It's been such a wonderful month spent travelling in Asia. The trip exceeded all my expectations in every respect. I was the oldest member of the group but with no negative consequence at all. What a great group whose appetite for fun and adventure was well matched by the encourgement of our Tour Leader Bo.
The sites, sights and people we encountered along the way have left us all with the most amazing memories. The huge contrasts in lifestyle between some of the residents of Hong Kong and the those of the rural and suburan areas of Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand left me quite unsettled at times.
It is good to see how help in many forms is being offered by some First World countries to those more needy. The resilience shown by the Vietnamese in the 34 years since their war ended is being matched by that of the Cambodians as they recover from the horrors of their more recent history.
Thanks to Irene for being up for the trip and all the laughs we shared. Wonder what I will do without a blog to update of an evening? Thanks to you all who "followed" and left encouraging comments.

Wat Arun on the river - we took a river taxi for a thirty minute journey up river. A great way to see some of the major sights of the city and the homes of thousands of people who live on the waterside.

Yes, the traffic is wild is Bangkok but so are health-and-safety-at-work standards.

Note the electrician on right of photo carrying out repairs on top of traffic lights. He was wearing plastic flipflops, no hardhat while enjoying a cigarette.

The Bangkok Racing and Sporting Club.

This facility is right in the heart of the city, a horseracing track and 9 hole golf course.

Mobile Ladder and brush seller, Bangkok.

Baby rabbits for sale in Bangkok street market

Familiar sight on streets in Asia.

Monks can be seen on the streets with their begging bowls. People come and make donations of food, plants and money both for the benefit of the monks and to earn indulgences for themselves.

Sleeping fruit seller in Bangkok

Luxury Bangkok-style

We were so happy to have had two pieces of checked in luggage on the flight from Phnom Phen to Seam Reap.

More images from Tonle Sap Lake, the biggest in South East Asia.

I like the photos although some could be better as they were taken as we zoomed along in a fast moving boat.

These cattle, pigs and chickens were marooned on what was in fact a piece of raised land - the foilage to the right is the top of a tree. They were being looked after by this man on his boat.

These young monks had been taken to a secluded spot for a swim. Guess they hadn't reckoned on the Gap Adventurers passing with cameras at the ready.

Animal housing on stilts

Tonle Sap Lake

Note the little fellow in the rice paddle boat - he paddled accross the "street" using a tree branch as an oar in a few seconds.

More photos of Tone Sap - Great Lake -

I was so taken by the statistics of this natural wonder:

Dry Season area of 2,700 sq kms and 1 metre deep

After Wet Season 16,000 sq kms and up to 9 metres deep flooding fields and forests.

It supports 3 million people and 60% of Cambodian protein intake.

Healthy and Safety in Hoi An.

The guy on pavement, centre photo was sending barrows filled with bricks to his workmate on the second floor by a basic winch system. He hadn't bothered with hardhat and was wearing flipflops.

We had lunch in a restaurant in Phnom Phen which has been set up to train childern in all areas of catering. The childern are all former street childern usually orphans (because of HIV) or abandoned by their parents. There are typically 700 staying in the facility at any one time.

Lunch was delicious and I book their cookbook - it was nice to have the chance to make a donation.

This lunch was a huge treat in Saigon.

Wonder how long it would take Edward to find and fix a fault in this mess in Vietnam!

These little fellows are for real, promise.

Pineapple fried rice, Thailand.

Here is a selection from our menu during the trip.

We enjoyed a huge variety of food some quite different from home.

Some of our group did try the SPIDER which was served as a treat after dinner in Phnom Phen.

I did miss good coffee.

Homes at the lake edge, this is where we boarded the boat for our trip.

Again, the poverty was striking, none of the homes in the area have electricity or running water. The government do not provide utilities, it's up to the local people to dig their own wells for water.

They keep their livestock in the area beneath the houses which are built on stilts.

These apparently floating shrubs are in fact the tops of the trees in the area now inundated by the extended size of the lake.

Mother and baby.

I took this photo of a photo to explain the effect of the dry season on the watery environment that is the Floating Village of Kompong Phlok.

Our guide had a copy of National Geographic July 2009 which included an article on this area.

This is the main street of the village as it is now. The water depth is two to three metres. By January it will be dry as the next photo shows.

We made a really interesting trip to what is know locally as a floating village. The area is part of an amazing natural phenomenom. Tonle Sap, the largest lake in SE Asia expands by over 50% in the rain season and then reduces again. By January it will be a village of houses on stilts. Right now it looks like a flood zone.

The following pics might explain.

This is the boat we took to explore the area.

View of the meeting of four rivers in Phnom Phen as we flew to Seam Reap, Cambodia.

More of the Grand Palace, Bangkok.

One of my favourite museums. Several original Thai houses moved to their present site in Bangkok by an American called Jim Thomspon.

He was responsible for setting up the Thai Silk industry as we know it today. He disappeared without trace while on a walking trip in the early 1960s. A foundation set up in his name continues the work he started and promotes the production and sales of silk produced in the traditional way.

Jack and I attended Mass here several times on our visits to Bangkok - I have particularly fond memories of Easter Sunday 2008.

Jack and I attended this church here several times,

A beautiful complex of palace buildings.

These offerings of fresh flowers, called amulets smell as good as they look

There is a temple close to the hotel and this morning the locals were out in force making offerings to the monks who wait in hope. The people who make the offerings of money, food and flowers hope to gain some indulgences for themselves as well as improving the welfare of the monks.

Another way to make a wish is to pay a small fee and free a wild bird that an enterprising guy has caught and caged! I am not sure how this sits with the buddhist way of being kind to animals

The world's largest reclining buddha and us. Thanks Kenny for gorilla tripod, it worked a treat.

The complex of temples, stuppas and buddhas which make up the Grand Palace and surrounding places of worship is amazing.

We walked from our hotel here and then took the express river boat up river. It makes several stops along the way and the thirty minute journey cost 25pence EACH. Even cheaper than the Star Ferry, HK.

We have been out and about in Bangkok all day Sunday. What were the chances? Two more unhelpful characters tried to hoodwink us! As we arrived at the Grand Palace two guys told us that it was closed and that they would do us the big favour of taking us elsewhere to see other sights.

But we are two wise experienced travellers and told them to get lost - or at least used words to that effect and proceeded to Grand Palace.

There we signed a book wishing the King a speedy recovery on behalf of the people of Ireland and Scotland.

Anne, shoes on trip are not chic nor stylish but neither are they RANDOM - they coordinate well with bags as you would expect!

How my feet will adapt to regular heels I just don't know, that's a month of fit-flops or trainers.

Bliss.

We had a great busy day in hot and humid Bangkok. Getting great use out of the not so cute plastic ponchos which are ideal for the odd but heavy showers. This is my 6th visit so I am able to "frong march" Irene about - her phrase. But it does help to have experience... yesterday trickster/fraudster spoke to us in the most friendly way. Didn't seem to be selling anything. Told us all sights/nice shops shut for Buddha's day and because of terrorists!! We knew that there was a demonstration planned by redshirts (hardly terrorists). He suggested that the only shop open was a gov'ment run handcraft/jewellery shop. ALARM BELLS RANG! So we stuck to plan A and lo and behold the museum we were planning to visit WAS open and it was NOT a buddha day (there are plenty of them celebrated in Asia) at all. We reported him but most importantly got to visit the Jim Thompson House and the associated outlet store - where yes, I bought a bag.
We were so exhausted we spent the evening in the ex xlub lounge, sorting out the printed photos of our trip and enjoying some refreshments - it had been a long hot day!
I'm off to church now leaving the other beauty sleeping.

This former school is now a museum. It was taken over by the Khmer Rouge and used as it's interrogation and detention center in Phnom Phen. It was heartbreaking to hear of and see the exhibits during our tour. I do remember John Pilger the journalist making documentaries about the atrocities taking place there during the late '70s. We went from there to the site of the Killing Fields... a very sobering morning for all who were on the tour.

While out very early in Phnom Phen we found this little fellow at a Temple.

Tour Leader Bo's family run a screen printing business so we had t-shirts made!

Lorraine and Irene's Gap Adventure - 2009.

Spring Rolls and Fish Curry Cambodian Style.

Irene and I towards the back of the group. Dinner was supplied by Mr Cham and his family. He is a tour guide who supports very poor childern, offering English classes in his home. He explained that he supports an extended family of about 30 people.

It costs him 5 US dollars a day to send his daughter to a public school.

Our dinner was delicious.

We visited a school run by volunteers who teach English to childern in the basement of a home of a delightful family. The girl in the centre of the photo was able to talk about the cold Winter weather in Scotland!! Their ambition is to become tour guides in Cambodia, they see that as a good way to earn US Dollars.

We had shopped earlier for notebooks, pens and pencils to take along as gifts. All were much appreciated by both students and teachers.

We found the Blue Pumpkin as recommended in Lonely Planet..... coffee and buns to please!

We enjoyed an evening at a traditional Cambodian restaurant which included a show by the local dance troupe. The performers start their training at 7 years.

We have had a few entertainng visits to the market in Seam Reap. This was a tea and spice stall. I will spare you the photos of the "fresh"
meat and fish stalls!!!

Again the Cambodian people were lovely, none of the usual market place hassle. They offer "very good price", "very inexpensive", "cheap cheap" and you start at abou a third of that and as you work up they work down and we all end up feeling very satisfied and you all at home will have lovely gifts for Christmas!

On the flight from Phnom Phen to Seam Reap Irene decided to hand out the newspapers and suggest that people fastened their seatbelts. The pursar asked if she had been former cabin crew? Irene being Irene said "yes". "FIFTY years ago?" he asked. He then gave her a pressy of a pack of playing cards with the Bangkok Airways logo on it....

Enjoying the chaos of Bangkok. Had the best value taxi ride last night as we headed off to meet up with our fellow travellers. It took us an hour and forty minutes to get to their hotel -thankfully I had negotiated a FIXED price for the journey of THREE pounds!!! It had taken only forty mins from Seam Reap in Cambodia to Bangkok!
We enjoyed a lovely evening - dinner with lots of promises to keep in touch. Then on to a bar on Kosan Road... how young-at-heart are we????? Young man even sent a rose to me at my table. I thought "it's been a while". Think he was wanting to give some custom to flower-seller.
Enjoying the delights of the hospitality of Executive Lounge, Holiday Inn right now (thank you, Colin). Will focus on photos this evening as the typing might be a littleeee offfffffffffffff.

Now in Bangkok in relative splendour of Holiday Inn. Our travelling companions are en route by bus from Seam Reap we meet up tonight for a final dinner.

Thanks to Allison for lovely photo of Fullerton Drive with views to Arran and to Kenny for the photo of his hand having been stitched in A & E after a glass broke in his hand at work. Hope that it doesn't interfere with uni essays not to mention golf or football!!

Break in communication due to lack of internet facilities in current hotel. We are so busy between sites/sights and shopping there just isn't time to keep up. Promise more later today.
Suffice to say Seam Reap and it's sites are truly wonderful.

This photo says it all.

Amazing Awesome Angkor Wat


No wonder it is now considered a Wonder of the World.

The photos nor my text could so it justice. Our great guide got it so right yet again and had us all up and on the road for 05.00hrs in order to have a prime spot for sunrise.