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Photo blog – Temples of Angkor

Gareth — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:56:27 +0000

Visiting Cambodia and the Temples of Angkor have always been high on the list of places to visit and see during my travels. Ever since seeing pictures of some of the temples a few years ago I’ve been fascinated in the sheer scale of them ever since. We had already been on the road for more than 4 months by the time we made it as far as Cambodia. In this time we had seen more of our fair share of Buddhas, Wots and other sacred temples, mainly throughout Northern Thailand. ...

Best toilet in the world

Gareth — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 10:55:37 +0000

I’ve seen my fair share of horrific toilets during my travels around Southeast Asia but was pleasantly surprised when I had to answer the call of nature on the Slow Boat from Vietnam into Cambodia. As I stepped into the toilet I soon realised that this could quite possibly be the best toilet in the world. Its certainly a toilet with the best views I’ve ever seen before. The experience was too good not to share so I grabbed my camera and recorded the toilets-eye-view so you ...

Bus Travel in Asia – Top Tips

Gareth — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:32:08 +0000

South East Asia is a big place but it’s incredibly easy to get from A to B using any number of ways – Flying, Buses, Jeeps, Taxi-shares, organised tours…the list goes on. Anyone who has travelled in the region before will know that taking a bus is usually one of the most cost-effective options. However the quality of the bus service varies vastly from country to country, this is something we have learned with each bus we stepped on. With this in minds I thought I would write a few ...

Photo of the Week: Sunset on the Mekong River

Gareth — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:21:30 +0000

There are some moments on a trip like this that money can’t buy and this was one of them. We had just had an unforgettable 2 days on the slow boat down through Laos, from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang, and were arriving as the sun was setting over the Mekong River. The picture above was taken as the boat quietly chugged along the in the last few moments of daylight. Needless to say – if you have read our previous post about the journey – we were all feeling ...

Stalking is the key….

Donna — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:16:05 +0000

….to getting a job in Saigon. No, I’ve not gone all Glenn Close on the Vietnamese employers but believe me, a bit of assertion and dedication is needed to get a teaching english job in this town. Before we started looking for an actual job, we were told A) “It’s really easy to get a teaching job in S.E Asia” B) “You don’t really even need a TEFL qualification I’ve only a degree and I’m getting paid $20 an hour” C) “It took me a week to find a job and I wasn’t really looking” My ...

Kung Foo Fighter

Gareth — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:00:26 +0000

Following on from our previous Photo of the Week of the talent show winner in Chiang Mai I thought I would post a video from the event. The video below is off one of the contestants at the talent show. A you can see, this kid just oozed enthusiasm and talent. Quite why he didn’t win is beyond me. Check it out and decide for yourself.

Photo of the Week- Mekong Delta

Donna — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:00:29 +0000

This little boy showed the adults how to do it on the Mekong Delta tour. When presented with a Burmese Python, this groovy dude jumped at the chance to have a go holding it. As you can see from everyone’s reaction in the background, everyone was delighted to see him having so much fun with the snake. He also deserves his prime place as Photo of the Week on Borebags purely for wearing those trousers. He is a real dude!

Cruising through Halong Bay

Gareth — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:00:53 +0000

Halong Bay was high on the list of priorities on my “must see” list of things to see in Vietnam. Believe it or not, the main reason for this was down to the Top Gear Vietnam special. If you haven’t seen it yet, you really should look it up. It shows the beauty of Vietnam perfectly, alongside the usual larking about from Clarkson, Hammond and Captain Slow. Halong Bay is one of the most iconic places to visit in Northern Vietnam. You can’t visit Hanoi (or northern Vietnam) and not do ...

Crossing the road in Hanoi

Gareth — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:11:00 +0000

Crossing the road might seem like a simple task to many who haven't experienced the traffic in Vietnam. "How difficult can it be?" some may ask. Surely the simple rules "Stop, Look & Listen" can be applied to any road crossing in the world. Myself and Donna soon found out that this is not true, especially in Hanoi. If you apply this rule in Vietnam you would be waiting a lifetime to cross the road. As you can see in the video above, Donna demonstrates that crossing the road in Vietnam ...

Say it like the Vietnamese…

Donna — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:43:36 +0000

I’ve been meaning to write this blog for weeks now. Four weeks and 3 days to be precise. I loved lots of things about Vietnam but I have to say the best thing about the country is the people. And my favourite thing about the people is the sayings they come off with… Here’s a selection of phrases that I know are in every beach seller, shop keeper or motorbike driver’s guide to the English language. “Buy something……….” – can usually be followed with “now” if you happen to meet a bossy-boots seller. Ïf ...