Arriving in Cambodia

I've only been in Cambodia for a few days and I can boldly say that I LOVE IT!! Don't know what it is but you definitely get a feeling about a place as soon as you arrive. Maybe it's a bit early to judge but it's in my nature so why try to change it?!!

Crossing the boarder was an experience in itself. After we crossed the boarder itself We sat down with a load of locals while we waited for our bus. Great opportunity to people watch. Guys coming and going on their bikes, women making food on the road side and feeding their children. The children are absolutely gorgeous too. And so many of them. Turns out over 40% of the Cambodian population consists of children. The country is obviously still recoving from being ravished by Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot's leadership but it's definitely on the road to recovery. You only have to look around to see how the infrastructure is improving. Roads are being built everywhere you look but that said it's still got a long way to go.

The journey from Cham Yearn to Sihnoukville was amazing. Jaw dropping in fact. Stunning scenery. The poverty is one of the worst I've ever seen. Some people probably would feel guilty. I actually think it's quite selfish to feel 'guilty' when faced with poverty ie. poor me, I feel awful. Hmmm, why do you feel awful? You're not the one living like this. Fingers crossed you won't be you in your next life either! People react differently though especially when they are faced with poverty for the first time.

It took us 5 hours by mini bus to get to Sihnoukville. We crossed five rivers, not by bridge I hasten to add as they were being built, but by boat. Well not really a boat. More like a barge. A rickety barge at that, powered by two speed boat engines either side of the wooden barge. And it was muddy. I had visions of the mini bus sliding off the boat and into the river.

The roads were dicey to say the last. Part tarmac, part stone with massive pot holes in them, part muddy, sloshy paths. How the driver managed to negotiate his way through muddy roads which where at least a foot deep in a two wheel drive, I'll never know. He said it was luck. I say he was a genius. We cheered every time we got to dry land.

The sights along the way were incredible - will upload pics soon. Not just the scenery - it's so green and lush but quite vast at the same time. The people we saw and how they cope with getting by on the bear minimum was astounding too.

Apparently people are just glad that Pol Pot's ruling is over and so anything over and above that ie freedom is an improvement. Embarrassingly I actually didn't know that much about Khmer Roughe's genocidal rule until a few days ago (when I started reading about it!). Words fail me when I got a clear understanding of the atrocities - paralysing is the only one I can think of that comes close.

Basically Pol Pot wanted Cambodia to become a Maoist, peasant-dominated, agrarian cooperative. People were relocated to the country side. Thousands of people who spoke foreign languages or even wore spectacles were branded as 'parasites' and killed. Almost 2 million Cambodians between 1975-1979.

I was speaking to Vindy (moto taxi driver) who was 7 when Pol Pot's ruling came to an end. He said it was horrific. For 7 years he was separated from his parents. His mum worked in one camp with other women. His father in another and him with the other children working in another camp. They would wake at 5am, start work in the fields at 6am. Break at 11 till 12 then work right through till 6pm. A child under 7 was working in these conditions. He said he only saw his parents once a month and they hardly had anything to eat. He said he was starving hungry for 7 years and he and the rest of the country are only starting to get back on their feet.

You only have to look around to see the number of children and adults maimed by the mines and begging to see the effects. This together with the fact you have children selling bracelets and book marks on the beach makes it even more apparent as to how desperate people are. You're advised not to give this way but to donate to govt/private run charities but it's so hard. How can you turn a 8 year-old child away when at the end of the day it's only 50p to you? Consequently I'm now the proud owner of rather a lot of book marks!!

Despite the poverty or almost in spite of the poverty, Cambodia from what I've seen already is an amazing country. It has a lovely vibe to it which I really like. Again, it's pretty early in the day but from what I've seen so far I think another visit next year could be on the cards.

I'm in Sihnouville until Saturday, then I'm heading north to Phnom Penh so see the killing fields, S-21 (former school that Pol Pot turned into a security prison. Then up to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. May be travelling on my own as I think Brooke and Brett will want to stay in Sihnouville for more sun. I need to get going as I'm flighing back to Chiang Mai, Thailand 14th Sept to meet my friend Maneeze and head north into Laos. To say I'm excited is an understatement!!

Same same but different

Ko Samet and Ko Chang are both gorgeous islands off the east coast of Thailand. Me, Brooke and Snowy (met up with them in Bangkok) decided to head out to both islands on our way to Cambodia, for a bit of sun and relaxation.

Both islands boast stunning white beaches. Weather is a bit iffy but it's the wet season so it's to be expected. Seafood is exceptional. I've had some amazing seafood dishes and have developed a mild obsession for grilled squid, black pepper and a squirt of lime - gorgeous!

One thing Brooke and I have both noticed is that on Ko Samet (unless you like locals) doesn't offer much on the eye candy front. Not the end of the world admittedly but slightly it's disconcerting when Snowy is literally fighting them off with a stick! On a number of occasions Brooke and I have stumbled back leaving Snowy at the local haunt (Ploys) shaking some (serious moves) on the dance floor surrounded by some admirers!

Ko Chang on the other hand is much the same except it's more sleazy. In fact you could say both islands have a little of each other.

The fact we've headed to both islands during the wet season naturally limits what's on offer. There are more dodgy men around due to the fact they get such cheap flight/package deals. There are tons of Thai 'ladies' around as business is slow. That said my eyes and ears are working overtime - brilliant!

However the beauty of travelling is if you're not so keen on a place you move on. So move on we did. Ko Samet was great. I had some amazing reflexology and massages, the seafood was amazing and the buckets lethal and we met some really lovely locals who totally embraced us into there group of friends. Something you'd never usually experience so readily in London. Jaiar and Jack (both Thai) introduced us to Ploys - the local haunt - where the compare introduces the firemen (no, not firemen as we know them - which is what I originally thought - they actually dance with fire!) based on their age and whether they're up for being a toyboy or not. Hilarious. 'This chocolate Thai boy is 18 and definitely up for some toyboy lovin'. Said in a Thai/cockney accent.

Ko Chang again is gorgeous. Jaiar went back to Bangkok and Jack stayed on and was heading to Ko Chang to see his family so we decided to tag along. White Sands beach is stunning. Again, loving the seafood and have developed an obsession for spicy tuna salad and Tom Yam soup. I also managed to extend my accommodation repertoire to a 150 baht (2 quid) a night hut with massive gaping gaps between the wooden walls and the ceiling. This is monumental in its self. A few months ago I would've screamed at the thought. Now I'm virtually flicking bugs off my bed. (slight exaggeration - I just stand there and scream as opposed to screaming and running out of the hut but I still look at is as progress!).

Only draw back about Ko Chang is the sleaze. It's out of control. Old western men leching over young and I mean young Thai girls or lady boys. My eyes have been popping out of my head as I've witnessed the odd 50 plus male groping a lady boy with a semi. Again, don't get me wrong I'm not moaning; I've also been privy to endless conversations (ok, I will admit to eaves dropping massively) where guys are negotiating their price for the evening. Plus I've had the chance to fine tune my 'categories' - basically I've identified four categories of men who spend time with Thai women (more later on this). Now I'm travelling with Snowy I'm able to refine my categories even more as I now have a blokes perspective. Perfect.

Anyway, four days on Ko Chang and we've had enough sun and seafood. So I'm heading to Cambodia tomorrow (Tuesday 4th Sept). First stop is Sihanoukville, then Phonom Penh, then Angkor Wat, followed by a bit of beach action somewhere (not sure where yet) before flying to Kathmandu 29th Sept.

What's with the name change?

The one thing that I've noticed while I've been travelling in Thailand is the sheer number of people I meet who've changed their names. It's quite strange and slightly bizarre. Why do people feel the need to change their names? Is it because they want to shed their old identify? Do they arrive in Thailand or get half way through their travels and decide their name no longer suits them?

Admittedly travelling can do strange things to people. I can see how some people can arrive in a place like Thailand, 'find themselves' and feel their old life in the UK, USA etc doesn't suit them anymore. They don't want to go back to it and therefore feel changing their name signifies a new beginning, chapter, whatever they'd like to call it, in their lives.

Whatever the reasons I have to say I do find it amusing. Mainly because of the names they decide to choose. For example, to date I've met a Pau (formally Carlos), Star (formally Carla), Chard (formally Richard), Fu (formally Andrew) and last but by no means least, Mhowi (he refused to tell me his 'real' name!).

It's even more interesting to see how people react when you ask them why they changed their name. Some for example freely admit they just didn't think their name suited them or their new image. In this case Pau and Star both said they began travelling, discovered new sides to themselves, started a new profession while travelling so didn't feel their birth names reflected who they really where anymore.

Chard was hilarious. A friend of mine met him in a bar in Pai. She noticed him propping up the bar with Fu mainly because both of them had painted the little finger nail on their left hand blue. Bright blue. Why? Apparently it signifies they are part of a 'special' group of 50 or so friends who meet regularly on Koh Phagnan. Those in the 'know' recognise the bright blue finger nail and they get special treatment. The nature of the 'special' treatment wasn't divulged.

It turns out Chard decided to call himself Chard because a Thai man couldn't quite get the hang of Richard. So Chard (a 60 year-old, white hair, mullet style, left ear pierced with his own boat, who's been travelling for 10 years) liked his new name so much he decided to stick with it.

Mhowi plays the didgery doo and comes from Wimbledon. He wouldn't tell me why he'd changed his name. Tried to make out it's his birth name (that was the subtext). I very much doubt his mother introduced him to the Wimbledon set as 'Mhowi' as she pushed his buggy around Wimbledon Common. I could be wrong of course but...I very much doubt it!

Tear jerking journeys - sorry, experiences!

One of the most horrific journeys I've had to endure to date (aside from a 6 hour train journey from Bangkok to Chiang Mai turned into an 18 hour endurance test with me in a reclining chair scared shitless as the the train rolled backwards down the track for about three hours!) was part of my journey from Ko Samet to Ko Chang.

Thankfully Brooke and Brett where with me - to be honest if they hadn't had been I would've thrown my rucksack on the floor, stomped my feet on the ground and cried like a baby as I saw the stomach wrenching task ahead of me. In fact I'd go so far as to say I would've slid down the nearest wall sobbing uncontrollably.

To the untrained or untraveled eye you'd be forgiven for thinking booking a ferry and a bus ticket means just that. Well it does in essence. And that's exactly how my journey panned out. Except when I booked my ticket the smiley little Thai man didn't tell me I'd had to face two of my biggest fears - the sea and height....at the same time.

I suffer massively from vertigo. In fact I've yet to meet anyone who has the fear as much as I do. I feel dizzy when I step up onto a chair. It hinders me in many, many ways. For example, changing a light bulb (admittedly not a regular past time of mine) is a huge undertaking. Looking out of windows from a great height makes me wince. Even stepping down or even jumping down puts the fear of God in me. You get the picture.

The sea is another fear of mine. I have to be able to see the bottom at all times. Can't bear its anywhere near my face. Jumping into the sea is a big no no as is putting my head under the water. You have no hope in hell of me jumping from a pier into the sea. I'd rather stab my hand.

So you can imagine how I felt when faced with the reality that if I wanted to catch the ferry to the mainland, I would have to face two of my biggest fears.

I would have to leap between five boats, bobbing around in the dock, with my rucksack on my back. Once I arrived at the mainland I would then have to leap and I mean leap, from the boat to the pier in order to board the awaiting bus.

Whatever happened to a sturdy steel plank which you could walk easily across (with handle bars) and without being on the verge of tears? What ever happened to mooring the damn boat right next to the pier to ensure a woman from London with all manner of various (some might say verging on the neurotic - admittedly none have lived to tell the tale) fears boards in a relaxed manner? Let me tell you, these considerations don't exist on the piers of Ko Samet and Lung Lang. You have been warned!

To say I was scared was an understatement. We were already late for the boat. Thankfully we were travelling with Jack - local to the island - so he was yelling at the skipper in Thai to wait for us. I was running, rather waddling with my rucksack on my back. Yep, it now feels like I have one dead person in my rucksack rather than two.

As soon as it became apparent I'd have to leap across five boats to get the boat taking us to Lung Lang I began to panic. In fact I think I whimpered. Jack nibbley leapt in between the boats. Brett (Snowy) was right behind him. Thankfully Brooke knew of my fears and hung back with me....she also grabbed Snowy so he could lend some muscle to the problem.

I seem to remember (raw fear distorts your memory) Snowy grabbed my rucksack and lugged it to the ferry. That meant my initial fear of falling in between two boats, knocking my head as I fell into the murky sea, sinking to the bottom and drowning due to the dead weight on my back, which would ultimately mean I would have to live on the 'other side' with the knowledge I'd been murdered by my rucksack, was erased.

That just left me with the slightly adapted fear of falling in between two boats, smacking my head on one as I fell and drowning was left for me to replay over and over again in my mind.

Brooke, the true friend, took pity on me and held out her hand as I blinked back my tears and gingerly stepped between the boats. I did it. I consoled myself that I was alive. It was fine. It was over.

Or so I thought.

As we arrived at the pier at Lung Lang my heart sank. I passed a few torret-esq comments to the guys as it became apparent we'd have to climb up a ladder and leap from the boat to the pier.

My chin wobbled. I blinked back more tears and recited my travelling mantra ' please don't let me die today, I promise I'll be nice to everyone I meet, I promise I'll have kind thoughts from this day forward, please don't let me die today - not leaping from a ferry to a pier at least'....

Again my rucksack was grabbed from me. Brooke advised the guys I would need a hand. Thankfully Snowy showed no fear and as I leapt forward over the 2 ft gap he grabbed my hand. I arrived safely on dry land, very close to tears.

More and more beauty treatments....

Since I've been in Thailand I've been indulging in my favorite past times. Yep, you can take the girl out of London but....for the last 6 weeks I've indulged in all manner of beauty treatments. Pedicures, manicures, facials, head massages, full body massages, reflexology, Thai massages. I've even branched out and administered my own colonic. Not something I'll be doing again I might add.

Aside from beautifying myself and having the opportunity to try out every single nail polish shade under the sun (burnt orange is a current fav) a beauty salon (or even the beach) is the ideal place to observe others and ask the beauticians questions. They are only too happy to answer.

Take Joy for example. I met Joy in Lucky, Lucky Nails on Koh Phangan. She was hilarious. Her and her colleagues asked me endless questions about the type of man I go for...questions like 'do you like Thai or Western men?' 'Western' I reply. 'Ahhhhh' was their response followed by a high pitched giggle.

Then they tell me about themselves. Joy pointing at her colleague: 'She like chocolate men but they no like her'. Other woman: 'They not like me but I like them.' Joy to me: 'I like Western men they rich.' Me: 'Not as rich as you may think.' Joy: 'I have two Western boyfriends. One from Wales (okay, no judgement) and one American, he fat. He very fat. He name John. John is fat and wants to take me to London. I not sure whether to go. What you think?.' A fatal question to ask me. Naturally I have an opinion on this and a new audience. Perfect. Up I step on to my soap box and begin my sermon.

I took great delight in 'advising' (okay, I'll admit sort of telling) Joy that going to London with 'fat John' probably wasn't a great idea given the fact she finds him physically repulsive. Yes, these are my words but she did agree with me when I put it to her in a basic form due to a slight language barrier. i.e Me: 'Do you think John is sexy? Would you like to see John naked?' Joy recoils at the questions and motions to making herself throw up. Subtext. She finds him physically repulsive.

I left the salon feeling pretty good about myself. After all I'd managed to save Joy from the clutches of an overweight American. Good Karma all round in my opinion.

Chiang Mai has a vast range of salons, clubs offering massages, reflexology, facials etc. One particular place (Thai Massage Conservation Club) which offered Thai massages really stood out from the rest - the massages were by blind masseuses. It was amazing. Really surreal environment too. Cool room, wooden floors. Dead quiet. The only noise was the whispering of the blind masseuses. The massage itself was amazing. Just the right pressure, not too much pulling and tugging. I'd definitely recommend it.

My other dalliances have included reflexology with a lady boy who sadly didn't speak a word of English. I tried to speak Thai. Ended up massacring the language so had to make do with secret looks at his/her Adams apple - went back the following day armed with my phrase book but she/he has left. FYI it was the best reflexology I've ever had!

Bad Karma....

My first encounter with a Mediation Snob didn't deter me at all - I had a fabulous time at the retreat. I learnt how to meditate and had the opportunity to ask the Monks various questions which related to everyday life. At least mine anyway. Love, relationships, infidelity, how you should react when someone is really winding you up....the important questions!

I also met some really lovely people so when Ineke, a brilliant Belgium chick who I'd been whispering to (we weren't supposed to talk!) during breaks, asked if I fancied going to another retreat where we'd be taught Tai Chi, Yoga and meditation from a 'really cool Monk' I found myself agreeing immediately.

The following day Ineka and I arrived at the Wat U-Mong Monastery in Chiang Mai. My rucksack was still out of control in the weight department and it literally felt like I had the entire population of Chiang Mai on my back. We walked (well, I waddled) for about an hour around the monastery and were about to be attacked by wild dogs when a Cambodian Monk took pity on us and personally showed us to the meditation centre.

The afternoon was spent learning how to breath properly (yep, you're all probably breathing incorrectly - your stomach should expand when you inhale don't you know), the correct sitting and standing positions for mediation, how to meditate, yoga etc. It was brilliant. Our 'teacher' Pooltai was really interesting, patient and had a great sense of humour.

A key area of Buddhism focuses on Karma. You get back what you put in. You reap what you so. If you behave badly then it will, in time, come back and bite you on the bum. I believe this anyway - little did I know I was about to experience it first hand!!

We were also taken through the various rules at the retreat. Those of you who know me well know that I don't tend to respond that well to rules. In my opinion they are made to be broken and I tend to get a lot of satisfaction from doing so - even better if I get found out. Not sure what that says about my personality. To be frank it's not something that keeps me awake a night. Naturally no one at the retreat was aware of this fact. Not yet anyway.

One of the main 'rules' was we should ideally stay on site. We weren't supposed to leave the grounds of the monastery which meant we could digest what we'd been taught without any 'outside' influences. Plus the gates shut at 9pm sharp so we were advised that if we did decide to leave the monastery we had to be back before the gates shut.

There were just three of us staying at the retreat - the others (Briony and Andrea) were staying at another guest house. Unbeknown to me I had two partners in crime -
May and Ineka. The three of us decided to throw caution to the wind and hot foot it down to the Internet cafe.

Off we went. Laughing hysterically about the 'rules', commenting on how hot some of the Monks were, patting ourselves on the back for 'bending' the rules...we thought we were extremely clever. I thought I was hysterical and for once I hadn't been drinking!!

After the internet we went for drink - another rule broken.

I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. Not only did I have partners in crime but they were also willing to go that extra step. Perfect.

Everything was fine until we decided to head back. Still we were laughing. Cracking jokes, being pretty crude about the hot Monks. Then we arrived at the gates. Tried to open the gate. A wild dog started barking - loudly. It started growling. The wild dog which we were convinced had rabies started Edging closer to us. We then tried to scale the wall. We couldn't. Mainly because you'd need to be 7 foot tall to get up there but also because we had a wild dog on our heels.

You see we thought we'd be clever. We thought we could easily hop over the wall to the monastery or there would be an opening in the fence or we could slide the latch back. We couldn't. We were stranded.

By this time the dog was going crazy and our mosi spray was wearing thin. We had no choice but to check in to another hotel. Except none were open. The only one that was had two dead cockroaches in the room. There was no way I was sleeping there. Eventually we found a 5 star hotel (not within budget) which had a room. The three of us bundled in. I got to watch James Bond on a tv - luxury!

The next morning we woke at 6am in order to head back to the monastery before they finished collecting the alms. Tired, massively out of pocket and feeling very guilty we headed back. Oddly enough this time we weren't laughing and convinced it was bad karma!

Bamboo rafting aka Titanic Thai style!

Not sure what has come over recently. First I head out into the jungle. Next I have to pick my jaw up off the floor when I overhear myself saying I prefer squat loos to western one's (I know, I know), then I suggest bamboo rafting. Why? I have a massive fear of the water so why on earth would I actually pay to be so close to it? For some unknown reason I thought it would be a good idea.

I think I suggested it when I was hungover so my mind was slightly off key. Although thinking about it I do vaguely recall demonstrating extreme excitement when someone was telling me about their experience bamboo rafting. I'm prepared to admit I may have had one or three vodkas. I know for a fact the person in question made it sound almost idyllic. Floating down the river, the sun shining, water quietly rippling against the bamboo raft, great sceneary. It sounded amazing. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it (to a degree) but my experience wasn't quite the same...

I wasn't in the best frame of mind. Woke up with the hangover that killed Elvis and already there was a lot of self loathing going on. Me, Emily, Alice and Lucy arrived at the river and were given our life jackets. So far so good except I'm virtually doubled up with pain from the hangover and making moaning noises which did nothing to help the common Thai perception that western woman can be slightly odd!

The bamboo raft was exactly that. A raft made out of bamboo. I was already warned that when you go on the raft it would sink slightly. Ours didn't of course. It sank quite a bit. Having already been told by a tuk tuk driver in Chiang Mai that he was only charging us 50 baht instead of 40 baht because we were 'big, big girls' we were naturally slightly horrified that it virtually sank to the bottom of the river bed when we stepped on it!! The teeny tiny Thai man raft punter seemed undeterred and off we went.

I was....let's just say I was nervous and insisted on linking arms with Alice on the basis that if either one of us fell in it would be better if we weren't on our own. After about 30 mins I started to relax. That's when the great big dragon flies came swooming around the raft. Of course we couldn't move. We had no where to go. All we could do is wave them off but when we moved so did the raft. Great. Loving this. So relaxing. I had great big buzzing dragon flies darting around my head. I'm sreaming. We're all screaming. The raft punter Thai man was laughing.

Then came the white water rafting element which we hadn't signed up for.... or the 'rapids' as I like to call them. They probably weren't really rapids but they certainly seemed that way to me when I was bobbing around on a sinking raft.

The raft punting Thai man gestured to the rapids and told us to hold on. I actually thought he was joking. I laughed. We all did. All Thais laugh when they don't know what you're talking about which is most of the time in my case. We slide down and over the first 'rapid' - the raft bobbing up and down, half of it submerged underwater, four girls screaming as it slide over the first 'rapid'. The Thai raft punter man continued to laugh. He laughed a lot throughout the journey.

First one was okay. The second one wasn't so good.

We ran aground.

I don't actually think I've ever heard of this happening in a raft before. We were literally lodged over a rapid. Water gushing up against the raft. The bamboo sticks creaking under the pressure of the water, the rapid and us. The raft punting Thai man was laughing. So there we were four women and a small thai man stuck on this bamboo raft on top of a rapid. Then it began to rain. And I mean torrential rain. The raft punting Thai man soon stopped laughing. I was nearly crying. He was too when he tried to dislodge the raft from the rapid and nearly fell over in the process. Thankfully there was a guy on the river bank who came to help. Off we went. We were all laughing then - hysterically.

After an hour or so after the titanic episode was over and the torrential rain stopped I began to enjoy the scenerary. It was gorgeous. Surrounded by the jungle and paddy fields. Pai is beautiful. Very relaxed which is a lovely change from Bangers and Chiang Mai. Will definately be coming back here but not sure I'll be signing up for the bamboo rafting again!!