Vang Vien & Vietiane, Laos, SE Asia

5 hours South of Luang Prabang through winding roads in & around the beautiful limestone peaks of Laos, stands a small town called Vang Vien. Vang Vien has been put on the backpacker trail but the numerous activities surrounding the town - kayaking, mountain climbing, cycling, tubing etc....

The main strip is filled with internet cafes, restaurants and travel shops. The Lonely Planet says that you will either love it or loathe it, but in my case I loved it. After walking around Luang Prabang for days soaking wet, we needed a few days of relaxation to get over coughs & colds and the fact that we had run around every day like loonies. So, restaurants that constantly showed Friends repeats with comfy seats was a blessing in disguise. When we had had enough of Friends episodes, hammocks along the river with refreshing fruit shakes was an excellent alternative.

There is no way you can come to Vang Vien and not experience the new sporting phenomenon of tubing. We booked a trip that first took us to 4 caves which were pitch black (we had head torches but most of them didn't work!), but had cool stalactites and stalagmites all around the caves, sparkling with salt crystals. The 4th cave was filled with water so we got to hop into a tube (big rubber ring) and glide through the cave which was a great way to cool down from the stinking heat.

After a short trek we reached Organic Farm, the launch pad for the tubing. Tubing basically means floating downstream for 2 to 3 hours and stopping off and the various makeshift bars for a Beer Lao or 2, and swinging from ropes and landing in the river. There are loads of people tubing down the river with music booming from the various bars. So much fun, if you are in this part of the world with beautiful scenery to stare at whilst lazily making your way downstream. Lots of fun, and yet again, you get very, very wet.

After 4 days in Vang Vien (extended from 2 days - it's too relaxing!), we caught the bus to Vietiane, the capital of Laos. Only 1 night planned for here because it's not a place people tend to rave about, and oh my Buddha, were they correct! This place is dead, there's hardly any traffic on the streets (and for an Asian capital city this is a rarity), no sites worth seeing, except the Pha That Luang (the most important monument in Laos), and the main street was a building site with half the road dug up! It was without a doubt the dullest place I have been to in 7 months, thankfuly, we only had 1 morning here before flying to Hanoi, Vietnam...

Luang Prabang, Laos, SE Asia

5 hours from Chiang Mai, is the small town called Chiang Khong which borders Huay Xai on the Laos border. Visas sorted we took a short ferry trip across the Mekong into Laos (I am not talking P&O when I mention ferry, more like a fishing boat). An overnight in the sleepy town of Huay Xai before bording the slow boat to Luang Prabang. It's called the slow boat because it takes 2 days / 1 night to reach our destination, the seats are wooden with 90 degress back rests and a seat wide enough for 1 bum cheek. Now, imagine sitting on that for 8 hours a day - comfy huh! Well, for us intelligent ones we headed to the front of the boat and laid cushions that we bought on the floor - still not luxurious, but at least we could change positions every half an hour!

After 2 very long days we made it to Luang Prabang, a stunning French colonial city which as be awarded a UNESCO heritage title. Wooden buildings, moutains surrounding the town, french bakeries lining the streets - all set along the riverside. We arrived just in time for the Laos New Year (Pii Mai), which just like Songkran in Thailand is celebrated with a big water festival. Armed with our water guns we spent the next 3 days firing water at anything that came passed us.

The streets were filled with Laos people and backpackers, all in full swing - water guns, buckets and hose pipes in hand, there was not a dry person left on the street - in fact saturated would probably describe what we all looked like within minutes of stepping outside our guesthouses. On top of water throwing, Laos people tend to have lots of grease and flour on hand, and I am not sure if it was because I was female or the fact that I am not the tallest person in the world (easy to reach) I was a constant target for both. As fast I as would wash it off I was slapped in the face with more of the stuff (check out the photos once I have uploaded them!).

We also headed over to an island in the middle of the Mekong River where slushy mud came up to your knees. Over on this island Laos people celebrated with food, drink and dancing. By the end of the day I had never been so wet or filthy in all my life, but I have to say it was also one of the most fun days I have ever had. This continued for a further 3 days, and even if you try to get out of town for 1 of those days to escape the water you had a bucket of water thrown at your tuk tuk with in minutes - drenched again!

Aside from the new year celebrations, Luang Prabang offers beautiful temples, stunning scenery, great night markets, relaxing massages (Laos mystic massage, much more like it!) and just a lovely town to spend a few days. Time to move on, this time heading South to Vang Vien for more water shenanigans - tubing!

Chiang Mai, Thailand, SE Asia

I arrived in Chiang Mai at 6am, and quickly sorted myself out before heading off on a 3 day / 2 night hill tribe trek. A chance to trek up into the mountains to sample the traditional hill tribe villages of the Pai area (North West of Chiang Mai). Each tribe normally has its own language, dress and culture and quite often they have originated from Tibet, Myanmar or China over the last 200 years.

Our journey began with a stop at a local market to gather food supplies for the next 3 days before heading to our first village, Lisu for lunch. Originally from Tibet, with a population of 28,000 people, we were free to wonder around their village absorbing the simplicity of their every days lives. A couple of hours more trekking and we reached the next village, Lahu where we were to stay overnight. Basic thatched huts, with the floor as beds and a running tap as showers, basic but authentic nevertheless.

The 2nd and 3rd day consisted of more trekking plus riding an elephant through the jungle - very chilled out, and also bamboo rafting. The bamboo rafting was hilarious and shouldn't be attempted if you expect to stay dry! Well, certainly not with our group, a relaxing time down river soon turned into carnage with all of us hopping onto eachothers raft in an attempt to sink them, and then when that didn't work we simply just pushed eachother into the river - he, he, very funny!

Back to Chiang Mai after the trekking, and some of the group decided to go into town to find a bar. However, this group consisted of 4 girls, and so when we walked passed a massage parlour with 'Happy Hour', the bar was soon forgotten! Now, a Thai Massage... I have one word to describe it - brutal! I am still trying to work out how that hour was in the least bit pleasurable. My bones cracked in places I didn't know they could, and my limbs were twisted and turned in ways that made me question whether I had just discovered I was double jointed after all these years - the pain soon confirmed that I certainly wasn't! After the torturous hour (in which I did open my eyes at one point to see a grown man standing on my back!) I did feel good, stretched and prodded and my trekking muscles a little relieved, so I guess it was worth it.

Thai food is yum, and so what better thing to do than try to learn to cook some of your favourite dishes. I did this at the Pad Thai Cookery School (I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to learn in Chiang Mai). A whole day cooking a total of 7 dishes; Pad Thai, spring rolls, Thai green curry and bananas in coconut milk to name a few. This has to be every food lovers dream, because not only do you cook the food, you also get to eat it all too, plus have a little rest in between courses! So that's, cook, eat, sleep! Perfect!

Next stop - Chiang Khong to cross the border into Laos.

Bangkok, Thailand, SE Asia

Crazy Bangkok, that's what everyone kept telling me before I arrived... And, yes they were right! "Where you go?" and "Where you from?" is bellowed from every Thai persons mouth that you walk passed. Street vendors and tuk tuk drivers yelling,"10 baht, I give you good price" EVERYWHERE and I loved it! The place is alive, and there is not an empty street to be seen.

Khao San Road, the backpacker hangout area has a vibe that cannot be explained. I arrived at 2am looking for my hotel, and the markets were still in full swing with Thais and backpackers alike sprawled across the street, chatting, drinking or maybe munching on Pad Thai bought from the street stalls. First impressions were immediately good ones.

I spent most of my 1st day walking around the streets, wondering where each twist and turn would take me, looking quizzically at all the food markets and shops that sell absolutely everything.

The Grand Palace and Wat Pra Kaew is one of Bangkok's biggest attractions, the former residency for the King - definitely a must see for anyone coming to Bangkok. The "Temple of the Emerald Buddha" is a beautiful, sparkling piece of architecture which is admired by millions of people each year, Mosaic style pillars, marble tiles so much work has gone into the construction of the temple (and all Thai temples come to think of it!).

With the same grounds as Wat Pra Kaew is the Grand Palace, which was once the royal residency but is now used during special ceremonies such as Coronation Day. Another wonderful piece of architecture.

A entertaining tuk tuk ride to Chinatown which took over an hour once we agreed to visit a couple of shops along the way. Now, I know this is a scam but sometimes it's easier to go along with the scam then arguing with the driver to take you straight to your destination. Plus, I had quite a giggle with another girl during our never ending journey to Chinatown.

For now, this was the end of my time in Bangkok as I was catching a bus to Chiang Mai. However, for various reasons I will be heading back to 'Bangers' another 3 times, so will see more of the city then.

Sydney (Again!), NSW, Australia

Back to Sydney for my last 5 days in Australia. My reasoning for visiting Sydney again is to say 'hello/goodbye' to a good London pal. Whilst I have been away Tara has decided to come home to Sydney and as I would have missed her farewell parties, I decided to make sure I get to see her before leaving Australian shores.

It was also a good opportunity to catch up with my good Irish pals Caroline and Kelly (aka Paddy and Murphy) that I met so long ago in Brazil! I rocked up at their apartment in Bondi Beach to be greeted by our other good friend Johno, who as far I knew was leaving Sydney before I got there - so had a lovely surprise to see him standing in the kitchen!

Most of our days were spent on Bondi Beach catching up, and a big night our at The Rocks which consisted of many vodkas, many shots and lots of cheesy dancing. Johno was in his element, hanging out with his favourite Brazilian chicks.

Yesterday I spent the day with the lovely Tara, having only been back in the country for the week we took the opportunity to cruise around her childhood homeland, the Northern Sydney Beaches. That morning, however, a Tsunami warning had been issued for the whole East Coast of Australia following a strong earthquake on the Soloman Island, so once we knew that threat had passed, we took off and explore the coast.

A visit to Palm Beach with the Aussie soap, Home & Away is filmed, of course I had to take a photo of the Surf Club with Alf Stewart's name above the door, and then onto having some Fish & Chips by the sea.

A great last day in Australia - cheers Tar for being my guide!

So, this is it - goodbye Australia... a very, very sad day! I hope to be back one day, so watch this space!

Bula from Fiji!

Smiles and friendly faces will be the biggest memory from my trip to Fiji. As if my life wasn't easy enough at the moment, but I though a trip to the laid back Fijian Islands where "Fiji Time" will become a comman phrase was a must whilst I was in this part of the world.

With 20 islands in the Yasawas Group to choose it was a hard task to try and plan my 2 weeks of paradise, so instead I booked myself on a 6 night package to start with and waited to see what islands I would end up on. I started at the very North of the Yasawa Group of islands on Tavewa, a small island just 3 sq km in size. The resort was called Coral View and housed the most friendliest people I had even met. The stay here was very personalised with every member of staff remembering your name, which immediately made you feel at home.

I started as I meant to go on, by finding myself a little hammock in the shade, armed with my book! A few zzzzz later and I was totally blissed out for the afternoon! The next day was pretty much the same drill, but after a trip to the Sawa-i-Lau limestone caves, followed by snorkelling in the Blue Lagoon named after the film which was made there.

The next day I moved onto Manta Ray Island where the snorkelling was absolutely phenomenal and in my opinion much better than the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The water was so clear, and the number of tropical fish was amazing. The coral really shone when the sun was out, leaving you out there on the reef for hours. Thank God I bought my own snorkel in Oz, I really made my money back here!

Just 1 night on Manta Ray before moving South to Wayalailai Island. A volcanic rock island which looked so different to all the other islands I had seen. Again, friendly staff that welcomed you with open arms. A walk to the summit (349 metres high) of the islands gave you wonderful views of the Mamanuca Group of islands - it looks like shear paradise. On a good day we would have been able to see the Yasawas Group too, but it wasn't our day! A visit to the local village here allowed us to speak to the locals and see how they lived. Strange to think of how simple there lives are and then think back to my days working in London - two completely different worlds! It definitely answers why everyone is so happy as there is not a lot to worry about on the islands, they are self sufficient and are happy with living with basic amenities.

I left Wayalailai that afternoon and headed for South Sea Island in the Mamanuca Group which for me was the start of my diving. A 6am wake up and I was down with the fish my 6.30am! A look around a ship wreck took us through millions and millions of little fish living in all the nooks and crannies. By 9.30am I was boarding a sailing ship to tour around more of the Mamanuca Islands including Modriki which is where the Tom Hanks film; Castaway was filmed.

My final stop was 5 nights on Mana Island - known for it's 40 dive sites near to the island, this was my agenda for the next few days. 5 dives later and I have seen lots more sharks, coral that I had never seen in Australia and my very first turtle. I have never been so excited, and it was only once I started clapping under the water did my dive buddies think I was a loon! I was absolutely beaming which if you have ever try to smile with a regulator in your mouth you will know how hard it is!

It was quite rainy on Mana Island and so if I wasn't diving or snorkelling, we were chilling out playing cards, chatting and listening to the musically gifted Fijians on their guitars.

The end of 2 weeks in Fiji and I have had a wonderful time. The culture is great, and I am going to try and bring back "Fiji Time" to the rat race in London - I wonder how well that will go down?

Back to Sydney now, for my last few days in Australia! :o(

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Back to Melbourne for the final time - which marked the end of Rebecca and I's NT adventure. 2 weeks in Melbourne to basically sort out the next leg of my trip with vaccinations, visas, flights etc... thrilling stuff! Still, these things had to be done.

I also took the time to wander around the CBD and get more familiar with the city. The sun shone every day which may have had something to do with the fact that I fast decided that I love Melbourne. It's such a cosmopolitan city, business like but with a laid back feel. I enjoyed every day I had there, and definitely loved the shops, where I promptly bought a new everything for my backpack - new shorts, tops, underwear - loved it!

I even managed to squeeze in another sporting event, this time an AFL game at the Telsta Dome in Docklands. A easy game to follow, but no where as exciting as a real football game (apologies to my Ozzie pals, but it's true!).

2 weeks staying with Becs and her lovely house mates in Richmond and I felt like I was at home, but alas my time was up too quickly and it was time to fly to the Pacific Island of Fiji....

Thanks Becs for playing the perfect host - will repay the favour when your next in the UK (soon!).