Hi Mama,

WE heard that delat is not what it used to be, very touristy and a bit dirty, but we could have gone there. Edd and Nikki did, but we would have been cutting thiungs a bit fine toi go and meet julio then. The other places did sound nice, but there was no mention of how to get there, and getting around under your own steam is impossible here as everything is controled by the government and it is ver hard to do anything of the beaten track. We heard horror storied about peole who took local buses and were shoved out in the middle of nowhere unless they payed extortionate sums of money, and nothing you can do about it. WE are realising how lucky we were in india to be able to get around alone and on the local transport. It was a more interesting way of travelling. It has been a bit boring in vietnam as you feel like a sheep being hearded along the tourist trail!! nOt a lot we could do about it though.

What places would you recoment in thailand as we should be able to get around there pretty easily. we plan to head to ko samet island first, either with julio or before we meet him. WE are also thinking about goiing to laos from thailand, as the visa is cheaper that way, and then perhaps go around the north for a bit befor heading down to malasia.

WE are in phnom penh at the moment and have tried to get away from the tourist trap but it is not easy. all the travellers here are what geoff calls ‘fake’. all they want to do is drink and smoke and party at the one night club in town. I was kind of imagining a quiert little town with matkets and little streets to walk around, but it is huge and it takes ages to walk anywhere in the baking heat! WE did go to the market to buy fruit, and have found the people very easy going and friendly. We found a ni\ce little place to have ice cream run by a lady, lynda and her three chindren. They are very friendly and sit and talk to us as we eat. The mother is about 50 and went through the time of pol pot. She told us stories of having to go back to the forest and of the time she spent there. Very interesting. WEll, we are of tomorrow to ankor wat ont he $3 bus as the budget doesn’t run to the $21 boat!!! we ahve been on a boat already anway. Should be interesting as the roads are terrible here!!!

We went to the killing fields which was pretty horrid, and then our motorbike man took us to see all the main sights around the town as we could never walk them. The temple in the middle is very ni8ce.

Well, must go now. WE think maybe we started with the wrong coulntry. We began with the hardest one to get around, and now things seem a little too easy and planned. hopefully it will get better in thailand.

Lots of love
Tanya

Quality pic taken by swiss tony. it’s me btw!

It didn’t send, so here it is:

Dear Tanya and Julio,

The bluebells are out and they form a dazzling scented carpet everywhere in the woodland. The weather is not so hot here but dry and quite pleasant. I am amusing myself by transplanting thousands of tiny seedlings. I donít want to lose a single one. Quite different from Daddy who throws half his lettuce seedlings into the compost with impunity. It is relaxing and warm in the greenhouse but the house is a dump at the moment so I hope it will rain soon so I can do a bit of housework.

It wasnít an Easter holiday at all. Very boring. Very strange. Daddy hasnít opened his bunny from Granny or his white chocolate orange ball from Olivier but he has eaten most of mine and the big bar he bought for himself!

We had a nice day and a half in Durham. Olivier and Daddy played tennis on arrival after nine hours on the road! They complained about the tennis balls being flat and the court had an uneven surface. The next day Granny and I took Carla to Celia. We did some shopping for Olivier at Tescos. Then Richard arrived at teatime.

I wore my silver bracelets and my ring to go the Baltic, an old flour mill on the Tyne, next to the Millennium bridge. Granny liked them. I wore my gold silk trousers and the alpaca jumper you chose for me at the Lake District. Very comfortable. I liked the top floor restaurant with great view and enormous palm trees. When the lightning started to strike about us over the illuminated city (Gateshead, Newcastle) it reminded me of the Empire State building in Jeeves and Wooster and I didnít want to touch any metal but the seat, table and even part of the floor was made of it! My crab and sea bass was delicious

After 10 hours journey we are back home. On the M25 the traffic was slow over Heathrow and we could see the planes coming just above us. They were enormous.

T- thank you for the Halong Bay postcard. Hey, hang on, you didnít go to the only three places recommended by my book. Dalat, the most beautiful city, and Chen doc and Long Xugen, two peaceful villages. Surely more exotic than seeing big fat German girls on the beach. You can see them anywhere but you may have by passed the most enchanting place. It is good to see some monuments and also relax on the beach but also it is surely more important to immerse oneself into the local way of life a little to learn something of the country you are passing through?

J ñ I hope you find a job for a week as you can also learn a bit about NZ way of life and the people.

Thank you both for your detailed emails. I canít wait until you are both at home so we can fly from the nest and explore the world.

Love Mama

Does your email account work, Jul? I just typed one out for Mama and sent it off to you and Tan and yours bounced. I sent it again and it bounced again. I’m just sending it for a third time.

Slightly worrying:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2971159.stm

Mildly comforting, for the younger element:
www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200304/19/0419180.htm

Try this for Northland. If you need to login, it’s my usual.

www.helpx.net/hosts_in_region.asp?action=&RegionID=1

The third one down looks good. Check their site. You’ll note the zen man is there. You don’t need to be a member with them.