Christmas in July

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The Christmas tree in the hotel lobby was like Angelina Jolie at an all-you-can-eat buffet, or Gene Simmons on Antiques Roadshow: it just didn't belong. I am eating pineapples and drinking coconut water straight from the shell, it's over 90 degrees and I got sunburned at the pool yesterday. There is NO WAY it's December. Partridges and pear trees should be months away. Yet there it was, the Christmas tree, glowing with yuletide defiance. 'Don't you know where you are? Don't you know how hot it is? Stupid tree,' I thought. With some surprise I looked down at my knockoff retro Casio watch and saw DEC 1 starring back at me. WTF?

So now that it's December and all, I should bring you up to date: After leaving Saigon my friend Emily and I traveled deeper into the Mekong Delta to Can Tho before heading to the border at Chau Doc. We took local buses, easily the most junked out gypsy-gigolo tin cans that I have been on yet. Now that's saying something. They seemed to employ the "anything goes " philosophy where any manner of goods and/or animals are welcome. Nasty fowl in cages, leaky fish in styrofoam coolers, and a puppy on a rusty chain to start. I met a couple who had seen a woman with a big plastic sack full of writhing, whimpering, 'something'. They never found out what. It's already given that there was no a/c, but when the guy next to me lit up, I knew I was in for a long ride. They fit no less than 30 people into this demented clown car. Every time I thought 'there is no way they can fit another human being,' they somehow did just that.

So, needless to say, it was a whirlwind of travel between Saigon and Siem Reap. We took every means of transport from tuk-tuks and motos to local buses, sleeper buses, speed boats, row boats, and remorks. We never stayed more than a day and a half in any one place--just enough time to see a few sights and catch the next 'insert mode of transport here' away.

We hit the ground running in Siem Reap after a bloody awful night bus. The roads were so bad I felt like I had spent the night in a construction zone. When we arrived at 6am, the tuk-tuk drivers were clawing at the gates, vying for out business. Groggy-eyed and exhausted, I thanked Buddah that I had the foresight to book ahead. Our hotel had sent a really nice guy named Keo to pick us up. He held a sign that said "WELCOME Kaitlin Manning." I've never had that before. Loved it. He rushed us past the blood-thirsty hordes of touts, our knight in shining tuk-tuk.

After a shower and a bite to eat, we were off again to fabled Angkor Wat. I will say now that it defies any description I can give to it. Bigger and more impressive than I could have ever imagined, it is not one temple but many, spanning a vast area north of Siem Reap. The sites were like playgrounds of steep stairs, crumbling walls, and enigmatic sculpture. It was the ultimate Indiana Jones experience. I half expected to walk right into a booby trap or a snake pit. We explored all day long, each temple seeming vaster than the next, some well along the beaten path some hidden away like treasures awaiting discovery. Their beauty is tempered with an Easter Island eeriness. Giant stone faces smile knowingly from their lofty towers. "What's so funny?" you want to ask. But whatever it is, they aren't telling. It's all quite otherworldly, and is enough to make you feel very, very, very small. If the gods do exist, I don't doubt that they live here.

After four days in Siem Reap, it was time to move on. My buddy for this leg of the trip was destined for Bangkok, I for Battambang. After a bit of sightseeing tomorrow, I go to Bangkok myself before heading back through London. A week in Europe and then home for the holidays...Joy to the World 😊

P.S. Bonus points for whoever can name the songwriter from whom I stole the title for this week's blog...

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Comments

[Kip Pierson]

Duh...
Sufjan Stevens - a fellow Michigander.

[MoveItManning]

you win! cannot wait to hear that album when i get back. my i pod was stolen, so i am completely music-less :( i'll be back in washington around the new year--can 't wait to see you!

[James #1]

Oddly enough
I was in a church Christmas pageant type thing when I was five and the choir director wrote a song called "Christmas in July" whose lyrics I still remember a few of amazingly. I assure you that my choir director was not Sufjan Stevens. I also assure you that my jealousy of your time in Angkor Wat cannot be expressed well enough by this post.