Final Thougts

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The last travel blog of my trip to Thailand and Siem Reap. Many joys were had, and it was exactly what I needed this summer. Many of you know what last year brought, and the distractions and travel were just the ticket to make it through a few transitional moments. Thank you to those of you who have been following along here. It's been a very different kind of travel journal for me. I had become accustomed to traveling with a paper journal and keeping all the paper tickets and other similar mementos as I went along. However, I am very excited - this site is linked to a "blog to book" service that will allow me to edit my writing and add many more pictures. Voila! Instant scrapbook. Perfect as I was always terrible at the actual journaling part of the scrapbook.

My last few days left a lasting impression on me. I think I came away with a real heart for Cambodia. I know I only saw the tiniest fraction of the country, but the things we did see and experience, and the people we met, and the smallest insight I gained into the struggles of this developing nation left me with a bit of an existential crisis. I found myself in tears during a short drive out to the Artisans de Angkor's Silk Farm. I think it was trying to wrap my head around the life that some of the people I saw and met along the way have to live, and the history of the country and the lack of medical care and just clean water. All of this together with really thinking of my own struggles - well, it just made me truly understand what a blessed life I live. I don't know yet if I was crying for them or for myself, but I am one lucky woman and I hope to remember that the next time I get a little fidgety when the coffee line is too long, or any other petty irritant gets under my skin. Might be a lifetime struggle.



Well, onto lighter subjects. After spending the day in the hotel and recovering from a tough morning, Noelle and I took off in a tuk-tuk for a nice ride through the country side. We had our same driver - and he was a true darling. Another person I wanted to pack in my suitcase and bring home with me. We had a different tour guide - one who was not afraid to share his views on the trials of Cambodia and history as he saw it. It was a good day. We started with a drive through the city and then "out the road" if you will. When we turned off onto a country road - I thought it was because we were getting close. But it turned out to be a bumpy road for the tuk-tuk - but a wonderful "short-cut" that was one of the most scenic of the entire trip. It was truly a drive through the country. While I was in no condition to do it in the heat of the Cambodian sun, it was the kind of road that really made you want to be on a bicycle - with no agenda, no guide or driver, no time crunch to see everything on your last day. Just you and the road, you know? It was a National Geographic picture op at every corner, behind every tree, in every rice paddy, after every bump in the road. I don't know what kept me from jumping out of the tuk-tuk at one point and just wade into the rice paddy that was being, well, I don't know what you call it when the baby rice blades are being transplanted, and start to help the friendly folk who stopped their work to wave and say a friendly hello.



At one point, the ride was beginning to be a little bumpier than it should have been. When we pulled over at a tire shop (a small house with a row of tires and tubes strung across the roof and a small air pump in the front yard - complete with two darling children, one playing in the dirt and the other swinging in the hammock having a little snack) we discovered why. Flat! Well, three Cambodian men, one new tire, and new tube, a little air, and ten minutes later we were on our way again. (Noelle and I asked later - and included the price of the tire and the tube in our tip for the driver. We think the tire and tube expense would have been about a week's worth of profits for him and all considered not much for us. We did not, however, include the liter of gas he had to put in the tank when he ran out of gas at the exact moment we were across from a "gas station" - a home with a rack of re-used liter soda and liquor bottles full of petrol. We are sure that should be part of the tour). Oh, and when I was putting sunscreen on the leg that sticking out of the tuk-tuk and getting too much sun - I lost my favorite ring :-( It was not a real treasure or expensive - but I so enjoyed it. I can only hope someone walking down the road will find it.



Our first stop was Beng Melea. Another tree covered temple! This might be one of my favorites. It had the feeling of Ta Phrom (the jungle temple of the "tomb raider" one) without the crowds and without the unsightly tarps of restoration. This one has been left to the roots and vines of the jungle. There a number of places to climb around the rubble of the stones, but we stuck to the many platforms and walkways - trying to be responsible tourists - all the while struggling with urge to go all "Indiana Jones" while we had the chance. It was a beautiful and peaceful temple, definitely worth the two hours in a tuk-tuk (two and a half if you suffer from tuk-tuk flat tire syndrome).



After Beng Melea - it was a long drive back toward town in order to take a tour down the river toward Tonle Sap lake - the largest natural lake in SE Asia. We arrived after a long drive through a very rustic and basic rural area that stretched the entire road to the "entrance". I don't know what else to call it. There's a "company" checkpoint where you pay for the tour in the boat. The "company" is some kind of mystical entity I really didn't understand. I know it owned the boats that take tourists down the river (a long drive down the road that parallels the river and a short boat ride to the lake in the dry season, and a short drive down the road and a longer boat ride in the rainy season). It regulates much of the happenings of the fishing village at the mouth of the river/lake, won't allow any but their own development (such as a tree top restaurant/guest house that was in the early building stages) but was still a bit of a mystery. It was a weird kind of feudal system?? The two young men who drove our boat could not have been more than 15, and the village was surreal. I have never seen anything like it. Our guide used the word "commune" when he referred to the village. It was a village on stilts - with the homes built like thirty -fifty feet in the air. There were many different levels with each seeming to serve a different purpose depending on the season and the level of the water. There was some serious living going on here. Talk about a lack of leisure time. There were men and sons fishing out of their small dugout canoes all along the river, man and women cleaning, repairing, painting the boats and homes, gathering of materials, small children playing in the river near the shores, and just life on display. It's as if we had a window into their lives - like the fourth wall of their home was just gone. Like if you drove down your own neighborhood and everyone's walls that faced the road was gone and their home was open for viewing. I still don't know how I felt about the experience, but I do feel lucky to have seen it.



I think having driven so far out of the city and seeing much more of the "real" rural area - away from the touristy areas with shops and restaurants - gave me a real appreciation for the daily struggles of the lives of the people here. It surely contributed to my emotions as I was driving in an air conditioned van to see the artist's workshop at the silk farm - which was pretty cool! Noelle went off to spend her day at Angkor Wat one more time - with a short visit to one more temple. I was, for some reason, bound and determined to see the silk farm workshop. I took a jaunt through the local's market (also prompting my personal crisis when I way the old women beggars on the dirt floor of the market) where I saw women sitting on the counters surrounded by the catch of the day - literally, fish, beef, chicken, fruits, bread - all splayed out on the tables and floor. Direct contrast with the clean and polished area of the Artisans d' Angkor - where I climbed into a van and drove about 20 miles outside the city to see the silk farm workshop. where they cultivate the mulberry trees, whose leaves are used to feed the silk worms. It's a bit harsh to know the life of the silk worm, so I'll leave that for you to discover. But, wow, what a testament to the ingenuity of the ancients! Who would have ever thought to do what they do to create silk! I mean, can you imagine being the first person to say "hey, look what happens if I do this!"



After the silk farm, I got back to the hotel for a nice respite before leaving for good. The Golden Temple Hotel was an absolute gem! We got a 4:00 o'clock check out time! And a last tuk-tuk ride to the airport - with me and Noelle and our many purchases piled on top of us, giving us just enough room to see some of Siem Reap as we made our way to the airport. A late arrival to Bangkok gave Noelle just enough time for a snack before waiting for her flight and me too much time to chill and not enough to get a hotel for the night. I wanted to grab "day room" at the hotel, but I couldn't justify spending over $100 for the six hours. So, I camped out on the couch I managed to find over near the G gates. I woke up in plenty of time, but the agent at the transfer counter was very worried about me since I was the last transfer passenger to check in. She escorted me straight to the gate - where I then of course waited for what seemed like hours before boarding the flight to Narita, Japan. Nice enough flight, but not enough sleep - really bothersome to be awakened, not once - but twice - by the overly concerned flight attendants - they didn't want me to miss the inflight meal! Lesson: never sleep with your tray table in the down position!!! Pretty easy flight over to Seattle - again, little sleep - but enough to be tolerant when the flight out of Seattle was delayed by several hours (another mechanical!) But - nice flight back to Anchorage - and great 22 hour sleep over at T&T's. My all time favorite place to crash!



It is now about nine days back and nine sleeps - and I am almost back on AK time. I still have trouble getting to sleep on time, but at least I have the luxury of sleeping in. But - that might soon come to an end! Mom will be here in just a few hours for a two week road trip down the Peninsula and up north! It'll be wonderful to spend time with her, and it might have to be blog series #2: "You must be trippin' - Travels with Granny"

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