Bonjour and Au Revoir...

 

Click here for photos of Phnom Penh

 We were on a tight schedule and after a few days waved goodbye to Siem Reap to fly back to Phnom Penh. Inconveniently, we were dropped off at the wrong terminal and were forced to walk at least 100 yds through a car park to the other terminal where we waited with 4 other people to be checked in by at least 8 staff!

On reaching the capital we met up with Keith and Sara to partake of many French pastries (Cambodia was once a French colony) and to watch the Water Festival happening on the Tonle Sap river. As well as commemorating a great victory in battle it also marks the end of the rainy season and the change in direction of the river itself. Hundreds of boats race up and down the river carrying up to 80 rowers, a cox, several people to bail water out and a man with a megaphone to shout encouragements! Up to a million extra people can converge on the city for this 3 day festival and we felt really lucky to happen to be in the right place at the right time! It also gave us the opportunity to observe the Cambodians at their most 'aggressively omnivorous'... Deep fried cockroach or chicken foetus anyone?

Back to Singapore to complete our adventure and time to say goodbye to Juliette. Bye bye matey - thanks so much for coming all this way to see me and see you soon!

Bonjour Cambodia!

Click here for photos of Siem Reap

To ensure that Juliette kept up with her airmiles collection we all headed off to Cambodia for a few days. We saw and experienced so much that it's hard to know where to begin to describe it! We landed in Phnom Penh (yes, that is how you spell it!) and took a rather exhilarating, 5 hour taxi ride to Siem Reap. Exhilarating due to the death-defying overtaking manouevres being undertaken all around us as well as the extreme sport of avoiding wandering livestock crossing the roads. We did arrive in one piece at our hotel with only mild whiplash to show for the journey and set out to wander around the town. We dropped into Wat Po - a buddhist temple with resident monk who kindly took time out to explain a few things about his temple. He spoke fluent English and was also starting to learn French - all to a considerably higher level than our Khmer! The next day we hired a tuk tuk (a motorbike with a small shed on the back as a form of transport) to take us around Angkor Wat - the largest temple in the world and a truly awe-inspiring place. I shall let the photos speak for this one... A word to those planning to visit - don't try to see too much in one day or you may be struck down with 'Temple Fatigue'! And you'll need some energy left to dodge the beautiful Cambodian children trying to sell you MORE postcards!

Happy Birthday mum!

Click here for pictures of Equinox

Forgot to buy your mum a birthday present? Can I recommend that you take her for an "Eat and Drink All You Can Brunch" on the 70th floor of the SwissOtel with free-flow Moet and Chandon, 10 courses of food and a 180 degree view of Singapore? That'll make her forget you hadn't got her a card ;)

Monkey Do...

Click here for photos of MacRitchie

Getting away from the city and into the rainforest is pretty easy to do in Singapore. After applying copious amounts of sun cream and mosquito repellant we headed up to the MacRitchie reservoir. This is in a large area in the middle of the island called the 'Central Catchment Area' and is a really good way to forget you're in the middle of an island that's also a city. My yearning to see monkeys up close and personal was answered and we almost became TOO acquainted when they discovered we had crisps in our bag! The camera squad (Matt and Juliette) were in full force and the sound of snapping shutters resounded through the canopy.

After a serious amount of sweating through the day, what better food to eat than Chinese Steamboat in the evening? Take one vat of boiling soup, a waitress called Irene to ladle out the chilli and your own weight in food to be cooked right under your noses to really bring on the heat!

Monkey See...

Click here for The Clinic

My good mate Juliette swings into town which means it's time to explore different parts of Singapore! Dim Sum in Chinatown, being encouraged to take photos of a Hindu festival next to a sign saying 'No Photography' and finishing up in a hospital-themed bar called The Clinic was only the start. It is disturbing to see photos of your old mum in a wheelchair before her time though...

Singapore Museum

Click here for photos of Singapore Museum

Whilst in Singapore it's only right that one should visit the National Museum! After introducing mum to more strange Singaporean foodstuffs we headed on over to discover that I had to pay an entry fee and she didn't! Outrageous. Roll on retirement... Having spent around an hour poking around the seemingly few exhibits we were beginning to wonder if that was it and whether I should go and ask for my $10 back. It was only at that point that we noticed the rest of the museum and were treated to more information on Singapore than you could shake a stick at! Ask me anything, test me, test me!