Hello Ex-pat heaven - on Khao San road in Bangkok

For those of you wanting to keep up - I am updating the blog
(www.taraknight.blogspot.com) more than e-mail... I don't want to be filling
up your spam folder.

After what felt like a whirl-wind tour of Vietnam, it felt like an even
faster visit in Cambodia, where we only hit the capital (Phnom Penh) and the
temple complex of Angkor Wat (in Siem Reap).

The temples of Siem Reap are everything you have heard about - absolutely
incredible - you can feel how excited the French explorers must have been as
they came up on the "lost" cities, seeing the 4 faced towers of Bayon,
rising through the deep jungle. The Wat complexes, at their height, had a
population of over a million Cambodians. The temples are huge, the blocks of
stone that make them up was transported from 50km away, and they have vast
moats and resevoirs.

We were able to have a real treat - especially as we are in monsoon season -
we got up at about 4am our second day in Siem Reap, and made our way in the
pitch dark to Angkor Wat. A few bruised toes and shins later, we sat on a
smaller temple inside Angkor Wat and watched the sun rise from behind the
towers. It's probably the highlight of the trip so far - it was absolutely
incredible. It is the same majesty, power and domination that the ruins of
the Roman Forum Colluseum impart - a civilization that was once grand and
powerful.

And unlike the tight regulations in Canada - we visited Ta Prohm (the Lara
Croft Tomb Raider temple - where the trees are growing through the walls)
and got the chance to climb up all the rubble and the walls at Preah Khan...
a truely unique experience.

And continuing unique experiences, I fed crocodiles at Dead Fish Towers
restaurant in Siem Reap - and for all you health and safety people out there
- get this - no barriers - not even a wiggly rail - between the second or
first floor and the crocodile pit below. You could have just walked off...
if you are stupid, it's your own fault in Cambodia.

And for the past few days I have been hanging out on Khao San Road in
Bangkok - an eclectic mix of backpackers, Bangkok ex-pats, Thais and more.
There is thumping music everywhere - Thai rap, American Hip Hop, massage
parlous, road side cocktail trolleys, and street side shops and trolley
kitchens. It isn't for people with sensitive noses. But for people watching
- it can't be beat.

Next stop... Auckland, New Zealand!