Well, as predicted Tuol Sleng, or S21 (the Khmer Rouge 'prison') was a difficult trip. Housed in what was an old High School, it's set around a courtyard that was surrounded by barbed wire fences. In block A the classrooms were converted into small cells, and today most are furnished only by rusty metal beds, ankle restraints and a single black and white photograph of some of the unthinkable atrocities that happened here. In block B there are headshots of many of the prisoners, including some of the 20,000 children the Khmer Rouge killed here and at the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek (about 10km away from Tuol Sleng) until 1975. The museum also has plenty of information about Pol Pot and the other Khmer Rouge leaders, some of whom are awaiting trial today. It was a fascinating trip but I think we, and most other visitors, were happy to leave the oppressive atmosphere.
On a lighter note, bizarrely we bumped into a couple there that we had originally met in Buenos Aires in Argentina. It really is a very, very small world. Afterwards we had a lovely lunch at Bodhi Tree, a restaurant where a percentage of the profits go to help the local people in Phnom Penh.
On our third day in Phnom Penh it finally stopped pouring with rain (despite the fact that it's supposed to be the dry season - I swear the English weather is following me around the world) so we were able to slip on our trainers and head out to explore the city. We walked down the Tonle Sap river and had a fantastic lunch at Khmer Borane, before heading to the Russian market to do some more haggling. My flip flops had 'mysteriously' disappeared from the hostel (you have to take them off before you go into the bar area, I think it's a religious thing) so I got a new pair for 3 dollars, and a 'krama' or checked scarf. All the locals have them and use them for everything, as dust protection, sun protection, as a bandage, a towel, round their heads, round their waists... they're very much a symbol of Cambodian identity. After that we had a happy hour drink at the Foreign Correspondents club at sunset, sitting on the balcony which looks over the National Museum and the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, where the King of Cambodia still lives.
The next day we hit the road again, taking the six hour bus journey to Siem Reap (which means 'Thailand defeated' - bet the Thais love that). We stopped on the way to get some food at a market where they were selling fried bats, cockroaches, locusts and spiders. Unsurprisingly (even I have limits) we didn't purchase any of those but we got a bag of mango and bananas from one of the young local girls selling them. Most of these girls don't have enough money to go to school and are probably no older than 8, but they can conversate with you in English and are very sweet (and cheeky!)
We dodged the awaiting hordes of tuk tuks at the bus station in Siem Reap and hopped aboard the free one already arranged for us by the hostel in Phnom Penh (they get commission from the hostel, so the deal is you get a free ride if you stay there, or pay if you don't like it) but the 6 dollar a night hostel was fine, with cable TV and a nice room, so we had a shower and dumped our bags before heading out to catch the sunset at Angkor Wat, which was stunning. After that it was back to Siem Reap for dinner, which was great - the town has a great bar and restaurant scene set along some bustling alleys and markets. And Angkor beer is just 50p!
The next day (today) was our full-on session at the mighty Temples of Angkor. Built between the 9th and 11th centuries, the temple complex encompasses thousands of enormous temples (many of them now swallowed up by the surrounding jungle) and was the centre of the Khmer Kingdom which once covered an area from Myanmar to Vietnam and had a population of 1 million when London had just 50,000 inhabitants. The temples were rediscovered about 100 years ago by the French, who set about clearing them out of the jungle and making them accessible, which continued until the Khmer Rouge came into power. As we were only spending one day we hired a tuk tuk driver for 15 dollars for the day to take us to the three most magnificent temples (there are miles between them).
First we took in Angkor Wat, which is the largest religious building in the world and just mindblowingly HUGE. Then we headed to Bayon which has hundred of huge stone faces staring down at you (the general consensus is that they bear a striking resemblance to King Javarama-something-or-other who was King at the time), before stopping for lunch and finishing with Ta Prohm, which was my favourite. As it's quite deep into the surrounding jungle Ta Prohm isn't as well preserved as the others, but it makes it even more fun. Gigantic tree routes curl between the huge mossy grey slabs and great piles of broken stone lie around (there are many areas that are out of bounds - you wouldn't want one of those falling on your head). The whole place is totally Indiana Jones. So Indiana Jones it just doesn't seem real. They even filmed parts of Tomb Raider here. Yes dad, that's right, Jolie was here.
After that we dragged our weary legs back to the tuk tuk for the half hour journey back through the palm trees and forests to Siem Reap. The weather is so perfect here, like a glorious English summer day, that I didn't want the journey to ever end. We'll head out for dinner tonight and to peruse the markets, and then at 8am tomorrow morning we are getting a bus bound for Bangkok. We should arrive at about 5pm... battered and bruised no doubt, it is supposed to be a very, very bumpy ride. I shall report again from the other side!
Saturday 23 January 2010
Monday 18 January 2010
Saigon, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hanoi & Ha Long Bay, Vietnam...
Well, I can confirm that (other than the quite fun American tanks and planes outside) the War Remnants museum in Saigon was beyond harrowing - that place really should come with a PG rating. No, an 18 rating. Very very disturbing and very sad, but I'm glad we went as it's such an important part of Vietnam's history. Afterwards we picked up a coconut to drink and wandered to the Reunification (presidential) Palace, which is where the Communist tank crashed the gate on 30th April 1975, the day Saigon surrendered. We stayed in Saigon for about three days, and visited more sights, like the Jade Emperor Pagoda, a Chinese temple built in 1909 and filled with colourful deities and incense, and the French built Notre Dame Cathedral, but generally we just enjoyed the city for its food, bars and incredible energy which is addictive. We both came away totally in love with it.
Next stop was Nha Trang, a party-beach resort on the coast, about 8 hours train ride North of Saigon. Because our budget is so tight we try to travel overnight (which saves the cost of paying for a hostel bed) which meant pulling into Nha Trang at about 4.30am, so we hauled our huge bags down to the beach and sat watching the sunrise over the South China sea and Vin Pearl island under the swaying palm trees before making our way into town and finding a bed (an absolute steal at 4 pounds a night).
After a few days of relaxing and drinking beer on the beach in Nha Trang (in contrast to the frenetic hedonism of Saigon) we were ready to move on so headed for Hoi An. Going for the cheapest train option meant a 'hard sleeper' bed, which roughly translates as a shelf (above three others shelves) covered in an old piece of carpet and half a ripped sheet. Still, we arrived in Danang (the nearest train station) at ridiculous o'clock and shared a taxi to Hoi An with an American couple to cut the cost in half, and found a bed at a lovely hostel with a pool in the old town called Thien Trung.
Hoi An was an international trading port as far back as the 17th century, and the architecture is absolutely beautiful. It's like a Disney version of how you would imagine Vietnam to look 150 years ago, all lit up lantern shops and narrow cobbled lanes and old boats on the Thu Bon river. We spent three days in the town, looking in local art galleries, visiting the Japanese Covered Bridge (which was built in 1593) and taking a boat tour for a dollar past the market on the river from a local disabled man wearing one of those very-Vietnamese cone shaped hats. Much better to give the money to him than a big tour company. We also spent lots of time enjoying local specialities at the night market like wonton, white rose (steamed shrimp dumplings) and cao lau (noodles mixed with bean sprouts, greens and pork made with water from the Ba Le well) and fresh beer, which costs 3000 dong for a glass. That's about 10p to you and me.
Next, we took a 12 hour sleeping bus to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Sleeping buses actually have flat beds on them so it was probably one of the most comfortable journeys we've taken (well, for me anyway, Danny was snuggled against a snoring Vietnamese chap). The weather had gradually been getting cooler as we headed north, and Hanoi, which is only four hours from China, was positively cold. Walking around the city through the steamy street kitchens gave us our first Christmassey feeling - a month after Christmas! We stayed at the City Gate hotel in the Old Quarter for a night and then headed out early the next morning for the 3 and a half hour trip to Ha Long bay (a Unesco world heritage site like Hoi An). There we caught a junk out into the Gulf of Tonkin, with its beautiful emerald waters dotted with over 3000 islands hiding grottoes and caves. We visited a cave interior and it was stunning, the dripping water creates the most bizarre rock formations, it kind of looks a bit like enormous white coral and apparently they call it the cave of heaven for that reason. Next the boat took us to Cat Ba island, the only inhabited island in the bay, and we slept on the junk moored just off Cat Ba, before enjoying a night of Tiger beer and karaoke... sung by a bunch of Vietnamese, Chileans and a lovely gay couple from Croydon who work at Ikea. So quite a mixed bag! The next day we visited the cave where they filmed James Bond - Tomorrow Never Dies - before an idyllic trip back to Ha Long City where we did caught a return bus to Hanoi.
The next morning we hit the road again, flying all the way back to Saigon, and then picking up a 6 hour bus to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, stopping at the border for all the immigration formalities and to get our visas. We also met four very friendly Russians from St Petersburg on the way, and I can confirm that Russian's really do drink vodka ALL day. Maybe it's the way to go, they seemed to be having an excellent time.
When we got to Phnom Penh we caught a tuk tuk to Boeng Kak area of the city, where the wooden hotels are built on stilts and stretch out over the lake, and enjoyed a Khmer curry and an Angkor beer after being on the road from 7.30am to 9pm without any time for food. I can't tell you how good that felt! The hostel we're staying in screens Roland Joffe's The Killing Fields from 1984 at 7pm every night, so we'll watch that tonight and head out to Choung Ek tomorrow to see them. We're also going to visit Tuol Sleng (or S21) the school where the Khmer Rouge carried out so many atrocities, which I'm sure will be incredibly sad, but like the Vietnam war museum, necessary to understand Cambodia. That's it for now...
Next stop was Nha Trang, a party-beach resort on the coast, about 8 hours train ride North of Saigon. Because our budget is so tight we try to travel overnight (which saves the cost of paying for a hostel bed) which meant pulling into Nha Trang at about 4.30am, so we hauled our huge bags down to the beach and sat watching the sunrise over the South China sea and Vin Pearl island under the swaying palm trees before making our way into town and finding a bed (an absolute steal at 4 pounds a night).
After a few days of relaxing and drinking beer on the beach in Nha Trang (in contrast to the frenetic hedonism of Saigon) we were ready to move on so headed for Hoi An. Going for the cheapest train option meant a 'hard sleeper' bed, which roughly translates as a shelf (above three others shelves) covered in an old piece of carpet and half a ripped sheet. Still, we arrived in Danang (the nearest train station) at ridiculous o'clock and shared a taxi to Hoi An with an American couple to cut the cost in half, and found a bed at a lovely hostel with a pool in the old town called Thien Trung.
Hoi An was an international trading port as far back as the 17th century, and the architecture is absolutely beautiful. It's like a Disney version of how you would imagine Vietnam to look 150 years ago, all lit up lantern shops and narrow cobbled lanes and old boats on the Thu Bon river. We spent three days in the town, looking in local art galleries, visiting the Japanese Covered Bridge (which was built in 1593) and taking a boat tour for a dollar past the market on the river from a local disabled man wearing one of those very-Vietnamese cone shaped hats. Much better to give the money to him than a big tour company. We also spent lots of time enjoying local specialities at the night market like wonton, white rose (steamed shrimp dumplings) and cao lau (noodles mixed with bean sprouts, greens and pork made with water from the Ba Le well) and fresh beer, which costs 3000 dong for a glass. That's about 10p to you and me.
Next, we took a 12 hour sleeping bus to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Sleeping buses actually have flat beds on them so it was probably one of the most comfortable journeys we've taken (well, for me anyway, Danny was snuggled against a snoring Vietnamese chap). The weather had gradually been getting cooler as we headed north, and Hanoi, which is only four hours from China, was positively cold. Walking around the city through the steamy street kitchens gave us our first Christmassey feeling - a month after Christmas! We stayed at the City Gate hotel in the Old Quarter for a night and then headed out early the next morning for the 3 and a half hour trip to Ha Long bay (a Unesco world heritage site like Hoi An). There we caught a junk out into the Gulf of Tonkin, with its beautiful emerald waters dotted with over 3000 islands hiding grottoes and caves. We visited a cave interior and it was stunning, the dripping water creates the most bizarre rock formations, it kind of looks a bit like enormous white coral and apparently they call it the cave of heaven for that reason. Next the boat took us to Cat Ba island, the only inhabited island in the bay, and we slept on the junk moored just off Cat Ba, before enjoying a night of Tiger beer and karaoke... sung by a bunch of Vietnamese, Chileans and a lovely gay couple from Croydon who work at Ikea. So quite a mixed bag! The next day we visited the cave where they filmed James Bond - Tomorrow Never Dies - before an idyllic trip back to Ha Long City where we did caught a return bus to Hanoi.
The next morning we hit the road again, flying all the way back to Saigon, and then picking up a 6 hour bus to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, stopping at the border for all the immigration formalities and to get our visas. We also met four very friendly Russians from St Petersburg on the way, and I can confirm that Russian's really do drink vodka ALL day. Maybe it's the way to go, they seemed to be having an excellent time.
When we got to Phnom Penh we caught a tuk tuk to Boeng Kak area of the city, where the wooden hotels are built on stilts and stretch out over the lake, and enjoyed a Khmer curry and an Angkor beer after being on the road from 7.30am to 9pm without any time for food. I can't tell you how good that felt! The hostel we're staying in screens Roland Joffe's The Killing Fields from 1984 at 7pm every night, so we'll watch that tonight and head out to Choung Ek tomorrow to see them. We're also going to visit Tuol Sleng (or S21) the school where the Khmer Rouge carried out so many atrocities, which I'm sure will be incredibly sad, but like the Vietnam war museum, necessary to understand Cambodia. That's it for now...
Saturday 2 January 2010
Jakarta, Indonesia...
Well, it's our last day in Indonesia, and it's 2010. Although we originally planned to spend New Years Eve in Jakarta we were actually in Yogya. We met an English guy at our hostel who had tried to get a train ticket the previous day and everything had sold out, and we were also a bit concerned about rocking up to the capital city on new years eve and finding a bed, and were really enjoying it in Yogya so we stayed put.
On the big night we went for dinner, then to a Ramayana ballet at Puriwisata (they've performed it every night for the last 37 years) accompanied by traditional Gamelan music. Then we started to make our way back to Jl Maliboro, the main drag, to see the fireworks but it was so so so so busy (Java is one of the most crowded places on earth with 950 people per square kilometre) you could barely move on the streets. Thankfully a group of young Indonesians about our age took pity on us, guiding us through the throngs and stopping us from getting our limbs burnt on all the moped engines.
I've been really impressed by the warmth of the Indonesian people, they're incredibly smiley and friendly, and although they are all excellent salesmen (they're so persuasive you have a really hard time working out how to say no) when you do say no, they thank you and smile and are very gracious. I mentioned to Danny one day that I had never seen anyone raise there voice or get angry or be rude the entire time we've been here and he told me about the concept of 'face.' Keeping face means never displaying anger, which is seen as the ultimate humiliation. Even the teenagers are polite and friendly and genuinely interested in you and where you are from. We've had young kids snapping our picture in the streets when we ride past on a tuk tuk, interviewing us for school projects and even asking shyly if they can have their picture taken with us. They're a stark contrast to what I was like as a teen! Pretty much everyone speaks English too, which says a lot in a place where the educational system and work opportunities aren't what they should be.
Where was I? Yes so we took in some fireworks on the streets of Yogya, and then headed back to Sosrowijian to see in the new year and have a drink before hitting the sack to get some rest before an early start on new years day when we caught a train to Jakarta at 8am. The train took eight and a half hours and wasn't too shabby, and I loved watching the lush, green scenery - all palm trees and paddy fields - whizzing past, but it wasn't air conditioned, just cooled by several fans and open windows so we were pretty flustered by the time we arrived. We took a taxi to Jalan Jaksa, the budget hotel centre of Jakarta, and then checked into Hotel Tator before having a much appreciated cold shower (I haven't had a hot shower for three weeks now, not that it matters one iota in this heat) before heading out for dinner and a drink. As usual we had a wrestling match with the mozzie net when we got home (Jakarta has dengue outbreaks in the wet season).
Today we explored the city (which is the fourth biggest in the world), walking first to Soekarnho's National monument in Freedom Square. The locals call it 'Soekarhno's last erection' thanks to it's phallic shape (there's another statue south of the city of Soekarnho with a flaming dish which they call 'Pizza man.') But it is rather impressive, a huge column topped by a flame that you can travel up to get magnificent views of the city, or, as Lonely Planet puts it you can 'whizz up the shaft.' Snort, snort.
Then we walked through the street kitchens of Glodok, which is Jakarta's rundown Chinatown area, before finishing up at the old Dutch Square in Kota with it's pretty colonial buildings and the famous Cafe Batavia which opened in 1805. We popped in there for a cocktail, incredibly grateful after such a long, hot walk, for the cool, air conditioned surrounds and deep sofas, and took in the rather bizzarre spectacle of a very friendly old Indonesian singer accompanied by a grand piano and various karaoke singing tourists belting out everything from Sinatra to old Thai folk songs. Even more bewildering was that on sitting down at this very well established, fancy place with immaculate, smiley, waitresses, we were presented with two menus and a heavily framed picture plucked straight off the wall of a celebrity from the 70s in leather underwear. Neither of us have any idea why. Maybe that's just Jakarta for you!
After that we hopped in a motorised tuk tuk back to the hotel, which brings me to a few facts for all you eager fact fans out there (I know there are alot of you): Since we started this trip we have travelled by plane, car, bus, train, bike, moped, boat, horse, cyclo and tuk tuk, slept in 29 different beds and on 17 different buses. We're flying to Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh city as it's now known) tomorow, so will report next from Vietnam. Until then!
On the big night we went for dinner, then to a Ramayana ballet at Puriwisata (they've performed it every night for the last 37 years) accompanied by traditional Gamelan music. Then we started to make our way back to Jl Maliboro, the main drag, to see the fireworks but it was so so so so busy (Java is one of the most crowded places on earth with 950 people per square kilometre) you could barely move on the streets. Thankfully a group of young Indonesians about our age took pity on us, guiding us through the throngs and stopping us from getting our limbs burnt on all the moped engines.
I've been really impressed by the warmth of the Indonesian people, they're incredibly smiley and friendly, and although they are all excellent salesmen (they're so persuasive you have a really hard time working out how to say no) when you do say no, they thank you and smile and are very gracious. I mentioned to Danny one day that I had never seen anyone raise there voice or get angry or be rude the entire time we've been here and he told me about the concept of 'face.' Keeping face means never displaying anger, which is seen as the ultimate humiliation. Even the teenagers are polite and friendly and genuinely interested in you and where you are from. We've had young kids snapping our picture in the streets when we ride past on a tuk tuk, interviewing us for school projects and even asking shyly if they can have their picture taken with us. They're a stark contrast to what I was like as a teen! Pretty much everyone speaks English too, which says a lot in a place where the educational system and work opportunities aren't what they should be.
Where was I? Yes so we took in some fireworks on the streets of Yogya, and then headed back to Sosrowijian to see in the new year and have a drink before hitting the sack to get some rest before an early start on new years day when we caught a train to Jakarta at 8am. The train took eight and a half hours and wasn't too shabby, and I loved watching the lush, green scenery - all palm trees and paddy fields - whizzing past, but it wasn't air conditioned, just cooled by several fans and open windows so we were pretty flustered by the time we arrived. We took a taxi to Jalan Jaksa, the budget hotel centre of Jakarta, and then checked into Hotel Tator before having a much appreciated cold shower (I haven't had a hot shower for three weeks now, not that it matters one iota in this heat) before heading out for dinner and a drink. As usual we had a wrestling match with the mozzie net when we got home (Jakarta has dengue outbreaks in the wet season).
Today we explored the city (which is the fourth biggest in the world), walking first to Soekarnho's National monument in Freedom Square. The locals call it 'Soekarhno's last erection' thanks to it's phallic shape (there's another statue south of the city of Soekarnho with a flaming dish which they call 'Pizza man.') But it is rather impressive, a huge column topped by a flame that you can travel up to get magnificent views of the city, or, as Lonely Planet puts it you can 'whizz up the shaft.' Snort, snort.
Then we walked through the street kitchens of Glodok, which is Jakarta's rundown Chinatown area, before finishing up at the old Dutch Square in Kota with it's pretty colonial buildings and the famous Cafe Batavia which opened in 1805. We popped in there for a cocktail, incredibly grateful after such a long, hot walk, for the cool, air conditioned surrounds and deep sofas, and took in the rather bizzarre spectacle of a very friendly old Indonesian singer accompanied by a grand piano and various karaoke singing tourists belting out everything from Sinatra to old Thai folk songs. Even more bewildering was that on sitting down at this very well established, fancy place with immaculate, smiley, waitresses, we were presented with two menus and a heavily framed picture plucked straight off the wall of a celebrity from the 70s in leather underwear. Neither of us have any idea why. Maybe that's just Jakarta for you!
After that we hopped in a motorised tuk tuk back to the hotel, which brings me to a few facts for all you eager fact fans out there (I know there are alot of you): Since we started this trip we have travelled by plane, car, bus, train, bike, moped, boat, horse, cyclo and tuk tuk, slept in 29 different beds and on 17 different buses. We're flying to Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh city as it's now known) tomorow, so will report next from Vietnam. Until then!
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