Nothing is flat, except the land.

We got up at six, or thereabouts (all our time pieces had a different time on them!) to get the taxi to the other side of the island to catch the fast boat to Rach Gia. It takes 3 1/2 hours and can be choppy! The receptionist appeared in her pyjamas to ring for the taxi, which we were told cost 2,000 dong . We noticed that when the taxi driver arrived she handed him, 1,000 dong!

It was time to go, the jolly Czecks left just before us, the Russian youngsters had left the day before and, as usual all the inadequacies of the place had begun to niggle us.

The town was already awake, teeming with life. The pavement cafes were full and the working day was well underway as we left at 7. We passed several motorbikes with a whole roast pig in a box across the back seat width-ways. There was fancy paper on their ears. Strange.

There were two boats and lots of local people on the quayside as we unloaded the taxi. We walked to the fast boat and, with a roar and a surge we were off. They gave us a small bottle of water, several black bags and put on the most gory film possible at a screeching volume. It was about an hour before I was sick, despite my travel bands, and then I dozed. Before I knew where we were we were disembarking on the quay at Rach Gia, the mainland of Vietnam. Now we had to find out how to get overland to Cau Doc, up the Mekong, to catch another boat to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penn. It proved to be amazingly easy.

When we got off the boat we were trailed by two motorcyclists who offered to help. We were with an Aussie couple who were heading the same way. We did not want the help of these two but they insisted in accompanying us. We went to a travel place on the corner and they came in with us. We wanted to know where the bus station was. After asking the girl to ring a taxi for us a mini bus turned up with- Chau doc on its screen and some Vietnamese people in it!!! I called the others. We agreed a price 120,000 dong (4 pounds) each for the four of us and we were off again. The Vietnamese were all shunted into the back seat!

We had all our bags scattered around and the drivers assistant/conductor grinning broadly at us connected two bare wires and a desk fan blew fiercely at us. The air-conditioning! One of our party was in the front with his feet on a box of frozen chickens! We travelled along quite happily dropping people off and picking up others. The usual tooting every time you passed somebody was accompanied by the conductor screeching loudly at the cyclists or motorbike riders. Maybe it was good that we did not understand what he was saying. (He was actually the only person I heard shouting about traffic. There are no rude signs or angry looks, even when someone crosses your path suddenly. Vietnamese drivers seem to just steer smoothly around everything, totally non-plussed.) Th conductor/guide even boxed the ears of one young schoolboy who was sitting minding his own business on the back of his friends bike. I was sorely tempted to push him out of the window more than once!!! He was the only thing spoiling the journey! The open windows provided a welcome breeze and the homes gradually became 3 sided with hammocks hanging everywhere. We enjoyed the villages and green countryside. At the end of 3-4 hours we were dropped at the side of the road where a couple of guys with a different style of tuk-tuk waited. As the bus sped away the conductor said, "Bus no go into town. You go tuk-tuk, short distance", and he was gone.

The Aussies clambered on board with their luggage and were off. I walked away leaving Lee with a dilemma. There was no way I was going to ride in a wheelbarrow! I would not fit, I could not get on and I want a bit of dignity! We walked about a mile and a half into town accompanied by the tuk-tuk driver who was talking to Lee. I had a face like thunder and now it was a battle of wills that I was not prepared to lose. The tuk-tuk driver seemed to think that Lee would pull his wife in line as per local customs- no way Jose, as they say! Lee was explaining why I would not get in and a motorbike appeared. All three men were asking me to get on board. I was appalled that I was being dictated to by the locals. I told Lee to carry on and I would catch him up but he would not go. This made me even madder with the bloody tuk-tuk driver who actually accompanied us to the hotel despite my remonstrations that he should go. That we did not need or want his services. I won. I walked there as I knew I would!

We booked into the hotel that we had chosen from the Lonely Planet Guidebook, not the one the tuk-tuk had tried to get us to go to! (Score high five!!) After a passable meal we explored the local market. It was mostly food stalls and it was teeming with life. We wandered around getting bread, spread cheese and oranges for our boat trip through the Cambodian border, the next day.

The next morning another 'wheelbarrow' arrived to take us to the boat. We walked behind it like a funeral procession while our bags had a ride!!!! Fortunately the boat looked good so this was soon forgotten.

As we moved steadily out into the middle of the yellow Mekong river I noticed a wooden boat that was low in the water. It looked like a dug out tree trunk! An unconcerned mother with her child sat at one end, whilst a man rowed standing at the other end. In the middle and older woman was busy bailing water with a yellow container! No one looked concerned!

The boat to Phnom Penn was like a Thames cruise boat in style. Visibility was good though the banks seemed duller than Vietnam's. There was less green and more mud. People waved from the banks as we glided by. Fishing seemed to be the main activity although there were cattle and water buffalo on the banks of the river, here and there. We moved smoothly with a spray of water at intervals and a fabulous breeze. At passport control we were inundated by Vietnamese children hoping for a sale, selling, water, cans of pop, postcards and crisps. At the Cambodian side we had to get off and go to the passport office. It was all quite relaxed and another visa joined the others in our passports. The rest of the journey was passed happily chatting to Hue and Ceri, who were on an eight month honeymoon trip! They had married in April, like us and were great company. I miss my women friends. Lee and Hue talked football.

We had been told that this particular weekend was the National Water Festival, when thousands of Cambodians came into town and competed for a money prize. Suddenly we were wondering whether we would get accommodation! Our boat moored suddenly at a muddy bank and I noticed water buffalo and cows being unloaded one at a time just feet away from us. Apart from that there was nothing. One enterprising taxi-driver who had been alerted told us that the boat had been diverted to this bank because of the races and that the town was just a short distance away. Hue and Ceri were quick enough to engage his services and we shared the journey into the town of Phnom Penn with them asking for a room at their hotel. Fortunately, there was one. Lee nipped over the road to go to the bank and was offered a woman! Fortunately, he declined. He was then offered a tuk-tuk!



We had a shower and headed, with Cerri and Hue to the Foreign Correspondents Club, on the water front where we were able to view the fireworks and floats at the close of the days races. There was a real carnival feel and the streets were heaving with people and food stalls. Later we caught a four seat cyclo back to the hotel. A great day was had by all. (A cyclo is a four person truck towed by a motorcycle.)

On day two we decided to book our bus out of there to Siem Reap. We were going to see the Genocide museum in the afternoon. In the morning we attended to more domestic matters: Hue helped us to sort out the camera and we spent a pleasant evening in the sports bar, avoiding the crowds.

The next morning we were a bit hung over but packed and left the hotel at ten to eight. We headed to the Asia Hotel to catch our coach. Instead we were taken to the local bus station to get a local bus. It looked a bit of a crate and we were ushered on with our bags. It was to be a 6hr journey and our bags were round our feet but, despite this it proved to be delightful. The passengers were friendly and looked at us curiously at first but smiles and gestures soon helped us to communicate. The bus was cool and we watched a theatre comedy act as we sped along. It was quite funny, and very popular with the locals. The sometimes screechy singing was a bit tough though!! The scenery was pleasant, green fields, raffia huts on poles, boats, hammocks and markets. It lacked the intensity of action and colour of Vietnam, but held its own charm. We stopped twice as the coach had no facilities what-so-ever. The second stop was at a village known for its deep fried spiders of tarantula proportions. I had read something about this but I had had no idea that I would come across it. I had gone off to the loos and seen stalls with pineapples on them but I had not seen the piles of fried spiders and grasshoppers nearby!! Walking back to the front door5 of th coach I had noticed a local, in tradional squatting pose, put one of these monsters near his mouth and bite off a leg or two. Lee's attention had been drawn to this by my expletive! On the bus an otherwise normal seeming teenager had held hers, dad, of couse, between here left forefinger and thumb. She then broke off one leg at a time and stuffed the morsel into her mouth, finishing with the thorax and then the abdomen!!! I was both enthralled and horrified. The rest of the journey continud without incident and we were greeted by a moto-driver holding up a huge paper with, MR WILLIS, on it. We piled in and had a 15 minute journey to Siem Reap Riverside Hotel.
We were greeted by smiles and shown our room by an enthusiastic young man, who smiled manically. When I asked why the television was on the floor he said, "New extension, room not finished! I suddenly heard the sound of drilling. I looked out of the window. I could only see the front of a local house with a child playing in what lookd like a pile of rubbish. I put the curtain back.
"You have another room I asked?" We looked at two rooms at the front but from neither could I see a swimming pool. We chose one, threw our bags in, and went off excitedly to telephone Jean to wish her a happy birthday. The line was engaged. We checked to time in England and ordered two cold beers. I said to Lee, "When we booked this hotel, were we shown a picture of a pool??? He said, "Yes." I was confused. I mentioned it to the desk clerk who said that this was a sister hotel to the one with the pool. I was so elated about our happy chat with Jean, and the perfection of our timing, that I said no more. We washed up and strolled into the town. It was glorious around the old market. There were craft and clothing stalls, cafes and restaurants and a myriad of above-board massage parlours. We decide to eat at The Red Piano. There was music and a wonderful liveliness that was missing from where we were staying. The food was good but ther were so many mosquitoes and little black flies that it becane difficult to eat. We did not go back there!
The next day we appeared downstairs with our backpacks at 9am. They were surprised. I said that we had paid for a different hotel, one with a pool. They said that it had been full,
"Then," I said, "you should have explained!" They offered the pool but we left saying that they had lost 6 days of our custom. They looked quite shocked. Even the cyclo driver that took us into town tried to find out where we were going. We stopped off for breakfast then booked into The Ivy, this was grubby, despite being reccommended by the Lonely Planet guide. I asked for the sheets to be changed. We found a supermarket and strolled happily around the town. It felt good to be in the middle of things.
The people are very friendly, bigger than the Vietnamse and still prone to making size-ist remarks which can get you down. They do have a good humour and seem to be family orientated. However, there are problems with poverty although there are a number of projects trying to help with this. We saw a film of a project involving some of the street children. It was interesting and informative. We saw children as young as 5 in charge of small babies, one was crawling on a rock in the ruins, about 3 feet up. The brothers and sisters were sitting nearby playing!!!! There are also land mine victims who sell books to support their families.
One intriguing thing is that the buildings are being done up but they seem unable to create steps of an even size. It is so strang because your sense usually guage steps, not so here. The flight of steps leading to our current room on the top floor are almost vertical and all different heights. The pavements are high and uneven too. Nothing is flat except the land!
(NB This is the next day. Just as I was about to publish the computer flipped its lid and about an hours work was lost. It had done something similar the day before so I left it!!!!!)

Angkor What???? On Wednesday we visited the national heritage site of Angkor Watt. I had checked out the details and written down what we wanted to see. In the morning we could see Angkor Thom, a collection of Buddhist temples, that included A dramatic carved face on an archway, the temple of Bayon with 32 columns, each containing four carved faces, a terrace of carved elephants, the terrace of the Leper King. After that we were going to look at the glorious Ta Prohm, a temple that was being claimed back by the jungle. Huge silk and fig trees were throwing down roots that were wrapped around the stone in a real stranglehold. Lara Croft was filmed here. Finally, and gloriously we were to see Angkor Wat as the sun set. However, we made the mistake of picking a cyclo driver with very little English. We got dropped at these places according to his route and we saw the least important for the longest. We walked endlessly through woods, got lost and could not find the places that we were looking for, and, worst of all, by the time we got to Angkor Wat we were so weary we could only do a bit of it as we had run out of energy and enthusiasm. It was a thoroughly spoilt experience. Our driver had wanted to drop us 2 kilometers from Angkor Watt but we refused to get out until he took us closer. Ah well.... The journey there and back was good.

Tomorrow we are off to Laos. I wonder if they can make good steps???

Leaving Vietnam

The next day was spent by the lapping waters on the beach. Lee did not go roaming and sat reading his book. I swam in the crystal waters watching a shoal of tiny silver fish arc through the water just in front of me like liquid sunlight, a swallow skimmed the water joyfully nearby. I just bobbed about in the water and it suddenly struck me that I could have been in a classroom with 7y3. It seems a lifetime away, an alternative universe; the clocks, the bells, the noise and pressure. I still love to hear how people are getting on. I think dying must be like this. Everything goes on as it always has, its just that you operate somewhere else! Time has ceased to matter in a way, and you live very much in the moment. I realise that I am very lucky.
I was brought back to the moment by the sight of four coconuts being cut from a nearby palm and the hum of voices. This is the beauty of this special place. A group of three local boys walk past happily with their daily catch of fish threaded onto poles. They have had a good day by the looks of it, not so the fish! Conical hatted women offer, "Massage Madam?" I decline, as I sip my papaya shake. At lunch I have my usual egg-fried rice with the local fish sauce, an exquisite spiciness.
Evening. We pop to the 'Hop in' Aussie bar, and order skewers of pork, chips and egg salad. All goes well until the order comes: salad and chips arrive. 15 minutes later my skewers of pork, peppers and onions arrive! 30 minutes later Lees skewer arrives. They do not understand the, 'we eat together idea'! Not good.
After this, things begin to niggle. It is time to move on. The winds of change blow again and with it comes a quiet tension. All the washing has been returned so we pack up. We are heading for Cambodia but I leave Vietnam with a heavy heart: that we did not take more time in the north, that we got washed out in the middle. It is a wonderful, vibrant land, full of little smiling peole, who are immensely strong and not afrais of hard work. I will always remember the colours, the lush green vegetation of the countryside and mountains, the warmth, the variety, the frit and the comical hats.

Motorbikes along the highway.....Phu Coc.

Having spoken to 3 Aussie girls at Dalat Airport about their stay in Phu Coc we were determined to see the other side of the island and the beautiful, undeveloped beach at Sao Bao. To do this we decided, in a rash moment, to hire a motorbike each for three pounds a day, complete with a full tank of petrol.


When the morning came we had a 5 minute practice in the drive, much to the amusement of the cycle taxi drivers. I kept mine in first but as soon as we set off and I went up the gears it was much better!! I had a pale pink helmet, Lee had pale blue. We looked like, 'Plonkers Are Us!'


It was a red dust road as we were heading away from town, to avoid traffic and junctions! We were soon flying along glimpsing the shoreline of sand and deep blue sea. The breeze created gave a welcome cooling as we drove along. There was very little traffic, just the occasional lorry that seemed to thunder by bringing with it a whiplash of gritty dust, one hell of an exfoliator!! It was hard to take your eyes off the road as it was quite uneven. I glanced up at two sea-eagles gliding just above me and looked down in just enough time to avoid, by 4cm, a huge pile of stones. There were grooves, holes and piles of loose grit in places too! We had to cross bridges with deep planks of wood laid down for car tyres but these were raised well above the general road surface, causing a different type of hazard. I wobbled my way across a few of these. It seems that when you have to keep straight it becomes very hard. I kept my eye on Lee in the rear mirror. He looked sweet with blonde curls around his pale blue helmet, his face set in a steely determination to stay on. Apart from the varying surface of the road there were the hazards of animals. Why did four chickens cross the road, especially when they were about one meter in front of me? The odd cow wandered off the grass and two dogs decided to have a tete-a-tete in the middle of the road.


We got off once or twice to look at the beach or have a drink.. At the first stop we watched the fishing boat hauling in its catch. They are keen to show you what they are doing. Half an hour later, the same fish were spread out on the side of the road and local people were selecting their dinners. How fresh was that? When we stopped at a local bar, we were joined by the family and our animated conversations would begin! They did not charge us local prices though! The land at the beach edges were being bought up and the fishermen were moving inland a little. It really is an Eden, but it will all change soon. Even while we were there the hotel next door were trying out two jet-ski's with their intrusive roar. I don't know what that will do for the fishermen, or, perhaps I just do not want to think about it!


We found our white beach, after a hair-raising drive on a pathway down to the shoreline. How I did not come off I will never know. We swerved all over the place because of the soft sand, and it was as white as the Goan beaches in southern India. This area was really undeveloped. There was one beach shack serving fruit and local dishes and a Vietnamese run compond with real dessert-island shacks, with fans that could be rented for seven pounds fifty a night! We had planned to spend a week on this side of the island but it was not our cup of tea.


As we left a guy walked past with a cockerll in his hands. My bike would not turn over so, he stuffed the struggling cockerel between his legs, which I considered a bit reckless, and helped me to coax the bike to a start. I had to quickly click it into second and I was off up the track again with Lee in pursuit. (Computer has just lost the other half of this so I am having to do it again. I am cheesed off.)
We were glad to get back as the bikes tip your body forward meaning that all the pressure is on your wrists, also, we were gripping the handlebars so tight we had grooves in our palms. When we got back we looked as though we had been down a mine but I felt that we had struck a blow for 'olds' as we had had a go. I have a healthy respect, of sorts, for the locals, as they tended to drift past with whole families on their bikes, babies in their mother's arms as they travelled on the back, and toddlers standing up between dad's arms, standing on the petrol tank. Young ladies went by weaving effortlessly inbetween the trucks, tuk-tuks and other traffic holding an umberella and looking demure. Ah well. We returned gloriously tired, tanned and grubby. Nothing that a hot shower would not cure.

Gecko's on my ceiling

It is twelve days now since we flew to the magical Eden that is Phu Coc. I glimpsed the sparkling line if headlights along both sides of the runway as our little p[lane lifted suddenly into the air above Saigon. I was so glad to be leaving the city behind as I had felt quite cheated by the rain that prevented me from staying on the mid-Vietnam coast.

Regarding the floodwater:I've since heard that cases of cholera have broken out in Hoi An, as the rains have continued. There did not seem to be any concept of the dangers of floodwater as we watched the people clean up when the water had receded by twometers, and was just, at this point, in the roadway itself. I had already mentioned the people wading in the water; we were horrified because it had to contain sewerage!!! As they cleared up they were swilling things with the floodwater in the street, and some people went to the water's edge to wash their hands!! The pub staff, across the road, where we had had a game of snooker were washing all sorts of table things in it!!! People were also throwing their rubbish into it. In Hue, further up the coast, a crocodile farm had got flooded and the animals had escaped, so the locals were wadingin water with crocodiles init, until theyfound out!!!

Our arrival in Phu Coc, one hour after take-off from Saigon, was a little ominous as it went dark and began to rain. I thought, Oh no. Not again, but within 30 minutes the rain had stopped, and a bright, warm sun had appeared, and that is how it stayed most of the time.

We hadno idea where we were going to stay but there were a number of people there to offer suggestions. We were picked up by the gloriously camp, Llin. He grinned widely, crinkling his nose in amost captivating way. He said,"Come and have a look. If you do not like it you do not have to dtay." Sowe did, and stayed 10 days.

The journey to the hotel Kim Hoa consisted of Lee and My self in an air-conditioned mini-bus. I was a bit concerned that there were not others, but we could always leave if we did not like it. We need not have worried. Lin sped off on a bike with his well manicured nails firmly gripping a friend. We satbackand relaxed.

We drove through the familiar lush green countryside that we associate with Vietnam. There were many tin and straw hut, little shops and businesses along the way. As we pulled down a red, dusty lane we entered the Kim Hoa compound. There was a well cultivated tropical garden with charming paths weaving their way through the grounds and pots and half coconut shells, planted with all manner of things, strung on a wire. It was glorious,and abundant.

I noticed the sound of waves and gazed in wonder as I surveyed a sparkling blue pool with no-one around it and went down the steps to the golden, palm fringed beach that stretched as far as my eye could see, in both directions. There were simple wooden beds and a few straw beach huts. Crystal water lapped this perfect shoreline. The staff smiled wonderfully. I wondered where all the people were. We were told that it was very early in the season so they were only about 1/3 full. We booked a couple of nights in the apartment block away from themain building, where it was shaded and undisturbed. We spoke to a German couple who had travelled in Asia extensively. They had stayed for four months in recent years stating that this was by far the best island they knew of. They directed us to the small town that was about a 15minute walk away. We unpacked sent all our clothes, including the flood coat, to be hand washed and set out for town. It all seemed too perfect to be true.

The town was small but had all that we required except fruit. Lee had spotted a nice teeshirt hanging up and was about to ask the price when he realised that it was somebody's washing that had been hung up on the fence to dry!Then we discovered the market. We walked to the left, just following our instincts and crossed the river. There was a fascinating shanty-town of blue and red painted boats, planks and fishing nets teeming with life. Set against the verdant green of a mountains foliage this created a glorious riot of action and colour. Lee was walking ahead in search of the mandarin oranges, that are so fresh and juicy out here, I suddenly noticed the darkness of the sky. Lee had just begun choosing some when the heavans opened. We were pulled behind the counter and ordered to sit on an up-turned bucket until the rain stopped 15minutes later, and we continued our journey, complete with our oranges still on the branch! The internet cafe was thenoisiest that we have been in as it was full of childen playing gamesa! Occassionally one would drift over and look quizzically at the English on the screen. They love to try their, "Hello's!" out on you, and are delighted when you reply.

Lee walked in most days, returning with a fabulous Addidas teehirt one day, that cost him all of 70 dong, the equivalent of two pounds, fifty. I sat by the pool, on my own, writing or reading. He always returned as I ordered my fried rice and a papaya shake! We found a french owned beach bar, a german brockworst bar and an Aussie barbecue bar, where you chose your fish from that days purchase, and they cooked it for you.

The one problem was the faltering English, especially at our hotel and the Aussie bar. I cameback from the loo one day to find Lee surrounded by plates containing four fried eggs, four bagettes and twohalf pint mugs of tea. We lost something in translation, I think! Getting tea without sugar was hard because they tended to use condensed milk.

Half way through our stay we decide to get a motorbike each and go to the other side of the island to view the white beach in the south-east but that is another story!

Life on the Road..

November....7 weeks in....Beijing today...Vietnam tomorrow.
There are changes in our days. Life has a pattern, or rhythm, in the sense that you leave, you arrive, you set up your washing for the joy of clean clothes, you find a place to be that makes you feel good, you greet old friends and make some new, you find shops etc that supply your needs, then it dissolves again as you move on and it starts all over again. We are changing from tourists to travellers. Within this there are the normal tensions of life that surround change but there is a lot of relaxing too, an acceptance that it is okay to go with the moment, and you do not have to be out on the street every hour of the day. Neither do you have to buy all the usual tourist stuff because you cannot carry it. This is definately a plus, though it confuses the locals!
Life challenges are smaller but still daunting. You work out where your base line is-what you can accept , like my itchy washing, my navy trousers and teeshirt so caked with soap powder I itch, but I know that in Vietnam I can get rid of them and have some cotton trousers and shirts made up, and wash them myself! We miss having running water to wash, clean teeth etc. It feels so confined to use a glass of bottled water! Sit down toilets are a real joy after the others!How many times can you act out, "Could I have some toilet paper?" Say no more! Getting butter with your toast and milk with your tea is good. I am so sick of acting that out. I will have to show the Chinese the, ' English tea-ceremony'! For the love of god!!!!!
The best things we have bought in terms of survival skills? Our little red bucket. It has been our washing up bowl, our bathroom sink, (on the five day train), our washing machine, the loo, when I was sick, Our washing up bowl etc. It has been worth its weight in gold, along with our water purifying tablets. The travel wash has been excellent in view of the small bags we have, four pegs and a short drawerstring that has provided our wash line have also been good. Our sleeping bags were vital in the Ger, when it was cold. They are cotton and provided a clean place to lie if some of the beds looked a bit suspect! Our two plastic beakers have provided clean drinking vessels too, necessary if you are going to avoid tummy bugs! So far, so good. Vietnam will test us out!
We miss being able to turn on the heating because the places we have stayed do not have carpets, warm curtains etc and the cold is setting in. Food is an issue because very little tastes the same. The omelette cooked in Chinese oil has a different taste. Sometimes you long for the simple tastes of cheese, fresh bread, coffee. In China we have carried our crackers but found nothing to put on them...maybe fresh tomato will do?? Often you adapt your acceptance levels or find foods that compensate. The brandy is only one pound a bottle! Fruit is crisper and fresher in Beijing. Some of the Chinese food is pretty good too, if you search around. Getting butter with your toast is sometimes hard going...it is a bit like the Python sketch for spam. I could have one toast with butter and the other with jam, but noth both on each...Hellooooo!!!!!!!
Trying at least one local dish in each place has been...lets say interesting...See earlier blogs!
The next adaption is to heat, hard sell and mosquitoes (maybe) . We envisage ourselves renting a beach hut along the Vietnamese coast, becoming the Timmy Hasselledoff and Prune-lla Cumbersome of the beach scene. Lets see.....