A new country, illness and a goodbye

When we last joined our hero, he was heading out of the beach resort of Sihanoukville and into the bustling city of Phnom Penh...



The keyword for this blog is DON'T WORRY MUM! No pictures this times, since my camera is getting fixed. DON'T WORRY MUM! Saying goodbye to the beach, we headed for the city of Phnom Penh, our last destination in Cambodia. We went clubbing on the first night, mainly in a club called 'heart of darkness'. The literary among you will understadn the clever reference the club makes (that means you George, since you know that book cover to cover!). Basically, the film Apocalypse Now! was based on the book 'Heart of Darkness'. I went home early and for the rest of the night and the rest of the next day, I was violentley ill. Yay. DON'T WORRY MUM! It mostly passed by the night time of the next day, but I soon discovered everyone was suffering from one symptom or another. Our seasoned traveller, Dan, explained that it was being in a different country with lots of different bugs everywhere and the water that you come into contact with one way or another means everyone gets ill. It's the same in India, he calls it 'Delhi Belly'. DON'T WORRY MUM!

Moving out of Cambodia and into the capital of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City (where I write from now) was relatively painless, we made good time and I finished Northern Lights! I've now started the Subtle Knife.

Cambodia, overall was in retrospect a very poor country, its quite clear of that having come into Vietnam. No Tuk Tuk's, No Street Sellers, PLENTY of neon. It's partly a relief, not being bugged by beggers and street sellers, and being in a country that seems a lot more friendly, but partly I kind've got used to the sellers and the Tuk Tuk's...I sort of miss them! especially the Tuk Tuk's, dead cheap and as long as you're not in Bangkok they can take you anywhere, and it's always nice to haggle with them, it makes you feel less of a lost tourist!

The culture of a place cambodia and thailand too is very difficult to understand, since our skin colour means that we are an eternal target/victim for everyone to get every penny out of us. DON'T WORRY MUM! It has yet to be proved how many of the countries are like this, so far, Vietnam seems more civilised. An interesting thought is that this could be partly due to the political system. Vietnam is my first communist country.
I'm sure my Dad will say that all the countries I visit will be like thailand and cambodia...especially India. I expect that's right...tourism is important in any country. But in Cambodia, it seemed almost like it was the only thing that made any decent money. In Ho Chi Minh, there are big billboards for international companies, electronics shops that have Sony instead of 'Suny' and most importantly, KFC. And no, I haven't been there. Yet.
Under communism, perhaps its a lot easier to get people proper financial care...and proper jobs.
Still, it's only really my first day but it has been refreshing. The only thing I still can't get my head around in this country is the currency, you carry around hundreds of thousands of dong where ever you go, which is slightly confusing.

We said goodbye to our tour guide yesterday evening, he journeys back to Bangkok to start the WHOLE thing all over again. Yikes! He grew quite attached to our group, and us to him, so it was sad to see him go. We hope the next person is just as nice and friendly! We meet him tonight.

I am quite bored with TV now, as I do with my Ipod, I'm turning to Philip Pullman for my entertainment inbetween things.

By the way, I have been following the american primaries and may to a blog on them one of these days, but for now I'm looking forward to tommorow. It's a busy but enjoyable day, boat trips and caves etc. Will hopefully have pictures to upload next time, if I can get the camera fixed. Oh, and my watch broke too, which is a real catastrophe for me as many of you will know. I've got Sam's, he hates all watches with an almost zen like passion if that makes sense (If you have a watch, you're a slave to time, man...)

hope all is well in the UK, I think about a quarter of the way through the trip. maybe a fifth. cheerio!