SINGAPORE

SO I reached Singapore yesterday evening after many hours of delays on Malaysian trains. I was assured usually they run to time, but it was the Malaysian New Year holiday so just my luck!

Actually I consider myself very lucky as losing my bank card inside a cash machine has been my only problem of significance.

So the cargo ship will be my home for the next 9 days as I make my way to Fremantle, Perth Western Australia.

You can track my actual position at the following link...

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shipposition.phtml?call=ELUX6

Speak to you from the other side!

Underwater photos

False Clown Anemone Fish - we found Nemo. Actually they are not hard to find as they often live in the same Anemone due to building up a resistance to the anemone's stingers. This group had been in the same spot for a number of years I was told! Also, they are all born male but have the ability to change from male to female if the head female dies. Cuttlefish and Morganfish
Cuttlefish close up
School of Barracuda
Impressive Lionfish
Taking the plunge.

Having only limited diving experience I cannot compare the experience with much but I was amazed at the variety of coral and fish encountered. Apparently the coral suffered a lot from the tsunami and in places is only beginning to re-establish itself. Also the practice of fishing with dynamite has devastated localised areas. This is now illegal but possibly difficult to monitor so who knows if it is still practiced?

Phuket, Diving

Just some pics to start with, I will write something later when I have had some food!

Completed my PADI course, learnt a lot, had lots of fun, saw some cool sea creatures!

Good bye Cambodia, Hello Thailand!

Time is moving on and I havn't been so I abandoned hopes of visiting Badambang in Cambodia and took the bus to Bangkok. The pickup system is pointless. We wasted 90 mins driving a full sized coach around small streets and little known guesthouses to individually pick up nearly 40 people.

Surely if everyone was to make their way to one point this could be avoided. Maybe I was unlucky as I was the first to be picked up! At leadt I had the pick of the seats. The border was smooth but had a nother 2 hour delay waiting for the Thai bus.

Bangkok is so developed in comparison to the surrounding capitals so far as I can see. The taxis do obey some rules although the traffic is horrendous. I narrowly escaped a head on collision during one taxi ride. Next time I took the Sky train (overground metro system)

Shark fin restaurantOverland trainTraffic!

Siam Reap, Angkor Wat

I visited a traditional Khmer dance evening which was entertaining. As you could imagine it was geared for tourists (domestic as well as foreign) but was good nonetheless. The dancers tend to move very slowly and gracefully and are dressed up but have bare feet.
I enjoyed my food very much, even after I was waved to by the chickens foot in my curry. It looks so much like a hand and didn't have much meat on it so I left that bit behind.
Another tasty treat was barbecued stuffed frogs (left and top).
A group of land mine victims grew fed up of begging and started this band. They now play around the temples under the shade of the trees and have a CD.
Very peaceful getaway from the busy temples - West Mabon is an 8km x 0.8km man made lake constructed around the C10th and a good spot to enjoy the bbq fish and stuffed frog.
Begging in tourist areas is apparently more financially rewarding than working. These children were not begging but many do. Some have even been taught to get tourists to buy them condensed milk (several dollars a can) claiming they have a young sibling starving at home. This can then be sold for profit. Clever! It has to be appreciated though that many people are in extreme poverty. Even those in work get paid salaries of only a few dollars a month.
View of Angkor Wat Temple (built around C8th) from the air. I did not take this one as the helicopter ride was a little outside my budget!
South Gate to Bayon complex
Anyone for a jigsaw? This is an ongoing reconstruction being carried out by a French group of archaeologists. A daunting task.
The Bayon temple with many stone faced towers above the main structure. Intricate bas-reliefs are carved to depict many events including this - a battle scene
Ta Prohm temple which has been largely left unrestored due to the unique relationship it has with the trees that have enveloped it.
The size of these temples and trees are difficult to guage from photographs but they are very large.

Kep, Rabbit island, Sihanouk Ville

The drying of seaweed which is farmed in shallow water
The labourers enjoying snorkelling. As no construction was planned for a few days they just looked after the island, caught fish for breakfast, lunch and supper and cooked my meals. We ate the same for every meal - fresh sea fish (small ones caught on a line) with rice and Pak Choi. The tea we drank was deep red and made with what looked like sticks gathered from the island. From what I could tell (they spoke no English) it was bought from the mainland.
Myself, Mr An and Mr Mne - labourers and the only inhabitants of this island which is owned by a Thai developer. They are building a few luxury holiday houses.
The first and only house (unfinished) and I had the privelege of staying here. Just before going to bed Mr An offered me a large carving knife to take to bed. I thought he was joking as the chances of any unwelcome visitors was pretty slim. Within 5 minutes however a large spider (10cms) crawled by us and it was promptly disposed of by Mr An with the large knife. I did take it to bed just in case!

Local fishermen on a different island.

The seafood was great again! for US$3 I had a whole barracuda with rice and salad. The red snapper was the same price. Prawns, squid, so much ansd so fresh I stayed for nearly a week around these islands.

Cambodia!

The Cambodian Flag

5 on a bike - not uncommon in these parts! Although I saw 4 men fall off a bike shortly after this photo was taken!

The Palace gate in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia

I met this monk at the bus station. His name is Chhom and has been a monk since the age of 12. (now he is 25). Like many people he gets up every day at 4am to study, pray and study more throughout the day. He and a group of monks were having 3 days off and were on their way to the beach for a swim.

Museum, Phnom Penh

Water Festival to celebrate a historical victory in battle, the Kings birthday, the changing of the flow of the river and a rowing competition between the different provinces.

Some of the rowing boats hold 75 people, they can be seen flexing with the force during rowing

A popular spot - many visit from the countryside (over a million people gather in the riverside districts)

On a sadder note, Cambodia has experienced a terrible episode of genocide in the recent past at the hands of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot. This was memorial at one of the largest killing fields just outside the centre. A group of mass graves numbering approximtely 120 in one area estimated to hold the bodies of 20-25000 people. Only about 89 of the graves have actually been excavated.

A quarter of Cambodias population were murdered during 1975 - 1979 and this amounts to more than 1 million people. Many were beaten so as not to waste bullets. Truly shocking.