Nov 25th

Thought I'd throw a few photos of our hotel up for you to see. Must say, it's a sweet little luxury to return to such a cool, clean and serene hotel after being out in a hot and dirty city all day. Apologies for the tiny pics but you get the idea.


Today we made our way to the National Museum where we spent a couple of hours poking around pieces dating from approximately the 6th century to the 20th century. There were countless Buddha statues, statues of Ganesha (I can't help but smile whenever I see the image of Ganesha!!) and Shiva and about a gazillion other pieces of bronze, stone and wood including an awesome junk boat carved so beautifully it's hard to believe it ever sailed. All very fun to see, I love looking at really old items from the day to day life of peasants and royals from many hundreds of years ago. Fascinates me! The museum is a breezy, green and quiet gem hidden away from the noise and pollution outside its walls. Respite from the city's hustle and bustle indeed.

We are trying not to post about "meaningful experiences" because we know everyone really wants to see photos and read the occasional "Kiwi farted in an ultra quiet embassy" story. But I must say this about sex tourism...it's here and it's here in a big way. You can see it everywhere. It was in Thailand in a big way, and it's very much here in PP. I find it gross and upsetting and I'm disgusted by the men who leave their home country to pay for sex and companionship. What's more is the men don't seem to be the least bit shy about what they're doing. I don't understand why they aren't slightly ashamed or embarassed. Obviously they don't think there's anything wrong with what they're doing. To each their own I suppose, but the real shame of it is the women involved probably don't have much, if any, choice in what they're doing to earn some money.