Scary realization

While I let my mouth recover from the noodles with chicken, thai chilis and basil leaves that I had for lunch, I had a scary realization.......I have less than three weeks left on my travels. For so long I've thought, 'I've got all the time in the world,' but now it seems that is not so. Damn, what a downer!

More later......

Love, peace, and soul.

The Flying Gepeto?

So, after a few days of exploring the sites of Bangkok, John and I decided to get traditional Thai massages. So, we found a swanky place not too far from our swanky hotel. We showed up and were greeted with Thai tea and asked for an hour long Thai massage. We had a dual massage, which meant that we would be in the same room for our massages. What followed would be a rollicking hour full of laughs from all of us and groans from John.



Since I had already had a massage or two I knew what was involved with the stretching and twisting. It had been awhile for John and he was clearly struggling. Towards the end of the massage, the woman put him in a 'special position,' which John called the 'flying gepeto' as he felt like a rag doll of sorts being twisted and turned around. He was groaning so much that he made all of us in the room crack up laughing.



More later.......



Love, peace, and soul.

A Millionaire?

I knew it was going to be a great week when John and I met up in Bangkok's airport and before we reached passport control John was already cracking me up. After clearing passport control and customs John got some cash change out and must have thought he was a millionaire as he had more bills than he knew what to do with! A few hours later we were out and about on the streets of Bangkok with too much time and too much money!

Until later.......

Love, peace, and soul.

The Faces of Bayon

It's safe to say that I loved the faces of Bayon the most. So, I thought I would share some of the pictures that I took with all of you out there.

Enjoy!

Love, peace, and soul.

Cambodia: A Review

If you are planning on visiting Cambodia and you are American, it's extremely easy. You don't even need to change any currency. That's right, everyone takes U.S. Dollars, with change being given in a combination of U.S. Dollars and Cambodian Riel. Even the ATM machines pump out U.S. Dollars. It's the most surreal thing to be in a foreign country using your own currency. I guess the Cambodians feel it's safer to have their wealth in U.S. Dollars than in Cambodian Riel.

The Cambodian people are extremely nice and friendly. I felt that they were much less aggressive about making a buck as the Vietnamese and generally willing to help out a foreign tourist. Most speak the universal languages of English and U.S. Dollars, so getting around is not a problem.

It's possible to see the best and worst in the human species in Cambodia. From the beauty of Angkor Wat to the horrors of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime, they amaze and humble almost everyone who visits Cambodia.

Until later......

Love, peace, and soul.

Random Thoughts from Siem Reap

Do I look stressed? I must look stressed because all of the motobike guys and tuk-tuk drivers keep asking me "you want massage?" Surely I don't look that stressed, do I?

Can we talk about money belts and fanny packs for a second? First off, fanny packs must go. Don't ever wear one, they are seriously stupid looking on anyone. I've never seen anyone who looks good with one. And don't use a fanny pack as a money belt. Just don't ever use a fanny pack. That's right, you know who you are.......stop it now!

Okay, money belts......lots of people don't understand the purpose of these things. The purpose of the money belt is to hold your valuables that you don't want people to see. I see so many people wear their money belts outside of their clothing and I want to go shake them or better yet, steal it off them. When people were their money belts outside their clothes, they are basically saying: "Hey, I keep my money and credit cards RIGHT HERE!!"

Secondly, it's okay to carry cash in your pockets, that way you can pay for things easily. I was at a bar last night with a group of travellers who were on their 4th day of a year long journey. Sure enough, the bill comes and they all start digging in their pants for their money belts. Thus showing everyone exactly where they keep their valuables. A bit counter intuitive to the whole money belt concept, don't you think?

Surprisingly, I've adjusted to fan rooms in Southeast Asia. Yeah, I'll admit, at first I thought I needed the A/C, but after a while I've adjusted. Don't get me wrong, the A/C is nice to have and nice to come back to after a long, hot day exploring around, but it's not a necessity. And really, all it makes you do is sweat even more as your body has to adjust to an even greater temperature change with A/C than with a fan room. As long as the fan is blowing on you, it's not that bad.

Okay, those are my random thoughts for the day. More to come......

Love, peace, and soul.

Angkor, the pride of Cambodia

Everything I had read said that to truly appreciate the temples of Angkor you needed to give yourself a few days of exploring. With that in mind, I left Phnom Penh and took the 6 hour bus ride to Siem Reap for a couple of days of exploring. I arrived late in the day but had no trouble finding someone to help me find a room as there were literally 15 tuk-tuk drivers waiting to help me out. It was almost too much as they were two deep surrounding me. Luckily, I made it out and got my bag before one of them could grab it to take to their tuk-tuk. I was heading towards a place that was recommended, but one my way I heard the calls for rooms at $6/night and I couldn't pass that up.

It was too late for me to check out any of the temples on my arrival, so I went to Pub Street to have a look around and was really surprised by the nice restaurants and bars.....and even more surprised by the aggressives ladyboys roaming the streets! I grabbed a quick meal and then crashed as the bus ride wore me out.

The next day I was up at a decent hour and went out to explore the temples of Angkor. I got a three day pass and figured I would come out every single day. The first stop was Angkor Wat, which is not only a national treasure (it's featured on the Cambodian Flag), but a world treasure. The structure definitely lived up to its billing as the largest religious buidling in the world. You could spend a few days at Angkor Wat alone and still not see it all. The next stop was one of my favorites, Angkor Thom and Bayon Temple, which can be described as the temple of faces. My third and final stop was Ta Prohm and the temple that is being swallowed by the jungle. Some of you Tomb Raider fans may recognize Ta Prohm as it was featured in the film with Angelina Jolie.

After persusing through those three temples I was pretty much templed out for the day and, as it turned out, for the next day as well. My third and last full day in Siem Reap led me to explore some of the lessor known, but still impressive temples of Angkor.

More later.......

Love, peace, and soul.

Phnom Penh, An Unexpected Surprise

Truth be told, I didn't really know what to expect from Phnom Penh. All I really knew was that it was the capital city for Cambodia and that outside of Phnom Penh were the famous Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. When I arrived I was surprised to find that there was no foreign exchange bureau in the airport, but relieved when I found the ATM. Then I was even more confounded when it spit out U.S. Dollars? When I jumped in the cab to take me to my guesthouse, my cabbie informed me that everyone uses U.S. Dollars.

Upon finding my guesthouse I struck out to see a bit of Phnom Penh. I was pleasantly surprised by the French influence in the wide walkable streets. I was also surprised at the dirtiness of the main streets. It seemed to be a bit dirtier than Vietnam and the few places that I had been in Thailand. Still the area of Phnom Penh near the river was fantastic as there were lots of restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs. It was great fun to sit at a restaurant and watch the lightening show that seemed to happen every night as the rainy season drew to a close.

The Royal Palace was strikingly similar to the Grand Palace in Bangkok and the Cambodians even had their own Emerald Buddha. The architecture was very similar as well, but that's most likely because the Khmer Empire had influences in modern day Thailand and the Thai empire had influences in modern day Cambodia.

Of course, very few tourists miss out on the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and the Tuol Sleng (S-21) Museum. These two stops have probably the most humbling stops on my whole trip. To think of the mass genocide and tortures that happened at these two sites is truly humbling. Pretty much a whole generation was wiped out during the killings by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. And to put it into even greater perspective for me, it only happened 29 years ago, or one year before I was born. It just goes to show you that humans are capable of really, really bad things. And if that isn't an understatemet, I don't know what is.

More later........

Love, peace, and soul.

Guest blogger

For all of you loyal fans out there, you'll be getting a special treat......that's right, the lovely Carolyn Bonifas has decided to step in and be the official guest blogger for our adventures in Thailand. She'll be regaling you with tales of exploring Bangkok, diving off the coast of Koh Tao, sinking in our sea kayak, and many more fun times.

Waiting patiently.......

Love, peace, and soul.

Bangkok......and my inital shock

Having flown through Bangkok on my way to Vietnam I was totally prepared for the new airport. What I was not prepared for was the rest of Bangkok. Gone were the constant flow of motobikes, the alley cafes with children's sized chairs, and the conical hats so typical of Vietnam. Yes, it's safe to say that I was definitely missing Vietnam......and the fact that the west hasn't crept too far in.

Unfortunately for me, the west has really inundated Bangkok. I was saddened to see a McDonald's, Burger King, and a Starbucks when I walked down Koh San Road, the backpacker haven in Bangkok. I might as well have been in the States?! What's up with that?

Luckily, on my way back to the hotel I saw a guy selling fried grasshoppers and worms, so there's hope for Bangkok just yet. There will be more opportunities for Bangkok to impress me as Carolyn and I explore the streets for a few days and then my friend John comes and we get to explore even more. Hopefully, Bangkok will show me all she has to offer.

More later.......

Love, peace, and soul.

Looking for a good place to eat?

It's a normal reaction for most people. When you're lost and trying to find a place, you almost instinctively look up to try and find your way. But do that in Vietnam and you'll miss out on some of the truly amazing food and experiences that the country has to offer. You need to forgo your instincts and look down.! Look down the corner, look down the alley, and look down on the street! That's where the good food and good times can be had. All it takes is just a little curiosity and an adventurous spirit and most of the time, you'll be rewarded. So, next time you are in Vietnam, just remember to look down!

Love, peace, and soul.

The last stop on the Vietnamese Express

That's right, after recovering from my hangover in Nha Trang, I decided it's time to move on to the last stop in Vietnam......Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City. :(

After talking to travellers further up north, I was interested in checking out Saigon. And that's what the locals call it, so I'm going to call it.....Saigon. Most people had told me that Saigon was a big city and lacked character. I happen to think that they are wrong. Wide tree lined roads filled with motobikes mix with small alleys filled with outdoor bars and food stalls. You can have excitement and peace all along the same street! They also told me to watch out for the motobikes when crossing the street. It's safe to say that in a city of roughly 9 million people and 6 million motobikes, that crossing the street can be quite the adventure, but that's the allure of Saigon.

70 Kms outside of Saigon lies the famous Cu Chi tunnels. For most tourists its a definite must see as the Cu Chi Tunnels served an integral function during the war. The tour isn't short of somewhat humorous Vietnamese propaganda as they describe Cu Chi as a 'pleasant oasis from Saigon that the Americans wanted to destroy.' They just happen to skip over the part where the tunnels were used as a weapons depot for the VC before their attacks on Saigon, but never mind that trivial news. Anyway, at the end of the tour, you get the chance to go into the tunnels themselves. Of course, the part that tourists go into have been widened for accessibility, but they are still pretty small. Some of the original openings were no wider than my size 12s and I can't imagine how anyone outside of a small child could fit into those openings, let alone crawl through the tunnels. Truly amazing!

If you're into war history, then a stop off at the War Remnants Museum is in order. It's an awing, frightening, and horrific look at the terrors of the Vietnam War. When visiting the museum, just remember that there are two sides to every story.

More later.

Love, peace, and soul.