July 2012

Good morning,
In Sihanoukville, what a mouthful. Got to the coast a few days ago and made a cruel discovery; every beach looks the same in the rain. On seeing the sea for the first time Ciaran said, looks like Dollymount. Our destination was Koh Tonsay, had heard lots about it being undeveloped, where we could sit on the beach all day and eat crab. But then I began to hear about rats, bedbugs and packs of dogs. That with rain and rough seas made my mind up. I'm just not that kind of girl anymore. In fact, instead of getting less bothered by where we stay it's bothering me more. I was ranting around our €8 room last night, railing against this ever present smell. Everywhere is musty. I'd say I will regret complaining when I see my "rustic" bungalow on Koh Rong today. I wish I didn't mind sleeping in other peoples dried sweat and body fluids but I seem to have reached saturation point, literally.

The weather looks better today. We booked into a place with a pool yesterday. I was conducting an experiment as to how long the kids would stay in the pool, rain and all.Three hours later I had to fold, how much longer could they have gone?

I can't get over the availability of western food in Cambodia, those NGO's have a lot to answer for. It makes it difficult to get the kids to tow the party line of local food. I prefer the food in Laos, although the choice was limited it seemed fresher, spicier, with more herbs. Khmer curries are surprisingly mild with potatoes, onions and pumpkins, a lot like stew at home.

So our time is getting shorter. Harry's B day tomorrow, Ciarans soon after. I think we will all be happy enough to go home, kids want to see their friends, I look forward to some silence. I'd say work has a certain appeal for Ciaran. That is of course until we arrive home and realise how good we had it here!
Caroline

Sent from my iPhone

After a couple of days in Kampot we've skipped on going back to Kep and consequently Rabbit Island too. The weather has taken a bit of a turn. After two months of being blessed with a not so rainy 'rainy season' the precipitation is finally upon us. We had a chat with a couple who had returned from Rabbit Island and she had been bitten by either fleas or bed-bugs whilst staying there. Then she informed us that the roof was leaking during the storm the night before. He then told us that the crossing was a bit rough there and back. They then proceeded to tell us that we shouldn't be put off going out there, that despite all of the above it was rather lovely. However, what they told us was enough to convince us that we might find a nicer island experience somewhere else.

Kampot itself was another pleasant surprise. Despite being filled with bars and restaurants run by the expatriate community its quite a nice town. It retains a lot of the old colonial shopfronts and a few derelict villas to boot. It also has one of the most archaic looking prisons that I've ever seen. The place was crumbling and if you really wanted to escape you could probably just kick a whole in the wall and walk off. They're busy restoring the old market building by the riverside but like most of their building efforts here in Cambodia they rarely seem to get round to finishing the job. You can see how nice it will be if they do ever get around to completing it. Meanwhile the newer market could do with a bit of a scrub, its in a jocker.

We took a taxi to Sihanoukville this morning hoping to make it out to Koh Rong island. Unfortunately all the accommodation was booked so we've spent this afternoon looking around the town and having a swim. Its a bit of a mad place here to be honest - where Bray meets the Costa del Sol. Lots of beach bars, burger joints and foreign middle-aged men with their young Cambodian brides/girlfriends. We'll head out to the island tomorrow for better or worse - we've heard mixed reviews from different folk. Some loved it, some hated it. Given that we'll be on an island that only has electricity between 6pm and 11.30pm I somehow doubt that they'll have wi-fi there. As such this will be my last posting for a few days. Hopefully I'll then be able to tell you how fantastic it all was.

P.S. - It's nice to smell the sea after spending so long inland.

And there I was wondering what the place had to offer. We'd decided to make a stopover there on our way back to Phnom Penh. It was only three or so hours on the bus from Battambang and we arrived there in the early afternoon. We were greeted by a lone tuk-tuk driver touting for business and he hadn't even brought his tuk-tuk with him. This was a pleasant change from the usual hordes of tuk-tuk drivers that harass you as you step off the bus. Even though he was the only chap we still walked the 600m to the guesthouse we were checking out. We'd only gone 50m and he was back with his tuk-tuk shadowing us all the rest of the way. After checking in and unpacking I looked out the window and he was still outside waiting. You have to hand it to these guys, they sure work for their fares. I went outside to him and hired him for the afternoon.

First stop - lunch. Our driver brought us to a local noodle bar and the kids baulked at what was on offer. We asked our driver if there were any other options and mentioned a place we'd read about. It closed last year. In the end we settled for some street food - Chinese pork and egg dumplings, fried bananas and charcoal cooked corn on the cob. I knew then that we'd be returning to the noodle shop.

Second stop - the Vietnamese floating village. One of the reasons we'd decided to stop in Kompong Chhnang - in fact the only reason - was to visit the floating village. In truth there are a load of them, all sitting on the river around the town. Caroline haggled with a woman and eventually agreed on $13 for two boats. We were out on the water for about half an hour when the rain began. Our boatlady made for her houseboat where we took shelter for about 45 minutes. It was about the size of my sitting room but she lives there with her husband, daughter and seven other family members - all of whom were at home when we called. Their english was as good as my vietnamese so the conversation was stilted. They laughed at us and we laughed at them laughing at us. What a great way to spend an afternoon.

Afterwards we went to see some locals make pottery which was much more interesting than I've just made it sound. And as fate decreed earlier we dined in the noodle shop. During dinner the rains came and flooded the road outside. Some nice chaps with a 4x4 kindly gave us a lift home. All in all KC was much more eventful than expected.

Today we celebrated Joe's tenth birthday. A leisurely breakfast was followed by a trip to the abandoned Pepsi factory just outside the town. Unfortunately we were met by a stern-faced security guard who wouldn't let us in or even take a picture of the outside of the factory. This is despite it being mentioned in every guidebook and article on Battambang. Up until recently you could walk into the factory which was abandoned in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge rolled into town. It's still stacked full of crates of empty Pepsi bottles and other local brand soft drinks that were maufactured there. Just as we were being turned away some bloke arrived in a large jeep, saw our plight, overruled the security guard and told us to go in but not into the factory itself. Top buzzer.

We had a quick look around the old colonial quarter of the city before we took the kids swimming in a place called the Victory Club. Someone obviously had a brainwave of developing an exclusive club and gym but its gone to pot over the years. Inside the building its really shoddy but the two outdoor pools have retained their glory. We spent a couple of hours in the pool even though the heavens opened for about half an hour of it. It wasn't dissimilar to the conditions the kids are used to in West Cork except it was about fifteen degrees warmer.

Joe picked a restaurant for his birthday party and the theme was western food. Pasta and burgers all around and despite my misgivings about eating such food when in Asia it was actually really good grub. It's called the Gecko cafe and it employs local disadvantaged young adults. Caroline managed to procure a sparkler style candle from a cake shop next door to add to the sense of occasion. A happy birthday was had.

To top things off we took a trip this evening to see the Phare Ponleu Selpak circus. It was originally set up around 20 years ago in a Thai border camp for Cambodian refugees. Its now headquartered in Battambang and works with a variety of socially disadvantaged youth. They were previewing a show that they're bringing to Germany and Denmark next month. It was fantastic.

We head to Kompong Chhang tomorrow. I'm not sure what's there but I'll be sure to let you know if there's anything of note.

On our second day in Battambang we've managed to squeeze a lot in. After a hearty breakfast we set off by tuk-tuk to the bamboo train a few kilometres outside the city. On arrival we were greeted by a rather portly member of the local tourist police. His main job seemd to be to tell us who we had to pay. It's usually easy to spot the boss in these parts - he's the fat one. After handing over our $20 we were off. 7km down a track that was laid in 1930 and its at least 30 years since an actual train ran on the line. The bamboo train is basically two sets of wheels that fit the rail gauge, the back set are powered by what looks like a motorcyle engine and a makeshift bamboo platform is placed on top of them. Its ingenious. Its beeen used to transport goods from outlying villages along the tracks to the market in Battambang. At some point in the past they discovered its tourist potential. There's been talk of it closing for several years but news of its demise is a little previous. They'll upgrade the line at some stage but there's still no definite end in sight judging from what information we could glean today.

After our 7km journey during which our train had to be lifted off the track half a dozen times to let other bamboo tarins pass, we arrived at a small village and were mobbed by children. They offered us refreshments and hand made goods (all for a price of course). They then took us to a brick factory to show us how bricks are produced locally. Pretty interesting but the boys had much more fun making things from clay and arm wrestling the local boys. Afterwards we headed back down the line to our start point and made sure to give our driver a few bob. It looks like the fat fella keeps most of the initial fee.

Our next stop was the only existing winery in Cambodia. Whilst there I sampled their red wine (poxy stuff), their brandy (less poxy), their ginger juice (terrible stuff) and their grape juice, which was the pick of the bunch, if you'll excuse the pun. Onwards to Wat Banan, another ruined Angkorian temple with lots of steps up to it. Following our descent we ate at one of the noodle stalls nearby, one of the cheapest lunches we've had in Cambodia this far and with the nicest girl running the show there. Top stuff.

The day was getting on and our next stop was the Cave of Skulls, known as such as it was used by the Khmer Rouge as a killing ground and subsequently used by the occupying Vietnamese forces to murder Khmer Rouge using the very same methodology ie bludgeon someone to death and push them down into the cave. The hill has since been the site of a Buddhist wat called Prasat Snoueng and from it you get an amazing view of the surrounding landscape. It's pretty much flat paddy fields in nearly every direction as far as the eye can see. From there we drove down the hill and witnessed one of the most amazing natural phenomenons. From a cave below, at around six every evening, millions of bats exit and fly off to feed on insects. It takes over an hour for all of them to exit and as they fly off into the distance it looks not unlike a murmuration of starlings. Amazing stuff.

It's Joe's 10th birthday tomorrow so we're getting into party mode here. That's actually a lie, I'm the only one still awake. At least I'm excited.

I'm on the bus heading for Battambang. The other option was to take the boat but at $25 a head versus $3.50 for the bus the bus won out. The real clincher was that the bus also takes less than half the time - 3 hours versus 7 on the boat. Siem Reap was nice but like Phnom Penh it didn't really feel like Cambodia. The two cities seem to cater to the western palate and as a result you could really just be in any big town in the world. Unlike in Laos our first couple of weeks has been frontloaded with visits to bigger towns or cities. In Laos we had a gradual introduction to the country, firstly seeing the Northern part before eventually making our way to the larger towns and cities. Here in Cambodia its like we spent only a few days in the provinces before hitting Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. That said this country is geographically a much smaller area and with obvious less ethnic diversity - besides some local tribes in the Mondulkiri province the bulk of the population is made up of Khmer and some Vietnamese and Chinese as always.

Our visit to the temples was pretty amazing. We got to see Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm in one day before the ennui set in. After a few temples you start to lose the bigger picture. Its like going to visit several cathedrals or several passage tombs one after the other. If I were an archaeologist, sociollgist or historian I'm sure I could spend weeks there but I'm not so therefore I can't. Throw four kids into the mix and that sorts that out. On top of that Rosie wasn't feeling well so we thought the best thing was to get back to the hotel by late afternoon and take things easy. A quick dip in the pool is always welcome respite for the kids as its been hitting 35 degrees here for the last few days.

Yesteday was spent resting and recuperating, buying postcards and stamps and generally tying up some loose ends. It also gave me time to finish reading 'Survival in the Killing Fields' by Haing Ngor. Its the story of his experiences under the Khmer Rouge regime and gives a thorough insight into the brutality instituted against both him and the wider Cambodian population. Its also interesting as the author played the part of Dith Pran in the movie 'The Killing Fields' and won an Oscar for the role. Recommended reading for anyone interested in that short part of Cambodian history. I've a few other books to read on the same subject and that's one interesting feature of the cities here. On every corner they are hawking photocopied versions of books on Cambodia and from wider popular cultute - think Mr Nice by Howard Marks. The best thing is the books are as cheap as chips. The worst thing is they have the odd page missing - usually a very interesting part or key event. Ah well, you get what you pay for.

After entertaining thoughts of getting visas for Vietnam we've knocked that idea on the head. We'd read about some amazing beaches just over the Cambodian border but as it would be at the end of our journey we'd have to fly back to Bangkok. After being quoted over €300 a head for the flights and the cost of the visas on top of that we've opted to head along the south coast of Cambodia back towards the Thai border. Hopefully we can find a nice beach in Thailand for the last few days of our trip. Countdown is already progressing with only 27 days until we return home. For some of the family I reckon it can't come too soon, for me I reckon I could go for a bit longer as I'm getting used to it now.

Yesterday we woke up at around eight and had breakfast then headed off to see temples.First we went to Angkor Wat and it was massive and amazing.When you think you've seen it all you find more to see and it felt like it would never end.Newt we went to another temple called Angor Thom that is even massiver than Angkor Wat and so big you have to drive around it.It was all overgrown a few years ago with forest that when they cut down all the trees growing on it so people could come vist it it was all kinda falling apart from roots growing and moving all the stone bricks.We didn't stay to long and only saw one of the many temples inside the Angkor Thom complex.After that we went to another temple that pretty much completely fallen apart so they had restored it.We didn't stay long there because it was very small and then we went back to where we are staying.We all rushed into are rooms threw open are bags and got on are swimming things and then ran down the stairs out the back door and jumped into the swimming pool.It felt amazing after being so warm earlier on in the 35 degree heat it was great to cool down.When we were all super wrinkly from the water we got dressed and headed out for dinner.We went to some place called the Khmer Kitchen and I had fried rice with vegetables and chicken as usual.When we got back to the place we are staying in everyone was dying so we all went to bed but I stayed up longer watching X-Men.
Written by HARRY