Luang Prabang, Laos

Monday 1st March

Having explored the chaos of Vang Vieng and spending an extra day so that Elliott could rebook his kayaking trip, we soon became tired of the continuous episodes of Friends and Family Guy that played all day and night in the bars and cafes that line the town! For just a few pounds we booked a bus ticket to the town of Luang Prabang, described in the Lonely Planet as 'enchanting and diverse'.

The journey was even more breath taking and the elevations even higher as we travelled for 8 hours along mostly Tarmac road, with both tourists and locals packed on like sardines! Along the isle of the bus small plastic chairs seated the petit locals, who seemed to be so use to the journey were able to fall asleep, with one girl using my arm as a headrest! :o)

We stopped at a half way point for a toilet and food break, I spent most of my time running around trying to get away from a huge wasp with a local chap looking at me like I was nuts! I think he thought I really needed the toilet, so helped wash down and prepare the toilet for the crazy lady running around outside...yes the wasp followed me in there too. I went to the toilet with my eyes shut holding my breath...as if that was suppose to help! The minute I finished I threw myself out of the toilet and ran off trying to signal some sort of thanks to the guy that helped me! I soon bumped into Elliott that was in the process of trying to chat up a girl so I tried to keep my calm and not look to paranoid that the wasp was following me!

Anyway, after a long, hot and sticky journey we eventually reached the bus station at Luang Prabang, Elliott had been sat next to a German girl on the bus that had been living there for a few months and gave him some good advice about where to stay and how to get into town. With a cigarette hanging out of her mouth she some how seemed like a hardened traveller, I asked her what she was doing for work. She explained that she had been doing some administration work for an Eco Discovery tour operator. It was at this point I new I was getting closer to the Eco Discovery I had been looking for.

After a short journey in a tuk-tuk van we arrived, true to the word of the Lonely Planet, at a charming town nestled in between the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers. At this point a French/America called Leandra, who had taken a liking to Elliott :o) joined us as we explored a quiet street of B&Bs. After thoroughly searching all the options we went for a guesthouse that was tucked away down an obscure, quiet lane-way, still near all the tourist essentials and the Mekong River, for just £7 per night for a double room!

As we sat down to dinner that evening in a beautiful quaint open-air cafe beside the river, we found out that Leandra was a very bright cookie. At only 23 years old she was a Harvard graduate and a math’s genius, and was in the process of undergoing some sort of research in vaccinations. After trying to explain the chemical and mathematical equations of how vaccinations work, we soon brought her back down to our level as we struggled to work out the bill divided by four! :o) Elliott has a cracking sense of humour for any situation and on queue made everyone laugh; I think that's what she really liked about him, he always puts a smile on everyone's face! (oh and just in case Elliott reads this...'and also because of his pure wit and intellectual conversation' ;o)!'

Luang Prabang was a true delight, a refreshing change from the chaos the ‘Ibiza’ of Laos (Vang Vieng). We spent a few days exploring the area on bikes and also hired a tuk-tuk to visit Tat Kuang Si Park, approximately 30km from the town. In all honesty I don’t think any one of us was truly prepared for just how spectacular this area was!

As I laughed and joked with Jonny, Elliott and Leandra as we haggled with the tuk-tuk driver and paid our entrance fees to the Park, we turned a corner through a wooded path and stumbled upon a true serendipity, I was speechless! I had never seen anything like it, perfect turquoise water pools and cascading waterfalls right in the heart of the jungle! I was mesmerized, thinking perhaps I should pinch myself to make sure it was real not a dream!

We thoroughly explored the area climbing the steep hills to embrace the spectacular views across the Park and waterfalls, stopping off to take a dip in each of the pools of course! Jonny and I left Elliott and Leandra to get to know each other while we went off to explore a bear rescue centre near the entrance of the Park.

The centre was small but well maintained, allowing you to see some of Laos’s most endangered species and learn about the threats to their precious habitats. The centre is run by an English couple; Jude and Jane who were very passionate about their work, providing excellent enrichment for the animals and jobs for the local people. They work every hour God sends on the project and clearly hold it very close to their hearts, truly inspiring! The conservation work is better known as the “Free The Bears” campaign, a charitable trust that needs all the help it can get, please see http://www.freethebears.org.au/web/Help-Us .

Having explored the serenity of Kuang Si Park we made our way back to Luang Prabang for a quick bite to eat and mooch around the night market. Every night the main road closes to the traffic and the town is transformed into Aladdin’s Cave. Streets of traders gather to sell souvenirs to the tourists, not the usual rubbish, a market full of cultural delights; beautiful pashmere scarfs, handcrafted jewellery, chessboards, ornaments etc a true testament of their incredible talent.

The next day I decided to continue my quest to find the Eco Discovery adventure I was looking for, to my delight, lined along the street of Luang Prabang a handful of shops advertised their ‘green tour credentials’. However, upon further research and contrary to my initial impression, Luang Prabang was not the perfect location! Although culturally diverse, the villages involved in the eco tours have heavily deforested their immediate surroundings. The travel adviser in the Green Discovery Office advised a trip up to Luang Namtha, further North of the country, to embrace both culture and pristine forest. So after a good persuasive chat to Jonny and Elliott we all agreed the next adventure was Luang Namtha :o)

Vang Vieng

Friday 26th Feb

It's not until you travel through Laos that you realise how rugged the terrain actual is! The roads are partially built, narrow and pass through some huge elevations. Building these roads is clearly not an easy feat and not surprising that Laos has very little infrastructure. The journey to Vang Vieng was both breath taking and hair raising!

As we drove in to Vang Vieng the tall limestone cliffs stood proudly
next to the Nam Song River dominating the landscape.

There were a string of tourist accommodation, which lined both sides of the river, so we were spoilt for choice. After walking a few hundred meters in the searing heat we opted for Je Jardin Organique, which was clean, spacious and en suite, for just £7 per night for two people.

After we had settled in to the guesthouse we decided to explore the line of shops / town of Vang Vieng. There were plenty of tour operators offering treks, bike riding, caving, kayaking, rock climbing and tubing, the choice was endless!

Upon arriving we were warned by a B&B tout not to stay too close to the town as it could get very noisy. However, shrugging him off, believing that he was trying to get our customer for his own B&B, we decided to chance it.

Knowing very little about this place before arriving, we assumed it to be a peaceful village/town beside the river where you could do some great Kayaking! With that in mind for just £5 each we booked a day caving and kayaking with one of the main tour operators in the town.

Later that night we went a little further into town to eat dinner in one of the restaurants overlooking the river to watch a beautiful sunset over the limestone cliffs. As the sun was setting a sea of lights from the other side of the river lit up advertising Vang Vieng's
nightlife. One of the bars lit up to read 'Bucket Bar', needless to say the idea was to fill a bucket with alcohol and drink it! As we were all looking over at the bar a Dutch guy plonked himself down and said 'cool ah, fancy checking it out later'? I immediately tried to think of an excuse not to go...'ur,ur..maybe not tonight we've booked a kayaking trip for tomorrow morning'. Then Elliott piped up with, 'yeah but one isn't going to hurt, why not I'll join you'. Thank God I
thought Elliott will entertain him :o)! After several attempts of trying to persuade us, Jonny and I both decided to go back to the B&B for an early night. Surprisingly enough Elliott came back an hour later slightly tipsy and very chatty, full of confidence about checking out a wedding reception that was going on right outside our B&B. Although it was really noisy (as predicted by the other B&B tout), Jonny and I felt a little uncomfortable about gate crashing a wedding, so declined the offer and went back to bed.

The next day we woke bright and early for our kayaking trip, after several attempts of knocking on Elliott's door, we decided to go on and get some breakfast hoping that he would catch up. After a quick bite to eat we waited at the tour operators office for 10/15 minutes, with still no sign of Elliott. As he had already paid, the team had prepared his lunch and put a kayak on the van for him they we keen to wake him up. With a van full of people, we stopped off at the
guesthouse to try Elliott again...no luck so we went on without him!

After about 30 minutes we reached our destination, we walked a little before reaching a village and then on to 'Water Cave'. There we waited for a few minutes before being given a make shift, rusty head lamp connected by two old copper wires to a motor bike battery, which each of us had to hang off our shoulders. We we also given a large inflatable ring to float our way through the cave using ropes to pull ourselves along inside the cave.

As the rope ended our guide order us to link together by hooking our feet under each others inner tubes. Jonny's voice a little shaky kindly whispered 'you alright'? 'Yes', I said with a beaming smile, having just shone my touch around to realise there were no stray routes to get lost! The cave was eerie, a few jokes were made about watching out for snakes, and other creepy crawlies, but I was confident that with amount of noise being made by our guide singing at the top of his out of tune voice that we were pretty much guaranteed not to see any wildlife!

After about 45 minutes were emerged from the cave, the same way we came in, to say a quick hello to the next tour group waiting for the inner tubes and their turn to explore the cave. Our guide led us up to a small wooden structure beside the cave, we he laid out our prepared lunch of rice, vegetables and bread. Still feeling full from breakfast I realised it was only 11am, 'strange', I thought, but didn't question it as things are often done obscurely in SE Asia!

After we had finished eating we went on to explore 'Elephant Cave', a small cave (not submerged in water), which was next to the village we passed earlier on the trek. Weirdly enough some of the rock formations did actually look like elephants and so appropriately named! Once we had finished exploring and trying to look respectful of the strange Buddhist statues they often put in caves along with way too many incense sticks that make you smell like a full blown hippy by the time you come out!

We made our way back to the van and travelled a short distance before being dropped off with the kayaks next the Nam Song River, ready to make our way down stream back to Vang Vieng.

Jonny and I shared a kayak, Jonny at the back with the important job of steering! Three other couples were also paired up, a young Korean couple, a Swedish couple in their 50s and a English guy with his French speaking Belgian girlfriend, and finally three guides on two kayaks for our safety. Once we were given a brief lesson on kayaking, such as; 'here's a life jacket, there's your paddle', and a pat on the back with; 'you'll be fine it's not the rainy season', we were apparently ready to go! Fortunately for me Jonny had plenty of experience, having grown up canoeing and wind surfing in the Hampshire area. I thought I was a little wobbly until I looked up and saw the
young Korean couple capsize their boat in a calm, knee deep ripple of a rapid! It was incredibly hard not to laugh, but being in a Buddhist country I didn't want to take my chance with Karma!

After a mile of gentle rapids and calm relaxing water, with the occasional stop to turn the Koreans back in the right direction, or pluck them out of a bush or mud bank they had managed to wedge themselves onto. We were thoroughly enjoying the serenity and beauty of this magical place, stopping to wave at young Laos children artfully spear fishing on the way down the river. Just as I was enjoy the peaceful bliss of what I almost considered paradise, we turned a corner to a scene that can only be described as a take from Apocalypse Now! Violently loud music blared out of huge base speakers, that drowned out any noise of the natural environment! There lining the river towards Vang Vieng was bar after bar, with signs reading 'Get your Free French fries here'. Bar owners/ staff were all touting for our business, attempting to entice you in by the promotion of cheap alcohol, makeshift swings, ropes and slides that dropped you back in the river!

Much to the Swedish couples horror our guide was heading to one of the bars, ushering us all to alight for some 'fun'. I climbed onto the platform to be greeted by many other young European tourists, lounging around mid-day drinking beer and doing double back flips off the bars makeshift 16ft trapeze! A little dumbfounded I sat silently watching people climb the 25ft structure to swing from the trapeze into the water! After assessing many guinnipigs I decided to have a go, but decided feet first would be a safer option. By the time I climbed the wobbly 25ft structured I realised how incredibly high it suddenly felt, without the Dutch courage of alcohol I nervously swung myself off the platform. A rush of adrenaline soared through me as I suddenly realised that at some point I would have to let go and drop into the river...needless to say I swung backwards and forwards clinging onto the trapeze for several minutes before plucking up the courage to fall in! As I swam back to shore Jonny greeted me with my towel and said, 'there's no way in hell I'm doing that'! Shortly after that our guide gave us the signal to get back on our kayaks, 'thank god I thought', as my ears began to ring with tinnitus from the incredibly loud noise of the music!

A few moments later, again to Swedish couples horror, we were heading for another bar, with a 150ft length slide made of a rough concrete construction that had a 10ft drop. By this point the shy Belgian girl, who had suddenly grown a huge amount for beer confidence was convincing Jonny to try the slide. Again after watching quite a few people going first I thought I'd go for. This seemed to give Jonny a bit more faith and with further persuasion from the Belgian, he plunged his way down the huge slide and into the river below with a look of absolute horror on his face the whole time! :o)

After about 30 minutes we left the chaos behind us and continued on to eventually reach Vang Vieng, with a very drunk Belgian singing Bohemian Rhapsody at the top of her voice all the way to the end. The trip conveniently finished right next to our guesthouse!

We later found out that Elliott had indeed joined the wedding reception and was welcomed in, however he did say it became a bit of a game for them to see how drunk they could get the foreigner. Needless to say poor Elliott spent most the day in the bathroom!

Vang Vieng was certainly not the Eco Discovery I was looking for, it really did make me feel so sad to see them ruin their cultural identity to panda to the western binge drinking mentality. Attracting these types of tourists is never going to be beneficial in the long term sustainability of the town. Drugs are already a problem and it is only going to get worse, almost every menu in every bar is offering opium, mushrooms or cannabis.

Vientiane, Laos

Wed 24th – Fri 26th Feb

Vientiane, according to the Lonely Planet 2008 has a population of 200,000. The city is friendly and peaceful, studded with crumbling French mansions and streets of noodle stalls, it is somewhere between a big town and a city.

"Vientiane’s peaceful demeanor belies a turbulent history. Over the thousand or so years of its history, it’s been variously abused by successive Vietnamese, Burmese, Siamese, Khmer, and French conquerors. The French cemented Vientiane’s status as a capital city when the took over the protectorship of Laos in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries: it was further inhabited by CIA ‘spooks’ and the charismatic Ravens (the screw-loose CIA-funded pilots of Air America) in the 60’s and early 70’s. After their victory in 1973 the Pathet Laos briefly considered moving the capital to Vieng Xai but them relented and stuck with Vientiane, and the city began a rapid transformation from notorious den of vice to austere socialist outpost. Since opening up to international investment, Vientiane has slowly been broadening its potential." (Lonely Planet, 2008)

After our taxi driver had kindly taken us to several guesthouses, many of which were full we decided to go for the Lonely Planet’s recommendation of Syri 1 guesthouse, which had some old style décor but plenty of character! We opted for the dorm room which cost 150,000 Kip (12 pounds) for the 3 bed dorm room with ensuite.

We spent a couple of days exploring the city by bike before stopping off at a travel information office to get some advice on what to see in Laos. I was surprised to find out that Laos actually has a small population and 236,800 sq Km of rugged geography, and is the least altered environment in SE Asia. That most of Lao still live at or just above subsistence level, consuming far fewer of their own natural resources than the people of any developed country. Not only that the people and government of Laos have fully embraced ‘Sustainable Tourism’. Laos has 18 eco parks set up in 1993 by the government to protect its wildlife and forests from slash-and-burn farming, hunting and logging.

"Unlike Thailand which seems to have learnt too late, Laos is flourishing as an eco-conscious nation – if you forget about the destructive HE power dams and logging licenses granted to the Chinese, who are munching their way through ancient teak and rosewood (in return for aiding with road-building and a stadium in Vientiane for the Asean Games in 2009). To be fair, Laos is still one of the poorest nations on earth, trying desperately to become self-sufficient; the fact the government has welcomed international eco-advice is encouraging. The environmental blueprint, designed to benefit both travelers and ethnic peoples in a sustainable controlled way, has improved hygiene, education and commerce. A number of villages receiving organised visits from trekkers have seen a reduction in opium addition and a renewed zeal to preserve their natural heritage." (Lonely Planet, 2008).

With this in mind I was determined to do a ‘Eco Trek’ and contribute to this positive economic development. However, as most of these treks are in the North we had quite a way to travel before we could see any protected areas. The tour operator in Vientiane advised us to stop off at Vang Vieng which was just a 4 hour bus ride, to break the journey up. Traveling in Laos is very cheap, costing just a few pounds on a local bus.

Nong Khai, Thailand to Laos

Wednesday 24th Feb

Having caught the bus from Namsom to Nong Khai, we were greeted with the usual line of tuk-tuk drivers. We explained that we wanted to be taken to the Friendship Bridge and after a huge smile he was please to take us! Having seen this sort of smile before I immediately knew not to trust him ;o)!

He took us to an office along with a French guy that looked like he had had a life time on Tiger Beer, with the hum of stale cigarette smoke and booze, sitting next to him on a squashed tuk-tuk was not a pleasant experience. The office we were taken to was a tour operator offering us Visa’s for Laos and transportation all the way to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The catch was they wanted 400 baht (8 pounds each), to travel just a few miles! I smiled politely looked at Jonny and Elliott, took out the Lonely Planet and explained that if we went our own way it would be a lot cheaper. After a short discussion we all agreed, I was a little concerned that the tuk-tuk driver would refuse to take us as he would not be making a commission, just a few baht for the tuk-tuk ride. However, fortunately for us the French guy was so out of it he was happily paying the extortionate office fees, which meant we were off the hook without a struggle.

The bus over the Friendship Bridge was 15 baht each and the taxi journey from the Laos border to Vientiane was 150 baht between three of us. The visa (30 days) cost $30.

The border crossing was amazingly smooth and hassle free!

Laos is so different from Thailand and Cambodia, the people are so laid back you have to hassle them….not the other way around! Our ‘go it alone’ theory paid off as we managed to save 1000 baht (20 pounds) which on a traveling budget is money well saved!

Namsom Continued…

Monday 22nd February

Having explored the little town of Namsom Joy and David decided to take us to Phu Phrabat Historical Park, which was only a one hour drive from Namsom (still on the boundary of the Udon Thani Province).

Thought to have been affected by the ice age by moving icebergs, thought to have crashed to the ground, Phu Phrabat has some very interesting stone formations. This strange but beautiful forest was inhabited around2,500-3,00 years ago by prehistoric man. Paintings of animals, men, geometric shapes and the palms of hands can still be seen in the sheltered rock formations today!

On the 3 hour walk around the tranquil park the mosquitoes decided to try some falang blood and happily feasted on me all the way round. After about 30 minutes I became dizzy and nauseous, for some reason I began having a reaction to these particular black and white striped mosquitoes.

The next day was spent in bed with a fever, I had some relief in the fact that I was taking malaria tablets, but still this doesn’t make you full proof! Fortunately it only lasted a few days, but it took weeks for the bites to go down! After realizing I was particularly allergic to the mosquitoes in Namsom we decided to make a move as soon as I was feeling well enough.

Originally the plan was to spend our last day with David and Joy in Nong Khai (the border town to Laos) and check out the markets at friendship bridge before we said our goodbyes and continued on with our travels. However, the night before we were going to leave my uncle told us that we had to ‘get bus’. Unfortunately many years of being married to his Thai wife has digressed his level of English and ability to communicate! After asking several questions and receiving very limited answers he told us that he would cook us breakfast and take us to the bus station in Namsom in the morning, from there we could catch a mini bus to a dual carriage way, then wait for a bus that is signed for Nong Khai. Eventually I found out that the reason why they could not spend the day with us was because they had to take some veg from their farm to the market.

Well, we managed to follow all the instructions and after a nerve-racking 1 hour wait by the side of a busy main road, sure enough we managed to flag down a bus going to Nong Khai.
I was a little disappointed having made such an effort to travel to North Thailand to see my uncle, that he was unable to spend our last day together. But as fate would have it Laos turned out to be a happy accident, as flying from Thailand to Hanoi in Vietnam, cost wise, was not an option, so we decided to travel through Laos overland.

Namsom, Thailand

20th -23rd February 2010

Namsom is a small town, I guess probably the same size/population as Perranporth in Cornwall. There are market stalls with fresh fruit and veg as well as other little shops selling all sorts; electronics, dog grooming supplies, cleaning products, as well as the normal hair salons, massage parlors, it almost has everything except major supermarkets or shopping malls, giving the town a wonderful sense of community.

Joy spent the second day introducing me to her sisters and brother that all live on the same quite rural road, which is just a short 5 minute drive from the town. One of Joy’s sisters has set up a noodle stall just next door to David and Joy’s which has proved very popular, in the short time that I was there it was very busy! On the other side of David and Joy’s, her brother has a steel fabrication business. It really was amazing to watch on this particular day an ornate metal gate presumably for someone’s drive way come out of a tiny, quite humble work station! Just a little further on is another of Joy’s sisters, who is a dress maker and teacher. I was welcomed in and Joy’s sister fixed one of my tops that was too big for me.

After Joy had finished introducing me to her family we jumped onto her moped and she took me just a short distance away, behind the row of houses and down a further dirt track where Joy and David have just established their farm. Although they have only just set the farm up in the last 10 months, I was very impressed with what they had achieved. At a guess I would say it was about 5 acres. Half the space is dedicated to dragon fruit, which apparently will be the most profitable once established. The rest of the farm has many vegetables and herbs, including spring onions and coriander…my favourite!

The town is small and friendly, with only a few falang (foreigners) that have also married Thai women, no white women though I was the only one, which turned a few heads to say the least! It was great to be in such a ‘off the beaten track’ setting, especially after being in Bangkok.

Bangkok to Udon Thani, Thailand

19th February 2010

For just 10 pounds each (500 baht) we got a train from Bangkok to Udon Thani that took 10 hours. Although the train wasn’t ‘state of the art’, it was clean, spacious and comfortable. Probably our best overland journey taken so far!

From Udon Thani my uncle David, his wife Joy and their son Andrew (7hrs old), met us at the train station. We were all quite relieved when they suggested we stay one night in udon Thani and travel to Namsom the next day.

(Udon Thani boomed on the back of the Vietnam War, with US air bases opening up nearby. Although they are all closed today the city is still thriving with shops and markets, however, having said that I can’t think of any reason why tourists would visit this city!)

We managed to stay up until midnight to see in mine and my uncles birthday with a celebratory drink ( I was born on his 18th birthday), and to celebrate the immense journey we had undertaken in such a short period of time!

After a reasonably early start and an English breakfast in an Irish pub! We hit the shops in Udon Thani. Jonny finally decided to give up on his sandals and buy some new ones, after several attempts to try and get them repaired along our travels…the funniest memory being Sihanouk Ville in Cambodia when he paid a guy $10 to basically burn his shoes in an attempt to fix them :o)!

After we had finished shoe shopping we stopped off at Tesco Lotus…yep they are everywhere, so that David and Joy could stock up on a few supplies. After that we hit the road to make the 1.5 hour journey to Namsom.

Siem Reap to Bangkok

18th February 2010

Having explored Siem Reap on our final day we had shopped around to ensure we got the best deal on transport to Bangkok. For just $7 each we could take a bus all the way to the city.
We left Cambodia at 8am and after an extremely tight squeeze everyone managed to get on with their luggage stored at the front of the bus. We arrived at the Poipet (Thai/Cambodian) border at about 1pm after stopping for some lunch on route.

Immigration was slow but painless, no hassle at all! Such a peaceful border crossing compared to the Krong Koh Kong border just a few weeks ago! Once we had made it through immigration we simply walked with our ‘organised’ guide to the next bus on the Thai side…again hassle free!
The journey was long, taking approximately 10 hours, not 7hrs as predicted by the Cambodians!

The bus dropped us off at a familiar area of Bangkok near Koh San Road, so we walked a short distance to find a guesthouse near the Orchid Villa where we originally stayed when we first arrived. Bangkok seemed to be even busier than before, many guesthouses were full, probably because of the Chinese New Year.

The next day we got up bright and early ready to get a ‘metered taxi’ to Hualamphong Station to catch a train to the North of Thailand at 8.20am.

Angkor Wat , Cambodia

14th-18th February, 2010

Angkor Wat (the city pagoda), was not only the grandest of all the Khmer temples, it was also a city in its own right, built during the reign of Suryavarman II, in the fist half of the 12th century. The outer limits of Angkor Wat are set by its broad moat, faced in laterite and sandstone, including this, the total area is almost 200 hectares – a rectangle of 1.5km E-W by 1.3km N-S, the largest temple at Angkor.

Within the 82 hectares of the outer enclosure, the temple itself stands in the middle on a terrace measuring 332x258m, nearly 9 hectares. The remaining 9/10ths of the area was taken up with the city, including the royal palace, although no trace remains (thought to have been built in light materials).

Siem Reap is the perfect base to explore Angkor Wat and the other 32 temples of Angkor. For just $15 (for the three of us), we hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day. On top of this cost we also bought a pass at the official Angkor Wat ticket office. The choices were either a one day, 3 day or one week ticket, we decided to go for the 3 day pass which cost $40 each.
The old abandoned city of Angkor is absolutely huge. The Angkor region, bordering ‘The Great Lake’, had a valuable supply of water, fish and fertile soil, which is thought to have been settled since Neolithic times, as stone tools and ceramics have been found in this location (Freeman & Jacques, 2009).

The size of the city is vast and hiring a tuk-tuk driver to explore was a good move! The two tours sign posted within the city are for the traditional ‘petit circuit’ and the ‘grand circuit’. So with the help of our tuk-tuk driver we planned out a pretty good itinerary starting with Angkor Wat. Other than the obvious my favourite temple within the city was the Temple of Bayon, which has a mass of faces that are actually towers, that create a stone mountain of ascending peaks. Originally there were 49 towers but today only 37 are standing. Most are carved with four faces on each cardinal point but sometimes there are only two or three. The temple is not only complex in structure but it’s meaning too, having passed through different religious phases from Pantheon of Gods, Hindu worship and Buddhism.

Siem Reap

14th -18th February

Having arrived at Siem Reap bus station at 6pm we took a short tuk-tuk ride into town. We asked the driver to drop us off at Hotel 89 but unfortunately it was full so we stayed at Smilies Guesthouse just down the road. Although the accommodation and restaurant were good unfortunately to the left of the guest house was Siem Reap’s Red Light District! So going out alone at might was a big No No! But as I had two strapping lads next to me I felt pretty safe, oh and then there were Jonny and Elliott…(just joking).

The town itself is the perfect location for exploring Angkor Wat and other surrounding temples. As it stands Siem Reap is a charming town with rural qualities, such as old French shop-houses, tree-lined boulevards and a winding river. However, it has the potential to turn into the Costa del Sol of South East Asia! The gold rush is apparently still unabated and mass tourism has hit this town…so BIG changes are inevitably on the horizon.

However, the time that we spent there was great, plenty of market stall shops, one shopping mall (that had hardly anything in it!) and Pub Street, a road shut off from the traffic where you can get a great meal, watch some traditional Khmer dancing and even get a fish massage! A kind of Khao San road, but not as big.

After a few drinks and a good hearty meal we decided to stop off at a local mini mart for a bottle of water before heading back to the guesthouse. As we approached the shop a young girl grabbed hold of my arm begging me to buy her some powered milk. The town was packed, I turned to Jonny and Elliott and they looked just as bewildered as I did. She followed us into the shop and pointed to the powered milk. It didn’t feel right but on the spot I couldn’t work out whether it was right or wrong. So we bought the little girl a $5 tin of powered milk. When we got back to the hotel, Jonny and I googled ‘powered milk scam’ to see what we could find.

It turns out that the shop are usually in on the deal. A so called ‘desperate mother’ holding her baby begs tourists for powered milk, and the shop increases their prices. It is then sold back to the shop, with apparently little going back to the ‘so called mothers’.

The poverty in Cambodia at times can be overwhelming. If you are not being harassed by children selling crafts, postcards or other nick-nacks, it’s adults selling other goods such as painting, books, scarf’s etc. Then there are the beggars, some genuine, such as mine victims, others perhaps not but who really knows!

All you do know is that you cannot afford to give to everyone so you are perplexed by feelings of helplessness, guilt and exhaustion from continually being harassed, having said that the best form of begging, if you like, are the mine victims that play music. They do not harass you, they simply have a sign that explains that they need your help but would like to keep their dignity, so if you like their music then feel free to donate or buy a CD. I think for all of us the mine victims are the most harrowing, both adults and children who are still suffering the affects and after affects of years of war. Also the mothers lining the streets of Phnom Pehn, sleeping on the streets with their children begging for your help.

There are so many NGOs in this country I lost count. Aid is reaching this country but begging is still a lucrative way of earning money, particularly when teachers for example are on less than $2 a day! So I can’t really see an ending to the begging in the near future, unless the government is prepared to do something about it, which is highly unlikely.

If you have managed to cope with the poverty of Cambodia then you will be highly rewarded by their prize possession, the eighth wonder of the world…Angkor Wat!

Phnom Pehn

Phnom Pehn
Saturday 13^th Feb

After an early night at the Magic Sponge guesthouse we got up early to catch a bs up to Phnom Pehn, having booked it through Smile Tours on our way back from the Bokor Trek. The tickets cost $5 each and the journey by coach took about 5.5 hours. The only trouble with long journeys such as these are the toilet stops at the half way point! Needless to say these well used facilities are not the most luxurious; a hole in the ground and a pot of water to wash is about as good as it gets! Poor old Elliott couldn't quite work out the grid system and came out looking a little sheepish!

On the journey up to Phnom Pehn Elliott ended up sitting next to a tall blond haired lady, suddenly his sleep apathy quickly subsided as he became animated and full of conversation :o)! It turned out she was on her way to Kep but actually lived in Phnom Pehn teaching orphaned and disabled children. She gave Elliott some good tips such as stay away from the lake side of the town as it can be very dangerous and head towards the river.

When we arrived at the bus station we paid a tuk tuk driver $2 to take us to a hotel near the river. We stayed at the AKA guesthouse for $15 per night, which included air conditioning and an en suite.

As we arrived in Phnom Pehn by mid day we decided to explore the darker side of Cambodia’s past; the ‘Killing Field’s and S21 Museum’. We managed to persuade the tuk-tuk driver (actually I should say the tuk-tuk driver persuaded us) that for $15 he would be our driver for the day.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the former Security Office 21 in ‘Democratic Kampuchea’ was created on orders of Pol Pot (So Lut Sor), on April 17^th, 1975.

“Under Pol Pot’s leadership, the Khmer Rouge implemented one of the most bloody revolutions the world has ever seen. Under Pol Pot’s regime it was ‘year zero’, money was abolished, cities abandoned and Cambodia transformed into a Maoist, peasant-dominated, agrarian cooperative. During the next four years, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians, including the vast majority of the countries educated people, were relocated to the countryside, tortured to death or executed. Thousands of people who spoke foreign languages or wore glasses were branded as ‘parasites’ and systemically killed. Hundreds of thousands more died of mistreatment, malnutrition and disease. About two million Cambodians died between 1975 and 1979 as a direct result of the policies of the Khmer Rouge.” (Lonely Planet, 2008)

Security Office 21 (S-21), was once Tuol Sleng Primary School and Toul Svay High School, which was taken over by the Khmer Rouge and used for detention, interrogation, torture, and killing after confession. On January 7^th 1979, after the Khmer Rouge was overthrown, the government collected all the evidence in S-21 such as photographs, films, prisoner confession archives, torture tools, shackles and fourteen victims corpses (one of which was a female) in evidence against Pol Pot’s sick regime.

Today the evidence of the criminal regime is on display for both Cambodian’s and international visitors to see, making the crimes of the KR public, playing a crucial role in preventing any new Pol Pot’s from merging. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum was opened on August 19^th 979 when Kampuchea People’s Tribunal started the prosecution of Pol Pot and other DK leaders such as Ieng Sary and Khiev Samphorn and the former S-21 Officers. However, according to the Lonely Planet, the UN allowed the Khmer Rouge to occupy the Cambodian seat at the UN General Assembly until 1991, meaning the murderers represented their victims for 12 years!

The museum is a humbling experience to say the least. Every room has the essence of being a class room with its cream walls and tiled floors, with the stark contrast of barb wire and torture equipment. Mug shots of victims and soldiers are displayed, showing the realization of mass torturing that went on. The museum is so quiet, despite the amount of visitors, the only sounds you could here were children at a nearby school.

All four buildings within the complex were turned into small (0.8 x 2 meter) cells. The front of the buildings were covered in barbed wire preventing prisoners from committing suicide by jumping down. Most of the prisoners held at S-21 were later executed at the ‘Killing Fields’ of Choeung Ek. A visit to both these places is instrumental in understanding Cambodians past and present.

The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek is approximately 14km southwest of central Phnom Pehn. A huge stupa (religious monument) dominates the centre, serving as a memorial to the mean women and children who were executed. The Khmer Rouge killed children to prevent any backlash or revenge from family members.

Inside the stupa are almost 9,000 human skulls found during the excavations in the 1980s, along with rags and clothing. The fields themselves still have human bone and clothing poking up from the churned up ground. The fields today are peaceful and well kept, with trees dominating the area.

An experience I will never forget, nor will I ever understand.

Pol Pot died under home arrest before he faced prosecution.

After spending the afternoon in Phnom Pehn we were all ready to move on to see the lighter side of Cambodia…Angkor Wat! We purchased our $8 bus tickets at a nearby tour operator and left at 12pm to arrive at Siem Reap for 6pm.

Bokor National Park, Cambodia

Bokor National Park, Cambodia
Thursday 11th – Friday 12th Feb

Clinging to the Southern tip of the Chuor Phom Damrei, Bokor National Park is a MUST SEE if you're ever in the South of Cambodia. The Park has many alluring animals such as tigers, elephants and leopards, but sadly due to illegal logging it will be a miracle if you're lucky/or unlucky enough to see anything!

Our journey began at 7.30am when we were picked up by a mini bus and taken to the foot of the Bokor Hill, down a dirt track on the outskirts of Kampot. Bokor Hill does actually have an unmade road, forged by the French in the 1920s but during the time of writing this blog it has been closed for redevelopment. So the only way for tourists to see the National Park is to climb the 1080m elevation.

It would be impossible to do this trek without a guide, as the foot of the hill is down a unsigned bumpy, dusty dirt track.

Overall there were 9 people climbing the hill, with just 4 of us staying over night at the Rangers Station. Actually 11 people altogether including Khoom and Nett, our guides for the trip.

The minute we stepped off the mini bus to start the trek, the heat hit us instantly, Nett gave us plenty of water and a staple Cambodian lunch of rice with veg and a fried egg on top, that was unfortunately packaged in a Styrofoam box...shame they have moved over to this un-environmentally friendly Western way of packaging their food! I prefer the good old banana leaf, plus it lasts longer in the heat!

With our bags fully loaded with food, water and over night supplies we began the steep climb through the jungle. After a short while we stopped off at the check point (usually based on the road) where our guide paid the entrance feeof $5 each to enter the park. From here we were under the cover of the trees in the jungle, and the 3 hour near verticle climb began. Having sat behind a desk six days a week to save up for this trip it was certainly a shock to the system. I think for Jonny too. Elliott seemed to be handling it well although he was looking a little pale after (again) suffering from food poisoning the night before. However, having been a fitness trainer back in London he was certainly in the best shape out of the three of us.

After several stops and plenty of water we had finally made it to the unmade road near the top of the hill. Here we ate our lunch and waited for a pick-up to drive us to Bokor Hill Station. Jonny and I nearly stood on a snake, but other than that we all made it in one piece!

The pick-up was running a little late as the road is so treacherous in some places it managed to get stuck! After about 30 minutes the pick-up arrived with an old mattress in the back, which actually acted as a trampoline on the journey up to the Hill Station! Although the bum breaking, bone shacking journey would have been impossible without it! Battered and bruised, we finally after 1 hour had made it to the abandoned and eerie Bokor Hill Station (1080m).

In the 1920s a small community was created and a grand colonial hotel, known as Bokor Palace, famous for its casino stood proudly at the top of the hill. The view from the location is stunning, a panoramic view of the jungle and River below.

The Hill Station was abandoned twice; once in the 1940s when the Vietnamese and Khmer Issarak forces overran it while fighting for independance against the French, and again in the 1970s when it was left to the invading Khmer Rouge. (Lonely Planet, 2008)

Today, all that is left of the Palace and community, including a further casino, church and post office are their skeleton structures. It really is very ghostly, particularly when thick mist creeps through these old abandon structures. Images of Pol Pots sick regime and blood shed of the Khmer Rouge have a heavy imprint on this this landscape.

After spending a few hours exploring, we walked a short distance to the Rangers Station for a well earned rest. Here we also said our good byes to the other 5 people that were only doing the one day trek.

Bokor (Continued)…

Myself, Nett, Jonny and Elliott and a Dutch guy Bauldvjn were left. After a shower and rest, Nett began to prepare our dinner. It is unbelievable how hard the Cambodian people work!

The food was good; rice, clear vegetable soup, stir fried vegetables and beef cooked separately for the meat eaters (which was everyone except me).

After dinner Elliott persuaded us to go back to Bokor Palace in the dark in search of Ghosts! Although we didn’t see any this is one creepy place to be in the day light let alone at nightfall. I have never seen so many stars, it was magical.

At 7am we woke for breakfast. As Nett was trying to cook, clean and make lunch for us all, I couldn’t bear to anymore, so I helped him clear up and wash the dishes. Judging by his huge smile it was certainly appreciated.

By 9am we were ready to go, the boys full of energy decided to storm off ahead leaving Nett and I to chat and leisurely walk behind. With 7 hours of trekking through the jungle ahead, I knew slow and steady and conserving water was the way forward. Nett and I chatted about cultural differences, with Cambodian women trying to bleach their skin white and western women trying to burn their skin brown! It was actually quite amusing…women…none of us are happy!
After trekking for about 4 hours we came to the ‘Great Hornbill Waterfall’, but as it was the dry season it was bone dry! So we just explored the huge boulders that are usually submerged in rainy season. After exploring the waterfall, we then passed through a grasses plain with flat boulders (possibly granite) with many pitcher plants growing at ground level. From here we then descended into the jungle, where we sheltered for lunch and the burning hot sun. After about 30 minutes we started our steep Indiana Jones trek down through the jungle, literally swinging from tree branches to stop ourselves falling!

After a further hour we passed old Vietnamese graves and a small cave near a waterfall. Here inhabiting this remote cave deep into the jungle lives a Vietnamese monk, unfortunately he wasn’t there when we arrived but evidence of his presence was still there, such as cooking pots with roots from a particularly plant that are believed to have healing qualities. Apparently many Vietnamese people embark on this pilgrimage to show their respect to those that lost their lives in the war and to visit the monk for pray and healing.

After a quick wash in the waterfall, we continued trekking for a further 3 hours down through the jungle. This unofficial path was made by poachers collecting illegal hard woods from the National Park. I have no idea how they get the trees through as we could barely fit ourselves through the path! In some places it was so steep and dry I spent most of my time sliding. At one point I stumbled down a vertical drop, tripped over a tree route and started gaining almighty speed, as I came hurtling down the hill luckily Nett was at the bottom ready to catch me. Jonny followed shortly after on his bum. Elliott, with his socks pulled up to almost his knees was a sight for soar eyes, but made it gracefully down taking one step at a time having seen mine and Jonny’s attempt of getting down! Mr perfect who’s name I could never pronounce (Bauldvjn), didn’t trip at all and managed to look cool the whole time…boring! :o)

Needless to say we didn’t see much wildlife having made so much noise, just a snake, lizard and hornbills which was certainly the highlight!

After stumbling down the jungle for 3 hours we finally reached civilization passing through a small village and fruit plantations. Throughout the jungle trek clear evidence of illegal loggers taking hard woods was still very apparent. Having walked to the road we stopped for a well earned rest and drink. While we waited for a van to drive us to the Kompong Bay River a short distance away. The Chinese have also made their mark on the landscape, with a huge hydro-electricity damn being built.

As soon as we reached the river we dived in for a refreshing swim before we boarded a small boat to cruise down the river to enjoy the sunset. We arrived back into Kampot by 6.30pm on the dot!

Kampot, Cambodia

Wednesday 10th Feb

To break the journey up we decided to take the bus from Sihanouk Ville to Kampot which is a little further to the East but still on the South Coast of Cambodia.

We bought the bus tickets from our guesthouse in Sihanouk Ville, which cost $6 each. The journey took about 2.5 hours (110km). According to the Lonely Planet (2008), the population of Kampot is 37,400 (Newquay is around 22,000). It is a great base for exploring nearby caves or tackling the challenge of Bokor National Park.

Kampot is much more chilled out and less touristy than Sihanouk Ville. When we arrived a very friendly tuk-tuk driver offered us a lift for $1 no strings attached!

When we arrived at the recommended ‘Blissful guesthouse’ it was fully booked, so we decided to stay a few doors down at the Magic Sponge. Recently renovated (previously a bank), the rooms are large, clean and comfortable. The facilities are also very good, with a TV lounge, crazy golf, a pool table, hammocks and free bicycles to explore Kampot. My only gripe is that although the restaurant is very good there was not a single Cambodian dish on the menu! Still this is a good place to have a break from being a traveler!

After chatting to William, an Alaskan guy working thee, he recommended watching a film in the TV lounge called City of Ghosts. Filmed in Cambodia at the Bokor Hill Station, it was a great film to watch before embarking on our trek the next day.

Any family member thinking of watching this film please note all land mines in the National Park have been cleared! Second thoughts don’t watch it! :o)

There were two options for exploring Bokor National Park in Kampot; the first being a one day tour up to station Hill. The other was a two day trek, staying over night at the rangers station and then a 7 hour trek through the jungle the next day. We opted for the latter, which cost $45 each through a tour operator called Smile Tours.

Island and Snorkeling Trip, Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia

Tuesday 9th Feb

By the time we got back to the guesthouse after the trip to Ream National Park Elliott had recovered and was disappointed he had missed the trip. So that evening we booked a further trip with the same company to three islands and a day of snorkeling for $12 each.

The snorkeling trip was excellent, from 8am to 4pm we spent the day exploring some of the remote islands aound the coast of Sihanouk Ville, including Bamboo & Tekeay island, which have some basic accommodation. Other islands were completely uninhabited and there we just snorkeled, the visibility wasn’t great but we did see plenty of coral and fish.

We also met a really friendly Spanish guy, Juan Jose, who we got to know quite well having spent the entire day with him.

Tekeay island is probably one to avoid, although absolutely stunning the island is used as a base for the police and was a little unnerving when they demanded a $1 for just being there! I’d imagine as more tourists go to the island the bribes might get higher! While we were on Tekeay we swam in a natural pool that was really warm, it didn’t smell of sulphur so we couldn’t quite work out where the hot springs were coming from?

The highlight was the BBQ on the beach!

Ream National Park, Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia

Sunday 7th – Tuesday 9th Feb

Ream National Park was certainly worth a visit, from the mangroves to the deserted beaches it was a welcome break from the chaos of Serendipity beach.

The Park has a few Rangers that work 7 days a week and earn $30 a month! Their job is to patrol the National Park for illegal activities and guide tourists on the boat trips within the park. Our guide was called Sokdee, he was quite young and spoke a little English.

The day consisted of taking a boat trip to a small village, a 30 minute stroll through the jungle to arrive at an almost deserted beach! A long the trek there was evidence of a road being built, we managed to find out that the Chinese were already in the process of building a restaurant and hotel complex in the National Park. Sokhu, another Ranger we later met, said that despite there pleas the government continues to sell chunks of land to developers. Evidence of logging was apparent in the Park.

The village was wonderful, small but fully self sufficient, with a school and great community spirit. We had lunch on the waters edge before heading off on the boat to see the mangroves up close. A huge wooden tower had been constructed, which we climbed up for a great view of the mangrove below and National Park in the distance.

The trip was made even better by meeting Vivien, a lovely lady from Canada who was 67 years old traveling through Cambodia...she was very inspirational and gave us lots of good traveling advice.

Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia

Sunday 7th – Tuesday 9th Feb

After a pretty good nights sleep at the Apex guesthouse we got up early enough for a quick bite to eat and jump on the 8am coach that picked us up from the guesthouse.

The journey to Sihanouk Ville took around 5hrs. The most obvious difference to Thailand was the roads, Cambodia is less developed and many of the roads are not yet tarmac.

According to the Lonely Planet 70% of Cambodia’s rainforest has been chopped down. However, on the stretch from the Koh Kong border to Sihanouk Ville the rainforest still looked incredible! Although the closer we got to Sihanouk Ville the more palm plantations I could see, but still not as many as Thailand!

Upon arriving at Sihanouk Ville bus station a sea of taxi drivers, tuk-tuks and mopeds were at the ready, all trying to tout for our business. The first was trying to persuade us to pay 500 baht (10 pounds) for a five minute ride, hoping that tourists arriving in Cambodia from Thailand would give up their baht or be confused with the riel currency. Eventually we ended up paying 16,000 riel ($4 dollars) which was still twice the amount we should have paid!

As many of the Lonely Planet recommendations were full (probably as it was coming up to Chinese New Year), our tuk-tuk driver took us to the GST guesthouse, which is on the main street across the road from Serendipity beach.

The accommodation was all of $7 dollars per night and was pretty basic, but it did have a good restaurant and internet facilities.

Serendipity beach was absolute chaos, just like Perranporth beach in the height of the season but worse! Tourism businesses line both the beach and the shoreline there is not a free patch of sand or sea! Covered by water sport facilities to bars and restaurants!

There was something sad about this place, I felt that the Cambodian people were so poor that any opportunity to make a dollar from the tourism trade was seized at every opportunity.

There doesn’t seem to be any regulations, with bars and restaurants offering drugs and prostitution and notices in hotel rooms informed tourists of the problems of child sex exploitation. In addition pollution can be seen everywhere, plastic bags line the streets and beaches, and dirty water outlets from the restaurants are pumped into the sea!

Our immediate reaction to this place was to get out as soon as possible, however, we decided to give Sihanouk Ville a chance, as Serendipity beach was only a small part of this area!

We decided to pay $17 each to go to the near by Ream National Park a few kilometers away. The day trip included breakfast, lunch and all transportation. Unfortunately, Elliott couldn’t make the trip as he was suffering from food poisoning.

We arranged the trip through ‘Saroum Thearity’, one of he many tour operators just off Serendipity beach. This was actually a good find, as it was on a side street that had many shops including the ‘Cambodian Children’s Painting Project’. A registered NGO that sell children’s artwork for $4 and the money helps provide: meals, fresh clean drinking water, first aid, dental care, mentoring and family support, school sponsorships and supplies, eco awareness projects, clothing and footwear and educating the children to protect and love the environment...check it out: www.letuscreate.org

With this wonderful project I actually felt that thee was still ‘serendipity’ about his place!

Crossing the Krong Koh Kong Thai/Cambodian Border

Saturday 6th Feb

After negotiating a price through one of the tour operators on Koh Chang island , we managed to arrange transportation, accommodation for one night at the Koh Kong border and then further transportation to Sihanouk Ville for 1200 baht (24 pounds) each.

Everything was so well organised on the Thai side, they have certainly mastered the art of tour organisation!

The journey from Koh Chang to the Koh Kong (Thailand/Cambodia border) took 5hrs. The shock, I think for all of us was the transition from the ultimate laid back and well organised Thai side to the chaotic mayhem on the Cambodian side.

The first thing was that upon arriving at the border, before the mini bus had even had the chance to switch his engine off, a Cambodian guy had climbed on the mini bus and started collecting bags/rucksacks of the roof. As we thought that it was part of the transportation arrangements none of us questioned it. We were couriered over the border by another person who seemed overly helpful! By the time we had made it through immigration & quarantine (temperature check for swine flu), we ended up paying 1200 baht for our Cambodian visa, the immigration police, corrupt as they are, refused to let us pat in dollars, meaning that the visa should have cost $20 but it actually cost $38!

If the pain of that wasn’t bad enough the two overly helpful Cambodians had their hands out in return for helping us with visas and luggage. Then they kindly put us in a private taxi, not the mini bus we had already paid for! The taxi driver rook us to a currency change in a street market and told us that we must pay him 4800 Cambodian riel (just over $1 each) for the toll. By the time we had finished getting a poor exchange rate, ripped off by the taxi driver who told us that Thai baht and US Dollars were no longer accepted in Cambodian! We had well and truly arrived in Cambodia gringo style!

However, on a positive note the taxi driver did drop us off at the right guest house at least!

The guest house, Apex, was very good, nice friendly staff, a good restaurant that does in fact accept Thai baht, US dollars and riel! The guesthouse even had a swimming pool!

After finding an ATM we decided to call it an early night as wee were still a little shell shocked from the border crossing!

Koh Chang Island

Having booked our accommodation from the guest house in Bangkok for 400 baht each (8 pounds). A lady picked us up from our guest house and walked us to the coach. The journey should have taken 6 hours but as we were on ‘Thai time’ it took 8 hours, with a break half way.

I knew that going to Koh Chang again after 10 years was going to a shock, particularly after reading in the lonely planet (2008), ...’they’ve paved paradise’!

The first major difference was the transport to the island; ferries are regularly taking people and cars across. No more little boats taking hippy travellers over! Again according to the lonely planet ‘backpackers are out and rich tourists are in’. However, despite this there are still some remote areas to explore.

We stayed at Island Lodge, White Sands for 500 baht a night. The Tree House (originally an old hippy hangout) has been relocated to Long Beach on the Eastern side of the island, as its original destination ‘lonely beach’ is no longer lonely. However, the original Tree House can still be seen.

I can’t believe how many times I have taught the tourism ‘life cycle’, but to see the transition from remote secluded island to mass tourism is a shock to say the least! However, having said that there a still a few spots that the backpackers can retreat to but on the whole mass tourism has well and truly taken over the Western side of the island.

Having hired some mopeds for 200 baht a day, we explored the entire island. The West side (with the best beaches) is wall to wall resorts, bars, restaurants, bungalows, shops, elephant treks you name it it’s there! The Eastern side is less developed but is covered with palm and rubber tree plantations. I guess this might turn into development land in a few years, although this island is a National Park the government (I think) have created some sort of law where you can you land for agricultural purposes, however after a certain numbers of years this land use can be changed. A good way to sneak in if you’re a developer!

Towards the end of the road on the Eastern side the tarmac road ends and a sign for the Tree House, Long Beach can be seen. Off the beaten track only the brave or stupid will journey down this dirt track to reach the last remaining secluded backpackers haven. Definitely well worth a visit if your bum is made of steal :o)!

As we were staying on the Western side we spent a few days exploring. On the southern tip there is a beautiful beach and bar, which is very peaceful and easy to get to on moped.

In the evenings eating in the restaurants on the beach children as young as 6 approach you trying to sell flowers, is scary to think they are wondering the beach alone at night!

Island lodge is a good place to stay; it’s not on the beach which means you will get good nights sleep! Ippie, a Thai lady that runs Island Lodge works from 7.30am-10pm at night, and in the 7 days that we stayed she did not have a single day off! The Thai’s work incredibly hard to say the least!

Just a short distance from White Sands is Pearl beach, which is very rocky but good for snorkeling. Here we met an English guy called Matt who owns ‘Paradise Palm Resort, which has a gym by the beach. As Elliott wanted to work out ‘at muscle beach’, Jonny and I decided to base ourselves there for the day. The visibility for snorkeling wasn’t great but we did see a few corals and fish after cutting ourselves on the sharp rocks getting in.

Matt had married his Thai wife 9 years ago. We asked him various questions about Island Life and what is like to live on Koh Chang. He owned 49% of his business and his Thai wife and family owned 51%. Sewage from the apartments etc is collected in tanks and paid to be taken away. Recycling is sorted and collected throughout the island.

The tarmac road was completed a few years ago when Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra...was so impressed with the natural beauty of Koh Chang he wants the island to become a popular eco-tourism destination like Phuket. http://iamkohchang.com/news/in-2002/thaksin-to-develop-koh-chang.html

I believe that either he or another minister (no longer in power today) owns a resort on the island. Good use of tax payer’s money!

The police are also based on the island and there is a strict curfew of 10.30pm last orders, or you could face a hefty fine if your business selling drinks after this time.

Koh Chang is still a great island to visit, from the hippy backpackers retreat to the luxury resorts!

Bangkok continued...

Bangkok is an amazing city, it's so diverse from the Grand Palace & spiritual Wat Phra Keao budist temple to the chaos of Khao San Road.

Reading up in the lonely planet I have realised why the restaurant that we went to with Fherm was called Venice. Bangkok was once called the 'Venice of the East'. Canals transported goods and people. The Mae Nam chao Phraya (Chao Phraya River) was the superhighway! The Thais considered themselves Jao Naam (water lords)...although times have changed and roads now dominate the city.

The Grand Palace & ancient temple was certainly the highlight of our visit to Bangkok. After trying to persuade a tuk-tuk driver to take us from Khao San Road to the temple we gave up and decided to walk there in the rain! The tuk-tuk driver wouldn't go straight to the temple as he wanted to take us on a detour first ...surprise surprise!

We managed to get there in time to spend an hour wondering around before it closed at 4.30pm. The entrance fee for the Grand Palace & temple was 350 baht (7 pounds), but free for the Thais and rightly so. The highlight for me was the Emerald Buddha, which was North of the Palace and linked by connecting gateways to reach the Royal Monastery. Inside the monastery people pay there respect to the Lord Buddha and His teachings. The Emerald Buddha is enshrined on a golden traditional Thia-Style throne made of gilded carved wood, known as a Busabok. Although famously known as the Emerald Buddha it is actually made of green jade and was first discovered in 1434 in Chaing Rai. At that time the Buddha was covered with plaster until a flake from his nose revealled the green stone which was first thought to be Emerald and thus the legend of the Emerald Buddha first began, over 500 years ago!

Coming back into Khao San Road after this peaceful expereince was another reminder that it was perhaps time to venture on to some chilled out Island Life. With that we booked our tickets to Koh Chang island (400 baht each...8 pounds). I think both Jonny and Elliott found Bangkok quite a culture shock. Poor Elliott spent those 4 days in Bangkok sleeping in a cupbaord and all of us were suffering from lack of sleep!

The mixture of chaos, heat and lack of sleep certainly takes it out of you!

Bangkok

Wedensday 27th January

Having arrived 4.30pm local time yesterday and taking a cab to Wild Orchid Villa, near Khao San Road, we were feeling pretty jet lagged and spaced out. We ate some food at the Wild Orchid which was very cheap and nice then had an early night after a few games of cards. Jonny and I opted for a double room that included lots of extras we didn't want (like a TV)...(needless to say we have moved on to a cheaper room now). But as we were tired it proved to be a good option for the first two nights.

As our body clocks were well and truly out all of us are finding it hard to sleep, Bangkok is a city that certainly never sleeps! After waking up constantly through the night we slept in until 11am. Elliott and Jonny have been having nightmares, probably because of the heat...it is so difficult to sleep in!

Anyway after a light breakfast of fruit and yogurt we decided to explore Khao San Road, where we purchased 100 Malaria tablets for 8 pounds (rather than 100s in the UK)

Being back in Bangkok 10 years later is wierd. It's made me realise what a blur my memories of Khao San Road were! It's much wider than I remember and less scary. Mind you I was only 18 when I first explored this strange city. The Lonely Planet's definition "Fasten your seat belts you've arrived in Bangkok!"

The city is divided into two 'the old' and 'the new', Khao San Road being the older part, full of international tourists and where we are staying! I truly feel like a gringo...that is until today, when Jonny went to great lengths to buy a Thai sim card for 50 Baht (1 pound) and a scratch card for a further 50 baht, so that he could phone a friend he'd met at uni in London called Fherm (who is Thai and now living back in Bangkok with his incredibly rich family that own various businesses includimg a huge shopping mall in the newer part of town)

Fherm met us on Khao San Road and complained about being in the touristy old part of the town, where buildings are merely thrown together and Tuk Tuk drivers are constantly trying to tout for your business...oh and the constant call of ...'you want Thai massage' or even wierder ..'you want fish massage'!

Fherm moved us swiftly on to a restaurant called Venice near the River in Bangkok, which was very posh and owned by one of his friends. We were waited on hand and foot! Fherm order for all of us, so that we shared several Thai dishes between us....the food was amazing, not to mention the view over the river it was truly magical...we even saw fireworks!

Fherm is a true gentleman and very good host!

Safe Arrival

26th January, 2010 Local Time 9.42pm

Just a quick update.

Arrived in Bangkok safe and sound. Flight took 11 hours, taxi cost 500 baht to the Centre of Bangkok.

We are staying at a place called Wild Orchid Villa, very nice! Elliott is paying 250 baht and Jonny and I are paying 800 baht for a posh air con room :o)!

I'll update again soon.

Love Ruth x

The Three Amigos

Well today is the day...it's finally here we are about to leave the grey skies of London and begin our journey around the world...first stop Bangkok, Thailand. Flight leaves in a few hours!

The Three Amigos are:

Me (Ruth Grant) age 28, looking for adventure, freedom and exploration. Particularly interested in sustainable tourism, where it benefits the local people, is healthy for the local economy and does not trash the environment!

Jonny Parker, age 27, Looking to unwind and only think about each day as it comes. Can't wait to soak up some history, culture and cocktails. Full of wonder as to what we will see, do, and who we will meet along the way.

Elliott 'the gentlmen' Emslie, ageless (26), worried about ladyboys. i don't speak Asian... seaquest out.

Going in height order, Elliott is on the far left, Jonny in the middle and I'm the tiny little one on the right!

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