YVES
Just met a man called Yves…he is in his 70s…this is his 3rd camino from Le Puy to Santiago (1500km) he walks with his back pack and he has parkinsons disease…..loves his beer and wine and smokes 2 cigarettes a day…he is teaching me french but I cannot seem to pronounce anything properly even though I sound exactly the same as him…..bloody french. ..but he is amazing!!! He wrote a book about his first camino and has had parkinsons for the last 10 years. He keeps a blog of his journey and is head of the Parkinsons community association in France…..bloody legend, although I’m not sure how that would translate in French!

Asterix and Obelix
There are two gents who sometimes walk together and when I see them they remind me of this french comic book. Thierry is small and doesn’t necessarily look like asterix but is from Brittany and is very french and a very proud Bretton with the flag on pack. Pascale is abou 6’4 and a former french rugby player. He has a huge pack and often walks with his hands behind his back supporting it, so he looks like the cartoon character. Neither speak much english but Asterix was super happy when I taught him how to say ‘cheers’ when having a wine or beer! Oblelix seems to have a wicked sense of humour because whenever he says something everyone seems to laugh. Both of them love to say hello to me and always offer me food beer or wine…although most of the time I have no idea that is happening…its only after I’ve bought my own beer food or wine and smiled like an idiot, that someone else translates that Asterix and Obelix were going to buy it for me anyway!!

The Von Trapps
This is just the only name I could think of for two Austrian women who started their walk in Geneva, and are heading all the way to Santiago in Spain. After having a chat with one of them about speaking english, french and german to get by on this part of the walk,  she announced that she speaks a little english but refuses to learn french because she hates the language. She then went on to say she doesn’t really like the people or the country in fact! It reminded me of Captain Von Trapp and haw staunchly Austrian he was in the Sound of Music…..I also thought she was in for a world of pain considering 1000km of her journey was in fact through a country she seemed to hate!

The scandalous two!
So after a long 8 hrs walking 25km in the rain 5 walkers arrived at a lovely house in a tiny village for our night’s rest. The table was set for dinner and a fire was going which was possibly the most comforting thing to see after a being soaked through and freezing. The husband decided that he and the wife MUST be shown to their room to have a shower and coffee before the landlady could have any payment for the room, dinner & breakfast. A very long and heated argument ensued when he was told that normally payment is sorted first (this is normal by the way).  The land lady came downstairs, where everyone was else was drying off, crying and very upset from what the husband had been saying to her. In the end husband and wife get their wet weather gear on and head out to find somewhere else to stay about 4km away in the next town. The gossip that ensued when they left was hilarious and I didn’t even understand a word of what went on. I was eventually told that this was not the first time husband had abused a land lady, as the police were called two night previously for husband having an argument about something similar. The camino gossip was that husband had a problem with women and that was not to be tolerated….as peope translated the story to me over the next few days, the consensus was his ass should be kicked if he starts a fight with another land lady while on the camino. No matter what the age or language, everyone loves to gossip…and kick ass!

The swiss toblerone’s
I walked with a girl and guy from Switzerland for a couple of days but they have now kept walking so I may not see them again for a while. They met a few days ago eventhough both of them started in Geneva, 350km before I did. Gabrielle was lovely and spoke excellent english. She is only walking for another 5 days to Conques and works for Victorinox who make the swiss army knives. Dominic is 25 and a man who likes his heavy metal music. He wears t-shirts with pictures of satan on them and finds it hilarious that it is not the typical attire for a pilgrim on traditionally religious walk. He is also carrying a huge 20kg pack with tent and cooking gear which came in handy for a lovely picnic lunch on the side of a mountain. He can walk about 40kms a day so I imagine he will finish a month before I do!! But you never know I might see him somewhere in Spain…scaring little old ladies with his long hair and heavy metal t-shirts.

Davey the Anarchist/Activist
I met Davey in my hostel on the first night. He is from the UK and had started in Geneva. He walked with me for the first 2 days as I was the first native english speaker he met in 3 weeks. In those two days he told me that he was an ex-army man who stationed in Northern Ireland before the ceasefire. When he left the army he became a greenpeace activist and was in Iraq before the 2003 war trying to promote peace. He was a self proclaimed crusty who lived on the dole and had no intention of telling the goverment where he was…although his doctors and pschiatrists thpught that doing the camino was a fantastic idea. He is funding his trip by donations from friends and family and before he finds a hostel or place to camp (he has a tent with him) he must find a bar to drink beer. Davey also told me that he has a 23 yr old gay son who is addicted to buying expensive handbags and enjoys being “the only gay in the village” in the small UK midlands town where he lives. Davey is lovely gentle soul who, from what I gathered, is someone who is walking off some long held demons. I’m looking forward to meeting him as the weeks go by as we are walking different distances each day.

The camino in France!  Hi….just a few thoughts on my first week of walking….

Never walk with an overweight backpack! Not only am I not fit, but walking with a 13kg backpack quickly causes damage to the body. Needless to say I jettisoned whatever I could do without and sent a package ahead to santiago.

The only way I can descibe the feeling of beginning a walk like this is pure and utter shock to the body. Everything that moves in your body is suddenly put on notice and any small pain can make you think catastrophic thoughts! “Is this going to last for the next 3 months?”…”Am I fkn crazy to be doing this?”….”What the fk am I doing?” 
As soon as these thoughts enter your head, they can go again just as quickly as something else takes over….”ooh look at that mountain…it’s amazing…jesus christ do I have to climb that….god I’m thirsty…I need find a toilet NOW!” Yes…you feel like like you have tourettes or adhd or ooh is that a blister starting! 

The scenary is amazing on this walk and somehow you just keep on going even if you think your kneecap might fall off.  The joy of seeing a village and the possibility of a coffee or food is indescribable and once you do take your pack off, you feel like you float away without the weight in your back.

The French camino is different from Spain in a few ways. The markers guiding the way are small red and white stripes on light posts or walls unlike the yellow arrows or shells in spain. Gites or albergues (hostels) are not just for walkers doing the camino….any bugger can stay in them and are often full by the time you have reached your destination. Its a fkn outrage! It means that you have to book ahead or be faced with a minimum 10km before somewhere else becomes available. Not good when your feet have stopped responding to your brain. Thankfully most people have booked a bed for me but it defeats the purpose of being able to just wander and stop when you feel like it.

I have walked now for 6 days and from memory you start to feel better about day 10-12….thats when the idea of putting your pack on doesn’t fill you with fear and a small hill doesn’t feel like climbing the side of everest.

Anyway at the moment its all good and everyone is very nice to me. ..in fact I think I am a novelty. I am one of the youngest walking right now and everyone finds it incredible that I have come from Australia to do this walk. The average age of people is about 60 so I seem to like a daughter to many of them. They love teaching me french and learning a bit of english at the same time.

The food is phenomenal, and I think I will put on weight here rather than lose it. Most dinners consist of 4 courses with regional specialities and plates of french cheese that would cost a fortune in Australia. I have eaten so much bread that I may turn into a baguette at some point but after 20km up and down mountains the more food the better!

They also love saying ‘Allo Cateee’ whenever the can…..very comforting when we can’t understand each other!

Word for word…
BLOKE 1. Mate, the watermelon must have been sitting out for ages…there’s rat shit on it.

BLOKE 2. (Looking intently at the watermelon)…Awe fuck you’re a dickhead…..it’s the watermelon seeds not rat shit.

BLOKE 1. Bullshit…watermelon doesn’t have seeds at home mate but….Its gotta be a different fruit then…

BLOKE 2. Can’t believe your mother let ya live….you’re  an idiot…..

A whole generation is growing up without watermelon seeds in Australia….a tragedy it seems

So after the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh I followed my friend Kim down south to Kampot. This town is on a large river and much of the accommodation can be found with river frontage and private decks to jump in for a swim. I stayed at Olly’s Place about 2km out of town in my own private bamboo bungalow with double bed, mosquito net and fan. It was run by a lovely french couple who were super relaxed and played cool french lounge tunes and seemed to be smoking joints all day. The food here was fantastic and bungalows cost $6USD a night. I hadn’t planned on coming here at all but stayed for three nights and spent two days reading a book in a hammock. I only broke this routine to have a swim and wander into town for food and a sunset cruise.

There were two amazing restaurants I ate at. One only served 4 different dishes of which I chose the dumplings – 12 for $2…DELICIOUS! The following night, after a two hour cruise to the see the sunset and fireflies….we ate Rusty’s keyhole. This place purported to have the best ribs in Cambodia…and they were not wrong. My mate Billy Clohessy makes the meanest pork ribs I’ve had the fortune to eat…but I’m afraid Rusty just pipped him.  Kim and I shared a kilo worth, dripping in some insane special sauce all for the princely sum of $4USD….yep….4 bux….needless to say I was super content after that.

Kampot is a perfect antidote to Phnom Penh. There is so much to see and do around Kampot, such as the salt lakes, kampot’s famous pepper farms, Bokor mountain and a short trip gets you to Kep for the crab markets. I didn’t partake in any of this, as nothing beats a gew days in a hammock before a 13 hr border crossing and bus trip to Ho Chi Minh City.

• currency is in $US or cambodian riel and you can pay in both…..4000 riel = $1 US so you can truly feel like a millionaire. There are no coins but notes that seem to equal 2.5 cents or 12.5 cents but this can change depending on how the price of things is rounded up or down.

• never accept a ride to an orphanage because more often than not they are not genuine orphanages, but places that take advantage of poor parents and their children…think child safe and friends international are two organisations that keep an eye on this.

• going for a walk around Phnom Penh is almost impossible without being harassed by tuk tuk drivers. It is not normal to walk anywhere…everyone drives something

–  fast buses do what the packet says…..they speed, often on roads that would ordinarily take out the bottom of the vehicle, but they can dodge a motorcycle rider on side a truck coming in the opposite direction, and not crush a family piled into a tuk tuk at phenomenal speed….all while a range rover squeezes through the middle. Insane and amazing…..

• the poverty in some areas is heartbreaking and indescribable…..but also some of the happiest people too. Under no circumstances should people in western nations complain about anything…they should come and see how other people live.

• family and community is very important and it is so lovely to see families all eating and cooking together in remote and city areas…often with no running water or electricity…or one main light….definitely no flat screen TV or iPad! ( My cambodian friend did say that sometimes the family can interfere a little too much when grandparents tell you when to get married, who to, and what children you should have and when to have them!!!!)

• some people in hostels should be shot….I’ve heard some horror stories recently, generally including drunk backpackers, throwing up, being completely disrespectful to other back packers or the country they happen to be in. A particular favourite was hearing a young 18 yr old signed his name TONY 2015 on the wall at Angkor Wat! F***kit. …..

• most of the money earned from tourists in Siem Reap leaves Cambodia and the money generated from entrance fee etc to Angkor Wat goes to the Vietnamese who owned the governing company. It is the hideous downfall of tourism in this country.

• the outlaw australian motor cycle club The Rebels have chapters in Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia..more than likely running drugs casinos and prostitution here. …..the usual…you can spot a Harley a mile away in the middle of a sea of motos!

From the lovely peaceful town of Battambang I cruised down to Phnom Penh, in the fast VIP minivan. Fast was an understatement….it was bone shattering, and a little 2 yr old boy threw up next to me in the very crowded bus. Recommended maximum persons in the vehicle is well and truly ignored. Having said that it could have been worse. Two dutch girls I met a few days later said they had 29 people in a 20 person van, with passengers basically strapped onto the back of the van…backpacks included! It was fun though but I think that is more because I arrived alive rather than actual trip itself!

Phnom Penh is big compared to where I had been, but obviously no where as near as big as Vietnamese cities. Still it is a good starting point to learning the  ropes of crossing the road in crazy traffic. PP has some great architecture and the central market is well worth the visit just to see the building. It is big, but basically everything  is same same but different….lots of North Face gear and every other knock off you can think of. The weather has stopped me from doing more wandering around the city….up around 40 degrees…but even if it was pleasant weather Cambodians don’t seem to like people walking anywhere. The only way to move is either by tuk tuk or on motorbike, and it is quite overwhelming having to say No f**kn tuk tuk all the time…..that said a Dutch girl Kim and I spent a few days navigating the city and it’s sights.

We decided to do the killing fields and the S21 prison from the days of the Khmer Rouge. We got a tuk tuk for the day for $15USD. There is no pleasant or even sane way to explain the atrocities that happened in this country, and anyone who been to any remnants of war camps in europe or even here will understand what I mean. It is heart breaking, and fkn outrageous. The thing that struck me about all of this insanity was it happened relatively recently. Many of us were around or being born during this time…this isn’t a distant piece of history like the Holocaust may seem…..this happened from 1975-9….Pol Pot lived without any criminal repercussions until 1998……On top of that, bones and fabric from the bodies in the killing fields are still coming to the surface and you are warned to not step on bones….if you aren’t moved by this history I think there is something wrong. Of course, there is always the tourists who cannot seem to grasp the brevity of the place and ignore the signs asking for no smoking or no photographs or no smiling in photos in front of Graves etc etc etc. The area itself is quite peaceful as you are given an audio guide with headphones as part of the $6 USD admission fee, so at least 99% of people are quiet. Keeping on the emotional roller coaster we went to the S21 prison…which was a former school that was transformed into a torturous prison for ex soldiers and intellectuals among others. Nothing can quite describe the horrendous photographic and written exhibitions in this museum. But it is not new and would definitely still be happening today in the many conflicts around the world.

It may seem like I am painting a horrible picture but these places are well worth a visit and then you can truly appreciate how lovely the Cambodian people are, and embrace their huge smiles and welcoming nature. It truly is a fantastic place. I am lucky enough to know a couple of people in PP… Dr Sothy Khieng who works for an independent policy think tank (we shared an office during our PhDs), and Scott  Howes who is the managing photo editor for the Phnom Penh Post…..they both gave me excellent perspectives on the country, and answered all my trivial questions over food one night and beer the next!

I had planned on going straight to Ho Chi Minh from PP…..but plans change when you have no plans and just a back pack….so I’m off down south to Kampot.

I spent two days wandering the Angkor Temples and nearly melted in the process. It’s A difficult place to describe and most of my reactions consisted “oh my god”. Not very inventive I know, but it is astonishing that the temple remains have been standing since the 11 & 12th centuries. Moreover, the fact that nearly every stone has been carved by hand and so intricately is phenomenal. Eventhough these temples are quite serene at each one you are accosted by children wanting to sell you anything from woven wrist bands to t-shirts and that’s where you really see how confronting the poverty can be here.

It is a shock to the system if you haven’t travelled SE Asia before. Siem Reap was very hot and humid on arrival and the dust and dirt is a little overwhelming. If you are expecting anything like home then you will get a huge shock. Traffic, roads, food hygiene, rubbish collection or anything that we take for granted is not a priority. I read a travel blog about safely eating in Cambodia, and they suggested that if kitchen hygiene wasn’t up to standard then avoid eating in that establishment or food stall. Seriously, how arrogant could you get if you demanded to see the quality of the food preparation here. I don’t think you will do yourself any favors if you were to constantly be comparing home to here. It’s so much better to accept that things are different and enjoy it all or stay home!

What can be disturbing to many travellers is the tourist mecca that Siem Reap has become, means you can be bombarded with only tourists doing touristy things with blatant disregard for the locals. Large tour groups are the worst for this, and backpackers that only seem interested in getting shit faced as quickly as possible on the ridiculously cheap booze…you could be forgiven for thinking that you had arrived at school is week. Of course alongside this, is the begging and prostitution often involving children. Lonely Planet will not tell you any of this in the guide books, but it happens and sadly it is quite pronounced in the tourist spots. You are advised not give money to the begging children as this will mean they won’t go to school…That’s what Lonely Planet says…..but it doesn’t take a genius to realize that in such a developing country the men driving brand new Range Rovers and Lexus 4wds are not making their money from selling road side noodles. The kids give their money to someone higher up the food chain who probably controls a number of other businesses including road side stalls and other less legitimate enterprises. There are of course many businesses that do so much good for the local economy and people (my hostel being one of them), but it would be wrong and ignorant to ignore the other side of the growing tourist market herein Siem Reap.

Speaking of growing tourist markets….the growing concensus among people I have met is that Americans are the loudest and most painful tourists. Imagine Kuta in Bali with Aussie Bogan but replace with American accents. (My apologies to my US friends….but this is what I’m hearing around the traps)…the only annoying travellers to me, are those that think it’s OK to Skype in the middle of the night or turn lights on to pack backpacks at the Crack of dawn all while in a shared dorm room….a bit of consideration doesn’t go astray.

Anyway I’m now in Battambang which is far more chilled out and just had a bone shattering trip on the Bamboo railway….this is too much fun!

“Same same but different”…… That’s what won me over to have my breakfast at the Lady Gaga stall while I watched the sunrise over the Angkor Temples at 5.30am. All the stalls are next to each other and you are accosted by vendors offering coffee and breakfast, and yes they are pretty much all the same. The defining feature is the stall names….Harry Potter, James Bond and Lady Gaga etc. I had the best banana pancakes ever and considering that it all happens in the dark before sunrise, and there is no infrastructure except a few tarps and fridges for drinks….it was fantastic! Young children were asleep on the tables while the family members hawker their wares and food to the enormous amount of tourists who brave the pre-dawn tuk tuk ride out to Angora. 

Tuk tuks are the best mode of transport. I was picked up for free from the airport by a tuk tuk driver who has now become my personal driver. I was suckered into that quite nicely. I didn’t realize that I could have done a shared driver for the temples from the hostel, but it has worked out well as I don’t have to be waiting for people to do their sightseeing, and I was given some traditional food too for my second breakfast. He assured me I wouldn’t get sick but I was dubious as to why he wasn’t eating it also. It was a fresh fish from the river cleaned and fried, with steamed rice and pickled cabbage and onions shoots of some description. It was absolutely delicious and I am not feeling sick at all!

I can hear my Mam and Dad saying “what’s a tuk tuk…why hasn’t she told us what that is?” Mind you, Dad has discovered the wonders of Google so he may have googled it….for those of you too lazy…it’s basically a rickshaw but powered by motorbike….it’s the best, and there are no discernable road rules  so these things weave in and out of everywhere. I can also cross the road with confidence…just step out and go….its good training for Vietnam apparently.

I have a arrived in Singapore for the first stop on my 2015 adventure, and I am going to see what mischief I can get up to over the next few months. My friend Shelley told me that I had to say yes to everything, unless it was going to dinner with an axe murderer….so I figure I will do everything I can, within reason and the laws of the country I happen to find myself in (all while keeping safe and avoiding axe murderers)!

Having my first beer after some fantastic street hawker food on Maxwell St, and I find myself listening to John Farnham….what are the chances!? Arriving in Singapore is such a pleasure. The airport is clean and not overly busy like Hong Kong  (although there was no visible jazz band playing). The ground transport is a fantastic service and it cost S$ 9 to be dropped at my hostel. No fancy hotels for me this time round, but this hostel is not your average bedbug ridden joint….this is a luxury hostel. I’m staying in a mixed dorm room which is super clean and private. They supply towels clean linen and quilt, locker and clean bathrooms! It does however cost about $40 per night but I figure I’ll make back my daily allowance money in the $6 per night hostel in Cambodia! The Adler hostel (www.adlerhostel.com ) is located in Chinatown so it seems fairly central to everything. Weather isn’t outrageously oppressive but I imagine as its 7.40pm it is cooler in the evenings; tomorrow I will be suitably outraged at the humidity.

If you happen to stay in the Chinatown area, it is well worth a trip to Ann Siang Hill, particularly if you like to people watch like myself.  This seems to be a mecca for expat banker types, but it also has has great restaurants and bars that over charge for beer. Having said that it’s probably on par with Australian prices, but I have certainly blown any daily budget that I had in mind. Again I’m sure I will make it back when I get out of Singapore and head elsewhere. So for now, I’m super happy people watching and people listening, which is hilarious…..nothing like Tuesday night drinks listening to wanker bankers!

Hi

So of you may have seen some recent activity on this page but I haven’t gone anywhere interesting yet! There are some posts from my trip last year but they will be getting some friends as I set out on another adventure in the next few weeks….woohoo!