The Temples of Angkor

Tristan:

It was an early start. Sunrise at Angkor Wat is one of those incredible experiences on the bucket lists of many travellers, and even in low season there were hundreds of people making the journey out from Siem Reap in the dark. We were up at 4am for a 4:30 pickup. We bought our tickets amongst the rain and thousands of insects at the ticket booth. The weather was not cooperating and as we arrived on the scene, our head torches illuminated just some of the hundreds of puddles I stood in as we walked along the promenade into the inner area of the temple grounds.

Humidity wreaked havoc with my filters and I had absent mindedly left my lens hood in my other bag at the hotel. It was raining, my lens was fogging up and as people arrived, my position was thwarted by people with no quams of stepping in front of me to take their pictures. It didnt matter much because the clouds were pretty thick and their was nothing happening in the sky. Either way I was pretty disappointed as it became apparent that my opportunity to capture an image I had wanted for years was not going to come to fruition. The weather forecast for the next few days was the same....

We moved on quickly to Ta Prohm, the famous buildings with the trees growing out from the stone structures, crushing them and sending them crumbling. We beat all the crowds here and it was beautifully quiet for the first hour or so. After finally cleaning the condensation from my filters so I could make clear images, I slowly made my way around and through the incredible buildings and towers, it was lush and green, with incredible carving and stonework, from the 11th century. Selfishly I was pretty disappointed with the many areas that now have boardwalks and handrails that remove the look of something that was well before our time, and the cranes, scaffolding, works tools and employees that were restoring the buildings. Without question it is great that teams of people are working to keep this marvelous place from totally collapsing, it just made it look so ugly and very difficult to photograph.

We revisited Angkor Wat later in the morning and went inside the structure this time. I had a moment where it sank in that I was standing in this remarkable place, but it was quickly washed away by the throngs of tourists, guided by a bloke with a megaphone blasting out his commentary to his group of sheep, they really do suck the enjoyment out of these places.

There was a quick break midday for lunch and a pool dip to cool off back at the hotel, then we returned in the afternoon to see Angkor Thom and it's impressive gateways and temples such as the Bayon with its dozens of larger than life faces, the Bauphon, and the Elephant terrace. By days end we were pretty beat from walking and exploring, and I was even getting slightly bored.

Our hotel was probably the best we have stayed in SE Asia, incredible value with a great breakfast and a nice little pool, close to town and friendly helpful staff that could communicate well with us. We wandered through the markets, sat and had street food and wandered the loud streets at night, enjoying 50 cent beers and various other cheap drinks and cocktails. I had a mixed fruit smoothie that was so good at one place that I had to have another straight away. The heat is pretty over whelming so icy drinks really are refreshing.

We had dinner at a Khmer restaurant and discovered that we really do love the Cambodian curry, and I am a big fan of the Chicken Amok dish, when it's done well. The green mango salad is also very good, a mixture of the fruit, salt, and chilli, that really beats a hot meal in the middle of the day.

Our time in Cambodia was coming to an end, but we had experienced their beaches and islands, eaten their traditional dishes, discovered more of their unfortunate history and gazed in wonder at some of the worlds most unbelievable structures. Vietnam was next, and I remembered suddenly that Vietnam held many treasures that I was looking forward to also: Caves, jungle, historic villages trapped in time, hilltop rice fields, mountains, lime stone cliffs, and their own version of the twelve apostles, except there are hundreds!!! it really should be great fun!

All photographs by Tara

Phnom Penh & The Killing Fields

Tara:

Phnom Penh is yet again a world of contradictions. We had a really sweet tuk tuk driver take us for the day to the prison museum and the killing fields. We'd met him the day before at the bus terminal - and he "gave us a good deal" on that ride so we could give him more work. We didn't know what time we would be ready to leave the next day, but he said he'd be there in the morning - so if we saw him, we could go with him. So, the next morning - there he was - looking as though he'd spent the night in his tuk-tuk to ensure he didn't miss us! His English wasn't great, but he was so eager and earnest I just really liked him! (of course we shouldn't have been dropped off at the bus terminal that we initially met him at....but it seems the bus drivers are in cahoots with the tuk tuk drivers to get more business/commission. ahh Cambodia!)

I knew what to expect, I'd heard that we would see pieces of clothing and bones poking through the ground, and a pile of skulls. It's a whole other thing when those skulls are looking back at you.

The Killing Fields was quite an experience. Physically there isn't much left intact, as the site was raided once Cambodia was freed and people needed building supplies again. The fields are full of craters, the remnants of the mass grave pits where hundreds of people were buried. Over 20,000 people in total were killed at this particular site, and there are hundreds more sites around the country. Up to 3 million people were killed during the Khmer Rouge reign (1975-1979), of a total population of 8 million.

The Khmer Rouge first targeted government employees and educated people, those that posed a threat to their plans. Essentially eliminating the top third of the country. What is left is the rest.... With no government in place, no education system, no educated people and most of the infrastructure destroyed, the people of Cambodia had to start all over from ground zero. Like reinventing the wheel in 1980! It helps to put things in perspective realizing what the people of Cambodia have been through...and so recently. How can we expect them to be trustworthy when they have no one to trust themselves. The government they trusted turned around and killed a third of the population, they encouraged family and friends to turn each other in, if they suspected they were opposed to the regime - and were probably rewarded for doing so, as a result, everyone became accustomed to living secretively, lying to protect themselves and their families and doing whatever it took to survive. This was their example. Even now, corruption is in every level of government, and it appears that each person is only looking out for themselves. Do they even know what trust is? With a better comprehension of their history, it's almost understandable. Still hard to comprehend how and why Pol Pot would want to do this...he was educated, a teacher in fact. Another thing is that these trials are only being carried out now! So, the leader, Pol Pot, died a grandfather, at 82 years old! Scary to think he reproduced....I wonder what his family is like. Also, the Khmer Rouge was still recognized as a political party by the rest of the world for years after - holding a seat in the UN as the representative of Cambodia?! What?! More world politics...the rest of the world needed to keep their allegiances secure with other communist countries, etc.

We went to a great little restaurant in Phnom Penh as well. Friends International - an organization aimed at helping former street children get training in the hospitality and tourism industry. Excellent service & food - and huge smiles from the students! We were really impressed with the whole experience & the entire program. While there we also saw a Unicef campaign about visiting orphanages - DON'T do it! Apparently orphanages have become enough of a business with tourists visiting and "donating" that children who still have at least one parent alive are ending up in orphanages. "Children are not tourist attractions". We weren't planning to visit any - but again, something I wouldn't have thought of as something to be exploited - but, of course, we are in Cambodia!

After visiting the memorial Stupa at the Killing Fields, and looking into the empty eyes of the skulls, I was overcome with emotion. It really is not their fault that this is the way their culture has evolved - there has been so much that they've been put through, and in reality, these people are extremely resilient and resourceful. High's and lows again...

All photographs by Tara

Sihanoukville and Koh Rong

Sweat pissing off you constantly indicates some pretty serious heat and humidity. We arrived in Sihanoukville finally and grabbed a place for the night, knowing we were heading straight for the island of Koh Rong the next day, a 2 hour ferry ride away. After making the booking we headed for the beach and pulled up a spot on some reclining chairs under umbrellas. The water was a little cooler than Koh Chang, so a little more refreshing. I ordered the first of many Mekong Whiskeys, and sat and read our lonely planet for a while.

I got up to go for a quick dip and was quickly made the laughing stock of the local beach hawkers for being incredibly white. "where'd you get your body from?" yeah, right, funny F**kers eh? They were incredibly aggressive and cocky for people that are supposedly desperate for business. I still laughed at it though, I am freakishly pasty, and burn within minutes of exposure to the sun. One girl of about 14 was a complete smartass while trying to sell me her bracelets, she tried the "hold this for me" trick while she started to weave a new bracelet from my index finger, I warned her clearly that no matter what gimmick she pulled, I was not giving her anything, she then quickly left.

(after thought note: I must say that the Cambodian experience has been a rollercoaster and continues to be. We meet some lovely, friendly people and see and experience some beautiful things, but around every corner is the next annoying or disappointing interaction or experience. We are getting used to it, but the sad reality is that our guards are so permanently up that it is difficult to trust anyone. We have to be bluntly rude to the myriad of tuk-tuk drivers, hawkers, beggars, street vendors and anyone else that only wants to relieve you of your dollars and will relentlessly hassle you and tell you anything they need to in order to do just that. I understand that poverty and decades of repeated society destroying events will leave people in all kinds of horrible circumstances that I will never even be able to comprehend, it's just such a shame to see the impact that has on the poor people of this country. The worst of all is the parent who sends their puppy-dog eyed 3 year old in to the bars and restaurants to stand beside you looking all kinds of sad. Its 9pm and the kid should be in bed, but they are being used by their parents (or abductors in some cases) to extract money from travellers. We who grew up in western society are the luckiest people on the planet, and we should never forget it)

After this we got some peace and just enjoyed the beach time. An afternoon sun-shower passed over and created a beautiful rainbow over the western end of the beach and capped off a pleasant few hours after our initial introduction to Cambodia which had not been much fun. We slid in to the New Sea View Villa for the early bird dinner special. The place had no sea view, yet again solidify our experiences that much of the commercial cultures essence is built on lies and deception, but the food was incredibly tasty and great value.

We headed for the Canadia Bank ATM at the nearby Casino to withdraw some cash for our trip to the island, as it is still quite primitive with no atms or credit card facilities. Being 8:30 on a saturday evening it was the perfect time for the machine to swallow my card. Great. I called the banks 24 hour number and they told me I would need to go to the branch on monday to retrieve it, after my bank had contacted them to confirm they could release the card.

So we went to the island with hardly any money, but it turned out to be enough for the 24 hours we stayed. Our Treehouse bungalow was somewhat unique and very relaxing. Their was some interesting coral and fish in the waters right on our doorstep which made for some nice snorkelling, though the salt water seemed to spur on the expulsion of copious amounts of snot from my nose, the head cold I have had for a week shows now sign of subsiding.

The white sand beach that stretches for quite some distance from the peer almost all the way to the private beach that our property was located on looked like something from a postcard. But hidden just below the surface are millions of sand flies just waiting to sink their teeth in. We managed to avoid this but saw several people who chose to lay down and take it, they were covered in hundreds of little lumps, pretty nasty stuff. We shared our bungalow with monster geckos and I'm pretty sure a snake slithered across our roof during the night. I didnt sleep well as their was no air con or even a fan, just a mosquito net. It worked out ok as I was up in the middle of the night to shoot the brilliant Milky Way, zero light pollution out here. Sunrise came with some beautiful light and a thunderstorm.

Overall the island was a lovely place but was marred by the experience of seeing numerous western tourists littering, especially with the dropping of cigarette butts into the ocean or onto the sand. It is so infuriating to watch people do it without even a second thought that it is so shamefully wrong. Cambodia has enough issues with waste management, let alone tourists adding to the problem.

We spent a couple of days back in Sihanoukville with a pool at the hotel which was great to avoid the beach hawkers and the heat. We got my card back, sourced our Vietnam visas (quickest visa process I have ever gone through) and explored the local market. We found a little eatery called Mango Cafe which makes its own pasta fresh daily, enjoyed stupidly cheap "fishbowls" with Mekong Whiskey (Nasty, but awesome) and organised the next portion of our trip, heading for the capital, Phnom Penh, and discovering more of the history of the Khmer Rouge and the horrors of the killing fields.

A Day in the Life

We are currently on the bus to Sihanoukville, Cambodia - at least that's where we hope this bus is taking us! Cambodian pop music intermittently blaring on the tape player! Driving through the Cambodian countryside, very lush with lots of green vegetation. Not much development in between places. Ramshackle huts line sections of the street, water buffalo grazing, garbage strewn about, clothes drying and the occasional rice paddy.

After we got away from the border crossing and the bus depot, where they know we are easy prey, Koh Kong wasn't too bad. They seem to have an economy that doesn't rely solely on tourism - fishing docks and a large market evidence of that. At the same time, since tourism isn't fully booming here, they are less equipped for it as well - less spoken English and signage. As I was discussing with a hotel employee on Koh Chang, Thailand, we, as tourists tend to gravitate towards the easier way - where we are able to communicate, understand what we are signing ourselves up for, buy a bus ticket, a place to stay and food to eat. This was even more obvious after our initial exposure to Cambodia.

Unfortunately Cambodia is among the top 20 worst countries in the world for corruption - so it is hard to know who to trust - that in itself is tiring - constantly being on guard. We frequently saw big, bling-y rings on the hands of some of the "helpful" people we interacted with, and also saw some pretty flashy SUV's in town as well. Some people are obviously doing quite well.

Traveling can be such a roller-coaster. Two days ago as we were scootering around on Koh Chang, I found myself with a big grin on my face (then having to remember to keep my mouth closed to avoid choking on a bug!), and loving it all. Then days like yesterday just take it right out of you - it becomes hard work - sometimes you just want things to be the way you are used to it at home - knowing where to go in order to get what you want, being able to ask as many questions as you want - and be sure you understand the answers, and that the information you are being provided is probably reasonably accurate. As a fairly trusting person, I really have to make sure I've got my 'tough girl, traveling hat' on - in order to make sure we aren't getting taking advantage of (too much), or being totally taken down the wrong path.

Through it all, I've been so grateful that Tristan and I are on this adventure together. Sometimes you just need a cheer me up hug and someone to share responsibilities with. It's nice to have a partner in it all - for the good and the bad! :) On that note, here are a few of the arm's length "selfie's" we've been taking along the way!

Cambodian Chaos

I was nervous about our trip from Koh Chang to Sihanoukville. We had bought tickets that take us from our hotel to the ferry, over the water, up to Trat, then to the border, then into Koh Kong in Cambodia, and finally on to Sihanoukville. The day started with us wondering why the bus wasn't there to pick us up. We phoned the booking agent and discovered they had written down the wrong hotel to pick us up from. It was written in Thai so we didn't realise, but I should have known by the nodding head, but confused eyes of the lady who made the booking, who barely spoke or understood english.

Outside of this things went well until we hit the Cambodian border. Nepal had it's moments where we were not comfortable and did not feel like we could trust what was happening around us, but not like this. I had read many stories about crossing this border, most of them involving one scam or another, or all of them. We had a very official medical officer point some thing at our ears that then beeped, followed by a demand for money to pay for a medical exam that "you must have" to entire Camdbodia. I had read that this was horse shit so we just repeatedly told him that we didn't believe him, and he repeatedly insisted we must have it until we walked away.

Despite having paid extra for "e-visa's" rather than getting over charged by the corrupt border officials, it was still quite a slow process getting through. Once we were done it was not quite clear where to go next and there was no big bus waiting for us as was indicated initially. Several touts ask you to see your tickets and when you refuse they get all aggressive with you, even though they hold no authority and are just looking for a way to get money from you somehow. One guy told us we had to take one of his taxi's, but then another fellow ended up taking over and it soon became apparent that he was the actually person we were supposed to be dealing with, though it was all a complete guessing game.

He dropped us at a ramshackle "bus station" and told us the bus to Sihanoukville would arrive at 1:45 and leave at 2pm. This was after taking us past his money changing connection and insisting we change all our Baht to Riel, and then giving us the hot tip on how much to pay him, even though we had paid for everything already. It is impossible to know who to believe, and whether or not anything is in fact legitimate.

We had more touts at the bus station trying to change our bus tickets and solicit us for private taxis for the 4 hours journey to Sihanoukville. Our border guy that dropped us off explicitly told us not to let anyone write on our tickets or they would become void, and when 2 o'clock rolled around and no bus had showed up, my questions to a sea of people about which bus and where was met with "can I see our ticket". I showed one guy, who immediately went to write on it, and I had to snatch it out of his hand. We were getting increasingly frustrated with the situation, and really just wanted some straight answers on how to get we were were going, but we just couldn't get them. It was rapidly becoming our first real taste of Asia!

In the end it turns out there was an indirect bus that eventually got us there, but we had already missed it. No one was able to tell us this the entire time, even though some of these people did speak english. So now we were stuck in this town that we already did not like for no reason other than our experience there so far. We would probably have to stay in a hotel and wait for the bus that supposedly left the next morning. Out of nowhere, some one gave Tara a cellphone and she started talking to someone about our bus drama. About 15 mins later, our border guy showed up again looking pissed off and put out by the situation. He was kind of rude and condescending about the scenario, suggesting that WE were giving HIM trouble. I resisted the temptation to let fly at him and he took us to one of his commission paying hotels, before we paid him again for his "services". He had made a killing from us and we were still stuck in this town, nowhere near our destination.

Needless to say, I was not impressed with my first taste of Cambodia, and found myself sincerely hoping things improved rapidly or this portion of the adventure would be stressful and very unenjoyable.

Island time, Thai style

What a fabulous change of scenery and pace! Our few days on Koh Chang really refreshed us and hit home that we were now in Tropical Asia. The weather was extremely hot for the majority of the time, and there were many periods of high humidity, mostly early morning where the sweat just poured off you. Although the weather may not be ideal at this time of year, we had heat and sunshine, patchy showers, and best of all, very few people. It's easy to see just how insanely busy this island has the potential to be, with soooo many accommodation options, bars, restaurants, titty bars, and street vendors. It must be manic when it's busy.

The taxi from the ferry was quite the ride, I was holding on to a bar that was welded on to the canopy (roll cage) of a mid sized pick-up with about a dozen people in the back. We made our way through the first few townships, dropping people off along the way. Winding through mountainous roads, surrounded by jungle, there are sneak views out over the beaches which are postcard style panoramas. When we descended back down to se level and arrived at our accommodation we were very pleasantly surprised with the beautiful setting, enticing swimming pools, and nice room. The low season has many places slashing their rates, and boy did we score here!!

On our first walk down our beach we had the very lucky experience of meeting a young elephant who was being taken out for a swim, and seemed to be enjoying it. He was friendly and inquisitive, Tara and I both "shook hands" with him on the beach, and when I went to see him out in the water, he repeatedly tapped my left shoulder, and also found interest in my facial hair. His trunk was softer than I expected and he was incredible dexterous and delicate. I was spellbound and very touched by this lucky moment, my first interaction with an Elephant. Turns out later that I had gotten sunburnt on my left shoulder, I had missed a spot with sunscreen, strange coincidence? or did he know I was burning?! We saw more elephants over the coming days, at the various "elephant trekking" locations, but never saw the young guy again. Still the memory is another of the trip highlights to date.

Many people may know I am not really a beach guy, the place where dirt meets water conjures up memories of freezing cold surf, sunburn, oily sunscreen and sand stuck to absolutely everything. That changes in a place like Koh Chang. The water was so warm I could not believe it. With the heat the way it was, you could just go in for a swim, and then come back out without even having a towel, and have dried off in minutes. So this is why people rave about it here!

We rented scooters and decided to explore the island a little further than just what we were finding on foot. The Eastern side of the island is less popular than the touristy Western coast, and was a beautiful ride. We arrived at a Kayak rental place that covers an area of coastal mangroves. We went out for a paddle for an hour or so and explored some of this area, discovering a small little fishing village on stilts. On the way back we had lunch at a very new, but empty, resort with an amazing pool and lounge area overlooking a not so nice looking beach area, although the tide was out which did not help with the aesthetics. There are a number of new places being built around this side of the island as development continues to invade the island. No doubt in 10 years time the entire island will be ringed by properties.

We discovered the backpacker section of the island known as "Lonely Beach", South of where we were staying, exploring it slowly on the scooters, it looked like it would make for some serious party town when the place was jiving, with loads of food, drinks and clubs. On the return journey we discovered a large family of monkeys on the road side, big males swinging in the trees, mum and babies sitting on a large rock. Locals whizz past honking at them and the gawkers to get out of the way, but for us we couldn't help but stop and look.

On the last night I stood outside our room and watched the gecko's hunting. They are a little skittish at first but then they get used to you being there. Using the lights that attract the insects, they sit and wait for their moment. I saw one take a moth twice its size and gobble it down.

Off to Sihanoukville on the Cambodian South coast next, things could get interesting!

Bangkok - Hot brick to the face

After a couple of muggy days back in Kathmandu, we took an intriguing and entertaining flight back to Bangkok. Tara and I had the interesting experience of flying with a large group of Nepalese who had never flown on a plane before, or at least not a commercial airline. They were confused about almost every aspect of the flight, but definitely excited by it. Tara was in the window seat and I was in the middle, with one of the group beside me in the aisle seat. He buckled and unbuckled his seatbelt about a dozen times before we had even begun the taxi to the runway. Right as the captain was about to drop the clutch on the runway, he went to get up from his seat, but was quickly put in his place.

Once service started he was offered drinks but didn't take them, and chose the fish meal rather than chicken, which he tasted but hardly ate, except for the bread and butter. Tiramisu was the desert which he was also not a fan of, but then again neither am I. Not one to waste food, I still ate mine, but pulled a face upon the first bite, my neighbor laughed hard at my expression and we shared a giggle together. He was troubled by the hot towel idea, and when the hostess came to collect the spent towels, he almost grabbed the used ones out of the rubbish bag she was putting them in, she looked mortified.

Later in the flight he was trying to get the touch screen entertainment system going, but clearly had no idea how to operate it based on his rampant tapping and talking to the screen. I asked him what he wanted to watch in vain as he spoke no english, he just kept point at the screen wildly. So I selected something I thought might entertain him, the latest Die Hard film!! At one point I jumped up to go to the washroom and discovered that they are also somewhat unfamiliar with using a toilet. One of the airline staff was showing one of my friends colleagues how to flush the toilet, and how to lock the door once inside. Following this patron I entered the same washroom to discovered he had (or possibly someone before him) urinated all over the toilet and floor, almost everywhere except the bowl. Thankfully I wasn't planning on sitting.

At the end of the flight, my new mate neatly folded up his blanket (with no concept of personal space, spreading his arms wide, hands across my face) and placed it back in the plastic bag it came from. Despite the fascinating differences between the world these guys live in and the one with which we are so comfortable and familiar, these guys are the nicest people with kind hearts and warm smiles.

The heat and humidity of Bangkok hit us hard, if you have ever walked behind a bus on a hot day and felt the blast of hot air from its engine you may be able to imagine, or maybe possibly if you have already been to Bangkok! Even though we were happy to start our new chapter of the trip, and be in a more developed location after the mayhem of Nepal, our evening did not start well. Everything was perfect from landing to collecting luggage and making our way into the city on the smart and efficient rail system. Then, walking in the dark and rain, just 2 minutes from our hotel, Tara stepped in a shallow grave that was conveniently located in the middle of the footpath. With the weight of her bags, she lost balance and fell over completely, landing in a puddle of dirty rain water. Her grimace told me enough, and then I spied the hole she had stood in and knew that things were not good. We got her up and hobbled to the hotel, where the air conditioning and a bag of ice was a cool welcome.

We did not have big plans for doing a lot of exploring for the next few days, it was more about doing our sweat infused laundry from the trek, shipping back everything that we no longer needed along with some souvenirs, and taking care of a few other administrative tasks for the journey to come. However this new hurdle was probably going to hamper our ability to explore with any spare time we had.

We were based in the Sukhimvit Road area, which has most of anything you could want, and also plenty of that which we didn't. Walking down some of the side "Soi's" there were many bars and massage parlours, teaming with Thai women beckoning you in, and large numbers of middle aged white men being pampered by the hostesses and learing out from the open air bars. I saw one guy who had three women tending his every need, it was hard to tell if they were on the payroll or his "girlfriends". We saw a few lady boys, though they were very obviously transvestites and so not particularly glamourous in their appearance. There was even the older aged blokes with the young Thai boy in tow, one in particular looked in his 70's, with a flaming young guy at his heels. At times I found myself being quite disgusted by the overall seediness of the area, but came to realise that it is a big part of the way things are here.

Tara's ankle blew up like a balloon but she still seemed to be able to get around without to much hassle. Upon walking further through the neighbourhood we discovered that uneven pavement, holes, raised hazards, and various other things to trip and hurt yourself could be found at every turn, so watching where you were walking became a conscious effort. We sought out street meat and tried out several dishes including the revered Phad Thai (which as a western dish I find horrible) and several curry specials. Chang beer was a great pairing for our first local meal and was insanely refreshing in the 35c heat and humidity.

The following day it was my turn to come down with a debilitating ailment, it seemed that the curry had relentlessly ploughed its way through my innards and was teaming up with some other foreign bacteria down there to create a fresh batch of bum soup. After pissing out my arse for 24 hours, it was tough to stray far from the hotel and the safety of a toilet, while trying to take care of shipping things home and doing laundry.

After 48 Hours, I am improving, but still have some intense rumblings, not dissimilar to the thunder clouds overhead, and Tara's entire foot looks like she has elephantitus, her poor little sausage toes really need a break. We traveled several hours from Bangkok to the Island of Koh Chang, South-East of Bangkok towards the Cambodian border. It was pretty easy travelling, with air con, and bathroom on board. The island here is beautiful, still hot and muggy but its nice to have a pool and the beach nearby, and be out of the city. The birds are calling, gecko's are running around everywhere, and there are elephants and monkeys to be found if you wander the islands streets.

We hope to get a few days R/R here so that Tara's ankle can get better, with some luck we might catch a waterfall or two, go kayaking to explore more of the islands coves, and maybe even swim with some dolphins....

Not a lot of pictures from this short period, but did notice the extravagance in the shopping mall we wandered through for a break from the heat. The traffic is also very hap-hazard, crossing the road involves some element of guess work, and many savvy moto-riders jump the lights to escape the 10 minute waits at some of the major intersections.