Mesh of Religions

This morning was glorious. I was abruptly awoken by a fierce thunder and lightening storm. It was one of those, BANG! which causes you to jolt awake to the sounds of rumbling and wind with flashing lights. Did I forget to mention I LOVE thunderstorms? I got up and sat on the back deck and listened to the rain cascading over the resort interrupted by staccato flashes of lightning and loud booming thunder. The air was warm and wet with the tropical downpour. I reluctantly returned to bed and awoke at a more appropriate hour to prepare for our tour through the national park. We met our tour guide early in the morning and drove for about an hour and a half up a small mountain, stopping occasionally at view points to look where they took the stones to build the temples from our second day. Once we reached the top, there was a giant monastery dedicated to the ‘lying Buddha’. At the top of the mountain there were LARGE boulders and the largest had a massive carving of the ‘lying Buddha’ encased in an ornate temple perched atop the boulder. It was all a bit fantastical. While we ascended the open air spiral steps barefoot, we listened to live instrumental holy music. The smell of incense hung heavy in the air.   After this we followed our guide to several smaller religious sites including a waterfall. Our guide was interesting as he complained about the disparities between the wealthy and poor of Cambodia nearly the entire time. After 5 hours of hiking around we returned to our hotel for a relaxing poolside afternoon. 

This theme continued through the next day. Emily and I decided to relax for the last few days of our trip. Today we lounged poolside until late in the afternoon then we ventured out and explored the less touristy side of Siem Reap. After visiting several night markets we found a quaint little spot for some traditional Cambodian fare and a bottle of African wine.  Next we meandered the street which were teeming with activities and concerts in preparation for New Years. What a trip. Tomorrow we head back.. 38 hours of travel… but with a quick stop over in Japan. 

New beginnings

After yesterday’s fiasco we stayed up late to re-organize our trip midway through. We now have flights home and moved hotels. We even found some exciting activities. The day started like any other with a massive breakfast and packing. We bid our great hotel goodbye and boarded a van for the floating villages of Tonlé Sap. It was an hour drive, with Frank, our new and very talkative tour guide. We arrived at the boat launch in the sweltering mid morning and boarded our own little skiff that took us leisurely down river to the Great Lake of Cambodia (and largest freshwater lake in Asia).   The water was a muddy brown color and plastics and trash lined the waterway.  This was the LOW season as the rivers and lake shrink by 600%. If I had to guess, the middle of the river we were cruising on could not have been more than 6 feet deep. All manner of boats were traversing the river, fast skiffs, large haulers, and tourist double deckers. The shipping lanes were as tight as the crazy motorways in downtown. The surrounding houses and shacks were all on 10 foot stilts and all looked worse for wear. There were children swimming and bathing in the same water where others were cast netting.  As the sun rose I found myself envying those swimming or standing in the dirty waterway, at least they were cool.  Down the river we cruised, with our shirts sticking to our backs and sweat dripping off our brows. But the scene was invigorating. Finally we rounded the last bend and came upon the lake with its many floating houses, schools, churches, and restaurants.  Our boat pulled up to one such… house/restaurant/shop/crocodile pit. Yep! There were crocodiles in a cage on the floating building. In keeping with the theme of we-try-anything-once, we each sampled a boiled crocodile egg, not my favorite but not terrible either.   No yolk, and the white was slightly grainy. We chatted up the locals for a bit then boarded our skiff and headed back. On the way there was a herd of water buffalos meandering towards the river to cool off.   We actually got stuck in the mud twice! But we arrived at midday to the exit docks and swam our way through the hot humidity to our nice air conditioned van. From there we drove to an artisans workshop where we watched various students making stone and wooden carvings, forming silk tapestries, and molding silver pieces. It was very impressive (though funny how every country we travel to has the same experience).  As the suffocating heat reached its pinnacle we arrived at our new hotel and we were very impressed.  It boasts a 2200 square foot pool, eco friendly bungalows, and an in-the-jungle vibe with lush greenery throughout the compound. Once we settled into our room (complete with outdoor shower and tub) we were poolside chatting up guests, sipping Prosecco, and having a traditional Cambodian lunch (which was AMAZING!). Hours rolled by in perfect bliss then the adventure itch struck so we set out to check out the botanical Gardens. For those of you that don’t know, Emily has acquired a passion for plants and she was in heaven. She galloped around the giant landscape calling out plant names while being awestruck at how large they were..  (I know little about plants). We even happened across 2 full sized ostriches, 2 monkeys, and 15 peacocks (including an albino). It was a surreal experience. Finally our next adventure took us to the Hero Rats of Cambodia.  We visited APOPO, an NGO that trains rats to sniff out land mines and other ordinances. Then they are cleared. Over the past few years they have cleared 5,000 mines, and 50,000 ordinances. We even got to meet the rats and watch a demonstration.  Soooo cool! We ended the night at a fabulous restaurant with a Cambodian-French fusion tasting menu. It. Knocked. Our. Socks. Off.  So many great experiences today. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

The fiasco

Well, in a prior blog I mentioned a visa issue. Today was the day of reckoning. I worked through a travel company to help arrange this trip and about 30 hours prior to takeoff I was informed that the visa letter (needed to enter Vietnam) had NOT been issued. They told me we would need to delay entry in to Vietnam for 3 days. Needless to say, our original trip was Vietnam then Cambodia. So in a panicked 5 hours of bargaining with airlines, switched international flights, rearranging reservations we managed to flip our trip to start in Cambodia while we await our visa letters. As of last night they were still ‘in process’. Today’s plan was to have a relaxing morning then fly out to Vietnam at 3pm. So we anxiously checked out phones for the visa letter…. And no luck. Our visas were not approved by our flight out so we scrambled to change plans, staying in Cambodia at least another day. Then we went out and explored the city a bit and received news that our visas would NOT be approved before we have to LEAVE Vietnam for our return trip…. panic. 

Emily was ferocious on the phone with the travel company as they completely hosed us AND we were already in Cambodia. She went full mamma bear and was able to get a full refund for the whole trip/fee for Vietnam. But the travel/airline tickets were the issue. We had to rearrange all of our international travel… again and on short notice. Needless to say $$$$$…..  Though after looking at pictures of our snow covered home we opted to become bohemians and stay in Cambodia for the remaining days. Turns out, their 5 star super deluxe hotel is $90/night. Emily and I went to dinner at a restaurant recommended to us by an ex-pat which was the best meal we’ve had so far and discovered that Siem Reap is the culinary capital of Cambodia! We discovered many more amazing places to try. Over delicious and unique Cambodian-fusion food we planned out the rest of our trip.. the graduation from panic to excitement was lubricated by lychee martinis and passion fruit whiskey sours.  Tomorrow we are off to the floating villages and a Grand Prix meal at Cambodia’s #1 restaurant. And of course as we lay our heads down to sleep the tourism company shoots a text stating they will not refund us…sigh…

Day 2: The Temples

After a fantastic night’s sleep we awoke to a massive buffet style breakfast, complete with Pho bar, omelet bar, dried and fresh exotic fruits, and coffee from around the world. We had some of the best Pho I’ve experienced in years and met up with our guides So and Rhett. They were excited as we had agreed to meet with them early to beat the tourists and they ushered us away quickly to get our park passes for the day. The itinerary was to visit 4 major temples without dying of heat exhaustion. So wanted to provide us with the unique experience of walking through the jungle and coming upon one of the hidden gates to our first temple.  With a daypack full of water and sunscreen we set out into the jungle. The air was thick and sticky with the slowly rising heat and humidity. But the sensation of being cooked alive was drowned out by the thunderous cicadas. It was like walking through a forest of jet engines. So had to yell to be heard. As the sun rose so did the temperatures but we pressed on and arrived at our first wonder. Ta Prohm, featured in Tomb Raider, is a temple deep in the jungle slowly being reclaimed by aggressive octopus-like trees, strangling vines, and nature’s own torments.    Our first glimpse into this spectacular temple started with its isolated northern gate. As the jungle cleared we came upon this ancient stone masterpiece. Rays from the rising sun struck the four faced Buddha a top a semi-collapsed structure.  Emily, myself, and our guide were the only ones present that early and we each stood in silence taking in the magical scene. Once through the gate we hiked to the main temple were there was a smattering of tourists from around the world.  So enlightened us with the rich history and culture of the temple as we climbed over and around various parts stopping only to take note of specific historical Easter eggs.    It was a surreal experience climbing over 1000+ year old ruins and seeing massive trees slowly overtaking the solid stone walls. It was all iconic to say the least. What I enjoyed most was being able to witness the amazed and bewildered look on Emily’s face as we rounded corner after corner revealing even more extraordinary sights.  

After our first temple we went next to temple #2. This was a fascinating temple as it was surrounded by a moat with giant ornate gates for entry. The bridges crossing the moat were adorned with large stone demon statues playing tug-o-war with a massive snake. We passed through the first gate then walked along the outer wall, high above the moat, to see the other gates in their various states from well maintained to completely taken over by the jungle.   The high sun and blistering heat of the jungle forced us to take a break midday so we returned to our hotel for a siesta. 

 

Angkor Wat, the pride and jewel of Cambodia, was incredible. A towering monument to religion surrounded by a massive square moat two football fields across, was our next stop. The temple was built with 3 inner areas, each rising precipitously and signifying our journey towards heaven.  The sheer magnitude of this structure and the knowledge that it had been built by hand with minimal tools was astounding. We circled the whole complex multiple times reading/following the stories etched on the walls.   We learned much about the Hindu religion and by the end So, Emily, and I just sat in quiet contemplation staring out at the landscape. 

Finally the sun was setting and the terrible heat was lifting giving us a brief reprieve from the sweating. This occurred just in time for a hilly hike to our final temple, Sunset Temple. This was a pyramid-like temple perched on the tallest hill in the area. The views were incredible but the temple was relatively plane.  So we packed up our gear and called it a day. As the sun was setting we decided to go out for some snake fish curry and try one of those fish foot massages which turned out to be an hour of tickling torture. Exhausted but happy we crashed shortly after. 

Long flights to Siem Reap

Off we go on another adventure! This trip started out a little rough with a visa snafu and a computer meltdown at the Juneau airport but we still made it to Seattle on time. I booked us on Business Class as this was going to be a LONG flying trip. It was amazing and worth every penny!! All the booze, food, and comfort one could want was available to us for the first two legs of our 17 hours of flying. With a ‘brief’ 9 hour layover in Japan, at an amazing lounge, we left late at night for Thailand. After being awake for the last 38 hours the solid 5 hours of horizontal sleep on the plane was very welcome.  We awoke refreshed and had a quaint Japanese breakfast before landing. The attention to detail was commendable, the Japanese staff would ALL pause and bow prior to assuming their responsibilities and the plane was spotless.  The respect for elders and children we witnessed was also inspiring. After a quick shower in Bangkok we boarded our last flight to Siem Reap and arrived at 7am, 28 hours after starting this journey. The air was thick and sticky and smelled of dense jungle as we made our way across a tarmac that you could fry an egg on and entered the eastern-styled airport for our visas. We were met by our tour guide ‘So’. She rattled off historical points and safety tips as we made our way to our luxury hotel. Looks like this visit would be MUCH different than my last backpacking and hostel hopping trip. We spent the day lounging poolside and sipping cocktails before a couples spa afternoon complete with body scrubs, massages, and candle lit hot tub with rose peddles.  Feeling rejuvenated we flagged down a tuktuk and sped off to a night market. Weaving and bobbing through chaotic traffic with the city’s colorful lights racing past, we made our way to our destination.  The city was preparing for one of its new years so there were lanterns, lights, and celebrations galore. After our mildly anxiety provoking ride we strolled through the market ignoring the sales pitches for ‘foot cleaning fish’, ‘Cambodia’s best restaurant’, and ‘cheap shirts’ while admiring the local goods.   We found a popular corner filled with locals and popped a squat to sample the street food and we were not disappointed.  Pork and noodles with a papaya shake filled us and we continued our perusing. Given that it was such a long day we decided to turn in early as tomorrow we have a crazy early day. Glad to be traveling again!