Now that we’ve safely returned to good ol’ Blighty (quite a culture shock already), we thought we’d share some of the stranger things we managed to snap on our way around South America, Australia and South East Asia. Look closely…                      

Modern Cambodia is a story of the sublime and the ridiculously difficult. Corruption, poverty, extreme begging and, in the living memory of many, the horrific recent past under the Khmer Rouge mixes with a gentle and proud culture, harbouring a more distant and glorious history when the Khmer Empire were “the Romans of Asia” an their capital was the unparalleled […]

Shortly after setting off from the Elephant Village our minivan driver stopped in the middle of the dirt track that was the road, wound down his window and, without pause for thought, proceeded to throw a large amount of plastic shrink wrap out of the window and out into the forest. We and other westerners in the van squirmed with […]

There are some people and places that you just cannot rush. Sometimes this is because the terrain, weather or lack of infrastructure is preventative; sometimes it’s because the people just like to take things slowly; more often than not it’s a combination of the two. Laos is a prime example of a slow-moving people in a sometimes tricky environment, trying […]

We’d been warned, but the weather was a bit of a suprise, to be honest. From the warm stickiness of Saigon and the Mekong Delta, arriving in Hanoi in Northern Vietnam was a little like arriving to a late Autumn in the UK. Cold and incredibly damp (98% humidity), fleeces, hats and the occasional shiver were the order of the […]

For the last week, Saigon has been filling with flowers. As the numbers of Westerners diminish and the hotels and restaurants become crowded with revisiting expat Vietnamese and those taking an early holiday, the signs have been abound that the Vietnamese Lunar New Year festival of Tet is almost here. In the large central park in District 1, orchids and […]

Never ones to over sell things, ‘amazing’ is a word we try not to use too casually. However, our time in Saigon has truly been ‘amazing’, thanks to our new friends from Allambie Orphanage It seems a bit strange calling it an orphanage because it feels more like a family home. In fact, that’s exactly what it is, thanks to […]

Let’s get one thing straight: the Vietnam War was not very funny. Not at all. So it was a little surprising to find the tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels to be so bereft of gravitas. The tunnel system became enormous from the 1950s through to the 1970s, stretching for an estimated 250km. The protection, camouflage and communication and storage […]

From the generally relaxing stay at the villa in Canggu to the hustle and bustle of Kuta and Seminak, and through the culinary delights and lovely snorkelling of Candidasa, we are finishing our Bali experience with our family and friends in Ubud. Our homestay (effectively a Balian bed and breakfast) is beautiful, being a large traditional family home set around […]

Bali has been a quiet time for us, but you can’t come here without testing out it’s legendary surf. Unfortunately for us, matching the amazing wave carvers and tricksters we’ve seen on the local beaches means starting surfing at about the age of nine. Two lessons wasn’t going to quite cut it. We did plenty of standing up though, largely […]