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The nakedness is less of a problem at present but the noises coming from DSWs arse during the night act as a similarly effective alarm clock. They come at regular intervals so it is much like putting your alarm clock on snooze!!!
We have recently heard that a Typhoon has hit Hoi An, the scene of our 'Wild Bar' antics, and many tourists have been evacuated. So..to recap we have bossed several monsoons and skilfully avoided a Typhoon. Whatever, mother nature has in store for us next, we are ready!!
On the last night of our Vietnam tour we had a goodbye meal and went for a few drinks in a aussie bar. We were very surprised to find that we were able to buy actual full pints for one of the first times on our trip. We all know that aussies trap off about boozing hard but then drink their lager out of shot glasses. We were enjoying a few pints but then Davids bowels intervened. I noticed he was up and down to the toilet regularly and it turned out he was s***ting through the eye of the needle!...and that was the end of our Vietnam tour.
We met our new tour leader, who was an American lady (but we didn't hold that against her) called Anne. On the first night we took a cyclo ride around Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) to see the sites. Saigon is mental for traffic and crossing the road is much like an extreme game of British bulldog. Horns are essential for all vehicles and it seems that as long as they 'Beep' then if they run anyone over they are covered. We saw sites, such as the Continental Hotel (where the film the 'Quiet American' was filmed) and the Re-unification Palace.
The next day we took one bus and a couple of ferries to Chau Doc and as soon as we got there we took a motorbike tour to the summit of Mount San which overlooked the Mekong Delta. we met the motorbike drivers and one of them handpicked DSW to be his passenger. This proved to be a mistake as midway through the moutain ascent the bike started to feel the effects of a 15 stone chap and stalled several times. With me being not much over 8 stone I motored past him to the top. We watched the sunset from the top of the mountain with a lager in hand, which was awesome as you can see by the copious amount of sunset pictures we took.
We were then given the opportunity to go to a bar where we could enjoy such treats as 'Bat' and 'Rat' over a beer. we declined this offer and just had a beer.
We then took a long boat trip along the Mekong all the way into Cambodia. We went for a meal at a restaurant where orphan Cambodian kids dance for the customers and where we could make donations to their cause which was a pleasant evening.
We visited the S21 Cambodian prison and the Killing Fields after that, which was a different day and certainly made us think. The S21 prison had been converted from a school into a prison during the time of Pol Pot, who is definately the person with the least banter of our trip so far! We were shown graphic pictures of the torture that was endured by a local guide who had lost 5 brothers and his father during the Khmer Rouge regime. The killing fields are the mass graves of all the people killed and as we walked we could see bones and teeth on the ground.
On a lighter note, we headed for Siem Reap by plane and went to see the Angkor wat Temple - This temple is the picture on the Cambodian Flag and the Cambodian flag is the only flag to have a building on it - FACT (Education and Banter! What more could you want from a journal!?!). We had to get up at 4.30 to see this temple but we thought it was worth it as the sunrise should be amazing. We waited for the sunrise and waited and waited a bit more. NO SUN as it was too cloudy.
We saw a couple more temples that day including the one where 'Tomb Raider' was set. Angelina Jolie was nowhere to be seen which was a bit of a blow but we powered through.
After the early start and the stressful nature of our travels so far we thought we had earned ourselves a night on the 25p beers to let off some steam. Half way through the night we heard a scream and suddenly and a blonde jumped onto Dave. Despite what he says this is not how all girls greet Mr. Smith Watson. It turned out is was the Trout who is teaching some kids in Siem Reap and we enjoyed a night out with her. Dave left the bar before me but when I returned at 3.30 he was not in the room and it transpired that he ended up going to a shed of a bar with a random Tuk Tuk man in a drunken stupor. - We missed the Temple touring the next day but did make it to a hammock bar.
After an awful, 9 hour bus journey from Siem Reap to Bangkok where the roads were so bumpy we got to Thailand and have finished our Cambodia tour and plan to head up north to do a bit of trekking and then go to Laos for a bit. We have a few days in Bangkok and we have heard many stories of 'Happy Ending' massages which we may have to avoid.
Until next time.
Jake and Dave
P.S. Due to my facial hair I have been told by several different people that I look Israeli. NOT GOOD.
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