More temples, snakes and spiders!

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Well it''s been quite some time since my last update but this new one means that I haven''t left the civilised world and crept into a hippie commune forever!

Pai was the next destination after Chiang Mai and was really enjoyable after a very slow start! It is a small town with more tourists than locals but has developed a very laid back vibe and a reputation for some serious relaxation with backpackers. There are many organic cafes, and a wide range of nationalities running guesthouses and food stalls. I am slightly ashamed to say it was a welcome change from noodles and rice and I even enjoyed a very ''asian'' morning bagel with cream cheese! The slow start was in part down to the fact that all the sights were too far away to walk and The thought of riding a moped on the worn roads wasn't too appealing. Anyway, after cabin fever hit I decided to bite the bullet and go for it. It was great fun and revealed a countryside teeming with people busily tending the wheat fields (all by hand), picking rice and looking after cattle. They were very welcoming and were happy to try and explain what they were doing with no thai on my part and no english on theirs! there was even a canyon and some hot springs to relax in (all 1ft of it!).

After pai, a trip further round the northern tip brought me to Mee Hon Son and further south west Mae Sariang. The lonely planet warned that the road was extremely winding and young children were inevitably sick - Steve was! the views mostly enjoyed by myself were stunning!

Mae sariang was the better of the two with few tourists and some excellent places to visit, on foot this time. One of these led to an encounter with a snake.....more later.....


An early departure back to bangkok was in part due to toothache, Luckily the dentist it looked and xrayed fine - We will see! I stayed in a different area of bangkok in the north, it was much nicer and didn''t have quite so many 18 year olds running around drunk!

Then came the trip to Cambodia. It involved a local bus to the border(5hrs), visa formalities and then a bus to Siam Reap to access Angkor Wat (3-5 hrs). The books warned that many scams were tried and you had to be very canny to avoid them - no-one scams a barnsley lad...........or so I thought!

The thai bus passed without incident, well, I left my fleece on the bus....to the border....."you need to pay 1200 baht here, you cannot get visa at the border", but I was ready "I'll be fine thanks, I'll take my chance". this led to further persuation which I ignored and proceeded to get my bags sorted. "then leave my area now!!". I don''t think that he wanted other travellers over-hearing my reluctance to use his kind services! So to the border with a clear sign Visa $20 (US). Someone arrives to help me fill in my application (you can get visas at the border!). "Give me 1200 baht ($40) and I'll get your visa quick for you". "no thanks" this went on for some time! So, to get the visa stamp and the immigration police try the same trick "the sign is old..." "If you give me extra I do it extra quick..." "No thanks I'll wait for the 20$ time please". Eventually I have my stamp and in I go, not a penny overcharged........ I relaxed, guard drops.....mistake.....done over!............

The bus to Siam Reap takes you over an unpaved road (very bumpy) and is notorious for taking travellers the scenic route so they arrive too late for the guesthouse of their choice and end up in the guesthouse run by the owner of the bus company! I was told that were no local buses and this 'toursit bus was the only way'. So i thought, I'll walk up the road and find these buses myself.....it was hot, very dusty and I was hungry..... the walk was aided by a bloke on a motorbike following us all the way, trying to get us in a taxi of his and adament that the local bus did not exist!... He even, as we watched bribed a chemist we asked for help and then a policeman, asking us to check with the policeman, "he will tell you!"".

Eventually, defeated we ended up on the tourist bus. when we eventually arrived, as we left the bus we were pushed into the aforementioned guesthouse. However with some quick darting about we escaped and made it to our choice - a great place with a welcome cold beer ready! So not a nice welcome in general!

I am pleased to say that this seems to be the exception. So far, the rest of the country is welcoming and pleased to have prosperous tourism, and really welcome people whole heartedly. (However, this does involve some enthusiastic pricing at times!). Still, with such a traumatic history and a countryside still littered with landmines, injuring and killing scores, they are entiltled to their dollar bonanza.

So how were the temples!? They were wonderful. The sheer scale of them is overwhelming. There are so many and each has it's own individuality, some with carved faces, others with lotus lakes, towers, gardens, moats....... I spent 2 days exploring them on a bike and 1 on tuktuk. The cycling was great, about a 40Km round trip which did lead to a sore bum! I say bikes but this was a bit strong - they were free from the guesthouse - I had 2 punctures, 1 set of broken handlebars and 1 seat fall off, all in 2 days! Resting the old bum on the tuktuk was great and it was easier to see and hear the shouting children wanting a wave as we went by, as well as the scenery which seemed to go on for miles! There were people working in the rice-fields, water buffalo being led down the road by 6-7 year old children, people selling drinks outside their wooden houses - many on stilts for when the rains come (maybe these will be deployed in Hull and Doncaster by the time I get back!?). Thankfully my faith in cambodia has been restored after wondering where on earth I had arrived!

I have left Siam Reap now and headed across to Battenbang via ferry across the Tonle sap lake and river tributeries - it was an awe inspiring 7 hour journey with breath-taking views. The lake forms when the moonsoon rains brought down the Mekong river from vietnam, thailand, Laos and China reach a bottle neck and back up into the lake. It rises 10metres over a huge square km coverage (more houses on very high stilts!!). The lake revealed tops of trees poking above the water and many villages. People live off the lake in whole floating communities, including schools! They were so many children frantically waving and cheering as we passed. Wonderful!

As you can tell cambodia has been really memorable so far!

You still awake?!...........

Last thing.... I have had a 2 recent encounters with snakes and 1 spider which vary in degrees of good luck.....

The first, a 6 foot snake disappearing into the field as he heard me coming in Mae Sariang, very safe. The second was more fortunate. As I walked back from a long walk, I paused as i felt something brush past my foot. I thought nothing then something made me stop and think that what ever just passed over my foot did not feel like a stick.... I turned to see a 2 foot black snake disappearing round a wall! I followed him and watched him slithering away - as a got closer he raised himself up to say "Go away!" I didn''t push it! he was only little, but as yet i have not found out if he was a killer! I looked down at my foot and saw a trail of dirt in a perfect line where he had passed over my foot! Then finally as I explored one of the more overgrown temples in Angkor looking for snakes, I found a great little spot, hidden away where I could stand on rocks, dark, cool and moist, perfect I thought....... No sign. Disappointed I looked up to see a spiders web, 4 foot square with a spider the size of your hand in the middle, about 1 foot from my face!!! he looked like a member of the orb family but again, no-one can yet tell me from the photo!

Sorry no photos until they are on CD (when my memory card is full). Doing it straight from the camera previously put a virus on it and led to a frantic day of fixing and panicking in Pai!

I look forward to seeing more of Cambodia just as much as you hope this is the end of this blog!!

It is........ phew!

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Photos

On the winding bus
What a mess!!

The cheeky snake that ran over my foot!
Any ideas on breeds welcomed!

Temples
Over-run by nature