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South-East Asia
  • Claire and Karsten

South-East Asia

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Kuala Lumpur

    22 Ekim 2014, Malezya ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    One thing we forgot on the wrap-up: Maroon 5 are still pretty big here. "She will be loved" is being played all over Indonesia!

    We flew to Kuala Lumpur on the 20th, so already a couple of days ago but we were quite busy. Just imagine this announcement on the plane in a cheerful voice. "Be aware that the possession or smuggling of drugs is punishable by law and carries the maximum sentence: Death! Thank you."

    Arriving here after indonesia is quite the cultural shock. There are sidewalks (!), an excellent public transport system and this is a very modern, western city with the behavior coming with it. The second thing you notice is that the americanization is in full effect. There is a ton of shopping malls. Once you get out of a tram or monorail stop you often get ushered into a mall. Once we seeked shelter from the rain in an underground parking and were suddenly standing in an underground mall. In another one there is an amusement park with a rollercoaster!

    After arriving we went to check out the petronas towers, the park next to it and the malls and shopping streets in the areas called KLCC and Bukit Bintang. And god, is the beer expensive here. 2 euros for a small bottle in a shop, 12 euros for a pitcher in a bar.

    The next day we saw Lake gardens, the Merdaka (independence) square and China town. We also tried traditional malayan cuisine which is pretty close to Indonesian. But there are other parts of the national cuisine with stronger Chinese influence. We'll get to try this later.

    Today we went into Little India because it is Deepawali, basically the Hindu new year. Lot's of women in Saris and men with marks on their forehead. After that we went to the Batu Caves, a cave system which is a giant Hindu temple.

    Considering the price for beer and restaurants, public transport is really cheap. To get to these caves (30 minutes away from the city) and back we paid 2 euros. In trains there are also coaches reserved for women only. Not a bad idea.

    The afternoons and evenings we have mostly spent indoors cause of the severe rainfalls hitting the city every day (and all the malls suddenly do make a lot of sense when you have to wait for 2 hours that the crazy rain stops).

    Today we tasted some fruits including dragon fruit (this one was strangely red instead of the expected white), yellow mango (yep, there was 4 different sorts of mango to choose from at this market). We also had a glimpse of durian taste ("stinky fruit" when literally translated from German), we bought an ice cream with durian taste and... we found out that it taste as bad as it smells ;)

    Also remarkable is the difference between rush hour and rest of the day. While cars don't move and it is hard to get into a monorail car, the rest of the day is easy ridin'.

    Tomorrow we are heading towards the Cameron Highlands. Turned out to be harder than we thought to find accommodation there because today is a public holiday and a lot of people took the rest of the week off.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands

    25 Ekim 2014, Malezya ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We came to the cameron highlands 2 days ago but didn't do much because Karsten was a little bit sick. So we put in an organisational day.

    But today we finally did what we came here for. Trekking! We went on a four hour hike into the rainforest. This time we didn't see any animals though, except for leeches. Since it being the raining season those little worms are everywhere in the jungle and are quite funny. Once they smell sweat they lift their heads and rotate towards the source like a periscope in a submarine. And then they can move quite fast once they locked in on you. But we didn't go to find leeches but set out to see the giant Rafflesia. Advertised as a huge flower it is basically a giant, red, flowery mushroom. Banana for scale. Very interesting to see was the red soil which is typical for the tropics. Ask the next geographer you can find what this is about.

    The cameron highlands as such are basically a hilly version of the netherlands. Greenhouses everywhere in which they grow strawberries, lettuce, flowers, cactusses and all kinds of vegetables. Without greenhouses they grow mostly tea. You can visit strawberry farms, butterfly farms and tea plantations. We made it to a strawberry farm today where the main attraction is definitely the attached cafe. There you can find beauties like the strawberry sundae, strawberry milkshake, fried ice cream or a hot chocolate with fries (wtf?).    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Cameron highlands

    26 Ekim 2014, Malezya ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Today Karsten was still a bit sick, so I went alone on the trek that we booked earlier this week (being together with one guide and 4 other tourists you don't feel so alone actually, except maybe for couple's pictures ;))

    The trek was uphill, into the rainforest and then down to a tea plantation. Again, no animal watching there (although we saw a snake; good to learn that my allergy to wasp and bee stings turns a mildly venomous snake into a potential killer to me!) but a lot of flora to be discovered. The guide was excellent and showed us dozens of plants and trees and explained what they were used for. He also explained about ecology, politics and so on. We passed through a part of the forest called mossy or cloud forest so you can guess that it was full of moss and we basically walked through a cloud. Pretty cool! The tea plantation was really impressive and beautiful and I got to understand better the differences between teas. In summary, a great day (although it would definitely have been better with my dear husb#~*)    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
    51

    Melaka

    29 Ekim 2014, Malezya ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Aaaaaand it's hot again. While in the Cameron Highlands it was a nice 18-25 degrees and you had to wear a sweater in the evening we are now back to humid 31℃ in Melaka.

    The city itself is pretty different from most cities we've seen so far. It is cute, calm and the traffic is bearable! We came here on Monday and spent the first day relaxing and eating great street food. The next morning we got a free guided tour to most of the tourist attractions in the city which include Dutch colonial architecture (the houses are long and narrow as tax was imposed based in the frontage of the house), the remains of a Portuguese fort, a wooden sultans palace built without a single nail, Chinatown and an old trading ship which is now a museum. After more delicious street food (chicken rice ball) we continued by ourselves to little India, the sea front, the biggest Chinese cemetery outside of China - Melaka was an important port for spice trade and attracted many Chinese merchants - and malls for air condition. Did we mention that it is really hot here? In the evening we took a bike (yes, Claire rode a bike) to more tasty street food (Laksa, a kind of curry) and other parts of the city. This bike tour was organised by the hostel and we met some nice people with whom we decided to continue the evening, treating ourselves to one beer each (yes, just one: 1,5euro for a small can. We can't wait to have cheap beers! ;)

    Today we wanted to do a cooking class but the only hotel offering it is a bit stupid so that isn't going to happen. So, no Malay food when we come back. And we'll probably leave a day early and head to Singapore tomorrow.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Singapore

    30 Ekim 2014, Singapur ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Just a short post with pictures for you to dwell on. We arrived in Singapore today. Immigration and bus ride went pretty smooth. After arrival in our hostel where we sleep in a 12 people dorm, we went out to see the Bay area by night and went to eat in a hawker centre. That is like a food court in a mall, without the mall. And SO MUCH food!

    Singapore is pretty nice so far. Impressive, interesting mix of architecture, clean and most surprisingly very calm for such a city. Tomorrow we'll see how that looks with daylight.

    Fun thing: in the subway they play little cartoon video about how to properly use public transportation - give up you seat for the elderly, get in line, move to the back of the bus etc. - starring hushhushhanna and bagdownbenny.    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Singapore Zoo

    1 Kasım 2014, Singapur ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We went to the Zoo yesterday! Keeping up Claires travel tradition made her fall into french mode right upon entering the Zoo. The Zoo was pretty cool - except for the daily Singapore rain which trapped us inside a food court (OH NO) for like 2 hours. With the climate they have you can imagine the alleys full of green vegetation always giving you the feeling to be in a (very clean and tidy) jungle. The zoo is actually located within one of the few areas in Singapore where there still is primary rain forest. But of course this very part is not natural anymore. We saw some decent shows but what was more fun was the Night Safari. An extra zoo which you can only visit after sunset at 7.30pm as all their nocturnal animals are most active at this time. A zoo in the dark is a nice thing. So you can go see a tiger being fed really close. It was like just 1 meter away, only separated through a thick layer of glass. The African Lion is definitely more impressive than the Asian one. With the low light and when not moving, the animals sometimes looked as they were stuffed. And most importantly, we saw a Slow Loris (!!) climbing a branch just in front of us very slowly of course.

    Soon, we'll head into the city, after it stops raining and our laundry is done!    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin

    Singapore

    3 Kasım 2014, Singapur ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    God, big cities are exhausting. And fun! Singapore sure is both. After our day at the zoo we went to explore the city itself. Little India, the Muslim Quarter, the Colonial Quarter, the CBD, Marina Bay, Gardens by the bay and Chinatown we did on Saturday. Quite a walk. We were impressed by the last one, one of the nicest Chinatown we've ever seen: of course there were dozens of shops as usually in cute, well kept streets with nice small houses. There was one central place where people were dancing some known choregraphy.

    The bay is definitely better at night although already quite cool during the day. On the evening we saw a sound and light show (projection on a fountain/wall of water) in front of the Marina Bay Sands hotel, that was impressive!

    On Sunday we climbed the highest mountain in the state of Singapore. Towering at 116m above sea level sits Mt. Faber. But we didn't hesitate and started the tiring hike to the mountaintop which took us a whole 20 minutes!!! We continued along walkways called the Southern Ridges. Both the mountain and the Ridges offer unique views on the city and Sentosa Island south of Singapore. Very nice.

    After being in a 12 people shared room, we decided to treat ourselves with a very good hotel (but still not the Marina Bay Sands) for the last night.

    Unfortunately, the restaurants that we had checked on Saturday and planned on going to the next day were closed on Sunday, so good restaurant will be for Vietnam...    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin

    2 in 1 Wrap-up

    3 Kasım 2014, Singapur ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Before to start, we must say... it is one month you get regular news from us but we didn't get much from you guys! Don't hesitate to write us mails and explain what's happening in your lives!

    The Malaysian stuff:

    - Malaysia has a majority of Muslims, so except in really touristy area, it is more respectful for girls to cover up: long pants and t-shirt during 2 weeks for Claire

    - Hold hands, kiss or show affection in public is frowned upon (in Indonesia as well actually), kissing can actually lead to jailtime in some regions, so keep our distance

    - opposite to that, public burping, spitting, snorting, throat clearing and singing along to the music you hear on you earphones are condoned. Same applies to Singapore

    - both countries are multi-ethnic. The majority is Malay but there are large minorities of Chinese and Indian people and in Singapore a lot of Westerners

    - Since Melaka was an importantport for spice trade, a lot of Chinese and Indian merchants settled there hundreds of years ago. They married local Malay women, and their descendants have specific names, "Baba-nonya" and "Chitta" respectively

    - there are a lot of people in Germany jerseys on the streets. Non-german people! But no jerseys of other national teams. Probably all bandwagon fans!

    The Singapore stuff:

    - The streets are calm and extremely clean. No chewing-gum on the floor... no wonder, chewing gum is actually forbidden to avoid it being thrown on the pavement in the first place

    - We didn't see any beggars or homeless people. The only person we encountered who definitely looked poor was fishing in a pond. Makes you wonder a bit if they are exceptionally taken care of - we doubt it - or if they are just kept out of sight

    - Although restaurants are very expensive, it is possible to buy relatively cheap meals in hawker centres and mall's food courts. But it isn't so easy to find a restaurant on a Sunday

    - KL and Singapore are similar in that regard that they try to lure the rich people of the middle east to their cities. Both cater to their needs and are shopping heavens with countless luxury hotels

    - you also notice right away when you are in a big Western-style city such as KL or Singapore. While in the smaller towns and especially in Indonesia, everybody smiles at you and says hi this isn't the case here. First, they are much more used to tourists and white folks. But second, it also is a lot more anonymous in big cities. Same development as in Europe    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin

    Saigon

    4 Kasım 2014, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We were greeted by pouring rain, outlandish traffic and very persistent street vendors. Yet somehow, we don't hate it. Quite the opposite. We actually kinda like it here and it is more than the happy hour beer price of 40 cents! There are nice buildings in this huge city, the backpacker area is fun (as long as you take care of your wallet) and the food is great. 

    We arrived on Monday and successfully took the bus instead of the taxi from the airport (40 cents instead of 7 EUR). Finding the hotel might have proven difficult, but one guy on the bus got off with us, brought us to the door step and said goodbye. Made our day! In the evening we explored the area a bit and ended up at the Bui Vien street, that turns into a bar at night. The traffic still flows through it, but on the sidewalks hundreds of small plastic chairs are placed and beer, cocktail and shots are served. One could easily spend hours there just watching drunk Germans, street vendors selling all kinds of stuff (books, dried Calmar, knifes etc.) and other backpackers looking for their hostel. Absolutely great!

    Today we walked around again to see some of the sights of HCMC. Notre Dame or the Independence Palace for example. Because we walked a lot these days we got a little foot massage after that. Very nice.

    Tonight we went for dinner and drinks with a girl we met in Melaka. We're totally part of the backpacker community now!    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Cu Chi Tunnels

    6 Kasım 2014, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Yesterday we went to see the famous Vietcong tunnels in Cu Chi. The tunnels themselves were super small. Remarkable if you think that people actually lived down there for years to survive. You can enter in a small section of the tunnels. 3 different levels with one being so small that we would have had to crawl to move forward. We were to sissy to do that but went into the other two parts where you still were far away frombeing able to stand.

    You can see some parts of the old tunnels which are now made accessible for tourists, like a kitchen, an armory or a hospital. And then you get to see a little 20 minute propaganda video, which is fun for 5 minutes. All in all, the visit was definitely worth it. Some downsides though: a LOT of tourists, some them drinking beer all the way through this museum. Also, they have a shooting range there, where one could fire some guns like ak47 and other stuff. Quite disturbing to wander through a place like this and hear constant gunfire. Or, if you want to phrase it positively, it sets the atmosphere.

    In the evening we met with a couchsurfer who is teaching English at university and his students to speak some English with them. First we had some street food together and then sat down in their class room to just talk. This is supposed to help them build up some confidence in actually talking in English and we think that it is great initiative on the teachers side to make that possible. That was really fun and a great conclusion of the day.    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Saigon

    6 Kasım 2014, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    After mentally preparing ourselves to see the awfulness of humanity at the War Remnant Museum, we found out - when we arrived there at noon - that government buildings close for 2h during lunch pause. We are now not sure anymore if we are going to find the courage to visit it tomorrow morning...

    This afternoon we went for a great cooking class! We cooked 5 different dishes, our favourite being chicken with lemongrass and the most surprising being a salad with green (not ripe) papaya, dry beef, and more. We also learned how to cut like a pro and the rest is a secret ;).

    After the course - to cap off our stint in hcmc - we had a drink on a roof top terrace (first wine for Claire since the wedding, pure happiness ;). Unreasonable prices thought. Beer 60 cents.

    As to the traffic, we will just defer to the video at the bottom of this paragraph. Sometimes it is even worse. In the video you see the street we had to cross every day. You just have to make sure you are aware of buses and cars as they won't stop for you. Motorcycles will navigate around you somehow...most of the time. 
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqPSsu7XQ74    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Cần thơ

    7 Kasım 2014, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    After eating a good Phở (beef noodle soup) for breakfast we directly went to the bus station (yes... we finally didn't go to the war museum...). We decided to go directly to Cần thơ, the major city in the Mekong delta instead of starting by a Mekong delta tour from Saigon which were either private tours and thus too expensive or with a group of 25 people and full of tourist traps. Neither was too appealing.

    We arrived on the afternoon and booked a street food tour on the evening. We were with an Indian family and our guide brought us to different places in the city and explained us typical dishes for real Vietnamese people. In the programme: pork barbecue (that is just the name, no barbecue involved here), special muffins with green beans, pork and shrimps made only in one place (deep fried twice, it can on be excellent ;), eggplant stew, mouse, sticky rice (sweet colored rice in a waffle with coconut and sugar) and... duck embryo (Claire was the only brave one but all wanted to see ;) a very good experience overall! And yes, you also read mouse in that list. A typical dish for the Mekong Delta but less common nowadays because of the pesticides used on rice fields which are the major source of food for mice.    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Cần thơ

    8 Kasım 2014, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Our friend Dunja was leaving in Cần thơ for some months so we had the opportunity to meet her friend Linh, who showed us around. We started with a Dunja pilgrimage: we ate in her usual lunch place, trying her favourite dish and drink ;) then we walked around the city for 4 or 5h, it was quite calm since it was afternoon and no one wants to go on in the sun (not because of the heat - it is the coldest season here, only 30° - but because no one wants to get tanned).

    Linh left after the walk and after some rest we went to a restaurant where Karsten had a claypot dish and Claire tried a vietnameses pancake. The idea is to roll the pancake in mustard leaf (which tastes like wasabi) with some raw vegetable and dip it in a fish sauce.    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Mekong-Delta

    10 Kasım 2014, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    The last 2 days we spent on and around the Mekong, mostly in the rural areas close to Can Tho.

    Sunday we slept in for the first time in weeks. Completely relaxed we got ourselves on a couple of bikes (yes, bikes again) and cycled through the countryside. We rode on small roads through villages and were able to get a glimpse into rural lifestyles. We saw an open air temple built into mangroves, were greeted like a hundred times by local children and could try a couple of fruits like milk apple, water apple, jackfruit or mango. The pineapple was better in Indonesia ;). We also represented our countries well when asked by locals to chuck a round of beer with them.

    Today we spent most of the day on a small motor boat visiting 2 floating markets, the main attraction of the area. We got up at 4.30 to be at the first one around 6.30 to see it live and bustling. The first was the floating market of Cai Rang, one of the biggest in the Delta. Mostly bigger, motorized boats come here to sell goods from their farms. For example you could see a boat full of pineapples anchoring here for 3 or more days till all its fruits are sold, then going back home and coming back in the next few days. Between those bigger boats you can see smaller boats buying those fruits and vegetables - it is almost exclusively that, fish and meat for example are sold elsewhere - for their local markets or selling coffee to the vendors. The second one was a smaller, local version. There you could get most stuff necessary for a daily life. Fruits, veggies, clothes etc. There was even a small convenience store floating around. After that we drove into the smaller canals of the countryside and floated along rice fields and fruit gardens.

    All in all those were 2 trips well worth our money because you really get a feel for how much the local livelihood revolves around the Mekong. From gas stations for boats, people washing their clothes and themselves in or catching their lunch from the river, rice and other fruits kept alive with Mekong water to housing and everything that comes with it: the Mekong is what makes this region work. If you have any more questions about the region or especially about how man made climate change affects the people's livelihoods, please ask away! Dunja will answer all your inquiries in German, French or English ;).    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Mekong-Delta

    10 Kasım 2014, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Just some more pictures for your viewing pleasure.

    1. Cai Rang floating market
    2. Ditto. Here you can see the poles on the boats. On those they hang the fruit they are selling at the moment. If the boat itself is for sale, they would flag coconut leafs
    3. Empty rice field    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Phu Quoc

    13 Kasım 2014, Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Beach days. Literally nothing is being done ;). Enjoy the pictures, next update from Cambodia!

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Vietnam wrap-up

    13 Kasım 2014, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    - In Can Tho you get free ice tea as soon as you sit at a restaurant table

    - They drive on the right side (somehow new for us after one month ;)

    - There is much more police force on the street than in the countries we've visited before

    - everyone is honking without apparent reason

    - in most street food places you get to be your own cook: you get your basic dish with a plate of greens (lettuce, mustard leafs, mint, coriander etc.) and can add whatever you like. Most food - even the Vietnamese pancakes - are rolled in rice paper with the greens of your choosing

    - they love noodle soup anytime of the day. Some restaurant don't propose anything else (Karsten was happy, Claire kinda had enough of it after 2 weeks)

    - a lot of people are wearing a mask against dust in the street, most often on motorbikes. The mask can be a chirugical one for 1 time use or washable with hello kitty or other patterns (sometimes fitting to the outfit)

    - For crossing the street, see one of our previous posts ;)

    - when you toast with someone you announce how much percent of the beer you and the other(s) will have to drink

    - nobody likes to be tanned, especially women. So on motobikes, they cover up completely! (the usual mask against dust, long sleeves, gloves, socks with space between the bigger toe if they have thongs)

    - wearing a helmet on motorbike is obligatory, everyone has one. The quality of the helmet is another matter. It is not uncommon to see people with cap and the helmet loosely on top.

    - although helmet is requested, the number of people on a motorbike doesn't seem to have regulation. Sometimes they do have chairs for kids, sometimes the kids are simply stuck between the parents

    - football can be a conversation starter, as it usually is the easiest common knowledge between people. A lot of Vietnamese don't have a clue of where or what is a "Belgium", others probably don't know much more but when they hear Belgium, they answer "aaah, Eden Hazard!"

    - they've got pretty decent internet coverage through the country

    - and they actually do where those typical hats, however you call them.    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin

    Kep

    14 Kasım 2014, Kamboçya ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    This morning we got on the boat from Phu Quoc to Ha Tien, the Super Dong (ba dum tss)! Then we asked one last time if Dong was an acceptable payment method for goods and services. Upon confirmation we got our Dong out and paid (ba dum tss, ba dum tss!). Imagine childish laughter here...we also estimate that the total of like 3 people will understand and/or laugh about this joke ;).

    Between Vietnam and Cambodia we had to wait a while. We had lunch with an English couple which actually made it worth the wait. On the border we experienced the usual try to gain the additional dollar here or there from us. Boy did the border guard look disappointed ad we whipped out our vaccination certificates without which you allegedly have to pay an extra fee to enter Cambodia. 1 Dollar saved. Yessssssss!

    Now we are in Kep, Cambodia and this is one nice but very small and sleepy town. We are in a very nice hostel which is swarmed by French people. To the nonexistent city center it is quite far but we decided to walk nonetheless until the famous crab market (It was so far that the tuktuk ride back cost us 3 USD). But Claire is allergic to seafood and Karsten doesn't like it, so we had fish and chicken with pepper sauce which was DE-LI-CIOUS. Now we still have to find out what to do here ;).    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Kep

    15 Kasım 2014, Kamboçya ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    OK, we reconsidered the part with the nice hostel. Party all night long, giant cockroaches and the air full of weed ;). Oh and as we are writing a big spider crawled along our wall.

    Today, we walked through a complete national park! That sounds like a very impressive feat, but Kep national park is possibly one of the smallest in the world. It was a very nice walk through a habitat of scorpions and giant spiders - none of which we actually encountered.

    In the afternoon we rented a tuktuk to take us to some places. Just the ride on the streets and bumpy roads through green rye fields would have been worth it. Beautiful! First, we went to some old French houses destroyed by the Khmer rouge and not yet restored. After that, we visited the salt fields of Kep. In the dry season, which is officially about to start in a couple of weeks although we didn't have rain for more than a week, sea water is taken here for evaporating and leaving behind its salt. The highlight of the tour was the visit of a organic pepper plantation. We learnt about the differences between green, black, white and red pepper and some tricks of growing pepper. We'll get to that when we come back. The last stop was a little cave where different stalactites took on shapes roughly resembling animals. On the way there dozens of kids where already running and cycling next to our ride offering their guidance through the cave. So you have to pick one but like 5 come with you anyways. The lonely planet says they're practicing their school english which is complete and utter bullshit. They only repeat the phrases they learned which is cute enough and allows them to earn a little extra on the side.

    Only downside on Cambodia so far: fucking dogs!    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Rabbit island

    16 Kasım 2014, Kamboçya ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    This is pretty much how a tropical paradise is supposed to look like. Admittedly, the sand could've been a bit whiter and the water more turquoise. But still we had a great day relaxing on rabbit island. Got up, took a boat, had breakfast on the island. Insanely good cheese omelette. Then we spent the whole day lying in hammocks (you can actually see Claire in her hammock on pic no. 2), reading and sleeping on a calm and not crowded beach. No stone building around, only huts... And in between - just for good measure - we got a 60 minute Khmer massage for 5 USD on the beach. And boy did they get to work on our sore muscles. No oil but best massage so far! They only work on pressure points, which sometimes was making Claire think of a big cat preparing the lap on which it wants to get comfortable. And of course a couple of beers in the end. View from the bar is pic no. 3.

    Great day, veeeeeeeeery relaxing!

    After returning we had decent cake in a cafe owned by an American couple. They were reallynice and working with victims of human trafficking. But they were also hardcore republicans actually believing that Obama is a Muslim and therefore a lesser person. Kinda sending mixed signals those 2 ;).    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Kampot

    17 Kasım 2014, Kamboçya ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Where in Kampot now, home of the famous pepper. But we'll just stay one night, since the places one usually visits from here are the same as from Kep. But we wanted to eat some more pepper.

    So this post is just to prepare you for the fact that updates might be scarce in the next days, cause where we are going, we don't need roads...and there is only limited internet connection.
    OK Nat, reference to which movie can be found here?

    Pic no. 3 is the Kampot Olympic Stadium btw.    Okumaya devam et

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  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
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    Chi Phat

    19 Kasım 2014, Kamboçya ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    This is a little village halfway between Kampot and Koh Kong, on the fringes of the Cardamom mountains and the Kohl Kong conservation corridod. They have established a functioning community based eco tourism management plan for their village. Tourists get picked up in nearby Andoung Teuk and taken to the village. We chose to be taken here by boat which took us 2 hours. Once in the village you get your accommodation assigned to you based on a rotational system which makes sure every family in the village gets their fair share. You only choose the category of the accommodation. The same system is applied to boat drivers, guides, cooks etc. The whole small village is taken care of this way which we found an idea worthy of support. The main idea behind the concept is to prevent poaching and illegal logging. Only little problem for us is that our assigned "guest house" doesn't really have a shower... Also there is electricity available only around 5h/day.

    After arrival we had dinner at the community centre with a group of tourists and had some beers with a British couple. Unfortunately, no one wants to join us on a multi-day jungle trip yet which would bring down the price.

    The first day in the village we spent exploring and swimming near some rapids in the local river making up for the lack of shower ;). It was really interesting (and relaxing) to be in a real village, which we normally wouldn't be able to reach, nor to find accommodation in. The kids were cool, always laughing and saying hello.

    In the evening we went on a starlight and fireflies cruise. The stars in the sky look absolutely amazing here! Which we were lucky enough to see the first and last evening in Chi Phat cause during the cruise it was cloudy and no stars were seen. That was more than made up for by the fireflies though. They were concentrated on a couple of trees along the river with one apparently being the party tree. That one was blinking like it was decorated for Christmas. Amazing!    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
    12

    Chi Phat

    22 Kasım 2014, Kamboçya ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Although we found no one to team up for an overnight jungle trek we still went for it. We started 7.30 in the morning and walked all day to a nice waterfall for a very deserved and cooling bath. To get there we walked through changing landscapes which was very nice. Grasslands with high or lower grass, dense forest, artificial forest, banana plantations, some Savannah-ish landscape, crossing some rivers etc. The only wildlife we saw this time were giant worms, lizards, spiders, leeches, and tons of insects like cikades, flies and of course mosquitoes. There was a 2 minute window where we didn't wear long sleeved clothing and they were already feasting. We also heard some Gibbons and saw traces of an elephant and wild dogs - dog poo that is.

    We then slept in hammocks with mosquito nets in a small campsite. Absolutely great experience. We had a guide and a cook with us who didn't really speak English which was a bit of a disappointment but provided us with good food and save passage through the jungle.

    The way back was a bit tough. Not because we had small paths to walk on but an open road in the glaring sun for half a day - did we mention that it is really hot here? We were rewarded with lunch and a swim at a waterfall near Chi Phat.

    The last night we treated ourselves to a night in a very nice bungalow - 10 USD. A fortune!

    To get back we took a motorcycle. Yes this really happened. It was OK, since it was on a mostly empty countryside road but not an experience we have to repeat too soon (at least not in a city).

    Now we are in Krong Koh Kong close to the Thai border and will have dinner at - this message is especially for Vi and Michael - Cafe Laurent.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
    1
    17

    Koh Kong

    24 Kasım 2014, Gulf of Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    We had our last beach day on an ocean yesterday as we will now make toward inner Cambodia and Lao afterwards which is a landlocked country as you all know. Quiz of the day (sans Google, but you can use your puzzle, Nat!): Name the only 2 double landlocked countries in the world. (landlocked=no connection to the sea / double landlocked=no connection to the sea nor to country having themselves connection to the sea)

    The beach on Koh Kong island we spent the day on was fantastic. Just a German family, a French couple, us, and 2 guides on it. Super calm! Karsten got his first (light) sunburn. Maybe that will help in getting him tanned a little ;).

    On the way back we had a little walk in a mangrove forest which was quite nice although we had our first rain since Saigon.

    Today we had another relaxing day in Koh Kong city, so this time Karsten got his hair cut. Turned out...well...pic below.    Okumaya devam et

    Çeviriyi gör
  • Claire and KarstenSouth-East AsiaGezgin
    13

    Phnom Penh

    28 Kasım 2014, Kamboçya ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    So, we actually arrived here on Tuesday and didn't post anything yet...there just isn't much in PP. Buuuut we were very happy to meet some people we got to know in Labuan Bajo. Chance was that we were all in PP the same time. Really great and we basically spent the days together, so not much time for writing ;).

    Spending time together obviously includes drinking beer which is more expensive than in Vietnam, except for the happy hour along the river side. On Wednesday we checked off some of the tourist stuff and visited some pagodas, the national museum (from the outside) and the kings palace. Inside the kings palace is a Pagoda whose floor is made from silver tiles. Note to self: don't get silver tiles as floor pieces in the flat. Highly uncomfortable!

    On Thursday we went to the killing fields and the S-21 prison, the two major memorials for the horrific crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge. You'll have to read up on that yourself because those atrocities just leave us at a loss for words.

    Today we organized a bit which we pushed off a bit too long so we have to spend an extra night here in PP because the bus we wanted to take was already full. But tomorrow we will leave Cambodia's capital for Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat.    Okumaya devam et

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