TravelStream™ news feed for member chris-barbara on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/chris-barbara en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:41:10 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250439201/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250439201/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250439201/tpod.html Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:41:10 -0500 Round the World with Barbara & Chris

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

London, Heathrow, England, United Kingdom

London - August 14thJottings from an Active LifePeople will inevitably ask us what the most memorable experiences were on our year long jaunt around the world. It is so difficult to pick only a few because we had so many wonderful moments so I have plucked the following from my increasingly hazy memory.Most / Best-         Beautiful Site                   Taj Mahal·         Wonderful Experience     Wildlife on the Galapagos Islands·         Dramatic Scenery            Machu Picchu·         Relaxing time                  "La Juanita" Estancia, Argentina·         Thrilling                            Space Shuttle launch·         Beautiful Beach               Whitehaven, Whitsunday Island·         Unusual Place                  Floating Islands, Lake Titicaca·         Expensive                        Everything in Tahiti·         Luxurious                         Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas·         Curry                                 Little India, Singapore·         Sunset                               Ayres Rock (Uluru)·         Privileged                         Seeing Les Paul live in New York·         Entertaining                      Beatles “Rook Arike Band”, Tokyo·         Underwater                       Great Barrier Reef·         Bizarre                              Trees in the Temple, Siem Reap·         Upsetting                           Cambodia·         High-Tech                          Toilets in Japan·         Laid-back                           Rapa Nui (Easter Island)·         Dangerous                         Boiling mud in Rotorua parks·         Squalid                               Old Delhi·         Meals                                  Steak & wine in Buenos Aires·         Expenditure                        3 days in Hospital, Nashville·         Wine                                   Malbec in Mendoza, Argentina
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250162991/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250162991/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250162991/tpod.html Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:32:28 -0400 Round the World with Barbara & Chris

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Jaipur - 6th AugustWe had another long drive through surprisingly green fields to the Grand Haveli, Narain Niwas Palace, and another Heritage Hotel in Jaipur. The hotel looked a bit tired but had a nice swimming pool, a pair of resident peacocks (niwas) & a grand dining/breakfast room. We had dinner served on the lawn where they provided a floor show of Indian dancers whirling around with flaming pots on their heads & a fire eater, perfuming the air with the smell of kerosene. We chose the curry, I had a Jalfrezi & Barbara had a chicken Tikka – it was just like being in the curry house in Frimley High Street. The old city of Jaipur is known as the Pink City - because everything is coloured pink. Every building inside the city walls has to be painted in the same shade of pink (originally to hide the poor quality materials). The three main attractions in the city are the Hawa Mahal or "Palace of the Winds", which was built to allow the women of the court to watch street processions while remaining in strict purdah. Although it is five stories high, it is only one room deep in most parts. The second attraction is the “Jantar Mantar Observatory”, a collection of 18 huge stone astronomical instruments constructed between 1728 & 1734 by the star struck Jai Singh. It contains a 27m high sundial that can calculate the time to within 2 seconds (it's the largest sundial in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records) & an engraved hollow sphere, an Instrument for measuring Heavenly Orbs (but enough of Angelina Jolie). Finally, the magnificent City Palace which was originally built as a hunting lodge by Jai Singh but has been added to by successive rulers. It has many grand courtyards, one of which contains 2 huge silver urns, 1.5m high capable of holding 8,182Litres of Ganges water & are the largest crafted silver objects in the world (again, according to The Guinness Book of Records). The Pritam Niwas Chowk “Peacock Courtyard” has magnificent peacock mosaics adorning its walls & has the best view of the Royal apartments. The royal family still occupies this part of the palace. One main attraction outside of Jaipur is the Amber Palace which is in a massive hilltop fortification containing the palace. It is a steep climb so most visitors take the exorbitantly priced elephant ride to the top. Our elephant must have been on steroids because he barged past the lumbering animals in front, which was dodgy as our legs were dangling in between the two beasts. The mahout (driver) will get the elephant to pose for photos for a (large) tip.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250166031/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250166031/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250166031/tpod.html Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:11:04 -0400 Round the World with Barbara & Chris

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

Agra - 8th August We stayed at the (unusually) accurately named Taj View Hotel which was only about 1 km from the monument. We got up at first sparrow chuff to be at the gates when they opened at 6:00.I tried the old disability discount ploy which had worked at many monuments & museums but it didn't work here, they want their expensive (£10.00) entrance fee.Taj Mahal When you first enter the formal garden you can’t see the Taj Mahal, but when you go through the main gate you get your first wonderful view. You then have to fight your way to the front of the other visitors to get the classic shot down the long pond.As the sun came up, the marble seemed to glow (it is actually translucent) & as the sun got higher the Taj Mahal changed colour from cream to brilliant white. The mausoleum is huge with every marble surface carved or inlaid with semi-precious stones. The huge platform is also paved with white marble. The honeycomb filigree screens that provide light inside, are carved from single slabs of marble (they didn’t have diamond cutting tools then, either). Inside the octagonal centre is even more elaborately decorated with more inlays. You are not supposed to take photos in there, but I must have accidently pressed the button & got some lucky shots. Ironically, the only non-symmetric part of the whole monument is poor old Shah Jahan’s tomb which is placed to one side of his wife’s central tomb. Had he been alive when he died I’m sure he would have done it better.The Taj Mahal took 20,000 men 22 years to build & was finished just 10 years before Shah Jahan himself died. It almost bankrupted the state. It is said that Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a monument to his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal (chosen one of the palace) but it is now thought that he intended it to be the Koranic representation of paradise on earth ,where he & his wife could spend eternity together – he was too much of a megalomaniac to build something like this for someone else.Legend has it that he died of a broken heart looking at the Taj Mahal across the river from his palace. The truth is that he died of an opium & aphrodisiac overdose during a sex orgy at the age of 74 (that’s my boy !)Agra Fort The Mughal rulers lived in the palace within the Agra Fort & Shah Jahan was imprisoned there by his son for the last 8 years of his life. The palace has many beautiful courtyards for public & private audiences with the king. They are also made of white marble with inlays of semi-precious stones.Next to the palace is a large complex where the rulers kept their harem. King Akbar had 3,000 concubines – this makes pop-stars seem like saints.At the corner of the palace is the private mosque that Shah Jahan used when imprisoned & near there is a vantage point giving a  splendid view of the Taj Mahal.Agra Our driver took us to a factory where they hand make beautiful marble table tops. To demonstrate its translucence they darken the room & shine a torch through the stone.They showed us the two processes in making inlays; forming each intricate stone on an abrasive wheel & carving the marble to take the inlays. These skills are kept in the family by not allowing any worker to learn both skills & they won’t teach the women because they will marry into another family & take the expertise with them.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250147310/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250147310/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250147310/tpod.html Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:28:34 -0400 Round the World with Barbara & Chris

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Udaipur - August 4th Our next stop was Udaipur, high up in the hills of southern Rajasthan which made it a little cooler which was welcome. Udaipur has been described as India's most romantic city. Its main claim to fame today however, is that the Lake Palace, which seems to float in the middle of Lake Pichola, was the central location for "Octopussy" & her bevy of dolly birds in the James Bond movie. It featured Roger Moore chasing around the city’s landmarks in speedboats & auto-rickshaws. Several of the restaurants show the film ad nauseum while you eat (what fun ?). We toured the City Palace, the largest royal palace in Rajasthan. It is actually eleven palaces built over 300 years by successive Maharajas each trying to outdo his predecessor. The courtyards & rooms are connected via narrow passages which were designed to thwart surprise attacks – the layout is so confusing that you could get lost for days without the helpful direction arrows. The palaces are the usual arrangement of courtyards with rooms leading off. They have restored some of the royal living quarters with period furniture & clothing giving a feel of what it was like to live like royalty then. I liked the royal marble squat loo. Our driver, Happy Singh, took us to Shilpgram village, a cultural centre set up by Rajiv Gandhi to promote & preserve the music, architecture & crafts of the people of western India. The original concept was good but it is not well supported & looks a bit sad today. Most of the stalls which should have had weavers & potters toiling away were empty but there were musicians, dancers & puppeteers giving their all at the closing show. The Sahelion-Ki-Bari Gardens (gardens of the maids of honour) was the summer retreat for the ladies of the royal household. The entrance path is flanked by two rows of fountains which would go on & off magically when the tour guide clapped his hands. What you couldn’t see was a little old man crouched behind a tree turning the water valve. A large pool dominates the central courtyard with formal gardens surround it. The roads leading to Udaipur are lined with yards selling beautiful slabs of cut & carved marble & the roads are choked with lorries overloaded with massive blocks of marble. There must have been thousands of tonnes of the stuff.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250146031/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250146031/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1250146031/tpod.html Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:04:58 -0400 Round the World with Barbara & Chris

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Pushkar – August 3rd It took us all day to drive to Pushkar the holy city, located towards the south of the State of Rajasthan. Legend has it that it came into existence when Lord Brahma, the Creator, dropped a lotus flower & where the petals landed, created a lake in the desert. Surrounded by temples to Vishnu & bathing Ghats, the lake is revered as one of India's most sacred sites, however the lake was dry. Apparently pilgrims were placing painted idols in the lake as offerings. Unfortunately the paint was poisonous; it killed all the fish, the fish rotted causing a health hazard & the lake had to be drained.Pushkar is quite small & was one of the original hippy destinations, many stayed there & are probably selling tourist trinkets now. We stayed at Jagat Palace, a "Heritage Hotel", that was once a royal palace. The rooms have marble floors, are full of antique furniture & the walls are exquisitely painted. It was built using masonry plundered from an old fort & now has a huge swimming pool, a steam room, Jacuzzi & walled Garden. They have fitted air-con to enable you to sleep at night. It was a charming place which we really enjoyed. The city is also famous for its camels & holds the largest camel market in the world to which 150,000 dealers & tourist flock. You have to get there early to get a good looking camel (old Foreign Legion joke). The tour company arranged a camel ride for us. Directly Barbara had climbed onto her camel, it was up & off like a startled fawn with Barbara looking like Lawrence of Arabia. You sit precariously high on a camel & they have nasty little habits like scratching behind their ears with their double jointed legs which makes them rock around so much you are nearly thrown off. That evening whilst strolling around the town, the local barber asked me if I wanted a haircut. He was so friendly & persistent that I finally agreed. I told him that I wanted a “Bill Clinton” style & didn’t want much cut off. His scissors were so blunt that he plucked out more than he cut; he got a bit carried away & snipped away until I ended up with a ragged crew cut. It cost me Rs 50 (62p) & he give me a head massage for free. Barbara thought it looked fine.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1249796761/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1249796761/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1249796761/tpod.html Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:43:33 -0400 Round the World with Barbara & Chris

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Delhi, India

Delhi, India – 31st July We were picked up from the airport (for free) courtesy of our 3-star hotel which was lucky because there are no ATMs at the airport so we had no Rupees. The taxi delivered us to the hotel which was right in the middle of Old Delhi. Old Delhi was created by the Mughal leader, Shah Jahan (of Taj Mahal fame) back in the 1600s. New Delhi was designed & built by the British just south of original city & is a total contrast having tree-lined boulevards & large open spaces. Our hotel was clean, with air-con but not many facilities (well none). The location was interesting, being down an alley off the heaving main market street near the Red Fort. Although we were one of the few Europeans there, we didn't feel particularly threatened but we were constantly being hassled by trickshaw drivers & touts. We enjoyed our 2 day stay there but moved to Connaught Place, the hub of New Delhi, into The Lalit, a luxury 5-star hotel for some rest & relaxation. The temperature in Delhi was about 40 deg so quite tiring walking about & the city smog obvious as we looked out of our hotel room. We took a trickshaw to the Red Fort which was Shah Jahan’s residence from 1648. It is massive area inside the red stone walls but largely empty now. The main entrance opens into Chatta Chowk which used to house Delhi’s most talented craftsmen but now houses Delhi’s most pushy souvenir vendors. The marble Diwan-i-Khas (private audience room) is at the back of the spacious gardens & is the most beautiful building in the fort. It is made of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones. The Jama Masjid Mosque, another overblown piece of architecture designed by Shah Jahan, is in the heart of the old city. It is the biggest mosque in India & can accommodate the prostrate bodies of 25,000 worshippers in the main courtyard. Humayan’s Tomb, Delhi’s first Mughal mausoleum, was built in 1550s & is seen as a prototype for the Taj Mahal. This Persian style building is made of red sandstone inlaid with black & white marble. In total contrast is the Baha’i Temple, an ultra modern building with similar style to the Sydney Opera House. When we went there were long queues of visitors waiting to go in, it has more visitors than the Taj Mahal or the Eiffel Tower. There is so much crime & corruption in Delhi that big businesses are moving to other cities. Although Microsoft have just announced they are building their new centre here, but then they are no strangers to corruption. You can never believe anything anyone says, taxi drivers will take you to the wrong hotel (for their commission), prices are hiked depending on how gullible you look & you have to guard your valuables, day & night – everything is so much of a hassle. Traffic in India & particularly Delhi, is chaotic & frightening. The rule of the road is simple; people give way to motorbikes, motorbikes give way to Tuk-Tuks, Tuk-Tuks give way to cars, cars give way to lorries & everything gives way to cows. We encountered cars & lorries going the wrong way on dual carriageways, taking short cuts to side roads. Everyone drives in the outside lane (the lane with fewer bumps) so they overtake on either side, if you have your nose in front then you assume right of way.Horns are sounded to say you are overtaking or want to overtake or don’t want to be overtaken or anything – you can get deafened on Indian roads.In the cities Tuk-Tuks are like swarms of insects, they come from every direction. However, we found them cheap & convenient for small trips. In the country they are weapons of mass destruction – I saw a Tuk-Tuk with 7 inside, 4 hanging on the back & 4 on roof, I doubt if it could ever stop in an emergency. When we drove south it took 1 ½ hours just to get out of Delhi. I was fascinated to see that Morris Oxfords are still being manufactured in India. My father had a Morris Oxford back in 1961 (until I wrote it off) & I remember it as a large car (big enough to have your relations in the back) but they seem quite small now. The style & design of the Morris Oxford made British Leyland what it is today.After Delhi, our plan was to see the main historical sites in Rajasthan (the Golden Triangle plus a few others) but we didn’t want the bother with all the organisation, so we got a tour company to arrange it for us. The organiser was a charming young man but you felt that after shaking hands with him, you should count your fingers. He arranged a car with our own driver, a Sikh called Happy Singh, who would be taking us to these major tourist sites - little did we know how long this would take. I was pleased that Happy was a careful driver who wouldn’t hurt a fly, literally, he would catch flies in the car & let them escape through the window rather than kill them.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1249476700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1249476700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1249476700/tpod.html Sun, 09 Aug 2009 01:51:50 -0400 Round the World with Barbara & Chris

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Kyoto, Kinki, Japan

Kyoto – 26th July We travelled by Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Kyoto which took a mere 2 ½ hours. These trains which are wider than those in the UK, are smooth, have reclining seats, are spotlessly clean & they run exactly on time (of course). A "trolley dolly" came through the carriage selling boxes of sushi & drinks. The ticket inspector periodically came through the carriage & every time he exited, he turned & bowed to his passengers. They also insist that mobiles are switched to silent mode & expect people to go to the end of the carriage to take calls. British Rail take note !Kyoto was not as I expected, I imagined a quaint city full of parks & temples but it is an ultra modern city with its many temples spread widely & tucked away behind modern buildings. The first place we visited was Nijo Castle built in 1603 by the Shogun, Iemitsu. It is most famous for its squeaking “nightingale” floorboards which are designed so that, however lightly you tread, the floors emit a squeak like a nightingales cry. This was an early intruder detection system. The interior of the Inner Palace has 33 huge rooms all sparsely furnished & with big broad-brush paintings on the walls, they are from the Kano School of painting – they looked more like the Rolf Harris School of painting (can you see what it is yet ?). The palace itself was surrounded by lovely Japanese gardens in the grounds. Nishiki Ichiba known as the “kitchen of Kyoto”, is a fascinating long, narrow, indoor market selling the freshest fish, meat & veg available in Kyoto side by side with antiques shops & craft shops. It was bustling & crowded which was ok until cyclists rode through, which they did frequently. We then went down Ponti Cho which is another narrow street & one of the most prosperous gay areas in Kyoto & where some of the most expensive restaurants are located. It is also where Geishas live & contrary to popular misconception, Geishas do not sell “personal services” but are general entertainers, accomplished musicians, Kyomai dancers, games players & good conversationalists & they cost a lot of money to hire. We had a lovely meal where we had a mini Teppanyaki, a hot plate built into the table for you to cook your own food. We treated ourselves to a rare glass of wine which is expensive in Japan, however, we did discovered a Seven/11 store that stocked reasonably priced Chilean wine, ideal for our “supermarket banquets” in the hotel room.In the Gion district they have preserved the old houses; turning them into boutiques rather than pulling them down for new development. We also saw a “Love Hotel” with the hourly rates posted outside. You can take a room for half an hour, one hour or the whole night (Viagra is then supplied free). On the way back we saw two girls in Kimonos rushing across the road; they were making for a pavement “Smoking Area” to have a quick fag – it looked so incongruous smoking in traditional costume.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1249444148/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1249444148/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1249444148/tpod.html Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:45:00 -0400 Round the World with Barbara & Chris

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan

Tokyo – 23rd JulyWe didn't know what to expect in Japan, we thought there would be a language problem & things would be prohibitively expensive. We needn’t have worried because the Japanese are gentle, courteous, and polite & many of them speak excellent english. They also bow whenever they speak to you - you tend to follow suit so I had neck ache after a week. We were expecting the food in Japan to be really expensive which it was in the posh restaurants, but we discovered there were food stalls everywhere that were quite cheap. We enjoyed eating Japanese style which is standing up at a high table or bar. There was a little restaurant called Masuya quite near to our hotel where we had a meal of delicious little dead things on skewers one night. The food was cooked before our very eyes on a bar-top charcoal grill. The next night we stopped there for a couple of beers & noticed they had provided bar stools which was most welcome as we were tired, but when we got the bill they had added Y600 (£4) cover charge for the privilege of sitting down! On our first day in Tokyo we did the tourist thing & went to see the Imperial Palace, but it was Friday, the day it was shut ! You are not allowed into the Palace anyway, you can only go round the gardens & glimpse the roof of the palace through the trees, so we didn’t miss too much. In Roppongi, the nightlife Mecca of Tokyo, there are two clubs Abbey Road & the Cavern Club featuring Beatles tribute bands. We went to the Cavern Club & were treated to flawless renditions of Beatles covers by a Japanese "rook-arike" band calling themselves the “Silverbeats”. They had the same gear as the Beatles; Gretch & Rickenbacker guitars, Hofner Fiddle bass & VOX amps.They played popular Beatles songs like “Yerrow Submarine” & “With a Rittle Help from my Flends”; they even played songs from the last couple of LPs, which the Beatles never ever played live. The packed audience sang along with the band & seemed to know all of the words. It seemed bizarre to travel half way round the world to see a Liverpool tribute band, but it was a great night out. Onto my favourite topic, loos of the world; our hotel room had a Hi-Tech Loo with an integrated, pushbutton controlled, bidet & spray. It had a heated seat, deodorizer & a water pressure control that could be adjusted to “tickle”, “wash” or “ream”. Some of the department stores have even more complicated systems that have bidet, dryer & even sound effects to mask unseemly noises. Smoking is not allowed in the streets & the pavements have big No Smoking signs painted on them. There are special “smoking areas” however along the pavement where nicotine addicts huddle round the hi-tech, stainless steel, “tobacco waste disposal facilitators” (ashtrays). Ginza is the glitzy shopping district, the big store there is called Mitsukshi which was based on Harrods (Penny’s birth sign). They have a fabulous food hall selling all manner of goodies at only twice the normal price. We bought some cakes there which were individually wrapped, then tied up in a bag with gold string, then lovingly placed in a glossy Mitsukoshi bag; a bit over the top. I thought that I was in for a treat when we visited the demonstration rooms of the Sony Building where they show off their latest & greatest products. I was very disappointed, there was nothing there that was very impressive, and they didn’t even have any LED televisions that Samsung are now producing. We went to the Harajuko district where on Sunday mornings, young girls dress up in bizarre clothes to show off in front of their friends. Some wear punk clothes, have weird makeup & hair styles, others wear frilly frocks straight out of a TV “bonnet drama”. Omote-sando is the posh shopping street in Harajuko with all the big name shops, Armani, Chanel, Zara, Gucci etc. There is a condom shop in the main street called “Condomania” full of novelty condoms in sizes that would impress your friends but ultimately disappoint your partner. In the same area is the Meiji Jingu Shrine where we were lucky to see a traditional Japanese wedding. Before the photo session the bride had 3 helpers to arrange her dress & repeatedly re-powder her face. One morning we got up early to visit the Tsukiji fish market – although not early enough to see the fish being delivered which was at 3:00 in the morning. All the fish consumed in Tokyo each day is shipped through here. Next to the market are several Sushi bars which are supposed to sell the best sushi in town. There were long queues outside each one, albeit mostly tourists. Tokyo has the most comprehensive subway & trains system. It is fast, efficient & absolutely hectic. Tokyo station links up the main JR lines, several subway lines & the Shinkansen (Bullet Trains). We spent hours walking from one platform to another. We took the Shinkansen to Kyoto.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1248856329/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1248856329/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1248856329/tpod.html Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:22:18 -0400 Round the World with Barbara & Chris

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Phnom Penh - 10th JulyConsidering the appalling recent history of civil war, invasion & genocide, the Cambodians are some of the most cheerful people we have met. They enjoyed a joke, mostly at the expense of tourists - the children thought my missing arm hilarious, they would point at it then fall about laughing. I suppose it is a shock to see a non-Cambodian limbless person. The Royal Palace was built in 1886 when Phnom Penh became the capital. Its many gold covered buildings & Pagodas make it look like the palaces in Bangkok. Behind our hotel was the daily market selling everything to eat & many things you wouldn't want to eat. The crunchy frog satays looked particularly avoidable.The hygene standards left a lot to be desired, especially on the meat stalls.  Cambodia is the most land-mined country in the world, which is disgusting as Cambodia was officially neutral during the Vietnam War & was subsequently invaded by Vietnam so most of these mines were laid by other countries. We saw a film about these land-mines, which were mainly supplied by the Russians & the Chinese. I was pleased that Great Britain was not listed as a supplier. There are therefore many limbless beggars on the streets, there being no welfare state to look after them ! I felt particularly sorry for one boy who had no legs & no hands who was pushed around in a cart by another small boy. Many children were selling books & postcards on the street which is better than begging but I suspect they don't keep much of the profit themselves.Their attitude to death must be odd, there was a shop selling coffins right amongst the bars & restaurants on the waterfront – happily they weren’t doing much trade.The Killing Fields – Choeung EkWe took a Tuk-Tuk to Choeung Ek, one of the Killing Fields where thousands of Cambodians were executed by the Khmer Rouge. It’s a small site, in amongst the paddy fields, about 15km out of the city. The site is now a serene memorial to the dead with neatly laid out gravel paths & shady trees. The first thing you see is a commemorative Stupa, a monument to the 1.5 million who died during the Pol Pot regime. When you get closer you realise that behind the glass walls, the central core is made from layers of sculls. These were  exhumed from the 129 mass graves they discovered around the site. About 9,000 corpses have been unearthed at this extermination camp.  The Khmer Rouge transported up to 300 prisoners a day by truck, to be bludgeoned to death here (shooting used too many bullets). Toul Sleng Toul Sleng was a secondary school that was transformed into the biggest interrogation centre in Phnom Penh. Thousands of mainly middle class Cambodians were tortured here before being sent to their death at Choeung Ek. In one of the rooms is displayed hundreds of photographs of prisoners, men women & children, who passed through this dreadful place. The Khmer Rouge numbered all of the prisoners, just like the Nazis numbered & documented their victims. The ground floor rooms were where prisoners were tortured, thankfully none of the instruments of torture were on display. On the top floor were photos of the leaders of the Khmer Rouge with brief biographies. It’s hard to understand how people like teachers & civil servants can turn into brutal torturers.Pol PotPol Pot was the son of a wealthy land owner who went to study in Paris but dropped out & joined the French Communist Party. On his return he briefly taught history & became a member of the clandestine Kampuchea Communist Party. He later led the Khmer Rouge & was responsible for the deaths of 1.5 million Cambodians. After the Khmer Rouge were ousted, he escaped & remained their active leader, finally living in exile in Thailand where he died of old age in 1998. Why did no-one pursue him ?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1248483581/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1248483581/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chris-barbara/1/1248483581/tpod.html Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:57:31 -0400 Round the World with Barbara & Chris

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat - 7th July The next morning we took our Tuk-Tuk to the most breathtaking of all the temples in Cambodia, perhaps the world - Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat means "Temple that is a city", not surprising, as it is the largest religious structure in the world – eat your heart out, Notre Dame. The temple is surrounded by a 190m wide moat measuring 1.5km by 1.3km. Apart from the defensive properties, the moat serves to keep the foundations damp without which the sand would dry out, causing the temple to collapse. The construction involved 300,000 workers & 6,000 elephants from a city population of over a million (this was when London was a small town of a mere 50,000). The amount of detail work involved in carving the 1km Bas-relief on the walls surrounding the temple is hard to imagine. While you admire the exquisite detail of the roof carving, you can see the water damage done by poor restoration work where they used concrete, which blocked up the drainage gullies. The Gallery of a Thousand Buddhas used to contain hundreds of Buddhas but most were destroyed or looted during the Khmer Rouge war. This is where Lara Croft was healed by a passing Monk. We saw a monk in the gallery who gave me a two finger evil eye – I don't think he wanted his photo taken. I hasn't affected me though, apart from a nasty little rash under my . . .They won't let you climb up to the top of the temple, so it was difficult to get an overall view of the temple – you get a better impression from the model that we saw in Phnom Penh. As we left I got a shot of the temple reflected in the lake, one of the most popular postcard shots.After Angkor Wat we took in a few more temples, Preah Khan, East Melbon & Ta Som (another with trees growing up through the walls). There is a tree that has nearly destroyed the gate. It looks like one of the trees from Lord of the Rings, you expect it to start walking any minute. We felt "all templed out" after that & were pleased to Tuk-Tuk back to town for a beer & lie down.You can have too much culture !
]]>