TheExplorer

PMd mate.

When I went to Siem Reap I stayed in Happy Guesthouse after getting dropped off there by a Tuk-Tuk (friend of the owner sorta thing). This was about a year ago and I loved it there. It was about $7 for a double room with air-con from memory (although I just looked at tripadvisor and since then they have gotten a lot of good reviews so it may have gone up). It was clean, the staff were friendly, and they had a lively little courtyard with food and drinks. We also booked our tuk-tuk for the temples with them, and luckily we ended up with this cool young guy who was friendly, took us out partying, hooked up my friend, and was good at his job at the same time. I'm not sure how to spell his name, but it was pronounced Ay-larn, so if you ask at the guesthouse he may still be driving. As for drivers, you can get a taxi if you really want but they will cost more. We paid our tuk-tuk dude $15 per day for the close temple sites, and $45 one day to go see the distant complexes and sites (sunrise to sundown pretty much)*. I would recommend only doing 2-3 days to see the majority of the sites around there. Unless you really love history or temples, you will be a bit over it after more than that. To sum up the rest: - Cambodians are some of the friendliest people you will ever meet and if you stick to the tourist trail you will have no problems. - When you say you don't want a happy pizza it may still come happy. My friend found that out as he walking through customs. Funny for me though... - Stick to local food where possible, the western food is usually terrible.I can't remember specific places that I ate at, but most of the places in Siem Reap are on Pub Street. - 1 week in Siem Reap and 1 week in Phnom Penh is more than enough, so if you have time you could head down to Sihanoukville which is a pretty cool beachside town. It's kind of touristy, and a little bit more expensive, but it's good if you want to spend a bit of time on the beach. There are also usually kids selling fireworks, but be careful as they are cheap and often explode on the spot, haha. - The Killing Fields (PP), S-21 (PP) and the Landmine Museum (SR) are good to see, even if you don't like history. For me it really made me admire the strength of the people there. Which leads me onto the next point... - I'm not going to sugarcoat it, you will see some depressing shit in Cambodia. You will see many people missing bodyparts and there are quite a few beggars around (it's up to you who you give money to, everyone has a different opinion). The young driver I mentioned earlier lost his Dad to a landmine. My driver in Phnom Penh, a friend of the guy in Siem Reap, lost both of his parents to the Khmer Rouge as they were considered intellectuals. It's tough, but the people are strong and you will see that. - If you are land crossing into Cambodia there are a lot of dodgy things to watch out for. Let me know if you are and I'll give you a heads up. - If I remember more I'll let you know. And if you have any other questions hit me up. * It's kind of expected to offer your driver dinner and drinks as well, but not completely necessary if you don't want to. Although it did pay off for us, as he took us to this cool Khmer BBQ buffet place which we would have never found otherwise. Another night he took us to the local pool hall where we had a great night drinking and playing pool with the locals.

Yeah sorry mate, my comment probably came of as a bit brash as I had no idea that you were the one running the course. You are right as well: the time taken to learn everything yourself, combined with the many setbacks and speedhumps along the way, is just not worth it to some people. I know this all too well, as taking the cheap option has actually ended up costing me more in the long run with many of my projects. Anyways, the course looks good (and fun!). Best of luck with it.

Looks good, but a tad expensive. Pretty much all the information you need to grow mushrooms is available in books or on the internet. Personally, I'd rather keep the $500 in my pocket and teach myself.

You can always make a fake profile and just use that for looking at different stuff on FB. Some of the groups may be hesitant to accept someone with no friends, but once you have a profile you can look at the different events going on.

Check out: * SYDNEY DOOF LINKS * Noisy Chicken Group page * Ozdoof page * Oztrance group I use all of the above as I like to know what's going on in other states as well.

I only use facebook these days. It's a lot easier IMO.

I've got this on DVD (found it at JB one day). I like how it focuses on the different people that go to doofs and the fact that they come from all walks of life. It also has a good crack at portraying the spirituality and unity that exists on the dancefloor.

I've always loved the look of these. You could probably get some spores (for microscopy) by doing a swab.

Fuck. Devo.

Yeah keep at it mate, I enjoyed it (and the others on your channel).

I'm going with Boletellus ananaeceps/Boletellus ananas/Boletellus emodensis.

They are all Panaeolus cyanescens except for that odd one in the middle. And yeah, mushrooms don't like plastic bags (the condensation in the bag will cause them to rot). Edible mushrooms can be stored in a paper bag in the fridge for a short period of time or dried for long-term storage.

PMd.

That is amazing. She should start her own business (if she hasn't already); people pay ridiculous sums for cakes of that quality. Are you ok now?

It's crazy to think the subs will be out so soon from now. Last year was super early as it was - there were days when I would go bushwalking and photograph some subs, then drive 30 mins and photograph cubes and pan cyans.

I may have time to do a scout mission. If I don't have time to head all the way there I'll check out one of the closer mountain sites, they're usually pretty good indicators.

PMd.

Happy (belated) birthday mate! Hope the rest of the party was good.

Will do mate.

Sounds Psylly roll call: 1. Hillbillios 2. Marcel 3. OPP 4. TheExplorer 5. ... Anyone else thinking of coming? You should, this one is shaping up to be a cracker.

Both Cereus sp. Probably peruvianus.

Yeah, way too steep. He has another nice one as well (or he did a few days ago anyways), which is a very nice specimen but also overpriced.

Count me in.