31st December
We rented two mountain bikes so we could ride the rougher roads round the Siem Reap countryside. Cycling here is very relaxing because everyone drives so slowly in Cambodia - not sure we'd have done the same in Vietnam - actually we did I remember and it was far from relaxing and we came close to being driven off the road into a ditch on several occasions.
New Years Eve at our hotel was a very elegant affair. Everyone was seated in the garden and the staff had made it look so pretty and romantic with tiny sparkling lights and floating candles in the lily ponds. Siem Reap generally was adorned with lights for the Christmas festive season - far more than we'd have in England at Christmas. Almost every bush and tree had something. Seems they're quite happy in SE Asia to add our New Year to their own long list of holidays. They also seem equally happy to carry the partying on for several days. Anyway I digress - back to New Years Eve - a string quartet who could have been straight out of the Bath pump rooms (except they were Cambodian) played us through two or three of our 7 dinner courses. Then came Apsara and Khmer dancing, also highly entertaining - performed by young teenage dancers and as most of the dances were boy meets girl stories there seemed to be plenty of genuine flirting. As with all New Years Eves there's always a lull around 11 when dinner ends and your waiting for the magic hour so we skyped our way round the world from our room before rejoining the party. Always slightly odd when you don't know anyone but the Italians were at least up for a bit of air kissing!
1st January 2011
New Years Day and we're travelling again - just a short flight to Pakse in Southern Laos where we were met by our new guide Mr La - we just call him La rightly or wrongly but he hasn't commented. Probably just pleased someone remembers his name. Itinerary in hand he whizzes us off to .... A temple - Wat Pho which is a very important temple in Laos. It was really lovely - 7th century built by King Jayaverman II and in the most beautiful setting. Built on several levels we realised as we panted upwards. It's deceiving as you don't realise there's another one til you get there. Apparently they used to carry out a female sacrifice annually all those years ago. There was no shortage of volunteers they say which to us would seem strange. All made rather real when you see at the very top a large rock with the silhouette of a girl carved out which is where the young girl would lay and be sacrificed. Their blood was then offered up to the gods and the body put into a small stone tomb and burnt. If the smoke went straight up it was good luck for all. You just hope the sacrifice always happened on a still day to make it worth it!
Getting to Wat Pho is fun. It's via a small and creaky car ferry across the Mekong River - only 10 mins or so. We were loaded on and just as we thought you couldn't get anyone else on they waved on a vast two tier truck that was taking a Laos band over for more New Year celebrations (still celebrating our New Year!). Even as we walked around the temple ruins there was loud music coming from a local house as laotians partied on.
After the temple visit we returned on the car ferry for a 40 minute drive to Kingfisher Ecolodge which is 7km down a dirt track off the main Pakse to Cambodia road. Apparently if you keep going on this particular dirt track for another 200 or so kilometers you get to Vietnam which explained why there were so many large trucks driving Vietnam style (i.e. Too fast and taking up both sides of the road). It took us back to last year when we were in Vietnam and how hairy some of the drives were.
We arrived just after sunset which is possibly a bit late as being Eco the lighting was dim and scarce and our loo was missing a bulb completely - not overly helpful that day when we both had dicky tums! The dozen or so other guests seemed incredibly chilled and by next morning so were we. The view from our house on stilts was so unexpected. As the sun rose Water buffalo were sloshing through the wetlands and flocks of white birds would arrive and leave, the odd one deciding to stay and do a bit of buffalo cleaning. Even an elephant wandered by on his way to work.
2nd January
After breakfast we walked through the village with our guide for the day Teoui to meet our elephants. We were off on a days trek atop an elephant into the local forest. We sat in a wicker armchair type seat - more comfortable than we were expecting and what other guests had commented. We went deeper and deeper into the jungle and at times we weren't sure how the elephant could squeeze his 4 large feet into such a small space as the path became narrower and narrower. We could see why they advised long sleeves and trousers - the forest was closing in.
There wasn't a lot to see in the way of life other than trees, butterflies and the one small snake that slithered rapidly off the path before being stomped on but Teoui was very knowledgeable about the medicinal properties of the various trees and plants which made it incredibly interesting. At one point he gave us a small twig to chew which was turmeric and what paracetemol is made from - it tasted just the same. There's a new Vietnamese pharmaceutical factory opened just south of Pakse - unfortunately next door is the monkey farm where they do their testing. Probably why we didn't even hear a monkey in the forest let alone see one. It's the root of turmeric that's yellow for you culinary bods out there who thought I'd got that bit of info wrong!
Midday we had a lovely picnic of chicken and rice by a stream in a clearing where we were visited by lots of different species of butterfly and where the elephants could have a rest, munch and a drink before making the return journey to the village. After lunch the swaying of the elephants was quite soporific and it was pretty difficult to keep your eyes open - in fact Teoui behind us on the second elephant conked out for ages! These young boys.
3rd January - 4000 islands
Our original guide La returned and we headed south for 4000 islands where we now are for 3 nights. We drove around 40 minutes and then arrived at a busy dusty street leading down to the Mekong. It was lined with numerous souvenir and clothing stalls - mostly filled with t-shirts and flip flops - an indicator the next few days was going to be kick back and relax time. We boarded our long-tail boat (this is when we realised it was seriously uncool to have a lump of a suitcase and not a rucksack). Gingerly we stepped into the boat as they are as we remembered very wobbly. We were joined by another couple of guys who you knew were seasoned travellers as no sooner were they seated they were asking each other where they'd just come from and where they're headed. Both in their 50's. The Aussie had already spent new year in the islands, left for a day and on his way back - apparently was missing the happy shakes and at 10am already had a beer on the go. He was getting off at Don Det - known to be the somewhat noisier and presumably very happy island where no-one gets up very early. We were on our way to the next island Don Khone.
Cutting to the chase this has got to be one of the most unspoilt laid back places you could go to. Probably like the caribbean might have been 60 or more years ago. It's strange, we're only 45 mins south of the Ecolodge but it's so much warmer. We were wearing jumpers at the Lodge in the evenings and here it's positively balmy in the evenings and hot during the day.
It's winter here at the moment so the dry season. The wet season wasn't as wet as it should have been so the rice harvest was short. This is not good and you really worry how they'll all cope in a few months time.
The landscape here in the islands is water with small bushy islands scattered about. A few are large enough and high enough to be built upon. After the summer rains it swells so that many of the unoccupied islands disappear completely and it becomes a 14km wide brown water mass.
There are no cars just bicycles, a few mopeds and chinese buffalo (the term used to describe a farmers 2 wheeled tractor with handle bars)
Our accommodation - floating bungalows at Sala Don Khone has the most enviable location and view. The company that owns them it seems has been putting money into various projects around the island for several years and it would appear little or none into the bungalows and they're getting a bit ropey. Consequently comparatively rather over-priced for what they are but we can at least console ourselves that our money is going to good causes (or the signs that say it is!).
Spent a brilliant day cycling round the island.
Followed the old railway track to the southern tip - bizarre there should have been a train at all but during the French rule and they were exporting teak. From here we went out on a boat looking for Irriwaddy dolphins and not remotely expecting to see any but we did. They were a bit distant but we know they're there. We'd also bought some pens and the primary school children on their way home the day before kept saying 'pen' 'pen' and looking expectantly at my handbag. The little ones i guess don't get them at school as were clutching small blackboard tablets. We bought 15 biros and expected to hand them to those that asked but of course it wasn't quite like that and suddenly we were surrounded by small children trying to snatch them out of our hands in fear they wouldn't get one. You just wouldn't believe how desperate and then equally grateful they were and we wished we'd had 150 for the whole school.
No comments:
Post a Comment