Day 78 - Phnom Penh to Siem Reap

The morning was spent walking around Phnom Penh and putting some charge into my Surface after finding one shop who had a Surface RT on sale but could not sell me only the charger. At least I could access some of my data and pictures to use Tom's Macbook Air to update my blog.

After having a small lunch we got into the minibus taking us to Siem Reap and braced ourselves for a 5-6h drive on bumpy and dusty roads.

The bus ride was not as nice as the boat we took last time in cambodia but it still provides you with nice views out the window.

By the time we arrived in Siem Reap it was already dark so we just went for a walk around and got some dinner and drinks.
It will be an early start tomorrow to go and see some of the temples here.

Day 77 - More from Phnom Penh

The morning was spent getting to and spending time at the Killing Fields or Toul Sleng Genocide Museum for a reminder and lesson in Cambodia's not too distant tragic past.

The museum and audio guide are well worth a visit although it's quite far out of town and there is not really all that much to see but more to listen to on the audio guide. You can probably get the information without trekking all the way there but I think being there and having the audio information makes this much more real and the message stronger.

After lunch we walked around the market for some more street photography.

The evening was spent again walking along the river and doing some people watching. This is the last full day in Phnom Penh and we will be heading onwards to Siem Reap tomorrow afternoon with the bus, the boat is unfortunately not running.

Day 76 - People in Phnom Penh

After arriving in Phnom Penh yesterday evening, I have been chilling with Tom and had some nice whiskey he brought along from London.
The morning started with me trying to find a Surface charger but again without any luck, we then headed to see some of the sights and wander around the city.

While I have also taken pictures of the sights and buildings around, my main focus was on the people so this is why this post has only photos of people in Phnom Penh rather than the sights.

Phnom Penh is a very nice city and the people are all very friendly, it is well worth a visit and especially the area by the river and the palace is always full of people hanging out.

Without the GXR A12-M, I only had the GR but it works great as the only camera thanks to the wide lens, great image quality and easy operation.

It was great to have a full day in Phnom Penh and not have to rush like first time where I only had one evening. The city itself is very nice as are the people and there is quite a lot to see.

One fun thing is the building across the river you can see in some pictures, it looked exactly like this two years ago so not much progress seems to have happened since then on that side.

Day 75 - HCMC to Phnom Penh

After having my GXR and Surface charger stolen, I spent the morning running around every computer shop in Ho Chi Minh City in the hope of finding a replacement charger.

Unfortunately my search was unsuccessful as nobody has this charger. The Surface Pro is a fantastic device to replace your computer and especially as a travel device for photographers but the proprietary charger is the biggest problem. I hope I will find a solution or a charger in Phnom Penh.

At least I managed to pick up a new Ricoh GR for Tom so he can use while joining me on my trip through Cambodia and Thailand.

After all the running around trying to find a charger, I just about managed to catch the 13:00 Mekong Express bus to Phnom Penh.

Day 74 - Saigon Surprise

The day started quite nice with me sleeping in a bit and then enjoying the views while sorting through my pictures.

The surprise came once I arrived at Saigon station, it was also a lesson for the day. A lesson I knew but did not follow properly.

The lesson is that you should never leave your bags unattended in a train and especially never ever leave your camera with expensive lenses in this said bag.

During the train journey I decided to go to the restaurant car and get a coffee while leaving my big backpack in the compartment with my Ricoh GXR A12-M, Jupiter-8 and Heliar 15mm lenses in there.

On the way back, I had a chat with some locals and another traveler before returning to my compartment to find my bag in the hands of the train attendant. She was looking after it once she noticed I was gone a bit longer.

At first I was very glad about this and the great service provided, until I realized the bag felt too light. Upon inspection I noticed that my Ricoh GXR A12-M with both lenses was gone, together with my Surface power adapter and some small stuff.

I was pretty annoyed with the whole situation, especially after losing my Fonepad only a few days ago. Think the worst for me was losing the Surface power adapter as I knew there was little chance of me finding one anytime soon.

While I really liked my GXR A12-M and both lenses, they were less important for the immediate journey and also easier to replace once I will return from this trip. The loss of the power adapter meat that I could not use the Surface anymore for my pictures and for posting.

This whole thing also meant I spent the best part of the evening at the station police office trying to get them to look for my stuff and to get my statement recorded in the hope of getting a bit of money from my travel insurance back.

So overall it was not the best of days and now I will be without a GXR for the remainder of my journey. I guess the positive aspect is that I will be travelling lighter and don't have to worry about charging two cameras.

I doubt they will find my stuff, no matter how rare it is and how little chance the guy will have at selling this stuff on.

Now, if you wonder why I sound so calm despite someone stealing my stuff, it's because I learned that shit can always happen, it was mostly my part for not taking enough care of my stuff and it's only stuff so I won't let this or anything disrupt my journey.

Tomorrow will be a busy day with me running to the different computer shops in the hope of finding a new power adapter for the surface and trying to get some other stuff sorted before taking the bus to Phnom Penh in the afternoon.