Temple roaming at Angkor Wat

Exploring the ancient ruins of Ta Phrom, I linger behind Dennis, Kim and Missi and wonder at the massive trees growing up from the ruined walls and pagodas where monks would meditate and pray so many hundreds of years ago. My mind reels with the image my imagination provides, trying to picture the grandeur of the place before it was left neglected by all except nature, who was only too happy to reclaim her own.

Ta Phrom temple, near Angkor Wat.

I happen across two monks in amber orange robes, peacefully walking the property. (Off-topic, and only relevant to those who wonder what Wikipedia is doing with its life: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shades_of_orange) We talk about Cambodia, Canada, Buddhism, and other topics before parting. He asks me if I would like to visit him in the monastery in Siem Reap, something I have always hoped to do! Perhaps I will...but first I have to find my friends.

I begin to trek through the ruins, down dark passageways and out doors that may have been windows, through winding corridors covered with centuries old dust and moss covered stonework that composed the outer wall sometime in the distant past. I start to worry that I am lost, and pick up my pace. I am trapped several times in dark dead ends, filled with crumbled Buddha statues and other relics of the temple's past piled haphazardly in corners. I finally emerge into the sunlight, feeling like I am in the middle of the set of an Indiana Jones movie, and see more signs of the jungle jealously reclaiming the temple. I am all alone until I finally spot some other tourists. I am not lost after all!

Bayon temple, with giant faces in all four cardinal directions on over 200 towers.

See?

Siem Reap was one of my favorite spots on this whole trek through southeast Asia, with $5 double rooms at the friendliest guesthouse I've seen, appropriately named Happy Guesthouse. Mr. T greets us, and before long we are good friends, going out for beers while he introduces me to all his clients and friends along the way. Even our tuk tuk drivers Hok and Tommy who show us around Angkor Wat are super friendly guys! This is one place I have to come back to visit!! (Yeah ok I say that a lot, but so far I'm following up pretty well!)

The group at Angkor Wat. Wonder of the World indeed!

Thoughts on Cambodia

Cambodia has struck a chord somewhere inside me. The poverty these people face and the determined way they pursue what may be the only options open to them is inspiring. Their suffering under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in the 70's still weighs heavily on the Cambodian psyche, with almost half of the country's population of 7 million murdered by the decree of Pol Pot, for no reason other than paranoia and racism.

My heart suffers along with those who must scrounge in the dirt, who must beg rich foreigners for enough money to be able to afford dinner because they have no other choice. Those disabled by landmines, those who can't afford an education, or simply those who have no better ideas sweat and toil in the unforgiving sun all day. A boy pleads with me to buy his postcards, when I just bought 10 from the boy next to him and couldn't possibly need any more. Another boy offers two carved flutes with bamboo sheathes for $1. I give him 1000 rial (almost enough for one flute that I don't want!) because I feel his desperation. A beggar graciously accepts my half finished bag of sugar cane. A man selling souvenirs in the dusty parking lot asks me for some of my water, because his throat is parched and he can't afford his own. As we drive away I see him share his precious few gulps with a friend. A band of landmine disabled men provide ambience music and thank me heartfully when I drop a dollar into their collection plate, which holds three other dollar bills. The band has at least 7 members with which to split their earnings.

I never thought a roadside bus stop could be so eye opening. The desperation of the Cambodian children, all trying to be the first to sell you their fruit, or the deliberately but not inaccurately pathetic beggars, sitting at the step of your bus or being guided around blind by their young children. No wonder they see westerners as cold, as bus after bus of rich foreigners come, drop a few measly dollar bills into th hands of those who desperately need it, and then board their bus again with a juicy snack. Is it that we can't handle the assault on our sanity, that some are forced to live and be brought up in such conditions, while we fare so much better at home? Or is it our ability to keep ourselves so distracted that we can afford to not thing about it...our books, our iPods, our movies, our food. How pathetic. How human.

The rest of Lao that I glazed over

Our first introduction to Laos was on the Mekong River. Due to the lack of decently drivable roads in Laos, the most common way to get into the country from northern Thailand is via a two day boat trip. Sound fun? Well it was, despite the horror stories we heard! Chanting our mantra "It's part of the experience", we board the boat with 100+ people on wooden benches that are too narrow for anyones ass, and settle in to our two day routine of meeting cool people, drinking the wonderfully cheap BeerLao, chilling, reading, pondering, stretching your legs, rubbing your sore ass, pacing, and meeting even MORE cool people. The greatest thing about the Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam loop is that since there is one main tourist path, the people you meet at the beginning of the trek you will see in almost every city throughout your trek. How fun is that?! We ended up travelling with a Canadian couple and a few kiwis along the way, welcome additions to our ragged and smelly group.

Our first night was in a hole of a town along the river, called Pakbeng. We were offered everything from cheap alcohol to marijuana to opium...and all on the way from the boat to the guesthouse! Quite sketch, but we only paid $1 for the room, including a bathroom where the sinks were not attached to any piping. It was quite hilarious to watch people spit on their own feet while brushing their teeth. Dinner and beers included a free bottle of Laolao rice whiskey moonshine! Can't go wrong...until you try it!

The second day of the boat trip was similar, but MORE packed as they pulled a fast one on us and gave us a significantly smaller boat for the same number of people...not only were there not enough seats, there wasn't enough FLOOR space for everyone! The crew had to tiptoe around the gunnel of the boat to get from bow to stern! The captain also liked to put the boat into slow 360 degree turns every time we came to a local port. Strange, because there seemed no purpose for them whatsoever, so we just assumed he was showing off his awesome boating skills. Hell, I'd do it too if I were him. He even put us through a slow 540 once. Awesome.

Along the river were many tiny villages, growing corn and smaller crops right along the riverbanks. Children would crowd the shore when our boat neared, trying to catch a glimpse of the rich farang aboard. Quaint and beautiful, with locals living in bamboo huts with thatched rooves and often without electricity, I often wondered what it would be like to step off the boat into their world, with no outside contact, and where everything is done by the sweat of your own brow. A truly different experience.

Vang Vieng

One of our stops in Laos was Vang Vieng, home of the legendary tubing adventure. This city is made for backpackers. From cafes playing nonstop Friends, the Simpsons, or Family Guy to dozens of bars all offering free shots and drink deals and of COURSE the unforgettable tubing experience, there is enough to keep any 20-something year old busy! Our first night we sat down (on floor cushions, of course) at a bamboo restaurant overlooking a beautiful sunset behind massive limestone cliffs on the Mekong river, just next to two chickens duking it out and a lost cow that was getting upset at a fence blocking its way.

What used to be, 3 years ago, a chillout day in a tube on a river, hanging at a few bars and having a beer or two has blown up into a full-on all day river party. Starting as soon as you get off the tuk-tuk, you walk past a bar offering free shots and cheap beers. Why not take one for the road (err...river)?! So we do, and hop in our tubes to start the day...30 metres down the river we are assaulted with bamboo poles and water bottles on strings, cast by staff at the next bar. ALREADY?? ...Alright. We hang out here for a while, partaking in diving boards, ziplining over the water, and a GIANT-trapeze-like thing that is built up in a huge tree! You can climb the tree, grab onto the bar, and swing out over the river, letting go about 10-15 metres in the air before plunging into the artificially deepened river. Sounds FUN! The rest of the day progressed similarly, with TONS of party animal tourists, some beach volleyball, HUGE waterslides, and of course more free shots of Laolao whiskey. At the end of it all, we have a lazy 1 hour drift back home. Should have left while the sun was still up, that's for sure!

What fun!



Our next trek: down the nearly 1000 km stretch of Laos to the deep south, where the beautiful 4000 islands (Si Phan Don) rests peacefully on the border between Laos and Cambodia! A rather long journey, involving a sleeper BUS...never seen that before! Normally on sleeper trains, one seat is upper bunk and one seat is lower bunk...but on this bus, it was two per bed! Good thing we were travelling with friends!

A cozy night's sleep on the bus to Si Phan Don!

Si Phan Don itself was a laidback riverside paradise. The main tourist islands offer little more than tiny bamboo bungalow huts along the river, with local families often living on the same property. Electricity is unheard of in our guesthouse, but then again we are only paying $3 per night...for both of us! Some more "expensive" ($5) huts have generator power until around 10 o'clock. Bike rental is $1 a day, supremely affordable even if just heading to the beach for a few hours. And beach there is, out into the refreshing Mekong with beautiful waterfalls upstream to boot! Our huts looked right out over the river and an archipelago of smaller islands directly into the sunset, which we watched each night from our favorite restaurant. We managed to befriend the waiters at the restaurant, and went to cheer them on at their local boat races, a big competition between the islands. Despite all the stares from the locals at our uncommon white skin, everyone was SUPER friendly and open here, even inviting us to sit down for shots of Laolao and a conversation at times! Backpacker paradise indeed!

Lao and Kampuchea

So our trip into Cambodia started off with a bang. Not literally, of course, that would have been frightening. I mean the sort of bang like...well...ok it was just confusing and uncomfortable. BANG! You know? You knoww.....

So we hop on a boat in Si Phan Don, in the south of Laos. Simple enough. Except there aren't enough seats. No probs, I'll chill on the bags. Mid lake, they tell me I have to switch boats. Yep, just me. Ok, no problem, almost dumped a boatful of people into the lake, but at least now I got a seat. Little did I know this was ominous foreshadowing for later in the day.

Back on the mainland, we hop on another bus. Uh oh...not enough seats. "You come here, my friends!" exclaims a happy Laotian man who ushers us to a minibus. "To Phnom Penh??" we ensure before getting aboard. Laotians have a mysterious way of not really answering your question while still ushering you in the direction they want. (Much like in the city when you are following them to a hostel and repeatedly asking "GOOD GOD MAN, IS THERE HOT WATER?!" with minimal intelligible response...yet you still somehow end up at the hostel, which not surprisingly, doesn't have hot water) Anyway, we get on the minibus and book it to the border. By booking it I mean stopping every 20 metres or so for the driver to yell out the window at who we could only suppose were his friends. Bizarre behaviour, but not as much as our driver in northern Laos who would stop at random intervals in our trip and hand out bags of unknown contents to seeming specific individuals chillin by the road. We could only assume he was Santa Claus.

At the border, which was pretty much a single deserted road except for a few huts to shelter border officials from the unforgiving sun, as we were getting in line for our departure stamps, our van (complete with our bags) peels out and leaves us in the dust. Apparently we have to walk the half kilometre to the ENTRY point of Cambodia. Feeling appropriately like sweaty, forlorn immigrants, we bumble down the road to wait in another line for more stamps. Yay.

Do we look like sweaty, forlorn immigrants? Survey says...yes.

OK, last bus! Even though our bags are spilling into the aisles a bit, there are enough seats for all of us! I sit down, and wonder which side of the road they drive on in Cambodia. Thailand is on the left, but Laos is on the right. As we start on down the road, I try to figure it out and have a good laugh at myself...we're in Asia, they drive in the MIDDLE of the road!

Off to Phnom Penh! Or so we think. Tire go boom! Whaaaat! 2.5 hours of tire fixing later, we're finally ready to hit up the capital of Cambodia! But in REALITY, we only get the bus to some craphole town in between, where half of the people are spending the night before heading off to Siem Reap, and we get the bus all to ourselves to rest of the way! NOT. We exit the bus too, and are told to bring our bags with us. "But why?", we ask. "Don't we take the bus from here??" "No no my friend," comes the reply, "You take minibus from here." Alright, whatev, just get me to Phnom Penh tonight!

The minibus pulls up, and we start to pile in. I laugh as I see the trunk, which couldn't fit 6 bags and still close properly. We had 14 bags. Half loaded up, we start to realize...we're not going to fit. There are only 11 seats. The Cambodian men have started to pile the bags hanging out of the back of this van, and roping them down, apparently planning to drive the remaining 2-3 hours with the back of the van hanging open. "In get in, I am sorry my friends, we are late today, I am sorry all of you!" repeats one man over and over. "We don't mind that it's late, we mind that it's small!" someone calls out. Despite our protests and attempts to get another van, we squish 3 extra people along the footspace at the front of the van. Comfy! As I settle in, I detect a distinct FISH odour lingering in the van, followed by a wave of poop and something suspiciously resembling dog urine. Dog specfically. Yum.

As the engine finally roars to life, the small crowd of people around the van (and probably laughing at the stupid farang inside) gets closer, and one woman points at the space near my feet, which consisted of just enough room for my feet (odd, isn't it?). Someone opens the door, and this woman starts to climb in. Seriously?? Another? On my feet?! I'm already on a makeshift seat with no back, and there are 3 Chileans crammed in the front of the van that smells like fish and poop! Now a Cambodian woman is sitting on my feet?!

Well it turns out she wanted to share half of my makeshift seat instead, which meant I got to sit on one buttcheek for 2 hours, tilted sideways to try to share some of kims backrest. Who called a trip to the chiro! Anyway, I don't want to complain, I did manage to put my head down on kim's back (she was sitting beside me, I dont know how that worked) for a few minutes, so all wasn't lost. Besides...if it isn't a good time, it's a good story!

It's amazing how you can become accustomed to the prices in a country. When once I spent $30 on a dorm room for one night freely, I now shudder at paying more than $5...for a private double room with bath. Meals over $3 frighten me. Beer over $2 (for 600 ml) is ridiculous, when in Germany we were ecstatic to find 500 ml beers for 2 euros. I have slept in a hostel for $1 a night (although that wasnt the cleanest place in the world...and their sink had nothing beneath it, so it was hilarious to watch unsuspecting people spit toothpaste all over their feet). In other news...

Cambodia is pretty much owned by Toyota. I thought it bizarre that on our busride into the city, I saw two green approximately '94 Camry LE's (Dad's baby back home) right behind each other. Imagine my amazement when we turn the corner and I see no less than SIX green approximately '94 Camry LE's all parked within 20 metres of each other! When I started counting on the streets, I would say about one in every three cars is a toyota, the vast majority of those camrys, followed distantly by corollas. Thankfully, they are not all green approximately '94 Camry LE's. But there are a LOT of them!

Alright see ya later! Pictures to come soon!