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Published: December 4th 2006
Me and Jack Sparrow
Please note: I know I look ridiculous in this photo. It was more for Jack Sparrow's sake...Ahhhh....life on the road. Wind in my hair, dirt on my face, and my life on my back. It's good to be back on my own, doing my own thing, not worrying about schedules and meetings and what others want to do. It's all about me baby, and that's just the way I likes it!
So, I guess I have some explaining to do after my last blog, though like I said there's not alot about the ping pong show that I am willing to write online for all eyes and ears. After our final goodbye dinner with the group, five of us and our tour guide decided to go to Patpong, the place to go if you are looking for girls or boys or just about anything in Bangkok. Including ping-pong shows, of which there were plenty of. Streets full of glaring neon signs advertising pussy. Men were shoving ''menus" of what their ladies could do. Half dressed girls taunting passerby with their wares. A veritable anything goes attitude here, and lil' ol' me was smack in the middle of it all. It was the first time on the whole trip that I really thanked buddha that the tour
Patpong
Need I say more? leader was with us, it was that bad. The ironice thing? Right next to all this mayhem was one of the fanciest hotels in Bangkok. Didn't catch the name of it, but definately 5-star quality right on sex row. It was hilarious watching all the old people coming out of the doors and into the action. Once the show was over (at times if felt like it would never be over!) we all headed back the the relative saneness of khao San for a little clubbing. And when I say a little, I mean a little. Like I said, my groupies were a bunch of soft cocks, and after just one drink they were all ready to go.
The next day it was off to Chatachakuk (that's not spelled right, I know, but either way I can't pronounce it, so it really doesn't matter), an insanely big and popular weekend market. I was there an exhausting 5 hours, and walked away with only two small items purchased, I was that overwhelmed. I did finally manage to get Ty's Thai leash though, and I think he will look pretty sharp in it! I holed up in the hotel room that
Patpong
Need I say more? night, rather tired of the big city with all it's noise and drunks and heat, so I ordered pizza and watched the movie channel all night long in my fance hotel room with an actual bathtub and a toilet that flushed. It was my designated western night.
The next day it was off to Cambodia for me. 0730 and I am met by a man who I had to follow all over hell's acres on foot while he picked up other travellers then uncerimoniously dropped us at a spot 40 mins later about a block from where I started. Then we waited another 45 mins for the bus to come to pick us all up. There were only about a dozen of us in all in a full size air conditioned coach, so 350km ride to the border was very comfortable. At the border was a different story. My guide book warned me about the scam bus, but as I had paid a 'proper' amount, and from a reputable travel agency, I thought I was okay. My thoughts started rapidly changing when they jacked up the price of the visa application from $20 to $30 because I didn't have
a picture. We were told to get out money at the border and then exchange in Cambodia because bank machines were unreliable there. Red flags are going off everywhere, but I was so bewildered I didn't really know what to do about it all, besides just go with the flow. I mistakenly changed all my American money that I had got in Bangkok to riel, and got on the shitty bus to go to Siem Reap. Let me just say right now that I was not the only one fooled by all this. These men are very good at what they do, playing good cop/bad cop, saying do this now with just the right amount of urgency in their voice. Ah well, another of life's lessons learned. The 150km bus ride from the border to Siem Reap took longer than the 350km ride from Bangkok to the border, on the smallest bus ever. There weren't even enough seats for riders, so some poor fools had to sit on the floor of the bus. No a/c, no toilet, no comfort. Finally at 9pm we arrive into Siem Reap, and what a coincidence that the driver knows a lovely little guest house
that has more than enough room for us all!
Actually, the guesthouse wasn't too bad at all, and for the whopping price of $4 a night I get a comfortable double bed with my own bath. It's not in the greatest location, but stupid scam bus riders like me can't be choosy. Having said that, the staff there are great, and have hired one of them to be my driver for the next three days to take me to all the temples. He speaks fluent english and knows a ton about the area. His father died of malaria 10 years ago while he was fighting the civil war against the Khemr Rouge in the jungle. I must say the more I travel and talk to people, the more I realize I am a completed idiot when it comes to just about everything. I had thought that the Khemr Rouge were ousted in the late 70's and that was the end of that. Boy, did I think wrong. It was only in the 90's that the civil war ended, according to my driver, and have left in power one of the most corrupt governments in the world. There are still
people in power now that were in power during the slaughter of civilians in the Khemr Rouge era. The poverty is mind boggling, everywhere you look there are people barely struggling to live, let alone with a standard that we westerners take for granted everyday.
Bloody hell, have just lost the entire last half of my blog somehow and am way to tired and pissed to retype it. Am going to go look for a better computer place.
Okay, am at a better internet site, but hate having to retype all that I lost. So I'm not guaranteeing that this one will be as funny as the last. And damn the last one was funny. Haha. I can say that because you will never ever know....
So anyways, I went to the temples today and it was pretty mind boggling. I just couldn't believe that I was climbing stairs and walking aisles that kings and royalty were 2000 years ago. Just think about that for a second. The same stairs! And even more amazing is that all these structures are still standing today. A little wear and tear, but still standing for the most part. Talk
Buddhist nun
Was an army of biting ants worth this photo? you be the judge. about quality workmanship.
Our first stop was the walled city of Angkor Thom, with the famous ruins of Bauphon, Bayon, The Elephant Terrace, and the Terrace of the Leper King (I don't have my book with me, so some of the spellings may be off). Then it was off to another one who's name I can't remember but it's really famous. Next stop Ta Prohm, made famous by the movie "Laura Croft: Tomb Raider". I actually found this one to be the most interesting and amazing. I think that had a lot to do with the fact that there weren't the masses of people here that there were at the other temples. MASSES of people. My guidebook says if you see a bunch of tour busses out front then it might be best to go back to that temple. HA!! You couldn't get away from the tour busses. No matter how hard you tried. After that it was off to 'The mother of all temples'...Angkor Wat. Oddly enough I found this one to be the least impressive. Amazing yes, but not as impressive as the rest of them. I would explain the temples to you more, but really would
fail miserably in the process, so you will just have to see the pictures, which incedentally fail miserably in catching the essence of the place. Honest to god at times all I could do was sit and stare slack jawed at what I saw. There wasn't a piece of stone that didn't have intricate carvings all over it. Temples rising hundreds of feet into the air. So amazing.
There is of course another Cathy flashing story here. I don't know why these things always happen to me, but today I had to get an Austrian guy go up the back of my shirt to pick off an army of biting ants that had crawled on me while I was getting a picture of a nun. At first I thought it was a thorn from the bush, until the thorns started pricking me everywhere. While I was doing my ridiculously stupid ant dance this nice gentleman with a bewildered look on his face asked if there was anything he could do to help. I immediately flung up the back of my shirt (I was able to get rid of all the front ants) for him to get them the hell
Ta Prohm
Angelina Jolie stood in this very spot. It's like I am famous too now! off of me. They hurt like a son of a bitch! He then toddled off to his wife chuckling away. Not sure if he was laughing at my rolls of back fat or if he just thought the whole situation was hilarious.
Last night I was getting a ride home from a young boy on the back of a scooter when a bug flew down my shirt. I flashed half a street full of people before I got it out. I still don't know whether he knew there was a partially unclothed girl riding behind him or not. I suppose these things wouldn't happen if I weren't such a girl when it came to bugs, but I just can't help it. That's just the way I am!
Tomorrow it's off to another temple group a little farther out of town. I get to ride on the back of yet another scooter for almost a full hour. I am sooooo looking forward to that!
I have to say that I love being on my own again. I am meeting way more people, just not getting to know them quite as well as the group people, which is fine
Ta Prohm
Hmmm...she stood in this very spot too. Doublely famous! by me. I love being able to just do what I want, spend however long I want at a place, decide last minute what I am going to do. That's not saying I didn't like the tour, because I had a freaking blast with them. All I'm saying is I prefer the freedom of being on my own. Scam bus incident included.
Hugs and kisses,
Cathy
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Just imagine....
You in the same spot as Angelina - too bad she wasn't with Brad at that time or you could have been one with Brad as well!! I can't believe you have actually been in and seen and taken pictures of these temples that I just read about and see in books and magazines. The Nun picture was definitely worth a thousand biting ants!! I was showing off your pictures at work the other night and I had groupies!!! People gathered from all over (well as far as all over as third floor nursing station) and all were ooooing and awing over your pictures. I hear comments like "holy cow" and "good lord look at that" and even "it looks like its right out of National Geographic" and best of all "Is that your daughter? My god she is beautiful!!"!! So there oyu go. Yes the workmanship in those temples and buildings and stairs is mind boggling! And to think the people back thousands of years ago did not have the luxury of automatic and electric and hydraulic tools! It was all done by hand. Much better workmanship than the historic buildings of Cranbrook BC. Another one went up in flames Saturday night! Swanson's Men's Wear! Man I feel bad for them. The building is now just a shell with no top. The tatoo parlour and the apartments above (you know the ones you so dearly wanted to rent) all gone :( Sad day for the Swanson family for sure. They have had their run of bad luck this year as it was a 18 yr old Swanson boy (nephew and grandchild) who died in that horrific police chase car crash this summer. Anyway enough of the sad stuff. You continue your fantastic trip for the next 8 days - I can't believe you only have that long left and then have to get back to the ol' grind like the rest of us. Love you lots XOXOXO MOM