Phnom Penh

As posted by Ingrid:

We are driving along the best Cambodian highway which makes your average potholed Quebec road look good. Mopeds laden with mattresses and water tanks, tuk-tuks, cars, minivans, cows and large tour buses all vie for space on the narrow roadway. Construction dust and shoulder traffic mingle to create a red sand coating on everything. After a 6.5 hour bus ride we arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital. Our hotel, The Willow, is a villa which was formally used by the UN and which is situated near the Independence monument in the midst of many embassies -in other words in a very safe part of town.

Phnom Penh must have been laid out by the French (I should look that up!). It's boulevards are wide with green spaces and walking trails between the lanes and traffic circles with monuments connecting them every kilometer or so. The river front has a wide and long promenade stretching a couple of kilometers. You could imagine being in Paris -until you breathe in the unmistakable smell that is Southeast Asia. Part dust, part food, part jasmine, part sweat, mixed with the occasional whiff of sewage.

Our first stop the next morning was the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a converted high school which became Pol Pot's house of torture and horrors between the years 1975 and 1979. 14,000 to 20,000 men and women died within it's walls. Many were transported to the Killing Fields to be executed after confessing to any suggested crime. The front of the building is covered in razor wire, originally intended to prevent suicides. The building has been largely left untouched. Blood has permanently stained the floor tiles, the walls provide ample evidence of the tools used to create pain. Today,the pictures of the victims are displayed within the larger cells and family members still come looking for loved ones. There are only seven survivors.

The lush garden of the National Museum provided an oasis of tranquility and an opportunity to reflect and regain our equilibrium. As part of the Angkorian period the museum holds the most beautiful and best preserved artifacts from the temples of Angkor Wat and we see the heads of the guardian (now headless) from the entrance bridge outside Angkor Thom. Seeing the treasures one more time gave us a better understanding of the historical context.

A visit to the Royal Palace was disappointing. Although the grounds are large and well manicured, many of the buildings are shuttered and not open to visitors. In contrast to the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang one does not get the impression that a family once lived here. The throne room however is stunningly beautiful with a large thick carpet woven to match the intricate pale yellow tiles surrounding it. Unfortunately, no cameras allowed...........

At dusk we joined hundreds of locals to fast-walk the rectangle in the midst of our closest "Champs Elysee" until night fell and we fund a helpful police man to guide us across the never ending stream of traffic - where are the traffic lights? Being older has some advantages, and we are playing it up!

Tomorrow we are leaving for a nine day trip to the Cambodian coast..........

Angkor Wat

As posted by Helen:

On our last day in Luang Prabang we visited some waterfalls (Kuang Si) some 15 kms. from town.  Soooo picturesque!

The waterfalls formed a number of pools in which you could swim.  Next to one of these pools was a tree to which was attached a rope and you could swing from this rope to the middle of the pool and jump in.  Here's a picture which captures this - the boy in blue is just about ready to let go the rope and jump in.  It was fun watching but we couldn't muster the nerve to do this ourselves!!

The next day we took our first flight on VietNam Airlines via a Turbo Prop aircraft, but as nervous as we were (see Ingrid having second thoughts) it turned out well.  We arrived safely in Siem Reap and have enjoyed the magic of Angkor as outlined by Ingrid below.   We were so impressed with the VietNam Airlines that we have booked our Hanoi to Hong Kong portion with them.

As posted by Ingrid:

Nearly 5 weeks into our journey and we have now visited Angkor, the ancient city that defies any description that could be put into a blog as short as this. The complex of Angkor, the site of the world's largest religious building, is enormous and any superlatives don't do it justice.. Built between 610 and 1295 AD these Hindu and Buddhist temples were built in the Khmer architectural styles of the day of brick, standstone, laterite and wood.

We had orgnized a tuk-tuk from the hotel and explored the temples for three days. Setting out in the dark to experience Angkor Wat at sun rise, we continued on to explore the Central complex with the temples of Bayon, Bapuon, The Elephant Terrace, the Leper King Terrace, Phimeanaka, Preah Palilay, and Preah Pithu. Many of the structures are still in the condition in which they were "found"in the 19th century and with the political turmoil of the last 40 years, restoration supported by Unesco and other international bodies is only now getting slowly under way. At this time, the venues are not yet restricted, visitors are free to clamber over most areas and some sites are so crowded is difficult to find a quiet spot.

On day 2, we visited Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Pre Rup (at sun-set), the Rolos Group consisting of Preah Ko, Bakong and Lolei, and the most lovely Banteay Srei. The latter was dedicated to women,  its name, which translated means "Citadel Beauty", refers to its small size and the delicacy of its decorations. Often described as the 'Jewel of Khmer Art' is was one of the first structures to be restored in the 1930s by the French.

The representative from Traveler's Insurance:

After climbing on board our tuk-tuk on day three at 7:00 am we saw Kanteay Kdeu, Prasat Kravan, East Mebon,  and Bantaey Samre. Each has its own character and lintel styles of increasing complexity and beauty. At the end of the day, with the crowds thinning and the sun turning a dust coloured red, we made a last visit to Angkor Wat, crossed the long over-water approach to its perimeter wall and then the long approach to the main complex and marveled one more time at the majestic beauty of this place.

And more steps:

We have seen century-old trees whose branches entwined the structures and kept them from collapsing, climbed hundreds of steep steps until our thighs streamed with pain, took long tuk-tuk rides (some temples are 20km apart) which made our hair fly and the ever present red dust cling to our skin, clothes, eyes and nostrils. We drank the juice of large fresh coconuts, consumed gallons of beer mixed with bottled water (after all it is 35C+ here) and ate Khmer, Swiss and German dishes. We traveled through acres and acres of parkland interspersed with small lakes and filled with trees we had never seen before, awed by natures beauty and the priviledge of being in a place that was, long before Singapore and Bangkok, the largest city in the world.

Cambodian Mama:

Cambodia, which did not recover from the Pol Pot years until his death in 1998 is a place feverishly determined to catch up. Siem Reap the town closest  to Angkor Wat, is a hopping mixture of commercial activity, building boom, hyper tourism and its ugly underbelly (Pub Street), souvenir stalls, night markets and street kitchens. It is building new roads to ring the city where only a few farming villages now exist.

Light years away from the laid-back style of Luang Prabang, we nevertheless feel quite safe here. Although LP offered a lot of rock climbing, hiking, high speed boating and off-road biking, the town had no doctor with a medical degree, no ambulance - no help whatsoever in case of injury. Lulled by the town's sleepiness many a visitor is tempted to try motorcycling for the first time, only to find himself being flown to Bangkok on an emergency basis. Here in Siem Reap hospitals abound and at least one is affiliated with a large hospital in Bangkok.

It looks like everybody wants to learn English. Monks and high school students approach us and ask to converse. Cambodians have large families (8-10 children) and even though there are many primary and secondary schools spilling out little ones with pressed blue and white uniforms in the early afternoon, higher education is expensive, particularly for those living in outside villages. One third of the population lives on less than 1$ a day.

We see many people with missing limbs, the result of unexploded landmines, a large percentage of which still has to be deactivated. We have visited a number of museums showing the effect of land mining and carpet bombing during the 1970s - very sad.

Of course, we drown our sorrows in the evening with a large cool one...........or two. We also celebrate having survived another tuk-tuk ride in this chaotic traffic crazy city.........we are doing great and miss you only..........a little!!!!!

Down the Mekong to Luang Prabang

As posted by Ingrid:

After a colourful 2.5hour "stop upon request" bus ride from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong and an overnight stay at a small riverside hotel with beds as hard as rocks we set out in a small dinghy across the Mekong and into Laos. The little craft was so narrow I was afraid our large bags would fall overboard. Turns out the ferryman stopped short of solid land and were it not for a fellow passenger who took pity on us, we would still be pulling our luggage through the wet sand.

Shampoo Cruise waited for us at Laos Customs and after a long delay (visas for Canadians are the most expensive at US43 and took the longest to process) we set off on our two-day cruise down the Mekong. The day started cool and misty. We bundled ourselves into blankets, drank hot tea and chatted with our 16 fellow passengers, which included a couple from Vancouver, 3 Danish girls, 2 Germans ladies, 1 British gal and a young couple from Utrecht in the Netherlands.

At this time of the year, the Mekong is approaching its lowest watermark point. Rapids and rocks abound and the captain made sure we were evenly distributed in the boat to allow him to navigate safely. Much narrower that I had expected, the river winds itself through mountain ranges, providing a new viewpoint at every turn. Sandbanks, where locals plant peanuts during the dry season, line the edges. Although it is possible to travel by speedboat (very dangerous), overall traffic on the river is sparse and its brown waters glide by languidly.

After lunch the sun warmed the air and by the time we arrived in Pakbeng, our half-way point, and climbed the steep river bank, we were hot, hot, hot. Pakbeng is a little village that does not have to try very hard to please and is more often than not described as somewhat of a "hell-hole" in travel books. But, to our big surprise, our hotel was absolutely beautiful. Situated high on a hill they had upgraded us to a suite on the highest floor and spellbound we watched the vista until it grew too dark to see.

By the second day, we became as lazy as the river, feeling our tension ebb away by the hour. After floating 280km we arrived in Luang Prabang, one of the jewels of Southeast Asia in the late afternoon.

As posted by Helen:

It is now Monday and we have been in Luang Pragang, Laos, since Friday evening.  Laos was a French colony (a neglected one at that) from the late 1800's until the French finally gave it its independence around the 1950's (there is a lot of history in between which we won't go into here).    All this to say that the town of Luang Pragang reflects the French culture in its food (yummy) and architecture.  It is a town that just oozes with charm - it is on a peninsula with the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers on each side, is surrounded by mountains, its streets lined with flowering trees and beautiful Buddhist temples with their golden roofs.  It is a a UNESCO World Heritage site.

On Sunday we took in the Royal Palace which is now called the National Museum as the monarchy was overthrown in 1975.  Relative to other palaces I have visited it was not ostentatious, except maybe for the royal throne.  There were some great paintings reflecting the countryside of Laos, and spectacular murals made with Japanese glass.  The bedrooms of the king and queen were very simple with minimal furniture as were the quarters of their children. There was even a building housing some of the 1970's royal cars many of them having been donated by the U.S. Government, one of them an Edsel in good condition.

Monday morning we set out just after 8 am to walk up to the highest point in the town - it gets way too hot to do anything more more than relax in a shady spot past noon.  The walk involved climbing some 400 steps to the top which we couldn't manage to do without stopping a few times!  Because we were so early the sun had not burned away the morning mist so maybe we did not get the perfect view, but our bodies were very happy for the cooler conditions.

Guess who is hiding behind the dragon's head:

Monday evening we went back to the Royal Palace to take in a performance by the Lao National Ballet which performs a Lao version of the Indian epic, the Ramayana.  It was a wonderful experience (we only saw Scene 1 of this epic) particularly with respect to the elaborate and colorful silk costumes along with fabulous headdresses.  My favourite scene was the one where the dancers with monkey masks continually went down on their haunches scratching the backs of their necks.  It was quite humorous and they really resembled the actions of monkeys!  There were also some scenes where only beautiful girls with exquisite hand movements performed.

Besides strolling around the town taking in its natural beauty, there are many activities one can participate in from this town - rock climbing, mountain bike riding, trekking in the mountains which can be combined with overnight home stays, cooking classses, volunteering your time to teach English (something we might do while we are here).

Chiang Rai

We made our way to Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai on a VIP bus which was just that and offered;
Wide leather seats that almost reclined to a sleeping position - and only 3 seats per row.
A driver who had two stripes on his shirt shoulder resembling an airline captain!
A steward who served us water, a snack and offered us towelettes at the end of the ride
A very comfortable 3 hour ride for under $10.

There were two mountain ranges  to traverse so very picturesque.  But very hilly at times - and for Ingrid a two Ginger Gravol ride.

After Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai has a real country feel to it which we are both relishing particularly as there is less traffic and therefore so much less  pollution.  The Kok River runs through the town and our hotel is right on the river.  We have a huge room - two beds, a sitting area, a very large bathroom, and lots of cupboard space for all the clothes I don't have with me!  Our room has a river view and a view of a very sizable pool which we have not yet tested.  But I did use the exercise room's treadmill  and free weights.

Ingrid suggests we not get used to this type of accommodation - we were a little late booking a hotel here so there was limited choice.   However, it has been a great spot to recuperate from our cold/flu.

As posted by Ingrid:

Although we would like to sit by the hotel pool until the lanterns come on and the mosquitoes come out at night, there are two aging bodies to exercise and new venues to explore. So on Sunday, in order to do both at the same time, we undertook a self-guided walking tour of Chiang Rai's most see-worthy attractions. And since we have now fully adjusted to the new time zone and are quite unable to crawl out of bed before 8:00 am, we set off during during the time of day when only mad dogs and Englishmen venture forth. However, the day was beautiful, 25C with a slight breeze and we walked through the inner town, along beautiful public gardens, up to the highest spot, visiting the most important temples along the way, Wat Pra Kaew, Wat Pra Sing, Wat Doi Ingammuan and Wat Doi Thong. The reward for all that heavy work was a wonderful decaf cafe latte, cheese cake and a warm and succulent banana and blueberry muffin.

The wonders of Chiang Rai are not so much it's sightseeing attractions but the surrounding country side. The town of 200,000 souls lies in a valley littered with limestone and granite karsts and surrounded on both sides by mountain ranges. One hour further north by car lies the 'Golden Triangle', the place where the borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos meet, and a favorite spot for trekking tours. Instead of taking a tour we wanted to visit a Royal Villa and immense public gardens roughly in the same direction. Unwilling to take an expensive tour which includes many aspects we did not want to see, we rented a car and driver on Monday and had a wonderful afternoon walking through sculpted gardens, original forest and new and old varieties of orchids that were spectacular. All for half the price and on our time table. There is something soothing to the body and spirit seeing leafy trees and flowers in the colours of the rainbow at this time of the year.

After nearly two weeks of Asian food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, we were hankering for a good old fashioned pizza. We nearly found what we wanted, but it would have been greatly enhanced by a big plate of green salad. Alas, we are still afraid to eat raw greens, nervous to turn our receding flu into a stomach upset.

This independent travel thing is turning out wonderfully in some aspects and not so successful in some others. Helen spent a frustrating few days booking the two day Mekong river trip and related hotel. Although we had selected a private boat operator, every chosen hotel at the half-way point was sold out. As a last resort, we were offered a room for USD190 (!!!) a night. We found an alternative at the same hotel on Agoda for half the price, however when we pressed the final button to book we realized that is was for one person only. It took Helen two days, a call to the U.K. and numerous e-mails to straighten things out. Then the boat operator wanted more ID information over the internet than I was prepared to divulge and so on, and so on....

While Helen was ripping her hair out, I did battle with our hotel in Chiang Mai where they had charged my credit card for our stay TWICE. It is amazing how hotel staff loses the ability to communicate effectively in English overnight! That little skirmish is still ongoing and I am looking forward to another round tomorrow........

And, we saved the best for last - our most exciting trekking tour so far! Early this morning, when the fog had not yet been burned off by the sun, we set off on a long tail boat for a one hour ride to a Karen tribal village and their elephant camp. I had spent two days worrying how to mount these gorgeous creatures and need not have worried after all. We walked onto a raised platform straight onto a bench strapped to Wunpan's back. Gosh, was it ever high and quite a jolt when we set off, swaying back and force. For the first 15 minutes we held on so tight, our hands hurt, but then we started to relax and thoroughly enjoyed the hour long ride through dense foliage, up and down steep hills and through brooks containing large boulders. Wunpan, munching on bamboo along the way, was more sure footed than we would have been!

And that was only the beginning of our day. A 1.5 hour trek uphill, lunch at a Lahu tribal village (the soup was cooked over an open fire) then another 1.5 hours walking steeply downhill, onto an Akha village where Helen could see what a homestay would have been like, and then back in a songtaews where I fell promptly asleep in the warm sunshine. Never mind that we are on Advil tonight, it was totally worth it! What a glorious and unforgettable day.