Nha Trang beach in Vietnam.

We made it to Nha Trang, the beach capital of Vietnam and extremely popular with Russian tourists!  At the airport we paid for a taxi voucher, 320,000 VND to get us to Nha Trang. The airport is 30 km out of town so we weren’t really sure whether it was better to get a voucher or go for a metered taxi but decided to go with a voucher.  The drive...

In a park in Ho Chi Minh City close to our hotel.

We arrived in HCMC on the bus about 2 pm. Grabbed the first Vinasun taxi we could see to get to the hotel as these taxis were recommended to us. Arrived at the hotel without a hitch and were shown to our ‘family room’ on the 10^th floor; a huge room with two queen size beds, 2 desks, fridge, cable tv and bathroom with large...

We flew from Phu Quoc Island to Can Tho on the mainland of Vietnam because $25 for a 1/2 hour flight each was way more appealing than a whole day of travel by taxi, ferry and bus!  The bonus which I hadn’t considered was that we got a bird’s eye view of the Mekong Delta region – the mass of rice paddy fields, orchards, streams and little villages was fantastic to see from...

We started with 4 nights on the island and extended this with another 2 nights as we were enjoying the relaxed pace and it was cheaper to fly off the island on a Tuesday rather than the weekend!  Most days began the same way breakfast at ‘Oasis’ down the road from our accommodation and then a walk down to the beach for a swim.  Baguettes are as readily available here as...

Our big adventure for the day – our first land border crossing from Cambodia to Vietnam.  The staff at ‘Jasmine Valley’ had organised transport to get us across to Ha Tien and the ferry terminal to Phu Quoc for $27.  We were picked up by a tuk-tuk driver and enjoyed a fabulous country drive for 45 minutes to the border. Along the way we saw salt farms; dry rice paddies,...

We moved onto Kep after just one night in Kampot as our Cambodian visa was running out. We paid $15 for a ride in a beat up Toyota Camry to get us from one place to another. The drive was quite scenic – green, mountainous and less developed.  We arrived in Kep where the driver informed us he didn’t know where he was going, so he pulled up to chat with the local tuk-tuk...

We once again braved the roads to travel from Sihanoukville to Kampot. We had a car and driver, which is always the safer option if possible compared to a tuk-tuk or motorbike; and certainly our preferred method with 2 children.  We were picked up in a beat up Toyota Camry and were told that for $15 he would drive us to ‘Les Manguiers’ for our overnight accommodation.

When...

We thought we would treat ourselves to a beach vacation after our 12 days in Tanop in dirt and dust. At 7 am we departed Tanop with the director of TCEC and headed for Phnom Penh. We arrived just in time to catch the 9am bus to Sihanoukville. The bus for some reason drove for 4 kms and then sat on the side of the road for 45 minutes and then headed off again! 

Finally we...

Patrick has always been a keen artist and since travelling he has captured some of his memories in his drawing book. 

'A hippopotamus', inspired by Taman Safari in Indonesia.

'A green snake'.

'A lion' inspired by Taman Safari, Indonesia.

'A Chinese New Year dragon'.

'A battling guy with super sharp fingers and fire fingers'.

'Patrick having a tuk-tuk ride in Phnom Penh'.

By...