Mekong Mini's

Image by victoriapeckham via Flickr

The following is a short compendium of odds and ends that were not worthy of blog posts, yet somehow struck me as worthy of note.

• The tractor in Cambodia with the Nebraska plates.
• Durian fruit expressly forbidden in my Saigon Hotel
• The "no grenades" policy at my hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Perhaps they had a bad experience
• Trying to eat a whole crab swimming in sweet chili sauce in the shell with only chopsticks while respecting local dining customs
• Four people on one scooter, a relatively common sight
• Cambodia actually has a shopping channel
• The 60 year old mamsan who worked at my hotel in Siem Reap, calmly joining me at my table to roll a joint as I ate my breakfast
• The street vendor in Hanoi who proudly displayed the barbecued dogs head as he cut up the meat. I give him points for honesty, but no thanks, I had dog for breakfast. I drew the line at frog, or at least I hope I did.
  
• The "psychic" in Thailand who tried to hustle me by telling me I had a "funny face", causing a fellow traveler to laugh out loud as he passed by.
  

And lastly, this exchange with a girl of about ten, who was trying to sell me bracelets just outside Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

Girl: Do you want to buy my bracelets?
Me: No, thank you
Girl: Very nice gift for your wife!
Me: I don't have a wife
Girl: Then nice gift for your girlfriend!
Me:  I don't have a girlfriend
Girl:  Do you know why you don't have a wife or a girlfriend?
Me:  No, I don't
Girl: Because you don't buy my bracelets!

I simply could not argue with that kind of iron clad logic, and, of course I bought a bracelet.

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The Temples Of Siem Reap

Image by victoriapeckham via Flickr

It is impossible to truly convey the wonders that I have witnessed in the last two days. The temples around Siem Reap must be felt as much as seen.
The first visit is to Angkor Wat, the grandaddy of them all. Built in 1180 or thereabouts, it was once a canal city, home to tens of thousands.

In some spots the carvings on its walls and towers are so detailed and ornate, it is as if the each inch is trying to outdo the previous, in an unimaginable frenzy of miraculous detail. Yet there it is, the impossible fact of this place, undeniable to my own eyes.

The temples of Siem Reap rival the most monumental accomplishments by humans. The Pyramids. The Colisseum. Machu Picchu. The Great Wall. Angkor Wat.

My guide (Pov, pronounced Pow) and I visit several other temples over two days. One is a temple overrun by giant trees, whose roots have enveloped the temple, like a mother that cannot let go.

At one point Pov leads me into a small self contained chamber, sort of like a large chimney. He motions for me to stand in a specific spot and indicates that I should make a fist and bang it against my heart. I do so and am gobsmacked at the result.

A reverbation emanates from within me, creating a sound like a low octave gong that goes off for several seconds. My jaw drops and my knees buckle at the complexity of this acoustical magic. This is a moment that will not soon be forgotten.

Pov also shows me a spot where tree roots have enveloped a wall, but in a small gap between the roots a randomly placed carved face peeks out, as if the roots had purposefully grown around the face, so as not to obstruct its view.

The face seemed to wear a grin and had a twinkle in its eye that seemed to say "I know things that you'll never understand, and it is very funny to me".

Indeed we are standing on the shoulders of giants.

 http://www.goyestoeverything.com

Siem Reap

After checking into my hotel, I am both famished and exhausted. I am also still trying to get my head around the fact that I am in Cambodia.

Its about 4pm and I opt for sleep over sustinence, mostly because the bed is closer than the food. I wake up around 6:30pm, disoriented and with hair that would make Einstein smirk. It is dark out and I have no bearings. Tentatively, I head out into the night. There are streetlights here, but not one of them is operational.

The street is busy with an endless stream of scooters, motorbikes and tuk tuks, with the oddly rare car thrown in. I head down of the main roads, which is unpaved. The dust kicked up and lit by the scooters, produces a spooky and cloudy luminescence, through which I am trying to find my way.

I feel like I am in the opening scene of a movie that is not going to end well. It feels like a scooter riddled Asian version of Tombstone, Arizona.

In the light of day this locale is much less foreboding. I walk around the town and find a delightful array of restaurants, markets and stores. Siem Reap is unabashedly a tourist town, being the Gateway to Angkor Wat and the many other magnificent temple ruins in the area.

As I walk around, I hear the exact same refrain from every lady in front of each shop. Hello sir! You buy something sir? Feeling peckish, I opt for breakfast, giving in to the exhortation of a young lady. I am seated in a little patio, right by the entrance. As I quaff my coffee, a monk approaches carrying a pot.

After a moment, a lady from the cafe approaches with a Sprite, which she reverently passes to the monk with both hands. He then places it in the pot. The monk then offers a blessing, and I bow my head in some lame attempt to show reverence. Before I am finished my breakfast, the scene is repeated with a different monk.

I never saw that at The Detroit Eatery.

http://www.goyestoeverything.com

Crosstown Traffic

Welcome to Cambodia. please note the time change and set your watch back 112 years.

After finally getting a cab ride from the border to Siem Reap, I begin to get the sense that I am in a place very different from Thailand. The road is clogged with oxcarts, all manner of motorbikes and wagons piled absurdly high with goods and humans.

The driving experience here is also very different, and I begin to regret having paid extra to get the front seat. Protocol dictates that slower traffic keep right. This includes motorbikes,scooters, oxcarts, carts being pulled by people and uncarted oxen just out for a stroll.

All of this traffic takes a significant portion of the lane on each side, leaving cars and trucks the other 55% of the road to share. This results in driving down the centre line as being the norm, which is great fun until an oncoming car or truck approaches. Thats when the game of chicken begins as each driver leans on the horn, exhorting the other to pull over.

The first time this happens, I become acutely aware of my own mortality. I've had a good life with no regrets and if it ends here, so be it. Just let my Mom know that she shouldn't bother getting my body shipped home. A funeral pyre in front of Angkor Wat will suffice.

Of course I arrive safely in Siem Reap, and ensconce myself at the "No Problem Villa". As I head to my room I notice a sign in the hallway. No Drugs. No Guns. No Grenades.

I'm starting to like this place already.

http://www.goyestoeverything.com

From The Theoretical To The Real

So in a few weeks I am going to points unknown. Passport? check. Vaccines and meds? check. Plane ticket? check.

One month of my life soaking in as much of the human experience as I can.

From the bloated and fat sex tourists of Bangkok, to the magic of Angkor Wat, the despair of  the Killing Fields and S-21.  Saigon, Phnom Penh, Hanoi, Halong Bay and Hue and god knows what in between.

Its the adventure of a lifetime, and I am so blessed that the stars aligned to give me this opportunity. Hopefully, I'll find the right moment to give back along the journey.

http://goyestoeverything.com