CAMBODIA (Phnom Penh): Night Arrival

I received mail recently from a good friend saying how pleased he was to see that my blog entries were becoming shorter and ever-more infrequent. He sees it as an indication that I am finally getting into my travels properly. I thank him and all of you who have been kind enough to view my lapses in reporting in such a favorable light.

I would like to think that the analysis is good one. Everyday is a joy to awaken and everyday there is so much to see and learn. I have been on the road long enough now to realize how silly my worrying and nervousness about just going out there was to begin with. For the most part things work out, and when they don't, you just adjust and find another way.

That said, however, the first night here in Phnom Penh was rather intimidating. The bus dropped us off in the middle of downtown in a poorly lit parking lot filled with moto drivers vying for our business and beggars. It wouldn't have been so bad if we had had some idea of where we were, or if there were some sunlight, or if we each were not carrying huge backpacks on our backs and chests, but what can you do? After negotiating a price for transport to a nearby (or so I had thought) guesthouse, my travel partner and I each hopped on the back of a motorcycle taxi for a harrowing ride through the night streets. As we rode, I found myself getting paranoid and thinking about how easy it would be for the drivers to take us to some unlit section of town (and we passed through quite a bit of them) and simply do us in.

Thankfully, my paranoia turned out to be just that and we soon arrived at the random guest house I had named as our destination. The drivers ran up and talked to a woman waiting outside who informed them that they were "full." I had read in a guidebook that guesthouses will often do that in order to wait until the drivers leave thus freeing them to offer the room without having to pay commission to the drivers. The drivers returned offering to take us to a destination they recommended. We thanked them but refused and ducked into a neighboring bar. However, the drivers had apparently read the same guidebook and were not going to move. They decided to camp out there to wait us out. Late at night in a new city with noplace to stay and some somewhat cross motorcycle drivers waiting outside. Not so good.

The bar turned out to be somewhat sketchy - filled with young girls (underage?) in miniskirts serving drinks and providing company to an assortment of middle aged mostly western looking men. But the bar staff was friendly and sympathetic and a French gentleman sitting nearby offered to drive us to a nearby guesthouse. It was thus that we made our escape.

CAMBODIA (Siem Reap): Lost City of Preah Khan

Lost City of Preah Khan
Originally uploaded by monkeymagictatsu.

I am at the end of 3 days here in Siem Reap exploring Angkor Wat and its surrounding ruins. Sitting here, I keep typing and erasing sentences because I don't know how to even begin to convey how amazing this place is. Even the hundreds of photos that I took do not even come close to conveying the experience. I must simply hope that you will someday have the chance to visit and see for yourself if you have not already.

Tomorrow morning, we leave for the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh.

THAILAND (Chiang Mai): Back to the Future

After a blissful two weeks traveling through the pastoral lands of Laos, I have returned once more to the land of properly paved roads, 7-11s and other trappings of the more "developed" world. This time, however, I know better than to go to Bangkok (unless I absolutely have to) and have thus chosen to drop my bags here in the bustling northern metropolis of Chiang Mai.

I just arrived here yesterday morning and aside from a bit of scouting around last night and this morning, have seen not a whole lot of the city...but my general feel for the city thus far is that it is to Thailand what Kyoto is to Japan -- free from skyscrapers littering the skyline and surrounded by lush green hills, it is a major city nonetheless, an ancient capital, a sanctuary of traditional culture, a city peppered with ancient temples and institutions of learning. Bookstores are about as common in this area as street hawkers selling noodles. I love it.


As added bonus, internet access is cheap, readily accessible and fast. I've uploaded a bunch of photos from the past couple of weeks to my photostream that can be accessed by clicking on the following link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67916188@N00/date-taken-calendar/

teaser shot from collection of photos shot in Laos

Apologies as I can't be bothered to put the shots in order and write proper commentary at this time...but maybe in the future. Honest.

Much thanks to those of you who continue to peek at the blog and leave comments. Proper replies are in the works.