Right now I'm in Ho Chi Minh City Airport waiting for a connecting flight to Singapore. I left Phnom Penh earlier, after Rich left on his flight direct to Singapore, but for some reason known only to the Hotel Booking Agent in VietNam, I have to do this circuitous route, waiting here for 4 hours! So Rich will meet me at 8.20 tonight and then our flights are different again; Rich flying overnight and me tomorrow morning! (Unless we can persuade Singapore Airlines to change one of our flights.) I'm so glad I can get online here with Wi-Fi and I'm plugged into a convenient electric point.
Cambodia was an exhausting experience, physically and emotionally. Their recent history has been so horrifyingly traumatic it impinges on everyone, natives and tourists alike. Wherever we went we were accosted by people selling; photocopied books, woven bracelets, Tuk-tuk and moto services, or just asking for money because the country is so poor. Rich got a book about one woman's struggle to survive as a child during Pol Pot's reign of terror, which I'm now reading; a horrifying story of what happened to so many people only 30 years ago.
The only time we escaped from these uncomfortable pressures was on a day's boat trip to Bamboo Island, where there were no beggars. That's off the coast at Sihouanouk, where we stayed for two nights. (Check out those tasty sea monsters!) It was everything a paradise island should be, with great beaches and lovely to swim in the sea, although snorkeling off the boat was a bit scary, looking down onto incredible corals but afraid of touching the spiny sea anemones. Rich got 'stung' by something that left dark marks on his foot, but they don't seem to be too bad and hopefully won't give him any trouble. He's really been in the wars since coming out here!
Last night we sat at a bar playing Connect Four, a larger version of Noughts and Crosses, when children came in bothering everyone to buy books. They got engrossed with our game and joined in, finally taking it over and playing each other. Bright kids! However, these are not the scruffy street urchins who probably can't afford to buy books to sell; I noticed that these kids were clean and well dressed, maybe making money for their families or to pay for school.
Finally, we chanced on a troupe of Dragon Dancers practicing their daring acrobatic routine, which really impressed Rich! Difficult to get good pics though.
Well, I'll soon be able to check in for my flight so I'll just post some pics of the last few days.
1 comment:
Hi Pat,
It's good to read about your experiences, including in Cambodia where there is such a tragic history.
Connect Four -- my children used to love to play this, so your post brought back memories.
Looking forward to your next post -- and your ongoing travel adventures. It sounds like fun to have Richard there as a travel companion.
Happy 2009!
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