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Thailand/Cambodia trip roundup

Jan 6, 2008
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Highlights from my trip in November - December last year.

Pics are here.

Bangkok
We arrived at BKK via Taipei (worst airport for layovers evar), snagged a cab and found ourselves dropped off rather unceremoniously in Banglamphu. Specifically, we were dropped off at Khao San Road, which is the main drag of the backpacker district which has grown beyond its crusty origins into a strip mall of delights (or horrors)--bookstalls, bars, carts of food offering pad thai for a dollar. We were jet laggy and it was quite warm and we weren't entirely sure of where our hotel was. Eventually we were pointed in the right direct and found our destination: KC Guest House, tucked on a little alley a bit off the main drag. The accommodations were bare bones -- no hot water, spartan furnishings, but very cheap, good location and the staff was all very friendly and helpful.

After a decent night's sleep, we had breakfast and ride a tuk tuk to the Sky Train station. Our driver is hungover and pretty irritable, especially by Thai standards. He's very liberal with the horn (which is rare for traffic here) and halfway through our journey tries to convince us to go see some special temple that's only open today. This is apparently a very common occurrence -- drivers will try to take you to some "special" location which invariably leads to a store where they make you buy stuff you don't want. We politely refused and were let off at the station with a mutter. The Sky Train is very nice--clean, modern and timely. It doesn't run very many places, but was perfect for getting us to the southern part of the Chao Praya river. From there, we hopped on a tourist ferry; getting off to check out Chinatown . It's not dissimilar to what you might find in other Chinatowns , though there are many more back alleys teeming with market activity. We wander the many stalls, have some excellent noodles for lunch, and then take the boat back to the stop closest to our guest house. Touring the hood a bit, we stop into a massage place off of Khao San and have our first Thai massage. It's amazing! They knead and twist your body into a very relaxed state and then let you chill out with a pot of tea .

The next day, we Sky Trained it up to Mo Chit to check out the massive Chatuchak Weekend Market--it covers about 35 acres and has 15,000 shops and stalls that sell just about everything: household stuff, clothes, shoes, art, antiques, animals, flowers, books, music, food. Needless to say, it's a bit overwhelming--teeming with thousands and thousands of people. We drifted with the flow for a while, buying this and that, marveling that the mountains of puppies, kittens and bunnies for sale. It would be sad if it weren't so friggin' cute. Even with a break for lunch, the crowds got to be a bit much, especially since I was having a bit of the stomach ick. So we took refuge in a nearby park, content to watch the crowds throng around the market.

Birthday for me was also a day of temples. We took the ferry down and toured Wat Phra Kaew and the adjoining Grand Palace . The temple has many beautifully colored buildings, murals and statues that have been restored over the years so you have an idea what they looked like when they were originally built, in the late 1700's. Though it was quite crowded, it was still pretty amazing. The temple is the only one in Thailand that doesn't have any resident monks, but they do have the emerald Buddha, which was made in the 15th century. The king himself changes the Buddha's outfit three times a year--spiffy. We checked out the Grand Palace briefly-- it isn't open to the public and only used for the occasional ceremony. It started to rain as we left the Palace--quite refreshing and it thinned the crowds a bit as we walked over to the amulet market which is a sidewalk market with vendors selling talismans (and the containers that hold them) of various sizes and shapes. We bought a few to help guide us on the trip and successfully fended off another aggressive taxi driver who tried to convince us that the next temple we wanted to go to was closed for the day. We shrugged it off and headed over to Wat Pho, home of the massive reclining Buddha. We were there later in the afternoon, which was nice as there weren't that many people about. A great southern Thai dinner rounded out a great birthday for me. :)

Bangkok was a great -- there was so much more to the city that we definitely plan to return to explore it some more (Arun Wat, Thai boxing matches, and much more), but it was time for the next leg of our journey. It was a short flight to Chiang Mai a small town in northern Thailand . It's nestled in the hills, which stands in contrast to the flat environs of Bangkok .

Chiang Mai
Our lodgings were a step up from KC Guest House--we stayed at 3Sis, a charming bed and breakfast that sits within the walls of the old city. We could walk to most items of interest in the city, including the huge nighttime market, which we checked out the first day we were there--a bit too touristy for me. The next day we were up early for a trekking excursion. It was really touristy, but a lot of fun--we visited an elephant camp, had a nice ride on Stampy, a float down a river on a bamboo raft, visited a village of Pa Dong (tribal longnecks) --(that was a bit weird in a "I feel weird getting out of a van to come look at you" sort of way) and then stopped at an orchid farm that also had a monkey show. Sue and I were the only ones interested in the monkey show, so we got a lot of attention from the stars. Once back in the city, we grab a meal at a restaurant on the river and then walk back to the hotel, stopping to watch people light fireworks. The full moon festival was coming up and folks are starting the celebrations early. One interesting custom is the lighting of a white cylindrical lantern that takes to the sky after being lit, resulting in a few more stars out as folks sent their paper craft up into the night. The next day, I got up early to go on a rock climbing trip to Crazy Horse buttress. I signed up for the course, even though I didn't have a partner and lucked out by joining up with a couple from Utah who had their own ropes. It was a fantastic day of climbing limestone crags and meeting new people.

The next day, we flew from Chiang Mai back to BKK to discover that our flight to Siem Reap was canceled. They got us on the next flight though, so we just had to kill some time at BKK. There are worse fates in the world as the airport offers much in the way of distractions: shops, restaurants, massages. We spent a bit of time crashing the Bangkok Airlines lounge, which had free Internet and munchies. Finally (after 5 hours or so), we got on our way and make the short (40 minute) flight to Siem Reap.

Siem Reap
The airport in Siem Reap is new and very cute. Construction is booming in Siem Reap--trying to keep up with the tourist demand. Customs is a bit unnerving as you have to give $20 up with your passport and then go stand in another line while your passport is passed down a line of officials. Despite being really late, the driver we had arranged was still there, bless his heart. His name was Tong and he spoke great English and was training to be a tour guide, so we hired him as our driver for our stay. He dropped us at our hotel, Molly Malones (yep, an Irish bar/hotel) and we made plans to hit the temples the next day.

Molly Malone's is run by a French guy named Thierry and his partners and is located in the old market section of the city, which is quite the hot spot. The hotel itself is quaint, if a little noisy. Make that a lot noisy when a dude starts playing acoustic (amplified) guitar. Sweet.

The next day, I fly solo (Sue is illin' a bit) and hit up some far away temples--more than two hours away. We hit the road and a traffic jam. It's a national holiday and no one is working, to include the police who normally assist in regulating traffic. Therefore, what are usually chaotic driving conditions are amplified to the point of insane gridlock. We have an hour's standstill by the town market as folks, impatient with the wait, started a second and third lane on a two way street, thereby jamming up the works. It was pretty amazing. We eventually got on the road and soon the city jams were behind us. Beautiful rice fields lay on all sides with houses on stilts (some very rundown, others very opulent, by Cambodian standards). Driving in Cambodia is a very Darwinian experience. Cars zip along and around mopeds/motorbikes, not hesitating to pass in the opposite lane, even if there's oncoming traffic. The horn is used liberally (much different than Thailand ). Still, it all works...sorta. Families of four or five pile on one scooter--quite a sight. We drive for some time and when we get to Beng Melea, we decide to head out a a further 70 km to Koh Ker, which was the first/oldest of the many temples constructed by Cambodian kings. It's a long trip (the roads get pretty bad toward the end, making the going slow), but was great to get out and see some rural Cambodian action. Highlights: the massive pryamid and a great lunch. It was sad to see the state of ruins at the hands of man though. Looters and the Khmer Rouge have pretty much leveled the structures. The temple was in the jungle, though it wasn't thick like you might expect. 65% of Cambodia was jungle, but clearcutting has decreased it to 40%. Other factoids: 80% of the people are farmers. Not surprisingly, they have large families: sometimes as many as 10 kids. There were lots of kids about.

Tong is a good guide and I find out lots of interesting tidbits about the country's history and culture. There are 3 political parties, the biggest of which is the Cambodian People's Party--they have over 80 of 120 seats in the parliament. They have offices (or whatever) every few kilometers, it seems. Much of the damage to the temples took place within the last 30 years (Khmer Rougue).

After Koh Ker, we then went to Beng Melea, which was pretty awesome. It was just one place (as opposed the to the very spread out nature of the first)--very impressive, but, again, sad to see the extent of destruction. Then we headed back with some stops for village pics and sticky rice =AWESOME.

The next day, we get up for our Angkor Wat tour. It's pretty impressive--its scale is hard to capture in photos. Did a lot of walking and picture taking and then go to the larger Angkor Thom--which has a lot of cool temples spread about.

In the evening, we walked about the town and into the epicenter of the full moon/harvest celebration. There are tons of people; the streets are jammed with both motorbikes and pedistrians. As we pass a bridge we start to see many lit floats--offerings of thanks to the moon. Kids are lighting them and walking them down to set adrift on the river. Some even swim them out to make sure their journey starts right. Along the sidewalks are food vendors and folks selling the light-able offerings. There are also fireworks in play (though not as much as in Chiang Mai). We walk along the river for a while, stopping to take pictures of the floats (lite-brite-like structures) and people. It's a very chaotic and joyful celebration.

In the morning, we get a visit from the black and white preggers kitty that lives next door. She's barely past kittenhood herself and is very sweet. I head out with Tong to visit the river people; we hire a boat that takes us along the river and follows the temporary settlement of the floating city. They are 50% Vietamese (though they've been in Cambodia for over 40 years and have some sort of citizenship), 40% Cambodian and a small number of Muslim. It's a far cry from the houseboats of Sausalito . The boats are modest and they have floating public structures--hospital, police, schools, newspaper, churches , temples, etc. Very scenic and nice to be out on the water. Eventually we come to Tônlé Sap, which is the biggest lake in SE Asia (120x35 km, bigger in high season). The flow of the river reverses after rainy season and the river folk follow the flow down toward the Mekong delta. We cruise around the lake for a bit and at a commercial boat, where they have fish and crocodiles (along with touristy things to buy). Apparently, the richer Cambodians are crocodile farmers -- they get up to $500 for each one they raise to maturity (for their skins). They are expensive to feed though, so it's a hard racket to get into.

In the afternoon, we head out to Banteay Srei, which is about 35km out of town. It's called the women's temple as it's very ornate--best carvings we've seen, though it's on the small side. Then it's a tour of Ta Prohm-- the overgrown, Tomb Raider -y place. It's very cool--trees encroaching on the temple. The drone of the cicadas only outdone by the annoying French tourists. Very cool nonetheless. A little shopping rounded out the day and the next day, we were off to Ko Phi Phi.

Ko Phi Phi is paradise. We arrived there via seaplane and were picked up in a longtail boat and taken to Zeavola--our home for the next nine days. Words are hard to describe the relaxed luxury that is Zeavola. We were greeting at the beach with a drink and led to our spacious bungalow sequestered among palm trees and other flora. The time at Zeavola was magical, though we managed to tear ourselves away to head into town on occasion. Ton Sai village was a very scenic 30 minute boat ride around to the other side of the island. From there I finished my scuba training -- four certification dives -- and took another trip out to a wrecked car ferry (amazing how the ocean can make something so pedestrian so fascinating) and two other choice locations (shark point, Malong). There's a bit of controversy surrounding the wreck--the ferry wrecked on its way to Phi Phi, but there are no cars on Phi Phi. That coupled with the fact that there were boats on hand to offload the crew leads to suspicion that the ferry was intentionally wrecked for insurance money. I saw a lot during my dives: turtles, octopuses, eels, scorpion fish, brilliant corals--just gorgeous. Another day, we went on a half day of rock climbing-- fairly easy limestone jugs that afforded amazing views of the beach/village below. We were almost hijacked by a band of monkeys who staged an ingenious diversion in an attempt to make off with our bag of bananas. After some nice top rope action, we went out for some snorkeling with a quick detour for some monkey pictures (they are all over the island). The water was actually pretty rough due to winds, but we saw some nice fish and checked out Phi Phi Ley, which is the site of Ma Lay beach, where The Beach was filmed. We see an amazing sunset and have a tranquil dinner on the beach at Baxil, Zeavola's Thai restaurant. The rest of the trip was lounging on the beach, getting an amazing massage and one longtail excursion to a few other beaches, including Monkey Beach, which lived up to its name. Sue had fun amassing a bunch of shells and just generally chilling out. I had fun diving, climbing and relaxing. The Zeavola spoiled us and we didn't mind one bit.