Shopping in Thailand and Cambodia

Just a quick note about shopping in Thailand and Cambodia… Thailand seemed to fall short of the expectation that it was the place to find some deals. Things that involve labour (like massages, taxis etc.) are much cheaper, however, regular merchandise, clothing, sunglasses and achohol did not seem to be much cheaper then Canada (if at all). For people visiting from Europe, the UK and Australia, yes, it was cheap for them but most thing seemed the same price.

Cambodia reminded me a bit more of Indonesia when it came to merchandise. Sure you could find some deals (especially if you spend some time haggling), but often the merchandise may be knock-offs where the quality it lacking.

In both places there was plenty of brand name clothing available. Sure I could have picked up a Lacoste, Polo or a branded Abercrombie and Fitch shirt for ten bucks or so but then I had the same revelation I have back home... I am not an insecure fourteen year old boy vying for the acceptance of his peers, nor am I willing to pay to be a sponsor, branded with a corporate multimillion dollar company's name or logo unless I am sufficiently compensated (or have received the garment as a free promotional gift).

Phnom Penh And Bangkok Again

Upon returning to Phom Penh Cambodia from my temple trip in Siem Reap I spent the next few days relatively low key. Usually, I would meet up with my friend Alex by way of tuk tuk or more likely moto. The moto taxis are relatively exciting. Throughout my stay in Cambodia there was more then one occasion that hopping on the back of a motorcycle taxi with no helmet (and on a couple occasions, my large backpack) and zipping through traffic that seems utter chaos. At about 8pm the traffic lights are out so four-way intersections are a free-for-all where NOBODY stops. There were a couple times I just closed my eyes and hoped we would make it through. A special thanks to Alex and his friends for the evenings out.

After my journey to Cambodia, I stayed three more nights in Bangkok before catching a flight south to Sydney. Unfortunately, I spent those days still relatively under the weather from getting that chill from the bus air-con. Still, during those days I still managed to fit in some time lounging on Khao San Road, sitting on street-side restaurants watching the world pass, and managed to get some massages and catch up with Internet correspondence.

The last night I was able to meet up with my original tour guide Darius. The following morning we met for breakfast… my experience in Thailand ended as it began… as we sat down on a street-side restaurant in the morning for breakfast Darius promptly ordered two large beers… then two more… then after a brief stroll down Khao San Road two more. The last two were served as we each were getting foot massages!

I managed to make it to my plane on time but was suddenly aware of the only substance I had consumed that day. Thanks.

Temple Tots

The kids that sell souvenirs gravitate to the tourists at the refreshment areas near the temples and are remarkably good at getting the potential buyers attention. As I had a cold drink and waited with my tuk tuk driver a cute young girl approached my table. She must have been about 6-7 years old and had a box of bracelets and postcards. Sizing me up as one that may prefer postcards she began her routine. “Hello, what’s your name?”, “Buy some postcards? Only one dollar”, “Look, there’s 10…”(as she flips through reach one stating which temple site it was of), “Where are you from?”
“Canada”, I said.
Then, in unison with another young girl now standing beside her, they quickly replied, “Canada, the capital is Ottawa, there is a population of over 32 million, you have a nickel, a dime, a quarter, a loony, a toonie (and so on)…These postcards will only cost you one looney or 4000 reil (Cambodian currency)!”.

As I sat there with a flabbergasted look on my face I could hear other kids at other tables:
“Where you from?”… “Chile”, “Chile, the capital of Chile is Santiago…”
“You are from Japan? Kon'nichiwa!”
Again, the little girl attempted to pull on the heartstrings… “Please buy post cards for my school.”

Huh?-Did?-What?-School? Kid, I thought to myself, you've pretty much beat most children I've met twice your age with your knowledge of geography, math, currency exchange, second (at least) language skills, demographics… and you did it as a hard sell, establishing a relationship, getting my name and where I am from so you could optimize the relationship between buyer and seller! The look on my face shifted from flabbergasted to WTF!

Now, this story aside, I don’t want anybody reading this to feel that these kids are at a level that is even close to what it should be. Their routines are to make money and they memorize this data with the same ability that kids back home know endless cartoon characters and their story-lines. The education system in Cambodia, from what I gathered from a group of Italians I met that were volunteering in the schools, does needs a ton of work.

Boat to Siem Reap and Temples of Angkor

I took a 6 hour boat journey up the Tonle Sap River (a tributary to the Mekong River) and across Tonle Sap Lake to get to Siem Reap. The river ride was great and allowed for a glimpse of river life of the local people. Siem Reap is a city that borders an area full of massive temples (some dating back over 1500 years) and stretching over tens of square kilometers.

As the boat docked near Siem Reap I was offered a shared tuk tuk ride by some American (Alaskan) flight attendants I had met on the boat. They were a bit envious when they discovered that through my friend of Alex, I had arranged a deal at a five star accommodation.

The temples were very impressive. My first day visiting temples included Banteay Srey, East Mebon, Pre Rup, Ta Promh, Angkor Thom. Day two had an early pre-dawn wakeup to witness the sunrise over Angkor Wat before exploring Preah Khan.

Some temples have been cleared of the surrounding forest to reveal their weathered ruins, others have been left with the trees and plant life slowly reclaiming the site. In many cases stones have fallen and a mess of bricks and stone remain leaving a labyrinth of pieces to navigate as you make your way through the site. A few decades ago a daunting task of cataloging fallen pieces of stone from various temples that were to be secured and placed back into their rightful location was halted when Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge took over and stopped the restoration and destroyed the catalogued documentation. So, after surviving invasions and the attempt of mother nature to reclaim the land and after looters, museums, and collectors attempted to acquire artifacts in the first third of the 20^th century and after a lunatic madman set on destroying the intellectual capital of the individuals restoring them in the late 1970s these temples have more of less survived… until that is the new danger takes hold. Masses of tourists trampling over the sites, bus loading areas and tourist shops, and all the garbage that they bring. Hopefully, as in other times the past, another balance will occur to preserve these places. As a person touring the area and in fact climbing all over the site, I was aware of the potential negative impact that I was contributing to and that the privilege could not sustained in the long run.

I decided on a mini-bus ride to return to Phnom Penh. The bus is very bumpy and unfortunately, after 5 hours sitting under the air-con I found that for the next couple days, that chill turned into a cold and worst of all, after over a month in a tropical climate, by body could not regulate it’s own temperature… cold and sweating in the heat of the night is a recipe for a few sleepless nights.

And just like that, I'm in Cambodia

What a great feeling it is to have a friend waiting at the airport in another country. When I flew into Phnom Penh, Cambodia I was surprised to see my friend Alex waiting in the arrivals area – well, about as surprised as he was when I emailed him from the Bangkok airport saying I was coming to Cambodia in a few hours!

As I walked toward our transportation with my 65 litre backpack and 10lb. day-pack, there was a moment of pause when we looked down at his modest motorcycle. Heck, it was worth a try. We managed to squeeze everything on and make it to his place safely... relatively safely.

Later that night Alex and I were able to have some good dinner and a drink and catch up before I crashed on his couch. At, brunch the following morning we met up with some of his local friends and got me sorted at a hostel so that I could begin my week in the Kingdom of Cambodia.