2002-2005 (c) GetJealous.com, All rights reserved. http://www.getjealous.com/ricandmary/rss.xml Welcome to Mary and Ric's weblog. We are back home safely now and had an awesome time travelling around the world in just under 180 days! The blog will stay online for a good few months yet so don't fret! We will hopefully be seeing all of you very soon. Also thanks to everyone for all of the messages over the past 6 months. http://www.getjealous.com/ricandmary http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=242321&go=ricandmary As mentioned before, our journey's between places seem to be going from bad to worse and this one was no exception. We left Bangkok an hour late for Krabi by bus in the evening and were told that we'd reach our destination at 9am the following morning. However, we had not counted on the incessant pissing about that is synonimous with the Thai tourism industry. We were ejected from our comfortable ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=242321&go=ricandmary Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=233246&go=ricandmary The bus journey across the Vietnam - Cambodia border was pretty testing. Things were fine until we got to the Cambodian side where a 'health official' tried to squeeze a few dollars out of us which we initially paid and then retrieved after some negotiation. Once through border control we'd lost our bus - it was a planned change, the problem was in locating the new one. Somehow after waiting at a ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=233246&go=ricandmary Tue, 5 Dec 2006 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=233229&go=ricandmary The bus to Nha Trang was a nightmare. Very uncomfortable, too hot and too many stops. We arrived exhausted at about 7am. Just as well we didn't have much planned for our time there except to lie on the vast and beautiful beach. Whilst warm, the weather was a bit cloudy and while Mary went to the beach with Colin, Ric elected to catch up on some sleep in the room. We had a look around town in the a... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=233229&go=ricandmary Fri, 1 Dec 2006 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=228865&go=ricandmary Hanoi. Arriving in Vietnam's capital we were met with some typical Vietnamese hospitality. The guesthouse we had picked from the Lonely Planet was in the process of being demolished when we arrived and as we stood, staring at the pile of rubble, a lady approached us and took us to her guesthouse up the road. It turned out that her place was full, but she took it upon herself to phone round other p... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=228865&go=ricandmary Wed, 22 Nov 2006 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=223340&go=ricandmary Once we were finally in Luang Prabang we quickly found both somewhere to stay and somewhere to eat out. We crashed out pretty early although we did get a look at the night market on our way home from dinner. Again this was more of a handicrafts market where the things sold were made by the people selling them (or at least for the most part) unlike the markets in Thailand we had encountered. We ... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=223340&go=ricandmary Wed, 15 Nov 2006 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=220793&go=ricandmary The (late) bus from Bangkok dropped us off at 6.30am in a carpark on the outskirts of Chang Mai where some blokes with jeeps met us to take us to where? We didn't know! Alarm bells ringing we followed the rabble of groggy trvellers into the jeeps and hoped. We were taken to a hostel which was owned by the same company that ran the bus that had transported us from Bangkok. Very clever. We found whe... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=220793&go=ricandmary Sat, 11 Nov 2006 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=218844&go=ricandmary We started the final leg of our trip in Bangkok and to be honest we weren't really prepared for it. I mean that in the sense that we hadn't done much reading on the place and weren't sure what we were there to do. However, i don't think anyone can be prepared for arriving in the Baglamphu area of the city at 10pm opn a weekend if they've never been there before. A sea of people in all directions i... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=218844&go=ricandmary Mon, 6 Nov 2006 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=215166&go=ricandmary Wed 1/11Arriving in Hong Kong in the early afternoon after an all night train journey we checked into our hotel in Kowloon and had just enough time to freshen up before heading out for a few Bulmers in you guessed it an Irish bar with our tour leader Nigel. Hong Kong is a very compact city and everywhere we went at all times of day and nigh there were thousanads of people. Down on the Avenue of St... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=215166&go=ricandmary Wed, 1 Nov 2006 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=214204&go=ricandmary Tuesday 29th Oct We arrived in Guillin very early and caught a charter bus to Yangshuo. Dropping our bags at the hotel, we had a very early, but welcome western style breakfast after which we took some time to freshen up at the hotel. The day was mainly spent wandering around the town, doing a bit of shopping, but generally soaking up the atmosphere. Yangshuo is a tourist beehive in the most go... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=214204&go=ricandmary Sun, 29 Oct 2006 12:00:00 GMT http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=214201&go=ricandmary Wednesday 25th Oct Boat number 7 was much nicer than anticipated (we'd ben told a few horror stories about rats and damp floors etc) and whilst not quite up to the standards of a Carribean cruise liner, we did have our own cabin which was clean and comfortable with ensuite bathroom. The boat stops at various locations along the Yangtze River so we could step ashore and check out the sights. The... http://www.getjealous.com/getjealous.php?action=showdiaryentry&diary_id=214201&go=ricandmary Wed, 25 Oct 2006 12:00:00 GMT