Bangkok, Hua Hin, and Phuket, July 14 (Jen)

After almost 3 months in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, arriving back in Bangkok felt like coming home. You might think it was the Starbucks, but actually it was my most amazing and wonderful Thai family that made us feel at home. We stayed with Thip for the second time, and she and Art took great care of us. Not to mention Moay, Thip’s help, who had a tasty Thai breakfast waiting on the table every morning and cheerfully did our laundry for us. Yes, we were completely spoiled at Thip’s place.

We spent quite a few days shopping. Bangkok has amazing shopping. I pretended that I was looking for items we really needed for our Africa trip, however the giant box we sent home on our last day in Bangkok tells a different story. In my defense, if I actually had a job right now it certainly would’ve been much worse. ;-) We did manage to get the essential items we were missing due to our lack of planning for anything beyond Asia (i.e. a tent, sleeping bags, water purification, etc.).

We also attempted to prepare our bodies for the next six months, thanks to the gym in Cakewalk’s building. Although, the progress we made working out was tempered by the copious amounts of delicious food we ate with my Thai family, and the 2 weeks we spent lounging in Phuket. To further our goal of getting healthy for the second leg of our journey, we also got a check up and a malaria test in Bangkok. I had read somewhere that it is possible to have malaria, but not show symptoms until later on. I was afraid that if we got sick in Africa, we may not know with which strain, and therefore might not get proper treatment. I am paranoid. My mind is at ease now though, as we both checked out just fine. (Don’t worry Moms, we will take the anti-malarials in Africa . . .)

Apart from shopping, our time in Bangkok was spent eating, catching up with my host family, eating, catching a few movies, and, well, eating. My host family knows all of the best restaurants everywhere they go, and exactly what to order. It is amazing food, and I cannot believe I managed to gain only 5 pounds. (I’m hoping all the hiking in Africa will get me back to normal . . .) Seriously though, I was so so happy to have some time to just hang out with all the sisters, and to see Mama and Papa a few more times. This family is truly made up of the most kind, sweet, and thoughtful people you could ever meet.

Our first weekend back, we were lucky enough to accompany Thip, Art, Nee, Lek, and Nee’s friend Oil to Art’s condo in Hua Hin. As you’ll see from the photos, these guys know how to make the most of a weekend trip. And Nee’s friend Oil is a fantastic photographer (Most of the pictures are hers, partly because we forgot our camera, but mostly because she took great shots.). Hua Hin is where the King of Thailand now lives, and is a major weekend destination for Bangkok residents. The beach was a little yucky (think everybody walking their dogs on the beach, but nobody picking up the poo), but the pool at Art’s place was perfect for swimming. Not to mention the view from his balcony and, of course, the amazing seafood we ate while we were there. (Did I mention that this family always knows the most amazing places to eat?) We also got a chance to visit Mama, Papa, and Nong Jin, along with some other of Mama’s relatives, who were attending a 5 day meditation retreat at a nearby temple.

In between all of the shopping and visiting, Perry and I stole away for what was supposed to be one week, but ended up being two weeks, in Phuket. I’ve not much to tell you about Phuket because we literally did nothing there. The entire purpose was to read our East Africa and Southern Africa Lonely Planet books thoroughly, get ourselves prepared and planned for the next few months, and generally recharge our batteries. I won’t say there wasn’t a tiny bit of tension between us as we both started to get stressed out over the various safety warnings, and the big budget jump we realized was coming. We had expected that our days of “living the life” on the cheap, as we’d gotten used to in Asia, were likely over. However, I don’t think we’d realized the full extent until after our couple of weeks research in Phuket. In the end though, after all the reading, internet searching, and of course more than a couple of Singha by the pool (got to make the most of it while we can!), we felt as ready and prepared as we were going to get. It was time to go!

Leaving Asia was emotional, especially for me because I still feel very attached to Thailand and to my family there. I think Perry felt it as well. We had become very comfortable in the region. We felt a mixture of sadness, nervousness, and pure excitement boarding the plane first to Dubai, and then to Nairobi.

I have to thank my wonderful Thai family for making our last days in Asia so wonderful. So many special last dinners stick out for me, including Chinese food with the whole family, dinner by the river with the gorgeous view of Wat Arun, and “the last supper” dim sum with Thip and Art on the way to the airport.

Since I have talked about them so much, I want to introduce each member of the Laoruanglert family so you can have some idea as you view our photos . . .

Thip - The most talented pastry chef, not to mention savy business woman and owner of Cakewalk. So busy, with a constantly ringing cell phone, Thip was still always willing to make time for some fun shopping, sightseeing, or to share a meal with us. J’Thip looks out for all of her younger sisters, including me!

Art - Talented designer of women’s clothing, Art’s name suits him perfectly. He is the one who takes care of Thip, the love of his life. Thank you Art for taking us everywhere!

Nong Jin - The busy organizer. Jin has many roles and many jobs, including helping Mama and Papa in the family business (SC Scrap Company), and helping Thip out with Cakewalk. Taking care of us and making us feel welcome was one more task she took on for herself. This girl is one of the most thoughtful people I’ve ever met.

Nong Lek - The most photogenic person I know. She loves the camera and the camera loves her too. I can’t believe anyone can look that cute all the time. Nong Lek thoroughly enjoys every minute of her life. She graduated her Masters while we were in town, and received her certificate directly from the princess.

Nong Nee - When I first saw Nong Nee this trip I said “You’ve grown so much!”. She said, “Oh Jenny, no . . . !” She tells me she hasn’t grown any taller at all, but she has definitely grown up since I last saw her. I was so happy we got to spend some days together in Hua Hin.

Nong Jan - No longer Papa’s baby, Jan is a pretty, young student with lots of talent as well. She is still studying, but finds time to help out Thip with product designs for Cakewalk. She lives with Thip during school, but was staying at the Bangbon house (where I used to live) most of the time we were there, focused on her thesis.

Mama - Mama has barely changed in the past 13 years. Mama is Mama to all her beautiful daughters, and to the lucky exchange students who get to be a part of this family. While we were in town, the family had a Japanese girl, Midori, staying with them. I could see Mama taking care of her the same way she used to take care of me. During the many massive feasts we had together, both during my year here and during this visit, Mama spends most of her time putting food on everybody’s plate but her own. I guess that’s the secret to staying beautiful and thin! If only I had the will power . . . .

Papa - It is a special man who can survive in a family of 6 women, and still invite more students into his home. Papa is so kind, a proud father, and a very successful business man. And, he absolutely LOVES Elvis Presley. He has become more interested in prayer and meditation over the years. (The bedroom where I used to stay has been converted into a Buddhist prayer room.) While we were in town, he (and Mama and Jin) toughed it out sleeping on the floor of a temple for 5 days at a meditation retreat near Hua Hin. Papa confided to his girls that unfortunately he hadn’t slept at all . . .

And of course, I also need to introduce you to Oh, who, along with Amber, was my girlfriend lifeline when I lived in Bangkok all those years ago. I’m so happy that I got a chance to see Oh and to connect with her again.

Oh - Oh is a lifelong friend. Even though we hadn’t spoken for so many years, it was easy to pick up where we left off. She was my girlfriend lifeline once more, as hanging out with Perry 24/7 has its’ positives and negatives (mostly positives though!). We had so much fun together in Chiang Mai, and again in Bangkok. We can’t wait for Oh to come and visit us in Canada. She is a professor at ABAC (an english university in Bangkok), so we're sure she can find the time during summer break. And, her travel bug is just as bad, if not worse, than ours . . .

For photos of all of these special people, and of our last few weeks in Asia, got to

http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Siem Reap, Jun 13 to 16 (Perry)

Literally minutes before hoping on the bus to Siem Reap, Jen and I were able to secure a guesthouse along with a pickup from the bus station. People were actually waiting in the bus while I sent the email. Oops. Good thing though because what should have only been a 4 hour bus ride ended up being closer to 7, bringing us to Siem Reap in the middle of the night. Upon arrival, getting off of the bus was nothing new. Swarms of hotel touts and tuk-tuk drivers crowded the bus door, all vying for our business. At this point in our trip, we expect this scene and we’ve even gotten used to it, but having to deal with it at night and in a new town can be kind of unsettling. For this reason, you can imagine how happy and relieved we were when we finally found our driver in the crowd and he quickly herded us to his ride. Maybe it was because we saw him as our “savior” of sorts at that moment, or simply because he was such a nice guy, but for whatever reason “Chad”, as the guesthouse had named him, would be a prominent figure in our time in Siem Reap.

After settling in at the Rosy Guesthouse, a quaint place run by a super friendly European couple (the guy’s name was “Smiley” and he totally suited his name), we decided to check out the guesthouse restaurant. The main (if not only) reason to come to Siem Reap is to check out the temples of Angkor, the ancient capital of the Khmer empire. Often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world (per LP), the temples of Angkor are best identified with Angkor Wat, the largest religious building in the world (per LP), but are in fact numerous temples covering a significant bit of ground. Enter “Chad”. Shortly after completing our meal, Chad approached our table and asked what we were planning on doing tomorrow, knowing of course that we would want to visit the temples. Well, for $15 a day Jen and I could have our own personal tuk-tuk complete with guide, Chad. For Jen and I, this was a blessing. Honestly, trying to read up on all the temples and coming up with a plan of attack was a daunting, if not impossible task. Based solely on the LP’s descriptions and suggested itinerary, we had sort of an idea but no plan really. But Chad, he brought to the table a detailed 3 day schedule that would show us the highlights. Done!

With our guide and ride in place, we set off the following day where our first stop would be Angkor Wat. I can’t speak for the both of us, but I was pretty excited as we approached in our tuk-tuk and when we finally saw the temple itself, I was blown away. I mean, I knew the temple was big but I didn’t realize just how big until I saw it. For the next couple of hours, Jen and I explored the temple grounds, constantly being amazed by the detail and craftsmanship on display. We finally returned to our tuk-tuk and just as quickly, we were off to the next site.

Before arriving in Siem Reap, I joked with Jen that all I wanted to see was the one temple, Angkor Wat and then we should get the heck out of there. 3 day pass? More like a one hour pass. Well, as we rode the tuk-tuk to our next destination, the thought of “I’m done, nothing more to see here.” kept popping in my head. Well thankfully I kept my mouth shut. As we rode from one temple to the next, it become quite clear that there was much more to see than simply Angkor Wat. Now I’m not going to say that every temple we visited that day blew me away but there were definitely some standouts. For me, Bayon at Angkor Thom, with it’s 200 + rock faces and Ta Prohm, where the roots of ancient trees strangle the stonework, were amazing to see. I really can’t do them justice so check out the photo gallery for pictures. There are many.

On the way back to our guesthouse, Chad asked us whether or not we wanted to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat the next day. That would mean being at the temple around 5 am and leaving the guesthouse thirty minutes earlier. Exhausted from the day and from the heat we thought it would be best to save our answer for later (because at that point it would’ve been “NO!”). Between the two of us, Jen loves sleeping much more than I do. Since we’ve been traveling, I usually wake up around 5:30 - 6:00 am everyday. Jen, closer to 8:30 unless we have somewhere to be or something to do. For those of you who have never had an early morning Jen experience, let me just say it can be interesting so when it comes to decisions involving early mornings, I usually let her decide. In this case, it was a no-brainer.

Finding ourselves in the tuk-tuk once again, but this time in the darkness of early morning, I kept having the thought that Jen and I would arrive at Angkor Wat and that we’d be 2 of but a handful of people taking in the sunrise. Don’t ask me why I thought this because only a day earlier the temple was packed. I guess it was more wishful thinking than anything and I quickly realized this when I saw 4 or 5 minibus tours pass us along the way. Regardless, the sunrise was amazing even if we did have to share it with a few hundred strangers. And because of our early start, many of the other temples that we saw that day were virtually empty. In all, we managed to fit in 6 temples before 1:00 p.m. and while there was definitely more to see, we were done for the day.

Feeling more lazy than actually tired, we took advantage of our room’s DVD player and the guesthouse’s extensive collection of movies. I was excited to see that they had “Slumdog Millionaire” as both Jen and I both wanted to see it. First off, I loved the movie. For those of you who have never seen the movie, it talks about child labor/slavery in India and shows how kids are taken, trained, and ultimately put on the street to collect money for these gangs. What saddened us more than the movie, was that Jen and I were seeing this everyday in Siem Reap. While exploring the sights at Angkor, there are two constants. The first is historical beauty and the second, unfortunately, is swarms of children who are either begging or selling. It really is sad to see these kids all programmed to say the same things over and over again. You want to give them money or buy something from them, but at the same time you know it’s more likely than not that very little if any of the money is going to benefit the kids. What makes it even tougher is that some of the kids are pretty good salespeople. Once they found out where we were from most of the kids would say, “Canada, prime minister Stephen Harper. Capital, Ottawa. Mister, you buy something?”. One of the kids even challenged me to a game of tic-tac-toe, where if I lost I would have to buy a book of postcards from him. Never being one to give up the chance to beat a kid at a kid’s game, I accepted and proceeded to lose royally. In my defense, I was hustled and while I didn’t end up buying anything from him, I did give him some riel that time.

While most of our days were spent temple hopping, we did manage to check out a bit of the town at night. While you would probably never come to Siem Reap for the city itself, it has some pretty nice areas. The main strip in the city definitely is “Pub Street” (the road’s actual name). During the day you probably wouldn’t even notice the street, but at night there’s no way you could miss it. Closed to cars and motorbikes at night, the street is lit up and buzzing with people, albeit mostly tourists. For this reason, some of the places are a bit overpriced but the couple of restaurants we tried out were both reasonably priced and very tasty. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have happy hour specials offering 2 for 1 cocktails and pints of Angkor Beer for 5000 riel (less than a dollar).

In total we spent 5 nights in Siem Reap, with nearly 3 full days of taking in the temples. Yup, we actually made it out for a third day but in hindsight two days was plenty for us. We actually ended up spending more time in the tuk-tuk than anywhere else on the 3rd day as the two temples that Chad took us to required 3 hours of travel there and back. There was a nice little hike involved though, which made it worthwhile.

Siem Reap was our last stop in Cambodia. It seemed we were always on the move in that country. We really didn’t settle in anywhere for an extended period of time. Not our usual pace. After 4 months of traveling where we really never rushed, we felt almost guilty to leave Cambodia after only 2 weeks. I guess the next logical question to ask is where were we rushing off to? Well, nowhere really. But with Africa looming in the next few weeks, I think Jen and I both wanted to get away from the backpacking life a bit, and have a chance to recharge our batteries. Next stop, our home away from home, Bangkok. I know it might not sound like a relaxing stop to most of you . . . . but you’ve never met Jen’s host family.

Mekong Delta & Phnom Penh, June 7 to 12 (Perry)

As we boarded the bus at the Sinh Cafe tour company in Ho Chi Minh City, Jen and I were looking forward to the Mekong Delta tour that would ultimately take us to Phnom Phen, Cambodia. Sure, for an extra $40 per person we could’ve flown and been in Cambodia in under 2 hours but we’d heard some good things about the Mekong Delta from fellow travelers and figured since we’re here we should see it. The tour was a two day affair of bus and boating on the Mekong with an overnight stop in Chau Doc, a small town in Vietnam along the Cambodian border. Sounds nice, right? In theory, yes but after four months of Southeast Asia, I’m afraid to say that Jen and I have become somewhat weary of these types of tours. After a while, you just want to get to where you’re going. It was only after our first stop at a local handicraft village that I realized that maybe we should have opted for the flight. First of all they are not villages, they’re stores and they’re not offering anything that you haven’t seen a thousand times before in the city streets.

The rest of the day consisted of a sub-par meal (is rice and pork fat really considered “a traditional vietnamese lunch”?), a performance of traditional vietnamese song and music (yikes!), and our arrival in Chau Doc. After seeing what the first day consisted of, we weren’t expecting much of the included accommodations. As it turns out we were right in keeping our expectations low. The second day started out with a row boat tour of a nearby floating village (sigh!) but the majority of the day was spent on the long tail boat to Phnom Phen. Figuring we’d be on the boat for the next 6 hours or so, Jen and I chose to sit in the back of the boat which offered a flat platform where you could stretch your legs or even lie down. Well, what looked like a definite step up from the regular bench seats turned out to be both good and bad. Sure, we were probably more comfortable than most of the other people on the boat but at the same time, we were probably 15 degrees hotter than they were as well. The platform-like area that we chose just happened to be right above the boat’s engine so instead of being merely hot in the 30 plus weather, we were literally roasting.

As it turns out though, our tour saved the best for last as the provided accommodation in Phnom Phen was quite impressive. This was not a case of keeping our expectations low, although at this point they were at an all-time low. The room was actually clean, big and very comfortable. In fact, we would’ve stayed there for the rest of the time but unfortunately the room was outside of our budget (yup, $25/night is officially out of our budget) and a bit too far from the city center. What kind of sealed the move to the city center was the fact that it took us over an hour to get back from dinner our first night in town. What is actually a 10 minute ride turned into an hour long adventure because, despite nodding his head and smiling, our tuktuk driver had absolutely no clue how to find our place, even with the hotel provided map. In the end we realized that he actually had no idea how to read maps, or maybe read in general. He, of course, didn’t want to tell us that and jeopardize the $3 fare. I think that was the first time we actually had to fire our tuktuk driver and find a new ride. (Jen still made me pay him $2 for the ride to . . . nowhere. Sucker.)

So the next morning we set off on a search for a new place to stay. We spent probably another hour in a tuktuk randomly driving around looking for a nice and cheap place (nonexistent in Phnom Phen, we learned), and finally settled on the OK Guesthouse. If ever there were an appropriate name for an establishment, this was it. Other than the dark and damp smelling rooms, the signs within the rooms kind of summed it up. While they start off as a general warning to tourists regarding the sex industry, things like “No matter how interested a girl may appear to be, she is most likely a prostitute and will demand money the next day” and “Please do not bring back any unregistered guests” they also go onto say that if you do need to bring back a "guest" to make sure you sign them in and walk them out. Nice.

After settling in, we set out to take in some of the sites. The National Museum offered us a taste of what to expect at Angkor Wat with an impressive collection of Khmer artifacts. Equally impressive was the Royal Palace, which displayed an assortment of architectural influences ranging from Khmer to French, and the Silver Pagoda, where the entire floor is covered with silver. While it may sound impressive, the section of the floor that was visible resembled more of steel than silver. Despite getting a late start in the day and battling the midday heat, we ended up with a full day of sightseeing.

In hindsight, our initial plan for day 2 of sightseeing was a bit ambitious but at the time it seemed pretty straightforward. Getting an early start to the day and having rented a motorbike, the plan was to visit the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and then the Tuol Sleng Museum, both of which serve as a reminder of the horrific acts of the Khmer Rouge. On April 17, 1975 (um, my birthday) the Khmer Rouge engaged in one of the bloodiest revolutions in the world, when they took over Phnom Phen and went about collecting, imprisoning and ultimately killing millions of Cambodians, including the majority of the country’s educated people. From what we learned, the Khmer Rouge’s intentions was to make Cambodia a peasant-dominated rural society, where its citizens would live completely off the land. For fours years, money was abolished and urban centers were like ghost towns. It is estimated that approximately 2 million Cambodians (perhaps 1/5 of the country’s population) died as a direct result of the policies implemented by the Khmer Rouge.

After consulting with the LP, I found out that the drive out to the Killing Fields was about 14km outside of town and that thankfully, the route there is clearly signposted. For those of you who have been following the blog, you may recall one entry where I praise myself for my keen sense of direction. Well, as Jen is all too quick remind me, this experience has brought me back to reality. What should have been a 30 minute, uneventful drive turned out to be a frustration filled 3 hour trip. Did I use the odometer to gauge our distance travelled, you ask? I did but even as we reached the 40 km mark, I still didn’t think we had gone far enough. I mean, I didn’t see a sign and neither did Jen, so the best thing to do is to just keep on going, right? Only when it became glaringly obvious that we had gone too far (a mere 50 km from our starting point, when Jen finally lost all patience) did we finally stop, turn around and start asking some locals for directions.

After hours of driving, we finally arrived at the Killing Fields and while I can’t say the trip was worth it, the towering stupa (religious monument) filled with the remains of Khmer Rouge victims was eye-opening. Touring the surrounding grounds, more evidence of the horrors that took place here can be seen in the form of mass graves, and human remains and clothing that are poking out of the ground. While I had heard of the Killing Fields prior to coming to Cambodia, seeing it in person gave me a better understanding of how tragic the events really were. It was quite a raw and disturbing experience to see the stupa filled with actual people’s skulls, and actual people’s bones on the ground.

The next day, we visited the Tuol Sleng Museum, which was the prison used by the Khmer Rouge to house and torture their captives who would ultimately be taken to Choeung Ek. From the exterior, if not for the barb-wired fences surrounding the complex, Tuol Sleng still gives the appearance of its original intended use, a high school. Yet, once you enter the building itself, you are quickly reminded of the grim history surrounding the school. What’s interesting about the museum is that much has been left in the way that it was during its use as a prison. As we entered the first “room” in building “A”, which was used to house accused leaders of the opposition, you quickly realize the harsh living conditions these prisoners endured. Each room was 6 x 4 meters and in the middle of the room remained the bed frame and is some cases, the shackles that were used to tie down the prisoners. In addition, many of the rooms contained grim photographs showing the prisoners who were found dead in those actual rooms. In most cases, these photos showed prisoners who had been severely tortured laying on either blood soaked mattresses or floors. In fact, in some of the rooms you can still see blood stains on the floor.

Buildings “B, C, & D” consisted of a series of small individual cells that were created by dividing the floor with brick walls, and larger rooms that were used as mass cells. In some of the larger rooms, mug-shot style photographs of all the prisoners were on display. Apparently the Khmer Rouge were impeccable record keepers. What really stood out was the age range of the prisoners, anywhere from children to grandparents. Overall, Tuol Sleng was probably one of the more powerful museums that we had seen in Southeast Asia. Coming to Cambodia and not knowing all of its history, the museum was both graphic and informative. It certainly left Jen and I with a better understanding of what Cambodia and its people have gone through.

Apart from the heavy sights, Phnom Phen was a fairly nice city. It had nice coffee shops and restaurants (usually overpriced, but many were donating money for worthy local causes so we didn’t mind), a pretty good market, and loads of public green spaces. We mostly took it easy in the evenings though, so our impression might be a little rosier than some. One of the stranger things we encountered was a monk begging for cash from us in the afternoon. Still not sure if he was hungry, or heading down the wrong path, however I’d personally bet on wrong path. (I thought monks only ate in the morning? We did see some articles in the local papers discussing issues with monks in Phnom Phen.) Walking the streets, it was evident that there is definitely a lot of poverty and troubles in this city. After 4 days, we decided it was time for us to move on to Siem Reap.

For more photos http://gallery.me.com/adamschen