Chris' most awesome journey

UPDATE: Evil Taxi drivers: 3 / Chris: 3 - Tied!

chicagoguy — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 19:59:00 GMT

Bangkok: Of course I couldn't finish this blog without giving you the final score against the evil taxi drivers. I hopped in the taxi to go to the airport and the driver of course wanted to charge me a flat rate - 500 baht ($16 USD). I told him in no uncertain terms - NO! After explaining to him how his meter worked, he finally agreed to go by the meter. Final cost - meter 200 baht ($6.43 USD) plus tolls 75 baht ($2.41). I felt a bit guilty with my overly agressive "NO", so I did give him a 125 baht tip ($4.02 USD).

I tested one of the DVDs today prior to mailing them out to one of the winners and it didn't work on my TV. Hopefully you will have more luck than I did. Evil DVD bootleg sellers: 1 / Stupid tourist Chris: 0.

Final (b)log star date July 23, 2013

chicagoguy — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 00:30:00 GMT

Bangkok - Beijing - Toronto - Chicago:

(I couldn’t resist the Trekkie pun)

Well…all good things must come to an end. I have thoroughly enjoyed this journey and I want to thank all of you that left comments – all 132 of them. It made me feel connected to home while traveling solo. I am sitting in my hotel room, procrastinating a bit – I don’t want to pack my bags for that last final trip home and some random thoughts have come to mind so please don’t mind me as I ramble on.

“The numbers”

When this trip is over and done, I will have logged 23,525 miles which is only 1,376 miles short of the circumference of the earth. It was done with 13 air segments, 6 long bus rides, 3 private car trips and one way too long train ride. I feel that we did the journey together since you had to suffer through 38 stories and look at 496 vacation photos. I know I get a bit bleary eyed after seeing only a dozen photos of someone else’s vacation. The blog to date has been viewed 1,258 times. I think anything over 40 means I have gone “viral”.

Could have, would have, should have…

Here are some tidbits that I learned from this trip. Looking back, some of them seem pretty elementary now.

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Many of the hotels I stayed at were down some pretty dodgy streets but inside they were gorgeous. TripAdvisor.com always steered me right.
Don’t sweat the small animals…ants and geckos. They are all over so you might as well accept them as friends.
Watch where you walk in the Elephant Park. You can literally trip over those “deposits”. Elephants eat over 500 kgs (1100 lbs) of food daily. That is 10% of their body weight every day!
It only costs .70 cents to have your clothes washed so take that into consideration when packing.
SIM cards work here on your smart phones and talk is cheap! A 52 minute call home cost me 180 baht ($6 USD).
Try on new cargo pants BEFORE leaving on your trip.
WiFi is literally available everywhere in SE Asia.
Always get a business card from the hotel prior to leaving. It helps coming home at night and you don’t know how to say the name of your hotel in Khmer. Also after staying in so many hotels, they begin to blur together and you just plum forget the name.
Learn about those new gadgets you bought for the trip BEFORE you actually leave.
Sidewalks are NOT made for pedestrians. They are for food vendors and parking motorcycles. Come to think of it, pedestrian crossings are not meant for pedestrians either since cars tend to fly through them from all directions.
Things I packed but never used: umbrella, rain coat (even though it did drizzle), 4 of the 8 pairs of underwear, 1 of the 3 cargo pants and 12 of the 16 UV protection mini samples my dermatologist gave me. (Please note I did change clothes daily but had them washed since it was so inexpensive).

Prizes

I know some of you read this blog just to see what I was up to while others might have been influenced by the “prizes”. Here are just a few winners:

Most blatant puns for winning a Rolex watch: Joe Craig, “I am WATCHing you”.
Winner of every contest question posted: Maureen Craig. Who else in the world besides my sister knows what a “Klong Put” is? I bet that is going to be one of her words at her next scrabble game).
Most sympathetic to the plight of the Karen Long neck tribe: Bob Kraft, “Didn't you date Long Neck Karen in high school? Or was that Short-Thumb Sharon?”
Most insightful question posted: Rachel & Zach “How much did you tip for a 95-cent haircut?”
Most politically correct: Scott Winslow “WAIT!, isn't that the ghost of RONALD REGAN??!! (Me standing next to Ronald McDonald in Chaing Mai)
For just complimenting my cooking: Xavier Winslow “Best briskets in the World”
For “dissing” my latest fashion trend…the 11 pocket cargo pants: Ivan Winslow “Chris, I know it was the "fiesta waistband" that made you buy these pants. It had nothing to do with the number of pockets”
For sounding the most worried when I had the near death experience while filming the train coming through the market: Kitty Craig “That was definitely suck in the gut and don't breath close!”
For sounding the 2^nd most worried after me scaling the temples: Frank & Cathy Craig, “I would like to have seen you after or during you climb”. That is concern and not just morbid curiosity, right?
Best backhanded compliment when I climbed the Mt. Everest of Temples: Pete Sampogna. “What an adventure! I'm getting a new respect for you, Chris. And a ton of respect for your tuk-tuk driver that transported your butt.”
For a real compliment on my photography and writing skills from a professional photographer: Dave Fish. “What a great trip. Enjoying the journalism and the photos”.
To a nephew that actually looks up to me: Justin Craig “Uncle! I will definitely be following your journey as I hope to one day follow in your travels to SE Asia.”
To a brother that says what he wants, John Craig “I want one. I want one. I want one”.
To those that believed in my climbing capabilities, Kevin Jordan: "Chris glad to hear you have joined the climbing ranks. Jen and I will be sure to send you an invite for our next adventure climbing trip. We still need to break in some of our wedding presents..."
Finally…to the person most worried about performance quality of the postal services worldwide: Marie Craig “Still playing "how low can you go?" A motorcycle wouldn't be as hard to push as a car...btw, I haven't gotten a postcard yet.”

I just realized that I gave out 14 prizes…and I am not sure I have that many. Some of you may have to rotate the DVDs and take turns wearing the watches. Once again, thanks for your witty comments.

Photos: Last photos of Bangkok

chicagoguy — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 22:55:00 GMT

Last day's photos

Last day in Bangkok

chicagoguy — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 22:42:00 GMT

Bangkok, Thailand: This was my last full day prior to flying back to the states so I decided to do the tourist thing. Being a national holiday in Thailand, the roads were pretty much empty. I took the “L” (subway above ground) aka Skytrain to Saphan Taksin station, the stop for the Central Pier. There I boarded a river boat and headed up the Chao Phraya River (some name dropper I am) and got off at Tha Tien, the stop for the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimon Mangkhlaram Ratchaworamahawihan aka Wat Po. I couldn’t resist one more temple. This is also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The Reclining Buddha is 141 feet long and 50’ tall. Impressive to say the least. On the other side of the Buddha, you can hear chimes. They aren’t chimes however but people depositing coins in the 108 bronze bowls. These bowls represent the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha and are believed to bring good luck. (I think I lost my hotel key card there which cost me 750 baht ($24.18) to replace…so much for good luck!).

Then I started to walk back to the hotel. After an hour of walking in my sandals, I decided my time would be put to better use eating lunch so I went and got some Pad Thai. As I was eating, the Royal Family (the Prince I assume since the King is in the hospital) passed by along with their entourage. The prince and his gang were in a white Rolls Royce and the entourage in 30+ identical red Mercedes that were then followed by another 10 police cars and about 20 motorcycles. The road was completely closed down. If that wasn’t the Royal family, it was sure someone with a lot of clout that knew every traffic cop in town!

I was a bit tired so I flagged down a tuk tuk driver and asked him how much to take me to Chit Lom Skytrain stop. He raised 2 fingers which I assume meant 20 baht. As I was getting out, I gave him 20 baht and his English all of a sudden got better…”No, I said 200 baht” he demanded. ($6.44 vs .64 cents) Well, it only cost me 250 baht from the airport to downtown and this was only 1/10^thof the journey. I caved in. SCORE: Evil taxi & tuk tuk drivers – 3 / Stupid tourist Chris – 2.

After coming way to close to losing some limbs, I have also given up trying to teach Thai drivers that pedestrians SHOULD have the right of way while in the crosswalk with the flashing green pedestrian light blinking. I fought a brave battle but admit defeat. I will leave that struggle to the next brave tourist to do his or her best. Be forewarned however, the odds are against you.

Photos: HuaHin and Bus ride

chicagoguy — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 23:23:00 GMT

Beach town south of Bangkok

No flatulence zone!

chicagoguy — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 22:47:00 GMT

Hau Hin & Bangkok, Thailand: I took a quick 2 day vacation to a resort that the Thais tend to visit during their holidays: Hua Hin. This is a small fishing / beach resort 192 km (120 miles) south of Bangkok. Mr. Sam, my driver from the day before, drove me down to my hotel – City Beach Hotel. The hotel was new…back in 1936. Hey, what do you expect when paying $50 a night? It was a bit depressing sitting in the room / lobby so I headed down to the Hilton and hung out in their lobby. The raining season has finally begun so for the past couple of days, it has been rather cloudy. Today (Sunday) was the first day of the Buddhist Lent, Khao Phansa. Way back when, the farmers complained that the monks would tramp all over their recently planted crops so Lord Buddha declared that all monks had to stay in the Wats (Temples) for the first 3 months of the raining season to protect the crops.

I think the monks revolted this morning in Hua Hin since they were blaring their music from the main temple outside my room starting at 5:30 am. By 9am, I gave up and decided to head back to Bangkok. This time I decided to take the VIP bus. They have a unique bus schedule: when the bus is full, it leaves. So after waiting 40 minutes, I was surprised that we were headed out with only 3 passengers. I realize soon enough however that I had the luck of being on the “milk run”. We would stop every 5 km and pick up or drop off passengers the whole route to Bangkok. I unfortunately was right by the door so I ended up being the doorman for everyone. After more than 25+ stops, we pulled into Bangkok. Since it was still early, I decided to catch a movie. I was sitting eating my popcorn when everyone in the theater stood up. Here it is customary to play the King’s anthem prior to every movie and everyone must stand.

Well…tomorrow is my final day prior to heading back to Chicago so I will be getting the last of my tourist activities done before leaving.

Chris is on a "vacation" from blog...will return on Sunday

chicagoguy — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:13:00 GMT

HuaHin, Thailand: I am taking a two day vacation from this vacation. I am not taking my laptop so the blog will continue on Sunday when I return to Bangkok

Photos: Train Market & Floating Market

chicagoguy — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 23:53:00 GMT

Two markets in one day

Ambassador Chris

chicagoguy — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 22:01:00 GMT

Bangkok, Thailand – Crack of dawn…6:30 am off to catch the train pulling into Meaklong Station about 120 km (75 miles) south of Bangkok. The market begins early in the morning and has grown over the years to spill onto the railroad tracks. The solution: close the market down when the train is coming into and leaving town. Now time is money so they do this just minutes before the train is due to arrive. As you can see from the pictures, the market is on both sides of the tracks and the customers have to walk up and down inside the rails when buying items. We got there at 8:00 am expecting to see the 8:30 train arrival. The rail schedule however is dependent upon many things: cows crossing the tracks, engineer showing up, etc. The 8:30 train was now due to arrive at 9:30…not too bad. So I explored the market, my guide bought food for his dinner and we waited. At 9:00 I found a “safe” place to watch the train since there were about 200 tourists there to see the same thing. At 9:25 a horn blew and the vendors began to clear the tracks and lift up their awnings. At 9:30 we heard the train whistle and everyone got their cameras ready. My guide had shown me a line on the ground which was about 20” from the wall and said don’t cross this line. I thought okay, it will be a tight fit but surely they built in a “safety margin”. Well let me tell any future visitors to Meaklong: There is no safety margin built in. I began to realize this as the train was approaching and thus you will see the camera shake a bit more and change angles! It was way too close to comfort and the engineer didn’t want to slow down. I guess he was worried about his “on time arrival” record.

Then it was onto the floating market. I really didn’t know much about it other than it was “floating” and a “market”. It sounded rather cool and an opportunity to get some great photos. My driver dropped me off and I was approached by the boat lady saying it would be 1500 baht ($50 USD) which seemed a bit steep for me. She insisted it was a great value by showing me a map where I would be going for the next hour. My negotiation skills were of no use here and I paid the $50. I got in the long boat with a BIG engine and we were off. As we approached the first market, it quickly became apparent that tourists were the only customers in this market. Hats, beer, water, statues, masks, silk, etc were the items on sale. My driver pulled alongside of 3 or 4 boats loaded with their wares (which I am sure he got a commission for) but I didn’t end up buying anything. As the trip progressed, he got the idea that I wasn’t there for buying anything, just to take photos. I began to understand Thai as he would call out to the vendors in the boats, “Don’t bother, this cheap bastard isn’t buying anything” and see their faces sadden.

After that, we fought rush hour traffic which is even worse since the streets are torn up due to the subway construction going on and was back by 3pm. Oh….I almost forgot. I was made part of the US embassy staff for the day. The cops were doing traffic stops to check registration and licenses. The driver explained to me that this was done more or less to supplement their 10,000 baht ($321 USD) monthly salary. Fines would run 500 baht ($16 USD). He pulled out a sign in Thai and put it on the dashboard. I asked him what it said and he told me “Embassy staff transport”. It seems they don’t hassle the diplomats. I guess it was effective since we were not stopped at the 7-8 stops that were set up along our route. “Ambassador Chris” … I like the sound of that.

Photos: Bangkok's canals

chicagoguy — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 23:03:00 GMT

Canals of Bangkok

chicagoguy — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 22:51:00 GMT

Bangkok, Thailand – Another lazy day dedicated to planning the final days here in Thailand. I did the tourist thing and took an afternoon cruise through the canals here in Bangkok. I was fortunate enough to get the Thai version of Rodney Dangerfield as a tour guide. Tonight I broke down again today and went to Pizza Hut. When the pizza craving calls, you have to answer it.

I have gone through some of the old blogs and have noticed that someone else has hacked my account and rewrites my blog but with grammatical errors and misspellings. It must be that Snowden guy. I also read an article this morning in the Herald Tribune that McDonalds is now going to enter the Vietnam market by early next year. The first franchise is going to the son-in-law of the prime minister. I wonder what his qualifications are.

Photos: Caution...photos may be disturbing

chicagoguy — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 23:22:00 GMT

S21 Toul Sleng Genocide Museum & Killing Fields

Last country on my trip!

chicagoguy — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 22:00:00 GMT

Phnom Phen – Bangkok: This morning I spent 3 hours at Toul Sleng Prison, also known as S-21. This used to be a school but was converted into a detention center during the regime of Pol Pot (among other things). Here people were held prior to bringing them out to Killing Fields. When it was liberated in 1979, there were only 7 survivors out of the 12,000 that passed through here. I was fortunate to meet the last two living survivors during a book signing ceremony today. I also had a guide that was able to give me her personal account of what it was like to live during that time. Phnom Phen was turned into ghost town three days after the Khmer Rouge took over on April 17, 1975. All persons living within the city were forced to go out to the countryside and work in the fields. Some estimates have that 25% of the population was killed during the Pol Pot regime (1975 – 1979).

After that, it was onto the Russian Market. Here you can buy anything: food, tires, DVDs, jewelry, etc. It is one full square block filled with stalls. The DVD for the Lone Ranger was on sale for $1.25 and the movie just came out! Not sure how they did that. Speaking of sales, the currency in Cambodia is the riel but nobody every uses it. Everything is quoted in USD. If something is .75 cents and you give them a $1, they will give you the change in riel. That is the only time you will actually see their money. All ATMs dispense US dollars!

A quick walk around town and then off to the airport. I was pleasantly surprised with Air Asia. I would compare them to JetBlue (leather seats, new planes, smart uniforms for the flight attendants). The flight was only 1 hour and I felt that we were back in civilization again: cars going faster than 30 MPH! Having to deal with currencies with so many “000,000s” previously, it was a pleasure to deal with the baht (30 Baht=1USD). The Vietnamese taxi cab union called ahead to advise them that “stupid tourist” was on his way. My driver of course tried to overcharge me. If the meter reads: 187 baht, Chris is only paying 187 baht (plus a 50 baht fee for the driver plus the toll road fee). She backed down from her original request so now the score is Evil taxi cab drivers – 2 / Chris – 2. Tied!

As I am typing up this blog (12:30 in the morning), I am beginning to know how I got such a great deal for this centrally located hotel in the shopping area. Other hotels (Sheraton, Grand Hyatt) were going for $200 + a night and this was only $50. The great advantage here however is that I get to listen to the blaring music from the disco clubs right next to my room without having to pay a cover charge! Lucky me. Hopefully tomorrow the internet will be fully functional and I will upload some videos and recent photos.

Photos: Phnom Phen

chicagoguy — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 23:07:00 GMT

Capitol of Cambodia

Photos: Last day in Angkor Wat

chicagoguy — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 21:53:00 GMT

Angkor Wat, Angkor ?? and Landmine Museum

Change of plans

chicagoguy — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 20:00:00 GMT

Siem Reap - Phnom Phen, Cambodia: 4 am…wake up call…alarm going off…”What was I thinking?”. Oh yeah…”Ensel Adams” Chris was going to shoot Angkor Wat at sunrise. I stumbled out of bed, packed my luggage and was down in the lobby by 4:30. My trusted taxi driver was waiting for me. We made the 20 minute trip in silence (I think BOTH of us were asleep at that hour). He let me out in front of Angkor Wat and said he would meet me in the parking lot when I was finished. I showed my three day pass to the guard and proceeded into the temple area. For those of you who saw the “Indiana Jones” movies, he always had to successfully pass through an obstacle course to reach the treasure. Well, he had it easy since there was always illumination of some sort. (Note to self…bring a flashlight next time you want to walk in the pitch black dark). I made it to the temple without any major fractures or falls and set up the 3 lb tripod that I have been carrying around SE Asia. I put my Sony Cybershot on it and programmed it to “night mode”. Just as I did that, I got the low battery light and it died 15 seconds later. (Note to self again…charge camera battery before leaving hotel). Fortunately I had a 2^nd camera and was able to get some shots from that. Just as the sun was about to rise, 178 tour buses with various nationalities unloaded and Chris was no longer alone. So much for Angkor Wat pictures without tourists. It was quite a zoo at that point so I sat back and watched it unfold before me. Around 7:00 am I called it quits and decided it was time to head to a temple about an hour north of Angkor Wat. As I was exiting the temple, I began to wonder…”How many taxis and tuk tuks have I taken the past 3 weeks? What did my driver look like?” Hell…I would have been happy to know what the damn car looked like. Minor panic started to set in since all of my luggage was in the trunk. As I walked around the parking lot that was now FULL with taxis, the “Scared School Girl” Chris started to come out again. Fortunately for me, I was the only guy wearing a White Sox baseball cap among all of the tourists and my taxi driver found me wondering aimlessly!

The road to the temple north of Angkor Wat was beautiful: full of rice fields, children going to school, little villages, etc. Unfortunately “Mr. Sandman” Chris began to suffer the consequences of getting up at the crack of dawn without any caffeine and missed about ½ of the trip. Upon arriving at Temple #372, the police guarding the temple began his pitch. They would let me go in and take pictures in the restricted area for a tip. I didn’t accept so they then tried to sell me police badges. (Yeah, like I could pass myself off as a Cambodian policeman). They soon got the idea that “Cheapo” Chris wasn’t going to bite so they left me alone. It was nice to see Temple #372 (or was it #398) and I highly recommend taking the time to visit it. You won’t be disappointed it.

Afterwards we headed to the Landmine Museum which was very sobering. As we were driving from there, I reminded the driver that I had to be at the bus station by 12:30 to make the bus to Phnom Phen. He said yes, not a problem and he mentioned in passing that the bus ride would take 7 hours. “Hold your horses”, I said. I thought it was only 4 hours. “Bitching, moaning Chris who had been on one too many extended train / bus rides” began to revolt! I vaguely recall seeing that Cambodian Angkor Airways had flights to Phnom Phen from Siem Reap during my planning stage. Change of plans – let’s go to the airport! Cheapo Chris (bus ticket was non-refundable) didn’t stand a chance! It wasn’t too much of a fight since the bus ticket was only $12. We got to the airport in record time and there happened to be a flight in 45 minutes to Phnom Phen! Yes…”Charles Lindbergh” Chris was going to put his life in the hands of Cambodian Angkor Airways. It ended up being a very pleasant flight with meal service and a cold towel! Forty-five minutes later, I was in Phnom Phen.

The original plan was to spend 3 nights/four days here. “Alzheimer”Chris raised its ugly head. What hotel did I book? After looking through all of my luggage and signing on to Hotel.com along with Agoda.com I came to the conclusion that I didn’t book a hotel here. Lucky for me I had a guide book and tried calling some hotels. I got a message in Khmer but I couldn’t quite understand it. I called six other hotels and got the same message. I began to understand the message: “You idiot, you don’t know how to dial a phone number”. After a few frustrated attempts, I found someone at the airport who knew how to make a call. It seems that if you are dialing a landline from a cell phone, you have to add the prefix “32” or “33” or some number. I got through to the hotel but they had availability for only one night, “I’ll take it” and hopped in a cab. The road into town reminded me a bit of Calcutta (lots of traffic, dust and no rules of the road for civilized drivers. I got to the hotel and told the driver to wait as I was going to cram 4 days of sightseeing into 24 hours.

The first stop was Choeung Ek, a village 15 miles south of Phnom Phen known as the Killing Fields. I won’t go into details here but it was one of the most moving experiences in my life. After that, it was just back to the downtown office of Air Asia to change my flight. Like most US carriers, there is a cost to check your bag with one major difference. If your bag is over 7 kilos, you must check it as luggage. So I paid the change fee ($46), the luggage fee ($13) but didn’t fall for the meal fee ($5), the insurance fee ($3) nor the seat selection fee ($10). Since the day started at 4am, I decided to head back to the hotel at 5:30 and call it a night.

Photos: Sunday in Siem Reap

chicagoguy — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 23:43:00 GMT

Helicopter ride and sunset at Angkor Wat

"Indiana Jones" Chris is back!

chicagoguy — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 22:33:00 GMT

Siem Reap: Today was a semi-leisure day. I got up at 8am and eventually made it out to the War Museum. If you are a military buff, it is worth the trip out there to see some of the old Russian, Chinese and US arms, tanks, etc that were used here during the civil war as well as during the Pol Pot regime. Then it was back to the hotel for free 30 minute foot massage that was included in the price of the room! After that, my feet finally forgave me for the torture I put them through the day before. Three thirty rolled around and it was time for “Indiana Jones Chris” to take his 18 minute helicopter ride. I was a little apprehensive since I have never been in one before nor knew the norm for Cambodian maintenance. I was lucky enough to sit in the pilot’s seat. The pilot sat in the co-pilot’s seat but all of the instruments were on his side so I guess he knew what he was doing. We took an aerial tour of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Angkor I don’t know. We landed safe and sound. I had an early night since tomorrow was my “Sunrise” day at Angkor Wat.

Scared little school girl!

chicagoguy — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 23:30:00 GMT

Siem Reap, Cambodia: I got an early start on the temples today at 8:00 am. My private tuk tuk driver came and picked me up ($15/day…not bad). I bought a 3 day pass to see all of the temples and started out with the Crown Jewel: Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious building. This temple is surrounded by a moat 190 meters wide (two football fields: 207 yards). The moat forms a giant rectangle around the temple 1.5km by 1.3 km (almost 1 mile x 1 mile). It is huge…and just as impressive. It took me 1 ½ to see only part of it and I never got “temple burn out”.

Then it was onto Angkor Thom. Here the monkeys come out to play. They are literally all over the place! Unfortunately when backing up, I stepped onto someone’s tail and Wild Mother monkey came after me with a vengeance. I of course ran off like a scared little school girl. Wild Mother Monkey:1 Scared chicken tourist: 0. She had teeth like a lion! After my encounter with Wild Mom Monkey, I thought it would be best to leave (aka run away very quickly) and visit another temple – The Bayon. This was built by Jayavarman VII precisely to extract vengeance upon an American tourist (me) 1,000 years later. I now consider myself a professional rock climber. As we refer to it in the biz, “free soloing”. Not only free soloing but “highball”. (You non-climbers will have to look up those terms in wikipedia). Needless to say, I made it to the top! What I didn’t really think about however was the descent. Wow…visions of my encounter with Wild Mom Monkey came back! If I was to label it scary, that would be an understatement. After letting 85 people go in front of me, I started down and I’m glad to tell you that the “Highball” guy is back in the game! Along with Bayon, I visited the Baphoun, Terrace of the Elephant and Terrace of the Leper King. I was happy with myself and thought that I survived the worse but as always, I was mistaken. I was only 50 yards away from safety (my tuk tuk) when all of a sudden a horde of touts descended upon me. Three shirts, one set of postcards and 3 beads later, I made it out of there!

Hung, my driver, had some refreshing water cold water for me. Since my sweat was sweating during my climbs, my glasses became one hell of a mess. The first time I got to “see” where I have been, was when editing the photos later.

At this point I was dead tired and faced with a dilemma. The battle between the “Cheap Chris” who wanted to get his money’s worth from the full day tuk tuk tour versus. “Dead Tired Chris” who wanted to go check out the hotel pool. Cheap Chris won and it was onto Ta Prohm aka “Tomb Raider Temple”. For those of you who haven’t seen the Angelina Jolie (Lara Craft) movie, it was filmed here where nature and some pretty aggressive trees are trying to take over the temple. It was a great place to take some shots but “Dead Tired Chris” kept bitching and moaning the whole time. By 3pm, “Dead Tired Chris” finally won out and we started our way back to the hotel. The breeze was refreshing and I got my second wind and asked Hung to make one final stop: HeliStar. Yep…the “Indiana Jones Chris” is back and going to take a helicopter ride tomorrow. Stay tune for the details.

Photos: Angkor Wat

chicagoguy — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 22:26:00 GMT

Holy Monkey!