So there's lots to catch up on: Ho Chi Minh City where we stayed at the Svetlana ('Grand') Hotel – yes a bit Soviet Union – then the Reunification Express overnight from HCMC to Hoi An when we roomed up in a 4-berth sleeper with a little old Vietnamese lady with the flexibility (and skin almost) of a four-year-old who clearly was not too keen on sharing with two hulking great Westerners. She moaned constantly and groaned loudly when I planted a shoed foot on the bed to hoist myself inelegantly on to the top bunk. Her compatriot – a sweet and younger woman – obviously embarrassed, compensated by buying us some vietnamese milky coffee for breakfast. Mined was iced and lovely; Jenk's was hot and swamp water.
But back I should go to Siem Reap. We'd so looked forward to this – not just for the temples but of course this is where Gill and Lynda had spent 9 months volunteering. We wanted to get an idea of how they lived. Bloody well I should say. Siem Reap is a party town. We checked out some of their favourite haunts and recommendations including Dead Fish Tower which keeps a crocodile pit downstairs; plus numerous other eat and drinkeries. Slightly surprised at first at how opulent relatively speaking SR is – full of plush and big hotels, loads of bars and restaurants. Typically though for Cambodia you only have to move a street or two back and the poverty is overwhelming. In many ways I thought Cambodia more poor even than Laos – there is obviously much more money in Cambodia but the contrast rich/poor is stunning here. And the begging and the hassling is in a different league to any other part of Asia we've been to. As for that matter is the sex tourism – at least as overt as we saw in Thailand. We were there slap bang after the election – so stacks of propaganda everywhere – especially for the Cambodian People's Party – the winners of course. I'm plotting a pol com blog in the fullness.
Temples – awesome – and pix above of Angkor Wat, Angkor thom – my favourite and one of the wonderful jungle strangled temples. But Siem Reap so so hot and the temple tours – there are so many of them – take whole days, leave you drenched and exhausted. It was here that my skin eruptions started – and that started to slow us down a bit. We managed to catch up with a couple of Gill & Lynda's mates Pok & Tom – but missed out on a lot of stuff, and didn't get to see the shelter where they worked.
From Siem Reap to Phnom Penh by speedboat. A proper boat this time – not the Laos variety. Fab journey past the floating villages – and three hours to cross the colossal Tonle Sap lake. The river journey gives some idea of the poverty too in Cambodia – tin shanties for miles along the river banks as we close in on Phnom Penh.
From there the bus to Ho Chi Minh – by far the biggest, most prosperous and consumerised city we've seen since Bangkok. Hugely busy port on the Saigon River, masses of industry, department stores and shopping malls. Fantastic food here – but that has been true generally of Vietnam. The food easily the best we've had in Asia – aside from the wonderful Kampot pepper crab and the fish amok in Kep.
Corn plaster report: ah hah. Last blog had the prickly heat update. Aided by the steam room in the hotel Svetlana it transformed into a creature-from-the-deep outbreak. Industrial strength anti-allergens seem now to be working. I'm enjoying my new vampire like status – only coming out at night. Fellow travellers calling me 'the lady of the night'. It has a certain charm. Jenks in sympathy has come down with a full on cold. We are planning a dawn raid on the imperial city and ancient tombs tomorrow and will book some serious luxury to stay in Hanoi - just in case I'm still confined to th dark. Corn plasters - amazingly still haven't used em.
Footie update: watched us draw with Villa last night – for God's sake Rafa! Get a grip man.
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