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Asia, Cambodia

Cambodia: Two Days at Angkor Wat

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During our time in Siem Reap, we allotted two days to explore the temples of The Angkor Complex.  The Angkor Complex and surrounding area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Most people call the entire area Angkor Wat, but in actuality, Angkor Wat is just one of the many incredible temples in the area.

Angkor Temple Map
From: http://www.tourismcambodia.com/

Because we had a lot of ground to cover, we had to decide how to best plan our visit.  There are many options for transportation through the temple grounds–cycling, tuk-tuk, car.   You would be extremely inefficient and ridiculously limited  without transportation.  The complex is gigantic and spread out.

Monkey, Angkor
Monkey’s like Tuk-Tuks!

We decided that day one we would use a car, and day two we would use a tuk-tuk.   Our driver, Dora, was quite possibly the nicest person ever! He gave us so much information about the area, about himself, and about Cambodia in general that we decided to scrap the tuk-tuk day two, and go with him again.  He was awesome!  (FYI:  It really was nice having the air-conditioning.  We were spoiled Day 1, so that was a definite bonus!)

The Temples

The temples were built between the 9th and 15th centuries AD, starting with Preah Ko (AD 875-890), and ending with Bayon (AD 1175-1240).

Of all of the temples in the complex, Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom are the most impressive.  Angkor Wat is the said to be the world’s largest religious structure.  It is definitely the most famous and most ornate.  We started the day at Angkor Thom.

Angkor Thom
One of the many faces of Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom is more like a city of temples, (see the map above) including Bayon, Baphuon, Phimeanakas, the Terace of the Leper King and the Terrace of the Elephants.   Our first impression was of the massive causeway and gates.   The Asura statues lining the causeway are all slightly different than each other.

Each one is different!
Asura statue at the Victory Gate, Angkor Thom
Scars of war – This Asura statue has been shot; that’s a bullet hole.

The temples are filled with details, from panels depicting various scenes of day to day life, to bas-reliefs of apsara dancers, to walls and walls of carved writing.  It’s overwhelming, and impossible to see all of it in two days.  Even writing this now, I’m finding it difficult to focus on just one thing.  Let’s let the pictures do the work!

Here are some of the lovelies we saw:

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Reconstruction & Restoration

Angkor was “rediscovered” in the 19th century, having been abandoned for centuries, and was once again lost to the world during the 70’s due to war.  Since the collapse of the Khmer Rouge in the late 90’s, the temples have undergone massive restoration efforts.   Mines (unexploded ordinance) had to be cleared from the area, not to mention an overgrowth of vegetation.

Restoration efforts were prominent, and globally funded.  Given the importance of Angkor archeologically, and to the Cambodians economically, conserving the site is of utmost importance.

Banteay Srei Conservation Project, Cambodia
West Gopura Restoration Project, Cambodia
West Gopura Restoration Project, Cambodia
Angkor Wat Causeway Restoration Project
Phimeanakas Temple Conservation Project
Scaffolding at Angkor Wat, Cambodia

There is so much to say about our time at the Angkor Complex.  So much history, so many interesting things and people that the photos will have to do a lot of the work.

If you have the opportunity to visit Cambodia, you won’t be disappointed.  The people were the most gracious hosts, and the small bit of scenery we saw was unbelievably gorgeous.

~j

Asia, Cambodia

Sua s’dei Siem Riep

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Just about half way through the trip, we left Vietnam for Cambodia.  The flight out of HCMC was delayed, our gate was changed 3 times, and then the power went out to the entire airport–pitch black, power outage.  It. Was. Out.  After an hour or so, the power came back on, and our gate was changed back to the one we started at…seriously?!?!

Eventually we landed in Siem Reap.  We arranged to be picked up at the airport through the guest house we were staying at.  SO AWESOME!  Our tuk-tuk driver introduced himself as Batman, and we were off!The Siem Reap Garden Inn was a tiny little piece of paradise. (The pool is new since we were there.)  Everyone we dealt with seemed genuinely interested in making our experience the best possible which is not something found everyday.  The level of service was probably something we won’t see again.

Beng Mealea road signSiem Reap is one of the most welcoming places we’ve ever been to.  It is an oddly dichotomous place in that is a major tourist hub with a 100% tourist related enterprise as the main focus.  And, then there are obviously Cambodians going about their day to day business.  Kind of like Las Vegas – there’s the Las Vegas strip, which most people from Vegas would avoid like the plague, and then there’s normal Las Vegas where people live, work, go to school etc.   We were lucky enough to see both sides Siem Reap.

As we had limited time in Cambodia, we had a lot of ground to cover.  Our first day was spent with Ta from Peace of Angkor tours.  This has got to be one of the most memorable vacation days we’ll ever have.  He took us to Kompong Khleang and along the Tonle Sap.  We also visited Beng Mealea, and climbed along the walls of the ancient temple.  Ta was fortunate to be one of first people to “rediscover” the temple, and said at the time, there were actually tigers on the temple grounds.

As promised quite a while ago, here are some of the photos from our day with Ta.

Cashew fruit and nut
The kids were super excited to have their photos taken.  This grandmother wanted hers taken as well.  Just before she posed for the camera, she was hacking away at the edge of the bowl with a machete.  At 78 years old, she was still sharp as a tack.  We had a great time visiting Kompong Khleang.  The stilt houses were absolutely fascinating.  The residents were insanely hospitable to us.  Due to Ta’s kindness, we were invited inside a stilt house to roast cashew nuts picked right from the tree.

We were privileged to see a wedding, where they asked us in closer to take photos of the bride and groom.  And, we also saw/followed a funeral procession for a while.  Richard, a person we were with, said we almost had “hatches, matches and dispatches,” covered.

We had an extraordinary tour through one of the villages outside of Siem Reap, and we were fortunate enough to float on the Tonle Sap River (which in itself is a crazy thing–yep, I’m a nerd!).  None of this experience would have been logistically possible for us without our guide, Ta.  He really made the day one we’ll never forget.

The second half of the day we were at another UNESCO Site, Beng Mealea.  This temple has collapsed walls, and jungle-ish overgrowth that gives it an appeal unlike the other temples we saw in Cambodia.  We were able to climb on the walls and take pathways that would definitely not have been acceptable in the bubble wrapped North American tourism sector.  It was pretty fantastic.  See for yourself…

Asia, Vietnam

To Hoi An and Beyond!

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Day 5 in Vietnam we left Hue, and drove to Hoi An for a day of sight seeing before heading onto Da Nang airport to fly to Ho Chi Minh City. As we had a deadline for the day, we arranged for a car as transport. Our driver, Van, didn’t speak much English, and I have very very basic garbled aka horrendous Vietnamese at best. Luckily, the trip wasn’t an unusual request; so, despite the language barrier, we were able to stop at a lot of sights along the way.
Hi Van Pass
The drive from Hue to Hoi An took us over Hi Van Pass, or Ocean Cloud Pass if you prefer the translation. The lengthiest stops were at Lang Co Beach and Marble Mountains. (FYI: At Lang Co Beach while we were taking photos, a guy appeared out of no where and tried to sell me old/out of circulation Vietnamese coins. I declined. Then he tried to sell me a loonie. Random!)
Marble Mountain Buddha
Lang Co Beach
Marble Mountains caught my interest a while ago. The Departures team ended up visiting the caves on one of the Vietnam episodes. The photos below are of some of the Buddhist shrines sculpted/carved into the mountains. Word is that the cave was used by the Viet Cong as a field hospital during the war. The photo doesn’t do the temple justice. It was as large as any fantastical cathedral, only this is a natural marble cave that has been a Buddhist shrine for centuries.

 

Marble Mountain Buddha - field hospital
Marble Mountain Buddha – field hospital

From Marble Mountains, we continued on to Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a gorgeous little place! If you have time, and want to have clothing custom made for yourself, this would be the destination. There are so many amazing design shops it is indescribable. The core of Hoi An is really small, maybe three or four streets, so it is easy to visit with just a few hours time. The Japanese covered bridge is at the far side of the historic area.

Japanese Covered Bridge – Hoi An
Boats on the Thu Bon River

Here’s a little googled tidbit of history for you:

According to local folklore, the bridge was erected after Japan suffered a series of violent earthquakes which geomancers attributed to a restless monster lying with its head in India, tail in Japan and heart in Hoi An. The only remedy was to build a bridge whose stone piles would drive a metaphorical sword through the beast’s heart and fortuitously provide a handy passage across the muddy creek.

Inside the bridge’s narrow span are a collection of stelae and four statues, two dogs and two monkeys, which suggest that work began in the year of the monkey and ended in that of the dog. The small temple suspended above the water is a later addition dedicated to the Taoist god Tran Vo Bac De (“Emperor of the North”), a favourite of sailors as he controls wind, rain and other “evil influences”.

from: http://www.hoiantravelshow.com/japanese-covered-bridge.html

After a really long day we made it to Ho Chi Minh City.
Happy Travels,
~j
Asia, Vietnam

Hanoi to Ha Long Bay

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Ha Long Bay was an amazing experience, and frightening as well. Let’s start with the trip from Hanoi to Ha Long…

Rice Field Vietnam
Rice Field Vietnam
I don’t think I have ever felt that carsick in my entire life. I don’t get carsick. I don’t get sea sick. I was carsick for 3 days. The drive was about 3 hours through idyllic rice fields. Imagine a stereotypical setting with green rice fields, a woman wearing a conical hat, she’s walking along the berm between sections, and there is a water buffalo wandering around. Seriously, we saw that. Then a few minutes of the skinniest row houses and businesses, and then back to idyllic movie scene Vietnam, then back to dust bowl village of skinny row houses.
Rice Field Vietnam
Vietnamese Row House
As we were driving, I noticed several tombs in the middle of the fields. The best explanation I received was that this was the burial custom. A deceased person is buried along side their home or field, with their possessions, and the alter is created to have that person ever present. As sort of an Ancestor Worship. Our driver said, “In your country, big big people with tiny grave site, in our country, tiny people with huge grave site!” He also said that all possessions of the dead person still belong to that person, so nothing is passed on to someone else lest the dead person come back and ask why you are using their stuff.
Tomb in Rice Field Vietnam
Tombs in Rice Field Vietnam

Once we arrived at the water, we met some of the people we were going to be onboard with. We met Pierre, an Australian traveling home from the UK via India and Asia. He was very interesting and passed along his Lonely Planet Vietnam to us. (We didn’t bring any guide books–too heavy! But, it was nice to have for the remainder of the trip. Just add it to the 50+ travel guides we already have.) We met a German physicist and his family, and a solo female traveler from Finland who we named Elsa, because she never did tell us her name.

You may wonder why I said the trip was frightening. A few weeks before we were set for our trip, one of the junks sank in Ha Long Bay. Passengers died because they couldn’t evacuate the boat properly in the middle of the night. New safety standards were put into place, and our room came equipped with a flashlight and a hammer to smash out the window if need be. We slept just fine aboard the boat. I don’t know the exact circumstance that caused the ship to sink, but the junk we were on appeared well maintained, and the weather and water were both calm for us.

Stay tuned for more photos from Ha Long Bay.
Happy Travels,
~j
Asia, Vietnam

Hello Hanoi!

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Because of our scheduled trip to Ha Long Bay, we didn’t have much time to explore Hanoi. As with any metropolitan area, a day is often more than enough time before people/traffic become an issue. NOTHING can prepare someone for Vietnamese traffic! There is no way to describe it short of organized chaos. We learned the specific technique for crossing the street which was just start walking, and keep walking slow and steady, don’t change speed, and don’t stop until you get to the other side. Stepping off the curb into traffic is scary business.
Hoan Kiem Lake The Huc Bridge
Hoan Kiem Lake The Huc Bridge
Luckily, our hotel was within walking distance of everything we wanted to see for the day. We started at Hoan Kiem Lake and The Huc bridge. We managed to visit the Temple of Literature, checked out St. Joseph’s Cathedral, that was modeled after the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, saw some sights, and visited an indoor market. I did take some interesting photos along the way. The wire work was astounding. FYI: We didn’t try the Creative Oriental Craft Kingdom.
Lost in Translation
Regina Pacis Hanoi
St Joseph’s Cathedral Hanoi
Vietnamese Wiring
Asia, Vietnam

We’ve arrived?

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Before we left for Asia, I was nervous traveling to a country where I couldn’t easily ask for directions or piece together some semblance of a sentence. I don’t speak Spanish well, but I knew I could muddle through some basics for when we were in Peru. But, I only know one word of Vietnamese (thank-you), and I most certainly can’t read it. When we’re traveling, I don’t generally mind getting lost, or changing plans, but our first experience at Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi was a little over the top.

We landed after over 28 hours travel time. Having only carry-on, we by-passed baggage claim (FANTASTIC!), and moved on quickly to get our travel Visas at the airport. The girl behind the counter was singing Backstreet Boys and Air Supply songs the whole time she processed our passports.

It was the wee hours of the morning, and the arrivals exit was swarming with taxi drivers. Mobs of shouting taxi drivers make me freak out. It is irrational for the most part, but with no sleep, anxiety kicks in. I prefer to choose my own taxi driver rather than have someone approach me. In the irrationality, it seems safer to me to pick someone rather than be mobbed. Anyway, I couldn’t deal with it, so we sat down for a few minutes, and the lights in the airport went out, and then the exit doors locked. Yep.

Luckily we found a taxi driver that helped us find an unlocked door. We had a pre-printed address card for the hotel, but he took us to a random shop with a similar name, and tried to drop us off…in the dark…in the rain…with our stuff…in the middle of no where. We argued, and he realized we were at the wrong address. So, off we went again. He did find the hotel, and when we arrived there–it was pad locked shut.

I didn’t think it was possible to get weirder, but it did. The taxi driver phoned the hotel for us, and someone got up, from where they were sleeping on a mattress in the lobby, put some clothes on, and opened the door to check us in. Finally.
North America, USA, Yellowstone

Observations on Americana

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I’m not inspired to write this entry. I’ve moved on to thinking about the next trip, and these last little bits are just so random that it makes any remotely coherent writing nearly impossible. But, this could be the last Yellowstone entry, which is great because I already have so many other things to include. Here are the last observations from our half-way across the country road trip.

Buffalo crossing signI was so happy to find the Buffalo Crossing sign to add to the photo collection! In all of Yellowstone, there is only ONE that we saw. The irony is that there wasn’t a buffalo for miles around the sign; they most certainly were everywhere else. We found the sign as we were leaving the park on the last day. Road signs included, there are quite a few differences between Canada and the US that are easily noticed when driving through the United States. None of these differences is a bad thing (well except for one which we’ll get to!)

M sign Overt Patriotism abounds in the US. Not to say that Canadians aren’t patriotic, we just don’t generally plaster the Canadian flag anywhere and everywhere (well, except in Falkland. Maybe they’re a little nutty?). In addition to flags everywhere, each little town along the way had a huge letter on a hillside somewhere on the edge of town, like a teeny tiny Hollywood sign to celebrate the town, but with only the first letter. I can’t remember where the photo of the M is from, but you get the point.

Wade Magers and Jesse Allen Another difference–elected law enforcement. In BC, Sheriffs serve primarily with the court system. They’re involved with jury selection and with transporting prisoners to court cases etc. Whereas, in the US, the Sheriff is seen as the highest member of law enforcement, and is elected by the county he/she serves. As you can see, Wade Magers and Jesse Allen were running for Lincoln County Sheriff** (Kudos to you Wade Magers for winning by over 1000 votes.) Which also brings about the use of the word “County”. Seriously, I bet less than 1 in 10 Canadians could tell you which county they live in. We never use that term. Ever.

The one sick difference–white gravy at breakfast. Biscuits and gravy=wrong! You would be hard pressed to find that in any breakfast/brunch buffet in BC. Vile! And non-sweetened Iced Tea–why would anyone want plain, tasting-like-newspaper-ink actual cold brewed tea?

testy festyWe did see another food item that was particularly interesting. Anyone up for attending the Testicle Festival event next year? Their slogan “You’ll have a ball! If you miss it, you’re nuts.” Klassy with a capital K.
And there were plenty of “interesting” attractions in the small towns we drove through. How about the Jackalope Exhibit?

adopt a highwayThere were literally thousands of Adopt a Highway signs. Every 2 miles for thousands and thousands of miles. I felt like I was being brain washed. Somehow they aren’t as noticeable here. The other uber-depressing marker that there were thousands of–little white crosses along the interstate that mark where someone has died.

And my all time favourite=Smokey Bear. I’ve never seen Smokey used on any fire prevention signs here. That would be awesome, and much more entertaining.
Smokey Bear

Happy Travels,
~j

**The campaign signs were everywhere. Jesse Allen Lincoln County Sheriff became quite the conversation topic. Imagine a made for TV movie staring Tom Selleck as Jesse Allen and some washed up wrestler (like the dude who was a Governor) as Wade Magers. They would have rival moustaches. Ooh, that would be good TV for the ancient demographic.

North America, USA, Yellowstone

Wyoming: Grand Teton National Park

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The TetonsEntry to Grand Teton National Park is included with the Yellowstone entry fee. Since, we had to drive through the park on the way back from Devil’s Tower we wanted to check it out. The photo above pretty much sums up the whole experience. Yep, a mountain range. The Teton mountain range. It is beautiful, akin to anything you’d see in Banff or Jasper, but just not quite as spectacular.
If you have experienced the moment when you’re driving, and Mt. Robson is just around the corner, it is a perfect blue sky day, and all of a sudden you’re in the Canadian Rockies, then you know what I mean. The Tetons were gorgeous, they just didn’t create that same sense. (FYI: Grand Teton is the highest point on the left side of the photo.)
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Grand Teton National Park
North America, USA

Devil’s Tower

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Devil's TowerIn 1906, Devil’s Tower was proclaimed the first national monument by President Roosevelt. The tower is a crazy rock formation. From the pictures it doesn’t really look that big, but the top of the tower is about the size of a football field. Though it looks like an old volcano it isn’t.

The tower is actually an igneous intrusion (Science lesson: Magma pooled under sedimentary rock, it eventually hardened and then the sedimentary rock–being softer, eroded over time and exposed the igneous rock formation of the tower. Munson would be so proud of me remembering all of that from Geography!) Now this I had to use google for: “Devil’s Tower is made of Phonolite porphyry, it is similar in composition to granite but lacks quartz. Phonolite refers to the ringing of the rock when a small slab is struck, and its ability to reflect sound. Porphyry refers to its texture, large crystals of feldspar embedded in a mass of smaller crystals.”

Sad to say that the tower was pretty amazing, but this was probably one of the worst parts of the trip. We drove half way across the country so that Jon could climb at the tower and I could tour the park. But this was the only day of the whole trip that it wasn’t scorching hot. It RAINED so hard that there was no climbing to be had by anyone for the day we paid for, or the day after that. SO HORRIBLE! So, now Jon has a credit in Wyoming for the next time we happen to feel like driving over 2000km and back just for the weekend.