Photos of hotel rules and today's sojourns

Nice easy day today... woke up had a drink fell back into bed and slept another 2 hours... Yay!! We went to Cinderella cafe for lunch and it cost $21.75.. Expensive for Cambodia, and for that we had, 2 cuppacinos, 2 lattes, 1 hot chocolate, 1 fanta, one meal of scrambled eggs and 4 rashers of bacon with 2 pieces of toast, and spicy Korean noodles...

Grabbed a tuk tuk ($10) and took a tour of the city.. Brilliant.. Off the coast the government is building a bridge to snake island named funnily enough because of the number of snakes on that island.. (why they want to make it easier for them to get to the mainland is beyond me). We were taken to the "airport" which is a hanger that houses an anatov?? airplane that you can walk through.. it is suspended from the roof, and a restaurant disco floor below.. Sign on the wall entering the place in pictures is:
No grenades
No Guns
No knives and
No cameras... Right next door is the Snake house, and it's free entry if you eat there, else it costs $3 pp entry fee.. Directly across the Gulf of Thailand is a small island that is privately owned by the same man who own's the Snake house, and the Airport.. 12 rooms only in the hotel with an underwater viewing room for the guests.. Cost $1000 - $7000 per night... Locals say it's the Russian mafia, others say its a rich Russian, so the nationality is the only thing that they all agree on.

One of the photos shows a stretch limousine, which is one of two in the Kingdom of Cambodia.. the other one is in Siem Reap and is white... It is based at the privately owned beach, that has white sandy beaches that you pay for if your not staying at the hotel.. $4 gets you access to the beach the swimming pool and no street sellers, the tarpaulins contrast the opulence of the hotel and some of the local living conditions.. they are within 20mtrs of each other...

Tried to take a photo of the hotels rules but my camera doesnt work that well in close-ups.. but had to do it: Rule number 5: No weapons, No explosives and no radio-active material to be in the rooms.. These must be registered at reception.. (nice to know they are safety conscious).

One of the burgeoning industries in Cambodia is retirement villages for tourists... Long term stay in Cambodia is much easier than in Thailand. You can ask for one on entry, and occassionally they check it out. If this occurs you leave the country for a couple of days and then return. The care provided is personal, cheaper, and the weather, temperature and value for money means that many westerners essentially come here to live until they die.. There is a standing joke about Thailand being the country for eternal youth (being the surgical capital of the world) and Cambodia being the country to go to die..

It's 4.40pm and we are supposed to go out for a beach BBQ as a group, but it's bucketing down at the moment so not a particularly attractive option.. might stay in, get lots of sleep we leave for phenom penh early tomorrow morning... two nights and then Vietnam.. have been told by the australians that hoi an is the place to have things tailor made, takes 24hours.. will see.. Oh went into the sea again today.. Gulf of Thailand, so both coasts covered now.

Running out of room on my memory stick so will burn to CD and start all over again.. I asked the driver again about the absence of cats in Cambodia and he does think it's down to the monkeys playing with them in the trees.. Volleyball is a favourite sport here, and it's not limited to the people... Sorry cat lovers, the monkeys use cats and hold onto their tails to play "toss the pussy" ok sounds dodgy given the other industry that flourishes here after 9.00pm..

Son, no shoes yet sorry sweety... But apparently there are Rolex's for $11 at the market... One of the aussies bought one, dropped it and now the crown (which is the hallmark for Rolex) is floating around his watchface... anyone interested in a $7 Rolex???

Till next time... xoxoxo

Photos of Ream National Park.

From yesterday, the boat, the people the park, the boat, the stranded / beached boat that we had to push..

Ream national Park or Preah Sihanouk National park.

Left the hotel this morning at 9.00 for a day trip to the national park... It was established in 1993 and the day tour includes a boat ride through the mangrove, a short hike over a hill to a white sandy beach, followed by lunch, and views of the mangroves from a lookout..

Ok now that was what the brochure said.. Unfortunately the morning was shite, overcast, cloudy with pockets of rain included, but still temperature hovering in the high 20's. As today was a free day some of our group had privately booked their own tour in town, and some of us booked through our hotel.. Departure times were 8.30 and 9.00am respectively. However this is Cambodia so departure time was 8.45 and included both parties.. (should have known better!!).

We picked up another tourist, Michael who is doing asia before returning to America for an operation, which he was happy to report has cost so far $100,000 for his knee and $15,000 for his teeth all damaged through a car accident.. has anyone else noticed how forthcoming americans are with their medical conditions or history? Just an observation on my part... Nice guy.. (But he should have know better too, given it clearly states a hike over a hill!).

We also joined up with 4 Australians who are touring Cambodia and Thailand before returning to Melbourne.. (Robyn, Andrew, Robert, Franco).. The boat (which i will post photos of later) was captained by the locals, and was essentially a long boat with a tarpaulin on top... turning was managed by the judicious pull and tug of a piece of rope and only done when absolutely necessary... Cruising down the estuary the people were harvesting oysters in the middle of the water which is a local source of employment, as is the catching of mangrove crabs. The water was quite deceptive, fast flowing and then in the midst of it was a large sandbank that people were walking along. Odd really.. Anyway, we saw a number of birds that were as larger than our hawks but I couldn't catch the name of them.. our tour guide was up one end of the boat and i was down the other and trying to hear him over the sound of the outboard was impossible, so just nodding and smiling kept him happy and me ignorant.

We neared a village which was the starting point for our hike over the hill and to the beach for a swim... ..Did i mention that the turning of the boat was on an as needs basis?? Well it was needed, but a little bit too late and the bugger managed to beach us on a sandbank so over the side we went, and had to walk to shore which was about 20meters away... (and so it began!) Do you mind leeches he asks as were hiking up the hill? Perhaps it was the look of horror that prompted him to say, um, but it's the wet season so there shouldn't be any... yeah right!! I think I added another 2 kilometers avoiding any water (except the sea of course, had no choice in that one) but arrived safely on the beach... Went to the sheds to change into togs... Couldn't see the point in not swimming, it was only blowing a storm with a nasty rip running through it... Water was so storm tossed it was black but hell, when else will I be able to say I swam in the South China Sea... In any event the water was deliciously warm albeit rough and dark... One of the girls went to the toilet and came out crying.. apparently she was being watched through a pee-phole. So the Australians, gathered around her and comforted her.. Nice really, me I just wanted to find the little blighter, but couldn't find him.. Our guide asked if we were hungry, of course we yelled in unison. Afterall, we'd just hiked a hill been swimming for an hour so yes a bit of food was definately in order.... So guess what... Yep the food was on the stranded boat, so back over the freaking hill we go... Actually I was laughing by then, between the bad weather, the bad beach, the bad peeper it just got funnier to me.. The boat was listing on it's side, so in our absence the two deck hands had gone to sleep.. so it was back through the water to the boat, trousers soaking wet, shoes ruined... Lunch was nice though, barracuda (a fish I would never eat back home) the proverbial bread and salad... Can of drink bottle of water and fresh fruit to finish... having to balance your meal on a sideways boat was hilarious... About 3 people on the boat had cuts on their feet from the shells walking out to the boat so out came the bandages from their packs.. the boat didn't have a first aid kit, or life jackets for that matter either.. (just realised that, it's so not NZ)...

The captain then said we could either, push the boat out to deeper water, or we could sit for another 3 hours until the tide came in sufficiently to float the boat... So you guessed it, over the side everyone went and started pushing the boat.. Many jumped back into the boat prematurely and got it stuck again, so back over the side we went... In the end the Aussie men and i were left pushing / pulling and we knew it was riding easier in the water, so they yelled at me to get in... putting pressure on my foot to lift it was a BIG mistake... it got stuck in the mud, but I had also managed to haul my other leg over the side of the boat.... one leg over, one leg stuck in mud and a bloody metal pole now getting rammed between the two on account of the boat was moving and I wasn't.... So yep, guess who goes under? The girl from down under... I don't know whats with mechanical transportation, south east asia and me... (next trip I take will be a walking or cycling tour only).. I sputtered to the surface looking for sympathy, and got only a standing ovation.. Apparently it was the highlight of the day, brats... Got me laughing too and I sooooo wanted to be outraged but it was too ridiculous to do anything else but laugh... I mean how many people pay for the pleasure of pushing someone elses boat through a mangrove swamp?? Oh I know that would be 11.

Anyway went to dinner with the Ossies tonight.. fantastic people, just laughed, enjoyed each others company for dinner we had:
Battered prawns, Ginger chicken, Chicken Curry with rice, spring rolls, steamed prawns with Sangria and beer cost $5 each...

Tomorrow will be a down day, looking forward to reading a book, a traditional Cambodian massage 2 hours $12, and resting.. we leave the following day for Phenom penh which I'm sure will be an emotionally draining time and after that we will be in Vietnam...

Can't believe how quickly this is going, but loving everyday...

It's 11.00pm now and only 28degrees so should sleep well tonight..

Alissa oops the trip cost $20 and included being picked up and delivered back to the hotel, the trip the lunch the trek, the swim, the exercise etc but not the dinner..

Actually I should say that according to our tour leader this is the most unsafe town next to Phenom Penh.. but nothing has happened to us.. Michael however said that he was pulled over by the police for not wearing a helmet, wrote him out a ticket for 50c and charged him $10 so he felt as if he'd been robbed... Toughen up boyo... (oh yes you can buy a cambodian licence here too, but I was asked by my leader not too.. so my Xmas gift to me, is a motorbike licence and then a bike back home)

Till next time :o) xoxoxo

The home stay..

As you can see from the photos it was quite rudimentary accommodation... But fantastic..

Chambok, is in the middle of Kirium national park and is an eco-tourist venture in conjunction with NGO's (Non-Government Organisations).

The history of the village is, that during the war the Khmer used the jungles of the park would hunt the villagers not joining in and laying landmines, so they needed to leave. Even after peace was declared, there were many Khmer still active waging personal battles within the park and having been subject to extensive landmines their livelihood, like so many Cambodians at the time was destroyed and their chances of survival was precarious.
In order to survive, they would go into the jungles cut down the trees to make charcoal, (which would be sold to other villages) hunt the tigers, bears and other animals again, to sell or eat..

Consequently their natural resources were rapidly diminishing... The Princess Diana's foundation highlighted the need to clear the landmines from Cambodia, and this attention bought NGO's to their area. One of the members of the NGO could see that the clearance of the jungle was going to eventually destroy their long term future so started to teach some of the villagers about sustainable living, and eco-tourism opportunities..

Long story short... The villagers formed a "commune" and decided that they would stop cutting down their trees, hunting the animals, and find alternative sources of income.. They looked at their natural resources, eg: they have a 45 meter waterfall that you can hike up to see through the jungle, many flora that is no longer in existance in the wider Cambodian area, and their isolation from the cities has made their village a popular attraction for both local and international tourists.
The entrance fee to the waterfall is $2 per person... So they will guide you up the trek, show you the jungle and take you to the waterfall..
A homestay overnight includes dinner and breakfast cooked by the "womens association" at the "womens restaurant". There are over 300 members in the womens association (had a quiet laugh to self as accents can be childishly funny... So, ok, I knew he was saying association, but I was hearing Arse-y - ocean, ok I will grow up one day just not yet)... so the women villagers rotate the cooking as it is one opportunity for them to earn money because their primary role is to raise the children.
Homestays are also rotated among the villagers who will open their homes to tourists. Initially there was only 1 homestay available in the village. Most of the villagers didn't believe that anyone would be willing to pay to live as they do, but over time more have opened their homes and hearts... there are now in excess of 28 homes that you can stay in.

One of the fantastic things they do, is that all the money earned from the tourists dollars are pooled, with funds going to the primary provider of whatever service is given, eg: cooking, guiding etc and a percentage of the fund is saved to help the poor families during the wet season who have insufficient money to last through to the dry season.. last year the money from the tourists helped support 150 families.. this year they are expecting to support the same numbers.

Oh yeah, no electricity means that lighting (if available) is battery generated, so each morning at 7.00am a truck hurtles down the village road tooting his horn repeatedly... (so if the roosters don't wake you, - 4.30ish, or the women preparing their cooking for the family 5.30ish then the bleeding truck will get you everytime) if you need your battery charged, it's left on the side of the road, and returned to you that same day... (so why then if he's looking for batteries on the side of the road is it necessary to blast your damn horn all the way through the village???? Is this a man thing?????)

So last night we had dinner in the community hall (outside under thatched roof) they cook on open fires after which Jack (our tour leader) had purchased karaoke discs.. So the locals and our group had a karaoke evening, which meant that Jack sang and we oohh'd and aahhh'd to his music. Have I mentioned that he considers himself a romantic and has Ronan Keating's version of "If tomorrow never comes" and is a huge fan of Richard Marx... Oh Oh Oh and Celine Dion.. all of whom he proceeded to sing last night.... Using lots of mime, like fingers down the throat, fingers in ears, and other subtle mannerisms (which was the Canadian) our bus driver changed the disc to put on some faster songs of Karaoke. So there we were doing the Cha Cha Cha, learned how to dance the Madison, the fishing dance, the monkey and did a really poor version of the Apsara, but just fun... Geckos running up the side of the walls, bugs flying at you, no idea of the songs, Jack occasionally going out of tune, and all of us frequently going out of time...
Laughed all night, then we retired to our homestay for a ritual rice wine drink... Bloody hell, as Emily said, "I drank Goon in Australia, Kava in Fiji, but rice wine in Cambodia is the worst tasting drink yet.." Still as she said, it did the job and for $1 a litre she wasn't going to complain.

Ever tried to go to the bathroom at night which is outside, without lighting, and it's an asian style which means there is no rim to "feel" your way around? I mean, if your feeling any rim, your arse is sitting on the ground.. So about 4.15 there began a queue for the loo.. Being the smart one, and also the one closest to the door, I led the pack... Was going fine, until I got to the loo. Furtive rustles, odd noises... Please remember that there are bears, and tigers in the National park where we were staying.... Not having a torch I started to jump which seemed to start a new fad with the ladies behind me... and before I knew it, we were all squealing and squawking worse than the chickens, pigs and cows that we were sharing the homestay with. Michele the clever one, turned on her torch and lined up like sentries across the toilet door entrance were some killer ducks... each of which was at least 4ft tall, with sharp beaks, deep quacks and ok, now it's getting ridiculous, but in the pitch dark, they were frightening until we laughed... Then we got yelled at by others wanting sleep, now that was truly scary...

Had breakfast at the homestay and said our goodbyes, or phonetically awe-coon (Thank you) or awe-coon tom tom (big thank you) and lee-high (goodbye).. Hugs from the ladies, which is unusual as the showing of any affection among the cambodians is frowned upon... it is private..

Landed in Sihanouk ville named after the king and is a major port so is a bustling, cosmopolitan city... Yucky place after the peace of Chambok... We are staying at the Chhne Chulsa (CCS) hotel which is a 7 minute walk to the beaches.... cost $20 per night which includes breakfast... Although it has modern facilities, I think I'm hooked on the homestay, so it's ok Alissa but I'd return to the bush in a heartbeat... Went for a wander around today, and on the beaches (public) you are accosted by street vendors wanting you to buy buy buy, so of course it was bye bye bye.... One of our group stayed on the beach a bit longer and came back with a completed pedicure and manicure, both of which cost her $8.00. She was so proud of it and then she pointed out that her toes and hands were green, and different shades so go figure.. It can't be the end result only the experience.. but that's what Cambodia has been like so far, so as they say here.... "Same Same but different".

Tomorrow we're off to the National park here which includes a boat trip through a mangrove swamp, hiking up some hill, lunch drink and will have us out and about all day for $20US.. and if the weather gets better we will be taking a boat cruise out to some islands in the bay, for snorkelling, fishing and lunch... that's also about 15 - 20..

Meals here average 3 - 4 dollars, with some things obviously costing more such as the dessert I had tonight.. Went to Cinderella's cafe, for apple strudel, filling divine but pastry blah... but then most of you know, that I don't do pastry anyway.. but that was $4.00 and the bbq pork steak I had for dinner which came with baked potatoe and salad was 3.50 so go figure...

Oh oh oh oh, Jack said to tell you that if you do stay in hotels etc, that the water is ok for teeth brushing but don't drink... So Alissa remember to spit don't swallow...

Must away we're here for 3 nights before heading off to Phnom Penh for 2 nights, then we move to Vietnam... Btw it's 10.30pm and 30 degrees and their television has more channels and better movies that SKY back home... Nah nah nah nah nah!!

:o) xoxoxo

Photos of The homestay at Chambok... and the man woman mountain with the Cat!! :o)

From Siem Reap to Kampong Cham..

We left Siem Reap at 7.30am... Alissa, the guest house cost $6 per night... air conditioned, lovely hosts, hot and cold running water, guest geckos (but that's everywhere) and 24 hour reception (on account of they sleep downstairs under mossie nets and can hear you walking around)

We were picked up by a public bus and transported to the main bus terminal where we hopped onto the larger service going to Kampong Cham.. Brilliant public transport... the karaoke screen was playing when we got on, air conditioned (at times it became cold it was so good) and got to our hotel at 1.30.. We stayed at the Mekong Hotel, that was converted 10years ago into a 5 star hotel by the government... Prior to that it was a hospital.. It's still undergoing upgrading, so on the ground floor it's just the reception and builders., second floor rooms and 3rd floor (went for a nosy) there is nothing beyond the doors in the hallway... By that I mean, open the door, you have a room but no external walls.. Nice rooms again, air conditioned, hot and cold running water, cost $5 dollars..

We arrived on a Saturday and I would definately stay there again.. it is across the road from the Mekong and the street it's on seems to be the nightlife centre of the town... Come nightfall a mini fair is set up on the waterfront, and you can buy cold drinks and food from the sellers and just enjoy the people..

Earlier that day we had gone to a local's for lunch that was organised by our leader... Again would recommend it.... for $5 we had over 9 different dishes, ate with the home owners, learned a little about how they lived and also had a show.. The little guy (2yrs old) came wandering out after lunch with a tarantula on him.. Then of course out came the deep fried ones.. When in Rome.... surprisingly, it tastes like "chicken" which is the local vernacular to describe to foreigners anything that tastes yummy.... If it is it tastes like "chicken"... Texture of jerky though... They prepare them by drowning them in salt water, scrub them, remove the fangs and then cook them...

After that we went up to the man and woman mountains... Our local guide said that years ago a dispute arose as to who would propose marriage... So in order to decide, the men and the women agreed to build a mountain.. The highest one by the sunrise would be the winner... The two sexes then moved earth to start making the mountain... The women prepared a meal with alcohol and gave it to the men, and in addition they had built a large fire. Closer to dawn the women lit the fire to replicate the sunrise, the men having been provided food and drink, were fooled into thinking that the sun was coming up and stopped building their mountain... In this way the women's was higher and from that day forward in Cambodia the men have to propose and pay for the marriage..

There is a popular song here with the title of $5000 because on average that's how much it cost for the men's dowry... They not only pay for the reception but also the mother in law as she fed and raised their love from conception... Nice!!

One other thing is that the Cambodians until recently were able to practice polygamy.. And if you had more than one wife when the law changed you were ok, now though if you do, and your first wife complains you can go to prison for a year and pay a fine of 1 million reils..

On the mountain there are monkeys that scamper around... We were watching them play, and one monkey grabbed the tail of an unsuspecting cat and started to drag it around the courtyard... Too funny, I have photos of this cat leaving trail marks where the monkeys were tugging it along... The street sellers said that the monkeys love the cats, they take them up the branches of the trees with them and drop them onto the ground... They have had to replace the cats twice... Sorry guys but it was just too funny how it was explained, and we sat down and howled with laughter...

Waterfront that night, they have two dance floors.. (kind of) on the footpath they set up huge speakers, have dancers on two platforms and then the whole community get line dancing... One end of the road was "bollywood" style the other more "saturday night fever" (I did recognise the bus stop).. So picture this, sitting on the side of the mighty mekong, nibbling on local donuts (filled with coconut and wrapped like samosas) music blasting, small fair for the little ones on the other side of the road, with the carousel horses, neon lights, people smiling dancing.. Truly magic...

We're at Phnom Penh at the moment and will shortly be heading for our overnight stay at a locals home.. we have been warned that there is no electricity, no hot water, we will live (for 1 night) as they do... Can't wait!!

Oh one other thing, on the bus this morning coming to Phnom Penh, we made a pit stop.. eating pineapple, spotting the funniest thing...

A van, loaded with people, the back of the van was open, hanging out the back of the van was strapped 3 motorbikes, sitting on the motorbikes were three people and on top of the van was one person lying flat enjoying the day... brilliant... and the traffic, for some reason it works... if you have space I'll use it thank you... must away off to the homestay..

Will upload photos of today in a couple of days...

Tutu and Dudu :o)

Some photos of Cambodia and todays update for Alissa.

In the Tuk tuk on our way to At Tonle Sap Lake
Tonle Sap lake.... (ah should have known
better!)

At Tonle Sap Lake a floating BB court. Elephant ride at Angkor Thom

Chilling at a hammock bar after the lake Floating Village on Tonle Sap Lake

Khymer cooking class. 3 courses and a T-shirt $10 One of the Temples visited.

More Temples visited

Apsara dancing at Temple restaurant.

Today had the cooking class, brilliant.. Visited the Old market with the chef before commencing to cook.. There was a choice between 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 desserts.. I chose mango salad, chicken Amok, and green bean dessert... delicious and only $10... The silly thing was had gone for breakfast first at the Blue Pumpkin bakery... so was full... Invited the chef and the helpers to join us to eat the food but there are cameras in the restaurant and they were not allowed to join in. So we ate a little and then took the food to them away from the sight of the camera... and asked them to eat... Our chef said that in Cambodia she was considered a "grandmother"at 29 and too old to marry... She came from a rural area and for the last 10 years had been working 2 jobs to support herself and earn enough money to learn english.. Now she only has the one job... Having said that though, she starts work at 7 am to 5pm from 5 - 6pm she goes to continue to learn english and then returns to the restaurant from 7.pm to 11pm...

This afternoon we organised to go to the floating village on Tonle Sap Lake... All the photos that refer to the floating village please note that this water will in the dry season be gone... The village moves into the lake proper this is the wet season so they come in for shelter as the lake is vast and is fed from Vietnam..

Alissa - cost was $10 return by Tuk tuk (and more on this shortly *^#&*Y#*^) approx 30mins

$2 entrance fee to the lake.

$22 for boat hire.. There are cheaper options but Intrepid use "partners"that try to conserve natural resources, having said that the cost was split between 8 of us so that was 2.50 each.

The floating village also farms some of the fish species, have crocodile pens which are raised for their skins, and catch and pose with snakes...

The villagers generally boil the water from the lake for all uses, but it is still (according to our leader) 70% unsafe.

At Angkor Thom elephant rides are available, which costs $15 US for a 15 minute tour around the perimeter and also there is a balloon trip that also costs $15... It is tethered and rises 200 mtrs off the ground and then down (this is over Angkor Wat).. There are usually helicopter rides available too, for $50US which will take you right over Angkor Wat, but all the helicopters (both of them) are being used in a movie that is being shot here in Cambodia, so it was not an option.

So I'll get to the tuk tuk thing now... On our way to the floating village there was Dudu, Michelle, Emily and I in the tuk tuk... Should know better by now but hope springs eternal.. You can see from the photos that it had been raining somewhere and the river had overflowed.. Now of all the tuk tuks in all of Cambodia, guess whose one managed to find the only pothole that tipped that sucker over AGAIN??? Yep ours... over we go in the middle of a road wide puddle. The driver yet again (but of course a different one!!) falls off his bike, the tuk tuk tips over, we start laughing yet again but this time we had to get off... At least I thought we did, so I proceeded to jump into the water, checking out the driver who was under his bike to make sure he was ok, and Dudu sits like Cleopatra waiting for the bike and driver to be picked up again... Which of course he was by all the others around him.. Meantime I'm soaked from knee to toe laughing because he was fine, and she's sitting grinning like a cheshire cat... (Will get her back tomorrow for sure)..

Loving Cambodia, whilst a much poorer country than Thailand, there is definately a more relaxed flow in the country... Is a "will come back to"place for sure.

Alissa, don't forget to ask the people before taking photo of them.... Is incredibly rude, also cover your shoulders ie: tee shirt at least and down to knees attire... don't touch the monks so if taking a photo don't put your arm around them....

Were off tomorrow morning at 7.00am for Kompong Cham on the public bus... We've been told that it may have air conditioning, but they usually have karaoke.... and if it doesn't our tour leader has a healthy collection of Richard Marks songs on his phone.... (note to self get some ear plugs fast)..

Oh one other observation, Bangkok had lots of cats, Cambodia has lots of dogs...

One more thing while I'm thinking of it... we met a young girl who had been horribly disfigured.. We asked the guide what happened thinking "landmine"but in her case, her family home caught on fire, and her entire family was destroyed. She now lives on the street as their is no social or governmental structure that will provide support. If she doesn't get any money from begging she starves... He did look at us funny when we asked why no one takes her in, that's just not done here, and I guess that with 50% of the population being under 18 and she seemed to be about 14 there is nothing else for her... Yes she was given money and I hope that it wasn't taken off her when we left by someone else..

And another thing, the guest house we are staying at is currently housing volunteers for the local orphanage... Young men who have given 3 months to helping with english lessons and anything else that may be required.... All at their own cost... Nice to know there are still some altruistic people around.... (One of them is from Hamilton - Go Kiwi!!)

Must away, it's after 10.00 and I have some washing to do before packing for the morning..

:o) Tutu and Dudu... xoxox

Cambodia days 1 and 2. - Alissa..

Really Important.... Us currency needs to be new and intact, ie undamaged..

Banks will charge you $5 US to change any money that is torn into other notes, and most businesses will not accept them.. If they do (and there is no guarantee) then it will be accepted on 90% of it's value.

Cambodia accepts all currencies but their preferred currency is US dollars...

We drove over the border yesterday from Thailand to Cambodia... We had to first go to the Cambodian Embassy to obtain a visa that cost $1000 Baht.. As we had a guide all the paperwork was completed in Thailand, and we only had to go to the embassy to obtain our passports back and the arrival and departure forms.

At the border our tour leader got a baggage handler to take all our luggage across for us. Poor bugger, would have been only 13 or 14 and usedwhat looked like an old fashioned trailer to take 9 packs each weighing approx 15kgs over no mans land by hand.. Incredible heat... We had been warned by our leader not to give any money to any child that was begging and to be aware of the really young ones who are holding babies... That was good advice because it seemed that every one who asked for money was either 6 years or younger and seeing their arms outstretched, huge eyes and high pitched child voices just broke your heart... So head down, loud group conversation was the only way to distract yourselves from the sights and sounds.

Jake (our tour leader) had also told us that when we reached Cambodia expect to see a lot more of the same beggers... interspersed with opulent casinos. Didn't know that gambling in Thailand is against the law, and so Cambodia caters for that market and so along both the Thai and Vietnam borders are huge casinos, which ironically, it is illegal for Cambodians to gamble in...

It is comparatively expensive as all prices tend to be in US dollars, but to put it into perspective, last night after we had settled into our hotel - Victory Guest House we all went out to dinner at the Temple restaurant on Pub Street... We had the National dish of Amok, which cost $4 and with it came a traditonal Cambodian floor show with traditional music and dance. A pitcher of Ankor beer was $2.50 or 75c a tankard of beer.. Cocktails were 2 for 1 and cost $4 or you can buy a pitcher full of cocktails for $6 US.

Tuk tuks here are more comfortable, and can cater for up to 4 people at a time... Negotiate the amount first and pay on arrival... it cost $2.00 US to take four into town..

Alissa I can't tell you how much the room cost, it was part of the package deal, but our tour is basix so it's definately not high end... However the place is well appointed, the rooms are clean, with hot and cold running water, a western style toilet and a colour tv..... There is an area in front of the reception desk (which is open 24 hours a day) that is semi open so there is always a breeze, comfortable chairs to recline in and a really relaxed atmosphere. The people are really accomodating and if you are unhappy just say so, they will do everything within their ability to sort it out..

The night market and the old market are 2 minutes away from the Temple restaurant, and across the road from that restaurant is the Ankor What!! Bar, where if you can drink two buckets of beer you recieve a free tee-shirt... (that's a whole other story and certainly not one for posting here).

Btw, I think Dudu and I had best steer clear of Tuk tuks from here on out... You may have read about our experience with a tuk tuk in Bangkok, well last night we managed to tip one over.... Ok, so the deal was, that some of the group decided to stay longer in town for a bit of retail therapy.. the kiwi girls (Tutu, Dudu and Michelle) thought we'd head home... So we hailed a tuk tuk negotiated the $2 fee to get back to the hotel and proceeded to hop on board.. I got on, fine - Dudu got on - fine, Michelle got on and the damned thing tipped over... We got the giggles and couldn't stop... all these other tuk tuk drivers came running to help our driver pick up his bike and we just sat and laughed until we cried.. Hot shower, and slept well..

Today we had hired a mini bus and a tour guide for the day as we wanted to see the temples. .. Our leader suggested that we look for only one day at the temples since we are in Siem Reap for three days only..

Cost of the bus and guide $15 Us.
Entry to Ankor Wat$ 20 Us per day and you can get up to a 3 day pass ie: $60 US..

We had been told to hire the bus and guide and to get only a one day pass. That was great advice. That one pass gets you entry into all other temples for that day, and it is checked at each entrance.. In the past, people would buy 3 day passes, would generally be "templed"out by the end of the first day and would on sell their passes... Now you are photographed and that pass is checked each time you enter.

We did the sunrise at Ankor Wat, then the elephant wall, the grand palace, Ankor Thom, Female Citadel, the Jungle Temple, and Puong Temple.. The cost of the tour guide and bus also included a chilly bin filled with ice cold water all day which you absolutely need... There are street sellers at all temples / tourist destinations, and again they are usually all children, so be aware they can be incredibly persistant...

One thing they do, is if you don't buy from them they will hand you a wee note, sometimes it's folded like a paper boat... When you open it, it says things like... My name is ......... Lady I like your smile. I want to go to school but I'm very poor.. I hope you have a nice day and thank you for sharing your smile with me... That's hard to walk passed, but as the tour leader said, that by buying from the children you encourage the parents to continue to keep them out of school and gaining the education necessary to turn their families lives around so don't buy from them...

However if you don't then the little blighters will come and ask for their note back to give them to someone else... So you win some and lose some. They chase and circle you, and it takes a great deal of fortitude not to succumb..

The Soup Kitchen opposite the Temple restaurant on Pub street gives 7c from every dollar to charity and was recommended by our leader for this reason... Nice idea but the food wasn't as good as the Temple restaurant...

Tomorrow is a free day, so I've organised a few of us to take a cooking class on Khymer cuisine with the chef at the Temple restaurant... Can't wait.. for $10US you can choose which item you want to cook, both mains and dessert. The chef will then take you to the local markets for the ingrediants (you can see what goes into the dish from it''s natural state) then you go back to the restaurant to cook it and eat.... You also get given some other recipies... It takes about 3 hours all together and tomorrow afternoon we will be going to Sonle Lake.. The largest lake in south east asia.. $2 entrance fee and then you hire a boat... Prices have been fluctuating as our book stated that over 8 people was one price and less than 8 was a different price.. Our bus driver today said that he had taken people there last week and it had changed...

Tuk tuk to the lake is $4 and is 30 minutes out of Siem Reap... Will let you know more tomorrow.

Oh being a foodie, I tried red ants today... tastes like lemongrass, and was offered tarantula.. The only problem with that delicacy (today) was that the sucker (can't call it little) was still alive and there are somethings I won't do.. but apparently Phenom Pen is also known as the city of spiders and it is there that the favoured snack when drinking is fried tarantulas... Will think on that one...

Did you also know that Pol Pot is short for Political Potential?? Despite our best efforts, we couldn't handle going to the landmine museum or to a sugar cane producing factory... We had been up since 3.45 this morning to make sunrise over Ankor Wat, and combined with lots of walking all day up and down temples we didn't get back to the hotel until after 6... Dinner and then the night markets and it's now 10.55pm here in Cambodia... so pretty tired..

Saw a moth on the wall and actually thought it was a picture until the wings fluttered, also the walls crawl with geckos but they are friendly and not at all scary... Quite surprising really given I'm such a freak back home with things that crawl and fly...

Would definately recommend lightweight merino too for this climate... 'who would have thought?

Languages and accents very funny...... Our tour leader launched into a spiel on security, but he kept pronouncing it (to our ears) sexuality, the three kiwis were laughing as was the english girl.

Anja - Germany
Esther - Holland
Ali - Canada
Michele - US
Emily - Uk
Michelle, Tutu, Dudu - NZ

Oh and we ran into Simon at one of the temples today.... he looked stricken we we recognised him and started yelling out across the temple at him.... Still was friendly in the end, and so annoyed he wasn't on our tour... He would have been the only male....

Ok till next time, and will upload more photos, but for now my camera is charging and so has no power available for todays or even yesterdays pics.... Some of the show last night, the border crossing, the temples and the girls..

:o)

Some photo's of our departure and day 1 in BangkokPart 1

Time consuming so will do it in parts.....

Wasn't expecting that one. + some photos day 2 Bangkok

We had an awesome day planned... Grand palace, walk to the top of the mountain, Thai massage, giant swing, democracy monument and food food food.

But the best laid plans.... So we had arranged for the tuk tuk driver from yesterday to meet us and take us out again for the day.... Guess who was a no show.!! Oh Oh Oh, and guess who didn't bring extra passport photos for the Cambodian border? Yep that would be me... so off down the street to find a chemist or photographer... Talk about funny... I was photo-shopped... au-naturel was an offence... Is that a violation?

Anyhoo we got another tuk tuk driver who asked if we could help him by going to, but NOT shopping at 2 stores for which he would recieve petrol vouchers and in exchange he would charge us only 10 baht each for the day... So off we went to the shop. Happy to report didn't buy anything. Coming back out he said ok, so now we go to the next shop... "warning Will Robinson". So we told him no... He tried desperately hard to play us off against one another, saying Dudu agreed, or Tutu agreed, but we held firm and declined to go to anymore shops...

So the little blighter kicked us off the Tuk tuk.... Has anyone ever been dumped from a Tuk Tuk in Bangkok??? Is this a first for the tourist industry??

So there we were in a completely unknown location in Bangkok, no map (didn't think we'd need one), with no inclination whatsoever to hail another Tuk tuk down and being the kinds of Kiwi's we are decided to walk back to the hotel. Did I mention that the temperature was 34 degrees? The only thing we knew was that there was a really tall bridge that we could see from the hotel room. Couldn't be that difficult really.

Having a pretty good sense of direction we started walking..... We started following an elderly couple who were in their 80's but I'm embarrassed to say they out walked us, ie: we couldn't keep up the pace with them but I did mention that it was 34 degrees, didn't I and neither one of us had bought along any hats. We did catch their eye a couple of times, and learned from them how to play frogger on the roads, so it wasn't too bad they left us behind afterall.

We got lost numerous times, as the roads turn back on each other and what appears to be dodgy side streets are proper roads. Bought some food from a bakery, but it tasted wrong, so bite, chew and spit.... Bought some food of a street vendor, and when I turned the corner there was a man on the road "Madam I'm hungry"so I gave it to him... so no transport, no sun cover, no food, and no clue where we were going... Great really..

We caught glimpses of the bridge so we were ok... Dudu is a machine, head down and go go go, personally I was whoa whoa whoa, and so took a lot of photos of things that I thought were more interesting than the tourist destinations.. Certainly had a closer look at the Bangkok that you wouldn't see in any brochure...

The contrast between rich and poor, the ingenuity of the people, the complete trust they seem to have between themselves..

I've been thinking lately that calling / labelling things as a slum or a shantytown is completely misleading and is only a means with which to describe differences, between that to which I'm familiar and where I am right now. It is what it is, and it is their life..

We talk about how lucky we are to come from NZ and the things that are taken so much for granted.. a four and a half hour walk in incredible heat and humidity will do that for you... so this update is a lot more introspective.. I don't believe that you can walk the streets of another city, lost (but not alone) truly observe how people interact and generally go about their business with such high unemployment. Education is highly prized and the children who do attend school seem to attract a high level of respect from the general poplace. I can't say that there is a caste system here or not, but if there is, it is based on education and that's not a bad thing at all...

Children of school age work in the streets, in the shops or laugh play and occassionally annoy their parents. I saw many smiling faces, and many sombre ones too. Weighted down I just wish I could have captured those moments, but the hands outstretched whenever a camera was bought out I admit jaded me somewhat so it's only distance views, impressions that were taken and will be eventually uploaded.

Despite the long hot day, I think that it was the best one so far........ Our lives are so completely different and their lives are no longer visceral. It has left an impression. We both knew that we had an airconditioned room to look forward to along with icy cold drinks and as much food as we wanted to eat..

Anyway it's time to go, last night we met the group for our tour, all females, for one poor male leader... Hés going to have an interesting time of it... we all went out to dinner and Michelle and I went for a 2 hour thai massage last night.... total cost $15NZ... Have been stretched, emotionally and physically and today we crossed the border and this is coming to you from Cambodia, but another time... and soon....

:o) Tutu and Dudu

One night in Bankok.

Well made the flight, and the cheeky one (I won't name you Dayna) who said, "don't be late" may have been quite the little psychic, but thank goodness for friends. Er, Um don't you think you'd better move? Isn't it time to go? Picky picky!!! But managed to make the flight in plenty of time.

So about the flight... We flew out (and will be flying back in) on Thai Air, who entertained us with On demand movies, tv, games and flight attendants woohoo!! Ok so there were three sitting in a space designed for 2 healthy sized humans but at least one of them was male with nice dreadlocks... And I bet Doodoo is regretting not sitting in the middle seat.. Talk about Chatty Kathy..

I have always maintained that I am technologically challenged. Point in case... less than 10mins into the flight, needed to get my in-flight entertainment re-booted. I also needed that to be done again, about the time we were flying over Darwin, so I maintain that it was the Australian influence and not the user... GO the ALL BLACKS! By this time I'm thinking the flight attendants were wishing it was legal to get me booted.... So note to everyone else, touch screen doesn't mean that exactly or perhaps it needs to be tempered with a touch of patience and for those in the know, I have very little of that at the best of times so I reiterate it wasn't my fault. It should be able to keep up with me not expect me to slow down.

One great thing though, is on the games there is a Berlitz Word game, which teaches you a number of different languages, so I was practising Thai from Singapore to Bangkok. Up till then it was "State of Play" - Russell Crowe, Terminator Salvation, and Push...

Landing in Bangkok it was a moderate temperature at 29 degrees with humidity sitting somewhere in the vacinity of 500%..

Customs was interesting... much communication via the eyebrow lift, the shoulder shrug and the nod, something that South Aucklanders would be very familiar with... No questions asked about what we were bringing in, how long we were staying or anything... (again I maintain, this is very intuitive of South Auckland communication)

Talk about surreal. Coming from the airport to our hotel we were travelling in an air-conditioned van with flat screen display. Was hard to reconcile the opulence of the "bright" lights of Bangkok to the obvious shanty towns that were burgeoning underneath and besides the motorways.

I saw women entering canals to bathe and if they are anything like the canals I saw this morning the water is stagnant and brown so I'm not sure how clean they would have become but it was clearly a part of the daily routine.

Taxis and Tuk tuks last night are brightly lit with the colours of their tail lights ranging from neon blue to barbie pink. All flashing all mobile disco lights.

Passing road works last night made me giggle a little. At home when the bitumen needs mending the old ones are broken / scraped away and new bitumen poured. What they were doing here was burning it off. So picture men with hard hats, circled around fire in the middle of the road with fire extinguishers at the ready.. Did I mention it was 29 degs and humidity in the 500%??
Was mesmerised by the sight of the fire, the lights the slums the smiling people.. Magic.

Got to the hotel and given we'd collectively been up for 36 hours was time to crash..

So today we got up late and it was a special day... Government day, when the government subsidises the tourists instead of the other way around. This means that taking a government Tuk tuk (Yellow plates people) today only we were driven around all day for 10Baht each.. and if we went to the government tailor and the government jeweller and stayed in the shop for 10mins (whether we bought anything or not) the driver was given coupons for gas... In addition all the temples were free entrance.. So we went to see the "big" buddah (45 meters high) - photo coming, "lucky" buddah (an english teacher was there when we arrived so he taught us how to pay homage to buddah and make our wish) which he assures us will come true, "sitting" buddah, the Marble temple (currently under repairs - ooh health and safety photo was taken hope to upload photos soon sorry!!) the top 10 factorys (government)... Speaking of which, our driver was imploring us to go and sit in different shops, all of which had very pushy salesmen..
I am happy to report that despite my initial misgivings about being able to say no thanks, I really don't think they know what hit them... Thank you Niki for the "Tutu says NO!!" and being able to do it with a smile.. you're inspirational babe!!

We did succumb to a wee bit of jewellery buying, one sapphire and one emerald ring for 9450 baht.... Don't want to look at the exchange rate on these though.

I was asked to look out for some shoes, having mentioned running into someone who managed to outfit themselves from head to toe in Gucci for $7 Us.. My son had said that being asian the double CC's were pronounced "K" and not the "Chi" but I'm afraid to ask for that in asia, not politically correct I'd suggest so it's Adidas or Michael Jordans for him.

Traffic - Bless.... I spotted 4 on a scooter one of which was wearing a helmet. I think that it's only compulsory for the drivers as the passengers if they wore one, treated it as a fashion statement. There were racing stripes, ones shaped like Darth Vader and they came in all colours. Pink is very popular here.
Lanes - Whilst clearly marked are only suggestions. Traffic flows, as and when they see fit. Remaining in one lane seems to be path of least desire and the more lane changes in as short a distance one can do seems to be a rite of passage. Our Tuk Tuk was changing lanes to overtake the cars that were parked in front of us at traffic lights and proceeded to cut them off as he turned corners. One car came particularly close to hitting us today and all I remember thinking was, "this will be interesting ooh and I'm not holding on" but somehow the mercedes didn't hit, the Tuk Tuk didn't waiver and I didn't take flight..
Pedestrians - Two steps forward, one step back... Literally looks like the old school video game of Frogger... Very entertaining to watch, must try it tomorrow..

Spent today and will spend most of tomorrow doing the Bangkok Touristy things, but really looking forward to hitting the road less travelled.

Heat - Loving it... It's like walking through a sauna, breathing is laboured and wet so when you come across parks where the trees are providing welcome respite or the fountains are on display you stop and literally thank whatever deity or belief system you may have for the respite.

Food - so much better than I could have hoped for. Such a foodie more than anything else. The sights, sounds, tastes, feel, smell of it all just excites and invigorates....

We have a long day tomorrow so signing off for now... Promise to upload as soon as I work things out... Grand Palace tomorrow and some temple on a hill meeting the intrepid tour tomorrow night. Have already met two of them we were on the same flight in..

And tonight I met two of the United Nations delegation from Kiribati at the local shop, so small world.. Thai people are absolutely lovely, kind, gentle, generous and friendly...

Till next time Tutu and Doodoo xoxox

D Day

Thanks everyone for your texts of safe journeys... So appreciated but if any of you do win the big lotto I expect to see you join us on our leg of the trip where ever we are.

Pack packed - check.
Tickets - check
Visas - check
Hugs with son - Check
Money - check
Scared excited tired and ready to roll - check.

So first few days will be in Bankok, where we will no doubt be off and running (read shopping) and aclimatising to everything.

Alissa promise to be faithful re: Cambodia (in as much as is possible) but there are definately a few places that I've been told are a must see...

Love you lot, and will catch you all in time... check in time is rapidly approaching so must away now..

xoxo Tutu and DooDoo

And so it begins.. 3 sleeps..

D day - 3

I've been told by a reliable source that it's now only three sleeps till departure.. Little does she know however, that that is only true if one goes to sleep...

It seems that we are destined to having minor adventures before we leave the damned country.... So lost the passport and only found that out by getting a phone call early morning to say it was found... (Yay apparently it's needed...) Visa entry to Vietnam... (again apparently that's needed too!).. Jab's, medicine, first aid kits, first aid kit for hair, having said that though, fully intending to shave it off before going.. (apparently hair is not needed) oh and a big backpack to put everything into... (apparently <-- (promise to find a new word for next update - but it's currently the flavour of the day) airlines not only go on weight but also volume and you're not allowed to carry 25 recyclable bags for luggage)..

Being technologically challenged, I will try to upload photos as we go, but can make no promises.. Wish us luck, safe journey, fun times and a huge lotto win to fund this and many more adventures....

Hard to believe that this time next week we will be in Cambodia... Can't wait !!!!