Spring Break (Part III) - Siem Reap,Cambodia

Home, sweet home... or at least back in the familiar Hong Kong. It's great to be back, although the trip was everything I hoped for and more. It's going to take a long time for these experiences to really sink in.
Last time I posted, I was about to embark on a kayaking adventure down to Viantiane, the capital of Laos. As I had anticipated, my arms were a more comfortable mode of transportation than any of the buses I have ridden on. The views along the way were magnificent, and highlights of the trip included a great bar-b-que and cliff diving. The dive caused my ear to hurt for the rest of the day, but the pain was well worth the exhileration of the leap.
Our time in Vientiane was short-lived, as we were quickly on our way to Siem Reap, Cambodia- the final leg of the journey. Having read up on Cambodia, I was expecting to find some great Khmer food in Siem Reap. The local cuisine has gained increasing recognition among Southeast Asian countries. My tastebuds were delighted by a local spot called the Khmer Kitchen, a restaurant that came highly recommended by every guidebook that I flipped through. One night I had a Khmer Sour and Spicy Soup with Shrimp, and the next day I tried another dish that was fantastic. Aside from the Khmer Kitchen, I also had the local Amox (a vegetable) Curry with pork around the temples. Overall, the food was delicious, and brought closure to a trip that was filled with lots of culinary experimentation. Any uncomfort was well rewarded with some amazing meals.
While the food was delicious, it was by no means the highlight of our trip to Siem Reap. The Angkor Temples were the main attraction, and have worked to singlehandedly put Cambodia on the world tourism map. In trying to explain one of the seven "wonders of the world," I am at a loss for words. That is why I intend on posting a lot of the pictures from the Angkor Temples. They were uniquely awesome, and I constantly found myself second guessing the laws of Newtonian Physics. The temples were primarily constructed of huge rocks, often weighing over 1 ton each. As I stood witness to these humbling structures, I constantly had to remind myself to trust my senses; in no way did they seem real. I felt like my mind must have been playing tricks on me. Construction of these temples seemed impossible.
The temples were marked with ornate stonework and were enormous. The most famous of the temples, Angkor Wat, is believed to be the largest religious structure ever to have been built. Chris and I spent over two and a half hours exploring this temple alone. Around the perimeter of the Wat, the walls are adorned with "bass reliefs"- essentially, these are 8 meter x 100 meter murals of carved stones that portrayed different Gods and mythological characters in various stories. We were dumbfounded by the consecutive series of these 8 reliefs: In particular, we were amazed to see the intricate details that were on each of the chizled characters (whether they be Gods, or simply one of the hundred thousand infantry). Equally amazing was the way the stonework was continuous over interlaid stones. The patterns were never interupted. It was incredible. I'll let the pictures explain more about these temples. I really can't do them proper justice.
We spent two days roaming and exploring these temples, witnessing both the sunset and the sunrise within the confines of the park. Although we didn't sleep- there was no reason to. It was simple enough to work off the energy that the temples radiated. Climbing freely through some of the world's most incredible man-made offerings (unobstructed by queues, restricted areas, or paths for tourists) dwarfed any other somewhat comparible experience I have ever had. In trying to explain this adventure to others, Chris and I adopted another favorite phrase of ours: "you think you know, but you have no idea."
Our time between sunset and sunrise was marked by a final massage. Chris and I were being pressured into the "ten-hour massage" by the employees, but we remained steadfast in our desire to stay only one hour. That was plenty for both our bodies, and our peace of mind. The body massages were fabulous, helping us recover from a long day and prepare for sunrise.
The following day, we jumped in a taxi to head for the Thai border. Accompanied by two others, the cab was the best way to make the 100 or so km trek to the border. Although the terrain was completely flat, the journey takes about 4 hours by taxi, and up to 11 hours by bus. This is not due to traffic either. The roads are simply that bad. Mostly dirt and plagued by potholes, it is often a struggle to stay on one's seat. After 4 hours, and one flat tire, we arrived at the border bruised and battered. The supposed "three hour" bus ride into Bangkok then took us 6 hours, but we eventually made it in time to do the one thing I regretted not doing in my other trips to Bangkok (no comment- feel free to ask about it in person).
The journey was finally complete. I boarded the plane back to Hong Kong, and spent my entire journey home in a daze. While I was trying to bring clarity to my experience, I simply could not. Everything was still too fresh, and I was unsure how I would be affected by what I had seen. This process will continue for the next several weeks I am sure. In retrospect, I am still overwhelmed by what I saw, tasted, and lived through. The only thing that I do know is that I am no longer the same person as I was before the trip. Despite my withering body (I ate 6 times a day and still lost weight), my mind has been enriched with invaluable lessons. I look forward to trying to explain to you what this trip was all about, but I think this will be impossible. I hope you are openminded enough and adventurous enough to take the trip out here on your own. Until then, "you think you know, but you have no idea..."
Signing off,
Kevin

Spring Break (Part II)- Vientiene, Luang Probang, and Vang Vieng, Laos

Hey Guys,
About three quarters of the way through spring break, and I'll still alive. I have to tell you though, there have been a number of close calls. This trip has been ridiculous, and I hope I can start to put into words what it has been like.
After meeting up with Chris in Bankok, we messed around in the city until our flight to Vientiene, Laos. The flight experience was somewhat archaic. Flying on Lao Airlines, we were escorted onto a propeller plane, with wings that were above the fusilage. The ride was quite smooth, as you can imagine...
Upon touching down, we made our way to the Mekong, and had our first meal in Laos. With our backpacks in hand, we sat down at one of the riverside restaurants. Local set-ups lined the river, many of which served the exact same thing. The food offerings are not diverse in Laos, and there are really only 8 or 9 dishes that are eaten. This made our decision pretty easy.
After sitting down with our first 660 mL BeerLao, Chris was served some great spring rolls, and I got the noodle soup. The soup was brougt out in a boiling pot atop a basket of flaming coals that remained lit throughout my meal. All of the ingredients for the soup were served to me raw on the side. It was my job to mix all of the meats and veggies in the flaming basket. Luckily, a local Laos man took pity on me and gave me a hand.
The next morning, Chris and I took to the roads of Vientiene on motorbike. We had a couple of spots that we wanted to see, but mainly wanted to cruise around and enjoy ourselves. The New Year had not ended, meaning that many of the shops and attractions were closed. However, we found a very cool herbal sauna and traditional Laos Massage at one of the cities major temples. This consumed our entire afternoon, and proved to be well worth our time.
Completely rejuvinated, we got back on the motorbikes. We were prepared to return the bike, get a bite to eat, and head to the bus station to get on the overnight bus to Luang Probang. Our simple plan was complicated by the fact that the entire Lao population lined the street determined to soak us for the New Year. While their intentions were good, neither Chris nor I were happy to ride a ten hour bus soaking wet. Our contentment was not important.
Our bus left Vientiene at 7:30 PM and pulled into a bus station at around 4:30 AM. Although we could not see much in the night's darkness, any hope of sleep that night was disrupted by the constant bumps and turns of the switchbacks through the unpaved roads of Laos. To give you a sense, the trip was only 250ish km, but took 10 hours- that's how good the roads were.
When we pulled into the bus station at 4:30 AM, we were told that we were staying the night and driving to Luang Probang the next day. This was unacceptable, and we soon learned that we were only about 10 km outside of the city. Chris and I luckily found a tuk-tuk to drag us into the city. We were met by some drunken foreigners who wer stumbling back to their guesthouse. We were informed that all of the guesthouses in town were full for the New Year's festivities, but we followed them anyway. We claimed the last two beds in town in the basement of some guesthouse for $2/ night. Granted, we were sleeping in a room with eight other stangers, and we had no bathroom or shower, but Chris and I were happy as can be.
The next day, we explored the Pak Ou caves. We made friendly with a local tuk tuk driver named Sit, and he agreed to choufeur us around the city for the next two days. The Pak Ou caves were pretty neat. After a scenic journey 28 km north of town, we explored the caves that were decorated with over 4000 buddha statues, many of which had been destroyed. The caves had religious importance to the local people who flocked after New Year to get good luck for the year ahead. Initially, the caves had been built to honor the River God, but after the Chinese brought Buddhism to the territory, the River God was replaced with Buddha.
On the way back, we stopped at one of the local villages that used to be well known for its jarmaking. These days, those famous jars have been filled with Laos rice whisky and various reptiles. Needless to say, the locals poured us drinks of the 45% alcohol concoction, and our throats burned us the entire ride home.
The night market in Luang Probang offered a tremendous array of cool textiles and handicrafts, most of which were impossible for us to carry around with us the rest of the trip. For that reason, we were content trying the local food (especially the dried spiced beef and the Mekong rivermoss) and drinking the local brew before heading to our basement dormitory for an early night.
We rose with the sun, and met Sit to go to the Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls. I had great expectations going into this trip, and the waterfalls surpassed all of them. These were unquestionably the most spectacular flows of water I have ever seen. The falls were much more impressive than the warring black bears and tiger that we saw on the hike up. I will attach photos when I get back to Hong Kong because words cannot describe the natural insanity of these falls. We trekked all the way to the top, to places where locals would be nervous to venture. A thrillride to say the least- many memories were built at those falls.
That afternoon, we made the executive decision to hop on a bus and head to Vang Vieng. I feel like everytime I decide to take a bus I regret it. This was no different. Chris and I were the last people on the bus, and we were rewarded with no air conditioning, no luggage room, and a copious amount of local people crowding onto plastic stools in the aisle. Of course, there were numerous unanticipated stops and many uncomfortable situations. The only entertainment was the 13 year old monk that sat two rows in front of us. At one point, we mistook his cell phone call for meditation- our mistake. Around the seven hour mark, we were getting nervous that our six hour bus trip should have ended. We stood up at a sign of civilization, and our timing could not have been better. We were in Vang Vieng, and the bus was prepared to continue on. We were the only ones to get off the bus. Apparantly, the bus was headed all the way to Vientiene- no wonder we were overcharged.
A women greeted us at the bus station offering us accomodation. For $4/night, we were rewarded with a double room with two twin matresses and our own bathroom. Unwilling to bargain, and eager to get some rest, we accepted her invitation with open arms, and settled into a good night's sleep.
Rising early, we met up with Tom and Chase for breakfast at one of the renoun TV Bars. These venues have episodes of Friends playing on repeat, and the Rembrants theme song has since become permanantly lodged in my memory. Another unique aspect of the restaurants here are the "happy" and "ecstatic" items, that have been laced with either marijuana or ecstacy. I steered clear from those, but some others apparantly did not.
After breakfast, we went out onto the Lazy River, and made a day of cruising down on intertubes and sipping on BeerLao. The scenery was tremendous, and it could not have been more relaxing (or lazy for that matter).
Feeling a little guilty and needing transportation down to Vientiene, we booked a kayaking trip all the way down, set to depart tomorrow at 8:30 am. I feel like we have a long day of paddling in store, but it should be a really good time. I would have paid any amount of money, and expended any amount of energy to keep myself off another one of those buses. I will let you know how it goes.
I'm off for now, and I'm sorry for the narration. Sometime soon, we'll be face to face, and I can tell you these stories in a more entertaining format. Talk to you soon. Off to Cambodia and the famous Angkor Wat- One of the seven wonders of the world.

Spring Break (Part I)- Koh Tao, Thailand

Hey Guys,
I'm writing to you from an Internet cafe in Bangkok, Thailand right now. I am huddled up inside, trying to recover from the full moon party last night (http://fullmoonparty-thailand.com/) and seeking refuge from the ongoing Songkran Festival (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_New_Year).
I got into Bangkok this morning, after spending last week in Koh Tao, Thailand scuba diving. My initial intention had been to go down there to obtain my PADI Open Water License. Koh Tao is regarded as being the best dive location in Thailand- one of the best in the world. After entering the water for the first time, I was hooked and I ended up pursuing my Advanced Open Water Certification as well. This meant that I had to surrender most of my alotted "beach time," but the benefits greatly outweighed the costs. I ended up doing 10 dives in the span of four days after doing a couple days of classroom learning. Now certified, I have the ability to go diving anywhere in the world. This privilage will open a lot of new doors as I travel for the rest of my life, and I am grateful that I took the time to acquaint myself with the underwater world.
I won't try and explain all of my dives to you because you'd be bored to tears and my Internet bill would skyrocket. However, there were two dives that I thought were particularly amazing. One of these was the "night dive." For this one, we didnt enter the water until it was pitch black. We were guided only by our underwater torches. It is quite a thrill to shield the light and experience completely alone in the water, unaware of all that is going on around you. It's also great because the color of the coral, the species of fish, and the underwater habits of the marine life differs from during the day. If you shield your light and flail your arms, you can experience "phospheresence," a pheonominon where the particles in the ocean glow a neon green. Very cool.
The other dive that I enjoyed most was the Fish Identification dive. If you aren't aware, an Advanced Open Water Certification requires a diver to complete five "adventure dives." There are about twenty options for these dives, 2 of which are compulsory (Deep Dive and Navigation Dive). Otherwise, I had freedom to pursue my interests. I chose to so this Fish Identification dive, and I learned a lot about the different families and classifications of fish. This was very useful.
Koh Tao is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. The island is very remote, and I accessed it by a 15-hour bus/boat combination from Bangkok. It was not the best travel experience, but I'm living to tell about it. Unlike it's neighbors, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, Koh Tao is relatively undeveloped. The only signs of development are on the small strip of beach. You can access any point on the island in twenty minutes by motorbike. Koh Tao is a quaint diver's paradise. All of the people live to dive, and the accomodations are set up accordingly.
I did my certification at Coral Grand Divers, the most reputable dive shop in Thailand. They have an operational alliance with the Coral Grand Resort, so I was able to split a room with a classmate for a special diver's rate. This turned out to be perfect.
In order to get anywhere on the Island, we just had to head to the beach. At least two or three times a day, we would take a left along the beach and window shop the incredible array of food options that were available on the beach. The Thai food (Tom Yam Soup, spicy glass noodle salad, curry...) was out of this world. It was the real deal- in addition to the flavor, the whole dining experience was unique. We would sit on the ground on special Thai cloth pads. It's hard for me to describe these chairs, but they are like soft mats that raise 30 degrees on one of the sides for comfort. My favorite thing to do was to enjoy a beer as the sun was going down at one of these beachfront venues. Singha was the brew of choice.
Another cool culinary aspect of Koh Tao were the Barbeques. Along the beach, freshly caught fish were on display in front of the barbaque pits. These fish were delicious, and I enjoyed tons of shrimp, snapper, garoupa, barracuda, and king mackeral. Heaven on Earth- I need to make it back to Koh Tao someday.
After finishing up my final two dives, I immediately headed to Koh Samui to meet with Chris and his girlfriend, Mia (fellow BC classmate and a great girl). We enjoyed a great dinner and drinks on Koh Samui before venturing out to the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan. This party proved to be just as overwhelming as I imagined. People were doing absurd things, many times not the safest environment. I wasn't able to go crazy like some others because Chris, Mia, and I had to catch a 3am boat ride back to Koh Samui in order to make our 6am plane to Bangkok. Needless to say, it was a long night last night, and I am a little bit tired right now.
Being at the Full Moon Party was a really cool thing. The way it worked out, the full moon alligned perfectly with the Thai New Year. This only happens once every twenty years or so- we were lucky to experience both at once. The New year celebrations are fun as can be. For days, local people and foreigners line the street and throw water on passerbys. Literally, people would stop cars in the street with whistles, and just bombard them with water. There was no regard to the well-being of the soaked.... hysterical. Apparantly Chris and Mia tried renting a motorbike to explore Koh Samui. Chris tells me that he feared for his life as he navigated threw the streets, constantly getting doused while trying to focus on the road. I'm sure Mia loved being on the back. The local people also wipe some sort of clay on your face as you pass. While it often was a hassle trying to backpack through this environment, it was amazing to see the pure joy on the friendly faces of the Thai people as they enjoyed their festival.
So far, this trip has been nothing short of incredible. I know that's a word that I have used to describe many of my experiences, but I constantly find myself in complete awe of my surroundings. I cannot wait to begin the second half of my journey. I will talk to you soon.
Best,
Kevin