Back in Bangkok

We are back in Bangkok busy visiting the many sites. Today, we took a taxi to Wat Pho which is known for its many mosaic chedis, more than a thousand Buddha statues and images, and its enormous reclining Buddha that boasts feet decorated with intricate scenes crafted from mother of pearl. The Wat is also a working Buddhist monastery and school that teaches Thai massage. Wat Intharawihan with its giant standing Buddha statue was our next destination. The golden Buddha impresses with its height of 32 meters. It took over 60 years to complete and is decorated with glass mosaics and 24 carat gold leaves.

Patong Beach, Phuket

Our nine days on Patong Beach in Phuket went by incredibly quickly. We stayed at the Yorkshire Hotel near Bangla Road, the main entertainment venue. The hotel has a nice pool, state-of-the-art gym, sauna, and steam room of which we took advantage on a daily basis. Besides our excursion to the Phi Phi Islands, we took it easy and simply enjoyed a few days of leisure and relaxation. The beach in Patong was beautiful; the turquoise sea was warm like bath water. The girls had a fabulous time swimming and riding the waves. We did get "stung" by jellyfish, but that was a minor inconvenience.

Phi Phi Islands

Cambodia Recollections

We have been in Phuket for three days, and I still haven't written much about Cambodia. Well, here is a recollection of our travels in that wonderful country.

Thursday, June 25:
The day after our biking "tour", we again hired a tuk-tuk, got up very early and went to see the sunrise at Sra Srang (Pool of Ablutions), an 800x400 meter basin dating from the 11th century that was reserved for the king and his wives. We also visited more temples and ruins further afield.

Friday, June 26:
We had quite an adventure! We took the tuk-tuk to Roluos - a village some 13km from Siem Reap. At the village, we switched to motorbikes: Nadia and Celine on one with a driver and me and a driver on a second motorcycle. Yes, three people on one bike! We have seen families of five on a single motorbike! People also transport all kinds of things from animals to furniture to kindling on their two-wheelers - motorized or not. Anyway, we couldn't take the tuk-tuk to our destination, because the "road" is not accessible by car or tuk-tuk. It was really only a dirt path through rice fields with large holes and areas of sand too deep for driving. Needless to say, the ride was very bumpy. Luckily, our drivers were skilled and we arrived unharmed at a spot where we boarded a longtail boat that brought us to the village of Kompong Phluk on Tonle Sap (the largest freshwater in South-East Asia). We followed the waterways through the village that was built on stilts 6-7 meters high. At on point, we went on land and visited the village where we were instantly surrounded by a large crowd. We ended up buying notebooks and pencils for the local school children who rewarded us with big smiles. The village people lead very simple lives. They catch fish and shrimp for income. I can't imagine living without the amenities (not luxuries) of modern life, such as a bathroom, kitchen, computer, or private space. Large families live in these one-room huts and make do with very little. They seem happy and content, and they are certainly friendly and welcoming. That makes you wonder, if all we consider necessary is really essential in the pursuit of happiness. :)
After some pool time at the guesthouse, we went back to Angkor Wat to explore the inside of the large temple. Most of the Buddha statues and other artifacts were destroyed or removed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, but the remaining temple structure and bas-reliefs are vast and breathtaking.
We ended our day with an appetizer of roasted crickets (salty, crunchy, buttery - actually surprisingly good!) from a street vendor and another tasty Khmer meal of local fish.

Saturday, June 27:
We decided to go back to Tonle Sap to visit a floating village. Since the location of the floating homes is much more accessible than the ones on stilts, there were lots of other tourists. Oh well, I guess we can't expect to be the only visitors. ;)
It was interesting to see how these Cambodian and Vietnamese families spend their lives on water. Their school, church, temple, meeting hall, restaurants, and stores are all afloat. People bathe and wash clothes and dishes all in the the lake. The village is not stationary; it moves according to water levels. The Mekong, I was told, brings huge amounts of water in August (due to heavy rains) and the water level of the lake increases tremendously.

Sunday, June 28
Beng Mealea was our destination for the day. It's considered to be "the ultimate lost-temple experience" according to our Lonely Planet travel guide. How true! The large 12th century temple is enclosed by a massive moat and mostly overgrown with vines and trees. The jungle has wreaked havoc here; there are huge piles of masonry and rubble to climb and dark chambers to explore. It's spectacular! We felt like Indiana Jones climbing over these mountains of ancient stones, some with intricate carvings. It was well worth the somewhat uncomfortable 2 hour tuk-tuk ride (one-way).

Monday, June 29
Our last full day in Cambodia :(
How quickly a week passes, when you are enjoying yourself!
We rented bicycles again and rode around town and along the pretty river front of Siem Reap. We had lunch at a great little cafe and spent some time bargaining and making purchases at the Old Market. We found a stall that sold items such as bags and wallets that were made out of recycled paper and rice bags. The profits go directly to the poor mothers and children that made them. They craft beautiful items. This is their website: www.friends-international.org
We noticed many efforts, both local and international, to better the lives of the Cambodians and their country that is still struggling to recover from years of war.

Nadia's impressions

Cambodia has certainly left a large impression on the three Cumming explorers. We all decided just after our second day here that it was our new favorite country. Besides the awesome temples and ruins of Angkor, Cambodia has much more to offer. The people themselves are very friendly, although they all live a hard life. The Khmer food is delicious and Siem Reap has an abundance of tasty/adorable cafes and restaurants to choose from. So far we've gone to Blue Pumpkin, a place where they have a long white sofa that wraps around the restaurant wall, where we lounged and ate on! We all went to The Butterfly Garden, where lots of butterflies are supposed to fly around while you eat. Stupidly, we went there at night for dinner, instead of lunch and the only action we saw were one or two sleeping butterflies on the floor!!! (Yes Dad- you're permitted to roll your eyes) ;)
So far, my favorite temple has been Bayon and Ta Prohm. We tried looking for one of the spots Angelina was filmed in Tomb Raider- but were unsuccessful in deciding which one it was. (Haven't watched movie recently)
My biggest OMG! moment was when a motorbike drove behind us with a wild, live boar strapped upside down to it! The beast must have been at least 4 ft long and real wide. It was squealing off and on and I was getting upset. Mom made me feel better by saying that since it was still alive, maybe it was getting transported? I certainly hope so!
Last night there was a one hour power outage!
& lastly today we went to a village by the lake. We went by tuk-tuk. The me and Cel squished together on a motorbike with a driver, while mom was happily on her own, and traveled for what seemed like forever on and really bumpy dirt road. We then went on a boat and saw the village on stilts. We got off and we as usual were swarmed by kids and women asking if we wanted to buy something. But this time it was different. They were selling books for the school children that when we purchased them, could hand out ourselves. We must have gotten about $10 worth of book packs. We passed them out on the street to the kids surrounding us and even got the opportunity to go in a classroom! I wish we could have given every single kid one... Me and Celine decided that we definitely want to return someday soon and volunteer in Cambodia.
Tonight we will go to a BBQ and watch Apsara Dancers.

Bye for now,
Nadia

Exploring Khmer Culture

Cambodia

We are in the beautiful kingdom of Cambodia! Words cannot adequately describe the magnificance and grandeur of the Angkor temples. I lack the eloquenece to come up with the superlatives that are necessary to do this area justice. The main attraction, Angkor Wat alone, is an architectual wonder; it took 300,000 workers and 6,000 elephants to construct.
We watched the sunset over Angkor Wat on our first evening here. The lush greenery and serene atmosphere are the perfect setting for this awesome tribute to Vishnu and the god-king it was built for in the twelfth century. Since it is not the main tourist season, we get to enjoy the temples without large crowds. That's a definite plus, despite the incredible heat.
We rented bicycles and spent all day peddaling and exploring the ancient sites. Our 33 kilometer "loop"brought us to the most famous historic monuments: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Ta Prohm. The latter is known for the Lara Croft Tomb Raider movie. The trees and their gigantic roots have encroached on the temples over the centuries. Much of Ta Prohm is in ruins; there are piles of building stones all around the remaining structures.
Most of the Angkor area is wooded, and the Cambodians fight the forces of nature on a daily basis trying to save their historic inheritance.
While riding along between sights, we happened upon a waterhole that was populated by about forty spider monkeys. They were frolicking in the water, jumping from bushes, and eating the bananas we offered them. These little guys are incredibly coodinated. They peel the bananas effortlessly, and one monkey even picked up a discarded soda bottle from which he drank just like a person. We saw more monkeys along the road, but the water spectacle was the most enjoyable.
We are tired from our long biking adventure. More tomorrow.
Good night!

Renate

Bangkok

We are enjoying the delicious food, shopping bargains, awe-inspiring Buddhist temples, and hustle and bustle of our favorite South-East Asian city Bangkok. Although, we explored all the sights on our previous visits to Thailand, Bangkok still fascinates us and has much to offer.
The roti guy on Sukhumvit remembered us from our last visit two years ago. We stop at his stall every night for a banana roti. Yummm!
We are getting used to the heat and humidity and are making good use of the hotel pool.
Today, we got up early to catch a public bus to Damnoen Seduak, the floating market located two hours from Bangkok. We wanted to beat the tour buses, so we would be able to enjoy the vendors on their boats without the crowds. The whole experience was somewhat disappointing, because the market clearly wasn't what it originally was on my first visit twenty years ago. The few remaining boats laden with exotic fruit and vegetables, even charcoal grills, and souvenirs definitely is no longer a market where locals purchase fresh produce, but an affair staged for visitors. The waterways are lined with endless stalls full of wears to entice throngs of farangs to spend their money.
Tomorrow, we are off to Cambodia. That will be a new and exciting experience for all of us!

Renate

Hong Kong

Hong Kong greeted us with a bit of rain. We spent four days in the ultra modern concrete jungle that is Hong Kong. I barely recognized the city; so much had changed since my last visit almost 15 years ago. The streets are incredibly busy with car and pedestrian traffic. Everything is immaculately clean though. Many locals wear facial masks, because of the swine flu. Hand sanitizing gel is accessible, wherever one goes.
We spent our first day taking a tram to Victoria Peak on an impossibly steep incline (45 degrees?) to an outlook in the mountains above Hong Kong island. The view is great, even on a cloudy day.
Shopping, of course, is something we couldn't resist . Nathan Road and the Ladies Market in Mongkok offer anything one could desire.
On day two, we took the train and bus to Po Lin Monastery and the Giant Buddha on Lantau Island. The ride through the mountains was a bit hair raising; the bus driver's "kamikaze" style handling of the vehicle along the curvy mountain roads is nothing for the faint hearted. The views, however, make it all worth it.
Since the girls wanted to ride a double-decker bus, we decided to take a bus to Stanley on the other side of Hong Kong island. We had a great time exploring the local market, beach, and restaurants. The weather was cooperating; the sky was gorgeously blue and the views from the bus breathtaking. At night, we went to the waterfront in Kowloon and watched the skyline Light Show. What an experience! Accompanied to music, flashing, dancing lights, and light beams projected from the skyscrapers offered an amazingly awesome spectacle to the audience.

Later,
Renate

Getting ready to leave

We are really excited. Only two more days and we will depart on our 5 week trip to Hong Kong, Cambodia, and Thailand. Unfortunately it's just the three ladies who are crossing the globe this time. Todd started a new job and is unable to get any time off.
We are flying out of JFK Saturday morning and arriving in Hongkong some 20 hours later.

If you are interested in our travel adventures, feel free to follow us on this blog. Check our posts once in a while and see what we are up to.

Renate, Nadia, and Celine