Last Day/Food Porn in Siem Reap!

November 25.

Sri and Nipa left me in Siem Reap, Cambodia, to go to my favorite place, Koh Lanta, Thailand. Sigh. :(

After seeing Angkor Wat with them and realizing how great travel life is with best friends from home, I booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur for the upcoming day to rendezvous with two sets of friends that were travelling in Southeast Asia. Not only would I get to see some of my Boston favorites after nearly a year, there was also an Avicii concert that weekend, YAY!

I found myself a nice restaurant with Wifi to hang out in during the day. Ordered mango shake and then when I was hungry, pumpkin ravioli. Very yummy.

While I idled, there was this Khmer man that temporarily parked outside where I was sitting.

What is that? It looks like the something-and-chives dumplings my brother Adam likes to eat. 50 cents? Okay!

Roadside cooking.

What’s inside these? Let’s see! 50 cents.

Street noodles that Sri, Nipa, and I had shared the previous night. I found the guy on one of the corners. $1.

I ate by myself on a bench by the river.

There was a solo traveller on the next bench but I am generally antisocial my last night anywhere. I considered making the effort to make a new park bench buddy but I figured the one I’d made in Tokyo was enough for now.

This bridge wasn’t the only thing lit up. There were numerous “NIGHT MARKET” signs all over the area to direct tourists.

Sri, Nipa, and I had went searching for a very specific Ganesh statue in the markets across the river the previous evening.

If I weren’t so excited about seeing Boston lovelies, I might have had a more mopey night.

Angkor Wat in Cambodia! Day 1! Part 1! Temples of Bayon and Baphuon!

November 23.

Sri and Nipa had hired a private driver and tour guide for our tour of Angkor Wat. Woohoo! The company had been recommended to them by a friend on her visit to the famous ancient temples. When we bought our admission tickets, I was asked if I was of Cambodian descent. (I was certainly tan enough by this point haha.) Apparently if I had said yes, I would have been granted free entry and saved myself US$40. Hm.

We started at a lake filled with lotuses and a photoshoot ha. Sri had a G12, which made me miss my late G11.

The temple area was surrounded by a moat.

All four entrances for Bayon Temple had the same gate.

I like walking through ancient ruins.

Apsara, a very common motif.

Our guide was very pleasant and spoke good English, which was helpful.

Interesting reliefs.

Three faces. Our guide also acted as a photography guide and our personal photographer as well.

Amazing!

Going up another level.

The last level had Wat Arun-like steps. Really steep and really narrow! I’ve got this.

I was proud to have noticed it before anyone else.

See it? It’s a sleeping buddha!

I’m so smart! ;P

The Long Road (and Border Crossing) to Cambodia!

November 18-20.

What would have been an hour or so flight took nearly 24 hours by overland travel. My friend Peter, when we were in French West Africa, had said he enjoyed seeing the landscapes and meeting locals, it was more enjoyable than flying, blah blah blah. I could see his logic but frankly, I think I’d rather fly next time HAHA. From the islands of southern Thailand, I took a ferry/bus to the mainland and the train back to Bangkok, where I stayed overnight. I met up with two of the French guys I’d met in Koh Lanta, one of whom lived in Bangkok and the other trying to, swam in the rooftop pool and we had a fantastic dinner in Chinatown.

The first train to the Thai border town left at 6 a.m. and cost less than US$2. I love Seat61.com (best guide for worldwide overland travel) for all the detailed information it provides! Leaving Thailand, I realized that I had accidentally overstayed my visa by a day and was fined 500 baht (about US$15) by the Royal Thai Police. Oops.

The entry into Cambodia was filled with scams and it didn’t seem to end once we entered the country. (= overall opinion of Cambodia.)

1. Taxi from the train station to the Thai border took us to a fake Cambodia embassy fit with “Welcome to Cambodia” sign (before we had even left Thailand – how do people fall for this?). We simply walked to the Thai border ourselves.
2. To get our visa on arrival, the officials wanted a 100 baht (Thai currency) “processing fee” despite the sign saying it should be exactly and only US$20. I told him no a few times and then he finally turned in my paperwork. One of the girls on the train just gave him the evil eye. It took less than 10 minutes to get a ghetto handwritten visa back on our passports.
3. Bus to the Passenger Transit Center was free, but once at the center, you were charged an exorbitant (by Cambodian and Southeast Asian standards) amount for bus or taxi to the city of Siem Reap. I’m told it’s run by 3 different mafias and they alternate days.
4. The taxi we took that said we would be dropped off at our hotels actually dropped us off at a taxi station somewhere outside of town and we had no choice but to pay for another taxi to get into town because it was getting dark out. They said the taxi ride was free unless if we booked them there and then for US$15 for a tour of Angkor Wat the following day. Grrr. Also casually asked the efftard taxi driver about SIM cards, he said they were US$10 for foreigners but as a local he could get them for US$5. (Every other SIM card in SEA I’ve had has been US$0.25-2.00.) Evil eye.

I was rather cranky by the time I checked into my guesthouse and didn’t really leave my room much (do I feel like being wary/annoyed about constant scams/ripoffs/misinformation and suspicious of everyone I encounter today?) The outside world was hostile and I couldn’t be bothered with it. Not liking Cambodia at all. It was so unpleasant compared to every other Southeast Asian country I’d been to this year, which was pretty much all of them.

However, my NYC best friend Sri and his wife Nipa were arriving the following evening. Yaaaaaaaay! Excited to see them after a year! :D

The Eleventh Month!

It began with a “GTFO of Africa” flight, which included a pleasant one-day stopover touring around Istanbul, Turkey. I flew back to Thailand, which I suppose is probably my favorite country by default since I keep coming back here haha.

Thailand

• Bangkok: poolside “office” for a few days with my friend Tim; loved the street food and indulged in some medical tourism
• Phuket: checked out a few of the (overcrowded) beaches and met a few fun Texans; least favorite place in Thailand
• Koh Phi Phi: danced two nights away at Slinky’s, including Halloween festivities; met a hilarious French duo
• Koh Lanta: self-imposed travel-burnout rehab for a week but accomplished full recovery after two days (woohoo!); stayed an extra week because I loved it there; had my own beach bungalow and met a bunch of awesome people; loved Emerald Cave (snorkeling through a cave tunnel for 80 meters to a hidden cove where pirates used to stash their treasure. click here for panorama)

Cambodia

• Siem Reap: reunited with NYC bffs Sri & Nipa for a few amazing days at Angkor Wat <3

Malaysia

• Kuala Lumpur: rendezvous with travelling Boston favorites JB, Tony, Liana, and new friend Rachel; five-star hotel pools, lounges and rooftop bars; Avicii/Martin Garrix/Bassjackers concert at Sepang F1 International Circuit; Chuckie concert in the city tomorrow night

*JB’s photo

 *Haiyen’s photo

I am flying to Hanoi, Vietnam, the day after tomorrow. A week or so each for northern, central, and southern Vietnam. Christmas in Saigon, New Year’s in Sydney, then New Zealand soon after. YAY! :) I’m thinking skydiving for my one year anniversary abroad sounds like a fantastic idea. :D