Monday, December 21, 2009
Wat Phu Worshippers
The temple is still an active site for worship and people make the pilgrimage to pay homage to Buddha and to bring back holy water from the nearby mountain stream.
Welcoming Blossems
As you approach the temple the path is strewn with frangapanni
(sp?) blossoms from the trees that line the ancient stairway to the top.
(sp?) blossoms from the trees that line the ancient stairway to the top.Wat Phu - first level
As always there are more levels that involve lots of climbing. It is a beautiful temple and significant also because it predates Angkor Wat. It was built in the mid 400s as a first model for what would be Angkor Wat.
This specific site was chosen because the mountain in the background was considered holy and a natural spring flows down the mountain to the site of the temple.
This specific site was chosen because the mountain in the background was considered holy and a natural spring flows down the mountain to the site of the temple.
Makong Ferry
The ferry is made of several boats and planks all somehow tied together
, but it seems to work.
, but it seems to work.In Search of Wat Phu
In Laos we continue the temple marathon - this time for Wat Phu - considered one of the 10 must see sights in southeast Asia. The trip is an adventure beginning with 
a 2 hour drive south on Laos Rt 13 and then a wait for the ferry across the Mekong.
a 2 hour drive south on Laos Rt 13 and then a wait for the ferry across the Mekong.Pakse Hotel - a Roof With a View
I stayed at the Pakse Hotel for a whopping $19 a night. The room was better than most Holiday Inns I've experienced and the 7th floor roof/bar/restaurant provided a 360 view that was an event - especially every evening when the sun was setting. It became a habit for me - every day after touring - head for the roof and their mega bottle of Lao Beer and spring rolls.
Spend the Night in a Palace
The white building 
to the right is actually a palace built by the last Prince of Champasak and the Prime Minister of Laos between 1960 and 1962. It is now the Champasak Palace Hotel and the rooms have a panaoramic view of the city. I talked to a woman who was staying there and she said it was truly like staying in a palace - all for $40 a night. Everything in Laos is so cheap that $40 a night is equivalent to paying for a night at the Four Seasons.
to the right is actually a palace built by the last Prince of Champasak and the Prime Minister of Laos between 1960 and 1962. It is now the Champasak Palace Hotel and the rooms have a panaoramic view of the city. I talked to a woman who was staying there and she said it was truly like staying in a palace - all for $40 a night. Everything in Laos is so cheap that $40 a night is equivalent to paying for a night at the Four Seasons.The Mekong River
The Mekong River is the 6th longest in the world and winds down through China to the delta of land containing Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam. This is what the Mekong looks like when you are landing in Pakse (Pahk-SAY) Laos.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Farewell to Cambodia
I have over 1000 pictures left of Cambodia, but they will have to wait until I can post the best of them as albums. So, I leave Cambodia reluctantly. The Golden Banana
where I stayed for most of the trip was shamefully decadent and an incredible value. Peer Em in the picture served the best European breakfast every morning and I pray that he forgives how badly I've mispelled his name.
A final plug for snake - if you need a driver/guide in Siem Reap Cambodia call him at 855-12-77-44-61 or 855-99-77-73-95. If you see him before I do, I promised him a "Best of the Eagles" CD.
Now I'm in Pakse, a small city in Laos and just during the plane landing I've taken almost 100 pictures. It's beautiful from the air. Can't wait to explore it.
where I stayed for most of the trip was shamefully decadent and an incredible value. Peer Em in the picture served the best European breakfast every morning and I pray that he forgives how badly I've mispelled his name.A final plug for snake - if you need a driver/guide in Siem Reap Cambodia call him at 855-12-77-44-61 or 855-99-77-73-95. If you see him before I do, I promised him a "Best of the Eagles" CD.
Now I'm in Pakse, a small city in Laos and just during the plane landing I've taken almost 100 pictures. It's beautiful from the air. Can't wait to explore it.
Snake and Panther's Excellent Adventure
Snake was sent to pick me up at the airport. His first words to me, "Hello I'm snake and I will take you to the hotel. They call me snake because they cannot pronounce my real name." Me (being chatty) - "in College my nickname was Puma" Snake - "What's a puma?" I describe a puma. Snake - "Oh you mean a panther?" Me - "close enough!" Snake - "I will call you panther because I cannot remember puma."
After that, the roadtrip began on the marathon temple tour. While we travelled he played Korean hiphop,the Eagles (I kid you not), and a collection of 70s American pop songs that he had, on the car CD player. There was no radio that we could pick up on the trip so we heard each of these about 10 times each. I taught him American words and he taught me Cambodian words and showed me his beautiful country.
After that, the roadtrip began on the marathon temple tour. While we travelled he played Korean hiphop,the Eagles (I kid you not), and a collection of 70s American pop songs that he had, on the car CD player. There was no radio that we could pick up on the trip so we heard each of these about 10 times each. I taught him American words and he taught me Cambodian words and showed me his beautiful country.
First Night on the Road
This is the place where we stayed on the trip. The owners who run the restaurant/ boarding house
treated me like visiting royalty. In fact everyone on the trip (outside of the city) would stop and stare wherever I went. Once I give the traditional greeting "sous-ah-day", (put your hands together like praying, bow slightly, and touch your forehead with your finger tips), it makes everyone smile and greet you back.
Everwhere I went the Cambodians I met were extremely gracious and happy. It's amazing to think that they went through the mass extermination of millions of people under Pol Pot in the mid 1970s and yet they are more upbeat than any nation I have visited.
The building in the photo is much more high-end than most of the places to stay or eat along the way, but the basic structure is the same. The front eating area is covered with a roof, but it is completely open on 3 sides. The enclosed area for living/sleeping is in the back.
treated me like visiting royalty. In fact everyone on the trip (outside of the city) would stop and stare wherever I went. Once I give the traditional greeting "sous-ah-day", (put your hands together like praying, bow slightly, and touch your forehead with your finger tips), it makes everyone smile and greet you back.Everwhere I went the Cambodians I met were extremely gracious and happy. It's amazing to think that they went through the mass extermination of millions of people under Pol Pot in the mid 1970s and yet they are more upbeat than any nation I have visited.
The building in the photo is much more high-end than most of the places to stay or eat along the way, but the basic structure is the same. The front eating area is covered with a roof, but it is completely open on 3 sides. The enclosed area for living/sleeping is in the back.
Baby Water Buffalo
On the way to our next destination we met these water buffalo, freshly covered in mud from a roll in a nearby stream.
There's A Surprise Inside...
While riding on the back of the motorbike up the mountain, I did notice that the huts along the mountain trail
were filled with soldiers. At the temple itself soldiers were standing around chatting. And then I noticed all the hidden sniper machine gun nests all over the temple grounds. In this picture everything blue is hiding a machine gun on a tripod. The day before there had been "some problems" between Thailand and Cambodia and the Cambodian army is preparing to defend this border. We were the only tourists at the temple and the soldiers were friendly to us, especially when they found out I was American. (A short thank you prayer was said by me at that point).
Another frightening aspect of touring Cambodia are the land mines still hidden all over the place. There are agencies from all over the world currently in Cambodia working on removing the mines, but this is an ongoing process. In the US, stretches of road will have"This portion of highway sponsored by XYZ Company." In Cambodia, there are areas with signs that say "This area has been cleared of land mines by the Australian/Japanese/etc group." Even so, all of the temples have warnings not to stray from the main area because of potential land mines.
were filled with soldiers. At the temple itself soldiers were standing around chatting. And then I noticed all the hidden sniper machine gun nests all over the temple grounds. In this picture everything blue is hiding a machine gun on a tripod. The day before there had been "some problems" between Thailand and Cambodia and the Cambodian army is preparing to defend this border. We were the only tourists at the temple and the soldiers were friendly to us, especially when they found out I was American. (A short thank you prayer was said by me at that point).Another frightening aspect of touring Cambodia are the land mines still hidden all over the place. There are agencies from all over the world currently in Cambodia working on removing the mines, but this is an ongoing process. In the US, stretches of road will have"This portion of highway sponsored by XYZ Company." In Cambodia, there are areas with signs that say "This area has been cleared of land mines by the Australian/Japanese/etc group." Even so, all of the temples have warnings not to stray from the main area because of potential land mines.
The Temple Within a Temple Within...
Prasat Preah Vihear is like a Russian Doll. Everytime you open one, there is another one inside. The series of stone steps leading up through the 800 meters of stairways and temples actually begins in Thailand. The mountain and temple are at the border and years of fighting over who gets what have ended (so far) with Cambodia owning the temple. There has been a truce of sorts with a market place at the base that is actually in Thailand. It was a zone of understanding where visitors from Cambodia could shop and then return home, without having a visa.
Each level of Temple forms a concentric circle around the mountain so that each time it looks like you have finally reached the last one - only to find there is another temple a long climb ahead.
Each level of Temple forms a concentric circle around the mountain so that each time it looks like you have finally reached the last one - only to find there is another temple a long climb ahead.
Bike Ride to the Top-Cambodia
The last part of getting to the top of the mountain to see the Pasat Preah Vihear Temple is 20 minutes on the back of a motor bike. The path is too rocky and steep for a car. The 2 brave guys in the center took us up the mountain for "a hair-raising, 20 minute ride up gradients of up to 35%." (Lonely Planet Guide to Cambodia). They were right!
Free Range Cambodia
After you leave the city of Siem Reap, paved roads disappear
and the dirt road becomes a dusty free for all. There are no fences so everything roams freely everywhere. In the 2 days we travelled I saw only a dozen cars but there were 100s of motorbikes, bicycles, water buffalo, ducks, kids, cows, chickens, dogs - all wandering around the streets or sunning themselves in the middle of our lane. In many places the road was a cloud of red dust with holes big enough to hide a volkswagon.
It took over 3 hours to reach our first destination - the ancient temple of Prasat Preah Vihear that sits high atop the Dangkrek Mountains at the highest point in Cambodia.
and the dirt road becomes a dusty free for all. There are no fences so everything roams freely everywhere. In the 2 days we travelled I saw only a dozen cars but there were 100s of motorbikes, bicycles, water buffalo, ducks, kids, cows, chickens, dogs - all wandering around the streets or sunning themselves in the middle of our lane. In many places the road was a cloud of red dust with holes big enough to hide a volkswagon.It took over 3 hours to reach our first destination - the ancient temple of Prasat Preah Vihear that sits high atop the Dangkrek Mountains at the highest point in Cambodia.
6 AM - Leaving Siem Reap, Cambodia
Off on our 2 day temple excursion, we passed this lone guy bathing in "The King's Swimming Pool," part of the Seim Reap complex of ancient temples.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Temple Driver
Snake is my driver as we explore the many temples of Siem Reap. Today we are heading on a 2 day trip to temples further out in Cambodia. For me it is a chance to get to know Cambodia, beyond the lovely and tourist oriented Siem Reap.
Snake knows his country well and speaks great english with a British accent. He worries about it because the guides make better pay if they speak with an American accent.
I wonder about this because in the 10+ days that I have been traveling I've seen only 2 American visitors. Most of the tourists that I've seen are from France, Austria, or Sri Lanka.
Snake knows his country well and speaks great english with a British accent. He worries about it because the guides make better pay if they speak with an American accent.I wonder about this because in the 10+ days that I have been traveling I've seen only 2 American visitors. Most of the tourists that I've seen are from France, Austria, or Sri Lanka.
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