Hey everyone, it's been a while so we thought we'd check in now we have consistent Internet access. We've crossed the border into Thailand and we're currently in Chaing Mai. Just thought as the blog has been a bit sparse over the last few weeks I'd (Greg) give you a bit of a Cambodia/Laos overview.

Cambodia really didn't leave a lasting impression on us, to say we had a negative experience on us would be a bit strong; not least of which because there were some factors that were beyond anyone's control. We were only in the country for ten days, which admittedly isn't anywhere near long enough to get a real feel for a country. On top of this we had food poisoning for two days which not only cut down the time further but also creates a level of negative association.

My issue with Cambodia is the country's (probably the government rather than the people as a whole) approach to tourism and their national heritage. Tourist inflation in the country is currently running at around 100%, the prices of many of the top tourist attractions have doubled (or more) in the last 12 months. The focus appears very much on attracting the 'flashback' dollar (flash packers are early retirees who travel but obviously have a lot more cash than the backpacker!). They're free to do this, obviously they're going to go for the most money possible, but it wouldn't be impossible to see a situation in say 10-15 years time where backpackers were priced out of Cambodia all together. I suppose in one respect that's just the way it works though, my children's generation will probably be backspacing around Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan; a kind of Axis of Evil world tour.

Cambodia's real problem is in that getting the quick buck they've managed to sell (or had stolen, depending on who you talk to) at least two of the countries biggest attractions. The ticketing rights to the Khmer Rouge war crimes monument 'The killing fields' and the 'Angkor Wat' complex have been sold to foreign companies (Japanese and Vietnamese), meaning that most, if not all of the income from ticket sales goes to these countries. Cambodia has also suffered from a chronic lack of infrastructure. In tourism terms they've (again probably the governments rather than tarring an entire race with one brush) tried to run before they can walk. There are very quick to prize the latest car they see on imported TV but haven't built a sealed road network; mobile phone networks have been imported by tourists and pressure from western TV, reception is available in every part of the country yet there has been very little investment in a sewage system; you can buy Coke in the most unlikely places yet outside the capital there is virtually no healthcare. It just seemed that the superficial that made them look western is taking precedence over the structural things that would enable their economy to grow.

Laos in contrast has avoided the pitfalls of mass tourism, mainly by not having anywhere near the visitor numbers Cambodia has had to deal with, but where there is a danger of them becoming an Asian Ibiza it has been managed well. As you've seen from the other blogs, we LOVED Laos! Again however, this may have been helped by spending almost twice as much time as Cambodia and not spending two days in bed feeling like the world was ending.

The pace of life in Laos is slow, very slow! This can become frustrating when you're trying to get something done but when you're after 2 weeks sat in a hammock and leisurely sightseeing there really is no where better (in my limited experience!). The only time it really became a problem was in Luang Prabang when the only two cash points in the city went down. As it was the end of a country and Steph had gone shopping crazy in the craft market we began to run out of money. After 48 hours they still weren't working which meant that as we ran out of money we couldn't afford to check out of the hotel or buy a bus ticket away! Due to the Laos effect you couldn't get anyone in the bank to take any kind of responsibility or say when it might be fixed, they wouldn't even confirm that it was being fixed. The official line was that the line was busy and that was that (this demonstrates another se asia quirk of 'Face', admitting that it was broken would have meant a loss of face).

During the cashpoint crisis I had an encounter at a bank out of town that I think sums up the Laos approach very nicely. I'd walked out of town to a bank that 'might' have had a working cashpoint (it turned out not to have a cashpoint working or otherwise) to find the bank was shut, not just door locked, but the full works, shutters, padlocks, everything. A solitary employee stood outside smoking, his English was pretty good so I asked him why the bank was shut "closes at half 3 on Friday" was the reply as he pointed to a big sign that confirmed that and gestured to his watch. We both noticed at that moment that his watch was 3.10. After a moment's silence where we looked at each other ....."Closed" he said as he stubbed his cigarette out and went to his car! That was it, no explanation, no attempt at a cover up just that's the way it is!

On the whole though Laos was brilliant and Steph says I'm too negative in the blogs which has probably been demonstrated. Our last day in Luang Prabang was spent on a trek around local villages and elephant sanctuary. As part of the tour we got to go on an elephant ride which was an unbelievable experience for us and I'm sure the elephant.

Our journey into Laos was about as good as 22 hours in a coach seat could have been. Actually we made some friends, swapped stories and got some Thailand tips which made the time go quicker. The only slight 'moment' came at 3am when I was woken up by an english voice shouting for a translator. A Laos woman had been taken ill and despite the fact we were lucky enough to have an American doctor on the coach there was no way to communicate between the two. When I went outside the woman was lying on the ground shaking and moaning very loudly. A translator had been found and along with the doctor we were told that the woman's 'spirits were unbalanced' and she did not believe in western medicine. The doctor had found out there was no pain, no sickness just 'bad spirits'. Feeling pretty helpless we offered to help the woman (accompanied by her son) back on the coach so we could at least get her to the next town. The son refused this and began insisting that it had happened before and they were going to stay on the roadside alone until the spirits left her. I feel a little ashamed to say not a great fight was put up by anyone on the bus, a few minutes of trying to get the son to change his mind but within 5 minutes we did indeed leave them on the roadside at 3 am in pretty cold weather. Everyone felt helpless and there was even a suspicion that drugs may be involved somehow but looking back I feel guilt that we didn't insist on taking them with us. It feels like we took a collective, unspoken, decision that at 3 am it wasn't worth the hassle and that has stayed with me a little bit.

Chiang Mai is normally used as a base for trekking and we're not one's to break the mould. We're planning to leave tomorrow on a 2 or 3 day trek through the northern mountains before catching the train to Bangkok.

We'll post Luang Prabang photos elephants and all from there as well as the full build up to Steph's Bangkok birthday!

Love to Everyone

Greg and Steph xxx