Cornwall Part 2: Polperro and the sea cliff walk

 After a day spent lazing on the beach me and my camping buddy decided it was time to do something a bit more active. We had had the sea side town of Polperro recommended as being an excellent place to visit and so we decided to take the cliff side walk to reach it.

It was a good ten mile walk all round from where we were camped and so we started early. The views themselves were stunning as we passed dramatic rock formations, beautiful blue waters, waterfalls and stunning beaches.

The walk was also great for nature spotting as we spotted diving birds, butterflies and dramatically coloured flowers and a bird of prey hunting high above the cliffs.

The walk itself took a little bit longer then expected and we arrived in the late afternoon. The town itself was as picturesque as expected and we spent some time exploring the lovely local shops, eating ice cream and topped it all off by having an exquisite lamb stew at one of the local pubs.

We left and made it in good time back to the campsite and we stopped for a little while to take in the truly magical sunset that slowly disappeared along the horizon. I spent my final night relaxing and watching the stars. By the time the next day came I was sad to be leaving Cornwall but also glad to be making my way back from camping to the comforts of home.

Phu Quoc island

After three weeks volunteering and a few days of non stop traveling I felt the time had come to take a well deserved break. Rather then taking another flight, I decided to take a sleeper bus instead and was rewarded with passing through the incredibly scenic Mekong Delta (more on that later).

This being about my fourth desert island I decided that relaxing was the way forward and I spent much of my days there idly chilling at the hostel or on the beach, with the occasional swim or spectacular sunset to round out my day.

The food on the island was surprising good, with some truly excellent fresh seafood. The highlight came when the hostel I was staying at put on a great late night BBQ which included freshly cooked squid, some massive prawns and freshly cooked fish. What with all this, great company and a band made up of two rather free spirited gentlemen strumming away on their guitars I really enjoyed my rather brief stay on the island.

Cambodia: Koh Rong island

After arriving in Cambodia I decided I desperately needed the beach and so after spending one night in Phnom Penh I jumped on the nearest bus and boat heading to Koh Rong Island. I arrived and was immediately greeted with white sand beaches and crystal clear blue waters.

Life on the island was attractively laid back and I spent most days trekking to and then lazing on some of the best beaches I have had the pleasure of experiencing while traveling. At night I would explore the island's many restaurants and clubs.

The Island was also home to some amazing wildlife including monkeys, many kind of fish as well as some snakes. The best though was saved for when I took a late night snorkel tour of the island's luminous plankton. With each wave of my arms it was like swimming through an ocean of glittering stars.

About four nights in I managed to contract a stomach bug that had been going around the island and was pretty much confined to my dorms for the next three days. After I had recovered though I decided it was time to head out to pastures new.

Sadly though this beautiful island is under the threat of serious development, many parts of the island have been brought up by Chinese developers who are planning to extensively develop the island (including building an airport). These types of developments rarely end well for the ecosystems of islands like this and it would be sad to see this island go the same way.

Dong Hoi and Danang

My time in Hanoi coming to an end I decided to head south in search of the beautiful Paradise Cave, one the largest cave networks in Asia. The first night i arrived turned out to be rather eventful as no sooner had i arrived at a hostel then i was out the door with fellow backpackers to dance the night away.

The next day, feeling slightly hung over I set out on a tour of the caves. Our first stop was a magical boat ride through the heart of the cave system itself, through which an actualriver flowed. The cave network was beautifully lit and marvellously surreal, like floating through the belly of some deep sea creature.

This was only a taste of things to come as the next stop took us via buggie to the entrance of a jungle cave, the space inside was gianomous, a massive airhanger like space, where staggities fought rock formations in an epic struggle to impress us travellers the most.

Throughly pleased with my tour of Dong Hoi I set off for my next adventure. What was intended to be brief stop over turned out to be a full blown stop. As i decided to meet up with a friend in the glamourous city of Danang, with wide open beaches, next to no western tourists and wide open roads Danang felt almost like it could be the LA of Vietnam. I spent an extremely enjoyable evening there playing darts, admiring the sea and the fabulous dragon bridge (which spat both fire and water) and discovering one of the best undiscovered cities that Vietnam had to offer.

Vietnam: Harlong bay

Travelling to the north east of Vietnam, i decided to tour the many limestone islands of Harlong Bay. To do so I booked a tour with my local hostel and was soon sailing through the dramatic limestone islands that pierced the seas of North East Vietnam.

Our tour guide was friendly and helpful and the food served aboard our small boat was delicious. The first day I spent in the Bay itself was spent touring the dramatic "amazing cave" located inside on of the limestone casts. It was huge and  lit with the most amazing colours and our guide talked us through the formation of this dramatic structure.

 After this we scaled one of the island hills to taken in the vista of our dramatic surroundings before being whisked away to kayak into the setting sun. We finished our canoeing trip by padding through a cave up to 'monkey island', which more then lived up to its name as we got to view the monkeys first hand cavorting through the trees that covered the island.

As the sun set we enjoyed dinner on the boat before being rocked to sleep by the lull of the waves. The next day was one of relaxation, as we sunbathed on the deck on our way back to Hanoi.