Day 4 - Kambuchea

"One dollar! You want this for one dollar?!" That's what I'll remember about Cambodia. The street kids persistently trying to sell you ANYTHING they can. And there's so many of them. It breaks your heart seeing all of them on the streets day and night, and you just can't help falling in love with them once you start talking and playing with them. And then you realise why so many travellers want to adopt them, because despite having lives that I could never imagine, their personalities just win you over. And they're so cheeky! AND fluent in English. I've also been asked several times if I'm Cambodian (Thai when I was in Bangkok). I might do what my bro was planning on doing and say I'm Maria Gonzales from Mexico. I bet that could work. As long as they don't speak Spanish.....

Siem Reap was fascinating with Wats (temples) dotted in various parts of the city. But after spending half a day visiting them, we decided to just chillout in front of a lake/man- made reservoir (?). Next thing we knew, a bunch of kids had already divied up the four of us between themselves (very enterprising businesskids) and conned us into being their customers by giving us "presents". They said they didn't want anything in return and that we didn't have to buy anything from them if we didn't want to. Yeah right. Suckers!!! But then after spending almost 2 hours with them you can't help but buy something/anything from them. I'd already been forced to buy 6 bracelets from 2 kids earlier in the day and I found myself giving money for a 3rd 2L bottle of water that I really didn't need. Steve said he doesn't think he's ever spent so much on lemon tea and batteries. Sophie spent quite a lot on one can of coke. As for Hannah. Well let's just say that saying no was not an option. But that's ok. We had a fantastic time with them.

Today we visited the Killing Fields and S21. There are no words to describe what I saw. There were still some blood stains on the tiles in the cells in S21. And bones and clothes half buried in mass graves of the Fields. Yeah. I really don't know what to say. Cambodia had 7 million people before the Khmer Rouge regime. When it ended just over 3 years later, a 3rd of the population had been massacred. Surrounded by beautiful butterflies as I walked through the Fields, it was impossible to imagine that such a peaceful place could've ever been anything else. Until you see the craters and bones......

On a lighter note, tomorrow we head to the beaches of Silhanoukville. I can't wait!! Azure blue waters, here I come.

P.S. Point 2 from post 1 has been disproved. My group is awesome!! As for point 1, no starvation yet. Will let you know when we head to Vietnam.

Day 1

The smells intoxicating. The colours vibrant. The streets chaotic. Welcome to Bangkok! Where the roads are jammed packed and the noise never ceases.
And what a coincidence! My Uncle and Auntie were on holiday in Bangkok for the next three days so we met up today.

Our first stop, the precious gemstone centre where you can watch expert jewellers shine, shape and set sapphires, rubies, emeralds etc into rings, earrings. Whatever really. A place I wouldn't have considered going but it was fun.

Next, the malls of Bangkok. By the 2nd one, we all agreed we were bored of window-shopping. So to liven things up and see Bangkok local-style, we jumped into a pink tuk-tuk. It was awesome! The tuk-tuk pulled out into incoming traffic that was actually on the WRONG side of the road. But the driver was a pro and quickly sped away down bustling streets and alleys decorated with electric cables snaking across the Bangkok sky. 30 min later, we jumped onto a boat and rode down the river (dont' know what it's called) and saw a different quieter side of Bangkok. Kids training to be monks lounging along the shore. Fishermen trying to catch dinner. People hanging their laundry. Normal life in Bangkok.

Bangkok is nothing like what I expected. And hopefully so will the next 6 wks. Gotta go and me the rest of the crew now. A bientot!

Day 0

"We will shortly be arriving in Bangkok in 15 min where the temperature is 30 deg." 30 deg! Perfect! After being up for almost 24 hours, the prospect of experiencing temperatures above the UK average of 15 deg was too good. It got even better. On my ride to the hotel, I saw a bunch of kids sitting at the back of a pick up truck. On the highway. Where cars were travelling over 50 mph. Hell, even I wasn't wearing a seat belt. Mainly because there wasn't one. As we drove along the highway under the cloudless sky, the Bangkok skyline was beautifully lit up by intermittent lightning.

Got to the hotel and bumped into Adam who's also in the group. We went out for dinner and came across a night market where they sold almost everything. There was even bread with pre-spread butter! I also saw a guy selling deep-fried grubs and crickets. Tasty! No photos of these loveliness because I was too tired to take out my camera. You will just have to use your imagination.

Day -1

Ok people. I'm starting a blog. This may be the first of many posts. Or it may be the only one. Who knows? It's a mystery. What I do know is that I gotta be on the bus in 1 hour or God will have answered my mum's prayers from a week ago and I will be a bozo stuck in London with money not well spent. 

This trip will be awesome as you will be able to tell from the link to my itinerary that I have attached for your perusal- http://www.gapadventures.com/tour/ATID. I will also be going to KL, Singapore and Dubai, in case you were wondering.

My main two concerns for this trip are: 1) I will starve as I still do not know how to use chopsticks, and 2) I will end up with a bunch of squares. My brother assures me that point 2 is unlikely as boring people go on boring trips and this is an interesting one. However, he failed to factor the possibility that some boring people may decide to take the plunge and sign on to this trip. I will let you know. As for point 1, my brother laughed and patted me on my head. Saj also laughed and said that I should be more concerned about not being able to read maps. How is this relevant to me starving? Besides, it is not that I do not know HOW to read maps. It is just that I choose to read them in a different way. This way I get to see even more things as I have to back track to get to my final destination 3 hours later.

If you want postcards, then email me your address. Requests for postage from specific locations may be accommodated.

Take care guys. And try not to miss me too much.