Claire & Melanie's Global Trek

Saturday: Day 28- Early rising for both of us after only 3 hrs sleep! Didn't feel the best to say the least! But night was well worth it! Great bunch of people they were! Long day ahead of us, and the journey to Bangkok was an experience of a lifetime! We were due to leave Siem Reap at 7a.m. and get a bus to the border of Cambodia and Thailand, so we walked down our dirt path and waited at the corner. There were only two other people waiting there also so we presumed that we were getting a lift to the bus stop and that is why there were only 4 of us. Shortly afterwards, a car picks us up and says that the bus that was to take us to the bus had broken down and he was going to give us a lift to the bus. We all piled our bags in the back and hopped in. After about 30 mins and leaving the city to enter the bumpy zig-zag ride to the border, we thought to ourselves that the bus stop couldn't be this far away! Of course our driver wasn't informative at all, and you have to guess yourself, but he said he was actually bringing us to the border! Delighted to hear this as we originally looked into getting a "shared taxi" instead of the Cambodian bus! But it was too expensive! But it was the case! No A/C though just the fresh Cambodian air!
The road to the border was one long dirt path made of potholes! We drove mainly in a zig-zag line to avoid the pot-holes that were the size of an Olympic swimming pool. The journey was about 4 hrs long! We found out the reason they don't fix the roads there was because the airlines are paying the government NOT to upgrade the roads! So they get more business!! But the locals are the ones that lose out because they can't afford to fly!

Interesting petrol stop story- We stopped at a "gas station", no pumps or store as such, just a couple of guys standing around sheds and not sure how he knew they sold petrol but anyway, we pulled in and stretched our legs and got the usual stares and waited while he filled up. This consisted of opening the trunk, and feeding through a tube into the trunk somewhere and filling it with gas! Very strange but the car was so old, perhaps it was man-made! Then we heard this loud, piercing, squealing sound coming from across the road!!! We looked over and it was a Cambodian struggling to strap a........pig on his moped! Upside down!!!!! The pigs legs were kicking in the air, his ears were twitching, he was squealing as loud as he could but it didn't make a difference to his situation! There was already one pig strapped on upside down with his legs kicking straight up in the air. His friend's destiny was the same! After 20 mins- he managed to strap him on! The poor pig! I swore I would never eat pork ever again!......(until I was in a country where I knew it was safe to eat!!)

Made it to the border after our long crazy journey where half of it was in the "shoulder" of the road as there were fewer potholes there or in the median swaying back and forth. Here we had to cross the border and walk in the blistering heat to get our bus which we thought we'd definitely be getting this time to the city as we were lucky already! But....it was a nice air conditioned mini-van! This was the rolls we were looking for! Another interesting story, well not interesting, unfortunate I should say. The journey was about 2 hrs or so to Bangkok and the passenger in the front seat was violently sick. He must have been sick every 5 mins all the way to the city. He had to roll down the window and when the driver stopped he would also get out! Of course the driver had no sympathy for him so i'm sure he felt isolated. When we got to Bangkok, we felt sorry for him and asked him what was wrong, where he was staying and could we help him. He was from Scotland and he said that he had been sick for 2 wks now and wasn't really sure what was wrong but he lost 15 lbs. He said Dr said he had gastroenteritis but I don't think it was because I had that when I arrived and I didn't get sick at all like he did. Then we asked him was he drinking the water and eating fruit&veg... & he said for 2 months he was!!!!!! DON'T drink water & eat fruit!!! We checked him into where we were staying and he went straight to bed. We checked on him an our later to make sure he was still alive and gave him a few bottles of water! He was not healthy& he has to fly home the next day. I wonder was he allowed on the plane?
Anyway, arrived at 5, checked into the D&D Inn on Khoa San Road and went to meet my friend Colin! Was great to see him again & swap stories! We went to the Irish pub across the road and a few other places. Claire and Colin got a big pitcher (a yard of ale I think it's called?) and I had warm vodka's! Had a great night and unfortunately we were leaving tomorrow to Koh Phagnan and Colin was going the opposite way!

Sunday: Day 29- Spent the day shopping on Khoa San Road as we wanted to buy some fake runners for Koh Phagnan and few other souvenirs. Also treated ourselves to a 30 min facial (for $5)!
Our overnight bus for Koh Phagnan didn't leave until 9p.m. so we had some time to kill & breathe in the last bit of Bangkok's smell!
So we left Bangkok and went on our merry way following the multitudes to Ko Phangan! Got our green stickers and waited with over 100 other people all waiting to do the same trip! The bus journey wasn't that bad actually, comfy recliners and managed to get a few hours kip! Arrived at Chumpon really early in the morning and we were ferried across to the islands, one of the last stops being Ko Phangan!

Day 24: Arrived in Siem Reap from Phnom Penh in one piece after those crazy unpaved dirt roads with potholes the size of a swimming pool! What an experience!! Our "driver" was driving in a zig-zag direction all the way! Greeted by the guesthouse representatives who would sell their soul to get you to stay at their accomodation. We were convinced to stay at Sweet Dreams Guesthouse, a.k.a. Simon Guesthouse, Happy House Guesthouse, who knows what is the correct name!! Really nice guys though and the room was only $2 each, with no a/c of course, (realising a/c is a luxury we cannot afford) but were happy with our sleeping quarters so we accepted! We met an English guy on the bus, Danny, so we all went for a wander in search of a restaurant. Danny managed to persuade us to eat some local Cambodian food and ate in the outside restaurants with the plastic chairs and where they cook your food outside. Cambodian food is similiar to Thai/Vietnamese- not very filling!
After dinner, we went for a walk around Siem Reap. Quite advanced again like Phnom Penn was. It had a nice atmosphere. We found the "city centre strip" or the "tourist" city centre strip full of bars and restaurants and had a drink in a bar on the corner. Was more expensive then our budget of 75c beer so we left and checked out some other bars. Angkor What? Bar was very lively and fun so we stayed in there for a few more and played pool. Neat bar with everyone's scribblings all over the wall from around the world. We didn't stay for long as we were quite exhausted from our travels and went back to the guesthouse and went to bed. We also had a lot of siteseeing the following day-Angkor Wat Temples!
Day 25: We hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day around the temples, definitely needed as the Temples are about a km + between each of them. He also tells you the most visited temples as there are over 100 spread over a 40 km radius! From the ninth to the thirteenth century, the Khmer were rulers of an empire that included Vietnam and much of Thailand, and Angkor was its capital city. After almost 600 years of conquest, plunder, theft, and the Khmer Rouge, the Angkor remains one of the wonders of the world.
Some Angkor temples are nearly fully restored. Others are undergoing restoration and can be viewed in various stages of this process. Some of the temples and complexes have been left totally untouched, giving the visitor a chance to explore the site. At its peak, it was a huge city that covered over 200 square kilometers, and up to 100,000 people were involved in constructing each of the major complexes, which include Angkor Wat, The Bayon, and Ta Prohm. Today, although much is in ruin, much is still standing. Enough remains to give you a feel for what it must have been like. But only after you've been there can you realize how amazing it is. It's one of the few places in the world that your imagination can't do it justice. No matter how awesome you imagine Angkor to be, it's even better when you see it.

The tuk-tuk driver drove to the first and most amazing temple- Angkor Wat. It's difficult to describe Angkor with words; perhaps the pictures will help. But the first thing that was striking was the immensity. Angkor Wat is huge, incredibly beautiful, and well preserved. It takes up a square kilometer and took 30 years to build. The compound at Angkor Wat covers an area of 4,920 by 4,265 ft and is surrounded by a vast moat 590 ft wide. Along the causeway leading to the enormous entrance gate are balustrades shaped as giant serpents, which are believed to represent emblems of cosmic fertility. The temple consists of a towering complex of terraces and small buildings that are arranged in a series of three diminishing stories and surmounted by five towers. The roofed and unroofed structures are covered with bands of finely carved stone sculptures. Thousands of feet of wall space are covered with intricate carving depicting scenes from Hindu mythology.

It was very very hot walking so advise plenty of sunscreen and even an umbrella! But well worth visiting!

Angkor Thom was was the next Temple. In the center of the walled city are the city’s most important monuments including Bayon, Baphuon, the Terrace of Elephants, the Terrace of the Leper King and Phimeanakas with Royal Enclosure. We visited the Bayon which is the centerpiece of Angkor Thom, which was the "Great City" enclosing the Royal Palace. From afar, The Bayon looks like a pile of rocks. Up close, it's a pyramid of towers, and each tower has a giant face carved on four sides. It is one of the most popular of Angkor's monuments and a place of narrow corridors and really steep flights of stairs! We have a video of me climbing them!
When it was built, the central tower was covered in gold leaf. Like much of the rest of Angkor, the Bayon is huge, and it's believed that it took over 20 years to build it.


The next temple was Ta Prohm. Probably my favorite of all the temples. When Angkor was rediscovered by the French in the 1860's, the jungle had grown back and covered many of the ruins. Huge fig, hapok, and banyan trees had grown on top of some of the buildings and walls, and their roots snaked down through the ruins. The roots had toppled many of the buildings, but in other cases the roots were what was holding them together. While most of the ruins were cleared of the trees and roots during restoration over the next few years, Ta Prohm was left mostly untouched as an example of how Angkor looked when the French found it. The combination of the jungle and the ruins gives it the feel of a lost civilization and the sprawling complex of standing and fallen buildings, intertwined with towering trees and massive twisted roots, still begs you to explore. I think to see a tree growing out of a temple has a magic of it's own. And that is why it is my favorite of them all.

By the way, there are so many pics so to view all the pictures in my gallery check under Claire and my name.
After our day of walking, climbing up steep steps and the heat, we were ready to sit down and rest our legs!! We had some dinner and rehydrated ourselves and our tuk-tuk took us back to our guesthouse. Later, we had a total chilled out evening and stayed around the hostel. Claire decided that she wanted to extend her siteseeing and tomorrow she goes on a trip on her own to see the other temples. I declined and was happy enough to stay and relax on my own! It is our first time apart since we've been travelling, but no tears were shed

Day 26 (Claire): After seeing the bigger temples the day before, I decided to do the second route, they were lesser known temples but pretty cool all the same. Adam was my guide for the day, and I had a tuk tuk all to myself!! East Mebon and Preah Neak Pean were the first two temples, had to climb up about 100 steps which gave sweeping views of the countryside and I could just about make out Anchor Wat five miles in the distance.. Photos were taken of course!! Ta Som, Pre Rup, Preah Khan were next.. Preah Khan was my favourite of the day, it was a smaller version of Ta Phrom, with the same mystical atmosphere with tree roots blending in with the crumbling ruins, pics to follow, i promise!! Amazing! I could've just sat there for hours... After that I asked Adam to stop off at Anchor Wat for the sunset... unfortunately it had clouded over, but still was a pretty cool setting to finish off my day of sightseeing!!!!! :-) Had a teary reunion with Mel (not!) and headed out for the night to a place called the Why Not bar!! Here we met two guys, Tad and Jordon, who challenged us at pool and they lost (again) of course! They were from Canada on a tour seeing the same sights. Stayed drinking with them till the wee hours of the morn. When we were ready to head home, there was a line of tuk tuk drivers waiting outside bars for custom.. Availed of the two dollar tuk tuk ride back to the hostel.. Seriously where are these guys when you need them on a sat night in dublin?!!?! ;-P

Day 27 (Claire): A few fuzzy heads that morn!! Arranged to meet Tad at 12:30. Took it handy, walked around Siem Reap, went into the markets where Tad decided to sample some of the local produce --- Fried Grasshoppers!!!!!! He had a choice between fried tarantula's, grasshoppers or cockroaches!!! Totally disgusting!!!

After that we went for a well deserved massage!! Went home, had some grub and headed back out that night and met up with Tad, Jordan and his tour group. Nice bunch of people! Katie O'Toole from Ireland was hilarious, kept us laughing.. had few more drinks, I called it a night at 1:00 and Mel stayed out with all till 3:00. Up next morning about 6:30 for bus to Bangkok!!

Took the 1:00 bus to Phnom Penh. AGAIN bumped into the Spanish dudes whilst getting on the bus. They had decided also to travel to Phnom Penh on the same day and same bus company as us - small world!! The roads to Phnom Penh were brutal!!!! Basically, there is no road!! - in places it's just a dirt track with millions of deep potholes, so the bus swerves over and back along the road to avoid them!! Watching all the villages as we passed was an eye opener..it was so poor. The houses looked like they were going to topple off the stilits they were balanced on. At one point the bus operator told us that the last leg of the journey was just 50km but took us 3 hours because of the the dirt track road- I could've done with a cushion that day, man it was a bumpy ride!!! ;-) We arrived in Phnom Penh about 10:00 at night and got a $2 tuk tuk accross town to lakeside, the backpacker haven of Phnom Penh. After checking out a few places, we settled on the Happy house -- not under the same ownership as Nha Trang!! Rooms were just alright but it had a really cool bar at the back overlooking the lake.

Next day we went to Tung Slueng genocide museum and the killing fields. Another English couple were heading in the same direction so the four of us hired a tuk tuk for the day. First stop Tung Slueng museum.. It was once a school that was converted into a prison by the Kymer Rouge. We got a guide to take us around the prison, i have to say it was crazy to think it that it happened less than 30 years ago. For a country healing itself, they have to be the friendlist and happiest people I have ever met - they are always smiling! After about 2 hours around the prison, our tuk tuk driver brought us to the killing fields. It was a mixed bag of emotions there - depressing, informative, strange... There is a momument at the front about 20 feet tall with all the skulls from the people they excavated from the swamps as a reminder to never forget the past.... As you walked along the pathway there waas still pieces of clothing lying about and at one stage a set of bones just at the surface. When we asked our giude about this, he said that there were still remains of people under the earth and they wait for the water to naturally wash away the mud to retrieve them...

Lakeside area in Phnom Penh was a pretty cool place. We really liked it, it was so chilled out, relaxing and cheap!! You really get the backpacker vibe that you're off the beaten track.. We had a couple of drinks that night, played pool and packed the bags for the next day's trip to Siem Reap!

Day 20: Another crazy Vietnamese city with a crazy airport! We were once again exposed to the agressive and persistant taxi drivers once our foot stepped outside the airport! The Canadian girls we met in Hoi An shared a taxi with us and we went into the city to our "recommended" Lonely Planet accomodation- that didn't exist! It wasn't there but we managed to find one located centrally and up 3 flights of stairs! Room needed a make-over paint job but other than that, it was fine!
Booked the Cu Chi tunnels for tomorrow morning and went for something to eat. Found a really nice bar/restaurant called Allez Boo. The waiter must have been learning English because he kept returning to our table with grammer questions! He was very appreciative for the lessons though all the same!

Day 21: Early rising for the mini-van, the journey was 45 mins to the Cu Chi Tunnel. En route we stopped off at a handicapped crafts factory where we saw the production line from start to finish. They hand-made beautiful pictures, artwork, shoes, household goods and many other crafts and used crushed egg shells as part of the covering. Very fine detail and time went into these crafts. I would have bought hand-made clog flip-flops covered with beautiful gems but the back-pack is heavy enough and the largest size they had was a 4!
We had a guide walking around with us in Cu Chi and the first stop on the tour was one of the tunnel entrances! See below! I can barely fit into it!

There were numerous other muddy entrances on the way to the tunnels that were not as cut out as the above picture...
Next, we viewed the various traps built and set by the Vietnamese during the war. They built these awful traps out of the shells and remains of the american weapons!
This is a Vietnamese sticking trap
Clipping armpit trap
Souvenir Trap - This looks to be the most horrific of all the traps. The enemy steps into the trap to discover that his foot can not be removed-hence making it a souvenir!
Vietnamese Door trap.
During the war, the Vietnamese also had a workshop hideout where they built all their "traps" of destruction...

Next on the tour we were told we could fire one of the following:
Which one would you choose??
Here is where a B52 bomb was dropped...

Next on our tour was going into the tunnels. This was an amazing network of tunnels built by the Vietnamese but in the pictures the tunnels are slightly widened for us Westeners!! We had to squat down and nearly crawl through them so if you are clausterphobic, I would not recommend entering!!

The next tunnel was an underground bedroom/kitchen! It was nearly pitch black in there so I had to use my flash, but the picture still manages to bring you back in time!

After the tunnels, we saw mannequins dressed up in Vietnamese army clothing. We also saw various US armoury, prisoner cells, and a french guillotine. (See pics under "Melanie")
After the Cu Chi tunnels, we traveled to the War Museum. This was a large museum that contained photos of war victims, Agent Orange victims, and excerpts. Quite depressing really.
Went out for dinner to Allez Boo and met with the Canadian girls and a few others joined us. Claire and I ended up playing pool against our new friends and of course won!!!
Early flight the next day to Phnom Penh!!

After our short night's sleep at the "Happy" Inn hotel, we promptly went looking for another hostel!! But with bag on back walking around the streets, we were a prime target for the touts.. "You come here", "you come to our nice hotel"... I gotta say it gets pretty damn annoying after a while!!!! We settled on the Sunview hotel, which was actually fab and very central to all the main bars and restaurants. We spent the rest of the day on the beach. Again, the beach was full of merchants selling bracelets, thai food, postcards... Check out the pic - he is carrying a boiling pot over a bed of coals!! Wonder what tasty treats are in there ....! :-)

It's dubbed as Vietnam's beach resort, but I have to say Hoi An was a much nicer beach. We chilled out in the hotel afterward, watched a bit of TV and nearly fell over laughing at the Vietnamese version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire!!

That night we headed to the Sailing Club, a bar right on the beach, with deck chairs on the sand if you fancy having your margarita's on the beach!! Happy hour consisted of half price vodka buckets where the bar man apologised to me if it was too strong... ehh..... I'll survive!!! ;-D Bumped into the Canadian girls we met briefly in Hoi An, Lyndsey and Amy. Iceland guys Runar and Kristinn joined us then and a drink or two later, we headed to a nightclub. Home late, pretty good night!

The next day was a late starter!! Bumped into the Spanish guys that we met on Junk in Halong Bay! Everyone seems to be doing the same route, just keep seeing the same faces pop up in different places along our trip!! We headed down to another place recommended to us called La Louisane, with it's own pool, bar and restaurant right on the beach. Chilled out there for a while and later that evening back to the Sailing Club.

Day 19 - Late again down to the beach, this time not attributed to alcohol or lack of sleep, we were just lazy buggers!!! Caught a few rays, but not much, we are still a couple of whiteys compared to other beach goers so really annoyed when it clouded over!!! :-( Out later again to..... somewhere different I hear you ask?! .... eh no, Sailing Club again! - It's actually a cool spot! Met up with Canadians and Iceland guys again and had a few, nothing too mad as we had booked an early morning flight to Ho Chi Minh - up at 05:30 for taxi pickup!! Exchanged email addresses and we are all to meet up again in the Full Moon Party!! Found out the Canadian girls were the same flight as us the next day..