Author Archives: Vicky

Mr Blue, Bamboo Train and Boats

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Mr Blue was the tuk-tuk driver, who despite charging an exorbitant amount when I got off the bus in Battambang to the hotel, I paid to take me on a drive around the countryside the next day, forgetting to bargain for a price again!!

First we went to the bamboo train, this is only a tourist attraction but run along the track that used to be the main line from Thailand to Phnom Penh. It consists of a bamboo palette resting on the axels of a set of small train wheels, and is driven by a diesel motor. So you’re sitting fairly low to the ground where it is easy to see the rails , which are neither smooth nor parallel. The tracks runs ( thankfully) in a straight line for about 10 k through some villages, and flat flat countryside, to a village where there are brick kilns. Three beautifully built kilns, fuelled by rice husks.

What do you do when a train is coming in the opposite direction? Simple, passengers get off and your train is dismantled, two or more trains going in one direction, win over a single train in the other direction.

The trip round the countryside was very beautiful. Very few of the old wooden houses left. Here, when you do well and get rich, you build a new house out of modern non sustainable materials. Mr Blue thought the English were mad, when I explained it is the opposite and we aspire to a 300 year old house. I saw a village on the river where the exclusive business is drying fish, palette after palette of what looked like kippers lying in the sun to dry, some fish are smoked and they also make fish paste in the village, which goes into a great many dishes for flavour. It involves leaving fish to ferment for about three months, ( maybe I heard him wrong) and then doing various things to it. To my surprise it didn’t smell much. I must be getting acclimatised!

There were other industries, still done in the old way, making rice paper that is used for wrapping spring rolls, weaving, and drying thin strips on banana, 3 kilos can be sold to the shops for $1, that’s a lot of bananas and work.

I visited a temple that is now closed as it had been used by the Khmer Rouge, as a detention and torture centre, before slaughtering people, men, women children and babies. But I didn’t want to visit the caves that they threw people into, dead or alive, it didn’t matter to them. It seemed appropriate that it was Remembrance Day, these horrors should never be forgotten either.

The return journey to Siem Reap was on the boat, this was long and crowded , but included a few local people who had obviously been to Battambang to stock up on the goods that the shops in the local villages don’t have. The journey was along a river where there were lots of fishermen in their little dug out boats, and our boat weaved between them, so as not to get tangled in their nets( their livelihood). We then travelled along the top end of Tonle Sap lake (claimed by the Cambodians to be the largest lake in South East Asia) where there are many floating villages. The stronger houses are on stilts but the poorer ones are built on bamboo rafts. So every time a boat with its huge wake goes by their house rocks.

Before leaving Siem Reap , I will tell you a little about the school. Lunch break finished now, back to work!

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Stranded in Sisophon…

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Took a quick breather and leg stretch on a long bus journey, snap a photo, turn round and the bus was pulling away……..but was assured by a local that it would be back in 10 minutes. Well, 10 minutes in Asia can be long time……Might have been worse, could have been waiting for a Network Rail connection.

The bus was back in 20 minutes and on I went to Battambang.

Nothing like a bank holiday!! Especially one to celebrate independence from the French in 1953. So, I had a long weekend. Could have gone to Phnom Penh, but have heard that as the king is lying in state, ( he died in October, and the funeral will be in February, I presume embalming is a local skill much practiced) that some of the Royal Palace is not open. Hence the trip to Battambang.

As the Cambodians say,” Same, Same , but different”another French colonial city on a river. Unusual name for a restaurant, I think, reading the menu at the Write Rose Restaurant, only to notice next day when I went there for breakfast, that the sign outside says White Rose! And as for some of the typos on menus, you really wonder what you’re going to eat. Biggest difference is that there is not a huge area given over to bars and restaurants for travellers and tourists. One street for mobile phone shops, can they sell that many mobiles still? One for pharmacists, what a hypochondiacal people they must be. One for restaurants, and best street of all , salons where you can have a make over and get your outfit for weddings and other special events, along with the photographers’ shops that go with these occasions.

And weddings there were, they start at 5.30 a.m. Goodness knows what time the Bride has to get up to get ready. And finnish about midnight. Not only was this in the hotel two down from mine, but also two mornings running!!! The event takes place under a very colourful awning right across the street and the music and chanting are all broadcast on speakers across the neighbourhood. In addition to weddings, similarly noisy events were taking place in the town and countryside to celebrate the end of the wet season. Music and chanting , a huge meal, and the monks come along to bless the village and take back lots of food and goodies to keep themselves going.

You’ll have to wait for the next instalment of my bank holiday weekend…

Just a picture to give you a flavour of what I’m talking about.

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Siem Reap

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After lots of sea, sand and snorkelling, good company and plenty of fresh seafood, I had a day’s travelling, more hairy scary driving, and am now in Siem Reap. Arriving here after dark and all I saw was a long road of monumental looking hotels full of air conditioned luxury coaches in their car parks. It all looked like something out of Hollywood , and all have Angkor somewhere in their name.

There’s a great market here, lots of the usual stuff, but some good fairtrade local art too, beautiful silk. Lots of “jewellery” stalls, they also change money, as the $ US is the main currency, with the local currency the subsidiary one , something like 5000 riel to the dollar, so all those noughts again.

One moment tat, the next you are in the food market, fruit and veg fine, but you don’t want to be in the meat and fish section late in the day as it’s getting a bit hot by then. And a man with a sewing machine who took up my trousers to make them into shorts for $2.00!!

A day is probably enough to find your way round Siem Reap, which left me a day free, so off I went at dawn (again) to see Angkor Wat. It’s so enormous it’s hard to take in, but I still prefer European Cathedrals which are more delicate and feel less claustrophobic. Like them it is probable that a lot of the stone work was originally painted, but then of course, the stone would have the soft colour of new sandstone, not black and polluted. Later on the day I went to another temple, which I much preferred, and got the tail end of the daylight.

So just waiting to be picked up by the school, first day back nerves, think i’ll by winging it.

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Ban Bang Bao, Koh Chang

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Ban Bang Bao, Koh Chang

Sorry, no picture attached last time, don’t know what happened there.

It’s Sunday , I think, forgive sloppy spelling etc, as it’s not easy typing while lying in a hammock. A well deserved rest, as the first day here I went on a trek in the jungle. Was warned it was hard, but as ever didn’t listen. It was steep, steep, hot hot, and slippery, the best way down was by sliding on your bottom. A sort of off piste, cross-country -down-hill slalom at 34c. And for added adventure, a few rivers to cross, some through the water or simply a felled tree.

Yesterday was a great improvement. Out on a boat all day. Three goes at snorkling and lots of beautiful fish with a good lunch thrown in. Definitely something I could take to!! And then night fishing later in the evening.

To all at work, thanks for the Snorkling kit.

The Island is very beautiful, just a lump of jungle-covered mountains with a road that doesn’t quite go all the way round. The first resorts you hit when you get off the ferry have long sandy beaches. But the bars, eateries etc are Blackpool -in -the -tropics, well more hippyish than that, but you get the drift.

This village at the south end of the island must once have been a fishing centre as it has a large natural harbour. But the local economy has now become so tourist dominated with over priced restaurants ( 3 times as expensive as Bangkok and not so good) hippy clothes and tat, that you can’t even see where the locals do their shopping.

Picture of sunrise!…..

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Goodbye Bangkok

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It’s been a great 4 days, and I have realised that ( against my Anglo Saxon Protestant upbringing) it is not a sin to read a novel in the morning. Sit and have a coffee , or beer, and watch the world go by.

The difficulty in walking anywhere, apart from the heat, and really most of what I wanted to see in the old city is in walking distance, is that every tuk-tuk driver thinks you’re mad to walk and asks “you want shoppeeng!” No, I don’t want shopping, I like walking. If you do say you’ll take their tuk-tuk, they insist you go shoppeeng, as they get petrol coupons from these emporia. If they don’t like the price you suggest, they get a city map out and show you it’s a long way and petrol is expensive. But anyway an air conditioned taxi is only pence more, or sometimes less! without the unwanted retail opportunity.

Yesterday I went to a town with a long unpronounceable name to see the floating market. I love white knuckle rides, but only at Alton Towers where I know it’s safe. I don’t like it when the mini bus is driven at about 80 plus mph, and so near the vehicle in front you can see the hairs on the back of that driver’s neck. ( I was told today these guys all do double shifts so are on amphetamines, swallowed down with red bull to keep themselves awake). Any way after 90 minutes of this the floating market was interesting, really only a tourist attraction now, with plenty of, yes you’ve guessed it, shoppeeng. But a good photo opportunitee.

Bangkok certainly wins my food award. 4 days of the best most delicious food I’ve ever eaten, and sometimes for less the a quid. And I still haven’t had street food!

Off tomorrow, 8 hour coach journey, ( I’ll try not to think about the driver’s drug habits) to Ko Chang and practice becoming a beach bum. Get the mask and snorkel out of my suit case at last.

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On my way…

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I’ve lost track of what we have seen and done since I last wrote! A day on Lake Inle, which is still in the hilly region of Shan, so still cool. it would be very peaceful except for the speed that the boats are driven, throwing up an impressive spew of water behind them. Being a bit of a tree hugger I was worried about the environmental damage this causes, let alone the wake that rocks the local people , who live in stilt houses and know no dry land, who get around in what is little more than a dug out. We were up and down the canals that run off the lake and in and out of ” cottage industry” shops.

There was a bonus, as once a year there is a huge 16 day festival, when Buddha statues are taken round the villages on the lake in a huge gold dragon-painted barge. Long boats with 20 rowers each side with dancing girls, all of which we saw, and some time in the week they race these huge barges on the lake itself. Don’t ask me to describe how it’s done, but they stand as they row, and with their lower leg twisted round the oar they row the boat. If you’re rowing you own little boat, fine, but with rowers each side, you need an equal number of lefties!

A cycle ride was a good break one day, I think it might even have been temple free. One day in Rangoon, and now I’m at the Airport and off to Bangkok

So now the travels really begin, but Asia is no longer quite so strange to me.

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Kalaw

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The hill retreat for the summer, the railway station is mock Tudor, and there are a couple of house that would be 1million in an estate agents window in Surrey. Beautiful countryside. We had a trek today through some villages and counted over ten crops, from avocado to ginger and rice, some of which is sold locally but a lot goes to the bigger cities.

On the trek we passed through a village where there was a big annual ceremony, a lot of noise and jollity, monks and fire crackers.Tea and chilies on mats drying in the village square. Tea and snacks in a house where a woman was weaving cloth, it takes 6 days to weave a lenght for a lunghi. Lunch of noodle soup was cooked for us later on the walk in a villagers house. ( under close inspection of our guide, who I’m sure was in the kitchen to see that hands were washed and plates clean, sick customers aren’t good for donations to the local school)

The village is helped by an organisation that sends some students on to university, purifying water etc.

Picture of village to be added

Not yet posted Remember heading this time

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Mandalay

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Very much busier than Rangoon, with more big stores, white good shops etc. The town is built on a grid system and far from being romantic, as we think it should be (Kipling etc), the streets are 81st and 64th street!!!

The Irrawaddy river is still flooded from the rains, so incredibly wide at the moment. There are trees and even the roofs of houses in the water.

Early morning walk on the longest teak bridge in the world , U Bien’s, 1km long, that goes from the bank to bank. We set off in time to see the six o’ clock sunrise, but the sun rose unannounced from behind the clouds. Nevertheless it was beautiful with a slight mist. The bridge was busy with people crossing it with their bikes laden with fruit and veg to sell in the city, Monks and people doing their morning exercises and stretching, no yoga classes to join though.

When we turned back another hundred photo opportunities looking the other way! But the sun came out before the walk was over and it was all worth while.

The rest of the day was spent on a trip on the river, visiting a couple of temples
( just for a change) but a very peaceful and restful day. All finished off with an excellent Chinese meal.

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Two things about Myanmar you should know

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Very few people have mobile phones here, a SIM card has come down to $250.00, and you still have to buy the hand set.The network converge is minimal. There are no phone boxes either. The equivalent is a booth at a street corner with three or four ( very old ) phones, and someone who will connect you the the number you want.

There might be the odd ATM in Yangon but nowhere else, and credit cards don’t exist. So this is a cash society, the currency, the kyat (pronounced chat) is worth 1000 to a pound. There is no coinage as the Government maintain it is cheaper to print notes than mint coins. Older people and country people won’t accept a 10,000 note as it is such a huge amount. The consequence is that you have to have a wad of money about two centimetres thick.

When I have more educational things that you need to know, I will let you know!!!!

Vicky

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