Sunrise Over Angkor Wat

We left our yoga retreat feeling rejuvenated and with just two days left in Cambodia it was time for us to visit the star attraction, the temples of Angkor Wat. To save time and hassle we organised a half day tuk tuk tour through our hostel. We really wanted to watch sunrise over the Angkor Wat temple so we set off bleary eyed at 5am but the chilly 30 minute drive soon woke us up and we were ready for action.

Taking Timeout In A Yoga Retreat

There many awesome yoga retreats in South East Asia and of course, India but during our three months travelling these wondrous places we hadn’t visited a single one. After enjoying the beautiful countryside around Kampot we headed to Sihanoukville, Cambodia’s main beach resort which was actually a complete dive with dirty sea, dirty sand and a rather seedy nightlife scene for ageing men. We spent a couple of days tanning by our hotel pool near the underwhelming Victory Beach before eagerly hopping aboard a night bus to Siem Reap where the peaceful Angkor Zen Gardens and our first ever yoga retreat experience awaited us. 

"Zen lives here..."

A Cambodian Countryside Tour By Tuk Tuk

Our next stop after Phnom Penh was about five hours minibus ride south to the small coastal town of Kampot, which is famous for producing Kampot pepper. If you've ever eaten dinner with Vicky you’ll know she puts puts black pepper on everything, so we were both intrigued and looking forward to a taste of the worlds best! Plus, just under 30km along the coast is the quaint seaside village of Kep, the fresh crab here is proclaimed locally as the best in Asia! As we love our food, we were easily sold on a one day tuk tuk tour around Kampot and Kep.

Phnom Penh City Highlights

We were coming to the end of the South East Asian part of our trip and decided to squeeze in a couple of weeks in Cambodia thanks to some cheap flights with Tiger Air. Our first stop was Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh, we’d agreed that we were up for a bit of a party so chose the young and lively Mad Monkey hostel. After a much needed afternoon nap (we’d slept overnight in Singapore airport) we headed straight to their rooftop bar for $1 beers and later, 3 for 2 Happy Hour making friends quickly with an eccentric Irish/Texan guy. 

Hiking An Active Volcano

Indonesia has over 147 volcanos many of which are still active and climbable, so as we were in the country it would have been rude of us not to give one a go. Our research led us to Mount Bromo on East Java at 2,329m ASL. The best time to view Mount Bromo is at sunrise when if you are lucky you get to see low blue clouds circling the rim of the crater. 

The Two Sides Of Paradise On Gili Trawangan

Our next stop after Bali was Gili Trawangan the largest island of the three Gilis, a stunning archipelago of the North West coast of Lombok in Indonesia acclaimed by many as island paradise. We’d also heard that it's a popular swimming and breeding ground for turtles and as we love turtles we were very excited for our visit and boarded the early morning two hour fast boat.

A Touching Day In Elephant Rehab

Despite what some people say Facebook still has its uses and we discovered a fantastic organisation based near Chiang Mai through our good friend Chris. Elephant Nature Park was founded by Sangduen “Lek" Chailert in 2003, its a unique sanctuary and rehabilitation centre where abused elephants rescued from the tourism industry or logging trade, can live in like the wild elephants they were meant to be. We felt compelled to visit and show our support to this inspiring woman who has been rescuing elephants since 1993 and meet the rehabiliated elephants, bracing ourselves for some heartbreaking truths.

Cooking Thai In Chiang Mai

After two and a half months backpacking we finally managed to find a cooking school that fit in to our travelling movements. We had scheduled a visit to Chiang Mai, Thailand's second biggest city and also home to some top rated Thai cooking schools. It was the perfect opportunity to explore our love for Asian food, we often attempt curries such as Massamans at home and have missed cooking since being away.  

Island Living On Beautiful Koh Lipe

When we caught our first glimpse of Koh Lipe from our crowded speedboat it was love at first sight and we were very excited to be back in Thailand. The bright turquoise sea, ribbon adorned longboats and white sand soon made us forget the uncomfortable 75 minute journey we'd just endured. We'd been crammed into the back of a small speedboat along with 28 other passengers (plus luggage) and grimaced to a relentless rhythm of "1, 2, 3, BANG! 1, 2, 3, BANG!" all the way from Langkawi to Koh Lipe.

"Land Ahoy!"

A Guide To Pantai Cenang Langkawi

Following our lazy and luxurious Christmas at the Berjaya resort we returned to our backpacker status (and budget) in Langkawi's major beach resort Pantai Cenang. The beach here is beautiful, 2km of silky white sand and clear turquoise sea, its lined with low rise bungalow resorts, water-sports companies, laid-back bars and palm trees. Its an ideal location to relax for a few days, reading and working on a tan - everything you need is within walking distance plus, the breeze you get from the sea keeps you sane in the intense humidity.

A Destination Christmas On Langkawi

For the first time ever we spent Christmas at the beach and stayed on Langkawi one of Malaysia's most beautiful islands. To get there we took the ferry from Penang on Christmas Eve, relieved to actually have a ticket - in true backpacker style we booked it the day before. It was a pretty smooth transit and took almost four hours.

"Le beach, so chic!"

Chasing Street Art In Georgetown Penang

After a couple of weeks in chilly Nepal where the weather was getting colder each day we were very excited to arrive in sunny Malaysia on the charming island of Penang. The main attraction here is Georgetown an old British colonial town (now a UNESCO heritage area) bursting with character and colour. 

Up Close And Personal With Rhinos In Chitwan

Chitwan literally translates to Heart of the Jungle and is a huge national park in South Nepal. It's just five hours by bus from Pokhara and then another five on to Kathmandu, its most famous resident is the One Horned Rhinoceros and we were looking forward to meeting them. There are also Bengal tigers but sightings are very rare but if you head to Bardia National Park just 15 hours by bus in the other direction you should get to see one. 

Trekking In Nepal - Poon Hill

After a few days lazing in Pokhara it was time to experience some of the best mountain trekking the world can offer in Nepals Annapurna range. There were many routes to choose from at varying lengths and heights, the full Annapurna circuit takes about three weeks which was far too daunting for us beginners so we opted for a four day trek to Poon Hill, which is well known for its excellent close up views of Annapurna's tallest peaks. 

Lakeside Lazing In Pokhara

After completing our mission getting from India in to Nepal the day before, we were thrilled to wake up in Pokhara and all set for a new adventure in Nepal. We chose Pokhara as our first stop as it's a popular base for trekking the Annapurna mountain range, has the fourth best paragliding in the world and it's a laid-back, cool kind of place by the beautiful Fewa Lake. Exactly the kind of place we needed after a couple of weeks in the crazy bustle of North India's biggest cities. It was refreshing to walk down wide, rubbish free streets and see women working in the shops and restaurants - when we arrived the weather was mild and sunny, perfect!

Border Mission - Getting From India In To Nepal

When we booked our tour of Rajasthan we also booked an overnight train to take us from Agra to Varanasi. Varanasi is one of India's holiest towns on the River Ganges, thousands of pilgrims travel here to bathe themselves or burn corpses in the ghats and it's also a popular stop before making your way to Sunauli to cross the border from India into Nepal. We were pretty unprepared about the finer details of getting to Sunauli but basically its a train to Gorakpur and then a jeep taxi to Sunauli. 

First Timers In Delhi - A Guide To The Travel Agents

Delhi is the starting point for many group and private tours of India and the number of travel agents and touts around Connaught Place is overwhelming. Finding a reliable and reputable agent is confusing, our search for a dream 12 day tour of Rajasthan took almost two days of enquiries and research - thankfully, it was all worth it.

It sounds cynical but you really do need to be wary of scams and you can't trust everybody you meet - be extra careful before you part with your hard-earned cash. Common scams range from being over charged, to handing over your money and never hearing from your travel agent again. Expect to be befriended by persistent touts on the street, in tuk-tuks and even your hotel - their aim is to get you in their agency for a well rehearsed sales pitch. Once you're inside they don't want to let you go before you pay - they will show you 'certificates' from governing bodies, previous happy customer comments, offer you a complimentary driver for an afternoon of sightseeing and even a takeaway lunch in the office. It's all very tempting and their excellent English makes them even more persuasive. 

Touring Rajasthan From Jodhpur To Jaipur

On day five of our tour we headed to Jodhpur 'The Blue City' and our home for the evening was the Mandore Guest House, we had a spacious, modern style hut in their twinkly fairy-lit garden. After an early breakfast we headed to the huge Jodhpur Fort which towers over the city below - this place is massive, and once inside it offered an amazing view over old blue part of the city. The rumour is that the Brahmins (India's top caste below royalty ie. priests) painted their houses blue to signify their dominance and deter robbers - of course, once the rest of the town learnt what was happening they also painted their houses blue!

Jodhpur - The Blue City

Jaisalmer - A Golden City

Rajasthan is India's most colourful state and our plan was to visit each key colourful city - Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaipur. First up, Jaisalmer 'The Gold City' in Western Rajasthan's Thar Desert. We instantly fell for the charm of this enchanting fortified city built entirely from golden sandstone - it's like stepping back in time or on to the set of some kind of Arabian nights film. The fort is huge at 70m tall and it's around 850 years old. Today approximately 4,000 people live within its walls and 99 bastions. 

A Royal Encounter In Bikaner

After a reasonably short drive from Mandawa (five hours) our first stop just outside of Bikaner was a bit of an odd one. The Rat Temple, home to an estimated 20,000 black rats believed to be the reincarnated ancestors of the local people. As with all temples in India you have to enter barefoot! So, we removed our shoes and had the 'honour' of walking about in rat droppings whilst the holy critters ran about their business and fed on the seeds thrown by their descendants. It was a very weird and slightly gross experience! If you are really lucky you will see one of the very few white rats and it's also said to be a high honour to eat food which has been nibbled on by these rodents. We didn't stay long and headed outside to one of the many food stalls for a tasty samosa, yep, we checked it carefully for teeth marks! 

Not too shabby!