Sorry, I have been busy and now am updating erratically and in a non-chronological order. Please forgive me!
I think I ended my last story with my sunset visit to Angkor.
I rode my bike back to my guesthouse, went and ate a really delicious burrito, since I knew I wouldn’t find Mexican food for months to come, and then went to sleep.
The next day I woke up early, went to try to print out some documents with pretty complete descriptions of the monuments, and then found some guy with a motorcycle who agreed to take me to see everything for $8.
The author has rated all of the principal sites using a 1-3 * system. The ***’s are essential, even for a one-day visit. You can do it all in one day, but you will be exhausted for the following few days.
It was the day following the big Cambodia Water Festival full-moon party. Visiting the temples at Angkor, I would say hello to the people checking tickets, and ask how they were. “Not well” several of them said. “Why?” I asked.
“I drank too much beer last night.” they all replied.
Anyway, I did a combination of the big loop and the small loop, hitting most of the ***’s except Banteay Srei, because it was too far out. However, after spending an hour getting lost inside Angkor Wat, when I went back to find my driver, he told me he was grieviously ill and had to return home immediately. He called a friend, who came to meet me, however, the 2nd driver could not speak a word of English. Anyway, I think he was also hung over, and that’s why he suddenly was so ill he had to go home, because later that night I saw him on a corner drinking beer with his friends.
The whole visit to Angkor was pretty amazing. I arrived at 8 am and spent all day wandering around 1,000 year old temples. It was unbelievable. I took a lot of pictures. Unfortunately, there is no where in Laos where you can get black and white film developed. “Go to Thailand” I have been told. So, we’ll have to wait for more pictures.
The next day I woke up early and took a plane from Siem Reap back to Vientiane. It felt really good to be home again. That same day I had to go to ACL and teach for 2 hours, and then go to my friend’s wedding.
I apologize for having been neglectful in my blogging duties. So, the fast book from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh was fully booked for that day by a group of grumpy german tourists, so my only other option was the slow boat. And, boy, it was slow. After leaving Chau Doc around 9 am on a big barge-like ship, we finally arrived at the border around noon. The boat captain took us to a restaurant where we got ripped off and I paid $3 for some broth with some beans in it. Even as I was waiting for the boat at 8:30 that morning, all I could think about was how much I wanted to get some beer and just lounge on the boat drinking a beer, because that’s what you do when you ride boats. So finally at the border I had the opportunity to buy some beer, and after going through the border check, crossing into Cambodia, and then we all boarded a new, smaller boat, and continued on our way up the Mekong towards Phnom Phen. I enjoyed my beer, while the riveside went slowly past my eyes and I considered how Cambodia really didn’t look much different from Vietnam, or Laos, for that matter.
At around 6 pm we finally disboarded the boat, where we then got into a mini-van, which took us for another hour into Phnom Penh. As we approached the city we noticed fireworks, and general drunken revelry. It turns out it was the Cambodian National Holiday. Finally a little after 7 it dropped us off at a hotel. The streets were full of people, the whole city was complete chaos. I was bewildered. The hotel was fulled booked so I had to seek lodging elsewhere. I ended up in the shadiest part of Phnom Penh where the drug dealers and crack whores spend most of their time, in a guesthouse where I paid $4 a night for a room with a fan and no hot water. But it was fine. I ended up spending 3 nights there, during which time I explored the Tuol Sleng Museum:
Tuol Sleng Museum
This was a former school that was turned into a political prison during the Khmer Rouge/Pulpot era. It was definately a very interesting if quite grim, place to visit. The museum also works with the Documentation Center and Archives of Cambodia, on preserving important records of this period in Cambodia history. It’s all quite interesting and I would have liked to be able to visit the Documentation center, however it was closed during the time I was in PP for the national Holiday, and Water Festival.
Speaking of the Water Festival… well. That was intense.
PP is normally 2 million people ( I think?), but during this festival it doubles in size. And there are people everywhere. They have boat racing, and at night, a kind of light-up boat parade similar to Venetian Night in Chicago, but with about a million more people packed along the river. During my stay in Phnom Penh I also visited some wats, and the National Museum, and had dinner with the librarian from the Royal University of Phnom Penh.
Some pictures from the water festival in Phnom Penh:
If you visit Cambodia, I really recommend eating the national dish – Amok, with fish. It’s cooked in a coconut soup, and really really lovely.
After the intense crowds of PP, I was looking forward to getting out of the city, seeing Siem Reap and Angkor, and relaxing a little. I booked a very early morning bus to Siem Reap, and when I arrived at the bus station, mind you a good 1/2 hour early, it wasn’t until just as the bus was leaving I discovered I was at the wrong bus station. I ran over to the place where I had booked my ticket, but I was too late, the bus had already left. i ran back to the other station, and nded up having to buy a 2nd ticket for the bus. Both buststaions were called “Angkor Express”, however one had (Cambodia) in parenthesis after the name. I think they do that on purpose to confuse people. Of course, no refun was offered by the other bus company. They did offer to let me wait and take the next bus, at 9 am. I didn’t feel like waiting around another 2 hours, and in the end, the extra $8 I had to pay for a second ticket was probably worth it.
So, travellers, beware, make sure you are at the right bus station if you buy your ticket from a travel agent, and ask as soon as you arrive at the station.
I arrived in Siem Reap about 6 hours later, found a guesthouse, and rented a bicycle. I stopped to buy some film for my camera, and was off for the 8km ride to Angkor Wat to see the sunset.
Here is another handy travel tip – tickets to visit Angkor are $20 a day, or you can get a 3-day pass for $40. If you only can afford a 1-day pass, you can go to the ticket booth the afternoon before you plan to visit, and buy your ticket, and then you can go to visit Angkor Wat for free that evening.
The evening I arrived at Angkor it was the height of the water festival, and even Siem Reap, a dusty backwater, was jammed with people. It was the full moon, and buddhist ceremonies were taking place everywhere.
Well, I am back in Vientiane after a whirlwind trip. It feels like I haven’t slept in years.
Quickly, this was my itinerary:
Ho Chi Minh City to My Tho, Vietnam, by AUNILO bus
My Tho to Chau Doc Vietnam by Vietnamese van, 7 hours of HELL, including a ferry crossing of the Mekong and going through Sadec, formerly the hometown of Margeurite Duras.
Chau Doc to Phnom Penh Cambodia by Boat
Phnom Penh to Siem Reap by bus
Angkor Wat by Bicycle and tuk-tuk
Siem Reap to Vientiane, Laos, by airplane.
Then I cam back friday, taught a class, went to a wedding, and have been going non-stop since. Back to work today!
This week seems like it’s dragging on in agony. I received some bad news today – my application for a Canadian work permit was rejected because it was 3 weeks late. I tried to contest the rejection on the grounds that I couldn’t have submitted the application any sooner as I was the victim of credit card fraud and could not pay the application fee until I had received my new debit card. Canada basically told me to go f*%& myself, and won’t even refund me the $150 I threw down for the application fee.
I HATE CANADA.
I spent a lot of this week running around to the Vietnamese embassy, and the Cambodian embassy, getting things prepared for my upcoming trip to Ho Chi Minh City, Phenom Penh, and Siem Reap. I am looking forward to having a few days off to see a bit of Asia and relax. I might actually even get to visit a beach.
I am looking forward to seeing HCMC – mostly because of all of the literary references to Saigon I am familiar with. My favorites of course are “The Quiet American” by Graham Greene, and “L’Amant” (The Lover), by Marguerite Duras.
With regards to Cambodia, I don’t really know what to expect, though I have heard Angkor Wat is awe-inspiring.
I don’t plan on spending much time in Vietnam – I will probably be returning there in April for the Consortium of Asian Librarians, at which time I hope to get to visit Halong Bay and other interesting sites.
Things are pretty quiet in Vientiane… my term at school has almost finished and next week is the last week of classes. I am looking forward to a break from teaching. I hope to use the time to make some conceptual art to decorate my walls with; my apartment is really spartan looking. I want to try and make a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. out of 500 kip notes.
This week I also went to the Vientiane Swimming pool twice – I feel very happy to be getting back into the habit of swimming. I’m trying to go every Tuesday and Thursday morning. We’ll see how long that lasts….
quaking blog 