.
Apparently its $1 a bullet, so i may be paying a bit more than Sam. Anyway we will return with photos to post on the Blog.
Chris

Happy Birthday to 2 cool guys...

Happy birthday Harry Lewin (6th Jan) and Steve DeSilva (5th Jan). We raised a glass of Bia Hoi to you both today.
I know Harry is 28 and i think Steve is 28 aswell. I think it is a Friday, so I suppose you will both be having very different nights. Harry will be flat on his back, his pants around his ankles and dribble stringing out of his mouth, while Steve will be ironing his favourite suit for church tomorrow.
Anyway, best wishes to you both.
Keep up the good work.
Chris

A Day on the Dunes

As you know we're in Mui Ne...we just keep staying and avoiding getting to the madness that awaits us in Saigon!!
So back to Mui Ne: one of it's touristie things is that it has these gorgeous red sandunes so Chris and I decide to hire a motorbike and do our own tour to them for less than half the price of an organised tour.
Riding on the bike was great fun! Chris' days on Koh Samet are long gone and he is now pretty confident and safe (that's for you Papa!)so off we set to the Red Dunes.

When we arrive it isn;t the romantic peaceful arrival we'd imagined...Nope! There's about 100 kids from 3 years to 15 waiting to offer us their slides! Oh My God!!! It was insane!! Chris was trying to chain up the bike for about 15 minutes but couldn't because the kids where literally on his back! It was a bit like a re-occurring nightmare I had as a kid!
So eventually we did what all other tourists do (we found out observing later)we payed them to go away and watch the bike we didn't manage to chain up!

Anyway the dunes where great once we got the tranquility. It was just like being in the desert (just as hot too!). We then remembered Harry and a photo he was very proud of from his travels and we decided to recreate it in his honour.
Here is Chris' effort - pretty much identical and he is even wearing the same fishing pants! (Thank God they didn't fall down and flash the kids!!)


Then I had a few goes but...they where less than gracefull! Sarah Helm will recognise the lunatic look from when she used to get in the MG with me!



And then Chris became an excitable labrador and did any possible stunt he could on the dunes whilst I crawled around behind him with the camera dying of heat exhaustion! Guess that's just another wife test!!
And here he is!

Typical New Year

New Years in Mui Ne started how every New Year should... neither of us could be bothered to go out, everything was costing to much and we wanted to go to bed by 9.30pm.
New Years ended in Mui Ne how every New Year should.... we crashed a party on the beach and got wasted on free Champagne, and danced to Manu Chao, Gipsy Kings, and thankfully we didnt hear one version of Old Langsine!
We then hit the cocktails and spent far too many Dongs...but the Mojitos were worth it.
Finally, we were typically the last to leave the bar, after convincing the italian Bar man we could set him up a Vietnames Fight Club in Maidenhead. Regretted that in the morning!

Suki Suki $5
Chris and Sam

P.S (From Sam to Carol) People danced to Gipsy King as they did in thier concert, they could hear the song on the outside, but the rhythm in thier bodies told me they could hear wigfield on the inside.

Back Windsurfing

Mui Ne is massive for windsurfing and Kite surfing, i didnt realise this before we came, but it is positioned perfectly on the South China Sea, and picks up big swell and strong winds for most of the year.
So yesterday after 5 years in retirment, i started my Windsurfing career again. I was pretty nervous, its very windy here, and got quite a chop to the sea (and I havent windsurfed for 5 years).

As you can see from the first photo - it did not start well, and i managed to snap a $500 carbon fibre mast clean in two. Thank god Sam convinced me to pay the $12 insurance 2 minutes earlier.
After 1 hour of messing around, falling in and remebering how to turn, i managed to remember the technique, and got myself back in the footstraps, closed the gap, and went bloody quick !

Sam has truly passed the Wife Test as she sat faithfully on the beach for 5 continuous hours in the howling wind watching me.
She said my face changed each time I got out of the water for a breather, as slowly i got the hang of it again.

I stayed out far too long, the guys at the hire shop were waiting to go home, and the surgical glove I had to wear on my right hand because of blisters was a bit embarrasing, but it was the only way i could go back out.
Anyway, it was one of the best days yet, and i was utterly knackered at the end of the day, but with a massive grin.
Needless to say the beer hit the right spot last night.
Over and Out
Roger
Chris.


P.S Dad - the equipment has seriously changed since we used to drive to Tewksbury in the Polo every weekend!

Marvellous Mui Ne

Well after a few weeks of miserable weather we where desperate for a bit of Sun. And finally there it was...in Marvellous Mui Ne!
Mui Ne is a small place in Southern Vietnam, it doesn't really have a town center as such but it does have a 10 kilometer beach which is GREAT!!
When we arrived we where greeted by glorious sunshine, swaying palm trees and stunning sand dunes.


We arrived on New Years eve and had to stay in a horrible place because it was all boooked up (See up and comming entry called The Harsh Realities Of Trevelling) but then we checked into a great place called Lucy Resort with bungalows by the sea that have gorgeous palm leave roofs, dark wood fans on the ceiling and hammocks on the porch! It's great we found a paradise!!!

As you can see from the final picture we're chilling out sunbathing, windsurfing (see post) or teaching cute Vietnamese children to head a ball.

Happy New Year,

Sam xxxx

Nah Trang

Need to catch up on ourselves. We left Hoi An on a 12 hour journey to Nah Trang - a miserable empty, concrete jungle. Dont go there in November or December. Hotel room was nice though. We visited the Oceanographic Center - saw some fish.
Nuff said.