Thailand

Over the past 3 months since we have arrived from Thailand, I have been contemplating what to write.  In retrospect I liked my overall experiences in Thailand... but while there, my guard was up the whole time and I believe that I was not able to experience the cities we visited to the fullest.  

Some amazing things about Thailand:  street food ranging from skewered scorpions, seafood and cocktails from a VW bus and the noodle carts... my fave, beautiful beaches, amazing temples, incredible Siamese history, learning that Siamese cats are Thai cats, cheap shopping, price haggling, huge metropolis some parts of which you can't even know where to begin to discover, night markets, buddhas of all sizes, thai iced tea, thai coffee & the temples of Ayutthaya.  

Also, pristine beaches can still be found on phi phi island, a wide variety of sea life...we encountered black banded sea snake, lion fish, clown fish, anemones, shit tons of coral, pipe fish, puffer fish & green box fishes.   We were able to experience various uncrowded beaches, peace, quiet and sleep in beautiful bungalows with crazy beautiful views of the sea, kayaking and tons of jungle hiking night & day to avoid paying exorbitant long boat fees & most important of all the incredibly nice and genuinely hospitable people.  

Some non amazing things about Thailand:  lost passports (though that is not Bangkok's fault), scams galore, overpriced tuk tuk & taxi rides, the incessant offers of ping pong shows, tours in the red light districts & getting you involved in the massive sex tourism; scams including shutting down of certain tourists spots, tuk tuk drivers charging you 300 baht to go less than 1km within the Sukhumvit district, taking you to different stops which are actually jewelry shops selling you stuff, locals putting pigeon food in your hand without your permission and charging you 100 baht for the 'experience,' and sleepless nights in Khao San road.  The worst  part: there are tourists everywhere... you really have to dig deep to find an experience that isn't diminished due to the exploitation of tourists. 

With that said... the 'amazing' outweighs the 'non amazing' even if you have to wait a few months to forget about the 'non amazing.'  It truly is a marvellous country and with many different facets.  I am glad to have had that experience...I love any type of adventure, good or bad, any day. 

Royal Palace 

Street food delicacy

Hua Lamphong Rail Station

Khao San Road

Tuk tuk Adventures:  find Penny and Danny

ancient royal pugs??

Ayutthaya

Loh Lana Bay

View from the semi top

siesta on a hammock by the beach

Maya Beach... famous and lame

Jungle hikes. 

Preah Vihear Province

Prasat Preah Vihear Temple is a Hindu temple built during the reign of the Khmer Empire.  It is situated on top of a cliff in Dangrek Mountains in the Preah Vihear Province of Cambodia.  In as recent as 2010, there have been disputes between the bordering nation, Thailand regarding to whom the temples belong. With much opposition from Thailand, UNESCO listed the temple as a World Heritage Site recognizing Cambodian ownership.  

It's not easy to get to Preah Vihear Temple.  The province is remote and takes a total of 4 hours via private taxi only.  Drivers can be arranged through local tour companies or your hotel.  The country side of Cambodia is exactly as you would imagine a South East Asian country side;  rice fields, houses along the roadside on four posts, water buffaloes chillaxing in ponds & locals getting around mainly by foot or bicycle.  Once at the bottom of the mountain which holds the temples, you have to provide your passport to enter the site.   A fee is not required but you do have to pay $5 per person to ride a motodup up a very very steep mountain side for approximately 10 minutes or $25 to ride on the back of a pick up (which can be split amongst other travellers if there are any) since private vehicles are not allowed up the mountain.

Prasat Preah Vihear has the most magnificent view.  It is a good 2 hour hike around the whole site since there is a total of 5 temples with each one that follows being bigger and more grandeur than the one before.  Each temple has its own characteristic and the surrounding mountainous areas adds to its beauty. 

One thing to note: 

Prasat Preah Vihear has a very turbulent recent history due to ownership disputes between bordering nations, Cambodia and Thailand.  There are still soldiers who live surrounding the temples... It may seem daunting and intimidating, but it is the opposite.  The soldiers, more like veterans, are no longer technically defending the temple but they are still standing guard of what I think is the best temples in Cambodia.  It is customary to buy 'gifts' from the local vendors, which include cartons of cigarettes and snacks as gifts  to the soldiers as you are making your way through the temples.  The soldiers are friendly and more than willing to share their experiences during the times they were under attack, what they know about the temple, things that they think are cool or interesting and things that you should definitely photograph.  These soldiers who spent years protecting this wonderful site does not get substantial support from their government for their military duty, most of them are out of work and they definitely do not get paid for the continuous protection and upkeep of the temple.

We also visited in the Preah Vihear province was Koh Ker which is about 30 minute drive from Prasat Preah Vihear.  It is an Angkorian Temple, inhabited briefly and was considered the capital of the Khmer Empire between 928 and 944 AJB (after jesus' birth). It is really cool... see pictures below. 

Siem Reap

Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap Province in north western Cambodia, the gateway to Angkor region.

From Phnom Penh: 
Speed boat up the river from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, costs $35.  Bus for $6 or a luxury bus for $12.  We took the luxury bus option which was the better choice. Part of the highway taking you to Siem Reap is just dirt road so there is a lot of dust and it is bumpy... the luxury bus was comfortable and had air con, which meant we could have the windows shut to avoid the dust without dying from heat. 

Taking the bus gives you the opportunity to see the countryside of Cambodia, vast amounts of flat lands and rice paddies, occasionally water buffaloes swimming in some road side pond and locals bicycling along the rice paddies wearing the iconic pointy paddy hats.  

Accommodation: The only place to stay in Siem Reap is at the Villa Siem Reap near the old French Quarter.  The staff is amazing, the food is amazing, the rooms are super nice and well priced.  

Temples of Angkor: Angkor means Holy City in Khmer, this was the region that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire between 9th to 15th century.  Began in AD 802 until 1351 when Angkor fell under the Ayutthayan Kingdom (Siamese Kingdom).  

The temples are grandeur and truly amazing.... I don't know how else to describe it.  The feeling of seeing and being in the temples is exhilarating.  There is truly so much to see in each temple and each temple has something different to offer from a detailed sculpture along the walls of Angkor Wat depicting battles, to the many faces that gives Angkor Thom its fame and to the giant trees that have nestled their roots through the cracks becoming integral parts of the structure in Ta Prohm.  

Things to watch out for:  

You can hire a taxi or tuk-tuk for the day to take you around the temples with a pick up from your hotel.  It should only cost $15 but if you choose a sunrise and/or sunset option it might be $25.  Better to coordinate a tuk-tuk driver through your hotel, that way your chances of being ditched by your driver are less likely.  

Sunrise at Angkor Wat is not as unique as it seems.  At 5 am from your hotel, you are taken to Angkor Wat, (bring a flash light).  You follow a massive herd of people through the entrance of the temple and you are expected to wait with the heaps and heaps of people waiting to watch this sunrise.  The sunrise is over the three distinctive structures of Angkor Wat, with the best view in front of the huge pond.

OR....

Instead of stopping where the herds of people stop, you keep going into the temple with your light, make it through the temple, and watch the sunrise from the other side...completely deserted, quiet and peaceful.  It is  the only way to see the temple alone.   

Sunset is the same thing... you hike up to Phnom Bakheng temple, the view is nice.  But when you reach the temple, there will already be tons of people perched on the side waiting for the sun to set.  It is ridiculously packed.  We decided to ditch the temple after checking it out, and caught the sunset in front of Angkor Wat.  

Cool temples we saw:

Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Prasat Bayon, Ta Prohm Temple, Banteay Kdei, Preah Khan & Phnom Bakheng. 

Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm are the most famous.  Ta Prohm is kind of ridiculous; because iTomb Raider  was filmed there bus loads of tourists are packed into the tiny enclosed temple and winding passageways.  It would be fun otherwise, but it was very suffocating. There is a more peaceful area to the right side of the all the hustle and bustle but you would have to be willing to go through some 'non safe passageways' to find it.  Also if you expect to get a single photo of any part of that temple with no photobombs, make sure to hone your super ninja-speed photo skills, since it is common knowledge that Chinese tourists have perfected theirs. 

Favorite temple:  Angkor Thom. 

Phnom Penh

The capital and largest city in Cambodia.  Located on the banks of the Mekong River, the center for industrial  and economic activities.

Very lively and tourist friendly, almost everyone speaks English and will quote you a price in US dollars. 

I would have liked to learn more Khmer, but almost everyone including all the tuk-tuk drivers will communicate with you in English.  I guess it is good...but at the same time it did not push me out of my comfort zone knowing that I didn't have to try very hard.  

Visa:

Prior visa approval is not required to enter Cambodia for US citizens except 2 copies of your passport photo which can be easily waived for $2 US dollars.  The cost of a tourist visa at airport immigration is only $20, but more than one official told it us it was $50 total and they short changed, but in the end they gave us the correct amount. Make sure to check the price listed on your visa 

From the airport: 

We took a tuk tuk from the airport, it was a fixed cost advertised at $7 inside the airport so we didn't have to worry about haggling a decent price.  This also gave us an idea of what an average tuk-tuk ride should cost relative to where you are travelling. 

Stuff we did: 

Night Market: 

favorite things:  sugar cane juice, heaps of food stalls with different varieties of goodies and local cuisine, there is also an area covered with mats so that you can sit down and enjoy your food.  

not so favorite things: lots of souvenirs, tourist hot spot, priced waaay too high and forget about getting a decent price on a tuk-tuk ride home. You are better off riding on a back of a motodops for $1 (although you do have a higher risk of getting lost, genuinely nice Cambodian men helped us and our motodop driver find our way back to the hotel).

Royal Palace: 

couldn't actually get inside the royal palace due to the passing of the King in recent months.. we were really bummed out because it looks really awesome.  There are mini memorials set up all through out the city decked in black silk and flowers to remember the King.  It was very different to experience the reverence  for the King, it is not common in the US or Australia to see pictures of the President or Prime Minister on a billboard or the side of the road decked in  gold, black silk, flowers...the giant photos are definitely very regal. 

Silver Pagoda: 

it was pretty awesome, cool Buddhist temples, very tranquil and actually quiet, nice art work on the walls surrounding the whole premises.  

From the Silver Pagoda/Royal Palace, you can pretty much walk along the river where there are plenty of travel agents,  cafes, restaurants, hotels etc.... we decided to walk from the Royal Palace along the river because we were searching for the Dairy Queen due to the possibility of a heat stroke.  Lucky we did because there is so much going on even if you just look down one street in Phnom Penh.  We didn't find the Dairy Queen but we did have fresh young coconut juice straight out of the coconut.  As we were walking around, we encountered Wat Ounalom, Wat Phnom, Sisowath Quay, Wat Lanka, Independence Monument & we spent some time haggling for goodies like a tripod for $5 and delicious giant squid at the Central Market. 

Favorite foods:

fish amok served in a coconut

salty Fish over rice

street mangoes with salt and chilli powder

fresh young coconut juice 

rice porridge 

fresh barbecued giant squid 

giant prawn skewers

Sugar Cane Juice!!!

fresh cut pineapples for fifty cents.