Asia Adventures

Gallery: Earl & Leslie

rdlilone — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 08:12:00 GMT

how to be happy

Gallery: Non Khiaw and Muang Ngoi Neua

rdlilone — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 23:19:00 GMT

To the City and trekking villages in the Mountains

Gallery: Vang Vieng

rdlilone — Wed, 7 Feb 2007 02:06:00 GMT

Maylan's Guesthouse

Gallery: Maylan Guest House Vang Vieng Laos

rdlilone — Mon, 5 Feb 2007 18:03:00 GMT

The Guest house to stay at in Vang Vieng

Boating to Battambang and beyond

rdlilone — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:11:00 GMT

Hello fellow blog readers! David and I have decided to collaborate on our blogs making the writing collective and cohesive (ok it saves computer time too!) So if you get emailed from here on out from both David and myself you only need to read one blog! Please feel free to continue to peruse our equally fantastic photos though!

Ok so last I wrote we were a bit templed out and tired of the overbearing tourist scene (and tired of feeling like walking wallets). We decided to take a boat ride over to the "french colonial" town of Battembang. There is very little "colonial" feel left here but we will come to that in a moment. Now about that boat ride...

The day started out well enough - bus was supposed to pick us up at 6 a.m. - didn't leave until 6:45 a.m. I spent the 45 minute wait in the lobby of the guesthouse by swatting mosquitos with our awesome mosiquto zapper tennis racket (how's about that Dad?). We were jammed onto the overfilled minibus with about 20 Barang (Westerners) inside, I was sitting on a engine lump as David nestled onto a 2 year old's plastic chair. We drove through a narrow pennisula with some of the most hideous living conditions we'd seen as of yet. The ground was covered in layers of garbage (they don't believe in trashcans) and the roads were unpaved and pot holed. We were brought to the pier and were pleasantly surprised when we saw the boat we were to board; a giant luxury cruiser. Once we disembarked and retrieved our backpacks from the van our hopes vanished as we were guided not to the luxury cruiser but to a small bench seated longboat that seemed to be already filled with passengers. Yet as to Cambodian custom, we boarded the boat and watched as the boat was overloaded with people both inside the cabin and on top of the roof. So filled was our boat that we bottomed out in the mud and it took the straining of a small army of Cambodians to push us out of dock.

Cruising at a speed of about 3 knots an hour the boat consistently scraped bottom due to low water levels. The three hour journey ended up taking 8½ miserable, hot, cramped hours. We passed many floating villages during our cruise and saw wonderful sights such as a young schoolgirl hanging hiney off the school boat to have a pee in the water and naked people bathing in that same water. We were able to stretch our legs for a bit as we floated up to a houseboat/shop. The masses exited the boat and overwhelmed the bouyancy of the floating shack. The toilet, a simple hole cut into the wooden floor to the water below, inundated the innocent travelers occupants, covering them in the returned human effluent. We quickly made a purchase of pineapple and cookies and reboarded the boat before we lost our seating.

The journey was long and hot but at times very interesting to see the way people live in these floating villages, complete with caged pig farms adrift and satallite tv dishes on the shack boats. We finally made our way to a steep metal staircase leading up to safety of Battambang.

Battambang, known for its French Colonial architechure, is the gateway to the most heavily landmined areas in Cambodia. Unfortunately the USA is responsible for the aquistion of most of these over 2 million mines and hospitals still see several victims daily with loss of limb due to these mines. The history of the country is written on the faces of the people and dispair has replaced hope in the eyes of most. Jobs are scarce at best and tourism is the most lucrative occupation, though this town sees a low volume of toursits. The gap between the "haves" and "have nots" is cavernous, and it is rare to see Cambodians that "have." One poor case we saw was of a feverish young girl with a very sick baby whose only sustainance was suckling a dirty bottle of sugar water. We saw another similar case but the woman was missing both of her legs.

The repute of the architechure of the town did little to charm this sad and oppressed experience of life. The genocide of the 70's remains evident in the fact that all the profesionals including doctors and even Buddhist monks were executed during the "social cleansing" carried out by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Visiting a Buddhist temple in town, we had a short tour and a long conversation with a very friendly 26 year old monk who was remarking that he had no master under whom to train, making the practice very difficult. Cambodia is in many ways a country of children trying to find a way to live. Throughout Cambodia there is a heavy air of both pollution and suffering. Pharmacies are more prevailant than restaurants given the constant need for medicine, though most cannot afford the few dollars that these lifesaving medicines would cost. We did however find a wonderful coffee shop that became a needed daily refuge from the poverty of the town.

We left Cambodia feeling a helpless compassion for the country and its inhabitants. Though glad to have journeyed through this land (we will miss the baggettes) our return to Thailand was a literal and figurative breath of fresh air. The juxtaposition of Thailand and Cambodia makes Thailand seem an immaculately clean and well ordered society.

We are currently in the small provencial city of Buriram and will be making our way north to the country of Laos. We hope to get deeper into the natural environment as the journey unfolds and know that Laos has many opportunities for trekking and is reputed to be quite beautiful. Thailand has doubled its entrance fees for its National Parks, making many visits to these prevalant sights a no-no for we budget travelers. This is very saddening for people like us who love to frolic in nature's playground.

If you have made it this far, thanks for coming along on our journeys! Will be writing again soon!

Always,

Leslie and David

Gallery: New Year's on Pub Street at Siem Reap

rdlilone — Fri, 5 Jan 2007 22:44:00 GMT

Celebrations of a new year beginning!

Gallery: Ta Phrom

rdlilone — Fri, 5 Jan 2007 22:20:00 GMT

Temples of Angkor

New Year's in Siem Reap

rdlilone — Fri, 5 Jan 2007 00:48:00 GMT

Hi All!

Last I wrote we were heading up to Siem Reap! I've taken so many photos there that I haven't had time to write! Our trip was less eventful than our crossing of the Cambodian border but to our great adventure pleasure we were able to get out of our 55 passenger bus hourly and get a good stretch in by giving it a good push to get the clutch popped back in. Six hours later we arrived in swanky (this is my word for the week) Siem Reap.

Since it was the holidays we decided to splurge a bit and both bought tickets to go and see the ruins of the temples of Angkor. Angkor Wat and the other temples such as Angkor Thom were a sight to behold, slight, tiny stairs leading up to the sky, most so steep it was close to rock climbing. All built of sandstone and intricately carved. Most holding statues of the Buddha or what was left of the statues after the Khmere Rouge or theives passed through. Stone walkways upturned due to decay, bullet holes still can be seen as reminders of how many times these temples changed hands. Children now hide among these temples, begging for money with a chant like "needmoney needmoney" with eyes as big as saucers.

I would give you a short history lesson on Angkor but for times sake I will refer you to http://www.travel-cambodia.com/cam-travel-info/history_angkor.htm . Please take the time to read this as is is very informative about the true history of Angkor.

After three days of tuk-tuking to temples, David and I were a bit worn out, so we decided to take it easy and ring in the New Year's on Pub Street in Siem Reap. It was an amazing night, dancing in the street, music everywhere, fireworks going off in the air (and in my hair!) Yes, fire did really become my name for a moment as a firework spark came down and started my hair smoking. One moment I felt something hit my head and the next a wide eyed David was putting out the smoldering. Thank God I wasn't wearing hairspray or else I'd be sporting a new "do" for the new year!

David gained noteriary when challenged by a Scottish fellow to do some 80's dancing in the streets. The man could not compete and soon David had a crowd surrounding him as he did some amazing breakdancing moves. The rest of our stay that evening included tuk-tuk drivers (fans) coming up to David wanting to shake his hand to say they knew him! I'm still waiting on the video that one girl took that evening of that event. If and when I get it I'll post for you! As an end to a spectacular evening, David and I ended up doing some 80's dancing of our own at The Red Piano and a snack at a local eatery.

We took the next day as a rest day and then the following day we tuk-tuked to Banteay Srei and Kbal Spean, two of the furthermost temples from Angkor, about 55 kilometers away. Kbal Spean is an amazingly carved riverbed that has Hindu "lingas" carved into it. Its actual name is River of a Thosand Lingas. Lingas are Hindu dieties that signify male fertility and it was said that women who bathed in this river would become fertile. It was a particulary nice uphill walk through the woods to get to this river and a welcomed respite from the somewhat touristy temples that we previously visited.

We went to Pre Rup for sunset, one of the most popular spots as the view over the surrounding rice-fields of Eastern Baray is spectacular.

Hope you all had a very Happy New Year! Next we're sailing (ok boating) to Battembang!

Gallery: Angkor Thom, Cambodia

rdlilone — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 19:04:00 GMT

Temples of Angkor

Gallery: Angkor Wat, Cambodia

rdlilone — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 15:48:00 GMT

Temples of Angkor

Gallery: Phnom Phen, Cambodia

rdlilone — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 17:01:00 GMT

Sights, Sounds and Smells

Christmas in Cambodia

rdlilone — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 15:04:00 GMT

Today is our 5th day in Phnom Penh. How funny it is that it is considered winter here! People walking about with ski hats on as well as scarves and plastic coverings for coats. It has to be in the mid 80's during the day and maybe in the 50's at night. We took a walk down by the riverside and I was a bit taken back by the extremeties of it all. One side had high end cafes and just across the street, people going through trash and children begging for money. One look at them and it is very hard to not give in and put money in their hands but we've been told that to do so wouldn't help those children but just exploit them all the more.

The day before yesterday we did a bit of touring, went to go see the Tuol Sleng Museum or Prison S-21, a schoolhouse that was turning into a jail housing detainees for the Khmer Rouge. So many people were tortured here, each cell smaller than a hallway closet. Over 17,000 people were held there from 1975 - 1978. They weren't allowed to speak or look or think for themselves and eventually were killed and put into mass graves at many sites, one of them being the Killing Fields of Choeunk Ek. This was the next stop on our tour.

Please see my photos to get the full effect of this place. They have errected a shrine made out of skulls to pay homage all who suffered from the Khmer Rouge's barbaric tortures. There are over 8,000 skulls visible. 43 mass graves have been unearthed and due to erosion more bones, fragments of clothing keep appearing on the surface of the sites. So unimaginable that these torturous acts happened just 30 some years ago. The country now is called "Democratic" but it is still obviously a Communist country - one that no one will outwardly admit to.

After a very sombering day we ending up at a festive holiday party that was given by Nagin (our guesthouse owner)to all of the residents in the nearby guesthouses. Well done homemade food and beer and games prevailed the evening then all went to dance. I personally played the "roll the potato on a string" game and teamed up with David on the "How fast can you dress like a Cambodian" game. It was good fun and a nice change from the day. I'm going to have to do a bit more practicing on that potato game. :O)

Yesterday was Christmas Eve for us. David and I stopped for coffee at a small cafe and tried in vain to get butter (not water) for a croissant. Close... hahaha! We then went to the National museum and did a tour with a guide. Another beautiful structure with many photographic opportunities. The guide was very informative and showed us pre-Angkor, during Angkor, and post Angkor sculptures which in themselves told the story of the change of hinduism to bhuddism. There is also Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai influences which can be seen in the way the sculputures were formed. My favorite was of J-7 or Jayavarman VII as he was seated in a meditative pose looking most serene. David was able to get more information about the political state of the country thanks to our very nice guide also.

We spent the evening with traveler friends Peter and Christine, had dinner at Mama's which is a bit lacking in the name as this cannot be decribed as "mama's cooking". Still all good fun! We then went to a chit chat cafe and had BoBo tea and headed back to our guesthouse as we couldn't seem to find much of anything else going on.

We are planning our next move today, I believe tomorrow we will be heading out to Siem Reap. Many holiday wishes to you all!

Always,

Leslie

Gallery: From Trat to Cambodia - Phom Phem

rdlilone — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 16:53:00 GMT

from Trat to Cambodia

rdlilone — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 16:17:00 GMT

Hi Everyone!

Well we've made the distance into Cambodia! Last I wrote we were in Chatamborie. Needless to say there were not many options there but to watch old movies on tv so we headed out to Trat two days ago. What a wonderful place it was! Everyone was extremely friendly and accomodating - much different from my previous few days experiences. We ended up staying at the Baan Jai Dee Guest House. Very clean, comfortable and quiet - I can understand why there seemed to be many expats there as well as European travelers. We have made a couple of new friends, Peter from Sweden and Christine from Ireland. Our first night was cool and filled with laughter at a local middle eastern style cafe. David (Earl - going to call him that from here on in this blog) finally found his appetite that evening which was also very welcome. I was off my medicine and partaked in a mosquito repelling gin and tonic along with a lovely club sandwich. So accomodating was this cafe that when David asked for a brownie with ice cream they hauled off on a bicycle as if on a quest for him. We spent one more low key day in Trat and yesterday very very early headed to Cambodia.

The trip across the border was pretty event free, we did see one child with half an arm asking for money at the visa office. Also there seemed to be a plethora of people willing to take your baggage and put it into the van only to find out they didn't work for the minibus company we bought our tickets through. Once in Cambodia we had a very nice mercedes minibus drive for the first hour then unexpectedly were dropped off at another guest house where we were shuffled out of the nice bus into a what looked like a very old volkswagon minibus. David was smart enough to hoof it over and get a couple of good seats for us as I made sure the bags were where they needed to go. A Cambodian man came up to us and then proceeded in telling us we had to move to the back of the bus as a cambodian family had bought those seats. David stood his ground and wouldn't budge - the back seats were broken in the bus. We were then threatened that if we didn't move they'd keep us there overnight. No one believed them. Long story short and many a shouts from a couple of Frenchmen on the bus, we finally departed for a 10 - 13 hour bus trip to Phem Pheng. The trip was quite interesting as we drove through many quarries and roads that hadn't been built yet. We also passed through 4 rivers via ferries (check out the photos!). Many water buffalos later we arrived in Phem Pheng (I know my spellings off on that one). We are now staying at the Nagin Guest house along with Peter and Christine. Today we will lay somewhat low and tomorrow we will begin touring around the city. From what I've seen so far it is amazing the amount of poverty that surrounds us, poverty that we as americans don't ever really get to see. Last night we found out that Doctors here earn about $1 per day and that is considered wealthy. Police here are very corrupt, our bus driver had to pay off at least 3 policmen on the way to our guest house. Our guest house guy had his scooter stolen recently and its cost him $200 american dollars to try to bribe the police into telling him where to find it, but as always, just because a bribe is given it doesn't mean they'll make good on it. So he is out a $500 american dollar scooter and I can't help but wonder how long it will take him to earn enough money to get another one. Currently $1 USD is equal to $14,036 in Cambodian dollars. I'm finally considered a millionaire.

Hope you are all doing well for the holidays! Take care!

- Leslie

Gallery: SouthEast Asia

rdlilone — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 13:37:00 GMT

Ko Samet and beyond

rdlilone — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 13:17:00 GMT

Ahhh, Ko Samet, white beaches, aqua blue water, palm trees softly blowing in the breeze. The water has to be in the mid 70 degree range. Nights are filled with music, fire throwers and candlight dinners in the sand by the ocean.

The last time I wrote to you this is how I was feeling - until around 7 pm that night when I got a pretty bad case of the traveler's "flu". I've never been so sick in my life! Lost about 7 lbs on that trip but even that wasn't the worst of it. You see, just as I started getting better Earl (David) got hit with it. I believe mine was due to fish, his due to papaya possibly cut on a not so clean board. Earl got it much worse than I did and whatever ill I was still feeling was pushed aside as he was in dire need to head to get to a doctor. 20 minute speedboat back to the island and and 20 minutes to the hospital where Earl spent the next two days getting IV fluids and anitbiotics. On his first morning there I hopped a couple buses (ok trucks) back to Ko Samet to gather our belongings and get them back to the hospital. No more staying at TOK's for us!

Earl is doing much better now, we left the hospital yesterday and am now in Chantaburie which is nice as it is not touristy and we have a comfortable room to finish up our recouperations.

Our next adventure awaits in Cambodia - Where the heck is the bug spray??!

Talk soon! - Leslie (or as they say here - Lilly)