YOBAMA, Where you go?

I will explain the title of this post at the end.

It was the evening of the world cup semi final on my last night in Bangkok and after spending hours searching for a cheap way to get ourselves across the border, and constantly being told the expensive VIP bus was the only way forward, Paul and I eventually got wind of a train that would take us to the border town (Poi Pet). It was a 5:50am train, third class, no air conditioning and jam packed. However, on that evening, we were merry enough that it really did not matter. It was a five hour train journey, a tuk tuk to the border (past the scam at the fake border, I guess it's worth a try) and an easy walk across the Cambodian border (just a small bribe). All that for the equivalent of about $10 for transport, nothing like the $50 quote of the VIP bus and some discomfort thrown in for free. On the other side we got the cheap bus to Siem Reap and finally arrived after four hours in our new destination.

I was warned that Cambodia would be the saddest place I visited in South East Asia and that is definitely true. It doesn't take long before a five year old walks up to you clutching a newborn baby in the sweltering heat begging for money and food. It began at the border and remained rife in Siem Reap.

We stayed at a place for $6 a night, and we'd been told there was a swimming pool and air conditioning and everything else a man could want in this one room (after two months, you do learn to take everything with a grain of salt.) In true style, the air conditioning was broken, the swimming pool was being renovated and was going to be ready in a week (the sign looked about five months old) and the bathroom had a weird black liquid seeping from the drains. I guess it's hard to complain, at least we had a roof over our heads (just about).

Siem Reap is known for its temples (Angkor Wat) and its bustling night market (seen enough of both to last me a lifetime). The temples are supposed to be beautiful at sunrise, and of course, we were up at 4:30am to go but our tuk-tuk driver arrived an hour late (patience really is a virtue). We spent one day at the temples and that really was enough for me; I'd definitely describe myself now as "templed out." The children around the temples are pretty impressive, they don't just beg, they normally give you some kind of act and then expect some money. You name what country you're from and they can tell you your country's last five leaders, capital city, currency and the current political situation. If that doesn't quite real you in, how about a five year old who can count to ten in ten languages (I added one more to her list by teaching her some Luganda). The poverty here is so much more apparent than everywhere else I've been and it can be difficult walking around.

Siem Reap is also famous for its beautiful waterfall, which really was the highlight of the city for me. It's a bit of a drive by tuk tuk, after visiting the driver's home and waiting for him to do his shopping, we did eventually arrive. It was a great sight, with monks jumping off of trees into the water and doing tricks etc. The water was cool (not true for a lot of the region) and swimming was a lot of fun. After this and a few interviews in the city, we moved on to the capital, Phnom Penh.

Just a short bus journey this time, an easy tuk tuk and a quick look around, we decided to stay at 'Okay Guesthouse' (not the best name for your guesthouse, but at least it's not a lie). We got a good price for a room, it was not too far from the centre and I could get to my interview locations pretty easily.

Phnom Penh is where they really store the history of Cambodia. We visited the S21 Prison, where you can see the pictures of the many people massacred, tortured and killed by the Khmer Rouge during the genocide in the country. Despite being on the move for so long, the things humans can do to each other continue to shock me. In addition to this, there were the killing fields, where you can see the trees the Khmer Rouge would bang the heads of babies on to kill them and the remains from the mass graves of the regime that were excavated by the new government. It's not a place you want to spend too long.

For my interviews, I rented a motorcycle (sorry Mum) and rode around the city, in a place where traffic lights, no entry signs and even the side of the road to ride on are all just suggestions. It made it slightly easier to get around than tuk tuks everywhere but was definitely a steep learning curve dealing with this type of traffic. Cambodia was a unique experience for me because all of the NGOs I visited were local rather than international and I focused specifically on legal assistance for victims, it was really interesting learning about the legal system in the country.

Phnom Penh was also our hub for the world cup final at 1:30am. After a couple of movies in the room, we went outside to start the night with the tuk tuk drivers who had begun at sundown and then watched the game sitting with a bunch of Dutch fans (I really had hope for them). Disappointed by the result, the night ended for us there, but I am beginning to take it to heart that every team I seem to support can never seem to pull it out the bag (that's enough about England).

The food in Cambodia was great, especially the barbeque, and definitely some of my favourite in South East Asia. It's a common sight to see dogs spinning on the barbeque (not a great taste) but when street dogs are being extra mean and barking at me, I am consoled by the fact that they will soon be on a plate.

It was a flying visit in the country and after my final interview at the United Nations Inter Agency Project on Trafficking, we took the VIP bus (a bit of a cop-out but VIP literally means a seat and air conditioning) to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, swept through the border and arrived eight later in the city in the South of Vietnam. I have to say, I like Southerners in Vietnam a lot more than I liked the people up North, maybe it's just something about Southerners everywhere (UK, USA, Vietnam?) but they were definitely a lot nicer than their Northern counterparts.

I had my final interviews in Saigon and then paid a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels, which exhibit the conditions the Vietnamese lived under for 20 years and how they were able to win a war against the "capitalist devils" (their exact words not mine). It's a series of tunnels that apparently spanned 220km and was crucial to the Vietnamese winning the war. We then visited the War Remnants Museum (these guys really don't hold back) and saw the vivid images of the effects of chemical warfare and how the Vietnamese population continues to suffer the effects of the chemical bombs dropped during that war. The museum was filled with propaganda but was another stark reminder of some of the inhumanity that humanity can exude.

After a few days in Saigon, we got a little bored and had plans for a big adventure to a small town on the Mekong Delta. However, it monsooned, we copped out and ended up taking the first bus to a random town further down South. We found ourselves in the small city of My Thao, a land where English was scarce and so were foreigners. Dropped off in a random part of the place, we walked around searching for some kind of civilisation and our manger for the night. We found a guy who spoke a little English and told us to jump on his motorbike for a random destination (it is often hard to decipher if people really understand or are just agreeing for the sake of it). That said, we arrived at a hotel that was slightly better than okay (apart from the cockroach and leaking air conditioning but there is a such thing as too needy) and found or hub for the evening.

We decided to go out to this seafood barbecue place we had heard of. However, there were of course, no English menus and we'd forgotten the word for fish, so we found ourselves making signs and putting on quite the show. We thought we'd done pretty well until our food arrived, and every dish was a different variation of shrimp (what a dissapointment).

The next day we rented motorcyles again to have a look around the small city, although this experience was also hampered by the two hour monsoon. We then made our way to the bus station and found we had spent most of our money, had no access to an ATM and the last bus about to leave. We had 50 pounds, 50 dollars but not enough Vietnamese dong to pay the 24000 VND (1.25$) bus ticket. She refused our dollars (on the count of them being too old) and we ended up running around the place looking for a place to change our money (with the last bus soon taking off). Eventually, the motorcycle taxis agreed to change $1 dollar for 15000 VND (the normal rate is 19200 VND) and we made the exchange in desperation. Even after this exchange, still not enough and no more small change in dollars. We searched our bags, eventually found some left over Riel from Cambodia, changed that, paid the money exactly and found ourselves sitting comfortably on the last public bus out (a huge relief).

Back to Saigon for one night and then I needed to start heading north for my homeward bound flight from Hanoi. Paul left for Bangkok to get home and I took a taxi to the train station, because I wanted to take the 22 hour train to Danang (right in the middle of the country). As one can expect, no train seats available for the next three days unless I was willing to sit on a plastic chair in the middle of the aisle for that length of time. I gracefully declined and with no buses for two days, booked a Jet Star Airways flight at 4pm for $50 to Danang at 11:50pm. As I'd been warned, Jet Star Airways was three hours late and I arrived in Danang at 4am.

With no place to stay, I met this Spanish guy in the boarding queue, I agreed to take a taxi with him to Hoi An (a city about 30 minutes away). We arrived at 4:30am, he went to his hotel, I looked in my guidebook and rang the doorbell of a hotel I'd read about. Somebody came out, told me they had no rooms but they allowed to sleep on their bench until opening time (thank God). I did that and now find myself at Green Field Hotel, paying $6/night for a dorm room, with free access to a pool, sauna and the internet. In addition, there are free cocktails from 6:30pm-7:30pm by the pool every day, so who would want to stay anywhere better.

I'm in Hoi An Town, a world heritage site and really one of the more beautiful places in Vietnam. It is a place where tailors constantly invite you into their shops for "free looking," motorcycle drivers bug you a little bit less and the market is a great place for a bargain, if you can handle the stress.

With regards to the name of the blog, throughout South East Asia, I have really learned that Obama is a worldwide brand, something like Coca Cola or McDonalds. People constantly ask me to come into their shops, offering to make me a suit just like Obama, or in restaurants I have had a restaurant owner respond to my order with "Yes, Mr. President." The line in the title however is one I got about an hour ago from a motorcycle taxi soliciting work. He then held my hand next to his and uttered the famous line, "you, me...same, same...but different."

On that note, I'm going to end here. I'm heading North, back up to Hanoi tomorrow, two days there, a flight to Hong Kong, a day there and then back to London.

Now I really have to stop because free cocktails are calling.

How much is it for the good luck?

Two days on a boat, one day on a bus and finally Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai. Supposed to be one of the calmer cities in the country, it was a great chance to recoup and settle into the crazy world that is Thailand, quite the contrast from the calm and serenity that is exuded by Laos. Chiang Mai was also filled with a few more interviews for my research and soon enough I was on a flight down south to the islands.

I spent a few days at the islands (Ko Samui and Ko Tow) with the major highlight being the world famous full moon party on Koh Pahngan at Haad Yao beach. The first night on the islands was rough trying to save some money but I have to admit that I was eventually forced out of my first (very cheap) choice for accommodation after begging the manageress to remove the two (huge) screaming geckos from my room (the decision was made easier by the trickling cold water, the broken fan and slightly soiled sheets). I was also joined on the islands by my friend Paul from London.

Touring the islands was a lot of fun; the beaches are as beautiful as they say but you definitely pay the price for them. After a few days spent there, it felt a bit much like Brits abroad and I was ready to move on to Bangkok. I should mention at this point that I had met up again with the Scousers (or at least Scouser educated) I met in Vietnam and they bit my head off the last time for not mentioning their names in my previous blog, so hello to Andy, Johnny, Connor, Paul and of course, Tommy.

Paul and I took a boat to Chumpon (the mainland town), a town not frequented by travellers (a relief) and later that day we found ourselves watching a Scout Parade (just to add some more randomness to the trip). We decided to take the overnight train the next day from Chumpon to Bangkok and I must take this opportunity to commend Thailand on its train service. The bed on the train was clean and built for individuals of taller than 4 foot, I could actually lay down and enjoy a good night of sleep, not quite the same experience as the Vietnamese sleeper bus. That said, I definitely paid for the difference. The train was late (but I wouldn't expect anything different) and took approximately nine hours, a very bearable experience after some of the transport I have been on.

We arrived in Bangkok at 6am and made our way to the backpacker street; however after the realisation that everywhere along this street was way out of our price range, we settled in the slightly calmer (and cheaper) street down the road. Bangkok is as vibrant, crazy and unpredictable city as you can all expect and it is also a focal point for my research, with the reality of human trafficking so prevalent in the city.

Upon arriving in in the city, it immediately hits you that the Thais will attempt to sell you anything. At this stage, I've been sold luck, squares of toilet roll in a toilet and even a picture taken on my own camera. On the main tourist street, there are children selling roses, tailors pushing you to buy a suit next to street vendors encouraging you to try a new Thai taste. It can be exhausting constantly being approached but is part of what adds to the craziness and excitement of Bangkok. Not all is as cheap as I had expected and the cost of traveling in South East Asia is definitely on the rise (which can be possibly negative or positive).

The mode of transport for the week of Bangkok was the continent famous tuk-tuk, to which the standard starting price for a foreigner seemed to be 100THB , whether the journey was five minutes or 30 minutes. "Oi you, where you go"is a common sentence as one traverses the streets, a sentence the Thais have literally translated. Haggling often got us down to a much fairer (or so it seemed at first) 10-50THB with some consideration of the distance and time. However a cheaper tuk-tuk price in Bangkok usually meant a quick visit (or three) to the driver's sponsor(s); that being some kind of travel agent, tailor or other establishment that provides him with coupons for petrol. We were instructed on how to act inside these shops for the short visit, with the driver ensuring we maintained the facade of being genuine visitors, a ploy most business owners are aware of and one for which the foreigner usually takes the most grief (for the tuk-tuk driver, it always seems to be worth a go). Although it started off bearable, as one can imagine, this made it impossible to use a tuk-tuk when in a rush as multiple unplanned visits were a necessity, adding a ridiculous amount of time to our journeys, with night trip usually meaning visits to some less wholesome establishments.

It appeared these coupons were more important to them than our fares and if we did one of these visits, we could get a highly reduced fare for the rest of the day (a fact discovered when one of the drivers offered Paul 50THB to visit a shop). Trying to stay ahead of the game, we made friends with a driver 'Wee,' whose local knowledge really made the remaining days in Bangkok that much better. We even agreed to do a daily coupon visit for Wee and in return he invited us into his home to watch the World Cup and became our guide for the city. He even offered us some lessons driving the tuk-tuk, which is actually a lot harder than first appears, even for a driving pro like me.

We also made the decision to get haircuts in Bangkok, an experience that trumped the fear of bungy jumping last summer. Trying to explain to somebody how you want your hair done when neither of you speaks the same language could become a British A Level, definitely one of the biggest challenges of the trip so far. The "barber"was as terrified as me, had never cut hair like mine before and the end result was not phenomenal, but a definite 'A' for effort. Luckily, she did not cut it that short and I have plenty of time before I get home for it to grow back (for all those who were hoping for a laugh).

There was quite a large work component to my time in Bangkok, with visits to a number of organisations that work in the area of victim assistance and rehabilitation with regards to human trafficking. The most memorable being the home for former sex workers run by NightLight on the other side of Bangkok. NightLight encourages the women to apply for jobs with the organisation, learning to make jewellery as part of the charity's business and offering them an alternative life (about 10% of the women the organisation works with are trafficking victims). I would encourage buying some jewellery online: http://www.nightlightinternational.com/

It wasn't just through interviews that I learned of the trafficking and huge sex tourism issue that encompasses Thailand and the rest of South East Asia. It rarely takes long on the streets of Bangkok before you are offered a massage with some extras or just some straight out "boom boom" from a man/woman/both for the evening. That's in addition to everything else you are being sold as you walk the streets (e.g. ping pong shows, tuk-tuk, accomodation, some pointless good or pad thai). This was not only my experience in Bangkok however and was also the case other parts of the country and some of the other places I have visited on this trip.

My time in Thailand also involved a day trip to the outskirts of Bangkok, where we visited the Floating Market, the famous bridge and Tiger Temple. Tiger Temple was probably the biggest disappointment; it was an opportunity to take some pictures and play with tigers, although we arrived two hours late and were taking pictures with some of the most lifeless animals I have ever encountered (definitely not worth the ridiculous price we were charged for it all). Oh well, I guess it's another lesson learned.

We spent a lot of time looking for the cheapest way to get to Cambodia for the next part of the journey. Travel agents fed us the same rubbish about how dangerous it would be for us to organise the individual legs of the journey alone, explaining how we would be dodging bullets to get past the border at Poi Pet. Sadly the journey was not that exciting or story filled, it involved a just about bearable 5am train for 5 hours in third class with minimal ventilation. That said, after the game the night before, 5am would have just been bed time so I had no trouble sleeping sitting up and in these conditions (apparently not so much the case for the people around me). Following the train was a simple border crossing and a three hour bus to Siem Reap, for a fraction of the price of the buses offered by agents in Bangkok (paid for in some slight discomfort and uncertainty). I had no choice but to leave Thailand on the 7th as this was the last day on my visa and the 500 THB per day for overstaying did not look very appealing. Lucky Paul did this journey on his birthday (as some kind coming of age experience I guess, he turned 20).

Thailand was great and I would definitely return. Despite a few negative experiences with people changing prices after agreeing a service for a certain price, the Thais are a really hospitable and friendly group of people (I do miss Wee). This is as many stories as I could possibly expect you to read and there are far more from this part of my journey those that are interested.

Time for Cambodia.