Tag Archives: vegetarian dinner

Day 23 – Go with the flow

We said we would only stay one night. Unfortunately, and at no fault of the campground, the night was not the most refreshing one. Number 3 cried through the witching hour. Molars come easy, most of our friends say – apparently, Number 3 begs to differ.

Everybody a bit cranky, not in the most efficient of spirits, packing went slowly. It was also a bit overcast, so the (desperately needed) washing from the night before took its right time to dry. Instead of literally watching our clothes dry, we decided to break it up and let the little one explore the camp ground.

tough night, time to explore

First, he cautiously waved at the young Dutch family I had a good chat with last night. Then he set his eyes on the big price: The only age appropriate playmate around. Once again, the camper population is almost exclusively divided between (mostly Dutch) retirees and young German parents on their parental leave trips. His playmate was part of the second group.

Jonna, it turned out, was almost exactly the same age as Number 3 – and almost uncannily alike in development. In contrast to our grasshopper, this one came with an elder sibling. So it happed that we first stopped, then chatted and in the end “occupied” the spot of this German family. The elder sister was called Rahel. Number 3 took an immediate liking, and she was very good with the little ones. Or maybe it was her flash red Pucky pushbike that captured his interests.

In a bit of a playground conversation situation we ended up all on a blanket and in a very pleasant chat. Pia (Jan took the opportunity of 3 supervising adults to the same number of kids to socialise himself J) shared a bit of their travel story so far, and time went by. Decision time came and as the sun came out a bit, it was just too good a moment and place to be interrupted by departure. So we will stay another night. With that off our shoulders, things took a turn to the bright side.

Late night blogging

We moved the whole cabal over to our camp when the obligatory 12 noon Dutch campground lawnmower brigade had bugged us long enough. I had a chance to show off our mobile “cave” to Rahel and we got some tips on what to do with the afternoon.

After a great lunch finding a creative use for the odd Portuguese cheese I bought the other day, and a long nap by the sleepers of the clan, we buckled up for a bit of walking. There was a loop walk following the little river Mira right next to the camp and through the surrounding hills. 5 km seemed just our thing.

The start of the track was the best part, following the riverbank for two kilometres. It was very much our thing, with a few rugged bits and beautiful views of the valley. We took our good time and had a break half way for some fresh fruit and a chance for Number 3 to stretch his legs.

All in all we were out for a bit more than two hours. All the washing was dry now, of course. A quick bread and spreads dinner and a little romp around our camp gave us enough time to let the evening fade out with a bit more good company. I still had most of a bottle of red wine lying about – I needed just a swig for cooking. So we kind of invited ourselves to Pia, Jan, Rahel and Jonna’s dinner baring gifts.

It turned into a lovely warm evening sitting and chatting. Dinner was even vegetarian, hence Nina could tuck in for a second meal as well. When we came back to our campsite about half an hour past bed time for the little one, everyone was in a good spirit. It was the right decision to hang around – I think we have learned from our last stop in Spain!

  • tough night, time to explore
  • Late spring has every patch in full bloom
  • Right in front of our camp
  • time to get some activity in
  • Î think I got something in my eye …
  • following the steam
  • better!
  • the valley widened at the end a bit
  • sometimes the track was almost overgrown
  • good mood
  • exercise makes happy
  • time to strech his legs
  • gimme, gimme, gimme!
  • colourful pastures
  • The way back to the camp
  • the grass is almost taller than him
  • anyone any idea what this is? about pinky sized
  • Late night blogging

Day 182 – Into Cambodia

We started later today than we would have liked to. Our hostel offered breakfast with the room but my request for vegetarian food broke the system. After taking away Flo’s food as well, we were left waiting for over 30min with nothing happening because the staff person spoke very little English and seems to have thought that we simply didn’t want breakfast. Without dinner last night and a delayed breakfast, I was getting hangry real fast. Luckily, I only had to complain once for things to move in our favour…

On their way to Cambodia

On their way to Cambodia

Getting to the border was only a matter of about 50km now. So we prepared as best as we could with a full gas tank, a passport photo of each of us and US$20 for the visa on arrival. Trucks started to queue but the border for “normal” people was moving very quickly on a Monday morning. And then it turned out that Cambodia should be my least liked border crossing so far. For some reason, there is a rule that only one person can accompany one vehicle. Thus, Flo was going through the “vehicle” lane and had to deal with his visa and the bike stuff while I was left to my own devices going through the “passenger” lane. Of course, there are not a lot of cross-over opportunities between the two which made me nervous.

Last shot - we tend to not take pictures to avoid hassle at the border

Last shot – we tend to not take pictures to avoid hassle at the border

Getting out of Thailand was no big deal at all (well, I can only speak for myself). They looked at the passport, took out the departure card, stamped it and off you go. Then you leave through a special exit, get herded through a pedestrian lane with a wall at one side and a fence at the other and arrive at a tent on the Cambodian side. While walking around confused, I was called over to a desk inside the tent that said “Quarantine”, was sat down to fill out the “Visa on Arrival” form and had my passport photo stapled to it. Armed with this form, I moved into the building on the other side of the road to pay my fees. Costs for the visa have gone up to US$30 now which was all well and official but then a “stamp fee” of 100 Thai baht was collected, too. While the US$30 have even been stamped onto my visa as the cost, I am pretty sure that the 100 baht are a form of systemic bribe. Or a way to get a better wage. However, there was no way around it so I paid it; it’s the equivalent of NZ$4.

When I met up with Flo again, he was still fuming about the “stamp fee”, even if it isn’t a lot of money. I guess that’s what you get for crossing at Poipet which is the main throughfare from Bangkok to Angkor Wat. Many tourist buses cross the border here as well so it might be more tempting.

Anyhow, we made it to Cambodia! Wohoooo! With a visa for “30 days”, from February 1st to March 1st. *lol*

Most of Cambodia is made up of pancake flat silt from the Mekong and Tonlé Sap

Most of Cambodia is made up of pancake flat silt from the Mekong and Tonlé Sap

From the border, it is a mere 150km to Siem Reap, the city which is sustained by the tourism at Angkor Wat. Many differences to Thailand became apparent straight behind the border. For example, traffic is slower, overloaded trucks and bikes are common and the landscape is very dry and savannah-like. All in all, it reminded me a lot of the Indonesian islands in the East that we have been through. Also, very noticeably, Cambodians are interested in our travels which wasn’t the case in Thailand. So people ask us where we come from, if we have ridden the bike all the way and are just generally excited that we are visiting. This makes them genuinely NICE. 🙂

With roads being worse again and traffic generally slower, we stopped at a tourist diner along the road for lunch. Two tourist buses were having their lunch break here, too, so we overheard some of their itineraries. Seems like the loop Bangkok-Angkor Wat-Laos-Bangkok is very popular. It is also weird to suddenly be travelling in the high season of a country.

Such a nice spot - stupid high season ...

Such a nice spot – stupid high season …

Arriving in Siem Reap, every accommodation (in our price range) that the Lonely Planet suggests, was fully booked for the next couple of days. Booking through agoda, we still found a range of free rooms and decided to go with the cheapest one for US$13 including breakfast. Of course, it was not as cozy or stylish as the recommended ones but it was solid with everything we need: bed without bugs, big fan to keep us cool, enough space to store our luggage and even our own private bathroom. Being cheap on the sleeping front, we went out for dinner at the Ivy guesthouse. This guesthouse is where we would have liked to stay, not least because it offers a range of vegetarian foods on the menu. On the way home, we sorted out the Cambodian SIM card so that we will have mobile internet in this country as well.

Day 172 – 20.000 miles over land (well, kilometers really)

Waking up to this cool but eerie view.

Waking up to this cool but eerie view.

Getting up in the Khao Sok National Park, we got a taste of why it is the wettest region in Thailand. It didn’t rain as such but thick clouds were hanging so low that everything was covered in fog and thus also quite damp. Though Silver Cliff had been an awesome accommodation with really good food last night, it was slightly too expensive to stay for breakfast. Instead, we hit the road early looking out for a roadside food stall.

The second one we tried had at least coffee so we decided that it would do. Food-wise, only curries were served: Big pots with fish, chicken, pork and beef curries. But nothing vegetarian. Given that I wasn’t that keen on curry for breakfast anyway, I found some sweet buns in a nearby shop. Flo dug into the pork curry in the meantime and was rewarded with a plate full of cucumber and beans as a side and a bunch of bananas as dessert.

The moment when the fog broke ... wow

The moment when the fog broke … wow

After breakfast, the sky started to clear which made for some great shots of the National Park. The road was fun as well so our spirits were high. Leaving the National Park behind, we had to come up with a plan of where to next. A great dam was advertised as a tourist attraction so we went there to have a look. Leaving the dam, we saw that we missed the iconic “55555” on Rocinante’s display by 4 kilometers and then realized that we have made more than 20.000 kilometers on this trip alone now. Continue reading →