Battambang, Phnom Phen, Sihanoukville & Kampong

Ok so not much photo's for you to look at this time as someone stole my camera a couple of nights ago. I was walking back to my guest house in Sihanoukville and I had my camera clipped to my bag which was over my shoulder and chest and as I normally try and do I was walking towards the oncoming traffic (not that there was any as very quiet side road) but I didn't pay attention to the two guys on the moped parked at the side of the road and as I passed the passanger he reached out and grabbed my camera and they drove off. I grabbed it back but the strap of my bag ripped and I stumbled and they got away with the camera - we tried to chase them but as they were going downhill onto a main road they were well gone!! Shame it wasn't the bag they grabbed as the camera would have fallen on the ground when the snap broke and I had less than $20 in the bag!! ......as you can imagine the air turned blue for a few minutes as I cursed them rotten. I was initially really angry at myself as I always clip my camera onto the front of my trouser belt as well as any bag I am carrying but in retrospect it was probably better that I hadn't as the camera would have still been able to grab the camera and I would have been dragged along with it - and these guys won't stop till they get what they want one way or another. Though not sure if they have ever dealt with someone as bad tempered and stubborn as me but probably better not to have found out!!

The ironic thing is that after all the times I have walked about on my own down poortly lit streets etc I was actually with a guy when this happened (Arnaund from France - who also tried to catch them) and only a short distance from the guest house. Though I was probably paying less attention to my surroundings than I would when I am on my own (too busy chatting!!).

I am sad to have lost my camera which was my leaving gift from some of you but most of all I'm disappointed that I have no photo's of most of my stay in Cambodia and I won't be able to pick up a new camera now until I reach Saigon at the end of the week and have to deal with the insurance company!!

Despite this though I have loved my time in Cambodia and refuse to let this spoil my memories of the trip (just have to come back soon for more photos!!) at the end of the day these things happen everywhere including home....

Anyway, after my last update I finished visiting the Angkor temples and then made my way to Battambang which was a nice peaceful town with old French style buildings. I hired a cycle one day and cycled 17km out to Phnom Sampeou which is a temple on a hill where they found caves full of bodies after the Khmer Rouge had been in power in the 70's. I think I must be the only person in years to cycle there as even the police were quite amazed that a tourist cycled along the very bumpy dusty road and didn't take a tuc tuc. The views from the top were impressive. The next day I went on a moto (motorcylce taxi) to another temple which was ok and onto the Bamboo train - which was basically just a metal frame with bamboo strips and a small engine thrown on that the locals use to go up and down the track between villages. We got the train back towards town which would have been much more fun if it hadn't decided to pour down all the way. There was one point that day when we stopped to take shelter out of the rain and some guy came over and started speaking to my driver who told me he was demanding money from him and me - I told him he could go sing for it as I wasn't giving him anything. The driver said he was scared as he had to work here and gave him some money - but to be honest i wasn't convinced it wasn't a scam with the driver involved!!

Next I headed to Cambodia's capital Phnom Phen - the city itself was dusty, polluted and not that inspirational. I only stopped here for a couple of days and I went to visit the museum and palace one day and just explored the areas just out of the city.The next day I went to Toul Sleng Museum - which used to be a school but was used as a prison camp by the Khmer Rouge who beat and tortured hundred's of people (children included)here and amazingly enough kept photographic documents showing this - it was so sad i cried (yes I can do that now and then) - but in fact the sadest thing about if for me is knowing that stuff like that is still happening in other countries. Then I cycled out the 15km or so to the Killing Fields (the one's in the movie) where the prisoners from the prison would almost likely get sent for execution and disposal - really cheery day out!! But I felt it was important to see this, I have read a couple of survivor books about this time and seeing these places give some more insight into what Camodian people have been through as this happened so recently most people in Cambodia were directly affected by it. But what amazes me is that despite this and the other recent wars here they are still so friendly and generous and always happy to smile and laugh with you even if they can't speak a word of English (and i have only mastered about 3 in Khmer!!) yet you see starvation, begging and the unfortunate victims of landmines which still injure and main thousands every year!!

After the trauma's on Phnom Phen I decided a few days on the beach at Sihanoukville on the southern coast would set me up for my trip into Vietnam - but of course that came with it's unexpected drama!! But it was still nice to chill out at the beach for a few days and I was lucky as it seemingly rained solid for 3 days before I arrived. The people in the guest house I was staying at - staff and other guests were all very concerned when I got my camera stolen and kept checking I was ok and looked after me well. So though I had my worst experience of my travels here I still have good memories to away. Especailly watchin the most amazing sunsets every night - and as I had no camera for 2 of them I did actually watch them rather than photograph them!! Photo is of one of these kindly passed on by AD who I sat and watched it with.

So arrived in small town called Kampong late this afternoon - doesn't look like there is too much here so will probably hire a bike tomorrow and spend a day exploring before heading to the Vietnam border as my visa not valid for entry to Vietnam for another few days.

I will hopefully have a camera at hand again very soon so that I can share some more of my travels with you - the photo's say it much better than I ever could!!

Bye for now.

Jack xx

Vientiene, Pakse, Champasak, 4 Thousand Islands(Laos), Kompng Cham, Kompng Thom and Siam Reap (Cambodia)

The village we stopped at on our one day trip around the Bolaven Plateau near Pakse. Despite the basic conditions in these villages they all seemed to have big satellite dishes, TVs & mobiles but generally power was from generators.

Smoking a local mixture through these pipes was going on throughout the village - it does contain some tobacco and yes the kids were smoking it too!!!

Two of the waterfalls we stopped at on the day trip as well - there was a 3rd but it we couldnt see that for the clouds!!

I said goodbye to Silke in Pakse and moved onto the small town of Champasak - which used to be the capital of Lao and the picture shows almost all of the one street town!! The guy who ran the hotel here was so funny everytime you asked him a question/ordered food he just laughed and if someone else asked the same question 5 mins later they were most likely to get a different answer - and the chicked looked and tasted remarkably like pork!!

The main attraction in Champasak was a visit to Wat Phu Champasak which is listed as one of the must visit sights in Lao which is old ruin palace and temple on a hill with a great view over the surrounding countryside.

My last stop in Laos was Si Phan Don (or Four Thousand Islands) which is a serious of small Islands in the Mekong River at the far south of the country. This was the sunset on Dong Khong Island where I stayed for a couple of nights.

Just after it got dark there was a pretty impressive lightning storm.

I spent a day cycling around the 34km of Don Khong and was surprised at the different styles of houses in such a small island.

Next day I took a boat down to Don Det which is an even smaller Island - popular on the backpacker trail for the Happy Shakes/Pizzas - according to the menu $3 extra could get you some 'ganga' to just about any meal (no I didnt try it). The photo shows the riverside guesthouses - no electricity and shared bathrooms (which I am getting used to) but at 15,000kip (80p) it is definetely the cheapest place I have stayed so far!

The old railway bridge between Don Det & its neighbour Don Khon (different from Don Khong@!) - had to pay 5,000 kip to cross the bridge!!

Tat Somphamit Waterfall on Don Khon - personally I think it is more rapids than waterfall but Ryan The Tiger was happy not to raft over these....

Took a long turn somewhere along one of the dirt paths and ended up at this rickety railway bridge - even I'm not crazy enough to try and cycle across that (might have tried walking it if I didn"t have a bike).

On way back to the hotel I saw some kids chasing/being chased around their garden with what I first thought was a dog until it jumped over the fence and onto a lady passing by - was a pet gibbon that all the locals know well.

The overland trip from Don Det to Cambodia was interesting - I decided I didn''t want to go on one of the organised bus trips as I''d heard too many stories about people paying to get to the city in the next country and getting abandoned at the border. So I caught a boat accross to the mainland and the only transport was a motorcycle taxi - quite an experience for 15km trip with my huge rucksack and day pack!! Then I got dumped at the Laos border checkpoint where I had to pay $1 ''administration'' fee to get stamped out of the country - and then the only transport was of course the same organised buses I had been trying to avoid - at the Cambodian border I paid the $20 for visa + $1 for admin fee for getting visa then another $1 admin fee to get entry stamp to the country - everyone got charged these so called ''administration'' fees. If it was a busier route I am sure the border staff would be quite rich by now!! Good thing was I did get to my next destination after 3 stops to change buses!!

My first stop in Cambodia was Kompong Cham a small quiet town where I arrived to find the place pretty deserted and almost pitch black at 8pm at night.....

The first few guest houses/hotels I tried were full and the first one I came across with rooms had a group of ''ladies'' in the lobby and I''m certain it was a brothel!! Finally I found a small family run place and though they couldn''t speak a word of English they were so friendly and smiley and the added bonus of only costing $3 per night. The reception doubled as the families living/bedroom!!

Ryan The Tiger got himself into a bit of trouble......

But he was lucky a passing cousin came to his rescue :-)

Wat Nokor an 11th century temple that is still active with new building now being used for main services.

Surprisingly enough these houses were next door to each other just outside Kompong Chom - wonder which one is the Jonses???? Is quite common here to see old wooden/thatched houses next to new built villas even in some of the really rural villages.

Not too much to see in Kompong Chom itself so I hired a bike and just went exploring off the main highway (no maps available of course!!) the locals were of course amused to see a red faced farang (white tourist) in their village but they were all friendly and it was nice to visit places not directed at tourism as no one tried to sell me anything!

Having spotted me taking a photo these kids followed me until I stopped to take theirs as well :-)

The village pool hall - must have been lunch time!!

I was glad to come across these fruit sellers - tasty fresh pineapple was just what I needed.

In Cambodia this pyjama style suit is commonly worn by ladies, girls and sometimes small boys and it comes in all colours - anyone want me to pick them up a suit for their next big party just let me know your size???

Passenger safety and comfort is definitely not the priority!!

Next stop was Kompong Thom - I went for a walk the afternoon I arrived and it ended up taking me hours as I kept meeting people who were so lovely - the lady with the baby invited me in for a cold drink and the girls the field just couldn''t stop laughing - and none of them spoke a word of English. The surprising thing is that most tourists stop here as a base to go to a famous temple nearby but don;t take the time to explore and meet the locals. I have had such good fun and have some fabulous memories (and photos) from my wanderings around none tourist areas of the towns I have visited.

After his adventures Ryan the Tiger needed a bath.....

Ryan the Tiger is glad that he noticed this spider and it's web on the forrest path at the last minute or it could have got ugly!!

One ofthe pre-Angorian temples at Sambor Pri near Kompong Thom.

My unofficial guides around the temple - of course they wanted to sell me some scarfs. There are loads of kids selling souveigners at all the Angkor Temples - one 8 year old told me if she could name the capital of Scotland I would have to buy her postcards - I told her I already knew it so she then asked me what the capital of Madagascar was and when I couldn''t tell her she tried to insist I bought her postcards - good trick but it didnt work this time!! Teach me to try and outsmart an 8 year old desperate for a sale though!! (By the way what is the capital of Madagascar???)


Chilling out after a hard day in Kompong Thom.

Siam Reap - famous of course for the Angkor Temples but a nice city in itself to spend a couple of days.

Angkor Wat - the Khmer people certainly knew how to build for the long term - impressive!!

Some of the outfits that would have been used by the dancers during the formal events at the Temples.

Wouldn''t want to stand like that for too long!!

The protectors on the bridge to Angkor Thom.

A close up.....

Wat Bayon

There are 216 of these gargantuan faces at Wat Bayon - you could feel paranoid that you are being watched!!

It is the detail in the sculptures and stone work that is probably most impressive about the temples - especially when you realise just how many hundreds of temples were built in this era!!

And some more.....

Some of the temples have not been restored to show what they were like when they were found by the French......these trees start as a seed droppd by a bird then the roots expand out between the brickwork - the tree then acts as a support for the structure until it dies at which point the temple will most likely collapse......how much of this stuff am I likely to remember in a couple of years????



Believe it or not but I had intended uploading a few more photos onto this update with some funny stories but I moved to a new town last night and none of the internet cafes here have a DVD and I ahve now deleted the photos from my camera!! Sure you are probably relieved but I will tell you the funny stories anyway.....

In Vientiene (Laos) Silke and I went out to Buddha Park 15 km from the city (big park full of Buddhas) and we decided to walk some of the way back.....a group of ladies waved us over as we passed a house and then insisted we join them for some food - of course no English could be spoken and the few words of Laos/Thai we knew between us were not much good - in end we ended up with a plate of what was most likely the bits of chicken you wouldnt normally eat - we both managed a mouth full each just to be polite as I spat mine into a tissue the whole table burst out in laughter before eating the full dish!!!

From Vientiene I took the local bus to Pakse (rather than the overpriced night tourist bus) - the journey should ahve taken 12 hours but ended up being 16 - due to the driver stopping to do all his personal deliveries on the way!! I got dropped off at Pakse at 1am only to find the town closed up for the night with all the guest houses firmly padlocked with no way of raising anyone for a room. I was glad it wasn''t raining and that the town was well lit and after wandering for about 45 mins I came accross a lovely security guard who kind of understood what had happened and he insisted I have a a sleep on his sun lounger outside in the street - which was obviously what he normally did!!

What can I say just another few experiences to add to the many stories I will remember from Asia......

I loved Laos - was a country I had little expectations from but found it beautiful and the people were just fantastic & enjoyed the company of the fellow travellers I met there.

So far Cambodia is certainly as friendly and interesting - though having visited the Land Mine Museum yesterday there is a very sad side to the recent history here and I am sure I will see more of that when I reach Phnom Penh in a few days.

Better go as this internet cafe about to close and I really need to get some dinner.......

Hope all good with you all...

Jack xxx :=-)