I had organised back in early June to fly to Seoul for the Naadam Holiday in Mongolia. Naadam is an annual three day holiday, occuring 11, 12 and 13 July each year. It is perhaps the second oldest set of sports events, having been running for 800 years or so. It is a celebration of the three manly sports, wrestling, horse riding and archery.

"Make it the flight to Seoul" says Thomo. The Mongolian Embassy in Seoul will be efficient at handling these things and yes, it may be more expensive but it will likely be easier and quicker.

"Well, if you take the train to Erlian, Nara from legal department will be with you, she knows someone at the consulate and they will smooth the process. Besides, the train is cheap and quick and you'll get to see a lot of the countryside".

OK, so Thomo took the train. It departed from Ulaanbaatar at 20:10 on Thursday, 19 May 2005 and was due to arrive in Erlian in China late the next morning.

Macau actually stretches across three islands (Macau, Taipa and Coloane), the main o­ne (Macau) being connected to mainland China by a sand spit. Macau returns to Chinese control from Portuguese control this year (1999). The city itself is an interesting mixture of Chinese and Portuguese architecture and looks significantly different to its near neighbour, Hong Kong. Where Hong Kong developed as a major commercial, finance and tourist centre, Macau appears to have developed in a supporting role and its income is centred upon tourism, finance and entertainment. There are a large number of casinos, night-clubs and other entertainment venues in Macau. Macau also appears a popular destination for middle and upper class Hong Kong Chinese, many of whom keep their 'little wives' o­n Macau.

Another country with 7000 years of history, culture and civilisation of various sorts. A true Mediterranean lifestyle though. o­ne of my greatest pleasures is sitting outside in the afternoon and evening, o­n Archibishop Makarios Drive through Lefkosia (Nicosia), sipping a hot cappuccino and watching the girls stroll by. That has to be o­ne of the closest things to heaven o­n earth.

Cyprus is an island down the eastern end of the Mediteranean Sea, just off the coast of the Lebanon. It has been populated for many a year and was an reasonably important centre in ancient times. In fact, Ancient Cyprus was populated and ruled by Greeks and Romans. In those times it was a trade centre, trading copper around the Aegean and the Middle East. It was also famous for its wines.

And speaking of taxi drivers, there are no meters in the taxis (leastwise there were none back in 1999 when I was there last). This means that there is no fare for each ride. Either ask the driver how much before taking the trip, or o­n arrival, be prepared for a little bit of bargaining. Having said that, the drivers tend not to charge too much for the trips anyway so the fare suggested by the driver will generally be reasonable. If you get confused changing amounts in your mind between Lebanese Pounds and your own currency, work in US Dollars. The economy here is really a dual economy and any place you can use Lebanese Pounds, you can use US Dollars as well.

Two things cheer me though. One is the Cambodian people themselves. They have generally been pleasant and helpful to me on my trips into Cambodia. The second is the Cambodian way of doing some things. Here then, are my first impressions and some travel advice for those visiting Cambodia. Elsewhere, I will prepare a document containing a short history of the country. In the meantime, the following is offered as early impressions.