The Resurrection

via kuala lumpur, and the podunk town of butterworth

the first class ac service to KL was quick efficient comfy and very very cheap, clearing immigration and customs in no time, and arriving in a city that is just as modern looking as singapore, but still retains a sense of the past with a bit of a jumble going on. we staying at the swiss inn, a backpacker joint, which was ok...and on the door step? the world biggest knock off market, everything and every label ever had a copy here,...

apologies to anyone who lives there...but dammit what a ****hole, the rudest people i have ever met...and i have been to paris too......

taxis that refuse to stop, and when they do refuse to take you where you want, hotel staff simply incompetant, and shop staff who take the piss rather than deal...

the only respite in 2 days of mounting incredulity at all this was the zoo night safari, and the faux hawkers markets,

other than that i couldnt wait to...

tuk tuk? tuk tuk? no, no thanks, no.....

and so began 4 days in the north west of cambodia, as constant as teh mozzies, the relentless cry of the tuk tuk driving imploring you to take a ride with him, even though he has just seen you get out of another tuk tuk....sheeh

anyway, for starters, teh hotel....the angkor palace resort and spa, now i know pol pot would def not like this place, 5*s, massive pool, huge rooms, full on service luxury plus, for measly bucks.....i...

right, it's 1500 hours in singapore, and our flight out to siem reap leaves in 15 hours, at 0600 hours, from the awesome changi airport....a place where even the miniscule budget terminal makes T4 at heathrow look like a a crappyly run BR station.

within 30 mins of landing, we have deboarded, cleared customs and immigration, dropped bags off at left luggage, and well on our way to the city centre....

and what strikes me is how clean and traffic free it all is. i see...

well first off, it's been hot....and damned humid too. everywhere we've been so far, hong kong, guangzhou, singapore and siem reap, has been like walking through treacle. and by the end of the day the layer of crud on your skin can almost be peeled off...

anyway, we flew into hong kong on the tail end of a massive typhoon, but after 13 hours in cattle class, and an hour cross town by train and cab, we checked into the fab 5* royal plaza, only to promptly walk straight out into the...