the 17th was a rainy day so I didn't do that much: I practised my photoshop skills in the morning and downloaded some software for the school. In the afternoon I was tired of sitting still and getting wet in these temperatures is not so bad so I went mountainbiking and after 10 minutes I was soaked! I got a lot of strange looks while I was passing by... In the late afternoon it stopped raining and I stopped at a beach to get a drink and a swim: I was already wet so it didn't matter anymore. Not such an interesting day but it was relaxing.
The 18th I got up with a lot of energy at 7 am so I went for breakfast in town (everything is sleeping and closed until 9-10 am). I drove randomly up some dirtroads and around until I hit dead end after dead end. I was getting tired and thirsty so it was really nice when I heard: 'hey mister, you want beer?' If I wanted a beer, of course I did, I had been driving for 2 hours in the hills and it was bloody warm. The people at the shop/bar/restaurant were very friendly and we started a basic conversation in their best English. Since we got stuck pretty soon, we both took our phrasebooks (mine = english-> Khmer, theirs Khmer -> English) and pretty soon we were teaching each other. Time flew by and they asked if I wanted to join them for lunch, I gratefully accepted the offer and together with the boys I started eating. Every person got 2 plates of rice and there was a bowl of soup with some bitter vegetable stuffed with pork, there was a plate of fried fish and there was this meat that isn't meat (gebakken boterhamworst). The girls were allowed to eat the leftovers as soon as we were finished. Our conversation was so nice that they invited me to come back tomorrow morning (8 am) to go somewhere. I didn't understand where they wanted to take me, but they were so friendly and didn't look like people who would rip me off that I decided to come back. In the evening I went to town and found some different beers than pils, I found stout which is a nice variation. Back in the guesthouse I couldn't sleep because of the music which is always very loud until 3 am, the internet wasn't working and beer is just 0,25 $ put this together and you know that I was at the bar...
This morning I stayed in bed a little longer since there is
literally nobody awake before 9 am and that also means that you cant get breakfast
within a radius of 4 km. When I woke up, I left for the port. Halfway I passed
a nice beach so I took a rest there while enjoying a piece of true paradise! I
walked along the beach before taking a rest in one of the hammocks with of
course a view on the paradise! I even fell asleep for a bit and woke up from
the sound of kids playing. They were rope skipping with a rope made out of a
lot of rubbers (elastiekjes), excellent for taking some pictures as you can see
below. Then I continued to the port of Sihanoukville, which is a big
containerpark and doesnt allow curious visitors like me. I went to a very poor
neighbourhood/ suburb (similar to what you see in movies about big
South-American cities). It was nice biking around the bad roads and I ended up
at a deserted quarry with lots of great mountainbike trails! Oh I had fun
driving around and I kept passing the same road to go up so the locals from
there were really looking strange at me
Time to go back, take a shower and go to the school where I
would start volunteering. I got a tour around and got introduced to the
problems they are having and the possibilities for me to help them out. Most of
it is PC related so its not really a problem Tomorrow Ill go back to fix
some of the pcs and to give some pc training.
this morning I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep so I drove around the beaches and into town where I found a phrasebook. Finally I found one and it isn't even a very good one: it's one from 1991 and it has no phonetics but some kind of English way of pronouncing it which mostly is wrong. I already changed a lot of the pronounciation and now I can say a few sentences in Khmer. Geared up with the book I went to a local non touristy restaurant and it took me only 5 minutes to order a noodle soup with everything on it. I had to specify the type of noodles, the meat, whether or not I wanted soyabeans,... It tasted great so with a happy tummy I went back to the guesthouse. It was only 8 am and everything around here was still closed so I couldn't leave for my trip yet.
Luckily there is internet and I studied some photoshop basics and tried them out. By 9.30 the bicycle shop finally opened and I returned the bad bicycle, went a bit further to another rental and got a good one. I also got a map of the neighbourhood with it so I was set for a trip to the waterfall. The guy at the rental gave me bad instructions which cost me a detour of 5 km through the hills but with a brilliant view on the port. Half an hour later I was so sweaty that I stopped for a fresh coconut and started a conversation with the locals (now that I have a phrasebook I better use it), they declared me crazy that I was going to the waterfall by bicycle: that is at least 15 km further he said. He even offered to take me there for just 2 dollar but I was determined to stick with the bicycle. After about an hour cruising through the oh so beautiful countryside and protected forest I arrived at the waterfall. It was huge which should be visible on the pictures...
I found a nice shelter with a hammock and view on the waterfall where I relaxed for an hour. When I got up I felt like reborn and jumped around some rocks to get better views on the waterfalls (there are more than one). For anyone who is going to Sihanoukville and can appreciate a nice waterfall you definately have to go there! The entrance fee is just 1 dollar and you should be able to arrange a motorbike with driver for about 7 or 8 dollar. On the way back I stopped for lunch in a local restaurant where I got treated like a king: I asked for some local dish with round rice noodles. The size of the plate was definately ok and then I got a big bowl of soup, some tea and a beer with it. Another interesting conversation with in the end the entire neighbourhood (at least 30 people came to look how I was enjoying my meal and trying to talk to them).
The ride back went a lot faster since I took the shortest route now, It was only 4 o: clock so I did some research about what to do tomorrow. I found a volunteering school and I went to the manager of the school to see if she has some kind of job for me. She wasn't there so I hanged around in town, I got a snack at this restaurant then main course at another one and then dessert at yet another one to kill the time and of course to enjoy the food. I went back to see the manager and we had a nice talk. I have to go to the school tomorrow to fix some pc's and to see what else I would be interested in... Sounds like fun to me.
Right now the guesthouse changed into a giant party but most of the people are stoned so I don't really feel in the mood to join them. Maybe I'll have a drink in a bit.
today I changed city: I went to Sihanoukville, THE beach of cambodia and that you can see. I entered tourism again; there are so many western people here... I checked in in a guesthouse for 1.5 $ a night with free internet, it's pretty cheap... They also have free internet which is the reason why I could update my blog again. When I arrived here after a comfortable busride the first thing I did was get a bicycle so I could explore the neighbourhood. The beach that is really closeby is not really nice and way too touristy but there is a beach about 4 km away that is quite relaxing so I'll check that one out in a few days. Then I arranged a ranger to guide me around the national park tomorrow and I headed for a late lunch. At the market they serve big dishes for almost no money. After exploring some more and updating the blog I started talking with some people from Ireland which was pretty fun, then I made some phonecalls to Belgium and went for dinner. After dinner I met some local cambodians who kept refilling my glass of beer and treating me delicacies from around here. Some of which were really nice! Now it's about time to go to bed however nothing seems to be open before 9 am so I can sleep long...
yesterday evening I got a phonecall from the tour arranger in town that there were 2 more people interested in a trip and asked if I wanted to join. It concerned a trip to a 'wonderfull' waterfall as he called it. I took a look at the pictures and agreed to join. So in the morning I woke up early to find a local breakfast which I found next to the guesthouse: rice soup with chicken. It wasn't really chicken, it was a mix of chicken skin, chicken fat and chicken intestines. The liver tasted quite good, but the fat, the skin and the feet I left in my plate while enjoying the rice and vegetables. I bought a sandwich for lunch and then I got picked up to go to the boat. The speedboat that he told we would be using was actually a small plastic boat which barely fit 4 persons with an engine attached to it. It went faster than in looked and soon we were jumping over the waves while wishing that he went a bit slower. We passed the same type of boat filled with at least 10 locals and wondered how they could fit. After an hour my ass and belly were happy that we arrived and we walked over the rocks passed the waterfall. There we went for a swim and some floating in the stream. The guide signed that it was about time to go to another waterfall closeby; it was a very beautiful one of at least 30 meter high but there wasn't that much water comming off. When we turned around we saw two more waterfalls of about 5 meter high, 20 and 40 meter wide. One of them had very clear water while the other one had the same sandcolor as the river we came from. When we asked whether we could go to the one with clear water he said he didn't know so we tried. After crowling under, over and between rocks we made it to the one with clear water. The water was very cold and had a lot of force.
We hanged around for about 3 hours before returning to the boat. On the way to the boat we saw a path leading to the mountains so we took it and ended up at a small, but nevertheless beautiful temple with a great view. The way back by boat was even bumpier than the way to get there: I had to hold on to not hop over the edge. Another great trip!!!
In the evening I wanted to call my grandmother to wish her a happy birthday but my luck ran out: the internet of the entire area was out.
today I went kayaking since I couldn't find anyone to go on a trekking with me . There are not that many tourists here besides the sex tourists... I don't want to go on a trekking with them... The concept of the kayaking was pretty easy: cross a river, go through the mangroves to a small river comming from the mountains, leave the kayak and start climbing up towards some rapids for swimming. This all under the all-seeing eye of a cambodian who can't speak nor hear... After crossing the river he let me know that he was tired and wanted a rest, ok the river was pretty wide but still... He knew his way around the mangroves pretty well and soon I lost all sense of direction. Then at once around a corner there was a small river comming down a mountain and after avoiding some rocks he parked the kayak and led the way up the mountain. Now I had a pretty hard time to catch up, he jumped from one slippery rock to the other! great sense of balance but I couldn't do it, I always had to find some place to hold on to. It was sooo beautiful! Finally a place without trash and it was so quiet, that's the advantage of someone who can't speak. I enjoyed a little swim in the rapids. Then we had to go back and again he was so fast on the land so I used a little more speed on the kayak. This time upstream and there were waves now which made it pretty difficult to go and the kayak got a lot of water. In the middle of the river he got out of the kayak and told me to do the same, luckily it was only half a meter deep. We emptied the kayak and continued. It was high tide so we could go trough the maze of creeks to make a final tour. A great trip, but kayaking at 35 °C makes you sweaty...
Another travelling day: the plan was to get
up pretty early, leave with the cousins to Mo Chit BTS station and then go to
Ekkamai where I could get on a bus to Trat. It went pretty smooth: I woke up at
5.30, left the house at 6.45, took the bus at 8.30 and arrived in trat around 2
pm. The busride was really comfy: it was only 1/3 full so I got plenty of
space, there was free water, cookies and coke, I got a blanket and I could
sleep pretty well. Once in Trat, some people were arranging a taxi to the
border so I changed my plans and went with them. The e-visa that I got a few
days before, works perfect and is pretty cheap compared with all the extras
you have to pay the officers if you dont have a visa. So if you ever want to
go to Cambodia,
check out the e-visa! I got dropped of at a nice guesthouse where I am still
staying: they have free wifi but it aint working and I am not allowed to fix
it There is also a nice swimming pool and they have a good banana pancake for
breakfast. I found a bicycle to rent for the next day and I got pretty tired so
I went to bed early.
The 11th of September
After a good night sleep and a morning swim
I picked up the bicycle and went to the mangroves: they have the second largest
mangrove forest of Asia here! I got some
directions where to go, how vague they are I still managed to get there through
deserted land. It was beautiful but damn hot and I got to the mangroves all
sweaty! I went on the elevated walkway but it wasnt quiet: I was being
followed by a group of Chinese who (as always) make a lot of noise and pose
everywhere. After a while they finally went on another route and I could enjoy
the quietness of the jungle. There were spiders, crabs and birds everywhere.
When I was on the watch tower I heard a big splash and when I turned around I
saw the splash. I asked the locals what it was and they signed it was a
crocodile that caught a fish. I went to take a closer look and yes there was a
crocodile, but I didnt see any fish. I was happy to be on the elevated walkway
and to be sure I quickly got away. I finished the walk and went on my bicycle
again. This time I took a detour through the fishermen village, a lot of
children said hello and it cheered me up. I tried to hire a fisherman and his
boat to go through the mangroves, but that was more difficult than it seemed.
Apparently during noon they prefer to take a nap instead of making some money. No
problem, I just kept on driving through the deserted land and made another
detour so that I didnt have to go the same way back. On the way I met a bunch
of boys who were picking shells and then washing them so I stopped to look and
they invited me to join them. I helped them a bit and then they started a fire.
The roof was broken down to make a grill and the shells were fried on top. The
boys had some sauces with them and I got a private servant who taught me how to
see when the shell is ready and which sauce goes with which shell. Different
sizes have different taste It was delicious but I think I will have some digestion
problems in a few days
At night I went to Paddys bar, apparently
the place to be if you are not looking for sex tourism and more into
ecotourism. A couple of English speaking locals can arrange any kind of trip
for you. I had a nice chat and some cheap drinks 50 cent for a 33 cl beer
The 6th of September Patchara
had to apply for her visa again so we got up early and left for the center. We
were there before opening hours, but there were already quite some people
queuing. When the application was finished we went to siam museum,
once we were there we found out that it is closed on Monday After a quick
brainstorm about what to do, we decided to go to wat Arun (aka the temple of
dawn), a ferry brought us there and up the temple we went. We got hungry so we
went looking for a restaurant, on the way to the restaurant we saw an arrow
pointing to another wat. We still had some time so further on we went, exploring
the western bank of Bangkok.
We passed a temple for king Taksin. A ferry brought us back to the eastern bank
where we had some dessert and then met up with Kamrob to go home.
The 7th of September we went
again to siam
museum, this time it was open and well it was worth it! One of the best museums
Ive ever visited: it is interactive, every room has a different theme and it
uses state of the art technology. We had quite a laught and enjoyed doing all
the different suff such as controlling a story by hitting on a drum, dressing
up in traditional clothes, pretending to present the news in black and white,
posing in an old car, We spend a couple of hours there and then finished our
trip with a refreshing drink.
The 8th of September we went for
a swim and relax at the intercontinental hotel but first we enjoyed dim sun for
lunch. Damn it tasted amazing! The swimming felt nice too and after the
swimming I quickly enjoyed the yakuzi kept at a constant temperature of 42 °C
and a massage shower. Too bad there was no time to try out the sauna and
vapour-bath, but thats ok. On the way back we stopped to buy Milo, a little doggy. They also bought diapers for the
dog; its so strange to see him run around with a diaper. He could barely walk
and he doesnt like to pee in it so he tries to get it off when he has to go
and then he just goes on the carpet :(.
The 9th of September
Today
we took the songthaew to the supermarket together with the cook. I needed new
sandals because they were breaking down. And yes, there were sandals, they even
were in sale! We saw an ice-skating rink in the mall and wanted to go, but we
were not wearing the right clothes so we first went back home to change. On the
way home we met up with Patcharas mom to have lunch The ice skating was really
a lot of fun and Patchara is getting better at it, the funniest was that it was
full of really good skaters and then we were trying to avoid falling. In the
evening we had to pass by the vet for Milo, he
had a bad cough and needed a check-up
This morning we woke up late and didnt want to get out of the way too comfy bed, but then we wouldnt be able to go swimming so... The pool was rather cold but in a city as Bangkok that is quite ok. After swimming we enjoyed a little work-out in the fitness centre and by the time we were done, we got picked up by Patchara and her mother. We had a small lunch at Paragon and then went for a tea/ dessert buffet in another fancy hotel. Afterwards we went to check in at intercontinental (yes the hotel from the lunch buffet the day before). At night Patchara joined us to go clubbing, pretty interesting to see how the Thai dance while enjoying a cocktail. After a while we wanted to go back but we couldnt reach Kamrob (the driver), we looked around in the street, at nearby parking lots, Patchara called her mom who then also tried to call Kamrob without any success. As a final attempt we walked to the back of the club where we found the car with a sleeping Kamrob inside. I hope he didnt get punished for it, I found it pretty amusing. Halfway we took a taxi to our hotel where we enjoyed a night in the comfortable beds.
Saturday 4th of September
In this hotel breakfast was included, it was about the same size as the lunch from 2 days before but then with breakfast dishes. I enjoyed it to the fullest, 2 hours later I was really full and wanted to go swimming but I was too full for that. So I decided to take a rest and then I could go swimming! You can already imagine that lunch was not necessary In the afternoon we went to MBK so that Kevin could finish his shopping and then we went to Piampongsant residence for dinner. Kevin freshened up and then we brought him to the airport, I got a room at their home for a few days so I went back with Patchara.
We woke up early today so that we would still be able to go wakeboarding before the ferry left. After a pretty bad breakfast and a very expensive taxi, we got to the store that organised wakeboarding. They had to wake someone up and he told us that the water was too low to put the jetski in the water so we couldnt go wakeboarding. Kevin took a class of kiteboarding instead: he learned about the wind, the setup of the kite, how to control a kite and finally how to bodysurf with a kite. Soon it was time to go to the ferry, this time not the speedboat but just a dirty old slow boat. On the mainland we were pushed in a bus, half an hour later we had to leave at a travel agency. Everyone got picked up except for us, but when I started to think that something went wrong, a driver showed up and off we went. He picked up a few boys on the way and finally stopped at a house in a suburb. We had dinner, played cards with the locals and then got on our VIP bus. The bus was slightly overcrowded so we had to sit with 8 others in the karaoke room (without light or karaoke) With a painful ass we reached Khao San road in Bangkok around 6 in the morning and went looking for a bus to Piampongsant residence. There was not much traffic so after about 1.5 hour we reached their home and Sup was waiting for us, we freshened up and then left for the airport to say goodbye to Sup.
We were getting hungry again and that was a good thing because for lunch we were going to a buffet at Intercontinental (a very fancy buffet with a lot of yummie stuff). After lunch we checked in at another very fancy hotel with a nice 5 star ranking ;-). Then it was time to do what we were in Bangkok for: shopping! In the evening we enjoyed a movie with some whisky and chips, dinner wasnt necessary after such a lunch.
Today we split up: I would go mountain
biking while Kevin will try some diving. We got up around 8, which was too
early to get breakfast in our resort and so we looked around for a different
place. The bamboo restaurant was the first one that we saw open and thus we
went there, the price/quality is really bad so I was still hungry but I would
have another breakfast on the way. Back in our resort there was some life going
on and I got a lock for my bike. After just 3 minutes biking I realised that
the beach is the lowest point of my trip and that the hills are really steep
around here but up I went! A bit further I went off the road towards a hotel
with a beautiful view, again I realised that viewpoints are always on the hill
and thus up I went. This time it was really steep and long, I needed a break I
almost gave up but then I saw the first house and well I have to say it was
totally worth it: up there I had an amazing view over the private beach of this
resort (I wouldnt go there, you are all sweaty if you have to climb all the
stairs up to this hotel), an island only attached to the main island at low
tide, some mountains that are a bit higher than the one I was standing on, Time
to go down and go to the next town, this one is a bit bigger so I found a nice
local restaurant with a special dish. It was boiled noodles with 3 different
sauces, but the sauces had to be mixed. They didnt understand the word spicy
and just said no to all of them. Well there was one which was really, really
spicy, so my mouth was burning while I continued further into town. A seven
eleven caught my eye and I went in for yoghurt to cool down my burning mouth
and bought some water. My legs were getting lazy so it was time to get up a
hill again; there was a sign to Khao (mountain) Ko viewpoint and bar: looked
interesting so I followed the dusty path which became a rocky path which became
really steep, which ended in the middle of nowhere so I left my mountain bike.
A small trail covered by plants lead further upwards and after another 20
minutes walking I saw a bar and yes there was someone who served me a cold
sprite. The bar had indeed a nice view over some beaches and some other small
islands. Enough rested and I could go down again, I dont like going down with
a bicycle, it was pretty scary but I made it. The next stop was a Chinese
temple with another nice view. I went further but after a while I got tired of
the main road and turned left onto a small trail. Bam, the sound scared me a
little, but made me curious so I went towards the sound, bam, I drove a little
faster, bam Then I saw it: an old woman was picking coconuts and the bam was
the sound of them falling on the ground. I asked to take a picture and she
agreed with a smile, a bit later she asked if I wanted one. Well, a fresh
coconut never killed someone (or maybe if it would fall on my head) so I agreed
and she threw one to me. I said I couldnt open it so she yelled to someone who
came running towards me with a big knife and cut it open. Then she gave me a
straw and oh it tasted good, when I asked how much I owed her she just replied
free for you, you need water for cycling. I gratefully accepted and finished
my coconut before moving on. I drove around on different trails trough the
jungle for a bit more than an hour before ending up at a dead end with a house.
People were eating there and asked if I were hungry, well I was and they
invited me to join them for lunch. It tasted very good and when I asked how
much I owed them they replied free for you, coincidence? I was happy and
continued to a national park, no vehicles allowed so I went further on foot.
The first stop was a waterfall, but it didnt rain the last couple of days and
thus there was no water, pretty strange to see a sign waterfall and then just
see rocks without any water. Next stop was another waterfall and yet again it
was dry so I moved quickly to the viewpoint, this was the best viewpoint of the
day. A couple of rocks created an open space from where you could see half the
island and the maritime national park (something like Halong Bay in Vietnam).
Impressive! After the national park I went to the two busy beaches where I
asked for information about kitesurfing, wakeboarding and how to get to Bangkok
tomorrow. It was now around 5 and I was 10 km and a couple of mountains away
from our room so I had to go back I had an amazing day but I am very exhausted
now!
When I got back, I found Kevin having dinner in
the restaurant here. He also had a very nice day. Kevin: I started my day
asking around where I could go diving today, after a long search there was one
diving school (Pirate divers, I like the name) that could give me a lesson in scuba
diving in the afternoon. The other ones didnt want to use their boat for one
guy, but that wasnt a problem for this one since they dont use a boat, they
start from the beach. The diving was at 3 pm and it was still a bit after 10
am, so I asked if I could do something else besides diving, like kiteboarding
or something else. But he said there wasnt enough time, the only thing I could
do was swimming or snorkling, so he gave me some snorkling equipment and off I
went. After an hour or so I was a bit hungry, so I went back to the restaurant,
waited a bit and went back snorkling for another hour, once I got back I still
had a bit time left so I took a small relaxing nap. Once 3 oclock I went to my
diving instructor, he explained me the equipment and what we would do. After
that we took our equipment and walked to the beach (it was only 5 minutes
walking). First he started explaining some basic skills I had to master before
diving: How to inflate and deflate my BCD (the jacket were I can put air in);
How to clear my mask if its full of water; REG clearing and recovery (REG is
the thing I breath with); equalisation techniques.After showing me these techniques once and
doing these techniques once, we went off diving a bit. It was great, the reef
was beautiful, with a lot fishes with all kinds of colours (blue, yellow,
black, white, sandy colour, ) and different sizes, I didnt find any fish that
was bigger than 1 meter Ive also seen a little seasnake, at least I think it
was a seasnake, it looked like one (one big swimming tail). Suddenly there was
this jellyfish and without further hesitation I started using a special move I
call the matrix move to avoid the jellyfish hitting me, it worked! On the
ground there were these holes, didnt know why they were there, but while
checking them out for a while, I found a hole with something in it, after a
closer look I saw a shrimp!, he was quite scared, after he saw me he jumped
back in his hole, poooof At a dept of about 5 meters I started to have
problems with my ears, so we went slowly back up again, it was time anyway.
Once up I was sad it was already over, so he gave me a few more minutes, within
those few minutes extra I also saw a little eel, which was quite adorable.
Anyway I went back to the beach and received a little paper called dive log.
After all that diving and snorkling I was hungry again and went to the restaurant
At 4.30 am our bus arrived at Chumphon where we had to wait
until 7 to board the boat to the islands. We had a speed-catamaran which flew
over the water while passing some small islands. After about an hour we arrived
at the first island but almost immediately we left again for the next one: Koh
Tao. Here it took a bit longer since there were a lot of people getting off and
other people getting on the boat. After a bit more than an hour we arrived at
our island: Koh Pha Ngang, there were less people getting off here but enough
so that we could bargain for the taxi. On an island everything is more
expensive, especially transport: normally a songthaew is between 20 and 80 baht
each for a ride of 10 km. Here they all said 200 baht and it was very hard to
get a discount until we were with 6 people going to about the same part of the
island and he wanted to go for 100 baht each. The driver took a racing class
when he was young: with our backpacks just lying loose on the top of the car he
was driving crazy. Every turn I though that the backpacks would fall off, but
no, he even went faster because nothing happened. Soon we arrived at Haad
Salad, where we found a cheap resort with nice rooms called Smilebeach resort.
With that name there can never be a problem and so it was: the rooms are basic
but clean with a fan and a decent bathroom. After lunch we went to some shops
where I reserved a mountainbike for the next day, Kevin bought swimming pants
and together we bought a Frisbee to play in the water. And then it was time for
swimming! The beach here is amazing, the water is sooo clear, the sand white
and it is refreshing. The beach could be taken directly out of a commercial,
the only problem is that the water here is really salty and your eyes hurt
after a while. Kevin was really tired and took a nap before dinner for about
1.5 hour and directly after dinner. He was not feeling well I had time to
catch up with the diary for the blog and could then go to bed as well.
The 29th we crossed the border again into
Thailand, this wasnt as easy as it was supposed to be. The 28th we
booked a bus ticket to Bangkok with pick-up at our guesthouse. Apparently the
one that had to pick us up didnt know the guesthouse and just went back so we
were waiting. Finally we called to ask where the pick-up had been and they told
us to come to the office so we would leave from there. The bus we shouldve
been on was already gone and we were pushed in another one, for us not really a
problem. We met a nice Cambodian woman who was studying for her drivers licence
while she was on the way to the Bangkok hospital. She gave us each a fireball
(candy) to try, the name isnt stolen: it was a spicy candy and Kevins face
showed weird shapes and turned red from time to time. At the border we had to
wait for quite a while and after we were trough we had to wait for some more
people from another bus. Then after a short walk we were pushed into a
songthaew with way too many people. But it was just for a short ride: after 10
minutes we were dropped of at a restaurant where we had to wait for yet another
group but at least we could have lunch!
The second bus was rather slow and it took us really long to
get to Khao San road in Bangkok, in total we travelled 12 hours while the ride
from BKK to Siem Reap was only 8 hours. We went back to our previous
guesthouse and were followed by 6 more people who needed a guesthouse. I didnt
get any reduction for bringing them there :(.
The 30th was a morning to plan the next part of
our trip, we chose to go to Koh Pha Ngang by bus and boat. We would leave the
same evening but for lunch we had an appointment with Supinya and Patchara. We
had barbeque at BarBQ in Siam and for desert we went for 2 big ice-creams, in
total 17 scoops and chocolate fondue and some fruit + whipped cream of course.
Kevins favourite meal from the entire trip Then we went to a barber shop to
get me a new haircut and afterwards we sang Karaoke! A fun day in Bangkok but
we had to rush through traffic jam in order to get to our bus in time.
After a long night sleep we decided that we were going to
the landmine museum 30 km outside of Siem Reap. We arranged a good Tuk Tuk
taxi: he took over a lot of other tuk tuks and we got there in about 30
minutes. The museum itself is impressive, educative and shocking; very
shocking. It was established in 1997 by former Khmer Rouge child soldier Aki
Ra. After fighting for the Khmer Rouge, he changed side and fought together with
the Vietnamese and Cambodian army. After the war he began to de-mine, he is now
very skilled and the museum has 50.000 decommissioned weapons. All cleared by
himself, he says that he had cleared around 300 mines in one day. There is also
a video that shows how he defuses mines and other explosives; he uses a wooden
stick and a knife, very impressive and completely crazy! Another part of the
museum contains army stories and stories from children that live in the relief
facility which is part of the museum. There are stories that are really
chocking but I wont go into that much detail here; if you want to know them,
youll have to go and visit the museum or you can send me an e-mail and I can
share some of them. There is a sketch of the wooden stick method on photo.
After the museum we went back to Siem Reap where
we visited a butterfly garden where I enjoyed a coconut, Kevin didnt like it
that much but he went crazy with the camera. A few of his creations are shown
below.
the plan for today is a temple marathon: we got up (Kevin: way too early) at 4 am to go and see the sunrise at Angkor Wat, it was way too crowded but the sunrise was very nice. The pictures mostly failed, but I blame the camera, all the others had very fancy cameras. We continued past Ta prohm kel, which is totally not impressive at all but had a nice view and it was our second temple so ok, to Phnom Bakheng. Phnom Bakheng is a hill with a temple on top, it's THE spot for sunset watching but this means that it's way too crowded at that time. We took the long way up, it took for ages and Kevin was complaining that it was way to early. When we went down we found the elephant path without elephants which was a lot faster.
Baksei Chamkrong means 'bird with sheltering wings' if it's supposed to look like that, it totally failed. This temple looks like a square piramid with a typical Khmer Sanctuary on top, the stairs are quite steep and erosed which made it hard to climb. We biked further to Angkor Thom, but on the way we passed a little temple called Bei Prasat, Kevin asked me to take a picture of every temple we passed so that we could say that we've visited them all. This one was not worth a long visit, but there was a nice prao on the river which looked photogenic. Next is Angkor Thom, the biggest complex!
We entered trough the south gate and arrived first at the Bayon, this was pretty nice because the temple gets very crowded during the day. This temple is the one with the many four faced towers, one of the most amazing temples in Angkor. After walking trough the alley's for a bit more than an hour Kevin was sick of it and wanted to go to Baphuon. Baphuon is a huge square temple with a declining Buddha figure in the back, currently this temple is under reconstruction by the French which makes it impossible to visit. We decided to make a little detour in the jungle to visit Phimeanakas. This temple is only accessible from the backside so that it's less touristy and very nice to visit. It was also the perfect time for a break to drink and eat a bit, the view was astonashing if you didn't look at the reconstruction which is everywhere. You had to sacrifice a bit to get the nice view: it was really hot and there was almost no shadow. We finished our detour while passing some reconstruction in progress, which was apparently restricted access... :o but we didn't see any sign. The reclining Buddha was not very clear due to the reconstruction, Kevin only saw some rocks but it was there!
It was getting time for lunch so we continued passed the terrace of the Elephants and came into an area full of souvenir sellers and girls with menus for the restaurants. Time to buy a lonely planet, some water and to go and eat. This was the first Thai souvenir experience for Kevin and he didn't really like it. Maybe it was because he didn't have enough sleep (that's just his excuse, a guy of our age should be ok with 3 hours). After lunch we went to some temples that aren't touristy, they had something mysterious about them. I had to take the lead since there were quite some spiders around but Kevin had to take the lead when we strayed of the path since I'm afraid of mines :p.
Now it was time to get on our bicycle again and go discover some more! For this we stopped at Krol Romeas, something completely different: it looked like an arena but it was actually an enclosure for animals. The explanation made it less impressive than we thought! Next we went to another big complex: Preah Khan, one of the most inspiring carvings to be found in Angkor and some nice trees for Kevin. He also had fun photographing some butterflies while I was checking out the visitor centre. The carvings illustrate many wars and victories of Jayavarman VII to impress his people and to be remembered in history. I have to say that he is being remembered so good job Jayavarman!
We went off the road onto a small dustroad going to Banteay Prei and Prasat Prei. They are two less touristy complexes but still in good shape and they give a nice impression on how the ruins are without restoration. But not as impressive as the big ones! So off to again something completely different: a complex of 13 pools of which 5 have been restored. The one in the middle houses a small sanctuary surrounded by 2 nakha's with strangled tails and the pool in the west still has an elephant fountain which looks really cute!
Next was a 'normal' temple complex: Krol Ko, we now say that it is normal, but if this would be the only temple around here, we would think it is amazing and brilliant! Next one was Ta Som, which features nice devata sculptures in the Gopura's. So after a short visit we went to East Mebon: a giant impressive structure with elephant and lion ornamental statues in the corners. Also the Frontons were nicely ornamented with detailed carvings. On the top we finally had a nice breese to cool down, it almost felt like air conditioning.
Now it was time for a long bicycle ride to Banteay Samré, the bicycle ride drove us through a nice village and beautiful rice paddies! At the temple we got overwelmed by souvenir salesmen (mostly children and some elder women). According to me and the book, this temple almost reaches perfection: there are a lot of carvings which I decyphered using the guidebook. I really liked the dancing shivas in a fronton on the western gopura of the second enclosure. I was taking quite long and Kevin already went back by bicycle (he was really slow since he was getting tired). I met him again at Pre Rup: another giant square piramid like temple however not that high. There are almost no carvings on the walls but the structure itself is amazing on its own.
We were running out of time and we still had to do Ta Prohm: the famous temple with the trees from Tomb Raider. A paradise for Kevin (with a capital K!) who took a lot of pictures of lots of trees. While totally discarting the brilliant carvings on the walls. On the way back we wanted to take a different route so we went of the track while following a trail and when we got back at the entrance we had to climb over a rope which said 'No Access' on the other side... Strange to say the least. The second time this happened to us and people looked really strange at us but we didn't know!
We passed Banteay Kdei while on our way to buy paintings at Angkor Wat. My mom made a reservation for 2 Buddha faces and thus we took our time to buy them. It took us more than an hour, so that the sun was already going down and it was completely dark when we got back in our guesthouse.
early in the morning the train arrived in Bangkok (5.50 am), the plan was to find a travel agency as soon as possible and get to ArranyaPrathet to cross the border with Cambodia and from their on to Siem Reap! We took a tuk tuk to Khao San road since there are the most travel agencies, none of them were open before 8 am and you really should leave before 8 am if you want to get to Siem Reap at a decent time. The border can be a bit time consuming and staying for the night in Arranyaprathet is not that much fun. So we asked around and there was one guy with a private taxi that could take us to a TAT (tourist authority thailand) near the trainstation... Let's say everyone makes mistakes. Anyway, when we got there all of them were closed so he called them and they opened the door in their pyjamas. They arranged us a minibus that would take us at 7 am so a bit later we were on our way.
The boarder crossing here is really corrupt and very crowded so we followed the group and arranged our visa at a specialized restaurant. The same one I used last year. After 10 minutes they came back with our visa and everything was ready, normally if you do it on your own you have to wait at least 2 hours and on average 5 to 6 hours. I will try this the next time I cross the border...
Two german people joined us to cross the border (they were also in the minibus) and everything went smooth, a bit later we were stuck in the bus station again. I asked him several times if the bus would be ready and we already paid for it, he always said yes but when we got there he said we had to wait for more than 2 hours and that the bus would take about 4 hours. This would mean we miss a free evening in the Angkor ruins. The germans agreed that we should try to get different transport and we arranged a taxi by paying a bit extra. The taxi was a fast ride: he never drove slower than 110 km an hour, in these countries that is unusual.
Once we arrived in Siem Reap we checked in at Baca house: a guesthouse that is owned by a dutch guy who is also doing development work in a village nearby. We also arranged a tuk tuk to bring us to Angkor wat for sunset and finally got something to eat. Breakfast was cornflakes without milk, lunch we didn't have so I was really hungry. Kevin ordered a hamburger and french fries but he said something was wrong with it so he barely ate.
For the sunset most people go to a hill with a temple on top called Phnom Bakheng, but we didn't want to go to the crowded place. Instead we went to Angkor wat, which was really nice because it's always very crowded except for the sunset. We first looked around a bit and when we were at the inner site of Angkor wat some kind of a tour guide approached us and said with a wink: 'You want to go up?' We replyed that of course we want to go up, but that it is restricted for tourists and that it is a real pity. He replyed: 'You pay me little money, I know police, I can take you up to go and look.' With that sentence he got my attention so we started negociating about the price and when we were both happy we went up. He first put out his shirt that said he was an official from there and then he ducked and walked past some fences and lead the way up. We had to duck too, it was exciting, of course we followed the reconstructed stairs and were careful not to break nor touch any carvings or stones. After an amazing tour we went back down and sat and a quiet spot with a nice view on the sunset.
In the evening we actually planned to go to bed early and get up and 4 to see the sunrise in the temples again. This plan changed when a chinese showed up and we started talking and after a while we made plans to go for a drink in town. We found a nice cocktail bar and it was getting late before we knew. Next morning 4.00, that will hurt.
this might be a bit long, but it's well worth it! It was a great day!!!
4.00 am, BZZZ the alarm went off and we could enjoy a nice
hot shower. Yes you are reading it correctly: the water heater was working!!!!
Despite it being so early we were in a good mood: we would visit one of the
most beautiful national parks in the world! At a bit past five the woman from
the guesthouse woke up and gave us the motorbike so off we went. It was still
dark so we drove very carefully which also made us miss the sunrise. Kevin
could enjoy it from the back but I had to pay attention to the road L, I had to avoid a lot
of dogs who have the habit to sleep on the road. Sometimes I just wanted to
drive them over but that would have meant a crash for us so I nicely braked
whenever I saw one. We had a crappy breakfast at a local restaurant and went to
the national park where the Ranger sold us a childrens ticket. We felt so
young again! The first stop was a rock formation and it was a damn beautiful
one as you can see on the picture. A trail led to a viewing point in the back,
the ground had some cracks, we wanted to jump over until we saw how deep it
was: it was at least 8 meter deep. This time I saw it too so its not a mistake
of Kevins geometry. We decided to find a less deep place to cross (still about
4 meter) and carefully stepped over it. The viewing point itself was not that
impressive however the end of the sunrise made it a bit mysterious and we
enjoyed. It was already worth the trip just to see this. We went back to the
motorbike and followed a bus full of Thai women to the visitor centre.
Pha Taem is not only the name of the national park but its
also the name of the cliff where you have a very nice view over the Mekong, a
sunrise and just any nature. We tested if Kevin was afraid of heights and let
him stand on the edge: in Thailand they dont have fences or anything so you
can just run off if you want. This is not really advisable; you probably wont
be ably to try it again. When we walked on the trail and got down to the bottom
of the real cliff we saw that it was REALLY high and it was more than
vertically down. Its pretty hard to explain the beauty and the measures in
words but I hope you get a small idea, if not just scroll down to the pictures
maybe they can help. We found a railing to help you on the slippery path but
again, it wasnt advisable to use this one. It wasnt loose no no, it was just
the home of giant red ants that can really bite and dont let go! The path
continued to the prehistoric (3000-5000 years old) paintings on the cliff; this
national park doesnt only contain natural beauty, its also the home of the
oldest paintings in Thailand. Like the Thai that were following us, we took a
picture or two. A bit further we lost the Thai but then we got some other
company: there was a snake crawling half a meter from our feet. A nice
situation to show the differences between Kevin and me. I: Ooh: snake! Be
carefull. Kevin: Ow nice, lets follow it and take a picture. I: you dont even
know whether its poisonous or not, no! Leave it alone and get going. Kevin:
Ah, its not poisonous and if you have a picture its ok, they have an
antidote.
We are still alive and well so you know that he followed my advice
and we proceeded to the next spot: more paintings! On the way Kevin didnt want
to take the lead any more, there were spiders and he got afraid. I think he is
really strange: hes not afraid of a snake (50% chance its poisonous), not
afraid of heights but he doesnt dare to walk between 2 trees without making
sure there is definitely no spider. So I had to take the lead again. After a
nice tour we got to the end of the paintings and went up the cliff for the way
back. The sky was blue now and thus perfect for pictures, there were some nice
rock formations that suited as a background. The way back was way shorter but
we had some trouble with our motorbike: it didnt want to start. The Thai
people had to help us and vroom vroom we took off again. This time to a
waterfall and another rock formation close by: the path didnt see a lot of visitors
and lets just say that there wasnt really a path. In the beginning there were
some rocks signing a way to go but after 30 meter they disappeared. We followed
our ears to guide us to the waterfall which actually wasnt that exciting; ok I
admit that it was different but it was just 3 meter high. The special thing
about this waterfall was the way that it created holes in the stone, it made
its own slide into the pool below. After looking around there for a bit and
trying to find something spectacular we gave up and went to look for the rock
formation. Again there was no path to be found so we had to follow our
instinct, we had a nice switching of leading the path though. When there was a
tree around so a chance on spiders, I had to take the lead, when there was
grass I kindly let Kevin pass. This was the landscape that you see on
television when they are looking for snakes, Im not really afraid of them but
I think its common sense to avoid them. We did agree that as soon as one gets
bitten, the other one first takes a picture before really helping. This to make
sure that the doctors can identify the snake and get the correct antidote, not
because for some crazy guy this would be cool.
The rock formation was also not really that impressive, the
first one was way nicer, however this one looked a bit cute. It was really fat
with a big flat stone on top.
It was still quite before noon so we decided to go to a
waterfall which was mentioned in the lonely planet. It was a drive of 19km but
by now Im pretty used to driving a motorbike and we had a nice ride. The waterfall
itself was nice but it wasnt really worth the effort: you could get a view
from a pagoda but that was pretty far away. We took the guidebook again and
there was some mention about a path on top of the waterfall and at the bottom
of the waterfall. We went looking for a path down and yes there was one however
it was an artificial stairway . Down there we had some fun at the rocks,
especially Kevin, who was jumping like a monkey but it got a bit boring and
Kevin went up higher and higher so I had to follow and take pictures. We were
getting pretty high and there was some kind of sign however it was Thai so we
didnt know what it said. I suggested that we could take this way up the book
said that there was a road on top and there was a sign here, makes sense no?
Kevin didnt mind at al because the stairway had a lot of spiders. So we went
up till a moment were we didnt really find a path anymore which you can see on
the picture, then we found some holes in the wall like a climbing wall. These
holes were made artificially so it seemed like a path, the whole time Kevin was
a lot more comfortable climbing and jumping from rock to rock until this point.
He doesnt like holes, since there can be spiders and bugs and other things you
cant see in them. So from that point on, I could catch up with him. Afterwards
we realised that we probably should have used some more safety, at least I used
a helmet, but Kevin didnt
When we got back to Khon Jiam we checked the
train hours and saw that wed have plenty of time to get to Ubon: we got back
at the guesthouse at noon and the first sleeping train leaves at 18.30. So we
took our time to go and get lunch and we arranged a pick-up there to drop us
halfway where we could catch a bus. The two of us kept falling asleep over and
over again so it was a pretty quick ride. We still had quite some time so we
first had a drink and a chat with an Englishman who we met on the bus and was
going to Bangkok as well. After a while we went into the city to go shopping
and find an internet bar, we got a private guide with a gun: there was a nice
police officer who led us around town in search for an internet café. We felt
very safe since the safety pall was still on, however he had some problems with
his foot (maybe shot it before ).
Monday evening we were planning our trip to Cambodia and
Ubon for the next few days, but there was one little problem, Kevin didnt have
any passport-photos for his visum. He started searching for a photographer,
with his knowledge of Thai he started asking for directions, it took a while
but he finally found one, closed Next one then, also closed Eventually he
found a family sitting outside who were so friendly to help him find one. A guy
from the family told him to get on the back of his motorbike; he would bring
him to a photographer. He went to the same two as Kevin did, both closed of
course, but he didnt give up. Eventually he found another one which was still
open and so Kevin finally got his photos. When he came back, he noticed that it
wasnt that urgent: I found some information on the internet that the visa run
is easier from Bangkok. We would first go to Ubon Ratchathani, then continue to
Khong Jiam to visit Pha Taem. After that we can take a night train to Bangkok
and from there on well take a bus to Siem Reap. The next day we woke up early
(6.30 AM) to catch our bus to Ubon, but it didnt arrive. They told us that the
bus had an accident, we woke up early for nothing, and we could have slept for
another three hours. Since we didnt want to waste all the time waiting, I went
for a post office. In the bus to Ubon we had pretty comfortable seats and it
didnt take Kevin long to fall asleep. He didnt even see that I gave my place
to an old lady who was having trouble standing in the alley. For two hours the
standing was ok, but then the bus got crowded and it didnt take long before I
started feeling nauseous. In about five minutes I went from completely healthy
and fit to completely sweaty, blind, nauseous, dizy and I was even shaking.
Luckily Thai people are also friendly and as soon as they noticed they dragged
me to a seat while I was trying to move forward. Another 30 minutes later I
felt better again and I could access my backpack to get raisins. Skipping lunch
is not good for me
From Ubon we wanted to take the bus directly to Khong Jiam,
but they said there was only one bus every day and we missed it. We took a bus
to a city between Ubon and Kong Jiam: Phibun and from there on we took a tuk
tuk to finally arrive in Khong Jiam at 8 pm. We checked in and went for a drink
and dinner in a local restaurant where I got treated an extra beer by Kevin.
The entire day wed been listening to love songs and boysbands, in the restaurant
it was exactly the same so we made a bet: if the next 5 songs were all love
songs or boysbands I had to buy Kevin a drink if not, he would buy me one. I
asked if I could change the song and I found 199 love songs and songs for a
boysband, but there was one other song. I put it on and well it was a lot of
laughter, the title is: Happy Birthday and the beer was mine!!!
Tomorrow well go to Pha Taem, I hoped for a
blue sky so that it would be even more beautiful, Kevin didnt agree: Then
its way too hot! The woman from our guesthouse suggested to wait another day
since it would rain tomorrow. Nevertheless we reserved a motorbike (Pha Taem
can only be visited by either pick-up truck or motorbike) to leave at 5 am.
Kevin said that it wouldnt rain, we didnt have any rain when we were about to
visit something.
this morning we woke up early to go to the morning market in town, a shower was necessary to wake me up after about an hour sleep. Showering is done by pooring water over your head, it's something else than what we are used to. On the morning market we witnessed the skinning of paralized fish: they hit the fish with the broad side of the knife so that it looses consciousness and then they scrape off the skin, after that they cut the fish open and get the intestines out. I hope you are not about to eat now...
When we got back she told us that we could pick the mushrooms for breakfast, she grows them herself which is pretty interesting to see. After that we couldn't help her anymore and she sent us away for a walk. Patchara and I left first and apparently she also told Sup to go for a walk, so everyone who understands English was gone except for Kevin. He managed to ask where we were and Sup got a displeased Kevin to join her walk. When we came back breakfast was ready and what kind of breakfast: fried mushroom, french fries, sticky rice with fried dried beef, fried fish, 2 types of soup,... We really enjoyed that breakfast!
Then we went off to see her rice paddy, apparently her soil has been tested and it's supposed to be very good to grow rice (we already knew that the taste of her rice was good from the meals that we had). On the way there we stopped at a frog farm, yes they grow frogs to eat: there is even a famous dish in the northeast which is made from spicy frog skin. I still haven't tried it but when I see it I definately will and then of course I will share the flavour with you. The walk on the rice paddy was really warm but it was well worth it, we got a very nice view and learned about the rice. When we arrived back at the house Sup wasn't with us: she stopped somewhere to look at the cows and afterwards at a machine that shifts the shaft from the rice itself. Kamrob came to get us and lead us to the machine, nothing special actually: it resembled the machine used to do the same with wheat. While we were there we got invited to see an OTOP farm, this is a self sustainable farm, we could make soap and learn about there way to keep fish, ducks, pigs, ... When we were walking in the garden, he showed us how you could see whether or not a snake is poisonous. It's a pretty strange way since you have to catch it first and then look at his teeth, I won't try it... I think the snake will bite me before I get it to open his mouth! During the walk he also picked bamboo shoots that we had to peel and cut so we could eat it afterwards. She also made some great papaya salad, which was way to spicy for Kevin... There was some miscommunication that made us have double lunch: our host had already made lunch but the ones from OTOP were also making lunch. I didn't really mind but I was really full afterwards!
It was about time to say goodbye, we still had to go to Nang Rong and there were two impressive temples on the road... The first temple we passed had giant statues, a magnificent view and a museum that was interactive in this way that you could hit a lot of bells and gongs. Kevin felt free and in Rambo outfit he hit the bell! (see the picture). We got introduced to the fortune telling at the temple: you had to pick a stick from a pile and that would have a number on it, this number corresponds to a paper that has a full explanation of your future! Patchara's faith and mine are connected, while Sup had the total opposite of Patch and Kevin picked number 9 for 3 times in a row! 9 was one of the few without an english translation...
Of to the next temple, on the road I started to feel the lack of sleep and I took a nap. They stole my camera while I was sleeping and took this really charming picture of me... It felt like 5 minutes later when we arrived at the next temple, a totally different one. The abbot dreamt of making a temple completely out of glass but since he couldn't realise that, he covered his temple with glass bottles. I believe my text for today is long enough and the pictures speak for themselves.
hi all, The 21st of august we would pass some traditional villages
and go to the home of the daughter of the nanny of Patchara, which is
in a village in Si Saket.
Kevin and Sup got a nice breakfast but
when Patchara and I came to the table five minutes later, all the toast
was gone and there was no rice so we decided to go out for breakfast.
Some miscommunication between us and the driver made us miss breakfast
and got me really hungry at noon! Instead of getting breakfast, we
stopped by the silk weaving village. Kevin, Toon, and Sup enjoyed
puzzling over the workings of weaving machines, which were manually
operated by four people. Patchara was also quite intrigued, though she
might have been happier at a chicken grilling village by that point.
Dont worry, were not hungry yet. Well eat at the nearest pit stop
on the waymaybe in an hour or so, was Kevins helpful comment. As
we exited the village, Toons searching eyes and tummy led him to spot
a restaurant on the roadside not 100 meters away. He miraculously
managed to communicate to PKamrob that he wanted to eat. The driver
complied, as he probably didnt want to be in a car with a hungry Toon
and a cranky Patch. Four of us promptly ordered various kinds of
noodles, while Kevin munched away on fifteen bananas. Once stomachs
were full and tempers improved, we headed in the direction of Sri Saket. Along
the way, we stopped at a basket weaving village where a very nice old
lady let Kevin decorate the bottom of one of her baskets. Her husband
walked in and offered to teach him to make the whole thing, free of
charge, should the foreigner come back and marry his youngest daughter.
The oldest one has already been married off to a Thai-speaking American
who has since become an industrious exporter of Thai baskets. The
whole family was so kind as to chat with us while a petite
four-year-old girl, presumably the couples granddaughter, tottered
over with a bottle of cold water half her height and two wine glasses.
The old lady told us between mouthfuls of betel gum that she started
weaving everyday after school at the age of fourteen and that she is
now sixty four. When she started, a pack of raw material could be
bought for five bahts, it has since gone up to 250. With that she could
make two baskets in five to six days and sold them for 350 each. Later
on, we stopped at two different ruins. Kevin and Toon bulked at the
atrocious entrance fee of 50 bahts, and missed out on examining a
beautiful Khmer temple that was restored in the Laotian style during
the Ayutthaya period. (I hope it is obvious to the reader that Supinya
is the author of this section of the blog entry). Instead of visiting
the ruins we preferred an ice cream and yes it was delicious!
We
continued the trip by car to Si Saket, where we had quite some trouble
finding the village, Thai roadsigns aren't the best in the world. It
also seems that explaning directions is not really one of there
qualities but we got to their home so everything is ok. When we arrived
she started cooking and oh it was delicious: I really like fried rice
so I eat it quite a lot but this one was better than any I've had.
There was also fried dried beef and sticky rice for Kevin, seems that
he is starting to appreciate some of the food here. In the evening we
tried to explain them how to play rummicub with cards and we did well,
after 5 minutes of struggling Kamrob said: 'Rummicub'. He knew the game
all along... It was really fun! However it soon became time to go to
'bed': Kevin, Kamrob and Me could sleep on a mat of straw (like the
ones we use to go to the beach) which made the night pretty long and
without much sleep.
the 17th was a rainy day so I didn't do that much: I practised my photoshop skills in the morning and downloaded some software for the school. In the afternoon I was tired of sitting still and getting wet in these temperatures is not so bad so I went mountainbiking and after 10 minutes I was soaked! I got a lot of strange looks while I was passing by... In the late afternoon it stopped raining and I stopped at a beach to get a drink and a swim: I was already wet so it didn't matter anymore. Not such an interesting day but it was relaxing.
. There are not that many tourists here besides the sex tourists... I don't want to go on a trekking with them... The concept of the kayaking was pretty easy: cross a river, go through the mangroves to a small river comming from the mountains, leave the kayak and start climbing up towards some rapids for swimming. This all under the all-seeing eye of a cambodian who can't speak nor hear... After crossing the river he let me know that he was tired and wanted a rest, ok the river was pretty wide but still... He knew his way around the mangroves pretty well and soon I lost all sense of direction. Then at once around a corner there was a small river comming down a mountain and after avoiding some rocks he parked the kayak and led the way up the mountain. Now I had a pretty hard time to catch up, he jumped from one slippery rock to the other! great sense of balance but I couldn't do it, I always had to find some place to hold on to. It was sooo beautiful! Finally a place without trash and it was so quiet, that's the advantage of someone who can't speak. I enjoyed a little swim in the rapids. Then we had to go back and again he was so fast on the land so I used a little more speed on the kayak. This time upstream and there were waves now which made it pretty difficult to go and the kayak got a lot of water. In the middle of the river he got out of the kayak and told me to do the same, luckily it was only half a meter deep. We emptied the kayak and continued. It was high tide so we could go trough the maze of creeks to make a final tour. A great trip, but kayaking at 35 °C makes you sweaty...
