LindyBear

Okay so I should probably mention that on my last night in Singapore my wallet with ATM & Visa was stolen in the hostel. Sooooooo annoying but at least some of the tour group were around and I wasn’t alone. Liam and Alis very kindly lent me some money to keep me going until I got sorted with replacements. I know you’re probably thinking I should keep my cards in a safe place and I really was in the habit of taking just a money purse when we headed out. In this case though, we were staying in which means it was taken by another traveller. Boo to them – scum 🙂 (Oh wait, I’m one of them, right?? ……Really???)

Anyway I headed off for my flight to Lombok. Had a short layover in Jakarta which was kinda funny. I was flying from the domestic terminal and think I was the only non-indonesian speaking person there!! It’s the most relaxed airport I’ve ever been in. I brought a big bottle of water in plain view (simply forgot about it) through security and then had a look around to see everyone smoking right under the no-smoking signs!!! They are pretty relaxed about schedules there too. We used to have an expression called “Lao Time” when we were travelling through Laos – and basically it meant everything happened at a snail’s pace. WELL Laos isn’t a patch on Indonesian time – it’s nuts, as my flight was meant to be taking off, I’d said I’d ask what time it would leave and she just said “soon I think”. So another hour or so later we finally boarded the plane and I made the rest of my journey to Sengiggi, Lombok without any hassles.

Sengiggi is nice but nothing exceptional, it’s really more of a jumping off spot for island hopping and diving, so it was a pity to spend so much time there but it was where I needed to wait for my cards and western union (and also my phone which was stolen in Sengiggi – come on, give me a break!!!) which Mr. Steve so kindly arranged for me with a lotta effort I might add 🙂 So thank you so much for that. The Indonesians are really friendly and while some of them are trying to sell you nick-nacks or tours, the majority are genuinely interested in finding out about you and trying out their english skills. I had a funny incident on the beach where a young fella came over to me while I was sunbathing and asked could he practice his english so I said no problem. Then his friend came over and then another. So it was still all good and they were firing the usual sorts of questions. Where are you from? How long have you been here? Etc, etc, etc. So then their teacher came over and sat down on the other side of me and thanked me for spending the time talking with them. Feeling a little bit underdressed in bikini at this stage but tried to keep it cool. We chatted for a little while and then you know when you get a sense that something is behind you…… well it was, about 15 school kids!!!!!! Just wanted to sink into the sand!!

I also met a girl who works with a school friend and childhood neighbour of mine and we hit it off really well. As soon as I was sorted, I packed two small bags and headed off to the Gilli Islands where Louise had high-tailed it to and we spent a couple of fun nights there. The Gilli Islands are really beautiful, tiny little islands with no cars just horse and carts to bring you around but you really don’t need them. There are also very few street lights which makes it somewhat of a challenge to walk home at night when you’ve had a couple of drinks and forgot your torch! Still though the moon and loads of stars lent their assistance. Ah nice!

I also met a guy called Tom, an ex-army American who’s been sailing around the world for the last 10 years – tough life, huh? He reminds me of Pat Inginlesby (probably spelt incorrectly I know) remember that kids tv show…..Pat’s Hat – well what do you think?????? (Tom, that’s not an insult if you reading this – okay Pat was a bit mad in the head but you’re far more balanced believe me 🙂 )

Anyway Louise decided to join him on the boat and they were planned to sail to Borneo. I was toying with it for a while but for a few reasons I decided not to go and I hope I don’t end up regretting that decision.

There are three islands to choose from and I picked Gilli Air which lies somewhere between “is there anyone out there……..” and Santa Ponsa 🙂 When you get off the boat you wade in to shore and almost all of the bungalows are on the beach. I stayed in one that had a deck with hammock and day bed.

Upstairs was a bedroom and a balcony with a view of the ocean. Bliss 🙂 This was my little house for the few days…….

All of the restaurants are right on the sand and there is such a chilled out vibe there and look a little like this.

We did some snorkelling there and spotted a few turtles along the way. I spent three nights there and wish I had one more but I was heading on a boat trip to go to a little island hopping (including hunting for Komodo dragons!!) ending up in Flores and then back again to Lombok.

P.S. More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606481135838/

We arrived in Singapore for the end of our tour and it is exactly how I imagined, very clean and orderly but I’m not so sure it has a real personality, particularly coming from some of the interesting places that we have seen. Myself and Amy did stroll around Little India and Chinatown, where the latter was holding a chicken rice eating competition!!!! Other than those interesting spots, or if you want to shop, it’s a pretty sterile place in terms of atmosphere and I think if I was going back to a big city, I’d pick Kuala Lumpur instead.

We just had one night here, although some of us stayed on for another night before going our separate ways. We had a few drinks, took some photos and said our farewells which was sad but we were all pretty excited about going on to our next adventures too.

It feels like I met this bunch of people last week and yet our 7 week tour has come to an end. It’s been a blast and I’ve met some genuine friends on this trip, friends who I really hope to keep in touch with. To begin with I was a little nervous going on such a long tour, I was thinking if they all turn out to be “crazies” then I’m locked in for almost 2 months!!!! I have heard some nightmare stories of people who have been on tour with pyscho cases and no matter how well you get on with someone coupled with strange food playing havoc with tummies and enduring some pretty tiring journeys all take their toll. I think in this particular case, we were all really lucky to have found a good group up for a bit of craic (for all you Brits – that’s how you spell the non-cocaine version!!) And I know I’ll miss them all when I’m wandering around Indonesia.

More Photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606221364205/

Got a free upgrade to a nice coach to KL which made up for the cockroach festival last time. Lots and lots of shopping in Kuala Lumpur so I had to use all my self restraint not to buy and guess what….. I succeeded!!!

Went to see the Petronas Towers being lit up at night and I thought yeah, yeah just another couple of skyscrapers but actually they are very beautiful. Check it out…

When I went to see the twin towers in NYC I lay down on the pavement (or sidewalk 🙂 ) to take a picture and so I decided to do the same with the Petronas Towers…….

A bunch of us went to a beauty salon – of sorts anyway!! We decided in our wisedom to plunge our feet into a pool of piranhas. Don’t think these were quite the flesh eating kind but more like the “cleaner” fish you see on sharks and whales. They nibble all the dead skin on your feet (or your whole body if you’re feeling brave!) It was such a weird, weird sensation.

The following day we went to see the botanical gardens. We took the Monorail (Homer Simpson would be proud!) and then walked what seemed like miles and miles. The gardens were lovely but unfortunately a couple of them were closed that day which was a bummer. Finished up the evening with a japanese meal which was so fresh and just what the doctor ordered after the recent overload of curries!!

We also headed off to see the Chinese market which I was looking forward to because last time Suze (Tour Leader) was there it got busted by the cops and the whole place cleared in seconds!! No such drama this time but we browsed around and some of the girls bought designer hangbags and the like.

After KL we got the bus to Melaka which is such a lovely place. We were based in Chinatown and it’s a gorgeous little place. It kinda reminds me of Hoi An in Vietnam way back when. Loads of little art galleries and shops. Got to meet and chat to one of the artists whose work was amazing. Had a lovely Malaysian dinner that night and took a liking to the wine so myself, Suze and Fiona decided to make a night of it. Suze and I even did a little impromtu singing at one bar – not that we were invited to but they didn’t seem to mind too much 🙂

The following day we went to a museum which had 3 floors. First floor seemed to be a museum about museums??? Second floor was a Kite Museum which featured kites from all around the world. The real highlight though was on the 3rd floor which of course wasn’t air conditioned….. The Museum of Enduring Beauty. It documents what is considered beautiful around the world, i.e. Chinese foot binding – ouch!! Now I know I have big giant man hands but these shoes are really tiny, literally 3 or 4 inches long!

Most interesting and some of it looks incredibly painful – think I’ll just make do with what I have. Also spotted a couple of monitor lizards on our travels – hopefully will get to see the Komodo dragons which I head for Indonesia!!

Finished off the evening with a really local Indian – again too afraid of what’s breeding on my hands to eat with them so opted for the knife and fork option instead.

And that was our last stop in Malaysia, onward now to Singapore which marks the end of our seven week tour of South East Asia!!

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606158730896/ and

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606218810021/

We left Koh Samui and began our long journey to Malaysia which involved a bus-boat-overnight train-bus-boat-bus and voila a mere(!) 23.5 hours later we arrived at our hotel in Penang or Georgetown. That journey knocked the socks off me I have to say.

Our first port of call was to go to a Chocolate Boutique which I think I mixed up in my head as a Chocolate Factory and I was all ready to Willy Wonka it up!!!! Well there was no choco river but it was a lot of fun trying all the different kinds of chocolate. I liked the sesame white chocolate and the chilli chocolate was usual but strangely enough a really good combination 🙂 A couple of hours testing later and we were full to the gills.

Spent a couple of hours at the night market working it off. Okay so I made myself a promise before I left not to buy any “tat” and up until then I succeeded……… This night market broke me down though in more ways than one. First off I bought some jewellery including a toe ring – which now means I’m an official backpacker I guess…. Then to add insult to injury, I bought a full length hippie (ish) skirt so that was the final nail in the coffin. Dear god I’m a crusty backpacker!!!!! Not sure if I’m very comfortable with that title but I guess that’s what I am. Hmmmmmm.

The following day found us wandering around Little India which was kinda fun. Browsed in a few of the shops – never knew how many types of bangles there were!! This shop is completely devoted to them!! We continued the evening with a nice Indian meal which we ate from banana leaves. Didn’t eat with my hands though, not because I didn’t want to, just because I reckon they are waaaay too dirty!!

The next day we left to go to the Cameron Highlands on a really crappy bus. So crappy that one of the girls had a cockroach on her seat (which isn’t massively uncommon) so her boyfriend swatted it away only to find that there was a NEST of them living in the seat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was sitting at the front of the bus but I would have had a complete wobbly if I was sitting near there. Yuck, yuck, yuck!!!!!! Don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing them to be honest.

Anyway we arrived in the Cameron Highlands and for the first time since leaving home I put on my fleece because it was actually cold!!! Felt nice to be all cozy wrapped in the clear air and not “sweaty-betty” for a change. We also sat around the campfire at our hotel having a couple of drinks and one of the locals played the guitar.

The following day was action packed, did a little trekking in the jungle, found the largest flower in the world the inside of which looks like this…….

……it’s really just a type of mushroom but I think it looks pretty unique all the same. So after a lot of sliding around in the mud we went to a very cold waterfall to get cleaned up and a nice cold drink of water from bamboo stalks. 

We also went to an Aboriginal Village and took aim with some blow darts…..

…see I really could be on Survivor 🙂

The afternoon took us to see a tea plantation, the scenery and views of the valley were lovely and we finished off with a spot of afternoon tea. Had to force myself to drink a cup!!!

Afterwards we went to see an insect farm which was really interesting. Check out this cool Rhino beetle….amazing huh?

Also held a stick insect which just look like matchsticks, a snake and a scorpian!!!! Didn’t think I would but sure when will I get the chance to do these things again, right?

We finished up our day by going to a strawberry farm and sampled some great milkshakes, ice-creams and jams took the cheesiest photo imaginable…….

More photos as always on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606029794742/ and 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157606050263531/

And so we found ourselves back in Bangkok after a overnight train from Chiang Mai which was only about 4 hours delayed!!!! We were to lose 3 of our group and pick up 4 new people so we will be a group of 18 heading to Koh Samui. Bangkok was just the same as we left it really. We had a good going away night for Dee, Jen & Justin. Dee & Jen are the Irish contingent so now I’m the only Paddy left on tour 🙂

Saturday found us going to the most fabulous buffet dinner where I had potatoes – Yippeeeeeeee!!! It’s been a while so I was really excited. This was followed by a Lady Boy show, which to be honest I wasn’t hugely interested in but actually it turned out to be really entertaining. Some of them were pretty convincing and much more glamorous looking than us I can tell you, particularly now that we’re crusty backpackers 🙂

I should explain a few of the photos on my flickr account. When we got back to the hotel, we decided to see if we could fit inside this laundry bag, followed by expert face painting. We ended up giggling like little kids and left Amy zipped up in the bag outside our Tour Leader’s door and played runaway knock. I know, I know real mature and you had to be there but it was funny as hell 🙂

Balmed out by the pool on sunday which is nothing exciting but we did see this incredible rainbow, couldn’t fit it all in one photo and the ones I took don’t do it justice but it was basically a rainbow circle around the sun. Never seen anything like it. Also it confused the crap out of my leprechaun instincts……how you find the pot of gold if there’s no end to the rainbow!!!!

On Sunday evening we departed Bangkok for the second time and boarded our overnight train to Southern Thailand. This was followed by a bus ride, ferry ride and another bus ride to get to our hotel in Koh Samui. Journey took 21 hours and was pretty tiring and we were glad to see the sun was splitting the stones on our beach.

Koh Samui is pretty much as I expected – completely commercialised. There are a number of Boots Chemists and Tescos. There are some unspolit parts but you kinda have to look for them now. If we were travelling between November and March we would have gone to Koh Phi Phi which is meant to be far more unspoilt – but them’s the breaks.

We had a few chilled out days soaking up the sun on the beach and didn’t do a whole lot to be honest. We did have a night out which was good old craic, spotted a few more ladyboys but the bars and clubs were kinda sleazy and one night was definitely enough.

The mossie war continues…..on our last night we got a lovely dinner right on the beach – of course we were bitten alive, so much so my legs were completely swollen deformed the next day. I was in the chemist stocking up on malaria tablets for Indonesia and the pharmacist just looked at me said “Oh no, what happpened to your legs?” Arrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!! She’s sooooo not meant to say that!!!!!! I won’t miss Thailand for them I can tell you, the Thai buggers seem to really be fond of me.

That evening we got the ferry back to the mainland to get a bus to catch our overight train and that ended our time in Thailand. I’m not too sure I’m sad to have left there. I have very mixed feelings about Thailand, in some ways I love it but in an other way I feel very unsettled there. There’s no real reason for this as it is very safe. I think it’s just a feeling that not so long ago it was completely unspoilt and now it has completely sold out and become too westernised for it’s own good. Also I think they do depend on tourism quite a lot, especially in the islands but some treat you as if you’re tiresome and annoying them. I guess tourists are ten-a-penny out there. They call Thailand the “Land of Smiles” but I saw more 7/11 stores than smiles to be honest. That said there must be a 7/11 on every corner so I guess it’s not so bad.

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157605931538542/

And so the day we’d been dreading for so many weeks dawned. It was a dry day which was a good start. Monica still triple-bagged all the contents of her bag and double-bagged her entire rucksack just in case!! I know that’s overload but you get really wet sitting in the canoe so it stands to reason that you might as well prevent ALL your gear getting wet too!! I should mention that the guidebooks don’t recommend that you use this canoe as they have flipped from time to time resulting in fatalities!!!!!

Anyway we had a lucky break in that 4 of the group decided to fly, which meant we could use their seats – seats being a very loose term!! Only 4 people per leg (2 hours) had to sit like the pic below…… 

…..whereas it should have been all of us. It was a long journey though and loads of us got really sunburnt but we made which was the main thing. The scenery was spectacular going down the Mekong River and you could see particles of gold in the sand when we stopped for breaks. Had to do the boarder crossing when we got to Thailand and then a six hour bus journey which was luxury compared to the boat!! Anyway we got into Chiang Mai at about midnight and put it all behind us. I’m kinda glad I experienced it too – now that it’s over anyway.

Chiang Mai is jam-packed with things to do. I decided to go for an elephant ride and bamboo rafting. Horrible to say it but the elephant ride was horrible. It seemed to be okay at the beginning but the four of us that went wanted to leave ten minutes after getting there. There were loads of elephants in a kind of barn and we couldn’t understand how they were all standing so close together until we saw them chained up on really short chains so they can only just stand there. We just felt awful and fed the poor fellas loads of bananas to ease our guilt. It should be noted that another lot of us went elephant riding, in a different facility, the following day and had a much more positive experience. it just so happened that we chose the wrong one.

After that we went bamboo rafting which is really just a gentle trip down the river but pleasant nonetheless. Just as we had got over the whole elephant experience we floated by one which was tethered to a tree and he was trying to pull his chain out of the ground!! Just kill me!! Kill me now!

The next day myself, Kat and Suze decided we would abseil down a 55 metre waterfall. It was brilliant!!!! Some rush! Didn’t look down much because I think I would have freaked myself out. It was dead slippy though so we were sliding all over the place. It was a single rope system which basically meant you fed the rope through with one hand and released it with the other. Had some nice looking rope burn by the end of the descent!!! This is myself and Kat looking fantastic in our gear 🙂 Suze had her waterproof camera, which we’ve had some technical difficulties with, but hopefully I’ll be able to post them up soon. Had a lovely swim under the waterfall after we’d finished and felt like we’d conquered the world!

We finished off our day by visiting the highest point in Thailand and saw the King’s and Queen’s Pergodas. Really beautiful spot, unfortunately the photos are a bit misty as we were literally up in the clouds!!!

So tired that evening that I treated myself to a thai massage which cost about 4 euro and ended our evening on the hotel veranda with pizza and beer. That summed up my activities in Chiang Mai but there was a pile of other things to do like white water rafting (I’m holding off until New Zealand), caving (did my time in caves!!), rock climbing and thai cookery courses. Amy also did a few days meditating and living with the monks which was pretty cool.

Must also mention the hotel that we stayed at which was like a mini jungle sanctuary. Loads of wildlife including birds, a parrot and a few turtles. Very leafy and lush spot and I’d recommend it and Chiang Mai to anyone.

My friend Seanin (who kindly let me stay with him in Hong Kong) told me Laos is lovely. And he was right, it really is. Very chilled out here. No big long list of things to do which is a nice break after a 21 hour journey here!!! (More boarder crossings and train delays – Siobhan there was a dead cow on the track……I’m not joking… but had to laugh thinking of your Cork/Dublin journey)

So we arrived in Vientiane and have been relaxing since we got here. Did go to see a Temple  and you won’t believe it but it’s the first temple I’ve actually liked – not too full of gold stuff 🙂 Guess what though…..we weren’t allowed to take photos in there – typical!! We also took a Tuk-Tuk ride around town. It rained solidly on our second day here so we left that as our cultural intake for the day. We did pass by this monument, which mirrors L’Arc de Triomphe. There’s a funny story behind it though. The American gave Laos concrete to build a runway and instead they decided to build this. Excellent!!!

Basically just chillaxed for the rest of the day and then got a great massage which actually even chilled me out for a while and that’s no mean feat!!!!!

We moved onto Van Vien after this, arrived after a bus journey into the mountains to more rain which didn’t bode well for our long planned tubing event!! Tubing is basically sitting on a rubber ring, floating down a river and being pulled into bars for drinks!! Would have been so much fun. Anyway we went on a bike ride to see some caves instead. The Lao people have a different idea of “seeing caves” though – we actually ended up on our bellies crawling through some very small, mucky caves and ended up looking like this……..

Had to clean up in the river afterwards which was lots of fun.

One of the girls on tour, Fiona, had her birthday in Van Vien too so we celebrated in style. Loads of fun that night, even demonstated a little Irish dancing!! Van Vien is very, very chilled and would have loved a couple more days there.

Horribly hungover, we left for Loang Prabang the following day. We had a nightmare of a bus journey (complete with mental bus driver) back down the windy mountain road!!! The driver was a lunatic and only calmed down slightly when the back door opened and a couple of our rucksacks fell out!! Loang Prabang is great too and the sun was out to greet us after the dreadful journey. We weren’t fit for much afterwards – I’ll tell you that. The following day a few of us decided not to join the group (to see more caves – think we’d served our time!!) and had a lie in followed by a leisurely breakfast. Then we went to see this amazing Waterfall and had a swim in the Lagoon which was just fantastic. Was feeling brave that day so I jumped into the water from this tree…..

….it was only about 4 metres above the water but it was enough. Was also going to jump from here…..

…..but I totally lost my nerve and afterwards I found out a guy did it and dislocated his shoulder so I was kinda glad I choked!

And so the eve of our speed canoe journey was upon us and lots of us were feeling kinda nervous to be honest. All the guidebooks recommend to make alternative travel plans as the canoes have been known to flip and 4 of the girls decided to fly. I kinda wanted to prove to myself I could do it and thought it might be fun actually. If I survive I’ll let you know how it goes……

…….okay so I’d heard about this journey long before I took it. The road from Siam Reap to Bangkok is meant to be one of the worst journeys in South East Asia. (there will be another getting from Laos to Thailand – an eight hour ride in a power canoe sitting with your knees up to your chest!!!!!) The guide book says that a certain airline is paying the government not to resurface the road so people will choose to fly!!! Anyway our tour leader said the first leg from Siam Reap to the Thai boarder can take anywhere between 3 and 8 hours (she’s done it in both) It was raining the night before so we were prepared for the worst……..honestly, it wasn’t that bad. The road started like this……

……..which was pretty good I thought, and eventually looked more like this……………

In fairness though, it was funny more than anything else. Bit of a rollarcoaster without the g-force. Anyhoo we got to the boarder in about 4 hours – bonus. Took a couple of hours to check out of Cambodia and get into Thailand (we took tuk-tuks between the boarders) The boarder towns are weird, I had been told this but there is a kind of strange atmosphere that I don’t quite know how to describe, loads of hussle and bustle and then at the same time you expect tumble weeds to roll by. Strangeness. We jumped on our bus to Bangkok which took about 6/7 hours. Almost took a hopper in the bus loo at one stage (few bruises but I’ll live) Sounds ridiculous but going to the bathroom is a big deal here, you have to battle between drinking enough so you don’t get dehydrated and not so much that you need to go, because there’s just some places you just don’t wannna!!!! Anyway we got into Bangkok about 7pm so it was only 12 hours (seems long I know but we were braced for 16/17 hours so it seemed like we did well)

I was in Bangkok before so I knew what to expect from it. Took fairly easy because we will be back there again on our way to Koh Samui. Had a good old night out in an Irish bar (where else!!) but I prepared some skittle vodka to drink before we got to the pub. It went down pretty well, although some of my work colleagues seem to be a lot more partial to it 🙂

You can also partake in the local drink of choice which is basically any kind of cocktail in a bucket for $6. Dangerous stuff.

Also went to see the The Grand Palace which is home to the Emerald Buddha. I’ve never seen so many grossly overly decorative buildings in such a small space!

So much cash was spent on these buildings, it’s amazing. For instance each of these tiny golden tiles cost $1 and that was way when back when it was built!!

Honestly the buildings are squished in. You can’t take a photo of one without getting at least another in your view!!!! Would be much more impressive if they were separated out a little. The Emerald Buddha is in another temple (where you can’t take pictures) but lads he’s so small, what a disappointment – I was expecting great things and you can barely see him with all the other gold and glittery things in the temple!!!

I think I’ve said before that I’m getting a bit templed out and I am but at the same time I have this weird addiction to see more of them and every time I’m disappointed because they are gaudy monstrosities!! We’re moving on to Laos and then back into Chiang Mai before coming back to Bangkok again.

P.S. I think my attention span is going again, have given up reading – can’t sit still at the moment either, hoping Laos will sort me out.

We arrived in Siam Reap which Suze (our tour leader) says is developing at an almighty rate. There are shops and buildings shooting up everywhere. As with some places in Vietnam, it is nice to visit here before it gets completely overrun. The big cheese here is Angkor Wat, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and it is well worth the visit. Some of us decided, in our wisdom(!), to go there for sunrise so we had a 4.30am start!! It was well worth it though to see this……

My photos don’t really do it justice and also look more like sunset I reckon! We had a good old stroll around Angkor Wat which is just enormous, again you just can’t see it from my photos, it’s amazing that they built it all by hand!!! All the carvings are sooo detailed and it only took 40 years to build. Headed back for a bit of breakfast before heading out again to Angkor City to see some of the other temples.

We were taken to see Ta Prohm Temple which is where Tomb Raider was filmed and it’s pretty cool. There are trees growing up throughout the temple and it makes it pretty spectacular. We hit another few temples throughout the morning, got a chance to get up close with Budda…….

…….before stopping for a well needed lunch break!!!

After lunch we headed back to Angkor Wat with the rest of the group and our guide. By this stage a couple of us (myself and Adrian mainly) were pretty much delirious and all templed out!!! Finished up in the afternoon and we were pretty knackered.

Was really tired and planned to go home after dinner, which included a traditional Khmer dance show……….

……….but it was raining so we hit the bar below the restaurant and the music was good so we made a night of it! The unplanned ones are always great. Made it to the wee small hours and still managed to be up at 9am for some crazy reason.

Totally chillaxed that day as the day after we had to take the infamous bus journey from Siam Reap to Bangkok…….watch this space!!!

We moved into Cambodia for 5/6 days and first stop was Phnom Penn. Had a heavy night on the tiles here and after drinking the pub dry, we finished up in a nightclub called Heart of Darkness – nice!!!! Still though it was good fun and you only live once!!

Loads to see here including the torture camps and the largest Killing Field (of which there were many) in Cambodia. After that heavy night (suddenly not quite the best of ideas) we headed off early to the Killing Fields and after went to Tuol Sleng, the genocide museum which used to be the Khmer Rouge S-21 Prison. There are four buildings, two of which show photographs of the prisoners who were detained there.You can see how tiny some of the little kids were….

The other two buildings have been kept intact and more or less look like they would have I guess – not as nice though, I’m sure! The tiny cells they were kept in, the two spoons of watery porridge to eat a day and of course the horrendous methods of torture they were put through doesn’t even bear thinking about. The disturbing thing is there are still blood stains on the floor, which have been cleaned somewhat but not entirely, which I guess is fitting because this country will take a long time to recover. This is a pic of a typical cell in the prison…

I suppose the other thing that got to me was the innocent graffitti scribbles on the walls – from when it was a school in a former life.

We also visited the Killing Fields, where those who survived Tuol Sleng were brought to be killed. I had heard a bit about the Killing Fields so I was prepared for that or so I thought. The first feeling was of complete calm and serenity. It’s so peaceful out there and then feels kind of eerie when you know what went on there.

We were shown the mass graves and the trees against which babies and little kids were killed. Dreadful. Dominating the site is a glass tower filled with skulls of all the victims that were killed there – which of course is really disturbing. What got to me though, was the pieces of clothing still on the ground where we were walking.

They have also put cabinets of the victims’ clothing at the Killing Fields site and at Tuol Sleng. The clothes are relatively new looking and could still be worn which should how recent these events were. The people in Cambodia are so kind and gentle but there is a real sadness about them, again I guess it takes a few generations to recover from such events. Don’t really want to put many more of these photos up here but they are on my flicker site if you want to see them. I am reading “When Broken Glass Floats” which was written by someone who survived the Khmer Rouge regime. Very good read – I’m also very excited that my attention span is getting a bit better – haven’t read anything (apart from Potter) in years!!!!

That was a pretty tough morning and various emotions hit me in waves even throughout the days after. After a recovery lunch, we went to see Wat Phnom, a really beautiful Buddhist temple.

I have a few thoughts on the whole Buddhism thing though, I agree mostly with the way they say you should live your life – and I certainly don’t adhere to it properly but hopefully I’m not going to hell just quite yet. What bothers me about the temples is (and bearing in mind I’m seeing quite touristy ones) that they are sooooo ornate, filled with gold, etc, so much so that in Wat Phnom three quarters of the temple is filled with ornaments.

I don’t go to Church regularly but I think a place of worship should be filled with people, rather than objects. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Also there is so much poverty in the places that we’ve seen, and yet the money is used for decorating these temples. Anyhoo that’s a debate that could run and run.

After that I wandered over to the Royal Palace – famous for the Silver Pagoda which is spectacular. The other buildings here are equally as impressive but unfortunately you cannot go into them, which is such a pity.

Myself, Fiona and Amy then went for a massage done by the blind and it was great, totally relaxed and dopey after it. That finished our time in Phnom Penn and we now are moving on to Siem Reap.