10 latest experiences http://www.hereorthere.com/members/danapalamara en-us We’d teamed up with some friends who we’d met on the bus from Thailand to Siem Reap. They’d heard about a deserted island off the coast of Sihanoukville that people could stay on so we decided to check it out. There seems to be numerous names for it, but the boat man who took us there called it Bamboo Island, so I’ll stick with that. The boat trip over was madness. We’d got used to some pretty rough travelling in Cambodia, but this was crazy. We’d been waiting for the boat on the beach for an hour when I finally managed to convince the ‘organiser’ to tell me which boat was ours. He pointed at least ½ km out to sea. With the waves crashing in as they were it didn’t take an expert to work out that there was no way that boat was coming in any closer. We had ALL our kit with us, rucksacks, passports, money the lot. One by one we had to make our way to the boat. My boyfriend, Tim was in up to his chest. I was in over my shoulders, with my back pack held as high as ... Sihanoukville, Cambodia DanaPalamara Wed, 28 May 2008 17:05:54 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/danapalamara/experience/1441 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1441 The S21 prison is one of the saddest places I have ever been to in my entire life. It has been left as it was found. A school turned into a warren of torture chambers. Iron bars and chains still hang on steel beds. The tiny single prisons that were made out of the classrooms are still there. Those on the first floor had brick walls and were about 2x2 meters. Each one enjoyed about a quarter of a barred window on the back wall. The cells on the second floor were wooden, half the size with no windows at all. All of the cells had huge bolts on the floor to which was attached a big chain. Horrible. Phnom Penh, Cambodia DanaPalamara Tue, 27 May 2008 13:58:04 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/danapalamara/experience/1440 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1440 Having ironed out most of the bumps from the rocky trip from Poipet, we hired a driver for the day to take us to Angkor Wat. WOW in a word. Siem Reap, Cambodia, Cambodia DanaPalamara Fri, 23 May 2008 14:17:50 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/danapalamara/experience/1438 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1438 “Are we going to get on the big bus now?” We were all asking. The whole group was a little riled because the bus company had conned us out of 300 baht extra each for our visas. We were told that we'd get a bigger bus on the other side of the border. It was bigger...I'll give them that. But it was the oldest and most clapped out bus I have ever seen. It seated about 16. The door was broken and the windows were plastic - most of which were stuck open. The broken curtain rails were banging against what was left of the windows. There were no curtains. The road from Bangkok to Siem Reap is notorious. Apparently Thai Airways have been bribing Cambodian officials for years not to get it fixed. We had a very amusing six hour journey. Some people were getting annoyed, but I found it all hysterically funny. Luxury bus indeed! Holiday in Thailand over, back to the real travelling then. Siem Reap, Cambodia, Cambodia DanaPalamara Thu, 22 May 2008 11:09:08 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/danapalamara/experience/1437 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1437 I liked Cambodia from the moment we got to the border. The 300 Bhat luxury bus that was due to pick us up from our hotel in Bangkok turned out to be a mini bus for 8 people. They loaded it with 12 people and 12 sets of luggage and we sped all the way to the border. Cambodia (Poipet), Cambodia DanaPalamara Wed, 21 May 2008 11:01:14 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/danapalamara/experience/1436 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1436 I'm writing from a room in a fabulous guest house we've found just off the Khao San Rd. It has just opened for business today. We moved from a hotel near Nana after my boyfriend, Tim blocked the loo so badly with paper we couldn't flush it and dare not tell the owners in case they charged us. (There was a sign on the wall warning of a 1000 baht fine for putting loo roll down the toilet, when will he learn??). Thailand, Thailand DanaPalamara Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:58:59 +0000 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/danapalamara/experience/1302 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1302 We left Ko Tao shortly after New Year. Its such a beautiful place. Really chilled and nicer than Ko Pha Ngan. Ko Tau means Turtle Island in Thai. Apparently the island gets its name because of its shape rather than its wildlife, but there are turtles to be found here. According to the guide books it used to be uninhabited and then was used as a political prison. This would have been their view... Ban Ko Tao, Thailand DanaPalamara Mon, 03 Mar 2008 19:03:24 +0000 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/danapalamara/experience/1310 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1310 1st January 2005, Koh Tao, Thailand It's New Year's Day. We are in Koh Tau in the Gulf of Thailand. Our friends from home, Pete and Sally have been with us since Christmas Eve. They are here on a two week holiday. We met up with my sister and her boyfriend, Dani and Zak as soon as we got to Bangkok. They have just started a three month trip of SE Asia. We all spent Christmas together which was really nice. Right now, my boyfriend Tim is in bed after taking our stash of emergency antibiotics and is feeling really bad. Pete and Sally have popped up to the town. Sally is a bit 'tired and emotional' and as a result Pete is driving the poor girl mad. Dani and Zak have gone to Malaysia. I have been up half the night wondering if I would ever be able to get off the toilet and get back into bed. I'm feeling a bit better now. Damned white Russian from last night. I think it might have been the ice. Doesn't sound like a great start to the new year, but we are grateful. Very grateful. Tor... Ko Phangan, Thailand DanaPalamara Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:38:32 +0000 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/danapalamara/experience/1271 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1271 Emails have been going back and forth for months over where we would spend Christmas. It's nearly four months into our round the world trip and we've been joined by my sister, Dani and her boyfriend, Zak. They have just started a three month trip of SE Asia and decided to join us for Christmas before they go off on their own adventures. Two of our friends from home, Pete and Sally are also with us - they're here on a two week holiday. My boyfriend Tim has been saying since before we left England that he wanted to be in Ko Phangan for the Full Moon party. Dani and Zak hate the idea and wanted us to meet in Crabbi or Kho Phi Phi. Pete and Sally were not really bothered about going either because they'd been to the Full Moon party before. In the end, Tim got his way. We compromised and decided to go to the Full Moon party and then all travel together afterwards - first to Crabbi and then on to Kho Phi Phi. So we find ourselves gathered on Ko Phangan for Christmas. Ko Phangan, Thailand DanaPalamara Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:29:32 +0000 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/danapalamara/experience/1270 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1270 Hurrah! We are off to Sydney! Bondi Beach here we come! No more rain coats, no more long sleeves or jeans. From here on its bikini and sarong right the way until we head back to London…… Sydney, Australia DanaPalamara Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:16:54 +0000 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/danapalamara/experience/1262 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1262