Culture Shock

So in Vietnam and the other day I was all "meh meh mehing" and was wondering why, when it hit me....Vietnam is the first place I've really encountered culture shock.

After being in Cambodia where everything was easy and straight forward.  Or if not easy everyone would try and help and the surprise of how great the food was Vietnam seems so difficult!

The first day in Vietnam I thought of it as the USA of southeast asia and this impression is becoming more concrete.  Not to say it is the same as the USA but people have more American attitudes.  People come across as pushy, loud, confident, abrasive, not helpful and will dupe you. All the while they are smiling away.  It seems as if you can't take them at face value but after being here awhile it's slowly becoming clear the cultural differences.

One example is that it is perfectly acceptable to blatantly rip a person (especially white) off.  They will literally have a price written down and then demand more than the written price!  They think oh it's a white person they won't miss a couple thousand, or tens of thousands of dong.  It isn't in a malicious way it just makes sense to them.  At first I stupidly paid this up charge prior to having John pay the correct price and me pay over the price.  After that I knew for sure I was being swindled.  It's annoying and at first lead me to really dislike Vietnamese people but then after thinking about it you have to give them credit for trying such an arrogant tactic and having it work.  I'm still guarded on liking people but know that I will have to get over that and accept the cultural difference.

It irritates me that I am allowing myself to have these negative thoughts of a people.  Some of my problem is that I always just assume people are touts and will expect money for helping me when I've already had multiple people help me find my way without asking or expecting anything (I've also had far more ask for compensation).  Time for an attitude adjustment!  Need to live in the moment and not hold stupid events close.  Plus the reality is that the couple of dollars a day I'm swindled out of means a lot more to them then it does to me.

Also, due to their pushiness and confidence it is exhausting to do any normal task.  There is constant motion and noise.  In the morning and at night I love Ho Chi Minh City as it is bustling, loud and great but in the early afternoon when it is hot and bustling and all you want is a coffee that you aren't getting overcharged for it grates on my nerves.

Now it probably sounds like I don't like Vietnam but that is not at all the case.  I actually find the people endearing even though I am always leery.  They have an energy that precedes them and act as though the world will do exactly what they think it will.  Plus I really like that the three countries in Asia I've been to so far are so different.  As tiring as it can be it's interesting to find out how this country ticks.

Plus I haven't mentioned the big smiles and nods of agreement/encouragement that we get from the locals.  While in Cambodia we got surprise looks and encouragement this is more of a full on, total approving nod.

I know a big part of my foul mood is also the disappointment in the food.  While it is okay so far Cambodia is winning out on that category!  I will say the steam buns are awesome to have around.

Anyway,  now that I have identified my issue I need to stop comparing it to Cambodia and let it stand alone as a country!

Phnom Penh

13 December 2011 - Phnom Penh

I wasn't feeling the greatest but didn't want to miss out on some sightseeing so went to Tuel Slung (Genocide Museum).  This was a fascinating Museum.  Absolutely horrible.  The prison itself was responsible for a small number of deaths compared with the overall death toll of the Khmer Rouge.  Only about 25,000 people were tortured here to be killed at the killing fields some 15 km away.  But first they were tortured for up to 6 months.

We ended up spending over 3 hours walking through the exhibits, watching a film and wandering through the tiny rooms.  It is crazy to think that a small group of people was responsible for so much terror and death.  It seems even sadder when you see how happy and beautiful Cambodians are for them to have such a harrowing past.  I just can't imagine wanting to take away those smiles!

It's also insane to think of Phnom Penh as an empty city with all the buildings having barbed wire around them.  I just can't imagine this city, that has just a life of it's own, completely empty!  It also is a reminder that it wouldn't have just been this city but any of the cities we had visited so far.

It makes it that much more precious to see old people.  Since I'm writing this after already entering Vietnam I can say that seeing older people was striking after being in Cambodia.  At the time it seemed like there weren't many but not that there were really so few until compared with Vietnam!

14 December 2011 - Phnom Penh

I was feeling better today but didn't want to overdue it.  Unfortunately John started to feel sick.  I went to a market looking for a hat I had seen in Siem Reap.  It was a folding fan that could be made into a hat!

Then headed to the riverside to enjoy lunch.  As I sat there a girl and boy in their 20's came to sit by me and chat.  We had some halted conversation prior to just enjoying each others company as it was too much for either of us to continue miming.  It was nice to have the presence of someone that just wanted to be a companion.

I then headed to the palace with the silver pagoda.  It's one of those places that is overpriced but you have to go see.  Most of the palace grounds are off limits so you really only get to see the silver pagoda.  It is impressive with etched silver tiles for the floor and a large buddha weighing over 20 kg of gold and 2900 diamonds.  There is also a smaller buddha that is kinda in a corner that is 5 kg of gold and 1500 diamonds...I found it funny that this buddha was pushed to the side as if it wasn't anything special.

15 December 2011 - Phnom Penh

My recovery was suspect today so I went to restock supplies of food and lotion and then headed to a couple different cafes to enjoy a book and relax.  

Mekong Delta

25 December 2011 - Phu Quoc Island,  Rach Gia to Long Xuyen - 95 km

Merry Christmas.   Had a moment while booking the ferry last night that we were NOT in Cambodia anymore.  Since the ferry left at 8:00 am and it was 20 km away we wanted to be lazy and take the free shuttle.  When we asked the sales lady she just looked at us and said "You have bicycle?! How we take?" since Cambodia was amazing at packing people and things into vehicles we were just as confused by her question as she was of ours.

As it was I'm pretty sure I saw Santa when I woke Christmas morning because it was that early.  We took the ferry to Rach Gia and then headed through the Mekong delta towards Long Xuyen.  The roads in town were busy and no longer had any doubt that we were in Vietnam!  Scooters whizzed by in apparent chaos but slowly the rhythm of things stood out.

Basic lessons of Roadway:

1) Lanes are two-way for motorcycles and bicycles.  In towns or roads with shoulders do not ride far to the right as this is meant for oncoming traffic

2) Horns indicate to stay where you are OR to move over...generally staying where you are but if a truck is in front of you and a truck horn is behind it's nice to have the warning to move.

3) If someone flashes their lights at you it means that they are NOT stopping and you better stop or make way.

After understanding these rules it became less frantic to cycle....though most of the day was on a quieter highway. This was our first introduction to hammock rest stops!!  This has to be the cycle tourists dream...stop and get an amazing coffee and sit it while laying in a hammock!

Coffee kick...best cycling snack!!

We also saw an ice cream man in front of us and raced to catch up with him in order to get a well deserved Christmas snack!

Success!! Needed my cold fix to remind me it was Christmas

Made our way to Long Xuyen where we circled the town looking for a hotel.  

26 December 2011 - Long Xuyen to ? - 90 km

Today we slept in as we had a 90 km day and thought we deserved a little rest after yesterday's early rise.  This happened to be a bad idea.  As we went to find the bridge across the river only to find a ferry terminal.  Since no one spoke english we bought a ticket and waited to go across.  As we enjoyed the ferry we were relieved it didn't go north...this relief was short lived as John stated "I think we are heading to that island".  We now refer to it as the Mekong river cruise...worth going to the island and back. :)  

Mekong River Cruise aka wrong ferry

After our 40 minute detour we went to the correct ferry terminal (which was easy to spot from the river) and headed across.

Luckily the road we were unsure existed was in fact there (unlike the bridge we were confident about). We spent most of the ride on a quieter road.  We went through the cute town of Sa Dec and I would shortly wish we would have stayed there.

As we got to a bridge to cross the Mekong again I started going up the hill...only to have my gears slip...which I recovered from just in time to have my chain slip...as my panniers were weighted to the lane side I couldn't fall to the rail and couldn't unclip.  As such I fell and as luck would have it was mostly missed by traffic.  I got to see the results of what was the equivalent of a water filled crash barrier for cyclists as a motorcycle carrying two huge baskets of limes grazed me and sent a shower of limes about!  Needless to say I was a little freaked out but ended up with only a few bruises and thankful I was so lucky.  Really need to get a trike! 

Showing off the worst of the bruises...thankfully just below the collarbone!

Went another 15 to 20 km before we stopped at a hotel in the middle of nowhere to spend the night.

27 December 2011 - ? to Ho Chi Minh City - 110 km

As we knew we had a long day ahead and I had no idea how sore I would be we once again got up early.  I was sore but not horribly so.

We spent the day on Highway 1 which is uninspiring.  I thought it was going to be horrendous but it really just is boring with a lot of traffic and nothing to see...not my idea of a good ride but thankfully it was a nice road most of the way!  As when short bumpy sections came the pain of my bruised chest was not pleasant.

The nice thing about having the early start was when we came upon a midday hammock cafe we stopped for a good 45 minutes. John started to doze and I had to stay awake as I knew if we both fell asleep we wouldn't be making it to Ho Chi Minh today.

The traffic started getting thicker at 50 km out. By 20 km out it was quite hectic.  10 kms it was hail Mary time...luckily about this time we ran into a motorcyle lane that followed the canal most of the way into the City!  

Once in the area we wanted to stay we were lucky enough to come across the lady in the blue uniform!  I'm not sure exactly how this works but at first we thought she was a tout and soon by the way she was talking figured out she really was there to help.  She took John to a few places while I waited with the bikes and when we went to the guesthouse we decided on only to have them not except bikes she magically appeared again and showed John a few other places.  In other words she was totally awesome!!

Good Morning Vietnam

21 December 2011 – Kep to Phu Ouoc Island

Got up early as we were taking a “shortcut” to the Vietnemese border and weren't sure it would actually take less time. The ferry from Ha Tien to Phu Quoc Island left at 1:00 so we wanted to make sure we made it through the border and there in time.

We saw four cycle tourists heading the other way. Each time waved and said hello. The guy we saw at the border gave us a Vietnemese phrasebook which we were pretty stoked about.

Casino in between the border of Cambodia and Vietnam

Entering Vietnam

It was crazy as we crossed the border and now we were in Vietnam! There was no transition zone...no slowly changing from Cambodian to Vietnemese. The peoples attitudes, driving style, language (obviously), and appearance were strikingly different. Not to mention the landscape was now hilly. It left me wondering “How do people that live so close become so different?

It's very interesting because in Europe the border towns really have a feel of both cultures but here  that wasn't the feeling.

Once we got money we headed to the riverside looking for the ferry terminal. It happened to be on the other side of a bridge.

It's funny because entering a new country has implications that I never had thought about before. How do I say hello? Is that a restaurant? How do I say bathroom. It's funny the things I once took for granted as being simple tasks that can take long periods of time to figure out.

Anyway we bought our ferry ticket, had lunch and then went and had a coffee. Lucky coffee is very similar in most languages!  It was a nice introduction to Vietnam.

Ferry

Fun on the ferry...trying to do the awesome Cambodian korma wrap

Epic Fail!

After the ferry it was a dusty 20 km ride to Duong Dong. It seems every road we were taking was in the middle of construction.

We found our guesthouse quite quickly. The best part was that as we arrived the ice cream man came by and we got a scoop of ice cream with evaporated milk and peanuts on top! I had one of these in Phnom Penh and was hoping that I would find another some day!

boats in Phu Quoc harbor

picking through the catch

We went and found soup for 1^st dinner and then were excited by the setting up of the night market as we knew we would have 2^nd dinner of fresh seafood later. And that was exactly what we did. Oysters, scallops, shrimp, and grilled eggplant and seafood were the choices of the day.

22 December 2011 – Phu Quoc

We went for a snorkeling trip today. We were picked up at 8:30 to go down to the boat and get in two sessions of diving plus some time for fishing. On the way to the boat we stopped at the pearl farm where they showed us how they harvest the peals.

The snorkeling was fun. The second spot had more fish and different coral formations. It was a fun filled day and the lunch that was provided was a good selection plus fruit for dessert.

Once again ended up heading to the night market. This time for a giant snail, bbq squid, clams w/ lemongrass, and more scallops. It's great to eat such fresh seafood!

23 December 2011 – Phu Quoc

Today John and I went our seperate ways to see/do what we wanted. I wanted a leisurely ride around the island with stops at beaches or where ever. While John was looking for a hard day of riding.

I started by going on what I knew to be a deadend road. It took me to the northside of Duong Dong and meandered until it finally became a single dirt track, this lead to a litter filled beach. I wandered along the beach hoping that I would find another little path to take but that was not the case so I had to go back the way I came. A lady I met told me how to get to the main road without backtracking so I was heading that way when 3 boys about ten years old or younger offered to lead me. I was confused by what was going on but let them lead me on the only path there was...of course when we got to the mainroad they asked for commission for showing me the path...I politely declined, mostly because I didn't have any small bills and headed on. Now they tried to get me to turn the wrong way...sorry little dudes I know my directions.

The road north was a nice wide paved road for 15 km or so. I realized I missed the coast road I was planning on taking but knew I could decide to loop back on that if I didn't feel like going further east. Shortly the road turned to rough, loose gravel and I was glad for Mabel with her fat tires.

The roadway came to yet more road construction but just prior to it there were two boys on the side of the road. The younger one put out his thumb for a ride...and before I knew it I had my first fare on Carissa's Taxi Service! We both laughed as I'm sure he didn't expect to be on a Falang's bicycle and I for sure did not expect a passenger on my rack. I had to have him get off so I could get through the bridge construction but then he hoped back on and I left him at his home a short ways up. He then asked for a pen...which I did have one in the bottom of my bag and gave to him. Cheeky one...not only got a free ride but a pen!! (Guess that's what I get for not paying my earlier guides.)

Kept heading down the road he lived on where a nice beach was waiting for me to enjoy. Had to have a chat with a young french boy prior enjoying a swim. It was definitely an interesting couple of hours.

Ate and drank at the beach and then slowly meandered my way back on the coast road. Stopping to go through villages and almost getting to take the coast all the way back but a bridge was out and by the time I made it back to the main road I was too lazy to back track to the coast.

And right when I got back to the guesthouse what do I hear? The beautiful tinkling of the ice cream man! So I got a perfect little treat for making it home.

All in all it was a great day of wandering.

5 reasons to cycle tour

So I'm just going to let everyone know I'm vain...and I love to eat.

1)  You can say phrases such as "I can't eat that case it's not fatty enough"
2)  You look at a sugary drink and exclaim "What?!  Only 35 grams of sugar?"
3)  Your butt looks amazing...so do your calves if your into that
4)  Meals consist of 1st Breakfast, sugary drink, 2nd Breakfast, sugary drink, 1st lunch, sugary drink, 2nd lunch, sugary drink, 1st dinner...and possibly 2nd dinner, dessert, and 3rd dinner!!!
5)  Okay fine...you get to see stuff...I guess...whatever....3 DINNERS!!!!

Still sick

16 & 17 December 2011

Having the pleasure of a upset stomach for almost a week has left me a little antsy.

Yesterday we decided to try and start our cycle to Kampot.  John had started to feel sick a couple days earlier.  I thought I was better and John was willing to try.  As it happened the day was hot and the route out of Phnom Penh is dusty and smelly.  Normally I appreciate the distinctive smells of the markets but with a weak stupid fresh fish and meat aroma is too much for me.

About 40 km into the ride we are both feeling it pretty hard.  We get into a small town and I ask "Do you think we can get a taxi to Kampot?"  John enthusiastically replies "I hope so!"

So it's decided to stop punishing ourselves and sit in the shade waiting for the taxi.  Now this is a Cambodian taxi..which translates to a van stuff with people and goods.  We watch (in slight horror) as our bikes, panniers and all, are strung secure with rope and the van trunk is "closed" with another piece of string. I am forced to sit facing backwards and watch as the bikes bounce up and down.

First taxi...no support and one rope around the back rack loaded w/ panniers...second rope around top tube with barely enough rope to tie a knot...safety first

This I felt much better about.  There was a board!  And unloaded.

In Ta Saom we have to switch taxi's.  My spot in the next taxi is facing an elderly Cambodia women who is wearing a thick cardigan, I can see the cataracts in her eyes.  She has thick wrinkles on her beautiful face.  She had a tickle in her throat so I gave her water...we became friends after that.  I love friendships where you don't need to talk.

Getting into Kampot we actually went shopping for guesthouses and of course ended up back at the first one which was really nice with a good bathroom!

Kampot is a beautiful town on a river.  Luckily as I was still feeling pretty crappy that night our window overlooked the river and the beautiful sunset...obstructed by a beer billboard...but seemed fitting.

The next day after taking some meds I started to feel better and could actually enjoy lounging at a cafe on the riverside...though only for a short time. 

Start of SE Asia Touring

06 December 2011 - Bangkok to Sisophon - train and 60 km

Got up so we could make the 6:00 train.  We were told to get there at 5:00 am to ensure the bicycles got on.  Bought the tickets for the train no problem but had difficulty finding the cargo compartment...as we were debating just shoving them on the train the conductor showed us where to go.  Then we had to go to cargo office to pay, the bikes cost as much as us for the trip.

After 6 hours on a cramped train it was time to get on the bikes and ride to the border.  Luckily John had been through the border before and we went right through the touts to the correct office.  I waited as John got stamped out of Thailand and then took my turn.  Then we went to the Cambodia visa office and waited in line together as the guards watched our bikes.  

Off to Sisophan we went.  It's interesting passing to Thailand to Cambodia as we switched from left to right side of the road.  There seems to be an exact point where to make the transition.  Luckily I had read that Cambodia was a right side country otherwise I would have been quite confused.

Immediately we saw trucks overloaded to an absurd amount.  Just as my legs were getting tired a pullalong tractor slowly passed us and we jumped behind it to draft the next 30 km.  It was great to go so fast without using barely any effort.  The children started screaming "HELLO" from all directions.  Most I couldn't even see where they were coming from...I refer to those as sniper attacks.

Drafting off a tractor.  The guy on top didn't know what to think of us.  Loved when he pulled out a smartphone to answer a call.

Giant cambodian crepe

07 December 2011 – Sisophon to Siem Reap – 108 km

Headed off to Siem Reap today.  Since I haven't seen rice paddies before I enjoyed watching as harvest was happening.  I was hoping that we would come across another tractor to draft behind but we only got about 5 km of help.

We gawked as multiple pigs laid on their back and placed in a wood U-shaped basket were on the rear of motorcycles.  The winner of our “best” packed vehicle occurred with a fully packed van with no less then 3 motorcycles hanging out the end with people sitting on the motorcycle seats!  It's always interesting.

Angkor Complex - Siem Reap

8 December 2011 - Angkor complex

The normal tour of the Angkor complex begins at sunrise but as we had a longish day yesterday I decided to sleep in another hour and got my pass and into the park by 8 am.

Because the tourist buses have a route I decided to do the route in reverse.  This had me enter my first temple (Angkor Wat) from the east entrance which is not the main gate.  The last thing I would see of the day is the main entrance of Angkor Wat and the impressiveness of it.  As it was walking up to the temple through the wooded road was impressive at the time.

I continued on my way to a couple of smaller temples and then made my way to Ta Phrom.  This is the temple that was in Tomb Raider and has the forest reclaiming it.  I walked around the outside of the temple and then into what I thought was the main portion.  While it was pretty it wasn't anything spectacular...then coming back around to where I started I headed thorough to the main temple and understood immediately why this was so many peoples favorite temples.  I wandered for over an hour...the funny thing with the whole complex is that most people go by tour so if you go to any of the outer rooms/temples there is noone there.

Continued on to Bayon with it's four faced towers.

I can't imagine how amazing this complex would have been in it's time!

Then I went and had a massage...hard life I live!

Bangkok - Round 1

16 November 2011

I got into Bangkok and as such Southeast Asia today....and did pretty much nothing. I didn't even grab food...I dropped Mabel off at the airport left luggage office and headed to my hostel...where I tried to stay awake for awhile but didn't succeed too long and slept the night and next morning away.

17 November 2011

When I got up I started chatting with the other girl in my room who invited me to hang out with her and her friend for the day as they hadn't seen the City yet. Always nice to have someone to go around with.

Started the day with fried coconut battered bananas...oh they were good.

The front desk of the hostel gave us a choice of taking the bus or a taxi to the Royale Palace. We chose to take the bus as it was only 7 baht....needless to say it was not cheaper. First we got on the bus going the wrong way...then we took the metro to the last stop...prior to walking a wayyyss. Anyway, it should of taken 15 minutes and it took us 2.5 hours....but we got to see a lot.

When we got to the Palace we were told it was closed...by a guard...of course this doesn't necessarily mean it was actually closed but since we had been told about a good deal on Tuk Tuks we tried our luck...we thought we had agreed upon 200 baht for 2 hours...later we found out that the driver decided to change his tune..

We went to three sights – Reclining buddha, Standing Buddha and the Golden Mount. The reclining buddha was my favorite! I think the fact that it seems crammed into the building and it is hard to get pictures adds to its allure.

Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

Me at the reclining buddha

Taking the Tuk Tuk was interesting...though traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. There were definitely times were I was concerned but thought it would be way more hectic...we were just outside of rush hour so that might explain it.

Then grabbed a bowl of soup from the MBK food stalls...another win. I was so excited for the food prior to coming and the first day was a good start.

18 November 2011

Got up and hung out with the girls prior to heading our separate ways. They were heading to Chiang Mai later in the day and I would be heading to Malaysia. Jackie and I were craving soup for breakfast so we headed across the way from the hostel to grab a bowl from the food stand....though as we past the satay we both almost grabbed a snack.

There was no need for a snack as the bowl of noodle, congealed blood patty, chicken drummy, shredded chicken and random veggies in delicious rich broth was a huge portion for what ended up being $1 US.

I headed to the Jim Thompson house for a tour. He helped revive the craft of handwoven silk in Thailand....I went because the house was suppose to be beautiful...which it was.

Decided it was about time for another snack so grabbed some fried bananas again (half portion this time).

I already had convinced myself since there were no witnesses that I would eat myself silly today.

The fun thing about the City is that if you walk down the same street 5 times it will be different every time.

Wandered through MBK and Siam Square. Not having budget or room for ANY new purchases makes Bangkok kind of torturous...luckily I think I might be too big of everything as all the sizes look way too small for me.

Totaled up 1 chicken/congealed blood soup, 2 Thai ice tea, 1 chicken fried rice, 1 thing fried bananas, and 1 very expensive udon noodles at airport.

Not too bad for one day...can not wait to cycle tour so I can justify eating even more!!! Need to get into the fruit!

Then I ended the day by going to the airport and staying up till my flight the next morning (had planned at napping but it didn't happen. The trains stop running at midnight and I didn't want to pay for a taxi out there.

Siem Reap to Phnom Penh

09 December 2011 – Siem Reap to Battambang - “Ferry”

Took the long boat ride to Battambang as I wanted to see the floating villages, the bird life (ride goes through a bird sanctuary), and heard that it was fun. To begin the day we had to be ready by 6:30 to get transported down to the ferry. A van packed full of people showed up. I couldn't see where we were going to fit but as I had spent the last few days marveling at the Cambodians ability to transport large quantities of stuff in small vehicles I knew it would happen.

It was great to get to go across the large lake prior to heading up a river surrounded by marsh. It would be amazing to see this river in the middle of the dry season when it goes to a small channel. I saw a kingfischer, eagle, and many different types of cranes and other waterfowl. It was great to see the marshland teeming with life.

The floating villages where so interesting. The canoes that they use are so beautiful and functional. Of course now a lot of them have motors as well but in the villages themselves they seemed to just paddle. I love seeing places that are close to the opposite way that I grew up. Think about all the amazing things that they know how to do because it's what they have always done!

Floating village

At one point I was watching the world pass me by and Kimya Dawson's “Rollercoaster” came on my ipod and it made my heart smile.

10 December 2011- Battambang to Pursat – 110 km

Today started with free bananas from the guesthouse then off to a cafe for a couple of meat filled baguettes and ice coffee.

Then headed along the flat highway again. Keeping an eye on traffic, trying to spot the owner of the yelled “Hello”, and gawking at the insane amount of things that can be stacked in a vehicle make the day pass by quickly.

Stopped at a restaurant owned by a Thai family. Had a good fried rice and onion soup. Then confirmed that the peepee dance is an international sign for bathroom if words fail. This resulted in quite a bit of laughter from the owners as they realized what I was asking.

That is until about 2 o'clock which appears to be when the sun is the hottest here...and you are hungary...and your miming food needs improvement...but then what do we spot...true prawn crackers!! Deepfried prawny goodness!

Prawn Crackers

Got into Pursat got clean and headed out for dinner. As we left the building there was another cyclist across the road eyeing up the guesthouse debating if he would stay here or not. We went and had a chat told him it was a decent place.

We had three courses for dinner! Started with meat skewers with cucumber salad, went on to curry noodles, and finished with a pumpkin tapioca pudding....delicious.

11 December 2011 – Pursat to Kompang Chhang – Bamboo train + 66 km

Today was one of those days where I wonder how I get to do these amazing things. We took the Bamboo Railway which is currently the only way to use the rail lines in Cambodia. This is suppose to be changing as they upgrade the tracks (which I saw them replacing from Poipet to Sisaphon).

Anyway this is an unique way to travel and is one more example of the resilience of the Cambodians. We negotiated a price prior to waiting for the “scheduled” departure. After watching 4 or 5 “trains” go by it was time to place the two trucks (wheelsets) on the track before placing the rickety wood platform on top.

Then start the engine and use a bamboo stick to moderate speed. Off we went, two loaded bikes, one scooter, a half dozen of different jugs of pickled vegetables and fish, and at least a dozen people. Looking forward I could see the track meander this way and that and see where each welded section ended.

When a train comes from the other direction the train with less cargo has to disassemble their train and reassemble it once the other train has past.  We lost once and as such had to take everything off and then reload.

The train that made us have to rebuild our train

Disassembling the train

Me on the second bamboo train as we wait for traffic in front of us

On top of the experience of getting to ride this amazing transport method it also meant we got to see areas of the country that few foreigners see. Where we got off the village was 30 km from the highway. Needless to say most people we past gave us a look of “Where did YOU come from?”

12 December 2011 - Kompang Chhang to Phnom Penh - 100 km

Felt crappy today but wanted to get to Phnom Penh as tomorrow is a rest day.  Made good time but didn't really see anything and spent all of my time in the dark hotel room.

Malaysia

19 November to 2 December 2011- Malaysia

19 November 2011- KL

Met my friend Adam in Malaysia for two weeks of relaxing and eating ourselves silly.

Flew into Kuala Lumpur. We didn't do too much the first day as I hadn't slept and he was adjusting to the time change. We did still have two good meals...one was a dry noodle dish and the other was a curried Laksa. Ended the night finding out not to order Bangdung. Turns out that this is a BRIGHT pink rose flavored drink.

20 November 2011 -KL

Went to see the Petronas towers. On arriving there was a notice that the visitor center was closed from September to December so we couldn't go to the bridge.

Me and Petronas towers

Towers at night

After that disappointment we wandered around the city, including little india and chinatown. Eating steam buns, dimsum, curry pastries, mangosteens and a couple of other treats.

21-26 November 2011 - Penang

Flew to Penang and took the bus to Georgetown.  After getting off the bus at a random busy intersection we got directions from an Aussie on where to stay and eat.  Went to a hostel but luckily it was prayer time and it turn out the mosque was right next door so we went around the corner to a nice little hotel. Stayed for two nights.

Juice in a bag!

Grabbing a snack

CRACKLING!

What is it?

Delicious! 

Bean Sprouts

One of these was the best thing I had in Malaysia...pork wrapped in cracklin and deepfried

We took the bus up to the National Park to scout out a good place to stay/if we wanted to stay up there.  It was a cute little village and a cheap guesthouse so we booked in for a few nights.

Headed thru the forest to the beach where sea turtles came to nest.  It was a fun walk and the beach was beautiful. Got to see mud skippers which were super awesome.  They just skip right to the other side of the creek.  Also saw adorable little sea turtles!  Then headed back on a different loop.

Little baby sea turtles

Turtle Beach

Mud skipper hiding

One of the things that was unexpectedly really cool was the Tropical Spice Garden.  It provided a cool place to wander while learning about different local and exotic spices grown on the island.

Tranquil pond

Spices

Bearded flower

Penang is nice because you can take a bus all the way around the island and see if it's worth staying or not.  After 5 days we decided to continue on our way.

27 November to 1 December - Langkawai 

Beach, beer, sun, lazing.  Perfect lazy times were had.  

Adam decided to dance with a jellyfish in his first swim in the ocean so I had the pleasure of visiting another foreign ER.  Somehow I seem to be the connecting factor in these scenarios.  Still upset that we didn't get a picture of it when it was really gnarly...somehow Adam didn't care much about a photo op?!

Anyway all that happened for 4 days was sleeping in, getting up to eat, sitting on the beach for a bit, heading for a nap and then back for food and drinks on the beach.  It was a true vacation feel!  Oh and we had a couple of massages since we were too stressed out!

Thanksgiving meal

Taste of the staff meal because they were eating while we wanted a beer...okay

This is Langkawi to me

We did not stay at the CD motel...but did love the sign

Sunset

I'm sorry but stewed tomatoes with potatoes poured over corn chips is NOT nachos

Then took the flight back to Bangkok where my Aunt was waiting to meet me.