Hazel was very happy to see me, despite being looked after extremely well by Cate my house sitter. There have been no recriminations so far, just lots of hugs and cuddles. Going out and leaving her at home does cause her considerable anxiety however, so I'm not returning to work for a couple of weeks to get her back into the swing of things.
True to form, the wind kicked up by 11 am, and within a few hours of flying in to Geraldton I'd loaded the car and was off to Coros for a windsurf. Only a small swell but perfect 4.5m weather for me to get out and have some fun. I'm a bit weak in the upper body though, so only lasted a couple of hours. All the gang were down there so there was lots of socialising as well. Hazel of course was in her element, Coros being a second home for her.
Monday was hot with no wind, so a leisurely walk along the beach and a swim in the turquoise waters was in order. Aaah, this is the life.Then it was just a matter of slipping into the hammock with a glass of wine in time to watch the sun set over the water....
Yep, life really is a beach.
I spent a few hours at the Peranakan Museum, which talks about the culture of the mixed race people of Singapore. Most importantly, the gift shop had some Nonya food recipe books, Yummmmm......
Singapore's a strange place, it's modern yet is quintessentially Asian, despite the ordered sterility on display. Yes, Singaporeans do jaywalk and take shortcuts across grass!! 
I arrived at Hat Yai at a little after 6:30 am, just in time to jump on a local rattler heading east to the border town of Sungai Kolok. The train is heavily patrolled by cute Thai army boys, carrying big guns, who check all the bags to make sure they have owners. At each stop they monitor the comings and goings, and continue to walk up and down the train keeping an eye on things. The railway stations are surrounded by razor wire, with lots of sandbags as well. The Thai Army were certainly taking the separatist threat seriously, I felt slightly comforted by this show of force but also somewhat disturbed at my foolhardiness. Of course no bombs went off and I arrived perfectly safely at my destination.
From the train station it's a short ride on the back of a moto to the border where, after the usual formalities, I walk over a bridge to Malaysia. It's then a thirty minute taxi ride to Whakaf Bahru station, for my next train trip. I buy my ticket for the 2pm local, have a plate of Nasi Campur at the restaurant across the road and settle down to wait.
Halfway we stop for two hours in a small town. This gives the northbound train time to pass as it's a single track ahead. It's also lunch time, and I enjoy a delicious nasi campur in a local Indian restaurant. The town is very quaint, a street lined on both sides by Chinese shop houses built in the 1920s, and painted in wonderful colours, with a river passing by. 
The next bit is a wild rush downhill through more jungle to Jeruntut, where the other westerners leave the train to visit the NP but I continue on to the town of Gemas. It's a 13 hour day for me, and I'm hot and tired, but nothing that a nice shower and change of clothes can't remedy. And a plate of chicken biryani.
My next train leaves at 5:10 am, not a pleasant time for waking up - am I supposed to be on holiday? This one will take me all the way to Singapore arriving late morning, a very civilised time indeed. So for the third day in a row I watch the sun rise through a train window.
I travelled the route around to the temples, but didn't actually visit them, merely using the circular route as an entre to the countryside. I took lots of detours down deadend tracks along the river, blew bubbles for lots of kids and enjoyed lots of hellos from the locals. But the people are reserved, perhaps the trauma of the recent past has made it difficult for them to be warm and inviting the way the people of their neighbouring countries are. Which gets me onto a few other impressions.
I've met a couple of people during my stay who have links to the various NGOs working in Cambodia and their comments reinforced my suspicions. There are alot of NGOs here, and alot of people asking for help for their projects, usually relating to child welfare issues. There are also signs outside people's houses acknowledging the individual donor who has provided money towards a clean water project for that house. Now this is ridiculous!! Firstly, what an appalling waste of money putting signs up in front of each house, and secondly, because of this profligate giving, the Cambodian government just isn't bothering to improve things for its people. This is creating a culture of dependence (I've seen it somewhere else, yes my country!!) where children stand outside temples with sheets of paper explaining that their project needs more money to feed the children etc. Now if an organisation has to beg for money for food then that organisation is completely unsustainable. And it doesn't get my support.
There were also temples with intricate carvings and numerous encounters with the huge Chinese tour groups who drape themselves on anything for the purpose of a picture. Very funny! With a bit of patience they soon move on and the place is peaceful again.
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First stop Angkor Wat. I won't bore you with the history, and I'm sure everyone has seen stunning photos of the temples reflected in the water at sunset. But what I didn't know about Angkor Wat is that it is famous for a series of intricately carved bas-reliefs which encircle the entire inner enclosure. Some are of famous battles between the kings and the Cham, others are from Hindu mythology. I do apologise if some photos aren't so easy to make out, the stone is polished in places from numerous hands touching them over centuries, a practice now prohibited.
What struck me also is the amount of birds! It's like an ancient porn magazine!! Hundreds of carvings of semi-naked women, called devatas, and dancing chicks called apsaras, adorn the walls inside and out. And lots of polished tits suggests they've been well appreciated too!
I spent an entire day just at Angkor Wat, soaking up the atmosphere, admiring the carvings and not being bothered at all by the hordes of other tourists that pass through on their jam packed one to three day tours. Me and my camera mounted on its trusty tripod took a lengthy lunch break at the nearby food stands then continued the tour through the afternoon. Even managed to get some OK sunset shots.
For all the photos of 
There's also lots of those apsaras, and the Bayon has some excellent bas reliefs, carved in a completely different fashion to those at Angkor Wat. Often more interesting than the battle scenes are the scenes of daily life which flesh out the greater tale being told.
For photos of Angkor Thom including the Bayon faces click 
Further north is the old monastery of Preah Khan. Here the restoration work is less advanced, so you get a feel for what the place was like when "discovered", but for real atmosphere the temples of Banteay Kdei and Ta Prohm are the stars. Here the roots of enormous trees have penetrated the masonry, creating more photo opportunities than I've had hot dinners! A bit of patience is required to wait out the hordes of tour groups on their whistle stop visit to this famous temple (it's the one featured in Tomb Raider) then all is quiet again.
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