The Khemara Battambang I Hotel

... ourselves to chocolate mousse and crème brulee; they were divine. On the way back towards our guesthouse we enjoyed the bustling riverside local scene. There were several groups of Khmers doing aerobics routines to blasting Khmer and American music, lots of people walking and hanging out, food stalls, and a small set of fair rides for kids. It was a fun spot, and I am sure it is a regular source of evening entertainment for the locals.

... looked at me, there was a pause and then he said it "you owe me for you bag, a dollar". Couldn't believe it, a dollar for literally a 20 meter walk with a backpack that I would have done had I known there was a charge! Baring in mind the average Cambodian wage is just over a dollar a day you can imagine how ****** I was at their cheek. He wouldn't even accept it in riel but took my 5 dollar note and gave me the change back in riel, cheers lazy ****! With frenchies in ...

... journey, but we heard from other travelers that the journey took them 10 hours packed onto a boat with no toilet. We also thought about going to the Prek Toal bird sanctuary, but it would have cost $160 and that's a bit much for us.

We arrived at Battambang at midday and the Bus Stop Hostel had sent 2 motorbikes to pick us up. My dad will be proud to know that I got on the back of one bike, with my 20kg rucksack between the drivers knees - oh I've changed ;) I even ...

... Zum Glueck fahren die Gueterzuege mit max. 15km/h, so dass immer genug Zeit bleibt auszuweichen. Es war jedenfalls ein riesen Gaudi...

An unserem zweiten Tag in Battambang haben wir einen Ausflug zu einem in der Naehe gelegenen Tempel gemacht. Auf den Bildern ist die staubige Strasse zu sehen, die eine der groessten Verkehrsadern des Landes darstellt :-) Der Aufstieg zum Tempel war schweisstreibend und die herumliegenden Moenche nicht sehr motivierend, aber die Aussicht war schoen.

... section and our plan for the night was formed - wine for $3.70 a bottle, by far the cheapest in 4 months. The guys who'd been in Oz really didn't understand what the fuss was about and said they were a bit 'over wine for the moment' but I couldn't contain my excitement. We found a bar with cheap beer, a YouTube request music system. Unfortunately the man didn't want us to drink our wine but grudgingly lent us a bottle opener, we were both too scared to ask him for glasses ...

... is made. It is made by fermenting rice with yeast and water in 25 litre pails (which used to have paint in them). Then boiling to distil the alcohol. The first two litres are about 80% then dropping down to 60% as time goes on. Finally we visited some fruit bats which live outside in a tree. The monks from the local temple protect the bats, because they are a delicate, for the local people.

We stopped at another small town by lake Tonle Sap. Battambang was lovely, with some hotels and just a few delicious little restaurants. We met two other couples, one Swedish and one Dutch/Korean, who we got on well with and spent two days here pootling about the countryside in a similar vein to Kampong Chhnang. On the first day we went on the ...

... Nu is het een restaurant vanwaar je de zo kunt zien onder gaan ene even de frisse,stofvrije, wind kunt voelen. Erg leuk! Vanochtend zaten we om 7 uur wederom in een bootje. Ditmaal om de reis te maken naar Battambang.In een bootje met alleen wat houten plankjes om op te zitten hebben we in 8 uur de 160 km afgelegd. Stel je voor hoe je kont voelt als jullie al die uren die jullie lekker in bed lagen, op een houten plankje zaten. We waren dus heel blij hier aan te komen. De rit ...

... headlamps pumping non stop through the arteries of Saigon. It's incredible. And in the harrowing and moving war remnants museum the quote of the trip from a 30 something American ''Gee, what was the Vietnam war about?'' The iconic Mekong river's source is in China from where it flows languidly South through SEA before emptying into the ocean South West of Saigon - the Mekong Delta. This region is our final port of call in Vietnam and alongside Sapa and Hanoi in the North is ...

... donate an organ or a gallon of nikkis blood to get the stamp in our passport. Most of this passed off uneventfully until the border where immediately there was a change in culture and costs. The visa should be $20 but the smiling official told us $25 but we hadnt the exact money, so it was going to be $30 each, you can see where this is going, eventually we reached a compromise I only need one Kidney don't i mum?


Battambang, Cambodia nikandads2008