Wednesday 14 March 2012

out with the old, in with the new

Enough temples, crazy markets, and golden Buddhas.  Today was an exploration of the modern Bangkok, as well as an exploration of the modern convenience - air conditioning.  We found our temperate paradise at Siam Center, an ultra-modern six story shopping complex.



 And inside this shopping bonanza housed the most spectacular movie theatre I have ever seen.



Seriously - look at this place!



We decided to take in a 4DX movie.  The movie experience is 3D with some special effects such as your seat moves with the movie, they pipe in odours as appropriate (no - not those kind of odours), mist water in your face, blow smoke, strobes, air in your face,burst of air behind your head, and the list goes on.  It was wild, although a little gimmicky.  We saw John Carter which on its own is mediocre, but the whole experience was pretty unique.





After the theatre we did a little window shopping; everything from Jimmy Choo to Mango, housewares, electronics and a Food Market to die for.  I could have spent the day in the food market alone.

Note the cars on the top right - always appropriate in a mall



To top off the day, we headed for a $8 Thai massage right across the street from the hotel. Wow was that a work over. It was like having a 70lb cat crawls all over you, kneading every tendon you had no idea existed.  She pulled my legs, arms and back into positions I'm pretty sure I last tried when I was ten years old.  So we'll see how that feels tomorrow.

Last night in Bangkok and the world's our oyster...Thai food and a little gawking at the gong show called Soi Cowboy.  And that will be a wrap of South East Asia Tour 2012.  Hope you enjoyed the tour.  We did.  But it is time to go home. :-)

Tuesday 13 March 2012

Rat in a maze: Level 2

After successfully navigating to and from the subway station, it was time to take on a new challenge.  Peter devised a plan, while I was catching up on work, to take the walking tour of Chinatown that our guide book recommends.  The tour encompassed 2.5 km of chaos through the market stalls of Chinatown.  But that wasn't quite enough of a challenge.  Instead of taking a taxi to our starting point, the plan was to walk to our starting point from the train station, an estimated addition 1.5 km.  Armed with two maps and a compass, we headed out of the train station into a mass construction project between us and what we guessed to be the road we needed.  To fully understand the challenge though you need to know two things - each intersection has at least 5 choices and the signs have Thai on one side, English on the other, so you have to be underneath the sign to read all of the English choices.  To cross the street, they don't have lights but lines on the road that give the illusion of a pedestrian crossing, but it really means nothing in terms of assuring safety or even slowing traffic. 


Starting at the pink building on the right, ending at Pak Khlong market on the left
not all roads are marked on the map


about 15 min from domed building to here and then we weren't even on the correct road
So about an hour later, drenched in sweat, we arrive at the start point of our tour.  The next two hours were bizarre.  We walked through little lane ways covered by tarps so you had no sense of the buildings around you.  The usual array of strange foods and smells with the occasional motorcycle or cart to cause a disruption in foot traffic.  We walked onto a movie set filming a foot chase through the market.  That was exciting to almost be run over by the cast. Though material shops, beads, trinkets and various other crap that you can't imagine serves a purpose, And then out into a flower market to catch our taxi back to the train station.  A little word on taxis - holy crap they are crooked.  Despite being metered, you have to fight to get the meter on or you have to barter a price. Tuk-tuk's are just as bad.  It is unfortunate that tourist have the most contact with these citizens. I'm sure the rest of people in Bangkok are very nice but the taxi drivers are very shady. Except for our first driver but that story is best told in person.

Start of the tour

Insane
Take 2 - Movie set chase scene

The "cheese" for our successful outing was dinner at the Four Seasons and a drink at a roof top bar overlooking the crazy maze of Bangkok.  I can't say that I love this city but it certainly has everything and anything you could ever want - except for maybe clean air and space.


Bangkok from 55 stories up


I LOVE THESE TABLES

Ahhhh....

Monday 12 March 2012

Rat in a maze

We're in Bangkok and what a crazy city.  They say you should do puzzles to keep you brain active.  Same principles apply to reading and following a map in Bangkok. Thank goodness we remembered to bring a compass this trip.  Oddly enough, the street order is starting to make some sense but nothing is in a straight line, names change and there are little roads all over the place.  All that under stifling heat.  March is not the time to be in Bangkok.

Too tired to actually write about the sights so far because I think I've seen enough Buddha's to last a lifetime.  However, this Buddha was still quite impressive.



Soles of Buddha's feet - wish my soles were that pretty

Wat Pho - home of the very large Buddha

I'm tired, hot and ready for home.  The city (or the heat in the city) is draining - maybe because we are trying to see to much.  Tomorrow we hitting the Chinatown market - because that won't be overwhelming at all.  And then off to Lumphini Park.  It is kite flying season and I think green space and a sky full of kites is just the answer to travellers' fatigue.  And perhaps a 2 hr Thai massage.

Saturday 10 March 2012

Time for a breather

We're officially on vacation now.  Yes, other than the one week of work this whole thing has been a vacation but there has been nothing relaxing about it until we hit Phnom Penh on Thursday.  All major ailments have cleared up except the rash on my arm is back with a vengeance.  I hate to admit that I might be allergic to this kind of heat.

We started our vacation with a $6 one hour massage at a place called "Seeing Hands".  They train blind people to give massages and they are pretty amazing.  Especially for $6.  Our attempts to see the palace were thwarted by international women's day so we did what any reasonable person would do - went for a reflexology foot massage ($20).  It was really too hot to do anything else.  The next day we hit the palace early but in truth, I think we are temple/pagoda/stupa'd out. 

Royal Palace grounds



So now we are in Kampot - a sleepy little town near the southern coast.  Our guesthouse is on a river - they tell me it is swimable but without clear vision to the bottom, I'll stick with the pool.  It took a while to relax and get over the feeling that I had to see or do something.  After all I'm in a new place. There must be something to see.  But there really isn't.  It is just beautiful and relaxing.






We did take the owners suggestion to ride to the top of Bokor Mountain. A 22 km up a twisting road with no shade. At the top was supposed to be a resort and waterfall. I'll never know because I bailed about 80% of the way. The sun was frying my head and the heat was sapping every last ounce of energy.  But the ride down was fun.

Bokor National Park gates
View of the ocean - near the top


After the ride it was all I could do to stay awake until 8:00 pm.  We had a terrible sleep the night before due to the oversize cockroach crawling across the bed.  That just led to thinking everything was a cockroach resulting in one of us sporadically jumping out of bed, swatting the sheets and insisting another cockroach had found us.  But last night I was too tired to care and fell asleep to Cambodian karaoke blaring somewhere in the country. 

Until 4:30 am when a for real cockroach ran across my body heading for the end of the bed. I screamed. Peter flew out of bed, flip-flop in hand and for the next 20 minutes we tracked the beast. It took 5 attempts but Peter finally managed to kill it. That was not the start to the day I was looking for.  That said, I'm now sitting by the pool with my computer waiting for our taxi to show up. 





We are headed for Bangkok today - the last leg of the tour. I can't believe it is almost time to go home. I'm ready. There's work piling up despite my best efforts to stay on top of it and I could really use a break from this heat.  No joke - it is beastly hot right now.  They say you get used to it.  I guess that is what we say about snow.

View from the bar at the guesthouse




Wednesday 7 March 2012

On the move



We are bumping down the road in our ‘luxury” bus from Siem Reap – a 314 km bus ride that takes 6 or 7 hours. The air-conditioning is no more than vented outside air which means I’m going to land in Phnom Penh with a sweaty butt and huge hair.

And while I’m complaining about stuff, I just have to say that despite the amazing things we’ve seen and done, it is not been without its challenges. Peter is just coming back from some dysentery-like ailment – we first suspected heat exhaustion but when rehydration and cold towels (not a popular treatment) didn’t fix some of the more unpleasant symptoms, out came the antibiotic stash resulting in some initial success. I suspect it was the spider but he refuses to engage in a thorough analysis, much to my inner microbiologist dismay. I have been relatively illness free although my quest to remain that way has resulted in a steady diet of things fried beyond recognition. Every time I order a fresh meal I mentally calculate how long it will take for the possible illness to ensue. And I’m at risk of dehydration because the bathrooms have moved from Western style to whatever hole (or non-hole) in the ground is available. Even some of the Western toilets comes with questionable conditions. Although the travel is a little rustic at times, we’ve had some amazing experiences. We haven’t been suffering for comforts at the hotels; just once you are out and about the amenities become a little scarcer. But for whatever challenges we’ve experience there is a constant reminder of how much worse life could be as I once again faced when i got off off the bus at our half-way mark. We had gone through a few bottles of water (makes me sad to admit) plus some snacks on the bus. I gathered our garbage, including the plastic bottles, to throw out. In this part of the world, the recycling is done by unemployed people picking through the garbage collecting bottles, cans and paper to be turned in for money. A very old, very tiny woman was crouched beside the garbage can drinking some water out of a plastic cup with ice – someone must have given it to her. As I went to throw the garbage away, I remembered she could get money for the bottles so I placed the garbage bag beside her. She looked at me with gratitude – for my garbage! Makes you want to cry. So I dug out the mystery bun from the bus and gave that to her too. She thanked me in the common Cambodian manner – hands in prayer with a bow. Yep I’ll take my sweaty, bumpy bus ride any day of the week.
 
On our last day of Angkor, Peter rallied for a morning tour of some of the lesser visited temples. At least that is the theory. Only one was truly quiet and peaceful. We headed to Preah Khan in the morning. It is similar layout to Ta Prohm but is better preserved somehow. It was a maze of rooms and passageways that you could pick your way through. We had a good luck blessing from a very sweet looking nun and a short guided tour of some of the harder to find carvings. Beautiful expansive temple nestled in the jungle.
West Entrance to Preah Khan




East Gate - Preah Khan


And then off to the grande finale – Banteay Srey or Temple of Women. The claim is this is the best representation of carved stone art in the world. The small sandstone temple was packed with tourists, and for good reason. The carvings were so incredibly detailed and well preserved it was hard to believe they were real. I wanted to explore every inch of the place but the noon sun was punishing and Peter’s health was still in question so we did a fairly quick loop before heading back to the pool. If you can afford about 4 or 5 days at Angkor it is worthwhile. Mostly because it is impossible to see everything in a day and it is tough to go all day in the blazing heat. There is so much to see at Angkor and each temple holds its own charm. I’m so incredibly lucky to have seen this spectacular world wonder. It is definitely worth the effort.

Banteay Srey







The crowds were insane though








Monday 5 March 2012

Sunrise, sunrise

Just when I thought Angkor Wat couldn't be more spectacular, I hauled my tired carcass out of bed at 4:30 am to claim my seat for what turned out to be an amazing show.  The day before we arranged for a tuk-tuk driver to pick us up at 5:00 am.  When the alarm went off at 4:30, I found out Peter had been suffering all night with a whole host of issues, none of which lent itself to a bumpy ride to a location with very few bathrooms.  So I did what any supportive spouse would do in this situation - I headed out alone.  To be fair, we had already paid for the entry and arranged for the driver. He was going back to sleep and I was wide awake so it only made sense. Right?

Obviously my planning wasn't as thorough as I thought.  I hit the gates of Angkor Wat before the crowds all right but forgot the head lamps we've been carrying throughout the trip in case we needed them. This may have been such an occasion.  I tripped my way over the dark bridge and through the really dark gates of Angkor Wat to claim my perfect spot at the library steps, just as our guide instructed. It was a surreal experience - very few people, music playing in the distance at the monastery, stars twinkling.  Then the crowds caught up. And boy did they! Bus load after bus load jostled for position. Although the mystical ambiance was now firmly blown away, the light show that we were treated to was nothing short of spectacular.

First light


Outside the gate

In my tuk-tuk headed for Bayon - Moats of Angkor Wat

I headed out before the sun hit the temple not only to beat the crowd but also to see Bayon in the early morning.  I decided to head on to the Terrace of Elephants and ended up walking around the rest of the Angkor Thom site.  There was no one around. It was so peaceful given the hordes of people that typically inhabit the grounds.  My explorations took me through some amazing scenery and was all going well until I stepped on a hidden loose rock and slid down a hill.  My big toe and camera got the worst of that mishap.  Poor camera. This is the second incident. But it still seems to be working despite the amount of sand worked into the turning bits.  Will have to fix that when I get home.  Here's what I saw after sunrise.

Terrace leading to Baphuon

Baphuon - city centre for Angkor Thom

Terrance of the Elephants

Testing the timer on the new camera


Timer works

Phimeanakas bottom

Phimeanakas - top (yikes)


Inside Terrance of the Leper King
I came back by 9 am to hot and sick husband.  After a quick trip to the pharmacy complete with charades, I came back with Tylenol and rehydration salts. Those seem to be doing the trick.  The rest of the day was spent shopping and by the pool.  Certainly no hardships for me.  Poor Peter though.  Hope tomorrow is better. Last day of the pass and have lots to see yet.


The end of the night resulted in this.  As I walked to the pharmacy again for a new batch of salts I got sucked in by this. It is as uncomfortable as it looks.  You go from the small fish, to the big ones featured below.  But they give you a free beer.