Brunei - August 2009

I arrived quite late at night in Brunei, and thought that I was an obvious target for scammers when it came to the taxis. I got money out the bank, and asked someone who looked a decent enough guy, how much I should expect to pay in the taxis. I still think I paid a bit much, but I needed to get to the hotel, and I had no idea how far away it was.
When I arrived at the hotel, there was a nice charming guy on the reception who was very helpful. The room was pretty cool; it came with tea, coffee etc, and the phone book had all sorts of random information in about Brunei, as well as how to eat healthily and keep well etc! It was a bit weird having it in a phone book! There was first aid in there too!
I slept quite well, and got up early so that I’d have plenty of time to explore town. The breakfast was a bit plain and the coffee was foul, but it was food, so I ate it! I got advice about where to get the bus into town, and managed to catch it okay. I felt a bit underdressed as I was wearing one of my new dresses which was a bit showy! I felt good in it, but thought that maybe I was being a tad inappropriate in a Muslim community.
I arrived, with my little map, and was wandering around looking for something to do. I found a market, but there wasn’t much of interest there; it was mainly dried fish and fresh garlic etc. I then found some guys who were hovering around the place on small boats. I’m not quite sure how it came about, but I managed to get a ride around the floating villages and saw monkeys jumping around the surrounding areas just in the trees and on the ground.
There were lots of beautiful mosques which I could see from the river, and it was a really beautiful day with the sun shining very brightly. It was a very peaceful day and I really enjoyed travelling along in my private boat, waving at random locals who were waving at me!
I wandered around, looking for something to do. I found a lady who was able to guide me to the mall, where I did quite a bit of shopping! I found some new shoes, and a purse for mum, and various other supermarket items. The lady was really friendly and we chatted a bit about my insecurity about wearing not enough clothes and she’s said that they wear that sort of thing too, so not to worry about it. She said I did a good job of getting around on the buses as even a local herself, she didn’t know which buses ran where!
In the shoe shop I needed to pop out to the bank to get out some more cash, and when I popped back into the shop and announced ‘Whoops! Sorry I took so long, had to run out to the HSBC one!’ I realised that I was on the wrong floor, and therefore in the wrong shop! So I did a quick look around the shop, and then sheepishly went off to find the right floor, and the right shoe shop! Whoops! One of my many embarrassing moments!
I popped into a coffee shop for a quick drink, which turned out to be rather expensive. I had thought that I’d make up the difference by using the loo, as my bowels still being rather annoying. Even more annoying than my bowels was the lack of toilet roll so I had to wait until returning to the hotel!
I did however find a DVD shop which was selling many DVDs at only £1.20!! Bargain! And some of them were three or four movies per DVD; including all the Lion King movies, and some recent films like ‘24: Redemption’ and some other good films! I won’t ever be bored!
I managed to get to the airport okay, and had a meal before waiting ages to board the plane. As always I was a bit scared about the plane crashing, but I survived the flight okay. Even when we had to stop for refuelling in Dubai and a man was getting questioned for about 20 minutes about why he didn’t look like the man in the photograph in his passport, and he had a questionable absence from the UK for over 5 years where he was being trained up for something or other. Another man was getting in trouble and having a bit of an argument with staff about them trying to charge him extra for having too much baggage on the plane. I was so nervous about getting called up and charged for my extra baggage which had been transferred to London directly from Bangkok, where the kind man let me get away with an extra 8kg! Thankfully when I did get called up, it was only to change my ticket of where I would be sitting!
I arrived safely in London, where it took me a bit of time to get used to the change in traffic and the way of life. It felt strange to be back. I arrived at a ridiculously early time in the morning, and then had misplaced my code for collecting my train tickets, so had to wake Shonagh up and ask her to get them off my emails. It was a bit of a faff but eventually I got everything sorted out. Then after a train journey to Newcastle, I was home!

Bangkok - 8th? August 2009

I got up at 6.45am so that I could enjoy the wonderful buffet breakfast again, even though we had no plans to be rushing around today. We had a peaceful time by the pool which I really enjoyed. There was some building work going on not too far away so I could splash about and not worry about disturbing those who were sunbathing. It was too hot for me to just sunbathe, even with the distraction of a book.
We decided that today would be a good day to head up to the old city of Ayyutya, where I'd been before with Lucy and Robbie.
We had an hour to wait and so we entertained ourselves with browsing through some magazines and having a coffee which was delicious. We left enough time to get the train, and thankfully managed to get seats! The train was as slow as before, and it was really hot despite having fans overhead. As always, the day was a photo shoot for Lily, she's obsessed with taking photos! I quite enjoyed having the opportunity to just relax, safe in the knowledge that if there was something to take a photo of, Lily would get it!
We visited the temple with the well-kept Buddhas with yellow sashes on, with the mini-reclining Buddha too. We didn't go right over to see the many roosters as we were quite short for time and we wanted to get in the three sites that had been suggested to us by our tuk-tuk driver. I was able to summarise anything bits that we didn't quite have enough time to see.
Next up was the old temples and city walls in the dilapidated state, with the buddha's head hideen behind tree roots.
Finally we went to the white temple which had a giant Buddha inside. It was quiet today and there were no children or adults trying to flog us things. There was a market around though, but we didn't have time to have a look at it.
I quite enjoyed the chat we had on the way back to Bangkok on the train. When we returned we went to KFC and Subway; I had a salad sandwich which was delicious! (I seem to be having rather a lot of these!)
That evening we met up with the guys, who had somehow arranged with a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the infamous Ping-Pong show for only 10 Baht each! We were then charged 350 Baht to watch the show, which some of us weren't that keen on paying, but I thought £7 was fair enough! We all went in, and got our free drink - I ordered a beer and then passed it along to someone else. The show was amazing!
It finished around 1.30am, and we got a tuk-tuk back to our street. There were nine of us and so we fitted five into a taxi, and four into a tuk-tuk. I lay on the floor and three somehow squeezed into the seats! The guy was listening to music as he drove, possibly dangerous, and he was speeding a long like a bit of a maniac. I decided there was no point in worrying myself over the safety of the trip and decided just to enjoy the ride! It was so much fun! What a fun way to end an interesting and fun night!
Lily had a pancake, whilst Naomi and I had vegetable spring rolls, with an extremely spicy chilli sauce on! My mouth was nearly on fire! I ended up finishing up Lily's water it was that spicy!

Bangkok - 9th? August 2009

Aaron arrived today so we had a lovely breakfast and then Naomi met up with Aaron whilst Lily and I were relaxing in the pool and doing a bit of shopping. All four of us met up to go to the weekend market which Lily had read about and it was quite a market! We all split up and arranged to reconvene elsewhere, which worked out well. There were so many things to look at, it was incredible. There was a stall selling rabbits dressed in dresses. Obviously I'm not keen on them selling baby rabbits there, but they were so completely and utterly adorable!! I was very tempted to take one home! I found various chopsticks and other presents for people which was handy, although there was way to much choice, and many very similar stalls which confused me!
We then headed to MBK, whilst Naomi and Aaron did their own thing. We had a lovely lunch, although it was kind of expensive. We managed to get lots of cheap DVDs and CDs which were obviously copies but brilliant. I even got the newest Harry Potter movie! Lily got a lovely watch which really suited her skin colour, I was a bit gutted that I hadn't spotted it first!
I spent a bit of time on the internet that evening, and then met the rest of the group. There was a football match on that evening with Newcastle playing, so the boys were wearing their shirts, and so they bumped into fellow Geordies as they were walking around! It was pretty cool - small world huh!
We hung out in their room, and the guys went for a Burger King, where some lovely ladies had asked us to look over this document for them which they were forming to send off to someone. Lily looked so studious! I meanwhiile was choking on my way too chillified subway sandwich! I was panting like a dog!
The others sat for a drink for a bit whilst I went dress shopping! I seemed to try to get a new dress each day! I really loved their dresses though, very pretty and good for going out in!

Bangkok - 7th August 2009

A very early start, with breakfast at 6.30am; and what a breakfast it was; one of the best buffets I've ever had. So much choice! It was so nice to have cereal, and lots of delicious fruit, and Lily and Naomi enjoyed some banana loaf and eggs done just as you like them. We were out at 7am to wait for the minibus. We were transferred to a different minibus, and then we were off, off to Ayutthya again. It was a lot like the previous trip to Ayutthya, except the company was different and just as nice.
I met an Iraqi on the bus who had also been to Costa Rica, and had fallen in love with it. We talked a bit about his country which was interesting; cars have now taken over and the air is getting quite bad when it used to be so fresh. There were lots of civilians killed 2003-2006, but now it's getting much better and people are slowly adjusting to their new way of life. Some are finding it quite difficult as they've never been free before, so it's really weird.
He had been trying to get to Scotland to visit it, but it's really hard to get a visa to Scotland due to the war etc. He's done a TEFL course and a degree in Linguistics and now does that in Cambodia and has done it in Costa Rica which was a pretty cool thing to do. I guess that's why his English was so good! He, along with other Muslims don't eat pigs, they are like pets to them, so they get a proper burial too. I'm not quite sure I understand the theory to them being pets, seeing as they don't eat them as they are carnivores as they eat other animals if given the chance, unlike other creatures. His hope for the future for Iraq is for them to get a proper leader who will show off the country in all its beauty; for it's Gardens of Babylon, and it's mountain area and their livelihood from living off the flood plains in the south.
I was really glad I'd met him; he was the first Iraqi I'd ever met.
We arrived, and I wandered along to the bridge whilst the other two had a look around the strange museum that I hadn't paid much interest in the first time (as I'd been busy buying paintings!)
I also used this free time to go to the toilet which I was dying for. My parasite was still inside me and being a complete pain, despite trying to empty my stomach except when I was living next to a toilet!
On my way to the bridge, there was a baby leopard who was utterly adorable! He was drinking out of a toddlers bottle, it was just the sweetest thing.
I'd already seen the bridge, but I had another wee look at it, and on my way back to see how Lily and Naomi were getting on I got asked by a group of students if I'd answer a few questions. There must have been about 15 of them all asking a separate question each as they went round in the circle that they'd formed around me. I couldn't understand everything they were saying but thankfully I was able to look over their shoulders and read off the questions. It was all about my visit to the town.
We then headed off and had a lunch by the river, the same place as I'd been with the previous group. The food was lovely, rice and really delicious vegetables. I was a bit annoyed that I couldn't eat much as I was scared about needing the toilet.
We then boarded a bamboo raft which was lots of fun! I was terrified of falling over and not only getting myself, but more importantly, my camera wet! Thankfully I didn't fall in! It was amazing how many people it carried. We were walking back and forth quite nervously! One of the other people crossed over to take a photo looking back at us and I was so nervous about her dropping the camera. It felt like quite a short ride, but I don't think it was. We'd been whizzed up the river in a speed boat (a rather speedy one!) and then peacefully floated back down again.
The elephant ride was next; Lily and I were taking lots of photos of Naomi and the elephants although I'm not sure so many were taken of us. It was still really good. The elephants were making lots of really adorable noises too! I was wearing sandles and I was able to feel with my foot the rough skin with all the hairs on; it was such a beautiful feeling. When we arrived some of the elephants were being fed bananas. I'd really wanted to take photos of them but we were unfortunatly hurried on to the elephants.
We boarded the train which was jam packed. Naomi was feeling rather tired and faint so she got one of the few seats available. I was feeling a bit rough but was able to stand up. I didn't get a particularly good view of the scenary, but it looked very green. The experience was more in the clunkiness of the ride and the unsteadiness. Despite going pretty slowly, I was still a bit scared, no wonder it's called the Death Train!
We then had a view of the waterfall, where we had time for a swim, although we couldn't really be bothered getting wet, just to be uncomfortable, and quite probably cold, on the minibus journey home. Lily had a fun time posing in various positions around the waterfall whilst Naomi and I took the photos. Lily's got an eye for a good photo.
We got safely on the right bus and were off back to Bangkok. It took absolutely ages, and I slept as much as possible.
We finally arrived back and had a subway whilst sitting on the sidewalk. Lily and Naomi both had pancakes with banana and chocolate sauce which looked delicious! They make pancakes a weird way here; it's more like a dough which they roll out and then spin around their head until it gets thin. It's amazing what street vendors can make. We wandered around the shops and Lily found some new tops. The pubs were pretty cool, we found a nice one with live music where we could have a birds eye view of the busy street; cats wandering around, Jack Sparrow (look-a-like) and random beggars hobbling around and crawling about harrassing people.
It was a really nice evening.

Bangkok - 5th August 2009

I'd had spare time in the morning in Phnom Penh, and so spent it playing solitaire in the hotels internet cafe, which had labourously slow internet, so I'd given up using it after ten minutes of waiting for a page to load. I was quite happy listening to my iPod, and when it was working, ClassicFM.
Eventually it was time for me to head to the airport, so I boarded my tuk-tuk, feeling rather regal, and enjoyed the bumpy ride to the airport. The driver was kind enough to remind me to have my hands on my bags, incase anyone leaned in and tried to grab my things. I doubted anyone would actually be able to lift either of my bags, as I myself struggled to lift them!
I wasn't surprised, as when I got the the airport and my bags were weighed I had my broken NorthFace bag on my bag, weighing a tonne, and my enormous, bright red rucksack weighing in at 19kg; meaning I had to pay $24 for the excess which I was a bit annoyed about.
I managed to get checked in with the rest of the SKIP group. It was so great to see Naomi and the others; they'd had a really great time, and we all enjoyed exchanging stories over a coffee whilst waiting for the flight. It was a long wait for us to actually board the plane and I felt a bit dehydrated and was dying for some free water on the flight, but I was disappointed to find that we'd have to pay for it! So I decided I'd wait! (Maybe not the best idea, but nothing bad became of it, thankfully!)
The flight went well; there was plenty of space on the flight allowing me to spread out and have quite a comfortable ride, apart from the dehydration!
We got into Bangkok and it was already dark. We got the bus, a first for us, which was quite a squeeze. I was quite excited at arriving back 'home' again. It felt nice to be somewhere where I'd been before, which was a bit of a novelty. We were however staying in a completely different area to our previous stay. This time we were at the Viengtai Hotel, a rather posh affair with swimming pool and men to open doors for the ladies; I like it! The streets surrounding it were filled with bright lights, and probably what can be described as Bangkok's version of Times Square, New York!
The hotel was so clean, the mirrors were so beautiful and it looked so elegant! We got checked in, Lily and I in one room, and Naomi and Robbie in another. We met up with 7 other SKIP members to say hello before heading down the street.
The street was amazing! I felt so good after the excitement of seeing people and just all the liveliness of the street. Everything was so alive! I think a small can of RedBull went to my head as I was so bouncy that I couldn't sleep that night.
I checked my emails briefly that evening, and to my delight I'd been given shifts at work for the first week I was back, and quite a few of them, which was great news!
I did a bit of shopping for presents; a dress for myself, a tuk-tuk made out of beer cans for Dad, and a few random things!

Phnom Penh- 4th August 2009

I hve no idea why but I seem to be sleeping copius amounts of late; 13 hours last night, so I awoke at 2pm today; the girl who thought the locals at a previous guesthouse must be ill or lazy for only getting out of bed at 7am. Whoops, well at least I won't have to make any major changes when I get back to the UK, I'll be already jet-lag adjusted, I'll just need to sleep less.
I got a bit concerned about the Bangkok flight crash, but thankfully it wasn't flying into Bangkok, but to a related island thankfully, although still not great news.
'House' was on last night which was awesome! I never really was a great fan of it, but after getting to know some of the characters a bit better, it really is a pretty good show!
I'm getting bored of all the food here; pizza, sandwiches, noodles and rice dishes. I'll be glad for the change of scenery as of tomorrow.
I had an annoyingly dodgy experience at a restaurant a few nights ago as I'd ordered an orange juice and vegetable noodles. The orange juice came, and I know fake orange juice is not supposed to be wonderful, but it could have at least have actually tasted of oranges. I felt a bit guilty about sending it back, but I felt less guilty as my 'vegetable noodles' turned out to have something animal resembling in it, which after a few proddings with my chop-sticks, I sent back also. Eventually I got some real fresh orange juice, and some vegetable noodles, which made me feel nauseus all over again. I wonder if the people wondered why I'd bothered even coming out for the amount I actually ate off the plate, but anyway, I got a few mouthfuls down me and it stops me feeling sick from hunger, I now felt sick from eating...
I really need to find a shop selling some decent food, like peanuts or non-P+G pringles or something.

Phnom Penh - 3rd August 2009

I seem to have had a rough morning this morning. I seem to be sleeping copius amounts and then the littlest of things are exhausting me. I almost didn't bother coming out to the internet cafe! I had chips and orange juice for breakfast and I'm thinking the vinegar of the ketchup and the acidity of the juice must have had some kind of chemical reaction; painful!
I've been really enjoying the US comedies that have been on the TV the last few days, although it is frustrating how many repeats there seem to be... do I really need to see the same episode three times?!
There was an adorable, but very annoying little kitten pestering me whilst I was trying to eat some chips in the restaurant in my guesthouse. She climbed up onto the table and would have had her face in my chips had it not been for me holding them up high above my head. She made me kind of nervous that she might try jumping up, and eventually my arm got sore so between mouthfuls I was moving the plate from my table to the table beside me, and then chucking the occasional chip on the ground for the kitten. She had such an adorable face, it was really hard to not feed the cutie!
On one of my recent motorbike trips I saw a guy nearly get run over by a mad man who obviously had no clutch control as he reversed back extremely quickly! Everyone seems to be a bit mad here when it comes to their driving. I'm surprised I've not been in any more RTAs yet.
My itchy hands and feet which have been driving me mad seem to have stopped which is a relief, although I'm still getting bad hunger pains and feeling dehydrated despite trying to drink lots. It probably doesn't help much that the bottles of water they sell in the guesthouse taste a bit overchlorinated.

Phnom Penh (Still) - Start of August 2009

So my next moto ride was a bit scary! Feeling a bit giddy myself anyway, I felt like a doll on the back of a motorbike, very liable of falling off. It's cheaper than a tuk tuk, and so I thought I'd stick with my motos. They seem to drive so fast! Maybe I wouldn't mind if I had a set of pleathers on me, or at least a helmet! We seemed to swerve in front of quite a few cars, and after going up a dead end he did a sharp turn around which I thought would be the end of me. What is it with these moto drivers?! I wouldn't be surprised if they were on something. Actually, they really might be! A few times I've gone and have walked past several moto drivers, they ask if I want a ride, and then whisper in my ear if I want some drugs, namely marjuana. I probably would have been shocked, except thankfully there is a warning about them in the guesthouse I'm at.
So despite having two American, fairly decent TV channels to choose from, I feel like a trapped human in my little hotel room at night. It gets so boring! My only means of communication is my phone and entertainment is a book or the TV. I don't even have a computer to play on! It doesn't help that I'm slowly being wound up by my hands and feet itching constantly and rather painfully. It gets so frustrating!
I had thought that I'd maybe go to Kratie seeing as I was now on drugs, but I don't really feel up for travelling. I'm not looking forward to the flights home, or the next two weeks of waiting, nor is there anyway to speed up the going home, or the wait. Oh this is such fun!

Phnom Penh - End of July (a few days ago)

So I've spent the last few days in Phnom Penh feeling ill. The dodgy stomach has gotten worse, or I've been eating to keep my strength up which has been making my stomach worse. I decided that with the stomach, faintness and other such problems, including the strange rash that seems to be taking over my body, I should probably make a visit to the doctor.
The consultation was $30, and after thoroughly checking me over; blood pressure, breathing, heart rate, as well as the usuall questions, he said that it was probably the most common problem; a viral infection, but I should give a stool sample just to see.
I thought hey, what am I in a new country for, if not for trying new things! So in came a nurse with a little plastic bag, containing a spatula and a pot, and off I went, returning shortly after with the filled pot! What a fun new experience for only $28! Ha!
I had to come back again the following day to get the results. I expected it to be clear, but was surprised to be informed that I had a new friend (or more like a foe) living inside of me, a parasite called Entamoeba Histolytica. I was a bit excited to have something I'd heard about from the Lonely Planet guidebook inside me, and to have something relavent to our M+I coursework, although I don't think we've studied this particular organism.
I was given, at a charge of $17, two sets of drugs, amounting to 6 and then 8 tablets a day, fun fun.
I'd already stopped taking all the other drugs I should be on, as I hate taking medications when I've got a dodgy stomach. I think that they are causing the problems or probably aren't being absorbed anyway, so would make no difference. I'm probably wrong, and only doing myself more harm than good, I just seem to be unable to take drugs for more than 2 months without getting bored of them.
On the day I went to the doctors for the second time, to the Naga Clinic, I'd made it all the way down the stairs from my 3rd floor room in bare feet, before realising that I'd gone up the stairs in shoes, and now was shoeless. I couldn't be bothered exhausting myself going all the way up again so ventured out onto a moto in my bare feet! It was quite fun! Although I was a bit scared of people thinking I'd gone a bit insane, although I felt rather free and more at home walking around in bare feet. The ground on the pavements tends to be smoother here than some other areas so it's quite pleasant. On my travels there was a random chicken on the busy pavement beside an even busier road, right in the centre of Phnom Penh, not sure where she'd escaped from!
I wandered back, not really sure which direction I should head in from the internet cafe, but just knowing that eventually I'd have to ask someone for a moto ride back to the hotel. I came across a vegan restaurant, in which I had some very sour lime juice, which I had to put quite a bit of sugar in to make it taste nice, and also a soup that was apparently Carrot and Corriander, but tasted more like Carrot and Nutmeg, but with more Nutmeg than Carrot. It was edible, vaguely. I didn't really have much of an appetite anyway. A nice find anyway, the vegan cafe.
I am sat in an internet cafe for what must be the millionth day in a row, entertaining myself as to have a break from lying in bed watching TV, or just slowing making my way through a small portion of chips and a cup of hot tea, whilst watching the news on the TV in the hotel's restaurant. I am enjoying just listening to Classic FM, it is a nice treat, and a shame that I cannot listen to such music in my hotel room. There seems to be just the awful local music available, except from the occasional Lady GaGa track that may appear on the US channels.

Sihanoukville - 24th July 2009 tbc

I was due at the dive shop for 8.30 ready for quite a few hours of studying and theory tests. I had a rather bland breakfast at the shop; bread and jam, before lazilly getting a moto to the dive shop. I thought it'd save me a bit of time, and if I happened to be sleeping okay then it would give me a bit more of a lie in.
My instructor for the course was a French guy called Sebastion, who pronounced 'bubbles' in a really adorable way, like on Finding Nemo!
I spent quite a while watching a DVD which basically was a lazier version of reading the book, but it helped send home the important messages that the book was saying. After reading and watching, I had 5 short practice tests to do, which I did pretty well on, and then after lunch, we went over the answers, before I was given another official test, which I got about 90% on, and then the 'final exam' where I was rather chuffed at scoring 96% whoo!
I had a headache by the end, as there was a lot to take in, especially the order of which you should prioritise for going up to the surface should you run out of air; something which I wasn't very good at remembering the order of.
(to be continued)

Sihanoukville (islands) - 25th July 2009

I had to be at the dive centre by 7.15am, so after enjoying the pink dragonfruit, I left my luggage at the hotel, and got a moto there. We set off shortly after in their customised, double the size tuk tuk, which seemed to get some approving smiles from the locals. On arrival at the boat, we were offered breakfast where I just ate a banana, before going to the top deck to lie down horizontally in the hope that I wouldn't be sick. Thankfully I survived, and after about 2.5 hours, we arrived at the island. It looked very peaceful and calm.
(to be continued)

Sihanoukville - 26th August 2009

I am completely exhausted. I don't think I've slept the whole night through without actively being conscious in my dreams, for the last week. I slept on the island last night, where I went to sleep quite early listening to the sounds of the waves and the sea rushing in and out of the shore. It was relaxing, and I also had the pleasure of listening to some music that was playing in the social area until about 1 or 2am. I had gone to bed around 8pm, drastically early, but I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.
I was up at 6am, and I read my book and had breakfast until my instructor and his Dive Master girlfriend woke at around 8am. I was making good progress through my book which was very enjoyable and relaxing, although I was feeling a bit sick with worry about going on the boat again today.
We started off our day with a dive from the shore. It was good, the visability was clearer than usual and we saw more fish than the previous day. We managed to spot a starfish, lots of large pretty fish, some sea-urchins and some other stranger looking fish. I was told to avoid anything that looked too beautiful or too ugly or wasn't scared of me, as it meant they were usually some kind of threat to me if I interferred with them, but most things looked beautiful to me! So I avoided being too close to most things. We went over a few of the skills that I'd learnt the day before, which I managed to successfully complete.
We did a couple more dives, with lunch in the middle; a risotto with tasty vegetables. The dives we were taken out on the boat to the location and I was very thankful for not being sick. I think lying down most of the time helped greatly. I was now very comfortable with attaching all the gear to the tank, and then to me, but walking around on a wobbly boat to the side where I could then fall backwards into the water, was more of a challenge.
By the end of the final dive for the day, I had some scratches on my leg from where I had accidentally grazed it on some coral, and then my toe was blistered from the fin, although it wasn't too painful.
It was quite good fun when there was a lack of visability; I could see all the little bits of coral/sediments moving towards me with the tide, and then I could focus back on the diver I was following. Sometimes it felt like a game like on tv, although there wasn't anything to dodge other than making sure I was neutrally buoyant at all times, and not kicking anyone or anything, and not being kicked by anyone.
At one time I lost them slightly, so after looking around for the required minute I popped up and saw their fins, so was able to get back to them again. I thought it was maybe some kind of test to see if I'd panic or not, but I don't think it had been.
My ears equilibriated very well, but by the end of the final dive my throat was really dry and sore. I think I must not have been drinking enough.
We went back to Sihanoukville on the boat, after a quick shower, and then to the office, by the tuk tuk driven by Sebastion, my instructor. He said it was his first time driving the tuk tuk, and it might have been true, he seemed to be going rather speedily, and on reversing he seemed to stutter a bit. We made it back to the office in one piece, where I got my certificate printed out, and my details were entered online so my official diving card would arrive eventually in the post.
I then popped into an internet cafe where I did my best to recouperate with a drink, although I still felt like I was bobbing up and down on the water.

Sihanoukville - 23rd July 2009

Yet another early morning, and to the sound of the heaven's opening, or as my tuk tuk driver said a few days ago 'raining cats and dogs!'
I had a lovely hot shower, my first in quite a long time; maybe it was worth paying the extra $3 for such privaledge? or maybe not.
I couldn't be bothered doing much today, so decided on a very lazy catch up online, a coffee on the go for breakfast, in the form of a can and bought a newspaper to catch up on the news. The rain had stopped so it made a fairly pleasant morning. Unfortunatly the stupid internet cafe was being dodgy and the computer, although having faster internet than most places, wasn't letting me upload photos.
I bought a couple of books to read to keep me entertained, and then headed towards the beach with guidebook in hand. For some reason I had eye contact with someone I was about to pass on the pavement for slightly too long, possibly as the man looked foreign but very tanned and he was topless which I thought was maybe not appropriate, but then who am I to judge.
The man initiated conversation with me, saying I should ditch the guidebook and see Cambodia and not a bunch of English people. We got talking and he offered to walk with me for a bit and show me some of 'Cambodia'. He said he had been living in Cambodia for two years now but wouldn't actually tell me what he did. He said he now considered it his home though.
We had some 'real coffee' which was just as really as any other coffee that I'd had, and he had some donuts off a lady who was carrying them on her head as she passed, and also some fresh yoghurt from a guesthouse that made it. He was talking Cambodian to the locals and pointing out various houses he was interested in buying or renting for not very much per month or year, but with beautiful views of the sea.
I 'dropped' him off at his hotel, and then wandered back down to the beach. I checked out some scuba diving places, which seemed quite a reasonable price, before having some lunch; a vege-burger and a coffee. I had a short walk on the beach, whilst pondering over whether I should do the diving or not. I happened to meet the Austrian couple that I'd met the previous day on the bus to Sihanoukville. We had a short chat, and I mentioned that I was thinking about doing the diving, they said I should go for it as I would probably enjoy it.
I headed back towards the street with all the diving shops on, and after thinking about how much money I had. I had a bit of a fright thinking that I wouldn't be able to get any money put in my account, but thankfully I managed to get all financial problems sorted, and I booked the scuba diving. I was really quite excited, although quite nervous about all the boat trips we'd be making.
Tomorrow however was just a day full of theory. I was given a book, from which I had to read up a rather large 3 chapters. It was quite interesting, and a lot related to Physiology and Physics and some Geography too, in the form of the weather and tides.
By this time it was now early evening, so after a few stints on the internet, I headed back to my hotel to study. I was exhausted and so didn't manage to get out to get any dinner. I had a sleepless night which was annoying and I was full of aches and pains from my back during the night, probably not helping the matter.

Battambang to Sihanoukville - 22nd July 2009

I had an early morning this morning. I seem to be waking up quite a lot in the night, so if I wake up within 30 minutes of when my alarm is set for I just get up anyway. Today I was due to leave for the bus station at 7.30, so allowed quite a bit of time for getting breakfast, although I'd just settled with a visit to the local bakery, and water to wash it down; at least it was cheap!
The minibus arrived to take me, and an Austrian couple to the bus station, where I had a coffee before boarding. We were able to, very briefly, enjoy the solar eclipse, looking through sunglasses for about a second, before we were blinded by the sun. When we got on to the bus, a local had taken out a mask used to shield the eyes of those using laser type machinary.
The bus was enormous; a double decker, but with the lower deck only accomodating the driver, our luggage, and a rather crampt toilet!
The air conditioned bus is annoying as it stops me sweating profusely, so I am left needing the toilet what seems like copious amounts! Yet again I live up to my nickname Little Miss Small Bladder...
At least I get to enjoy the toilet on the bus! It's a strange room, you have to be a midget to get through the door; even I have to bend down, and on leaving I have bumped my head several times. Whilst sitting (or hovering) on the loo, there is a very clear mirror opposite, so one can admire oneself whilst emptying out! And to add to this pleasure, you can even look at the window with a clear view of all the houses and people you pass! I'm not quite sure if this view outwards is reciprocated so people can see inwards; I hope not!
The journey was pleasant. We stopped once before arriving at Phnom Penh, at a small cafe which had wonderful large wooden carvings.
We arrived in good time at Phnom Penh, where I had time for my second coffee of the day before boarding a 'same same but different' bus to take us to Sihanoukville. I was quite glad that the bus operators dealt with our luggage; carrying it on and off for us, as it saved me attempting to lift my bag, which is quite often a struggle!
At our first stop from this bus, I had another coffee! and got asked by lots of young locals to buy their sweet coconut cakes. The locals here are a lot more pleasant then in Siem Reap, just as the boy did on my tour up a hill on my full-day of tuk tuk-ing, these girls also could speak French, and tried to converse with me in French for a while! The boy from the tuk-tuk day had managed to say Hello, How are you? in about 7 different languages, which impressed me greatly! He even had good pronounciation (for the ones I knew what they should sound like).
In this cafe, there was a really cute scruffy dog lying under a table just sleeping, then on my way to the toilet, I offered my hand to a dog who had looked friendly. My hand was a 35 centemetres away, but the dog obviously took my
offering the wrong way (or had rabies or was psychotic), as he gave me a warning snap very close to my hand so that slobbers made it onto my hand. I then avoided all dogs from this point onwards!
It was raining quite heavily by this point which was annoying, as the place looked pretty dreary.
We arrived on time, yay! at Sihanoukville, where we were greeted by lots of tuk tuks and moto drivers. I had wanted to walk, as on the map my accomodation hadn't looked that far away. I felt really pestered by the drivers, and eventually I gave in, and with my rucksack resting on the front of the motorbike, cuddled by the driver, we set off. I was unsure whether the slightly dodgy looking rider would actually take me to the guesthouse I'd wanted, as he seemed to be trying to make me want to go elsewhere, but I remained firm, and thankfully I arrived safely where I wanted to go.
I checked in to the ant-free room (yay again!) and then went off in search of dinner. The Holy Cow restaurant, named after a holy cow who cured someone of some illness by licking them, was written up very nicely in the Lonely Planet and advertised as having vegan options, which it did.
On the way, I was walking along the not very well lit roads, and was trying to cross the road when two dogs from the house I was standing in front up came up and started growling at me. I was terrified... I obviously must be offending all these dogs in some way! I decided that I'd walk on the other side of the road on the way back!
I enjoyed a cottage pie, a lovely fruit shake, and an amazing chocolate cake with ice cream and sauce! Amazing!!
I passed an English teaching school on the way back, where the kids were just being let out, and a white teacher was leaving, and she hi-fived one of the kids! All the kids were crowding round her saying 'teacher, teacher...''
I made it back to the hotel okay, although I was pretty scared being out in the dark, despite it only being half seven! The guidebook seems to suggest Sihanoukville is one of the worst places to be for crime, or at least has more highly publishised crimes out here.
It was really annoying that the hotel didn't have internet, and I didn't want to be too late back at the hotel so decided to head 'home' instead of searching for an internet cafe. I then lazed about watching TV and reading. I had planned on renting a DVD player and watching some of the DVDs I'd bought on the cheap, but unfortunatly all were rented out! Still it was an early night, although my sleep was plagued with the challenge of escaping from an earthquake (in my dreams), which was a bit surreal and annoying.

Battambang - 21st July 2009

I woke up pretty early, and decided to get up anyway, as I had to have breakfast and be down by the front of the hotel by 7.30am ready for my tuk tuk tour of all of Battambang with my driver Kim (male).
At 7am I went in search of breakfast, which I found in the form of a friendly cafe, with a lovable rat who ran across the floor whilst I was eating; how cute!! I enjoyed a delicious breakfast, which took quite a while to prepare, leaving me 10 minutes late to meet Kim. Thankfully he was very graceful and forgiving, definetly unlike the majority of men, and we set off for our long day.
We passed some large pottery pots, which I think are supposed to be quite common or famous in this area. Also there was a selection of army members doing some kind of drill. Later on we also passed a water park, although I'm not sure how busy it was, it sounded rather quiet.
A funny sight passed us, as from the front I saw a motorbike carrying some produce made of a hay like material, but from behind, like a scene out of The Aristocats, was a moving haystack! It made me giggle. Another thing that I find adorable is little girls who smile at you when you smile at them, forcing you to smile even more, they are so adorable!!
We passed a field full of lotus flowers, a symbol of Buddhism. They are incredibly beautiful!
We arrived at the first visit of the day; Phnom Sampeau. I was greeted by a very happy young boy, with good English who offered to be my guide up the hill. It was a long and tiring walk up the hill. The road had been recently 'redone' or at least the foundations for the new road had, so it was incredibly bumpy and rough on the feet. It was in the same style as the re-laying of the roads we'd done in the National Parks of Costa Rica. The boy was 13, and spoke good English. He spends $5 a month on being taught for an hour each evening and his favourite subject is Geography. He would usually be charged more than that, but as he is so good at English, he is able to help other students with their pronounciation. He funds his studies, and that of his brother and general livings costs of the family, by his tour guide job. All his family work on the rice fields which pays very poorly. The temple was plainer than most, but the view from the top was incredible. Much better than the view I'd been disappointed by in Vietnam, and I sweated less on this walk! This temple had been used as a prison, or a waiting room for the killing cave. I seemed to be giving a way a lot of money up here, as not only did I give to some fund outside the temple, but an ancient cleaner lady who was hanging about begging in the cave I also gave some money too; I'll blame my generousity on the heat!

My joyful tourguide had gone down to the cave by sliding down the banister, whilst I took the more appropriate stairs. The killing cave is where the Khmer Rouge had got people to plunge so many metres to their death into this cave. It was a grim sight, and inside was the remains of many skulls and other bones from the seventys. A short walk away was a few Buddha statues, where we stopped for another breather. The boy enquired about whether I had an mp3 player or not, and I said I did, he wanted to see it, so I took it out and let him play on it whilst I took some photos of butterflies etc. We then saw a more impressive temple, with an even better view, with more people asking for donations etc, which I managed to resist!

The way down involved lots of steps, but wasn't too painful. I could see the main road which headed back to Battambang, and also the boy pointed out which school he goes to. He seemed to cough quite a bit, and after learning that 65% of all Cambodians have tb, I'm guessing he must be one of them!

At the bottom, I bought a drink from his aunts shop, where he lives away from his parents. I was then joined by lots of wild monkeys! I got quite excited, and whipped out my camera, and Kim was able to get some bananas for me to feed to them. He fed most of them whilst I took the photos, and whilst I was trying to give the banana to the smaller baby which hadn't managed to eat any banana yet, another larger and rather rude monkey grabbed the banana out my hand! Cheeky thing! Some of the smaller female monkeys had quite a few sores on their body from the male monkey.

It then started to tip it down, so I was quite thankful I was in the tuk tuk. We put the raincovers down at the sides, and Kim took off his shirt (he was wearing t-shirt underneath) and put on his poncho, a dashing white with pink-dots one!

The ride was very bumpy, so bumpy in fact that at one point, none of my body was in contact with the tuk tuk! I'd done a vertical take off! It didn't help with the period pain either was which beginning to be a pain!

Next stop was to Phnom Banan. It was still raining at this point so we hung out in the local cafe swinging in hammocks which was fun! I needed the loo, so asked if I could use the loo. I was told that it could only be used for number 1s (!) and so I preceeded to go through the 'kitchen' to the toilet, which was a curtain being held up by bamboo, a slight dip in the ground leading down to a river somewhere, and on top of the mud were two wooden slabs for our feet! I slipped, but thankfully not too severely, as I didn't fall in! Thank heavens!

I had some lunch; rice and vegetables, in the company of a pig! and by the time I had finished, the rain had stopped, so I embarked up the 300 odd steps to the top. I was accompanied by a boy who spoke a bit of English, and who kept on fanning me! When I was about to collapse in a heap, he would take my arm and lift me up! I made it to the top, and gave the boy some money. I'm pretty sure that he was expecting it, but he looked at me strangely when I did, so maybe he was just being nice after all!

I wandered around. The place looked a bit delapdated. There was a nice view, and the shapes were quite interesting. It was built shortly before Angkor Wat, and I think it was instructed by the same king or something. There were lots of the 6-headed snake figures along the handrails for the steps etc, as well as lions.

We got back on the road, and after following a calf along the road for a bit, the calf decided to swerve in front of us, and somehow I missed what happened, as my heart lept into my mouth, and I looked behind to see the calf running off down another path. I really thought we were certain to hit the poor calf, but I guess she must have been a quick turner.

We stopped again later on as my driver was pointing out papaya being grown and also some pink dragon fruit (the insides being pink rather than the typical white). We bought some, and oh my heavens! They were delicious!! I have never tasted something so naturally beautiful, that was so colourful, in my life!

Back on the road, we were admiring another building and a local lady gave me a couple of green oranges! (Totally different to the usual oranges!), which I tried peeling initally, before learning that you eat the outside bit and the avoid the inner seeds! Whoops! It was kind of her though.

We passed a wedding, and I was curious to have a wee peek, so I bowed Khmer style to the people and they waved me in and then the guys who were dancing around waved me in, and I got dragged in (although I was quite keen to have a go!) in a Bollywood style dance around the dancefloor! It was good fun and really great to be included in something so random! They even got their official photographer to come and take some photos with me dancing! I was surprised that it was just men dancing; I thought there must have been some official separation, although it turned out the girls were just shy! A few more got up to dance to join me whilst the photographer was taking some photos.

We had to head back to Battambang and then head south to visit the third of our three temples, this final one being Wat Ek Phnom. This one was a bit plain, and very ruined from when the war was on. It had some nice carvings though, and a couple of adorable cats, one with brown eyes which looked a bit unusual! I played with the lively kitten, whilst the black cat snoozed, before heading back down to enjoy a sugar cane juice which was delicious! Kim then told me more about his family, and what happened to them in the war. He'd lost some half siblings due to starvation, and uncles and aunts had died of the same thing. His parents survived it, and at the age of three, he went to a refugee camp in Thailand. He worked collecting lotus leaves to sell at the maket for several years, a very hard job which allowed leeches to attack him in the water. They use lotus leaves instead of plastic bags at the markets, to wrap up meat and vegetables etc.

We passed the Pepsi bottling plant which basically was just a run down factory, and then we stopped off to look at some fruit bats that were hanging (!) out in a tree.

We'd watched some fishermen for a while, using bamboo as the frame for their net, and then they bent right down into the water and swept upwards in an attempt to catch fish. It looked like tiring work, although I was told it's not their full time job, I think they just do it for the extra food.

Back in Battambang, we passed a factory that prepares and cooks up dogs (to eat). I had wanted to go and see it, but he said I probably wouldn't be able to as they'd already have prepared the dogs and now it would only be in 'on the plate' form.

We witnessed a tree being cut down, and falling into the river, which was fun to watch and pretty spectacular! Kim laughed out loud when viewing the collapse of the tree on my camera.

I paid up at the hotel, and sorted out my transport for the following day; a ten hour bus to Sihanoukville! as well as having a refreshing shower.

I returned to the place where I had enjoyed my breakfast that morning, and had an even more enjoyable dinner. I unfortunatly cannot recall the name of the restaurant, which is a shame as I had hoped to write in to the Lonely Planet for a recommendation. The staff were very polite, and the restaurant had only been open a couple of months, so they were still learning the ropes. They were guided by an Australian who was just helping them out with getting started up. They made an absolutely amazing fruit smoothie! I'm not sure what the fruit was, but it was heaven! Their vegetarian sweet and sour dish was superb as well.

There were slightly fewer ants on going to bed that night thankfully, although I still had some bad dreams.

Siem Reap to Battambang - 20th July 2009

I woke up pretty early this morning; 6.45am, and although I still had at least half an hour left in bed I decided to get up anyway, leaving me with more time on the internet. I threw on some clothes, as always, and went to breakfast, which was as delicious as always!

I checked out, bought some water and snacks for the bus, and gave my bike back (thankfully they didn't inspect it closely enough to see the dents, although they were pretty obvious!)

I then was on the internet for a while, making good progress with my blog, until 8.30am, when the hotel asked if I was ready to go. I presumed they meant the bus was here, but it was actually their minibus, which I was a bit annoyed at. Especially as when I got to the bus station, the bus was half an hour late, so we only set off at 9.30am. I spent the hour reading my book, which was almost as enjoyable as blogging.

The bus journey was rather comfortable, the road wasn't in too bad a shape and so we made good progress with time. The frustrating part of it was that the horn's speakers seemed to be pointing inwards to the inside of the bus rather than the outside, and so the high pitched booming noise deafened me everytime it was used, which, being in Cambodia, was very frequent as he used it everytime he saw anyone else on the road!

I tried drowning out the sound with my ipod, but to no avail. We stopped once, for a mans toilet stop, and then again, where as soon as everyone got out the bus rolled off again, making me panic! I got reassurance from another lone traveller, who said she just presumed they'd come back for us, so I felt relaxed in that I wasn't totally alone! There were lots of people trying to sell fruit, breads, and crickets! A random combination! When I eventually found the bus; it was parked across the road in a kind of bus park; I boarded, and was followed by a group of children merchants trying to sell me fruit. One boy asked me why I didn't want a mango, and on the spur of the moment I said it was because I didn't like sweet things. Somehow I don't quite think he believed me! But it was a good enough reason and he moved on to the next person.

I think my anger may have built up had it not been for the driver having such a sweet smile; typical!

I was surprised when we stopped again shortly after 1pm. I was getting a bit fed up with the stopping, especially as we'd set off late. Yet again, we were given no indication of how long we were stopping for, but word got around that we'd arrived in Battambang! I was very relieved and happy, although wasn't too keen on being swamped by tuk tuk drivers, although be it not so severe as in Siem Reap. I studying my map for a while, and although I had found that the cheap accomodation was not too far away, the tuk tuk man was only asking for half a dollar, and for it I thought it would save me a few mls of sweat, so I agreed!

On arriving I found the room to be pleasant, and then keen to get as much done as possible in my rather short time in Battambang, I plotted with my tuk tuk driver to see everything within the day and a half. We decided that after I had eaten something and relaxed a bit, we would set off to see the Bamboo train, and then the following day we would conquor various Phnoms and Wats.

I went off, on his recommendation, although later I found it to be in the Lonely planet also, to the White Rose cafe. I thought I'd eat the cheapest things on the menu which was chips and an iced coffee; for $2! Bargain! I enjoyed them and was waiting to pay the bill when a man appeared at my feet proding my thigh and begging for money. I said to him 'no' but he kept prodding me and being annoying. The man was rather rude, and after I ignored him and then got up to pay the bill, to hurry things along a bit, he got up and wandered down the street. I hate people who want something for nothing, and who go about it in a way that is unpleasant. Someone being nice, or friendly is so much nicer and more reward worthy than someone being rude. He really dampened my day.

Then less than 5 minutes later, a dog came up and barked in seriously scary manor and had his nose right up to my ankles, I really thought he was going to bit me. Thankfully he didn't, but it made me think that I should have just spent the day in my hotel.

I continued to walk around, and saw the old train station, where as promised, the clock was stuck at 8.02. I couldn't really be bothered walking around anymore, so I decided to pop into a few shops, one of which was to get some more earphones as one of my 'ears' has stopped working, which makes it impossible to hear on the buses. I also got a memory card reader as I didn't bring my connection out here, and I thought it was time to upload some photos.

I then popped into an internet cafe in the hope of uploading photos, although I couldn't get the machine to work, so then had to go back and get it checked, and it seemed to be working. Grh!

I was back in time to meet my tuk tuk driver, when I met a Danish girl who was interested in coming with me. Unfortunatly she seemed to have 'married' another tuk tuk driver who got angry at her wanting to not pay him to go there, when she could so easily have come with me. It was so frustrating. My tuk tuk driver said he couldn't take her as he was scared of the other tuk tuk driver. It all seemed really childish and stupid. We then met another two Danish girls who wanted to come, but out of principal the first Danish girl didn't want to mess about with tuk tuk drivers anymore. It was a bit of shame, but I'm sure they're the ones missing out as it was there last day in Battambang.

I felt even more down and generally annoyed, but eventually I cheered up as my tuk tuk driver was nice and I forgot about all the annoying things that had happened during the day. We waited beside the railway line, in the hope that others would come, making the journey less expensive. It took a while, in which time I tried learning some Khmer with the locals. After learning how to pronounce 'what is your name?' I'm pretty sure they started trying to teach me rude words or something, as they seemed to find something funny, maybe it was just my awful pronounciation!

I did however find out that Joy, when spoken in Scottish accent (thank god I don't have a Scottish accent!!) actually means 'fuck' (or similar type of swear word) in Khmer. That would have been an interesting one; 'Hello I'm fuck, What's your name?'

A couple of guys on a completely pink motorbike drove by, which made me smile, and when the guys smiled at me, I smiled back even more. It just looked so camp! They passed by again, and I asked, and was allowed to take a photo of them! Yay!

A train was approaching, and it had been for some time, but it travels slower than someone walking! So people were lying on the tracks, walking accross, and staying on their bamboo train until it was quite near! The French are investing in the railway and are going to be bringing high speed trains across, so soon there shall be no more bamboo trains.

The trains used to be moved by four or more people pushing sticks, sort of like they were skiing. Although now they are motorised. The track goes from Battambang to some smaller villages, usually for the transport of food and other materials.

Some French people arrived, who didn't speak much English. I managed to understand quite a bit of what they were saying which was quite cool! We all boarded the train. It was really good fun! I have never known such a noisey train, or one which runs on such a bendy track! It seemed to wiggle around quite a bit. There were lots of kids waving to us along the way, and there were chickens crossing the tracks, and then back again, they seemed to be a bit lost. Thankfully we didn't kill anyone! I was really glad I went.

On the way back, we passed several beautiful things. We passed the place where the important provence meetings take place; in a French Colonial building. I have no idea what the word colonial means; the driver asked me, and even though he and I both use the word, neither of us know the meaning! There were some Thai cannons outside, from when the Thai were in charge of Cambodia.

We then went to a statue in a park, that was a dragon and a (can't remember the name - 6 headed snake) - made out of the remains of lots of guns that had been kept illegally in villages, and when a certain agreement was signed to make the place safer, these guns were confiscated.

We then drove by some French Colonial buildings, the night market, the old market, and finally we were back at the hotel. With my guidebook in hand, I went in search of a couple of restaurants that it had mentioned. But despite following the map, and finding where they should have been; neither of the restaurants could be found.

Instead, a few doors away from my hotel, I went to the Lazy Gecko Cafe which was nice, and made me a very delicious fruit shake and then dinner. The rest of the evening was spent on the internet uploading photos, and listening to various music on the internet.

On arriving back at the hotel, on quite a dark night (I'm not surprised they warn lone females to stay clear of the streets at night!), I discovered tens of ants crawling all over my bed - great!

I took off the top sheet on which the ants were crawling, and threw it outside of my room. There still seemed to be ants wherever I looked, but at least they didn't have an unfair advantage on me in the bed! It took me ages to get to sleep, and I woke several times during the night. I'm not quite sure what was bothering me as I didn't have that much on my mind; maybe it was just my subconscious aware of all the ants.

Siem Reap to Battambang - 20th July 2009

I woke up pretty early this morning; 6.45am!
(to be continued!)

Siem Reap - 19th July 2009

Another lazy morning. Breakfast, yet again, was amazing. Despite it not being a buffet, I still had plenty of choice and variety, including the delicious fresh fruit and tasty coffee, too fill me up for the day.
I had a chat with one of the staff about my plan for the day, but their prices seemed a bit excessive for what I was wanting, so I decided to head into town with my bike, in the hope that I'd find a cheaper moto or tuk tuk, willing to take me to another temple and the landmine museum. After wimping out of asking a few people, mainly as I was put off about what I would then do with my bike, I approached a moto-driver on a street corner and I managed to get some better prices, and then somehow was able to get a tuk-tuk instead!
He put my bike in the tuk-tuk, my foot wedged just to keep it in place with the front and back wheels overhanging at the sides. He said he had somewhere we could leave my bike, so we headed off down a dirt track not too far from the village; stupidly, on going through the rather thin gate, the bike hit the wall, sending the driver almost flying, and the bike wedging in a weird position. I was fine, although I was dreading finding out if the bike still worked and whether it looked obvious that it had been damaged.
Thankfully both tuk tuk, driver, and most importantly, my bike, all worked! Although the mud guard was bent and scratched, which the driver did his best to straighten out.
We set off again, this time I was quite thankful that we'd dropped the bike off, as we headed along the road to Angkor Wat which I'd cycled quite a few times by this point. We were heading out to the Banteay Srei temple, famous for it's intricate carvings in the stone. We passed many rice farms on the way with many workers getting sore backs leaning down to collect the rice; very small children were leading cows along the road! I thought about how terrifying that job would be! There were many water pumps, donated by foreigners as part of a clean water project. We had to stock up on petrol on the way, which comes in the form of a yellow liquid in a drinks bottle; a young person pours it in for us. Many other stalls were selling fresh fruit. Whenever a large lorry passed, I had to close my eyes for a while, as lots of dust, sometimes feeling quite muddy and damp, would fly at my face. By the time we arrived, as with most journeys on bike or open transport, my face felt quite dirty.
Eventually we arrived at Banteay Srei. My driver sat down and had a very early lunch, whilst I looked around. Indeed, the temple was very beautiful, the carvings were so well preserved, each telling a short story relating to what the temple was about; one was to do with a story about two monkeys who fought, and one died as a result. There were pretty white monkey statues around the temple grounds which added to the beauty of the area.
Unfortunatly yet again I was harassed by a not particularly pleasant vendor, trying to sell me books. It is annoying that they carry all their merchandise in their hands, as they are able to just follow you everywhere. I wish they would just realise that 'no, I don't want it' is not going to change into a 'yes' just because he has stressed me out enough! It really takes the pleasure out of touring when such people are in ones company.
I joined the driver in the cafe and had a very delicious coffee, before continuing on our way. We managed to settle on an extra $5 for him to take me to a waterfall (----whose name I cannot recall at this present time-----).
The waterfall was a 1.4km walk (one way) through a national park. On the way I passed many very beautiful butterflies and a few lizards. It was really quite a beautiful area. There were huge boulder rocks and a terrific view of the area, and the tree roots added character to the walk. Shortly before arriving, I passed a couple of boys who said that the waterfall was really disappointing and not worth seeing. I wasn't sure if they were 'for real' or not, so I continued on my way. There were lots of bugs crossing the path in a military fashion, from their home to somewhere else. The first sight was a very small dip in the river, underwhich was a carving in the stone which was quite pretty. Someone had abandoned two cakes on a rock, served up on a leaf, which now was being devoured by ants galore! I continued down along the river, stopping to admire another carving in the rock on the river bed. Following the signs, and the noise from some joyous people, I arrived at the waterfall. Admittedly it wasn't particularly spectacular, but it was being enjoyed by many as a means of getting showered and a place to relax. There was a really cute little girl sitting on the river just splashing about and playing with the sand.
I walked back, a bit faster than on my way there, stopping every so often to try to catch a photo of a butterfly, but didn't seem to manage with one of the particularly beautiful ones; a blue one with extra little lobes coming down.
On arrival back at the entrance, I was disappointed to find that the Centre of Biodiversity exhibition was closed, so I searched for my driver instead. The cafe people shouted along the line from one cafe to the next, as I walked alone, that I was looking for my driver. Subsequently a driver or two was woken up, before they shook their head and said I wasn't there passenger! Whoops! Eventually I found my guide, and we headed off to our final destination; the landmine museum. The museum was set up by a man who had dedicated his post-war life to de-mining Cambodia. He had fought with the Khmer Rouge, and then with the Vietnamese Army, during which time he planted many landmines himself.
There was a film showing him de-detonating the mines, which looked like a terrifying job, and then also him walking along with a stick in search of more mines, which he could then do the same job with. He has apparently made millions of mines safe over the years and has taught others to do the same. There wasn't much too the exhibition, but what there was, was interesting. Money raised goes towards de-mining projects, and also the local orphanage which takes in street children and also those whose parents cannot cope with the extra mouth anymore, and so the man is able to offer certain children a better life. All food, bed and education is included.
His parents had been killed by the Khmer Rouge, and he spent most of his childhood fighting wars, so he wants to give these children a different type of childhood, which is admirable.
Once the Khmer Rouge had ran away to Thailand, there was a lot of landmines planted in the north west of the country to prevent them returning to Cambodia, hence why this area is particularly unsafe.
We then headed back to get my bike, and I was dropped off by the river so I knew where I was. I headed up to the Tonle Sap exhibition and on my way I got a bite to eat. Near the exhibition, as explained by a few of the exhibits, was an orphanage/special school for the deaf and blind. It had taken me a while to realise this when, just on arrival at the exhibition, I was met by two girls who didn't speak, but managed to mime incredibly well that saying they could fill my water bottles up for me. I had just thought that these resourceful young girls were only able to speak Khmer, and no English, and therefore knew how to act out what they wanted to say! It was quite cool that I understood their sign language though. They are taught to read braille, and sign language, and also there is the nearby Blind Masseurs. The exhibition was really interesting, very geography related and about the surrounding wildlife. Apparently there are only a few Siamese crocodiles, so one is unlikely to be eaten!
I crossed the road, hoping to give blood as was requested by the cello concert the previous night, but to my disappointment, having a period disables me from doing so. I still hope to be able to give some in Phnom Penh instead though. I was hoping that it wouldn't be a blood/HIV type of exchange, but the Swiss doctor seemed very official, and the place smelled very sterile, so it seemed like good conditions.
I then headed off to hopefully go to a concert given by a local orphanage. I wasn't sure whether it would be on, as it was a Sunday, but the leaflet had said every evening, so I thought I might as well try. I;m sure most visitors must arrive by tuk tuk, as the map was impossible to follow. I asked many people for directions, and I was unsure whether some of them were just putting me on a wild goose chase! It was quite an enjoyable trek, bumping my way along the rough red soil that had about potholes absolutely everywhere, which were hard to avoid! I was getting a bit nervous that my bike would end up with a scratched mudguard, and a puncture! But thankfully I was okay! On asking a man where abouts the orphanage was, I noticed his wife looked rather like my Nicaraguan mother. The way she held the map the wrong way round, I thought she would be completely hopeless at giving me directions, but to my surprise, she walked up to me, and in perfect English told me where I was to find the orpanage. I still couldn't find it, and eventually a guy on a motorbike told me to follow him, and pointed out an unsigned house. I was ten minutes early and so thought that if anything was going to happen here, it was very unlikely. I left, and bounced my way back, until I got onto the highway along which my guesthouse was somewhere. Of course, me being me, I chose the wrong direction to go in, and after not coming across my guesthouse after a minute, I scarilly and rather dangerously did a u-ey, so I could go back the way I'd came, along the highway!
I had dinner in the restaurant next to mine, which was a very delicious and a very local rice and vegetables, before spending a short time on the internet and heading off to bed.

Siem Reap - 18th July 2009

Despite my plan for a fairly early morning, I seem to be getting into the rhythm of 8am gettting up and being out by 9am, possibly laziness based on Cambodian standards. I put some laundry in, and hope that it will come back dry and smelling sweetly!
I set off to the temples on my push bike. It's so liberating being able to cycle places. Lucy phoned just as I was approaching the check-point for the Angkor Wat, which I had thought I could just cycle past, until the guard whistled at me to pull over.
I was shouted at by two girls offering to look after my bike for me whilst I went exploring temples, in exchange for buying a bottle of water for $2. It was a bit ridiculous, and after others saw me giving money out, they swamped around me trying to sell me scarfs and other such things. I bought a scarf, as I wanted to wipe away the sweat with something other than my hat, and then I hurried inside to see if I could find Lucy and the rest of the SKIP group.
I was met by two keen tour guides, both of whom study history at a university here, and in their spare time act as tour guides. They were helpful, and provided some interesting information, but I was anxious to meet Lucy. Shortly after, I found Lucy, and left the two guides with a tip. Only three of the 14 had managed to get up, the rest had a hangover from the night before. I was shocked to learn that one had been so drunk as to be sick outside one of the bars. I really couldn't imagine a location suitable for such behaviour. Also, today was their only day for visiting the temples, so they are really missing out on an important part of Cambodia.
Angkor Wat used to be a Hindu temple, but changed to a Buddhist one. Inside are the three gods, although I can't remember their names. There is a statue of the wife of one of the Gods, people often come and pray to her in the hope they will get pregnant.
The temple looked most impressive from a distance, where its shape and size made it spectacular.
Lucy and the two others, had taken a tuk-tuk, and were going for a short tour around the central temples. I joined them and our next stop was to Bayon, which is famous for the faces in the stone. Some of them were obvious, and others not so. It was really quite beautiful. These faces are often painted in the common paintings sold everywhere. There were quite a few locals sitting and painting, some a lot nicer than others! It would have been nice to have supported someone I could actually see doing the painting, but I've already bought plenty paintings of Cambodia.
The following temple was Ta Prohm, known for its part in Lara Croft Tomb Raider. As with the others, when we got out of the tuk tuk, we were immediatly swamped by children trying to sell us things. Most of them were very pleasant and cute.
The temple was a stunner, we didn't really look at the detail of the actual temple, it was the huge roots bigger than even an American, wrapping themselves around the temple that fascinated us. I hadn't realised until leaving that this was the Lara Croft temple, maybe I was too amazed by it! But I wished I'd found the part where Angelina Jolie had picked the flower from etc.
We stopped for lunch, where I had noodles and vegetables; the cheapest thing on the menu, and with no drink; I was rather pleased with myself! The service was a bit slow, but it was a very touristed out restaurant, and it was packed!
We went to another temple, one which I hadn't heard the name of before; Bantay Kdai. I don't really have many recollections of the actual temple, the only thing that made this temple special from the others, was a small boy, aged 6, who had ADHD. He was so adorable! Instead of selling us things, which was obviously what he was supposed to be doing, he was making funny noises, pulling faces, and making us laugh, which in turn, made him laugh! He was so full of beans! He made one noise, and then when a tourist passed, he made another noise, which made everyone laugh! He was an absolute sweety! We asked him to give us a tour, and after taking us two metres, he asked for the money (in a cute way!), and so we said again you take us around... and so in leaps and bounds, he skipped along, making it difficult for us to keep up, and then he would stop for us to catch up! My jaw ached from smiling so much! We paid him his dollar for his 'tour' and then we walked back around to where our tuk tuk driver was, fighting off people trying to sell us things we didn't want.
After seeing that temple, a girl named Sally who had tried selling me books on my entrance to the temple, shouted Joy! and came running after me. I really had enough books, and didn't really want to read even more about the depressing Cambodian history. I've read two already, one on the Vietnam war, and I have one to go, plus one on the Sex industry in Asia, so that'll be cheery reading!
A boy who appeared friendly at first, invited us to buy drinks off him, and other things, after looking over a lake, we went to have a look, a couple of us bought t-shirts, and two of us didn't. The boy kept on harassing us, to which I replied that I was sorry, but I didn't want anything. The little brat replied, 'you a bad tourist, keep your sorrys for your mother'. I thought it was polite to just ignore the rude comment, as keeping face, and not losing ones temper is one of the Khmer attitudes, but obviously not for this little twit. Even more shockingly was his older siblings spoke in the same manner after one of the other girls refused to buy more than one t-shirt! She'd already bought one! The brats should be thankful; not shouting insults at us when we left. Some other tourists overheard and commented 'how rude!' which I was quite thankful that someone else had witnessed the awful behaviour of these very un-Khmer Cambodians.
Frustrated and put off by such manners, we all had been rather templed out, so decided to head back to town. I got dropped off where my bike was, where a few other SKIP people happened to be; they'd managed to make it out of bed by the afternoon!
I decided I'd have a look at the Tonle Sap museum on the way back, but I seemed to miss it, so instead crossed over the river to the side where SKIP members were staying and go in search of various cafes I'd eyed up in the lonely planet. On my cycle around town I tried turning left where it was a one-way street, so had to swerve round like a very indecisive tourist! Why do they put the road-signs on the wrong (technically the correct) side of the road! It's so confusing! The motorcycle behind chuckled at me, as I was laughing at my lack of road-sense ability!
I needed the loo, so didn't actually make it to any of the cafes, but found a cocktail bar instead where I spent a bit too much on various fresh fruit juices and a dessert. There goes my cheap day! It decided to start chucking it down whilst I was there, to which I just ignored it and read my book for ages; Paul Cohelo - the Devil and Miss P...; which I'm thoroughly enjoying!
I cycled back to the hotel, getting a bit wet in the process, and thinking of my washing that is probably out to dry, and now is getting soaked. I decided that I was on holiday and really should be doing more relaxing, so after a shower to get the dirt off me from flying along the roads and getting grit and dusk everywhere, I sat down on my bed and read my book whilst listening to the music on the TV.
I left plenty of time for going to a Beatocello concert that was taking place in a hospital, a weekly occurance, to raise funds for the free childrens healthcare service that runs at the hospital. As the concert was free, the cellist, who is also an amazing man, who served as a doctor before he was forced to leave in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge invaded, came back to Cambodia and set up various hospitals, has done amazing work fundraising for them too. We watched a 35 minute DVD telling his story, and the children's story, and he spoke quite a bit, and then as a breather in between, he let his 'Italian Citizen' cello play some very enjoyable solo Bach to us, which was really pleasant. Maybe I was tired, but I nearly started crying for quite a lot of it! It was so beautiful!
Apparently 65% of all Cambodians have TB, which was a shocker, and the vaccine we were given for BCG, doesn't work. The hospitals are 90% funded by private donations which I found a bit crazy. I bought a copy of the DVD we had been shown.
After the 'concert' finished, I received a text from Lucy when I switched my phone on, but I think our times and wires must have crossed as she wasn't at the place where she said she had been heading. I sat and had a drink on Bar Street, the place filled with rowdy English tourists (and other Nationalities) hang out and get drunk. It was more a scene from Benidorm than Cambodia. Surprisingly enough, this rowdy street was the one I had been looking for previously, but hadn't found; crazy as it was loud enough. I sat in a restaurant drinking whilst plotting for the next few days where I was going and what I'd do there. It was 10pm before I finally headed back to my hotel, I was completely exhausted!

Phnom Penh to Siem Reap - 17th July 2009

I had set my alarm for 5.30am, expecting it to be a hard slog to get myself out of bed, with the risk that I might go back to sleep and sleep in. Typically this wasn't the case in this instance, and so I was all packed up and ready for breakfast and then to go, by only 6am!
I headed down the millions of stairs to the restaurant where I was barely able to safely put my rucksack down. I managed, and enjoyed a very tasty breakfast, with a slightly endulgant two coffees! Someone had conveniently passed, offering newspapers for sale so I bought one. I half expected them to just be fakes, with blank pages on the inside, but thankfully they weren't.
There was quite a lot of interesting news; A group living somewhere in Phnom Penh were evicted with a settle up fee of $8000 for leaving peacefully, although some were still refusing to go. Also someone was in the news for being a female tuk-tuk driver. Siem Reaps tourism is decrewasing to teh temples, although there are more nastionals visiting. There is a trial for someone who was a main-man in the S21 killings. Japan is putting large amounts of money into de-land-mining the Battambang area. A curious one, was that they might be having a ban on advertisments for phone companies that advertise long phone calls as it is anti-Khmer.
Victims of a paedophile who paid kids to pose naked for $5 a go, were getting $119 in compensation for their trauma... and a 14 year old girl was stabbed to death in Kampot.
One piece of news that was a bit irritating was that there's a storm in Kampot, making it not particularly for tourists to go there, I'm hoping things will calm down a bit before I plan to go there.
After reading all the news, which I hadn't done for a very long time, I headed out to the bus station to wait for the bus to Siem Reap. My bag was labelled and put on board, as I too boarded the bus. Unfortunatly I was sat next to a local lady who wass picking at her feet and had quite a lot of fruit which seemed to be smelling the place out a bit.
I read my book for most of the journey, trying to distract myself from the need to go to the toilet... damn those cups of irresistable coffee!!
Eventually we made a stop, where I could relieve myself, in the comfort of a squat toilet; fun! I maybe should start practicing doing some squat thrusts or something so that it's not so painful for my thighs when I go to the toilet!
The second stop I decided I'd treat myself to another coffee as it wasn't too long befopre we were supposed to arrive in Siem Reap. I was in a good position to keep an eye on where I'd seen our bus park, and where there was still a bus parked. After finishing my coffee, and being distracted by a man offering a free mini-bus ride to the centre from the bus park, I was just paying, when I saw the bus roll away! I must have looked pretty shocked and be muttering something in disbelief, as the waitor subsequently ran after the bus. I'm not sure what happened in the next few seconds, as somehow I was able to come to my senses that the bus that had just left was going to Phnom Penh, and somehow my bus had miraculously moved places whilst I was daydreaming. Never again shall I let my eyes stray from the bus, or endulge in a coffee! It was quite a shock, and although I don't think many of those on the bus knew the embarassment I'd just gone thoiugh, I still kept my head down as I re-boarded the bus!
Yet again, on our arrival, this time in Siem Reap, we were swarmed by tuk-tuk drivers. I checked with some fellow whites that they were also trusting the mini-bus man, and then passed on my newspaper to them. It was a very short bus ride during which we were informed that the king was visiting Siem Reap for two weeks. We pulled up in a guesthouse that didn't look to bad. I managed to get the room, with breakfast included, for only $6! Yay! It was ensuite, a big fan, and a tv, and generally in good condition.
I faffed about, but not for long, before checking my emails and heading out. I'd expected to hear from Lucy by this time, but hadn't so I decided I'd make do by myself and head out to the town. I was shocked at how far out the guesthouse seemed on the map from the rest of the town, but in reality, it is not that bad.
Next door was a conviently placed bike hire centre, for only $0.5 a day! Amazing! I haded off in the pretty sturdy little bike, and apart from the occassional rude noise coming from the bike, I felt pretty safe. I had a hard time identifying where places were in the town. It was quite dusty as the wind rose, and it was raining very gently for a time. It felt a bit like a ever so slightly livelier place in the out-west, but with the occasional pagoda and Asian influence to the area. I was feeling pretty jolly on the bike, it makes a nice change from being stuck on a bus.
Just by chance, after giving up after following a map, I came across a little shop which sold things made by disabled people, which the profits went directly to the makers.
Just around the corner, was the Physical Rehabilitation Centre, which was a real gem. It had examples of limbs that people had made themselves before the PRC had givewn them properly fitted ones, as well examples of the education they provide in other centres about avoiding landmines and health care of 0-5 year olds, as many have developed cerebral palsy after not being given appropriate medical help sooin enough for a treatable virus. So they help people reognise the symptoms etc.
The main purpose of the centre is to provide those who have lost limbs, suffer with cerebal palsy, or club foot; the physiotheraphy, or proper fitting/testing off new prosthetic limbs so they can continue working on farms and live a more normal life. They provide free transport, accomodation within the centre whilst the limb is fitted, food, and all the related medical care free of charge. The testing of the limbs was done in a playground type of scene, where they tested it on swingy bridges, rocky ground, and various other challenging landscape. The room for giving parents and children an idea of things to do and new ways to experience life, for which they must go home and continue such independence-building tasks, was a room full of lots of toys and balls etc. There was also a social worker who worked to help the person/familyt in as many ways as possible to make their life easier. It is amazing that they do all of the above on site, even the creation of the new limbs! It was a really heart-wrenching/inspiring place. It was nice to see something working out well for the locals.
The only scary thing was the rat in the kitchen area which was pretty huge. Also there was a cute kitten, who unfortunatly got too close to a girl who lifted the poor cat up by her tail and moved the cat elsewhere.
I decided I'd have a go at heading up to Ankor Wat to get my free sunset before the three day pass starts the following day. On the way, I happened to slow down, and eventually stop outside a rucksack shop, where, as always I got slightly too tempted by what was on offer, and bouht a rucksack. Whoops! I hope this one dosn't break. I think I might put all my luggage in it and then jump around madly (as far as possible!) just to check it isn't going to break, as I manaed to get the guy to sign something saying he'd refund or give me a new one should it break in the next week!
The pass cost $40, and it didn't take me long to cycle there, although surprisingly it felt longer on the way there than the way back. It was fun overtaking as many bicycles as possible on the way though. It was quite exhausting, but probably as I hadn't eaten must substatial food during the day.
The temple looked nice, although maybe it was due to my hunger and exhaustion, that I prefer the paintings I'd seen of the temple, rather than the temple itself. I didn't manage to see the sunset; I seem to get rather confused between actually being able to see the sun (has it already set?) or is it just hiding, as it's not pitch black yet... it's a mystery!
I hope the next couple of days aren't too boring with just seeing lots of temples! I cyled back, briefly stopping to see what the vendors on the side where selling, although I think they only had one dish which was a bit strange. A car passed me, with two kidsa hanging out the window waving madly and shouting hello; how adorable! I waved and shouted back, being careful to not run myself into the ditch. Surprisingly enough I didn't fall off the bike, get the lock stuck or o flying into the ditches at all today, so I'm feeling rather proud of myself!
I went along a street in searchj o dinner; there was an awful lot of pizza places to choose from, one of which includes a 'happy herb'- guess which one?! I decided I wasn't going to get high, and went to a drug-free pizza place where I had a very delicious mango shake and pizza. Outside there were a group of kids playing in a tuk tuk with their young mum, it was quite sweet.
I'm still not sure whether MJ is illegal or not here, oh well, best not try, although it seems a bit weird being on such a public display if it was illegal.
I still hadn't heard from Lucy or anyone from SKIP by this point, and didn't know who the unknown caller was who kept on phoning me. I didn't ever seem to be looking at my phone when it was going off, and as always I didn't actually hear it ever either! I decided that I couldn't sit and wonder where they were and I'd have to just get on with Siem Reap by myself.
I headed back to the guesthouse where I had a shower, which discovered not only that my washing bag had squirted shampoo everywhere, but that there was a cockroach in my shower. I'm starting to like the little critters, although I think I'll have to somehow freak myself out with an imagine of 20 of them toether, in a small space or I might just start to feed them or something!
I headed next door to the internet cafe as the guesthouse internet was in use, and I thought I'd probably get chucked off sooner or later if I tried to be on there blogging for hours. Just as I was blogging, Lucy rang, and told me she was in the MJ pizza place! I'm hoping to see them tomorrow, although I'll have to keep my phone in front of my eyes so I don't miss them! I shall hopefully be able to deliver Lucy's geckos then too!
Tomorrow I plan to go to a hospital to see a cellist play some Bach which I'm looking forward to!

Mekong Delta - Border - Phnom Penh - 16th July 2009

Yet another crazily early morning! I woke up before the cockeral crowed! It was breakfast at 6am so we could be off at 7am. Of course we were never off by 7am, but at least the breakfast was quite tasty. I sat up on the balcony, looking over the river which was very peaceful. My rucksack is getting enormous, which is slightly worrying, but I managed to give away one book that I had finished reading, so that was a relief.
Our first stop, which felt like it was only a few metres away was to a fish farm. There were four types of fish on this farm, and in a cage that was 10x6x3 metres, there were 10,200 fish! They spent 50,000 dong 0n each feed, of which there were three a day. At three months old, they are transferred to a larger pen,and after 7 months of this, the fish are big enough to be sold to markets to be eaten.
Our final stop before the borders was to a minority Islamic Village, where they locals were selling various things, that looked exactly the same as every other tourist area. Also we walked along to the mosque, which again, looked like most other mosques! There was nothing particularly special about the area! Although I did manage to buy the cute little cake forks made out of coconut that I'd been admiring elsewhere, but at the time I had resisted.
After this stop, it was on to the border crossing. All I had to do was sit in a cafe and wait for an hour, whilst the tour guide checked me out of Vietnam, and then we got back on the boat. And a few minutes later, we had to get off again, to be signed into Cambodia. I was very impressed with the man who stamped my passport with such care and attention, making sure he put it in a nice place and all the words could be read.
It wasn't lng before we finally arrived at Capitol Guesthouse, where we were swamped by lots of moto and tuk tuk drivers. It was absolutely mahem! A few of them commented, or laughed along with my 'same same but different' t-shirt, obviously recognising the well used phrase used on tourists.
To their disappointment, I decided for simplicity's sake, I would just stay in the guesthouse, provided it was cheap and there were no rats or other such scary animals in the rooms. After climbing up three flights of stairs, I found only one cockroach, so thought it would make do for the one night that I would be there. I felt a bit claustrauphobic, as the cheap rooms ($5) don't come with a window, so I decided to venture out and go in search of some fresh air. I had a look around this area of Phnom Penh, which I don't seem to have been in before. There were many places selling matresses, being carried off on the back of a moto, and lots of ways to personalise motos like stickers and the like. Being rather disappointed at the lack of places to eat, I headed back to the guesthouse. I managed to book a bus to Siem Reap for the following morning at 7.30am. It went from a few doors down, so I was able to relax slightly and get on with a late lunch, which was a rather plain plate of chips but a heavenly cup of coffee. I popped next door to a newsagents to stock up on a few goodies for the trip, and being taught the odd word in Khmer, before going back to reside in the internet cafe next to the hotel. After many hours passing in there, I was eventually forced by the early closing hour of 9pm, to leave, and go in search of dinner.
There wasn't much choice, so I headed to the one that looked most open. Again, I ordered chips, but mainly due to the lack of there being anything other that was suitable on the menu. The waitor hung around and initiated a non-stop conversation, until I eventually made my excuses and asked for the bill and left. It was a bit off putting having someone stand over me as I ate, but he seemed to enjoy talking about himself, so who was I to spoil his happiness. He could be doing worse things over dinner!
He talked about his harsh plight to work a 37.5 hour week (5.5hours a day, 7 days a week) at the restaurant, just so he could earn $20 a month, of which he gives a proportion (he said half but I'm not sure that's possible) to his family who live out in the countryside and spends the rest on his university fees; he is studying design. He is from a poor family and so it is hard for him to get to university. He is from a family of 6 siblings, all of whom remain in the ountryside.
He then went on to taalk a bit about the history of Cambodia, the temples, the suffering, and he seemed quite bitter about it all. He did look quite young, I'm sure he couldn't be past the age of 24.
I know I shouldn't give in to emotional blackmail, or 'bored to death' blackmail, but I got the bill as fast as politely possible, and gave him a tip, which made my dinner a bit more costly. I suppose he just thought I was a bit too interested in Cambodia as I was reading the second book by Le Lay Hayslip about growing up in Cambodia and then Ameria after the war.

Mekong Delta trip (places to be confirmed!) - 15th July 2009

A 5.30am start this morning - ouch! but it was definetly worth it, as we made our way for our 6.15am buffet breakfast. They had everything we could possibly have wanted; eggs done just the way you like them, british cereal, silk worm surprise, noodle dishes, rice dishes, a selection of fruit, bread and jam, pancakes, omlettes, fruit juices, tea, coffee; it really was a wonderful spread! After that enjoyment, which kept us full for hours, we went back to the hotel, where the other people on the trip were having very plain bread and jam!
My socks were still wet from the previous days rain, so I kept in my sandles for the day. We just took our day bags, and had to walk to the boat station where we went off to the floating market. It took a while to get there, and we had to transfer into two rowing boats, with about 13 people on each. Thankfully we were on the one that had slightly lacsidaisical health and safety, so we didn't have to wear the bright orange life jackets! We passed a couple of boats that were trying to sell to the tourists their selection of drinks. I was very tempted by one man, as he had a really gorgeous daughter who was around two years old. I managed to take a photo of her without giving into the temptation of buying a drink!
The rest of the sellers were on huge boats, and were trading with others on similarly huge boats, or on the land. They only sell in 10kg batches or greater, so obviously tourists aren't going to make good buyers. They seemed oblivious to our tourist boats going up and down, and were busy passing over from one ship to another their produce; potatoes, melons, pineapples... To make buyers jobs easier, they hang from their mast, a display of what it is they are selling, for example, a melon. It was quite nice for us to enter the bubble of the locals. We had a toilet break before coming back along the river, and it was at a temple. I wasn't that interested in the temple, the toilet was more appealing to me, although annoyingly it was a crouch toilet. Also there were some really beautiful flowers on the way, so Anja and I, and a few others took a greater interest in them!
On the way back along the floating market, there was a lady selling some small quantities of fruit; we were able to try some too, which was quite nice of her. Then, although we were feeling quite full still, we stopped at a larger boat, where a lady was sitting on the top selling fresh pineapples which she cut up for us. It was so much fun, and at only half a dollar, who can go wrong?! The pineapple was delicious, and as it still had it's stalk on it, we were able to eat it like one would an ice cream! It was quite a novelty! She cut it up in a very loving way with such care and attention to it.
We visited a rice factory, which wasn't working at the time, so it was looking just like a storage unit. We were taught about all the work that goes into producing rice; which is unbelievable; they have to hand plant each grain twice! And then 3-4 months later they are harvested and the tops cut off by hand, and then taken for processing. The soil is then prepared for the next lot of rice; which is in two or three stages; it is ploughed, and flattened, and fertilised; using some of the 'waste' materials from the previous rice stages. It really is a hard job. I'm not sure how much a rice farmer gets paid, but they only sell it for 5,000 dong a kg, or something ridiculously small ($0.25).
We were then given the choice of going to either a rice noodle making production place where we may or may not see something happening, depending if they were working that day or not; or the local market. Surprisingly enough, most people voted for the local market, so we had to go there. I thought it would be quite similar, if not identical to all the other local markets, but this one had a lot more animals in it. It was full of horrible smells, and dead animals that had just been plucked, or had been cut up into bits and pieces, with beaks, eyes, ears, snouts and other such limbs being identifiable. It was like something from a horror movie. There was a snake, that had been skinned, identifiable by the bit of skin left on it's tail, and the fatty deposits on display. There were some frogs, that had been tied together so they couldn't escape their fate, and some somehow headless, skinned frogs, that were still jumping around the place. I wasn't quite sure how they could be in such a way, still alive but without a head, but maybe it was just a result from being skinned that made they look so different. The most shocking things were the way they treated the fish. Still alive, after being left in a small bowl of water, they were taken out, and using some scissors, a girl cut off the fins, and tail, slit the poor fishes throat, and gutted the poor fish. To my horror, the fish, which had been thrashing about during all the above processes, remained alive, and was still able to jump out of the fish bowl, just to be put back in place by the girl. The poor animals. I can't imagine how much suffering they must have gone through, and to be still alive. If that hadn't killed them I'm not sure what does. It seemed worse than the stories told in the book about all the torture technicques used on Cambodian republicans by the Khmer Rouge.
The only thing to lighten up the depressing state of the market, was a really gorgeous little boy, who was taking an interest in me as I was taking the photos. I took a photo of him, and showed it to him, to which he giggled in a really cute way!! Sooo adorable!
Surprisingly enough, after that slightly horrifying ordeal, it was time for lunch. We were given two hours of freedom in the town, and told to be back at our hotel by 2pm. Annoyingly, the tour guide must have been getting a commission from some friends as he led us to a restaurant that waved us in madly and told us to go upstairs, before eventually we managed to get out of the tour guide the instructions about how long we had etc. We headed back along the street we had just walked, and back to the restaurant where I had enjoyed my dinner the night before. We drew a little diagram, describing that we wanted a medium pizza half with Anja's request on, and the other half fulfilling my requests, and then a picture of a glass with what kind of fruits we wanted mixing up in it to make a shake. The local waiter, who was probably the owner thought it was rather cute what we did, and showed it to some local boys, possibly his sons or grandsons, or possibly fellow workers in the restaurant. It entertained them for a bit anyway!
When the pizza arrived, it looked amazing! and tasted amazing too!
Afterwards, we wandered to a small market where I managed to get a 'same same but different' t-shirt for 35,000, and also a football style t-shirt which I thought would be nice and airy! We stocked up on snacks for the following legs of our journey before heading back to the hotel.
At the hotel, we hung around for a bit, waiting for the guides to return, before we had to say our goodbyes. We promised to keep in touch, especially as Anja could possibly come to the UK for a visit, and also we were both quite keen to cycle Land's End -John O Groats as it's a good way to see the UK.
Anja was driven back to Ho Chi Minh City by bus, something which she wasn't looking forward to. And at 3pm, when our tour guide finally arrived, we had to walk with all our gear to the boat station to get on the fast boat to Chau Doc. It was a very long journey, and the latter half was in pitch black! Making it pretty scary. Thankfully I managed to sleep for quite a bit of it. At 7.45pm, we arrived at our floating hotel. It was surprisingly stable, although I felt a bit scared as it looked like something out of the horror movies where people get killed off one by one in a deserted hotel, according to their room numbers. I had some dinner and chatted to some of the french people, and the dashing photographer who liked to surf. Dinner was quite nice, rice and vegetables! before heading to bed.