Country 1 - Hong Kong (part B)

20 August - 1 September 2018

Well we make it across the water from Macau and arrive at the gorgeous InterContinental Hotel in Kowloon in a room with a full harbor view. Just stunning! We receive a bottle of champagne and a fruit bowl on arrival just to cap it off. If only our stay was a happy one.


The last time I was in Kowloon was about 8 years so with the medication Caleb got from the Macau hospital we were hoping he'd be right after another day of rest so I head out for a walk and reacquaint myself with the downtown Kowloon area. Soon enough I'm back at the hotel with my sick patient, dripping with sweat and enjoying the air conditioning.


At about 3am hubby wakes me up saying he's coughing up blood. This was the beginning of the end of our Hong Kong holiday. We get in a taxi and head to St Teresa's private hospital where he is again diagnosed with Infulenza A and after a chest xray we are given more medication and sent back to the hotel. Needless to say day 2 of our stay is a write off.

Fast forward 2 days and Caleb is not any better. In the afternoon he goes down hill fast and is unable to breathe so I call for an ambulance and this time we are whisked away to Queen Elizabeth hospital and he is admitted for the night. Here they perform test after test to find out what's wrong to no quick avail. The following morning I arrive back at the hospital and Caleb's first words to me are - get me out of here.

The ward he is in is called general ward - mens. The room has about 15 men cramped in and none of them are under the age of 70.There is no space between the beds to sit so it's standing room only. There are no toilets on the floor so all the men are in diapers which are changed in the room with the curtains closed. That plus more is the reason he wants out and I get straight on the phone with our insurance to make it happen. The funny thing is when they called the hospital the night before to check on him the hospital couldn't find any record of him being admitted. This conversation marks the beginning of an epic and tiresome couple of days liasing with our travel insurance to get him the proper care he deserves.

We discharge ourselves with the consent of our insurance company and head back to the hotel for a much needed shower and some rest before heading back to St Teresa's hospital to readmit for further treatment. On arrival at St Teresa's hospital starts a ridiculous 5 hour wait, multiple calls to our insurance company and when it looks like he's being admitted at 10pm at night, the paperwork isn't accepted so Caleb makes the call to go back to the hotel for the night not before giving it to the insurance company first.

The next day we receive a call letting us know everything is sorted at the hospital and we can return when we're ready. We do and we are happy to be admitted on arrival and put in a private room with an ensuite. Here I can relax a little knowing he is now in the right place.

He is treated for Influenza A, bronchitis and viral pneumonia over the next 5 days. Fun times! The level of care he gets here is exactly what is needed and after 5 bags of saline and countless number of drugs later I am able to bring him back to the hotel for good.

During all of this we were booked to head to China for an 8 day tour. Unfortunately we have had to cancel that but it means we are headed off to Ireland a few days earlier than planned. All that matters is that he is ok and better to continue on this epic honeymoon we have painstakingly planned. We finally cracked that champange on our last night too and boy did I cherish every sip!

Hong Kong though I know you have much to offer, this time round just hasn't been an excellent adventure.

Country 4 - Macau

18-20 August 2018

As we said goodbye to our awesome tour group in Hanoi, we found ourselves back on a plane headed to Hong Kong bound for Macau. Now Macau had never really been on my bucket list but as hubby loves his poker we thought a couple of nights in Asia's Las Vegas would be fun.

The cool thing about Macau is that you can book a high speed ferry from Hong Kong airport which means your bags are collected for you and you clear customs on the other side. Very convenient. So on arrival in Macau we collect our bags and head to the free shuttle offered by the resort. Here is where our language barrier came into play. We knew we were headed to The Sands complex so the lovely lady put us on a bus headed to Sands. Only when we were driving across one of the longest bridges I've seen, did we think something was up. We got off at The Sands and realised very quickly we were on the wrong side of Macau.

Lucky for us a Holiday Inn bus was waiting at the same drop off point so we quickly got our bags and jumped on that bus for it to only take us back over the same bridge but this time to the right Sands complex and our hotel.

Thinking that was enough adventure for one day we get settled in our hotel. We soon found out that our hotel is part of a huge mall complex where Coach, Gucci and Rolex are just your common everyday shops, the casino floor is apart of our hotel lobby and an atrium water feature left nothing to be desired. Leaving the poker to the following day we kept our first night low key.

The following day was our only full day in Macau and instead of sightseeing we ended up at a Macau private hospital. Caleb had had a cough on the plane and after a night of so called rest he was worse so I made the call to take him to hospital and get checked out. So over the bridge we go again! A fever shot and an Influenza A diagnosis later we retreat back to the hotel, a bucket load of medication in tow and we know the day is done for.

On Monday we leave Macau and head back to Hong Kong for 4 more nights. By sheer will Caleb drags himself out of bed and we get on the ferry back to the big smoke. It was an unfortunate stay and one we are sure we would have enjoyed in happier circumstances but we'll be back again sometime in the future under much better circumstances.

Travelers tip - Cotai Ferry is the best to choose as it's the fast speed ferry that offers baggage and custom services

Travelers tip - HKD is accepted in Macau but you'll receive MOP in change. Just be sure to use it all before returning to Hong Kong.

Country 3 - Vietnam

8-18th August 2018

We didn't have the most stress free start to our trip to Vietnam. On arrival to Saigon, hubby presents his evisa for entry. What ensues next is 30 mins of will they/won't they let him in as they don't have record of his visa approval even though we present a copy of it on government letterhead. His passport is passed to one person then another before someone just walks off with in entirely. Eventually they return verifying that the visa is authentic and after a few more key strokes on the computer we're given the stamp we'd been waiting for while our tour group patiently waits for us outside.

Our first tour day we explored the Chu Chi Tunnels. This place is something else. During the Vietnam war the Vietcong, or VC, built 3 layered tunnels in the jungle to evade the US troops. It was later discovered that approx 250km of tunnels were built here to house the VC for over 10 years during the non-stop fighting with the US. Booby traps and camouflage tunnel entries were dotted everywhere in the jungle and some examples of the steel traps were on display. Hubby, who is 6ft 3, crawled through 40m of open tunnel and he along with half the group came out the other side complaining of how cramped and dark it was. Imagine that for 10 years of your life...

We finished the day at the War museum which gave us a one sided version of events from the end of WWII until the US departed after the Vietnam war. Graphic content was shown to highlight the effects of Agent Orange that was used on the villagers by the US troops.



To lift the mood a little, the next day we took a saipan through a local village and stopped at a local candy factory before some of the group tasted a local Snake/Scorpion rice wine. Swapping the saipan for a larger boat, we sail down the Mekong Delta and enjoy a local lunch on the water. To finish the day we visit Saigon's indoor markets on the way back into town. Before our flight up to Hoi An, we visit the Reunification Palace, the last stronghold to fall, leading to the end of the Vietnam war.



Hoi An, about 45min drive from Da Nang, is a resort town growing by the day. Here we spend our morning walking through the streets of old Hoi An followed by a cooking class and farming tutorial in the Tra Que village. The Hoi An night markets are a big and busy sight to see featuring everything you can think of.

After a quick stop in Hoi An, we hit the road heading north to Hue - the ancient capital of Vietnam. We travel by bus via the mountain pass and enjoy the afternoon with a relaxing ride down the Perfume River. Before flying north to Hanoi we walk through the Purple Forbidden City before a leisurely cyclo tour in the afternoon.


Hanoi is wet and miserable when we arrive so our first
night is spent inside watching an amazing water puppet show. Waking up the next day we are told a typhoon is headed our way and our overnight stay at Halong Bay had been canceled. As a consolation prize we are treated to Nihn Binh, known as inland Halong, a lake between limestone mountains and got rained on there instead.





The weather gods turned it on for us the last day as we got our wish and headed to Ha Long bay for a 4 hour cruise. There are over 3000 islands in the bay so this short cruise just confirmed that we definitely need to come back and spend more time here.


After a very quick 10 days, we say goodbye to Vietnam and 20 of our new friends and head back to Hong Kong before jumping on a ferry over to Macau. I leave Vietnam torn. A country so corrupt is rich for many and poor for so many more, A communist country who dictates what their people can and can't do yet the people just want freedom, to earn a good wage and provide for their families. Yet we learn't in Cambodia that although they have a democracy in place they are ruled by countries like Vietnam who are taking advantage of smaller players in SEA. I suppose there is always a bigger fish in the sea. Vietnam's bigger fish? China.

Traveler's Tip - There were another Australian couple that this evisa issue happened to as well. Just stay calm and let them do their thing. You will be put to the side and told to wait an unknown amount of time but it will go through. Vietnam is not a country you want visa or passport issues.

Traveler's Tip - We were warned against eating street food to avoid getting the stomach bug. We saw cups and dishes being washed in dirty street water so I would strongly advise to follow as well.

Country 2 - Cambodia

4-8 August 2018

On arrival into Cambodia we are greeted with 35 degree heat and about 98% humidity. We enter the arrivals hall and line up for our visa on arrival. The visa process is one of the best production lines I've ever seen. You submit your paperwork, photo and of course money at one end of the counter and about 10 people later your passport appears with your visa inside. We collect our bags and make our way to the hotel to meet up with our tour group ready for the next adventure.


We spent 3 nights in Siem Reap and find we have a great mix of Irish, English, Welsh & Aussies to spend the next 2 weeks with on our tour. Siem Reap is not a big city but has enough traffic to make you think it is. Our first tour day we visit the Beng Mealea Temple Ruins, a 1000 year old temple partially recaptured by the rainforest. These ruins seem like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. It is simply stunning.


Next we're off to the Chong Kneas floating villages on an inland lake that depends entirely on monsoons to keep their houses afloat. It was simply amazing to see how this village lived. Where an inlet met the open lake the water was so choppy it seemed like their banana boats would capsize without notice. But their balance is unparalleled and we saw children as young as 2 or 3 years old getting rocked around without a care in the world. No bedrooms or showers were visible in their houses, just simply a hammock and singular room floating homes house families without effort.

Cambodia is renowned
for it's temples and one of the most recognised sites would have to be the 1000 year old temple of Angkor Wat. We visited these beautiful grounds on our 3rd day in Siem Reap. Approx 1.2km long and 1.3km wide, we walk around huge gardens & through corridor after corridor amazed by the intricacies of the carvings that are adorned on the face of every surface. 3 hours in the intense sun and heat we retreat to a cafe at the entrance and take advantage of the limited air conditioning while we wait for our guide.

Once back on the bus we head off to the royal fortified city of Angkor Thom crossing a mote into order to gain entry. Here we visit the Buddist temple of Bayon - the smiling temple. Face after face carved into stone smiling from you from every direction. The last stop for the day is Ta Prohn, a non-rebuilt temple made famous in the first Tomb Raider movie with the tree root covered door way. Here nature has has taken control and engulfed these ruins enhancing their beauty and making them awe inspiring.




Just as we feel like we got our feet on the ground we're headed back to the airport and onto the capital Phnom Penh. No rest for the wicked and we're off to the Royal Palace, National Museum and Lady Penh Mountain, the name sake of this great city. While at the museum, the heavens opened and torrential rain appeared and within no more than 20 mins the streets were flooded & mini waves were caused by all the traffic yet the locals continued their day like nothing was happening.




On our last morning in Phnom Penh we visited the Genocide museum, on the grounds of the notorious S21 prison. 3,000,000 people, around 40% of the country, were exterminated by the ruling communist party, Khmer Rouge, between 1975-1978, who dreamt of a farming utopia of no more than 1.5-2 million people. There are no words to describe what happened here but from what our guide informed us of, the Cambodian government is still very much trying to keep this quiet with not allowing photos in the jail. Our guide begged us to take as many photos as possible to share it with the world for people to understand what his country went through only 40 years ago.

Cambodian people are happy people. They don't have a lot, their wage system is poor and their government is as corrupt as they come but they do their best to provide for their families. With very heavy hearts we head back to the airport and board our plane to Vietnam. 

Travelers tip - Cambodia uses USD as their main currency so if you find yourself traveling there no need to get the Cambodian Riel.

Travelers tip - Happy House = toilet. If you're on a guided tour you'll be asked if you need to visit the happy house on each stop.

Travelers tip - Visa on arrival for us Aussies so make sure you have a couple of printed passport photos and exact USD for the visa as no change is given.

Country 1 - Hong Kong

2-4 August 2018

To explain what kind of journey this blog is about to embark on I need to take you back to January 2017 in a small lakeside town of Bregenz, Austria. It is here my lovely boyfriend got down on one knee in the snow, in front of a Christmas Tree and asked me to marry him.

We returned home to Australia and everyone started asking if we’d picked a date yet. I thought surely people aren’t that organised just days after getting engaged. Little did I know my now finance was doing a little internal planning of his own.

Within 2 months we’d set a date and picked the venue for our big day so we decided to put that all on the back burner and let the real fun begin – Honeymoon planning. At first we talked about a 3 month trip around the world. Some of my friends were currently on lengthy trips like this and I thought ‘What the hell that sounds awesome!’. Three months turned into six and then six turned into twelve. At this point I tried to put the brakes on because who travels for 12 months?

Well when the final outline of the trip was done it was official – we were taking approx 18 months off and going around the world visiting about 60 countries. When we started telling our friends and family we heard it all. Some of the best reactions were ‘You’re crazy!, how you can afford that?, that’s awesome, so lucky, will you survive? & can I come with you?’

Packing up our belongings was a mammoth effort.  July 31^st rolled around and we said goodbye to jobs that have allowed us to travel the world and plan this epic trip. Then August 2^nd was here and we were packed and ready for our 4am pick up.

Day 1 of this epic honeymoon we splurged and booked ourselves business class tickets to Hong Kong. The direct service from Adelaide was a plus and I’m pretty sure hubby was snoring before the first glass of champagne could be poured. We have been so fortunate to travel at the front of the plane on recent trips and this one was just as good. The food & service put Cathay Pacific towards to the top of my airline picks.

After a very comfortable 8.5hr flight we are welcomed with a very warm and humid 34 degrees. But we didn’t care about the weather as we were off to Disneyland. We spent the next full day at the park and felt like kids again. Starwars laser rollercoaster, 3D Iron Man simulation, a high speed mine rollercoaster that propelled you forwards and backwards as well as an interactive journey through Mystic Manor were some of our highlights. Nine hours & 11000 steps later we retreated to our hotel for a cool shower and some well earned air conditioning.

And just like that the next morning we are packing our bags again and are off to the next adventure. We thought Disneyland was the best way to kick off our honeymoon but now it's time for a little culture and new experiences. This is not the last you’ll hear of Hong Kong from me, we’ve got 2 more visits on our busy schedule. 

See you again soon HKG!

**Travellers tip – if you are planning to visit Hong Kong Disney, take a taxi from the airport to your Disney hotel. We took 3 trains and a bus and in the heat and opted for a taxi on the way out.

**Travellers tip – Use the free hotel shuttle to get to the park 30 mins before general opening time. This allows you to get better line access for when the park does open to get your fast passes. Food is expensive in the Disney hotels so eat at the park as much as you can.