Al's epic odyssey

Chiang Mai and back home

alistair — Mon, 9 Nov 2009 04:29:00 GMT

I caught the overnight sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. It’s not that cheap, but if you take into account that you’re saving a hotel room, it makes it worth it. The train is incredibly slow and rocks around like crazy, the single track railway has probably not had a lot of maintenance since it was first laid. It takes about 10 hours by bus and nearly 14 by train, however at least you can stretch out a bit more on the train.

I arrived in Chiang Mai for the second and third day of the annual water festival. It was fantastic. The town was really buzzing. People came from far and wide to join in the fun. At night we flew burning lanterns from the bridge over the river and floated flower lanterns down the river. The fireworks were a little frightening. There is little regard for health and safety in these parts and it was quite common to have loud bangs and rockets going off right next to you. I retreated to one of the local bars at one point to get away from the loud bangs only to find people letting them off in the open air bar area.

The town of Chiang Mai is quite laid back and much less pushy in terms of trying to make you buy things the whole time. I really enjoyed the feel of the town. There are magnificent Buddhist temples all over the town and all were decorated beautifully for the festival.

I visited the Hill Tribe Museum which was quite interesting. It appears that some of the hill tribes still grow opium poppies quite openly as part of their culture. The long necked Karen people are from these parts as well. You’ve probably seen pictures of the women with stretched necks covered in large brass rings. I suspect it’s more about tourism than culture these days as apparently you have to pay a sizable sum to visit them.

One of the popular activities is trekking to the hill tribes and staying overnight. Unfortunately I was a little pressed for time so I arranged a one day trip into the countryside. We packed a lot into that day – an orchid and butterfly farm, an elephant trek, the highlight for me was being picked up by an elephant by his trunk. This was followed by lunch and a trek up to a waterfall, followed by some relatively tame white water rafting and a bamboo rafting trip down the river. We were exhausted at the end of it all.

I caught the night train back down to Bangkok and spent the last two nights back in Pattaya. I’d been there before and while it’s not my favorite destination in Thailand, it is the nearest decent beach to Bangkok and I felt like a bit of sea would be good before heading back to Scotland in the grip of winter.

After Pattaya it was time to head home. The tenant who had been renting my house had moved out so I thought it would be a good opportunity to go home for a while, take stock and decide what to do next. There are many places in South East Asia that I’d still like to see and a few places I wouldn’t mind going back to. I will definitely be back!

Hanoi & Halong Bay

alistair — Sun, 1 Nov 2009 10:10:00 GMT

The overnight bus from Hue to Hanoi was the longest so far, 14 hours with two or three stops. What made this one worse is there was nothing blocking the oncoming headlights in my face so I ended up trying to sleep with my head under the blanket. The main highway is a single lane in each direction and the traffic don’t dip their lights at any point. As a passenger I was blinded by some of the oncoming trucks, how the bus drivers cope is beyond comprehension. I suppose by dipping the headlights they might need to take their hand off the hooter, so they don’t.

Got to Hanoi quite early in the morning and got off on the wrong foot. I had a dispute with one of the motorcycle taxi drivers over the fare to my hotel of choice, so I took another one. My mistake… In hindsight he probably was drunk. We almost crashed into another bus which gave a massive honk on his hooter, partially deafening me and then weaved in and out of traffic in the general direction of the old quarter. I had a vague idea of where I wanted to go and he was clearly taking me somewhere else, so I eventually bailed, paid him a part fare and walked the rest of the way.

The backpacker / tourist area of Hanoi is mostly around the old quarter with cluttered busy streets selling every conceivable item. There is a real bustle about the place, but it has a very different feel to Ho Chi Minh City. There is virtually no pavement as every available inch is used for selling or eating. It can be a bit of a dice with the motorcycles for a bit of roadway to walk on. Apart from the taxi’s there seemed to be less persistence from the stall holders and it was quite pleasant to wander around.

I booked a three day two night trip to Halong Bay, one of the “must do” trips in Vietnam. The prices vary considerably and while all trips seem to go to similar areas, the quality of the boat and accommodation can vary. I paid bottom dollar and ended up on a really dodgy boat but with a fantastic bunch of low budget travelers.

The scenery is absolutely spectacular and photographs cannot reproduce the feel of the place. It’s definitely a trip that should be one everyone’s to-do list. The first day was a trip to a massive limestone cave on one of the 1900 islands followed by a visit to a floating village and a trip in a small boat through some caves, finally mooring for some swimming and diving off the top deck for the more adventurous.

We followed this up with a good drinking session on the upper deck under the starts. While most of the boats were relatively quiet we had such a good time that a bunch of folk from a neighboring boat moored alongside came over to join us.

Because we had run late the previous evening we missed out of our scheduled hour of kayaking, so we were woken by the throbbing engine at around 6am and had early morning kayaking around some of the islands at 6:30am. There’s nothing like a bit of early morning exercise to clear the head.

After this we travelled to one of the larger islands and checked into a hotel. Because we were apparently on the budget tour, our hotel was set well back from the town and wasn’t of a particularly high standard. I went off on a separate afternoon cruise to Monkey Island where there were troops of monkeys strolling around this coral strewn beach.

That night about 10 of us went down to the local pub, which closed way too early at around 11. We decided to give karaoke a try. Walking back towards our hotel in the slightly less savory part of town, we went in to the first karaoke bar and asked is we could have a go. Unfortunately it turned out that this place was purely a brothel and he didn’t actually have a karaoke, although he did offer us massages. The next place we tried was also a brothel (though seemingly unused at the time of our visit) but he did have a karaoke machine so we negotiated a price on the beers and then let rip for a few hours. Half the songs were sung in Spanish and half in English. Unfortunately there weren’t any Hebrew numbers for our two Israeli friends.

At the end of a few hours of hearty sing-a-long we tried to pay the bill. Only to find we were locked in and disputing the bill with the Madame. We had been under the impression that the cost would be the beers however there was now an extortionate room hire cost added. After much arguing, bartering and general grumpiness we eventually reluctantly paid up and were let out. I later quizzed our guide as to the general practice and was told that that was in fact a reasonable price. I don’t know how the locals can afford it. As backpackers we found it quite steep.

Anyway, the memory of being locked into a brothel in Vietnam over a dispute over the bill makes it all worthwhile.

The next day was the long trek back to Hanoi, first by boat and then by bus. A word of advice to anyone planning a trip to Halong Bay - it’s a long way to get there do the three day trip as a minimum, it’s too far to go for the one day or two day cruise.

I had planned to do a tour of some of the sights of Hanoi before I left for Bangkok, but I unfortunately ran into a bunch of mates who I’d met in Delat and Nha trang and we got stuck into a few pubs in Hanoi, so I never made it.

I also never got to do the other “must do” Vietnam trip, the trekking to the hill tribes around Sapa. That just leaves me with another reason to return.

Nha Trang - Hoi An - Hue

alistair — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT

The first day is Nha Trang was a bit rainy but gave me a day to wander around the tourist zone and sample some of the restaurants, pubs and scenery. The beach in Nha Trang is beautiful - miles and miles of wide sandy beach with only intermittent coconut leaf covered unbrella’s and not lined with pubs and restaurants. The seaside parks are very pleasant with wonderful topiary. The sea was relatively flat, but there were massive breakers that seemed to form out of nothing about 5m from the shore threatening to dump you if you miss-timed your entrance or exit from the water.

The tour to Four Islands is fantastic value for money and great fun. There were loads of us crammed onto a tourist boat and taken to visit an aquarium on one island (I could easily have given that a miss), snorkeling on a coral reef at another, anchored off a third for a massive (and excellent) seafood buffet washed down with a few beers. The crew then entertained us with an excellent boy band act, with the drum kit quite possibly made up of the same utensils used to cook our lunch. This was followed by happy hour in a pub in the sea. The bar was basically a buoy type structure for a barman to dispense “cocktails” to the rest of us who were floating around in life rings. Finally we disembarked at a fourth island to swim or soak up the sun on the beach. The whole tour was excellent value at only 7 USD per person. Funky Munky and Barbell were excellent hosts.

I had planned on going diving the next day, but I met up with some people that I’d met on the boat cruise and we were out a little later than planned. When I woke early for the dive I was still under the weather so turned it into a lazy beach day instead.

One of the tourist attractions in Nha Trang is the Mud Baths and Mineral Pools. The mud baths are great fun; it’s more the consistency of tomato soup than the thick mud I was anticipating. This was followed by dips in various pools of differing temperatures and magical powers. Well worth a visit.

Finally, on my last day in Nha Trang I went SCUBA diving. It was great. Not only was it the cheapest diving I’ve ever done ($35 for two dives all inclusive), but because it was low season I ended up with my own personal guide, rather than having to share him with three others. The two highlights were to see a turtle and to be bitten by Nemo. The turtle was sitting on the bottom minding its own business when I spotted him. Both my guide and I stroked it (I know you’re not supposed to touch) before he lazily swam off. The clown fish was defending his territory when I got a bit too close and he tried to take out a chunk of my finger. It was a fair nip but he didn’t break the skin.

The overnight sleeper bus to Hoi An was uneventful and I actually did manage to doze off. I suspect because I was knackered after the day diving.

Hoi An is known for its’ tailoring and I decided to get a suit made. I was measured up at 12 midday on the day I arrived, a second fitting at 6pm that evening, a third at 11am the following morning and I collected the completed suit at 4pm. Not bad for $70. I actually had a second pair of trousers made as well as I always wear them out first and end up with a wardrobe filled with suit jackets.

The beaches in Hoi An are reputedly some of the best in Vietnam, but unfortunately the day that I’d planned on visiting the beach turned out to be overcast and a bit rainy so I never got there. Unfortunately my time in Vietnam is running out and I am very keen to get to Halong Bay in the north, so my time is being limited along the way.

I travelled up the road to Hue, an ancient Capital of Vietnam from the times when it was controlled by the Chinese. The old city itself is quite pretty although I was disappointed with the poor value for money. They certainly do try and milk the tourists for every dollar. I booked a $10 motorcycle tour but ended up paying an additional $12 in entrance fees to see three Mausoleums and the Citadel. The mausoleums are interesting, but overpriced compared to other similar attrations. The Citadel was particularly disappointing as it is quite run down and the entrance money is clearly not being used for maintenance. It has the potential to be a wonderful attraction. Food and drink at some of the more popular venues is also a lot pricier than I’ve had to pay so far, although the accommodation at the Halo Guest House was good value for money.

The Vietnamese Central Highlands by motorbike

alistair — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Delat is quite a small town, quite pretty, but not a lot to do in the town itself. I’d mainly come here as it is the base of a company called Easy Riders, who offer guided motorcycle tours all over Vietnam. I’d arranged a three day motorcycle tour from Delat to Nha Trang on the coast.

My driver / guide, Toun, is from northern Vietnam and is most informative about the country, the history and the people, and clearly enjoys showing visitors his country.

Day 1 - Delat to Lak Lake

Some of the attractions that we stopped to see included:

· The Crazy House is a bizarre guest house / visitor attraction in Delat that has been designed by (in my opinion) a clearly crazy architect. You cannot actually describe it, you have to see it.

· Flower farmer and coffee farms

· Elephant falls waterfall and nearby pagoda with a giant happy Buddha

· Silk factory and Silk worm farmer

· One of the many hill village tribes

It’s been a long time since I travelled any distance on a motorbike, and I don’t think I’ve ever spent a whole day on one. After a full day of travelling my bum is somewhere between aching and numb and I could barely dismount at the end of it. I wish my body was the same age as my mind. I felt like I run the 150km instead of being a passenger on a motorbike.

Day 2 – Lak Lake to Buon Ma Thuot

The second day was a shorter ride than the first, but very interesting as we went down the back roads through the coffee plantations to a fabulous waterfall in a jungle national park. The water was crystal clear and a lot of water, There were two rickety suspended footbridges to cross to the one waterfall. I did the first, being carefut to aim for the planks that looked like they may be able to hold my weight. I only made it three quarters across the second bridge before bottling it and backtracking. I don’t think it would have met any H&S standards anywhere.

My guide Toun took me out to eat at one of the local eating / drinking halls. It was crowded with locals and clearly very popular. Toun ordered a selection of dishes including eggplant, which I’m not sure I’ve had before. As I was eating it it tasted a bit crunchier than I’d expected, which was when Toun announced that it also contained a salmon head, including scales, which he’s neglected to mention before. At least we didn’t get silk worms, which he has assured me are delicious.

Day 3 Buon Ma Thuot – Nha Trang

The sunshine of the past few days gave way to rain but it wasn’t too bad, a steady trickle of warm rain rather than the usual heavy short thunderstorm. It rained for most of the day and it was quite a long haul down to the coast, but on much better roads than we had had up till now. We stopped off at various places along the way including rubber and pepper plantations, hot springs and a fishing village.

We stopped for a soft drink at a roadside stall and I received a marriage proposal from the beautiful young stall owner. I was almost ready to accept, but it turned out that she thought that I’d be taking her back to live in Scotland and I thought I was going to lounge away in her hammock at the roadside in Vietnam watching the chickens.

After three days in the saddle I’d had about enough of motorcycling for a while. It was a fantastic way to see the real Vietnam, see interesting places off the beaten track and meet some very interesting people. I can see how some people can do the length of Vietnam in this way over a few weeks.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the Mekong Delta

alistair — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:50:00 GMT

Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon as it is still referred to locally is a sprawling city of some 8 million people (and apparently 6 million motorcycles). It’s hard to say where the city starts or ends as the roads in this part of the world are inevitably lined with buildings. When entering or leaving it seems to go on forever. The tourist / backpacker center of the city is much like other cities in SE Asia, except for the noticeable exception of massage parlours or tuk-tuks. All the other usual candidates are there hustling for your business – motorcycles, taxi’s, restaurants etc. It’s interesting that the suit makers seem confined to Thailand, and the massage parlours to Thailand and Cambodia. I went to visit what is officially called the ‘War Remnants Museum’, which would probably be better called the ‘American War Crimes Museum’. A tour guide actually did call it the ‘War Crimes Museum’ on a later tour. It was both interesting and disturbing, although quite a one sided perspective. I personally think it would have greater impact if it presented a more balanced view and used less propagandistic language. The Vietnamese people did (and continue to) suffer terribly from the effects of the chemicals that the Americans used. The following day I took a trip down to the Mekong Delta, which is home to around 20 million people. We visited some of the islands and cycled along the narrow roads linking the villages, some barely wide enough for two motorcycles to pass. We took a rowing boat up a small river to a honey farm. I felt quite bad having a lady probably old enough to be my mother doing the rowing. At one of the stops I tried the rice wine, banana wine and snake wine. They all taste pretty much the same. High octane firewater! I’m sure that the snake wine is the same as the rice wine with dead snakes (and the occasional scorpion) preserved in it. I’m sure they don’t add to the flavour. My final excursion in Saigon was a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels. These are a labyrinth of interconnecting tunnels and underground bunkers and rooms dug by the Viet Cong soldiers during the Vietnam War. They are incredibly complex and quite sophisticated. Thousands of people literally lived below ground during the day, and surfaced at night. The tunnels are tiny. I went through a very short one that was in its original state and it was a very tight squeeze, especially getting in through a tiny manhole cover. Without a torch I would possibly still be down there. There is a longer tunnel of around 120m that they have enlarged, lit and ventilated for the tourists and even that one was a little nerve wracking to go down. My knees were knackered from crawling. The traffic in Saigon is something else. I think Cambodia may be a bit more chaotic, but here it is massive and chaotic. I don’t believe I’ve seen a stop sign. I don’t think they have them. People just approach junctions slowly and somehow manage to avoid everything. One of our guides gave some sound advice. When crossing a road simply walk forward slowly. Stop if you must, but never step backwards. Traffic knows how to avoid you if you’re going in one direction. I look in all directions all the time, but locals simply walk and somehow a path seems to simply open up. A few days in manic Saigon was enough and time to head for the hills. Dalat is a town in the Central Highlands of Vietnam and only 300 km away. The bus trip took over 10 hours. The roads are in a poor state, there were road works on one of the mountain passes causing about an hours delay and to cap it all our bus ran out of oil about 5 km from the end. It was quite amusing, a local minivan stopped after initially giving our driver a lift down the road, eventually returned and offered us some of his oil (out of his engine), so the driver tapped a container full from under the minivan and we were on our way.

Battembang and back

alistair — Thu, 8 Oct 2009 01:54:00 GMT

Battambang is the second largest city in Cambodia and not at all tourist orientated. It’s such a pleasure to not be hounded for massage, tuk-tuk, motorcycle etc. Walking around town I actually get stared at. Either because I’m so devilishly handsome or they have seldom seen such a scruffy foreigner. I’ve been struggling to find someone to give me a shave for nearly a week now. The barber that I went to in Siem Reap closed up shop when it got flooded.

I arrived on the final day of the water festival. Thousands of people have turned up to watch the boat races on the river and there are hundreds of stalls selling all manner of things. The boats seem to come in three sizes. The smallest is about a 12 seater, the next size is about a 22 seater and then the large ones seem to vary between 54 and 64 seats. I say seats, but half the crew stand. The paddlers in the front half sit and paddle furiously. The back half stand with the 3^rd quarter also paddling furiously at the same pace as the seated paddlers and the rear quarter stand and paddle at a half pace, every second stroke of the front ¾ of the boat. The two guys in the rear seem to paddle and steer as needed.

In the evening the crowd quadrupled as all the working folk and rural folk came in to join in the celebrations. As one of the very few westerners in town I managed to attract a lot of stares from the rural kids who don’t get to see too many foreigners. After dark the river was lit by floating candles that people had bought to give thanks. Fittingly for a water festival there was a fine downpour at the end of the evening.

The following day I took a guided motorbike tour of some of the countryside:-

First stop was to a place that is now known as “The Killing Cave”, where the Khmer Rouge threw opponents down an opening into a cave where they died, if they were not already dead. There is a shrine with a dying Buddha and containers of human bones and sculls recovered from the cave.

The next stop was another Ankgorian Temple built on the top of a steep hill. My knees were wobbly after simply climbing the stairs to the top, I can’t imagine how they managed to haul the massive sandstone slabs to the top to build the temple.

The final treat was a ride on the Bamboo Train. This is tricky to describe, probably best to have a look at the facebook photos (see link at the end). It is a bamboo board about 4m x 2m resting on two rail axels and powered by a small petrol motor. It is assembled when you get there and if another train is coming in the opposite direction, it would be dis-assembled and re-assembled on the spot. I was given the VIP seat, which consisted of two cushions. It’s a rough ride, so the cushions were handy. Thundering along the Cambodian countryside on wonky rails at 20 km/hr a few inches off the ground can be quite exhilarating.

Travelling through the backstreets of rural Cambodia was an experience in itself. People have very simple lifestyles. The primary crop in that area is rice, but interspersed with small fruit plantations on the less soggy ground. There was even a vineyard with grapes growing which surprised me.

The second night back in Battambang was a complete contrast to the first. The streets were absolutely deserted. It’s time to move on - back to Phnom Penh for a couple of nights and then on to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam.

Facebook photo's : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=328711&id=744675149&l=464afe04d4

Siem Reap and the Floating Temples

alistair — Sun, 4 Oct 2009 10:30:00 GMT

Having learned my lesson on the bus trip up from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh, I paid a little extra for my ticket to Siem Reap and found a seat further back, out of sight of the front windscreen and almost out of hearing of the horn and the karaoke machine. The trip was almost relaxing.

The only notable event was when we stopped at a roadside stall in the middle of nowhere to get refreshments and visit the bathroom. For the first time on my trip so far I found creepy crawlies on the menu. There was a selection of locusts and spiders in amongst the other unidentifiable foodstuffs/ The locusts and spiders appeared to be deep fried so I gave them a miss as I’m watching my cholesterol levels. One of the ‘spider ladies’ even had a bucket of live spiders (tarantula’s I think), presumably to prove that the fried ones were fresh. Every now and again she’d stir them from their slumbers to show that they were alive.

I booked into the Angkor Friendship Inn in Siem Reap on a web recommendation and was pleasantly surprised by the level of accommodation for a very reasonable price. My Tuk-Tuk driver had been determined to take me elsewhere where he’s get a commission, but I stuck to my guns. The Inn is down a little sidestreet off the river and relatively close to the tourist area of Siem Reap. The torist area consists of a couple of markets and a street called ‘Pub Street’, which is pretty much what it says on the tin. The area is pretty much restaurants, bars, massage parlors and hundreds of tuk-tuk and motorbike drivers – all relentlessly seeking your custom.

On my first full day in town I wandered around taking it all in, intending to do the main tourist attraction – the Ancient Temple tour the following day. I visited the National Museum and thought that it was overpriced at 12 dollars for foreigners. The building is magnificent and the content is beautifully presented, but I personally didn’t think it was very good value for money. The whole town is very tourist orientated. Foreigners are seen as walking cashpoint machines and everyone wants a piece of the action - particularly now in the low season.

The riverside is very pretty with lawns, trees and benches. Drinking sundowners at the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) was great – it felt quite colonial and decadent. Later that night while enjoying the atmosphere of Pub Street it started raining… and boy did it pour! This was Tropical Storm Ketsana, which as Typhoon Ketsana had wrecked havoc in the Philippines and Vietnam. I’ve never been in a tropical storm before and this may not have been typical, but there was hardly any wind accompanying the rain, simply a torrential downpour that just went on and on. From under cover on the pub verandah it was quite fun to watch. Eventually it came time to leave and I managed to find a tuk-tuk driver to take me back to the hotel. He was drenched, but probably coining it.

The following day was fairly relentless rain most of the day. I took a walk out during one of the quieter moments and it you could see that the river level was rising pretty fast. I didn’t venture too far, but managed to get back onto Pub Street for sustenance. By now, I’d been in most of the restaurants for at least a beer. My new favorite Cambodian food is Chicken Amok. It is a mild slightly sweet curry with coconut milk, a bit like South African baboutie. The best was from the Khmer Family Restaurant on Pub Street.

The following morning the water was lapping outside the hotel front step. The river had burst its banks and town was flooded. The street outside had become a tributary of the Tonle Sap River and was flowing quite steadily, albeit only a few inches deep. The rain stopped around mid morning and I ventured back into the tourist area wearing shorts and flip flops. At worst the water was about knee deep and had covered a fair portion of the riverside areas which included most of the tourist areas. Amazingly many of the motorcycles and tuk-tuks carried on working, although very few ventured down the road where I was staying as the deepest water was at the top of that.

Even though the rain had stopped the water levels remained high. I attempted a short tourist trip to the Silk Farm which is about 17 km out into the countryside. I thought that that would be fine. When we got there we found the access road was blocked by knee deep water so we turned back and was back in Pub Street considering my options.

I’d already stayed a couple of days longer that I’d originally planned and I still hadn’t seen the Temples so I arranged a trip for the following morning. The tuk-tuk driver came to collect me and informed me that I’d have to wade back into town to get his tuk-tuk, which we did. The temples are truly amazing. I’m not going to try and give you a history lesson, to be honest it was all a bit much for me to take in, far too long ago and far too many very long names of God-Kings. I only saw about 6 temples, each very different and I’m sure an enthusiast could spend a lot longer at each of them than I did. Angkor Wat is huge. The outer wall runs about a kilometer in each direction and that is surrounded by a moat probably 200 meters across. Bayon, is straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. Ta Keo is a massive mountain of stone blocks with near vertical stone steps. Ta Prohm has a massive tree seemingly growing out of a cloister roof with its massive roots spreading over the stone, but seemingly leaving the corridor intact. There were some Temples that we couldn’t get to because of the water levels, My tuk-tuk driver jokingly called them the floating temples. One day of temple trekking was enough for me, but I can see how others would prefer longer and take their time. Each of the temples that I saw was fascinating and I’m sure there are many more, further afield, that are equally worth visiting.

Having done that temple tor it was now time to move on. I’ve decided to go down to Battambang for a couple of days before meandering towards Vietnam.

Facebook photos http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=328711&id=744675149&l=464afe04d4

Phnom Penh - passing through again

alistair — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:07:00 GMT

It seems that everything passes through Phnom Penh, so I was back in the city for a few days before heading further north.

The drive up from Sihinoukville was interesting. I was on a much cheaper bus than the one I went down on and as I expected it was pretty crowded with locals, which generally means far more unscheduled stops along the route. I had a front row seat which I thought would be good as I’d be able to see what was happening on the road ahead. In hindsight it’s probably best not to know. The hooter is generally used instead of the breaks. Double white centre lines seem to mean ‘hoot while overtaking’ to warn others around the blind corner to expect a bus on their side of the road. On occasions I could make out the whites of the eyes of the oncoming driver. I think on the next trip I’m going to sit as far back as possible, away from the hooter and the karaoke machine blaring out Cambodian love songs.

Back in Phnom Penh I decided to stay nearer the river this time and I found a tiny little room, but perfectly adequate and within budget. The internet was free but incredibly slow. May of the cheaper rooms have no window, or a window onto an internal corridor. This one had a window, but no view so I may just get a windowless room in the future.

I visited the Genocide Museum. It was a school that was converted into a prison and a place of torture and killing by the Khmer Rouge between 1976 and 1979. Over 70000 people spent time there and only a few survived. All ages, men and women, boys and girls, many children. It was a truly horrific place. It has been preserved much as it was found and is an awful reminder of mans’ inhumanity to man. What makes this different for me is that I was a teenager at the time and I remember reading about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, but it was in a remote part of the world. I now have a better understanding of the events of the time, it must have been truly awful. It’s possible that up to two million people may have been killed. Every person in Cambodia over the age of 30 must have been traumatized or affected in some way or another. Many of those responsible have simply re-integrated back into society. The trials of some of the remaining leaders are only taking place now.

The French left Cambodia a long time ago, but the French culture is still quite noticeable. The major roads are large French style boulevards and baguettes get served with everything. I even saw a group of locals playing boule.

After a weekend in Phnom Penh, it’s time to move on and up to Siem Reap – stepping off point for the Angkor Wat Temples.

Facebook photos at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=327886&id=744675149&l=23ae4d478d

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

alistair — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:02:00 GMT

Sihanoukville is apparently the closest place that Cambodia has to a typical resort town, but it still has some way to go to emulate the Thai beach resorts (I’m not saying that that’s a bad thing). There are a mix of relatively unspoilt beaches and beaches lined with beach bars, so you can take your pick. I stayed at the relatively quiet end of the main party beach called Serendipity Beach. Most of the resort accommodation and the tourists were at the other end of the beach, which was only a 15 minute walk away. Some of the resorts are quite grand and you would pay top dollar for those.

When I left Phnom Penh the town was deserted because there was a three day public holiday, well I discovered where the people were. They were on the beach in Sihanoukville. It was great - large Khmer family gatherings with BBQ’s and a firework display in the evenings, the only drawback, is that I wish they’d take their litter home.

I hired a motorbike for a few days and travelled around the town and surrounds. It’s quite spread out and fairly undeveloped. The traffic system in Cambodia has to be seen to be believed. They notionally drive on the right hand side of the road, but that’s flexible. Even on dual carriageway roads you can have someone coming in the opposite direction to you. I haven’t quite figured out which way you’re supposed to turn if you’re heading directly for each other in those circumstances. Traffic lights too are only notionally observed and often you will see motorbikes interlacing across each other at junctions. It seems to almost prove that chaos theory may work when applied to traffic.

I’d heard that Bangkok traffic was supposed to be chaotic, but that seemed quite orderly compared to driving in Sharjah. I’d say that Cambodian traffic is much more chaotic, but it is relatively sedate. Nobody seems in a particular hurry, which is perhaps how it ‘works’. The worst drivers that I’ve come across so far are definitely in Sharjah in the UAE!

One day I went into the town for a shave and thought I was asked if I wanted a face massage, which I obviously agreed to. The next think I know I’m getting a face mask put on, ears cleaned and plastered with cucumber slices. Those that know me will know that I remove cucumber slices from my sandwiches because I don’t like the taste or smell. Having to lie there with a cucumber slice under my nose wasn’t fun. I now probably look ten years younger, although that probably has more to do with shaving off the grey stubble than the facial treatment.

The first two days I was there the weather was superb and I’d planned on either going diving or snorkeling, however then the monsoon rains arrived and I really didn’t fancy spending much time at sea in one of those storms. They don’t last for long, but they are quite severe so I gave the sea trips a miss. I’m a little hesitant about rough seas after being sea sick for the first time ever in Koh Tao in Thailand. I’m sure the visibility must be affected by the storms as well.

I took a trip into the Ream National Park which is an area of jungle, rivers and islands nearby. It is a fairly new national park so does have some indigenous people living there and eking a living through fishing and livestock, but generally it is very sparsely populated and lush. I was surprised more by the lack of wildlife although amongst other things we did get to see fish eagle, kingfisher and a water snake. Perhaps the wildlife will return now that there is a ban on hunting in the area.

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Phnom Penh - just passing through

alistair — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:43:00 GMT

When I flew in to Phnom Penh I was amazed at the scale of the monsoon flooding. There was water as far as you could see. The river banks and settlements were raised high enough to see them but there was water everywhere. I was worried that we were going to find somewhere dry enough to land. Phnom Penh itself must be elevated from the flood plain as there is no evidence of the flooding. I’d decided to book into the Number 9 Sister Guesthouse on the Boeng Kak Lake as it was recommended in my guide. The taxi driver tried to persuade me to get a hotel on the river but I stuck to my guns. The taxi drove as far as he could go in a car down this narrow lane and pointed vaguely further down the road and told me I had to walk the rest of the way. I set off walking down this narrow dusty rutted alleyway that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Slumdog Millionaire; I was getting a little concerned but persevered. Two touts tried to take me into other lakeside guesthouses and I did look at one room, but wasn’t impressed. I eventually found Number 9 Sister and was relieved to find a little oasis of quaint beauty jutting out into the lake. The room was large and quite acceptable and cost 5 US dollars a night. The view from the restaurant / bar over the lake was quite special. At night the same dusty rutted ghetto of an alleyway transforms into a backpackers haven with loads of bars and food stalls. I’d met up with a Kiwi, a Canadian and a couple of Dutchmen and ended up literally drinking Whiskey by the bucketload in one of the bars. A bucket of whisky is $1-50 and is actually local Rum served with ice and coke in a small plastic jug rather than an actual bucket. It was great but gave me a rotten hangover. The currency in Cambodia is officially the Riel but in reality the US dollar (no cents though) is the main currency and the Riel is only given as small change. For transaction purposes, the exchange rate is set as 4000 Riel to the Dollar. This can be quite confusing if you pay $5 for a $2.25 meal, you’d get $2 and 3000 Riel in change. There don’t appear to be any coins. I’d arrived at the start of a three day public holiday so town was pretty deserted. I wandered around most of the attractions that I could manage to get to on foot. Unfortunately a lot of the tourist sites relate to the Pol Pot genocide and I didn’t feel in the mood for that so I’ll save those for my return trip, in the mean time I’m off down to Sinoukville and possibly Koh Kong on the coast for a few days.

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Bangkok / Pattaya / Jomtien, Thailand

alistair — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:34:00 GMT

My last few days in Thailand: Bangkok – Pattaya – Jomtien

In hindsight, I probably could have spent an extra day on each of the islands to make best use of my time; however I decided to head back up to the Bangkok area as I needed to fly to Phnom Penh. When I arrived at Bangkok airport I still hadn’t quite decided where I was headed. As it turned out the next bus to Pattaya was quite late so the decision was made for me.

I headed back down to the Khao San Road backpacker area of Bangkok as I know the area and I knew I’d be able to get a cheap room. Up till now I’ve paid between 750 and 300 Baht a night. This time I found a room for 200 Baht (or GBP 3.59 / USD 5.92). OK so you don’t get much for that - a single room with a fan, a window onto a corridor and a shared bathroom, but it was clean and perfectly adequate for sleeping. The downside of having a really cheap room is that you spend as little time as possible in the room and you end up spending any savings outside in the bars.

I felt I’d spent enough time in Bangkok, so the next day I travelled to Pattaya in a shared minibus taxi. Pattaya is the second or third largest tourist destination in Thailand and yet is omitted from my Rough Guide to South East Asia. The authors have (probably quite rightly) decided that Pattaya has few redeeming features as a backpacking tourist destination.

Pattaya itself existed only as a small fishing village up till about 40 years ago, at the time of the Korean War, when it became a R&R destination for American troops. Thai entrepreneurs who saw the opportunity to relieve thirsty and horny troops of their dollars and Pattaya was born. There is little to Pattaya apart from the bars, go-go girls, beach loungers and tourist tat, not too dissimilar to certain areas of Bangkok and Phuket.

The neighboring town of Jomtien is slightly more upmarket in outward appearance and is not too dissimilar to parts of Dubai in terms of ongoing developments. There too, the entire economy revolves around beaches, booze and babes. Some of the Pattaya malls rival Dubai’s maybe not in size, but do in terms of splendor.

The Thai people are incredibly resourceful. Any spare piece of pavement, rear of a truck or motorcycle side car becomes a place of business. How everyone gets by amazes me. The markets are filled with curious looking fruit, veg and other foodstuffs. I was a little saddened to see a few hundred live baby turtles in one market, and I’m sure they were not destined for a local aquarium. Some were as small as a large coin, others around the size of a fist. There were also several hundred small live fish at the same stall so maybe he is the local pet shop.

I had the most severe Thai massage so far, I was wondering if I’d make it through the hour and how I was going to continue with my travels with fractured limbs. I could have sworn I asked for a gentle head and shoulders massage but was treated to the full Thai torture treatment instead. I’m sure I’ve lost most of my body hair (some of which won’t be missed), but managed to keep all bones intact. I felt surprisingly good afterwards but I’ve decided I’m not going to use a masseuse who weighs more than 50 kg from now on.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Thailand for almost a month. Time has absolutely flown by. I’ll definitely be back at some point to explore northern Thailand. I head to Cambodia next.

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Khoa Sok National Park, Thailand

alistair — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Sawardee krap.

It always seems to rain when I leave a place or move around, I’ve been very lucky so far. It rained pretty much the whole day whilst travelling from Koh Lanta to Khao Sok. And boy did it rain!

I booked a single night ahead on the recommendation of the same travel company that had put me up at Moonwalk on Koh Lanta. I’d suggested a few resorts which get an honorable mention in my Rough Guide to South East Asia, but according to the tour operator they either didn’t answer or were too expensive. The resort he booked me into was ‘Jungle Huts’, which failed to get a mention in my guide or the Lonely Planet Thailand guide. That should have flagged up a few concerns; however they had come up trumps with the Koh Lanta Resort so I booked ahead a single night.

I paid 400 Baht (8 Pounds) in advance for a bungalow and when I arrived the chap led me in the torrential rain to the shabbiest bungalow I’ve seen so far. It may have been acceptable at half that price. It had a river view from the rickety balcony and apparently had hot water, but those were its only redeeming features. As soon as the rain lessened to a mere downpour I went off in search of something a bit better. I found a pretty decent bungalow at Nung House (which is in my guide) set back from the river and negotiated down to 300 Baht per night so I decided to take that for a couple of nights and not head to Bangkok on the next available bus.

The weather wasn’t ideal for a couple of days in the forest; it lived up to its name as a rain forest. I managed a few short walks in between showers but didn’t go on anything major although the pictures of some of the longer walks do look stunning. There was a bit of wildlife in the vicinity of the bungalows, I found three blind (baby) mice in my dresser drawer together with their mother. There was also plenty of exotic bird and insect life, but no leopard or tiger which are supposed to roam the jungle.

Khoa Sok is very quiet at this time of year. Given the weather that I experienced, it probably wasn’t that surprising. The river was in full spate and yet they still had canoeing although I didn’t see anyone going down on tubes which was another option. That would have been exciting.

I decided that after having nearly a week off of anybody trying to sell me a suit, DVD or a massage it was time to head away from the peace and quiet and back to the big city lights. Unfortunately the cheapest form of transport back to Bangkok is a 15 hour overnight bus trip which wasn’t that appealing, the alternatives are a sleeper train or a flight from Surat Thani. I took the cowardly option and booked a flight to Bangkok. I’ll decide what to do next when I get there. I have less than a week before I head to Cambodia.

Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand

alistair — Sat, 5 Sep 2009 21:19:00 GMT

I’d not intended to visit Phuket as I’d heard that it was very tourist orientated and quite expensive; however in low season there are bargain packages to be had. The prospect of flying across to the other coast instead of taking an 8 hour bus ride may have had something to do with my decision as well. I found a reasonable guest house in Patong Beach which is busiest town in Phuket with a long beach, but also with plenty of high rises, go-go bars, street hustlers and general tourist orientated debauchery. I’d chosen it as it is apparently the best beach for diving, although I’ve since discovered that diving on the Andaman coast of Thailand is not very good at this time of year. In hindsight, I think if I return to Phuket I’ll probably chose one of the quieter beach resorts. The beach at Patong is good but quite crowded, even in the low season. Patong Beach reminded me a bit of hustle and bustle of Bangkok.

After a day of wandering around the local area, visiting the local markets I decided to get out and see a bit more of the island. I had intended to hire a motorbike and ride around aimlessly and then I was persuaded by one of the locals to hire him as a motorbike taxi and get ‘guided tour’ of the island instead. He was Hop, who became my chauffeur, tour guide, translator, Thai teacher, drinking buddy and pal for the next three days. I’m sure I was paying paid above the going rate, but it was worth it. I had a blast, so much so that I extended my stay by an extra two nights. Phuket has some quite stunning beaches and beautiful scenery.

Without a map handy I can’t remember all the beaches and sights that we visited, but we pretty much covered all the roads around the south side of the island. The Phuket roads network is extensive and quite busy; it was a pleasure not having to navigate them on my own. The views from the Giant Buddha of Phuket are particularly memorable.

Although it’s monsoon season, I’ve been very lucky with the weather so far. I’ve only experienced a few rain showers, including a massive downpour one night in Bangkok that lasted a couple of hours and flooded the street outside my guest house. The rest of the time it’s been fairly high cloud or sunny. I can’t understand the high / low season and why people don’t come here all year around, although it suits me as it’s relatively quiet and a lot cheaper. If this is what a monsoon season is like, Scotland must have an all year round monsoon season.

One of the things that has really annoyed me in tourist areas of Bangkok, Koh Samui and Phuket has been the number of street Hustlers trying to sell you suits, shirts, DVD’s, massages, taxi’s and tuk tuk’s. You cannot walk through a market without someone harassing you to buy this or that. I saw a T-shirt that said “I don’t f***ing want a Suit, Massage, Taxi or Tuk Tuk thank you” and I was about to buy it when the stall vendor came up to me and started harassing me so I ran away.

It’s time to move on to somewhere quieter. Either Phi Phi island or Koh Lanta. Koh Lanta sounds cheaper and quieter, so that’s where it will be.

Koh Samui

alistair — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:14:00 GMT

I hadn’t booked ahead for accommodation on Koh Samui, relying on the advice of my ‘Rough Guide to South East Asia’. I randomly picked the ‘Your Place Resort’ as it was cheap and cheerful and on the beach at Chaweng. Chaweng is the main hub of activity on the island and not really the place that you would choose to get away from things, but that didn’t bother me too much, as a solo traveler having stuff to do isn’t a bad thing.

The bungalows were pretty much what they said on the tin: basic - but adequate. I’m sure there was probably better for cheaper elsewhere but I certainly had no complaints. I was in a fan cooled room a stones throw from the sea for 600 Baht a night (almost 10 pounds). No TV or hot water, but neither were actually required. I even found a working WiFi link in my bungalow, I’m not sure where it was from but it was handy.

The beach in Chaweng is long and lined with hundreds of resorts of varying standards of opulence, Having walked the length of it I think the restaurant and pub at our cheapy resort was probably one of the nicest.

I booked a four hour island tour which took us in a rickety mini-bus around some of the sights which included:

‘a viewpoint’ back towards the beaches.
the ‘Glandfather’ and ‘Glandmother’ (our tour guides words) rocks which show a remarkable resemblance to the male and female anatomical differences
a monkey show where a trained monkey demonstrated his skills at picking coconuts.
the ‘mummified monk’, a 79 year dead mummified monk on display in a glass box, seated and dressed in orange robes and sunglasses to hide the empty eye sockets.
a rather pricey elephant trek half way up to a waterfall that none of us walked to due to the combination of incline, heat, humidity and laziness.
Another Buddist Temple and a couple of rather spectacular Budda’s.

After a day of doing very little I booked myself on a day excursion to the Mu Koh Angthong National Marine Park situated to the north west of Koh Samui. It consists of 42 quite stunning islands. We had an opportunity to explore an inland lagoon connected to the sea by an underground tunnel too narrow for humans to get through. It was amazing to see quite large sea fish in what appeared to be an inland lake. I went snorkeling on a shallow coral reef, but the visibility wasn’t good. I met up with a German couple who I’d also been on the Koh Samui tour with. They were kind enough to act as photographers for me as I’d dropped and destroyed my camera the previous evening.

I’d thought about heading to the Khao Sok National Park on the mainland but getting there seemed to be a bit of a mission so I took the easy option and booked myself a flight to Phuket instead.

Koh Samui Airport is fantastic. It looks quite new and seems to have virtually no walls. From check it you walk down a tree lined concourse to the departures area, the concourse is lined with retail outlets. The departures lounge has a roof but again no walls. There are complimentary snacks and drinks for all, and you get taken to the plane in an old fashioned trolley car. I wish I’d got there earlier.

Koh Tao island - scuba diving

alistair — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:00:00 GMT

The Thai people have a lot of respect for their elders and while I don’t personally consider my self an “elder” I suspect that I’ve been given some advantageous treatment lately. [I consider myself a 27 year old trapped in a 47 year old body]

While queuing for the overnight bus from Bangkok to Chumphon I was hanging around outside with the rest of the twenty-something backpackers and the lady arranging the tickets took my receipt from me and told me to sit where I was. I didn’t realise, but seating was on a first-come first-served basis and when she returned I was presented with the prime seat on the bus. I hope that she didn’t think I was too old to queue.

Prime seat or not I still only managed about two hours sleep on the eight hour overnight trip. For the first two hours the TV above my head was blearing with the last Batman movie with the sound turned up so loud that the people at the rear of the bus could hear it even if they couldn’t see. I manage to sleep in cars when I’m a passenger, why not busses?

We arrived in Chumphon at 5am for the 7am ferry crossing to Koh Tao. Watching the sunrise was quite special. The islands emerged from the gloom and formed a background to an idyllic Thai beach scene with fishing boats, coconut palms and white sands. It unfortunately didn’t help the tiredness. The ferry crossing is by fast catamaran and took about 2 hours.

I’d pre-booked a three day two night PADI Advanced Open Water Divers course from Bangkok. This consists of 5 dives which I’d expected to be spread over the three days. When I arrived I was old that I’d be doing two dives that afternoon, one that evening and two the next morning. I’d complete the entire course in less than 24 hours. I wasn’t too thrilled seeing I was absolutely knackered from the lack of sleep the night before.

I checked into my dive school bungalow and was pleasantly surprised to discover it had an air conditioner when I’d only paid for a fan room. Was this another act of kindness to the old and decrepit?

The first three dives on the first day went well. The corals and the fish here are quite stunning. The visibility was good - about 10m The water temperature is warm (29 degrees), though not hot (35 degrees) like in Dubai. The boat ride back from the night dive was a bit rough and I wasn’t feeling that great. I’d never been seasick before and considered myself pretty bulletproof when it comes to rough seas, air turbulence etc. I usually like the excitement.

Day two morning dives consists of deep dives to about 30m and 22m. For the first dive we went quite far out to sea to a pinnacle rock. The visibility was brilliant and the massive shoals of fish were incredible to see. We saw a large shoal of barracuda, mussels about a foot long, stunning corals and all manner of big and small fish. It was like swimming in a tropical fish tank. I’m now a qualified PADI Advanced Open Water diver. Now I need to log up some fun dives.

The only downside of the second days diving was that the sea was quite rough. Moments before going down for the second dive I was sea sick for the first time ever. I decided that the best course of action was to get off the boat and into the water. That was a great plan except I eventually had to get back onto the boat again. Sure as nuts shortly after getting back on board I was sick again and felt unwell until the boat started moving again. I hope this is a one off as I do enjoy boating and I don’t enjoy being seasick. As divers we aren’t supposed to feed the fish, however the fish sure cleaned up quickly after me.

The accommodation that I have on Koh Tao is basic but comfortable. Water is only on three times a day for about 3 hours at a time and electricity is off in the afternoons. There is a bucket filled with water to use for flushing when the water is off. There are all manner of accommodation types here and you pretty much get what you pay for. I’m going to spend one more night here and then head off on the ferry to Ko Sumai for some of the famous Thai beaches..

Bangkok - first impressions

alistair — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:30:00 GMT

Bangkok is mostly hustle and bustle, yet with areas of peace and tranquility; some parts decadent and yet generally conservative. I love it, but I suspect that it’s best served in small doses.

The flight to Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur was a real drag. Leaving Jo’burg at lunch time and arriving around midnight Jo’burg time (but dawn Kuala Lumpur time). I couldn’t sleep on the plane because it was too early and then when I arrived I couldn’t sleep in the airport. It was an agonizing 9 hour stayover.

I checked into the Sawasdee House near the Khao San Road on the recommendation of my niece, who’d stayed there before. It’s slap bang in the middle of the vibrant backpacker district. I’d initially booked a single room for the princely sum of 250 Baht per night which works out at about four pounds fifty. Was intrigued to see what you might get for that, unfortunately there were none of the dirt cheap rooms available so I had to settle for a standard double with air con at 700 Baht or around 12 pounds per night.. It was rudimentary, yet perfectly adequate. The location is spot on. No sense wasting money on overpriced hotel rooms, there’s plenty else to waste money on.

I had a brief wander around the street market that night and decided to sample one of the many of massages on offer. I went for the less rigorous oil massage and caught myself snoring once or twice and decided that after about 30 hours without sleep it was probably time to call it quits.

The next day I was wandering aimlessly around the area around the hotel and stumbled across an open area of ground where some form of Buddhist ceremony was taking place. The public were queuing up to have an audience with the monks and they were also writing on, and draping flowers over, large bronze sculptures I felt like a bit of an intruder so didn’t ask what it was about, but it was fascinating to watch. There are several small Buddhist Temples dotted around the area and again by shear chance I stumbled across the biggest if the lot, the Grand Palace. It has magnificent decorative detail. I’m not a big one for religion and know little of the Buddhist principles, but I did feel a definite peace about sitting inside the Temple. The National Museum near the Grand Palace is also well worth a visit.

I admit, I did frequent some of the less salubrious areas of town. The area around Soi Cowboy and Nana Entertainment Centre in particular, however in my defense, I did spend quite a bit of my time watching England beat Australia at cricket and win the Ashes. The pubs in those areas tend to cater well for British needs… funny that.

I had various massages while in Bangkok, leaving the Thai Massage for last. It’s a bit like selecting shows to watch at the Edinburgh Fringe. The overall result is generally quite pleasurable, but there can be some painful experiences on the way.

The one thing that I wont miss about Bangkok is the constant harassment you get from Taxi drivers, Tuk Tuk drivers, Touts, Pimps and whatever - all trying to lure you into parting with your cash. It’s constant, incessant and annoying. Westerners seem to be regarded as walking cash point machines.

After 3 nights in Bangkok it’s time for a change of scenery. I’m heading south for the islands for a bit of tranquility. Koh Tao – the scuba diving centre of Thailand. I’ll definitely be returning to Bangkok before I leave Thailand.

Jo'burg again...Decisions...Decisions

alistair — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:34:00 GMT

I arrived back in Johannesburg on the Friday morning and I was scheduled to start my new job on the Monday morning. The only problem was - I hadn’t decided if I wanted the job, I still had many reservations about working in Nigeria. It’s not so much the security issues that worry me, but rather the quality of life while staying there. Life is too short to need to have armed escorts whenever you leave the accommodation / office compound.

I’d discussed these issues at length with family and friends in South Africa and Scotland and I’d yet to come across anyone who thought that this was a great opportunity.

I contacted the Director to relay my concerns and we agreed that I’d go in on the Monday and discuss the issues with another Director who had recently spent some time there. It became apparent that the company were not in a position to compromise on the Nigerian aspect of the job and I declined their offer. That was a shame; however it does mean that my South East Asia adventure is back on!!

I went back to my brothers’ house and booked an incredibly cheap one way ticket to Bangkok, Thailand! I’m on my way!

While in Jo’burg I took the opportunity to do some tourist attractions. I went to the ‘Cradle of Mankind’ exhibitions at Maropeng and The Sterkfontein Caves. Some of the oldest and most remarkable Hominid fossils have been discovered in this area and they are currently excavating a near complete skeleton called Little Foot. The so called ‘Missing Link’ scull of ‘Mrs Ples’ was also discovered here. She’s thought to be over 2 million years old. I’d recommend the Sterkfontein Caves, Maropeng is probably aimed more at school tours.

In the words of Sir Elton John: “My bags are packed and I’m ready to go”. Next stop Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

A flying visit home to Scotland

alistair — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:01:00 GMT

So it’s back home to Scotland for almost two weeks. I have missed the place I now regard as home. I’ve been a bit nomadic over the past year or so and it’s great to be able to catch up with family and friends all over.

The Nigerian aspects of the job offer have been weighing quite heavily on my mind and the ongoing research that I’ve been doing on the internet doesn’t make it any easier.

I started off with a few nights with very good friends just outside Stirling. The weather was typically Scottish, but being summer, the rain was warm. After spending a year in Dubai rain has become a bit of a novelty.

The UK is so green, it’s almost like you need to wear sunglasses the colours are so intense. I travelled up on the train to see family who farm near Carnoustie. The berry season is in full swing and the farm is populated with a multitude of nationalities primarily from Eastern Europe who come over every year for the annual picking season. All the berries are under plastic tunnels these days and many are planted in trays at waist height, which must make live a bit easier, although it’s not a job I’d personally relish.

After a night on the family farm it was back to Stirling. I then got a lift with a friend up to another mutual friend’s farm near Fraserburgh, which is in the North Eastern corner of Scotland, for a few days with some very good friends. The weather was great, which made for good tourism, however this also meant that the crops needed harvesting. I learnt a lot about rape seed oil. I never realised that the seeds were so small. They are about a millimetre across, hard, black and round and apparently contain about 40% oil. When you walk on the seeds it’s like walking on miniature ball bearings.

The North East is a beautiful part of the world. There are small fishing villages such as Rosehearty, Pennin (where the movie ‘Local Hero’ was filmed), Gardenstown and Banff. Rocky cliffs and sandy beaches separate the towns. Most folk don’t get much further north of Aberdeen and miss out on this part of Scotland.

After the weekend we took a leisurely drive back down to Broxburn, (just outside Edinburgh) for a night. This gave me an excuse to drive past my house (which is currently tenanted) and I was also briefly re-united with my cat, who has now taken up residence with my friend. I’m not sure if she recognised me after a year away, but she purred for me when scratched in the right spots.

The two of us then drove up to my uncles hunting lodge in the Highlands to spend the night with another cousin and his family. It is such a magnificent setting surrounded by mountains with the river running through the glen. Two of the younger boys went stalking for red deer and had no luck with their father on the first day. The following day they were sent out with the stalker and arrived back around lunch time with traditionally bloodied faces having made their first kill.

The youngest boy was off salmon fishing all on his own and arrived back at the house totally distraught with a large one that had got away. I mentioned that I’d never seen a salmon in the wild before and the next day my cousin showed me one just below the fish ladder, literally waiting its turn to head upriver. It must have been nearly a meter long. I was amazed. There were other smaller salmon also waiting below the ladder.

For my last night in Scotland we headed back to Broxburn and went in to Edinburgh for the Edinburgh Festival. Well, we actually went to the Edinburgh Fringe, which is massive. There are literally thousands of shows on all day at hundreds of different venues. I am a bit of a festival fiend and I’ve been going for years. This time we only caught one show, we went to see Rich Hall, who is an established comedian and put on a pretty good performance despite a few idiots in the audience who must have thought that we’d paid to hear them.

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Jo'burg & Jobs

alistair — Wed, 5 Aug 2009 01:18:00 GMT

I arrived in Jo’burg with a day spare before the big job interview. I’ve been getting quite psyched up with the prospect of returning to South Africa to stay. Admittedly Johannesburg would not normally have been my first choice of city to live in, but I am starting to see the place in a new light.

I’ve been to Jo’burg plenty of times, but never really took much notice of directions or places. I’m trying to do so now. It’s a vast sprawling town which seems to go on forever. This is because there is no real culture of high density living that you get in Europe (or Dubai for that matter). I’ve bought myself a street map and now have a better appreciation for where places are in relation to each other.

The interview itself went really well and I’ve been verbally offered, and verbally accepted, a position based in Johannesburg but also covering several other South African towns and cities. The downside is that the project that I’d be working on is based in Nigeria, which currently does not have a high popularity rating.

After the interview I went home and spent the night Googling Nigeria and the current home office advice. It didn’t make for comfortable reading.

Statements like:

“We advise against all travel to the Niger Delta States of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers (including Port Harcourt) and advise British nationals in these States to leave. This is because of the very high risk of kidnapping, armed robbery and other armed attacks in these areas.

“If you decide to travel to or remain in these areas it would be reckless to do so unless and until you have taken full, appropriate professional security advice and have acted on it. You must be vigilant at all times and make sure that your local host and family know your travel plans and timings.”

I have made contact with several family and friends with knowledge of Nigeria and have asked for some clarification about the security arrangements before putting my X on the final contract.

The fact that Nigeria has been given the same risk level as Afghanistan and Iraq is a worry, but then again so too has Thailand, which is my alternative (and unsalaried) destination.

The job (assuming I do accept it) is due to start in two weeks time. My suggestion of starting date in 5 months was treated with much hilarity in the interview. So it is time to get some last minute holidaying in. Two weeks is too short to get in much of what I’d planned to do in South East Asia so I’ve decided to head back to Scotland and see family and friends there and tie up a few loose ends.

Next stop Edinburgh!

Cape Town & Somerset West

alistair — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:19:00 GMT

I flew down to Cape Town and met up with old University day friends who are still living there. It was great to catch up again, reminiscing over a bottle of single malt whisky. I used to have a fairly large circle of friends in Cape Town as I’d studied there and worked there for 9 years, but most have now moved on.

I popped in to see the ex-office. There are a remarkable number of familiar faces there still. I had long chats and caught up with everyone. Not many companies can boast that degree of loyalty. I must admit, I’d probably still be there if I hadn’t taken the plunge and moved to the UK 15 years ago.

The company seems to be riding out the recession quite well. South Africa in general seems to be better positioned than the Middle East and the UK. I don’t think they had the same level of exposure to debt as the UK and they are already investing heavily in infrastructure projects, building up to the 2010 Football World Cup.

I travelled out to spend a night with my cousin and her family out in Somerset West which is on the False Bay coastline. It’s a lovely town with beautiful picturesque suburbs. I can see why so many of my family choose to live there. We had a bit of a family get together with four cousins and an old school friend popping in for a few drinks. The next morning we went to visit an Uncle and Aunt who live there as well. My uncle has taken up art and is now drawing the most fantastic cartoons at the age of about 78. Both of them are updating their memoirs which make fascinating reading about their exploits and adventures in colonial Southern Africa.

Next stop Johannesburg for the job interview and some life changing decisions.