Catherine does Nam/ Cambodia 08

Day 10....Cambodia!!

cjdabinett — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:03:00 GMT

Its my first day in Cambodia and I am pleasantly shocked!! I assumed Phnum Penh (PP) was going to be another Saigon or Bangkok, both of which i hated, so I prepared myself for another mad city!! indeed, it goes without saying that it is busy, but not on a scale seen in the other 2 places. The people here also seem a lot lot nicer, and in general the place seems a lot better organised and less chaotic!

It's a welcomed relief following a rather hectic start to the day!!

I got the night bus last night from Dalat as mentioned before, and promptly bought a ticket for PP - incredibly it only cost $6!!!

The bus again was extremely confortable and I slept the best part of the way to the border to make up for the lack of sleep that night. I was also joined by a couple (guy from Singapore and lady from Saigon), and a guy from Iran. All of them spoke English really well which was nice - it was also the first time i had spoken to a Siagon local so managed to get an insight into Saigon life from the horses mouth as such!!

3 hours later we reached the border, which was an interesting experience to say the least! Chaotic is how I would describe it, but seemed to work nonetheless. Sadly, our Iranian friend wasnt allowed in Cambodia (apparently they dont accept Muslims?!?) so he had a rather wasted trip, but luckily the rest of us sailed through. I must admit though, I did panick somewhat when my passport disappeared for 1hr, but i had expected as much. Still not nice though.

After crossing the border, i got to see the real Cambodia en route to the capital. The countryside is not too disimilar from that in Vietnam, but you can see a distinct difference in the standard of living. Its very poor, and moreover the countryside seems to littered with skinny cows and stray dogs! Its very sad.

Much to suprise though, PP doesnt seem to be as poor - the people are dressed smartly, the streets are relatively clean, and for once there are quite a few cars on the road! Maybe im in a nicer part of town!?!

So tomorrow I take another 6 hr bus ride (really packing them in!!) up to Siem Riep. Im going to use the city as a base for the next few days for visiting the temples and Battambang which is just south. From there, Im tempted to fly down to Shinoukville for NY, and then spend the rest of my time on the coast exploring some of the beaches/ island and national parks.

Hope all is well in sunny england! Im slightly cooked after a day hiking in the Dalat hills yesterday ( i climbed the 2nd largest peak in Nam yday), so glad to be a away from the sun for a bit :)

Day 8 - a day of the bikes exploring the highlands..

cjdabinett — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:00:00 GMT

I think today was the highlight of the trip so far!!

After a rather bad night ( I got slightly sick after drinking some bad water!), myself and the ozzy couple from yesterday rented out the 'easyriders' for the day to tour the local area. The 'easyriders' are quite famous in Dalat, and made up of a group of men of varying ages wearing blue jackets who drive tourists around the local area on the back of their bikes. It's all very safe, and rather fun! Infact, I can see how motorbiking is addictive, it certainly gets the blood pumping when your steaming around the corners and high speed with the wind in your face! Although luckily, my driver wasnt too speedy :)

During the day we visited various parts of the surrounding area including a temple, some waterfalls, a silk farm, and a flower farm.

Dalat is simply stunning - very green, lush and gorgeous to see after the madness in Saigon. It's also the hub for vegetable growing, so every other field was either growing pak choi or cucumber!! Due to it's climate, the quality of the veg is next to none, and renowned in the south!!

Day 7 - the bus trip from hell

cjdabinett — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:39:00 GMT

Having just endured a night bus trip back to Saigon from Dalat, where I probably managed about 2 hours shut eye, my trip Friday gone doesnt seem too bad afterall. I shall leave it for you to decide :)

It all started at 8am, bright and early to miss the rush hour traffic (supposedly!). THe bus itself was a little cramped to stay the least, and got more and more packed as we ventured through the backpacker district picking more and more stragglers up along the way. By 9am it was a squeeze, well for me at least who seems to only find height a problem when it comes to Vietnamese buses!

3 hours later we were still going and had escaped the hussle and bussle of HCM - I also met a nice couple on board (Kenny and Angie) from Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, which helped time pass a bit. I am also thankful for my ipod as ever!!

As we headed north the scenery became more and more lush, with every horizon becoming further and a beautiful blue sky. I can safetly say it was the first time I'd seen nice blue sky for a week - Saigon is v polluted so smoggy most the time :(

As the bus climbed further through the the lush countryside, the temparature also dropped to a pleasant mid 20s, all was grand in the world, aside frm being trapped on a bus like a sardine of course!!

After 7 hours i was starting to get twitchy...the queue of traffic signalled something was not right, and as it turned out there was a truck that had lost control and had ended up upside down and backwards just off the road. This meant our 7hr trip turned into a 10 hr trip :(

However on the upside I got to see lots of countryside and observe the locals going about their lives. Coffee is big business up here, so 90% of houses had coffee beans spread out infront of their houses to dry before roasting - they certainly work hard at maintaining what little harvest they have!

Upon arival, they conveniently stopped at a local hotel and started to pile all our stuff out on the street! Apparently a good little add on to the coach drivers wages to get as many bleary eyed backpackers in the 'dream hotel'! This annoyed me somewhat as meant a nice walk up the street to the one i'd booked, but luckily Angie and kenny had booked the same one so we took 3 motobike taxis the short distance to Thien An Guesthouse, complete with backpacks, side packs, skirts and flip flops!

Day 5/6 - The Meeeeekong Delta

cjdabinett — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:28:00 GMT

So I'm back in my favourite place - Ho Chi M city, or Saigon as the locals refer to it still! However I can safetly say this is my last night here and tomorrow I get a bus (a nice 7hr ride) up to Dalat to sample some of what Vietman has to offer in the countryside. I'm told it's amazing, and has lots of hiking too, so right up my street!! Cant wait.

That said, the last 2 days have been pretty awesome though, if not a little tiring. I am now a shade of pink following 2 days pretty much cruising up the delta on a boat stopping off along the way at various weird and wonderful places.

So yesterday started with a hectic 3 hours bus ride to the fourth largest city in Vietman to jump on a cruiser boat for the rest of the day. The Mekong itself is vast, and stretches for as long as the eye can see, with lots of little canals jutting off leading to more working villages. I suppose I can only liken it to a v v poor version of Venice - the houses that lap the sides of the delta are made of corrugated iron and look as if they have been stuck together and gondala's are replaced with aged wooden boats covered with clothes, rubbish and whatever the owner is selling - parts of the delta are trading grounds, and turn into huge floating markets selling mainly fruits and veg (i've never seen so many watermelon or pineapples!)

So after a long day exploring the local area, and biking, we headed back to the guest house around 7ish for a much deserved dinner then drink at the local 'bar'. I say bar very carefully as it was actually in someone's front living room, which opened out onto the street, whilst sitting on little plastic seats with Vietnam Idol airing in the background on the TV! This was the local drinking hole so we were told! If only i could drop the locals there into our drinking holes back home - the shock, horror.

Dinner too was great - i sampled snake and onions in a satay sauce. Hmmmm??!. Was nice, very much like chicken but less chewy.

Today was another fun packed day, and this time we actually managed to boat right through the local floating market which was incredible. The people certainly work really hard here but seem to get very little back in return - everyone is so so poor, but they still smile and look happy going along their daily chores.

We also were lucky enough to stop at a local on land market which was great! Lots of market stores selling a variety of things from rice, pigs heads to colourful fruit and veg. It was fantastic to see the local life away from touristy spots.

Overall I had a great time, and would recommend to anyone going to the area. THe group I was with made it too...just to name a few...

Carl and Ann from Chiswick - Carl was a self employed property developer & Ann had just retired (at 41!) from MD at one of Hsbc's LoBs !! both were amazing, and had some fantistic travelling stories to tell. We're def going to meet up again when i get back - they've promised to take me to a local thai joint which serves up the best green curry!

Chris was from sheffield (i thnk) but incredibly had spent 2 days a week in Kingston for work in the last 6 months staying at the Kingston Lodge (5 mins from me) and frequenting my gym! Funnily enough he is also on the same flight home as me, so at least i will have someone to talk to when i get to Muscat for my 5 hours wait. It's a small world.

Nicole - she was about my age, from germany & had been travelling around asia for the past 2 months. She was very sweet, but I think struggled to keep up as her language was still not that great.

Also spoke a lot of french with a young couple and mother!

Right... it's now almost 10pm here and i am shattered. Plus i dont have my DEET spray so getting bitten to shreds :(

Hope all is well in the UK, will write soon when i get to Dalat. Staying in a nice guesthouse with free internet ..not that it's that expensive here anyway (40p for 1hr!!)

speak soon love
Xxxx

Day 4 contd - my petite road trip :)

cjdabinett — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:01:00 GMT

Had the best day so far today!

Left the hostel around 8.30 and jumped in a little minibus (thankfully with air conditioning) to take a trip out to Cu Chi, stopping off at what's meant to be the best temple in the SE Asia along the way.

The sheer scale of this city is emmence - it took about 1hr alone just to get out into the outskirts, but it was fascinating as got to see all the districts and the less touristic hot spots (not that it's that touristy here anyway)! It's still mental though, afterall c18m people live here apparently!

After about 2 hours we finally hit the countryside, with lots of paddy fields and water buffalo as far as the eye could see. Sadly, I also got a glimpse into the locals way of living out here - they are desperately poor, and really live very close to the ground. Lots of rather skinny lookking farm animals too, and lots of strays dibs running around the place searching for a morcheau of food.

The tour bus (incidently did I mention it only cost $8 for the day?!?) was full of an interesting bunch of people. I got chatting quite quickly to a couple living in Hanoi, both teachers in international schools. Interestly their take on Vnam was not a positive one, especially having come from China! Next stop - Poland! Apparently they like the cold!! One is Ozy, the other a Yank so what can you say?!!

I also got chatting to a retired American called Raymond! He was absolutely insane, and certainly had lots of interesting stories to tell! A converted buddha, he had visited India for a 6 week trip last year and never looked back. 6 weeks become 20months, and of the places he had been were Nepal, Tibet and Burma! I managed to get lots of travel tips off him for Cambodia so turned out to be very useful.

So first stop - the temple!

The temple itself was incredible, and somewhat colourful, but it was the prayer at midday that really made the experience. Lots of worshippers dressed in varying outfits (depending on status) chanting and singing. It was quite a sight, which I managed to capture on video too :)

We then hopped back on the bus (a welcomed relief as the temp was mid 30's!) and headed for lunch, which was at a little cafe at the side of the road. Not so nice, but cheap and cheerful.

The best bit though came in the afternoon. Cu Chi back in the day was the main town that got supplies thru to Saigon, and had a maze of 1000's of km of tunnels,with lots of the VC/ families living underground too. At first they showed us some of the local made weapons used to kill the US troops (harrowing) then took us down into one on the tunnels! I literally had to crawl through the tunnel (which was only 120m long luckily) trying to keep up with a 5ft2 vietnamese boy whose only spoken words were 'follow me'....as if we were going to go anywhere else!? I emerged covered in dirt, and looking rather hot and bothered - it's bl**dy hot here, so like a furnace in those tunnels. Makes you wonder how the VC did it!

Anyways, I have rabbited on once more (sorry bout that) and the time has run away with me :) Im now going to grab some supplies for tomorrow (cash being one of them!), pack then get an early night ready for my early start.

I def wont have any net access till Friday prob, as will be cruising down the delta for a couple of days visiting all sorts of local floating markets! Overnight stay in a place called Cat Ba (think that's how you spell in).

Hope all is well back home, missing you all...but not the weather!!
love

Cxxx

Day 4 - off to see the VC tunnels...

cjdabinett — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:46:00 GMT

Hi all,

Just a very quick quick update to say Iwill probably be offline for the next 2/3 days. Get back to Saigon late this eve then out to the Mekong delta on a boat for2 days!

Thnk you for all your lovely emails - will respond when i get back :)

Currently sat in a posh cafe, well posh by their standards, eating some breakie (fresh watermelon, mango andstawberries) , drinking earl grey whilst taking full use of their free internet.

Just abotu to hop onto a rust bucket bus for a trip to the VC tunnels north of here. I dont like confined spaces, so hope i wont freak out when crawling through the tunnels :)

Had the best night so far last night - went to this 5* hotel I mentioned before with Emma. Whilst pricey, it was amazing! The open air swimming pool was on the rooftop surrounded by other high rise buildings and flashing billboards, with the distant sound of the Saigon traffic below. Lots of birds and palm trees - its was simply a little oasis in this mad city! even at night this place is very humid, so the outdoor swimming pool came as a much welcomed relief.

Right, im out of here

Hope all ok, missing you all

xxx

p.s plans have changed again (joys of backpacking) - knocking out Nha Trang and just doing Dalat. Going to head straight in Cam Mon next week x

p.p.s - Dad can you pass this link onto Fran? x

Day 3 - Watching out for the motorbikes..

cjdabinett — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:47:00 GMT

...and that is indeed what I have been doing! The traffic hear in HCM makes even London look quite. Never in my life have I ever seen some many bikes all weaving across the roads, mounting the pavements and generally causing havoc. For some reason though, it seems to work - organised chaos I like to call it. The locals (no foreigner would dare jump on one) to my amazement carry all sorts of things on them too, from multiple people (saw 5 in total)to floor tiles!! Madness.

Crossing the road here too is another matter in itself. At first I waited and waited...I then tagged along with a local, now I go it alone. I've learnt the best way is just to brave it and let them dodge you as you walk across praying they have eyes! Sounds mad I know but it works.

So my day so far has been rather eventful. Aside from dashing across the streets, I've visited a couple of key sites and the war museum. I've also managed to plan out the next 4 days, which I will tell you about at the end of this 'essay'

This morning started with a lay-in for Dabinett. After emailing yesterday I headed back to the hostel for some pho (soup) and bumped into the 2x nucleur engineer lads again. They certinaly had a few stories to tell, which got more and more interesting as the beers flowed! Both in their early 40s (i think),they had travelled pretty much everywhere mantaining nuc stations across the globe. The latest - China! The things they'd seen just blew me away, and made me feel very untravelled!

After I bad night of sleeps (jetlag) I emerged from my air con room for breakie (more pho!!) and then hopped on one of the cyclo things (kinda like tuk tuks) for a petite tour of the city and some of the key sights. All good, but just a tad too hot today! I then visited the war museum, which was quite horrifying if Im honest - lots of disturbing pictures and accounts of the Vnam war!!

So this evening Im heading to the local 5* hotel for a swim and sauna. I met a really nice ozy girl earlier today who suggested it - the perfect way to end a busy day in this chaotic place.

Overall similar feelings for HCM as I have about Bangkok - really looking forward to seeing the countryside and getting away from all the noise, smog and traffic. People hassle you quite a bit here too which gets rather anmoying after a while. I've lost count of how many times I've been offered the Lonely Planet Vietnam, even when they can see I am reading one!

so for the next few days;

Tomorrow - Chi Chu for the day to see the VCong tunnels -

Weds/ Thurs - Mekong (staying overnight)

Fri - booked a 6 hour (eek) bus ticket to dalat.

Hope all is well back home and it's not too cold!!

Speak soon

Cxxx

p.s Mum/Dad/NJ - great to speak to you all last night. Will call again before you jet off for Noel.

Day 2 - HCMC

cjdabinett — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:12:00 GMT

Hi all,

Thanks for all your messages -I read them this morning when I was slightly less jet lagged after a lovely 12.5 hour sleep! Think that has to be a record for Dabinett. Did mean of course I had to rush like a mad thing to to check out then jump in a cab to get to the airport. Talking cabs, had an intereting journy to the airport. Parts of the conversation were as follows; ' where you from miss?', to which i replied'London' in a funny accent (they can understand me better for some reason). He then completely suprised me by going on to talk about football - Gerrard is his favourite apparently, and supports Liverpool!! We thn moved onto F1 and tennis! Unfotunatey he had the speed of Hamilton, but distinctly lackd the skills - on a number of times I closed my eyes and muttered a few prayers as we motored down the freeway dodging various rust buckets. The horror.

Pleased (for more than that reason) to be out of bangkok though. Its mental and not a city i like at all.

Currently In HCMC (or Saigon) after v quick and painless flight. Met some intersting people too on the plane - 2 x nuclear enginneers who told me all about nuc power stations. I did try to look interested through some of it!!

So more to the interestin stuff.... :)

HCMC makes Bangkok look like a sleepy back water. The streets are absolutely crazy - full of bikes, cars all tooting their horns. Trying to cross the road is like taking your life into your own hands - I've found th best way is to just tag along with a local and hope they have enough experience not to stop infront a moving machine...its like a scene out of a movie, it's all about dodging the traffic!! :(

It's also bloody humid, so air con is a welcomed rlief when you get some. Luckily Ifound a room ($10) so have a nice cool sleep to look forward to.

As for the city, I arrived only 2 hours ago and yet to see much, so i will give a proper update tomorrow no doubt after a petite sight seeing trip.

Right, Im off to have some food. My Malerone tablets are making me feel rather sick so have no appetite at the moment :( , so going to get something light.

Update on nxt plans - heading to Nh Trang on Weds, then Dalat then cross country into Laos and Cambodia. Not sure if I will get up to Hoi An, depends on time, as want to explire the south a bit more (Mekong etc). Have also moved my flight back to bangkok from the 7th to the 8th.

Hope all is all ok back in the UK...and you r not too cold (lalalal).

Until nxt time xx

Day 1 - Bangkok

cjdabinett — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:54:00 GMT

I finally got to bangkok after what seems a very long and tiring trip!!

It all started with my taxi picking me up at 6am after a night of little sleep and last minute packing! Once at G/w south(what a lovely place it is incidently!) I quickly picked up some last minute buys then jumped on the plane for a nice 7 hr flight to MUscat (this was after being searched at security - do i look dodgy?!).

The first leg of my flight was painful to say the least. OMan air is rubbish, and by the end of it i was ready to jump off the walls. I would have slept had it not been the lack of space and overall rubbish comfort :(

Next was my 3 hour wait at Muscat, which was ok - met up with a nice Irish couple which helped kill the time a bit, and thankfully the next 5hour leg of the flight was heaps better. I had 2 seats, so curled up and got a couple of hours shut eye, and worked my way through a few episodes of Spooks!

After all that, arrived at BK 10am their time (3am our time), and got a bit of a nasty culture shock from all the hussle and bussle of this mad city. It makes London look positively chilled! Also did I mention it's 32 degrees too?? Hhehe

It's now 6pm and i've managed to keep awake (just) all day despite missing a whole nights kip. ive had a pretty chiled one though so it's been nice.

I'm gonna keep this update short and sweet as i'm using a realy old pc and it's mega slow and has crashed twice already :( Plus the keys are way too confusing!!

Tomorrpw I fly to Ho Chi M mid afternoon and chill out there for a few days before heading up to Dalat. I've been speaking to a few travellers here and Cam bodia is amazing apparently so gonna spend more time there than Nam. Will play by ear though.

Hope all is good with you all in sunny UK. Im off to bed

Missing you xxxx