Kenny McColl's Super Fantastic Web Site


All Around The World

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

This is the part where we bore you all ...

Photos
Highlights - the best of all the photos
Scotland - Glasgow
Slovenia - Ljubliana & Celje
Italy - Venice
England - London - Karen's 40th Birthday Party
Thailand - Bangkok
Thailand - Krabi
Thailand - Chiang Mai, Bangkok Again & Chiang Rai
Laos - Mekong, Luang Prabang & Vientiene
Vietnam - Hanoi & Halong Bay
Vietnam - Hoi An & My Son
Vietnam - Hue
Vietnam - Phu Quoc
Vietnam - Saigon
Cambodia - Siem Reap & Angkor
Singapore
Australia - Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road & Mornington Pensinsula
Australia - Queensland
Australia - Uluru
Australia - Sydney, The Blue Mountains & Hunter Valley
Scotland All Over The World
Graffiti of the World
Mythical Creatures of the World

Trip Miscellany

Top Places

  • Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • Luang Prabang, Laos
  • Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Hoi An, Vietnam
  • Angkor, Cambodia
  • Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Highlights

Not So Good

  • Vietnamese traffic & road "etiquette"
  • Frenzied, loud & high-pitched sales appeals outside calm temples in Angkor
  • 5am hour-long propaganda broadcasts in Hanoi
  • 7am hour-long amplified street karaoke in Bangkok
  • The giant tarantula in the bathroom at Pakbeng, Laos
  • Bird's Nest beverage in Bangkok - absolutely disgusting!
  • Ridiculously persistent flies in Australia
  • In Vietnam, the sidewalk/pavement is not intended for walking on - it's for motorbike parking, or family dining - which means walking in the fearsome traffic
  • Flying cockroaches in restaurants in Sydney
  • Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi
  • Our camera breaking the day we visit Angkor (fortunately it made it through the day)
  • Our inability to identify the street meat we bought in Bangkok (our best guesses: mussels, pigs ear, chicken plus one other)
  • Everything closing at 8:30pm in Australia
  • Food poisoning from one of the most expensive restaurants in Bangkok
  • Durian out of season everywhere we went, so still haven't eaten the fruit fresh
  • Smell of dried squid everywhere you go in Thailand
  • Searing heat in Luang Prabang, Angkor & Queensland (great weather everywhere else)
  • Taxi driver hotel scams in Hanoi
  • Insistent motorbike "taxis" in Hoi An
  • Sleazy old Western men with teenage Thai girlfriends / wives
  • Tourist tat in Venice
  • Admitting that Malky was right about Laos
  • Flying through cyclone storms in Australia
  • Bed bugs carried onto dive boat by horrible American stereotype
  • Dive conditions in Vietnam (too cloudy to see anything, then too windy to dive)


Top Meals
Borek / street stand / Ljubljana
Bone marrow / St John / London
Khao Soi (spicy noodles), Chicken with Chilli / Sailomjoy / Chiang Rai
Total cost (including sodas): $1.59
Highlights: No electricity or refrigeration, little boy puking at table next to us
Croque monsieur & salad / Cafe Banvatsene / Luang Prabang
Fried fish (Cha Ca) / Cha Ca La Vong / Hanoi
Chateaubriand / Bibi's / Saigon
Pho bo / Pho Hoa / Saigon
Scrambled eggs & bacon / Bills / Sydney

Interesting Animals Seen In The Wild

Dolphin / Gecko / Tarantula / Spiky Echidna / Koala / Possum / Kangaroo / Wombat / Rainbow Lorikeet / Jabiru / Cockatoo / Cassowary / Albatross / Turtle / Sea Snake / Shovel Nosed Ray / Epaulette Shark / Reef Shark / Stingray / Barracuda / Maori Wrasse / Lionfish / Clownfish / Nudibranch / Squid / Cuttlefish / Eagle Ray / Fruit Bat

Interesting Animals Eaten

Emu / Kangaroo / Horse / Crocodile / Pigeon / Water Buffalo / Yabbies

Local Beers Sampled

Lasko Zlatorog / Union / Smile / Sokol / Leo / Singha (lion) / Chang (elephant) / Beerlao (tiger head) / Beerlao Dark / Tiger / 333 / Saigon Red / Halida / Huda / Larue / Bgi / Red Beer (bia do) / Festival / Saigon Special / Hoa Vien Pilsener / Hoa Vien Dark / Angkor / Klang / Anchor / Brewerkz Wheat / Brewerkz Golden Ale / Brewerkz Mao Tai Lager / Brewerkz Pilsner / Brewerkz Darkside Lager / Brewerkz IPA / Brewerkz Brown Ale / Brewerkz Oatmeal Stout / Brewerkz Brewberriez / Brewerkz Hopback Ale / Brewerkz Xtra Ipa / Brewerkz Moh Gwai / Coopers Pale Ale / Little Creatures / Coopers Sparkling / James Squire Amber / James Squire IPA / James Squire Pilsener / James Boag / Townsville Bitter / Carlton Mid / Carlton Pure Blonde / Eumundi / Crown / Tooheys New / Tooheys Old (Black Ale) / Cascade Pale Ale / Red Back Wheat / Victoria Bitter / James Squire governer king pale ale / James Squire Golden Ale / Cascade Premium / James Boag Premium / Mountain Goat Hightail Ale (Dark Ale) / Blue Tonge Alcoholic Ginger Beer / Blue Tongue Hunter Ale / Blue Tongue Pilsener / Blue Tongue Lager

Movies to Netflix

  • The Man With The Golden Gun
  • The Beach
  • The Quiet American
  • Apocalypse Now
  • Tomb Raider
  • Two Brothers
  • The Killing Fields
  • Picnic At Hanging Rock
  • Wolf Creek
  • Finding Nemo