Brendon and Hester hit SE Asia

Back in Vietnam......

hester_c — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:21:00 GMT

Brendon In stead of a maybe 4 day road trip from Luang Parbang to Hanoi we arrived fully fit after a 1 hour flight at Hanoi airport. Besides some quite exciting turbulance (fun being in propeller driven airplanes again), it was a relaxing flight. So just pass customs and ready to see Hanoi. But it was not that easy...! For some reason they seemed not to accept our visa, which was a multiple entry visa into Vietnam which would allow us to be in the country for another 4 days. We knew we would have to get it extended during our stay, but there shouldn't be a problem there. But, suddenly both our passports were taken away and we were asked to wait. First at the counter and later asked to sit at the side and see other people entering the country. At one point I walked over to ask what the problem was, but the only thing I could understand was that they were waiting for the boss to take a look! I tried to explain the multiple enrty part but without success. Everybody was still smiley, so we kept our fingers crossed and almost had our wallots ready to pay whatever, when they suddenly arrived saying everything was ok and that we would be allowed to stay in the country for another month! This was of course wrong as well, but we didn't complain, went through customs and found our bags on the now empty luggage belts. Still curious how it will be leaving when we fly to Thailand in 2 days. Outside the airport there was the usual hassle between taxi and mini-bus drivers and we choose the minibus as it would costs us only 3 dollars p.p. for a 30 km trip! Try that in Holland or England. It was poring down with rain and we saw the streets turn into rivers and we heard afterwards it had been raining fro 2 days now. Hopefully we would have better luck with the weather in the following days. We got trapped into a scam which brought us to an entirely different hotel then we were aiming for, but didn't have the energy to do anything about it. The hotel looked nice enough and wasn't too expensive, so we settled in. The staff were overly friendly and assured us if we wanted to book a trip, that we had to talk to them as they were a travel agency as well. It was quite late, so we decided to go for a stroll and find some food. As it was still chucking it down (a expression we learned means nothing to australians) we didn't walk far a found a table in a fish restaurant, where only locals were dining. On the table was a small gas cooker and they only asked us what we wanted to drink! We then realised that everyone was eating the same food, and before we knew it our food was arriving. In front of our eyes they cooked the fish, mixed it with vegetables and showed us how we had to eat and mix the noodles, spring onion, fish sauce, fish and veg, and finally peanuts. Delicious! Full and happy we crossed the street to our hotel, a mix of running and breast stroke, and watched gladiator before having an early night for the big shopping day ahead. As we had decided we were going to ship some stuff home, you of course have to shop first. We strolled through the Old Quater and made our way to the big market. Here we bought loads of stuff (not telling what as some might be presents for people!), which was followed by buying more stuff at local shops. In between we did some site-seeing and walked over the red bridge over the Hoan Kiem lake to see a temple with a dead tortoise! There is a legend behind that story, which I will spare you. I must admit they have some cool legends here, involving dragons, tortoises, swords and so on. We had lunch and visited a couple of travel agencies to book a 3 day trip to halong Bay. We eventually choose one which would have us staying 1 night on a boat and 1 on an island. It would have furthermore biking, kayaking, trekking, sandy beach bbq, caves, and visit to Monkey island. Excellent....excited! With our bags now full and happy with our forthcoming trip, we made our way towards the post office, where we discovered that we could either ship by air (2 weeks) or boat/land, which would take 3 months! Although that would almost make nice christmas presents, we didn't want to wait that long. The additional costs almost didn't make the saving money argument (because it's so cheap here)plausible anymore. But it is still a nicer story that you bought it in Loas or Vietnam then in a shop in Chinatown around the corner from our appartment. We walked around more and it was time to extend our research in Indian restaurants around the Globe (which will be the title of our book, catchy hey!). It was very good, although we were not happy/slightly surprised by the 10% VAT added on the bill. First restaurant to do this on our trip! When we wanted to leave the rain was just showing off. A man outside the restaurant told us to wait, while he ran into the rain to flag down a taxi and escorted us under his umbrella into the taxi. Added bonus point for the restaurant! We went home to pack for our 3 day trip to Halong Bay. Here the overly friendly hotel guy asked us if we would be interested in a trip. When we said we already booked one, his happy face turned and he didn't look or smile at us anymore till we left the next day. It is a shame that so many people in the tourist industry are extremely friendly till you say no and then really turn. It makes you suspicious of everyone! Just before we went to sleep Hester decided to play around with the electrics and shortcutted the whole hotel. It was pitch black and when I went down to see what was going on I saw other guests being lead to their room with torches. To be honest she only switched on a light at the exact time it went black. Not really her fault, but still funny hearing her fight her cause.....! ha ha. Next morning we checked out from the hotel, the guy was still not smiling, and took a taxi to were we would catch a minibus to Halong Bay. This was our first proper tourist tour, so we move when the guide says so. Something we had to get used to. We drove 4 hours where we got onto our junk ship (not as in rubbish, but it is a type of boat). We waited 90 minutes, for them to check our passports where we started to get to know our tour group. There were 2 australian girls from Adelaide of which one now lived in Perth, so I could talk about my Adelaide time. There was also a young dutch couple, so Hester could practise more dutch. 2 Japanese/Vietnamese couples who kept to themselves, 3 middle aged Frenchies, and an Isrealian couple who probably had the most exciting/travelling life I have ever heard. Lived in Costa Rica for a year, 100m buggy jumps, travelled on a boat for 30 days a couple of months back etc. etc. etc. We set sail and had lunch on the boat. Naturally a lot of fish was on the menu, which was very good. Afterwards you could sit on the topdeck to see the views. Hester and I settled ourselves on the front of the junk, with our feel dangling of the ship being absolutely taken aback by the exta ordinary nature. Limesone mountanous formations sticking out of the sea, which creates thousands of islands of various sizes. With massive eagles circling the skies and numerous other junk ships sailing on it's waters it is breathtaking. We sailed to an island where there were 2 caves. Here we got back to earth and right into the tourist world which we have been trying to avoid as much as possible. The way through the caves resembled a line a Disney World and the only thing which were missing were the little signs telling you how long it would take to get to the ride. Once in the cave, which was a beautiful cave, they had made a path through the whole thing and lit up the cave with many different colours. They even had made red eyes in some rock, so it look like a skull. Again Alton Towers or "de Efteling" would be proud to have it. It was a shame as the cave was amazing by itself. The second cave was "same same" and we made our way back to the boat. We sailed on to a fishfarm, where the people who were on a 2 day trip were allowed to kayak, but as we were on a 3 day trip we had to wait till the next day to kayak. We were told to have a look around the fish farm, which was a floating village. It was 15m by 20m I guess, so we were done quite quickly. We bought some bananas (which are so so so much nicer here, almost sweet) and plums from a floating shop (woman in a rowing boat) and looked at the fish. We saw some creature which looked like it was hiding under a dish of some sort, which ended up being part of the horse-shoe crab! It was quite big and looked prehistoric. H held it's tail so we could have a good look and take some pics. There were also some sharks, which meant there was no chance H was going to swim on this trip! We went back on the boat and chilled on the deck till the others came back after which we sailed to a place were we could swim, and was also the place where we would spend the night. It was beautiful, surrounded by the rocky islands. We watched the sunset and had a shower, after which we had dinner on the boat and tried some Vietnamese wine. There's a reason why it's not sold globally, but didn't stop us from finishing the bottle. The evening we spend chatting on deck and eventually went back to our cabin for a good night sleep! Next day, after breakfast, we set sail again to where we had to enter a diiferent boat and said goodbye to the others who went back to Hanoi that day. We went to a part of Cat Ba island where there were bikes waiting. The bike trip was a bit of a joke. The bikes were rubbish. H's bike couldn't go uphill, so she had to change to the guides bike. It was a path tp some villages (about 5km), where we had a 15 minute break and biked the same way back. Back on the boat we sailed to a place where we had lunch and where we were allowed to Kayak. Safety doesn't really matter as there were no lifejackets and again not the best quality of kayak and paddles. We asked where we could go which would be nice, but our guide just said we could go anywhere as long as we were back at 2.30! So we started paddling around. Found some caves which we explored a bit, but when we wanted to return we realised the boat wasn't where we thought it would be. All the islands look alike and we were looking for a floating village again of which there were quite a few. 2.30 had passed already and we started to get slightly nervous. Eventually we found our boat 15 minutes later and we set sail to Cat Ba island. Here we were brought to our Hotel and were told we would get picked up the next morning at 8. We had dinner in the restaurant (included in the trip), where we met a Danish couple. After dinner there was a show in the town which resembled a mix of Vietnamese Eurovision Style Song contest singing, homo erotic male dancing, and traditional women dancers with props like little umbrellas. We were trying to understand the songs and give meaning to it ourselves, which was quite funny. I wasn't too impressed about the dancing as I think my pupils when I was a teacher would do a better job after 4 weeks. I promised H that I would mention the following comment I made and I apologise if it offends anyone, but it seemed appropriate (trying to be funny) at the time; during some of the women dancers I might have mentioned the following: "we live in a high speed MTV world, what's up with this sh*t"! Much to h's amusement. After watching 90 minutes of guys doing shimmeys and sexual girations and walk like an egyption moves, seeing life stories put to songs and dance there was only 1 question/comment I could make: either bring back the gay guys or I'm going to need some alcohol! We ended up going for that drink after which we went back to the hotel talking about all the things we should be doing tomorrow, Monkey island, snorkling, trekking, as if these things would actually happen. The next morning we had breakfast Vietnamees style; different kind of soupsand noodles and rice. We got picked up and brought back to the boat, which took us straight back to Halong city, so no Monkey Island etc. H and I got our favourate spot at the front of the boat and discussed is the animals jumping out of the water were fish (my opinion) or little squids (H's opinion)! The squish dillema has yet to be resolved. Lunch back on land and back into a minibus for 4 hours back to Hanoi. We have seen some CRAZY driving over here, but this guy should get a medal! Just happy to be alive, that's all. When we got back we complained to the agency for not doing any trekking through the national park or seeing Monkey Island. After a discussion, which our guide was involved in as well, we got a $5 refund p.p.! Which was kind of a joke, but what can you do. We booked ourselves in to a new hotel and relaxed a bit. We went out for dinner. After eating pretty much the same meal 4 times on our trip, we wanted anything but rice and seafood, so ended up having nachos for a starter and a burger and chips for me and bangers and mash for H. Got to love oriental food!! Went for a drink at "le Pub" afterwards and back to the hotel. Today we slept in and went to a memorial house, to see old style Vietnamese life. Wandered aroubd Hanoi, which has a great feel to it. The 37 degrees heat at the moment has a different feel to it! Therefore you can read 2 stories today, as we are escaping the midday heat by writing these stories. Tomorrow is our last full day in Hanoi and basically our last day of our trip. We will be flying to Bangkok where we'll spend 1 night, after which we will fly back to Europe. But first it will be one more hard core site-seeing day tomorrow!!!! I'm sure that will be our last story............... Pap: Erg bedankt voor de auto. Ik was de APK inderdaad helemaal vergeten. Stop de bon maar bij de papieren! Ik ben zeker ook benieuwd naar de Itali"e verhalen. Wanneer gaan jullie? Leuk om je berichtjes te lezen. Dikke kus aan mam. Muts: mooie verhalen hoor! Erg benieuwd om meer te horen. Geniet nog van alles. Nicky: Alles goed met de kids? Waar ben je?

Treking, elephants, kayaking and waterfalls. Oh and feeding monks

hester_c — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:17:00 GMT

Hester

Our trek and mahout experiencewas amazing….

We went to the tour office early on the first morning, and from there went by jumbo tuk tuk to the elephant rescue centre, about 45 mins from Luang Prabang, in the middle of the jungle and on the banks of the river. We then went by boat to the start point of our trek, just Bren, our guide and me. The trek in the morning was pretty much all up hill, at quite a high pace, as both Bren and I are competative enough and stubborn enough not let the muscle burn get to us and be seen as weak foreigners!! At one point we went through a tiny village perches on the hillside in amongst the trees, it seemed to only have about 5 houses, and we picked up some bananas from an old guy who lived there with his piglets outside (a highlight for me! J). It was hard work,and with a bit of rain, and ponchos on, ponchos off, we were exhausted by the time we reached the Hmong village where we had lunch. Our guide Noi told us that he was pretty impressed with our speed up thereso we were happy but sweaty. The village was tiny, and the only people there were kids (all the adults work in the fields during the day), except for one woman who was sitting where we had lunch with a little stall of textiles for sale. Bren wasn’t feeling too well so didn’t eat much of his lunch so we gave it to a couple of kids who had come over to make faces sat us and play hide and seek. Our guide let us try some of his lunch, which was our first try of sticky rice and chillipaste. It was delicious!! We wandered round the village for a bit, it was so surreal to think that people lived there. So strange to go from large cities like Saigon to tiny little villages like this with just 8-10 houses.The houses were all made from natural materials, woven leaves and bamboo etc. The children there were not just playing but also working, making rice flour,standing on one end of what looked like a seesaw and letting it drop into a dip in the ground with the rice in it.. One tiny little naked boy was playing next to the older children working and was completely white from the flour!

After leaving there the trek should have been a little easier as it was all down hill. However, because of the rain, the ground had turned into a muddy, wet nightmare; we slipped and slid our way down (not good when you have a busted wobbly knee!!). It was really hard going,and we got covered in mud and a fair amount of cow poo. But still fun, the child in both of us kind of enjoyed losing our feet in a couple of inches of oozy mud. At one point we walked (slid) down a pretty steep mountain, watching a group of people on our left who were planting mountain rice (which makes the sticky rice which we would soon become very familiar with).I have to admit that at this point I was a bit concerned – if my knee had given way then there would have been no way out but on foot, with the nearest hospital being hours away. But we made it down and after that it was pretty much flat, although very very muddy,especially next to rivers, till we reached the Khmu village where we would spend the night.

When we arrived we were shown the “guesthouse” where we would be staying; a hut made from woven bamboo with a raised platform of the same material divided into 4 rooms with a curtain across the front of each and a mosquito net inside. Our guide had been very please to tell us about the fact that this guesthouse had been built, and the fact that it had its own shower.We investigated the bathroom (hut) and discovered a room with a squat toilet and a large concrete container full of water with a plastic bowl in – this was the shower. It was freeeeeeeeezing!!!! And the only light coming in was from the holes in the walls letting the sunlight in, so it was kind of hard to see whether or not all the mud had come off our legs. But, despite everything, it was good to be clean!!!

After this we had a look round the village whilst our guide slept (no stamina!!!). The houses here were different from those in the Hmong village. They were bigger, had two stories and had roofs made of bamboo rather than grasses. The head chief of the village was even having a stone house built. Again we saw mainly children in the village as the adults were out farming. It was such a bizarre thing to be there,to see how people live in a place so different from our own home. After wandering around for a while we went back to the guest house and sat at the table outside. Little faces started peering at us from over the fence. We took out the toys we had bought with us, and gave them to the grandkids of the guy whose guesthouse we were staying in. Word got round and suddenly kids came running from everywhere and surrounded our table. Soon there were children running around with toy cars and clips in their hair, and stupid glasses with big noses and mostaches attached. Unfortunatley we hadn’t realise just how many children there would be so hadn’t bought nearly enough presents. We felt so guilty!!! One of the things we had bought was a little bag with tiny little plastic animals inside – the boy with the funny glasses on started handing these out to the other children – we have a photo of him looking very serious, handing things out, with the ridiculas glasses on his face. Priceless. After this the kids were quite happy playing around us,and let us join in with some of their games, much to Brendon’s delight, as he is such a child person (as in he loves kids, not that he is a big kid. Although…….).

Our guide made our dinner for us and it was a chance to try some real Lao food. Sticky rice again!! It was probably one of the best meals we have had on the trip. Except for when the mother of the guesthouse family came out with a stew for us to try, made after a succesful hunt that day. It was squirrel stew!!!! We dunked out sticky rice into it and it was not too bad.Then she came out with another laddle full and the guide said we should try some of the meat. Apparently it is a real insult not to eat things given to you. Bren still had a bit of a dodgy tummy and didn’t feel up to it. So…. I picked out the bit closest to me bought it up to my mouth and saw the it was the squirrel’s arm and shoulder, with its little paw still attached. I had to nibble on squirrel shoulder!!!!!! And no it does not taste like chicken! L

After dinner the owner of the guesthouse bought out some Lao Lao for us to drink – it’s a kind of home made whisky made from fermenting sticky rice. I think he was trying to get us drunk, giving us shot after shot and laughing all the time. Well,whilst it didn’t make us drunk, when combined with our tired post-trek bodies, it did make us very very tired. So, soon after we went to bed. At about 8.30pm. This sounds pretty lame, but there is no electricity in the village and it goes dark at about 7.30pm, so after this there is actually not much to do but sleep. No wonder they have so many kids here…

The following morning we were up early for some more treking, past the village school on the way out of the village, and back through the mud. This timewas moreflat than the day before, but just as muddy. This time we even had to make our way across a river, which got me ever so slightly wetter than long-legged Brendon.

We arrived back at the elephant park ready and they were waiting for us, for our first ride. Compared with our last trip on an elephant, the seat was like a massive sofa! We trekked for about an hour, most of which we were sat on our sofa, and then we each took turns sitting on the elephants neck where the mahout normally sits. You always feel a bit worried that you are gonna hurt her and so are tentative moving etc, but she is so strong its as though she barely even notices that you are there. This rescue centre has six elephants, who were once used in the logging trade. They were underfed and mistreated (the elephant we rode had had her tail cut off!), but following the ban on logging a few years back, they were bought to live the rest of their lives at the park, where they are looked after properly, and only work (with tourists) a few hours a day.

Following our first ride, we checked into our bungalow. Oh My God!!! I have never ever seen such an amazing room. The tour we booked usually put people into the mahout lodge, but it was fully booked so they had to put us into the bungalow, for the same price. Considering we normally spend about $8 USD a night on hotels, staying in an $85 USD bungalow was unbelievable!!! Especially when you don’t have to pay that price for it J ! We both stood on the veranda outside the door, just peering in and not daring to actually enter. It was built on the side of a hill, overlooking the Mekong, with the most spectacular view on the other side. We were both still covered in mud from our trek so gingerly went in and showered in the outside shower room (there was an inside bathroom too!!). After this we had lunch and then it was back to the elephants to take them out to where they would spend the rest of the day and night. This time the it was bareback riding, no seat, so we had to try and climb onto the elephant from the ground rather than a raised platform. Bren went first. It involved shouting a comand, knocking the elephant’s leg, which it should then bend to let you climb up, holding its ear to balance. He he he, Bren did not look quite as gracefull as the mahouts when they do it. This was just a practice, so once he was up there they said he should come back down. The elephant was supposed to squat down so that he coulddo this,but she didn’twant to so they just told him to slide off. His face was a picture!! I don’t think he was feeling too confident about doing this; elephants are not small. Whilst he was sliding down, I was attempting to go up. Which was really not happening. Every time I tried to stand on the elephant’s knee and pull myself up, I slid off again. Luckily Bren arrived at the point to shove me up by my bottom. So ladylike. Thankfully I didn’t have to get off again, so it was just down to Bren to get back up onto his elephant and we were off. We each had a mahout with us, but we were supposed to be instructing the elephants, with our newly learnt Lao instructions. We were both rubbish at it. But the elephants kind of know where they are going anyway so no worries there. It was really cool, they are such impressive animals to be around, let alone on top of. It was about half an hours trek which went pretty smoothly except forone moment. My elephant was in front of the line of four (the other two we bought up later by a Canadian couple) happily plodding along. Until we reached a fork in the track. She wanted to go one way, but the mahout wanted to go another. What followed was a bit of grumpy trunk swinging, and a fair amount of fearful sqealing from me. I was convinced that she was going to throw me off. My mahout was laughing so I guess that was reassuring. But it reminds you that they are wild animals with a mind of their own and you’d better respect them. Whilst my elephant was having her little moody moment, Bren’s took over front place. I think mine then got too close to her, or tapped her bum or something,so she them shot forward, nearly throwing Bren off!! Following all this excitement it was a fairly uneventfull plod a little further to where we got off and the elephants moved along a little further for their stay overnight. We trekked back the way we came (more mud, churned up by huge elephant feet), waited at the riverside for the canadian couple to arrive, and then were taken to the Tad Sae Waterfall. Unbelievably beautiful, it’s a huge waterfall with loads of horizontal layers of water that you can swim in. There were more elephants here, who we watched being bathed.

After the waterfall it was back to the elephant park, and we had some time to chill to ourselves. Bath time for us!! The surroundings were gorgeous so it was cool so side out on the decking and look out over the river. Until the rain came!! Torential rain, that pretty much blocked out the whole view. But so impressive to see and hear. Later it was dinner in the same riverside restaurant as we had lunch. This included some fried mekong weed covered in sesame seeds, a real Lao dish.

The next morning we were up early to wash the elephants before breakfast. We went with the Canadian couple and our guides, back to where we had left the elephants the day before. This time climbing aboard was a little easier as the elephant’s squatted for us. The Canadians went first the me, then Bren. I turned around to see that Bren was on his elephant Mahout-less! Turns out that his elephant had taken ages to go down, and once he was on top, she was off. I think he found this really exciting, but also pretty scary, especially when she kept running to try and catch up with my elephant, and he had no idea how to control her. We eventaully got to the riveside and went down a really steepriver bank and into the water. Here the elephants squatted again and we had to wash them. Mine looked as though she had been wallowing in mud all afternoon and night, so the cleaner she got, the muddier I was. But it was brilliant!!!!!!! One of the highlights of the trip! Bren’s mahout fell off into the water, so for the second time he was alone on his elephant, only this time in the water! Bren loved the fact that you had to lean over the elephant’s head to clean its face, which resulted in giving it something like a massive hug. Geweldig!!!!

At this point we were chatting loads with Jesse and Will, the Canadian couple, all very excited by the bath. We then went back to our rooms to change out of our muddy clothes, and then we had breakfast together at the restaurant. Such a great couple, we got on really well, so it was ace to think that we would be spending the day kayaking with them. After breakfast we checked out of our Bungalow, then went down to the rivers edge, and climbed into our kayaks. It was a 3 hour kayak back to Luang Prabang, with a stop for lunch on the way. This kayaking trip was much tamer than the last one, much to our dissapointment, there were only a couple of rappid and these were not very big. After going through the biggest rappid, we had to stop to empty out the kayaks – despite filling in the hole in our kayak with a plastic bag, amazingly some water got in(!), so it was a lot easier to paddle after this!! We had good chats with Jesse and Will, although at one point Will called us wankers, which apparently makes him a good guy in Brendon’s book.

We made it back to Luang Prabang and got a tuk tuk back into town. Once we got dropped of we agreed to meet up with Jesse and Will for dinner later that day. Now we had to find a hotel (the one we had stayed in before in Luang Prabang was no go, as it smelled of wee),which took just a few minutes, then it was nap time for me whilst Bren read his book. I think we deserved the chill out time!

We met up with Jesse and Will and again had a really great time with them. Conversation over dinner was really easy, and we enjoyed being able to talk to other people as most of the time it is just us!! Not that that isn’t great but I think by now we both know every story the other has to tell, and can probably make a good guess at what the other is thinking most of the time (you’d think this would mean that we would have nothing to say to each other, somehow we manage!!!). So good to give us some more raw material to talk about!

Next day, following a long long lie in, we went into the town and tried to hire mopeds to go our to some nearby caves. Unfortunately this was not possible, so we booked a tour to another waterfall. Bren saw Jesse in the street and it turned out she and Will were going to, so it was cool to see them again. The waterfall was stunning, some really nice pools to swim in, and then we follwed the path next to it further up hill, and came to the main waterfall which was probably about 40+ metres high. Beautifull!! A couple of pictures and then it was back down to the minibuss.It was at this point that Will discovered a leech stuck to his foot, which one of the locals squirted some lemon on to get it off. Cue all of us frantically checking that we hadn’t been suckered too.

That evening we went to the street market in Luang Prabang, where people from the surrounding villages come to sell all the traditional Lao textiles, wood etc etc. Present time!!! For our families AND us! After this we went to buy some bananas, to give to the monks the next morning.The monks here are not allowed to eat after midday, and they can’t buy their own food, so every morning at about 6am they walk in a line through the streets of Luang Prabang and are given food by the locals (and now the tourists too). So we were up and out in the street with our bananas ready to give them out. It was a strange sight, all these men and boys dressed in orange, with the food bowls, and the men and women of Luang Prabang sat on little stools on the sides of the road ready to give them food. We gave out our bananas, watched for a while, then went back to bed for a few more hours sleep!!

It was chucking it down with rain that day so we just went into town and sat having a drink, did a little more shopping, then lunch, then it was off to the airport, out of Laos and on to Hanoi, Vietnam………

Gallery: more from bangkok

hester_c — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:09:00 GMT

Gallery: little bits of laos

hester_c — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:52:00 GMT

From one World Heritage Site to another; Hoi An (Vietnam) to Luang Prabang (Laos)

hester_c — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:05:00 GMT

Brendon

After all the exciting stuff in Nha Trang we moved on to Hoi An, which is listed as a World Heritage Site. Our hopes were were quite high and we quickly discovered that we are getting a little spoilt. It is a small cute place, which according to the Lonely Planet would give you a good idea how life would be here during the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, we got the feeling we were walking through a Walt Disney amusement park. It was very cute and quaint, but pretty much all the buildings were turned into shops selling souvenirs, which made it very hard to get a Vietnamees feel to the place. I think we enjoyed the bit outside the "old quaters" the most were the real Vietnamees lived and we went through a buzzing market, which resulted in buying more stuff. Hester has finally convinced me we should buy loads of stuff and ship it all back! I still feel we have different perceptions of loads, but I'll cross that bridge when we get there!!! The nexy days we didn't feel to well, so we had to cancel a trip to My son, but we did make it to the beach on our bikes. Had some coconutjuice straight out of the coconut with a straw and went for a splash. It is surounded by mountains, and when the sun was going down, absolutely gorgeous!

The plan was to cross over to Southern Laos and go to the 4000 islands, but when we suddenly started counting our days, we realised it was going to be very tight. Travelling just takes a little longer here. If you're (very) lucky you get an average of 50km/h! Hester already wrote about our 27 hour trip to Vientiane which followed. Vientiane is described as the most laid back capital in the world. Well, I haven't seen them all yet, but I would put all my momey on that bet. We stayed in the middle of the centre and could easily walk on the road to find a place to eat or do some site-seeing. So quiet! But it has a lovely feel to it. Not that much to see there, but after our bus trip it was perfect. We hired some lovely pink bikes (picture an 8 year old girls bike and you got it spot on) and we cruised around the town seeing their Arch du Triomph (A lot of French influence here), some more wats (What What?) and tried the Lao food (very nice)! Although we are a little "watted" out we went to one temple which was really nice. It was were they stored all the Buddha images and the temple itself was a bit understated, which made it amazing. Not too flashy, but a real feel to it. We walked more outside the temple where we started chatting to a Monk, whose English wasn't great, but we could sort of understand him. He studied in English in Thailand and we ended up sitting at a table in the park with this monk checking his homework!!! Normally women are not allowed to sit at the same table as the monks, but they made an exception for Hester, as he needed the help. And did he need it. The exercises were extremely hard and he had absolutely no clue. So we tried to make him understand the basics. He then asked for my email address, so I'm expecting many emails in which I can check his english. We did get the feeling that he just wanted us to make his homework for him, but we didn't do that of course! Not helping a cheating monk, ha ha.

Next day we were on the bus again to Vang Vieng, which is known for it's tubing. Basically it is drifting down the Mekong for 3 km on a inflatable tube, stopping at many riverside bars getting absolutely drunk/stoned! The town is full of late teens and early 20s travellers, sitting in bars which show non stop Friends episodes. It is unreal. I love Friends pebably more then the next person, but you don't feel like you are in Laos. The scenery is absolutely amazing, with the Mekong surrounded by mountains, which have many caves. We decided to go with a tour and not the tubing trail (I am in my thirties now, aka boring), which would see us kayaking on the Mekong, a little trekking trough the countryside, caving through 4 caves, of which one on a tube (so a little tubing after all)! We woke up in our nice bungalow on the riverside and it was poring down with rain. I can tell you know that it didn't stop the whole day and it only got worse! Welcome to the rainy season. I have never seen anything like it. Did didn't stop the tour though, obviously. First up 2 k, kayaking to the first cave, which is called the elephant cave. Inside was an enourmous Buddha (How did they get it in???) and on the wall was an elephant carved out. Impressive! then we trekked to the 2nd and 3rd cave, through rice fields and some bushes, which was quite funny, as there were 12 people on this tour. We had apropriate footwear in, but most were wearing flip flops! Muddy, uneven terrain with heavy rain, so they were sliding all over the place. Although some just had no coordination what so ever, so a liability for the rest of the day. The following 2 caves were very impresive, so you are walking with your little light on your head through pools of water and great views. The archeology geek in Hester was making over hours!!! The third cave was the best, as it was just dangerous climbing into it. Health and safety really doesn't apply here. That our friend made it was just a little miracle, but it was worth it. A cave which opened into 3 large rooms and in between narrow windy passage ways. Saw nice cristals as well, contemplated how we could take them with us, but didn't come up with a watertight plan!!! We had lunch next to the cave under a little roof, which was great. Rice wrapped up in banana leave (which was your plate as well), kebab with beef and veg and bread. We thought it had rained really hard already and we were soaked to the bone and beyond, but then the sky really openend with some force! We hiked through it to our last cave which was the watercave, but due to the rain, the cave opening was only just visible, so it was a no go! Big shame, but you don't want to be stuck inside a mountain for too long! We hiked back to the kayaks, through some more amazing scenery and we were ready for our last bit of the adventure. Hester and I got on our kayak and it was obvious that the river was going "slighty" quicker than in the morning. We had 16 km ahead of us and with this current it wouldn't take long, or so we thought! There were 6 other kayaks, of which 2 were the guides, a dutch couple, the special man with his wife and two aussie couples, of which one had their 5 year old daughter with them as well! They had a great day, as they didn't go in any caves and just had the kayaking experience in the rain. Hester and I were ready for it, the rain didn't matter at all, and we were looking for the rapids to get some air between the kayak and the river. Till we got to the biggest rapid on the way!The dutch couple were ahead of us and capsised just in front of us, as we couldn't avoid the kayak we rolled over their boat, and the next thing we know we are floating on the river. We both used the time between knowing we were going under and actually going head under slightly differently: Hester closed her nose and I kept hold of the kayak! Result: I lost Hester, as I could quite quickly climb back on the kayak and Hester was floating down the river. I looked around and not one kayak (including the guides) was still with the right side up. I tried to paddle towards Hester, but there was no way getting to her. She had by this time found a spot floating with the Dutch couple holding on to their kayak! Still not sure if she used the time wisely and practised her Dutch! I ended up fishing paddles out of the water and the young Aussie couple. The girl climbed aboard, but at that point we went through some trees, so the guy let go. There was nothing we could do, but try to get through these rapids and trees in one piece and then hope and wait for everyone to come out. The Aussie girl and I got to the side of the river and waited. It was horrible, cuz you feel powerless. I wanted to get H out, but it was impossible. Before we did quickly do the thumbs up at each other, but I couldn't see what was going on now. One by one the kayaks came by, with mostly different couples then before. The little 5 year old girl, who was terrified, was fished out by a guide. All this time I was worrying about Hester, she was loving it! But she couldn't really show this as everybody else was realy concerned! After scuba and the Jet ski she's turned into a adrenaline junky!!! Besides getting stuck in the trees! Eventually everyone came by and we set course again, for another km, where we stopped to see how everyone was doing. The aussie couple with the kid refused to go further, so there was a kayak spare. H and I volenteered to take a kayak each and had a fairly, although H did hit a bridge at some point, uneventful last bit. The last 3 km we saw the tubing and we were happy we did our tour in stead. When we got back to our bungalow, we had a hot shower, as we were quite cold in the end, and went for our second indian in a row!!!

The next day we took a bus to Luang Prabang, the next world Heritage Site. The trip over was absolutely gorgeous, with misty mountains (according to hester just like the movie Gorilla's in the mist, just without the gorilla's!) and valleys. During a stop I gave a kid a can of coke and he was the hit with his mates, all surrounding the can! It was funny to see. When we got to Luang Prabang (casual 7 hour trip) we checked in to a guest house and walked around. Got info about 3 day trekking, which we'll start tomorrow! The stories will follow, it includes learning to control elephants, trekking through the jungle and sleeping in a minority village. Already excited............

Quick corrections

hester_c — Sun, 6 Jul 2008 21:12:00 GMT

ok, so it wasn't a 21 hour bus journey. It was 27 hours. AAAAAAaaaaaarrrggh!!! And we experienced the worst toilets known to man or beast (they did smell like some beasts had been using them). AND i got bed bug bites from the blankets they gave us on the bus. But we made it to Laos, so all good. Not going to write anything more yet as am on a computer with the slowest internet conection in the world. Ever. But I have to write about one thing as am in trouble with Bren for forgetting to write about this experience in the last story. Whilst we were still in Siagon, we went for a masage at the Vietnasmese Blind Institute. THere doesn''t seem to be any social welfare in Vietnam, so many blind people are able to stay self sufficient by becoming trained masseurs. So we felt that it was a win win situation to go for a massage; "good for you, good for me" (a favourite saying here). It was not exactly relaxing.... Brendon felt like he was being violated by his masseur: "he beat me up, and then burped in my face whilst he was giving me a head massage". My masseur was pretty good, nice firm strokes, it was just a shame that she coughed stuff up every couple of seconds. Lovely.

Phobias and lobsters

hester_c — Fri, 4 Jul 2008 16:33:00 GMT

Hester

Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City – So, we arrive at the bus station, climbed off the bus and were immediately surrounded by people trying to get us to go on their scooters, in their taxis, etc etc – the first response now is “no thankyou” any time anyone asks you anything, regardless of what it is, as its become an automatic way to deal with the hassel. From the map we had, we were pretty sure that the place we wanted to stay was not that far from the bus station, so we felt very smug that we had told all these people to leave us alone, and smug that we had not fallen for their ploy of telling us that the centre was really far away. Hah, as if!! So, we started walking. And walking. And looking at road signs, none of which were on the map we had. Perhaps we had come out of a different exit from the bus station and were not going in the direction we thought?? Well, we’ll just keep going a little bit longer, just to see…

Finally we decided that we probably didn’t know where we were, so hailed a taxi. Whilst in the car, I found another, larger map, which showed not 1 but 4 bus stations. Bugger!! After a 10 minute taxi ride, we realised that perhaps we had been a liiiiitle bit foolish trying to make it on our own!

Anyway, made it to the hotel, had to wait a while while a room was being cleaned, dumped our stuff, and went for a Indian (yes, another one). Veeeery tasty. Its probably clear that we are not losing any weight on this trip.

The next day we wandered through the city a bit, and went to the War Remnants Museum. This housed various photos of the Vietnam/American War, some really amazing ones, pulizser prize winners etc. In addition there were photos of the after affects of the American use of Agent Orange – photos from vietnamese maternity hospitals of deformed fetuses in jars, photos of vietnamese children and adults with severe deformities, whose parents had been involved in the war. Shocking, really really shocking. More shocking –hearing a couple of american teenage girls looking at the war photos saying “this is boring, when to we get to see the pictures of all the gross stuff”.

After this, we walkied round the city a bit more, went to the travel office to see about flights out to the island (we could fly there but there were no flights back for over a week, so we booked flights to Nha trang instead).then headed out to dinner. We went to a restaurant that had seating on the roof, 4 storeys up. Here we had a table with a hot plate in the middle, so that we could cook our own dishes. Was really cool. Bren had these little rolls of beef wrapped in leaves, which he then put into a pancake, and I had wild boar with lemongrass and chilli! Nom Nom Nom.

The following day, we wandered through the city again, and went to the market as we both felt fed up with the clothes we bought – wearing the same stuff every day might be fine in terms of the weight you have to carry, but it gets pretty dull. And smelly. So we managed to buy some t-shirts and a dress for me, and Brendon got called “monkey man” by one of the girls on the stall – she couldn’t believe how hairy his arms were – I think vietnamese men are obviously smooth all over, as I wouldn’t say that bren is particularly gorilla-like.

That evening, out for thai food, and ready to leave for Nha Trang the next afternoon.

It took us about three hours to get from HCMC to Nha Trang, a little shorter by plane than the 8-10 hour bus journey would have taken. Went for a walk and then had dinner at a vietnamese place, and shared the dining experience with a couple of rats that kept running past our table. Lovely. Went down to the beach afterwards and lay on the sand chatting, and listening to the waves.

The following day was a beach day, lazing around all day, pretending to get a tan, but in fact hiding under the parasols and sweating. The sea water was so so warm so had a bit of a frollick, although of course I didn’t do too much swimming due to my fear of the water and sharks (see below..).

We booked a snorkling trip for the next morning, so got up early and got taken out to a really beautiful island. I should probably explain my sea phobia. I think I was ok in the sea as a kid, but as I’ve got older I seem to have grown more pathetic and more afraid to the point that I very rarely swin in the sea. Something about the shadows under the water, and watching “Jaws” when I was too young. I once broke someones toe by jumping on them to escape the shark that was attacking my foot whilst I was standing in the shallows (turns out I had kicked a rock). So, is was a big deal to be snorkling, I had a little panick at first but after that it was pretty awesome (I’m so brave!! : ) ). We both really enjoyed it, saw some amazing fish and coral, even saw a scene straight out of “Finding Nemo”, with a mother and baby in an anemone, the baby just like Nemo, and the mother swimming out to scare us away. We had about 3 hours out there, then got taken to another island for lunch – they gave us about 8 dishes!!! Our wastlines are not improving!!

Unfortunately, depite wearing factor 45 waterproof sunscreen, we both got really really burnt on our backs so spent the afternoon having a siesta. That evening we went to a scuba diving place (so brave, so brave!!) and booked a “Discover Diving” course for the next morning, then went for another Indian meal.

So the following day, up early again, and joined with a big group going scuba diving. Everyone else had done dives before, so of course we both had to hide the fact that we were a little nervous. We sailed out to the same island we had been to the day before only a slightly differennt area this time, i.e. deeper!!! I was pretty much convinced I was going to get eaten by a shark, pertified is not even close. But you have to face your fears, so I dived first. We had one instructor between the two of us, and he took us down one at a time. It took a while for me to actually get under the water (hyperventilating) but once down there, well, I can’t say I enjoyed it exactly, but it was good to be doing it. The whole time the instructor held onto my shoulder, which I really needed to stop me from panicking down there. There were loads of cool fish, and it was definatly better to see them whilst diving, than snorkling, although I was always a little preoccupied with breathing and not being eaten. Once I came up, Bren went down for his dive. And he loved it! He came back up with the biggest grin on his face, and jabbering away about everything he had seen. So cool. We had a break for some food and to chill, and got talking to another Dutch guy on the boat.

After lunch we sailed to a different area, and now came dive number two. I was a lot less nervous this time, although still panicked a bit when I first went into the water. But I have to say, this time it was amazing!! There were actually moments when I forgot where I was, and forgot to be scared and was just enthralled by all the fish and the corral. It even got to the stage where the instructor wasn’t hol;ding onto me any more and I hadn’t even noticed. The fish were awesome. When swimming over a bunch of fish, they would sometimes dart into the coral and hide , but a couple of times, one fish wouod swim towards me, as though squaring up for a fight or something,. So funny. And I saw more nemo’s with their mothers. And at one point I was looking down at the coral then looked up ahead of me, and there we a long thing fish directly in front of me, just staring at me before darting away. Geweldig!! I actually didn’t want it to end, something that I never thought would happen. Bren wnet down after me again, and he was mush more adventurous than me, deciding which way he wanted to go, rather than just being directed everywhere. Again, he thought it was amazing - I think he may have found his new sport – slighltly more expensive than hockey…..

Whilst were were on a high from the scuba diving, we decided not to stop there – in the afternoon we went down to the beach and had a go at parasailing and jet skiing. Absolutly amazing. I think as I had already faced my biggest fear that day, the idea of parasailing didn’t bother me too much. It was such a buzz, being so high up, and cool that we got to do it together this time, unlike the scuba diving. It was awesome, even getting dunked in the water!! After that came the jet ski – we went on together, Bren in front first. It was a little scary being on the back, but so cool, especially when bren turned with the biggest beaming smile on his face. And then it was my turn. Turns out I am a speed freak. Or to use bren’s word, a maniac. It was awesome, I loved it, and pushed it to the top speed. I don’t think I have ever had so much fun. I had told Bren off for trying to do truns at top speed, but then when I was driving, all I could think was “why not?!”. Awesome awesome awesome. Afterwards we actually had to take a picture of the smiles on our faces, as they were so huge and stupid!!! Best day of my life!!!

After that, we thought the only way to end the day was to get a lobster. We got the the restaurant and there were crowds of people lining the street. Vietnam is hosting Miss Universe this year, and all the Misses were in town, about to parade through the streets on floats. Our waitress got a bit over excited, and ran off to watch, forgetting to put our order through, so it was a bit of a wait, but we got to watch the floats go by in the meantime. Then our lobster arrived. Nom nom. It was good. And definatley the perfect end to a brilliant (expensive) day.

Gotta run, got a 21 hour bus journey now, but will continue once we arrive in Laos……

Vietnam part 2

hester_c — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:05:00 GMT

Brendon

So, Can Tho is where we were! We got up at 5 am, already packed our bags to travel to Rach Gia (ferry place)afterwards, and were picked up at the guesthouse at 5.30. We strolled for about 10 minutes to the river and got on the tailboat. As we didn't want someone jabbering away in our ear all the time we decided not to take a guide, so it was just the boat lady and us. We got our complementary breakfast (2 breadrolls and a bunch of bananas)and we were of. Sunrise was already there, but there was still a beautiful orange glow over the river. The first stop was at a a noodle making place. Just in a back garden there was non stop noodle making going on. From the watery white substance, cooked to pancake shaped noodle pancake, dried in the sun, and then cut into noodles. Funny to see. Obviously these were rice noodles. We later stopped at a rice field were we saw 1 month and 3 months old rice growing. We put on some cone heads (traditional cone shapped hats) and posed for the camera (pics will follow). We then went to a harvest place where they just cut down the rice and where letting it dry. Furthermore there were beautiful waterlily's that grew there. We saw 2 floating markets, of which one huge one and a more local one. Funny to see that everything is done on the river. From shopping, to washing (clothes, food, themselves), petrol stations, living, everything!!! The best part of the trip was just sailing along through canals with massive palm trees and other vegitation around. Just absolutely gorgeous! We walked over a hand made bridge, which was just build from tree trunks. We look cool and relaxed on the pictures, but I assure you.....!!! Of course we had lunch somewhere as well. I went to the toilet and when I came back Hester was getting a massage at the table. Later it was also my turn. We were given a snake to, so it could do some slithering and we could do some picture taking! There was also a very quite little girl, who was amazed to see herself back on our camera. Especially when we made a video of her and shpwed it. All in all an amazing boat trip!
We got our stuff, when we got back and took the bus to Rach Gia, where we would buy some ferry tickets which would take us to Phu Quoc Island. When we got to the ticket booth, hardly anyone spoke english, but it sounded like the ferry is not going. Bad weather!?!? Looking outside, it was a bit windy, but sunny. Being just to the English channel going to England during christmas time, this had to be a mistake. So, we went back to the hotel and let someone there call: No way to get there. Although you can fly as well! Excellent: called the airlines: fully booked for the next days! Ok, we are now in Rach Gia, very far south, soul reason to get to Phu Quoc and it isn't happening. Oh well, bus station, ticket to Ho Chi Minh please, 7 hours on a bus, and here we are!!! Got to be flexible.

Thought of a plan B: We'll see Ho Chi Minh first, and put ourselves on a waiting list for a flight to Phu Quoc from Ho Chi Minh, and then do it. If that isn't possible, we'll have to get our beach time up north in Nha Trang! Hester will take over from here.................

Good Morning Vietnam (I know bit lame)!

hester_c — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:10:00 GMT

Brendon

It's been a while since we wrote on here, so there is much to tell. Come to that we have 3 hours till we leave for our flight to the nice sandy beaches (we hope), so get yourself a cup of tea, get comfortable, cuz here it comes......
After the killing fields we supported more of the local economy to go out for dinner again. It will be very weird to hold a pan in my hands again when we get back. Not sure if I still remember, but we live in China Town, so I guess we can gently go through the transition phase! It was an Indian this time and we ordered enough food for at least 5 people. Basically trying almost everything they had, which excited Hester no end. Feeling a little nautious at the end of the meal, so could just manage to tell the waiter it was the best Indian she had ever had! The rest of the evening we spend trying to get some pics on here, which resulted in making cd's from one of our memory cards, so which means we'll still have many more pics to show everyone. We will try to get some more on here at some point. The next day it was on our way to Vietnam. As we had enough of busses and pick-up trucks (why? I don't know!), we decided to use the big river. Boarder crossing by boat. It was very relaxed and great to be on Mekong (technically we were on a side river, but it was big). The boarder crossing went very smoothly, although quite time consuming ( 1 hour to get some stamps). It was funny that we first stopped on the Cambodian side were we were checked out of the country, then had to get back on the boat and sail for a couple of hundred metres to get off again for the Vietnam boarder. If you expect a nice jetty you are wrong. It was just the side of the river, which was some grass in between quite steep hardened mud. We just had to jump ship so to speak, so we could walk into Vietnam. We were allowed in!!! The boat took us further to our first destination in Vietnam: Chau Doc. The boat was basically full with a tour group, a couple of locals, and us! God, our we happy we are not with a tour group. "The leader", an australian girl, would not have survived it. Very, highly annoying. For example when she received all the passports (including ours) she handed them out to her group and others she just threw aside while saying "not my people". She had the human touch you expect in that line of work, ha ha! It was fun to see. In Chau Doc we got ourselves into a hotel (with tv, as Holland would be playing Russia in 2 days!) and went for a stroll. It was a little fishermen's town which had a very relaxed feel to it. We heard that in Vietnam the hassling woulkd increase even more, but there was hardly any. Except our own stalker, who would just wait for us whereever we were and went. Hester was about to deck him at one point, but the nice feel of the town avoided an international conflict. We had dinner on the market square/side of the road, where we had our first bowl of Pho. Vietnames soup filled with noodle, meat-ish balls and herbs. Local dish they eat here for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The next day we firstly walked through the market and got stared at a lot. Very white girl and giant. Who would ever believe that I would ever be considered a giant. For the ones who don't know me goal during my teens was to be 1.70meters! We took a boat tour with a very friendly and funny lady. The 2 of us in a tail boat going to see some sites. We saw a floating market where all the fruit and veg is stuffed inside boats, a fish farm where our guide got very excited feeding the fish. There were literally thousands of fish and hardly any water, so when food was thrown in, the battle commenced, which resulted in water been splashed everywhere till about 3 metres away and fish upon fish flapping away to get food or back into the water! I think the second part is quite essential for a fish, but who am I to judge! She then took us to a little village, where we got sucked in to buying stuff. I have now D&G glasses which costed 2 euros, but honestly they are real!;-) And we bought other local handmade stuff. Here we saw our stalker again as well!!! We were well out of the town, but pushed us to go to Sam Mountain later, again! And that he would be waiting at the hotel for us! What can I say he is a man of his word! When we got back from the boattrip we bought some BBQ-ed banana's which looked like turds and tasted just a little bit better then that. Went to the hotel (yes, he was waiting) and said maybe we'd go later. After a movie and little shut-eye we went down stairs 2 hours later and..... Still there, with his buddy on his motorbike ready for Sam Mountain! Which gave a good view over the town, rice fields, and over Cambodia. Furthermore there was an amazing sunset to be seen. Not wanting to waste the guys day, we took them to bring us there. When it says Mountain, although I am dutch, I would call it a hill as well. Although there were some steeps bits, and little Hester flew up with her moto and I arrived about 5 minutes later. His explanation: she is tiny and I am tall! I prefer tall to fat! There were moments we almost stood still and I thought we had to walk up. The views were very nice and apart from caged monkeys (tourist trap) it was cool to be there. We were asked to be on a picture with some other people as well ( do we look so freakish?).
Next day we took a bus (boat wasn't an option) to Can Tho, the capital of the province and the most buzzing place in the neighbourhood. It was very nice and relaxing actually. We booked ourselves again on a little boat trip for the next day, which would take us to two floating markets, noodle "factory" and through the countryside. The little trip would be for 8 hours and would start at 5.30 am, so we could see sunrise. We walked through town, had some lunch (many many spring rolls, very nice) and booked our next bus journey as well. The following day would be ideal as it would start with the boat trip, come back, straight to the bus, which would take us to a ferry town, where we would take the ferry to an island for some beach relaxation. It would all plan out slightly differently, but this will follow.......

Odd Observations Part One: Cambodia

hester_c — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:30:00 GMT

1. Things seen on the back of a scooter:

- A pig

- A child attached to a medical drip

- A family of 6

- 5 large chests of drawers/cupboards

- 8 matresses plus pillows

- A sheet of glass

2. Children driving - motorbikes, scooters, large trucks. On the highway. And not just 15/16 year olds, but also kids of about 12.

3. Lamb chop: I'm not too sure what it means in Khmer, but I'm pretty sure I've heard people saying "lamb chop". reminds me of mum's roast lamb - next time I'm home please mum....

4. Pajamas: Women wearing pajamas. As daytime wear. Maybe its sensible in this weather, but when you see a grown woman dressed in bright purple from head to toe, with Mickey Mouse faces all over her outfit.....! It reminds me of living with the girls in the Pizza Penthouse, when the Colombian used to wander around the house in her pajamas, a full face of makeup (inc. bright red lipstick) and high heels...

5. Moles. Perfectly shaved men, except for their facial moles. Spotted a man earlier with baby smooth face, except for the 7 CEMTIMETRES of hair sprouting from his chin mole.

6. Flem. Caughing it up and spitting. Everywhere.

7. Little black bags on busses. Not entirely sure what they are handed out for, the only thing we could work out was related to the flem spitting (see point 6).

Gallery: Photo update part 2

hester_c — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:38:00 GMT

Gallery: Photo update part 1

hester_c — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:01:00 GMT

Elephant trek, prison cells, and Killing Fields

hester_c — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:56:00 GMT

Hester

Ok, so I think that Brendon's description of the journey to Sen Monorom was fairly accurate, although I don't think that he fully conveyed the extent of internal bleeding that we both suffered during the truck drive. My bum is still bruised (see elephant trek story later for more information on this).

The place we stayed in Sen Monorom was really cool, we had a little cabin to ourselves on the side of a hill, looking out across a valley. The cabin had an open air toilet and shower room out the back, which was a real treat, although I have to admit the going to the toilet in the rain in the middle of the night soon loses its novelty.

When we arrived, we spent the evening at the bar chatting to an aussie couple who were on their extended honeymoon. They had experience the same ride over as us, so we compared stories. Went to bed at about half past 8, as it was dark, there was not much in the way of light (the main village had no electricity at this time, but out place had hydo power), and we were exhausted. As Bren said, the first full day there was spent chilling. It was nice to know that we would be staying in one place for a few days, as it feels like we are racing from place to place to place all the time. The evening was really cool. Got chatting at the bar with a guy who works for oxfam out here and the woman who runs the guesthouse, and kind of got a bit more of an insite into Kmer life, what people think about stuff like the Cambodia war crimes tribunal, and what the future looks like for the country etc. Really interesting, nice to know a bit more about what goes on rather than just passing through taking pics.

The second day was a liiiiiitle less relaxed. We went into town to see if we could find a place to hire mottos for the day - no luck, so we went for a casual wander that turned into a bloody long trek - both very tired, and grumpy by the end of this. On the way back to our guesthouse, we thought we would stop in a bar, which it turned out was run by a dutch woman, who had kind of "gone native". She was a proper "tough as old boots" kind of lady who regaled us with stories of her life in cambodia for the next 2 hours, including the time she shot a bazooka at the Khmer Rouge, met her mates hiding under tables during gun fights, her strong dislike for NGOs ("Fucking evangelists"), and her boyfriend "the butcher" who used to be a medic for landmine victims (nice nickname for that line of work). She was brilliant!!!

Next day in Sen Monorom, we went on an elephant trek. It was a long motto ride out to the Dunong/Pnong hill tribes hut where the elephant was. Was so bizarre to see her coming through the trees -absolutely huge. we booked the ride through a project that teaches the hill tribe people how to care for the elephants properly and ensures that they are not over worked and are well fed. We both climbed aboard and were fairly snug in the 1m by 50cm seat. The first part of the trek was two hours deep into the jungle - it was a long way squished into the seat, which seemed to be getting tinier by the second. But the fact that we were sat atop an elephant, in the middle of cambodia made it worth it. Its an awkward gaint to get used to, and when she was grabbing leaves, branches, and pulling up whole trees on the way through, we has a few moments where we thought we might fall off. But how bizarre and amazing to get to experience something like this. After about two hours we had reached our destination - a waterfall will splash pool. The drop from the top to the bottom was about 3 or 4metres, which Bren threw himself off. I was a little more cautious, and actually chickened out. ever since busting me knee, I have been less convinced that I am indestructible - according to Brendon, this is a sign that I am getting old. Charming. So, I found my way down and gently plopped into the water from a hight of about 20cms. There is life in me yet!!! After splashing in the water for a while, we had the lunch the guesthouse had given us, splashed some more, and then sat chilling in the sun (resulting in us both getting sunburnt. OOOoops)Soon after, the elephant returned (she had been off grazing somewhere) plus rider/driver/jockey(!) and we watched her take a bath. That was really cool, she was clearly enjoying cooling off as much as we had. Then it was the 2 hour trek back. By this point, the combined impact of the truck drive over to Sen Monorom, plus the first 2 hours on the elephant was causing agony for both our backsides. So another two hours was pretty much hell. Which was a shame, as it was such an awesome experience, but at times we were a little preoccupied with bottom pain. Note to self - must get silicon bum implants. Or take a bigger cushion.

The next morning (yesterday) we left sen monorom, this time inside the truck, enjoying the padded cushions and the aircon. Made it to Phnom Pehn in about 9 hours, a little over the advertised 6 hours, but who is counting. To be fair, there was a problem with the truck, which resulted in everyone standing around looking like they knew what was going on, then going at the wheel with a chisel. Once again, safety is not a priority. But we are here in Phnom Penh so all good.

This morning I went to the S-21 museum, which was the prison where alot of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime were held and tortured. Its a pretty horrific place, to see the old school building turned into a makeshift prison, with classrooms divided into small cells. And everywhere there are the photographs of the prisoners. Its a very eerie feeling, staring into the faces in these photographs, trying to get an insight into whet these people were experiencing just from the expressions on their faces. There are also numerous pictures of people who have been tortured and killed. However, the thing that I found the most difficult was when a guy there told me that in the previous room were the pictures of the people who has been the guards etc in the prison. I was curious to see these picture; I guess I wanted to see what sort of people they were. I think we would all like to think that people who do this kind of thing are different from the rest of us, that they are intrinsically evil; its easier to accept that way. But no, they weren't, they ARE just normal people, and not just that...in this case, most of them were children.

After s-21, I met up with Brendon, we had lunch and then went out to the Killing Fields, where most of the inmates from S-21 were sent to be executed. In the centre there is a tower, full the skulls of those dug up from the mass graves. Its horrible.

One thing I was thinking about- I wonder how many Cambodian people go to s-21 and the killing fields. When you are being badgered by tuktuk drivers every few yards, who ask if you want to go there, it all feels a bit comercialised. I wander what opportunity the Cambodian people have to actually have possession of their own past, rather than losing it to the tourist industry……

Trip to Sen Monorom, Shaken, not Stirred!

hester_c — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:38:00 GMT

Brendon

As mentioned before we would be travelling to Sen Monorom on the back of a pick-up truck. When we were booking the trip, we had the option inside or outside the truck. As we didn't know what one or the other looked like, we asked the guy from the guesthouse what would be the best. He said that there wasn't much difference and that when it started raining they would put a cover over it. As we thought we should travel like the locals, we decided outside it is! BIG BIG mistake!!! Luckily we are alive to tell the tale. First we had a trip to Snoul, which was about 2 hours, where we would change trucks for the last bit. The back of this pick up was about 2 metres by 1.50 metres (sorry english people, guessing about 6,5 foot by 5 foot) when they were able not only put in quite a bit of luggage, but also 16 people!!! There was an old woman sitting on the floor as well. We thought this was quite snug, but all good. See, feel and smell the locals and they us. Poor people! Trip to Snoul wasn't too bad, but then arrived at the most horrible (locals agree) place in Cambodia, Snoul. You could say it is an outdoor MAKRO, but slightly different. Not knowing we just jumped on the back of the truck where are bags were thrown on and posito\ioned ourselves nicely on the bench of the truck. Locals pointing and laughing and asking us to wait next to the truck. The wait was about 3 hours, while they packed our truck with anything you can imagine. Firstly they removed the benches!!! This can never be a good sign. They were replaced with metal container which were filled with live fish! And not just a goldfish or two, hundreds and hundreds of fish went in these containers! Where did these fish come from? From the boot of a car. They had changed the boot into some kind of pond, where they were scooping these fish from. They also had the, once again living, fish in big jerry cans (which are also used for fuel!). Luckily they also managed to put some dead fish on there with some ice, cuz otherwise it wouldn't be hygienic of course. This was the bottom layer. This was covered with some plastic, then comes loads of luggage including our bags, fruit and veg, many things I have never seen before, so far till the back of the pick-up truck was the same height as the truck itself! Maybe you are wondering, cuz we were, where did we sit. There was only one logical explanation to us, and that was we were going to sit inside afterall, cuz there was no way we could sit on the back, as there was no back left. WRONG! Once mister maniac driving man was ready, he just gested, climb aboard! Where? Two other kids ranup the back as well and we tried to find a reasonably safe spot! This trip lasted another 5 hours, of which mostly we were thinking that we were on a drugs trip! After about 10 minutes, the asphalt stopped and it was dirt roads till the end. It gets quite hilly (bloody mountains for a dutch bloke) over here, so it was hanging on for dear life when literally sliding down the hills (mud tracks) or trying to go up the hills, past stranded other trucks. Just to give you a feeling, when the roads were a bit better we were doing speeds up to 90-100 km/h (60 mph) on the top of a truck holding on to some luggage and finding religion! Best bit is of course it is rainy season! ha ha. Oh yes, terrantial rainpoor. Luckily(!) the kids had a bit of plastic which we tried to get cover under. We didn't stop to do this, but we becamer good at holding on to stay on the truck and holding this plastic so we stayed reasonably dry! Unbelievable trip. Only came of twice, once for a routine stop and once for a pee break next to the road where H was attacked by a leech (squeel)! Finally we made it to Sen Monorom (it is good to be alive). Jumped on the back of a moto (also speeding like crazy, but after being on a truck you can handle anything). My driver said that it had rained a lot and that the roads were slippery, as we were on a dirt road not breaking for corners! Thanks mate! Sorry for ou guys to have to read this, but for H and me this is a part of therapy to write about it and deal with it. One thing we promised ourselves when we got to our guesthouse, with a very romantic bungalow with an amazing view and chilling in the hammock with a drink and some food was: 1) tomorrow we do nothing and just relax and 2) always answer inside when asked in or outside the truck!

The next day we duid literally nothing. Didn't even leave the premises. Absolutely amazing view and as said before a nice bungalow. The bathroom was attached to it, but was outdoors So great showers in the open air. We planned a site-seeing trip the next day and booked an elephant trek for the day after, which I will tell you all about very soon. Now we are already back in Phnom Penh, so mum, don't you worry I made it back as well, and are going to visit the killing field now. Not all cheery, but will be impressive! Speak soon......

Mam, maak je geen zorgen, Faye gaat het naar har zin hebben en het is echt veilig hoor. Pap, genoeg foto's van gecko's gemaakt voor je. Je zou het geweldig vinden. Nicky, waar ben je?

dolphin day...

hester_c — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Hester

Just a quick note about today, as I don't think we'll get a chance to get onto the net for the next 3 or 4 days...

Yesterday's 8 hour bus journey turned into over 10hours of an exploded tyre at top speed followed by over an hours roadside wait, deafeningly loud karaeoke music on the bus (my ears are still bleeding) and the most insane bus driver I have ever known, whose only safety precaution consisted of beeping his horn every few seconds as he drove at breakneck speed on the wrong side of the road. Thankfully we arrived in Kratie in one piece...

So, we booked to scooters plus drivers for today to take us to see the Irrawaddy dolphin, an endangered type of dolphin that is only found in the mekong river. I was a bit nervous about going on the bike, partl;y because all the drivers are mental, and partly because I didn't really fancy have to squish my thighs around some strange bloke. But I survived the experience, and seeing the dolphins made it worth it. We spent about an hour an a half on the river watching them - I've seen dolphins in the sea before, but this time seemed a bit more special, because of the amazing surroundings (the Mekong river is a beautiful muddy expanse lined with palms and banana trees), and knowing that these animals are rare and that seeing them is not always guaranteed. My poor attempt at taking pics has resulted in numerous pictures of splashes in the water, an video footasge that is not really close enough to see anything. But I made up for that in quantity.Delete delete delete.

After that dolphins we were driven to the local "mountain" - a nearby hill where monks live and people come for blessings. It was not really that special, just a lot of steps, which is not a good thing in this weather.

Following that, we went for a ride to through the countryside. We thought we were going to a village, and so exapected that it was some sort of thing set up for tourists. But no, basically my moto driver would drive past endless wooden houses, adn if he saw something that he thought we would like then he would stop and take us in. So at one point he noticed a family planting rice behind their house, so pulled in an got us to go and help them. We are now rice farmers! Bren was taking a picture of me planting, and this little kid started looking over his shoulder at the camera, so Bren took a picture of him and showed him, and he was amazed and smily. Brilliant! We also stoped off at a school, and played a bit with the children. Everywhere we went people woul;d smile and wave - and I felt like a bit of a celebrity - despite feeling pretty tanned at the moment, it seems that my pale, pasty, vitually translusent skin was a bit of a novelty - According to Bren, who followed my moto, every time we past groups of people they would all start nudging each other and pointing at me. Even my driver found it funny that all the women bent over planting in the rice paddies would stand up to stare at me as I went by. We stopped next to some of these women and they told my driver that they wanted my skin. I'd happily swap!!!

After driving round for a couple of hours we came to our guesthouse, and have been chilling for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow, we are riding a 6hour journey in the back of a pick up truck to our next destinantion, Sen Monorom.....

Cambodia Phnom Penh and Angkor

hester_c — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:30:00 GMT

Brendon

Well, where were we? We still had one morning to do in Bangkok before flying on to Phnom Penh (further refered to as Ping Pong). The Grand palace in bangkok deserves it's name. Absolutely beautiful and equaly impressive.One boat trip away back to our hotel and one quick Thai green curry before leaving for the airport. First thing to do in Ping Pong was to find an hotel. Shared a taxi with an american (god, that's a nation that likes to talk) and we got dropped off next to the river. The dilemma was riverside or lake side. WE did one night each. A far to fancy hotel with an amazing view from our balcony (yes, we had one) over the river and the next day budget hostel where we had to put our hand down the back of the toilet to flush it! Honestlt the lake was the best. Relaxing veranda with hammocks and a nice view over the lake. Ping Pong itself was less manic as Bangkok, but it is a far poorer city. The amount of people on the streets, of which many with missing limbs due to exploding landmines was staggering. It confronts you each time with how lucky you are, but at the same time a massive knot in the stomach. We ended up walking around the city and visiting the royal palace ( not as grand as the grand one in Bangkok, but very nice indeed). Although I sometimes have to check if Hester is real, as everyone only seems to talk to the male of the company, we also visited the only hill in the city which is named after a woman called Penh! Phnom meaning mountain, it's quite ironic! Best was still when a salesdude looked at me and pointed at Hester and just said ; WIFE??? At least he acknowledged her, ha ha.

The last 3 days we've been in Siem Reap (meaning: Siamese defeated! They hold no grudges!) and visiting the temples of Angkor! Unbelievable, just wait for the pictures! Or easier, just google it and you'll understand. Standing between these massive temples with amazing rock carvings is amazing. First day we hired bikes and cycled all the way! Which basically meant drinking, sweating, sweating, drinking, temple, sweating! The round trip was about 30km, which is not that far, but I can tell thee that you get better bikes when you rent in Holland! ha ha. The other 2 days we went to further away temples with a tuk tuk. Breathtalking. Tree growing o ON top of temples walls. Through building! After a hardcore temple day it was basically chilling in the pool (backpacking sucks!), having more amazing food and sleep. Oh, and of course a tiny little thing called: NEDERLAND-ITALIË = 3 - 0!!! Eat that and your spaghetti!!!! 2 am local time, Hester fast asleep, TV with the sound off and just watching and smiling. Hardest thing was to cheer without sounds! Excellent. Come on French frogs!

Tomorrow we leave this palce and are off to Kratie, where supposedly you can see river dolphins, after which we're going further inland hoping for an elephant trek. We'll keep you posted!

Muts: Klasse van de tentamens! Trots op je! Nog maar een weekje....

Sorry mam, toch maar geen pak gekocht! Indian was inderdaad heel lekker. Geef pap een kus! Pap; Frankrijk kan ik niet kijken, dus dan moet je dat drankje voor mij extra nemen!

Nicky: veel plezier op je trip en mijn kniën zijn nog niet vies hoor!

A rush through what we've done in cambodia. Wat!!

hester_c — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:10:00 GMT

Hester

After leaving Bankok (we spent the morning of our flight day checking out the Grand Palace, and another Wat (temple), we arrived in phnom pehn and headed for the lakeside area to find a hotel. The hotel suggested in our guidebook as a cheap one to try seemed to have doubled in price in the last few months, but we thought we'd take a look and, well, got properly won over by the room - balony facing over the river - it was gorgeous!!And very expensive (comparatively), but "yes, we'll take it" kind of popped out of our mouths. We had dinner at a really nice restaurant adn then went for a wander and had a drink in one of the river front bars. I have to say it was a weird experience, and quite difficult to dwell on the contrast between the tourists in the bars and restaurants along the river front, and the endless families sitting by the side of the road. I don't think I have ever seen poverty like there is here. Also, the number of people who have been maimed by landmines is pretty shocking and very upsetting. Aparently there are 700 casualties a year. I can't een imagine how it must be to live somewhere where you dont even know if it is safe to take a stroll across a field.

Sorry for that somber moment. Anyway, back to Phnom Penh - after spending one night in relative luxury, we decided to head to the lake area of the city, which fitted a bit better with our budget, and in fact was a much nicer experience. The place we stayed had a veranda on the lake front, so we could sit there and chill and recver from the day of walking round Phnom Penh. Then got talking to a German guy, who heard us speaking dutch (yup, its true!!) and came over to join in. I never thought I would see a situation where there are three people of different nationalities, and they choose dutch as the common language!! Random.

Earlier in the day we had been to the Grand Palace; it was touch an go whether we would be let in as I was wearing clothes that were deemed inappropriate. So I had to by MASSIVE white t-shirt (they only had XL) and stomp around in that all afternoon, much to brendon's ammusement.

The next day we headed to siem reap, a 6 hour bus journey which was pretty much bliss because ogf the air conditioning (the heat is dominating me!! I don't think brendon quite know what to do with me, as I am barely talking; it takes all my energy just to sweat....). We arrived and got a tuk tuk to our hotel (where we are now), and arranged with our tuk tuk driver to come and get us the next day to take us to ankor wat (think Lara Croft films, or ancient temple complex for the more cultured of you...).We went out for dinner and I had the nicest salad i think I have ever had - Banana flower - It was lekker!!! Next morning we waited and waited for the tuk tuk driver, but no show, so we decided that in the 30+ degree heat, the best thing to do would be to hire some bicycles and cycles the 30 kilometre circuit "mini tour" of the temples. I think we must have been delirious at this point. But we did it, and it was awesome!! We saw ankor wat, the main temple, then ankor thom which it covered in massive faces, and then several other temples, including the one thats been all overgrown by trees, which was used in the lara croft movie. It was all pretty spectacular- the archaeology geek in me was very excited (obviously this was inward excitment, as to have expressed it outwardly would have involved far to much sweating). We came back feeling like we had conquored the world, took a dip in the hotel pool, then had dinner here and fell asleep.

Yeaterday we hired a tuk tuk driver and did the “grand tour of the temples” – was a bit worried that we might get templed out, but they were so different from the ones we had seen before that it was all good. Hopefully soon we’ll get the pics on…

Last night, another restaurant, we had lok lak (a beef and garlic and tomatoe and onion dish), and some bbq squewers. This one seems to have given us both “the toilet problem” which kind of cut today short. We went this morning to see the furthest away temple, which was really ornate, and the journey there and back was thought loads of little wooden hut villages so worth going the 1 and a half journey there (buy tuk tuk). For lunch we had curry and amok from one of the road side stalls, which were really really lekker. However, this afternoon we wanted to see ankor wat and ankor thom again but I was feeling a bit dizzy and sick ,and then Bren started to feel the same, so back here to the hotel earlier than planned and a chance to write up the past few days. Its all going so quickly and yet I feel like we have been here for ages, as every day there is something completely different from the last.

Next stop…… elephant trekking in the east of the country…

Bangkok story....

hester_c — Fri, 6 Jun 2008 01:10:00 GMT

Brendon

After a slightly longer trip (5hour delay in Frankfurt airport plus 2 hours on the train) we made our way. Finding our guesthouse was the first task, while getting used to the nice cool fresh air of Bangkok! Quite warm is a comment made at some point. Bloody hot was another one today. After settling in the first exploring walk of the surroundings took place. Apparently it is not smart to walk to the darkest bit of a park, so we decided instead to eat at our first food cart. Next to the road the first thai green curry and a fried thai rice went in very nicely. The fruit juice, filled with ice and local water maybe not the best idea for our unexperienced stommachs. Early night followed to be ready for a day of site-seeing. Body clocks not helping as I thought it was morning about 4 times during the night and had to retain myself to start siteseeing at 4 in the morning. What followed was a day of temples, Buddhas, temples, Buddhas and Buddhas and Tuk Tuk scam artists! Which worked on us nicely and Hester got a ring out of it.....! So win win!

Hester - Yup, not impressed with the Tuk tuk scammer, so we told our driver that we were no longer interested in doing the tour that he had planned for us (going to random shrines in peoples back garden or just stuff he seemingly made up, rather than the big temples), and did things under our own steam. Firstly this involved catching a boat down the river throught the centre of bangkok (this was kindof cool as we were wandering through places that were not rammed with other tourists - ohhh intrepid explorers), to Wat Pho, which is where they have this MASSIVE "reclining Buddha" - he was huge, something like 50 metres long and 15 high, lying on his side, just chillin'. That was really good, and we have some ace pictures (although of course we forget to bring the cable for my camera, so can't actually put any pics on here : ( - this is a work in progress to see if we can buy one). After this headed abck to the hotel, went out for a meal in a restaurant (not as good as the green curry on the side of the road!) then went for a wander down Khao San Road to stare at other travelers getting completely wasted, and to buy me some new flipflops (Birkenstocks -for the 4 euros. I think they might be fake.....). Then we went for a cocktail - Bren had one sip of his drink and came over all funny (i.e. Drunk) and claimed that his legs had gone all heavy. He he he, big jessie!!!

Brendon

Third day in Bangkok and the plan was to go out of the city and explore the surroundings! As we wanted to see more of Bangkok itself, we decided to look around more. Early start (9 am wake up was planned!!!) Fat chance! Getting over a jetlag is slightly harder for some people! Ad to that the first sunshine we've seen and we have a good mixture for meltdown in combination with English blood. Result: left the guesthouse at 12, mango for breakfast, and another boatride to see some more sites. Talking was reduced to a minimum to counter the heat. First palace we weren't allowed in, as my clothes did not live up to the King's standard (going back tomorrow in my new tailored 3 piece suit for 10 euros), but saw a other temple which was very impressive. Health and safety eat your heart out; steepest steps ever, no worries, just go up!!! After the temple it was time to see an other side of the city: CHINA TOWN! I am not a big fan of markets, but it was awesome. Whole area just stalls and complete hectic. We walked straight for 30 minutes, just stalls, and didn't come out! There were even motor bikes and tuk tuks driving through the tiny alleys - even a car at one point. Mental! Of course it was Buddha time again; 5.500 ton pure gold one. We tried to think about a way to fit in in our bag: Hester was going to flash the Monk which would give 2 possibilities. 1) looking away in horror and me running away with it (3 metres high), 2) he, not used to too much English goodness, grabbing Hester, and me running away with it! Bottom line, running away with the gold!!

Hester

So after the excitment of theaving the gold buddha, we went to the Indian part of china town as Brendon wanted to see what their chicken tikka masala was like!!!! Best ever apparently. after that we walked back accross the city to check out a couple of monuments/temples that we had missed before. On the way back home after, we stumble accross some sort of Thai outdoor gym/excercise park - hundreds of people in the park, some jogging circuits around the park path, others doing crazy dance aerobics, also some tai chi, and a couple of people doing some sort of martial arts with swords. all round the park we signs with pictures on showing how to warm up, and stretch. They even had special tubes for doing situps on. Brendon got very excited about this place - i think he was gonna offer his services as pe teacher at one point. after this we came across a really weird music performance on a big stage in the middle of a round about. A bunch of old dudes playing rock music. A few temples later and we came home.Tomorrow we are off to Cambodia. More to follow!!!

Bangkok story....

hester_c — Fri, 6 Jun 2008 01:10:00 GMT

Brendon

Hester

Finally we're off!

hester_c — Mon, 2 Jun 2008 21:50:00 GMT

Ready to go to the train station, backpacks nice and light (10 kilos each), and due to Hester's lists it's impossible to have forgotten anything. Next stop: Bangkok! 3 days to aclimatise and see the city and surroundings, before Cambodia! Very excited!!! Pictures and stories will be up here soon!