Bangkok to Cambodia

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Hello hello,
I am really tired from walking all day in Angkor Wat so excuse the multiple errors that I am bound to make. I lot to cover so bear with me here. Alright, so last I wrote I was in Brisbane. Travelling from Brisbane was a breeze on New Years. Celebrating the holidays while travelling, has not exactly been what I'm used to, but I can now say that I rode a bus all night Christmas day in Australia and was on a plane to Bangkok from Brisbane when the New Year was rung in. I don't recommend it, but it is an experience none the less 😊
So a lot has been going on since we got in to Bangkok. Paul and I managed to pick up another person on our travels while at the Bangkok airport. Our good friend Kam. He will be travelling with us all through Thailand, Cambodia, and Italy and then breaking off to explore China and Korea for a while.
We were picked at the airport at 6 am by Lily and her boyfriend Bank. Lily was an exchange student that lived with my parents and I for a while when I was about 10. We have continued to stay in contact with her and her family over the years, even visiting her sister Lynn in Chicago at one point. It seems fitting for me to stay in her house and experience her culture as she did many years ago in my home. Lily's family has their own business, (I think it is some kind of law firm), that takes place on two floors of the building that Lily, Lily's cat, Lynn, and two maids live.
We have been treated with such incredible hospitality thus far. One of the maids washed and hung our clothes for us, we have been made breakfast each morning, consisting of noodles or rice porridge, we were given ring side seats to Thai boxing tonight, and last night we were taken out to dinner where we witnessed some beautiful Thai dancing and music. The generosity has been overwhelmingly humbling.
Over the last few days we explored the city somewhat. Bangkok is a sprawling metropolis of 7 million people, so it is difficult to really see it all in the time we have, but we travelled to the main points of interest. We rode the sky train to a few areas of the city, from a huge 8 story mall to a large market further out of town. The market is only open on the weekends, but there were still a bunch of people selling plants. And as I said above we were taken out to a nice Thai dinner with music and dancing.
The city itself reminds me somewhat of New York or Chicago because of the immensity and the amount of people. But it also reminds me of LA because the air quality is pretty horrible and of some of the dirtier streets of San Francisco.
The following day we took a boat through the main river of Thailand to one of the main areas for site seeing. We witnessed many of beautifully ornate Wats and even a huge reclinning Buddha that you will see a picture of. I heard a tour guide explaining to a couple, that the reason for the reclinning pose is because that position is considered to be the last the Buddha was in before dying and attaining Nirvava. It is a very contented pose 😊
We then checked out the Grand Palace grounds which had beautiful gold inlay structures throughout. We were going to go to the National museum and the National art gallery, but they were both closed because of the New Year holiday. So, instead each of us got one hour traditional Thai massages that were amazing! I have never gotten a real massage in my life so it was an incredibly new experience for me. I thought my fingers were going to break at one point when they bent them back, but I made it out of the shop in a very relaxed state. The massage itself was very firm and deep, but it felt amazing on my muscles.
We then watched some Muai Thai boxing courtisy of Lily and her sisters. I am not so into the whole fighting thing, (I was raised by hippies 😊, but the boxing was awesome! The first few fights weren't quite as good because the fighters were younger and less experienced, but by the time the main fight came around we were witnessing some combos and even a round house, Chuck Norris style!
The fighters are allowed to attack with any part of their body besides the head, so we saw many kicks to the kidneys and punches to the face.
The following day we woke up at 4:45 to catch a train to a border town called Aranya Pathet. It took about 6 hours because the train had to stop along the way to pick people up and it didn't run very fast either. We then took a Tuk Tuk, which is basically a motorcycle with a basket attachment for the passengers, to the border town of Cambodia, called Poipet. From here it took us about an hour and a half to leave Thailand, get a visa, and then enter Cambodia.
Once on the Cambodian side we were helped by a nice 23 year old guy who took us to get a share taxi and arranged it for a little cheaper than we may have gotten it for because he liked us. It was a very warming experience to come across into Cambodia to meet someone so nice and helpful immediately. His job is to help tourists like us get across the border and find transport and he said he just loves doing it because he meets so many different people and learns bits and pieces of many different languages.
We took the share taxi that was arranged for us to Siem Reap, on an incredibly bumpy road for about 3 hours. The Khmer Rouge apparently continued to fight up until 1998 near Poipet, so the country is still recoering in this area and many others for that matter.
There isn't a center lane or anything you westerners are used to. The road is about a few cars across wide and intermixed with some asphault, some dirt, and many pot holes. It was a pretty rough ride to say the least, but we had been travelling all day so we weren't to annoyed by it.
We arrived in Siem Reap and checked into a very nice hotel for only $10 a night for all three of us! What a deal! Plus we have our own room and get free breakfast with tea! So far it is the best payed for place we have stayed at on this trip.
The next morning, which is today, (finally i'm caught up), we explored one of the wonders of the world. Angkor Wat. And wow it was spiritually enlightening 😊
Seriously though, all of the Wats that we explored today were architectually some of the most amazing examples of what humans are capable of creating. Plus they were constructed about 10 centuries ago, which makes them even more impressive.
We payed $40 for a 3 day pass and cpmmenced with the stretching of the legs. The first half of the day we spent exploring Angkor Wat which is the most renowned of all of the Wats in the area. The construction of the temples is set up in a very symmetrical way. The area of Angkor is probably about one square mile which is symmetrically constructed with a huge moat on the furthest outlying region, then about a 15 ft wall running almost all the way around, followed by areas of forest and couryards with walkways up to the central construction, and finally a large area at the center with ornately constructed Wats and passage ways interconnecting. It is hard to fathom the whole place without actually being there, and the pictures don't do it justice, but it is the largest area of a single construction that I have ever experienced.
The steps up to the taller Wats are insanely tall, which makes me think that they had some symbolic purpose. Possibly that the path to enlightenment or Nirvana is difficult, but rewarding. Thats my expert opinion 😊 I wish I knew more about the meaning behind the sculptures, but I will have to Wikipedia that when I get home. However I did see many five headed serpent structures that apparently symbolize the connection of man to the Gods. I would see these sculptures usually on the outside of Wats or bridges.
There is also the 4 faced buddha that seems to be atop many of the Wats. The faces....face.....4 different dirrections, possibly signifying all knowing all encompassing embrace? There are theories, but no one is completely sure on that one.
I walked a ways away from the central Wats to peruse to wall and the moat. This was nice because I was able to get away from the crowds and get pictures without anyone in them! I am bitter, yes.
As we left the Wats to get some food we saw a couple monkeys in the trees! Yes! Something I can say I have seen now! Wild monkeys! They were high up in the trees jumping from branch to branch and when I finally did get a picture I got a nice view of the monkeys junk. I decided not to post it because it wasn't a great shot to begin with and it might be a little to Animal Planet for the grandmas 😊
However, as we travelled away from the Wat we came across another monkey that really enjoyed sitting spread eagle on the ground right in front of us as we took pictures of it. I don't know if I have a great one of that, but Kam got one.
Their eyes and face has so much expression. They seem to be so aware of their surroundings and what they are doing. They are curious little guys too, as you can see from the pics. He picked up a cigarette and a shoe on the ground as he walked with us for a few hundred feet. I had images of Planet of the Apes 😊
We walked for another couple hours, exploring a few of the other more well known Wats, where I was again blown away by the fantastic symmetry of the architecture. I was like a kid in a candy store pretty much the whole time we were there because I like to take symmetrical shots or shots with interesting angles and the Wats are pretty much the definition of those two things.
We were exhausted by the end of our trek and came back to Siem Reap to get some deliciously cheap food. On average so far the meals have cost about $2.50, which is good for a broke traveller such as myself.
Alright enjoy the plethora of pics. I'll try to stay up to date from now on 😊 Have I said that before?

Daniel

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