NalinEvaWyn
Summer 2011 in Vietnam, Laos, CambodiaNew
Nalin is travelling solo in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia on his way to Vancouver from Doha. The return trip will be via Iceland and the Czech Republic with Eva and Wyn.
Spring 2011 in Qatar
Gunnar visited us from Germany and we travelled the length and breadth of Qatar.
Christmas/New Years 2010 in East Africa
We visited Northern Tanzania, Zanzibar and Kenya at the end of 2010/start of 2011, beginning with a 6 day Safari through Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro National Parks, continued on to Zanzibar island, Mombasa on the Kenyan coast and finished by taking the Rift Valley Railroad from Mombasa to Nairobi.
Eid Al Adaha in Jordan November 2010
In November 2010 during Eid break we traveled down the spine of Jordan from the North to South. This could be called the "Better Dead than Red? tour" as we went from the Dead to the Red Sea, and got to compare the two. Read on to see if we found it better Dead than Red.
Summer of 2009 in Europe
We spent 6 weeks in England, France, Germany, Denmark and Poland. We returned home from Malbork, Poland, because Eva's dad was hospitalized. We got back in time to visit with Eva's dad before he died.
Travel Blog Posts
July 28th 2011
I fly out of Siem Reap to Seoul on a Red Eye tonight. I'd planned on visiting the Angkor National Museum, but sadly, it's been sold to a for-profit business and prices have gone by 4 times. Looks like the Cambodian government is planning on selling more national treasures to (usually foreign) third parties. It's not as vile a crime as all the horrors that have visited this place recently, but selling the national heritage ... yikes. Even the killing fields in Phnom Penh are now run by a for-profit Vietnamese concern - that's one of the reasons I avoided going there. Even the die hard extreme right in the U.S. is not advocating selling the National Monument to MacDonalds ... can you just see the Big 'M' over the National Mall? Or the Lincoln Memorial ... read more
July 27th 2011
The Roluos Group of temples, Bakong, Lo Lei and Preah Koh, pre-date the Angkorian period and were built in the 10th century. As such, they are mainly built of brick and not stone. They are similar in style to the structures from a similar time in Ayuthaya and Anuradhapura, but on a smaller scale.... read more
July 26th 2011
Went back to the Northern stretch of the main Angkor area, the only area I missed on day one, because of the bicycle tire blow-out. Well, after visiting Preah Khan, the largest of all the temple structures at Angkor, it was time for more vehicle trouble. The tuk-tuk stalled and would not re-start. Bad gas. The driver filled up with petrol near Banteay Srei, and the road-side Johnny-Walker bottles of petrol he bought must have been adulterated with water. After a little tinkering, the tuk-tuk started again, and I was back in Siem Reap, after another exhausting day. I;'m eating as much as I can, and still continue to lose inches around my hips and waist. I really should have brought a belt, and not left it behind "to travel light". The Cambodian food is half ... read more
July 26th 2011
When I noticed other foreigners nearing the top at Kbal Spean, it was time to get to Banteay Srei, sometimes considered the "Jewel of Angkorian art" and according to the Lonely Planet Guidebook, "some of the finest stone carving anywhere on earth." This was built in AD 967 and was not commissioned by a King, but by a Brahman who was probably a tutor to the King. I should have visited Banteay Srei first, as there was more people there than I liked, even though it was only 08:00. It was small in scale, compared to the temples built later, but the detail in the art-work was wonderful. It was more like wood carving than stone work. ... read more
July 26th 2011
What an incredible story of the founder of the Cambodian Land Mine Museum - Aki Ra. He was forcibly recruited as child soldier by the Khemer Rouge, then at 14 years switched allegiances to the Vietnamese backed Cambodian Army fighting the Khemer Rouge, many of whom were his friends or relatives. He described being sent out to hunt for food with his AK-47 or M-16 and coming across his friends in the Khemer Rouge who were also hunting for food. He'd play with them at night and they'd end up trying to kill each other by day. After the fighting, he took on unorthodox de-mining work, often de-activating 30 or more mines per hour! He now runs an orphanage/school for child victims of land mines and funds those activities with his museum proceeds and donations. The ... read more
July 26th 2011
Hired a tuk-tuk to get 50 km north of Siem Reap to a place called Kbal Spean. I didn't bargain too hard, as the driver kind of squealed in delight when I agreed to $20 for the day's planned itinerary. Well after about 40km the tuk-tuk died from over-heating! They are designed for stop and go rides, not continuous journeys. But, the driver had a couple of Johnny-Walker bottles of water under the seat, and filled up the plastic bottle that served as a jury-rigged radiator reservoir. After 10 minutes, the engine re-started and it was onto Kbal Spean. Kbal Spean is a 2 km up-hill climb to the "River of a thousand Lingas" that is in a spectacular lush jungle setting around a set of waterfalls. Since I left so early, I was the only ... read more
July 25th 2011
Angkor is the largest set of ruins in the world. Larger than Machu-Pichu, Pyramids at Giza, Borobodur, Petra, Tikal, Anuradhapura, Ayuthaya, Great Zimbabwe, etc. It's a great way to finish this part of the trip. I'm spending 4 days in this area to take as much in as practicable. Got up early and was ready to leave before sunrise to catch the sunrise at Angkor ... but, nobody in the guest house was up, so I couldn't take out a bike. I had to wait until 06:00 to have breakfast and then wait a bit more to get a bike. Made sure the brakes worked and the tires were full. No such thing as gears or bike helmets in this part of the world. No helmets is probably a good thing too, considering it would have ... read more
July 24th 2011
Siem Reap is full of tourists. Well that's no surprise, considering it's the base for visiting the ruins of Angkor. I've given myself 4+ days to see Angkor properly. The town itself is like any town near a major tourist attraction. Full of guest houses and restaurants. Everything from $1 a night dorms to 5 star ritz and glitz.... read more
July 23rd 2011
The infamous Khemer Rouge prison S-21 or it's proper name the Tuol Sleng Prison was a high school. Only 7 prisoners came out alive! The few dead bodies found in the prison by the "liberating army" (i.e. the Vietnamese) were buried on the grounds of the prison. Most of the inmates were killed in the "killing fields" slightly north of the city. I couldn't bring myself to visit there. The prison was a shocking experience by itself. The building reminded me of my school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several buildings, each with 3 Floors, with standard classroom and blackboards. Some rooms had been crudely partitioned into tiny individual prison cells using brick and wood, with holes knocked between classroom to join them up internally. That way, the prisoners never got to see the outside. Much of ... read more
July 23rd 2011
Phnom Penh was a wonderful surprise. Given all its recent horrible events (can't call it history, since it's still current events, considering four top Khemer Rouge officials are on war crimes trials right now), I wasn't sure what to expect. I found it to be a good walking city ... but then again, where do I NOT find a good walking city eh? Oh Yes! Doha, our home town, is not a good walking city. In fact, it's almost impossible to even cross a street without a car in Doha. Things such as sidewalks are not put in place all the time. Anyway ... The King of Cambodia ... or former king ... or whatever his current title is ... has had a difficult time being above politics because he had to choose sides all the ... read more
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| Joined | June 11th 2009 | Trips | 7 |
| Last Login | July 28th 2011 | Followers | 0 |
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Trips
Europe 2009
June 21st 2009 -» August 3rd 2009
Jordan 2010
November 11th 2010 -» November 20th 2010
East Africa Year End 2010
December 15th 2010 -» January 3rd 2011
Spring 2011 in Qatar
March 26th 2011 -» April 3rd 2011
July 08-18, 2011 in Vietnam
July 8th 2011 -» July 18th 2011
July 19-21, 2011 in Laos
July 19th 2011 -» July 21st 2011
July 22-28, 2011 in Camboida
July 22nd 2011 -» July 28th 2011
June 21st 2009 -» August 3rd 2009
Jordan 2010
November 11th 2010 -» November 20th 2010
East Africa Year End 2010
December 15th 2010 -» January 3rd 2011
Spring 2011 in Qatar
March 26th 2011 -» April 3rd 2011
July 08-18, 2011 in Vietnam
July 8th 2011 -» July 18th 2011
July 19-21, 2011 in Laos
July 19th 2011 -» July 21st 2011
July 22-28, 2011 in Camboida
July 22nd 2011 -» July 28th 2011
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