Asia Travel Notes

Fri 7 Apr
Arrive beijing, bus to subway, subway to hostel. walked to tiananmen
sq, met mongolian couple, hotpot dinner.

Sat 8 Apr
Secret wall tour with Carrie, american courier guy (Chris?), Meagan,
italian guy, British/Swedish couple, Americans Justin and ? (saw later
in Hoi An), other californian couple. Dinner across the street and
snake wine.

Sun 9 Apr
Met mum and dad at holiday inn, after getting lost walking around.
Went to hutong and same restaurant as previous night.

Mon 10 Apr
First day of tour with Mark. Tiananmen, forbidden city, summer palace.
Dinner at duck place.

Tues 11 Apr
Great wall, ming tombs, peking opera

Wed 12 Apr
Temple of heaven and "fishing village" (hot springs energy place)

Thu 13 Apr
Missed flight to Xi'an, went to Lama temple while waiting. Flew to
xi'an, met guide Xin.

Fri 14 Apr
Wild goose pagoda, terracotta warriors and neolithic village.

Sat 15 Apr
Flew to Shanghai, went to Yuyuan markets

Sun 16 Apr
Water village, acrobats

Mon 17 Apr
Mum and dad left, went to captain hostel, drank with chris and chris
from england

Tue 18 Apr
Jin Mao with chris, shopping mall, more beer on the roof, played pool
at expensive empty bar

Wed 19 Apr
Train to Hangzhou, found crappy hostel, dinner at lake

Thu 20 Apr
Changed hostel, walked around lake. Talked to english guy Mark, french
guy with the chinese GF.

Fri 21 Apr
Got train ticket, met aussie asian guy, american guy from captain,
talked with mark more

Sat 22 Apr
Met bush prosector, took train

Sun 23 Apr
Arrived guilin, bus to yangshuo, met Olden from USA and the swedish guys

Mon 24 Apr
Met jenny (swedish) and french girl in room. Walked around yanhshuo a
bit. Met Christine and Eleonore from netherlands, saw Carrie.

Tue 25 Apr
Hung around Yangzhuo, did some laundry, dinner with snake and dog.

Wed 26 Apr
Rode bike around, met israeli couple on moon hill. Drink with olden
and british girl from room.

Thu 27 Apr
Bus to guilin then train to kunming, with oliver and other american guy.

Fri 28 Apr
Arrived early morning, went to hump hostel, went to vietnamese consulate

Sat 29 Apr
Met andre in the morning then caught bus to lijiang, got a cold on the
way. Arrived late and was picked up by papa at the bus stop.

Sun 30 Apr
Breakfast at Mamas #1, met israelis, dutch, etc. Met swedes Simon and
Matilda later on.

Mon 1 May
Black dragon pool, met british guy with irish girl and danish girl who
were going to tiger the next day. Met alex, marco, iranian girl,
jennifer and christina from panama. Andre showed up.

Tue 2 May
Couldn't wake up for tiger. Went to the pagoda overlooking the city.
Decided to go to tiger tomorrow with panamanians, alex, young aussie
chicks.

Wed 3 May
Went to tiger, also with andre. lunch at naxi house, stayed at Tea Horse.

Thu 4 May
More tiger, stayed at seans

Fri 5 May
Caught early bus back to lijiang that aussie guys told us about. Met
danish couple and went out with north irish girl and british girl
(Jane and Liz?). saw chinese people singing at each other in bars
across the street.

Sat 6 May
Hung around lijiang, had some drinks with Alex, Jane and Liz. Met
aussie and swiss english teachers.

Sun 7 May
Caught bus to dali, late due to miscommunication with Mama. Talked to
bangladesh-dutch girl. Saw aussies from seans at dali hostel, played
cards, also saw israeli group.

Mon 8 May
Went up chairlift, bargained the price up! Dinner with american couple
after they asked about the cheers shirt.

Tue 9 May
Bus to Kunming. Got vietnam visa. Pizza with jane and liz.

Wed 10 May
"Accross the bridge" Noodle soup with Jane, Liz and israeli guy.
Overnight bus to border.

Thu 11 May
Crossed border, painful bus to Hanoi. Met Iain and Ahlea at hostel.

Fri 12 May
Walked around Hanoi with Ian and Ahlea. Went to Bia Hoi. Met Ray, went
to dinner on roof, then more Bia Hoi, then met Tinker on the roof of
hostel after movie.

Sat 13 May
Hung around and went to dinner with Tinker and Ahlea, then to Bia Hoi.

Sun 14 May
Started Halong Bay trip with guide Nuc, with Ahlea, Tinker, James,
Jodie, Emily, Najette, Mauren, Bill, Erin. Went to cave and jumped off
top of boat.

Mon 15 May
Went kayaking and sat on beach, played shithead with Emily and Najette
and had awesome survivor style bbq. Drinks on roof of hotel, smoked
cigarettes and had bia hoi with locals.

Tue 16 May
Returned from trip, saw Emily, Najette and Ashley in restaurant, went
to Bia Hoi.

Wed 17 - Fri 19 May
Hung around Hanoi and bia hoi, went to hanoi hilton, perfume pagoda,
etc. Met shannon and saw carrie again.

Sat 20 May
Overnight train to Hue

Sun 21 May
Arrived Hue, looked around citadel

Mon 22 May
DMZ tour. Met jung, belgian guy, in cafe on thu wheels, and saw ahlea there too.

Tue 23 May
Motorbike with Mr Teo down to Hoi An. Met up with Emily and Ashley for
dinner on the river. Drinks at the bar with belt bashing out the
front.

Wed 24 May
Woke up too late to meet the girls so caught up at the beach, rode
bike with Emily on the back. Went to restaurant with guy "only
vietnamese that western women lust", joined by James and Jodie later.

Thu 25 May
Moved hotels to share with Emily and Najette. Went to the beach, had
dinner at place next door to previous night. Played name game briefly
and saw jung.

Fri 26 May
Girls left, went and got measured for shirts with James and Jodie, saw
israeli and danish couple. Took motorbike to hoa's place. Drank with
German couple, Andre (dutch guy), Ahlea, and peter (old kiwi). Went to
corner bar, 3 blokes on a bike, fell asleep while drinking. Had 5
litres of beer.

Sat 27 May
British pair Jemma and Chloe came, aswell as 4 canadians and young
british guys. Got wasted. Hoa taught me to play backgammon.

Sun 28 May
Played volleyball with locals on the beach. Bonfire on the beach, Adam
from south africa arrived, aswell as Helena from sweden with
californian guy.

Mon 29 May
Went to beach again, sat with locals with fire and cooked crabs in
shells. Went walking for rum but came back with nothing.

Tue 30 May
Went to the beach before taxi to Hoi An with Chloe and Jemma during
downpour. Went a picked up shirts then bus to Nha Trang.

Wed 31 May
Arrived Nha Trang 7am, saw Ahlea and looked for place together in
heat. Found a place and slept half the day. Watched some tennis and
went to BBQ dinner at crazy kims, saw Jez (aussie guy) and Charlotte
(british girl he shagged on train), got drunk with them then skinny
dipping with Ahlea.

Thu 1 Jun. Went to beach, Mexican dinner and early night.

Fri 2 Jun. Booze cruise. Got wasted further at crazy kims, dancing on bar.

Sat 3 Jun. Saw james and jodie at the beach. Went to BBQ dinner at
crazy kims with Ahlea, james and jodie. Then went to why not bar and
saw jez and charlotte, then onto sailing club.

Sun 4 Jun. Left for Mui Ne early, met Rob and Kara on the bus. Went to
the beach, blackout in evening.

Mon 5 Jun. Went to the beach and did tour of dunes, etc. Watched some
tennis in the evening.

Tue 6 Jun. Went to saigon, rob and cara on bus again. Saw katy and jo
(british) and kate (aussie) in restaurant, sat with them.

Wed 7 Jun. Chu Ci tunnel trip, with rob and kara. Drinks with katy,
jo, kate, aswell as vietnamese guy and jamaican guy. Hanging out in
room with katy later.

Thu 8 Jun. Went to ANZ bank, walked back, did some shopping, emailed
MT. Drinks with german guys from Mui ne.

Fri 9 Jun. Robyn and Phil arrived in morning. Had breakfast with them
then took bus to Phnom Penh. Walked to guesthouse then met dutch and
canadian girls travelling with dutch "husband" in happy guesthouse.
Saw british girls in other guesthouse then watched world cup at happy.

Sat 10 Jun. Looked around Phnom Penh a bit, didnt do too much. Waited
for Robyn and Phil then went to dinner at pizza place. Kara and Rob
showed up at guesthouse.

Sun 11 Jun. Showed up late to robyn and phil's hotel then walked
around sights of Phnom Penh. Dinner at indian place on lake.

Mon 12 Jun. Did tuk-tuk tour of killing fields, s21 and palace.
Watched 1st half of aussie WC game (vs japan) on big screen then the
rest at pizza place during dinner.

Tue 13 Jun. Caught bus to siem reap with robyn and phil. Rob and Kara
were there too. Found hotel and went swimming, dinner on the roof.

Wed 14 Jun. Inner circuit of angkor temples in tuk-tuk. Went back for
a midday swim, then angkor wat after rain.

Thu 15 Jun. Outer circuit of temples, then angkor wat again from back entrance.

Fri 16 Jun. Shared taxi to thai border, bus to bangkok. Saw rob and
kara there! Drank on the mat out the front of the bar on rambuttri
with 2 thai girls and another bloke.

Sat 17 Jun. Walked around and got lost, ended up at siam centre.
Dinner on Khao San and saw James and Jodie.

Sun 18 Jun. Bus to Koh Chang, saw Pierre and Rebekka, watched WC, met
dutch girl malena.

Mon 19 Jun. Went to the beach, dinner at green mango. Sunset at
treehouse. drinks with dutch girls (m and eva).

Tue 20 Jun. Went motorbiking to waterfall with p+r, dutch girls and
austrian guy stephan. Sunset at treehouse again.

Wed 21 Jun. Didn't do much, had some beers with p+r and took some photos

Thu 22 Jun. P+r went back to bangkok, I went to the beach. Had some
drinks with the dutch girls later.

Fri 23 Jun. Bus back to bangkok with aussie skater guy. Saw p+r later
and had a few beers.

Sat 24 Jun. Was raining on the way to markets so went to siam centre
again. Had some beers with p+r.

Sun 25 Jun. Went to chatachuk markets. Drinks with p+r, then backwax.
Said goodbye to p+r, then had a drink with belgian guy who just
arrived in bangkok.

Mon 26 Jun. Went to grand palace, had lunch/dinner at green mango then
went to MBK centre. Then bought tshirts on khao san rd and then
watched aussie/italy WC match.

Tue 27 Jun. Bus to Koh Tao with danish chick Sofie. Met other danish
chick and kent and chris, went to italian dinner.

Wed 28 Jun. Bought snorkelling gear. Tried it out on the reef. Mexican
dinner with danes and kent, drinks at Bans.

Thu 29 Jun. Went to shark bay, but we were at the wrong place! Volcano
shit in the water. Dinner and drinks at Bans, then to outdoor club
down the road.

Fri 30 Jun. Lots of internet. Drinks and football at Bans. Big fight
on the deck.

Sat 1 Jul. More internet. italian dinner again. Watched England lose
game at Bans.

Sun 2 Jul. Dinner with danes, kent and spanish/thai at thai place.
Drinks at Bans.

Mon 3 Jul. Finally left Koh Tao! Went to Krabi and stayed the night.

Tue 4 Jul. Went to Koh Lanta, hotel with pool with cute belgian
chicks. Met swiss french guy and his sister. Had drinks in irie bar
with Thai and swiss. Watched them do Poi juggling.

Wed 5 Jul. Swam in the pool and got a bit burnt then hired motorbike
and went around the island. Drinks with thai and swiss guy again.

Thu 6 Jul. Went on a short motorbike ride and got lunch but didnt have
small money. Changed it at 711. Took bus to krabi then boat to Koh Phi
Phi. Met Amy from Montana and her aunt Mary. Had a drink with british
vending machine guy.

Fri 7 Jul. Sat on the beach most of the day, walked on rocks a bit.
Had beers with Amy, Mary and British Iranian guy during the day. Had a
drink with Amy later in the evening.

Sat 8 Jul. Went on "sunset trip", snorkelling and to smaller island.
Met tassie chick and scottish doctor chick. Caught boat halfway home
and was guided the rest of the way, got changed then met dutch couple
Kris and ? and came back on jungle path. Stopped by darwin guys fancy
hotel on the way. Went to Hippy Bar and saw tassie and scottish
chicks.

Sun 9 Jul. Sat on the beach, ate with dutch couple, then moved over to
Phi Phi village. Met tassie and scottish chick for dinner then went to
carpe diem bar. Watched WC final then went home end of normal time,
then got stuck in the rain under tin roof. Saw last couple of penalty
shots from the game.

Mon 10 Jul. Crap weather. Used internet a lot. Went to carpe diem
again with girls, british guy and dutch guy with funny laugh. Ended up
with the 2 blokes at bar playing only nirvana music.

Tue 11 Jul. Boat to Krabi then 2 minibuses to Malay border. Went with
taxi to Kota Bharu, met irish guy and annoying italian guy.

Wed 12 Jul. Local bus to Kuala Besut, Arrived Perhentians and saw ray.
Drinks with british couple then northern irish girls and malcolm (44
yo canadian guy who sold his dead body moving business for $25000 when
25 yo then travelling diving intstructor since, claims money grown to
$750000).

Thu 13 Jul. Moved with Ray to Panorama. Went to the beach, bbq dinner
with young british dentist chicks. Then drinks with swedish loves
himself guy, british chicks and malcomb.

Fri 14 Jul. Met Anja! aswell as sister Alja and friend Eva. Malcolm
asleep in his seat.

Sat 15 Jul. Dinner with Ray and slovenian girls and also Michelle.
Drinks on the beach, then music game in the room with girls.

Sun 16 Jul. Drank with Anja while the others smoked, dirty dancing.
Sat with Anja on balcony and took dirty photos. Dragged ray out of
room.

Mon 17 Jul. Sat on the beach with girls, swam to floating island, gave
Anja massage. Drinks again at the bar. With Anja on the beach.

Tue 18 Jul. Left early for Taman negara with ray. Arrived 7.30pm and
met james and susan for dinner, then walked to their place for cards.

Wed 19 Jul. Did canopy walk and saw snake eat lizard. Went to drinks
at Woodlands bar with belgian travelling couple and american guy.

Thu 20 Jul. Met quebec couple in room, went to cave and had water
stolen. Dinner with ray and quebecois at floating restaurant.

Fri 21 Jul. Finished da vinci code then took bus to jerantut, then bus
to KL with dutch guy.

Sat 22 Jul. Lots of internet, skyped home. Walked to Petronas towers
from chinatown.

Sun 23 Jul. Saw pirates movie, then saw Michelle and her malaysian
friend Carmen and had arabic dinner and sheesha, met Ivan too.

Mon 24 Jul. Spent a while on the internet and went out for chinese
dinner and beer and then to reggae bar with Canadian girl Mayan, who
showed up in one of my perhentian island photos.

Tue 25 Jul. Caught bus to singapore, talked to swiss chicks and had
dinner in little india.

Wed 26 Jul. Walked around a bit in chinatown and then checked out
Changi prison museum, then caught flight home.

THE END