Phuket, Thailand

 WEDNESDAY 10 AUGUST 2011

Having spent just over four weeks travelling around Vietnam and Cambodia, it was lovely to relax for a few weeks in my brother's villa catching up with all the family and some of Jess and Tony's friends.

Final Entry

Both Vietnam and Cambodia are wonderful countries, with superb varied countryside, fascinating but tragic histories, friendly people (when you get past the hassling) and plenty to do. 

It is amazing that the people of these two war-torn countries seem so positive. Travelling overland by train and bus can be quite stressful at times, but it’s the best way to see the country and meet people – even sharing sleeping arrangements with them! I was only able to spend about a week in Cambodia which was far too short and still want to visit other places in Vietnam.

I’ll be back!

Cambodia to Bangkok, Thailand, 10 hours by buses

TUESDAY 9 AUGUST 2011

My last day in Cambodia. I was told I would be picked up at 7.30 as the main bus left at 8.00 a.m. I wasn’t picked up until 8.15, but my hotel pointed out I was lucky because sometimes the tour agents forget to tell the bus companies to pick up their customers, and they don’t end up on a bus at all!

I had been a little worried about how to cross the border into Thailand because all the guide books and internet seemed to be saying there are several scams going from Bangkok to Siem Reap, and the other way round. They say a bus picks you up from your hotel, takes you to a bus stop in Siem Reap where a bigger bus takes you to Poipet on the border. On the way it stops for 15 minutes at a restroom and shop (where they get commission) and 5 km from the border stops an hour for lunch (where they get commission)! A new man comes on the bus to take you over the border, takes your ticket and gives you a coloured sticker, and after he takes you over the border tries to persuade people to go on a faster bus (extra money). He then disappears and the group waits about 1 hour until someone with a vehicle (maybe a pick-up truck) takes you to a restaurant (where he gets commission) in Aranyapratet on the Thai side of the border and a bus comes along about an hour later if you’re lucky.

I asked several tour agents and they all said no problem, one bus would take me to the border at Poipet, and another from the Thai side to Bangkok. Some said the journey was 9 hours and some less. In reality, it is 3 hours driving to Poipet, maybe an hour to do all the border checks, and 3 1\2 hours to Bangkok. I shopped around for a company who said they would leave at 8.00 a.m. and get me to Bangkok at 3 p.m. I asked several times if she was sure it would get in at 3 p.m. and questioned the type of buses they were using, and was told big comfortable buses both ends.

The bus I was on took us straight to the border crossing at Poipet, so I began to feel everything was OK, but when we got to Poipet the man wanted our tickets and gave us a sticker! The guide books say not to give up your ticket, but as he insisted, I took a photo of my ticket before giving it to him – he didn’t like that! What was beginning to worry me, was that everyone else had a blue and green sticker and I was the only one with a white sticker. We queued up and got through border control –one of the ones where the immigration officers seem to be on a ‘go slow’ on average 2.5 minutes per person! I dragged my 25 kilo case the 300 yards across the border (one wheel is buckled) through the Thai border control and then to Thai customs, where the officer wanted to check my case. He wanted me to unlock it but when he opened it he gasped in horror at all my stuff and quickly closed it and beckoned me to go ahead.

I was told by the ‘guide’ to wait for half an hour for the bus to Bangkok. I was getting more and more concerned as I was the only one waiting, as all the others had gone, but was told not to worry, there were another 40 people to come through customs yet! By now it was 12 p.m., so there was no way we were going to be in Bangkok by 3 p.m. I waited with another UK couple who had made private arrangements, and about 2 hours later more people arrived and we were squashed into a mini van. 

We then drove to Aranyapratet, about 5 minutes away, where the mini van stopped and the driver and the woman with him got out! I followed them into the café and asked what was going on, and they said they were stopping for a break for 15 minutes! At that point, I lost my cool and said I had been waiting over 2 hours for the bus, and they did not need a break as we had just started the journey, and we had to go straight to Bangkok without stopping. I said if they didn’t get back in the bus, I would drive it myself! 

They came back to the bus and everyone cheered me! We agreed if we got hungry we would share out any food supplies! The man next to me came from Como, and he said he would fight with me if there were any more problems. Their bus to Poipet had followed exactly what the guide book says with two stops to Poipet, one for over an hour! We then drove to Bangkok with only a 10 minute stop to get petrol (which I think would have been an hour if I hadn’t made such a fuss) and arrived in the backpacker area of Khao San Road in Bangkok at 6 p.m.

I was so fed up with taxi drivers, bus drivers etc. I ignored all the taxi drivers who surrounded us as we got out of the bus and dragged my case to the nearest hostel for the night – not the most salubrious place I have ever stayed, but it was clean and cheap. Khao San Road is extremely lively with a night market and lots of bars and restaurants. I went out for a meal, and realised how lively the area is when the music went on till about 3 a.m. – thank goodness for ear plugs!

Temples & Landmine Museum, Siem Reap

Ta Som

MONDAY 8 AUGUST 2011

My Tuk Tuk driver came about 9 a.m. and we drove to the temple at Pre Rup, and then on to Banteay Srey, which is about 37 kilometres from Siem Reap. It was a beautiful, scenic route, passing stilt houses and villages. The houses are made out of wood, palm leaves and corrugated iron. Cattle and families spend time together under the houses, resting on hammocks. Farmers wearing Khmer scarves on their heads were working in the paddy fields, using buffalo to pull the ploughs.

We visited a Landmine Museum which has been set up by Aki Ra. His parents had been killed when he was 5 and he was enlisted as a child soldier with the Khmer Rouge, later defecting to join the Vietnamese army. He laid thousands of mines himself, but for years has dedicated himself to clearing as many mine-fields as he can. He has also set up a school for children who have been injured by mines, orphans and those from poor backgrounds to give them a better chance in life.

Our next stop was the temple at Ta Som and then on to Neak Pean. By this time I was ‘templed-out’ so decided to go back to the hotel for a rest, which was just as well because the heavens opened and it poured with rain again. The Tuk Tuk was far from waterproof as there were holes in the roof, and the rain came in through all the sides. I had to sit with an umbrella up, but was still very wet when we arrived at the hotel.

It was still raining in the evening so I took a Tuk Tuk to the night market, and went back to the same restaurant as last night for another Khmer BBQ. Their banana pancakes with palm sugar are the best I have ever tasted!

Village Life

Banteay Srei

Cambodian Musicians injured by land mines

Land Mine Museum

Pre Rup Temple

Neak Pean Temple

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

Monkeys on the street

Angkor Thom

Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm

Cambodian BBQ

Angkor Wat

SUNDAY 7 AUGUST 2011

I cycled the 7 kilometres to the main Temple of Angkor Wat, which was made a UNESCO site in 1992. On the way I passed several areas which were marked as cleared minefields which brings home the extent of mine laying and bombing done by the Americans during the Vietnam war, and then the Cambodian armies during their civil war.

Angkor Wat was built in the 12th century and was the capital city and state temple. Although originally built as Hindu temples, they were later converted to Buddhist temples, back to Hindu and finally back to Buddhist again. The large moat surrounding the Temple was built by hand. It is the world’s largest religious building and was the largest pre-industrial city in the world - the whole area covers 400 kilometres.

I hired a guide who told me about the various images and reliefs. He also pointed out the bullet and canon holes in the walls from when the Khmer Rouge were holed up in the temple during the civil war, before they came to power in 1975.

I then cycled to Angkor Thom, which was the last capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late 12th century and abandoned sometime in the 16th century. The complex covers 9 square miles and at one time between 80,000 and 150,000 people lived here. The main temple, the Bayon, is in the middle of the temple complex.

After lunch of local Khmer food, I cycled to Ta Prohm, but missed the turning (there was no sign at all) and went 2 kilometres the wrong way. By the time I had cycled back to Angkor Thom, it started pouring with rain, so I put my bike in a Tuk Tuk and got a lift to Tan Prohm. My bike was sticking out both sides, and the driver drove fast and actually hit another van with my bike!

Ta Prohm was amazing. Although the temple has been restored to some extent and made safe, it’s been left to show how it has been taken over by the jungle, with giant tree roots enveloping the walls, which gives it a special atmosphere. This temple was also built in the 12th century and housed about 12,500 people, including 18 high priests and 615 dancers. The rain didn’t stop, so I got another Tuk Tuk to take me back to my hotel.

 
In the evening I went to the area known as ‘Pub Street’ where most of the restaurants and night life is. I had a Khmer BBQ of 5 kinds of meat – beef, pork, chicken, prawns and crocodile! It was served with rice and in the bottom of the small BBQ vegetables and noodles cooked in hot water at the same time.

Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Wat Preah Prom Rath

SATURDAY 6 AUGUST 2011

I was picked up from my hotel by a mini-van for my journey to Siem Reap, about 5 hours away. Also on the mini- van were Andre and Margaret and their two sons from Holland. I had spent some time with them on the Mekong Delta two day trip to Phnom Penh.

The scenery was once again spectacular and interesting. Cambodia is a much poorer country than Vietnam, and most of the stilt houses were built using palm leaves and wood. Many farmers plough the fields with their buffalo. We stopped briefly at a market where they were selling two kinds of bugs – I think some were locusts. I decided against these and bought some dried banana instead.

We arrived about 2 p.m. and Po had arranged for a Tuk Tuk driver to take me to a hotel. Once settled in, I went out to explore Siem Reap and visited the Wat Preah Prom Rath temple on the way. The town is a lively place with lots of small shops, restaurants and an excellent market which caters for the many tourists who come here. 

Siem Reap is the most visited town in the country because of its proximity to Angkor Wat.
I went back to my hotel for a swim and was just getting ready to go out when there was a terrific thunderstorm – thunder, lightning and extremely heavy rain, so I decided to eat at the hotel by the swimming pool, watching the storm.

Bugs for lunch?

Wat Preah Prom Rath

Wat Preah Prom Rath

Phnom Pen and the Killing Fields

Palace at Phnom Penh

Palace at Phnom Penh

Cheung Ek Genocide Museum

FRIDAY 5 AUGUST 2011

I had arranged with Po, the Tuk Tuk driver from last night, to pick me up at 8.30 a.m. to drive me around for the day. We went to the Palace first, which was magnificent. The traffic in Cambodia seems a lot calmer, with the drivers only hooting when necessary as opposed to every time they see another vehicle!

We drove the 15 kilometres to the Cheung Ek Genocide Museum, known as the ‘killing fields’, where thousands of people were taken from S-21 Prison to be killed. Over 8,000 bodies have so far been discovered in the large pits where they were killed. There is a Pagoda style memorial to the people who died here which is full of some of their bones, arranged in seven layers with the skulls at the bottom, and other bones further up in layers.

The next stop was the Tuol Sleng Museum – S-21 Prison. Tuol Sleng used to be a secondary school but on 17th April 1975 Pol Pot’s men changed it into prison S-21, the biggest in Cambodia. The classrooms were converted into cells and mass detention rooms, where thousands of people of all classes – peasants, workers, engineers, doctors, students, Buddhist monks, soldiers and foreigners were tortured and then killed, along with their wives and children. Seven Europeans, an Australian and an American were also killed.

14 dead prisoners were found when the prison was finally liberated on 7 January 1979, and these people are buried in S-21. The cells where they were found are left as they were, with the metal beds and a photo of how the victims were found.

The exhibition was very well done, showing the horror without glorifying in it. Photos of the victims were on display in several rooms and in another room information about the chief people responsible for the genocide, and about the on-going trial of those who are still alive.

During Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge’s 3 year time in power, from 1975 to 1979, over 3,000,000 men, women and children were murdered. It seems unbelievable that this could have happened in a predominantly Buddhist country.

Mekong Delta, Cambodia

 

Vietnam/Cambodian Border

Mekong Delta

Mekong Delta with Masako

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh

Boat Journey on the Mekong Delta to Phnom Penh, Cambodia

THURSDAY 4 AUGUST 2011

We were woken at 6 a.m. but I was already up and saw the dawn rise over the Mekong Delta. We were taken by boat at 7.15 to a fish farm, where we saw the fish being fed. The fish farm was built on the water, with trap doors under the veranda and in the main living room to access the fish. In the living room there was polished furniture and an alter, which was unexpected in such basic surroundings.

We took a different boat up the Mekong until we arrived at the Cambodian Boarder, where we waited about an hour for our visas to be processed at the Customs Post. We had a short boat ride to check in at the border post in Cambodia and our final boat took us all the way to Phnom Penh.

The scenery on the way was magnificent. The boat went near to both shores and we passed village after village with the people and children waving to us. The houses are built on stilts with corrugated iron for roofs and palm leaves for walls. Many of the boats were dug out canoes. Buffalo drank at the water’s edge and fishermen swung large hand nets into the water for fishing. The journey took about five hours and we arrived in Phnom Penh about 6 p.m., when I took a tuk tuk to my hotel.

Fish Farm in a house!

Muslim Cham Village

Ho Chi Minh to Chau Doc, Cambodian Border, by boat on the Mekong Delta and bus

Mekong Delta Floating Market

WEDNESDAY 3 AUGUST 2011

I was told to be ready at 7.00 for my pick up to go to the Mekong Delta, but the bus didn’t arrive until 8.00 a.m. An English couple I had met yesterday were also booked on the journey on the Mekong Delta, that would end in Phnom Penh in Cambodia – one of the easiest ways of crossing the Vietnamese/Cambodian border.

We drove to Cai Be where we were transferred to a boat to visit the floating markets. From the small masts various items were hung, such as pumpkins, which indicated that boat was selling pumpkins. Another boat was showing a small piece of palm, which meant the boat itself was for sale – palm is used to cover roofs of houses, so it was a symbol of a house. 

We visited a house where we saw rice paper and rice wine being made and also snake wine!

We then went up the river to a small restaurant for lunch – not the best meal I’ve had in Vietnam! The journey back on the boat was through some narrow waterways where there was a traffic jam as we tried to pass another boat. We drove for a long time in the bus, and then had to wait about an hour to catch a ferry across the Mekong. It’s a holiday, so there were a lot more people about. We started seeing more people with limbs missing and other injuries, presumably from land mines, and some very badly deformed people which were the effects of Agent Orange.

We didn’t arrive at our hotel, the Delta Floating Hotel in Chau Doc, until 7.30 p.m. Chau Doc is on the border with Vietnam and Cambodia. I shared a room with a Japanese girl, Masako. The hotel had stunning views as it was on the river, but they need to upgrade their services! The air-conditioner in our room was broken, there was no toilet paper. I had dinner with Masako, Scott from Adelaide, and the English couple I had met yesterday. I asked for a ‘gin sling’ from their drinks menu and was told ‘don’t have’, so I asked for a tequila sunrise. After some discussion, my drink came which consisted of tequila and grenadine in a small cocktail glass. It took a lot of discussion to explain that an important ingredient, orange juice, was missing. Eventually they brought me a very small orange juice in a separate glass!

Mekong Delta Floating Market

Making rice wine

Making rice paper

Snake Wine

Our hotel

Chau Doc hotel with Masako

Sunset on the Mekong Delta