Blogs from Asia - page 15006

Hugh and Siriporn met us at 8 this morning, and after a brief visit to the Post Office to check if the Weekly Telegraph had arrived, we went to the Cemetery where the POWs from Britain, Australia, Holland and America were buried. The first impression I got was how well kept it was. It had a very serene atmosphere and the graves of over 6000 POWs were kept immaculate. Various bushes of frangipani and orchids were scattered amongst the graves and in the morning sunlight, the cemetery shined. We had a walk amongst the graves, each having their own tragic story. Next we visited the Burma-Thai Railway Museum, also known as the Death Railway Museum. Hugh Cope is a part owner of the museum, and consequently his knowledge of the time is extensive. He kindly gave ... read more

Well, seeing how ALL of us are pretty red, were all at different internet cafes writing emails and updating our journals. Yesterday, Emily and I treated ourselves to some more deep fried bananas and ice cream, because we felt sorry that we were so burnt. We really deserved it and dont regret it one bit! Well, today Im hoping to catch up on some reading. I bought a book at the local book store. Its called "Forget you had a Daughter". Its about a girl from England who agreed to smuggle heroin to Tokyo for some guy, so she could get her ticket paid for back to England. She got caught in Bangkok, and was sentenced to life in prison in the "Bangkok Hilton", the notorious Thai prison. It looks really good, so Im excited to ... read more

We came to Hong Kong for Lara. I was never really fussed but luckily agreed to go and really enjoyed it too. Having been away for about 130 days now Lara is really missing people and life at home. Hong Kong is the perfect medicine for people home sick for London. There is so much to see and do here. The first thing that struck us both is the intensity of the consumerist, "bigger is better" feel of the place. It is impossible to walk from one building to another without going through enormous shopping arcades. Of course Lara was excited to point of wetting herself when she clapped eyes on the shoe shops. Number one on the agenda was to treat ourselves to a big Western meal. All the way through SE Asia we have ... read more

Good day to you all from here in hot hot Cambodia. The last few days have been very humid and sticky, with temperatures reaching 32-33 degress. Sweat has enveloped my body like the plague as I reel off another perspiration-entrenched t-shirt. Ive started being a minger as I have been washing my tshirts in the shower (no washing powder), drying them and wearing them again the day after- bootiful! So anyway, i follow on from my last blog when we arrived in Cambodia. From Kratie we took a bus to Phnom Penh, the capital city, and found a beautiful hostel on the lakeside in the middle of the city. The little alleyway we stayed on was pertty dingey- full of either tuk tuk drivers or moto drivers harassing us for business, or Cambodian gangsters selling opium ... read more

From Assam, we flew back to Delhi for the end of the Sierra Club trip. It was sad saying goodbye to all my 8 new Sierra Club friends from all over the US and Canada. But it was also exciting to be on my own to do some independent traveling. For our last night we were booked in the Delhi Radisson and ate at an Italian restaurant in the hotel. The next morning I took advantage of the internet access at the hotel and caught up on some emails. Then I did some research to try and figure out where I was going to spend the next few nights. I ended up deciding on a neighborhood called Sunder Nagar. It is a bit more laid back and upmarket than the busy streets of Delhi. They have ... read more