Days 2, 3, 4 and 5 - Siem Reap, Cambodia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Hanoi, Vietnam

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I've been working on this entry in pieces for a couple of days now, but we've had spotty internet access and not much time to sit down even when a computer was available. We've had an awesome few days. I'm sitting in our hotel room now in Hanoi, Vietnam. Backing up to Wednesday afternoon, we met our Angkor guide, Kim, and his brother, also Kim (who speaks hardly any English), to start visiting the temples. Kim and Kim are native Cambodians. Kim the guide speaks very good English and was amazingly knowledgeable about the area and the Angkor temples. Kim the driver didn't say much. I can't imagine trying to visit the temples and Siem Reap without a guide. Will and Jenny and some friends of theirs had used Kim as a guide on their trip to Cambodia. There are approximately 192 temples in and around Angkor, so, without a guide, you really could miss out on the good stuff to see. Angkor Wat, which is the most well-known of the temples (most built of sandstone and volcanic rock), is only the start. In its day, approximately 1,000,000 people lived in and around Angkor (to give some perspective to that, only around 50,000 people lived in London at the time).

We visited three temples around central Angkor that afternoon. We first visited Tanei, a Buddhist temple built in around 1200 AD by King Jayavarman VII. We walked about 15 minutes into the jungle to get there...over a couple of dead snakes. It's not a usual tourist spot due to its remoteness...we were just about the only people there, which was really neat. Next was Takeo, a Hindu temple built in around 960 AD by King Jayavarman V, although it was never finished due to a lightning strike, which was seen as a bad omen. Last for the day was Angkor Thom, which was the great and last capital of Angkor (built around 1200 AD). About 10,000 people lived inside the walls, 3 km on each side. Within the complex is Bayon, a temple with 49 towers, each decorated with 4 faces of Buddha. Ate dinner at the Hotel de la Paix in Siem Reap on Wednesday night. Pretty cool place, but we ended up eating pretty much western fare. Good stuff though.

Thursday started with Beng Mealea, a Hindu temple about 70 km northeast of Siem Reap - literally out in the middle of nowhere in the jungle. Beng Mealea was built in 1113 AD-1150 AD by King Suryavarman II (the same king who built Angkor Wat). The car ride to and from Beng Mealea was almost as interesting as the temple itself. The main road to the temple has only been paved for about a year, going through rice paddies (sp?) and very poor villages. Cambodia is still a developing country in the most literal sense of the term. Kim filled us in more on the background of the Communist regime, Khmer Rouge (who stored weapons at Beng Mealea), within the last thirty years and the subsequent civil war after the Khmer Rouge fell. Through those periods, 20%-30% of the population of Cambodia was killed. Kim himself lost his grandparents and uncle...amazingly, he didn't lose his father, although he described that as "lucky." He talked about growing up as a kid and having a secret tunnel dug under his house where he and his family would hide from the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge also planted landmines everywhere throughout the country. Many of the fields we drove through yesterday, Kim said, were once filled with landmines. Some parts of the country have them still, and people continue to be injured or killed by them. We've seen quite a few locals who are missing limbs due to encounters with landmines.

Beng Mealea was awesome. It's not a common tourist attraction, due mostly to its remoteness and distance from Siem Reap, and it's very untouched. Many sections of it have collapsed, but it's still amazing. One cool thing about most of the temples here - you can climb wherever and touch whatever you want. There are very few roped-off sections or "no touching" signs. We climbed all over and through Beng Mealea. It was pretty challenging (and freakin hot).

Headed next to Banteay Srei, which had amazingly detailed carvings. After a great lunch at a local place called Khmer Family Kitchen, we headed to Ta Prohm, which is one of the more famous temples, primarily due to the huge trees that have grown out of the temple itself, with roots growing down from upper levels to the ground. It's hard to explain, but it was really incredible. Ta Prohm, a Buddhist temple, was built by Jayavarman VII in around 1186 AD as a dedication to his mother. A couple of movies, including parts of Tomb Raider, have been filmed there.

After a quick swim at the hotel, we headed to get massages at a local place in Siem Reap. The massage ended up being a "Chai" massage. No oil. Hot pajamas. Deep tissue. Pain. It was an experience, although I think Rich and I both would admit that we almost cried mercy several times. This was full-fledged, walk-on-your-back kind of stuff. We're hoping for a better massage in Bangkok.

Went to dinner at a local place serving Khmer food (pretty good curry and awesome US$.70/can beer) and then met Kim and a friend of his for a night out in Siem Reap, local style. Some of the details are probably not "bloggable," since I know my mom prints these entries for my grandparents to read. We had to wake up yesterday morning around 4:45 a.m. to get to Angkor Wat for sunrise. It was pretty tough to get going that early...especially because we were out until around 2 a.m. with Kim. He took us first to a local place with a Cambodian girl singing on stage and lots of old Cambodian men trying to pick up much younger Cambodian women. Very odd. The strangest part of the whole experience happened to me while standing at the urinal. I suddenly felt hands on my back giving me my second massage of the day. Some Cambodian dude was massaging my shoulders while I relieved myself. Needless to say, I was pretty freaked out, although I did tip the guy a buck (he was expecting it). Our next (and last for the night) stop was what Kim had described as a karaoke bar. Once again, I'm hesitant to provide all of the details of the place on this blog. Let me just say that it wasn't at all like Starz on Valley Avenue in B'ham. We had a lot more of that US$.70 beer. Lots of singing both American and Cambodian songs...lots of dancing...very weird. 'Nuff said.

Miraculously, we made it to meet Kim at 5 a.m. for Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the landmark of Cambodia, and it's truly amazing. We got there for sunrise. Kim took us in the back gate where there were no other tourists, so we sat up on the top level of the temple and watched the sunrise. Angkor Wat, a Hindu temple, was built in 1113-1150 by King Suryavarman II. It's still very intact and really is spectacular. Definitely a highlight. The size and detail of all of the temples is unreal. It's hard to believe that they were constructed during the early time periods when they were. Pictures will never do them justice.

(It's now 1:45 a.m. on Sunday in Hanoi. Back in hotel after being out for dinner/drinks.) After Angkor Wat, we flew back to Kuala Lumpur and headed to Will and Jenny's. We met up with a friend of theirs in KL, Greg, from Australia, who lived in Bangkok for awhile. Had drinks at a local pub and got some tips on where to go when we get to Bangkok. Went by a birthday party for one of Will and Jenny's friends from the states and then to dinner with Will, Jenny and a guy who works with Will at an Indian place in downtown KL. Had some good Indian food...eaten right from banana leaves. Called it quits for the night, as we had to be up for our flight to Hanoi this morning at 4:30. (As an aside, so I'll remember, yesterday was Independence Day in Malaysia...they were celebrating 50 years of independence from the British. Saw some cool fireworks downtown last night.)

Will, Rich and I flew to Hanoi, Vietnam this morning. Arrived and checked into the Church Hotel in downtown Hanoi. It's pretty obviously communist here. Headed to lunch and then hired rickshaws to drive us around town, which was a very cool way to get a good look at everything. Went by the "Hanoi Hilton," to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum (sp?) and "house on stilts," as well as the Ho Chi Minh Museum (it's pretty interesting and sometimes offensive to see and hear how they portray the war). Drove all through the streets and markets...and crossed our fingers that we wouldn't get hit by a passing moped. The number of mopeds on the street is phenomenal. And, they don't exactly obey traffic laws. I'm really not sure that there are any.

Went to dinner tonight at the Indochine. Met up with Mary and Emily Forman, from Birmingham, who are travelling over here right now. We each hopped on the back of a moped after dinner (for US$1) and headed to get ice cream at a local hot spot, Fanny. The moped ride was awesome (no helmets, of course). After ice cream, we headed to a cool restaurant/bar owned by a guy from San Francisco. Got kicked out of there around 1:30 a.m., took the girls back to the Metropole (their hotel) and came on back to the Church Hotel.

We'll be in Hanoi tomorrow and then possibly over to the coast of Vietnam on Monday. Rich and I leave for Bangkok on Monday night, and Will returns to KL. Will update with more again soon...

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Comments

[Herschel Walker]

Crofter
So- I had no idea you were even traveling again until I ran into Crofter today at the vet. I guess my mom was fired and wasn't asked to take care of him. I thought we did a pretty good job with him last summer. Sux for you because he was at the vet today for severe ear mites. He will not be so easy to give away when you move into your condo at Hallman's Hill if he only has one ear..Yea- you heard me. The vet said something about amputating it. You might want to go over the washing of the ear thing again with whoever is keeping him this time. Not that we could have kept him anyway...I've actually been living in Mississippi with my grandfather because my mom's new job makes her travel all over the freaking US..../So....sounds like you are having fun. That's good. Do you and your buddy have to dress alike over there> Just curious. THe white button down and jean thing in your pictures just kinda made me wonder...... Please be careful when riding around on a scooter without a helmet. You know I was hit by a car at 8 months and my mom swears that is what is wrong with me. A brain injury is no fun. Plus- if you hurt yourself you might be my mom's next patient in the OR when they have to fix your back. That could be interesting.....Oh well- my grandfather just has dial up internet and so I need to go in case my mom needs to call us. She hates the busy signal. Have fun and watch out in those urinals. That same thing happened to one of our senators- congressman- mayor type guys a couple of weeks ago and he had to resign. Maybe you should just go behind Ho Chi Minh;s house from now on. Holla.