Hi all,
So I've left Cambodia. Had a bunch of time in phnom penh learning about the atrocities, which was interesting and important and should be more widely taught, but very hard to deal with. After that we headed down to the coast to celebrate Cambodian new year - 3 days or partying, loud Cambodian pop music and a big water fight. With talcum powder. And the cheapest beer anywhere. Awesome!
Then we headed to Siem Reap, from which you explore Angkor (of which Angkor Wat is the most famous temple). It's *huge*. And awesome. I could go on about it for ages, but I'll just post some of the best pics up sometime in the next week or so and make you all jealous that way instead.
From there, we (Diane & I) left the two folks we've been travelling with, to break the landspeed record in getting from siem reap to Koh Tah (and island off the south east coast of thailand) in less than 24 hours (we were expecting more like 36). The first 6 hours are national highway 6 to the thai border. It's an impressive sounding name, but it's actually little more than a very long, single track dirt road*. The rumour goes that an unnamed airline is paying unnamed cambodian government officials an undisclosed gratuity to delay the construction of a proper road to thailand, so that people fly instead. Your arse is numb for days, it's a wonder we survived. Still, what fun would the good bits be without a bit of hardship!
So anyhow, we made it fine, and are kicking around in Koh Tao for a day or two to relax (looking round the wonders of the world is hard work, you know!), before learning to dive tomorrow. It's weird coming back to thailand - after being in laos, vietnam and cambodia for a month or so, thailand seems *well* expensive. Almost a pound for a beer?! You're joking!
In other news, my brother's getting hitched! This summer! So I'm gonna take a weeklong holiday in the UK in early august or so to come and celebrate. Yey!
Keep emailing,
Will.
Koh Tao, Thailand.
* Apologies to Sasha, Digweed, and David Attenborough
Sunday, 22 April 2007
Monday, 9 April 2007
Just call me Lance
Howdy folks,
Thanks for all the birthday messages (& donations to the Will's liver destruction fund!). We went out for a muchos nice meal in Saigon, and had a bottle of wine for the first time since leaving - such luxury!
Unfortunately, we had slightly too silly a night and totally failed to get up in time for our bus to cambodia. Oops. So we just had a day of bumming about in Saigon, then took a trip the day after that took us into the Mekong delta to a bunch of villages & stuff, stayed overnight in a place called Chau Doc, and got a boat up the Mekong, into Cambodia. Fortunately, we avoided both going loopy and getting shot with arrows, which was nice.
So now we're in Cambodia! We had our first full day in Phnom Penh today, and did the 'nice' bits - royal palaces and the like. We're going to do the difficult bits tomorrow - a school building that was used as a torture and internment camp set up by Pol Pot's security forces where moer than 17,000 people were held and then killed in 3 years in the late 70s. It's pretty hard to take in.
On a lighter note, amongst the stuff at the palace today was a model of Angkor Wat, and I can't wait - it's gonna be amazing. We're heading to the beach first, the day after tomorrow, and then heading to Siam Reap (from which you get to Angkor) in a week or so.
Hope you're all well,
Will.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Thanks for all the birthday messages (& donations to the Will's liver destruction fund!). We went out for a muchos nice meal in Saigon, and had a bottle of wine for the first time since leaving - such luxury!
Unfortunately, we had slightly too silly a night and totally failed to get up in time for our bus to cambodia. Oops. So we just had a day of bumming about in Saigon, then took a trip the day after that took us into the Mekong delta to a bunch of villages & stuff, stayed overnight in a place called Chau Doc, and got a boat up the Mekong, into Cambodia. Fortunately, we avoided both going loopy and getting shot with arrows, which was nice.
So now we're in Cambodia! We had our first full day in Phnom Penh today, and did the 'nice' bits - royal palaces and the like. We're going to do the difficult bits tomorrow - a school building that was used as a torture and internment camp set up by Pol Pot's security forces where moer than 17,000 people were held and then killed in 3 years in the late 70s. It's pretty hard to take in.
On a lighter note, amongst the stuff at the palace today was a model of Angkor Wat, and I can't wait - it's gonna be amazing. We're heading to the beach first, the day after tomorrow, and then heading to Siam Reap (from which you get to Angkor) in a week or so.
Hope you're all well,
Will.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Sunday, 1 April 2007
The hardest way to make an easy border crossing
Trials and tribulations, I tell you!
The day after the last post, we checked out of our (pretty nice, pretty cheap) guest house, and headed to the Vietnamese embassy, expecting to get the visa that day, and jump on a (31 hour!) bus that evening to Hoi An (in Vietnam).
Obstacle #1: It takes 2 working days to get a visa.
So, we do the other bits and pieces we need to do for the day, which takes up most the day, then head back to our guesthouse.
#2: Our guesthouse is full.
#3: Every other guest house is full.
After much looking about, we find a place. It only costs 2 dollars each, whilst most of the full ones cost up to 6 dollars each. This should have raised warnings.
Out of desperation, we take it anyway. The ceiling is being replaced (not directly under our room, fortunately), so we have to climb up the most rickety staircase you've seen, then past a load of builders & random bits of masonry. Barefoot, since we left our sandals downstairs. The room's ok. Bit hot, with a not-very-good fan, but ok. We don't notice how thin the 'mattresses' are, and that the beds consist of a small handful of thin metal slats that the mattresses sink through immediately, until later on.
We consider a shower, but after the horrors of just using the toilet (flushing using a bowl from a vat of water is fine. Having hundreds of mosquitoes swarm out of the vat when you dare venture your hand towards it is not), we decide a shower might be out of the question.
After a day trudging round sorting stuff and no shower, we go for food, not in the best of moods. A pretty lame nights sleep follows.
Next day was much better - moved back into the nice place, splashed out on the entry to the pool of a posh hotel for the day, and ate some nice food.
Around 5am the next morning, it appeared the food wasn't quite so nice. A very restless night and a day of being food poisoned meant there was no way I was getting on a bus that night for a day & a half. Luckily I had a Diane to get supplies of water, and Harry on the iPod (straight back in Marrakesh!), so got through it ok, and was pretty much ok the day after.
So we got our visas, and got the bus, but didn't manage to sleep all night, mostly through the driver's insistence of keeping himself - and everyone else - awake by playing ear-splittingly loud Thai and Laos pop songs. Nice.
After crossing the border, it was about 7am, and I probably could have slept, if it wasn't for the scenery in Vietnam. Blimey it looks great! I must have fallen asleep at some point though, because I was woken up with a start around midday, to learn we were in Hue, and had to get off.
In my dozed hurry, I got off... but my iPod didn't. And there's no way of contacting the bus company or bus station. There goes all my music and most of my photos.
Bugger. Bugger. Bugger.
Since then, things have been getting markedly better. We're in Hoi An, which is very pretty indeed, with a great beach, and Vietnamese food is *ace*. Plus the rest of the bus journey had just as amazing scenery. I think we're only spending a little over a week in this country before hot-footing to Cambodia (time's short), which is a real shame - Vietnam is incredibly lively after dozy Laos, and that energy is pretty infectious. Plus, the north is supposed to be ace.
Ah well - guess I'll have to come back here at some point :)
Oh, finally - think we're gonna get to Ho Chi Min city (Saigon) in time for my birthday on Thursday. Should be fun!
See you, folks,
Will.
Hoi An, Vietnam
The day after the last post, we checked out of our (pretty nice, pretty cheap) guest house, and headed to the Vietnamese embassy, expecting to get the visa that day, and jump on a (31 hour!) bus that evening to Hoi An (in Vietnam).
Obstacle #1: It takes 2 working days to get a visa.
So, we do the other bits and pieces we need to do for the day, which takes up most the day, then head back to our guesthouse.
#2: Our guesthouse is full.
#3: Every other guest house is full.
After much looking about, we find a place. It only costs 2 dollars each, whilst most of the full ones cost up to 6 dollars each. This should have raised warnings.
Out of desperation, we take it anyway. The ceiling is being replaced (not directly under our room, fortunately), so we have to climb up the most rickety staircase you've seen, then past a load of builders & random bits of masonry. Barefoot, since we left our sandals downstairs. The room's ok. Bit hot, with a not-very-good fan, but ok. We don't notice how thin the 'mattresses' are, and that the beds consist of a small handful of thin metal slats that the mattresses sink through immediately, until later on.
We consider a shower, but after the horrors of just using the toilet (flushing using a bowl from a vat of water is fine. Having hundreds of mosquitoes swarm out of the vat when you dare venture your hand towards it is not), we decide a shower might be out of the question.
After a day trudging round sorting stuff and no shower, we go for food, not in the best of moods. A pretty lame nights sleep follows.
Next day was much better - moved back into the nice place, splashed out on the entry to the pool of a posh hotel for the day, and ate some nice food.
Around 5am the next morning, it appeared the food wasn't quite so nice. A very restless night and a day of being food poisoned meant there was no way I was getting on a bus that night for a day & a half. Luckily I had a Diane to get supplies of water, and Harry on the iPod (straight back in Marrakesh!), so got through it ok, and was pretty much ok the day after.
So we got our visas, and got the bus, but didn't manage to sleep all night, mostly through the driver's insistence of keeping himself - and everyone else - awake by playing ear-splittingly loud Thai and Laos pop songs. Nice.
After crossing the border, it was about 7am, and I probably could have slept, if it wasn't for the scenery in Vietnam. Blimey it looks great! I must have fallen asleep at some point though, because I was woken up with a start around midday, to learn we were in Hue, and had to get off.
In my dozed hurry, I got off... but my iPod didn't. And there's no way of contacting the bus company or bus station. There goes all my music and most of my photos.
Bugger. Bugger. Bugger.
Since then, things have been getting markedly better. We're in Hoi An, which is very pretty indeed, with a great beach, and Vietnamese food is *ace*. Plus the rest of the bus journey had just as amazing scenery. I think we're only spending a little over a week in this country before hot-footing to Cambodia (time's short), which is a real shame - Vietnam is incredibly lively after dozy Laos, and that energy is pretty infectious. Plus, the north is supposed to be ace.
Ah well - guess I'll have to come back here at some point :)
Oh, finally - think we're gonna get to Ho Chi Min city (Saigon) in time for my birthday on Thursday. Should be fun!
See you, folks,
Will.
Hoi An, Vietnam
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