Mark and Pip, sharing stories and hopefully raising smiles
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- Hong Kong
And all of a sudden we landed in Hong Kong, which after the previous countries seemed very sophisticated and opulent. More importantly we got to spend a week with one… Read more: Hong Kong - Vietnam – Hanoi part 2
Back to Hanoi for the second time we decided to do some of the usual tourist things but there was a downpour on our first afternoon so we settled down… Read more: Vietnam – Hanoi part 2 - People & culture – travellers 2026 vs 1994
Back when the world was a less well known place to most of us, you had to choose to read about a place or country, or watch a documentary, to… Read more: People & culture – travellers 2026 vs 1994 - Vietnam – Hanoi and Ha Long Bay (all praise the holy eels)
Hanoi instantly felt a little older and less westernised than Ho Chi Minh although in the Old Quarter there were lots of tourists milling around. As we went for a… Read more: Vietnam – Hanoi and Ha Long Bay (all praise the holy eels) - Vietnam – Nha Trang, Hoi An and Da Nang
We flew into Nha Trang, a massive fully developed beach resort that I had never heard of before this trip, and realised two things very quickly: It is a haven… Read more: Vietnam – Nha Trang, Hoi An and Da Nang - Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh
Landing in Ho Chi Minh and taking a Grab from the airport it initially looked a lot like some of the other cities but we quickly realised there are way… Read more: Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh - Last minute booking – help or hindrance?
As I mentioned at the start of this blog, we started our journey with only a flight to Bangkok and four nights accommodation booked. Other than that, we had a… Read more: Last minute booking – help or hindrance? - Indonesia – Bali part 2 (Seminyak and Balidorm)
Once again we booked our accomodation in Bali after checking our baggage in at Flores airport, about 2.5 hours before we would walk through the front door. Pip’s toe was… Read more: Indonesia – Bali part 2 (Seminyak and Balidorm) - Indonesia – THE boat trip, Komodo & Flores
Instead of flying to Flores and doing a day trip to Komodo Island we decided to do a 4 day/3 night boat trip that took in other places too. I… Read more: Indonesia – THE boat trip, Komodo & Flores - Indonesia, Gili Islands and Lombok (turtles, temples and holy eels?)
From Nusa Dua on Bali we headed to Sanur for the fast boat to the Gili islands, a small group of tropical islands just off the coast of Lombok, comprising… Read more: Indonesia, Gili Islands and Lombok (turtles, temples and holy eels?) - Interest, smiles & kindness
We know that we are lucky to live in the UK as it allows us the opportunity to travel due to the relative wealth of the country compared to others.… Read more: Interest, smiles & kindness - Indonesia, Bali – 1994
When I landed in Bali in 1994 it was all a bit unexpected as we had arrived in Singapore by bus from Thailand at about 4am. After sitting around for… Read more: Indonesia, Bali – 1994 - Indonesia, Bali part 1 (Nusa Dua)
We arrived in Bali on a flight from Jakarta and headed for Nusa Dua where we stayed for four nights. Once again we had found a small place with maybe… Read more: Indonesia, Bali part 1 (Nusa Dua) - Indonesia – Jakarta
Jakarta is a huge city with all levels of wealth and poverty living next door to each other it seems. From the global high end fashion and beauty brands in… Read more: Indonesia – Jakarta - People & culture – driving, potholes & walking
The main differences on the roads between South East Asia and the UK are the huge number of scooters and motorbikes and the fact that the time of the day… Read more: People & culture – driving, potholes & walking - Indonesia – Dumai and Pekanbaru
Landing in Dumai from Malacca we checked in (to the best hotel in town we were later told, not bad for £15 a night including breakfast) and went for a… Read more: Indonesia – Dumai and Pekanbaru - People & culture – taking photos in 2026
I am of the age where photographs were taken with a stand alone camera and you had to be selective as you only had 24 or 36 shots on a… Read more: People & culture – taking photos in 2026 - Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur and Malacca
We flew into Kuala Lumpur and suddenly were back in a shiny corporate landscape although as ever, often sat alongside areas of old buildings and poverty. When we left the… Read more: Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur and Malacca - Malaysia – Langkawi and Georgetown
We arrived in Langkawi on the ferry from Kuala Perdis and endured the normal mad congestion outside the port trying to get a Grab before getting to our accomodation in… Read more: Malaysia – Langkawi and Georgetown - Thailand – summary
A fabulous four weeks with a mixture of cities, beaches, islands and stunning views. Although we were there in low season, meaning accomodation was great value, the weather was fantastic.… Read more: Thailand – summary - Thailand, Koh Lipe, Hat Yin and Kuala Perlis
This part of the adventure starts with a one hour speedboat journey where we are sure the driver was on commission based on a combination of the screams he could… Read more: Thailand, Koh Lipe, Hat Yin and Kuala Perlis - Thailand, Krabi, Kao Sok and Ao Nang
From Koh Phi Phi we went to Krabi Town where to my delight we stayed in the Chill Chill Hotel which was only £13 per night but Pip was happy… Read more: Thailand, Krabi, Kao Sok and Ao Nang - Thailand, Koh Phi Phi – changes
The view of Koh Phi Phi as you approach on the ferry is just as spectacular as it has ever been with the imposing limestone cliffs eventually giving way to the… Read more: Thailand, Koh Phi Phi – changes - Thailand, Koh Phi Phi
Approaching these islands by boat is something everyone should experience. Seeing the limestone cliffs rising out of the water coupled with the various beaches and array of long-tail boats is… Read more: Thailand, Koh Phi Phi - Thailand, Phuket – changes and a scam test
Back in 1994 when I first visited Phuket we found ourselves in Phuket Town in a bar with a local band playing a range of songs including House of the… Read more: Thailand, Phuket – changes and a scam test - Thailand, Phuket – Patong, Kata Beach
We flew into Phuket and headed to Patong as Mark wanted to see how it had changed since his last visit in 2008. It was only in the Grab on… Read more: Thailand, Phuket – Patong, Kata Beach - Thailand, Bangkok – changes and scam lessons
The journey from the airport highlighted how much Bangkok has grown since I was first here 32 years ago, the amount of cranes and building going on is huge. The… Read more: Thailand, Bangkok – changes and scam lessons - Thailand, Bangkok
No matter how many times you see Bangkok in films, documentaries or video clips it is still a shock to the system when you arrive, from the noise, volume of… Read more: Thailand, Bangkok - Mark – an intro
I went backpacking around South East Asia and Australia for 10 months with a good friend in 1994/95, (hi Chris), so I am keen to see how places have changed… Read more: Mark – an intro - Pip – an intro
Firstly, I must start by saying that I’m very much a risk adverse person and so when we first starting discussing a 6 month career break and travelling there was… Read more: Pip – an intro - Grabbing an unexpected opportunity
Most life is in our own control yet we are often so busy with work, hobbies, holidays, family and friends, that time passes before you know it, sometimes without making… Read more: Grabbing an unexpected opportunity
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