Village life!

A I travel up north the country of Cambodia it gets more and more remote. Two long bus journeys and half a kilo of sweat later I have reached Kratie and close to the Ratanakiri Province. This province is known mainly for it's non excistence of roads for transport and it remote jungle mountains and tribes! Stories even tell of the obscelence of electricity in parts of the province so it is rural life at it's best! And yes this where I am going and spending my new year!
So what could possibly make me go there you ask yourselves now....well how about untouched jungle and wildlife, mountains to trekk, waterfalls to swim under or just lay in a hammock and see the sun go down! Sound pretty good so far!

But for now and until tomorrow I am in Kratie, a small river set town with a chaotic market with smells and sounds of the orient. This town is yet to be flooded by tourists, it still offers some authentic life in Cambodia. Ever tried eating from a 3rd world food stall on the street, well I have and it is a must if being in Asia. Sure in countries as Cambodia and Laos it gets a bit more dodgy as hygenic standards are absolutely obsolent. For instance dishwashing occurs in a small bowl with water and if lucky som dishwashing liquid. Cooking is on one stow and in one pan all the time, every time....again lucky if it's washed. Now chopping meat and veggies is done on a wooden log in the sun, outdoor with the flies, you can forget about european standards, this is worse then Kitchen Nightmares =) But it doesn't take long until you set a side these boundaries and start to divulge in to the world of food stalls as it is cheap dinner, about 1$ will buy you dinner!

I tooka motobike (125cc) and drove around the district today. Went to see a mountaintop temple and some nice coastal sights. Of course my curious mind made me took myself on the paths of the main road and I quickly found myself lost and on the country side aka jungle...roads dissapeared and so did the people. Well after some driving around I was back on the road and on the way back to the town!

Oh btw I owe all the people to tell about Christmas. I met some lovely people in Siem Reap, mainly two girls from Aussie land. We clicked instantly and after I came out I was more or less adopted by these gorgeous girls. I had a blast with their company, with tours to the silk farm and markets and the best massage I've had in years involving a girl who twisted my whoole body in the most Yogic positions to crack my bones! But it was our nights out that took the price, having Margarita evenings, Mango daiquiri evenings and Tequila sunrise evenings! Goosh was that fun!! Again it is sad to depart from each other as always on this trip as they were going to Laos ahead of me and then home =( Well I was 10000km from home but ended up having one of the best Christmasses ever.......funny isn't it!