Cambodia Day 8 Saturday

Saturday in Cambodia marked one week from when we left Seoul. Vacation was already half way over! We decided to take it easy on Saturday since we'd been exhausting ourselves for days and thus, didn't visit the temples of Angkor. Instead we had a really lazy day.

After breakfast we decided to go with Brian into the center of town to look around the large market and grab some lunch. While a nice idea, we underestimated how hot it was walking in the 90 degree weather directly under the strong sun. The trees in Angkor provided much more shade than we had previously realized. Our goal was to find the French restaurant Brian had read about that served crepes. After wandering around the Pub Street area for a bit we eventually found it. The menu had a lot to offer, especially in the crepe section, but everything was much more expensive than we had been used to for the past week. Crepes were $5, which is a lot even in the US! But since we were there, we went ahead and each got one. And they were tasty.

By that time it was already past noon and we decided it was time to head back to Rosy's for some delicious iced coffees. We also had to get back in time to be picked up. The night before we had booked a little excursion for ourselves, something different than the temples. We were going to be taken out on a boat to Tonle Lake, the largest lake in southeast Asia. The whole package was about $30 each and included transportation plus dinner. Our guesthouse had recommended it as a nice way to see the lake and the floating village, hassle free. Yes that's right, there is a floating village.

Pretty soon after our ice coffees a large air conditioned van arrived. We were the first three pick-ups. There was a driver and a guide. The driver didn't speak any English, but the guide did. Again we were so impressed with his speaking skills! He told us he'd only been studying English for three months, paying an hourly fee to take classes at the local university. He told us it cost more to have English taught by a native speaker and that he paid the cheaper fee for the Cambodian teacher (who obviously does a great job!). He also pays for the hourly class instead of the ones with a set time because they are more expensive, plus, if he has to work, he can reschedule where if he is taking the set time class, just like any college class, if you miss it you can't make it up. He said he was studying Tourism Business so this seemed the perfect job for him. He was a very nice guy to talk to and we liked hearing his story.

Before heading out to the lake we stopped to pick up five more passengers. What a motley crew we were. First we stopped at a lush, exclusive hotel to pick up two Australian guys, one plump and brown, one plumb and white, with fancy cameras around their necks, sun hats and khaki shorts. Second stop was at another exclusive hotel. This time it was an Eastern European couple, a very large man and his very tan, very blonde, very busty wife. Last was a small guesthouse like ours where we picked up a tiny, 40 something Japanese woman. (Everyone also spoke perfect English.) What a group.

Then it was off towards the lake. Our guide made sure to point out lots of things to us on the way as we wound through Siem Reap, realizing the city was much bigger than we had thought. We passed both shack houses and solid homes, markets and families. He would say, "see those men, those are the fish men, they catch fish and sell it to market every day." Or, "see this, this is a crocodile farm. It takes seven years to raise a crocodile, then you can sell it to China for purses and bags and make a few hundred dollars." Apparently crocodile farms were very common in Cambodia!

As we got out of town the land became sparser, with only a few buildings lining the street. We also saw an accident. A person on a bike had been hit or run off the road and ended up in the side bushes, people were gathering around to help but we don't really know what happened. The road we were on was raised, on either side it was a good 10 feet or more to the ground below. Still the guide told us that during the rainy season, this road is covered with water! Thus getting to the lake becomes almost impossible, even for the fish men. That is why many families have portable homes, or two homes. They live next to the lake during dry season, and then during rainy season move inland. That is also why the homes are built on stilts, because the water level fluctuates so much! On our way we stopped at something called GECKO, an education center built on stilts, right between two homes. The front GECKO touched the raised street, the back of the house looked down 20 feet to the small stream below. There were stilt houses all around us, we could look right into people’s backyards and see them washing in the pump water, peer at their chickens pecking away at the sparse grass and notice kids playing. These people would move once the rainy season came in. Our guide also explained that they had recently had a fresh water pump installed in the area, which made living conditions much better because the lake water they had been drinking and using to cook with was not clean. At GEGKO we got to see pictures and charts discussing the dramatic and drastic changes in water level the lake undergoes every year, as well as learn more about the fish, snakes and crocodiles raised in the area. Actually, the crocodiles are fed the water snakes! Eww!

Finally we arrived at the lake, or at least to the peninsula that boats followed into the lake. The area wasn't exactly picturesque since it was the dry season and there were a hundred or so shacks built around its edge. There were also hundreds of small boats in the water. And then we noticed a large, ugly construction site to the right. We asked what it was. Our guide said, "oh that is a Korean resort being built, they are the ones who supplied the road we just drove on." Our jaws dropped! I was so upset! I couldn't stop thinking "stupid Koreans!" We had actually seen a ton of Korean's in Cambodia, I could hear and recognize them right away. They were the ones who were always on tour buses. They would look at the temple and get right back on. They never interacted with the locals. I know what most Korean's opinion of Cambodia is already, dirty and dark, bad people. I was so outraged that they were able to come to Cambodia, buy up some prime land next to the lake and build a huge resort. I just know the majority will never leave its grounds unless they are riding comfortably on a bus. It’s just too bad. I hope they do something more for the local economy than a dinky one lane road.

Luckily it was quickly time for us to board our small boat to head to the lake. The boat was long seating about 50 but it carried only our group. All the boats were brightly colored and hummed with the noise from the motor. Going up the peninsula was fun, we got to see homes on the banks, pass other boats and saw the beginnings of the floating village. A new school house was being built! And when I say floating, I mean they really do float! A whole community lives out on the lake and their homes, shops, schools, even the police buildings, are built on floating platforms. Amazing! The people of the floating village are also not actually Cambodian, they are Vietnamese. Somewhere along the line when the Vietnam War was going on they came to Cambodia and Cambodia has allowed them to remain ever since. They all live together and speak Vietnamese and the Cambodia's can automatically tell them apart.

As we were cruising along suddenly a much smaller and faster boat zipped up next to us. It was driven by a young boy and next to him sat an even younger girl. Suddenly he cut the motor and they fell away, behind us. Then suddenly they were back again, this time right next to our boat, keeping speed with us. They opened up a cooler and the girl hopped on board! They were just like pirates, only pirates that were selling instead of taking! She was selling sodas and beer, just like that! The European man bought a beer. She jumped back in the speedy boat and away they went. It was so cool.

Our next attraction was just as bizarre. Another speeding boat came up to us, this time a father was driving it and a really young boy was perched in the front. And what was he holding? A SNAKE!! We had been warned we would see this and that it is a little disturbing but... there it was, a five year old boy holding a snake around his neck, smiling and holding up the peace sign. It was cute but odd and we didn't want to take pictures, although some people did. And then the boy was on our boat, luckily without the snake, asking for $1 for his picture. Our guide had already told us you didn't have to pay. Maybe they should ask for the money first? Brian had snapped a picture and the boy knew it. He perched right next to him saying "Mr, Mr..." his hand out, just begging. Brian uncomfortably looked away and eventually the boy got back in his own boat. What a sight! (And hey, maybe the snakes are harmless and they know how to handle them, I shouldn't judge!)

Homes on stilts at GECKO

Boat dock

Pushing off, our guide

Our boat looked just like this

Brian with his previously snake holding boy, begging for a dollar

Like little pirates!

Finally we had reached the lake and we could see its enormous size! You could not see across it and it appeared just like an ocean, glimmering in the waning sunlight. We passed through the floating village, marveling at the houses just sitting there on the water, wondering how they got electricity... Before dinner we stopped at a large floating building that houses a crocodile farm. Another pretty cool event, we got to look down into a pit and see bunches of crocodiles lying on top of each other, sloshing about in the water! And next to them, piranha fish! They threw some food in so we could watch them splash around eagerly! So crazy! Also here there were even more Vietnamese kids holding snakes. There were toddlers to tweens, just wandering around with snakes on their necks, in their hands... if you looked too long they would start to pose and you'd have to quickly walk away. I feel like the snakes were out of a cartoon, stunned and annoyed about being carried around by these kids but unable to do anything to stop it. The kids were also in the water, floating around in large buckets. They had large sticks they would use as paddles and they would paddle around while sitting in their buckets with a snake around their neck.

Floating village home, there were many more

In their buckets, sorry you can't see the snakes. I felt bad taking pictures.

Our odd group, plus crocodiles!

Me and croc skins!

Brian, Jason and me

Back into the boat we went and it was a short ride to our dinner destination. It wasn't a restaurant per se, but a large old fashioned looking boat that was permanently anchored to its location. The man who ran the boat trip had bought it and turned into a floating restaurant. Our trip included unlimited food and drink! On the top deck two tables were set, the sun was slowly setting behind us and the beautiful lake surrounded us. It was peaceful and perfect.

The European couple sat together and everyone else occupied the larger table. We learned from the two Australian men that they were on a company retreat for two weeks and that their company always chooses exotic locations for business. They worked with major airlines and baggage claim systems, I got the impression they were very well off. We also learned their hotel was something like over $150 a night, while ours was $20. The Japanese woman was so cute, so typical in her quiet and almost shy manners. She was definitely not shy though, or timid, because she was traveling alone for a week. She explained it was extremely rare for people to take time off of work in Japan, even though they technically can (sounds like Korea!) so she felt guilty but just had to do it. She said "my coworkers will be mad at me, so I must buy them gifts."

The life

Sunset on Tonle Lake, floating structure

Dinner!

Our dinner was great, curry, rice, chicken, soda, beer, water. Our guide also became our server. Everyone was enjoying the evening so much that he had to finally usher us off the boat at 7pm when it was time to go back to town. By then it was pitch black, I think the moon was hidden by clouds. Our boat had a little light and a large spot light. We went slowly down the peninsula, our driver knowingly guiding us, turning on the spotlight only every now and then so as not to blind other passing boats. Every time he did so we could see the thick coating of bugs in the air. Who knew what lay in the dark waters to our sides. We began to think, if we hit ground right now and were stuck or started to sink, this would be the funniest group of people to ever have to help each other escape! Two slightly cocky Australian guys, an overly sexual odd couple and a soft spoken Japanese woman, plus two Cambodian natives and us! Good thing nothing happened!

When we left the boat we had to walk up a steep boat dock. At the top of it were lights shining next to our van. They were thick with bugs. As we walked we realized by the water was not where we wanted to be. There were bugs coating the air! I began to run up the dock and everyone else followed, we were waving our hands around like crazy people, pinching shut our mouths and hoping nothing went up our noses!

Back to town it was and off to Rosy's. We were back by 8pm. We had been told that that night was the annual Puppet Parade for the children of Siem Reap. A non-profit organization works with the local kids to make huge paper mache puppets, so big that it takes 10 kids to operate one by standing inside and working the arms and such. We had wanted to see the parade but were afraid we missed it because of the boat trip. Luckily though it ended right in front of Rosy's in the large gardens. All the puppets were set around a large stage were all the children and their families could come to enjoy a slideshow and performances! It was such a great thing to witness and I was so happy these kids who have so little could enjoy such a fun night. The puppets were also amazing! There were about 10 of them, some were dragons, swans, cars, monsters, and they were all lit up with lights, painted and decorated. It was very cool. The night air was beautiful and the colorful puppets lit up the river front.

Me and one of the many puppets

Before the day ended we decided we had to go to the Night Market. We had driven by it on our way to the lake so we now knew the way. Down a busy street we went. As we walked we passed numerous massage parlors and were given many fliers. These legitimate massage parlors offered neck massages for as low as $5!

I was intrigued by the signs for "Dr. Fishy" -- a service that would make you "happy and funny!" We'd been hearing about these places for days and I finally had to try it. Outside each massage parlor was a large tank with little silver fish in them. For only $2 you could stick your feet in the tank for half an hour and the fish would eat the dead skin cells off!! $2 also included a beer or soda. How could I pass it up? So I boldly told the boys we needed to stop, handed over my $2 and slowly lowered my feet into the water. And guess what, it did make me happy and funny!! The fish nibbling on my feet tickled sooooo much!!!! It was impossible not to laugh and squirm about while hundreds of hungry fish fed away!! Brian had so much fun watching me that he decided to try as well. Jason declined due to his too ticklish feet. I think maybe he was just grossed out. Brian and I sat there for a good while, almost half an hour, before we decided our feet were clean enough and it was time to move on. I must confess I loved Dr. Fishy! It was so much fun and really worked, my feet were nice and smooth! I think this kind of thing is becoming popular in the US too, but I'm sure it costs a ton of money.

Dr. Fishy! Hard to pose for so long for this one!

Gross but cool

Finally we made it to the Night Market! And what a market it was! It was the first night market to be opened in Siem Reap since the awful Khmer Republic and was a controlled market. Vendors had to apply to be included and thus the whole area was more trendy and clean than most markets. The entryway was grand, with white colored lights covering the large sign for its entrance. More lights were stew across the streets leading to the entrance. The stalls were decorated like beach huts with straw roofs and the floor was covered in small white gravel. The market also included two swanky looking bars and a one room movie theater. I was immediately in love with the Night Market. We shopped around a bit, coming away with some tshirts. 

We decided to end the night there since while the day had started out lazy, it had been long. Plus the next day it was back to the temples!

Cambodia Day 7 Friday

Our second full day in Cambodia took us back to Angkor Wat. We had arranged for our driver to pick us up again. He arrived on time… well, it wasn't the same guy, once again, but a driver arrived none the less. Again we zipped down the road headed for the temples. This time we decided to hit up one of the other major areas of the complex, a huge, maze like temple that you could wander in for hours. I think this one was one of my favorites because there was such a great play of light and dark streaming through the windows and corridors that it really did feel like a maze. You could also climb to an upper level on this one and stand between the many towers that topped its construction. The towers all had faces carved into them, which was what this temple was famous for. Again Brian had his nose buried in his guide book. He was determined to read about every detail he saw, every stone motif, sunken walkway and fallen stone wall. Again Jason and I wandered off by ourselves, meeting Brian from time to time, only to wander off again.

After more than an hour we finally had our fill and were surprised to find Brian waiting for us on the other side. He had just about had it with his book and was about to throw in the towel since it proved more difficult than expected to orient himself. He offered it to Jason and I many times but we always declined.

In this area of Angkor Wat there were large patches of cleared flat land, surrounded by trees, some containing large temple complexes inside. It was lot of ground to cover but one area was walk able to the next. We saw our first elephants here too! People were riding them into the temple complexes, just like the first explorers had done! I preferred my tuk tuk though and felt a little bad for the elephants.

After the maze like face temple, we were able to walk outside for a long time from one structure to the next. We passed over a dry mote via a long stone walkway, passed by a huge temple that was unfortunately closed for construction, and finally made it to a tall narrow one that we could climb up. The stairs were super steep and it was quite the scary climb with only a small landing at the top. After that we were finally almost done with the area, wandering around on some fortress like walls and sunken walkways. Brian was trying feebley to keep reading from his book but it was getting so incredibly hot we were all starting to melt and shut down. After hours in the hot sun, we needed food.

Our driver had told us to look for him across the street at the food vendor stalls where he would be waiting with his friends. But we had taken so lone he was sitting in the tuk tuk, ready to go when we arrived. We decided we needed to eat though! So he directed us to one of the stalls, number 26 or something. There some nice women once again ushered us into seats and we ordered more scrumptious food and some fruity Fanta soda.

Again we were surrounded by girls trying to sell us things, this time postcards and bracelets, but also a guide book, exactly like Brian's. Brian had bought his in town for $9, the girl was selling hers for $8 (originally $10) but we had seen it for even cheaper. Jason had decided by this time that he wanted to buy one for himself (as a keepsake, not to read on site) so this girl was tempting.

Actually these girls, who were older about 13 or 14, were extremely good sales persons. Their English was amazing (and made us wonder over and over why Korean's are so bad at English!) and they had a comeback to every excuse we made. "Sir, buy a postcard?" "But I don't have any friends to send it to." "Well that's because you don't buy them a postcard, if you do, you will have friends." Or "your mother would love this souvenir." The Canadian guy had told us last night he had been asked "buy a magnet sir?" "I don't have a frig." "Well, you could send it to a friend." It was lots and lots of fun to talk with these girls and they were pulling out all the stops! Telling us "I will be so sad, I will cry, if you do not buy!" And "I will remember you when you finish eating, you will buy then!" The girl with the book was really working on Jason, telling him she needed the money for school. She told us that her boss (I asked who, she said her cousin) buys the book, then she has to sell it for at least $5. She gets half of any profit above that, and he gets half. Thus if she sold it for $8 he would get $1.50 and she $1.50, thus she could not sell it for any less. She said then she would give the money to her mother for school, which cost $6 a month. That was also where she learned English. We asked why she wasn't in school then and she said she goes in the morning, then works in the afternoon.

Ultimately we didn't buy anything from these girls and the one with the book looked genuinely sad when we left her empty handed. Jason told us afterwards that he just didn't want to buy from a kid, after everything we'd been told about being careful where to put our money in terms of helping children. Maybe she really was going to use the money for school, we just didn't know. That's why everyone had recommended giving to charities if you wanted to give, because then you know the money goes to a kid.

After lunch we took things a bit slower and saw some of the smaller complexes in the area before calling it day. We ate some delicious fresh bananas and pineapple. We also enjoyed a light rain storm and heard some thunder. The cloudy sky was a nice relief from the sun.

That night we had dinner again at Rosy's. We drank lots of cheap beer. I really wanted to go to the Night Market we'd been hearing so much about, but Jason and Brian seemed very content to stay at Rosy's. Much later than expected, around 9 or 10pm, we finally walked into town. Another beautiful night greeted us; warm air, a call river lined with trees, colored lights strewn about and blinking in their branches.

We didn't really know exactly where the Night Market was, just that it was near Pub Street. We ended up just missing it, if we'd walked one block farther we would have seen it. Instead we stopped at Pub Street and decided to try the Mexican Food place. Not exactly what I had in mine but oh well. We got tacos and they were... amazing! The best Mexican food we had had yet! In Cambodia, who would have thought?! We also got margarita pitchers and were just one pitcher shy of getting the free tshirt. Unfortunately the place was closing around midnight so they kicked us out. Not ready to be done with the night we headed next door to one of the only bars left open, Temple Bar. Brian had heard it was an indie hangout but if it ever was, those days were gone, instead they were blasting late 90's early 2000's pop and hip hop music. This was the bar to be at if you were young and wanted to drink and dance. We sat outside on the patio, right next to the now dark and deserted street. Brian and I thought the place was fun but Jason thought it was just full of dumb "bro's." Maybe it was...

Because we ordered a pitcher of vodka red bull (not a good idea!) we got a free Temple Bar tshirt! Score! It went to Brian. The night got later and later as we sat talking and enjoying ourselves. We didn't get back to the guesthouse until after 3am!

The most awful thing about the night though was what we saw on Pub Street. Out front of Temple Bar many tuk tuk drivers stood around waiting to take people home. These guys, while nice, were not the most clean cut of types, drinking, smoking, etc. That was fine, but what was not fine where the two twelve year old girls that were forced by their parents to stand on the street holding two display case trays trying to sell jewelry. Multiple times they came up to our table and tried to engage us but we just had to ignore them. You feel awful. Jason was especially bothered by this and had a hard time concentrating on the bar. I tried to push them out of my mind, which I feel shamed doing... The girls were in the pajamas, with little clips in their hair. They were so young, and it was 2am. They should have been home in bed. These were definitely the kids you did not want to give money to. They doubtfully went to school and what kind of parent would send them out like this! It was sickening. The most disgusting thing happened. This awful fat blonde white girl stumbled out of the bar with tape wrapped around her body, for some reason. The little girls began to pick it off of her and save it on their trays. When her arms were free she drunkenly reached down the front of her shirt into her bra, pulled out a couple of crumpled dollars and thrust them at the girls, laughing and stumbling as she walked away. It was so gross. I wish we could have done something in this situation but I don't know what we could have done? Another awful juxtaposition of pleasure and poverty. I just fear these are the types of girls that are going to end up prostitutes, hanging around bars with older tuk tuk drivers around.

Screen Golf and the Two Seouls

Last weekend I had my first experience with Screen Golf. Jason decided it was time I see what all the hype is about. Screen Golf is a form of indoor golf where you can practice actually hitting golf balls, while digitally playing on any course in the world.

Screen Golf venues look like normal buildings, but inside house a number of private "golfing" rooms that are available for rental, on the hour. One person can rent a room, or a whole party. The place Jason and I went to wasn't very far from my apartment and has six rooms inside. The individual rooms are pretty big, about 20 x 20 feet with high ceilings. Inside was a long couch, free juice, water and candy. You pay 10,000 won each to use the room. You are supplied with a full bag of golf clubs, golf shoes and gloves. The couch faces a small stage that is outfitted with a small patch of green. That is where you stand to golf. You simply touch a button and the machine will load the ball into place for you with its mechanical arm. What do you aim at? Well the hole of course! The hole is projected in front of you on a huge screen! It kind of looks like playing golf on a video game, but you are using real balls. You swing and bam! the ball hits the screen in front of you, continuing to fly digitally where you left on physically. It's pretty cool. Like I said, you can choose from any number of golf courses, from San Diego to Jeju Island Korea. You can also choose difficultly level and 9 or 18 holes.

Now I've never been one much for golfing and it took me quite some time to really enjoy this sport, but in the end, I was getting the hang of it and just having fun. Its really difficult actually and although its accurate, its not THAT accurate, so things like putting are kind of difficult. But its fun to be wearing the real golf gear and changing clubs and such. Jason and I both did really bad and double bogeyed on every hole except one. I don't think Screen Golf is the game for me but Jason really enjoys it. Wish we could have taken Dad while he was here!

This past weekend as well as two weeks ago (before Screen Golf) I visited Seoul. The first time I went to meet my friend Kate who is Korean. I first met her when she was an exchange student at UCI for one year when I was the International House advisor. I hadn't met up with her the whole time I'd been in Korea, even though she lives in Seoul, because she'd been too busy. Finally we could meet! It was really nice to see her but exhausting! We visited the downtown of Seoul and the big palace, also Yonsei University where she went to school and a department store. We had a big lunch and then her mother made a traditional Korean dinner for us that night. I stayed at her house and got to meet both her mother and sister which was really nice! They are all really sweet, thoughtful people. I also got to meet their new puppy, a two month old brown poodle. Actually I got to to the store with them to pick out and take home the dog. The puppy store we went to was awful. It was small, dingy, smelly and packed full of little dogs in tiny cages. It made me extremely uncomfortable. The treatment of animals here in Korea is just shocking sometimes! The puppy was so small too, he should not have been away from his mother yet! But they got to take him home and I'm sure he's much better off with them than in the gross shop. We all agreed later it was a bad shop and the owner was pretty weird. Ah what can I, the foreigner do or say? So all in all the weekend was fun, but really tiring with so much running around! I got home on Sunday around 7pm with a huge headache and some left over bulgolgi in my bag (her mom had made me some to take home, so nice!)

Then yesterday Jason and I went to Seoul so I could look for a new dress. Our first stop was not a clothing store though, it was On the Border! We just had to get some Mexican Food. It was pretty good, nothing spectacular, but again a nice change of pace. I think my margarita had only a drop of tequila in it but it still tasted good. After our huge meal we ended up visiting a total of 4 different large department stores in four different areas of Seoul. None of them had anything remotely good or cute. I can firmly say that, at least at this moment, Korean clothing styles are not for me. Everything looked super conservative, super dull, super beige and fit for someone in their 60's who works at a mortgage office. Not a good dress shopping experience. We ended the day in Insadong, which was much more fun! We did some walking in the fresh spring air, looked at some cute Korean souvenir shops and some local art galleries. We also went in this bar that looked awesome from the outside, advertising Sam Adam's and Newcastle, only to enter a really dingy, dark place that did not serve Sam Adam's or Newcastle. We hastily ordered a Beck's each and choked half down before leaving. After Insadong we walked over to a bookstore I'd read about and spent some time browsing through the large English section. It felt very normal to be in a bookstore. Wonju has an English bookstore, but its filled only with children's books and "learn English" phrase books, so its not actually aimed at English speakers. We finally arrived back in Wonju about 11:00, again exhausted.

Today we are being surprisingly productive! Doing laundry, cleaning, going to the grocery store, cleaning out the frig, lesson planning... even though its gloomy again outside, perhaps some Spring cheer is slowly creeping into our bones!

Sunshine and warm weather, please arrive!!

April Fool's Day in Korea

Surprisingly one of the holiday's Korea and the USA share is April Fool's Day. The third grade English textbook even includes a chapter devoted to April Fool's Day Tricks... yes I think its a strange topic for learning English too. Korean's know April Fool's Day as "lie day" or "liar day." Unlike in the USA the pranks people play on each other here are harmless, meant to be silly and funny rather than to dupe or shock. Since April Fool's Day was on Friday we were warned that the students would try to play tricks on the teachers. People said since students study all the time this was one fun day they could have to relax a little. I wanted to recount a few of the "pranks" I saw.

In addition to the holiday Friday was a beautiful spring day so spirits were especially high. I entered my second period classroom to find the students had turned around all 30 desks and were facing the back wall instead of the front of the classroom. They thought it was hilarious, it was pretty cute. Instead of making them turn the desks around we just had them turn around in their seats to work so they could "prank" the next teacher as well. During my fourth period when it hit 12noon all the students slapped their hands on the desk four times and shouted something. During lunch three girls would corner any teacher they could, do a silly dance and sing at the top of their lungs. It was hilariously cute! They would literally circle the teacher, even if they weren't paying them the time of day at first, until the teacher was forced to stop and laugh at them. One of my coteachers also told me that when he arrived to his third period class, the room was empty. He looked outside and all the students were laying on the grass like they were dead. I also saw a large group of girls from the high school holding hands and running around in a huge circle on the playing fields before running into class, hand in hand. Jason said one girl took her desk and set it in the middle of the playing field and just sat there. Haha!

A fun, cute day for the students to let go and for the teachers to give them some slack in the classroom.

Cambodia Day 6 Thursday

Thursday morning we awoke early enough to sleepily stumble downstairs and have a delicious Rosy's Guesthouse breakfast; scrambled eggs, coffee and bacon, it was glorious. At 8am Brian arrived with the tuk tuk driver, it was a different man than the one we'd arranged to have pick us up the night before, but no matter. We told the driver we didn't have specific plans for Angkor Wat, other than to check out the main temple and soak in as much as we could, as leisurely as we could. Our tuk tuk driver assured us he would take us anywhere we wanted to go, he had obviously taken countless amounts of people into Angkor Wat and knew the place like the back of his hand.

We set off on the road to Angkor Wat, the large temple complex once the highlight of the Khmer Republic hundreds of years ago. Brian had a tour book in hand that a Professor had recommended to him and he let us know that when London only had 50,000 people in it, the Khmer civilization had over million. No one knows why the prosperous people died out, but they believe it had something to do with the loss of a water source. In Cambodia there are two seasons, wet and dry. When its wet, it rains all day. But when its dry, it is hot and there is not a cloud in the sky. The water lines on the lakes of Cambodia swell and retract to an extreme amount because of this so perhaps a climate change caused a loss of a lake. The historical debate is still on.

Angkor Wat is only about 12 kilometers outside of Siem Reap and thus our tuk tuk journey took only about 15 minutes. The ride was pleasant, taking us down a road lined with tall, wispy trees that shaded our path. We had to stop to buy tickets before we entered the historical park, and after that, we were in.

I didn't know quite what to expect out of Angkor Wat, I'd heard great things about it, that it was used to film a portion of Tomb Raider, and that it was one of the largest semi-ruined complexes in the world, without much interference by the government roping off access to areas, etc. The main road into Angkor Wat is only one lane and was filled only with tuk tuks.  At the end of the road it split right and left, while straightaway deadened into a huge moat. Beyond the moat lay the major temple of Angkor Wat itself. Our tuk tuk turned to the left, made a quick right, and we were suddenly in front of the huge complex. It was stunning from the first moment. The moat was miles long and hundreds of feet across. Surrounding the exterior of the land in the middle was a large stone wall, and beyond that you could just make out the tops of the temple complex beyond, rising into the sky, structures becoming taller and taller the further in you looked. To cross the moat a magnificent stone bridge had been built, at one time, guarded by stone lions and the giant naga, or serpent. The temple complex was originally Hindu but was later converted by Buddhists so hints of both religions marked its surfaces.

I definitely didn't take this picture, actually, I didn't take any like this! I don't know why I didn't take any of this iconic view... but that part in the front was under conservation so perhaps that's why I didn't think of it. Also, this is the wet season, when we were there, it was the dry season so there was no grass and the water was almost dried up. 

Again I didn't take this picture but its a really nice aerial view. 

Our tuk tuk driver stopped in front of the bridge, told us to go in and have fun, to take our time, and he would wait for us in the shade with the other drivers. We kept asking the driver for advise on pacing and such and he just looked at us like we were crazy saying, "you are on holiday, you do whatever you want."

Angkor Wat was overwhelming. Here we were, at only our first temple, and I felt like there was something to look at and touch and climb on everywhere I looked. Inside the huge outer wall there were some auxiliary building, a few ponds, and then the inner complex. The outside walls of the inner complex were covered in highly detailed, intricate reliefs depicting battles, gods and histories of the Khmer people. Looking at one in detail would take hours, days. Brian was armed with his book and determined to read everything step by step as we toured the complex. I realized this would be impossible if we ever wanted to move on and decided to try to take in the feel for the whole place, focusing on what I found interesting on the spot.

The first section of relief was pretty crowded and what do you know, we ran into the same couple we had seen at the taxi stand the day before! Turned out they had made it to Seim Reap via taxi no problem, so I guess it wasn't a scam. Jason and I stood and talked to them a good half an hour. Turns out they were from Canada and are taking a 6 month mini "tour of the world!" We exchanged email addresses and made plans to meet later that night.

Talking to them for so long actually helped out as by the time we moved on, many of the tourists had cleared out. It was around 10:30 or 11am by this time so it was starting to get really, really hot (It was already really hot.) so many groups were heading in to lunch. We took the opportunity to climb around the temple, following corridors, looking through windows, peering at shrines to Buddha, and ultimately climbing the steep stairs to top of the sanctuary were we had a wonderful view of the countryside around. It was filled with trees, just like a sea. I felt excited looking out at them, imagining what further temples could be hidden inside. I felt just like Indiana Jones (and still do!)

Finally we decided to head out after spending more than 3 hours at the temple.

Moat with lion on the left, naga on the right. His tail is gone.

Angkor Wat, it was hot.

Things were under construction. 

Relief work

I look frightening. But you can see the jungle and the larger complex behind me.

The juxtaposition of the magnificent Angkor Wat next to the dusty tuk tuk parking lot and "restaurant row" was hard to miss. On one side of the tiny street is the imposing, awe inspiring Angkor Wat, filled with throngs of tourists. On the other side of the street there are tall shady trees, with many shops huddled beneath them. These shops are nothing more than small stalls with a simple roof and back wall, filled with trinkets, tshirts and other such souvenirs. Next to a shop might be a "restaurant," again a simple hut with plastic lawn chairs and a few tables, they served water, soda, coconut and a variety of Cambodian dishes. Inside the stores the Cambodian people waited, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, drivers, just hoping someone would come buy something from them! As soon as you stepped off the tuk tuk they descended on you, offering guide books, bottled water... But it was as if no one ever ate at the majority of these places, or bought their wares. I think the pushy, forward attitude of the merchants may actually hurt their business because tourists become on guard. As we later learned when we did eat at one of these places, our fears were again totally misplaced. These people just wanted to sell their products, and really, what was a dollar for two large bottles of water to us? Its unfortunate in a lot of ways, that the people are so poor that this is their only form of income, that they don't make much and that we are inherently distrustful. Although most tourists were in tuk tuks, there were the occasional tour buses where the people piled out, looked around, and piled back in, never even having to get close to the people who actually lived in these historical grounds.

We found our tuk tuk driver, who was asleep on the seat (I think this is the life of these guys) and told him it was time for some nourishment. He asked where to take us and we said what do you recommend? He said he had a friend that ran a restaurant right outside the next temple we were going to check out, the "Tomb Raider Temple." We zipped off on our tuk tuk and stopped outside a crumbling stone gate. The gate was swarming with tourists and surrounded by thick tree cover. Opposite it was a row of restaurants. Our driver pointed out the restaurant of his friends. Two very friendly women greeted us and sat us down. We thought the driver might eat with us, but he headed to the back to talk with his friends and play cards. He also waited on us and made sure our meal was alright. The prices were amazing cheap again, $2 for pineapple rice. $3 for a chicken cashew dish, $1 coconuts. At this point in the trip we still hadn't tried the coconut yet so we decided this was the time. Jason and I shared one and Brian got his own. These things were awesome!! They were these huge bowling ball sized green melons. And the women that cut them up, they use a huge machete knife and just wack into the top! A few hacks later the lid is popped and a bendy stray awaits you. Unlike the coconut I was expecting, this type was not creamy milk, but watery with a hint of flavor. It was delicious! We asked what they do with the coconut when we are done and they said they eat the soft white pulp that surrounds the liquid, a smart thing to do. A young woman went to the makeshift cooking area in the back and made our food, right on the spot. It came out warm and delicious. Our lunch was very pleasant, sitting in the cool shade sipping coconut eating healthy, fresh food. The only bad part about it was the small, ragged little girls that kept begging us to buy from them. "Sir, three bracelets for $1?" "Miss, 10 postcards, $1, you like picture?" Again we felt so bad not buying from them but we didn't want to support their begging, as we were told you have to be careful where your dollar goes in Cambodia. They came back over and over but luckily since our driver knew the owners, he or they would tell the little girls to leave us alone. Finally they stopped. The shop adjoining our restaurants was filled with souvenir tshirts. At one point I saw the smallest girl, maybe four years old, peaking through them to watch us. She was just curious.

Again, I look scary and ruined this picture, but look at that coconut! 

After lunch we headed to the temple across the street. This was the temple used in the filming of Tomb Raider and is very popular. I can tell why, it as a magnificent temple! Many of the other temples have had the trees growing around or on them cleared away, in an attempt to preserve them. But this temple was purposely left in its original state so visitors can get a feel for how it would have been to "discover" the temple back in the early 1900's when European's "found" them again. Thus there were thick, tall trees surrounding its outer wall, provided much appreciated shade. In their midst lay the temple itself. it was beautiful, with vines covering its walls and trees growing right out of the stone work. Hundreds of years ago a single seed and fallen into a small crack in the wall. The crack and grown larger and the tree began to grown. That resulted in what you can see today, huge trees hundreds of feet tall, growing right out of the stone work! Some of them have toppled over, others are leaning on the building, and still more stand with their roots exposed, twisting ito the crevices, melding with the walls and pathways. Needless to say the temple was super fun to explore, again you were able to get lost in its winding interior courtyards and pathways, all while enjoying the forest cover. It was like a beautiful game of hide and seek played with the building itself.

Walking in

The first of many trees

Rumble and the outer wall

He's tired and I think a little grumpy

See how they have cut/slice marks in them? That was a bad conservation job. They cut them  up, numbered them, and rebuilt them (numbering and rebuilding is common now at least) and did a poor job rebuilding. Sad.

After a long day we finally finished up around 5pm, stopping at a very small temple on our way back. It glowed golden in the late afternoon light. We made it back to town, passing the ramshackle homes, built on nothing but stilts on the side of the river. With no outlet, garbage was thrown into the river, spoiling it. This time Jason and I agreed to meet Brian at his place this time.

Brian's hostel was in a completely different part of town, it was in the "downtown" area near Pub Street. Actually most of the streets in Cambodia didn't have names, and if they did, they were probably not official. Pub Street was one such area in downtown that started out years ago as the place where foreigners would go and hang out, and thus open their pubs. Now it has turned into Seim Reap's thriving night time district. Don't let me fool you though, its still only a few blocks, probably about 50 different establishments. But its an upbeat and happening area. We decided to eat there and stopped at a restaurant recommended in our Lonely Planet guide book, I think it was called Red Piano. Again our food was great and we enjoyed sitting in the open air patio, right next to the lively street. We were hoping to meet up with the Canadian couple we had met earlier, but they hadn't emailed by the time we left Rosy's. It must have been meant to be though because as we were sitting there, they walked by! We hollered at them and they came over. We were already eating so they said they'd eat next door and we should join them after for drinks. Half and hour later, there we all were, at a big table in another restaurant! The couple was very nice and very accomplished. An nurse and an engineer they both had been able to take off  6 months of work to travel, and keep their jobs. They were around 30 and had just bought a house. They said they had been talking for years of doing a big trip "around the world" and finally just said, we gotta do it or we never will! So inspiring! They were traveling to only third world countries with the exception of a month spent in New Zealand. It was lots of fun talking to them but I was having a hard time concentrating I was getting so tired! It had been a long day. We called it an "early nice" around 1200 and were glad to have told our tuk tuk driver to meet us at 10am instead of 8am the next day.

Journey to Cambodia Day 5 Wednesday

Wednesday was a day of travel. We woke up at 4am to check out of the hotel by 5am and catch the 6am train from Bangkok towards the Cambodian border. Although it was still dark when we left the hotel via taxi, without a hint of light, the market around the hotel was already alive and more bustling that I'd ever seen it in the daytime! After 5 minutes we were at the train station, a dark, sketchy looking place. We quickly walked inside the main terminal, wanting to avoid the bums and dangerous looking people lingering around the dirty exterior. The tickets for the train cost only a few dollars, even though the ride would last for 5 hours. That's because our seats were third class. For the train and route we wanted, third was the only class.

The train was about eight rickety cars long. There was no air conditioning and the windows were wide open. There were simple wooden seats that faced each other. But it was clean and there was a bathroom. Everyone else on the train was Thai, obviously farmers who travel back and forth to the city to sell their fresh produce. Jason and I settled in around 5:40 and waited. We were hoping to run into our friend Brian, who was also traveling to Cambodia by train from Bangkok. We had tried to coordinate with him but with no internet access the last we heard was that he'd try to make the 6am train, but I don't think he got my reply saying we would definitely be on it. We waited anxiously for Brian, looking out the window to see if he was coming. We thought it was a 50/50 chance we'd see him or not. But then no more than 5 minutes before the train departed Brian appeared in the car door! We were so happy to see him, and he us! Traveling with just the two of us was of course fun, but having a friend to travel with made the long day seem so much better, safer and comfortable! Brian also lives in Wonju with us and we met him at our orientation in August where Jason and he were roommates. He's a really nice guy and easy to get along with.

So the three of us settled in for our long ride. Jason and I had our hefty bag of snacks from the market and the breeze through the windows made it really enjoyable. Five hours flew by as we watched the beautiful green countryside creep by. We stopped at numerous small stations along with way, lined with palm trees and brilliant flowers. We were dreading the time we were to arrive in Poipet, the town on the Thai border to Cambodia. We'd read plenty of accounts on the internet of people being swindled into paying too much for their VISA to Cambodia and whatnot. Although Thailand did not require an entry VISA, Cambodia did. It only cost $20 and was good for about a month.

Our tranquil train ride ended and our nerves skyrocketed. To get to the border we had to take a tuk tuk. They were swarming, waiting for us when we arrived. There were over 30 drives just hoping to get a customer. We took the first guy who approached us because the price was good. We whizzed down the street, hoping we were going in the right direction. Suddenly we veered off on a side road, pulled up to a nice looking building were a friendly man in a clean white suit walked up with some paperwork. He asked us if we needed VISA's. We'd heard about this scam, where the travel agency's will charge you double for the VISA and pocket the change. You get a real VISA, at double the price. Luckily Jason and I had bought e-VISA's online so we just said "oh no, we already have e-VISA's." That immediately cut the deal and away we went. This time we arrived at the border.

Well, we assumed we were at the border. All the border consisted of was a road with a gate over it, surrounded by some shops and fencing, with motorbikes parked all over. It was the most unimpressive thing. We thought a border would be a bigger deal. We also weren't sure where the actual entrance was. Again we'd read about scams where there are fake border entrances, or people try to get you to walk the wrong way, etc. We spotted some other foreigners with backpacks up the road and decided we simply walked in. So we did.

To get into Cambodia we first had to be stamped out of Thailand. Although we were part of the way through the border, we still had no idea where to go. The crossing was nothing more than derelict buildings with difficult to find sings. Numerous buildings were deserted, such as "customs" or "health check." We walked around trying to find a building that was actually in use and finally discovered a small, two door entrance to the Thai immigration center. Inside were five officials stamping people out at five desks. This part was easy enough and we knew once we were stamped out we could be stamped into Cambodia and Brian could buy his VISA. After exiting the Thai side, you are dumped into no man's land.

No man's land was depressing. Depressing doesn't even begin to capture the feeling of the area, but its as close as I can come. Following the other foreigners in front of us because there were no signs telling you were to go, we walked the few hundred feet to the Cambodia VISA stamp. The paved road was dry, dusty, ill used. There were a few signs for Casino Hotels, but who would ever want to stay in this horrible place? There were groups of men loitering. There were naked children pressing themselves onto your legs and hands begging for money. There were mothers with babies sitting on the ground. The three of us were on high alert, our nerves boiling over with tension. It was an awful place. The worst place I have ever been in terms of what I felt and saw. I was just shocked this was a border!

We did see a sign for VISA purchasing but didn't think it was the right place because a random Thai "guide" had pointed it out but by that point we were ignoring all the "help" people were trying to give us. So we got in line thinking Brian could buy the VISA at the same time we were stamped into Cambodia. After a long wait we discovered... wrong! So while Jason and I made it through to the other side, Brian had to go back by himself and wait for the VISA. The building we had seen earlier was the right one. Go figure.

Jason and I waited for about an hour, clutching our bags to ourselves, nervously watching everyone around us. We were convinced everyone was out to swindle and cheat us. We were tense and eager to leave this horrible place. Our waiting area consisted of a few chairs in front of a bus stop. There were Cambodian "tourist police" stationed about, but they rarely did much to keep the "touts" (Thai "tour guides") away from the foreigners crossing the border. They would follow people, trying to get them to follow them to a taxi, a tuk tuk, a motorbike. There was a free government bus that would pick people up from the bus stop and take them to the main bus terminal, so there was no need to go with these people. One couple did almost go on a motorbike somewhere but the tourist police stopped them and ushered them onto the free bus instead. Still I also saw the police with passports, filling out paperwork, which was strange because we were outside the border. The tout's would bring them to them, so who know's what was going on. Maybe a money scam? The Cambodian side of things was already drastically poorer and run down the Thai side. Looking back I think Jason and I probably didn't need to be quite so tense, but we'd read horror stories on line and had never been anywhere like this.

Finally Brian emerged, to our relief, unscathed, and we quickly got on the bus. A tout got on with us, we did not want him too. He looked nice and perhaps he was really trying to help us, we don't know. I began to doubt my ill feelings towards him until Brian and Jason said, no I think he was a crook. The bus terminal was nothing more than a building with two ticket booths and no walls. But you couldn't buy bus tickets, only taxi tickets. The only way to get to Siem Reap in Cambodia from the border at Poipet was by bus or taxi. Taxi was faster by far but cost more. There is only one road to Siem Reap from the border. One two lane road. And it was recently paved. Amazing isn't it, to think of?

We wanted a taxi for the three of us, and we wanted to pay no more than $35, and pay when we arrived. But the taxi drivers were all in some kind of ring together and were charging $12 a person for a full taxi of 4 people, paid before you leave. We felt extremely uncomfortable with this, even though they were issuing tickets. Since there were only three of us they said "oh, you can go with the Japanese guy, he is just one!" So we met the Japanese guy, who was a nice solo traveler like us. He looked confused as well even though he had bought a taxi ticket. Quickly he pulled out his translator, typed something in, said to us "I think it is..." and showed us the translator where it said FRAUD. We nodded our head in agreement. He quickly refunded his ticket, which they allowed, and walked away. It was impossible to get the people to leave you alone so you just had to walk away. We told them what we wanted but they said it wasn't possible. I spotted a couple around our age wandering around and asked them what they thought. They were Canadian and also unsure but said they would probably just buy the ticket for the taxi because, what else could you do?

Finally the taxi guys came back to us and said, okay, we found you a taxi for $40 flat rate for three of you and you pay on arrival. That was fine with us. Our taxi was off to the side on the other side of the building so of course we all freaked out a little and thought we were gonna be mugged or something. Our things went in the trunk and Brian wisely said "watch the bags!" We were so on nerve! But our taxi driver arrived and seemed nice and off we went.

The countryside of Cambodia was different than Thailand. It was more bare, with wispy grass and only clumps of trees. (We later learned it had been slashed and burned.) It was dry. Every 10 minutes our so we would come to another clump of houses lining the single road. The houses were no more than shacks built of wood, sometimes on stilts. There was trash everywhere around them. Every home seemed to have a shop in front of it too, selling coconuts, some food and drink, and liter bottles filled with some kind of yellow liquid. There were very few homes and shops. It was very sad to see. And very shocking. And very unnerving. At one point our driver pulled off the road and stopped the car. We all freaked out again! We thought we were going to be mugged or kidnapped! Jason and Brian quickly jumped out of the car as the driver opened the trunk where our bags were. Jason even accidentally hit the driver in the leg with his door. A little boy was standing around outside near the car. But the driver simply needed gas and the tank was accessed through the trunk. We felt ashamed of our illogical fears. Kidnapped? Mugged? What would be the point?

Jason did notice something funny about the gas pump though. It wasn't actually gas at all. It was propane. Somehow our car, which looked like a normal Honda or whatnot from the outside, had been modified to run on propane. We learned that gas is super expensive in Cambodia, so this was much cheaper. When we rolled onwards we could smell propane through the air conditioning for a few miles. Apparently also throughout this time, while Brian and I dozed, Jason was on constant alert. And he was also cursing me thinking "why did she drag me to this awful place?!"

But after only an hour 1/2 we arrived in Siem Reap unharmed. And we passed the bus on the way, seeing the Japanese guy snoozing through an open window, guess he made it too.

In Siem Reap our taxi driver dropped us with a tuk tuk driver who would take us to our two different guesthouses. We didn't have to pay them because our driver did. He actually was very nice and said everyday he drove to and from the border to make some money. Cambodia is a very poor country. He gave us his phone number in case we needed a taxi again.

The tuk tuk driver was also nice. He asked us the routine "where are you from?" questions and when we arrived at our destination, Rosy' Guesthouse, he asked what time we wanted to be picked up in the morning to go to the temples. We declined and he was okay with that and drove away. We were still totally on edge and had expected an angry fight with our driver but there was none. Already Cambodia was different than Bangkok, and we were not used to it, in the beginning we questioned everyone's motives. A little caution was and is a good thing, but were going overboard.

Rosy's Guesthouse was a welcome sight! It was now 4pm in the afternoon! Brian was at a different hostel so he planned to walk to ours at 6pm. Rosy's was on the small river running through the town so it was easy to find. On first impression Rosy's was awesome. (It continued to be awesome throughout our stay.) The downstairs was a large patio area with a small bar, a pool table and lots of chairs for dining. The girls at the front desk were extremely nice, in a sincere, warm, welcoming way, and took us to our room without even going through the formal check in process. She showed us around the room, pointed out the bottled water and told us to clean up and come down to check in when we were ready. Our room was simple and comfortable. The view out our window was beautiful, lush green trees, until you noticed the trash from the neighboring house. Around six we walked downstairs after having showered and chilled on our nice big bed. Soon Brian showed up. Finally we were relaxed and excited to be in Cambodia! Our first impressions of the city and our guesthouse were excellent. Things were starting to slow down.

We decided to eat at Rosy's that night and ended up having some excellent food, both Cambodian and Western, coupled with milkshakes and Angkor beer for only $1! Everything was so cheap and delicious! We were thrilled to keep eating something other than Korean food and the simple, fresh and tasty food at Rosy's hit the spot. We spent the night talking and laughing. We called it a night relatively early, around 10 or 11pm, and planned to meet Brian at 8am the next morning to head to the Angkor Wat temple complex about 10 minutes out of town.

Things were about to get good, very good!


To read more about Cambodia's history check out these pages (page 1, page 2) paying special attention to the French influence and horrible time during the 1970's of The Khmer Republic. A truly devestating past they have not recovered from.  

For some information an Angkor Wat check here.