Oct 2008

Up at dawns crack again and off to get a bus to Sihanoukville via Phnom Penh. You have to choose your path wisely, Cambodia's 'pave'- ments aren't. Pot holes, mud holes, and rubbish and general dirty obstacles. My flip flopped feet are mucky within minutes. The bus is there, but we can't get on yet. Sarah zips off to get some coffees. She comes back with two little plastic cups containing something brown and rather too viscous. The coffee is disgusting, gone off condensed milk maybe? They get left on the bus office desk for a bemused Cambodian. Onto the bus and off toward Phnom Penh, first another stop to collect more passengers. Hunger calls and I spy that our neighbors have wonderfully scented rice and grilled beef in neat polystyrene boxes. Sarah goes on a quick hunt and brings us back a box each. Fragrant steamed Basmati rice, chili seared beef fillet and sliced pickled green onion. Such a good breakfast, I'm so over muesli. Non eventful bus ride apart from the wooden sculpture panels which are placed flat on the overhead rack, bounce out because of the crap road, and nearly decapitate me. Everyone laughs, until they realise what hit my head. They all look at me with worried expressions, I'm OK though. Miraculously they sort of skimmed me; otherwise I'd be in trouble. We arrive in Phnom Penh around lunch time and have to organize a bus to Sihnoukville. The bus is in two hours, perfect for some quick Internet action. Phnom Penh is a super busy, with sights, smells and non stop action to rival any South East Asian city, it's bonkers. As we leave a rain storm engulfs the bus and the windows steam up. Rainy season, drat. The rain doesn't leave us all they way to Snook (Sihanoukville). It's dark when we arrive and onto a tuk tuk. The driver sort of demands that we go with him. It's quite tiresome the continual 'me', 'me', 'me', but I suppose they're only doing their jobs. We head towards the beach, down a road which is basically a river bed. Then a walk through some buildings and onto the beach. We find a sweet guest house on the beach front, and go to our room. A massive room, with a balcony overlooking the sea! A quick change and off down the beach for some grilled squid, fresh coconuts and cocktails.

Cambodians are ultra cool. They're all skinny jeans, winkle-pickers, smock tops and Hoxton mullets. But with their café au lait skin, almond eyes and their beautiful faces, they carry off heroin chic far better than us. We spend three days in Snook waiting for a clear day. It never arrives and rains torrentially from morning till evening. No beach, damn it! We conclude that beach and rain is just miserable, wrong in fact. On day three we head on to Kampot, which is a two hour mini bus ride away. Orchid Guest house becomes our home. A small hut in an orchid garden, with our very own porch with two uncomfortable bamboo chairs on it. The interior is superior tat. Neat pink frilly mossie nets, multi coloured reed matting on the floor, and flowery tasseled light shades. Kampot is a small sleepy town on a big river, which is actually an estuary. I'm looking forward to relaxing, reading, sleeping, drinks, food and hanging out with Sarah. There is a photocopied local travel guide available in Kampot, called the 'Kampot Survival Guide'. It describes a guest house located a way out of town, called Utopia. It sounds wonderful. So the next afternoon we jump on the back of a motorbike and visit. Utopia commands an idyllic spot right on the river surrounded by bright green jungle. It is made out of bamboo and has a number of nice decks to hang out and relax on, including comfortable bamboo chairs. It's run by a Romany German called Max. A tall handsome man, with a fit athletic body in his late 40's. He greets us warmly and makes us drinks from his bar. He is never seen without a ubiquitous spliff cantilevering from his lips. He is married to a beautiful Cambodian woman and has a young daughter and a baby son. All enchanting. Sarah and I resolve to move there the next day after a day out to Kep. Max insists I make a spliff for myself, which I happily do. I only manage to smoke half. The motorbike which delivered us, returns at 5pm to take us back into town. Up the dirt track, past orchards full of bananas, jack fruit, mangoes, limes and durian. Straight into a gaggle of guarding geese. Then onto the main road back to Kampot which is also dirt in a deep rust colour.
The sky is darkening and there are ominous clouds looming above. Parts of the road are worse than others, one section is so muddy its like fording through a chocolate river. Our driver expertly controls the motorbike so that we don't wobble off. We overtake a man on motor bike carrying what look like an RSJ (reinforced steel joist), the joist is perpendicular to the bike so he's as wide as a lorry. We drive into the curtain of rain head on. The road is better now so we drive faster. My soaked hair is plastered across my face, I cant do anything because I'm hanging on so tight, I whisper to Sarah 'does my hair look OK?!'. Then like a ghostly apparition five beautiful girls all in different coloured translucent rain ponchos cycle towards us. I don't care about being wet, I love riding on motor bikes, I love Cambodia and I feel alive! That evening once the rain has passed I sit on the porch of our hut and ponder things. The noises are fascinating. Frogs croaking, cicadas buzzing, tigers growling in the distant jungle (apparently!). I fancy some music and get my ipod. Can I just say that I really cant live without my ipod. I find Bugge Wesseltoft (not sure from where it came?). Anyway its perfect stoner music, eerie electronic noises which captivate the imagination. I feel totally at one with everything as I sit on the porch with Pascal our resident lizard who's above me stuck to the wall, motionless, maybe he's stoned too?.

The next day we head off on a tuk tuk ride to Kep (fresh crab by the sea!) and a pepper plantation. Kampot is famous for it's pepper, souvenirs are bought. Back to Orchid, which we liked apart from the mouse attacking the soap on the bedside table in the middle of the night. Check out and off to Utopia! We spend five days with chez Max et famile. They make us feel right at home. It's so chilled. All our stresses melt away with lots of lemon and mint shakes and good books being read lying horizontal. One night I go to bed and there seems to be what looks like tiny animal droppings in neat piles over my white sheets. I decide its woodworm poo. It happens again the next day, but the piles are in different places?! We have trouble going to sleep that night, for fear of whatever it is, falling on our faces while we sleep. Lying in the darkness we listen to the usual orchestra of wildlife and it seems, no so distant very noisy chanting? Then strange pop music and what has to be karaoke? It's a funny old world. Sarah falls in love with the dogs, and Max offers her Cleopatra to take back to Brussels, she's very tempted. We don't want to leave. Sarah and I really do find Utopia in Cambodia.

Starting a new bit of my blog:

'Is it just me?' - my feet get filthy wearing flip flops, no one else seems affected.

Hair report - nothing unusual.

The strange cult of ten Americans in a restaurant, who inform us that the food is really good. So we order a Cambodian specialities. The Americans then get their food, which is sandwiches and burgers.
We tell Max about Pascal, our lizard, Max introduces us the Adolf and Gertrude, his resident lizards.
The bar lady in her Audrey Hepburn dress and pearls, her feet precariously balanced on high healed leather mules, two sizes to small for her.
Sarah's drinking beer.
Cambodian pyjamas.
Going fishing, trying to pull out a fish and it nearly yanking my arm off, how big was the fish?!
Max's amazing tattoos.
His five years in a Japanese prison, what for we wonder?
The old fashioned ring pull.
Sarah's banana pancake addiction.
Sell Count of Monte Cristo for $2.50.

Sarah and I pull ourselves out of bed to get a taxi to the Western bus terminal. We get there, book the bus ticket and head to the bus. It's Sarah's first bus journey! It’s also far too early. We get comfortable, we each have two seats, and Sarah arranges herself in her area. Everything neatly stacked and ordered. She attaches a plastic bag to the back of her chair and says “rubbish bag” with a raised eyebrow. She is so organized, I love it. She doesn’t however have a neck pillow, so it’s nodding dog head for her. I do give her my spare eye mask, always useful. I try to stare out the window to watch Bangkok come alive in the hazy dawn. But I’m quite comfortable and soon I fall asleep. There is a loo on board the bus, so I don’t think there are any stops on route, very convenient. We both get some more sleep. The rubbish bag comes in handy for the tasty looking white bread and possibly cheese sandwiches we’ve been given (plastic fantastic). Then all of a sudden we arrive somewhere and stop. I assume it is a refreshment break, but we’re actually there earlier than expected. We grab all our bits, which because off sudden arrival aren’t neatly stored away yet, and fall into the bus station office to get organized. We’re all bags.

We need to get to the border and decide on a tuk tuk driver, after some persistent (Sarah won’t be broken), haggling over the price. Fifteen minutes later we’re at the border. It feels like we're in the Thai Wild West. The tarmac has disappeared and the road is reddish brown dirt. There are makeshift huts and covered stalls along the road. We are approached by countless hawkers trying to entice us on taking their offer of a taxi to Siem Reap. Still not sure exactly sure what we're supposed to be doing, we head by foot towards the border. There are no tourists lurking here so no one we can really ask advice of. We need to find a bus. We clear customs, with loads of Thais or Cambodians with children, chickens and pets in tow. Then we arrive in Poipet which is on the Cambodian side of the border, yuck. It’s been raining so the dirt road is now muddy and filthy too. The rubbish is piled up and stinks. There seem to be loads of giant casinos, all gaudy and they look awfully out of place in what is quite pleasant countryside, subjective point of view, maybe locals think they look good? We stop off at a cafe for a coffee and deliberate what to do next. I rename Poipet; ‘Dirty Vegas’. I don’t recommend it. I nip into a casino for a pee. It’s vast, full of gambling Thais apparently. It’s about 10.30am, what a scary world gambling is? I run back to Sarah, just as we’re about to leave the café, there is a loud explosion behind us. A man up a metal ladder has dislodged an electricity cable. The cable is free and dancing in the air like a bionic serpent. Sparks are flying, the man is OK, but not really sure how he’s going to sort this out? Sarah and I edge out of the café, in search of a bus. It appears we still need our passports stamped by Cambodian officials, although I thought we’d gone through customs? Into another office, here we meet two guys from Iceland; they are also trying to get to Siem Reap. It’s decided to take a taxi the whole way, bugger the cost, the road looks bad, and the wait for the bus is ages. We walk into town in search of a cab, and find one a little way in.

$60 for four of us on a three hour drive to Siem Reap. We cram our packs into the boot and are immediately overcome by a putrid smell. It is emanating from something wrapped in soggy newspaper, I think it’s durian? Hodi sits in the front because he’s the biggest. Sarah, Krissi and I, on fill the back seat. We head out of town. After five minutes the driver pulls over and halts the car by the side of the road. A young Cambodian woman, runs from a house and opens the driver side door, she gets in next to our driver. Remarkable! A tandem driver seat? They're both quite small so can just about fit on the one seat. We trundle out of town bursting at the seams, three in the back, three in the front, along the dirt road bound for Siem Reap. I wonder if his insurance covers this scenario?! The road doesn’t get any better. The further we get out of town the muddier it gets. We're ploughing deep grooves in the road towards Siem Reap. Either side are paddy fields which stretch as far as the eye can see. There are skinny boys riding water buffalo, which are submerged up to the belly. There are women in their gingham headscarves working in the paddy fields. The houses are all on spindly stilts and seem to float above the water filled fields. We overtake motorbikes pulling trailers in which twentyodd, Cambodians sit, balancing on sacks of grain and shopping. It rains and thick mud splatters the car from vehicles which overtake us. This drive is going to take a while. We've been in the car for over an hour, so the repulsive stench from the boot has tamed our noses and I hardly notice it. We stop for a fag and wee break. As soon as we stop, and smell the fresh air we realize how revolting the smell in the car is. It’s hard to get back in. Another hour or so later we hit a traffic jam. We all get out again and refresh ourselves with clean air. The road is so muddy and the car tires a quite flat, the car is floundering in mud. Ill be surprised if we'll be able to drive out of this. We all wait for about an hour, not really knowing what’s going on. Finally there is some movement. Unfortunately the wife of our driver has run off somewhere (we think to see what was going on). He looks frantically for her, we have to move now. Cars, trucks and motorbikes start to overtake us. She’s no where to be seen. He skulks about, calls her name, and asks passing cars if they’ve seen her, but no sign. Begrudgingly he gets back in the car and tries to start up. The wheels spin and we all hold our breath. Then they hold, and our driver edges the car out of the mud hole. Slipping and sliding all over the road we inch along. But where his missing wife? Then she appears up ahead. Our driver is furious, seething in fact. He has a few harsh words and they both get back in. He gives her no space on their shared seat, so her face is pushed against the window. She looks really uncomfortable. We’re all silent, not really sure what to do? They speak no English, we no Cambodian. Two hours, two more wee stops and some beers later we arrive in Siem Reap. The poor wife has been squashed against the window all this time and looks miserable.

Onto a tuk tuk into town, we are glad of some fresh air. I hope our bags and the contents wont smell of rancid fruit? We find a cheap guest house called Popular, which it is. $6 per night, window onto a brick wall, but own bathroom. Dinner in town at the Khmer Kitchen, which was recommended to me by Paul and Nicky in Argentina, really tasty. Siem Reap is a pretty town, rough at the edges but with some really nice shops and good feel. Drinks with the boys then bed. It’s and early start to see some Wats in the morrow.

We arrange a tuk tuk driver to take us on a two day tour of Angkor Wat and surrounding temples. Bayon and Angkor Thom on day one. Just beautiful. Spellbinding. Bayon is covered in giant Cambodian faces. It’s so beautiful. Then Angkor Thom is like something out of the Jungle book, with vines wrapping and enveloping its crumbling walls, and trees growing in and on the temple (tomb raider was partly shot there too). We spend a really nice day driving round lots of other temples and through wonderful forests and lakes. The weather is threatening and we’re pooped. We head back to town before dinner. Back at the guest house we sit in the bar sipping beers while the rain pounds the corrugated roof. Sarah has a quick freak out about the cleanliness (or lack of cleanliness) in our bathroom. She gets into bed, lying on her back, wrapped in her cotton sleep sheet. “sorry est, ich ekel mich uber alles”… translated, everything is yukky and I don’t want to touch it. We’ve opted for a sunrise at Angkor Wat, fingers and toes crossed that the weather will be OK.

Out of bed, a quick check on the weather, it seems clear! Our tuk tuk driver is waiting and without breakfast we head towards Angkor Wat. We arrive with many others. But by doing the sunrise, you do miss the big bus loads of tourists which swarm the site later on in the day. It is still dark but you can make out the familiar silhouette in the dawn sky. We find ourselves a nice position on the path leading up to the Wat, sit ourselves down and wait. Dawn happens so quickly and before we know it the Angkor Wat comes alive in front of us. It’s bigger that I expected and grander and beautiful! We move and stand in front of the beautiful lily pond to the left of the site. Still trying to figure out my camera, so take about hundred shots at different settings. Then before the sun is completely up we head into the temple. We spend a good hour nearly completely on our own. Like Machu Picchu, I can feel energy here. It’s a mystical place. The carvings are incredible and the scale and spaces are breathtaking. I’m so lucky to be here with Sarah. We sit in silence just feeling the place. Sarah is about to pass out because of no food. So we start to make our way out. Of the few people we do see we bump into the Icelandic boys and we spot a woman, 40’s ginger hair which new age traveler style is all braided. Sarah points out she looks exactly like a Catherine Tate character. After a few hours (five since we got up), we head to a stall outside, for a bite. I order Thai noodles, thinking about the yummy Thai noodles you get in Thailand. I get instant ramen noodles with a sachet of Thai flavouring. Sarah laughs at me. Sadly as I’m about to discover Cambodian food is quite sketchy. When it’s good it’s very very good, when it’s bad it’s horrid. After brunch a long ride (30km) to Bantrai Srei in the afternoon. This is a small temple, with very fine intricate carvings. Which they say must have been done by women. At this point we’re both pretty pooped and templed out. We order our driver to take us home. We’ve loved Angkor Wat and all the other temples. Our tuk tuk driver has been great, so we tip him well and he’s very grateful. We decide on route home that we might be able to manage a massage, so he drops us at Seeing Hands massage school. You get massaged by the blind! In fact everyone who works in the school is blind. I lie on my front and drift away. Incredible, I’m semi aware of a thunder storm outside. An hour of pure bliss. Afterwards we get out our wallets and pay. $10 for the two of us. They are very trusting because no one can actually see what we’ve paid. We head back to the guest house freshen up then hit town for some shopping and some nibbles.

NB:

Catherine Tate woman – is it her?
Banana milkshakes.
Sarah’s boob being bitten by a pony.
I have a fungal toe – cant talk about it.
Cold showers + Booth sisters = pathetic. I have to properly psyche myself up for about 10 minutes, Sarah the same.
Sarah’s moist loo paper – yeah now we’re talking.
‘Rubbish bag’ – sorry too funny!
Our blow out in Siem Reap – get me out of this shop Sarah.
Buying three big wooden sculptures for the wall, which we now have to carry.
It’s quirky and bizarre, but so are we, Cambodia rocks!

Early bus to Phnom Penh...

Love my sis xxxx

I leave Manila as I arrived, in a torrential rain storm. It's coming down so hard that I'm soaked to the skin just by walking from the taxi into the terminal. As it happens, the wrong terminal. Back to another cab to take me to the correct one. I'd left plenty of time so no biggy. I go to check in. As I wait in line I see a familiar gold baseball cap. It's Sebastian and Merie! They're moving on to Bali. We check in go though security and sit down for a coffee. A sweet coffee of course. We don't have much time so we say more goodbyes and then head off to the different gates. A pleasant flight and I arrive in Bangkok. Albeit at 2am in the morning. I haven't been here since 1994, when I spent my student loan on a two month stint backpacking around Thailand with best friend Claire from school, and a whole bunch of brilliant girls she'd met at University. We were seven girls in Thailand, just turned twenty, Full moon party, opium, the whole nine yards. Back then it was so exotic. I'd never been anywhere like it, and I'd never dreamt of anywhere like it. We'd paid 320GBP for a return flight to Bangkok on Aeroflot via Moscow. I've dreamt about returning.

I don't head to Khao San Road this time. But get a taxi to Suk 11, which my super organised sister has booked us into. She arrives later that morning. I get to the hostel and hit the bed. It's a really nice room with twin beds, our own bathroom and it's all spotless. My memories of cockroach infested Khao San Road with paper thin walls, melt into sleep. I wake up early, shower and just as I finish there is a knock at the door. I open the door to my beaming sister! It's so good to see her. After lots of hugs and kisses and catch up. She unpacks her backpack to reveal some new clothes for me! She freshens up and we head to breakfast (included) and spend the morning wagging our chins.

Our plan is to spend a day or two here in Bangkok and then head on to Cambodia. We both need a Visa so after we've caught up on the gossip, we head to the Cambodian Embassy. Of course Lonely Planet is wrong again with the address (quite unbelievable really). Some Thai woman approaches us speaking great English and tries to coerce us in getting a visa though her. It all sounds a bit far fetched 'she just happened to be there, and can help?!' ... we don't take her up and then find out later that she was trying a well rehearsed 'visa scam' on us. Ahh Thailand. It all comes flooding back. We finally find the Embassy, only to find it shut for lunch. We pop round the corner for a quick bite. Yummy Thai street food, probably the best in the world? The Embassy once open is very efficient and we walk out twenty minutes later with Visas. Sarah's fading slightly, so its decided we'll head over to Wat Po for a massage at the school there. Just as we arrive the heavens open and we scuttle into the school of massage for some relief. A dark room, fragrant herbal balls, wondrous massage all conducted with a thunder storm in the background. I think I drift off to sleep. It's still raining when we finish, so Sarah treats me to a foot massage too. The rain has cleared, as has every stress in my body. We walk out and hail a cab to take us back to Sukumvit Road. The traffic is so bad that after about an hour we give up and walk he rest of the way. Once safely back at the hostel we dine at the restaurant next door on delishious phad thai and green papaya salad. We decide to leave the day after tomorrow on the early bus to Aranya Prathet (border town with Cambodia). The next day we visit the Grand via the river boat, and do a little shopping in the afternoon. There is a failed attempt at trying to buy our bus ticket early (1 hour walk in the dark), then a failed attempt at a ping pong sex show in the evening. We do see an interesting sex show with some very beautiful naked girls sliding around on a podium, pouring water over each other from champagne bottles. Then back to the hostel walking down Sukumvit road. It's teeming with traffic, hawkers, food stands, clothes stalls, lady boys, dogs, cats, roaches and then all of a sudden we're navigating around an elephant! In the middle of Bangkok! Was it a dream?

We have a silly early start at 4.30am. It's the best to have my sister here, it's been far too long.

Notes:

Sarah's backpack is tiny, she insists I told her to get one that small. So didn't.
Cabbages and Condoms - good restaurant with condomania and aids awareness.
Lunch by the river, brilliant food stands.

Miss you Sarah xxxx

I arrive in Manila at 4.30am after a very uncomfortable bus ride, but at least I'd wrapped up so was warm enough. Cab to Claire's. Get in, collapse in bed. Because of time constraints Ive booked a flight at 12.30pm later on in the day, so I have a few hours sleep before I have to get to the airport. No rest for the wicked. I'm meeting Sarah (sister) in Bangkok after the Philippines, so when I wake (around 9ish) I skype her and make her go though my wardrobe on the web cam, love the Internet. I'm so bored of all my clothes it's not funny. She can bring me some new additions. Then it's a quick lunch with Claire and Nina and off to the airport. The flight to Palawan is fast and we land in Puerto Princesa about 40 mins later. I have only 5 days here and ideally would like to get to El Nido which is an 8 hour bus ride away (the thought appauls me). As I wait for my backpack, I enquire about buses and flights to El Nido. I meet a French Canadian guy called Sebastian at the desk. He also needs to get to El Nido with his girlfriend. Sebastian is my age, handsome, has a limp (kicked the hotel table whilst sleepwalking) and is wearing a gold baseball cap (American trailer trash stylee). He speaks goodish English with a strong French accent and every other word is an expletive. Miraculously in thirty minutes he has corralled five random sets of travellers, all going to El Nido; and has found a mini bus to take us there immediately! Perfect. I just go with the flow. Sebastian and Merie, Gianni and Julie, Bjorn and Nina, me and our driver all pile into a mini bus (pretty shit) and head into town to get cash, and some provisions for the drive. A quick supermarket stop. I emerge with water, two cheese rolls, some grapes, a pack of fags, grey hairs and sense of humour failure. It has taken me an hour! I have never been in a less efficient supermarket, hopeless. It takes us all ages, so about and hour and a half later we're all finally heading into the sunset toward El Nido. Seb and Merie are both from Montreal, Merie is very beautiful and suits Sebastian very well, they are both hilarious and make me laugh. Gianni is a friendly Italian, he is immaculately dressed, quite short with insufficient hair. He's with Julie who's Filipino. Gianni is divorced with grown up children, and Julie (my age) is his Filipino girlfriend, whom he visits once a year. He's even paid for the braces on her teeth. They sit in front of me with a bottle of red wine and a roast chicken which they share with everyone. Not quite sure how this can be? But the chicken meat is sweet? (more sugar again). Bjorn is German, makes terrible jokes, in his early twenties and has also found a Filipino girlfriend, Nina. Nina is a dive master from Borokai and laughs at the terrible jokes, the two of them cant keep their hands off each other. Good grief my cheese rolls are sweet?

We soon understand why the drive takes so long, there is no road. It's pitch black outside and we bump and jolt toward El Nido. We drive over load of bridges which are basically just two skinny strips of concrete, wheel width apart. The driver has to open his door to check he's on track! Merie falls asleep on my shoulder. We get to El Nido at midnight and find a guest house to crash in. We all need different types of accommodation (Gianni 5*), but the Canadians look after me and we get a shared beach hut with two beds (single and double). We sit on the porch for a while with music and some beers before bed.

I wake up to a full moon. Sebastian has no pants on. I tip toe out and join Merie for coffee on the porch. El Nido is so sweet! We're looking over a beautiful bay, the town isn't very big and curves along the bay, which is also a beach. The bay is full of classic Filipino fishing boats. We meet out neighbour Ben, a 50something Turkish guy. We apologise for making so much noise the night before. After breakfast we organise a boat to take us into the lagoon and to some hidden beaches. Ben joins the three of us. I stupidly haven't had a bikini wax, so spend 30 mins plucking hairs with my tweezers. We stop at about four different places during the day. All hidden beaches. One where you have to snorkel through a hole in the rock to get to a secret beach behind. The landscape is too beautiful for words. The sea is glassy and crystal clear. The land masses are pillars of volcanic rock which jut out of the sea at right angles to the water. The vegetation sort of clings to the vertical volcanic walls. I feel like I'm in a virtual computer world. Perfect lunch of open fire cooked fresh fish, and a tangy tomato and onion salad. What a day!

...Only slightly put off by Ben's unsubtle amorous advances. I try hard not to let it bother me and keep out of his space. He insists on patting me on the head (which I hate), and taking photos of me and Merie on the beach. Yuk. It all becomes too much later that night, he's drunk and tries to feed me peanuts (what a twat). I snap and tell him to f-off. It appears that he is a sex tourist who lives in Miami, but has just gone bankrupt and has escaped to the Philippines (discovered by Sebastian after I'm in bed). He's in a mess, so I do feel slightly sorry for him (slightly). The next few days are spent snorkeling and finding Nemo in the most beautiful water ever. We meet two French boys (20 year olds), both of whom have a Filipino girl in tow. They met them in Manila and brought them along with them. I'm struggling with this whole scenario. Western men with Filipino girls, I suppose its mutually beneficial? Although not sure exactly how old these girls are? The two French boys are complete idiots, and get on everyone's nerves. While the others go off diving. I lie on an idylic deserted beach watching the sand crabs run sideways. A tropical rain storm hits briefly, I watch it coming towards me. It's incredible how it can be raining in one area and dry and sunny right next to it. The darkness hits me and I dive into the water as it pours down. I wish I could have taken a photo. The vision of millions of rain droplets hitting the crystal water is out of this world, magical.

Three days of bliss (Ben leaves on day two). Then sadly it all has to finish and I need to get back to Puerto Princesa. Unfortunately by public bus. Horribly uncomfortable. My back really hurts, plus I have to sit next to a drunk man, who eventually moves, but then sits behind me and puts his dirty feet onto me and my seat, revolting. I finally arrive, check in for flight and head back to Manila. I am so grateful to be back at Claire's that night, its been a long day. The following day Ive booked myself onto a Carlos Celdran tour of Manila. It's the Imelda Marcos tour, showing the architectural highlights (and lows) of this dictator's glamorous wifes whims. She probably embezzled millions, but she did it in such a way that she is still loved and revered throughout the Philippines?! She was an icon in their eyes, and she sort of attained super stardom.

"She responded to criticisms of her extravagance by claiming that it was her 'duty' to be 'some kind of light, a star to give (the poor)guidelines'. Imelda was found to own 15 mink coats, 508 gowns, 888 handbags, and 1060 pairs of shoes". George Hamilton was a key witness for her defence at her trial! Check her out on the net, ridiculous.

On my last day Claire and Nina take me into the old town and we have a wander, and also head to a great organic market to pick up some lunch and dinner. My flight to Bangkok isn't till 10pm, I leave about 7ish before dinner, but with sandwiches from Claire (unsweetened). Its been so lovely staying with her and Manu. Nina is beautiful and a real character. I'm glad Ive got to know them, and we will always be friends. Thank you!

Footnotes:

Going to the airport outfits, Filipinos do it so well.

Efficiency, Filipinos don't know the meaning of the word.

The on board Cebu Pacific game, in flight entertainment, you win a really shit Cebu Pacific toilet bag (not for kids).

Accidentally on purpose loosing my leather slip on shoes.

Sorry late addition...The bra Lisa made me throw away in Sydney (it was skin coloured, Lisa pointed out that it was the skin colour of a corpse)

Vietnamese boat which is caught with 150 dead turtles.

Sea dogs diving, Sebastian runs out of air, luckily can come up to the surface.

Did the Filipino girls toss for which French boy? One is handsome, the other isn't.

The crab which tried to eat my skirt.

Sebastian being strip searched and having to hide MDMA pills on himself in Hong Kong.

Stuffed squid.

The kitten.

Philippines has terrible diabetes and high cholesterol rates, wonder why?

Carlos Celdran tour of Manila... "Livin' La Vida Imelda" - showman quality tour guide.

Bangkok next and seeing my sister!!!! Dead excited.

Miss you'all xxxxx