Me, Sharon and Laura - on the plane, ready to go

This August and September I travelled for 3 weeks around South East Asia, visting Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand then a final few days in Dubai with the lovely Sharon Johnston and Laura Boyd (also joined by Katie Currie for Cambodia).

We departed on the 27th August from Glasgow International Airport, joined by the Scottish Rugby Team on their way to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Oh look there we are on the plane! Me on the left, Sharon in the middle and Laura on the right.

Quick stop via Dubai then we arrive in Singapore.

Day 1 (Sun 28.08.11) – Singapore

Walking around Singapore

I like Singapore. It’s ridiculously warm and humid, but the clouds and cool breeze make it rather lovely. Not sure if it’s just because it’s a Sunday but it’s chilled and calm. Feels quite westernised. Almost everyone speaks English, everything is written in English and the bars and restaurants feel like places I’ve been before. The most impressive thing is the massively tall buildings and intimidating architecture. These make it feel more like somewhere new.

Our accommodation in Singapore is good. The Tree in Lodge. This is a green hostel. We’re in a female dorm – which is very cramped, but nice and clean, and very cool with the air con on. The walls and floors are just bare plaster but it’s clean so you don’t mind. The communal area is cosy too – a few benches, free WiFi and little laptops to use, with a little platform where you can take your shoes off and chill out. The staff are friendly and helpful (even when I broke a key in a lock). Breakfast is rather spartan, but you don’t mind as the price is very cheap.

Margueritas by the water

We wandered through the city along the river to get a feel of the place. Some rather strange buildings – including the hotel with the ship on top – the Marina Bay Sands resort. We then visited one of the Hawkers markets for dinner – The Newton Hawker Centre, where many locals go for food. The meals are lovely, with generous portions and super cheap. There seems to be a lot of teenagers around, but it feels safe and modern. Just feels like I need to get to know it a bit better.

We returned to the hotel to get ready to go out. After a bit of wandering around it was time for cocktails by the water. Quite busy, but fun. Yum Margheritas!

Day 2 (Mon 29.08.11) – Singapore

The Sultan Mosque in the Kampong Glam area

We started our day by walking through Singapore to explore firstly visit Little India. I was casually mocked by a taxi driver for using a little electric fan – well it was pretty much useless anyway at combating the heat. Little India is a lovely place to walk round – the smells were amazing, incense, spices and fresh fruit. Next was the Kampong Glam area. The Sultan Mosque here was beautiful. We also had a leisurely strole through the area visting the little shops along the way. Some were quite touristy, but it was a nice atmosphere.

From there we got the underground trains (MRT) to Orchard St – the big shopping district. The trains are so efficiently run, you can tell the city cares about the environment too – very little litter and re-usable train tickets (give them back to get your $1 deposit back). The trains are helpful (and clean) from the electronic display for what station is next, to telling what side the doors will open on, to voice overs telling you where to change for what station.

Orchard Street feels mad – I’ve never seen so many designer shops in the one place. Gucci, Prada, Cartier, Hugo Boss, Armani, Cavalli and on and on. Very big and rather impressive (although we did see a Top Shop and the new H&M was just about to open).

Dinner was quite nice. Strange bits of seafood for Laura and Sharon – which apparently tasted lovely, but I was a little cowardly to try, and a nice Thai green curry for me. There are some great places to eat – you can have a mini-BBQ at your table. They bring you a selection of food and you cook it. It has a hotplate in front of you. We figured we needed someone in the know to make the best of that – so we left it for now.

Tonight was our lasty night in Singapore so it was to be our big night on the town. In the evening the plan was to go to the rather posh places in. The Long Bar was the first stop – part of the Raffles Hotel in where you get the world famous Singapore Slings (very sweet, not that amazing) and they give you a dish of monkey nuts, then you just leave the shells on the floor. Quite delicious, and handy for lining the stomach, but I feel bad for the cleaner.

Quite a few cocktails down at New Asia

Next we went to New Asia – a bar 70 floors up on the Swiss Hotel. Views were excellent, thankfully not terrifying being that high due to the nice thick glass. Although you did feel like you were swaying slightly. Nice to see the city all lit up, but I bet it’s more amazing during the day when the weather is clear. New Asia is rather trendy and very dark, but the atmosphere is relaxed. We decided to stay for the rest of the evening – we’d done quite a decent amount of walking that day.

One thing we discovered is that they always charge you more than you think. Drinks were expensive plus 10% service charge and 7% government service charge. And don’t forget the hidden non-happy hour prices. We finished the night getting fooled once again (with these after happy hour prices) – trying to get the cheapest bottle of wine failed, and instead we were given a bill for around £55. And it was a very mediocore wine. If only we’d known then we would have agreed to the much cheaper bottle of Moet! Didn’t stop us from drinking it though, so we just drank up then stumbled back to the hostel.

Day 3 (Tue 30.08.11) – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Sharon and Katie speeding along in a Tuk Tuk

I love Cambodia already. The people are amazing chilled out, friendly and just fun. We got picked up at the airport – taking two Tuk Tuks between us. This is a little carriage pulled by a moped. It scoots along the road from the airport and you can see stark differences in the setting. Little shacks with skinny cows grazing outside them. These sell a mix of drinks and gifts (the shacks, not the cows), then large almost temple like luxury hotels. We get to our hostel / hotel – the Shadow of Angkor II. The staff there are really friendly and helpful and we plan out the short amount of time we have here. I also get accosted by the guy at reception to help him with his Corel Draw program. Need to keep my mouth shut about designing websites! We struggle a little with language barrier, and my inexperience of using Corel Draw – his English obviously much better than my Khymer, but over the couple of days I think I managed to help him. The rooms are nice here, simple and clean with beautiful cushions on the beds. One thing you start noticing is all the geckos on the walls. These scamper about very quickly around the top of the walls. They are very cute, and eat the mosquitoes so you don’t mind them. Again free WiFi and some computers, but the machines are so old we can’t do much more than access the internet.

Laura and her Jägerbomb on Pub St

The big fish eating Sharon's feet

Once we were settled in our rooms next was dinner, at the Khymer Kitchen which was lovely and amazingly cheap after Singapore. Next we wandered down on the aptly named Pub St, on the hunt for post-dinner cocktails. One of the places to be seems to be the locally owned Temple Club. There’s loud music blaring out of it, but seems to have a nice, lively atmosphere. It also has very cheap Jägerbombs and cocktails.

There is also free WiFi everywhere here – at hostels, hotels, bars and restaurants. You just need to ask for a password! It feels quite strange at first, but it’s really easy to get used to. Nice to be connected back to the world, but I’m almost slightly sorry about it – feels a bit strange to have access to Facebook while you’re sitting in Cambodia drinking a cocktail!

After that was a walk around. It can get a bit intimdating at certain points – Tuk Tuk drivers are constantly shouting at you to get you in their Tuk Tuk, then there was a whole street of people shouting at you to come in for a massage – off putting and really not relaxing. Despite feeling a bit rude you get through by either firmly and politely saying no, or just ignoring them. We did find a great night market though, with stalls mainly filled with quite nice stuff, like clothes and scarfs and only a small amount of cheap tacky stuff.

At the end of the night market it’s a bit calmer. I got an amazing foot massage here for $2, including, green tea and watermelon, while the other guys opted for a fish spa. Not quite like in the UK though these fish were giant, and really very fond of Sharon’s feet – all the other participants didn’t really get a look in. The fish were happy though.

The young guys at the fish stall were lovely and fun. One convinced us to pay him to stick his head in the tank of fish! He was quite entertaining though, and friendly. He told us he was from an orphanage in Phnom Penh and came here to work in the market. He’s saving to go to university to study English, so he can become a tour guide. Seems to be the best way to get a good salary. You can see how the tourism is helping the country, but doesn’t stop you feeling little western guilt.

Day 4 (Wed 31.08.11) – Siem Reap, Cambodia

The Bayon Temple inside Angkor Thom

An early start this morning. Up at 7am for a quick breakfast then our Tuk Tuk drivers took us out to the temples. The first was Angkor Thom – this is pretty much a massive wall that goes round quite a few other temples. We move on to the Bayon which is an amazing structure. There is still a dispute about how many faces actually exist in this temple.

Me and Sharon at the top of the Royal Temple

Trees woven through Ta Prohn

It’s a beautiful fallen apart maze. As you walk through it you appreciate how wonderful it is but it’s a struggle to try to imagine it at it’s full glory. The Khymers were building these when we were living in huts fighting over land and cattle. There are so many to see, so we just visited the main ones close by. A few more structures in Angkor Thom, including the Royal Palace. This was quite a climb up some steep stairs, and also involved a small incident where my head and the ancient stone had a fight. The stone won and has kept a little bit of my blood and hair as proof. Don’t worry. I’m fine – no concussion.

We had a lovely meal here around the temples. There are market stalls, but also food stalls with areas full of tables and chairs to sit. They are all next to each other in a row but seem to be run by different people. We choose one randomly, and despite constantly being prompted to buy postcards or shawls we have some really lovely food. Very tasty fried rice. We were lucky enough to be sitting eating under the canopy here when a sudden rainstorm hit.

We visited Ta Prohn too where trees have started growing through the stone in wonderful shapes. It was a bit of a maze again, and we almost lost Katie, but we got out safe and sound.

One of the hardest things to see here was when you exited the temples. As soon as you walk out you are surrounded by children begging, pleading and neogtiating with you to buy something from them. They rely a lot on tourists, so you can understand why, but it makes it very hard to say no – it can get quite emotional. We were recommended by a few people not to give the children money, as it encourges their parents to keep them out of school, but it’s very hard not to break!

Clouds darkening at Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat was last. This is the largest religious monument in the world. You walk across a bridge over a giant moat into the surrounding wall. Then continue through to the main section – this has two temples in the middle, and they believe the rest of the area was a city set in a grid structure. The weather started getting worse while we were here.

A worker carrying on through the rain at Angkor Wat

Torrential rains fell on us then and we hid in the temples until it died down. Everyone was hiding out children, locals and tourists alike. The main temple and palace was next and had many beautiful carvings all around the inner walls. The inner temple is inside this, and still held very sacred. They wouldn’t let us in due to our inappropriate dress – oh well.

All the temples were excellent. The Bayon was so majestic, and Angkor Wat so impressive huge, but I have to say my favourite has to be Ta Prohn with the battle between nature and stone so vivid. Overall, it such an impressive and beautiful place to explore.

This was our final night in Siem Reap. It’s quite a small place, so it was back to the night market to shop for our souvenirs (and then for more foot rubs). After this it was back to Pub St to try out some different bars, but we still ended up back the Temple Club – well, mainly for the cheap Jägerbombs. Oh dear – it’s going to be an even earlier start tomorrow so we can fit in as much as we can before we leave.

Day 5 (Thu 1.09.11) – Siem Reap to Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

Me, Laura and Katie on the river boat on Tonle Sap river

People in their boat on Tonle Sap river

An even earlier start today at 6.15am – not good with a hangover, but we still manage some breakfast before we leave. We are going on a Tonle Sap lake tour early today so we can make the bus to Phnom Penh in the afternoon. A 40 minute Tuk Tuk ride takes us further into rural Cambodia. You can see the poverty compared to how we live in the west – there are small shacks everywhere where families live, dusty and little – but this is part of what makes it so beautiful and touching. Kids wave at us as we go by, while the skinny cows, sleepy dogs and busy adults go about the day in a very relaxed way.

As we arrive at the boats we are quite lucky we are so early, as there are no other tourists about, and we begin our 30 minute motor boat ride through the water logged land. Trees stick up out of the ground, and in the waterways you almost get a sense of road underneath you.

River huts on Tonle Sap river

Me attempting to steer, Sharon relaxing in the boat

When we see structures start appearing, with legs deep in the water, we start getting the sense of wonder. This is a fishing village. People have boats to travel, and cast nets to make a living. It is peaceful, beautiful and so heart breaking it’s difficult to explain. The sense of family is obvious, and although you can tell the Khymer work hard, but it seems like quite a wonderful calm life. Our river boat then slows down and drops us off at a floating restaurant. We get off here then we’re put into the paddle boats that the Khymers use for travelling along the river.

They took us on a mini jungle paddle through the water in these little wooden boats. Me and Sharon shared a boat with a lovely old lady and a cute little girl. I was lucky enough to get the chance to paddle (badly) and get a bit of a feel for the boats, although I bit confused following the directions shouted at me by the lady. She didn’t speak any English, but with a bit of sensible translation from Sharon we worked out this was mainly ‘switch sides’!

When we returned it was a quick lunch in Siem Reap then a 5hr bus trip to Phnom Phenh. Roads were very bumpy and there is constant beeping from our mini van, and the other moped drivers etc. (Did you know you can get a family of 4 on a moped – I didn’t). We discovered after talking to someone travelling with us in the mini van, that we paid far more for our tickets than any of the locals did. Seems to be a recurring theme as he told us that Khymers will get paid a much lower salary than westerners for the same job. He talked to us a bit about language as he was learning English and Russian. He had some difficult questions too, such as what is the difference between ‘I love you’ and ‘I do love you’. He also chatted a bit about the relationship between the Khymers and the Vietnamese – mainly about how the Vietnamese stole all the gold and jewels from their palaces!

Pool at the Blue Lime, Phnom Penh

Overall the journey wasn’t too bad mainly due to sleeping. Although after this was it a bit of a shock to arrive in Phnom Penh far earlier than expected with a barrage of Tuk Tuk drivers desperately shouting at us to take us to our hotel.

We’re slightly concerned as our Tuk Tuk driver takes us to the hotel. He seems a little lost and goes backwards and forwards, then we eventually pull in to a dark alleyway. We don’t worry for long though as a security guard pops his head out and takes us into a beautiful lobby. Our hotel, the Blue Lime, is very lovely (good find from Laura). It’s modernly decorated, clean, and there is a pool too. Our rooms feel quite luxurious – wonderful to relax in after a long journey.

Bug food stall in Phnom Penh

On our way to dinner we saw a stall with all the fried dead bugs – almost looked appetising in the dim light. We briefly chatted to a couple who were brave enough to try some. They were buying a bag of something with legs to eat on the beach. Sharon was keen to try some tarantula, but thought we might be best waiting till after dinner – we missed it as the stall closed before we were finished – I wasn’t that upset. Dinner was at the Khmer Borane restaurant, and most of us opted for the Fish Amok as talked about by Gordon Ramsay in his SE Asia food series. It’s a fish curry with coconut in a palm leaf. Very good. We then moved to the FCC (Foreign Correspondence Club) for some cocktails – reported to be where all the journalists hang out, although we just found Australian tourists.

Us all with Chad at Rory's bar, Phnom Penh

We decided to move to another bar, but as the night life was dying down and we didn’t know the right places to be, the only place we found open was Rory’s Pub – the obligatory Irish Bar. We were welcomed by some Americans from Settle, one who owns the place – Chad, with an Irish background and a Cambodian wife and his friend Rodney who joined him to work in the bar. We talk about living in Cambodia, music, drinking and other things, and although we can’t really get a word in, we had an excellent night, and it was great to meet such friendly people. They kept the bar open for us to 2am – so after such a long amazing day I’m going to try to get some sleep!

Day 6 (Fri 2.09.11) – Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

Not so early a start this morning. 9.30am for a civilised breakfast. We also handed our passports into the hotel so they could get our visa’s and booked our bus for the next day.

Survivors of Toul Sleng prison

First stop was Toul Sleng prison, or security office 21. This was a school that the Khymer Rouge converted into a prison. Our first step off the Tuk Tuk was hard. More people begging for money. One guy who appeared in front of us had his face all scared or burned and one of his eyes was missing. Was a bit of a shock, but it set the tone for the tour. Around 20,000 Cambodians were tortured and killed in this prison. They’ve kept a lot of it how it was then. The first thing you see is the cells the prisoners lived in. They were tied/chained to metal bed frames in an almost empty room, and they’ve added some horrific photographs showing some of the dead prisoners found this way. It’s still looks and feels like a school, but so horrific. There are so many photographs of the prisoners that were killed. They put them in a special chair to take their photograph then took them away to be killed. There must be thousands of these. We learned quite a lot about the history and the suffering, it was a very emotional experience, but quite worthwhile. There were only 7 known survivors of that prison only 3 left alive today. We also learned a bit more about the history that let up to the genocide and about what led some of the young people to join the Khymer Rouge – but it’s very difficult to understand.

Wat Phnom, temple in Phnom Penh

Our original plan had been to visit the Killing Fields, but after that experience and the fact that the governor had sold right to manage it to a foreign country it felt kind of wrong to go. It also wasn’t recommended by anyone living locally, so me and Laura headed to see the more positive side of Cambodia while Sharon and Katie ventured on to the Killing Fields to find out more about Pol Pot and others who controlled the Khymer Rouge. We visited Wat Phnom a beautiful Hindu temple where many Hindus visit to pray. Then headed off to see the beautiful buildings within the Royal Palace. After that it was back to the hotel of a bit of relaxing before dinner.

Lovely dinner at the Chinese House, Phnom Penh

We knew of someone who lived in Phnom Penh, Richard – he was lovely enough to come and visit us at our hotel to give us a bit more of an idea of where to go next. It was great to chat to someone else too about their experiences living in Cambodia and finding out the best places to be. Also great to learn a bit more about the Cambodian government and politics. So after speaking to him we headed to Le Moon bar, at the top of the Amanjaya Hotel for some cocktails with a rooftop view of the city. Lovely cocktails, but the mosquitoes chased us off in the end. Next it was off to the Chinese House for a beautiful dinner – our most expensive meal yet (yet still cheaper than our Singapore bottle of wine). It started with a lovely complimentary gazpacho. The rest of the meal lived up to this too, and the deserts were lovely. We left feeling very satisfied. We headed for some live music next at the Paddy Rice bar (another Irish pub). Nice atmosphere, quite lively, but the live music wasn’t great, cover songs reasonably well played – almost felt like good karaoke, but worse than that the cocktails were horrific.

Pause from dancing at the Heart of Darkness, Phnom Penh

To end our night we went to the Heart of Darkness night club. Security checked our bags first and we trundled in heading for the loud music. The atmosphere was vivacious and fun. The décor quite dark, with sculptures in the Angkor temple style. The music was fun and dancy, and the people were energetic and happy. It was a strange mix of clientele. Young Cambodians, and possible Chinese and Thai, dancing enthusiastically, a smattering of white tourists, but also, many overweight middle aged men dancing with much younger girls and boys – quite bizarre. Everyone seemed to be having an excellent time though and the vibes here good, so what else can you do but just let go a bit and join in with the dancing.

Day 7 (Sat 3.09.11) – Phnom Pehn, Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Today was a pretty quiet day. Booked our accommodation for that night and our flights from HCMC to Hoi An. Our bus picked us up at a reasonable time of 11.45am to take us to Vietnam. The bus was bigger and smoother than the last mini van we got so the journey was easy. Border Control was pretty simple too and easily managed by the bus company we booked with.

You can feel a subtle difference in the scenery as you move to Vietnam, the land is less water-logged and the vegetation changes a bit. We’d heard from a few sources that Vietnam wasn’t as good as Cambodia, but we were still looking forward to it. The journey was around 5 hrs long, but we got some sleep so were quite awake on arriving at HCMC. This felt much more like a city. A massive stream of mopeds, and tooting horns everywhere. Many buildings looked sun bleached and run down, but there were a few tall buildings too. Getting off the bus here was similar to arriving in Phnom Penh. Taxi drivers shouted at us as we got out to try to give us a lift.

Our taxi driver was friendly but we weren’t as organised or prepared as we should have been as he drove us about. Once to the wrong place (probably on purpose) and then up and down different streets taking the long way round to our hotel. We thought having a taxi driver with a meter and a uniform was sensible, but along with the extra journey time the meter was going a bit crazy. Oh well – we learned our lesson! Only get in a Mai Linh. Their taxis are white & green, and are the most honest!

View from Mai Kim Loan, HCMC

Our hotel, the Mai Kim Loan Hotel was full of dark wood, slightly depressing and had confused owners who didn’t understand us. We can’t really blame them – our Vietnamese consisted of the word ‘Thank you’. Someone, probably the daughter, came out and sorted us out. The room was clean, but I think we’d been spoiled by staying at the Blue Lime.

The view was not so bad though, it was of the bright lit streets. We chilled out for a bit and booked our Hoi An accommodation, then set into the night to explore. We wandered a bit but ended up back next to our hotel in a little restaurant where the locals were eating – Phuong Cao. Little chairs and tables were set up right on the street next to the road. As long as Sharon didn’t lean back she’d be safe. But it was nice and chilled out. Something I love about here is that the Vietnamese don’t really speak so much English. This makes communication a challenge, but everyone is nice about it so it’s quite fun. We see the owner of the restaurant going from table to table to sit down and talk with his customers, he doesn’t speak to us, but does make sure we get forks, which is quite nice, but we’re all happy to use chopsticks. Despite a small mix up with the order, the food is absolutely lovely.

Next we wandered to the market which is a nice change from the tourist charged one in Siem Reap. HCMC isn’t very tourist focused, it’s full of young people scooting about on mopeds. I feel calmer and more relaxed here as there isn’t the constant pressure to buy something or get in a Tuk Tuk. The market has the same atmosphere – people will talk to you if you look at their stall but they are happy to take no for an answer. One thing you notice here, and all over Cambodia is the moped repair shops – it’s also interesting to see all the moped helmet fashions – there are stores and stalls everywhere – so many difference designs, and even designer and sports brands.

Day 8 (Sun 4.09.11) – Ho Chi Minh City to Hoi An, Vietnam

Mr Bihn on the Cu Chi tunnel tour

Laura firing an AK47

Me and Laura climbing out of the Cu Chi tunnels

Today was our tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels. This is how the Vietnamese hid from the Americans and travelled around parts of the country. Our tour bus picks us up at the hotel, and we are greeted by a slightly abrupt man. He warms up on the bus when we start the journey. His name is Mr Binh, and he talked about how he fought on the side of the Americans during the war. He talked about life on the base with the soldiers, and how he spent 4 years in a communist prison, that he came back to Vietnam because he loves the country and the people.

He makes many jokes, sings us American songs and tells us about the history of Vietnam, from the French colonisation, war with Japan and finally the war with America. He makes it very clear there were no winners in the war – and tells us about a book that’s been written about him. Once we arrive at the tunnels he takes us round the area. We watch a 10 minute movie about the Cu Chi people first. It was a propaganda film for the 60s about the “American killing heroes” of the time. How the Americans destroyed the area and how the people adapted and got their revenge.

We get to see some of the tunnel entrances next, chimneys, then all the ingenious traps that they made to kill and maim the Americans.

There was much cleverness in these traps, and is quite impressive – you can see how it was very difficult for the Americans to fight against. We see an old blown up tank and a bomb crater hole too, but next is the rest stop.

Next was an opportunity we couldn’t really say no to. You could choose a weapon to fire. AK47, M16, carbines, rifles and others I can’t remember. Mr Ben had kept telling us that the AK47s were the best. They’d fire even if they got wet, opposed to the American weapons, so it was another reason the Vietnamese were successful. I just chose the minimum of 10 bullets for the AK47 and got taken to the shooting range. The noise was so bad you could hear it all over the area, but once the safety headset was on it was fine. I enjoyed it – it was definitely fun, but I did feel rather solemn after it. It’s fun to do, but so difficult to imagine actually shooting a person.

Our tour finished with a trip through the actual tunnels. These would go deeper and deeper up to 10m underground. It was quite claustrophobic and you had to stay bent over to walk through, taller people like Sharon, had to crawl a little in bits.

Us all with Mr Binh (and Ho Chi Minh)

A wrong turn following the wrong people brought us out earlier than the end, but as the tunnels got smaller and smaller, we didn’t mind so much. Back in the city it was a quick late lunch, then off to the airport to get to Hoi An.

We arrive late into Danang and get a taxi to our hotel at Hoi An, the Southern Hotel and Villa (or Phuong Nam) – I think the hotel is pretty new, as the taxi driver gets a bit confused getting there. We get there around 9.30-10pm to check-in and find out we’ve been upgrade to a suite. It’s beautiful, with two marble bathrooms, a double and two single beds with a partition and two balconies. We also have TV and WiFi. We’re too late for the restaurant but we can order pizza, so pizza, beer and movies it is.

Day 9 (Mon 5.09.11) – Hoi An, Vietnam

Pool at the Southern Hotel & Villa

Our friendly waitress and Sharon at Before and Now, Hoi An

After our first busy week we need a rest day, so tour afternoon is spent relaxing by the pool, sunbathing, swimming and reading – we only get a little burnt then get ready to head out into Hoi An. Our hotel puts a shuttle bus on, so we can easily get into town. (It’s an easy walk, but only really for during the day). Hoi An is famous for its fashion, so it’s unsurprising there are clothes shops everywhere. We wander around for a bit, checking out the place, it’s quite small and friendly, not very many bars or restaurants, but we find one called Streets which has a friendly maitre’d and lovely sounding local food. He chats to us about the food on the menu and why it’s unique to Hoi An. It’s cosy, but modern, and the staff are very friendly. We discover that the place is a non-profit organisation that helps train local kids to become high class chefs. We order the food recommended to us, and it is beautiful and very tasty. We get some desserts too that are lovely. Slightly more expensive meal than usual, but that’s mainly due to our bottle of wine.

Cocktails at Before and Now, Hoi An

We head to one of the very few bars in the area, called Before and Now, it has interesting paintings on the wall and is again very friendly. We’ve chatted to a few people on our holiday but in Hoi An it seems that people have been the friendliest and more willing to talk, including the people who live here. We chat to the Icelandic guys who stay in our hotel, and a made mis-matched group of guys who collected each other through the past few days. An Icelandic guy who drank with the Beatles before they were famous, a Liverpudlian called Jim, an engineer who’s moving to Greenland after getting fired for punching his boss. Neil from New Zealand, Don from England, and a German guy too. We drink and chat and they convince us to go to a bar on the beach, so we share some moped’s to drive out to it. Despite initial fears it’s a fun drive – the sky is so clear you can see so many stars and zooming through the quiet streets gives you a wonderful breeze and quite a buzz too. It’s amazing once we get out there. Initially the bar is deathly empty, so we play some pool and have some drinks, but once we head out to the beach it’s wonderfully calm. Standing on the sand with the waves lapping in, a blanket of amazing stars, and lightning flashing in the distance. Standing there with a drink in my hand feels like perfection. I really didn’t want to move, but the bar was pretty dead, so from there we headed to the Why Not bar. I think this is where the gather all the drunk folks go when it gets dark. It’s a total madhouse of shouting, dancing and drinking. It looks rather crazy, but the vibe is fun and I even joined in on some of the dancing on the pool table.

It is a horrible dirthole of a place though, so you do wonder what the locals must think of it, but it’s the only place that stays open late stays open (till 5am) so you know why we all end up there. Thankfully we get away a little before closing time – time for sleep!

Day 10 (Tue 6.09.11) – Hoi An, Vietnam

Today I left Sharon and Laura nursing their hangovers to see Hoi An in the daylight. It’s got a really nice happy, chilled out calmness to it. At this point in the day the cloth shop owners are out and try to convince you to buy their wares. They are funny and charming, persistent without being intimidating, so it’s a pleasant walk through the town despite the scorching heat.

Hoi An Market

Streets of Hoi An

After buying a gift I get coaxed into one of the cloth shops (I think it was called Phuoc An) and presented with a variety of magazines and books to find something I like. I’m still sceptical of buying anything but I play along for now because the fan is cool and it’s nice to sit down. I have been thinking about buying a jacket, so they pull out magazines and pictures trying to find something I like. I kind of find what I’m looking for, so we start talking price and materials. The first offer is $50 but I refuse, they pull out a comments book to show me reviews, after some haggling and getting my measurements we get down to $35 which seems like a good price for a jacket that I’d planned to back home anyway.

I leave them to it, and take a wander through the food market, there are baskets of all types of food – fruit, grains, herbs and spices even hunks of meat and fresh prawns. It’s vibrant, cramped and loud, but so colourful.

Back at the hotel I chill out relaxing by the pool for a bit, then get myself ready to go out for dinner and pick up my jacket. It seems to pelt down with train here every afternoon after 4-5pm, and it’s still raining as I jump on the shuttle bus that the hotel provides. I’m prepared enough though and wear my plastic poncho – it mainly keeps the rain off despite just being a plastic bag with a hood. I sit down for dinner at the Voulez-vous restaurant – slightly bizarrely named as the food is all Vietnamese. I get the waiter to give me a recommendation and order that – carmalised pork with rice. Really quite nice food, and quite good to relax here as well reading my book and enjoying the food with a glass of wine. The rain is still going when I finish, but it’s time for me to pick up my jacket. It’s not quite what I expected, but it’s very lovely with some nice detailing. The quality is good, although not amazing – certainly good value for about £30 though – especially as it fits perfectly.

The rain, although not cold, still puts me off staying out much longer, so I head off to the shuttle bus stop and get talking to a young guy from Hoi An. He doesn’t speak much English, and I can only say ‘thank you’ in Vietnamese, but we chat for a bit anyway. It’s quite a funny conversation with topics on both sides been given up on when we don’t know how to explain it in a way to make it understood, but it’s funny although slightly awkward. When I return to the hotel I relax reading for a while, then as our hotel has a spa I go for a Swedish massage – aah! So relaxing. Helped sort out my aching muscles from all the waking I’ve been doing. Finally, I head back to the room for some beer and more movies before going to sleep.

Day 11 (Wed 7.09.11) – Hoi An, Vietnam

I decided to hire a bicycle today and head out to the beach. Laura and Sharon were still recovering a little so they decided to head into town first.

Cycling to Hoi An beach

I knew approximately where I was going although the maps we had for the hotel were a little dodgy and didn’t have all the street names on it, but the beach was only 5km away and the route looked pretty simple. I had a couple of hiccups. Firstly I got slightly lost and took a bit of a detour, and secondly the chain came off the bike. I’m sure I could have fixed it but a lady from across the street came over to help me – she got the chain back on then invited me over to get the thick black oil off my hands. In the usual Vietnamese fashion, she seems happy and confident, but also like to push their luck, so after she’s finished helping me and my hands were clean she quietly suggested – “You want to buy something?” Well I felt obliged to say yes, so a wonderfully cold can of coke it was. The scenery is beautiful heading to the beach, the land is very green, the sky is a startling blue, and the river next to the road sparkles with the sun. Although the roads here seem slightly manic (not as manic as HCMC) you feel pretty safe – cars and bikes always toot behind you and warn you of their presence, and people always slow down and flow around you. Also, when you arrive at the beach you discover that you can’t park you bike there – there’s actually a bike park a few streets back, and you can leave it their safely for a couple of dollars.

Sitting by a Palm Tree on Hoi An Beach

The beach is how a beach should be. It’s so very empty of people. The sand is hot and the sea is pleasantly cool, and the palm trees rustle and sway in the breeze. I sit down against a palm tree to stare out into the sea. This always gives me such an utter sense of calm. I swim a little, sunbathe and read for a while, then meet up with Laura and Sharon who jumped in a taxi. We chill out in the sun lounger for a while and enjoy a small lunch at a beachside restaurant.

The food is really nice actually. I choose a noodle dish with crab – very tasty. As the afternoon storm clouds start forming we decide it’s time to get back to the hotel. I get a little lost again cycling back, but doesn’t take me so long to get back to the hotel.

We’d planned to go out somewhere nice for dinner for our last night in Hoi An but the rain and thunderstorms were relentless all night. I was almost attacked by a crazy jumping frog – it went straight for me. So movies, pizza and beer again tonight. Not so bad.

Day 12 (Thu 8.09.11) – Hoi An to Hanoi, Vietnam

Laura and Sharon on their cycle tour

Laura helping weave a floor rug

This was a quiet morning for me. I relaxed a bit by the pool and went for a walk into town while Sharon and Laura took a bike tour. It took them across to an island and they got to see some of the local trades. Rug weaving, incense stick making, basket boat making, and got to know a bit more about the kind of work they do in Hoi An.

In the afternoon we got a quick flight from Danang to Hanoi. The airport at Danang is very small with one little food counter. Pringles and bottled water it is, but at least we’re not there for very long. When we get to Hanoi we book our boat to to Halong Bay – apparently we get it cheaper there due to avoiding taxes. We’re slightly dubious, but we do a bit of research and it seems like we’re getting a good deal. We jump in a taxi to take us to our hotel – it weaves it’s way though the manical traffic flowing quickly on either side of us. We even saw a domestic argument happen on one of the mopeds.

The Charming Hotel, wasn’t very charming. It was fine though – clean, but quite claustrophobic and small, partially due to my child’s bed they added in for the extra person. We wandered about the streets of Hanoi, and one thing we noticed is that the locals don’t really walk along the pavement – well, there isn’t really any room as the pavements are filled with mopeds, and as the night goes on, the pavements fill up even more with teenagers and adults, chatting, drinking and socialising. Our hunger gets the better of us, and we stop at a lovely Italian restaurant called Mediterraneo. The food is absolutely gorgeous, and the atmosphere is warm and friendly too. It gets quite busy as our evening went on – I’d definitely recommend the lasagna and the mango sorbet with Prosecco for dessert.

Day 13 (Fri 9.09.11) – Halong Bay, Vietnam

Me and Laura on the Halong Phoenic Cruiser

The bus picked us up early at our hotel to take us to Halong Bay for a cruise tour on the Halong Phoenix Cruiser. The journey was very, very bumpy (mainly to do with the bad suspension on the bus) and 3 hours is a rather long time. When we arrived we moved to a little boat which was going to take us out to the bigger “junk” styled boat that we are staying on for one night. The boat is quite nice, the cabins are lovely and compact, and the feeling of movement is minimal. Everyone on the tour is super-friendly and we meet some lovely Americans, one who’s worked on movies doing something and a few young guys from England who are newly qualified lawyers and accountants – I can’t remember all their names now. Once we are settled and have explored a bit we get served lunch. The dishes keep coming and the food is lovely. I’m rather proud of myself as I shelled my first prawns – the may look like evil monsters from the deep but they are actually quite tasty!

The surprising caves, Halong Bay

Outside of the surprising caves at the top of the hill

Next we get on the small boat again and it takes us out to explore the Sung Sot Caves, which means Cave of Surprises, named originally by the French, who called it grotte des surprises. They are quite impressive although not really ‘surprising’, and we don’t really get a good idea from the tour guide how they came about or if they had any significance – he just points to rock formations and tells us what it looks like…we probably could have worked that out ourselves. Next we get in to the kayaks for a paddle around the bay. 2 people per kayak. I share mine with an English guy – John. Just as well as I need a bit of power to help me actually get the kayak to move. We paddle along following the tour guide and chatting, occasionally racing against an Australian couple and some of the other English guys. I think the scenery might have been more impressive with clear blue skies, but it’s so wonderfully peaceful and calm, and the clouds make it cooler so it’s easier to paddle. We stop for a while in a beautiful enclosed area, that you have to paddle under a low rock to get through to. It is so calm and wonderful. You just feel at peace with yourself and the world.

We kayak back to our small boat which takes us back to the main boat. Then there is just enough time to have a quick swim in the sea before getting ready for dinner. People trying to sell you stuff can be pretty constant, and even while we are swimming a lady appears in a boat full of alcohol, drinks and cigarettes, persistently trying to sell us stuff. Very unsuccessful, especially considering none of us appear to have our wallets with us…while swimming in the sea. Dinner is excellent. More and more dishes came out, including more prawns and stuffed crabs. The food is lovely it’s nice to sit, eat and chat with the other guests too. We were offered karaoke, but instead a few of us headed up to the top deck to have some interesting conversation and a few more drinks. The sky is beautiful, even in the dark. There are a few clouds, but also amazing purple flashes of lightening in the distance. Now I’m just lying in my cabin bed staring out into the water with a moonlit sky. So lovely.

Day 14 (Sat 10.09.11) – Cat Ba, Cat Ba Island, Vietnam

Our morning started rather grey and miserable on the boat, then during breakfast the storm started.

Beach in Cat Ba

King Crab trying to get out of his tank

The rain was ridiculously heavy, the wind was high and the boat swayed and rocked as we sailed to Cat-Ba Island. The staff seemed calm and happy but a few of us were mildly terrified. Anyway, the storm passed, and all was relatively calm again then we switched to a smaller boat for a 2 hour ride to the island. We did have more rain, but not so scary a storm, and, although we bounced along the sea I didn’t really get seasick. We stayed at the Holiday View Hotel on the island. It was overall okay. The rooms were fine and clean, but the food was terrible. You also didn’t get the choice so you just had to stomach whatever they put in front of you.

Once we were settled we wandered around Cat Ba for a bit then headed to the beach. After a few wrong turns we got there in the end. There were two beaches separate by high rocks – one filled by the people from the island having fun in the sea, and the other a bit quieter. We passed through a wonderful little cave tunnel to the quieter beach and managed to catch the last dying glimpse of the sun. The last for quite a while!

The island was very calm and quiet during the day, but at night-time came it livened up quite a bit. More shops were open, and local families and teenagers relaxed and joked around the main street by the bay. There was quite a lot of live produce in tanks along the main road – the most terrifying were the King Crabs – giant spikey crabs that were fighting deperately against the tanks to get out. Quite fascinating though! We visited the Good Bar, recommended by a guy on our tour, and sat on the balcony, enjoying a few drinks and watching the street below. A little van pulled up and kids jumped out with dragon costumes and started dancing around, a little crowd formed round them then they appeared with a stick with flames on the end – it was quite fun. Unfortunately the rain started again though so the crowd screamed and ran for cover, while the kids all jumped back in the van.

Drinking in the Good Bar, Cat ba Island

The Good Bar was quite fun – the staff were friendly, and there was a lively mix of people. There was a few power cuts, but it didn’t spoil the mood, the candles came out and a back up generator gave us a little bit of extra lighting. We spoke to some more young English guys – lawyers or something again – one was rather obnoxious, but the other friendly enough. The rains started again, and as we had another early start we decided it was time to head back to the hotel. All the street lights were out though, but Sharon’s iPhone torch app came to the rescue and allowed us to navigate the short distance back to the hotel. The rains got heavier and heavier though so we started running and yelping slightly. This may have been the reason some dogs started following us and barking, but we got back to the hotel safe and sound and only slightly damp!

Day 15 (Sun 11.09.11) – Goi, Cat Ba Island, Vietnam

Suoi Goi Resort, Cat Ba Island

Early breakfast then we got on our tour bus to take us to our next location, Suoi Goi resort further up the island. Our journey was rather bumpy and we got slightly worried as the road disappeared into dirt track. We were surrounded by rice fields and water buffalo, but the scenery was lovely. When we arrived at the resort it was beautiful, a little hideaway, set amongst the mountains. Wonderfully surrounded by green, the only problem was the heavy cloud and rain, but we got on with it anyway and enjoyed the relaxing quiet atmosphere, especially as we are the only 3 guests in the whole resort.

Me and Laura helping cook the spring rolls

Our cabin at Suoi Goi in the rain

That morning we had a cooking class where we learned how to make spring rolls – quite fun to do, and very tasty. The amount of food they serve us is slightly crazy here, it all tastes lovely but they just keep bringing out more and more dishes. So after lunch we felt it was time for a nap and also hoped the weather would brighten up in the afternoon. The afternoon came, the sun didn’t, but we still went for an optimistic trip to the private beach. The sea is still lovely and calming to watch, but the wind and rain started again so we headed back to the resort.

Dinner was excellent again, although you feel so guilty at how much they bring and how much you don’t eat. Our tour guide is a nice but slightly strange guy – he wants to improve his English so he joins us to chat throughout the day then we sit with him for a drink after dinner and talk some more, while the family that own the resort sing karaoke upstairs. Definitely very strange being the only guests.

It’s going to be another early start again tomorrow to head back to Hanoi – the storm knocked out our WiFi, so we don’t actually have any accommodation booked for tomorrow night – we’re not too worried though we have some ideas! Now let’s hope we get a good night’s sleep! This may be difficult as we’re now slightly concerned there is a bat in our room. I’m pretty sure there isn’t but Sharon has heard some suspicious queaks and Laura thought she saw something flutter in the rafters. We’ve done a thorough search with a torch into the very high wooden ceilings, so I’m pretty sure there isn’t a bat..but we may leave the light on all night…just in case.

Day 16 (Mon 12.09.11) – Goi, Cat Ba Island to Hanoi, Vietnam

So no bat appeared. The light must’ve scared it off, yes, that’s what it was.

May De Ville Hotel, Hanoi

Rain and heavy cloud filled the sky, so the cruise back to Halong Bay felt more like a ferry crossing than a luxury cruise, then the following 3hr bus ride was bumpy and uncomfortable. We arrived in Hanoi mid evening and checked into a lovely hotel – the May de Ville, Old Quarter. I find it a little hard to get my head round a city when I visit it in the dark so Hanoi still confuses me, but we had a few dinner venues in mind and a map to take us there. They are celebrating the mid autumn moon festival here. This seems to involve hanging star decorations, selling moon cakes, then large amounts of teenagers milling round the lake, then more teenagers riding around in their mopeds, sometimes with balloons. It’s a happy, lively atmosphere and I quite like the mania of it all. We gave up on the restaurants we were searching for and settled on one we found while walking around – Dinner was in the 69 Bar & Restaurant, lovely French colonial building built 100 years ago. Lovely food and nice ambience. After dinner we wandered around a little soaking in the atmosphere, then back to the hotel for sleep.

Day 17 (Tue 13.09.11) – Hanoi, Vietnam

Little eels on the streets of Hanoi

Views from the Avalon Sky Garden

Breakfast is lovely at the hotel – it’s good start to the day. I take a bit of a walk round the city – mainly raround the lake and the centre of the old quarter to get a feel for the place. I like the city much better in the daylight, feels more open and friendly. The people aren’t so pushy and the roads seem calmer. A bit later we all head out to explore further and find an excellent street with all the weird and wonderful food stuff. Large baskets of frogs, buckets of crabs, eels and fish and other things that we don’t really recognise.

We booked tickets to see the water puppetry show, a few people had raved about it so I thought it should be fun. It’s slightly bizarre and comical, with music that was a bit jarring and a few things didn’t appear to go as planned, but it was quite cute and the puppets are kind of fun. You do get a bit of a feel for the story, but you tell it would mostly appeal to kids who understood the lyrics.

A few cocktails next at the Avalon Sky Garden. A nice little bar on the 5th floor. Nice views over the city and excellent banana daiquiris.

Well, our taxi is booked for 6.15am to take us to the airport so time for bed.

Day 18 (Wed 14.09.11) – Bangkok, Thailand

Afternoon tea at the Banyan Tree, Bangkok

Driving around in the taxi you get a much different feel here than Singapore. Bangkok doesn’t have so many impressive tall buildings, but it’s much more dense and you can feel it’s a much larger city. We arrive at the beautiful luxurious Banyan Tree Hotel around mid-day and explore the hotel while they prepared our room. The pool is on the 21st floor on a balcony so it sits outside and the view is pretty good across the city. We also decide to have some afternoon tea – Thai style. It’s really gorgeous and tasty. Lots of sweet treats, dumplings and a few tasty things we couldn’t identify.

Cocktails on the rooftop of the Banyan Tree

It’s been quite a tiring journey so we chill out a bit then get ready to go out. First of all it’s cocktails on the impressive rooftop bar – sitting on the 60th floor. It’s not so high as the New Asia Bar in Singapore, but you feel much higher and you get an amazing 360 degree view of the city. Being in the open air makes the height much more impressive….the cocktails are pretty amazing too.

After drinks we head out in to the city. The lack of mopeds and tooting makes it a much calmer place to be so I definitely feel more relaxed there. It’s very obvious there is high amount of sex tourism in Bangkok. The multitude of offers you get walking about the smaller streets for porn dvds, ping pong shows and “massage” service is a little bizarre, but the touts aren’t too pushy so you can get away quite easily. After some searching we stop for dinner at a little noodle chain – I can’t seem to remember the name of it, but the food was nice. Then it was a few drinks at O’Reilly’s – an Irish bar perfect if you love sports, as there is around 5 different TV’s with different sports playing on each one. Tomorrow we’ll explore Bangkok a bit further.

Day 19 (Thur 15.09.11) – Bangkok, Thailand

Laura enjoying some Eggs Benedict at the Banyan Tree

The breakfast is astounding at the Banyan Tree – it’s the best hotel breakfast I’ve ever seen – smoked salmon, sushi, dimsum, eggs Benedict, noodle and rice dishes, hams, meat, cheeses, cereals, cakes, breads – it all looked so totally amazing. You could have all your meals for the day there. There’s also the most amazing fruit juice – and if you feel like it pour yourself some champagne and make yourself a Mimosa!

After that we head out to take the Sky train out to the ferry and get a ride along the river. The waves are slightly crazy there – probably due to so many boats zooming up it. The water is not that nice and is full of debris, but you get a good view of the city as we speed along. We hadn’t really planned a lot to do, so mainly just explored the temples and look at the giant reclining Buddhas. They are all quite impressive – giant statues and beautiful decorations. We did quite a lot of walking so it was back to the hotel pool for some chilling out before going out later. The weather still isn’t so great, and we get rained on a little but it’s still really warm so we try to stay out for as long as we can until the rain chases us away. This rain is nothing really compared to the rain in Vietnam – just a light shower really.

Muay Thai match in Bangkok

In the evening we had decided to go to see a Muay Thai Boxing match at the Rajadamern Stadium, partially because Laura had done Muay Thai in the past and we’d read a really good article in an in-flight magazine about it, and well, it did sound like something fun and a bit different to do. We had ringside seats, mostly as the hotel would only sell these more expensive seats but did mean we’d be closer to the action. We were quite excited when we get taken in, by a strange lady who met us outside. She seemed to know what she was doing. A match has already started, and the place is still about half empty but it’s still quite buzzing. This is one of the four places in Thailand where you’re allowed to gamble and the bookies and the audience are making lots of different hand gestures to make their bets. It’s quite fun to watch.

Before they start there is a little ceremony from each boxer. They bow down and pray at the corners and in the middle of the ring. Then there is a short dance to a drum beat. The moves are quite simple, but it’s interesting to watch. Once they start the drum beat continues and the boxers bob about to try to mislead their opponent about where and when they will strike – it involves a lot of punches, grappling and kicks – but the kicks are the most impressive and get the most points. There are 10 matches, each match has 5 rounds. The boxers are all quite small – ranging from 105lbs (lighter than me) to 126lbs. The boxers all vary in skill too, so some of them are less action packed – but others are amazing to watch and you totally get sucked into the action. The boxers fly into the side of the ring and others seem like they are going to push each other on the side. The referees are quite strict though and separate the boxers quite often – generally for things like grappling or if the boxers get thrown on the ground. We do see one match where a boxer gets kicked in his ribs quite hard and goes down. The poor guy got taken away on a stretcher and his opponent was declared the winner.

Us with one of the winning Muay Thai boxers

Usually after the 5 rounds different judges score the match and choose a winner. There is also a little ritual where when the boxers finish their coaches decide who to give their garland to. Most often the coaches award the garland to the other boxer, but sometimes they happily concede. I really enjoyed watching the Muay Thao matches. The crowds are loud and the atmosphere is great, making it really easy to get absorbed in the fight. It’s quite elegant, and rarely very aggressive. The boxers generally remain good natured throughout the matches but you can see as the matches go on they get more determined. Once the main matches are over and there’s only a regular boxing match on we head off.

We negotiated with a Tuk Tuk driver to take us to Khaosan Road. This is the backpacker street full of bars, food stalls and music. The Tuk Tuk’s here are slightly different to those in Cambodia, where a little cabin/trailer and is pulled by a moped – but in Bangkok it has all been combined into a little motorised vehicle.

Laura and Sharon eating crickets

Khaosan Road is loud and busy. Full of people from all over the world drinking and laughing. Kids break-dance in the street to try and get money, and touts shout at you to buy stuff as you walk down the road. It’s time for some cheap cocktails, so we order a bucket of Mai Tai to share. It’s a contrast to our luxurious stay in the Banyan Tree, but fun though. It’s quite a happy, cheery place; everyone is friendly, chatty and having a good time. A crazy Danish guy accosts us at our table rambling nonsense, determined to get us to chat to some local Thai guys as he says they have much to learn – but he bounces off soon after to bother the next set of people. It’s a ridiculously early start again tomorrow so we only stay for 2 buckets of cocktails then grab some food on the way back. I’m happy to admit I’m a coward and I utterly refused to eat the crickets. I swear I tried, but every time I lifted it to my mouth I could just see legs and had to put it down. Didn’t stop Laura and Sharon though and they are happy to crunch on a few. Apart from that we got some skewers from the street vendors – prawn fish balls and chicken the smell of the food there is very enticing – and does taste amazing.

Our Tuk Tuk drive back to the hotel is slightly manic! Phew, he drives fast – but we do get back safe and sound.

Day 20 (Fri 16.09.11) – Dubai, U.A.E

We get up early. Very early. Me and Sharon are desperate to have more of that beautiful breakfast, so even though we’ve only had about 3-4 hours sleep we manage to get up in time to eat. The flight to Dubai is pretty quick too – only about 6 hrs, and with the added sleeping it doesn’t feel too long.

Dubai is scorching. When we get there it’s about 37 degrees and the sky is clear blue. Not a cloud in sight. As usual, our taxi drive from the airport gives us a chance to see a bit of the city. The skyline here is quite bizarre coming in to the city. It’s quite open and flat, but then all these amazing pristine towers shoot into the sky, and with the mist in front of them they look almost like shadows.

Heading out for dinner with Sandra in Dubai

Dancing fountain in Dubai

It has a kind of feel of something from a sci-fi movie – especially all the metro stations and train lines that sweep across the city. Every metro station looks the same – this weird capsule shape. It’s also deathly quiet. We’ve arrived on Friday. The holy day when everyone is off, and the heat is keeping everyone inside.

In Dubai we are staying at Laura’s friend Sandra’s apartment. It’s a beautiful building too – on the 31st floor with excellent views of the beach – and there’s a pool. We chat and have a few drinks, then it’s off out to the Left Bank for a lovely dinner. After that we go see the Dancing Fountains. These are excellent, water shoots up and dances across the sky lit up by lovely coloured lights all done to music. They do this every 20 mins, but we only stay for one as we have Sandra’s friend’s party to crash. You pretty much have to drive or get a taxi to everything as it’s all quite spread out – and each bar needs to be part of a hotel to get its license. All the bars also seem to be set in malls, which open 10am to midnight – plenty of time to get your shopping in.

The party is to celebrate a wedding that was in the UK – I don’t meet the hosts but we chat to some of Sandra’s other friends. There is quite a strong ex-pat community. At this point I’m exhausted, so head back to the flat for an early night, while the other guys head off out for more drinks.

Day 21 (Sat 17.09.11) – Dubai, U.A.E

Last day in Dubai

Last day of the holiday! Can’t believe it! I had a good sleep and I’m up early while everyone else is still snoozing, so I catch some early sun on the balcony, then when it vanishes I head down to the pool. Best to sunbathe early, before it gets too crazy hot. It’s a lovely infinity edge pool. Great for cooling you down in between sun bathing. Sandra, Laura and Sharon join me a little later and we all relax, read, sun bathe, swim and chat for a bit. It’s a wonderful calm end to the holiday.

At the point the sun is getting a bit much for me I join Sandra on some messages she has to do, then we return to the flat to meet Sharon and Laura and get ourselves ready for an early dinner out.

Boat ride to the Al Qasr Hotel

Post cocktails with the Burj Al Arab behind us

We head to a different Left Bank restaurant for cocktails and another lovely dinner. It is a chain restaurant, but the atmosphere is warm and the food is good. Next we went to the Al Qasr HotelMadinat Jumeirah for more excellent cocktails and to get a good view of the Burj Al Arab. We cheekily managed to get a free boat ride there – all hotel guests get to go for free, but if you can guess a room number and say it confidently, you’ll be fine!

We mainly sit outside the hotel on the balcony enjoying cocktails. It’s rather quiet, but we are there early. I can’t believe how warm it is in Dubai, even at midnight. Being outside is almost bearable at night, but during the day at that time of year, you really just want to be nice and cool in an air-conditioned bar or restaurant.

I’d never really been interested in going to Dubai, but it was quite a nice place to visit, and the backdrop of it is really impressive. We definitely would have needed to stay a bit longer though to get to know the place better. I think the ex-pat community is what makes it a friendly place though – didn’t once speak to a local – except for maybe at the airport!

We have a few more cocktails – they are very lovely, then early-ish we get a taxi to take us back to the flat. Well, we do have another early flight. Our last one taking us back home back home again!

Home again

Well, that’s the holiday over. I had an amazing time, met some interesting people and had a lot of fun (and cocktails) along the way. I really loved Cambodian and Vietnam. I’ll definitely go back there to see more of it – especially Cambodia as we were only there for 4 days. Was lovely to be back and see all my family and other friends. But y’know, I think I’m ready to go back out again…

It’s an excellent event aimed at supporting women in the digital industry so I’m very honoured to have been asked. It’s my first time speaking in public like this, but I’m looking forward to sharing what I know, and I’m sure it’s going to be an excellent night.

It’s basically a graphics tablet, but it works just by clipping it on to a notepad, then you just sketch away. I’ve found it a real struggle to get my sketches from the notepad onto my screen, so I’d be quite excited to see how good this actually is to use. It does look quite a simple tool, but I won’t be totally convinced until I have a go. Anyway, seems like it costs around £140, which doesn’t sound too bad to me!

Get more more info here- http://inkling.wacom.eu/

But lately I’ve been seeing more of a different kind of note-taking. Visual note taking or sketch notes is a way to create notes using sketches, diagrams and writing. Note taking this way can be really useful to keep the subject alive in your mind, making it much easier to remember and understand. And, well they do say that doodling helps you pay attention.

Some help on doodling: A List Apart – The miseducation of the doodle
A showcase of sketch notes: Sketch Note Army

It’s something I’m definitely going to do in the future!

Well, last night I had a sudden notion to get my hair cut – it’s been needing it for a while. So I went online to see if I could find a hairdresser nearby that was open late on a Monday – unlikely I hear you say!

Anyway – I found this site – I need an appointment. Just choose what type of appointment you want, the location and then the date, then hey presto! A list of salons / spas appear before your eyes. Once you’ve chosen your venue then it’s a simple process to choose your time and book online. I even booked an appointment just half an hour in advance. Rather impressed overall – I think I might use it again.

The bad – All Saints

Before I’ve even forgotten about what I was doing an email pops into my inbox

‘We noticed that you recently left an item or two in your AllSaints shopping bag.’

Seriously? I just left your website, it’s not like I’m going to change my mind in 5 minutes. Give me at least a day to allow for circumstances (or my mood) to change. Anyway I said bad, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. It’s not really a bad email – just a little too prompt. It does have the nice addition that it promises next day delivery if you buy now.

The good – Dell

Dell aren’t very obvious that what they are sending you is an abandoned basket email. They do send a bit many emails for my taste, so along with the deluge of these other offer emails you don’t really notice that this email is different (although after all my visits it does becomes a little obvious). What they do is simple, but rather more convincing. They just offer you £20 off whatever you had in your basket. Here’s a discount code, buy now! Lovely.

1. Colours & gradients

The more colours and gradients you use in the banner the larger the file size will be. Try to reduce the amount you use.

2. Bitmap images

Images can heavily inflate your file size, therefore ensure that the image you import is at the exact size you require it at. The next thing you should look at it optimising the image. This is a balance between how much file size you can get and the quality you need the image at. Use custom quality setting in the image properties to find this balance.

3. Vector illustrations

Complicated line edges will add to the file size. Smooth out any lines as much as you can.

4. Animations

Use as few keyframes as possible to achieve the animation you require. Also try to use motion tweening rather that shape tweening as this will use less data.

5. MovieClips

Ensure that before you try to animate something you have properly created it as a symbol. Flash will automatically create symbols to use if you haven’t, but these aren’t the most efficient. Use as few different symbols as you can – if you need different colours of the same image, try using tinting effects rather than creating a new symbol.

6. Fonts

Every font you use will add a hefty amount file size, so use as few fonts and styles as possible. If you need to embed a font then embed as few characters as you will require.

And if you have any suggestions of your own, feel free to let me know!

There was some guy in a news paper article (sorry, can’t remember which paper, or who it was), complaining about all the rubbish on the internet, and the way forward is to pay for content. Bah humbug to that. I love freedom of speech, I love that anyone can start a blog and say what’s on their mind, and anyone from anywhere can find it and read it. I’d rather I had to trawl through/ignore most of the absolute dross to have access to free information whenever I want it – and yes I know that not all sources are reliable, but I can make the decision myself whether to trust it. It’s not like the news on the television is any more trustworthy.

Anyway, aside from that, I also love the power of the internet…okay, so I know it isn’t going to solve world peace, but it has shown that the general public has a new voice, and a little bit more power than they used to have.

At the start of this year I heard about two instances where large fashion retailers had ripped off some small designers. And I believe, at least in part, thanks to the support of internet users on Twitter and other social networks, and the bad press created, the retailers stopped selling the items (although, perhaps they weren’t as apologetic as they should’ve been).

Lady Luck Rules OK! : Artwork Theft
Made by White – Topshop Rip Off

And now after a lot of criticism of Gap’s new logo they have decided to return to the original: Gap – Logo statement.

Like I said – I love the internet.

As I gained in experience I used the ColourLovers site less and less, but recently I found myself having a new challenge with colour.

I’ve been working on a site that has a strong colour palette of bright greens and blues. The challenge was to redesign the homepage content to make certain components stand out and had two main goals – lead a new customer to the next step of the buying process, and provide a customer call to action area for existing customers.

My first attempts had a few issues with them.

• Strong and dark components in different colours made the page look heavy and hard to read
• Light and soft components didn’t create enough differentiation between components, making the page look fussy
• A variety of lighter and darker components made the page looked busy and complicated

I used different colours and tones to try to get a clean page with clear distinction between components, but kept having the same issues. Eventually, taking a fresh look at it, I realised the following…

I needed to rationalise how I was using the colour

Just considering how these colours should work on the site improved it greatly. Deciding what colours should be consistent through all components and which ones should indicate different types of content made the site visually more cohesive.

I needed to reduce the amount of colours I was using on the page

I reduced the background component colours I was using to 2 strong feature colours, and one neutral light colour. One of the feature colours used had to really stand out, as this was the acquisition piece, but the other also needed a strong stand out on the page. To solve this a unique blue was used on the acquisition component, then a strong green that matched the background colour on the site was used for the secondary component. This allowed me to reduce the colours used, while also creating strong components.

I needed to consider the colour tones

Using a variety of tones of colour on the site also made it look more complicated and harder to scan the components. To deal with this I ensured that I only used two colour tone levels – one strong background colour for the two main sections, then a very light one for secondary components. This helped create a more even page that attracted the customers eye to the right places, without creating too much distraction.

Well, after around 11 versions I am eventually happy with it – let’s hope the client is too!

My capri length jeans

I cut the length of each leg to shin length, then sewed all the way down the sides to create a super skinny fit width. Finally I just rolled up the bottoms to create the right length of leg and to make them look finished.

My shopper bag

In the future I want to create some really nice shopper bags, but for the moment I thought I’d try just putting one together with some black jersey material that I already had.

I cut out a long rectangle, then sewed up a hem and each end. I then sewed up the sides to make the bag. I then sewed diagonally across the fold to create a more rectangular base. After this I cut out some long strips to make the handles. I folded each strip in half, joining them along the length, then sewed them securely as handles. It’s quite roughly put together and won’t hold anything heavy – but it’s given me a good idea of how to construct a shopper bag better.

Anyway…

If you’re lucky I might manage to get some pictures up, and I still intend to try out a few more things. However, for now I’m going to stick to knitting and try to get my jumper finished.