So this blogpost is a long time coming… I apologise. It’s been a crazy eventful week – as you’ll soon see.
Interestingly, though, it hasn’t been all good or all bad. I suppose that’s like life – some highs, some lows.
First off, to set the scene: When I last blogged we were in Jakarta, the capital of Java, in Indonesia. Mark had a bad cold and we were both exhausted from our long travels to get to Indo and the hectic pace of our last week in Vietnam. From there we went to Yogyakarta, the ‘cultural heart of Java’, on a delightful train (seriously, the best train we’ve been on in South-East Asia). It took about 8 hours, but it was so comfortable the time flew by. We stayed in Yogya for 3 nights, spending a day at the incredible temple of Borobodur – the largest Buddhist temple in Indonesia. For some reason, all the local tourists kept asking Mark and I to be in photos with them! We managed to catch it on film, here:
We spent all day exploring Borobodur (we chose to take the local bus instead of a tour, so we had 2 hours each way sitting next to and chatting with the locals, which was waaay more interesting than sitting in a sterile tour bus). By the time we got back that night we were exhausted, though, so we went for dinner just down the road, and I ordered ‘comfort food’ – fillet of chicken, which I thought would be sauteed, but turned up fried. And dangerous. I woke up in the middle of the night with a nasty case of food poisoning and spent all of the next day unable to move from my bed except to crawl to the toilet, and with honestly the worst headache I’ve ever had. Food poisoning is the devil! I had no idea how vicious it was. It’s the worst of both worlds – headache and nausea. Eeuch.
The next morning we had a bus to catch, at 7.30am. I woke up feeling better, but still weak and now with Mark’s cold (obviously my immune system had taken a hit from the food poisoning). We spent 11 hours in a minibus that day, a minibus with only the vaguest sense of air conditioning and a driver who knew no fear – he quite happily overtook other cars even if it meant bearing down on the wrong side of the road towards a bus! Yikes. Still, we got to see a lot of stunning Javanese landscape (endless rice paddies, lots of farmers, interesting small towns) and actually sitting down all day probably did my cold some good. We eventually arrived in Cemoro Lawang, a small mountainous village near the famous Gunung Bromo volcano, around 7pm that night, and were lucky enough to be booked into the delightful Java Banana hotel. What a treat.
Most people, believe it or not, make this arduous 11 hour journey for just one night. Gunung Bromo is still active (but only smoking) and the thing to do while in Cemoro Lawang is take the sunrise tour:
You wake up at 3am, take a jeep for an hour to the lookout point at Mount Penanjakan, where you can watch the sun rise over the volcano. Then you take the jeep down to the foot of the volcano and walk up to the crater itself. Awesome!
Here’s how Java Banana describe the sunrise:
“Little by little, from a state of darkness, minute by minute, the sun unveils the dawn in Bromo-Tengger-Semeru, in its incomparable beauty. Mount Bromo stands in the middle of the Tengger caldera and greets the morning, welcoming it with its periodic puffing of smoke. Bromo is visibly the most active and the most prominent on the stage of the theatre of Bromo-Tengger-Semeru.”
How could we resist? So the morning after our day of minibussing, we woke up at 3am to the freezing cold, and set off in the darkness to watch the sunrise. It was really exciting, actually, heading off into the great unknown, about to see our first volcano. And the sunrise was beautiful, illuminating the scene from total darkness to total light in a subtle but spectacular way… Mark will post pics soon, I promise.
It was also FREEZING, unbelievable seeing as we were so boiling hot the day before! From the sunrise vantage point we headed down to the base of the crater, and walked right up the rim, so we could look inside the volcano belching sulphurous smoke. Pretty darn incredible. Take a look:
We spent the rest of that day resting and recovering, and trying to find an alternative route to Bali, so that we wouldn’t have to do another 11 hour minibus trek! We ended up taking the train for most of the way, but it still took us over 11 hours… You can read all about it here, it was a really difficult day.
So there you have it! Our most eventful week ever. We had ancient temples and volcanoes, food poisoning and colds, all-day minibus journeys and diabetic drama. What more could anyone ask for in a week?
Well, some peace would be nice. I’m feeling worn out, to be honest. This week we plan on taking it easy. Having some down time in Sanur, where we are now (on the coast) and then heading inland to Ubud. I’ll keep you posted, I promise.
We’ve been on the road for 3 months already, can you believe it? Crazy… I can’t decide whether that feels like a really long time, or whether it’s gone in a flash. A bit of both, I guess.
And now, today, we’re leaving Vietnam! Off to Indonesia. We arrive at midnight today, and are VERY open to suggestions about where to go and what to see…
First, though, as promised, I wanted to tell you about one of the highlights of our trip so far – a two day one night adventure in Halong Bay. Wow.
Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, about 3 and a half hours from Hanoi (one of the main cities in Vietnam). There are hundreds of tourist boats that ply the same old route, but we were lucky enough to get on to the Red Dragon, an all-wooden Vietnamese junk, made in the style of a 17th century pirate ship that took us on a unique route with only one other boat! Incredible.
We set sail into the wild blue yonder, and immediately fell in love. It’s just amazing stuff – huge limestone karsts (like islands jutting out of the ocean) as far as the eye can see, hundreds and thousands of them fading into the horizon, accompanied by nothing but aquamarine water. It’s the kind of sight that’s so beautiful you don’t really know what to do with it, so your brain quickly gets used to it.
We stopped mid-afternoon to go kayaking around and through the islands, and we were on the kayaks as the sun set, turning the water from aquamarine to orange and pink and finally silver, as the moon rose just behind the junk.
Then it was time for a feast on board, and much laughter, and finally a cup of tea out on deck with Mark, watching the moon make a silvery path on the water. It was one of those moments that I’ll remember forever.
The next morning we woke up early and headed off on bamboo boats to see a floating village – a group of fishermen who live year-round on the water, on a cross between houses and boats. Fascinating stuff. The Red Dragon company is doing a lot of outreach work in their community (building a school and starting an eco-friendly initiative to remove the rubbish from the area), which was really interesting too. But mostly we lay on deck and soaked up the beauty.
Here’s our Best Moment from that day, you can see I’m a little giddy! It was truly one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done.
One of the things I love most about travelling is the potential for surprising nuggets of inspiration that pop up out of the blue.
Like this Confucius Cup that we found in the oldest house in Hoi An (our favourite place in Vietnam so far)…
The cup has a hole in the bottom of it, but if it is only filled 80%, you can drink out of it no problem – it doesn’t leak out of the bottom. If it’s filled 100%, however, the liquid drains out of the hole in the bottom. The lesson? Don’t be greedy and take more than you need. Ha!
Wouldn’t you love a cup like this? (Apparently it’s the last one in Vietnam – take a look at it below)…
It happens, I think, when you’re travelling this much.
Here’s our latest video diary to find out what’s raising my blood pressure (but hopefully not my blood sugar!)
That’s a little of what our last couple of days in Vietnam have been like…
We’re in Hoi An, or, as I like to call it, Temptation Central. There are tailors everywhere - amazingly talented seamstresses who can whip up any item of clothing your heart desires in a couple of hours, for about an eighth of what you’d pay for it at home… Mark and I haven’t bought anything on this trip so far – one top for me, two shirts for him, that’s about it. But we succumbed to temptation here in Hoi An, and we’ve both had coats tailored. I’ll post photos later, they’re just being finished off at the moment. It is so thrilling to have something made to order! It’s my first time.
Not only is Hoi An full of clothing shops, it’s also full of shoe shops – heavenly meccas where they measure your foot and make you a pair of shoes. As in, handmade! For less than $15. I ask you! How can we resist? Well, girl shoes are that cheap – men’s shoes are more expensive. So I’ve had a whimsical pair made – picking them up this afternoon. I’ll post a pic, don’t you worry!
Hoi An is also the land of incredible food. We have eaten so well here the last couple of days. They have a whole heap of local delicacies, including wonton soup (so tasty), fried wontons (yum), cao lau (a sort of noodle soup, delicious!) and white roses, which are the least tasty but the prettiest of the lot. You can also make your own fresh spring rolls. YUM.
So we’ve been eating, shopping, and wandering around what is without doubt one of the prettiest towns we’ve seen on our travels. Set on the banks of a river, the ancient town is a World Heritage site, so all the old shop houses are in their original condition, and there are loads of lanterns hung all around, and classical music piped into the streets every morning. Lovely!
Which was why it was such a surprise to see these poor dogs dressed up like clowns this morning…
This is how our last week and a bit in Vietnam has been (this was actually ready on the weekend, but internet has been a bit sketchy so could only get it up and running now!)
An honest take on how it’s really going…
Enjoy!
(Here’s the link if you’d rather watch it later.)
One of my favourite things about our Round-the-World-traveling-with-diabetes journey is that we get to do our Best Moments of the Day, the short video snippets of one daily moment that stands out of the crowd and waves.
In the past week or so we’ve walked in a nature reserve on the border of Cambodia, said a fond farewell to Cambodia (while lounging on a day bed), driven around Phu Quoc island in Vietnam on a motorbike, experienced the (zany) pleasure of a portable karaoke machine in the town of Phu Quoc, taken an aeroplane (a VERY exciting treat after all the dodgy transport we’ve been taking!), come face to face with the madness that is Saigon traffic, and eaten famous pho noodle soup in the capital of Vietnam.
Best of all, these moments are recorded forever (or for a very very long time), so we’ll be able to relive them over and over again.
Here’s my favourite from this week:
Now, though, I’m off to find a new dress. After 2 months of the same boring clothes, I am dying for something a little bit pretty (and a little less travelworn!)
Wish me luck!
First off, for those of you who’ve been asking for more photos so that you can actually see what we’ve been talking about – check out Mark’s Visual Journey of images here. Most of the photos up at the moment are of Thailand, but he’ll have Cambodia pics up in the next week or so.
If you’re interested in living the high life vicariously, be sure to read our Just the Planet luxury reviews (of all the incredible places we’ve been lucky enough to stay at so far). These are also constantly updated, so check back often if you’re keen to plan a luxury South-East Asian journey.
And lastly, be sure to watch our latest video diary, of Week 6&7… We’ve figured out the Cambodia conundrum a little more, and are somewhat in love with the place we’re staying in at the moment – the tiny town of Kampot, on the Mekong River. It’s full of delicious baked goods, river sunsets and charming French colonial architecture. What’s not to love?
And lastly, how cool is Just the Planet, the online travel magazine we work for?
Here’s a quote from the home page of their website:
“We support a global consciousness that recognises the importance of sustainable travel and the responsibility we bear to explore the opportunities it presents for every community a traveller visits. We believe that luxury travel should have and can have a conscience.”
I’ve just loaded a whole bouquet of Best Moments of the Day on to YouTube, and thought I’d share them with you here…
In Phnom Penh, the capital, my day was made when we discovered a beautifully clean and sterile supermarket! It’s the simple things in life that make me the happiest…
We also discovered some Irish Stew, a not at all simple pleasure to find in Cambodia!
And hung out at the famous FCC – the Foreign Correspondent’s Club. Very ladida!
When we arrived in Sihanoukville, we were greeted with this amazing view:
We headed straight for the beach (be warned, you might be jealous of this!)
And decided to build a sandcastle!
So there you have it… A bunch of Best Moments, just as if you were right here with us!
I’ve been a bit slack on the blogging front lately, sorry…
We’ve been in the small riverside town of Kratie, on the Mekong River, and we had to pay a small fortune to go online so I didn’t want to blog till I didn’t have any time pressures. Now we’re back in Phnom Penh, the capital city, and I have some time to reflect on the past week or so.
It’s been a pretty heavy couple of days.
When we left Bangkok to go up to the North of Thailand, we discovered a magical land of trees, forest and mountains, a world away from the chaos of the city… So we were hoping something similar would happen when we left the chaos of Phnom Penh (an ugly, dirty, smelly city if ever there was one). But Kratie was just as dirty as the city, just as unkempt, and unfortunately without a whole lot of beauty. It was right on the Mekong River, which was cool, and there were parts of it that were really quite charming in a colonial kind of way, but it was violently run down and with piles of rubbish everywhere. It was quite troubling, actually, this attitude that many Cambodians seem to have about keeping their surroundings clean and habitable. Mark and I both remarked on it in this week’s video diary, which you can watch here.
Kratie was pretty wonderful for two reasons, though:
1. We got to watch the rare Irrawaddy dolphins playing in the Mekong River. There are only about 70 of them left in the world, and we were able to take a boat out into their habitat and sit quietly to one side as they frolicked around… Pretty incredible.
See how happy I look?
2. We found a kettle!! Oh happy day. It’s been such a mission getting hold of a cup of decent tea in Cambodia, I can’t even tell you. They serve hot tea either black or with condensed milk (yeeuch) and sometimes they don’t even have black tea, only green (I know it’s much better for you, but I simply don’t like it, sorry!) On the rare occassions I managed to get hold of a cup of tea, it was overpriced and tiny. I was not a happy tea drinker.
And then we found this beauty:
We spent four days in Kratie, catching up on work (writing and photography), sleeping in and learning a little about the local culture, which still largely confuses us. There was a big boat race on Sunday, our last day there, and honestly it just looked like a whole lot of people hanging out in the sun, playing screechingly loud discordant music, and watching a couple of boats ride up and down the river every half an hour or so. Not too dissimilar from a rugby match, I suppose!
On Monday morning we had booked our tickets back to Phnom Penh – a six hour ride in a 3rd class bus, which wasn’t toooo bad on the way up. Except that on Sunday night Mark felt a little funny, and on Monday morning I woke up with a screaming headache and nausea. I had hardly slept the night before and I had a whole rash of curious little red bites on my neck (could they have been bed bugs?) All of which resulted in me being sick on the bus in the first hour of a six hour ride with no air con, plenty of filth, and lots of people spitting food in the aisles, spitting out of the bus, hocking up phlegm into their hands and blowing their noses into their hands. It was truly disgusting. An interesting look at a different culture, but not too good for my tender stomach, especially when we were screaming around corners at high speed and dodging potholes, cows and water buffalos. I felt like a prissy Westernized princess. I suppose in many ways I still am…
We arrived in our lovely CLEAN guest house last night, and then first thing this morning we caught a tuktuk (check out a ride on one of these treasures here!) to the Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum. Phew.
I actually think I need a day or two to gather my thoughts about what we saw this morning. It depressed me so deeply that I felt as if someone was pushing down on my shoulders and weighing down my heart. So so heavy. I’ll write down some reflections on it soon, I promise…
Tell me, though, what are your perceptions of Cambodia? When you think of it, what springs to mind? I wonder if the perception and the reality fit together at all.
