My Overland Trip To Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Several months ago I went on a short holiday for a week to visit some of the other sites in the region, predominantly I wanted to visit Phnom Penh, Cambodia and have a look at the place in terms of a future base (home).

People who travel to one other country then espouse how great it is and how they want to live there the rest of their life, in my opinion, are making a mistake. What are they basing their judgement on? Experience with 2 countries out of hundreds? Get out and have a good look around before you make your decision on where in the world you want to live. Also note that a 2 day package tour does not show you what a country is like at all - it shows you 5 star hotels and a group of tourists taking photos.

So off I went - overland - to get a good look at Cambodia, Phnom Penh and the people....

As An Uncoordinated Child I Knew I Had To Do Something

As a child I was very uncoordinated, whenever I played sports I could not hit the ball, catch the ball, or just about anything sports related. The only thing I could do was swim ok, and run long distance.

When we had sports at school I was always one of the last to be chosen in a team, nobody wanted an uncoordinated nerd on their team.

I did not like being uncoordinated, and here is how I went about changing that to become known widely as being very agile for my size.... 

Think Your Life Is Bad? Email From Bradley And Inspiration From Stephen Hawking

I received an email today from Brad M. from Australia, he has taken a new turn in life as before he was always depressed and thinking his life was bad.

I thought my life was bad too for a long time as a younger fellow. I could not see anyway out of my life at that point which held little hope for living the life that I wanted. But I always went to the gym, deep down I knew this was one way for me to take a small step forward everyday, even though I did not know where it would lead.

Read on, and read the incredible story of a man who cannot walk, talk or move 90% of his body yet he is one of the greatest men of all time. He is a living example of inspiration for the rest of us. Makes me feel like a fool for complaining when I was younger...

Nerve Damage in My Back - end of a career

No bodybuilding injury is worse than a nerve injury / nerve damage. 

2000 I was training hard getting big, getting ready to go to the USA to make a crack at the big time wrestling. I was big, pumped, I had a silly haircut and I had my airline ticket - I was ready.

Unfortunately I never made it...... 

Tall - Extreme Height - Advantage or Not?

I am going to write this article on the advantages of being tall in the hope that some younger tall people come by and read it.

At 16 I was a very skinny tall kid, I was 6'7", 70Kg and picked on by the bullies in school. I was generally quiet and kept to a small group of friends with similar interests. I was a D&D nerd and hung out in the computer room. At that time I thought did not know there were a lot of advantages of being tall, all I knew were disadvantages...

The story behind the Conan name

OK, so Conan is not my birth name, but I have been called Conan for years, so through English Law (and therefore Australian Law) "Common Usage" it legally is my name...... 

Thai Food Oddities

One of the great things about Thailand is the huge variety of exotic foods, for example here are a couple of snaps I took the other day, just walking around

BBQ Chicken feet anyone?

Conan and little green Bangkok buses

Forget the Yellow Submarine... lets get the green bus!

Part of the Bangkok Public Transport System these suicidal drivers are often the fastest way to get around. Not being a full sized bus they can squeeze into places and out accelerate full size buses, also since they are still bigger than nearly everything on the road they get right of way.

Bangkok Public Transport 

Here I am standing just outside the Green Bus number 14, why am I standing outside the bus?

Growing Up In Newcastle (Beach)

A brief history of Conan Stevens from 0 to 23 

School in Newcastle was typical for an Australian - some kids picked on us, we picked on other kids. I got sick of a few of the bullys giving me crap everyday and is one of the reasons I picked up bodybuilding originally.

As a typical Australian teenager I spent a LOT of time at the beach, Newcastle Beach, Nobbys Beach, Redhead Beach. 

After school I went on to the University of Newcastle - a whole new atmosphere, responsibility, bodybuilding, machine guns, a few lectures, bayonet fighting, and cheap beer - it was a fun time for me......