Blogs from East, Cambodia, Asia - page 23

Sadly, due to unexpected illness, our time in Cambodia is running out so we are forced to change our plans. Initially we were headed north east to Ratanakiri Province, but as we are leaving in a couple of days, we settled with a trip to Kratie, six hours north of Phnom Pehn. The bus journey was an adventure in itself, stopping in places crowded with children and women trying to sell us goodies. Dom opted for some tasty-looking deep fried tarantulas and found them a little spicy - especially the abdomen! Bex, as you’ve probably gathered from previous blogs, dislikes spiders whether dead or alive! Upon arriving in Kratie, a little town forming around a central and very dirty market, we settled in at a hostal to make plans from there. We arranged a trip with ... read more

So after passing my exam it was quickly to leave Sihanoukville and meet up with Amie in Phnom Penh. It was quite urgent as her birthday was in a day or two and I felt I should be by her side. In Phnom Penh we ate cheap cheap Indian food and not much more. I had a package to send home but the day we got there the post office was shut. So was the heart specialist I was going to go to. I instead went to a western doctor who signed me safe to dive and also had a bit of a check-up on me. He said I had some strange white powder on my eardrums. First he thought it was some kind of fungus and then he thought it was some wax but ... read more

4,000 Islands - KratieJason & Kirstyn O To say the border crossing into Cambodia was bizarre would be an understatement. After a ferry across from the island we piled into a minivan and drove the five or so kms to the border. After a few kms we turned down a small dirt track, shrowded by forest each side and littered with pot holes (like the hills of Phonsovan). Added to this was the fact they were filled with water from last nights storm and so resembled small lakes! At this stage we wondered whether we were really crossing the border or whether we were being taken into the jungle for other purposes! Also, Jason was not feeling too well by this time (?hungover, ?food poisoning...) and the potholes did nothing to improve his nausea! Needless to ... read more

Looking back on my time in Laos I must say that it is one of the most pleasant places I have ever been. It's a lot of people's favorite country in Southeast Asia and for good reason. The people are so friendly and the scenery has managed to defend itself from over development for the time being. When I think of Laos I think of the "Sabai dee" kids waving from the sides of the roads, noodle soup, families congregating under their little basket houses to escape the heat, BeerLao, dust, the Mekong, long journeys, caves, water buffalo and incredibly friendly, chilled out people who could care less about having a rat in the global race of capitalism and consumerism. As a matter of fact, I could imagine them saying “What race? There’s a race?” ... read more

April 12 - 16 It was an early morning to catch the transport bus to the actual bus station at 6:45am. My bus wasn't even there yet and it was suppose to leave at 7:15am but didn't actually head until 8:30. I was the only foreigner on the bus and it wasn't even full although the woman I bought the ticket from said I got the last ticket. Strange. The bus was not at all what the picture was on the ticket, just like the boat to Battambang. Ha. The ticket cost $11, one dollar more cause of the New Year and takes 10 hours. Don't know how this happened but the bus actually got there in the scheduled time. No mysterious breakdowns, no unnecessary stops. It was all good. I was glad I left ... read more