I haven't written on here for a while so lots of catching up.
Spent 3 days in Saigon visiting the sites to do with the Vietnam war - including the Cu Chi Tunnels where the Viet Cong hide out in the Mekong Delta. Facinating to see how they managed to live in such cramped, underground conditions for so many years. Also interesting to see the Vietnamese point of view about the war - blaming it on American Imperialism.
I also went to visit a couple of pagodas in the city. Vietnam has a strong Chinese infleunce in its religion and architecture and you could definately see that in the Jade Emperor Pagoda in the city which was really beautiful - dripping in wood work sculpture and efigies.
Had a couple fo good nights out in Saigon with my tour group. The first night we went to this night club called Apocolypse Now (whatever elese would it be called?!). Good club but was slightly disconcerting dancing away on a packed dance floor while two policemen stood guard, standing above the stage on two columns armed with guns!! Apparently to stop trouble - we weren't even supposed to be taking photos apparently. Quite a strange experience trying to relax and enjoy yourself with two armed policemen staring at you from above!!
Said goodbye to Hannah and 6 others on my tour on Friday 24th Oct as that was the day the Cambodia tour officicially ended. 7 of us have carried on through Vietnam so a smaller group.
On the Monday night we took an overnight train to Nha Trang, a beach resort in central Vietnam. We slept four to a cabin and the train had just been refurbished so was quite luxurious. I slept better that evening than I have done in most of the hotels we've stayed in!
We have 2 days in Nha Trang, which was really just a beach resort so itwas a bit of a let down when it poured it down with rain both days!! Spent most of the time getting massages and manicures in the beachside bars as there was no sunbathing.
I was releived to leave Nha Trang on an overnight train on Wednesday night as being at the beach when it rains is no fun, at home or in the middle of the Far East.
We've now had 3 days in a small town called Hoi An which is a former trading port just North of Da Nang so right on the old North/ South Vietnam divide.
The port was used in the 18th Century mainly to export to China and Japan so influenced quite alot by these two countries as Chinese and Japanese families settled here. The port dried up in the 19th Century as the river changed direction nad started to flow through Da Nang. So now its just a really cute, oldy worldy tourist attraction. The town survived bombing during the Vietnam War so looks like it might have done in the 18th Century. You can visit the old trading families houses and thier assembly rooms which was quite interesting.
Mainly, Hoi An is now a big tourist attraction. Its famous for its silk and there are tailors literally at every other shop selling you cheap, tailored clothing. The rain followed us up here on the first day, so I had a bit of a shop til you drop session and had two dresses fitted and made for me. One just cotton, the other satin. They cost $30 USD in total to make so I think that was really good value. Quality is really nice. The tailor even gave me a lift back to my hotel after my fitting as I was late for dinner. That was fun, riding on the back of a moped on these crazy streets!
Yesterday, our crazy Vietnamese tour leader (Thinh), took us on what was supposed to be a pleasant cycle ride through the countryside, taking in the paddy fileds and other sites. The bike ride actually turned out to be seriously traumatic!! We rode through the paay fileds, which were totally flooded out because of the high rainfall. For starters this made it really hard to cycle and VERY muddy. But it also meant that all the local wildlife such as rats and snakes were out swimming through our pathes. Saw a water snake slither right in front of me and a rat jumped straight at my wheels!! But the worst was to come!! We took a turning onto a paddy field and were cycling down until we came to a section that was so flooded, the water from a higher paddy field was flowing with a really strong current across our path and into the lower paddy field opposite, making a kind of waterfall. We decided to cycle through it and totally under estimated the strong current. As we were midway, Thinh suddenly shouted 'snake!!!' which freaked us out so much that the Irish guy, Connor, fell off his bike and got swept into the current - he managed to save himslef and his bike but his flip flops got swept away with the current. So he had no shoes to cycle home in!!
Next on this path were 3 very angry looking water buffalo bulls. Their horns were really long and sharp and they started grunting and flaring their nostrils at us. There was nowhere to run as there was only water all around us and these bulls in front of us. It was honestly one of the most scary moments of my life becuase there was just no escape from these animals. Luckily, they decided in the end they were mosre scared of us than we were of them and they swam into the paddy fields and off our path. I was still shaking a good couple of hours after we'd encountered them!!
Today is our final full day in Hoi An. Took a trip to see My Son this morning. Its an ancient temple complex with the same importance as Angkor Wat. The Champa Kingdom, a people from Indonesia who controlled Vietnam from 4th - 15th Century, built this complex. At the time they were Hindus. The Champa ancestors still exist today - they are called Cham, are Muslim and are a minority people who live in the Mekong Delta. We met them in Kampong Cham, Cambodia where they are well known for silk weaving.
The temples were really atmospheric as they were less touristy than Angkor Wat. The jungle still surrounds most fo them and we had to take a long drive and walk through the jungle to reach them. Up until the 1960s, there used to be more than 70 temples but the Americans bombed them during the Vietnam War as they believed the Viet Cong were hiding out in them. Only 20 are now left.
We leave tomorrow afternoon on a 5 hour bus drive to Hue.
Friday 31 October 2008
Friday 24 October 2008
Saigon Day 2
Visited Ho Chi Minh Museum, Reunification Palace and Jade Emperor Pagoda. Can't write anything else � pc h� wierd Vietnamese setting on it so I'm not making sense!! Ưill fill in when I have better computer access.
Thursday 23 October 2008
Journey from Cambodia to Vietnam
Travelled from Cambodian capital city to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (better known as Saigon) today.
It was a long bus journey of 8 hours. We left at 6am this morning. There was an almighty thunder storm at our hotel last night - a lightning bolt his the houses opposite!! So no one got much sleep aside from the early start.
We had to cross the Mekong River on a ferry as part of the journey but passed through the border just by getting on and off the bus as it travelled through.
We are staying in Quarter 1 in Saigon right near the backpacking district. My first impressions of the place is that its quite modern and cleaner than Cambodia. Plus everyone wears helmets when riding their motorbikes even if they still all drive like lunatics!! The women even have personalised bike helmets that look like horse riding hats - we have a shop that sells them next to our hotel.
Had a quiet afternoon. Just ate noodle soup at a local cafe. I've got quite addicted to noodle soup since I've been out here. They make ot with stok, fresh meat which they instantly boil in the stock, beansprouts and rice noodles. Its so tasty, cheap and filling. Mine cost me 1 pound today including drink.
Currency they use here is dong and there's 27,500 to 1 pound. So I have lots of notes!! They use US dollars for bigger purchases.
I'm in Saigon for another 3 days after this so hope to do alot of sight seeing and see lots of stuff to do with the Vietnam war.
It was a long bus journey of 8 hours. We left at 6am this morning. There was an almighty thunder storm at our hotel last night - a lightning bolt his the houses opposite!! So no one got much sleep aside from the early start.
We had to cross the Mekong River on a ferry as part of the journey but passed through the border just by getting on and off the bus as it travelled through.
We are staying in Quarter 1 in Saigon right near the backpacking district. My first impressions of the place is that its quite modern and cleaner than Cambodia. Plus everyone wears helmets when riding their motorbikes even if they still all drive like lunatics!! The women even have personalised bike helmets that look like horse riding hats - we have a shop that sells them next to our hotel.
Had a quiet afternoon. Just ate noodle soup at a local cafe. I've got quite addicted to noodle soup since I've been out here. They make ot with stok, fresh meat which they instantly boil in the stock, beansprouts and rice noodles. Its so tasty, cheap and filling. Mine cost me 1 pound today including drink.
Currency they use here is dong and there's 27,500 to 1 pound. So I have lots of notes!! They use US dollars for bigger purchases.
I'm in Saigon for another 3 days after this so hope to do alot of sight seeing and see lots of stuff to do with the Vietnam war.
Wednesday 22 October 2008
Phnom Penh Day 2
Today is our final day in the city and in Cambodia.
This morning we looked around all the genocide museums and memorials. S-21 museum was the home of the high security interogation prison where over 10,000 Cambodians lost thier lives during Pol Pot's regime from 1975 - 79. It was very similar to the memorials you find in Gerna,y and Poland for the Holocaust and was equally as upsetting and distressing. The Choeung Ek killing fields to the south of the city was where they killed and buried vicxtims from S-21 and all around Cambodia. There are another 4,500 killing fileds like this around Cambodia. These were only excevated in 1980 and were really quite thought provoking and once again distressing.
This afternoon was spent in the local markets haggling over silk scarves and I also went to the National Museum behind the Royal Palace. This houses most of the finds from the Angkor Wat temple so was really interesting to put the temples into perspective and imagine what they would ahve looked like with all the ornaments still there. It also had really good air-conditioning and a nice piaza to sit out on.
8 hour drive out of Cambodia and into Vietnam tomorrow. Should be in Saigon by lunchtime. I'll be glad to leave Phnom Penh and also Cambodia tomorrow. Its a very beautiful country but you can really see how much the people have suffered over the last 100 years and it makes you feel very guilty. We'll have to see how Vietnam varies!
This morning we looked around all the genocide museums and memorials. S-21 museum was the home of the high security interogation prison where over 10,000 Cambodians lost thier lives during Pol Pot's regime from 1975 - 79. It was very similar to the memorials you find in Gerna,y and Poland for the Holocaust and was equally as upsetting and distressing. The Choeung Ek killing fields to the south of the city was where they killed and buried vicxtims from S-21 and all around Cambodia. There are another 4,500 killing fileds like this around Cambodia. These were only excevated in 1980 and were really quite thought provoking and once again distressing.
This afternoon was spent in the local markets haggling over silk scarves and I also went to the National Museum behind the Royal Palace. This houses most of the finds from the Angkor Wat temple so was really interesting to put the temples into perspective and imagine what they would ahve looked like with all the ornaments still there. It also had really good air-conditioning and a nice piaza to sit out on.
8 hour drive out of Cambodia and into Vietnam tomorrow. Should be in Saigon by lunchtime. I'll be glad to leave Phnom Penh and also Cambodia tomorrow. Its a very beautiful country but you can really see how much the people have suffered over the last 100 years and it makes you feel very guilty. We'll have to see how Vietnam varies!
Phnom Penh Day 1 21st October
This morning we took a 4 hour public bus ride to Phnom Penh - the capital city.
We're staying in a hotel just off the Tonle Sap river. The city is hot, sticky and so dirty. There's piles of open rubbish just left on the side of the road - it gives off this sour, putrid smell every time you walk past a pile. Also, the people are less friendly than in the quieter towns. Its busy with lots of street stalls selling food including roast duck, fried cockles and barbequed bananas on sticks.
This afternoon I looked around the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. The Cambodians have a monarchy and King Norodom Sihamoni has his residence here. The complex was built by the French in the 19th century but in the Cambodian style. Apart from a french colonial style house which Napoeon III had shipped over here and rebuilt after Princess Eugenie no longer needed it to stay in in Egypt.
We couldn'y go into alot of the buildings as they were private royal residences. This was slightly annoyoing seeing as we'd paid $6.25 to get in!! The Silver pagoda was beautiful though. Filled with various treasures and the floor covered with 6000 tonnnes of silver tiles. It was a shame that none of the artifacts were looked after and in fact, where the silver tiles had started to come apart, they had been stuck back into place with masking tape!!
In the evening we did a walking tour of the city and came across yet more street stalls - this time one was selling fried insects - a local delecacy if you're fed up with the crisps!! A couple of the blokes immediatley ate the fired tarantulas but Hannah and I walked off without buying anything. Later in the bar, me, Hannnah and anther girl all admitted we were a bit disappointed we hadn't tried the local delecacy. So thetour guide nipped on a motobike\, went back to the stall, and brought back 3 freshly fried tarantulas. There was no backing out now so we had to eat them. They were crispy and so chewy but all you could really taste was fried oil. There are some really funny photos I'll post of facebook.
We're staying in a hotel just off the Tonle Sap river. The city is hot, sticky and so dirty. There's piles of open rubbish just left on the side of the road - it gives off this sour, putrid smell every time you walk past a pile. Also, the people are less friendly than in the quieter towns. Its busy with lots of street stalls selling food including roast duck, fried cockles and barbequed bananas on sticks.
This afternoon I looked around the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. The Cambodians have a monarchy and King Norodom Sihamoni has his residence here. The complex was built by the French in the 19th century but in the Cambodian style. Apart from a french colonial style house which Napoeon III had shipped over here and rebuilt after Princess Eugenie no longer needed it to stay in in Egypt.
We couldn'y go into alot of the buildings as they were private royal residences. This was slightly annoyoing seeing as we'd paid $6.25 to get in!! The Silver pagoda was beautiful though. Filled with various treasures and the floor covered with 6000 tonnnes of silver tiles. It was a shame that none of the artifacts were looked after and in fact, where the silver tiles had started to come apart, they had been stuck back into place with masking tape!!
In the evening we did a walking tour of the city and came across yet more street stalls - this time one was selling fried insects - a local delecacy if you're fed up with the crisps!! A couple of the blokes immediatley ate the fired tarantulas but Hannah and I walked off without buying anything. Later in the bar, me, Hannnah and anther girl all admitted we were a bit disappointed we hadn't tried the local delecacy. So thetour guide nipped on a motobike\, went back to the stall, and brought back 3 freshly fried tarantulas. There was no backing out now so we had to eat them. They were crispy and so chewy but all you could really taste was fried oil. There are some really funny photos I'll post of facebook.
Sihanoukville day 3 20th October
Today was a very lazy day. It started off raining - proper British rain - drizzly!! But at least it was hot.
We had a quick look round the local market - the meat stall had pig's insestines hanging up for sale with flies buzzing around it - its so hot here iuts a wonder anyone buys the meat form those out door, unrefriderated market stalls!!
We then sat on Sokha Beach. This beach was privately owned by a hotel company and was lovely. Clean sand and sea and no hassle from hawkers. We sat oin the beach, swam in the sea and then used the hotel pool all afternoon. They had a swim up bar with lovely cocktails. Unfortunatley one of out group had his i-pod stolen at the pool which put a dampner on the day.
In the evneing, we went to a restaurant just off the beach front which was popular with the Cambodian tourists as opposed to the westerners. The food was lovely - I had spicy shrimps with vegetables. There was loads of it for $5 usd and the shrimps were huge. Live music consisted of the Cambodian equvelant to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers - but not as tuneful!!
We had a quick look round the local market - the meat stall had pig's insestines hanging up for sale with flies buzzing around it - its so hot here iuts a wonder anyone buys the meat form those out door, unrefriderated market stalls!!
We then sat on Sokha Beach. This beach was privately owned by a hotel company and was lovely. Clean sand and sea and no hassle from hawkers. We sat oin the beach, swam in the sea and then used the hotel pool all afternoon. They had a swim up bar with lovely cocktails. Unfortunatley one of out group had his i-pod stolen at the pool which put a dampner on the day.
In the evneing, we went to a restaurant just off the beach front which was popular with the Cambodian tourists as opposed to the westerners. The food was lovely - I had spicy shrimps with vegetables. There was loads of it for $5 usd and the shrimps were huge. Live music consisted of the Cambodian equvelant to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers - but not as tuneful!!
Sunday 19 October 2008
Sihanoukville day 2 19th October
The group I'm travelling with are all roughly the same age adn have been a mixture of couples and singles from the US, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and the UK. We've all got on really well. Some people are doing this trip just as a two week holiday adn others are doing it as part of a longer trip like me.
Today we went on a boat cruise to the surrounding beach islands. The biggest one was called bamboo island. Most of the surrounding islands have been built up and developed by Koreans and Russians so there aren't so many that are open for public use. We went snorkelling and swimming off the boat and stopped off for luch on the beach. These beaches were actaully very scenic and I have lots of very beautiful photos to make you all jelous!!
On the way back to the mainland, we got caught in a really bad monsoon down pour at about 3.30pm. It was just as well we all still had out swim gear on!!
Tonight will be more eating by the beach.
Today we went on a boat cruise to the surrounding beach islands. The biggest one was called bamboo island. Most of the surrounding islands have been built up and developed by Koreans and Russians so there aren't so many that are open for public use. We went snorkelling and swimming off the boat and stopped off for luch on the beach. These beaches were actaully very scenic and I have lots of very beautiful photos to make you all jelous!!
On the way back to the mainland, we got caught in a really bad monsoon down pour at about 3.30pm. It was just as well we all still had out swim gear on!!
Tonight will be more eating by the beach.
Arrival in Sihanoukville
Saturday morning was spent travelling to the beach resort of Sihanoukville. We've done alot of travelling in the last few days so I've got well into my book adn my ipod needs recharging!! Rosetta - your i-tunes has been good listening! Stone Roses and Kings of Leon (yeah i know you didn't put that on there!!).
Sihanoukville is Cambodia's only beach resort. I haven't seen Thailand's beaches and islands yet but apparently this really isn't up to that standard. The development of the area hasn't been controlled so the beaches are quite dirty adn some have raw sewage pumped into them!!
We spent Saturday afternoon on the beach which was an experience!! The beach itself (we were on Ochheuteal Beach) had the potential to look stunningly beautiful - and did from a distance. But was ruined by litter and hawkers. Kids, women and mine bomb victims hassling you constantly with thier wears. This country does make you feel so much guilt about how affluent and lucky you are but I've really resisted buying things from children or giving to beggers becuase I don't believe it helps them in the long run. Its a bit cliche but I will definatley be finding a charity to donate to regularly when I get home.
Having said that, all the women in our group caved into the women offering beautician services on the beach. I had my eyebrows plucked and a manicure and pedicure all for $6 (usd)!
The evening was spent at the bars on the beach. Good for dancing but no air conditioning - so hot!!
I can download stuff ontp my i-pod here as they have shops called Boom Boom Tunes - you give them your i-pod, choose a song/ album and they'll download it for you.
Sihanoukville is Cambodia's only beach resort. I haven't seen Thailand's beaches and islands yet but apparently this really isn't up to that standard. The development of the area hasn't been controlled so the beaches are quite dirty adn some have raw sewage pumped into them!!
We spent Saturday afternoon on the beach which was an experience!! The beach itself (we were on Ochheuteal Beach) had the potential to look stunningly beautiful - and did from a distance. But was ruined by litter and hawkers. Kids, women and mine bomb victims hassling you constantly with thier wears. This country does make you feel so much guilt about how affluent and lucky you are but I've really resisted buying things from children or giving to beggers becuase I don't believe it helps them in the long run. Its a bit cliche but I will definatley be finding a charity to donate to regularly when I get home.
Having said that, all the women in our group caved into the women offering beautician services on the beach. I had my eyebrows plucked and a manicure and pedicure all for $6 (usd)!
The evening was spent at the bars on the beach. Good for dancing but no air conditioning - so hot!!
I can download stuff ontp my i-pod here as they have shops called Boom Boom Tunes - you give them your i-pod, choose a song/ album and they'll download it for you.
Homestay 17th October
We left Kampong Cham early in the morning and headed out on a 4 hour drive via Phnom Penh to one of the Nature Reserves in the South East of the country. The Eastern part of Cambodia has suffered huge up heavel - The Americans bombed it during the Vietnam War as they believed Viet Cong were hiding out in the jungle here - this apparently was not the case and they ended up just massacring local people and ruining the jungle landscape. After this periiod, it became a Khmer Rouge strong hold and suffered further fighting. In recent years, the Cambodian government have tried to rehabilitate the area by creating nature reserves and placing them in the custody of the indiginous people to ensure that the area is not bought up and built on.
After stopping in Phnom Penh (the cpaital city) for supplies, We drove for about an hour through the coutryside and arrived at a village inside the reserve. Here, they organise for tourists to stay overnight in the village and experience what it would be like to live out in the jungle. Apparently there are leopards as well as snakes out in the countryside. It was another early night as yet again there was obviuosly no electricity. We ate dinner cooked by the villagers but did not eat with them as we had the Kampong Cham family. i actually thought the eveing before was abetter experience. None the less, we looked around the viallge - which is only just getting a permenant school building, got caught in yet another monsoon downpour and then got ready for bed.....
We stayed in a traditional wooden, stilt house - 8 people in each house. Hannah and I at least had a decent matress on the floor (which Hannah cased out and claimed before anyone else - typical family behaviour - it must be in our genes!!) - everyone else had to make do with sleeping mats!!
Our mosquito nets had holes in which thankfully we taped up as there we mosis flying around all night. It was sweltering hot, even though being elevated from the ground gives some ventilation. I was sleeping next to the open door and kept freaking out thinking about leopards hidign out nearby! I was woken at 4am - firstly by the village pig, snorting around underneath the house, the the cows waking up and mooing, then the cokerals, and then the family we were stayng with turned on thier radio about 5am to hear their daily dose of the national anthem. I'd no idea the middle of no where could be so noisy!! To wash, we had to use a big container underneath the house and the hole in the ground toilet was in a shack. The flushing system is to pour a bowl of water into the hole - this is actually how most toilets are in Cambodia - all suprisingly clean and fairly hygenic. Breakfast was omlettes, bread and coffee but I noticed the family ate rice instead of bread.
It was a beautiful area but we were all so relieved to leave in the morning. No proper shower in this heat and humidity just makes you feel absolutley disgusting!!
After stopping in Phnom Penh (the cpaital city) for supplies, We drove for about an hour through the coutryside and arrived at a village inside the reserve. Here, they organise for tourists to stay overnight in the village and experience what it would be like to live out in the jungle. Apparently there are leopards as well as snakes out in the countryside. It was another early night as yet again there was obviuosly no electricity. We ate dinner cooked by the villagers but did not eat with them as we had the Kampong Cham family. i actually thought the eveing before was abetter experience. None the less, we looked around the viallge - which is only just getting a permenant school building, got caught in yet another monsoon downpour and then got ready for bed.....
We stayed in a traditional wooden, stilt house - 8 people in each house. Hannah and I at least had a decent matress on the floor (which Hannah cased out and claimed before anyone else - typical family behaviour - it must be in our genes!!) - everyone else had to make do with sleeping mats!!
Our mosquito nets had holes in which thankfully we taped up as there we mosis flying around all night. It was sweltering hot, even though being elevated from the ground gives some ventilation. I was sleeping next to the open door and kept freaking out thinking about leopards hidign out nearby! I was woken at 4am - firstly by the village pig, snorting around underneath the house, the the cows waking up and mooing, then the cokerals, and then the family we were stayng with turned on thier radio about 5am to hear their daily dose of the national anthem. I'd no idea the middle of no where could be so noisy!! To wash, we had to use a big container underneath the house and the hole in the ground toilet was in a shack. The flushing system is to pour a bowl of water into the hole - this is actually how most toilets are in Cambodia - all suprisingly clean and fairly hygenic. Breakfast was omlettes, bread and coffee but I noticed the family ate rice instead of bread.
It was a beautiful area but we were all so relieved to leave in the morning. No proper shower in this heat and humidity just makes you feel absolutley disgusting!!
Kompong Cham 16th October
We drove for 4 hours in the sweltering heat to a small town called Kompong Cham. This town is right on the Mekong River and is the gate way to the Eastern area of Cambodia. When travelling was really difficult in Cambodia - with unmade roads, Kampong Cham was a major stopping point/ market town.
The town had only been welcoming foreign tourists for 2 years and you could really tell this. Mainly becuase the people were so friendly and thought we were a novelty. Genuinely wanting to speak to us to find out about us rather that to try adn sell us stuff.
We just had the afternoon and evening here so crammed in as much as possible. The whole tour group made a deal with some Tuk Tuk drivers to just take us around all the local sites.
The first stop was to visit the Cham people's village. They are a minority Muslim community who live in the area. Originating centuries ago from Northern Vietnam (I think!). Cambodia is famous for its cotton and silk weaving and Kampong Cham is the main town for this - the Cham women weave silk for thier main income so we went to see them do this. It was very much a cottage industry. Their village was to all intents and purposes a slum - I think it did have electricy and running water but the people were incredibly poor nad you could see they had been maginalised. I would say though, that their mosque was brand new and really impressive - its always interesting to see what people's priorities are! There were loads of kids in the village adn tehy all followed us around thinking it was highly amusing that these wierd looking people wanted to walk around thier village - they were really sweet, a little bit shy and very curious!
Or next stop was the Women and Man hills just outside the town. Legend has it that before these hills were built, the women of the town were the ones who had to propose marriage to the men. The women got fed up of this and proposed a competition. Both sexes had to build a hill - whoever completed it first before sunset, should be the one who gets proposed to. So both the men adn women began building thier hills. But the women lit a huge bonfire beofre the end of the day to trick the men into thinking it was sunset already. Consequently, the men upped sticks and went home early not completing thier hill, leaving the women to complete thier hill before sunset. Thus the women won the right to be proposed to! Brains over braun works everytime!
Both hills had temples on them and really good views of the surrounding countryside. The Man hill had a tragic past. It had been the site of a killing filed during Pol Pot's regime. Persecuted people of the area were held and then massacred here between 1975 to 1979. One of the statues oustide the temple still bore marks of where the Khemer Rouge soldiers' swords had been sharpened. One of our tuk tuk drivers'parents had been held here and killed in the massacre.
We passed more Vietnamese boat people on the Mekong and then our final stop was to a Cambodian village, to watch the women there weave cotton. They weave the traditional scarves here - which are red and whte checked. i bought one as a sarong and then later discovered I'd been royally ripped off adn you could get them much cheaper in the local market as opposed to buting them straight off the weavers!! Mine was $5 - should have paid $1!
In the evening, the whole group went to a local families'house for dinner. Becuase Kampong Cham does not have proper infrastruture, when we drove out to the family's house in the tuk tuks, there were no street lights at all adn it was pitch black all the way there along main roads.
We ate dinner in a traditional stilt house, sitting on the floor of the main room in the house. The family explained that there are 9 people living in the house which had about 3 rooms in total. The 9 people were brother, wife, sister, husband and thier kids.
We ate by torch light and the food was absolutley delicious. They cook with more subtle flavours here - similar to Thai food but replacing the chili with herbs. The national dish is called Fish Amok which is a curry made with coconut milk and herbs.
We left the family at around 8pm as they all go to bed at this time - there being little else to do with no electricity. We then travelled back to the hotel adn drank cans of beer overlooking the Mekong River. My cans had a pull key top like in the '80s - took me right back to kiddy birthday parties and '80s coke cans!!
The town had only been welcoming foreign tourists for 2 years and you could really tell this. Mainly becuase the people were so friendly and thought we were a novelty. Genuinely wanting to speak to us to find out about us rather that to try adn sell us stuff.
We just had the afternoon and evening here so crammed in as much as possible. The whole tour group made a deal with some Tuk Tuk drivers to just take us around all the local sites.
The first stop was to visit the Cham people's village. They are a minority Muslim community who live in the area. Originating centuries ago from Northern Vietnam (I think!). Cambodia is famous for its cotton and silk weaving and Kampong Cham is the main town for this - the Cham women weave silk for thier main income so we went to see them do this. It was very much a cottage industry. Their village was to all intents and purposes a slum - I think it did have electricy and running water but the people were incredibly poor nad you could see they had been maginalised. I would say though, that their mosque was brand new and really impressive - its always interesting to see what people's priorities are! There were loads of kids in the village adn tehy all followed us around thinking it was highly amusing that these wierd looking people wanted to walk around thier village - they were really sweet, a little bit shy and very curious!
Or next stop was the Women and Man hills just outside the town. Legend has it that before these hills were built, the women of the town were the ones who had to propose marriage to the men. The women got fed up of this and proposed a competition. Both sexes had to build a hill - whoever completed it first before sunset, should be the one who gets proposed to. So both the men adn women began building thier hills. But the women lit a huge bonfire beofre the end of the day to trick the men into thinking it was sunset already. Consequently, the men upped sticks and went home early not completing thier hill, leaving the women to complete thier hill before sunset. Thus the women won the right to be proposed to! Brains over braun works everytime!
Both hills had temples on them and really good views of the surrounding countryside. The Man hill had a tragic past. It had been the site of a killing filed during Pol Pot's regime. Persecuted people of the area were held and then massacred here between 1975 to 1979. One of the statues oustide the temple still bore marks of where the Khemer Rouge soldiers' swords had been sharpened. One of our tuk tuk drivers'parents had been held here and killed in the massacre.
We passed more Vietnamese boat people on the Mekong and then our final stop was to a Cambodian village, to watch the women there weave cotton. They weave the traditional scarves here - which are red and whte checked. i bought one as a sarong and then later discovered I'd been royally ripped off adn you could get them much cheaper in the local market as opposed to buting them straight off the weavers!! Mine was $5 - should have paid $1!
In the evening, the whole group went to a local families'house for dinner. Becuase Kampong Cham does not have proper infrastruture, when we drove out to the family's house in the tuk tuks, there were no street lights at all adn it was pitch black all the way there along main roads.
We ate dinner in a traditional stilt house, sitting on the floor of the main room in the house. The family explained that there are 9 people living in the house which had about 3 rooms in total. The 9 people were brother, wife, sister, husband and thier kids.
We ate by torch light and the food was absolutley delicious. They cook with more subtle flavours here - similar to Thai food but replacing the chili with herbs. The national dish is called Fish Amok which is a curry made with coconut milk and herbs.
We left the family at around 8pm as they all go to bed at this time - there being little else to do with no electricity. We then travelled back to the hotel adn drank cans of beer overlooking the Mekong River. My cans had a pull key top like in the '80s - took me right back to kiddy birthday parties and '80s coke cans!!
MonkChat - Siem Reap 15th october
The second day in Siem Reap, we stayed in the town.
We decided to hire some bikes and cycle around the different Budist temples in the town. This turned out to be a great idea as all the temples are tucked away in the residential areas of Siem Reap so it meant we got to see a bit of real life.
We got stuck at the first temple when we saw called Wat Bo when we spotted a sign thast said 'Monchat and meditation'. We found the monk chat element very amusing and statred to take photos. Then out of no where, this monk appeared and invited us in for a chat!! He ended up showing us some plaster motifs he was making for a new temple being built next door. As we were about to leave, it started to rain so we stayed and chatted for a little bit longer and he even ended up unlocking the temple for us so we coul have a look inside.
The rain that afternoon was absolutley torrentail. The roads were completed flooded as there seemed to be no adequate drainage system. We ended up cycling back with water up to our ankles on the flooded roads, trying to avoid all the motorcyclists splashing us!!
When i find a faster internet connection, I'll post the photos up as they're funny.
We also saw the King's Royal Palalce and anaother newer temple called Wat Kosararam. We also rode past hairdressers, TV shops and laundrettes. All com[pletely unlike the ones at home - all kind of set up in little shack buildings with wide open fronts.
This was our final night in Siem Reap.
We decided to hire some bikes and cycle around the different Budist temples in the town. This turned out to be a great idea as all the temples are tucked away in the residential areas of Siem Reap so it meant we got to see a bit of real life.
We got stuck at the first temple when we saw called Wat Bo when we spotted a sign thast said 'Monchat and meditation'. We found the monk chat element very amusing and statred to take photos. Then out of no where, this monk appeared and invited us in for a chat!! He ended up showing us some plaster motifs he was making for a new temple being built next door. As we were about to leave, it started to rain so we stayed and chatted for a little bit longer and he even ended up unlocking the temple for us so we coul have a look inside.
The rain that afternoon was absolutley torrentail. The roads were completed flooded as there seemed to be no adequate drainage system. We ended up cycling back with water up to our ankles on the flooded roads, trying to avoid all the motorcyclists splashing us!!
When i find a faster internet connection, I'll post the photos up as they're funny.
We also saw the King's Royal Palalce and anaother newer temple called Wat Kosararam. We also rode past hairdressers, TV shops and laundrettes. All com[pletely unlike the ones at home - all kind of set up in little shack buildings with wide open fronts.
This was our final night in Siem Reap.
Tuesday 14 October 2008
Angkor Wat
Siem Reap is the nearest city to the temples of Angkor sp people stay here to visit them.
We left the town at 8am this morning by tuk tuk (motorcycles with carriages attached to the back) to visit the Temples. The tuk tuk driver took us around the complex as the temples are scattered too far apart to walk.
We visited the temple of Angkor Wat first and it is as impressive as you see in photos. It was quite cool when we arrived here so we could really take it in. People still use the temples to pray so there were shrines made of the Budhas that still remain there and we put incense next to the first one we came across. After that, we realised you couldn't do this all the time as the caretakers of the shrines liked you to do it for $1. Religion eh?!
We then went to Angkor Thom which was a palace complex. With the main feature being a temple with hundreds of Budha faces created from the spirals and colonades. Hannah decided she was going to be Lara Croft and climb up the temple walls.
The final temple was a monastry called Ta Phrom. This is still hidden in the jungle and most of its walls had been overtaken by trees - the roots now growing over the temple like giant spiders. This si where tomb Raider was filmed. Even though there were loads of tourists around it did still feel a bit like being in an adventure film and there was definatley something mysterious about the place. We took loads of photos to capture the moment!
We left the town at 8am this morning by tuk tuk (motorcycles with carriages attached to the back) to visit the Temples. The tuk tuk driver took us around the complex as the temples are scattered too far apart to walk.
We visited the temple of Angkor Wat first and it is as impressive as you see in photos. It was quite cool when we arrived here so we could really take it in. People still use the temples to pray so there were shrines made of the Budhas that still remain there and we put incense next to the first one we came across. After that, we realised you couldn't do this all the time as the caretakers of the shrines liked you to do it for $1. Religion eh?!
We then went to Angkor Thom which was a palace complex. With the main feature being a temple with hundreds of Budha faces created from the spirals and colonades. Hannah decided she was going to be Lara Croft and climb up the temple walls.
The final temple was a monastry called Ta Phrom. This is still hidden in the jungle and most of its walls had been overtaken by trees - the roots now growing over the temple like giant spiders. This si where tomb Raider was filmed. Even though there were loads of tourists around it did still feel a bit like being in an adventure film and there was definatley something mysterious about the place. We took loads of photos to capture the moment!
Thai-Cambodoa Border to Siem Reap
Drove for 10 hours yesterday from Bangkok to Siem Reap in Cambodia.
The first 4-hour leg of the bus journey was very pleasant - air conditioned coach and clear roads. However the last 6 hours after we crossed the border into Cambodia was much more uncomfortable but alot of fun.
Only half the road from the border to Siem Reap is made. The other half is literally just dirt track. An international bank is sponsoring to have the road tarmaced but they've only got half way so far. So we drove through pot holes and when we weren't doing that, we were swerviung the road construction work. Twice we nearly crashed into other vehicles travelling in the opposite direction but who got in our way because they were avoiding pot holes. We bumped around so much in the bus that my bum ached when we got off! I couldn't read becuase the road was so bumpy!! However, the view out of the window was so interesting. It was lush green paddy fields for most of the way. Because we're here at the end of the monsoon season, ponds had filled up on the side of the road between the road and the paddy field. Kids were leaving their bikes on the road and jumping in and swimming and ox were drinking on the side. Further along, we saw shack houses built on stilts, with fmailies resting in the stilt area with chickens and dogs running around. Other vehicles on the road included bicycles, motorbikes and pick-up trucks which people hitched a ride on the back of.
We eventually got to our hotel in Siem Reap at about 5.30.
The first 4-hour leg of the bus journey was very pleasant - air conditioned coach and clear roads. However the last 6 hours after we crossed the border into Cambodia was much more uncomfortable but alot of fun.
Only half the road from the border to Siem Reap is made. The other half is literally just dirt track. An international bank is sponsoring to have the road tarmaced but they've only got half way so far. So we drove through pot holes and when we weren't doing that, we were swerviung the road construction work. Twice we nearly crashed into other vehicles travelling in the opposite direction but who got in our way because they were avoiding pot holes. We bumped around so much in the bus that my bum ached when we got off! I couldn't read becuase the road was so bumpy!! However, the view out of the window was so interesting. It was lush green paddy fields for most of the way. Because we're here at the end of the monsoon season, ponds had filled up on the side of the road between the road and the paddy field. Kids were leaving their bikes on the road and jumping in and swimming and ox were drinking on the side. Further along, we saw shack houses built on stilts, with fmailies resting in the stilt area with chickens and dogs running around. Other vehicles on the road included bicycles, motorbikes and pick-up trucks which people hitched a ride on the back of.
We eventually got to our hotel in Siem Reap at about 5.30.
Sunday 12 October 2008
I'm here!!
Arrived in Bangkok early this morning after a a flight via Bahrain. Was delayed by a couple of hours.
Its hot and humid but actually not unbearable if you take it easy (I might not be saying that in a few days!!).
I left the airport to the taxi driver playing Coldplay - the last band I ever expected to hear as I stepped out of Bangkok airport!! People seem to be a bit unhappy about the political situation but so far, I'd say it seems like its business as usual here.
Hotel is right in the middle of the backpacking district - Banglamphu - which basically means there's alot of sunburnt Brits, Germans, Russians and French walking around looking at market stalls full of tie-dye sarongs, ethnic jewellry etc etc. I have a feeling its all over priced but I've had a lovely afternoon doing some serious window shopping!!
One road James, Kate, Elizabeth, Mum and Chrissy would love is Rambuttri Road as the whole street is dedicated to buying and selling used books - people trade thier books for ones they haven't read yet. I bought 'The Night Watch' by Sarah Waters as we have a 12 hour drive to Siem Reap in Cambodia tomorrow.
There are some Thai people who do actually live here though - I walked down an alleyway and a big group of men were huddled around a TV watching Thai boxing and then I discovered next door to them was an outdoor Thai boxing ring with all the photos of the victories posted up. Down another alleyway was a lady dying her husband's hair back to black in the middle of the street using a toothbrush.
Recurrent colours on the streets and around are yellow, purple and red. Everywhere smells of spring rolls!!
Going back to hotel now as I'm feeling quite jet-lagged. Hannah should be arriving about 8.00pm. Cambodia tomorrow.
Its hot and humid but actually not unbearable if you take it easy (I might not be saying that in a few days!!).
I left the airport to the taxi driver playing Coldplay - the last band I ever expected to hear as I stepped out of Bangkok airport!! People seem to be a bit unhappy about the political situation but so far, I'd say it seems like its business as usual here.
Hotel is right in the middle of the backpacking district - Banglamphu - which basically means there's alot of sunburnt Brits, Germans, Russians and French walking around looking at market stalls full of tie-dye sarongs, ethnic jewellry etc etc. I have a feeling its all over priced but I've had a lovely afternoon doing some serious window shopping!!
One road James, Kate, Elizabeth, Mum and Chrissy would love is Rambuttri Road as the whole street is dedicated to buying and selling used books - people trade thier books for ones they haven't read yet. I bought 'The Night Watch' by Sarah Waters as we have a 12 hour drive to Siem Reap in Cambodia tomorrow.
There are some Thai people who do actually live here though - I walked down an alleyway and a big group of men were huddled around a TV watching Thai boxing and then I discovered next door to them was an outdoor Thai boxing ring with all the photos of the victories posted up. Down another alleyway was a lady dying her husband's hair back to black in the middle of the street using a toothbrush.
Recurrent colours on the streets and around are yellow, purple and red. Everywhere smells of spring rolls!!
Going back to hotel now as I'm feeling quite jet-lagged. Hannah should be arriving about 8.00pm. Cambodia tomorrow.
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