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Holiday in Cambodia: Day 5, Battambang
So I have a list, which would come as no surprise to anyone, as every traveller has at least one list: things to always pack, things to avoid packing, 15 ways to be a tight-arse in an impoverished country, and so on. Mine is in response to the frequent question: where would you love to go to or go back to? Being honest, almost everywhere I’ve been to has left me feeling either that I had a really great time, or that I barely scratched the surface of somewhere unique and want to explore more, so I’d go back to almost everywhere I’ve been, if the opportunity arose. Almost. My…
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Holiday in Cambodia: Day 4, Siem Reap to Battambang
Today, for better and worse, was what travelling is all about. Real travel, the stuff the stories get told about, where not everything goes as expected but everything turns out okay in the end. The boat. There are two ways to get to Battambang from Siem Reap, either by road or by water. Most people travel by road: bus, taxi, scooter, whatever. It takes a few hours and if you pick right you get airconditioned comfort. By road is fast, and cheap. Otherwise there’s the boat. When you google boat Siem Reap Battambang you’re soon waist deep in travel blogs talking about how “interesting” the boat ride is, and how…
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Holiday in Cambodia Day 3: Siem Reap
I should have wrapped up my previous post with the affirmation that I am still a fortunate traveller. That I am one of a minority in the world who can earn both enough money and enough time to hop on a plane or two in order to be a Goldilocks. So there, me, take that. Today was aiming for a take it easy day, as the previous day I clocked over 35,000 steps. How hard would it be to just have a quiet meander around the museum, grab some food, and maybe a good foot massage? 23,000 steps later, I think I missed the point. The museum at Siem Reap…
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Holiday in Cambodia Day 2: Siem Reap, Angkor Wat
I am a fortunate traveller. In the past 3 months I have both watched the sun set over Manhattan, and the sun rise over Angkor Wat. I know that I’ve also worked hard to be able to afford both the time and money to travel, so some of my fortune is of my own doing, but I’m in a count my blessings kind of mood. (Not that I’m going to literally count all of my blessings, but we can just say that I’ve probably got more than most but less than some.) Angkor Wat, a huge, impressive temple structure, symbol of Cambodia, world heritage listed, and a monument to Vishnu.…
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Holiday in Cambodia Day 1: Siem Reap
If I only make about as many typos this time as I’ve had hours sleep today then I think I’m doing pretty good. Today has been a series of fitful, uncomfortable naps, followed by food, and repeat. I got about 2 hours on the flight PER > SIN, followed by not the best airline breakfast. The staff were looking after me, though, as the inflight entertainment wasn’t working for my seat, so they kept checking to see if they could do anything else for me. It meant I got breakfast along with the dietary groups that normally get fed first, so I probably missed an extra 30 minutes sleep there.…
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Holiday in Cambodia: Day 0
It’s that time again, for the second year in a row I find myself with some accrued work time I have to take and I’ve managed to scrape together the bucks for a cheap jaunt in South East Asia. Last year was Kuala Lumpur: cooking classes, rollercoasters, rooftop helipad bars. This time it’s the Heart of Darkness, the place where, as Jello Biafra noted in the late 1970s, “they get things done”. It’s a holiday in Cambodia. I don’t know much about Cambodia. I’ve read the news, followed the history, read the wikipedias. So all I know is that, when it comes to Cambodia, is that I know fuck all.…
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Days 18-20: Frankfurt, Badenheim, and surrounds
The last few days have been full of many cool things, and many hot things. For the hot stuff, well Europe is currently experiencing close to a record-breaking heatwave. The maximum temperatures started with a bearable 32, but today and possibly tomorrow are around 38-39 degrees. Add this to longer hours of daylight, and the temperature peaking around 5pm and the level of comfort less than optimal. And then comes the bonus, as this area is full of 200+ year old houses built to keep warm through snowy, sub-zero winters, and lack the high ceilings, fans and airconditioners that no Australian home would be without, and well, I’ve been sweating…
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Days 16-17, Krakow part 2
Krakow is a lovely town, and I think I’ll always be happy spending a couple of days here, just wandering the old town and surrounds, eating the food, drinking the vodka and beer. But after a couple of days, once I’ve figured out the maze of streets, it can start to get a little difficult to find ways to amuse myself between eats and drinks. So aside from it obviously being great to see L after her her few days in the UK, I enjoyed being with her as she discovered Krakow, seeing her fascination for the old streets and beautiful historic buildings, and as I’d only ever been to…
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Days 14-15: Krakow part 1, the search for the perfect pierogi
Thus begins the solo adventures of a not-so young man in search of the perfect pierogi. Or something like that. With L still in the UK hanging with her mum and great aunt, I’ve got a couple of days in Krakow. I’ve been here before, seen many of the sights, so I’m unlikely to regale you with tourist tales of all that Krakow offers. I’m writing this about half way through my second day here, and so far all I can say is that I’ve slept a lot, and walked a lot. I think that I might have a touch of jet lag, as my sleep patterns are a bit…
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Day 13: Frankfurt
I’ve hit that point where I think it’s day 13, but it just might not be. I’m not completely sure what day it is, but am pretty sure I spent most of it either getting to or wandering around Frankfurt. The flight in was good, premium economy on the Singapore airlines A380 is pretty comfy, the seats have an okay recline and a decent amount of space. First movie was South Korean, “Hit and Run Squad”, full of drama, some explosions, and lots of car chases. As the last two stops of this tour are Krakow and Frankfurt, I thought that possibly one of the most memed movies of the…
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Day 11: Havana to New York, one day in a place they named twice
The last morning in Havana was spent running around trying to spend the last of our CUC, as they can’t be exchanged outside of Cuba. I tried, I really did, but the level of Cuban souvenirs is generally not great for carrying around and bringing back into Australia: too much wood and leather. All of the fridge magnets are either clay or wood: there are so very few metal magnets here. And here is a real kicker: it seems that this is a country that doesn’t do souvenir tea towels. Not one. We thought that there were also no snow globes, too. One last Havana thought: it seems the touts…
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Day 10-11: Mambo de la Luna, thoughts from the road
Snake eyes on the paradise, and we’ve got to go today. These are just road thoughts, a further attempt to pull together what I’ve experienced over the last 10 days. That sort or piece where any better writer would be able to neatly wrap things up in a paragraph, or an Anthony Bourdain show could sum things up well in a couple of lines and a decent final shot. Cuba has been challenging, that’s for sure. All travel is challenging, or at least it should be: there is no point going around the world just to experience what you have at home everywhere you go. For Cuba, some of the…
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Day 10: Mambo de la Luna: Trinidad, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, Havana
Our last full day in Cuba. Another wonderful breakfast at the casa before we hit the road. I don’t think I’ve described the breakfasts we’ve been getting, which have all been both substantial and great quality. The usual starter is a bowl or plate of fruit, which has consistently featured mango but can also have guava, pineapple, rock melon, orange, or banana. I’ve been loving the fresh fruit. Then comes some eggs, any way we like, but omelette has been a consistent choice, as we’ve also been given plates of cheese and ham. There’s also usually bread, and today we also had sweet, jam-filled biscuits that looked like dumplings or…
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Day 9: Mambo de la Luna, Salsa de la Casa, Trinidad de Cuba
Today was all about water. After a huge breakfast at our awesome casa, Hostal Ramirez aka Casa Leoslinda y Reinier, we were bundled into a taxi to be taken to Trinidad’s famed Playa Ancon, or Ancon beach. As beaches go, it’s nice. A bit touristy, but currently it’s the off-season so there’s probably not the same level of service, i.e. locals coming up and offering to get all manner of food, drink, whatever. In the two hours we were there, I was offered a lot of pizza, but only a couple of times, drinks (and the first time was when we were just arriving). The second offer was from a…
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Day 8: Mambo de la Luna, Camaguey to Trinidad
Historic Camaguey, or Port Principe. The tour started with an old church, including an offer to tour the crypt. I took the tour, hoping to get a glimpse of some relics, maybe a body part of a saint or two, or a chunk of the true cross. Sadly no such luck. They had three rooms open, each with some interesting items. The first had a candle presented to the church by Pope John Paul II, the glasses of a priest that is held in high regard the locals, some other items like 17th century art that has been found under the church. Through a very low doorway into the second…
