Thanh Quoc Hotel Phu Quoc Island

... with bathroom and a thatched roof, no ceiling, but it was right on the beach with a few restaurants nearby. It made me think of Shirley Valentine but I'm afraid the Asian men aren't Tom Conti (he was the waiter wasn't he?)
Now in Singapore airport with a 5hour stopover and free Internet. Will be in Melbourne tomorrow and Canberra at the end of the week.

... the abandoned structure, which was enshrouded in whisps of cloud. We had our packed lunches, and Danny was able to procure a warm Angkor from people working for a telecom on the summit. The old casino would have been impressive in its time, looking out over the Gulf of Thailand, with a 1000ft drop off the third story balcony (apparently suicide was not uncommon). Sadly, there were no views in the weather... Danny did however find a "Cambodian ...

... like the ''twister'. It involved a long steep tunnel which threw you into a huge circular toilet bowl shaped pod. You then continued to slide around the pod until you are spat out of the bottom into shallow water. A comment was made by one of Natalie's friends that during this ride she had felt a bit like a giant poo!
After a day of packing and another trip to the orphanage we said goodbye to Natalie and left for Cambodia early on Tuesday morning.

... the Bokor mountains, which are stunning.

Sadly, I don't have much in the way of photos, as my beloved little camera is on the blink. I've since discovered that it's still taking pictures, but the screen is blank, so I don't know for sure what I'm getting in the picture. Not good considering I'm off to Angor Wat in a couple of days - it would be a terrible shame to only get in half a ...

... It was a little embarrassing. The manager came out and told us the pool had been closed for “safety reasons,” which didn’t make any sense, as there were no ropes or other barriers to prevent anyone from stumbling into it and cracking their head open. She further offered us, as a consolation prize for the inconvenience, that if we would stay the allotted 4 nights, she would throw in a complimentary 1-hour massage. We declined her offer. She then told us if we ...

... is because they wait until it is ripe before they harvested and then let it dry naturally in the sun. By comparison, in Vietnam they pick it unripe and then dry it. I bought some with visions of impressing people at dinner when i get back but forgot I've got to actually get it back first! The lady also brewed rice wine which I of course tried. With the notion that it was a wine I did take a gulp only to find that it was more of a spirit with a taste similar to ...

... On the plus side, it gave us incentive to spend most of our time out and about, instead of laying about the room.
It was overcast for most of our time in Kampot, and for once, sweating wasn't a constant factor in my life. Not that it was cold, but just not as hot or humid as other parts of the country. Kampot is located on a wide brackish river close to the sea, but has the essence of a riverside town. Boats of all kinds ply the waters, and one of ...

This was our last full day on the island, and we awoke to sunshine and a light breeze... perfect!

After the usual buffet breakfast (I discovered some fantastic mini pots of frozen yoghurt today, oh what might have been), we liberally applied our sun cream, and started sunbathing.

This is the view from outside our room, nice eh?



After about six and a half minutes I was bored stiff ...

... then just leave them to rot in the off/rainy season?! It's bizarre.

Phu Quoc is neither a 'resort' island, nor an island for seeing 'nature'. It somehow manages to attempt both, yet achieves neither.

The crumbling buildings up the beach are interspersed with wood & metal shacks inhabited with very poor islanders, which are literally located next door to '4 star' resorts.

The beaches have no-one on them, yet they're lovely ...

... the sun had burnt off the clouds so it was absolutely BOILING hot on centre court, as the Suffolk Legend Al Feyderer took on Miss Warrington, Miss Katie Jean-King...

Of course it was much too hot to be running around (it must be over 30 degrees here at the moment), so we had some decent rallies, a very nice and very unexpected half-time cold towel, and ...