Cambodian Crash and Killing Fields

Forgive me, but this post will not be as detailed as I would like due to the fact I did a huge detailed post, only to lose it!!! Many days have passed since I had the energy to attempt it again.
It just so happens this has just happened again as I was half way through this post! I think I may smash the laptop!
We arrived in Phnom Penh and went to a restaurant called Friends which was run by street children. It was delicious! Although they nearly had to face my wrath when I started literally timing them until I walked out due to the ridiculously slow service! It took about an hour but the peppered beef was well worth the wait, that and Mike reminded me that it was for a good cause. Luckily for them they delivered the food with about 1 1/2 minutes to go!
The next day we head out to the royal place which was nfortnately closed but one part was still open, the siler pagoda. hey still charged us for the full price admission! The silver pagoda has a floor made out of solid silver and was filed with gold statues, diamonds and jewels.  I had to resist turning like a magpie and stealing all that glitters. It must be spending all my time with a Scouse influencing me! After we headed to the Russian Market which isn't remotely Russian but is an amazing experience all the same. It did make me want to throw up and inhale the fumes of that instead of smelling the fumes that were raping my senses there! I am now quite the bargainer and managed to pick up a few things for dirt cheap- happy times. That night we had out to dinner to a place called 'The Laughing Fat Man'. Now Mike isn't a fan of curry at all, but he thought he would try a local one and he loved it so much. So much in fact we went back the night after and he ordered the same dish. It was just a traditional Khmer curry and I will have to learn to make it back home to wow people with.
Of course you can't go to Phnom Penh and not go and visit the 'Killing Fields' although its proper name is something like 'genocide center', followed by the Tusol Prison Museum. When you arrive, for me personally, it isn't what you expected. I expected it to be a really dark, dirty, morbid place (the actual site of the mass graves). Instead you are greeted by bird song, lush green and hot, bright weather. We got an headset guide to help us round the sight and this is when things changed. You would be stood by something, such as a tree, and the headset would inform you this was know as the killing tree (something like that- I am bad with names) where they used to grab babies by their feet and swing them to smack their heads against the tree and chuck them into the mass grave. It makes you feel sick. Along with real encounters from the rare escapee and ex guards etc. It really is emotionally hard to listen to. The famous monument with the skulls wasn't as gruesome as I thought it would be, I think after the tour around the site and  you are in too much shock about what happened to these people that mentally you try and block out what actually happened to them and try to emotionally detatch yourself from the situation. If you and interested about it search for 'Khmer Rouge' or 'The Killing Fields' and that will fill  you in better than I. After this we headed to the famous prison where the victims of the fields were heald until being transferred to the fields. It is grim and horrible, but nowhere near as difficult to go round (personally) than the Ho Chi Minh War Museum or the prison in Hanoi. Still, it is hard!
The next day we headed on a 4 hour bus (more like 5) to Sihanoukville, filled with loud bass msic (which I asked them to turn off!!) followed by a LOUD screachy Khmer film- I was ready to kill at one point! Even other Westerners thanked me as I walked back up the bus after I told them to turn the music off. I am never quite sure how to present the name as even in Cambodia it has been shown as I have mentioned it but also as 'Sihanouk Ville'. Anyway, it is BEAUTIFUL!! The main town itself is a bit of a dive but there are a number of beaches. Lonely Planet guide will tell you that 'Serendipity' beach is the the most popular. Do not go there. We went to Otres beach which was pure paradise! It was the nicest beach I have been to in years. It is quiet but there are beach bars and restaurants. I'd highly recommend 'Indigo Otres'- it is fantastic and you can find it on HostelWorld. Plus it is run by 2 very friendly, welcoming, fun and young Westeners. There isn't too much to tell about our 4 nights here as it was super relaxed. We met some great lads (two of which ran our hostel) and we went out with them to a place called 'Victory Hill' aka- Whore Alley. I was the only Western female there. Don't get me wrong, the boys weren't after/into ladies of the night but the drink prices here were just ridiculous. It was so much fun and certainly an experience! It was really fross to see these old, ugly Westerners being fussed over by all these Asian whores- made me feel sorry for all parties/sick. You end up beingable to ignore it though, even if they are starting to rub yor arms asking you to buy them a drink, to which my response was 'no way'. Thy didn't come back in my direction after that- apart from Lisa the Ladyboy who I took a liking too and made me laugh. Other than chilling, eating and drinking at Otres beach, we didn't do much else. We did try out windsurfing without a lesson yesterday which was so much fun and after falling off a number of times I seemed to get the hang of it, then I wuld look up to find Mike, realise how far out I had gone, panic, fall off, swim for dear life back to the bach. I have a huge fear of deep water so I was calling for Mike you couldn't hear me, swimming frantically back pulling my windsurf behind me and mistaking its fins to be sharks, which got me even more worked up. I'm such an idiot I know.
We headed off to Siem Reap last night on a 10 hour night bus. NEVER AGAIN. The driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed us into a ditch on the other side of the road and got us stuck for a while. Since arriving at our hostel the Western owner told us never to get a night bus in Asia as they are notourious for crashing and fatalities as the drivers are usually on drugs to try and keep them awake etc. So- day busses from now on- don't worry family and friends! So far today has been lazy in Siem Reap but we are going off exploring soon and then tomorrow I'm going to get my Lara Croft on and hit the temples- obviously the infamous Angkor Wat and many more.

Silver Pagoda

 

Khmer Carving

Just a hint of the horrors- a tiny glimpse.

One of the mass graves. 450 victims in a tiny space. There were so many of these. Some bones still rise to the surface.

I some skulls you  could see the damage done to them whilst the people were bludgeoned to death to save precious bullets. Music would be played to hide their screams.

Some rules of Tusol Prison

 

 

ONE of many punishments at the prison

 

 

 

 

The Gallows

Victims- not knowing what was coming

Fancy Tuktuks!

Otres Beach- Sihanoukville

 

 

 

So Long Saigon

As I write this we are have come to the end of our stay in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and also in Vietnam. We are on our third night here so as you can expect there isn't a drastic amount to tell.
Lets start with our arrival. It still p*****s me off just thinking about it, since travelling I have stressed again and again that there seems to be a complete lack of logic in Asia (and maybe other places but I haven't been there yet!). We endured an 8 hour sleeper train which wasn't so bad apart from when I pay extra for a 4 person cabin, that is what I expect! Not two beds taken up by 5 people- one being a baby!!! Not to mention the old couple had stolen my blanket- I do not care how old someone is, they should have manners towards others- getting old is not an excuse to be greedy or inconsiderate. Luckily I had a sleeping bag, it was probably cleaner anyway. So, we arrived in or destination and got in the taxi to our hostel. We chose this hostel specially as it was 24hour check in and we arrived at 4.30am. We got to the hostel shattered due to the bratty child keeping us awake and the old people's mobile going off, nevermind the younger guy's obvious bladder problem that made him go to the toilet constantly. We were also still wet from the constant rain. Long story short- we wanted to get dry and go to bed. The receptionist told us we could check in at 9am. I wanted to do him massive amounts of harm. I tried to explain his errors but he didn't seem to get it. I should mention I previously contacted the 24hour hotel stating we would be arriving at 4.30am. They didn't have our room available and suggested we left our bags there and went to explore. At 4.30am. For 4 1/2 hours. I demanded the WiFi password- looked up a nearby hotel and we got a taxi there. We went through the whole process again and when we were about to pay, they said check in was at 12. WHAT THE F**K?!?!? I had just spent 10 minutes explaining we wanted to check in there and then. Isn't it convinient that when they finally got the message they only had a VIP room available and we would have to pay a half day price for it before moving to a smaller room for 3 nights at 12. I was so frustrated I just took the VIP room for 3 1/2 nights. To be fair it would cost a lot more in England for what we have got but that isn't the point! So....after all of this we slept till 2pm!
When we got up we went to explore and went to their 'Notre Dame' which is a replica of the Parisian one. It was ok but not as cool as the original- the beggars make it a bit more authentic. We carried on exploring and Mike pointed out absent mindedly a 'Toni&Guy'. I was so happy!!! We walked in and both of us got or mangled, curly, matted maines tamed. The prices were so cheap! We went out that night to a Brazillian restaurant that Mike had got his eye on ever since we saw it- basically a meat heaven. Yes- we should eat the local cuisine, but sometimes you need a taste of something else. The next day we went to the Reunification Palace- I was bored out of my skull, it isn't a place of interest to me at all. My mood didn't help- I was cranky cranky cranky, I was too hot, hungry, sweaty, not mention I felt really ill! Afterwards we went to a War Museum. This is definately worth a visit. It is amazing but at the same time it so emotionally draining, I nearly cried. I felt totally deflated after going, it is not for the faint hearted. It is an in detail explanation of what the French and Americans did to the Vietnams during their war (of course- it didn't mention about what the Vietnamese did to the French or Americans but they aren't going to are they!). They don't leave any detail out about the torture methods, real photographs, torturing tools etc. I don't think i'll ever be able to forget that visit, no matter how hard I try. It is enough to turn you completely hippy! After this visit we tried some lunch but we had to go sharpish. My vision had gone blurry, my head was splitting and pounding at the temples and front and I felt sick We got back to the hotel where I was sick a few times. I then had a cold compress on my had and tried to sleep for a couple of hours. I am a lot better now but I am still a bit off colour so we haven't ben out or done anything since then really. Today we managed to send a box back to the UK for which they raped us over the price but you win some you lose some with sending boxes home. We also managed to have another little walk aroung the famous Ben Thanh Market and pick up some little essentials.
Tomorrow we move onto our next country: Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I can't wait. Although it is a 7 hour bus- when they say a time duration, you always know to add at least another 2 hours so lets say 9!

Mike feeding a Monkey bananna

I asked for a baked potato. I even gave descriptions and actions to double check that is what i'd get. This is what I got.

Boats in Hue

Beach in Hoi An

Mike ordered a hotpot. He had an image of something you'd find on Coronation St. This is what he got. Bless.

Mike in the mud bath in Nha Trang.

The Ho Chi Minh City 'Notre Dame' (Saint-Marie Cathedral)

US Army chopper

Tank

Mike admiring the jet fighter plane

Guillitine and head basket. I couldn't bring myself to photograph anything else there. I don't know how others had the stomach to do so. The photographs were worse than the descriptions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud!

We set off back to Ha Noi to catch our train that night to Hue. Another 12hour+ train. The train journey was relatively painless- I think once you have done an Indian sleeper train, any other seems like a luxury. I must stress though, if you insist on doing the trains I wouldn't get anything less than a soft sleeper- only 4 people in a cabin which equals more chance of sleep, less chance of getting ill, more chance of meeting fellow travellers etc etc. We arrived in Hue and it is true what they say, it is a bit dullsville, there isn't too much to do there but it is a good stop off point before moving on. We stayed 2 nights just for a rest However, Hue does have a market that is a local market. A lot of the time you will read about markets in the 'Lonely Planet' guide and you get there and each row is the same old same old knock off tat; the market in Hue was authentic and a real cultural experience (even if it was a massive attack on the senses in some parts). We arrived and it was massive and so cramped. I found that people don't know the more they leave you alone the more likely you are to buy something....it is hell on earth being so pestered by so many people yelling at you to look at their stuff and 'reassuring' you that they have 'your size'. When you are literally dripping with sweat and feeling claustrophobic, the last thing you need is people screaching at you, tugging at your sleeve, in some cases just laghing at you etc. Anyway- we plodded on and had a look around, haing a nose around some of the stalls with bits of pig head out on a table in the sun with no hygeine control, waiting to be picked up for a delicious treat; finding all sorts of weird and wonderful animal bits that smelt like they'd bring you back from the dead. It really was a great experience although at the time I was prepared to kill as it is frustrating. Mike decided to treat himself to a new crappy watch----a Spongebob watch. It broke about 5 minutes later. Suprise Suprise.
The next day we headed to Hoi An. I couldn't bring myself to do it by bike as it is coming up to the anniversary of my crash so not great timing when everything gets brought back to me. Also I couldn't hlp but thinking it would b selfish of me because it is quite well known for being risky and if anything happened to me then my family and friends would suffer more. However, it is a once in a lifetime experience and Mike really wants to do it so I am going to consider it. For that leg of the journey however, we got a sleeper bus. It took about 5/6 hours and it was the strangest bus I had ever been on, it was just beds on two levels, very narrow and a bit dingy. It didn't help things when a load of locals got on and made a racket, I could hear one sloshing food around and chewing with his mouth open from the otherside of the bus. Then they decided to blast out music on their phone that sounded like a bunch of ghouls playing violin and a girl being disembowled at the same time as her cat. Pure awful.  We arrived in Hoi An and went to our hotel which was a massive treat. The next day we chilled by the pool, I am still sickly white, and then went out for dinner and drinks. We ended up meeting the same guys from the Halong Bay trip and went to Why Not bar with them. I was already suitably drunk by this point and got even more so. I bet I chatted a load of s**t- it is always the worry the day after; what did I actually talk about? Probably something about hailing the almighty Boris or something! The next day we headed off to the beach and had a great time before heading back for a siesta, waking up and going for dinner. We went to a restaurant in Old Town called 'Streets' (it could be a 'Z' I can't remember and if it is my head has decided to correct it and rightly so! It is a Vietnamese restaurant set up by an American lady and it helps street children of Vietnam learn a language, trade and gets them set up in life, such an amazing cause. The food was delicious and the staff were just lovely, definately worth a visit if you find yourself in Hoi An. We then had another walk around the shops, picked up a couple more DVD's, I picked up a couple for my niece and nephew. We then bought silk dressing gowns (matching due to Mike's request!) as apparently Hoi An is famous for silk.
From Hoi An we moved onto Nha Trang for 3 nights. Nha Trang is great for party party but Mike and I only managed one night out and it wasn't wild. On our first day we went to a place famous for their mud baths. It was AMAZING. We arrived and decided to for the couple treatment. We had a joing mud bath which mades us both look like creatures from the black lagoon, after 20 minutes we were made to sun bath for 5 mins- minus the sun but it was still very warm, before showering off and heading to the next bit. It was another bath but this time it was mineral. We got it with these two massive teabag type things that were heated and sented. This was lovely but dragged on a little too long, 45 minutes, but it was fun freaking Mike out saying that is how our skin will look when we are old. He thought I was even more odd for letting old skin freak me out. After this we got a 45 minute massage each followed by this heated jacuzzi and heated mineral pool. The experience in England would have cost a small fortune....it Vietnam it was under £30 for us both. My skin is super silky soft!!! The next day we went to a fun island called 'Vinpearl Island'. You have to get the 'world's longest cable car across the sea' to get there (oooooohh) and it is basically a small island with a bech, theme park and water park. It sounds a lot more exciting than what it was, it was very dated, small and over-rated but it was really good fun. I was far more daring than what I'd usually be- I hate scary slides. I went on the black hole one which is similar to one of those machines you put 2p into and watch it swirl for ages before it drops through the hole. It was fun apart from once I was out of the tunnel my body splayed open like a spider on it's back with a few legs plucked out trying to fight the water to get back on it's feet again, once I droped through the hole I wondered why the Vietnamese man was smiling at me so much, then I realised....my bikini top had been knocked completely out of place, exposing my assets, much to the guys delight and my horror. Tonight we leave to get on a  8 hour train to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) for 3 nights. The weather has taken a sudden turn and is now chucking it down! Still too warm though!
 

Good Morning Vietnam

We set off to catch our first train from Guangzhou-Nanning (both China). It was an ordeal and hectic as per usual. Stupid China Trains only sent Mike's ticket and after many of rude emails they sent me, they told me to pay for a new ticket at Guangzhou station and get a refund in Nanning. We endured a long taxi ride and two tubes to get to the manic station that was PACKED. It was a huge place and we got lost in a maze of tourist tat shops (not even the kind I love) as the signs to the ticket office kept sending us in different directions along these narrow indoor alleyways- we then realised this was a clever con and I went to the station master to ask where to go. We were sent to another building where there were about 30 different kiosks- all with reall long lines. Not knowing which one to go to we queued in the one with the least amount of people. It was still a form of torture as no one had an idea about personal space and etiquette- people kept puching, coughing in my face and hocking up phlegm balls, never mind the shouting down my ear whilst talking on their mobiles. I finally got to the front and they couldn't locate my details, they made me stand to one side. They then sent me to another queue, and then that sent me back to the original one, all the whilst time ticking away till our train left. Eventually I got my ticket and ventured back to the main building, went through security again and got onto our sleeper train. The China sleeper trains are a lot better than the Indian ones and we were quie happy- apart from the business man sleeping underneath me needed his throat slitting due to his immense snoring. We arrived in Nanning 13 1/2 hours later and I went through the same queue swapping process to gtmy refund before heading to a hotel we booked for 9 hurs until our next train to Hanoi. The Hanoi train took 12 hours and was fine apart from we were sharing with an annoying Chinese couple. When we arrived we got ripped off by a taxi driver who wanted 200,000 dong (about £6.50) for a short journey but it was 5am and we just wanted to get to our hostel.
We arrive at our hostel and trundled our cases up 105 stairs- yes I counted; much to my annoyance I found out later that they offer to carry most peoples luggage- I had already got a blood blister in my finger from carrying my own at this point. The nex day we went off for lunch in Hanoi and it is a really nice city. The traffic id bizzare- thousands of scooters whizzing by with no road crossing system- you just have to walk out into the traffic and pray for the best- like you do in most of Asia. The weather was really hot but not sun tanning weather. We had a look around and got our bearing and went out for a vietnamese curry- which was delicious!! We headed to the night market, followed by quite a few drinks and a noodle pot on the way home. The next day we got up and headed out to Hoa Lo Prison. A prison that held prisoners of war. The history was amazing- yet really sad. Such an interesting place to go. The way the French treated the Vietnamese was disgusting- completely different to how the American POW's were kept; American presedential candidate John McCain was held captive in the prison for a stretch. After the prison we headed to St Joseph's Cathedral which was quite gothic. Although it was pretty, it was unfortunately closed so we couldn't get inside.

Hoam Kiem Lake (Hanoi)

St Joseph's Cathedral

We had a spot of lunch and contined to walk around the lake. We chilled that evening and just went out for dinner to a nice resturant called 'Green Mango' which served delicious food but their watercress soup will never beat my mum's. It was just as we were finishing dinner that the heavens decided to open and cast down a seriously heavy bout of rain. With no signs of it stopping or getting lighter we decided to make a run for it. We arrivd back at the hotel soaked through to the bone!

The next morning we got up early to be taken to Halong Bay. I was so excited about this and judging by what I have seen so far- had every right to be. It was a four hour journey to the harbour where our boat awaited us. It was a really cool boat with an upper deck with sun loungers (minus the sun) and Mike and I were lucky enough to have a double room with our own balcony although it wasn't a big boat. We got chatting to some fellow travellers who all seem really nice as we set sail towards the Thieng Cung caves. The caves were fantastic but we had only just been to some very similar in Xi'an (China) so the novelty to us wasn't quite as great as it was to others- it was still cool though.

Cave

Legend has it a monkey showed a lost fisherman this exit from the cave.

After the caves we headed to a floating fishing village which was a superb sight. We explored by kayaks around the village and around the mountain islands. Mike mainly took charge of the rowing as he said I was rubbish. We went through passageways trough the rocks of mountains to hidden pools of water which were so quiet and relaxing- it was truly an amazing experience with views i'll never forget.

 

 

 

 

After this amazing experience we headed back to our boat where we spent the night. We had to get up today at 8am for breakfast before we set off to our mountain hike. I have to be honest with you...I didn't complete it. I attempted it but it was just steep stairs and rock climbing, I gave it a good go until a mixture of my asthma and unfit state won, sending me and some others back down the mountain. Mike continued it right to the top- the trooper. We are now in or sea view bach ht on Monkey Island with beautiful views, a lovely small private beach and warm weather .

Our view from our room