Kids

Begging children bother me. It isn’t that the fact that they are begging causes me to dislike them, it’s more like it feels as if there is something wrong with the world when I am confronted by a needy child. It might really be the confrontation with my own inability to fix ALL the world’s problems that makes me agitated.

In any case, the town of Siem Reap, which the Lonely Planet gives a population figure of 158,000, seems to have a large number of children begging. To be fair, most of them aren’t begging you to give them your money for nothing; they are begging you to buy whatever it is that they are selling. From bracelets to t-shirts, pineapples to sodas, these children-of all ages-swarm towards tourists all over the Angkor site, and in certain areas of the town as well, rebuffing every negative response and continuing to demand, ask, cajole and suggest that you buy from them. The tuk-tuk drivers, all males, some in their middle teens on up to middle aged, market themselves in quite the same manner. They constantly approach people suggesting the need for their services. Street vendors and restaurateurs use similar tactics, as if their yelling or approaching with menus waving will trigger a sudden switch in your brain that will lead you to their shops.

There are land mine victims making their way about as well. Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world…which I found strange because I had never really heard the country’s name in conjunction with any war stories in the news. Of course our parents remember the Vietnam conflict, and years of civil wars before and after have made this a dangerous place to go for a stroll in the woods. Some of the victims just flat-out beg with their hands out. The more popular approach that I have seen is to put together a band with five or six guys and play traditional Cambodian music. Ashley and I also were approached by Duuk, who lost both his arms from the above the elbow. He carries a box full of books (I will mention the book selling again later) with a strap around his neck, like a peanut hawker at a ballgame. He also has a sign written in English, that explains who he is and what he needs your money for-his four children’s schooling and the rent-which totals seventy US dollars a month. He also plays in a band.

At no time have the children tried to pickpocket us, or snatch anything we were carrying. The only time it felt really uncomfortable was when one little girl put her arms around Ashley’s waist and wouldn’t let go, while her cohorts surrounded me and a mother with a baby kept asking me for milk. Right as we got free from that mob, a tuk-tuk driver approached us and asked for the second time if we wanted to buy some weed-since we had apparently wandered around in a circle. It was the straw at that point and I seriously saw red for long enough to tense up and think about whether I should hit him in the left or the right side. Fortunately I also had enough sense to realize that I had wandered into his territory, and that there was almost no police presence anywhere in the kingdom that I had seen. We walked away from that one and were able to laugh about it tonight when a driver offered us some of his best “skunk”!

Here in Cambodia

The largest religious structure in the world…that is how the guidebooks describe Angkor Vat. I had never even heard of the place until I stumbled upon a picture of a magnificent tree growing out of a temple wall as I searched Southeast Asia on Google Maps. I was sitting in Justin’s living room and when we saw the picture he exclaimed, “That’s where you need to be going!” Although it still wasn’t part of our plan, I remembered those words, and as the troubles in Thailand mounted, and we learned more about the ease of travel into Cambodia, we made the decision to spend the week after the girls left there before flying on to Auckland. What a great choice we have made.

I am not qualified to give a history on the Khmer people, nor on the self-proclaimed God-kings who constructed the massive temples in and around the Angkor Archaeological Site. Ashley and I have been here since the evening of the 19th of December, and we have only spent the last three days in the presence of these great temple masterpieces. I just want to share with you what we have been seeing here in Cambodia.

After our long bus ride over bumpy, dusty roads, we arrived at the Angkor Hilton guesthouse on the east side of Siem Reap River. We were met as we exited the bus by hoards of tuk-tuk drivers, who work with the guesthouses on commission. Ashley explained to ours that we wanted a double bedroom, to which he nodded a lot and then took us to a room with two single beds. After a few “What’s the matter?”, we realized that they were out of double beds, so we picked up our bags-much to the consternation of the attendants, who tried to dissuade us by telling us how late it was and how tired we were-and with another couple we walked about 100 meters up the drive and across the road. The next place we walked into had a double room, and although I was leery, Ashley just laughed at my obvious discomfort and we took it. It was only eight in the evening, and so after we stowed our bags, we looked through the Lonely Planet guidebook, found a couple good prospects, and headed out to walk around town.

Once Ashley got some food and got me to lighten up and lose my grumpiness, we caught a tuk-tuk to the Prince Mekong Villa. Here the rooms were a little bit more expensive, but no more than we were spending in Thailand, and with much better amenities. We booked a double bedroom for the next night, and we were told that if we made it over before ten the next morning, we could enjoy the free complimentary breakfast. We headed back to the Winter guesthouse with much higher spirits.

The night had been pretty moderate in temperature, as well as in noise and traffic. When we checked out the next morning, and walked out onto the street, it was completely different. The sun was already beating down, the temperature in the mid 20s-that’s Centigrade;)-and there were as bicycles and motor bikes everywhere, going every direction. After bargaining through two tuk-tuks we caught one over to the new guesthouse, where we were told the same story about being out of double beds. It was finally resolved when we agreed to take the more expensive double bedroom with hot water, but the owner, being very hospitable, gave us the hot water room at the agreed upon rate. He has kept it that price for our entire stay here.

Eric, the owner, is from Switzerland-the German speaking part-and has been in Cambodia for ten years. He is fluent in Cambodian, Thai, and Laotian, as well as English and of course his native tongue. I am not by any means certain that those are the only languages he speaks. He is quite helpful to his guests and offers wonderful services. Along with the free breakfast, we get free laundry service and free bicycle rental. His guesthouse specializes in bicycle tours of the Angkor Park; and the route he gave us to take was quite an amazing day. We will stay here one more night, Christmas night, and then head back to Bangkok the next day.

For your X-mas present..

I bring you this hilarious video from our border layover between Thailand and Cambodia.
Guaranteed to bring a smile to...well to Ashley's face. She starts laughing when I show her this video again! I's already uploaded to flickr, so go watch it by clicking HERE.

Changing Plans

My initial thoughts about the beaches of Thailand were that we should try to see one on the gulf coast, and one on the Andaman coast. The girls all felt the same. But as the airport siege in Bangkok lengthened, and we started really thinking about how and where we were going to travel, we decided to spend our ten days at one spot rather than split it up between the two coasts. It was a good thing, because we had plenty to do on Koh Chang for those ten days. Likewise, our plane ticket from Thailand to New Zealand, where we connect to fly on to the Cook Islands, was also up in the air. (hahaha...no that's some good punning.)

The cheapest ticket that I found to fly from Bangkok to Auckland was on Royal Brunei Airlines, but I didn't buy it when I bought the onward tickets from Auckland to the Cook Islands...for some reason. It seemed to turn out well once the protesters shut down the Bangkok airports, and we began looking for an alternative flight path. Just when we thought we had the best possible mix of flights and long layovers put together, the airport reopened. But in the meantime, we had decided to make our way into the country of Cambodia, and visit the largest religious structure in the world-Angkor Wat. We spent a few more nights staring bleary-eyed into the computer screen, and we finally found the right flight to take us from Bangkok to Auckland, while we would make the trip into Cambodia entirely by land transport.

So we left Koh Chang on the same day as Randi and Jen did, only they were headed back to Bangkok, and we were headed for the Thailand border town of Aranyaprathet, where we would cross over into Cambodia and make our way onward to the fast-growing city Siem Reap. It took a full day by minivan and beat up old bus. Although the major roads in Thailand are in decent shape, the rumor is that this particular road, though heavily used for tourism, is kept in bad shape by the government because of a "fee" that is paid by one of the major Thai airlines, which benefits from the bumpy road ride. But the thai roads were nothing compared with the dirt roads of Cambodia...

More on that later. Our trip into Cambodia is our first travels entirely on our own. Cambodia is a country that I personally know almost nothing about, other than the name Pol Pot and the movie the Killing Fields, neither of which I actually have studied. But as I sat in Angela & Justin's living room back in October, and loked at pictures of massive trees growing out of temple walls, I felt a pull to visit this mystical place. Once I showed Ashley the pictures, she was convinced as well, and so we set out with lots of information from fellow travelers, and our guide book. So far, every scam we were warned about has been tried on us, the children begging has been just as promised, the persistent tuk-tuk drivers constantly hassle us...but today we saw our first ruin...a tiny little bit of a temple, a remnant, maybe of nothing more than a shrine-and tomorrow, we will venture into the jungle, and visit ruins of Hindu and Buddhist temples from over a century ago.

Go to flickr and search for angkor wat, or siem reap...some of the pictures are amazing. Hopefully, we'll have some amazing ones to add soon enough. We are safe and sound, and Ashley is waiting for me to come to bed, here in the Prince Mekong Villa guesthouse...Love to all of you.

Koh Chang

Thailand's second largest island, Koh Chang has been declared a National Park-it includes an archipelago of almost fifty smaller islands, some inhabited, some not. It is in the Gulf of Thailand, close to Thailand's western border with Cambodia. Though not the "secret" that it was five years ago, Koh Chang still offers plenty of respite from crowded tourist beaches and bustling entertainment districts that show up in many of Thailand's other sandy spots.

Thanks to Jen and Randi, we stayed here, and although it was literally almost at the end of the road, we loved it so much that we stuck around for nine days! As we later found out, being so far removed from everything else on the island meant cheaper prices, less tourists, less overall hassle; not to mention the amazing benefit of being on the southern tip right at as an isthmus occurred allowed for sunsets AND sunrises from our cottages! The main fishing village was only a ten minute walk away, and we tried wonderful seafood at the restaurants on the pier.

Our visit just happened to coincide with the full moon, and as some of you may have noticed, it was a HUGE full moon, since the moon was at it's closest point of orbit for the year. So the tides were at their most extreme highs and lows of the year, varying as much as five to six feet, and washing out some pathways and flooding out the low spot of the pier as well!

The roads were something else, and combined with a "bug" of some sort they were enough to turn Ashley's stomach when we first arrived. Steeply ascending from the ferry pier, they begin to curve back on themselves almost immediately, which isn't so bad on the way up, but once you start coming down on the other side its another story. We rented a motor scooter on two separate occasions during our stay, and it was a lot of fun to ride around the island and zoom up and down the hills. But it is pretty clear why there is such a high rate of fatal motor scooter accidents among foreigners. Driving too fast, in the dark, or mildly inebriated, would be a sure way to end up at the bottom of a cliff!

Koh Chang was a great relaxer, and with Jen and Randi we had great company and we are going to miss them so much. Ashley looked at me today and said that she wished she had appreciated them more initially when our trip begun...and that she really enjoyed getting to know Randi, and even Jen too, to some extent. I loved the time we spent with both of them, as well as with Tyra in Chiang Mai. I know that I will be seeing my good friend Randi again, and to the other two girls I wish the best of life and hope to see them again as well. May all of our travels be safe and fulfilling!

still more catch-up

First of all, for Ryan...we went to Pai to see some of the scenic view in the mountains of northwestern Thailand. We had heard of a mountain of golden flowers that were in bloom, as well as all the mountains along the border of Burma--breathtaking vistas and all that good stuff. It didn't work out that we saw any specific vistas...but it was beautiful.

We drove back in to Chiang Mai, making it to the car rental office at half past eleven on Monday morning. Ashley & I had a train to catch at 2:30 that afternoon, while Randi and Jen had VIP bus tickets that left that evening after six. I saw the two ladies away on a sawngtheaw, and then the car rental associate drove us to the train station. He asked if we were hungry, and when we told him yes, he stopped by a mall so that we could visit the food court. And what a mall! At least four stories, with the equivalent of a Super Wal-mart AND a Home Depot located inside, along with an electronics/appliance store, and all the normal mall shops filled with clothes and trinkets. It was a school day, so noticeably absent were all the juvenile delinquents that really let you know that you are at the mall; I'm sure they head straight there after school lets out. We ate lunch, and then hit up the Super whatever-mart to get some snacks. We got goodies like paprika flavored potato chips (yum!), dried papaya, dried durian-a fruit the size of a small watermelon but covered with prickles, apples and peanuts and cashews. After paying at check out number 40, I realized how glad I was that I hadn't been in a massive "store" like that since leaving the states.

We got to the train station, and found out that someone had canceled their berth in the second class sleeper car, so we quickly upgraded from our second class seats. It was an air conditioned car, but once on the train I realized it was okay since we could walk to other cars and hang out the windows and doors there. ANd it wasn't so cold that we shivered all night. Although the air con cabin was more expensive, we still only paid about 1500 baht for our two tickets from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. It was an overnight trip that got us to the station a little after 6 am. From there we took the trains to the bus station, and hopped the 7:45 bus from Bangkok to Lompnang, the pier where we caught the ferry to Koh Chang.

But back to the train. I need my parents to remind me if I have ever been on one before. Leaning out the doors, watching the countryside slide by, I was filled with a sense of adventure and elation. I took some videos, and went and got Ashley from our seats, and together we stood in the portal together, with our faces being whipped by the Thailand wind and kissed by the setting sun. Thailand's trains get my endorsement for sure!

Pai (pronounced like bye)

Ashley, Jennifer, Randi & myself rented a Toyota Corolla and drove north out of Chiang Mai on Saturday morning after our massage school was finished. We were headed first to the Elephant Nature Park in the Mae Taeng valley, an area packed with elephant camps-tourist attractions where visitor activities range from watching elephants preform tricks to taking rides on them. Our camp was a little different. Randi had heard about it from a friend, but we hadn't really checked up on it. Ashley & I stopped in at a restaurant called Taste From Heaven, and besides having wonderful food-I mean REALLY wonderful food!-they also were affiliated with this park. The manager of the restaurant, an Englishman named Roy, filled us in on the details.

The park was the result of the work of a woman named "Lek", who rescued abused and abandoned elephants from all over Thailand and gave them refuge. They strive to teach and educate people-not just tourists, but other elephant owners and locals-about the proper ways to treat these giant creatures. With love and respect. You can click here to visit their site. Check out our flickr page for some photos of us bathing the hairy guys...and girls.

We spent the majority of the day there, leaving the park around 4:30 in the afternoon. Once we got back to the highway, we immediately saw a sign for Pai--104 kilometers, and thought that we would be there in less than two hours. We were wrong. 762 curves-and three and a half hours later-we rolled into Pai, and into the middle of a massive street market. There were people everywhere, and they had already taken all the rooms available. Apparently we had stumbled into the perfect storm of a holiday weekend, and the city was packed. So much for the quiet, hippie retreat in a tiny little mountain town....

Fast Forward

We wish we could tell you about all the amazing things we have seen in the past three weeks. Well...we could. But I have been storing it all away mentally hoping to sit down and put it all on here, and it is just building up and growing. Fortunately we have taken lots of pictures, as have our friends, so there are lots more of those to come. We have even started doing some video clips-which we can edit and upload to flickr as well. So for now, we are going to give a quick rundown of our time spent in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

-Sunshine Massage School: Not what Ashley expected, a bit frustrating for Rio as well, but at the end of the two weeks, we both had learned a great deal--but we were glad to be finished!

-Open Air Thai Restaurants: Right around the corner from the school, a particular one became Ashley's favorite eating place. Order your food at the stall on the sidewalk, have a seat, and the staff brings it to you in less than five minutes. The friendly owners spoke great English and tried to teach us a little Thai!!

-Smog: Unavoidable fact of life in much of southeast Asia, the pollution in Chiang Mai got even worse for us once we started zipping around on our rented scooter. The exhaust pouring out of fifteen year-old pick ups and tuk-tuks seemed to seep into our pours and created a nice layer of grime over our skin.

-Scooters: After less than two days riding around on it, Ashley asked if we could own one until our first kid came along! The only sensible way to travel around the congested cities-many folks use them for highway trips into the mountains as well! And from what we've seen, having children doesn't necessitate a car here...many times we saw husband and wives with one, and sometimes two kids riding the scooters together!

-Coups: The political situation in a lot of places is delicate, with layers of intricacy that even the citizens don't understand. The one we just went through here in Thailand was uneventful for us, as well as for many of the people we met here. Many folks experienced a lot of problems as a result of the dissension here, and unfortunately, many others got hurt, or even killed. But people protesting and taking a stand for their right to have a government they believe in is a right that every American should support and even applaud. Hurrah!

And that doesn't even scratch the surface. Today-(Sunday Night) we are in Pai, a few hours northeast of Chaing Mai. It's a laid-back mountain town, with tons of cool, groovy folks and fresh, clean air. But our hour is up and we will tell you more later!

LOVE

Pictures

Go see pictures at flickr

click here

Smile

Musical Rooms

After our first night in the Orchid at about $50...we were ready to seek out some of the cheaper accommodations we had been reading about. Just as a lead-in...the currency in Thailand is the baht, and 35 bahts equal one US dollar.

So we found another hotel relatively close to where we knew our school to be and we moved all of our bags over the next day. This hotel was called the New Mitripap, in Chiang Mai's chinatown district. And the rooms here were much more spartan and functional...for only 330 baht a night. (You read that right.) And the only reason we spent 330 was because they were out of the non-AC rooms, which only cost 230 baht a night. Cheap.

Rooms had aircon, TV, hot water (although we didn't figure out how to work it until our second day!), and locks on the doors. Rooms didn't have screens on the windows, or walls that kept out the neighbor we had who apparently is a long-time resident and likes to listen to his TV at the top-most volume with many people in his room with him late into the night.

We explored the city. We explored the food. We found our school, and checked out some guesthouses and hotels nearer to it. We decided to move to another hotel closer to the school-literally right across the street. The tourist high season starts at the beginning of December, and almost all the places we talked to are raising their prices then. But the Inspire House gave us a deal, and so we are staying here for the moment in room 415. We have some pics-but since the laptop cord broke about five minutes after we got it back, still haven't been able to upload to flickr. Soon.
More posts soon.