21st-23rd September 2014

Our arrival into Cambodia along the Mekong River and then onwards by bus took us into the Southern city of Phnom Penh. The landscape was quite similar to that of Vietnam,  although I felt a little more green and lush. After checking into our hostel we decided to go for lunch. Here we were introduced to the city’s main transportation mode – the tuk tuk! Tuk tuks come in different shapes and styles. Continue reading Phnom Penh, Cambodia →

This was going to be my next post:

“Absolutely gutted are the only words I can use as to how I feel right now. I have just spent an awesome day trekking in the Malaysian jungle, and have excitedly booked a trek with a group tomorrow too.  So, feeling quite content, this evening I thought I’d catch up with some things I needed to do,  and so thought I’d get the photos off my SD cards and onto my tablet.  Four cards I went through,  and afterwards I formatted each card for the next use. The last card I formatted I didn’t think had worked properly.  So I did it again.  Unfortunately what I didn’t realise was that I was just about to format the storage card on my tablet, deleting 90% of the photos I had taken in the last six weeks. 

At first it was disbelief, then this lead to the realisation that I had actually just done this, and suffice to say I have spent much of the evening in tears.  Those that know me, and those that follow my blog, I expect realise, how much my photos mean to me. There’s photos of sunsets and blue beaches that I’m really not going to get upset about and I can get any day, they’re ten a penny, but what sticks in my mind is my visit to the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, and my two days spent in the amazing temples of Angkor Wat. Yes, I know I could potentially revisit these places one day, but both experiences were special,  and I know I had some equally amazing pictures.

I know over the next few days/weeks I will remember other great pics and videos I have taken, and now lost. I know it’s not the end of the world but I can’t help being so upset about this.

Unfortunately the next few blog posts won’t have many pics on them,  if any. I have a handful of photos on my phone, but not many 😦 ”

Fortunately things weren’t quite as bad as I first thought:

Now, after chatting with a couple of people I was well informed that I should be able to get the photos back, with the use of a computer.  So whilst in Kuala Lumpur I took my memory cards into a computer shop.  I managed to get a whole bunch of corrupted photos back, some had been salvaged ok, but not many.  The next day I took all my memory cards in to see what I could get back from them, and luckily I did get a fair few more from them.  I had most of the Elephant Nature Park photos, but as hard as I wished I really didn’t get many of the Angkor temples photos.  Probably about ten out of…..er…..probably around 300!  Truly gutted about this as I had two of the best days of my entire trip in these magnificent old ruins, they really were something else.   I was even thinking of going back there to retake the pics I lost, but it would cost a bit to go back there obviously, and I came to the conclusion I can visit again one day.  So the awesome day and photos I took (which I never got to see myself as I hadn’t even had chance to sit down properly and look through them!) will remain confined to my memory, bar a few saved ones. 

I know it is not the end of the world, but it certainly wasn’t my best week I must admit, especially as I have cloud backup in case of such idiotic occurrences….but last time I did the backup, it hadn’t worked properly, and I hadn’t kept on top of it and checked it. 

Unfortunately I didn’t have a second back up in case of two idiotic occurrences…..

Tough lesson learned.  It’s always after the horse has bolted isn’t it……?!

7th – 11th September 2014

On arrival in Hoh Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), I got off the bus to be greeted, as usual, by eager taxi drivers/motorbike taxis, people transporters etc etc.  I had searched on my GPS for the street I was looking for, and it showed me it was about 3 miles away.  I asked a taxi driver how much it would be, and he said ‘it’s on the meter’.  Oh good, I thought, as this is usually the best rate!  I emphasise the word ‘usually’.

Continue reading Hoh Chi Minh City – Scams, War History, and a whole lotta mopeds! →

3rd – 8th September 2014

I had to choose between another beach destination or Da Lat, an inland mountainous region with beautiful scenery.  Of course I opted for the mountainous region, as much as I love beaches I probably love a mountain’s views and the challenges they possess even more so!

The climate in Da Lat was a lot cooler, so much so that for the few days I was there I could straighten my hair again! 

Continue reading Da Lat, Vietnam. Mountains, wine, and a cat called Mau →