Phnom Penh, Beaches, Beaches, Beaches!

I was supposed to leave Siem Reap everyday, but I stayed for another night every time. I kept on telling my friends, "I'm leaving tomorrow," only to find myself in the same town, same hostel, same bed. That's how comfortable Siem Reap was. I finished the tourism stuff in the first 2 days. But I stayed there for 6 days. Why? Not exactly sure. Except that, unforeseen circumstances came up everyday. So I ended up staying there taking pottery classes, going to the night market, watching traditional Aspara dancing shows, getting a fish massage, eating crickets, etc etc.







When I finally got up and left the town, I said goodbye to a bunch of the people that I've met there, only to find myself in a cramped bus to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. I had started reading a book called First They Killed My Father, a story about a family that was torn apart by the Pol Pot Regime. I had bought this book from one of the numerous boys and girls wandering the streets of Cambodia selling postcards and books. Here's what Pol Pot and the Red Shirts had done in the 1970's: This government decided that it would be a great idea to kill all doctors, businessmen, teachers, nurses, and anybody else that had any type of education. They put everybody in farm villages to become a self-sustaining country, free from Western influence. As I was reading the book on the bus, I found myself crying a little bit, a sight that had to be hidden away by my book from the strange faces on the bus.

In Phnom Penh, I met these 2 Chinese girls from Toronto at the hostel that I was staying. We decided to go out to eat at a traditional Khmer restaurant, and we ended up bumping into some of their friends from Vietnam. With an army of about 15 foreigners, we stormed into a bar, asked for a discount, sat down, and had a merry ol' time (although a group of 3 guys ended up spending about 30 dollars on beer, which was 75 cents each). As we were walking back to our hostel, it was kind of early still, and I distinctly heard hip-hop music being played. I looked around. I saw a lounge. I went in. I danced. And then, something interesting happened, which I'll keep to myself.

The next day, the Toronto girls and I went to the S21 prison, a converted high school that Pol Pot used as a torture prison, the Independence Monument, National Museum housing Angkor statues, the Royal Palace, and the Wat Phnom. The reason I wanted to come to Phnom Penh was for the S21 prison, so here are some pictures:





And a picture of a boy coming to pick up some schoolkids. A pretty normal sight in Southeast Asia, but still amusing:



After 3 days in Phnom Penh, I headed for the beaches of Sihanoukville, the closest thing to a beach resort in Cambodia. Unfortunately, the beach was a bit ugly, touristy as hell, and you could not read a page before some little girl comes up to you and asks if you want a bracelet (NO!). Fortunately, the nightlife was pretty good, and I met some interesting people, one in particular. I also spent a day going on fun dives, which was surprising good with nice visibility considering it was storming on the surface. On the trip, I met a wonderfully amusing and talkative Dutch family, who at the end of the day, invited me to have dinner with them. They took me out to a fantastic restaurant on the other side of town, and the sunset was just picturesque.



After a week and a half in Cambodia, I headed to Vietnam, to an island called Phu Quoc. I only have until August 1st in Vietnam, so I kind of need to hurry up (I'm not used to schedules and deadlines anymore). Phu Quoc was a beautiful place, with great beaches, and I practically did nothing but sleep, sunbathe, swim, and listen to music. I didn't talk to anybody. I made no friends. And that was quite alright with me because I needed this time alone. After all the bustle and socializing in the last 2 months, it was good to reflect and look back.



Next up, Ho Chi Minh City. I don't think I'll have much self-reflection time there!

- Ryoji

Trekking in Chiang Mai and Angkor Wat!

After a few enjoyable nights in Chiang Mai, I signed up for a 3 day, 2 night trekking tour. Chiang Mai is in Northern Thailand, and it's known for trekking although the treks revolve around not just the scenery or the wildlife, but more for the hilltribe villages. Unfortunately, I decided to go out on the night before the trek, even though I had to wake up at 8am the next day. I was meaning to go home at around 11 or 12, due to unforeseen circumstances, I went home at 6am, only to get one hour of sleep. Lets just say that it was not a pleasurable walk towards the top of the mountain, where the Lanu village people lived. Because a large number of tourists come and go from the village, I found the village to have lost its indigenous nature.

On the second and third day of the trek, we went to 2 waterfalls, where we took nice showers, went elephant trekking, white water rafting, and bamboo rafting. Elephant trekking, though it's a bit sad for the elephants, was a unique experience that is special to Thailand.



White water rafting was a bit of a disappointment because it was only about Grade 3, but the bamboo rafting proved to be the most challenging and the most fun. Three of us got on a bamboo raft that is not properly tied together so our feet were sinking every second, and we fell into the water several times before we got the hang of it.



After the trek, the guys in the trekking group and I went out to go see Thai boxing in the sketchiest strip of shady bars and lounges with lady-boys. It was a pretty surreal experience. After that, we went out to a more kosher establishment, where I had a blast. Chiang Mai was one of my favorite towns so far, and I would go back there if I ever came back to Thailand.

After a few days in Bangkok again, I crossed the border to Cambodia via coach bus to a town called Siem Reap, the town closest to the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. I met a group of girls on the way to the town, and we stayed at the same hostel for a few nights. I've met a lot of nice people at the hostel; although it's expensive, it has a big pool, loads of amenities, and a cleaning service. I can't really complain. The first night out, the hostel had a pub crawl, and I got introduced to the relaxing, but fun bar scene in Siem Reap. The next day, I followed 2 girls I met on the crawl to the Floating Villages, which is basically a collection of houses and boats on a lake for people who can't afford to live on land. They have their own schools, churches, temples, hospitals, and anything else that a normal town might have.



The next day, I went to the all famous, Cambodia's 8th wonder of the world, Angkor Wat at sunrise. Waking up at 4am, my friend and I headed for the ruins, only to find that the sun is covered by the clouds. Nevertheless, the ruins were quite impressive, and architecturally truly amazing, considering it was built in the 12th century. I also went to several other temples and ancient walled cities, the most memorable being Ta Phrom, where Tomb Raider was shot. A jungle surrounds the temple, and tree roots and trunks gnarled itself into the stones - an incredible site to see.





I'm going to stay in Siem Reap for a few more days because I like the atmosphere, but next I'll head to Phnom Penh and Sinhoukville in Cambodia before going to Vietnam.

- Ryoji

Bangkok, Ayutthaya, and Sukhotai

After a long journey on an overnight train, I arrived in Bangkok at around 6am. I was still with the group of backpackers from the islands as they had one more night before leaving for Bali. I headed for a street called Khao San, which is known for being a backpackers' haven with an endless selection of bars, clubs, cheap restaurants, and street shops. When I got there, I sat down at a restaurant with a girl I met on the train, but drunkards were still finishing their beer towers, belligerently yelling and screaming, trying to start a fight with each other. So I said fuck this, I'm going to get a cheap hostel and sleep until I'm ready for all this madness. So I did.

The first day in Bangkok, I walked around the massive city, just to get a sense of what's where and get settled in. The first day in a new city is always the hardest because a lot of the times, you don't know anybody, you're lost, and you kind of want to go back to the previous town, where you were more comfortable. This sentiment was especially true in such a big city like Bangkok. Anyways, aimlessly wandering, I came across one of the main temples of Bangkok, Wat Pho, its premier attraction being the Reclining Buddha, a 50 meter gold-plated statue of Buddha entering Nirvana.



The first night, I met up with the people from the islands again for a last supper as they had a flight to catch really early in the morning. It was really nice to be able to see familiar faces for a few days so it was actually really sad to say goodbye to them. Brushing my tears away, I met up with a friend from Koh Samui and some other people for a night out in Bangkok. As I found out, street drinking is the norm on Khao San, and it's definitely the cheapest option. So we started feeling pretty good after awhile, and we headed to a bar so that we could dance (although we were probably the only ones dancing in there. Not that it really matters).

The next day, I went to the Grand Palace of Bangkok, which is the holiest temple in Thailand, and wow, was it extravagant. A lot of the times, I was wondering if this garish display of golden temples was necessary or economically viable, but for 350 Baht to get in (10 dollars, but it's also like 10 meals), I guess the tourism pays itself for it. Here's a picture to get a sense of what I'm talking about:



Another night out, I found my friend from Koh Samui again, and we just bar hopped until I wandered into a club by myself and had a grand ol' time. The wandering kind of reminded me of Champaign... which I miss quite a bit.

After my stint in Bangkok, I headed north to the cities of Ayutthaya and Sukhotai, which were the capitals of Thailand 500 years ago and 700 years ago, respectively. I wanted to get away from the madness of Thai beaches and Bangkok, so it was relaxing to go to a place where there aren't many things to do except go sight-seeing and sleep. I also kind of wanted to be by myself for a few days - just to regroup a little bit. The ruins of Ayutthaya and Sukhotai were very impressive, and they're known to be little Angkor Wat, which is the grand Khmer temple ruins of Cambodia. I was by myself for most of the time in Ayutthaya, but in Sukhotai, I met a lovely couple (although they weren't dating, supposedly) from Australia, and we went to the ruins together. It was great to chill out for a few days and see these amazing ruins:





Now, I'm in Chiang Mai, the trekking capital of Thailand, and I'm embarking on a 3 day, 2 night tour tomorrow through the forests, to a waterfall, hilltribe villages, etc etc. We'll see if I'll make it out alive.

- Ryoji

Koh Tao and off to Bangkok!

It hasn't been too long before my last post, but I have some time to kill so might as well catch up.

After my time on the second island of the chain, I headed to the last one, Koh Tao, which is the smallest of all of the East Coast islands on the Thailand Peninsula. There are numerous dive resorts and shops on the island as it is known for its beautiful corals and wide array of fish species. When I got there, as always, I decided to stay at a hostel dorm to meet some people, and it's the cheapest option. There was a nice pool nearby (after all this time on these islands, I preferred the pool) with a bar attached to it. Just as a representative of the places that I've been staying, here's a picture of my room. This one, I considered to be a luxury because of the A/C.



So on my second night on Koh Samui five days ago, I met a group of package travelers at a club, but except for the casual "where are you from"s, we didn't really talk, we were just dancing. The next night on the island, I met them at the same place, but the same story, we didn't talk much, although I was able to get some of their names while they knew me as "Chicago." On Koh Pha Ngan, we ran into each other again, and this time, we all actually had a conversation (probably because the night was early). And we said goodbye at the end of the night, probably because we weren't going to see each other again. But as luck would have it, when I was eating with some people that I've met on Koh Tao, they all walked in at the same restaurant! We all went out together, and I managed to friend one of them on Facebook so I got to friend the rest of them.



The next day, I went on 2 dives, one at White Rock, the other at Twins, which were supposed to be two of the world's best dive sites. Unfortunately, because the islands didn't get the winter monsoon last year, the ocean didn't get enough fresh water, which subsequently heated up the ocean. So algae was abundant, and the corals were bleached. Needless to say, I was disappointed with the visibility although the marine life was incredible and the coral reefs were absolutely stunning.

The next day, I left for Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, with the tour group as they had the same destination, and it's more fun to travel in a group. Scary story (amusing now): As we were waiting for the boat, with 20 minutes left until departure, I'm not sure how but I realized that I forgot my waist wallet with my passport and debit card! Without thinking twice, I went over to the hoard of taxi drivers waiting for foreigners (like predators), said "here's money, now step on it!" I don't really want to relive that experience, so let's just say that I got my belongings in less than 10 minutes, and I almost died like 4 times.

- Ryoji

Into Thailand and island hopping

Three days ago while I was in Koh Samui, I lost my camera (or it got pickpocketted) so I don't have images from Panang to upload here. I don't care too much about the camera or the fact that I had to shell out another 300 dollars for a new camera; what I do care about is the 200 pictures that I had taken in the last 3 weeks. But on the upside, I like my new camera much more...

It's been over a week since I last updated so a lot has happened in that span. I traveled to Panang on the west coast of Malaysia, very close to the Thai border, with Garlef, the German guy I met in Taman Negara. Panang is the second largest city in the country, and many of the buildings boast an impressive array of colonial architecture, which is a little bit funny because Chinese noodle shops or Malaysian curry places own these buildings. Garlef and I stayed there for 2 nights. On the second day, we rented mountain bikes to explore the island, which turned out to be difficult as we had to ride between the thousand motorcycles on the road (no sidewalks, really). Nevertheless, the it was good to get some exercise, and we were able to go to the Kok Lok Si Temple, which houses the largest statue of Bodhisattva.

To cross the Thai border, we decided to go through Langkawi Island because road crossing in Southern Thailand is dangerous due to racial violence and political uprisings. So we woke up at 7 am, hopped on a boat, got to Langkawi, got on another boat into Thailand, rode a local bus for grueling 5 hours to a stop off point, and finally an A/C coach bus for 3 hours into Krabi, which is right by Phuket. Here, Garlef went to Phuket, and I decided to go to the East coast islands of Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Tao. In the morning, we said farewell and went our separate ways.

These east coast islands are known for all-night parties, especially Koh Pha Ngan, which hosts the world famous Full Moon Parties (and half moon, black moon, pretty much any excuse for a party) each month, where upwards of 10,000 people come to the beaches to party. On Koh Samui, my first destination, I was surprised to find how developed the island was, with McDonalds, Starbucks, and numerous resorts lining the main street. On one of the days, I rented a motorcycle to explore the island and go to the mall to get a new camera, which was a little dangerous now that I think about it. There was basically no Rules of the Road, no stoplights, and they ride on the left side of the road. Nonetheless, riding down the curvy coastal roads was exhilarating. Each of the three nights I went out with some of the guys and girls I met on the island. They were interesting nights, to say the least...



After 4 days, I hopped onto another island, Ko Pha Ngan, where I'm at right now. It's a quaint little island, but packed with raging tourists from all over the world in this one area of the island called Haad Rin. Last night, I watched the world cup (which is GREAT to watch in a country other than the US) then headed to the beach to meet up with some of the people I met on Koh Samui. We had a grand ol' time. And today, I just slept on the beach, reading, listening to music, pretty much doing nothing.



Tomorrow, I'm going to Koh Tao, which is well-known for scuba diving as there are over 40 dive operators on the tiny island, servicing divers from all over the world. And now, I'm gonna go catch the Spain-Switzerland game. Go Switzerland!

- Ryoji

The Jungle and the Beach

After hanging out in 3 cities, Singapore, Melaka, and KL, I headed to the Taman Negara National Park in the center of Malaysia, where conservation efforts have kept the rainforest intact against thoughtless urban development efforts. On the way to the jungle, I met Garlef, a German guy, and Andy, a British backpacker, at the bus stop. Along with 2 other girls, we stayed at this dingy, airless hostel, where we slept with lizards, huge spiders, and a praying mantis by our side throughout the night.



Garlef, Andy, and I signed up for a 2 day, 1 night overnight trek into the jungle with our guide, Imra. The walk wasn't all that bad because it wasn't that much of an up-down terrain, and the only thing that got to us was the humidity. At the end of the day, we spend the night in this giant cave in the middle of the jungle. So we collected firewood and river water to start cooking our dinner - chicken curry, rice, and vegetable soup - which was all delicious. Throughout dinner, we had noticed that our guide wasn't eating all that much, but we didn't really think twice about it. But about 2 hours after dinner, he digs into his backpack, and with a sly grin, he takes out a kilogram of some steak meat. He proceeds to split a logwood in half, place the meat between the wood, and cook it in the fire. The whole time, he's laughing out loud and pointing at us. But at the end, he shared it with everybody (although it wasn't all that good) though I'm still not convinced that it was beef.




After the trek, we came back to the hostel, where a bunch of us drank cheap whiskey and sang cheesy American songs while our guide played the guitar...

Garlef, Andy, and I decided to travel together to the Perhentian Islands on the East Coast of Malaysia, and we bid farewell to the girls, who were going in the other direction. For no apparent reason, we decided to take the Jungle Railway, which is notorious for its slow pace and loud children on board. And after much scenic meandering and 8 hours of shouting children, we arrived at the port city, where we took a 30 minute boat ride to the islands.



The Perhentian Islands consist of 2 islands, and many beaches, but we stayed at the most popular area, and we failed to leave our little comfort spot even with 4 days of doing nothing. We stayed in a chalet, which we had called our dungeon, our shithole, basically a home away from home where we would rather sleep on the beach if it weren't for the damn mosquitoes (although the chalet, mosquito net, and insect repellect didn't help us from being eaten alive). Basically, the days went like this: wake up, go to the beach, burn, eat, swim, burn, sleep on the beach, eat, eat, "party" (it wasn't that lively of an island). To say the least, we had a very relaxing time, but 4 days on the island was more than enough - we were itching to do things, something, anything at all.

Andy went his own way, but Garlef and I are still traveling together, and we are heading to Penang tonight in an overnight coach bus. We are planning to travel to Thailand in a couple of days.

- Ryoji

Melaka and KL, Malaysia

It's been almost a week since my last post from Singapore, and as I had predicted, I only stayed one night there. I took a bus ride to Melaka in the southern region of Malaysia, where I spent 4 days hanging out with other backpackers - going to a karaoke bar, watching Sex and the City... Melaka was a fantastic city with a rich history. It used to be a major port city, by far the biggest in Malaysia, and perhaps all of Malaysia, until it was colonized first by the Dutch, then the Portuguese, and finally the British. Just like Singapore, there's a mixture of Malay, Chinese, and Indian cultures, but with a Western taste, like the St. Paul church. Anyways, I was planning on spending only 2 nights there, but when you don't have a plan, it's hard to tear yourself away from a friendly environment with great people.




My next destination was Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, and as the capital, skyscrapers, shopping malls, and glitter donned the city. The famous Petronas Towers, the tallest building before 2003, was quite impressive, especially at night.



I also walked around the city for almost 6 hours on the first day, going from the National Museum to the National Mosque (where I had to wear a pink robe to enter) finally finishing at the Chow Kit, where they sell literally anything. But my biggest reason for coming to KL wasn't for the mosque or the Petronas Towers, but I met up with Zharif!! For those of you that don't know Zharif, he was my best friend from 3rd to 8th great when he moved back to Malaysia, and I haven't seen him since. We hung out for two nights with his local Malay friends along with his brother, smoking hookah, playing counter strike and eating until 4am in the morning. I felt like I got a sense of what some of the locals do at night. Also, Zharif's family took me out to a really nice Thai restaurant and stuffed me with great food. All in all, I had a great time in KL, and it was great to catch up with an old friend of mine.




Tomorrow, I am going on a 2 day, 1 night jungle trip in the Taman Negara national park, which I'm sure will be interesting.


- Ryoji