Katie and John World Travel

13/12/2023

🐘🐘🐘

13/12/2023

Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) in Phetchaburi is home to hundreds of animals rescued from abuse, injury and illegal trade. It's easily the biggest rescue centre we've ever been too and on top of caring for animals who are unable to be rehabilitated and released they run a number of animal welfare projects in the community. We were lucky enough to stay here for a couple of nights in their incredible accommodation, I Love Phants Lodge. The lodge sits on the border of one of the elephant refuges so you can just hang out with them as much as you want 😍 we did a full day tour of the wildlife rescue centre where they have all sorts of animals that need homes including gibbons, macaques, bears, otters, reptiles, birds, apes and some gorgeous Tigers rescued from Phuket Zoo, just to name a few. We loved this place and were so inspired by all of the amazing work they do here that we didn't want to leave, so John promised me we will return in the new year to volunteer 😁 if you're thinking of a trip to Thailand don't skip this place, even a day tour helps the work they do! And if not, you can adopt an elephant on their website 🐘❤️ elephant pictures to follow!

11/12/2023

After leaving Khao Sok our flight was not until the evening, so our guide Gent offered to show us a few sites around his home town in Surat Thani. We first stopped at a village that was established when the people who had once lived in Khao Sok were forced to move before the dam was built. There they have set up a number of plantations of different fruits and a lot of rubber trees that they sell on. We then visited Baan Nam Rad, a fresh water basin that was crystal clear and is a favourite spot for the locals on the weekend.
We then continued on to Phunphin Geological Museum & learnt a bit more about Thailand and how it was formed millions of years ago. John tried to trick me to go on the earthquake simulator (I'm petrified of earthquakes) but his face gave it away, I instantly knew he was up to something 🤣 last stop was the local night market and with Gents help we were able to try some new food, and discovered our new favourite thai dessert Sai Mai, which is essentially fairy floss wrapped in a crepe 🤤

04/12/2023

Khao Sok National Park, Thailand 🇹🇭 We spent 2 nights here staying on a floating raft house on the lake, which we loved! Being able to jump straight into the lake from our room was so much fun, until we spotted a giant water monitor swim in and pull up on the raft house next to us (it was night time and it was so big, at first we were thinking human or snake? Until we saw the monster). It's said Khao Sok is the oldest evergreen rainforest in the world and is renowned for its giant limestone karsts coming out of the water, also making the lake this stunning blue/green colour. The park is full of different trees and plants, waterfalls and caves to explore but easily our most favourite part of visiting this park was spotting the wildlife. We were so lucky to see all sorts of animals in their natural habitats like bisons, gibbons, langurs and the majestic hornbills (so rare to see in the wild as they are critically endangered)...and of course Asian Elephants! When we were out spotting for elephants, the feeling of anticipation was so high as we were sitting on our boat in dead silence just listening. We could hear them braking bamboo as they walked through the forrest and were just waiting for them to come out so we could get a glimpse. And when one finally came into our view we were beside ourselves excited, it was emotional in a way because of the build up and just wow, what an incredible moment. And bonus we were here for Loy Krathong, a traditional Thai celebration where lanterns are released into the water as a thank you. Very grateful for these experiences ❤️🇹🇭

27/11/2023

Back to the mainland and made a quick stop into Krabi town, just enough time for me to turn into a turtle whilst finding our hostel 🤣 and taking in the local night markets (3 in 1 night) which was a great chance for us to experience the local Thai culture, food (garlic bread on a stick is pure genius) and entertainment. The food was the highlight though paid 30 Baht (about $1.30) for curry and roti and 10 Baht for chicken satays, thanks for coming! Heading off the grid now for the next few days to explore the Khao Sok National Park! Hoping to catch a glimpse of some wild elephants 🐘 🤞

27/11/2023

Koh Tao, Thailand 🇹🇭 the hardest of the 4 islands we visited to reach but probably the best, which is always the way. I thought that boat ride would be the end of me (as did many others who had joined us in the spew zone) but the juice was worth the squeeze! Beautiful white sandy beaches with crystal clear waters and sunny days made for the perfect chance for us to get our snorkel on! Until John cut his foot on some coral and i had to give him first aid, miraculously he survived. Also, ran into our lovely friends on the the death boat that we made in our first week of our trip in Vietnam, such a great surprise! And had a brilliant night out with them taking in all the fun of Koh Tao with more ladyboy cabaret shows (just too good to pass up another chance to go), cocktails in buckets, John doing his thing on the dance floor and then getting a taxi home which is actually just a ute you sit in the tray of. Something about sitting in the tray of the ute is really fun...think it's because we're actually children 🤣 and that concludes our island hopping leg 😭 such an amazing time, it's easy to see why thailand is known for having some of the most beautiful islands in the world! We'll definitely miss our relaxing beach days and fun nights here but leaving with the best memories! ❤️

27/11/2023

Koh Phangan, Thailand 🇹🇭 Island stop number 3! Had the most relaxing stop here, the weather wasn't great and we were staying right on the beach so spent our days in and out of the water! So nice to be able to swim in the ocean here after being deprived in Darwin 🤣 here between Mae Head and Koh Ma the beach forms a sandbar so you can walk between islands. The waves meet in the middle so at high tide it's quite the challenge to get across with the waves smashing you from each side 🤣 one poor bloke was 2/3rds of the way out when a huge storm cell hit, coming out of no where. He was stranded on the smaller island for about 10 minutes until he was able to make it back as you couldn't even see through the rain and then when he finally did everyone at the bar applauded him 🤣 we were also really lucky to see bioluminescent plankton here (basically blue glow in the dark plankton) when we decided to go for a nightswim. It was like seeing a million tiny stars on the beach and we were looking around in disbelief like is anyone else seeing this but we were the only ones on the whole beach! It was impossible to get a good photo though so it remains a special memory for us ❤️

20/11/2023

Koh Samui, Thailand 🇹🇭 spent a few days here doing a lot of relaxing in our pool villa on the beach watching huge lightening storms roll in, tough life island hopping when the places are this beautiful and chill!! We absolutely loved visiting Koh Madsum (also known as Pig Island) where the super friendly and cute pigs roam free on the beach, we might have to add another pet or two to the family 🐷 probably one of the best days we've had so far even though the weather wasn't the best for snorkelling off Koh Tan. The nightlife on Koh Samui is also going off and we had probably one of our favourite nights out here too so far at the Diva's Cabaret, ladyboys lip syncing their hearts out to all the classics like Whitney Houston, Madonna and ABBA, what's not to love! 💃👸 so much fun but the island hopping must go on!

18/11/2023

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand 🇹🇭 spent a few days on this island for Mal and Sie's wedding. Some before and after pics from their big day (will post the wedding photos when they come out). We stayed at the Zeavola Resort, absolutely stunning location and even had a bonus room guest join us (named him slippery the snake, slips for short). The snorkelling here was unreal, right off the beach from the resort - perfect morning of the wedding prep for Malcolm! Sierra surprised Malcolm at the night before event by having everyone wear red wigs, which was hilarious and also strangely it really suited John (Joanna). After the festivities we hung around to explore the main part of town which was so fun, including drunk boxing where anyone can jump in the ring for free beers...we weren't game but thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment 🤣 wish we had planned to spend longer here but more islands to explore!

15/11/2023

Landing in Phuket, Thailand was just like old times again. So excited to see our good friends Malcom and Sierra after years and so ready to celebrate their love and happiness ❤️ and celebrate we did! Spent a couple of days(and nights) enjoying all the fun of Patong beach, catching up with old friends and making amazing new ones! Many beers were shared, many laughs, many fun tuk tuk rides and a few questionable outfits on Malcolm's behalf (granted it was his bucks night). We also visited the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Phuket, home to some beautiful rescue elephants, such incredible work done here and so special for us to be able to visit, loved it! 🐘🇹🇭

15/11/2023

Last post about Cambodia! It's taken us awhile to go through all of our 1 million photos from our time in Siem Reap because it was just incredible. We loved the culture, the people and of course the food (including the red ants stirfry). Eating streetfood with our friends by the lakeside was a highlight for us. We also shared a special moment driving through a village at school knock off time, all the kids waving and saying hello except for this one kid who wasnt having a bar of the tourist excitement 🤣 But the greatest highlight of our trip to Siem Reap was meeting Happy, started as our tuk tuk driver but leaving as friends for life! Thanks for your kindness and sharing all that Cambodia is with us! 🇰🇭 next post Phuket Thailand for the lead up to the Cowan's wedding 🥂

15/11/2023

Part 4 - We started the morning visiting the stunning Banteay Srei, known as the lady temple because of the beauty and the intricacy of the carvings here. We then explored the giant and maze like Preah Khan, which when it was built in the 12th century had over 100,000 officials working there. And saved the best for last - Angkor Thom. This complex is actually bigger in land size than Angkor Wat and is made up of the Terrace of the elephants, Terrace of the Lepper King, Baphuon, Phimeanakas and the main temple Bayon. And also had plenty of monkeys! And we finished the day eating bamboo sticky rice watching the sun set over this amazing place. We experienced so much in 3 days but we were so captured with everything we saw and learnt about the Khmer Empire we decided we'll just have to go back to see more!

14/11/2023

Part 3 - We spent the afternoon visiting a few of the temples surrounding Angkor Wat. First stop Pre Rup, meaning to "turn the body" as its thought this temple was used for conducting funeral services and the body would be turned in different directions throughout the service. Then onwards to visit the beautiful Banteay Kdei, known as the Citadel of Monks which has been used by monks at different times up until the 1960s. And then the famous Ta Promh, used as the backdrop to film Tomb Raider but the best part of this temple is its now overrun by the jungle, with the massive tree roots collapsing and growing between the ruins of this temple 🦎🇰🇭

13/11/2023

Sorry to all for the suspense on waiting for Part 2. The last week has been a non stop celebration catching up with friends and witnessing two amazing people get married (pics to come). So.... Part 2. Angkor Wat - We got up at 4.30am full of excitement to see the magical sun rise over Angkor Wat (along with 5 million other people) and that plan failed miserably as it was too cloudy to see the sunrise 🤣 a real instagram vs reality moment. But to be there so early was still worth it as I don't know when we'll be having an iced coffee at 6.30am at the next wonder of the world. 😍 It was a surreal experience for us and we were so happy to finally tick off this incredible place from our bucket list. It's said to be the largest religious complex in the world, three times larger than the Vatican city and seeing it person was easy to understand why...it's more like walking through an ancient fortress city that's also full of temples. We spent hours here and if we had more time we could have spent longer because there were just endless intricate carvings and elements of the design of the structures that makes this place and the Khmer Empire so unique. Not too mention the cute monkeys and friends we stumbled across ❤️🇰🇭

04/11/2023

Checking into Siem Reap we were lucky to meet a Tuk-Tuk driver named Happy who over the next few days showed us the sites of Angkor & shared the Khmer culture with us. The beauty & size of this place can't be shared in one post.
Part 1 - The first Khmer temples were Lolei, Preah Ko & Bakong, known as the Rollo's group built in the late 9th century. As they are the "small temples" we couldn't believe what we were seeing. Being built so long ago, the fact they are in the condition that they are in is so incredible and speaks volumes to the engineering genius of the Khmer people. We then went on a boat ride through Kampong Phluk, a floating village sitting at the edge of the Tonle Sap. A community of over 2000 families with a floating school, health centre snd police station, with children as young as 5 rowing to school was something we've never seen before and not sure if we will again. Relaxing on a rowing boat through the mangrove forrest was not enough for me, I quickly took over captains duties 🤣 Happy also shared with us a signature Khmer dish, Amok, our new favourite along with fried bananas and sugar cane juice 🤤 we finished the day with dinner, beers and friends. And taking in the madness of pub street, classic Siem Reap tourists 🤣

02/11/2023

Travelling by boat up the Mekong River from Vietnam to Cambodia was one of the highlights of our trip so far. Being on the water for 5 hours we also made our own fun by waving to any passerby and villager along the way, drinking beers and singing any river/boat related song we could think of 🤣 good times (Rollin' on a River). Then made a quick stop in Phnom Penh, just enough time to catch up with our old friend Rick and meet his gorgeous daughter Fuchsia, our new BFF ❤️ take in the city sites, drink beers on the roof top watching the monkeys and the riverside night-life and of course the Khmer Boxing. The boxing was the best intro into the Khmer culture as Rick would say. Being ringside and having the fighter thrown into our laps was just about as unbeatable to John's face when it happened 🤣 Siem Reap to come!

30/10/2023

On the road to Chau Doc we had breakfast with some familiar faces from home (crocs) and stopped to try That Not, a purple coconut that only grows in the region. We then took a boat ride through Tra Su, a national park full of apple mangroves, a sacred tree in the Mekong as it filters the water allowing the eco system to flourish. The waters were full of plants and birds, the scenery was so beautiful. We ate honey and tried our hand at bee keeping (doesnt really count though as they were drunk), followed by fresh basa fish for lunch, a snakehead catfish loved by all who live here and abroad. We then visited the Ba Chua Xu temple (the lady temple) a unique and important place for the vietnamese. On the way to take in the sites from Sam Mountain, we spotted this massive Budha being carved into the rocks! We finished off with dinner with our lovely friend Tuyet and John was finally reunited with his beloved lemongrass and chilli clams again.

Leaving Vietnam after being there for 1 month was emotional as we have loved every minute and everything we have experienced, tasted and all the people we have made life long friends with. We will be back! Thank you Vietnam ❤️🇻🇳

30/10/2023

Our last few days in Vietnam we spent travelling from Can Tho to Chau Doc, experiencing Mekong Delta life. About 20 million people live in this region but you wouldn't know it judging by the peaceful villages, endless rice paddie fields and variety of farms. We started in Can Tho with an early morning boat trip to the Cai Rang floating markets where each boat sells a different item and if you want to buy it you hook up your boat to theirs whilst the exhange happens. Its fair to say we hooked up to the iced coffee boat pretty quick. We then visited a local family making rice noodles and coconut sweets using traditional methods, ate frogs and then set off to the Cai Rang land market, which size and range was the most impressive we've seen in Vietnam yet. We then hit the road to Phong Dien and biked around this village for a few hours, making stops along the way to visit locals and try produce along the side of the road like green peppercorns and lemongrass. We stopped for lunch with a family famous in the region for inventing a method to make vermicelli noodles 60 years ago, which they still use...I had a go at it and they said I was getting better but I'm pretty sure that was a lie 🤣 we also had a crack at crossing the famous mekong monkey bridges, John made it over and back in a couple of minutes, i managed half way before my trust in bamboo wavered and then a local old man came over and schooled us both crossing it in thongs in about 30 seconds, we left shortly after 🤣 after we visited Binh Thuy ancient house which now houses the families 8th generation! French architecture outside with vietnamese wooden decor inside, absolutely stunning and also used as a set now to make vietnamese films.

29/10/2023

When a fighter gets thrown out of the ring and I try to catch him with a beer in hand. CRAZY!!!

25/10/2023

Phu Quoc Island was paradise! Spent 3 days here living our best life. Relaxing, snorkelling and of course eating and drinking 🤣 the sunsets here were absolutely beautiful and the sea was crystal clear and full of life... we could have stayed much longer but heading to the Mekong Delta now to make our way up to Cambodia. Only 4 days left of our Vietnam leg 😭

23/10/2023

Grilled pork skewers ✅️
Garlic fried rice and BBQ bamboo chicken ✅️
Beef morning glory✅️
Vietnamese spring rolls and Bo La Lot✅️
Vietnamese pizza✅️
Grilled chicken with kumquat and spicy salt dipping sauce✅️
Steamed clams in lemongrass✅️
Pork stuffed snails✅️
Chilli sticky snails✅️
Coconut ice cream✅️
🤤🤤🤤🤤

22/10/2023

Beers & Sunset = Set

21/10/2023

Have spent the last 4 days in food heaven AKA Ho Chi Minh City (food post only to follow because we literally ate so much here). Night 1 we went to the Opera House for a bamboo circus show, followed by the Ben Nghe street food market. Day 2 Vinh's (thank you Vinh) gorgeous aunties Tuyet and Tu invited us on a tour of the city on the back of their motorbikes! In a city with a population of 15 million and probably as many motorbikes it's fair to say the traffic is hectic. We were glad not to be driving because these two knew exactly what they were doing, especially when it started pouring rain! So much fun trying new foods and seeing the city like locals, including eating snails, with these lovely ladies! Day 3 we saw the cities sites including the war remnant museum and Saigon's oldest post office, built in 1886-1891 and still going. Rooftop pool beers and then back to the Ben Nghe Food Markets for dinner because honestly we're addicted to the food here and are genuinely fearful of what our life will be like without it...particularly steamed clams 🤤 and lastly visited the Ben Thanh market today, packed to the rafters full of anything you could imagine and tiny lanes that John could barely fit through...i however was in my shopping element so dropped john off at the pub to get down to business. Flying now to Phu Quoc Island for a change of pace 🏝

18/10/2023

Spent the last 2 days in Nha Trang and didn't get the best weather. So naturally we made up for it by doing our favourite indoor activities...eating and drinking 🤣 Pho for breakfast, Banh Mi's and cold beers for dinner, a south park themed bar called Killed Kenny, souvlaki and feta cheese at 12am and accidentally sneaking into a 5 star resort for espresso Martini's 🤷‍♀️
One of our highlights of the whole trip so far was going to do the Do Theatre (designed in the shape of traditional fishing baskets) to watch Life Puppets, a live water puppets performance showcasing indigenous vietnamese culture and music. Being a puppet show we had no real idea of what to expect and we were absolutely blown away by how incredible it was and way more than puppets, it was like a laser show, live concert, orchestra, dancing and acrobatics show all in one. We left thinking we've never seen anything like that and probably never will again!

16/10/2023

Wow, well Quy Nhon what a fun surprise. We went there expecting to have lazy days by the beach, reality was crazy nights with the local people and days packed with site seeing. Everyone was so friendly to us and so we found ourselves joining a 21st bday party and getting to tick off a few of our other vietnamese bucket list items - Bia Hoi ($2 jugs of beer 🤪), trying seafood hotpots and Vietnam's favourite past time, Karaoke! Australia, quick word of advice...you're doing bars wrong without karaoke. Beaches here are quiet and stunning, it felt like real a hidden gem kind of place. We also rode to the Ong Nui Temple, home to the largest sitting Budha in South East Asia which is 108 metres tall overlooking the sea...truly impressive but to appreciate this in all its beauty you must climb the 600 steps first! And lastly shout out to the lovely Hue at the Quy Nhon Sports Bar for the $8 chicken parmys, after more than 2 weeks on the road, we were starting to get desperate 🤣

15/10/2023

Old Town Hoi An is heritage listed so is in its original condition and is just the cutest, quaintest place to visit! The yellow walls and blue shutters line the streets before all the laterns come on and light up the river at night time 😍 we spent a couple of days here exploring the ancient culture and buildings, shopping at the morning markets for ingredients we needed to learn to cook local dishes (John was in charge of the shopping basket) and riding boats along the river whilst trying to catch crabs (didn't get one sadly 🤣). We are now master chefs of making Goi Cuon, Pho, Bun Bo Nam and Banh Xeo, thanks to Uyen from Bay Mau Eco cooking tour. We REALLY enjoyed the food here, had no doubt the best won tons of our lives. And also loved having gorgeous clothes tailor made, turned around in 24 hours!

11/10/2023

Quick overnight stop in the beachside city of Danang to indulge in some home comforts we've been missing, cheese for me and crossiants for John 🤣 oh and the rom service pizza with red wine 🤤 onwards to Hoi An next!

09/10/2023

07/10/2023

Tam Coc, Ninh Binh has been one of our favourite places we've ever visited and that's mainly because of the welcoming locals. We spent 2 hours on the river exploring caves, rice fields and lillies. Our gorgeous Sampan rower, But, uses her feet to row (amazing strength, we were jealous and too embarrassed to ask to try because she was so good), and then climbed 500 steps up Hang Mua Cave. Not a great idea after 3 beers FYI but made it nonetheless. They are also crazy for karaoke here and have party buses that pull up in the car park at night ready for any potential karaoke goers. Our trip was made the most special by Ruby our homestay host, who was so kind and helped us practice our Vietnamese. If you're travelling to Tam Coc, Ruby himself is a highlight!!

05/10/2023

03/10/2023

Instantly captivated by the beauty and organised chaos that is Hanoi. From the madness of Beer Street to the serenity of Hoam Kiem Lake, the architecture of iconic buildings and endless markets, it was just beyond what we were hoping for. Highlights were the coffee (omg) and food, but we sense that'll be an ongoing theme...and also the constant state of confusion because streets transform from shops in the day to basically street festivals in the night, where everyone sits on tiny plastic chairs (not ideal for john) and drinks cheap beer til they fall off. Love it. Next stop Ha Long Bay 🏝🐉

01/10/2023

10 out of 10 morning exploring chinatown, gardens by the bay and the Sri Mariamman Temple (the oldest Hindu temple in singapore). Almost ran late the airport due to the chicken rice and dumplings Hawker Chan was serving up 🤪😋 next stop Hanoi, Vietnam 🇻🇳