Pangkor Island

We travelled to Pulau Pangkor today, an unusually straightforward journey, with both buses departing and arriving on schedule and catching a ferry just in time. The guide books had actually advised against a visit during public holidays as it's a favourite spot for Malayians, but we decided to check it out for ourselves and we only saw one other Western couple on this journey.

Nipah Bay is a lot smaller than we'd imagined, with all the guesthouses concentrated in one 100 metre section. While appearing a little ramshackle, it's also got a pleasing local feel to it as there's a total absence of hotel tower blocks. There is a three storey building being built and of course that is right next to one of our potential bookings, but this worked to our advantage as we secured the room for half-price due to the potential noise, the guesthouse being unaware that living in the old 10B flat opposite Clapham Common tube was sufficient preparation to sleep through most things. I also have the distinction of sleeping through a hurricane in Jamaica once upon a time.

The bay itself is a gorgeous strip of sand overlooking a, with a couple of small idyllic islands a kayak away. While for some tourists the absence of swimming pools and sun loungers, plus the presence of numerous local hawker stalls on the edge of the beach would be off-putting, but both of us are grateful for a more genuine Malaysian experience. The only minor downside of sharing a Muslim beach, being the banning of alcohol from the beach, drinking being confined to one or two establishments further back.

Cameron Highlands Mini-trek

If you're going to the Cameron Highlands, we think the walk we did today would take some beating for scenery and a good work-out and there's a description in recommendations on the right.

We managed to get round without going wrong once, a fairly remarkable feat considering that our map was a few photos of the guesthouse map on my camera and the signposts were haphazard to say the least, indicating at one point that we'd covered half a kilometer in a minute.

We started off walking to Robinson falls, which weren't that impressive to be honest especially after Nepal, but at least not completely full of litter like the Parit falls we saw later.



We were then soon scrambling up a steep slope, swinging up using tree roots at points. This took us up to Gunung Berembun at 1812 metres after about an hour and a half.




After a classy Pringles and coke lunch it was down the other side and though the whole walk is through think forest,after about 2 and a half hours one gets to a particularly beautiful where you have to clamber along paths of twisted trees and roots that in the late afternoon is wonderfully cool and atmospheric.



A stop off at a look out tower precedes the aforementioned Parit 'sewage' falls and back to Tanah Rata.


We over-ordered at dinner once again, though our 4 dishes and drinks at a curry house came to 18 Ringgit which is less than 3 quid. I now blame Szilvia for making me fat (see above) as I've put on lots of weight since she arrived and I started eating nice food. In the evening I had a rare treat of watching a bit of EPL, the English Premier League with a couple of cold beers.

Countryside tour

Our plan to get up and do a trek in the morning was curtailed as we both overslept and we decided to instead go on one of the organised tours. I'm normally a bit averse to doing these, but being in the mountains means you can only walk to a few places and public transport isn't as frequent or reliable (relatively) and we were seduced by the promise of six different places in an afternoon. Of course this meant we were given a whole 20 minutes in one place, 35 in another and so on, but it was nonetheless enjoyable, though we might of annoyed the others a little, being last back to the minibus on four occasions. The tours were Chinese Buddhist temple, Strawberry Farm, Rose Garden and viewpoint, Tea plantation, butterfly farm and bee farm.

The Chinese temple was only rebuilt in the 70's, but was beautifully decorated with little buddha tiles from floor to ceiling and also boasted a large collection of statues.

The Rose Garden was fairly dull, though it amused me for having as many 'no plucking' signs and cartoon charactr models as roses. It did have a good lookout point however and it as there where I recieved a welcome phone call to say they'd completed my passport in just over a day and it was ready to collect.

The highlight was the tea plantation, both for the scenery with 360 acres of tea plants carpeting the hillsides and the factory itself with the the air full of the freshest tea smells. Even though I'm not an avid tea drinker to everyone's total surprise as an Englishman, I could appreciate this and had a nice cuppa afterwards.

Despite having been to a butterfly farm just days before, they also had an impressive array of insects and we were allowed to stroke some beetles and lizards, creatures who definitely don't feature highly in the strokability stakes.

Embassy visit and journey to the highlands

I got up early this morning to go to the embassy, or more correctly, the British High Commission, to apply for a new passport. I got there a few minutes before it opened, but there was already a small queue of people, no doubt cursing the place being closed for five consecutive days. The two people in the passport queue took a while and I could both hear them asking realistically how long it would take and looking a bit disheartened. I sat there wondering whether my conversation with Dick on Monday would actually have had any effect. I wasn't to be disappointed as when I said my name the clerk, said 'ah Mr Wells, we've been expecting you', promptly disappeared, to be replaced by a more senior person, who dealt with my application with minimum fuss or questioning and promised to have it completed as soon as possible.

We left that afternoon for the Cameron Highlands. The bus station lived up to its reputation of being extremely chaotic and we waited a little nervously outside a cafe over the other side of the road for a while as instructed before ascertaining that the other people waiting there were also hoping to travel to Tahna Ratna. It was baking hot, so we sheltered inside the lobby of a hotel. Every time I went outside for a minute to check on the bus situation, I would come back dripping with sweat. The bus was about 40 minutes late which took us into the beginning of rush hour, meaning we were about an hour and a half late to our destination.

As I got off the bus, I thought I heard someone shout my name and found someone I didn't recognise greeting me. It turned out he was the guesthouse owner, who had been waiting for every bus that afternoon to collect us as he's forgotten to ask which bus we would arrive on and was about to give our room away if we hadn't been on our delayed one. A unexpected welcome to a really excellent guesthouse (Father's Guesthouse, Tahna Ratna)

The day ended sadly as we heard of the Bhutto assassination and spent a while watching BBC News 24.

Boxing day

We attempted to walk to the old railway station this morning, but the tourist map wasn't particularly accurate and we soon found ourselves stranded in the middle of a network of high speed highways. We eventually found our way out through some underpasses seemingly being guarded by some people in shabby uniforms, yet there was no-one else to be seen and the pavements were thick with litter. KL is strange in this regard, you can be walking down a lovely paved street and it will abruptly stop and turn into a dirty mud track for a while and then start again somewhere else.

The railway station when we got there is a very elaborate affair, a splendid white, with Islamic-looking turrets. The railway offices opposite are also unfeasibly grand for a network that has almost wholly been displaced by the bus for long-distance journey's. The old part is mostly a museum, though trains still pull in and out as there is a new concrete station adjoined that still serves passengers, though the main terminus is now one stop up the line.

Behind the railway station is the modern national Islamic Centre and a beautiful park. I reluctantly agreed to visit the butterfly sanctuary and was pleasantly surprised to find that along with the butterflies were several species of poisonous snakes, spiders and other insects. The horned toads were pretty weird, looking like toad robots and I also enjoyed the ridiculous moving leaf.

We then got a taxi to the other side of town where we had a late lunch at one of the hawker stalls before heading to the shopping mall to the games room we'd spotted previously. With each game RM1, or 15p, we had a terrific time on the various simulators and games. We also had a session in a karaoke box, the only time you'll find either of us voluntarily partaking in singing into microphones. Despite the limited selection of English tunes, it was quite fun, though towards the end we started to get hassled by hyperactive Malaysian kids having fun hitting the box and running away.

Christmas Day

Happy Christmas!

We had a really lovely day today, highlight being opening the shoebox my parents had send out with Szilvia, which contained two stockings full of individually wrapped useful items, such as mini-torch, mini-fan, trekkin socks, duck tape (from my sister) etc.

It was pretty gloomy weather all day and properly threw it down at once stage. We visited the craft market and ate a really nice Malaysian dinner with the best Mango smoothies I've ever tasted. I had two and couldn't finish my dinner.

Christmas Eve

There was initial frustration this morning after learning that the British High Commission was closed today as well as Christmas day and Boxing day, meaning it could be January 10th before I could leave Malaysia. However, I spoke to the duty officer who promised to speed up the process as much as possible after telling me I was the most polite and logical person ever to phone him up. This flattery and potential rare reward for civility lifted my spirits.

After moving to the posh Swiss Garden hotel for Christmas, we spent the day looking around the Golden Triangle section of KL. There are about five massive shopping plazas in this area and therefore probably the wrong place to visit with a female.

Christmas in the UK seems to get more commercialised and less religious all the time, but in comparison to KL, it seems positively orthodox. Of course there's no reason why it should be taken seriously in a Muslim country and it is quite amusing to find the closest familiar yuletide representation to be an array of santa hats, jostling with the devil horns and theatre masks that are also in evidence. Add into the mix a serious amount of spray foam and the street party that unfolds through out the evening becomes quite a spectacle. It's quite endearing the way that the Malaysians enter into the (unorthodox) spirit of things and even teenagers are content to join in the fun. At the beginning of the evening you were a legitimate target for a spraying if you had a spray can in your hand, this soon progressed to anyone wearing a Santa hat, but of course as midnight approached, anyone and everyone was included in the melee.

Melaka mare

Today I lost my coat and passport.

Into Malaysia

The rain today again curtailed a proper look around the colonial district, but Szilvia amused herself by looking around the shops while I vainly searched for a chemist to stock up on my Larium, which proved to be difficult not only because it was a public holiday but also because Chinatown seems to be populated only by traditional Chinese medicine outlets.

So onto the bus to Melaka, which despite being the local cheapie was probably the most comfortable bus ride to date, with lots of room and reclining seats with foot rests. We were in Melaka in just under two hours and soon having a cold beer and some noodles on the street near our cosy guesthouse.

First impressions of Malaysia

Night Safari

The highlight of today was definitely the Night Safari. This part of Singapore Zoo only opens at 7.30pm and consists of a number of illuminated enclosures with a variety of animals from Anteaters to Zebra. The fact that it's dark allows the designers to use the lights to focus visitors eyes and create an illusion of the animals just roaming about freely, whereas they're actually surrounded by thin wire fences. I have to admit I was a little cynical about it to begin with and as we set off on the 'tram' around the park, was searching for the ropes tethering the animals in place. Also, I believe it's true that most animals aren't too bothered about lights, but hate too much noise and the park is very noisy. However, on walking around on our own later, we were able to look more closely and observe that it is not just well presented, but actually appears that the animals have a reasonable amount of space and the reason you actually see so many is that there are lots of them. An despite knowing there's no danger, watching lions roaring a just 100 feet away seemingly with nothing in between you is quite exciting.

My favorites were the tiger, who came rushing down to the one-way window at one point as if it had seen someone; and the fruit bats, with whom you were in touching distance of their little furry up-side-down faces as you walked through their pen. No photos though - it was dark remember.

Though it was all very safe, though I was slightly concerned that opposite the Gariel (endangered fish eating crocodiles from Nepal and India with a distinctive thin snout) there was a short crocodile with huge jaws. This enclosure didn't have a sign and when I got close to look one of them quite aggressively moved towards the fence, unlike the shy gariels. I was convinced these were 'marsh muggers' a species with a CV of regular man-eating. and when I asked one of the guides what they were he came up with some convoluted explanation that they didn't have a sign because they were checking the actual name before they put the sign up. Hmmn.

We also had a huge buffet dinner and I quite shamefully tucked into 6 courses including the fruit salad and ice cream/cake courses. This after the massive breakfast I had had to lay to rest all the memories of recent regular breakfast disappointments (you don't want fried eggs on toast really, you want an omelette and a stale stick of bread, Sir.)

Szilvia arrives

It was bucketing down again this morning and I spent ages looking for a nice hotel that wasn't booked out for the holidays because as well as the Christmas traffic, Thursday is Hari Raya Qurban.

In the afternoon it was off to the airport to meet Szilvia who arrived not too far behind schedule, looking great and in remarkably high spirits considering the long journey sat next to someone who by all accounts should have booked two seats.

We went out for some food in Chinatown in the evening and had some delicious barbecued sting ray amongst other dishes from a hawker stall, before a quiet walk around the quayside.

Apart from obviously being terrific to see her again, it's already really nice to share in Szilv's first visit to Asia and share some new experiences together.

Last day in Vietnam

An early start wasn't the ideal situation after a big night, but I wanted to post my Christmas presents and then go to the Ho CHi Minh Mausoleum before last admission at 10.15am.

I made it just in time and gave my camera and bag in as requested. It was only towards the front of the queue, way after the security checks and scanners that I spotted the no phones signs and realised my mobile was on in my pocket and I could see some others with theirs in clear plastic bags, but no-one near me. I turned it off in my pocket, trying to muffle the stupid little goodbye tune. I remained quite concerned the whole way round however as there were guards every 10 metres intently watching every move and asking people to take hands out of pockets and to my horror asking someone to remove his something from his pocket. I was now sure I would definitely be in some trouble if they were to discover my phone, but fortunately there was a changing of the guard just before I got to that particular fellow and I got through undiscovered. It is this (ineffective) show of high security and seriousness that makes the experience interesting, actually filing around the plastic looking Uncle Ho surrounded by 6 guards only last a minute at most.

Next to the Van Mieu 'Temple of literature' which is more interesting than it sounds, being a beautiful series of traditional Vietnamese buildings and courtyards dedicated to Confucius dating from the 11th Century, before becoming a university in the 15th. There are a number of stone pillars, or stellae, honoring those who received doctorates. Each one sits astride a stone turtle, obviously and I mused might have been worth taking that PhD for. Though sounds like they had a tougher regime back in the 1450s with an exam every month, 4 big ones a year, plus regional and then a test set by the king.

After some lunch we went to a water puppetry show, which was entertaining, though more than the hour might have become tedious. Fortunately there were 17 mini acts, with no discernible storyline, but basically involving models sploshing about, accompanied by a traditional Vietnamese orchestra. My favourite was the farming of the rice, though the ducks and the fox was quite fun, though the fox looked a lot more like a yellow bagpuss. The phoenix dance was also quite amusing as the after the beautiful bird love-dance, the birth of the baby phoenix was brought about some quite aggressive phoenix rutting.

Then it was goodbye for the last time to Marijn and Marieke and off the the airport. The plane was delayed for over an hour and we only boarded just as they'd turned Liverpool Man U on the telly. I ended up next to a Vietnamese chap on his first trip abroad and first flight. Despite really needing some sleep, I couldn't not indulge him with responses to his raft of questions and actually had a nice long conversation with him as his excitement was actually quite infectious.

Halong Bay boat trip day 2

I went kayaking in the morning and some some sea hawks up pretty close.





It was then back to Halong City and Hanoi. On the way back we had a different driver who couldn't have been more different to the timid one on the way - we forced at least two motorbkies off the side of the road and narrowly missed oncoming trucks several times

Halong Bay boat trip day 1

After waiting 45 mins for the minibus to Halong Bay and starting to cynically suspect the hotel were punishing me for not booking with them by telling me the bus that had pulled up was for someone else, I went round to the agency to find out what was going on. For a few minutes the body language of the guy suggested that I wasn't going to be going, but after a few phone calls he managed to ascertain that the bus was still stuck in traffic because the new driver had got lost. The driver was very evidently new as he surprisingly and refreshingly exercised caution in overtaking and restraint with the horn. He'll learn.

I met up with the Northern Irish girls again at the break stop, they seemed to be prepared for a party and had brought the necessary supplies. With 25 people on their boat and my minibus of 13 seeming extremely quiet, I started to wonder if I was going to be missing out. I may well have done in terms of socialising, but as soon as I was on the boat and we were sailing I knew it was the right choice to have a couple of days of complete relaxation.


I was quite impressed by the quality of the boat, given I'd gone for mid-range. I had a room to myself, romantically decorated with a rose at the end of the bed which seemed to me to be a slight waste anyway in a twin room. The top deck had comfortable loungers and the food was also very good. (See panel right for recommendations)


There are apparently about 500 of these junks in the bay, which means you initially get the impression you are going to be sharing your trip with another few thousand people instead of the 20 (including staff) on the boat. The flotilla makes it's way to some caves first and there's a procession through what are indeed quite splendid formations, lit up quite nicely. A little different from exploring caves on your own as in Laos, with a paved path, penguin litter bins and a guide pointing out the various lion rock, tiger rock, dragon rock etc with a infra-red beam.


However after leaving the island, within a few minutes we were on our own in the bay, each junk seemingly having it's own path through the three-thousand plus islands that are in the bay. You don't meet up with the fleet again until nightfall where, after dropping the hotel people on Cat Ba island, we anchored in an inlet with another 30 or so boats.



In the evening I had a good old natter with an older couple, Graham and Kitty, from Melbourne, who were quite entertaining.

Hanoi

Despite sleeping for 8 hours on the train, I wasn't up for exploring at 5.30, so had another couple of hours kip and was feeling awake and well rested for an early breakfast by the lake.

I then visited the Women's museum, Hanoi Prison and the Ho Chi Minh museum. The latter was easily the most interesting, containing as it contained a mine of (presumably quite selective) material about what uncle Ho did and said. Typically a bit short on the facts, such that it took me a while to realise than Nguyen Ái Quoc was the same chap (he seems to have had 2 or 3 other names too) as they didn't bother to mention this change. Nevertheless there was a lot of interesting material here and also quite a few arty exhibits, including one featuring models from Picasso's Guernica painting.

Unfortunately I was suffering from Museum fatigue by this stage and so didn't spend the time I would have liked to.

Hoi An and train to Hanoi

I spent the morning in Hoi An old town which is quite picturesque and visited the 16th Century Japanese covered bridge, guarded by stone monkeys at one end and dogs at the other, supposedly corresponding to the years they were started and finished, though those are Chinese symbols, so I'm not sure.

I took a look at the extravagant 'Assembly Hall of the Fujian Chinese Congregation' with some splendid twisty dragon fountains that sadly weren't switched on at the time.

I also popped into of the old traditional houses with a mix of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese architecture. The flooding last month rising 2 metres and the worst since 1964. The chairs had signs on them which said 'please don't be seated'.

I also did some Christmas shopping - Hoi An is a real mecca for shoppers as you can get anything made to order within a day. Even I couldn't resist a pair of bespoke trainers for myself 12 dollars, an interesting mix of Merrell uppers and Dockers soles.

I had lunch overlooking the bustling market, where the preponderance of traditional conical hats provides a picture postcard setting.

I had some of the local cuisine, cao lau and 'white rose': the former a delicious thick noodle soup with croutons and the latter tasty shrimp dumplings.



Ideally I would have stayed longer and also visited the World Heritage town of Hue, but as my time is now limited, after lunch I was heading back to Danang (picture of the beach) to catch the 14 hour train ride to Hanoi. Scheduled departure time 14.15, arrival 04.30 the actual times only varying an hour from that so not too bad.

This time I was in first class 'soft sleep' rather than 'hard sleep'. I couldn't tell much of a difference, the on obvious ones being 4 beds per berth instead of 6, providing more headroom and less smelly. Also there were English notices, including the delightful 'please do not be putting any strange substances in the toilet'.

I was again sharing a berth with with a mother and baby, this one a little noisier than previously, but they got of at Hue, leaving the 4 berth to me and a friendly Vietnamese chap who taught me some words. I now know 1-10 in ten other languages. Ok, not that impressive, but quite useful in SE Asia to overhear what the locals are paying for stuff.

Brief visit to Na Trang

I needed to speed up my journey north in order to have enough time in Hanoi, so today was a travelling day. The bus journey was a more bearable 5 hours, though it was outrageously bumpy followed by extremely windy, so reading was impossible.

On arrival in Na Trang we headed to the beach for an overpriced average lunch and then to organise onward travel. I correctly decided to ignore the Lonely Planet's advice that the train booking office closed at 2pm and headed there at 3.30 to find it was open and I was able to book a ticket to Danang.

There was a rather impressive fort-like church there, but otherwise the only thing I will recall about Na Trang was the rather incongruous image of two mobile phone stores trying to out do each other by playing Christmas music at top volume. IT was 'Feliz Navidad' versus 'Jingle Bells' as I passed. I judged Jingle Bells to be the winner on the basis of the life size Santa model playing the saxophone.

Due to the late booking, I'd only been able to get a 'hard sleep' and when I boarded and found that my roommates were 3 Vietnamese lads, a creepy looking westerner and a mother and baby my heart sank a bit. But actually everyone was very quiet and I only woke up in Danang to the announcement of imminent arrival the next morning.

Lakes, mutant animals and crazy love

Marieke and I decided to hire motorbikes today. My blag that I'd driven one before probably didn't look too convincing went I couldn't start it and then lurched forward as I accelarated to hard, but it was very weasy to pick up as we'd gone for the safer option of automatics.

After a unintentional lap of the lake, we stopped off at a place that seemed like it was an attraction of some sort. We spent quite a while trying to find out what was actually there, but it just appeared to be a local beauty spot for relaxing amongst the trees, hills and mickey mouse and statues.

The other 'attraction' there was the 'strange and queer creatures' that we accidentally paid to see - these basically being mutant animals with too many limbs. So we had a few cows and a pig and a chicken with too many legs. But it wasn't like one might try to imagine a cow with extra moving legs of the same size and shape; basically these are lifeless pieces of skin and bone flapping around on it's back and which should really be removed. There was also a three legged dog - this is hardly rare and certainly no reason to put it in a cage. Suffice to say there are no photos and it's really worth not going to.

After that we thought we should see something nice and next door was the 'valley of love' which we thought might be a prettier sight. Indeed there is a nice looking lake there, but it was a good job we weren't there for the romance and this would have been quickly snuffed out by the numerous hideous statues and hearts that abounded.

After driving around a bit and failing to find the road to the waterfall, Marijn joined us for lunch by the lake, before well all went to take a look at the 'Crazy House'. This is the project of a Western trained Vietnamese artist who is building a hotel with different themed rooms but, avoiding the traditional idea of straight walls or corners. Due to be complete in 2010, it's a kind of psuedo-Gaudi fairy-tale castle and would probably be quite fun to stay in, assuming they regulate the tourists traipsing around a bit more when it's open.

The different standards of health and safety were quite evident here and at one point the stairs to an incomplete building just stop, with a sloping roof and then a 50 foot drop below with no hint of a warning sign or even taped off barrier.

We then took a trip to a old French railway station, which still runs a tourist service, but we just looked around, while a bride and groom had their photos taken, the bride's face suggesting she wasn't the originator of that particular photo idea.

Being in the highlands, it really got quite cool and with the many Christmas decorations around the place, it made me quite nostalgic for home.

9 hours bus to Dalat

This was a bit of a frustrating day. Our 6 hour bus journey ended up being 9 and we just missed a glorious sunset which we had to glimpse at through the windows. We were delivered to a hotel connected with the tour company 'TM brothers' and suspected that this was part of the old scam to get people really tired and annoyed so that they are undiscriminating in choice of hotel. So we decided to go somewhere else and after a bit of a battle between two sets of moto drivers, we ended up at a reasonable hotel. I was left with the basement room, but it was only 2.50 and had a bath which was a treat.

We did eat out in a restaurant overlooking the lake and I tried anteater in an attempt to add some interest to the day, but it wasn't particularly special, not even any ants on the side.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

This morning we had a brief visit to the market where I bought a Tiger Beer T-Shirt for 75p and a bag of tasty dried kiwi.

Next we went to the Fine Art Museum and saw some interesting sculpture and painting, but was a little bit monotonous in places. The building itself was a lovely old colonial sprawl, if a little worn round the edges, with a lovely courtyard at the back.

Next to the history museum, with artifacts going back through Vietnamese history which, for the last millennium at least, is one of successful repelling of a whole host of different invaders. There was a mummified woman from the 19th century, for which no real explanation was given, other than I assume every museum worth its salt needs to have a mummy.

After finally booking my tickets for Singapore, we headed to the posh part of town for some food and ate at a Japanese restaurant which seemed to have two staff per customer, despite being very busy. We weren't too adventurous, but the food was good, if small and the lotus crisps were very tasty.

We popped into the shopping mall to see if there was a film on, but had missed the English version, so went back for a couple of beers before bed. The prices in the mall weren't much cheaper than at home and Indeed the only difference seemed to me that the Vietnamese seemed to be taking great interest in the sort of store promotions that tend to get ignored at home -there were queues to sign up for so and so credit card to win a motorbike or some such.

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

I decided to hire a cyclo driver today and see some of sights, though I unwisely also turned it into a bit of an admin trip, though to-ing and fro-ing between Tiger Airways and ATMs that actually gave cash probably shouldn't have been undertaken by a man on a bike that went slightly slower than brisk walking pace.

First up was the 'Reunification Palace'. A strange sort of museum, being a modern building and really just a collection of rather lavish meeting and leisure rooms. It did have some replica tanks and helicopter used in the liberation of Saigon and some war archives in the basement, but the general interest is I guess is the style to which the Party big wigs are accustomed.

After a quick change of dressing at the clinic, which was on a completely different planet in terms of cleanliness, English speaking and treatment than the one I went to in Siem Reap (I've of course subsequently learned that there was an amazing clinic there that served you refreshments and movies while you waited etc), I headed to the War Remnants Museum. This is the more politically correct version, it is otherwise known as the American War Crimes Museum. The latter title is probably more accurate, though their South Vietnamese allies obviously get some flak too, the lions share belong to the US.

You won't be surprised to know that I'm not generally the biggest fan of the US politics, both domestic and international. However I have found myself on this trip defending some of the more anti-American nonsense that people tend tarnish the whole nation with.

Yet I think one of the problems of US foreign policy is the unintended consequences of it's meddling and this was demonstrated in Cambodia, where the strength of popular support for the Khmer Rouge was in no small part due to the US propping up a corrupt regime and carpet bombing the north of the country to prevent the Vietnamese from encroaching. Of course we don't have to look very far to the damage the war in Iraq has done to relations with the Islamic world in addition to the huge number of civilian casualties.

It is however difficult to even argue devil's advocate when it comes to US behaviour in Vietnam. Obviously the 'museum' is intended to stoke this but I had to disagree with the sentiments of some American tourists I overheard, attempting to deal with the by saying there are always crimes on both sides. I would never try and claim the Viet Cong were 'better' than the Americans, but I think that where you can blame the US is in its fairly indiscriminate use of chemical weapons.

Next to a gruesome exhibit of some deformed foetuses in jars, was an apt quote from Senator Nelson:

Vietnam

Today I got the bus from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City, or HCMC, or Saigon. The nicest bus I've been on so far and this made the journey pretty uneventful. We actually had our bags scanned at the border, though this seemed to be more for show as the officials weren't really looking at the monitors. The bureacracy was typically illogical with all passports and arrival cards being dealt with together and though I had already filled in part of my departure card, the one I got back was blank, meaning I have a different number card for exiting the country. This highlights the fact that none of these visa processes mean anything apart from money - though maybe I should keep quiet until I have actually left.

On interesting sight was a funeral procession that stopped us at one point. The herse was an old army truck decorated in white with chairs and tables around the coffin, presumably for immediate family. The mourners walking before walked in two separate lines of men and women, all dressed in white shirts.

Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City seems even more hectic than Phnom Penh or even Bangkok, which is saying something. It also seems a lot more dangerous than Phnom Penh as the bikes all go at least 10mph faster and there apear to be even less adherance to rules. One could also be forgiven for thinking one's name was 'motorbike', as everywhere you go you hear 'Hello, motorbike?'

Last day in Cambodia

I got up early for one more visit to the clinic for a drip of drugs of which I rather belatedly enquired as to the contents. The very helpful English-speaking assistant said should couldn't write it in English, but could do in Chinese if I required as it was Chinese medicine. I have to confess this slightly depleted my confidence in the outcome of these visits and the effectiveness of the little cocktail bags of pills I've been carrying around and which might take some explaining were my bag to be searched.

After a visit to the post office where the contents of the package I sent were worth roughly one quarter of the postage, I boarded the bus back to Phnom Penh. Fortunately, given my slightly irritable state of mind, the journey was easily the best I've had. This was down to two major factors; two seats to myself and more importantly an absence of televisual 'entertainment'. Every other journey thus far has been blighted by being forced to listen to Thai pop/comedy/film or combinations thereof at full volume, for at least half of the journey. Today the sound didn't work and so the switched the thing off altogether, giving me the perfect opportunity to sleep and read, two bus skills which I have thankfully managed to improve in the last few months.

I also spent the time reflecting on my time in Cambodia, which has gone very quickly despite having more time to myself, but which I have enjoyed immensely. Enjoyment is perhaps inappropriate a word given a major part has been a history lesson that has been both fascinating and gut-wrenching. Although I haven't really explored beyond the tourist cities and haven't talked to any Cambodians about the Khmer Rouge, I have found them a remarkable people. While I always hesitate to make generalisations, they all appear super-friendly and while I might prefer the shy friendliness of the Laotians as opposed to the more direct manner here, I can't help but admire how they have picked themselves up as a nation. They are so positive, it's almost as if they're saying ''we were driven to the edge, but we survived. Let's make the most of it."

So I regret having to leave before seeing some more of the 'real' Cambodia as I was able to do a bit in Laos, and so I will endeavor to come back one day and explore a bit more and of course see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. However onwards to Vietnam early tomorrow, which is a must as I only have a inadequate 11 days left before my flight to Singapore.

I wanted to take a cyclo (sort of reverse one-person rickshaw where the guy pedals you from behind) from the bus station, but there were none to be seen nearby so I ended up in one of the tuk-tuks which have apparently largely displaced them. Was a nice surprise shortly after arrival at the same guesthouse as before (uninspiringly named Okay Guesthouse, but recommended) when Kim, the German girl I was travelling with appeared. However she was feeling very unwell and worrying about Malaria, sadly the Lonely Planet medical section didn't reassure her as I thought it might. We had a really interesting discussion about the genocide that we'd learnt so much more about since we last met before she retired and we said goodbye again.

Angkor National Museum

Housed in a shiny new building boasting some ostentatiously Angkor-shaped turrets, with a spacious, clean and bright interior, this isn't like the average Asian museum that I've previously encountered. Consequently the entry fee is currently a relatively pricey $8 and this at the special promotional price until it goes up to $12 mid-December. I can only assume this is the date they actually expect to finish the museum as, despite assurances as I entered that it was just the attached shopping mall that was yet to be completed, the place was 80% complete (a figure cheerily suggested to my by way of reassurance on my exit). So as well as audio tours not being yet available, there were various plinths and information boards frustratingly still waiting to be populated, particularly towards the end of the tour. There was also a total absence of exhibit labels to mark where and when the statues came from. This was irritating not just because I always like to locate the oldest exhibit, but such was the exquisite detail on some of the statues, I started to wonder whether many of them were replicas. For example one had all 7 heads, 4 feet and 19 of its 20 arms intact!

Small labels with dates and place of discovery was pretty much the only information available in the National museum in Phnom Penh and one might argue that it's simply a bigger, modern version of the same thing in a bigger, modern building. Indeed I wonder how many exhibits have been transferred from there now that Siem Reap obviously been seem as the preferable location to catch the tourist dollar. Also, where the predominant feature of the capital's version was statues, there were some other tools and utensils, plus a fantastic wooden junk - whereas the new is pretty much just statues.

However, it is the modern feel and layout of the place with the presence of these video presentations and information boards which made the experience a good one for me. I have to confess I'm so accustomed to being led around Western museums in some sort of chronological order learning about things, I was quite glad to stand and absorb information rather than ploughing through thick guide books.

The tour begins upstairs in the briefing hall with an appropriately short film about the museum, while accustoming you to the enthusiastic and, to this native ear, slightly strange intonation of the English speaking narrators. Next to the 'exclusive gallery' of the 1000 Buddha Images Room which was certainly a highlight and a joyful antidote to all the other drab looking museums on my travels so far. A wonderfully decorated and arranged room of all sorts of different Buddha images, beautifully lit, and possibly by next year there will actually be 1000 of them, the attendant noting there were currently only 868. Unfortunately he couldn't tell me whether the small figurines in the surrounding glass shelves were all original specimens.

You then continue through three galleries: pre-Angkor Period Khmer Civilisation, Pre Angkor Period: Religion and Beliefs and The Great Khmer Kings. On the latter, they hedge their bets by describing 5 or 6 of the kings as being 'one of the greatest' but then later on rather rashly declare Jayavarma VII to be the greatest on an information board, only to downgrade him again to one of the greatest in the accompanying video, perhaps not wanting to put the others nose out of joint twice.

Then downstairs to galleries on Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Story from Stones and Ancient Costumes, the latter remarkably devoid of any actual costume replicas save those worn by the dancing girls in the video, though again some very fine statues. The leaflet promised I would learn how Angkor Wat was constructed, but I expected a bit more detail than basics such as how far they dragged the stones. There was quite a bit of detail about the compassionate Jayavarma VII and his construction of a network of roads, 'homes of light' and hospices as well as his defeat of the Cham and construction of Angkor Thom, all of which amounts to a pretty good CV. So although as far as I know he never claimed to move like a butterfly and sting like a bee, I think 'the greatest' title is well deserved.

In summary then, for those who like museums, this should soon be a very informative and interesting one and a welcome change from the typical cluttered room full of items you have to guess at. The admission fee will likely put of most backpackers who've already forked out the (infinitely better value for money) $20/40 for a pass to the temples and admittedly the idea of having a shopping mall attached does indicate it's whole purpose is to pull in the coachloads of wealthy retirees. However, for those willing to retain a grip on the reality of the value of things and stump up, I think by 2008 this museum may well be worth a visit as a scene setter before going exploring and discovering the temples for oneself.

Extra day in Siem Reap

This morning I went back to the clinic for another drip feed of antibiotics, this time armed with plenty of reading material and the time flew as I further engrossed myself in Loung Ung's 'First they killed my father' book looking at the Khmer Rouge genocide through the eyes of a small child, which is an as rewarding affirmation of the human spirit as much as it is a terrifying account and warning of when it becomes corrupted.

My temples pass now having expired, I decided instead of going to the landmine museum, to try the very recently opened Angkor National Museum. I felt compelled to make some notes as I was pretty much the only person there to begin with and felt like I was inspecting the place. and as it won't yet be reviewed in any guide-books, I'll attempt a review of sorts in this blog for the benefit of those I've met travelling still to get here.

Having been thwarted in giving money to charity via the run and blood to the local children's hospital (there's a big shortage due to a serious outbreak of dengue hemorraegic fever), both due to my infection I decided to go and make a cash donation to Jayavarma 'the greatest' VII children's hospital, to the bemusement of my moto driver, having been moaning to him previously about the money I had to spend on my leg.

Temples of Angkor day 3

Having reluctantly conceded the night before that I wasn't going to start with a 5km run given the state of my now swollen and obviously infected leg, I had now ambitious plans to go by moto to the outer limits of the region and see the Bantang Krei.

However sadly the third day of my pass was curtailed after a visit to the clinic where they confirmed I did have an infection and also advised me to take the antibiotics intraveneously and so I spent 3 hours on a drip.

So I headed back to take some snaps of Angkor Wat that I'd failed to achieve on my first day and visit a couple more sites.

Angkor Wat

The stone carvings on the Western side are quite visible and form a soprt of stone 'bayeax tapestry' around the walls, depicting various events, most prominantely the 'churning of the milk' hindu story of creation.



The outer courtyards are a beuatiful network of pools and balconies

and the inner towers accessible by steps angled at 45 degrees.

Angkor Thom

The Bayoun is the central structure of the Angkor Thom walled city and is characterised by these smiling heads built into the temple. Pictured is the Gate on the southern entrance to the city.

Prah Keoh

The next temple I visited was the Prah Keoh. It runs East to West for a kilometer and you can look all the way through the different rooms to the stupa in the middle. It's a bigger version of the

It is flanked by some giant Garudas - the half man/half-bird vehicle vishnu and my favourite hindu god or Gary as I now call him affectionately.

I got back to the hill where people go to see the sunset over Angkor Wat and unsuprisingly every other person was there and there were long queues. So I opted for watching from the other side and have to hope I come back here someday to see the sun rise.