After our crazy experience getting into Cambodia and the sorry state of the town as we drove in we weren’t hoping for much today. We had organised a motorbike tour of the sites surrounding the city. This turned out to be a scooter tour as actual motorbike were thin on the ground. We came down after eating a great breakfast of hot fresh baked rolls and in Drew’s case an omelette, and met our guide who was sceptical that I could actually ride along with all the other guys sitting out the front who ran the motorbike rentals. We climbed on our little machines and headed off into the unknown.
Riding through town was a double challenge. Firstly there’s the problem of riding on the wrong side of the road which is a challenge in itself. Drew suggested I tie something to my right hand so I wouldn’t forget. But opting for guessing that I would get it after a while I rode after the departing guide. The second challenge is the riding in the traffic. It’s like a cosmically huge version of chicken. Basically you have to know where everyone around you is, but never make eye contact. If you make eye contact then you give way.
We headed out of town and road down some small back roads to a local temple that was a mixture of new temple building and an old walls that went all the way around and were carved to display the churning of the sea of milk. It was very cool, but on returning to our bike we’d discovered that Drew had gotten a puncture in his back tire and we needed to go and get it fixed. Our guide wheeled Drew’s bike into a tiny little grouping of shacks on the side of the road around the back of the temple. We discovered that the little shack that we’d pulled up to was in fact the local mechanic and a kid of about 16 was brought over and started to work on the back tire. We sat down in the shade and watched his attempts to manually get the tire off with hand tools, we were very impressed.
Once he got the tire off with our guides help, we discovered that the long nail that went in the tire didn’t just puncture it, but also ripped a huge gash in one side and put a few dozen holes in the other side too. In the end it was decided that it was unfixable as the gash was about 5 inches long. The mechanic’s sister roared off on my motorbike to get a new inner tube. Our guide walked us across the road and we watched an old couple work on frying food up. The guide selected a fritta that had shrimp fried into it and a fried banana for us to try. We were surprised by how fantastic it was and when the guide said he was getting some fried sweet potato for later we readily agreed. The girl came back with my bike and after the inner tube was replaced and the whole back end of Drew’s bike was screwed back on we headed off with a wave of thanks.
We headed up to Phnom Sampeau first and (after parking our bike and wiping the red dirt off from the roads) headed for the summit. We walked up the curving road to get to the top and stopped half way to see the killing caves of Phnom Sampaeu that were used by the Khmer Rouge to dispose of people that had disobeyed them or were no longer useful. The guide sat us down and explained how the old building (a small square school house) was used as a prison and more than 10,000 people were kept there over the course of the war. The people were disposed of by being thrown down into the caves and died at the bottom. Our guide explained that with the other shallow cave the people tended not to die straight away and there was no escape from a slow and sad death. He also explain many other torturous things that happened there and I don’t want to explain it here. I’ll just say that it’s very sad. We went down into the caves and there are memorials to the people who died, including clothes and bones. The majority of the bones were cremated and only a small number were kept to be used as a reminder to the future generations. Our guides father was killed during this time and he is an only child and his mother never remarried.
With massive lumps in our throats we headed up to the old temple at the top of the hill. The temple is still in use and the monks were chanting and preparing for the full moon day the next day. It had amazing views and there were local children being taught in one of the open rooms as we walked passed. After the massive hike up the hill we were so tired and decided that after looking around we’d go straight down the staircase that we could have walked up and had lunch. By halfway down we realised why the guide said to walk up the road and down the stairs. They were uneven and slippery and it would have been much more tiring climbing them than walking down them. We had lunch at the little place where we left the bikes and mine was a fantastic soup that had two minute noodles in a home made broth that was fantastic and morning grass (this ones for you Mac) as my vegies. It was actually fantastic and we then headed off to our next place to visit.
We were riding along when we started to see more and more piles of chillies on the side of the road. Our guide pulled over and explained that it was chilli harvesting season. The chillies were laid out about half an inch deep on huge blue and green tarps creating a sea of colour as we rode along. The smell of chillies were in the air and it was a magical experience. We made our way to Phnom Banan and then climbed the 358 steps almost straight up to Prasat Banan, an 11th century temple complex. It is an amazing temple group that look a lot like Angkor Wat does, but in much a smaller scale. Some of the temples have only just been rebuilt after they were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge rein of terror. It is an amazingly atmospheric place and it was like a different world when you reached the top after climbing all the stairs.
We then rode through many small towns, waving back at little kids on the side of the road and were challenged when we had to ride the scooters across a suspension bridge, great fun all round. We reached the Bamboo train (nori or norry) and decided to go for a quick round trip. The train is just two train wheels and a bamboo frame on top. The rule is that if they run into a train coming the other way the train with the least amount of stuff is dismantled and moved off the track to let the other train through. We got to do this which was a bit of an adventure. The train goes really fast and sometimes the home made track has big gaps leading to very sore bums when it hit’s the gaps.
After we got back from the train we road on through the country side and came back into Battambang from the other side. We said goodbye to our driver and again headed out to see more of the town. I found my first seeing hands massage and decided that dinner could wait and had an hour massage by a blind man who couldn’t understand very much of what I was saying, it was actually heavenly and only $6. Drew and I then headed off to find a restaurant that we’d been recommended called Gecko Café. It’s run by an American man and it only employs young people who are the soul supports of large families and orphans. It was a great place and we had a odd moment where we were listening to Nora Jones being played and were just thinking about how odd the experience was of listening to songs you’d heard before in a completely different surrounding (while eating Mexican food). It was also as we were sitting there that we noticed that hadn’t seen many people over the age of about 25 and we were reminded of the horrible price Cambodia has had to pay for the peace it has today. We walked home with a renewed love for the country and we we’re very glad that were able to see more of Battambang as we might not have appreciated it if we hadn’t.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Chapter 2: Scams, Shams, Slums and Salmon.
Cambodia... Where the slums got so much soul.
We alighted the train into the sweltering heat of Aranyaprathet just on the Thailand side of the border between Cambodia. A pack of Tuk-Tuk vultures set upon us immediately and another couple travelling on the train with us negotiated a 40 Baht ride to the border, so we followed suit. Arriving at the border we noticed one thing. Where the fuck was the border?... Jumping out of the Tuk-Tuk a few sleazy (Bangkok suit seller style) men started waving forms for us to fill out claiming they were the visa organisers and we needed to get a visa then they would take us to the border. We all instantly new something was dodgy especially because the sign on the building said "traveller's agency" and after about five minutes of second guessing them and checking the Lonely Planet for advice we jumped back in the Tuk-Tuk and told the driver to go to the border.
The driver reversed, drove 100m up the road and turned into the Embassy of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Again at the embassy we weren't sure if we were being scammed or not but we noticed that one of the guys from the travel agency came in with the passport of another European man who had been at the travel agency. Basically they get you to fill in the form and pay, then they take your passport to the embassy to get the visa adding a few dollars commission. We decided just to go ahead and do the visa at the embassy but the other couple from the train still felt suss so they went straight to the actual border. Leaving the embassy a man in a Salmon Polo Shirt tried to convince us to get a taxi from him on the other side of the border, we politely declined saying we'd get a bus and jumped back in the Tuk-Tuk.
When we did make it to the border we found the other couple and learnt that you could actually just get the visa straight from the border and for about $5 less. Oh well, shit happens. The border crossing itself was long and hot process, lots of standing in line, going to a counter and then moving on. The area between Thailand and Cambodia was a no man's land and reflected an instant change in the level of road maintenance as well as general wealth. Cambodia being the much, much poorer of the two.
In PoiPet on the Cambodian side of the border we were accosted by the man in the Salmon Polo again, he had followed us over the border and led us to the last checkpoint where we got our Cambodian stamp (another long hot queue). Leaving the border he directed us to the free tourist shuttle that would take us to the bus station. Arriving at the Bus station there were no buses to Battambang and that a taxi would cost us about $20. We checked the Lonely planet guide again and found that the bus station was actually run as a monopoly and were notorious for scamming tourists with expensive trips.
Again we bailed from the station taking our fellow travellers with us back to the main road. Problem. The Salmon Polo Shirts followed, they didn't just follow us they chased us constantly trying to negotiate a price to travel. By the time we arrived back at the main rd (about 200m from the bus station) the four of us had an entourage of unmarked taxis and men in Salmon Polo Shirts fighting with us and each other for our fare. We found another smaller bus company, but the buses only departed in the morning. We tried to ask a police man for help but he just took off only to return two minutes later with another taxi following. BYYAAAAAGHHH!!! While they were distracted negotiating with us, the other couple (who were heading to a different location) took the opportunity to bail unnoticed and we wished them a silent "good luck".
Eventually we negotiated a 500 Baht fare ($16.66) in a share taxi where we had the back seat to our self. Considering Battambang was an hour and a half drive from PoiPet and the taxi had aircon, this was a pretty sweet deal. Then the next problem occurred, right hand drive, right hand side of the road. This was our first experience with wrong side driving, and especially considering the driving style of the region with the imaginary third middle lane, and the fact that when the driver wasn't indicating to overtake he was mashing the horn, and the constant overtaking while cars or trucks are rapidly approaching the other way... Well lets just say it was a bit unnerving.
A lot more people in Cambodia are on Scooters and a lot more things are piled on the scooters. We've been having a lot of fun counting the number of people or the amounts of stuff that we've seen thus far, which includes one guys with a solid wood bed on the back of his motorbike and a family of three with the mum holding up a IV drip which was going into the arm of the kid in the middle.
When we arrived at Battambang it wasn't really as we expected, to be quite honest it's a bit of a hole, and kinda smells like a combination of fish and Echuca?? We didn't realise we'd been spoiled in Thailand. Battambang is desolate and feels like a busy version of the wild west. If there wasn't so many scooters you could easily imagine a tumbleweed rolling down the dirt/concrete/paving/etc street.
We walked into a hotel that we found in the Lonely Planet and booked as walk in and got a lovely and huge room with a great ceiling fan, TV, balcony and hand carved heavy wooden furnishings for $10 US for the next two nights. Then taking the recommendation of Lonely Planet again we went to dinner at 'Smokin' Pot' which is a great little restaurant that did great food. We copped out and had western food (breakfast/hamburgers) for dinner seeing as we hadn't eaten all day.
We've booked to be taken on a motorbike (scooters) tour of the sights tomorrow and we've even got an English speaking guide for the whole day, all for just $24. Hopefully we'll see some of the temples and evidence of French Colonialism and the lush areas of Battambang of which we are still sceptical as to whether they exist., either way we get to try our hand at wrong side driving, on a motorbike, in Asia...
More on that and possibly a link to photos in the next post...
We alighted the train into the sweltering heat of Aranyaprathet just on the Thailand side of the border between Cambodia. A pack of Tuk-Tuk vultures set upon us immediately and another couple travelling on the train with us negotiated a 40 Baht ride to the border, so we followed suit. Arriving at the border we noticed one thing. Where the fuck was the border?... Jumping out of the Tuk-Tuk a few sleazy (Bangkok suit seller style) men started waving forms for us to fill out claiming they were the visa organisers and we needed to get a visa then they would take us to the border. We all instantly new something was dodgy especially because the sign on the building said "traveller's agency" and after about five minutes of second guessing them and checking the Lonely Planet for advice we jumped back in the Tuk-Tuk and told the driver to go to the border.
The driver reversed, drove 100m up the road and turned into the Embassy of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Again at the embassy we weren't sure if we were being scammed or not but we noticed that one of the guys from the travel agency came in with the passport of another European man who had been at the travel agency. Basically they get you to fill in the form and pay, then they take your passport to the embassy to get the visa adding a few dollars commission. We decided just to go ahead and do the visa at the embassy but the other couple from the train still felt suss so they went straight to the actual border. Leaving the embassy a man in a Salmon Polo Shirt tried to convince us to get a taxi from him on the other side of the border, we politely declined saying we'd get a bus and jumped back in the Tuk-Tuk.
When we did make it to the border we found the other couple and learnt that you could actually just get the visa straight from the border and for about $5 less. Oh well, shit happens. The border crossing itself was long and hot process, lots of standing in line, going to a counter and then moving on. The area between Thailand and Cambodia was a no man's land and reflected an instant change in the level of road maintenance as well as general wealth. Cambodia being the much, much poorer of the two.
In PoiPet on the Cambodian side of the border we were accosted by the man in the Salmon Polo again, he had followed us over the border and led us to the last checkpoint where we got our Cambodian stamp (another long hot queue). Leaving the border he directed us to the free tourist shuttle that would take us to the bus station. Arriving at the Bus station there were no buses to Battambang and that a taxi would cost us about $20. We checked the Lonely planet guide again and found that the bus station was actually run as a monopoly and were notorious for scamming tourists with expensive trips.
Again we bailed from the station taking our fellow travellers with us back to the main road. Problem. The Salmon Polo Shirts followed, they didn't just follow us they chased us constantly trying to negotiate a price to travel. By the time we arrived back at the main rd (about 200m from the bus station) the four of us had an entourage of unmarked taxis and men in Salmon Polo Shirts fighting with us and each other for our fare. We found another smaller bus company, but the buses only departed in the morning. We tried to ask a police man for help but he just took off only to return two minutes later with another taxi following. BYYAAAAAGHHH!!! While they were distracted negotiating with us, the other couple (who were heading to a different location) took the opportunity to bail unnoticed and we wished them a silent "good luck".
Eventually we negotiated a 500 Baht fare ($16.66) in a share taxi where we had the back seat to our self. Considering Battambang was an hour and a half drive from PoiPet and the taxi had aircon, this was a pretty sweet deal. Then the next problem occurred, right hand drive, right hand side of the road. This was our first experience with wrong side driving, and especially considering the driving style of the region with the imaginary third middle lane, and the fact that when the driver wasn't indicating to overtake he was mashing the horn, and the constant overtaking while cars or trucks are rapidly approaching the other way... Well lets just say it was a bit unnerving.
A lot more people in Cambodia are on Scooters and a lot more things are piled on the scooters. We've been having a lot of fun counting the number of people or the amounts of stuff that we've seen thus far, which includes one guys with a solid wood bed on the back of his motorbike and a family of three with the mum holding up a IV drip which was going into the arm of the kid in the middle.
When we arrived at Battambang it wasn't really as we expected, to be quite honest it's a bit of a hole, and kinda smells like a combination of fish and Echuca?? We didn't realise we'd been spoiled in Thailand. Battambang is desolate and feels like a busy version of the wild west. If there wasn't so many scooters you could easily imagine a tumbleweed rolling down the dirt/concrete/paving/etc street.
We walked into a hotel that we found in the Lonely Planet and booked as walk in and got a lovely and huge room with a great ceiling fan, TV, balcony and hand carved heavy wooden furnishings for $10 US for the next two nights. Then taking the recommendation of Lonely Planet again we went to dinner at 'Smokin' Pot' which is a great little restaurant that did great food. We copped out and had western food (breakfast/hamburgers) for dinner seeing as we hadn't eaten all day.
We've booked to be taken on a motorbike (scooters) tour of the sights tomorrow and we've even got an English speaking guide for the whole day, all for just $24. Hopefully we'll see some of the temples and evidence of French Colonialism and the lush areas of Battambang of which we are still sceptical as to whether they exist., either way we get to try our hand at wrong side driving, on a motorbike, in Asia...
More on that and possibly a link to photos in the next post...
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Samboon and the Angry Man (Atleast we’re out of the Tree)
Well it has been a little while between blog posts now and we've had quite the adventure. I am currently sitting on the train in 3rd class (cattle class was the only option). We are heading towards Aranyaprathet the border town between Thailand and Cambodia, in an hour or to we will cross into Poipet in Cambodia.
When we last posted we were about to head into the Jungle on a three day, two night tour. Our first day heading due west from Bangkok took us to the War Cemetery at Kanchanaburi, the cemetery is one of five that contain the graves of Allied soldiers that where killed while being held as POWs by the Japanese during the second world war. There was a large section dedicated to Australian soldiers and reading the inscriptions on the grave stones was really moving as they‘d had personal inscriptions from the families added. When you think about these young men working on the Thai-Burma railway and never coming home it’s hard, but when you read ‘sleep now my son, daddy is proud of you’ or ‘put of flower of his grave for me, mum’ it makes it that much harder.
We then went to the “new” bridge over the river Kwai, the original bridge was actually 300meters upstream but as they bombed the shit out of it towards the end of the war, no trace of the original bridge remains. Was still pretty cool to go there although the museum at the location was poorly arranged and other than seeing an Ex Japanese Military BSA and a Triumph painted “Triumphn” we were pretty disappointed.
After the museum we rode the “Death Train” along side the river and through the jungle to Sai Yok. It was a little unnerving getting on something called the “Death Train” but it was actually pretty nice. In case you are interested it was called the “Death Train” due to the 100,000+ people (POW’s and local forced labour) who died building it.
After riding the train we were dropped off at Sai Yok Noi waterfalls for a two hour swim. The falls were beautiful and was the first time we had seen clean water since leaving Australia. The whole place is full of tourists and locals alike, although we kinda felt it was only us and the locals actually swimming at the falls, as most of the tourist just spent their time posing for the camera in various different positions.
Our accommodation for the two nights was a guest house floating over the river Kwai. It was a fairly basic room with two firm beds, an aircon that didn’t work and our bathroom had a view of the river through the floor boards (Just to remind you that all the water ends up in the river. Yes shit too). The guest house was really relaxing and had a nice dining area that was great to just chill out with a beer and watch the river run by, floaties and all. We met a few Pommie travellers and swapped stories about Bangkok and our itineraries.
We were offered the chance to go and bathe with Elephants before breakfast the next day. Seriously it was the most fun I’ve had so far. Our Elephants name was Samboon and our driver was Tun. We both climbed onto Samboon and Tun led him out into the river (Yes the same river our shit goes into) then Tun shouted various commands and Samboon would either spray us with water or dive to the left or right trying to throw us off. It was so much fun I think we laughed the entire time. Samboon was really cheeky and seemed to be having a ball as sometimes he’d dive or spray without any forewarning.
After a shower and dodgy breakfast we went for a peaceful drift down the river on a bamboo raft, then went back to visit the Elephants for a Jungle trek. The jungle trek was really cool, Prue commented that she felt like an English princess or Lord for me conquering the land as our driver Chai led Mukhun our Elephant through the jungle.
After the Elephant riding we headed over the “Hellfire Pass” just near the border to Myanmar/Burma. Hellfire Pass has a museum setup by the Australian Government, and we both walked out of there with massive lumps in our throats after reading the letters sent by the POWs building the railway and seeing footage of the malnourished prisoners in the camp. Walking down through the pass itself was a very sad experience. The sheer size of the cutting made for the train must have been a painful and soul breaking experience for the POWs and really emphasised the strength and courage of those that did survive.
We returned for lunch at the river guest house (lunches and dinners were buffet style and very good, but breakfast was just an egg and dry toast) then headed off to Tiger Temple. We approached Tiger Temple with a bit of mixed emotion as we had heard reports of it being under investigation for doping the Tigers to keep them placid. If that is the case I think the tigers looked quite happy to be doped. Seeing the way they behave gave us the impression that they weren’t doped at all as once or twice one would get a bit agitated and let out a roar, and we were told on the previous day that one of the tigers had swiped a guys shirt leaving a muddy paw print. He was happy though as he had a souvenir and wasn’t going to wash his shirt again.
We were lucky enough that after posing for photos with the bigger tigers and then heading down to the cubs, we were actually locked in a enclosure type area with the cubs as they led the larger tigers past. During the time they were separated, the Monks let us play with the cubs, Prue got to hold the leash for awhile, and as I was scratching one of the cubs head you could see how like cats they are as it threw its head back just like any pet would.
We spent another night at the river guest house and chatted with more travellers, this time some Germans girls, an Elderly Aussie couple from Mornington and a solo Aussie girl. Our tour was a bit hectic and for t he last day we were supposed to go and visit a place called Erawin Falls, but as it costs 500Baht to enter the falls we decided to just chill out at the falls we had already been to which were nearby and didn’t cost anything to enter so we spent the 500 Baht bathing with the Elephants again. It was just as much fun the second time, and as soon as we saw Tun and Samboon we ran over and climbed on before anyone else could. Simone the Aussie girl also came to the waterfall with us and it was nice to just relax and go at our own pace, as the pace of the tour thus far (to quote one of the German girls) felt like school camp, with a very angry and bossy teacher/tour organiser.
After we headed back to Bangkok we decided just to hit the pause button, we spent the rest of the night chilling out again, having dinner on KhaoSarn Rd and getting a Thai Massage. The next day pretty much followed suit, but was a bit of a fuck around as we had to collect our visas for Vietnam and find out about the train to Cambodia. We missed the morning office hours of the Embassy by fifteen minutes so we went to the station by taxi, but the traffic was too bad so he dropped us at the subway, when we got to the station we found out there was no pre-booking for tickets and only 3rd class was available, then took a tuk-tuk to MBK again for absolutely no reason other than to kill time until the embassy reopened. Then after a short stint shopping on KhaoSarn Rd again we got home tired and overheated and hadn’t really accomplished anything. Aaargh Bangkok.
We managed to catch up with our mate Karina from Darling Towers on Friday in Bangkok, funnily enough we sat down to eat dinner and kept an eye out for her in case she went by, funnily enough it wasn’t till after we finished dinner and Prue went of to get a massage that I found her sitting right across from us on the other side of the road. Was good to catch up with her briefly, but a 4:30am wakeup call meant we had to hit the sack.
Oh well, we will be off the train soon and into Cambodia, and I guess if you read this message that means we made it somewhere that we could upload it to the web…
(After note: In Cambodia, the border was a interesting experience, details later, at Battambang, more free wireless at out Hotel WOOP!!!)
When we last posted we were about to head into the Jungle on a three day, two night tour. Our first day heading due west from Bangkok took us to the War Cemetery at Kanchanaburi, the cemetery is one of five that contain the graves of Allied soldiers that where killed while being held as POWs by the Japanese during the second world war. There was a large section dedicated to Australian soldiers and reading the inscriptions on the grave stones was really moving as they‘d had personal inscriptions from the families added. When you think about these young men working on the Thai-Burma railway and never coming home it’s hard, but when you read ‘sleep now my son, daddy is proud of you’ or ‘put of flower of his grave for me, mum’ it makes it that much harder.
We then went to the “new” bridge over the river Kwai, the original bridge was actually 300meters upstream but as they bombed the shit out of it towards the end of the war, no trace of the original bridge remains. Was still pretty cool to go there although the museum at the location was poorly arranged and other than seeing an Ex Japanese Military BSA and a Triumph painted “Triumphn” we were pretty disappointed.
After the museum we rode the “Death Train” along side the river and through the jungle to Sai Yok. It was a little unnerving getting on something called the “Death Train” but it was actually pretty nice. In case you are interested it was called the “Death Train” due to the 100,000+ people (POW’s and local forced labour) who died building it.
After riding the train we were dropped off at Sai Yok Noi waterfalls for a two hour swim. The falls were beautiful and was the first time we had seen clean water since leaving Australia. The whole place is full of tourists and locals alike, although we kinda felt it was only us and the locals actually swimming at the falls, as most of the tourist just spent their time posing for the camera in various different positions.
Our accommodation for the two nights was a guest house floating over the river Kwai. It was a fairly basic room with two firm beds, an aircon that didn’t work and our bathroom had a view of the river through the floor boards (Just to remind you that all the water ends up in the river. Yes shit too). The guest house was really relaxing and had a nice dining area that was great to just chill out with a beer and watch the river run by, floaties and all. We met a few Pommie travellers and swapped stories about Bangkok and our itineraries.
We were offered the chance to go and bathe with Elephants before breakfast the next day. Seriously it was the most fun I’ve had so far. Our Elephants name was Samboon and our driver was Tun. We both climbed onto Samboon and Tun led him out into the river (Yes the same river our shit goes into) then Tun shouted various commands and Samboon would either spray us with water or dive to the left or right trying to throw us off. It was so much fun I think we laughed the entire time. Samboon was really cheeky and seemed to be having a ball as sometimes he’d dive or spray without any forewarning.
After a shower and dodgy breakfast we went for a peaceful drift down the river on a bamboo raft, then went back to visit the Elephants for a Jungle trek. The jungle trek was really cool, Prue commented that she felt like an English princess or Lord for me conquering the land as our driver Chai led Mukhun our Elephant through the jungle.
After the Elephant riding we headed over the “Hellfire Pass” just near the border to Myanmar/Burma. Hellfire Pass has a museum setup by the Australian Government, and we both walked out of there with massive lumps in our throats after reading the letters sent by the POWs building the railway and seeing footage of the malnourished prisoners in the camp. Walking down through the pass itself was a very sad experience. The sheer size of the cutting made for the train must have been a painful and soul breaking experience for the POWs and really emphasised the strength and courage of those that did survive.
We returned for lunch at the river guest house (lunches and dinners were buffet style and very good, but breakfast was just an egg and dry toast) then headed off to Tiger Temple. We approached Tiger Temple with a bit of mixed emotion as we had heard reports of it being under investigation for doping the Tigers to keep them placid. If that is the case I think the tigers looked quite happy to be doped. Seeing the way they behave gave us the impression that they weren’t doped at all as once or twice one would get a bit agitated and let out a roar, and we were told on the previous day that one of the tigers had swiped a guys shirt leaving a muddy paw print. He was happy though as he had a souvenir and wasn’t going to wash his shirt again.
We were lucky enough that after posing for photos with the bigger tigers and then heading down to the cubs, we were actually locked in a enclosure type area with the cubs as they led the larger tigers past. During the time they were separated, the Monks let us play with the cubs, Prue got to hold the leash for awhile, and as I was scratching one of the cubs head you could see how like cats they are as it threw its head back just like any pet would.
We spent another night at the river guest house and chatted with more travellers, this time some Germans girls, an Elderly Aussie couple from Mornington and a solo Aussie girl. Our tour was a bit hectic and for t he last day we were supposed to go and visit a place called Erawin Falls, but as it costs 500Baht to enter the falls we decided to just chill out at the falls we had already been to which were nearby and didn’t cost anything to enter so we spent the 500 Baht bathing with the Elephants again. It was just as much fun the second time, and as soon as we saw Tun and Samboon we ran over and climbed on before anyone else could. Simone the Aussie girl also came to the waterfall with us and it was nice to just relax and go at our own pace, as the pace of the tour thus far (to quote one of the German girls) felt like school camp, with a very angry and bossy teacher/tour organiser.
After we headed back to Bangkok we decided just to hit the pause button, we spent the rest of the night chilling out again, having dinner on KhaoSarn Rd and getting a Thai Massage. The next day pretty much followed suit, but was a bit of a fuck around as we had to collect our visas for Vietnam and find out about the train to Cambodia. We missed the morning office hours of the Embassy by fifteen minutes so we went to the station by taxi, but the traffic was too bad so he dropped us at the subway, when we got to the station we found out there was no pre-booking for tickets and only 3rd class was available, then took a tuk-tuk to MBK again for absolutely no reason other than to kill time until the embassy reopened. Then after a short stint shopping on KhaoSarn Rd again we got home tired and overheated and hadn’t really accomplished anything. Aaargh Bangkok.
We managed to catch up with our mate Karina from Darling Towers on Friday in Bangkok, funnily enough we sat down to eat dinner and kept an eye out for her in case she went by, funnily enough it wasn’t till after we finished dinner and Prue went of to get a massage that I found her sitting right across from us on the other side of the road. Was good to catch up with her briefly, but a 4:30am wakeup call meant we had to hit the sack.
Oh well, we will be off the train soon and into Cambodia, and I guess if you read this message that means we made it somewhere that we could upload it to the web…
(After note: In Cambodia, the border was a interesting experience, details later, at Battambang, more free wireless at out Hotel WOOP!!!)
Monday, October 26, 2009
By Any Means
I had a dream last night, something about Lady-Boys having their Adam's apple removed at birth so that you can't really tell what sex they are, the dream ended with someone at Darling Towers filling the Torana up with mud and then chopping the roof of and converting it into a motorbike. I wasn't really happy about that, but that is all quite irrelevant...
When we wake up in the morning here we feel lovely and refreshed, we shower and dress for the day, then head out of our airconditioned room for the buffet breakfast. It is at about this point that the wall of heat hits you, and your forehead starts leaking sweat like a cold bottle of water in a sauna. It is under these conditions that we set out for the day with the aim of sampling a few of the local forms of public transport.
After finishing another delicious and filling brekkie we walked off toward the river looking for the local ferry, it operates similarly to the Brisbane ferry system, but unlike the gigantic Brisbane Sea Catamarans this was just a long wooden boat with a massive engine and a lack of regard for any kind of water safety, overcrowded is an understatement. The boat charges down the river as fast as it can until it is about five meters from the next mooring, where it throws reverse on full throttle and slams sideways into the dock. Then there is a scramble as people jump on at their own risk.
It was actually a nice "cruise" down the river, and interesting to see the culture of water side living from the very rich to the very not rich. After we jumped off the ferry we found ourselves in Downtown Bangkok, a completely different world to the one we'd left behind in old town. You could almost confuse the business district to Melbourne's CBD, well except the market stalls on every corner, the public liability dangers at every step and the fact that everything is written in Thai.
After getting a bit lost we found our way to the Sky rail, basically a mono rail that serves a small portion of the city, with a ticketing system similar to Melbourne's, but the trains are a lot more modern with comfortable airconditioning and televisions featuring advertisements every five meters along the train. The Sky rail took us directly to MBK Shopping centre, Bangkok's version of Chadstone, only a lot bigger and cheaper and everything is available in legit or ripoff versions.
We shopped for awhile and then jumped back on the Sky Rail to get to the Vietnam Embassy. We have to apply for our Visas for Vietnam, and the embassy has a very cold and cruel atmosphere, after all of the warm hospitality of Bangkok, I sure hope Vietnam isn't anything like its embassy portrays. We have entrusted our passports with the embassy for the next few days, and as we are heading into the jungle for a few days tomorrow, I am hoping we don't need them.
Our last mode of transport for the trip home was by another ferry, this one was down the channel and was quite obviously a more "local" form of transport. The ferry operated much the same as the river ferry, in that it charged along as fast as it could towards each new pier. Only on this ferry, it went slightly faster and only had about one or two meters clearance on either side at every point in time. Also cornered like a demon.
Eventually we have found our way home for a very well deserved swim in the pool as today was probably our hottest one yet. Think we might get a meal and retire early tonight for our trek into the jungle at 7am tomorrow, we have booked a tour featuring Tigers, Elephants, floating markets, waterfalls and death trains... yep Death Trains... Wont be another post for a few days (probably) so you'll just have to read this one again.
Enjoy the photos from the last few days HERE
When we wake up in the morning here we feel lovely and refreshed, we shower and dress for the day, then head out of our airconditioned room for the buffet breakfast. It is at about this point that the wall of heat hits you, and your forehead starts leaking sweat like a cold bottle of water in a sauna. It is under these conditions that we set out for the day with the aim of sampling a few of the local forms of public transport.
After finishing another delicious and filling brekkie we walked off toward the river looking for the local ferry, it operates similarly to the Brisbane ferry system, but unlike the gigantic Brisbane Sea Catamarans this was just a long wooden boat with a massive engine and a lack of regard for any kind of water safety, overcrowded is an understatement. The boat charges down the river as fast as it can until it is about five meters from the next mooring, where it throws reverse on full throttle and slams sideways into the dock. Then there is a scramble as people jump on at their own risk.
It was actually a nice "cruise" down the river, and interesting to see the culture of water side living from the very rich to the very not rich. After we jumped off the ferry we found ourselves in Downtown Bangkok, a completely different world to the one we'd left behind in old town. You could almost confuse the business district to Melbourne's CBD, well except the market stalls on every corner, the public liability dangers at every step and the fact that everything is written in Thai.
After getting a bit lost we found our way to the Sky rail, basically a mono rail that serves a small portion of the city, with a ticketing system similar to Melbourne's, but the trains are a lot more modern with comfortable airconditioning and televisions featuring advertisements every five meters along the train. The Sky rail took us directly to MBK Shopping centre, Bangkok's version of Chadstone, only a lot bigger and cheaper and everything is available in legit or ripoff versions.
We shopped for awhile and then jumped back on the Sky Rail to get to the Vietnam Embassy. We have to apply for our Visas for Vietnam, and the embassy has a very cold and cruel atmosphere, after all of the warm hospitality of Bangkok, I sure hope Vietnam isn't anything like its embassy portrays. We have entrusted our passports with the embassy for the next few days, and as we are heading into the jungle for a few days tomorrow, I am hoping we don't need them.
Our last mode of transport for the trip home was by another ferry, this one was down the channel and was quite obviously a more "local" form of transport. The ferry operated much the same as the river ferry, in that it charged along as fast as it could towards each new pier. Only on this ferry, it went slightly faster and only had about one or two meters clearance on either side at every point in time. Also cornered like a demon.
Eventually we have found our way home for a very well deserved swim in the pool as today was probably our hottest one yet. Think we might get a meal and retire early tonight for our trek into the jungle at 7am tomorrow, we have booked a tour featuring Tigers, Elephants, floating markets, waterfalls and death trains... yep Death Trains... Wont be another post for a few days (probably) so you'll just have to read this one again.
Enjoy the photos from the last few days HERE
sexual inuendo at the zoo!!!
Today felt hotter than any of the others so far but that didn't stop us from getting out in it. We decided to go to the zoo today and those who are big on animals getting the best in life then look away now. We got a note this time from the hotel saying how much we should pay so the tuk-tuk didn't rip us off. It actually worked too. We got to the zoo after paying 50 baht which is a pretty good price. After wandering around the zoo for ages we decided that, A. the Melbourne zoo doesn't have very many animals and B. the muddy floors and no aircon for so many of the animals had to be pretty sucky for them.
We made our way back to the arena in the middle to watch a kids acrobatic show and elephant show. Again if you're against this I'm sorry, the elephants were very cool and did all sorts of tricks. The Kenya's wild boys show was very cool too and the pics will be up on facebook soon. The overall feeling we got from the show was a massive amount of sexual innuendo was squeezed into a very short show :) The were doing the show to music that ranged from pussycat dolls to Thai pop we had never heard. But when the performers we thrusting their hips and pretending to be having sex if they landed on someone made for a laugh worthy and entertaining experience. I'm not sure the mum's in Australia would have been as cool and entertained by it as the Thai mums were though. At one point they even had the male and female elephant pretending to have sex.
Anyway after leaving the zoo we headed to the Golden Mount which is meant to hold some of Budda's remains. It was an amazing experience. At the base of the Golden Mount we had our first 'we'll have what they're having' experience of food. This shop didn't have a menu and spoke very little English. Totally cool with us but meant that we ended up eating what I think consisted of chicken, oysters, egg and bean shoots with chilli sauce. Was very good but I couldn't eat all the oysters. Very fishy!
We then made our way to the top of the Golden Mount with all the locals and tourists ringing all the Buddhist bells on the way up. The top was an amazing stuppa which had been there since King Ramma II had it made. We jumped on the back of a private tour a German couple were taking and found our way out onto the roof. It was an uninterrupted view of the city and all the better because we walked up so many steps to get there.
We made our way back down and had the happy experience of realising we could walk home because we now knew our way around this part of the city. We then got back to the hotel for a swim and watching a rain storm pass and then we headed to Khaosan rd for dinner and my first 30 minute Thai massage. It was amazing and only cost 100 baht. That's about $3.30. Very happy walk home as my beaten up body finally felt good.
I promise we'll post photos soon.
We made our way back to the arena in the middle to watch a kids acrobatic show and elephant show. Again if you're against this I'm sorry, the elephants were very cool and did all sorts of tricks. The Kenya's wild boys show was very cool too and the pics will be up on facebook soon. The overall feeling we got from the show was a massive amount of sexual innuendo was squeezed into a very short show :) The were doing the show to music that ranged from pussycat dolls to Thai pop we had never heard. But when the performers we thrusting their hips and pretending to be having sex if they landed on someone made for a laugh worthy and entertaining experience. I'm not sure the mum's in Australia would have been as cool and entertained by it as the Thai mums were though. At one point they even had the male and female elephant pretending to have sex.
Anyway after leaving the zoo we headed to the Golden Mount which is meant to hold some of Budda's remains. It was an amazing experience. At the base of the Golden Mount we had our first 'we'll have what they're having' experience of food. This shop didn't have a menu and spoke very little English. Totally cool with us but meant that we ended up eating what I think consisted of chicken, oysters, egg and bean shoots with chilli sauce. Was very good but I couldn't eat all the oysters. Very fishy!
We then made our way to the top of the Golden Mount with all the locals and tourists ringing all the Buddhist bells on the way up. The top was an amazing stuppa which had been there since King Ramma II had it made. We jumped on the back of a private tour a German couple were taking and found our way out onto the roof. It was an uninterrupted view of the city and all the better because we walked up so many steps to get there.
We made our way back down and had the happy experience of realising we could walk home because we now knew our way around this part of the city. We then got back to the hotel for a swim and watching a rain storm pass and then we headed to Khaosan rd for dinner and my first 30 minute Thai massage. It was amazing and only cost 100 baht. That's about $3.30. Very happy walk home as my beaten up body finally felt good.
I promise we'll post photos soon.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
What price you pay?
Khaosan rd is crazy, loud and very alive. This is my first real chance to try to barter. I must admit that at this point I'm not great at it. I'm hoping to get better though. I never imagined that I'd own some of the knock off clothes that I now own.
The sleezy suit makers are the people the freak me out the most. They just never take no as an answer. They try and try and they might remember you from your last pass 2 mins earlier but they'll try again, picking up from the last part of the conversation you've had with them.
Almost everything and anything is available to buy in the markets in Bangkok, well touristy stuff is anyway. I had to tell Drew "No" at least a dozen times as we passed stalls full of Ninja Stars, butterfly knives, tasers and high powered laser pointers, all for sale for less than a dollart or two. Customs must have a field day with people bringing this stuff back in to Australia, not just the weapons but the ornante carvings made out of elephant tusks, or face masks made from tiger skins...
When I got back to the hotel I figured out that I'd only spent about $10 au. That's a pretty cheap shopping spree. We're currently eating dinner on khaosan rd. I'm in a bar but there's still a dog lying at my feet and it's a well fed one if I do say so. After abandoning the craziness of Khaosan rd we wandered back to our local bar (rolling r bar) and listened to a great lounge trio play song after song, some in English and some in Thai. Very chilled end to a great second day.
This was yesterday, sorry but our wireless was down this morning, have had a great day again today at the zoo but that post will have to wait awhile, photos may come later too.
The sleezy suit makers are the people the freak me out the most. They just never take no as an answer. They try and try and they might remember you from your last pass 2 mins earlier but they'll try again, picking up from the last part of the conversation you've had with them.
Almost everything and anything is available to buy in the markets in Bangkok, well touristy stuff is anyway. I had to tell Drew "No" at least a dozen times as we passed stalls full of Ninja Stars, butterfly knives, tasers and high powered laser pointers, all for sale for less than a dollart or two. Customs must have a field day with people bringing this stuff back in to Australia, not just the weapons but the ornante carvings made out of elephant tusks, or face masks made from tiger skins...
When I got back to the hotel I figured out that I'd only spent about $10 au. That's a pretty cheap shopping spree. We're currently eating dinner on khaosan rd. I'm in a bar but there's still a dog lying at my feet and it's a well fed one if I do say so. After abandoning the craziness of Khaosan rd we wandered back to our local bar (rolling r bar) and listened to a great lounge trio play song after song, some in English and some in Thai. Very chilled end to a great second day.
This was yesterday, sorry but our wireless was down this morning, have had a great day again today at the zoo but that post will have to wait awhile, photos may come later too.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thailand, More like Tuk-Tuk land. (And cats)
Today we woke up and we became immediately impressed by our hotel when we were reminded that our $50 per night rate includes a full buffet breakfast... I had three different kinds of eggs and Banana Pancakes!!!
Leaving the hotel we set out to explore the local streets but at the very first corner we were approached by a guy who asked us where we were from, upon hearing us say "Australia" he quickly said "Aaagh, SYDNEY!" and hopped around like a Kangaroo, this exact experience happened to us no less than three more times later the same day. The man then gave us a list of all of the places needed to go and then hailed a Tuk-Tuk for us and told the driver not to charge us anymore than 20 Baht (About 66 cents AU).
I was proud of Prue as she threw caution to the wind and rolled with it as we jumped in the Tuk-Tuk on a whirlwind tour of Bangkok. Firstly, everything they say about the crazy traffic is completely true, as we found ourselves regularly travelling on the wrong side of the road and even on the footpath at one point. Secondly everything they say about Tuk-Tuk drivers taking tourists to local sales traps is true. But one thing must be said, the Tuk-Tuk driver gets given fuel for taking tourists to the local sales places, so long as we were able to say "No Thank you" it was absolutely no harm and we got a fantastic tour of some of the local sites, while the driver waited patiently for us.
After a couple of hours of roaring though the streets of Bangkok visiting attractions, temples, tailors, statues, travel agents, more temples, more tailors, more attractions and a jewelery store (at which Prue ALMOST bought a $150 ring) we finally said goodbye to our Tuk-Tuk driver as he dropped us off at the King's Palace, we even gave him an extra 20 Baht as we felt bad after doing the currency conversion.
At the kings palace we found out two things, the first was that (like some Bendigo nightclubs) you can't get in wearing shorts, this led to me being lent a pair of ugly Pants to wear over the top of my shorts, adding to the amount of sweatiness and tripling my ugliness. Secondly the King is fully pimped out. The palace is.. umm... well... Palatial. An absolutely amazing place which can not be described in words (So I wont). After the Palace we hit our first market stalls and passing through stalls full of unrecognisable meats skewered on sticks, we settled down for food that was cooked while we waited and was reasonable recognisably, very yummy and even had a unsecured wireless internet connection nearby.
Getting back to the hotel we had a swim in the pool and have been relaxing with a drink ever since. Probably a long winded post today, but it really was a truly epic day, a wonderful experience that has been possibly the best way to start our epic journey. You can see some of the photos from our day Here.
Leaving the hotel we set out to explore the local streets but at the very first corner we were approached by a guy who asked us where we were from, upon hearing us say "Australia" he quickly said "Aaagh, SYDNEY!" and hopped around like a Kangaroo, this exact experience happened to us no less than three more times later the same day. The man then gave us a list of all of the places needed to go and then hailed a Tuk-Tuk for us and told the driver not to charge us anymore than 20 Baht (About 66 cents AU).
I was proud of Prue as she threw caution to the wind and rolled with it as we jumped in the Tuk-Tuk on a whirlwind tour of Bangkok. Firstly, everything they say about the crazy traffic is completely true, as we found ourselves regularly travelling on the wrong side of the road and even on the footpath at one point. Secondly everything they say about Tuk-Tuk drivers taking tourists to local sales traps is true. But one thing must be said, the Tuk-Tuk driver gets given fuel for taking tourists to the local sales places, so long as we were able to say "No Thank you" it was absolutely no harm and we got a fantastic tour of some of the local sites, while the driver waited patiently for us.
After a couple of hours of roaring though the streets of Bangkok visiting attractions, temples, tailors, statues, travel agents, more temples, more tailors, more attractions and a jewelery store (at which Prue ALMOST bought a $150 ring) we finally said goodbye to our Tuk-Tuk driver as he dropped us off at the King's Palace, we even gave him an extra 20 Baht as we felt bad after doing the currency conversion.
At the kings palace we found out two things, the first was that (like some Bendigo nightclubs) you can't get in wearing shorts, this led to me being lent a pair of ugly Pants to wear over the top of my shorts, adding to the amount of sweatiness and tripling my ugliness. Secondly the King is fully pimped out. The palace is.. umm... well... Palatial. An absolutely amazing place which can not be described in words (So I wont). After the Palace we hit our first market stalls and passing through stalls full of unrecognisable meats skewered on sticks, we settled down for food that was cooked while we waited and was reasonable recognisably, very yummy and even had a unsecured wireless internet connection nearby.
Getting back to the hotel we had a swim in the pool and have been relaxing with a drink ever since. Probably a long winded post today, but it really was a truly epic day, a wonderful experience that has been possibly the best way to start our epic journey. You can see some of the photos from our day Here.
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