Siem Reap and Angkor

We arrived here on Wednesday after a 6 hour bus journey on a lovely new air conditioned bus. It's a new service set up this year to make the journey a bit easier. Plenty of legroom on the a/c bus and you can make your reservation on the Internet. Only flaw with their plan is that no one checks tickets or collects money , so we got a free journey. We did tell them we hadn't paid but no one was in the position to collect the money so we still haven't paid and have to wait until we're back in PP. it annoys me as money is so hard for them to come by and they let $ 26 go.

Siem Reap is the main tourist area in Cambodia being the closest town to Angkor and its hundreds of temples. The Angkor site is vast spread out 20-30 km north of town.

Siem Reap is a really busy tourist town with hundreds of hotels spread around the place. As with every Asian tourist city there are tons of markets and night markets to extract your cash. The centre is quite small and has been taken over a little by pub street - which is a retrograde step IMO - it's a small street with pubs playing really loud music not a nice place to shop or get a meal. You would think it would scare off the middle age tourists on which this place thrives.

Another thing which Ang and I have noticed is the shift in tourists since we were last here. The vast majority are now Asian - Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Far less European/Americans . It obviously reflects the global economic changes and the rising middle classes in Asia - it also indicates how little European influence there is becoming here. From rulers to irrelevance in a hundred years.

The map above shows the main Angkor site. There are other temple sites spread further north and others which are not open - as they have work to prepare them. Another issue for them to overcome is land mines and cluster bombs. There are still huge numbers in Cambodia and until these are cleared the temples cannot be worked on.

Also when you visit a temple the work is generally being paid for by Japanese, Korea, Chinese, India, even German, Czech. A) there is so much to do Nd the sites are vast and b) these sites are religiously important to those countries.

The Angor area was built from the 8th to 12th centuries. At that time the Khmer empire controlled large area of SEAsia bordering China and Chamak (Vietnam) . The successive kings built temples and cities in different locations over that period. As above.

On Thursday we did what's called the short circuit. Our tuk tuk driver - Polans- who is doing all our driving - took us around the circuit above through Angkor Wat, Angkor Thomas ( which is an enormous area with lots to see) and Ta Phrom ( famous for featuring in the tomb raider films).

 

 

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Phnom Penh - 9th to 12th

We arrived in Phnom Penh late on Sunday from Chiang Mai and resorted to the tourist trails. We were staying at the Skyline Boutique Hotel which was not too far from the river.

Last time I visited Cambodia I really loved it. It is such a beautiful place with a very chequered history . Phnom Pemh has changed since we were last here lots more money invested in the riverfront and some huge buildings built or under construction. Prices are a little strange. Everything is in dollars, riels are only used for the small transactions in Cambodian shops. It's a very poor country - minimum wage here is $1 a day, government workers get around $100 a month. Yet there are any number of range rovers, cayennes driving around. Meal prices are quite expensive - meal for 2 costs around £15 to £20, latte £2-3, So more expensive than Laos or Thailand.

It was really good to get 2 days to wander around the river front and the local markets. As the expression goes over here 'same same' lots and lots of stalls selling the same things , actually the same as the other countries we visited.

In the centre you can see the monks massed to mourn the king.

PP riverfront showing the convergence of the Mekong and Tonle rivers. The Tonle is unusual is that in the dry season it flows south. In the wet season it flows north as the Mekong is so swollen that the waters flow backwards to fill Tonle Sap - a huge freshwater lake. We are going on this on Sunday.

The wats in Cambodia are architecturally a bit different than Thailand - the roofs are more pronounced and exaggerated. Monks are reverred here and it's a good ' career' choice for young boys . But you do wonder as the country gets richer whether it will still be the same. The Royal Palace and silver pagoda are some of the best examples - but they were shut on 1 day as there was a days morning for the Kings father - who died 5 weeks ago - and won't be cremated for another 2 months! So we are going back next week

Monks returning from mourning the King

Sadly it's also a country with lots of poor people living in the street, plenty of amputees trying to beg/sell to survive. You get the impression that the wealth coming in isn't being evenly spread.

Oh Christmas isn't really a big deal here except in the hotels -- not sure whether Rudolph the elephant is the right name

I saw 3 or 4 garages like this selling ridiculously expensive cars.

We left Wednesday on a 6 hour bus journey here to Siem Reap site of the famous Angkor temples.

 

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Day 25 to 28 Mae Jo Golf Resort and Spa

Having 'done' city life in Chiang Mai, my wife and I retired to the serenity of the outlying countryside to take in the air. Ang is gradually taking on a bronzed hue.

In reality we booked initially for 3 days in town and although its enjoyable its all hustle, bustle, noise and dust. So we looked for somewhere out of town to relax. Play golf and as a base to go to the elephant park. Mae Jo is a 40 bedroom golf resort and spa about 15 miles outside town. I tried to book directly with the hotel and they were offering £60 a night, so tried the Internet and got it for £40. The hotel still wouldn't match the price even when I told them.

The hotel pool looking towards our room

From our balcony early morning - 7th green in the distance

The hotel was lovely and sadly for them very quiet. Ang and I had our own private pool most of the time. There was only 1 restaurant on site, at the golf club. Again we had our own restaurant as there was no one there most of the time when we ate. Can't say the food was up to much though.

I don't think the hotel is making money but the golf course is. Green fee for residents is £40 plus another £20 for caddie/ buggy. I played on Saturday at 6:50 just as it got light. The course was pretty much booked up until 2pm with Thais, Koreans and Japanese.

A very good golf course again in a typical US resort style. Water on 11 or 12 of the holes and heavy green side bunkering. It is taking some getting used to as the greens are fast and firm yet the fairway is very soft - so pitching and running is hard. Flop shots onto the green are also hard without lob wedges.

It's a course that you need a stroke saver on as there were 9 ish dog legs and it wasn't easy to work out where the corner was and how much to cut off. My caddie was a nice lady and a good buggy driver but not too helpful on course navigation. But it was great fun. Hire clubs were still regular stiffness but better quality so I gradually got used to them. I shot 87 which included 5 doubles ( water shots mainly ) so I was ok with that. Target is 82-84 for the Angkor Course - Siem Reap Cambodia.

 

So here we are in Don Muang airport, Sunday morning 9th December, heading for Phnom Penh. 3 weeks in Thailand and 1 week in Laos over and we are really enjoying it ( although it won't surprise you to know that Ang gets annoyed with me at times. I can be annoying at times AND Ang has low tolerance levels for most things ) . We've now settled into travelling mode.

And it does not feel like Christmas is on the way. Besides the odd Christmas song in Starbucks and a few Christmas decorations, we are oblivious to it all.

Hope you are all enjoying the build up and chilly weather

 

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Friday 7th Baanchang Elephant Park

There are any number of elephant parks in the north of Thailand offering a 1on1 experience with an elephant. I've always wanted to do it as Elephants fascinate me. We were picked up from that well known Thai restaurant McDonald and driven 30 miles north to the park. The park hosts 22 elephants which have all been saved from begging, working or been orphaned. One of the reasons we visited was because it was a conservation park and did nothing else.

Each elephant has a mahout.

After an explanation of what the park does, what we needed to do to stay safe it was feeding time:

then we were shown how to get on the elephant - they are big buggers and very hairy.

Then given some basic instructions on riding ( no pictures we videoed this). You get the impression when sitting on top that you have no control at all and are merely there as a passenger hanging on. They are beautiful animals , very calm and gentle but so powerful.

After a home cooked lunch we then went for a ride in the park. Not a huge walk - Ang and I shared 1 large elephant called BanWat who was big and very gentle. Oh and very bristly - rubbed the skin on my thighs red. We have to download some photos from the website of the walk - I did some videoing on the elephant , other times just hung on as we went downhill. We stopped at halfway to swap over driving . One of the mahouts was training one of the young elephant orphans and it was fascinating to watch. The elephant wanted to play with the mahout and he was using playing to train it. This is him getting it to lie down - and in case you're worried it's not hurting the ' baby'

 

Then a walk to the lake for a drink and wash. BanWat is the elephant I'm about to throw water at. She was amazing- just sat there whilst she was scrubbed and washed.

 

A brilliant day which I would recommend to anyone - £50 each .

 

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Day 22 to 25 Chiang Mai

After beautiful LP off to Chiang Mai. I've been before but only briefly. Ths time we had 6 days but we decided to spend 3 days in the city and move outside for the next 3. Chiang Mai is another ancient city of culture with a wall, a moat around the old town and plenty of temples. But it's still a busy busy Thai city.

We arrived on Monday and were staying at the Raming Lodge just outside the city walls. It was an ok tourist hotel. Clean rooms, average hotel food and an ok bathroom.

We spent most nights wandering around the ' night market' which was about 800m from our hotel . This s the big draw for tourists. Lots and lots of stalls along a street and of in the squares of it. The main ones in the street sell lots of t shirts, silks, watches etc plenty of tat and some bargains. The squares on the sides have lots of craft markets with some lovely stuff. We spent a few Baht on paintings, a few souvenir t shirts etc.. ( which are now on the way home to mum).

 

It's also a great example of the changing face of Thailand as the Main Street has all of these Thai stalls flanked by the international brands of McDonald's, Starbucks, Boots etc..

We had a fantastic leg and foot massage in one of the squares. About 20 or 30 couches Laos around the square and what seemed like local Thais massaging your legs. Honestly it was brilliant . Afterwards your legs felt so loose.

Besides our night market experiences we watched a lady boy cabaret. Some of the characters are shown above doing a free street show.

Ang did a 1 day Thai cooking course and I played golf. We left central Chiang Mai yesterday to come here to the Mae Jo Golf Resort

 

 

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Chiang Mai Highlands Golf

Today I discovered how relevant stiff shafts are and how it's important to slow down your rhythm to maximise enjoyment.

All of these facts could have been answered in the bars outside our hotel each night. Our hotel is ok but does appear to have a whole host of massage bars 'with extras' all along the road outside. Loads of middle aged white westerners in the bars with young thai girls - in defence of the English it's a full representation of EU member states.

First game of golf this trip for me. I was planning to play in Phuket. However, the golf course was a bit plain and expensive and to play I would have had to leave my £400 private luxury villa to play. Here in Chiang Mai it's slightly cheaper and all I miss is a busy city and a £40 hotel.

Chiang Mai Highlands is 35 miles out of town up in the hills. A typical American style golf course with plenty of lakes and greenside bunkers to capture errant swings. The greens were very quick and undulating making tricky putting. The fairways were very soft and seemed to be sand based so very little run on the ball. But in excellent condition as after every shot my caddie repaired the divot with sand.

13 hole, downhill 280yd to the lake. 2nd shot is the challenge as lake wraps the green.

I hired a car and driver for the day £40 , and turned up 1 hour before my tee time. Green Fees £60 but you also have to pay £10 for a buggy and £6 for a caddy ( both compulsory). And so to stiff shafts. I hired some clubs, they said they had stiff shafts but they had ran out. So regular shafts it was. There was a corporate day about to start and I was due to follow. I thought I'd get to practise the new clubs but they asked me if I'd like to go first so onto the first tee, new clubs no practise..

My caddie, Lik, surveys another hole for me to block the ball right -:)

So the thing I found is that the flexi shafts can't keep up with my swing , as I'm swinging too quickly so block the ball out to the right. The solution is to swing slower which means the ball doesn't go as far. I'd elected to play off the blue tees ( single figure golfers) so the decreased length and longer course made it hard. But I love golf so it was good fun. I'd also only taken 5 golf balls with me. Dumped 1 in the water on 10 and then 2 on 11, so as well as trying to swing slowly I was concentrating on not hitting the lakes on 12, 13 & 14. Made it fun! There were lakes to contend with on 9 of the holes and often the greens were shaped into the lake to make you think

But a really beautiful course, well maintained hard but fair. And I scraped in on 89 which on a SS 74 is ok. Not good but ok.

Ang and I are off to Mae Jo golf resort to stay for 3 nights tomorrow and then Phnom Penh on Sunday. Golf wise am hoping to play the Faldo course in Siem Reap -:)

 

 

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Luang Prabang

Here we are sitting in the heat of early December !! Leaving Laos.

I think we visited Laos in the correct order. Vientaine was ok if you are travelling through, Veng Viang was very sad-as reported. Luang Prabang is lovely and well worth the visit. It's the cultural capital of Laos, was the royal capital until quite recently, sits in beautiful scenery at the convergence of the Mekong and Nam Khan , and is surrounded by beautiful hills

Me on top of Mount Phou Si

It's also famous for the huge number of Wats around town and the street and night markets - above.

We pottered around the town watching the world go by on Saturday. I could have sat and watched the boatmen loading and unloading all day. We visited a few of the Wats including That Chomsi (pictured above) which had views all over town.

On Sunday we hired bikes and cycled around the town, although an afternoon rain shower curtailed that.

As its now moving a bit more upmarket there were a number of lovely restaurants and bars to enjoy. No cider in Laos but gorgeous fruit smoothies. Laos food is a little bit bland compared with its neighbours Thailand China and Cambodia but a number of fusion restaurants are around offering a range of cuisines. We went to the Blue Lagoon on Sunday which offered a fusion of Laos/Swiss food -quite Germanic food with meat and cheese. But really nice. But most cuisines are available and hygiene seems to have a higher focus, with lots more clean ice nod water - which helps as its usually me with the stomach issues

Ang about to drink a cocktail by the Mekong

We are off to Chiang Mai to try elephant training, cooking schools and golf - but all of these are available here too if we had the energy. People watching and being tourists won over the day. I'm sure there aren't many more beautiful places to do this in the world.

A lovely place.

 

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