Author: hereandthereclaire

Having been dropped off at my hotel after a lovely journey, I was a little early for check in so I left my luggage and set off to explore.

Naha Trang is big and built up, lots of hotels and lots of holiday makers! 

I walk to the beach, which is pretty close. The beach and the ocean look great! It is the South China Sea, a new one for me. 🌊💙

The beach doesn’t have lots of shade but you can rent a sun bed and umbrella pretty cheaply. 

I get stopped by a guy offering tours. He asks me how long I’ve been in Nha Trang and I say 1 hour, he proceeds to offer me a city tour that’ll last for around 1.5 hours, when I ask how much he says 800,000 vnd! 

I just laugh at him and tell him I’ve been in Vietnam for 2 weeks and that he’s taking the piss! I paid 350,000 for my full day tour in Dalat, including lunch!  He then starts lowering the price and I just say Bye 👋 

I understand that it’s low season and I wouldn’t mind paying a little extra, I just don’t like being ripped off. 

I head back to the hotel and check in. The hotel is in a good spot, close to the beach and all restaurants, but not too busy. 

My plan for Nha Trang is to just chill. There are no tours I want to do, there are lots of opportunities to go diving but as I still haven’t managed to open my eyes underwater, I don’t think it’s for me!! 😂

So, Nha Trang is a very popular destination for both Russians, flying in from Kazakhstan and for Koreans. There are lots of shops, restaurants and general holiday vibes. 

I did enjoy my stay, it was good to have a little relaxation, especially as I had 3 days of sunshine! Which was so lovely after having so many rainy days. 

I literally spent my time, lounging around on the beach, swimming or more accurately, bobbing around in the sea. 

I didn’t find a Vietnamese restaurant that served Vegetarian food, I found one that did a set meal but only for 2 or more people! 

The emphasis here is definitely on meat and seafood.  

I did however find a really lovely small Italian restaurant, run by a very dishy Italian man! The food was yummy, homemade pasta with tomato sauce and a delicious Limoncello Spritz! 🍋💛 it was so good I went back a couple of times! 

I’m not sure how I feel about Nha Trang, it felt like I could have been anywhere, it’s not a bad place at all, just not really my cup of tea. 

The staff in the hotel and the restaurants were all lovely and in one particularly fabulous chocolate shop, once they realised I was English they wanted to chat for ages as they liked my accent, then gave me a free box of amazing chocolates! ❤️😍

I was also treated to a wonderful video call from the lovely young lad I met in Ho Chi Minh City, Quan! We chatted for a bit, he showed me how to change the background on my iPad and add filters during our chat! He then played me some music on his piano 🎹 OMG he was so talented! It was so sweet to talk to him again. 

I am now ready for a little more exploring! So it’s just as well I’m off to Hoi An. I think it will be amazing. 

I found a lovely cab driver called Mr Eddie to take me to Nha Trang airport which is about a 45 min drive. Mr Eddie is very chatty and tells me how difficult things are in Nha Trang since COVID.  The lack of tourists has had a massive impact, they also now have quite a few Russians living in Nha Trang who don’t want to return to Russia and be conscripted into the army, they end up working for and in the Russian focused businesses adding to local difficulties. 

Mr Eddie also talked about the current situation in the North Vietnam and the damage done by Typoon Yagi. He believes that one of the biggest problems is over use of the land, clearing large areas of jungle for farming, this then makes the area much more prone to huge landslides as there are no longer deep roots holding the earth in place. Interestingly, they have a lot of Landslides in Dalat, where there is extensive farming. 

The recent landslides up in Sapa have been devastating.

He also talked about the lack of effective Government response to the economic situation and the devastation in the North. 

After a very interesting and informative taxi ride I arrived at Nha Trang ailrport, which felt weird. As we pull up to the terminal, there is barely any traffic and no people around, this is so odd. It’s very quiet inside as well. 

I had checked in online and been allocated seats at the back of the plane on both flights, Nha Trang to HCMC then HCMC to Da Nang. 

When I checked my bag in the lovely lady changed my seats to one’s right at the front!! 😍

As always, I was a tad early, but I don’t mind that, I just found a comfy seat and read my book. 

The flight ended up leaving around 20 minutes late, this was then cutting things a bit fine for my connecting flight. 

I had spoken to a steward about it so when we landed, after only 50 mins, I was told that I could disembark with the Business Class passengers, Fancy! (They are collected first and transported in their own fancy bus to the terminal) 

This would then hopefully get me to my next flight in time. 

One particular gentleman in Business Class seemed very put out when I appeared in a seat next to him, he asked the steward why I was there and then huffed about it! 😂 When we left the plane he made sure he was first off and the same from the airport bus, this wouldn’t have been so bad but in his haste to be first he left his poor wife trailing behind with the bags! What a total Cockwomble! 😂 

I’m so glad I had this extra time as I had to go back through security and I was stopped because I had omitted my middle name from my flight ticket. 

I was taken aside, phone calls were made, time was ticking, I was sweating! Eventually they decided that the missing ‘Louise’ didn’t actually constitute a security issue and I was allowed through!! 😳

I made it just in time to board. 👍🎉

Another short flight and I was in Da Nang, hopeful that my case had made it as well 🤞🤞 It did! 

Then I was picked up by the driver organised by the hotel and off I went on my way to Hoi An! 

Another interesting drive. We drove past so many humongous Resorts, Marriotts, Hilton’s, Sheratons, Hyatts! And they are so BIG! But again I can’t see many cars or people, how do they survive? 

There are Casinos in Da Nang, even though gambling is essentially illegal in Vietnam, so possibly the gambling brings in the high rollers. 🤷‍♀️

I arrived at my hotel, a lovely small boutique hotel and was greeted so warmly by the beautiful An. 

A good start to what should be a fabulous stay in Hoi An! 

That’s it for now guys. 

Have a good week. 

Sending lots of love. 

❤️🩷💙🩵💚💛

Books read:

The Story Collector. Evie Woods. I loved this book, a proper ‘Story’ set in Ireland. I enjoy this author, her books are lovely to read. 

The Book of Fire. Christy Lefteri. ❤️❤️ Wow! 

Another stunning book by the Author of The Bee Keeper of Aleppo. 

She writes so beautifully and so powerfully. 

If you haven’t read any of her books, then please do so! 

Monday was my first Vietnamese Bus experience.

Things didn’t start well. 

I left the hotel and arrived at the bus office 40mins before my departure time. 

There were roadworks outside the bus office making it extremely difficult to manoeuvre my case, negotiate the potholes and get up the huge step into the office. There were lots of people and staff around but the only person to help was a tiny very old man who was begging in the street! 🥺

Once inside the office the guy behind the counter completely ignored me and continued to eat his food. Eventually someone else came behind the counter, looked at my ticket and explained using google translate that I was late! 

Unfortunately nobody had told me that I needed to be at the office an hour before the stated departure time. 😳 She rebooked me onto a bus leaving at 1pm instead of 12pm. To be honest I couldn’t understand why this was necessary as it was still only 11.20. 

All became clear when I got onto the little mini bus to go to the Big Bus. This journey took 45 mins! We arrived at a huge coach station on the other side of HCM where there were hundreds of coaches!! 

I was taking a Bus with a company called FUTU, their office and waiting area was massive, with lots of signs, a digital notice board all In Vietnamese, the staff were a little more helpful and I eventually figured out what bus I was on and how the whole process worked. 

I also discovered that the 6 hour bus journey I was expecting to take was actually going to be taking approx 8.5 hrs! 😬

The bus itself is called a Limousine Bus and has little reclining seating pods. 3 across with a gap between. 

I had stowed my case in the hold but was trying to board and navigate the very narrow walkway holding my smallish backpack, my handbag, a small bag with snacks and a bloody Vietnamese Hat!! Less than ideal! There is nowhere to put anything in or by your seat, so all of the above were shoved by my feet or in my lap! 

The seat itself is very comfortable, lies totally flat, they provide a blanket, water and there are charging points. If you were quite tall it might be tricky. 

I had this idea that we would leave HCM and then be driving through the countryside. This is not the case we seemed to just drive through built up areas for hours and hours. After nearly 4 hours we stopped at a service area.  We arrived at the same time as a huge storm with torrential rain. 🌧️ They have a pretty clever system, whereby you leave the bus, minus your shoes and as you get off there is a box full of plastic sliders for you to use. This prevents people’s shoes getting wet! 

You have to take your shoes off before boarding as standard.

The last part of the journey which would have been through the mountains and I’m sure would have been very pretty, was done in the dark. 

I eventually arrived in Dalat 10 hours after leaving HCM!! 

The bus ticket also includes a mini bus to take you to your hotel, which was very welcome. 

My hotel looked great, small but ok. The lovely guy on reception, Tre, was so nice. He showed me to my room, which whilst being very large and clean was in the basement with 1 tiny window and also right by the reception area which is open to the main road. It didn’t feel very safe, Tre assured me that the reception was closed with a roller door at night. 

By this time, 11pm. I just wanted to get some sleep. I was also pretty hungry but Tre told me everywhere shuts at 10pm!! Except the Bakery next door, which was still open. 

My supper consisted of water and a small tiramisu!! 

The bed was comfy and I slept pretty well until around 5ish when the noise from the road (it’s a main route into Dalat) and the garage next door woke me up! 😩

The lovely Tre agreed to move me to another room at the back of the hotel, which is great. 

My first morning in Dalat started very early and I was out and about by 8am. I found the various things I needed, an ATM and a Pharmacist for some painkillers (for my neck which is a little sore) I then had a lovely walk around the city and more specifically the beautiful lake in the centre. lake Xuan Huong. 

Dalat is also well known for its flowers and there are so many around. It really is a very beautiful place. The climate here is also amazing, much cooler and fresher than anywhere else I’ve been so far. Very few places here have air conditioning as they simply don’t need it. 

I’ll be honest I was still feeling very tired after the bus ride and not much sleep, and as always when arriving somewhere new it can be discombobulating. I wasn’t feeling particularly positive, I wasn’t sure about my onwards travel plans, unsure about traveling to far north I was also not feeling particularly enthusiastic about another long bus ride. One of the problems with the buses is that they don’t stop very often, this is tricky in terms of having to pee! Which means I end up not drinking very much then getting dehydrated. On my previous bus journeys, I’ve known that we will stop every 2 hours, this isn’t the case in Vietnam. We stopped twice on a 10hr journey! 

I haven’t really found my way around the food here yet either. I’m not a big fan of seafood or pork which are staple ingredients in lots of dishes. 

I had a chat to my Rebecca which was very negative on my part and a bit of a moan fest 😬 She offered lots of helpful suggestions, which I wasn’t really in the mood to hear at that point, but  thought about them later and she was right. Thank you my gorgeous girl. ❤️

I googled nice places to eat, got a Grab to a lovely small place in town, had a yummy meal then booked a nice tour for the next day and got an early night! 

After a very good nights sleep things feel brighter. 

I’m picked up for my tour at 8.15 and there are just 3 of us. 

Veronica a beautiful young woman from the Czech Republic, who is currently living in Sayulita in Mexico. Stanly a really nice man from Malta. Our guide is Chien who is very chatty and informative. 

The first stop is a coffee farm. There are lots of Coffee farms around the hills in Dalat. This farm specialises in Weasel Coffee. This is made from coffee beans that have been ingested then pooped out by the weasels. Apparently some enzyme in their stomachs does something to the beans! 

The farm is up in the hills and the views are stunning. It’s absolutely beautiful. We have the chance to get a coffee, Veronica is the only one who tries it. She has become addicted to Vietnamese coffee, which is helpful for me as she explains the different options to me. 

After the Coffee Farm we visit a cricket farm. This wasn’t quite as beautiful 😳 Crickets are eaten as a snack, they’re are a good source of protein and apparently taste quite nutty. We have the option to try, Veronica and I pass, Stanley says they’re quite nice. We all try the rice wine! 

Next we visit a silk factory. This is really interesting and also a little disconcerting. 

1 cocoon makes so much thread 300 – 600 meters! 

The poor worms are still inside when the process starts, they are then removed at the end and they can be eaten. 

A fascinating visit learning about the whole process. 

After this we made our way to the first waterfall, Elephant Waterfall, this is opposite a huge statue of Maitreya Buddha at Linh A Pagoda. 

The waterfall is in full flow, the water is brown due to the volcanic mud. 

To reach the viewing area it’s down quite a few stone steps! 

From the waterfall we go back across to view the Pagoda. The whole site is great. There are some very tranquil gardens and the views are lush. 

After this we stop for lunch. Veronica and I opted to share a vegetarian lunch. 

The lunch is huge! So glad we are sharing. It’s also my first proper Vietnamese food! OMG, so good! Some delicious vegetable soup, clay pot tofu, I can’t stand tofu, it’s a textural thing, but the sauce is yummy! Stir fry veggies, spring rolls, and Chips! 

The food is so tasty, it’s great to share with others and try new things. 

Veronica is a chef and proper foodie! She says getting vegetarian food here is not difficult at all, which is good to know. 

The lunch cost £2! 😍

The next stop is Pongour Waterfall. This is a big waterfall, which Chien says has much clearer water. 

This is also reached by descending stone steps, in this case lots and lots of stone steps!! I’m so relived to have had a beautiful sunny day, I wouldn’t have been able to do these steps in the rain, they would be so slippery! 

The waterfall is gorgeous, definitely worth the strain on my knees!! 😁

Stanley is such a Gentleman, he offers to help me and also carry mine and Veronica’s bags. So kind. 

Luckily for us there is a buggy ride back to the top! Hallelujah 🙌 

Our final stop is a little Bee Farm, another interesting stop. 

All in all it has been a fabulous day out. We were so blessed with the weather and to have such a small group, but with lovely people! 

Veronica and I swap numbers as she may be heading to Nha Trang. And we can meet up. 

I book another tour for the next day with Chien, as it’s a great way to see lots of the area. 

When I get back to the hotel, feeling positive and refreshed I make a decision and book a flight from Nha Trang to Da Nang and also book accommodation in Hoi An, which is a 30min drive from Da Nang airport. 

I’ve only booked 2 nights in Hoi An, I’ll extend when I get there and if I like the hotel. I feel better for having a plan I place. I also feel OK about not taking the bus or the train both of which would have their difficulties, especially when traveling solo. 

I have another yummy dinner, Vietnamese curry, and am just on my way to bed when I get a call to say that my tour is cancelled as there are not enough people to run it! 

It’s a shame, but nothing I can do. 

Unfortunately the weather isn’t too great either, but I opt to have a wet and soggy wander around Dalat. The roads here are much less frenzied than in HCMC or Phnom Penh and I’ve got pretty good at crossing but today as I crossed a pretty slow traffic road a Grab Moped came flying round the corner and missed me by a hairs breath! 😬😳 Learning lesson, never cross near a corner! 

My now very bent and battered umbrella did its job and kept me more or less dry throughout my walk! 

I finish up in a coffee shop where I order my first Cà Phê Muôi or Salt Coffee. It’s made with coffee, condensed milk some sort of foam and salt! It’s delicious 😋 Thanks for the recommendation Veronica! 

I think the more traditional ones I’ll try when I’m in Hoi An, or Hue as that’s where it originated from. 

I’m going to go back to the same restaurant again this evening as I spotted a Vietnamese Set Menu with a vegetarian option. I’m really trying to expand my knowledge of Vietnamese food. The food is absolutely gorgeous! Some sort of soy, garlic roasted mushrooms, the best thing! Broth, salad, rice, scrambled eggs and steamed rice. Everything tasted amazing it was so good I didn’t really eat any of my rice! All for £4

Dalat is a really fabulous place to visit in Vietnam, it gets missed out on people’s itinerary’s but I would definitely recommend it, especially during the dry season as it will provide a welcome break from the heat! 

I’m looking forward to my bus to Nha Trang, as it was dark when I arrived I’ll get to enjoy the scenery through the hills. 

I had booked a smaller Minivan for this trip as it’s only 3.5 hours, although it is supposed to be a luxury one. It arrives half an hour before departure, standard (now I know about these things! 😃) I assume I’m the first to be picked up but as the bus works its way out of Dalat and up into the hills I realise I’m actually the only passenger! 😍 I’m really surprised they didn’t cancel the bus TBH. 

The journey is nothing short of spectacular! 

The weather is bloody fabulous as well! 🌞🌞

We leave Dalat through the hills which are literally covered in thousands of poly tunnels growing all manner of crops and flowers. 

All of the farms here are family owned, nothing is controlled by big companies, which is great. 

After just over an hour we stop for a wee break, then start to climb upwards and then we are no longer in hills but mountains ⛰️ 

The views are stunning. 

The road is windy and very steep and my driver is fab, going slowly and carefully. There are waterfalls everywhere. We are travelling through Bidoup Nui Ba National Park and the Omega Pass the second longest in Vietnam. We are in the mountains for more than 2 hours. It was honestly awesome. I tried to take pics from the bus, but they don’t do it justice. 

Once you descend from the mountains you are on a flat bit then there is Nha Trang and the Ocean! 

It’s so weird to have come through all this nature and then suddenly be surrounded by high rise buildings! 

The bus drops me at my hotel, very handy. 

So now we’ll see what Nha Trang is all about! 

Till next time!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

Sending you all lots of love. I miss you.

💚🩵⛰️🌊🩷❤️

Books Read.

The Twenty Three. Linwood Barclay. The last in the trilogy. OK, glad I’ve finished the set. But feel there may be more coming. Also I’m pretty sure some of the characters have featured in his other books? 

When we were friends. Jane Green. It was a short story!! How irritating. Still it filled 30mins! 

I also watched “The Perfect Couple” on Netflix. Entertaining. 

Once again the Bus service has surpassed itself! A great journey from Battenbang to Phnom Penh. It took just over 4 hrs and was very pleasant. We bypassed the big service stops in favour of a locals restaurant stop again. It’s fine but the loos are not the best! 

There were 2 drivers for the 4 hour journey and one of them had a very loud hawking cough, I realised a little later that this was part of a series of tics that he had. Interestingly he is the 4th man I’ve met since being in Cambodia with noticeable physical tics. 

I rested on the bus but didn’t manage any sleep, after another morning waking the bloody temple music! 🎶 

Phnom Penh is busy and bustling. The Bus Station is in the centre and is heaving with people, parcels, minivans and coaches. 

I grab a Tuk Tuk and we set off for my hotel. 

I’m staying in a smallish hotel that used to be the US Ambassadors residence!  It’s lovely! 😍

My room is on the very top floor with a small outside terrace and also a small inside terrace! Which is perfect for sitting in when it’s raining! ☔️ 

My plan for today is to do very little, so I have a swim in the pool, chat to some nice Kiwis, read up on Phnom Penh then head out for some dinner. 

The Australian ladies I met had recommended a place which is nearby. 

I should have trusted my instincts as to where it was instead of asking someone and then being sent in a complete circle before finding it back where I had been! 🤦‍♀️

Anyway, the food was great I had a Cambodian Chicken Curry and a bottle of water. 

I am pleased and relieved to say that my room was perfect. A comfy bed, decent aircon and best of all completely quiet!! 😍

So after a very good nights sleep and a tasty breakfast. I met up with my Tuk Tuk driver from yesterday, Mr Lucky (not his real name I’m guessing!) and we set off for today’s trip.

I knew today was going to be difficult and emotional.

My first stop was at S-21 or Tull Sleng Genocide Museum. 

The building used to be a Secondary School before the Khmer Rouge started using it as a prison and interrogation/torture centre between 1975 -1979. 

As S-21 held many high ranking prisoners from within the Khmer Rouge, as well as intellectuals, monks and other enemies of “Angkar” the name used for the “Organisation” that was the Communist Party of Cambodia, Meticulous records were kept and photographs taken. 

The prisoners included many women, children and a few westerners. 

S-21 is a grim and difficult place to visit, but it’s important to see and remember what happened in Cambodia in order to prevent something like this happening again. 

Also to honour and remember all those that died. 

During this period nearly 1 in 4 Cambodians were murdered.

There are believed to be only 12 known survivors of S-21

One of them, Chum Mey, is still alive aged 94 and was at the site recounting his story. He survived due to his ability to fix typewriters, the same typewriters used to record the torture of himself and his fellow prisoners. 

I was lucky enough to see him and I bought his book. 

I found my visit profoundly moving. 

From S-21 we drove out to an area called The Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre, or Killing Fields. This site is around 15 kilometres outside of Phnom Penh. It used to be an Orchard before it became the Execution centre and killing field for the Khmer Rouge. It is one of over 300 Killing Fields in Cambodia.

Over 17,000 people were killed here including all the prisoners taken from S-21. 

By the time we arrived we were in the middle of a huge storm. The staff provided Umbrellas and an Audio Guide. 

The area looks and feels quite pleasant which makes it difficult to comprehend the atrocities that took place here. Once again the Audio guide was extremely helpful and informative. 

Whilst walking across a muddy area between grave sites I unfortunately slipped on and then into the mud. I was completely covered in wet sticky mud, all over my back, legs, hands and arms, my bag and I broke the umbrella. All of this happened in front of a large Mexican tour party who seemed very concerned about my welfare.

I didn’t seem to have hurt myself so I continued with my tour.

I wouldn’t have been able to take photographs even if I’d felt inclined due to the mud all over my hands. 

I don’t understand people take smiling selfies in front of a Memorial Stupa full of the sculls and bones of the people who died here. Mind boggling and very disrespectful. 

Another deeply disturbing visit. 

Once I arrived back at my hotel, I asked the staff for some cleaning cloths for my bag and shoes and explained that I had fallen in the mud. They were so incredibly kind and concerned for me that I just lost it. 

All the emotions from the day came out and I went to my room and sobbed. 

I called my beautiful Georgia and explained everything that I’d seen and how heartbreaking it was. She was wonderful and let me cry and get it all out. Thank you my beautiful girl. 💛💛

Then 2 of the staff knocked at my door offering to clean my shoes and bag for me and they bought me some tiger balm for my back, which was aching a little. Their kindness set me off again! 

Thank you also to my Gorgeous Rebecca for calling and letting me vent again! 💛💛

Cambodias recent history is tragic and brutal, but as a people and a nation they are beautiful. They are working so hard to move forward in a peaceful, respectful way.

I was pretty tired so I walked just a few minutes down the road for dinner, to a rather fancy French Restaurant. I ended up having Steak & Frites with delicious butter sauce and a glass of wine! I can’t remember the last time I had a Steak or Wine for that matter! 

I think I needed it after such an emotional day.

Today’s plans were to have a much lighter day. So I took a walk to the Royal Palace which is about 15, 20 mins away. I was wearing a dress with no sleeves but had my scarf with me to cover up. 

I was hassled a little by one particular Tuk Tuk driver, who just wouldn’t accept that I didn’t need him, then unfortunately my scarf was not an acceptable cover up at the Palace, I could have purchased a hideous T-shirt to wear but TBH I was hot and bit over everything by this point. I decided to give up and come another day when I’m wearing acceptable attire.

It’s a fairly short walk to the National Museum which was next in my list. Again I got hassled by the same Tuk Tuk driver, who eventually gave up. Then another guy came over asked where I was going then informed me it was a Buddhist holy day and I wouldn’t be able to get into the museum until 2pm and I’d need to be covered up. Well, I had literally just googled the dress code, so knew that was rubbish and the Buddhist holy day was also total bullshit, I got scammed with this one on my first visit to Bangkok! I told him he was talking bollocks and he left me alone. 

The museum is fantastic, small but with so many wonderful artefacts from the Khmer Empire. It’s also in a lovely cool building! 

I had a good wander and sat in the garden for a bit. 

Then I walked back to my hotel via a nice little coffee shop and had a delicious, sweet, iced caramel latte, which I desperately needed! 

The temperature here is around 33 degrees but with the humidity the forecast says it feels like 40 degrees! I can confirm it really bloody does! 🥵🥵

I spent the rest of the afternoon chilling by the pool after a lovely catch up with Tracy. She had visited Cambodia in February so could completely relate to how I had been feeling. Thank you darling. ❤️

I went for a stroll in the evening, it definitely felt cooler. I found a nearby Rooftop bar, small but pleasant and had a drink then grabbed my staple, Vegetable Rice before heading back. On the way I treated myself to a Magnum Ice Cream, that reminded me of last year’s trip and my time in Koh Lanta with the fabulous Anita! Who I’m looking forward to seeing in Australia in December. 😘👍❤️

I’m here in Phnom Penh for another day or so. I think I’m going to take it easy. My back is actually a little sore today!

Have a great week everyone.

Georgia have a fabulous time at Ciderfest! 👍❤️👍❤️

💚💛❤️🩵🩷

Books read.

The last Devil to Die, book 4 of the Thursday Murder Club. Richard Osman. 

Absolutely fabulous, but emotional. He writes these books so well they make me laugh out loud and this one made me cry! 

My lovely Mr Rattana collected me in the morning to take me to the bus station. We left after our group photograph! 

The coach was great, very similar to the one I arrived in Cambodia on. Air con, reclining seats, free water! 

The drive out of Siem Reap was interesting. We traveled on a long major road out of town lined on one side with lots of very large very ornate Hotels most of which looked empty. I know that Cambodia and places like Siem Reap have not yet recovered from the huge impact of COVID and tourism is down quite a bit. Apparently all these hotels used to thrive. I think people have started to return to places like Thailand but not to Cambodia. Steps are being taken to try and encourage more Cambodians to travel around their own country and visit these places. It is so sad to see how devastating Lockdown was on these countries. 

We stopped on route for a loo break, interestingly we had just passed a large, modern Petrol station and comfort stop, so I assumed we would stop in around 30 mins. But, no, we stopped just down the road at a local store. Which was ok but the owner was selling clothes, trinkets and food and drink. She said to me “You buy something” this was phrased not as a question but a demand! So I reluctantly bought a packet of peanut brittle 😂 I hope my teeth survive! 

As we boarded the bus one of the passengers came and started chatting, her English was excellent and she was heading back to her home in Battenbang ( pronounced BattenBong) She was lovely. We agreed to chat some more when we arrived.

Battenbang is a city but it was not quite what I expected. It seems a little rustic and rundown. 

When the bus arrived at the station, before we even stopped we were surrounded by Tuk Tuk drivers touting for business. I opted for a gentleman who had a kind face(he could be a serial killer for all I know but he seemed nice! 😄) 

The lady I’d met, Thida, and I had a chat and agreed to meet a little later for coffee so she could tell me about Battenbang. 

My Driver, SumNita duly took me to my hotel which was just across the river and we then arranged for him to take me in a day tour the following day. 

My hotel is very large and very ornate inside, lots of fancy wood carving and a beautiful staircase. My room is fine, clean and a reasonable size. 

The hotel weren’t able to change any of my large $ notes, which I’ll need to pay for tomorrows trip and also to pay for any other small items. So I set out to find a currency change place. I eventually found one, after a pretty long hot walk through what appears to be a deserted city! Unfortunately they would only change 1 $50 note. But it’s better than nothing. By now I am dripping with sweat and in need of an iced coffee. Not that easy to find a coffee shop in an unfamiliar place that looks deserted! I knew I’d seen one back by the hotel so I walked back to find it. I had arranged to meet with Thida at 3pm and it was around 2 so I sent a WhatsApp message to meet at the coffee shop. 

Thida is lovely, she is from Battenbang but has worked all over Cambodia with an international group researching Malaria treatments, funded by the Bill Gates Foundation, it sounded fascinating and really helpful. 

The idea is to work with families and communities to encourage them to stick with any treatment plans for Malaria. They often don’t do this as they return to work before treatment finishes. The project helped to fund them during treatment and then show them the long term benefits of this. Preventing resistant strains developing. They worked to educate the rural communities on other things that would help limit the Impact of malaria. 

We headed out of the coffee shop around 4pm and the area around us was a large park by the river. It was starting to get busy as local people came out in the cooler air to exercise, walking, jogging, playing and generally having a good time! It was fab! 

It was such an unexpected pleasure to meet and get to know Thida. I think we are going to meet up again before I leave. 

My hotel is quite large and has around 10 floors the top one being a restaurant and bar. I headed there after saying goodbye to Thida and it was so wonderfully breezy! 😍 I grabbed  beer then had a good catch up with my Rebecca. 

I opted to go out for dinner to a pace that Adam in Siem Reap had recommended called, Jaan Bai, It was a lovely little independent restaurant that works to employ and up-skill local people. My food was yummy! Sadly it was very quiet. 

I thought I’d get a good nights sleep after a long hot day. My bed was a little a hard and the room a little warm, the aircon isn’t the best. But I eventually fell asleep only to be woken at 5am by music, tinny, plinky, plonky music reminiscent of an Ice Cream van. 

I managed to ignore it but then at 7am a bloody siren started going off! Initially I was unsure what it meant, a warning ⚠️ ‼️ possibly. I googled it and apparently it goes off every day to remind residents to pay their respects to the nation!! The siren is located on top of a water tower which is around 100 meters from my window….Great. 😳

Breakfast was buffet style, but I had a busy day ahead so opted for good old English Tea & Toast! 😍

SumNita (pronounced Sumnip) arrived on time and we set off to our first stop, The Bamboo Train. This is tucked away outside of the city and it was a fascinating drive to get there. We went through a few villages past local markets and then a short ride along the motorway 😳😬 Having first crossed both carriageways! The speed limit is 80 we were doing around 10! Scary. 

The Bamboo Train is a popular attraction. It is essentially a Bamboo platform that is assembled on the tracks then you trundle along around 20 – 25kph from one village to the next! 

When we arrived at the tracks and parked in the metal shed, the guys come out and put the Bamboo platform together, it looks simple but the pieces look very heavy! 

There was some debate about me joining a couple of other guys on their platform but in the end I had one all to myself! 

Whilst it was being put together I ended up buying a few handwoven bracelets from a small child! 

It actually feels quite fast, and as I was on my own we were going faster than the others and soon caught up. As you pass all the rice fields there are so many different birds, ones I’ve not seen. 

It is really good fun, and I’m happy I did it, as I had contemplated not bothering.

When you arrive at the next village you are greeted by local people trying to sell their wares. 

I really didn’t need anything else, but now have another couple of handwoven bracelets! 🤦‍♀️😂

The guys disassemble the platform, turn it round and we trundle back!

A Weird witchy thing happened, on the way back, tbh this sort of thing happens to me on a regular basis. I was just pondering if Cambodia has many Raptors 🦅 as I hadn’t seen any when not 30 seconds later I look up and there are 2 hovering above me! 😍😳

All in all a really fun experience. SunNita and I then meandered through more villages and made our way to a village near the river. 

The river that runs through Battambang is the Sangker River. As it’s the rainy season it is quite high, but SunNita assures me it will rise at least another 10 feet by December! 

The village was also where we visited a traditional Khmer House that is now a museum. It’s built with various woods, some hardwood for the outside and some different wood inside. I was shown round by a lady whose family had built and owned the house. During the Khmer Rouge’s rule they commandeered the house and it was used as a communal Kitchin and feeding station. Over 200 people a day would be served a watery soup or tiny portions of rice. The family that owned the house were fairly wealthy and were also intellectuals, Lawyers, teachers etc. This made them prime targets for the Khmer Rouge and they lost over 100 members from one family group. 

After this visit I went back to the hotel for a short break and a refreshing swim. 

The evenings entertainment was to visit the Bat Caves that are again outside of Battenbang. 

On the drive there we drove past lots of stalls selling barbecue meat SunNita stopped at one of the stalls and asked if I’d like to try a local favourite, Barbecued Rat!! 🐀 They catch the rats in the rice fields and they were pretty big. I was told that they taste just like chicken. I decided to give it a miss! 

The Bat caves are in a mountain/hill that also has a large Buddhist Temple on top. Also this is another sad Khmer Rouge spot, The Killing Cave. There is a cave at the top of the mountain and the Khmer Rouge Soldiers threw people into it. They executed over 9000 people at this site. 

In order to visit the temple and the Killing Cave you can either walk up or have a driver with a 4 x 4 due to how steep it is. No surprise to say I opted for a driver 😍

It really was very steep in parts and lots of steps once you arrive. 

I found the Killing Cave very difficult, I think in part because there were a few local children running around inside playing and outside are lots of people selling stuff which just felt wrong to me at a site where so many people lost their lives. 

The views were incredible and the temple was impressive, especially having been built so high up! 

Once back down we had a little wait for the Bats to make an appearance, over 9 million of them stream out of the Cave every evening. There is a pretty large crowd today as it’s Sunday, so lots of locals and only a handful of tourists.

SunNita and I find a spot, grab a beer and settle in to wait. I used the time to have a long overdue catch up with the lovely Jenna! ❤️

SunNita treated himself to another local delicacy, baby duck. This is exactly what it says. They boil a duck egg with a fully formed baby inside then serve it with a lemon & pepper sauce. They eat the whole thing, feathers, everything! It looked hideous 🤢 I will put a photo in, so be prepared! 

Finally at around 6.40 the Bats flood out! Wow! It’s incredible. 

SunNita says that in the dry season it’s even more impressive. It takes approximately 40 – 60 mins for them all to leave! 

We head back to Battenbang on a pretty busy road, in the dark. Scary enough in a Tuk Tuk but we are passed on a regular basis by families on scooters. By that I mean whole families. 

Imagine you decide you need something from Tesco Express one evening or you want to visit a family friend, so you, your husband, your 5 year old, your 18 month old and let’s not forget Trixy the Dog all climb onto your 50cc moped and head off down the A1/A30!! Insane 😳🤣🤣

I arrived back, hot, sweaty and very dusty. I grabbed a quick beer and some fried rice in the Hotel had another lovely catch up with my Grantley. Then showered and tried to sleep 🛌. 

Unfortunately I didn’t sleep well again, noise, hot, uncomfortable bed. Finally I dropped off around 1 – 2 am to be woken again with the godawful bloody Plinky Plonky music at 5! It’s so fucking irritating 😠 and I can’t get back to sleep. 

I admit to feeling a tad grouchy! 

SunNita and I are due to do a few things this morning, temples etc. when he arrives I say I’d like to do a small tour and be back at the hotel by 12.- 1pm. He says thats fine. I end up paying what we’d agreed, so he’s happy. 

Once again we travel out through all the villages. So much going on. One curious thing is the number of barbers there are! Just random barbers chairs in sheds along the road. Most of the boys/men you see have smart haircuts, short and not a bloody Mullet in sight thank God! 🤣 

There are also lots of stalls selling petrol in reusable old bottles, these are everywhere.

We visit a place that makes a popular Cambodian breakfast, Bamboo Sticky Rice. I bought a couple to try. SunNita loves his. Me, not so much. It’s sticky and a mix of sweet & salty with black beans in. I can see why it’s popular but must be an acquired taste. 

We also visit a small place that makes rice paper for spring rolls. Wow! So many processes, all done by hand the traditional way. 

We then visit another Temple 🛕 but by now I’m really hot, tired and still feeling grouchy! 😬

I get SunNita to take me back to the hotel where I have a large iced caramel latte and a cooling swim, chat to some friendly Australian women in the pool, read and try to relax. 

I had arranged to meet Thida again at 4.30 but was tempted to cancel as I was still a little grumpy but I didn’t. For which I’m so glad. We met and had another nice walk by the river, then sat watching all the locals taking their exercise in the park. So much going on, it had such a great community vibe. I watched an old lady walking barefoot on a large pebbled  surface, apparently it’s supposed to be good for your pressure points….i gave it a go! Fuck! It’s so hard and so painful! Respect to the lady! 

Thida and I had such an interesting chat about all manner of things, Religion, architecture, politics, covid, communism, capitalism, geo politics, racism, white saviours, Brexit. 

Totally fascinating getting her perspective on all of these issues. 

It made me laugh when she asked about leaving Europe and said that her father, herself and a lot of Cambodians thought we’d lost our collective minds leaving Europe! I agreed! 

It’s been such a pleasure meeting Thida and getting to know her. 

I had dinner back at the hotel as I’m too tired to go anywhere else. I tried the local curry Amok., Delicious 😋 

Battenbang has been interesting, not exactly what I imagined but definitely worth visiting. 

Something that Cambodia has in common with the UK right now is the current trend in women’s fashion seems to be Lounge Wear! Colourful, slinky Pyjamas!! 😍❤️🩷🩵💚

I’m up early tomorrow, not just with the plinky plonk Temple music but to get a bus @ 7.30 to Phnom Penh! 

I hope I can sleep, I’m absolutely bloody knackered 💤 🥱😴

Books Read

The Twenty Three, Linwood Barclay. Part of a trilogy. Enjoyable.

That’s it guys. 

Have a great week.

Hugs to you all. ❤️💚🩷🩵

I have a video of the Bats but I can’t seem to upload it! I’ll try next time.

After my full on Temple day and then a couple of cocktails yesterday I woke up initially feeling fine then developed a Migraine which started with visual disturbance, flashing, squiggly lines and then a headache 🤕 I haven’t had one of these for years. I’m lucky, as a couple of painkillers sort out the headache and the visual aura fades after about 30 mins. I put it down to a lack of sleep, the heat and a my first proper cocktails for a while!! 

I am going to try and be more mindful about drinking plenty of water. 

I had a nice slow morning. Breakfast is included in my stay at the hotel and it’s always very pleasant. Very chilled, quiet and my scrambled eggs always come out in a 💛 Shape! 😍

We had some pretty heavy rain, which is kind of helpful as it means you can’t do lots so don’t feel bad lolling about!! I opted to do some laundry! The hotel offers a laundry service but it’s really expensive, they charge per item. I usually just find a laundrette and do it myself, but I haven’t seen one, so I’m hand washing everything….Joy! 

Once the rain stops I go out for a little wander. It’s lovely and shady walking along the river and I follow it down towards the Royal Palace and gardens. Someone tells me the palace is open, but buggered if I can find the entrance!! 

I continue my meandering and walk to the Made in Cambodia Market. This is a small collection of artisan makers selling all sorts of gorgeous things. Homemade jams, Cambodian alcohol, jewellery, art, ceramics, clothing, beauty products. Everything looks incredible and it’s all made in Cambodia by Cambodians. The difficulty for me is that this is the off season and everywhere is really slow, I’m the only visitor at the market so everyone wants you to buy their wares! I would love to be supportive but I simply don’t have the capacity or need anymore stuff! 

Although I somehow leave with a small bag full of various lip balms!! 🤦‍♀️😄

Apparently September and October are the quietest months for tourism in Cambodia. I guess all the school holidays are over in lots of countries and it’s the rainy season! The advantage for me is that places like Angkor Wat are not crawling with people the disadvantage is that hotels, cafes and restaurants are very quiet, so less interaction for me! Also when I’m out and about I get asked constantly if I need a Tuk Tuk, I’ve found that if you smile and say No Thank You politely in Cambodian everyone is cool! Politeness and smiles go a long way here. These guys are simply trying to make a living. 

It’s another early night for me as I’m up again at 5am for my last Temple visit. 🛕 

The lovely Mr Rattana is ready and waiting at 5.45 and we head off. Driving through Siem Reap a little later is interesting, it’s surprisingly busy! 

Over near the Royal Palace there is a large open space filled with people doing aerobics and other fitness classes. They also have a large selection of fitness equipment, like the stuff we sometimes have in parks, which is also really busy, there are loads of joggers and even more cyclists 🚴‍♂️. I think the Angkor Watt Park area is great for bikes, it’s flat, shady and the roads are well maintained! 

I have to say that the sunrise this morning is stunning, it would have been spectacular at Angkor Watt! Not cloudy as it was when I was there. 

I have decided that I’d like to revisit the temples around Angkor Thom in particular Baphuon, 

We arrive at the temples by 6.15 and there isn’t soul around! Everyone is still at Angkor Wat watching the sunrise! 🌅 

I honestly can’t adequately explain how magical and wonderful it is to be walking amongst ancient ruins at sunrise with just nature for company. 

The sun casts a beautiful golden light onto the temples and the rays of sunlight through the trees reflect on the intricate spiders webs and dew that sparkles on everything. 

It is breathtakingly beautiful. 

The spiders webs are everywhere, some much larger than others and they are also spread across must of the doorways I need to go through! 🕷️ 🕸️ 

I come across one web which is incredible. I’ll post a picture. The large X in the centre has been weaved by the spider itself, amazing. 

I’m so glad I came back to this Temple as I’m able to explore large parts I didn’t see on Sunday. 

The carvings around the Elephant Terrace are superb. 

The most memorable thing is simply being there, alone, soaking in the atmosphere, the sights the smells, everywhere smells beautiful, woody and fresh. 

Whilst the clear skies and bright sunshine are great first thing in the morning, I’m also glad that it was cloudy on Sunday for my visit as by 8am  it’s bloody boiling 🥵 

Mr Rattana and I take a slow drive back through the complex, stopping to take pictures along the way. I asked him to stop when I spotted a huge Spider sitting in the middle of its web. (I’m sure he thought I was mad!) I have been reliably informed by my beautiful Georgia that it’s a Giant Orb Spider, huge but harmless. 

A fabulous morning, one that I shall remember and cherish forever.

The rest of the day was spent swimming, walking, drinking iced coffee and relaxing! 😌 

I did go out in the evening for something to eat. I’d found a place that did falafels, which I really fancied. Memories of the Falafel place in Chaing Mai spurred me on. 

I jumped in a Tuk Tuk even though it wasn’t very far. I showed the driver where it was on the map, he nodded said OK and off we went. It should have taken 3-4mins to get there. I knew he had gone the wrong way almost immediately, but thought he might know more than me, apparently not! After stopping and checking my map 3 times. We eventually arrived 25 mins later!! 😂

Sadly the food wasn’t great either, the lady running the cafe was lovely, but the falafel just tasted wrong, no hummus or tahini but lots of sweet chilli! I eat it, as I was very hungry but was a little disappointed.

A nice bowl of coconut sorbet back at the hotel cheered me up! 😍

My last day in Siem Real was spent, packing organising and having a last wander around. 

Siem Reap has absolutely blown me away and has far exceeded my expectations. If you are thinking of having a holiday in Thailand or Bali, have a rethink and come to Cambodia instead! It has so much to offer. There are beaches as well as awesome historic monuments! 

I was sad to be leaveing my beautiful hotel and all the amazing staff. Everyone has been so kind, attentive and helpful. Mr John the manager made us have a group photo before I left! 😍

Another day another bus! 

When I googled buses to Battenbang the site I often use ,12go, came up with a selection of small minibuses, they are ok but not the most comfortable or a private taxi which is expensive. I was chatting to one of the staff and they said about another company VET, this is a Cambodian company with a large selection of routes a couple of nice big coach’s and a good price! So that’s me sorted. 

Next stop Battenbang!! 

Books Read.

Die of Shame. Mark Billingham. I liked this, the Author writes the DITom Thorne books and he puts in an appearance right at the end! 

Have a fabulous weekend beautiful people.

💚💙🩵❤️🧡💛

After my epic Temple visit on Sunday, on my return I did treat myself to a rather fabulous foot and leg massage here at the hotel. It was amazing and miraculously stopped my feet from hurting. I’m sure that’s why I had such I good nights sleep. 💤 

I also realised after posting my blog that I hadn’t put the website in for Tamara the artist. I did go back and edit the post but not sure that worked, so here it is:

http://www.tamaravenn.com

Let me apologise here for the length of this blog! So much to tell you! So many amazing things to report! 😍❤️

For my non temple day I opted to visit the small Killing Fields Museum and then to visit a Gallery that Tamara recommended. 

The lovely Mr Rattana was my driver for the morning. 👍

The Killing Fields Museum is housed within a Buddhist temple complex. It was a very sombre and moving experience. 

Here is a very brief history of Cambodia since WW2.

The Japanese left Cambodia at the end of WW2, the King, Norodom Sihanouk, proclaimed the Kingdom of Kampuchea. The French, the colonial rulers agreed to hand over power in 1953.

During the Vietnam War the (1955-1975) the North Vietnamese Army had bases over the border in Cambodia. US forces bombed them heavily in 1969. The king objected to the bombing, wanting to stay neutral. During this time forces were building in opposition to the king, led by the Communist Party of Kampuchea, King Sihanouk called them the Khmer Rouge. 

In 1966 General Lon Nol was elected and formed a new right-wing government, neither the government or the army were happy with the Kings rule. 

General Lon Nol led a military coup in 1970 and ousted Sihanouk. This ended the monarchy and the country was renamed the Khmer Republic. They told the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) to leave Cambodia.

The army under General Lol Non were helped by the US, this was extremely unpopular with both the NVA & the Khmer Rouge, who attacked the new regime. 

The NVA were successful in taking over large parts of Cambodia east of Phnom Penh, they then gave this territory to the Khmer Rouge. The US retaliated with increased bombing in Cambodia.

The Khmer Rouge were gradually gaining strength and taking more territory, the elected government were only able to hold onto power in the larger cities.

In 1975 the Khmer Rouge conquered Phnom Penh. They installed their own government under the leadership of Pol Pot, real name Saloth Sar. Pol Pot means Original Cambodian. 

The Khmer Rouge era lasted from 1975 – 1979. The Khmer Rouges extreme communist ideals forced millions of urban dwellers out into the rural areas to work in the rice fields and on collective farms. During this period Cambodias professional and Technical classes were exterminated, and Pol Pots  brutal social & agricultural policies resulted in the torture and deaths from starvation of up to 2 million Cambodians. 

In 1979 Vietnamese forces, who had broken with the Khmer Rouge soon after their victory in 1975, invaded and took over the country. They established the People’s Republic of Kampuchea. 

The Khmer Rouge retreated but kept fighting with other resistance groups. This Civil War continued for many years and led to many more deaths and displaced huge numbers of Cambodians. 

A peace settlement was signed in 1991 but the last Khmer Rouge fighters didn’t surrender until 1998. 

OK, sorry for the history lesson, but I feel it’s important to understand the country’s recent history. It also helps me to understand what happened. 

I feel the devastating results of these conflicts will be bought home much more when I’m in Phnom Penh.

Feeling very sad I left the museum to visit the gallery called Theam’s Gallery.  

The gallery showcases the work of a Master Artist, Lim Muy Theam. 

Theam’s work and his teaching embodies forgiveness, reconciliation, integration and community. He has worked hard to restore Cambodian culture in old and new ways. 

The gallery was beyond anything I had imagined. It’s a completely immersive experience. There are so many different sorts of art and ancient crafts on display in a series of beautiful rooms and courtyards. Every where you look there is something beautiful to see, feel, smell, hear. 

The whole place is lush and green, there are fish, birds, butterflies and lots of cats everywhere! Built over a large pond are a group of mini houses, which look great but I then realised they are for the cats!! 

It was stunning and the perfect place to visit after the museum, showing there is still beauty and hope in the world. 

If I have time I will definitely return, I’m sure I didn’t see everything and I just loved the calm, peaceful atmosphere. 

http://www.theamsgallery.com

After the wonderful Theam’s experience Mr Rattana dropped me off in town, where I grabbed a delicious coffee back at Little Red Fox, and had a good catch up with my gorgeous Georgia. ❤️❤️

Oh and I also bought myself a fab silver & Labradorite ring. 🥰 I’d seen some beautiful bracelets in a a crystal shop in Bangkok, but the colours weren’t right. This ring was in a fabulous little independent shop, everything is made in Cambodia, and the price was really good. Labradorite is considered to be a powerful protector. (handy 😍)

In the evening I visited a great little Cafè/restaurant called, Wild. Wild specialise in Spring Rolls, one of my favourites. It was a cute little place, my chicken spring rolls and Mojito were very tasty! 

My second day visiting temples started at a much more civilised time of 10am 😄 The plan for today was to visit 6 temples and watch the sunset at the last one. 

We set off for our fist stop, Praset Preah Khan. This is quite a big temple and I was lucky enough to find a very helpful security guard who gave me lots of info and also showed me some of the statues which I would have missed. This temple also had rooms that would have held statues with precious stones lighting up the room. There was also rooms that act as echo chambers, if you stand with your back against the wall, breathe in then thump your upper chest it vibrates and echos, which you can hear and feel! Very clever. Although I’m not quite sure what the purpose was! 

I saw statues of the kings 2 wives, his first wife died and she asked the king to marry her older sister which he did. The 2nd wife started a university within the temple in the building that housed the kings sacred sword, impressive. There was a statue of the queen holding a mirror and apparently applying lipstick!! It definitely felt like these Queens were powerful and important within the culture. 

This temple was also alive with so many butterflies!! 🦋 

The next Temple, Neak Prean, was very small but impressive because it was built on an island surrounded by a huge mand made lake! 

I loved walking across the lake and seeing all the beautiful lotus flowers. 

I also saw a massive spider and some tiny colourful birds. 

We then visited another couple of smallish temples that were tucked away inside the jungle. 

After this it was a long, 25k ride to the next temple, Banteay Srey or the Pink Temple. 

The route to this temple took us through real rural parts of the area, well away from the tourists sites. It was brilliant. Just driving past rural traditional places. 

There were people living their lives, sleeping in hammocks, feeding chickens, children playing, stalls selling various fruits and vegetables, chickens, cows, water buffalo and dogs everywhere! Paddy fields stretching across the landscape in the most incredible vivid green. 💚

This temple felt very different to the others I’d seen. I think because it was a completely different colour, red stone and red earth. It was also in a clearing, not right up against the jungle. The details on the carvings were fabulous. It wasn’t very big, and it was along way to come to see it, but definitely worth it! 🧡❤️

After this we stopped for a much needed drink and some food. I wasn’t especially hungry but I was thirsty and needed something sugary. I ended up having my usual, vegetable fried rice and an ice cold Fanta! 

When I came out of the restaurant it had started to rain pretty heavily. 

This isn’t an issue for me, as I’m under cover but Mr Rattana would have got soaked. We had a chat and I said I was happy to sit and chill in the Tuk Tuk and read, while he continued his rest in a very comfy looking hammock!! 😍❤️ The rain got really heavy for around 45mins then stopped and off we went. 

The last Temple of the day was, Pre Roup or the Sunset Temple. We had arrived around 5 and sunset was at 6.15. 

Mr Rattana explained that to get to the top there were some wooden stairs round to the right side, which might be better for me to use. I’m so grateful he told me this. I walked round to the side and yes there were the stairs, quite steep but wooden with a handrail. I climbed to the top and the views were fantastic. The most amazing thing is that there are other temples in the jungle surrounding us but you can’t see them at all! 

As I walked around I saw the stairs I could have used 😳 Stone, differing heights, really steep and no rail! As I looked at them it gave me a real tummy turning moment and then set off my acrophobia!! I began to feel anxious about being up here and the thought of being up here at sunset with lots more people and then trying to get down when it’s dark was too much! I decided that as lovely as it may have been (and TBF, the guard said the sunset was likely to be a non event due to cloud) I would rather end my day on a positive note rather than by tumbling down a vertical flight of stairs!! 😳😂 As I descended said stairs I realised I had made the correct choice, doing this in the dark would have been horrid.

All in all it was another incredible day. 

I adore being around the temples. The peace and quiet, the greenery, the butterflies. It makes me feel incredibly privileged to be able to experience such beauty and tranquility. 

After getting back to the hotel I showered then went to visit another recommendation, Miss Wongs Cocktail Bar! 

Wow! It is stunning and the cocktails were first class! I chose a special which was cherry based (my absolute favourite) it had smoke in which was added at the table! Very theatrical ❤️

If you’re ever in Siem Reap, I highly recommend having a cocktail here. 

That’s it for today!! 

Have a great day guys.

Love & miss everyone

Books read

From the Cradle. Louise Voss & Mark Edwards. A thriller. It was OK.

In a dark dark wood. Ruth Ware. Ok, a little predictable. 

After my fun packed day of cashpoints and SIM cards I decided to go out for dinner, and also to have a celebratory Margarita or cocktail in honour of my friend Stretch’s good news! 

I ended up getting a Tuk Tuk and I asked them to drop me at a restaurant that I’d seen recommended, a small local one. 

It was still early so the place was empty, I opted to go for a drink first then come back. Rather handily there was a Mexican Tequila place across the road! 😍

It looked fab so I took a seat and ordered a Margarita on the rocks not frozen, as I was ordering I got chatting to the manager, a great guy called Adam from Australia. He said that the drinks were quite sweet so I ordered mine with 1/2 sugar syrup, it was absolutely amazing!! 😋 it also came with a little snack sized chips and dip!! 

Adam and I chatted some more and he has given me some brilliant ideas for places to see in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. He and his ex also own a coffee shop in town, which I promised to visit. I ended up having another Margarita and to be honest could have easily had a third, but I was sensible and left to go back to the restaurant for some dinner, I was already feeling the effects of the drinks 😜 I’ve become a bit of a lightweight! 

Dinner was good, I sat up on the 2nd floor, which had a view and a refreshing breeze, it did however require climbing an almost vertical staircase (so glad I didn’t have a 3rd Margarita! 😳) 

For my first full day of exploring I am going to visit the Museum and also a place called APOPO. This had been recommended by Tracey & Jaques and also by Adam last night. 

So, APOPO is an organisation that is working in Cambodia and other places around the world to clear land mines and other un exploded ordnance. The fantastic thing about APOPO is that they use specially trained Hero Rats to detect the mines! 

It is a simply fantastic organisation. I found the tour, talk and demonstration incredibly interesting and moving. 

There are believed to be approximately 6 million land mines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia. These have been left by the Khmer Rouge and others during the civil war. There is also unexploded ordnance dropped by the USA during the Vietnam war. They kill or injure significant numbers of people especially children. 

The Rats, which are African pouched rats from Tanzania, have an incredible sense of smell and are light enough not to set of the mines. They are trained and then used to detect the mines, which are then dug up and deactivated. Using the Hero Rats means that larger areas can be checked and made safe much more quickly. 

I’ll pop in a photo of the what they have achieved for just the last year. It’s incredible. 

We also got to hold the rats, which were huge but very cute, unfortunately the pic of me holding the rat is hideous, so I’m not sharing! 

I’m also going to pop in my blog a QR code, which takes you to the website, and if anyone would like to donate a few quid, that would be awesome, if not it’s a great way to find out more about this awesome organisation. ❤️❤️

After this fabulous start my next stop was the Angkor National Museum. The museum was really good, once I got to grips with the audio equipment! 😁

The museum was useful to find out more about the history before my visit to the Temples. 

From the museum I had a nice walk back along the river, dodging the torrential downpour! And not killing my self on the slippery bloody pavement! 

I stopped on the way at the Adam’s Coffee Shop, Little Red Fox. It had such a great vibe. It’s in a little street of independent shops called, Kandall Village. 

I also visited a stunning new gallery opened a week ago by a British artist called, Tamara. She was super friendly and helpful giving me more tips on places to visit while I’m here. Her work is stunning. 

If you’re in Siem Reap check her out. Her website is: http://www.tamaravenn.com

The rest of my day was spent chilling by the pool in the shade and getting an early night ready for my 5am departure to watch the sunrise at Angkor Watt! 

I managed to get a pretty decent nights sleep and was up and ready to go at 4.45. 

Mr Rattana, my lovely Tuk Tuk driver was waiting and we set off through the dark empty streets of Siem Reap. 

I arrived at Angkor Watt in darkness, it was busy but not rammed. I needed my torch app to see where I was going! 

Cory & Charlotte had said to not go down by the lake, go instead to the 2nd point, which I did. Such a great idea, far less people. 

It is incredibly atmospheric walking towards the Temple, which you can just see outlined against the sky, then slowly it appears from the darkness, Wow! I’m afraid my pics don’t do it justice. We weren’t lucky enough to get a red sunrise, but it was till fabulous. 

Being at the 2nd point also meant that we were the first people to enter the Temple. This meant that it was empty, quiet and peaceful. I was leaving as it was starting to get busier. 

It’s difficult to put into words how magnificent these Temples and the whole Angkor Archeological complex is. It covers an area of over 400 km2 including forested area. It holds the remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire from the 9th – 15th century. 

I left Angkor Watt and met back up with Mr Rattana and a welcome cold water! We then made our way to Angkor Thom and Bayon Temple. It was still only 7am.

Bayon Temple looks stunning and it was almost empty of visitors. This temple was a little different and involved a lot of stairs, which is not a huge issue but it was hot work! There were also a few monkeys around, I had a little panic when one grabbed hold of my trouser leg, I simply continued walking and he eventually let go!🐒🙊

I bumped into the guy I’d been chatting with on the bus from Bangkok, Lucas, from Chile. It was lovely and strange seeing someone you recognise! 😁

After Bayon I visited the Temples nearby, my favourite being Baphuon, it was incredibly peaceful. 

I adored this section. It was a little more shady, again super quiet. I was simply wandering around stunning ancient monuments surrounded by greenery and so many beautiful butterflies of all colours and sizes, birds, crickets. It was truly magical. 

My feet were starting to ache a little, but I had another Temple to visit first. 

This was the incredible, Ta Phrom or The Tomb Raider Temple. 

This Temple complex was different again, not as many steps and more broken. The surrounding jungle has tried to devour it, roots of strangler figs, kapok and banyan trees are everywhere. It makes it very otherworldly. 

There was one small section, a tall square kind of room with a plinth that used to house a statue of a female, the surrounding walls were full of holes which I heard a guide explaining would have been filled with gold, silver, bronze and precious stones so that when the sun shone down through the open roof it would be colourful & dazzling! Like an an ancient disco ball 🪩! How fabulous. ❤️❤️

Ta Phrom was beautiful and once away from the growing number of people, still peaceful. 

After Ta Phrom Mr Rattana and I took a leisurely drive back to Siem Reap, stopping on the way for a much needed iced caramel macchiato and a cinnamon bun!! 

I arrived back at the hotel at 10.30 am. I had visited 5/6 temple sites and walked just under 10 miles! No wonder my feet were aching. 😳😍

I have a 3 day pass for Angkor Watt, my next visit will be on Tuesday when I’ll be visiting some of the sites a bit further out, then catching the sunset at one of the Temples, the name of which escapes me right now. 

Tomorrow I’ll be having a little rest but visiting other fun or interesting places in Siem Reap. 

For now, that’s it from me. 

I’ll try not to overload you with Temple pics!! 😂

No new books, I’m still reading the next one. 

Have a great week everyone, good luck to all those heading back to School!! 😘❤️