Asia Part II Postponed

As many of you know, we were scheduled to be in Asia on April 29, 2-15.  Regrettably an illness (mostly a major annoyance) interceded and caused us to cancel the current trip and postpone our plans until the issue resolves itself.

We will send a new notice when our next trip occurs, but it will be at least 4 - 6 months.

All the best,

Paul & Sonya

Amazing Angkor Area

After leaving Phnom Penh by plane, we landed at Siem Reap, the town near the Angkor ruins.  I have learned that Angkor Wat is only one of the temples in the Angkor area.  It is considered the jewel of the area by many, and we cannot argue this.

Before getting into the specifics, a short description of the Angkor area is appropriate.  Angkor is the  ancient capital of the Khmer kingdom and the cultural and spiritual heart of Cambodia.  Angkor is one of the wonders of the world. Perhaps nowhere else on earth, except in the Valley of the Nile in Egypt, are the relics of antiquity found in such overwhelming grandeur.

The Angkor time period runs from approximately AD 800 - 1300.  After its abandonment, it remained largely undisturbed until it was made popular by the reported travels of French explorer Henri Mouhout in 1860.  It was always known to the Khmer people (the people of Cambodia), but they largely ignored it.

Our first visit was to the Bayon temple at Angkor Tom.  This is one of the larger temples, built from 1181-1220.  There is one large central tower, with 54 surrounding towers, representing the 54 provinces of the Khmer kingdom at the time.  The central tower represented the King's central power.  There are more than 30 towers still standing in various states of restoration.  

The construction of these edifices and complexes is amazing, with large stones laid together so tightly that you cannot slide a sheet of paper between them.  For Sonya and me, this was very reminiscent of our travel to Peru to see the Incan ruins.  They were of a similar construction and a similar scale, but more spread out and much more intricately carved.

Here you can see a very large head that has been sculpted out of many blocks.  The blocks were laid first, then carved.

Here you see lines in the face that are thicker than a sheet of paper that I refer to above, but that is from the restoration.  Where the original construction is undisturbed, the lines are much tighter.

The next shot below gives an idea of scale of the head on the left, which is set back 300 feet from where we are.  The doors towards the bottom of the picture are about 5 feet in height.  This is part way up the Bayon temple and the tower on the left is one of the 54 mentioned earlier.

After this we visited the Tomb Raiders temple, made famous by Angelina Jolie.  The real name is Ta Prohm, and the reason for leaving the roots is that when they started the restoration, they determined that it was the best strategy for structural integrity and most popular by choice. The way the trunks and roots weave around the structures provides a good  idea of what the whole area was like when it was rediscovered by the French explorer.  Here is Sonya's view of this site:

And this one too:

While not the best preserved or restored, it had the best "cool" factor. Go watch Tomb Raiders again and you will see what I mean.

On Friday morning we visited Angkor Wat.  The sheer scale of Angkor Wat is difficult to grasp in a single visit. The area of land covered by the complex is around 500 acres and it is surrounded by a moat which is 650 feet wide. Just walking to the central shrine across the moat and along the main causeway is a humbling experience. At the end, the main towers of the temple rise to an astonishing 210 feet through 3 separate levels.  

The assent to the third level is not for the meek or those with a heart condition.  The 47 stairs to the top have an angle of about 70 degrees. The original 37 steps (now prohibited from use) were steeper yet and  symbolized the 37 different levels of heaven in the Hindu religion.  Here I am on stair number 4 or 5, I believe.

At the top of this is a buddhist shrine that many people visit.  I asked Sonya if she wanted to get a particular shot, but she gave me very abrupt "Not now" and took off.  I found out after that she was on the hunt for a shot of the two monks shown here.  Oh boy, more monk shots!!!

The Angkor area was designated a Unesco World Heritage site in 1992, which means that they receive funding from many different countries to help restore the ruins.  Much work has been done on these sites by many countries.  There are way too many pictures to post here, but the picture below shows one of the four pools on the second level of the temple.  For perspective, the pillars surrounding the pool are about 7 feet high.

After touring Angkor Wat for about 2 hours we went to the Pink temple or Women's temple.  It is called the pink temple because of the pink coloured Sandstone that was used to construct this site.

You can see the colouration above.  This temple has the best example of the intricate carving that was done during the construction of these temples.  The scale of it is too vast to take in on a blog, but this will give you a wee taste.

As we were leaving this site, our guide gave us the choice of a beer or a young coconut.  The coconuts were in a freezer, so the coconut water in them was ice cold.  

During the times off war when blood plasma was low, they used the water from the young coconuts as plasma and injected the water directly into the blood stream.  I bet you did not know that, Doctor-to-be Joel!!

After this it was off to the French Artisan School, where students with disabilities such a missing limbs or other injuries, from the internal war and current day land mines that have not all been removed, are taught a craft such as painting, sculpture, laquerware, silk weaving and so forth.  Naturally, we did not get out of this place without ONE MORE scarf!  

We had a group dinner with our tour group.  This was a dinner literally fit for a king, as it was designed based on meals prepared for the ancient Angkorian kings.   We had some lovely music and dancing as well.  

These young ladies were dressed as Asparas.  The best parallel would be that of nymphs.  I leave the rest to your imagination.

On Saturday morning we arose very early (0430) to go for a sunrise ascent in a tethered helium balloon.  This balloon rose 100 metres in the air in order to get a bird's eye view of Angkor Wat.  This is the balloon:

Unfortunately it was too hazy to get any really great shots of the area, but it did give us a real appreciation of the Angkor area and the reason that it was largely undisturbed until popularized by the French.

The last thing we did before we left was to take a ride on an Asian elephant.  As many of you know, when it comes to elephants, Sonya has to get several photographs of them ALL.  She was looking this one in the eye:

when another one "snuck up behind her" and almost required a change of pants!  

It is the first time I have heard of an elephant "sneaking up" on someone!  Anyway, we did get our ride - as shown by a shot taken by our tuk-tuk driver:

Our tuk-tuk driver was a real sport that morning, so we made sure that he was well compensated for his efforts.  Here we are in his tuk-tuk.  He has license 007 for his tuk-tuk (you can see the 7 on his bike). 

 As we finish this, we are at the Siem Reap International Airport, bound for Hong Kong, then Vancouver and finally Edmoton, arriving on Sunday at 0100.

So, 

THIS IS TRULY THE END.

See you in Edmonton.

Paul & Sonya 

 

Captivating Cambodia

After clearing the border, we sailed to Phnom Penh (pronounced pnom as the h is silent).  The next morning we all got into cyclos for a tour. Yup - these tiny Cambodian men peddled us not so tiny tourists around the French Quarter!

First it was off to the Royal Palace - Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy, like the United Kingdom.  Within the Palace grounds is the extravagant Silver Pagoda, with a  floor  made entirely of silver tiles, each weighing more than one kilogram, with more than 5,000 tiles on the floor for a total of more than 5 tonnes of silver.  Much of the silver came from the coins that were formerly used in the Kingdom.  There are also many statues and other religious items inside.  Unfortunately, we cannot show you any pictures, as they prohibit taking any pictures!

After lunch, we had a free afternoon, so we jumped on a tuk-tuk to have a 3 hour city tour.   The tuk-tuks here are a little different than  others we have seen in other parts of the world, as they are detachable from the motorbike so the bikes can be used for other purposes. 

Our driver stopped for a minute for what I thought was to add gasoline, but it was actually to add water. They use a crude water cooling system for the engine, because the trailer part (and its heavy caucasian occupants) put a lot of stress on the engine!  He then stopped to show us the gas station for the scooters and motor bikes. Yes - this is the scooter gas station!

Depending on how much money you have and how much gas you need, you can buy gasoline in 500 ml, 1 litre and 2 litre bottles!  There are gasoline stations around, but we never saw any motor bikes at them.  Now you can see why!

We had a great tour of the city, both the old parts and the new developing areas.  Phnom Penh may not be as developed as Saigon, but it is developing very rapidly.  I am sure that if we were to come back in 5 years, the changes would be huge!

The next morning we went to the Choeung Ek killing fields about 40 minutes outside of Phnom Penh.  There were more than 500 killing fields within Cambodia during the Paul Pot regime, and almost 1/4 of the population (almost 2,000,000 people) were killed by this regime.  The place we visited was where more than 17,000 lost their lives.  People avoided this area because it was thought to be a major administrative/training centre of the regime due to the regimental marching songs played on loudspeakers in order to hide the death cries.  

The horror is almost unfathomable, but like the story of the second world war, it must be told to be sure that it is never repeated.  After this, we returned to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school turned into a prison where enemies of the regime were tortured before being sent to the killing fields.  

This was a very tough morning, but at the end of the museum  tour we were fortunate to meet two survivors of the Paul Pot regime.  They come most every day to the museum to tell their story so that others can know what happened.  These two men, Bou Meng and Chum Mey, now in their 80s, have a very calm gentle energy that was amazing to experience.  Each of these men has the same gentle spirit of our Dr. Aung!  I think they could be related!!

They each have a book decribing their experience, and they feel it important that there be "Justice for the Future, Not Just for the Victims." The proceeds of the book go to an association to support other survivors.  These gentlemen have been to the war crimes trails many (77) times to testify.  We honour their courage by posting their pictures here.

On the return bus ride our guide, Phany (pronounced Panny) gave us an account of how much things are improving for Cambodia, by describing how his home village of 250 families had gone from having only 2 televisions when he left the village in early 2000, to now where 70-80% of the households have a TV, but most still run the TV off a battery.  Thanks to him, his mother now has a scooter (a Honda Dream, no less) to get around and do her shopping and errands.   It was a great to end with hearing his uplifiting story.

In the afternoon we went to a village known for their silk weaving.  Here there are a couple of enterprising families that go from start to final product, including raising the silk worms, harvesting the silk cocoons, 

spinning the silk thread (below is Grandma who owns one of the operations), 

and making the silk garments including, of course, silk scarves.  

Needless to say, we did not get out of there without Sonya buying (yet another!) silk scarf.  As a matter of fact, if anyone can email me with the correct guess as to the number of scarves Sonya has purchased, (keeping in mind that we have been on the road for 7 weeks), I willl award the first person with the correct guess one of the scarves she purchased! Clue - it is more than 7!

On Tuesday we visited Wat Hanchey, a temple dating back to the 8th Century.  Like Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia is largely a Buddhist country, following what is known as Theravada Buddhism.  This temple was high on a hill, with spectacular views of the surrounding area.  

Of course, at a temple there are monks.  Here a group of monks was just returning from collecting their alms, both in the form of food and other gifts from the local people.  

They walk through the village and, I surmise, use the truck as transport back so that they can get back in time to eat before their 12 noon deadline.  They are not allowed any solid food after this time, so if they miss that meal, that's it until the next morning!

This stop reminded us very much of our time in Myanmar.  This and a few other interactions with others  led Sonya and I to conclude that the people of Cambodia have a gentle spirit very similar to the people of Myanmar.

After lunch and a short sail on the river, we stopped at Angkor Ban to visit a traditional village to see how life is lived in a more rural setting.  We stopped at this home and were invited in by Grandma (below),

to see how they lived.  The houses here are all on stilts, as they are subject to severe flooding from the river.  You can see the bamboo slat floor here.  This is done mainly to allow airflow into the house during the day, as it gets very warm.  The other benefit of the house being on stilts is that when not flooded the open area underneath is used to carry out daily activities like cooking, weaving and raising animals.

As you can see from below, in this village, as with most other places we have seen, those that do not have or do not wish to use a scooter or motorbike, get around on bicycle.  This applies to young and old alike!

As with the larger centres, food is bought and sold at the local market.  In this village, the market occurs twice a day.  In the morning from about 6 to 8 am, and in the late afternoon.  The ladies below are just leaving the market with some produce, presumably for their dinner. While many now have a fridge, most would not dream of stockiing up and shopping once a week.  Local markets and daily shopping continues to be the norm.  As well, even in cities shopping centers are slow to catch on.

After that it was back on board our RV (that's River Vessel, not Recreational Vehicle) to motor up river to our next destination and to get ready for dance night!

We had a blast interacting with the other passengers and the crew of the boat.  I taught a couple of very shy young ladies how to jive and Sonya taught one of the young gentlemen how to waltz!  

The Macarena dance is apparently very popular here, and the young ladies were (trying) to lead our group by example.  Here are some of our group having fun trying to keep up!

On Wednesday morning we arrived in Kampong Tralach.  The crew decided that they should have hand rails for the ramp (why start now?), but they were having some challenges using their new tie-down strap.  Nosy me had to see what the problem was, and I actually did help them rectify the issue. At least I was wearing the right colour shirt to fit in!

After that little handy man project we got off and visited another local house before getting on an ox cart ride - two per cart.  This of course brought back memories for Sonya and me of our Myanmar experience.   These carts were a little smaller than those in Myanmar, so it was a bit of a tight squeeze for some of us larger caucasians!  It was the first time for most of our fellow travellers, so much fun was had by all.

After a back and bottom massage, we boarded a coach to head off to the next village (Konpong Louang) to visit a Silversmith operation.  This village has a long history of making silverware for royalty, dating back to the 11th century.  The work is quite intricate and time consuming. 

In order to ensure that their skill is well-honed and continues through their lineage, they start them out at a very young age!

After this, it was back on board for our trip back down the river to Phnom Penh so that we can board an airplane Thursday morning for Siem Reap / Angkor Wat.

As I leave you with this picture of me writing this blog installment, 

I want to let you know that a new record was set by Sonya today.  She shot more than 500 pictures in less than 24 hours.  She claims that she has to do so in order to get the picture she wants!  I have determined that a newer faster camera may cut down on the number of required shots, so we are going shopping for a new camera when we get back.  My biggest fear is that a faster camera will allow her to take even more pictures in less time!  YIKES!!

 Be sure to come along to amazing Angkor Wat!

Paul & Sonya

Goodbye Vietnam!!!!

As Robin Williams said at the end of the show, "Good Morning Vietnam", it is "Goodbye Vietnam"!

We boarded the beautiful River Vessel, the Avalon Siem Reap, a 36 passenger luxury riverboat.

Its suites feature 245 sq ft of space with floor to ceiling windows that open to the outside, so you can have your morning coffee while watching the river come to life.

Sonya says - "do we have to go home?"

Part of the the initial trip was cruising through  an area known as "The Ditch", which is a narrow waterway carved out to shorten the transportation time on the Mekong. It is a REALLY busy waterway, with so much traffic that every ship honks when overtaking;

kids waving and yelling "hello, where are you from" from the dike;

and much commerce throughout its length - coconuts anyone?

After cruising up the ditch until late in the evening, we dropped anchor in a town called Cái Bè.  I say a town, but the population of the greater Cái Bè is about 290,000.  It was a location for the Amazing Race 2009 series, for fans of the show.

The next morning we visited a shop that made rice wine and a specialty called SNAKE WINE!

Of course, after a dare I had to try it. It was an interesting taste - if you had Sake before, it was like a very bitter version of Sake. But don't worry Sean, Del and Russell, I didn't buy any for the German Wine Society dinners.

They also make coconut candy, puffed rice candy and a few other sweets. These are exported all over the world apparently. It is a very labour intensive operation. Here is a woman sealing bags of puffed rice and noodle candy.

In the afternoon we went to one of a number of brick factories in the delta area.  There is very good sand in the area, with all of the sediment flowing down the river to the Delta.  There is also a good source of clay about 15 km away.  These combine to make very good bricks.  The process is very labour intensive, and it takes many days to make the bricks.  The kilns are heated with rice chaff and rice stalks, as the electricity is very costly.  The bricks sell for US$0.15, but remember the average wage is US$ 400 per month.

Women and men both work in this factory, with the women here loading up a hand truck to move the bricks from the kiln to the packaging area.

The bricks are then moved out by way of the river, on barges of various sizes.

While there, we met the chief fireman for the place.  The fireman is the guy in charge of keeping the kilns burning rather than putting out fires!

There are two firemen on staff at a time, and they work seven days a week, rotating 6 hour shifts.  This guy was in his mid to late forties.

After this, we were off to the local market, in an amazing race style of competition.  Each of 4 teams was given two items to buy.  We were only given 10,000 dong (USD $0.50) and the names of the items to purchase in Vietnamese, verbally - with no idea as to what the item was in English! They suggested we write it down phonetically to help us ask the locals for it in the correct fashion.  We had to ask around the market to find a vendor that sold the appropriate item.  The locals all kept laughing and had great fun with us!

Our team had to buy Aut and Hogwa (phonetically spelt) with no idea what we were looking for.  It was an absolute hoot looking at the faces of the vendors as we asked for these items.  We think that the vendors had more of a laugh than we did!  Anyway, our team was first with both our purchases.  One team brought back change. Three of the four groups brought back the right things.

This woman did not sell either of our items and as you can see she was a bit circumspect about what these crazy tourists were doing asking for items in Vietnamese!

On Saturday, we visited Chau Doc, a town very near the Vietnamese / Cambodian border to see a fish farm, raising Tilapia (a white fish).  Most of the tiapia we get at Costco comes from here. It takes 9 months to raise them from fingerlings until they are ready for market.  It costs US$100,000 to set up a fish farm, a small forutne for most of these fish farmers.

As we left for the fish farm, this little girl was spying us up and down as we approached their fishing boat,  which is also their  home. 

This was their home and their fishing boat!

After we finished the tour of the fish farm, we weighed anchor and departed for the Vietnam / Cambodian border, and we spent a leisurely afternoon on the boat as we went through the process of waiting in line and clearing both borders.

Come visit us in Kampuchea (Cambodia)!

Paul & Sonya