CAM-bodia

My trip to Cambodia was pretty interesting. The road from Thailand, though significantly improved in the past couple years - is still an adventure in and of itself.
It's only a flat, 150 kilometers but it takes over 4 hours. In the past it could take up to 8-10 hours so I guess I should have been happy.
But the ride was bumpy, dusty and ridiculously cramped.

Need less to say I was quite happy to arrive!


Of course one of the biggest tourist draws to Cambodia is Ankor Wat - the largest religious structure in the world. It is absolutely amazing!
There are actually many temples all around the area built in the height of the Khmer empire.
They are all crafted in stone with finely detailed carving and I couldn't help but just stand in awe at the immensity of it all.



Seriously these buildings are huge but every wall is covered with detailed scenes - so crazy.

For the most part, the fees paid to visit the monuments go towards their maintenance. But a couple of the temples they have left for nature to take over. The scene is something else - huge trees breaking apart stone and sending roots through the rubble. This particular tree I was told is in the movie Tomb Raider.

One of the big temples has all these huge, sort of creepy faces all over it. So I added mine to the mix.


And a parting sunset shot from the top of one of the temples - this place was packed to capacity!

My first 'Malaria Zone' - only there weren't any mosquitoes!

After Bangkok I made my way to Northern Thailand to do some trekking. I had made sure to find some anti-malaria pills as soon as I could to get ready for the N.Thailand/Cambodia danger zones. But I really don't think I needed them!

I did have one bite. And I heard at least one other mosquito buzzing around, but that was pretty much it.

Probably I'm just really sour! Some French-Canadian girls I met were covered in bites. I guess their blood tasted better. Must be all that poutine - makes your blood thick and tasty.

The trekking was cool. We had a local guide who grew up in one of the hilltribe villages that we visited so he spoke the local dialect and had some interesting stories about growing up.


He even let us sample some of the fruits of his labour - frogs! He caught them, skinned them and then dried them over the fire. They didn't taste too bad actually - just like really crispy chicken.



After our group polished off the meal our guide cooked (over a fire!) - we sat by the fire and relaxed. The stars were so amazing! We were really out in the middle of nowhere - the village didn't have electricity except for a few houses with solar panels. A couple dogs came and sat with us since it was pretty cool once the sun had gone down.
I loved visiting the village. It was so peaceful and relaxed - but I could never live there! Our guide was saying that most young people will still live in the village for a few months of the year and then spend the rest of the time working in the cities or towns.

For Thailand, this waterfall was surprisingly cold - but it was still much warmer than any I've felt back home! At this point of my trip I needed the high pressure shower so I stayed in nice and long.

I was undecided about the whole elephant riding thing to begin with, but now having done it I really don't think I need to do it again. I mean it was cool and all - but they don't treat the elephants very well - and it just seems wrong to see such large majestic animals with metal chains around their necks. I'm curious as to how well they feed them too - it seems like all the elephants ate was the bananas and sugar cane that they sell the tourists to 'make friendly with elephant'.

Another great way to feel like a tourist - go bamboo rafting! I thought it was fun, but mostly cause I was helping drive through all the rapids and past all the rocks. And I got a great deal of extra amusement from the fact that my guide's name was Dong and we were riding the Wang River... I know I know, my mind's in the gutter!

Next stop... Cambodia!

Bangkok - the best and worst city

Visiting Kuala Lumpur was a good warm up for Bangkok.
Both are hot, sweaty, bustling Asian cities where competition for business of any kind is extremely fierce.
Sales people in the markets and even the shops are pushy beyond belief.

I adjusted, slowly. But I have a hard time being as blunt and rude as is necessary to have people leave you alone.

Bangkok was worse than KL even. Everybody is in your face trying to get you to buy something or use there services. From the fruit vendors in the market to the thai lady-boys.
The worsts by far are the tuk tuk (3 wheeled motorcycle taxi) drivers.

These guys make a business of trying to pull scams on unsuspecting tourists. Luckily I listened to warnings from other travellers and the Lonely planet and managed to avoid falling into the trap(s). Often they'll offer you some insanely cheap price to take you somewhere you want to go. But as soon as you are in the vehicle they take you around to Jewellery Shops/Souveneir Shops/Strip Clubs etc that pay them comission to get you there. And usually you're now so far out of the way from where you were or wanted to go, that now you have to either renegotiate a price to get back, or find something else.

But amid all the chaos and intrusion into your personal space, Bangkok is a great city.


This is Khao San Road on a quiet afternoon. A preferred spot by backpackers - rooms are cheap, food is ... well not that great compared to other parts of thailand, but it's alright and the most popular of course is the market full of fake goods and cheap t-shirts.
The big problem with backpacking is you have no room to acquire new goods. I'm sure I could have decked myself out in new threads for a bargain, but I would have had to carry shopping bags with me for the rest of my trip. =(
Next time I think I'll arrive with only underwear...

This reclining buddha is in Wat Pho right in Bangkok. I regretfully still know little about Buddhism even though after Japan and Thailand I've been to probably 60+ temples and seen I don't know how many Buddha statues. This was certainly the largest indoor reclining buddha cast in gold paint facing north in Thailand that I've ever seen, which is a pretty amazing feat if you think about it.

This is me at a cool bar in Bangkok. It was literally a hole in the wall on a side street. The bar stools were actually in the alley and we had to move them a couple times for cars to go by! ('CAAARR..... game on') I was happy to find a small little Canadian pin right next to the sign that said 'Now open Lady toilet here - Only pee do not Shit'. There was another adjacent sign (right next to the hole where you ordered drinks) saying 'Thank you for only pee (DO NOT SHIT)'.

This was the roof of the temple of the Emerald Buddha (actually made from Jade) in Wat Phra Kaeo . I couldn't take pictures of it (no cameras please), but for such an elborate building and beautifully maintained grounds, I couldn't help laugh out loud when I saw how little the buddha was! But I guess it's quality not quantity? People go to this temple to pray for Endless Wealth and Prosperity.

Another picture around the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo complex

I was in Bangkok three times actually. Once on my way to Northern Thailand (post coming soon) and then on my way back down to go to Cambodia. And then again after Cambodia on my way to Hong Kong.

At first I wasn't too impressed by Bangkok. Coming from Canada or even Japan it just seemed so in your face and abrasive. But after I settled in and got used to all the action- I actually really enjoyed it.
No where is the saying 'a fool and his money is soon parted' more evident than here!

Life's a Beach... and yet still I have no tan

I think maybe I'm a little too sunsafe.
I came, I snorkelled, I played, I swam, I rock climbed, I scuba dived (dove?)....
I did many things in the sunshine in Southern Thailand - just always with SPF 30. Okay and not usually during peak sun hours (I hope you're proud mom!).

What heightened my ultratight UV precautions was seeing all the sunburned tourists when I arrived there. I promised myself that I wouldn't let it happen. Not to me.
I would be smart! I would slowly increase my sun exposure to allow my pigment time to adapt.

But I think I would have needed another 8 weeks for my plan to finally pay off!

Regardless I had an amazing time.

Here are some pics for now.


This is "The Beach". Though there was no Leo, and I didn't see any sharks. I did go scuba diving around the cliff at the edge of the bay and we played soccer on the beach. It's called Maya Bay - just like our dog! =)

Yup you heard it - I went Scuba diving! This is me with my scuba diving buddy - she was a little crazy (and taller than me!). We had an awesome time. We did our Open Water Certification so we can dive to 18m. I didn't find any sharks here either, but I did find Nemo! He was cute. Also saw a big ol' sea turtle that looked at least 175 years old. I've still got about 10 pictures from my underwater camera that I'll have to finish in the bath or something - but I should have some good fish pics.

Ko Phi Phi - this island got hit bad by the tsunami. Twice too! A direct hit the first time and then the wave cruised around the edge of the island and hit the bay on the other side. It's been rebuilt.... mostly. But it's still got a ways to go. There's still big open areas where hotels used to be. It's pretty amazing how well people have rebounded - most of the residents living there now lived through the tsunami and lost friends and family.

On a lighter note - me rock climbing!! Nothing like climbing cliffs over the beach.

This is the view looking back at the beach from the top of the climbing route.


This was the sunset we saw on the boat after a day of diving.

Freakish coincidence: this girl was staying in my dorm room in the bunk right next to me. Turns out she's from Salt Spring! Not only that - he aunt is my mom's long time friend Priscilla (who lives in England!). Weird....

These caves are famous for birds nests. In Asia, birds nest soup is an expensive delicacy and these oceanside caves are prime nesting areas - it's huge money (like enough to keep tourists off the island!).

That big piece of rock is what I was climbing on - not bad huh?

The night life was pretty good on Phi Phi (pronounced Pee Pee. hee hee). Many of the bars sort of spilled out onto the beach and they had fire shows pretty much every night. This is me trying my hand at it ;-)

Looks like I'll be coming home on the 18th, so see you all soon.