Blogs from East, Cambodia, Asia - page 7

Does anybody remember that song? The one that the title refers to? A song from the Dead Kennedy's, but this was in the time of the Khmer Rouge, so it was a bit cynical to say the least. Anyway, just constantly have to think about this song as I travel around Cambodia. Now what about this holiday in Cambodia? First I managed to cross at the most corrupt of corrupt border crossings, not that I knew it at the time. I hadn't read up closely enough on border crossings, and only after somebody told me that what I had paid was thirty percent more than I should have paid, did I find out that I had been scammed. For a seasoned traveller I sure seem to make some stupid mistakes. Actually I blame the Lonely Planet, ... read more

Whenever we ask any traveller what was their most memorable place in Cambodia, they always say Angkor Wat. Not a very surprising answer as in the end this is Cambodian, if not Southeast Asian most important historical treasure. If you ask us the same question, we will say - probably to your surprise - that it was Mondulkiri Province and Elephant Valley to be precise. If you follow our blog you probably noticed how big of animal lovers we are, however as much as it was a reason for us to go there, it was not the only reason why we loved it so much. We read about EVP (Elephant Valley Project) based in Sen Monorom in Lonely Planet but what you read is a mere glimpse of what you meet when you arrive. When doing ... read more

"Realiteit, een hallucinatie veroorzaakt door een tekort aan van alles in de bloedbaan..." was een veelgebruikte zin door de altijd fascinerende Erik van der Z. en zeer toepasselijk op de afgelopen weken. Allereerst voordat ik vertrok mocht ik geen biertje drinken in verband met het slikken van anti-biotica. Dat gaf eigenlijk wel een mooie pauze en ik kwam erachter dat de groene Jupiler met 0-komma-nog-wat-procent alcohol, prima te drinken is! Jammergenoeg hebben ze dat niet hier in Cambodja. Sinds een paar dagen is het onverstandig voor mij hier nog een druppel alcohol te drinken. De Cambodjaanse dokter was daar heel duidelijk in. Koh Chang was heerlijk, leuke mensen, alleen word je er wel erg lui. Ik vond het dus tijd om iets anders te doen en mijn vinger kwam terecht op Siem Reap. Ach, waarom niet? ... read more

Wie schon im vorigen Blog erwaehnt trugen die Fruechte unseres ersten Versuches Kompong Cham zu erreichen keinen Erfolg. Also haben wir es nach ein paar Tagen Besichtigungstour in Phnom Penh noch einmal probiert, doch leider blieb auch diesmal der Erfolg aus. Wir mussten einen Bus in Richtung Siem Reap nehmen, der nach 150km in Kompong Thom stehen bleiben sollte. Zwar sind wir inzwischen gewoehnt, dass die Fahrten hier ein wenig laenger dauern, doch als der Schaffner uns in sehr gebrochenem Englisch mitteilte, wir kaemen nach etwa 5 Stunden um etwa 7 Uhr abends an, glaubten wir ihm. Die Fahrt selbst war eine Qual: Der Fahrer konnte es nicht lassen, seine Karaokekollektion auf Video bei voller Lautstaerke zu praesentieren. So wurden die ersten zwei Stunden mit berstenden Gesaengen von der DVD "Khmer-Karaoke Vol. 113" ausgehalten, bei der ... read more

Since leaving Siem Reap about 2 weeks ago it seems we have been slowly making our way north through a selection of one-street towns, each slightly more dusty and remote than the last. It all began in the south of Cambodia in Sihanoukville, where we headed for a couple of beach days to recharge our cultural batteries following our temple overdose at Angkor. The beach was sandy, the sun was hot and the beach BBQs each evening were a bargain at 3$. After three days though we decided to get going, and jumped on a bus for the faded colonial delights of Kampot. That particular phrase will crop up again and again in this blog. Kampot, to its credit, has more than one street. It may have as many as 6 actually, though most of them ... read more