Bangkok dangerous.....again!

I hate to use a bad joke twice but it really applies now.  We arrived in Bangkok righting the middle of antigovernment protests.  The issue is repeated around the world.  The people want a different government because they feel the current one is corrupt.  More specifically, rice farmers have been receiving government subsidies for years. This year, for some reason, the farmers have not received their money.  Subsidies, it appears, are the lever that the opposition is using to try unseating the current government.  Subsidies were used to keep the farmers voting pro-government.  Now that they have misfired on this, the middle class is protesting and using this as the reason.

So, as we have been advised by the hotel, we are trying to stay away from protest crowds and keep a low profile.  You can see the traffic havoc that these crowds have caused.  I should also note how organized they protesters are...the pup tents are neatly organized and food lines are orderly.

We have been here before and really enjoy the city.  The people are very friendly and welcoming.  Shopping is a national pastime and a medal sport for my sister in law.  Pat can shop but is more of an enabler than a competitive shopper.

Speaking of shopping, Pat and I went to the floating market.  This is where you ride a boat past all of these little shops right on the water.  Should you show any interest, the captain will pull the boat up to the siding...the shop keep has a gaff hook used to pull the boat in and then you dicker for anything you have an interest in.  These folks are great negotiators...we need them in the car business.

Later to one of our favorites, the Golden Buddha.  This is a Buddha made entirely of gold....5 tons of it, in fact.  This is a beautifully kept temple right in the center of the city.  

Palace where the Golden Buddha resides

Today, we are heading for the Erawan falls and the famous Bridge on the river Kwai. Our driver, Noppadon who we have used in the past always knows where to take us...

That's all for now!

Phenomenal Phnom Penh

Yesterday was a grueling road trip from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh...and I do mean grueling.  Sam, our driver, explained that the overland trip was typically 4 hours but, due to road construction along most of the route, our trip was extended to 7.5 hours of bumpy, dusty roads.  Interesting to note that both Japenese and Chinese contractors were building the roads.  There was a noticeable difference in quality...let's say that the Chinese need to work on their product a bit more.

We saw plenty of interesting sights, though....most interesting are the way scooters are used here.  The most popular form of transportation is a 125cc scooter with a rack on the back.  What the Cambodians can load on these bikes is amazing.  Here are the records for several categories...

Most people....a family of 5 were loaded of the scooter.  Only the driver had a helmet.

Most livestock........4 pigs going to market ( cringe....)

Largest appliance.....a refrigerator (3/4 size) strapped to the back. 

Overall winner.....14 twin mattresses!

After arriving at Phnom Penh, we spent a couple of days at the grand palace and Wat Phnom.

While in Phnom Penh, we visited the National Museum the first day as the Grand Palace was closed.  

The museum was definitely worth the tour.  There were many statues representing both the Hindu and Buddhist roots of the country.  One interesting observation was that many of the artifact cards stated "provenance unknown."  According to our reading, much of Cambodian history is underground and has been excavated during conflict times and without good documentation of the archeological findings.

February 14th.....Valentine's day is also a big holiday in Cambodia.  It also seems to be a day of Prayer for Buddhist's.  Wat Phnom sits on a small hill near the center of town.  The day we visited, it was overrun with families praying together....I have never seen so much incense in my life!

We have really enjoyed our time in Cambodia...on to an interesting visit in Thailand where anti-government protests have been ongoing for the last three months.  More to come!

Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat

Today were the temples of Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat.  Ta Prohm was the site of the Tomb Raider film with Angelina Jolie.  She helped make the area famous.  The Red Piano in Siem Reap serves a drink called the "Tomb Raider." 

Restoration in progress

Inner temple

Ta Prohm is currently being restored in cooperation with the Indian government.  Like Beng Mealea, Banyan and Strangler trees have taken over the temple toppling much of the construction.  The restoration process begins with excavation trying identify and recycle the building stones.  Standing structures that are at risk of coming down are disassembled and numbered.  Footings are leveled and then reassembled using original and recycled stones to rebuild.

Ta Prohm was built after Angkor Wat (as were many temples we have seen) using lower quality quarry stone.  This is one reason that many of these temples have not lasted.  The incredibly aggressive jungle flora is the other.  Several pictures show how Banyan and Stranglers have taken over the area.  One picture was taken of Pat and I through a hole in the roots of a banyan.

Looking through the Banyan tree

Looks like some thing from a sci-fi movie

Angkor Wat is a very different story.  This place is immense!  Known as the largest religious site in the world, the construction is estimated at 3 billion (right..billion) tons of stone.  The temple was constructed during the period of 1113 - 1150 using several hundred thousand workers.  Consider that during this King's reign ( sorry, can't pronounce or spell) hundreds of simultaneous temple projects were commissioned and constructed during that time.  Likely not much unemployment in that era!

Notice the bullet holes on the columns

Another common construction theme is that all temples were generally surrounded by a moat.   Many are not as functional today but Angkor Wat has a fully functional moat.  Pictures included show many of the towers and a couple of views from the third level.  One of the last pictures shows entry columns pockmarked with machine gun fire dung the Cambodian civil war in 1970. 

As we complete our stay in Siem Reap, we want to thank and recommend both the Pavillon -Orient hotel and our guide during the last three days, Mr. Sov Sathik.  Should you visit here, make sure you book with both! ( write us for contact info...)

Today we are traveling by road to Phnom Penh enjoying in a view of village life still common in Cambodia...tomorrow, we go to the Grand Palace....more to follow!

Nature 1......Man 0

For our second day touring temple ruins, we traveled an hour and a half south east to the temple of Beng Mealea.  As we said earlier, Cambodia is rich with temples and other religious sites.  Few are in great condition and some, like Beng Mealea are unrestored showing the power of nature.  

We spent most of the morning climbing over sandstone boulders literally tossed aside by aggressive plants and trees. 

Note the holes drilled in most of the sandstone blocks.  I asked our guide is this was some method of joining the stones together.  Actually, those were to enable moving the blocks around.  Wooden dowels were fitted to the blocks then soaked in water allowing the wood to expand and fit tightly in the holes.  This then gave the equipment of the time something to attach to to move the stones.

As with much of what we saw yesterday, This temple was built in the 12th century...originally Buddhist but later converted to Hindu.  As with much of western history, the Cambodian rulers often chose a national theology based on political support. With the change of rulers, the national religion often changed just as abruptly. 

Traveling through the countryside for us has always been very informative.  As we are passing many homes...most built on stilts to discourage crime, we saw shacks right next door to beautiful modern homes.  Why this was interesting was the complete lack of infrastructure that you would expect where expensive homes are built.  For example, no public utility exists. Even expensive homes are run on batteries.  Each day, Tuk Tuks ( small motorbikes pulling rather large trailers) come by pick up the batteries, get them to a charging station and return them later in the day.  

As a side note, minefields left over from the Vietnam war are still a concern here. According to our guide over 10,000 sq. kilometers of minefields remain on the border of Thailand and Cambodia. As they are cleared you might see a sign like this.  It's a little hard to see but informs you that this section of land has been cleared.

We also had some interesting roadside food on the way back to Siem Reap which was a mixture of rice and black beans smoked in a section of bamboo....this is like roadside taco we might pick up on any freeway.  Anyway, quite good.  I could see Pat thinking that she now had a use for all of our surplus bamboo at home and my charcoal grille......

Next, we are on to the Foreign Correspondence Club for dinner.  Tomorrow to Angkor Wat and elephant rides.

See you later!

Off to Cambodia

It's been a while since we last posted to this blog....haven't been anywhere notable since last summer's phenomenal trip to Greece.  Who knows, this might top that trip!

The flights were long but long but manageable with great service from Korean Air lines.  Every trip we take to Asia we have used a different asian airline but they all are really top drawer in service.

We arrived late Sunday night at our hotel, the Pavillon Orient in Siem Reap.  It's a very picturesque hotel with beautiful tropical grounds.

Pool at our hotel

We took a tour of Angkor town today with our tour guide and walked throughout several of the smaller temples built between 900 and 1100 AD.  Cambodia is a small country but is overrun with temples....something over 1100 temples according to our guide. The following are. A few pictures from Angkor Thom and Bayon temples.

  So far, it's been great to take another trip with Pat's brother, Ken and his wife,Barb.  It's rare to find those you can comfortably vacation with.  We like the same things....an unfiltered view of another culture, interesting places and a great happy hour!

Tomorrow, it's off to more remote temples South East of Siem Reap!