Chiang Mai

Since we had seen most of the wats in Chiang Mai yesterday, we decided to take it easy and focus on shopping today. We found a shopping mall not too far from our hotel and spent most of the day wandered from shop to shop. There are many NA brand stores here but they are pricier than what we would normally pay.

After walking most of the day, it was a good time to try the renown Thai foot massage. The massage parlors are ubiquitous here and they are very affordable, costs 150 baht for one hour which is equivalent to less than $5 Canadian!! They really give your foot a work out. Thai foot massage is less painful than the one I tried in China. After walking so much, the massage is just what my tired muscles are needed. Richard is too afraid of pain to try - what a shame to miss out on the golden opportunity for Thai massage. 

Today is the celebration of Chiang Mai's 720 years anniversary. It is not a public holidays for its citizens as schools or shops open as normal. There are many assemblies organized by the monks for chanting and prayers. Buddhism is prevalent and of course, many of the followers come here just to pray in the various wats.  There are so many on the old cities. 

Flying to Bangkok tomorrow. Our last stop for the trip.

Thailand

We took an early flight from Phnom Penh to Chiang Mai via Bangkok. The airport at DMK is surprisingly clean and orderly. We needed to get some money but unfortunately, there is no ATM or exchange kiosk inside the transit zone. Richard had to exit the secure area in order to get to an ATM in the terminal to get some Bahts. So cumbersome. The exchange rate for Canadian to Baht was 1:26. 

We took a taxi to the hotel but the address was difficult to find as the address number is not numerically sequenced in the old city. Worst still, there are many one way streets and the driver got so frustrated for not being able to locate the hotel. He asked us to get off and walk to find it. Of course we would not agree and insisted that he dropped us at the front door. We asked him to turn around and drive slowly so that we can search the address more carefully. We found it the second time around and the driver blamed the hotel sign being too small. We have never encountered a taxi driver who would want you to get out the car because he could not find the address!

We hit the road right after we dropped our luggage and started to visit the many wats (temples) that are well known in Chiang Mai and all of them are located in the old city which is within walking distance from our hotel. After we had seen a few of the wats, the novelty worn off quickly as they are quite similar.  There must be lots of competitions within the old city as there are so many of them and each temple asks for donations and have donation boxes placed everywhere. Interestingly, one of the temples forbid women from entering and we were not sure why. 

We found the temperature more tolerable in Chiang Mai as the humidity feels much lower than in other cities. Unfortunately, in exchange for more tolerable temp, we got a lot more tiny mosquitos here. They simply swamp me and started a feast on me. I got bitten so much!!  Not fun at all and none of the cream was effective in stopping the itchiness :(

Chiang Mai is a lot cleaner and more orderly than in Cambodia or Penang, Malaysia, even in the old city area, there are pedestrian walkways and very little garbage on the street. 

We asked for reference to eat in the area and were directed to a local Thai restaurant that specializes in Tom Yum seafood noodles. They were delicious, with a huge squid on top. Instead of Tuk Tuk, Red Truck is a preferred mode of transportation and each had a fixed route to transport people around. 

We tried the durians here and found it less tasty than the ones in Malaysia. We also bought mangosteens, mangos, sour sup and fruits seem to be slightly cheaper here. 

Hoping to do some shopping tomorrow as we are getting close to the end of our trip. 

Phnom Penh - Day 2

Had a very relaxing day. Met two missionaries from Cambodia, Pastor Kala and Vuthy, who do church planting and projects with the poor in the village. We were so inspired by them!  So passionate at their services to the Lord. Pastor Kala takes 9 kids into her home!  We were hoping to make connection with them to see if there may be opportunity to do some volunteering work in the future. Who knows what this meeting may bring.  Lots of prayers for directions. 

We also visited the local public market and did a bit of shopping in the malls. The prices surprised us as Cambodia uses US$ in addition to their own currency. Most of the items are listed in US$ and food and transportation as well. If the average workers earned only $120 per month, I have no idea how they could afford to buy things. Food is not expensive here but most others things are. Cambodians love BBQ - ubiquitous - particularly for sea food. They also eat fried crickets as appetizers.

National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh

The museum is housed in a graceful terra cotta structure of traditional design built in 1917-1920, with a beautiful courtyard garden. It is home of the finest collection of Khmer sculpture. It comprises of 4 pavilions. The renowned immense bronze reclining Vishnu statue (considered the holy god) is housed here as well as several striking statues of Shiva from 9th - 11th centuries. Unfortunately, no photo is allowed in the museum.  We were surprised to learn that Cambodia used to be a much bigger country during the Angkor era but had subsequently been taken by its neighbouring countries after the post Angkor times. The museum is rather simple and without air con.

After the museum, we visited the Royal Palace. It closes during mid-day from 11:00 - 2:00 pm.  By the time it reopened at 2:00 pm, there were so many tour buses and school children all rushed in. The ground is quite impressive but having to walk in the blazing sun at close to 40 degrees is challenging for us. We skipped most of the ground and went to the main attraction to see the golden and emerald Buddhas on the silver tile floor. The golden Buddha was very impressive with so many diamonds decorated the body, the largest is 25 carats and total of over 90 kg of gold. The silver tile floor covers the entire room and to preserve them, most of the tiles are covered with only a small section to show and tell. 

I find Phnom Penh hotter than Siem Reap, most likely being in a big city with lots of buildings, traffic and little vegetations. The sun actually burns your skin. But unfortunately, most the attractions are outdoor and without air con. So hot, dusty, noisy and smelly but that did not deter us from walking on the street like a local and brazing the sun just to experience the local life. Richard willingly accepted the poor conditions and I, on the other hand, came along with him half-heartedly :)

We took the Tuk Tuk back to the hotel and enjoyed a refreshing local beer. A well deserved break!!

 

Banteay Srei temple, Day 3 Siem Reap

Banteay Seei is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and it was cut from stone of pinkish hue and includes some finest carving seen in the world.  Most of the carving are well preserved and many are still in the three dimensional form. The name of the temple means "Citadel of the Women.  Although the size of the temple is relatively small but the well preserved carving is definitely worth the trip.

Afterward we went back to Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm (tomb raider site) to see some of the attractions that we missed in the first day as a result of our fatigue state. There were way too many tourists to get a closer look on the major attractions. There was one tour group from Thailand that have brought 1500 tourists to the site!! The photographer told us the stats. 

This was Preston's last day for the trip and he is flying to Bangkok for a night and then flying back to Calgary the next day. Because his flight is two hours ahead of our schedule, we took him to the international departure terminal to get him checked-in. Unfortunately, the domestic departure terminal to Phnom Penh is on the opposite end and we had to walk outside of the parking lot in blazing 38 degrees, crossing many construction obstacles and lugging our luggage to get to the other side.  I probably aged at least 5 years from the walk. Thank goodness for air con inside and a chair to sit. We were the only ones in the airport.  We were hoping to catch an earlier flight but was told that the flight was cancelled. Two tourists from HK supposed to catch the earlier flight and arrived at the airport to found out that their flight had been cancelled and no one informed them. The cancellation has affected their ability to make connection for the flight to hK and they also have to find a night of accommodation in Phnom Penh. Stressful!!  

The culture here in Siem Reap is a bit too busy than anticipated. Perhaps because of the many international travelers coming to see Angkor Wat and Thom. 

Preah Vihear Temple - Day Two Siem Reap

In order to visit this temple, we had to be on the road at 6:00 am as it would take 4 hours by car to get there. Not so far due to the long distance (250 km from city) but had to do with the poor road conditions. We saw the many villages along the drive and how locals busy go about their lives early in the morning. 

This temple lies between the borders of Thailand and Cambodia and the two governments are still in dispute for its rightful owner. In fact, war was going on a few years ago for the dispute and soldiers with guns still guarding along the borders. 

The Monumental Stairway is most well known in this temple and it leads down to the Thai border. A set of stairs dropping off into the abyss. The Eastern Stairway used for centuries by pilgrims climbing up from Cambodia's northern plains. It has recently de-mined, rebuilt as a 2242-step wooden staircase. 

Although the locals treated this temple as one of the holy places, due to its remoteness and long distance, not too many people and tourists go there.  We had to switch to another 4-wheel drive after the entrance fee. The road was paved (thanks to the government who paved so that soldiers can reach to the top to defend from the Thai soldiers) but it was very steep with 45 degree angle. Soldiers are posted along the  way to the temple and inside as well. It was breathtaking to reached to the end of the temple and the view was magnificent.  Much of the temple require significant rebuild. 

Afterward, we continued to drive about 90 mins to reach another temple called Koh Ker Site,  one of the most mysterious temples of Preah Vihear Province. There are over 100 temples in various sizes in the area bit most of them have fallen in the jungle. We spent a bit of time exploring the pyramid temple and you can climb to the top to get a grand view of the area. 

The last temple we visited was called Beng Mealea (Lotus Pond). We got to explore the ruins, climbing over fallen rocks and duck under low columns to get a taste of what the structures used to be like. We felt like the explorers going into ruin city to search for treasures. What an amazing experience and opportunity that they allowed us to climb all over the ruins. We found more strangler fig trees than in Angkor Wat and there was one in a square shape. Totally awesome and by far our favorite.

Angkor Wat - Siem Reap. Cambodia

We were finally here to visit the renounced Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. We booked a driver, Mr. Kin, who picked us up at the airport and transported us using the ubiquitous Tuk Tuk (motor bike carrying a carriage) to the hotel. Our room was not ready so they gave us a refreshing drink and we were ready to hit the road to see the many temples in the area. 

The Cambodian government is soliciting foreign funding to help restore the temples as they had been neglected so many years. Construction work is everywhere and signs that stated "Dangerous area.  Do not enter" are placed in many of the locations as some of the entrances are now been covered by fallen rocks or broken statues. 

However, the remaining temples are still very impressive. The drawings on the walls have been kept intact and in so many ways, reminded us of drawings from Egypt.  There were many tour buses dropped tourists in the later afternoon and making the places lot more crowded. I was very impressed by the strangler fig trees that wrap their roots to the buildings of the temples. These structures were made well known in the movie Tomb Raider by Angelina Jolie. 

Angkor Thom (Great City) is another very impressive temple. This epic temple personifies the glory days of Khmer empire and set over 10 sq km. the whole temple is fortified with formidable walls and a massive moat to protect from invaders. As much as one million people lived in the region during 1181-1219. Churning of the Ocean of Milk with 54 demons and 54 gods engaged in the tug of war is the most well known carving on the wall. Some of the gates have been fallen into ruins but the south gate has been well restored with copied heads put back to the statues. 

I was surprised to learn that the Koreans have well been established in here. They even have a direct flight from Soul to Siem Reap. This is the beginning of the rain season and during the raining season from Aug to Oct, tourists dropped considerable and schools also close to allow kids to help out in the rice field.  Majority of the farmers plant rice (80%) and either use it for themselves or sell to the locals. 

We had a long day seeing a number of temples. As a result of the very early flight from KL to Siem Reap and we hit the road right after we landed here, we were very tired late afternoon. The hot sun and humidity drained our energy quickly. Plus each temples is huge with a very wide area to walk and high temples with many vertical steps to climb to the top. As much as we would have liked to spend more time to enjoy these beautiful and ancient structures, we gave up one of the popular activities, i.e., watching the Angkor Wat at sunset and went back to the hotel for an early rest.