DIARY - Thursday 10th January 2008 Taking a long 5 mins to sit and gather my thoughts, let my overloaded senses have a rest in the heat of the mid day sun, while I wait for spring rolls and ice cream to digest. What fantastic food - French bread to die for, fresh vegetables, rice, noodles, and some of the best ice cream I have tried. So far I have travelled by aircraft, bus, motorcycle, tuk tuk, taxi car, pedal cycle, shank's pony, but yesterday was an awesome journey down the Mekong on a wooden boat.
On the roads there are no rules - biggest wins. Sitting in a cafe in Phnom Penh an elephant plodded down the street, calling in at the hotels for fruit and a welcome pat. It seems she is out to please the tourists and calls with her keeper everyday between 3.15 and 4pm. I noticed she was given a respectful distance, unlike the rest of us poor mortals. From Siem Reap in Cambodia I travelled down the Tonle Sap lake - the largest freshwater lake in S.E.Asia. Dismiss any thoughts of up market travel. I sat on my bum on the deck for 6 hours! In Siem Reap the temples had exceeded expectations. Riding a cycle round the ruins was fun, about time I go some exercise! Phnom Penh and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek were to be endured and I wouldn't want to go back and see just what inhumanity to man can do. I couldn't wait to leave, 3 days there was enough. The poverty, the aggression, the heat and the smells are left behind now in the beauty of the Mekong Delta. For the next few days internet access will not be up to much, there are no facilities to download photographs yet and I may struggle to recharge my camera when I head north into the backwacks of Vietnam. Can't wait to get on my bike, but it just hasn't been practical to rent one to travel round on, so public transport from town to town is the way to go. They have what they call an 'open' bus here, which is aimed at tourists. I have used the local service, lots cheaper, in with the locals, more fun. Heading east from the delta towards HCMC again and then up north as they say, hope the weather in the UK is not too bad, it is winter here and a very nice 28 degrees!