And I'm back.....

After another short bout of illness – if only that meant I was turning into a stick insect! – we spent an excellent day of spectacular waterfall spotting on the Bolaven Plateau. Breathtaking is not the word (photos will follow eventually I promise). The following day, Somchit driver (that really was his name!) took us in relative luxury down to the islands of Si Phan Don. Don Det was everything I’d been hoping for with amazing sunsets viewed from a hammock on the verandah of our little bungalow with a beer in my hand. It’s hard this traveling lark! From there we ventured over the border into Cambodia. Surprisingly easy with no need to bribe any officials, flirt with the guards or any of the other suggestions offered by the bible 2 (Cambodian version of l.p.). After visiting an amazing development centre for women called Mekong Blue I had the pleasure of a moto journey back into town wearing the beast…. Balance? No problem! We then took the plunge and got a shared taxi to Ban Lung. Despite the warnings about hideous road conditions, potholes the size of the Isle of Wight, banditry and the like, we made it in a hair-raising 3 hours with little incident…. Must confess that I had my eyes closed for the majority of the journey so I can’t tell you much about it!! Finally got to meet Papa H (Tim’s Dad) and we settled into his newly acquired, traditional Khmer home. The next day saw us at the Ministry for Education….no, I’m not joking! Chris wanted to use us as props for his introductory speech to the headteachers of Ratanakiri province i.e. sharing skills between their schools and teachers from England etc. After he’d finished, the deputy director started his task of reading out the entire 300 page document, in Khmer, naturally…… We made a lucky escape when he paused for breath after about 2 hours. Phew! The rest of the week has seen us haggling in the market with the highly necessary skills of Sreai Mon (Chris’ housekeeper), swimming in the stunning Yeak Lom Crater Lake and visiting some more beautiful waterfalls. Needless to say, traveling as a grown up is having its advantages, as is staying with a local resident that happens to be related to your traveling compadre…. Hope all is going equally well with you all. Miss you all lots (except you Casswell – don’t you dare rate this journal badly!!). S x