Cambodia

The first thing to say about Cambodia is that the visa on arrival is processed by about ten different officials who are very serious about their task. Arriving at Siem Reap airport, passengers are told the form given out by Air Asia is no longer used and a new form has to be filled in. While this is being done, applicants are overlooked by a row of uniformed men on a raised platform. Payment is then made, passport and photo handed over, and the checking process begins. Each man checks a different piece of information from the application form and gives it his stamp of approval. Eventually, the passport makes its way along to the end of the line and is returned to its holder, ready to be shown to an immigration official who then stamps visitors into Cambodia.

Siem Reap is a small city and the gateway to Angkor Wat and the other temples around it. A lot of the roads are in need of repair, with big puddles forming when it rains. The people are quietly spoken, somewhat shy but friendly. Around every temple there is someone persistently trying to sell postcards, books, scarves, drinks etc etc. A polite "no thankyou" often does the trick, but not always !

Cambodia is a country that has been through a lot. Hundreds of years ago the vast temple complexes were built and the territory of Cambodia stretched far beyond its current borders. Neighbouring countries have encroached, brutal wars have been fought, and the era of the Khmer Rouge reduced everything to year zero with the brutal atrocities that followed the overthrow of a corrupt regime.

Visiting the killing fields outside Phnom Penh and the S-21 prison complex in the city, where so many people were tortured, puts into context the fact that so many people alive today have lived through what happened. What ended only 12 years ago with the final demise of the Khmer Rouge. Surviving members of the leadership are now undergoing trial for the genocide. Pol Pot died, of course, and cheated justice.

Reading achievement

I have finally completed the 905 page epic that is "Hawaii" by James A Michener. I found this tattered copy abandoned in Munich Airport nearly two months ago, repaired it, and read it bit by bit. It tells the story of Hawaii and its people, from the formation of the islands until the years following the Second World War. Tiny print in this paperback edition, which appears to have been printed in the early 1960s and will now be passed on to the book shelf at the Central Boutique Angkor Hotel in Siem Reap.

Fish pedicure

I'd seen these big fish tanks in Bali, but they're even more common in Cambodia. So-called Dr Fish, which give you a pedicure by eating your dead skin. They peck away at feet and legs while you sit and have a beer. It's supposed to be very therapeutic. $2 US in Siem Reap, where I'm with another good friend from Wellington. I'll spend the final four weeks of this big trip with David, travelling through Cambodia and Vietnam before having a relaxing few nights in Thailand.

Photo Post : Kuala Lumpur

Petronas twin towers.

Looking down from the bridge, connecting the towers at the 41st floor.

Masjid Jamek mosque.

Kuala Lumpur's monorail.

Photo post : Bali

Kuta Beach. The sun was shining soon after a heavy rain shower.

Memorial to the 202 people who died in the terrorist attack on Kuta nightclubs. Most of the victims were Australian.

So there's a blind cafe in Bali too ! I think I'd prefer to see what I'm eating here.

Bali

Walking down the street in Kuta means encountering an endless succession of hawkers who are best ignored, for they don't understand a polite "no thank you".

Hawker : Hello boss...
Me: (no response)
Female hawker : Hello sir massage...
Me : (no response)
Hawker : Hi mate (in an Australian accent), what are you looking for ?
Me : (unaware I was looking for something, no response)
Hawker ; Where you going ?
Me : (thinking that's none of your business, no response)
Female hawker : (stepping into my path and holding out hand) Hello mate (Aussie accent)
Me : excuse me (meaning, get out of my way)
Hawker : Hello sir (holding out a leaflet)
Me : No thank you
Same hawker : come and take a look at my shop
Me : No thanks
Same hawker : t-shirts, Billabong...
Me : How many times do you want me to say no ?

Singapore (and getting here)

Singapore's cheap, efficient and air-conditioned MRT provides a blessed escape from the humidity outside its train carriages. There's also entertainment on board in the form of hilarious jingle announcements. In a kind of 1950s/60s style sing song, like they would have had in Britain and the United States, passengers are urged to give up their seats for the less able. There's also a little ditty on the platform which goes "train is coming, train is coming" in a tune not dis-similar to that of the BBC's tacky tv game show Blankety Blank. Get the picture ?

I took the MRT from the airport into the city centre last night to find my budget hostel accommodation. At least it has air-con and free internet.. but it's a big step down from the luxury of the final days in India.

Because of a special schedule change to pick up Australian athletes from the Commonwealth Games, my plane from Mumbai left at 6am (with a 3am check in) and went via Delhi. Once there, an organisational farce unfolded as first no-one greeted passengers disembarking to go into transit for two hours, then security wouldn't let us through re-screening because they didn't have our flight on the list, and Qantas had to write out boarding passes by hand so they could get an official security stamp. The rigmarole was repeated when it came time for boarding again, and our optimistic departure time of 10:10am ended up being somewhere closer to 11am. Paperwork wasn't in order. There was no printer to give a hard copy of the passenger manifest, and the cabin service manager ended up having to write one out by hand using the boarding pass stubs.

There were lots of people in yellow and gold tracksuits, who had spent the previous two weeks competing in the Commonwealth Games. They all had to sit in economy. There were a couple of officials with me in business class, and one of them gave me a lapel badge designed for the Australian team.

I'm in Singapore for a couple of nights before moving on to Bali for four nights. This morning I caught up with a businessman friend, Richard Tan, who I met when I was in Singapore a few years ago and have kept in touch with since. We had tea and cake, then some delicious soup for lunch and just spent the time chatting.

Yesterday I reached the three-quarters mark. I've got one quarter of my trip to go. It feels as though time is hurtling towards the end, but I've got more than a month still to enjoy in South-East Asian countries.. plus I'm looking forward to being joined for most of that time by my friend David, who is flying out from Wellington and will meet me in Malaysia.

Anjaana Anjaani

Bollywood

One of the things I enjoy when visiting India is going to the movies to watch a Bollywood blockbuster. Last year it was Ghajini and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. This year I've seen Dabaang and Anjaana Anjaani.

I wanted to put a link to a YouTube video trailer for Anjaana Anjaani, but technical incompetence prevented me... so please do a Google search and find it yourself.

It was definitely the best the film I saw this year and has the beautiful Priyanka Chopra in the leading lady role. Like all good Bollywood it's a visual and sound spectacular. Not everybody's cup of chai, perhaps, but I enjoyed it.

Photo Post : Goa

Goa

Another Indian train, another delay. The overnight Konkan express from Mumbai CST station departed about an hour and a half late. It arrived two and a half hours late, but I slept through much of that, rocking gently in the first class sleeper carriage.

There were two other Britons in the sleeper compartment. They'd flown to Mumbai about 24 hours before and planned to go to three places in Goa. Apparently they're hoping to see some of the real India ! The food they've had in Mumbai will not have been typical, and I don't think they'll get a true impression of the country by confining themselves to Goa.

With the Portugese influence, Goa is cleaner, the roads are good, people dress differently. Now I'm staying in a resort for a bit of ease and luxury. It was the idea of my travelling companion in India, Shane from Wellington, who had already had a week in the country before I arrived. He is certainly in need of a rest, and the price was good. All inclusive (meals and train/airport transfers) for $87 (NZ) per person, per night in a two bed, two bathroom suite. We're not on the beach, but will take a shuttle to the sister resort, which is.

I'm almost three quarters of the way through my journey. I have five weeks or so to go in South East Asia, where I'll be joined by another friend from NZ. Are you packed and ready David ??

Remarkably, no mosquito bites so far. If it stays this way, I won't bother with the four extra weeks of mossie pills once I've left this zone. In Cambodia and Vietnam I'll be on different pills anyhow, because of the drug resistant strains of mosquitos there. What I do have is some bed bug bites. It took me a while to realise what they were, but some online research has confirmed it in my mind. I presume I got them in Agra. An annoyance, but at least I won't get any illness from them.

Photo Post : Mumbai

Mumbai High Court building.

Taj hotel, which was one of the targets for the terrorist attacks in 2008.

The Gateway of India.

Photo Post : India

Look at the symmetry...

A train at Agra Cantt railway station.

Walking past the Taj Mahal complex East Gate.

Columns and archways, part of the Amber Fort.

Please take our picture ! They gave me a thumbs up when they saw the result.

Indredible India !

It's really nice to be back in India, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the warmth again. Actually, that's an understatement. It's pretty hot here now. Rajasthan does at least have a dry heat. Uttar Pradesh is a bit more humid. In fact, there was thunder and a sprinkling of rain in Agra.

Those who've been to India will appreciate what it's like to walk along a road. There's usually no pavement, and you weave your way around parked vehicles and other pedestrians on the edge of the road as cars, trucks, auto rickshaws, cycle ones and motorbikes make their way past in random directions, all blasting their horns and just managing not to collide with anything. It's dusty and loud; smelly too if you pass a pile of decaying rubbish or somewhere that's been used as an open public toilet. Oh, and then there are the cows just wandering around eating anything they find.

I was in Jaipur and Agra last year as well. This is a return trip, because I didn't get to see everything I wanted to last time. Then I was using a crutch and had a brace on my arm as I was recovering from broken bones in my right arm and foot two months previously. This time I was able to get to Amber Fort and return to the Taj Mahal and see the inside properly.

Lots of things are really cheap, including mobile phone services. There is some degree of hassle in getting an Indian sim card, however. If you don't meet all the extreme requirements, your pre-pay number will be cancelled after one week... which means I've got a day or two at the most before my connection is severed.

When I took several trains during my last trip they were regularly delayed by two hours. The train to Agra was pretty much on time, but the one back from there to Jaipur last night was four hours late in arriving ! Perhaps it was because schedules had been disrupted to allow for Commonwealth Games participants to come down from Delhi by train and see the Taj Mahal.

I've had my hair cut today. I'm not convinced it's the best hair cut I ever had. It only cost me $2 (NZ), or nearly £1, and included a vigourous head massage. The main thing is, my hair is shorter. That's good in this 35 degree heat !

The food is fabulous, of course. Lots of healthy vegetarian curries but also more meat available than I remember from last time. I've had a fair bit of chicken. Not sure about the quality of it. The eggs I had on toast the other day had pretty pale looking yolks !

Jaipur, India

A quick post to say that I'm enjoying being back in Jaipur. Here's a photo of Amber Fort. A detailed update to follow in a couple of days, after a visit to Agra and the Taj Mahal.

My final time at Tegel ?

I have always used Tegel airport when I've visited Berlin. At some point in the future, Schoenefeld will take over as the city's single airport with runways long enough to take Airbus A380 planes and offer direct flights to many destinations. At the moment, German travellers have to connect through Frankfurt. Luckily, Yuri had the use of a car and gave me a lift to the airport. Here he is with an Air Berlin plane in the background. I've flown British Airways to London and will connect through to Mumbai overnight. Thank goodness I'm in Business Class again... I don't think I could have taken another long haul economy flight like the one from Buenos Aires earlier in the week. By the way... next time you fly Club World (Business Class) on British Airways and connect through Heathrow, don't forget to take advantage of the free chair massage session on offer in the Elemis Spa. I had no idea an automated massage chair could do so much. I'm floating now :-)

Matt Damon, John Malkovich and Joschka Fischer also ate in darkness

http://www.unsicht-bar-berlin.de/ -- check it out !

Eating in the dark

Imagine being led into total darkness, putting your trust in a blind man whose shoulders you are holding onto. Weaving your way around tables where other sighted people are sitting and eating a meal. You can hear them. Occasionally you brush past them. Arriving at the table you feel the chair and sit down.

My dining companion at the Unsicht Bar in Berlin (Deutschlands erstes Dunkel-Restaurant) last night was Yuri, who came to New Zealand and Australia as part of his gap year travels before he starts University in the next couple of weeks. We sat opposite each other, although we couldn't see each other. In fact, I couldn't see a thing even when I put my hand right in front of my eyes. It really was utter darkness.

Prior to going inside we had chosen from a menu which hints at what the food will be. The selection is either vegetarian, poultry, meat or surprise. I tell you, it's a real challenge to eat what you can't see, using a knife, fork and spoon and hoping to get mystery food from the plate into your mouth. Yuri and I felt proud of ourselves when we managed first the salad, then the soup. Sometimes the fork or spoon would reach my mouth, but there was nothing on it. When each course was finished, I wasn't totally sure I had finished !

The main course involved trying to cut a chicken breast into bite-size pieces and to manage noodles without splashing sauce onto my shirt. Dessert was perhaps the biggest challenge... a crepe on a rectangular plate with fruit on one side and ice cream on the other.

During what turned out to have been an hour and a half my eyes were straining, desperate to see something. It was of course an interesting experience to have had. 90 minutes of blindness, and thoughts of what it would be like if this was permanent. I would go again. Only after the meal did we see a menu stating what we had actually eaten. Which vegetables they were, what flavour the ice cream was, and so on.

Two nights in Berlin have been my stop-over between Argentina and India. I'm about to embark upon the next leg of the journey and will take an overnight flight to Mumbai, then connect on a domestic leg to Jaipur.