Well, continuing our streak of picking the best days to do outdoor activities, we woke up on the day of our Mekong Delta boat trip to pouring rain. It lasted the whole busride out to the Delta, but once we got on a boat it calmed down a bit, and it was all pretty cool. At what muct be one of its widest points, the Mekong was huge, brown, and full of life. People live right on the river, and we went to a floating market where you could haggle for bananas, bread, or even old boats. It was all really cool, even in the damp weather, and we even managed to make some friends (I know, pretty cool huh?). Just as Asia had told us, all but one of the Americans we have met have been from San Francisco, and on our delta tour we met one more, Daniel. He had a pretty swollen ankle, but still hobbled along through our walks on the islands and confusing transportation changeovers, and we shared an exotic looking lunch - a whole fried "elephant ear" fish. It came out on a stand, so it was vertical (pictures pending), and we cut off chunks and rolled them up with greens and cucumbers into spring rolls. I was lucky enough to have a "Sars" soda (picture pending), and we thoroughly enjoyed our Mekong specialty. Rainy weather cancelled our trip to the Coconut Candy factory, which we later heard was a bit of a yawn, and so we left by bus/ferry/bus to reach our overnite destination, Chau Doc. Petty much a border town, we saw little of it, but had a great nite on a floating hotel, right on the Mekong. The other people from our tour all went there too, so we just relaxed and chatted until an economic development and globalization debate broke out between a canadian and a german from london. It wasn't looking like it would end, so Jess and I turned in for the night.
The next day we got on the "fast boat" we had been told so much about by the tour company, and found out that it wasnt exactly lightning on the water. We stopped to see a fish farm, which wasn't incredibly exciting, and then a Cham village. The Cham are an ethnic minotrity that live mainly in the MEkong Delta, and are mainly muslim. As such, we went to a mosque and a madrasah, and it definately seemed wierd to hear arabic in vietnam. Their village was interesting also, built hanging out over the river along a small island. We got back on the boat and headed for the Cambodian border, and after some interesting (unfair) money exchanges right on the boat, paid our guide for our visas, which he set up while we waited at a border station. Cambodia seemed to be hotter even 100 feet away from Vietnam, but out language skills are marginally better here, so I was able to get a grin out of the customs agent when i greeted him (Sua sdei) and thanked him (au khon tran) in Khmer. There were a ton of puppies running around, so Jess was happye even in the heat, and we were soon on a new, slightly faster, Cambodian boat for the rest of the trip to Phnom Penh. The scenery was spectacular along the river - lush green fields and dense jungles broken by riverbank villages every so often. The best part though, was the people on the banks. Every time we passed children, they lit up with ear to ear smiles and waved like their arms would fall off, so happy just to see people go by. It really made everyone forget about the difficulties in the travel to that point, and made for a great hour and a half on the boat.
We landed, took a short bus ride, and were dropped smack dab in the middle of zany, dusty Phnom Penh. Motor scooters and tuk-tuks honking constantly, the traffic is as stifling as the noon heat, and really takes some patience. Aside from that, Phnom Penh has its charms, beautiful wats along the river and friendly people, but is truly a city of stark contrasts. We spent a rainy morning visiting the Choeng Ek "killing fields" - site of mass graves and executions perpetrated by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge from 1976-79, and then S-21, a former highschool turned detention/torture/interrogation center. Words cannot describe the utter horror the Khmer Rouge created, killing anyone they feared may have opposed or hindered their agrarian revolution, even displaced peasants forced into the capitol city were executed en masse for being city dwelling elite. Anyone with eyeglasses, advanced education, or a foreign upbringing was deemed a danger to the state, and in the 4 year span of Khmer Rouge control 1/4 of the population of Cambodia had been killed by an army made up mainly of branwashed adolescents. Searching for a "why" while walking through the sites of such atrocities is truly staggering, and Jess and I barely spoke that morning. Sorry for the downer, but the truth must be told, especially to Americans, as I personally never heard anything about this in any school.
Needing a change, Jess and I headed south for the beach town of Sihanoukville. A fun if strange town, it seemed more like San Diego than asia, with bar/grills right on the sand and almost all tourists. The beach was beutiful though, so we spent a day doing what we set out to do - absolutely nothing. We lounged, we swam, we ate fresh grilled barracuda, and we stayed no more than 50 feet from the waves. After a two day mini vacation from the real asia, we came back to Phnom Penh today and went out for a big late lunch. We went to Friends, a restaurant run by an NGO that offers job training to street children and former juvenile delinquints, and everything was great. Sadly, after enjoying our leisurely meal, we were just barely too late to go tour the Royal Palace, but still snuck some nice shots of the wats and pagodas from outside the walls. We settled for a stroll along the river, complete with an elephant sighting and a drink at the Foreign Correspondents' Club, a relic of a bygone era still busy with travelling journalists and plain olde' travellers like ourselves. Now exhausted, we are looking forward to a quiet evening before hitting the road tomorrow for the Rattanakiri province, near the Lao border. We are getting on a bus at 7am, and the lady at the travel agency didnt even offer a guess as to when we'd arrive. After seeing cambodian roads at their finest, we are not expecting a smooth ride. But hey, the reward is in the journey right? Well, something like that. INternet could be sparse or non existant until we hit Pakse, in southern Laos, but i know you will survive without us for a few days. Read the paper, there must be news with the election, world series and Don Nelson's contract extension all happening at once. Well, that was quite a post, hope you liked it, and (I've never been able to say this before), we'll contact you from Laos.
Dave
The next day we got on the "fast boat" we had been told so much about by the tour company, and found out that it wasnt exactly lightning on the water. We stopped to see a fish farm, which wasn't incredibly exciting, and then a Cham village. The Cham are an ethnic minotrity that live mainly in the MEkong Delta, and are mainly muslim. As such, we went to a mosque and a madrasah, and it definately seemed wierd to hear arabic in vietnam. Their village was interesting also, built hanging out over the river along a small island. We got back on the boat and headed for the Cambodian border, and after some interesting (unfair) money exchanges right on the boat, paid our guide for our visas, which he set up while we waited at a border station. Cambodia seemed to be hotter even 100 feet away from Vietnam, but out language skills are marginally better here, so I was able to get a grin out of the customs agent when i greeted him (Sua sdei) and thanked him (au khon tran) in Khmer. There were a ton of puppies running around, so Jess was happye even in the heat, and we were soon on a new, slightly faster, Cambodian boat for the rest of the trip to Phnom Penh. The scenery was spectacular along the river - lush green fields and dense jungles broken by riverbank villages every so often. The best part though, was the people on the banks. Every time we passed children, they lit up with ear to ear smiles and waved like their arms would fall off, so happy just to see people go by. It really made everyone forget about the difficulties in the travel to that point, and made for a great hour and a half on the boat.
We landed, took a short bus ride, and were dropped smack dab in the middle of zany, dusty Phnom Penh. Motor scooters and tuk-tuks honking constantly, the traffic is as stifling as the noon heat, and really takes some patience. Aside from that, Phnom Penh has its charms, beautiful wats along the river and friendly people, but is truly a city of stark contrasts. We spent a rainy morning visiting the Choeng Ek "killing fields" - site of mass graves and executions perpetrated by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge from 1976-79, and then S-21, a former highschool turned detention/torture/interrogation center. Words cannot describe the utter horror the Khmer Rouge created, killing anyone they feared may have opposed or hindered their agrarian revolution, even displaced peasants forced into the capitol city were executed en masse for being city dwelling elite. Anyone with eyeglasses, advanced education, or a foreign upbringing was deemed a danger to the state, and in the 4 year span of Khmer Rouge control 1/4 of the population of Cambodia had been killed by an army made up mainly of branwashed adolescents. Searching for a "why" while walking through the sites of such atrocities is truly staggering, and Jess and I barely spoke that morning. Sorry for the downer, but the truth must be told, especially to Americans, as I personally never heard anything about this in any school.
Needing a change, Jess and I headed south for the beach town of Sihanoukville. A fun if strange town, it seemed more like San Diego than asia, with bar/grills right on the sand and almost all tourists. The beach was beutiful though, so we spent a day doing what we set out to do - absolutely nothing. We lounged, we swam, we ate fresh grilled barracuda, and we stayed no more than 50 feet from the waves. After a two day mini vacation from the real asia, we came back to Phnom Penh today and went out for a big late lunch. We went to Friends, a restaurant run by an NGO that offers job training to street children and former juvenile delinquints, and everything was great. Sadly, after enjoying our leisurely meal, we were just barely too late to go tour the Royal Palace, but still snuck some nice shots of the wats and pagodas from outside the walls. We settled for a stroll along the river, complete with an elephant sighting and a drink at the Foreign Correspondents' Club, a relic of a bygone era still busy with travelling journalists and plain olde' travellers like ourselves. Now exhausted, we are looking forward to a quiet evening before hitting the road tomorrow for the Rattanakiri province, near the Lao border. We are getting on a bus at 7am, and the lady at the travel agency didnt even offer a guess as to when we'd arrive. After seeing cambodian roads at their finest, we are not expecting a smooth ride. But hey, the reward is in the journey right? Well, something like that. INternet could be sparse or non existant until we hit Pakse, in southern Laos, but i know you will survive without us for a few days. Read the paper, there must be news with the election, world series and Don Nelson's contract extension all happening at once. Well, that was quite a post, hope you liked it, and (I've never been able to say this before), we'll contact you from Laos.
Dave
2 comments:
Sars! Wow, that is risky Dave. Your pictures are beautiful I wish I was at the beach and not here in the rain on Halloween. Jess, tell me how are the boys? Dave, how are the girls? My guess would be that the girls our age out shine the guys, true or false? Any night clubs or adventures like that? I miss you both and am excited about your adventure. However, I selfishly miss you both and want you to come home. I got too use to your company and am now experiencing hardcore, withdrawl. It would be wonderful to get a postcard at my new address: 597 Dolores Apt. D, SF CA 94110. LOVE YOU BOTH! Hug and kiss!
I can't read your entries without getting really hungry! I keep laughing to myself picturing Dave squeezing into all these small spaces, in the caves, the buses, etc. Gotta go eat now, I'm craving tasty Asian foods!
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