Kate Wandering

Holiday in Cambodia

Well folks, we're here!
It was quite a journey (opting for going in overland rather than an easy/comfortable/expensive flight) and much stressed about too, since I've heard SO many horror stories about border tricks, by everyone from the tour companies to get you there, to visa officials, to taxi drivers, to little kids picking your pockets to god only knows what else!

So after whipping myself into a total fit, I decided to get as well educated as possible of the potential pitfalls of travelling into Cambodia from Bangkok.
If any of you plan on ever doing this journey, read Gordon Sharpless' S.E. Asia travel site: www.talesofasia.com (if you haven't already). He does a great job of briefing you on everything that goes on before, after and during the border crossing.
With Gordon's instructions and a steely "you're not messing with me, man" look on my face, I was ready.
J.P. and I took a 1st class public bus to the Thai side of the border (very comfy and cheap, $4.50) at which point, we took a tuk-tuk to the actual crossing. (simply handed the driver 50 bhat when we got out and easily deflected his attempt to drive us into a tour company parking lot) At this point, we closed our ears (hello, where you go, Siem Reap?) and walked as quickly (and with as much confidence as two newbies could muster) to the Thai departure shack, then to the Cambodian visa application area. As we expected, a few touts followed us here, sat by us and tried to appear helpful (this is a totally easy process and only these pain-in-the-ass guys make it difficult).
As we expected, we each had to pay the 1,000 bhat fee (instead of the $20 that it should cost) and since we were tired and dirty and hungry, decided to negotiate for a taxi with the first guy who approached us.

I don't know if this guy was new or something (I guess he was pretty young) but he was talking a mile a minute ("how much you pay?, how much you pay?!") and I'm like "Um, can you wait until after I go to the bathroom" (since he was talking at me like this as I was entering the stall)
NOTE: Don't let a tout take you to a restroom, filthy and cost 5 bhat, ask an official where to go
Anyway, feeling much better after relieving myself, yet still quite anxious to get the hell out of Poipet (what a s***-hole!) I let this guy sputter and spout at me for a few more minutes. I had told him we wanted to go to Siem Reap, wanted the whole taxi and wanted to leave immediately. He's going on like "whole car 1,500 bhat, each person, 300 bhat, 5 people 1,500 bhat! You don't believe me? Look, look, my mother is driver too" (proceedes to show me some kind of card)
Since I knew a fair price for a taxi was $1,000 bhat (thanks Gordon!) we eventually got him to 1,100 bhat. At that point, I was totally ready to be gone.
The road into Siem Reap starts off well enough, but then,.............
Three hours of nausea, bump bump bump (dirt roads folks!) and thick dust everywhere. I was thanking myself so much at this point for not being a cheap-ass and getting a seat on a pick up, we would have been absolutely covered in in dust, not to mention possible respiratory failure.
Our driver was cool too, he stopped along the way and bought us a bag of fried banana chips, much appreciated since we hadn't really eaten all day.
All in all, the trip lasted from 7:30am-5:30pm, 10 hours isn't too bad, and we managed to avoid all of the hassles normally involved. It pays to be prepared!

So we're just chillin', trying to plan our itenerary through the temples, feel free to let me know if any of you have any suggestions of 'must see' ones (obviously we're going to Ankor Wat and that other big one behind it)

No pictures today, but I promise to put some up next time. Now I'm off for a nice cold one, because if it isn't a cold one, it's hardly a one at all.

K

Party Island

Hey there everyone,
Well I'm back in ol' Bangkok after some serious tanning and drinking out of a bucket.
Koh Phangan was alot of fun but it kinda wore me out. It's becoming more obvious that I'm not 21 anymore. Still though, that said, I'm pretty proud that I managed to do my version of rocking till the break of dawn more than once.

About Koh Phangan............

The good: decent sized island, some really nice beaches, cheap accomodation, two towns with everything you would need, some really nice and friendly people

The bad: somewhat crowded, super-hilly terraine makes it a bit hard to get around, LOTS of stinky dirty hippie kids of all ages, very limited nightlife scene
(ie; tons of bars but all the music was crap, think Britney, Robbie, Emimem, and for some strange reason, ABBA??!!!)

All in all, I definately had a good time, would go again, but a few days worth (for me) is plenty. My self respect can only handle so many memories of dancing to "it's gettin hot in here...so take off all your clothes...." and my fragile sanity can't deal with what I've found out to be the worst part of 'the morning after': head completely full with annoying music that you sing to yourself all day long. Talk about self abuse man.

Here's some photos for ya......
Pier on Koh Tarutao
'Speedy I'
The Ladies
Purdy huh?
Miss Apple
Sea Gypsy Baby
Heinie Girls enjoying a cold one
In front of the Jumping Monkey Bar
Sun set on Koh Lipe
Umberto and Jesse
Jessie nicks my drink (notice the empty next to her)
Thai humor at the train station
The first few days in Koh Phangan
Thou shalt not worship any gods but the one true God
Me and new Canadian friend Sol

So that about sums up the last few weeks, my Vermontian friend J.P. has come back to Thailand (we met in Chaing Mai) and we're leaving BKK in a few days to head east ways, Cambodia, Vietnam and ?

Chineese New Year was the other day, see my lucky shirt!
Later taters

Rainy Days

Hey there!
Right now, Cartoon and I are on Koh Phangan, off the east coast of the Andaman Penninsula in the gulf of Thailand. Honestly, I would normally wait until I got back to Bangkok before writing this entry (especially since I don't have my card reader = no pictures) but I'm experiencing my first bout with bad weather so I can't really go out to play.

We arrived here on the 10th, to dark clouds, rushing winds and huge waves. We thought we'd wait it out. Three days later now and no sun in sight.
Apparently, this is a bad time for this side of the penninsula. As Cartoon would say; 'No worries' (she lives in New Zealand) constant sun, heat and blue skies can get a little boring after awhile so in a way this is a welcome change and it gives me a chance to spend some time with you, my dear pals.

About a week and a half ago, the four girls: Apple, Cartoon, Nong and I, boarded the train in Bangkok for a 17 hour ride south to Hat Yai, the third major city in Thailand after Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It was definately better than my last train experience, it helps to have friends along. We talked, had plenty of snacks and some beer, and before we knew it it was bed time. Cartoon and I were pretty exhausted after the long night before. (we met quite a few characters, including a 7ft tall Native American named Dick)

I slept like it was church and in the morning we had a two hour bus ride and a two hour ferry ride to Koh Tarutao, the largest of a group of islands on the very south west boundary between Thailand and Malaysia. We were expecting some quiet times since this wasn't a really a tourist island but part of a national park. We made sure we brought the sauce with us: one btl of Absolute and one Tangueray.

I've really got to hand it to enterprising Thais, often the beach is too shallow for the ferry to moor so a longtail boat will take you to shore, the fare of which is separate than the ferry. Then, farang (white people) are required to pay 200 bhat entry fee into the park while Thais are charged 20 bhat. I guess I can understand, but the garbage upkeep could have been better.

We had a relaxing day on the beach, much deserved after the long trip, and found out from one of the rangers about how to arrange another pesky visa run for yours truely. He was so nice that he offered to drive us to the Malaysian boarder in a few days. See what happens when you travel with native speakers!

The next day, we needed some action so we took the ferry to Koh Lipe (Lee-pay), a small island west of Tarutao, which isn't part of the park.
F-ing unbelivable! Sand like white talcum, clear emerald sea, good snorkling right off the beach and a decent selection of places to stay, eat and drink. Reasonable prices too. The four of us got a hut for 350 Bhat (<$10) and went nuts for dinner, 2 servings of excellent green muscles, fresh fish, veggies in oyster sauce, rice and a salad all for less than $20.

I'm adding to my list of 'happy places', this one is called the Jumping Monkey Bar on Koh Lipe, the main attraction of which (as you can guess) is an adolescent monkey named Jessie. Who needs sports on the tv when you can play with a real monkey? We were there twice a day.

We were only able to stay there a few nights because we had to get back to meet the ranger for my visa run. The last day on Koh Lipe was great though, I had a Thai massage on the beach and made some new little sea gypsy friends. They were so cute and friendly, at one point, I had two of them on my back, one in each arm while chasing another in the water. They totally exhausted me!

After we finished my visa, the ranger took us to see a bit of Thali Baan national park. Any of you bird watchers out there should check it out, it's one of the best places in the world to see hundereds of rare species.

We got to Hat Yai in time for our train back to Bangkok, but Cartoon and I were like 'Hey, why go back? Let's go to the beach!' Unfortunately, Apple had to be in Bangkok to spend her last few days with her family before returning to Chicago, but Cartoon and I had time; her husband isn't arriving until Jan. 25th and my friend from Vermont is coming on the 22nd.

So here we are, spending rainy days on the beach, losing all track of time.
I think I'll only be able to put up with this for a few more days...max.

It's still better than the snow in Chicago (he he)
K

P.S. I plan on amending this entry asap to include pictures (you've gotta see this monkey!)

Righteous Babes

A new sun shines in Bangkok
it has two names
Apple and Cartoon
View image

I have an entirely new view now of Thailand thanks to their friendship, and I'm so glad for my fortune in meeting them (thank you Tim!)

Us girls have been quite busy!....................

I first met up with Apple in the afternoon. We had a great time walking around the old town area. She told me about many of the buildings and things we passed, and we talked about the life here.

Apple has an interesting perspective because as a Thai who has been living in Chicago for years, she has a good understanding of both cultures. I could tell she was looking forward to presenting the Thailand and Bangkok to me that she's so proud of. You see, It's easy here to get dismayed about some of the negative aspects you see right away, like the prostitution, the scams, the scary bathrooms, and I imagine some tourists leave Thailand with only that impression. Apple was worried I would end up that way, and to be honest, even though I though I liked it here, I felt like I didn't really 'get' it (if you know what I mean). The opportunity to be shown the subtleties of Thai culture and additudes, not to mention some freakin' gorgeous places, through the loving Thai eyes of my friends has made all the difference.

So the first day, we went to go visit Tim's mom. Getting there was quite a process;
We bought some fruit to bring her and took the boat down the river View image, the train View image and finally a cab View image to get there.
It was worth it, she is adorable! Very happy and enthusiastic, Tim's mom was so happy to have us and we all had a great time talking about about anything (I finally got a proper explanation about the whole 'bathroom thing' here, maybe I'll tell you later).
Here's me with Tim's mom and brother View image

We went to dinner at a Japaneese restaurant and since I was so tired from the 10 hour bus ride from Chiang Mai, the Singha beer really hit me quick. Apple and Tim's mom helped me finish it, and I don't know if it was the beer or just the good company, but we laughed for hours. During dinner, Tim called from Chicago, the closest he could get to being there with us. We wish you were here Tim!

The next day, Apple and I met with Cartoon and went to the Grand Palace and Wat Po. View image View image

Their friend Nong had arranged for the four of us to go to a 'homestay' in a river-village 60 km south of Bangkok, so we did that the next day. It was pretty neat, and a good test to see how the four of us get along since we're spending 6 days in the islands later this week. My favorite part was waking up early in the morning to offer food to the monk who came by little boat (of course!) View image

I've got to run, so I'll leave you with a few pics from last night, definately one of the best New Years I've ever had.....
View image View image

Best of luck to all of you in the New Year!
K