Cambodia - Day 7

Day 7
It's funny. Let me preface this entry by reiterating the fact that on our very first day in Cambodia, we all agreed to only stick to the touristy areas. Don't go where only locals go. If there were white people around, we'd be safer because they would stand out more than our group of black-haired American copies. We just didn't feel safe there.

Okay, so this is what we did on day 7 in Cambodia...

Before the crack of dawn, Victor and I are already on our way to visit Angkor Wat again. The complex was much less crowded this morning. Where are all the people? I looked around, and saw a couple hundred people sitting in front of a pond facing the pyramids of Angkor Wat. If EVERYONE is gathered there, good photo ops must reside there. When we walked to the edge of the pond, I understood why everyone is waiting here. The temple already looks incredible against the changing hues of the morning sky, but this is reflected into the pond as well. It was just amazing.

Before the huge mass of people left their seats, Victor and I wandered into the main complex for the second day in a row. We practically had the entire place to ourselves. Being the only ones to be walking through their corridors and avenues felt a little eerie. I could feel the eyes of the old watching from above. Rows of headless Buddha statues can be a little creepy. Beautifully detailed relief carvings lined many of the walls of this complex. It's really hard to put into words the beauty and mysticism Angkor Wat (as well as the other temples) hold. You kind of just stand there in awe and completely speechless. My fondness of temples were magnified this morning because we explored in solitude.

Victor and I decided to return to the hotel after an hour or so. We had breakfast with the whole group and met up with Nara again so he could take us to the Killing Fields of Siem Reap. Before the trip, I wasn't interested in seeing the Killing Fields. It was a time of unimaginable pain and suffering. I didn't want our moods to be dampened by a visit to such a place. But this is history. So when Nara suggested coming here, we all thought it was a good idea.

The Killing Fields here wasn't what I had imagined. The main one in Phnom Phenh is much bigger. The size of this one didn't lessen the pain and heartache that was felt here. As we were walking around in a temple, a teacher of this site approached us and shared with us some stories of the Khmer Rouge and the state of education and poverty today. He asked us for a donation, and we all willingly donated some money to the school. He walked us around, showed us a well where some victims of the Khmer Rouge had died. He pointed to a nearby building where scores of Cambodians were tortured and killed. By the time we filed into our van again, my heart was so heavy.

The topic of where to go next brought all of our spirits up. We wanted to have an easy day, and it was pretty easy so far, except for me and Victor who woke up many hours ago. We decided to take a boat tour to a floating village. Thinking we would just be sitting in a boat, that tour sounded quite attractive. We had two options. One was closer but very touristy, dirty, and the natural state of the floating village has not been preserved. Our other option was a little farther, but the beauty of the floating village was as it should have been. Hmm... Dirty, staged, and harassed by merchants? Or something that is "real?" Despite Nara's urges to go to the closer one, we asked him to drive to the farther village.

Off we went. Paved roads became a dirt road. The dirt road became tighter, passing by tiny living communities made of little huts on stilts. We even passed by a wedding banquet! Nara pulled over to the side of the road, and we looked around. No floating village in sight! The village was far away. We had to transfer to a truck with huge tractor tires to go the rest of the way. All of us climbed into the bed of the truck and continued on the very tight road with monstrous potholes and shrubbery whacking us in the faces when we weren't looking. The scenery was lovely at times though. There were acres upon acres of bright green rice fields on both sides. At times, I wondered how deep we are going into this remote area of Cambodia. No one knows that we're here... It was a big relief to see some tourists going the opposite way. Whew!

The truck finally stopped. In front of us was a little trench. How the heck are we going to get past this part of the road? By walking. After a short walk with the sun beating down on us, we finally boarded our (longtail?) boat. With the motor roaring in the back, we slowly snaked down the murky waters of this narrow river.

The village didn't look anything like what I had imagined it to be. Remember I mentioned we wanted something that was easy? Just sitting? Well, to visit this "floating" village, we had to walk there. It was the dry season. The village needs rain to look like it's floating. None of us put the two together. We all got off the boat and walked through the one wide street that made up this very remote village. Walking through felt a little eerie. Where are all the residents? There was nobody walking around. It felt like a ghost town. Since all of the houses stood on stilts, it felt like we were an exhibit. All the villagers' eyes were on us. Trying to push these paranoid thoughts aside, I thought it was cool to see the houses standing on stilts, but it would've been cooler to see the houses sitting right above the water! =D We found that one of their trades is making dried shrimp. Many sheets of these were laid on the ground to dry in the hot air. The smell was sort of potent. Heh heh heh...

We walked to the end of the village and boarded our boat once again. They were going to take us to Tonle Sap Lake. The lake was vast and looked pretty deep. The boat slowed and the engine stopped. Uh. What are we doing? My friend, Mae, got very nervous at this point because Nara started taking off his watch. A little boat was waiting for us just a few meters away. She was nearly convinced that we were going to get mugged or something worse. Nara continued stripping down to his shorts. Swimming trunks underneath! I think he said "Swimming!" and jumped into the water. He surfaced and asked, "Swimming?" All of us shook our heads in relief and shock, and he asked again, "Why?" And went under again. As I was watching him swim and looking at the lake, I wondered, are they ALWAYS ready for a swim? Nara had no idea he was going to be here today... He and a couple other locals swam for about 15 minutes. They quickly dried off, and we were on our way back to our starting point again.

It was sort of a relief to get back onto the bed of the truck. We smelled fumes for about an hour and got whacked again by stray branches. Our truck broke down twice, I think, and we stopped to help a tractor that was stuck in the riverbed. When we got into our air conditioned van, it felt really really nice. Mostly because I didn't have to smell exhaust anymore! Our AC stopped working as were headed back to the city so Nara stopped on the side of the road and bought all of us water! That was really very nice of him and totally unnecessary!

We had a buffet dinner designed for tourists that included traditional dance accompanied with narration. Food was alright. Our original plans for the rest of the evening involved looking for another spa to visit, but we realized how tired Nara must have been, so we let him go early that night. We learned that he was to make a long drive to Thailand very early the next morning, so he must have been very happy to be able to go home earlier tonight.

This is our whole group with Nara.

So what to do while the night was still young? Let's party! We decided to go to the "Beer Garden" for some chill time. The tuk-tuk driver told us he knew where that was. But when we got there, it was like, "Where the heck are we?" This doesn't look like a beer garden... It looked just a like a local outdoor restaurant. We decided to just finish our beers and leave to look for a better spot. Our boys, Victor and Eric, decided to go scout out the area, in search of some other place to go to. How stupid of us to let them go. They were gone for some time. I was really starting to get worried. I don't know about Eric, but Victor is such a friendly trusting person. He probably thinks everyone is a good person. What if he unknowingly flaunts his touristy characteristics? What if they got mugged? Kidnapped? Killed?? Good thing Eric was with him though. He's been mistaken a number of times for being a local. Heehee... We waited eagerly for their return. Gosh... It took forever. I was actually kind of mad at them when they got back. Made us worry so much about them! >=(

Okay, stick to our original plan which is stick to the tourist areas. Where to? Pub street! We took another tuk-tuk and headed to a well-known bar called "Angkor What?" We peered inside, and it looked pretty crowded. Across the street though was another bar pumping out some pretty loud familiar songs. We opted for this place instead. After some more beer and kamikaze, we got on the dance floor. You know those annoying obnoxious Americans who scream and do insane moves on the dance floor because they're too intoxicated to care?? Yeah, those people were us. Oh my gosh. Everyone let loose. Even our ride back to the hotel in the tuk-tuk was crazy. We sure were obnoxious. =\

Okay, here are some photos we took at the bar. These are the presentable ones. =)


We learned a really silly move from a Thai music video and showed off our skills that night. You like?What a way to end our stay in Cambodia. It was absolutely incredible. The next morning, we were to depart to go to Phuket!!

Cambodia - Day 6

Day 6
Our driver, Nara, was to pick us up this morning at 5:30am. All of us finally filed into his van after 5:45. I was starting to get a little nervous that we would miss the sunrise shots at Angkor Wat. On our way there, all of us layered on our mosquito protection. We purchased our 3 day passes for $40 each person. And this money goes to a privately owned company! You would think profits generated from a national attraction like this would end up in the government's hands, but things are a little different here...

By the time we reached the Angkor Wat complex, it was already a little too late to get those sunrise shots. We did, however, have ample opportunities to capture other great shots. (Didn't say that we actually captured them though. Heheh...) When we entered the main courtyard, I was a little surprised to see the huge mass of people milling around. The complex itself was amazing. Here are some pics that were taken...

After a couple hours of checking out Angkor Wat, we decided to get some breakfast. We were driven to a restaurant across the street. Something pretty bad happened there that I don't care to share with the world, but this serves as a reminder for me... =) (If you must know, just ask and I'll tell you.)

Our next stop is the Bayon Temple. There, we were approached by a man wearing a shirt labeled "Police." He asked where we're from, and we said, "U.S." He proceeded to say something like we're "American Copies" and it's rare that "real Americans" visit Cambodia. He didn't mean any harm by his statements, but they just seemed sort of funny. I guess, in many people's eyes, Americans are supposed to be blond-haired and blue-eyed. Well, not this group of Chinese, Filipino, and Mexican American citizens! He started leading us through the temple, sharing very interesting facts and showing us interesting nooks and crannies. When he started doing this, I immediately remembered something I had read in a forum about "police" men who act like a guide through your little romp through the complex. As you are leaving, they ask you for money. I'm sure the sum for his services wouldn't have been outrageous, but I hate it when people try to be sneaky! So as he was trying to show us around, we were to trying to lose him. We would split up and go in different directions. He found us once in a while, but in the end, we managed to lose him. We quickly walked out of the temple, afraid to bump into him again. It was actually kind of funny - like playing a game of cat and mouse.

Here are some pics from the Bayon Temple. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that since it was later in the day, there were hordes of people here!

We stopped by a couple of other temples. A couple more pics...

Our next stop was Ta Prohm Temple. The temples you can imagine from Indiana Jones and Tom Raider are reflected here. As a matter of fact, I think parts of Tomb Raider was actually shot here. These temples are not as grand as Angkor Wat, but much of it have not yet been reconstructed, so walking through paths and corridors made it feel like you've stumbled upon a great discovery. Sort of like that... =)

After all these temples, we were all pretty tired, and requested to be driven back to our hotel for some relaxation. Most of us hung out by the pool, some swam, and we all ate together. That was when we first ordered one of our favorite dishes, egg with minCed pork. =) After the late lunch, we met up once again with Nara, our driver. He was going to bring us to a very popular spot to watch the sunset.

The steps to ascend this temple were extremely steep and narrow.

... so we hung out at the bottom for a bit and took really cheesy pictures.

As more and more people climbed the stairs, we decided to go up as well. We found a great spot to watch the sunset. So did many many other people!

As we were heading back to the city, we saw Angkor Wat lit up at night. Victor and I took a few quick shots before the security shooed us away.

That night was very relaxing. The girls got an aromatherapy massage at the hotel, while the boys ventured out into the city to find their own massage place. Nara took them to an apartment-like complex. From the stories that were told, the boys were really nervous. This didn't seem like a place for tourists. They were given clothes to change into that apparently didn't fit too well... Tommy was given a very small shirt that read "same same" in the front, and "but different" in the back. What the heck does that mean??

All three boys were greeted with giggling women. They said this was a relief. It eased their nervousness and fears that they were going to be mugged. They all received excellent thai massages that night. If there was anything other than that, we weren't told. =)

Thailand/Cambodia - Day 5

Day 5
Hm. I think day 5 was pretty uneventful. In the morning, we left Mali...something...korn for the airport. Flew from Chiang Mai to Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The impression of Cambodia I got from the ride between the airport and our hotel wasn't that great. It really reminded me of the outskirts of Saigon, Vietnam. Worn down buildings littered with trash lined both sides of the main road. Conditions looked just a little better as we approached the tourist areas. In this environment, I automatically became on guard with all that's around me. The poverty and corruption were suffocating.

When we reached our hotel, we were warmly greeted by the staff there. As we checked out each of our rooms, we were then greeted by mosquitoes. It was so bad in one of our friends' rooms that we were seriously thinking about switching hotels. We all later agreed that no matter where we go, facing mosquitoes is inevitable. To prevent himself from getting bit, Tommy tried to seal off a few openings from his clothing and worked out a new fashion trend. You like?

We washed up, had a so-so dinner, wrestled with the Cambodian currency, the riel, when given the dinner bill, purchased drinks and A LOT of mosquito repellent supplies, hung out at the boys' room, washed up again, called it a night pretty early because we had an early start the next morning, spent the night there actually because our room was poisoned from the insane amount of mosquito coils that were burning in ours. We would have burned a lot of brain cells if we had slept in our room. It was fun. Sort of like a slumber party! At this point in our trip, I had already felt a strong bond between the group. Bidding them goodnight each night was a bit sad. Couldn't wait to see everyone the next morning again. That night, we didn't have to leave! It was great!

Thailand - Day 4

Day 4
Most of my group of friends woke up before sunrise that morning. I was actually very eager to move around and wiggle out any aches in my back. We convened on the balcony outside, chatting quietly while listening to Mae's rhythmic snoring (at least ONE of us got some sleep) and watching the sun slowly rise from behind the lazy hills. At that moment, life seemed so simple and peaceful. It was a humbling experience.


We continued hanging outside for a bit, sipped really strong coffee, and played around with a little cat we called Bob. Cute but very dusty.


After a simple breakfast of boiled eggs, toast, and fruit, we started our downhill trek. Kai started tapping wood with his bamboo walking stick, and some of us followed suit just for fun. We soon found out he was doing it to scare away cobras. Once we learned that, we quickly said, "Tap on the wood to scare away the COBRAS! PASS IT ON!!" Oh we started tapping. We tapped on anything we could tap. If we couldn't find any wood to hit, we tapped each other's wood. (I'm thinking about what I'm writing right now, and my choice of words can be taken a different way. Hahahaha!!! Anyway...)

The downward slope was pretty steep so I had to be really careful with my steps, especially since my shoes had no grip! I had to make sure each step I took was secure. From behind, Mae asked, "Why are you guys being so careful?" Within seconds, we heard a foot sliding across dirt followed by a thud. Mae had sprained her ankle. Ouch. She took it like a... well... a man, and continued the trek on her two feet, with Victor supporting her on the slippery and steeper sections. It was really nice to see a friend helping out another friend. But that's what friends are for.

One of our rest stops was at a waterfall. It was lovely. Wish I could see it during the monsoon season when water levels are much higher. Don't think I'd like to hike during this season though, because going downhill will involve a lot of uncontrollable sliding in mud.


Feeling rejuvenated, we continued on the trail. We soon came upon a wooden log that ran across a rocky stream. I could have taken the dirt path that went around, but chose to go across the log instead. (I usually like to challenge myself to get over my fears.) The first step on the log wasn't bad. Each step got worse. By the time I reached the middle of the log, my legs were shaking violently. My friends thought I would shake them off the log! My fear of heights completely overwhelmed me. Taking in deep breaths, I finally managed to jump off at the end and received a round of applause. Boy. I was just glad to get off of that thing. Looking back, it wasn't that bad. The log was pretty wide and it wasn't that high up. I'm just really bad with heights. =(

Some sections of this hike were uneven and very steep. Steps were higher than my knees. At some points, we had to gingerly walk along a very narrow path while hugging big boulders in front of us. Man. This hike was awesome. The terrain was so varied. I loved it. Even the log crossing. Combined with the hike the previous day, this would have to be my favorite hike thus far.

We finally reached the white water rafting site. I've never white water rafted before, so this was a very fun experience for me. Working as a team to get out of jams, paddling and throwing ourselves across the raft to the commands of our guide, and being thrashed by the current and rocks was so exhilarating! At one point, we were wedged in between two huge rocks for a long time. We tried using our weight and paddling to get out of the jam, but our guide finally got us out of there. Fun fun fun!

Immediately after the white water rafting, we embarked on a long bamboo raft. This raft was just a bunch of bamboo logs tightly strung together. This portion of the river was very calm so we sat, with our butts submerged in water, chatted, and soaked in the scenery and the whole experience. This ride was no longer than 30 minutes.

Before lunch, we all showered, together. Heh heh. Ate. Got back onto the sawngthaew for two hour drive back to the heart of Chiang Mai.

That night, all of us but Mae went to check out the Night Market. There was quite a bit of shopping there. Victor and I chose to have fishball noodle soup again at an outdoor stall, while the rest decided to dine at a German restaurant next door. I was incredibly worried at first because I was convinced the unwashed stack of bowls sitting near us was what they were going to server our food in. Ha ha. No worries. I saw them use soap to wash. Heehee.

Our evening activities that night included a trip to the Riverside Bar. There was an awesome band there doing covers of Maroon 5 and a bunch of other bands. They were really good! It was also interesting to see how many couples at this bar consisted of an old white male and a young Asian woman. Many of these couples barely spoke a word to one another. I can't imagine how it would feel to be an escort and do whatever the man wants me to do. I'm glad I'll never know how that feels. Seeing those women made me feel very fortunate to live the life that I live.

Giselle, Victor, and I left the boys to carry on with their drinking while we took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel to keep Mae company. Little did we know, Ms. Mae had got antsy and was exploring Chiang Mai on her own. Coincidentally, she later bumped into the two drunkards and they shared a few interesting moments at a gay bar. Hahahah... I really wish I was there to see that.


At the hotel, we hung out for a bit, but don't recall too much of that. That was our last night in Chiang Mai. The next day, we would be off to Cambodia.

Thailand - Day 3

Day 3
Woohoo! This is the first day of our trek in Chiang Mai! After having a lovely Thai/International breakfast in our hotel, we met our trek guide. His name is Kai. He's the coolest guy. So laid back and mellow. We later concluded that he was high the whole time. Hahaha. Our group jumped into the back of a sawngthaew, a small truck with two rows of seats in its bed.


After picking up a few more trekkers, we were finally on our way! After a simple lunch, we started with an elephant ride. It felt a little odd contributing to the enslavement of elephants, but that's just the way things are done here, I guess. And it's been this way for a looong time. Sucked it up and hoisted myself onto the elephant.

The ride itself was very interesting. He constantly stopped to forage for food. We threw him bananas and bamboo which he happily received. Though the ride was short, the scenery wasn't lacking in any way. The most exciting part of the ride was when our elephant decided to flirt with the downward slope. VERY downward. We were all afraid we would tumble down the tiny hill he was so intrigued with. Fortunately for us, our guide managed to get him back on the main road. Whew!


After taking some photos with the posed elephants, we started our trek. This has got to be my favorite hike. The difficulty level was perfect. Not too easy and not too hard. Incline was great. There were numerous stream crossings with little waterfalls sprinkled throughout. The foliage was lovely. Lush and green. There were patches of bamboo and banana trees. It was absolutely beautiful. The view we came upon as we inched closer to the village was gorgeous. We were amazed with the rice paddies surrounding us and the sleepy hills lying in the distance. The village belonging to the Lahu tribe was perched on top of one hills to the right.

Oh yeah, another interesting thing I saw was a bunch of funnel-like cobwebs. Very cool!


This village we stayed in was very rustic. It sort of reminded me of the small town my grandma lives in. Wooden huts standing on stilts. Dogs, cats, roosters, and hens roaming around. The outhouse brought back familiar smells of sewage and dirt. Aaaaah... Fond memories. JK! Kai told us the Lahu village originated from Burma. This particular village started their lives here on this specific hilltop about forty years ago.


We unpacked and waited for dinner to be served. We waited. And waited. In the meantime, we were rummaging through our sacks looking for candy and dried foods. We finally thought they had forgotten about us. But alas! Dinner was finally served! All twelve of the trekkers gathered in the common area right outside of our sleeping quarters. Large helpings of curry, sauteed vegies, fried chicken, and rice were set for us on the rattan mats. As we were eating, Kai strummed the guitar and sang well-known songs like "Hey Jude." Eating by candlelight and being surrounded by friends and music made this meal very memorable.


We retreated back into our little sleeping area thinking we were to receive massages by the Lahu women. They kneaded our tired bodies, but I wouldn't necessarily call them "massages." I was glad I wore long pants and socks, because I swear she sloughed off a layer of skin from my arms when she "massaged" those with her callused hands.


Shortly after all the "masseuses" left, we were nvited outside again for some Korean barbecue. Four members of our group had purchased some fatty pork and whiskey to share with the entire group. That was very nice of them! We all gathered around the fire and helping them in anyway with our headlamps. We asked if our friend, Eric, could play a few songs on the guitar, and he humbly said that he can play just a little. Turns out he can play more than just a little. We sang along to Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, and a bunch of other songs that night. After Eric retired the guitar, we flipped through a song book Kai had left behind and started singing verses here and there. It was really fun and relaxing. During this whole barbecue and singing session, a wonderful black dog, by the name of Tony, joined us. His owner shooed him away more than once, but he kept creeping back. At one point, he stared into my friend's eyes, lifted his paw, and put it in her hand. That was so cute. =) We stayed up pretty late that night, later than all of the other villagers, I bet.

I believe it was already past one by the time the last group wiggled into their beds, well, mattresses. All candles have been blown out. All headlamps turned off. There is, of course, no electricity here in this remote village. As the night grew older, the air became colder. I had already layered on all of my clothes, but was still shivering. The mattress didn't offer much support and I could feel the hardness of the wooden floors against my back. I was cold, uncomfortable, and was drifting in and out of sleep for the entire night. Roosters were already crowing hours before dawn. Ear plugs couldn't eliminate all of the sounds. A long night was ahead of me. As I was drifting out at one point, I heard footsteps walking along the middle aisle of our sleeping quarters. I opened my eyes, but it was pitch black in there. Eric was sleeping to the right of me, and he was the last person in our lineup. I just assumed he had gotten up to use the outhouse and turned off his light when he got inside. I heard these footsteps two or three times that night. I was starting to get annoyed with these people who keep walking back and forth. Do they have no consideration for the people who are trying to sleep?

The next morning, I asked Eric if he had used the restroom in the middle of the night. Although he barely slept that night due to my same discomforts, he did not get up to use the restroom. Hmm... how odd. He suggested maybe a dog had walked through. I bought this idea since it was highly unlikely that anyone in our quarters would walk around in the heart of darkness.

Days later, this somehow came up again. Another friend, Giselle, had heard the same footsteps! We were convinced they were human footsteps. They had the weight of one, and they were definitely two-legged. Well, we've jumped to the conclusion that we have spent the night in a haunted remote village. I know that there are many skeptics out there, but I guess none of us will ever know for sure...