Saturday, April 02, 2005

i get weak

More from Lord and Lady Big Bucks.

Leaving Bangkok, after no trouble with the police this time, we headed for a week in MalaysiaTrulyAsia. Asia's answer to Easyjet, Air Asia, took us there. Cheap as chips and without the nauseating orange logos and messages from Stelios. They did however shift our departure time back an hour without bothering to tell us, thereby making our connection in Kuala Lumpur (or KL as anyone in the know in Asia calls it) rather tight. I managed to not lose my temper with the airport check-in - quite an achievement being as it was early and I hadn't had breakfast yet - and we made the connection in the end.

So Borneo. Well, firstly MalaysiaTrulyAsia is really quite wide of the mark. Anyone that's watched as much BBC World over the last 8 months as we have will be only too aware of the Malaysian tourist boards adverts and catchy jingle. Shown at least 3,421 times a day, the funds must finance hundreds of idle and unnecessary internet journalists. MalaysiaTrulyGuildford would be more accurate, though slightly less catchy. Cars drive safely, people wear seatbelts, traffic jams on approachs to roundabouts during rush hour, pavements, green grass, rain, the list goes on. About as non stereotypical of Asia as you could hope to find. And of course the clincher as Truly Guildford, everyone supports Man United.

Having said that we did escape Kuching for a few days in the Bako National Park. Now, many places we've visited have claimed to be 'jungle'. Put a few trees next door to each other, generate a few passing tourists and it seems almost anywhere can lay claim to being a jungle. Yet this place was the real McCoy, a jungle with a capital J.

Apparently we saw 3 different types of monkey and walked through 4 different eco vegetation zones. And that was just on the first morning. Ms Love is the environmental sciences student (as she enjoyed pointing out to anyone that would listen) and so you'll have to rely on her for details of exactly what things were. And it's my turn at the wheel today so you'll have to wait. Oh, and there were some, apparently rather rare, long bearded pigs.

And now, it being Saturday, we've hotfooted it back to civilisation in time to check into a half decent hotel to catch the football (or EPL as you have to call it round here), only to find - surprise, surprise - it doesn't have the requisite channels and we are going to have to go out tonight instead of coming all the way to Asia to watch Charlton v Man City all evening....

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

feelin' hot hot hot

Moving swiftly through our tour of Cambodia 'light' we made it from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap in one quick journey... so memorable that I can't even remember if it was bus or taxi.

Siem Reap is possibly the most touristed place in SE Asia (well certainly Cambodia) as it is the home of Angkor Wat. Although it is somewhat cliched I still have to say that it is pretty amazing to find these huge ruins in the middle of the jungle of Cambodia. Very cleverly, we thought, we visited the main ruin sites in the reverse order to everyone else (is that a bit middle-aged?). As a result the first 2 temples we visited were blissfully empty - but the trade off was that we ended up melting in the more major ones at the height of the afternoon heat. To finish the day we paid a visit to the Landmine Museum, ostensibly to be pc, but really so that Pete could buy a landmine museum t-shirt -- which I hope you will all harass him for when you next see him in it.

It is possible to buy up to a week pass for Angkor Wat but seeing as we had already committed ourselves not to get too involved in Cambodia (didn't Nixon say that once? - as proof you will may notice there is no Cambodia list...) we were satisfied with 1 day and pushed through to Bangkok the next morning.

Having heard (and rightfully so) that the roads were appalling (up there with Angkor as Cambodia's trademark it seems) we opted for the cushy option of a taxi for the 3 hr drive to the border. Entirely worth the extra money as the driver literally drove us right up to the checkpoint... Amazingly problem free, we made it through and walked straight on to a bus bound for Bangkok.

Which brings us nicely up to yesterday morning when...

Sitting in an internet cafe shouting down the phone to my Mum (to wish her Happy Easter) and who walks in, but Clare and Stuart!! How exciting! We thought all along that Bangkok would be the place to meet random acquaintances, and we imagined we might cross paths with these two in Bali anyway - but it was still an exceptionally nice surprise to see them. Pete and I took the opportunity to show them off (look we have friends!) in our favourite restaurant (where the staff still remembered us from our 5 dinner run last time we were in town) and we had a generally jolly time swapping travel stories (they have been in S America and Australia since November). They were off to Bali this morning - and we leave for Sarawak (Malaysia) tomorrow. And that is the end of that.

kho san shopping Posted by Hello

watch out Posted by Hello

the big temple and us Posted by Hello

hiding Posted by Hello

urgh Posted by Hello

a mini one Posted by Hello

we're on a road to nowhere Posted by Hello

angkor wat wat wat Posted by Hello

oi Posted by Hello

Sunday, March 27, 2005

circle in the sand

Well, greetings. I see it's been another quiet afternoon in BBC Sport. It's the little old ladies, struggling to pay their licence fees, that I feel sorry for..

Now, returning to old themes, when Blue Peter weren't discovering the Terracota Army, they were busy saving Cambodia with their annual summer appeal. So, arriving in Cambodia, I was anxious to see how the proceeds of all those bring and buy sales had been spent. Obviously those in 'the colonies' won't understand this fully. Nor will those who are far too cool for Blue Peter and instead spent their formative years hanging with the hood in downtown Detroit.

We arrived in Phom Pen directly from the Laos border. Travelling there took the best part of a day and involved, stats fans, 3 different boat rides and 2 taxis. Cambodian immigration compromised of a wooden hut on a sandbank. With only 20 or so people crossing here per day, the police can't make much from the $2 bribe we both had to pay.

After 90 minutes of the imminent death experience that is travelling by speedboat along the Mekong, we opted for the taxi route the rest of the way. Teaming up with new found friends from Japan and France, we hired a taxi for the 8 hour drive along possibly the worst road in the whole of Asia. The Blue Peter money, and justifiably so, was clearly not spent on creating many paved roads.

In exchange for $80 and driving us the whole way, I gave the young lad a free driving lesson. He now knows that it is dangerous to drive on the wrong side of the road cutting bends, no matter if everyone else does it. Equally he only overtakes with my permission and knows that when it gets almost dark it's a good idea to switch the headlights on. If we ever visit these parts again, then lesson 2 will involve how not to drive at full speed at any obstacle barring our path.

Anyway, Phnom Pen. Having spent too long in Laos we didn't really have time to do much. Which was just as well as it was possibly the hottest place on earth.

The 2 memorials dedicated to the victims of Khmer Rouge were particularly shocking. What makes these atrocities even worse is that most of the perpetuators escaped justice and exist alongside other Cambodians today. At the Tuol Sleng prison museum the photos of thousands of victims stare out at you, whilst the killing fields includes a huge memorial filled with skulls recovered from nearby mass graves. It's not surprising that many travellers come away with negative impressions of Cambodia when most visit these places.

book shopping Posted by Hello

promenading Posted by Hello

killing fields Posted by Hello

khmer victims Posted by Hello

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