Dan's Adventure

After 2 weeks in Cambodia, relaxing at Si Phan Don (meaning four thousand islands) sounds like the ideal introduction to Laos. On Don Dhet lazing in a hammock seems to be a popular choice, but if that proves to be too strenuous theres always the option to go cycling, kayaking or to seek out the Irrawaddy Dolphins. From here I will be heading north, first to the captial, Vientiane, then on to Vang Vieng.

Vang Vieng is a bit of a backpackers hub where the main theme is to have fun. …

Travelling by train is incredibly popular in India and as a result trains are often fully booked weeks before their departure. For long distance journeys, tickets go on sale 90 days in advance and can be booked online through the IRCTC. Most trains in India have a tourist quota which only foreigners can book, but these tickets can only be booked at stations and are very limited. Not every train has a tourist quota and even if they do it may only be a couple of tickets. Its therefore not …

As mentioned in my previous post, Itinerary for Vietnam, I plan to leave Vietnam by boat from Chau Doc and travel up the river to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. When the boat reaches the border everyone needs to get off to go through immigration. Cambodia issues visas on arrival at its border crossings so I won’t need to worry about getting one in advance. The tourist visa currently costs $20USD but its apparently normal for the border officials to demand more.

When thinking of Cambodia, I can’t help but think of Holiday …

It seemed like a great idea to get as many vaccinations as possible at the same time as its a hassle getting to and from the hospital, its a 5 hour round trip if I get public transport. On Wednesday I made the journey on the bus to Monklands Hospital and got vaccinations for Rabies, Jap B, Hepatitis B, Menangitis and Cholera in the form of 4 injections and 1 oral vaccination. Yesterday I got another 2 injections for Tetanus, Diptheria and Polio combined and Hepatitis A and Typhoid combined. …

Since I am going to be spending almost 3 months in a predominantly Spanish speaking continent I think it may be a good idea to learn a bit of Spanish before I go. My time in South America is the longest I will be spending anywhere that the same language is spoken throughout. I will be in Asia for longer, but each country that I will visiting there speaks a different language so I will need to hope I can get by with a few phrases and the Vegan Passport. …

Following China I will be travelling south to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malayasia and Singapore. All over land using buses, trains, boats, and whatever other forms of transport are available. In Vietnam I will mainly be travelling by bus and train but to get to Cambodia I’ll be taking a boat along the river from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh.

From China I am planning to enter Vietnam in the north at the Hekou/Lao Cai border which I will get to with a bus from Kunming. My first port of call …

A trip of this nature needs to have a lot of variety to keep it interesting and to prevent burning out. It would be very easy to just go from one place to the next, seeing all the famous sights, but thats not for me. I think that would become very repetitive and would feel like I was doing little more than ticking things off a list. I want something more from this trip. I want to learn about the culture and history of the countries I visit, meet the …

A tourist visa for China is only valid for three months. If I get one before I leave the UK, it will almost have expired by the time I reach China. I therefore need to obtain one in Hong Kong. I’ll have a day or three around Hong Kong whilst waiting for the visa to be processed so I’ll have the chance to see the sunset over the city from Victoria Peak and to see the harbour light show.
Due to entering and leaving in the south (I will be going …