Cambodia

Sorry Thailand, but Cambodia may now be our favourite country so far in South East Asia. Thanks to a very convincing salesman in Sihanoukville, we decided to do our PADI open water diving course a little earlier than expected, on the island of Koh Rong. What a refreshing change to find somewhere that still only has electricity for 6 hours a day and not a concrete tower in sight! Koh Rong is earmarked for development so we are very pleased we could visit while it is still so unspoilt and beautiful. We really loved our night spent in a treehouse (below), though going to the loo down the steep ladder once the electricity went off was a scary prospect! The diving course turned out to be a pretty intense three days but we really enjoyed it and now can't wait to do some more diving in Thailand. Though we worried about sharks, jellyfish and, of course, drowning, the worst injury sustained was a cut to the leg climbing back on the boat! An instructor to ourselves was an added bonus so we really felt in safe hands. Probably our favourite place so far, and as always we wanted to stay longer.



Next stop was Phnom Penh, and we managed to find ourselves in a rather unsavoury (not according to Steve) part of the city with places such as 'horny bar' and lots of older men with Asian women. Still, it was cheap and a good base for visiting the killing fields and genocide museum. A very upsetting day and shocking to think how recently the Khmer Rouge genocide took place  - in the 1970's. We kept looking at people after that, like the Tuk Tuk driver, thinking they probably lived through it and lost members of their family.

 During our visit to Cambodia we heard that the King's father had died and were quite surprised what an impact this had on the country as a whole. There were three days of mourning where everything pretty much shut down. Apparently, the king was a very popular and important figure who helped bring about Cambodia's independence from the French in the 50's. This picture is of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh which was still closed to visitors a week later, with local people gathered outside bringing flowers and lighting incense as a mark of respect.

A very bumpy bus journey later, we arrived in Siem Reap. A recommendation from Paul and Lisa took us to a lovely guesthouse with hammocks, free bikes and 30 minute free massage. No free T shirt anymore though!

This was our first view of one of the temples of Angkor, during our sunset Tuk Tuk ride. The following day we didn't quite make sunrise, but set off early on bikes to explore the other temples in one day. It really is a beautiful and impressive place, like a national park dotted for miles around with amazingly preserved temples from as early as the 8th century.

The classic view of Angkor Wat, saved for last and we just about made it before the rain! A very tiring day with 30 miles on bikes and lots of walking, but a truly great place, despite the huge amounts of tourists. A ten hour bus ride to Bangkok the following day proved quite a welcome rest, though we did fear for our lives at some points! Our driver seemed to think he was Michael Schumacher, even in the heavy traffic of Bangkok! Off to Koh Tao tonight and very happy to leave the Khao San road of Bangkok behind.

Na Trang to Cambodia

First of all, sorry for the long delay. We weren't just being lazy, the internet has been pretty scarce and unreliable so finding somewhere to upload pictures has been tricky. This first photo is a cute mum and baby monkey we saw on a rather bizarre island tour which included a monkey and bear show, ostrich rides and performing elephants. It all left a rather bad taste in the mouth but the monkeys roaming wild around the island cheered us up. And I was strangely impressed by a handstand from a bear!

Next stop, a little beach resort called Mui Ne. Not the most exciting place but we did get to try lobster for the first time for the princely sum of $20! They even cut it open for us to save any embarassment on our part from having to disect it. Very tasty indeed!

Then off to the capital of Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City - which we enjoyed a lot more than expected. Anywhere would have seemed great, though, after the vilest bus journey yet. Back seat, no aircon and five seats in permanently reclined positions. Enough said! There was a very informative war remnants museum with some pretty grim photos but we certainly feel more informed about the Vietnam war now. We met some more super enthusiastic students wanting to practice their English and a scarily well-informed teenager who could discuss everything from David Cameron's politics to Cheryl Cole's X factor exploits!

Here is the Can Tho floating market, which takes place in the mekong delta in Southern Vietnam. Boats float past offering you everything from coffee to mangos for 10,000 dong, about 20p. Each boat seems to only sell one thing so you see them piled high with pineapples, posting them through little windows to potential customers. Our Mekong Delta tour finished with us finding our own way onto Phu Quoc Island, still largely tourist-free and undeveloped. All would have been well had we not stumbled into a huge festival crowd blocking our way to the port and left us in serious danger of being crushed or missing the ferry! The Vietnamese proved to be slightly less polite in a queue than we might have hoped, pushing past us and laughing at the silly sweaty westerners. Made it in the end and it was well worth it. Yet more beautiful beaches and wonderful food from the night market.

We are now big fans of red snapper and seafood hotpot! Having food caught fresh that day is something we would love to get used to. We were sorry to leave the island, though we wont miss the horrendous roads (workers have been too busy building the new international airport to repair, or maybe even finish, the roads!)

A memorable crossing into Cambodia, with a ''corruption charge"' to pay by our guide and a dollar for not having a vaccination card,or even if you did! Not the best welcome but Kampot was a lovely place to continue or travels. A visit to Bokor National park gave us some wonderful view but we were saddened to see a luxury casino has been built at the top and plans for a 5 star hotel as well. Luckily, most of the national park is protected but apparently not all.

We've now moved on to Sihanoukville which is slightly like the Costa Brava but nice to have reliable internet, laundry service and postbox for a change! Here's Steve relaxing this afternoon by the beach with a local beer. Next stop, Koh Rong or one of the other surrounding islands...

Vietnam - Hanoi to Nha Trang

Watching the sunset over Halong Bay from our boat

 We decided to reward ourselves for all the overnight buses and very 'budget' accomodation by doing a 3 day trip to Halong bay. Pleased to have survived the crazy motorists in Hanoi, we set off to the coast and went aboard our boat. A wonderful lunch of fresh seafood (more giant prawns yay) awaited us, then some kayaking around one of the islands. Halong bay just takes your breath away. It's beautiful, enormous and nothing like anywhere we've been before. After sleeping the night on the boat we arrived at Cat Ba island which is the largest inhabited island in Halong Bay. A pretty serious trek took us to the top of a mountain, with wonderful views of the island.

Enjoying the view from the bungalow

 Next stop was monkey island where we we did, indeed, see monkeys on the beach. We were lucky enough to get one of the bungalows which overlooked the beach and made the most of that view. A rather early start was much improved by a quick dip in the sea. Just wished we'd had longer there to enjoy the peace and spectacular scenery.

Monkey island beach

 As we travelled down the coast to Hue the weather took a turn for the worst. This is rainy season we kept reminding ourselves but after 4 days of torrential rain we were getting a bit fed up! Made the best of it though, armed with raincoats and umbrella. Lots of temples, tombs and other historic sights to keep us busy. Somewhere in all this Steve has managed to hurt his leg, so I'm getting a bit of a rest from all the walking while he is less mobile!

Making the best of the rain

 We manged to coincide our next stop in Hoi An with the Autumn festival where local children dress up as dragons and march around the streets, banging big drums. This photo shows the main road running through the town, absolutely heaving with people enjoying the festivities despite the appalling weather. Managed to fit in a trip to a tailor while we were there and got some clothes made. Steve now has a very nice dinner jacket and a dress for me, and even with shipping back home, not a fraction of the English price.

Crazy main high street in Hanoi

The worst sleeper train so far took us from Hoi An to Nha Trang on a 13 hour journey - bumpy, smelly and no toilet so had to use the pretty vile loos on route. Not the nicest journey at the best of times but made worse by Steve's sore leg - no wonder people take Valium! Made it to Nha Trang, a seaside resort with very cheap accommodation and nice food so we're happy. Weather much better today so we've had a lazy day on the beach, telling ourselves it's to give Steve's leg a rest. Delighted to find a traditional Italian restaurant and get some western food for one of the first times all month. Much as we love the rice and noodles it's a nice change. Happy times.