25 Things To Do Before You Die...

- Ride the Maid of the Mist, Niagara Falls, Canada
- Marvel at downtown Manhattan from the Empire State Building, New York, USA
- Trek in the Canadian Rockies, Canada
- Tandem cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA
- Stay up all night in the casinos, Las Vegas, USA
- Visit the spectacular Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
- Sail the Floating Islands and overnight on Isla Amantani, Lake Titicaca, Peru
- Complete a four day trek to the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu, Peru
- Stare in wonder at the Iguassu Falls, Argentina/Brazil
- Sing with the locals at a Boca Juniors football match, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Sample the amazing bife de lomo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Cycle the Ruta de Siete Lagos, Northern Patagonia, Argentina
- Make an overnight stop in a mountain refugio, Bariloche, Argentina
- Jump from a plane at 15,000 feet, Lake Taupo, New Zealand
- Climb the volcanic Mount Tongariro, Tongariro National Park, New Zealand
- Don crampons and trek up a glacier, Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
- Kayak through the tranquil waters of Doubtful Sound, New Zealand
- Drive the 243km of the Great Ocean Road, Australia
- Surf and swim with dolphins, Noosa Heads, Australia
- Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
- Qualify as an advanced open water diver, Perhentian Islands, Malaysia
- Ride on the back of an elephant, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Spend a night in a traditional Hmong village, Luang Prabang, Laos
- Sail a junk ship through the limestone karsts of Halong Bay, Vietnam
- Explore the ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat, Cambodia

NOT A BAD YEAR THEN!

Bangkok

The journey to Bangkok from Siem Reap was the last and one of the worst bus trips of the year! However, we had booked a really nice guest house and were soon clean, well fed, and relaxed.

We spent five days in Bangkok in all, and tried to keep ourselves busy with comforts such as great Thai food, luxury shopping, Thai massages, and trips to the cinema! By this stage of our trip (the last five days of 365) we weren't too interested in any more sightseeing, such as visits to palaces or temples!

We are now really looking forward to coming home and seeing all of our friends and family... just one more twelve hour flight and we will be home!

Siem Reap & Angkor Wat

On our journey from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh we travelled through lots of interesting small villages and lush countryside, a nice distraction on yet another six hour bus ride. We were feeling pretty exhausted from a hectic last week, so we decided on an early night and a long lie in the next morning.

After a reasonably lazy start to our first day in Siem Reap (sleeping and eating), we organised for a tuk-tuk driver to take us to Bakheng Hill so that we could watch the sunset over Angkor Wat. Unfortunately, a heavy rainstorm denied us of a good sunset, but the lack of crowds did ensure that we got a peaceful first glimpse of Angkor Wat. We were both looking forward to fully exploring the temples the next day.

It was a 4am wake up call the next day in order to make it to Angkor Wat in time for sunrise. Bleary eyed and a little groggy, we stumbled through the temple grounds in the dark and ordered a coffee and a chair in prime position for the famous sunrise. Unfortunately the sunrise didn't quite deliver, but we still managed to shoot over fifty pictures - see above for the pick of the bunch.

At around 7am we began to explore inside the huge temple itself. It was at this point that we realised just how incredible this place was - it is definitely up there with Machu Picchu, Iguassu Falls, and the Grand Canyon! It took us over two hours to have a good look around the grounds and marvel at the incredible architecture and detailed carvings. It is amazing to think that this place was built in the early 12th century!

After a much needed breakfast it was time to move on to Bayon Temple, which is situated just inside the ancient city walls of Angkor Thom. We both really liked this temple; it has over 200 massive faces sculpted into it's towers (see above).

It was a day of many temples, which also included Chao Say, Thommanon, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei, and Srah Srang. Of these smaller temples the overgrown jungle temple of Ta Prohm was our favourite. There were many huge trees and roots entangled within the ruins - it was really spectacular and quite different from the other temples!

It was only midday when we arrived back to our hotel in Siem Reap, but after eight hours at the temples it was definitely time to go back to bed! Overall, we had had a great day at the temples, which lived up to our high expectations and will certainly feature in our 'top five of the year'!

We had one more day in Siem Reap so we took the opportunity to relax, visit the night market, and go for some good food. Next stop...Bangkok - our final stop of the year!

Phnom Penh

Two more bus journeys left! Another really long bus journey and a relatively successful border crossing brought us into the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. This was to be a short stop before making our way north to Siem Reap, but we wanted at least a day to sample the notoriously good food and see the sights.

On our first evening we had our first of two brilliant meals in Phnom Penh. We ate at Friends, a charity restaurant run by former street kids. The food was served tapas style, but was Asian in nature and included curry, sti-fry, meat balls, sweet potato chips, and rice - it was so good we were forced into having one of their brilliant desserts too!

On our one and only day in Phnom Penh we decided to learn a bit more about the communist Pol Pot regime and the Cambodian Genocide of the late 70's. We hired a tuk tuk driver for the day and set out for S-21, the Genocide Museum. Visiting the former prison wasn't a very nice experience, but the museum was excellent in it's ability to explain the atrocities that happened, right down to the horrific gory details.

Visiting the Choeung Ek Killing Fields (where over 17,000 people were executed) was even harder to stomach. It was quite an upsetting experience, but we were glad that we visited and were able to learn so much about these devastating events that took place only thirty years ago.

Back in Phnom Penh we ended our brief stop with another great meal. Next stop...Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor!

Mekong Delta

It was a four hour bus journey from Ho Chi Minh City to My Tho, where we boarded a boat and began our tour of the Mekong Delta. A few facts about the Mekong River; it is 4,350km in length, it's the 10th longest river in the world, and it flows through six countries including China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where it meets the South China Sea.

After changing to a smaller boat and rafting through the mangroves, we stopped at a coconut candy mill where we learnt how the locals made the delicious sweets. We then had the chance to sample a fresh batch of coconut and peanut candy. We couldn't help but buy some - it was seriously good stuff!

After lunch we made another stop at a different island, where we enjoyed some exotic local fruits whilst listening to the (terrible) performance of traditional Mekong music - think cats in a sack! Our next stop was for a lovely cup of honey tea at a bee farm, where we also had the opportunity to taste some of the local spirits and bar snacks - the lotus seeds were our favourite!

We then made our way back to My Tho before boarding the bus to Can Tho, where we would be staying overnight. The following day we were up at 6am in order to be on the river and get to the famous floating markets whilst they were still in full flow. We still probably arrived a little late. However, it was still quite a sight to see so many different goods all being traded boat to boat.

We thought we should contribute so we bought a 'donut' from the lady pictured below.

After visiting two floating markets, we made a brief stop at the house of a family who are famous in the area for their excellent vermicelli noodles made from rice. We then turned around and made the very long journey back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Overall, we had a great experience and gained a real insight into the way of life in the Mekong Delta. Next stop Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and another early morning!

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City late afternoon after an eight hour bus journey from Dalat. As with Hanoi, the first thing that you notice is the sheer amount of motorbikes on the roads - it's absolutely crazy and has to be seen to be believed!

On our first full day we planned a route that included all the major points of interest, and set out to explore the city on foot. The most notable stop was the War Remnants Museum. We spent a couple of hours here and received a lot of information about the Vietnam War; we would highly recommend it, although it is certainly not for the faint hearted. It was in fact totally horrific, especially the information and images regarding the victims of Agent Orange.

We continued our history lesson on our second day in Ho Chi Minh City with a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels; a network of underground tunnels built and used by the guerrilla soldiers of the Viet Cong. The tour itself was a little disappointing (too touristy), but the tunnels themselves and the first hand information from a war veteran was quite insightful.

We were up nice and early the following day to begin a 2D/1N Mekong Delta tour...

Dalat - Moped Madness

On our last day in Dalat we hired a moped and headed out to explore the countryside. It was another 'cold day' so we donned our jumpers (first time in 8 weeks!), and built up the courage to join the mayhem on the Vietnamese roads. The city traffic was very daunting but thankfully it was Joe who was driving - Jen wouldn't have been much use as she had her eyes closed and fingers crossed!

Once out of the city we headed north through the Lat minority villages to Lang Bian Mountain. Unfortunately it was a bit foggy, but we still got great views of the surrounding forest and terraced farmland. After enjoying a quick drink as we took shelter from a rain shower, we headed south to an impressive pagoda perched spectacularly above Tuyen Lam Lake. We enjoyed the views over the lake as we walked through the impressive grounds of the pagoda.

After a quick bite to eat we headed down to the shores of the lake for a closer look and to take a few photos. Having been out on the bike for the majority of the day, we decided to make our way back to the Hotel. En-route we stopped at the impressive old train station and also circled Xuan Huong Lake, the central point of the city.

We were pleased to make it back to the hotel in one piece, so decided to celebrate with a luxurious three course meal! We enjoyed one of the best meals we have had in Vietnam, along with beers and coffee - all for the outrageous price of seven pounds!

This was a great end to a good few days in Dalat... next stop Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Dalat - Canyoning

The relatively short journey from Nha Trang was one of our better journeys in Vietnam, and so we arrived in the mountainous city of Dalat at around 2pm. The first thing we noticed was the weather, a 'chilly' 25 degrees - how are we going to cope in England?!

In the afternoon we explored the small city and also booked to go canyoning the following day. That evening we had a really nice meal, a few beers and an early night.

We were picked up at 8.30am and made the short journey to the start of the canyoning. Over the course of the next seven hours, and after being kitted out with helmet, harness and life jacket, we faced several different and exciting challenges as we made our way through the canyon. Firstly, we abseiled down two dry cliffs of approximately 20m. We then trekked through the canyon until we reached a natural water slide, which looked uncomfortably dangerous. However, after watching our guide go down backwards without a helmet, we convinced ourselves that it couldn't do any harm to give it a go. It was great fun and we tried loads of different variations, including backwards and a train (see video end of post)!

Next up was the biggest challenge of the day; abseiling down a 25m high waterfall into a plunge pool. The rock was really slippery so every step had to be carefully placed to avoid a nasty fall. The task was made even more difficult by the fact that the water was gushing onto our legs and into our eyes. As we reached the bottom of the cliff we took a large jump as the rope ran out and we fell backwards into the plunge pool.

By now our adrenaline was pumping, and after a short lunch break we moved on to our last two activities of the day. First up was a 7m free jump, before abseiling into the 'washing machine'. The free jump tested Jen's nerves but she plucked up the courage and followed Joe off the cliff and into the water. The 'washing machine' was a great way to end a brilliant trip through the canyon. It involved abseiling straight underneath a huge waterfall, which spun you around and smashed straight onto your head - by the end you didn't know which way was up or where to go next!

Overall, we had a great time and it was certainly one of the highlights of Vietnam so far.

Nha Trang

We were pleased to arrive in one piece when we turned up in Nha Trang after a night bus from Hoi An. Again, we didn't get much sleep - it might have something to do with the neon lights inside the bus, the terrible air conditioning, and the absolutely crazy driving!

At least we had a nice hotel to relax in and catch up on some much needed sleep. Hence, on our first day we were pretty lazy and only ventured out for a glimpse of the beach and some good food.

We had a brilliant time on our second day in Nha Trang. The day before we had booked to go out scuba diving, and it certainly didn't disappoint! We were up early and on the boat to the dive site for 7:30am. We did two fun dives at two different sites during the day; the sites were really interesting and we were able to see a lot of new underwater sea life that we hadn't seen before, such as nudibranches, bumphead parrotfish, and a red seahorse!

We came to Nha Trang for the diving, and so once we had had our fix we were ready to move on to the adventure capital of Vietnam...Dalat!

Hoi An

Four foot beds and a six foot four inch Joe do not mix very well, hence we didn't get much sleep on our overnight 'soft-sleeper' from Hanoi to Hoi An! Luckily, we had booked a nice hotel to stay in for three nights, and we were soon showered, rested, and under the air-conditioning!

Over the next three days we had a great time which included many visits to the tailor, a day cycling to the beach, and lots of ice cream and 'fresh beer'!

We used a highly recommended tailor and got loads of great clothes made-to-measure. Joe got a lovely suit, four shirts, a tie, casual trousers, and a smart jacket. Jen (who struggles to pick a sandwich from a menu) finally decided on a smart jacket and two pairs of casual trousers. The process involved lots of fitting and re-fitting, but it was amazing how quickly the clothes were made and how great they feel when they fit you perfectly. We were both really pleased with the outcome and the whole experience was a lot of fun!

After the craziness of Hanoi we found the quaint streets of Hoi An very relaxing and a lot less intrusive. However, despite there being far fewer mopeds, Joe did manage to get run over by one! The guy was going far too fast down a pedestrianised street, swerved to avoid a bicycle, and ended up hitting Joe before flying in the air and lying in a heap, petrol leaking everywhere. The driver came off far worse, and Joe was only bruised and shaken up a bit. Looking back, it was quite funny and certainly not surprising!

When we weren't at the tailors or being hit by mopeds we manged to hire a couple of bikes for the day (50p each!), get out of town, and cycle to the beach. We had a brilliant time relaxing in the shade of the palm trees on the beach and cycling through some lovely countryside. Not sure about the granny basket on the front though!

The final factor that has cemented Hoi An as a favourite in our eyes was the unbelievably good home-made ice-cream (three nights in a row) and the cheapest beer to date. It was so cheap we though it would be rude not to drink two quid's worth - so that's 16 beers and an interesting bike ride home!

Next stop...Nha Trang and another dreaded bus journey...