The update

Touching down in Bangkok international after a stressful couple of weeks selling/mailing my and closing accounts, teaching etc, I finally felt like I was on holiday. It was nice going back to Thailand knowing exactly where to go and how to get around without being conned by taxi drivers telling you there are no buses, or vendors selling water for $3 US.
Before I left Taiwan, I was given my last paycheque. I was given it in cash after I'd closed my bank account and after the banks had closed for the weekend, so I was walking round Bangkok with a little more than I needed. The only place I could find that would send it, wanted it changed to Baht first (frustrating as I'd already changed it to dollars that day) - and in the time that it took to change it to Baht the rates changed and I had to pay more commission.
The next morning, I woke at 4:30 to get the early bus to the Cambodian border. It was so much cheaper than any of the tour bus quotes I'd been given. And they gave me a free breakfast... well bottle of water and some sweet toast. Everything was going smoothly until it started to rain: really heavy rain. police ahead directed the traffic into a garage forecourt. Odd I thought! Maybe there's flooding ahead. But it turned out to be the king; a convoy 6 mercedes long plus police escort flew past, and then it was business as usual.
I'd been told that it would take 9 hours to get to the border so i was a little surprised when the bus stopped before midday and the driver told everyone to get out: Poipet border town. A tuk-tuk driver through my bag into his ride and we headed to the border; couldn't tell you about the view as the passenger windows were at my elbow level.
The driver stopped next to a tree with 3 men sat under it playing cards and shepherded me out. One of the men asked me for my passport. I didn't look like typical immigration centre so I asked them for ID; which they had. I filled in their forms, while they checked with the police house across the road I wasn't on the run; and then with my Cambodian visa I lugged my bags 300m to the Immigration house. 'Don't let the children get too close' they said 'they will pick your pockets!' There was a very long queue of local people, but a sergeant took me to a different desk 'VIPs and Diplomats' I'm not sure thats what I was but I was good to hear the stamp approve my exit. The walk across the border was scarily like the walk from Uganda to Kenya. Surrounded by street children who spoke a language I didn't understand and not knowing who to trust and wishing I didn't have my valuable belongings with me. The physical environment was also similar: a maram dirt track, open shops with their small stock on display; dirty old vehicles on the street side. I decided that this was not a town I wanted to stay in; so I walked around until I found someone to share a taxi to Siam Reap. Two Chinese girls fit the bill. A smiling taxi tout eventually found us a car to take us; the girls were a little distressed at how dirty the car was - clean cars cost more joked the tout. The town of Poipet was a mud bath. The driver drove slowly round the potholes, children and livestock through a poorer part of the town. Then he announced that he had to go to his home for something. The car wheeled round into a large garage where a man was waiting; and then he started to close the garage doors... now having watched many a gangster movie-maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, but the Chinese girls had the same reaction: Get the heck out! Now! but turned out he wasn't trying to kill us and steal our things... he was smuggling something in his trunk that he didn't want the police to see. So we had little choice but to get back in and let him drive on.
After four hours of wet maram track with cars driving wherever they could find a way through (we passed one 4x4 that was being pulled out a mini lake by a tractor); suddenly the road was tarmacked. Seconds later we were in Siam Reap and I got a different view of Cambodia. Still a lot of poverty, but in between the shacks there were now large new hospitals, hotels and shops.
I went to a guesthouse recommended by Vicky, but they were full so they redirected me to Arun Guesthouse $5/night... that'll do! As fate would have it - the guesthouse was also the best Khmer restaurant in Siam Reap... that night I had a Khmer curry with veg, coconut and sweet banana; don't ask how, but it just worked! (unlike the time I tried to make a banana curry when i was 13).
The next day I woke at 6 and hired a bicycle to tour Angkor Wat. It was only 50p for a day, but sometimes you wish you'd spent more on something: it had one gear, a maximum speed of 10mph and the fattest saddle I've ever seen. I discovered half way there that the handle bars were bent and on the verge of snapping... I bought a 3day pass for Angkor at the edge of the park grounds and cycled on (receiving dubious looks from both locals and tourists). I could just about see the temple on the far side of the water when my front wheel got a puncture. This was one of those days I decided. A girl who sold me a bottle of water for 1000r saw me saw the tyre and led me through the bushes to where her father lived in a shack on stilts. He didn't have a pump but whatever he used did the job: I thanked him and rode on to Angkor. i left the bike with some children who promised to guard it if i bought a postcard from them later.
The main temple of Angkor was very impressive (you will have to wait for the photos) a young girl kept asking to take my photo and eventually I agreed and she snapped away as I looked out windows, studied the artwork and climbed up the eroded steep steps to the central shrine. I quickly wished I hadn't climbed up as I looked back over the dizzying drop. When i finally plucked up the courage to descend hugging the wall a Chinese couple gave me directions down the treacherous stairway. I was expecting the girl to ask for some money, so I was surprised when she just vanished. I looked at my lonely planet map; and realised that most of the temples were within walking distance; so I decided to abandon the bike fearing another puncture.
Before I got to the next big temple; I noticed a path going up a hill. I followed it up and round to a ruined temple upon a hilltop with views of Angkor, Siam Reap and the river weaving into the distance. It was breathtaking. And so quiet. Not far from the hill was the southern gatehouse to the group of temples north of Angkor. There was a moat over 10km long running around this area with a 3m stone wall to keep out the unwanted: the road bridged the moat with statues of Kings holding a giant serpent. It was awesome and prepared me for the impressive architecture ahead.
The next big temple was the Bayon temple... this reminded me of the White City in the Lord of the Rings. Everywhere white, grey and black stone cut at dramatic angles with intimidating images carved into the rock. You could see battles being fought on the very ground you were stood on. The morning sun cast dark shadows across the stone courtyard. Wow!
From Bayon I walked through some trees to discover Baphuon temple, shaped like a pyramid. It had a striking raised pathway over 100m long jutting out from the front entrance. As the foundations were made with sand centuries before, there were two international conservation projects in progress to restore and protect the giant pyramid.
The pathway led to the terrace of elephants; a 3m high stone ridge that ran along the front of the woods; and carefully engraved in the rock were dozens of life-size elephants. From there I walked on to the northern gatehouse (not dissimilar to the first). The next temple was 6km walk, so I turned back towards the ruins across the south; and headed for Angkor Thom eager to see where Tomb raider was filmed. However the next temple was not Thom, but Ta Keo.... I'd been walking for a while so I decided not to climb this one, and there was less decoration on the whole, as if it had never been finished. Another 2km and i finally reached the wall of Thom; a dozen stalls were set up in front: eateries and souvenir shops.
The walk to Thom - despite the stream of visitors - really felt like the path had never before been explored. The temple was a shade of bluegreen and all around it nature had closed in. Again it was like a scene from Lord of the Rings; the trees had thrown apart walls and stone floors. Massive roots like pythons had thrust between the bricks and their trees stood proudly above. Areas were roped off with good reason; the whole building looked on the verge of collapse. A monk was praying inside, she gave me a string bracelet for luck and directed me inside part of the temple; 10 minutes later i was completely lost, trying to get out of the maze of shaky walls inside.
During that morning I'd probably walked over 12km and i was happy to walk another 5 back to my bicycle; but then the rain came down... i retreated back to the food stalls and had a very expensive (for Cambodia) veg and noodles. I atleast knew how much the water should have been thanks to the young girl that morning; serious haggling skills needed here.
After my nosh, I took a scooter ride to a hot air balloon I;d seen; apparently it was too windy. I walked back to my bicycle; one of the children recognised me and reminded me about her postcards: 10 for $2. I went to get my wallet, but suddenly there were kids everywhere shouting for me to buy their postcards. I couldn't buy them all and I said as much, but every time I offered to buy 10, I couldn't move to get my wallet. In the end I had to leave them with nothing which was sad. The bike to my amazement was still ridable so I headed up to see Kravan temple, before cycling home exhausted and ready for bed.
The next morning I woke at 6 again, today i was going to ride to the Roulos Temples; the ride was long and uncomfortable because I'd not found a better bicycle. A girl on the roadside sold me the same water for just 500 (I will never know the true value of anything here) and after a long ride on a straight road; I reached the first temple. I was the only one there.
From there I cycled on to temple that looked like a group of old ladies had been let loose around it; there were potted plants everywhere; very attractive; but it took away the ancient side of the monument... there was some music playing at a temple acorss the road and it was quite pleasant compared to the noise coming from most Taiwanese temples.
After checking out a third temple in the area I decided that I had had enough of temples for that week and it was getting hot; so I cycled back to Arun guesthouse. After a shower I went on the hot air balloon which provided a great view of Ankor, the river and even Siam Reap airport in the distance. Then I went to the landmine museum; which was at the end of a very long track through the middle of no-where. The museum was simple; a hut with a collective of mines found in cambodia and news articles and statistics explaining how many people are still killed and injured by landmines from a conflict ended 30 years ago. A young man who'd lost his leg and his siblings to one landmine gave me a tour of the place; his story was pretty horrific; today he leads a charity that aids landmine victims. Only when I left did I notice that the children playing in the yard were all victims of mine blasts.
The next morning I took the cheap bus to Phnon Penh - it really was simple,the open windows were the only 'air con' and all the bags were thrown behind the drivers seat.
Turned out that wasnt the real bus.. just a shuttle. There was a horde of vendors in the main bus park selling drinks, chopped fruit and bread through the windows of the buses... again, very like Uganda. The drive was far nicer than our trip from the boarder. The road was tarmacked for one. Gazing out the window it struck me that the landscape here was rather repetitive. Imagine savannah grasslands with one palm tree every 20 metres; well that went on for miles and miles... I figured it must have been farmland of some kind, but there were no people, no tractors. Life seemed bound to the road and the cluster of huts and shops around it.
As the bus got to Phnom Penh, I was dumbfounded by the architecture. Such grandeur amid the slums. The bus stopped and a group of tuc-tuc drivers with fliers for hotels divided the tourists among them. I got in with a German trainee paediatrician who said she was going to the Okay guesthouse... it turned out to be just that! I had a tiny box for $4 with 2 windows, making it very hot and a shared bathroom with no sink... but the common areas were nice and filled with travellers all under the hypnosis of the TV.
I went for a walk with the German girl to post some postcards and get my bearings. She was going to the Royal Palace so I said I'd catch her up, but for whatever reason I dint see her for the rest of the holiday. Cambodia doesnt have any postboxes. Even though I was tempted to take a moto there, no-one could assure me that they knew where i wanted to go (and my postbox TPR was excellent).
I slept surprisingly well in my box and took an early tuck tuck to the Killing Fields and School preserved from Cambodia's bloody past. There was a video at the school building at 10am, so I had plenty of time to explore before then.
The Americans bombed Cambodia toward the end of the Vietnam war in an attempt to destroy resistence; the Khmer Rouge (led by Pol Pot) used the national feeling of anti-American pro-peace to lead a revolution that promised prosperious times ahead.
However the revolution threw Cambodia into a 1984 society and the cruelty towards any who opposed the KR was as bad if not worse than the atrocities carried out by the Nazis. The school I was in was a prison/interogation centre for the S21 who took 'the enemy' (the rich and the educated) and their families and kept them in tiny cells. The photos around the walls told a thousand sad stories of hardship and loss. It was hard to believe that this had been aloud to happen by the international community. The video was a moving compilation of the survivors stories and how their lives and families were torn apart by the revolution.
The Killing Fields were outside the city. They were where most of the victims of the revolution met their fate. But as the child soldiers of the revolution had been taught that their enemy were less than animals, instead of bullets, they killed with clubs and knives. A monument had been erected there for the victims; but of questionable taste: it was filled with 17 layers of human skulls found at the sites.
During the afternoon I managed to locate the post office of Cambodia; it was a huge building but with only 2 desks open; i wondered if my postcards would ever reach their destination.
That evening i got chatting to a Swedish guy, Yuarkim. Turns out he was heading the same route as me, so we agreed to head to Saigon on 7th.
On Sunday I got chatting to another trainee doctor, this time it was a girl from Dublin and her sister. They had been doing a cycling tour down Vietnam; now Ive done a lot of cycling this year, but these two were hard core. We went for a walk round the royal palace which in a lot of ways looked like the royal palace of Bangkok, just less gold everywhere. There was one building in the courtyard that just looked out of place. It had been a gift from a French family a hundred years back. From the palace we walked to the National Museum which had a lot of items taken from Angkor. They were nice, but I couldn't help thinking they would have looked better in their original locations. Still after a morning packed with culture, I spent the rest of the day helping to assemble the bicycle and relaxing.
That evening we walked down to the riverfront for a meal with a two English trainee doctors she would be working with. A nice end to my stay in Phnom Penh.
Monday: Caught the early bus to Vietnam with Yuarkim. Half way there, the bus went out onto a river ferry with a dozen other vehicles. I got off the bus to take a look at the view and as with every other place i'd been here, children gathered around me asking for money. It's difficult knowing what to say to them... there's no escaping the poverty evident everywhere in Cambodia, but...
At the border, we were all told to get off the bus and then get back on as an immigration officer read our names from a pile of passports. We then got off and walked through customs carrying all of our baggage. Then it was back on the bus and on to Saigon. The difference crossing the border was incredible. Everything suddenly seemed greener, both in the fields and in people homes and down the roads. A forest of TV arials dominated the skyline, we had definately come into a wealthier country - even if the roads were no less bumpy, it didn't take long to reach Ho Chi Minh. I had expected a concrete jungle similar to Shanghai; however, the buildings were far from highrise, and there were tree-lined avenues everywhere; parks, I liked this place.
The company we had bought the bus ticket from let us dump our bags in their office while we found a room. I was going to stay in the Peace Hotel - as that was where i'd told the visa office I'd be staying but when i read they charged $9 a room... i kept on walkin. An old lady led me and Yu down a narrow alley way to her house; she led us past her family wathing TV and took us up to the rooms $5 for a bed, TV and ensuite bathroom (vast improvement).
On Tuesday we joined a city tour... we were told 8, so we got there at quarter to. At 8:15 we were told to get in a minibus with 2 other tour groups, we drove around the block collecting more people and by quarter to nine we were back where we started. Our guide for the day was an aging chap from the city. I could understand about half of what he was saying: most of his accounts of the city started "I tell you a story, very funny..." He took us first to the president's palace. To be honest, it didnt look like a palace, more like a hotel or a large bank. But our guide was eager to inform us that the building was safe from 1000lb bombs. The labrynth of tunnels under the building was further proof on just how keen these people were to keep their leader alive in times of war.
After visiting the post office (more like a train station, it put Phnom Pehn's to shame) and Cathedral (there is a surprising number of CAtholic churches in the area)... we arrived at the war museum. A harrowing collection of images and statistics from the Vietnam war , Did you know that the US spent $1000bn just on weapons. There was a tribute to the journalists who died there with short stories for each on how and where they were killed. It was a lot to take in. Hollywood has produced enough films on the subject to try and explain the actions, not always appropriate, of the soliers on the ground. But the aftermath - the illnesses caused by poisons used by both sides and of course the scores of landmines waiting for their peacetime victims - is seldom mentioned.
The rest of the tour took us round the old market, inside which were huge amounts of stock. Through the main doors and we were surrounded by sandals as far as the eye could see, then up some stairs and we were in the land of trousers. The weird thing was that there must have been 100 traders inside all selling the same things and not a lot was being sold when we were there... perhaps it was the wrong time of day.
We also had a quick look round the Buddhist temple, not unlike the temple at Lugang.
That night we walked round the many touristy arts/crafts shops lining the roads of Ho Chi Minh.