I chose Taipei as my last stay by chance. It was a way lay between the States and Asia as the airline I chose, EVA, hubbed out of Taipei. I decided to explore the City for 3 days before heading home with no expectations and zero study, just winging it. What a delightful surprise it was. I had never heard much about Taipei, and what I did hear was not good. I pictured crowded, polluted, industrial blight. I expected Western culture and not much Asia. At least not the Asia I just left behind. Taipei was some of that and none of that.
First, the airlines. I carefully researched my flight to Asia, the airlines that fly in that direction, down to the very seat I wanted to sit in using Seat Guru.* EVA's prices were substantially less than the competition to the main hubs that service Southeast Asia, namely Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and a few others. Better yet, EVA offers the new class of service many airlines are introducing for long haul flights called Premium Economy which offers more leg room, seat room and amenities than an economy seat at thousands of dollars less than a Business Class seat.
Not all airlines have caught on to Premmie. But EVA is on the cutting edge and so are their prices. The long haul part of the flight from L.A to Taipei was 14 hours. Doing this in coach was not happening for me. EVA offered a Premium Economy seat for only 400 dollars more than a coach seat. Well, well worth it. This was the best airlines I have flown for the money. Easy. If I do Asia again it will be EVA. Every time. I paid 1100 US to get to Taipei in Premium. By contrast, Cathay Pacific, based out of Hong Kong will give you a regular coach seat for 1500 US. Maybe more. Cathay is a very good airline too. But Coach? Forget it.
Other airlines may get you there for a comparable price, but the connections are not as good.
So Taipei it was. The airport in Taipei lets you know right away you are back in the first world. First class, very modern, very western airport with shopping galore. The airport was a distance from the city. My choices were a cab at 40 dollars US (ouch), or an express bus with a connection at about 9 dollars. The bus won. Long bus ride in but being low on funds this was it. The bus let me off under the bright neon lights of a thoroughly modern, totally Chinese downtown district. No English to be found here unlike my prior destinations which catered to Westerners and laid everything out somewhere in English. Taiwan doesn't appear to give a shit about English. So much the better.
TBC
* I highly recommend studying seat guru before your next big flight. It's spot on and shows you exactly what seats are good and which are bad on any given plane in the world.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Phnom Phen 2
Day 2 in Phnom Phen was abbreviated as a result of night 1 in Phnom Phen. At the advice of a friend who had been, I found my way to the FCC for a bite of dinner and a beer at the end of a day of exploring. The FCC, or the the Foreign Correspondent's Club, was in fact the locale newsmen covering the war in Cambodia hung out in their down time. It's also on the Quay with a river view.
The FCC in its present form is an open air French Colonial style restaurant and bar now. The walls are covered with vintage photos of the conflict in Cambodia that add an eerie mystique to the place. This night there was some kind of happening. The bar slowly filled up with lots of western faces and I ended up meeting a number of ex pats from different countries who apparently regularly meet up at the FCC for food and drink. People are so friendly to solo traveler's in this part of the world. I met so many gracious people who invited me to join their group or just other solo traveler's who I shared a meal with. There's an almost unspoken code that solo's just stick together. Great way to make new friends and I made plenty as I did this night.
Phnom Phen draws quite the oddball mix of ex pats. There were Aussies, Brits, Americans all of whom seemed to share a reckless sense of adventure that drew them to this particular rugged frontier town. There is little if any law enforcement in PP. So it really is a bit of the wild west. I never got too close to any of them because frankly the less I knew the better. But it was nice to have some company for a night. A late night tuk tuk ride back to the Intercon made for a later start the next day.
The actual sights are few in PP. The experience is more a sensory one. It's mostly not pleasant. The city is not crowded but it is bustling. It's a desperately poor city. Buses are flatbed trucks stuffed with people shoulder to shoulder standing up straight. Garbage is everywhere. But astonishingly there is little of the begging that beset Siem Reap. People plod on trying to make this wreck of a city work somehow.
Tuol Sleng, or s-21 was the camp the KR used to brutally torture it's prisoners before sending them on to their fate at the Killing Fields. The site is a converted high school turned into a prison. There are a few museum exhibits and an attempt at telling the story of the place through an audio video presentation that doesn't translate well. It's a brutal place. Unlike the concentration camps of Germany, Austria and Poland this place has not been sanitized. It's the real thing. The death is present and it's near. This was in our lifetimes. We watched this unfold....and our governments did nothing. And still, to the day, they do nothing for this place. It's a cursed country.
The one site with visual appeal is the country's Royal Palace and main Pagoda, the Silver Pagoda. It's a grandiose complex reminiscent of many of the Wat's and palace's I had seen already in Laos. So it was nothing new. It's the country's other jewel after Angkor Wat. After a quick walk through I wandered out to the river for my last sunset over the Mekong. Marketers pedeling all sorts of edible creepy crawlers that only the locals and very brave dared eat. Fried roaches, snakes, rats and the like all ripe for the picking. I settled for a burger back at the hotel where I packed for the last part of my journey in Taiwan.
Southeast Asia is magical. Once you get used to the shock of it, you can easily slip in and see why people can become an ex pat here. Here, things are simple. People live to survive. It's not complex. Nothing costs money by our standards and the people are as kind as you will ever find. Americans always ask the same question. So was it dangerous? You have to be careful what you eat and drink and use a bit of common sense. If so, it's safer than most places you will find in the U.S. I never felt at risk here. Only welcomed. Traveling in places like this help to put things in perspective. The rat race will always be here. But we have so much and they have so little. We complain about how hard it is here now. We don't know hard.
The FCC in its present form is an open air French Colonial style restaurant and bar now. The walls are covered with vintage photos of the conflict in Cambodia that add an eerie mystique to the place. This night there was some kind of happening. The bar slowly filled up with lots of western faces and I ended up meeting a number of ex pats from different countries who apparently regularly meet up at the FCC for food and drink. People are so friendly to solo traveler's in this part of the world. I met so many gracious people who invited me to join their group or just other solo traveler's who I shared a meal with. There's an almost unspoken code that solo's just stick together. Great way to make new friends and I made plenty as I did this night.
Phnom Phen draws quite the oddball mix of ex pats. There were Aussies, Brits, Americans all of whom seemed to share a reckless sense of adventure that drew them to this particular rugged frontier town. There is little if any law enforcement in PP. So it really is a bit of the wild west. I never got too close to any of them because frankly the less I knew the better. But it was nice to have some company for a night. A late night tuk tuk ride back to the Intercon made for a later start the next day.
The actual sights are few in PP. The experience is more a sensory one. It's mostly not pleasant. The city is not crowded but it is bustling. It's a desperately poor city. Buses are flatbed trucks stuffed with people shoulder to shoulder standing up straight. Garbage is everywhere. But astonishingly there is little of the begging that beset Siem Reap. People plod on trying to make this wreck of a city work somehow.
Tuol Sleng, or s-21 was the camp the KR used to brutally torture it's prisoners before sending them on to their fate at the Killing Fields. The site is a converted high school turned into a prison. There are a few museum exhibits and an attempt at telling the story of the place through an audio video presentation that doesn't translate well. It's a brutal place. Unlike the concentration camps of Germany, Austria and Poland this place has not been sanitized. It's the real thing. The death is present and it's near. This was in our lifetimes. We watched this unfold....and our governments did nothing. And still, to the day, they do nothing for this place. It's a cursed country.
The one site with visual appeal is the country's Royal Palace and main Pagoda, the Silver Pagoda. It's a grandiose complex reminiscent of many of the Wat's and palace's I had seen already in Laos. So it was nothing new. It's the country's other jewel after Angkor Wat. After a quick walk through I wandered out to the river for my last sunset over the Mekong. Marketers pedeling all sorts of edible creepy crawlers that only the locals and very brave dared eat. Fried roaches, snakes, rats and the like all ripe for the picking. I settled for a burger back at the hotel where I packed for the last part of my journey in Taiwan.
Southeast Asia is magical. Once you get used to the shock of it, you can easily slip in and see why people can become an ex pat here. Here, things are simple. People live to survive. It's not complex. Nothing costs money by our standards and the people are as kind as you will ever find. Americans always ask the same question. So was it dangerous? You have to be careful what you eat and drink and use a bit of common sense. If so, it's safer than most places you will find in the U.S. I never felt at risk here. Only welcomed. Traveling in places like this help to put things in perspective. The rat race will always be here. But we have so much and they have so little. We complain about how hard it is here now. We don't know hard.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Phnom Phen 1
Found a not so hotspot in the airport here in Taipei. I got here 3 hours early why? Hopefully I can catch up. Facebook exporter has been dodgy so unable to post the last entry on Facebook.
I would have liked to have spent more than 2 days in Phnom Phen. I spent a half day too long in Siem Reap and did not reach Phnom Phen until aroun 3 p.m. I found a great rate at the Intercontinental, the cities only true 5 star and lived it up a bit. Beautiful oasis in the sea of madness that is Phnom Phen.
The city is more of a sprawling slum. There are some decent central areas that are tourist friendly, mostly on the waterfront where most of the lodging, pubs and restaurants can be found. With only about 3 hours to get anything done on day one I hired a tuk tuk driver with the ambition of seeing the Killing Fields exhibit, the S-21 prison and one of the other sites mostly related to the Khmer Rouge atrocities. It didn't quite work out that way.
What we know as the Killing Fields is called the Choeng Ek extermination camp. Those who saw the film of the same name will have some idea of the history. In short, when the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, after the Americans abandoned the City, Pol Pot and his cronies ordered the city to be evacuated in total. Executions of government officials began almost on the spot. Over the course of the next few years the Khmer Rouge engaged in a killing rampage designed to create a true agrarian communist society.
To the KR this meant the need to dispense with anyone that had even the slightest amount of education. All professionals and the educated class were murdered. Anyone that the KR didn't see as fitting in to this new society were killed at random. But not before being tortured in the most grizzly manner. Families were killed so there would be no reprisals for killing other family members. Even babies were killed, many of which were simply smashed against trees.
Millions were killed and the country was ravaged before the Vietnamese invaded in 1979 and tossed the KR out of power and installed a puppet regime. Civil war continued on in the country for more than another decade. In 1999 when, I was in Cambodia last, there were still pockets of KR resistance out in the remote jungle.
The KR is gone as a fighting force but sadly not gone from the country. Many sit in the existing government and except for a few token trials no Khmer Rouge leaders have ever been brought to justice. The Khmer Rouge were a creation of the Chinese while the Russians supported the Vietnamese led government which led to the 2nd civil war and even more deaths.
The exhibit at Choeng Ek was not what I expected. There was a large gallery in the center of the field complex containing hundreds of skulls of the dead. Otherwise the facility is more or less empty fields and ponds with mass grave markers at different locations. There is a small museum which explains the use for the fields. But I found the history that was offered to be lacking. I was left with the feeling that no one really wanted to press the issue too much with the KR because of the underlying terror that still persists in the society. Cambodia is still a tragedy playing out and appears to be a country that will always be a failed state.
Short on time, and with all the other exhibits closed for the day I asked my driver where I could go. His response. "you want go shoot?" It had long been rumored, and I know people who have done this, that for a price there was a place in the city you could go and fire off Vietnam War era weapons. Primarily the Ak-47. When in Rome.......
I would have liked to have spent more than 2 days in Phnom Phen. I spent a half day too long in Siem Reap and did not reach Phnom Phen until aroun 3 p.m. I found a great rate at the Intercontinental, the cities only true 5 star and lived it up a bit. Beautiful oasis in the sea of madness that is Phnom Phen.
The city is more of a sprawling slum. There are some decent central areas that are tourist friendly, mostly on the waterfront where most of the lodging, pubs and restaurants can be found. With only about 3 hours to get anything done on day one I hired a tuk tuk driver with the ambition of seeing the Killing Fields exhibit, the S-21 prison and one of the other sites mostly related to the Khmer Rouge atrocities. It didn't quite work out that way.
What we know as the Killing Fields is called the Choeng Ek extermination camp. Those who saw the film of the same name will have some idea of the history. In short, when the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, after the Americans abandoned the City, Pol Pot and his cronies ordered the city to be evacuated in total. Executions of government officials began almost on the spot. Over the course of the next few years the Khmer Rouge engaged in a killing rampage designed to create a true agrarian communist society.
To the KR this meant the need to dispense with anyone that had even the slightest amount of education. All professionals and the educated class were murdered. Anyone that the KR didn't see as fitting in to this new society were killed at random. But not before being tortured in the most grizzly manner. Families were killed so there would be no reprisals for killing other family members. Even babies were killed, many of which were simply smashed against trees.
Millions were killed and the country was ravaged before the Vietnamese invaded in 1979 and tossed the KR out of power and installed a puppet regime. Civil war continued on in the country for more than another decade. In 1999 when, I was in Cambodia last, there were still pockets of KR resistance out in the remote jungle.
The KR is gone as a fighting force but sadly not gone from the country. Many sit in the existing government and except for a few token trials no Khmer Rouge leaders have ever been brought to justice. The Khmer Rouge were a creation of the Chinese while the Russians supported the Vietnamese led government which led to the 2nd civil war and even more deaths.
The exhibit at Choeng Ek was not what I expected. There was a large gallery in the center of the field complex containing hundreds of skulls of the dead. Otherwise the facility is more or less empty fields and ponds with mass grave markers at different locations. There is a small museum which explains the use for the fields. But I found the history that was offered to be lacking. I was left with the feeling that no one really wanted to press the issue too much with the KR because of the underlying terror that still persists in the society. Cambodia is still a tragedy playing out and appears to be a country that will always be a failed state.
Short on time, and with all the other exhibits closed for the day I asked my driver where I could go. His response. "you want go shoot?" It had long been rumored, and I know people who have done this, that for a price there was a place in the city you could go and fire off Vietnam War era weapons. Primarily the Ak-47. When in Rome.......
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Siem Reap Final
It's over...: ( Home tomorrow. Been running around the thoroughly underrated city of Taipei having a blast. They really do eat ALL of that over here. You name it, they seem to eat it here. More later.
The final two days in Siem Reap were about temples, temples and more temples. Day 2, I spent focusing on the the other inner temples of Angkor including the walled City of Angkor Thom, the magnificent Bayan and the jungle ruin at Ta Prohm. I wish I could provide some amount of history on these temples but I just didn't have the time or energy to study up on it in detail. I was more focused on photographing them. In a nutshell the various temples remained undiscovered to the West until the 19th century when some French guy claimed discovery of the Temples. Locals will tell you that Angkor Wat was never undiscovered. It was just unknown to us in the West. Nevertheless the French claimed it, as they did the rest of Southeast Asia for nearly a hundred years. The complex has both Buddhist and Hindu influence as the Khmer empire had heavy influence from both China and India and these cultures are reflected in the architecture and the art.
My last day in Siem Reap I spent exploring some of the outer, less visited temples which was far less hectic. Though these outer temples are in a greater state of disrepair, there were far few tourist hordes here. The older Roulous group consists of three separate temples, the most impressive of which is Bakong. Another lesser visited complex is the pink and orange smaller complex at Bantay Srei. A 30 minute Tuk Tuk ride there is not for the feint of heart.
No visit to Angkor Wat would be complete without watching sunset from the hilltop complex of Phnom Bekang. A steep climb that some do by Elephant, this complex provides a 360 degree view of the jungle and the temples. Once hiking the hill the physical climb of the building is harrowing as the stairs are steep and very narrow. Some of the steps were maybe a couple of inches wide making concentration a must. A misstep could actually prove fatal if you are high enough up the temple.
I arrived early, at the recommendation of my tuk tuk driver, at 4pm and made the climb to find a small group of maybe 30 people camped out at the top. The sun was still beating down pretty hard at this hour. I was pleased to see that the hordes had not seemed to find this place. One of the most serene moments at Angkor is quietly watching the sun disappear into the jungle, shining its warm red light on the face of Angkor Wat in the distance. Now a balloon operation has also set up to view sunset which can be seen from the mountain as well.
By 5 pm my moment of peace was over. The hordes arrived by the boatload. Group after group of mostly Chinese tourists, who paid zero attention to the signs that asked people to remain quiet, invaded the peace of Phnom Bekang. These were some of the worst behaved tourists I have ever come across. Yelling and screaming, singing and bantering, these Chinese tourists killed a moment of utter peace and beauty for hundreds of us quietly waiting for the sun's departure. I personally got so angry that I almost got physical with more than one of them who parked themselves and their tripods in front of several of us who were sitting quietly waiting.
And then there was their need to be photographed in front of everything! These folks made us ugly Americans look like saints. One of these arm waiving, shouting tourists who stepped on another traveller so he could be photographed in front of the sun directly blocking my view almost got the heave ho from yours truly. Fed up, I thumped this bafoon in the chest and ordered him to sit down and be quiet. To the delight of my neighbors he shrinked away and we got a few moments of peace as the glowing red sun vanished below the jungle to the delight of the hooting and hollering Chinese.
WIth that I scrambled down the hill with the thousand or so other tourists to my Tuk Tuk where I wrapped up my 2nd and probably last visit to Angkor Wat. No longer is this the prisitine, serene place of 99. It's the Disneyland of the Southeast Asia. I'd still tell people to go. But be forewarned about the mobs.
Off to Phnom Phen the next day.
The final two days in Siem Reap were about temples, temples and more temples. Day 2, I spent focusing on the the other inner temples of Angkor including the walled City of Angkor Thom, the magnificent Bayan and the jungle ruin at Ta Prohm. I wish I could provide some amount of history on these temples but I just didn't have the time or energy to study up on it in detail. I was more focused on photographing them. In a nutshell the various temples remained undiscovered to the West until the 19th century when some French guy claimed discovery of the Temples. Locals will tell you that Angkor Wat was never undiscovered. It was just unknown to us in the West. Nevertheless the French claimed it, as they did the rest of Southeast Asia for nearly a hundred years. The complex has both Buddhist and Hindu influence as the Khmer empire had heavy influence from both China and India and these cultures are reflected in the architecture and the art.
My last day in Siem Reap I spent exploring some of the outer, less visited temples which was far less hectic. Though these outer temples are in a greater state of disrepair, there were far few tourist hordes here. The older Roulous group consists of three separate temples, the most impressive of which is Bakong. Another lesser visited complex is the pink and orange smaller complex at Bantay Srei. A 30 minute Tuk Tuk ride there is not for the feint of heart.
No visit to Angkor Wat would be complete without watching sunset from the hilltop complex of Phnom Bekang. A steep climb that some do by Elephant, this complex provides a 360 degree view of the jungle and the temples. Once hiking the hill the physical climb of the building is harrowing as the stairs are steep and very narrow. Some of the steps were maybe a couple of inches wide making concentration a must. A misstep could actually prove fatal if you are high enough up the temple.
I arrived early, at the recommendation of my tuk tuk driver, at 4pm and made the climb to find a small group of maybe 30 people camped out at the top. The sun was still beating down pretty hard at this hour. I was pleased to see that the hordes had not seemed to find this place. One of the most serene moments at Angkor is quietly watching the sun disappear into the jungle, shining its warm red light on the face of Angkor Wat in the distance. Now a balloon operation has also set up to view sunset which can be seen from the mountain as well.
By 5 pm my moment of peace was over. The hordes arrived by the boatload. Group after group of mostly Chinese tourists, who paid zero attention to the signs that asked people to remain quiet, invaded the peace of Phnom Bekang. These were some of the worst behaved tourists I have ever come across. Yelling and screaming, singing and bantering, these Chinese tourists killed a moment of utter peace and beauty for hundreds of us quietly waiting for the sun's departure. I personally got so angry that I almost got physical with more than one of them who parked themselves and their tripods in front of several of us who were sitting quietly waiting.
And then there was their need to be photographed in front of everything! These folks made us ugly Americans look like saints. One of these arm waiving, shouting tourists who stepped on another traveller so he could be photographed in front of the sun directly blocking my view almost got the heave ho from yours truly. Fed up, I thumped this bafoon in the chest and ordered him to sit down and be quiet. To the delight of my neighbors he shrinked away and we got a few moments of peace as the glowing red sun vanished below the jungle to the delight of the hooting and hollering Chinese.
WIth that I scrambled down the hill with the thousand or so other tourists to my Tuk Tuk where I wrapped up my 2nd and probably last visit to Angkor Wat. No longer is this the prisitine, serene place of 99. It's the Disneyland of the Southeast Asia. I'd still tell people to go. But be forewarned about the mobs.
Off to Phnom Phen the next day.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Siem Reap 2
After pondering my photographic nightmare I did the best I could with the limited access I was given to the complex. One could gain access to the inner courtyard which provided a few interesting shots. But again, not without the throngs of tourists drifting in and out of my view finder with every shot.
I lingered around the complex the rest of the afternoon. Siem Reap was hot and muggy. This was the first deep heat I had experienced. I could only handle the heat, even in the late afternoon, for periods of time before re-treating to shade and guzzling more and more water to stay hydrated. I'd then venture out to shoot series of shots in different spots and finally found a perfect spot in front of the temple that had a palm tree I was able to use to block out the dreaded scaffolding in the front allowing me to get some good shots of the facade at sunset which glowed a stunning pink and and orange as the sun sets facing the temples while it rises behind its walls. The front lighting at dusk made for some nice shots and day 1 was in the bag.
I lingered around the complex the rest of the afternoon. Siem Reap was hot and muggy. This was the first deep heat I had experienced. I could only handle the heat, even in the late afternoon, for periods of time before re-treating to shade and guzzling more and more water to stay hydrated. I'd then venture out to shoot series of shots in different spots and finally found a perfect spot in front of the temple that had a palm tree I was able to use to block out the dreaded scaffolding in the front allowing me to get some good shots of the facade at sunset which glowed a stunning pink and and orange as the sun sets facing the temples while it rises behind its walls. The front lighting at dusk made for some nice shots and day 1 was in the bag.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Siem Reap, Cambodia
My last night in Southeast Asia. Sitting on the riverside Quay in Phnom Phen after enjoying a decent meal at the FCC. More on PP in a bit. Time to back track to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat.
The Temple complexes of Angkor Wat sit on the outskirts of what was once a small quaint and tranquil tourist village known as Siem Reap. I was here once before in 1999 well before Angkor Wat was on most people's go lists. In 1999 the Khmer Rouge was still holed up in pockets of the country and landmines and other UXO were everywhere. The latter has not changed, but it has improved.
In 99 there may have been two 5 star properties and a smattering of tourist class hotels on the main drag. The numbers of tourists was very modest. It was quiet. Temples could be visited with relatively few other tourists running around. I recall climbing to the top of one of the spires at Angkor Wat and just hanging out by myself in a window overlooking the vast jungle in total peace and tranquility. It was an astonishing experience. Angkor Wat and Siem Reap are tranquil no more.
I arrived by Lao Airlines, a creepy little prop plane that sat about 100 persons which got me to Siem Reap alive, clearly. I knew from others that the town had grown and I had a bit of dread as I got off the plane that the place had been totally trashed and overrun. I was soon to learn I was somewhat right.
A new modern aiport terminal was built to accomodate the now 2 million people a year that come here. 2 million! After pulling out of the airport and onto the main hotel drag I knew I was not in Kansas anymore. This was not the same place at all. Siem Reap has been turned into the Las Vegas of the jungle. Dozens of newer hotels are everywhere, one piled on top of the next all the way into town. There is actual traffic. Mind you, this was a sleepy little jungle enclave.
There are now traffic signals, new roads and thousands upon thousands of tourists in their diesel belching horrific tour buses as far as the eye can see. These weren't the travel savvy tourists who know how to behave themselves either. These were loud, rude, obnoxious groups from all over the world snapping pictures of themselves, their wives, husbands, chidren, etc, etc, in front of every doorway, window, statue or temple they could get in front of with no clue or care about the existence of other people.
My hotel was a newer one close to the Temple Complex which was adequate for the price. Cold air, a necessity in the steamy jungle town, a fairly decent bed and a hot shower. Staff barely spoke english but were all and all very nice. I checked in around 2 p.m and headed straight for Angkor Wat. 40 dollars US buys you an all access 3 day pass to all of the Temples. Angkor Wat is by the far the biggest and grandest, but there are many many more temples all throughout the area in various states of repair. to be seeb. But none of these approaches the size or grandeur of Angkor Wat.
After picking up my pass I headed straight to Angkor Wat by Tuk Tuk. The complex is about a 4 kilometer ride I am guessing. One could walk but the heat would be pretty unbearable, though there were quite a few bicyclists, including packs of bicycle tours...So biking is not a bad option. Given the time constraints I had, I used tuk tuks the whole way. Once dropped off at Angkor Wat there they were. The f'n tourists. Thousands of them climbing over everyone and everything to get in and out of the complex. There were lots of groups. Lots of languages being spoken. The god damned Jungle Book Ride..
I entered the temple gates which are down a long thoroughfare surrounded by vast moats and into the complex itself, cameras at the ready to capture the brilliance of Angkor with all my new state of the art camera gear ready to get THE shot of Angkor Wat I didn't get in 99. And there it was, the horror of all horrors. Scaffolding!!!!!! Everywhere! Scaffolding wrapped around the front of the temple, scaffolding around the sides and scaffolding around the smaller temples. So much for the photos you fuckers! Not to mention that not a one of my trusted guide books managed to mention that the entire complex, apparently, was undergoing a 5 YEAR rehab that blocked any entry into the spires or the majority of the interior of the temple. No doubt a conspiracy meant to protect the Cambodian economy at the expense of the tourist. Fuckin hell! I was despondent...
TBC
The Temple complexes of Angkor Wat sit on the outskirts of what was once a small quaint and tranquil tourist village known as Siem Reap. I was here once before in 1999 well before Angkor Wat was on most people's go lists. In 1999 the Khmer Rouge was still holed up in pockets of the country and landmines and other UXO were everywhere. The latter has not changed, but it has improved.
In 99 there may have been two 5 star properties and a smattering of tourist class hotels on the main drag. The numbers of tourists was very modest. It was quiet. Temples could be visited with relatively few other tourists running around. I recall climbing to the top of one of the spires at Angkor Wat and just hanging out by myself in a window overlooking the vast jungle in total peace and tranquility. It was an astonishing experience. Angkor Wat and Siem Reap are tranquil no more.
I arrived by Lao Airlines, a creepy little prop plane that sat about 100 persons which got me to Siem Reap alive, clearly. I knew from others that the town had grown and I had a bit of dread as I got off the plane that the place had been totally trashed and overrun. I was soon to learn I was somewhat right.
A new modern aiport terminal was built to accomodate the now 2 million people a year that come here. 2 million! After pulling out of the airport and onto the main hotel drag I knew I was not in Kansas anymore. This was not the same place at all. Siem Reap has been turned into the Las Vegas of the jungle. Dozens of newer hotels are everywhere, one piled on top of the next all the way into town. There is actual traffic. Mind you, this was a sleepy little jungle enclave.
There are now traffic signals, new roads and thousands upon thousands of tourists in their diesel belching horrific tour buses as far as the eye can see. These weren't the travel savvy tourists who know how to behave themselves either. These were loud, rude, obnoxious groups from all over the world snapping pictures of themselves, their wives, husbands, chidren, etc, etc, in front of every doorway, window, statue or temple they could get in front of with no clue or care about the existence of other people.
My hotel was a newer one close to the Temple Complex which was adequate for the price. Cold air, a necessity in the steamy jungle town, a fairly decent bed and a hot shower. Staff barely spoke english but were all and all very nice. I checked in around 2 p.m and headed straight for Angkor Wat. 40 dollars US buys you an all access 3 day pass to all of the Temples. Angkor Wat is by the far the biggest and grandest, but there are many many more temples all throughout the area in various states of repair. to be seeb. But none of these approaches the size or grandeur of Angkor Wat.
After picking up my pass I headed straight to Angkor Wat by Tuk Tuk. The complex is about a 4 kilometer ride I am guessing. One could walk but the heat would be pretty unbearable, though there were quite a few bicyclists, including packs of bicycle tours...So biking is not a bad option. Given the time constraints I had, I used tuk tuks the whole way. Once dropped off at Angkor Wat there they were. The f'n tourists. Thousands of them climbing over everyone and everything to get in and out of the complex. There were lots of groups. Lots of languages being spoken. The god damned Jungle Book Ride..
I entered the temple gates which are down a long thoroughfare surrounded by vast moats and into the complex itself, cameras at the ready to capture the brilliance of Angkor with all my new state of the art camera gear ready to get THE shot of Angkor Wat I didn't get in 99. And there it was, the horror of all horrors. Scaffolding!!!!!! Everywhere! Scaffolding wrapped around the front of the temple, scaffolding around the sides and scaffolding around the smaller temples. So much for the photos you fuckers! Not to mention that not a one of my trusted guide books managed to mention that the entire complex, apparently, was undergoing a 5 YEAR rehab that blocked any entry into the spires or the majority of the interior of the temple. No doubt a conspiracy meant to protect the Cambodian economy at the expense of the tourist. Fuckin hell! I was despondent...
TBC
Friday, November 27, 2009
Luang Prabang
I'm going to do the best I can here on 4 hours sleep. Woke up this last morning in Siem Reap to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. More on that later.
Wrapping up Laos was the UNESCO World Heritgage town of Luang Prabang, Laos. This place has long been on my list and is probably going to end up being head and shoulders above everything else I saw here, including Angkor Wat for many reasons.
The town is a smallish one sandwiched between two rivers, one of which being the mighty Mekong. Unlike the circus show that is Siem Reap, Luang Prabang is not yet overrun with hordes of tour buses and their throngs of camera toting hooligans. This place draws a different kind of traveller as it is a different kind of place. The town, like Vientiane, is also dotted with so many colorful Wats, and the equally colorful and very camera shy monks. Laos is a very devout country and Buddhism reigns.
The town is easily walked in all of a couple of hours. All the action centers on two main throughfares, one of which is adjacent to the Mekong River where chic boutique hotels and lower rent guest houses comfortably share space with low key cafes and riverside eateries. Numerous galleries and the obligatry tourist trinket stores are also in abundance. Pubs are few. People come here to chill, not party. It somehow would feel sacreligious with all the monks running around to poison this place with the beer hall types and fortunately that element seemed absent.
Luang Prabang is the place to to just unwind. The sites themselves are few. TIme spent can be leisurley spent strolling the idyllic streets and alleyways viewing well maintained french colonial architecture and the Wats. Monk's are everywhere here. Their Orange Saffrom Robes add ever more color to this lush and colorful place.
Site's include the great Wat on the hill known as Phousi. Phousi is a golden spire almost 300 steps up from the main street, a climb one must make at least once if not twice. It commands an impressive site hovering over the town and is brightly lit up at night and visible from miles away. Many buddhist shrines dot the moutain and views are 360 degrees from the top of the hill. A few other Wat's should be visited and if you are lucky you can observe the Monk's in prayer, being careful not to distub them in any way. One of the great sites to behold is the procession of monks that occurs every morning near 5am where they receive alms from the devout on the main streets in town. The whole place is deeply spiritual. At dusk the songs of monks can be heard from all directions.
Crowds are moderate. The town attracts a potpouri of visitors from the dirty backpacker crowd to wealthy, mostly French, tourists who inhabit the handful of high end inns and hotels here. Its and odd mix but it works. No one is misbehaved. There is no outwardly rude or loud behavior and everyone seems to respect the space of the monks and the religion here.
If you want to shop, shop you can do. Ater sunset the main drag is closed down and becomes a street night market. This mazelike market is alive with assertive, though not overly pushy vendors selling their wares. No ghoulish animal parts here. Just jewelry, posters, t-shirts and other tourist crap. Again the Lao people show their grace and class despite their hardship, at all times. You are asked to buy, but if you say no thank you one time, you are usually greeted with a smile and a thank you, unlike Camodia where the word NO apparently does not translate. I think Cambodia can learn some lessons from the Laotians. They are utterly charming and polite at all times.
My time was spent doing much the same as everyone else. I explored the Wats,climbed Phousi a couple of times, and wandered the streets and markets taking in dirt cheap and very good local meals every night. A good dinner and a beer might run you 6 dollars here unless you must eat in the best places in which case you might spend 15.
Transportaion is entirely by foot or open air Tuk Tuk, a motorcycle puling a carriage belching horrific leaded gas. A necessary evil. Feet throb by the end of the day.
Excusrsions are easily booked and readily available in LP. Travel agents and tour companies abound and last minute flights, buses and tours to more remote regions can be easily done with no reservation necessary. The same for accomodations. Easy to get a room somewhere any time. I neglected to add my own personal accomodation mishap here. I chose pretty well with my hotels, using primarily trip advisor and other written travel guides for reference. Trip advisor is a site that reviews hotels by customers only, so there is no corporate bias and I have found it very useful in the past.
In LP I booked the #2 ranked hotel in town on trip advisor, the Hotel Le Bel Air. Everyone raved about it and at 75 dollars US how could I go wrong? Well on this one I was wrong. The hotel was on the wrong side of the river from town requiring you to navigate a very old and rusted jungle bridge over one of the rivers to get back and forth to your hotel from town. During the day it was harrowing. At night it was horrifying. This, and the room had no proper door. It was one of those jungle padlocked doors with a wood beam used as a lock from the inisde, torn and useless mosquito nets, a shower that was more of an open pit than a shower, and no windows. I was literally padlocked into this all wooden jungle room. I moved. Promptly. I ended up at the much more comfortable and only slightly more expensive Hotel Grand Luang Prabang outside of town but on the right side of the river which was great until I left. When I arrived in Cambodia my wallet was 50 bucks lighter. Two of the bellmen ripped me off on the way out.
For me, the highlight of this place was the river. I spent one of my evenings on a local boat that tours you out to watch the glorious sunset just up river from the town for about 5 dollars. So enthralled with the river, I spent the next day renting a private boat of my ow, for twenty dollars, and spent the day cruising the Mekong, an expeirence that ranks amongst the best travel experiences I have had. Rent a boat, grab your IPOD and your camera and immerese yourself on the Mekong. There is nothing like it. Luang Prabang is a place you really never want to leave.
On to Siem Reap and Cambodia where things take a bit of an ugly turn. Nap time for me
Wrapping up Laos was the UNESCO World Heritgage town of Luang Prabang, Laos. This place has long been on my list and is probably going to end up being head and shoulders above everything else I saw here, including Angkor Wat for many reasons.
The town is a smallish one sandwiched between two rivers, one of which being the mighty Mekong. Unlike the circus show that is Siem Reap, Luang Prabang is not yet overrun with hordes of tour buses and their throngs of camera toting hooligans. This place draws a different kind of traveller as it is a different kind of place. The town, like Vientiane, is also dotted with so many colorful Wats, and the equally colorful and very camera shy monks. Laos is a very devout country and Buddhism reigns.
The town is easily walked in all of a couple of hours. All the action centers on two main throughfares, one of which is adjacent to the Mekong River where chic boutique hotels and lower rent guest houses comfortably share space with low key cafes and riverside eateries. Numerous galleries and the obligatry tourist trinket stores are also in abundance. Pubs are few. People come here to chill, not party. It somehow would feel sacreligious with all the monks running around to poison this place with the beer hall types and fortunately that element seemed absent.
Luang Prabang is the place to to just unwind. The sites themselves are few. TIme spent can be leisurley spent strolling the idyllic streets and alleyways viewing well maintained french colonial architecture and the Wats. Monk's are everywhere here. Their Orange Saffrom Robes add ever more color to this lush and colorful place.
Site's include the great Wat on the hill known as Phousi. Phousi is a golden spire almost 300 steps up from the main street, a climb one must make at least once if not twice. It commands an impressive site hovering over the town and is brightly lit up at night and visible from miles away. Many buddhist shrines dot the moutain and views are 360 degrees from the top of the hill. A few other Wat's should be visited and if you are lucky you can observe the Monk's in prayer, being careful not to distub them in any way. One of the great sites to behold is the procession of monks that occurs every morning near 5am where they receive alms from the devout on the main streets in town. The whole place is deeply spiritual. At dusk the songs of monks can be heard from all directions.
Crowds are moderate. The town attracts a potpouri of visitors from the dirty backpacker crowd to wealthy, mostly French, tourists who inhabit the handful of high end inns and hotels here. Its and odd mix but it works. No one is misbehaved. There is no outwardly rude or loud behavior and everyone seems to respect the space of the monks and the religion here.
If you want to shop, shop you can do. Ater sunset the main drag is closed down and becomes a street night market. This mazelike market is alive with assertive, though not overly pushy vendors selling their wares. No ghoulish animal parts here. Just jewelry, posters, t-shirts and other tourist crap. Again the Lao people show their grace and class despite their hardship, at all times. You are asked to buy, but if you say no thank you one time, you are usually greeted with a smile and a thank you, unlike Camodia where the word NO apparently does not translate. I think Cambodia can learn some lessons from the Laotians. They are utterly charming and polite at all times.
My time was spent doing much the same as everyone else. I explored the Wats,climbed Phousi a couple of times, and wandered the streets and markets taking in dirt cheap and very good local meals every night. A good dinner and a beer might run you 6 dollars here unless you must eat in the best places in which case you might spend 15.
Transportaion is entirely by foot or open air Tuk Tuk, a motorcycle puling a carriage belching horrific leaded gas. A necessary evil. Feet throb by the end of the day.
Excusrsions are easily booked and readily available in LP. Travel agents and tour companies abound and last minute flights, buses and tours to more remote regions can be easily done with no reservation necessary. The same for accomodations. Easy to get a room somewhere any time. I neglected to add my own personal accomodation mishap here. I chose pretty well with my hotels, using primarily trip advisor and other written travel guides for reference. Trip advisor is a site that reviews hotels by customers only, so there is no corporate bias and I have found it very useful in the past.
In LP I booked the #2 ranked hotel in town on trip advisor, the Hotel Le Bel Air. Everyone raved about it and at 75 dollars US how could I go wrong? Well on this one I was wrong. The hotel was on the wrong side of the river from town requiring you to navigate a very old and rusted jungle bridge over one of the rivers to get back and forth to your hotel from town. During the day it was harrowing. At night it was horrifying. This, and the room had no proper door. It was one of those jungle padlocked doors with a wood beam used as a lock from the inisde, torn and useless mosquito nets, a shower that was more of an open pit than a shower, and no windows. I was literally padlocked into this all wooden jungle room. I moved. Promptly. I ended up at the much more comfortable and only slightly more expensive Hotel Grand Luang Prabang outside of town but on the right side of the river which was great until I left. When I arrived in Cambodia my wallet was 50 bucks lighter. Two of the bellmen ripped me off on the way out.
For me, the highlight of this place was the river. I spent one of my evenings on a local boat that tours you out to watch the glorious sunset just up river from the town for about 5 dollars. So enthralled with the river, I spent the next day renting a private boat of my ow, for twenty dollars, and spent the day cruising the Mekong, an expeirence that ranks amongst the best travel experiences I have had. Rent a boat, grab your IPOD and your camera and immerese yourself on the Mekong. There is nothing like it. Luang Prabang is a place you really never want to leave.
On to Siem Reap and Cambodia where things take a bit of an ugly turn. Nap time for me
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