27th February 2014 Rainbow Beach

Happy Birthday Sarah!! We hope you had a lovel day!!

Today we just had a relaxing day on the beach after getting to Rainbow beach around 12:30. We had a free upgrade to a private room which was nice! With the wind blowing and the sea a lovely temperature it wasn't until later we realised how red Rob and I were. Rob was definitely really burnt but hopeing it will be okay in a few days!!!
We are off on our 2 night 3day Fraser Island trip tomorrow which we are really looking forward to and will give you an update when we are back!!

Lots of Love

Katrien and Rob xxx

23rd - 26th February 2014, Byron Bay and Brisbane

23rd February,
Today is our second day in Byron Bay and as it rained a lot yesterday we decided to make the most of it by getting up early and headed to the lighthouse which is about a 3km walk to the top (most of it was little forest steps which was a challenge! ) but the views were amazing! We ate ice cream at the top for breakfast.. just because we can!! We also went into the little lighthouse museum which was really interesting.

After soaking up the views and sunshine, we headed back down to get ready for our Surf lesson. We drove about half hour out of Byron to a beach called Flat Rock which was reasonably shallow but on a lovely beach with nice warm water. During our lesson we learnt how to get up onto the board on the shore first before heading into the water to give it go. It was probably the most tiring and frustrating thing we've done! The current was strong and with a lot of wind it was a struggle getting over the waves out far enough to 'catch some waves' (thats the technical term used by the instructor). When you are out far enough and seen the wave you want to try you then have to get on your board and get ready to do your steps of paddling and getting to your feet on the board. We both managed to stand up - albeit for a few seconds, but we mostly fell off and had salt and sand every where. We were out in the water for a good few hours and we kept trying we knew we would ache the next day after our trek to the Lighthouse and now surfing. It was brilliant on the surf boards but we were definitely in for a good nights sleep and some after sun for our red faces!!

24th February ,
Today we travelled a few hours to Surfers Paradise. We had a nice small Hostel and decided that we haven't got long here so we walked to the main Surfers Paradise beach. Our hostel was a little out of the way but it was a nice walk along the beach. After a long walk (after we assumed we were closer than we were) we thought we'll have nice cold drink. Rob offered to treat Katrien to a pint of Magners in an Irish pub but he soon wished he hadn't when the barmaid asked for $20 for the two drinks! It was definitely the most expensive drink we have had!! We returned to our hostel and joined some people from the hostel for $2 steaks which was surprisingly good considering!! We did feel like the odd ones out because as a couple everyone avoided us like the plague and after realising we all had different goals for the night we went to meet the couple we met in Byron for a few drinks but didnt leave too late. We had very courteous room mates who only turned the lights on twice while we were asleep... Unfortunately the agonies of hostel living!!

25th February
Today we headed back on the bus for a short journey to Brisbane.  We arrived but with a lot of waiting around and lost reservations we had to find somewhere to stay but in the end turned out much better and we opted to pay a little extra for a private room. It came as a very welcomed change and although it was still a little noisy because its an old building we could go to sleep at a reasonable time and not have the danger of being woken up by party goers in the early hours. Due to the big mix up of hostels we didn't have much time to explore Brisbane but we tried to walk but ended up getting a bus to the Brisbane Cricket Ground.. after getting lost for an hour trying to get there we were unimpressed when we got there and after walking all the way around we hopped back onto the bus and went to get some food before enjoying our early night ready for an early start tomorrow.

26th February
Today we went about an hour and a half out of Brisbane to the Australia Zoo. It is Australia's biggest zoo and was taken over by the famous Steve Irwin from his parents.  The zoo has now become a memorial to Steve and his dedication to the animals, especially the crocodiles.  It was a brilliant day and we saw a crocodile, snake and bird show which was really good. They fed the crocodiles and the birds flew around over our heads! We saw lots of cool animals, and we stroked Kangaroos and Koalas! We were also entertained by the Tazamanian Devil who just ran around in circles in and around his enclosure! All in all a great day at the zoo :) Our favour animals were the Koalas and the crocodiles.

19th -22nd February Sydney and Byron Bay!!

19th,
We finally arrived in a very wet Sydney after a tiring 24hours door to door trip. We checked into our 'spacious and clean' hostel hoping maybe for a little snooze but after we entered a very small dark room with just the light of a girls laptop, ipad and phone... we opted to have a shower and make a swift exit. Our fellow room mate wasn't the most inviting and talkative. Although it was raining it was surprisingly warm and we walked to the Central Quay where the Opera House and Harbour Bridge are. We took some wet pictures incase the weather the next say wasnt any better and decided to relax in a nice Irish bar and watch the people of Sydney go by. It was surprisingly quite on the streets but it was a nice stroll back to our hostel in the warm rain. We prayed for sunshine for tomorrow. Although we were initially apprehensive about our nights sleep it was surprisingly comfortable and the only disturbance was the Taiwanese man (on the bottom of Katrien's bunk) cleaning him phlegm from his throat into the toilet...

20th,
Today we made plans to see our new friend Stan for lunch and it was an absolutely beautiful day, 28° and not a cloud in sight!! We walked to Circular Quay to meet him and after a little confusion about a meeting place and an hours walk trying to find him we went to a lovely rooftop bar with him for some lunch and a drink. It was a spectacular view and you could see accross the harbour with the boats coming and going with the Opera house in the background.  We then caught a bus to Stan's university to look around and went to the museum of human diseases on his campus! It was very interesting. We then caught another bus to Bondi beach and did the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee beach. It was a 5km walk around the coastline along the clifs! Although it was a long walk it was beautiful and completely worth it! By the time we got to Coogee it was getting late so we jumped on the bus back to te city and headed for dinner and bed as we had another early start to our next destination- Byron Bay!!

21st
Not much to report today we sat on a bus for over 12 hours snoozed and watched breaking bad. We had a lot of problems trying to sort out accommodation in Byron as the hostels we have passes for were fully booked and so were some others we tried. Luckily we had booked a guest house beforehand and and managed to find another hostel for a good price!! We arrived at Byron Bay in the evening and headed to our guesthouse which although was an unexpected cost it was lovely and we met a really nice couple. Meeting them just showed how small the world is... The boy lives just outside Sudbury and went to the same school as Katrien!! Its also nice to hear good things about Mulberry court in Australia, well done Gerhard you saved his dog too!!

22nd
Today Byron bay was over cast and rained all day! we went to the beach and sat on the Rocks before the rain got too heavy and we looked around this lovely costal town. It has some nice boutique shops and lots of cafes and restaurants. We sorted a lot of travel arrangements out today which was good. The hostel at the moment is really cool, we are sitting enjoying the warm afternoon (although with on and off rain) with a nice cold drink! We have our Surf lesson tomorrow so will update you all on those antics soon!

We are absolutely loving our time away but hoping all is well at home!!

Love to all!

14th-18th February, Halong Bay and Hanoi!

13th-14th
We endured our 3rd and final overnight train this evening and it was by far the worst one. When we got onto the train there we're people just leaving but also leaving behind their mess. After swift moves from our tour leader we were given clean sheets and pillowcases and luckily Katrien had some antibacterial wipes to give our table a clean!! A few hours into the journey we had a group of locals trying to find a bed and proceeded to open our cabin door a few times. Not long after that distubance, two Vietnamese men were arguing for a good hour... So as you can imagine it wasn't our best nights sleep. We were glad when we got off the train in Hanoi and onto the bus Halong Bay bound.

We arrived in Halong Bay early in the morning and after a much needed nap we headed to the Pier to board our private boat. When we got onto the boat we were presented with a huge lunch consisting of seafood, noodles, Rice and good old French fries. After lunch we have arrived into the main area of some of the mountains. Halong Bay translates onto the descending Dragon Bay. It comes from a legend that said a Dragon descended down into the water and the mountains ascended from the sea. There are over 1969 limestone mountains in Halong Bay and although we only saw a handful it was one of the best excursions we have had. It was absolutely beautiful. Although the weather was a little cold and misty when we were in between the mountain the view was spectacular!! We were taken to some poignant rock faces; the fighting chickens (however our guide changed the name to kissing chickens, quite fitting with Valentines day) and the insense mountain which is featured on the 200,000 Dong note. We also went to a cave which was discovered by a local fisherman and what a magnificent site!! The limestone caves had been formed by water erroding the limetone by waves and rain water. The shapes were amazing and it was nice to see the different forms and shapes some of which are striking resemblances of animals and people. After the cave we went to a floating village. The villages are incredible, they started then fishermen came into the bay to catch fish but then they realised that if they stay here they can harvest as well as farm the fish they catch. There are whole villages located in the bay consisting of floating houses and house boats complete with a primary school in most of the bigger villages.

After a good few hours on the boat we made our way back to shore and returned to our hotel. Apart from the Bay there isn't much else to do or see in Halong so after a good nights sleep we were back on the bus off to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

We arrived on the 15th and after getting a better understanding of our surroundings we headed for a nice dinner for one of our group members, Nic's Birthday. We started the evening going to one of the many street vendors' little cafe's. There we had local beer costing a mere 14p per glass! We also tried some local nibbles before heading to a lovely restaurant looking over the lake, which at night is lit up all around with pretty lights! After lots of laughs at dinner we headed out to a Hanoian nightclub. It was possibly the worst nightclub we had been to! There was two little 'hip' Vietnamese in charge of the music one of which proceeded to sing over some songs! Luckily most places are required to close at 12 so we could make good excuses to leave.

16th February,
Today we did a lot of walking again. We went first to the Ho Chi Minh Museum- well actually by mistake as we were dropped off in the wrong place by the taxi driver, we actually wanted to go to the Mouselleum! The museum wasn't really catered too well for anyone other than the Vietnamese people, but it was very arty and well structured. After the museum we walked to the Mouselleum and saw a guards procession outside however we were too late to see Ho Chi Minh himself. We then walked back towards the old quarter where our hotel was located but did so walking around the small streets on the city. We then walked to the prison museum which was a struggleto find but after a while of wondering around and attempting to communicate with a local we finally found it. It was a very interesting museum which was mainly about Vietnamese political prisoners but there was also a section about the American pilots who were kept there during the war. The period where the Americans were there the prison gained a nickname the Hanoi Hilton because the prisoners had a good time in prison and were given much better treatment than the locals. An interesting insight to some Hanoi history. By the time we got back it was time to get ready for dinner again. Tonight was our final night together as a group. It was nice to reminisce on our time together and it was sad saying goodbye to some new friends that we had spent a lot of time together over the last 3weeks!!

17th,
Final goodbyes were said to the group carrying on to Loas and our lovely tour leader and the group parralell to us before we headed back out to the famous water puppet show exclusive to Hanoi. In the show there were different little stories of traditional Vietnamese lives and a few legends. It was a very interesting show and they used traditional puppets but controlled them underwater which was something we hadn't seen before. After the show we chilled out with the two Canadian brothers before a last few cheap beers to send them on their way to Sapa. We were officially the last two in Hanoi! We went for our last traditional meal in a lovely restaurant over looking the lake but we decided not to stay too long as we couldn't hear ourselves think due to a very loud lady who filled the empty restaurant with her non stop talking!!

18th
Today is our last morning in Vietnam!! We will have breakfast and a last walk around the city before getting a taxi to the Airport. We have a long fligh via Saigon to Melbourne and then to Sydney but I'm sure we will find something to occupy our time. We should be in Sydney at around 2pm local time which is 11hours ahead of English time. We have heard that WiFi isn't that reliable as here in Asia (hard to believe) but we Will try and keep up to date as much as we can!!

One part of our adventure has finished now but we are onto the next one! We have had an amazing time here in South East Asia and met some lovely people on the way too, friends we will definitely keep in touch with.

Goodbye Asia, until next time... Australia here we come!!!

Katrien and Rob 

xxx

12th and 13th February 2014 - Hue Vietnam

We traveled from Hoi An to Hue yesterday going over the Hai Van pass which connects Danang and Hue. The journey was a bit difficult for Rob as he was feeling really unwell!! We passed over the mountains which had beautiful views on the way up but when we reached the top it was very misty and we couldn't see much. After a few hours we arrived in Hue. 

Hue used to be the capital of Vietnam for over 100 years up until the mid 1940s and is situated in the centre of Vietnam in the narrow part of the country. It is a city which is relatively small but there have been attempts to modernise it. The city is quite run down with a lot of unfinished buildings and empty streets. in the afternoon when we arrived Rob went straight to bed ( a wise move after a sleepless night for the both of us) but Katrien went on a motorcycle tour of the city and some sites. Don't worry mothers, I was wearing a helmet and had a designated local driver. We saw the city in the local scooter style. It was good fun and saw how they make rice at a very small 'factory' and went to a tomb of a former king who ruled in the 1800s.The tour lasted about 3 hours and by the end I felt like an ice cube!! It has been quite cold here in Hue and today it has been raining all day.

Today we have to be up and out of the hotel in good time as we are catching our last and longest overnight train journey of the trip. The reality that we only have 4 days left on the tour make us a little sad but looking forward to our next destination. We leave this afternoon for Halong Bay and Hanoi which we have heard is spectacular. We will of course keep posting and hopefully get some pictures up too! 

Rob is feeling a little better today and managed to get out of bed but still a little fragile so lots of fluids and TLC will soon have him back to normal!

Missing you all,

Rob and Katrien xxx

10th and 11th February 2014 - Hoi An, Vietnam

After a long and delayed overnight train, we arrived in Da Nang where we got a bus transfer to Hoi An.  Hoi An is one of the oldest original towns still left in Vietnam and has been acknowledged as a world heritage site. In the old town, most of it has been cordoned off for walking and cycling which is nice as it means there isn't much traffic and no motorbikes which makes a welcome change. 

We arrived here early on Sunday and had a nice stroll to the riverside where we had breakfast and wondered around the old town. Here in Hoi An it has been the first place that hasn't been sweltering hot, but is actually a little overcast but we are embracing the milder weather. In the afternoon we went on a bicycle tour of the town and the surroundings which took us into the countryside where we saw a lot of farm workers in their rice paddies and in their vegetable patches. Our guide took us to a farmer who has water buffaloes and Katrien had a little trip on one - although a little scared and pinching the farmer - it was a lot of fun! Rob and Katrien did sit on the Buffalo for a nice picture! After our very long bike ride we got on a boat and returned to the docks near the old town. By this time our bums were well and truly sore! That evening we rode back into the town for dinner at a very local street food restaurant where we had some typical Hoi An wontons, BBQ beef and a noodle soup, it was a little unusual sitting on stools the size of a child's seat!

11th,
We woke up nice and early to get the day started and our first stop was in one of the many tailors to get Rob's shorts fixed. The tailors here are amazing! Big shops where you can choose material, design and even stitching options to make your garment and it will be ready the following day! It was fascinating to see all the tailors! After that we went on a tourist trip to different areas of the old town, old traditional houses, Arts and Crafts 'workshops', assembly halls and museums! It was nice to see the traditions of this part of Vietnam and it has been the prettiest town we've been to, all the streets are decorated with lanterns and at night it is spectacular. Tonight we are going to cross over to the lantern markets opposite the old town river!! Rob is going to go and enjoy some local bonding time playing football with the boys in the group and some locals while Katrien makes use of the cheap beauty spa in the hotel for a nice manicure and pedicure... BLISS!

We are off early tomorrow morning to Hue, a 4 hour bus journey, where we will post again what we are up to! 

Love to all


Katrien and Rob xxx

7th, 8th and 9th February 2014- Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang and the Over night trains

Today we went to visit the Cu Chi tunnels. What an interesting place. Here we had a brilliant and passionate guide who told us in depth about the tunnels and the Vientnamese people who lived there. Cu Chi is a small village located about 80km out of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city) close to the jungle areas of Vietnam. This was a key area of the vietnam war as there was a very large Americanbase located close there during the War. The tunnels were made by the Vienamese Communists who were fighting against the Americans. The built around 250km of tunnels under ground where people lived and fought the Americans. They were very intelligent fighters and used clever ideas to attack America. They made hidden traps in the jungle and use clever ideas to deter the Americans finding them. The tunnels were very very narow in order to prevent Americans getting in. It was a complex system that had 3 different levels. People lived in there tunnels for years but often died of diseases or malnutrition. We had the chance to go into the tunnels and although they had widened the tunnels for tourists we still struggled to walk around them. Rob managed the 100m passage but it was clear he wouldn't have survived under there if he was in the war. We have taken a ot of pictures on our camera so will have to put them up another time.

After the tunnels we didn't have long until we had to catch our first overnight train to Nha Trang. We had a final drink with our fellow Englishman Stan and said goodbye to 6 of our group. We got on the over train and we shared with the Austrailian couple as the cabins had 4 bunks. Rob was out like a light and although a little small - and the occasional arm or leg hanging over the edge on the top - he slept trhough the night. It is with no surprise that Katrien however slept very little. but it was indeed an experience.

We arrived in Nha Trang on the 8th early morning at around 5am and came to our hotel. We had some orientation in the beach town and saw the early risers of Vietnam. Most of the people go to the beach early in the morning to do some exercising and grabbing a traditional coffee before they start their day (before the sun came out). One thing we still can't grasp is the fact that the Vietnamese people do everything in their power to shade themselves from the sun. Although we are embracing the sun and heat - they are all wrapped up, head to toe to prevent any sunlight getting to their skin.

Later on we went to have a mud bath here in Nha Trang. It was so unusual. We were bathing in a runny mud (the consistency of chocolate milk) which had natural minerals in which are meant to be very good for your skin. It was actually extremely relaxing but after a few hours - the hot water and sun was too much so we went back.

After dinner we went to watch some football with the group at a nice bar (our leader is obsessed with the English football league) then went home for a good night sleep.

9th
Today we havent done much but have had a nice relaxing time lounging on the beach. Not much to report today as we have taken it easy ( a nice chage after being so busy and on the go most of the time) although we have another overnight train to catch tonight heading to Hoi An. We will keep you updated about the next part of our Adventures!!

Love from Katrien and Rob xx

5th and 6th February 2014 - Vietnam and the Homestay

We left Cambodia early this morning and had a long bus journey to the Vietnamese border. The border crossing was very basic (see pictures) and we had to bribe the immegration police to grant us access as we had arived during their lunch break. After the border we carried on for another long lourney to our homestay in Chau Doc on the Mekong River.

The Homestay was a brilliant experience! When we arrived we were greeted by very friendly owners and we learnt to make some traditional rice pancakes with a meat and vegetable filling. It was delicious. They then cooked for us all and it was the most food we have eaten while we were in Asia. The food was fantastic and we were nice and full for a 'good nights sleep'. Our accommodation was understandably very basic and our bed wasn't very comfortable but we made it through the night. The roosters were up early at 4:30 and didnt let us sleep in much longer. After an early breaksfast we went for a boat trip along the Mekong River to see the floating markets. These markets were wholesaler markets and they often stay on the river for a few days to sell all their stock before returning home to re-fill. You could see whole families on these boats and we got on one boat for some fresh pineapple prepared in font of us. Was most probably the nicest pineapple we have ever had!! Along with the main wholesale boats there were small ones that came around selling vietnamese coffee (hot or cold) as well as others selling food, noodles and soups! It was a great experience and not what we expected at all but it was so interesting to see another way of business. Our guide was quite clear to explain that these sellers were purely business men rather than farmers selling their own produce.

After the River tour we drove another 7 hours to Ho Chi Minh City where we had our last night with some of our group before meeting the new ones joining us on the next leg. We went for another tasy meal and had some farewell drinks for our new friends. We ended up going to a Vietnamese nightclub which even for Asia was very expensive!

After a long day travelling and a few drinks we were ready for bed - until next time!

Katrien and Rob
xx

2nd, 3rd and 4th Feb - Cambodia

2nd February

Today we had another busy day, starting with the Grand Palace which is situated near the river here in the capital city- Phnom Pehn. We had a tour guide that told us a lot about the history of the Palace and about the current king who was there today. At the Palace there was one room called the Silver Pagoda that had a floor made of pure silver tiles... It was funny to see that although the floor was covered in carpet in order to preserve the floor, the bit that we could look at was a little warn and they used  good old sellotape to stick it together! 

After the Palace we went to the National museum which was actually quite small to what we imagined. Here they had a lot about Angkor Wat City which we had been already, with lots of stone carvings taken from the temple. We have to admit we weren't blown away by the museum today which was a shame but worth a look anyway. After here we attempted to go to the Central market but it was closed for the Chinese New year so went to a Dim Sum place to eat instead!

In the afternoon we had an organised trip to the Killing fields and the converted school, S-21 that was a prison where they tortured thousands of people during the Genocide. The Killing fields was incredible. We had a fantastic tour guide who had personal experience with his own family being killed or starving during the Pol Pot regime as well as how he was sent to the fields to work as a scarecrow. Some of the torture techniques were unbelievable able and it is so hard to comprehend what happened here only a few decades ago. The killing fields were literally what it says -  They took everyone who was educated even mothers and babies to these fields to kill them, Often using brutal ways as well as torturing them. It was so hard to comprehend what happened in such a small space, especially as you walk around there are bone fragments that have re-surfaced. We then went to S-21 where they tortured the people before taking them to the killing fields in order to get more information from them. We have taken lots of pictures that we will put up as they speak for themselves. One positive aspect was however that there were 7 survivors from this specific prison, one of whom we were able to meet and have pictures with and we bought his book too so that will be a good read on our long journeys.

3rd February
Today we drove a hearty 6 hours to the coastal town of Sihonoukville and when we arrived it was a quick change and off to the beach we swam and played games in the  warm sea and the crystal waters. Here we had some lunch and walked around but it was later when the partying began. We had a lovely BBQ dinner on the beach - let of some fireworks and lanterns, played some fun (but very organised) games and partied on the lovely beach. It was definitely one of the big highlights of the trip. 

4th February
Today was another relaxing day - we went on a brilliant boat trip to the islands around the coast. Although the boat has some trouble starting (giving us flashbacks from Portugal) It was soon off where we stop to do some snorkeling. Although not a huge amount to see we saw a lot of sea urchins and some cute little fish it was nice to float around and look around on the sea. The second stop was a private Island with a secluded beach where we soaked up the sun and swam in the beautiful sea. It felt like we were in paradise!! After a big of relaxing we had a tasty BBQ on the beach and not long after we returned back to shore. This evening we went to a beach bar and restaurant where we ate some great food with our feet in the sand. We need to get an early night as we are up early for another long (9 hours) bus trip to Vietnam and all this sun, sea and a lot of salt has warn us out.

Having a lovely time and meeting lots of nice and interesting people.

Until next time,

Katrien and Rob xxx

Last day in Bangkok and Travelling to Cambodia!! 29th January - 1st February 2014

Today we had a lay in and enjoyed the delightful breakfast the hotels have to offers -  albeit a little different to what we are used to at home, here you can have noodles and rice for breakfast, apparently they have rice and noodles morning noon and night (a little too much for us). We then walked around Bangkok - we again tried to find the golden Buddha but again NO LUCK! The locals apparently have a scan where they tell you places are shut and con you into coming back another time for more money, but they are also a little worries and apprehensive about the protests so they refuse to go to those areas with Taxi or Tuk Tuk as it was an area of unrest.

After more walking we finally met our tour group at a new Hotel on the other side of the city. Everyone seems really nice - a real mix of nationalities. We are two out of only 3 English which came as a surprise but everyone is really open and chatty which is good. After our meeting we went to a local restaurant together to get to know each other. We tried some very traditional food which was fantastic! After the meal our new guide Mr Yoo told us about some places we might like to go that evening and we decided to go to Khao San Road which also known as a backpacker hot spot. It was amazing! There were clothes stalls and bars and food stalls!! We went to a few bars and got to know a few people really well - a Couple from Norway, Canadian brothers, a German Mum and Son combo and the other English guy.

Safe to say we had a good evening although a little late home with a very early start in the morning but as everyone says.... YOLO!!

The next day we were up and 'ready' to head to Cambodia. The journey from Bangkok to the border crossing was around 4 hours drive. The crossing itself took about an hour - all on foot with a lovely heat! After the crossing we headed to Siam Reap where we are staying. That journey was also a few hours so by the time we got there we were sick of a bus. The difference between Cambodia and Thailand are remarkable. Cambodia is a very poor country with the average wage a year being around $1800 a year.

We settled into our Hotel and headed straight to the G-Adventures foundation (some of the money we paid for our tour goes towards this foundation) called New Hope Foundation Cambodia. We saw the old premises which was really run down and dilapidated which they now use as a halfway house and Crisis centre for families who are homeless as well as women and children who have suffered domestic abuse. This was situated in one of the big slums in Cambodia. It was shocking to see how little these people had but everyone still smiled and shouted Hello ad we drove through. We even gave a few kids high-fives as we went past!! After this we went to their new school/centre. This was fantastic, they have done a brilliant job in building a school ad well as a medical centre and training areas which they can offer for free of charge for the locals who live in the surrounding slums. Here we went into a classroom to talk to some of the students and Rob even made a new friend who said will add him on Facebook. In this school their main focus is English and some of these children had brilliant English - outshining us! They also offer courses and textiles for the women and also have a training facility for cookery and hospitality, which boasts a lovely dining room where we had a lovely dinner accompanied by a musician on the guitar.

After the evening there we went back to the hotel as again another early start for the Ankor Wat Temple tour.

On the 31st we had to be up again very early as we were off to Ankor Wat Temple for sunrise! It was amazing! We then returned later in the day to walk around the temple! There is not much we can say to describe it but absolutely vast and awe inspiring. It is the biggest temple in the world and we climbed to the top up some very steep steps! Rob was also lucky to have a photo with a monk who came to the temple. Ankor Wat was originally designed to be a Hindu Temple but it was converted into a Buddhist temple later one. Today we also went to 3 other temples! One was called Bayon temple which is a Buddhist temple that boasts a impressive 54 towers all with 4 Buddhist all around to symbolise the different faces and forms of Buddha looking out. the carvings in these temples were amazing. The second temple was very high, again Buddhist so very similar in carvings and engravings. we climbed to the top of this temple and the view was amazing across the Ankor Wat city. The 3rd temple was the temple in which Tomb Raider was filmed. This one had unique features and it is often known as the Nature temple as there are trees that are growing inside the walls where the tree bark encase the walls. They can remove the trees as otherwise the temple will collapse.

After a very long day of all the temples we decided to do an extra activity of an evening countryside tour on quad bikes. IT WAS AMAZING!! After a tutorial of the bikes they lead us to the Cambodian countryside, driving through the villages and seeing some rice paddy-fields. We then stopped and saw the sunset across the countryside (unfortunate we didn't take a camera or phone so others have pictures of and for us but non personally). When we got back we went for night out at Pub Street where we danced the night away in the street!

1st Feb - Today we sat on a bus for around 6 and a half hours travelling from Siam Reap to the capital city Phnom Phen and went for dinner along the riverside and will go to the rooftop bar and pool to relax and get an early night. Tomorrow another full day of sightseeing!

Until then - See you all soon,

Lots of Love
Rob and Katrien
xxxxx