Berastagi...the errupting volcanoes

We started getting a private tourist bus from Bukit Lawang to Berastagi which took around 6 hours. We stayed in a homestay in Nachalle Homestay, which was very clean, and the beds were exceptional! Here we met a nice dutch couple whom we hiked up the inactive volcano with aswell as share onward travel.

The first night, after arriving late, we went for a walk into the town,  to the local farmers market, which was very local, there were people selling bags of cauliflowers bigger than Abi! As well as people selling strange snake venom medicines and also a wide variety of clothing. Soon it was raining very heavy, as mainly said it would in Beristagi. This small town in Sumatra, is situated very close to an active volcano, and has above average rainfall. Which makes the soil perfect for farming, and this fertile soil is why at the centre of the town they have a giant statue of a cabbage which is on a pedestal and about 6 ft across - in order to celebrate their excellent farming! It was soon dark so we opted to go to the nearest restaurant which cooked us some "Ikan Sambal" which translated as spicy fish. We asked for it with a bit of spice and it nearly blew our heads off! Thankfully our Chiap Chay (stir fry vegetable dish) was a lot milder!

Due to the continued rain the next day, we had an unsuccessful first attempt to climb the volcano, so we came back had a delicious local pendang style lunch (beef rendang & chicken curry) before dashing back to our homestay for an afternoon of cut out electric & some quite serious volcano eruptions...We stayed in relaxing & reading (with little other choice) and then thankfully were able to go to the local food market to eat in the evening (famous for BBQ), we ate excellent Sate kacang (chicken satay, peanut sauce with spongy veg) here along with a few other tasty bits... But after dinner the rain became very heavy again, so there was little for us to do but head back to our super clean, super comfy rooms, and sleep through the night, giving us a good chance of waking up in time to catch the sunrise from our rooftop. Overlooking the active volcano, and hopefully see some small eruptions. We'd been hearing eruptions through the night and woke up to a very clear morning, We spent 30 mins or so on our hotel roof, looking at the flowing lava.  before having breakfast and heading off to trek up the non active volcano. 

It was quite the trek, but the views were stunning, there was a sulphur lake at the top, and there were many thermal vents firing gallons of steam into the air. We were told there were some natural hot springs on another path down, we followed this new path for around 5 km until we found them. For 5000 INR we were able to sit in the natural springs with seats inside like hot tubs. We relaxed in these for 2 hours with the lovely dutch couple, eating a few snacks, setting the world to right & chilling with a beer.

After relaxing this much and all the walking we had done we decided to get a taxi back to town to the food market to save our poor legs! We had a local style buffet dinner before heading back to our homestay.

The next morning we'd arranged a car jointly to take the 4 of us to Lake Toba. The car stopped at a stunning waterfall on the way, which was a great way to stretch the legs. For lunch we had Babi Pangang after our dutch frineds had told us all about it...Its apparently popular & well known in Holland - something brought back there during colonial times (Although the authentic local dish is said to be very different to the one in holland!)! It was basically BBQ'd pork with spices a dip, a veg dish & rice. You have to be careful when ordering this to check that you are definitely having "pork" as it is also a well known dog dish. When you order there is either B1 or B2 meat...B1 is dog, B2 is pork!

**PICS TO FOLLOW**

Trekking & Bukit Lawang

Arriving in Bukit Lawang from a bumpy bus ride from Medan, we were collected on motorbikes by Trek Sumatra. We spent an afternoon in Bukit Lawang, eating at a restaurant overlookig the river. We stayed in the trek guest dorm room. 

The following morning we packed a smaller bag with clothes and a camera and a bar of soap! we got introduced to our guide, Kinol (He was awesome) and walked from our dorm to the other side of the river over a swinging suspension bridge! 

The start of the walk was past the hotels on the other side of the river but is up a steep hill and some steps! our guide showed us some rubber trees and people extracting the latex. we realised at the top of this steep hill that the next  few days if nothing else would be very, very sweaty! 

A little way into the rainforest we saw a mother and baby Orangutan sitting in a tree unbiased by us, even though they were only about 10 metres away. in the distance was another rustling in the trees, and a white handed gibbon swung away from us. We watched her for around 20 minutes, then continued the walk. Around the corner we came across a family of Thomas leaf monkeys who were down on the floor begging for food. you should not feed any animal in the rainforest as it encourages this unnatural behaviour. there was also another Orangutan hanging around in the area who sat in her tree and watched as we took some photos and left her in peace.

(We witnessed a guide from another company trying to feed a baby to lure it away from his group whilst they had there lunch which was disappointing.  Our guide was upset and said it was very unprofessional.)

Further into the rainforest the guide spotted a quinine tree and sliced off some bark for us to try! It was extremely bitter and the taste stayed in your mouth for a long time. (I will only be having quinine in Gin and Tonic from now on)

We followed our guide to the campsite where the food we had for dinner was delicious. Egg Rendang, pumpkin curry, river  spinach curry, Fried Tempeh, crackers, anchovies chilli, Fried potato cakes. We had a few cups of jungle tea and another guide taught us some card games and kept us and his group amused before we retired to our tent shell under a tarpaulin. We were glad to be in a tent to give us a break from mosquitos. Other trekking companies just have a roll mat and sleeping bag. We had heavy rain all night, to help us sleep and keep the noise of the jungle quiet.

Day 2 started with a coffee and some biscuits as well as a fried egg sandwich.  then we started our hike along a river, so very wet feet, Gary slipped twice and fell in the river, wrong footwear! After 20 mins hiking up the riverbed, we had to climb up a very steep bank, which wasn't easy after all the rain! we were absolutely sodden through, but at least it was water and not sweat today! at the top of the hill we stopped for a fruit break! these always consisted of pineapple, watermelon banana, and oranges! Whilst we were eating this a wild Peacock came to try and see if there was anything it could eat. 

After some more walking it was just us and our guide and upon a hilltop we saw a white handed gibbon swinging through the trees. We stopped for lunch and we had fried noodles. Gary dropped a noodle and in true jungle fashion around 20 ants had picked it up and carried it off in no time! 

We made it to our camp for the evening for another food feast! We washed in the river and shortly after a big water monitor lizard around 1.5metres, came over to look at us.

The following morning we were taken on a little hike by our guide to a waterfall to swim in. Then it was time to pack up out stuff and go rafting down the river in truck tyre inner tubes! This was great fun, and dropped us right at the riverbank of our accommodation! 

This trip was superb! The food we ate in the jungle was some of the best food we had in Indonesia. Our guide Kinol was a very kind and patient guide with expert knowledge of the rainforest.

This 3 night trip was excellent, a real highlight of our trip to date. 

In addition to this 3 day with night trip we also took a 1/2 day trip to see the world's largest flower in the rainforest. This flower rarely blooms, but we saw it. It stinks pretty bad, like Copydex glue. 

The company we used for our entire time was called Trek Sumatra. They were great, and sorted everything with pleasure. The stay in Bukit Lawang besides the trek is a great place to relax by the river and eat great food from the restaurants.

Baby Orangutan 

River rafting in Inner Tube

Female Orangutan in Sumatran Jungle

Captain chill, Thomas Leaf monkey

Medan; Sumatra's foodie Capital

We flew from Don Muang to Sumatra (Kuala Namu), on arrival we followed the excellent instruction of our hotel Permata Inn & took a Bus Damri @ 20,00 INR to the city Centre and then took a very short trishaw to the hotel. The hotel was exceptional, very reasonable price, Breakfast included, A/C & immaculate rooms.

While in the city we found ourselves an amazing coffee shop 'Macehat coffee shop' which was rated very highly on Tripadvisor - you could get good snacks and amazing coffee - our favourite was the avacado coffee float...AMAZING!!!!

The city has many amazing and dirt cheap street food stalls offering a variety of foods but at the very least 'Nasi Goreng' (Fried rice). 

Our hotel recommended a Padang style restaurant called 'Garuda' for lunch just after we arrived. Here they bring you plates of different foods to try and you just get charged for the food bits you eat..be careful because it can get very expensive!!! Its actually better to go to the food display unit and just fill your plate- loads cheaper and you can make sure you get what you want!

That evening we went to Merdeka walk - an outside food hall type place - but it is very much overpriced in comparison to the street food and seesm to be where the better off indionesians hang out, but interesting to visit none the less!

The next day we set off on a walking tour trying to visit some of the sights of the city...in fact this is very possible in one day as there isnt tonnes to do in Medan (other than eat LOTS). We visited the Tjong A Fie's Mansion the Medan Grand Mosque, Maimun Palace & The Museum of North Sumatra. There were also some places to visit a taxi ride away (recomended by hotel) but we decided against these - they were mainly temples which we had already seen lots of on our trip! While Medan doesn't have tonnes to do, we were glad we spent some time here! We met some fab locals that invited us into their businesses offering free food/drinks just so we would talk to them and help them with their English!

The next day we took the local taxi to the main bus stop (5,000 INR each) Then took the big bus to Bukit Lawang (50,000 each inc.luggage) - Beware the prices can vary significantly and they will try and charge you the world for your bags too! On top of this the journey is awful!! The bumpiest road I've ever been on!!

Crossing the Laos border back into thailand for a few days

We took the bus from Luang Prabang. It was listed as 9 hours for 170,000 but it certainly took longer! After leaving at 7.30am we arrived in Borkeo/Hia Xuay at around 6.30pm. It was a very windy road making the journey slow. We were also very unfortunate in that we were sharing the bus with a very travel sick family who took it in turns the whole way to vomit!

However, we were thankful to arrive and were able to get a tuk tuk to the boarder for 20,000 each with them ensuring us there would still be plenty of time to cross the boarder. On the Laos side we had to pay a 10,000 stamping out fee and then 10,000/1$ for a bus over the Mekong via the friendship bridge (usually free but not after 6pm)

It was easy getting into Thailand and we were given 28days visa on arrival. We then had to take a tuk tuk into Chaing Khong for 100 bhat each (after 6pm goes up from 60). We were conveniently dropped outside a nice hotel called Ban fai Guesthouse  which turned out to be great and only 350 for a fan room and no worry about wandering around with our bags! We could just shower and have dinner before crashing!

The next morning we had breakfast before taking the local bus to Chiang Rai, it was only 65 bhat each and took just over 2 hrs.

We then spent a few nights Chilling in Chiang Rai catching up with the family via skype, eating good food and wandering the lovely stress free and fairly tourist free streets. We also got to see a few different sights we had missed out on before like the black houses and the golden triangle as well as revisit the cat cafe!

We took the green bus sleeper bus from Chiang Rai to Bangkok, it cost 540thb each and was honestly the best sleeper bus of our entire travels! The a/c worked perfectly, we got clean blankets fully reclining chairs, a movie, free water and 2 packets of biscuits. We also got dinner! It was a hot meal provided for us around 2 hours into the bus ride!! We then got a good nights sleep which was a real first for me!

Following the night bus we headed to MBK centre to the Pathumwan Princess hotel, Olympic club leisure centre. We got day passes, went to the gym, attended a fitness class, swam in the pool and chilled out on the sun loungers before sauna, steaming and having long hot showers! It was bliss! We then had dinner in a yummy Mexican before heading to our hotel near Don Muang ready for our early morning flight!

The Black House at Chiang Rai

Another building at the Black House

the "HUGE" Buddha at the Golden Triangle

The 3 countries divided by the river!

Luang Prabang

Transport

We took the bus from Vang Vieng. It was a mini bus costing 100,000 LKP each. It was by far the bumpiest ride we've taken thus far on our trip, but was surprisingly only 4 hours opposed to the 7 we had been told it could take.

Khonesavanh Guesthouse

This was the cheapest option in Luang Prabang. Its listing on booking.com does it no favours and the trip advisor only has 2 albeit very good reviews. Our room was 60,000 a night and we shared a bathroom. The room was small but perfect with a great working fan.

On our first day we just wandered the streets for a bit to get a feel for the place, we had dinner in the night market and a few beers at a nice bar called Opera House (Happy Hour = 3 for 40,000). 

On our second day we explored the town fully, walking along the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers & around town and around a small selection of the 33 temples in this small town! We firstly headed to the most famous Wat Xieng Thong; a beautiful temple with magnificent mosaic, one of the few built by a king. Famous for being the location for the coronation of Laos kings and housing one of the most important monasteries in Laos it has interesting examples of Buddhist art and architecture and is well worth a visit (20,000 fee). We went to a few smaller temples too, one containing a meditation exhibition (part of the buddhist heritage project).
Following this we went to the Palace Museum and Haw Pha Bang (home to the Phra Bang buddha statue). It was an interesting museum containig lots of info regarding the royal family

At 5.30 we climbed the 355 steps up Mount Phousi for sunset, at the top is a small temple; Wat Chom Si. The views are beautiful you can see all of the towns encircling mountains and panoramic views of Luang Prabang as it is over 150 metres above the town.

3rd day

We managed to get a Tuk Tuk to Kouang Si waterfall for 30 each. The Tuk Tuk agreed to wait 3 hours for us while we explored the place before returning. We were pleasantly surprised to see a bear sanctuary in the grounds of the waterfall which was a great little project, included in the entry to the waterfall. They rely on donations so we bought ourselves some t-shirts while there to show our support!

we moved onto the waterfall which really is as stunning as everyone tells you. The turquoise blue water in all of the naturally formed pools as well as the big waterfall too. We had a dip at the top (despite the no swimming signs) and then again back at the bottom. It was a lovely place to visit and we were pleased to have gone. Laos really is the land of the waterfalls and this one really is the icing on the cake!

On our return to town we went to one of the many sandwich stalls for lunch. I had a yummy fruit platter while Gary chomped on an omelette and avocado sandwich. These stalls are a great budget friendly meal. Following on with our budget dinner at the veggie buffet which is down the side street of the night market. You can get a bowl for 15,000 and fill it with as much food as you can fit in! Be warned though the food is mostly cold, you can ask for it to be reheated, but they do literally just put it all in a wok together so your then unable to differentiate between any of the dishes you put into your bowl. 

Later with another English couple we had met, we headed to utopia bar which is a famous hangout place. The drinks aren't particularly cheap but the owner does like to party and he gave everyone free drinks! Needless to say we got a little tipsy and upon closing time didn't feel we were done yet so headed to the infamous bowling alley which stays open till 2 and you can buy beer, cheap bottles of local spirits and bowl! We purchased a bottle of vodka and mixer between the 4 of us and it certainly kept us entertained! Although sadly the alcohol did nothing to improve my bowling skills! 

4th day

With a raging hangover from the night before we woke late and had brunch at Dellilah's round the corner. We then meandered the town went to the local market before heading back for a well deserved nap! we then treated ourselves to a very nice dinner at tamarind which is an amazing restaurant cooking traditional Laos food and the perfect way to end our time in Laos!

Then it was up early the next morning to catch our minivan to Borkeo (huay Xai boarder crossing).

Mosaic mini stupa at Wat Xieng Thong Temple

Inside the Temple

Sunset from Phousi Hill

The Sun Bears at the Bear Sanctuary

Having a Nap

The turquoise water of Kouang Si Waterfall

Kouang Si Waterfall

The largest drop of the waterfall with a swimming area on top

Vang Vieng and the Organic Farm

We took a bus from Vientiene 50,000 kip that picked us up at 9.30 and got us to Vang Vieng for around 1pm. After everything we'd read and some advice from other travellers we took a tuk tuk out of the main town of Vang Vieng and on to an Organic Farm at the edge of town. This cost us another 20,000 Kip each.

We were told to go here as it was a lot quieter and away from the main party scene of Vang Vieng, Vang Vieng is set in beautiful surroundings but had a bad reputation previously for drugs and general misbehaviour. It has changed a lot but still has a partying feel for younger backpackers! We skipped this for peaceful bamboo bungalows in an organic farm where the only noisy neighbours waking us up would be the cockerels! 

The farm is famous for its home made goats cheese and we were shown how to make it from start (milking the goats) to finish (eating it....YUM) this was quite fun, we were useless at the milking at first but got better! 

The farm was the perfect place to stop and relax and read a book, but we found ourselves helping the lady who was very short staffed with jobs that she would struggle with on her own. Each time we lent a hand she gave us some free food or an organic mulberry smoothie, do it was pretty rewarding. We even helped to set up her farmstay on booking.com.

On a day trip in Vang Vieng we tried rock climbing with a very good company Adams Climbing School. We had a great day, Gary loved the challenge and Abi took on her fear of heights to scale the huge limestone cliffs. We were taught to belay for each other and really enjoyed it. We were even looking up places to start climbing back in the UK.

Our stay here was peaceful and after 4 nights got the bus to Luang Prabang for our final stop in Laos

Gary on the Rockface

Abi Climbing the rockface

The organic goats cheese equipment

Abi Draining the water from the milk

Milking the goat

Our patient goat farmer

The finished cheeses

One of the littlest goats!

Goaty McGoatface!

Vientiane...the peaceful capital

Travel
We took the night bus from Pakse to Vientiane costing 150,000 each. It was the WORST night bus we have taken during all of our travels. The beds were very uncomfortable - they were double so you would have to share with a stranger if you weren't travelling as a pair. On top of that they are only about 5ft long and the air con on ours was broken.
Needless to say we arrived in Vientiane at 6.30am feeling rather worse for ware. We took a tuktuk from the bus station to the central area where all of the guesthouses are. It cost us 40,000.

Accommodation
We ended up staying in Dream Home Hostel 1, it was 50,000 each in an 8 bed dorm but it included a good breakfast, the room had AC and there was a pool over the road we could use.

Day 1 

The first day was really a write off. After finding a budget street breakfast and sitting around in the hostel until we could check in we napped in the cool room. In the evening we headed to the night market which was impressive and runs every night. There was a good mix of clothing and the usual market tat along with a good selection of food stalls. 

Day 2

We woke up early and headed out to try and see as much as we could in one day.  We started with the president palace and large temple complex, but were disappointed to see that the temple was closed due to refurbishment and the palace is not open to the public. We took a few snaps and moved on walking past a large brick stupa called That Dam, before arriving at the Patuxua (concrete arch) its actually quite nice and set a nice open space in gardens right in the centre of town. Its a shame that some kind of red banner had been attached to it affecting its look. We climbed to the top costing 3000 LKP each. The views weren't particularly spectacular.  But we enjoyed it all the same. After this we walked on the the famous gold stupa temple complex. There were a selection of new looking temples housing a variety of Buddha statues. One with a large reclining Buddha outside.The gold stupa (Pha That Luang) is clearly older but very pretty and clearly very much respected and important for the Laos Buddhists in Vientiane. You pay 5000 to get in. The ticket stated it was a museum....but there was nothing resembling a museum inside. Just the stupa and Buddha statues. From here we took the long walk across town to the Cope Centre. This is a great place to go. We found it an incredibly interesting and informative place and it is free (although its a very worthy cause in need of donations). Cope provides orthotic/prosthetic devices and rehabilitation to individuals with disabilities especialy those affected by the UXO's (unexploded bombs - from the Indochina war). We learnt that Laos is the most heavily bombed country per capita in history and many of these bombs were left unexploded and are still being found / hurting people today. The centre is well laid out, we spent about an hour and a half there, but could've stayed longer reading more articles or watching the different documentaries on offer. After our long day we popped by the night market for food on the way back to the hostel before crashing! We were up early the next day for our 9am bus to Vang Vieng!

The Presidential Palace

That Dam

Patuxau - Made from concrete provided by the U.S to build a runway

Pha That Luang

Reclining Buddha Statue @ Pha That Luang

Pakse and the Bolaven Plateau

Getting There

To get to Pakse we took a minivan from Don Det, It cost 70,000 LKP including the boat from Don Det to the mainland.

On arriving in Pakse it became apparent there was very little to do in the town itself, So we found a good guesthouse called Sabadee2. Then went and planned our motorbike ride around the Bolivan Plateau.

We found a very helpful man who rented us a motorbike for 50,000 Lkp a day for a new Honda Wave. He also gave us maps and showed us all the good waterfalls and places to stay. We decided to come back the following morning to pick the bike up.

The next morning we were up early and had breakfast in Daolin Restaurant.  This place served great Laos food, and was quite affordable.  we picked up the bikes (a friend was riding with us) at 9 am. Filled them up with fuel and were on the road.

We rode for about an hour before we stopped at the first waterfall  it was very nice, had a swim, had a snack we had bought with us and relaxed for another hour before we went back to the bikes and rode off for a coffee.

A short ride around 20 mins and we were in an village with its own coffee plantation. We ordered 3 coffees and were given some peanuts and jungle Bananas . We ended up sitting there for ages, hiding from the midday sun, it was a very peaceful spot. So peaceful that once the guy served us a coffee he went straight for his lunchtime nap in the hammock.

Then it was back on the bike on the way to Tad Lo this place was stunning, there was green forest all around, 2 waterfalls to swim in and nice guest houses and restaurant's.  There was also a partner restaurant with Daolin in Pakse called Bumblebee Cafe. So we ate here for dinner and breakfast the following morning.

We had a relaxed start the next morning, after breakfast getting on our bikes and heading off.  Our friend was taking a different route to us today, as be had a flight to catch.

We rode the long route and stopped for an ice coffee in Sekong. We bought it at a roadside stand and met a lovely couple.  They spoke a little English, but were grinning from ear to ear that we stopped at their stand.  The husband also did not less us leave till he was 100% sure we knew where we were going. Meeting these two did bring a bit of light and laughter to our day.

We rode to the next waterfall which was the tallest of all the waterfalls on the plateau however you could only view it from a distance. Then a short hop on to the next waterfall where we planned to stay the night.  It was down a long dusty muddy road, very different to the nice smooth tarmac we had ridden. It was also a major access road for a quarry. Meaning every few minutes a big truck would come past covering us in the red dust from the road. We got the waterfall and it was very nice, but the staff at the restaurant were quite rude and both food and accommodation was massively overpriced and some other backpackers said the food wasn't very good. So we rode on to the next major town, via the dusty mud road, it was dry, and baron here, it felt like we were riding through Africa.

We made it to Paksong and stayed in a guesthouse here which was very cheap and we found out why, the room was clean, but half the hotel was having building work which woke us up nice and early. So we went for a coffee at Jhai Coffee, an organic coffee shop that invests its profits into providing clean drinking water to the remote villages in the area. 

We went from here to our last and favourite waterfall, it was stunning, like something from Lord of the Rings. So we had a swim and sat to dry before riding back to Pakse where we had dinner in Daolin before getting a hellish night bus to Vang Vieng.

The first waterfall we stopped at for a quick swim

the tallest waterfall on the loop, there was no way to get closer 

The final and best waterfall.

A vine swing

Laos...Into the 4000 Islands

Travel

We used AVT to take us from Stung Treng (nearest town to the eco village) to Don Det. It cost $14 and included the bus, boarder crossing and the boat. The boarder crossing was smooth but be prepared to pay all of the official bribes if you want to enter laos. Ours was $2 to Cambodian police to stamp us out. $1 processing fee for visa and $2 for them to stamp our laos visa.

We hadn't planned to visit Don Det but after hearing good things from other travellers we decided to take a trip there. We only stayed 2 nights so it was short and sweet.

We spent most of our time there relaxing in a hammock or meandering around.  There are lots of restaurants, bars and cafes. All selling cheap alcohol and lots of 'happy' shakes / cookies / hooka pipes. So there were lots of very relaxed people around!

We spent our 2 nights in 'oi sunset bungalows'. They were 50,000 a night with your own bathroom and veranda. The restaurant there was lovely and had great views of the Mekong.

Most of the prices on the island are set and there are no atm's so its important to be prepared and take enough cash!

Don't expect a mind-blowing meal on the island, the food is perfectly fine but nothing special and you don't have too much of a choice! We had western food at Adam's (massive portions) an indian at Jasmin's (slow service but tasty) and Laos food at Kea's Backpackers Paradise Restaurant/bar (small place and great service).
Lots of people rent bikes for the day and go over to Don Khon where there is a big waterfall. We didn't do this as we plan to see lots of other waterfalls during our time in Laos so just chilled and enjoyed the scenery!

Sunset on the Mekong....view from the bungalow veranda

Eco Village in Preah rumkel

We got to this place on the border of Cambodia and Laos on the information given to us by AVT. They arranged everything for us to get to this little known eco village. This Village is 40KM north of Stung Treng. We were taken to Stung Treng and transferred by the village minibus full of people and supplies back tot he Eco Village on a very bumpy road. This felt like travelling, there was no phone signal, no road signs, just a dusty road. 

After around 1 hour we were at the eco village and shown to our bungalow. It looked straight over the Mekong river, and had a dolphin watching platform. (We never saw any dolphins from the platform) We arrived at the village which should have been a quiet eutopia, with nothing to do but watch the river, and the little boats, but when we arrived there was a huge village party happening. The Khmer new year gets celebrated for between 7 and 9 days in the villages, and showed no sign of stopping. Music was played all day, and it was about 4 songs in a cycle. (We could sign these to you if you wanted without even speaking Khmer) There was only one person in the viillage that spoke english, but they were unavailable so we had fun asking for lunch and drinks etc. 

The weather was hot, and sunny, and the river was gorgeous. At sunset we got a little local boat out to see the rare Irawuddy Dolphin. We were lucky to see them because they think there is less than 30 in the wild now, and their numbers are dropping. Two of the dolphins live near the Eco village and dont move too far, we stayed two night in our bamboo hut on thin matress on the floor. Both nights we took a bot trip, and both nights we saw the dolphins. They were quite shy and hid from the camera, with the rubbish cameraman (Me) only managed to snap a few dorsal fins.

The Khmer New year celebrations went on long into the night, and the Village people played the perfect hosts. We had to play drinking games, and drink beer with them. Some were a little worse for wear after drinking in the sun all day, but they were still very kind.  

The next day we visited a huge waterfall, although it was dry season it was still an impressive sight. Sadly the area surrounding the waterfall was full of litter, which spoiled such a beautiful sight. We dipped our feet in, and spent around an hour or so here before heading back to the village.

This place was not what we expected, we were expecting to have nothing to do but read our books by the river. Our room didn't even have electricity. But we were blasted by a celebration, and were very much involved. We were playing drinking games, and dancing with the locals. This is when we really saw the smiles of Cambodia, and the charm of the country. 

The next morning it was back on the village minibus at 7am for the ride to Stung Treng. It took a long time as our driver stopped at every house in the village and picked up parcels, and packed more and more people in to the van. But we made it with Plenty of time before our connecting Bus to 4000 Islands in Laos.   

Sunset over the Mekong River at Preah Rumkel

The Huge Waterfall ( We forgot to write down the name)

The RARE Irawuddy Dolphin

Another Sunset Mekong river shot!

Siem Reap

Transport
We took the bus from Phnom Penh Straight to Siem Reap it cost 11$ each (more expensive due to festival) and took around 7 hours with the mass of traffic! We both had dodgy stomachs so were thankful of the regular stops! We wanted to be in Siem Reap for the Khmer New Year as there were supposed to be lots of street parties, fairs and just generally a good feel about the place!

Accommodation
We stayed in HI Siem Reap 2 (Deluxe) it's an upmarket hostel at 7$ a night including breakfast. They make your beds every day, provide fresh towels and the best bit is the pool! It was very much necessary in the 40°C heat! The staff were helpful and the location great.

Day 1
After arriving from our long bus journey we searched our bags for our swimwear and kindles to chill on the roof. This was a bad moment...realising one of our kindles had gone and then on further inspection also our action camera...it seemed someone had been riffling through our bags. So on discovering this gutting news and feeling very deflated we went to the roof catching the last of the sun before heading out for dinner. We didn't venture far, just down the road we went to Abba Cafe...not the cheesefest we'd hoped for, but actually a beautiful place with excellent staff who have a great attention to detail  and of course delish foods!

Day 2
We had a relaxing pool day today, taking care of ourselves as Abi still was sick and we both still felt pretty deflated from the earlier days discovery. We treated ourselves to pure comfort food for lunch...we went to a recommended Italian 'IL forno' and ordered a lasagna and margarita pizza with a nice glass of white wine and beer. It was exactly what we needed and we both felt much happier after. Outside the streets were already filling with water fights, so obviously I joined in! That evening we ate noodles from a street cart (making up for our expensive lunch ) and observed the streets festivities before heading to bed!

Day 3
Today we woke up late and took bicycles into the Ankor Park. We bought a 3 day pass at $40 each so we coukd really see the temples properly. The whole place was heaving with locals for the festival. It meant we took so long to get in and the temples were even more overcrowded than usual.
We managed to look superficially around Angkor (due to crowds) and then, Bayan before heading to Phnom Bakheng (on top of a big hill) to watch sunset. It did unfortunately take us nearly 2 hours to get home due to traffic ehich meant riding our bicycles in the dark...not the easiest thing to do without lights and very bumpy roads!

Day 4
Due to the festival still being on, we had a chill day by the pool and wandering the streets of Siem Reap avoiding crowds! We had a nice lunch and planned upcoming days travel. We also went into town at night to join in with the new year celebrations, getting thoroughly soaked and covered in baby powder!

Day 5
We awoke very early to be picked up by our tuk tuk driver (04.30am) for a Sunrise at Angkor Wat, followed by the small loop. This cost $20 (extra for sunrise) and we were kept suitably refreshed by our driver who had a very efficient cool box and plenty of water and wet hand towels. 
The Small loop included; Angkor Wat Bayan, takeo, ta prohm, banteay kdei. A good selection of different temples and thankfully we were able to see a couple before the temperatures became too unbearable.  We arrived back at the hostel around 2 having spent time looking round each properly. It was spectacular. We really couldnt believe how well preserved the temples were and how many there were for us to see!

Day 6
On our last day in Siem Reap we took advantage of our 3rd day on our pass and visited the Large loop- this cost $15 and included;  preah khan, neak pean, ta som, east mebon, pre rup. We left at 7.30am and were back by midday. Many of these temples are smaller so took less time to wander around, whic we were thankful for as the temperatures again soared to 40+oc!

Day 7
Today we took the Bus (organised by AVT travel very helpful company!) to an eco village near the boarder of Laos for a few days in a bamboo hut on the Mekong where we could see the very rare Mekong Irrawady Dolphins. 

Early AM Sunruse at Angkor Wat

Sunrise over the Temple

Intricately carved door frames!

A tree growing right out of the temple!

The Lepur King - 

The many faces of Bayon Temple

Sunset at Bayon

Cambodia; its capital Phnom Penh

Getting There

We took a bus from Ho Chi Minh City, which we booked from the Sinh Cafe in HCMC. It cost us 165,000 VND and then we had to give our passports and $35 to our driver who helped whisk us through the border as quickly as possible. the journey was pretty easy and took 7 hours.  

We arrived to a very warm Phnom Penh, it was 40°C during the day, and didn't cool off too much in the evenings, by the time we arrived in our hotel it was around 6 pm and we took a stroll too the night market. We were very excited as this is a great way to try local cuisine, but SHOCK, there was none of the local cuisine that we had read about, we ended up eating Thai green Curry. the night market is right next to the river front, so we took a leisurely stroll back to the guesthouse for the night. 

The National Museum

We woke up not having a plan on this day, so we looked at the city map, and decided to take a look at the National Museum, thinking it would give us some good information before heading to S21 and the Killing Fields the following day. 

We paid our entry $5, and went inside, To which we found it to be one of the worst museums we had visited, there was no information on the recent history, only artefacts found at the temples of Angkor in Siem Reap. The museum was poorly laid out, and contained very little information. After an hour of looking at carvings of statues with barely any info of what we were looking at we left.


S21 and the Killing Fields
Phnom Penh is famous for this dark tourism attractions. It is the history of the Khmer Rouge era of Cambodia. The party ruled the country for 4 years in which time they killed nearly 3 million people in a population of 8 million. It was interesting to learn about this dark period of Cambodian rule, and gave us an
insight as to why Cambodia seemed a bit less developed than its neighbours Vietnam and Thailand.

After a bit of reading it was suggested that we could see both sights in around 6 hours by Tuk Tuk, This turned out to be if you sped through the attractions. We first went to the killing fields where it is estimated 20,000 people were killed in mass graves in a very small area. There are killing fields all over Cambodia, but this one is the most famous. People were killed here for various reasons, they were new people from the city,, they spoke more than one language they had studied to a high level, or they just wore glasses. SO 20,000 people were killed here and the sadness continues when you find out that bullets were too valuable to waste on killing these people so they soldiers doing the killing had to do it in very primitive ways. (I will spare you the details, you can find it on Google if your interested) There is a memorial on the site which from a distance looks like an ornamental Stupa, then on closer inspection it contains some of the skulls they have excavated from the mass graves. They still have not excavated all the graves, and with that one of the things you can see as you walk around is fragments of bone and clothing in the soil which has risen over the years, and there are plenty of signs asking you to avoid standing on the bones.

After a few hours hear listening to a very informative audio guide we headed back to our Tuk Tuk for the drive back to the centre of Phnom Penh where the S21 prison is based. The prison is in a former school, and this is adds to the horrors. the place was full of death and torture, people were tortured here up to 3 times a day, and were chained up the rest of the day. although there appears no official number they estimate around 12,000 people went into the prison and there are only 7 known survivors. The prisoners here were repeatedly tortured until they would sign a confession, that was completely fictional. Once the Khmer rouge had this signed confession the victim was sent to the Killing Fields to be executed. Many people died at the prison, and its exhibits are full of pictures of the victims faces. This place was in the centre of Phnom Penh, and now it seems impossible that this could occur in such a busy city. However in the first few days of the Khmer Rouge rule, Phnom Penh was evacuated and the people that lived there were forced to go to the "labour camps".

Both of these places were very interesting, and visiting the two took us the whole day to listen to both audio guides fully as well as read all the information available.

The following morning this our hotel sorted us a bus to Siem Reap to go and Celebrate the Khmer New Year.

Mass Grave of 450 Victims at the Killing Fields

The Stupa containing the skulls of the excavated victims

The School block turned S21 torture prison

Some of the prisoners who "passed through"

The Cells where the prisoners were locked up individually.