Blogs from North, Cambodia, Asia - page 13

Paula is a little under the weather this morning, and our room safe conspires to frustrate us by running out of power. By the time this is resolved we are too late for our planned trip and decide to defer things until tomorrow and as the Sun is still shining that's not too bad an option. We claim prime positions around the pool and enjoy a leisurely morning . A guest from Ireland gets permission from the hotel to strum a guitar and entertain us, he has a lilting melodious voice and good guitar skills. It is 2 pm before we realise the day is moving on. After a snack brunch and a swim in the gorgeous pool, we change, refresh and take a leisurely walk along the river and arrive at the center of the ... read more

Awakened by heavy rain, we worry our planned half-day trip by Tuk Tuk to Ek PhNom Temple may have to be aborted, however the sky brightens and we decide to risk it. Our driver is not Oeurm but a replacement, a friend called Somcat, apparently Oeurm had a more lucrative ride! As before, we head out of town via minor roads , following the river. After 20 minutes we meet a traffic jam and appear to join a procession of various vehicles whose passengers are all wearing white shirts/blouses etc. Somcat explains that today is the Buddhist Festival of Meak Bochea, one of the most holiest of the Khmer calendar. The name means 'Big Prayer', candlelit ceremonies follow the offerings of food and money, in order to gain merit. We could have bypassed the procession but ... read more

Incidentally, Battambang was named, but mis-pronounced by the French, it is actually Bat/dam/bong, which is something to do with their mystical ruler, who was black and had a magical stick, whose name was Ta Dumbong, anyway read it up! We are not won over by our hotel's lack of cleanliness. The Manager and Staff (currently family run by local Khmer) are friendly but have very poor English. This morning we breakfast outside our room. The food is adequate, however, the setting is very enjoyable and lifts our spirits. Our Tuk Tuk driver, who's name is Oeurm (sounds like Ian), arrives promptly at 10 am as agreed. He is a local Khmer who's Father survived the Pol Pot genocide regime because he was a Carpenter, and basically the Khmer Rouge kept him alive to knock down priceless ... read more

Day 6 Pursat. 106 km. flat ride. Hot today. Two pieces of great news today are that I got my jacket back, since it was collected last night by our guide Channi. Also the rice paddy rat population is being controlled. The weather was a bit overcast, yet warm this morning and I thought it would be a cooler day. I got that wrong as it became 38 degrees in the sun and 34 in the shade at 2pm. - a sizzler. The journey was a long straight journey on Highway 5 down to spurs at. If there were any bends on this road I never saw any. All we got was an endless dusty view with very slight deviations now and again. Heavy goods traffic was encountered all the way and almost every configuration was ... read more

Cambodia Day 1 and 2 11/12Jan 2018 The first day was spent on the 13 hr flight to Singapore. Exciting stuff, wishing you are somewhere else with a stiff back and aching body desperate for a comfortable chair or bed. The run to the airport wasn’t a lot better since the traffic was horrendous making the journey 2hrs instead of the 1 hr when roads are clear. The lay off in Singapore was 5 1/2hr and then a short 2hr leg to Siem Reap, where we were met by our local guide leader Shanee. Things may have been a bit swifter if I had not managed to miss a digit off my passport number on my Visa application. Donkey. I just hope this is the only problem we get. However in Cambodia I presented it to ... read more