Phnom Penh, Cambodia pt 1

We leave Siem Reap by bus at noon. Cramer is feeling like death. He is sweating, feeling hot, has a headache, and experiencing overall discomfort. We manage to get on the Mekong Express Bus and find a seat. It is about 5 hours to Phnom Penh (PP). Now we're going to PP and meeting up with someone named Territ. In a strange coincidence my aunt meet a guy named Chuck Sacchi a few years ago when she was in New Orleans. They became friends. Chuck eventually married a woman from Cambodia named Moch. Chuck lived in Portland and wanted to get married. Moch's Uncle worked with Chuck and told him he had a niece looking to get married. Chuck came to Cambodia, met Moch, and they were soon married. Chuck and Moch own a house in Portland and in PP. So my aunt told her friend Chuck that I'd be in PP, he was generous enough to offer his house to Cramer and me. He said that Moch's brother lives there, Territ, and he would be happy to show us around town. After a few e-mails and a couple of phone calls, I contacted Territ. Everything was a go, he would pick us up at the bus station at 6:30pm. We would have a place to stay and someone to show us around, this was working out great. The only problem now was that Cramer was down and out. We pulled into the station at PP. We call Territ and he is only a few minutes away. He pulls up on his scooter. Cramer and I each have a huge backpack. Originally Territ wants us to jump on the scooter. I can't quite see how we're all going to fit. We tell him we'll take a tuk tuk and follow behind him. It sounds like a good plan. Well, until the tuk tuk driver decides to take a different route and loses him! WTF. We're asking the guy why the hell didn't you follow him? He kind of just looks at us grinning. We're really close to where he lives, but don't have the exact address. The other problem is over here you need different sim cards for each country and we still didn't have cards for Cambodia, so our cell phones didn't work. I have Territ's phone number and try to give it to the guy to call him. Well as luck would have it the guy's cell phone has no battery left. Come on dude, you're killing us. Finally we walk down the street to a lady with a public cell phone? Ok. We finally get a hold of him and he shows up to led us the last few blocks to his house. The house is in a nicer part of PP. Its like a townhouse, but here the main entrance is almost like a garage. Many people have stores in in the first part or even park their cars in it. Territ parks his scooter in it, but its a huge room with wicker furniture and a tv too. In the back of the first floor is a bathroom, a washing machine, and the kitchen. The house is narrow, but long, and has 3 floors. The second floor is another bathroom and 2 bedrooms. The 3rd floor is another large tv room, with a balcony toward the street, and another bedroom. The stairs go up to the roof where there is a nice covered area to sit or have a party I guess. Obviously Chuck has some money. I don't really know how much it costs, but this is a really nice place, well beyond what most of the people in PP can afford. Cramer heads to bed right away, still fighting something. Cramer asks Territ to take him to the doctor in the morning if he isn't feeling better. Territ takes me to a restaurant he likes called Happy 7. We walk in and it is really nice, there is a ground floor, with many locals eating. We head up to the terrace section above. Territ is 26 and a really great guy. He seems to have a little swagger about him. He just finished the University at PP for accounting. His English isn't great, but its good enough to have a good time. We order enough food for about 6 people and order a bunch of Angkor Beers, Cambodia's #1 beer. All the waitesses are smiling at us as we leave stuffed and buzzed and go back to the house for the night.


The next morning Cramer is still feeling like crap. Territ takes Cramer to the doctor and finds out he has gotten food poisoning somewhere along the line. He gets a bunch of pills and stuff. He still isn't feeling good, so he's going to rest again. Territ is going to take me around town and check out some of the tourist sites. The first place we go is the national museum. Its pretty cool, but small. Its mostly statues of the Buddha and Hindu statues from different periods. Its only takes about 45 minutes to walk through it.

Next we head up to a hill that is famous as the starting place of PP. Its called Wat Phnom. Apparently an old woman named Penh found a wooden log floating down the river one day. Inside the log were 4 statues of the Buddha. She placed the statues on this hill and soon the town of Phnom Penh started. Phnom Penh actually means Penh's hill. There is a big monument on the hill. Here's a picture of Territ and me in front of the hill.

Next we went to the Royal Palace. It is a nice place, but doesn't compare to the Imperial Palace in Bangkok. There are still some really cool things to look at and I get a few good pics.

On the way home from the Royal Palace it started to pour. Territ quickly drove the scooter to a corner 7-11 and we ran in to avoid the rain. It continued to pour for about an hour. When it finally let up we jump back on the scooter and high tail it home. Many of the streets are flooded with a foot of water. Everyone just carries on like normal. Almost home and it starts to pour again. We get soak. Cramer is starting to feel slightly better, but isn't ready to do anything. After a quick nap Territ and I head back out to the Happy 7 Restaurant again around 8pm.

We head back up to our favorite spot from the night before, but the whole restaurant is packed tonight. We get a table close to where we were. We order less food tonight, but continue to enjoy the Angkor Beer. After dinner I convince Territ to take me to a bar on 136 Street. We saw the add on one of the maps. It shows a picture of a bunch of girls. The bar is what is known as a Hostess bar. Pretty much a bunch of girls are there to wait on you, laugh at your jokes, and give you tons of attention. I'm not sure what else they do... Territ doesn't seem to be enjoying it as much as I am. What can I say I love attention, even when its somewhat fake. 4 girls are standing around our table smiling at us. I end up talking to a really nice girl name Alin who isn't even working there, mostly because she can speak English the best. They also have a guy playing some nice cover tunes. Smoke on the Water, Fire in the Sky.... After a few more beers we call it a night and head back home.

Last Day in Siem Reap pt 3

The ruins of Preah KhanOne of many Apsara dancer carvings on the various temples. No wonder theses guys fought so hard.

These guys worked at the hotel we stayed at in Siem Reap, they were ridiculously friendly.

Wow the Buddha looks a lot like me...

Our tuk tuk driver, T.

A random cute little kid roaming around the temples.

The Apsara dancers performing their traditional dances.

Preah Khan... roots.

Back corner view of Angkor Wat.

The last day in Siem Reap. Cramer and I grab our normal breakfast of 2 eggs, toast, and coffee at the restaurant in our hotel. Our tuk tuk driver is picking us up at 8am to check out a few more temples. We're planning on seeing Angkor Wat in a little more depth and maybe one or two more. When we pull up to the place where they check your tickets I realize I left mine in my backpack from yesterday. So back to the hotel again and we make it to Angkor Wat at about 9am. We get some nice pics on the back side of Angkor Wat, again due to the suns position. Angkor is just ridiculous and is by far the most impressive of all the temples. Constructed sometime around 1100-1200 it features an enormous man made moat. Impressive outer walls, a grand walk way, a huge inter temple with 5 giant lotus towers. The temple was constructed during a time when the area was Hindu and was originally dedicated to Vishnu. All throught this period the various rulers switched back and forth between Hinduism and Buddhims and it is apparent in the statues and carvings. At some point it switched to Buddhism and stayed. Angkor Wat's design is suppose to symbolize Mt. Meru where the gods of Hindu mythology dwell, kind of like Mt. Olympus to the Greeks. Next we went to Preah Khan, another temple similar to Ta Phrom, the temple with the trees growing out if it. Preah Khan was built around the same time and had many of the same influences. It also had gone through a period of both Hindu and Buddhist rule. This temple including many cool shots of trees and roots growing out of the ruins. Feeling a little "templed out" we tell our driver to head back to town. We stop at a Korean restaurant and Cramer orders some good food for us. Korean food is definitely one of the better versions of Asian food in my opinion. Back at the room we relax and plan on hitting up a buffet with traditional Aspara dancing. The buffet is good, all kinds of asian foods and many Khymer (Cambodian) foods as well. The show lasts for about an hour and is mildly entertaining. They present 4 or 5 different dances, some are traditional and some tell stories. When we get back to the room Cramer is starting to feel hot and his stomach isn't quite right. He's going to stay in he says. Well I guess that leaves only one thing for me to do.... one last 4 hand massage before I go.

The temples by Bike- Siem Reap pt 2

Today we're planning on renting bikes for $2 and hitting up a decent amount of temples. Its probably against better judgment to do it in the heat, but we're determined to beat the heat and sun for once. I'm feeling well hydrated and we pack two huge waters in the backpack. I even put on long pants and long sleeves which sounds crazy, but the sun will destroy you much faster than the heat or humidity. Load up the sun tan lotion and we're off. We rent some mountain bikes that look decent, but again they are seriously impaired. Luckily mine is stuck in about 8th gear so it will have to do. Cramer's is the same. The whole trip will be about 12 miles which doesn't sound like a lot, but with the crappy bikes, the sweltering heat, and blazing sun it will be a test. By the time we hit the first little temple we're both completely soaked.

Grab some pics and continue. At Banteay Kdei the first bigger temple we're greeted by the kids selling again. This time we manage to get by. Pound back some water, check out the temple, and take off again. The kids here will be your best friends until you don't buy then they're suddenly super pissed. Its probably the teacher in me, but I am enjoying the interaction with these kids. I miss it now... hahaha.


It makes me realize how brilliant some of these kids are. At the next temple we purchase a few more souvenirs from a funny girl about 13. She has us cracking up. Ta Phrom is a really cool temple. It has a bunch of trees growing right out of the ruins.

It gives it a very cool and ancient feel. The jungle reclaiming its territory. We decide to grab luck across from the temple because its now about noon and we want to avoid the sun for a few hours. We get some lunch from a girl named Kroch, which means orange.

She is 29 and can speak pretty good English. We sit and talk with her for a good hour and a half. She tells us her whole family is named after fruit. That she would love to visit the US, but tickets are way too expensive. (She is probably only making $50/ month) She tells us she started out selling bracelets and stuff too. She said she didn't know any words except bracelet and one dollar. She says I just kept saying it over and over until they buy or give me money to go away. She laughs. The farthest she's been is to Phnom Penh once a few years ago. She is also bundled up with hat, long sleeves, gloves, and pants even though its 90 degrees out. Everyone over here wants to have light skin she says. So almost everyone wears long pants and long shirts all the time. I crack up and tell her every one in America wants to have tan skin. The whole time some little kids are hovering around me trying to get me to buy some bracelets. I have my notebook with me so I start doing math with them.

I tell Kroch "Orange" to give me her address and I will send her a letter sometime in the future. She really wants to see a picture of snow, so I tell her I'll send her one. We take off again waving. Next we hit up a really tall temple called Ta Keo, which Cramer and I think is pretty cool, but apparently it was never finished and doesn't have many carvings and decoractions on the stones.
Cramer on top of Ta Keo.

We continue riding sweating profusely the whole time. We're being smart because we're drinking water as fast as we sweat it out. I think Cramer is feeling the heat of the sun a little bit, becaue he doesn't have a hat, long sleeves, or pants plus he's carrying the backpack now and that makes you sweat even more. We stop at the legendary Bayon. This is a temple with 100's of huge faces carved all through out the temple. I think this was in the movie Tomb Raider, which I never saw. Two of the faces at Bayon.

Cramer and I should have our faces here too.

The beautiful Apsara dancers. Big busted carvings of them adorn many of the temple walls.


We contiue on our way until we get to Angkor Wat.

Its about 4pm or so now. Depending on the time of day its much better to see certain temples. Usually its best to see the really epic temples at either sunset or sunrise due to the fact you get way better lighting on the temples. When its directly overhead the pictures seem to have that washed out look. By this time we're exhausted. We snap a few pics and decide to come back the next day to finish up, this time by tuk tuk. Today was Saturday so when we get back is about 6pm. I saw that there was a Catholic Church in town that had an English mass at 6:30pm on Saturday. I get the urge to check out what this will look like. Cramer stays at the room and chills. I arrive at the church and its a very simple and elegant wood building. They have some chairs lining the walls, but the floor is covered in mats. I take a seat on the floor. Its amazing to see the diverse amount of people here: Koreans, Phillipinnos, Europeans, local Cambodians, probably other asian ethnicities and an American (me). There are 3 priest in attendence. 1 is the main guy who is Indonesian, another guy is Indonesian but living in Taiwan, and the last guy is from France. It was a great service and the music was just a few girls playing guitar and singing some good songs with everyone singing along. Definitley a great experience, I wish I felt this way back home. Back again Cramer and I hit up the pub street in Siem Reap, which is two blocks with tons of bars geared for tourists. Good food and drinks, but much more expensive. Cramer gets the bacon cheeseburger and I have the fish and chips. I still haven't got my western food fix yet. We grab another massage and call it a night.

Siem Reap pt 1

Walking down the street at night can be an adventure. Avoiding all the obstacles that terrorize my view.

This was a pretty cool and smart kid. I bought a book from him.

Cramer and I on top of Phnom Bakheng near sunset.

On top of the world with the storm moving in.

They're climbing the stairway to heaven.

T the tuk tuk driver taking us to our first temple.

The old market. The smells were pretty interesting.

Good Mexican in Cambodia? Who would have known.

We'll take one of everything. Thank You.

The next morning we walk down the street to the old market. It is a large covered area which sells all kinds of things for both locals and tourists from soveigners, clothing, and jewelry to meats, vegetables, and fruits. I purchase a shirt and a few souvenirs and Cramer does the same. Somehow being in this tropical environment with all this asian food has made me crave Mexican food big time. Currrently I'm burned out on asian style rice and noodles. We're in luck Siem Reap has a good Mexican restaurant called Viva. $1 Margharitas, $1 tacos, 50 cent tap beers, this should be good. I get the Chimichanga. Funny its the best one I've had in years, I guess I need to go half way around the world to an asian country to get good mexican, who would have known. Our tuk tuk driver T is picking us up at 4:45pm so we can take some pics in the light of the setting sun. We think we're going to Angkor Wat, guess again. He drops us off at a place called Phnom Bakheng. Tons of people are walking up a long steep path. I guess we just follow the crowd. We get to the top of a large hill and there is a temple on top with steep stairs, similar to something in Mexico. Here you can still climb all the temples, even though it may be dangerous. This is suppose to be an awesome spot to get sunset pics, but huge black clouds are rolling in on the horizon. Cramer and I climb to the top and take some pics and check out the scene. We thought maybe we could catch a hill top view of Angkor Wat, but nothing. We head back down as the wind begins to howl. When we get to the bottom I get my first taste of the non stop barrage of the kids and locals selling souvenirs. "Meesta $1 buy for girlfriend, Meesta $4, Meesta cold drink, water?, Meesta 3 for $1....." They are like flies buzzing a carcass or maybe swarming locusts. No means nothing to them, and if you even look at them or engage them, your that much closer to buying something from them. They have every come back for any answer you give them. To say they are persistant is an understatment. I finally walk back to the tuk tuk with a book on Angkor Wat, a scarf for some unknown lady in my life, and a wall rubbing. I consider myself lucky to only have spent $10, as 8 more people were circled around me as we left. We hit the Happy Herb Pizzaria for dinner. After having Mexican I'm now craving anything other than Asian food. I devour half of a spinach and garlic pizza, as another kid off the street gets me to buy a book on the tragedy of the Khymer Rouge era called First They Killed My Father for $2. Most of these kids are middle school aged, and they are out of school for the summer. This is like a summer job for them. Most of them can speak English extremely well and many are trying to sell books to make money to pay for Summer English lessons which cost about $12-15/ month. That doesn't seem like a lot, but after talking to many of the locals most people make about $50/ month, thats if you have a job. We talk to the kid (I wish I could remember his name) for a good 1/2 hour about school, soccer, and what he wants to do when he is older. The amazing thing is many of these kids can speak up to 5 languages, just because it will help them sell more stuff! A few of them had great personalities and a good sense of humor. My advice would be if you ever get over here and some kid engages you, but is cool and funny, buy something from them. A few dollars does a whole heck of a lot more for them than me. After dinner Cramer and I decide to get a massage. A legitimate one... We walk into one of the many that line the streets and both decide to get a 4 hand massage. I will have 2 girls massaging me with lotion for an hour for $10!!!??? How can I not get one? We strip down and our treated to an extremely pleasurable hour. It was kind of funny since Cramer and I were laying right next to each other and there are 4 girls sitting on top of us rubbing us down. They are asking us questions and giggling the whole time. I think one of them loved Cramer. Hahaha. It remains professional and they tells us to come back tomorrow. I think I will, I think I will. We head to bed feeling very very relaxed.

To Siem Reap, Cambodia

The bus ride from Don Det to Siem Reap was actually a welcomed surprise. After reading many horror stories on the internet about horrible roads, bad buses, and extremely long arrival times we were more than apprehensive. But everything went smoothly. A large coach bus pulled up right on time. We through our bags in and got to have two seats to sprawl out in, plus the AC was cranking. We pass out and 7 hours later we have to hop in a mini van for the rest of the trip. Cramer gets shot gun I have the whole empty bench seat behind the driver. The windows are open and the warm air is blowing in my face. Its time to sit back and just take in the Cambodian country side. People out here can't be making much money, probably much less than a dollar a day if that. More little shacks and dwellings on stilts line the road with animals roaming everywhere. The countryside of Cambodia, Lao, Thailand all looks pretty much the same- third world poverty. Its not really sad or anything, actually it just makes me realize how well people can get along on very little money. The only thing that sticks out is that many of them seem to throw their trash everywhere, which seems to make their poverty more apparent. Waste management definitely is not a high priority even in the big cities. Nevertheless the Cambodian countryside is full of large farms, rice paddies, and palm trees. Many of the little shacks and houses fit perfectly into the scene. I smile as a watch the scene go by listening to Exile on Main St. by the Stones. The drive of the mini van is making good time, by that I mean he is flying. The rule of the road is if someone beeps get over to the side because they are passing you. Since its mostly scooters on the road it works pretty well. Our guy is just laying on the horn the whole trip, zipping around scooters, cars, trucks, oxen drawn wagons, wandering cows, dogs, kids, and any other impediment. After about 5 near misses, I just turn my head and continue looking out the window at the countryside. At least well be there ahead of schedule.


We pull up the bus station in Siem Reap at about 9pm. We made great time according to a guy named Dada who helps the driver. Dada sets us up with a tuk tuk driver and they take us to our guest house, the Mandalay Hotel. $15/ night with fan, ac, mini fridge, and tv plus its only a few blocks from the heart of the action. The room is tiny, but most of them are over here. Its late and the only thing we've eaten all day is a little bagette. We head down the street to see what we can find. Since this is a major tourist city, due to the fact that Angkor Wat and the other temples are so close (only a few miles away), the tuk tuk drivers, beggar kids and other unsavory elements are out in full force here. Before we even turn the corner tuk tuk drivers are offering to take us to "girls, message, boom-boom". This wouldn't be a huge deal except every guy is saying this every 15 ft or so. Next we get to a mini mart and walk past. 3 little beggar kids come running over to me grabbing my arm. "Mister, please buy us some food..." The little boy is clamped around my leg as I walk, I keep going with him in tow. The little girl who is about 8 has a little baby that's about 6 months tied to her with a towel. A few more steps and I'm accosted on both sides by two very manly ladies... "Me love you long time, me so horny" I'm more worried that they're trying to pick pocket me, but me money and camera is secured. I kind of wrestle myself away and run. Tuk Tuk drivers, lady boys, beggar kids, maybe Siem Reap is not going to be a good place after all. We turn another corner and a little girl persuades us to sit down and get some street food from one of the vendors. We talk to the girl about school and other things. Many of the kids here speak really good English. Our interaction with the ladies at the street restaurant is the highlight of the night. A couple of mango shakes and fried rice for about $2 and I'm good.



We walk around a little more and head back to the room for a well deserved good nights sleep. First impressions again are warped by the amount of contact we had with the unsavory element of the city especially after dark. Since its so close to the temples, the city draws tourists from everywhere in the world. Unfortunately there are many things both positive and negative that come with that.

3 Days on Don Det pt 2

Sleeping at night is rough. We have 3 of us and 2 oscillating fans, which don't seem to be doing much of anything. I haven't stopped sweating at any point since stepping foot on the island. There are few places that have AC on the island, so its a challenge to find a place to cool down. Even at night its hot and muggy. I wake up in the morning in a sweaty haze at 6am, awoken by the long boat drivers riding right by our window. Their motors sound like lawnmowers, except maybe louder! Looking back now writing this I know I'm forgetting to stay properly hydrated. A lesson I will have to learn the hard way again. Day 2 we decide to rent bikes and check out the other island that is connected by a bridge called Don Kone. We rent bikes from the hotel for $2 and take off. These are not high quality bikes. As soon as we get going my back fender falls off and rattles against the tire, Cramer's bike has no brakes and his peddle falls off, and Robin's seat won't go up so it looks like he's riding a tricycle. A relatively short ride (maybe 6 miles total) will be much more difficult. Once we pass all the little bars, restaurants, and guest houses we head into the countryside. The people here are poor.

Little shacks and farms are scattered across the countryside and big cows, water buffalo, and other animals wander where ever they please. After a 30 minute trip down a bumpy road when I'm sure our ability to have kids is diminishing with each peddle. We cross the bridge and Don Kone looks similar to Don Det, but because of its location there are fewer travelers here and seems a lot quieter. We continue and check out a small waterfall/ large rapids on the Mekong and take some pics on a beach below the falls.


We ride back with the sweat pouring down and our asses hurting. On the way back we see Adinda and Clarinde going the other way. Once we get back to the room it starts to pour for about 30 minutes. We laugh thinking about the girls trying to peddle in the rain and mud. After the rain stops Cramer and I jump in the river again. Its the only place where we can actually cool down. After dinner we just hang on the porch, drinking and listening to music. We play cards with Robin and the girls, who made it back in one piece. Netherlands plays Uruguay in the World Cup semifinals and the game is on at 1:30am. Since we are now hangin with 3 Dutch people, Netherlands is our team too. We walk to the only bar still open that's playing the game. Its crowded with Europeans and locals. Amazingly a table opens up right in front of the TV. Most people in the bar, except for a few locals are pulling for the Netherlands. The "Orange" comes through again and wins 3-2. Robin thinks we might be bringing the team good luck. We head back to the room at 4am with everyone in a tired but happy mood.

I wake up at 7am again sweating with the boats buzzing by. The hotel owners have a little puppy dog name Pancake that seems to love us. She came sneaking into the room the night before when we played cards and now she seems to have snuck in during the night and slept on a pile of Cramer's clothes. Its even more funny since Cramer is the one who probably likes dogs the least and thinks most of the dogs have rabies over here.

We grab breakfast and jump in the river again. After drinking the last 2 nights and sweating constantly I realize now I didn't drink nearly enough water. Plus the sun baking on my shoulders and head while we swim in the river isn't helping. The crazy thing is we are only going in for about 15 minutes at a time. Slowly the heat and sun is getting to me. Later in the afternoon We decide to take a trip to see another waterfall and a sunset boat ride with our Dutch friends. First we must take a boat back to the mainland and then take a mini van to the waterfall. Annie the lady from the fist night is our tour guide.

As we slowly make our way to the main land I'm finally starting to feel like I'm wilting from the sun. Once we're at the falls we jump out and take some pics. Annie brought here older sister and her son along too. They are taking pictures as well. We climb down some rocks and watch the locals fish the rapids next to the waterfalls. I'm getting waves of heat and feel light headed. We walk back up and check out the little stands they have set up for the tourits. They have stands like this set up everywhere, people selling water, food, clothes, carvings, and other things for tourists to purchase. I'm only interested in water. We make it back to the boat and its time for the sunset. The sun is almost down and Annie takes us up river a bit. We're treated to an amazing sunset as the sky turns pink and purple while huge clouds on the horizon blast lightning out of them.

By the time we get back and pay, I'm literally on fire. The few times going into the water early today got my shoulders and head burnt and the lack of water, poor sleep, and alcohol has me dehydrated. We head back to the room and I pound back a large cold water. I finally position the fan in a way where I can feel it and lay down. I continue to drink more water. Robin is going to stay up and watch the Spain vs Germany match. During the night little Pancake comes in and sleeps on Cramer's clothers again. In the morning Robin tells us Spain won 1-0, so he is pumped, because he didn't want to have to play Germany. I'm still out of it but atleast my body temp is somewhat normal. We pack all our stuff and head to the dock, for our trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We pay for our room and say goodbye to our host. He tells us to come back next year. We jump back in the long boat and say farewell to Don Det. It was fun, but overall had a slightly closterphobic feel to it. Its seems a little bit more geared for travelers between the ages of 18-25, who want to get wasted and hang out. There wasn't much to do and the heat pretty much kicked my ass. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm really looking forward to a 12 hour bus ride in the AC.