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Published: August 7th 2007
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coolest dog on the planet
I swear to god this dog was watching the sunset. Standing about 9 inches tall he would go out and play in ocean. Thailand has become synonymous with pampered, yet "exotic" travel. I have never quite understood this view, as it is ridiculously easy here to get quite immersed in raw Asia. In fact, outside of obvious travel hot-spots this country can be difficult traveling due to a minimum of English proficiency. It is true there is an established tourism industry that provides an opportunity to enjoy plush travel, but for anyone keen on "authenicity" you can simply walk a few blocks and find yourself perfectly alone. So, if Thailand being "too touristy" is what is keeping you away, look past that. What we found, on our limited forays into the great unknown, was a hard-working, proud and direct country. Now, if you are a drill sergeant, those qualities might seem ideal, but for my holiday? First, the population is CRAZY over their king. By crazy I mean there are gigantic murals of him everywhere and about a third of the population is wearing yellow (the color of the monarchy) to demonstrate their loyalty. This pride is carried on to the national anthem. Whenever it is played everything stops and the people stand at attention. The manner of communication is very short. As a
Yellow
Seriously, they wear A LOT of yellow! west-coast boy, I am used to each sentence couched with at least four "pleases, two "excuse me's" and three "but that's just my opinion's", so this was a bit difficult to adjust to. Of course, the attitudes mellowed dramatically as we left the big cities and visited the towns and beach communities.
The capital of Bangkok is sprawling and industrial. A walk through the center of town feels a bit like an insect-scaled tour of a car engine. Everywhere people are sweatily working and the city's "neighborhoods" are better described as sections of a supermarket: In one area you fix your car, another you buy wedding dresses, yet another for purchasing gold, etc. Within this madness there are examples of startling modernity. The subway here is the nicest I have ever seen and the airport kicks ass. To entertain the passengers at the train station there is a huge flat-screen tv broadcasting the animal planet in Thai. In addition, to complicate my stereotype of them as a rigid and authoritarian culture, the gay men are treated with tremendous relative respect. The "girly-boys" do not hide their sexuality at all, even while working at government positions, and finish sentences with
an exaggerated "Kaaaaa", which signifies femininity. The high-tech toys and dashes of progressive thinking weren't enough to keep us in Bangkok, however. We soon headed south to the islands.
To get to our beach (Ko Phayam) we endured a taxi, train, bus and boat ride totaling close to 24 hours but it was worth it. I have been to a lot of sandy spots and this place is nice. There was a complete cast of colorful characters peopling the island: sophisticated Brits, hippie girls, friendly Thais, the works. The beach itself is about 3K long of white sand and there are just enough bungalows and restaraunts to keep prices down, without development getting out of hand. That is, of course, before yokels like myself spread the word on the internet and the place blows up.
CAMBODIA
The border crossings into Cambodia have a dubious reputation. There are rumours that Bangkok Airlines bribes the Cambodian government to keep the road to Siem Riep, home of Angkor Wat and Cambodia's primary tourist attraction, in poor condition to encourage flying. Generally skeptical of conspiracy theories, I am open to believing this could take place in a country where military leaders profit
A victim of the Khmer Rouge
All prisoners killed at the prison had their picture taken. Today you can see their photos as part of the memorial/museum. from vast illegal timber sales and it is possible to hire military weaponry to shoot farm animals. We entered from Laos. At our border, the corruption has become organized ($1 for every official encountered) and not much of a hassle. We had the bizarre experience of being "overcharged" in this process; Lauren was charged $2 per person, and I actually got a refund when I went to confront the officials. Behind the stories and auspicious entry, we found an incredible country. The people here exude a charisma and friendliness that reminded us of Nepal. In fact, as we experienced more of Cambodia we realized that although Laos was peaceful, it wasn't that cheerful. The stoic faces of the Laotian countryside are a far cry from the exuberant "Hello's!" we encountered here.
Phnom Penh is the coolest city I have been to in Asia. Located on the bank of the Mekong, it is a bustling, energetic capital that is small enough to explore on foot. The market in the center of town offers the usual asian oddities, the path along the river is pleasant, and there are plenty of green public spaces. Our highlight was finding an obese monkey in
the park. Totally at ease amongst his more athletic monkey friends, he blissfully ate bananas and basked in being fat and lazy. Lauren was convinced he had a thryoid problem. We visited the "killing fields" and political prison that define this city on the tourism trail. They were tremendously sad. In the prison you can still see the beds and gallows where the prisoners were tortured. In the fields there now stands a monument of skulls and bones almost four stories high. The most impactful part of the story for me was the incredible cruelty of "realpolitik". The Khmer Rouge was actually supported by China and Thailand because they were seen as an ally against the common enemy of Vietnam.
Siem Riep was our next stop. The city itself was not that impressive. Overly dependent on tourism to Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples, an authentic ambience is hard to find among the hundreds of guest houses and internet shops. However, the quality of room for $5 is incredible and it is a pleasant 20 minute bike ride to Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the largest of a number of temples in the area. Exploring these ruins is more
like visiting ancient cities than churches, as they cover several square miles and were home to thousands of people. My favorite was Bayon, famous for its serene stone faces. You must time your visit carefully, as hordes of Korean tourists dominate the scene for large chunks of time. In fact, official estimates claim 1/2 to 1/3 of the entire South Korean population is located within these temples at any given moment. We didn't find Angkor Wat as impressive as the Taj Mahal or Macchu Pichu. Vey cool, but I wouldn't come to Cambodia specifically for that destination. However, the country outside this principal attraction far exceeded our expectations and we would love to come back.
Last Blog
There, there, don't cry. All good things must come to end, like my money to continue traveling. Actually, I can't wait to be home. My brother and sister have both had children during this trip and uncle Nels has some spoiling to do. Also, I have come to more fully appreciate all that our country has to offer. Somewhere in Asia a young man asked me where I can from. I told him "The United States". His expression changed and he practically
whispered "America", as if that word alone meant everything. His response has been in no way unique; most locals we meet express respect, even reverance, for the U.S, and there are far and away more American flags or logos here than back home. Undoubtedly they are influenced by myths about "The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave", but when all is said and done, I think our country really is a special place. But more important than this blubbering over the motherland is my personal objective of this trip: to be cool like Fasy. All my faithful readers (thanks, mom) will remember this was the primary task and it pains me to admit, I failed. You see, growing your hair long while traveling is the thing to do. Somehow "letting you hair grow" demonstrates that your mind is becoming more open and you are just becoming cooler. Well, I gave it a solid 7 months of effort but upon further review of Fasy's blog, it looks like he has me beat. Damn. Wulp, that's about it from here. My next adventure is training with Lauren for an ironman triathlon this summer. You can check out that
blog from my homepage, nelsabrams.blogspot.com. Wish me luck.
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