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Archive for December, 2004

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The Central Cambodian Mekong: Phnom Penh, Kompong Cham and Kratie

Thursday, December 30th, 2004

After arriving back in Phnom Penh, I took a quick look at the television before heading out for dinner and was astonished by what I saw. I’d been up in the hills near Kampot for the past few days and had entirely missed the news of the tsunamis that had devastated much of southeast and south Asia. Thankfully Cambodia didn’t receive any of them, but I still had to phone my mother and father and let them know I was okay, both because I wasn’t certain that people were aware of Cambodia’s safety and because they might have worried about my having changed travel plans.

It was my first experience with an internet phone, and while it functioned well enough, they still aren’t really that well suited to normal human (or at least Llew) patterns of conversation.

After dinner at a food stall near my street (I think this was probably my first real southeast Asian street meal [as opposed to snack]) I headed back to my guesthouse to bed.
[read on]

Posted in Cambodia | 5 Comments »

Christmas on the Coast, Kampot and Surrounds

Tuesday, December 28th, 2004

The trip to Kampot was interesting from the start. Leaving my guesthouse at 10:00 meant that I would need to take a mini-bus instead of an actual bus-bus. The moto (motorcycle taxi) to the minibus station was an adventure in its own right. With a 25kg pack on my back, a daypack in front of me and a walking stick in my hand, the trip over alternately bumpy and gridlocked roads wasn’t an easy one.

Upon arriving at the station (in one of Phnom Penh’s many markets) my moto driver found a minibus headed where I wanted to go. At this point I should explain that “minibus” doesn’t mean a small bus, which sells tickets to passengers and runs on a regular schedule. The minibuses in Cambodia wait until they’re full of passengers headed for the same destination (or at least in the same direction) and head off immediately afterwards.

My pack was stowed (which is to say tied onto the back of the minibus, since the small luggage compartment was already overflowing) I managed to buy some bread and bottled water (actually with the number of vendors coming up and sticking their wares in the minibus windows, you’d be hard pressed to avoid it) and within a few minutes we were off.

There were several stops throughout town, picking up additional passengers, and by the time we were on the highway out of town there were four more than when we’d departed the station. Bringing the total to a barely credible twenty-two. Yes, you did read that right. In a vehicle pretty much the size of a Volkswagen van, there were crammed almost two dozen people. Four in the front seats, eight in the second row of seats (four on the seats, four facing them on an improvised bench,) five in my row (including a baby in his mother’s arms,) four in the back row and one standing up leaning out the side window.

Once again, I didn’t see much of the countryside during this trip.

Eventually the crowd started to thin out a bit, and I did manage a brief conversation with the one English speaker on the bus before he disembarked. Finally after an eternity on the bus (as it seemed to my alternately painful and numb bottom. It was really just over three hours) someone indicated to me that we’d arrived in Kampot.
[read on]

Posted in Cambodia | 2 Comments »

Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s Capital

Thursday, December 23rd, 2004
I feel like I really ought to be able to describe the countryside we passed through on the bus trip from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, but sadly about all I can say is that ... [Continue reading this entry]

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Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

Saturday, December 18th, 2004
We arrived at Siem Reap International airport relaxed and well fed. I'd spent much of the flight talking with the Englishwoman beside me about other parts of southeast Asia and was more than ready to make my way into ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Cambodia | 3 Comments »

Northern Thailand’s Central City: Chiang Mai

Thursday, December 16th, 2004
Arriving in Chiang Mai International airport was almost an anticlimax after the beauty of Sukhotai Airport, but it was still a simple and painless experience. Our bags were ready for collection quickly, and the airport authority runs a centralized ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Thailand | 3 Comments »

Bangkok: An Interesting, But Thoroughly Unmanageable City

Monday, December 13th, 2004
Within about half an hour of arriving in Bangkok, I'd already come to the conclusion that even visiting the place would take a lot of mental energy. And the only reason it took that long was because I spent ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Thailand | 1 Comment »

On the Mainland: By Train Up the Malaysian Peninsula

Sunday, December 12th, 2004
My first impressions of Malaysia came from the border town of Johor Baru, just across the causeway from Singapore. To my surprise, it didn’t appear all that different from Singapore. True, the buildings looked just slightly more run down ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Malaysia and Singapore | 1 Comment »

First Steps in Asia: Hustling and Bustling in Singapore

Saturday, December 11th, 2004
My first Singapore experience took place some 2500km from the country: a trip on Singapore Airlines. Many friends and acquaintances have raved about their service, so I was a bit disappointed that my flight took place between 01:55 and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Malaysia and Singapore | 3 Comments »

Perth: The End of Australia

Monday, December 6th, 2004
Perth was the end of Australia both literally (in the sense that it's the furthest city away from the population centres on the east coast) and figuratively (in the sense that my days there would be the last I'd spend ... [Continue reading this entry]

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