My first impression of Siem Reap was terrible. I was still on the bus,in the stupor caused from taking motion sickness pills,wehn my window was slammed open!. All these people were yelling at me,imploring me,"Please stay at my guesthouse,clean room,shower,aircond"...and the killer pitch "free internet!". Some locals were actually pulled off the bus by these rather overzealous men. I had a rather soft spoken tuk tuk driver take me to my guesthouse. Since he did not push his way nor unceasingly pleaded,rather;he asked very politely,i felt most comfortable with him.
The guesthouse itself is not that great.the room is clean and simple enough. Unfortunately,a shower will leave you smelling like rust. To me,that smells like blood and i feel nauseous at the end of each shower. Not good at all. However,since teh room only costs USD2 (can't get that in KL!),i can't complain at all.
Left at about 7a.m for Angkor. It had rained heavily earlier so no chance to view the sunrise anyway. A moto driver for the day costs about USD 6. A tuk-tuk will cost USD 10. There's a Grand Tour and a Small Tour. Being not very ambitious,i opted for the small tour. A 3-day pass (even if you visit only for 2 days) costs USD40. I wondered why on the pass it bore the name of Sokhla Hotel. Very odd. Why not Cambodian Tourist Authority?. Does the temple complex belong to a private enterprise?.
i returned somewhat early from Angkor. After starting to sneeze continously,i decided it may be best to call off the day. That,and the hordes (or rather herds) of tourists pushed me to leave.
The day started off rather well with Bayon.It was absolutely lovely. Just heading towards it,with trees lining eaither side of the avenue,very cool weather;built up anticipation. It had a "mystical" feel (rather sentimental word) and was sublime. I sat there for hours. I explored terrace by terrace. twisted my ankle terribly at one point.My ankle gave way and i lnded,fortuitously,on my derriere. Anywhere else,it would have hurt exceedingly. However,i continued climbing all the way up.
I met an Englishman who was so overcome by Bayon that he came to me and said "this is absolutely amazing". We had an enlightened conversation regarding Bayon,our luck at being in Cambodia before the whole experience became too sanitized,electric carts,foreign interference in Siem Reap and why herds of tour groups simply ruin the experience. Then,we had to cut short the conversation as yet another loud,excited,happy group came bouncing along. Ironic,no?
From Bayon,i left for Ta Keo and Ta Phrom. Both were very impressive. Ta Keo was easy to navigate,beng linear in nature. Ta Phrom was everything i imagined it to be. It was pictured in Wong Kar wai's film:In The Mood For Love. It was romantic,overgrown,and required much imagination. However,as more and more tour groups (japanese,Korean and chinese) came traipsing along loudly,it became harder to ignore the din. That,coupled with exuberant Japanese teenagers shouting made me contemplate homicide. Or rather Genocide. Sigh.
A rather vicious storm came along,scaring even the hardened peddelrs. I was glad to be out of broken down Ta Phrom at that point. It wasn't a normal downpour. Several huts came crashing down. My moto driver was quite worried and looked visibly relieved when he saw myself limping amiably along. After all,i was very pleased that nature had took revenge and chuckled when all the noisy people scampered and dispersed hurriedly.Yay!
We finished off the "small tour" with Angkor Wat. I found a small nook for myself. With my ankle not being very reliable (despite the ankle brace) i had to forgo the pleasure of climbing to the top. I know it's only an 11m climb. However,those stairs are terribly steep!. It rained continously. More people came upon my nook so i had to give that up and called it a day. My moto driver had actually come to search for me: i was a gimp and throughly soaked. Hehhehe.
Tomorrow will be my last day in Siem Reap. I'll be there very early at 5 sunrise (if it doesn't rain) and to see Angkor again. If i've time,i'd like to see Bayon. Then,back to Phnom Penh on the 8a.m bus. I have no wish to rush on Sunday. It sounds terribly lazy but all i want to do now is sit and read. Have a massage-painful but satisfying from a bling masseur. If i feel up to it,i may go to the museum. Better yet,go to the Russian Market and get a good backpack.
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Friday, June 30, 2006
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Paksong, Tat Fan, Tat PhamNee and Pakse.
Paksong is lovely. It has only 2 main streets,this despite being the coffee capital of Laos. Located on the Bolaven plateau,an elevation of only 500m or so,it has cool weather. It is comfortable out of the sun during the day and chilly at night. It rains throughout the day but nothing terribly inconvenient. The Paksong market is busy with mountains of cabbages,the lovley aroma of coffee and traditional clothing. The traditional wevaed skirt looks like a sarong except that you augment the end with fancy silkweaves. A kilogram of the coffee costs only USD1.
From paksong,it's a short bus ride to see Tat Fan waterfalls. It is terribly risky to try to trek to the base of the waterfalls. A safer alternative is to
From paksong,it's a short bus ride to see Tat Fan waterfalls. It is terribly risky to try to trek to the base of the waterfalls. A safer alternative is to
Spunkeymonkey does Laos
Forget Cambodia. Laos is awesome. It is probably the only Asian country that is quiet and serene. I have been on the move since arriving 7 days ago in Phnom Penh.
Phnom Penh is very typical of any Asian city. Packed with people and animals and vehicles. Noisy, extremely dirty and impoverished. It's filled with falangs looking for cheap sex,booze and what they think is a good time. For some odd reason,beds here have very very hard pillows to go along with their lumpy mattresses. Set out the next day immediately for Laos.
From PhnomPenh,it's a long 10 hour bus ride to Strung Teung on the border. Strung Teung was the birthplace of the infamous torturer of the Pol Pot regime. On the bus,one unfortunate couple left their bag in the bus and lost USD 400 and their camera. When we reached Strung teung,we immediately took up an offer from the inimitable Mr.Ritchie.
For USD10,he took us across the Mekong,drove us to the border crossing 2 1/2 hours away.There,he negotiated for us to pay only USD2 for stamping purposes at the cambodian and laos checkpoints respectively. From the Laos checkpoint in the middle of nowhere,we were driven to the river and took a boat to Don Det. It was pitch black at only 7p.m,Mr.Ritchie tried to illuminate the way using his cellphone because the boatman did not have any lights on his boat!. The electric stormof the monsoon casted eerie glows throughout our ride. It took only 45 minutes to reach Don det in the darkness.
Don Det is a small island that you can circumvent in 40 minutes. It is one of 4000 islands located in the Mekong River as it goes through Southern Laos. On arrival,we went to Mama Rasta Guesthouse. Did not sleep the whole night because it was one of those ridiculously warm nights despite the thundershower. Woke up to find the world so bright at only 530a.m.
There are 2 sides to Don Det. Does not really matter which side you stay on. The Sunrise side meansyou can not sleep in. However, you at least get a fan,a big bed, hammock for only USD2. Breakfast costs around USD 1. The Sunset side faces more islands,paddy fields,mountains. It is quieter and cheaper. However,it is so tranquil on the islands anyway. All you want to do is lie in a hammock and read.
Left Don det that day for the mainland. For USD4.5,got a boat ride and a bus ticket to Pakse. Pakse is the largest town in Southern Laos. It is so small,even Ipoh is bigger than Pakse. The journey took 3 hours by an open air bus. On arrival in Pakse,went to Jasmin Indian Restaurant. It was apleasant surprise to find a place that serves Malay,Indian and Halal food. The food was so tasty and surprisingly faithful to the Malaysian style. The owner was very happy to converse in Malay with me. For USD4,i got a top notch lunch with tonnes of food. The owner had worked in Mamak stores in Brunei,Sabah and sarawak for nearly 8 years!.
Headed back to the South BUs terminal and caught a bus to Sekong,oneof the easternmost provinces in Laos. It is a very odd little town that has absolutely no infrastructure for tourists. After being unable to rent any bikes,motos nor find anyone who could you where to venture,hopped on another bus to Paksong. This took4 looong hours. It was well worth it.
Phnom Penh is very typical of any Asian city. Packed with people and animals and vehicles. Noisy, extremely dirty and impoverished. It's filled with falangs looking for cheap sex,booze and what they think is a good time. For some odd reason,beds here have very very hard pillows to go along with their lumpy mattresses. Set out the next day immediately for Laos.
From PhnomPenh,it's a long 10 hour bus ride to Strung Teung on the border. Strung Teung was the birthplace of the infamous torturer of the Pol Pot regime. On the bus,one unfortunate couple left their bag in the bus and lost USD 400 and their camera. When we reached Strung teung,we immediately took up an offer from the inimitable Mr.Ritchie.
For USD10,he took us across the Mekong,drove us to the border crossing 2 1/2 hours away.There,he negotiated for us to pay only USD2 for stamping purposes at the cambodian and laos checkpoints respectively. From the Laos checkpoint in the middle of nowhere,we were driven to the river and took a boat to Don Det. It was pitch black at only 7p.m,Mr.Ritchie tried to illuminate the way using his cellphone because the boatman did not have any lights on his boat!. The electric stormof the monsoon casted eerie glows throughout our ride. It took only 45 minutes to reach Don det in the darkness.
Don Det is a small island that you can circumvent in 40 minutes. It is one of 4000 islands located in the Mekong River as it goes through Southern Laos. On arrival,we went to Mama Rasta Guesthouse. Did not sleep the whole night because it was one of those ridiculously warm nights despite the thundershower. Woke up to find the world so bright at only 530a.m.
There are 2 sides to Don Det. Does not really matter which side you stay on. The Sunrise side meansyou can not sleep in. However, you at least get a fan,a big bed, hammock for only USD2. Breakfast costs around USD 1. The Sunset side faces more islands,paddy fields,mountains. It is quieter and cheaper. However,it is so tranquil on the islands anyway. All you want to do is lie in a hammock and read.
Left Don det that day for the mainland. For USD4.5,got a boat ride and a bus ticket to Pakse. Pakse is the largest town in Southern Laos. It is so small,even Ipoh is bigger than Pakse. The journey took 3 hours by an open air bus. On arrival in Pakse,went to Jasmin Indian Restaurant. It was apleasant surprise to find a place that serves Malay,Indian and Halal food. The food was so tasty and surprisingly faithful to the Malaysian style. The owner was very happy to converse in Malay with me. For USD4,i got a top notch lunch with tonnes of food. The owner had worked in Mamak stores in Brunei,Sabah and sarawak for nearly 8 years!.
Headed back to the South BUs terminal and caught a bus to Sekong,oneof the easternmost provinces in Laos. It is a very odd little town that has absolutely no infrastructure for tourists. After being unable to rent any bikes,motos nor find anyone who could you where to venture,hopped on another bus to Paksong. This took4 looong hours. It was well worth it.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
One more hurdle
Spunkeymonkey does another leap...
so,the last hurdle is tonight. Have to go to my parents' place. Grandma insists. Ugh. Although i have their tacit agreement that i may go on my holiday:-how demeaning and insulting having to have someone's permission to go on holiday!. Of all of the fr****** medieval things.
As agreed,i tried to change my flight back to an earlier date. No go. Will have to call Air asia. This totally sucks because it not only ruins my holiday,it ruins my friends' holidays as well. On this,i feel terrible. Time and time again,since i was in school,my parenst have restricted my life. don't do this,don't do that,Don't,Don't,Don't. I abhor it.
why do people have children?. Why bother if you want absolute control all the time?. Why bother if you want a robot?. if i was capable of hate,i would hate them for bringing me into this world and then making it hell. I do not think i ASKED to be born.
so,the last hurdle is tonight. Have to go to my parents' place. Grandma insists. Ugh. Although i have their tacit agreement that i may go on my holiday:-how demeaning and insulting having to have someone's permission to go on holiday!. Of all of the fr****** medieval things.
As agreed,i tried to change my flight back to an earlier date. No go. Will have to call Air asia. This totally sucks because it not only ruins my holiday,it ruins my friends' holidays as well. On this,i feel terrible. Time and time again,since i was in school,my parenst have restricted my life. don't do this,don't do that,Don't,Don't,Don't. I abhor it.
why do people have children?. Why bother if you want absolute control all the time?. Why bother if you want a robot?. if i was capable of hate,i would hate them for bringing me into this world and then making it hell. I do not think i ASKED to be born.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
CLOSE MINDEDNESS
Um,i might have to cut short my trip. I had a terrible day. It started off okay,i got 3 hours of sleep.Woke up to like 4 msgs from my mum asking me to call my dad. So i called,he was very displeased about the trip and said i just shoved it down their trips.
So,i was trying to get some sleep before the night shift. They came home,banged on the door till i came out and i got a 2 hour lecture.
Basically, the gist of it is
1.ask permission first
2.i am an apostate since i don't bother asking their permission
3.i am selfish
4.am too westernized
5.i set a bad example
6.all my friends are morally lacking and do not follow the tenets of islam
7. he wishes me dead if he finds out i've brought shame-very comforting.(and you say i'm morbid.)
they are also very upset i chose such a dangerous place to go to. right.
i am allowed to go provided i cut short my trip. I negotiated from just one week till july 2nd. i've informed fazilah.haven't told hafiz yet.will do that tomorrow.
anyhow,it will be nice to go on holiday and forget about these terrible things. If i listen to them,i will end up hating myself. As it is,i kept my mouth shut since there's no point trying to get any point across to people who deeply believe what they say is true. I don't see why at all i have to ask permission. If that's westernized so be it.
apparently,the only time i don't have to ask Permission to go places is if i'm married. It seems their responsibility is over once i'm married. sigh.
the reason why this is all such a downer is because-we've all been through this before. can't we just agree to disagree. i do not believe at all in any of their views. if teh world's coming to a bloody end i'd like to see all those beautiful places before i die with people i love.it makes more sense to me.lol.
So,i was trying to get some sleep before the night shift. They came home,banged on the door till i came out and i got a 2 hour lecture.
Basically, the gist of it is
1.ask permission first
2.i am an apostate since i don't bother asking their permission
3.i am selfish
4.am too westernized
5.i set a bad example
6.all my friends are morally lacking and do not follow the tenets of islam
7. he wishes me dead if he finds out i've brought shame-very comforting.(and you say i'm morbid.)
they are also very upset i chose such a dangerous place to go to. right.
i am allowed to go provided i cut short my trip. I negotiated from just one week till july 2nd. i've informed fazilah.haven't told hafiz yet.will do that tomorrow.
anyhow,it will be nice to go on holiday and forget about these terrible things. If i listen to them,i will end up hating myself. As it is,i kept my mouth shut since there's no point trying to get any point across to people who deeply believe what they say is true. I don't see why at all i have to ask permission. If that's westernized so be it.
apparently,the only time i don't have to ask Permission to go places is if i'm married. It seems their responsibility is over once i'm married. sigh.
the reason why this is all such a downer is because-we've all been through this before. can't we just agree to disagree. i do not believe at all in any of their views. if teh world's coming to a bloody end i'd like to see all those beautiful places before i die with people i love.it makes more sense to me.lol.
Monday, June 05, 2006
spunkeymonkey does Laos
Or rather,spunkeymonkey plans out her backpacking trip to Laos...
From June 16-July 4th will be in Laos and Cambodia. Arriving in Phnom Penh June 16. The plan is to get the hell out of dodge via bus or boat to the Cambodia-Laos border.
At the border,grab a boat to Si Phan Don (4000 islands). it has the only railway tracks laid by the French on one of the larger islands. the tracks are unused now. Check out this couples' roadtrip and stay at Si Phan Don http://www.travelpod.com/cgi-bin/guest.pl?tweb_UID=pidgeandpie&tweb_tripID=rtw_2005-06&tweb_entryID=1126419660&tweb_PID=tpod.
Now,i expect i'll be staying there for a few days. I am absolutely set on catching a glimpse of an Irrawaddy dolphin!. It's my dearest wish to see one as the development along the Mekong has lead to dwindling numbers of these gorgeous and rare creatures.
Any ideas are welcomed!
From June 16-July 4th will be in Laos and Cambodia. Arriving in Phnom Penh June 16. The plan is to get the hell out of dodge via bus or boat to the Cambodia-Laos border.
At the border,grab a boat to Si Phan Don (4000 islands). it has the only railway tracks laid by the French on one of the larger islands. the tracks are unused now. Check out this couples' roadtrip and stay at Si Phan Don http://www.travelpod.com/cgi-bin/guest.pl?tweb_UID=pidgeandpie&tweb_tripID=rtw_2005-06&tweb_entryID=1126419660&tweb_PID=tpod.
Now,i expect i'll be staying there for a few days. I am absolutely set on catching a glimpse of an Irrawaddy dolphin!. It's my dearest wish to see one as the development along the Mekong has lead to dwindling numbers of these gorgeous and rare creatures.
Any ideas are welcomed!
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