snorkeling pink-mammal, not often seen in this hue of purple, rare...(click to view)
koh rok beach evening
nice pants..
merry xmas from us!
off to work in rush-hour, tools in hand,
thai beach 1, near koh lanta
thai beach 2
thai merry xmas
coming back from work, stuck in traffic again, tools still in hand, koh rok
snorkelling koh rok
not sure what im doing here, wringing my hands I guess, trying to decide which way to go or something, also koh rok
leona with approaching weirdo behind
hmm, nice album cover..
squids
thai buddhas in the palace complex
i hope he scrubs behind those big old flappy ears..
handy tips for the people
the rats escaping the sinking ship..well just after sunset, the exodus of people from a cambodian temple which was really steep
the next dozen or so photos are from Ankor Wat
on the way through the mangroves to siem riep
on the river by battambang, cambodia
dusty road towards temples by battambang
pink parrot buddha, in temple in battambang
cave buddha, also near battambang
just chewing the fat..fat offering, temple somewhere
mekong delta village child, vietnam
mekong delta kids
fish farms, floating houses, mekong delta
fisherwoman
burning it up neat mui ne, vietnam
checking everythings still there..
uncle ho
romantic peddalo-swans, ho chi minh city, or was it hanoi?..
cable salad, everywhere, love to be an electrician!
Hello everybody,
Just a little tropical rainstorm overhead, perfect timing for another superblog!
I think where I left off was Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh), another hussling, bustling motorbike-mad city.
From there we arranged a Bus/Boat trip to take us through the Mekong Delta, through to a town close to the Cambodian border, where we were to cross the border by boat, and hopefully a slightly more interesting way to see the working/farming/fishing communities of Vietnam. I think I've already mentioned the traffic, and true to form we saw another couple of grisely incidents I won't go into. Better said we were happy to arrive at the first boat transfer alive and well.
The 'tour' led us further east on a section of the Delta where various fish farms, coconut sweets and rice wine is produced, and as part of our 'tour' we had to visit these places as well. Sadly, it was all a bit cheesy and touristy, we could've done without it really, but as it was a means to an end (to get to the border easily by boat), we tagged along, and the coconut sweets ended up tasting great. I couldn't resist bying a couple of course!
But nethertheless it was an interesting sight flowing through the backwaters of the Mekong (the 5th longest river in the world our over eager guide told us, maybe it is the 3rd..) in a speedboat variation consisting of an open motor, and 5 metre long pole sticking out the back, which you can swivel around, raising it or lowering it if the water level is low. The boat's called a Long-tail I later found out. Very powerful things, but we puttered around, just watching people go about their daily life.
We spent the night on a foating hotel (much less luxurious than it sounds, but at least it floated), in the town of Chau Doc, and had the best and cheapest Pho Bo (Beef Noodle Soup for those who don't know) of our time in Vietnam. So although the last night sleeping in Vietnam wasn't so rewarding, at least we were left with a good taste in our mouths..
The next day, the 'tour' took us to the utterly pointless viewing of how the fisher-families farm fish (mostly a catfish variety I think). Although how these farmers live and make a living is really interesting, looking at a watery square whole in the floorboards of someones house is not so riveting. We tagged along anyway and endured several pointless questions from an elderly gentlemen about the trials and tribulations of fish farming. Maybe interesting for some I guess.
One interesting thing we did see, was after the farms, where we made a stop on a silt- island, in the middle of the river. This largish island was home to several families and indigenous peoples, eeking out a living through selling stuff to tourists, and fishing the waters. The stilt houses rose high above the flood levels, about 3 or 4 metres, sometimes so precariously that they seemed to want to topple any moment, or sink back into the softish silt-land underneath.
Dressed for tourists (I guessed, maybe they wear their traditional looking clothes all the time), their traditional dress and homes combined with their animals and kids milling around, made the island quite serene and picturesque, apart from the sign saying 'don't buy biscuits from the kids, you'll be cholic if you eat them'. Not sure what that really meant exactly, but just in case I didn't buy any biscuits.
Our boat arrived at the border without further fuss or fun,just a shortish stop with the rest of the boat to get stamps and visas for entry at an otherwise deserted immigration shack.
Now in Cambodia, it took a while to sink in we were in a different country, but as the palm trees, banana trees, and brown silty (evidently rich in nutrients) water slipped past. The Mekong is a pretty wide river from side to side, and it flows pretty swiftly down out to the sea in the dry months. In the wet season I think it flows the other way, back 'up-stream' into the massive Cambodian Lake of Tonle Sap, and almost fully flooding the flat ricelands that bascially make up Cambodia.(Again geological facts, like historical, are subject to creationism, but normally in the realms of some truth..)
We arrived late-ish in Phnom Penh, just late enough to miss another onward bus journey to our next destination. Originally we had thought to give the Capital a miss, as it's not so renowned for it's beauty, more infamous as the scene of the nearby 'Killing Fields", and the brutal interegation, torture and murder prison Tuol Sleng, and of some pretty horrific crimes during the Khmer Rouge's and Pol Pot's rise to power.
But as we arrived late, we had an evening there, walking around the Royal Palace, and the O'russey market, which was reasonbly near our hotel. As it turned out the city had its own charm of sorts, and I was glad to have had the chance to look around a little. Although interested in the history and rise of the Khmer Rouge about 30 years ago, we decided not to visit the prison our any miltitary museums, instead I bought a largish book on the rise of the regime, which im still struggling through, coming to grips with the unbelieveable hardship and oppression these people went through for not only the years of the Pol Pot regime, but who also sufferred at the hands of the Americans and their mass bombings on Cambodian territory during the Vietnam war..Not to mention the previous American backed President Lon Nol, who overthrew the King and was also rather brutal and oppressive. That the country functions at all (I'm still reading the book) after such a regime is also astounding.
Interestingly, as we were in Cambodia, a trial of great local interest just started, that of the trial of Kang Kek Iew, (alias Duch), the man who ran Tuol Sleng Prison, and the first high ranking Khmer Rouge official to go on trial for his crimes against humanity. Alot of painful memories will perhaps be dug up there.
Anyway, another day, another bus trip. Cambodia boasts the slowest railroad system the world has to offer, (20kms tops I was told, kind of like the Circum-Baikal, the short of it is no-one uses trains, theyre only there for goods transportation). So we headed by bus up to Battambang, (another city infamous for large scale massacres and persecution, although no areas in Cambodia seemed to have been 'spared') which is located 5 hours drive northeast of the Capital. Getting there was again a 'homage' to rice fields and cultivation, largely also due to the Khmer Rouge's 'grand' agriculture plan.
You really get more and more being in Aisa that rice here really is king, it's just everywhere, and on this stretch of road, the fields just stretched for miles on end. I think the whole 5 hour drive consisted of rice fields, so alot of green and gold! It helps that this area is basically flooded every wet season, when the nearby 3000 square km lake Tonle Sap, quadruples in size and turns the flat, silty land into almost a shallow sea, a haven for breeding fish and growing rice.
We were staying in Battambang for only one night, before heading through the backwaters to Siem Riep and Angkor Wat. We still had an afternoon to kill, and we headed out with a Dutch companion, to some nearby temples, situated 15 kms away, on top of strangely triangular hills. I read later that these triangular hills were formerly islands, and Cambodia was created only 5000 years ago, by the pilling up of tonnes and tonnes of silt being brought down the Mekong, explaining the 'flat-as-a-pancake' country.(sorry more geology).
What we didnt know when we headed out to the temples in our open tuk-tuk was the dirt road there and back was in bad condition and well-travelled, meaning we basically drove for 40 minutes in a sandstorm, and the same again on the way back. The sides of the road and houses were absoltuely caked in dirt, and well, we were too. Fortunately the temples were beautiful, unvisited and serenly quiet, and it was really relaxing to walk around, as the sun gradually sunk under the horizon. That was until a loudspeaker started, advertising or preaching something, but still the view from the hill-top of this vast flat-land, the palms and banana trees dotted between huge rice fields, and everywhere plumes of smoke rising into the sky from small (controlled) fires, all added to the agelessness of the scene. It seemed like nothing had changed here for thousands of years. Then we had to go back, and to a long shower.
The next day was another early rise, by boat again through backwaters, through the birdlife sanctuary and the wetlands on the fringe of the massive lake. Although we didn't see much birdlife, just a few heron-like creatures, because of the dry season and low water level, the trip was interesting anyway. Our captain pushed the boat though mangrovetree-like channels, much too narrow for two boats, and at times the boat caught on the bottom, so the 2nd-mate would have to free the boat from the bottom. Of course other boats came down the same channels, but we casually bumped our way past until we were into open water and before long at the wharf of Siem Riep.
Siem Riep is of course the base for trips to Angkor Wat, the biggest religious structure the world has to offer, and being basically the only touristic thing of great significance to see in Cambodia, and its fairly packed with tourists, and relatively expensive to get in. Of course all that didnt matter, as there was always enough space to move between the vast array of temples, ruins, semi-ruins and repaired temples, jungles and of course kids and adults trying to sell everything under the sun.
It was of course amazing, and we rented for the whole day, sunrise to sunset, a tuk tuk driver to drive us to all the important sites, a sort of hop on hop off sight-seeing helper. As the grounds are so massive, the temples couldnt all be done in one day on foot, or by motorbike for that matter, so it was definately the best way to see as much as possble.
We started at 4 in the morning, to be able to get a good spot ahead of the crowds to watch the sunrise. It was kind of eirie entering the temples in the pitch black, knowing they were there, just not seeing anything. But as the sun rose, we sat at a shallow lake, filled with lillies, and the backdrop of the famous towers of Angkor Wat, slowly emerged out from the dim light. A huge temple/religious/palace complex built around the 12th century by a powerful Khmer king, we drove, walked and wandered from temple to temple.
Amongst the most interesting were Angkor Wat of course and the Bayon, located within Angkor Thom, a temple consisting of 30 or so tower 'blocks' all with 4 faces, facing every direction, which had a sort of 'big-brother is watching you' feeling about it. The carving skill and detail in the facial features in this ancient stone is amazing. Other temples over-run with massive old trees, vines and roots were also really impressive, the temples in a constant (losing) battle against nature, which various conservation projects around the world are trying to repair and reconstruct, before the forest completely takes over.
I read after the site was discovered again in the 1860's by a French explorer, it took until 1906 or something before they started clearing the jungle, taking another 70 or so years until the war prevented further work, and then continued clearing still going on today. Obviously theres still a lot to do, but the way the temples combine with the jungle, it makes for an amazing 'boxing-match', and I hope that over development and tourism doesnt take over from the trees in battling and grinding the temples to dust.
The day ended in the obligatory sunset of course, also with a decent crowd present, but it didnt matter so much, as by then we were all exhausted, and headed back to the room for rest.
Another day of rest and a sleep-in (finally), followed, as we arranged another trip to the other more distant temples of Bang Melea and Koh Ker. We got to those also amazing old temples, while not as large as Angkor, are much less visited and more overgrown and serene in amongst the nature. The second temple took a very long bumpy ride to get to but was also worth it, as the ancient, 'ruin' temples also consisted of a large 5 tiered Mayan-like pyramid.
This temple complex was also very spread out, and since the only way to get there was by taxi, we were glad for the A/C and transport through the extrememly hot, and at times not completely cleared of mines countryside. Of course there was no danger, as long as you stuck to the path, but still another throw back for the war, and another devastating part of life for normal Camdodians caught up the policies of others. The effect of all this of course is now in Camdodia there are hundreds, if not thousands of blind, leg and arm-less beggers, book and trinket sellers in the streets, (especially in Siem Riep), trying to do the best they can with their horrific injuries. Our tuk-tuk driver Min also told us he had a lucky escape as a child, when the family cow he was riding through the rice-fields stepped on a mine, blowing the cow up of course, but he managed to thankfully survive, uninjured.
Having now 'temple overload', 2 extremely long days of temple gawking were just about enough, so we headed for Thailand, by bus, another 10 hour slog with border control thrown in for fun.
Bangkok of course was a huge difference from sleepy Siem Riep, and quite different to other large Asian cities weve encountered so far. Large,loud and busy (like other large Asian cities of course, Bangkok seems to me like the little brother of Beijing somehow, a new and modern city, glitzy and glamourous but still a little rough around the edges, with a large commercial and banking district and all the other mod cons.
But, like in Beijing, they are car crazy here, not many motorbikes, and the traffic is basically one big standstill. Unfortunately, without knowing any other places to go to stay, we headed for the tourist centre. But rather than being in something which resembled Thailand, our senses were assaulted by row upon row of Europeanised eateries and bars, and basically 90 percent western, white, beer swilling, football watching people hanging out in overpriced bars and restaurants, it was a little dissapointing. I'd prepared myself mentally for something like this, as Khao San road is loved and hated for this reason. Anyway, we were staying there, found a shithole to sleep at the first night and made the most of it.
The next day was spent touring around a few of the Bangkok sights of course, namely the 'Wat's', amazingly huge gleaming golden and glitering Buddhist temples, situated mostly along the Bangkok river shoreline. Although a little templed out, like I said these temples werent encased in jungle, and in pretty good nick. The first and most famous has a rather long name which doesnt exactly spring to mind just now, but consists of the Royal Palace, the Emerald (or Jade) Buddha, and other Chinese and Indian inspired temples. The complex is huge, and the cloudless blue sky and gleaming sun really accentuated the turrets, stupas and other golden architectural towers which like pins stuck into the sky. Everything looked newly painted (im sure it always does), and also most pillars and supporting structures were also adorned with coloured, mirrored glass, a perfect day for sunglasses.
Further wandering brought us to the rivers edge, and we jumped in a long-tail boat for a leisurely cruise around the backwaters of Bangkok, through suburban areas and canals, past homes built precariously and perched just above the waters edge. At some points canals met in a crossroad, and the waterlogged landscape with powerlines poking out of the river, made for an eirie sight, as if everything had just been flooded.
Back on dry land more temples, more Buddhas, this time including a 45 metre reclining golden Buddha, rather impressive, also we amazingly ornate mother-of-pearl on the soles of his shoes (not diamonds), perhaps with a foot-size of 1800.
But of course urban Thailand isnt really why visitors come here, so without further ado we also headed south on a chillier than comfortable airconditioned night bus, and arrived the next day at a smallish, not so on the 'tourist-track' town of Khao Lak. Spelling may be wrong there, but the area is really only know for the diving and snorkeling spots nearby off the coast, the Similan and Surin Islands. Both National Parks (I think, although the term National Park, doesnt seem to change much for the wildlife itself unfortunately, maybe things are a little more taken care of), we thought it would be a perfect spot for me to learn diving, and for Leona to freshen her skills up.
It proved to be a great decision, as the tutors/instructors were really nice, cautious and safety orientated, (good for me), but also rescue divers and one was an experienced commercial diver, so we were in good hands.
After a couple of days theory and practise dives in a pool, where you could admire the fascinating tiles, it was off to the islands to test what I'd learnt. Leona of course was fine, like a 'fish', given her extensive snorkeling experience as a kid, and given that she could already dive. I was also fine, just (of course) over excited and over-motivated as soon as I put my head underwater. After a 2.5 hour boat ride to the islands which lie in the Andaman Sea about 60k from the mainland, we plunged into the crystal clear water.
A whole new world just opened up, colours, shapes, lifeforms; things I'd never seen our thought Id see; everything was happening, bustling and bursting with life and this was in 360 degrees in every compass direction. Needless to say I sucked up my air out of pure exhiliration much faster than everyone else, and after 45 minutes, I popped, grinning and alive back on the surface. We did two dives there at the Island, and the next day another two at an old shipwreck, an old dredger that had sunk a few years back. So in getting the best of both types of dive experiences, we were really a little spoilt, and it was an amazing place for me to learn. The wreck dive was also full of life, no corals there of course, but an abundance of big and little fish, all doing there thing, almost oblivious to our intrusion in their watery sphere.
Anyway it was fantastic, and at the end I passed the the exam and completed all the skills and tricks one has to know to pass, so now, were going to dive the world! Well, that is if we had the money for it. Funnily, the air we breathe is not so cheap as one might think.
Which brings us to where we are now, Ko Lanta. We've just arrived back from an amazing two nights at a secluded, camping ground island called Ko Rok, somewhere out in the Andaman Sea. Mostly tourists do day snorkeling tours out here, as it takes a while by speedboat to access the island, and has none of the home comforts many people want when sleeping somewhere- normal toilet, hot water, mattress etc.
So after the day crowd left at 2 ish, we had the island to ourselves practically (about 10 people were staying when we were there). The coral reef here was also a rainbow of activity, and the white sand beach and aquamarine water made it a real Robinson Crusoe Paradise. It was unbelievably hot and sunny, and the water temperature was about 30 degrees, so we could snorkel for hours until we were hungry, and then snorkel again. I think the most I achieved these 3 days was keeping my towel clear of sand, scanning the horizon for either Leona's bobbing head or fins while she was snorkeling in the water, or watching the hundreds of settler crabs waddle around, scrounging for food, or whatever they do, all the while reading this gruelling Pol Pot book. A strange paradox to the setting I was reading the book in... Unfortunatley the boat came to pick us up today, and here I am, in an Internet place..
But im tired now, the rest of Thailand can wait for another day, another blog..
Still well, no bad bugs so far!
Love Joe and Leona
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