Thai Christmas, Cambodian New Year - End Of The Beach Life

No country so far has quite blown me out of the water so quickly with first impressions as Cambodia has. It has been a welcome shock system after Thailand. But first a rewind back to Christmas in Lanta.

Christmas itself came round rather slowly, on Christmas eve I sat on the beach and watched some local dances, fireworks and had dinner at my usual haunt, had some amazing Chicken Satay and called an ‘early night’ In reality I watched some frozen planet and had old school pre xmas insomnia. Christmas morning I tried to find some eggs and Salmon as usual, but this failed I had toast. It being quite windy I decided to head straight to the beach for Windsurfing, some teething problems and I was off, windsurfing is a lot harder than sailing but I managed it, though I’m not fully converted yet. Two hours for a cheap £6, I then was thrown around a room by a little Thai lady… in so much as I had a massage after the hard work that was windsurfing. It being late I made the ‘obligatory’ calls home and once again set off for the beach, I had a beer to accompany the 20 minute walk this entails. The beach was quieter and less celebrations, I got Kevin a picture on Santa’s lap and headed for the most bizarre xmas dinner so far. A mix starter of thai dishes (No name Vegetable, Chicken Satay, Spring Rolls etc) followed by Fish fillet in ‘Thai Spices’ which was tasty if a little overpowering, dessert was fried pineapple and ice cream. All in a rather odd combination, one final wander down the beach collecting photos and I had another early night.

Xmas Cocktail

Starter

Somewhere in here is fish

Fire show

More Fire

Boxing day, more unchristmassy behaviour. I did some admin tasks and sent some letters before hiring a moped for the day and heading for new unchartered areas. I visited Old town and had some fried squid before heading to the Sea Gypsy Village for a beer overlooking the sea before taking a different route home passing mangroves, rice paddies and a ‘Monkey school’. Gasoline is sold in old vodka bottles from ‘Gas Stations’ on the side of the road, it is quite a fun experience filling up. One bottle costs 40bht (80 pence) and two to fill up the moped, the whole day of hire and fuel cost me 340bht (about £7) to really see how great this is, I almost did a loop of the whole island, a taxi to the second beach away from me cost 200bht. In the evening I met El and the dive crew for a Turkey Sandwich and the pub quiz in the Irish bar. (Perhaps the only Christmassy thing I did) leaving early I missed most of it though. A question for my dad here; “What sport is four letters long and starts with a ‘T’?

Pier

Sea Village

Petrol Station

Mangroves

Waking up early I was informed my minibus pick up was actually at 8am, not 7 and then it was rolled back to 9! Somewhere along the line I was picked up by the wrong minibus and upon realising this left at the car ferry port where I was assured I would be picked up in half an hour. Two hours later and thanks to the extremely helpful Thai ladies at the ticket desk I was finally picked up. A shocking service that was still better than Greyhound! (recap: Greyhound left me stranded in Cleveland for 7 hours due to their own ineptitude, hence why I will never use them again, except Canadian Greyhound, they were excellent) Thinking I’d miss my train and therefore my hotel, my bus, and everything I was amazed when I arrived in Trang with ten minutes to spare. I needn’t have worried as just like back home the train was an hour late. I clearly need to appease the travel gods and re-address my Karma balance. The opportunity presented itself at the border. I bumped into a German girl who was headed to Sihanoukville but did not have a ticket. Due to Welsh leaving me in Krabi I happened to have a spare ticket which included accommodation on the way. I had previously tried to shop it but had no takers up to this point so it came in useful. In kindness Tina paid for my dinner, breakfast and a few beers! She has now gone to a Psytrance festival. So that brings us to Cambodia!

From the border crossing it became apparent Cambodia was vastly different to Thailand. By different I mean poorer. It is however very friendly, despite all the hawkers trying to sell you a taxi ride. Making it to Sihanoukville after three days travel I took the first avaible room (it turns out its probably the only available room due to a Cambodian national week long holiday) I went in search of other options and found none so I went for a beer with the guys from the bus, on the beach. After 3 days of solid travel I think it was ok to have a written off day. I learnt some Cambodian and recounted tales of woe from the days travelling before having a phenomenal curry. Food is already looking better than Thailands hit and miss(I prefer Tai Pans Pad Thai) Other things I should mention, there are unfortunately quite a few beggars on the beach and around the bar, most have limbs missing. This is an obvious link to Cambodia’s dark past and the enormous amount of land mines still existing. However beer costs a dollar and the beaches are stunning.

Train Station

Does everyone remember last post about the hunt for Red October? I ended that adventure out of luck but with hope of Cambodia so fresh after a good night sleep I headed to Otres Beach, a 4km stretch of sand with Mangrove trees further away from the main beach. At first sights it seemed again I was out of luck, the usual sea kayaks and windsurfs were easily located. Having good authority that it existed I headed further on until… bingo, I saw a boat being launched. I found not one but four Hobie Cats all rigged and ready to sail, for the easy price of $10 an hour. Hobies are easy boats to sail and with barely a force 2 wind I sailed around a nearby island and down the beach for two hours. I say sailed, I spent half the time lying on my back sunbathing and steering with my feet (that’s how easy it is) The other thing I did was visit the Vietnamese embassy as my travel Karma has swung back to positive. Philip, a swiss I met on the bus mentioned he was getting it here because here is the quickest, turns out Phnom Penh(where I had planned to get it) merely sends the passport to Sihanoukville, hence the 5 day wait. However here it took less than 10 minutes and cost $45. A successful day it was time to head to the Hostel bar for free food and beer due to an opening party with the Australians from my room (who repeatedly mocked me for only spending 3 days there).

I spent the next day having a boat tour of some of the surrounding isands with the Australians from my room. It was an enjoyable excursion and beat my current plan for the day which was 'nothing'. I came home and was informed that my friend Loes from Koh Phangan had made the trip down from Bangkok to Sihanoukville for New Year and by some coincidence was also in my hostel. I found her in the bar next door, where I was berated for having not checked my emails and so being unaware she was definitely coming, where I was and if I was even still around. My excuse that the hostel internet was broken and I had been on a boat all day, didn't cut it. However eveything coming together successfully we headed out to the beach for dinner and to celebrate the New Year with the couple on a honeymoon she had met. This was immense, the whole evening fireworks were launched from the beach, culminating at midnight and lighting the endless beach. The fireworks continued as did the parties...(I should get some photos of the boat trip when the australians get in touch)

A vague idea of all the Fireworks - Photo by Chris Deeney

New Years day followed (as is the custom) I had my traditional new years breakfast of Steak and recounted the tales of the night before. We headed to the beach and failed to swim on the inflatable toys adorning the sea as I refused to pay for it. I lost a game of Paper, Rock & Scissors to a small Cambodian girl with 'sass' who referred to me as "Justin Bieber" and so had to buy a bracelet (I collect these anyway) before getting another bbq on the beach and more buckets. As the night before we had celebrated the end of the year, this night we celebrated the beginning of a new one, though it ended with lost flip flops. The plan had been to go sailing on the 2nd but various events scuppered this plan and instead the day was spent playing pool with Cambodians and watching Youtube videos. Turns out there hadn't been any wind this day, and on the 3rd we headed down Otres beach to once again spend an afternoon sailing in a rather good strong force 3. Tans improved, a casual beer at sunset on the beach followed by an amazing fish platter it was time to roll in to bed for early starts the next day and to leave behind the beach life. 

Otres Beach

Hobie in the Water

Sailors

Boats

Seafood Platter

So after bumming around on beaches for last the month, I probably ought to do some proper travelling, maybe, perhaps oh ohkay. Phnom Penh next for French architecture, S21 and the Killing Fields before then heading on to Siem Reap for a local village tour and of course Angkor Wat. You can’t come to Cambodia and not see it, it’s like going to the Cinema and not seeing a film. Sure there are other things to enjoy; the food, the trailers, the arcade etc but the main reason you go is to watch a film. This analogy works on most famous sites (Machu Picchu, Pyramids, Great Wall etc). After that culture it will be time to hit Vietnam, so for the most part the beaches are over and it will mostly be 'cultural' sites from now on. 

‘Peace

The Hunt for Red October

The Hunt for Red October is a film where Sean Connery plays (comically) a soviet sub commandeer in charge of a sub equipped with new technology, he however wants to defect. The soviets obviously don't want this to happen and are so are trying to hunt down 'Red October'. The US are also trying to find him. This relates to me as I am also trying to find a vessel to sail, and so here is my very own story of hunting for a boat, my own personal 'Red October' or Moby Dick for those literary types.

My tale begins with Welshie deciding to go home in Koh Tao, now not really affecting my plans I didn't want to go to Ko Lanta early and spend weeks there, so I looked in to other options. With Welshie finally leaving me in Krabi after the jaunt in Rai Leh as mentioned, I headed for Phuket in search of my sailing ambitions.

Phuket is the ridicuously tourist area second only to Pattaya (which is so touristy and 'horrible' our Rough Guide has completely dropped it). My first destination in Phuket was Patong, despite it being overly touristy,busy, full of horrible bars and middle aged men with their Thai girlfriends I found it reasonably tolerable. It being touted as expensive I possibly found the cheapest hostel so far and because I'm a savvy traveller, ate cheap street food and spent less money here than almost anywhere else in Thailand. On the mission to find a boat, Success! I found a Hobie Cat for rent for the completely ridiculous price of 1000bht (£20) an hour. Bare in mind a rent for a full day of moped hire in Koh Pha Ngan was 150bht for the whole day. Thinking this extortionate I returned to the hostel to do more research.

I read here that I could rent one on a different beach to the south(Kata) in a quieter area of Phuket for 200bht an hour. Note the ridiculous difference in price here.... we'll find out why. I had always planned to go to Kata after Patong and so I messaged the hostel already booked and checked a bed for the next day. I awoke early and headed straight to Kata for this glorious cheap boat rental. I arrived nice an early and dumped my bag in storage and got a free lift to Kata Noi, the furthest south of all 3 beaches near to Kata. I had breakfast and began my scout, first beach no sign of any boats.... second beach, same story and finally Karon...... NO BOATS. It seems that the 200bht an hour dream was one of those 'too good to be true' occasions. However it wasn't a complete fail as I walked over 10km and felt pretty productive. In the afternoon I booked my boat to Koh Lanta and sipped my welcome cocktail whilst bantering with the Thai bar staff, Kim and Bo. (In doing so I got more free drinks just for sitting around)... Utitilizing my 'savvy' traveller vibe once again I got cheap dinner again by turning left instead of right and heading into town... why anybody would bother eating at the places with ridicuously inflated prices I've no idea, its not even like the food is any better! Phuket is the sort of resort where people travel to a foreign country and then eat British food every single day.

Kata Noi

Kata (I think)

Karon (again I think)

Day 2 in Kata. Knowing there was no boats to be found I went for a morning run along the beach followed by a swim. If I can't sail I may as well be active. I made the mistake of ordering "Danish Meatballs" at lunch which turned out to be a slab of bread with some meat on top and Sauerkraut. I followed this up with a proper steak sandwich! In the evening I had another run/swim narrowly dodging a torrential downpour. I liberated a poor millipede from the bar as the Thai staff were literally too scared of it and headed off for more cheap thai food, topped up with meat on a stick from a roadside bbq (20 pence a stick). I had an early night after watching Black Mirror and prepared for my early start and boat to Koh Lanta.

Two boats later and I'm in Koh Lanta. I arrange to meet Welshies friend who we had both planned to meet, however as I did not actually know her it felt like arranging some kind of weird internet date. I asked one girl if 'She was El?' and embarrassed myself when she was not. Ironically she had been there the whole time also wondering if I was who she was meeting. During the conversation with her and her friend Judith, I learnt that on Long Beach there was a watersport shop who rented Hobies! Success I thought, my hopes lifted and in good spirits I crashed El's Boyfriends dive shop xmas party which was hilarious as they were all wrecked when I got there.

I spent a lazy morning getting breakfast and doing boring admin tasks before getting the moto-taxi to Long Beach, Hobie spotted on the beach I thought this could be it, but I did notice it wasn't fully rigged and the rudders were missing. In conversation with the owner he told me the boat was broken and was "semi-retired, just like me". Spirits again dashed I headed to a nearby bar for an iced chocolate shake and a water. I then went for a swim and a sunbathe to regroup. The hunt for my 'Red October' was and is fast becoming my 'Moby Dick' moment.

I have decided to instead go Windsurfing tomorrow (Xmas day) and combine culture with one last try in Koh Lanta when I visit the east side of the Island and Old Town on boxing day. The hunt is not yet over and recent news has reinvigorated me. It appears my base for New Years in Cambodia may actually definitely have it as shown on the official Sihanoukville Tourist website....
http://www.sihanoukville-cambodia.com/sihanoukville-businesses/otresnautica.html

to be continued....
DUN DUN DURRRR

oh and also, Merry Christmas from Thailand!

But why is the rum gone? A Sailing Adventure Panama to Colombia...

Panama was the next stop in the adventure for both me an Savage, with him heading north and my aim to head south. Mainly due to the ridiculousness of the flights on offer when I booked my travels (to fly to peru from LAX the cheapest option would have been to fly up to seattle and then down) Panama seemed like a good compromise. However it turns out, mostly on my part due to some naivety that Panama is not such a good link station... but every cloud as it were.

Firstly there are no land routes south of Panama, no roads, nothing. The Darien gap is trekkable, but considered far too dangerous as many guerilla types inhabit this area and involves trekking through mountainous forest unguided alone... not recommended.
Secondly it appeared that flights anywhere South were also too expensive... cue remarkable strike of genius inspiration. Sail from Panama to Colombia! Upon investigation this is completely viable and so I booked a place on a boat that would sail via the San Blas archipelago and onto Cartagena, Colombia on the 6th of September. Exit planned, lets explore Panama.


Obvious excursions were to the Panama Canal and Casco Viejo where we accidently attempted to walk in to the Presidential Palace. Panama city is an odd mix of classic colonial buildings being renovated and towering skyscrapers, including one twisty one owned by Mr Trump. The food was also excellent, in down time we drank, ended up in a bar establishment where apparently one goes to pick up hookers... we were completely oblivious to this and the Hostel owner laughed at us the next day (apparently everyone ends up here because it is the only bar that allows people wearing shorts and flip flops in)
We made one trip to Panama Viejo, the old ruins of the city burnt down by a welshman, a one Captain Morgan, yes that guy, the one you all know from the rum. We spent any other remaining time learning spanish from the hostel workers, swimming in the rain in the pool(I'll add here that before Panama it hadn't rained on us since Florida, Panama also gets 9 months of rainy season) and eating tasty Panamanian food; think fish in coconut sauces with Plantains, a sort of potato version of a banana. (Weirdly I quite like Plantain, but it does taste nothing like a Banana)

Container ship passing the canal locks

Panama Viejo ruins

Panama city over, Me and Savage headed our separate ways. In true lazy fashion I only too late realised it was a sunday and had to pay for a taxi for the second half of the trip as there was no bus. In Puerto Lindo, with no internet I stocked up on Rum for the Voyage ahead...


Our boat was called Ilean which was a loan and was a 54ft converted racing yacht(for the techies), the usual boat would have been the Delfin Solo, captained by a turkish couple called Rengin and Tahsin, plus a ginger cat called 'Minoj/Catalito'. We set sail for San Blas early on the 6th, It was hot and sunny the whole trip, in typical British fashion I got sunburnt on day one. We also saw some dolphins on our way to San Blas. For the rest of the time I doodled in my journal some designs and thought about what I will do with my life when I return to the UK, this ranged from pipe dreams to actual possibilities -such as an R&P Vancouver department to simple things such as buying digital frames.

Catalito - The Boats Cat

Sunset from the dock

The open sea

We arrived in what can only really be described as a tropical island paradise. Sandy, palm tree covered islands and bight blue warm water. First order of the day was a snorkelling adventure of the surrounding reefs. We saw a Stringray, some Lion Fish and countless other colourful specimens. After Snorkelling we headed to the Island for dinner, this consisted of fresh lobster with a lime and garlic sauce. In fact this was so good we had it again the next night, Catalito, the best fed cat in the world also got some lobster! Overnight we slept on the deck until the rains came and washed us all inside, a unfortunate victim of this rain storm was my mp3 player.

Island Paradise

Sunset

Live lobsters for dinner ($1 each)

We stayed in this area of San Blas for two nights, after a trip to a shopping island to buy some food/diesel we did much the same, more snorkelling and lobster. In the evening we had a party on the island, where we drank all of the rum at our disposal. The title is therefore misleading, we know why all the rum is gone, because we drank it. That night again we slept on deck until we were awoken by a ferocious wind and lightning storm, luckily waking us before the heavy rain kicked in. These amazing storms only added to the 'excitement'. In fact often I would sit an watch the lightning in the distance.


Next day we headed off to another area of San Blas, I don't know the name. This was the best location for snorkelling, a reef on the edge where it dropped off into the sea. Again we saw lots of exotic fish, like a black and white eel like thing and one of us saw a Barracuda. 

Ominous Clouds

The next morning it was time to set sail for the mainland. The sun was out once again and for a time we even managed to get both sails up. This called for another set of reading and self reflection. I finished my remaining book in one day, and thought further about the future, more so the immediate future of how to get to Peru. (this decision has now been made, I'm flying). Back to the boat we sailed all through the night and eventually reached our destination at about half four in the afternoon of the second day.

Under way with both sails up

If travelling truly is about the getting there, then this is the way to do it. Obviously now I want to own my own boat and do the same sort of sailing trips for people (this falls in to the pipe dreams of future planning). This was the best 'border crossing' ever, tops flying without competition. The only complaint I could have, is that it wasn't windy enough to go properly under sail, but then thats nobodies fault.

I am now in Cartagena, Colombia. It is awesome, the bars are excellent, the music fantastic, the weather brill and old town is classic. I wish I could stay so much longer and see all the things I want, but alas Colombia was never supposed to be part of the plan and I am already behind schedule for time I wanted in Peru/Chile. Couple more things to do in Colombia, such as try the coffee and then I fly to Peru tomorrow which hopefully gets me back on track.
True to the subtitle, I may not have intended to go to Colombia, but I think I needed to.

Ciao for now.