http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Dabbsy/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Dabbsy en-us Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:46:56 +0000 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:46:56 +0000 For various reasons I am now in Bangkok. I was forced to raise the white flag at the Buddhist retreat after only a couple of days. The experience was an interesting one though and not one I will soon forget. I spent the entire time in silence and slept on a concrete slab with a wooden pillow. The area is surrounded by jungle and various streams so the mosquito's were large and numerous they at http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-387766.html This may be a little garbled as itrsquos 2 in the morning and Irsquom due to wake up at about 7 for the beginnings of another adventure. We looked around all night for a good boat company in Halong Bay but found nothing that inspired us. No one ever pays the same price for something in Vietnam and you donrsquot always get what was originally promised so itrsquos best to have a good look http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Krabi/blog-385576.html HiFrom Mui Ne we travelled by coach to Nah Trang a slightly larger town situated further up the coastline. We weren't suprised to find a beautiful beach there and the place had a similar kind of vibe to it. Couple of hippiessurfer types and other beachgoers of a similar vein. We were pretty stressed out from the crazy amount of hours we had built up in coaches taxi's moto's and bicycles so http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-385205.html Hello We've just travelled for 22 hours nonstop to reach Halong Bay. I'll get this up to date tomorrow...until that timeI will begin with thisA few days ago I was stood happily upon the picturesque beachfront of Mui Ne Vietnam. No cloud dared obscure the sky with distracting shapes or sunblocking drifts. It was perfectly and unanimously blue. The white sand shone just a few steps from our b http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Mui-Ne/blog-383974.html Ho Chi Minh City is pretty incredible. We've been here a couple of days now and have had the chance to visit the National War Museum and today we saw the Chu Chi Tunnels which is a couple of hours outside the city. The food here is quite different from Cambodia and I might be tempted to say I preferred it... but I haven't yet been physically able to sample some of the spicy food. About 5 days ag http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-383404.html HelloThe other night God was taking photographs in Sinahoukville with a high quality Japanese camera. It illuminated the sky with such prescence that I angrily looked up from my meal to see who had actually taken a picture of me. I then saw the second lightning bolt flash in a threatening looking arc across the sky and then settled back down to my very average chicken with noodle fodder arrangem http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-382854.html HelloThe night dogs nearly had our bones last night...I believe they've been following us in an increasing pack since the early days of Siem Reap. I believe their number stands at around 400. This figure is based upon the inevitable snowball effect of a moving pack multiplied by the number of provinces we've gradually passed through. We have moments of relief where there appears to be complete s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Sihanoukville/blog-382184.html HiTime is currently a train sparking down the tracks of our lives. I feel we are running to keep up. After Kampot we headed to Kep a nearby fishing village known for it's impressive crab market. It was once the main holiday retreat for the Cambodian upper class and it once boasted numerous mansions from the French colonial period. Unfortunately when the Khmer Rouge took power they shelled Kep i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Sihanoukville/blog-381897.html HelloWe've finally left Siem Reap and have safely made the trip to Phnom Penh. Me and Rich only just made the coach as we were naturally slightly late and also a car crashed into our TukTuk in some of the worst reverse driving I've ever seen. There were literally four people banging on the back windscreen of the car but it just kept on going until we heard a hideous crunch around the front wheel http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-381099.html HiThe other night I was waiting in the reception of a friendrsquos guesthouse when I heard a strange slapping sound on the tiles behind me. I presumed a mop or something had fallen from the wall but you have to have a check donrsquot you Turns out two Geckos had absolutely decked it off the roof. They didnrsquot look injured more just very embarrassed. I never thought lizards could look http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-379600.html We left Angkor Watt and traveled to Bayon a temple known for the huge faces that are carved into its many towers. My immediate thoughts when approaching the place were of how few people there were around. The heat was incredible. My shirt could have cured the Sahara...and my boxers could have probably given the Indian ocean a run for its money. Gross whatever. Bayon feels a little more wild tha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-378017.html HelloLast Saturday was an incredible day. We awoke at 5am and stumbled into the dark driveway of our guesthouse to meet our TukTuk driver. Within minutes we were driving through the empty streets of Siem Reap avoiding night dogs but otherwise heading in pretty much straight lines. This was a success. I wasn't that sure what to expect from Angkor Watt. Before traveling to Cambodia it was set up http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-377833.html Hello The road to the orphanage is a straight line as you turn left from the driveway of our guesthouse. There's a crossroads somewhere along here that can be pretty scary...until you recognise that European road crossing laws don't apply here. For anyone who plans to visit Cambodia or SE Asia I imagine the same rules apply I offer the following advice Take a rough glance to left and right http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-375709.html Welcome to my daily routine... I set my alarm for approximately 810am... unfortunately this is wishful thinking and my stinging eyes tend to slide open at around 5am. Occasionally Echo wakes us with a happy chirp...at other times I see through blurry vision the switched off aircon reading a temperature of 32 degrees. My mouth is as dry as a street dogs balls and I wildly sweep the tiled floor wi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-375122.html Hello readersMy ears are currently filled with strange tasting pool water...a subtle blend between mild chlorine urine and the sweat of perspiring tourists. Refreshing. I suspect a portly German fellow for at least two of these ingredients That chlorine bastard. I also believe that several microorganisms somewhere close to my eardrum are currently in disagreement as to whether to give me a c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-373251.html Errrrrrrrrrrrrr... So this is probably going to be the most eventful and surreal blog entry so far for two reasons1 I think I'm possibly still mildly drunk from my wonderful birthday celebrations and2 This place is absurdly weird and makes about as much sense as a Gecko living in an air conditioner or live pigs strapped to the back of bikes...this could go on. Firstly thanks all of you who http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-372627.html Hi EveryoneOver the course of this week we've seen some amazing things. Yesterday I saw a Moto with around 3040 chickens strapped to it. I know that's probably not the first thing that came to your mind but there you go. We've also heard rumors from several reliable sources that it's fairly common practice to move pigs around by strapping them to the back of your bike I've been keeping a keen http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-370872.html Hi After a long and tiring flight yesterday afternoon from Bangkok we began to descend towards the wild and arid landscape that surrounds Siem Reap Cambodia. It was an exciting time neither of us ever having been to Asia before it was an incredible view... this would have been fairly surreal by itself... but was made greatly moreso by the insanely obscure and highly misguided choice of music http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-369629.html