Battambang, Cambodia & Bangkok, Thailand
March 25- April 1
***Apologies for my absence, we spent most of April back in Massachusetts at my sister's house taking care of fun things like taxes and figuring out our next steps before leaving on our current adventure. (More to come on that later) And now, back to our previous trip!***
Our last week in Southeast Asia was a blur of activity and travel. We were arriving home on April 1st, but before that we had two more nights in Cambodia, two nights in Bangkok, Thailand and two nights in Hong Kong, China! Three different countries in six days might have scared us six months ago, but by now we were getting pretty used to the chaos. We were sad to leave the incredible temples at Angkor, but at least we had experienced them. We are so grateful to have been there, knowing that most people will never even get to see them in their lifetime. Those were days we will never forget!
We finished up our tour of the Angkor complex on the morning of March 25th and headed back into Siem Reap. There was one more activity planned for Siem Reap and we all signed up for it because it sounded so neat. We boarded the Intrepid bus and drove about 45 minutes to a dock area where we then boarded a boat to see the "Floating Village" of Kampong Kleang. If you are ever in Cambodia, please take a pass on this trip! Basically we took a converted fishing boat up a river to where the houseboats float in the water. We came out into the bay where we stopped at a little market area. Sadly, once you arrive there the whole floating market is surrounded by these women rowing tiny little boats with their toddlers beside them, begging for money.
On the way out to the floating village
The floating village from a distance
We were used to begging by now and normally I have sympathy for the people we encounter but this was a whole different situation. As we looked out at the boats we quickly realized that all the toddlers were carrying giant live snakes around their necks! The purpose, we learned, was to get tourists to take pictures and then yell at them to pay for the pictures. (I never had any intention of taking a picture, trust me.) It was an absolutely horrifying situation made worse by the fact that we were stuck on the market boat until it was time to go. Of all the things we did on the trip, this was the only one I would truly like to forget. (As an aside, I did give Intrepid the feedback that they should discontinue this activity).
When we got back that evening we all met up with Sareth for our last night in Siem Reap. Thank god he had planned an upbeat dinner because everyone was pretty down on the afternoon's events. That night he took us to a giant theatre where they had a buffet of Cambodian food and traditional Apsara dancers doing a stage show. The food was really good, even for a buffet, and the music and dancing were lovely. It was all quite touristy, but it was bright and pretty and after a few beers the visions of babies and snakes had finally started to fade.
The Apsara dancing at the dinner show
The next morning it time to get back on the bus again. The last overnight stop in Cambodia was it's second biggest city, Battambang. As with most of our long bus rides, the ride was broken up with interesting stops. That day's stops included an NGO (Non-governmental organization) for displaced families and a Silk Farm that showed us the process of making real silk from start to finish.
The NGO that day was Ptea Teuk Dong, a center for street families a few hours outside Siem Reap. We started our visit with one of the best lunches of the trip, all prepared by the women staying at the shelter. The most delicious part was the Tom Yum Soup, a hot and sour soup that is a specialty of this area. There were also plates of vegetables and chicken with ginger and lemongrass, a beef dish and of course, white rice. It was all served family style and we ate practically everything on the table. Then we took a tour of the facilities, stopping in at the school to see where all the children have their lessons. The kids were warm and friendly and I couldn't help but think how lucky they were to have this place, having seen some of the alternative options.
The wonderful lunch at the NGO
One of the kids at the Ptea Teuk Dong. He was so cute with his little backpack
Shaun got involved in a game of chinese jumprope with the kids
At the Angkor Silk Farm, we walked through the stages of the silk making process, starting back when the silk worm spins it's cocoon, through the extraction of the silk threads, the dying and looming of the silk and all the way to when the fabrics are created. Angkor Silk Farm is part of Artisans of Angkor, a non-profit that teaches young men and women these skills so they can make a living and keep tradition alive at the same time. I did my part by purchasing some beautiful things in the gift shop!
The silkworms at work
The women boiling the silk cocoons and pulling the threads
The women making silk at the looms
Finally, we arrived in Battambang. The day was still young so there was an optional activity of a countryside tour and a ride on the "Bamboo Train". The countryside tour could either be done by motorbike or Tuk Tuk. I had my fill of the motorbike ride in Vietnam so I chose the Tuk Tuk along with Shaun and some others. The ride was fun, just cruising along through the streets of Battambang. We even saw a wedding along the route! We stopped twice, once to see a family making rice paper and a second time to buy some sticky rice in bamboo from a woman who makes it herself. Finally, after about an hour we arrived at the "train station" for the bamboo train.
Cyclos for some of the group, Tuk Tuk for us
Sareth enjoying the sticky rice
I must say, this was one of the more frightening and probably most unsafe activities of the trip, but it was also quite fun! Basically the French had built two main train lines back in the 1940's and they are all but abandoned now. So some ingenious young Cambodian men decided to make use of the train tracks by building their own "bamboo trains". They are literally just slats of bamboo covering a 3 meter frame with a small 6hp recycled motorcycle gasoline engine at the back. For comfort they put down a dried grass matt over the bamboo. We boarded the "trains", 4 people to a train, and we were off! As soon as we started moving I was so happy Aidan and Shaun had the foresight to buy beer. Pam and I were at the front, with nothing to hold on to as we barreled down these rickety old railroad tracks. They say they can't go faster than about 25 miles an hour but it sure felt faster! (Maybe it was the fact that the tracks were warped and even had gaps in them in some places!) We flew along for about 1/2 hour until we came to a bridge where we settled in to watch the sunset over the river. Then it was back to the station and back to Battambang for dinner and an early night.
Alex and my new little buddy
Yep, those are the bamboo trains
Pam, Nikita and Aidan hanging out on the "train"
Shaun and I enjoying our last sunset in Cambodia
The next morning we had to travel all day to get to Bangkok, so we met in the lobby early with all of our stuff and boarded the bus. This time there were no special stops, just a lot of "hurry up and wait". First we drove three hours to the Cambodian border, where we were dropped off by our bus at Cambodian customs. They had some locals there to bring our big bags across so everything was loaded onto carts and away it went. (Yeah, that made me pretty nervous). In the meantime, we walked over to the office and went through customs to exit the country. Then we walked down the street to the border of Thailand where we went through the whole thing again to get into Thailand. From there we grabbed a quick lunch and some snacks and boarded a new bus for the four and a half hour trip to Bangkok.
Crossing the border from Cambodia to Thailand
By the time we arrived in Bangkok everyone was pretty wiped out so we were happy that Sareth had picked a restaurant right near the hotel. Everyone checked into their rooms, showered up and met back downstairs for our dinner a few hours later. Shaun and I were staying one more night in Bangkok on our own, but for most of the group this was their last night of the tour. So we headed off to dinner with all 13 of us in tow.
Dinner was great and everyone was feeling revived after having some food and a few beers, so we headed out to the streets of Bangkok to check it out. The first stop was right down the street at a little bar where a guy was playing acoustic guitar and singing. At first it was just Shaun, Nikita, Aidan, Pam and me. The bar was packed but there was one guy sitting alone so we asked if we could join him. His name was Eddie and he ended up being really nice and interesting and fun. We were soon joined by Sarah, Cal and Karen and we had a grand old time. After the music ended Nikita, Pam, Aidan, Shaun and I decided that since it was their last night we should soldier on. We took a little walk up Khao San Road nearby and found a place for a few more beers and laughed away a few more moments in Southeast Asia.
Shaun and Aidan at dinner
The whole crew having drinks after dinner, along with our new friend Eddie
Shaun and I called it quits first. We said our goodbyes to Nikita who was leaving early in the morning. Then we said goodnight to Pam and Aidan, but made plans to try to meet up for lunch. It was awfully sad to say goodbye to these folks. We had such a good time traveling together and that is saying something considering the length of the trip! Finally Shaun and I wandered back to our hotel and fell asleep, knowing that the next day's itinerary was ours for the first time in three weeks.
So here's what happens when you are left to your own devices in a strange city after months of travel and a big night of goodbye drinks with new/old friends. Not much. But honestly, I don't feel guilty at all. Bangkok is one of those cities that I never had much interest in visiting, mainly because of what I've always perceived to be a lax approach to the sex trade that is so prevalent. Plus it was crazy hot, with temps in the mid-nineties and the kind of oppressive humidity that made you feel sticky and gross within moments of stepping outside. So I spent much of that first morning there catching up on my blog and then Shaun and I met Pam and Aidan for lunch before they left for the airport.
That afternoon, we took a Tuk-Tuk out to Wat Pho, a buddhist temple just outside the city of Bangkok. The temple is particularly known for the Reclining Buddha, a huge Buddha statue housed inside one of the temples onsite. Beyond the Reclining Buddha, Wat Pho was absolutely filled with beautiful pagodas, temples and statues. As the afternoon drew to a close we had the place pretty much to ourselves. Soon the sun began to set over the brightly colored tile pagodas, giving the whole place a dreamlike appearance.
The reclining Buddah
Scenes from around the grounds of Wat Pho
After leaving Wat Pho, we realized we were pretty close to the river, so we walked around a bit until we came to a little park with a pretty view across the river of Wat Arun, also known as the Temple of Dawn. We hung out until it started getting dark and then grabbed a Tuk-Tuk back to the hotel. Later that evening we went shopping for some souvenirs on Khao San Road before grabbing some dinner and heading back to the hotel. I'm glad we made it to Thailand and got to experience Bangkok, but I was also OK with the fact that we were leaving, especially because we were both super excited for our last stop- Hong Kong!
Last sunset in Thailand over Wat Pho
So that night we went online to book our hotel for the next two nights in Hong Kong. After weeks of oppressive heat, questionable hygiene and strange bathroom facilities we were both in agreement that we needed some luxury. Between booking.com, Kayak and Trip Advisor, we found a place called the Hotel Icon. The hotel was run in conjunction with a local university's hospitality program and it got absolutely stellar reviews, especially for the things we wanted. It was right in Kowloon and overlooked Hong Kong Harbour. It was close to interesting places and could easily be reached by public transportation. It had a 5 start rating, which made it expensive, but of course, there was a last minute special. We used every last American express point I had to book two nights there and we only had to pony up another sixty dollars to complete the reservation.
So we went to sleep one last night in our spartan room in Bangkok, took one last shower in the musty bathroom of our hotel and grabbed an early morning Taxi for what we assumed would be a nice uneventful ride Bangkok airport. Let me just tell you, I will never forget that drive. The driver seemed like a sweet guy when he picked us up and dropped us off but he was completely insane. The whole way he was doing almost double the speed limit- weaving in and out of traffic and taking corners like we were in a Nascar Race. I was too scared to say anything, but man, I was going to be pissed if we got killed before the 5 star hotel in Hong Kong!! Luckily we arrived at the airport safe and sound, and in record time I'm sure!
The flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong was uneventful and we were soon taking our first steps in China. Actually, Hong Kong is just barely China. Since the handover from the UK in 1997 Hong Kong has been considered a SAR (Special Administrative Region). Because of it's status as a SAR, it is almost completely autonomous and there is none of the red tape involved with visiting mainland China. In fact, we didn't even need a visa to go to Hong Kong, which was impressive considering the fact that we at least needed an electronic visa to go to Australia!
Actually, everything about Hong Kong was easy. We landed at around 2:30, went through immigration and customs, found the Airport Express train that goes to Kowloon Station, grabbed the Hotel Shuttle from Kowloon Station and we were checked in to our room at the Hotel Icon by 4:15PM.
And oh, what a wonderful room it was!!! Never mind the fact that it was on the 19th floor overlooking beautiful Victoria Harbor. Never mind the big comfy bed, the cable TV with free movies in English and the FREE mini bar with all the soda, water and M&M's (plain or peanut) you could drink/eat. What brought me the greatest joy was the bathroom. It had a big rain shower, fluffy white robes, comfy slippers and an assortment of wonderful toiletries that were perfect for cleaning off weeks of grime from budget travel. But the best was the tub. It was one of those wonderful, deep soaking tubs that just begs you to take a bubble bath. I started running the water within about two minutes of our arrival in the room.
Our fabulous room overlooking the Harbor and the sign for the mini bar below
To be frank, I took about five showers and two baths in the 48 hours we spent in Hong Kong. Environment be damned, I was sparkly, shiny clean!! It's amazing how wonderful that feels when it has been a luxury for so long. Even the same old clothes that had been in my backpack for ten weeks felt fresher and more presentable somehow. It all got me thinking about how different my life was now compared to my "old life". I have never been a slave to fashion, but in my job I had to present myself professionally, which always meant a morning regimen of a shower, hair drying, make-up and dressing in something that often included heels. These days I showered when we could, I often went days without make-up and I had not worn anything resembling a heel in months. And no, I am not saying that one way or another is the better way to live your life. I loved feeling clean and shiny in Hong Kong and wished a little that I had something pretty to put on to match my shiny self. But I think most people could benefit from a few weeks sabbatical from the constant cleaning and drying and primping that make up this American life.
Our time in Hong Kong was wonderful, partially because we were on nobody's schedule but our own. The first afternoon we just walked around locally until we got hungry and then found a little place for sushi for dinner. By the time we finished it was getting dark and we had a romantic evening planned so we found a little grocery store and bought a bottle of red wine and headed back to the hotel. At 8:30 sharp every night in Victoria Harbor they have something called the Symphony of Lights where more than 40 buildings on either side of the Harbor light up in an amazing coordinated light show. So we poured a glass of wine and sat by the window of our 19th floor room together and watched Hong Kong light up. Amazing.
The fabulous light show from our room
We spent the next morning wandering the flower market, the fish market and the bird market. As always, it proved to be a really interesting way to see how the locals live and shop. The flower market was my favorite, with all the gorgeous white orchids that were busting with shades of pink and purple up the middle. Then we walked down by the harbor and through the streets of Hong Kong taking in all the sights and smells of the city.
Oh, the orchids!!
For dinner that night we went to a place that specialized in Peking Duck, one of our favorite dishes. The whole experience was fabulous. We had made a reservation at a place called Spring Deer that got great local reviews so when we walked in and the host asked us if we had a reservation, we said yes. He turned around and grabbed a place setting that said O'Brien and asked if that was us. We were amazed! We said yes, we were the O'Briens and he brought us to our table where we ordered the Peking duck, still marveling at his powers of deduction. It took a few minutes before we looked around the room and realized we were the only people in the room who could possibly have been the O'Briens! I love when that happens because it usually means you're getting the real thing, not a touristy version of local food. The dinner was absolutely delicious; the duck was perfectly cooked, the sauce was salty and sweet and the pancakes were warm and delicate. Oh joy!
Yummy Peking Duck!!
Our last day in Hong Kong was busy but fun. We slept in, showered up, packed our bags and brought them down to the concierge to hold. Our flight wasn't until almost 11pm so we had a whole day to kill. First up was lunch with Joe Fernandez. Joe Fernandez is a an old college friend of my brother in law Joe and was a groomsman in Joe and Sheila's wedding fifteen years ago. That was the first and only time I met Joe before this. These days Joe lives in Hong Kong where he founded an incredible company called Trade Without Borders that seeks to extend global trading services to extending regions of the world. (Something Shaun and I can attest would do so much good in these places!) That's the wonderful thing about travel. Sometimes you meet perfect strangers who become friends. Sometimes you have friends or family who have friends or family of their own in these wonderful places and set you up with an e-mail address or phone number to get you started. We contacted Joe and he suggested meeting up for Dim Sum. We were in!
Lunch with Joe
Lunch was wonderful, just the perfect ending to our Hong Kong visit. Joe ordered all sorts of local specialties and Shaun and I of course, tried and liked all of them. There were some more familiar things like Shu Mai and Pork Buns, but my favorite was the Steamed Soup Dumplings called Xiao Long Bao. How do I explain them? Think of the delicious ravioli they serve at Chinese restaurants, but instead of a ball of pork, substitute a fantastic savory chicken broth with a bit of meat as the filling. SO GOOD!! I could get into the science of making these, but I will spare you. Let's just say, if you can find a place that makes them, order them!! They are so worth it.
After we finished our fabulous lunch with Joe, we still had some time left before we needed to head to the airport so we hopped on a cruise of Victoria Harbor. The cruise lasted around 90 minutes and had narration that talked about all the architecture on the shores of Hong Kong. We didn't have to do anything but sit and listen, which was perfect for us at that point. When we finally docked late that afternoon, we headed back to the hotel to get ready to leave Hong Kong.
Scenes from our Harbor Cruise
One of the best things about ending our trip at the Hotel Icon was the special service they offered to guests who had late fights. Since many guests leave Hong Kong in the middle of the nigh, bound for destinations like San Francisco, they had a special lounge area where guests could relax while they waited to go to the airport. They also had a gym and rooftop pool with a luggage storage area so you could take a swim, shower and change into your most comfortable clothes for you long flight home, so that's what we did.
The lounge for late departure guests
Our last journey from Asia was a long one. We left Hong Kong at 10:45PM on the night of March 31st and arrived in San Francisco two hours earlier, at 8:45 that same night due to the time changes. And even though it was dark when we started and dark when we ended, our next flight from San Francisco to Washington DC was also a red-eye that same night. Finally we arrived in DC on the morning of April 1st and boarded our last flight to Providence, Rhode Island where my sister Maura picked us up for the one hour drive back to their house.
It was great to be home. We had lots to take care of having been away so long, but we did all those routine things happily, even our taxes. Shaun spent most of the month working for the Boston Athletic Association prepping for the marathon which helped to build up our funds a bit. We were tired and jet lagged, but ever conscious of the fact that we had now completed not one, but two journeys of a lifetime. In the last nine months we had been to three continents and eighteen countries. We had traveled by plane, boat, train, car, tram, tuk tuk, cyclo, bike and foot. We had slept in hotels, B&B's, hostels, trains, boats, homes and tents. We had found hundreds of ways to stretch our money and hundreds of other ways to spend it. We had definitely spent more than we wanted, but we had seen so much that neither of us had regrets, but we did need to make some decisions, so that was where we stood at the beginning of April.
Our choice ended up being pretty simple. We had budgeted a year to do this and we still had a few months left before that time was up. We had said all along that we would do a leg in South America if the budget allowed and beyond that we would love to do the National Parks of the US. When we considered the cost of flights, we both knew we couldn't afford to do South America right now. So we sat down and looked at the National Parks more closely. We already owned lots of camping equipment and the weather was perfect for camping in most places out west. We still had one car, so we didn't need a rental car. Gas prices were high, but most National parks charged less than $20 a night to camp and we would be cooking our own food instead of eating out, so those things would help to offset the fuel costs. The choice was made and we wasted no time once we had made the decision. We packed our bags up again and on Thursday, April 26th we pulled out of the driveway and headed West, determined to see as much of our own amazing country as we possibly could .
Farewell Hong Kong! Hello USA!
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