Ahhhh, Hoi An, the much anticipated Hoi An. Whenever we asked other travellers we'd met along the way which was their favourite stop in Vietnam, 99% all responded with Hoi An. Read any guidebook and it sings Hoi An's praises. It's fair to say it was one of the stops I was most looking forward to. We arrived off the sleeper bus very early in the morning and took a taxi to our home for the next few days: The Vietnam Backpackers Hostel. Thankfully, being a bigger hostel, arriving way before the check-in time wasn't a problem at all. We put our backpacks in a locked luggage room and went and napped on some sofas until a more reasonable hour. We then took full advantage of the pool facilities and sunloungers, and then got dressed ready for the day, all before 11am.

We were sat by the pool when we spotted an Australian couple who'd been in our hostel room in Nha Trang. After discussing our individual sleeper bus experiences we decided to hire bikes and go for an explore. The hostel was fairly near the beach, so that's where we headed. This was our first attempt on the roads in Asia, and to be fair, it wasn't too bad at all. Thankfully the roads were empty and the junctions had traffic lights, so I'd definitely recommend cycling down to the beach, it was really good fun.

The beach itself was lovely. White sand and crisp water. I had, unfortunately, got rather sunburnt a couple of days before so didn't really get to make the most of being at the beach. There were a few restaurants right on the beach front, so we had lunch at the nearest one.  After cycling back, we spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool. Now, the hostel was lovely, but it did feel an awful lot like being on Love Island. Let's put it this way, we were soon approached by 'Top Shagger Toby' and his laaaad friends and treated to their lads lads lads spiel.

That night we decided to go out out, so headed to Sunshine Hostel with a big group of others from our hostel. What's the significance of Sunshine Hostel I hear you ask? Well, let me tell you... For 100k (about £3.50) you can have unlimited drinks between 8 and 10pm. The hostel also has a pool, in the main area by the bar, which I ended up in fully clothed. I was pulled in by a random boy who was never to be seen again, thanks buddy. Spending the rest of the night looking like a drowned rat wasn't ideal, but yanno, as a backpacker I should've been grateful for the wash.

It's fair to say we weren't feeling too peachy the next day, those unlimited vodkas had definitely hit. We had the free breakfast at the hostel - I had the pancakes - and spent the morning by the pool, lounging in the sun. Once we were feeling a bit more human we took a taxi to the old town and went for a wander. That evening we just had dinner at the hostel and headed to bed pretty early. It's fair to say the day was a bit of a write-off.

The following day we woke up, had breakfast and were in the pool by 8. That early bedtime clearly cured us. We spent the morning in the pool, showered and then had lunch at the hostel. We took a Grab taxi to the old town and wandered the markets, each buying some new clothes. Hoi An is known for it's tailoring - there are tailors every few meters each producing handmade garments within 24 hours for a very cheap price. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to have anything made, but having seen the pieces other travellers we'd met had had made, I'd definitely recommend doing it.

Whilst wandering the market a Vietnamese lady offered to paint my nails for about 60p, so I ended up following her through the market to her home, and sat in her front room whilst she painted my nails. That afternoon we took a boat trip along the river, which was really nice. We were one of the only boats around, and it was only Toria, the boatlady and I onboard, so it really was peaceful.

That evening we had dinner by the riverside whilst we waited for the sun to set. We each lit a lantern once it was dark and put them in the river. Seeing Hoi An at night was beautiful, with all the lanterns, but very very busy! If you're planning on going, be prepared for a lot of pushing and shoving. That evening there was a karaoke night at the hostel so we ended up going to that. It was pretty good fun, definitely more so after a few vodkas. 

Despite feeling a bit like Love Island, the hostel itself couldn't be faulted. It was clean, the showers were amazing, breakfast was included and the beds were really nice, we were lucky to be in a room that didn't have bunkbeds! It was definitely a party hostel, so if you're looking for a relaxing few days, I'm not sure this is quite the place for you. 

I hate to admit it, but the next thing we did with our day was head straight for more food... Are you sensing a theme here? The Hard Rock Cafe was our destination, and oh my, we weren't disappointed. I've been to quite a few Hard Rock's in my time, and the food at the Amsterdam one was just as good as all the others! In case you were wondering, I had the Hickory BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger and it was incred.

Because of the really poor weather, we decided to head back to the hotel for an hour or so to get some shelter from the rain, but didn't do so before stopping to buy a spacecake. (If you've never heard of them before, it's essentially just a cake baked with weed in it). Having heard from a few friends that these things are pretty lethal, it's fair to say I was intrigued to give it a go. The label on it read that it'd take at least an hour to kick in and headaches, nausea and passing out were common side effects... Sounds pretty intense, right? Yeah, I thought the same. That was, until, it was 3 hours later and I still hadn't felt a thing... I'm not sure if I just had one from a bad bunch, or they're just not as crazy as people make out. But, either way, the thing did absolutely nothing to me and wasn't even tasty. 0/10.

We spent our last afternoon and evening wandering the shops. We found a road that had Bershka, Topshop, Pull and Bear and Monki on... Success!! My sister and I both bought quite a few new bits for summer, we're just waiting on some nicer weather now to whip them out. We shopped until the shops started shutting, and then headed for our last dinner. No prizes for guessing we went to yet another Italian, and had the best pizzas yet. Once we'd eaten we headed to the hotel to get into bed as we had a 5.30 alarm the next morning in order to make our 8.30am flight home!

I honestly had the best few days in Amsterdam, it was really nice to spend a few days jsut eating, wandering and shopping to my hearts content. happy belated bday to me! If you haven't already, you can read about what we got up to on day 1 here and day 2 here

We flew with hand luggage only, so when we landed at Schipol airport, all that was left to do was pass border control, and then we were free to wander around Amsterdamto our hearts content. Once we were through the other side, we headed to the train station to buy our travel passes. We bought the 3-day train/tram/bus passes from GVB for €26 and they were so incredibly handy. I can't tell you the number of times we used them. They were ideal for us as we didn't have to faff around with tickets and could just hop on and hop off as we pleased.

Once we'd sorted ourselves out, and found the right train, we headed to our hotel to drop off our bags. We couldn't check in until 2pm, but after the delayed flight, the time difference, and the time it took to get to the hotel, we arrived at bang on 2. We stayed at the Ibis Budget Amsterdam City South, and it was good. I mean, it wasn't centrally located in the slightest, it was about 25 minutes on a tram to Centraal Station, but it was clean, modern and cheap - so no complaints here. 

After a very brief wander around, we headed straight to the A'DAM Lookout and the swing. (Which, involved a free public ferry across the water, whaaaat?) The weather forecast for the 3 days we were in Holland was pretty rainy, but the day we arrived was really sunny, so we decided to head straight to the swing. We didn't book in advance, we just turned up, and there were plenty of slots free. We had our slot booked (4.20) and headed for a little wander before ascending the tower. The lookout was really nice. You could see for miles, and the skybar was really pretty, but I wouldn't say it was massively worth going to if you weren't doing the swing. 

So, the swing was great fun. It's 'Europe's Highest Swing'. It's 100m tall, and you swing over the edge of the lookout building, with the water beneath you and the city all around. You're not allowed to take photos whilst on the swing, but the staff do take photos for you which you can download for free from their site. It was really really good fun. If you're heading to Amsterdam anytime soon, I'd highly recommend doing it!

Because of our excitement to get on the swing in the sun, we missed lunch. Big mistake. My sister and I are pretty big eaters, so, by the time we'd got back to Centraal we were starving. We went for a bit more of an explore and stumbled across an Italian restaurant that looked nice. I can't remember what it was called, but it was one of the 35384 pizzerias in Amsterdam, and the food was good. Nothing to write home about, but good nonetheless.

After getting up at 5.30am to head to the airport, it's fair to say we were pretty tired after all our travelling and wandering, so, after dinner, we just headed back to the hotel to sleep, ready for our second day of adventures... 

I mentioned in my Tips for Solo Travelling post (which you can read here) that last summer I ventured to Cambodia to spend a month there travelling on my own. It was incredible. Rather than write one massive post on my experiences, I thought I'd post about each of the places I went, alongside photos, reviews and recommendations... Seeing as it is the capital of Cambodia, and where I flew in to (and out from), it seemed only right to start with Phnom Penh. 

The traffic is by far one of the first things I noticed - it's hectic. With few rules, and the majority of people on motorbikes, weaving in and out of the traffic, it's certainly not somewhere I could drive. Most streets have people selling goods and cooking food, and children running around and playing. The locals I met whilst in Phnom Penh, and Cambodia more generally, were honestly some of the nicest people I've ever met. 

I volunteered at a restaurant for street children, and the kids were such angels. They were kind, polite and honest, and were extremely happy despite their awful circumstances. I visited a couple of the slums where some of them lived, it was surreal. It didn't seem fair that these happy, intelligent, loving children could live in sewage, with fewer belongings to their name than there are days in a week. Whilst at the slum, one lady asked me to take her newborn baby back to the UK with me, despite having never seen me before or knowing anything about me, which was tough and really put things in perspective.

Before we left our placement, a group of other volunteers and I bought a load of clothes for all the children at the restaurant, and they absolutely loved them. If you're ever out there and want to help, other than just donating money, buy clothes for the children, they were extremely grateful.

On my first full day in Phnom Penh I visited Tuol Sleng, an old high school turned mass genocide prison by Pol Pot. It was code-named 'S-21' and up to 30,000 prisoners were held there, many of whom tortured to death. It was not an easy first day, but extremely important to see and hear about, to fully understand the devastation that has happened to this beautiful country. It is definitely worth a visit, a must do.  

Later on in my trip I visited Choeung Ek, otherwise known as the Killing Fields. This is the location of one of the mass graves for the victims of the Khmer Rouge. They estimate that at least one million people; both Cambodian and not, were killed here. You walk around the grounds with headphones listening to the inhumane things that happened there and some of the history, but all I found myself doing was questioning how it was ever allowed to happen and why no one stopped it for so long. 

On a happier note, I also visited the National Museum of Cambodia. This was full of lots of Khmer art and sculptures, and showcased a lot of the country's other history. It has a beautiful courtyard in the centre, which is a lovely to place to sit in out in the sun. 

The Central Market is in all the guidebooks as a must-see, but I'm not sure I entirely agree. There are lots of markets in and around Phnom Penh, and the Central one tends to sell the same things only at a higher price due to it being a tourist hotspot. Thus, whilst exploring a market is a must do, I'm not sure it needs to be the Central Market.

One place I would highly recommend going is Friends n Stuff. It's a restaurant and nail bar, whereby the staff are all former streetchildren who have been trained by the organisation. The food in the restaurant was delicious and the pedicure I had at the nail bar was the most thorough and professional job, the nail polish lasted the duration of my trip and beyond. 

A couple of other places to mention; Bassac Lane which us a street filled with beautiful bars, and the AEON Mall, which is a huge mall full of all sorts of shops including a Costa, Dominos and Pandora. None of which I expected to see, so it was a nice surprise to have a taste of home away from home. 

So, there we have it, a roundup of my time in Phnom Penh. If you are visiting Cambodia then you definitely need to schedule a few days in to get the most out of Phnom Penh, and all it's important history.