Posts Tagged ‘Cambodia’

Overseas Adventure Travel – Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

Our 36 day adventure was escorted by Overseas Adventure Travel, OAT, the second tour company that we have used preferring to travel on our own. Our other tour was through China Focus for a 30 day tour of China in 2007.

I was impressed with the OAT travel philosophy that is built around travel, adventure, and discovery. This resulted in an in-depth exposure to the country, and culture of the countries visited. Beyond seeing the big cities and the usual tourist attractions we went to small out of the way villages, had dinner with families in their homes, visited schools from elementary level to university and were able to interact with the people of Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. However I felt that the tour focused more on the failures of the countries rather then the successes of the countries. I never saw a nice home in Thailand or any of the beautiful beaches and resorts of Thailand. I left Thailand with the impression that the monarchy holds all wealth and the country and citizens spend a fortune praising the king and queen. If Thailand would spend the money that they spend on bigger than live banners, billboards, and monuments of their king and queen on sewage disposal, garbage pick-up and street paving in their remote villages the country could take a major step into the 21st century.

The real asset held by OAT is their tour was the tour guides. We were assigned a guide from each country who escorted and coordinated our visits in each country. Our Cambodia guide, Thai , grew up in a floating city and was chosen to be sent to an inland school and continued his education to become an extremely knowledgeable and personable guide, as a part of our trip he took us to his family home on the water and introduced to his family. He was able to provide a knowledgeable and insightful answer to every question ask. His knowledge of Ancor Wat that the other temples and their history was inspiring.

Our Thailand guide, Poupe, a 46 year old single mother is one of the most personable and versatile people that I have ever met As well as a knowledgeable guide she sang, danced, and educated us on virtually every aspect of Thai live. At times she provided TMI, but it was done in good spirit and with the best of intentions.

Our Vietnamese guide Dy, pronounced Yee, was a true professional, maintaining control of the group, sharing his knowledge, and giving us a valuable exposure to the Vietnam people while helping many of us answer the many questions that we brought with us about the Vietnam War. Dy also introduced us to his family, which I believe to be a part of the OAT program, thus allowing us to see how a successful middle class Vietnamese family lives.

The hotels were for the most part very good, we only had one that I would have not stayed in if we were traveling on our own. Although it was on a beautiful setting on a river with nice grounds and pool the room was not clean and the facility had fallen into disrepair. The hotels for the most part place you in the middle of the activity of the bigger cities and with easy access in the smaller cities, we were never in the suburbs where activity might have been out of reach. A cab fare to a market or restaurant never was more then $3.00. Although it was on a beautiful setting on a river with nice grounds and pool the room was not clean and the facility had fallen into disrepair.

Currency was difficult to adjust to; 3400 Bat equaled a dollar and 17,000 Dong equaled a dollar. Thus I found myself getting one million Vietnamese Dong out of an ATM to get spending money. So a cab ride would cost 34,000 Dong.

The food was good but I did tire of Thai food before we moved on to Vietnam. Lunches and dinners provided through OAT were always from a fixed menu and many times were excellent, but the best meals that we had were those that we had when we sought out top quality restaurants when we were on our own. We were able to find them through our Lonely Planet travel guide or through internet search. With the low cost of transportation you could get the best meal in town including cocktails and wine for $30.00 as long as you stayed out of the multi-national hotels.

We choose not to take any of the optional tours, about seven offered, choosing instead to explore the cities and countryside on our own. In the one cases that we wanted to go to the same location that the optional tour, the Cu Chi Tunnels, we were able to purchase the tour locally at the Saigon Post Office for less then half the price that OAT asked; ours did not include lunch but eating in Vietnam is quite cheap. It was also nice talking with another tour guide and getting their perspective on the was, the government and the economy. Some of our best times were striking out on tuk-tuks to the Chinese Market, or a temple, or a restaurant on our own and experiencing the country at our own pace.

The only real issue that I have with OAT was their tipping policy. In the pre-trip information they informed us that tipping was optional for the exceptional service of our tour guide and $7 to $10 per day per person was customary. Upon arrival we were given an orientation pamphlet that repeated the $7 to $10 tipping to the tour guide but added $4 to $6 per day per person for the bus driver, $2 to $4 for the driver assistant, $1 for the room maids, and additional for boat drivers, local tour guides, elephant drivers and elephant snacks. On our China trip we tipped our tour guide and he took care of all additional tipping that was required or expected. Several of us felt this was a shirking of the responsibility of OAT to take care of their hired employees and independent contractors. If you met their suggested tipping the total would amount to 10% of the tour price.

I look back on the tour now and feel it was more of an education than a vacation, and that is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the trip and that I will not use OAT in the future. We were up every morning at 5:30 to 6:30 AM and on the road by 8:00 AM and our day ended after dinner at 7:30 to 8:00 PM. Some of our fellow travelers, there were 15 of us, often chose to skip dinner and get to bed early. The average age in our group was probably 60 years old, but all were relatively fit and able to keep up the pace.

I feel I know Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, I know their people, I understand their economies, and I understand their culture. If I’d taken a cruise that stopped in these countries I don’t think I would have been able be achieve the level of understanding that I have today.

Tags: , ,
Posted in World Travel | Comments Off

Angkor Wat and Bahgkok

Friday, August 28th, 2009

We spent the afternoon at Angkor Wat; it’s massive and surprisingly well preserved for what it with stood over the 700 years of neglect. We spent four hours in the temple and came to the understanding that this massive structure was solely for the purpose of paying homage to the king of the era and the gods that he worshiped, no one lived in the temple and once the king died all work stopped and the temple became passé as the new king started construction on his own temple to honor himself.

We stayed at Angkor Wat until sunset so as to catch the opportunity to photograph the temple in the setting sun light as its image reflected by the pools in its foreground. Our guide Thai and driver Mr. Sun provides wine, beef jerky and the best cashews I have ever had to toast our visit to Angkor Wat.

I feel luck that I had the opportunity to see Angkor Wat before it becomes fully commercialized; I have no doubt that if the Cambodian government shows some stability over the next several years international investors will come forward with money, knowledge and ambitions to turn Angkor Wat into one of the worlds premier tourist attractions. Currently Germany, Italy, Japan, France, and the U.S. all lead restoration efforts on one of the temples locate in the Angkor area, thus establishing some level of involvement in the future of the area.

Wednesday morning we were on our own so we made our way to the Angkor National Museum. I regret that we did not go to the museum on the first day that we arrived in Siem Reap. The museum did an outstanding job of putting the history, the religious influence, and the meaning of many of the icons in focus. We stopped on the way back to our hotel for lunch which cost $3.75, a meal that would have cost $18.00 in Birmingham.

Our afternoon was spent at the killing fields where over 3000 people were killed and buried; this was one of 3200 such locations that served as execution mills between 1975 and 1979 as the Khmer Rouge attempted to rid Cambodia of anyone who resisted or was opposed to the revolution. They took over the high school building and turned it into a prison. After a three step interigation designed to get the prisoner to revel 10 other enemies of the revelation 30 to 40 prisoners were marched a quarter of a mile to an open field with strip pits where their heads were bashed and throats slit by the soldiers who were between 15 and 20 years old. The bodies were dumped in shallow graves and the process was continued each night from 6 pm to 12 am. The killing fields are now home to a Buddhist Monastery as well as a memorial to the victims. It was an excursion that I could have lived without but the trip would not have been complete if we had not gone.

I would highly recommend a visit to Cambodia; if you’re adventurous and interested in one of the 7 manmade wonders of the world. This part of our trip could be done on your own without the assistance of a tour company. The hotels are all new and inexpensive, the local transportation is cheap and the food is good and inexpensive. The only irritant is the street argents, young children selling postcards, local crafts, and books. They latch on to you, give you a well rehearsed sales pitch and then a hard close, that all failing they attempt to physically wear you down until you either buy or find refuge in your bus or van. Upon telling a 10 year old girl, “Sorry I don’t want your postcards,” she replied, “Sorry dosen’t pay the bills.”

Our excursion to Cambodia complete we caught an hour flight back to Bangkok.

Bangkok is a big city, 6 million people all trying to get from here to there. We added 5 more travelers for the balance of our trip, a Brooklyn couple now retired in Fort Lauderdale, a Hawaiian couple and Victor a 60ish gentleman from Chile now living in Miami. Victor and I will get along well. Our group from the Cambodian leg includes a couple from the Palm Springs area, our friend Michael and Marcia and Jerry and Jennifer all from Vero Beach, Bill from Green Bay and Deb. I need to elaborate on Deb; she’s a delight, from Washington DC works for the United Health Organization, 45 years old, attractive, physically fit, and Jewish, looking for the right man. I just may know someone that she should consider, Deb and I have been talking about my friend currently living in Chicago.

Today we went through the flower market, a general market, and a food market all full of activity, color and accommodating people. Then we were off to catch our boat that took us through the extensive canal and river system that was a major part of Bangkok’s transportation system in its early days. Today the river serves to move heavy cargo and the canals to supply daily markets throughout the city. Our first stop was at Aura Temple, a series of ornate towers the tallest of which stood about 100 feet tall. Deb and I climbed to the 70 ft point, as high as you could go for a magnificent view of the river and the Royal Palace. The steps were at a 70 degree angle producing a real thigh burning climb in the 97 degree heat. At mid day we stopped by “Rurn Kyun Yaai” for a cooking demonstration followed by lunch. The cooking demonstration was on Red Curry Rice and our hostess Surajit Rmphansaeng should have her own TV cooking show. We were in her home right on the canal which had been a wedding gift from her in-laws. This was not of the quality of your home but a far cry from the two homes that we visited in Cambodia. The upstairs was full of musical instruments, and attractive furniture. Surajit’s son, Basketball, assisted with the preparation and serving and her daughter, Book, attended the University. (the names are correct) Lunch consisted of five courses and was far superior to the Thai food that we get in Birmingham and we have good Thai restaurants in Birmingham. I presented Basketball with one of my Best of Us – Best of US ball caps which brought a big smile to the 15 year olds face.

Back in the boat we wound our way back into the heart of Bangkok stopping at the Royal Barge Museum. This is collection of decorative longboats that the numerous Kings of Thailand used to move up and down the river; there were no pictures allowed in an effort to promote postcard sales. We bid farewell to our boat driver and hoped on the bus stopping at a tailor shop. Needing a new blue blazer I told Jack, a young salesman, that I wanted the highest quality fabric and finest workmanship. This warranted a trip upstairs to see the good stuff. My blazer “top quality blazer” started at $345 but after several trips to the front door by me we setteled at a price of $250 and a pair of tailored slacks for $57. I have to go back tomorrow evening for a fitting and my new duds should be ready the following evening before we leave Bangkok. I realize it’s all a bit of a sales gimmick for the tour company to collect a commission but I think I made a good deal, besides they served “Elephant Beer” as we were being sold so I got a bit of a buzz for my $307 as well.

Friday morning started at 6am with a walk to the park where we joined 3000 other people for morning exercise. Just as we saw in China two years ago morning exercise is an important part of the Thai people’s life. There were hundreds of groups dressed in different colored tee-shirts doing different forms of exercise, some with fans, some with swords and others doing conventional forms of exercise. The six of us joined a group of about 100 people doing stretching and breathing exercise. After a half hour we introduced ourselves to the leader and the 83 year old coach and were offered front row positions the next time we attended.

Our tour was offering an optional tour for the day but we opted out and chose to find our own way around Bangkok. Our group wanted to experience the public transportation system and not be tied to regimented schedule. We found the subway system to be clean easy to understand and foreigner friendly. We emerged not far from Chinatown where we became emerged in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok daily life. For two hours we rubbed shoulders with the citizens of Bangkok, I saw no more than a half dozen people who were tourists, we asked questions, photographed, and moved through their crowded stalls of merchandise and were never hassled, threatened or treated rudely. The Asian people don’t get mad, they are always kind, and greet you with hands together below their chin and a bow.

With more ground to cover and temperatures in the mid 90’s we contracted with two Tut-tut drivers to shuttle us from site to site. They agreed to carry the seven of us for an hour for 50 baht per Tut-tut this is equal to $1.50. We went to the Standing Buddha, the Lucky Buddha, and one of the key temples in the city. We then went to the Expo Center a tourist jewelry scam, that if we stayed over 5 minutes our Tut-tut drivers got a gasoline voucher. For lunch Michael had found a restaurant that had been written up in the New York Times and Washington Post as a real find. The place seated no more than 20 people and we were the only patrons at 12:30 pm. We were greeted by a plump woman who obviously owned and ran the establishment. The menu became a problem, so she announced that she was going to prepare the food put it on the table and we could eat what we wanted and leave what we didn’t like. We were presented sticky rice, stir fry vegetables, yellow curry chicken, sweet pork, sweet and sour fish, something banana, crispy noodles, and red curry pork. Michael and I had two 24oz beers everyone else had sparkling water of soda. It was a magnificent meal, everything was eaten and Nita and my share of the bill came to 456 Baht or $14.50 including tip.

We caught two more Tut-tuts and resumed our sight-seeing.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in World Travel | Comments Off

Birmingham to Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

We arrived in Bangkok at 1:30 AM on Sunday morning. Exhausted we checked into our hotel, gathered our bags and headed for our room. We were joined in the elevator with a 30 year old Asian woman dressed in faded jeans, stiletto heels a tight sweater, I pushed the 16th floor and asked her “your floor?” which only drew a smile. I looked at Nita and got a questioned look, both thinking she didn’t understand English and would select her own floor. She did not. Upon arrival at the 16th floor Nita and I exited the elevator and headed for our room, I turned to find that the young lady was following us. Making eye contact it became clear to both Nita and me what was going on. I looked to Nita and got that look. I turned to the young lady smiled and shook my head no. She turned and re-entered the elevator. In the room I asked Nita, “do you know what that was all about?” I got that look again.

We were in bed, just the two of us, within five minutes, “What a country!” I fell asleep thinking of “what if, then I remembered David Carradine, that was in Bangkok, things happen for a reason.” Our room was a suite with full kitchen fruit on the table flat screen TV, balcony overlooking the city and a Hugh bath, but we had to catch a plane to Cambodia at 11:00 am, we’ll be back here in four days.

Sunday morning we caught a plane to Siem Reap Cambodia. We soon discovered that Cambodia is possibly the poorest country we have ever been in. A population of 6million with an average age of 36, as a result of the massive killings at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. A country that found itself in 1978 with no doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, no carpenters, electricians or plumbers; they had all been killed. Over the past 40 years the currency has failed 18 times, thus no one trust the banking system and any money that is accumulated is kept in your house. The country reminds me a lot of China except its dirty, the rivers are polluted mostly for human waste. Yet the people are friendly and non threatening their just trying to get by.

This afternoon we visited the city market and learned what the people ate, a lot of dried meats, fruits and vegetables. The common family doesn’t have refrigeration and cooks over an open flame. Later we toured their river village and saw how they lived. I thought I knew what poverty looked like but today I acquire a new definition of poverty, but because these people know no different they appear to be quite happy. We took a ride in an Ox cart which ended at the drivers home where we met his wife and two children. Their home was built on stilts 20 feet off the ground, because the river will flood, inside was a living room which contained a hammock in one corner and a table with a TV in the other the wood floors were polished clean as were the walls, the room was lit by the outside light coming through the windows with no glass. The bedroom contained two more hammocks and a box which I assumed contained any change of clothes.

“Where’s your kitchen I asked.” I had to do this with sigh language because they spoke no English and my Cambodian was limited. The man of the house took me under the house where we found the kitchen table, no chairs, and behind that a stick shed containing an open fire several pots and a few cooking utensils. “Where’s your bathroom.” I’ll let you imagine the sign language. He took me deeper onto his lot and pointed to a clump of trees.

He farmed 2 acres of land that he had inherited from his father, he owned two ox which had pulled us on our ride. If he had two good crops a year he’s earn $1200 and feed his family. They live on top of each other with no plumbing no electricity and a shared well for water. They did all have a TV, run off a car battery which they could get recharged each week for 50 cents. The discouraging part was that the children had no hope of improving their lot in life. They would be lucky if they made it through middle school, the daughter will marry and possibly have a house built on the back of her parents lot, her husband would help farm and the two of them would look after her parents in their old age. Our family didn’t have any parents to look after, they were killed 30 years ago.

Tuesday we took our van, there are only 10 of us on this leg of our journey to spend our morning on the water to see how the people on the lake live. The floating village of over 2 million people living on or in the water on lake Tonle Sap; a 30 mile by 100 mile moving body of water. The lake is fed by the overflow of the Mekon Delta which is fed by several rivers coming from China and Laos. In the rainy season the lake flows north as it fills from the over flow, in the dry season it flows south as it drains into the Delta locate in Vietnam. The people take 350,000 tons of fish out of the lake each year, and yet in four hour on the lake I never saw a fishing pole or a commercial fishing boat, it all done with traps. I saw people living as their ancestors did for the proceeding 500 years. The home all looked rough but relatively new, because with each war they would be burnt out and run off only to come back and rebuild when things setteled down. Children aged 5 to 12 paddled boats in blue and white uniforms to and from school, we could see open class rooms in the building along the shore line. Each village had its own Buddhist Monastery where young boys studied and learned their religion. They are taught by the full time monks and the priests. A priest is a plus 50 year old man who has lost his usefulness to the village. He could no longer fish or farm or perform any other useful task, he could no longer participate in sex, and he could not add to the family’s wellbeing, so he is sent to the Monastery to live out the balance of his life.

We drove back to the hotel for lunch, Nita and I have not been impressed with the Cambodian food other then I like the hot pot for breakfast. After lunch we had some free time so 6 of us hired a cab and went an hour east to see some of the temple ruins. These are massive temple built by the Hindus’ 700 years ago. There are no Hindus left in Cambodia today, you have to be born and Hindu and all the Hindus were killed 40 years ago, so the country is predominantly Buddhist today. The temples are impressive, having not seen the Pyramids I have never seen such a massive building effort; we’ll learn more about how this was achieved tomorrow when we visit Angkor Wat.

We spent the evening in downtown eating at the Red Piano, where Angelina and Brad eat when their in town, and then went to the night market where you can buy anything for next to nothing. Shopping done we hopped into a Tut-Tut, a Rickshaw pulled by a motorcycle, and were in bed by 10 pm to ready ourselves for another eventful day.

Tuesday we are off to see the temples, in the morning we visited several of the lesser temples Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom. These temples date back to the Khmer Empire 802 AD through 1431 AD; after 1431 they were abandoned as a result of wars and repeated invasions from Siamese. At that point the environment took over; the jungle overgrew them for the next 600 years. Then in 1860 the French began clearing the dense forest for the next 30 years. Around 1925 the French started to restore some of the temples until WWII then were forced to leave in 1968 because of civil war. The Anqkor Wat area became a war zone and much of the grounds were covered with land mines installed by the Khmer Rouge and the Viet Kong. In 1991 -1994 Princes Diana led an effort to have the land mines removed resulting in the Angkor area being opened to tourists in 1995.

The temples evolved through a progression of religions including Animism, Hindu and the Buddhist. The walls, statues and stone carvings give a look back into over 1400 years of civilization. Today Angkor Wat stands as the largest religious structure of the world, if you add in the other 76 temples in the adjacent area, it’s months of potential windows into the past. This is a case where a picture is worth a 1000 words.

For lunch today we were invited into a local families home, it was agreed by all ten of us that it was the best meal we’ve had thus far on our journey.

Tags: , ,
Posted in World Travel | Comments Off