Filling in the blanks...

So it turns out, I got distracted during my travels and although failed to post another blog on here, I did keep a written journal throughout our quite brilliant journey. With that in mind, I will, over the next few weeks, post the remainder of our trip using the info I hurriedly jotted in the back of a taxi or pick up truck on our travels.

First up is Cambodia.

Following on from our 'hit and miss' trip around Vietnam, we were sceptical as to whether Cambodia would be  for us or not.

We needn't have worried.

After handing a man in a shed our passport and $20, we were duly given our visa's. To say the Cambodian border was understated wouldn't tell you half the story but we made it through none the less and on to our coach to take us to our destination. The seaside town of Sihankouville. 

That's what we thought anyway.

After dropping off the only other couple on our coach, we were asked to get out some 100 km's away from our final destination at a travel agent. The owner quickly reassured us that another bus would be here to pick us up in ten minutes.

After around an hour and a half, the same man reappeared ushering us in to a 5 seater car that already had 6 people crammed into it.

Despite our looks of horror and disbelief the man was clearly serious.

Before we knew it, we were squashed in the back seat of a 5 seater car with a family of 6 Cambodians. None of whom spoke English.

The next hour was both brilliant and terrifying. 

Brilliant for the randomness of our plight and terrifying as we still had no idea where we were going.

Eventually I could just about see over the crow of heads to the front windscreen and caught a glimpse of a road sign proudly welcoming you into 'Sihankouville'. (Which by the way, I still can't pronounce.)

Once we had got over the relief of not only making it to Sihankouville, but making it here alive, we explored the town.

It was a town built for a traveller. Plenty of cafe's with comfy seats and book swap shops. A long golden beach with water sports and more restaurants than residents. 

Although it lacked in culture, it was exactly what we needed. 

After an indulgent few days on the coast we endured the 14 hour journey from Sihankouville to Siam Reap.

Siam Reap is famous for being the closest town to one of the wonders of the world. The Angkor Wat. So famous in fact, there is a beer named after it.

With our last few dollars burning a hole in our pocket, we took the decision to break tradition and go quad biking instead.

What a great decision.

We were lucky to be the only one on the tour and rode out with a local Cambodian for a private 2 hour drive through the rice fields and rural villages of Cambodia.

Children playing in mud streams, Buffalo sleeping in people's homes, generations of families working together to make a living. You name it we saw it.

Cambodia really was a hit.

The attitude of the people and their pride to show you around the country was infectious. There's a buzz and a vibrancy about Cambodia. You really feel like people are happy to be living a relatively free life and that is infectious. 

My only regret is that we didn't stay longer but our time in South East Asia was coming to a close and the golden coasts of Australia were on the horizon.

I think it's safe to say. I bloody love Asia. 

As one door closes...

Tomorrow we will be leaving Vietnam.

The heat, humidity and crowded streets of this Asian gem will be replaced by... Well, much the same to be honest as our next stop is Cambodia.

But now is the time to reflect on the weird and wonderful month 'that was' in Vietnam.

We travelled roughly two and a half thousand killometres during our 27 day stay, soaking up as much as possible of the Viet culture.

The most obvious observation to make is the profound difference between the North and South of Vietnam.

The influence of China is far more obvious in and around Hanoi. The lack of investment and a smaller tourist industry also makes the North more of a 'culture trip' than you're likely to experience in the southern blockbusters of Nha Trang and Saigon for example.

With a lack of money comes an inevitable desire to have some and for this reason the South is far preferable for a hassle free trip.

You can barely walk 2 metres in Hanoi before someone offers you exactly the same rip off wallet another street vendor forced upon you a few steps back.

Despite the need for a human 'bug zapper' the atmosphere was surprisingly more relaxed in the North than South.

The further you head down Vietnam, the more I felt like a tourist and unfortunately, in a lot scenarios, a bit of a fool.

The assumption is: 'You're white - you've got money and I'll make you pay double the amount a Viet national would.'

I'll give you an example. During the most generous rain storm I have ever been in, I scrambled to a local street stall that sold plastic, full body rain macs. Whilst hiding under an umbrella, I asked how much it would cost. After around 3 seconds of eyeing me up and working out if the Ray Ban's I foolishly took out with me were real or not (they weren't), she told me 70,000 Duong. Around 2 pounds.

Considering that is a few days wages for a Viet national and everyone but the cat and dog had a rain mac, I politely declined.

A wise move as it turned out, as two stalls down, a Viet woman was buying the exact same one for 8000 Dong. Around 25p.

This is Vietnam's biggest downfall.

 The beautiful views of flowing rice fields, running alongside golden beaches with a backdrop of lush green mountains, is often tainted by the people you're surrounded by.

I don't mean this post to sound harsh as we met plenty of incredibly friendly and helpful people on our trip and the purpose of me saying this is not to tar with any brushes. But it is unfortunately true - I frequently felt uncomfortable in the presence of Vietnamese people.

Whether it was a snide comment or snigger that, despite your language barrier, you know is aimed towards you. (and before you say it, it wasn't just me that felt like this!) All those moments of insecurity add up to you feeling a little conscious when you need not do.

That said I will always remeber my month in Vietnam with huge fondness and enjoyment.

It is a country very much in limbo, slowly beginning to embrace the culture of others, as modern cities like Saigon demonstrate, but being held back by it's lack of trust towards anything new.

And who can blame them?

You only need to visit the excellent War Museum in Saigon to jog your memory of what a terrible recent history this country has been through. The consequences of the Vietnam War are there for all to see throughout the Indochina region.

With my experiences of Vietnam and it's reluctants to let go of its past fresh in my mind, there is no better place to continue the journey, than in the historically war torn capital of Asia, Cambodia.

I have been listening to:

Carly Rae Jepson - Call Me Maybe
Ellie Goulding - Lights
The Feeling - Sewn

Nha Trang to Saigon

Ok, so it's not quite been a week since my last post but boy does it feel it!

Since my outpouring of love for Hoi An a few days ago we have clocked up over 1000km's through Vietnam and spent 23 hours crashing through towns on the Viet 'roads'.

My last post was full of fear at the prospect of a 12 hour night bus journey from the beautiful town of Hoi An down to it's bigger and noisier neighbor Nah Trang.

Although far preferable to the night train in the; 'how sodden my clothes were from sweat' category, the list of wins for the bus ends there.

The jerks and bumps of Vietnam's, at times, unimaginably bad roads did not lend itself to a sound nights sleep. Nor did the frequent stops at toll booths. I can only imagine the money each car forks out to risk their lives on these roads is spent on the booths themselves as they are far superior to any tarmac our bus drove on.

But don't think I'm feeling sorry for myself, we were the lucky ones. Nobody knows quite what happened to the American couple left at a service station midway through. Perhaps they decided it was less of a risk sleeping in the street than on the bus? Either way if you go to the lost and found in Nha trang claiming you left two backpacks on a bus, chances are you'll be in luck.

Despite my rant, the bus was both cheap and on time arriving in Nha Trang at 6 in the morning as promised.

This was a good opportunity to see Viet life as it really is. The whole town was alive.

The sun was up, people were of on a morning run along the coastlines. Streets packed and every shop open for business. It was like midday in a UK city.

Despite that burst of culture, Nha Trang could be anywhere in the world. A beautiful beach? Yes. Wall to wall sunshine? Yes. More tourists than locals? Sadly, yes.

For this reason, Nha Trang was relegated to the humiliation of being a 'stopover'. One night in a reasonably priced hostel and then it was off again. To Mui Ne.

We were both incredibly excited about Mui Ne. The travel books boasted of the 'best beach in Vietnam' and a 'hidden treasure'.

Unfortunately it wasn't the case.

That isn't to say Mui Ne isn't nice.

A golden beach stretches along the coastline for as long as 10 km's. Resorts and hotels pepper the beach while locals and tourists motor along the coastal road in the sunshine. It really is lovely place to be.

Add to that a good day out at the local sand dunes, where you can sled down the hills whilst feeling you were in the desert, Mui Ne is a winner.

The problem is the hype. After reading such good things only the best of the best would have met our expectations. Mui Ne was lovely, but not the best.

Finally, we find ourselves in Da Lat, following a 'life in your own hands' journey up the mountains of Central Vietnam.

Da Lat is as far removed from the rest of Vietnam as possible.

The town is surrounded by mountains draped in mist. A regular as clock work thunderstorm barges it's way over the hills everyday at around 3 o'clock, making the 20 degree heat, even cooler.

Vicky and I have even considered wearing trousers...

I know!

It has been a lovely place though and a nice change of pace to the rest of Vietnam.

Straight back in though, as tomorrow we have a 7 hour coach journey to the melting pot that is Saigon, before our flight to Phu Quoc island in the week.

To help pass the time on our bus trilogy, I took the liberty of writing down a few of the stand out musical moments during our journey.They will be this weeks 'I've been listening to'.

Thanks for reading. Until the next time....

Beatles - Here Comes the Sun
Coldplay - Fix You
Stereophonics - Have a Nice Day
Jacqui Wilson - Sweetest Feeling

Hanoi to Hoi An

4 weeks and 2 days in. We've left the mayhem and frantic lifestyle in Hanoi and travelled 1000 km south to Hoi An.

We'll explore the differences between the two later but first our journey to get here is a story worth telling.

Our initial route out of Hanoi was a 15 hour train ride from the capital to a small town called Hue on the east coast of Vietnam.

The train experience in Vietnam wasn't too bad. We had a 4 birth cabin which we shared with an older French couple, who were very friendly. The air conditioning was... unreliable to say the least, so sleeping was a challenge. One minute waking up freezing, the next with sweat pouring out of what seemed every part of my body.

Despite experiencing several different climates all in one train cabin, we arrived in Hue bang on time.

It was immediately obvious this was a town solely existing for tourism. Walking off the station we could have been excused for thinking we were Brad and Angelina, for the amount of people that wanted our attention. Sadly, it wasn't for autograph's. It was for our money.

We managed to worm our way through and jump in a taxi to our 7 pounds a night hostel, which was lovely. After our harassment at the station we decided Hue probably wasn't for us and so we used it as a 'stopover' before heading on the next day to Hoi An.

After a 4 hour coach journey which was sufficiently hot and uncomfortable we arrived in Hoi An.

What an unbelievable place.

Despite the similarities in name, Hanoi and Hoi An could not be further apart. The noisy mopeds and clogged streets of Hanoi were replaced by cobbled streets filled with Chinese lanterns and a river with bridges clinging from one side to the other.

It really is a unique place. The weather is also completely different. Although the evenings are humid and sticky, the days are filled with sunshine and blue skies.

Perfect beach weather. Luckily Hoi An has a pretty good one of those as well.

Around 4km's away from the town there is a pristine golden beach. The only way to access it is via a push bike, so every morning we've ridden from the hotel along the coast road.

Needless to say, we are both hesitant to leave. But leave we must. We are after all 'travelling'.

So onto Nha Trang tonight, on our first 'night bus'. Dispel any illusions of Harry Potter you may have. This is far more unpleasant. As long as the air con works, I don't care what state the bus is in.

Once in Nha Trang, it's a one night special and onto Mui Ne. We've heard whispers of sand dunes and sand surfing.

Fingers crossed all is well back home. I've also decided to add a 'I've been listening to' feature to my posts. Mostly for my sake. But whatever song(s) has popped up on shuffle that I have especially enjoyed since my last post, I'l let you know on here.

Thanks for reading!

I've been listening to: Mr Hudson and the Library

So here we are. A day shy of 3 weeks into my round the world trip on Friday 13th. My first blog post.





A lot has happened since I left the UK so I'll give a brief overview of what has happened for the sake of those who care.





After arriving in Bangkok we took a good 3 days to get over our jet lag. It was the first time I had really experienced it and it was not a fun experience. I have new found respect for people who travel contuniously round the world. But after a few days of adjusting and finally realising complaining about the humidity doesn't actually make it go away, we acclimatised.





Off to the Elephant Sanctuary we went.





You may or may not know, we visited said sanctuary 2 years ago and loved it so much, promised ourselves we would go back. What a brilliant decission.





In spite of the 40 degree heat, intermitent electricity for the fans at night and copious amounts of rice. It really was an experience I will never forget. The people we worked with became family within days and working alongisde such beautiful animals alongside the river kwae was something dreams are for.





With all that in mind, leaving after a week was a tester but with heavy hearts and a full memory stick of photo's we headed back to Bangkok for our flight to Vietnam.





Now...





As pointed out earlier we had visited Thailand before and so there wasn't a cultural experience this time round. If we were looking for it, we found it the second our flight hit the runway.





The skyscrapers and western values of Thailand were long gone. Replaced by echo's of the 1960's and a country struggling to find it's identity.





I have been transfixed since I arrived in Vietnam. Trying to work out whether it is trying to desperately cling on to it's Asian roots or branch out and develop.





Money is the buzz word.





More so than anywhere else, you are exclusively aware that you are a tourist and you WILL pay more than a local. The vietnamese realise the value of a pound far more than their bordering neighbours. (excluding China of course)





It seems to me that the true beauty of Vietnam is being lost in a desperate dash to make money. We took a tour of Halong Bay for 2 nights, which was beautiful. But everything had been tailored to a western criteria. It just didn't feel authenticly Asian.





It was almost as if I could have been anywhere in the world, if it wasn't for the striking limestone mountains peeking out the water.





We are now beginning our trip down Vietnam, mostly by train. We're currently in Hanoi for two days and from what we have seen, it should be good.

The streets are packed with mopeds, speeding alongside old Parisian style buildings with long tall windows. (The shopping is also pretty good. $9 for vans!)

Next up is the coastal town of Hue Ay on the train.

Hope all is well back home. Love from us both.

Travels...

Welcome to my little pocket of the web!

Over the coming months I will pop up on here every now and then to keep anyone who is interested, updated on my travels around the world. Hopefully it will give you an insight in to some diverse cultures and ways of life - as well as being a great way for me to keep in touch with you all whist I'm away.

Our first stop is Thailand and the Elephant sanctuary, so as soon as I have the means to do so, I'll jump online and fill you all in.

In the mean time have a wonderful few months and see you all from 5000 miles away!

Coleman.

Newsic

Forgot to mention I'll also post a song that currently 'buzzes' me on here once a week.

I don't know why.

None the less here is this weeks offering...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od6sUNTHiHs

Outside Influence

Like 99% of 'bloggers' out there, over the past 12 months I've done a pretty reasonable job of neglecting my blog (why has the word blog got one of those annoying spelling red lines under it? There's a definition of irony if ever there was one). And like 99% of bloggers out there, my first post of 2012 will be loosely based around New Years Resolutions;

I don't have any.

So with that out the way, we can focus on more important things like my life.

2011 was a tough one. Graduating from Uni being both the high and low point - A fine accomplishment, having made it through 3 years of constant alcohol abuse and sleep but once finished, the biggest reality check imaginable.

Having built a warm and safe cocoon of friends and pizza boxes, moving back home has been tough.

You may or may not know that I am off travelling in March with my long suffering girlfriend so saving money has been the key. This has also ensured the last six months have been as tough as the sand dunes down in Tuscany.

But the end is now in sight and all the hours of moaning I've put in to my friends and family will finally stop when I bugger off for five months and give them a break.

In the mean time I intend to get in the habit of updating my blog once a week in preparation for my excursions. (that doesn't count as a resolution)

You can pop on here at any point and begrudgingly read how my life is changing literally by the minute because I'm having to use a chop stick in China or sleeping next to a drug addict on a night bus in Australia.

If your wondering why this blog (again with the red line) is called 'outside influences' it's because my cousin's Will and Arnie have both recently embarked on their own blogging journey's and inspired me to get back on here and rekindle mine.

See. I told you it wasn't a resolution.