Heading West

After eating our Tesco yoghurts for breakfast. Yes, Thailand really has Tesco! We headed to the farthest town to the west, Sangkhlaburi. The journey was on a nice, little aircon minibus. We met a friendly Thai lady who gave us some tips on what to see and do. The journey took us through some beautiful scenery alongside a huge lake.

When we arrived at the bus office, we spotted an English girl who looked like she was catching a bus out of town. We asked her if she knew of any good rooms and tips on what to do. She gave us some great information and she happened to live in Sangkhlaburi!

We checked out a few places to stay. The first homestay was full but the friendly lady recommended a place by the river. A lovely spot near the impressive wooden bridge and Mon tribal village, which we're going to visit tomorrow.

We headed into the centre of town, as Saturday night is the highlight of the week in Sangkhlaburi. Saturday night is what they term 'Walking Street'. A local night market with great food and entertainment. For a tiny little town, they put on a lovely evening of stalls selling local produce. The excellent music was provided by an 'older' rocker who played the guitar beautifully. Also the local children's home had a couple of bands. One for girls and one for boys. The lead singer of the boy band was superb! All donations they get go towards paying for school.

On the way home we bumped into the lady from the homestay we had visited earlier. She gave us some good tips and told us that the King's daughter is visiting the nearby Karen tribe in a few days. The Thai people really love their king and we imagine his daughter has the same respect. We may try and catch a glimpse!

The latest news from the protests in Bangkok. You may see on the news back in England that a taxi and a bus have been attacked. A student has been shot (possibly), not 100% certain. A couple of train stations have been closed and re-open soon. Tomorrow (Sunday) is when more people may be off work and will join the protests. We are far away from Bangkok (about 6+ hours) but are hearing the news via twitter from a journalist following the protests. Each night on the TV there is a fairly large concert broadcast from the protest site, which is to entertain the protesters.

Bridge over the river .... Kwai!

A long walk along the 'not so busy' streets of Kanchanaburi took us to the infamous bridge over the river Kwai.

Built by prisoners of WWII under the watchful eye of the Japanese, to transport supplies from neighbouring Myanmar (formerly Burma). The bridge cost thousands of allied soldiers their lives due to illness, disease and poor treatment.Only the outer arches of the bridge are original as it was bombed and had to be rebuilt. Many people may have read the book or seen the movie of the same name.

Later we visited the war cemetery where many of the allied soldiers are buried. A very beautifully kept cemetery and a tranquil spot to pay our respects to the young soldiers who died.

We walked into the centre of Kanchanaburi and spent the afternoon trying many different Thai dishes. From beautifully prepared duck to a tasty mix of noodles. Oh ... and a snack on a stick, coated in shredded coconut! Yummy!

The train to Kanchanaburi

This morning we needed to travel from one side of Bangkok to the other. That would have been easy but unfortunately the area we need to pass through, is where the protests are!

So, to avoid the masses we go around. First we take a 45 minute boat ride, standing like sardines, where overloaded would be a understatement. Then we jumped on a sky train which travels above the city. Then we took yet another boat along the main river .... and finally, walked to the train! We got our tickets, then went off in search of lunch. We ate some 'hot' Thai noodles and finished off with a special treat of deep fried bananas.

The train journey took 3 hours through lush countryside, eventually arriving in Kanchanaburi. We found a cheap room, immaculately clean. The highlight of the hotel being .... a swimming pool! We checked in, then took a dip in the refreshingly cool pool! What a treat!

Thailand

Today we checked out of the hotel, had our breakfast and sadly left Cambodia!

We caught a flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok with Air Asia. We enjoyed the view from the plane over the local countryside. However, we think if we'd been allocated seats on the other side of the plane, we may have had an ariel view of Angkor Wat.

We arrived in Bangkok and all went smoothly with passport control. We caught the train from the airport to the centre and walked to the river then ... the heavens opened! We sheltered from the downpour under one of the piers for the river boats. We found out that we could not catch a boat there so had to walk to the next pier through some really interesting backstreets.

Eventually we caught a boat and travelled down the river on a fast ferry. A fun experience! We then took the sky train and the metro to where we were staying. We then had our first opportunity to sample Thai food on the trip and it was really good. Especially the tom yam soup! Highly recommend.

We have avoided the areas of the Thai protests but have heard that there are a lot of people protesting against the Government. If you look closely at the picture, in the centre, you can see the protestor's buses.

Landmine Museum

Today, we grabbed a tuk tuk and headed out to the landmine museum. It is about 25km outside Siem Reap along a road which runs past lots of beautiful countryside.

The museum was started by a Cambodian, Aki Ra, who was a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge (baddies!) He spent his childhood laying landmines!

After the Vietnamese invaded, he then began to use his knowledge of landmines to clear mined areas of Cambodia. He collected thousands of different mines, deactivated them and started the museum. Since then he has continued to clear areas of Cambodia and was awarded the CNN hero award in 2010. A pretty amazing man!

The number of people we have seen that have lost a limb through landmine explosions is truly unbelievable! Many countries have stopped producing and laying mines but there a few that continue to produce and use this horrific weapon. We were told that a landmine's job is not to kill you but to severely injure you. That way more than one person is taken out from the battle zone, as it would take 2 others to carry you off with your terrible injuries.

The small fee paid to enter the museum goes directly to a school set up by the same man. Whilst visiting small villages to deactivate mines he came across a number of innocent children who had been injured by one of the millions of live mines still hidden in Cambodia. It is estimated that at the current rate of deactivation and funding levels it will take until at least 2020 to do them all, but some people believe it will take much longer than this.

Angkor Wat

4.30 am, wakey, wakey! We had to be ready to be picked up at 5 o'clock by Mr Chin, the tuk tuk driver. We were heading to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat! Unfortunately it was a little too cloudy today... so fingers crossed for sunset!

We had a whole day to see all the main temples;

Angkor Wat
Angkor Thom
Bayon
Baphuon
Phimeanakas
Terrace of the elephants
Terrace of the leper king
Chay Say Thevoda
Thommanom
Ta Keo
Ta Prohm
Banteay Kdei

Along with the awesome Angkor Wat our other favourite was Ta Prohm. Looking a little overgrown by jungle and used in the Tomb Raider movie. It is truly a delight! In fact all of the temples were really interesting to see. Full of incredible carvings! We have taken lots of photos and will upload them soon.

The sunset was hidden by cloud yesterday but, not today. From a small temple overlooking the whole area, we watched as the sun set beautifully over the horizon. Magnificent!

Getting Prepared

First of all we moved hotels. Our room was ok, but for the same price we decided we could find one without the musty smell! And, we did, just down the road!

We looked around Siem Reap, checked-in online for our looming flight to Thailand and enjoyed some mighty fine cakes from the bakery!

In the afternoon we headed off to buy our tickets for Angkor Wat, the largest temple complex in the world, and to watch the sunset at the temple. There are so many temples in the area dating back to the 9th century. Initially Hindu but many are now Buddhist. It was too cloudy to see the sunset, so we spent the last light of the day visiting the individual temple named Angkor Wat. It is very impressive, surrounded by jungle and really huge, with many towers and beautiful Hindu carvings telling stories from the past. Today we just had time to see a tiny part before it got dark. Our ticket is valid tomorrow from .... dusk 'til dawn ... and we hope to have the sun with us all day from sunrise to sunset!

Thinking day

A lazy day today spent 'thinking'!

A man approached us in the street. He was on crutches. We noticed he had only one leg and a dirty shirt, full of holes....

Cambodia is one of the most mined countries in the world, with millions of land mines still uncleared. There is also a terrible amount on UXO (unexploded ordnance - bombs that didn't go off). It has the largest number of amputees in the world because of this...

The man in the street asked us for food, not money but food. He was hungry. But, we had none. We watched as he vanished from our view.

There was a small street stall selling sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves. We bought 2 of the neat little packets and went to look for the man. We found him, delivered the food and you could see in his eyes that he was so grateful for this small gesture...

Have a 'thinking day' and remember how lucky we really are!

Cycling around

We set off fairly early on our adventure. We wanted to visit a temple on a hill and some 'killing caves' where the Khmer Rouge were active.

The road was in good condition and on the way we saw various temples and the French built governor's house which was all very 'splendid'. We reached the bottom of the hill and were then presented with choices! 1) Attempt to cycle up the hill with no gears - virtually impossible as it was steep! 2) Park the bikes up and walk to the top which would take a further hour in the heat and it was almost midday! 3) Pay the friendly man on his motorbike $1 each to take us to the top.

Easy choice, we went by motorbike! We arrived at the top in record time fully rested to explore. A small boy aged about 7 gave us a tour of the cave explaining the macabre details. After the cave we were chauffeur driven (on the motorbike) to a temple, which we enjoyed looking around. Following this we said goodbye to Mr Motorbike and headed down via a set of very steep steps.

On reaching the bottom we really needed a drink! A shop keeper sold us a fresh coconut. The milk inside was so good and he cracked it in half for us to finish the white flesh.

Once refreshed we headed back to town and tried to find the famous Battambang bamboo train. We asked for directions at a roadside shop but ended up being invited inside to sit in the shade and enjoy some ice cold drinks. The lady was so nice, we ended up spending, spending, spending and eating half of her stock!

After a few wrong turns we found the bamboo trains and a member of the tourist police told us all about them. Basically, they are a small flat area of bamboo where around 4 people can sit. They are powered by a tiny little 'lawnmower' engine! If another bamboo train is heading towards you, you jump off and the whole thing is lifted off the tracks, to let him passed. Unfortunately, the bamboo trains may soon disappear as the train track is to be opened to big, fast (ish) trains again.

We cycled on and Darryl spotted a lady with a basket on her bike, from which she was selling something. We had to find out what! And, we did... wonderful little cakes. We couldn't resist so bought a few of each kind. They were so good so, we bought some more!

Finally we arrived home, took the bikes back and stopped at the street seller noodle man.... again! They are so good, we can't say no! Eating rest failed ...

Wandering

Today was spent wandering the streets of Battambang to see what we could find. We explained to the owner of the hotel that we would stay another night but he failed to recognise us and kept saying, "no rooms, no rooms", until we showed him our room key! He smiled showing off his sparkling gold teeth and all was ok!

We researched a walking tour and had maps to follow but we just decided to wander! We had hoped to meet our street food noodles man for lunch, but he wasn't in the spot we had found him yesterday!

We saw lots of interesting things from a giant statue of a man with a cobra to a Buddhist monk playing on his laptop at a temple.
Oh, and guess who had arrived when we got back to the hotel??? The noodle man!

You may have noticed we talk about food a lot, that's because the food here is so good! Today, we even discussed creating a restaurant guide to the world after eating 2 sensational meals of delicious local food! Tomorrow we definitely need a little 'eating' rest!

Battambang

A long bus ride again to get us to Battambang (the ending pronounced bong!) We purchased a fresh mango and pineapple at the bus station for the journey. The bus left only a few minutes later than scheduled and was fairly empty. Along the way we stopped a few times for breaks at the Cambodian rest rooms but one stop lasted rather longer.

Taking a look out of the window we could see a set of spanners lying on the ground, the driver and many passengers staring at the wheel. We were not really sure what was wrong but a consensus of opinion says ... we are broken down!

Whatever was broken was fixed and we continued our journey. The little boy in the seat infront was pulling monster faces at us for fun, so we joined in. Christine was the clear winner and wasn't even trying!

The bus driver kept us entertained for the 8 hour journey with some wonderful karaoke dvds,and 2 great kung fu movies starring Jet Lee and Jackie Chan! What more could we ask. Some of the passengers were eating lotus flower seeds which they picked up en route. That is the first time we had seen any in Cambodia and they must be a speciality of an area we passed through.

Found a small local hotel after searching for a while. The first few were full which is unusual in Cambodia. We left our bags and headed out to see what we could find.... In the centre of town we found a local market and the usual local stores. We couldn't resist trying a plate of noodles being served up by a street seller near where we were staying. Really tasty!

Rainbow

Feeling the need to stay cool, we planned a lazy day. Shared between the restaurants, bars and Internet cafes in Kampong Cham. It's a holiday here, so many places are relaxing too!

The heavens opened around lunchtime and unleashed some fierce rain but the rainbow it produced was wonderful! Darryl spotted one child, about 8 years old, taking a shower from the water that ran off of a huge shop sign. The other kids continued to fly their kites as the storm passed over. They were soaked to the skin but they didn't care!

The evening started well with a great concert which seemed to be sponsored by Redbull. Good music, great atmosphere, spotlights in the sky but ... then the rain came! We just made it inside a restautant before it absolutely poured.

Once in the restaurant we were treated to a round of singing by a Swedish tour group, we even knew one of the songs, 'Michael Row the Boat Ashore'.

We have uploaded loads of photos today, so take a peek at Asia 2...

Cooler

Today has been a fair bit cooler than usual, which is a refreshing change from the hot and humid weather! It rained first thing and has been cloudy for the whole day. Ahhh, so nice to be cold after sweating so much everyday!

We've spent most of the day enjoying the local food. We found what look like biscuits, with interesting coloured swirls, that we have never seen before. All the locals were stocking up so we grabbed a bag! They were really good...

We visited a temple which seemed to be a university for Buddhist monks. We looked around the town between showers and generally relaxed! There is usually a huge water festival starting tomorrow but due to the earlier flooding in Cambodia, the Government have cancelled it. It seems that people will still get a few days holiday and there is a stage being set up for a party tomorrow night!

Most of the tourist boats have left town so the place seems really quiet and kinda nice! We enjoyed spending the evening in a local restautant which is helping those less fortunate train in catering. Some of the money they make goes to help others too.

The bus journey

The bus left at 6.30am prompt for the long journey to Kompong Cham, Cambodia's 3rd largest city. Not really large, about 50,000 people. It was a big bus, pretty comfortable and we were the only westerners travelling.

There was the usual karaoke screen playing Cambodian music and a movie! We got quite excited when the movie started and the title flashed up on the screen, 'Rambo III'! Unfortunately, the excitement came to an abrupt end when Sylvester Stallone demonstrated he could speak fluent Khmer (Cambodian)! We were distraught, the movie was dubbed! So we slept, apart from the hourly toilet stops. One stop was a little more interesting. The bus stopped as usual, everyone clambered off, disappeared behind various bushes and then after a few minutes we left again. Not a building in sight. The road was good most of the way but half way there was a large section which was purely red dust. Our bags were covered in the stuff and we do not want to think about how much we must have we swallowed!

Eventually we arrived in Kompong Cham, a town by the Mekong River. There were a few large tour boat travelling to Vietnam and many NGO vehicles. We found a good hotel then headed out to top up on money and grab some cold drinks (cold blackcurrant tea and banana juice, both really good). We played pool at a small bar and ate at a great little restautant over looking the Mekong River.

2nd day

Woke up at 6am, as it is light in the jungle and the guides were fairly noisy preparing breakfast. Delicious noodles, snake and frog were on the menu. Not a weetabix in sight! All tasted great and the feast was washed down with coffee. The guide showed us how to make really strong rope before we left the camp.

Off we trekked through the jungle. The guide pointed out a great, big spider on its web. We carried on until lunch, where we all collapsed by a small stream. The guides made lunch which was chicken and vegetables. We choose not to eat the chicken, though it was thoroughly cooked. The reason being the guide had been carrying it in his bag since we left.... yesterday morning!

The guide taught us a jungle game with 4 sticks and we explained how the same sticks could be used for a noughts and crosses board. Leaves and stones for counters. He also set fire to the Sap of a tree which burnt incredibly well before extinguishing it instantly with leaves.

The afternoon continued with more river crossings and a visit to a farm. We then met our boat on the river bank, which whisked us off for a trip to a minority village. One of the cows in the village seemed a little upset with us visiting but as he charged he was held back by his leash. Phew! We continued walking through the village where the children either stared at us, mesmorised or they continued to ride their water buffalo to the fields. The school and well were donated by an international NGO and we saw the community hall where village meetings are held. On to the cemetery next. Each grave contained a full size wooden carving of a man and a lady plus 2 banana plants for the spirits! A really interesting place.

We returned to the boat for our trip out of the jungle. We were then picked up by the owner of the trekking company in his car. He opened the boot where he had a bucket of ice, full of cold drinks! Wow, we needed those. And that was the end of our incredible adventure!

After returning to our hotel, we booked our bus tickets for early tomorrow morning. Bye, bye Ban Lung!

Jungle camp

Up at 7 waiting for our pick up. Payed the hotel bill after the receptionist had checked with many people that we had been given the bargain price we were told!

We loaded our bags and us into the back of an open pick up and travelled for an hour along dusty tracks into the jungle. Hiding from the relentless sun was the biggest challenge! We passed many tiny villages, rice fields, water buffalo and a few egrets (birds).

After, we transferred to a long, skinny boat. It was difficult to keep the boat from toppling over and the driver was constantly bailing the water out. Most of it landing on Christine!

The boat took an hour to transport us down the river. switching from one side to the other to avid the many hazards; tree stumps, logs, sandbanks.

We disembarked from the boat at a local farm. Many of the cows and buffalo were wallowing in a deep mud bath and were totally covered in thick, gloopy mud! Walking through the farmland we saw a few huts, many farmers working in the fields and a few very nervous children. We continued on and entered the jungle where we trekked for the rest of the day. Many fallen bamboo branches and tree roots making it easy to trip. Eventually we arrived at a hill top with a view over the extensive jungle. Then, made many crossings of a small river ... some times shoes off, some times balancing across small logs (which we often slipped off and ended up with wet shoes!) Soon after we arrived at a pretty waterfall where we would spend the night. Off came our sweaty, soaking wet clothes and on went the swimming costumes. The water was great! Crystal clear and so refreshing. A well deserved break! Darryl relaxed a little too much whilst lying on the adjacent rocks and fell asleep!

Hammocks were erected, complete with mosquito nets and a tarpaulin used to protect us from any rain. The guides lit a fire and prepared our meal. Bamboo soup, or so they called it. The food was cooked inside huge tubes of bamboo which the guides had cut from the jungle. They also chopped smaller pieces of bamboo to make us each a cup. Tea was served!

Dinner was delicious and there was plenty of it! Many vegetables, a few leaves from the jungle and the all important, rice! The sun went down at about 5pm and the guide from a second group that had arrived, turned into hunter mode. He allowed us to follow with our head torches, while he hunted for food. He used a catapult made with elastic bands. He was rewarded with a huge frog and a small snake! Unfortunately, he was only carrying one stone when he discovered a huge 3m cobra, with a body as thick as an adults arm. He fired and hit the snake but as he did the snake attacked. He had no more stones for his catapult so had to retreat. The snake because it was dark, headed straight for the light, causing the guide (who was wearing a head torch) to stumble ino the water nearby! The guide did however escape, but he was very afraid. This had been a close call with a very big poisonous snake!

The evening was finalised with cooking the catch to eat in the morning. Rice wine was sampled along with a local medicine made from the jungle and good for your stomach. After discussing the days events, learning about animism (religious belief of living off the fruits of the land and river) and sharing a few camp fire stories, the hammock was calling.

All booked

We have not felt any effects of the super typhoon as it has passed far to the north of us through Vietnam. So, tomorrow we head for the jungle for the next few days! We are booked and there is no time to chicken out now!

We have been sorting out our bags to ensure we have everything we need. Especially insect repellent as the bugs are gonna bite! Hopefully we can persuade the leeches that we don't taste too good!

We have charged up the camera ready to take photos of all the wonderful wildlife we may see. We are going to have to be really, really lucky, as it is a very big jungle! There are plenty of places for the animals to hide away from us! Fingers crossed.

The Khmer restautant we visited today had an interesting 'wall of wires'. Health and safety would have loved this place!

Investigate jungle trekking

After coffee in the hotel restaurant with great views over the lake we walked into the centre of Ban Lung. The aim of today being to find out which jungle trek is the most interesting and which trekking company has the best deal!

We visited the first company, where there was a really cute puppy and a very nice restautant!

The second company had a really enthusiastic local guy who sold us some great ideas and showed us some cool photos!

Finally, we visited a third company, where a nice friendly man told us about his treks.

Decisions...decisions....decisions....

Firstly, the Phillipines has been devastated by a super typhoon and we may catch the tiny end bit of it here in Cambodia. Meaning, it might rain a lot tomorrow! So, maybe we'll delay our original start date.

Secondly, the third company has been recommended by 2 people who we went on another trip with. They enjoyed it and returned alive from the jungle. This has to be a good sign!

This evening we ate a huge 'bucket' of rice in the restaurant next door, before returning to our hotel to play scrabble! A French waiter has just told us that the restaurant will be closed for the next 2 days as they are all attending a wedding. Where is our invite?!

The Lake

First stop today is breakfast. As we are staying near the lake, we have a ten minute walk into the town before we can top up. On the way we were chased by a gaggle of geese! No idea why... the locals found it really funny!

We found a busy local spot and enjoyed noodle soup with many different types of leaves to add flavour.

Afterwards, we took a nice long walk through the countryside to a picturesque lake. Darryl went for a dip but Christine didn't have her costume. Darryl says the water was really refreshing and it certainly looked nice!

We walked around the whole lake on a jungle path. It took about an hour and we heard many different animals. Some were very loud! We spotted a few leeches, giant beetles, butterflies and millipedes and there was a few savage mosquitoes too.

We stopped in the town to visit the local market and enjoy some real tasty food from an Indian restaurant. We found a shortcut on the way back to the hotel and were followed most of the way by a friendly little dog. We are certain he was sent to protect us from the geese!

The afternoon was spent with our feet up after our walk. We ate at a local restaurant which was packed, so we shared a table with 2 local men. We had a great little chat and discovered the one friendly fellow only sees his wife and children 2 days a month. He has to work away from home to earn money to feed his family.

PS. There were more bugs in the restaurant than we spotted in the jungle by the lake. We found this fact quite amazing!

A day on the bus

Woke up and headed into Kratie to purchase tickets for the big bus heading to Ban Lung.

Caught the bus (which was an hour late) and headed off. After about 10 minutes we stopped for lunch! Not sure exactly what we ate but it tasted good though contained a lot of interesting looking bones.

The road deteriorated to a dusty track and it started to pour with rain. 5 hours later we arrived at our destination.... in the dark.

To say we were mobbed by touts as soon as we got off the bus is an understatement! We looked around and all we could see was a few little shacks. Was this it? Ok, it looked pretty small but it was supposed to have great trekking. However, the touts soon put us straight. We were 3km outside of town, at the bus station. Each would give us a free lift to the town or to the lake if we stayed at 'their' hotel. We eventually headed to the lake with a young girl who spoke great English. She agreed we could have a room at her hotel for the same price as the guy next to her was charging. We arrived at the hotel by the lake and she revealed the room! Wow! Big, clean, very luxurious and worth 10 times what we had agreed to pay. What's the catch?

Not sure yet, but they sell lots of different tours from the hotel which are a little expensive.....which they may push our way!

Koh Trong

This morning we got ourselves prepared for a little exploration of rural Cambodia. We headed down to the river to catch a ferry to the island of Koh Trong.

We decided against using bikes for the 9km circuit and headed off on foot. A very good move! It had rained in the night and the whole path was one giant mud bath! Virtually impossible by bike.

The island was wonderful. So many beautiful things to see. There were ox pulling carts, a Vietnamese fishing village, many rural homes with cows and chickens, and really friendly people. We saw a little hut with a sign outside advertising coffee (spelt wrongly of course). So we thought it would be nice to spend a little money with the locals and ordered 2 cups. A few minutes later the friendly owner appeared with 2 great looking glasses full with coffee ... iced coffee! Being a little cautions with ice (river water?), we chose to pay up and leave.

A relaxing afternoon was spent watching the rain, the first they have seen for a month apparently.

In the evening we enjoyed dinner at a French owned restaurant and sat watching a street seller doing a roaring trade in corn on the cob. He was the busiest stall by miles, so we thought we have got to try it! But, as we handed over the money he walked to another stall and took a sweetcorn from his friend. It appears he'd sold out!

H...o...t

Today, we have been walking around Kratie finding information for our adventures.

We saw a really pretty temple being built and had a guided tour, possibly by one of the workmen.

Kratie is the beginning of the Mekong trail which allows access to many rural areas by bike. The only trouble being the distances in the blazing heat....Oh, and the cranky old bikes without spares! 30 or 40 mile would fairly easy at home on a reasonable bike but here in the intense heat and on rough tracks with possibly little shade .... more of a challenge! We may do some mini adventures instead and use parts of the trail!

This evening we discovered a map showing a homestay a little closer than we originally thought, so now it's time to replan.

Big bus

Caught the 7am bus to Kratie. We were picked up just as we'd ordered pancakes for breakfast, so we took them with us on the bus.

The scenery on the route was spectacular. Bright green paddy fields, water buffalo, villages of houses on stilts over the water and people working in the fields. We stopped for a comfort break after a few hours, and there were a few little market stalls selling snacks. There were potato and what looked like beetroot chips. Fresh fruit which looked a little like grapefruit and BUGS! Fried crickets, big and small but the star of the show.... Tarantulas. Christine didn't notice them initially but when I met her walking back from the toilets she spotted that I was carrying a small plastic bag. I am certain she has some weird super power and as she saw me, she knew immediatey what was in the bag. She stepped away (she's a scaredy cat when spiders are concerned) from me as I drew the hairy critter from the bag. I took a few bites... it tasted fine and was covered in some sort of oil and spices! Christine didn't fancy her share...

Arrived in Kratie to a dragon boat festival that occurs only once a year. How lucky? We watched some races and strolled the river bank.

Back to PP

An early bus back to Phnom Penh and 3.5 hours later, we arrived! And, judging by the traffic, everyone else had to! We were going to try and head straight out on a bus to Kratie that afternoon but the only bus going there was far from where we were. We took a tuk tuk and the driver phoned 'someone' to find out where the bus left from. We drove for ages across the city and eventually found the little mini bus to Kratie. Only problem was the first price was $15, which is a lot for a bus in Cambodia! After discussion, the price dropped to $10, then $8...

Next problem, the mini bus was packed out! After the customers had kindly rearranged themselves, there was 1 seat free but no leg room at all! The driver seemed to be getting a little flustered and seemed fairly amazed that 2 people and all of their bags couldn't fit on 1 seat with nowhere to put your legs! After careful consideration and the thought of the 6 hour journey we gave up. We will go on a nice big air-con bus for an extra couple of dollars in the morning.

Found a hostel, ate and now time for bed!

Relaxing

Staying in Kampot is too easy and too nice! This morning was spent deciding which wonderful beach in the Philippines to head for at Christmas.

Next, we ate a late breakfast (more like lunch!) We also booked our bus for tomorrow. Accidentally ended up at a wonderful cafe run by disabled people, where we enjoyed iced coffee and a chocolate brownie. Well, Christine enjoyed most of the brownie!

A trip to the top

The bus picked us up at 8 to head off for a full day of adventure. First we travelled to what was once a French hill station on Bokor mountain, in the national park. There were lots of old buildings that had been abandoned and never restored because of fighting in the area. The view from the mountain top was magnificent. You could see across the whole jungle to the sea. We took a walk down to one building (may be the king's villa) and heard what we thought a dog's bark. It went on for a while... so we thought we'd investigate, with caution, as it seemed to be coming from inside the building! We looked all around and in each room but couldn't find anything. Christine did spot some paw prints but where was the dog? We gave up and told the next 2 people heading towards the building what we'd heard. After a little snooping around they came to the conclusion that the noise was coming from a frog, living inside a water tank. The tank was amplifying the sound the frog was making and distorting it to sound just like a dog! Weird!

We had lunch by a waterfall in the park before heading off on the next part of our adventure, the sunset boat cruise.

We travelled along the river admiring the view for about an hour. There were small local houses, many beautiful trees, wonderful mountains creating a stunning backdrop... and then the sunset creating the most incredible and beautiful scene! Absolutely stunning.

The boat returned to the village and we spent the rest if the evening helping Alex, who we had met on the trip, celebrate her birthday.

Kampot

A 2 hour bus ride from the beach and we arrived in Kampot. We passed lots of lush ,green countryside on the way that was so beautiful. A short walk across the river from the bus stop and we found a place to stay. Right on the river bank and the view is 'to die for'. You can swim in the river too but are there crocodiles? Nah!!! (At least we hope not!)

We lazed around for the rest of the morning, enjoying the cool breeze kindly provided by the river.

In the afternoon we walked back to the village to see what we could find and read a locally written (expat) guide book, which was very funny.

It was a little more difficult finding our way back in the dark with no lights lining the road, but it gave us the opportunity to enjoy watching the amazing fireflies. And, the road was so quiet we could listen to the wonderful natural world around us, which was wonderful!

Later in the evening we listened to a live band at the cottages next door and got chatting to another primary school teacher and her friends, before returning home.