Don Khon to Don Khong.

TShortly after our last post, on the evening of the 27th, Kim and I opted for an sunset stroll on Don Khon. We had noted that on the maps hung at travel kiosks around town there was a second set of waterfalls on the west end of the island, though these were not mentioned in Lonely Planet nor were they pushed as a destination for tourists. The path led us through a small fishing village. Many of the folks here were in the river, either washing the days dirt away or catching their dinner with casting nets. The children of the village were glad to see us, running out onto the path shouting, "Sawadeeeee!" And reaching out for a hand slap. Two particularly rugged looking two year olds laughingly pleaded to be picked up and, once we had complied and returned them to their feet, began swiping the open palm of their left hand with the index finger of the right and calling, "Kip, kip, kip" (the Laos currency). I guess you don't get that kind of love without paying for it.

Further on, an even less defined path split to the right, crossed a very Indiana Jones-ish suspension bridge over a raging channel of the Mekong and down to another wider channel. Here there are a set of waterfalls every bit as impressive as those on the east side, but without the crowds, fencing, restaurants and entrance fees. As well, at the base of the falls are constructed huge bamboo fish traps left exposed by the low winter water levels.

Our return to town though the village was as celebratory as our earlier passing, but for the stern glares of two tiny and disappointed entrepreneurs.

After breakfast the next morning, Kim hiked the length of Don Det while I arranged our forward travel and accommodation.

At 2pm we, along with seven other travellers, boarded a brightly coloured long tail boat for the 2 1/2 hour trip northward up the Mekong to Don Khong. This area of the Mekong is named Si Phon Don - 4000 Islands - and it surely lives up to its name. The river runs strongly here and at many points we pushed through substantial sets of rapids. Every where are sand banks just below the surface. Our clearly experienced captain wove back and forth across the river finding channels - invisible to we passengers - that would allow our shallow draft. While this journey may have required close attention from our captain, for us it was a beautifully peaceful drift under bright skies, a warm Mekong breeze on our faces.

On arrival, the host of the guesthouse which we had booked had given away our double room and could offer us only a room off the river with two twin beds. He seemed genuinely offended we when we declined and went looking for other lodging. At the end of the street we found the Kong View where we arranged for a double room, overlooking the Mekong, for 20,000 kip less that the room where we had intended to stay.

Yesterday Kim and I again rented bikes. In the morning we rode to the south end of the island and back, about 10 km. However the sun wasn't nearly hot enought, so we had lunch while waiting for it to really get hot before we tackled the 30 km + trip around the island. Kim slathered on sunscreen before we set out but forgot to do the backs of her hands, which now appear quite like the shell of a well cooked lobster.

While checking into the Kong View, I commented that our host, Mike, spoke very good English, which makes sense, as he was raised in Toronto. His father, an ethnic Chinese, was living in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge came to power. He escaped with his Khmer wife and seven children to Laos where, shortly after, his wife died. His father remarried and had four more children. Laos was ruled by the fledgling Communist party, the economy was weak and reeducation programs, while no where nearly as savage as those under the Khmer Rouge, resulted in many Loa being imprisoned. Mike and his younger brother, along with his eldest sister from his father's first marriage, and her husband, escaped Laos to the refugee camps in Thailand. There they lived for a year, rejected for sanctuary by France, England and the U.S., until they were sponsored for immigration by a church group in Goderich, Ontario. Mike recently quit his 20 year career doing technical work for a pharma company in Ontario and has returned to Laos to help his elderly mother manage their holdings here in Laos.

Why the bio on Mike? Well, when I heard his story I reflected how easy I and my children ( and pretty well everyone else I know) have had it. And secondly, as last night was Chinese New Year, Mike invited us to join he and his large extended family for a night of eating, drinking (killer home made rice whiskey - no, really, this stuff will kill you as it is tasty and potent), and good conversation. A perfect ending to perfect days in Si Phon Don.

Today we continue north to Pakse, and the Angkor temples at Champasak.

The view from our deck, Don Khong.

Waterfall #2, suspension bridge and sunset, Don Khon.

Don't look, Canadians! 640ml, 2 glasses with ice, $1.20. (This ones for Mike.)

Don Khon, part two.

Don Khon is very nice. This area is called Si Phan Don, or Four Thousand Islands. It is the widest point of the Mekong, where there are, I'm going to guess, about 4000 islands. Of these many islands, a handful are populated. Between the islands the Mekong runs very fast and shallow and from Don Khon one can walk very close to the only waterfall on the Mekong, Tat Somphamit (pictures below). But for these features, the Mekong would be navigable from the South China Sea and the Mekong Delta, up through to China.

Don Khon has as short (1/2 km) commercial strip - guest houses, restaurants, travel agents - , most of the rest of the island farms and jungle. "Town" is a dirt track, low key and friendly and just step from the river. The Lao, tourists and thousands of dogs, cats, chickens and ducks live in a laid back harmony. This is the first place we have been on this trip where one feels this small pocket of civilization has been carved out out on the jungle. Sugar and Banana palm and giant Betel trees line the river and in the morning a haze of smoke hangs over the village from breakfast fires. Roosters announce the day. 

Yesterday Kim and I rented bicycles and went down every dirt road and lane on the island, stopping at the falls, before continuing across the short bridge to Don Det. Today is a rest day with Kim taking a couple of short walking a getting a massage while I arrange our travel for tomorrow.

Bath time for water buffalo.

The falls on the Mekong at Don Khon.

A smile from the menu at our corner restaurant. Apparently the French enjoy Ovaltine, so.....

Getting to Don Khon, Laos.

Yesterday was a heavy travel day. Though only 250 km and with a promised travel time of 6-7 hours, the journey from Kratie to Don Khon took about 12 hours. Lots of sitting in the mid-day heat waiting for....? And the road! I'm sure that there are many war zones on the planet that enjoy better asphalt than we did on the trip between Kratie and Streng Trang. Don Khon is one of a pair of islands - Don Det is the other, a young person's party mecca (they took one look at me and told me I would not be able to stay there) - on the Mekong in Laos, which are separated by 100 meters of river channel. As all of the other passengers on the 10 seat passenger ferry (please don't read the word "ferry" and imagine something BC Ferries would run, it very much is not) were bound for Don Det, we were told we would have to walk the 1 km from Det to Khon rather than drop us at Khon as i typical. One would think after a month in Southeast Asia I would be able to smell bullshit when it is served. But no. We walked the first two km and then caught a tuk tuk for the final 3 km. Do you think the same people who operate the ferry also operate the tuk tuk service on the islands?

We wandered the resort strip of Don Khon to the ringing of, "sorry, we are full, full, full", 'till almost the last of the resorts and at last came upon 4 little rooms on stilts over the Mekong. Spartina but clean with hot water at $10 a night. There is a photo from our porch below. We are here for at least 3 nights so, just to bore you completely (you can just not read it), I'll break this up into a number of posts.

The view from our porch, Don Khon, Laos.

Kratie. Paxton gets born, Lou gets his nipples rubbed.

On this day we welcome Paxton Ronald Charles Wadge! Nice job Jen, Joe.

Up to this point with my posts I've tried to give a little history or interesting facts about our location in one section and then what we got up to in another. I know nothing of Kratie so I'll tell of our adventures.

First the trip Kompong Cham to Kratie. While we paid for a bus, it turned out there were not enough paying customers to over-fill a bus, only enough to seriously over-fill a 12 passenger van. While we did manage to stuff 17 people and luggage - the entire rear of the van that would typically be used for passenger luggage was packed with freight, huge spools of heavy cable, boxes of auto parts, etc. and most of the folks we were travelling with we're not nearly as conservative in their packing as were Kim and I. The operators tried valiantly to get 18 in the van, including at one point putting the 18th passenger in the driver's seat with the driver in his lap. This was physically possible because the driver was small for a twelve year old, but outrage at this arrangement from the folks in the van - what we like to call "future crash victims" - nixed this plan. Again, what could go wrong? (We later saw the 18th passenger heading to Kratie on the back of a moped). 

Finally on our way, I buried my head in the iPad so I didn't have to watch the insanity, the mobile Russian Roulette that passes as driving in Cambodia. At the onset, we were told the drive would take 3-4 hours - we arrived 2 hours and 25 minutes later. The seat latches for the back seat which were intended to hold the cartage from the passenger area were broken, so with every bump we hit (billions) the load shifted forward a bit. By the time we arrived Kratie, the poor souls in that seat had 14" from the top of their seat back to the top of the seat back ahead.

When we arrived, we drove around town looking for the bus depot because the driver had never been to Kratie! Well, most 12 year olds do lack such experience.

As frightening as our $6 room in Kompong Cham was, our $8 room in Kratie was heaven - clean, spacious, really strong flow of hot, hot water in the shower.

Our first full day we got up early and took a boat to an island in the river. This one not as lush as  the one in Kompong Cham and totally lacking the most awesome bamboo bridge ever, but it was delightful to ride around. The good news on that front is that after 3 bike rides in 6 days our asses are getting tougher and we were less sore than from the earlier rides. On the return trip on the boat, the operators were a husband and wife team. The boat is a leaky wooden wreck, filthy and stinking of diesel, over-loaded on every trip across. On this trip, there was a hammock strung a foot or two in front of a stinking, belching diesel engine, and in this hammock a two year old girl, asleep and attached to an IV. I suppose there was no one else to care for her and her parents needed to work, so....

Upon our return to shore we ran into a fellow we had met briefly in Kompong Cham and joined him for a drink. As we chatted, a Khmer fellow stopped at our table and began to comment on the bag that I am carrying (you can see it in earlier posts). He came around to my side of the table and got fairly close and, as he also had a shoulder bag, began comparing the bags. At this point, I'm feeling he's in my space and am thinking about what of value I have in my bag and if my wallet is secure, when, very quickly, he rubs both my nipples, and then takes off. This is how I learned that, while shoulder bags are ubiquitous among monks in Cambodia, they are also popular in the Khmer gay community. That, and what a compellingly handsome man I must be. (Can't keep their hands off me.)

Yesterday we again rose early and enjoyed a kayak trip through a 12 km stretch of the Mekong which holds many small islands, a section of rapids, and Irrawaddy dolphins, all of which we experienced. The operator of the business is Suzanne, a 25 year old Oklahoman who, while at college, developed a fascination with Cambodia and simply decided to come here to live. We talked quite a lot with her, both during and after our kayaking, and became friends. A really interesting young woman who can't wait to get up to Hot Springs. If you're in Kratie, Sorya Kayaking.

Ate some very good food, drank some very cold beer, met some very nice folks.

We are now on our way out of Cambodia to Laos. Pictures at eleven.

More sunrise pictures? NO! Sunset over the Mekong at Kratie. Apparently an iconic visual.

Little island in the Mekong at Kratie.

Kompong Cham

Kompong Cham is the largest town in Cambodia's most heavily populated provence by the same name, and yet there is nothing particularly touristy about the town - in fact, there are only a small handful of sit down restaurants on 1/2 of a city block at the waterfront and no others anywhere else in town. It is a stop for the tourist boats that ply the Mekong, but all of the tourists on those boats disembark and are immediately loaded onto swank buses for tours in the country side - these folks do not spend a moment in the town. 

Just south of town is the Island of Koh Paen, accessed from the mainland by the coolest ever bamboo bridge. It is about 1/2 a kilometre in length and must be rebuilt each year as the rainy season floods destroy it. During the wet season the island is accessed by ferry. The island is, for the most part, farmland - cane, veggies, tobacco and tree fruits. It is also home to Cambodia's largest population of Cham, a cultural group with populations in all South Asian countries.

Kim and Lou's adventures in Kompong Cham.

Well, I think we were baptized in Southeast Asia travel. These last two nights we slept in a $6 a night room. While it had a balcony - OK, that is about it for the upside - it also had no shower, was filthy dirty, a mattress that was ancient, worn out, 4" foam and the bathroom - that was IN the bedroom - stank to high hell. Luckily, there were lots of things to do that allowed us to only use the room for sleep.

After settling in and scouting out the town our first night, on the morning of our second day we rented bicycles ($1.50 each for the day) and rode across the bamboo bridge to Koh Paen and on to tour the island. Again, the construction of the bridge is just the most awesome construction thing I have ever seen.

The island is very beautiful, lush, largely farmland, and lacking the plastic litter that characterizes the rest of Cambodia. The island is populated by Cham people who were wonderfully friendly. Some of the roads ( cart paths ) we explored dwindled to narrow paths that led to homes; we basicly wandered up to some strangers front doors. Without exception, the folks we met this way welcomed us as if we were long lost relations. Every child were pasted gleefully called out "Hello, what's your name? Goodbye". We spent about 3 hours riding around the island and pretty much went down ever road, lane and path.

Kim went on a few other wanders through town, we sat on our balcony watching the world go by, we are some really great, super cheap meals from street venders and found any distraction which delay our eturning to the shit hole which was our room.

Today we are travelling to Kratie, if we survive the driving of Steve fricking McQueen at the wheel of our minivan. 17 people in a 12 seater.

The beautiful farms on Koh Paen, and Kim's new BFF.

On Koh Paen, a little island in the Mekong at Kompong Cham.

Bamboo bridge to Koh Paen.

Music upside the Mekong, the view of the Mekong from our balcony.

A really good game of soccer, right below our balcony.

Phnom Penh

Arrived Phnom Penh January 20th. A tuk tuk driver grabbed us off the bus and took us on the long drive to our hotel for only $5.00 ( we went for a walk last night and discovered that our hotel was only 5 blocks from the bus depot and the long ride was just to make the $5.00 charge look good). Our rooms were great, a balcony with peek-a-views over the river and just steps from the riverside promenade that links all of downtown Phnom Penh.

Spent our first evening checking out the downtown. At the night market we sat on a huge, mat covered area and ate street food with a couple hundred other diners sitting on the same mats. More than we could consume and really good - $4.50.

Yesterday we went to the Killing Fields. Not much to say but that it was very sobering. The Killing Field in Phnom Penh ( 10,000 souls dispatched there in about a year and a half ) is one of 129 throughout Cambodia. In total, over 3,000,000 killed, over one quarter of the population at the time.

We then went to the Central Market, dined again on really good, incredibly cheap street food. 

Phnom Penh is a smallish city and laid out in a grid pattern, so it is quite easy to get around. It is, to this observer, a grittier place than, say, Bangkok and much, much dirtier. While there is a clear motivation by some to make a quick buck at the expense of tourists (and unlike every other town or city we have visited this trip, I did not feel comfortable walking in the dark of the early mornings), on the whole the people are delightful. Children play in the streets with such aplomb, smiling, laughing and singing, calling out their Hellos to passing tourists, asking our names and laughing uproariously went we tell them. Almost everyone we spoke with were delighted that we engaged them in conversation and any approach generated warm smiles and inquisitiveness. I find this genuine warmth remarkable give the country's resent history.

Off early on the 22nd to the countryside and Kompong Cham.

Central Market, Phnom Penh.

Really Lou? Another sunrise photo? Yes! This time over the Tonle Sap in Phnom Penh.

Monkey transit, Phnom Penh.

What could go wrong?

In what could be an ongoing sub-blog for this trip, what follows is a meditation on various things we have seen on our trip that cause us to reflect, "What could go wrong?"

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After consuming many, many $2.00 highballs, and in the scuzziest, dankest corner of Bangkok, Hua Hin or Phnom Penh, twenty somethings decide now is the time to get that "Nickleback Rules" tattoo. They're cheap, right?

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Nap time for little Jimmy! How about on your lap while while travelling 80 kmh on your 115hp scooter on a crowded freeway? (Helmets are for sissyasses.)

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After again consuming mega buckets of cheap booze, it's time to show off that new tat. And who better to get naked with than with one of those really friendly and cute local gals who, luckily, also happen to have time on their hands at 4:31am?

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Now here's a no brainer. The problem - you have 17 people who need to travel from Phnom Penh to Kampot (4hrs). You also own a mini van that, when packed like tweeners in the front row of a Beibes concert, will only hold 16 souls. The solution, if it isn't already obvious to all, is to run a rope through the back seat windows and across the roof so the fellow riding on the roof has something to hold onto. Obvious, right?

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Similarly, you and 12 of your buds have a night out in Phnom Penh planned, but your ride is a 90's Corola. This one is all about placement. Let me walk you through it. 4 in the front seat, 6 in the rear, and that leaves tons of room for the two guys sitting in the open trunk. Easy.

More to come.

What we did in Kep.

We arrived in Kep for a two night stay late in the morning of a day that I am sure has a name and a date, but on theses details I'm a bit blurry. I was feeling a bit whacked and opted to read for the afternoon, while Kim put in 10 or 15 kms. 

The next day was "ride our rented bikes to the beach day" and by all accounts the most lovely and secluded beach in the area is Angkual, about 12 km east of Kep. Maps show a pathway leading to Angkual but one of our hosts assured us that the path had been closed at some point and the only access was the 28 km route by road, so off we ventured.

Our rented bikes were brand new Giant brand.....

We interrupt our narrative for an imagined bit of conversation between engineers at the Giant Byycicle Corp.

"Bill, I've got to say, this new bike is just the cat's pajamas. You've got your 15 gears with click button shifting, you've got your light weight, welded aluminum tube frame construction, caliper brakes and easy ajustable handlebar and seat stems, but darn it Bill, this seat is not going to cut it. You know that we here at Giant have a long history of manufacturing bikes with seats that, after only an hour or so of riding, are driven clear through the rider's taint to lodge firmly in the lower colon. Let's send this design back to......

We now return to Kim and Lou's adventures in Kep.

Two hours each way on what were really very beautiful country roads. Every child under 12 that we passed shouted out, "Hello!", over and over until we had passed, smiling, laughing, waving. We are a total hit with the locals. We were riding through farm country, rice fields , livestock. The beach, well, yes, it was sparsely populated but less in the, "Holy shit, this beach is totally pristine and barely anyone knows about it or comes here and everyone else in the world is stupid 'cause this is frickin' Eden, man", and more, "Ah, there are a number of pretty good reasons why you don't see many folks at this beach". It was kind of shallow until a long way out, bunch of old plastic floating about, and by knee deep the bottom was mud. In many areas you couldn't get in the water as a fleet of fishing boats were tied up at the waterline. So Kim and I had a 5 min dunk, bought a couple beer, and headed back to Kep. We arrived back at our lodgings sunburnt, dehydrated and unable to sit. Don't get the wrong impression - we both enjoyed ourselves and were happy for the outing.

We later walked the 4 or 5 km from our rooms to Kimly's restaurant where we had prawns in Kampot green pepper sauce (not green bell pepper but the seeds that will be dried and ground for the pepper shaker).  Holy shit, the best seafood sauce ever.

Tuk tuk home and to bed.

As I write we sit on the bus to Phnom Penh.

Kep sunrise, moon set, fisher's wife and garbage monkey.

Kep.

Kep is an interesting place. In the years leading upto 1960, it was developed as a high end resort for wealthy Khmer and French. Throughout this small seaside town were constructed walled mansions in the French Colonial style and was the place to be seen by the elite during the right time of year. In the 1960's the town received some unexpected guests - Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Engaging in some inventive remodelling, this new army sacked and burned the estates. Today, though years removed from from the height of power for the Khmer Rouge, these estates remain burned out hulks, the gardens which were once well tended, returned now to the jungle. This in some part resulted from the fact that the area around Kep was the last place in Cambodia that the Khmer Rouge held power, finally defeated in 1998!

The dream of Kep returning to is place as Cambodia's tourism star is now alive again. Though a very small town with an almost beachless coastline, there is everywhere evidence of big money flowing in. Kep Beach in the centre of town - which until a couple of months ago was a pebbly, course brown sand affair - now sees a constant parade of large trucks hauling fine white sand from elsewhere, dumped in great piles which spill out onto the roadway. The main road through town - which based on nearby towns with similar populations, should be a well kept 2 lane gravel track - is in fact a newly paved 6 lane boulevard with garden meridians. Here and there are brand new ( brand new stands out around here ) shopping plazas and gas stations which enjoy little to no trade, awaiting, I assume, the boom of new resorts and the tourists who will populate them.

A bit of our neighbourhood in Kep.

Kampot

Kampot is a welcome change after living in cities for the first two weeks of our stay in the East. This sleepy town was once Cambodia's major sea port until a deep water port was constructed west of here in Sihanoukville. It remains the provincial capital and seems to be populated in equal parts by provincial bureaucrats and fisherfolk. The Kampong Bay river dividers the town and a lovely stone (concrete) boardwalk lines the river the length of town. The river, to us, was unusual in that one could see to the bottom in two feet of water - in looked sort of.....clean, the first time we have seen a river in such a state on this trip. So clean in fact that Kim and I spent a couple hours yesterday plying the river north of town in a tandem kayak and we're not overly concerned should we fall in.

The big deals in Kampot are salt (from the sea), pepper (huge plantations locally growing "Kampot" pepper), crab (the famous local dish is crab in a Kampot pepper sauce and is delish) and government. The folks we have met have been really welcoming and open. Every child on the streets wants to practice their English and so calls out, "Hello!", several times as we walk by. Great rooms at the Mia Culpa for little money and we sure have eaten well since we arrived.

Now awaiting our mini van to Kep. I might poop my pants before in get in the van so I don't have to worry about it while in transit.

My sweet fellow traveller - breakfast on our last morning in Kampot.

Moon setting at dawn, Kampot.

The view up the Kampong Bay River into the southern hill country of Cambodia.

Once again, roughing it on the road, this time in Kampot.

Sihanoukville bus depot with geese.

Sleeper (not) bus.

A few quick images

On the  sleeper bus to Kompot, 40 people, 13 hours, sold as bed like seats (true) and a washroom (not true). An hour in a woman approaches the driver saying she was told there was a washroom and she's got to pee. 2 minutes later there are 15 of us standing/squatting on the side of the road pissing in the dirt.

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In the van heading to the boarder from the offices where we go our visa. Five travellers in the van including a woman who had been with us from Bangkok. During that trip she fussed and complained, coughed endlessly but still smoked up a storm at each stop. Got huffy with her French boyfriend when he chatted briefly with a woman from France also travelling with us. A bit high maintenance as a travel mate. Almost at the border she yells, "I left my passport at the visa office"(she found it). Kim forgets to use her inside voice and in a very exasperated tone opines, "Well, fuck". Didn't even realized she said it.

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Having dinner street side and the concierge buys two begging children (many, many people begging, children and adults) food at the vender across the street from us. We watched as they got their food, laughing and swinging their arms, perfectly animated as they walked down the street past us. As they came abreast of us they noticed us watching. Immediately the celebratory manner disappeared and the hang dog approach used by all the folks while asking for help seem to have. Couldn't keep it up though - their good fortune had ruined their shtick.

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Cambodian driving tips.

Drivers in Cambodia, where the most common vehicles are scooters, must be old enough to reach the shift pedal and the handle bars while having some part of their tush on the seat. Those unable to do so (7 years old and under) may not drive. Anyone else, you are good to go.

Please limit occupancy on a scooter to one driver, his wife and 4 kids. Any more may not be entirely safe.

Protocol for uncontrolled intersections (all of them). 

A) Do not use the 4 way stop procedure. Instead, use the 4 way go procedure. It's what it sounds like - everyone go. Now. In fact, don't stop when you get to the intersection. If another driver is also going while you are going (duh), honk horn. Repeat. Often. 

B) If making a left hand turn at an intersection, drift into the oncoming traffic before reaching the intersection, make a controlled turn into the oncoming cross traffic. Drive at an acute angle through the oncoming cross traffic and merge into your lane without doing a shoulder check. Should you encounter any on coming traffic during this procedure (duh), respond as in A.

C) If making a right hand turn, just go. Don't look, just go. Honking helps.

D) If proceeding strait through the intersection, see C.

When entering a busy highway from a drive or side street, slow a bit if any of the nearer vehicles coming at you are bigger than the one you are operating. If not, just go. The drivers of smaller vehicles will figure something out.

When travelling on a busy, undivided highway (all of them) please follow these niceties. Pass other vehicles at all times. Even if everybody is going really quickly, find someone to pass. A two lane highway will easily handle 5 lanes of traffic - slower vehicles on the verge, somewhat faster traffic passing the slower traffic (vehicles travelling in both directions should adhere to these procedures). Big, and somewhat faster vehicles (buses, trucks) should pass (constantly) the marginally slower traffic while straddling the centre line. If you are driving a vehicle which is straddling the centre line (and if you're not you're a total sissyass and anyways, why are you driving so slow?) and encounter traffic coming the opposite direction straddling the centre line, perform a quick estimation of the damage each vehicle will sustain in a head on. The vehicle likely to sustain the most damage should pull over into the faster slow area of the not the centre of the road (this is confusing stuff that we really don't have the terminology for yet so work with me). Remember, bigger wins. Of course, the not the centre of the road area that you will be swerving into will be heavily populated with very marginally slower vehicles. Tough tittie. Last time I checked shit ran downhill. You're bigger and slightly faster. Just remember that. And relax. Driving is fun.

Should you wish to test out your Cambodian driving skills, get a job as a mini bus operator and begin shuttling Western tourists from town to town. Should any agnostic aboard fail to make a sudden conversion to Catholicism, or any passenger fail to soil their pants, you are doing it wrong.

Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

Our rooms in Siem Reap are in an old colonial French building. The room is vast - we're thinking of hosting a volleyball game in there one of these nights - but sparsely furnished. A bit gone to seed but all the trim and furnishings are gorgeous old mahogany and all the floors are 2 foot marble tile.

When we arrived at the bus depot, we were met by a tuk-tuk driver, Bishop, who has been our constant companion these last few days, driving us to Angkor, arranging ticket, hotels, etc, even joining us for lunches.

Angkor lives up to the hype - truly an awe inspiring creation. Impossible to do it justice through description, suffice to say that if you get the chance, visit. Our first morning we went out to the site at 5 am to see Angkor Wat at sunrise. As the sun began to rise one looked across at the intimate scene of 6000 iPhone screens blotting out any view of the Wat. Magic.

Siem Reap has a bustling down town in the evenings. Last night we were sitting having cocktails at a street restaurant when Nickie and Paige, two friends of Jas's from Mayne/Saltspring walked by. Later (at another bar - seeing a trend here ?) we chatted with a bunch of fellows from Canada who were not traveling together but just happened to end up in the same restaurant on the same night. A couple of them had worked in hospitality in lodges up and down the BC coast so we got to talk Hot Springs and the rest of the Island. Small world.

Tonight we travel by sleeper bus to Kompot and Kep. 

Below SHOULD read, "yes the tree..."

Yes,mother tree is on top op the structure, not behind.

Inside Angkor Thom.

Proof we were there.

Angkor Wat, west gate.

Too funny. Nickie and Page from Mayne Island/Saltspring, half an hour ago, Siem Reap.

Update from Kim

She wants every one to know she is having a really good time....very little alcohol involved.

Bangkok to Siem Reap.

Up at 5:00 in the am to leave Bangkok, our safe place. Odd to think that that 6 million strong, cheek to cheek frenetic dance is the place that feels safe, but I guess it's what you know. 4 1/2 hours to the border, 2 hours to get across, 2 hours to Siem Reap. After all the nightmare stories we read in Lonely Planet and on line, the folks who handled the paper work that got us into Cambodia, though they probably took us for an extra $50.00, it was $50.00 well spent. What could have been a stressful, confusing experience was dead smooth.

The drive from the border to Siem Reap was fabulous (all right, I know, when you start saying, "what a nice drive....", those who love you should start looking for homes). Unlike Thailand where the land outside the city is un-defined - you get a sense that there may be some kind of farming but you can't really perceive, but for the occasional cane fields, what exactly it might be - this land leaves no doubt. Rice as far as you can see. Rotating, rice newly planted, verdant in it pre-flower growth, ready for harvest and dried, brown, spent, the straw being cut for thatch. Huge plots of high ground covered in blue plastic tarp, again covered 4 inches deep in new rice, farmers waddling across, using their feet to row the rice for sun-drying.

Siem Reap, where you sleep and eat (yes, some may drink) before Angkor, is a sleepy, dirt road town with a crystal britght strip. So far the Cambodians we have met have been friendly, helpful, strait forward. It is my shame that, after Thailand, I have met them with the assumption that I will be played, but the honesty they have offered has made me the fool. 

Tomorrow we leave REALLY early to watch the dawn through the gates of Angkor Wat. I/we will tell you about it.

Pictures below.

Onward, my steed! Bus station to our rooms in Siem Reap.

Endless, as far as the eye can see, rice. The boarder to Siem Reap.

After 48 hrs being sick and feeling that she might not eat again in Thailand, SHE'S BACK, BABY! Fried chicken.

Back in Bangkok for couple of days.

An un eventful trip by train back from Hau Hin. Checked into the Wild Orchid where Kim had a 24 hour nap - a nasty 48 hrs of flu/food poisoning for her.

Thursday we took the Chao Phraya Express to its final stop in north Bangkok and got off to explore a little town that I cannot recall the name of (if you want to find it while in Bangkok, take the Express boat to stop #30 - you're there). A couple of blocks from the ferry stop we came across a really great day market. Fresh fruit and veggies, meats and seafood spread through little stalls that took up about an acre. Some really unusual foods for sale - toads, eels, bugs - but the absolute best fried chicken ever.

Kicked about there for a bit and the headed back up the river to China town, wandered about looking in at music shops (no lost and found for the boats). 

After dinner we had a couple of frosty beverages at our little corner bar and got to chatting with a German fellow who has been travelling the region for 10 years and warned us off of Ayathaya - just another Wat in a town of poor accommodation and poor food. Plan B. We are staying an extra night in Bangkok and leaving in the morning for Siam Reap and Ankor Wat. We will stay there 3 or 4 nights and then boat down to Phnom Pen (?) and then to the Cambodian coast and the town of Kep.

We will keep you posted.

Pictures of the market below.