Heading down river in search of Battambang

A wise man once said "the road less traveled, is less travelled for a reason"

And with those words ringing in my ears myself and about 6 hardy(or foolhardy) trtavellers met on the banks of the Tonle Sap at 7am to head down river on a "fastboat" to the small town of Battambang.

Why you might ask?

Well according to the Lonely planet that we all seem to carry on us like a holy grail the trip down river is a scenic and pretty one, and Battambang has some "lovely French colonial architecture"

WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!!

Actually the trip was kinda fun, the driver was keen to show us his stylish overtaking skills on the water and the huge lake with its floating families and communities was cool to see.

The 8hrs we took wasnt so cool, and the excitement in Battambang was like being in Huntly on a Tuesday night, in winter (very weird after the hype and bustle of Siem Reap)

The river rises up to 12 metres! with the sea pushing back up the tonle sap, making this area incredibly stocked with fish (so that explains the huge fishing nets and homes built on either bamboo logs or on stilts.

There were even schools and stores that rose with the lake, a very weird sight to see.

Some of the homes were little more than plastic stretched over bamboo, while others were huge two storey structures reflecting the different levels of wealth found here just like anywhere else here in asia

We stopped off for a yummy lunch of rice and a very dark meat sausage that had been barbecued in a very nice sauce

(Im not sure what the meat was but it tasted great)

Every so often you came across whole families on their houseboat and the wake of our speedboat would make their home bounce up and down as if it would flood and sink, but the Cambodian fishermen seemed very relaxed about this highway on the water.

I met new travellers on the boat which i guess is one of the benefits of travelling slowly and with room to move, a cpl of brits and Irish pair who had been travelling for several months through Vietnam and a Dutch girl who was fresh from doing two months volunteer work at an orphanage in Thailand.

Chatting with her made me more determined to do something positive for others in Cambodia so i will search out how i can help over the coming weeks.

Oh apologies for not having updated for a week (Cambodia is not as online as Thailand i have discovered lol)

You turn around in Siem Reap and who should you see?

I went for breakfast this morning to a french/khmer cafe that has a very flash upstairs area (not what im used to at all!)

It is all white, with wifi connection (not that it help me) and very comfy couches to lounge on and hide from the killer heat.

Im having my food when some kids and a dad come through the door, i think i know them but.....

then the mum comes through and it turns out to be my best mate jasons's older sister (well not too old!) we make a scene and spend the next wee while chatting, im off to their flash hotel for my first HOT shower in a month (dont laugh, its warm here and i do shower everyday!)

We will use the flash hotel pool they have and Mr j will have some luxury for a bit!

YAY

Is it just me or does the fact that the staff are all dressed in a black top and baggy black pants with a red apron/scarf around their waist seem like bad taste? The Khmer Rouge who did such terrible things in this country only 30 years ago had that very same uniform?!

Maybe it is because the cafe is only used by expats (its too expensive for your average Khmer)

Maybe im being judgemental but ....

I know it is out of sequence but this is the tough side of Cambodia

A sense of smell is mising from these pictures, i guess that is a good thing.

I made my way through the Thai Cambodia border and found myself in Poipet, its a border town in Cambodia and was a bit of a shok after travelling through Thailand which is fairly well off in comparison to Laos and Cambodia!

The first thing that struck me was the filth, the roads were deep in the worst smelling mud ever (you know how if you go the the rubbish tip on a wet day in summer you have this rotting smell on the tires as you drive through the mud, well this was that x100)
It was depressing and sad to see little kids playing in this and knowing that they would get sick from doing so.

I guess we take for granted all the little things that make life so much easier in NZ.
I know this wont be the last time i go "woah!" and i guess its part of why im travelling.

Mr J explains why a tattoo isnt something you should do in a hurry

OK

I kinda thought i might need to add this after posting the Mr J gets a Tat post

The fact that i got a tattoo at my age......yes im old is because for several reasons i wanted to have something visual and permanent to remind me of the last year.
As lots of you will know my best friend got very sick in November and is still very ill (he may never recover and has to be looked after 24/7 by nurses still)
This made me think about a lot of things, one of which is how we look after our mates , through the good times and the bad and i realised that i had not been there for my friend as much as i should have, the reasons for that are lots (lets just say adults have lots of things going on in their lives too!)
As godfather to Taika and Alex (Jason's kids) i know that when i get back to Welli i have a responsibility to be there for them also.
When Jason got sick his sisters all got the same tattoo done (Jason had a little sorpion on his shoulder from when he was a younger) They got the tattoo to show support for their bro but also to make a link between what he was goiing through and the pain that they were also suffering.
I guess for me the image of the scorpion chasing the monkey, chasing the scorpion sums up the relationship i had/have with my mate and reminds me that being there for someone is not just being there in person but in action and thought.
Phew!
So the moral is....... you shouldnt get a tattoo unless you have a pretty good reason to do so!
I still havent told my mum and im not sure how impressed she will be with her boy having a couple of animals playing tag on his calf. gulp

Angkor What?!

OK that was about the lamest "word joke"i could make but.....words kinda fail when you see something this huge, this awesome and this imposing created so long ago.

Quick history?

Built by a series of Khmer kings from the 9th to 13th centuries. At the same time Angkor had a population of 1 million people London had only 0nly 50,000!

The buildings are covered and i mean covered in carvings, some tiny and intricate (think tukutuku panels on a marae, but in stone) while others are huge!

Religious stories, battles all sorts of imagery is seen and it is mind blowingly huge!!!

Sorry to keep using exclamation points but this place is gigantic, you know the moats that european castles had around them, well the Khmer kings made lakes around theirs, they look like huge olympic swimming pools surrounding these incredible stone structures.

The rainy season in Cambodia is like nothing ive ever seen, the trees started to cover Angkor as soon as the civilisation that created it was destroyed, you can see how the jungle did this in

The trees are now holding up the walls so are left as they are.

So lets have a quick look at the pics, oh yeah, there are monkeys there as well! and crazy steep stone staircases that threaten to make you fall to the bottom of these temples.
In several of the temples, it looks like the Ents are destroying ruins (sorry, a LOTR thing)

There are carvings of Monkey soldiers battling demons and all sorts! each carving is so detailed even after 800 years!

There are tourists everywhere, every nation on earth is visiting and yet the place is so huge (i had a motorcyle and driver each day you often find whole temples all to your self, well to you and the many kids selling scarves, coke, flutes etc!)

Its really hard to say no when a kid starts chattering away to you and when they find out your kiwi, starts counting to ten in Maori!!!, the same kid was able to do it in Polish and 8 other languages, talk about a clever kid and yes i bought her postcards and they will be coming to Hataitai soon (apparently the post office in Cambodia isnt quite like the one in Kilbirnie.... letters sometimes just dont get there!)

Because Angkor is still a Religious site, you find monks and shrines everywhere and the general mood in the place is quiet and thoughtful, most of the tourists are pretty cool with it and dont treat the temples like a climbing frame (but there are always exceptions like this pair of Yanks)

The Huge stone faces that seem to look down on you are quite spooky and at times you find yourself all alone in the jungle which can add to the whole Tomb Raider feel of the place.

The number of carved animals is amazing, you get elephants, monkeys, serpents tigers etc and they are often carved in 3-D (rather than as a relief carving eg just a little part is carved out of the rock)

I wont bore you with all 90 photos of Angko, but it was a very cool experience, im now doing some shopping before getting a bike and riding out to catch the sunsetting at Angkor.

I will be catching up with my friend Jasons sister in Siem Reap before going down to Phnom with them next week.

Some pretty pics of koh Phangan

Its so green and beautiful here, and its just moving towards rainy season!

Often each day starts or ends with an amzing thunder and lightening storm which lights up the sky like a fireworks display.

Had a midnite dip a couple of days ago with some Aussies. As we were swimming the whole sky was lit up by sheet lightening and the thunder made you feel like it was just abouve your head as it exploded, very very cool!

There are so many cats and dogs here its awesome, i have been missing Harrum scarrum but the Thai cats have been very nice too

So what does a kiwi do on holiday?

Well, we do what everyone else does, we build stone and coral retaining walls on the little island we're living on of course?!

Martin, an English traveller i met and I repaired a sea wall that had collapsed after the last big storm ( a few hours work in the hot sun was just what we needed, the coral we used is as sharp out of the water as it is under!)


You can see the wall behind my grinning but glad its over face.




Yesterday was a big one for me in that i finally got my tattoo done.

Its my first (maybe my last) and this is the process i went through to get it

• get design done (this was done by a good friend of mine in Welli and has my Chinese year sign -Monkey chasing my best mate - he is a scorpio) Its a wicked picture and thankfully it looks good as a tattoo!


• Shave the Farangs (european person in thai) leg!

• Turn design into transfer and put it onto leg







• Have you lie down while this tool is used to poke a very sharp needle into you again and again and again and again (you get the point)

This is the tattooist, his name is Duong and he was impressed with the fact i didnt complain during the tattoo (dont worry, i was complaining loud in my head!!)

Here is the completed tattoo, the monkey is holding the scorpions tail as the scorpion is holding the monkeys

• Then you get to try and keep the skin clean and covered while riding a scooter and crossing a sandbar back to your camp, hmmmmm you can guess how that ended.

Wow its been two weeks!

Sorry to anyone who may have gone to check where i was , what i was doing for the last two weeks!

Mea Culpa

In my defense i have been off the beaten path somewhat and spent one week in thong pan noi, in a small bungalow swimming and reading (yes it is a busy life)

Before it all sounds too much like luxury the picture below will help put my comfort in context

I then moved to an island called Koh Ma, it is connected by a thin sand bar during low tide and this becomes flooded as the tide turns, leaving you no option but to wade across in the dark (kinda exciting as the waves hit you from two directions at once!

Yes here i am soaked and feeling very pleased with myself as i get across the sand bar last nite

I have made friends with a couple of travellers (an English guy named Martin and his Korean partner Gina) We have spent the last week or so moving about the island and it has been fun sharing some of the cool things you do each day with someone.

I am leaving the island on the 4th and will be doing a visa run to Myanmar (burma) because my visa is only valid for 30 days so i will get an exit/entrance stamp then im off!

My next update will be as i go to Myanmar and you will then find out if im going to Laos or Cambodia!

Frankly im not sure yet myself.

:)

Matt

PS This is one of the two spiders i had as bed mates last nite (they are not only big! they jump sideways almost 20 cm really fast! shudder

What nearly ended my holiday yesterday!?

sitting under the trees having an afternoon bite to eat and heard a soft "crack" sound followed several seconds later by a dull THUD!

looked around and about two foot from me was a large coconut that had decided to fall to the earth.

Apparently a cpl of people each season get hurt or killed by these falling fruits! or should that be nuts?

I hope one of them isnt me!

Oh yes, Karen here is what i spent a cpl of relaxing hours doing on my break......

Yeah you guessed it i got to do some virus checking and fixing registry files.... wicked ;lol it got me free time online tho so i cant complain

You can take the boy away from computers.......

Free wheeling fun! and not a helmet or leathers in sight

Hmm, maybe that title needed work!?

Got a scooter today 200 Baht No license needed just a passport lol

An automatic scooter that let me go speeding (within the laws!) around the island.

Whata day!, it was so hot , again and yet with a tshirt on it was beautiful, racing along some of the most beautiful coastline ive ever seen.

Went down to thonsala (the main port) to post some of the stupid things i brought with me (hmmm, will i need a hoodie?! NO!!!) lol back to Bangkok so i can pick it up when i leave to go the UK. The post office was closed today?! why who knows

Went up to Koh Ma and a fishing village 20 mins up the coast. Name forgotten, i will move there in a cpl of days, and slowly make my way around the island aiming to get to Haad Rin by the 2nd of May.

I have several different shades of brown/red on my arms and body but am slowly getting a tan that i can be proud of! Yes i am wearing sunscreen

I will take a pic of the insects that i share my bathroom with and post them soon (they kinda freak me out when i hear them making noise as they wander around the room.

Was woken up last night by geckos fighting in my room ( i think they were scrapping over the crumbs of a Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookie!)

I have a video clip that i want to add to my blog but it might take a bit of doing (yes i know Room 12 did them last year on their webpages but they are clever!)

This is the next place i might go to , The Malibu Bungaloo (classy name eh!?)

This is the view from the eating area, it is a lovely shady lil spot in a sheltered bay, i am going to be getting further away from civilisation soon so will be doing less blogging, probably, who knows how much wifi they have on this island!

Another difficult day in Phangan

Well this was last nite, i may have already published this pic but lets say im kinda chuffed with it, if you put the fan heater on high and sit next to it for about 30 mins then look at this pic, your almost here with me!.

tomorrow im off to get a scooter and see if i can get a Koh phangan tattoo (a lovely scar from coming off the thing on the dodgy roads! lol)

I will be taking my mask to Koh Ma to see what it is like there and maybe moving up there in a days time.

Im starting to not think in days which is a good thing, i may stay on the island until the next full moon party (its like a disco, kinda_)

then i will have to scoot off to Myanmar to get my reentry visa renewed (only 30 days at a tiime here)

This pic makes no sense to anyone but the teachers at Hataitai School
sorry but thats the way it is somethines
dont worry, its a teacher joke, how funny can it be!

Part of the wonders of technology, im doing the blog uploading pics to my gmail and chatting to a mate in welli!, very cool
although it means i will just do all 3 jobs sub par! lol
see you tomorrow maybe
Maqtt

Pics part 2 (Mr J mucked up!)

well here is my pic, the blogger page was in thai and i clicked the wrong link! ahh im so clever!

Oh and here is a sunset shot, kinda cool and lets you imagine your here, not in welli!

Im on free time at the moment for fixing the computers but being a kiwi i feel bad with how long

it takes to download! grrr

I have a pic that sums up the duality of Thailand (sorry using teacher words cos im speaking to myself lol) A big group of boy monks came to the beach today and trapped a french girl in her bikini on her lilo, it was quite funnyt to see as noone knew where to look. It wioll be posted next time

Matt

Pics at last!

Well i just spent the last hour and a half working through the server problems of the thai guy who runs the internet shop on the island

lol

dont even laugh, im just trying to download some pics and now im fighting my way through popups and malware!

the pics are from all over i will try to name them as we go!

The first id the lovely TukTuk driver who got surly and threatened me when i didnt buy any suits or travel at the places he took me too, yes its true, not all people giving the "thumbs up " are thinking the same as you!

The second is of one of tyhe many kids playing with water pistols/canon on the streets of Bangkok ( With New Year or Songkran water fights are the thing to do) It helps that the temp is 40 degrees

The third is of the bach im in at the moment 300B a night (at 30 B a $1=........) Hey its real life maths how cool!

not Bout 10 bucks and here is the view that i have each brekkie!

First to my left

Then to my right

The beach is a lovely white sand and the water is clear and blue, kind of like the picture i had in my head.

And there is even a cool dog! He follows you round and will lie in the sand next to you and sighs every so often lkike his day is soooooo tough (it aint)

The last pic is of me, hey it proves im here, which is something im very very greatful for.

Next blog will be from koh Ma which is an amzin glil island around the next cpl of bayts! see you then! Matt

Snorkelling!

Spent my second day just swimming and eating yummy pad thai for brekkie!
Then on day 3 i borrowed a snorkel set and went out into the bay.
WOW
The amount of sea life was amazing from seeing some of the costars from Nemo to finding and watching an octopus fight and get away from two camoflaged fishes. It was amazing, i spent hours just lying on the surface watching the world go by.
The next day i went a bought my own set and that is where things went wrong!
In a sea that feels so luke warm it is easy to stay in way too long, and i did, the sun tan lotion wore off and bingo!
Mr J is burnt
i spent last nite putting on aloe vera and drinking lots of water (water is bottled and costs between 6B and 15 b per bottle, about 20-40c)
woke up this morning sore but hopefully another day of being good will help.
sorry no pics of me yet! lol waiting tillim brown and relaxed looking!

Koh Phangnan

Well, its been 5 days and what have i been doing tyhat has meant no blog?
Well, once i get myself together enough to remember camera, and downlad cord you will see!
I arrived in Thurat sani from Bangkokon a doubledecker bus that stopped regularly but without reason, ie it would be 2 amm in the morning and the driver would just disappear, do you
a) get off the bus to use the "picnic bathroom " option because onboard is scary as!
b) get off and look for a food stall because your starving and there is no food on board?
c) go nowhere because thisis the best location for either your backpack or wallet to go walkabouts.

It was a long trip! I arrived at about 7.30am at this little port (pic to come)
we waited and watched the Thai chickens fighting, the the catermaran appeared, we charged down a long rickety pier and sat down just as the skies opened up!
I have never seen rain like the kind ive seen here, although as im going north soon and monsoon is coming im guessing this will not be the worst i will encouter this trip! doh!
We stopped first at Ko Tao which is a small Island with amazing diving, i may go back there later in the year.
http://www.champgallery.com/archives/thai4.jpg
We then moved onto the second Island where i got off.
It was raining incredibly hard, everyone else seemed to have a booking at a bungaloo or resort but did i?!
NO
I just jumped on the nearest 4x4 that was heading towards Haad Yao ( a small bay that you will see is quite beautiful) and off we went
i had no idea if it had two places to stay or 22 didnt know if it was booked up or not. Lets just say it was anticipation!
Got dropped off at The Haad Yao (the driver guessed that was where i was staying) walked down a gravel path towards one of the most scenic beaches ive ever seen., my bungaloo is looking out on the sea, yes its not right o the water but i can handle the 15 foot walk :-)
The beach has beautiful white sand and curves away from me into a perfect arc.
http://kohphangan.eternaltravel.net/wp-content/themes/mapleleaf/images/HadYao3.JPG
I have been here 4 days now and will stay a cpl more as i get over the really quite clever case of sunburn that i got (explanation coming next!)

Songkran in Thailand

Sometimes being unorganised can be good, sometimes not!

Case in point, I have turned up in Thail;and in the middle of Songkran, (Thai New Year) a 4-5 day festival full of religious and family traditions , but alos a time when water fights become the name of the game!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_New_Year

Sounds great yeah?

Well yes and no, not only are you being pelted with water, but sometimes plaster as well, now heres a uestion for the clever amongst you, what happens if you mix water and plaster......

anyone?

anyone?

Yes you guessed it you become a statue, O for orsum!

So Im out of bangkok and off on the night boat to an Island called Koh Pangnan

It should be amazing, next update will be on a beach! with pics from my new camera!

See you soon

Matt

Closer to the Sun?

Arriving in Bangkok at midnight has to rank up there with the silliest things ive doine travel wise.... ever! was dead tired , confused and felt like someone had locked me in a sauna for a day.
A mad taxi drive through bangkok which made me feel like we were part of some sort of Tokyo Drift XBOX 360 game, no indicating no brakes just foot to the floor, quiter a thrill really!

The first hotel was flash, kinda it had a pool and lifts which i think will be the last of each that i see on my time in asia!
It cost about 1100 Baht a night with brekkie thrown in follow this link to work out the cost in NZ$ http://www.xe.com/ucc/

The new place ive moved to looks cool but is down markety! im in a cell, i kid you not (i will get a pic for you ltr) Im off now to buy a sleeping sheet and mossie net amd a big PADLOCK!!!

Its weird having to think about this stuff all the time but i guiess it is good for me to get into the right habits before i start going down south.

It is nearly New Year here and everyone is getting ready foir a big water celebrtation.
One of the weird things you see is that almose everyone is wearing tshirts or tpops that are yellow and say long live the king on thew back of them
the royal famil;y is really respected i guess, i know itts an offewnce to deface any image so .....

Its real, and its kinda scary

So i arrive in Sydney, finally! and turn on my flash new phone (thanks nokia) doh!! who didnt sort their global roaming b4 he left welli?
Yes we have a first mistake and we are only 4 hrs into the trip, well if im being honest getting my mate to take my car back to his place to avoid the hefty parking fees at Welli Airport, but electing not to call my Dad to tell him the change in location...... your getting the picture?
I was going to do it on my flash nokia when i departed in sydney! your spotting a theme here i hope.

Well i guess mistakes are natures way of telling you to F.O.C.U.S. so im going to go have breakfast and look at my itinerary.

Day 1 of my holiday and we are still in the english speaking world.

Oh and if your interested in how/if i tried to undo the car parking fiasco? well i emailed a cpl of people so hopefully one of thwem will get on the ph to Dad and save my bacon.

See you in Thailand