Hello Laos

Day 15 (Sat)

So today we had our diving adventure! Lindsey officially has her Open Water SCUBA certification and I joined her for two dives today. I have to say the coral was definitely not as good as I have seen in the Philippines but there was an abundance of fish! Right after we finished our descent, our guide tapped his tank and made the hand motion for barracuda! and sure enough above us a few meters away was a serious looking barracuda, scoping us out! We also saw a bluespotted stingray, which are so beautiful, a puffer fish, filefish, trigger fish, parrot fish, and schools of other reef fishes.

Ready to dive in!

Blue Spotted Stingray
(Photo: http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/stingray-ig.jpg)

And on our second dive we ran across a sea turtle! Now I have been lucky enough to see sea turtles on just about every dive I have been on in the Philippines but I was not expecting to see one here in Thailand. But this was probably the best sea turtles sighting yet! It was a beautiful and healthy looking Hawksbill Sea Turtle looking around the reef for food, and she didn't seem to mind us one bit! According to our guide, this particular turtle is known to hang around the reef so she is pretty used to SCUBA divers being around. We hung around her for a while, just watching her look for food, so amazing!

Hawksbill Sea Turtle
(Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Hawksbill_Turtle.jpg/240px-Hawksbill_Turtle.jpg)

After while it was time to continue on our dive, but I felt like I could have watched her forever (or at least till I ran out of air).

Now we will spend the rest of the day relaxing on the beach. It has been a really awesome detour to Thailand but it's time to move on. Tomorrow we start the long journey to Laos!

Day 16 (Sun)

We left around 6:30 am from our resort on Koh Chang Island. It took about 3 hours just to get off the island since our van had a few other stops to make picking up other people and the ferry took longer than expected. All in all though I am very impressed by public transportation in Thailand. The infrastructure is well maintained and well organized. Minibuses are the popular mode of transportation for tourist, and tend to be a faster and more comfortable way to get around. These minibuses are really just big vans, but they have good working aircon and the drivers almost always seem in a hurry. They are sure to make plenty of bathroom and snack breaks along the way but still get you to your destination in a good amount of time.

Although we could have gotten to Laos in a more direct path via bus, it would have been probably a longer and more frustrating journey, consisting of many bus transfers. So we decided to head to Bangkok and take the night train. Our minibus dropped us off at the airport and the railway station was on the other side of town. But again the Thailand public transportation system impresses. There is a "airport link" metro that runs from the airport into town and connects with some of the other sky train metro lines. It was an easy ride and train transfer to the MRT, which ran right to the railway station. The metro trains are clean, easy to use, cheap and announce all stops in both Thai and English. Thank you Thailand!

So we bought our train tickets for the night train to Laos and then took the sky train again to the mall to get a bite to eat and kill some time. We have a 12 hour train ride but Laos here we come!

Day 17 (Mon)

Our train arrived into Nong Kai this morning, at the Thailand/Laos border. Despite the sleeper beds on the train being pretty comfortable, I wasn't able to get much restful sleep, but I have to rally for another long day of travel!

After exiting Thailand, we were able to ride a shuttle bus across the Friendship Bridge into Laos. Getting through Laos immigration was pretty painless, especially since we had printed out our visa application ahead of time, allowing for us to be one of the first ones to get our visas. But after getting through immigration, it was a little more confusing to determine how to get to the Northern Bus Terminal. (We decided since we had a detour in Thailand, we would just go straight to Luang Prabang so we can maximize our time there.) After two somewhat stressful tuk-tuk rides we finally made it to the bus station. Unfortunately we missed the 9am bus so we waited around for the 1:30pm bus. Despite being only a few hundred kilometers away, the trip from Vientiane (where we were) to Luang Prabang takes an estimated 11 hours via bus. This is due to (as we found out) the many break downs of the bus. In the first three hours alone we made three stops to allow for the crew to tinker with the bus engine. Although these stops were nice for bathroom and snack breaks, I was really hoping to stay on the road longer so we could get to LP before it was too late.

Although the trip is long, the scenery is pretty breath-taking. Rice fields melt into mountains and jungle landscape. It certainly makes the bus ride less dull.

We eventually made it to LP at about half past midnight. We took a tuk to a cheap guesthouse recommended in the guidebook only to find that it was full. So were the next two we checked. But finally we found a cheap place to stay for the night. After getting some semi-restful sleep, we set out to look for a guesthouse located a little closer to central town. After checking in and dropping off some laundry to get done (some of my clothes are getting a little too smelly...) we went to book our much anticipated elephant trek!

Mmmm yummy noodles - I can't get enough!

Our cute hostel.

Now there are a lot of elephant treks you can go on but I am always worried about how the animals are treated, so we went to a company called Tiger Trails. Although their tours are a bit more expensive, they have a good reputation at being sustainable and doing what they call "fair treks" which involve and benefit the local community. We planned a one-day trek for Friday, that will include lessons on how to properly treat  and ride the elephants, then we will take them on a trek through the jungle and a bath at some waterfalls. Should be fun!

Day 18 (Tues)

This morning I wanted to get up early and witness the cultural event that happens every morning at dawn in Luang Prabang - alms giving. Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And part (or most) of the reason why is that is is home to numerous Buddhist temples and monasteries. It is home to monks, old and young. If you aren't familiar with Buddhist Monks, they are they guys with shaved heads wearing orange robes. They live their life as simply as possibly, attempting to eliminate suffering and temptation from life, spending much of the time in meditation, trying to achieve the Buddhism goal of Nirvana.

As a way of living this life, they rely on the support of their community to live. A few times now I have been riding a tuk-tuk somewhere and we will pick up a monk who will sit in the front with the driver, who will give him a free lift to wherever he is headed. And every morning at dawn in Luang Prabang, the community comes out to the street to give alms, mostly sticky rice, to the monks as they pass down the street. The food that they collect will be the only food they consume for the day.

So needless to say one of the things I planned on experiencing in LP is to wake up and witness the giving of alms to the monks. So this morning I woke up and headed out to the street. I barely got out the door of the guesthouse before women approached me to buy sticky rice and other foods to give to the monks. I wasn't planning on participating in the ritual because I am not Buddhist and don't want to offend practicing Buddhists, so I just kept walking. When I arrived to the street where the monks walk down to collect alms, there were tourist lining the sidewalk with alms to give. Again I was confronted by women telling me I needed to give alms. I was quite confused at what I should do but ended up deciding that if I was going to come to take pictures that I might as well give alms in return. She wanted me to buy bananas and some small wrapped candies but I insisted on only getting a bowl of sticky rice to give, and I am very glad I did..

Further down the road from me there were many more tourist so I stayed near the end and positioned myself after three local women so I could watch and mimic what they did. I have to say that I was very disappointed in the attire of some of the tourist. I was wearing long pants and a t-shirt since you are never supposed to have exposed knees or shoulders in temples or around monks. But there were women wearing short shorts and mini-skirts with tanktops. Um really?! It's not even that hot outside since the sun is barely up and these girls are wearing beach wear when they should be wearing temple attire. I just don't understand coming to a country to experience the culture without first researching what is culturally appropriate. I think it is very disrespectful for them to come to such a cultural and spiritual ritual dressed like they are going to a bar.
OK end rant.

So the monks came down the street and I did my best to give them alms of sticky rice as they passed by but I noticed as they came past the local Laoation women sitting next to me that they were taking the candy packages out of their alms buckets and giving them to the street children. In fact the street children had bags full of candy, bananas and rice, as it seems the monks were getting too much alms. They are trying to live a simple and modest life, after all, and eating too much would be sinful. Meanwhile tourist are almost getting in the monks' faces to take pictures of them.

After awhile I was getting uncomfortable being there. I felt like an intruder. And I didn't like being associated with the other tourist wearing skimpy clothes and getting too close with their cameras. So when there was a brake in the monks' procession, I quietly got up and left.

I thought that witnessing and participating in the alms giving would be a great cultural experience. But as I walked back to my guesthouse, all I felt was sadness and guilt. Sometimes tourism can benefit the community, but other times I think it just slowly destroys it. When I got back to the room I looked over the few pictures I had taken and couldn't help but to feel a pang of guilt. That is why I have decided not to share the pictures. I won't be posting them on facebook or this blog, or anywhere for that matter. I deleted all but two and will only keep them as a personal reminder of how I never again want to cross the line between respectful observer and cultural intruder.

So although it was nice to get a glimpse of this spiritual ritual, I won't be going back. I think some experiences are better remembered as quiet observer. But it would be hypocritical of me to say don't visit  Luang Prabang to witness the alms giving. So instead I will just recommend that if you do, sit across the street away from the alms giving, be as less intrusive with your picture taking as possible, and for God's sake (or in this case, Buddha's sake) wear appropriate clothing. And if you can resist the temptation of taking any pictures, you might find you enjoy the whole experience better, as just a bystander in a sacred community ritual.

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to be continued...

Detour to Thailand

Day10 (Mon)

So although we were planning on leaving today for Thailand, last night we decided that we wanted one more day in Siem Reap. Linds is finally feeling better and wanted another day to visit Angkor, specifically the Bayon temple that I visited by myself Sat; and we had a few more souvenirs to purchase.

So today we took our time getting up and having breakfast. We walked around the old market, purchasig a few more gifts and then spent time on the internet planning our detour to Thailand. Linds and I are both coastal girls. We LOVE the beach. And although she lives on the beach at home and I spent the last two years doing coastal work and living on an island, we both felt the ocean calling to us. We also decided after talking to other travellers that we didn't need to spend a week and a half in Laos like we originally planned.

After planning our detour, we decided to hire a tuk-tuk to take us to Angkor. Although we have been enjoying renting and riding bicycles to the temple, we didn't want to be worn out for the next day's traveling. We bargained with a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the Bayon temple and he waited for us as we spent about an hour walking around the temple and taking pictures of the over 200 faces carved into sand stone. This visit was much nicer for me than my first one since most of the tours happen in the morning. So in the afternoon when we went there today, there was only us and a few other straggling tourist wandering around the temple. It gave us the opportunity to take some really great pictures and to really take in the wonder and history of the temple.

When the temples of Angkor were built, the sand stone used was quarried over 50 km away and then transported down the Siem Reap River.Considering Angkor is one of the biggest temple complexes, this was a massive undertaking. It is almost surreal to imagine the man power and time it took to create such complexly designed and massive structures.

So after taking in Angkor for the last time, we returned to Siem Reap to pack. After preparing for our departure we had our last Cambodian dinner. All of the guidebooks tell you to have Cambodian barbeque, often recommending a more high-end place located on Pub Street. However Linds and I had noticed a more local place serving Cambodian barbeque with outdoor seating across from the night market. It was quite a bit cheaper and the food was delicious! They have options of a $5 or $10 set. We were able to split the $5 set, which included two meats, noodles, vegetables, sauces and steamed rice. They set the barbeque up on our table, which consisted of a gas burner and a pan that had a steamer in the middle. After adding broth, fresh greens and noodles to the outside of the pan, we put the meat in the middle to steam, then made our own mixture of meats, noodles, rice, veggies and sauces. YUM!

After eating we walked around the night market one more time and bought some last minute gifts. Tomorrow we head to  Thailand and THE BEACH!

Day 11 (Tues)

We left on a bus this morning at 8am leaving for the border town of Poipet. It took around 2 hours to get to the border and another hour and half to get through immigration on both sides. The Cambodian side was easy enough to get out of, but the line going into Thailand (despite us not needing a visa) was long. After finally making  it into Thailand, we had to figure out the best way to get to Koh Chang. We originally planned on taking a tuk-tuk to the the Aranyaprathet bus terminal and finding a way from there but a Thai guy approached us about taking a van all the way to Koh Chang. He wanted to charge us $15. It sounded like an easy way to go but we wanted to look around for a cheaper fare. We went to one of the many van companies and found the same trip for $11. Sold.

The island of Koh Chang, off the coast of Thailand. 

The sign in the office said "van to Koh Chang, leaves 1-3pm", so we were expecting to have to wait around for awhile to see if there would be others joining us in the van. But we had a bit of luck and only a few minutes later we were in a next-to-new van heading south. We were even more surprised to find that we were the only passengers. So we had a huge van to oursevles for the 4 hour trip south.By the time our ferry got to the island of Koh Chang it was already dark so we hired our driver to take us to the other side of the island referred to as Lonely Beach, the more "backpacker friendly" beach with cheaper accomodations.

Heading into Thailand

On the ferry to Koh Chang Island.

We stayed the night in a wooden bungalow for a mere 100 baht ($3.30) total. It doesn't get any cheaper than that. Tomorrow, beach time!

Day 12 (Wed)

So today we decided to transfer hostels. We don't feel our belongings are secure in the place we stayed at last night and though it is located on a beautiful creek bed and feels like camping in the jungle, we want to stay closer to the beach. We found another bungalow to stay at called Siem Hut. It is a bit nicer of a bungalow, complete with fan, mosquito net and private bath. It is only $4 each and located a few short steps from the beach. It also has a pretty cool restaurant deck on the beach and has a dive shop and kayaks to rent.

After having a nice breakfast on the beach, we decided to inquire about diving. After a short talk with the local dive shop, Linds decided to get her SCUBA certification! So we would be extending our stay for three more days a this beautiful paradise beach! After making our SCUBA plans (Linds' three days of certification, with me joining her on her last day for a fun dive), we rented some kayaks and headed to a small island off the coast. The water is crystal clear and it was a gorgeous day. We paddled for around 15-20 min to the island and then spent some time looking for shells, swimming in the secluded cove and taking pictures of the mangroves.

After enjoying the island we kayaked back to shore and walked around the small beach town looking for some good Thai food. We settled on one of the many dining choices and ordered delicious alcoholic shakes, coconut tempura shrimp, chicken pad thai, and french onion soup to share. (I know the soup is not Thai but it sounded good! LOL)

our place on the island

We are really enjoying some island time and are more and more glad we decided to make this detour!

Day 13 (Thurs)

So today Linds starts her first day of SCUBA school. She will be spending some class time at the dive shop and then working on skills in the pool. Since she will be busy with that for most of the day,  I decided to rent a moto and explore the island a bit.

I headed to the opposite end of the island, where I saw on the map there is a mangrove forest you can visit. It took be about an hour, and aside from a few sharp turns going up and down a mountain side, the ride was nice and the view was spectacular!

When I made it to the Mangrove Forest, I decided to rent a kayak and paddle around. It was so quiet and beautiful. The only sounds were that of the wind, birds and water lapping against my kayak. I took my time paddling around and tried (unsuccessfully) to take a picture of a circling sea eagle. After about an hour I was tired and ready for lunch, so I headed back to the fishing village where I rented the kayak and had lunch at a local restaurant, built on stilts alongside the mangrove forest. I had delicous spicey sweet and sour shrimp with fresh steamed rice. Oh how I love Thai food!

Mangroves!

My delicious lunch

After leaving the fishing village, I ventured further around the island to see one of the many temples on the island. I ended up at the Salek Phet temple. This temple is home to a rather large gold buddah, but the most amazing part is the painted mural that covers all walls of the place, depicting different ways of honoring and celebrating Buddah.

After taking a few pictures, I got back on my moto and started to head back the way I came. I had wanted to stop by a few waterfalls that I heard were free but I must have missed the turn off and ended up at the gate to another waterfall that would cost me 200 Baht. I have never paid to see a waterfall (unless you count paying for a guided trek) and I had no intention of spending money to see this waterfall so I just turned around and continued on my way. At this point I was beginning to get tired and my bottom was sore from sitting on the moto for so long so I just headed back around the island to Lonley Beach.

I really enjoying riding a moto around, it is very freeing and can be a great way to see the island. With that being said, there are many accidents involving tourist that happen every year, so although I recommend it as a way to explore, I also recommend that you are comfortable on a moto and always wear a helmet! Also remember that in Thailand, you drive on the LEFT side of the road! I was a bit nervous about remembering this at first but actually it's not that difficult to get used to.

After getting back to the resort, I did some laundry in the bungalow and waited for Linds to return and fill me in on her first day of SCUBA class. We had dinner at the resort and Linds worked on her "homework". At our resort, they show movies in the evenings during the week, projecting on a screen so you can sit at the beach and enjoy dinner and movie. So Linds and I enjoyed a relaxing evening before turning in.

Day 14 (Fri)

It rained almost all last night and is a bit cloudy this morning. Linds went off for her second day of SCUBA school and first day of diving in the ocean so I hope the rain will stay away. I was hoping for a beach day in the sun so hopefully the sun will come out later. I am pretty sore and tired from the past two days of kayaking so I will just take it easy today and relax by the beach. There is a beach party tonight at our resort and then tomorrow I will join Linds for some diving!

I am just loving the beach here and am already thinking of future beach vacations to southern Thailand...

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to be continued...

Cambodia, Part 3

Day 7 (Fri)

Another amazing day in Cambodia! Today we had another early start, getting picked up around 5:30 am for our day to Tonle Sap lake to do some birding. There were two older British couples with us who were great to talk to along the way, especially since they had just come from Laos so we could pick their brains on what we should do when we are there.

We took a van to the port and then road on a small motor boat for about an hour or so to one of the floating villages in the lake. Tonle Sap lake is pretty spectacular in that it changes size from the dry season to the wet season, from 2,500km2 to 12,500km2. During the rainy season all of the water flowing from the Mekong River going to the South China Sea backs up and flows into the Tonle Sap Lake. But during the dry season the water flows back out, leaving more land exposed. The trees that grow in the Lake are submerged during the rainy season, shedding their leaves to reduce air exchange, and then leafing again when they make it back out into sunlight during the dry season. Pretty cool actually.

Caught a great sunrise on the way.

setting out on our boat ride

We are at the end of the rainy season now so the lake is still at it's largest. SOO many birds come back as the lake is full. Right now there are a lot of cormorants, herons and pelicans (the divers and swimmers), and later in the season as the water flows out of the lake, the storks will also come (the waders). So sadly we didn't see any storks but we are glad we got to get pictures of them at the zoo outside Phnom Penh (especially the Black Necked Stork, which is extremely endangered and rare).

Like the birds, the people also migrate with the water. They live in floating houses and follow the water as it leaves for dry season. Now that the lake is full they are all living in the center where we went to see the birds. What a life! To follow the lake (and fishes) as the seasons change!

On the look out for birds!

We had an excellent time birding from the boat, though I did wish we were able to paddle as the noise from the boat engine scared away the birds as we approached them. But we were able to get some good views and pictures of the White Spotted Pelican, Asian Open Bill, herons, egrets, a kingfisher, and especially the cormorants as they are nesting now.

We stopped for lunch at a floating restaurant where we ate some fantastic Khmer soup, noodles, fried fish and rice, with fresh pineapple for dessert. There was also a small store next door where the local women weave a water plant, called water hyacinth, into different products, like bowls, hats and hammocks. The water hyacinth is an invasive species that made it here to Cambodia many years ago. It became a nuisance as it can poison some of the local fauna and impedes the floating villages when they are moving down river. But it so happen that there was local knowledge of weaving it so they woman took advantage of this invasive species and now are able to make a living from weaving it.

It was a really great day spending time on the boat in the lake watching for animals and enjoying the great outdoors. But after two days in the sun I think we will be taking it easy tomorrow and resting before heading back to the temples for a second day.

Day 8 (Sat)

Today was a day of rest for us, after the last two very active days in the sun. We enjoyed some shakes at the Blue Pumpkin (excellent ice cream and yogurt!) and then went shopping at the old market. I remember the shopping in Thailand was pretty good, but I have to say that when I walk through the markets in Siem Reap, I WANT EVERYTHING! Of course the vendors always give you a high price to start with, but unlike in Vietnam, they will bargain with you. If you are really serious about getting a good price, you can play hardball. For instance, Linds bought a dress from a vendor for $5. At a different vendor I found a dress that I liked and she wanted $15 for it, so I started bargaining her down. She got to around $6 or $8 and wouldn't budge... that is until I started to walk away saying I would just go back to the other vendor for a $5 dress. Then she let me have the dress for $5. Hell yeah.

The rest of the day we just hung around the hostel, got some laundry done and rested. Linds started not feeling well, but hopefully she will feel better by tomorrow for another day around the Angkor temples.

Day 9 (Sun)

So Linds still isn't feeling 100%. We decided she should just rest today to make sure she is OK for tomorrow since we plan on leaving Siem Reap. We both kind of want a beach day so we are changing our plans a bit and before we head to Laos we will cross into Thailand and head to one of the beaches in the south for a day or two.

So while Linds stayed behind to rest and recoup  I rented a bike and headed to Angkor. I reallythink renting bicycle is the way to get around Siem Reap and Angkor. Most people end up renting tuk-tuk drivers but they always try to overcharge you and I have to say I really enjoy riding through the Angkor park on a bike. And besides the obvious benefit of being green, both for you and the environment, at $1 a day, it's by far the cheapest way to go. It is also nice when you can bypass the car and tuk-tuks when they get bottle-necked up at narrow roads or bridges and at the ticket booth. The ride is all flat, so it's pretty easy, but during the day it can get pretty hot. My hostel is located in the southern part of town (Angkor lies just north of town), and the ride takes me no more than 30 min (and that is including going through the ticket center). I always  make sure I take plenty of water and sunscreen though, since we are closer to the equator and the day gets hot.

So I headed to Angkor on my own this time and explored the Bayon and the temples around it. Bayon is pretty neat in that is has over 100 carved faces that stare at you from every angle!

I enjoyed the morning at Angkor and was pretty done by the afternoon time. So I biked back to check on Linds and then went up to the hostel bar for a refreshing shake. Also one of my PC friends is getting into town today so I will try to meet up with her later (HI Sarah!). Today will end our Cambodia part of the trip. It has been an amazing week here seeing all that Cambodia has to offer, which is completely exceeded my expectations. From the nice Khmer people to the amazing temples, ruins, shopping and food, Cambodia is a country that I think everyone should make an effort to visit!

So tomorrow we will take an early bus to the border and cross into Thailand. Our plan is to head to Koh Chang, which is a small island off the southern coast and from the pictures on the internet, looks like paradise. Beach here we come!

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to be continued..

Cambodia, Part 2

Day  4 (Tuesday)

Today we set out on a bus to Siem Reap, the town by the famous Ankor Wat temples! This is the place that me and Linds have been waiting to go to. We plan on spending at least a week there, seeing all the temples, and doing some bird watching  (they have some amazing stork species that aren't found in other places of the world and the birding season has just started).

The bus was a bit grooling... the guidebook said 5-6 hours but it took us closer to 7 to get there. We reserved our tickets ahead of time at our hostel  and it was $6. When we boarded the bus, it was already pretty full. A nice older Khmer woman took our tickets and shooed the men sitting  in our seats for us. We sat next to her in the very back of the bus. I was surprised to see the bus had aircon but it had a hard time keeping up with the heat of the day and we were sweating for most of the ride.

We finally made it to Siem Reap at close to 7pm. A friend of mine that had traveled this way last year recommended us a place to stay and we shared a tuk-tuk to the hostel (and after arguing with the driver to give us a good price). Our hostel is called Garden Village and it is THE backpackers place to stay. They have beds and rooms ranging from $1 and up. It is definitely the cheapest place to stay in Siem Reap and has a great rooftop bar serving 50 cent beers.

Our room 

After settling in to our bungalow (and very native) room, we headed to the bar for food and a beer. The place was really bustling and we were pretty tired so we didn't stay long. It was the most Westerners I have been around in over 2 years so I was a little overwhelmed at first but I think it will be a great place to meet fellow travelers and share tips.

Day 5 (Wed)

Today we wanted to get a better feel for the town of Siem Reap, especially since we arrived last night and weren't able to get our bearings around town.

We woke up and headed to the rooftop bar for some coffee and breakfast. We also switched the t.v. on to CNN to watch for the election results! After breakfast they still hadn't even announced the winner for Florida and we were getting anxious to get out into town so we left to rent bikes from the hostel. Bike rentals are $1 a day and definitely the best way to get around! Tuk-tuk drivers are constantly harassing you and trying to charge you extra but when we are riding around on the bikes, no one bothers us. It's also really flat around town and perfect for biking!

We first went to the Sam Veasna Center for Wildlife to look into reserving a day of bird trekking. The treks are kinda expensive (definitely more than our $30 a day budget) but we knew before coming that it was something we had to do! (Especially Linds, since she is a photographer and bird enthusiastic - check out her facebook page: Flyway Photography! - https://www.facebook.com/FlywayPhotos)

The bird trekking is cheaper if you go with other groups and it just so happen that a couple wanted to go tomorrow and was on a waiting list to see if others could join. So we made our reservations and the center planned to pick us up at our hostel at 5:30 am for a day of birding!

Next we biked around the town, just taking it all in. It is much slower paced and sleepier town than Phnom Penh. It feels almost like a beach town due to all the tourist, tourist shops and restaurants and cafes (though there is no beach here).

Wandering the streets.

We decided to go to the Angkor Museum next since it is suppose to be a good introduction to the temples. Admission is $12 but we got a $1 off coupon at the ticket booth going to Angkor Wat (which is just a few kilometers outside the main part of Siem Reap).  It was nice to walk around in the aircon after biking in the hot day and the museum is pretty organized, though we realized that it is probably better to skip most of the reading sections  on the wall and just watch the short videos they have posted in each section of the museum. It was a great introduction to the history of Angkor Wat and the transition from Hinduism to Buddhism in Cambodia.

After the museum we headed to a place for lunch called Butterfly Gardens, which is a sustainable company that employs and trains local youth in the restaurant and tourism business. The food was fresh and delicious! I had the chicken, tomato and pineapple sweet and sour soup and Linds had the Khmer curry and our surrounding was a beautiful garden filled with butterflies (hence the name). After lunch we headed back towards the hostel. We stopped in the rooftop bar to see the election results and I won't try to make this blog in anyway political, but we were very pleasantly surprised!

After having a beer we decided to walk the three or so blocks from our hostel to get some snack foods for our day of birding the next day (it includes all our meals but it's always nice to have your own snacks!) Then we had an early dinner at the hostel. I had what is probably the Cambodian country dish, Amok - steamed chicken or fish cooked in coconut milk and herbs - VERY tasty! As we headed to bed early for an early rise, the front desk informed us that we had a call. It was the Center for Wildlife calling to inform us that the couple we were suppose to go with on the birding trek cancelled their plans... This is a bit of a bummer but we decided to just stay on a waiting list for the time being and see if there will be others wanting to go on a trek later this week (otherwise we have to pay even more for a "private" trek...)

We decided to still plan on an early day and head to the temples tomorrow. Angkor Wat here we come!

Day 6 (Thurs)

Wow what a day! We woke up around 4am to bike to Angkor Wat in time to see the sunrise, a must-do for  everyone who comes here!

Despite getting a little turned around in the dark on our bikes (thankfully we both had our headlamps!) we made it to the temple just in time for sunrise. It was a beautiful scene as the sun slowly rose over the majestic temples. Pictures are the best way to explain...

Angkor Wat at sunrise.

After getting all our pictures of the sunrise, we stopped to get a cup of coffee at one of the food stands. All of the prices of food and water are doubled in Angkor Wat so we were pretty glad we still had the snacks packed that we had planned for our birding trek. We  just snacked on those for the rest of the day but we couldn't really get around not buying the water, especially since we were getting pretty hot and sweaty from biking around Angkor.

We set out to explore the main attraction first, Angkor Wat. For those who aren't familiar with Angkor, it is a    small town of centuries old temples built by Cambodian kings of the past. Angkor Wat was the first built in the area and remains the largest Hindu temple complex in the world. Built in the early 12th century, it was originally made as a temple for worshiping the Hindu god Vishnu. Later Cambodia transitioned to Buddhism, and the temple continues to be used for Buddhism practices today.

As Linds got side-tracked into photoing local birds, I headed into the temple. I tried to steer clear of the large tourist groups and managed to find myself walking along along the long corridors. Every inch of the sandstone complex is covered in carvings, some depicting stories of Hindu gods and others just floral decoration. As I walked around the impressive temple complex, taking picture after picture of stone carving, my mind wondered what it must have been like those hundreds of years ago as it was built and used in its prime. It is so amazing to walk the corridors of a building so old and majestic.

After Angkor Wat, we rode around the complex a  few kilometers away to another site I was desperate to see, Ta Prohm.  You may not know the name but you probably would recognize the structure from scenes in Tomb Raider. It is a smaller temple complex where nature seems to have taken over again. Large trees have grown over parts of the temple, their roots partly taring apart and partly keeping together the stone ruins. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

After Ta Prohm, we were pretty spent for the day. So we biked around the complex once more, planning our stops for our next day's visit (we bought the 3 day pass, which can be used over the course of a week).

As we returned to Siem Reap, we stopped for some much enjoyed ice cream at The Blue Pumpkin, where we both enjoyed some coconut ice cream cones! Yum!

After getting back to the hostel, we showered  and took a much needed nap. We awoke to some pretty good news too. The Center for Wildlife called us  back and have a group of four who are planning on going on the bird trek tomorrow! So we will be going along with them, which is even better since that means we will pay less too!

A great ending to an amazing day! I am so overwhelmed by the awesome temples and ruins of Angkor and I am excited for our bird trek tomorrow! What an amazing trip so far and there is so much more to come!

Well, my stomach is letting me know its hungry again so we will go out in search of some food and probably have another early night to prepare for our bird trek tomorrow (though probably not until we have enjoyed some 50 cent draft beers at the rooftop!)

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to be continued....

Cambodia, Part 1

So my PC adventure has come to an end. I said my goodbyes (which were very hard to do), and I left on a boat from Guimaras Island for the last time for probably a long time. I don't think it has really hit me yet that I won't be going back. Probably it will hit me as I board the plane heading back to the US. But before I do, a last hoorah in Asia is a must!

So before heading back to the States, I planned a 5 week trip of Asia. I have been looking forward to this trip so much, partly because my friend from the States, Linds, is joining me, and partly because it promises to be the relaxing long travel that I have wanted. Apart from booking my flights and having a somewhat time scale of where I wanted to be and for how long, I really didn't make much of a plan. I wanted this trip to be flexible and a day-to-day planning kind of trip... And so far it is and has been great! The best way I can think to tell you about this trip is to share with you my daily journal. Most of the hostels have computers with internet for public use. So for the next couple weeks, while I travel around, I will be posting my journal entries of my trip. I hope you enjoy!

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Day 1 - Getting to Phnom Penh, Cambodia

My flight to Cambodia included a 18 hour layover in Singapore. This could have been a huge headache.. however, life working out the way it does sometimes, I have a friend who just moved to Singapore for a job! And she was nice enough to offer me to stay the night with her and her cousins. When my flight got in at around midnight, I took a (rather expensive) taxi to her house (thankfully it was not too far from the airport). I am so grateful that I was able to stay with them! Otherwise I would have spend that 18 hr layover in the airport! And their house was amazing! They had an extra room and bed for me complete with comfy blankets, aircon, hot shower and completely western bathroom! What luxury to me! They also have a house helper who is from the Philippines! So I enjoyed talking with her too!

They had work and plans in the morning and their house helper offered to cook me breakfast when I woke up, but I was determined to fit in some good Singapore food while I was there! I decided to go for a walk around their part of town. After a couple of blocks I came upon one of the many food centers. While I was at the food cart trying to decipher what to eat, a nice older Singaporean man approached me and helped me order a bowl of delicious noodles with dried fish, mushrooms and greens. I sat next to him and we talked while I ate my delicious food! He even bought me a cup of coffee. I just love Asia! Where else in the world do you get treated with such hospitality just for being a foreigner?!

Yum!

My lunch spot for the day.

After going back to the house and relaxing from the heat of the day in aircon, it was time to eat again! I had lunch with my friend and her cousin at another food market, where I had fresh passion fruit juice and a fried oyster omelet, complete with spicy sauces. After lunch we went for a drive so I could see the city before dropping me off at the airport. Singapore is a very clean city, with a skyline of the most unique architecture that I have ever seen. I am glad I got to see some of Singapore but the city is a little too expensive for my travel plans. I am hoping to keep a daily budget of around $30 for this trip, though I will have some more expensive days for seeing Angkor Wat and hopefully going on an overnight bird trek.

My flight from Singapore was about an hour and a half before I finally arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia! After settling in to the room I went to a Chinese restaurant near the hostel and had really amazing fried noodles with seafood! Oh the food here is so amazing and I have just begun!

The next morning I got up and decided to go for a walk around the city and also look for a different hostel to stay at. The one I stayed at the night before was too hotel like for me. I wanted a more hostel-like place where it's easy to meet fellow travelers. After walking around for a bit, I found a hostel called Tat Guesthouse. It has an upstairs outside porch area for eating and lounging about and its also a great place to meet new people. It's also owned by a Khmer family who lives there so it feels more comfortable and safe.

The view from my hostel.

I love fried noodles! Makes for a great breakfast :)

After settling into the new place and eating lunch (another meal of fried noodles and veggies - I just can't get enough!) I decided to explore the town more and walked to a local market place. It was a bustle of activity! There were floors and floors of stalls with people selling cookware, plastic ware, food, clothing and more; there were also seamstresses making clothes and people doing nails and hair. Quite the place to be!

After that I decided to go across town to find this shop called Tabitha. It is run by a NGO that supports local women, especially widows, by giving them a job making silk handicrafts. My motorcycle driver had a hard time navigating but with my guidebook in hand (thank you Lonely Planet maps!) I navigated him to the place (he also spoke no English so it was a real success when we found the place!) 

It was a neat place where you could watch the women hand weaving and making the products. I ended up buying a really cute bag and some small bracelets. It's really great to see somewhere that is safely employing women so they can care for their families and send their kids to school, especially in a country that is so poor and seen such hard times!

It was a great first day in Cambodia and I look forward to tonight when I will take a tuk-tuk to the airport to pick up my friend, Linds! After spending most of the last two days by myself I am really looking forward to having Linds here to talk to and travel with!

Day 2 (Sunday) - Getting to know Cambodia

So Linds and I are reunited after 2 years! and I am so glad for it! 
Today we went to the killing fields. It was quite sad and depressing but we both thought we should go to show respect for the people here and try to understand their very tragic past that really wasn't so long ago. From 1975-1979, Cambodia was ruled by the Kmer Rouge, who believed in a type of revolution that included performing genocide on their own people, arresting, torturing and eventually killing over 3 million. Yet today the Cambodian people are so happy, smiling and friendly! They have embraced tourism as a part of their economy, and apart from the tuk-tuk and motor drivers who constantly ask if I want a ride, the people have shown us nothing but kindness and hospitality. They are truly an amazing people!

Crazy traffic but our tuk-tuk driver knew how to handle it.

At the Killing Fields.

 After the killing fields we went to the palace and silver pagoda. It was a lot like the palace that I visited in Bangkok, with lots of gold Buddhas and elephants and monkeys but also some birds showing the Hinduism influence too. After that we walked along the river boardwalk and stopped for some food and local beer before coming back to the guesthouse for a nap. Later we went to this Vietnam restaurant for dinner and it was sooo good: pho noodles and Vietnamese pancake, yum! 

A local beer after a long day!

 P.S. While we were at the palace today I overheard some ladies speaking Filipino, so without even thinking I asked them in Tagalog where they were from. They were so surprised and told me they are from Iloilo! So I started talking to them in Ilonggo (which even further surprised them!) What are the odds I run into Filipinas who are from Iloilo and speak my dialect!! Amazing planet we live on!

Day 3 (Monday) - Last day in PP

Today was our last day in Phnom Penh. After having coffee and breakfast out on the porch at the hostel, we set out for the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary (which they also call a "zoo" here). We bargained with a tuk-tuk driver to take us there and back for $20. Everything in Cambodia is costing us a bit more than we are expecting but I guess it's because there is a lot of tourist traffic here. But today we set out to stay to my $30 a day budget (though I am beginning to realize that when we get to Siem Reap, this will be a hard budget to keep.)

It was nice to venture out of the city today, though a lot of the road was dusty. It took us about an hour to get to the sanctuary. We walked through parts of the park and our tuk-tuk driver drove us through the rest. The animals at this sanctuary are there because they were either confiscated from illegal poachers or from owners that were treating them poorly. The road leading to the park was lined with beggars and even when we arrived we were immediately approached by locals trying to sell us bananas and potatoes to feed the animals. They were friendly but we don't believe it's proper to give the animals food so we didn't buy anything. We were able to see a lot of animals that we probably won't be able to see in the wild: elephants, sun bears, tigers, crocodiles, gibbons and TONS of birds. Linds is a super bird nerd (more than me) and an excellent photographer so we totally geeked out watching for birds and taking pictures. I saw the most beautiful stork as well as a few other rare bird species. The black necked stork is the biggest and most beautiful bird I think I have ever seen and there was one who was more than willing to pose for us as we took picture after picture.

Black necked stork

After we finished taking all the animal and bird pictures our hearts desired, we left the park. But no adventure in SE Asia would be complete without.... a flat tire. On the way out of the park our tuk got a flat. We had to continue 5k down the dirt road until we reached the highway so it could be fixed. Linds and I sat in the shade and looked on to see how they repaired the flat and soon enough we were on our way back to the city.

Flat tire on our tuk-tuk!

Our driver is a pro at fixing his tuk-tuk.

We asked our driver to drop us off at the central market so we could get some good street food and buy some fruits. A friend of mine who lives in PP (but was out of town at the time of our visit) had recommended some good food stops. One such recommendation was this: "look for a food vendor in the central market. They will be two older, attractive looking women, with gray hair cut into boyish cuts and wearing aprons - their fried noodles with vegetables is amazing!" So we set out to look for them. We found what we think was the right place and set down for some food, and the noodles were delicious (of course!)

"dinner service"

After filling our stomachs, we visited the fruit vendors. Linds really wanted to try some native fruits and I wanted to have a last chance to eat my favorites since I am leaving Asia so soon. We bought a variety of my favorites that are in season: rambutan, lanzones, dragon fruit, pomelo, and my favorite - atis. When we got back to the hostel we gorged ourselves again on fruit. Delicious!

In the market.

At the fruit stand.

Thus ended our last day in PP. Tomorrow morning we will catch a bus to Siem Reap and start our much awaited week exploring Angkor Wat!

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to be continued!