I had an interesting day today. I spent the first half of the day seeing the sights of Phenom Penh, the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda and the killing fields. What I love and hate about already about SE Asia is the bombardment of moto, tuk-tuk and taxi drivers at every corner. My moto driver, Paul (most likely just a random English name that he picked to tell tourists), was an excellent guy. The great thing about moto/tuk-tuk service is that they basically wait for your at every place you go and in the end of the day it costs you about $10. The annoying part is dealing with the other thousand drivers that want to compete for your service.
The Royal Palace was impressive. Massive, multi-roofed buildings that blot out the sun with their gold and silver leafed tiles. If it weren’t for the scorching heat, I might have stayed a little bit beyond the half an hour that is took, running from patch of shade to patch of shade within the palace grounds. Paul and I then headed out to Choeng Ek, or the killing fields. To bring you up on Cambodian history, basically this guy named Pol Pot took power with a group known as the Khmer Rogues that slaughtered anyone who was thought to be educated. It’s thought that 1.7 million people were slaughtered and the killing fields were one of the mass grave sights. It was a very chilling experience, especially the monument that holds 8,000 skulls that were excavated from some of the graves.
I spent the afternoon with some crazy expats, both named Gary. Gary #1, originally from New York, walked up to me and had to rave about my random pins on my backpack. We spent the next half an hour standing by the Mekong, while he tried to convince me that a meteor hit Cambodia and was the source of all life on earth…yep, it was amazing! We decided to mosy on over to the local pallet wetter where we met Gary #2, original from jolly old England. We had a few beers and while Gary #1 was off trying to score some dope, I found out that Gary #2 had lived in Encinitas in the 70’s. We swapped stories of the old and new days in SoCal and I got some tips that included some supposedly good Mexican food in Siem Reap! I left pretty soon after Gary #1 came back with his stash. I must say though, it was a memorable afternoon in Cambodia.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Durian…Why Would You Ever Eat Something That Smells Like Rotting Corpse?
Thailand is a feast for the senses. Not necessarily always a decadent one, but overwhelming none the less! I arrived in Phuket to a beautiful crimson sunset which I attempted to capture over the wing of the plane without much luck! The view from the air was incredible as there are so many small islands off the coast and more jungle to be seen than cityscape.
I walked out into the sticky evening air and was quickly bombarded by taxi drivers. I’m sure they work off of commission or something but I’m still amazed that twenty people, wearing the same shirt, appearing to work for the same company, can get so violent as they compete for business. In the end I closed my eyes and pointed. After a few quick stops, one to sign some paper behind dark glass and then again to pick up some oil, my taxi finally arrived at the Phuket Center Apartment and the smiling face of my friend of Alissa. She has been living in Phuket for about eight months now and is a master at charming her Thai neighborhood. She knows enough Thai to joke with the vendors and bargain down a motorbike price. Anything else just doesn’t seem necessary! We ate, talked and sweat the night away.
The thing that tourists need to know when visiting Thailand is that they shouldn’t expect anything like Europe. There are three things to do here, eat, go the beach, do nothing. There are no museums and very few historical sites worth visiting. On a rainy day, Thai people stay inside. So my time in Thailand has been that of relaxation. A place to read books, cry over spicy curries and attempt to minimize sunburned areas of skin.
After loading up on books at a local used book store, I headed to Phi Phi Island. I mentioned that Mt. Fuji was close to paradise but that’s because I hadn’t been to Ko Phi Phi. I can sum it up in five words: beach, beer, books, beauty and hammocks. Yeah, I’m bummed that hammocks ruined the alliteration too. The resort had its own private beach and I was one of about 15 guests. And just when you thought it couldn’t get better, you win a free dinner in a raffle. So what if there were only 4 tickets in the bucket…I plan to go back to Phi Phi. I got back from Phi Phi just in time to spend the weekend gallivanting around Phuket Island with Alissa!
Besides being a honeymooners paradise, Thailand appears to be somewhat of a haven for white males with the average age being over sixty. This was especially apparent at The Free Bird. Picture this if you will, a bar about the size of your average living room, open air but with a nice corrugated tin roof. The front gravel area is packed with motorbikes that surround a life size statue of a swan (breaking free I suppose). Bunches of twinkly lights hanging in globs from every available nook providing the only light except for the magenta fluorescents above the pool table. Friday nights are free potluck style meal nights so the expats are in full swarm, each drag along with Thai mamas. The food was good. The company…well the food was good.
On Saturday was made out way to a National Park and did some hiking. Rarely will you ever hear my admit to being excited to seeing multiple snakes and a spider the size of my palm. Other than rolling my ankle 3 minutes into the hike and having to limp and hobble around for the rest of the afternoon, I would call it a successful day.
I flew to Bangkok on Monday and can honest say that there doesn’t appear to be anything worth seeing here. If you are going to be in Thailand, head to Chang Mai or Phuket. Luckily, I fly to Phnom Penh in Cambodia tomorrow! The adventure continues through Siem Reap (Cambodia) and Vientiane (Lao) before I head to the land down under!
My picture taking has slowed significantly since I left Japan but I will post some new ones soon!
I walked out into the sticky evening air and was quickly bombarded by taxi drivers. I’m sure they work off of commission or something but I’m still amazed that twenty people, wearing the same shirt, appearing to work for the same company, can get so violent as they compete for business. In the end I closed my eyes and pointed. After a few quick stops, one to sign some paper behind dark glass and then again to pick up some oil, my taxi finally arrived at the Phuket Center Apartment and the smiling face of my friend of Alissa. She has been living in Phuket for about eight months now and is a master at charming her Thai neighborhood. She knows enough Thai to joke with the vendors and bargain down a motorbike price. Anything else just doesn’t seem necessary! We ate, talked and sweat the night away.
The thing that tourists need to know when visiting Thailand is that they shouldn’t expect anything like Europe. There are three things to do here, eat, go the beach, do nothing. There are no museums and very few historical sites worth visiting. On a rainy day, Thai people stay inside. So my time in Thailand has been that of relaxation. A place to read books, cry over spicy curries and attempt to minimize sunburned areas of skin.
After loading up on books at a local used book store, I headed to Phi Phi Island. I mentioned that Mt. Fuji was close to paradise but that’s because I hadn’t been to Ko Phi Phi. I can sum it up in five words: beach, beer, books, beauty and hammocks. Yeah, I’m bummed that hammocks ruined the alliteration too. The resort had its own private beach and I was one of about 15 guests. And just when you thought it couldn’t get better, you win a free dinner in a raffle. So what if there were only 4 tickets in the bucket…I plan to go back to Phi Phi. I got back from Phi Phi just in time to spend the weekend gallivanting around Phuket Island with Alissa!
Besides being a honeymooners paradise, Thailand appears to be somewhat of a haven for white males with the average age being over sixty. This was especially apparent at The Free Bird. Picture this if you will, a bar about the size of your average living room, open air but with a nice corrugated tin roof. The front gravel area is packed with motorbikes that surround a life size statue of a swan (breaking free I suppose). Bunches of twinkly lights hanging in globs from every available nook providing the only light except for the magenta fluorescents above the pool table. Friday nights are free potluck style meal nights so the expats are in full swarm, each drag along with Thai mamas. The food was good. The company…well the food was good.
On Saturday was made out way to a National Park and did some hiking. Rarely will you ever hear my admit to being excited to seeing multiple snakes and a spider the size of my palm. Other than rolling my ankle 3 minutes into the hike and having to limp and hobble around for the rest of the afternoon, I would call it a successful day.
I flew to Bangkok on Monday and can honest say that there doesn’t appear to be anything worth seeing here. If you are going to be in Thailand, head to Chang Mai or Phuket. Luckily, I fly to Phnom Penh in Cambodia tomorrow! The adventure continues through Siem Reap (Cambodia) and Vientiane (Lao) before I head to the land down under!
My picture taking has slowed significantly since I left Japan but I will post some new ones soon!
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