http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/traintraveller/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from traintraveller en-us Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:16:14 +0000 Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:16:14 +0000 As promised last week I attached some pictures. The smaller ones down on the left side become bigger when you click on full entry http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Brabant/blog-411025.html After 54 days travelling back home again. Getting used to normal life. This kind of trip has been made by people you meet. I remember still a lot of people I did not write about in the blog Like the dutch businessman in Thailand I met living in Changmai coming 15 years ago for 3 months to Thailand and stayed. Has a wholesale organisation for restaurants in the North of Thailand. Helped a dut http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Brabant/blog-408983.html My trip to Singapore took over 500 hours train. Back a bit shorter. 2 hours SP BK and 115 hours BKAmsterdam. Last night I boarded the flight CI065 and because I still had still some points to spent I flew decadently compared to all the simple trains in the businessclass. A bit confusing too fast too luxurious.Plane was not full as is usual these days. Businessclass not even half full in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Brabant/blog-408430.html To celibrate the birth of my grandson I had a beer last night after the flight from Singapore.Do you sleep alone tonight is the question mostly asked between 1 and 2 o clock in the morning by the ladies in the bars.I was talking with Ann in Check Inn 99 at Sukumvit. Around 1.45 she asked me.I told her Yes Ann I m sleeping alone.Why She asked me. I like to sleep with you.No Ann I ll keep you awa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-407993.html I write this entry in Bangkok for I have been too short in Singapore to find a computer.Due to the fact that I became this day June 12th grandfather again I ll go home a bit earlier than planned. It s a grandson and like the father my youngest son not so serious in planning for he entered this world about 5 weeks too early. Probably wondering how it is around here.So I had to change my schedul http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/Changi/blog-407990.html Entering Malaysia from the Thai side it looks a bit different. A bit more organized. All the way to Kuala Lumpur green surroundings lots of ricefields rather well kept lots of Palms and really lots. These palms are used for Palm oil.They are building up the railway to doubletrack what probably will still gives a few years work to many people. Approaching KL there are quite a few new stations an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-407985.html In Georgetown I found a street with all butchers. One had as speciallity Goatsheads but not on display. The other butchers had pigs hanging in the frontdoors. Just without any cooling. Wonder who is eating them for it s not a delicacy for Moslims or Budhists and I can hardly believe it s for the Roman Catholics for than they have to eat a lot.This system with all shops of one kind of business all http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-407980.html Have been walking around Georgetown today. Had just a tour and explanation around the biggest local mosque. One of the muslims saw me wondering if I could take pictures or not and he invited me on a tour.His father just had died 40 days ago and he had cooked all afternoon for a meal for several hundred of people who came to the mosque later.Its great how good the Malaysian speak english. The ol http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Penang/George-Town/blog-407449.html Monday evening I had dinner in London Pub. Lot of foreigners and of course also Thai. I talked during dinner with Noi who had a quick bite before working again.Noi owns a small bar on the opposite side of Sukkumvit Soi Cowboy. Noi told the way she lost her lover.His name was John not too young and english. They fall in love. John worked for the UN and had to be for his job half a year in one of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Penang/George-Town/blog-407167.html Yesterday evening sitting in the bar of Gulliver a place where you can eat and drink and also visited by lots of ladies of the night waiting for a better future I talked with Nan. Nan comes from the North east part of Thailand near the Cambodian border.We talked about food. I like thai food the spicier the betterNan told me she can cook very good and her speciality is rat. If I liked ratNo Nan I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-406505.html Yesterday I had dinner at Cabbages Condoms. A restaurant of the PDA Population Community Development Ass. with restaurants and hotels that earn money to provide financial support for education environmental protection HivAids prevention.Its good food and together with the bill you get a condom.Just in case you meet the right girl. The condom has two purposes. To prevent the girl have your http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-406032.html Had bought a bus ticket Phnom Penh Bangkok at Sapaco tourist for US 22.Sapaco have no own busses on this route but sells the ticket for a colleque company. Sapaco brought me with a shuttlebus to the Bangkok Bus.Left at 7 oclock. Was the only foreigner again. Bus bit less comfortable than the Vietnamese one.Roads have been improved considerable in Cambodia compared to 8 years ago. Big bridges http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-405734.html This afternoon I ate Tom Yam Kung a very spicy thai riverprawn soup. Excellent quality. Too late however I remembered that yesterday I saw the river and the water quality was not where I as prawn should like to live.Phnom Penh 14 million inhabitants about 20 of Cambodian population. Has not much changed in the last 10 years. Some new buildings not too high. On the route from the border lots of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-405231.html Took the 6 o clock coach in Saigon for Phnom Penh. Trip took incl border procedures about 7 hours. Compared to 8 years ago roads in Cambodia at least route nr 1 from Moc Bai border crossing to Phnom Penh has been improved. 8 years ago it took 6 7 hours now not even 3.Vietnam as good communist country cannot allow gambling and Casino s on its territory. That s why Cambodia helps out. The Vietnam http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-404930.html With the reunification after Nord Vietnam won the american war in 1976 Saigon has been re named into Ho Chi Min City. However in dayly use as long as it s not official it s still Saigon. It s unbelievelable that they were able within 8 years to destroy big parts of district 1 the centre of Saigon. Big parts of the old city has been demolished and build up new specially hotels 5 stars and some http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-404578.html Due to the lack of space and the length of the trip I did not buy souvenirs and sometimes that s painful. In my Saigon hotel Liberty 4 however they call stealing buying souvenirs.There is a complete list of all the items you might steal from the room with prices.That starts with the doorlock dong 500.000 via the ashtray dong 20.000 to the boiler dong 1.200.000So actually you can take at least 20 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-404511.html Joined train SE 3 from Hanoi to Saigon in Danang. In my cabin were a grandmother and granddaugther and a father and his little son all vietnamese. They had lived already 18 hours in the closed cabin and you could smell it.They were still sleeping at midday and the granddaugther was able to sleep the full 16 hours to Saigon with only one toiletstop and in Saigon she still looked tired.Now I know f http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-404168.html Met yesterday in a restaurant a father dutch and his two sons austrian.The sons owned the restaurant bit mix between Vietamse and european with a worldfamos at least in Hoi An Austrian cook.Good food good concept only on the wrong side of the river where you only found it by chanche if you crossed the river what no so many people didThe boys mid twenty were living in Vietnam for almost 4 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-403728.html Went yesterday evening for massage. Full body massage for not even US7.As usual I fell asleep after a few minutes and when I woke up half an hour later or so I wondered what was wrong.I felt too many hands.How come Still dreaming I started to count 2 at the legs two at the arms two at the shoulders. Than I heard three different voices and saw at the floor at the same time 6 feet. That s how http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-403507.html Trang a 14 years old vietnamese girl travelling with her kidbrother and her mother from Hanoi to Danang to see her father said you can solve all my problems. Meaning that I could help her with her english study during the 18 hours trip.Trang wants to become an interpreter and want to be rich so she can travel all over the world and even to Hoi AnToday it was the first time she travelled and she http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-403249.html