Phnom Penh

In Phnom Penh, we stayed there in a guesthouse we had found on hostelworld.com, which had a good rating. Arriving there (with a tuk-tuk that wasn’t really capable of carrying us and the backpacks = 10km/h = passed by pedestrians) we found out, that it actually had a different name. The owner just had changed it to get a new start and made some reviews on his own (we think) to get a good rating result...(the place was not too bad and the included breakfast was great.)

So we stayed there in a dorm with 8 beds, occupied by very interesting people...one was deaf-mute, ca. 60 years old and professionally equipped with his own super-oxygen-anti-snoring-device (yes dad...he had his own Lucy). Because the plug didn’t really fit into the electric box...the device went off 1-2 times a night and started beeping (I didn’t care because I used ear plugs, but Malte did :)).

For the second night a wired old American guy came in the dorm...who introduced himself shortly after arrival by laying down in the bed naked (towel covered), next to Malte...for his joy. So Malte got the chance to see a white chubby butt from close distance...:)

For sightseeing we went to the main palace, by the museum and saw the Killing Fields and S-21prison, which show the cruelty of the Khmer Rouge. The killed nearly two million people in 3 years using there bare hands...

After recovering from the impressions we got, we went to some bars at the riverside...and had some drinks. Later that night we took a tuk-tuk and checked the best clubs in PP...our favorite one (Club White) was closed: The owner had danced naked and stoned with his wife on the dance floor....and somehow the police didn’t like it. The second club (Darlin Darlin) was in a Casino...there was a Chinese band covering chart songs, a Asian guy puking into a ice bucket and a wired crowd...so we just had one drink and hit the next and last club.

Before that we had a bad conscious because the drinks we had in Darlin Darlin were so expensive (6$), so we used our secret weapon: Jakob and 10$ close to a roulette table (this has worked in Greece already). After 10 min we had 50$ and went to the Heart Of Darkness (the last club)...in a good mood.

We had some more drinks and a good time in the club...with tourists and locals. Especially the noodle soup at 5am was great:). Back home we took a moto (Jakob and I shared one...the driver was just 1.55 and maybe 40 kg...so we were a bit afraid of falling back).

The next morning/afternoon we made our way to Sihanoukville for some beaches.

Siem Reap

Arriving in Cambodia one thing has to be noted. It is really easy to get the visa...and just 20 $. So don’t invest to much time in getting one before (like Jakob did...trying two times the online system, including the payment. When showing it to the border guys...the price was still 20$:)).

People in Cambodia are quite poor...and u have a lot of children (it was/is school holiday there !shit!), begging and trying to sell u stuff. They can really be annoying...when they come in a group and follow u like a herd of zombies. We also bought drinks and stuff from them, but tried to pick some nice children who where to so aggressively chasing us.

The countryside is very nice. Everything is fresh, green, wet (they have a huge lake on which u can travel as well...we didn’t) and flat. Rice fields all over the country.

Our first stop was in Siem Reap. From the border u get here by taxi (12$,there is no public transport). In Siem Reap there is not much to do except the Angkor temples and the fishing villages. We did both and got our own tuk-tuk driver for 13 $ a day. Due to road conditions we just visited the fishing village close by. It is nice to visit, but people there are very poor and the water was quite low (high tide is in October...and it didn’t rain so much in the wet season this year, till now) . The tour is also not very cheap (20$ per person), but it was interesting even though and not as touristy as described in the Lonely Planet.

In the afternoon we got ur tickets to the Angkor Temples (if u by them the afternoon before...u get the afternoon free entry and don’t have to wait in lines the next morning). After climbing on of the temples that was supposed to be the best for watching the sunset...we saw some clouds and went home, when it got dark. The next morning, we got up at 4 am and went for the sunset at Angkor Wat...clouds again.

But nonetheless. The site is amazing and the temples are really nice to visit...we stayed nearly 10 hours in the area, and did some crazy climbing to get to the top of the highest temple (50m)...it has very very narrow and steep steps:).

Except sightseeing u can also enjoy ur holiday at night in Siem Reap. Even though it is very touristy u can get a beer for 0.5 USD and one hour massage for 7$ (we did both...the massage is better than the beer!:)).

Just getting back to the beer again...the biggest brands in the countries we traveled are Tiger (Thai), Angkor (Cambodian) and Saigon (Vietnam). My favorite is Tiger...but the are all ok, not as bad as Heineken :). And not to forget food...in all countries we traveled so far u can have a decent Asian meal for 1-3$, including some very good seafood. Malte doesn’t mind what kind of food...there must just be enough chili sauce on the table :).

After Siem Reap we made our way to Phnom Penh.

Bangkok

BK added some new experience to my trip. It also changed the way of traveling because from now on I was member of a boy group :), as Jakob and Malte arrived on the night of the 2nd of August.

But before that, I had to get to BK first, which was quite stressful. After hurrying from Langkawi to Krabi in one day and arriving just in time at the airport to get my plane, I checked in to the hostel late. It was on Khao San road, full of bars, shops and food stands and tourists, the heart of backpacker BK.

Except from some really nice shops for t-shirts & faked sunglasses and cheap bars Khao San road has not really much to offer. Walking along the road, there are some basic rules u should follow. Never look at local people selling stuff and don’t answer question about where u are from, etc....otherwise u just loose ur time getting out of it. Concerning the people who try to sell u something (Bus tickets, shirts, taxi trips...), there is one big difference to Malaysia. In BK they smile a lot...but everybody tries to scam u!

By accident we also took a tuk-tuk tour (use taxis if u can and insist on using the taximeter!). We just wanted to go home...there was no taxi...the tuk-tuk driver made us a very cheap price and said he would stop at 2 attractions nearby. When he then tried to get us into a tailor shops (those tailor guys are the most annoying selling people in BK), we just got off (close to ur hostel) without paying anything and took the next cab (start price 1 USD...and after 30 min driving u get close to 2 USD :)) home. So a free small city tour...but also one negative effect. We lost time and had to postpone our visit to the palace to the next morning (after clubbing).

Concerning the sightseeing we did the usual stuff in one day...made a small boot tour, visited the most impressive temples and the palace the next morning.

Because we had two nights in BK...we went out twice clubbing. The first night we visited a not so fancy club with mostly locals...at the beginning. To the end it became more like a meat market...the gazelles (hookers) dancing and some drunken lions (tourists) checking out the pray. It was a bit annoying but funny to watch from the distance with a cold drink. Even though we left quite early.

The second day was totally different. We went to bed supper club...probably the best club in BK (there are some very cool bars and lounges in that area as well). Everything is kept in white...good music, an amazing sound system and nice people. U actually can meet locals here who don’t try to sell u something (just normal people who enjoy partying). We had a very good time there...and will come back on the 27th to party out of my birthday.

After the second night...and not enough sleep...we made our way to the Cambodian border.

Pics

I hope this link does work. As I finally arrived in Bangkok I managed to upload some pics...


@mom & dad: I am a very careful scooter driver :)

Cameron Highlands, Penang and Langkawi

As time is running short in Bangkok and there are more exciting things to do then sitting in an internet cafe I will keep this passage very short.

Cameron Highlands were nice to visit, but I didn't stay more than one day. U can do some day tours, but we (I traveled with a Dutch girl, Elske, at that time) decided to do just half a day trip and then relaxing in the afternoon, before going to bed early (I still needed recovery from the Perhentian Islands at that time). After Cameron Highlands we made our way to Penang. Very nice city with a colonial charm. Also much to see and good food. We rented a scooter for two days...made a trip around the whole Island. I just can recommend that! We had an amazing time, though I never had driven a manual scooter before and the people from the shop where we rented them seemed very happy when we came back in one piece.

With the scooter we had big city traffic feeling in Georgetown and went to some amazing places in Penang, where there were no tourists at all (waterfalls with local children playing, fishing towns,..).

In the hostel we met some nice other people, we went out with the second night. The day before we had found a very nice bar (B@92), with a very nice Serbian owner and locals drinking Johnny Walker...when we got there the second day Aleks (owner) was just about to close at 1 am...but he reopened for us and we statyed and had some crazy conversations to 4am.

The next day I went to Langkawi...as it is low season, there were not so many people. The Island is nice (also rented a scooter for one day), and I saw an amazing sun set...but never the less...it couldn't really match up with the Perhentians.

On Monday I had to leave Langkawi to get my flight in Krabi...I left early in the morning and just arrived 1h before departure (was quite stressy).

Perhentians

How should I start...I planned to stay 2-3 nights...I couldn't leave before a week of beach life.

Perhentian Islands...or more accurate Long Beach is just paradise, and that on a budget level. A mixture of jungle life, paradise beaches and some great night life. Maybe the nicest Island Ive been in my life.

So some basic infos. If u go there on budget, without reservation, u have to find any place that is available the first night (I stayed in a dorm...and was lucky to find to place to sleep). The next morning u get up early...as for the budget options it is walkin&walkout (if possible try to get on the waiting list at the place u want). The budget A-Huts are not closed (space between walls and roof)...so u might have some Gecko friends once and a while (I liked them...but they can kill ur nerve with their "Gecko sound"). For couples their are also "more luxurious" options, with ur own bathroom or AC. Electricity is only available at night and during a short period at lunch time.

In addition to the nice beaches and the transparent shallow water u have the jungle in your back, including snakes, geckos, and lizards (also quite big ones). There are no streets...just one walkway from one to the other side.

Beside lying on the beach there are many other and more fun things to do. For example: Diving, and that to incredible cheap prices (dive = 70 ringgit = 18 Euros). I made 6 dives, including a deep and wreck dive I now got the certificate for. The best sites were Sail Rock, Temple of the Sea and T3. The latest one includes incredible dive (or pull) throughs...kind of a James Bond feeling included for free. And u see a lot: sharks, turtles, sting rays, puffer fish, fire fish,...! Just stupid there is no diving equipment out for my camera yet. For people who don't want to dive the snorkeling trip is mandatory. U go up to 7 sites and see turtles, sharks and a lot of fish. The locals selling the trip are also quite nice.

I was a bit flashed when I walked up to the beach the first day...it was quite empty. When u spend one night @ Monkey Bar, Buffalos or Black Tip on the beach, then u know the reason. Some people can just be seen when the sun is down, with a bottle of monkey juice (local booz), rum, etc. that u can buy for 25 ringgit (6 Euros). The quality of music changed quite a lot...but they also played some good vibes. The Monkey Bar has to be outlined in that aspect. They had some great live music (enough talents on that Island to make a casting show :), including a violin player who accompanied the solos and also sometimes the DJ). I also saw a great reggae performance (Bob Malay ^^).

People on the island were mostly backpackers...young...and many couples. I met some very nice fellows. Most time I spend with a French girl, Dominique, who tried to teach me the art of swearing in French. She was a very nice wing buddy for the week on the Island. Tim & Tom and their girlfriends were two couples we were hanging out with most of the time...but it is impossible to mention everybody, as u meet (more or less interesting) people every night & day.

The staff at Matahari (the place where I stayed and dived) were very cool. I played ocassionally football and beach-volleyball with them. That and the fact, that the food at Matahari was just amazing and cheap made us spending quite some time in their restaurant (most places play also movies at 8pm).

There maybe much more stuff to tell...but I am running out of time. The last day before I left, I had a great time on the beach...maybe to great. Getting up at 7am, packing in 5min to get the boat and a curvy journey to the Cameron Highlands was in my "condition" not so much fun.

Kuala Lumpur

Arriving in Kuala Lumpur (KL: really everybody, including the locals, calls it just KL), I met a Dutch couple with which I made my way from the bus station (which is a bit outside KL) into the city. The metro system is not as good as in Singapore and run by different companies (which can be quite confusing when u have to change all the time to different stations), but I finally arrived at Chinatown, where I checked in in the Monkey Inn (was a recommendation from backpackers in Singapore).

The Monkey Inn was the best place I have stayed in so far...I would say European standards, a big common room with flat screen and DVDs, couches and PCs and nice staff. It was located in Chinatown (maybe my favorite place in KL). For 1-4 Euros u can get any kind of food. Basic stuff like fried noodles, satay to go (6 pieces for 3 ringgit = 70 cents), or more expensive...seafood. At night the night-market is a highlight. They have some really nice stuff and when u like something u can bu it at many shops...which puts u in a very good bargaining position ^^... that way u can get discounts up to 65 %.

KL itself has some nice parks and main touristic cites. I did some of those at the first day on my own. But the Petronas Towers are just not that flashing when u have been standing at the ground of the Burj al Kalifa. Much more I liked Chinatown and Little India. Full of life, flavor and color.

When I came back to the hostel, my real KL experience started. I met Edmund , his girlfriend and Cassandra (all from Singapur). They just came to KL for clubbing. When they asking me if I want to join, I didnt hesitate, even though I spend that night a lot (European prices) but it was worth it. KL at night is much more fascinating than at day (as I didn't bring my camera...there are also no pictures:( ). Full of bright colors and people. The problem with being in an islamic country is just that you shouldn't drink on the streets and stay in the club & bar areas. After meeting an Iranian friend of Edmund in the city, we had a Shisha, bought some drinks at 7eleven and then made our way to the Zouk club (very fancy, dress code, mostly locals...just few tourists). Before I got some introduction into club behavior (communication is done by passing a text message on a mobile phone, and there a some basic rules for getting a light, making cheers, etc.). The club and the music was great...and I found out Emund is fully into dancing. He (and others) made some crazy moves (don't know how its called...a mixture of break & robo dance?). Close to 4am we went home...and had a noodle soup before going to bed.

The next day...after some Aspirin and Satay, I went to the Batu Caves with Tarek, a French guy I had met in the hostel. He was a really nice fellow...had a good talk. Batu Caves was the most impressive site in (near) KL. Though it is kind of hard to get up all the steps while being chased by monkeys, its totally worth it.

So far I had only done some sightseeing at the different places I went to...now I was really looking forward to beach life. For my trip to the Perhentian Islands I had booked a flight in advance which was very convenient. From what I have heard, the jungle train must also be very nice.