http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/An-Erratic-Traveller/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from An Erratic Traveller en-us Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:47:26 +0000 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:47:26 +0000 Imagine an evening when a whole town is alive with fun. Coloured lights shine out of the darkness. Pedestrians walk everywhere because there are no vehicles. Many of them wear extravagant costumes and carry masks. There's no apparent drunkeness or rowdiness yet revellers are free to consume as much as they want because they can walk home to their tents. Different venues offer drinks dinne http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Central-Coast/blog-359926.html Where were you You werenrsquot on the last ferry you didnrsquot call Anthony to say you were stuck on the other side. I was having a glass of wine in the neighbourhood bar.Didnrsquot you realize itrsquos gone up to T8 Irsquove been out searching for you. I thought it was still T3.I should never have let you go to Hong Kong Island alone when there was a typhoon warning posted http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Lamma-Island/blog-329358.html .On July 30th I wroteThailand to Hong Kong by Boat and Train Why on earth I want to go the slow smooth old way. Irsquom bored with planes and buses. But can it be done It can be done almost It would be possible to do it with just a short bus ride across the ThaiCambodian border to Siem Reap. But I approached Cambodia with a longer stint on a Thai bus because I wanted to enjoy mo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guangxi/blog-326926.html .There are fortyfive million people in Guangx Province. Most of them are not engaged in the tourist industry. Many are peasants pursuing the cultivation of rice sugar and fruit but despite its rural base Guangxi has many towns and cities. It is still regarded as a backward province. In China as everywhere much of the pleasure comes from experiencing the usual rather than the phenomenal http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guangxi/blog-326521.html .The limestone hills of Guangxi are famous around the world. They have inspired artists and poets for centuries. They have made people who have never seen them wonder if the Chinese actually know how to paint hills. The Guangxi hills are one type of karst hills formed after soluble rocks have dissolved and collapsed and left strange shapes behind. Chinese and overseas tourists pour into Guili http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guangxi/blog-325718.html .One thousand rainwater tanks to supply safe drinking water. Extra classes to help kids and adults who have missed education to catch up. Free distribution of soap powder toothbrushes toothpaste and condoms. Sewing classes for women who want to become dressmakers classes in IT and lots of English classes because everybody in Cambodia needs English to get ahead. The Sydney Buddhist Library http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Kampot/blog-320315.html .Unexpected experiences make travelling without a fixed schedule a delight because of the unexpected experiences. Sometimes the unexpected means missing rather than gaining experiences.Fact Prior to the Olympic Games the Chinese Government tightened the visa application process. Applicants were required to apply from their home country or country of protracted residence. It was necessary to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/blog-321922.html .Soon after crossing into Vietnam the Mekong splits into many smaller rivers all seeking their way into the South China Sea. This fan of great waterways with constructed channels connecting them has for centuries been the basis of a unique way of life. The delta is awash with barges produce boats passenger ferries private boats. A little Vietnamese language plus a lot of spare time woul http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/blog-320323.html Water is the basis of life all over the planet and in Cambodia this is more apparent than in many other countries.It played an important role in the ancient Angkor kingdom which maintained its economy with the complex system of irrigation tanks and canals that played such a an important role in the ritual life of the community. Thanks to this we see so many beautiful photographs of the reflectio http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/blog-320321.html Cambodia is a bright country with a dark past still in peoplersquos memory. Its ancient traditions are illustrious and amazing. I doubt a tourist can understand anything but here is some of what I have noticed1. Cambodian people smile a great deal.2. The country has a population of fourteen million people. In 2007 it welcomed two million tourists. There are four thousand tour guides at Ang http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/blog-317109.html There are far more concrete statues in Cambodia tan there are in Borneo. As a wouldbe expatriate journalist in Kampot writes It makes sense when a large part of the population cannot read ... ie 'Turn right at the rhino and then left at the horse.' Besides random African animals Batambang has many pictures statues and tableaux with obvious didactic roles.The Killing Cave Take the painting in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Battambang/blog-310893.html Cambodia has just one long railway line left in operation. Itrsquos narrow too the rickety rails are just one meter apart. I visited the Phnom Penh railway station and found the schedule had changed from trains on every second day to one a week. Now one uptrain leaves on Saturdays and it turns into the downtrain which returns on Sundays. I didnrsquot want to wait in Phnom Penh til Satur http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Battambang/blog-310850.html Sihanoukville Kampot Kep casinos crumbling towns and ghost resort. Kampot was the main centre on the Cambodian coast until Sihanoukville was founded in 1964. Now postwar reconstruction is focusing on this ugly place. Kampot is surprisingly unchanged it's hardly received a facelift. All the buildings in Kep were gutted during the war and it is still full of the shells of onceaffluent http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/blog-309743.html A drive around Kampot gives an insight into the developing economy of the Cambodian countryside. Go there quickly while there is still little tourist infrastructure Technically this is a poor area but the amount of work being done and the cheerfulness of the people make it hard to believe that it can remain so for long.So three of us set out in a tuktuk the national flag waving behind us ... http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Kampot/blog-309727.html The boat stopped running. But I have a ticket for the boat. Here it is. I bought it last night.The boatrsquos not running.I didnrsquot want to believe this. Irsquom so used to transport operators claiming that opposition services donrsquot exist. But it became increasingly apparent in the minichaos on the Cambodian border that the boat touts were not there. So my journey from Bang http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/blog-308202.html Thailand to Hong Kong by Boat and Train Why on earth I want to go the slow smooth old way. Irsquom bored with planes and buses.But can it be doneWhen I imagined the journey the answer I gleaned from the guidebooks was Yes it can be done. But Irsquove heard recently that the road between the Cambodian coast and Phnom Penh has been properly surfaced and the old railway line closed. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-306293.html What rainforest asked local voices at the Rainforest World Music Festival.Rainforest longhouses oil palms logging these are the story of the TransBorneo Highway in Sarawak.A romantic notion of the longhouses has them all buried deep in the rainforest with the communities leading a happy subsistence lifestyle. In reality there are increasingly groups of longhouses close to the highway so http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/blog-304802.html The Rainforest World Music Festival is a public party with a family reunion feel. Even the Malaysian Prime Minister attended this year. It was a shame it rained so hard the night of his visit. The rain hardly deterred the crowd many of whom danced up to their knees in mud on the two nights following the downpour. Visitors rubbed shoulders with performers from around the world at mealtimes and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-301829.html Rentap the Iban warrior resisted the White Rajas. The Brooke Family ruled Sarawak from 1841 to 1946. The three Rajas James Charles and Vynor were absolute monarchs in Sarawak but loyal subjects of the British Crown at home. Thus for one hundred years Sarawak was ruled by a family of English commoners. If James was a oldstyle buccaneer who struck it lucky Charles was an able and committ http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/blog-301410.html All Sarawak towns have an emblem something familiar from their locality. It is always represented prominently in painted concrete oversize.Mukah Mukah is a sleepy place on the coast pausing between the old and the new. The old town has a few wooden shophouses left but change must be rapid because it far less cute than the guidebooks suggest. The tall houses are long gone as the Melanau peo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/blog-298667.html