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Julia WarmingtonJulia Warmington
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Julia Warmington

Joined September 2016
  • BangCamNamKong
    Day17

    Another lazy day

     Yesterday in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Just a short walk along the beach and out to the end of the pier, bit of reading, a short swim and a lovely massage for me today. So many fish in the sea here - small ones all along the shoreline and larger fish visible from the end of the pier. Paul & I did our bit for the environment by picking up 3 plastic bags and 2 ring pulls from cans whilst walking along and put them in the bin (this is all we found). When returning to the room before dinner we found a new friend - a gecko at least 30cm long - perhaps what has been keeping us awake at night calling. Paul coaxed it outside eventually. Lovely to see though.Read more

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  • BangCamNamKong
    Day16

    Lazy Bay

     February 20 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Decided to walk to the other side of the Island for breakfast so set off down the beach to find the trail. Found the start of the trail had been replaced with a wide rough road to a construction site. Not to be put off we carried on until we came to a T junction with a path and was not sure which way to go. Met a girl walking who directed us and after a short section we got onto the right path. Lovely bay and realised we should have taken swimming stuff. Nice breakfast in the bar there. Short walk along the beach & then walked back across the island to our bungalow. I had a nice swim while Paul read his book. We ate at the restaurant in the evening - nice food.Read more

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  • BangCamNamKong
    Day15

    Tides in

     February 19 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Woke to find the tide had come in and now the see was only 20ft from our door. Was not expecting it to come in so far. Paul walked out to show how far it remains shallow. Went for a swim and then to breakfast. Walked part way along the beach - goes on for miles - and back. Felt that was far enough in the heat so found two loungers and sat by the sea reading and watching the ferries come and go - nice to relax. Had an afternoon coffee and cake and made a new friend - found him on my arm and he did make me jump! Another short walk to a different bar for a drink and a quick sunset swim (although the tide was out by this time so you have to walk for a long way before you get water to your knees). Meal in the restaurant & played bananas.Read more

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  • BangCamNamKong
    Day14

    Koh Rong Sanloem

     February 18 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Had a nice breakfast at the hotel & caught the free minibus into town - the driver kindly took us to the ferry port. Collected our tickets and only had a short wait before the catamaran arrived to take us. Sea was calm and crossing was not too bad. The island is beautiful! The sea is clear- perfect. We have a lovely view of the sea/bay from our bungalow. Walked out into the sea - very shallow for a long way - had a swim and had a nice walk along the beach looking at all the fish, crabs, star fish and other sea creatures in the pools and on the beach. Sat outside the bungalow until sunset. Went to the restaurant for a drink in the evening.Read more

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  • BangCamNamKong
    Day13

    Kampot to Sihanoukville - deja vu

     February 17 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Woke early to a cacophony of sound - dogs barking, cockerels crowing, lizards chirping (duck like sound), the local temple call for prayers & many other strange noises! Paul had not slept well as so much noise through the night. Packed, had breakfast & got a tuk tuk to the train station. Very dusty trip in - lots of lorries on the road - we had a good dust shower! After the bad train journey here we were hoping the train would be on time. Not to be - after a 5 hour wait the train eventually arrived. The train station is a distance from the town so not much to do other than sit & wait. Bought some plantain from one of the stall holders, read & walked around the station area. The train journey was slow but uneventful. We arrived in Sihanoukville about 7.30pm. We went to the first tuk tuk driver who delayed telling us a price but eventually said $25 for 8k. We argued & found another who would do it for $10 so transferred our bags & set off. Arrived at the Don Bosco School Hotel - a school with the opportunity for disadvantaged children to be taught the skills of hospitality by running a hotel. Students run the hotel under the supervision. It was lovely to see. We had dinner in the restaurant. Egg fried noodles with veg - all good and cheap. Room was fine and nice to have hot water.Read more

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  • BangCamNamKong
    Day12

    Kampot

     February 16 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Staying in a nice 'bungalow' - hut on stilts. First time we have stayed in non-air conditioned accommodation with a mosquito net but we managed to sort it out at 2.20am. The local cockerels thought it was dawn already - they did not stop all night but interestingly to hear all the other nightlife! Slept ok despite all the noise - being very tired helped. The hut only has a cold water supply so braved a very refreshing shower before going for breakfast. Limited menu but food cooked to order & was good. Hired one of the kayaks and paddled around a oxbow lake off the main Prek Tuek Chou river. Very gentle flow (just one very short section on the main river) so easy to get around and we really enjoyed the tranquillity. Back to the bungalow & our host recommended a garden party at one of the other properties so we walked there - a bit dusty and hot but we made it. Nice setting next to the river with a stage (girl singing and playing the guitar while we were there). Stayed for a drink and then caught tuk tuk into town & walked along by the river. Town seemed very quiet - almost deserted. Sat and had a few drinks in a bar & then went for dinner early at a restaurant recommended by our host. Bought some beers and water & went back to our bungalow.Read more

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  • BangCamNamKong
    Day11

    Au revour Phnom Penh - a train journey!

     February 15 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Leisurely breakfast & swim in the roof top pool - refreshing & great view. Checked out of hotel and took a tuk tuk to the train station. Collected our ticket but a little early so had a coffee in a local bakery (nice cakes). Bought some snacks for the journey too. Found a cache near the train station on an old steam train. Watched our train being loaded with a car, truck and motorbikes. Thought the train would be a good way to see the countryside and less stressful than on a minibus. It certainly goes at a sedate pace! Plenty of time to watch the countryside go by. One downside was the slight smell of diesel and the other was that we kept needing to stop to top up the water in the engine - it was leaking. Then we broke down completely! 45 minutes later they thought it was fixed - went OK for for a while but stopped again. Eventually we limped along to meet with a replacement engine which was linked up and we made it to the train station at about 2am (should have arrived at 7.40pm). Thankfully tuk tuk drivers were waiting and we set off but we realised he was taking us in the wrong direction and despite trying to explain he continued to take us to the wrong hotel. We set off again but the last part was down very bumpy dirt tracks. Paul was holding onto the bags to make sure they didn't fall off! Arrived at guesthouse at 2.20am. Shattered!Read more

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  • BangCamNamKong
    Day10

    Reflection, food & beer

     February 14 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌙 29 °C

    Visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum first. It is so hard to understand how this could happen in our lifetime - it was all so brutal & cruel. 12000 - 20000 imprisoned, tortured and brutally killed at this site alone. Heartbreaking to hear parts of the testimony of the brother of Kelly Hamill - a New Zealander imprisoned tortured and killed together with British man John Dawson Dewhirst. They were captured after their yacht drifted into Cambodian waters during a round the world sailing trip within days of Pol Pot coming to power. We spent about 4 hours walking around with an audio tour and we're thankful that we were not on a guided tour being rushed through. Came back to the hotel, showered & read a little more on the circumstances leading up to the Khmer Rouge taking power.

    Found a restaurant a short walk away, recommended on trip advisor, so headed there. Lovely place - sitting in the garden to eat. They are committed to using local food in season and not using plastic - bamboo straws, filtered water served in a glass etc. Food was good too. We then had a cache to find - in a beer garden! Found the place and bought some expensive beers - Paul had a large Road Trip & I had half a French Kiss. Had to ask the barman for a bucket of water to retrieve the cache as one of these in a tube that needs water to make it float - also had holes in the tube so while Paul plugged the holes, the barman held a torch and caught the cache whilst I poured the water - a bit of fun at the end of the day. On the walk back to the hotel there were lots of balloon sellers at the side of the road - looked quite pretty illuminated with little lights. Then we saw one being filled with butane gas (unless the container was labelled incorrectly as do not think butane is lighter than air?). We did not hang around to find out.    Read more

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  • BangCamNamKong
    Day9

    Siem Reap to Phnom Penh

     February 13 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Up early and tuk tuk to bus station. Good journey on the Giant Ibis bus. Interesting to see the countryside. Short comfort breaks and lunch stop and arrived in Phom Penh at 3pm. Tuk tuk to the hotel. Walked along the river and through one of the markets - lots of fish. Watched the fishermen on the Tonle Sap, stopped for dinner at a small cafe and walked around the night market. Had a couple of beers in the roof top bar back at the hotel - good views of the city at night.Read more

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  • BangCamNamKong
    Day8

    Massage & tales

     February 12 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Tuk tuk into town & wandered around the markets. What was supposed to be a light lunch was huge - stir fry veg (which came with rice) & chicken & pineapple rice. Back to the hotel for a swim and our 30 minute free massages. Not sure what to ask for so they gave us a traditional massage. So much pressure it was painful at times but somehow refreshing by the end! I am certain we will have bruises later! Went to the story telling theatre in the evening - 2 men with a variety of musical instruments telling the legends of the Khmer and Cambodia. Interesting performance.Read more

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