Blogs from Cambodia, Asia
May 23rd 2012
It's funny how you look at a place so differently when you are visiting as a tourist. I think as a tourist you find the magic in everything. I remember when I first went to the Dominican Republic to work in a rural village the truck stopped to drop off the first group of volunteers. My work partner, Tom, said, "oh, this isn't so bad. This looks like a nice community." I said, "I'm glad you feel that way because this is our home for the next eight weeks." "Oh, shit, Tom replied, you gotta be kidding?" You just look through very different eyes when the expectations of home change your rose colored glasses to a microscope. Phnom Penh has sort of been like that. The smog doesn't feel so quaint and the election campaign that ... read more
May 21st 2012
Does anybody remember that song? The one that the title refers to? A song from the Dead Kennedy's, but this was in the time of the Khmer Rouge, so it was a bit cynical to say the least. Anyway, just constantly have to think about this song as I travel around Cambodia. Now what about this holiday in Cambodia? First I managed to cross at the most corrupt of corrupt border crossings, not that I knew it at the time. I hadn't read up closely enough on border crossings, and only after somebody told me that what I had paid was thirty percent more than I should have paid, did I find out that I had been scammed. For a seasoned traveller I sure seem to make some stupid mistakes. Actually I blame the Lonely Planet, ... read more
SIEM REAP! Temples with faces, floating villages, and pretending to be Angelina.
Published: May 19th 2012Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap
May 19th 2012
After yet another less-than-perfect bus journey, we arrivied in Siem Reap at 4am, only 6 hours late thanks to the driver stopping for a nap! With it being so late we had to rely on our bus guide to take us to his friends guesthouse in his own tuk tuk which he promised was very nice, can't realy afford to be fussy at 4am and not sure what's got 24hr reception!! We arrivied at Siem Reap Temple Villa and were pleasantly surprised!! Our room is massive, huge beds, balcony, own bathroom, hot water AND there's a lovely little swimming pool!! Only downside is we're on the 4th floor, so plenty stairs to climb! We arranged with Nan, our bus guide come tuk-tuk driver, to take us around the temples for a few days and so he ... read more
May 15th 2012
We are sat on our bed in our hotel room in Kampot, Cambodia eating crisps and listening to our Cambodian neighbours pumping out some amped up karaoke. There is a man and a woman and they are dueting and have been doing so for the past hour. They are absolutely shocking. Last night they did the same but thankfully there was a power cut which kept them quiet for a while. They are the type of nutters that make X Factor interesting. So where were we? Ah yes we were in Sumatra and I had the brown apple splatters. After a few days of doing nowt and recuperating we left lake Toba on what was to be one of the more eventful trips of our travels (holiday) to Ubud, Bali. We headed over Lake Toba on ... read more
May 14th 2012
Our journey to Siem Reap was less eventful than our previous, other than the fact that our lift to the station didn’t materialise and so we almost missed our early morning bus. However, when we did get on board, we kind of wished we had missed it, as we were trapped in a hot bus with broken air conditioning and sealed windows all day. Things did pick up at sunset, when we changed buses and cruised the last few hours of the journey in cool style, in an actual VIP bus. Tired from our three day trek and the previous day’s long journey, we took a day off from sightseeing, and slowed down the pace with some light shopping, and a trip to the Children’s hospital, where we both decided to donate a pint of our ... read more
May 13th 2012
After some serious hiking throughout Siem Reap with all the temples, I hung out in Sihanouk ville for a little while with the mission of relaxing, soaking up the sun on a hammock, reading a good book, getting drunk, and making some money playing Texas holdem. Mission accomplished! It's pretty hot over in Cambodia, and the breeze coming from the ocean cooled thing off nicely over there. I spent a lot of time with a magnificent local girl there, and she showed me around her place. With her I was able to eat things that the locals do that weren't even on the menus..and I must say, it was pretty damn good food! We also made our way over to Koh Rung, a little island about 2 hours out, which was extremely peaceful. It seemed at ... read more
An education in patience, rice, veg and hammocks
Published: May 14th 2012Asia » Cambodia » East » Banlung
May 10th 2012
Our journey from 4000 Islands started with an early morning boat ride to the mainland followed by a bus trip to the Laos/Cambodian border. We had heard that this border crossing could be a little difficult as it was common for immigration officials to demand ”fees” for stamping your passport and for other administrative tasks that are just part of their day job. At the time it seemed very important to ensure that we didn’t pay a dollar more than the official fee. However, in retrospect the small amounts of cash they were demanding were so insignificant they were barely worth thinking about especially taking into account that most Cambodian government employees only earn between $1-2 a day! Besides, this turned out to be the least of our frustrations that day. After a smooth border crossing ... read more
Sihanoukville + Koh Rong 10 tm 17 Apr
Published: May 10th 2012Asia » Cambodia » South » Sihanoukville
May 9th 2012
Vanaf Siem Reap zijn we naar Sihanoukville gegaan, dit ligt aan de kust van Cambodia. Het was weer hoog tijd om het strand te zien! Jaja het leven van een reiziger is zwaar. De eerste twee dagen gelegen aan het strand en nog een keer naar de sportschool geweest. Ook een brommer gehuurd om medicijnen te regelen voor mijn keel want die was ondertussen ontstoken. We wilden graag duiken dus zijn 's avonds naar een duikshop gegaan, we kregen een goede deal omdat we konden verblijven op het eiland dichtbij de duikspot, eiland genoemd Koh Rong. Dus de volgende dag de boot naar Koh Rong, de boottocht duurde twee uur maar dat lag niet aan de afstand maar meer aan de technische staat en snelheid van de boot! Heerlijk gevoel dat je niet weet wat de ... read more
May 9th 2012
Vanaf Sihanoukville hebben we de bus gepakt naar Phnom Penh de hoofdstad van Cambodia, gelegen zuidoosten van het land bij de rivieren de Mekong en de Tonle Sap. 's Avond aangekomen en had echt trek in een goed stuk vlees dus nu even geen nightmarket of lokaal restaurant maar een iets chiquer restaurant. Lekker genoten van een Steak! In Phnom Penh is opzich niet heel veel te zien maar 15 kilometer buiten de stad ligt Choeung Ek (bekend als de Killing Feels) en de gevangenis Tuol Sleng (bekend als s-21) deze gevangenis is nu het Tuol Sleng museum, een herinnering aan diegenen die vermoord zijn door de Rode Khmer. Eerst hebben we Choeung Ek gezocht, een plek waar vreselijke dingen zijn gebeurd, onvoorstelbaar. Op de plek staat nu een groot monument met een aantal van de ... read more
May 8th 2012
Vanaf Khao Lak waar de liveaboard weer aankwam met de hele groep nog een nacht gebleven en wezen stappen met alle mensen van de boot! Gezellige groep mensen bij elkaar. Volgende dag vanaf Khao lak de nachtbus gepakt terug naar Bangkok, vanaf daar met de lokale bus naar de grensovergang naar Cambodja. Pff wat een gekte daar niet normaal, maar na veel gedoe toch geslaagd om een Visa te kopen en een bus te regelen naar Siem Reap. Na 24 uur reizen aangekomen in Siem Reap! Stem was totaal weg van de airco in de bus. In Siem Reap afgesproken met Victoria die ik had ontmoet op de liveaboard. Nieuw reismaatje en ze komt uit Londen dus erg goed voor mijn Engels! (kom je er wel achter dat wij wel Amerikaans Engels praten!) Siem Reap is ... read more
