Blue Moon & Crazy Food in Ko Lanta

Nothing new to report really, we're still in Ko Lanta and have no plans to move on yet (until Singapore). We were initially thinking of going to Ko Phangan, but how different can another Thai Island be to the next? We are enjoying Ko Lanta so much, mainly because of Lek and Malay's amazing hospitality and you don't meet people like them every day, and surely Ko Phangan will have a beach just like the one we have here. If we do go there it will cost us time and money and not make it any easier to get to Singapore. So I'm pretty certain in saying Ko Lanta it is until we go to leave in about a weeks time.

There is a bar just down the road from us here that we go to most nights, especially before Jean & Valerie left Thailand because they really liked it too. 'Gangster' (I think his name is Geng), the guy that owns Blue Moon Bar has lived in Ko Lanta his whole life and gives the place a really chilled out atmosphere. A few nights back he showed us a photo album of his from twenty years ago when he and his friends used to row their boats to the surrounding islands and camp out on the completely deserted beaches dressed as aboriginals and make spears out of sticks. Before doing some travelling of his own he had the only bar on Klong Nin beach called Blue Moon, which he reopened when he got back. Now the beach is pretty packed out with bars along the whole stretch. When it gets a bit later in the evening he comes and sits with us and other customers and lights a fat one. If you want a drink you have to go behind the bar and make it yourself, that's how laid back this place is!

Coming to the end of Vietnam

We haven't done very much today because Izzy has had a really bad migraine. I would say it has been quite nice to stay indoors away from the cold for a day, but our hotel room has a balcony with doors that have some lovely big gaps to let the cold air in and no heating. Our room is on the fifth floor, and I'm pretty certain that it's colder in our room than outside! Anyway, we feel we've seen most of Hanoi and are pretty keen to get away from the icy weather!

Tomorrow we are taking a day trip to Halong Bay as it would be a shame to have come this far in Vietnam and not see it, and then on Thursday we will be leaving early to fly back to Thailand. Phuket, to be precise. The even better news is that the temperature is meant to be 36c on Friday!

Happy New Year from Hoi An

Happy New Year everyone! We had a really nice new years eve with everyone from the hotel. Traditionally, no one celebrates new years eve in Asia, they celebrate the new lunar year in February. Because of this, most hotels have a party for their western guests. We had some traditional Vientamese foods, including spring rolls, noodles and soup washed down with some Tiger beer. We were sat opposite a nice couple, Ines and Nikolai who are from Germany and Canada and spent most of the evening chatting with them.

Today we went and collected our clothes as they were now finished, unfortunately I didn't get any photos of my suit as I took it straight to the Post Office to send back to England. I'm really pleased with it! Izzy's clothes look great too. We also used the rest of our visitor tickets and went to a local history and culture museum, an old family home and a temple, and a walk back through the market.

Thap Ba Ponagar, Nha Trang

Tomorrow we are planning on getting a sleeper coach north to Hoi An, so we thought we should stop lazing on the beach and see the rest of Nha Trang that we hadn't yet explored. We went for another top breakfast, both me and Izzy had banana pancakes and a Lipton tea with condensed milk (which makes it really sweet). They serve tea in a tumbler! Time to get the fisheye lens out, it's been a while.

Happy Christmas from Nha Trang

Happy Christmas 2010! What a nice Christmas we've had so far... last night was really nice, we went out for dinner at Da Fernando's Italian Restaurant. Fernando, the guy that owns it, is an Italian. It's not the cheapest place in Nha Trang to eat, but it is so tasty. I had some bruschetta to start with carbonara for main, not forgetting the Saigon Beer, while Izzy had gnocchi for main and a Coke. Then we took a walk down to the beach, where masses of locals were all sat in groups having BBQ's. It was like a huge beach party.

Christmas Eve, Nha Trang Beach

Christmas Eve in Nha Trang

I can't believe it's Christmas eve already, time has flown by. There are a few seasonal signs here and there and several adverts on the western channels on TV but otherwise it really doesn't feel like Christmas here. We've had some great weather now, and I've been in the sea pretty much every day for the last few days. Starting to look a bit brown now and not like a typical british tourist on the beach by blinding people with the whiteness of my skin.

Local kids playing football on the beach

Another Beach Day in Nha Trang

Nha Trang doesn't have a massive amount going on, but we like it, so we're staying until after Christmas. Another beach day today for us it is! The weather is still a bit overcast but the sun does break through occasionally. I have been loving the sea, while Izzy has been engrossed in her books. I did try and get some more photos today of the waves but still not quite getting the hang of it, although this one made the waves look huge...

Nha Trang

6th Day in Nha Trang

We've been taking it pretty easy the last week really... eating, sleeping and chilling out! Over the last two days the weather hasn't been fantastic, quite overcast, but still warm enough to sit on the beach. Nha Trang has a few other bits we would like to do before we leave, like the Mud Baths and maybe visit some local islands, but we're thinking we might spend Christmas here so we have plenty of time.

There are a lot of people trying to sell you things on the street in Nha Trang, similar to other places we have already visited, but they try so much harder here! Yesterday we spent the day on the beach and were accosted every two minutes on average and they sit down next to you, get you talking and then try and sell you something. If you say no, they try and make you feel guilty about how they have no money and have kids to bring up. Although we're getting pretty good at ignoring them now and they start to recognise us and give up sooner. One lady yesterday had some tasty looking fresh fruit so we did buy a pineapple from her, and it definitely wasn't because she told us she had a big knife that she would use it to cut our toes off. She saw us again today and wouldn't give up, so I made a deal with her, I'd buy some bananas from her if I could take a photo of her!

Crazy fruit lady lent Izzy her hat...

Saturday Market at Chiang Mai

This trip seems to be getting better by the day, but I think yesterday will be hard to beat after meeting those tigers. We had the bike until 15:30 so thought we would make the most of it and travel a bit further out of town to San Kampaeng. It's meant to be full of handicraft things that Isabella was pretty keen to have a look at but when we got there it was dead... must have been the wrong day. After the bike went back we chilled by the pool until early evening, when we got a Tuk Tuk over to the Saturday Market which is similar to the night bazaar. The night bazaar had so much crap for tourists like fake football shirts and fake watches, probably because it had become so famous but the saturday market was so much better! It was a lot more of what I expected from the night bazaar with more hand made bits and food stalls.

Tuk Tuk ride to Saturday Market, Chiang Mai

Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Yesterday me and Isabella checked out of Sawasdee Smile Inn on Khao San Road, and planned to head up to Chiang Mai. We had quite a chilled out day and didn't really explore too far from the hotel.

Isabella, Khao San Road, Bangkok