http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGfNk8pTBKk

Here is the video of the Battambang epic journey and a few more pics enjoy!

Holy crap I cant believe its been over two months since my last entry! Well alot has happened, I've moved house for starters, yep I'm finally out of 603 it had to happen sooner or later but Mr Dustin McDonald of good old U.S.A. will now be residing in the legendary apartment. The new place is cool it's a 12 minute walk to work so it makes a lazy man even lazier! I went to four countries, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. Vietnam was a mad trip with the Shonan crew, 10 of us in the Mekong, Elephant fish anyone? Cambodia to see the somewhat overrated Angkor wat, now that I've been there and done that I can say there are much better temples to visit I.E. Beng Melia, The train ride to Battambang was awesome. Thailand was OK but I guess I'm bored of Bangkok! I finally did the floating market and it was a waste of time. Where are the real vendors? I don't want none of this tourist crap. Laos was the best for me. Floating down the Nam song in a rubber tire with a Lao beer, prices less! (Or $4). Oh my thumbs healed now and I still have the cucumber! Its turned yellow now but it still looks edible?I bought a new camera a fully mechanical Nikon EL from 1973 an absolute bargain at 7000 yen! I will be writing up reports and posting videos soon I promise, I finally have two days off in Japan next week!

Marathon! I get my first day off tomorrow after 17 gruelling days of robotronics! My company (Nova) Is also in the papers this week for illegal dealings and false claims resulting in students cancelling in their droves. Also the Yen is at an alltime low at 248 yen per quid! Thats 25% off my salary in one go. I just got my city tax bill this month which has mysteriously doubled, even though I worked less hours this year. Oh and I slammed the door on my thumb causing a mini blood clot. I went to the doctor and paid $58 to be told to wait till my nail outgrows the clot. On a good note a student gave me a cucumber today! I remember saying in lesson a while back that I didnt see bent cucumbers in Japan. Theyre all straight and are all the exact same colour and propotions. So she grew me a cucumber at her highschool without using G.M I can't bring myself to eat it can I.

Before I set off tomorrow for Vietnam again! I'd better let you guys know what happened there last month. I didn't do much in the way of sight seeing but it was nice to see the boys again. spent most of the time in the hotel playing cards and the eating out in Saigons amazing restaurants. While the boys arranged a 4 day trip to Dalat or hill country of South Vietnam I decided an excursion to Phnom penh would be more adventurous. So I booked my ticket from Saigon for a wallet busting $12 one way and after a 6 hour Bus ride and a quite staightforward border crossing (Nothing compared to the madness of the Indo-Pak border!) I was in the capital City of the kingdom of Cambodia. I arrived in Phnom Penh (P.P) around 7pm and I had been warned by Canadian Mike about the hawkers when you get off the bus. The police deal with the hawkers by shocking them with Tazers! yet 1000 volts of electric current didn't seem to deter them from trying to hijack the bus! I didn't have much luggage so I made a run for it to the nearest restaurant. I was only followed by one determined Tuk Tuk dri ver, Sim who's about the same age as me. He seemed like a nice guy and so he became my guide for the time I was to spend in Cambodia. The first port of call was the killing fields of Choeung Ek where some 17000
Cambodian skulls and their charred rags are on display. It's difficult to describe the sensation using words but it would move anyone. Next up was the Tuol Sleng concentration camp AKA S-21(See http://www.tuolsleng.com/). It is estimated around 30,000 prisoners were held at S-21, only
7 survived! I was a gruesome sight seeing the preserved torture chambers and the black and white portraits of the victims. men, women, children! no-one was spared by this brutal regime. Now despite all this awful history, Cambodia is one of the best Countries I've visited so far.
The people are amazing and show no signs of holding on to the past. The country is moving forward and is awakening from the nightmare of the Khmer Rouge tourism is doubling every year so that's why I'm going again tomorrow and thats why whoever reads this should put Cambodia on the top of their list of must visit places over and out!

Third year Anniversary. Yep April 14th 2007 marks my third year In Japan. Man its hard to believe I've spent 3 years or 10.96% of my life here. The first year was a blur. Its still seems like yesterday, those nights in Shibuya! Looking back at the pictures makes me laugh. I look like I suffered from malnutrition in early days and I've even aged a bit too. So its a big shout out to those who have come and gone or are still here you know who you are! I'm still at 603 keeping it real and flying the flag. Tokyo Game show 2004, Summer sonic crew 2005, Subic Bay 2006, Pakistan Jinbalahan 2007. The memories will never die RESPEC!!! Im leaving after my next contract I "promise"

Its like London buses innit they dont come for bloody ages then two come at once! This is the video I made at the border of Pakistan and India. Its turning into a bit of a forum for India/Pakistan slagging. personally I preferred Pakistan as the people were not trying to sell me stuff or offering me rides every 2 minutes. Although Lahore wasn't as set up for tourism as Delhi, this can be a good thing as the constant persistance from hawkers can really grind you down. Enjoy

Word up! I've decided It would take too long to write up a report for my India trip so I'm gonna save it for my book. Its like being back at uni man I just cant seem to meet the deadlines! I've already been to Vietnam and Cambodia since so I don't wanna fall too far behind. I know what your thinking I mean how long does it take right? But I've decided to make some home videos instead. some of them do more justice than words. First up is Hung at Kila Raipur sports 2007. Its a bit ghetto but I hope you enjoy it. Oh and congratulations to my sister Aann she gave birth to a baby girl last week so I'm an uncle again! I dedicate this video to my newborn niece.

Pakistan Jimbaran Feb 1st to Feb 3rd 2007

"It's a camera" I said with a slight look of confusion? to which the customs officer replied "Zen what iz zis?" "It's a camera too" I replied with an even more puzzled look as it was the third time he had asked me this question?? I only had my day pack with me but crossing the India/Pakistan border was more complicated than I had envisaged. still it only took about 2 hours so I had to hang around before the infamous border ceremony began. India VS Pakistan kicks off at around sunset everyday and its a melee of singing and chanting and soldiers contesting their egos. I had front row seats and I could hear huge roars coming from the packed India side as the climax approached. The Pakistan side was only about half full by the time the ceremony started but this didn't seem to deter the Proud Pakistani guards who seemed in high spirits. The ceremony itself is a spectacle of well timed stomps and chicken walks. The Pakistani side also had 2 dancing Homers which roused the home crowd into a frenzy of patriotic support! After the ceremony I dodged the waiting taxis and rickshaws and caught a bus into Lahore city 30 km away from the border. The sun was setting as I travelled into Lahore and by the time I arrived there it was dark. On the bus I had a cop sit next to me intent on showing off his AK 47 rifle! I got off the bus at Lahore central station and the first thing I noticed about Lahore is that its quite dusty and everyone wears the same garments. I wondered around looking for a hotel but I couldn't find any budget hostels so I decided to stay at the rather pricey ($25 a night) Vishnal hotel on cinema street in Lahore. Dinner was unhygienic bbq chicken undercooked and served with filthy street vendor hands and wrapped in newspapers yummy. I woke up early the next day as it was my only full day in Lahore. I went to Bashir mosque first which is absolutely beautiful. Here I met two young high school students who were bunking off school to visit the mosque. We exchanged gifts and emails I gave them some calorie mate and two rolls of polos I'd bought in India as well as some Japanese and Indian coins as souvenirs. They gave me a traditional hat and some Pakistani chewing tobacco. I dont smoke but it was a kind gesture. It was on then on to Lahore Fort my second stop of the day. here I met various people who all wanted my phone number in Japan ( I mean its not as if they're gonna call me) and I met a group of Tali ban looking guys and I helped one of them delete all the messages on his phone as he couldn't read English. Lahore Fort is also where I met Jacky. Jacky was born in Pakistan near Karachi and he was visiting Lahore on a day trip with his family. Jacky spent the last ten years working in Hong Kong so his Cantonese put mine to shame! I spent the afternoon with Jacky's family touring Lahore. There were about 20 of us crammed into a mini van it was quite an experience I tell you. Around 4pm Jacky dropped me off at the old city and we bade our farewells. In the old city of Lahore Is where I met the friendly mechanic and parts shop owner Pierre. Now Pierre is a bit of a celebrity in the Old City as he seems to know everyone! It was a real privilege to be in his company. Pierre spoke very little English but we some how were able to communicate to a level of good understanding. Pierre introduced me to some of his childhood friends Abid, Michael and his brother Asif. Michael and his brother Asif work for the French ambassador in Lahore so he had good command of English and French. They became my guides and they took me to Shalimar gardens which was absolutely amazing. The gang insisted on taking me to a local drumming festival which takes place every Thursday night and as I didn't really have any plans for the evening I gladly accepted. That evening as I went back to the Old City to meet Pierre and the gang, Pierre introduced me to his wrestler friend. Mohammed Bashir was his name and he was a hulk of a man and though he could probably crush my cranium in the palm of his hands I cheekily beat him in an arm wrestle.Befor we made our way to the drum festival we stopped of at Michaels house to say hello to his family. Michael lives in the back street ghetto of Lahore but it had a kind of Arabian nights beauty to it. On the way Pierre pointed out all the places they used tp play when they grew up. After a quick cup of chai me and the gang the made our way to the drum festival five of us crammed in the back of a auto rickshaw designed for two! The drum festival was absolutely mental women (Pakistan being Islamic) who wished to view this spectacle were locked in a cage near the front row! and everyone and I mean everyone was smoking Bob Marley esque joints! We were all getting high from the fumes alone. The drum festival is a head banging celebration of the dead and people smoke weed to be at one with the spirits. There were wizards and clerics performing all sort of religious chants and excorcisms. Fights broke out at random and Michael and the gang told me to watch my pockets at all times. Despite this I had the most amazing night the only thing missing was booze. Woke up around noon the following day with a bit of a headache from the previous night and tried to find an Internet cafe but none were open so I just did some souvenir shopping. Around 1pm I went to the Old city to say goodbye to the boys and it seem the whole street stopped working to say their good byes. Pierre and the gang made me their new brother and made me promise to visit them again, It was all a bit emotional as I left them behind. Now there was the small matter of getting back to the border before it closed at 3pm. It was now 2pm and the border was 30km away so I decided to say money and take an auto rickshaw I mean surely the can go faster than 30k.h.m right? Well the rickshaws might be lightning quick in the city but once we hit the highway we were barely overtaking horse drawn carts! Made it back to the border just in the nick of time and I didn't bother watching the border ceremony again from the Indian side I just hopped onto a bus back to Amritsar. Pakistan is an amazing Country. All the historical places are free to enter or cost next to nothing and you can really feel the historic aura. There are no hordes of holiday snappers even at the most famous places so the adds to their unspoilt beauty. And finally the people. The Pakistani people I met were the most hospitable I've ever met period. These were people I'd only just met yet they invited me into their homes and lives with no mention of money. It was difficult for me to cope with this genuine hospitality and I hope to repay them back someday.

Ive just finished a marathon 20 day working stretch without a day off so im feeling a bit robotronic at the moment! I promise to have a report on my India trip as soon I have time to review my notes. WATCH THIS SPACE

Bangkok Chiang Mai Oct/Nov 2006.We arrived at Midnight in Bangkok's New and very impressive Suvarnabhumi airport. Avoided the usual airport hotel and taxi touts and took a metered taxi to Khao San road where we checked into a triple room at the Pasara guest house for a whopping 450 Bhat! We decided to check out the Khao San night life and ended up drinking all night with a gay guy who's lover had just died and a couple of beauty salon workers. (Only in Bangkok eh?) Can't remember who's idea it was to start the morning with vodka shots but that set the tone for the rest of the vacation. I spent the morning booking train tickets for Chiang Mai. A 13 hour overnight train ride for a wallet busting 650 Baht. Mike and Mike, two guys I work with spent the day visiting the Kings palace and taking pictures.The train left at 8pm and nothing much happened as we were recovering from the previous nights drink up. We arrived at Chiang Mai in the morning and it felt a bit cooler the Bangkok and a lot more chilled out. We had already booked our accommodation yet the taxi driver at the train station insisted on showing us testimonials for his "sisters" hotel in all the languages known to man. Checked into the Sumit hotel then it was time to get my hit. Yes my drug of choice? Roast beef and 3 veg ahhh thats the good stuff.The UN Irish pub became our headquarters during the trip. All but one of the staff were as grumpy as hell but the food was great so I didn't mind. We spent the day souvenir shopping and booking our trek into the jungle. Although I was reluctant at first we booked a 4 day private jungle trek all inclusive for $150 each, which was a bit steep but its miles better than a group. We then spent the evening at the Riverside bar and restaurant which has amazing live music. Mike and Mike were infatuated with the lead singer of the local band but didn't see what they saw in her??. I was more interested in storming the stage during Wonderwall. We left after the band stopped playing as we had to visit the Karen long neck tribe early the next morning. The following day we got back from the Karen long neck tribe at about 8pm, Showered then hit the Riverside again. The band were in fine form playing hits from the Verve and after a few drinks we decided to get a Thai massage in preparation for our jungle trek. The first place the tuk tuk driver tuk(lol) us to resembled the red light district in Amsterdam and upon seeing the fine women on display behind the glass window we all shouted Woah to the driver. Two of the woahs were of disapproval and one of them sounded like Austin powers. Ill leave you to guess which came from who. the legitimate parlour we ended up was completely different. I had a female Gollum practice WWF moves on me for an hour. I heard bones crack in places where I didn't know bones exist.

The jungle expedition day 1. We woke up early on day 1 of our trek to buy some supplies. I packed light, 2 T.shirts, 3 pairs of boxers, 2 pairs of socks, a few chocolate bars and some mozzie repellant. We were advised to bring some jumpers as it can get quit cold at night but I opted to bring my camera and PSP instead. After a about 2 hours of driving the roads started to get less congested and more bumpy until the roads turned into mere dirt tracks. Our first day was supposed to be a warm up yet we hiked some 4 hours through Chiang Mai's beautiful countryside. Our first guide Chai and Canadian mike set a lightning pace and we arrived at halfway point about an hour ahead of schedule. We stopped for about an hour to swim next to a waterfall. Chai was busy catching tadpoles which would later be used to make chillipaste. Mike and Mike both being camera enthusiasts took pictures of the surrounding flora and fauna and I tried many times to climb a tree half submerged in the middle of the river. We arrived at our first Village at about 4.30 PM and the villagers all greeted us with open arms. After dinner we played card games with the kids and I showed them some pictures on my PSP. The kids were awe struck by pictures of London, Tokyo and my family etc though this was not their only window into the western world. Chai's hut was the only hut in the village with a TV and It seemed the whole village would congregate in his "living room" and stare at the box until the solar charged batteries which powered it ran out of juice. I was more fascinated at watching the villagers watch TV than watching Thai TV itself, which by Asian standards is kinda lame. Yet the cheesy acting and slapstick humour in the evening soap sent this audience into raptures. After a night cape of local rice wine we retired for the night. It was rather cold and my bed was as hard as a rock yet I slept quite well. We woke up the next morning to the sound of a blasted cockerel at around 3am.

Day 2

Our guide for day 2 was the likeable Mr Tong AKA the jungle man. Our goal for day 2 was to cut through the rice fields of Chiang Mai and spent the night at a river house. The hike was about six hours and on the way Mike acquired a massive bag of local "herbs" from a farmer for about 200 Baht. (I wonder how much that would fetch in Hackney?) I also got the chance to fire a loaded rifle for the first time in my life. The nutty local farmers still use ancient flint lock rifles that were probably the same ones used in the American civil war complete with a loading pipe gun powder and ball bearings as bullets. Canadian Mike would later tell me they were prone to misfiring could break your shoulder if not held properly. We reached the river house at sunset and after dinner Mr Tong fashioned a bong out of an old plastic bottle and a bamboo twig and four of us smoked half a bag of Thai stick. Now the jungle is probably the last place you want to get absolutely stoned as its pretty wild to begin with. Through the course of the night my mosquito net morphed into a giant and spider web when I stepped outside the hut I found myself surrounded by vicious wolves. Mr Tong was convinced he was Rambo and started swing his machete around which freaked out Mike who feared for his life. Nothing like an ice cold bath by a waterfall at 7am to clear your head after a hangover. I left 200 Bahts in the hut for the owners as we had trashed the place.

Day 3 was the toughest day in our schedule. A 5hr hike up the highest peak. The hike reminded me of MT Fuji I felt like giving up on various occasions but then the Rocky theme tune kicked in and spurred me on. Mr Tong didn't help as his "only 10 mins more" always ended up being at least an hour. We reached the highest peak at around 1pm and my was the view breathtaking, NOT. I guess I was too tired to appreciate it. The way down was a lot easier as we hired the help of two elephants. Elephants are the only way to travel through the jungle. Yeah they may attract more mosquitos than a turd in Africa attracts flies but they plow through the dense jungle like a steam train leaving crushed branches in its wake. We arrived at a village for lunch and lunch I did a bit of exploring. I stumbled across some kids making bamboo floats for the upcoming Loy Krathong festival and they didn't mind me taking pictures of them. Mr Tong managed to get a ride for us to the base of the cave where we were to spend the night and we gladly accepted as it would save us a 2 hour hike. on the way to the jeep I stepped on a puppy and crushed its leg. I didn't see it as I was talking to mike at the time all I could hear were yelps of pain as the poor animal tried to hobble to safety. I got on the truck quickly and I wanted to get out of there before the villagers discover what the evil foreigner had done to their poor defenseless puppy. Mike and Mike tried to make me feel guilty and I was a bit but I swear it was a accident. We were supposed to spend the 3rd night in a cave in the middle of the jungle but as Mike almost died trying to climb the tree at the caves entrance we decided to stay at the village of the porter who was cooking our dinner at the caves base. The village was well off the tourist trail and we were the first foreigners to stay in the village so we felt kind of special. The village didn't have any bottled water so we had to drink rice wine instead boiled river water instead! We spend the night feasting on chicken curry (Mike ate the skull claws and entrails),playing drinking games and sharing tales with the locals, It was one of the best nights of the trip. I woke up early next morning to catch the sunset in the village and reflect on the journey we had just completed.

Day 4: The road back to Chiang mai city was a bit strange as we had not seen or been in contact with any other foreigners or city folk for 3 1/2 days so it was nice to see street lights and billboards. It seemed like two different worlds separated only by a 3 hour jeep ride. Back at the Sumit hotel we showered and put on our glad rags for the highlight of the Loy Krathong (LK) festival. We invited Mr Tong and our cute travel agent Tu to joins us. Tu brought her friend and we bought LK floats on our way to the river. LK in Chiang Mai is nuts people all over set off fireworks drink and party! Ever since I saw Leo DiCaprio and Francois launch the floating lanterns in "The Beach" I've always wanted to do it myself. people launch them everywhere on LK night and float upwards blending in with the stars they fill the sky. About midnight we hit the Riverside yet again for what was to be our final visit. The next morning I tried to book train tickets back to Bangkok but they were sold out so we were stuck in Chiang Mai for 2 more days. We spent this time chilling out and checking out temples Mike and Mike took a Thai cooking class and I visited Gollum again for a rematch. On the train ride back to Bangkok the food car turned into a disco complete with glitter ball and strobe lights! The music was Dutch and so were most of the people in the food car but that didnt matter. I grabbed the other Mike and we partied well into the night to the tune of Dutch folk music. We arrived in Bangkok 7 am and while Mike and Mike went to look for a hotel in Khao San road I went to meet my Japanese friends Yagi and Yuko. Now, I was supposed to meet them 2 days earlier but we were stuck in Chiang Mai and I feared for their safety. Two defenseless Japanese tourists left to fend for themselves for 3 days in Bangkok I wondered if the vultures had left anything. Yagi and Yuko didnt do much just shopping and shopping. They did visit Pattaya beah but the taxi driver charged them 3500 Baht for a return ride and he had the nerve to charge them another 2000 Baht for gas! it only cost 1200 one way or 100 by bus. Like I always say theres the local price, the tourist price, then theres the Japanese price! On our final day in Thailand we visited the Kings palace and did some shopping in Khao San road. I bought a fake ISIC card and I contemplated buying a fake press pass. We spent the final evening in Gullivers pub and we had another bender. We were so mashed that we almost missed our flight and Mike actually didnt remember getting to the airport he had passed out in the taxi. Thailand is a sweet spot for me and I'd love to live there. The people are amazing and there is absolutely no beef whatsoever, long may it remain that way. Next stop India and Pakistan Jan 2007.