Stuff

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I exceeded the weight limit on my suitcase. The limit is 23 kg and my suitcase was 26.1 kg. I didn't buy much, I think all my purchases totaled less than a pound. Half of the items in my suitcase are for Sam, Alex's wife. Her mother sent her at least a dozen bras. Who needs that many push-up bras I ask you??? There were several tightly wrapped packages that I have no idea what they are. Hopefully Customs won't mind what the contents are either...

Taipei

I'm sitting in the Taipei airport waiting for the connection to SF, almost a 3 hour layover. I'm excited to finally be heading home. Of course, I miss my parents already and worry about them even though they drove me crazy the whole time I was with them. 

The plane to Taipei was a small one, with my side of the plane having only two seats per row. Some lady got on and asked if we could switch seats. Fuck off! If I wanted a window seat I would have reserved one. She eventually moved to another row. I'm one of those travelers who upon sitting immediately shut out the people around me. I didn't bring headphones just for decoration. Leave me the fuck alone, I just want to get home. I don't give a shit about you or your family or whatever other bullshit you want to talk about.

Sorry about the rant. 

So when I started Google here in Taipei, the page showed up in Chinese or is it Taiwanese...

American politics

American foreign relations comes to Cambodia this week and I'm going to miss it. On Friday,  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be here in Phnom Penh and President Obama will be here on the 20th. I saw people lined up with signs near the government buildings. It was kind of neat to see how people received American politics here.

Last day

Well today is my last full day in Cambodia. We went and visited Alex's sister-in-law's bakery and ran some errands. For lunch we had KFC. Yup, fried chicken. I wanted to see how it compared to the stuff back home. The stuff here is basically the same price, so it's quite pricey compared to other food. It tasted alright, a little greasier than the chicken back home.

My flight takes off at 12:30 pm Tuesday and I land at 2:30 pm on Tuesday. Woohoo, 2 hour flight. I wish! I sent a few postcards out when I was in Siem Reap, I wonder if I'll get home before your postcard arrives.

Well, see everyone soon! 

Dinner

We went to Psar Reathrey or night market to pick up some dinner. The traffic there and back was INSANE! Imagine LA traffic only worst. People, meaning cars, moped, tuk tuks, all just jam themselves forward not giving a hoot about anyone else. The mopeds will go on the shoulders and squeezed through any way they can.

On the way back, I saw one moped with a family of SEVEN on it. I couldn't believe it and was unfortunately too slow to capture the image on my iPhone. I was however am to snap a photo of a tuk tuk with 14 teenage girls on it. This is by the most passenger I've seen yet on a tuk tuk.

So what was for dinner? We picked up several things. I got one panko crusted shrimp, one egg roll, one spring roll, and a banh hoi which is a cold noodle dish. I spent about $2.60 on dinner. My parents got a bunch of other stuff. 

Back to Phnom Penh

We left Kep this morning to drive back to Phnom Penh. On the way here we stopped at a zoo/wildlife park. The road to the park was full of people begging for money. It reminded me of a scene from a zombie movie. The park was boring, at least we could drive around and not have to get out of the car. On the way out we came upon some wild monkeys and of course we fed them. All we has was palm fruit, no bananas. It seems all we do is feed monkeys. We also found some on Kep yesterday too and gave them the fruit we had in the car.

After the zoo we stopped at another temple and when we pulled in it was another zombie movie. These children descended upon us trying to sell incense, flower and such and asking for money.

It's Saturday, late afternoon now, and I leave for the US on Tuesday. I'm excited to go back home soon. I miss everyone.

The Coast

Sihanoukville was pretty mellow, typical beach town, not much to do. After we left Sihanoukville we went to Bokor Mountain which is a nation park. The road up was very windy, but very smooth. At the top there's a deity that folks stopped at to ask for blessings for their travel. We also went to a Wat further along the road. It was cool to look down to the sea. There's a new resort in the mountain here with a casino. We stopped here to use the restroom.

After Bokor we drove to Kampot for lunch. It was delicious, crabs and shrimp. Afterwards we drove to Kep and spent the night there. We stayed in a new hotel called the Rok Royal. The hotel opened back in April; however, it seemed that construction was 100% complete. Overall, the coast was very disappointing. The view was fine but the food was limited. For seafood all there was were crab, shrimp and fish, no other shellfish was available. Plus, it was boring

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Over the hills and through the woods

To fucking nowhere! Yesterday we were on the road for 10 hours. If I was on a plane I'd be almost home. My dad wanted us to go to Koh Kong, for what reason I have no idea. Koh Kong is the town on the border between Cambodia and Thailand. Like most border towns there's nothing there. I guess the idea was to drive across the border but you could only cross on foot. The worst part of yesterday was that I had to give in and use the squat toilets. TWICE! I almost lost my lunch the second time...

We finally make it to Sihanoukville around 7 pm. I was bummed that I didn't have enough time to get in the pool.

 

Today we're just roaming around time. Went to a few beaches. Had lunch at Victory beach. I was tempted to go for a swim...We stopped and bought some bananas and feed more monkeys and then we checked out  the Independence Hotel. The Independence was built in the 60s when this town was a major vacation spot for the rich.

 

 

Tomorrow we're headed to visit Kampot and Kep.

On the road again

Yesterday we drove from Battambang back to Phnom Penh. So far during the trip the restrooms, or water closets as its referred to here, have been normal flushing toilets. Yesterday, I got to see my first squat toilet. These things are basically a hole in the floor that you squat over, hence the name. There might be a formal name for it, but I think squat toilet is more appropriate. Let me tell you that it's not a good idea to drink a pot of tea at lunch if you're going on a long drive here, there are no McDonald's or really any convenient place to stop at. After I really just couldn't hold it any longer, we came up to a rest stop of sorts. When I saw the stalls with the sopping wet floors, I said NO FUCKING WAY. I rather pee on the side of the road. Luckily a little further up was gas station and I was able to use the facilities there.

So we're back in Phnom Penh and we drove by the riverfront and I was less impressed this time. I think if anyone wants to come to Cambodia, Siem Reap is the only city worth visiting. Phnom Penh is so dirty and it seems that there's constant construction and the buildings look very dilapidated. Construction would be fine if it didn't consist of mounds of dirt and junk laying everywhere.


We had a few errands to run before we got back to the hotel around 5 pm and then my mom and I were off to see the baby. Alex is my brother and his sister-in-law gave birth during the night. The baby was cute, like all babies. The poor mom had to have a c-section and she looked so uncomfortable. People say I look like the mom, but it's probably because we're both on the fat side.

The hospital rooms are weird, of course. The VIP rooms, from the outside, reminds me of the kind of room they put crazy people in. And there's no waiting room so if you don't have a fancy room, you have to wait outside the building for your friends/family. So people bring stuff and basically camp out outside the hospital. So weird...

R&R

At the pool once again. My parents went to temple this morning so I'm enjoying the last couple of hours of pool time. When the folks come back we'll head back to Phnom Penh for a couple of days and then head to the shores.

No rest for the weary

This week has not been a resting one. Lots of walking and climbing up steps.

This afternoon we went to a temple outside of Battambang and had to climb up 359 steps and of course come back down. If I haven't told you yet, my dad's job on the trip is to carsit which he doesn't mind at all. There are vendors at these sites so he'll sit and drink fresh coconut water while we exhaust ourselves. It's funny because my dad is the tour guide directing where we should go and once we get there he sits and wait for us. Yesterday's trip to Phnom Bakheng was a couple of hours but he didn't mind at all.

If I had known today's trip was another sweat-drenching trip, I might have skipped the shower after my noon time pool session. At least I'm clean, right? 3-4 showers a day is a good thing here since you're drenched in sweat the minute you step outside.

I'm writing this post while I'm lounging at the pool (again). I've never wanted or liked swimming as much as now. I'll be sad when we leave for Phnom Penh tomorrow, no more pool.

Back in Battambang

I hate to sound like a spoiled brat, but damn it I don't care. All the hotels we've stayed at in Battambang and Siem Reap have been like Motel 6, but slightly worst. All my sulking about the hotels have finally paid off. We're back in Battambang and were staying at the Stung Sangke Hotel. It's like a Marriott and costs $25 per night. The craphole we stayed at previously were around $15. For the $25, it's a beautiful hotel, with elevators, restaurant downstairs, there's also a pool and gym. Excuse me while I go lounge out at the pool.

More exploring

More exploring

We went to several places today. First we went to Bakong and Preah Ko and saw the ruins there. It's all really neat but after awhile it all begins to look the same. Then we drove all the way in the other direction to Tonle Sap which translate to freshwater lake. Boring...nothing to see.

After that we went back to the hotel for rest, but I decided to go walking around. Yes, the leash came off. I walked for two hours, along the walk I stopped at Swensen for a scoop of cookies and cream ice cream and some water. I went to a coffee shop for an iced decaf, but decaf is not available in this country. 

In the afternoon we went to Phnom Bakheng. It's quite a hike up to the top, about 3/4 miles. If you don't want to walk you can ride up the hill on an elephant. The point of this site is to watch the sun set into a lake. Totally overrated.

 

We went to dinner at a BBQ place that was basically hot pot. It was actually really good.

I forgot to mention that yesterday when we were visiting Angkor Thom, there were lots of monkeys on the side of the road. After we had lunch we bought several bunches of bananas and gave them to the monkeys. They come right up to you to get a banana. The little ones were so cute. One monkey climbed right to the top of the car and sat up there. We had to chase him off finally. 

One vendor passing by tried to capitalize and ran across the road to sell a couple of bunches of bananas to the other tourists and while she was acrossed the road, several monkeys ransacked her cart and made off with some food until we told her about it. Quite funny indeed.

 

 

Angkor Wat/Angor Thom

I knew it would happen eventually, but just wasn't sure when. Yesterday was the day! Stomach problems. I didn't want to deal with any possible issues so I took an Immodium AD and that was that. Gross, I know but weren't you wondering how my stomach would handle the food here???

Ok, on to better topics.
My dad had bought a map the day before of the temples and such. It would have been more helpful if the map wasn't in FRENCH, but it was still useful.

We went to Angkor Wat and then Angor Thom. We also went to another temple called Preah Khan. All of it was really neat. It's really amazing the detailed stonework and the height at which these temples rise.

Most of these temples were built in the 12th century. In the past, people used to pillage and take statues and such out of the temples so you'll see stands that no longer hold any statues and of course, age and weather has led to most of the deterioration.

Around Angkor Wat, there's a huge moat that surrounds the temple. And at Angkor Thom, there are four entrances to the temple and all the structures have four faces, one for each side.

Banthey Srei

After Phnom Kulen, we headed down the hill and drove to a place called Banthey Srei. This was another temple area. And at all the attractions there are vendors.

Not much to say but it was neat. It always amazes me how ancient people built these structures without the tools that we have today.

Btw, you have to pay for the use of restrooms. If you're on a tour, I believe that the cost is included in your tour price, but otherwise you have to pay. If you're a national the price is 500 riels which is about half a quarter. The price is higher for foreigners. Since I speak Khmer (the word Cambodia or Cambodian is a foreign word, the natives refer to themselves as Khmer and that's also the name of the language) I don't have to pay the higher fee.

Also, if you are a foreigner, there's a fee to visit any of the temples/sites. When we got to the entry area, the guards asked where we were from and our driver told them Phnom Penh. Of course they look at me and I don't look Cambodian so they ask me if I speak Khmer and I said yes and we all got in for free.

Phnom Kulen

Sorry I haven't been writing. The internet in this hotel is not very good and I have to sit in the lobby to get good wifi reception.

So the day before yestereday, Wednesday, we went to this place called Phnom Kulen. It's a temple that was carved into a mountain. The road up to the temple was no narrow and windy. It was extremely bumpy as well since it was a dirt road that had HUGE potholes in it. The road is so narrow that they only let traffic go up the hill before 11 am or so and after 12, the road is only opened to traffic going down the hill.

The place was pretty neat. Like I wrote above, the temple is carved into a huge stone and when you climb up to the top of the temple, there's a HUGE carved reclining buddha. After exiting and climbing down the temple, we somehow picked up a couple of tour guides. The guides are soldiers who are posted up on the mountain. To make some money they perform as tour guides and accept whatever donation you give them. It was cool, instead of just taking the steps back down to the parking lot, they took us on roundabout way through the jungle. There were several altars in the jungle and they told us about each of them. We didn't see any, but there were monkeys in the trees and you only know this because you can see the trees swaying as they jumped from one to another.

Once we got back down to the bottom, we meet my dad at the market place. My dad tires easily so he had taken a moped ride up and back so he missed the tour. We ate in the market place and I picked up a few souvenirs.

Also up here is a waterfall. It was neat, there were people swimming at the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.