A night on "The Beach"

After flying into Phuket we only spent one night, because its very touristy and we wanted to get to the prettier beaches. So the next day we took a ferry to the island of Ko Phi Phi. Sadly, it was one of hardest hit areas in Thailand after the 2004 tsunami. There were about 11,000 people on the island when the tsunami struck and 2,500 or so were killed (5,000 total in Thailand). It was easy to forget the islands history as I walked through the streets crowded with beach shops, but then I'd turn a corner and there were would be a huge empty lot with just a single palm tree left. Dan and I climbed to the top lookout point and admired the skinny stretch of beach below. Photos were hung at the lookout of Phi Phi before and right after the tsunami. The most noticeable difference was the now lack of green vegetation and palm trees. I spoke to an English woman who had returned to Phi Phi for the first time since the disaster in which her brother almost died. He was suppose to meet a friend there but got hung up in Bangkok and arrived a day late. His friend didn't make it. What struck me the most about the people though is their resiliency. They've rebuilt much of the island over the last five years and they have such a positive spirit.



Next to the main island of Ko Phi Phi Don is Ko Phi Phi Lee. This is wear Leonardo DiCaprio's movie "The Beach" was filmed. There is one Aussie who has permission by the National Park Service to take groups to the island to spend the night. Dan and I lucked out because there were less then 20 people in our group the evening we went. The tour started by snorkeling in the large bay then they took us to the shore. The Aussie kicked the remaining tourists off the beach and our group had the whole island to ourselves. It was one of the most beautiful places I've been. The cliffs and mountains surround you, and its almost entirely closed off from the outside except for a small gap in the mountains on the far side of the lagoon. That evening we had a barbecue, the requisite bucket, and chatted with other travelers while we sat around on the beach. Later we literally slept out on the beach in sleeping bags, but I awoke all through the night completely frozen from the wind. I finally realized I could stay on the beach and freeze or go up to campsite and shelter of the bushes and brave the large scampering black rats. I chose the rats and Dan was nice enough to come along. I saw them scurry by but luckily they stayed away from our sleeping bags.








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A random trip to Singapore

We took a 14 hour bus ride from Siem Reap to Bangkok but we ran into a bit of trouble while crossing the border. In the past, if you entered Thailand by land you received a 30 day visa. However, it changed while we were traveling and when we checked our passports we realized that now you only get 15 days. That threw off our plan to spend a month meandering through the islands in Southern Thailand. We were at a loss as to what to do because once you enter the country you have to exit and go to a Thai Embassy in another country to apply for a longer visa. We continued onto Bangkok and ended up running into our Canadian friend Jessie, from our motorbike trip in Laos. He was having even worse problems then us as he'd gotten his passport stolen on a ferry done south. We commiserated with each other over our bad luck as we walked down the street to the hookah bar. With a huge lovely strawberry flavored hookah in front of us we forgot about stupid visas and passports and spent the rest of the night laughing over new travel stories since we'd last seen each other. Dan and I solved our visa problem the next day by booking a plan ticket from Bangkok to Singapore and then from Singapore to Phuket (in southern Thailand). If we entered Thailand by air from another country then we could get our 30 day visa.

My first impression of Singapore can be summed up with one word. Clean. The whole city is so clean and orderly. After coming from Cambodia where it's not uncommon for people to spit their food out onto the restaurant floor if they don't like it, Singapore was quite the culture shock. In fact, just chewing gum is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000. The metro ran on time, most everyone spoke English, the public areas were covered in well manicured gardens, and more uniquely they are extremely fashionable. There are so many shopping malls on this small island, more then thirty, that it's impossible to visit them all in one day. I did well in resisting the temptation to spend money and came out with only a new shirt and shorts. I should note that Singaporeans are the most fashionable people I've ever seen. As we walked through the malls I felt like I was in the pages of Vogue. Overall, I really enjoyed our short 2 day stay and I'd love to go back again with a bigger budget.


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The temples of Angkor Wat

It was a bumpy bus ride on the dirt roads from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. The town was a lot smaller then I imagined, but also a lot prettier with a quiet river running along the edge. 5km outside of the city is a large expanse of 1,000 year old temples covering 400 km² known as Angkor Wat. The first night Dan and I met a British guy named Chris while eating dinner at a food stall in town. We made a plan to meet the next morning to share a tuk tuk around Angkor to save some money. We'd heard about how beautiful it is when you get there early and watch the sun rise against the temples. So we started out around 5:00am, but unfortunately the sunrise was more of an emergence of light without color. We were still happy though to start the day free of the large crowds. I have to admit I felt a bit like Indiana Jones stumbling upon a lost civilization as the three of us climbed through the stone corridors and rooms within the temples. At one point an old sun wrinkled Buddhist nun motioned for me to come with her to the alter inside. We both sat at the base of the alter then she began carefully removing various objects from her small basket. She gave me a stick of incense and instructed me to move it in a certain way while reciting a phrase. Then she lit the incense stick and I stuck it in the sand pot at the base of the Buddha statue. I thanked her, placing my palms together and nodding my head in a bow, and in return she tied a red string bracelet around my wrist symbolizing a buddhist blessing of good luck. It was one of my most special experiences in Cambodia.

Later that afternoon the three of us found spots on top of a temple and while enjoying the view I slipped into sleep and woke up 20 minutes later to find Chris and Dan had done the same. A half hour later we pulled ourselves up and back to the tuk tuk to venture off to a few more temples. We stopped for a snack at one of the roadside food stalls and I smelled something good being grilled. I saw a woman in the corner grilling meat on sticks and covering it with a sweet sauce. I got 6 small sticks for Dan and I and we each commented on how good it was, especially with the special sauce. As we were eating our last few scrumptious bites Chris was regaling us with tales of his time in China and South Korea. He told us of eating dog and its peculiar consistency. Stringy and chewy he said, very different from beef and chicken. Dan and I both looked at each other and realized that our wonderful "beef" on the sticks didn't actually resemble any meat we'd had before. Yeah, it was dog. Sorry Riley.

That evening was the big New Years eve party on "Pub Street" in Siem Riep. The three of us met up for dinner at the street stalls then walked over to the party. We found the whole street had been blocked off to traffic and the restaurants were selling beer for $1 a cup on the street. Halfway through the night all the power went off, leaving only a couple of glowing neon signs. The restaurant owners were unfazed though and within minutes candles filled the tables, bars, and even bathrooms and the party continued. When the power returned a few minutes before midnight the street assumed more of a Mardi Gras feel then Cambodian. It was definitely my most memorable New Year!


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