July 16, 1;07pm - Railay Island, Thailand
I'm writing this from the most beautiful tropical island I've ever seen, after an afternoon of rock climbing. This is just what I needed :). I'm sure i'll add more about this later, but for now, on to some pictures!
To start us off, unrelated to much else, a sweet picture from Angkor Wat, at the temple of smiling faces. Creepy, and really really cool in person.
So the bus ride from Bangkok to Siem Reap, home of the Angkor Wat, was about 15-16 hours long, much of it in the dark and on bumpy bumpy roads. As such, we need sustenance to fortify ourselves. Below, one thing I picked up on the road in a spirit of inquiry. Not bad, but not good.
This is a picture at the Cambodian border, and the difference between it and Thailand is stark. It is a lot dustier, less clean, less developed and houses less technology. The poverty is immediately apparent. One crazy thing in Cambodia is that they use the U.S. Dollar for much of their economy, so menus are priced in U.S. Dollars and merchants often give change in U.S. Dollars. Wild!
Pictures have a really hard time doing any justice to the Angkor Wat, or its size and majesty. Arg. It really is stunning, and when you realize it was made over hundreds of years using very basic technology, its even cooler.
I'm writing this from the most beautiful tropical island I've ever seen, after an afternoon of rock climbing. This is just what I needed :). I'm sure i'll add more about this later, but for now, on to some pictures!
To start us off, unrelated to much else, a sweet picture from Angkor Wat, at the temple of smiling faces. Creepy, and really really cool in person.
So the bus ride from Bangkok to Siem Reap, home of the Angkor Wat, was about 15-16 hours long, much of it in the dark and on bumpy bumpy roads. As such, we need sustenance to fortify ourselves. Below, one thing I picked up on the road in a spirit of inquiry. Not bad, but not good.
This is a picture at the Cambodian border, and the difference between it and Thailand is stark. It is a lot dustier, less clean, less developed and houses less technology. The poverty is immediately apparent. One crazy thing in Cambodia is that they use the U.S. Dollar for much of their economy, so menus are priced in U.S. Dollars and merchants often give change in U.S. Dollars. Wild!
Pictures have a really hard time doing any justice to the Angkor Wat, or its size and majesty. Arg. It really is stunning, and when you realize it was made over hundreds of years using very basic technology, its even cooler.
See, I'm in a picture with the Angkor Wat. I'm not faking this trip!
Another shot of one of the 'Smiling Faces' at the temple named for them. I'm not sure why a ruler decided to make a boat load of rocks grin creepily, but supposedly it had something to do with the king being godlike, difficult to comprehend, and thus creepily smiling.
All around the Angkor Wat there are other temples and cool stuff, which can lead to a nice long day of traveling. Dan and I biked around, and at one point passed these cool trees that actually grew over and into the ruins. If you take the stones out, the trees would collapse.
The crazy thing is that this temple was almost completely empty when we went into it, was ill-cared for and absolutely beautiful. We felt privileged to be inside.
The crazy thing about this temple is that there is very bad access, (sorry US Disabilities Act) and so often you physically have to climb your way up. This is not a trick of picture taking, these stairs are actually that steep and the only way up.
Me grinning like an idiot.
After leaving Angkor Wat at nighttime on our bikes, we realized we were in the middle of nowhere and needed to take a highway about 5-10 miles back. Oops. On the bright side, everyone on the high way was going really slowly, and we often passed pickup trucks and motor bikes, high fiving the kids inside them. At one point we pulled into what looked like a festival, and turned out to be a community soccer league of sorts. Lots of kids playing and adults watching on motor bikes. Also lots of food stands with many delicacies.
These delicacies included: Whole chickens...
...Some kind of mollusc or shellfish...
...Cockroaches (don't they look tasty)...
...And crickets (jiminy!)
Doing my father and several generations of my ancestors proud, I ate everything I could get my hands on!
This is also an instructive picture because of the white line peeking out of my shirt neck on my left shoulder. I am getting tan.
I leave you with this picture of a carnival type thing we found on our way back while on the highway. It pretty much sums up my time in Cambodia. Beautiful, fun, and exciting!
Ok, I'm gonna go climb around somemore and then hit the beach. I'm debating spending a couple days in Singapore, anyone have any thoughts?
Cheers,
Zach
Another shot of one of the 'Smiling Faces' at the temple named for them. I'm not sure why a ruler decided to make a boat load of rocks grin creepily, but supposedly it had something to do with the king being godlike, difficult to comprehend, and thus creepily smiling.
All around the Angkor Wat there are other temples and cool stuff, which can lead to a nice long day of traveling. Dan and I biked around, and at one point passed these cool trees that actually grew over and into the ruins. If you take the stones out, the trees would collapse.
The crazy thing is that this temple was almost completely empty when we went into it, was ill-cared for and absolutely beautiful. We felt privileged to be inside.
The crazy thing about this temple is that there is very bad access, (sorry US Disabilities Act) and so often you physically have to climb your way up. This is not a trick of picture taking, these stairs are actually that steep and the only way up.
Me grinning like an idiot.
After leaving Angkor Wat at nighttime on our bikes, we realized we were in the middle of nowhere and needed to take a highway about 5-10 miles back. Oops. On the bright side, everyone on the high way was going really slowly, and we often passed pickup trucks and motor bikes, high fiving the kids inside them. At one point we pulled into what looked like a festival, and turned out to be a community soccer league of sorts. Lots of kids playing and adults watching on motor bikes. Also lots of food stands with many delicacies.
These delicacies included: Whole chickens...
...Some kind of mollusc or shellfish...
...Cockroaches (don't they look tasty)...
...And crickets (jiminy!)
Doing my father and several generations of my ancestors proud, I ate everything I could get my hands on!
This is also an instructive picture because of the white line peeking out of my shirt neck on my left shoulder. I am getting tan.
I leave you with this picture of a carnival type thing we found on our way back while on the highway. It pretty much sums up my time in Cambodia. Beautiful, fun, and exciting!
Ok, I'm gonna go climb around somemore and then hit the beach. I'm debating spending a couple days in Singapore, anyone have any thoughts?
Cheers,
Zach
3 comments:
hmmm, beach, city, beach,city. I think you should stay at the beach and relax. singapore is another city, and tightly controlled, why not hang out, something that will be foreign to you once you return. email us which you do.
love mom
...that cocroach looks DE-lish!
I am loving reading this Zach as you follow the tradtions and footsteps of travelers, wanderers and obviously jugglers everywhere. Keep the wind at your back and your powder dry. We all love you.
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