SE Asia '09 | Ally & Adam's Big Adventure

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Luang Prabang….Ahhh, pretty!!

Posted by ally on December 18th, 2009 1 Comment

We arrived at Luang Prabang airport on the smallest plane in the world…at least it seemed that way until we saw the smaller plane that Lao airlines were flying from Vientiane to Luange Prabang when we landed. We flew Bangkok Air which is a serviceable enough airline. Being a ATR70 (that’s code for IT HAD PROPELLERS!!!!) it was only a small service. A pleasant two hour flight and we had left the horrors of Bangkok behind us and arrived in lovely Luang Prabang.

We then had to line up to purchase our visas. This took about half an hour as there was a long line of people and only one person taking money and writing out the visa. Once the visas were obtained and duly admired we then had to line up for passport control. This also took a little while as there were two men – one to look at the passport and one to stamp it. By this time our bags were the last on the conveyor belt. Someone had obviously gotten tired of watching them go around so we found them dumped on the floor. Fair enough I guess, there were only around 40 passengers+ luggage to get through and we were the last ones in the line.

Anyway, once we were through the airport we got a taxi to take us to our hotel, Lotus Villa, which was very nice with a comfortable bed, hot shower and a balcony out the front from which we could watch the procession of monks each morning.

The alms giving each morning is a time honoured tradition in which, usually, housewives give rice to the monks as they pass by each morning, ensuring that the monks have breakfast and that the housewives make “merit” each day. It is facinating to watch. Unfortuantely it is at 6am! There are signs all around the town asking that visitors to the area respect the custom and stand a small distance away to watch and to not point flashing cameras into the monks faces. It was a nice thing to watch first thing in the morning.

Adam was not feeling at all well by the time we arrived at the hotel, so we stayed indoors for a few hours so he could get to rest. We went out in search of dinner and found a resturant just around the corner from our hotel, The 3 Nagas, where we dined on Mekong river weed and buffalo skin amongst other delights. It cost a bit more than we were expecting but was a very satisfying dinner for our introduction into Luang Prabang eating.

The next day we were up early to watch the monks on their morning trail before breakfast. With Adam feeling better we set off to explore. There really isn’t a lot of Luang Prabang, but there is a lot to see. Walking down the main road we dropping into the Grand Palace for a look. It’s not nearly as big as the one in Phnom Penh or as shiny as the one in Bangkok. It has been made into a museum of the old Royal Family. It was nice and interesting. Not really and WOW moments, although they did have a very impressive mosaic on the walls of the throne room, much like Wat Xieng Thong. After the palace we walked into the wat on the main street. It wasn’t as spectacular as some of the wats we have seen, but still very nice.

We really didn’t do a lot other than walk and eat for the rest of the day. Luang Prabang is really just one of those places where you can get a lot out of it just be taking it easy. There are things to do, the Pak Ou Caves, the waterfalls, elephant riding, trekking, kayaking….the list can go on, but you can have just as much fun sitting in one of the cafes and watching the world go by. There is such a huge diversity of people to watch there.

We spent three lovely days there before we were off to Nong Khiaw…..by boat! This was a 6 hour boat ride which deserves a blog post all of it’s very own so I will leave things here and pick it up again shortly…………..

Tags: 3 Nagas, blogsherpa, Laos, Lotus Villa, Luang Prabang, monks, Nong Khiaw, Pak Ou Caves

The Only Good Mouse Is A Reading Mouse

Posted by ally on December 5th, 2009 1 Comment

It’s hard to sum up our first two days in Luang Prabang. It’s an exceptionally pretty little town; an elegant melange of Asian and colonial influences. We began the morning observing the Tak Bat ceremony outside our guesthouse during which the faithful offer a small amount of sticky rice to each passing monk; a tradition which provides monks with their morning meal and makes merits for almsgivers. It has become a symbol of this little town, to the extent that there are various posters around town requesting tourists refrain from blinding the monks with camera flashes, impede their path or buying substandard rice to give to the monks.

In the morning we visited the former Royal Palace, now the National Museum. It was much humbler and more domestic than those of Cambodia or Thailand. The museum was completely silent about the fate of the royal family after the 1975 socialist revolution. A highlight, in the hall displaying official gifts to the former royal family, were the miniture moon lander and moon dust which the United States gave to Laos in the 1960’s.

Over the next two days we spent time wandering and admiring the town and it’s many temples, to the extent that we really lost track of which wat was what! Wat Xieng Thong, however, was definitely a highlight with gorgeous mosaics on soft pink walls.

One thing I must mention is Big Brother Mouse, an organisation dedicated to printing and distributing picture books in Lao. Many children in remote villages in Laos have little or no access to books and Big Brother Mouse is dedicated to giving young Lao the opportunity to write, illustrate, produce and print books and to create books that encourage young Lao to read. Ally and I bought some t-shirts and a pack of books to give out to children.

Luang Prabang

Tags: alms, Big Brother Mouse, blogsherpa, buddhist, Lao, Lao Royal Family, Laos, Luang Prabang, monks, national museum, Royal Palace, Tak Bat, Trip 09, Wat Mai, Wat Xieng Thong, wats

Four Engines Good, Two Engines Bad

Posted by ally on December 4th, 2009 No Comments

Left for Bangkok airport still not feeling the best. Arrived at the airport quite early and where almost thrown out the taxi by the driver – we subsequently noticed a fellow wandering up and down the taxi rank with a loudspeaker roaring at taxi drivers who were dallying.

Had a quick drink then lined up to book in with Bangkok Airways. All went quite smoothly, although security was very strict – I had to take off my belt for the first time in the trip. The amount of shopping airside at the new Bangkok airport is staggering, it streches for miles. In stark contrast to the packed feel in the areas before checkin, with very limited eating and drinking outlets.

Bangkok Airways has a small lounge for all passengers which allowed us to grab fifteen minutes internet, a drink and a couple of little snacks.

Got to the plane and we had the shock of our lives. It was so… little, and… propellor driven. The ATR 72 probably sat 50 or 60 but amongst the Boeings and Airbuses it seemed tiny and, as it was my first flight on a turbo-prop I was a little concerned. Flight was actually quite pleasant after a bumpy takeoff, with brilliant views of flat Thailand and then, increasingly mountainous Laos.

Nonetheless, it was a great relief when we arrived in Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang ’s airport was tiny and we entered a customs area with brown timber partitons straight out of the fifties. An amazing contrast to the space age Bangkok Airport. USD$30 dollars later we had our visas and were out of the airport. Taxi to town cost a standardised USD$5.

Luang Prabang is a little town on a peninsular at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers and was the royal capital of Laos and was the politcal and religious center of the country. Surrounded by towering mountains and majestic rivers it really is marvelous location. It still contains over 30 Buddhist wats, alongside some beautifully preserved French colonial buildings, particularly the main streets which are lined with wonderfully renovated shophouses.

Did very little that evening apart from having dinner at a restaurant very close to our hotel, the 3 Nagas. After the tropical heat of the past few weeks it was a surprise to see little charchol burners below each table, but after we had been sitting for a while we appreciated the extra warmth as it is quite a few degrees colder in evenings at this altitude.

The meal was very pricey by local standards but we tried a local delicacy – khai paen – fried Mekong riverweed with sesame and served with a spicey jao bong (buffalo skin jam). The spice of the condiment (which just tasted like a chilli jam) took away the fishy taste of the riverweed, which on its own tasted like nori on steroids. The rest of the meal was more prosaic: some delightful spring rolls, grilled pork chops for Ally and steamed fish in banana leaves for me, accompanied by the culinary symbol of Laos, sticky rice. Our waiter was wonderful and it was lovely introduction to Laos.

It was good to be somewhere quieter than Bangkok, and Luang Prabang was certainly charming.

Bangkok to Luang Prabang

Tags: 3 Nagas, Bangkok, Bangkok Airways, jao bong, khai paen, Laos, Luang Prabang, riverweed, sticky rice, Thailand, Trip 09, visa, wats

For One Night Only

Posted by adam on December 3rd, 2009 No Comments

Street Performer Spying a big crowd from a tour bus this guy set up shop for an impormptu show right in front of Sala Bai one afternoon as we were having lunch. Carrying his props in the cart behind him he creates quite an impresion with his vividly dyed hair and tattoos. After some illusions, flame swallowing the highlight of the show was him jumping through a crude wheel with various knives and flaming torch attached. Not death-defying, perhaps, but worth a couple of dollars.

Here, for your enjoyment, is the climax to his performance.

Tags: acrobatics, blogsherpa, Cambodia, circus, death defying, Siem Reap, street peformer, Trip 09

Sold Up The Klongs

Posted by adam on December 3rd, 2009 No Comments

We had two nights in Bangkok which began as high farce and largely continued in the same vein, ending with us promising ourselves that we will have to return one day and give the city another try.

It started inauspiciously. We had agreed with Jo and Greg that we would meet them early in the morning on our first day and to see the Grand Palace together, but had not determined any details. Their hotel was on the river, near the Grand Palace; ours was on the other side of the city, but near the BTS. Despite several phone calls the reception at their hotel were unable to find them in the register, even though we knew they had booked in, so we were anxious as to whether to travel to their hotel or to the Grand Palace.

We set out for their hotel. We took BTS to Siam and interchanged to the other line towards Saphan Taksin station to catch the ferry up the Chao Pahyra river. On this second train we began chatting to a very friendly local. During the course of quite a long conversation he offered to direct us to the public pier from Taksin station. Feeling very overwhealmed by Bangkok and struggling to remember whether the pier was very easy or very hard to find from the BTS (I was sure it was one or the other) I stupidly agreed, before Ally had a chance to say otherwise. He ended up leading us to a little private pier somewhere near the Shangri La hotel and by this time I was a bit of wreck. It sounds very stupid and credulous on paper but this fellow was slick and enourmously charming. However, I knew pretty soon that we weren’t in the right place for the public ferry, but didn’t really know where we were and was panicking about how we would meet Jo and Greg.

We ended up paying an exhorbitant amount for a tour of the Klongs (the smaller waterways of old Bangkok) we didn’t want and were shown to a little longtail boat. Sitting on the boat, my reputation as anything like a savvy traveller forever destroyed, the water seemed much choppier than I expected, although my general feeling of unease probably made it worse. We could have taken the tour and minimised our losses, but we decided, instead, to cut our losses and just ask the driver to drop us off at the ferry stop we wanted. She dropped us close by but it took us another few minutes of stress and gesturing on a map with a helpful local security guard to determine exactly where we were. It was an expensive lesson and I still can’t really explain how it happened, espescially as I had read so much about the various scams of Bangkok.

Holding a grudge against the whole city we recouperated in Jo and Greg’s hotel room, and swapped war stories: they had had a bad experience with a tuktuk driver the day before, as everybody who catches a tuktuk in Bangkok seems to. We then caught the proper public ferry down towards the Grand Palace. At the ferry stop there were no signs, but we ascertained the direction and wandered down to the ‘big white fence’. Again, no signage as we tried to find the entrance, and when we did were set upon by guides offering their services and a fellow with a loundspeaker who would bellow at tourists he determined were not in accordance with the dress regulations. Jo was of his victims – her dress was sleeveless and the scarf she had brought for the purpose was deemed insufficient to rectify the sartorial deficiency. Very grudingly she borrowed, for a 100 baht deposit, one of the plain, less than flattering, grey shirts available for the purpose.

The Grand Palace was magnificent, but very busy and hot by the time we arrived. We were funnelled round a set route and at one point there was a sign warning that, for no apparent reason, once we passed through a particular doorway we could not re-enter and there was no turning back. Took some beautiful photos and I am glad we saw it, but we really weren’t in the mood to appreciate it.

We left and decided to see Wat Pho, just a few streets away. On the way several people standing near a empty small buddhist temple – I presume they were tuktuk drivers – came up to warn us that Wat Pho was closed, for a ‘Buddhist day’. Thankfully, we were now easily cynical to ignore such unsought advice and keept walking. After asking a rather confused young man outside the naval academy we found the rather grander Wat Pho. That it was open surprised us not at all.

Wat Pho is famous for its enourmous reclining Buddha, which really was an amazing sight, with stunning mother-of-pearl work under its feet. After a difficult morning we needed something to ‘Wow’ us and this was just the ticket.

We let the fates decide whether we head north on the river towards the backpacker ghetto of Khao San Road or south towards the upmarket shopping malls around Siam. Khao San Road won and we wandered around the night market, finding some little souvenirs and some dresses for Ally and Jo. It wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as I expected, but a little disheartening between the tourist tat, the tattoo parlours and the Western restaurants.

After saying goodbye to Jo and Greg, Ally and I had a quite cheap, and quite good, dinner at the Siam Paragon mall, which contains like so many of the Asian malls, a simply mind-boggling variety of designer shops.

The next day I woke up sore. We headed to Jim Thompson’s house, built by an eccentric American in the years after the Second World War from a collection of traditional Thai houses sourced from around the country. These one bedroom dwellings were bolted together to create a single house which highlights the beauty of these buildings. He became famous as a force behind the resurgence of Thai silk (especially when it was showcased in The King and I). Looked around the showroom – Jim Thompson is becoming a luxury designer brand in its own right – but we were rather put-off by the prices.

In the afternoon we headed to the MBK shopping mall, rather like an asian market spread over seven levels of shopping heaven/hell. Had an awful, but cheap, lunch at an all you can eat place which promised noodles and curry. Most of the curries, despite the labels, had no meat or vegetable matter but I found one with some promising morsels of what looked like beef. I hope it was tofu. Meat should have some sort of texture. Still we managed to fill oursevles on noodles and sauce for the equivalent of a couple of dollars.

The pain in my side was a little worse by this time, so we headed back to the hotel. In the evening we intended to see Victory Monument, a enourmous traffic roundabout just a few minutes from our hotel, but after walking in the wrong direction for twenty minutes, and Ally falling over on the uneven pavement, we gave up the search and found a little restaurant where we had delicious calamari, pork with basil (literally) and a green curry that I ended up picking the meat out of because of the heat.

My side still hurt as I considered our cursed couple of days and drifted off to sleep dreaming of appropriate punishments for the scammers of Bangkok.

Tags: Bangkok, blogsherpa, Chao Payra, ferry, Grand Palace, Jim Thompson's House, klongs, MBK, Paragon, river, scam, shopping mall, Siam, Thailand, Trip 09

Flying To The City of Angels

Posted by adam on December 3rd, 2009 No Comments

Day was mostly taken up with our flight from Phnom Penh to Bangkok, again with AirAsia. Early this morning we visited the National Musuem, primarily for its collection of Angkor-era statutory. Caught a tuktuk across to the mustard yellow deco Central Market, which is undergoing renovations, but we were hasselled by some surprisingly unfriendly stall-keepers.

Wandered through Phnom Penh before making our way back to the hotel, where our driver from two days before, Dara – apparently a little worse for wear after a big night – picked us up to take us to the airport.

Roads in Cambodia are treated like any other public space – at the edges of, say, a six lane main road there may be a lane or two or each side which is travelling in the ‘right’ direction, but in the middle of every road is a broad, ambigouous area shared by traffic travelling in both directions. The system works surprisingly well, basically due to the fact that most of the traffic consists of small scooters or motorcycles, but cars and four wheel drives operate in the same manner. There is, in short, never any guarantee that traffic anywhere on the road will be travelling in any particular direction. When crossing the road there is a moment (and when crossing a large road it is quite a time) when you have to, quite litetterally, look in both directions at once. Failure to do so is met with a barrage of scooter horns and close shaves.

Nonetheless, Cambodian drivers seem less aggressive, less stressed and less frustrated than their Australian compatriots. They simply don’t expect the drivers around them to do to act in a certain way and presume the other drivers could do anything. If they have to slow down because there is a car or scooter heading directly for them they simply toot the horn and slow, perhaps move momentarily towards the correct side the road, and they continue on. I am sure there are some horrific accidents, but we never saw any.

We made our way through a crowd of people milling around the foyer of the airport, but initially there was no sign of our flight or where we should book in. After ascertaining that there were, indeed, only the 15 or so check-in desks (and nowhere at all to buy food or drink before security) we found seats and were left to amuse ourselves watching the other passengers on our flight begin to arrive and go through the same process of puzzlement, anxiety and relief that we had. We got chatting to a Belgian backpacker (whose name we found out) who has been through Thailand, Burma, Laos and Cambodia. He had loved Burma; apparently the people were genuinely and unhesitatingly warm and he thought the Bagan temples as spectactular, if not more, than Angkor Wat (although to because he was somewhat ‘templed out’ that was the only temple around Siem Reap he had seen). Check-in was smooth for us, altough not for a couple before us who elected to repack rather than pay $1USD per kilo in excess luggage.

Both Ally and I managed to set off the security sensors but with the sacrifice of a bottle of sunscreen stupidly left in carryon we wandered around a couple of little duty free shops, perusing the interesting Chinese tobacco and alcohol.

Airplane was a little on the tatty side – for the first time AirAsia really felt like a budget airline but there was nothing to complain about. This time Ally and I were seated together, with nothing but an aisle between us.The hot meals we had ordered online were too grand for this tiny plane, so we had to settle for smoked chicken foccacias, which we both quite enjoyed.

From the airplane we had a 10 minute bus ride to the long lines of immigration. Successfully caught a metered taxi to our hotel. The driver serenaded us with several tunes along the way and laughed, frequently, in a fashion which was just on the happy side of manic. During the drive I felt like a yokel as I wondered at the modernity of Bangkok after just a week in Cambodia – the enourmous spagetthi junctions, the billboards and the illuminated skyscrapers. It really felt like the largest city I had ever seen, and possibly just about justified it’s name, which translated, means: “The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarm”.

On arrival four or five employees immediately jumped upon the car to open the doors, welcome us and remove our luggage. Room at the hotel was just gorgeous, lovely view of the pool and worth three times what we are paying for it. As it seemed to too late to do anything we both collapsed for the night with dreams of the pool.

Tags: AirAsia, Bangkok, blogsherpa, Cambodia, Central Market, national museum, Phnom Penh, Thailand

That’s What Friends Are For

Posted by adam on November 30th, 2009 No Comments

Very quiet morning as Jo and Greg left for Bangkok on a 1pm flight, the day before us. We made plans to meet up in Bangkok two days later for a day. Had another lovely breakfast in the bar of the FCC overlooking the river on one side and the national museum on the other.

Greg and I wandered around to the Grand Palace to take some photos, but were waved away by security guards; from what we could gather an African diplomat or possiby head of state was due to meet the King in the Palace. Feeling rather unwelcome we scampered back to the hotel.

In the afternoon Ally (who still wasn’t feeling 100%) and I had a look round the, now reopened, palace. The fantastic buildings, topiary and a quiante little pavilion, given to Cambodia from Emporor Napoleon the 3rd which all combines to give a very Disney-like impression.

We had dinner at the Friends restaurant. Despite being told the previous evening that if we arrived before 6pm we would have no problem getting a table for two we had to wait for about half an hour. Once seated it was great experience, as at Sala Bai the staff were enthusiastic and a buzz to be around, the tapas (a chicken curry, pork wanton, garlic bread amongst others) and fruit drinks were all of the highest standard.

Packed for the flight and looked forward to Bangkok.`

Tags: Cambodia, FCC, Friends, Grand Palace, national museum, Phnom Penh

A Monkey Walks Into A Bar…

Posted by adam on November 30th, 2009 1 Comment

Began the day with a really nice breakfast at the FCC overlooking the National Museum in one direction and the Tonle Sap river in the other.

We met our driver, Dara, and headed out the Cheung Ek ‘Killing Fields’ about 15 kilometers Southeast of Phnom Penh. A fitting memorial to the thousands of Cambodians who were killed and buried in mass graves during the four years of Khmer Rouge rule between 1975 and 1979. A large stupa contains seventeen levels of clothes, skulls and bones exhumed from the mass graves which now resemble craters dotting the area. Visitors are allowed to wander as they wish in the area, which made me feel particularly uncomfortable when our guide pointed out a handful of teeth barely buried in the dirt. Apparently remains are still washed to the surface during heavy rain. The site was chosen as it had been a Chinese cemetary where the site of bodies, and the accompanying stench, were less likely to arouse suspiousion. This is just one of many such sites which dot the country.

I have to admit the site just made be feel terribly cold – the utterly arbitary and brutal slayings of so many; beaten with blunt instruments to save bullets by a doctrinaire and paranoid regime certain of its own righteousness. Only now are some of the Khmer Rouge leaders believed to be responsible being tried – trials about which our guide was cynical as too little too late. During the ride back to Phnom Penh, Dara told us that his father had been amongst the victims of the Khmer Rouge.

For some relief we went next to the Russian Market, so named in the 80‘s when nearly all the foreigners in Phnom Penh were from the former USSR. A wonderful, bustling market full of tiny narrow little alleyways with goods piled to the ceiling. Ally and I are still far from expert bargainers and we were probably seperated from far too much of our money, but I did pick up a ‘legitimate’ North Face rucksack for USD$21. If it gets me through the trip I’ll be estatic. We picked up some T-shirts and other tourist nick nacks, but the real joy was just wandering through the incredible, dynamic space which so well typifies modern Cambodia. Energetic, enterprenurial and irrepressable.

After the relief of the market we returned to our melancholy mood as we visited Toul Sleng, the former detention and interrogation camp of the Khmer Rouge. A converted high school the site has become, along with the Killing Fields, a symbol of the barbarity of Pol Pot’s rule. What shocked me was the improvised, makeshift, nature of the gaol and torture camp created from four non-descript buildings in the center of Phnom Penh – where classrooms were rudely partitioned with brick or timber cellds, the front of the buildings strung with barbed and razor wire, and gym equipment became the apparatus for torture. Nothing characterised the place better than the security regulations posted in the courtyard.

After lunch at the FCC we made the prilgramage to Wat Phnom – considered the founding hill of Phnom Penh. The pagoda at the top of the hill was lovely, but it was the gorgeous French-inspired park which surrounded it that we really appreciated. Complete with Parisian lamp-posts, monkeys, elephant rides, children playing and vendors selling various snacks. It was so far removed from the Phnom Penh I expected to find – this city was virtually emptied by the Khmer Rouge who sought to create a rural idyll in Cambodia, yet it is among the most charming capital cities I have visited in Asia. The riverfront, where the FCC is situated, is composed of unspoilt, low-profile, colonial period buildings, and fairly bustles at night.

We wandered along the esplanade up to Grand Palace to take some photos, intending to dine at Friends restaurant, which gives employment and training to former street kids, but they were already full and Ally was feeling pretty ordinary with an upset stomach. We returned to the riverside, chosing a restaurant almost at random.

After dinner Ally turned in and I wandered up to the bar at the FCC for a nightcap with Jo and Greg. As we watched Phnom Penh pass below us a monkey ran along the electrical wiring and into the bar on the other side of the road! It took about ten minutes for anyone there to notice, during which we considered the protocols surrounding informing them about the rogue primate. After he made himself known, and a waiter gave chase with a broom all appeared to be peacefully resolved, but we still don’t know whether he managed to get his drink or not.

Tags: blogsherpa, Cambodia, Cheung Ek, Dara, FCC, Friends, Khmer Rouge, Killing Fields, monkey, Phnom Penh, Trip 09, Tuong Sleng

Get Your Kicks On Route 6

Posted by adam on November 30th, 2009 2 Comments

We were all picked up early by the Mekong Express minibus, which had perhaps had better days. Rumbled around the back streets of Siem Reap picking up tourists until we pulled into the bus station. The Mekong Express bus company are recommended by all the guide books and were the recommendation of our guide Sanchey. Cost was $USD11 per person. The Mekong Express bus, which took 6 hours to rumble down route #6 to Phnom Penh, was comfortable enough but certainly nothing flash – it had a toilet and was certainly airconditioned, but it seemed a little tired. some of the buses alongside looked a little nicer, but I’m not sure whether they were going to Phnom Penh or longer trips to Ho Chi Minh or Bangkok.

We each recieved a bottle of water and a box containing a dried pork bun and a peanut cookie – Greg complimented the bun but Ally and I found the fiborous texture of the “pork” a little too disconcerting. I found the peanut cookie to be pleasant, although I think it consisted of little more than crushed peanuts and sugar.

Trip was flat and uneventful. One stop somewhere in Kampong Cham provence. To our dissapointment this was not a the village famours (notourious?) for its fried spiders. Rather it was a nondescript little place with a a couple of vendors and a large, very Chinese looking, restaurant which was doing a good trade with travellers on the road. There was one lady selling various bugs, including spiders, but she was very unhappy with tourists photographing her wares. I decided that, with another three hours between us and Phnom Penh and the flies around her fried delights being less of a concern than the Westerners wanting to photograph the spiders that I would wait for another opportunity to munch on an arachnid.

Arrived at the Mekong Express office in Phnom Penh and we managed to locate our bags. The touts were kept out the fenced off area, so we decided to take a moment to collect our thoughts. Literally before Ally and Greg could light a cigarette the fences dividing the taxi and tuktuk drivers and us, their prey, were removed. We were surrounded. We nearly provoked an ugly incident by agreeing to go with a taxi driver who had not been the first to shout taxi at us, but this was resolved by agreeing to go with whoever had called ‘Shotgun’ on us. I think the driver managed to pad out the short journey to our hotel, the FCC.

The Foreign Correspondents Club in Phnom Penh is a lovely little spot on the riverside. Only opened in 1993 it seems to have almost as much character as many of the grand old colonial hotels. It’s a bit of a charmer. On the second and third floors are the bar, with lovely views over the confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. The four rooms are on the first floor (ours was just under the pool tables) and they are chic and elegant. The minibar contains all the journalist necessities; 750ml bottles of gin, scoth, rum.

In the evening Ally and I wandered up to the night market along the quay. The market, which was only just beginning, was very subdued and, to be honest, not particularly interested. Stopped off on the way back to the FCC to have a $USD2.50 campari and orange overlooking the Tonle Sap at one of the multitude of bars which line the riverbank.

Tags: blogsherpa, Cambodia, FCC, Mekong Express, Penh, Sala Bai, Siem Reap, Trip 09

Notes From A Blue Pumpkin

Posted by adam on November 30th, 2009 No Comments

Woke up for breakfast at Sala Bai and to news that Greg had taken ill during the night. I don’t think it was anything to do with the durian cookies the night before, but I still felt pangs of guilt. Jo’s back was playing up, and it was decided that just Ally and I would venture out for the morning.

Along with the unexpected cost of visiting Koh Ker, Greg’s illness finally decided the issue of what we would do – Ally and I would stay close to Siem Reap and visit the Roulous group of temples in the morning and do some shopping in the evening. It was disappointing not to visit Koh Ker and Beng Melea, as it had been something I had been very much hoping to do, but it leaves something to do on our next visit!

The three temples of the Rolous group, Preah Ko, Bakong and Lolei are the oldest around Siem Reap. Once again words fail me in trying to describe how beautiful they were – along with Pre-Rup, Bakong was perhaps my favorite temple. Their unexpected beauty – the vista from Pre-Rup and approaching Bakong just took my breath away. There were significantly less visitors than any other temples we had visited, and rather than the hoards of hawkers at the more popular temples at the Roulous there were just a handful – just as cute, just as insistent but less overwealming.

On the way out of Bakong a very young girl approached Ally with a very old ploy. She thrust a flower into her hand and proceeded to tie it around her finger with a palm leaf. Ally gave in and decided to pay the dollar demanded, which led to a chorus of four or five other children demanding the same, or at least a few thousand riel (equivalent to a few cents)

Again, pictures of the temples, which are beyond my powers of description, will follow.

We returned to Sala Bai for lunch, and to make sure Greg was feeling better. The highlight of lunch was a street performer who set up for an impromptu show in front of the hotel while we ate lunch, which climaxed in a leap through a hoop of knives and burning torch.

As Jo and Greg still did not feel up to visting any temples, we had a very quiet afternoon of shopping with Sanchey at a slightly dodgy silver shop and Artisans d’Angkor, an organisation dedicated to preserving traditional Khmer arts and crafts and creating opportunity of local Cambodians.

During the afternoon Sanchey mentioned that Siem Reap provence is, ironically, the poorest provence in Cambodia. Despite the enourmous amounts of tourist revenue which pour through very little finds its way to the poorest Cambodians and the lights may appear bright to Khmer from other provences, but the streets are rarely paved, let alone with gold. Labor is cheap and plentiful; service everywhere is better than anywhere I have ever experienced. This evening we went to KFC to get Greg, who was still feeling very weak, something familiar and safe – french fries – and were served a complimentary coke while we waited for our order! Even buying drinks at the local mini-marts feels like we are doing a great service, the shopkeepers, literally jump out of their seats to open the door and will chase you down the street if you wander away!

In the evening we had dinner at the Blue Pumpkin cafe, perhaps the best example of ‘tourist’ Siem Reap. I have rarely seen a cafe so clean, so orderly and so welcoming and so Western. Ally had a ham and cheese crossiant and I sampled the local specialty – linguini. Its chief attraction for us was free Wifi and we passed an enjoyable evening dipping into our lives at home, totally removed from the lives of almost every Cambodian. It is hard to describe how awfully privileged it feels to wander round Siem Reap as a Westerner. USD $10 is a princely sum: even at the tourists restaurants at which we have eaten it will buy a meal, and often a large bottle of beer, for both of us. We’ve become used to so much of the chaos – the traffic, the tuktuk drivers touting for business and the adorable hawkers and have become very comfortable here very quickly. I wish we had far more time and it will be hard to leave.