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Bangkok. What a place, if you want to be hassled, mugged, sweaty, conned, covered in pollution and eat rotisserie rat then this is the place for you. Strange to say I loved it. It wasn't just the rats but the culture was so different to anything that I've ever experienced before and that it was a real education in how to keep an eye on your stuff. 99% of the people are very friendly and just want your business, 50% of that was for the ping pong shows but as I'm no good with a bat and ball I had to decline. If you've ever been to Rome or Naples you may appreciate some of the taxi drivers were born on a different planet, one where it doesn't matter if everyone in the vehicle dies but as longs as they earn enough for a beer at the end of the day. Well, in Bangkok they have these 'Tuk Tuk' drivers. Tuk meaning death trap on three wheels and Tuk meaning annoying Thai man that will take you anywhere in South East Asia for $1. Anyway these so called Tuk Tuk drivers are like their Italian counterparts except it's like they're all on speed. I concluded that walking was a far safer bet although it meant that where ever I walked I had to stay on the same side of the road as crossing was just stupidity.
You may have heard on the news that whilst I had landed in Bangkok and was due to be crossing the boarder into Cambodia, fighting broke out on the Thai Cambodia boarder. The UK embassy issued a notice on the website stating all unnecessary travel to Bangkok and the Cambodia boarder should be cancelled. b*****….. That was my initial thought. However, when we did eventually cross the boarder (we - meaning me and the tour I'm on) there was no hostility or bad atmosphere at all, just everyone trying to sell you something.
We crossed over the boarder after getting several stamps in the passport to add to the collection and proceeded by a small bus down the most poverty stricken place I had ever been. The road wasn't even a road but a dirt track that made being on the bus like sitting on a bouncy castle full of jumping kid. Our first destination was Siem Reap. As poor as Cambodia is, Siem Reap is actually a nice little town (they call it a city but it's about as big as Quorn). There are plenty of little markets and nice local bars and restaurants. From Seam Reip we toured around the huge temples of Angor Wat and the floating village just further down the river. Again, this place was a completely new experience because unlike Bangkok where it's full of raving loony's the people were really friendly and receptive which is amazing considering they have been ravaged by war and genocide not all that long ago. On our last night in Siem Reap we met and had dinner with three Vietnam War vet's from Australia who have been clearing landmines. These guys were raging loony's as they were telling that before they received funding and had the proper equipment to dispose of the mines they used to search for mines using sticks and remove them by hand. They reckon there is still in the region of about 10 million mines left to clear in Cambodia. I best watch where I put my feet from now on!
From Seim Reap we headed into Kompong Chnang which is a sleepy town with absolutely no tourists. It was a chance to experience some real Cambodia. We rented bikes and headed off to meet some locals. There were loads of really excited kids and it was great sitting eating prawns and chilli with locals and trying their moonshine which would make your eyes bleed if you drank too much. After a day relaxing in Kompong Chnang we headed to a homestay with some local Cambodian's who would be putting us up for the night in the middle of the jungle. It was fascinating to see how these people live and was like stepping back hundreds of years with no cars or tractors for farming. Just cows and very makeshift toilets. From the hoemstay we headed down towards the coast to a town called Sihanoukville which is where I am typing this blog from. So when I get chance I'll update it again. Willxx
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