MORE TEMPLES

We bought a guide book on the temples from one of the little children selling books and trinkets as we got off the Tuk Tuk, they are so entertaining. They have a set patter, asking you where you come from and then telling you the capital , population and who the prime minister is. They are very persistant and cute at the same time. I find it really tugs at my hert strings!!

We did not get a guide but we mustled in on guided tours in English along the way. So we managed to find out a lot more about the history of the temples and the significance of some of the carvings and sculptures.
They also like the tourists to get in the spirit of things for a small fee. They put you in the dancing positions and let you take a photo. I have to say I do not think I am a natural in Thai dancing!!!

The roots of trees have grown around the temples over the years and now the temples are dependent on the trees to stay standing. It really is wonderous to see.

The guide book says that one of the temples was used in Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, but we where not sure where. Then as we were going around one of the temples a group of small boys came over and said they would take us to the place where they filmed Tomb Raider. We were not sure, but decided to take a chance, it was only a dollar if they were hoodwinking us. I am so glad that we went with our gut feelings. They took us through a gap in a wall and through the woods, we would never have found our way ! and we came to the place where they filmed. They even showed us the best vantage points to take pictures.


When we gave them the dollar they asked for more because they said they have to give the police a backhander so that they can continue to show people through the gap in the wall. This place is so corrupt on so many levels!!

As we found out when I booked my bus ticket to Bangkok for the next day. Apparently the road is not built yet because the airlines give the government a backhander to stop them finishing the road. This will encourage more people to fly ! But not wanting to be forced to do something I did not want to do I opted for the road to Bangkok , thinking it can't be that bad!!! if only I had known!!!

THE TEMPLES OF ANGKOR WAT

Got up really early to have breakfast and meet the Tuk tuk driver who had offered to be our guide for the day around the temples for a couple of pounds.We thought we were early at half seven, but when we got to Angkor Wat there was a stream of people coming out who had got up at five to go and see the sunrise. And I bumped into the two Australian girls, Emma and Katherine, who I went to the killing fields with in Phnom Penh. And it turns out that Lucas is friends with Katherines brother.

it really is a small world. We arranged to meet up later that night for dinner. Lucas and I had the most amazing day, going to Angkor Wat, Wat Thom, Byphon and many more temples. It is impossible to put into words the impact they had on us both. We just kept saying Wow! and we just could not believe that we were able to have such access to these historic temples.






People ,including us were just clambering all over them. I have to say I surprised myself at how many really steep narrow steps I climbed. I was so pathetic getting down though. Gripping on so tightly and taking ages to take one step down. Lucas was so patient. But there was one temple where I eventually drew the line and let him schale it himself.



When he came down he admitted that it had been very difficult.He said the stone steps were so hot in the blistering sun that it was very difficult to hold on at times. I would have just panicked. I am glad I listened to the little voice in my head that said "don't be blummin stupid, you will never get up that one!!!!!"

'SEEING HANDS MASSAGE'

Before I left Phnom Penh I went to a charity run place for the blind to get a massage. It is called 'Seeing Hands Massage' , and basically a group of blind people have been taught how to do massages and they run a place where you can have a massage for a few pounds and the money goes to charity and they are able to earn a living. I was a bit nervous. And I only added to that when I was shown into a room with five other people already on beds having a massage. I had to change into a tunic and trousers and lay on the table.The blind man then covered me with a thin sheet which he used to navigate his way around my body. All my trepidations soon went away and I was glad that I had gone and supported the charity.
I then got the bus to Siem Reap to see the temples of Angkor Wat, one of the wonders of the world.
The bus took seven hours and we had a few stops. Unlike the service stations back home,the food on offer for snacks was more traditional...cockroaches, spiders and beetles!!

needless to say I bought a bottle of water and hopped back onto the bus!
I made friends with a lovely Australian guy called Lucas. We shared a taxi and booked into the same guesthouse. My room was only eight dollars. They were carrying out building work on the other part of the place, but I was happy with the room and did not mind a cold shower. Even though we were both really tired from the bus trip,we headed off for the temples, as we had been told the sunset was great. And we scrabbled to the top of a hill and then an actual temple , along with hundreds of other peole to get the best vantage point for the sunset(you would never be able to do that at home the health and safety people would ,quite rightly have it all cordoned off!). I am really afraid of heights, but I ran up the steep steps like a billy goat on a hill(all beit a rather fat one!) because I did not want to miss out.And the experience was worth it. Everyone spntaneously applauded when the sun went down. And it was one of those feel good factor moments.





Went to be early to prepare for a long day clambering all over one of the wonders of the world. Angkor was the capital of Cambodia's ancient Khamer empire.The temples are a point of pilgrimage for all Cambodians and they are spread over a vast area.It takes days to see them all.So we are heading for the main ones.

MY MOTORBIKE TAXI TOUR

My motorbike taxi guy ,Jack, took me to Mekong island to see how the silk is woven. I was a bit nervous about going with him. But he promised he would look after me. All the guide books tell you not to go too far off the beaten track because of land mines. We headed out of Phnom Penh and down a dirt track. I was not sure what was going on as I was the only westerner in the crowd. But it was the ferry that the locals used and the school children use. The boat was a very basic wooden structure, but they got lots of people on it. Some bikes were laiden with dead chickens,others with boxes of eggs.And one lady had a big tin on the back full of fish. The crossing was really nice. We then headed off for half an hour along a dirt track through lots of shacks with cows and pigs running around.There really was a lot of poverty and I did wonder if I should have come alone. But eventually we got to a big wooden hut and Jack turned in.The family ran out and started putting silk scarves on a table and lengths of silk for me to inspect.Little children in hardly any clothes were running around with big smiles.



I was so pleased to really be amongst the local people. Under the houses there were the looms where they wove the silk .I bought three scarves for nine dollars. We sat and chatted for ages then we headed back. They asked me to stay and eat with them,even though they had so little. But I have to say I was afraid to eat the meat so I declined their kind offer of food.

The next day I again put my faith in Jack and he said he would take me to the temple on the top of a mountain.A place where not many tourists go. It is an important place for Buddhists to worship.We stopped on the way for a drink and the lady asked us into her house and we sat and chatted for ages with Jack translating.



She was so kind and she wanted to know if I belived in Buddha and she said she did. She told me to pray to Buddha for a man to love and for me to love. I said I would do that at the top of the mountain. Her fiance is a long way away working and she only sees him for a few days every six months. But she says she prays to Buddha and it is ok. She too asked me to eat with her family when I came back down the mountain. But I said no thank you because it would take a long time to get back.

When we got to the top of Otong mountain we had to climb over four hundred steps to the temple, past lots of beggers, which I found very disturbing.


I was followed by a little boy all the way to the top .He had a fan and kept fanning me to keep me cool as I stuggled to climb the steps in the heat. When we got to the top he told me about the temples and his English was very good. He was so sweet.He waited until I prayed and then came down with me all the way to the bottom fanning me all the way down. The kids do anything to earn some money, but their banter wins you over and you hand over the cash!!!
From the top of the mountain I could see a new temple being built in the distance. I do have to say I find it hard to come to terms with the amount of money spent on temples where there are so many beggers and people who have to live in little shacks.



The next day I headed off on a long bus journey (8 hours) to Siem Reap to see the Temples of Ankor Wat.

KILLING FIELDS

After over a month of travelling I was beginning to look a little rough around the edges so I decided to get my hair done in Phnom Penh. And I have to say it was one of the best experiences I have ever had at a hairdressers. They cut my hair then they washed it.The chair you have to sit in was amazing. You actually lie down and the chair massages your body.They not only wash your hair but give you a head massage and exfoliate the face. When she started splashing the water on my face I was wondering what was going on ,then she exfoliated it and gave me a face massage. Then as the colour took on my hair they gave me a back massage. And they gave me a pedicure and painted my toe nails. I felt a million dollars and it only cost fifty dollars for the lot!.



After that I met up with Katherine and Emma from Australia to go to the killing fields. We all knew that it would be bad but no-one prepared me for just how harrowing it was. Firstly we went to the Tuoi Sleng Museum. Basically in 1975 Pol Pot's security forces turned a school into a security prison.The largest centre of detention and torture in the country. Almost everyone held there was executed at the killing fields of Choeung Ek. Former classrooms have a single rusty bed and disturbingly gruesome black and white photos on the walls showing the people who had been tortured. It stands testament to the unthinkable horrors that happened there.There are rows and rows of photographs of the men,women and children who were held there. The fear etched into their faces. There are pictures and testements from people who were Khmer and the reasons why they helped kill. Some said it was blind terror. They had to kill or be killed! I just cannot imagine how they deal with what they did. It is a testament to the Buddhist faith that they live alongside each other those who lost family and those who did the killing.
We then went to the actual killing fields of Choeung Ek, rising amid 129 mass graves is a blinding white stupa that serves as a memorial to the approximately 17,000 men women and children who were executed by the Khmer Rouge there.



Behind glass panels rising upward ,shelf after shelf are over 8000 skulls found during the excavation in 1980.The guide showed us the bullet holes in some.And the crushed skulls of others that had been beaten over the head with sticks!!!!As we walked around the fields the guide showed us bones and teeth in the earth and bits of garments popping up from areas not yet excavated .He explained how they had to dig their own graves and then they were beated over the head and shoved into the grave. Some were still alive, so they were buried alive!! It was all too much for me to handle!!
We all rode back in the Tuk Tuk very quietly. We decided to go and have a drink at the nearby guesthouse where the Gondola boys hung out.
And they were all there, their antics really cheered us up, so we decided to go for a spin in the boats, just as it was getting dark.

PHNOM PENH

When I arrived at the airport in Phnom Penh I asked two young girls from Australia if I could share the taxi with them to town. We went to the backpackers area, Boeng Kak, near the lake. We looked at several rooms before choosing a very basic one for five dollars a night. I could not belive how cheap it was. I was exhausted because I had not slept much for two days. But one of the motorbike taxi drivers called 'Jack',took me under his wing and said he would take me around on his bike when I was ready. He persuaded me to go to the kings palace in the afternoon. I had a couple of hours sleep (and the sheets were dirty and the room was very smelly so realised why it was so cheap, but I did not care because I was so tired.) and then he was at my door ready to take me to the palace. The traffic system is crazy here. There is no logic to the flow of cars and bikes. They just head for each other and they seem to flow past one another calmly without hitting one another. If they want to take a turning they just wait until enough bikes and vehicles have gathered that want to go in the same direction, then they just all cut across the flow of traffic and no-one seems to mind. They just dodge each other.I have spent ages trying to work it out, but to no avail. I have to say I felt very safe with Jack as he wound his way through the streets.
When we got to the palace there were lots of really young children selling books and begging.They are very cheeky and entertaining at the same time. So that you buy the books. One little girl sold me a bottle of water for a dollar. Seconds later another came and offered me two for a dollar.They all thought it was hilarious!



The palace was very ornate and very hot. I spent a couple of hours looking round and there were lots of young Buddhist monks wandering the grounds looking very resplendent in their orange robes. Theravada buddhism, is the dominant religion in Cambodia and it guides the lives of many Khmers.



When I got out the gate of the palace ,Jack, was there to meet me. He said he had just been with is wife to the hospital as she was four months pregnant and she needed a checkup. I was not sure if this was a scam to extort more money from me for his family.
He was snacking on something so I asked him what it was and he showed me a big black beetle. He proceeded to snap the legs off and the crusty shell then eat it. He offered them to me.


I recoiled in horror. But then I thought that I did say I was going to try new things. And if it is normal for them to eat them, then I should give it a go. I have to say it took me two or three attempts to actually put it in my mouth. But when I did I was very surprised because it was actually tasty,and also very chewy. It was not so tasty that I wanted another one!!! Jack then offered to go and buy me some spiders to eat. But I declined saying 'maybe tomorrow Jack', But in my head I was saying 'Not even tomorrow Jack could I contemplate eating spiders!!!) I was feeling really pleased with myself for eating the beetle, and that was good enough for one day.
He took me back to the guesthouse.
I decided to go to one of the rickety old guesthouses on stilts on the edege of the lake for a cool beer. No sooner than I had sat down, there were little childrens voices shouting "hey want a boat?"Gondola! Gondola! , do you want a Gondola for a dollar?"
And these little faces popped up over the edge of the decking..


They were young scruffy boys who earnt money by taking tourist for a little boat trip through the reeds and flowers in the lake. They had the cheeky patter down pat and they really made me laugh. Jumping from boat to boat and dancing about on their boats. I was just going to have a go when the heavens opened and it rained for ages. So I moved inside and spent the next few hours chatting and having a few beers with a lovely couple from Amsterdam, Renske and Paul.

NEW YEAR ON THE BUS TO BANGKOK

I got the ferry from Ko Toa to Chumpon on the mainland of Thailand. The crossing was very rough! a lot of people were seasick. I opted for getting soaked on deck but not being sick. I was drenched but it was good fun as well. At Chumpon the beaches were fantastic, there waw hardly any development. Just the kind of place I had been looking for on the islands. I suspect it will not be too long before they decide to overdevelope it and bring in busloads of tourists to change its character and charm.
We were herded onto a double decker airconditioned de-lux bus to Bangkok. The journey was due to take around eight hours.
I was sat behind a very portly gentleman and his equally portly friend. They moaned all the way and before the film was aired they proceeded to say how much they did not like the film. They then discussed the storyline and the twist at the end. Pretty much ruining it for most people.
They then both pushed their seats as far down in the recline position as they could and coughed and spluttered for the rest of the journey. With the odd burst of loud snoring thrown in for good measure.
At the same time the lady next to me kept falling asleep on my shoulder.
So you can imagine any thoughts of celebrating new year when the clock hit midnight went out the window. But I did enjoy being at the top of the bus and looking out the window at all the villages as we went by. And I did manage to doze off at times.
We stopped at a service station after about four hours and the two guys in front of me filled their faces with massive portions of curry then got back on the bus.
And they then added beltching to their repetoir!!
Lizzie Drippin sent me a text message from Australia as she saw in the new year with Keith and Carmie mustard. And I have to say that really cheered me up and I did actually look forward to midnight. A few other people who had worked out the time difference sent me messages.So despite everything I did have a happy new year!!
And I do feel so happy travelling and meeting interesting people. It is great not worrying about getting old at work and being bullied and marginalised. The people I meet take me at face value and they engage in friendly conversation. My self esteem and confidence is gradully coming back.
When we got to Bangkok at one o clock in the morning it was all lit up and the streets were full of people who had been celebrating the new year at a massive fireworks display. It was great to see.
I got a taxi to the airport and waited around for five hours before getting the plane to Phnom Penh in, Cambodia.