Ben's Side of the Story 

1/1/05 -we have just landed in bangkok and we are heading into cambodia (ankghor wat, phomn phen and then the beach).

4/1/05 - We sorted out the cambodia trip today. Yesterday we took a boat-bus thing trip on the river which was fast and manic followed by a stroll in the park and just as I was thinking it was like Hyde park we saw a really huge monitor lizard, a tropical reminder!

11/1/05 - we're in hot and sunny Cambodia at the minute.
Just spent 3 days seeing Angkor Wat, at times an awe inspiring experience and at other times some what of a trial by temple.

Even though archaeology isn't really my thing I did enjoy it and the temples with the huge hundred year old trees growing through and over them like some kind of triffids remain my favourite. The first sunset we spent with half of Tokyo crowded onto a tiny temple which was not what I had imagined but we eventually found more chilled out places to go.

Other Cambodian experiences include:
- bus travel - despite erractic driving this is relatively safe as the potholed roads and mud tracks limit the speed to a non lethal  20 mph.

- visit to floating village - where for some reason we had to pay for our boat ticket from the police ($20 for 2 ppl) and the boat driver gets $0.5, fairly interesting to see even police stations and schools on the river; most memorably we saw a girl in a polystryene box turned boat messing around in the water.

- border crossing from thailand - took a good few hours so time to marvel at the plush hotel casinos surrounded by throngs of people pulled carts and whole families on motorbikes

- a cambodian haircut - a meticulous affair which means I'm not quite the long haired traveller yet

- reading books on the khmer rouge, as we will be in phomn penh soon, very moving stuff,

other places we plan to visit are battambang a small river side town and sihoukanville, the cambodian beach front, the only disease we've had so far is a severe cold but thats gone now.

As far as the tsunami goes it almost feels less real here because we only hear about it from tv which is infrequently 

15/1/05 - finally left siem reap (angkor wat) and took the boat to battambang, supposedly quiet riverside town (more like busy metropolis by a ditch!)

anyway the scheduled 5 hour boat ride looked fine until 3 hours in we had to change boats as the river was too shallow, we split into 2 tiny
boats which lurched around even when someone stood up, an hour or so in we saw the other tiny boat which was beached on the river bank to
prevent it sinking! We lent them our bilge pump and carried on, only we then started sinking; no matter, one of our cheery crew left off 
and dashed up the bank only to reappear later with a portable bilge pump. A few groundings and some serious engine trouble held us back a
bit more and our journey eventually finished 9 hours after it started.  Apparently we were quite lucky as some people have taken 14 hours or
even spent over night (no food or mozzy nets!) as the very dry river meant they had to get out and push a lot. Great fun though and
brilliant views of loads more boat people and floating villages.

anyway we have used this town to do some brilliant motorbike trips (being driven around), at one of the temples we saw the usually shy monks actually approached us and asked us for our photo so they were more than happy to pose for us. Have also seen rather gruesome khymer rouge death pits, disturing but felt that it was important to see them. Another excursion has involved a bamboo train, not the chintzy tourist trap expected but literally a bamboo platform, wheels and engine on the main train line. We did meet another bamboo train coming the other way, but luckily we also had brakes. They ( a whole cambodian family) had to dismantle theirs and move round us as we had motorbikes on ours, i felt quite guilty. even on trips to the restaurant jo and i are travelling cambodian style (both of us on 1 bike, with driver!, not for the longer journeys!) Finally saw a dam built by khymer rouge slave labour, declined the swim in the oversized puddle and went for walk where we were chased by kids asking for pens we only had one to give them though. Brilliant scenery of rivers, fields and incredibly friendly village folk, my wrist aches from all the waving!

anyway off to phnom phen tomorrow, not sure how long that will take, have been promised 5 hours.

22/1/05 - we are at the beach now (sihanoukville) it is nice and chilled out, going on an island boat trip tomorrow.

We had spent 3 days in phonm penh seeing killing fields and khmer rouge former prisons (good but I think i 've seen enough of this stuff now) and a really boring national museum (just pots and statues and stuff).

Everything here is so cheap, our rooms have cost $5-8 and meals for two with drinks $6-12. so if we over spend elsewhere we could always come back here.  Bus transport recently has been uneventful and surprisingly timely; just seeing how many people cram into pickups is amazing with so many people stuffed in some sit on the roof and on occasion the bonnet, don't know what happens if it stops suddenly, or even slowly!

28/1/05 - we have been at the beach for just over a week now and have had both a
relaxing and an eventful time.

sunday was jo's birthday and we took a boat trip to go snorkelling and to some deserted island beaches. the boat was very small and very basic and just about sea worthy but the closeness to our fellow passengars gave us an opportunity to meet them all and the day was a good laugh. the water was too cloudy for decent snorkelling but we did
see some clown fish playing hide and seek in the sea anenomes. the deserted island beach was also very nice and we were give a baracuda barbeque lunch.

we have spent some days on the motorbike exploring the more remote beaches, the town and some of the temples and some just relaxing by
our beach, which is one of the nicest but also the busiest.

on one of the quieter beaches we saw three kids fishing in the sand for 3 inch worm things that looked sort of crustacean, it was quite remarkable how one baited them out whilst the others dug the hole from behind. not sure if they were going to eat them or if they were for pets.

whilst motorbiking home late last night i was glad that the traffic flow was less than its usual chaotic torrent. however we were quite shocked and surprised when another motorbike seemed to crash into us.  however they only slightly rammed us, in the process of stealing jo's small cotton bag from her shoulder (it was across both shoulders). it was so quick and we were lucky that the bag strap broke so easily and that the action didn't force us sprawling onto the road. i wouldnt really have fancied a tug of war on the road! jo does have a bit of a rope burn on her arm though. we could see them burning into the distance and then into a darkened side street. we did follow them briefly down this side street but then decided that the bag and its contents (insect repellent, photo cd and room key, but no money!) really werent worth it. whilst unfortunate it hasnt lowered my opinion of cambodian people as all the others that we have met have been really friendly and kind. we will be more watchful and careful from now on though.

this morning we spent getting massaged at a 'seeing hands' massage place where blind people do shiatsu massage and also earn a living for them selves. it was really good, kind of like a thai massage but without the wrestling moves. 

i'm just at the internet place now getting my cd reburnt so hope you're all well and hope to hear from you soon.

30/01/05 - On the last day in sihouknaville we did a boat trip in a nature reserve and a jungle walk. on the walk we saw absolutely no animals (I think they've all been eaten) but from the boat we saw some big eagles and pretty king fishers.

We left sihouknaville on Sunday to go to the one restaurant town of Kampot. from here we did a day trip which involved getting in the back of a pick up for two hours and bouncing are way up a mountain to see bokor. this is a deserted town where there is an eerie deserted art deco casino hotel from the French era. not quite "the shining" hotel as promised but spooky enough. we also took a 2 hour jungle walk whilst up here, the only wild life we saw though was a snake on the path which jo nearly trod on, it was quite small but could have been poisonous I guess. in the evening we were invited to the birthday party of one of the guest house owner's children which was very  bizarre. we were plied with lots of booze and food and were required to dance to the cheesy karaoke tunes on request in return. a bizarre but fun night.

another trip from kampot was to a waterfall/rapids, for this we hired two extremely basic and bone shaking bicycles, but the sedate pace meant we could enjoy the enchanting country side. it is a popular site for Cambodians to wash their clothes and go for a swim, we were befriended by some kids. after an exchange of fruit (our nice oranges for their sour berry things) they were demanding that we jump through the rapids with them and take photos of them doing jumps (digital cameras were very awe inspiring for them). they had great fun borrowing the swimming goggles as well.

whilst we will be sad to leave sleepy Cambodia the food wasn't all that great. it was almost as if they had used a photo of Thai food in order to replicate Thai food in looks only but somehow forgot about the spices and flavoring.

Map of Cambodia

Click Pictures for Larger version

 Jo's Side of the Story 

12/01/05 - Having spent a week in Bangkok (liked it there, lively, interesting, felt very safe but very polluted).  We make a 17 hour journey (by bus, loads of waiting around at border) along bumpy (understatement) pot hole surface they call a road, we are now in Cambodia.

It's the land or orange dust, family transport is 4 or 5 people squashed on a motorbike, even tiny kids hang on and no one has heard of crash helmets. Tourist transport is by 'Tuk Tuk' (a motorbike with cart attached), could get used to being chauffeured about.

Despite being so hot & dry here both of us have managed to get stinking colds!

Laundry is so cheap, don't have machines but pay locals, drop off 1 day & collect next all clean & ironed (def getting used to the lifestyle!).  Food is also inexpensive with meals out for 1.50 to 3 pounds each & nice accommodation for 2 quid ea a night (including satellite t.v).

Have just spent 3 days at 'Angkor Wat' seeing the temple ruins.  Some were amazing with trees growing through like triffids & intricate carvings, others more tedious (when you've seen a few the other 15 look identical), don't think i'll become an archaeologist!!.  Our first sunset is crammed with hundreds of Japanese Tourists, last night though found much emptier temple where the local kids even climb up to
sell beer.  Have seen monks in flamboyant orange wandering around temples, bizarre.  some of Tomb Raider filmed here and am starting to feel like am in Indiana Jones (no chilled monkey brains yet!).

Am reading about Pol Pot & the millions of brutal killings that happened in Cambodia.  It's very moving and hard to imagine it occurring here.  The people (so far) seem so friendly & welcoming (particularly the children) and are full of life, all desperate to practice their English.

Not heard much on Tsunami (even in Bangkok), only what seen on news when have tv, much less coverage than at home.  Were some posters up with pictures of missing people when arrived in Thailand.

21/01/05 -We are still in Cambodia and leave here on 3rd Feb for Vietnam. Since last wrote have been moving around a bit ..

Battambang - Small town (supposed to be the second largest). Adventure getting there as went by boat and took 9 hours instead of 4 (obviously by water is just as efficient as land!). First boat going well and suddenly stopped (apparently river too shallow to carry on), had to split onto two smaller boats, unfortunately the smaller one didn't
balance so well and everytime anyone so much as coughed the whole boat rocked almost touching water. Were so shocked not to actually tip over and that still had luggage. Continually along the way boat kept getting stuck and we saw the other boat (that set off when we did) was sinking. Think got off lightly as other boats have been stuck all night with no food, water or mosquito nets and had to get out and help push. Had to continually wave on journey at local children on river boat (feel like a celebrity here, they are so excited to see tourists).

Had good days out on back of moped driven by guide (only mode of transport in town, no crash helmets, clinging on for dear life). Great to see how villagers in outskirts live. Children so grateful of any gifts and love to get pens!!! Went to temple and monks there so friendly, took picture of us for their collection (not sure if that's
allowed!).

Phnom Penh - Capital (much larger and busier). Nice place to visit and despite having a hostel that looked like about to fall down was overlooking lake.

Sihanoukville - Beach resort. Great as hostel only two mins from beach. Beautiful one and not many tourists here. Never would imagine be on beach holiday in Cambodia!! Sorry that's probably not what you need to hear on a grey day.

Tomorrow going on boat trip around some islands, get two meals, soft drinks and snorkelling gear all for 5 quid each. All sounds too good (oh dear!).

28/01/05 - Last night were driving back to our guest house about 11pm on a moped that we had hired for the day. I had my bag (a small orange one) across me from one shoulder to the opposite hip and we were merrily on our way. Next minute before I knew what was happening someone had pulled up beside us, ripped my bag off me by breaking the strap and driven off with it. I initially thought they had driven beside us and got caught on my bag, expecting them to stop or throw it behind them -dóh!

I found it quite funny as they only got some mossie spray, the key for our guest house (which luckily did not state which one) and a CD with
Ben's photos on (hence we're back at the internet cafe today having a new one made!), ha ha ha must've been pleased with their grab. Ben had
our money in his pocket so they didn't get a penny. I got a chinese burn across my arm where the rope was pulled off but luckily that was all, just glad we didn't crash. Was such a strange place to happen as feels so safe here, just goes to show. Def feel like in a film now, only if we were we would've chased them and got it back! Never a dull moment ...

06/02/05 - After leaving the beach at Sihanoukville (spent 10 days relaxing
there) we went to our final destination Kampot (a tiny place at the foot of a small mountain, Cambodia is a very flat country so this made a change). Had a brilliant day trip going up mountain (which was covered by jungle) by 4 wheel drive (few cars with five people sitting in open back of each, great fun but very bumpy). At summit went on two hour jungle walk, didn't manage to see any animals apart from a small
snake (which are apparently more venomous than large ones, great!!)
which was right near me and nearly trodden on.

Whilst in Kampot we somehow managed to get invited to a kids birthday party (next door to our guest house) which was funny to experience.
They had birthday cake, sparklers, sang Happy Birthday in English and
provided beer (only snag it had ice in it - not a trend I think should go to England). In return we had to dance with the adults to some terrible local karaoke music!

Quite sad to leave Cambodia as was really unsure what to expect from
it but have been pleasantly surprised by what a great place it is. The people really made it, everyone so friendly (despite the bag snatch!!), especially the children. Such a diverse place with Ox's pulling carts and ploughs in the fields, dirt track roads and most people with a mobile phone (up to date ones) and even some DVD players!!

Angkor kids

Ben and the monks

kids of s21

Jo's birthday - deserted island beach

Floating Village

Angkor Wat

sunset angkor wat

Beach Sunset

sunset phonm penh

the bamboo train

tree temple at angkor wat

River Girl

riverboat people

boat trip

 Kid and Khmer Rouge Gun

 School Bus

 Kid with his new pen