Today we survived the ride back to Bangkok. At leats we knew what to expect on the way. We actually encountered the Canaian we met at the fish massage on our bus/van. Actually, we ran into the first pair of Canadians last night at the Angkor Night Market. The second Canadian, Janine, lives in Korea right now teaching English and paying off her student loans. That sounds like an awesome way to make extra money. She travels on her vacation months. Nice person.
So we drove on the big bus to the border then split into mini-buses. We understand that the buses stop at specific points to support what is likely their family members' shops. He made us stop for an hour at one place so we could all order lunch. We were all angry, and none of us ordered anything, which in turn made him upset.
We made it through the border fine. Just took forever in hot lines. Thai processing of passports is so nice: AC and honest officials. I missed Thailand when I was in Cambodia. So after we started driving in Thailand, our driver (who knew very little English) turns around and tells us Janine's passport is messed up. She started getting really worried, but when we got back, the Thai official just had to fix a stamp he messed up on hers. He accidently gave her a 2-month visa instead of a 15-day one. It would have cost him a lot if she'd stayed longer.
We finally made it back with some new German friends. So we ate some pad thai and saw Star Trek. It was really good! Gimmicky at some parts but what Hollywood movie isn't? I need to do some laundry.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
5/25/09
We decided not to visit any more temples today with the exception of one specific one. We're all templed out.
Oh, I just remembered how, when crossing the Cambodian border, they took our temperatures with an ear thermometer without cleaning it in between people. Wonderful sanitation, Cambodia. Nice.
Today we kind of vegged out. Woke up after 7am for once! We hung out in our rooms more or less and watched TV. Napped between 1 and 3.
The last temple we visited was one from Lara Croft: Tomb Raidrt (or at least that's how our hotel spells it). It's got crazy old trees in it. It's beautiful, and probably was my favorite temple to visit. Then again, the temperature outside was a lot cooler than it was yesterday and it was the least crowded temple. Those factors may have influenced my view of it a little bit.
But really, there's 300-year-old trees EATING the temple, which is mostly collapsed. It was kind of eerie at times. Lots of photo opportunities.
After we rode back, we were going to get more terrible American food for dinner, but we encountered the other group of Canadians who pointed us in the direction of safer food. We ended up eating on what essentially turned out to be Tourist Row, but it was really good. It was called "Easy Speaking" and it was next to a bar called "Angkor What?" which I think is awesome.
I ate chicken amok, which is apparently traditionally Cambodian. It's chicken coconut curry and tasted very similar to what I made at home a few months ago. Cokes over here are so delicious. I think they're made with real sugar instead of corn syrup. Together, 2 meals and 3 beers (between us) cost $9.80. Pretty nice.
Then we walked around the Night Market. Ran into those Canadians again. We both bought lots of stuff there. We also got a Dr. fish foot massage thing. They have this tank of fish that you put your feet into and they eat the dead skin off of them! It's the weirdest thing. It feels like a cross between a cat licking your feet and prickles from when your foot falls asleep. We also met another Canadian there who is either married to or dating an Irishman.
It's 11pm now, pretty late for us to be going to sleep. So far my stomach's been on edge. Just not quite adjusted yet. I'm really only eating half-meals. My view of Cambodia has changed a little bit after today. I feel a lot better about it.
Oh, I just remembered how, when crossing the Cambodian border, they took our temperatures with an ear thermometer without cleaning it in between people. Wonderful sanitation, Cambodia. Nice.
Today we kind of vegged out. Woke up after 7am for once! We hung out in our rooms more or less and watched TV. Napped between 1 and 3.
The last temple we visited was one from Lara Croft: Tomb Raidrt (or at least that's how our hotel spells it). It's got crazy old trees in it. It's beautiful, and probably was my favorite temple to visit. Then again, the temperature outside was a lot cooler than it was yesterday and it was the least crowded temple. Those factors may have influenced my view of it a little bit.
But really, there's 300-year-old trees EATING the temple, which is mostly collapsed. It was kind of eerie at times. Lots of photo opportunities.
After we rode back, we were going to get more terrible American food for dinner, but we encountered the other group of Canadians who pointed us in the direction of safer food. We ended up eating on what essentially turned out to be Tourist Row, but it was really good. It was called "Easy Speaking" and it was next to a bar called "Angkor What?" which I think is awesome.
I ate chicken amok, which is apparently traditionally Cambodian. It's chicken coconut curry and tasted very similar to what I made at home a few months ago. Cokes over here are so delicious. I think they're made with real sugar instead of corn syrup. Together, 2 meals and 3 beers (between us) cost $9.80. Pretty nice.
Then we walked around the Night Market. Ran into those Canadians again. We both bought lots of stuff there. We also got a Dr. fish foot massage thing. They have this tank of fish that you put your feet into and they eat the dead skin off of them! It's the weirdest thing. It feels like a cross between a cat licking your feet and prickles from when your foot falls asleep. We also met another Canadian there who is either married to or dating an Irishman.
It's 11pm now, pretty late for us to be going to sleep. So far my stomach's been on edge. Just not quite adjusted yet. I'm really only eating half-meals. My view of Cambodia has changed a little bit after today. I feel a lot better about it.
5/24/09
Today we saw all the temples here. It was so hot. I put 55 SPF sunscreen on my face but I think I just sweated it off. Burned a little on my arms and face.
So, Bennett's girlfriend's parents lived in Singapore (or thereabouts in SE Asia) for 5 years, and they knew someone who could give us a nice tour of the temples. Bennett emailed him a few days before and he showed up this morning with a sheet of paper he had printed with "Bennett and Emma" waiting at 8 AM in the lobby are of our hotel. (The lobby area's outside. Everything is open-air except the room itself). The hotel's actually pretty nice compared to the surrounding areas. Nice floor and stairs. Sun Same picked us up in his Toyota Camry with heavenly AC. I swear I'm not obsessed with AC but when I feel sick, it makes me feel better.
He drove us to the place to buy our tickets for the temples. $40 each for 2-3 days. First up was Angkor Wat, pronounced Uncle Wat by Cambodians. It sounds just like that. The kings of Cambodia have flip-flopped between Hindu religion and Buddhism, sometimes believing in both. Angkor Wat was from a Hindu king built to honor Vishnu, the protector. That's why it faces west instead of east like most temples.
The temple itself is pretty big. There's a gate, a moat, two libraries, and the temple. Sun Same dropped us off there to explore for a few hours. Native guys in there will just start walking with you and tell you about the site and ask you for money at the end.
For lunch, we ate at a vendor that Sun Same knew. I had ginger chicken and rice. It was really good, and the best part was surprisingly the onions.
Before we left this first temple, we walked through the line of shops. These Cambodians are way pushier and annoying than the Thai. They walk up and pester you and don't leave. We bought some paintings there. We saw some elephants today too, besides the Elephant Terrace. It wasn't very impressive. Bayon temple was way cooler. I almost liked it better than Angkor Wat. Too bad I can't upload pictures. After these three temples, Sun Same took us back to our hotel for a rest from 1pm to 4:30.
He picked us up to see the sun set on top of another temple. You walk up a decent-sized hill and then you have to climb these crazy steps to the top. The same style of steps are in every temple, but there's usually supplementary added steps for tourists. Not here! Even so, a number of older people managed to make it up. The steps were probably 20 cm sticking out from the wall, if that makes sense. Even me with small feet had trouble. The sunset was pretty, but perhaps not spectacular. Climbing down in the semi-darkness was an adventure.
We also ran into a group of three people we'd met on the bus on the way over at the temples--the funny hipster Canadian and his Swedish friends. Additionally, we saw some monkeys.
We bought some tiny bananas for a snack. They were really good and really cheap. Very yellow inside. Tasted pretty normal. We gave the rest to a Cambodian guy sitting on a rock quite a ways away from us. It totally surprised him, but he accepted them.
For dinner, we had Sun Same drop us off at KFC, of all places. We really hadn't found anywhere that looked like it cooked safe food. We passed out by 9pm in our hotel.
So, Bennett's girlfriend's parents lived in Singapore (or thereabouts in SE Asia) for 5 years, and they knew someone who could give us a nice tour of the temples. Bennett emailed him a few days before and he showed up this morning with a sheet of paper he had printed with "Bennett and Emma" waiting at 8 AM in the lobby are of our hotel. (The lobby area's outside. Everything is open-air except the room itself). The hotel's actually pretty nice compared to the surrounding areas. Nice floor and stairs. Sun Same picked us up in his Toyota Camry with heavenly AC. I swear I'm not obsessed with AC but when I feel sick, it makes me feel better.
He drove us to the place to buy our tickets for the temples. $40 each for 2-3 days. First up was Angkor Wat, pronounced Uncle Wat by Cambodians. It sounds just like that. The kings of Cambodia have flip-flopped between Hindu religion and Buddhism, sometimes believing in both. Angkor Wat was from a Hindu king built to honor Vishnu, the protector. That's why it faces west instead of east like most temples.
The temple itself is pretty big. There's a gate, a moat, two libraries, and the temple. Sun Same dropped us off there to explore for a few hours. Native guys in there will just start walking with you and tell you about the site and ask you for money at the end.
For lunch, we ate at a vendor that Sun Same knew. I had ginger chicken and rice. It was really good, and the best part was surprisingly the onions.
Before we left this first temple, we walked through the line of shops. These Cambodians are way pushier and annoying than the Thai. They walk up and pester you and don't leave. We bought some paintings there. We saw some elephants today too, besides the Elephant Terrace. It wasn't very impressive. Bayon temple was way cooler. I almost liked it better than Angkor Wat. Too bad I can't upload pictures. After these three temples, Sun Same took us back to our hotel for a rest from 1pm to 4:30.
He picked us up to see the sun set on top of another temple. You walk up a decent-sized hill and then you have to climb these crazy steps to the top. The same style of steps are in every temple, but there's usually supplementary added steps for tourists. Not here! Even so, a number of older people managed to make it up. The steps were probably 20 cm sticking out from the wall, if that makes sense. Even me with small feet had trouble. The sunset was pretty, but perhaps not spectacular. Climbing down in the semi-darkness was an adventure.
We also ran into a group of three people we'd met on the bus on the way over at the temples--the funny hipster Canadian and his Swedish friends. Additionally, we saw some monkeys.
We bought some tiny bananas for a snack. They were really good and really cheap. Very yellow inside. Tasted pretty normal. We gave the rest to a Cambodian guy sitting on a rock quite a ways away from us. It totally surprised him, but he accepted them.
For dinner, we had Sun Same drop us off at KFC, of all places. We really hadn't found anywhere that looked like it cooked safe food. We passed out by 9pm in our hotel.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
5/23/09
I almost don't even want to write about today! It was extremely stressful. I have a feeling the next 3 days will be just as hard. I'm so tired.
We woke up and ate breakfast and got snacks for the trip. The bus/van picked us up and we drove through Bangkok. Driving in the city is terrifying. First of all, they drive on the opposite side of the road, so you're already disconcerted. There seems to be a lot of people actually paying attention when they drive. Mopeds weave in and out of traffic like no other.
We had to change buses. There were 5 other passengers on our bus. We had to make frequent refueling stops. On one of the stops we all got out and bought fruit. The 4 people sitting behind us got us to try some new fruits, and we all started talking. One guy was from Minnesota who had been traveling all around the world for a few months already. He was definitely the travel-savvy one. Told us what the border procedure should be like based on his SE Asia Lonely Planet guide. I think his name was Dominic. The other two were from somewhere in Canada. Very cool, all of them.
We tried snakefruit and mangosteen. The snakefruit comes in 4-inch pods with dry stickers (not sharp). You crack open the dry husk skin and peel it off. Inside, there are 3 lobes of a light orange color that kind of taste like sour starburst and have a big seed in the middle that you obviously don't eat. Mangosteens look like black plums. You tear off the stem and tear the thick purple skin off. There's 4 or more white lobes inside. It's similar to persimmon texture.
The drive to the border from Bangkok was nice, seeing some of the not-urban areas. Cows were skinny, ribs sticking out. SO many tall trees with thin trunks planted in rows. Lots of rice paddies. We stopped at 11 AM and our driver and the guys at the stop wanted us to fill out visa forms and get them for $35. We knew they should only be $20, and we realized they were trying to scam us. At the border,w e went to at least 3 places wanting us to pay $15 extra. We finally found the right spot and got them. I was kind of worried for a few minutes because they took our passports into another room for awhile, but we finally got them back.
The Canadians bought us victory beers, which were not a good idea in the heat. We learned a lot more about haggling and how to be more travel-savvy from these guys. We learned not to book things in advance.
When we finally got to Siem Reap, the bus dropped us off with no choice but to take $2 tuktuks to town. We stayed at the Angkor Voyage Villa. Our tuktuk driver recommended it, which is usually a sketchy way to get a hotel, but it was a nice place. $12 a night for 2 people, near the night market. We tried to find somewhere to eat dinner because we hadn't eaten in 12 hours, but we ended up ordering too-greasy and cheesy pizza from our hotel. Not bad, but kind of made me feel sick.
On the bus ride from Cambodia to Siem Reap, it looked like the world had ended. It was so flat and so used for farming that there were hardly any trees. I would've loved to see it at night for the stars. I am so tired and it's not even 9:30 PM yet.
We woke up and ate breakfast and got snacks for the trip. The bus/van picked us up and we drove through Bangkok. Driving in the city is terrifying. First of all, they drive on the opposite side of the road, so you're already disconcerted. There seems to be a lot of people actually paying attention when they drive. Mopeds weave in and out of traffic like no other.
We had to change buses. There were 5 other passengers on our bus. We had to make frequent refueling stops. On one of the stops we all got out and bought fruit. The 4 people sitting behind us got us to try some new fruits, and we all started talking. One guy was from Minnesota who had been traveling all around the world for a few months already. He was definitely the travel-savvy one. Told us what the border procedure should be like based on his SE Asia Lonely Planet guide. I think his name was Dominic. The other two were from somewhere in Canada. Very cool, all of them.
We tried snakefruit and mangosteen. The snakefruit comes in 4-inch pods with dry stickers (not sharp). You crack open the dry husk skin and peel it off. Inside, there are 3 lobes of a light orange color that kind of taste like sour starburst and have a big seed in the middle that you obviously don't eat. Mangosteens look like black plums. You tear off the stem and tear the thick purple skin off. There's 4 or more white lobes inside. It's similar to persimmon texture.
The drive to the border from Bangkok was nice, seeing some of the not-urban areas. Cows were skinny, ribs sticking out. SO many tall trees with thin trunks planted in rows. Lots of rice paddies. We stopped at 11 AM and our driver and the guys at the stop wanted us to fill out visa forms and get them for $35. We knew they should only be $20, and we realized they were trying to scam us. At the border,w e went to at least 3 places wanting us to pay $15 extra. We finally found the right spot and got them. I was kind of worried for a few minutes because they took our passports into another room for awhile, but we finally got them back.
The Canadians bought us victory beers, which were not a good idea in the heat. We learned a lot more about haggling and how to be more travel-savvy from these guys. We learned not to book things in advance.
When we finally got to Siem Reap, the bus dropped us off with no choice but to take $2 tuktuks to town. We stayed at the Angkor Voyage Villa. Our tuktuk driver recommended it, which is usually a sketchy way to get a hotel, but it was a nice place. $12 a night for 2 people, near the night market. We tried to find somewhere to eat dinner because we hadn't eaten in 12 hours, but we ended up ordering too-greasy and cheesy pizza from our hotel. Not bad, but kind of made me feel sick.
On the bus ride from Cambodia to Siem Reap, it looked like the world had ended. It was so flat and so used for farming that there were hardly any trees. I would've loved to see it at night for the stars. I am so tired and it's not even 9:30 PM yet.
5/22/09
Emilie felt better but went to a hospital today with an American man here her parents' friend knows and got antibiotics. She thinks she might have mono. The three of us tried to take a taxi there, but he ended up way overcharging us and trying to take us on a tour of the city. So we jumped out of the car in the middle of Bangkok and got another taxi home to our hotel.
It's rained every day here, and it's not even the rainy season yet. So far it's rained after 4 PM. Yesterday our power went out for a half hour while it was raining. Good nap time. Our room is pretty efficient too because there is a key holder by the door that controls the electricity in the room. When you leave, all electricity turns off.
Today for lunch, Bennett and I got an enormous amount of fruit for under 2 USD. It had dragonfruit, kiwi, huge black grapes, regular huge grapes, wax/nose apple slices, and pear. The dragonfruit was disappointing . We also split a crispy shrimp omelet with rice. There's a spicy / sweet red sauce that I've decided is the Thai condiment equivalent to ketchup. The omelet was 1.50 USD and was more like a funnel cake fried omelet. Tasty. I also had a lemongrass and basil seed drink. The basil seeds were like tapioca. I didn't care too much for it. So it cost $3.20 for lunch for 2 people.
We ate in a food court next to a fish-tank. On the tank it said, "Knocking on the aquarium is a considerable disturbance for resident fish." It's so cool to see people eating with a fork and spoon. We made plans to go to Cambodia tomorrow. Emilie's flying back tonight. We leave tomorrow at 7 AM on a bus and should get there around 6ish. It was $63 for a round trip. We have to bring US money there. Apparently they prefer that to the Cambodian riel.
My legs are so sore from walking around so much. In MBK I keep feeling dizzy in some areas because the closeness of everything feels like I am on a plane again.
I've got to say, each day feels so long and full of activities. I can't believe it was still today that we went on the crazy taxi ride AND ate marvelous fruit AND saw dance teams in a competition in the mall. Awesome.
It's rained every day here, and it's not even the rainy season yet. So far it's rained after 4 PM. Yesterday our power went out for a half hour while it was raining. Good nap time. Our room is pretty efficient too because there is a key holder by the door that controls the electricity in the room. When you leave, all electricity turns off.
Today for lunch, Bennett and I got an enormous amount of fruit for under 2 USD. It had dragonfruit, kiwi, huge black grapes, regular huge grapes, wax/nose apple slices, and pear. The dragonfruit was disappointing . We also split a crispy shrimp omelet with rice. There's a spicy / sweet red sauce that I've decided is the Thai condiment equivalent to ketchup. The omelet was 1.50 USD and was more like a funnel cake fried omelet. Tasty. I also had a lemongrass and basil seed drink. The basil seeds were like tapioca. I didn't care too much for it. So it cost $3.20 for lunch for 2 people.
We ate in a food court next to a fish-tank. On the tank it said, "Knocking on the aquarium is a considerable disturbance for resident fish." It's so cool to see people eating with a fork and spoon. We made plans to go to Cambodia tomorrow. Emilie's flying back tonight. We leave tomorrow at 7 AM on a bus and should get there around 6ish. It was $63 for a round trip. We have to bring US money there. Apparently they prefer that to the Cambodian riel.
My legs are so sore from walking around so much. In MBK I keep feeling dizzy in some areas because the closeness of everything feels like I am on a plane again.
I've got to say, each day feels so long and full of activities. I can't believe it was still today that we went on the crazy taxi ride AND ate marvelous fruit AND saw dance teams in a competition in the mall. Awesome.
5/21/2009
(I'm typing all this from my travel journal a week late.)
So I made it to Thailand! It feels really cheesy to be writing in a journal, but Jo Mama gave it to me, and it's actually a pretty good idea.
The flights yesterday took forever. Dr. Case was on our flight to Washington DC, and Bill Wormsley (another NCSU professor) was on our flight to Tokyo. Bennett flew on American Airlines just to be spiteful. They fed us so much food on the Tokyo flight--2 full meals and over three snacks. Somehow I had the window seat on all 3 flights. The one to Tokyo was 14 hours of continuous sunlight, but they had us close the shades for a few hours.
The seats had individual screens where we could watch movies and play games. Oceans 11, Inkheart, Bride Wars, Yes Man, etc. There was also a mode to see where the plane was on its path. Very cool.
Emilie and I sat around 40 minutes waiting for Bennett and Dr. Case in the Bangkok airport, then we came to the Reno Hotel. The 3 of us are all in one room--1600 baht or around 50 USD a night.
Emilie's feeling sick (possibly SwInE fLu!!!11!), so Bennett and I explored MBK, a mall next to the Reno Hotel. They sell knockoffs of a decent quality for very cheap. It's HUGE, but so is every mall here. Like 6 cram-packed stories.
There's a lot of neat stuff architecture-wise. Enormous art sculptures, round buildings, raised walkways over the streets, Sky Train. Tuktuks are small 3-wheeled open taxis that are plentiful in the streets. In Thailand, they drive on the opposite side of the road. I feel like so far I'm handling the time change pretty well. I think it's like 5 or 6 AM in the US, and I'm not horribly sleepy.
Breakfast this morning was tasty --> scrambled eggs, toast with butter and strawberry jelly, coffee, and fresh pineapple. Bennett and I found a place that's like the awesomest Harris Teeter plus Fresh Market but Thai. Oh and we also had super delicious pad thai for lunch. It cost under 1 USD. We had the same thing but with a Thai iced tea for dinner.
So I made it to Thailand! It feels really cheesy to be writing in a journal, but Jo Mama gave it to me, and it's actually a pretty good idea.
The flights yesterday took forever. Dr. Case was on our flight to Washington DC, and Bill Wormsley (another NCSU professor) was on our flight to Tokyo. Bennett flew on American Airlines just to be spiteful. They fed us so much food on the Tokyo flight--2 full meals and over three snacks. Somehow I had the window seat on all 3 flights. The one to Tokyo was 14 hours of continuous sunlight, but they had us close the shades for a few hours.
The seats had individual screens where we could watch movies and play games. Oceans 11, Inkheart, Bride Wars, Yes Man, etc. There was also a mode to see where the plane was on its path. Very cool.
Emilie and I sat around 40 minutes waiting for Bennett and Dr. Case in the Bangkok airport, then we came to the Reno Hotel. The 3 of us are all in one room--1600 baht or around 50 USD a night.
Emilie's feeling sick (possibly SwInE fLu!!!11!), so Bennett and I explored MBK, a mall next to the Reno Hotel. They sell knockoffs of a decent quality for very cheap. It's HUGE, but so is every mall here. Like 6 cram-packed stories.
There's a lot of neat stuff architecture-wise. Enormous art sculptures, round buildings, raised walkways over the streets, Sky Train. Tuktuks are small 3-wheeled open taxis that are plentiful in the streets. In Thailand, they drive on the opposite side of the road. I feel like so far I'm handling the time change pretty well. I think it's like 5 or 6 AM in the US, and I'm not horribly sleepy.
Breakfast this morning was tasty --> scrambled eggs, toast with butter and strawberry jelly, coffee, and fresh pineapple. Bennett and I found a place that's like the awesomest Harris Teeter plus Fresh Market but Thai. Oh and we also had super delicious pad thai for lunch. It cost under 1 USD. We had the same thing but with a Thai iced tea for dinner.
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