On my way to Brecon to see my sister Ruth this week I decided to wander up Pen y Fan and make the most of the nice weather while it is still with us. Luckily this is made really easy by the bus going right past Storey Arms which sits at the foot of the mountain.

Forgetting it was the easter holiday I was slightly surprised to see other walkers on the mountain – I thought I was going to have it all to myself! The weather held and the views were stunning.

I descended via a different route which was new to me and I arrived at Storey Arms just as the bus (which run every one to two hours) approached. The bus was very busy and the only spare seat was next to an old school friend who I had not seen for years. A nice day out and I hadn’t even seen my sister yet!

The sun was shining and having done the walk a few times before I decided to catch up on some Adam and Joe podcasts while I walked – laughing out loud to myself and taking in the scenery.

Unfortunately being a small village Monknash does not have a cash machine so not only was I not able to get the orange juice and lemonade my body was crying out for I also was short on the bus fare! Luckily I has a nice bus driver and I got my cold drink when I returned home. I might make a habit of this – it beats working after all!

According to people working in the surrounding area this is a “hotspot” but unfortunately I had to have my bike stolen to find this out as there are no warnings . I have informed the police and tried everything I can to get the word out but as there was no CCTV (!) I have to cross my fingers and wait. I will also be taking this up with the library and council to see if there is something they can do to warn people about the dangers.

I have come away from this shocked that there could be such bike theft “hotspots” in places that I visit regularly which I had no clue about. To vent my frustration I have set up a simple website that allows to you find this out – www.bikethefthotspots.co.uk - allows you to check where bikes are being stolen in your area so you can make informed decisions about where you leave your bike. The thefts are added by other visitors so if you have also had your bike stolen then please add this to the site so others may not have the same misfortune.

From Laos I made the rather long bus journey to Siem Reap in Cambodia – the city next to the spectacular temples. I took my first day here pretty easy and visited a couple of smaller – more secluded temples. These were still amazing to roam and were peaceful since I nearly had them to myself.

Tomorrow I am planning to hire a bike and head off early to the larger, more impressive temples like Angkor Wat. I hear they are huge so I am sure I will have a tiring day.

On the 29th I head to Bangkok and then on the 1st March fly back to the UK (no overnight stay in Sri Lanka this time!) so this may well be my last update before I am home. Hopefully I will have some more amazing temple photos to upload.

I spent a couple of days in 4000 islands “tubing” (sitting in a truck inner tube and floating down a river) and also did a full day kayaking on the Mekong River. The river is so big that it has dolphins so the trip also involved some dolphin spotting – though they didn’t come too close. It i s so so hot here that despite applying sun cream constantly I still manged to catch the sun – which I had managed to avid until now. After about 10am it is also impossible to stand barefoot on sand because your feet melt.

I also bumped into my Polish friends Przemek and Monika who travelled down the day after me (although this time I knew they were coming!)

Arriving in Luang Prabang was like a breath of fresh air. After three weeks of craziness the town has a really relaxed atmosphere, despite the other tourists. The people here don’t seem to want to bother you – unlike everywhere else I have been so far! The town is surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers. Time to relax for a few days!

I took a Tuk Tuk with some people I met to some local waterfalls for a swim. There were rope swings into the water and loads of rock pools to play in. I also bumped into the Polish couple from Sri Lanka here who flew to Hong Kong when I flew to Bangkok! It was a great surprise to see them again and we went to a really nice bar in the town in the evening. You can swim under the waterfall in the photo into a cave. I am currently in Vientiane which is the capital of Laos but tonight I take a sleeper bus south to an area called 4000 islands.

The weather in Sa Pa was even colder and white! I had arranged for a day hike around local tribal villages which I am told goes through amazing rice paddies. Unfortunately I could not see much of anything! On my second day there were some gaps in the weather and I did manage to sneak a peek. During the hike we were followed by a pack (there is no other word to describe them) of local women who befriended us along the way. When we stopped for lunch they immediately unpacked their baskets which they had been carrying the whole way and were very keen for us to buy bags, pillow cases, jewelry etc from them!

It was nice arriving in Vietnam to find that it is alot cooler here. The traffic in Hanoi is CRAZY with motorbikes everywhere the best way to cross the street it to just keep moving and trust that the hundreds of bikes will avoid you. I took a trip to Halong Bay and after a tour of the area and a look at some pretty impressive caves I stayed the first night on a boat.

I also did some kayaking around the bay. The weather was not the best but it did not spoil the trip at all. Actually it was a nice break from constantly consuming water and applying sun cream! I am back in Hanoi now – tonight I take a night train to Sa Pa in northern Vietnam and then on Monday I fly to Luang Prabang in Laos.

I was staying right in the centre of KL in the old town. This is the Twin Towers at night. You can’t help but say “wow”.

Batu Caves north of KL. There was rubbish everywhere and monkeys all the way up the stairs (just under 300 of them) trying to steal people’s bags.

From KL I flew to Hanoi in Vietnam.