South East Asian Invasion, Part Three: Tantalizing Thailand

Gather 'round, kiddies, for I have still more daring tales from the sparkling orient with which to regale your little noggins.

Chava and I arrive at the Bangkok airport mid-morning and decide to take a taxi to the bus terminal where we will catch a bus to Khao Yai National Park, which is about 3.5 hours outside of Bangkok. We are pretty much the only Falangs (foreigners) anywhere at the terminal, and many a cab driver in the area immediately accosts us and inquires as to our destination, attempting to make us a "deal."

We do, what must be acknowledged on all accounts, as a bang-up job navigating the place, getting the correct tickets and finding the correct bus. It's once we leave the bus that we encounter the problem. There's a little discrepancy as to where we should disembark but we only have so much time for a decision, so we end up on the curb of a busy boulevard, near what appears to be a small bus station. The guidebook says we should flag a tuk-tuk to take us to the area near the park's entrance. There don't appear to be what you'd call a plethora of tuk-tuk's around and matters are complicated by the fact that every person who asks where we're going laughs when we say "Khao Yai." In short, things are not exactly looking amazing. We eventually make our way to a hotel, but not before multiple Thai people assist us and multiple phone calls (to our prospective hotels) are made. In the end, a tuk-tuk drives us part of the way up the road to a pick-up truck which then takes us the rest of the way to our hotel. After meeting the friendly manager, choosing a room and getting settled, we decide to explore our surroundings a bit.



We find some interesting things, such as this rooster in a tree (I'd never seen a rooster in a tree, have you?)



And these two dogs, doing things that dogs and all other animals do. It doesn't look as though they are exactly having fun, though who can blame them for their creativity? It is here that animals begin to emerge as a theme, and don't you worry, because we're just getting started.

We get a tasty dinner from the hotel down the road (we were told that it was booked solid, but this is not the case making this, perhaps our first instance this trip of being taken for a (n albeit small) ride? We then stop in at a bar near our hotel where a man had told us that there would be music.


Little did we know that by music he meant hookers singing karaoke. The way things seem to be working is that each lady takes the stage with a number pinned to her "outfit" and sings a song. Once she finishes, bar patrons can request her company at their table and/or who knows where else. Some of them prove to be decent singers and some of them are really, really not. The most interesting thing about our little foray into this very foreign situation (hey look, a pun!) is that the ladies are mostly preparing for their "performances" at tables in the bar. Thus we are privy to their constant make-up checking and interminable hair-straightening, which just make everything even more surreal. We attempt to make it an early night, because we have a jungle trek planned for the morning. The thing is, that my body has another idea.

Shortly after heading to bed, it becomes clear that I have become afflicted by what Uncle Chava kindly describes in an email to multiple family members as "the runs." Thanks for the discretion, Chav. This causes us to delay our jungle trek for the following day since I, apart from a short float in the pool and of course the obligatory trips to our lovely facilities, have been pretty much rendered bed-ridden. It's unfortunate to loose a full day of travel adventures, but this is the first time it's happened on any trip since moving to Korea, so I can't really complain.


The next morning we begin our exciting jungle trek bright and early, stopping by the visitors' center before we really get going. Our guide is knowledgeable and very friendly, the sort of person that you know is genuinely passionate about what they do. He gives us large, funny-looking socks to don for protection against leaches and tics.


We see this pretty impressive lizard not far from the center.


And we also see this hawk before actually entering into the jungle. Once we really start to trek, I am amazed by the height of the trees and the tremendous girth of some of the vines. Our guide has us gather around while he poke a stick into a hole in the ground, telling us that there is a big scorpion inside. Unfortunately it appears that said scorpion has had a few too many the night before and isn't interested in receiving guests.

We hike for about an hour and a half and are treated to a snack of Thai custard and sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf that our guide informs us was made by his mother that morning. It is downright tasty, even for a person whose stomach is not quite about its stance on food.


We continue on and encouter some gibbons:




The furry fellows pictured above. Our guide describes them as differing from monkeys only in that they never come out of the trees and have no tails. As you can see, they are also super cute.


Whenever we travel by truck, we encounter large groups of Macaques like the one seen here. Our guide warns us not to feed them because they like begging food from people and can get very aggressive.


Our adventure also includes spending some time at the waterfall above, which is nice and relaxing.


On one of our driving stretches, we see this young male elephant, which is a real treat. It's relatively rare for trekkers to see elephants, so we are pretty excited about this. Our omniscient guide explains that female elephants stick together for their whole lives, but that male elephants become loners after puberty.

The real highlight of our trek comes when we are on our way out of the park. We are driving down a dark road when we encounter a group of eight elephants, some of whom are babies, on their way to a salt lick. It is magical to be so close to such awesome animals, and even our driver and guide go nuts trying to get the best photos possible. I took several photos, but sadly none of them came out because it was so dark. Luckily, I'm not too worried about remembering the details.

We arrive back at the hotel famished, exhilarated and exhausted. After a nice meal with some of our fellow-trekkers, we get some serious sleep.

The next morning we get going early. We are heading back to Bangkok because it is Uncle Chava's last day. To be honest, I've been feeling a little templed-out (if you've ever toured Europe and seen lots of beautiful cathedrals, then you pretty much know what I mean by that) and not looking forward to more temples...



but boy does my attitude change when I see the amazing structures that Bangkok has to offer. The colors and detail are simply beautiful. It is readily apparent that we have saved the best for last, temple-wise.


There are intricate carvings and little statues, like the dude above, all over the place.


We also get to check out the Presidential Palace with it's funky gardening and interesting architecture, which seems distinctly non-Thai until you get to the roof.

We spend a lot of time at the temple of the reclining Buddha, which, apart from the reclining Buddha itself, has lots of interesting structures and sub-temples.

Some of the little statues seem like they could use some restoration, but their drab gray, decrepit appearances lend them a sense of the macabre exactly to my taste.


This fellow looks strangely more like a 19th-century, Dickensian villain to me than a Thai aristocrat, but who am I to judge?


Above is one of the temples from the reclining Buddha compound, decorated with beautiful mosaic.

Once the sun goes down, we have dinner at a nearby market and then decide to explore China Town. Uncle Chava offers a tuk-tuk driver an exorbitant amount to drive us there, and the driver laughs with glee.


China Town has all the hustle and bustle one would expect, along with great people-watching. After strolling around for a couple of hours, we head back to my hotel room and get Chava ready for his flight back to L.A. via Seoul. I send him off and get some rest to prepare for my final day in Asia after almost two years.


For my last day in Thailand I decide to start with a boat ride on the river and through an old canal.


I get to see some pretty neat stilted houses


and the inhabitants thereof.

I then decide to go see Wat Arun, a temple on the west bank of the river. I am approached by a very friendly man who tells me that the temple is closed until after the lunch hour and that his friend, a tuk-tuk driver can take me to another temple. Not long into the ride, I realize that I am being taken for a ride in the figurative sense, and that the tuk-tuk driver is being paid by store owners to take me to their shops, instead of to the temple. I bid the driver adieu without wasting too much of my time, but I do decide to do a little shopping since I'm in a shopping district and I end up ordering some tailor-made shirts and a jacket.


Eventually I do finally make it to Wat Arun, which requires a short ferry ride. From afar it appears to have been carved from granate...


but it is actually covered in porcelin mosaic.


Climbing the temple affords a great view of the city


and involves some seriously steep steps. Once I've seen all there is to see there, I head back across the river to pick up a few last gifts for my friends, relatives and other significant folk, and to eat my last green curry before catching a few Z's and then heading to the airport for my super-early filght to Detroit.

It was, in short, a magnificant trip and a wonderful end to my Asian adventure. It felt sad and a little strange to be leaving, but at the same time I was looking forward to seeing family and having a little down-time before preparing for the next phase of what I'm proud and lucky to say has been a pretty dynamic existance thus far.

South East Asian Invasion, Part Two: Laid-Back Lao(s)

Here we are, folks: installment number dos. Onward and upward, my friends, onward and upward!

Our flight to Luang Prabang is very pleasant, especially the view we have of the town itself, nestled between the rivers and mountains, as the plane comes in to land. We arrive in the afternoon, take a truck to the Koun Sahan Guest House where we find a nice, cheap room (we're talking somewhere in the neighborhood of $12 a night, people) and feed ourselves some tasty curry and noodles.


The locals are setting up for the famous night market, starting as early as about 4pm, so we take a look at some of their stalls and then walk around and take stock of our surroundings. There are some interesting-looking temples around and we decide that we'll catch an evening performance of traditional Lao dance and song. The performance is good, though my undiscerning eye and lack of knowledge have me unable to see too much in it that is very different from what we saw in Cambodia. Afterwards we walk back through the night market, which is alive now and packed with such beautiful wares! I commission a wall-hanging as a gift for Mom and Dad (the challenge will be finding the same people tomorrow so that I can pick it up) and then we retire to the guest house.



The next morning we decide to take the Lonely Planet-recommended walking tour which would allow us to get the lay of the land, see both rivers and a slew of temples.


We take it slow, taking our time to admire things like the plant above, which Dr. Seuss would undoubtedly call a "shmantalove." We also take LOTS of photos.


We explore the beautiful royal palace and outside are witness to the folks above who are clearly having some sort of photo shoot. Are they the newest, hottest Lao pop stars? Are they shooting a catalog ad for "Reds R Us?" Who knows?


We make our way around the town center, weaving about and sometimes crossing back over the main streets where the night marketers again set up shop.


On our way through the vegetable market we encounter this cuddly coven of kitties. Mew.


We make our way around to the Mekong River just as the sun is starting to get heavy and Uncle Chava gets this awesome silhouette-style shot.

As dusk starts to settle, we find ourselves wandering around more of the many temples and suddenly gongs are ringing, summoning the monks to evening prayer.


The monks gather quickly and begin to bow and chant.


The chanting makes for a wonderful sound-track to the beautiful mosaics and peaceful courtyards. As we leave one temple and approach the next, we begin to hear more chanting with different rhythms and tones. The chanting of the monks from each temple slowly blends with the next and then eventually the chanting of the first monks fades away. This goes on as we walk for blocks and blocks and is simply magical.

Eventually we make it back into the central part of town where we have a nice, authentic meal and then book an elephant tour for the following day.

The next morning we are picked up at our guest house by the folks from the elephant camp where we booked our tour. We take a dusty, bumpy 45 minute ride through the countryside in the back of a pickup truck (it has built-in benches). An elephant camp is a place where sick elephants, and elephants who have been captured by poachers (but subsequently rescued) work and are cared for. When we arrive, we are introduced to our guide and a sick, but friendly old female elephant called Ma-Oh. We learn that only female elephants live at the camp since this is the way elephants prefer things. Generally the babies live with their mother and then when they grow up the lady elephants stick together and the elephant dudes take off and go it alone.


We get to watch the elephants return from their first ride out...


before taking a ride of our own on the back of Mae-Houn, who is friendly, but much more interested in eating vegetation than staying on the trail. After riding around on Mae-Houn and feeding her a few bunches of bananas (which she ate whole with the peals still on), we take a small boat a short way down the Nam Khan river to visit the Tad Sae waterfall...


Which is beautiful with its many cascades. We do some swimming and exploring and soon it is time to get back on the truck and head to town.

We decide to finish our walking tour where we left off the previous evening. We buy some books for Lao kids at a shop called Big Brother Mouse and then we walk along the Nam Khan river...


Where we come upon these folks in the midst of building a bridge. We run into a bunch of roosters living in woven cages and some kids playing soccer at a local, very modest temple. We distribute our books to some grateful youngsters, stop at a foreign bookstore where I sell a book that I've finished, and then head up to Wat Phu Si, the temple at the top of a large hill in between Luang Prabang's two main streets.


This proves a wonderful location for watching the sunset.


And also a very popular one. We get some photos and then head into town to buy plane tickets to Bangkok for the following day (we had flirted with the idea of taking a slow boat, but in the end determined that such a route would end up cutting too much into the time we'd allotted for loitering in Thailand).

I take one last look around the calm, colorful night market (my only regret from the whole trip is not having bought more of the beautiful, well-crafted items available there), have one more tasty Lao sandwich, and call it an early night since our flight leaves at 6:00am.

Goodbye to lovely, languorous Luang Prabang.

South East Asian Invasion, Part One: Crazy Cambodia

Oh, gentle readers, it has been WAY too long! I am woefully behind in recounting my adventures, mostly because life since returning to the States as has been excessively full and busy (as predicted). To give you an idea of how things are going, I started this post on January 29th and have only now managed to finish it.

Here, at long, long last, begins the tale of my trip with Uncle Chava to Cambodia, Lao(s) and Thailand. I have decided to tell it in three parts, one for each country, as this approach is sure to make things easier on the brain-palate, as it were. Because of an unfortunate incident involving me, a memory card and loss, all of the pictures of Cambodia have been kindly donated by Uncle Chava. Thanks, Uncle C!

And here we are: Book, the first:

I arrive in Cambodia in the evening. I get a room at Chava's and my afore agreed-upon hotel and grab some tasty curry at a nearby restaurant. I get a bit of a sense of the city, but it's not that easy since it's already dark. Chava arrives around midnight. We get settled, trade flight-stories and catch some Z's.


In the morning we get up and look out over our balcony too see streets like this. Clearly, my friends have not been lying about the chaotic nature of Phnom Penh. Crossing the street in this bustling capital is always an adventure. Everything feels immediately vivid and intense. We set out to run some errands and explore the city on foot. We get some tasty brunch, check out a random photo exhibit, get visas for Lao(s) and check out the National Museum, which has some pretty neat artifacts. We then explore the royal palace with it's many stupas.

Uncle Chava runs into a couple of Monks who want to practice their English and we have a nice conversation with them. They ask if I am Uncle Chava's wife, which has us both trying to politely veil our shock and laughter. When Uncle C mentions that I'm a singer, one of the monks asks me to sing. I sing the first song that I can think of, which happens to be one from the last play I was in at English Village. How silly!

Before leaving the palace, I get the chance to try playing a wooden Cambodian xylophone-like instrument (the patala?) with some teenagers who are playing traditional instruments (theirs are a little more bell-like). We then grab an early dinner and then take a walk around the city.

What strikes me most about this city are the many beggars and hawkers on the streets. Every tuk-tuk driver we pass asks if we want a ride and when we decline asks if we want them to take us around the next day. We can't sit at a restaurant without being offered books and other wares.


The next day we take a tuk-tuk out to the Killing Fields, where the Khmer Rouge took people by the truckload where they were tortured and killed during the KR's reign of terror. The pagoda above...



Is actually filled with the skulls of victims that were found in mass graves there. A very gruesome and sobering reminder of the horrible things of which people are capable.


On this tree, there hung a speaker that played loud music and sounds, so that the farmers nearby could not hear the screams of the people being tortured.

After our visit to the Killing Fields, we return to the city to run some more errands and plan our boat trip to Siem Reap the next morning.


Our boat leaves at 7am and we are able to ride on top of the boat and take in the surrounding scenery, including the houses on stilts pictured above.


Here are some of our travel companions taking in the scenes and the sun.



The trip takes under 5 hours, and just before arriving in Siem Reap, we pass by through the floating village above.

When we arrive at our hotel, the beautiful Thonbury (recommended, along with our guides, by Uncle C's friend Shane). we are soon greeted by our guides, Thy (pronounced like the stuff the British drink every afternoon) and Jam (like something you might spread on the toast you might eat to accompany the beverage described in my previous parenthetical reference). They suggest that we take a breather, eat some lunch and then meet them at 4:30 when they will take us to watch the sun set from a popular temple spot. And that is what we do. The temple and sunset are beautiful, but we are certainly not alone in our desire to enjoy them. It is CROW-DED!

After sunset, Thy and Jam take us to a (somewhat touristy) Cambodian buffet where traditional music and dance are performed. We enjoy the food and entertainment and head to bed early because our day of temple exploration starts at 7:00am!


Our first destination is Ta Prohm, one of the more famous temples in Siem Reap. Its name translates to "Jungle Temple," and one can see why. On our way in, we meet the best salespeople I have ever encountered in my life. Seriously, if you want to learn to sell something, take a lesson from a Cambodian child. They latch onto you as soon as you arrive and they don't leave until you enter the temple gates. And each time you decline to purchase, the price of the merchandise drops. I think we made it from one bracelet for one dollar down to five bracelets for one dollar in about a minute's time.

We meet a lady, who is selling incense and offerings to place at the temple with her impish son in tow. Uncle Chava buys some of her wares in exchange for the photo above.

We then wander up to a series of breath-taking ruins like this one. Trees have grown over and/or through many of the structures in their quest for sunlight and survival. Wow!


Here is Uncle Chava, taking a breather in one of the ornately chiseled doorways.




We just keep wandering around, encountring structures like the one above and proving exceptionally inarticulate. All we keep saying is "Wow!" and "That's amazing!" and "Look at THIS!"



And just for a sense of scale, here I am among some of those mighty roots.

We spend about two hours at Ta Prohm, and probably could have spent more if we hadn't known that we still had so much to see and had guides waiting for us.

On our way out we see this little lady balancing on some of the thick jungle vines.


We move on to explore more temples in the Angkor compound. I don't think I ever learn the name of the second one of the day, but I enjoy exploring it a lot. It is a very different style from Ta Prohm, architecturally speaking, and I have lots of fun traipsing around its half-ruined corridors and imagining how everything looked when it was new and what people's lives were like then.

Our next stop is the "twin temples," one of which is pictured above. They are small, but also quite impressive and we are lucky enough to have both great lighting for photos and plenty of space to explore (the latter, thanks to Thy and Jam's knowledge of package tour traffic patterns).


On the way out of several of the temples we visit are groups of musicians like the one pictured above. They are victims of land mines with various injuries and ailments who play traditional Cambodian instruments and survive on donations from temple visitors. The music is very interesting and very different from what I am used to. I feel a stange sense of whimsy in it.

Next we visit Prasat Bayon, a temple made of many turrets, each with four faces at its top. This is, for me, the most impressive and enjoyable temple of all. It is like a giant maze and I am completely amazed by the almost completely undisturbed detail work that I find in some of its darker corners. Unfortunately, Uncle Chava and I lose each other at this point and go through a series of farcical situations before finally being reunited. I take a quick look at two more nearby temples that Uncle Chava has already explored, and get to see the Elephant Terrace, a wall with hundreds of elephants carved into it. We then stop for a much-needed lunch break to refuel before taking on one of the eighth wonder of the world: Angok Wat itself.

Before we get to Angkor Wat, I make a quick bathroom stop, and it is at this point that I unintentional end up buying every bracelet in the whole of Cambodia. On my way to the bathroom, a young girl asks me if I want to buy a bracelet and when I decline her offer, asks where I am going. I tell her it's the loo that I seek and she leads me there. During the process she asks my name and I make the mistake of telling her. She and her friend tell me that I should buy bracelets from them on the way back because they helped me find the bathroom, and I figure, "why not?" If I only I had known what was in store for me. When I exit the bathroom the girls descend on me like vultures , their voices a chorus of, "Please, Alena! Alena, you buy now!" As soon as I buy a bracelet each from the girls, I am surrounded by about 5 more of their friends. One girl tells me: "You buy from her, not from me. You buy from big girl, not little girl. You make big girl very hap-py. You make little girl very upset" The minute I buy from this girl I am done for. Now I have to buy bracelets from everyone because they will not leave me alone until I do. I feel like the pied piper, only I'm the one being piped away by my minions. Each girl shows me why her bracelets are different from the ones I already have and about 7 dollars later I have enough accessories to make even Barbie jealous.

And now, it is time for Angkor Wat. And here is the really sad part. Uncle Chava's camera battery died right after we arrived. At the time, this was no problem since I had my camera, but because of the aforementioned incident with my memory card (which we try to think about as rarely as possible), we are left with no positive proof (digital, anyway) that Uncle Chava and I were even at Angkor Wat. Perhaps it's just as well. No picture could really make anyone understand the incredible scale of this amazing compound, and words can't really do it justice either. It is huge and amazing and I still cannot believe that something so impressive could have been built so long ago. It's fun to imagine how Henri Mahout and his fellow adventurers must have felt when they found it in the middle of the Jungle. We explore Angkor Wat until it closes, shortly after sunset, and then head home to clean up, have dinner, check out the night market, and SLEEP. We are completely exhausted.



The next morning we get started a little later. We hop on the back of Thy and Jam's motorbikes (this has been our mode of transport since we got off the boat) to see a couple of temples outside of the Angkor complex. The first one is Bakon, pictured above. I look around to my heart's content, while Chava gets an impromptu tour from a security guard who's looking for a little extra cash.

On our way out we give a donation to an organization that aids orphans in exchange for the photo above.

We then head back to our hotel to chill and get some lunch. We run a few errands...


Including taking pictures with this creepy-looking Mickey Mouse which stands outside of a gas station for no reason that I can discern.

Thy and Jam then come to take us to Jam's school. It's called The Children's Training Center and is a place where poor Cambodian children come to learn foreign languages from volunteer teachers. Obviously learning foreign languages puts kids at a great advantage because of the growing tourism industry in Cambodia.

First, we stop to see a small ruin that is right near the school. While we are looking around, two young men approach us and explain that they live with the monks (from the active Buddhist temple next door) and that they are studying. They are clearly looking to earn a few bucks by tellings us about the ruins and the temple, and we are fine with that. As it turns out, there is a festival going on because of the full moon.

Thus we are able to watch the procession pictured above, which is pretty neat.

After thanking and paying our tour guides, we head over to the Children's Training Center. The plan, as I understand it, is that we will meet the students and I will introduce myself and teach the kids a song and answer any questions they may have.



First, we mingle outside a bit with the some of the students and their teacher. When it's time for class to start, I go to the front of the room and tell the kids about myself. I then teach them the song, Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes. I turn to Jam and say, "okay." And he says, "That's all? Class lasts for an hour." So suddenly it is aparent to me that I am meant to teach the ENTIRE class. I am immediately flustered, but thanks to my previous experience in the classroom I am able to pull some things together. First I ask each child a question about him or herself. This is harder than it seems because I don't know what assumptions I can make about these kinds of kids. Do kids this poor have hobbies or spare time? Obviously I can't ask about where they have been on vacation or where they like to shop.



We play several rounds of Bingo (if your team gets the answer to my question right, you get to choose a square) and a word search game (like Boggle). I run around the classroom, acting things out and being as silly as possible in order to keep the students' attention. At the end of class, I am exhausted and relieved, but then Jam tells me that there is another class starting in 5 minutes, and so I figure "What the heck," and I do it all again.



The second class is easier, because the kids are younger and therefore less skeptical of me and my silly songs. They love the Bingo and I think it's safe to say that they have a pretty good time.


Here I am after all the insanity with a volunteer teacher, the director of the center, and Jam. All in all, it was an incredibly stressful, exhausting, and rewarding experience.



Since this is our last night in Cambodia we invite Jam and Thy out to dinner with us for a traditional Cambodian meal. Getting some delicious amok curry and tasty, cold beer in me definitely lifts my spirits. We chat with Thy and Jam about their hopes and dreams--they want to sell their own package tours--and we promise to recommend them to our traveler friends. They are seriously great guides, incredibly accommodating, knowledgible and friendly.

When we arrive at our hotel, seriously ready for some sleep, we get word that Suy Han, the owner (and another friend of Uncle C's friend Shane), is there and wants to meet us. Suy Han invites us to come "see" his new restaurant. Jam and Thy will of course come with us. I have my sights set on a documentary that's playing in the night market, but I decide that it's fine for us to go, just for a little while. Of course, we should have known what we were getting ourselves into.

When we arrive at the restaurant, it's jumping and Suy Han immediately orders a round of beers and snacks. Soon we are informed that we are not allowed to leave until we are drunk. And boy do we ever deliver.

Suy Han(pictured above) keeps the beers flowing, to the point where I honestly cannot believe that I am going to be expected to drink more when yet another round arrives. We learn to drink Cambodian style: When one person drinks, everyone drinks, and we all toast every time (this protocol is lots of fun, though it can get tiring and certainly excelorates inebriation). I chat American action movies with Suy Han and he tells me about how he doesn't believe in superstition or fate, only in himself. Chava and I get into some heated political discussions, and by the end of the night, everyone is wasted. Thy and Jam suggest that I maybe accompany them to another bar when we are on our way to the hotel, but I tell them I am plenty drunk, thanks! Good thing our flight to Luang Prabang isn't until 1pm.

In the morning, Thy and Jam take us and our twin hangovers to the airport where we bid them a poignant goodbye, promising to stay in touch and to send many travelers their way. And thus end our adventures in Cambodia.

Stay tuned for Lao(s) Redux and tales of Thailand, coming soon!