Hello from paradise!!

Well here we are in Ko Samet, a little island off the coast of Thailand on the Andaman sea. We've just finished our trip of South East Asia and are taking a few days to recharge the batteries before embarking on a new adventure...China! No better place to unwind than on this idyllic island with a sun-bleached coast and emerald waters.......its said that if Goldilocks was a Bangkokian socialite she'd spent her weekends here in Ko Samet....not too noisy, not too rugged, its just right!!

Its been absolutely hectic for the last month, hence the slackness on the blog updates. So here are some of the highlights ..

Since lour last update we continued travelling south towards the Mekong Delta taking in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) which is the economic, industrious and trend setting capital of Vietnam. The streets are lined with markets, shops, sidewalk cafes and vendors on wheels..the city is infectious!

From Vietnam we headed for Cambodia where upon crossing the border the rich-poor divides were immediately apparent. The rich are driving shiny new pick-up trucks and the poor are sleeping on the streets at night. We spent a few nights in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital where the crumbling colonial architecture sets the backdrop to a riverside bustling with backpackers and locals on vespas.

From there we headed to Siem Reap, the gateway to the world famous temples of Angkor Wat which is the largest religious site in the world..and also where the film Tomb Raider was filmed. Its absolutely monsterous, so much so that we spent the day exploring the temples..travelling by bus! We got to Angkor Wat @ 5am, just in time for sunrise..superb! That afternoon we hopped on quad bikes and went exploring, a very inconspicuous way of travelling! The following day we visited a local orphanage which is run by Cambodians for Cambodians. The kids were so adorable, one little girl kept rubbing my skin because she'd never seen freckles before. A trip to the local childrens hospital to donate blood was also a must here in Siem Reap. There was also some crowd surfing after many pitchers of cocktails were consumed but enough about that...

Next we hit Laos, whose isolation from foreign influence until 1998 gives travellers a glimpse of traditional South East Asian life, friendly atmosphere and laid back vibe. Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang were our ports of call in Laos where we rented bikes and headed off in search of limestone caves and lagoons, we rose at 5am to watch local Buddhist monks recieve morning alms from locals, climbed a 80/ft waterfall, spent some time at a bear reserve, and of course hopped into rubber tubes and floated down the Mekong River for the day while locals in makeshift bars on the banks threw rings to pull us in for a drink as we floated by. Has to be done! Because theres a midnight curfew in Laos we headed to the bowling alley as its the only place that stays open late and offers a few late night beverages! oh and a visit to the hospital for me (Trish) for a few x-rays on my foot. I wish I had a heroic or even dramatic story of my injury but the truth is i fell down the stairs of our guest house in Vang Vieng (completely and utterly sober it has to be said) and the nearest hospital was 10hrs away! Thankfully it was just sprained and the mighty travellers soldiered on to Northern Thailand!

Chaing Mai, Thailand's second largest city after Bangkok, has a striking mountain backdrop, over 300 temples and a moat that still encircles the original city. So while I indulged in some thai massages and a visit to the hairdressers (leg still crocked) Cat went on the adventure trail and hit those white waters in a raft before a visit to an elephant park. Still on the massage trial we both enjoyed a course in oil-massage which im sure will come in very handy..wink wink. We also had 'hat night', (pure random but great fun) where the 10 of us chose the name of a person to buy/create a hat for and exchanged them while out for dinner, much to the amusement of those in the restaurant. I chose Cat's name so I was a great friend and kept it very tame, Check out the photos!

So that lead us back to bustling Bangkok where we took in a lady Boy show and of course a 'ping-pong' show...well when in Bangkok!! Upon leaving Ko Samet we'll be heading to Hong Kong, from there we'll make our way up to Beijing. Very excited!

Hope everyone is well, great getting the messages and emails with all the goss from home. Kathleen I hope you're taking good care of those kittens

Love Trish and Cat x x