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Published: August 9th 2016
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Four grown men, three married guys with children and another in a serious relationship, ages 41, 39, 35 and 32, laughing endlessly at poop and fart jokes on an epic trip. I am also Filipino and the rest of our group were British, so imagine all the politically incorrect barbs that goes in between. Can't stop the silliness, that even when a Cambodian doctor told our sick, dehydrated friend that his "poop" (his exact word) exam result was good, we can't all help letting out a faint giggle. He looked at us probably judging us that we are too old to be acting like university kids on break. It's a vacation where men became boys again.
The four of us met at work, shared some street beers, and soon we were having pub meets, we even started a business that didn't quite work out well, but I guess its how gracefully we handled our loses that brings us closer; that and our seemingly strong and common rejection of religion although we were all raised Christians. As if we are not ready to do something big together, then here we are on our crazy trip to Cambodia.
Manila airport was
and still a mess. Our flight from Osaka landed at Terminal 1. There you have to pass through immigration and customs to get out of the airport to get catch our connecting flight to Terminal 3, and yes we have to pass through immigration and customs again at Terminal 3. I also have to get a tax exemption, as Filipinos need to pay a steep travel tax to fly out of the country. Some incompetent airport official just could not grasp the fact that a Filipino is just in transit in his own country to get to another. But, all the hassle was worth it as I was able to meet a good friend of mine, who treated us to a nice quick lunch at a nearby Filipino restaurant.
I have been to Cambodia with my wife two years ago. Despite all the blogs that I have read about beggars and sellers endlessly approaching tourist, what we had experienced was very minimal. But this time I was surprised by the amount of people who approached our group; tuktuk drivers, beggars, sellers and even corrupt police officer. I guess white skin is seen as money. It was a bit of
annoyance but not enough to deter having a good experience at this beautiful country. Cambodia is stunning and once you were able to know the history, I think anyone will have deeper understanding of its poverty and bear with whatever little annoyance it might have caused a traveler.
I wouldn't write much about the temples as I have already wrote how amazing it is during my first visit. What I can say is it's still amazing and charming the second time around. The highlight of t his trip for me is the trip up to Phnom Kulen, a two hour drive to Mt Kulen is definitely worth the trip. We hired an air-conditioned van to bring us up to Mt. Kulen. We have a pre-paid road tickets through our hotel. The road leading up to the mountain is said to be a private road that of course charges more for foreigners and ticket has to be bought in advance. The single lane road with sharp rocks and turns seemed dodgy seeing random men walking in army fatigue overalls. Thoughts of being kidnapped for ransom did crossed our minds, but once you reach the top of the mountain, it turns
out to be a highly tourist area. Adding to the road scary feature might be its a single lane so you don't see any incoming car except the one tailing you. The road is open only on certain hours in the morning then it closes to allow opposing traffic. We went to see the reclining Buddha and the lingas in the river. Went for a little hike but then decided to come back as the walking trail narrows for fear of getting blown up by landmines.
We then went to the waterfalls which is a wonderful sight. We were adamant at first to get into the water, as the space opening up to the pool was a bit crowded. My British friends were not so keen on going near the falls at first. But you can't tell a guy from the tropics to watch a body of water and not take a dip. So I paid the one dollar entrance and told my friends lets go to the other side of the pool where there are no tourist at all. So we did, feeling very adventurous as we climb up and down huge, slippery rocks to get to a
place that we can enjoy for ourselves. The water was cold and the falls was really refreshing, plus you get fish to nibble on the dead skin of your feet.
We were all having bad stomach, unfortunately it was worst for one of us. We rushed our friend to the hospital, nothing grave, just more tools for poop jokes and 450 dollar bill which was covered by travel insurance. Cannot emphasize more the importance of a travel insurance.
We were all looking forward to visit the War Museum. We thought the place was just a display of left over Russian ammunition. We were thinking of having our photos taken, maybe do an Arnold Schwarzenneger impersonation and all sorts of silly things. But then the in-house tour guide was very effective in conveying the horrors of Cambodian war history by using his own body, its scars, amputated leg, shrapnel from landmines inside his skin that he even let guests touch and feel. As we move around the open air museum, the fun time we thought we are going to have at this place are now replaced with an eerily feeling of sadness. He showed us a tank with a
part of the tibia bone still inside. He did say we can enjoy playing with the guns after his tour. We did take some souvenir photos holding up some rifles, but the initial excitement was already erased by sadness. With that being said, please come visit this place. The sad history and the horrors experienced by the Cambodian people should never be forgotten.
Most meals and evenings were spent at the Pub Street. The main tourist area to dine, to unwind, to relax and to party. Before this trip, we were so excited thinking of happy pizza and even the possibility of hooking up. There were a lot of opportunity to completely go astray, as presented to us every evening, in the dance clubs, even just by having a wholesome oil massage. But then, something strange happened, we did get drunk, way too drunk at times, but then that was the full extend of our debauchery. We came here to have fun, and we did, but in lull moments, we were all looking at the photos of our kids being sent by our wives. Chatting with our wives as we lounge around the poolside. In the end, we realize
we were lucky enough to have wives who trusted us to go on a boys' vacation. We were boys again for 8 days but it is good to know we remained good fathers and faithful husbands throughout this awesome and testing journey. I know these wouldn't be our last, and I know that these guys will forever be my brothers.
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