Crossing the border from Namibia into Botswana was relatively straightforward – unlike most of the countries I’m visiting on this trip, I don’t need a visa.
We had quite a long driving day on a fairly terrible road to the town of Maun which is a gateway town for the Okavango Delta.
An early start the next morning for a scenic flight over the delta which was very picturesque, even if it was quite difficult to spot the animals!
In the late morning we then set off into the delta in an open 4×4 down a long, dusty and bumpy dirt road. After a couple of hours, our driver slowed down a bit as he had spotted lion footprints in the sand on the road. And then just a little further up, we saw 2 lions feasting on a very dead giraffe. At once both the most incredible and gruesome sight I’ve seen.
It felt like it was staring right into my soul
We continued into the delta and after a short game drive we arrived at our tented accommodation for the next 2 nights. I am not much of a camper but I could get on board with these tents, very roomy with actual beds and en suite facilities consisting of a chemical toilet and a bucket shower.
After a delicious dinner and warming up around the campfire (I have misjudged the evening and night time temperatures – it is cold!!) it was an early night before a 5.30am wake up call for a full day of activities the following day. We all got bush babies (hot water bottles) to take to bed which were definitely needed!!
We had a morning game drive the next day, lots of elephants, giraffes, impalas, zebras, and fluffy and colourful birds. We also had 2 flat tyres in the space of 10 minutes which was quite exciting considering you’re not meant to get out of the vehicle when on game drives!! Thankfully no animals nearby and our driver was very adept at changing the tyre.
After lunch and a short rest back at the camp, we embarked on a mokoro trip along the waterways. Mokoros are traditional canoes which were carved out of wood, though the ones we used were made from fibreglass. They are propelled by one guy with a long pole, almost like gondolas. It was a supremely peaceful way to spend a couple of hours, meandering up and down the river, watching the flies and insects darting in and out of the water, a few hippos and the occasional bird in a distant tree.
On the way back we saw an awesome sunset, with all the trees silhouetted against the orangey pink sky, just stunning.
Dinner that evening followed by another bush baby. I’d also doubled up on the duvet and blankets and was, frankly, a bit too warm that night!!
Another early start the next day to drive the 5 hours back to Maun to be reunited with our overland truck before continuing on for another nearly 7 hours to our next lodge near Nata. Such a long day. This lodge was called Elephant Sands and had a watering hole. As we were eating dinner in the evening, an elephant came for a drink which was so cool to see.
Back on the road early the next morning as we headed to our last stop on this brief visit to Botswana, in Chobe. This was a relatively short driving day and we were at our accommodation in Kasane by lunchtime.
In the afternoon we enjoyed a river cruise where we saw lots of elephants walking and bathing along the river, a few crocodiles and hippos. This was the first time I’d seen the hippos out of the water. Lots more bird life and we also caught an awesome sunset before returning to shore.
This was such a brief visit to Botswana, only 5 nights in total but so much great wildlife viewing, and some incredible sunsets.
Next up, an overnight in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe before onwards to Zambia.
We left a misty and foggy Swakopmund after breakfast and drove up the coast. Not that we could see anything… We did stop at a shipwreck which this stretch of coastline in notorious for. The ship was wrecked in 2008 and is still bobbing away just off the shore.
We then turned inland and arrived at our next accommodation at Daureb Isib in time for lunch. This accommodation is very near to the Brandberg mountain and in the afternoon we drove to the mountain and had a 3 mile round hike along the riverbed to see some cave paintings, the most famous of which is the White Lady. It’s really incredible to think of the age of these paintings. They reminded me of some similar ones I saw in Matobo in Zimbabwe.
Brandberg mountainThe White Lady in the centre
After dinner that evening, I attempted some night sky photography but we’re approaching a full moon so it wasn’t super-successful…
A 9am departure (such a luxury on this trip, it’s often been pre 8am and earlier), for a bit of a drive day to our next stop just outside of Etosha National Park.
We made a couple of stops along the way, and I bought a small local artwork to go with my increasing collection of local paintings from my travels. The bonus is that flat things are easy to carry!
We arrived at some very nice lodges about 20 minutes from Etosha in the late afternoon. I’ve generally been impressed with the quality of accommodation on this trip. In southern Namibia we stayed in a couple of basic motels in places where there wasn’t much going on but, in the Namib desert, the previous night at Brandberg mountain and at Etosha, they have been quirky and interesting and very comfortable. More upgraded than G Adventures or Intrepid in my experience.
We had a full day game drive in Etosha National Park the next day. The park opens at sunrise (about 7.30am) so we were up early and ready to go.
We stopped at a couple of watering holes to start with which had quite a few animals getting their morning drinks before heading out for a day in the bush and savannah.
Springboks seemed to be the most abundant animals in the morning but there were also plenty of zebras and a few giraffes.
The highlight of the morning was a black rhino having a drink and finding some food in a muddy patch. I’ve been fortunate to see a lot of different animals on my previous trip to South Africa and Zimbabwe but this was my first black rhino which was really cool to see.
We carried on deeper into the park, to the salt pans which are currently dry. Not much wildlife to be spotted there. After lunch at the Halali rest stop we headed back the way we’d driven in the morning.
It seemed like there were much fewer animals about at this time, perhaps from the heat of the sun. We stopped at another watering hole for a while, there were giraffes, zebras, kudus, impalas and springbok all waiting their turn at the watering hole. And then, far in the distance, 3 bull elephants very, very slowly emerged. We must have waited a good 30 minutes to see if they would come down closer to the watering hole. They eventually started moving, slowly, but we had to leave in order to make sure we’d be out of the park before sunset.
Elephants emerging from the distance
I was feeling a bit disappointed that we hadn’t seen many elephants, especially as Etosha has a lot of them. And then, again when we had driven for quite some time without seeing anything, suddenly in the middle of the road was a family of elephants. We had to stop as they were blocking the road! Really special to see, and they got quite close to our 4×4 which was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time!
After that it was time to head back to the lodges for dinner and a rest as it had been a long, but exciting, day.
The next day we had a leisurely start as, for some people, this was a changeover day in the trip. We were waiting for some new people to join us, who were being driven the 4ish hours from Windhoek, and then the people leaving us would be driven back to Windhoek. After we’d all had lunch together it was time to say farewell to our new friends who would be leaving us. It’s always amazing to me on these trips how soon you become a family and develop friendships with people from all over the world who I only met a few days ago. And it’s always bittersweet to say goodbye. My trip in Africa is 8 weeks so I think I’m going to have a few more of these hellos and goodbyes before I leave.
After lunch, those of us continuing the journey headed back to the park for a drive through and out through the eastern end. Having seen relatively few elephants the previous day, the park seemed to be teeming with them on this afternoon. Again we were on a deadline to be out of the park before sunset so there wasn’t quite the same opportunity to sit and watch the animals as the previous day but it was still very cool to see the animals, even briefly.
We exited the park with about 20 minutes to spare and still had another hour or so to go to our next accommodation in Tsumeb. This stop was just a quick overnighter as we arrived late and left early for another long drive day. We were heading to our final stop in Namibia, at Divundu on the Kavango River, and fairly close to the Botswana border. Namibia is a vast country and, as you’d expect on a long overland trip, there have been a few long drive days to get between highlights. This day was one of those. Thankfully a tarred road the entire way (not always the case, especially on our way to Fish River Canyon and the Namib desert), but it was late afternoon by the time we arrived at our accommodation on the banks of the river.
We enjoyed the evening watching the glowing orange sky as the sun set over the far bank of the river. The sunsets in Africa really do seem to hit differently. Brilliant orange and bright red skies. Beautiful.
We started our last full day in Namibia with a breakfast cruise along the river, looking for hippos and crocodiles. And we were successful! We could actually hear the hippos through the night and they sounded incredibly close, though we convinced ourselves that it was just the sound travelling in the quiet surroundings.
I love how hippos just hang about partly submerged in the waters, peacefully bobbing underwater from time to time. Seems like an idyllic existence.
On our way back to the river bank we spotted a crocodile hiding on a small island behind some reeds. It seemed to just be resting and didn’t move at all despite the sound of the boat’s engines. There were also loads and loads of birds flying over us in formation, which looked spectacular against the perfectly blue sky.
I spent the rest of the day relaxing at the lodge whilst some others in the group did an afternoon game drive to nearby Mahango area. I’ve decided that as I have many more opportunities to see wildlife in the coming weeks, I could miss out on this one and enjoy a bit of downtime and relaxation.
Back on a Shinkansen the next day towards Hiroshima. We arrived at lunchtime and made use again of the amazing facilities at the station. Most of the stations we’ve been to have large shopping malls/department stores attached to them with food courts and restaurants. I ended up having dessert for lunch. A strawberry sandwich cake with delicious fresh strawberries and strawberry sorbet. Absolutely no regrets.
In the afternoon we hopped on a local train to Saijo, which is famous for its sake brewing. There are several sake breweries (distilleries?) in this town, and most are open for tastings. As I mentioned in my Kyoto post, I’m not entirely sure I like sake, but I’m continuing to try it!!
Back to Hiroshima and to check in to the hotel before dinner. Hiroshima is famous for its okonomiyaki – the cabbage pancakes which I had at the home stay in Kawane. We went to what seemed to be an okonomiyaki centre where lots of separate vendors were serving okonomiyaki which is cooked right in front of you. It’s a great spectacle to watch your dinner being cooked. I was a bit worried about the large size of the okonomiyaki but I managed to polish it all off with a couple of beers.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel via the peace park and the A-Dome, which is lit up at night. The atomic bomb went off directly above the building now known as the A-Dome, which ended up preserving the structure of this building when everything else in the vicinity was destroyed.
We started the next day with a visit to the Peace Memorial Museum, a must-do in Hiroshima. We learned about the devastating impacts of the bomb on Hiroshima, and on the people who survived the initial blast who subsequently became ill, in some cases years afterwards. It was a very sobering visit.
We then took a train and a ferry to the nearby island of Miyajima, which had a ‘floating’ torii gate (certainly when the tide is in). The sun was out and it looked idyllic. Deer roam around the town and were stealing food so we opted for an indoor lunch – deep-fried oysters which were really good.
After some time wandering around the town and the souvenir shops in the afternoon, we got back on the ferry and train back to Hiroshima. A few drinks in a pub definitely catering to tourist groups, and then a delicious bowl of ramen to round off the day.
Another day, another Shinkansen. This time to Osaka. Again we arrived before lunchtime, and after dropping our bags at the hotel, we headed out in the rain to the Dotombori area. This area has restaurants and bars with slightly outlandish facades, it reminded me a bit of downtown Las Vegas. Gyosa for lunch out of the rain, and then a walk through Kuromon Market which has loads of street food stalls. Japanese street food etiquette is a little different to elsewhere as you don’t eat and walk at the same time, you buy your food and stand by the vendor to eat it and then dispose of any waste in their bin.
We also went into a gaming arcade and had a quick go at Mario Kart which was a lot of fun!
This evening in Osaka was the final night of the first part of my Japan trip. We had a lovely group dinner at a small restaurant and had a Japanese tasting menu – a kaiseki. So much food!! And it was all delicious.
We rounded off the night with karaoke – has to be done in Japan!
Next is was back to Tokyo to meet the much smaller group for the second part of my Japan adventure.
A slightly over 2 hour flight from Bali and I’m back in Singapore for 5 days. Several people had told me that the half a day I had on the way south from Malaysia to Indonesia wasn’t enough (they were right) and so I was back, to spend the longest amount of time in one hotel since Adelaide in mid-December (it’s now the middle of March).
My flight arrived mid afternoon, and having booked a hotel near a metro station that was essentially on the one line from Changi airport, I’d arrived to find that due to engineering works, I would have to take a slightly more convoluted journey. An hour or so later, I had reached the hotel a 2 minute walk from Lavender station feeling quite pleased with myself for navigating the metro. You can pay for Singapore’s metro using contactless cards at the gate so no need to worry about getting tickets from anywhere (though there were manned ticket booths at the stations too).
After sort of unpacking and making use of the air con (low 30s and humid in Singapore), I headed out to Gardens By The Bay in the evening and by the time I’d got some food and meandered around, I’d inadvertently timed it very well for the Garden Rhapsody music and light show which happens every evening at 7.45pm and 8.45pm. I called it a night after that as it had been a fairly long travel day.
The Supertrees at Gardens by the Bay with Marina Bay Sands hotel in the background
I started the next morning with a walk through nearby Kampong Glam. It was quite peaceful wandering through the narrow streets in the morning, this area comes to life in the evening.
Next up I headed to Raffles Hotel for the one drink I had to buy in Singapore, a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar. I was there by 11.30am and found only 2 people in front of me in the queue. Advantage of being a solo patron is that I ended up sat at the bar! Obviously it’s a thing to do here, and it certainly comes at a price (£31 for one drink including tax and tip), but it was pretty cool to be sat at the bar, sipping on the most expensive drink I’ve ever bought, and eating as many of the ‘free’ monkey nuts as I could manage. The queue was snaking round the corner when I left at 12.30pm.
I then wandered towards Little India, and stopped off at a hawker centre for a delicious laksa (£2.50!) for lunch. After spending the afternoon in the AC in the hotel room, I headed to Orchard Road, full of shopping malls, and a quick walk up the very pretty street of Emerald Hill. Back to Kampong Glam for dinner in the evening.
Sultan Mosque, Kampong GlamThe most expensive drink I’ve ever boughtA $4 bowl of laksaLittle IndiaKampong Glam at duskEmerald Hill
The next morning I went back to Gardens by the Bay to visit the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. Tickets for both of these cost $46 SGD. I loved wandering around both of these and getting some houseplant and garden inspiration for when I’m back home!
After some chicken satay for lunch, I continued my botanical day by heading out to the Botanical Gardens. I’d planned this slightly poorly and arrived in the mid afternoon heat. After a very slow wander to a cafe in the centre of the gardens, I had an iced tea and slice of cake before calling it a day and heading back to the cool AC in the hotel.
One of the things I’ve been missing food-wise on my travels in Asia is cheese. And one of the missions I gave myself for Singapore was to find cheese (my other mission was to find shampoo/conditioner for curly hair, only partially successful). My cheese mission was successful and I put myself into a cheese coma!
Considering the prices here, this plus my iced tea was only £25 – not bad!
I needed to walk off the cheese so I headed out to East Singapore in the afternoon, for a walk along the East Coast Beach, and through Katong and the very pretty Peranakan Houses. Not a lot of tourists make it out this way, and it was a very nice, peaceful walk through the neighbourhood and to the nearest MRT station to get me back to my hotel.
East Coast BeachA very moody skyStreet Art in KatongSri Senpaga Vinayaga templeKatong Peranakan houses in Katong
On my final day I decided to head to Sentosa Island. Sentosa is essentially an island resort for the city. There are gorgeous beaches here, as well as Universal Studios, an aquarium and a bunch of hotels. I took the monorail over and walked up the beach path to Siloso fort which is the remnants of one of the many forts which in the past fortified Singapore, and free to visit.
On Sentosa Island
After a slow wander back along the beach (it was again a very hot day, I am hoping I will see some benefit from all the walking in the hot humidity when I get home and go running again…), I had Singapore chicken and rice for lunch before heading back to the mainland. There are heaps of shopping malls in Singapore, and whilst I still don’t have any room in my bag, I did enjoy wandering around some of those in the Marina Bay area. I got a bit excited about seeing an M&S Food – I just about resisted the Percy Pigs – for some reason they seem to import the milk from the UK which seems slightly mad…
It was definitely worth coming back to Singapore for a few days. Aside from the obvious tourists sights, I really enjoyed some of the quieter places in East Singapore too. It’s pretty expensive here though and a bit of a shock to the system after the last couple of months in SE Asia. You can keep costs down by eating at hawker centres and taking the metro/MRT (I’ve no idea how they work out the ticketing, I used my debit card at the gate each time I used the MRT which I did fairly extensively over my 5 nights here, and it cost me £10 in total which included getting to and from Changi airport). But definitely worth spending a few days here and I’m sure I’ll be back at some point, if only on a layover.
My second new country of this trip. We left Ho Chi Minh City early in the morning to try and get to the border at Bavet before the rush. This proved a success and there was no queue as we were stamped out of Vietnam. We walked with all our belongings perhaps a couple of hundred metres to the Cambodia border. As with Laos, I was getting a visa on arrival (it is possible to get an e-visa in advance but you had to print out the confirmation and as I have been travelling since early November and wasn’t sure if I’d have access to a printer, I decided to go with the VOA). I was the only one of the 16 of us needing a visa on arrival (30 USD plus 5 USD stamping fee in cash, no passport photo needed despite what the UK FCO travel advice suggests, could be different at an airport), and as with Laos, I was through the border before most of the rest of the group. And another lovely full page visa in my passport!
We then walked a short distance to pick up our bus in Cambodia and started driving towards Phnom Penh. There is essentially one road from this border post to the capital, and for the most part it seemed lined with shops, stalls and small businesses. The noticeable thing for me was the amount of plastic littering the roadside which made me a little apprehensive as to what state Cambodia would be in.
We stopped for lunch after a couple of hours at a roadside diner, and I had pho (after somehow completely missing it in Vietnam). Pretty tasty.
We drove another couple of hours and arrived in Phnom Penh in the middle of the afternoon. I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting in Phnom Penh but it greatly exceeded any expectations I might have had. It sits on the Mekong and as we crossed the bridge into the city, we were greeted by lots of modern, tall buildings, well-maintained streets and public areas and it was very clean with no real sign of the plastic that had littered the roadside most of the way.
After checking into the hotel we had a cyclo tour of the city. Cyclos are 3 wheeled bicycles with a large seat up front for the passenger, which gives you a headlight-level view of the city. We were taken to Wat Phnom, the palace and then dropped off along the river in time for a sunset cruise. It was really interesting to see the city from this angle and I enjoyed the mixture of architecture styles.
We then had about 90 minutes sailing along the Mekong and admiring the views of the city as the sun set. It was pretty glorious to be honest. The Mekong has featured heavily through my journey through Indochina, starting at the Thai-Laos border and sailing for 2 days to Luang Prabang, seeing it again in Vientiane and then again at the delta in Ho Chi Minh City, and finally here in Cambodia. It is so important to life in this part of the world and seeing it through several countries affirms that.
Sunset sailing on the Mekong, Phnom Penh
The next day we went to the S-21 Prison in Phnom Penh, and to the Killing Fields a short drive outside of the city. We had a local guide with us who spoke to us about the atrocities that the Khmer Rouge had committed, and told us of his own experiences during these times, which was incredibly powerful and emotional to hear.
Only a handful of people survived S-21 prison and one of those still alive today was in the grounds of the now museum, sharing his story. It was incredible to be able to meet this gentleman, Chum Mey, who is in his mid 90s.
Whilst learning about the murderous atrocities of an horrific regime isn’t perhaps on many people’s holiday/travel agendas, I think it is an important and necessary visit to make, and many parts of that morning will stay with me for a very long time.
I needed some time to decompress in the afternoon. I probably should have consulted the itinerary a little more closely when I booked this trip as this day was also the anniversary of my husband’s death. Always a difficult day and certainly compounded by what we heard about in the morning.
We ended the day, and our short visit to Phnom Penh, on a happier note on a rooftop bar to watch the sunset. I think I’m losing count of the number of amazing sunsets I’ve seen on this trip, and I’m sure there are many more to come yet.
The next day we headed off to Siem Reap. We had a stop off in the morning at a service station which aside from the usual service station affairs, also had a stall selling various fried critters. I did have a go at some of them (mostly crunchy and fried with garlic and soy) but some were a little too large…
We stopped later for lunch at a lovely restaurant overlooking a lake. I had chicken and veg in a lotus leaf which was very good.
We arrived in Siem Reap around mid afternoon, and headed out on a tuk tuk tour of the city and countryside. We saw a large mural in the city which has been painted to reflect the experiences of the recent conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand, as well as receiving a blessing from a monk in a local temple before driving out to the countryside for some street snacks and yet another awesome sunset. The tuk tuks were all driven by ladies and it felt good to be supporting the ladies in building jobs for themselves.
The next day was the first of 2 days spent in the Angkor complex. On the first day we visited the Bayon temple, Preah Khan and Ta Prohm.
BatonPreah KhanTa Prohm
There is a lot of restoration work going on but it is amazing to see these structures, a lot of which date from the 12th century. The detail in the stonework in the galleries is truly incredible.
We had a free afternoon and I spent the time relaxing before we went to an Apsara dance show and dinner in the evening. Certainly aimed at tourists, the food was a 5 course tasting menu of Khmer food which was delicious. The dinner was accompanied by various traditional Apsara dances and some martial arts. All in all a very enjoyable evening.
I was up early the next morning as this was my one chance to see sunrise at Angkor Wat. We left the hotel at 5am and drove out about 20 minutes to the temple complex. It was still pitch black when we arrived and sat ourselves by the moat. Whilst the sunrise itself was disappointing due to it being cloudy, it was pretty incredible to see Angkor Wat emerge out of the darkness.
After breakfast which the hotel had kindly packed for us, we had a tour around the Angkor Wat complex which was very impressive to see up close. At this time in the morning it also wasn’t too busy and the temperature was reasonable too.
Again, some renovations ongoing, but to see the craftsmanship in the stone work and the galleries was really special. It is absolutely worth seeing in person and if you get the chance to come to Cambodia, you should certainly spend a few days here.
At Angkor Wat
After a final evening in Siem Reap, my short time in Cambodia had come to an end and we flew back to Bangkok the next day, back to where I’d started my Indochina journey almost a month earlier. It’s been an amazing journey through 4 countries and I’m grateful to have had the time to be able to do this trip. One of the things I’m trying to do in my extended break from work is to do trips that I can’t fit into a couple of weeks’ holiday, and this certainly ticked that box!!
Now for a few days downtime in Bangkok before heading back to see a bit more of northern Thailand…
We arrived on the overnight train in Hue on time but I’d be lying if I said I’d had a restful night. The train was newer than last time (all toilets were western rather than squats) but the mattresses were still as solid and it was still a very jiggly journey not massively conducive to sleep…
We arrived at the hotel too early for check in but early enough for breakfast. After breakfast we headed off to see the main sites in Hue, starting with the Citadel, a huge fortified imperial city built in the early 1800s. Large parts were destroyed during the Vietnam War and there was restoration work ongoing around the site. Indeed I didn’t remember some of the buildings we saw this time from my previous visit and the tour guide said that some of the restorations had been completed quite recently.
At the Imperial Citadel, Hue
We then headed out to the Thien Mu Pagoda, a short journey south of the city. I did remember this from last time! I think the photos I took last time kept it in my mind. By this point the morning was warming up, and getting more humid.
Thien Mu Pagoda
Some of us had then opted for a motorbike tour (as a passenger I hasten to add!!), which included visiting the Royal Tombs (also under renovation and we didn’t see them all), an ancient arena previously used for elephant and tiger fighting, driving into the countryside and past rice fields, and learning about growing and harvesting rice which an absolute staple with every meal.
At the Royal TombsArenaThanh Toan bridgeSlightly unbelievable what you can get on the back of a motorbike…
We were back at the hotel by mid afternoon and had the rest of the day free before dinner. I think Hue has gotten more lively since my previous visit. There was quite a bustling restaurant and bar area and after dinner a few of us spent the rest of the evening sat on the roadside on the tiny chairs drinking beer and people watching.
We set off the next morning, driving south over the Hai Van Pass on our way to Hoi An. It’s a pretty spectacular drive climbing up over the hills (mountains?) and if anyone has seen the Vietnam episode of Top Gear, you might remember this part. We were blessed with some pretty good weather to see up and down the coast.
Hai Van Pass
We arrived into Hoi An in the late afternoon. I’ve said elsewhere before that Hoi An is the prettiest place I’ve ever been and I still think that is the case despite the hoards of tourists making it less peaceful and relaxing than last time…
The old town is a UNESCO world heritage site and you need to buy a ticket to enter (120,000 Vietnamese Dong / c£3.50) which lasted for the duration of our stay in Hoi An. The ticket also includes entrance to up to 5 specific monuments/temples/museums/cultural experiences out of more than 30 in the old town.
In the evenings, Hoi An really comes to life with all the colourful lanterns and riverboats, as well as the night market and the many bars and restaurants up and down the riverfront. We had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the river and then spent the evening listening to live music in an Irish bar.
We had 2 full days in Hoi An. I visited one of the cultural performances in the old town in the morning – one of the 5 specific entries with the old town ticket. It was interesting to see the traditional costumes and dancing during the 30 minute show. We then had an included lunch at Oodles Of Noodles, a project supported by G Adventures which helps children living on the streets by giving them hospitality training, English lessons and providing accommodation in order to help them create a life and future for themselves. We also visited this restaurant last time and it’s such a good initiative that really makes a difference. The food was delicious too!
I spent the rest of the day wandering around the old town, in some of the temples, over the Japanese bridge, and up and down the pretty lanes. Hoi An was impacted by heavy flooding as recently as last October but you’d never know as everything was clean and tidy.
Sights in Hoi An old town
On the final day in Hoi An I treated myself to a 90 minute hot stone massage for the bargain price of £12!! If you ever come to Hoi An, you should be treating yourselves to multiple massages at these prices! I also had some fantastic Vietnamese food in a local restaurant. I really think Vietnamese food might be my favourite cuisine I’ve had whilst travelling.
Grilled squidNoodles at Oodles of NoodlesDumplings and pork satay
I really enjoyed revisiting these parts of Vietnam. Hue was more lively and fun than I’d remembered, and Hoi An is just so pretty, despite there being too many tourists now (of which, I do realise, I am one of those!!)
In my previous Australia travels, I’d spent a grand total of about 15 hours in Adelaide, and that included sleeping. This time I had a week and a half here, with a few days before and after the cricket to see the city and around.
Back to a hostel for the first 3 nights where most of my roommates were here for the cricket, and one of whom works for the same company I do and is also on a sabbatical…very small world
I’d booked a Barossa Valley wine tour on my first full day here and found that it was also full of Brits here for the cricket. A lovely group of people and we were drinking our first glass of wine at 9.40am!! A good way to start a Sunday
Barossa Valley Wines
In the remaining days before the cricket started, I mostly spent my time wandering around the museums, which are all handily on North Terrace (and free), as well as the Botanical Gardens
The cricket started just in time to coincide with a heatwave. I’d arrived on a Saturday and it was a very pleasant (to this Brit) temperature, in the low 20s. The cricket started on Wednesday, when the temperature was in the mid 30s. On Thursday it got to 40C. Thankfully it was a dry heat rather than a humid heat, but being sat in it, albeit in shade, for 7 hours certainly wilted me. By the time the game ended on Sunday, it had been raining and was only in the high teens. Such a crazy change in temperature in a very short space of time!
Views from the cricket
England were quite a lot better in this match – it got to day 5 and there was a tiny part of me that thought we were going to chase down the runs at one point in the morning session on the last day. But it wasn’t to be. I’ve now been to 5 test matches in Australia across 2 trips and have yet to see us win. But I’ve had a lot of fun watching the matches. There’s almost a mindfulness quality about watching live cricket. All I have to do for 6 hours is watch what’s going on on the field. I’m not staring at a screen. I’m not constantly looking at my phone. The ebb and flow of test cricket can’t be beaten in my opinion and despite the result I’ve had a great time.
I had a couple of days after the cricket in Adelaide before flying back to Perth on Christmas Day before onwards to Thailand. One of those days was an admin day involving finding a laundrette to do a big load of washing, as well as firming up and booking a couple of parts of my SE Asia itinerary.
On Christmas Eve I went out to Glenelg. Ordinarily you’d get the tram from the centre of Adelaide, but due to engineering works, it was a replacement bus which took about 25 minutes. Sadly the weather in Glenelg was cold and windy, so it wasn’t looking its best. When I returned to the city mid afternoon, I found it in blazing sunshine!!
Glenelg
I really enjoyed my time in Adelaide. It seems to get a bad rep on occasion for perhaps being a bit boring. Certainly I thought it less intense than some of the other big cities here. But there’s plenty to do, it’s really easy to get around, and I squeezed in my third (and fastest) Aussie parkrun.
That’s it for my Australia travels on this trip. I’ve been here for 7 weeks, and covered a lot of places I hadn’t been to before. I think Perth and WA was my favourite part, the scenery and coastline there was just stunning. But I’ve loved it all. The people are friendly, the lifestyle seems great, everywhere is very clean and tidy, public transport is cheap, there are lots of amenities in all the cities and overall just a great place to visit. I’m sure I’ll be back again at some point!
After my stay in Brisbane, I hopped onto a Greyhound coach for the 90 minute journey to Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast. The coach was actually going all the way through to Sydney, a journey of nearly 1000km. I’m quite glad my trip wasn’t anywhere near that long!
I’d booked 4 nights in Surfers Paradise after the cricket for a bit of R&R, or as much R&R as you can get in a 100 bed dorm room. In fairness, this chain of hostels was pretty good, I also stayed in these in Brisbane and Adelaide outside of the cricket. The pods give pretty decent privacy and the price (around £30 per night) includes breakfast and dinner which is pretty unusual in a hostel.
After a day of doing laundry (cost $12 and all done in an hour, and could pay by card which was a bonus), I spent the first couple of days wandering around and finding shade on the beach, which, due to the massive buildings, was actually quite easy even without my own tent/parasol/shade. I don’t read very much anymore but I’d bought a physical book in Brisbane and so spent my time on the beach reading Michael Palin’s New Europe. I do enjoy reading his travel books, and especially when I’ve been to some of the same places. It’s also useful inspiration for future trips…
On the beach in the shade at Surfers Paradise
Given all the very tall buildings, I thought I’d go up one of them to take in the views. I went to the Skypoint observation deck which is on the 77th floor of the Q1 building. Some spectacular views to be had whilst enjoying a tea and slice of cake
Views from the Skypoint Observation Deck
On my final full day, I’d booked (at fairly late notice through Viator) a half day trip to the Hinterland (the rainforest area inland behind Gold Coast), to Springbrook National Park and Natural Bridge. The weather was a little gloomier on this day and I did at one point have to get my waterproof out for the first time on this trip. The scenery was stunning. so green and lush, and it was a nice change from the coast and cities I’d mostly seen on this trip. Also apparently where UK I’m A Celebrity is filmed.
Natural BridgeSpringbrook National ParkBest of All LookoutPurling Brook Falls
There were beachside markets in Surfers Paradise on the final night I was there so I ended my trip by wandering up and down all the stalls before calling it a night to reorganise my bags before my flight to Adelaide the next day.
I’m glad I’ve been to Surfers Paradise, I’d seen it from a distance on one of my previous visits to Australia. It’s got a bit of a party vibe about it. Lots of bars and restaurants and fairly fancy hotels, and miles of golden sand and surf. I’m not absolutely sure I’d go back (maybe if I was 20 years younger…), but it was nice to have a few days by the beach…onto Adelaide and some more cricket
Trundling into Brisbane Roma Street train station nearly 2 and a half hours behind schedule was actually fairly helpful as instead of arriving at 9am, I got to the hostel shortly before midday and was able to check in.
I had a couple of days in Brisbane before the next attempt at cricket started. I have been to Brisbane once before, in January 2016, and saw fit to write barely a paragraph about it here. I honestly don’t remember much beyond the koalas and a few photos I have revisited to attempt to jog my memory. We must have stayed fairly centrally based on the photos I have from then but I’ve no idea where, and honestly from walking around Brisbane this time, I don’t remember any of it really.
That said, it has changed quite a bit over the last 10 years…
I spent most of my first day on the South Bank wandering through the various museums and art galleries in this area – all free. I was also quite glad of the air conditioning, despite it being less humid than in the north, it was still approaching 30C.
The South Bank itself is a lovely area of rainforest, beach, open space, restaurants, cafes and bars and I actually spent some part of most days wandering and eating here.
After getting some tips from a guy in the hostel, I went up the Sky Deck at the Star, which is one of the very tall buildings that wasn’t there in 2016! This viewing platform is around 23 storeys high and is, unbelievably, free to visit. There are a couple of cafes and restaurants ready to take your money though.
From the Sky DeckGlass walkway on the Sky Deck
Brisbane is a really good city to wander around, and I found myself doing a lot of walking. The test match was a day/night match which didn’t start til 2pm. And the Gabba is a good 40 or so minutes walk from the CBD where I was staying.
Various photos from my wandering: the city botanic gardens, St John’s Cathedral, the Story Bridge, Brisbane by night
The Gabba is not a particularly easy ground to get to. It’s across the river from the CBD and is surrounded by increasingly gridlocked roads in the lead up to the match. Once I was there though, getting in the ground was very efficient, as were all the bars and food outlets (more so than the Optus in Perth which struggled with some bottlenecks at various points which did make me feel slightly anxious).
The atmosphere at the Gabba is incredible. It’s a proper cauldron, literally and metaphorically, and the intensity of the sound, especially when Australia were on top, was unlike anything I’ve heard before in a sporting arena. On the first day I was sat on the first level but essentially at the back, and some of the sound didn’t travel too well (took me an hour or so to locate the Barmy Army and I’m certain they were making a lot of noise), but on the following days when I was slightly further forward, the acoustics were a lot better.
I guess there were 2 positives about this test – it lasted 4 days (and a lot longer on day 4 than I might have imagined); and secondly, Joe Root scored a hundred in Australia and might finally be able to shut up all the naysayers
Joe Root – absolute legend
On my final (bonus) day in Brisbane, and in order to cheer myself up a bit after feeling fairly deflated over the cricket, I went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. I mentioned earlier that I’d been here on my previous visit, when you were still able to cuddle a koala. Probably for the best that this practice has now ended. But you can still enjoy looking at the koalas, and the other animals there, including walking in amongst kangaroos and wallabies
Koalas – mood The guns on this guyA cassowary ChillingA dingo
After my week or so in Brisbane, it was time to hop onto a Greyhound coach and head to Surfers Paradise for some beach time…
After spending a week exploring south and north of Perth, I arrived back in the city with a couple of spare days before the cricket. And, as it turned out, 3 spare days after the cricket…
Back to hostel life and the first thing on my hit list was to do some laundry. Long time readers of this blog may recall my previous quests for cheap hostel laundry…my first impression of 2025 hostel laundry is that there has been a significant increase in price in the last 10 years. $6 for a wash and $6 for sufficient drying time is a lot more than I remember…anyway, at least I had a bag full of clean clothes.
The next day I was up bright and early to head out to Fremantle to catch a ferry to Rottnest Island. I’d booked ferry tickets the previous week (doing it 7 days before travel gives you a discount), though was obviously a little tired when doing so as I’d booked the outbound ferry from Fremantle rather than Perth City. This meant a slightly earlier start to take the train out to Fremantle and to be there 30 minutes before departure. It all turned out fine, and Perth is a city that gets going early so despite being on a train at 7.45am on a weekday, it was not busy as most people had already got to where they were going.
Rottnest Island is home to a large population of quokkas. There were also more flies so I was glad yet again for the fly net!!
I hadn’t really made any plans for my 6 hours on the island, but spotted there was a Catherine Bay that I thought would be worth visiting… This turned into a 7 mile round hike in some quite sticky weather, but I passed through a number of extraordinarily beautiful beaches along the way.
Beaches on Rottnest Island, the last photo is Catherine Bay
After returning to the main settlement, I had lunch and was joined by a few quokkas who clearly knew where to look for food. There are signs everywhere telling you not to feed them so I was very careful about not spilling any of my Subway!
Quokkas are really quite odd animals, mouse-like, yet hopping along like a rabbit, or a small kangaroo. But very endearing
Quokka on Rottnest
Caught the ferry back to Perth City (as intended) at 4.30pm. One of the advantages of getting the ferry all the way back to the city is that it cruises up the Swan River so you get some lovely views of the outer suburbs of the city, and then a great view of the CBD as you come into the jetty.
Elizabeth Quay and around from the ferry
The next day was a moving day, from the hostel into a hotel for the next 6 nights. This was part of the package I’d bought for the cricket. I’ve done a hotel and ticket package through Gullivers Sports Travel for the 3 test matches that I’m attending. It was quite nice having my own space, and the room had a decent-sized fridge so as I was on a room only deal, I went to the local IGA to stock up on healthy breakfast food and snacks.
The next day I was up and eager to get to the cricket. The Optus Stadium was about a 30 minute walk from the hotel and I followed the crowds towards the ground. It’s a very impressive stadium and after the usual security, I was in my seat just before the toss. I was sat amongst the Barmy Army and it was great fun with all the singing and clapping, trying (and one might argue failing) to encourage England to bat. The first half of day 1 was less than ideal but the second half, with Archer and Wood steaming in, was incredible to witness.
At the Optus Stadium, day 1 of the 2025/26 Men’s Ashes
The next day was Saturday, which means parkrun. Parkruns in Perth start at 8am so I just about had enough time to walk the 20 or so minutes to Claisebrook Cove parkrun, huff and puff round the 5k in 35 minutes, walk back to the hotel to shower and then walk the 30 mins to the stadium in time for the first ball of day 2 at 10.20am. It was a slightly frantic morning, which included some interesting warning signs along the parkrun course…
Seen at Claisebrook cove parkrun; you don’t get this at Tremorfa!!
The less said about day 2 at the cricket, the better…it did mean I had 3 extra days in Perth though, to see things I’d so far missed.
I started by meeting up with some old travel companions from my Peru trip 10 years ago who live in Perth. It was so lovely to see Janine and Pat after all this time, we had brunch and a scenic drive around the city
That evening I ended up going to see the Kaiser Chiefs, who were in town and playing their debut album (out when I was at university) in full. It was great fun relieving my uni days as they blasted through Employment and some of their other hits.
My remaining 2 days in Perth were full of walking. I went to Kings Park, for wonderful views of the city, and also a lovely walk through the Botanical Gardens. And on my final day, I failed to find any kangaroos during my walk to Heirisson Island Kangaroo Sanctuary.
In the Botanical Gardens
After 2 and a half weeks, it was time to leave Perth. I’ve really enjoyed my time here, and exploring Perth, Margaret River and the coast up to Monkey Mia. The coastline is absolutely stunning, the people are friendly and laid back, and it seems like a really good lifestyle here. The only bugbear (!) was all the flies!! I highly recommend a trip to this part of the world, and don’t forget you can fly direct from the UK and Western Europe to Perth, if you can stomach 16 hours or so in the air at once!
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