After another early breakfast we headed to the Vietnam / Cambodia border by bus. The guides had taken all our passports there earlier that morning and got them all stamped. It still took a while though as we each had to fill in an immigration form and have our fingerprints and iris’ scanned.

Straight after the border we picked up our new bikes and spent a bit of time sorting them out.

The ride to lunch was 50km and it was all along a proper road which actually made it a little bit boring. I think we were all really tired too so not feeling that energetic.

As we passed through the small towns by the side of the road the kids still came running out to shout hello and wave. Some of the waving progressed to high fives- and a couple of the kids were slapping your hands really hard. I think I’m going to stick to waving from now on as my hand was stinging!

Lunch was delicious with more of a Thai influence, and we also had a beer.

After lunch there was no more cycling and we got the bus to the killing fields. There we met our guide, Dharim, who told us a harrowing story about his family which I’ll get to a bit later.

The killing fields we visited were just one of many across Cambodia, I think they said there were 194,000 of them around the country and over the Khmer Rouge time around 3 million Cambodian people were killed in them – and that was from 1975 to 1979.

Dharim told us a bit of the history. The Cambodian king at the time tried to keep the country neutral and he visited both America and China. He was treated better in China so started to align with them and with communism. There ended up being a north/south split in the country with the USA governing the south and the king still governing the north although he was living in Russia at the time. The king called out to the people of Cambodia, asking them to leave their homes and go into the jungle. Here they became Khmer Rouge soldiers. As many of the people still loved their king they fled to the jungle, despite the Americans telling them it was not a good idea. The problem was though that the king by now was a prisoner of the communists and they put their leader, Pol Pot in charge. Over a period of time, after the Vietnam war, Pol Pot decided to start a revolution based on what had happened in China previously. The chinese tried to dissuafe hom from.dpung this but he didn’t listen. He took over Phnom Penh and basically killed all the intellectuals as he wanted everyone to work the land and be farmers and not question the regime. Families were separated, intellectuals were sent to prison, tortured and then killed.

At the killing fields they killed people in various ways, using bayonets, bashing the backs of their heads with an axe or pulling their heads back and slitting their throats. They used to play music so the people working and living nearby didn’t hear the screams of the people being killed. The bodies were then thrown into mass graves, around 300 – 600 per grave. As in the Vietnamese killing fields some of the bones and skulls have been put in the memorial.

Dharim lived through this and 5 of his close family were killed by the Khmer Rouge. He has met the man who killed his mother. He told us she was raped repeatedly, her flesh cut with a knife before she was given an injection to kill her. She was buried in one of the mass graves. 3 of his siblings were also killed as was his father- only he and his sister survived.

He was forced to work on the land where people were not given breakfast and lunch and dinner was basically rice porridge, made with water, and with very little rice actually in it. You were forced to work from sunrise to sunset and if you became ill there was no medical help so you were left to die. So starvation and sickness killed many people too.

Dharim told us that when he was still a child, around 9 years old, he was riding a cart with oxen to take the corn back from the field and in the field he saw Khmer Rouge soldiers raping some girls, then cutting them open and taking the livers from the bodies. They would later cook and eat the livers. This apparently made their eyes red so these were the soldiers to avoid.

If one member of the family was caught, they were tortured to get the details of the rest of the family members, who were then also captured and killed.

It was really hard to listen to all of this, especially from someone who had experienced it first hand.

After this we went to the hotel via bus and this hotel was really lovely.

In the evening we went to the Foreign Correspondence Club (FCC) and this has a lot of photos on the wall taken from the killing fields and the prisons once they had been uncovered by the journalist.

The food was probably the best to date. A little cat came and joined us and I couldn’t resist feeding him some bits and pieces. After dinner we went up to the rooftop bar where there was a band playing. The views were lovely too.

It was then back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Another early start to the day, I’m getting used to these early starts, might have to try and keep them up once I get home. Breakfast, as usual was a mix of Asian and western food and was served on the rooftop of the hotel. The views were pretty good.

We set off from the hotel by bus as it was a bit chaotic on the roads going out but around 30 mins later we were reunited with our trusty steeds.

We cycled along quite a pleasant road with paddy fields on either side. They looked really green. I know that sounds stupid but the colour was really bright and intense.

It was a pretty hot and humid day so we had several water stops along the way.

Not too long after we started we faced a very challenging path which was extremely muddy and pretty much waterlogged in some places. It was really tough cycling over this bit and several of us slipped and slid. In some parts you did have to get off and walk. It was pretty scary and needed a lot of concentration. It was also very humbling to see how the people lived. I can’t imagine what it must be like to live in these conditions.

We found out later that one of the guys had literally destroyed one of the small shacks because as he fell over he grabbed onto a bamboo stick which was the support to a roof and the whole thing fell over!

It was also a bit of Russian roulette with chickens, puppies and children running out in front of your bike as you went along.

At the end of the muddy bit there was a big wooden bridge and it was a relief to be on solid ground again.

We then cycled onto lunch which was at a cafe.

Lunch was more delicious Asian food. I’m getting much better at eating with chopsticks!

After lunch we set off and for the first time we saw mountains. We also cycled past more paddy fields.

We cycled to the killing fields at Ba Chuc. These have nothing to do with the Vietnamese war but are to do with Pol Pot’s regime and the communist party. Basically around 3000 Vietnamese people were killed here in just 12 days in April 1975. Only two women from the village where the killing fields are actually survived. It is a really harrowing experience, and it really makes you think as it only happened a few years ago.

Some people tried to hide in the temple as a place of sanctuary but they were killed anyway. There are bloody landmarks on the walls. The lotus flowers memorial is filled with the skills and bones of the people who were killed here.

As we started to approach Chau Doc the roads became more undulating. I could really feel this on my legs as for the previous days we had mainly been cycling on the flats.

The last 2km of the ride were tough as they were all uphill. I did struggle but I did make it to the top thanks to Sherrien and Jane who helped me through it.

At the top was parrot mountain, so called because the stone looks like a parrot.

We then jumped in the bus to get to our Hotel. I must admit I felt really proud of getting up the hill, it was allegedly a 10% incline! I could feel.it in my legs though as we cycled another 99.6km today.

At the evening meal we had to say goodbye to our Vietnamese guides as tomorrow we cross the border into Cambodia. We have them all some tips and ideas sad to see them go, especially Trong as he was giving some of us some really good shoulder massages. They were all really sweet and lovely guys.

And then we had s couple of drinks before bedtime.

Today we were up at 530am and ready to set off at 7am. It was a different start to the day as we actually walked along the river down to the boats. As a group we boarded two of the boats and headed down the river (Mekong delta) to the floating markets.

The waterways are still used as one of the main ways of transportation in Vietnam, although obviously roads are now used too but it is only in recent years that they have built the bridges. One of the bridges was only built in the 1970s and unfortunately it collapsed when it was bring built and killed 50 people.

We travelled around 7km up river to the floating markets. These were still quite busy although the busiest time is much earlier when they open around 5am.

The sellers show what they are selling by tying the product to a bamboo stick and this sticks up from the boat so as a buyer you know where to go. As well as the floating market, other small boats come up to you and sell food and drink. Adam and Jeremy decided to have a beer!

Once back on dry land we then got a chance to look round one of the local street markets. It was really colourful, and in some places quite smelly.

The bowl of black things in the photo on the bottom.right were snails, and they were still alive and moving around. It was really interesting seeing all the different fruits, I couldn’t tell you what half of them were.

After the wander round the market it was back on the bikes and off to Sa Dec. Most of the morning we were on fairly decent terrain. I took this photo at one of our morning water stops. All along the way the children were really excited to see us and they all wave and say hello. We obviously all wave back and shout hello too.

Lunch was at a cafe and as always the food was delicious.

The weather is hot and humid, around 32 degrees during the day and as soon as you start pedalling you sweat – in fact it’s actually nice being on a bike as you get a bit of a breeze. It does rain quite a bit too and it can be quite heavy.

After lunch we cycled upstream along the river to Long Xuyen. At one of the afternoon water stops it poured down.

Towards the end of the day we visited a bird sanctuary where the people have created a habitat for egrets. There were loads of them around, but only on the one side. There was a really ugly bird too, a bit like a stork, in a cage as you came down the stairs. He apparently is very vicious.

As we left the bird sanctuary we talked to a couple of the children – I say talked but it was a lot of using hands and smiles!

It was then a short cycle to the coach which took us to our hotel for the night.

We had dinner in the hotel, and a couple of drinks too! More Vietnamese red wine.

Today we cycled 75km.

We had a weeny bit of a lie in this morning, with breakfast at 630am to be ready for 730am start. I slept so well last night and only woke up just before the alarm went off.

Our first stop was literally just down the road from the hotel. It was the Bah Om lake. There is a bit of a story behind this lake which Trong our guide told us. Basically, the women in Tra Vinh were the more powerful gender and they were the ones who proposed to the men. At some point there was a debate as to whether this should continue. To settle the matter the men and the women had to each dig a lake in one night. The men dug quicker but then the women distracted the men with their singing and dancing. And they also very cleverly hung a light from a tree so the men though the sun was coming up and they had to stop working. So basically the women won and this was their lake.

We then cycled around 3km to a Khmer temple, a form of Buddhism. Apparently there are two types of Buddhism in Vietnam and Khmer is practised in a small part of South Vietnam. The temple was amazing and very ornate.

The first water stop was by a place where they made rice wine. It was a quick stop, I didn’t bother using the toilet here as apparently it was over a slippery bridge and I didn’t want to risk falling in!

It rained quite a lot in the morning which made some of the paths quite treacherous. Sherrien came off her bike round one corner and just before we stopped for lunch I came off my bike. I was coming over a bridge, going downhill and turning left when I skidded and I went over on my left side. Luckily I just scrapped my shoulder and my knees and my chin – no permanent damage but it was quite scary as it happened so quickly. Ian, out guide made sure I was ok and Jane, the doc, put some iodine on the wounds which stung quite a lot. And then it was onwards to lunch.

The food here is amazing, so fresh and really tasty. And way too much of it.

After lunch we cycled over a mixture of road and tracks as well as three ferry crossings. The first one was a very short crossing, the second and third ones were slightly longer across to an island and then back off at the other end. The ferry looked quite rickety but they got us across safely.

The island itself was beautiful, full of vegetation but the tracks were quite narrow in places so it was single file only and lots of communication between the group – bike up, bike back, bridge! Despite that, a few of us missed a turning off to the ferry port so ended up cycling a bit further than we had to before one of the guides noticed and came to fetch us.

After the last ferry ride we then rode into the city of Can Tho and that was certainly an experience. It was a matter of standing your ground and just going for it because if you hesitated a moped or car would just pull in front of you. I really wish I could’ve filmed it because it was absolute chaos. But everyone is driving really slowly so althougb accidents do happen a lot but nobody gets hurt to badly.

In the evening we walked along the riverfront to a restaurant, past a statue of Ho Chi Minh.

The restaurant was right on the river so we could see the cruise ship go past.

The food, as always, was excellent and we tried some of the Vietnamese red wine. It was served cold but soon warmed up and actually tasted ok.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel and went up to the sky bar for a much needed g&t!

And then it was off to bed for a much needed sleep before another early start tomorrow.

Today we cycled around 98km.

So this morning we were up early with breakfast at 6am and departure at 7am. Breakfast was a mix of Vietnamese and English but really delicious.

We had a 2 hour bus journey to our first stop through rush hour – I’m really glad we weren’t cycling as it was chaos. 14 million people live in Ho Chi Minh City and there are around 8 million mopeds in the city.

Our first stop was the Cu Chi Tunnels. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but it was so interesting and pretty horrifying all at the same time. The first part of the tunnels were built during the French occupation in 1956-58 just as hiding places but once the American war started the Viet Com extended the tunnels and built 2 lower levels to ensure the bombs couldn’t get them and also agent orange didn’t affect them. The tunnels now extend over 250km.

The first thing we saw were the booby traps that the Viet Com set – they were horrendous and probably led to a very slow and painful death.

We then saw some of the tunnels. These were tiny and so narrow and to think that people lived in them for years is pretty unbelievable. We climbed down into one of the entrance tunnels and also walked through around 200m of one of the. It’s definitely an experience as you have to walk hunched over and it’s quite claustrophobic.

The tunnels did have ventilation systems with bamboo. The outside ventilation was built to look like a termite or anthill with snake holes. It was very clever. The Americans did twig though and used dogs to sniff out the men in the tunnels so the Viet Com cut up American soilders clothes and put them.in the ventilation holes to confuse the dogs.

We saw some of the tanks and artillery, how some of it was made – the Viet Com soldiers sawing up unexploded bombs etc.

We also saw a Vietnamese lady making the rice wraps for spring rolls from the rice milk and also learnt how the rice wine was made.

The last thing we saw was some of the bunkers, some of these have now been opened up so you can see what they looked like.

We had a small cup of jasmine tea and some cassava before leaving the tunnels.

Then it was back in the bus for around 2 and a half hours, a little snooze, before our lunch stop. Here we also picked up our bikes which had miraculously appeared by van.

We then cycled for around 50km. The route was through some main roads, some concrete paths, some muddy paths and some gravel. The roads were crazy, moped driving towards you on the wrong side of the road, everyone just taking their chance at junctions and very few mopeds with lights on once it was dark.

It was hot and humid to start but we also had some torrential rain that lasted quite a while and some hailstones.

Around half way in Lou was hit by a moped head on – it was over our side of the road, it was going to fast and it was wet. I didn’t actually see it happen but luckily Lou is ok – just quite a deep cut on her knee.

The scenery was beautiful, very lush and green. Unfortunately it’s really hard to take photos whilst cycling, especially in the rain.

So an interesting first day.

Dinner was at the hotel and it was delicious. I’m really enjoying the food. We popped to the bar over the road for a drink. Ali and I ordered mojito but think we ended up with like juice!

We went out as a group for dinner at a lovely restaurant which had a swimming pool. If only I’d known I would’ve taken my bikini.

The roads were really busy even though it was night time.

A few of us spotted a roof top bar so went and paid it a visit. I must admit I was flagging but the views from the top were pretty impressive.

I managed to stay up for one drink but it was so nice to go back to the hotel and get into a lovely clean bed.

It was quite a reasonable time to get up for a change, 645am to be at Heathrow airport for 830am. Luckily I have some lovely friends (Jamie and Ticket) who came and picked me up and dropped me off at the airport. Unfortunately there was loads of traffic as a van had burnt out on the M4. But I still made it, even if around 20 minutes late. It was great to see Ali and Karen when I got there and meet Sherrien too – and the other 27 people I was travelling with.

After chreck-in, as per normal, we headed to the bar for a little tipple before the flight.

We got chatting to Mark and Jim (Shrek and Donkey) and Louise too. We were so busy chatting and shopping that we didn’t realise the time and ended up having to do a very fast walk to the gate.

Seats were all allocated randomly in the plane but I managed to swap with Ian, the Discover Adventure leader, and sat with Karen and Louise.

The flight was around 13 hours and Singapore airlines were brilliant. The good was really nice for airplane food, the alcohol was free and you got real cutlery!! I watched 3 films, ate loads and tried to sleep but probably only slept for around 30 mins or so.

As we flew into Singapore the sun was just rising.

We had a two hour stop over at Changi airport in Singapore so headed to the bar and had a couple of very expensive beers!

Once we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, otherwise known as Saigon we were picked up by the local guides Trong and his mate whose name I’ve forgotten. We headed through the city to pub street. It’s crazy, nobody gives way and the number of mopeds on the road is huge and some of them have four people on them! The electric wiring is interesting too.

We drove past the palace, which is the independence palace. Very impressive, shame we couldn’t stop and look around.

Lunch was delicious, but way too much of it.

After lunch we checked into the hotel where we will be staying tonight (tonight now being the day after we left as Vietnam is 6 hours ahead). The rooms are lovely and I can’t wait to get into it later!

Once everyone was checked in we then went to try out our bikes. The bikes are pretty good although as I was cycling round the car park on mine the gear cable popped out – they say they’ll fix it by tomorrow.

I made a lovely cute new friend too.

He was so pitiful I really did want to stick him in my rucksack and take him home.

So, we still had some time to kill before dinner and I know if I go to bed I’ll fall asleep and not wake up! So we had a look around the local market and surrounding area.

Then it was back to the hotel for a beer and a shower before we head out for dinner.

One of the good things about being home is catching up with family and friends and catching up on all the gossip.

I phoned mum and dad as soon as I got home obviously- they were a little bit worried about me travelling alone around South America. It doesn’t matter how old you are your parents will always worry about you. Anyway, I think they’re relieved that everything went so well.

I spoke to my sister straight away too – she’s also living in Germany so I won’t see her for a little while.

And yesterday I spoke to my older brother and visited my little brother and his girlfriend, Helen, for the weekend. This is my little bruv with one of his cats.

It was a great weekend. A couple of Helen’s friends were down for the weekend too. Helen cooked a delicious spag bol, we drank gin and prosecco and had a quick dip in the jacuzzi. After all this we were dancing and singing in the kitchen until the early hours of the morning. We also watched some Eurovision – I actually thought the UK entry was pretty good but we didn’t do that well as everyone scores politically!

I probably should have felt worse than I did this morning, but I was up fairly early eating porridge and drinking coffee, watching the cats playing in the garden.

After driving home I started to sort out my patio but then had a little nap. Think it will be an early night tonight.

Today I was working from home so when I woke up at 8am I decided to get up and go for a run. As I’ve been away I haven’t been running yet this year so I took it nice and easy and just ran a gentle 5km. The sun was shining and it was really nice running along the canal.

It’s strange because when I was at school I used to hate running. I really only got into it again a few years ago. In 2014 I signed up to run the Surrey Half marathon as motivation to get me out and running. And it did motivate me, I ran the half in just over 2 hours. And I got the bug for running so decided to try a marathon. In 2015 I ran the London marathon and although I loved it on the day I didn’t enjoy training for it so I’ve vowed I won’t ever run another marathon.

Over the last few years I’ve run some more half marathons but mainly I run 10k or just a little run in the mornings, mainly at weekends. I still enjoy running, I think it’s because I’m outside and I can switch off from everything.

This year I’m not intending to do any major runs, although I might do the Denbies half marathon as they offer wine every couple of miles!

This is a photo from last year’s ‘race’. I think it took us around 5 hours to run 13.1 miles!!

Today I travelled into London to go back to work. It was a lovely sunny day which made the commute in a little bit easier and nicer.

It was quite depressing though, being back at work, although of course it was lovely to see all my friends at work and catch up on everything that’s been happening whilst I was away. Another reorganisation has been put in place but luckily this doesn’t affect me directly so my job is safe for now. I think it’s just the thought of getting back into a routine and not seeing new things every day that’s a little bit hard to get my head around.

I had quite a few emails to get through – just under 2000. I deleted all the ones that were no longer relevant and answered a few of the more recent ones.

I was really tired by the end of the day and glad to head home, again in the beautiful sunshine, I’m loving this weather.

I don’t think it will take me long to settle back into work and my life back here in England but now that I’ve been travelling I really want to do more of it. I’m seriously looking into how I can make that happen!