Versive

Let's try this again shall we; Cambodia!!

Few shots of random pretty buildings/statues:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/evilhippy/Worldwide%203/IMG_1043.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/evilhippy/Worldwide%203/211.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/evilhippy/Worldwide%203/210.jpg

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This was out hotel for most of the time, the famous Dead Fish with the crocodile pit in the restaurant - read the little signs
:

And this is the only shot I got of the interior, taken badly, at night, I forgot to ever go back and get proper pictures. So it goes.
But it did look a little like this:

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Two highly random pictures of a cactus. Look I just thought it looked pretty, alright? :

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/evilhippy/Worldwide%203/213.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/evilhippy/Worldwide%203/214.jpg

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At some point Gregory and myself found an entire deserted little town within the city of Siem reap - not a building was occupied, clearly there were premises for business', shitloads of apartments for people to live in and even a civic feature; a large covered central market area.
But not a single person to live or work there it was all very strange, as I wandered about I, naturally started singing the Special's song "Ghost Town"

Anyway it looked like this:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/evilhippy/Worldwide%203/204.jpg

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We went looking for the Cambodian landmine museum one day, and it just so happened that it was about 4 kilometres away, it also happened that it was a very hot day, that we decided to walk it, it happened that we forgot to bring the map and also it happened to be the case that no-one we asked for the first hour of pointless walking knew exactly where it was.

After a long, long time we actually found it but, hilariously, it happened to be the one day that the museum was closed and we had done the whole thing for nothing.
The whole affair was my idea and Greg came quite close to giving me a rigorous beating, but good won out and we walked back, taking in some strange sights (like the ghost town above) along the way, and also some wonderful things like this sign - I never get over the way Asians treat the English language :

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There is a river that runs through Siem Reap and through the main touristy areas it is clean of debris. Suspiciously clean, in fact, and while making our pointless journey we found out why:

Upriver is the poor district, downriver is the tourist area. Easy solution - leave the poor poor people with another problem: stagnating poisonous sewage and waste by building a bloody grill right across the water just out of sight of any rich people. Nice.

This is what the rich people's river looks like:

This is the river of the poor people:

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Couple of oddments and photographic frippery; aerials over the water, modern bridge statues (and a giant battery...), pretty trees, the view over the water (rich people's side ) of some more trees etc.:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/evilhippy/Worldwide%203/196.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/evilhippy/Worldwide%203/195.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/evilhippy/Worldwide%203/193.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/evilhippy/Worldwide%203/191.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/evilhippy/Worldwide%203/194.jpg

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Right I've been a bit merciless with the full-sized pictures and your bandwidth would start leaking at the seams if I carried on with the next batch, so, I'm leaving this post here.
Because the next photos are of some of the most vast - including the biggest on Earth - and incredible temples on Earth

...and two hangovers later, I'm almost ready to talk about it. Almost.
This hostel malarkey is so different from the hotel life that I'm almost lost for words.

Basically it's a club, more of a gang, really, that you automatically subscribe to by checking in, and it then more or less takes care of all your entertainment and thoughts processes for the duration of your stay.
Not joining in is unthinkable - already I've found myself `leader of the gang` by default at least twice, I'm quite used to that after all the ovines behaviour in other places, but for it to happen by automatic remote is something new.
It's something rather pleasiung, actually

Anyway I have done nothing great, acheived very little of note and baqsically just got drunk with the guys and giorls here steadily for 2 whole days. The first night we went to an Irish bar in Vietnam to Watch Posrtsmouth win the FA cup final.

Yes it does sound rather odd doesn't it?

Anyway it were a great game (I've been hanging out with Yorkshiremane for a couple of days now, me normal idea o' speech has gone right out t'window) and despite the fact that they are, and always will be Pompey scumbags they did deserve it, although little Cardiff did play their hearts out and had a disallowed goal that I was busily taking a dump Yorkshire men, speak as you find) at the time of happening, so I didn''t get to see that potential equalising effort nor the dismay it produced in our camp when disallowed.

We lot, all Yorkshire, Irish and Londoners, (and I'm honorary Yorkshire 'coz I've lived there) plumped for supporting cardiff for no better reason than they stodd little chance against Pompey, who are after all a premiership (or whatever the hell they call the top league nowadays) team, and have some venerable names on the field, some of which even I recognised with a touch of respect (and fear for our poor little Cardiff City ) but good won out, and it was 1-0 to Portsmouth and the scummers have the bleedin' FA Cup now, so basically you lot back home are never gonna hear the end of it

After the final whistle I wandered down the street to the nearest nightclub, was bought a large, unhealthy drink by a Canadian guy there with the wife had had obvously just purchased, then ran away because there was no dance floor.

Good enbough reason, plus CanadaMan was probably expecting a drink i return and, well, I'm a sneaky thieving bastard at the best of times so I legged it.

Then I managed to rustle up 77 others to go to a cluc called Dragonfly, we got there (with 8 people in a little Suzuki, try it some time) after getting lost, going past our own Hostel TWICE without intending to, and eventually reaching the club which was, inevitably, the building we had passed four times in the last half-hour each to cries of "Isn't that place called dragonfly? Hey, is that the place??"

Anyway much fun was to be had, I spent a small fortune and rolled into the hosetl at abour 4:30am. Big Yorkshire Nick (and he probably deserves all the capitals there, he's a seriously big lad) came in at 10am and had been out druinking with Vietnamese locals, French girls and someonw from Finland to pass the time, so I think he holds the record and is the silliest of us all.

Last night they served free beer (FREE!! BEER!!!!) on the roof from a keg and from 3pm onwards.
Needless to say the keg was finished by about half past fouyr, but the trick worked as well kept on buying beers from the fridge. The manager, James, even gave us, donated completely off his own back, a whole bottle of Jim Beam bourbon, so we all had plenty o' shots o' tha', lost the ability to form proper real words then went out for another night of stupid drunkeness at around 7pm.

We went to at least 3 pubs and ended up back at Dragonfly, and we went out for food at some point and Big Nick fell of his stool in the middle of a bowl of Pho (vietnamese noodles, just like a thinner sort of taglietelle) so he was obviously quite impressively drunk.
Then again poor man hadn't slept between this bender and the last, so fair enough if the man want's top fall over - he's earned it.

Anyway I can't remember mucvh of it, especially not how I got home, but I was at the last club for a good hour before anyone else managed to make it, and we ended up upstairs sharing around a massive hookah filled with strawberry, apple and other fruity tobaccos. It was most convivial, as sheesha (hookah) sessions always are.

So yeah, I'vge not seen a single sight nor even been to a single restaurant here in Hanoi yet. The hostel's ways have taken me ver completely - oh and last nigt, I snored so loudly the entire dormitory was awake, lights on at 5am or whatever, hitting me with pillows to shut me up.

Never let me sleep on my back when I'm drunk; I think I should have that on a notice hung around my neck whenever I have to share a room with people.