Siem Reap

I just checked out the blog page because it has been a while since I posted anything, and I found out I had never finished the story of Cambodia.  So, while my heart is set on getting to NH in 14 days, I have to rewind, and try to remember what these pictures are all about!

When we last left you we were boarding the little plane from Phnom Pehn to Siem Reap.  This is the view of Siem Reap from the plane (sorry for the crooked horizon, it was out the plane window).

Another shot from the plane, this is the Tonle Sap, a huge lake/river that makes up the central part of Cambodia.
As we land in Siem Reap we realize that it is a lot different from Phnom Pehn.  This is definitely more our pace.  While PP is a big city, SR is a smaller town, with a much less hurried pace. 

We head to the Old Town for some shopping.  The street is lined with little stalls and open air shops, and of course, tuk-tuks.  

The kids see the fish massage, and they are in! 

Pooks getting nibbled. 

This is the inside of the market.  There are different sections, this one is the veggies, there are some for meats, fish, clothing, bags, tourist stuff.  The food fine and looks great, but the fish area is something else.  We had a hard time with the smell, and so we got out of that part pretty quick. 

More of the Old Town... we took a photo of this because behind is a Mexican restaurant and we wanted to be able to find it again!  

The next day we have arranged a tour of the different Wats, which I think means temple.  We start out early and head to Ankor Thom,   

Angkor Thom was the last capital city of the Khemer empire, and it was built in the 12th century.  If you look, you can see faces everywhere.  They built the faces to look to the four directions.

This is the main entrance. All of the walls have amazing carvings on them, but it is hard to take pictures of it and have it come out well.

If you are interested, you can see some amazing stuff from this link:

http://www.lakshmisharath.com/2013/12/05/bass-reliefs-bayon-angkor-thom-cambodia/

This is really what it looks like, and this guy obviously has a better camera than I do! 

Next to Angkor Thom is this temple.  

There isn't a window there, but the kids were doing this cool pose.  It doesn't look real, does it??? 

These guys were injured by land mines during the Khmer Rouge times, and now are musicians, with DVDs and CDs.

So, I didn't really know anything about the Killing Fields, or the Khmer Rouge, and I still don't know much, but I learned that among other things, the Khmers wanted complete self-sufficiency, and implemented extreme agricultural reform.  The yield per hectare was to be three tons of rice.  This picture makes me think of that.

If you are curious about the history of the Khmer Rouge, this is a brief summary:

http://www.cambodiatribunal.org/history/cambodian-history/khmer-rouge-history/ 

One of the most impressive things about visiting these temples in Cambodia is just imagining how much time it took to carve each of these doors, entryways, walls.  It is just amazing! 

Bandea Srey Temple is made of red limestone.  

Finally we make it to Ankor Wat.  One of the most famous temples in Cambodia, and a debated member of the seven wonders of the world, it is really amazing.  BTW, does anyone know what the seven wonders of the world actually are?  What we came up with are:  Pyramids, hanging gardens somewhere... and that is about it.  Some we thought were wonders, like the Grand Canyon, but not sure if they are on the list.  So, if you know, or if you find a link on Google, please share!  

Pretty cool, huh? 

For all of the beauty and splendor, this is what I take a photo of?  I just wish they had made the tail out of a more durable material than limestone!  And on that note, it is time to head back to the hotel.  

The next day we are back in the van for another round of seeing new stuff.  

We head through the woods on a red clay road for about an hour, winding and climbing, on our way to see three things.

The first is this river with a thousand lingas.  A linga is a stone carving, like a circle in a circle in a circle.  They were carved by monks and the water passing over them is sanctified by the carvings.  Also, up a little ways is this natural spring, which  looks so cool.  Since I can't post the videos in here, I'll put them on FB, and you can be amazed there!  

The second stop is this mountain top temple. 

With a humongous reclining Buddha.  

And on our way to the last stop, we get to feel like an extra in an Indiana Jones movie and walk across this bridge! 

Walking by the houses.

To this amazing waterfall.  

Back in the van, and heading back into town.  

As we are driving, the guide pulls over when he sees this on the side of the road.  Honey!  And bee larvae.  The honey comb is wiggling, as the larvae squirm around.    

Here is RMan holding one of the larvae on his finger.

Now, let me just stop for one moment and talk about the experience of being travelers, and growing up far from home, and always being expected to accept other cultures, and to understand that not everyone is like you are.

It is a pretty amazing thing to see that in your kids.  Cambodia is not most kids dream vacation spot.  They are only 30 years past a devastating civil war that included mass genocide.  There are places you can't walk because of land mines.  About 1.7 million people died during that time.  The country of Cambodia has one of the youngest populations in Southeast Asia, with 66% of the population being under 30, and 19% of children under 5 are underweight.  And so, the point of this rambling is that Cambodians have had it rough for the past 40 years.  

They eat bee larvae because it is an awesome source of protein.
And R Man, brave world traveler that he is, does, too. 

One last shot of the road. 

The next day we take a tuk-tuk into town for a last bit of walking around, exploring, all that good stuff. 

Gary's favorite photo of the trip.  

Now we are back in the airport... 

And home...

See you all in 14 days!  xoxoxo

Phnom Pehn

This year in Korea our motto is, "Live like you're leaving" because we aren't sure how long we'll stay in Korea, where we'll go next, and what the heck we'll be doing, so we are trying to get as much done as possible.  It is a good attitude to have, even if you aren't living in a foreign country, and one that I think most people should embrace.  Because even if you aren't leaving Korea, you are leaving...one day...  whether you like to think about it or not.

Oops, I got off track.  Typical.  Anyway, in case we are leaving, we want to see as much of Asia as possible, and while we are off to a good start, we still have some places left to see while we are here.  Cambodia is one of them.

Actually, Cambodia wasn't really on the place of places to see, but it was on the map, so there you go.  Sometimes things that aren't really things just happen, and this was one of them.

When we thought of Cambodia, we thought of the Killing Fields, and the Khmer Rouge, and all of the awful stuff that happened in the eighties.  And while there is no denying that, Cambodia has a two thousand year history, rich with wonderful and amazing things.  It is a shame to think of Cambodia only in terms of its most awful self, when there is so much more than that.

So these first two pictures are a view of Phnom Penh from our hotel room.  In the second picture you can see the Tonle Sap River and the Mekong River joining.

R-Man really is becoming Korean, notice the peace sign.  The weather in Phnom Penh when we were there was perfect for us.  It was the rainy season, which meant that the sky was pretty overcast for most of the days.  It was hot, humid, but not sunny.
On our first full day we decided to forsake the tuk-tuk and walk around the city.  We came to here, the Royal Palace.  It was closed until afternoon, so we walked by, and played with the pigeons.  

A spire on the Buddhist Institute.

You have to be careful, no matter where you are... as we were walking by Wat Botum, the tuk-tuk drivers were telling us that it was closed, but they could take us somewhere else.  Come to find out, it was open, and free, and we were already here.  So... we went in.  

And there were lots of cool things to see.  The temple was established in 1482, about 40 years after the US of A.  These are some Buddhas of Vishnu, who is holding those tools. 

It was hot. 

I think those pointy roofs are so amazing. 

OK, this is the next day.  We get a tuk-tuk to take us around the city for the exorbitant rate of about 2$ per hour.  Please don't think we are ripping the driver off, normally tuk-tuk drivers make about 4$ per day, so this guy was getting a good deal.  But so were we.
The first place we go is back to the Royal Palace.  which was built in the 1860s.  It is still the residence of the king of Cambodia.  Because of that, they have a strict dress code.  You have to have your shoulders covered, and not just with a colorful scarf.  If you don't....

you have to wear The Shirt of Shame...
A $2 white tshirt that they sell at the gate,
for those with loose moral fibers that wear tank-tops to visit the home of the king...
Yup, that is me.  

One of the multi-headed snakes from Cambodian legend.

An entryway to the inner courtyard. 

This is the Wat Preah Keo Morokot
Temple of the Emerald Buddha
The Silver Pagoda.

More of the outside.  They don't let you take pictures of the inside.  And as I am a big believer in Instant Karma, I put the camera away and just looked. 

As you pass through the temples, there are these ladies working looms, and they are making the most amazing scarves and silk work.  

There are also interesting trees and statues.  

And musicians.  Of course, musicians.  

And bathrooms.  You may not believe this is true, but it is.  It is easier to find a clean bathroom in Cambodia than it is in ALL of Europe put together.  Check out this beauty with soap, toilet paper, ventilation, and all of it is FREE.  It didn't even cost one riel.  

Here are the kids, relaxing in the tuk-tuk.  We are at the next stop of the day, Wat Phnom, the temple that Phnom Penh was named for.

It was crowded with worshippers at the top, burning fake money and incense for their ancestors.  But here it was quiet.

After that we headed to the Russian Market to do some shopping, but it was so darn hot that we didn't last long.  

We passed by the Independence Monument, it was built in 1958 for Cambodia's independence from France in 1953.
Actually, many Cambodians speak french, and I got to practice my french un petit bit.  

Here we are at a little restaurant by the river.  Waiting for the sunset :)

And noticing this place... 

Home of the Inland Crime Prevention and Suppression Team.  

Our hotel at night. 

And again during the day... we had to have one day of just relaxing...

So of course this is the one day that it decides to be the rainy season... but we don't care.  We're tough like that. 

The next day we head to the airport.  Can you tell what is wrong with this picture?

We are on the wrong side of the highway.

The traffic was so bad because the Prime Minister was dedicating a bridge on the usual road,  that cars just decided to go into the oncoming traffic lanes.  There are no police or anyone directing it, the cars just decide to go.  Which may sound like  a good idea, except there are still cars coming our way.  

You can see in this picture, traffic going the other way in the shoulder of their side of the street.

The traffic was kind of like these wires.  Just totally random, but somehow, everyone got where they needed to go. 

And where we needed to go was the airport, to catch our puddle-jumper to Siem Reap... which is where we will be in the next post.....   Live Like You're Leaving!

xoxoxo