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E-mail #1 from Bangkok | E-mail #2 from Chiang Mai |

E-mail #3 from Chiang Mai | E-mail #4 from Laos |

E-mail #5 from Queensland | E-mail #6 from Christchurch |

E-mail #7 from Vancouver | Travel guides |

Here are the first in a series of e-mails from Isabel and Clare about their adventures.

VEE-TRAVEL: E-mail #1 from Bangkok

Greetings from Bangkok!

On Wednesday, Isabel and I finally flew off to Bangkok, not knowing what is going to be happening in the next couple of days, let alone the next five months!

After an 11-hour flight, we waited at the airport with our guide to take us to the hotel. The ride there was fun, and gave us a chance to look at the traffic, seeing the scooters whizzing past and hearing constant beeps from the car horns!

Thirty mins later, we were at the Radisson Hotel and it's beautiful! The view outside our hotel was so cool. On the horizon, we could see skyscrapers and Thai temples – and we could also see the contrast between the richer and poorer areas of Bangkok.

We ate Chinese at the restaurant below the hotel after taking a swim in the pool beforehand – lovely jubbly! We also took the opportunity to take photos and do our first bit of filming too.

The next morning, we woke to realise that we'd actually had 14 hours sleep! Oops! Luckily, the hotel people were really nice, and accepted our apologies for checking out late.

Feeling hungry, we ate at the 24-hour coffee lounge and had the buffet, which cost 300 baht each. Since 100 baht is around £1, that was pretty reasonable! We took a taxi to the hostel, as we wouldn't have had a clue where it is, and even though the ride took 30 mins, the whole journey cost 96 baht, less than £1 – CHEAP!

We've sampled the market life, and bought loads! I needed a watch (as I left mine at home) so I got one that cost me just 150 baht – and it's pink! I also bought a white long-sleeved shirt, ready for the visits at the temples, as we have to cover up properly – no flesh showing – in respect for the Buddhist monks.

The smells at the market are uniquely disgusting! There are smells like liver, and others which I'd rather not describe! However, the atmosphere and the people are so friendly – some are even fluent in English.

In three days' time, we'll be leaving Bangkok to get the night train to Chiang Mai (which means 'New Town'), in northern Thailand.

I'll keep sending the e-mails!

Clare XXX

VEE-TRAVEL: E-mail #2 from Chiang Mai

We are now in northern Thailand after a long stay in Bangkok, which didn't feel like enough time for us both to do everything! For those who don't know what Bangkok is like, it's fast, busy, and very, very big! There are so many temples, shops, and places to see. And the shops are great!

I had a very stressful two last days in Bangkok. Firstly, I left my bank card in a machine, and realised an hour later that either a passer-by or the machine had taken it. Then, the next day, my purse strangely disappeared, so I texted my Mum to cancel the card in that one too!!! Just an hour later, I found it in a hidden pocket in my bag, much to my embarrassment! One bit of advice: don't carry all your cards together in one wallet, keep them separate!

Bangkok is brilliant at night. Khao San Road is brilliant for partying and that's exactly what backpackers all over the world, and Isabel and I, have been doing – partying! It's cheap, with cocktails costing just over 140 baht (or around £1.40) and beer 70 baht (70p!).

I can't believe that our friends who have been to Bangkok didn't tell us about this area, as there's a really cool hostel which has a bar and a place to eat! It's called Sawasdee House for anyone who wants to stay there!! There's a lot of Australians and Americans here – and we've met a lot of deaf Thai too – much to our surprise!

The bus journey from Bangkok to Chiang Mai took 11 hours overnight. The bus stopped at a service station – very different from the English ones. And the toilets, to explain, are either a Western toilet (those that we are familiar with and sit down on) or the standing-up ones! Most of the time, the standing-up loos have been very smelly so Isabel and I have actually walked away from them to find somewhere else! Also, a very handy tip – make sure you buy toilet paper and wet wipes! None of the loos provide toilet paper apart from at the shopping centres!

You can find Boots chemists here, which are cheap and very clean, so get your toiletries and medications there. Isabel and I have been buying things from the market and the shopping centres, which can be cheap, so long as you remember to HAGGLE! We've both bought fantastic skirts, with sequins and a flowered pattern. Very flattering, and perfect for travelling.

We went on a tour for the day to the River Kwai. The train took two hours to get up there. There's no locks on the door, so we sat, wind blowing in our hair, life passing us by, holding onto the rail! Brilliant! Isabel and I loved that and will remember it for a long time!! When we arrived, we walked on the bridge over the River Kwai. We took plenty of photos and saw a waterfall, too – with children squealing and jumping into the water to cool down!

Chiang Mai is much more relaxed than Bangkok, and at the hostel we're staying at we've got a twin en-suite room for around £1 a night each! Cheap or what?

Hope you're enjoying the e-mails as much as Isabel and I are enjoying life here! The food is different, but if you come here, try as much as you can! We do miss the English food, as Thai people eat the same food all day long, even eating noodles or rice for breakfast!! Eeek!!

Clare xXxXx

Isabel and I have been enjoying our time in Chiang Mai and although we've been here nearly a week, we've managed to avoid the city for the last four days! We went on a tour up north that we booked on the internet and we're so glad that we found it!

The hostel we were at was great, twin private room. It was a blessing not to share the same bed as Isabel! She moves around a lot and I'm pretty sure she snores (although I don't hear and that again, is a blessing!!)

We met Trichai, our tour guide, at 9am and he took us to an elephant camp, and the elephants were so nice! We fed them bananas and watched them bathe in the cool waters.

We also watched an elephant show where they played football and painted a picture! Before we left the camp, we took plenty of photos and the best one was of the baby elephant, just a little smaller than Isabel. He wrapped his trunk around us, which was so cute!

We went to a monkey farm too, but didn't like this one as much as monkeys can be a bit irrational and move around a lot so they have to have a lead on to stop them running astray.

It looked cruel, but we held a baby monkey (not for too long as they jump out of your arms!) and it hugged Isabel on her leg, with her hopping! It was funny! The baby monkey suddenly put out his little arm and scared Isabel by grabbing hold of her nose! He was the cutest thing and only eight months old!

We did our first walk in the mountains, it was three hours uphill and was a real challenge! The views were spectacular and we really enjoyed it! For the waterfalls, trees and animals it was worth the hard work getting there. We stayed in a lodge on the first night called Lahu outpost and it was near a tribe! They fed us well and we slept really well.

The views again, from the shower, were something that you don't see in Bradford! The children there were fascinated by the video camera and went crazy! They jumped all over me and wanted to carry on jumping!! They were great though, the atmosphere was really nice and relaxed. They sang to us and to the other group who were staying the night, and we sang ‘Old McDonald Had a Farm' and ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.' It put us to shame honestly because what they sang sounded a lot harder than ours!. We fell asleep at 10pm after a long hard day.

The next day, we woke up at 8, had a filling breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs, fruit and tea. We left Lahu at 9am and walked two hours downhill and that was the hardest thing! I was sure I would fall down and would carry on until I hit the bottom! I almost did at one point and slipped in the mud!

At the end of the mountain was this lovely waterfall and it was cooler there. We carried on walking and met the driver to drive us to the river and white water rafting! It was so much fun and Isabel and I slipped off our seats and were stuck on a rock at one point! Eek! Funny though, and we got SOAKING WET!

We got to the end of the ride, changed from our wet clothes to nice dry ones, ate lunch, then rode an elephant for an hour! The elephants sure love their bananas! It's not just a Dumbo thing eh?

After the ride, it was only 2.30pm and we were shattered! We sat in the back of the truck and felt every bump and groove on the road. We then went to the other lodge, Lisu lodge and it's beautiful there. Everything's wooden including the shower!! Wow! Makes a change from white tiles and mouldy curtains! We ate again in the evening and watched the Lisu people dance. Isabel and I joined in the fun too! We went to bed early – shattered!!

The following morning, we woke up early at 8 and ate breakfast – they sure do know how to feed you here! After two days of walking, our guide asked us if we wanted to walk again, Isabel and I said … 'not really!!!' Seriously, our legs had given up! So instead, we walked in a cave – it'd been there for 900 years – and then did some Thai cooking at Lanna farm! The lodge was beautiful and all wooden! It was luxury!

We then had a Thai massage for an hour and a half from head to toe and a hot ball of herbs pressed on our bodies to soothe the soreness from the walking! Bliss! Then we had our evening meal, just the two of us were staying at Lanna farm, out of eight double bedrooms! Bliss! We slept so early again and our bedroom was the best out of the lot!!!

28 November now, and we're feeling the effects of doing so much in so many days – feel ill! I went on a bike ride around the village we were at and it was brilliant! We met the locals, ate some of their food from bamboo (rice was stuffed inside it, with coconut milk and sugar and cooked in front of a fire for an hour). Went back to Lanna and had lunch – couldn't eat it for some reason! We saw an umbrella factory on the way back to the hotel and the worlds biggest jewelry store!

When we saw our room all we wanted to do was lie on our beds and it was then that I realized that I felt awful! I've recently come down with something and was all hot and cold with fever! Isabel was worried for a moment! Eventually, after some sleep, I felt a little better but strangely cold!

Today, we've chilled out and went back to the bar we went to yesterday called the Outback – we're getting warmed up for Australia!! Chiang Mai is completely different to Bangkok, quieter. Booked our flights to Laos. We, tourists, cant go to Laos ‘til December 2 due to a national Laos day! We are enjoying our time here, yet still want to spend some time in the south and get some sun! Got no tan yet as northern Thailand is cool and hot at the same time!

We've done so much in the last few days, and tomorrow we're going to see a Thai boxing match, then we're going on a river cruise and a theatre show like a cabaret thing, should be fun!!

Hope you are all well and enjoying yourselves, hope to hear some news soon as there's no English newspapers here!

Love to u all!
clare
xXx

Hello from Laos!!!!!

I have just spent a weekend in a town called Luang Prabang. It's an enchanting, pretty, laid-back town. Clare and I hired a bike for the day, and rode around the town twice as it's rather small!

One thing: we need to be back at our hotel before 11.30pm. It's a curfew we have to abide by as it's dangerous in Luang Prabang at nights! Eeek!

Today, Clare and I swam in a waterfall. It was wicked though a bit cold! Saw a sweet female tiger called Phet, and I was lucky enough to stroke her when she was eating her meat!

Tomorrow, we are catching the bus to Vang Vieng, another town down south. A lot of backpackers go there, so it should be good. Then it's onto Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Next Friday, we are flying to Koh Sumui from Bangkok, an island to the east coast of south Thailand. Will be staying there for a week, to top up my tan!

Love to you, hope all is well.

Till next time

Izzy xxxxx

Hello everyone

Can't believe we have been travelling for thee months now – it has gone by so quickly. Travelling in Thailand feels like a distant memory now that we're in Australia.

Spending Christmas in Sydney was both weird and wonderful! It was weird being on Coogee Beach celebrating Christmas, seeing loads of people having BBQs and drinking away. The weather was cloudy with a bit of rain … so it wasn't what I had envisaged!

Boxing Day was so strange – we were in a pub and we saw three fights. I thought: 'What the heck? Am I still in England?'

That evening, I was in denial when I first heard the news of the disaster, the tsunami. The next day, when I saw the news on TV, the impact was devastating. I was so sad because I was thinking of all the people in Thailand we'd met and how their lives had changed. The fact Clare and I left two days earlier sent shivers down my spine.

On New Year's Eve we went on a cruise. The fireworks were amazing, even though the boat was quite a long way from Sydney Harbour. Sydney is a great city – it's got everything.

In Melbourne, the Deaflympics were wicked. Two weeks full of action and entertainment! It was so emotional seeing Great Britain men's football team winning the gold!

We went out almost every night to a bar, chatting and meeting new deafies. The apartment we stayed at for two weeks was a blissful place – huge, comfortable, light, with fantastic high views of the city. But after spending two weeks in the same place, I was looking forward to being on the move again! I preferred Sydney to Melbourne, because I loved the city.

We were really excited about picking up our hired campervan. But my goodness … the Wicked Campervan graphics on the sides are sooooo rude! It's called Tits and Asses! No prizes for guessing what it looks like!

Now we have a new travel buddy coming along, the one and only Ricci Collins! Another new adventure for us all.

We waved our goodbyes before embarking on a long journey down the Great Ocean Road. Wow, what a beautiful state Victoria is. The Great Ocean Road is one of the world's greatest scenic routes and I felt so proud to be driving for hours by the coastline – the freedom of that was amazing.

After Adelaide, we drove on into the outback, holding our breath, as it's a pretty dangerous state to be driving through – if you break down in the middle of nowhere, then you are stuffed!

The Northern Territory was like being on a different planet – like Mars! It's so beautiful, so red and the land goes on for miles and miles … it was unbelievably hot there too: the temperature can reach 50 degrees! We could have baked in our van if we didn't have air conditioning! My favourite part of driving through is looking up to the skies and seeing eagles soaring, looking for prey to kill. We got to see one sweet Kangaroo boinging across the road – its legs were so huge!

After travelling hundred of miles from Adelaide, we arrived at Coober Pedy. Coober Pedy is the opal capital of the world and its rather spooky – dusty and almost bare! But we loved the place, sleeping in a hostel in the underground caves, as it's much cooler.

We left Coober Pedy for Ayers Rock, which is stunning. Then on to Alice Springs, a small city in the middle of nowhere. We stayed there for four days and had a fabulous time! It was Clare's 25th birthday and we celebrated it by having a chocolate fight in our hostel's kitchen. We managed to get Clare drunk two nights in a row!

After another long drive we finally reached Queensland – a beautiful tropical state with high mountains everywhere. In Cairns we said our goodbyes to our campervan. I was sad to leave it behind because I had a fantastic time with the van for three weeks. It was back to backpacking!

The next adventure was going scuba-diving at the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns. Saw lots of clownfish, similar to Nemo! I stroked one, and it was soooo sweet. It was also uncomfortable, because my ears were hurting as we descended further down!

I'm having the time of my life though I miss everyone and I miss England! Take care,

Izzy xxxxxxxxx Wanderlusting

Hi guys!

We had a great time in Australia. I loved Airlie beach and the Whitsunday Islands – just paradise! Fraser Island too. We saw and admired Lake McKenzie, light blue water on the outskirts and a rich dark blue in the centre (where the river-snakes live!!). Understandably, it's the most photographed lake in the world. The group we were with was pretty wild and drinks were on the menu every night! By 8pm it was pitch black and to talk to everyone in the group proved very difficult indeed. The worst bit about Fraser Island was the flies!!! They were huge! We were forever using our thongs (that's Australian for 'flip-flops', guys!) to whack them senseless!

After Fraser Island we body-boarded at Noosa. It was so cool! We stayed in the water for hours (and checked out the surfers too!). Byron Bay, in my opinion (and Izzy's too, I think) had the best beach – it was crystal clear. At night, there was a lot to see – from Aboriginal dancing, to talent nights and the cinema!!! They even had subtitles.

So back to Sydney and on to New Zealand. Auckland does look like the UK (although some said Ireland!) and there's so many Burger Kings and Japanese sushi places (yum!) here it's unbelievable! The shops here are really cool. The weather is unpredictable – it's sunny and hot one minute, then a gust of wind comes along and chills you to the bone!!

We're now in Christchurch, and it is pretty here – almost looks like Oxford, with the canal and the cathedral too.

We decided to hire a spaceship! Yes, a spaceship!! Check it out at www.spaceships.tv – it's a car that sleeps! It's got a DVD/CD player, a fridge, cooker, storage for your bags and a double bed! We're going to drive all the way back to Auckland, going on the ferry and seeing as much as possible! The mountains looked breathtaking when on the plane and there were some water-holes that were a striking electric blue colour – it was just beautiful!

Tonight, we're going to have a drink with one of the guys we met in LAOS!!! We met him three months ago and we bumped into him here in Christchurch of all places!!

E-mail you guys later …
Clare XxX

Hey guys

It's sure been a while and guess what? We're home in three days!! Shocking eh?!!

New Zealand was a great experience. Sure was different from Oz. The weather was so unpredictable – pretty much like the UK! We drove around in our Spaceship rental car, seeing almost all of the main spots. We stayed in Queenstown for the Easter weekend and celebrated it in style! Went on a 'Shotover Jet', which is a very powerful boat that can be used on water levels as low as 10cm. Driving up north, we stopped at Kaikoura, which is famous for its whales and dolphins. We swam with dolphins in the ocean at 9am, and it was soooo cold – the water seeped through my wetsuit and I couldn't breathe for the first 10 minutes!! The dolphins were everywhere, so many of them and they come up so close!! Fantastic experience that!

Rotuara, in the North Island, is famous for its hot springs – and they smelt badly! Sulphur equals bad eggs!! We had a mud bath for 20 mins and a very cold shower afterwards to close the open pores! Our skin was really soft afterwards! Lake Taupo was a really cool place, and the best place to see where Lord of the Rings was filmed. Waitomo caves was one of the smallest places we had visited, but one of the memorable ones. We did abseiling, tubing, caving and climbing in a package deal with a Tom Cruise lookalike!

We spent our last days mainly in Paihia, Bay of Islands, and it was hot there! We were in our bikinis and sunbathed with a group of people on an overnight cruise. So cool! Snorkelling was great too.

Our next step was Fiji, and blissssssssssssss!! We totally loved it there! The weather was the best! We did one or two nights at different hostels, sampled the local food and drink and watched the locals dance!

We're now in Vancouver, a funky place. We flew 17 hours, but it actually went faster than we thought. When we landed in LA to change planes, we bumped into someone famous!!! So cool!!! It was JR from Dallas! Got a photo with him!

So, just three more days left. Its going to be great to see our friends again, but we will miss the experiences we've had travelling and won't forget it for sure.

A traveller coming back home

Clare xXx

Australia
Comprehensive site with facts and figures, great images of the country and loads of tips and advice on planning your trip.

Tourism Malaysia
Official tourist site with info on what to do in Kuala Lumpur and a calendar of events across the country.

Tourism Thailand
Official tourist site with loads of useful information on getting around, accommodation and Thai food, plus a section that highlights events taking place around the country.

Visit Laos
Includes info on eco-tourism as well as the usual tourist advice.

Visiting Singapore
Official tourist site which includes a 'celebs and media buzz' section as well as the usual info on tours, accommodation and what to do.

Laos: Lonely Planet country and regional guides
(Lonely Planet, January 2005)
Recently updated, this is a comprehensive guide to getting to and travelling around Laos, with a good overview of the history and politics of the country.
Buy at Amazon

Lonely Planet Thailand (Lonely Planet, 2003)
Crammed with info and advice and includes useful suggested itineraries adapted for the length of your stay.
Buy at Amazon

Malaysia (Footprint Handbooks, March 2005)
Promises to provide travellers with the most authentic experiences, from the heights of capital city Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers to white sand beaches, coral reefs and national parks.
Buy at Amazon

The Rough Guide to New Zealand (Rough Guides, 2004)
Highly respected guides with comprehensive coverage and advice on how to get the best out of your trip.
Buy at Amazon

Singapore (DK Publishing, 2003)
Eyewitness travel guide that offers invaluable details and great photographs. Dorling Kindersley guides usually score high with consumers.
Buy at Amazon

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