Hi Everyone,
Since last email (Hong Kong) I have moved to hotter and much cheaper
countries - both good news - however there are some downsides..... I spent
a couple of weeks in Bangkok (which was far too long but I had to sort out
visas for Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos) and then travelled by bus to Cambodia,
first to Siem Reap to see the temples at Angkor and then by boat to Phnom
Penh......
The good bits
- The temples at Angkor are incredible, of excellent quality and varied in style. Built by the
Khmer people as their capital city from 9th - 14th century only the temples
remain (only gods could live in stone buildings (temples) so all other
buildings were wooden and have long gone).
The crowning glory is Angkor Wat (the outline of the central towers appears
on the Cambodian flag [with which you are all no doubt familiar : )) ]which
is an incredible building (built 1113 - 1150 AD). It is surronded by a moat
200m wide and 5.5km long; the central building contains 3 levels and 1200sq
metres of stone carvings depicting legends and stories of the time. It is
in almost perfect condition despite the years and wars which have ravaged
the coutry. Said by some to be the greatest building ever conceived by the
human mind - the scale is awesome and the balance is perfect - it flows with the surrounding jungle... inspirational.
Definitely worth 3 days of my time and undoubtedly a highlight of the whole
trip.
- The Royal Palace in Bangkok - choc full of ornate and colourful temples,
chedis and monsters (guarding it all).
- Lying down buddha 46m long with feet 3m by 5m - and it was probably solid
gold .... or maybe it was painted gold .... or maybe you see so many gold
buddhas that after a while it doesn't really matter..... interestingly the
most sacred buddah in the whole of Thailand (in Royal Palace) in only about
1m tall - Even in Bangkok size isn't everything !!
- Talking to some monks at a temple in Bangkok about how they live their
life and ending up talking about Premiership football - thankfully none of
them supported ManU...
- The other travellers I have met - sometimes insane but always interesting
....... (like the Irish farmer who has been travelling for 4.5 years in an
effort to take a picture of his son's rabbit outside each of the famous
sights in the world before his son graduates from college ..... he claims to
have visited over 150 countries..)
The bad bits
- traffic in Bangkok is simply a nightmare - just trying to cross the main
roads is enough to have you certified insane and takes 10 mins - it's
quicker to take a taxi just to cross !! And Phnom Penh is nearly as bad -
few cars but an incredible no. of scooters/motorbikes. Incidentally
Cambodia is the 12th country I have been to this trip but the first place
where they drive on the right ..... not that you would notice !!
- Bangkok is just not a nice place!
- The number of cockroaches in my room. The Thai's get there own back by
frying and eating them.... no I didn't !
- The seedy side is alive and kicking - well I had to make sure it was still
there - girls wandering around in their 'night attire' entertaining the guys
(you really can do that with a string of razor blades)...and on a personal
level...No I didn't !
- Cock fighting - actually I meant the animals - possibly legal and
certainly common - but not very pleasant.
- The roads in Cambodia - they have no roads just dirt tracks with huge
holes in them - it took over 7 hours to go 152km - and it was not
comfortable !!!
The other bits
- The Killing Fields - A mass grave and a monument to the 1 million Cambodians murdered by Khmer Rouge (their own people) 1975-9 made of human skulls (they had a lot of them lying around...)
- S-21 A former school where the Khmer Rouge tortured thousands of people
before killing all but about 7 of them. Perfectly preserved (down to the 'tools' used) it
looks like it could have been used the day before I visited - a disturbing
place made worse by the pictures on the walls of each of the (short term)
occupants - men, women and children....
Next ... Out of here (on a terrible road) to Vietnam and HoChiMin City
(Saigon) ....
For those in UK, I hope the weather isn't getting you down in the foot and mouth too much.
Best Wishes
LuvPete
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