#luckily khao knows how to handle them

[gunsatthaphan]

yes they are 🥹🫶🏻

[haggertyadventuretime]

Cambodia and some Thailand!

Hello again! Another long one, sorry!

We spent four nights in Siem Reap. Brendan was sick on day one, so we took some time to just get to know the city a little, checked out the night markets, etc. The city is full of lots of restaurants and food vendors by day, and it was nice to finally be in a place again where the locals actually dine out! In many parts of Laos, there are no “local eateries” because everyone is too poor to eat anything except what they cook at home. Cambodia has a large poverty problem as well, however in Siem Reap, many of the locals have made themselves some money off the tourism of Angkor‘s temples. That being said, there are also beggars there, both adult and child, and other very sad problems that I was lucky to never witness.

Day two was a big Temple day. We rented bicycles early in the morning and set out to feel like Indiana Jones. First, we bought our ::pretty damn expensive:: tickets that had our faces printed on them. Next, the first ticket checkpoint. Then we kind of went overboard and visited, like, all the temples. You may be wondering, “Kate, why aren’t you just calling it Angkor Wat?” Well, Angkor Wat is one temple/ancient city in a giant complex of ruins of ancient temples and cities, and Angkor is the place. Angkor Wat just happens to be one of the most impressive and well-preserved. We also visited Sras Sreng, Banteay Kdei, Ta Prohm, Ta Keo, Preah Khan, Angkor Thom and Bayon, and maybe one or two more that day, and saved Angkor Wat for last. All of them were gorgeous. The one problem was that there were sooooo many tourists. Obviously, it is to be expected, but one phenomenon that I had not fully experienced before this trip was the mad crush of mainland Chinese tourism. They are package tourists that travel by the giant bus load, usually rolling 25-50 people deep per group. Not trying to sound xenophobic or anything, it’s just a huge number of people who are yelling out to each other to pose for endless pictures, etc. and it’s like being caught in a tidal wave of people when they come through, especially since all the package tourists usually have the same itinerary, so about 200-300+ people show up all at the same time, or within an hour of each other. It’s a fucking circus. Obviously, that makes the very popular temples a little tiring to visit, since you feel more like being in a crowded photo shoot than in an Indiana Jones film. At one point at the Ta Prohm temple, famous for having been part of a Laura Croft Tomb Raider movie, the guide from a tuktuk-guided group of four shouted “hurry, hurry, Chinese are coming!” And he was right, a stupid number of people were trying to cram into the tiny area just behind us. Luckily we also visited some very cool temples that were less frequented by others, and it was very peaceful and beautiful! We went home, had some pretty mediocre food at a food stall in the night market that made me choke on a fish bone for a few hours, then went home and PASSED OUT. We had biked over 25 miles that day.

The next day, we hired a tuktuk to take us to a few places about 35 kilometers out of town, so definitely out of our walking or biking range. We first visited Banteay Sri temple, which is also known as the temple of women for its carvings of female characters in stunning pink sandstone. This place had the most beautiful, detailed, ornate carvings that we had seen thus far. Pictures do not do it justice: Each edifice had an entire storyline on it, with carvings free-standing on tiers of the roofs, including ornate miniature carvings of the temple itself. The detail was spectacular, and we took our time just staring at it. It was very peaceful as well, given that there weren’t any package tours in the area, just a handful of tourists in tuktuks!

Next we went to the Landmine Museum, which was started by a man with an incredible history. He goes by the name Aki Ra now, but has had many names over the course of his life, as he was taken by the Khmer Rouge to be a child soldier (his family was killed). He started training at 5, and was laying mines by 10. In his late teens, he defected to the Vietnamese Army and later joined the Cambodian National Army to fight in the liberation and civil war against the Khmer Rouge. When the fighting was over, he decided to make it a personal endeavor to eliminate as many bombs and mines as possible in Cambodia, as it was (and still is) the most bomb-filled country in the world. Having literally grown up with mines and weapons, he knew exactly how to find and disarm them, and would do so using only flip flops, a stick and a pair of pliers. With this “old method,” he could clear and disarm up to 300 mines per day, and would bring the shells home as a collection. Tourists would visit, and he eventually turned his home into a landmine museum, charging tourists money to enter and using the cash to help children who are land mine victims. He and his wife also adopted several children who are land mine victims and have helped them get an education. He still clears land mines, but must do so now under the “international standard,” which means wearing protective gear, using a metal detector and detonating the mines/bombs, rather than disarming them. There was a CNN special about him in the early 90s, I would google it and watch it, because this guy is a badass.

After the landmine Museum, we went to one more temple, Pre Rup, and went back to the hotel to game plan Thailand.

We took a bus from Siem Reap to Bangkok, which was a very smooth and straightforward ride, and crossing the border was very easy. We stayed in an Air BnB which was basic, just an oversized twin-sized bed that we shared in a room with an air conditioner, and shared bathrooms with the rest of the house. We were staying pretty far away from any tourist attraction, so on our first night we settled in by checking out the myriad of street food vendors near our place and eating lots of meat on sticks.

Day two was all about culture! First, we walked around a few districts, Chinatown and the like. While crossing a river on a bridge, a local was laughing and pointing at the water, and we were very surprised to see GIANT monitor lizards swimming and basking in the sun. These guys were bigger than I have ever seen before, they were definitely bigger than me, about 6-8 feet long. Cool!!!

We visited a bunch of temples, including Wat Phu, which is the temple of the Reclining Buddha. I had no idea how large that Buddha would be, it was 50ft tall, and 150ft long, all gold plated. We also visited the very famous Temple of the Jade Buddha, which was very ornately decorated with gold leaf and jewels, as well as the grounds of the Royal Palace.

We were also very lucky and honored to be able to visit the Royal Crematorium for His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who passed away last year. The King is deeply loved by the Thai people, and I would encourage looking him up on your own, since I’m no biographer! The crematorium was built for the cremation ceremony which took place in October, and has been open to the public for the Thai people and foreigners to pay their respects and view some very beautiful artwork. The crematorium is absolutely beautiful, and adorned with sculptures and traditional Thai crafts. There are museums erected around it which gave explainatioms of the process of making the crematorium, the Thai artists involved, and also buildings detailing the life of the beloved late King. We were very lucky to be able to go, as it was scheduled to be deconstructed in early December, but its viewing period was extended so that Thais living in more rural areas would be able to pay their respects as well. Very beautiful!

From there we walked around Bangkok looking for a place to sit and have a drink, but were having trouble finding a place that had beer for a reasonable price. It’s pretty obvious that the “felang,” or “tourist” menu is almost double the price of the posted Thai menus on the wall. We did have a drink on Khao San Road, the very famous backpacker ghetto, filled with watered-down Pad Thai and “10 baht for a photo” edible bug kiosks. We also walked around the Red light district on the other side of town, the “Go Cowboy” area, which was, as expected, filled with prostitutes of many and any variety. Didn’t stop for a drink around there, too sleazy!

Our second full day was filled with reptiles! I read up on our new giant monitor friends, turns out that they live all over Bangkok, especially in this one park, so obviously we went there in the morning. They were everywhere! Many were just a couple of feet long, but every once in a while, BOOM giant lizard that is ten feet long swimming in a pond. I love it! I don’t know if you can tell, but I love reptiles, especially the big ones.

After watching our adorable giant friends roam around the park like Jurassic Park, we walked to a shopping mall to catch some A/C and food court action. Everything is so delicious, and there is almost every type of food from Thailand represented in these food courts, for very cheap! It’s refreshing as well that Thai portion size is generally pretty small, so you can snack very efficiently throughout the day. Gotta love a snacking culture! The shopping malls in Bangkok are enormous, they have maps at the entrance so you don’t get lost (!!!). This one was “small” for Bangkok, it had 8 floors. Each floor has a theme: Beauty, furniture, clothing, electronics, etc. These giant malls are everywhere, and some of them are just floors of food courts (information obtained from Air BnB host).

After fueling up, we went to see the snake handling show at the Red Cross Snake Farm. Basically, this institution researches local snakes and mills them for venom every day so that they can make anti-venom and distribute it around the country. It also serves as an educational space for Thais and tourists! We paid 200 baht each to enter and get up close and personal with the indigenous snakes of Thailand! We sat in the first row, meaning we were closest to the snakes and their handlers. The first snake that was brought out was a King Cobra, which I had never seen before. That guy was HUGE!! It was amazing to watch the snake handler effortlessly show off the snake on the ground, making it turn around several times by poking with his hands or boots, and annoying it just enough to have its hood unfurled and standing up from the ground. We also saw Siamese Cobras, two at once brought out by a single handler by the tails (very impressive), as well as green Vipers, rat snakes and a few others. At the end, Brendan and I got to hold a giant albino Python. Makes me miss Namaste, the ball python from Ithaca!

The rest of our night was pretty uneventful, just delicious Thai food at an expat bar and then beers and snacks from 7-11 in our Air BnB until bed time.

Now we are in Ayutthaya (pronounced eye-you-tee-uh). We are spending two nights here, last night and tonight. This town is known for its temple ruins dating back to the 15 and 1600s, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This city was once the most opulent in all of Asia, with jewel-encrusted temples and golden shrines, until it was conquered and sacked by the Burmese in the late 1700s. Since then until just a few years ago, the ruins rotted away scattered along the city until a restoration effort was funded (probably helped by UNESCO). Even the unrestored buildings are very impressive! They are made out of brick with plaster embossments and details. One temple even had a crypt that we climbed down into, which turned out to be a tiny standing space that could only fit one or two people, and contained very well preserved original murals from the 17th century.

As we were leaving, we exited from a different area of the park and noticed a bunch of vendors setting up wares while wearing very traditional (and snazzy) costumes. Turns out, yesterday and today are the final days of the Ayutthia international festival! After walking to get a beer and back, we checked it out, and it was marvelous. Thousands of people were there. Five big stages and even more smaller ones were putting on giant performances of dancing, singing, and even a choreographed light show with elephants. There were guys wresting crocodiles in tanks. Entire streets filled with street food vendors. Clothing and games tents. It was amazing!! We are going back tonight for the last night of it to see if the vendors are going to drop prices to get rid of the rest of their stuff. Woohoo!

Today we got up early and took the train from Ayutthia to Bang Pa In to see the Royal Summer Palace, which was more like a whole bunch of mansions and a palace situated on well manicured grounds, complete with sculpted hedges! It was very nice to visit for a morning. Then we took the train back to Ayutthia, and here we are!

The trains in Thailand are awesome. They are the cheapest and easiest way to travel, our tickets from Bangkok to Ayutthia were only 15 baht each (50 cents), and to and from Bang Pa In was a whopping 3 baht each way (10 cents). The trains run often enough, and for the distances we have gone, it has been 3rd class trains (the whole thing), but the benches are padded and comfortable and while there is no A/C, you can roll down the windows and that’s fine. Also, local vendors get on and sell really delicious looking Thai food, so you don’t even have to pack a lunch if you are going a long way!