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Hi, everyone!
We had an amazing couple of months in Chanthaburi and were really sad to leave. The teachers were so kind and really looked after us; they were all very concerned about our welfare and as to who would take care of us when we left (and there was us thinking we came across as 'well seasoned travellers'!) Alongside our manic schedules of teaching, we managed to fit in a cheeky weekend on a nearby island, Ko Samet, with two other volunteers from the charity. We were also taken out on various trips to temples, waterfalls and beaches by teachers from the school. As payback for all the 'delicious' meals our surrogate sister, Pee Nga, had treated us to, we decided to take her to the local pizza restaurant. Only after we'd scoffed our first four slices, numerous chicken wings and a handful of cheesey dips, did we notice that Pee Nga was still on her first slice, claiming to be "full"... oh how the tables had turned! Haha. Our time in Chanthaburi wasn't all full of fun and frolics, as we discovered on an attempted island getaway to Ko Chang. After a seven hour journey that should only take three, we arrived at our wooden shack situated on a farm (yes, there were numerous cows roaming around outside our bedroom door!). After a nice meal and a few drinks at the beach bar, we headed back to our room and started clearing the bed of our stuff. To our sheer HORROR, we realised that our mattress was infact home to a family of giant COCKROACHES, which quickly scurried back in to a hole in the mattress that they came from. Needless to say, we left pretty sharpish, and decided that we'd rather roam the streets and beaches at 2am than spoon a cockroach or three.
In our final week at school, we received many cute gifts from children and teachers alike. Pee Nga excitedly informed us of a "secret surprise party" that the school were throwing for us on our last day, and much to our delight, they had ordered in loads of pizza for the occasion :) It definitely made a pleasant change from pig tongue and fish stomach! After a hilarious slide show dvd of our time at the school, the headmaster gave a heart warming speech, in which he announced that he "loved us like daughters" (cue a few tears!) After many emotional farewells and far too many photographs, our time in Chanthaburi came to an end.
Our Cambodian adventure began with one teacher from our school saying she was coming with us, as she was concerned for our safety. We were more than a bit relieved to dicover she was only driving us to the border, and not travelling the rest of south east Asia with us! Our taxi ride to Battambang consisted of eight, yes eight, people squashed in to a tiny car (backpacks and a baby included!). After a long and uncomfortable journey, we ventured out to eat some food. Due to the lack of menus and English speaking Camdodians, we pointed at some noodles in a kitchen and hoped for the best. What arrived at our table was not to be desired: uncooked noodles, raw 'unknown' meat, cow intestines, raw egg and bone cartilage... yummm! So there we are, sitting at our table nibbling on uncooked noodles, wondering why people are walking past sniggering at us.... then out came a cooking pot in which we were supposed to put said ingredients in to, in order to cook our own tea. Dinner was much more enjoyable after this revelation, although you should know we stayed well clear of all organs and bones.
The next day saw us speeding through fields and rice paddies on a makeshift bamboo train used by locals. Due to the fact that there was only one track for people coming from two directions, we had to climb off and lift our bamboo platform and wheels off the track while other people coming in the opposite direction zoomed past. This was great fun at first, but by the fifth time it wasn't so amusing! Our next stop was Siem Reap - home of the Angkor temples. After a 4am start, we arrived at Angkor Wat in pitch darkness and took our places among the hundreds of other tourists and their cameras. We waited patiently for the sun to rise, and on seeing such a beautiful sight, decided that it was worth getting up so early... just. After a hardcore day of being culture vultures and restraining from reinacting scenes from 'Tomb Raider', we headed back to our ant infested room. We arrived in the capital, Phnom Penh, the day after, and enjoyed a lazy day reading books beside the river. This was all very peaceful until an aggressive child started shouting abuse at and hitting Gilbert when she wouldn't buy a book off him! While there, we educated ourselves on the brutal history of Cambodia and the Pol Pott/Khmer Rouge regime of the 70s. We visited 'S21' and the killing fields - both places of torture and genocide for all those who were deemed to be educated, and therefore a threat to the communist regime at that time. It was a truly harrowing experience, but one which gave us a greater understanding of Cambodia and its people. Feeling rather sobered after such an emotionally exhausting day, we were shocked to overhear one dick'ed telling a monk that the genocide was "very unfortunate, but you all need to move on." Errr...!!
After a standardly traumatic bus journey resulting in Gilbert fainting as she handed over her passport at the border (more than a bit suspcious, some may say!) we arrived in Vietnam. Our first experience of Vietnamese hospitality and honesty was certainly eye-opening, as a taxi driver happily drove us around Ho Chi Minh City for a good twenty minutes, 'taking us to our hotel'... and we ended up 15quid down and just around the corner from where we started - the swine! The day didn't improve much when Billington was just centimeters away from death.. we've since learnt to cross roads slowly and let the traffic zoom around us, rather than panicking and making a run for it!
We'll continue with our Vietnamese tales in the next blog, but for now, peace out, stay reem :)
- comments
Fabio U called me uncle, u introduced me to Captain Von Trapp...but I still wish u guys good luck and a great journey!