Yes yes

The time has arrived.

Another.

EMAIL.

Woo!

The last week has been quite rushed. I've travelled from Luang Prabang (Laos) to Vang Vieng (Laos) to Vientiane (Laos) to Bangkok (Thailand) to Siem Reap (Cambodia) and finally... to Phnom Penh (Cambodia).

Three countries in eight days. 40 hours spent travelling on buses. About 60 hours sleep. The remaining 92 hours spent eating and absorbing in the country's sights and culture.

Laos - the least developed nation in the WORLD, and the most bombed nation in the WORLD - lived up to it's reputation. Yes. I did see why it was the least developed nation in the world. No. I gladly did not find a bomb. Apart from the poverty and the things that poverty forces a human to do to survive, Laos is quite safe when you stick to the 'designated tourist trails'. However, when you venture off the trail then there is a good possibility that you may find yourself staring at a 'Danger' sign marked with the skull and crossbones insignia.

The tourist trail that we chose from the northern Thailand/Laos border:
* A slow boat down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang
* A bus through the Laotian valleys and mountains to Vang Vieng
* A second and short bus ride from Vang Vieng to Vientiane, the capital city.

I last left you at Luang Prabang... a beautiful city plagued by the uneducated actions of local farmers to 'slash and burn' nearby forestry. Vang Vieng also did not escape the resulting smoke. I personally had never noticed how important air quality was until my last few weeks of travelling. Be grateful!

Vang Vieng has been transformed into a party town by tourists. 'Falang' (foreigners) travel here for the booze, the drugs, the party atmosphere and the barbers. Barbers?

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713329

Hahahahha. No-one gets their haircut here. Not even the locals. ;)

The music is actually quite good here. I'd find myself tapping to the beat as I walked down the dusty street and as I lay in a tube on the Nam Song river.

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713330

Tubing is the thing to do during the day.
You get a tube (as above).
You are then shepherded to the river.
You then float down the river.
While on the river you float by makeshift bars on the sides of the river. The bar keepers shouting ''Beer Lao Beer Lao Beer Lao''.
You are either seduced by the call for alcohol consumption or the thrill of the big swings.
At one point on the river Karina and I decided to stop at the next bar that we saw... and then found ourselves floating down the river for the next 4 hours!

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713331

We started upstream at around 11am and found ourselves downstream at 4:30pm... time escapes you while on the tube. Time escapes you. You must be careful on the tube. Time escapes you. The tube is coming.

The tourist dollar pours through Vang Vieng. It was strange to see that the town hadn't constructed roads. When we were there they were in the midst of upgrading their drainage/sewerage system. And it was much the same in Vientiane.

Being the capital city, Vientiane has much more infrastructure than both Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng. But. It is still far behind any other major/capital city that I have been to. There are some established roads. The familiar sight throughout the city is that of construction. The construction of roads. The construction of shopping centres. Westernisation.

Vientiane is also close to one of the most boring cities that I have been to. And with that judgment. Karina and I stayed there for one night.

Humour can be found anywhere.

Following one of the major roads in Vientiane this was found..

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713332

Arc de Triumph? Hahaha. I had later found out that this building, Patuxay, was constructed to honour those who fought for independence from the French (the French had occupied large areas of indo-china after world war 2). The stereotypical frenchmen is a proud man. A man who loves his country and all things that stand for France.

A mock Arc de Triumph is the perfect send off and symbol for an independent Laos. Nothing says "F**k you Frenchie" more than this. Hahahahhaha. BUT! That's not all. There is 'cream on top'. The locals built this monument with none other than donated cement and funds from... the Americans! Hahahahahahahaha. The Americans donated cement and money for Laos to build a new airport. Instead they built the monument. "F**k off Frenchies and Americans. We are an independent nation now." Despite the irony and humour.. Laos still remains the least developed nation in the world.

From Vientiane, we took a necessary pit stop at Bangkok.. the thought of catching a bus from Vientiane at 5:30pm arriving at Bangkok at 6:00am and catching another 12 hour bus to Siem Reap, Cambodia at 7:00am just seemed a little too exhausting.

It wasn't long till we were in Cambodia. At the Cambodian border we were greeted by Cambodian hosts who gave us a quick talk on Cambodian/Khmer culture:

"It is our culture to smile."

Travelling from Poipet (Cambodian border town) to Siem Reap is quite the bumpy ride. The road is in poor condition and threatens to destroy the tires that travel across it. On this ride though.. it wasn't the road that threatened our journey.. but a bridge:

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713333

The bridge had broke 10 minutes before we had arrived. Lucky? Unlucky? Both? I didn't mind. Somehow I found the humour behind a 2 to 3 hour delay. Somehow I found the humour behind an ad-hoc repair of the bridge. Looking back. I don't know why I thought it was so funny. Maybe that's how I deal with adversity. Maybe I have well-developed systems to deal with adversity. Does that make you jealous? It should. It SHOULD. *Mind trick*. It should.

So.... what is Siem Reap famous for?

The Angkor temples. Angkor Thom. Angkor Wat.

Angkor Thom. The capital city of the Khmer empire. Constructed with 54 pillars to represent the 54 provinces of the Khmer empire. Some of the pillars have faces carved onto one of the sides. What am I talking about? Check it..

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713335
http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713336
http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713337
http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713338

You know I can't resist a pose. Posing at the 'Royal Palace'

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713339

And at Takeo Temple

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713340

There are over one thousand temples here. Some are reduced to rubble. Some stand tall.. abundantly glorious. Some desperately cling to life.

Ta Prohm, 'the temple with a tree'. A temple that stands with life. The roots of great trees have kept the walls of this temple from falling down. The local buddhists believe that the gods live here at this temple.

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713341
http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713342

The centrepiece is Angkor Wat (the city of temples). The largest shrine dedicated to a religious cause in the world.

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713344

Sunset at Angkor Wat

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713326
http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713327

Sunrise at Angkor Wat (I woke at 5am for this.. !!!!)

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713345

Much dedication went into this shot. Karina took the above photo... but it was I that was filming the sun rising over the temples. Now. You know that I am a fan of firsts. In other emails I have shared many firsts with you. First time I had ridden a motorbike. First time I had eaten a cockroach. First time I had been touched by a ladyboy..... but this time... this first.... may stand tall above the rest... this first.... completely unintentional.

Angkor Wat is quite big. A squared enclosure. Each side 3.6 kilometres long. The temples face the western entrance. A moat guards the sides and the enclosure. Forestry lines each wall except the western wall. To film the sunrise I had made my way toward the south-western end of the temple. I had setup my tripod and camcorder and was ready to film the sunrise. Then. Something came over me. Something natural and completely unstoppable. Something digestive.

The call came and I had to answer it. The decision needed to be made and I made it. I began to pace and started to sweat. I picked up my equipment and ran toward the southern wall's line of forestry. I quickly dropped everything and found some privacy behind a mound of leaves.

Yes.
That's right.

I....SHAT.... at Angkor Wat.

An unintentional first.. but a first that I highly doubt that I share with anybody else. Travelling through Thailand and using floor toilets had prepared me for this moment. I ran behind the mound of leaves and saw hundreds of spiders wriggle to cover. Gladly I was not bitten by a defensive spider in any unsuspecting places. Haha.

The decision for toilet paper was easy. I used receipts first. Then when the receipts ran out. I used money, paper money. How arrogant of me! I only had to use one 100riel note (10c). What an experience. What a relief. Not only is this a first... but... I have the greatest s*** story. There are none better than this. NONE. I will forever command conversations that centre itself on s***. :P

Apart from the temples and the unintentional experiences I did enjoy the many conversations that I had with the local Siem Reap children. Cambodia is also a very poor country with a dark past. But the people and children also seem quite joyous. The children that 'work' at the Angkor temples are extremely efficient salespeople. They are aggressive, persistent and are very good with languages. Their English is at a level where they can negotiate a sale and handle any excuses that you throw at them. Their English is at a level where they can joke and also be sarcastic with you. They have good factual knowledge of countries around the world (they know things like population and the capital cities of many countries) and have picked up a few words in many other languages.. such as Japanese, French and Swedish. When one kid spots an 'interested' tourist.. you are soon surrounded by 6 to 10 of them pleading to do business with them.

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713346

The kids sell postcards, bangles, shirts, books and other small arts and crafts. Unfortunately for them they all sell the same things!

Saleskid: Hello Mister. Would you like to buy postcard?
Me: No. It's OK.
Saleskid: Mister. Only 10 for 1 Dollar (USD).
Me: No. No need.
Saleskid: Mister. Only 1 Dollar. *He or she then counts how many cards he/she is holding*. 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10!
Me: No need. I have!
Saleskid: No have. The photo taken with helicopter!
Me: I have!
Saleskid: Nooooo..no have!
Me: Yes. I have google.com
Saleskid: ??????
Saleskid: Ok Mister. You buy bangle. 3 for 1 Dollar...
Me: Sorrryy.. No.
Saleskid: Buy for your girlfriend Mister.
Me: No.
Saleskid: Buy for your mother Mister. She loves you very much!!!
Me: Hahahaha.. No.. It's OK
Saleskid: Buy as souvenir. Buy and I give you peace and quiet!
Me: Hahahaha..
Saleskid: Mister.. where you from?
Me: Australia.
Saleskid: Capital Canberra. Population 22 million.
Me: Hahaha.
Saleskid: I know your capital. Now you buy.
Me: Noooo. If you guess this capital then I will buy!
Saleskid: OK *Looking very smug*
Me: Ethiopia
Saleskid: ???????? Hahahahahahahhahahahaha
Saleskid: Um... Hooro!!!!!
Me: (Wtf). It's Addis Ababa.
Saleskid: Ohhhhh.

Throughout the two days spent at the Angkor temples I would come across several of these kids and have similar conversations to the one above. When they pitch and attempt to sell to you they instantly put on an unhappy face. They probably do this to reach the heart strings of the soft, pitiful and emotional tourist. However, if you watch them walk away or if you are sarcastic and humourous back to them they will break free from their shell and laugh/smile with you.

One particular child won the prize for 'Most effective unhappy/depressed look' and for 'Most cutest kid'. Just before bumping into this particular kid I had just finished telling Karina how the kids are laughing and smiling until they see a tourist.. then they put on their act.

From an onlookers point of view:

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713328

This little girl was trying to sell me a book. She was probably too young to have learnt English and could only manage soft whimpers. The most adorable thing that I have seen.

From my point of view:

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713343

Unfortunately her charms could not win my dollar over. But she did give me new ideas for selling techniques to use back home.

1) Pitch your product
2) When it comes time to ask for money or the signature. Hold up the pen or your product and whimper.
3) Try not to laugh.
4) Continue to whimper until the pity sets in.
5) Try not to laugh.

Hahahah.

With my Angkor experience complete. My Angkar experience began. What is 'Angkar'? It means 'organisation' is Khmer. It was the word that represented the 'Party'. The Khmer Rouge. The regime of Pol Pot. Cambodian history is tainted by the genocidal regime led by Pol Pot. It was only 9 years ago when Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge were disbanded and defeated. The parents of people my age would have suffered and endured through the atrocities. There was so much death throughout Cambodia that now it has become a tourist attraction. With Phnom Penh at its centre.

I have seen 'The Killing Fields' (highly recommended) the day before leaving for the capital. I cried twice during the movie. I had read 'First they killed my Father' by Luong Ung while on the bus to the capital. I cried twice during the book. I checked into a guesthouse on Boeng Kak lake and arranged for a tuk tuk to drive me to the killing fields of Choeung Ek.

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713394

My heart jumped at seeing the words 'Genocidal Center'. It is so hard to comprehend what happened here. Pol Pot's regime killed 2 million of a population of 8 million Cambodians. Pol Pot's vision was of an agrarian society (a society that is based on agriculture as it means of support and sustenance) and a society with no levels of wealth (communism). To support this vision he ordered the deaths of all educated persons. And promoted uneducated farmers and village people into their place. Even persons with glasses were ordered to death (it was rationalised that myopia meant intelligence.. and intelligence meant a possibility that that person could lead a rebellion against the regime). Growing paranoia amongst the ranks of the Khmer Rouge led to increased deaths but also to the eventual downfall of the regime. Pol Pot declared war on the Vietnamese. It was the Vietnamese who liberated the Cambodians from Pol Pot's bloody hands. But.. only after disease, famine and murder had taken its place.

At Choeung Ek. There are 17000 victims. 8000 of them have been recovered. The 8000 skulls have been placed in a commemorative pagoda.

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713392
http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713393

The rest still lay in the mass graves dug for 'convenience'.

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713349
http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713348

14000 of the 17000 victims came from Tuol Sleng. S21 Security prison. A school that was turned into a place of interrogation, torture and murder of innocent Cambodians.

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713396

Many Cambodians were tortured until they gave false confessions. Following the confessions they would be sent to be executed.

An interrogation room:

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713395

Walking through the corridoors and halls of the prison took its emotional toll. I did not cry. But. I was numb. I felt despair. I felt sorrow. The faces of the victims drained me of my emotion. I was numb. I would walk into each room and see the faces of victims that had once occupied the room.. my mind would automatically say:

"I'm so sorry my friend"

I would repeat this over and over.

My contribution to a journal left for grieving travellers and locals:

"The only true path is love."

The horrific past of the Cambodian people is not all negative. Despite their history the people are a happy and smiling people. They endure. They prosper. They are hard-working. They are friendly. They move forward. The past is the past. And this is how I will remember them.

My driver in Siem Reap, Lang.

http://www.statravelblogs.com/klopez/albums/luang-prabang-laos-to-phnom-penh-cambodia/1713347

Cambodia is a beautiful country.
It is beautiful because of its people.

And you reading this. You can be beautiful too. :) Make a difference.
Tell someone you love them.
I will.

Aw. I just blushed.

Tomorrow. I travel to Vietnam.

Until next time.

Love.

Lopez.