Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The riverfront area of Phnom Penh

The city of Phnom Penh is situated where the Tonle Sap River runs into the Mekong River.  The Tonle Sap River runs out of the Tonle Sap Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.  It provides fish and irrigation water for half the population in Cambodia.  During the rainy season, it is home to a very strange phenomenon - as the water level of the Mekong River rises, it backs up the Tonle Sap River, causing it to flow backwards, back into Tonle Sap Lake!  During this period the lake surface increases from 1,000-1,200 square miles to 3,800-6,200 square miles, and its average depth increases from 6 feet to more than 33 feet.  An unbelievable 20% of the Mekong’s wet season flow is absorbed by the Tonle Sap Lake!  After the rainy season is over, the water level of the Mekong falls and the lake drains back into the Mekong.  This process creates a unique habitat for birds, snakes, turtles, and fish.  The area was declared a Unesco Biosphere Reserve in 2001, but that may not save it from the twin threats of upstream dams and rampant deforestation. 

Cyclos!

We stayed close to the Tonle Sap River area of Phnom Penh and enjoyed sitting on the riverfront, watching it slowly flow by.  The riverfront is a vibrant area, with lots of restaurants, bars, and hotels.  There are organized aerobics in the larger areas, complete with a loud sound system so everyone can hear.  It looked like fun, especially the younger folks who were doing boy-band-type synchronized dancing.  Large groups would gather to watch them.  We ended up staying on “Bar Street,” which is the street with all the bars on it, go figure.  J  We had a balcony and enjoyed people-watching on our street.  The riverfront area was ripe with the usual suspects, child sellers and beggars of all sorts.  This was the first time I’d seen a cyclo, which is a guy on a bicycle, with a seat in front who peddles people around town.  I loved watching them pedal by, as they had a special rhythm all their own.  We took our first cyclo ride in Phnom Penh, and I loved it!  It’s a slow, easy way to travel.  We also took our first moto ride – a guy with a scooter will take you where you need to go, you share the seat with him.  Daron and I both fit on the seat behind the guy, no problem.  We’ve seen scooters carrying way more people than you could ever imagine, many times whole families.  Women ride on the back side-saddle, sometimes even while holding babies.  One of our favorite things to do here was to watch the traffic.  There are way too many vehicles, but somehow it all flows and works out.  It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.  No stoplights or stop signs and yet everyone is able to get where they need to go.   

Daron at the Royal Palace

While in Phnom Penh we didn’t just zone out on the traffic; we happened to fit in a few sights too.  We visited the Royal Palace, which was impressive, as well as a couple of markets and a mall with a roller rink on the top.  We also fit in a trip to S-21, or Tuol Sleng Prison, which was used during the dark days of the Khmer Rouge.   Of its 17,000 residents between 1975 and 1978, only seven survived.  Anyone who has seen the movie “The Killing Fields” will have a taste of what went on during that time.  Since I’ve been in Cambodia, I’ve read a lot about that era (wondering how this could have happened in fairly modern times), and it seems that no one person or event allowed Pol Pot and his regime to come to power; it was a complex combination of happenings that gave him an opportunity to take over. Pol Pot was actually educated in Paris, where he developed his Marxist views, which developed into extreme Maoism.  The Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975 (two weeks before Saigon fell), and immediately ordered all of its residents to evacuate the city under the pretense that the U.S. was going to bomb it.  They told everyone they could come back in three days, which was a lie.  Many evacuees (sick and elderly) died during those three days.  Basically everyone was marched out into camps in the countryside where they had to work like slaves for 12-16 hours a day.  Pol Pot wanted to restructure Cambodia into a peasant-dominated agrarian cooperative.  1975 was Year Zero.  The first to be executed were members of the old government, then anyone who was educated or had a professional job.  Monks were next.  The rice that everyone worked so hard to grow and harvest was being sold to China for munitions, rather than being used to feed the populace.  Many people starved to death or died of disease if they weren’t executed.  Families were split up, with many children being brainwashed and turned into child soldiers for the Khmer Rouge.  The stories were terrible; not one family was unaffected by what went on in the country at that time. 

A school becomes S-21 Prison

Pol Pot wanted to get the Mekong Delta area back, as it used to belong to Cambodia at one time, so he invaded Vietnam along the southern border.  In 1979 Vietnam launched a full scale offensive and defeated the Pol Pot regime in two weeks.  Phew!  I wish I could say the trouble ended there.  A new government was set up, but the Khmer Rouge ran to the jungle where they caused problems (civil war, attacks on tourists and civilians) up until 1998, when they were finally defeated.  Pol Pot died that year too, officially from a heart attack, although some think he was poisoned.   While we were in Cambodia, the trials of some of the major players during the dark days of 1975-79 were just beginning.  I’m not sure why it took so long to bring them to justice. 
  

Not your regular transport vehicle!

It’s amazing to think that any Cambodian my age (or even a bit younger, since I would have been 7 when Pol Pot came to power), lived through that terrible time.  Such a tragedy could not have happened to a nicer people – the Cambodians are so quick to smile and are such sweet people.  It’s heartbreaking to imagine what they went through.  It was definitely a giant step backwards for their country – but from what we’ve seen they have persevered and are bouncing back, better than ever!  

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat at sunrise

When we first arrived in Siem Reap, we didn’t have a clue as to how we were going to attack seeing the temples of Angkor.  The area is so vast and there are so many different ways it can be done.  After much consideration, we decided to purchase a three-day pass for $40, which could be used any three days within a seven-day period.  After everything was all done and said, we wish would have purchased a seven-day pass for $60, to be used within a month’s time.  Seven days would have allowed for half-days in the park, as well as returning to favorite sights at different times of day to see them in various lighting.  It would have also given us a day to tool around on a bike.  As it was, we spent three packed days exploring the park and could have done more! 

All the other sunrise-watchers!

Arranging transportation was easy as there are tons of tuk tuk drivers hanging out ready to take you to the temples at a moment’s notice.  As an added bonus, they are very familiar with the park and know the best routes.  We hired a nice young guy nicknamed “Lucky” who drove us around the major sites for two days in his tuk tuk.  On the third day we hired a car and driver so we could see some of the sites that were further away.  Both of our drivers were so friendly and eager to help us – we really enjoyed their company.  The only downside to visiting the temples was all the aggressive peddlers.  Lots of children were selling trinkets, postcards, scarves, books, you name it.  They would surround you once you emerged from the tuk tuk and follow you all the way to the entrance of the temple, making the hard sell the entire time (in a friendly and fun way).  Adults were in on the action too, selling t-shirts, drinks, food, and anything else the kids might have missed.  We thought we were safe once in the ruins, but even there we were surprised.  On the first day Daron was wandering around one of the ruins when a woman monk (at least I think she was a monk; she had a shaved head) found him and handed him a burning stick of incense.  She gestured for him to follow her, which he did, leading him into an alcove in the ruins where she had an altar set up.  She had Daron place the incense stick on the altar as an offering to Buddha, gave him a blessing of some sort, and then asked him for a donation.   It was kind of fun the first time we did it; after that we weren’t as interested in paying for Buddha’s blessing in every other ruin we went to!  They were interspersed throughout the various temples, but most especially at the top of the ones you were allowed to climb.  I was surprised that they were allowed to set up altars inside the ruins.  

The mysterious faces of Bayon

Angkor Wat itself is the main temple of the entire complex, and is considered by many to be the eighth wonder of the world.  It is the world’s largest religious building.  We started our first day in the temple complex with sunrise at Angkor Wat, which was quite amazing.  The other major sight that most people are familiar with is Bayon, where there are 54 gothic style towers decorated with 216 faces smiling down on you.  Similar to Angkor Wat, there are enormous bas-reliefs carved into the walls wrapping around the temple.  Many of them tell stories of everyday life, while others are based on Hindu mythology.  Ta Prohm is another well-known site, having been used as a location in the first Tomb Raider movie starring Angelina Jolie.  It is the temple that has been swallowed by the jungle, with trees roots hugging the walls and trees sprouting from the roofs – great for picture-taking!  

The famous Tomb Raider tree at Ta Prohm

In addition to these three well-known temples are many, many more – all with their own unique style, depending on the time period in which they were built.  In its heyday the Khmer empire was quite vast, it covered present-day Cambodia as well as parts of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam (the temple we visited in Laos was built by the Khmer empire).  The current skirmish between Thailand and Cambodia along their shared border is over one of these temples (both sides are claiming ownership).  It’s amazing to me how large the Angkorian Empire was back then – it had a population of a million when London was a mere 50,000 people!  

Daron surrounded by children selling trinkets

Way back when, Cambodia used to be an important port of call along the trade route between southern China and India.  Indian boats used to be stuck here for months at a time, due to the monsoon weather.  While here, they shared their Hindu religion with the Khmers.  This is how Hinduism found its way into Cambodia.  The Angkorian period (when the temples were built) began with the first “god-king” (as they are known in Hinduism) in 802 AD, and ended with the last god-king in 1219.  It was the god-kings that built the various temples that we explore today, each having their own distinctive style.  Many of the buildings have Hindu symbolism throughout, although the last god-king (and the most prolific builder) had switched to Buddhism, so there is some Buddhist symbolism in there too. During this time, Cambodia’s competing kingdoms were unified into one great Khmer empire.  They created a complex hydraulic system of reservoirs and canals to support the agriculture of the area.  The last god-king had embarked on a large public works project, complete with roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals. 

Note the "pajamas-as-clothes" style that's so popular here

After the death of the last god-king, the Khmer empire fell into decline.  The Thais sacked Angkor a couple of times and the Khmer court moved to the Phnom Penh area.  The temples were “discovered” by a French explorer in the 1860s, although at that time Angkor Wat was a working monastery with monks and slaves.  Other European explorers had encountered Angkor Wat and had even written about it, but the French explorer’s vivid descriptions and colorful sketches captured the world’s attention - tourism to the site began shortly afterwards. 

Lucky, our tuk tuk driver, and Daron

Daron and I had a great time exploring the various temples, and found them absolutely fascinating.  It was fun to imagine how the place must have looked in its prime.  Every little detail had significance, from the orientation of the temple to the carvings in the walls.  There is so much more I could write about, including the Hindu symbolism and details of some of the more interesting god-kings, but I think without a visit to the park it would be sort of boring.  I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to come to Cambodia and discover the temples for themselves.  If you like that sort of thing, you won’t be disappointed!

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Statue in front of our hotel

“Siem Reap“ translates to “Siam Defeated” – which makes me wonder, what do the Thai people think of that?  Even more strange is that Thailand defeated Cambodia and controlled Siem Reap and the Angkor Wat area from 1794-1907.  It seems like they should have changed the name then when they had the chance!

After a very long bus ride from Kratie we were happy to arrive in Siem Reap.  It seemed like a big city at first, but as we got more familiar with the area it began to feel like a small town.  We stayed in the touristy area, which was nice because it had lots of western-style bars and restaurants mixed in with the local places to eat.  There must have been a tuk tuk driver for every tourist in town, and were they ever hungry for business!  No matter where we went, we always heard “tuk tuk madam?” “tuk tuk sir?”  At least they’re polite – in Thailand we were “hey you!”  If we took a tuk tuk a short distance across town, they always wanted to take us to the ruins “later,” or “for the sunset, “or “tomorrow.”  The ruins of Angkor Wat are about five miles outside of town, and are the big money-maker for the tuk tuk drivers.  Despite their persistence (for which I can’t blame them), they were very nice and always smiled.  The Cambodians in general have been very friendly and congenial to us – it would be hard not to like them.

One of the more stylish tuk tuks in town

The glut of tourists and money being spent here attracts all kinds of local characters trying to separate you from your wallet.  If we thought we had “ATM” stamped on our foreheads in Thailand, here in Cambodia it is written with fluorescent paint surrounded by flashing lights!  Tons of children made the rounds every evening trying to sell postcards to tourists.  There are also the victims of landmines who are missing limbs and trying to sell books; the blind people being led around by their children so they can beg; women carrying babies asking for money; and last but not least the regular beggars with their hands out. We almost got taken in by one scam – a lady with a baby walked up to us and asked us to buy her some milk for her baby.  We felt bad for her so we went into the minimart we just happened to be in front of (clue number one) and she pointed out what she wanted – a gigantic tin of powdered milk.  Daron took it up to the cashier to ask how much it was – it was $15!  Something didn’t feel quite right, so we turned her down and walked out.  Later on I found out that it’s a scam – they get tourists to buy the milk, then they return it to the store and split the money with the cashier.  The constant sales/begging got tiresome and annoying after a while. 

Apsara dancer

Books were cheap here, as they are copies of the original book, made on a copy machine.  I don’t know how they do it, but just about every Lonely Planet travel book you could want is on sale here for about $4.  We bought one for Cambodia and one for Vietnam, hopefully making up the outrageous price we paid for our last travel book in New Zealand ($50!). We also bought books about Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge, as we wanted to learn more about that time period. 

One evening we were hanging out in town, trying not to make eye-contact with the beggars, when a storm rolled in.  It wasn’t just any storm – the rain came down in sheets, along with loud thunder, and tons of lightning.  At one point we saw lightning strike fairly close to us – we all saw sparks and it sounded like a cannon went off right next to us.  I joked that it looked like it was in the area of our hotel – and it turned out it was!  When we went back the electricity had been knocked out of the whole area.  After spending so much time in Laos with iffy or no electric, we knew the drill – just grabbed our headlamps and made due.  To their credit, the electric came back on only a couple of hours later.  A few days later we read in the paper that lightning had hit the countryside and killed a bunch of cows as well as six people.  Yikes!

More Apsara dancers

The front desk staff at our hotel seemed to be some sort of strange hotel mafia.  You could only extend your stay if they liked you.  We had reserved a room online before our arrival for two nights, and decided we liked the place enough to stay longer.  The night before we were due to check out we asked the clerk and he said they were booked for the next night, so we would have to leave in the morning.  Hmmm, the place didn’t seem very busy to be booked, so in the morning we checked again, this time with a nice gal at the front desk, who let us stay no problem, and even reduced our rate!  Luckily she liked us, or we would’ve been out on the street.  We ended up extending again later in the week, and made sure to talk to the same nice gal.  She told us we could stay, even after we just heard her telling another guy that they were booked and he’d have to leave that morning.   It pays to be nice to your front desk staff!   

Celebrating Daron's birthday, margarita-style!

All in all we spent ten days in Siem Reap.  We spent three days exploring Angkor Wat (more on that in my next post), while the rest of the time we wandered around town, enjoying the good food and cheap beer.  We celebrated Daron’s birthday at a restaurant serving Cambodia’s version of Mexican food, margaritas and all!  During our stay we found one excellent coffee shop that had normal coffee instead of the super strong stuff, and even had warm chocolate chip cookies!  Yum!  We went to the night market a few times, with both of us buying $2 t-shirts (our first t-shirt purchase on this trip!), and Daron even splurged on a $3 foot massage.  One evening we had a tuk tuk driver just joyride us around town – he was very funny, and showed us where the ladyboys hang out as well as the best place to buy cooked bugs at night (I guess they go good with beer, as they’re very salty).  One evening we watched a show with Apsara dancers, which reminded us a lot of the Thai dancing we saw while in Thailand.  In the 15^th century the Thais sacked Angkor Wat and made off with thousands of intellectuals, artisans, and dancers from the royal court.  They incorporated much of Cambodian dance into their culture, where it remains to this day. 

It was tough to pull ourselves away from Siem Reap, as it had all the comforts of the Western world mixed in with great history and local flavor!    

Hello Cambodia!

Daron at the Cambodian border

Our last location in Laos (Four Thousand Islands) was only a few miles away from the border, so crossing into Cambodia was fairly quick.  We purchased a bus ticket that included help getting our 30-day visa at the border, so it was a painless and easy process.  The only strange part was the Cambodian official who boarded our bus to take all of our temperatures (by pointing a thermometer gun at our foreheads!).  I’m not sure what he would have done if one of us had had a fever!  Thankfully we were all healthy, and by the middle of the afternoon we had reached our first destination in Cambodia – the small town of Kratie.  As soon as we got off the bus we knew we weren’t in Laos anymore, as touts from the various guesthouses surrounded us, each trying to get us to go to their place.  To their credit, they were the nicest and most polite touts we've come across so far. As we walked away from the bus stop, we even had one persistent guy follow us on his bike (I can’t be too annoyed with him as he did warn me about an approaching car!).  We checked out each of their guesthouses, as Kratie is very small and there weren’t very many.  In the end we got a great deal for a modern room overlooking the Mekong for only $15. 

Our fancy shmancy VIP bus

Two of the touts complimented Daron on his teeth, most especially his “extra tooth” (Daron has a canine tooth overlapping his other teeth).  This wouldn’t seem too weird by itself, except that his tooth was much appreciated in Laos too.  I had to find out what all the fuss was about and so did a search on the internet only to discover a term called “yaeba,” which is all the rage in Japan.  Yaeba means “double tooth” and is exactly what Daron has.  It’s common in Japan where it is considered an attractive trait, as well as in some of the other Asian countries (like Laos and Cambodia!).  It also goes by the nickname “tiger tooth,” which is my new nickname for Daron!  Grrr! J  The Japanese also love buck teeth, as well as other teeth imperfections.  So if you’re teeth aren’t quite right, come to Asia and you will get compliments galore! 

Sipping coffee across from the market

We visited the local market in Kratie the next morning to discover another strange phenomenon:  almost all the women were wearing pajamas as clothes. They are similar to men’s pajamas, with the pants and matching button-down top, only these are in all the colors of the rainbow, complete with flowers and teddy bears. I've since noticed that it is the style here in Cambodia. You just never know what you’re going to see!

Next strange thing to happen to us was at the ATM – it spits out U.S. dollars!  We took out $500 and got a mix of $50’s, $20’s, and $10’s, all from the ATM machine. Cambodia uses the U.S. dollar as their main currency, with their national currency, the riel, used for smaller amounts.  No coins are used here at all.  $1 U.S. dollar is worth approximately 4,000 riel.  Cambodians will actually use the term “50 cents,” and mean 2,000 riel.  A tuk tuk ride may cost $2.50 and is paid with 2 U.S. dollars and 2,000 riel.  Riel comes in various denominations from 50r to 100,000r.  The two currencies are used interchangeably and at times we’ve received change, or even paid our bill, using both.  The cash registers in the more modern stores show the all amounst in both dollars and riel.  I can’t even imagine being a cashier and having to work with two different currencies, most of the time in the same transaction!

Food stalls set up along the Mekong

We spent our two days in Kratie mostly hibernating in our room, as there wasn’t too much to do in town.  We had a really cheap meal at one of the food stalls that were set up at night along the river, where we each paid $1 for a plateful of food.  The rest of the time we were enjoying the air conditioning in our room and watching American movies on the TV’s movie channel.  Our room had a hot shower and even a bathtub.  I can’t remember the last time I saw a bathtub!  After the last week or so of rustic conditions in Laos, it was nice to feel a little pampered and enjoy what felt like a luxurious room.

Here are the usual statistics on our home for the next month:  

-The population consists of just under 15 million people

-Life expectancy here is 62 years

-Over 40% of the population is under the age of 16

-Only 20% of the population lives in urban areas
-Over 90% of the people who live in Cambodia are ethnic Khmers, making it the most ethnically homogeneous country in Southeast Asia

-95% of the population is Buddhist

-The adult literacy rate is 76 %

-Cambodia rated a lowly 158 out of 180 countries for corruption

-The country is on an upswing after the dark days during the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979), when an estimated two million people were killed by Pol Pot and his regime. 

We’re looking forward to learning more about Cambodia, and can’t wait to visit Angkor Wat, considered by many to be the eighth wonder of the world.

Goodbye Laos!

The communist flag flew everywhere in Laos

“The Vietnamese plant the rice, the Cambodians watch the rice, and the Lao listen to the rice grow.”  

This is a saying I heard quite a bit before we even arrived in Laos.  It is attributed to the French during colonial times, which tells me Laos hasn't changed much since then. Life did seem to slow down considerably during our stay here, and in some ways it felt like we went back in time.  If nothing else, it feels like we've been living on a farm for the last month (just starting to get used to the roosters waking us up at 4am everyday :)!  With the exception of Vientiane, we saw farm animals everywhere we went.  They were wandering on highways and in towns, or cooling off in the river, or grazing in dry rice paddies.  I’ve never seen so many cows, chickens, pigs, and water buffalo in my life – and they just run loose all over the place.  I have no idea how the Lao know who owns what.  And the gardens – they were everywhere too!  Every riverbank had a garden plot on it.  I have no doubt that all the local items we ate were fresh and organic.  If a catastrophe were to happen to the world, the Lao folks would fare better than I, as I wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to make my own shelter or grow my own food.  Life without electricity would be no big deal to them. 

Free range chicken begging for scraps

Even so, I think just about everyone had a cell phone.  No matter how off the beaten path we thought we were, a cell phone would make an appearance.  At least we didn’t see any Starbucks coffee shops or McDonald’s restaurants.  We heard there was a KFC in Vientiane, although we never saw it.  We enjoyed the Lao food, although I have to admit it didn’t stand a chance against the Thai food.  We tried some fruit that was new to us that no one knew the English name for, which was fun.  We also saw some foods that were very different (that we didn’t try)– like steamed bats, furry bellies and all!  Frog kebabs, gecko kebabs, baby chick kebabs, and sparrow kebabs were also popular. 

One area that could use some attention here is the garbage.  Garbage was everywhere, with mini-landfills in every little ravine we saw.  When we got off the slow boat in Luang Prabang, the boat “steward” went through the boat after we all disembarked and promptly threw everything left on the boat into the river.  Bottles, wrappers, pillows – all of it went overboard!  While in southern Laos we saw kids swimming in the river, using a Styrofoam block to float on.  Daron and I both wondered how far it had traveled on the river before the kids found it. 

Lone water buffalo wandering through town

We always enjoyed seeing the kiddos.  They would wave at us and say “sabaidee" (hello). Overall the Lao folks were friendly, in a quiet and reserved way, although not as friendly as we had read they would be.  Even so, it was a nice change after coming from Thailand where the touts were always trying to get our attention.  Laos was a breath of fresh air after all that.  And speaking of fresh air, there wasn’t as much as we would’ve liked.  Slash and burn agriculture is the norm - we saw lots of blackened areas, as well as still smoldering ones as we traveled the country.  A day didn’t go by that we didn’t smell smoke.  Sometimes the areas they would burn weren’t even farming areas.  It made me wonder if they just had a fascination with burning land. 

Hmmmm....

One thing Laos has going for it is its forests.  Unmanaged vegetation covers 85% of the country.  These areas support wild elephants, jackals, bears, leopards, and tigers.  Hopefully that won’t change anytime soon, although illegal logging is an issue.  China has become Laos’ new best friend, and is a major purchaser of Laos’ timber.  Vietnam is also a big customer.  Outwardly, the Laos government has taken a hardline approach to mass logging in order to preserve its forests – it’s the corrupt military and local officials who are prone to taking bribes to allow illegal logging.  Laos is in a precarious position:  caught between preserving one of Southeast Asia’s richest ecosystems and its need to financially support itself in order to pull out of its current status as one of the world’s 20 poorest nations.  Education has improved, with 85 percent attending school, although many drop out by secondary school as the planting and harvesting of crops is seen as more important.  Health care is another area that could use some help.  Many children are malnourished, especially in the northern highlands.  Even our guidebook said that if we needed anything medically, to head to Bangkok straightaway.  Sure does make me grateful for what we have in the USA, despite all our current issues with healthcare.

'Nuf said

My favorite place here was Luang Prabang, and I would highly recommend it for anyone wanting a taste of Laos (although the rollercoaster bus ride there leaves a lot to be desired!).  Our favorite thing to do was to sip a BeerLao (such good beer!) at a restaurant along the river and hang out for hours watching the world go by.  There’s no rush to turn over tables in this country’s restaurants; a person can sit as long as they want, and might even have to wake up the server to get the bill!  The Lao are masters at creating comfy, kickback places for lounging.  The slower pace was addicting and very easy to get used to.  We enjoyed the time we spent exploring Laos and extend a fond farewell to the Land of a Thousand Elephants.  

Don Det, Laos

Riverside restaurant on Don Kong Island

Don Det was our next destination, and is the smallest (and busiest) of the touristy islands in the Four Thousand Islands area.  We booked seats on a ten-person boat to take us from Don Khong to Don Det, which would take about an hour and half.  We were enjoying the scenery at the beginning of the boat trip when all of a sudden the boat wobbled so hard to one side I thought for sure we were going to tip over!  A bunch of us were holding our breath, and let out a big collective sigh when the boat stayed upright.  I looked back at our “skipper” and he wasn’t even fazed.  After that, I had no confidence in our boat, and unfortunately it continued to wobble the entire way.  Throughout the rest of our trip Daron and I talked about which point would be the best to swim to if the boat tipped.  Alas, all our planning was for naught, as we made it to the island safely.

Daron walking the loop around Don Det

It was two million degrees when we landed on Don Det (ok, maybe not, but it sure felt like it!).  There are no cars on the island, which is nice.  We spent some time looking for accommodation and all we could find were ramshackle little bungalows that looked like they were about to fall into the water, with bedsheets that had never seen the inside of a washing machine.  We were so hot and frustrated that we ended up splurging on our most expensive room yet in Laos, at $28/night.  It was well worth it as it had air conditioning and was spotless.  It was run by a Belgian guy who was quite a character too. To me the island felt mostly rundown - almost like since they were guaranteed a steady stream of tourists, no one needed to put any money into improving their business.  This was yet another place with happy shakes and happy pizza, so maybe that contributed to the lack of improvements.  Despite my initial misgivings, we did find pockets of goodness on the island – a couple of very good restaurants and some nice-looking bungalows on the far side.  Another plus was the amazing sunsets we saw every evening over the Mekong. 

Wilbur!

We rode bikes a couple of times during our stay there – one time around the loop on Don Det, which took about an hour.  The local community was interspersed throughout the tourist guesthouses and restaurants – we saw lots of local huts, gardens, rice paddies, and farm animals (chickens, cows, pigs, etc.).  We even had a favorite pig we visited every time we traveled in his direction – I named him Wilbur after the pig in Charlotte’s Web. :)  As we rode through the local areas, the children would smile and wave at us, sometimes even saying "hello!"  They were very cute. We rode bikes to the neighboring tourist island, Don Kong (not to be confused with Don Khong, where we stayed with Mali).  The bridge to cross over cost $2.50 per day, which kept down the number of people traveling between the two islands.  Don Kong was much larger than Don Det - we spent the better part of a day exploring it.  After the long bike ride a dip in the Mekong was necessary, just to cool off.  We wore our swimsuits into the water, as opposed to the Lao folks, who are very conservative - when they swim they go in with all their clothes on! 

Tourists on the "beach" while locals do their thing

After two nights in the expensive hotel we decided to stay in one a bit cheaper (but not the cheapie bungalows about to fall into the water) and found one for $10, a bit on the high end for this island, but it seemed nice enough.  Our first night in the new place Daron decided to take a shower and was surprised when muddy water came out of the showerhead.  Ugh!  It eventually cleared up, but made us think that the water was probably coming straight out of the Mekong.  Upon closer inspection of the bathroom, I could see that it wasn’t as clean as we originally thought, which in turn made me wonder about the sheets, if they’d been washed before our arrival (my guess is no).  I suppose if you had to hand wash your sheets in the Mekong (very labor intensive), you would only do it when necessary - very different standards from the Western world. This area is very rustic and rural - Don Det got 24 hour electricity only last year; before that it was similar to Muong Ngoi where they only had it a few hours a day. 

Daron in the Mekong

On the morning we were scheduled to leave the island we went to turn on the water in the sink only to find it had been turned off!  We had no water in the bathroom at all.  The language barrier makes these situations tricky, as most of the time the locals don't know what the heck we're saying - we feel lucky (and surprised) if we come across someone who speaks fairly good English.  Luckily we had some bottled water for brushing our teeth, washing our faces, and for a small birdbath.  I think we were both ready to leave our island getaway at that point.  We took a boat across the Mekong to the mainland where we filled out our paperwork for our Cambodia visas, then hopped on the bus to take us to our next Southeast Asia country.  Cambodia, here we come!   

Don Khong Island, Laos

Local fisherman amongst a few of the 4,000 islands

Our next stop after Champasek was an area called Four Thousand Islands.  This is where the Mekong River is at its widest, as much as 14 kilometers wide, with tons of islands interspersed throughout.  Our guidebook describes it as “a labyrinth of islets, rocks, and sandbars,” and that is exactly what it is.  This labyrinth has kept the Lao folks who live down here fairly isolated, which means their way of life is pretty much the same now as it always has been.  Ninety five percent of the island families catch fish for a living.  This area is also home to the Irrawaddy dolphin, an endangered species of freshwater dolphin, with about twenty of them left in this area. There are also a couple of waterfalls here, which caused the French some consternation way back when, as they had hoped to use the Mekong as a trade route into China.    

The view from Mali's over the Mekong River

Only three of the islands are set up for tourists.  Don Khong, the largest island, was our first stop.  The Dutch ladies we met on the bus to Champasek recommended a guesthouse called Mali’s (they more than recommended, they raved about it), so after getting off the boat onto the island we didn’t even look at other guesthouses, we went straight there.  The owner of the guesthouse, Mali, and her husband Athalo, were both born and raised in Laos, but have lived in Canada for the last 30 odd years.  They spend half the year in Laos and the other half in Ottawa. They are retired, with nine children, and umpteen grandchildren, all of who live in Canada. 

Papaya salad, chicken laap, sticky rice - yum!

Mali and her husband were living in Vientiane when the communists took over the country in 1975.  After the takeover, members of the previous government as well as highly educated individuals were being sent to “re-education camps” where they got a good dose of brainwashing along with all the hard labor they could stand. At the time Athalo was a technician, having trained in the U.S., and as such was considered one of these educated individuals.  One day he must have felt things were dire, because he swam across the Mekong River to Thailand, where he lived in a refugee camp. It took him six months to get word to Mali that he was okay (she had no idea what had happened to him).  She left her children with her parents and joined Athalo at the refugee camp.  Once there, they applied to live in other countries, eventually choosing Canada.  Mali remembered the day she got off the plane in Canada in the middle of winter and saw snow for the first time.  Her first thought was “how are we going to grow anything?”  I find this interesting because it seems that all Lao people are farmers/gardeners; there are gardens everywhere!  They are very self- sufficient in this way.  She forced herself to learn English ASAP (she says you can do anything when your survival depends on it).  They sponsored each one of their kids to come over to Canada; eventually the entire family was back together.  Mali and Athalo spent the next 30 years working hard in Canada – she put all her kids through college without loans, which she is very proud of.  She is an excellent cook and taught cooking classes in Canada.  It wasn’t until 2002 that she came back to Laos to build her winter home. 

Lao dwelling over green rice paddies

It was great to talk to someone who has lived in both worlds. Lots of tourists ask her if the Lao people are very poor (I was going to ask her this myself!).  It depends on how you define poor, because the Lao people have enough.  They produce nearly everything they need themselves – food, clothing, housing, fishing gear, boats, etc.  What they cannot grow, they collect in nearby forests (hopefully without setting off any landmines).  Any extras they have are used to trade at the local markets for the things they cannot make themselves.  Mali says the Lao do not consider themselves poor.  I got that feeling myself, as they don’t seem needy at all – I would use the description “self-sufficient” instead.

Local market

Mali made some amazing meals for us while we were there, one of which we were able to help prepare!  That night we had spicy papaya salad as well as chicken laap (minced meat with spices) with sticky rice, with tapioca pudding for dessert.  Many people go to her guesthouse year after year; in fact, her other guest while we were there was a writer from France who stays with her for one month every year (she makes him dinner during his stay too). 

When we weren’t chit-chatting or cooking with Mali, we spent our time wandering around the sleepy island town.  One morning we rented bikes and rode the southern part of the island, passing miles of green rice paddies until we reached a very busy local market.  This was the most local market we’d seen, with all kinds of meats, fish, and veggies for sale - we were the only tourists around.  We munched on Vietnamese spring rolls for 15 cents each, as well as these warm donuts with cream inside, also only 15 cents (so yummy!).   Any spare time we had during the day was spent lying under the air conditioner in our room because it was so freaking hot! 

Our stay with Mali was a highlight of our time in Laos - such fabulous hospitality, as well as a good source of knowledge about the Lao people.  After we left, there were so many other things I wished I’d asked her.   It will have to wait until the next time we return – after all, Mali said she would pick us up from Pakse when we came back, so we wouldn’t have to take the local bus!  :) 

Off the Beaten Path

Hi Everybody!

It's been a while since my last posting - the internet here in Laos has been iffy at best.  All is well - we're getting ready to cross the border into Cambodia where hopefully it will be a bit better (keeping my fingers crossed!).  I promise to catch you all up on our adventures soon!

Much love,

Beth & Daron

Champasek, Laos

Daron on the bus

The sleeping bus dropped us off in Pakse, the commercial and transportation hub of southern Laos.  We spent two days there before heading to Champasek, where we planned to see the ruins of Wat Phu.  Champasek is only 35 or so miles from Pakse, so we thought we would be adventurous and take the public bus.  We got a ride from our hotel to the bus station where we were semi-accosted by people wanting us to get on their bus.  They were pulling on our luggage before we could even pay for our ride over there!  I think the busses are basically private people with various- sized vehicles - I don’t think the busses are run by the government.  We went over (or were pulled over!) to the big bus that was heading to Champasek at 10am (it was 9:30 at the time).  We got on and noticed a few other farangs (foreigners) on the bus, as well as several Lao people.  Around 10am the bus driver got on the bus and started it up – I couldn’t believe that we were actually going to leave on time, unheard of in Laos!  But alas, false alarm, he let the motor run for about 30 seconds before cutting the engine and hopping out.  Meanwhile we chit-chatted with the other foreigners on our bus:  two women from the Netherlands, a couple from France, and a single guy from France.  Pretty soon it hit 11:00 and we still hadn’t moved.  Daron got off the bus and started looking for a tuk tuk driver that would take all of us – he was just about to close the deal when the bus driver very conveniently got on and started up the bus.  Oh well, we were all happy to finally be on our way!



Our bus driver (in blue) & his wife - tile shopping!



It wasn’t very far to our first stop, still in the town of Pakse – a tile shop of all places.  A woman on the bus got off, as well as our bus driver.  They spent a little time looking at tile samples together.  I figured the woman must be his wife.  Thankfully, they were quick and the bus was back in motion - that is until our next stop, which happened to be another tile place!  They got off again and looked at more tiles.  We were laughing about it on the bus, about how this could only happen in Laos, etc, just in a good mood that we were headed to our destination.  They got back on the bus and drove us to our next stop, which turned out to be the bus station from which we had just left!  We had just spent the last half hour driving in a circle!  At this point, all of us farangs are pissed off – it is noon now and some of us have been waiting over three hours!  Daron hopped up and told the driver to stop the bus, as we were all getting off.  All us foreigners are standing up at this point and I think he realized he was going to lose all of our fares so he kept driving.  Finally!  This time we really were on our way.  The locals on the bus were staring at us (no surprise there, it was quite the drama), although I like to think that they were secretly glad that we got the bus to move (I had seen quite a few of them looking at their watches).  It took a little less than an hour to get to Champasek, which is a small dusty town on the Mekong River. 

Entering the Wat Phu site

The young French couple had a recommendation for a guesthouse in Champasek so we followed them there, where we got our cheapest room in Laos so far, only $6.25.  Unfortunately, you get what you pay for.  At first glance it looked fine, but we discovered later it had major flaws.  Part of the bathroom floor didn’t drain (the entire bathroom is the shower) so there was a constant dirty puddle in the room (dirt that was already there, not from us).  Upon closer look I don’t think they ever cleaned the bathroom, which made me think they probably didn’t wash the sheets in our room either – ugh!  The rickety ceiling fan had only one speed – 100 miles an hour!  I spent the entire night waiting for it to fly off and around the room, cutting us into pieces.  If I had turned it off the room would have become our own personal sauna. Taking the chance of being sliced into bits seemed the lesser of two evils at the time. We shared the room with about five geckos, which thankfully stayed on the ceiling, eating whatever bugs they could find up there.  Needless to say, we moved to a much nicer guesthouse the next day, for a whopping $8.75 per night. It was spotless and gecko-free, although when I first stepped into the room a snake slithered by my foot!  By the time the owner and his assistant came to take care of the snake, it was coiled up on the bedside table, with his head held high, just looking around.  They chased it around the room and eventually killed it.  I have no idea what kind of snake it was (it was small and skinny), although the Lao folks seemed nervous enough around it.

The main temple at Wat Phu

In the midst of all the excitement with rooms and local wildlife, we managed to fit in a visit to Wat Phu, our main reason for coming to this area.  We rode bicycles the three miles from Champasek to the site, along the hot and dusty road.   Wat Phu did not disappoint.  The various ruins at the site date from the sixth to the twelfth centuries and are thought to have been built by the ancient Khmer, the same folks that built Angkor Wat in Cambodia, when their empire included this area of Laos.  Many of the sandstone carvings indicate that the ruins were once a Hindu place of worship, although it is currently associated with Theravada Buddhism, with lots of Buddha statues placed inside the main temple.  The site itself is quite scenic, as it is situated on a hill – we walked up several sets of steep stairways before reaching the main temple.  Blooming frangipani trees (which is Lao’s national flower) bordered both sides of the stairway.  The main temple had fabulous views of the surrounding area.  We spent some time wandering around the site, enjoying the view and the shade, before riding our bikes in the hot sun back to our reptile room. 

Champasek was by far the hottest place we’ve been to so far.  I’m not sure if it was the area itself or the fact that we’re getting into the “hot and dry” season.  We were absolutely melting the entire time in this area, although the locals told us it will get even hotter (if that’s possible!) next month.  Even so, the beautiful ruins made the hardships of this little excursion worthwhile.