Thursday, 24 May 2012
It's my Birthday and I'll blog if I want to!
Phu quoc, is a lovely island but doesn't really compare with the last island we were on, and it's definitely the low season here due to the rain. We did go on an interesting kayak tour through the jungle the other day where we had to persuade the guide to give us kayaks instead of getting in his motorboat and then paddled from point A to point A where we were then driven in a minibus to point B - a bit strange, but as Rory an Australian who lives here told me "they don't really understand what a tour should be". Still enough of all this for now. Time to go find a birthday drink. Tata Olly
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Crossing the Mekong: Cambodia to Vietnam
13th to 16th May: Phon Phen, capital of Cambodia. It rained and it rained! Last year it didn't rain like this until August. Trust our luck. The mornings were sunny and hot, but by 2 o'clock it was bucketing down. Not such a problem of we were early risers, but Phom Phen's night life put a stop to that.
On our first day in the city we took refuge in a river side restaurant as a storm blew in. We got chatting to two Danish travellers and did not leave the bar until 8 in the evening. We blamed the rain, but happy hour also had something to do with it. A very random night followed involving a hot pot of duck with noodles and some very suspect congealed blood thing that didn't taste too bad, but had a curious rubbery texture. There were also 10 games of pool, a tuk tuk ride where no one really knew where we were going and, for Olly and the Danish guy, Michael, a random night club being hassled by Cambodian 'moto girls'.
Phom Phen also had some interesting cultural sites, a massive art deco market selling brand new iPhones for $38 (totally fake), Buddhist temples and an impressive Royal Palace. The most memorable day in Phom Phen, and perhaps the most insightful but depressing of our trip, was when we visited the Killing Fields, where thousands of Khymers were killed by the Khymer Rouge between 1975 and 1978, and S21 where they held and tortured the prisoners before execution. Both hold very painful memories for Cambodia. During this atrocious time of slavery, execution and starvation one in four Khymer people died. This relatively recent genocide has had lasting impacts on the people and economy of Cambodia and I left with a great admiration for how the people are bouncing back with such a positive attitude. I'm glad we saw this near the end of our stay in Cambodia, otherwise it might have changed our view of the whole country.
We left Cambodia on the 16th and headed along the river to Chau Doc in Vietnam. The border town is a lively colourful place with floating villages, a massive market full of living, dead, dried, pickled seafood, fish and all sorts of other weird and wonderful food. We stayed for two nights acclimatising to Vietnam's slightly bolder and brighter culture and took a moto ride up a very steep winding road to Sam Mountain, a local tourist attraction with stunning views of Cambodia. We walked down the hill passing row upon row of hammocks waiting for weary climbers. At the bottom we visited a temple and enjoyed a traditional play - not that we understood a word. Then we had the fun of finding our moto drivers to take us back to town. They all look the same!
We took the local bus south to Ha Tien, a pretty coastal town with a very French feel. We were the only white tourists in town, very few people spoke English, although everyone was very friendly, and we enjoyed being away from the backpacker trail for two nights. Being the only white people around, we weren't hard to spot and soon had a moto driver offering us a trip to see the local sights. He and his mate took us on a trip around the local limestone kast landscape - tall towers of limestone standing out of the plain. At the grotto pergoda Olly became the tourist attraction for a group of Vietnamese teenagers. The girls took a bit of a shine to him and all had to have the photo taken with him. I think he enjoyed the attention!
We left Ha Tien on Sunday and took the Superdong express boat to Phu Quoc island. We're now chilling on a beautiful resort lined beach. It's not the unspoilt beauty of Koh Rong, but it's still pretty lovely. And it's not rained for two days!
Jo
On our first day in the city we took refuge in a river side restaurant as a storm blew in. We got chatting to two Danish travellers and did not leave the bar until 8 in the evening. We blamed the rain, but happy hour also had something to do with it. A very random night followed involving a hot pot of duck with noodles and some very suspect congealed blood thing that didn't taste too bad, but had a curious rubbery texture. There were also 10 games of pool, a tuk tuk ride where no one really knew where we were going and, for Olly and the Danish guy, Michael, a random night club being hassled by Cambodian 'moto girls'.
Phom Phen also had some interesting cultural sites, a massive art deco market selling brand new iPhones for $38 (totally fake), Buddhist temples and an impressive Royal Palace. The most memorable day in Phom Phen, and perhaps the most insightful but depressing of our trip, was when we visited the Killing Fields, where thousands of Khymers were killed by the Khymer Rouge between 1975 and 1978, and S21 where they held and tortured the prisoners before execution. Both hold very painful memories for Cambodia. During this atrocious time of slavery, execution and starvation one in four Khymer people died. This relatively recent genocide has had lasting impacts on the people and economy of Cambodia and I left with a great admiration for how the people are bouncing back with such a positive attitude. I'm glad we saw this near the end of our stay in Cambodia, otherwise it might have changed our view of the whole country.
We left Cambodia on the 16th and headed along the river to Chau Doc in Vietnam. The border town is a lively colourful place with floating villages, a massive market full of living, dead, dried, pickled seafood, fish and all sorts of other weird and wonderful food. We stayed for two nights acclimatising to Vietnam's slightly bolder and brighter culture and took a moto ride up a very steep winding road to Sam Mountain, a local tourist attraction with stunning views of Cambodia. We walked down the hill passing row upon row of hammocks waiting for weary climbers. At the bottom we visited a temple and enjoyed a traditional play - not that we understood a word. Then we had the fun of finding our moto drivers to take us back to town. They all look the same!
We took the local bus south to Ha Tien, a pretty coastal town with a very French feel. We were the only white tourists in town, very few people spoke English, although everyone was very friendly, and we enjoyed being away from the backpacker trail for two nights. Being the only white people around, we weren't hard to spot and soon had a moto driver offering us a trip to see the local sights. He and his mate took us on a trip around the local limestone kast landscape - tall towers of limestone standing out of the plain. At the grotto pergoda Olly became the tourist attraction for a group of Vietnamese teenagers. The girls took a bit of a shine to him and all had to have the photo taken with him. I think he enjoyed the attention!
We left Ha Tien on Sunday and took the Superdong express boat to Phu Quoc island. We're now chilling on a beautiful resort lined beach. It's not the unspoilt beauty of Koh Rong, but it's still pretty lovely. And it's not rained for two days!
Jo
Monday, 14 May 2012
Koh Rong... So Right!
So, "where would be the best place to spend your 30th birthday?", Olly asked me... Well, my list of requirements were not long:
We also had some pretty amazing fish barbeques, including curried spider crab. I wish I had a photograph, but we were too busy eating it.The crabs where the size of dinner plates with sausages for legs. Delicious!
Oh, and I have to mention the phosphorescence! I've never seen anything like it. At night you go swimming in the sea and a million stars of glowing plankton light up around you. Amazing!
- A beautiful beach
- A hammock
- Good company (but no OTT drunk 'Brits Abroad'), and
- Rum (of course)
Koh Rong was pretty much perfect – a virtually undevelopedisland 2 hours from the mainland and away from the sleaze of Sihenoukeville (akaSin-Ville).
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| Hut 15 - Home for seven days |
Development of the island for tourism only started a year and a half ago... so miles of white beaches, turquoise seas and thick jungle remain virtually untouched. Not for long through... there are plans for golfcourses, spas and resorts – and even an airport. So get there quick!
 |
| What more could you ask for? Handsome man, beautiful beach and a hammock! |
We stayed at Monkey Island. A collection of coco huts (with the required hammocks) on the main beach run by a friendly Brit called Paddy and his band of traveling and Khymer workers. It is one of maybe five guesthouses on the island and the perfect place for birthday – plenty of rum, fire throwing displays and cool people to hang out with. On my birthday they put a table out on the beach surrounded with lanterns in the shape of aheart and even got me a cake shipped over from Phnom Phen! You can’t ask for more than that!
 |
| Before I drunk that free bucket of Sex on the Beach! |
We spent seven nights chilling, exploring the jungle, chilling some more, playing volleyball on the beach (‘monkey rules’ style), chilling, diving, chilling and snorkeling. We also took a fishing boat trip onmy birthday with a German couple, Kris and Marika. I caught about 20 fish –Olly was still on ZERO when we got back to shore (despite an extra two hours at sea after the boats engine broke). He put it down to my birthday luck, I think it was more to do with his bad fishing skills :o).
 |
| Tee lost in world of flame |
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| My birthday cake! |
Oh, and I have to mention the phosphorescence! I've never seen anything like it. At night you go swimming in the sea and a million stars of glowing plankton light up around you. Amazing!
The only negative – and I guess there has to be one – werethe sand flies. My legs look like I’ve been attacked with a BB gun and itchlike hell. I would post a photograph, but they look too disgusting!
It was a great birthday. The only thing that could have madeit even better would have been having friends and family from home to celebrate with me. But still... I suppose that gives me an excuse for another celebration when I get home!
We're back in Phnom Phen, the capital of Cambodia now. We get our visas for Vietnam tomorrow. And it's raining - a lot!
Still, back to photos of that beach :o)...
Jo x
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Jungle fun in Chi Phat
On Wednesday we headed for what the Lonely Planet descried as a destination for 'hardened travelers' - Chi Pat Community Based Ecotourism village in the Southern Cardamon forests. It turned out to be a fairly straightforward experience thanks to the welcoming Cambodians.
Our bus dropped us on the main highway across southern Cambodia at the foot of a bridge, in the middle of nowhere. A helpful mechanic at a near by roadside 'fixing hut' helped us to find a boat which would take us to Chi Phat. He drove Olly to the river front where he could book the boat - a 100m ride down an earthern road - a totally unnecessary luxury, but something we're getting used to in Cambodia - they don't like walking anywhere!
Once balanced with our rucksacks on the tiny fiberglass boat, with a suitably powerful engine, we were off up river through dense jungle, passing only a few fisherman on the two hour journey. Apart from the moment when our boat nearly broke down and it took a good 5 minutes to get the engine started as we drifted into the mangroves, it was a beautiful and very relaxing journey.
As we approached Chi Phat however, jungle gave way to open grassland and the impact of the intense logging and hunting became very evident. The project has been set up to bring income to this remote village and divert local people away from logging and hunting to earn money through tourism. In partnership with Wildlife Alliance, the project seems to have transformed the village. Anyone with the capital to do so has set up a guesthouse or home stay, local fisherman and farmers take you on tours of the jungle and there are several little restaurants and cafes. The village on the whole however is still very poor. Most people live in wooden huts, there's no mains water and electricity is very intermittent. The people were overwhelmingly friendly - especially the kids who never tiered of shouting "hello"!
We stayed for three nights in a very basic guesthouse - think bucket of water to flush the toilet and wash in. They had electricity, but this was primarily for the TV so that the girls could watch their pop music. We were told that the fan in our room used too much power, so was switched off!
On the first night we joined a local fisherman for "lobster" fishing - it turned out that we were actually fishing for large fresh water prawns. Using a head torch the fisherman speared the creatures out of the water as we floated around the river. It was a very peaceful - and amusing experience as the prawns kept trying to make a bid for freedom into Olly's shoes. Unfortunately we didn't get to have a go fishing ourselves, but we did get to take the catch home for dinner the following evening.
On the second day we joined a friendly guide for a trek to a bat cave and waterfall. He was as pleased with us as we were with him - he was desperate to improve his English, so we turned into walking English teachers whilst he told us all about the jungle and his village. Unfortunately we didn't see much jungle through! It had all been cut down for timber and the reforestation projects were not making much of an impact in the area we saw. As a result we baked in direct sunlight - I had a very burnt nose and Olly's trousers turned white with sweat! The waterfall was beautiful though. We thought we probably should have done the two day trek in order to really get into the jungle which was tantalizingly close.
On Friday we hired mountain bikes and went exploring.... until the heavens opened and a tropical storm blew in absolutely soaking us through to the skin. Much to the amusement of the local people who where all hiding under their bamboo roofs, we ended up spattered all the way up the backside in mud and looking like drowned rats!
The rainy season seems to have come early!
We're now back on the coast, heading for those 'paradise' islands tomorrow for my birthday. Hopefully the weather will be better there, but we're planning to spend much of our time under water diving anyway.
Jo x
Our bus dropped us on the main highway across southern Cambodia at the foot of a bridge, in the middle of nowhere. A helpful mechanic at a near by roadside 'fixing hut' helped us to find a boat which would take us to Chi Phat. He drove Olly to the river front where he could book the boat - a 100m ride down an earthern road - a totally unnecessary luxury, but something we're getting used to in Cambodia - they don't like walking anywhere!
Once balanced with our rucksacks on the tiny fiberglass boat, with a suitably powerful engine, we were off up river through dense jungle, passing only a few fisherman on the two hour journey. Apart from the moment when our boat nearly broke down and it took a good 5 minutes to get the engine started as we drifted into the mangroves, it was a beautiful and very relaxing journey.
As we approached Chi Phat however, jungle gave way to open grassland and the impact of the intense logging and hunting became very evident. The project has been set up to bring income to this remote village and divert local people away from logging and hunting to earn money through tourism. In partnership with Wildlife Alliance, the project seems to have transformed the village. Anyone with the capital to do so has set up a guesthouse or home stay, local fisherman and farmers take you on tours of the jungle and there are several little restaurants and cafes. The village on the whole however is still very poor. Most people live in wooden huts, there's no mains water and electricity is very intermittent. The people were overwhelmingly friendly - especially the kids who never tiered of shouting "hello"!
We stayed for three nights in a very basic guesthouse - think bucket of water to flush the toilet and wash in. They had electricity, but this was primarily for the TV so that the girls could watch their pop music. We were told that the fan in our room used too much power, so was switched off!
On the first night we joined a local fisherman for "lobster" fishing - it turned out that we were actually fishing for large fresh water prawns. Using a head torch the fisherman speared the creatures out of the water as we floated around the river. It was a very peaceful - and amusing experience as the prawns kept trying to make a bid for freedom into Olly's shoes. Unfortunately we didn't get to have a go fishing ourselves, but we did get to take the catch home for dinner the following evening.
On the second day we joined a friendly guide for a trek to a bat cave and waterfall. He was as pleased with us as we were with him - he was desperate to improve his English, so we turned into walking English teachers whilst he told us all about the jungle and his village. Unfortunately we didn't see much jungle through! It had all been cut down for timber and the reforestation projects were not making much of an impact in the area we saw. As a result we baked in direct sunlight - I had a very burnt nose and Olly's trousers turned white with sweat! The waterfall was beautiful though. We thought we probably should have done the two day trek in order to really get into the jungle which was tantalizingly close.
On Friday we hired mountain bikes and went exploring.... until the heavens opened and a tropical storm blew in absolutely soaking us through to the skin. Much to the amusement of the local people who where all hiding under their bamboo roofs, we ended up spattered all the way up the backside in mud and looking like drowned rats!
The rainy season seems to have come early!
We're now back on the coast, heading for those 'paradise' islands tomorrow for my birthday. Hopefully the weather will be better there, but we're planning to spend much of our time under water diving anyway.
Jo x
Whoa! So many places to mention now
Hmm, right so since Battambang we've been mainly;
First we took the bus down to Sihanoukville in the south on the coast with a brief stop in Phom Pehn (just for lunch mind) and changed buses to head for the cost, after we got on a large group of Chinese holiday makers got on - i guess due to lack of experience did not put their baggage in the baggage hold but put it in their leg room area - net result they all had their knees next to their faces also they were as excited as 8 year olds but in fact were closer to 40, which was kind sweet.
When we reached Sihanoukville we had thought about continuing to the far south west of the country, but it was dark and a Friday night so we stayed for the weekend.
It's pretty built up, it's quite touristy, and it has quite the seedy underbelly of middle aged European men traveling alone only looking for one thing. But there is also a backpacker scene mixed in and some great beaches.
All in all though it was our least favourite place in Cambodia so far.
Then on to Krong Koh Kong with the intention of getting to a completely as yet undeveloped unspoilt paradise island called Koh Kong....
1. We booked a boat
2. We set sail
3. The waves got a little choppy, but nothing that bad.
4. Our Captain got scared
5. Our Captain turned 90 degrees
6. Our Captain introduced us to a tiny island on the edge of the mangroves where the sea smelt funny and so did the swamp behind the beach.
All in all, not quite what we were looking for, but it was deserted......for good reason. It looks strangely beautiful in the photos though.
And we did go off into the jungle the day before to see this;
And finally, a frog I found last night.
Olly
First we took the bus down to Sihanoukville in the south on the coast with a brief stop in Phom Pehn (just for lunch mind) and changed buses to head for the cost, after we got on a large group of Chinese holiday makers got on - i guess due to lack of experience did not put their baggage in the baggage hold but put it in their leg room area - net result they all had their knees next to their faces also they were as excited as 8 year olds but in fact were closer to 40, which was kind sweet.
When we reached Sihanoukville we had thought about continuing to the far south west of the country, but it was dark and a Friday night so we stayed for the weekend.
It's pretty built up, it's quite touristy, and it has quite the seedy underbelly of middle aged European men traveling alone only looking for one thing. But there is also a backpacker scene mixed in and some great beaches.
All in all though it was our least favourite place in Cambodia so far.
Then on to Krong Koh Kong with the intention of getting to a completely as yet undeveloped unspoilt paradise island called Koh Kong....
1. We booked a boat
2. We set sail
3. The waves got a little choppy, but nothing that bad.
4. Our Captain got scared
5. Our Captain turned 90 degrees
6. Our Captain introduced us to a tiny island on the edge of the mangroves where the sea smelt funny and so did the swamp behind the beach.
All in all, not quite what we were looking for, but it was deserted......for good reason. It looks strangely beautiful in the photos though.
And we did go off into the jungle the day before to see this;
Olly
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