Email to Friends: Phnom Penh and Heading on the Last Leg of my Journey‏

Successfully made it to Phnom Penh. It is hot, dirty, busy, and noisy with lots of traffic. Found a tuktuk driver to drive me around until I found a place to stay that I liked. I made him earn his money, as he had to take me to several places. Some were too dirty, some asking too much for what was offered, some didn't feel safe, and one with a pool in the lobby with all creepy backpacker dudes asking if I brought a bikini. Almost gave up and shelled out the money for an expensive hotel, but he finally took me to a little family guesthouse a few blocks outside the backpacker zone. I liked the woman who owned it right away, as she had an infectious laugh (they rent bikes and one guy was having lots of issues before giving up, much to all of our amusement). She also turned away an older Indian gentleman with an entirely too young Cambodian girl. She gave me the best room in the place on the top floor with a balcony over the city life, ac, a fan, and hot water for only $15. There is a locker for my passport and stuff I don't want to carry and I have my lock from my pac-safe I can use with the locker. And it is right next to their house, so feels very safe.

Met a man staying in my guesthouse who was from India but getting his MBA in China. He walked the city with me and we stopped at an Indian restaurant he heard about for dinner. He ordered for us, and it was really good! He was so happy to be able to have food from home and that made me happy. There is a huge disparity in wealth here, as some drive a big Lexus or Hummer, while the street kids wander in front of them with nothing. I could tell the man has a soft heart for these street kids (perhaps because of where he grew up), as he stops to talk to all of them. We only ate about a third of the food they gave us for dinner, so he offers it to these five adorable kids, making sure they understand they have to share. They are starving, and devour it. I think he will make a wonderful businessman someday. We walk along the waterfront, watching the locals play a game like soccer but with a much smaller ball. The losing team has to do push ups. Short-lived game as it ends when someone accidentally kicks the ball into the river.

The next day, I decided to take in the sights. I struggled with whether or not to go to the Killing Field of Choueng Ek and the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum as I knew it would be very difficult to see, but decided that it is an important part of Cambodian people and understanding the country's history. At breakfast, one if the many creepy, sad, lonely white guys here in the city that is obviously looking for an Asian woman approaches me. They are everywhere in this city and I want to knock out just about every single one of them that eyeballs me when I am walking or sitting alone. Everywhere you look in the tourist area, there is some 60-70 year old man with a young 20 year old Cambodian woman. Anyway, this particular guy pushed my bag out of the seat to sit next to me, even though I told him I would rather not have company. Even before this, I already could tell I didn't like him and the tuktuk drivers on the street instantly made eye contact with me and I could tell they were watching out for me. One made a very subtle shake of his head, as if to say no. I noticed the guesthouse owner had also moved behind me and was just watching. After his few attempts to get to know me and my curt answers, he left. Everyone gave me that knowing head shake as I rolled my eyes and smiled. I hired the tuktuk driver who had shaken his head to try to warn me, and headed off to the Killing Fields outside of the city.

It was an experience I will never forget. The grounds are actually very peaceful now, with a lake and fruit trees. But in the center is this huge temple structure full of skulls, and there are burial pits cordoned off which people have covered in offerings and colorful bracelets. I paid for the audio tour, which is a couple hours full of history and stories, in the voice of people who lived through it, and how they honor those lost and are doing things today to help try to prevent another such tragedy. It was heartbreaking and overwhelming. I sat alone in one of the little pagodas on the lake, listening to the stories and wiping tears away. After, I went to Toul Sleng, as it too was part of this horrible history. Saw the rooms they were imprisoned in before being sent to the Killing Field. Read stories of both prisoners and people who worked at the prison and why. It was really haunting to see the mug shot photographs of all of the prisoners as they were brought to Toul Sleng. Picture after picture, I had to force myself to look at them all, as I felt they deserved that. Some had faces of defiance, anger, sadness, fright, and some even smiling (some people did not know where they had been sent). They have faces similar to so many I have met on this trip, and it breaks my heart.

I left feeling drained when I returned to my tuktuk. The driver saw the sadness on my face and got off his moto and sat in the tuktuk with me and we chatted a bit. Turns out his uncle and nephew died here, and he too cries when he visits. It is strange to realize how recent this has occurred and that people walking around everywhere went through this pain, and somehow came through it. He also filled me in about the creepy guy from breakfast, saying he has hired drivers to find him child prostitutes and to go smoke opium. They were going to try to turn him in, and hopefully get him arrested.

My driver didn't want me to end my tour on such a sad note, so he took me to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. Beautiful place to explore the grounds and watch monks in the park. A much more positive end (except for having to yell at a stupid woman who was refused entrance as she had a shawl over her tank top, which every guidebook and signs posted say are forbidden and she proceeds to belittle the man in the ticket booth, hold up the line, and generally be a huge pain... so I maybe unleashed some choice words on her, much to the amusement of everyone else in line.

In the afternoon, I went to check out a volunteer organization that the couple I met in Pursat told me about. Couldn't get a good read on the owner, but said I would come back in the morning and decide. Was joined by another Australian guy and it was nice to have dinner with him to keep the creepy guys at bay. But then he wanted to go to a bar that he heard was owned by an Australian, and it turned out to be a prostitute bar for expats and more lonely male travelers. But it wasn't too bad, the women were actually really sweet and I talked to them a little about their lives and how they ended up doing what they do for a living, many seeing no other options. It is the seedy side of Cambodia, but it exists and is prevalent, so educational in a way. I actually didn't mind the women so much... Just the men who were preying on the situation. After a drink, we got out if there and the Australian guy made sure I got back to my guesthouse safely in a tuktuk.

Got up early the next day and watched the sunrise and street food vendors set up. Headed over to the volunteer organization, and two French girls and an Irish guy were heading out that day. So I decided to go. We drove out about an hour from the city to a place where families are squatting on government land. Disease is a huge issue as is keeping kids in school. We played with the kids in school and they practiced their English with me. Some of these squatters live in small bamboo huts over a polluted swamp. We also took fresh drink water out to the villages, a few bags of rice, and some formula for the babies who needed it. It was sort of fun, but disorganized and I really think the volunteers did not do or add much to the kids day. I also decided I didn't like the organization's owner, even though I think he is doing some really good things. But all in all, worth the day and only cost $5.

Came back and got ready to meet a friend of a friend/old co-worker in Seattle that had recently moved to Phnom Penh to help train some of the young girls who have been forced into prostitution. It was great to talk to him, and I got to eat the fried tarantula that I had heard so much about. The restaurant we went to is kind of like FareStart in Seattle, but they train the poor street kids. It is really cute to see how hard they are working to be good servers with their mentor. And the tarantula was actually really tasty! I had two. I can see why the Cambodian kids like them as a treat (started when people lacked protein and were pushed out of the cities into the countryside and mountains).

And now I say goodbye to Cambodia. My tuktuk driver from the other day is on his way to take me to the airport in about an hour. Fly from here to Kuala Lumpur with a small layover and then off to Borneo. The next morning I head for the small Mabul Island, and will likely not have Internet. So this may be the last email until I return back to the States on September 12th. I will just have to pass the time scuba diving (I think we are given three dives a day and four when in Sipidan) and swinging in my hammock, reflecting on this trip and preparing for re-entry into life.

Cambodia trip photos are online or you can view them as a slideshow.

Love,
Betsy

Email to Friends: Pursat and off to Phnom Penh‏

My moto driver in Battambang took me to the bus station for my departure to Pursat. He didn't want any money but I made him take a few dollars. The bus was nice and the little old woman next to me switched seats so I could see out the window and shared her roasted peanuts with me. I was the only one that got off in Pursat. I could tell a huge storm was on the way, so I had a tuktuk driver drive me the two minutes to one of the only hotels in town (although they are building what looks to be a nice one across the street). Best dollar I have spent, as the skies opened up a few seconds after I arrived and there was a torrential downpour.

The room is pretty rustic, but clean and has a fan, ac, and tv for $13 ($6 without ac). And who needs hot water, any way (or apparently toilet paper, which I will have to go buy in the morning)?!? Waited a couple hours until the rain stopped and then went to explore and get my bearings. People just stare at me when I am walking which is a little disconcerting, but most eventually smile. Lots of people do double takes on their bikes or motorbikes or ox and cart. Battambang was pretty rural outside the town center, but this is even more so. And almost no one speaks English. At times, it reminds me a little of Africa.

Found a pool hall consisting of two tables covered in green felt, one without pockets. So if you hit the balls too hard, they rolled off the deck into the river! I decided I shouldn't play, with my poor pool skills. A woman pulled over on her motorbike as I was walking and she spoke a little English (I maybe understood a third of what she said, but nodded my head a lot). She told me to hop on and dropped me off at the bustling market. Walked around a bit and then headed off across the river to try and find dinner. Looked for a while and finally found a place with pots of food and rice. It had a fair amount of people, so pointed to some kind of meat and egg dish. A couple of older men motioned for me to sit at their table, so I joined them. They spoke very little English (knew "thank you very much" and "your name?" which is more than I know in Cambodian). The rest of the conversation consisted of smiles and hand gestures. When they got up to leave, they paid for my meal, much to my protest. But you pretty much always lose the protest when they speak the same language as the cashier and you don't. On my way back to the hotel, another woman (probably a few years younger than me) motioned me over and we sat by the side if the road. She spoke a little English as well, so we chatted for a bit and she made me eat half of her baguette sandwich she was eating. She give me tips on where to go and where to avoid and told me to "take good care". Probably still much safer than what I have heard about Phnom Penh. Watched the clouds turn colors as the sun set behind a temple (wanted to take a picture but thought it would be rude to interrupt our conversation) and then she drove me the rest of the short way back to the hotel on her motorbike.

Yesterday morning at breakfast, I met a couple from San Francisco that has been traveling for 14 months. They are super nice and may be the only other tourists in town. They were heading for Kompong Luong, a floating village of both Khmer and Vietnamese people that is about 60km out of town, so I joined them (boats only go with a minimum of 2-3 people). The tuktuk ride to the floating village goes along the main highway, past rice fields with the Cardamom Mountains in the distance. Then we get on a small boat and putter around the floating village. There is everything from a barber shop, petrol station, temple, church, lumber shop, gas station, and even a pool hall but they are all on separate floating boats! The kids all wave hello and blow kisses out their boat house windows as people go on about their daily lives, relaxing in hammocks, buying produce from floating vendors, or washing clothes off their boat deck. I love all the colors! Get back late afternoon and have a nice lunch of ginger chicken and rice and wander around town some more. Watched sunset again over the temple by the river and found some yummy steamed buns on the street near the hotel for dinner.

Today, I was going to catch the bus to Phnom Penh, but after the other tourists' story about someone trying to rob them and dragging her down to the street (she was still pretty shaken and jumpy whenever a motobike goes by), I decide to stay in this quiet little town one more night. It is probably cheaper here, since I will have to find a hotel in Phnom Penh with an in-room safe to lock up my passport, credit cards, and cash, just to be on the safe side. And I still feel like I need to get to know this little town better. So grabbed breakfast and had the best fresh squeezed orange juice (Pursat is known for their oranges) and head off for more exploring. Crossed the river and just walked as far as I could, watching women making fresh rice noodles by the road, townspeople moving their cows or water buffalo up and down the road, and looking in on some of the stone carving this town is known for. The heat of the day was too much, so bought some cold juice and water from a roadside stand outside a village. They invited me to sit down and I ended up hanging out there most of the afternoon. They give me fried treats from the house next door (thinly sliced potato or yam and bananas with sesame seed batter). Several ladies from the nearby village came by and we all sat giggling and pointing to stuff in the store (old bottles full of gasoline for passing motorbikes, live fish, chicken, vegetables, cleaning supplies, pharmacy items, and of course... lotto tickets). They gave the Cambodian word and I gave the English word. As I try to pronounce the Cambodian words, everyone laughs and I am told by Pech, the one that spoke the most English who calls herself my Cambodian sister, that I "have a big tongue" as my pronunciation is apparently bad. Ha!

Finally, I say my goodbyes and start walking back the few miles back to town, but only make it a few yards before one of the ladies had borrowed a motorbike and insists on giving me a ride back. Have I mentioned how much I love Cambodian people? Not that I don't love seeing new sights and hitting up recommended guidebook things, but some times, the most memorable travel days are spent doing nothing with complete strangers.

Tomorrow morning, I head for my 7:30am bus to Phnom Penh. Museums, Killing Fields, and maybe a day trip out of the city are the tentative plans. And just in case you catch wind of it over there... yes, I am aware of the political stuff going on here right now and should be out of Cambodia and into Borneo, lounging at a scuba diving island resort well before the planned September 7th Phnom Penh protest (leave for Borneo via Kuala Lumpur on September 4th.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Love,
Betsy

Email to Friends: Battambang‏

I decided to take the boat to Battambang, since I have spent a lot of time on buses and the river is high enough to make it in about 7 hours. It left from a floating village outside of Siem Reap called Chong Kneas. It was really a fun trip, even though I was exhausted. Went through lots of floating villages. Mainly tourists on the boat, but we occasionally stop in a little village to pick up or drop villagers off, with padded seats for about 20 people (plus, we are also allowed to sit on the boat roof). Lots of colors and children all stop to wave hello as the once a day boat passes by. They have everything you would expect in a village: Temple, gas station, mechanic, corner store... except it is all floating on water. Want to visit the neighbor? Row on over! Even saw pets (cats, a monkey chained to a tree, and a guard dog paddling around chasing another dog). There are little waterways cut through thick brush. The boat operators quickly roll down canvas over the boat to keep the branches from thwacking us too hard, and it is kind of like a thumping massage. Some guy thought I was Cambodian and took pictures of me, but all in all, an enjoyable ride.

Once we hit Battambang, I found a hotel in the city center, right across from the local market where I could get my $1.25 noodle soup for breakfast. They claimed to have wi-fi, but it was slow an unreliable. So the next morning, a moto driver said he would take me to look for a better place. I told him what I wanted, and he took me to a perfect spot right across the river. Quieter, much cleaner, newer and nicer rooms, a quick walk over the bridge, and they matched the price of my old hotel (since it is low season and they have lots of empty rooms). Made plans for the moto driver to take me outside the town center the next morning and dropped off my stuff. Looked like it was going to rain so spent the day goofing off around town. Walked up and down the river and through all the streets. Went to a museum with old artifacts (big contrast to the high security of the Smithsonian, as these artifacts are guarded with the same glass and lock that they use to store their potato chips and snacks at the local bars). Visited a few temples and chatted with folks. One had a tiny, little kitten that curled up in my hand an seemed content to stay there, so just walked around the monastery with him for a while, much to the monks amusement. Saw a funeral down a side street (funerals can last several days, depending on how far the relatives have to travel).

The next day, my moto driver came to pick me up at 9am and we headed for the bamboo train. It is really just for tourists now, but it was actually a lot of fun (and will be gone in a few years when they build a real train from Phnom Penh). It only one set of tracks (which are run down and not very straight) and you have to get off when a train comes in the other direction so they dismantle the train and take it off the tracks so the other train can pass and then reassemble it. But it goes through beautiful, lush, green rice fields and the driver let me drive the train for a little while (much to the other passengers dismay).

After the train ride, we went to visit a narrow, rickety village suspension bridge that looked out over the river. It bounced as motorbikes passed and I squished up against the sides to let them pass (until a moto carrying a bunch of cargo came and I ran to the other side, as it was clear we both would not fit and I didn't want to create a traffic jam) My driver laughed an called it the Batttambang Golden Gate Bridge. Then we headed to a temple with 354 steps up to the top. There were five crumbling temples built before Angor Wat. I liked the feel of the unrestored temples, but didn't explore too much, as my driver warned me that the area around it may still have landmines. Then a basic roadside lunch of tomatoes, chicken, and rice and a coconut water to quench my thirst after all those stairs.

As we through little villages towards another temple that I had to climb up a small mountain to get to, my driver stopped to get me a freshly picked dragonfruit from a roadside fruit stand run by a lovely, old Khmer woman. She and my driver said somme words and he laughed. he explained to me that she said I talked like a foreigner but was dark like a Cambodian. She let me try all the delicious fruit and we went on our way. Made it down the muddy pot-hole filled dirt road to the next temple and started the climb. Halfway up was another temple over run by monkeys. Stopped and had a coke (which I inadvertently shared with a monkey who decided it was his turn and took it right out of my hand). So continued up to the top. Beautiful view off the area and a monk invited me to sit down. We had a nice long talk and it was very peaceful. He told me of being orphaned and becoming a monk. He now runs a school for village children and orphans because "it makes his heart feel good and when you die you can't take things with you, but the good and the bad you have done can live on."

My driver took me to meet his family. He has a wonderful year and a half year old boy that he found sick and abandoned by the side of the road. He took him to the hospital and stayed with him for 18 days. When they were going to send him to an orphanage, he took him in instead. He and his wife married six months later. He and his whole family are full of kindness and love and I feel really lucky that out of the hordes of tuktuk and moto drivers here, I found him. He also took me to the bus terminal to get me a ticket for my continuing journey to Pursat (my hotel said it would be $10, the same to Phnom Penh, which I knew was not true as it is only a third of the way... when I protested, they said "well no one has ever asked to go there!"). He got me on a local bus for $3.75.

This morning, I woke up to chanting monks, grabbed breakfast at a place (have to just point at something someone else is having that looks good, since there is no English menu and only locals that don't speak English), and watched the fishermen along the river wall. Now, packing the backpack and off to the bus station.

Love,
Betsy

Email to Friends: Susdaai from Siem Reap!‏

I really like Cambodia! The people are friendly and nice and there is lots of exploring to be had. My parents hooked me up with an amazing hotel in Siem Reap and it has been sooo nice to have a comfortable bed, a pool to relax in and cool off from the heat, and super hot showers and baths. It is amazing how the red SE Asia dirt sticks to you. It took a bit to adjust from the small village in Lao with a population of probably less than number of employees at this hotel and riding in a bus with a chicken in a burlap sack at my feet to luxury accommodations with business travelers (including a group from Microsoft). But it provided a much needed break from living out of my backpack for the last month! And while I didn't get my clothes professionally laundered, the hot water got them much cleaner than they were, and I got to do bathtub laundry instead of sink laundry... Movin' on up!!!

The first day, I purchased a three day pass for the temples. Tried to visit Angkor Wat at around 9:30am and it was horrible. Tour bus after tour bus of mainly Japanese and Chinese tourists. You could barely even take pictures as they shove you out of the way and get in every shot you are trying to take. So I left and found a much quieter temple with a climb up and nice view and called it a day.

The next day, I got up a little before 5am and found a tuktuk driver to take me to Angkor Thom. Most groups go to Angkor Wat at sunrise, so being the only person climbing around these temples was breathtaking. It is where several shots in Tomb Raider were apparently filmed. Lots of separate structures within the walls, my favorites being one with huge faces made of crumbling rock, another with long mazes of dark hallways and high walls with murals. Spent hours running around alone before the first tour groups showed up.

Decided to walk and just stop whenever I found a temple. Each was a little different, made in different times and by different rulers. After walking several kilometers, some Australian guys that had hired a tuktuk insisted I hitch a ride with them, so went to a place called Ta Prohm. Oh, and that Google maps camera car happened to be over here right now so I may show up walking on multiple dirt roads in Siem Reap. These temples were also neat, as they are being engulfed by huge trees. They are also doing restoration work on some, which was interesting to watch. Took a lunch break for some traditional Khmer coconut curry soup with fish, vegetables, pineapple and a side of rice. It was a delicious roadside lunch! Walked further on the loop of temples and finally felt templed-out for the day, so hired a guy with a motorcycle to take me back to my hotel.

Later that night, I set off for town to hit the night market and food stalls, but got side-tracked as usual. My tuktuk driver from the morning was hanging out with a bunch of other drivers in a parking lot on the way to town, enjoying some Angkor beer and chicken skewers with papaya salad. They invited me to join them and treated me to dinner and a few beers. Afterward, they were heading to a disco club and invited me along. I played it safe and let people I had met in the hotel know who I was going with first and they gladly have their tuktuk number. It was definitely an experience. Only locals (mainly men and a random kid brought with his mom and dad) are there. It is dark with lots of fog machines, music, and light shows. Oh, and a line of women "paid for their company" all stand up and greet you when you enter. But everyone was really nice (even the women that were chosen as company), the beer was cheap (I ordered a draught beer and they bring a whole, big dispenser for the table for $6), and everyone took good care of me and made sure I felt safe and was okay.

The next morning, I slept in until 8, a luxury for me. Had breakfast at the delicious hotel buffet (they have cheese... and real cheese is almost impossible to get in SE Asia due to refrigeration issues). Decided to run errands and wander around, so walked to town and explored, booked my boat ticket, and found and signed up for the cooking class someone had recommended. Around lunchtime, I decided to try Angkor Wat again. The tuktuk drivers gave me a tip to go during lunch, as many tour groups head back during lunch. Found a motorcycle driver who said he could drive me, wait for as long as I wanted to stay, and drive me back to my hotel for $5. I had a much better time... a fraction of the people and got to explore for hours. Really impressive piece of architecture and very different from the previous temples visited. Took an afternoon swim to cool off during the afternoon rain and tried to go to see a local boxing match at the arena, but they are apparently only on Monday and Wednesdays.

Today, I took another cooking class to compare the spices and flavors used to Laos. We each got to choose one appetizer and one main dish, with a shared dessert. I chose spicy shrimp salad and my favorite traditional dish of samlor kteas (the spelling varies since their alphabet, like every country I have visited, is different) which is a spicy coconut milk/vegetables/pineapple and meat or fish soup I have been eating every day. Went to market to pick our ingredients and had lots of fun. Soaked in the last of the sun at my nice pool (trying to get rid of my flip flop and sarong tan lines from staying covered around locals everywhere else). Meeting my parents' sweet friend who I met the first day who is a student and driver for dinner and drinks after wandering the night market and them promise the hotel bartender and staff I would come have one last beer to say goodbye before catching my 6:30am ride to the 7:30am boat to Battambang.

Cambodia is wonderful, but also has a very sad side. People in Laos worked hard but were very poor, but Cambodia seems even worse (especially in the low season). As always when traveling, I am trying to spread my money around as best I can and not haggling too much, since they can use the few extra dollars way more than I can. There are also many orphans here and people with missing limbs and deformities from land mines that are trying to make an honest living. The men injured by landmines playing beautiful music outside the temples for money make me cry. I better harden up before going to see the Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh.

Hope you are well. I will find a guesthouse with wifi in Battambang, so I can be reached if needed.

Love,
Betsy