Friday the 13th; Who Says It's Unlucky? (Hello, Cambodia)

I love traveling.

No.

I LOVE traveling. From the moment a trip idea materializes in my brain until the moment I step off the return flight home. I love the planning, debating, talking, and reading about it. I even love paying for airline tickets, hotel rooms and new backpacks. There’s nothing like throwing the bare essentials into a bag, getting on an airplane and knowing you are about to have the experience of a lifetime; good OR bad.

Nov. 13

Well, I’m in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and so far it’s all good. The moment I stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac I was overwhelmed with humidity, a bug up my nose and the majestic quality of the airport. It was all of one building, lit up like a tiki bar. Once inside you pay $20 (cash only) and they take your passport. After several men ogle you for about seven to nine minutes they hand back the passport with a new visa. After a few more stamps at immigration I headed straight for the front door (no checked baggage for this girl) and was immediately hounded by several men offering taxi rides. But, being the smart cookie I am, instead I found the 5’ tall smiling man holding a sign with my name. Off we went to get in a cab, or maybe a van. But instead of stopping where all the cars were parked we kept walking through the lot and came to a plethora of motorbikes. I thought for sure we would continue and find ourselves at another car lot, but instead the tiny man picked up a helmet and, still smiling, gestured to the seat. “This?” I asked incredulously, thinking surely this was some sort of Cambodian joke. Instead of saying, “are you out of your happy little mind?” I pointed toward my backpack as if to say, “Sorry, muchacho, but your minibike can’t handle my 8 lb. bag.” Unfazed, he pulled it from my hands and set it in a basket on the front of the bike. I did not have a plan B. So, as I threw my leg over the back of the bike I thought, “Mom would kick my a** right now if she saw me,” and hoped to god my instincts were right about this seemingly harmless man with the squeaky voice.

We pulled out of the airport (does one runway and tiki hut count as an airport?) onto a dark and carless road. I began to have doubts about trusting this man, thinking that he could take me anywhere and neither I nor anyone I know would have a clue where I was. There are mismatched fences of varying materials along the road, lots of fields, and trees and building that may have been homes, or food shacks, or outhouses. As we continued down the road I began to see more and more motorbikes and realized this is the primary mode of transportation. A dog laid on the side of the road, unconcerned as we whizzed just inches by. We came to a roundabout (and I mean a tiny circle with three possible exits) and in the center was a gold Hindu statute lit up by a chandelier over her head. It was beautiful.

We continued along through a town, very few people on the roads, and I noticed several outdoor bar/restaurants, and it reminded me of a small town barbeque where everyone hung out at picnic tables with Christmas lights and plastic cups. I saw women on the back of motorbikes with tiny babies in their arms, loosely hanging on. We passed a very narrow river (more like a stream) and my guide informed me it’s the Siem Reap River. People strolled along the water or sat on benches beneath tiki lights. It had a magical quality. He took me through the bar and restaurant district and for a moment I wished I had someone with me, because going out to a hopping area like that can be intimidating unaccompanied. But I resolved that I would either meet another solo chick traveler or go alone.

The hostel I’m staying at is called Bun Kao Guesthouse and it’s at the quiet end of an unlit dirt road with 6 or 7 other hostels cozily called “Mom’s House”, “Good and Kind” and “Home Sweet Home”. I’m already in love with the laid back, tropical feeling here; everything is lit with white and colorful light, there are hammocks in the trees, and there are no doors from the hallways onto the open decks. Shoes are left outside the hostel doors in a porch area but the floors are so clean I don’t mind walking barefoot. The owner of the hostel is another tiny smiling man (I’m thinking this might be a trend) who informs me I have a special room tonight (which means I have two beds) because of a room mix-up. He shows me upstairs and just as I walk into my room I look up to see a lizard on the ceiling. I smile, thinking it must be good luck.

I tried to call my parents and Dan, but the wireless is acting up and I lost them several times. So I am doing some writing and getting to bed, exhausted between the 6-hour flight and two-hour time difference.

Nov. 14

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! Wish I was there to give you a big hug, but I got you something from a market instead. Love you!!

I woke up at 6:30 (it would be 8:30 Korean time) after a horrible night’s sleep. The mattress I was on is about 4 inches of foam and not that uncomfortable, but the thick heat was. I had breakfast of half loaf of bread with jam and an egg over hard (there wasn’t a choice in the matter). My motorbike driver, Dy (pronounced Dee, who was the man who got me from the airport) arrived at 8 am and off we went.

First stop, Angkor Wat. Stunning! The pictures couldn’t do it justice. Despite the oppressive heat and my frizzy hair, I was in heaven. I regret not getting a tour guide at the ticket office (I didn't know you had to ask for one there, it was about 1km away from the first temple) and turning down the Cambodian man who offered to give me a tour for $10. The temple is under major restoration which is great because it would be a shame for it to fall into further ruin. (Built in early 12th century for king Suriyavaram II, first a Hindu then Buddhist temple.)

After Angkor Wat I jumped back on Dy's motor bike and we rode to The Bayon, which was a temple to Buddhist king Jayavarman VII. It's known for all the carved stone faces. Then we rode to Ta Prohm which is INCREDIBLE because I imagine this is what the whole world will look like a thousand years from now (should we continue to destroy our Earth the way we are...) There are massive trees growing ON TOP OF the temple. It's INCREDIBLE. I can't even describe what it's like to stand 20 feet below the base of a tree as it's roots push down and around a stone structure and into the ground you're standing upon. The power of nature; it leaves you in awe.

I was hungry so Dy took me to a restaurant in the bar district in Siem Reap. The heat made it difficult to finish my vegetable amok and rice, so I boxed it to go. But as I waited for Dy to return a small boy and his blind, one-armed father (I'm just assuming it was his father) came up to me, begging. I didn't want to give them money, so I gave them my food, much to the amusement of the waiters of the outdoor restaurant. (Although it may have been more of annoyance, since I just had them box it up.)

I went back to Bun Kao Guesthouse for a much needed shower and power nap, then met with Dy at 4pm and he took me to the Cambodian village which was basically a museum of Cambodia's history and some performances. I watched one performance, but broke away from the crowds and took a walk along the water, stopping to admire yet another wedding party. I noticed that the bride, bridesmaids, groom and groomsmen all wear the same color, even if it's white.

Dy was waiting for me, and I told him I was hungry. He asked me if I like dessert. "I love dessert!" I responded, although a "Hell yes!" would have been closer to the truth. We went to an outdoor restaurant with plastic chairs and stray dogs under a tarp roof. We ate (and I'm writing this phonetically) A-Gow-Katee, which is rice balls in a coconut cream with crushed peanuts. Yummy. He also bought me a green drink, although I didn't have it because it was poured over ice cubes and I don't know if they were purified. (From the looks of this joint, nothing is purified.) He told me about himself; he was orphaned as boy when Pol Pot's government killed his mother, father, brother and sister in the Killing Fields. He works with an orphanage who takes in Cambodia children that had been kidnapped and sold into Thailand slavery. He has a wife, two boys and a little girl.

Next we went to a juice bar (almost all food establishments are outdoors) and he ordered me a frozen fruit drink called Tu-Gro-Lo, which tasted like green and orange melon. Yum.

Next, a night market where I bought my brother and Genevieve something (he won't read this, no surprise spoiled) and bought an elephant statue for Dan and I. I'll have to return tomorrow for more, but I'm running out of backpack space. Might have to mail... I also had my feet "massaged" at Dr. Fish, where hundreds of tiny fish nibble at your feet, eating off the dead skin. The weirdest feeling!

I had the hostel owner book me a ticket to Ho Chi Minh City for Monday at 5:45. Tomorrow should be another busy day- Dy will pick me up at 8am. Good night!

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