March 20 2014 - noonish
Bangkok
(Still no photos - sorry)
It does appear that I will be going to Myanmar (Burma) after all. A little added stress, a little wasted time, and a few dollars more and it looks like it is going to be a "go".
Last night's sleep was intermitent. Sleep for four hours. Wake up for an hour of two, sleep for a couple more hours. Finally I gave up around 5:30 a.m. and got out of my very comfy bed. I had planned on arising like a Phoenix at 6 so not too much of a problem.
I Had an appointment for 8:30 at the US Embassy, so I left the hotel around seven thirty to allow for plenty of time to get there. I assumed (correctly) that the morning's rush would be in full swing on Bangkok's streets. I wasn't wrong. None of the taxis wanted to take me there. Finally one acquiesced for $3. He thought he was gouging me, I thought I was getting a bargain. I knew I was getting gouged when he didn't turn on the meter, but I was in not panic mode, but very severe business mode. He got me there by seven fifty.
I really lucked out getting the appointment yesterday. It was the last one for the entire day, and it was early allowing me time to get to the Myanmar Embassy - maybe. The appointment checker let me in early and after surrendering my lighter, ear buds and cell phone. Removing everything for the x-ray, passing through the metal detector (no beep) and getting wanded I was on US soil. The process was reasonably painless. Window 2 followed by window 6 followed by window some other number. Told it would be an hour and to sit down and watch some basketball game on the Armed Forces Network, my number was called in about 35 minutes and I was handed my passport now fatter than a passenger disembarking for an all you can eat week cruise.
Another taxi ride to the Myanmar embassy some line standing with a bunch of other sweatty tourists. The man at the first window, said :I did this for you yesterday!" - I explained the additional pages. He smiles and said go to the next step. The heartless woman at the next step said "Not too much trouble?". I had to admit it wasn't horrid. It could have been so much worse. I was making "Plan B" in my mind when I got up this morning. She gave me a yellow reciept for my passport and told me to report back at 3:30 to pick it up.
I walked over to the sky train. Guided another tourist in the ticket process, now that I am an old hand at Bangkok mass transit. The train was waiting at the platform. I got on and settled back for a nice ride. Looking out the window as Bangkok passed under me. Then the river passed under me and I didn't remember seeing it on my previous passages. The reason for that was I was going in the totally wrong direction. I am really glad I didn't tell the tourists to follow me. That would have been a very untasty dish of crow. I got off at the next stop. Changed sides and good old Bob was my uncle again, until I exited at my stop and went the wrong way there too. Yesterday totally sleep deprived and stressed it went like silk. Today with a fair night's sleep I am Corrigan.
Somehow I managed to make it back to the hotel where 20 ninutes under the A/C made life whole again.
Now getting a light lunch of Pad Thai and Diet Coke waiting for 3 pm to forge onward into the forge that is the afternoon heat of March in Bangkok in search of my passport and new Myanmar visa.
- evening -
Wow ! The time change just ganged up and beat me over the head. It is almost 7 pm here. Maybe 5 am back home. I'm not sure about that, my brain is not computing time zones very well yet. I was going to walk down to the main street and take a wander after dark in the night market. I stepped outside and like a wave exhaustion hit me. Maybe I should have taken that nap that sounded so good this afternoon. No sense crying about it now. With luck I'll be able to hang in there for 2 more hours until 9.
I loafed around between noon and two thirty and then started making trails toward the Myanmar embassy in hopes of picking up my passport with a new visa in it. The heat was oppressive so I wimped out and instead of walking the 4 blocks to the sky train station and then to the embassy. I started talking to the taxi drivers who lurked at the hotel's entrance. Trolling for that unsuspecting tourist who has no idea the real cost of a taxi ride. A meter reading should be in the neighborhood of 100 from here to there. So when the head taxi shill said 200 I laughed at him and said I'd walk.Then I countered with 150. No dice so I started to walk. One of the other guys said "160". No, 150. 160 ! Uhh.... 155 ! (15 cents less.) I was just playing the game now. 160 wasn't too bad, but comeon guy let me win. Nope ! No siree 160 it is. We went back and forth for a bit and I blinked first. I feel like such a wimp. If he would have gone to 155 I am certain I would have gone with his 160 (maybe even a little more)
The ride was fine and probably a little slower than the sky train, but it was all A/C all the way.
You know how there are pictographs explaining things if the mono lingual? One cab today had a series of circles with lines through them in the rear door windows. One wih a gun and a knife. One with a bottle of booze. A cigarette. -- you get the idea. The final one in the line was a couple locked in a missionary position embrace. I guess cabbies in Bangkok see everything.
When we arrived at the embassy there was a line out the door and quarter way down the block of "my people" to pick up their passports and visas. The line moved faster and smoother than it should have based on the number of people there. The woman handing out the passports gave my a big smile. I guess we did get a small rapport in the three times I had seen her over the previous two days. I thanked her and checked the page. Lo and behold my planned trip to Myanmar was a go, as far are the visa goes. Now if I can just remember that the Thai Immigration officers get grumpy when you toss the passport to then from 5 feet away I should be winging my way northward tomorrow morning.
I caught the sky train back to my hotel area and at the entrance to the hotel who should be there -- Mister 160.(it must be good fishin' here) I told him I wanted a taxi to the airport tomorrow and to give me a good price. He quoted me what I think was a fair price including road tolls and the deal was struck, 8 am tomorrow for a 11 am flight.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
The government is the same no matter who's government it is.
Wednesday March 19 2014
Bangkok
(sorry no pictures yet)
Well, got that long wagon train in the sky done with no major mishaps. We were an hour late getting into BKK but that wasn't too bad. The Seattle to Tokyo flight was delayed a while due to heavy winds in NRT (Tokyo). The same thing happened last year, but with a much longer delay. The landing was a bit rocky but from seat 36A I helped as much as I could. I expected the NRT to BKK flight to be delayed as well but it loaded close to being on time and had to sit on the tarmac as flight control cleared up some of the prior backup. That flight from NRT to BKK just about came to the limits of my endurance though. I can sit at home all evening watching television, but put me in a aircraft seat and I immediately need to get up and walk around. Luckily my row was three across with the middle seat empty so it allowed some movement without that sardine feeling.
The taxi to the hotel was a snap. I gues once you have done it a time or two it gets sooo much easier. You know at 2 a.m. the toll roads are virtually empty and you can go 120 km in a 45 km zone ? Once you hit the city streets it is totally a different matter. The sidewalks and roads were jammed. They were as busy as I see it during the daytime. The song New York, New York says it is the city that never sleeps. Well that is a lie. It does sleep, between 3 am and 5 am. Bangkok NEVER sleeps. $12 cab ride for 25 miles. Not too bad.
My reservation was all set and check in was easy squeezy. I spent more time trying to figure out the lock on my room than I did checking in. No card slot, RFID reader at the door that reads your card. I had reserved a 'Superior' (read standard) room and was upgraded to a 'Deluxe'. Let me tell you it is nice. A sitting area and then a sleeping area. Everything you could want shampoo, hairdryer, safe, iron and board, two 45 inch tvs. No view, but the room is plush. All for the price little more than the Motel 6 at home (I checked). I got to bed around 3 am and semi slept until about 6:30 am. I probably could have gone back to sleep for an hour or so, but my mental schedule wouldn't allow me to.
Showered and breakfast and out the door about 8:30 to go to the Myanmar (Burma) embassy to get the visa. I walked to the sky train and only had to ask two people how much I needed to feed the automatic ticket machine before I was flying above the snarled traffic of Bangkok's streets. The directions to the embassy that I found on someone's website worked beautifully. I only had to back track half a block.
A bit of confusion as to which line did what but eventually someone pointed me to the right line and "Bob's your uncle". A quick review of my paperwork a plastic number and wait for it to be called. I took my passport to he window when called, handed her the right amount of money and was told that my passport didn't have enough pages left in it. It needed at least one free page. My passport has 25 pages and page 25 was clearer than a virgins Wasswerman test. I guess they count one differently than I do. I whinned and pleaded, but she was firm. I had prepaid for the flight to Mandalay and three nights at a hotel, all non-refundable of course. Shit, fuck, hell. It is only around $200 in fees, but I really want to go to Burma.
I stepped outside to think and the penny dropped. There was a US Embassy in this town. Mister Tuk-Tuk said he'd get me there for about five bucks (I found out later the taxi fee for the same trip was a third of that). WTF I was in need. Besides I kinda like Tuk-tuks, I'm not ready for a shared motorcycle, but Tuk-tuks get you up close and personal with the street.
The line was a block long to the Embassy, but I noticed a shorter line with white sunburned faces so I went an stood in that one. In a jiffy I was explaining my situation to a lady through 3 inch glass. She said we can add pages to your passport, what time is your appointment ? Appointment whadda ya mean ? All US citizens need an appointment and it has to be made online. Please give me a gun, so I can shoot myself.
I picked a direction and started walking and asking for an internet cafe'. One travel agent did offer to do it for me for 500 Bhat ($12.00) That seemed just a tad excessive. I found a multi story business tower and asked at their information desk and she directed me next door to a shopping center on the second (third) floor. I didn't find a internet cafe, but I did find some sort of business with computers and a printer. Five minutes and I had found the web site, made an appointment for tomorrow at 8:30 am and had a print out of the confirmation page. Price ? 5 Bhat - Twelve cents.
I flagged down a taxi, regardless of price and found out the real price for a metered ride back to the area near the Myanmar embassy and the sky train station. The train back was less crowded at noon than it was at nine and I discovered a blister on my sandal clad foot. Back to socks and boots tomorrow.
So safe and sound in my hotel where I think I am going to stay for atl east the rest of the afternoon. Not too sure about what to do for dinner. But with 95 degree heat outside, a gimpy foot and 3 hours sleep in the past 36 staying here does have a certain appeal.
Bangkok
(sorry no pictures yet)
Well, got that long wagon train in the sky done with no major mishaps. We were an hour late getting into BKK but that wasn't too bad. The Seattle to Tokyo flight was delayed a while due to heavy winds in NRT (Tokyo). The same thing happened last year, but with a much longer delay. The landing was a bit rocky but from seat 36A I helped as much as I could. I expected the NRT to BKK flight to be delayed as well but it loaded close to being on time and had to sit on the tarmac as flight control cleared up some of the prior backup. That flight from NRT to BKK just about came to the limits of my endurance though. I can sit at home all evening watching television, but put me in a aircraft seat and I immediately need to get up and walk around. Luckily my row was three across with the middle seat empty so it allowed some movement without that sardine feeling.
The taxi to the hotel was a snap. I gues once you have done it a time or two it gets sooo much easier. You know at 2 a.m. the toll roads are virtually empty and you can go 120 km in a 45 km zone ? Once you hit the city streets it is totally a different matter. The sidewalks and roads were jammed. They were as busy as I see it during the daytime. The song New York, New York says it is the city that never sleeps. Well that is a lie. It does sleep, between 3 am and 5 am. Bangkok NEVER sleeps. $12 cab ride for 25 miles. Not too bad.
My reservation was all set and check in was easy squeezy. I spent more time trying to figure out the lock on my room than I did checking in. No card slot, RFID reader at the door that reads your card. I had reserved a 'Superior' (read standard) room and was upgraded to a 'Deluxe'. Let me tell you it is nice. A sitting area and then a sleeping area. Everything you could want shampoo, hairdryer, safe, iron and board, two 45 inch tvs. No view, but the room is plush. All for the price little more than the Motel 6 at home (I checked). I got to bed around 3 am and semi slept until about 6:30 am. I probably could have gone back to sleep for an hour or so, but my mental schedule wouldn't allow me to.
Showered and breakfast and out the door about 8:30 to go to the Myanmar (Burma) embassy to get the visa. I walked to the sky train and only had to ask two people how much I needed to feed the automatic ticket machine before I was flying above the snarled traffic of Bangkok's streets. The directions to the embassy that I found on someone's website worked beautifully. I only had to back track half a block.
A bit of confusion as to which line did what but eventually someone pointed me to the right line and "Bob's your uncle". A quick review of my paperwork a plastic number and wait for it to be called. I took my passport to he window when called, handed her the right amount of money and was told that my passport didn't have enough pages left in it. It needed at least one free page. My passport has 25 pages and page 25 was clearer than a virgins Wasswerman test. I guess they count one differently than I do. I whinned and pleaded, but she was firm. I had prepaid for the flight to Mandalay and three nights at a hotel, all non-refundable of course. Shit, fuck, hell. It is only around $200 in fees, but I really want to go to Burma.
I stepped outside to think and the penny dropped. There was a US Embassy in this town. Mister Tuk-Tuk said he'd get me there for about five bucks (I found out later the taxi fee for the same trip was a third of that). WTF I was in need. Besides I kinda like Tuk-tuks, I'm not ready for a shared motorcycle, but Tuk-tuks get you up close and personal with the street.
The line was a block long to the Embassy, but I noticed a shorter line with white sunburned faces so I went an stood in that one. In a jiffy I was explaining my situation to a lady through 3 inch glass. She said we can add pages to your passport, what time is your appointment ? Appointment whadda ya mean ? All US citizens need an appointment and it has to be made online. Please give me a gun, so I can shoot myself.
I picked a direction and started walking and asking for an internet cafe'. One travel agent did offer to do it for me for 500 Bhat ($12.00) That seemed just a tad excessive. I found a multi story business tower and asked at their information desk and she directed me next door to a shopping center on the second (third) floor. I didn't find a internet cafe, but I did find some sort of business with computers and a printer. Five minutes and I had found the web site, made an appointment for tomorrow at 8:30 am and had a print out of the confirmation page. Price ? 5 Bhat - Twelve cents.
I flagged down a taxi, regardless of price and found out the real price for a metered ride back to the area near the Myanmar embassy and the sky train station. The train back was less crowded at noon than it was at nine and I discovered a blister on my sandal clad foot. Back to socks and boots tomorrow.
So safe and sound in my hotel where I think I am going to stay for atl east the rest of the afternoon. Not too sure about what to do for dinner. But with 95 degree heat outside, a gimpy foot and 3 hours sleep in the past 36 staying here does have a certain appeal.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Off to Burma - The start
Happy Saint Patrick's day !
Sitting in the boarding area at SeaTac waiting for the plane. It is delayed by half an hour and I think I have enough for my luggage to transfer from the SEA-NRT to the NRT-BKK airplanes in Tokyo. If not me 3 days worth of clothes in my carry on luggage should work as my luggage travels on it's own vacation. Regardless it will work out.
I picked up a rental car at home. I had requested a small economy model. I got a mini van. To my exes it was a maxi van. It was huge. Nine or ten people huge. Of course the weather did not co-operate worth a poop. It rained hard all the way to Seattle. Not quite the normal heavy mist we are so used to here in the Pacific Northwest. Big drops and a lot of them. The mist kicked up from the semis on the road gave me more than a few "Just keep the wheel centered and hope for the best" times. Until after the longest 10 seconds on record the wipers would catch up with the spray. Of course driving a large strange vehicle had nothing to do with my white knuckles.
I made it to my friend's home all safe and sound. He graciously offered to take me out to dinner. That was really unexpected and appreciated. I had anticipated f taking him out to dinner. Whatta guy ! We went to a big glass restaurant at the south end of Lake Union. The view was wasted on the day. With the overcast and the rain the view was flat and nothing was moving on the water. A little disappointing. Chris ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. In my summer I go with a friend who has a boat out to hunt for crabs. For me it is more time on the water with friends than the crabs, but the crabs do certainly factor into the scheme of things. I was floored at when I floored at the menu and saw what I get for free from Puget Sound to be for sale at the restaurant got $60. I can see mark-up for the view and paying someone to throw the sea bug into the boiling water but that was just "Highway robbery" as my grandmother would say. I guess a sandwich at Subway is in no way reflective of the cost of eating out now days.
The meal was very good and the service was so attentive it was embarrassing.
I dropped Chris back home and he made me a small goodie bag for the trip and was back on the road after dark. I was bitching about the drive down in the daylight, it had nothing on the bitching I did on those 20 last miles to the airport. But me and the bus made it safely and I was happy to dump the darned thing off at the rental return.
The room at the Radisson was exactly as expected. Fast check in, clean, too hot room, with a multitude of pillows on the bed. I watched tv for a little before lights out and really, really missed my DVR at home. You know they make you watch commercials ? You know that is you miss a line of dialogue that you can't skip back and hear it again ? It was sooo weird.
Morning came and so far things have gone smoothly. I hope I can beg/pay my way into a seat with more leg room. Obviously that will be a different post. So for now time to close and start chanting for more leg room.
Ommm......
Sitting in the boarding area at SeaTac waiting for the plane. It is delayed by half an hour and I think I have enough for my luggage to transfer from the SEA-NRT to the NRT-BKK airplanes in Tokyo. If not me 3 days worth of clothes in my carry on luggage should work as my luggage travels on it's own vacation. Regardless it will work out.
I picked up a rental car at home. I had requested a small economy model. I got a mini van. To my exes it was a maxi van. It was huge. Nine or ten people huge. Of course the weather did not co-operate worth a poop. It rained hard all the way to Seattle. Not quite the normal heavy mist we are so used to here in the Pacific Northwest. Big drops and a lot of them. The mist kicked up from the semis on the road gave me more than a few "Just keep the wheel centered and hope for the best" times. Until after the longest 10 seconds on record the wipers would catch up with the spray. Of course driving a large strange vehicle had nothing to do with my white knuckles.
I made it to my friend's home all safe and sound. He graciously offered to take me out to dinner. That was really unexpected and appreciated. I had anticipated f taking him out to dinner. Whatta guy ! We went to a big glass restaurant at the south end of Lake Union. The view was wasted on the day. With the overcast and the rain the view was flat and nothing was moving on the water. A little disappointing. Chris ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. In my summer I go with a friend who has a boat out to hunt for crabs. For me it is more time on the water with friends than the crabs, but the crabs do certainly factor into the scheme of things. I was floored at when I floored at the menu and saw what I get for free from Puget Sound to be for sale at the restaurant got $60. I can see mark-up for the view and paying someone to throw the sea bug into the boiling water but that was just "Highway robbery" as my grandmother would say. I guess a sandwich at Subway is in no way reflective of the cost of eating out now days.
The meal was very good and the service was so attentive it was embarrassing.
I dropped Chris back home and he made me a small goodie bag for the trip and was back on the road after dark. I was bitching about the drive down in the daylight, it had nothing on the bitching I did on those 20 last miles to the airport. But me and the bus made it safely and I was happy to dump the darned thing off at the rental return.
The room at the Radisson was exactly as expected. Fast check in, clean, too hot room, with a multitude of pillows on the bed. I watched tv for a little before lights out and really, really missed my DVR at home. You know they make you watch commercials ? You know that is you miss a line of dialogue that you can't skip back and hear it again ? It was sooo weird.
Morning came and so far things have gone smoothly. I hope I can beg/pay my way into a seat with more leg room. Obviously that will be a different post. So for now time to close and start chanting for more leg room.
Ommm......
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Myanmar's Golden Rock
In looking through the Lonely Planet guidebook for Myanmar the Golden Rock at Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is a 'must see'. A long spiritual trek up the mountain or an easier 45 minute ride up in a jam packed truck. Then a 30 minute hard walk up hill to the actual site. You could hire 4 young men and a sedan chair to carry you Memsahib like up the mountain.
Sign me up ! Something out of the ordinary, an interesting way to get there, a spiritual feeling once you get there. Sounds like my kind of vacation excursion.
Once I started doing more research on this site I found out that women are not allowed anywhere near the rock. There is a platform on the grounds where women can view the rock, but no touching. Not even close enough that 'Girl Cooties' might jump of me and come in contact with their rock. Well I have been to places where women have to wear certain clothing before being allowed to enter. If it is a spiritual experience, I can swallow my pride and accept, what I think is a silly rule.Then I saw this picture. It looks to me as peaceful and spiritual as Space Mountain at Disneyland.
I think I will find a different place to visit.
thanks - fineartamerica.com for the beautiful first picture.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
2014 - Thailand for sure. Aiming for Myanmar.
Well I have the confirmation on the flight to Bangkok in mid March. I generally have all my visa's in my passport ready to go, but this time I am going to hold off and apply for Myanmar's (Burma) in Bangkok. I understand that I can get it in one or two days there. I just don't want to risk sending my passport to Myanmar's Embassy in D.C. and having it get lost in the shuffle and not get back here before I am supposed to leave.
So Birdy Camp is set up. Airfare to and from Thailand is done. So far, so good.
So Birdy Camp is set up. Airfare to and from Thailand is done. So far, so good.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Four hours of fun, food and banging
Easter 2013 - March 31
My last full day in Cambodia. I'm leavin' on a jet plane tomorrow at 12:50 enroute to BKK. The plane is 8 or nine times more expensive than the bus, but it is also four or five times faster and after the last experience with that border crossing, cheap at twice the price (not quite, but almost)
I did go out to the circus last night. In Battambang there is a circus school where orphans and other disadvantaged children attend. They have become well known in the world and now have nightly performances here in Siem Reap. There are no lions, tigers or bears. No elephants or horses, just a bunch of pretty talented kids. Acrobats, contortionists, jugglers, slack wire walkers. It was like a micro Cirque Du Soleil. For fifteen buck you got an hour of some very fine performances with the occasional dropped juggling pin or missed landing. But they kept doing it until they got it right. Remembering tht these are students after all. Some of the graduates have indeed moved on to Cirque Du Soleil in Montreal. Fun performance under the stars on a warm summer's eve, life is pretty good.
After the show I got some ice cream and headed back to the hotel. Watched some t.v. and lights out about 10:30 and awake at 4:30 finally giving up a little after five. Over breakfast I was looking through Lonely Planet for ideas on sights around town. Maybe some Buddhist temples and just cruise town in a Tuk-tuk for the morning. Then under classes - Khmer Cooking class 10 a.m. $13 (and you ate what you cooked). So a couple hours of class, lunch all for less the the circus - I'm In ! I got there around nine secured a spot in the class and went a wandering Pub Street for a bit before class, before most shops opened and certainly before most of the tourists were taking their first aspirin of the day from last night's visit to the Babylon of Siem Reap. I took a coule pictures, found a little shop that I want to stop back in after class and sweated a little.
Class met and there were more than I expected. We broke up into two groups of seven. Where the other seven went I have no idea, I never saw (or at least recognized) them again. One of the couples in the group had come from Battambang a day or so ago. The had decided to take the high speed boat up the Tonsal River to Siem Reap. I'd read and thought about it, but the book said 6 hours in the wet and 9 hours in the dry. The bus sounded the better of the two to me. Less romantic, more realistic. They said that it had taken the twelve hours. I am so glad I didn't sign up for that one. First since the water was low they were transported by truck over bumpy dirt roads to the place where the boat could reach. Then once on the boat it kept getting stuck and their time kept getting longer. Finally the boat's engine just gave up and stopped. Dead in the water (no pun intended) the sat there. She said that there was no chance of drowning because the lake was so shallow you could actually walk to shore. The locals who were on the boat, called over some of the fishermen and hitched a ride to dry land and points north. She said it was well after dark before they had the official picker upper boats come to their rescue and finally at their hotel in Siem Reap at nine p.m. (did I write a version of this earlier?).
Then there was the young British couple. They both worked for British Air. He on the ground, she in the air walking all the way as a flight attendant. That's all I got to know about them.
The final couple is French. His English pretty good, her's not so good. He could listen and understand better that he could speak. He said that his job had just finished and the the company had flown her out ot be with him for a couple weeks post work vacation. I asked him what he did he said he was a cameraman. I gave him my biggest smile possible. At least it got a laugh from him. He is/was a cameraman for French Survivor. This season's first episode opened with the usual jump off the boat into the water, down near where I was on the Gulf of Thailand. There was a very big man on the boat with his girlfriend. It was a Romeo and Juliette romance. He was white and she was black. Both parents said that they could not accept their child's life partners choice and the two kids told the respective parents to take a flying leap at a rolling doughnut and went ahead with the consequences. During the first challenge the young man (25) had a heart attack and died. Laurence said he had been filming the man when he collapsed. He asked if he was o.k. and the kid assured him he was. The director told Laurance to let the medics attend to him without the camera filming. Needless to say Laurance was still a little shaken up by the whole thing. Everyone at the table (except me) knew about the death. (Hey it wasn't on Facebook, o.k. ?). There were a few gently probing questions about the events I could see he was uncomfortable and I backed out of the conversation. He said the there had been deaths at other Survivor shows (India and Pakistan I think) but this one went viral. After the young man's death they canceled the season and sent everyone home or on a few week vacation. One day of shooting was all that they did.
Back to cooking class. We each picked an appetizer from the restaurant's menu and a main. No one had the same combination and very few duplicate dishes. I went for two things I knew I'd liked their Pumpkin soup and the Fish Amok. We seven giants following the minute Snow White went Hi-Ho'ing off to the market in search of vittles. We didn't actually buy anything, but she did point out to each of us the raw ingredients of each of our dishes. when we returned we were given plates covered in Saran Wrap that had all the vegetables we would need on them along with a peeler and cutting board and knife similarly wrapped. We were then told how to chop, mince and slice each of our vegetables and she made Gordon Ramsey look like a pussy cat. You were going to do it right of not at all. At least she didn't make me sit on a Jackfruit. After things were minced to her satisfaction we who were having Amok (2 fish 1 shrimp) put our vegetables into a large wooden mortar and were handed a large wooden pestle with the instructions "You make Bang-Bang". We pounded and pounded only to hear "More Bang Bang !" and pounded until all those onion garlic, turmeric, lemon grass and ginger had been pounded into a very thick paste. I have a machine that could so something similar in 30 seconds. If I lived in Cambodia, the family would only get this dish on Christmas ! The Pumpkin soup was relatively easy just chop up the vegies and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes. She then showed us how to carve carrot and tomato flowers and birds. I didn't do that, I still have a cough from the sniffles of a few days ago and didn't want to share that joy.
Then back into the kitchen. Have I mentioned it is hot here in Cambodia ? Add four wok burners open full and three students and one instructor in a room the size of my bathroom at home - well you see where I'm going with this. Vegetables, mushed spices carefully Bang-Banged a handful of fish and a couple ladles of coconut milk cook until thickened and the fish cooked. Add some water if necessary. Pour into banana leaf bowl and Amok ! Pumpkin soup went into the blender and then back on the stove with coconut milk and simmered until creamy.My Amok rivaled anything I'd eaten this trip. Maybe the Bang-banging improved the flavor. It was really good. The pumpkin soup was good but missing something, maybe a little more garlic or ginger. A tweak here or there and it could be a great winter dish. Now Laurence's tomato soup was killer. It sounded so mundane on the menu, but the flavors really came through.
We had all entered our email addresses into her iPad and by the meal she said we could expect all the recipes to be in out inboxes. The boat person checked her email and there they were, along with pictures of us. I just checked they are in mine !! Way cool.
All in all a great final day. A fun four hours, interesting people and great grub not a bad way to wrap up a trip.
Milk and bombs
Saturday March 30th 2013 - 3 p.m.
After a power nap yesterday and a shower I changed clothes and headed out of the hotel to went my way through the night market and Pub street. My clothes were to sweat stained to wear in public there were sweat stains on my sweat stains.
I wanted to pick up a couple small trinkets for a few friends but they had to be small because as usual I felt the need when at home to pack everything in the house - just in case. I recently reviewed what I haven't used so far and I honestly could have saved 10 pounds of unnecessary
The Tuk-tuk driver got me to the most garish place east of Las Vegas. Lights blinked and huge neon signs over the roadway directed me to one side of the street where the night market was situated. The other neon sign pointed the other direction reading "Pub Street". There were more tourists packed here than Angkor Wat on Christmas vacation. The Tuk-tuks were parked wheel hub to wheel hub and as soon as I alight from my Tuk-tuk I was instantly offered two or three more chorus of "Tuk-tuk Madame ?". I stepped into the crowd and entered the night market. It wasn't exactly as I had pictured it. I was expecting some fruit and vegetable stands, maybe some meat stands and perhaps a stinky fish stand - with - the occasional tourist geegaw stand interspersed into the mix. There was nothing 'Cambodian' about the market except for the word "Cambodia" on the occasional T-shirt. Silk scarfs, cotton scarfs, sarongs, T-shirts, baskets of spices, carved Buddhas and on and on. Either the same owner owned all the shops or they all bought from the same vendor. Every T-shirt shop had exactly the same merchandise in the same sizes and the same colors. Ditto for everything else. The closest to anything real Cambodian was the foot massage and that was probably Thai in origin since the Khmer have such a foot abhorrence. I found (sort of) what I was looking for. Not the color or the perfect combination of colors, but there is something in that minute hole in my luggage. I did some dickering and know full well that I over paid if I had bargained harder. For me the price was fair and certainly only a third of the price I'd pay at home. Heck I overspent sooooo.... much that I spent twenty-five cents on a small bottle of water. I can get a pack of Marlboro AND 2 liters of water for a buck seventy-five all day long.
Then across the street to Pub Street - almost. At the curb I was stopped by the urchin with the infant on his hip holding an nursing bottle. "Pleeese I no want money I need milk" "I neeed milk for the baaaybee" "Pleaaaseee miiilllllk". Thank you Trip Advisor Dot Com. Welcome to "The Milk Scam". They kids are all stooges for the real thiefs the pharmacy (conveniently) next door selling the Enfimil (you know that formula that comes in cans?). The product is purchased at a very inflated, the tourist get all sorts of warm fuzzys inside and then the formula is returned to the store to be resold and the kids get a few cents and back on to the street to catch another big tourist fish. Even when you tell the kids "It's a scam !!", "Noooo Madam noooo scam. Miiillllk !" I did offer to buy the boy a sandwich from a cart that was right there but no. Only "Miiillllkkk Pleeeese" and I'll tell you they have that whine pitch perfect. They must go to whine school. Every other kid in on the scam had the same inflection and whine. I'm sure it works or else they would be doing something else.
Pub street was exactly what I had pictured. Restaurants and bars as far as the eye can see. Each place perhaps 20 feet in width all offering something different. On Pub Street you could eat your way around the world. Curry from India, lamb from New Zealand, Local fish, goat and crocodile, and even Ostrich and Kangaroo from the land down under.The narrow sidewalks jammed with tourists. So jammed that at times it was easier to step into the gutter or the street than to wait out the opening to appear. The paranoid in me was inside yelling "Get the heck out of here. This tourist Mecca is not my style, but is exactly the Bali bombing style of a few years ago." I travel alone for several reasons, one being that as a solo traveler I less of a target when there is a tour bus full of tourists nearby. I silenced the alarm bells and continued on.
The Lonely Planet had highly recommended a place called AMOK. Amok is a signature Khmer dish of meat (generally fish) cooked in coconut milk and spices. It's kind of a stew. The sauce I've experienced has run the viscosity scale from soup to cream sauce. Amok (the restaurant) had an offering of five different Amoks. Beef, pork, shrimp, chicken and veggie. along with a side of rice i was a last you until the next afternoon filling. The sampling was good, though I do have to admit that the fish version I've had was much more to my liking, but it was nice to try them all and find out.
After the meal I stepped into the street and was hit with "Tuk-tuk Madame?". I tought he was a tout that directed me to a real tuk-tuk driver and got a cut of his fare. "Show me your tuk-tuk.". He walked me over to the rattiest tuk-tuk powered by the most underpowered engine I've seen so far. If there was even a speed bump in the road the poor thing struggled over it. The fare set was $2. That was the asking price and no one pays asking price. I wonder how far down he would have gone. When we got to my hotel I gave him the agreed upon two clams and 1000 Rials ($0.25). He thanked me, wished me along life and thanked me again (really). We have it so good.
I met Mr. Station at 7 a.m. and we took off for temples yet farther afield. Bantay Sarei is 30 Km out of town (18'ish miles) it's claim to fame is that it is carver out of pink sandstone, A smaller temple but with great lintels and walls. This is temple number eleven for me and they are all starting to run together a bit. Each has it's own personality atmosphere, but with the same basic architectural floor plan. Enter from the east, cross a moat or two or in this case three, most of them dry right now. four entrances at the cardinal points of the compass and four towers on the corners with a single taller one in the center representing Mt. Mereu the Hindu mountain to which we all seek to attain. I'm not sure that if you handed me photos of all the temples I have visited that I could pick out many of them from another. I'd like to describe it in flowing prose, but it is now 30 hours later and I'm a little fuzzy on the detail. The sun was low and the tourists not scarce, but not overwhelming either. I had moved to one side of the entrance with the sun at my back as waited for a few fellow gawkers to stop gawking at the front and go inside so I could get a photo of the temple without some place's advertisement on the back of a T-shirt. A woman walked near an stood and waited. The last started to go into the temple and then stopped. I said under my breath "Go, inside all ready !". She looked at me and smiled. Then she said "You pick the best spots for photo.". That made me feel good that I seemed to at least look like I knew what I was doing.
After draining my camera's battery enough we split for other pastures. I got a shot of a "Johnny Walker gas station" along the way. The next stop on the trail was the Landmine Museum. nIt was sort of small and had lots and lots of reading. Basically we all know how bad landmines are and that they never seem to just die. They lay there for 30 years plus and suddenly someone is an amputee or as widow. A farmer might have walked the same field a dozen times in the past and one day in the rainy season because the ground is softer steps a few inches different than last year and the rest we know. Most of the anti-personal landmines are designed to main and not kill because it takes more people to deal with a combat wound than a KIA. There are the occasional anti-tank mines where a huma n doesn't stand a snowball's chance of surviving that one.
There were (deactivated) mines there from about every first world country that you could think of including a very large contingent from my and most of your's homeland. UnExploded Ordinance (UXO) were another headache as well. There was a map on the wall with a red dot on it for each sorte' flown by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. There were places that there was so much red that it looked like a wide red line with no white showing. Most were intended for enemy troops, but most fell harmlessly or on innocent villagers. That did surprise me nearly as much as the fact that nearly 20% failed to explode on impact. If most of us were only 80% effective in our jobs ghey would find either a better way to do the job or a different object to perform the job. Granted this was in the half century era ago, but I wonder how much better we've gotten in our vehicles for delivering death.
A pair of temples more on the way home filled with sun, heat and crowds. One was supposed to have a great view of Angkor Wat (if you had a 400 mm telephoto) that I decided could live without my foot steps on top of. Not because of the climb up, that I could manage, but the walk down just scares the heck out of me. No handrails, steps maybe 6 to 7 inches wide and 10 inches tall and no landings for the entire staircase. I misstep or a poorly placed heel and you get to find out just how good that travel insurance you bought before the trip actually is. Yes I am a wimp.
So that is that. Maybe the circus tonight. I kind of wanted to see a boxing match as well but they are only on Wednesdays. Right now finish my beer and take a nap.
After a power nap yesterday and a shower I changed clothes and headed out of the hotel to went my way through the night market and Pub street. My clothes were to sweat stained to wear in public there were sweat stains on my sweat stains.I wanted to pick up a couple small trinkets for a few friends but they had to be small because as usual I felt the need when at home to pack everything in the house - just in case. I recently reviewed what I haven't used so far and I honestly could have saved 10 pounds of unnecessary
The Tuk-tuk driver got me to the most garish place east of Las Vegas. Lights blinked and huge neon signs over the roadway directed me to one side of the street where the night market was situated. The other neon sign pointed the other direction reading "Pub Street". There were more tourists packed here than Angkor Wat on Christmas vacation. The Tuk-tuks were parked wheel hub to wheel hub and as soon as I alight from my Tuk-tuk I was instantly offered two or three more chorus of "Tuk-tuk Madame ?". I stepped into the crowd and entered the night market. It wasn't exactly as I had pictured it. I was expecting some fruit and vegetable stands, maybe some meat stands and perhaps a stinky fish stand - with - the occasional tourist geegaw stand interspersed into the mix. There was nothing 'Cambodian' about the market except for the word "Cambodia" on the occasional T-shirt. Silk scarfs, cotton scarfs, sarongs, T-shirts, baskets of spices, carved Buddhas and on and on. Either the same owner owned all the shops or they all bought from the same vendor. Every T-shirt shop had exactly the same merchandise in the same sizes and the same colors. Ditto for everything else. The closest to anything real Cambodian was the foot massage and that was probably Thai in origin since the Khmer have such a foot abhorrence. I found (sort of) what I was looking for. Not the color or the perfect combination of colors, but there is something in that minute hole in my luggage. I did some dickering and know full well that I over paid if I had bargained harder. For me the price was fair and certainly only a third of the price I'd pay at home. Heck I overspent sooooo.... much that I spent twenty-five cents on a small bottle of water. I can get a pack of Marlboro AND 2 liters of water for a buck seventy-five all day long.
Then across the street to Pub Street - almost. At the curb I was stopped by the urchin with the infant on his hip holding an nursing bottle. "Pleeese I no want money I need milk" "I neeed milk for the baaaybee" "Pleaaaseee miiilllllk". Thank you Trip Advisor Dot Com. Welcome to "The Milk Scam". They kids are all stooges for the real thiefs the pharmacy (conveniently) next door selling the Enfimil (you know that formula that comes in cans?). The product is purchased at a very inflated, the tourist get all sorts of warm fuzzys inside and then the formula is returned to the store to be resold and the kids get a few cents and back on to the street to catch another big tourist fish. Even when you tell the kids "It's a scam !!", "Noooo Madam noooo scam. Miiillllk !" I did offer to buy the boy a sandwich from a cart that was right there but no. Only "Miiillllkkk Pleeeese" and I'll tell you they have that whine pitch perfect. They must go to whine school. Every other kid in on the scam had the same inflection and whine. I'm sure it works or else they would be doing something else.
Pub street was exactly what I had pictured. Restaurants and bars as far as the eye can see. Each place perhaps 20 feet in width all offering something different. On Pub Street you could eat your way around the world. Curry from India, lamb from New Zealand, Local fish, goat and crocodile, and even Ostrich and Kangaroo from the land down under.The narrow sidewalks jammed with tourists. So jammed that at times it was easier to step into the gutter or the street than to wait out the opening to appear. The paranoid in me was inside yelling "Get the heck out of here. This tourist Mecca is not my style, but is exactly the Bali bombing style of a few years ago." I travel alone for several reasons, one being that as a solo traveler I less of a target when there is a tour bus full of tourists nearby. I silenced the alarm bells and continued on.
The Lonely Planet had highly recommended a place called AMOK. Amok is a signature Khmer dish of meat (generally fish) cooked in coconut milk and spices. It's kind of a stew. The sauce I've experienced has run the viscosity scale from soup to cream sauce. Amok (the restaurant) had an offering of five different Amoks. Beef, pork, shrimp, chicken and veggie. along with a side of rice i was a last you until the next afternoon filling. The sampling was good, though I do have to admit that the fish version I've had was much more to my liking, but it was nice to try them all and find out.
After the meal I stepped into the street and was hit with "Tuk-tuk Madame?". I tought he was a tout that directed me to a real tuk-tuk driver and got a cut of his fare. "Show me your tuk-tuk.". He walked me over to the rattiest tuk-tuk powered by the most underpowered engine I've seen so far. If there was even a speed bump in the road the poor thing struggled over it. The fare set was $2. That was the asking price and no one pays asking price. I wonder how far down he would have gone. When we got to my hotel I gave him the agreed upon two clams and 1000 Rials ($0.25). He thanked me, wished me along life and thanked me again (really). We have it so good.
I met Mr. Station at 7 a.m. and we took off for temples yet farther afield. Bantay Sarei is 30 Km out of town (18'ish miles) it's claim to fame is that it is carver out of pink sandstone, A smaller temple but with great lintels and walls. This is temple number eleven for me and they are all starting to run together a bit. Each has it's own personality atmosphere, but with the same basic architectural floor plan. Enter from the east, cross a moat or two or in this case three, most of them dry right now. four entrances at the cardinal points of the compass and four towers on the corners with a single taller one in the center representing Mt. Mereu the Hindu mountain to which we all seek to attain. I'm not sure that if you handed me photos of all the temples I have visited that I could pick out many of them from another. I'd like to describe it in flowing prose, but it is now 30 hours later and I'm a little fuzzy on the detail. The sun was low and the tourists not scarce, but not overwhelming either. I had moved to one side of the entrance with the sun at my back as waited for a few fellow gawkers to stop gawking at the front and go inside so I could get a photo of the temple without some place's advertisement on the back of a T-shirt. A woman walked near an stood and waited. The last started to go into the temple and then stopped. I said under my breath "Go, inside all ready !". She looked at me and smiled. Then she said "You pick the best spots for photo.". That made me feel good that I seemed to at least look like I knew what I was doing.
After draining my camera's battery enough we split for other pastures. I got a shot of a "Johnny Walker gas station" along the way. The next stop on the trail was the Landmine Museum. nIt was sort of small and had lots and lots of reading. Basically we all know how bad landmines are and that they never seem to just die. They lay there for 30 years plus and suddenly someone is an amputee or as widow. A farmer might have walked the same field a dozen times in the past and one day in the rainy season because the ground is softer steps a few inches different than last year and the rest we know. Most of the anti-personal landmines are designed to main and not kill because it takes more people to deal with a combat wound than a KIA. There are the occasional anti-tank mines where a huma n doesn't stand a snowball's chance of surviving that one.
There were (deactivated) mines there from about every first world country that you could think of including a very large contingent from my and most of your's homeland. UnExploded Ordinance (UXO) were another headache as well. There was a map on the wall with a red dot on it for each sorte' flown by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. There were places that there was so much red that it looked like a wide red line with no white showing. Most were intended for enemy troops, but most fell harmlessly or on innocent villagers. That did surprise me nearly as much as the fact that nearly 20% failed to explode on impact. If most of us were only 80% effective in our jobs ghey would find either a better way to do the job or a different object to perform the job. Granted this was in the half century era ago, but I wonder how much better we've gotten in our vehicles for delivering death.A pair of temples more on the way home filled with sun, heat and crowds. One was supposed to have a great view of Angkor Wat (if you had a 400 mm telephoto) that I decided could live without my foot steps on top of. Not because of the climb up, that I could manage, but the walk down just scares the heck out of me. No handrails, steps maybe 6 to 7 inches wide and 10 inches tall and no landings for the entire staircase. I misstep or a poorly placed heel and you get to find out just how good that travel insurance you bought before the trip actually is. Yes I am a wimp.
So that is that. Maybe the circus tonight. I kind of wanted to see a boxing match as well but they are only on Wednesdays. Right now finish my beer and take a nap.
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