The Journey(s) of Ian

Cambodia—‘Heart of Darkness’ or the Land without ATMS! (I decided to post my adventures in Cambodia in several parts in order to keep my avid readership up to date.) First, the photos: a. Me waiting for a bus in PoiPet. b. The bus! c. Posted on the back of my guest house door—someone was having a fun time. d. My first view of Angkor Wat. e. Lots of tourists. f. Some details g. View from the top h. View from the top 2. i. Me and Angkor Wat. With a great deal of regret I finally made the move from the Kingdom of Thailand to the Kingdom of Cambodia. From my reading I knew that this would be more of an ‘adventure’ than any of my previous travels. The Lonely Planet guide warned of the ‘Bus Scam’, the bus which carries one from the border goes not to the designated bus station but to a local quest house. To be frank, after 10 pleasant days in the ‘Land of a 1,000 Smiles’ I was not looking forward to hassle and troubles, however, I did want to see Angkor Wat. What I have come to find distress...

Thailand Photos: Again, blogger is not overly good with photo layout. Also I am posting from Cambodia where dialup is high speed access, so bear with me: a. Me, on a Ferris Wheel! A real hoot. b. The old capital of Ayuthaya. c. From the top of a tall lookout in Bangkok. A view of the city far below. d. A genius of modern design who created this and other masterpieces of art. e. Me comfy and fed on a boat heading back to Bangkok from Ayuthaya. f. Just in case the Arts Degree does not pay, I have an alternative career waiting. g. Enjoying a ride on an elephant. h. At Ayuthaya, climbing a Temple steps. i. The resting Ian. j. One of the 'naughty' areas of Bangkok. k. One of the other 'naughty' areas of Bangkok. l. Me and an elephant getting acquainted. How can mere words describe my happy times in the ‘Land of 1,000 Smiles’? I will state here and now that Thailand has been the most fun destination in my Asian travels. The people, the places, ...

Pictures: a. The artisan who hand crafted the 'Kris' knives of Malaysia. b. Me, about to ascend Penang Hill. c. George Town from a lookout in the city d. The ferry which carried me across to Penang. e. George Town from the top of Penang Hill. Malaysia—Penang Originally, I never in fact planned to visit Penag, it was an idea put into my head by a chance acquaintance on the road (an English traveller by the name of John), and by a desire to break the long train journey to Bangkok. First, some explanations for those not in the know. Penang is a small island off the coast of northern Malaysia. Its major city is Georgetown, across the water is the neigbouring mainland city of Butterworth. Gtown is a more expensive, tourist city, there are a fair number of visitors and a fair number of expats (largely from the UK) who reside either temporarily or year round on its balmy shores. Transport across is either by ferry or the 13km long (longest in Asia) bridge. In my mind I thought of Pena...