Whirlwind Cambodia--AKA the Nutshell

Last time we checked in we were finishing some great, hot days in the southern end of Laos. We've come a long ways since then, and without really thinking about time--only about how to stay cool--we are now ending our stay in Cambodia. Here's a recap of the past few weeks. With as many photos as I could tolerate uploading on these incredibly slow machines.

Like always, border crossings can be interesting experiences, and heading into Cambodia from Laos was no exception. Delays, sizzling hot bus journeys, and a slew of people trying to get our dollars. All in a days work. Our first stop, the trash laden town of Kratie, was primarily for one reason and one reason only. To see the mysterious and near-endangered Irawaddy Dolphin of the Mekong River. After two boiling days and several attempted scams by our guesthouse, we did manage to see the strange mammals--from a distance. In fact, I don't even have a picture worth showing. Hindsight reveals that we could have done without this stop, which was something like a waste of money and and another long, expensive bus journey. (Seems to be the norm in this country.) Live and learn.

Our next destination was the grand prize of any trip to Cambodia, and what I do believe is the last large monumental site (i.e. Macchu Picchu, Taj Mahal) we will see on this trip. The city is Siem Reap and the place is the amazing Angkor Wat. Did I sat amazing? Yeah, I meant really amazing. Some of the structures here date back as far as 800BC, and they were built with incredible precision and have truly withstood the tests of time. Unreal to see, and near impossible to imagine how these cities, temples and complexes were constructed so long ago.

Beacause Siem Reap and the surrounding area was indeed just a few degrees cooler than hell itself, we started our tour days in the back of a tuk-tuk at about 5:30 am. By 9:00 we had each departed with about gallon of sweat, and by Noon we would try and be back in the city and in a cool place before complete meltdown. The bonus of getting up so early, besides beating the sun for a few hours, is that sunrise is a really wonderful time to be at the sites. Also, being up so early ensured we would beat at least some of the tourist buses that transport--what in numbers could have been-- small armies or Thai, Chinese and Japanese tourists.

With the heat, two days of sight seeing was enough. Siem Reap was a nice enough town (with excellent burritos Shanon would like to add), but Angkor is the attraction and there's not much else to see or do, so we hopped another bus and headed onward to the tumultuous capital of Phnom Penh.

The history of this country, and this city are start reminders of the dark past the country has experienced over the last 50 years. Although modern in places, the city itself is still regarded as a frontier town choke full of drugs, guns and prostituion (or so they say). It is also home to the notorious 'Killing Fields' and the S-21 prison camp (former high school) where Cambodia experienced genocide in the late 1970's. A humbling experience to witness the wicked ways of men. Rich and poor, old and new--that would be a good summary of the city itself.

And with that, we're off to Vietnam. Starting in the south and working our way north, this is the last country we had scheduled in our original itinerary so be sure and stay tuned. We're also busy scheming several different ways to end the trip itself....possibly wrapping it all up with something a little closer to home. When we know, you'll know.

Camera Update: Our camera does in fact have a virus and we are trying to fix it, but with minimal success so far. Hence fewer pictures than usual. So sorry, I know you'd rather look at photo than read my ramblings.

Go To Laos!

Wow, Laos... That is all we can say. We are loving this country and its very happy, friendly, peaceful people. This country moves slow, it's calm and beautiful and full of fun outdoor stuff!

We spent a few days in the city capital and even that place is calm. You feel like you are in a small village but it is the capital, large and full of people (well relatively large and full, this country only has about 6 million people in it and most live in rural, poor places). Man, it is so hot! We splurged (a whopping $10) and got a room with airconditioning and a tv since it is too hot to move. We did manage to make it out to Xieng Khuan, a park full of Buddha stone carvings and sculptures, which was really cool (in a hot sort of way) and we watched a local soccer game afterward with a popcicle in hand (a new addiction of mine, sooo cold and delicious).

After we left the city, we started making our way south on the public bus (oh, fun) with a 2 day stop over in a small town called Na Hin. We were dropped off the bus at the road junction and could only get to Na Hin by waiting for an hour and then cramming in a sawngthaew (large tuk tuk with two rows of seats) with the local village. Yes, I think the whole village was in the truck and Jared counted 25 of us at one time on the ride. With nothing much except for a gigantic cave with an underground river through it (yes this country is full of caves) we didn't stay in the town for too long, except to go to the local New Years party which our hotel host invited us to. New years isn't officially until the 13th, but I think the Laos people start celebrating 2 weeks in advance. It was really interesting, to say the least, and I was offered a many weird and frightening foods, most of which I got down just ok. We rented a motorbike and wound our way through the stunning scenerey and remote, almost archaic villages to the caves entrance. Once at the cave we had to take a motorized fishing boat through which took about 1 hour to make it to the other side of the mountain, about a 7 km one-way journey. Very cool.

We left that mountain town and hopped on another random local bus to make it to Savannaket for one night (nothing to tell except for the wonderful soup dinner on the sidewalk by the mekong with the Laos) and then another really hot bus day to Pakse which is a crossroads town in the south where we have been based for the last few days. There are definately some crazy street foods going on here like dried crickets on sticks, marinated spiders and baby duck eggs. Gross! We rented another motorbike and went onto the Bolaven Plateau for a night which was a little cooler and full of beautiful waterfalls. I had a little misshap with the rocks and ended up with a slight sprained ankle (which seems to be my injury of choice) but don't worry, it's getting better as the days go on. Today we saw an old, old temple called Wat Phu, which was built back between the 7-12th centuries. The ruins were amazing, I think just a little taste for what lays ahead in Agkor, Cambodia.

We spent the last 3 days in Laos on an island in the Mekong river called Don Khon. It was probably the most laid back place I have ever been. There was no phones or internet and we only got power for a few hours in the evening which made the nights very hot! It was a great mix of few tourists, a few good resteraunts and wonderful daily Laos. The main activity for the days were reading in the hammocks or riding cruiser bikes around the island. Not much else. We met so many great locals and it was right in the middle of Laos New Year so there were many water soakings, dancing moments and good cheer. New year is also called the 'water festival' which I think is a better name. No one is safe, and the streets turn to mud after all of the water fights. So fun, this country is the best!

Caves n' Rivers

We had mixed feelings about visiting the backpacker haven of Vang Vieng. Our guide book warned us of sub-standard eateries who loop old re-runs of the TV show 'Friends' (a sad, sad truth as we found out) and wild parties that thumped loud music until dawn. On the other hand, the scenery was described as amazing and the activities endless. How could we resist.

Although the town itself was a bit of a stretch in its efforts to entertain the young backpacker crowd, we did manage to find one excellent organic food restaurant, and the surrounding landscape was impressive.

The limestone formations that shoot into the sky are filled with massive caves--some of which go into the mountains for miles. There are really too many to see, but we rented a motor-bike and had some cavern fun. All over this country are caves that government and military leaders lived in while in exile during the Second IndoChina War (aka Vietnam War). There's a lot of really interesting history in this country that we had no idea existed--I'll save the lessons of yesteryear for another time. The point is that there are lots of caves and we went to some of them.

Beside walking through several huge grottos, we also took a strange tube ride into a cavern that is still being shaped by an underground river. There were fixed ropes through the first 300 feet, making it possible to pull yourself into pitch dark. Luckily the same guy who rents the tubes also rents a massive battery pack that powers a headlamp...live wires and battery acid while floating in a river in a dark cave--nice, but a bit creepy.


In the interest of floating in daylight, we also rented a tube for an afternoon and floated down the Nam Song. It's a pretty raucous ride in some areas as the locals have learned that it's a profitable business to sell booze to the mobs young 'falangs'. Again, the scenery along the ride was amazing, but the party was a bit over the top for the likes of us. Unlike many others that day, I'm the sober guy who's upside down in the shot below, trying to pull off a back-flip from one of the many (large) rope swings that lined the shore. Good, clean fun.Our stay in Vang Vieng was better than we anticipated, and we decided we liked the river so much that we booked a drive/kayak trip to get to the capital city of Vientiane. It was a small group, and the river pretty mellow, but there was one small set of rapids that got the better of us--of course no photos to prove it since we were upside down in the water. In the end we conquered the white-water and made it to the country's very laid-back capital.









Since the history of Vientiane is relatively new there's not a lot to do/see here, but it doesn't feel like other capital cities. The mellow vibe here is packed with good restaurants, swanky hotels and plenty of foreign financing. Locals and foreigners who know the country will tell you this place is growing up fast, so we're luck to see it now. Those looking into foreign investment might want to take a look--but you didn't hear that from me. Onward!