3/13/09

It's so hot here!!!! It's "only" in the 90's, but the humidity does me in! Yesterday we "did" the temples of Angkor, and it was exhausting because of the heat. Spectacular, though. Angkor Wat, the most intact one (through intensive restoration) is impressive in its massiveness and elaborate stone carving, and Ta Prohm, the "Jungle Temple" is being reclaimed by nature in a quite beautiful and dramatic way. Strangler fig trees have grown in and around the ruins.

We've enjoyed the last few days here in Siem Reap. It's a pretty touristy town, with great restaurants and a lively market. There are plenty of native Cambodians going about their daily lives, though, so it doesn't feel contrived. In the area of our hotel, there are several big restaurants catering to the locals, which is pretty interesting. Except in Laos, it seems that the people in these countries eat out a lot. It's a very communal culture.

Phnom Penh (the capital) was, in Jed's word "Sad". There's just so much poverty, and beggars, and people missing limbs or otherwise deformed. It's also a big, dirty city. It didn't help that our hotel staff were unfriendly, and the air conditioner didn't work and there was no fan in the room. Siem Reap has the beggars and the street children and all the rest too, but it seems less desperate somehow (though it's only a matter of degree- they are still poor and struggling). But there are more smiles and humor.

The itinerary that got us to Phnom Penh from Hoi An included a plane to Saigon, one day in Saigon (uneventful- big city, traffic and noise we thought to be equal to, not greater than, Hanoi), a day in the Mekong Delta on an ill advised tour, an overnight adventure that warrants greater description (to follow), then a 6 hour boat and 1 hour bus ride to Phnom Penh.

So- the Mekong tour and boat from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Phnom Penh Cambodia were described to us as a much more interesting way to travel than the alternative- a 6 hour bus ride. It was interesting, but not always in a good way. The first day was almost comically "canned". We were herded through a coconut candy making facility, a rowboat ride, a "drape a live python around your neck", a honey bee business....and everywhere people were trying to sell us stuff. We got the impression that the sole purpose of the tour was to round up customers for the vendors. And then it got worse. We were the only ones in the group planning to go to Phnom Penh; the rest were going back to Saigon after a visit to the floating markets. The plan was for us (at 6 pm) to board a bus to the border town- a 3 hour ride. But, for reasons still unknown to us, there was no bus available. So the tour company guide had a plan. We would spend the night there in Can Tho......and get up at 12:30 am for a 1:30 bus to the border. We were aghast. After getting a bite to eat, and, let's say, getting to bed, at 8:30 or 9:00, we'd have only a few hours to sleep. That plan sucked! But, he explained to us, the only boat leaving for PP was a 7 am, so there was no alternative. He gave us the a couple dollars to give to motorbike drivers at the other end, along with a hotel name and a handwritten note in Vietnamese explaining that we had prepaid our boat tickets. So at 1 am, we got motorbike rides to the bus station, and left on a bus full of locals. The truly amazing thing was how many people were up and about at that hour! Not just street sweepers, but street vendors, people sitting around drinking tea, coffee, or whatever....it was weird! We got to Chau Doc at about 3:30 (less traffic made the trip faster) and as we disembarked, we were swarmed by moto drivers. The two we hired first raised the price, then took us to a different hotel, explaining that the one we wanted was closed. So here we are at 3:30 am, thinking either the moto drivers were in cahoots with this hotel, or the tour company had scammed us, or who knows what, and it's 4 am in a strange Vietnamese town. Not good! Well, we had them take us to the original hotel anyway and it was just closed for the night- not permanently. They had just been trying to help us find another place to stay. We spent the next 3 hours at a coffee/tea place next door to the hotel, and that was a serious cultural experience. There were about 8 customers at 4 am, and by 5:00 it had grown to 26 (with different guys coming and going), all men and all smoking. Whenever a bus would arrive on the street, about half a dozen guys would jump up to swamp it and try to get hired as transpo (motorbikes and tuk tuks). Even local people usually need a ride, as they don't have their own bicycle or motorbike waiting. There was lots of other activity in the street as well, with soup vendors and market vendors setting up their stalls. Finally the hotel opened, we got our tickets, and had a mostly enjoyable ride up the Mekong to Phnom Penh, observing villages and villagers along the banks. Much as I would have liked a full nights sleep, I wouldn't have missed the most authentic part of our "Mekong" Tour- "Vietnam at night" I think I now understand the reason for the hundreds of hammocks that we observed in the area- most restaurants had at least a dozen and usually more. They sleep when they can, probably in the heat of the day, and enjoy the cooler night hours. That's my theory, anyway.

Tomorrow we fly to Kuala Lumpur, and spend a couple more days with our friends before our final adventure (yet to be determined). Jed wants a mountain and I want a beach, so we're working on the options. We are feeling ready to go home; this has been a fabulous trip with lots of experiences to absorb and remember.

Layne