‘Don’t call me baby’…

The latest series of adventures began almost three weeks ago. And
despite (or maybe because of) what Anna and Ella Purchase say
about adventures needing jungles, I have decided that the last two
weeks definitely qualify as bona-fide adventures!

Just before we left for the above-mentioned adventures, we had a

full weekend- we did the Lifehouse ‘Everything’ skit at Burn and at
church… it was the Easter weekend and the play is a great platform
to launch into the Gospel from. On the Sunday it was Jenny Loo’s
birthday… we celebrated with lunch and hats at Nando’s and at night
Shelly, Jenny and I went to the lookout hill for dinner and a
breathtaking view over all of KL. KL is a pretty flat place, so you can
see all of it, and there was a lightening storm which was starting in
the distance while we were there. It
was a fun silly night and a great way
to transform what the Chinese
traditionally consider to be one of
the unluckiest days of the year. In
case you aren’t looking at a calendar
right now, Jenny’s birthday is on the
4th of the 4th. The number 4 is an
unlucky number at the best of times-
many condos don’t even have a 4th
floor. But on either the 4th or 5th of April the Chinese Buddhists also
celebrate Qingming, which is a day for visiting the graves of
ancestors, praying before their graves and making offerings. So it
was a good opportunity for us to celebrate in a new way!

OHHHHH, and the week before this, Hayles and I were privileged to
be staying in the house of a couple from the church who had gone
away for a bit. We called the house our retreat because it was so
quiet and lovely, and relaxing…. It was such a delightful week.

Anyway, so on Monday the 6th we hopped on the train to Central,

where we did some admin and then got a bus to the Low-Cost-
Carrier-Terminal at the airport, home of Air Asia (its like Kulula with
international flights and ridiculous prices). We were heading off to
Cambodia! WHOA! I sat next to the nicest lady, Sophy, (pronounces
SOAPY) who works in KL at a hair salon and hasn’t been home for 2
years. She was so excited about seeing her family again (at least I
think so… her English was a little weak!) The Khmer New year was
the week after we arrived, and everyone returns home to be with
their families- so it’s very festive. Anyway, Sophy decided that she
liked me, and at the end of the flight gave me a beaded bracelet
‘Because I love you’. It was an incredible welcome to a beautiful
country and people.

Dave and Natalie van Rooyen were waiting outside to meet us and
take us to their gingerbread house’. The van Rooyens are South
Africans who have moved to Phnom Penn to support Dave and
Kascha Reed, who are leading a church there. The crazy part of the
story is that Natalie and my mom used to be great friends ‘back in
the wild old days’, which apparently entailed dancing on tables
among other things! Natalie and my mom had both their kids within
a few months of each other, so as Dan says ‘we’re womb friends’. It
was a lovely week in Phnom Penn, with Kirst Pennels and Christy
Bush as well as Robin (from Thailand, originally from Zim). Cambodia
has a very tragic, and pretty recent past- if you don’t know at least a
little bit about the Killing Fields and the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot,
shame on you. And the country is still trying to get back on its feet…
Cambodia has the highest female:male ratio in the regions, and 50%
of their population are under the age of 22. It is also the most-
landmined country in the world. I think it was the Lonely Planet
which likens Cambodia to a young teen starlet with an adoring
public, everyone wants a piece of her, but not everyone wants the
best for her. Cambodia is also notorious as part of the sex-trade
triangle, and for child prostitution (a third of prostitutes are
reported to be under the age of 18)and sex slaves… not great
credentials. Knowing these things makes it a sad place to visit, but
there is SO much more to Cambodia than the dark side. Some of the
classic moments I enjoyed and crazy things I saw are:

• Cops napping under trees with their shoes off… who wants to
fight crime when its 45C outside!

• Hammocks hung between streetlamps

• 4 men riding on one moto (motorbike)

• Breastfeeding woman on a moto

• The glorious colours of the Russian Market

• Street vendors selling fried bugs

• The MOST amazing green curry I have ever eaten!

• Pandan leaf tea at the restaurant where you recline on the floor
with these triangle cushions!

• Sitting on our night cruise with a delicious bottle of French wine,

but no wine opener and trying to be serious MacGyver and open
it any way. (it was a fail)
We went on a serious bicycle adventure to Silk Island on our last day
in Phnom Penn, we were up before the sparrows and cycled through
crazy city traffic, past many beautiful places, caught a ferry to silk
island, (rural life just outside the city, where people weave silk under
their houses) and chilled on the ‘beach’ in a river. On the way back,
Kirst was feeling a bit sick, so we tried to get her off the ferry as fast
as possible, and I was trying to push two unruly bikes up the hill
(with very limited success). These two Khmer guys came rushing
over to help me, and I was so relieved, I was like ‘phew, now I cn just
walk up the hill, and they’ll each take a bike’…. NO NO NO. One guy
took the bike from my left hand and the other carefully fixed the
strap of my top which had fallen off my shoulder, and then carried on
walking. All I could hear was people laughing at me the whole way up
the hill- it was pretty priceless.

Siem Riep is the most visited city in Cambodia, it is famous for

Angkor temple complex, which is often, but mistakenly called Angkor
Wat. Angkor What?? (Well, the Angkor What? Is also actually a bar on
Puke, I mean Pub Street.) A ‘wat’ is a temple complex, and Angkor
Wat is one of the many temple ruins at the Angkor temple complex.
Think ‘Lara Croft tomb raider’ and that what we’re talking about!
Angkor was probably the largest pre-industrial city, possibly as big
as 1 million people! Check out www.angkor.com for some photos,
much better than anything I could take! So, since Hayley and I are
pretty hard-core (see the title of this newsletter) and broke, we
decided to cycle around the temples- about 35km +-. This was an
excellent plan, except for the part where I had the world’s worst
bicycle, and getting all the punctures repaired cost me more than
the bike rental! Cycling is a such a cool way to really experience
more of the place, rather than speeding along in a tuk tuk… we
stopped at local markets for bread (bless the French for their inroads
into Cambodian baking) and bananas and got a great tan and butt
work-out all in one day! On the way back from the temples we had a
quick refreshing ‘run through the sprinkler’ on the side of the road…
we felt pretty invincible at that point- no one thought we could cycle
all the way we did, in that heat--- somehow we did! Don’t call ME
baby.
Other highlights in Siem Riep were the delicious meals for US$1,
mango shakes, night markets, dancing to K-Pop and eating a bug
with our new friend called Haim. Haim is this legend who is a
volunteer teacher, orphanage worker who runs a stall at the market
to support himself and the orphans, and is the ripe old age of 21!! So
the bugs are a cheap source of protein, and if you rip off the outer
shell, its not to crunchy and doesn’t get too stuck in your teeth. And
it didn’t taste like bug (unlike the one I ate in Korea!) We also met
this monk called James, who we initially felt sorry for, since everyone
was taking pictures of him all the time and trying to talk to him-
turns out he goes to the temple to practice his English, and he
wanted to talk to us about Angelina Jolie and Jessica Simpson! (Did
you know Jessica travels the world and donates money to Operation
Smile?)

The bus trip into Thailand was legendary, in short we had a crazy
French dudes taking photos of Hayley’s shorts, an INSANE bus
driver, who didn’t speak English and had no money for petrol, a Thai
restaurant which had run out of rice. We arrived in Bangkok such as
the Red Skirts and the government reached some kind of peaceful
agreement, so there was no rioting, or throwing of human blood.
There was however SONGKRAN- Thai new year! This is a great
holiday, where everyone throws water at each other, and pats
powder on peoples faces. Basically April is the Hottest month of the
year, so the tradition started as a way to bless people and cool them
down. We weren’t in Bangkok for long, about an hour, we had to find
our bus company in the famous Koh San Road and then went to the
bus stop for our overnight bus, and then ferry to Koh Tao.

In Koh Tao we stayed in Hin Wong Bay Bungalows- it was a remote

bay, with not much of a beach, but great snorkeling, cheap
accommodation and few tourists! We had an adventure every day,
including swimming right across the bay and back- a few KM I’d say
(with fins and masks and snorkels), and ocean kayaking, then a
picnic on some rocks, which have probably never had a human bum
on them before. We also did a monster walk up some serious hills
and back down again! If we’d had money and more water we would
have definitely made it all the way to Mango Bay, but decided it was
quite a risk to do it without more H2O or finances to get some!

In order to maintain our status as hardcore adventurers we caught

the night ferry to Surat Thani. As the guide book says ‘barely more
than a glorified cargo boat’! We were sardined into this boat, 3 ppl
to a double mattress, no room to stand up, and 59 other roommates.
It felt like a mix between a slave ship and a refugee boat (which it
probably is during the daylight hours!) Before we left, it was a mildly
hysterical build up. Basically we thought that Hayley was going to be
sandwiched between this large Thai guy, and this XXXL white guy…
who was very disturbingly dressed in little black tightey whiteys…
ONLY! Luckily he was actually just posing for photos, and was
sleeping on the other side of the boat. Hayles was really worried
about being sick, and sleeping next to the strange dudes, so we
switched places… talk about taking one for the team. But I think
Jesus heard my desperate cry, and when I got the the allocated
space, the Thai guy had swopped with his daughter, who was now
next to me- and the other side was also a little Thai girl. So I was
much relieved! Unfortunately little girls are also wrigglers, and
cuddlers and one was a snorer! But other than a little morning
breath and an elbow or two in my face, it was a good night!

I know this is getting long, but I want to tell you another quick story
about God’s provision. After the ferry, we were picked up by our next
transport ‘Holiday, Holiday’ and taken to their bus collection point.
These places are such shams, far from any alternative places, you
are limited to their shop, and their paying-toilets . But while we were
debating whether we should have Pringles or cup-noodles for
breakfast, I told Hayles ‘What I really want is French toast, from
Common ground Café (they make it on Ciabatta), with bacon and
fried banana and a Latte’. Literally 5 minutes later, this little street
vendor lady comes past, and she is selling- WAFFLES! I mean, how
much better do you get? They were the best things, with coconut
inside- wow. The Bible says God can do immeasurably more than we
can ask, DREAM or imagine--- I love that we didn’t even ask, we were
just dreaming and they arrived!

Anyway, we arrived and Koh Phi Phi Don- most beautiful, tropical
Island. Its infamous for being wiped out by the Tsunami in 2004, and
its little sister island, Phi Phi Leh was where Leo di Caprio stared in
The Beach. We had been told that Phi Phi was overly commercial and
touristy, but we really loved it. The tourists and locals were very
happy people, and the atmosphere was festive! Also, it wasn’t peak
peak season, so it wasn’t too busy. We went on an island cruise/
snorkeling trip- we saw Monkey Beach (where stupid tourists tease
the monkeys and feed them hundreds of bananas- I’ve never seen
such sick looking monkeys), then we went to this enclosed bay for a
swim- (beautiful except for all the litter floating around), then
another spot for a snorkel, (which was also where we saw people
stealing coral and boat anchors ripping through the coral as they
pulled them in. Sickening) and finally the famous Maya Bay… (we
wondered off round the corner with this cool American couple, and
lost track of time, so our boat had to wait for us for half an hour-
oops!) We had to leave early the next morning to catch our flight
back to KL, and we were sad to only have one night there- but it was
a beautiful place, and I’d love to go back.
We’ve been back in KL for 5 days or so and leave again on Sunday
for Indonesia for a church conference, and then a week of
volunteering in Medan- a city which has been described as ‘filthy and
chaotic’! Whoa!

Sorry for such a long note, but it’s been a busy time! Thanks to the
Van Rooyens for hosting us and making such a cool trip possible!

Lots of love to you all. Cape Townians, and family in JHB looking
forward to seeing you again soon. (especially you brother Tims!!)