From Christmas in Shanghai to the wondrous Ankor Wat

When you last heard from me I believe I was on my way to Shanghai for Christmas having already arranged to meet one of the Irish lads there. One of my less optimistic friends informed me that the christmas in Shanghai would be as exciting as Yom Kippur in Mecca. I was not too sure what "Yom Kippur" was but I knew him as well and I reckoned it would not be good (apparently its a jewish religious festival). So about as popular as the queen's birthday in the bogside then. Anyway I reasoned he's never been to shanghai for christmas so what he does know.

21/12/04 Tuesday (Day 23)

Head for Shanghai

(Santa takes him seriously in Shanghai)

22/12/04 Wednesday (Day 24)

Its raining heavily when I arrive in Shanghai. I manage to meet Dermot as soon as I find the hostel. So we hit the town looking for the Irish bars, the start of a rather extensive pre-christmas watering hole reconnaissance. The Guinness was a bit of a pint but a bit of a bullet and had each in both O'Malley's and the Blarney Stone before hitting the "Zapitas" dish bar for some dancin and gyratin.

23/12/04 Thursday (Day 25)

A nice day exploring the Bund and the Yu Gardens.

(Yu Gardens Shanghai)

Later off to the Grand Hyatt Hotel to view Shanghai's much vaunted skyline. On arrival the taxi doors were greeted with a smile and a very helpful "Welcome back Sir" (He must have remembered from one of my tax seminars on Foreign Direct Investment). On the 56th floor and the piano bar which has seen something like the battlestar galactica. Eventually we reached the 87th floor and had a quick stroll around the "cloud 9 bar". Aptly named if the prices are anything to go by. Nice place but absolutely dead .... And suppose there are not many who can afford these prices in Shanghai. Great views from up here but unfortunately the glare of the glass does not make for great photo's .... what the hell.

(The Bund at night)

(Shanghai's Pearl Tower)

24/12/04 Friday (day 26)

Scour through one of the local rags entertainment to see whats on offer for Christmas eve in Shanghai. Among the many choices is the newly opened "Manhattan bar" with its 10 Euro open bar. Does "open bar" mean the same in China as it does home? If it does surely Christmas eve is not the most intelligent night to be having one. So off to the Manhattan and a great night had by all accounts. The chinese bartender seemed a bit miffed at the amount we had to drink while the ironically the English guy who owned the place could not stop singing songs for us and plying us with free shots. Anyway they closed whenever we left.

25/12/04 Saturday (Day 27)

Off to O'Malleys for a traditional Christmas dinner which was top notch .... although not a patch on mothers cooking back home. We each had a bloody mary to sort out from the night before, on Dermot's recommendation. I in my naivety was expecting to have a nice refreshing strawberry taste, no such luck. It did the trick though.

26/12/04 Sunday (Day 28)

Not a whole pile done, but I did not go to sleep again.

27/12/04 Monday (Day 29)

Heard about the Tsunami tragedy, checked e-mail. Becky had e-mailed so I took it myself and Rosy were fine.I was beginning to get a bit worried about the whole south-east asian jaunt. In the end I decided it was best not to panic and I would reassess the situation once I hit Hong Kong.

28/12/04 Tuesday (Day 30)

Catch the train from Shanghai to Kowloon, Hong Kong.

(View from the train about an hour outside Shanghai)

29/12/04 Wednesday (Day 31)

Stayed in an over priced youth hostel in Hong Kong.

30/12/04 Thursday (Day 32)

Moved into cheaper accommodations on the now famed Nathan Road. Also took the night tram up to Victoria Falls to see Hong Kong's much vaunted skyline.Checked the department of foreign affairs website in Hong Kong Central Library Travel Guide on the ground in Thailand www.beckstravel.com also gives me the green flag.

(Victoria Peak)

31/12/04 Friday (Day 33)

Up early, to start the day with the full Irish breakfast in Delaney's. Did a jig and a reel all the way to Hong Kong airport with my backpacking and my backpacking. Ah be be sure to be sure..tis great to be Oirish

Rang in the new year on Khaosan Rd, Bangkok with some like minded (Drunk) English pool enthusiasts. Finished the night in none other than the Shamrock bar (ethnic origins you can not doubt).

01/01/05 Saturday (Day 34)

Today I discovered that the scorching heat is not very good for a hangover. I suppose I should really have seen that one coming. So not much sights seen today I'm afraid.

02/01/05 Sunday (Day 35)

Spent most of the day indoors playing pool and rehydrating in this new korean hostel that I managed to find yesterday. Managed to see one or two of the smaller sights.


(View of Bangkok from the Golden Mountain)

03/01/05 Monday (Day 36)

Finally got some pictures up on the net. I think all this traveling is beginning to wear me down so I booked a ticket to Ko Phanang as i think a beach break is just what the doctor ordered.

04/01/05 Tuesday (Day 37)

I decided I'd get my hair-cut before I leave Bangkok. So I walked into the first barbers I met .... bad idea. The old barber guy made a major song and dance about the whole procedure. You'd think he was Vidal Sassoon preparing to cut David Beckhams hair. Anyway eventually I was satisfied he knew what I wanted ... he'd certainly nodded enthusiastically and said "yes, yes" enough times. Unfortunately I knew from his first stroke that I was doomed. You know your in trouble when in one quick stroke he manages to take off his right just to burn just above the ear and swings a sharp immediate left straight accross the back of your box. My initial instinct was to lift the roof off the place but with the obvious painful language barrier it just seemed like and excercise in futility. I took it on chin up and left. I felt really conspicious when i got back on the street..this was not helped by all the weird looks i was getting from the locals. I could not find another barbers quick enough. I walked into this place on Khaosan Road and I could tell by the shocked looks on their faces, they did not share the previous guys taste in hairstyle.Their shock soon turned to amusement..at my expense of course. After they calmed down it was obvious they were not so sure what they could do to solve my problem. However, even with limited knowledge of the hairdressing industry (very limited) knew that drastic measures were required. So I suggested a blade all over (sure what the hell it would not be the first time) or shave it all to hell if you have to. They thought this was a bit extreme and suggested a blast to start with, blast away says I and we will see how it goes. (We hit another slight problem at this juncture as I was in a rather frenzied and highly charged state and never thought to phrase my language appropriately and unfortunately the phrases like "fire ahead" and "blast away" do not quite cut it in. -managed to understand each other).
As it turned out the blade was fine and I left the barbers a relieved man.

Later caught the train to Surat Thani ... the jump off point on the way to Ko Phanang.

05/01/05 Wednesday (Day 38)

Arrived in Ko Phanang after a 3 or 4 hour leisuerely ferry ride. Decided to base myself on the beach at the quite fishing village of Ao Chalok Lam as I needed some peace and quite after a hectic Bangkok. Did some reading, played frisbee with some ozzies and in general ... just relaxed.

(Approach to Ko Phanang Island)

(Fishing Village, Ao Chalok Lam)

06/01/05 Thursday (Day 39)

Rose early for a day of no barred relaxin ... found a nice little secluded area of ​​the beach for this ... caught up on some reading again.

07/01/05 Friday (Day 40)

I inquired about the transport to the beach wondering if it was possible to walk it. They looked at me as if I was mad. Although I have heard of an Irish couple (a Limerick / Clare alliance) who apparently made a trip by foot on one occasion. Anyway I opt for the journey by the long tail boat and am glad because it soon came to get this place on foot which is populated with mounds and mounds of rock and is more than a walk in the park (rambo style) through what looks like Some very dense jungle ... neither of these seem like fun when you're wearing sandals and dressed for the beach.

(Bottle Beach..nothing spectacular I thought)

The boat ride there and back was quite refreshing although I did not think the beach was anything extraordinary.

(Longtail Taxi Boat)

Later I decided I'd have a stroll around town and see whats going on. Not much happening to be honest ... but wait with that over there? It looks alot like Lynne Rae (of PwC fame) from back home ... surely it can not be, that would be too much of a coincidence. The guy this girl is with looks alot like Lynne's boyfriend Alan so I finally convince myself it must be them and guess what ... of course it is. We had a few drinks and it was discovered that their moving to the same place as me the following day.

08/01/05 Saturday (Day 41)

Got up early and rented a moped from my guesthouse and headed off to the beach at Mae Hat. I passed Alan and Lynne on the way as they marched over to Ao Chalok Lam in true military style.

I did not stay long in Mae Hat because now that I had the moped I was all exploring the island. However things came a cropper when I fell off the bike. And somehow managed to take off in 4th (thinking that I'd gone from neutral to first). I took off like a rocket and totally unprepared for it hit this bump directly in front of me and went airborne. Now that I was airborne the brakes were not going to be much help. So my options at this stage were (a) to keep going and plow straight into a german couple who happened to be directly in front of me or (b) lean to one side and go to ground. Not wanting to kill anyone I decided to go to the ground and got away with a bloody elbow and a broken mirror. The German couple helped me to my feet and dusted myself off .... Lucky and had the long pants on as the most prevalent injury here on the island from this sort of shenanigans is a burnt leg from when you fall and the red bikes Hot Exhaust lands right on top of your leg. So things could've been worse I suppose.

Theres no shortage of steep slopes here so first gear is getting alot of use. It's really shameful .... I'm chugging up the hills at a snail pace and at this stage this little girl on a moped whizz by me. She's got a bag of shopping hanging off one of the handlebars, is going to at least twice as fast as me and still has a miserable effort.

I eventually gave up on the bike reasoning this is no place for amateurs. Afterwards I walked back to Mae Hat for a shot of the sunset.

(Sunset Mae Hat)

Later I met Alan and Lynne for dinner.

(Alan & Lynne at Ao Chalok Lam)

(Alan & Lynne sample a banana pancake ... a defining moment if ever there was one)

09/01/05, Sunday (Day 42)

Alan, Lynne and myself hire a boat and go fishing for a few hours. The cool sea breeze is quite refreshing and we actually catch a few fish.

Later myself and Alan treat ourselves to a traditional Thai massage while Lynne watches vigilantly. I'd a pain in my back from the fall off the bike, but this sorted me right out.

(Myself and Alan treat ourselves to a traditional Thai massage)

In the evening we decided we would go and see some Thai boxing. So we jumped in a taxi and headed for Thong Sala. On arrival the taxi driver stopped by a group of Thai guys (about 100 meters from the entrance to the fight venue). They tried to sell us some tickets but we said we were going to get to the door. When we did get to the door ... guess what ... the fight had been canceled. Lynne was back to Ao Chalok Lam while I and Alan went for a "massage: ??? ... they did not shame these boys.

10/01/05, Monday (Day 43)

I said goodbye to Alan and Lynne as they headed off to Koh Samui .... and back into town to find the taxi driver .... only kiddin.

I decided I'd practice my pool as there's a competition in the "Dive Inn" tommorrow night and I'm conscious of the fact that Lynne beat me twice when she was here and the pride does take a bit of a bruising when a woman Beats you So get a full size snooker table and play pool for it for an hour. One of the local kids gives me a few games ... Even the owner is playing me and he's bloody good too .. (Note to self: "If this guys in the Dive Inn tomorrow night I'm not risking my money") .

Later I head to the Black Moon party in Ban Tai with Eric (Canadian). It's very quite at first but the crowd began to arrive. It's very much rave, rave, thump, thump sort of affair but good craic. I'm wondering if any of you would like E. Naturally I politely declined. I made a conscious decision to drink a combination of beer and water, probably more water than beer I must confess as the whole ladyboy factor can be confused enough without the old beer goggles. Christ its scary. I had a couple of close encounters of the run for your life variety myself. There seems to be an awful lot of guys here who are totally oblivious to what their snogging or perhaps intimacy with a ladyboy is a life goal of theirs. I doubt it.

Many of the people who see me drinking water automatically assume I'm on E, however I explained to one Canadian guy;

CG: "Water ..... you on E?

ME: "No ..... just rehydrating after some beer"

CG: "Where you from?"

ME: "Ireland"

CG: "And your drinking water"

I felt further explanation would be futile.

Towards the end of the night this guy clocks me drinking water and straight away, probably judging by my relatively sober state to deduce that i'm trying to avoid the ladyboy minefield. I suppose he's seen it all before. Maybe feeling sorry for me (and believe me he need not) Rocket full (Rocket full rocket full of plastic like a bucket) In any mans language). So I chatted with him for a few minutes and as it was rather late now (6am or so), myself and Eric decided to head back to base.

11/01/05, Tuesday (Day 43)

Today I make up my mind to stay a few days more as the weather is getting better, and so I spend much of the day on the beach.

(Northbeach Boat)

I made my way to the Dive Inn later in the evening and there is no local competition staked my 200 Baht (a wapping full of four Euros) and bought a beer. I was fortunate to win by one frame in the final round and the prize
Money covered the penalty I'd incurred earlier as a result of the damage to the moped .... not bad for a few hours play .... and it went someway towards confirming that it was not completely misspent youth.

12/01/05, Wednesday (Day 44)

Today I spent most of the day in Had Rin (an area of ​​the island in the south-east famed for its full moon parties). I got some snaps of the sunset on the appropriately named "Sunset Beach".

On the drive back to Ao Chalok Lam the taxi driver was telling me how cheap it was to get a woman for the day in Thailand. According to him its very "cheap-cheap". The real kicker was when he asked me how much money for the day in Ireland. I did not know what to say to the guy. The concept of paying for sex over here seems to be par for the course. They almost think your gay when you respectfully decline. I've even seen an article in the Bangkok Post which explained that the Thai tax authorities are revising the system of taxation of massage parlors as they have reason to believe there is widespread underdeclaration in respect of certain "naughty extras" being offered by some. Of these establishments. Unethical bridge ..... tax evasion that is.

13/01/05, Thursday (Day 45)

Today was a lazy day mostly spent on the beach, sunning myself and finishing my latest read, a book called "White Mischief" which is a sort of inquiry into the murder of some English Lord, Lord Erroll if I remember correctly. Nothing special but quite interesting nonetheless.

(Ao Chalok Lam Beach, Late Evening)

14/01/05, Friday (Day 46)

Guess what ... another lazy day sunbathing and reading Robert Ludlum's "The Bourne Supremacy", which proved to be quite a roller coaster ride of a thriller.

15/01/05, Saturday (Day 47)

Head back to Bangkok by train

16/01/05, Sunday (Day 48)

He arrived in Bangkok and checked into the Korean Dorm and went for a walk around the Grand Palace area and the riverside.

17/01/05, Monday (Day 49)

I decided to visit the Grand Palace. Unfortunately it was closing early due to the visit of the President of Singapore and his wife.

Me in the grounds of the Grand Palace

(And again)

I still got to spend two hours in the grounds and see the security circus afterwards.

(Military Band)

Alas I got no shots of the presidents Rolls Royce as one of a number of mysterious security types made it plain to me that would not be permitted.

(The Bangkok motorbike police travel in style)

(Even the Bangkok motorbike police have their Mavericks)

On the way back I bought a walkman on Khoasan road for about 20USD and a few CD's for about 2USD each.

(Khaosan Road, Bangkok)

(Some of the wares on display in the Khoasan road ... why can not they have a set up like this in Limerick?)

Later that night I finally realized why my Korean guesthouse was called DDM's. Apparently it stands for "Dance Dance Music" and theres a "Pscho trance" disco shaking the place to the rafters until about 3 in the morning .... oh well after awhile on the road you can sleep through just about anything.

18/01/05, Tuesday (Day 50)

Hooked up with Matt and the New Zealander I met the previous day and we caught the ferryboat to chinatown where we had some noodle soup before heading to the train to make some enquiries. On the way back to the river ferry we had a burmese cigar by the canal.

(Me and Matt enjoy a burmese cigar each)

Next I went on to see Wat Pho which is one of the bigger temples here in Bangkok and houses both reclining and sitting buddha.

(Wat Pho, one of the larger temples in Bangkok)

(The much revered reclining Buddha)

(The head of the much revered reclining Buddha)

Afterwards I went for a stroll through a nearby park which seems to be a focal point for local exercise enthusiasts. It even had an open air weight lifting area.

(People exercising in a local park)

(One of the many forms of transport available in Bangkok)

(Street Stalls, Bangkok)

19/01/05, Wednesday (Day 51)

Today I went to the "Scriraj Medical Museum" with Matt. That was an interesting but somewhat unnerving experience. Some of the items on display were extremely gorey. These included photos of the bodies of people who have been killed in car crashes and in bombs. One photo showed a guy who had a car roll over him and you can see the accross his chest.

One section of the museum display fully bissected bodies preserved in some sort of chemical. The bissected skulls of two guys who were shot in the head were on display and you could clearly see the path taken by the bullet.

The parasitology section was also quite interesting, showing you all the different types of parasites you most definitely do not want to fall victim to.

20/01/05, Thursday (Day 52)

Frank McCourt and got some more CD's.

21/01/05, Friday (Day 53)

I rose at 5.30am to catch my bus to Siem Reap. One hour after my lift was supposed to arrive I was still waiting. So I got the guy in the guesthouse to call the driver ... he's on the way i'm told. In the meantime I'm looking up and down the street stopping every minibus I see to ask if their going to Siem Reap .... no luck. Eventually this guy on a scooter pulls up outside of the guesthouse and it soon becomes apparent that he's going to drive me (Rucksack, Daypack, and supplies for the journey on board) to my bus all on the back of his scooter. Anyway he does get me there in one piece but i can not for the life of me understand why they didnt just tell me where the bus was, as it turns out to be less than a minute walk from my collection point.

Now the bus journey to Cambodia from Bangkok is reknowned for its scam artists and cowboys. But if you've decided to take your bus to the airport, you are right. Anyway I was glad to see there was plenty of others on the bus ... strength in numbers.

Our drivers were most definitely a shower of chancers. But you just have fun! The first sign was the excruciatingly slow pace they drove at (an attempt to ensure you arrive at your ultimate destination and they will stay at whatever guesthouse they decide to drop you at). Finally we got to the border but had a long wait ahead of us. I saw some people with small tours pay some cambodian guys about a Dollar to take to the head of the queue. However the cambodian guys did not even bother asking any of our group..so it appeared that our drivers had already paid the customs officials to ensure the opposite inconvenience.

Anyway after about four hours standing in the unforgiving heat of Cambodia we finally cleared the customs and low and behold our bus had developed a flat tire .... how unfortunate. So we must wait for a replacement in a little restaurant place from which our drivers will not doubt collect a nice commission. Next our helpful drivers inform us that there are no ATM's in Cambodia we will have to cash on us when we get there. Everyone is aware of this, though our driver goes to tell us not to accept Dollars in Cambodia anymore, due to new regulatory regulations as a result of a change of government last october and guess what ... theres a money exchange. Beside the restaurant ... most convenient. This is a real transparent crock of shit as far as I am concerned and it serves to further confirm that these boys are a real shower of gangsters. I've also recently met some people in Bangkok who used both Dollars and Riel while in Cambodia (less than a week beforehand) and informed me that the Dollar is eagerly accepted everywhere in Cambodia. With this in mind and knowing that the exchange rate is being offered is roughly 30% less than what it should be. Understandably other people are a bit concerned and change a small bit just to be on the safe side. It certainly goes a long way towards explaining why these bus tickets are so cheap.

Finally our journey recommences and we drive along deserted dirt tracks accross what i can only describe as barren tracts of land. We cross a number of dried up rivers by the means of metal bridges crudely constructed from a mish-mash of iron girders. Finally we arrive in Siem Reap (the closest city to the famed Ankor Wat temples). Needless to say it is past midnight and our drivers refuse to drop us in downtown but dump us instead of a guesthouse well outside the main area. Its reasonably priced however so we stay the night.

22/01/05 Saturday, (Day 54)

Mitch (Melborne, Oz), Lucy (UK) and Dan (UK) are very friendly and helpful.

I spent the remainder of the day walking around town and organized a moto driver "Achman" to drive me around the temples tomorrow (only $ 6 for the day).

(Siam Reap Ice Vendors)

23/01/05 Sunday, (Day 55)

Up early again at 4.45am this time and off at 5.30am on the back of the scooter / moto on the short spin to Ankor Wat, and we will have time to view the sunrise.

(Silouette of Ankor Wat at Sunrise)

Ankor Wat was pretty impressive. My driver took me to see a whole load of other temples also, all scattered around the main Ankor Wat complex.

(A cow being watered by a young lad outside the Ta Prohm temple)

(The Terrace of Lepers)

(Tree in the grounds of Ta Prohm)

(Aerial Palace)

(Tree to the entrance to the Ta Som Temple)

There are lots of little kids hanging around trying to sell stuff ... the sandal speel goes something like this .... "Hey mister, you wanna scarf, me lots of scarfs many colors, Scarf one dollar.

(Some local kids harrass some Japanese tourists and eventually succeed in getting them to buy something).

(The two little entrepreneurs who sold me some cold drinks)

(The former royal baths)

I had dinner later in town and I and Mitch decided to get a foot massage after all the days walking around the temples.

24/01/05, Mnday (Day 56)

Up early again and saw the sunrise again ... from the top of a hill on which another temple is perched.

I spent awhile exploring around Ankor Thom, another temple complex quite close to Ankor Wat, and then Achman drove me further 30 Kilometers to see one of the temples a bit further afield.

(Flowers growing inside the grounds of Banteay Samre)

Then back to Ankor Wat and I explored it more thoroughly than the previous day.

(One of the many bas reliefs etched on the walls of Ankor Wat)

(Yet another bas relief)

I talked to a few monks while there ..... very interesting characters all eager to learn English. They explain to me thats why they like to go to Ankor Wat .... so they can practice their English with any willing tourist. It appears that joining the monks is a popular route to a better education.

On this day the Prime Miniser of Cambodia was visiting Ankor Wat with his entourage unfortunately I could only get pictures from a distance.

Back in town later we played some pool while a few hours away.

25/01/05 Tuesday, (Day 57)

Its the final day of my three day pass for temples and i decide to sleep in until about 10am as i was tired from the two days ago.

Eventually I rented a bike and cycled around the temples for a while while my journey was somewhat somewhat hindered by the sudden onset of a mild case of dhiarrea once I finally reached the temples.

(Me outside Ankor Wat you can see one of the many little beggar kids perched on the wall on the right)






(Me inside Ankor Wat)

I spent a good part of my first hour and a half wandering about half way into Ankor Wat only to have to turn tail and scurry out again in search of some decent toilet facilities. Rather frustrating to say the least.














(Ankor Wat)

Towards the end of the afternoon one of the monks I met a guided tour of Ankor Wat.

(The monk who showed me around Ankor Wat)

After a short time I was quite literally completely drained. So and seek shelter somewhere. On my exit I was plagued by some kids trying to sell me stuff. One little girl asked me where I was from;

Girl: "Where you From?"

Me: "Ireland"

Girl: "Ah Ireland, Dublin capital, Conas ata tu?"

Me: "me ma ma agus tusa?"

No response .... as I scurried off to take refuge in the Ankor Cafe, and rather plush overpriced establishment. I'm past caring at this stage .... not feeling the best the sweltering heat is killing me and the air conditioning in this place is absolutely divine. A waitress rushes over with a mint scented cold face cloth and I relax for a few minutes before deciding to have a fruit shake and some food.

Next back to town where we had dinner in one of the night restaurants.


(Family in transit).


(Four young lads on the most popular form of transport in South-East Asia)

Since Ankor Wat I have traveled to a number of other places in Cambodia, Vietnam and am currently in Vientiane, Laos. Unfortunately I have not been able to keep up the speed with the updates online due to the unreliable internet connections etc but i will let you know how and travels in these other exotic locations have progressed as soon as i get the chance.

Same bot site, same bot time .... dinner, dinner, dinner, botman dinner.