Feeling hot, hot, hot

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After a couple of days sorting stuff out in Bangkok and enjoying some excellent (& very cheap) Thai food we set off on the real adventure that is SE Asia. The early morning bus to Trat in the far South West of Thailand started off badly as we seemed to have the seats with the least leg room of all on the bus, despite the fact we'd booked a few days before when it was empty and had asked for room for Mr Long Legs. Luckily it wasn't full when we set off so we managed to get a bit more room on the back seat, that was until the girl in front of me proceeded to recline her seat so far that the top of it was a few inches from my nose and went to sleep.

The journey was supposed to take 5 hours but ended up being 6 with numerous stops to pick up people for whom there were no seats, or for the driver to have a smoke. There was also (of course - this is Asia!) some fiddling with the engine to be done as the driver was having problems finding first gear!

We arrived into Trat bus station which had unfortunately recently been moved a couple of km out of town so we were a captive market for the shared taxi drivers waiting there and had to pay their exhorbitant fees to get to town (although it was, of course, still less than 1 pound!). However, when we arrived at the guesthouse the door was open but it seemed decidedly deserted with a couple of food plates and nobody there. It was also exceedingly hot & I was desperate to eat so hanging around was a bit unpleasant but the owner showed up eventually.

Trat is just a small town with no real interest for the visitor but many pass through on their way to various islands or to Cambodia. However, it was nice to be somewhere that the outside world had not really penetrated yet though disappointingly KFC had made it there.

We left the guesthouse the next morning at 5.30am for our most complex travel day yet which did not start well when we were told that the shared taxi guys didn't start until 6.20 while our bus left at 6am. Luckily, while we were standing discussing our options in the middle of the street (going back to bed?!) another driver turned up and offered to take us to the bus station for less than the previous day so within half an hour we were on the mini bus on the way to the Thai/Cambodia border.

We were at the border around 7.15am and had to get an exit stamp for Thailand and our entry sorted for Cambodia which included having your photo taken. It was a good job we already had a visa but we were still jostling for position in the queue at the desk. We then had a mad dash in an overpriced shared taxi (along with a Polish man who was going all the way from Bangkok to Phnom Penh for one night?!) from the border to where the boat was docked, due to leave at 8am. We arrived with 5 minutes to spare although of course it then waited another half an hour for others to arrive as there were still seats available and to enable the boys who had grabbed our bags and taken them onto the boat and brought our tickets 100 yards from the ticket desk to pester us for tips.

I was a bit nervous about the boat as I have seen it called the 'vomit comet' and many will know I am not good on boats. However, our luck was in and the sea remained relatively calm. On arriving at Sihanoukville harbour we were met by swarms of people wanting to take us to our guesthouse (or more likely a guesthouse of their choosing). The only down side to this is that they were all driving motorbikes, not cars or tuk-tuks. I have never been on a motorbike before and was not keen to try but it became apparent that this was our only choice. Luckily, the driver spoke English well and could see I was nervous and he went out of the way to reassure me that he would be careful. He did seem to drive more slowly than many of the others but maybe that was just the weight of my pack wedged between him and the handle bars!

We had arranged to meet friends of ours (who are also galivanting around enjoying themselves for a few months away from work) at the guesthouse they were staying at on the beach but unfortunately they were not around and the guesthouse was full. Luckily the one next door had rooms and I was so hot and exhausted I just took the first one they showed me. It was nothing special with only a fan and cold water shower but fine for a couple of days.

Andy soon appeared because he'd seen us from up the beach and we joined them for a celebratory drink. We had lots to catch up on as Anne had been away for around 3 months when we left home and they had been in SE Asia for nearly 2 months since then. Sihanoukville turned out to be the hottest place we have been so far and the fan was not really enough & I didn't feel I reached a comfortable temperature all the time we were there apart from the first shock of the cold shower.

We spent the next couple of days hanging around the beach, eating and drinking and did a boat trip out through a nearby National Park. The trip was disappointing as not very well run but we saw a few interesting birds including sea eagles. The beach area is full of people trying to sell you various goods and services - you can get almost anything you want from a pedicure to a painting. Andy even had his sandals fixed on the beach.

After 3 days we had to go our separate ways - Anne and Andy were going back the way we came into Thailand after a couple more days in Cambodia and we were reversing their trip. The bus to Phnom Penh was reasonably comfortable and quick and we had time to see the Royal Palace when we arrived in the afternoon - a large complex of temples and other buildings including the silver pagoda (which is actually gold coloured but so called because it has silver tiles on the floor) which is where the king is crowned. There are photographs of the recent coronation in 2004 - it looks like a very jolly occasion.

Being in Cambodia at some point you have to confront the recent horrors that happened here and so we went out to see the Killing Fields (Choeng Ek) and visited Toul Sleng, previously a school which was used as a prison and torture centre during the Pol Pot regime. At Choeng Ek there is a monument to some of the victims of the killing fields which is a large glass stupa filled with the skulls of nearly 9,000 of the bodies that have been excavated from the mass graves. The most disturbing thing is that there are still bits of clothing and bones sticking up out of the ground all around as regular flooding washes skeletons to the surface. We had a guide for this part and he told us some of the horrific ways they killed people (using bullets was deemed a waste). This included children as, if one person was an enemy of the regime, the whole family were. In addition to those killed in such awful ways, many thousands died of starvation as the move to become a purely agricultural nation failed dismally. Our guide said that he only survived because he was so young that he was still being breast fed but both of his older sisters died.

Toul Sleng is just as horrific but more graphic with some of the items used to torture prisoners still there along with photographs of everyone who was kept there - the Khmer Rouge were nothing if not good at administration. They also photographed inmates in various states after torture and these pictures are also on show. There's nothing that I can say about what happened that wouldn't sound trite and shallow but I find it incredibly shocking that something like that could've happened within my life time. And then you start to think of all the awful things still going on today.....

And then back on the buses to Siem Reap for a few days to see some ancient splendours. This bus was almost luxurious and had lots of space. There was even a toilet with a lovely mistranslation 'Push to flash' which sounded like the door would fly open if you pushed the flush button. We were met at the bus stop by someone with an upside down sign saying 'Miss Sarah' so I guessed it was for us as we'd booked a place to stay the day before. We'd hit a problem in finding somewhere to stay as we had clashed with the water festival which celebrates when the direction of the Tonle Sap river changes draining flooded water away and leaving very fertile soil for planting - an unusual natural phenomenon arising out of flood waters from the Mekong backing up the Tonle Sap during the wet season.

And that's where I'll leave you for now. Sorry it's a bit long but the blog site was down for a couple of days and we have been busy but as my diary has gone by the wayside I want to include quite a lot of detail. skip the boring bits if you want....

Hope you're all well and not too cold....

S + H xx

PS. Was somebody going to tell me that big chief Mr Gray had resigned? (That's the head of HMRC (the people who 'mislay' our personal data) for non Revenue people H.)


PPS. The rugby team can get to the World Cup final twice in a row, winning it once and yet the football team can't even make it to the European cup - very poor! H.

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Comments

[jonathan]

Been Away
Of course I would have told you only I was sent to Solihull on the day it happened and have then been in Birmingham indulging my cultural side after that. Haven't even seen the Intranet yet although I hear Dave Hartnett is temporarily in charge. Will post again after Monday once I have all the up to date news. J x