Home Sweet Home!!!!!

After an epic journey we were welcomed home with open arms by my Mum (Mary), my niece Caitlin and Rob's Dad (Len). We were over the moon to see everyone and enjoyed the nicest cup of tea EVER in Portlaoise. Rob headed off to his family in Limerick & Ennis. It is really fantastic to be home and see all of our friends and family. I really feel like I have my priorities right now; we've been blessed to have such an amazing experience from Dublin to Dublin! See you all soon no doubt, Love Fiona + Rob

Bangkok

Bangkok, HitYerMickey, Capital of Thailand. The city that mixes ladies and boys into one unique package, if you'll forgive the term. We landed in Bangkok intending to take care of all of our Christmas shopping. Doing so would require a grasp of the local slang:
"Ping Pong" does not mean table tennis.
"Massage" does not mean massage.
"Hello my friend" means that someone you have never met before wants to engage you in extortion of some variety, and is therefore not your friend at all.

We took care of the shops, the sights and the Khao San Road (just to confirm that I'll only ever be back if I need a new Irish driver's licence in a hurry). Who'd have known that the Irish Department of the Environment would have third-party agents up and down the Khao San (and with a 30-minute turnaround time). They even print the card-version of the Irish driver's licence which doesn't exist in Ireland. Truly a feat of international co-operation!

So, you know Murphy's Law. Well, I think Fiona may just have re-defined it. A year and a half on the road, eating at the kind of places where you don't want to wash your hands because they'd be getting dirtier instead of cleaner. On our second-last day in Asia, Fiona gets the Bangkok Belly. No need for all the details, let's just say its like Delhi Belly, only with the double evacuations.

After a pretty rough night and morning, all hell broke loose. No problem, says I, let's get the doctor. $150 (US Dollars) later we are told to go to hospital to be admitted. Where better to spend the last night of your Round the World adventure than in hospital with severe food poisoning.

If you are looking for a good hotel at a reasonable rate in Bangkok, look no further than Bumrungrad International Hospital. With beds starting at 50euro (per-person-sharing) you'll be given the best possible care and attention. Mezzanine level food court (McDonalds, Starbucks, etc), post-office, bank, hotel-wide wifi, all rooms en-suite, mini-bar, room-service menu and extremely attentive staff (vitals checked every 3 hours - IV fluids available on request).

We checked in at 10pm (our last night on the road). The doctors said they'd do their best to give the "fit-to-fly" in time for our flight to Dublin the following evening. 2 bags of IV fluid and 3 doses of IV antibiotcs later, Fiona was right as rain(ish). Who's this Murphy fella we've been hearing about? Photos are here

Cambodia

It was nice arriving in Phnom Penh after an epic bus trip from Saigon. It struck me as a lively and friendly city. We met up with Dan and Hannah, our travelling buddies (our 4th meeting on 3 different continents - lets see if we can do 7!) We had a good look around the city, I loved the architecture in the Royal Palace and renting trendy trousers. We also went to S-21 one of the main prisons for detaining Cambodians during the Khmer Rouge/Pol Pot Regime 1975-1979. It was an extremely powerful place to visit and one which I will never forget. We then went to where these poor prisoners were taken and executed - the 'Killing Fields' just outside Phnom Penh. Seeing the scars of this human tragedy and seeing what man can do to man took m

y breath away, its unbelievable to think that some of the Khmer Rouge leaders are in the current Cambodian Government.

Next we headed north to Siem Reap, the gateway to the Temples of Angkor. Out first glimpse of Angkor Wat was at sunrise which was spectacular. We saw some cool temples, my favourite being the jungle temple where the trees have invaded the buildings, pretty cool!

After saying goodbye to the Dan & Hannah and hanging around in Siem Reap we headed south to the beach at Sihanouk Ville. Truth be told we just hung around by the pool in the sun and shade for me. We played lots of pool-ball-hoop achieving a new world record and frolicked with Shamu and chums. What a great way to round off the trip, I have really enjoyed the warmth and genuine nature of the people of Kampuchea. Next stop Bangkok before coming home!!!!!!!!!!!

Photos are here.