Edito_Ergo_Sum

Here is one of the shots I’ve been loading.

I can now mark this place as “visited”. It’s on to the next adventure.

I’m clearing the India leg of the journey first, and hope to have the Nepal pictures captioned and labelled in flickr next month. It is still early days, but some of the India stuff is up as a slideshow at http://www.IntrepidIndia.blogspot.com

This piece claims the Danish pop-rock group, Michael Learns to Rock, will be the first foreign band ever to play a rock concert in Cambodia.

That seems an odd claim. Surely they can’t be the very first?

And is Michael Learns to Rock famous? I’ve never heard of them.

ABC Radio Australia reports that Australian parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, Bruce Billson, will be meeting with officials and visiting Australian-funded activities that help to clear Cambodia of landmines and unexploded bombs.

Australia has pledged $US56 million over the next five years to tackle the horrific effects of anti-personnel mines and the explosive remnants of war.

Having come face to face with limbless beggars along Siem Reap’s main street, as an Australian I am glad that our government can show compassion throughout Asia and the world.

Applied for a tourist visa this week through the Honorary Royal Nepalese Consulate Office in Melbourne. Picked up my passport today carrying the newly approved entry visa. (Fee: $65).

So we are now one step closer to taking the trip.

No hiccups as we shuffled through Pochentong Airport, Phnom Penh. The service was efficient and queues orderly. Although there are no direct flights from the Australia, Phnom Penh is only 55 minutes by air from that much more frequented of tourist destinations, Bangkok.

Visa formalities for Cambodia are very simple. In contrast to neighbouring Vietnam and Laos, there is no need to waste half a day at an embassy before you head off. Simply pay US$20 and fill out some forms on arrival at Phnom Penh’s Pochentong International airport and hey presto, you’re in! Not even a photo is required. There is a spud-sized camera on each desk at Immigration. Staff there key details from your passport into computers, and grab a headshot while you wait.

There is a bustle for attention – a pinning for missed relatives and desperate clamour for flag-fare – a scene that seems mandatory worldwide outside all arrival gates. We push our way to one of three adjacent taxi desk, grab a voucher, and are then swiftly escorted to a cab.

With a mere $US7 we are at our first port of call in Cambodia, the Riverside Hotel at the corner of Preas Sisowath and Baksei Chamkrong streets (alternatively known as streets No. 1 and No. 94).

The method of christening each street with a name and number is a real boon for travellers. It makes navigation a breeze.

Our memories of this trip may one day fade – but we are trying to keep them alive through regular entries at our weblog http://tanandtrev.blogspot.com which focuses totally on Cambodia, our trip and the way the country is portrayed in the world media today. Check it out if you are planning to visit this wonderful land.