La Belle Guest House Kratie (Kracheh)

... so I got millions of photos with the rest of them clinging onto my neck. I also had to shake every child by the hand after I did so to one boy and I had to give everyone a swing round by their arms too! After a good half an hour of messing about and very little time admiring the pagoda I decided that I should get on my bike and keep riding south.<br><br>Eventually I got to a bridge where I gave myself a break under a ...

... the sign which now said 'HARRY VAN SCHAICK UK' changed from 'HARRY VAN SCHAICR UK'! We stopped for about 10 minutes on the side of the track where 4 men were having a mid morning snack on some Pomelos and we joined them. The pomelos are a bizarre fruit but I really enjoyed them. <br><br>As the temperature soared we arrived at the pagoda where the tree planting scheme was. I was shown to my hole and I discovered that I was the first tourist to plant ...

... I passed by and got a completely numb backside.<br><br>I got my own private boat and guide for $9 and we glided across the muddy river to search for some of the world's rarest mammals. Within 10 minutes we found them, gracefully travelling through the water in family groups. Although they got within about 3 metres of the boat the photos were not the best as it was hard to get a good snap with them coming just slightly out of the ...

... of a two floor house one block back from the Mekong. It is extremely spacious with 4 bedrooms off a large living/dining area (listen to me, I sound like an estate agent) with dark wooden walls and floor.<br><br>It felt extremely homely here and it immediately seemed like a great place to be. I left my bag in my room and we went to the atmospheric embankment to have a beer overlooking the vast Mekong and to hire me a [push]bike for $1 a day. On the way ...

... that we had hit yet another water festival, so town was nice and busy. Went for a little explore, but the town is pretty grotty really- a smelly market and loads of mobile phone shops. the river front is the nicest part and has a few cafes, but the main attraction is not in town, and about 15km up to road. Everyone stay in Kratie to come visit the Irrawaddy dolphins, they are fresh water dolphins and really<br ...

... trash and muck, and everything just seemed tired. We took a walk around the town, had some dinner, and headed to bed. <br><br> The next day, Friday, October 9, we decided to do the touristy thing and go see the dolphins. First, we had to rent bikes (the best place to see the dolphins is over a dozen kilometers upstream from Kratie, and we wanted to pedal there instead of paying for a ride). At the bike rental place, the employee said he ...

... so docile all the time. He is an ultra-pacifist, never moving if he doesn&#8217;t have to, never walking unless he is forced to, and rarely exclaiming. Channy wants him to go to Oxford. Oxford University where they make dictionaries and win/lose boat races. (that last joke was supposed to be funny, but I realised as I wrote it I know nothing about who wins more regularly, so just take the concept and laugh at that OK?) I think it is more likely he will be star student in an even more ...

It's better to burn out than to fade away&#8230;. Well&#8230; Is it? Is it though? I really don&#8217;t think that it is you know. Imagine you burn out on a Saturday, meaning that you reach your end, and I fade out on that same Saturday, I begin to fade out. Fading out takes a bit of time. <br><br>A scene in a movie (N.B I saw 'Angels &amp; Demons&#8217; last night... Surely the death of narrative cinema. One of the cover critic quotes said "As amusing melodrama&#8230; It&#8217;s ...

Ruins- It turns out that unlike in Thailand and many other SE Asian countries, you don't have to cover your shoulders nor wear long shorts/pants to visit the temples/ruins. I was shocked to see girls wearing spaghetti tank tops and short shorts while exploring the ruins but no one seemed to mind too much.<br><br><br> <br><br><br>Day 1- We got a somewhat late start and just went with a tuk tuk guy that was outside the restaurant we ate breakfast at every day. We ...

<br>Kratie (5/7) Siem Reap 6/7- 10/7)<br><br>Kratie<br><br>After a full day of traveling and a somewhat long border crossing, we finally arrived at Kratie. For the first time in 7 months since we left home we were asked for our immunization cards at the border so make sure you have a copy of yours handy.... We had just enough time to find a place to stay when the late afternoon torrential rains came down. We were basically held prisoners at our guest house ...