Angkor: Redux
I just got to Kampot in southern Cambodia last night and I went on a trip up to Bokor today. Bokor is an abandoned resort and casino on top of a mountain. It was built by the French during the colonial period here and abandoned as they left in 1972 due to the Khmer Rouge taking over the country. We hiked a few miles down the mountain and then through some farms to get back to Kampot. But that’s not what I want to talk about. I spent three days in Siem Reap touring the ruins of the Angkor temple…
Quick Update
This will be brief. I’m in Siem Reap, the town near Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I’ve been touring around ruins for a couple of days and I’m beat. Yesterday was the best day of the trip by far. The place has been amazing. I’ll write about it later. Tomorrow, I’m headed back to Phnom Penh and will then take a bus or maybe a train to the coast of Cambodia, either Kampot or Sihanoukville. I’ll put up a post about the last couple of days soon. I need to get better access to the Internet and relearn how to use…
Lasagna, Bombers and Water Puppets
Today I was feeling a lot better. Unfortunately, everything is closed on Mondays so I wasn’t able to see Uncle Ho’s pickled corpse or his house or museum. I’m flying to Phnom Penh tomorrow morning. I ran into an Australian named Rich and his Fiancee Kish who gave me some good info on motorbiking around the south of Cambodia, so I’m out of here. As much as Hanoi was probably the low point of this trip, it’s a fascinating place and I would like to come back. Tonight I went to see a water puppet show. It’s an old art…
Hungry in Hanoi
I’ve been in Hanoi for two days. I’m still suffering from a minor case of Ho Chi Minh’s Revenge. You’ve got two choices during a trip of over a couple of weeks: avoid eating or drinking anything that seems remotely dangerous and get sick after 2 weeks, or eat whatever you want and get sick after a week and a half. Today I went to an Italian place that my guidebook suggested and the neighbor said it closed 6 years ago. I went to another Italian place that managed to make lasagna with bread in it and no sauce. It’s…
Last Day in Laos, for a while
I’ve made it to Hanoi on a French airplane. I flew Lao Airlines and there were no Chinese YUN-12s in sight. Maybe the last of them exploded in mid-air. I was feeling under the weather today. I definitely didn’t enjoy the hour-long mini-bus trip from the airport to the City. Try explaining in Vietnamese that you might have to ask them to stop in the middle of the highway for a biological event. There were some twisted charades that caused real animation in my fellow passengers. In any case, it’s the first time I’ve had any trouble here at all…
Near Luang Prabang
For the last couple of days I’ve been taking small side trips out of Luang Prabang. As much as the city is a major tourist destination, it’s easy to get an idea of what real life is like here by going only a short distance away. I hired a small boat pilot to take me across the Mekong to a small village on the other side. The people there were very welcoming. I also made an instant friend. I took some video of kids in the village racing down the road with some bicycle tires. The video may take a…
The Mekong River and Luang Prabang
Traveling from Chang Khong Thailand to Luang Prabang is a river trip on the Mekong. There are two choices: a leisurely journey of two days spent enjoying the quiet serenity of the Mekong River and wishing there was a bathroom onboard the “slow boat” or six hours spent on a “fast boat” enjoying the very loud serenity of the Mekong River while crammed into a very small space with seven other cadets going 70 km per hour wishing that the strap on your helmet wasn’t broken so you didn’t have to hold it onto your head the whole time. You…
Oh, That Earthquake
Because of the twelve hour time difference and the fact that I’ve was in the middle of nowhere all of yesterday, I’m just getting info about this now. It looks like a mess down there. It’s noon-thirty Monday here and I guess this hit yesterday morning. I’ll make a few phone calls, but it’s after midnight at home. Two nights ago I was talking to people asking questions about how I should get to Krabi, Koh Phi Phi, and Phuket. It looks like it might have to wait until a different trip. I might redirect to Vietnam and skip the…
What Earthquake?
I’m alright. I’m sorry I didn’t get the word out sooner, but I’m just getting an idea of the scope of this earthquake this morning. I saw something on restaurant TV last night, but it was in Lao. Some French people were telling me about it this morning. It looks like I might not be doing any kayaking on the coast of Thailand this trip. I’m in Luang Prabang, Laos right now. I was on a speedboat all day yesterday coming down from Chang Khong. Other than the news and rumor, I would not have known about the earthquake at…