Posted 6:17 AM by Gobbler
I am the blogman,
no laura my spelling has not gone squiffy but if i type acurrately then i type more slowly and time is money dont you know. Been on the email for two hours already today, anging out the e's at an impressively slow rate.
Currently in Pnom Penh, capital of the bodia. Dont know much about the palce yet, but have a room at the world famous Top Bananas so it could be a lot worse.

Bit done over after a couple of gruelling bus rides across cambodia, grim. Angkor temples wonderful but difficult to appreciate its magical mystical power when ten people are trying to sell you things, so left this morning after only a day. Went up there for the dawn - the sunrise is said to be spectacular - but even at 5:15 the street sellers are out in numbers which rather spoilt the ambience of the secluded scene i had selected for the occasion. In any case there wasnt really a sunrise, it just got light as the sky was haevily overcast.

Decided yesterday not to spend more than one day. Was sitting in an out of the way part of Angkor Wat and approached by a Monk, Buddist variety called Vuan. Chatted to him for an hour or two and for some reason probably known only to the great Buddah himself, i ended up giving 20 dollars to the monk - my next days entrance fee. He said he needed to pay for his english lessons. Probably just go on his heroin habit though.

All good. Currently travelling round with an english guy called chris. An interesting bloke,been around a bit, though i suspect he's probably smoked one too many bifters over the years for his own good.

Be of to genocide museum and Killing fields and rifle range over the next day or two. A cheery line up. Loads more to write but better get off and see how much this all has cost me.

Posted 4:28 AM by Gobbler
Blog on.
Back in Bangkok for one more night only. Due to get 6:30 am bus to Siem Reap, 'Bodia side, for some hot Wat action at Angkor. Havent got all the time in the world tho, never planned a week in Thailand at this stage. New mateys have been uncovered from the depths of the travelling community. Bertie, who i'm staying with in 'my house your house' was unearthed in Katchanaburi, and three other chappies, Sarah, Alex and Holly. Going for a beverage tasty with them at eight this evening, so i've just got time to compose another exquuisite blog for you lucky people and then scribble a couple of postcards before i hit Khao San Road for the eveinings jollies.

When i returned to bangkok yesterdaay it hit me just how expensive it all is and how much i've been paying for things. Admittedly its still basically free here but anything more than a couple of changs in a night and youre beginning to look at real money. Changs a sketchy brew with a variable strength and taste, and also contains, so the thais and more experienced farang tell me, has amphetamines in and causes a plethora of unwanted effects on the system. Was also advised to limit the amount of Red Bull i drink. It comes in a medicine bottle and also apparently includes spurious ingredients. It does however do the job quite effectively. The economical option on the socialising fornt, aside of course from the impractical and ludicrous suggestion that one might stick to water all evening, is to purchase a bottle of rum for between 100 and 150 B, which can then be happily shared between two or three people for some time. The most common variety in Sam Song, which apparently also contains some kind of chemical amphetamine composite. The tour guide we had in Kantchanaburi (a top special guide, unlike todays at Ayutthya who was at best bottom mediocre, and i know my guides having been treated to millions of them over the years by the good renbtals) said that he, and his brethen tended to steer clear of Sam Song in favour of Maekong. I have as yet been unable to find any in Bangkoks bars however.

All this talk about Dr. Ocatagon (Laura, you'll just have to work out the terrors of Dr. Octagon as we go along, but just to give you a taster, hes very evil, has a dirty bomb or three, and a blunderbuss, and lives in his secret headquarters the icy core in the heart of Polygon City, and he is a bit octagonal) seems to be proving true, bizarrly. On the front page of the Bangkok Post today (published in english) was the headline 'Man arrested inconnection with Dirty Bomb Plot' Rich, ill try to post it to you in case you dont believe me. Dr O, the game is almost up.

Had a charming night out on Saturday, but its intricate details i have catalogued elsewhere and have no wish to extensively ruminate on them here, something that will inevitbly happen if I recount in depth the story again here. To briefly recap:

On Firady night went out to No Name bar (declaring on its sign, amongst other things, 'Rock and Roll or F**k Off', and inside on the wall: 'If you sit down buy a beer. This is a bar, not a bus stop.' In there had heated debate witha bloke called Ian about politics and otehr ewxcitements. It reminded me of the line in the Lets Go Guide to Mexico which described the Lunar Bar in Mexico City as a place where people sat around discussing politics. Noting was further fromt he truth there (it turned out to be a pole dancing Joint), and it was equally unfitting for the no name bar. However, a quality joint.

Saturday night waqs essentially more of the same except that we picked up the extra mateys, Sandra and Sophie. Another stimulating evening was had, venues included the kwai riverfront and no name bar again, and comew next day it was all we (Bertie, ben and Si) could do to get ourselves shipshape and board the 1 oclock bus back to Bangkok, and then book our trip to the historic city of Ayutthya, where we a/c minibussed today. That was all jolly exciting, but its difficult to describe the tingling excitement of visiting 5 similar temples in one day in 30something temperatures, so let me just say that i wont be queuing up to do it again and i'll leave the rest to your imagination. Especially when all the guide could do by way of explanation was to explain that the temples were very old and very important to the thai people. Great

Mike, Blog on, cheers for e; Ben: Its good to have you with us, just let me know if it all gets too exciting for you, Everyone else: youre all punks, Paula and granny: hello there even tho youre getting this second hand.

Cheerio and love to most. Oh, and if youre going to san francisco, be sure to wear a flower in oyur hair, you'll meet lots of splendid people there..