Siem Reap, Cambodia

We left Kuala Lumpur on an early flight to Siem Reap. We were excited to finally see the temples of Angkor Wat, which had been on both of our lists for a while. We were also a little nervous because the flooding reports for Cambodia hadn't been great - nearly 75% of the country was under water - but we knew from a friend of Jo's brother that things were getting back to normal.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

We hadn't planned on visiting Malaysia as part of our world tour but it was the cheapest way to get to Cambodia from Ko Lanta so we decided to give Kuala Lumpur a quick visit (only one day). The city is the second largest in Malaysia and is quite the metropolis with more than seven million inhabitants and frequent international events.

Around Ko Lanta

From Ko Lanta we took some day-trips by boat to see some of the other islands close by and do some snorkeling. The area is well known from the movies - "The Beach" was filmed in this area as well as the James Bond film "the Man with a Golden Gun." Limestone outcrops rise from the stunning blue seas.

Ko Lanta, Thailand

After the bright city lights of Bangkok, we headed south to the beaches along the Thailand's Andaman Coast. We stopped in Krabi Town and Ao Nang for a few days before heading to Ko Lanta, which we had heard was a very relaxed and beautiful island. To get there you have to take a ferry across to the island since there are no bridges connecting it to the mainland. After the metropolis of Bangkok it was going to be a change.

Bangkok, Thailand

We arrived in Bangkok slightly nervous at what we would find. The country had experienced its worst flooding in years and we had seen constant news coverage for the last few weeks about the risk of serious flooding in downtown Bangkok. According to the news, Bangkok's outlying areas of were underwater and the central areas were being kept dry by little more than sandbags.

Leaving India

After nearly two months in India it was time to head on to the next stage of our trip. Our experiences in India were varied. We loved some places and detested others. Having spoken to other travelers in this vast country it seems like we are not alone.

The Floating Market - Srinagar

On our last morning in Srinagar we got up before dawn to take a shikara ride to see the floating market, a huge attraction in Srinagar. Needless to say, Nick was toasty warm in his new pheran while Jo had to borrow a blanket from our guest house to stay warm....

Srinagar, Kashmir

We arrived late in the afternoon in Srinagar, the largest city in Kashmir, and our guest house owner was waiting for us on the shore of Dal Lake. We took a shikara, a sort of gondola, across the lake to our houseboat. The house boats in Srinagar are rather large (3 or 4 bedrooms) with living rooms and dining rooms and are moored on the lake. Ours was from the 1970s but the the decor was more 1940s. It was very comfortable and from the terrace we had great views out across the lake.

Pahalgam, Kashmir

Kashmir is known by the locals as Paradise on Earth. After our brief introduction at the wedding we were beginning to agree and eager to see more. We drove from the village to Pahalgam where the groom's uncle runs a guest house. We arrived late in the evening and our hosts brought us fresh Kashmiri tea and lit the fire - a perfect mountain welcome!

A Kashmiri Wedding

The manager of our guest house in Dharamsala was Kashmiri and invited us (and some other guests) to join him back in Kashmir for his brothers wedding. This was not the sort of experience we were going to turn down. Our three-car convoy set off from Dharamsala at 5 am for the long drive up to the valley. There were three other foreigners with us, as well as our host and some family friends making the trip up. The drive was amazing as we climbed the steep mountain side to go over the pass into the Kashmir valley. The Kashmir valley itself was beautiful. There were so many old trees and their leaves were changing color with the advancing winter.