Jules impersonates Angelina at Angkor.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
At Tong Le Sap (the lake near Siem Reap)
While we were in Siem Reap we went for a boat trip on Tong Le Sap, the lake. It was meant to be a chance to see how the local people lived, but I would really not recommend it to anyone. The lake was brown with pieces of green slime and the people were living in abject poverty. When we left, the kids ran alongside our van and cried when we left them behind. It would have been OK if we'd been going to see a charity project or something you could donate to, but as it was it was just depressing.
The kids were having a good time paddling about in big aluminium bowls though.
The kids were having a good time paddling about in big aluminium bowls though.
Fork lightning at Phnom Penh
This is our best lightning shot so far, taken by Jules. Although last night, when we were down at the beach bar at happy hour, there was a very spectacular thunderstorm, with fork lightning right across the sky. But of course our cameras were in our room.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Jules at Angkor Thom
Yay - finally we have a photo on the blog!
I decided to get some of my photos done straight to CD instead of printed.
This is from the day we went to Angkor Thom from Siem Reap. More to follow...
I decided to get some of my photos done straight to CD instead of printed.
This is from the day we went to Angkor Thom from Siem Reap. More to follow...
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Cooking in Chiang Mai
Arriving in Chiang Mai yesterday afternoon was a bit like coming back to civilisation. The hotel is amazingly plush and all the streets are clean, the market stalls sell things you might actually want to buy and the stall holders aren't too pushy. And there are international restaurants and bars everywhere - it's strange to remember that a few days ago I was listening to Belinda explain to her Cambodian friend what McDonalds was because not only do they not have any there, she had never heard of it before. So the golden arches aren't as iconic and all-pervasive as the big M thinks.
Today was the first day of our cooking school and we made six dishes: tom yum koong, pad thai, GCC, fish cakes, chicken salad and water chestnuts in coconut milk (a dessert). It was a bit hectic - I had imagined we would cook up a few things and then eat them all at once but it turned out to be watch a demonstration, cook a dish, eat it, repeat as necessary. Three of the people in our class were chefs and we were always falling behind! Still, it was all very tasty, apart from the chicken salad which was kind of gritty because it had ground sticky rice in it.
When we came in from the airport, the girl who was picking us up asked if we wanted to go to the elephant park on our spare day. I hadn't thought of this but actually it sounds quite fun - the elephants play football and also paint pictures.
I read about the elephant painting in Chiang Mai in the inflight magazine and there was a photo of several elephants painting an impressionist painting of a field of sunflowers. Apparently they have natural artistic ability and some of them paint both landscapes and abstracts. But what I wanted to know was: how do they decide what to paint? "Well," said Jules, "they get together and one of them says 'I'm thinking of a field of sunflowers, sort of impressionist style, with the sunlight catching the gold in the flowers...'"
You can buy the elephants' paintings but they're not cheap. I'd be quite keen to visit the elephant park but Jules is talking about temples, so we may have to do both on our last day. How many temples does a boy need to see, anyway?
The balloon trip over Angkor Wat was a washout because of a lightning storm, unfortunately.
Today was the first day of our cooking school and we made six dishes: tom yum koong, pad thai, GCC, fish cakes, chicken salad and water chestnuts in coconut milk (a dessert). It was a bit hectic - I had imagined we would cook up a few things and then eat them all at once but it turned out to be watch a demonstration, cook a dish, eat it, repeat as necessary. Three of the people in our class were chefs and we were always falling behind! Still, it was all very tasty, apart from the chicken salad which was kind of gritty because it had ground sticky rice in it.
When we came in from the airport, the girl who was picking us up asked if we wanted to go to the elephant park on our spare day. I hadn't thought of this but actually it sounds quite fun - the elephants play football and also paint pictures.
I read about the elephant painting in Chiang Mai in the inflight magazine and there was a photo of several elephants painting an impressionist painting of a field of sunflowers. Apparently they have natural artistic ability and some of them paint both landscapes and abstracts. But what I wanted to know was: how do they decide what to paint? "Well," said Jules, "they get together and one of them says 'I'm thinking of a field of sunflowers, sort of impressionist style, with the sunlight catching the gold in the flowers...'"
You can buy the elephants' paintings but they're not cheap. I'd be quite keen to visit the elephant park but Jules is talking about temples, so we may have to do both on our last day. How many temples does a boy need to see, anyway?
The balloon trip over Angkor Wat was a washout because of a lightning storm, unfortunately.
Monday, May 23, 2005
Three days in Indiana Jones country
Help - only 14 minutes until I am going up in a balloon for sunset over Angkor Wat, but I will try to do justice to our time in Siem Reap before that.
We got up at 5am to fly here from Phnom Penh and when we arrived it was raining and a mere 30 degrees so that was a huge relief. I had been dreading having an Olympus experience i.e. being dimly aware that you are somewhere amazing and historic but the overwhelming sensation is of the sweat trickling down your back...
We headed out to the temples about 9am and visited Angkor Thom, a huge 900-year-old temple complex with over 200 faces of the Buddha. As it is low season and there weren't that many people there, and it is surrounded by trees, you could imagine what it would have been like to discover it, or to be there by yourself, being watched by all these serene faces.
We had a local guide for the last three days. His name is Yous Sa. For a start we couldn't quite place his accent but eventually worked out that it was Brummy. He says he learnt his English from watching TV - too much Jasper Carrott perhaps? Anyway he was good value entertainment and treated us to his impression of the four smiles of the Buddha - quite impressive.
Yesterday we went to the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed and Yous Sa was able to tell us all about the day he saw Miss Angelina stand in this doorway with her lips pouting like she want to kiss me, then walk very sexy over here and smell a flower and then walk off through this doorway over there. Unfortunately she had to do it twice as he and another guide who were crouching behind a pillar looking down from above were overcome by a fit of giggles when she puckered her lips.
This morning was another 5 am start to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat, but more on that later.
We got up at 5am to fly here from Phnom Penh and when we arrived it was raining and a mere 30 degrees so that was a huge relief. I had been dreading having an Olympus experience i.e. being dimly aware that you are somewhere amazing and historic but the overwhelming sensation is of the sweat trickling down your back...
We headed out to the temples about 9am and visited Angkor Thom, a huge 900-year-old temple complex with over 200 faces of the Buddha. As it is low season and there weren't that many people there, and it is surrounded by trees, you could imagine what it would have been like to discover it, or to be there by yourself, being watched by all these serene faces.
We had a local guide for the last three days. His name is Yous Sa. For a start we couldn't quite place his accent but eventually worked out that it was Brummy. He says he learnt his English from watching TV - too much Jasper Carrott perhaps? Anyway he was good value entertainment and treated us to his impression of the four smiles of the Buddha - quite impressive.
Yesterday we went to the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed and Yous Sa was able to tell us all about the day he saw Miss Angelina stand in this doorway with her lips pouting like she want to kiss me, then walk very sexy over here and smell a flower and then walk off through this doorway over there. Unfortunately she had to do it twice as he and another guide who were crouching behind a pillar looking down from above were overcome by a fit of giggles when she puckered her lips.
This morning was another 5 am start to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat, but more on that later.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Cambodian delicacies I HAVE sampled
1. Frog Khmer style.
(Well, you have to start somewhere. And yes, they do taste like chicken.)
(Well, you have to start somewhere. And yes, they do taste like chicken.)
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Cambodian delicacies I have yet to sample
1. Not-quite-hatched or just-hatched baby birds in a tandoori-like red paste.
2. Crispy-fried cockroaches.
3. Crispy-fried crickets.
4. Indeterminate grub (fried).
5. Black beetle (appears cooked but some are still alive and kicking).
6. Slightly larger bird (but smaller than a tui) roasted and orange-coloured.
We came up the Mekong River by boat today and crossed the border into Cambodia, arriving at Phnom Penh around lunchtime. It's a beautiful city laid out by the French so it has wide tree-lined boulevards, as well as attractive colonial buildings with big verandahs and balconies.
After a leisurely lunch (mmm....amok chicken) we went to the Royal Palace. Quite a lot like the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The highlight was the silver pagoda, which has a floor made up of over 2000 silver tiles each weighing 1kg, and a solid gold Buddha (90kg) covered in over 2000 diamonds, the largest of which is 25 carat.
The current king was at home in his residence today but did not invite us in for tea. The king is 53 and single but unlike the guides in Vietnam, who will tell you at great length about the king's countless girlfriends, our guide seemed quite reticent about the existence of any royal girlfriends. Later we found out that the king used to be a ballet dancer and was educated in France :)
After visiting the palace we walked down by the river, which is where we saw the street vendors selling the cockroaches etc. Just looking at people in the street, you see a lot more children (and adults) missing limbs and begging than in Vietnam - the legacy of landmines, I guess.
We had early evening drinks at the FCC (foreign correspondents club) which was the hangout for journalists during the war, a lovely old colonial building with open verandahs and ceiling fans looking out over the river.
2. Crispy-fried cockroaches.
3. Crispy-fried crickets.
4. Indeterminate grub (fried).
5. Black beetle (appears cooked but some are still alive and kicking).
6. Slightly larger bird (but smaller than a tui) roasted and orange-coloured.
We came up the Mekong River by boat today and crossed the border into Cambodia, arriving at Phnom Penh around lunchtime. It's a beautiful city laid out by the French so it has wide tree-lined boulevards, as well as attractive colonial buildings with big verandahs and balconies.
After a leisurely lunch (mmm....amok chicken) we went to the Royal Palace. Quite a lot like the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The highlight was the silver pagoda, which has a floor made up of over 2000 silver tiles each weighing 1kg, and a solid gold Buddha (90kg) covered in over 2000 diamonds, the largest of which is 25 carat.
The current king was at home in his residence today but did not invite us in for tea. The king is 53 and single but unlike the guides in Vietnam, who will tell you at great length about the king's countless girlfriends, our guide seemed quite reticent about the existence of any royal girlfriends. Later we found out that the king used to be a ballet dancer and was educated in France :)
After visiting the palace we walked down by the river, which is where we saw the street vendors selling the cockroaches etc. Just looking at people in the street, you see a lot more children (and adults) missing limbs and begging than in Vietnam - the legacy of landmines, I guess.
We had early evening drinks at the FCC (foreign correspondents club) which was the hangout for journalists during the war, a lovely old colonial building with open verandahs and ceiling fans looking out over the river.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Other amusing tales about the big J
I was so thrilled to finally get comments on the blog - so I thought I'd let you know some other amusing things that Jules has done on this trip.
1. Lost the very flash kiwi-bought hat off the boat in Ha Long Bay (day 2).
2. Lost the mark 2 not so flash Vietnam red cap with yellow star on Hoi An beach.
3. Collapsed a small plastic chair in slow motion at a little restaurant in Saigon.
4. Fallen off a very small plastic stool (also Saigon).
5. Got stuck in a trapdoor hole at the Viet Cong Cu Chi tunnel complex. (In his defence, it was a very small hole - but you have to love his optimism:)
Tonight we are in Chau Doc - it's our last night in Vietnam. Yesterday Jules and I went to the Reunification Palace. I was a bit doubtful - it's a very 1960s concrete building - but it was great. There was a double-level bunker underneath and some very funky rooms such as the first lady's entertaining room, with spiky seventies light fittings and lots of orange and brown. And of course just seeing the old war rooms with clunky old pink phones and formica desks is entertaining. And they have the tanks that stormed the place, a US fighter plane and a helicopter all displayed in the grounds.
1. Lost the very flash kiwi-bought hat off the boat in Ha Long Bay (day 2).
2. Lost the mark 2 not so flash Vietnam red cap with yellow star on Hoi An beach.
3. Collapsed a small plastic chair in slow motion at a little restaurant in Saigon.
4. Fallen off a very small plastic stool (also Saigon).
5. Got stuck in a trapdoor hole at the Viet Cong Cu Chi tunnel complex. (In his defence, it was a very small hole - but you have to love his optimism:)
Tonight we are in Chau Doc - it's our last night in Vietnam. Yesterday Jules and I went to the Reunification Palace. I was a bit doubtful - it's a very 1960s concrete building - but it was great. There was a double-level bunker underneath and some very funky rooms such as the first lady's entertaining room, with spiky seventies light fittings and lots of orange and brown. And of course just seeing the old war rooms with clunky old pink phones and formica desks is entertaining. And they have the tanks that stormed the place, a US fighter plane and a helicopter all displayed in the grounds.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
How to spend half a mill at the Saigon Sheraton
...in one easy lesson.
1. Go to sunset happy hour at the rooftop bar.
Good time had by all.
This morning we went to see the Cu Chi tunnels, where the Viet Cong hid and attacked from. There's a bit that you can crawl through for about 20 metres, twisting around underground with practically no light and even that was enough for me to feel overwhelmed with relief to finally see daylight again.
There is also a very nasty display of homemade weapons that you can put your foot in or fall into - mainly involving metal spikes with barbs on the end or sharpened bamboo spears.
When you come out of the forest there is a display of weapons you can fire. Fran, Ed, Jules and I shared 10 rounds on an AK47, a very strange feeling. You get quite a jolt when it fires and it makes a hell of a lot of noise.
The stuff we got at the tailors in Hoi An was quite successful. I got a longsleeved chinese top in Vietnamese silk and some plain black trousers and Jules got a blue linen suit with Chinese collar which looks great. I also had some shoes made in silver and blue oriental brocade.
This afternoon we went on a cyclo tour of Saigon. I think we might be on average a bit bigger than your average cyclo passenger - my guy was grunting as though he was about to have a heart attack and Jules's driver had to get off and push!
We finished the afternoon at the war crimes museum, which was a sobering experience. Deformed foetuses in glass jars, for example. And apparently they had to tone it down a few years ago as too many visitors were offended by it.
All preparation for Phnom Penh, I suppose.
1. Go to sunset happy hour at the rooftop bar.
Good time had by all.
This morning we went to see the Cu Chi tunnels, where the Viet Cong hid and attacked from. There's a bit that you can crawl through for about 20 metres, twisting around underground with practically no light and even that was enough for me to feel overwhelmed with relief to finally see daylight again.
There is also a very nasty display of homemade weapons that you can put your foot in or fall into - mainly involving metal spikes with barbs on the end or sharpened bamboo spears.
When you come out of the forest there is a display of weapons you can fire. Fran, Ed, Jules and I shared 10 rounds on an AK47, a very strange feeling. You get quite a jolt when it fires and it makes a hell of a lot of noise.
The stuff we got at the tailors in Hoi An was quite successful. I got a longsleeved chinese top in Vietnamese silk and some plain black trousers and Jules got a blue linen suit with Chinese collar which looks great. I also had some shoes made in silver and blue oriental brocade.
This afternoon we went on a cyclo tour of Saigon. I think we might be on average a bit bigger than your average cyclo passenger - my guy was grunting as though he was about to have a heart attack and Jules's driver had to get off and push!
We finished the afternoon at the war crimes museum, which was a sobering experience. Deformed foetuses in glass jars, for example. And apparently they had to tone it down a few years ago as too many visitors were offended by it.
All preparation for Phnom Penh, I suppose.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Melting in Hoi An
Since I last wrote we've been to Halong Bay and Hue, and now we are in Hoi An. Hoi An is lovely - old French buildings, a river and a beach and all along the river there are little cafes and bars with lanterns - but it is just far too hot. Yesterday we went to the tailors to get fitted for some clothes and today we have to go back and try them on, which I'm not particularly looking forward to but at least I didn't buy a winter jacket like some people!
Halong Bay was as beautiful and spectacular as you would expect from the postcards, but still different to what I expected. For a start the bay is massive - it's like Cook Strait or something - just on a much bigger scale than I expected so often you're out in the middle of sea and all the little limestone islands are further away. We went for a swim on one of the islands and had a seafood lunch on the boat and it was all very pleasant.
When we got back to Hanoi, Jules, Fran, Ed and I got in a taxi and went to Cha Ca, a street where the speciality is (strangely enough) cha ca - hot simmering fish and noodles that you combine over a little stove on the table. Very good. Then we went to the highly recommended Revolution Museum, which I would not recommend at all if you can't speak Vietnamese. It's all very well seeing actual letters from Ho Chi Minh or propaganda brochures or whatever but if you have no idea what they're on about...
After that we stopped in a bar for a drink and there was a thunderstorm and it just bucketed down. All the people on bikes just put on these poncho things and the little kids were under the ponchos, not even their heads out. Then we visited the Water Puppets theatre, which was mildly entertaining.
The overnight train to Hue was OK - quite comfortable compared to the one in Thailand. We sacrificed Donald's jaffas and Marmite to the good of the group as the food we'd managed to bring with us was a bit skimpy.
In Hue our hotel was inside the citadel and had a pool - yay. The best thing we did in Hue was hire motorbikes and drivers to go on a five-hour tour of the countryside. You just saw so much more of how people lived - working in rice paddies, drying the rice beside the roads, the kids riding their bikes to school, people driving buffalo attached to a plough etc. We also stopped at the emperor's mausoleum (where he isn't buried, as it turns out) and a pagoda but they weren's as interesting. After a quick dip in the pool, some of us hopped back on the bikes and went for a 40km ride to an amazing cemetery where wealthy people from overseas build tombs for their ancestors (and themselves). It's hard to describe them - like a small house covered in mosaic dragons, all in vibrant colours. Well worth the trip although we could hardly walk by the time we got back.
Jules is standing over me chomping at the bit so I'd better go. Off to the tailors now...
Halong Bay was as beautiful and spectacular as you would expect from the postcards, but still different to what I expected. For a start the bay is massive - it's like Cook Strait or something - just on a much bigger scale than I expected so often you're out in the middle of sea and all the little limestone islands are further away. We went for a swim on one of the islands and had a seafood lunch on the boat and it was all very pleasant.
When we got back to Hanoi, Jules, Fran, Ed and I got in a taxi and went to Cha Ca, a street where the speciality is (strangely enough) cha ca - hot simmering fish and noodles that you combine over a little stove on the table. Very good. Then we went to the highly recommended Revolution Museum, which I would not recommend at all if you can't speak Vietnamese. It's all very well seeing actual letters from Ho Chi Minh or propaganda brochures or whatever but if you have no idea what they're on about...
After that we stopped in a bar for a drink and there was a thunderstorm and it just bucketed down. All the people on bikes just put on these poncho things and the little kids were under the ponchos, not even their heads out. Then we visited the Water Puppets theatre, which was mildly entertaining.
The overnight train to Hue was OK - quite comfortable compared to the one in Thailand. We sacrificed Donald's jaffas and Marmite to the good of the group as the food we'd managed to bring with us was a bit skimpy.
In Hue our hotel was inside the citadel and had a pool - yay. The best thing we did in Hue was hire motorbikes and drivers to go on a five-hour tour of the countryside. You just saw so much more of how people lived - working in rice paddies, drying the rice beside the roads, the kids riding their bikes to school, people driving buffalo attached to a plough etc. We also stopped at the emperor's mausoleum (where he isn't buried, as it turns out) and a pagoda but they weren's as interesting. After a quick dip in the pool, some of us hopped back on the bikes and went for a 40km ride to an amazing cemetery where wealthy people from overseas build tombs for their ancestors (and themselves). It's hard to describe them - like a small house covered in mosaic dragons, all in vibrant colours. Well worth the trip although we could hardly walk by the time we got back.
Jules is standing over me chomping at the bit so I'd better go. Off to the tailors now...
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Flat out in Hanoi
If this Internet connection was a bit quicker, there would be a fantastic picture of a horde of motorbikes and bicycles swerving madly around each other at a four-way intersection without lights. But it isn't - so you'll just have to imagine it.
As to the flights - five in a row is not to be recommended. We had dinner twice and breakfast twice, so we thought we could give lunch a miss once we got here :)
The taxi in from the airport was an experience - the driver just rode the bumper of the car in front, honking and flashing his lights until it moved out of the way a bit, and as soon as there was a gap big enough to squeeze through, he hooned through it and right up to the bumper of the next car. And every now and then you'd meet something coming towards us - on the wrong side of the median barrier!
We flew in over jagged hills covered in mist that looked just like what you'd expect Vietnam to look like, and all the way in from the airport there were rice paddies with people in conical straw hats working in them. All over Hanoi women walk about with those two baskets suspended on a pole over one shoulder as well - didn't expect to see that.
Yesterday we met up with another girl on our trip, Frances, and walked in to Hoan Kiem Lake (the lake of the restored sword - think King Arthur and Excalibur, with a helpful tortoise thrown in to take the sword back to the Gods). It looked from the map as though it was in a park, but actually it was in a big roundabout. Learning to cross the road was a bit freaky - we knew the theory, that you just walk out slowly and steadily and let the traffic swerve around you - but it's hard to put in practice.
For dinner we consulted the noticeboard in the reception of the hotel for suggestions. Everything was ranked from 1 to 4 stars depending on price so we thought we'd go middle of the road and try 2 stars. But they were all miles away so we opted for the Bun Cha, just around the corner and 1 star. Turned out to be a narrow concrete room with about four tables. In the dark, out the back beyond the eldery fridge, someone was squatting down washing dishes in a bucket.
There wasn't a choice of what you had, which was vermicelli noodles and a soup with pork patties and bits of grilled pork and vegies. It was really tasty and the bill for the 3 of us was 30,000 dong ($2US or just under). So no cause for complaint.
Today we went to see the Temple of Literature, which is known for traditional Vietnamese architecture and nice gardens with ponds, and then the West Lake, which is a real, big lake with boats. We had lunch at a french bakery place where I had chocolate and banana waffles (true to form) and the others had a sensible Vietnamese lunch involving vegetables. We had a brief look at one of the markets but it was really crowded and full of things we didn't want to buy. Nice bags and shoes, silk and embroidered, though.
Tomorrow we're off to Halong Bay.
As to the flights - five in a row is not to be recommended. We had dinner twice and breakfast twice, so we thought we could give lunch a miss once we got here :)
The taxi in from the airport was an experience - the driver just rode the bumper of the car in front, honking and flashing his lights until it moved out of the way a bit, and as soon as there was a gap big enough to squeeze through, he hooned through it and right up to the bumper of the next car. And every now and then you'd meet something coming towards us - on the wrong side of the median barrier!
We flew in over jagged hills covered in mist that looked just like what you'd expect Vietnam to look like, and all the way in from the airport there were rice paddies with people in conical straw hats working in them. All over Hanoi women walk about with those two baskets suspended on a pole over one shoulder as well - didn't expect to see that.
Yesterday we met up with another girl on our trip, Frances, and walked in to Hoan Kiem Lake (the lake of the restored sword - think King Arthur and Excalibur, with a helpful tortoise thrown in to take the sword back to the Gods). It looked from the map as though it was in a park, but actually it was in a big roundabout. Learning to cross the road was a bit freaky - we knew the theory, that you just walk out slowly and steadily and let the traffic swerve around you - but it's hard to put in practice.
For dinner we consulted the noticeboard in the reception of the hotel for suggestions. Everything was ranked from 1 to 4 stars depending on price so we thought we'd go middle of the road and try 2 stars. But they were all miles away so we opted for the Bun Cha, just around the corner and 1 star. Turned out to be a narrow concrete room with about four tables. In the dark, out the back beyond the eldery fridge, someone was squatting down washing dishes in a bucket.
There wasn't a choice of what you had, which was vermicelli noodles and a soup with pork patties and bits of grilled pork and vegies. It was really tasty and the bill for the 3 of us was 30,000 dong ($2US or just under). So no cause for complaint.
Today we went to see the Temple of Literature, which is known for traditional Vietnamese architecture and nice gardens with ponds, and then the West Lake, which is a real, big lake with boats. We had lunch at a french bakery place where I had chocolate and banana waffles (true to form) and the others had a sensible Vietnamese lunch involving vegetables. We had a brief look at one of the markets but it was really crowded and full of things we didn't want to buy. Nice bags and shoes, silk and embroidered, though.
Tomorrow we're off to Halong Bay.
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