Cambodia (Roadside pics)

Cambodia (Tonle Sap pics)

Cambodia (Angkor pics)

Cambodia (thoughts, Siem Reap pics)

Cambodia was sensory overload for me.  I loved every minute of it; to the point of almost being giddy.  I was even tempted to buy an "I (Heart) Cambodia" t-shirt just because, but my good taste kicked in and I passed, despite the tireless selling of the shopkeeper- a young girl who kept saying, "Only one dolla sir , only one dolla, one dolla, one dolla..."

 

I traveled everywhere by tuk-tuk - a cart with cushioned benches pulled along by a motorbike.  The hotel assigned a driver for my entire time there; his name was Twan - a gentle, happy-go-lucky kind of guy who puts his hands together and bows his head whenever he gets a tip.  He is 28 and we got along great. On the second day, I asked him a question about the land mine situation in Cambodia, for which the U.S. is partly responsible, and this is what he said: 

He grew up on a farm.  When he was 14, he was in the field when one of his cows stepped on a land mine.  The cow blew up, and then shrapnel also hit him, entering his stomach and leg. His mother took him to the hospital, and made a promise to the local monks that she would send him to live in a pagoda (Buddhist monastery) if he lived.  

Now, Twan wears leather, has long hair, and honks at every cute girl on a bicycle.  He's a G-rated, Cambodian player. Still, I was completely taken aback by this.  Twan, a former monk?  Yes, indeed.   When he finished telling me this story, he pulled up his shirt to show enormous scars across his stomach from the shrapnel.

You'll see a picture on this blog of Twan, eating a silk worm - something I stayed away from since it came out of a pot of Cambodian tap water.

Other memories: 

- Motorbikes everywhere.  Occasionally, there's a car.

- Siem Reap has 1 million people, 2 traffic lights, and zero stop signs; yet, all drivers and pedestrians figure it out.  No accident reports. 

- Frequent tributes to Angelina Jolie (given her adoption of a Cambodian kid and her filming "Tomb Raider" here).  There's an Angelina Jolie invented drink, cleverly called "Tomb Raider" and cafe called Angelina's.

- 1 motorbike = family of 4 with the baby riding shotgun

- Two kids living in a dilapidated water village speak in pitch-perfect English and show off their school work.

- The surprisingly very tasty restaurants in downtown Siem Reap, which also has a gay bar with a prominent rainbow flag in front. 

- Dusty, dirt roads are everywhere.

- Cows with leashes attached to the nearest tree graze by the side of the road.

- A 6 year-old salesman, who would've been at home in David Mamet's "Glengary Glen Ross," hawking bracelets outside a temple.  Here's an excerpt of our exchange: 

6 year-old: Bracelets?  4 for a dollar.

Me: No thank you

6 year-old: Bracelets? 4 for a dollar.  Look.  Only one dollar.

Me: No thank you

6 year-old: Why not?  Only one dollar, sir.  One dollar.  Four bracelets.  Sir.

Me: No thank you

6 year-old: Alright, make it 5.

- A double arm amputee joyfully screaming "Welcome" to passer-bys, encouraging them to stop and listen to his band - all maimed in some way by land mines.

- Children in the town of Kampong Phluk, running up to our tuk-tuk to wave and scream, "Hello!"

- Imagine shelves containing liter bottles of vegetable oil sitting roadside.  That's what a typical gas station in Siem Reap looks like.

- A tiny Cambodian woman in an outdoor food market squatting over eels with an enormous butcher knife.  Surrounding her is a combination of the beautiful (fresh fruit, veggies) and the grotesque (dried fish hanging from a string, bloody chicken on the floor).

- Eating amok for lunch - a local dish consisting of chicken, veggies and curry, all cooked in a coconut.

- Watching the sun rise at 5:30am over the fantastically beautiful Angkor Wat... and, then proceeding to overdose on Hindu and Buddhist folklore for the next 8 hours.  Go ahead, ask me about Rama and the monkey king.

...and the list could go on forever, but for now, I hope these pictures will do.

  

 

Macau

While in Hong Kong, I took a day trip with my two travel buddies - Anand and Bianca - to the island of Macau (the "Vegas of the East").  

It's an old Portuguese colony - and many of the signs are still written both in Portuguese and Chinese.  We spent a fast and furious 3 hours roaming around the colonial ruins as well as the casinos.

Overall, I'm glad I went, but Macau isn't much to write home about...so I'll stop now.

National Museum of Singapore

This banner blankets the front of the museum.  In case you can't make out the subject, it's Brad Pitt, shirtless, in white boxers...in the rain.

And who said Singapore wasn't a gay-friendly country?

Homesick and a Little Bellysick in Hong Kong

Flew to Hong Kong this past weekend - traveled with two co-workers. Reminded me a lot of NYC with its frantic energy, old buildings, and diverse people. Walking around the city made me sort of homesick.

Here is a random listing of common sights/observations:
- The air-conditioning in Hong Kong is out of control.
- The Indian tailors have an eye for me. Got harassed for tailored suits repeatedly. Could see them coming from a mile away and what you would think would be annoying turns out to be amusing after a while.
- Local teenage girls love knee-high boots.
- Chinese men like to spit.
- People say the Americans are loud, and that's true. But we got nothing on the Chinese.
- When you're tired of local food giving you diarrhea, just visit McDonald's. There's one on every block.
- It's because of that last point that McDonald's now has a place in my heart.
- Something about the police in Asia scares me. In NYC, the police hang out and drink coffee, while posing for the occasional picture with a tourist. In Asia, the police just seem to pace and look, quietly.
- Print ads everywhere for breast enlargements at local "bust centers for women."
- A simple, easy-to-use subway system makes me finally empathize with all the foreigners who come to NYC and get utterly lost and confused.
- The jumbo-tron in the local Times Square switches to Obama's first press conference as President Elect and tons of people stop to pay attention.
- The old lady behind the counter at 7-Eleven and I have the following conversation:
Old Lady: Where are you from?
Me: The States
Old Lady: You like Obama?
Me: I love him.
Old Lady: Me too.
- The geography of the city is utterly amazing. Over 100 islands make up Hong Kong, and the mountains are beautiful. High-rise apartments are everywhere.
- That being said, 8 out of 10 apartment buildings look like utter slums. And some of those slums rest above polished high-end retailers like Vivienne Westwood - a very strange dichotomy.
- A 35 min. cable car ride amongst the mountains of Landau Island ends with the revealing of the largest seated bronze Buddha in the world. It sits on a hilltop, hidden by the surrounding landscape and when you're high-up in the cable car and it suddenly appears, the sight is absolutely gorgeous and humbling.