Previous Trip

I kept good notes while traveling.  Here is the first installment of my travels after having returned from Australia.  Since Australia was the best time of my holiday, I will save that experience until last. 

 

 

 

Cambodia Day 1

 

 

 

After I returned to Thailand from Australia on 31 December, 2006, I still had about 20 minutes to boogie into Bangkok for the parties.  My plane for Siem Reap Cambodia didn’t leave until about 8am on the first of January 07’. 

 

When I arrived at the airport in Siem Reap, I was met by a driver and language assistant/tour guide.  I exchanged Thai Baht for the local currency, which is called Riel.  (Trivial note:  There are three countries which use a type of currency which is all pronounced the same way but have variations of spellings…Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil.)  The exchange rate was crazy; 1,000,000 Riel equaled $200US.  I exchanged $60US of Thai Baht and was given a couple of envelopes which were stuffed full of Riel.  They were so thick that I had to put them into my backpack as my pants pockets were too small to fit enough notes to purchase me a #1 ‘Super Sized’. 

 

As we were going to the hotel, the LA (language assistant) told me that he’d be by in four hours to pick me up.  We argued when I told him to pick me up in an hour.  He gave in to my crankiness.  Keep in mind that I’d not slept since leaving Australia a day and a half prior.  He told me I needed sleep, and I told him I simply needed a bit of oil to lubricate the machine that I am.  LOL  He didn’t understand my joke. 

 

 

The hotel was interesting.  It was called Angkor Watt Cabana.  It looked nice enough from the outside.  When I entered into the room, I noted several dead cockroaches on the floor and hundreds of mosquitoes.  The bell boy told me, “Make sure you leave the room closed or mosquitoes will find their way in.”  ?????  LOL! 

 

When my LA and driver arrived and we departed for the ‘First Tonley Sab Lake’, I realized that his English wasn’t quite as good as mentioned in the brochure.  In all honesty, his English sucked.  Ha!  I learned while en route that the river emptied into (or was fed by)  a body of water which separates Cambodia from Viet Nam; on the other side of the great body of water is the Mekong Delta. 

 

I was totally amazed by the life of the river people.  These people have, for thousands of years, found sustenance on the river.  </

span>Their lives, existence and education literally rests on the river.

 

The main industry is fishing.  I would guess that the second is sales of food, goods, and clothing; all of which are sold on small mobile ‘boat stores’.  The ‘boat stores will move slowly up and down the river and wait for ‘home owners’ (boat owners) to flag them over to barter for purchases.

 

I spent time in Afghanistan where people stop and have a bowel movement in place; the smell in Kabul didn’t even come close to the overwhelming stench of the river in the three different river communities we passed through.  The toilets all empty into the river.  The river is where people obtain fish for eating.  The river is also where people bathe.  It really boils down to Fred dumping a bowl filled with water over his head right after ‘neighbor Jim’ discharged bile from the bowels.  Quite a nasty thought. 

 

One thing truly amazed me about life on the river.  Kids need school.  Schools need sports.  They can’t possibly construct a permanent building due to the excessive flooding during the rainy season so schools are build on floats, which enable them to rise and fall as the clouds deliver or withhold their product.  As we neared a floating structure, which my LA identified as a school, I asked what the caged thing was which was floating next to it; he said, “It’s a basketball court.”  I was absolutely amazed by that for some reason. 

 

When we approached the large body of water marking the opening to the river’s mouth, there was a HUGE floating tourist place.  The people were pulling tiny shrimp out of the water with nets; the shrimp must have numbered in the thousands.  When my LA asked if I wanted some, I imagined ‘neighbor Jim’ squatting over the pathetically small shrimp moments prior to the shrimp’s snaring episode but I relented.  I suffered from a gastro intestinal episode which lasted several days!  Haha! 

 

When we were returning to the boat I hired for the tour, I saw several Crocks…let me take that back…I saw SCORES of Crocks hiding under the tourist boat thing.  I was amazed by how many there were.  They were sleeping atop of each other and literally crammed into every space under the boat.

 

As I got on the boat, I saw a small boy who was paddling around in a giant cooking dish and was missing his left arm.  I don’t know, but I’m quite certain a Crock viewed it as an appetizer. 

 

1700 hours.  Everyone was naked.  I’m talking men, women, kids, old men (which I really DIDN’T need to see), everyone!  They all got naked and began bathing in the river.  I really wanted to introduce some Western culture and incorporate a bottle of Scotch into the equation but I thought they would be a bit miffed if, after a couple of drinks, I was attempting to entice them into doing the ‘Margarania’ while naked and slightly stoned.  For real…this really was quite a sight! 

 

We took in sunset at a place called Bakheng Hill.  I think I would have enjoyed it if there weren’t people there.  I think one of the reasons me and my best friend Ken get along so well is because we both don’t like people.  LOL!  I laugh, but it’s true!  We also don’t appreciate crowds…not that there is anything WRONG with crowds for YOU, I just don’t care for them.  The other factor of the crowds is that for the New Year, people came from all over Cambodia to go to Angkor Watt so there was definitely a surplus of bodies. 

 

The location where we saw the sunset was an ancient Buddhist monastery and is located near An

gkor Watt, which we passed while on the way to the hill.  The country side was quite beautiful.  I would compare it to northern Thailand in a placed called Bury Ram, which I visited six months ago…very green. 

I learned that the steps one must climb when ascending to a temple or monastery are incredibly seep.  The reason for this is so when people are approaching the Gods, they are in a position which is similar to that of one who is kneeling before a Deity.  I will show photos of steep steps on day two…quite mind boggling. 

 

I went for dinner at a restaurant called Amazon Angkor.  The reason I went was because performers on stage danced in the traditional garb and manner while traditional musical instruments were playing in the background.  The food was served buffet style; never do this when you are feeding a man who has not slept in two days and has been buzzing for most of that time; I killed seven plates.  LOL! 

 

One thing I thought was odd was the problem people had with me eating alone.  I know of two people who have NO problem going to the cinema alone:  Me and my friend Jules.  If you want to go to a movie and everyone you know is working, GO!  Ha!  In this case, if the dancers are hottie Asians and dressed in a traditional manner you find to be sexy, GO!  When I ordered a bottle of wine, the lovely lady asked, “Would you like one glass or two?”  <snicker>  I responded, “Give me one glass for now…after half the bottle is gone, give me two…I’ll either have company or be sad that I have no company; in either case, two glasses will be required.”  I thought it was quite funny; I’m blaming her lack of laughter on the language barrier.  The bottle I purchased was a Rose from France (God bless the French…just kidding).  I remembered Ken’s Karla once said that a Rose is refreshing on a hot day…or perhaps Ken said that after we already drank all of the Jack Daniels and he was attempting to convince Karla into letting us into her stash.  Either way, it WAS quite refreshing…TWICE! 

 

When I was at dinner, it was muggy as hell.  Again, there were bugs everywhere.  I’m talking in my food, on my table, on my body, everywhere. 

 

There was one very funny episode which occurred right after I retrieved my second serving.  Perhaps it’s an occupational hazard, but I have a habit of noting where everyone sits or stands in any venue where I am and memorizing their faces.  I make mental notes so I remember exactly where they are supposed to be or where they were when I last saw them (I.E.  While man, mutton chops, moustache stained yellow from tobacco hitting on a woman younger than him who doesn’t smoke, standing next to a banister).  Anyway, I noted a European couple…I initially guessed them to be Dutch for a couple of reasons (light complected, man with a moustache, woman not wearing a bra, speaking a language which sounded like German but wasn’t German, man’s pants were about an inch too short and ENTIRELY too tight in the groin area).  BTW…turns out I was right…they were Dutch…  I think it was the ‘nut hugger’ pants which gave him away.  You may think I’m nuts, but there really ARE tell-tale signs of where people are from!  So the lady returned from the buffet and issued an extremely annoyed glance at the Spanish men who she thought were seated at her table.  The Spanish men looked at her as though she was the lost soul she was.  She began looking around for her husband and his nut hugging pants and couldn’t find him.  I directed a loud ‘AHEM’ in her direction, and we made eye contact.  I discretely pointed to her table; her face flushed, and she immediately returned to her table.  After her husband returned, she whispered something to him, and they both looked in my direction.  Several moments after the look, a waiter appeared at my table’s edge, and said, “Sir, this is compliments of the Dutch couple at the table over there.”  Her poured me a glass of Rose and left the remainder of the bottle on my table.  I KNEW IT!  IT WAS THE NUT HUGGERS! 

 

<p class="MsoNormal” style=”MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt”>A total of nine waiting staff approached me during my meal and asked if I was alone!  After the first few, I began having fun with the question when the wait staff were female…but that is another story…

 

Following the dinner, I hit the bars:  36 hours with no sleep at this point.