Tales and Songs from Weddings and Funerals

Tales of Asia

From a lazy boat trip down the Mekong to the crazy streets of Phnom Penh, the last two weeks have just flown past. Currently we are in Siem Reap, the access town for the temples of Angkor. Typical for my luck - many of the temples have scaffolding up - the good news is they are undergoing restoration.!

Getting here has been quite the adventure: the Thai-Laos border crossing involved one night in a hostel where leeches had taken residence in the bathroom; the town at the half-way point had all generator power off at 10 pm, making in really dark; and the touts in Louang Phabang are pretty persistent. However, 15 minutes on the Mekong river makes you forget all the major troubles and minor annoyances as you motor through the beauty and stillness. Only a few speed boats passed us (those that make the run between the border and Louang Phabang in 6 hours instead of 2 days). You have to be pretty brave (or slightly crazy) to get in one of those as they have been known to hit the rocks, just underneath the muddy water, with alarming regularity. The water reminded me of chocolate milk. Our boat took it easy, stopping every once and a while to pick up another person and their belongings: a suitcase, bag of rice, rebar, freshly caught fish, chickens (both alive and dead)... and every time I thought it would be impossible to find room for another person - a scooter would be wheeled on the front.

After two great days on the water, it felt as though the land would be a big disapointment - fortunately Louang Phabang was not! The former French colonial town retained a lot of its charm, french baguettes can be found in nearly every cafe. It was also the home of some of the strangest fusion cuisine I have ever seen - Laos/French ... pate of Mekong fish with a side of Mekong river weed, fried and coated with sesame seeds. Both were actually quite good. The highlight of the city was actually outside the city - a waterfall called Kouang Si. There is swimming in most of the pools of these falls and you can jump in from one level to the next. The surrounding park is home to wildlife sanctuaries, a rescue centre for Asiatic black bears and a tiger who was saved from poachers.

Our final morning we watched monks line up single file to collect alms at 6 am, the line of orange robes stretches for many city blocks. Everyday the people line the main streets to make merit (good for the afterlife) and give food to the monks.

Shortly after, we left Louang Phabang for the capital of Laos, Vientiane, a city alarming like Paris, right down to the mini Arc-de-Triumph (Patouxai) at the end of a mini Champs-de-Elysee. The saving grace was a sunset over the Mekong as viewed from the bar formerly known as 'the end of the earth bar.' The place expats would go when the Laos government was restricting the movements of foreigners - it was as far out of the capital (1 km) they could go without official permission. A great place for a drink.

Speaking of great drinking locations- the Foreign Correspondents Club in Phnom Penh was a brilliant place to watch the sun go down while getting slowly smashed with friends. We met up with a couple of girls we travelled with in Thailand and - aside from indulging in half-price happy hour sangria - we visited an orphanage. As much as it was good for the kids for one-on-one attention - it was good for us. The kids performed some Aspara (traditional Khmer (Cambodian)) dances between impromptu clapping games and random math questions. Phnom Penh was not all fun and games though, we visited the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields, where once again I was reminded of the horrible things people can do to one another. Toul Sleng, also known as S21, was a school the Khmer Rouge converted into a place to torture those they thought opposed them: intellectuals, doctors, teachers, even people with glasses. Much of the museum has been left they way it was found - classrooms converted into holding cells and torture chambers... Despite the hardships the people endured under that Khmer Rouge Regime, the Khmer people are very welcoming and friendly. Overall Phnom Penh is a dirty, smelly city desperately trying to develop - I love it!

Mom on the other hand had no problem leaving to head to Siem Reap and the temples. Sunrise at Angkor Wat gave the feeling of being in a National Geographic video. Ta Phrom, on the other hand, was brought to current fame as the 'Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider Temple.' Not for that reason, but it was my favourite temple - trees growing out of the parts that haven't yet crumbled. The jungle is slowing reclaiming its turf.

And while on the topic of jungles tomorrow we leave Cambodia (sob) and head back to Bangkok.

posted by Angela @ 5:17 p.m.