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Hi All.
First - I am heading off to Cambodia tomorrow morning - have booked three nights at Rosy's Guest House in Siem Reap - Angkor Wat.
For those of you not doing the Seven Wonders of the World on your Bucket List - It is one of them. Big Big Temple - Ancient - famous even before Angela Jolie and Tomb Raider and before she came to Cambodia to find cute kids instead of just getting the designer knockoff stuff the rest of us seem to load up on.....
Ok, catching up on the last few days. Absolutely hot, steamy and fun, fun fun. This City is wild - I think I might have mentioned that already - haven't gone back to the previous stuff cause the timer ticks off and it is hard enough because A) I can't type - STILL! and B) the keyboard is in Thai letters, or Chinese or ....yeah there is the regular (to us) letters as well, but I have to look even further!!! Ah, the stresses in my life right now!!
The unusual thing about this City and Thailand is how laid back everyone is. And industrious. It is truly a free market - literally - practically every bit of sidewalk, road way, curb, has someone set up shop with a little stand, or a mat or a bucket or a cage or whatever. The whole world is in the street - you eat, sleep , cook, bathe, you name it. Everybody has something for sale and they really could care less if you buy it. So unlike China where they were very aggressive and physically were blocking me from leaving their stalls in the markets - Twice I had to push/pinch my way out of a booth and that little bit of aggression was not appreciated for sure. Here - you want to buy, OK. That is not to say that there are not the regular tuk tuk scams - in fact I agreed to one this morning. The scam is someone meets you on the street - ala timeshare hawkers and you know how good I am at that scam.......ka ching.........anyway - guy 1 sells you t a tuk tuk (scooter driver) with the promise that this is 'special' holiday and the temples are open/closed/ you name it....they driver will take you around for a cheap fee and at the end you will be taken to a silk shop and be locked in - like the 90 minute timeshare thing. Anyway - not good to scam a scammer and I went to 4 temples this morning and one 2 minute visit to a silk shop - silk shop/tailor not happy. Me? Happy - I saw the Golden Mountain, Big standing Buddha and more Buddhas and more temples. Nice ride - no purchase, no charge cause the driver dumped me after the scam went sideways. I took his photo before we started and mentioned tourist police - they are pretty powerful here - and he was happy to see me go....
Mostly I have been walking around - so much to see - on and off the buses, just soaking in the neighborhoods and getting lost and found. Today I saw the vegetable wholesale market - really cool - the huge one where the country's produce comes and is wholesaled out. Just lucked out - turned a corner and down a street - into a warehouse - actually mega warehouses - people live in there, and cruised in and out of the different types of produce - being trimmed and packaged and sold. Then the next mile was the flower wholesale market - hundreds of women stringing flowers to sell to street hawkers - lots of flowers sold here - everywhere there are Buddhists there are flowers. They offer them to the Buddha and bless their cars/homes/buses/tuk tuks/ etc etc. The roses were amazing - every size and grade, packaged in dozens, hundreds, thousands. I love this stuff.
Yesterday I got lost in some back alley - had just walked into a funeral procession - Buddhist - very interesting with a full band, couldn't find my way out of the alleys so I asked a little girl where the river was - she took me to a few more alleys - hoping I would recognize something....not much English here outside of the tourist sections...anyway, long story (as always) , the little girl is trying so hard - she finds a man who she thinks might know English, he does, we spend the day together - hanging out - he was on his way downtown. I was on my way no where so I joined him and we found this big concert - sponsored bu Singha Beer, Corona, the US Consulate and the Israeli Consulate and the Thai Government???? Weird combo but big money spent. It is on for 5 days - called Rhythms of the World - World BBQ. Outdoor event in the fancy part of town - outdoor patio - very nice. They sponsored bands from all over the world. Last night was South America, Korea, Hill tribes and Borneo. We had a great day together and that was that. He is from Egypt - working here for 15 months on his way to Malaysia to get a different visa. He is an Arabic/German/English translator so he was really interesting and filled me in on some politics and Thai stuff. I told him I was going to Cambodia today. Girls - it is that 'Squid Velcro' thing. He was not a squid but.......Same same.
The heat is fabulous - hot and steamy and sticky and I am still loving it. Sleeping has been easy - I haven't used the air conditioner.
Tomorrow is a long one - Jan, I decided on the Scam Bus cause when I looked at doing it on my own, it seemed too daunting. That is after I printed out the 17 pages of directions on how not to get scammed at every turn on the way to Cambodia from here. This route is the most famous/ most talked about/ regaled and has the most horror stories of any border crossing it seems. All the books recommended flying but it cost $225 to fly - for a one hour flight!!! I could get nearly to Australia for that price. It is so high because of the huge numbers of tourists from all over the world who go to Angkor Wat for the day or for overnight to see the Temple. Doing it overland is difficult cause you can get o the Thai/Cambodia border but then the fun?? begins.
Against all recommendations - Taravelfish/Lonely Planet/Tripadvisor - I bought a cheap "Minibus" tkt and will hope for the best. It is known as the 'scam' bus and I will let you know how much I get jacked up for in a couple of days. Seems everyone makes it - some take 12 hours, some take 16 - 20 hours and end up paying a lot of bribes. It just seemed too difficult to try on my own and the individual car hire would be expensive for one.......hope I don't regret this choice. Stay tuned. All I have is time and have the laid back attitude, a bag of snacks - oreos, water, fresh pineapple from the market tonite, crackers and a croissant. Oh yeah, and some beef jerky from home (for protein). I think I am good for a few days - I will wait them out if they refuse to give me a Visa for a reasonable price!!!!!! All talk now - wait til I have traveled 8 hours in the back of a pickup with 9 pigs and a dead goat.
Cambodia here I come. Don't scam a scammer!!!
My plan is to hunker down a bit in Siem Reap and chill a bit. It has been a frenetic pace - Two frantic cities in two weeks. Looking forward to a little quiet at the temples. maybe some enlightenment and Zen.......and I hope they have a slurpee machine too!!!! Maybe Angela and Brad will be dropping by for another babe for the twins to play with. I could entertain Brad while Angela picks one out......
Stay tuned..... my time is out on the computer......
Love,
Deb
- comments
janice21 SO proud of you! Love you! Love you! Love you! Can see everything that you're describing and am giggling and smiling my way through your emails. I'm going to email a couple that I knew who lived in Siem Reap. If they're still there, we'll try to connect you. German met I met while teaching him how to dive in Malaysia, married to a Canadian girl who was running a bird conservatory. AMAZING couple. Sending the email right now so will get back to you. As for the bus through PoiPet - good luck, stand your ground, and it will be one more incredibly adventurous story to tell. Can't believe all that you've done already! Fantastic! K. Will talk to you soon! xoxo
janice21 Siem Reap connection Okay girl, Benny and Kristen are still in Siem Reap and would love to meet up with you to show you around. Kristen said her laptop just got stolen so she can't check emails regularly but her phone number is 092 214 998. I'm sure your guesthouse will help you make that call. They are SUPER nice - have lived in Cambodia for a number of years now - and would be a great connection while you're there to help plan some of your travels. Benny used to volunteer at the Land Mine Orphanage and took me there to visit. You can go on your own but the day I spent there with him and the kids is one of the very best memories (and some of the very best photos) I have. I know you are having the time of your life flying by the seat of your pants and you should keep on doing that; sorry if I'm cramping your style! Wish I was there with you. Good luck on the bus you brave (crazy) girl! xoxo