After Vang Vieng, we headed to Luang Prabang which is apparently the most photogenic city in South East Asia. It should also be in the category of most touristy and most expensive! We arrived pretty late and were in a rush to find a room before it got any darker. We finally found a room at Sok Dee guesthouse which is a very fancy guesthouse, that has rooms for around $50-60USD a night. I guess when the day comes to an end, they still had empty rooms and wanted to get some backpackers in. We got a room for less than $13. It was pretty big, with a nice bathroom. The only unfortunate thing (which they didn’t tell us) was that they were doing minor construction right by our room. Every morning we woke up to the voices of workers and their shovelling. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers in this case.
Luang Prabang is supposed to be where you do all your trekking and exploring of the mountains from, but it’s pretty expensive to book tours. Joey and I decided we were going to wait until Luang Namtha. We met up with our friend Ian again in LP which was nice. We met up with some other travellers to go to Kuasi Waterfall which is about 35 km out of town. It was such a beautiful sight. The water was crystal blue like the blue lagoon in Vang Vieng. We hiked up to the top of the water fall and got a great view of the surrounding mountains and the plummeting water. I’m glad there were fences up there to prevent falls!
Although it was quite pricey to eat in the fancy restaurants in town, the markets are dirt cheap. We walked down the Night Food market alleyway and found a vegetarian buffet for $1.25 for one plate. You get a plate and fill it as much as you can. Oh my god. The food was absolutely amazing. There were perfectly seasoned noodles and rice, coconutty squash, tons of veggies and tasty tofu dish. (I don’t think this would be appealing to you Rej) I ended up eating dinner here all three nights we spent in LP.
Every night in LP there was a night market where hundreds of women came to sell beautiful crafts, fabrics, jewellery and nick nacks of all shapes and sizes. I was so so so to buy a bunch of stuff, but I really don’t want to have to put it in my bag for the next 4 months. I guess we could always send stuff home, but this stuff is nothing we really need. One thing I’ve really liked about Laos so far is that they aren’t pushy. I walked through this market a bunch of times and only heard a couple of “Sa bai dee’s” (Laos for hello) from the sellers. None of them are saying LADY WANT TO BUY? HOW ABOUT YOU BUY SOMETHING?! If a seller says that to me, I pretty much want to run away from their stall. I don’t want to be called lady, and no I don’t want to buy your junk. Laos is new to tourism so a lot of the locals have not caught on, and have yet to become greedy from western money. It felt nice to be at ease and not feel obligated to buy something just because I glanced in that direction.
One thing about Luang Prabang that made it extremely difficult for Joey to work, and to contact our familes, was the fact that they shut down the power from 10am to 6pm every day. We were never told this. Talk about an inconvenience, especially because the ATM’s also shut down. We were stuck with only 40,000 kip ($5usd) and still had to have lunch and dinner. We ended up scrounging up some Chinese Yuan in our backpacks (that NO ONE has ever wanted to exchange for us) and brought it to the exchange place. We were surprised they actually accepted it.
On our last full day in Louang Prabang we wanted to rent bikes. We chose this one place to rent bikes from, and the seats on the bikes were so low that I had to have my knees stick out to the side to ride it. We went back to the shop and asked if they had tools to change the seats to a higher level. She didn’t seem impressed and tossed a bag of mix matched wrenches at us to figure out for ourselves. After we adjusted our seats it was time to the hit the road. I braved the bike for a while, but after a few km, I couldn’t stand the flat tires, the rusty chain and the wobbly wheel. Joey and I went back to the store and got our money back. I felt kinda bad, but if you’re gonna charge a lot of money to rent a bike, it seems reasonable to keep air in the tires and oil on the chain... maybe that’s just me?
That night we decided we must be the perfect tourist and go bowling in LP. We went with our new found friend, Tory who is Canadian/American. In all of Laos there is a curfew, but it varies from town to town. In LP, the bowling alley is open until 3 am, so after the bars close this is where everyone goes. It was fun to bowl for once. I really miss having a bowling alley back in Victoria.
The next day we were on our way to Luang Nam Tha. Instead of taking public transit, we opted to spend a dollar more for a mini bus. I am soooooo glad that we did. The mini bus gets you there 2-3 hours sooner, plus there are less people on the bus and you can stop if you really need to. That was probably one of the most brutal busrides of my life. Both Joey and I were near puking our brains out the entire time. Most of the road is paved, but there are huge patches that have been washed out by mudslides. It was incredibly bumpy and windy through the mountains. Of course I scored the best seat in the bus... not. I don’t know how I manage it, but I always get the back seat. This usually occurs because the tuk tuk supposed to be taking us to the bus, usually forgets or is extremely late. Gotta love living on Laos time. While the guy beside us casually read his book the entire time, Joeys and my face are green the entire 8 hour ride.
The ride just wasn’t enough for us, we also decided it was a good idea to go to the night market and get food poisoning. We have eaten at a lot of food stalls and markets and have never felt sick. In a lot of ways it’s actually safer to eat at a market because you can see them prepare the food for you. You don’t know what the heck they might do to the food or the way they prepare it in the back of a restaurant. Two days later we are still feeling the effects. Nothing that a little electrolytes, probiotics and antibiotics can’t help.
Since we spent most of our day in bed yesterday watching movies from the 80’s on HBO, it was really nice to get out on the river in a kayak. We signed up for a tour with Green Discovery which is an eco tourism company that really helps the villages in the surrounding areas, and also the environment. The pamphlet and office looked really fancy, so we had high expectations. I think that is our downfall when it comes to tours. We went to the office this morning and met up with our guide. I don’t even remember his name because we spoke so few words during our 6 hours together. It would be one thing if there were 6 other people on the tour, but it was only Joey and I signed up for the day.
Getting on the water was amazing. Once we got the hang of the boat and the river, it was really beautiful. Joey and I motored along because we hadn’t exercised in a couple of days and were feeling restless. Our guide was lost in the dust. We finally let him catch up with us a bit later down the river when we stopped at a village to look around. The village was the home of a tribe that are of Chinese descent. I would love to tell you more, but that’s all our guide told us. We continued kayaking down the river until we made it to a hut on the river side. We stopped there for lunch. The tour provided us with food made from local ingredients such as pumpkin and chicken, beef and bean and sticky rice. The villagers provided us with even more local cuisine.... rat stew. Both of us are still not feeling 100% and me being the chicken I am, only dipped my sticky rice into the broth. Joey actually ate some of the rat, and didn’t mind it too much. It definitely wasn’t anything he’d cook for himself or company!
During the meal we were accompanied by a very cute puppy. The people who owned the house kept on tossing scraps to the puppy to devour. Outside there was this old dog looking longingly at the food. Little did we know that he was the lucky one. He was the family dog. The puppy we had been feeding scraps to, was going to be dinner in a few weeks time. They were just trying to fatten him up! Poor puppy!
We headed further down the river to see more villages. These villagers have been living the way they do for hundreds of years. It is like going back a thousand years, minus the plastic, the cellphones and scooters. It is truly amazing to see how little people can live with, but can manage to be so happy. They are hard workers in Lao because they need to survive, but you can tell that they still have fun and enjoy eachother’s company. I think that is really important and what keeps their culture so strong.
By the end of the journey, Joey and I were pooped from all the paddling. We were excited to get back so we could start planning our trip to Thailand... more of that to come.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Bringin’ In the New Year in Vang Vieng, Laos
We ended up making it to Vang Vieng around 3 pm the next morning. It’s a cute little town. There aren’t many locals because it is mostly a tourist town, but it still has a nice charm. The people of Laos have been so friendly so far. It’s been really refreshing and relaxing to be in a place where we aren’t constantly asked for money or people trying to sell us useless stuff.
The only thing that I could complain about in this town, is that internet is expensive and most guesthouses don’t offer free wireless. It’s made it a bit tough for me to write on the blog, and really frustrating for Joey because he has to work 4 hours a day.
We spent our first full day in Vang Vieng exploring the back roads on a motorbike with our Aussie friends, Ian and Ruby. The roads were rough and I thought I may be launched off the back of the bike because of huge potholes. Vang Vieng is surrounded by beautiful limestone mountains that are filled with caves. The only cave we made it to was Tham Phou Kham which is a massive cave. Our group didn’t want to pay for a guide so we only journeyed through the beginning of the cave. It was quite challenging without a flash light!
At the bottom of the mountain that the cave is in, there was a beautiful swimming hole called the Blue Lagoon. The water was a pristine blue colour, which is nice to look at, but not if you don’t like seeing fish. I do not like to know that I am swimming with fish. Needless to say I did not stay in the water for very long. Joey and our friends had a good time jumping out of the tree into the water.
On our way back we stopped at a shack for some lunch. A really old man came over us and attempted to speak to Joey in broken French. The man told Joey he used to parachute out of planes during the Indochine war. Even old men in Laos like to talk about the war days. See, we’re not so different in Canada!
Just down the road from the restaurant was a hiking trail up a mountain. We paid 10,000 kip each to climb it. If there is anything I have learned on this trip is that if there is anything worth seeing or doing, someone’s gonna make money off you. Nothing is free, not even nature. Atleast when we paid to hike up the mountain, we were joined by 3 very cute little local boys. The hike was strenuous and we were all pretty pooped when we reached the top. The view was worth it. We could see the valley below us that was covered in farm land, and the neighbouring limestone mountains. The site was breathtaking and well worth the sweat and Joey’s tears. (Just kidding)
We had arrived in Vang Vieng just in time for the New Years activities! Our idea of having a good New Years eve was floating down the river on an inner tube. Floating down this river was different than any other river I have ever floated down, mainly because this river resembles the Vegas strip with bars lining the shore. The aim of the game is to go to as many places as possible and jump off random platforms and slides hoping you don’t hit fellow tubers. It was quite fun, except for that we lost our video camera and we’re covered in bruises and scratches from the river being kind of low.
The last couple of days we have just been taking it easy. Joey has had to work, and I’ve been living a really hard life of watching Friends, reading a book and getting a massage. Speaking of massage... I thought today would be a great day for a back and neck massage because they have both taken quite a beating from sleeper buses. I went to the massage place and into the room walks a she-male. I don’t know if you guys were aware of this, but they are absolutely everywhere. Lucky me, I got to experience the caress of one first hand. This massage was anything but relaxing. The entire time it was chewing gum with its mouth open (For those of you who don’t know me well, there is nothing that bugs me more) and better yet, he was talking to his friends who were visiting during my massage. Also, traditional Laos massages are not your typical Western massage. It involves a lot of smacking, slapping, and vigorous (read:painful) jabbing. It will take me a while to get over this experience. I should really shower so I don’t smell like tiger balm and baby oil anymore.
Tomorrow we’re taking a 7 hour bus ride to Louang Probang which is a hub for boat rides down the Mekong River. I am very excited to have a slow boat down the Mekong River and see the lives of people who live on the river. Tonite Joey and I are going out for dinner with the friends we’ve made here because they will be staying here longer and we might not see them again.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
In Bangkok!
So our plans didn't quite pan out like we had wanted. Our original plan was to take the bus from Siem Reap to Bangkok which would take 6 hours... it ended up taking 11 hours. Then we were going to go to train station in Bangkok where we would book our train ticket to Vientiane in Laos that night. So not what happened. Trains are booked up until January 2nd. We ended up buying a bus ticket from a tour agency that I hope is reputable and isn't going to scam us. It's apparently a "TAT" agency which is a government run travel agent, but the thing in Asia is that if a business is doing well, another entrepreneur might steal the name and call their business the same thing. The sign on the travel agency said TAT, but we have no idea what the company's logo looks like. For example in Hanoi, Vietnam, there is a very successful travel agency called Kangaroo Travels. There is one real one, and 5 fake ones.... Lets hope that's not the case with this one. Although I don't see how the government wouldn't immediately shut down a fake TAT agency. In Asia, anything is possible.
We're in Bangkok and ended up staying in a guesthouse close to the train station called "Your Place." It's really cute and you can't even tell you're in Bangkok. It's in a little alley way with a lush garden and lots of birds and fish in ponds. It's expensive but we still didn't have a place to sleep until 9:30 last night, so we were willing to pay the $26.
Tonite we leave for Vientiane in Laos. Hopefully things run accordingly but the last couple of days have been a clusterf$@* which has been quite frustrating. Nothing has worked out according to plan. Cross your fingers for us.
We're in Bangkok and ended up staying in a guesthouse close to the train station called "Your Place." It's really cute and you can't even tell you're in Bangkok. It's in a little alley way with a lush garden and lots of birds and fish in ponds. It's expensive but we still didn't have a place to sleep until 9:30 last night, so we were willing to pay the $26.
Tonite we leave for Vientiane in Laos. Hopefully things run accordingly but the last couple of days have been a clusterf$@* which has been quite frustrating. Nothing has worked out according to plan. Cross your fingers for us.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Angkor WHAT!!!??
We did our duty as tourists of Cambodia and paid homage to Angkor Wat and other surrounding temples that surround the city. Most of these temples are about 800-1000 years old and were built by Buddhists and Hindus..... I don't feel like explaining much more than that so google it if you really care to!
Honestly, Joey and I aren't fans of temples. So after waking up at 4:30am to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat with 100000+ people we were already tired of it! We went to about 10 temples that day. Our tuk tuk driver was the best. His name is Phat and we became pretty good friends. He actually got out of the tuk tuk and personally showed us some of the temples. He would like to become a tour guide one day, so it's a good chance for him to practice his English and guiding skills. It was really nice hearing about his life in Cambodia. He was open to any questions that we had about his life, or Cambodia views in general. Phat is getting married in March and he's excited for their wedding. You could tell he's also a bit nervous. We drove by a Cambodian wedding and did the slow drive by to see what was happening. Weddings here last three days! On the last day is when it's fun, just like a typical western wedding, everyone is dancing and getting drunk. We're really not much different from Cambodians.
After 2pm rolled around, Joey and I were templed out. They look pretty much all the same. Also, we didn't bother to know more about them previously, so it was just like looking at old stone buildings. I wish we could appreciate it more, but that's just us and temples don't tickle our fancy! We decided that we'd rather nap for the rest of the day than see more temples. We did take lots of nice pictures though.
Our Christmas Eve was quite tame. There wasn't much going on, and we were so tired from the temples and two nights of really bad sleep. First the sleeper bus, and now the stupid rooster by our hotel that goes off all hours of the night! Have any of you ever had work dreams? You get home late from work and go to bed shortly after, and your dream is still like you're at work? I've had these dreams as a bartender where I just serve drinks all night in my sleep. I've been having "market dreams" where I'm going through a market and there is all these people asking me to buy stuff and saying "Lady you want to buy something?" "Where you from?" and also beggars on the street asking me for money. In my dream all I want to do is help people but no matter how much I buy, or how much money I give, it doesn't solve the problem. So not what I would call beauty sleep.
We woke up to 30degrees outside and no christmas tree. It wasn't starting to look a lot like Christmas, that's for sure. There was no indication that it was Christmas day. Obviously they don't celebrate it here because Cambodia is a Buddhist country. It was business as usual. I woke up with a hankering for mimosas because thats what my family has every Christmas morning, that and Egg Mc'Wiltons. We went to the gas station to see if they had champagne but the only bottle they had was $26. I didn't mimosas that badly. We mostly spent our christmas morning talking with our families on skype, which was really nice.
For our Christmas present to one another, Joey and I brought two big 50kg bags of rice to COFCO orphanage in Siem Reap. As soon as we pulled up in the tuk tuk, a bunch of kids came running over to us with huge smiles on their faces. They were giving us hugs and laughing. It was so welcoming and such a good feeling. Inside the orphanage it was all decked out with Christmas decorations. The kids were in their best clothes and wore little santa hats. There were already quite a few foreigners there playing with the kids. Most of them had two or three kids hanging off of them. It wasn't too long before Joey and I had our own orphans to hang from our arms like monkeys. They were soooo affectionate. They were giving kisses on the cheek, hugs, and wanting to be touching you constantly.
About 20 minutes after arriving there was a dance show put on by the older kids of the orphanage. They were all decked out in traditional costumes and makeup. The dancing was truly fantastic and very professionally done. When the dancing was done it was time for Christmas carols! The kids sang us Jingle Bells (well the chorus atleast, they didn't know the in between parts) with such enthusiasm. Next it was birthday time! Most Cambodian orphans do not know their real birthday so every year on Christmas they celebrate everyone's birthday with cake, streamers, silly string, sparklers and music. It was so awesome to see these kids go crazy over the cake. All of them looked so excited to devour the cake. Soon after they were served the cake, they were trying to share with all of us. This might be the only cake they get in an entire year, but all they want to do is share with us. It was amazing to see how giving these kids are. They have nothing, yet want nothing more than to share.
After the birthday celebration it felt like the right time to leave. While we were leaving I had a bit of an emotional breakdown. Obviously the orphanage was really fun and moving, but I couldn't help think that these beautiful, happy and caring children aren't wanted by anyone. Rarely do these children actually get adopted. Most of them will grow up in the orphange until they are young adults. Cambodians are very family oriented and extended family is very important. You know these children at the orphanage aren't even wanted by their extended family. These kids have nothing, and face great challenges once they get older and move out of the orphanage into the real world.
After a heavy experience at the orphanage, Joey and I decided it was time for some Christmas fun. We found a bar that was having a $5 all you can eat buffet with cheap drinks. There were backpackers from all over the world. While the food wasn't exactly what we expected (Chicken wings, noodles, veggies, fries) it was still good, and the Christmas cheer was definitely in the air. We had a really good time and for a while forgot about missing our families. We truly miss you guys!!!! We met a nice aussie named Ian, whom we met up with today for some lunch. He might be following our route to Laos tomorrow with us.
Tomorrow we will be leaving at 8am for Bangkok. We will spend a few hours in Bangkok and then head to Vientiane in Laos on ... you guessed it, a sleeper train. Maybe it won't be so bad?
Honestly, Joey and I aren't fans of temples. So after waking up at 4:30am to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat with 100000+ people we were already tired of it! We went to about 10 temples that day. Our tuk tuk driver was the best. His name is Phat and we became pretty good friends. He actually got out of the tuk tuk and personally showed us some of the temples. He would like to become a tour guide one day, so it's a good chance for him to practice his English and guiding skills. It was really nice hearing about his life in Cambodia. He was open to any questions that we had about his life, or Cambodia views in general. Phat is getting married in March and he's excited for their wedding. You could tell he's also a bit nervous. We drove by a Cambodian wedding and did the slow drive by to see what was happening. Weddings here last three days! On the last day is when it's fun, just like a typical western wedding, everyone is dancing and getting drunk. We're really not much different from Cambodians.
After 2pm rolled around, Joey and I were templed out. They look pretty much all the same. Also, we didn't bother to know more about them previously, so it was just like looking at old stone buildings. I wish we could appreciate it more, but that's just us and temples don't tickle our fancy! We decided that we'd rather nap for the rest of the day than see more temples. We did take lots of nice pictures though.
Our Christmas Eve was quite tame. There wasn't much going on, and we were so tired from the temples and two nights of really bad sleep. First the sleeper bus, and now the stupid rooster by our hotel that goes off all hours of the night! Have any of you ever had work dreams? You get home late from work and go to bed shortly after, and your dream is still like you're at work? I've had these dreams as a bartender where I just serve drinks all night in my sleep. I've been having "market dreams" where I'm going through a market and there is all these people asking me to buy stuff and saying "Lady you want to buy something?" "Where you from?" and also beggars on the street asking me for money. In my dream all I want to do is help people but no matter how much I buy, or how much money I give, it doesn't solve the problem. So not what I would call beauty sleep.
We woke up to 30degrees outside and no christmas tree. It wasn't starting to look a lot like Christmas, that's for sure. There was no indication that it was Christmas day. Obviously they don't celebrate it here because Cambodia is a Buddhist country. It was business as usual. I woke up with a hankering for mimosas because thats what my family has every Christmas morning, that and Egg Mc'Wiltons. We went to the gas station to see if they had champagne but the only bottle they had was $26. I didn't mimosas that badly. We mostly spent our christmas morning talking with our families on skype, which was really nice.
For our Christmas present to one another, Joey and I brought two big 50kg bags of rice to COFCO orphanage in Siem Reap. As soon as we pulled up in the tuk tuk, a bunch of kids came running over to us with huge smiles on their faces. They were giving us hugs and laughing. It was so welcoming and such a good feeling. Inside the orphanage it was all decked out with Christmas decorations. The kids were in their best clothes and wore little santa hats. There were already quite a few foreigners there playing with the kids. Most of them had two or three kids hanging off of them. It wasn't too long before Joey and I had our own orphans to hang from our arms like monkeys. They were soooo affectionate. They were giving kisses on the cheek, hugs, and wanting to be touching you constantly.
About 20 minutes after arriving there was a dance show put on by the older kids of the orphanage. They were all decked out in traditional costumes and makeup. The dancing was truly fantastic and very professionally done. When the dancing was done it was time for Christmas carols! The kids sang us Jingle Bells (well the chorus atleast, they didn't know the in between parts) with such enthusiasm. Next it was birthday time! Most Cambodian orphans do not know their real birthday so every year on Christmas they celebrate everyone's birthday with cake, streamers, silly string, sparklers and music. It was so awesome to see these kids go crazy over the cake. All of them looked so excited to devour the cake. Soon after they were served the cake, they were trying to share with all of us. This might be the only cake they get in an entire year, but all they want to do is share with us. It was amazing to see how giving these kids are. They have nothing, yet want nothing more than to share.
After the birthday celebration it felt like the right time to leave. While we were leaving I had a bit of an emotional breakdown. Obviously the orphanage was really fun and moving, but I couldn't help think that these beautiful, happy and caring children aren't wanted by anyone. Rarely do these children actually get adopted. Most of them will grow up in the orphange until they are young adults. Cambodians are very family oriented and extended family is very important. You know these children at the orphanage aren't even wanted by their extended family. These kids have nothing, and face great challenges once they get older and move out of the orphanage into the real world.
After a heavy experience at the orphanage, Joey and I decided it was time for some Christmas fun. We found a bar that was having a $5 all you can eat buffet with cheap drinks. There were backpackers from all over the world. While the food wasn't exactly what we expected (Chicken wings, noodles, veggies, fries) it was still good, and the Christmas cheer was definitely in the air. We had a really good time and for a while forgot about missing our families. We truly miss you guys!!!! We met a nice aussie named Ian, whom we met up with today for some lunch. He might be following our route to Laos tomorrow with us.
Tomorrow we will be leaving at 8am for Bangkok. We will spend a few hours in Bangkok and then head to Vientiane in Laos on ... you guessed it, a sleeper train. Maybe it won't be so bad?
Monday, December 21, 2009
Scuba doo ba doo, where are you?
So it's been a while! Joey and I have been busy bees in Cambodia. After Phnom Penh we headed to Sihanoukville which is a beach bum town on the coast. The beach itself wasn't that nice but we knew it would be the last one for a month or two while we go through Laos, Northern Thailand and Myanmar. We met a really nice Irish couple named Sarah and Donough. Super nice and the first night we had happy hour and pizza at one of the beach bars.
The Serendipity beach is the beach we stayed by in Sihanoukville. Most of the time it was far from relaxing. We would be sun tanning on some chairs and then be hassled by kids selling bracelets, fruit, books, sunglasses... you name it. Also the massage ladies who always took notice to my unshaven legs. I couldn't go 10 minutes without my leg being caressed by a Khmer lady who wanted to wax them for me! haha.
At one moment Joey and I were surrounded by about 7 kids. We had started talking to one girl who just wouldn't leave us alone and once the beach kids see that you are talking to one of their kind... you better watch out. They will swarm you. She was giving us this sad story about how she doesn't go to school and needs to work on the beach to support her and her mom. We didn't want to buy a bracelet so we bought her a meal. Soon after she was done eating, she was asking us to buy bracelets again! Then she was offended and left without saying thank you. (She said it later when we walked past her)
There have been several times when giving money to amputees or poor people where they actually say they want more than you are giving them. Today I handed a man 500 riel (which is about 12 cents, I know it's not much but every bit counts. We would rather give to as many people as we can instead of giving a couple a lot) and he looked at me and said "I want 1000riel." The nerve! I could be like a lot of tourists and pretend you're not even alive (This is the tactic used by many tourists to avoid beggers) and not give you anything. Its frustrating that we try to help, but it's never enough and sometimes not even appreciated. Obviously some of them have been jaded by tourists.
During our stay in Sihanoukville we signed up for a PADI open water scuba diving course through a place called EcoSea. The first day we watched the DVD's and filled out the questions. The next day we did the confined underwater session with our instructor. I found it quite overwhelming at first because I felt like I was suffocating from breathing underwater. After a while I got the hang of it and really started to enjoy learning the underwater skills. I've been spending a lot of time swimming and going in pools, which unfortunately triggered an ear infection. The day we had to leave for the island to do the underwater dives, my ear was killing me. I couldn't hear at all, and I couldn't imagine going underwater especially at 10m below the surface. Joey and I had to cancel our course which sucks. We had already passed the exam and did the confined underwater, so now we will be able to go to Thailand with a piece of paper from our dive instructor as a referral. That way we don't have to do the test or confined dive again. Plus, we won't have to pay for the course all over again.
We went to a doctor in Sihanoukville who checked out my ear and said it had actually been infected for a while. This guy spoke perfect French, but wasn't great at English. I knew Joey would come in handy on this trip. To get an inspection of my ear and medication cost $5. It's amazingly cheap to buy pharmaceuticals here. My ear is definitely feeling better but I really dislike being on antibiotics.
Joey and I spent almost a week in Sihanoukville and decided we best be on our way. What better way to travel than on a sleeper bus. I thought we learned our lesson, but apparently not. This bus was mainly just upright sitting seats that were really cushy. Plus you get a blanket and a pillow. Not really my idea of a comfortable sleeper bed. Which was more unfortunate was that there were two babies on the bus sitting close to us , both of which intermittently cried alllllllllllllllllllllll night. Absolutely brutal. I think there have been a couple times during this trip where transportation felt like hell on earth, but this one took the cake.
We arrived in Siem Reap quite early at 6am. Our guesthouse arranged a tuk tuk to pick us up for free which was a godsend. Getting off a bus at a bus station is definitely an experience. You see all the tuk tuk and moto drivers just drooling like wolves when the bus pulls in. When the door opens the hunt for them begins. You will have 5-6 tuk tuk drivers talking to you at once, all trying to undercut the other to get your business. Most of the time Joey and I just decide to walk but this time the bus station was 13km out of town. It was so nice to see a tuk tuk driver holding a sign with our names on it. You belong to them, and the other drivers know this, so they don't even try. It's quite pleasant!
I arranged for us to stay at Jasmine Guesthouse in Siem Reap. It's a cute family run guesthouse that hires disadvantaged youth and younger people from surrounding villages who normally would just be farmers not making much money and not going to school. Mr. Kunn and his wife, Jasmine, are so friendly. Our room is nice and we get free breakfast! We've had a good time here so far.
The Serendipity beach is the beach we stayed by in Sihanoukville. Most of the time it was far from relaxing. We would be sun tanning on some chairs and then be hassled by kids selling bracelets, fruit, books, sunglasses... you name it. Also the massage ladies who always took notice to my unshaven legs. I couldn't go 10 minutes without my leg being caressed by a Khmer lady who wanted to wax them for me! haha.
At one moment Joey and I were surrounded by about 7 kids. We had started talking to one girl who just wouldn't leave us alone and once the beach kids see that you are talking to one of their kind... you better watch out. They will swarm you. She was giving us this sad story about how she doesn't go to school and needs to work on the beach to support her and her mom. We didn't want to buy a bracelet so we bought her a meal. Soon after she was done eating, she was asking us to buy bracelets again! Then she was offended and left without saying thank you. (She said it later when we walked past her)
There have been several times when giving money to amputees or poor people where they actually say they want more than you are giving them. Today I handed a man 500 riel (which is about 12 cents, I know it's not much but every bit counts. We would rather give to as many people as we can instead of giving a couple a lot) and he looked at me and said "I want 1000riel." The nerve! I could be like a lot of tourists and pretend you're not even alive (This is the tactic used by many tourists to avoid beggers) and not give you anything. Its frustrating that we try to help, but it's never enough and sometimes not even appreciated. Obviously some of them have been jaded by tourists.
During our stay in Sihanoukville we signed up for a PADI open water scuba diving course through a place called EcoSea. The first day we watched the DVD's and filled out the questions. The next day we did the confined underwater session with our instructor. I found it quite overwhelming at first because I felt like I was suffocating from breathing underwater. After a while I got the hang of it and really started to enjoy learning the underwater skills. I've been spending a lot of time swimming and going in pools, which unfortunately triggered an ear infection. The day we had to leave for the island to do the underwater dives, my ear was killing me. I couldn't hear at all, and I couldn't imagine going underwater especially at 10m below the surface. Joey and I had to cancel our course which sucks. We had already passed the exam and did the confined underwater, so now we will be able to go to Thailand with a piece of paper from our dive instructor as a referral. That way we don't have to do the test or confined dive again. Plus, we won't have to pay for the course all over again.
We went to a doctor in Sihanoukville who checked out my ear and said it had actually been infected for a while. This guy spoke perfect French, but wasn't great at English. I knew Joey would come in handy on this trip. To get an inspection of my ear and medication cost $5. It's amazingly cheap to buy pharmaceuticals here. My ear is definitely feeling better but I really dislike being on antibiotics.
Joey and I spent almost a week in Sihanoukville and decided we best be on our way. What better way to travel than on a sleeper bus. I thought we learned our lesson, but apparently not. This bus was mainly just upright sitting seats that were really cushy. Plus you get a blanket and a pillow. Not really my idea of a comfortable sleeper bed. Which was more unfortunate was that there were two babies on the bus sitting close to us , both of which intermittently cried alllllllllllllllllllllll night. Absolutely brutal. I think there have been a couple times during this trip where transportation felt like hell on earth, but this one took the cake.
We arrived in Siem Reap quite early at 6am. Our guesthouse arranged a tuk tuk to pick us up for free which was a godsend. Getting off a bus at a bus station is definitely an experience. You see all the tuk tuk and moto drivers just drooling like wolves when the bus pulls in. When the door opens the hunt for them begins. You will have 5-6 tuk tuk drivers talking to you at once, all trying to undercut the other to get your business. Most of the time Joey and I just decide to walk but this time the bus station was 13km out of town. It was so nice to see a tuk tuk driver holding a sign with our names on it. You belong to them, and the other drivers know this, so they don't even try. It's quite pleasant!
I arranged for us to stay at Jasmine Guesthouse in Siem Reap. It's a cute family run guesthouse that hires disadvantaged youth and younger people from surrounding villages who normally would just be farmers not making much money and not going to school. Mr. Kunn and his wife, Jasmine, are so friendly. Our room is nice and we get free breakfast! We've had a good time here so far.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Cambooooooodia is serious stuff
Didja know that Cambodia is the 10th poorest country in the world? Joey and I had felt like we hadn't seen much poverty until we took the bus to Sihanoukville on the coast. Along the way, we realized how much trouble the people of Cambodia are in. Sihanoukville is a haven for ex-pats and tourists. Unfortunately where the tourists are, are where the poor kids flock to. Kids are begging for money and trying to sell you anything they can. Some of them are quite funny to talk to because they have already been hardened by tourists, and are such smart asses. You'll ask their name and they'll be like "Why would I want to tell you that?" They also have a preprogammed answer to "Why aren't you in school?" which happens to be "Had it this morning" Or if you don't want to buy a bracelet shaped like a squid, their answer will be "Do you think I care?! I don't care!" This is soon followed by the worst cut eye I've experienced from what might be one of the cutest little girls I've ever seen.
Joey and I are feeling overwhelmed. Being asked for money left, right and center is exhausting especially when you know these people depend on it and have no other way of income. These kids can't afford to go to school so they sell bracelets, and sunglasses or the services of others (manicures, massage, waxing etc). It's either this, prostitution, or working in the rock quarry for a lot of kids. Most of them know quite good English from working on the beach and are easy to make friends with until they keep on asking for money. Joey and I had a conversation with a girl for quite some time today at the beach. She was quite keen on selling us an ugly bracelet neither of us wanted. We ended up buying her lunch and that made her happy. Most of the beach kids were super jealous that she was eating in a fancy "westerner restaurant." They couldn't believe that we had bought her something. We mostly did it so she would shut up about the bracelets. Haha. As soon as she was done eating, it was back to the bracelets. Jeeeeeze. We just bought you a huge lunch and you still want us to buy a bracelet? Bug off.
During her lunch with us, we were visited by all her beach friends. One particular young girl kept on asking Joey if he wanted a massage. His answer was that I give him massages. Bad idea, buddy. This led to quite an inappropriate conversation with one girl who quite graphically described what she thought was a massage. I was in disbelief. This young girl, probably not even 7 years old, claims to know what happens behind closed doors at night. We didn't even ask to discuss, she just put it out there. We didn't even know how to respond with what she had just said. It made both of us quite uncomfortable. It's hard to know what to do in a situation like that. You can't scold the child, you shouldn't laugh, and they're not gonna go away if you tell them too. Especially after reading a book called Sex Slaves in Asia which discusses the process of which young girls go through (emotionally and physically) the world of the sex trade. This young girl was obviously being prepared for it by somebody. Either a parent or someone she trusted. It makes me sick to think about.
The sex trade is very apparent here. It's a regular sight to see a fat ugly bald white guy with a hot young Cambodian girl. After reading the book I mentioned previously, I really start to empathize for these girls, and the younger ones who will ultimately be put into the trade. The psychological and physical pain these women go through on a regular basis is unimaginable for me. Today, I saw a old man with a prostitute on the beach. I guess she did something he didn't like because next thing I saw he grabbed her by the face and pushed her down to the ground. Next thing he does is shake his finger at her like she's some kind of dog. I had to contain my anger and walk away. NO ONE should ever have to be treated like that, and it breaks my heart that I'm in a country where this kind of a event (and even worse) happens every day.
Joey and I are enjoying the beach and the pool by our hotel, but both of us are feeling more and more heavy hearted. There is so much pain here. We're so lucky to come from where we do. It's sad to say, we're also lucky for what colour skin we have. It is a very common practice for women in South East Asia to bleach their skin to become more fair. I've seen lots of women who do this, and it surprised me today when one of the young girls on the beach inquired about my sunscreen making her whiter like me. She seemed disappointed that it wasn't going to help her be less Cambodian.
We didn't expect for this trip to be all fun and games. This trip is to open our eyes and see things that make us realize that we can't take life for granted because there are people out there in the world who would do anything (sell themselves, or bleach their skin) for a chance to be us. I apologize if this blog entry is depressing because I don't mean it to be that way. If anything I wish it were more funny, or exciting, but it's just reality for today.
On another note, tomorrow Joey and I are signed up for our Open Water PADI course which will allow us to go scuba diving throughout our trip. It's quite expensive but it was something that we had planned to do while we are here. The first day of the course will involve sitting in a classroom for 5-6 hours, watching DVDs and doing quizzes. The next two days will be on an island nearby where we will actually learn how to dive. We're both pretty excited!
We're also starting to make plans for Christmas. We will more than likely be in Siem Reap for Christmas. We have nothing special planned, but we'll skype with our families for sure. I think if we think about Christmas too much, we'll get more sad. It's been exactly a month since we left. We're starting to miss you guys back home! I hope some of you decide you want to come visit us out here during our journey. It's easier than you think. Yes it's expensive getting out here, but once you are here, it's soooooooo cheap. Think about it ;) haha.
Joey and I are feeling overwhelmed. Being asked for money left, right and center is exhausting especially when you know these people depend on it and have no other way of income. These kids can't afford to go to school so they sell bracelets, and sunglasses or the services of others (manicures, massage, waxing etc). It's either this, prostitution, or working in the rock quarry for a lot of kids. Most of them know quite good English from working on the beach and are easy to make friends with until they keep on asking for money. Joey and I had a conversation with a girl for quite some time today at the beach. She was quite keen on selling us an ugly bracelet neither of us wanted. We ended up buying her lunch and that made her happy. Most of the beach kids were super jealous that she was eating in a fancy "westerner restaurant." They couldn't believe that we had bought her something. We mostly did it so she would shut up about the bracelets. Haha. As soon as she was done eating, it was back to the bracelets. Jeeeeeze. We just bought you a huge lunch and you still want us to buy a bracelet? Bug off.
During her lunch with us, we were visited by all her beach friends. One particular young girl kept on asking Joey if he wanted a massage. His answer was that I give him massages. Bad idea, buddy. This led to quite an inappropriate conversation with one girl who quite graphically described what she thought was a massage. I was in disbelief. This young girl, probably not even 7 years old, claims to know what happens behind closed doors at night. We didn't even ask to discuss, she just put it out there. We didn't even know how to respond with what she had just said. It made both of us quite uncomfortable. It's hard to know what to do in a situation like that. You can't scold the child, you shouldn't laugh, and they're not gonna go away if you tell them too. Especially after reading a book called Sex Slaves in Asia which discusses the process of which young girls go through (emotionally and physically) the world of the sex trade. This young girl was obviously being prepared for it by somebody. Either a parent or someone she trusted. It makes me sick to think about.
The sex trade is very apparent here. It's a regular sight to see a fat ugly bald white guy with a hot young Cambodian girl. After reading the book I mentioned previously, I really start to empathize for these girls, and the younger ones who will ultimately be put into the trade. The psychological and physical pain these women go through on a regular basis is unimaginable for me. Today, I saw a old man with a prostitute on the beach. I guess she did something he didn't like because next thing I saw he grabbed her by the face and pushed her down to the ground. Next thing he does is shake his finger at her like she's some kind of dog. I had to contain my anger and walk away. NO ONE should ever have to be treated like that, and it breaks my heart that I'm in a country where this kind of a event (and even worse) happens every day.
Joey and I are enjoying the beach and the pool by our hotel, but both of us are feeling more and more heavy hearted. There is so much pain here. We're so lucky to come from where we do. It's sad to say, we're also lucky for what colour skin we have. It is a very common practice for women in South East Asia to bleach their skin to become more fair. I've seen lots of women who do this, and it surprised me today when one of the young girls on the beach inquired about my sunscreen making her whiter like me. She seemed disappointed that it wasn't going to help her be less Cambodian.
We didn't expect for this trip to be all fun and games. This trip is to open our eyes and see things that make us realize that we can't take life for granted because there are people out there in the world who would do anything (sell themselves, or bleach their skin) for a chance to be us. I apologize if this blog entry is depressing because I don't mean it to be that way. If anything I wish it were more funny, or exciting, but it's just reality for today.
On another note, tomorrow Joey and I are signed up for our Open Water PADI course which will allow us to go scuba diving throughout our trip. It's quite expensive but it was something that we had planned to do while we are here. The first day of the course will involve sitting in a classroom for 5-6 hours, watching DVDs and doing quizzes. The next two days will be on an island nearby where we will actually learn how to dive. We're both pretty excited!
We're also starting to make plans for Christmas. We will more than likely be in Siem Reap for Christmas. We have nothing special planned, but we'll skype with our families for sure. I think if we think about Christmas too much, we'll get more sad. It's been exactly a month since we left. We're starting to miss you guys back home! I hope some of you decide you want to come visit us out here during our journey. It's easier than you think. Yes it's expensive getting out here, but once you are here, it's soooooooo cheap. Think about it ;) haha.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Phnom Penh: A different world from Vietnam
We made it to Phnom Penh in Cambodia this afternoon after a smooth border crossing with a tour company. As soon as we crossed the border it looked a lot different. The Khmer people look dramatically different from the Vietnamese people and the architecture of the buildings are very different as well. The only thing that remained the same were the cows and water buffaloes on the side of the road.
You can definitely tell that Cambodia is not a communist country because the rich here, are really rich and unfortunately the poor, are really poor. It's really sad to see people who are skin and bones, or children who don't have shoes. One of the saddest things I saw was a young boy carrying around a baby in his arms looking through garbage for food. The city of Phnom Penh is very beautiful, so you begin to wonder where the government spends the money when you see Lexus' everywhere and then children who are begging for money. There are a lot of people looking for handouts from tourists, which I can see is understandable. While Joey and I were enjoying some beers on our guesthouse patio, a boy wearing tattered clothing and no shoes approached us begging for money. He didn't speak a word of English so I asked the server to ask him if he was hungry and if I could buy him some food. He declined, but still stood there begging for money for another 20 minutes.
Cambodia has no social or economic support for amputees or disabled people. These people are usually shunned from the rest of society as well. It really breaks our hearts to feel this privileged and these people have nothing. This trip has really made both of us re-evaluate what we want in life, and how fortunate we are to be from where we come from. If any of you who are reading this, and felt stressed today, try to think about what kind of stress and hardship someone in a country like Cambodia has to go through everyday. It's obviously easy to ignore when you don't have to see it, but it's becoming increasingly harder for Joey and I to deal with. I have really started to realize that most of my worries are very trivial and will soon pass. Living on the street or in dire conditions doesn't pass so easily.
Tomorrow we have hired a tuk-tuk to take us to the Killings Fields which are located 15km from our guest house. The Killing Fields was where over 17,000 men, women and children lost their lives in the late 70's and early 80's during the Pol Pot regime. Their bones and skulls remain in massive graves. 2 millions people overall were killed during this genocide. Cambodia only had a population of 7 million at the time. We will also being visiting an elementary school that had been converted into a prison where people (including children) were tortured before being killed in the Killing Fields. It should be a very sobering day for the both of us.
You can definitely tell that Cambodia is not a communist country because the rich here, are really rich and unfortunately the poor, are really poor. It's really sad to see people who are skin and bones, or children who don't have shoes. One of the saddest things I saw was a young boy carrying around a baby in his arms looking through garbage for food. The city of Phnom Penh is very beautiful, so you begin to wonder where the government spends the money when you see Lexus' everywhere and then children who are begging for money. There are a lot of people looking for handouts from tourists, which I can see is understandable. While Joey and I were enjoying some beers on our guesthouse patio, a boy wearing tattered clothing and no shoes approached us begging for money. He didn't speak a word of English so I asked the server to ask him if he was hungry and if I could buy him some food. He declined, but still stood there begging for money for another 20 minutes.
Cambodia has no social or economic support for amputees or disabled people. These people are usually shunned from the rest of society as well. It really breaks our hearts to feel this privileged and these people have nothing. This trip has really made both of us re-evaluate what we want in life, and how fortunate we are to be from where we come from. If any of you who are reading this, and felt stressed today, try to think about what kind of stress and hardship someone in a country like Cambodia has to go through everyday. It's obviously easy to ignore when you don't have to see it, but it's becoming increasingly harder for Joey and I to deal with. I have really started to realize that most of my worries are very trivial and will soon pass. Living on the street or in dire conditions doesn't pass so easily.
Tomorrow we have hired a tuk-tuk to take us to the Killings Fields which are located 15km from our guest house. The Killing Fields was where over 17,000 men, women and children lost their lives in the late 70's and early 80's during the Pol Pot regime. Their bones and skulls remain in massive graves. 2 millions people overall were killed during this genocide. Cambodia only had a population of 7 million at the time. We will also being visiting an elementary school that had been converted into a prison where people (including children) were tortured before being killed in the Killing Fields. It should be a very sobering day for the both of us.
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