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Matt Ward's Travel-Log!
 


There is an amazing 310 travel-log entries on 16 page(s) and your are on page number 15


Travel-log entry by Matt on 04 August 2005 at 09:50
Day 36 (3rd August 2005)
It was awake for 11am for some re-hydration and packing before leaving for Phnom Pehn, it was really hot today and it didn't help that the air-con on the bus was only running at probably 10% of what is should have been. There was only one consolation that the road between Siem Reap and Phnom Pehn is actually drivable. In fact it is a pretty good road without any pot-holes. They were playing some really strange Cambodian tv programmes on the bus but I just put on the MP3 player to drown it out. During the trip I got to see for the first time the beautiful flat plains of Cambodia and it is absoloutely stunning, the place is so flat with lush green fields, palm trees scattered all around and cows and ox's roaming free in the fields. We arrived at Phnom Pehn around 6pm (actually on time for once) and I flagged a tuk-tuk driver before actually getting off the bus. We asked him to take us to a place called "The New Lodge" because we overheard a conversation in Siem Reap about it being really nice. Turns out that it is on the side of a lake. So far the place seems really nice and there is a nice cooling breeze here. As we arrived the sun was setting over the otherside of the lake and I got a fantastic scenic photo. We arranged with the Tuk-tuk driver to come back and collect us tommorow at 10am to take us around a few places. On our way by tuk-tuk from the bus to the guesthouse we say a man driving a motorbike with a double-bed matress on the back, this was one of the funniest things I have seen so far. The guy driving was sat on the matress and it was bowing on both sides almost to the point were it would touch the road. I was in stitches, a very funny moment, you can also find whole families here on one motorbikes, The maximum we have seen so far is 5 people on a single motorbike!
Matt is currently in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 04 August 2005 at 09:40
Day 35 (2nd August 2005)
Today we got up and had a nice tasty bacon & egg roll for breakfast. The tuk-tuk driver then turned up to take us away to the temples again. We first went back to Angkor Wat to get some more photos and then onto the following:- Terrace of the Leper King, Preah Khan Temple, Preah Neak Pean Temple, Ta Som Temple, Eastern Mebon Temple and then finally Pre-Rup Temple. We decided that we had seen enough temples, so we then headed to the landmine museum at which there were displayed hundreds of different types of landmine and weaponry. The place was only two huts and they are surviving only on donations from the visitors, but it was well worth seeing. After, we went to see a miniture sculpture of Angkor Wat, this was really impressive work, it took the man over a year to complete it and it is all sculpted out of stone. The guy was awarded a cup from the king of Cambodia for his great work. On the way to the sculpturists place we passed through a village and I got a feel for the real Cambodia, the people are full of smiles despite being so poor, they seem to survive and seem content with the little they possess. I really like Cambodia and the people here are the best I have met. I feel sorry for the suffering that took place during the reign of Pol Pot and the Kymer Rouge, these people did not deserve that treatment. Things are getting better here now and the economy is getting better, mainly due to the high in-flux of foreign tourists. Tommorow at 12pm we head to the capital Phnom Penh to discover some more about Cambodia. In the evening we met a scottish guy at our guesthouse and went for an Indian, following with beers in a bar called "The Angkor What?" arriving back home very late again...
Matt is currently in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 01 August 2005 at 13:33
Day 34 (1st August 2005)
After the heavy night last night we decided not to go back to the temples today, but to rest instead and chill out at the guesthouse. I have been helping Ailish today to recover her lost 240 photos that she deleted by mistake on her camera last night whilst out in the bar. Tonight we are going to go for a meal and get an earlyish night as we have said to the Tuk-Tuk driver that we want to definately go back to the temples tomorrow at 9am..we have to really, as our 3 day pass will expire tomorrow. We should explore a few more temples and go back to Angkor Wat to get some more photos...Last time we went to Angkor Wat it was raining quite heavily so we couldn't get many photos. I think also tomorrow we are also going to try and see the landmine museum. We have decided that we are going to leave Siem Reap on Wednesday and get the bus ($4) down to Phnom Penh. Stay there for 3 or 4 days in order to see the killing fields and go to a couple of museums there...then we have planned to head down south to a place called Sihanoukville which is on the coast and is supposed to have some nice beaches worth exploring...I'll keep you updated....
Matt is currently in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 01 August 2005 at 13:24
Day 33 (31th July 2005)
Today we hired a tuk-tuk for the day to take us (Ailish and I) around the temples of Angkor Wat. We bought the 3 day pass costing $40. We explored the temples of The Bayern, The Baphuon, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm and ofcourse the big one Angkor Wat. I have to say though that I was most impressed with Ta Prohm, this is the temple in the jungle and was the one used for the filming of Tomb Raider. There are some amazing trees that are wrapped around the rocks of the temple, I took loads of photos which I will upload some time soon. In the evening we went out to a great restaurant just up the road and then onto the main street for beers in the Temple bar to celebrate Ailish's birthday (she is 33 at midnight). We ended up staying in the bar until 5am playing pool and chatting with some other people that we met earlier on the bus journey here. Earlier in the evening there were loads of kids in the bar, we were playing around with them dancing and letting them try to play pool - it was complete chaos but these kids are so cute and adorable. I really am loving Cambodia, the people here are so so nice and the food is so much better than in Thailand. The only confusing thing so far is that here you can pay in 3 different currencies, either Riel the local currency,US dollars or Thai Baht...sometimes it gets confusing trying to work out how much something is, but we are working on the basis that 4000Riel is 1USD.
Matt is currently in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 30 July 2005 at 08:17
Day 32 (30th July 2005)
After the awful bus journey here we have decided to take it easy today and chill out...lunchtime we have checked out of the guesthouse we stayed at last night and have moved to another one closer to town, which is even cheaper. Tonight we will sample the local liquid refreshment and maybe go for a pizza and tomorrow we will attempt to go to Angkor Wat...I think we are going to get the 3 day pass and spend a little longer exploring the temples....we have planned to stay in Siem Reap for maybe 4 or 5 days to get a feel for the place and then I think that we are going to be heading to the capital Phnom Penh and then onto the killing fields. I am currently sat in an internet cafe next to a bar where the locals are watching a boxing match, they seem very addicted to this boxing, the weather outside is torrential rain so I guess I will be staying here a little longer......maybe a little longer.....
Matt is currently in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 30 July 2005 at 08:02
Day 31 (29th July 2005) - THE 1ST MONTH MARK
I was up at 7am this morning to get my stuff packed and get ready to leave to catch the bus to Siem Reap, Cambodia. I only managed to get 3 hours sleep because I was out partying until 3 am in an R'n'B nightclub off Khao San Road, so you can imagine I was pretty tired. The journey started off well on an air conditioned coach to travel from Bangkok to Poi Pet (the border with Cambodia)...the problems started after crossing the border into Cambodia. We had to wait about 3 hours for the bus to turn up to take us to Siem Reap, fortunately I met some really sound people...an Irish girl called Ailish, two English girls called Phillipa and Anna and a guy called Dave and the strangest thing is that we are all engineers just different types! After getting onto the bus we started the four hour trip to Siem Reap along the most pot-holed road ever, this road is the worst I have ever seen and the most un-comfortable ride on the bus. After 1 1/2 hours on the bus we hit a problem, a truck had fallen into a hole in the middle of the road and was blocking the road completely..we were stuck...some cars where trying to get around it but they were getting stuck themselves, it was complete chaos. I have never seen anything quite like it but we just had to keep high spirits and laugh at the situation. 3 hours later we were informed that a bus was coming to meet us on the other side of the hole, so we waited and then had to walk through some really thick mud to get to the bus on the other side..some people were falling in the mud and getting completly covered! There was the most unbelievable sigh of relief when we were actually moving again, everybody was so happy to be back on a bus and finally on our way to Siem Reap. We thought that maybe we would have to stay the night at that spot, after 4 hours more of unbelievable roads...(well you can't really call them roads) we arrived in Siem Reap and were taken to a guesthouse which was really nice and cheap. I finally got to bed at 4am...this was my worst journey so far...but out of it I met some great people and we have all bonded well..Ailish is doing a similar route to me around Cambodia and Vietnam so we are going to be travelling together as it is cheaper for the room and a safer option for us both.....
Matt is currently in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Travel-log entry by Matt on 28 July 2005 at 13:07
Day 30 (28th July 2005)
I am now only a day away from being away for 1 month. Today we have been taking it easy, I had to pick up my passport (now with the Cambodia visa in it) from the travel agents. I also sorted out some US dollars to take with me to Cambodia. I went with Jamie to the train station so he could get his train ticket to go to the islands, we then went for a little walk around chinatown, there was a market and a couple of temples there to explore. Tonight I think we may go for beers as this is the last night I will see Jamie as we part tomorrow when I head to Siem Reap at 7.30am and he goes to the islands on the sleeper train...I'm not sure how easy it is to get internet access from Cambodia so there might not be another update on here for a while. I plan to go to Siem Reap and get settled in a guesthouse, I'll then go to the temples of Angkor Wat before heading to the capital Phnom Penh. Then I am not sure where I am going from there but I guess it will be to Vietnam....Wish me luck
Matt is currently in Khao San Road, Bangkok, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 28 July 2005 at 13:02
Day 29 (27th July 2005)
Today we arrived back on the Khao San Road in Bankok after another dreadful 12Hr bus journey on which I could not get any sleep. On arrival at 6am in the morning we could not find any guesthouses that had free beds...in the end we were forced into staying at some really dodgy place just off of the Khao San just to get a few hours sleep...after waking up we searched out a better guesthouse to stay for 2 nights and I went to one of the travel agents to arrange my Cambodia visa and coach to Siem Reap...I will be leaving on Friday morning as I didn't want to stay too long here as this place is a big money sink...in the evening Jamie and I went to a few different bars..one of which was a sports bar where you can do rock climbing...I decided to give it a go and managed to get about half way up, mind you I had had a few beers by that time...later we went to the good old Shamrock Irish bar to watch the live band..this Thai band is pretty damn good!
Matt is currently in Khao San Road, Bangkok, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 26 July 2005 at 07:45
Day 28 (26th July 2005)
Today we are having a lazy day...we have booked the coach to go back to Bangkok at 6pm tonight. When I arrive back in Bangkok I am going to get my visa sorted to go to Cambodia. I have to leave Thailand by the 5th August because my tourist visa expires on that day. Maybe I will stay in BKK for a few days, just until the visas are sorted and then I will head to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Matt is currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 26 July 2005 at 07:42
Day 27 (25th July 2005)
We left the guesthouse and grabbed some breakfast at a restaurant nearby, then we left to explore around Pai...first we decided to go and check out the Tha Pai hot springs...this place was amazing with smoke rising into the air from the hot springs...the water is said to be around 80 Degrees C..I said to Jamie that we should have bought eggs to cook in the water. After the springs we drove past the elephant camps and paddy fields and headed towards Pai Canyon..we got there and the views from the top were pretty impresive. The canyon itself was not that great. Our next destination was the Mar Paeng waterfall - yes another waterfall! This one was different again, on the way we had people coming up to the jeep trying to sell us opium and cannabis. The time was about 4pm and we had done pretty much everything we could in Pai so we chose to start heading back to Chiang Mai...we did try to go to another hot springs on the way back but it was closed...we got back to Chiang Mai at about 9pm and got a room back at the guesthouse....
Matt is currently in Pai / Chiang Mai Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 26 July 2005 at 07:32
Day 26 (24th July 2005)
Around 10am the Thai people gave us a lift back to our guesthouse in central Chaing Mai. We got our stuff together and checked out of the guesthouse. We decided that we were going to hire a 4x4 jeep and drive to a place called Pai which is in a north-westerly direction. We hired the jeep (which was a Suzuki 4x4)for 2 days at a rate of 700Baht/Day which is really good value. Before we left for Pai we decided to go for a full english breakfast - it was delicious, this was the first one I have had since leaving England nearly a month ago so you can imagine how much I was enjoying it! After breakfast we went to fill the jeep with petrol and stopped at a book shop to buy a map of nothern thailand, then we set off. This was my first time driving in Thailand and it is a very crazy experience..there are so many motorbikes that come at you from every direction, however after leaving the city the roads became easier to drive on. After driving for a couple of hours we saw a sign for Mokfa waterfall, so we decided to go and check it out...this waterfall was much taller than the one we saw on the trek (see pics). We continued to drive for around another 2 hours going up and down on winding roads, it was starting to get dark and we finally arrived in Pai at around 7pm and managed to find some place to get food. It was not so easy though to find a place to stay, we tried a couple of places each wanting 800Baht for a room. After driving around for a while we found a guesthouse and bingo, one room left for 300Baht - Bargain! So we spent the night there....
Matt is currently in Chiang Mai / Pai, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 26 July 2005 at 07:21
Day 25 (23th July 2005)
Today we had a lazy day, we got given a tourist map of Chiang Mai and we had a look at some places we could go, we both decided in the end to visit the insect museum. The museum was over the other side of town so we took a taxi to get there and a Tuk-Tuk back. The museum has one of the largest collections of mosquitos in the world and the guy who owns it is dubbed "the mosquito man" as he has been bitten by over 410 different types of mosquito. The museum also has collections of butterflies, beetles, fossils, moths, stick insects and loads of other stuff. In the evening we walked down to the area where there are lots of bars and a thai boxing ring. There were Thai boxing fights going on, so we watched and took a couple of photos. I also managed to beat 5 people in a row at pool in one of the bars...Jamie met some Thai people and after the bars closed we went back with them to a Thai house located on the outskirts of the city...I was a little bit worried as we didn't really know these people but it all turned out ok in the end and we ended up drinking rice wine with them until early hours of the morning and then slept at their house.
Matt is currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 22 July 2005 at 13:56
Day 24 (22th July 2005)
I was up early for the last day of the trek..after shower and breakfast we all headed for a short walk up the road and arrived at the place where we all got to ride an elephant in pairs of two...at one point I was riding on the neck of the elephant and it was pretty hard to keep balance...after the elephant ride we did some white water rafting, well it was more like brown water rafting as the river was full of mud...the rafting was interesting and I nearly fell out of the raft a couple of times. Straight after this we did bamboo rafting which was really crazy...floating down the river on a few pieces of wood. The whole trekking experience was really good, it was hard work at times but I am so glad I did it and I have still not been bitten by a mosquito..maybe they don't like me which is good news!
Matt is currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 22 July 2005 at 13:48
Day 23 (21th July 2005)
I had a bad sleep, maybe only getting 2 or 3 hours sleep in the bamboo hut as the floor surface was very hard and uncomfortable, so I was not feeling my best and definately not in good shape for todays trekking schedule. However after breakfast (which was toast and watermelon) and a cold shower from a hose pipe I was feeling a little more awoken. We left the village about 10.30am and started our trekking. After about 1 1/2 hours of walking (6kms) we arrived at a waterfall - this was amazing as I had never seen a waterfall of this size before - We all went for a swim in the river right by it but we felt it would be a little unsafe to get right up close as I could feel the strong currents. We had lunch at this spot and then continued to walk another 6kms until reaching the place where we would be spending our 2nd night. It was another kind of hut but this time right by the river. We had dinner and spent the evening chatting, drinking and finding out about each others countries and cultures - it was really nice to find out about the different way's of life in other people's countries....all the people in our trekking group are really nice and friendly.
Matt is currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 22 July 2005 at 13:39
Day 22 (20th July 2005 - My Birthday)
Got up at 8am this morning to have breakfast and prepare for the trekking, fortunately my stomach had fully recovered and I felt really good. At around 10am the mini-bus arrived to collect us and it was a 2 hour journey to take us up north where the trekking was to start. In our group we had 4 Israeli girls, a Korean family, a Dutch girl, a Swedish girl, Jamie and me. When we arrived at the start point we stopped for lunch. After this we had a 3 hour trek into the rainforest crossing rivers, climbing step inclines and all-sorts..this was really demanding and quite tiring and it was very humid under the forest canopy. After a walk of 8kms we arrived at the hill tribe village where we were going to spend the night. Our accomodation consisted of a hut made from bamboo shoots. In the early evening we had green curry for dinner and after that some children came to sing to us around the fire ending with a Happy Birthday song for me which was very special and for which I was very grateful. After the children left we all sat around inside the hut playing various card games and watching one of the Thai guys perform various magic tricks - it was pretty cool and relaxed atmosphere. It was only early around 10pm but I had to go to bed I was so tired from the trekking and I also sustained an injury to my arm when I fell on a rock in a river during the trek.
Matt is currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 19 July 2005 at 05:32
Day's 20 & 21 (18th/19th July 2005)
Here comes the lowest time so far on my trip..Jamie and I were supposed to be leaving for the trek this morning but during the night I got severe stomach pains and then I was extremely sick with diarreah and vomitting and severe dehydration. I could not drink any water without being sick. Monday morning at 8am I felt really weak and was close to passing out, so Jamie helped me to get a Tuk-Tuk to go to the Ram 2 hospital in Chiang Mai were I was diagnosed with severe food poisioning. I spent the whole day and following night there on a drip being given various medication to take. This was my first ever time in hospital and I never imagined it would be in another country. These times were hard for me but I managed to cope with it mentally and I was able to leave this morning. I have got medication to keep taking. The good news is I am better and ready to start the trekking trip tomorrow on my birthday! In the evening today Jamie and I decided to go and get a Thai foot massage...it was 1 hr long and was really nice and relaxing.
Matt is currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 19 July 2005 at 05:25
Day's 18 & 19 (16th/17th July 2005)
On Friday night I met a guy called Sul and we drank loads of rum in a bar in Bangkok. The following day (Saturday) I met up with him again and we decided to go and visit the weekend market in Bangkok. This was the first time I had used the Skytrain. The market was pretty interesting, there were people selling dogs in cages and mice etc. some stuff was pretty cruel, the weather was really hot today and at times un-bareable. After looking around the market for an hour or so I had to get back to the hostel to catch my bus to Chiang Mai. Managed to take a river boat from the end of the Skytrain down to a point right near the hostel. At 6.15pm the lady arrived at my hostel to take me to the coach in order to go to Chiang Mai...The coach trip was very long (12 Hours) and I couldn't sleep..I met two guys on the coach called Steve and Jamie. When we finally arrived in Chiang Mai we were picked up and taken to a hostel, where we got a 3 bed room. Around lunch time after some nice sleep I headed out with Steve and Jamie to rent some bicycles (only 40Baht/day) we cycled around the town and visited the sunday market. We tried to get back to the hostel but we got lost and it was getting dark so we had to get a taxi and get all 3 bikes and us in it - embarrasing but funny. I also broke the seat on my bike! Me and Jamie have also booked ourselves on a 3 day / 2 night trek to Pai but Steve is not coming as he is heading out to Laos instead.
Matt is currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 15 July 2005 at 12:55
Day's 15,16 & 17 (13th/14th/15th July 2005)
I spent the next three days chilling out in my new hostel near the river. It is very laid back here, however last night I popped back to the Khao San road! It has been very stormy here with heavy rain so I haven't been out too much. Today I decided that I have had enough here and have booked my bus ticket to Chiang Mai - It is getting expensive to be out partying everynight - I will leave tomorrow at 6pm. Last night I had my first Thai Green curry - it was one of the best meals I think I have every tried...the flavours were amazing...I also tried some spicy pork sausage and some dried squid which was also full of strong flavours..this Thai food is seriously delicious and I am thinking of going for another green curry later tonight. I am so glad I am finally heading out of here...I hope to do some trekking in Chiang Mai but I will arrange that when I arrive....More news to follow soon from Chiang Mai.
Matt is currently in Khao San Road, Bangkok, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 12 July 2005 at 10:23
Day's 12,13 & 14 (10th/11th/12th July 2005)
Well I am still here in the Khao San Road..it's now my 5th day and I still can't get away from this place...it's the same old story..end up in a place for dinner, meet some people and go for beers with them in various places and then end up back at the hostel at ridiculous hours in the morning. I have just booked myself 3 nights in a different hostel in a quieter area, closer to the river so as to try to avoid going out all the time. Here on Khao San I have been paying around 7GBP for a private room with bathroom and air-con but this new place that I am going to be staying at is a single room with a fan and shared bathroom. Thing is, it is only 2GBP a night so I am gonna save a bit of cash, but that will probably get spent on beer instead!!! This morning I managed to get myself awake before 12 and headed out to the Grand Palace and temples of Wat Po where there is a giant reclining buddha..it's quite an interesting place. I managed to take some photos today but I can't be bothered to resize or upload them yet...so you'll have to wait. I also took my first ride on one of the mad Tuk-Tuk's that storm around this city...they are seriously crazy, but there was no way that I was going to walk back from the temples. It was a long walk to get there in the first place and I got seriously soaked all over my T-shirt...In the evening I met some guys from London and they suggested visiting Pat Pong. We finally arrived at Pat Pong after getting scammed by a Tuk-Tuk driver who took us to a road with only 1 go-go bar (obviously not Pat Pong)..We had to take another taxi to get there but ended up visiting two interesting bars in the area and saw some bizarre things going on...need I say more! It's very expensive in these bars and you do get riped off but it is worth it for a one off experience.
Matt is currently in Khao San Road, Bangkok, Thailand

Travel-log entry by Matt on 10 July 2005 at 10:12
Day's 10 & 11 (8th/9th July 2005)
The last two day's I have spent on the Khao San Road drinking in bars and meeting loads of people. I am starting to fall into the trap of drinking in the afternoon and continuing all day and night…last night I didn't get back to my hostel until 5.30am…it was an interesting night though as I was sat on a table with a guy from Sweden, a Russian girl, two Danish guys, an American, a German and two Irish girls...again I was drinking in this main bar in the center of Khao San Road and after that we went to a club located nearby. Earlier in the day I met some interesting people from Kent. I spent the day chilling out at their hostel, playing cards and chatting and I had my first taste of the Thai cuisine with some Phad-Tai. I must get out of this crazy routine, I am going to try and get to the Grand Palace today and maybe check out the notorious Pat-Pong area tonight...I have two more nights in my hostel and then I think I am going to head north to Chiang Mai to do some trekking....the saga continues......
Matt is currently in Khao San Road, Bangkok, Thailand

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