Thursday
Thursday morning dawned with the same weather that had greeted our arrival on Tuesday. We were greeted with the front page of the local paper telling us that Perth had been "blown away".
We were assured by Richard and Marge that this weather was odd and unseasonal.
We were very glad that we had flown in Monday as the news stated that 20 planes were stranded on the Tarmac because of the high winds, and 15 planes had to abort their landings.  In this great storm 50000 homes lost their power and a gust of wind was recorded at 115kmph. 100 homes were damaged and boats were washed ashore.
So this is sunny Western Australia!
We had talked to Richard and Marge about what we could do if the weather was bad and they had sensibly suggested art galleries and museums, even pointing them out to us on a map.
However, in true adventurous spirit we decided against doing this and instead decided to go a train ride to a town called Mandurah. Our reasoning being that even if it was raining we woud, see some of the surrounding countryside. So we caught a bus into Perth and then got the train. Unfortunately we were told by a very pleasant man in the information office that we didn't qualify for the concessionairy fare.
The train ride was interesting out through the suburbs and then on into the bush, we even saw a kangaroo. We alighted at Mandurah Station, having no idea where we really were or how far the station was from the centre of town. As usual or planning was second to none. Luckily outside the station there was a free shuttle bus advertising that it went to the town centre. So on we hopped, the driver was asked to tell us when to get off but this didn't happen, so we got off when we saw a foreshore sign. So being totally lost we started walking, after about 10 minutes we found a map on a post and discovered that we were going in the wrong direction. So we retraced our steps and found the information centre. There is some quite pleasing about being so naive and lost in Australia.
Mandurah was a new town built on a series of lagoons and canals all charmingly named after Italians.
The summer had clearly not started and there were very few people about. This may have been because of the high winds and the low temperatures but who I am I to make that judgement. We are tough people from Cornwall. We walked to the breakwater and watched the waves crashing over the wall in a fairly heavy wind. We had a pint of very cold and expensive beer and saw dolphins playing in the inner harbour, unfortunately they were just too far away for us to photograph.
We escaped the wind by going into the market hall, but is a fairly small and I interesting market. We walked back to the information office and had a warming coffee looking out over the breakwater, which was very pleasant.
The journey back to Perth was smooth and uneventful and we reached home safely. In the evening we went to the cinema to see Skyfall, the new Bond film. We arrived at the cinema and got tickets for the seven thirty performance. We sat down and due to form the adverts started at 7.15. Unlike England, the adverts then continued unabated for thirty minutes. We were really glad that we hadn't gone for the 8.00pm showing, as it was were arrived home at about 10.30 which was good timing.
We all enjoyed the film and it was interesting to me that the Aussie audience seemd to find different jokes in the script. All in all a really enjoyable day.

Sunny Perth

Wednesday morning started in Perth with pouring rain and a force six gale, so much for it being balmy here. In true Cornish fashion we showed total disregard for the weather and went on a walk that Richard had shown us on the way home the night before. This walk was along the Swan River bank and probably was not the wisest decision we have ever made. We struggled to walk into the wind, and the river was so rough it was breaking its banks with spray covering the footpath. We walked along the path with the wind behind us and saw a black swan and her cygnets. As the trees were moving about  in the wind I pointed out to Rosemarie that it wasn't a very wise thing to do to stand under a tree to take photographs. We saw branches being blown down and decided that we might as well surrender and catch a bus into the city centre. Not only was it so bad that I had to put a raincoat on but also I was cold!!!
In Perth we found a phone store and bought a new SIM card for Rosemarie's phone. We had a sandwich in a food court and walked around some shops and Serling Gardens before catching the bus home again, as we didn't know where to get off the bus and our description was not understood by the bus driver, it was a fairly interesting journey home. Part of our problem was that we had caught a different bus into Perth. we did however get a concessionaire fare both ways because the first bus driver felt we looked old enough, this didn't go down too well with Rosemarie.
We returned home wind swept and cold but felt that we had really explored Perth City.

Tuesday continued

There is something rather soul destroying about sitting around in airports waiting for a flight. They are incredibly soulless places. We sat in Lombok watching military planes taking off at regular intervals hoping that Indonesia had not declared war on the UK overnight, and waited for our flight to be called . We watched our plane arrive and disengorge it's passengers and load. We were then rushed down some steps and onto the plane and were fortunate enough to see that our cases were in the open hold,always reassuring,  this is quite a small plane and we had to walk up about six steps to get onto it.
We arrived in Bali with no problems and with the ease of experienced travellers hired a porter to take our cases from the domestic airport to the international airport. This of course involved haggling and we settled on 20000 Rupiahs for the task in hand because it was a long walk. This amounted to £1.30 and for this, he lifted our cases off the belt, put them on a trolley, walked us and the cases about half a mile and made sure that we arrived at the correct check in place. All in all it seemed fairly good value for money.
We checked in for our flight to Australia and then had the enormous pleasure of a two and a half hour wait. The airport authorities in Bali have decreed that there should not be enough chairs for all the passengers and so began an enormous game of musical chairs. If you moved, your seat was immediately preyed upon. We were very lucky to get a seat right outside the gate our plane was leaving from and having gathered that occupation of the seat was the major issue,we were not for moving.
Having been through two security checks and x rays of bags, imagine our surprise when we had to face another to get into the boarding lounge when our flight was called. Our surprise was confounded even more when as my bag went through I was told I had a a bottle opener in it. I , of course, denied this. My bag was duly searched and the offending item could not be found. However, they decided to put it back through the scanner again and were insistent that there was one in the bag. It suddenly struck me, with that particular clarity which is granted to idiots , that they were talking about a corkscrew which was in one of my shoes, the offending item was found and was duly confiscated, rather a sad loss really as it was one of my favourites. The master packer had not realised that this was in a shoe when she had packed the rucksack.
Our flight to Perth was operated by Jetstar, a budget airline, although we had booked through Quantas, we decided that this didn't make a huge amount of difference and started looking at the list of refreshments we would have to purchase as both of us were a little hungry. Our first surprise was when a stewardess came and gave us an orange bag each which contained a blanket, a toothbrush, facemask,socks and a neck cushion. No other passengers around us were given anything and we immediately felt that the stigmata had been placed upon us. We had decided to have a sandwich each, when we received a second surprise, as the stewardess came and asked us what hot meal we would like and if we wanted coffee or tea. By this stage the Australians sat all around us had decided that we were very special people and luckily for us were joking about it.
The flight to Perth was good and our entry in Australia was welcoming and quick, there. There were only three foreigners on our plane so immigration was a doddle. The immigration guy was extremely friendly and seemed genuinely interested in us. We were through immigration and customs in no time at all and met up with our good friend, Richard,in the arrivals lounge, it was really good to see him.
Richard drove us back to his house through the quiet streets of Perth, it was really strange to see no motorcycles or scooters and no mad rush at every junction. All in all Perth seemed like a very civilised place with little or no traffic mayhem. We saw the bright lights of the city across the Swan river and met Margaret back at their house it was really good to be with friends.

Monday was as quiet as a church mouse creeping around a deserted belfry. We had decided to have a day of rest and that is exactly what we did. A late breakfast followed by a swim at the pool, a beer and some lunch on our balcony and a trip to the beach, all of four hundred yards away for a swim and a sunbathe. We watched the sun go down again, whilst we supped a beer on the beach and then made our way to Yesse's cafe for our last meal in Lombok.
Lombok is apparently like Bali was thirty years ago,it strikes me that it is very poor and a large number of people are subsisting, farming looks like hard work with little mechanisation and is heavily reliant on rice. Housing looks to be of a poor standard with many being little more than huts. However, the people are very friendly and always seem to be smiling. It certainly is very beautiful and I hope that tourism is introduced responsibly so as not to destroy what they have.
After our meal we were returned to the hotel. Our host's main concern was that we gave him a good review on Trip Advisor, maybe these companies will soon rule the way in which we all think and act.
Our return to our room was marked by feverish activity as we packed ready to move on Tuesday morning. This time to avoid the excess baggage fee we had had to pay on the way out, we packed a lot more heavy stuff into our rucksacks, careful planning being the key. It did mean however a complete rethink about where everything was packed.
Careful packing on a trip like this is essential and you clearly need a master packer like Rosemarie to ensure that all goes smoothly. This does not negate however, the fact that we still need to send more stuff home, cue another trip to a post office.

Tuesday dawned early , in fact a little bit too early for me, as it had been decreed that we needed to be up by 6.00am. We were in breakfast at 7.00 and ready to be picked up at 8.00. Our guide was waiting for us and the whole situation was marred when I asked him if he had our money, that is, the money we had spent to alter the tickets, he mumbled that his company had said he had to pay it out of his own pocket and that they would reimburse him the following month. He was clearly not happy and made no offer to give us any cash. Thus this 174000 Rupiahs became a matter of principle. He drove us very quickly to the airport  and kept looking at his watch, both of us thought he had a better paid engagement elsewhere. At the airport he offered me a 100000 Rupiahs but I said, rather bravely I felt, that we wouldn't settle for less than 150000, which we agreed on. I told him he could keep the remaining 24000 as a tip, this sounds fairly generous doesn't it? But in effect we were offering him less than £2.

Our passage through the airport was almost faultless until we came to check in our cases, our careful planning and Rosemarie's masterly skill had ensured that they were under the required 40 kilos. Imagine our shock,horror and consternation, when the check in girl told us that they were overweight. Rosemarie , gave her a quick verbal volley and she ran off over the conveyor belt to find a book to check her facts. She soon returned however to tell us that there was no problem and that we would be fine. Another apoplexy averted.

Local Enterprise.

The guide who had picked us up at the airport had offerd to arrange a half day tour for us on our first full day and we agreed we would meet him to do this.

We met at 9.00 and were taken off up the coast line to see the Gili islands. The coast itself is beautiful and the Gili Islands, which are not that far off the coast looked like jewels floating in the ocean. It is really hard to describe the beauty of this place, but if in your imagination, you have a picture of a south sea Islam them this meets all of those expectations.

After the Gili Islands we were taken to the monkey forest where Macau monkeys prey on unsuspecting tourists. As we were getting out of the car our guide gave Rosemarie a pack of monkey nuts to feed to the monkeys, she didn't have time to walk around the car before one of the monkeys snatched the pack out of her hand and ran off with it. There is something quite sad about seeing animals like this begging for food from tourists.

After the monkeys we made our way through some spectacular scenery to Mataram the largest city on the island, where apparently a there isn't an awful lot to see apart from the old Dutch Colonial buildings whIch took all of two min

Uses, as they are used by the present government and are heavily guarded.As it was a Sunday most of the rest of Mataram was shut. 

Our next stop was a clay making village ran by a tribe called the Sassaks who seem to specialise in crafts as it was the same tribe who did the weaving we went to on our first day. We didn't buy anything because of the weight and to be honest were not that taken with the quality of the pottery.

Our guide then asked us if we would like to see his house and off we went. This was a fairly small house, where we met mother, and aunts and shared a plate of mango. None of the other adults could speak English, but they seemed genuinely pleased to meet us. We did feel honoured to have been invited.

We got bak to the hotel about lunchtime and had a beer on our balcony looking at the sea. As we're doing this the rainy season started and the rain poured down. After lunch both of us went to sleep for a while before heading down to sunset point to watch the sun go down over Bali. We had done this the day before and it had been worth seeing but the rain meant that there was not a lot to see, which was bait of a pity.

Being creatures  of habit the day ended with the restaurant coming to pick us up so we had a nice meal and then were dropped back at the hotel.

Senggigi

Before arriving at our hotel our guide took us to a local restaurant and showed us the menu, recommending the food. We thought it looked alright and they agreed to pick us up from the hotel and to bring us back when we had finished our meal. The guide told us , rather worryingly we thought, that it wasn't safe for us to wander around in the dark outside of the hotel.

 We were booked into our room and had to wait some time whilst they converted two single beds into a double. The room was upstairs and as I had to carry one of our suitcases upstairs I wasn't in the mood to tip the porter. Whilst we were settling into our room we began to notice that things were not quite right. There was grass on the floor, the bathroom light cover was full of dead insects, and you could see on the bathroom walls where previous guests had killed insects. As we sat on the bed watching the news a wasp appeared, apparently out of one of the pillows, this was killed unceremoniously. Both of us also caught our foot on a nail that was protruding from the floor. The final straw was finding two more wasps and the remains of one on the wall, killed by a previous occupant. 

On our way to dinner we decided to complain and the result was that we were offered a different room and that we could change rooms when we returned from eating. We had a pleasant meal although the gloss was taken off it a bit by the thought that on our return we would have to move. However, that is exactly what we did. Imagine our surprise on our return to find all our complaints had been dealt with, the light cover had been cleaned , as had the bathroom walls, the remains of the dead wasp had been removed and the offending nail had been hammered back into the floor. However, as I am allergic to wasp and bee stings we still moved rooms, and from the new room, on the ground floor we could see the ocean.

There is nothing quite like going to sleep,whilst being caressed by the sound of the rolling waves.

By the way the guide had been quite right about the area outside the hotel, which is very dark and a good half mile from the main road, we were very grateful for the transport provided by the restaurant.

Our first night in Lombok had been fairly eventful. 

First let me begin by explaining why we have been unable to blog for three days. I feel sure many of you have missed your daily blog fix! Although we are in a lovely hotel in Lombok their Internet provision is very poor and whilst we have been able to pick up mail we have not been able to access any websites due to the paucity of the signal available.

So back to our travels. We left Bali and were escorted to the airport by a rep from Tour East who was extremely concerned that our flight back fro Lombok did not give us time to connect with our flight to Perth and so she started to change our arrangements whilst we were in the car. This involved phoning the rep in Lombok and several assurances that we didn't need to worry as they would sort it out.
She left us at the entrance to the domestic flight terminal and we then entered what can only be described as mayhem. There is no understanding of the notion of orderly queuing in Indonesia, we joined a queue and were moved by a porter, then a woman in the line next to us pushed in front of us , Rosemarie told her in no uncertain terms that this was not on. To be fair to her she eventually suggested that Rosemarie could go in front of her. The when we did reach check in our bags were overweight so we had to take a bill to the airline office to pay the excess. The airline office was somewhere to our right, but we were given no clear indication of exactly where it was. We joined a queue to find we were in the wrong place, this did not go down well with Rosemarie and eventually a  pleasant employee of another airline took pity on us and showed us where we should go. We did feel it would have been helpful of the airline had they put their name above the door in large letters.
Having paid the bill we had to return to our original queue but his time we went straight to the front of the line and pushed our papers forward. We were then assured our bags would be put on the plane which was good news as we could see them at the end of the conveyor belt waiting patiently.
Just to prove that the Indonesians love a good melee we then had to queue again to pay, our tax to leave the airport.
Having done this we made our way to our gate to find, yes you have guessed it, a large queue waiting for another flight to Jakarta. As there were no seats we had to stand until that plane had boarded. As soon as the last passenger had gone through they announced our flight and we were almost at the start of the scrum. We were checked in, ushered down some stairs, taken outside and told to wait. Eventually a bus came to take us to the plane.
We arrived in Lombok and were entertained by yet another queue as we had to wait for our baggage on the only belt in the airport which was also dealing with the arrival of another flight 2 minutes before ours.
By now we had had enough of queues but no, we were greeted by our rep who took us straight to the airline office where we had to get in line again to change our flight back. To add insult to injury the rep had no money and we had to pay the excess due although to be fair we were assured that we would get the money back.
This took about 30 minutes, we were then treated to an interesting drive to the hotel which included stopping at a village famed for its spinning, and yes Rosemarie did buy a scarf, and then to a stop at a roadside cafe to try Bakso a famous Indonesian soup, of meatballs and garlic which our guide treated us to, although we had to pay for the drinks, which seemed fair enough. The soup was delicious.

Firstly, I have tried hard in this blog to write a travelogue as well to write about all those little things that have amused us. Sometimes I feel like I cannot find a voice to write with and sometimes to me it reads just like a rant.
Bali is a beautiful island and we are both convinced we want to come back one day, when that will be who knows. We met our friend Sarah yesterday and she took us around her school,  a really lovely building in Canggu. It was a real pleasure to see her classroom, which looked like a hive of activity. We also went to her house which is truly beautiful , they were in the process of finishing the swimming pool in the back garden, and when that is done it will look great.
We had a meal in a restaurant with them and witnessed a storm over the ocean before returning home in a taxi.
The money here is something else, £60 will get you a million rupiahs, so you honestly feel like a millionaire when you leave the ATM. We took out three million and had quite a lot of notes to count.
Nothing starts here price wise at less than a 1000 so they might as well devalue. Maybe that is a little simplistic.
The Balinese are one of the friendliest races I have ever come across, nothing is too much trouble and they always appear to be bright and cheerful. After our meal tonight we went to the phone shop to top up Rosemarie's mobile and as we arrived  the lady was in the process of locking up, the lights were off and the key was in the lock, we explained we were leaving tomorrow morning and she opened up again and put the money on our phone for us. I am not sure that would, have happened in England.
Secondly , I would love some comments from those of you in the USA who are reading this , or even those in South Korea. I think the blog probably marks the death knell for the postcard, you just write this and invite all your friends to read it, so much cheaper too. I not sure I understand the appeal of this if you live in Alaska, so maybe you might enlighten me.
We spent the day on the beach relaxing before we move to. Lombok tomorrow, the beach has a gentle breezewhich dissipates the heat a little and then when you are ready you can walk into the Indonesian Sea, which is the warmest sea I have ever swum in.And now to Lombok.

We had a really lazy day the day before yesterday, mainly spent on the beach at Sanur, which is sandy and quiet. Both of us swum in the Indonesian Ocean and spent most of the day enjoying a slight breeze in the shade of a huge tree. Despite thinking we were in the shade both of us suffered a degree of us,Nairn which was bit careless.
We did walk around the beautiful gardens of the hotel I.n the morning and were astounded by the size of them, they are a miniature botanical gardens.
In the evening we went for a meal and I had foolishly promised Rosemarie that we could walk around the night market at the end of the street. So after a pleasant meal we wandered off to what looked like a small night market. This was clearly a mistake, not only did we purchase a dress but we also managed, almost magically to purchase another pair of shoes as well. So Rosemarie hit the jackpot two days in a row. Both the dress and the shoes had to be bartered for and I notice that I am left to do that part of the transaction. The dress started at 350,000 and we got it for 205,000 , the shoes started at 200,000 and we got them for a 110, 000. I can't quite get out of my head the idea that we still paid too much for them.
Yesterday we decided to go on a day trip to the north of the island, and we are really glad we did that. The scenery was really interesting, terraced rice fields, clove trees, cocoa plants and farming on slopes which a) look unfarmable and b) which look nothing like farmed land.
We went to a fruit market, which was colourful and to a magical Hindu temple set on a lake with the mountains as a backdrop. We stopped to look at two volcanic lakes and then went to the north coast at Lovena for lunch. Lunch was slightly disappointing as the choice son the buffet was poor. We then travelled to the highest waterfall in Bali, unfortunately called the GitGit waterfall, however in Balinese the G is soft. It was a site well worth seeing.
The mini van we travelled in left a lot to be desired, there were no seat belts and no suspension as far as I could tell. My posterior is still sore, we left at 8.45 am in the morning and returned at 7.30 at night.
The day was enlivened by our travelling companion who shall remain nameless. She came from Georgia and appeared to have little to no idea about travelling. From the first stop it was clear to us and our guide that she was going to be a pain. She could not keep to time, asked stupid and irrelevant questions and wanted clam chowder for lunch. We had the buffet for lunch she ordered a la carte, so when we had finished our meal we were able to go for a walk on the beach which is black volcanic sand. She decided to come back to the minibus 15 minutes after the stated time which is no joke in the heat we have here.
The guide asked me if we could drop her off first on our return and then we could see Kuta, we said that was fine but then she decided she didn't want to be taken back to her hotel but to be dropped somewhere else. The guide and driver had a conversation in Balinese And told her they were not going that way so we dropped her off outside her hotel where she was still demanding that they "hang a right " and drop her off somewhere else. The stalemate ended with the guide opening the door for her to let her out.
These little things are sent to try us. Anyway we both decided tht Kuta wasn't the place for us and we were glad we were in Sanur.
The day ended with a lovely meal and a quiet but exhausted walk back to the hotel.

Yesterday we went on a day trip to a volcano, and had a really good day. We started with an hour long Balinese dance performance which was accompanied by a full gamelan orchestra . I not totally convinced that I am in love with this music, but the dance was good and had pantomime elements in it to appeal to all ages. After the dance went to Batik works, now the two things Rosemarie cannot walk away from easily are fabrics and shoes. This is a known fact. We ended up buying two pieces of fabric, after some negotiation we managed to get a sizeable drop from the starting price, so all in all it could have been worse. The next stop was a silversmith but luckily we bought nothing there or at the stone carvers or woodworkers.
Bali is clearly delineated in term of industrial activities, one village does paintings, one silversmithing, one woodwork, it makes it all dreadfully easy for the tour guide. We drove up to the volcano which luckily for us was only slightly obscured by mist, for as we had lunch the clouds rolled down and you couldn't see it all. We did see some marvellous layered paddy fields which were worth the day alone. Farming them must be incredibly labour intensive as there was no room for tractors or mechanisation.
We did the tour with another young couple John and Rachel who are both wanting to be PE teachers and they were very good company. In the afternoon we visited an 11th century Hindu temple. Until arriving here we had no idea that Bali was a Hindu island, we thought it would be Muslim like the rest of Indonesia.
After returning to our hotel we decided to book another trip to the north of the island for Wednesday on the grounds that we may never come again so take the chance whilst you can.
In the evening we walked into Sanur, this proved to be a mistake as Rosemarie managed to buy a pair of shoes. Jackpot!!!! Material and shoes in the same day.
There are a lot of European restaurants here, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch and a Bali Pub!! We did find a restaurant and a hotel called the Swastika restaurant/hotel and we both said that nothing would make us eat there.I know the Greeks had the Swastika before the Nazis appropriated it, and I think it was originally a sign of peace, but it strikes me that it is an unfortunate name in a town which clearly has a lot of European visitors.We wandered back to the little restaurant we have used before and had satay which was really good.

Bali
This is a wonderful place although very hot with 65% humidity. Yesterday was a quiet day, we were up fairly late had a nice breakfast with sweat running down our brows, before excitement of excitements we took our dirty washing to a local laundry. The laundry had been recommended to us by the lady who picked us up from the airport. We couldn't go there though until we had battled with the local ATM to get some money out. You could only take a million rupiahs out at a time. (15,000 to the pound) when you get the cash you feel rich but 90,000 is only £6.
At the laundry our clothes were weighed and we were presented with a bill for just under £5 for three kilos of washing , and this included ironing.
It was then back to the hotel and down to the swimming pool which was like entering a warm bath. For me the major problem was to find some shade.
We had been in touch with our friend Sarah and arranged to meet her later in the afternoon so there was plenty of time for a swim and to read. At about four we got a message from Sarah, saying that she and her family were on the beach to the right of our hotel.
We duly set off in search of them. We reached the beach and turned right and walked for a couple  of hundred yards before deciding that she must be in the opposite direction so we turned around and trudged along the beach. When we reached the end did our beach we decided to give her a ring, yes you have guessed it, she was just a little further along in the direction we had taken at he start, so back we went, all good for my sylph like figure.
Sarah very kindly came to meet us and we spent a very pleasant time on the beach with her and Irawayan and Jolita. We then went for a beer , during which I had to go and fetch our laundry, all done and pressed. We decided to go for a meal together and had a very good meal in a local restaurant before putting them all into a car to drive home. We had a really nice time with them.
Tomorrow a trip to the volcano.

The joys of travel
We had talked to Linda about the best way to get from the hotel to the airport and her considered opinion was that we would be better off taking the express train from KL Sentral Station ( no I haven't spelt that wrong). We arranged a taxi for 9.30 and went straight to the station, when we arrived ther the meter said 4.70 Ringits but the driver pressed a button and imposed a two Ringits surcharge,for no reason at all that we could see. It certainly lost him his tip.
We had purchased our train tickets at the hotel so were waved straight through to the Malaysia Airlines check in desk, where we duly checked in and gave up our suitcases. How nice to be unencumbered. The train took 30 minutes but was very comfortable and dropped us right in the middle of the airport.
We then had to join a foreign  passport queue to leave the country, as there weere only two desks open there were long queues. Eventually they opened another gate and we were about fifth inline or so we thought. the Indian gentleman at the front of the queue proceeded to call all of his family from the other two queues and were suddenly 25th in line. There was almost an international incident as people in our line protested loudly to be met with the response "We are family!" This so called family didn't wait for each other on the other side of the gates we noticed.
Once through this hurdle we had to catch a train out to our boarding gate which was a novel experience. The flight was good and we arrived in Bali on time and then the queues began again. First you had to line up,for a visa at a cost of 25 dollars each, apparently the 10 dollar visa was no longer available. Having got a visa you then had to queue for immigration with your visa in your hand. Then you collected your bags which someone had already taken off the belt before queuing again for customs. Our transfer was there waiting for us and we then had a 30 minute car journey to the hotel which proved to be lovely.
A quick walk down to a sandy beach, a look at the pool and a massive unpacking of suitcases followed before we walked to the ATM and became Indonesian Rupiah millionaires.,(15,000 Rupiahs to the £)
We had a very pleasant meal in a good restaurant and came home to bed marvelling at the number of queues we had endured during the day.

The day started well in Kuala Lumpar and we met our friend Linda at our hotel just gone ten o'clock. It was really good to see her. After the hellos were over we headed off in a taxi to the twin towers which are well worth seeing both in the daytime and at night.
We took Rosemarie to several shoe shops but she denied all temptation, which was an exhibition of strong resolve on her part. Linda suggested we go for an early lunch as she had booked us onto a four hour walking tour of KL in the afternoon and we had to register at 2.30.
I had beef with noodles, Rosemarie had Char Ke Teow? And Linda had a prawn soup with noodles, we filled this with two pudding s which we shared. One of the puddings was hot sago with pieces of yam and sweet potatoe in it. Both were nice but a little sweet for me.
We then took the rain to central market before we registered for the walk called "Love, Eat , Pray". The walk included some "food sampling". We were the only two people on the walk so our guide , Sean, suggested we start straight away, so we did. We were just a little disconcerted than Linda had decided that she was not going to do the walk. We walked to Merdaka Square, and were shown pictures of the tin mining on which KL was founded. Just like being in Cornwall really.
We were shown the old British colonial buildings and within about half an hour were taken to an Indian restaurant for our first sampling. The restaurant was well hidden away, you approached it down a dinghy alley where stone masons were working carving statues, and the went up a staircase. The carpet looked although it had been laid in 1925 and was threadbare, the walls needed a new coat of paint and the restaurant looked like an old transport cafe. Our food was served without ceremony from a four part container straight onto a banana leaf. This was not the sort of place you would normally find us in at all. We were not helped by the fact we had had a large lunch about an hour before. Certainly we could not do justice to the food which was very tasty. Sean demanded that we eat with our fingers and then told us the etiquette to end the meal. Banana leaf folded down from the top=good meal, banana leaf folded up from the bottom suggests you were not happy with the food.
We left to go and get a plastic bag of iced lemon tea from another restaurant a street away, and whilst we were waiting for it to be prepared a large mouse ran across the floor of the restaurant pursued by the owner who shooed it under a food counter.
We were then taken to the oldest Chinese temple in KL which was very interesting and then to the oldest Hindu temple where we watched a ceremony. Then off to China town stopping on the way to try a Durian Puff. Neither Rosemarie nor I enjoyed the taste of this king of the fruits.
It was then into China Town where were bought a very sweet fruit drink and a peanut pancake, apparently this was how poor Chinese families used to mangage on a limited budget.
By now we were three quarters through the walk, we were so full we could hardly move, but on the way back to our starting place we had to try a tissue roti and a banana roti, both of which were delicious.
By the time we got back to Linda we couldn't eat any more, but we had to try a mangosteen which was very nice. We did point out in no uncertain terms tht they should warn people not to eat lunch before they attempt this walk.
We walked through the old central market before going back with Linda to see the twin towers at night, not only were the towers worth seeing but the fountain display in the park at the base was excellent. We went and had a beer and Linda ordered some snacks which miraculously we found some room for. Sadly it was then time to say goodnight so we walked with Linda back to the subway station and after a few stops said our farewells.
We had had a truly memorable day and we couldn't thank Linda enough. If you fancy losing half a stone We would thoroughly recommend this tour as a way of finding about a city.

The train journey from Butterworth to Kuala Lumpar is well worth doing.
Our day started with a taxi ride from our hotel to the ferry port. The driver was really interesting and knowledgeable and told us a lot as we went along. The journey took about 35 minutes and cost us 40 Ringits or about £8. He dropped us at the ferry port and we made our way onto the waiting ferry, which was there by chance rather than careful planning on our parts. The ferry ride back to Butterworth cost us nothing, a bit like the Tamar bridge, you pay to go to Penang but pay nothing to return.
We were dreading the walk from the ferry to the station which is all of about 200 yards because in the middle of it all is a huge road bridge with about 50 steps going up and 50 down the other side. Normally stairs are no problem but with two huge suitcases they present a major obstacle. This time however, there were two men in safety jackets sat on plastic chairs at the top of the stairs, and as soon as they saw us arrive at the bottom looking like two lost waifs they signalled and came down the steps to porter our suitcases for us, all our worries disappeared and we felt it well worth the 5 Ringits we gave them as a tip.
We arrived at the station a good hour before the train was due to leave and sat in the air conditioned waiting room with several other passengers. The train was announce at 1.30 and we made our way to our carriage and allotted seats.
The journey started with a quarter full carriage but like the last "express" we were on we stopped at major stations and picked people up. After two hours the train was full.
We passed through some beautiful countryside, saw several little villages and towns and wonders about the scale of development here. There are several new estates of little houses all fairly identical springing up across the country.
The other issue of note is that Tesco's are here in force and creating exactly the same problems that they do at home. The taxi driver in the morning pointed out a new store and told us in no uncertain terms that it had destroyed the local markets as traders could not cope with the competition.
The train arrived in KL 20 minutes late, we had to get a coupon for a taxi which cost ten Ringits and we were at the hotel 15 minutes later. A late meal in the restaurant and a lovely room who could ask for more?

A Malaysian Culinary Experience
The mad female taxi driver who drove us for the ferry port had great delight in pointing out to us the night market and the local food stalls where she said you could get cheap food.
We of ,course, ignored her until we were looking for somewhere to eat last night. As we walked along the road we spied the Long Beach Cafe which was full of customers, taking this to be a good omen we went in. We had to wait for an empty table and as we sat down tried to work out how the place worked. Don't get the idea this was a posh restaurant with table cloths etc, the table was like a plastic French bistro table with a prominent number 35 glued to it.
A waitress came and asked us if we wanted a drink and we ordered two beers, she explained that you looked around the 20 or so food vendors and then ordered what you wanted and gave them your table number.
In the interests of gallantry and diplomacy Rosemarie was sent off to investigate. As we are in Malaysia we decided to have Malaysian food, so we ordered satay to start with a prawn noodle dish and then another noodle dish with chicken. Total cost was 28 Ringits or about £6, in fact the three large bottles of beer we had come to 54 Ringits or almost twice the cost of the food.
The meal was served on a variety of plastic plates that Rosemarie would never have accepted in England, but it was all hot and all delicious.
It was so good in fact that we plan to eat there again tonight, there was a definite vibrancy about the place and the food was really good.
Today we have had an easy day as we are back on the road or the railways tomorrow.We walked to the bank to exchange some Thai Baht to be told the bank wouldn't change money and we had to go to a money changer. We asked to woman I the bank to recommend one and she pointed to the petrol station across the road, we wandered over there, and sure enough I the shop, was a money changer behind a glass screen. It all seemed very professional and was dealt with quickly, we have never changed money in a garage before.
We had lunch in a beach cafe and strolled romantically back along the edge of the beach paddling in the Bay of Bengal.We then went for a swim in the Indian Ocean which was incredibly warm.
Tomorrow we move by train to Kuala Lumpar for the princely sum of £7 each for a 7 hour railway journey.Who knows what that will bring?

A Thai railway journey.
We had decided in England to catch the train from Bangkok to Butterworth in Malaysia the who,e journey costing us about twenty five pounds each. The train left the central railway station at 2.45pm, we were at the station at 1.30 having caught a taxi from the hotel. The train pulled in early and we Wat he'd the cleaners go to work both outside and in, one woman who arrived a tried to board was given a good telling off by a man in uniform who was guar,ding the steps of the carriage. Our carriage disappeared for a while as the locomotive took it for a little spin somewhere.But Rosemarie was assured any man in uniform that it would reappear and joing the rest of the train, emphasised by the clapping of hands together, and this is exactly waht happened.
We were allowed on the train about 15 minutes enforce it left and settled down into our seats, unfortunately we were in the wrong seats and had to move. There was no room for the suitcases and we had to sit in a double seat with a suitcase each as a travelling partner.
A very pleasant lady came around taking orders for dinner and breakfast delivered to your seat so we chose chicken with cashew nuts and duck ina red curry sauce, we were assured this woud, be served at 7.30pm.
Imagine our surprise when at 17.30 we were brought a spoon and a fork and then dinner.Dinner was as described but with avery thin chicken broth to put over the rice, which was actually very nice, but as there were two of them we could only manage one. Dinner was cleared before 7.00pm and much to our amazement everyone in the carriage started getting ready for bed. The steward came around and started making beds by dropping the top bunk and then rearranging the bottom compartment seats to create a bottom bunk. By 7.20pm everybody was in bed and silence had descended across the carriage, so much so that I felt guilty whispering to Rosemarie and had to climb into the top bunk.
We did stay up reading but in a very eerie atmosphere, by 8.30 I had had enough and decided to sleep myself. Rosemarie carried on reading for a bit longer.
It is  inadvisable to kick your wife in the stomach in a totally silent carriage as you decide you can reach the floor with out using the ladder. You do have to remember your age sometimes. Rosemarie was definitely not amused. Several of our near neighbours were also woken up by the scream.I had to spend several minutes whispering sincere apologies.
I got up to go to the loo again at 6.00am after crossing the roughest bit of railway track I have ever been on, it was enough to shake your fillings,whereupon I was grabbed by the steward who prepared a table for Rosemarie and I in an empty cubicle and told us our breakfast was ready. We had been led to believe breakfast was at 7.30 but we had finished it by 6.30. The timing of meals appeared to be a real problem.
We watched the dawn come up over southern Thailand before being dragged off the train at the Malaysian border to deal with immigration and customs. We had to take all of our luggage of as well and the whole process took over an hour.
We also had no idea that Malaysia is an hour ahead of Thailand until someone on the train told us so that came as a it of a surprise. On Arrival at. Butterworth we walked to the ferry terminal to cross to Penang and then had a thirty minute taxi ride to our hotel which is very nice.
We did try at Butterworth station to book the 8.00 am train to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday morning but apparently it was sold out so we had to book the 2.00 pm train instead which was a it of a pain.

It must be my face.

Walking to dinner a Cambodian stepped of the pavement to speak to us and I thought he was going to ask us if we wanted a Tuk Tuk , but no, he asked me if I would like some marijuana. This hasn't happened to me for at least thirty years and it came as something of a shock. Both of us were astounded, but of course this area of South East Asia is famous for its weed so maybe we shouldn't have been so suprised.
Our last night and morning in Cambodia were uneventful apart from when we got the airport the computer system was down so we spent some time just hanging around. We thought they were gong to have to hand write everything again, but no at the last moment the great computer god smiled benignly on them and breathed some life back into their system.
We had planned to take a taxi from the airport into Bangkok but as we were waiting on the bus for the long ride from the plane to the terminus we decided to take the sky train. What a good decision, every one was so helpful, for 90p each we transported at some speed to the station nearest to our hotel and we arrived with some ease. The worst part, although it was really exciting, was the steepness of the travelator in the airport. It was clearly designed for mountain goats and I had to hang on to our luggage trolley for dear life. I felt sorry for Rosemarie who volunteered to stand at the front of the trolley and hold the front suitcase on. We both said you could ski down the slope, in fact I think I have seen easier nursery slopes.
The taxi we picked up at the station didn't even get to change his meter from the 35 Baht minimum.So that shows how close we got to our hotel.
The staff at the hotel semed genuinely pleased to se us and welcomed us back, so we must have impressd them the last time.It is a very pleasant feeling to be welcomed back in that way.it must be our faces.
Why do some people in Bangkok think they have a right to drive their motorbikes on the pavement? Thiis is a severe threat to life and limb, especialy as the modern ones are so quiet.It might well be my defective hearing, but several times Rosemarie has had to pull me to one side to save my life. Nothing new there then!!

A visit to Lake Tonle Sap.

After our visit to the temples yesterday we agreed to go on an excursion to the floating villages on the largest lake in South East Asia, Tonle Sap. We left the hotel at 8.00 as it is much better to get going early in the morning whilst it is still cool. 

We had the same guide as yesterday, Mr Arun, but a different driver, Mr Bot. Again it was only the two of us in the car, and again we felt very special. We drove through the chaos that is traffic in Siem Reap out onto highway number 6 heading south for about an hour to the lake. The number of motorbikes is truly something to behold.

It was clear to us that vast numbers of Cambodians live in poverty, particularly after we left the Main Road. 

We arrived at a very basic dock and were put onto a boat which clearly had seen better days. Our captain was about 15 but seemed to know what he was doing. We went down a canal through a flooded forest and our guide told us that in the dry season the water was not where it was today. At the moment the water is about 5 metres deep but in the dry season all that remains is a muddy plain.

We passed through the town of Kompong  Pluk where all the houses are on stilts at least 5 metres high.we found it quite humbling to see such houses, no mains electricity, no clean water and often only bamboo roofs. Obviously all of this is photogenic but there were no other tourists around and after a while I felt I didn't want to take any more photographs.

In the town we had to visit a floating garage where the diesel was pumped by hand into a plastic jerry can, straight from a fifty gallon oil drum. The lads doing all of this were no more than sixteen, we were really glad that no one was smoking.

After the town we went through a floating village and saw one house being moved from one location to another , or if you like to be moored in a different place.Apparently it is the Vietnamese who live in floating villages rather than in houses on stilts. 

After the village we moved out into the lake itself which is huge, we only just ventured into it before our guide asked for the engine to be cut so that he could talk to us about the economy of the area, it was all really interesting and very thought provoking. Restarting the engine involved holding a bare wire to a solenoid, something you wouldn't get away with in the UK.

Sandwiches for lunch were part of the deal , and it is slightly incongruous to have ham and cheese on brown bread, whilst you are in Cambodia. Let alone to follow it up with a slice  of gingerbread.

After lunch we relaxed  and went for a swim in the hotel pool before going out for our last meal in the Khmer Kitchen. We have become firm regulars there and are welcomed with open arms. The place was buzzing and whilst we were there several grips of people were turned away.

All in all a really interesting day and a whole load of memories.

What can I say about today apart from the fact we have seen one of the existing seven wonders of the world.
We were picked up at 8.00 and taken in a car , just us the driver and a guide to the ticket office for Angor Wat. This proved to be an experience as we had to stand and have our photo taken for our day pass. Then it was back in the car and off to the east door of Angor Wat , which is really the back door and apparently is much quiter than the western entrance. The sight of this huge temple appearing amongst the trees is aw inspiring. This is a cliche but it is really difficult to describe the scale of this one temple. We looked at the wonderful bas reliefs and then went inside the temple before we climbed up to the third level.
This was a 50 degree climb and was done in the heat of the day. You are not allowed to wear hats and to be honest the 37 steps seemed like a mountain. The view from the top was worth all of the effort. After Angor Wat we went to Angor Thom and then onto Bayon where Buddha faces stare at you from all sides and levels. We saw the terrace of the elephants and the Leper King Terrace before heading off to Preah Khan and then to Ta Prohm. The last had been swallowed by the jungle and it is worth seeing just to see what trees can destroy if they are left to it.
Our guide was  a big  football fan, in fact he supported Manchester United. We did try to put him right but he had opinions on every one in the English game from Steve McClaren to Roy Hodgson. It all seemed rather surreal standing in the jungle whilst he told us last night's football scores and how much he hated Manchester City.
He did give us a choice I that we could return to the hotel and rest before we did the last two temples but we decided to plough on regardless. In the process we drank 4 litres of water between us.
We returned to the hotel for a very welcome beer and then did mundane things like checking our flight for Sunday at a nearby Bangkok airways office and going to a local supermarket to buy beer and water.
I know I haven't written enough about the temples here, but they are very difficult to put into words. All are magnificent pices of architecture, all have wonder bas relief carvings, all bear evidence of a massive civilisation where thousands of people clearly worked together to create something very special.All are in a spectacular setting and each one is individual. Both of us have had a really tremendous day and certainly it is one that we shall never forget. When there are only two of you with  a guide you do feel very special. We have certainly had a very special and unforgettable day.

Yesterday we had agreed not to get up too early and to visit the Royal Gardens and the National Museum of Angkor.We had not planned on 35C as soon as we got up and the walk to the gardens, all of about half a mile was extremely tiring. The National Museum was well worth the trip although a little expensive at 12 dollars each. No bags or water allowed in the museum so everything had to be left we did get a rather nice little bag for Rosemarie to put her purse and camera in.
The museum had a room of 1000 Buddha images which was really difficult to take in, but we did stay for over three hours learning quite a lot about the history of the Khmer people.
One of the most plaintiff cries you will ever hear is that of the Tuk Tuk driver touting for business. We can hardly take a step out of the Hotel without being asked if we want a Tuk Tuk . Even when you are walking they will pull up beside you and ask you if you want one. "No" does not seem to be a definite enough answer as far as we can see.
Anyway as it was so hot we got a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel. This sounds quite easy until you realise that you have to barter over the price, I start at one dollar (62p) he starts at three and we settle for a dollar and a half. Cheap at half the price.
We stayed at our hotel in the afternoon enjoying another swim before going into town to the Khmer Kitchen for another meal. A good reason for going is that they are playing Plinky Plonky music quite loudly just below our room again.
We get a Tuk Tuk back after our meal and repeat almost exactly the performance we had in the morning.
We decide on an walk rly night as we have to be up at 6.00 to visit Angkor Wat tomorrow.

I have finally realised that blogging must be a little compulsive. I haven't blogged for a couple of days and suddenly felt very guilty about letting everybody down. The truth is I missed doing it!!!!
Our first morning in Siem Reap was spent looking at the temples in the town . Of these Wat Bo was our arou rite, a run down site parts of which are being reconstructed. We met a monk who wanted to practice his English and he pointed us to the old building. As we reached the building across the court yard a small wizened man appeared and asked us if we wanted to go  inside. In fact he said "Inside?" He produced some keys and opened the main doors for us and then threw back the window shades, revealing some beautiful wall paintings which we later learned were 19th century. The colours were absolutely fantastic.
After that we visited another temple which was also being reconstructed and then a third which was an old royal palace which had hundreds of stupas in the garden. Enough temples said Rosemarie and we plunged headlong into the old market, where on one stall we were treated to a right royal display of masterful sales techniques. Rosemarie got a scarf and a handbag and we bought ourselves a couple of cheap copy watches.
Back to the hotel for a beer and an afternoon swim. In the evening we went to the Khmer Kitchen which as the name suggests serves traditional Cambodian food. The food was excellent and really cheap, Two large bottles of beer and two main courses for 14 dollars. Roughly about £9.30.
We walked back along "Pub Street", yes I know it's a bit naff and through the night market where luckily for me the traders failed to persuade Rosemarie to open her purse.
All in all an interesting and relaxing day.

A day of travelling.
We due to be picked up 10.30 and our little man turned up right on time.He was the same bloke who had picked us up from the Airport and he appeared genuinely pleased to see us. The journey to the airport was eventless and we had two hours to kill before our flight. Now kicking around in an airport for two hours when you can't check in your bags because it is an internal flight, is not my idea of a good time.
We sat by two American sisters who were enjoying a typical American one day tour. One night in Phnom Penh, one in Siem Reap, one in Saigon, one in Ho Chi Minh City.I have been inThailand for about three weeks now and I still have no idea about what goes on there or what makes Thai people tick so how can any one form an impression of a place after just one day? Their travel plans had been affected by Hurricane Sandy and they had lost a whole night and therefore, presumably a whole country as well. They were relatively good company and they had "done" England and had really enjoyed bed and breakfast.
The flight was painless but when we arrived it was in the middle of a tropical rain storm, the rain was coming down in stair rods and the road in was under water , it would be fair to say our driver took it very slowly. Luckily for us it started to ease off just as we arrived at our hotel.
Our hotel is quite nice although our room overlooks the stage where there is a nightly dancing show between 7 and 9 pm. Having heard the music last night,it is, in my opinion,up on a par with the Launceston Silver Belles, apart from the fact it is played on a wooden xylophone rather than a metal one.I am fairly sure it is a five note scale as well. So all in all bit  plinky plonky. Two hours of it is certainly plenty.
Perhaps there is a place for me on Miserable Old Gits  after all.

A visit to a Cambodian Post Office!
Having persuaded Rosemarie, at last, that we are travelling with too many clothes, we make the bold and and adventurous decision to send some clothes home and some to David in Australia, just in case we need them for Christmas?
We came prepared for this scenario with some plastic post it envelopes bought in the trusty post office in Launceston. So after much sorting we develop two separate piles, a smaller one to go to England and a larger one to go to Sydney. The clothes are duly packed and sealed in to the addressed envelopes and put into the rucksack. We had already reconnoitred the whereabouts of the post office the day before and found it with no difficulty entering a door that clearly said parcel post. Oh you the naive, we pray for you.
It transpires after a few minutes queuing that we are in the receiving office and not the posting office. With much gesticulation and shaking of heads in disbelief we are directed around the corner.
We queue again! Eventually we reach the head of the line and pass our two very nice parcels to the lady behind the counter. She weighs them and  enquiries if we want them sent quick or slow? Slow will do we say. Total cost 80 dollars, this has turned into a very expensive mistake.
Rosemarie offers to pay by credit card and we are politely informed that they only take cash. Rosemarie is directed off to an ATM some little distance away and I am left to do the paperwork .
Having completed the customs forms and told them repeatedly that these are our clothes and not gifts I am ordered to tick the gift box on the form. Meanwhile the post officials create two cardboard boxes and place our envelopes in them doing them up with copious amounts of brown sticky tape. The one parcel to Australia is a little larger than the box and needs a fair amount of persuasion to make it fit.  Eventually Rosemarie returns, we pay our money, get a certificate of posting and leave our belongings stuffed neatly into cardboard boxes.Maybe the staff at Launceston Post Office might have done this for us but somehow I doubt it!

After the post office we catch a Tuk Tuk to the central market where we spend some time perusing the stalls. The fruit and veg were very colourful but I could have lived without the fish gutting and the meat preparation.
All in all we spent about two hours in the area before catching a Tuk Tuk back to hotel. I can't get used to this idea of bartering over how much the fare will be. So we start at 3 dollars and end up at a dollar and a half. Just like the earrings Rosemarie bought at the market, start at 8 dollars and eventually purchased for two dollars and fifty cents. Who says Tesco's have got nothing to learn about modern retailing?

Following the tour on Saturday we decided to have a much easier day on Sunday. We were up late and had a late breakfast.
After breakfast we walked across the road to Wat Penh the temple built by the lady Penh to honour Buddha. Crossing the road is itself a major feat. There are no crossings or traffic lights so basically you take your life in your hands as you step off the kerb with gay insouciance and plough you way across the oncoming traffic. Luckily for us the rule appears to be that you do everything you can to avoid running pedestrians down. We are both quite worried though and I notice we tend to hold hands as we launch ourselves into the traffic. So if anything happens it will happen to us together. There are no gIve way signs and no stop signs at junctions so what you get is a complete free for all as traffic tries to force it's way out. Every body understands what they are doing and all concerned seem happy with the situation.
Both of us have said we would not want to drive here.
Then we walked  down to the riverside where we sat with a beer for an hour watching the Mekong river and the world passing by. The bar was next to a salt seller and we watched customers coming and going. One guy put a 50 kg sack between his legs on a moped. In the time we were there 15 50 kg sacks were also loaded into the back of an estate car, which drove off without a care. We were very impressed. There is not the frantic pace of Bangkok here, but there are  a lot of mopeds and Tuk Tuks around which the world revolves. We saw 8 people in a four seater Tuk Tuk , a scaffolding tower, one crammed to the gunnels with plants and several others.
The other passion is to see how many you can get on a 100 cc moped. The most we have seen is four adults. It is very common to see a small child on Dad's lap at the front just behind the handlebars.
After our beer we walked back to our hotel and on the way bought a couple of bottles of beer to drink in our room. The afternoon passed very pleasantly.
In the evening we had a Malyan meal in the hotel which was really good. Although a little more expensive than outside the bar had a happy hour and we didn't have to pay for a 10 dollar Tuk Tuk ride, so all in we had agreat evening.

Our first day in Cambodia was eventful. We were picked by Nara at exactly 8.00 as promised and whisked off to the Royal Palace. We couldn't park near the palace as the Prime Minister had decided to hold a celebratory march so we had to walk a little way to gain access.
This tour was the two of us, a guide, Nara and a driver, Gong. The palace was partly shut as the King had died on the 15th October and his body was embalmed in the palace for three months prior to cremation. He could have waited to die until after our visit, but there you are. We did visit the silver pagoda, where there are 500 solid silver floor tiles each weighing a kilo. Very impressive, apparently the Khmer Rouge stole some of the tiles but the majority are still there. The palace was beautiful and the gardens very European. Nara sat us down in the shade of a Cannon Ball tree and gave us a really good history lesson for about 30 minutes.
After the palace off to the National Museum which was really interesting, our guide wasn't allowed to take us around so we toured ourselves for 45 minutes. Lots of statutes and national treasures as well as a delightful courtyard garden.
After the garden we were taken to a jewellery shop. It seems to us that all tours end in such places. However, Rosemarie found a ring she liked and I bought it for her birthday and Christmas.So all in all a lucky visit.
Then on to lunch at Khmer Surin which is a very popular tourist restaurant and where we had planned to eat in the evening. Lunch was excellent, Rosemarien had fish Amok and I had beef with greens.
Straight after lunch it was off to the Killing Fields. This was a very sobering experience. Nara had been nine years old during the atrocities and told us how he had been forced to leave his home to go and work in the rice fields, he had been starved and beaten and kept in a dark room for minor infractions as well as receiving the lash for being ill. The field itself was harrowing, 8000 skulls have been excavated there but that is not the true number of executions, ther are 43 unexcavated pits t teh bottom of what is now a lake.We left wondering about man's inhumanity to man.one of the most harrowing stories and visits. The one question we had no real reply to was Nara asking us why Britain hand't come to help?
After this visit we went to the national Genocide museum an old school in the centre of Phnom Penh where 17000 prisoners were held tortured and interrogated. Of the 17000, only 7 survived and one of those was artist who was saved to work on busts of Pol Pot.He was able to paint some horrific pictures of what had gone on.
Our tour was meant to end at 3.00 but we didn't get back to the hotel until about 4.30. We were much chastened and more than a little sad.
In the evening we decided to go back to Khmer Surin, and this proved to be a mistake. First you have to haggle with a Tuk Tuk driver over the fare. We got it down from 15 dollars one way to 10 dollars return, about £6.20. On the way the Tuk Tuk ran out of petrol and although we made it to garage forecourt the driver had to push us to the pump. He was decidedly apologetic.
In the restaurant we were left for 15 minutes before anyone took our order, our drinks didn't arrive and had to be chased. Our starter arrived at the same time as the rice for the main and the mixed vegetables. My beef Course arrived about ten minutes later. Rosemarie's fish course didn't arrive at all and when we asked where it was we were told that they had run out and someone had been sent to tell us but had forgotten to do so.
A second round of drinks proved equally disastrous Rosemarie's turned up with ice in it despite asking specifically for no ice. My beer didn't come and when we asked why we were told the barrel was being changed, eventually it turned up 5 minutes before our Tuk was due.
We left no tip!!!!! So that will teach them!!!!
Our Tuk Tuk driver was waiting for us and we made a leisurely progress back to the hotel and bed. Even a bad experience in a restaurant had been unable to spoil our day.

Our day of travelling was interesting. We wee picked up early by Mr Charm Personified and his driver side kick Mr Taciturn. We made really good time to the airport and arrived 3 hours early so some spent a pleasant time in the Bangkok Airways Lounge.
To get to the plane we had to take a bus which was a very pleasant tour around Bangkok Airport to arrive at our flying vessel and discover it was named "Hiroshima". Now I don't know about you but when I think of Hiroshima my first thoughts are not of a very pleasant garden city with ancient history, I rather tend to think of Enola Gay. Anyway we were upgraded to business class and we really enjoyed the experience . Although it would be nice on a trip that was slightly longer than an hour.
Our arrival Phnom Penh airport was interesting, it is just slight ly larger than Exeter and there was one other  plane on the tarmac. Purchasing our visas cost 2000 Thai Baht, we got dollars out of the ATM and changed 100 into Cambodian Reals to receive 380,000. 6000 reals to the pound.
We then tried Rosemarie's phone to discover that Thai phones do not roam in Cambodia so we had to buy a SIM card for 20 dollars. Nothing like spending your first hour in a country dealing with all the paraphernalia!
Our transfer was waiting for us and he was very friendly on the 30 minute ride to our hotel, teaching us some Cambodian phrases and explaining to us about being safe at night.
The hotel is very nice and over.ooks the American Embassy so if there any protests we will be able to see them first hand.
Our evening of delights ended in the Titanic restaurant, from Hiroshima to a major iceberg disaster who could ask for more?
The meal was very good , Rosemarie had fish amok and I had beef with pineapple both were excellent.
The currency here takes a little getting used to. All prices are in US dollars but as we have quite a lot of Cambodian Reals we need to use them, they have no exchange value outside of Cambodia.
So if we pay for a 4 dollar drink in the hotel it costs 16,000 Reals. So we give them 20,000 and get a dollar bill in our change. Basically the Real is unstable and no one wants to deal in them. Good news for us all round.

Last night in the hotel a chemical company held  a works do on the  lawn, about 60 yards from our  room. The lawn was covered with tables and chairs, multi coloured balloons were tied to trees and paper lanterns lit the area. The whole thing looked idyllic. The entertainment which appears to have been professional consisted as far as we were concerned of a braying comedian who appeared to present prizes and a professional female singer, who was quite good. The amplification certainly meant that we could hear everything very clearly in our room until about 11.30 when they suddenly turned the whole thing down which was really very good of them. Some rooms that were slightly closer than ours must have found it all a little overwhelming.
We went early on the bus to our restaurant on the Pacific and enjoyed another good meal before coming back to pack. A 5.45 am start meant an early night and we were the first into breakfast at 6.30. The staff were clearly shocked and the fruit wasn't even unpacked.
Our pick up was there right on time and although not very communicative was very helpful and left us with our suitcases at the airport check in desk. We are now waiting in Bangkok  for our flight to Phnom Penh.
We were delighted to see the beach raker back at work yesterday following the storm. The tides had deposited all sorts of detritus on the foreshore. Anyway, when he was finished, Rosemarie held a careful inspection of his work before declaring that he had done a really good job!Very  nice and tidy!
Both of us are a little sad to be leaving Anantara because it was such a relaxing place, it is one of those palce we might return to some time I the future, who can tell?