We had a sleep in to recoup some energy from the past few days and then had some breakfast in the room and ordered some bread and jam from the restaurant downstairs. Our pickup mini bus arrived at Sweethome at 10am for our 10.45am bus journey to Battambang. The bus pulled up into the station and it looked pretty battered from the outside and the inside wasn’t much better. The vents were just open holes and the seat in front had no real back support so was almost in Dave’s lap. After a delayed start, we left 45mins late and headed off on our journey.

Upon arriving in Battambang we were hounded by the tuk-tuk drivers however as Battambang is quite small its easy to walk to where you want to go and not have to pay a few dollars for the privilege. We checked out a few hotels however they had limited rooms and were over $12 so we kept looking for something cheaper. We ended up at the Chhaya Hotel which cost $5 a night for a twin, it was a decent size with a bathroom, looking and feeling a little cell like, but it did the trick. We continued with some more blog work and headed out for some food. The White Rose restaurant is in the Lonely Planet and we stumbled across it, their cheap menu has lots of choice and for a reasonable price. The fresh spring rolls were OK, lacking in flavour a little, the curry was a large portion with plenty of vegetables and Helen’s dish we think was something different to what she ordered but it was OK; the mixed fruit shake was a good call!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

The 5th February was another day of exploration via the transport medium of bikes, we will surely have thighs of steel by the end of our trip. We headed along the river and found old villages around 2km out of Battambang itself, Wat Kor Village contains some of the oldest houses in Cambodia, some of which you can pay to have a little tour inside of, we just cycled by and took it all in. Dave’s bike suffered from a puncture after 4km which was treated by one of the many small repair shops that are on the side of the roads. They fixed the leaky valve for 500r and off we went, however within a few hundred meters the tyre was flat again so we decided to head back and get a new bike from the hotel. Frustrating to say the least. New bike selected and we started again, searching for the Bamboo Train which was tricky to find as the signs aren’t that frequent and the locals all told us or pointed us in the opposite directions to the last person we asked.

Upon searching for the train Dave’s second bike suffered from a fatal haemorrhage with the inner tube bursting through the front tyre! There was no quick fix for this and it would surely be pricey. Helen went ahead and Dave pushed his bike and finally we found the station for the “train”. $5 each on a bamboo fence panel, engine and two axles that held us onto the tracks. It was a good experience and is fun when you meet on coming traffic. If the oncoming bamboo train has more people, weight (rice delivery etc) or multiple trains are coming through you have to jump off and the driver deconstructs the train within seconds. There are no bolts or clips to be undone, it all just fits together! We had to disembark 5 times, but that’s half the fun. The tracks are in terrible state, however apart from rattled bones, no injuries were sustained.

At the end of the tracks we stopped and were greeted by some local children and market stalls. The driver would not leave his hammock until we bought something from one of the vendors so with a drink purchased he hopped onto the train and off we went. We sorted out some tuk-tuk transport back into town with the bikes rammed in and only paid the hotel for hire of one of the bikes, which they agreed was fair. Relaxation time and sunset on the roof of the hotel and then for our evening meal we headed to the The Smokin’ Pot restaurant and even though the portions appeared small, they were enough to satisfy. Lemon juice, curry and rice.

We left Lotusland at 7.45am to walk to the International Tourism Distribution Centre only 15 minutes walk away which was perfect for us leaving Nanning. The bus station we came into from Yangshou was at least a 40 minute bus journey from the centre so we were pleased not to be making this journey again. We were joined by a few other backpackers at the bus station and saw the first bus leave packed with passengers at 8am, ours was at 8.30am and was considerably less full.

We had a hostess who handed out a bread snack and water to all passengers and it was quite a smart bus. We traveled through Southern China and saw more agriculture and rice fields along the way, it was still cold and dull. We stopped once for a toilet break and then again for lunch, we were only about 20 minutes from the border at this stage but we were provided with a free meal which consisted of egg and tomato, tofu and rice it wasn’t too bad. There were also quite a few touts waiting to exchange Chinese RMB to Vietnamese Dong. We didn’t have any Dong ready with us so we changed what we had left of the RMB which was around £10′s worth. The exchange rate isn’t great when you do this with touts so we’d probably recommend to change only what you need for taxi’s etc on the other side. One girl changed around £200 worth and we don’t think she did so well on the exchange rate.

The journey from Nanning to the border took around 4 hours and as we got the border the bus pulled into a parking lot, we exited with our bags and were carted off on a little gold-like buggy to the Chinese exit border. It took around 40 minutes to complete exit from China and entry into Vietnam, with 5 or so passport checks. It was pretty relaxed and we were asked a few questions on the Vietnamese side but they were friendly enough and off we went to another golf buggy before being shipped onto another bus. This bus was full and we could only just get a seat.

The journey to Hanoi took 5 hours with one break at a restaurant/service area. The bus was okay and again we had a hostess on board handing out water. We were pleasantly surprised with the journey as we had read about some horror stories on the Vietnamese buses, but all in all it was pretty swift. The traffic coming into Hanoi was very busy so it took a while to get into the city. Once we arrived a lady came on board and asked to speak to the westerners, we had read that this would happen so were a little skeptical as to whether to take her advice or not. Contrary to this though she was quite helpful and as a group of 4 she advised on how to bargain for the taxi and made sure we knew how not to get ripped off!!

We traveled with a Finnish couple we’d met on the bus to The Hanoi Rendezvous and agreed a price with the taxi driver. We knew that we’d be paying around 100,000 dong between us but at first he was quoting $150! Dave kept getting out of the taxi refusing to agree to that price and we eventually managed to get him to agree to our price. The journey was around 15 minutes (the taxi driver had said it would be 50 km!) be prepared for scams!! When we arrived at the Rendezvous he stopped the car a little away from the hotel and said it was much further asking for more money. We knew where the hotel was though and didn’t take any of his shit. We paid the price and that was that. Perhaps getting into Hanoi from your bus or airport is where you’re more likely to get ripped off by the taxi drivers as you’ll be new to the city so just be prepared for this.

At the Rendezvous we checked into our spacious 6 bed dorm room, practically each bed was a mini double with good spacing in between and a shared en-suite. We were paying $7 each for this which was considerably more than in China but it had great reviews and included a good breakfast. We inquired at reception about a few options for getting around Vietnam and as we had no guide book yet we went off to a bookshop called The Bookworm to get ourselves a Lonely Planet.

It was around a half hour or so walk through the busy city streets to Bookworm heading north of the city centre to the second lake. We picked up a photocopy version for 150,000 dong checking the quality first as often the maps are very pale so it’s good to go through the pages. We asked for their recommendation on a good place to eat nearby and were instructed to go to Food Shop (45). We enjoyed some excellent vegetarian Indian food and the ventured through the streets back to the Hotel. When we got there we saw Maayke (from Yangshou) and her friend who were also in the same dorm, we had previously arranged to meet them here so it wasn’t so much of a coincidence. We discussed trip options and then chatted in the cafe area for a while before hitting the sack.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

After a little lie-in we got ourselves ready and headed out into the hustle and bustle of Hong-Kong. We wanted to explore the area on foot so we hit the streets and wandered the many little alley ways and roads. Far more Christmas decorations were here than in China and it started to make us feel a little bit seasonal especially around Times Square. The streets are very much alike to those in London with the same traffic lights, double yellow lines on the roadside and even double-decker buses. We headed to Soho as the Lonely Planet had recommend the area for something a little different and more creative. There are hundreds of trendy restaurants and bars situated around Hong-Kong and you have a good choice to pick from, with many all ready very full with patrons.

We found a cool little place at the top of Soho so we sat inside and enjoyed a few drinks. Helen’s pear Halmsted cider (from sweden) was lovely and made for some easy consumption. Just up the road we popped into a small gallery and also found a Canon powered photography exhibition at the former jail in the centre of Hong Kong island. We could feel a lot of history here and quite a few areas were sealed off, we have spotted a fair amount of asbestos in China and we bet this place could have been the same. The exhibition (hkphotofest.org) was ok with a selection of old photographs showing the old Hong-Kong in its Colonial days and also some more modern photographers exhibiting their work. The building for us was the highlight, both wanting to use the space for a photography shoot. We even took our Christmas card photos of each other here, ready to be comped together with our Christmas best wishes.

After purchasing some Santa hats for some festive fun we continued to explore the streets on foot and found a great local restaurant that specialised in Wonton. We had a clear broth, with a free refill, and then started on the noodles. Helen’s wonton was packed with around 5 or 6 prawns and the lemon and honey cold beverage was great. Jumping on the underground network we made our way to Kowloon were on Christmas eve we were informed by the Alison Guest House that there would be fireworks on the Hong-Kong island and looking across the bay was the best way to see them. We asked a local police officer and they told us no fireworks, but there is an event taking place up the road, a street carnival.

People in the Hong-Kong territories really celebrate Christmas Eve more so that the actual day and there were lots of people walking the streets as a lot of the roads were sealed off to traffic. For a few hours we wandered around Tsim Sha Tsui and were absorbed further into chaotic streets and neon, they were getting ready for street parties and around the pier looking across to Hong-Kong Island thousands of people were waiting and photographing the Christmas decorations. It was rammed!

Not wanting to get stuck on the wrong side of the bay once the street procession had passed we headed back to Causeway Bay via the Star Ferry. For 1 HKD it’s a great view of the skyline and an essential part of any Hong-Kong visit. Not far from our accommodation was City Super which is like a food hall at Selfridges in the UK. They had some very nice items to buy so we invested in some Christmas Day luxuries and a really good smoked salmon wrap and a chicken caesar salad.

The streets were packed with people at any time of the day or night, maybe last minute shopping, some carol singers and others just out to feel the Christmas vibe. Once the sun had gone down the streets were even brighter with neon fluorescent and shop interior lights. We felt like we were inside the indent for Channel 4 in the UK which uses neon lights and signs to create a big number four. The inspiration must have come from here.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)