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.
. 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...
