Carpe Diem, our first travelling blog, was inspired by the premature deaths of a family member and an old friend in 2008. We decided that life really was too precious and that we would quit the corporate world & travel before the grim reaper decided to call on us. Our world has changed since we’ve seized the day and we have decided that work, in the 9 to 5 sense, is no longer for us. Ask yourself this, just how much money do I really need?
Life for us now has few restrictions, no time barriers, no alarm clock and providing we have the internet we can manage our affairs from anywhere in the world. Follow our new trip in our blog and find out what inspired the title.
Countries visited – Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia & Vietnam. Still travelling on a budget of around $40/day. The trip had an unplanned extension courtesy of The Ash Cloud.
Summer in the UK October 9, 2009 - Part way through Carpe Diem we decided that we had no intention of resuming our former lives. The world recession clearly has lots of losers but, fortunately, there are some winners like us. With The Bank of England slashing interest … Continue reading 
The Hi’s and Bye’s of The Summer October 19, 2009 - During our summer in the mobile condo we visited lots of people to say “Hi, we’re back” and “Bye, we’re off”. This entry is just to say thank you to some of them for their hospitality. Our first hosts were … Continue reading 
It Can Be Done! October 21, 2009 - Carpe Diem, the name of our first travel blog, was inspired by the premature deaths of two people. This entry explains the inspiration behind our new blog title, “It can be done”! For those of you who followed Carpe Diem … Continue reading 
Flip Flop Camp December 5, 2009 - The consequences of an overindulgent summer were plain to see. We had put on weight and we needed to take action fast. We needed boot camp, but as this was Thailand, it would have to be flip flop camp. We … Continue reading 
Simples….. December 13, 2009 - Life here on Koh Chang (Elephant Island) is probably what it was on most Thai islands when tourism was in its infancy. The island has no cars, a few motor bikes and two narrow concrete roads that go north south … Continue reading 
Too good to leave December 20, 2009 - Things are so good here we changed our original plans and decided to stay an extra few nights but there was a good reason. The local Thai Bar (there are only 2 bars on the island) was hosting a free … Continue reading 
Boats, buses, taxis and dodgy immigration officials December 21, 2009 - The long journey south to Malaysia started with a bracing early morning ferry ride to Ranong. The rest of the day’s travelling to Hat Yai was to be by bus. Now the “guide” books all say that the bus should … Continue reading 
Happy New Year from Langkawi Island January 1, 2010 - We’ve been on Langkawi Island now for almost 2 weeks and life at Zackry’s Guesthouse remains as sociable as ever. It is such a great place to meet people, chat, swop stories and even make plans to meet up later … Continue reading 
I Love My Mum January 11, 2010 - Neil writes: Our blog serves two purposes. First, to let people know what were up to, where we are and how things are going etc. The second reason is to have a copy on CD so that we can remember … Continue reading 
Return to KL January 15, 2010 - Apologies for the late entry of this blog but Im sure you appreciate the reasons. Were now back in the UK to send Neils mum off on her final journey so we took a little time out to put together … Continue reading 
Cambodian culture Ancient and Modern February 2, 2010 - Our flight back to Asia took us back to Kuala Lumpur for an overnight stop at the Tune Hotel in the airport before flying out to Siem Reap early next morning. Good job it was only one night as the … Continue reading 
Sunrise over Angkor Wat February 6, 2010 - The friendliness of the Cambodians continues to delight us; even the hawkers aren’t pushy and also give a little friendly banter. A total contrast to the hawkers on the beaches of Goa; Rottweilers when they smell fresh meat. Chatting about … Continue reading 
Phnom Penh and The Killing Fields February 11, 2010 - Phnom Penh is a compact city, just as friendly as Siem Reap, but with a slightly more international feel about it. The Royal Palace, whilst not as grand as the one in Bangkok, is grand enough for most mortals. Its … Continue reading 
Return to Vietnam Tet, Valentines Day and The Valley of Love February 21, 2010 - The bus journey from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City was much better than we anticipated including the border crossing that we thought would be such a pain. We met up with Hugh in HCMC for dinner and a … Continue reading 
Buses, Beaches, & Bia Hoi March 12, 2010 - ts been a while since we wrote a blog and thats because we are well into wind down, chill out mode before the return home at the end of April. One thing we have learned is not to rush about … Continue reading 
Off The Tourist Trail April 4, 2010 - The seaside town of Quy Nhon is a lot less touristy than Nha Trang, so much so that only one or two restaurants have menus in English. Whilst this did narrow the opportunities, we found enough variety to keep us … Continue reading 
Warm Rain April 16, 2010 - Were back in Nha Trang to extend the visas one more time before we head for home. We were originally going to spend the last month of our trip chilling in Thailand, but we decided to stay on in Vietnam … Continue reading 
It’s Official We have to Stay! April 20, 2010 - Our last few days in Vietnam were spent in Ho Chi Minh City. We had some shopping to do, Neils backpack was looking a tad torn and the trainers he brought with him were also well past their sell by … Continue reading 
It ‘aint half hot mum! May 12, 2010 - We didn’t plan to be here at this time and, true to form, this is the hot season in S E Asia and it’s hot, hot, hot! Much of the time the temperature is around 38degs so we don’t do … Continue reading
Cheryl & Neil Our Story 