Back to the road

Sorting out the last things from the trip and setting the future plans. I guess now this blog can go on hold for a little while till the travelling bag will be packed again... lets see when it will happen.

Meanwhile happy holidays!!!


The very last pics in this blog from the 2008 trip are from the departure from Bangkok. Beginning of Dec the protesters had closed down the Suvarnabhumi international airport and all air companies had to find creative ways of getting the people out from Thailand.

I got moving only 2 days after my initial flight date, by doing a check in Radisson Hotel lobby in Bangkok and flying out from military airport 3h from Bangkok.



Yippie, my flight is leaving. Check-in in Radisson Hotel lobby






Check-in in hotel, sitting on the ground, hundreds of people and piles of passports.





Day in the parking area of the military airport where some 20 buses full of people were lined up. Hours passed waiting for the flight. Finally after 6 in the evening we got in the plane.





Sunbathing.
Finally it took 11h from check-in till take off, but considering that all the papers were processed manually and airport located 3h from Bangkok it went very smooth. After many hours some passengers started to show up signs of impatience... but all in all these circumstances were really not ordinary and it is not common that military airport has to offer services for big passenger jumbo jets.

Bangkok

(This post is posted already from Estonia even though you can see the pictures from Cambodia)

Bangkok was meant to be just the hub for flying out, but due to the protests and shut down of the airport my stay there turned out to be few days longer with an opportunity to see some of the city and experience departing via military airport.





The devil boat man











Crazy Khaosan street - my home for a week

Leaving Cambodia - NO

(This post is posted already from Estonia even though you can see the pictures from Cambodia)

After Angkor temples I was planning to say good bye to Cambodia and enter Thailand. After some 4h taxi drive to Poipet border crossing I went to Thai borderguards to get my Visa on Arrival. Turned out that from this border crossing it was not possible to get it.
After some talking came out that in Battambang (2h by taxi) is Thai consul and I can get the visa there. So it took the taxi, of course in Battambang nobody knew anything about Thai consul.
It started to look I have to visit Phnom Penh for the 3rd time, but before going there decided to look around Battambang for few days.




Boys with snake and crabs near Battambang

Angkor tempels in Cambodia

(This post is posted already from Estonia even though you can see the pictures from Cambodia)

Angkor temples is the main reason for most tourists to visit Cambodia. Ennormous buildings built between 9th-15th of century. And it is big - kilometers of walls in jungles, hug statues... and many tourists, me among them.



Ta Phrom temple, so called jungle temple as many trees have just grown in & on the temple





Old stones and sea shells




Angkor Wat in the morning







Banteay Samre







Banteay Samre








Pillars of Banteay Samre







Monk on old stones








Apsara dance - the art that was only meant for kings. The movement of hands is very important, each position has specific meaning

Kompong Cham

(This post is posted already from Estonia even though you can see the pictures from Cambodia)

From Phnom Penh the road took me further to Kompong Cham town where I wanted to rent a dirt bike and travel to mountains for a week. Even though Kompong Cham is one of the big towns of Cambodia, there were no places to rent dirt bikes. So instead of making many kilometers in mountains I decided to look around in villages in Kompong Cham region.


Room for 3 dollars





Nāga





Monks like to decorate their temples as colourful as possible. Often there are statues of different animals, mythological creatures, Buddhas etc. Sometimes it looks like a theme park for children.





Time for food





Buddha




Crashing a wedding in Kompong Cham. Getting married is a hard work. Ceremony last 2 days, from 5 in the morning till late at night, during the time they wear 20+ different sets of clothes.






Boy and his pet

2nd time in Phnom Penh

(This post is posted already from Estonia even though you can see the pictures from Cambodia)

So I was heading back to Phnom Penh with the idea of switching immediately buses and continuing going north.
But in the bus I got to know that in Phnom Penh is actually happening one of the biggest events of the year - Bonn Om Tuk - annual water festival. So I decided to change my plans and see the big event.


Longboat race on Tonle Sap river






People in Phnom Penh





Festival mood

3 day moto trip around Sihanoukville and Kep in Cambodia

(This post is posted already from Estonia even though you can see the pictures from Cambodia)


At one moment I got enough of beach life and rented a moto to drive around, it turned out to be a 3 day trip that took me almost to Vietnam border. Lunch on the way. Food stall in a tiny village in the middle of rice fields. I was almost left without food, as my international language - pointing with finger to my belly and then pointing my mouth, were not known signs. The lady smiled and said just no. I think she thought I wanted a menu or something like this. But I was there to have their daily dish - rice, pork sauce, spices - and this of course they had.





Fishing on the rice field. The boy is walking in the channel and had some net and a basket.






Sunset in Kep.





Nāga - the ruler and protector of Mekong river. Nāga turned out to be one of my favorite Khmer architecture elements.




Hotel in Kep - old resort town of Cambodia. During the Khmer Rough times (1975-79) most of the houses got damaged. Today Kep is full of ghost villas with bullet holes in walls, no roofs, no doors, no windows.

Around Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville

My tour in the the country famous for its temples started getting to know them around Phnom Penh.


Phnom Chisor with a view to the rice fields




I happened to be around when monks had their lunch. The thing what I cannot figure out is that all their food should come from begging. Usually they get plain rice.
But these monks there were having a very luxurious lunch.





First proposal! At Tonle Baty




Small bungalows for rent. Tonle Baty





Sunset dinner
Sihanoukville is the only sea resort in Cambodia. Crowded with western tourists, hard to find a moment when nobody is trying to sell you something.





Private beach. After a 15 minute walk from the busy main beach I finished up in this lovely spot where I managed to be half a day almost alone. Only the security guy from local guesthouse, one boy fishing and me. Perfect spot.






So far I have always valued to get the experience by having a food where also local people have it. So during the lunch time I headed to Sihanoukville main market. Have to admit there is still space for some development, didn't dare to eat there.






Still holding together

Welcome to Cambodia

Well here Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, got me. Definitely it didn't leave me untouched.

For example traffic is really happening everywhere, I think number plates are not really needed in Cambodia. I haven't seen that many Lexus cars anywhere else, often these ones didn't have number plates, but almost always they had "Lexus" written with big shiny letters on both sides of the vehicle.
As the traffic was happening everywhere and in all directions at the same time, I noticed only on the second day that in Cambodia the traffic is back on the "correct" side of the road and the driver is sitting in the "correct" side of the car. Last time I saw traffic in this side was 2007 during the Christmas.


Litter bin made of old tyres, very environmental friendly approach






But not that much litter finishes up in the bin. Just another street in the center of the town.




Petrol station




My tuk-tuk

Kuala Lumpur

The reason I finished up in the capital of Malaysia was that there was no direct way from Borneo island to Cambodia, even if on the map they are not that far from each other.
One of the so called must do things in Kuala Lumpur is to go on top of the famous Petronas Twin Towers. Actually not even the top of it but somewhere in the middle there is the sky walk bridge. Well, this is what I didn't do.

Actually I even didn't plan to go hanging around there. But finally I am clad that I still went to walk around there in the evening. They looked rather impressive from underneath, though as they are conic they don't look very high (even if they are almost half a kilometer tall)

After almost a month in Borneo island - poorest region of Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur with its toll highways, skyscrapers etc felt a bit too busy... well then I still hadn't any idea about Phonm Penh, capital of Cambodia :)



Memorial sites, skyscrapers, fountains. Not many of them on Borneo island





White in white





Silhouette of Kuala Lumpur





Petronas Twin Towers

Diving town Semporna

Every day is not a diving day, especially as I got the licence to go diving in Sipadan for the next day.
So I was wondering around in Semporna




On the boat ramp





Family in front of their house.






It was kind of tricky to walk on these streets built on water as at one moment I got all these children following me. We played the came "What is your name?", simple game, they asked my name and then I asked their name. At one moment the noise we were making in the village was getting a bit too loud and anyway I was thinking how to get further on, preferably not taking the children with me. So then I started the game "Good Bye", that included shaking the hand of each child and then saying God Bye in Malaysian. They got so carried on by the game that the next step of the game of going back to their homes came naturally and one by one all of them headed that way :)




Village. All the waste goes directly to the sea. And then all the foreign tourists are paying thousands to go diving in these waters :)






One of the mates around the hostel