2002-2005 (c) GetJealous.com, All rights reserved. http://www.getjealous.com/mercedes/rss.xml Ok so this is me, Kathryn, aka Mercedes (a nickname i acquired after working a summer in a bar in Greece with my sidekick Porsche). As you may gather from the title of my page, i don't believe i was exactly designed to be a world traveller. A true home girl at heart, i love going out to buy new handbags and shoes and would consider it a major crisis if for some reason my ghd's did not turn on in the morning! Nevertheless, i am determined to re-design myself as a true backpacker, out to discover the world and perhaps a few things about myself along the way. So this will be my story for the next year. You can share my laughter and my tears and hopefully my photos will show you all a little glimpse of paradise along the way. The world certainly seems a smaller place these days and this way you guys can all share a little bit of my experiences for the next year! Happy reading.....i'm sure the No.1 Drama Queen will give you many laughs along the way! xxx http://www.getjealous.com/mercedes http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=487538&go=mercedes Well this isn't really a blog as such, more just a little reflection time as i sit here in Bangkok waiting to catch the airport bus in three hours time. I can't believe this day has finally arrived, after me putting it off for the best part of the last 8 months! I guess there is only so many times you can phone an airline begging them to make changes free of charge and nearly breaking down in tear... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=487538&go=mercedes Tue, 27 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=486655&go=mercedes So we spent our last day in Hoi Ann visiting the Marble Mountains. It was great going on bikes rather than a car as we got to see so much more on the way and the weather was fantastic. It was quite a hike up in the heat but the views were great. The Marble Mountains consist of five marble outcrops that used to be islands- once we made the climb up we were rewarded with natural caves housing Hindu ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=486655&go=mercedes Sat, 24 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=484370&go=mercedes After passing through Danang on the bus down to Hoi Ann we were actually pleased that we had got off in Hue as there was more to do there, people just tend to pass through Danang i think. After sleeping past midday again after our bus journey we headed into the town for a walk around. We had a look around the Citadel and local markets and the next morning took a bike/taxi to the Notre Dame Cathedr... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=484370&go=mercedes Fri, 16 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=483813&go=mercedes On Monday morning we left Hanoi for Halong Bay. Halong Bay has more than 3000 islands 'rising from the clear, emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin' and is a Unesco World Heritage site. I quote that because unfortunately the bay's waters have largely been ruined due to the countless numbers of boats that ship tourists out there each day. Vietnams' 'natural marvel' has been exploited to the max- whe... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=483813&go=mercedes Wed, 14 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=482793&go=mercedes So now i'm in a different country- Vietnam,and it's rather different from Thailand! Our flight was delayed by nearlyan hour on Friday so we ended up landing just after 9pm in Hanoi. The flight was quite cool as we flew right above a storm and it was awesome seeing the lightning from the plane. I have to say our introduction to Hanoi was pretty much awful if i'm being honest. For starters it was ra... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=482793&go=mercedes Sun, 11 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=481373&go=mercedes Well we arrived in Bangkok last Thursday morning after an overnight bus from Koh Tao. We got off the bus at about 5am only to discover the guesthouse we had wanted to stay in was full. We ended up trying about four guesthouses before we found one that was semi-ok to crash in! After catching up on some precious sleep we did what everyone else does in Bangkok- we hit the markets. So many things to b... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=481373&go=mercedes Wed, 7 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=480056&go=mercedes Well, remember how i said in my last blog 'i don't know where this rain is meant to be'- i take it back. We found the rain, it was hiding in the Gulf of Thailand and this rain was serious about getting us wet! I'm afraid this blog won't be very interesting as we have spent the best part of 4 or 5 days holed up in various guesthouses due to torrential downpour. Rather than sunning ourselves on Tha... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=480056&go=mercedes Sat, 3 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=477084&go=mercedes Wow, we have been in Thailand a week already, it's going so quickly now. We spent our first night in Hat Yai which wasn't the greatest but things could only get better from there! I guess Hat Yai is a typical border town i.e. there isn't much to it! We stayed in a pretty nasty room, and that wasn't just compared to the luxuries of Bali- it really was just plain nasty! The corridors were just like ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=477084&go=mercedes Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=475200&go=mercedes So our first night in Kuala Lumpur was pretty much wasted on that ruddy train! I finally crawled into my bunk at 5.30am. We had chosen to stay in a small hostel in an area of town known as the Golden Triangle. The hostel only takes 14guests and is a converted house so felt very homely plus the staff were very lovely. As a result of our lack of sleep we didn't surface till after midday on the Tuesd... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=475200&go=mercedes Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=473781&go=mercedes So we touched down in Singapore late on Friday night so it was Saturday morning really. I think we landed at about 12.30am and we were tucked up in bed by 1.30am which was good. Our hotel was in an area called Kampung Glam which was close to Little India. Saturday morning started off rather badly as there was torrential rain and thunderstorms! So we took the opportunity to catch up on our blogs an... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=473781&go=mercedes Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00:00 GMT