The Beach

I considered attempting to write this blog without using the 'B' word but it was impossible so I'm going to have to go for it and I hope I don't make anybody too jealous.

So, our tour of the beaches of Southern Thailand and Malaysia is finally over. There have been big resort beaches, deserted beaches, monkey beaches not to mention 'The Beach' beach - location of the film. It's been hot, and sandy, but not particularly christmassy. I shouldn't complain about sunbathing and snorkelling everyother day but spending Christmas away from home and my family is not an experience I wish to repeat.

After spending a relaxing week on Phuket with very little expenses our transition to the tiny tourist island of Koh Phi Phi was a surprise to the wallet. I've always wandered what paradise looks like - the perfect crystal clear waters and bright white sand of Phi Phi certainly fit the image. But the budget accomodation found above smelly sewers, equipped with dirty sheets, paper thin walls and horrific bathrooms somewhat balanced out the beauty of the island. Despite this we still managed to have a great time - snorkelling between stunning cliff-edged bays, meeting lots of curious aquatic creatures and jumping off windswept boats into the bath-like water.

Now, in Malaysia, we have continued the quest to visit every beach known to man - this time finding a haven for watersport enthusiasts along with local children wanting to play all-day in the waves. As it's Christmas, after more sunbathing, we thought we'd treat ourselves with the culinary delights of this diverse country. Baked crabs, battered prawns, tropical fruit and noodle soup aren't exactly Mum's Christmas dinner but they are certainly tasty.

I promise I won't be mentioning the 'B' word again, atleast for the next blog, until I get to Oz. And quite frankly I'll be glad to have a break from them myself - its getting quite tedious removing sand from various bodyparts on a regular basis!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=22040963&id=698710300&ref=notif&notif_t=photo_tagged_by_non_owner&theater#!/media/set/?set=a.10151112125380301.780341.698710300&type=1

Finding Nemo

From the title, you can probably guess that this post is going to be far more upbeat than the last one.

After arriving back in the familiar territory of Khao San Road and our old guesthouse, we went crazy and got henna tattoos, whilst the locals celebrated the King's birthday. Little did we know that, arriving in Koh Tao the next morning, we would book a 4-day scuba diving course on which they would be totally washed off. But it was worth the sacrifice!

Diving wasn't something I planned on doing as I'm not the strongest swimmer and am considerably afraid of water, especially the wavy kind. Our instructor was really good, even holding my hand during the training to try and calm me down. Breathing whilst underwater felt so unnatural that I was basically having a panic attack every time I tried. Louise, of course, took to diving, quite literally, like a fish to water. Despite my apprehension I thoroughly enjoyed the first set of dives thanks to the beautiful fish and coral scenery. We saw all kinds of tropical fish (butterfly, angel, banner, puffer, grouper, and trigger to name afew) and learnt the sign language to point them out to each other. We found Nemo, which was a lot easier than in the film as divers had put a ring of stones around his home. The second day was not so pleasant. The monsoon was causing a strong current which meant a lot of bashing into rocks (and other divers tanks) and poor visibility which prevented me from seeing our instructor so felt very vulnerable.

In the evenings, after diving, we ate on the beach whilst watching the sunset. How romantic! One night we even ate barbecued versions of the fish that we had seen earlier (barracuda and snapper). Infact we have been eating like Kings whilst on the islands, so many all you can eat buffets, beautiful Thai curries and late night pancakes I’m actually quite worried that I might get gout.

Apart from diving and eating, we have had lots of fun on Koh Phangan beaches – fashioning a coconut bikini out of various washed up items and dancing about like loons at the full moon party (which was also, we discovered through google, a lunar eclipse party).We are currently in Phuket, staying in a lovely quiet ‘poolside coconut hideaway’, according to the sign - a very accurate description I feel. This is courtesy of Brain Tasker, one of Dad’s old colleagues. It is just like being in Devon, visiting lots of relatives, going out for meals and being driven to the beach – though the water is considerably warmer.

I’m afraid I wasn’t able to take any photos of diving due to a lack of an underwater camera but we did purchase a video of the experience – just to confirm (mainly to myself) that I really did it. Here are my recent photos anyway:

https://picasaweb.google.com/109152464967194465736/BackToThailand

'Vietnamese heads, Cambodian bodies'

What a world we live in…what devastation people can create and others overcome! This is what I’ve realised in the most educational few weeks of my trip so far. Having visited the Cu Chi tunnels of the Viet Cong and the War Remnants Museum in Saigon, followed by the Choueng Ek ‘killing fields’and S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, within the space of a few days, I have felt a huge range of emotions. Above all I am grateful that both countries seem to be recovering well from their ordeals and that I haven’t experienced anything so terrible. I also feel guilty for being so naïve about these awful yet so recent events. Louise and I have constantly questioned why we never learnt about the Vietnam War at school when it is so relevant to current wars.

The Cu Chi tunnels, a product of Vietnamese ingenuity, were fascinating to see. The tunnel entrances were tiny and the tunnels themselves lacking air. It was fun to experience with a guide, during, daylight, but at night, whilst bombs fell it was probably not so fun. Neither so for the enemy seeing the gruesome traps they created for them. The museum the next day displayed some of the most disturbing images I have ever seen and painted an awful picture of all the suffering the war created. More suffering was found in ‘the killing fields’, a remnant of the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror in Cambodia, this time through words (a comprehensive audio-guide) rather than pictures.

The Khmer Rouge ruled over Democratic Kampuchea between 1975 and 1979 after years of civil war in the country. The leader Pol Pot abolished money, religion, education, personal possessions and family living in order to create his ideal self-sufficient country of ‘the old people’ – farmers. The ‘new people’ of the cities were sent to the country to work on communal farms, families were split, and everyone was put to work. Pol Pot’s paranoia about rebellion and foreign intelligence lead to the torture and murder of over a quarter of the entire country’s population. People were beaten, shocked and hung upside down until they confessed to false accusations. Then, they were sent to be killed, not by gun or gas, but by hoes, pitchforks, machetes and anything else that was to hand. If a man was killed his children were too, in order to stop them seeking revenge later in life.  

I have seen more skulls than I would really have liked, and seeing the clothing of the victims is even more shocking as it forces you to realize how recently those people had lived. I’ve seen mass graves, makeshift prison cells in what was a school, a temple used as a prison and a cave which prisoners were thrown into. One mass grave had been found with beheaded Khmer Rouge soldiers – Pol Pot had sensed outside influence within his own men who were then beheaded for having ‘Vietnamese heads, Cambodian bodies’.

Despite all this gloomy stuff I am so glad I have experienced it, together with the fantastically friendly people we’ve met, the beautiful rural settings we have found and the stunning ancient architecture of Angkor Wat, giving me a full and unbelievable impression of Cambodia today. The children are so beautiful and have such good English (though not always put to good use when trying to guilt-trip tourists into buying souvenirs on the beach). After a nerve-wrecking ride on the ‘bamboo-train’ – a platform mad of sticks sat loosely on 2 sets of wheels propelled by a motor down a disused railway track – we were greeted by the village children offering us drinks and their own home-made coconut-leaf jewellery. Although there is obvious poverty here, people seem happy, and happy to see and talk to us foreigners. A circus show put on by an arts school for disadvantaged children of Battambang was a great example of the joy Cambodians can create out of very little. Here, they had nurtured 8 fantastic performers and created a stunning mix of acrobatics, circus and dance to depict the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. Even with the chilling topic the performance still managed to uplift my spirits in a way no Western dance has ever done before. As you can tell I could analyze this show forever so I’ll save you having to read so much by doing a separate blog for it.

I hope this hasn't bored you too much. In case you still have any time left and want to see some pictures to refer to
https://picasaweb.google.com/115396624801108203436/SaigonPart2#
https://picasaweb.google.com/115396624801108203436/Cambodia#