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Ta Som Temple
Tree growing out of Ta Som temple. When I last wrote I was in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Phnom Penh was bewildering at first, as I hadn't been to a major city in over a month. But by the 2nd day I had mastered crossing 8 lanes of constant oncoming traffic, toured Wat Phnom, marveled at the Central Market and stumbled on a dim sum restaurant (tapas-style Chinese brunch). I have been addicted to dim sum since my first taste during a visit to Minneapolis with my friend Lindsay and her family. So finding a dim sum restaurant made my day. I had tamed the city.
After a few days in Phnom Penh, I headed to Siem Reap and the incredible temples of Angkor. My friend Jesse suggested renting a bicycle to tour the temples. And it was great, except that I got lost and went miles out of my way, it was hot and exhausting, my backside is still recovering and I got caught in a torrential downpour. It was so bad that it was funny. I promptly hired a motorbike driver for the 2nd and 3rd day. Ceaet, my driver, was great and took me to some amazing temples that I would've
Mali's Plaza beach
The beach outside our bungalows at Mali's Plaza, Otres Beach, Sihanouk Ville, Cambodia otherwise overlooked.
All in all the temples were amazing, if overwhelming. There is so much to see, but it's hard to avoid "temple fatigue". And I'm embarrassed to say that looking back at my photos, the temples start to run together. But the highlights were: enjoying the solitude of being the only visitor at Preah Palilay, walking through Angkor Wat at sunrise, and the delicate carvings at Bantaey Srei. There are so many fantastic temples. So many temples that would be major attractions if they were anywhere else are barely visited because of the steep competition. Visiting the lesser known temples can be really rewarding.
After 3 days of temples, I was ready to relax on the beach in Sihanouk Ville. Peter, a guy I met in Siem Reap, was headed that way, so we both met up with Kieran on Otres Beach. Kieran had found this great place called Mali's Plaza. We were the only ones there for the duration of our stay. It was right on the beach, which we had to ourselves. The couple that managed the place had two adorable daughters who waved and said hello continuously as long as any of
Queens Cabaret
Whitney Houston makes an appearance at the Queens Cabaret in Koh Tao, Thailand. us were in view. The family cooked delicious Khmer food. We were invited to join a whiskey drinking and shellfish eating session with Vrooty (the manager/dad) and his friends. When we were ready to leave, the family gave us beer while we packed. No electricity. No running water. But probably my favorite place I have stayed on this trip.
I decided to skip Vietnam because of the cost and wanting to see more of Thailand. One of the best things about my trip has been being able to throw my itinerary out the window. 28 hours and 10 vehicles later, Kieran and I arrived in Koh Tao, an island off the eastern coast of southern Thailand. Koh Tao has an amazing natural beauty. The water is sparkling green-blue and the island is a lush green with great boulders jutting out all over. And it's far more touristy than anywhere else I had been on this trip (except Bali). But the upside to this was the food. Suddenly, sushi, tex mex and *gasp* gnocchi were dinner options. Kieran and I proceeded to eat our way through Koh Tao.
I did some snorkeling and saw coral, anemones and
Koh Tao Beach
View from Snorkeling boat fish I had never seen before. I was hoping to see a shark, but I missed them. There was a couple on my boat who kept seeing sharks and asking me if I saw them. Yeah, that got annoying after a while. We also enjoyed the Queens Cabaret drag show. There were some great numbers including 'Unbreak My Heart' and of course 'It's Raining Men.' Koh Tao has been amazing and I'm sad to be leaving and on my own again.
Tonight I'm heading back up to Bangkok. I will be traveling through northern Thailand until I fly back to Los Angeles on July 1.
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Megan
non-member comment
yay! drag queens!
Good to know you can find that incredibly entertaining (and oddly comforting) brand of good gay times any where in the world. Now, your mission is to find gay bingo and/or karaoke and win some cash.