My thoughts on Siem Reap

In Siem Reap, the best way to visit the temples IMHO is by hiring a Tuk Tuk for about 15$ a day. The Tuk Tuk driver will take you to each temple complex, drop you off there (IOW he is NOT a guide), wait for you and drive you to the next temple complex. Very nice. In the individual temples you still will do a lot of walking and climbing and so, but in between complexes - you really do not want to do this by foot. Sure - you could rent a bike. But by the time you get to the bike rental place, you will already have sat in a Tuk Tuk....

Plus when it rains (and it does rain there) a Tuk Tuk provides you shelter from the rain. Which means you stay (relatively) dry, whereas the cheapskates get wet (very wet). So up to you what you want to do. Sure as a backpacker you have a limited budget, but if you do not have 4$ pp for this, maybe a few pints less will get you there too.

If you want a guide you need to hire a taxi and guide, which has the added benefit that you travel in an air-conditioned car between temples, so giving you some reprieve from the heat. But each time you get out of the cab you die from the diabolical heat.

Which brings me to the next finding : quite a few blogs say, go really early to enjoy the temples. So does everyone else ! Which means reduces enjoyment. I went in the sweltering midday heat, which was a bit unpleasant at first. But I for once will not have to edit that many people out of my photos via Photoshop. They were not there. Only Ta Prohm was quite crowded (but mind you this was later in the afternoon too).

As there are numerous stalls at each exit of the complexes (where your Tuk Tuk will be waiting), you can always get fresh, cold, bottled water at 1$ a bottle. Bargain hard and you even get the big bottle at this price...

Yes this is a travel blog too, so you may want to apply the same caveat on my rantings than on all the other ones. Just go there with your eyes open, your wits about and you will be fine.

 

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My thoughts on Travel Blogs and transiting to Cambodia

As part of all modern day travel, we inform us about all the choices, things to do, dangers and so on via travel blogs, TripAdvisor, WikiTravel and God only knows what else.

Sometimes this can be a good thing, mostly it can add layers of complexity to your journey. I guess this has best been illustrated by Michael Macintyre in this YouTube clip, when he talks about TripAdvisor (yes I am a reviewer on TA too).

Sometimes the stuff you read just get you hyped up beyond belief, meaning that you can not make a controlled judgement anymore. Or stuff is just plain right wrong. We had a couple of both on our journey and some of them got me into a wee bit of trouble too...

The transit from Bangkok to the Cambodian border was described by (in)numerous blogs as something really horrible. It probably is, when you try to do this on 5€ a nose. If you -however- book an entire cab/minibus yourself, it will set you back about 90-100€, but as the minibus holds 6-7 people, I leave it to your creativity on how much this will actually cost you on a per person basis. We used the services of a chap called Sompoach, Cell phone number +66 81 901 7292. And the ride could not been better. OK I first met him under rather dodgy looking circumstances in Bangkok near the Victory Monument for the down payment. But in hindsight the trip could not have been better. Smooth, stopped whenever we wanted to. Asked us whether we wanted to go to the market in Aranyprathet (no thank you) and carried straight to the border. he literally stopped 50m from the Thai emigration post. He even warned us from the porters 'Not nice people'

OK the small journey between the Thai post and the Cambodian post in Poipet, where you walk through 300m of No Man's Land with casinos and dodgy creatures is not my most memorable stroll. But just say No to anyone NOT in a uniform and you will be fine. If you have an e-visa got straight to Immigration but DO NOT forget to get one of the immigration card distributed by the officials (they are free). If you do not have a visa, go to the VOA booth WITH two passport photos and 20$ and then proceed as above. You will be fine.

Afterwards they will try to usher you to the free bus that takes you to some dusty outpost of Poipet from where the busses to Siem Reap leave (9$ pp) or the official taxis (48$ per taxi or 12$ pp). Now some may argue that this is rip off and all this. Fact of the matter is that some people we met along the route did not go to the terminal but into Poipet and negotiated hard (really hard) and paid 10$ pp in some cab, sharing it with locals.

Quite frankly, you are halfway around the world in a country where people die of hunger and you start being stingy on what - 3$ ???

The ride between Poipet and Siem Reap is nearly 160 km and takes 2.5 hours. Even in Cambodia petrol prices are linked to on how the Crude Oil prices are doing.

So just take a bus or a cab (or organize your own transportation for marginally less), but whatever way you choose is fine. There is no mafia and dodgy people. Just people doing their job. Maybe they work for some corrupt person, maybe they don't, but they do work to feed their family. So respect them. I didn't really, as I was quite hyped up by all this crap, so I shouted at random at people. And they do not like this. At all.

 

 

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The way back home

All good thing must come to an end. And so did this holiday.

In true Indiana Jones style, we travelled from Bali to Kuala Lumpur, stayed the night, went to Doha, stayed the might and the eventually went home to Brussels.

KL was good as ever and the Pan Pacific at the airport was hotel like out of the Soviet era in the eighties but really good. Apologies for using their airco to dry our swimming gear.

What followed was the trip to Doha and a day in Doha during Ramadan. The heat was incredible. At 19.00 when we could finally eat it still felt like we were standing behing an exhaust pipe or at the outlet of airco - just on the wrong side. How they are going to have football world cup is beyond me. the heat is atrocious. Plus NO BOOZE. Whatsoever. I had my Red Johhny confiscated upon entry into Doha (got it back when leaving though). And beer cost 12.50 euro a can. So football fans will live very healthy I guess.

Doha International airport was a hellish as ever. Do not fall for the Qatar Airways shit fo 5 star airline and all. It sucks. Not enough food, not enough drinks...

But we are happy back home and the weather is  nice too.


So let see where our travels will take us to next, but you will find out here anyway.

Last days on Bali

No holiday with us does without an unexpected room change. This one was no different.

On the penultimate day I wanted to go jet skiing and thought it was good idea to drop off Lourd at the Melia resort in Nusa Dua. Too good of an idea as it turned out. She loved the idea of a beach resort and putting the feet into the white sand so much, that on monday I did not go jet skiing, but rather to reception and negotiated a good rate for a room for two days.

So we had a nice villa and a nice room in the Melia. Things could be worse I guess and it was the only luxury.

I went jet skiing the next day and it was a blast. On Bali you are not allowed on your own on the jet ski, but need a guide. God knows why - but the good thing was that Max got his own jet ski (with guide) and he had a total blast as he was in control of the jet ski.

Poor monitor on mine had to live with me doing high speed donuts all the time and changing directions more than a rabbit that tries to escape a fox.

Other than that not much to report. It was time to go home and leave Bali and its lovely people behind. Let's hope that Max will stay in contact with his mate Zen from Bali.

Day 5 in Bali - Eat - Prey -Blog

5th day on Bali. After a slow start we finally managed to drag our bones out of what Lourd now refers to as the 'Hacienda'. Don't get us wrong - the villa is still lovely and everything is just fine. But when you travel a lot (and we do), you do start to take a biassed view on things. But more after the holidays in my debriefing and rant. Suffice it to say that Europe is not that bad either...

So we went to Padand Pandang beach - as made famous by Eat-Prey-Love. I have not seen the move so I have no clue on how the beach ties into the movie. But as it is a small beach it must have had a minor role. Or it is the same story as James Bond Beach in Thailand, which is a small strip of Krabi coast. Nice beach though, t too many hawkers and some decent (yet expensive) food stalls. Plus the person running our food joint needed a personality transplant. She must have been one of the few people around here not able to smile. At all.

Afterwards I set off to the temples of Uluwatur (Lourd and Max were not motivated). Nice. Bali as you expect it from the postcards. Usual apartheid going on with the entrance prices - Locals pay half. Imagine the uproar if in Europe we would apply this too. Here everyone is cool with it....

Anyway nice temple, nice sunset nice scenery. And once again the travel blogs were wrong. The monkeys wer tame. See for yourself. What you DO want to do when you get here is leave early, as after sunset is done, all the hire cars set of in one HUGE traffic jam. So get a car, cause a car will get you far. And do not listen to travel blogs who tell you that driving here is lethal. It isnt't.

One thing I found mad though is that I saw the same kind of architecture and design back in Angkor Wat. Freaky - when you think that there is about 700 years between those temples. But for a moment I thought I was back in Cambodia (no - not quoting Kim Wild here, even though the whole trip has been one trip down memory lane of songs of the 80ies.

One Night in Bangkok, Lost inside Cambodia and Fields of Gold. KL was Entrapment...

Day 4 in Bali - Waterbom park in Kuta

After a late(ish) start, we set off to have breakfast in a frech cafe, with a very politically incorrect bun 9see photos) and then to Kuta beach to provide some fun and entertainment to Max. A water slide park, and what a park Waterbom proved to be. Awesome !

Our hostesses son Zen, a lovely 11y old kid, tagged along for the ride. In other words I had 2 kids to coordinate. The slides at the park are amazing, pure thrill, yet having a lovely part for really small kiddie winkels too. It is a bit pricey, but at this stage what does it matter ? It's great and it is safe.

Best ride was the Climax, a 15 meter straight drop and then some snaking around to stop you. Scary stuff. But once you have overcome the fear of the gallows door opening underneath you it is great fun and mega fast. This video was not shot by me, as my camera is not waterproof. So fear not - I did not undergo plastic surgery

Afterwards we set of to Jimbaran beach to eat some freshly grilled fish. The fish was great, so were the prawns. It was very pricey though, when you take into consideration where you are. I doubt that at the Med' they charge you substantially more. Ok the setting straight on the beach was sublime, and would it not have been for the clouds we would have seen a lovely sunset.

But is all this worth a european price tag in a country where the average post grad salary is 700$ ? I somehow do not think so. I am not negative, but I find it sometimes a bit upsetting, when you get charged through your teeth in an area where two road row down, people live in shacks like shanties.

But anyway - it was a great day and we all had fun and this is what counts. So Waterbom plus 1, Guido like this.

Day 3 in Bali - lazing at the beach

Not much to report today, we took it easy. First we slept in and the it was time to hit the town for breakfast. Yes you read right : food cooked by aliens is back. Mainly as I was too lazy to cook. Pancakes were really good, so was Max's smoothie and croissant. My Nasi Goreng was nothing special par contre.

Then back to the House, where it dawned on me that the lads of Top Gear were right. In their outing to the US they all commented on how they first hated their cars, but how -warts and all- they grew on them. The same is happening with me and my POS. It is a POS, but it is MY POS. And now I know how she behaves, I know how to adapt. Funny how cars grow on you. Same about the parking. As the husband of our hostess is gone, I could have his parking spot in the garage. But I prefer my parking spot under the tree outside the gate. Why ? It is "my" parking space.

After lazing on the sofa, we decided to hit the beach and went to Finn's Beach Club, part of the luxury Semara resort. You basically pay 2.500.000 rupies (25e) per adult as an 'entrance' fee, but as this completely redeemable against F&B in the bar/restaurant this works out to be a good deal, as the food is excellent - even by my standards. Plus you get sunloungers, towels and smiles from the staff. And afterwards you get to use the infinity pool up at the main Hotel. This pool has such a perfect view - it is to die for.

How anyone can be mad enough to pay between 900$ and 2500$ A NIGHT is -however- beyond me. As the way there leads you through some back shanties, where you really want black windows so you do not see it, for you are afraid where they are taking you. NO DANGER though as the locals are ever so friendly there is not danger whatsoever. But other than the -predictable- russians, we had oodles of brits and french. Most of them taking business calls all the time. What's the point paying >15000$ for two weeks of vacation if you still work ?

Diner was outsourced as well. But if I ever hear Bob Marley in the next two month, I do not now what might happen next...Food from the place I bought it was OK, but no more. Neither were the portions. Fortunately I had a Mahi-Mahi filet in the fridge, which together with some yellow curry paste, Tamarind, palm sugar, chili and lime proved to be one of the best plates I cooked this year. and I have Thailand and Malaysia and their balance of spice to thank for.

Oh yeas and we share the House now with Gordon the Gekko. See for yourself (even though he is not that visible behind the fridge)

For a day with not many photos this was a lot of text. Thanks for staying with me

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Day 2 in Bali

Time to hit the legendary terraced paddie fields of Bali. Which according to the SatNav were 50km away, so I thought one good hour should be enough getting us there, as we set off at 12.45.

Could.Not.Have.Been.More.Wrong!

It took us a solid 2.5 hours to cover 50 km. The traffic here is factor 10 mad and factor 20 dense. God knows what will happen, when they all can afford cars. It is bad already now. It makes Brussels during the day look like a deserted city...

So we arrived at 15.30 at a lovely resort in the middle of the jungle (how can you stay there for a week or longer w/o car is beyond me) and I thought, let's have late lunch. Do you take AmEx ? No, only Mastercard or Visa, sir. Which card was back at basecamp ? Mastercard. What did I not have with me ? Enough cash for a 5* resort. So I dropped off Lourd and Max and headed back to Ubud. Realizing that I left the SatNav behind with Max. It is on the iPad. So not only did I not have enough funds, but I dropped off wife and kid at a Resort, which name I had not memorized, in the middle of nowhere with no SatNav. And neither of us had the phones with us either. Oh and petrol was running low too.

I did find them again and the food was excellent, but as it gets dark quick and early (try 18.20), it meant we had to head back. So if you are ever going to go to Bali and do a selfdrive - leave early, take cash and Mastercard.

So please appreciate the photos, as they took some effort in the making...

Day 1 in Bali

Our whistle stop tour continues. After a smooth ride with AirAsia (where every Ryanair or easyjet flight attendant should do an internship for customer care !) we arrived on the Island of the Gods, where true to style we ran into a religious procession. Just like that. Just as they say in the travel guides.

Mr Avis gave us his worst (or best ?) car ever. Its a Toyota Innova Minibus with 115000km on the teller, which sputters if you give a bit too much gas. Freaky.

Driving here is like factor 8 on the Richter scale in the daytime, going a close 9 at night. It is insane. But having driven in Thailand prepared me well for this experience. Just more mopeds and insanity. But by all means and accounts, get a car, as a car will get you far.


Our house is just as nice as shown on the promotional photos, plus it comes with Troy the watchdog and Zen, Max's buddy, the owners son. a lovely 11y old boy, who loves to hang with Max (and vice versa). Ever since the gastro Lourd's gone mental on hygiene though. Surprised the surfaces do not get cleaned with alcohol to disinfect them. Oh hang on we drink the alcohol ourselves.

Max learned how t ride the wakeboard today and was quite good at it. Water was surprisingly cold, when compared to Thailand actually. Nice island, nice water, nice food. More to be explored tomorrow.

Day 3 in KL

Not too much to report today. After three days in a town you kinnda get around quite fine. Max and myself experienced KL's public transport, which was very fine indeed. Mental note : next time take a day ticket as the single journeys tend to accumulate and the monorail is quite expensive actually. Other than that, did a Hop On - Hop Off tour. Well worth it. and then Monorail and a fish spa.

Oh one last thing - if in KL, got eat at Souled out. Best indian I ever had. And best western burger too.

Day 2 in KL

After a loooooong sleep, in the beds of what is probably one of KL's best hotels, the Somerset on Jalan Ampang, with probably the nicest infinity pools ever, we set out to discover what KL had to
 offer to kids big and small.

In Petrosains we found just that. Located on the 4th floor of the big mall below the towers, it is a science exhibition, themed around - you guessed it- Petronas and the good it does to society. But Guido got to play on a digger and so did Max.

Highlight of the day was the trip up the Petronas Towers at sunset. And -yes- you CAN buy the tickets for the towers in advance. I even threw in the premium package, which meant sandwiches at the Oil Baron's Club of the Twin Towers. I felt the breath of JR in my back :-)