Airport funs

Well... Because of my crazy flight pattern I. E. Gatwick to Edinburgh to Toronto to LA, I knew I was in for a helluva journey and not knowing air Canada I was pretty excited about it all.

This was until I realised I had no real way to get to the freaking airport since my flight was at 7.25 am and there would be no way I'd get there in time with public transport. Now you all know the saying about buses, you wait ages for one and then two come along at once... Well this was the same with my mates offering my lifts for which I am massively grateful for (thanks to you Shanil, Pez, Nikhil and Deepal).

I'm gonna cut it pretty short but effectively the flights were uneventful for the most part, the check in guy at Edinburgh seemed to detest the sight of my face (even though I had gone through, what I had thought to be, a courteous beard shaveage in order to escape such looks!) and Air Canada being weird and either having rubbish entertainment on board or making you pay for food. Who does that? A flight that's more than 5 hours and you make the customers pay for food? Even freaking British Airways gave a full breakfast and that was for an hour flight from Gatwick to Edinburgh.

Eventually I made it to LAX, and already you could see, smell and sense America in the air... Until I broke my handle on my suitcase, that was fun! It was here I gave Lauren a shout (I had met her whilst travelling around Asia) and to realize that after two years I was going to see her again suddenly seemed to surreal.

Gearing up for the States

There is a huge difference when thinking about going travelling and dreaming about it all and then actually putting things into action and seeing plans come into fruition, or in my case generally a lack of plans given my non planning, spontaneous style.

Regardless just booking the flights to the states started to make it real and suddenly something I could latch on to for the last week or so of work.

Unfortunately and fortunately though this is were the rose tinted glasses syndrome kicks in and you start seeing everything in a huge positive and thinking about just how much you'll miss everything.

Now after travelling across Asia two year ago I though I would have handled that by now, but no, it still hits as hard as ever and I'm assuming it'll be something that doesn't ever go... Though I'm sure it's also an indication of my amazing friends and family too... Nevertheless it's something to battle with all by itself when thinking about travelling.

Vietnam here I come, no wait back to Phonm Penh it is

Countries: 2
Cities: 11
Massages: 9
Time away: 56
Books read: 10

So I leave Sihanoukville and all the new friends I've made to get on a bus to feel as if I'm actually doing ssomething rather than spending my life chilling, maxing and relaxing by a beach coupled with the fact my visa was going to run out soon too.

Anyway on the bus I met some people whose names I'll never remember and faces I'll never see again and eventually got woken up at the border of Vietnam. So far so good with things going along pretty smoothly although slowly with the bag checks and being stamped out of Cambodia. Then suddenly it all goes pear shaped (or jack fruit shaped since they don't have many pears around here).

The conversation went as such...
Vietnamese border control: Excuse me sir you can't go through. (This being after the rest of my coach went through fine)
Me: Erm...why not?
Vb: Your visa is wrong, we can't see your passport no. clearly
Me: Right but everything else is fine?
Vb: Yes
Me: So why not write my passport no. in? I mean it's already in my passport after all (simply stuff right?)
Vb: We can't, my supervisor won't let you in.
Me: Hmm Ok what do I do then?
Vb: Back to Phonm Penh
Me: And its free to sort out right?
Vb: Of course

Away goes my coach that I'd paid for and the guy who was helping us through all these security checks and dressed like a seventies pimp decides he doesn't really want to know me now. Of course you would be pretty annoyed but my mind was too busy searching for solutions than escalating problems I quickly checked back into Cambodia (as quickly as Cambodian officals can) and jumped on a random bus to Phonm Penh.
It only had a sprinkling of Cambodian and Vietnamese locals on it with the rest of the bus filled with strange luggage. The oddest thing was a kid no older than 7 who was dressed to the nines in a full tuxedo with a red bow tie and yet he seemed fascinated with ME!

After a while managed to get back to Phomn Penh and got to the Vietnamese Embassy who said surprise surprise that I would have to buy a whole new visa for the budget price of $70. This was because the visa I got before was from Sihanoukville and therefore they couldn't change it, basically a load of tosh, but I managed to barter him down to $50 after I decided to unleash my version of bullshit, yet even with that saving it still burnt a pretty sizeable whole in my wallet.

So I had a whole day to burn and nowhere to go. I ended up just staying at a restaurant I liked from my stay in Phonm Penh where I just sat for hours eating, wi-fing, reading and eating some more. I even decided to get another massage to kill the time before grabbing my new 'correct' visa.
Just before getting on the bus I had to change up some money at a pharmacy and like any traveller after a day like this I indulged in Valium, 10 for a $1, money well spent in my sleep deprived eyes.

Vietnam here I come, no wait back to Phonm Penh it is

Countries: 2
Cities: 11
Massages: 9
Time away: 56
Books read: 10

So I leave Sihanoukville and all the new friends I've made to get on a bus to feel as if I'm actually doing ssomething rather than spending my life chilling, maxing and relaxing by a beach coupled with the fact my visa was going to run out soon too.

Anyway on the bus I met some people whose names I'll never remember and faces I'll never see again and eventually got woken up at the border of Vietnam. So far so good with things going along pretty smoothly although slowly with the bag checks and being stamped out of Cambodia. Then suddenly it all goes pear shaped (or jack fruit shaped since they don't have many pears around here).

The conversation went as such...
Vietnamese border control: Excuse me sir you can't go through. (This being after the rest of my coach went through fine)
Me: Erm...why not?
Vb: Your visa is wrong, we can't see your passport no. clearly
Me: Right but everything else is fine?
Vb: Yes
Me: So why not write my passport no. in? I mean it's already in my passport after all (simply stuff right?)
Vb: We can't, my supervisor won't let you in.
Me: Hmm Ok what do I do then?
Vb: Back to Phonm Penh
Me: And its free to sort out right?
Vb: Of course

Away goes my coach that I'd paid for and the guy who was helping us through all these security checks and dressed like a seventies pimp decides he doesn't really want to know me now. Of course you would be pretty annoyed but my mind was too busy searching for solutions than escalating problems I quickly checked back into Cambodia (as quickly as Cambodian officals can) and jumped on a random bus to Phonm Penh.
It only had a sprinkling of Cambodian and Vietnamese locals on it with the rest of the bus filled with strange luggage. The oddest thing was a kid no older than 7 who was dressed to the nines in a full tuxedo with a red bow tie and yet he seemed fascinated with ME!

After a while managed to get back to Phomn Penh and got to the Vietnamese Embassy who said surprise surprise that I would have to buy a whole new visa for the budget price of $70. This was because the visa I got before was from Sihanoukville and therefore they couldn't change it, basically a load of tosh, but I managed to barter him down to $50 after I decided to unleash my version of bullshit, yet even with that saving it still burnt a pretty sizeable whole in my wallet.

So I had a whole day to burn and nowhere to go. I ended up just staying at a restaurant I liked from my stay in Phonm Penh where I just sat for hours eating, wi-fing, reading and eating some more. I even decided to get another massage to kill the time before grabbing my new 'correct' visa.
Just before getting on the bus I had to change up some money at a pharmacy and like any traveller after a day like this I indulged in Valium, 10 for a $1, money well spent in my sleep deprived eyes.

Sihanoukville Part One

Countries: 2
Cities: 10
Massages: 7
Time away: 49 days
Books read: 8

So this bus journey consisted of sitting and listening to a mix of dubstep, electro, house, motown, indie in one ear and a overly loud Cambodian karaoke soundtrack of ballads in the other whilst having odors of dried fish from the Cambodian lady sat next to me in pyjamas, fun times for most of my senses!

I got off the bus and went to stay in my first dorm which lots of people had recommended, Monkey Republic. There was a reason it was recommended by so many people, its simply an awesome place to stay, backpacker central with acres of chilling out areas, a video room, great music (more on that in a bit) a bar, good food and swarms of people without getting too crowded. Basically it was the place to be!

After getting in and settling down I met my dorm mates, Mekial (sounded like Vehicle) a German fellow, Kat the Estonian who tried claiming she was Jamaican, Gary an English dude, Itch who had just finished his service in the Israeli army, Pepe the Italian stallion of the group who was just an out and out joker, Charlotte who I thought seemed more of a Christine and a crazy Kurdish girl who shall only be known as crying and wanting to eat Pringles. Strange I know but that’s what you get with dorms a real pick and mix. It was an international pick and mix too with a few Brits and the rest coming from all over.

With Sihanoukville you kind of got into a rhythm there, you woke up and had some breakfast with everyone and then either settled down to read in the dorm or your room or even down by the beach, then headed for a nana nap and possibly do one errand for the day i.e. having your haircut, buying a book or doing your laundry but only one mind you, any more and you’d knacker yourself out! Then went to have a BBQ dinner by the beach, then to a beach bar called Dolphin for a few cheap (25 cent cheap) drinks and lastly to JJ’s and if you’ve got anything left then maybe the grimy Utopia. This basically repeated itself for a few days.

Now this might sound strange to stay in one place doing nothing for such a long time yet with the chilled out nature of the place and the people becoming part of your family by going through this daily regime it was hard to pull yourself away. Another huge draw was the immense music played at Monkey. It has been by far the greatest collection of music I have heard anywhere on my travels, possibly ever in my life! In the first few days I was there I heard only 3 crap songs and the rest were simply brilliant, it was so good I feel the need to reiterate this point. THE MUSIC AT MONKEY WAS AWESOME!

One of the days me and Itch went down to the beach to enjoy the sunshine when a group of kids attempted to sell us various bits of tat including friendship bracelets. In order to do so they had some great lines like “open your heart, open your wallet” and “you have girlfriend” “no” “if you buy you get girlfriend” as if the allure of a bracelet is the biggest magnet for females. Most of them were quite cheeky but funny and you could have a laugh with them, much like some of the children at Ankor Wat. However there was one child in particular who tried selling me a bracelet and would not go. He then insisted on playing a game and if I lost I would have to buy to which I stated I wouldn’t buy but I’ll play for fun, of course I won the first and lost the 2nd and 3rd which immediately meant I had to buy from him. Again I told him I wasn’t going to buy and he started pestering me for ages gradually getting to annoyance. It was at this point I said you have two options, you can either go somewhere else and try and get some business or you can waste your time and annoy me, which of course he said he was going to stay and annoy me! For a whole 45 minutes he tried everything in his childhood repertoire to annoy me and I used all the might/patience I’ve experienced from teaching to ignore him and eventually it paid off and he pissed off, PHEW!

Anyway that night me and Itch convinced the others over some gorgeous Israeli food to go to Bamboo island the next day with two other Belgium’s we met called Linda and Febe. We had to do something otherwise it just felt like our time was fruitless. As for our leaving the coast for a while we ended up having a leaving party which meant we were crazy tired the next morning yet in our hungover haze we still managed to mention to Gary “remember to bring some booze to the island and we’ll pay you back later”. It really is amazing how the brain prioritizes things!

Phonm Penh - Overstay

Countries: 2
Cities: 9
Massages: 6
Time away: 46 days
Books read: 6

The capital of Cambodia, though I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. I got off the bus and like a swarm of flies to a warm cow pat the tuk tuk and moto drivers descended upon us.
After a bumpy journey with a little adventure in the form of getting strange looks every few seconds beacuse Jonny and I were the only forenigers on the bus and stopping off at a local market. and sampling local delicacies of fried crickets and tarantula, which doesn't actually taste that bad, the one thing we wanted after this was a place to reside, not pesterings from money hungry drivers. Jonny needed to contact someone who he knew from Phonm Penh and possibly a place to stay but his battery and luck it seemed was out. Though we had heard about the famous Khmer hospitality we hadn't seen it yet and it is only in those moments when you really need it do they seem to appear, and as such you become so much more grateful for it. We were offered refuge in a shop/restaurant and given free tea and eletricity usage.
This was from people who earnt about $60 a year and to have this just moments after hearing from a driver that this is a dirty, seedy place where old men oome to have their kicks, I wasn't expecting kindness from strangers.

After a while we took the advice of the tuk tuk driver that hung around the longest and went to Longlin guesthouse on St. 19. Nice enough for $8 a night with similar furnishings to Manadlay though the walls were shaky. To make up for this was the balcony area, chilled to the max and thats precisely what I did. The next day intent on going out only for my stomach to back out on me and give me some weird pangs I ended up hanging back and Jonny went to the gym and to visit his friend.
The next day took a similar shape to the last of doing sod all with first intentions of going to see the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda.

That night though I met up with Jonny and headed to a random Cambodian place where they served jugs of beer for $2, which you just can't turn down. Somehow being the only foreingners in there for ages we bumped into Adi and Jade who had some new friends (Chad, John and Rich?). It was pretty lucky and I was grateful for it as I now had people who wanted to go to the killing fields and s21.

The following morning I got up early making sure I would have ample time to get to their guesthouse yet after a good 45 minutes going to each dragon guesthouse/hotel there is I just couldn't find it, then a moment of sheer dumb luck I managed to catch them just getting off a tuk tuk near their hostel.

We then went to the only western fast food place so far on my trip, KFC. It was okay but the main point here is that i got to chat to the lads who told me stories and showed videos of their previous days fun in the shooting range. Chads video of him shooting a rocket launcher brought out the real man-kid in me and I just thought about the uber coolness of it.
We started off the trip having a tuk tuk race with some randoms, joking about, betting on it and generally larking around before the somberness ahead, I suppose it was a kind of coping mechanism for us all considering we knew it was going to be a tough day.

We went to the killing fields and this is where you truly get a glimpse of the horrors the Cambodians have been through, definitely don't go if you have a weak stomach. This was all in contrast to the feelings I had just had after the shooting range stories.

The killing fields could from the out set be a general picnic area at first glance but as you step in the errie aura akin to that of a work/death camp in Germany/Poland spreads over you and is evident to all. Hushed near silence fell all around when looking at the monument which housed floor upon floor of skulls, bones and clothing from the deceased. There is far too much to say but it is something that can only be experienced, the worst two were the baby killing tree (Yup even defenceless babies weren't spared) and the pit which once had over 150 headless bodies.

s21 was where tons (20,000+) of Cambodians were tortured and kept before being sent to the killing fields. It was a high school before the bloodshed and at first you can imagine children runnning around and enjoying themselves until you walk into a room with an iron bed,blood stains and steel leg clamps for comfort and then into the ridiculously sized rooms subdivided to a size not fitting for farmyard animals to house these victims.
What I could never understand was why they were tortured, pictures of inhabitants of s21 were in many rooms spreading their stories from men women and children. None were spared in case of revenge attacks. But just what infromation they hoped to extract from these people I don't know.

What I do know is that the Cambodians are an optimistic bunch, with such horrendous history the most part of the country isn't looking for revenge but justice and to move forward. Towards a bright Cambodian future.

After all of this I followed the others to a place I later discovered was called Elsewhere, which had three pools and a bar, the best place to go to after such an emotionally draining day. Not to forget what we had jsut seen but simply to take our minds off it for the time being. There we enjoyed ourselves, played around in the pool even when a rainstorm came along and finally messed around with some of the Cambodian kids that jumped in the pool to do somersalts and play a bit of water catch.

Later that evening Jonny showed everyone his singing skills , we played pool and generally relaxed. This felt like a proper backpackers day, visiting important historical and cultural places whilst enjoying the company of new people and new stories as well as some well earned booze.

Till I left for Sihanoukville I pretty much repeated what I had done on the other days which was not much, either at the hotel or Elsewhere, just reading and reading really. BAnd then I had with the others a great Indian meal...it dawned on me it was time to move on.

Siam Reap: End

Countries : 2
Cities : 8
Massages : 6
Time away : 40 days
Books read: 6

Siam Reap we bid farewell after an overstayed visit and yet it didn't seem that long. I intended to stay for about 5 nights and I think I actually stayed for 9 nights ...maybe more. Although the city itself is awesome and has so much to offer I think a large part of my prolonged visit was due to the amazing hotel myself and Jonny stayed at. Not the Green Banana as was our home for two nights but the incredibly family friendly Mandalay Inn. $7 a night for a TV, wifi, quality showers, rooftop gym, deep wooden architecture and just the best atmosphere you could ask. The only thing lacking was a view but I can deal with that.

On two of the days we visited Ankor Wat and the surronding temples. Without a doubt one of the best parts of my whole travelling experience so far, just to see the build work, to wonder at the detailed carvings, to climb the steepest of steps, meeting people that lived in the temples and bargaining and joking around with the children who rush to sell you random souvenirs and the way they try to make you feel bad for not buying something.
For example after I had no money left, I said sorry to a girl since I couldn't buy anything she stunned me with her reply of "sorry doesnt mean anything, it only brings me sorrow". Astonishing and poetic even if she didn't realise it, but it really did make me think about the people here. They are around one of the great sights of the world and yet they can't think about enjoying it since they're far too busy trying to fill their bellies with something. Yet even with this extreme poverty you cant tell at times especially with the children's smiling faces and playful mannerisms (take a scenario where Jonny and I where surronded by kids and their high pitched voices selling books and trinkets and one young boy just stood and looked at us and played his wooden twangy thing and smiled without saying a word. That was powerful enough for Jonny to purchase one from the lad.

Amongst all this was the real childish feel you got in some of the temples, the real life imagination you had as a child when pretending to be Indiana Jones / Tomb Raider. Climbing around things, losing your footing, jumping around, pressing bricks and hoping for secret passages to reveal themselves to you and being in general awe by buildings built over a thousand years ago!

Although there was this feeling in some temples in others there was a deep spiritual calm which came over myself where we would just sit and soak it all in. Or when softly speaking to the monks and finding out about their way of life and them about us.

I won't say much anymore about the temples aesthetically because I'd either not do it justice or I'll be writing forever, so you can either Google them or come and visit, I recommend the latter as either a visit or even as a kind of pilgrimage for Buddhists and Hindus. An experience I wont easily forget.

This brings me on to our tuk tuk driver Cat, he was in a word - legendary! We would step out the temple and within seconds he'd be there next to us waiting to take us to the next place. He looked after us giving hints and tips and just being a really nice guy, very softly spoken gentle fellow who while waiting for us would be studying business modules. After dropping us off at 6 after starting at 4.30ish he would go to school/college till 9.30. Cat had incredible drive, I simply can't imagine that kind of life.

Another day we visited the floating villages. We set out with the horizon in our sights and carried on this way for about twenty minutes or more. Along the way we caught sight of people picking of plastic bottles to recycle for cash, some attempting to fish in the shallow waters and some bathing in the brown and murky liquid.
Then from out of nowhere it seemed the horizon became populated with boats, not one or two mind you but near a thousand just bobbing up and down littering the landscape ahead. In these boats lived up to 9 or 10 persons, something I simply couldn't fathom, it is where they eat, sleep, rest, play, learn and live. This is poverty.

Why do they live on boats in Tonle Sap lake? Well they have to, they're too poor to buy any sort of land and so they live out on the water. To the extent that whilst the men go to fish as their only source of real income, the women paddle towards tourists with one hand and newborn in the other and beg for money. Its not just one village though, we heard there is near 50 or more villages which have over 1000 people living within them on boats across this lake.

Now its not all doom and gloom however as there are floating schools here which teach and feed the children each day, supposedly the best way to donate anything to the community is via the school yet even after doing so and visiting them I couldn't imagine how they can take in information when there's so much noise around the school from passing boats and there is over 50 students per classroom.

It does make you think and as cliche as this is I was truly grateful to be lucky enough that I was born in a privileged country and family.