Cambodia

Folks, always remember that when something sounds too good to be true, it almost definitely is. When shopping for bus tickets from Bangkok to Siem Reap (Cambodia), the travel agent gave me a price of 150 Baht (about $5 CDN) to get all the way. The Lonely Planet had suggested that it should cost about 500. Out of curiosity, I asked what it would cost to get just to the boarder (about half way). When the price came back as 300 Baht, the alarm bells went off, which I subsequently ignored as best I could.

Suprisingly, the bus actually did show up. It was a very cramped ride to the Thai / Cambodian boarder, but a total walk in the park compared to recent experiences. Just before the boarder, we stopped at a restaurant so that we could buy lunch and gain commission for the bus company and that's where the fun started. First, they told us that we had to give them our passports and 1200 Baht so that they could go get our Cambodian Visas for us. Wise to this scam and knowing that we can get it ourselves from the boarder for 1000, we declined this service. Next, they told us that there was a disagreement with the Cambodian side (obviously not their fault), so they would get us to the boarder at Poi Pet, Cambodia, but we were on our own from there.

At the boarder, the officials there even got into the spirit of things. The Visa costs $20 US or 1000 Baht, which is significantly more than the US$ price. So even though the Visa in my passport says clearly that the price was $20, we had to pay in Baht, likely so that there'd be something for these guys to put in their pocket.

Through all of this, 10 of the people who had been on the bus together had realized that we should stick together. On the Cambodian side of the boarder, we were met with a maddening throng of guys telling us that we "had to" buy a bus ticket from their company and that it would cost $12 US. We tried fruitlessly to get them to honour our tickets then to give us a better price. When this failed, we started walking away into the town. A long time later, after a good walk along the less than inviting streets of Poi Pet with 5 or six touts from the bus company hounding us, a few heated exchanges between us and them ("What part of PISS OFF do you not understand?"), an eventual breakthrough where we got to talk to the real boss, and a deal which saw us paying $5 US each (a reasonable price), we were on our way to Siem Reap.

We weren't out of the woods yet though. We had to deal with a traffic jam when one of the bridges "broke". Then, we discovered that the Cambodian effort to set a world record for density of pot holes on one highway is coming along quite nicely. Then throw on a bit of rain and nightfall just so things aren't too easy. Luckily, we were travelling with a great group of people who had a good attitude about things and we made it to Siem Reap tired but with enough energy to enjoy a couple of beers before crashing. In all, it only took us about 16 hours .....

Now, you might be wondering if all this effort was worth it. It was. Our destination of Siem Reap is not much itself, however, it is the closest town to the incredible ruins of the ancient capital of the Khmer empire, Angkor. We spent 3 days touring this deservedly famous site and I don't nearly have the words to describe it properly. From the majestic Angkor Wat to the enigmatic Bayon (featured in the movie Tomb Raider) to the beautiful dance between man and nature that is the jungle besieged Ta Prohm, my mind was constantly blown. The scale, beauty, and architectural accomplishment of Angkor is truely amazing. I've never seen anything close and I doubt I ever will, though maybe in Egypt or at Tikal. Our guidebook says that some Khmers did not believe that Angkor Wat was built by people and that it must be the work of the gods. The effect of seeing this place is to make one think they must be right.

We're now in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Pehn. Today was a truely strange, surreal, and difficult day. A bunch of us hired a van to take us around to some of the sites nearby. Last night was spent enjoying Angkor beer, red bull and vodka, and some "extrememly happy" pizza, so we were moving a little slow this morning to start with. However, our first stop did much to wake us up.

We hadn't asked to go here, but it was on the way, so our driver said we should stop by "just to watch". Some of you have heard of this place before, but for others, it will either shock or amuse. Arriving at the site, we were presented with a menu. Not so exciting you say, but this was no ordinary menu. It did contain Coke, Fanta, and bottled water just as every menu in this part of the world must. However, it also included items such as "AK47", "M16", "Antiaircraft", "Colt 45", "Shotgun", "Hand Grenade", and "Rocket Launcher". And I shit you not, everything on the menu was available. This shooting range allows you, for a heafty fee, to let your Rambo fueled fantasies go wild. Rumour has it that for an extra fee, you can trade your paper target for a live chicken. Or if you really have money to burn, get yourself a cow to dispose of with your rocket launcher. Proof that truth is much stranger than fiction. I wonder what Michael Moore would think of this?

None of us intended to take part, but the place was just so screwed up and surreal that we knew someone had to give it a try. Since I knew that Barc would never forgive me either if I missed out, I said I'd take one for the team and give it a go. I selected the russian made AK47 with its 30 shot clip mainly because it was the cheapest alternative. Taking me into a little room and suiting me up in the requisate camoflauge jacket, I was introduced to the AK47. This assault rifle has two modes, single shot and fully automatic. I shot off a few rounds in single shot mode first. The sound was deafening but having grown up around hunting rifles and having been trained on how to safely use them, the experience was probably more exciting for those looking on.

Then I switched to fully automatic mode. The shock that I felt when holding down that trigger and having 4 or 5 bullets go off stood in stark contrast to the single shot. It really brought home the destructive power of these weapons and the realization that there must be something wrong with a world that needs such things. It was definitely a rush, but I don't think I ever need to do that again. In the end, 4 other people gave it a go. Our justification is that we're actually helping by ridding Cambodia of some very unneeded ammunition. The fact that this place exists and fits right in is a sign that Cambodia is a nation with way too many guns and way to much violence in its past.

Our next stop was more direct and powerful evidence of that past. The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. Between 1975 and 1978, 17,000 men, women, children, and infants were transported here, bludgeoned to death to save bullets, and thrown into mass graves, somtimes containing upwards of 400 bodies. Many of the mass graves lay untouched and are only visible as sunken holes in the deceptively peaceful grass of the field. A memorial stupa houses a huge set of wodden shelves holding more than 8000 skulls, arranged by sex and age.

From there, we went on to Tuol Sleng Genocide museum. Called S-21, this infamous former high school was at the center of the horrendous detention and torture inflicted by the Khmer Rouge on the people of Cambodia. Preserved much as it as it was when the Vietnamese chased Pol Pot out of Phom Penh, this museum stands as a chilling reminder of how strange, cruel, and twisted an oppresive regime can get. Along with the torture rooms which still contain the sadistic contraptions that were used there, the rooms where prisoners slept shoulder to shoulder on the floor with their legs bound with iron bars, and the solitary detention areas that stand in some of the modified classrooms, the museum also has room after room full of floor to ceiling displays holding pictures of the victims. The KR kept meticulous records of everything and these haunting pictures show countless faces of men and women, old and young, who were victims of the revolution.

All of this was obviously pretty overwhelming. Trying to fathom how something like this could happen and what kind of monsters would perpetrate it, we all walked around in thoughtful silence. I've heard the stories of this and the halocuast along with the statistics (an estimated 2 million Cambodians were killed by the Khmer Rogue), but to really see these things right before you is a whole different experience. Especially when you realize that this all happened not so long ago. It's somehow easier to confront the halocaust which occured long before I was born, in a world that I've never known. But this happened during my lifetime. The people who lived through this and even those who worked (often against their will) for the Khmer Rouge still walk the streets of Phnom Penh and still live today. This seems to make the reality even more overwhelming and gives some insight into the pain endured by the people of this country.

This has all likely come off quite badly for Cambodia, so I must say that I love the people here. Beautiful people, they have such an amazing culture, as is evidenced by the temples at Angkor. When you look at a uniquely wonderful, broad Khmer smile, you can almost see the serenity and appreciation for peace that only a people to whom peace has been so illusive can hold.

The last night before we left Siem Reap, the guy who I had hired to drive me to and from the temples invited Aiden and I for dinner at his home. This was a really special experience. When Aly asked us, we quickly said yes and he mentioned that he would have his mom buy some chicken. From this, I had a mental image of heading to the supermarket to pick up something from the meat section, as nieve as that was. So, I was a bit surprised when we arrived and found that dinner was still running around underneath the house, quite unaware of what was in store for it. In the end, the food was terrific and we had a great time even though only our two drivers could speak english. Along with a couple of chicken dishes, we were served rice that they had grown in front of their house and harvested by hand. I thought that was pretty cool.

After dinner, we were sharing a couple of beers together and chatting as best we could. We talked about life in Cambodia, how 80% of the population are farmers, most of whom do not have the luxury of education. How the country is constantly under pressure from its powerful neighbours, Vietnam and Thailand, who some think will eventually consume Cambodia completely. We also talked briefly about the civil wars and governement oppression that has plagued their past. At one point Aly shook his head and said "Other countries, they fight with each other. But Cambodians only kill other Cambodians". These people are truely amazing and they deserve much better than they've had. Hopefully the future is brighter.

Anyway, we're going to be heading down to the beach soon before slowly finding our way back into Thailand. I hope that everyone's doing well. Keep in touch.

Justin

Bangkok, round 2

Hard to believe, but our time in Nepal is over. Aiden and I are in Bangkok now and it's quite a change from Kathmandu. So modern. Really a strange experience to drive on an expressway. Felt like Star Trek after Nepal. Kathmandu really feels like it's off in a backwater of the world. Especially with the APEC conference here right now, along with it's long list of world leaders, Bangkok feels very much like it's in the main stream. Luckily, we'll be heading for the backwaters again soon. Off to Cambodia tomorrow. Figured we'd be better to do that first before our habituation to the third world wears off.

We knew that there was a conference here, but not that the main meetings would fall when we were in town. As we landed, I saw a slew of jets marked with "The United States of America", one (or two) of which looked to be Air Force One, Curious George's ride. Seeing that confirmed that something was up. Then on the way to our guest house, we had to make a bunch of detours around streets which have been closed. TV coverage was constant and showed all the leaders showing up for some big bash. Haven't heard if people raised a fuss like in Vancouver, but I kind of doubt it.

Anyway, I'm excited about being in Thailand. To be in the one place where the word "food" actually means "thai food". That's like being in a place where when they say "water", they really mean "beer". I'm going to be the fattest guy on the beach for sure! :-)

As a fairwell to Nepal, we signed up for a 2 day rafting trip on the Bhote Koshi. This river is the steepest in Nepal and one of the best in the country. That's saying something for a country that is one of the best places for rafting in the world. I didn't know they had so many great rivers before, but I guess it makes sense. What do you expect when you get monsoons onto the highest mountains in the world?

As it turned out, we didn't get to run the upper part of the Bhote Koshi because the water is too high. Lots of class 5 and according to the guides, if you fell in at the top, you'd have to swim the whole way. With the water this high, there are no breaks, so we couldn't run it. This was dissapointing, but they told us that we'd get to run the Dalbera Khola instead, a nearby river with lots of whitewater (class 3+, 4, 4+) which has never been run in rafts, except for when the guides ran down it to scout things out. So we were a little disappointed, but they assured us it would still be a blast and we'd be certain to live, which was a definite plus.

The first day we spent rafting the lower Bhote Koshi, learning how to act on the river. There are some nice big rapids here, but lots of slow spots in between. We had fun in the rapids and enjoyed the soft spots as well. The scenery was amazing. Drifting down the river, through this idyllic, lush green canyon, I just wanted to keep on floating forever.

A couple of times, we got to get out of the boat too. Had lunch on the side of the river. Stopped in one spot at the end of a rapid and the guides let us jump off this huge rock into the river. A long drop into the water and then you'd get swept away by the current and have to fight your way out to the backwater. So much fun, I did it three times.

A little after that, we were enjoying a nice relaxing piece of water when our guide said we could swim through the next rapid. From where we were, it didn't look like much, so we thought "what the hell". However, as I began getting sucked into the rapid, our mistake was quite vividly made clear to us. I managed to keep my head roughly above water for the first half. The second half was spent wondering when I would get another breath, which way was up, how my head had found it's way into my ass, and "what the hell was I thinking"? Apparently everyone else had a similar experience, but we all survived. Once we'd regained our spacial orientation and got a bit of fresh air into our lungs, the smiles returned to our faces and we all admitted that it was a lot of fun. These things turned a good day into a great one. It wasn't just for fun though. It had as much to do with safety, since the company wants to make sure you have experience in the river under controlled circumstances before you end up there on accident.

After packing the boats onto the bus, we headed up to the Boarderlands Resort, where we were to spend the night. This resort 16 miles from the boarder with Tibet is owned by the rafting company. We weren't expecting much, but it turned out to be a gorgeous little oasis up in the mountains. Beautiful rock paths all around and a cool thatched roof dining hall. Right along the river. The food was impressive and the beer wasn't bad either. We had a great group of people in our boat and we had an awesome time getting to know them.

The next morning, we ran the Dalbera Khola. Because this river has never been run by a commercial group, our presence caused quite a stir. Not long after we drug our boats down too the riverside, the crowd started to gather. Before we knew it, we had a huge throng of school boys, in uniform, bouncing on the rafts, trying on our gear, watching us intently, and of course, trying to get us to give them money. All along the river people were waving to us and running to watch us. At one point, we stopped to give a couple of "swimmers" from another boat some time to rest and recover. As we looked downstream, we could see a suspension bridge hanging over the river. Looking a little closer, we noticed that it was packed, shoulder to shoulder, with people. It turns out that word of our descent got down to this village as well and the entire school emptied to hang out on the bridge and watch us! And they waited there patiently for half an hour until we went by.

After a long, cramped ride back to Kathmandu, we all grabbed showers then met up for dinner. This led to a couple of clubs, lots of beer, and a few shots of Tequila. We had a great time, but it didn't leave Aiden and I with much time to sleep. 2 hours was about enough for the booze to wear off and the pain to set in before we headed for the airport. Had an amazing time on that trip and it was a perfect way to cap our time in Nepal.

So, I hope that everyone is doing well wherever they are. Hopefully not too many of you in BC have drowned. I hear the rains are back with a vengence .....

Take it easy,

Justin

Royal Chitwan

When you're 5 meters from a 2 ton wild rhino and her baby, the best place to be is 10 feet up a tree. Thankfully, that's where I found myself. Absolutely speaking, the best place to be is on the back of an elephant. But really, they're just trees that move anyway, so let's not split hairs. When my guide started throwing sticks and stones into the elephant grass to try and coax them out into the open, I began quickly to question his sanity. This was followed shortly by an assessment of my own sanity in following him and a curiosity as to how I got into this situation.

Well, this is pretty much how. After spending a little too long enjoying the crazy, horn happy, madness that is Thamel (Kathmandu's tourist district), we were very pleased to get on a bus and leave for a short while. Our destination was Royal Chitwan National Park, around 150 road km from Kathmandu. Back home, that would take at most 2 hours to cover. In this case, the road which looked like it had been through WWIII managed to slow us down a bit. Countless times, the road would narrow to a single lane of gravel, mud, and water that reminded me strongly of the roads we seek when 4x4ing back home. This coupled with the sheer drop to the river far below made for an interesting drive.

What made it even more interesting was the traffic. Unfortunately, we were not the only people on the road. We had to share it with a plethora of other busses, most of whom seemed in more of a hurry than us. At any slight possibility, an opening of mere inches in the road, they would lay on their unique and musical horns and make an attempt to pass us. The insanity of these antics, often done on blind corners, must be seen to be believed. Then there are the never ending streams of transport trucks, each nicely decorated with pictures of Shiva, nice ribbons, and more garland than the most gaudy of Christmas trees.

So finally, after 8 long, hot, and uncomfortable hours, we arrived at our destination. Luckily, we found a nice hotel by the river where we could relax and watch the sun set on the almost African scene.

The next day we headed off on a day long, 22 km walk through the park with our guide from the hotel. This began with a nerve wracking crossing of the river in just about the dodgiest canoe I've ever laid eyes on. The fact that we had roughly 2 inches of gunnel above the water on either side was made more poignant by the fact that our guide had just pointed out 2 "Marsh Mugger" crocodiles lying in the water a short distance from where we launched.

Once across the river, our guide felt it was the appropriate time to give us a bit of "information" about what we might run into. This essentially consisted of a listing of the dangerous animals in the park and what to do if we ran into them. In summary, if a rhino get's upset, climb a tree. If the tree is too big, just hide behind it. If there are no trees, run in a zig zag pattern and throw anything you can in his way. I have a feeling that this zig zag thing is akin to the story that bears can't run down hill (something my great uncle attests to being fasle, having once been chased down a hill by a bear), but at this point I was happy to accept it. If a sloth bear gets upset, we can probably annoy it enough by just screaming really loud that he will likely just leave. Our guide then explained that the only time tigers usually take interest in humans is when they are too old to catch wild game. The fact that he did not contribute a defence strategy here seemed quite important.

Tigers. The Royal Bengal Tiger to be exact. This creature is the most famous resident of the Chitwan park, though they are rarely ever seen. For the likely large proportion of you who have read "Life of Pi", you will know what this animal is like. Between 70 and 100 Richard Parkers are thought to reside in the park. I'll break the suspense now and confirm that we did not see one. However, we saw tiger tracks EVERYWHERE which was a constant reminder of whose kingdom we were in.

Shortly after leaving the river, we were walking through the 10 foot tall elephant grass when we heard something just to our right. It was not long after this that I found myself up the tree.

The rest of the walk was interesting, but much less exciting. We saw deer, monkeys, storks, and various (harmeless) snakes. Near the end of the walk, we stopped to check out the crocodile breeding centre. Jody and Thomas will be interested to know that along with crocs, they also breed turtles. I even saw some faded old signs for conferences is San Jose and Puntaranus Costa Rica. The latter was associated with Cabo Blanco, the Costa Rican national park that I vistited in April. This seemed a strange coincidence.

All told, the most dangerous (actually, more annoying that dangerous) creature that we had to deal with was the leech. Even though I had my pants tucked into my socks, one managed to find its way inside and get a good donation from me. However, I faired much better than the other guy that was with us. I'll leave it to your imagination to dream up where he might have gotten a leach. Have you had a chance to think? You're right. As bad as it could be, this guy got it. If I hadn't been there myself, I wouldn't have believed it.

The next day, we took it easier. Had an absolute blast playing with the elephants in front of our hotel. For about $2, we got to go into the water and help bathe the elephants. So much fun, climbing on their backs and getting sprayed and all that fun stuff. Later on, we went for a proper ride on the back of another elephant through the forest and got even closer to some rhinos.

Returning here today turned out to be the greatest adventure of all. The Maoists decided to burn a bus in the middle of the road which left a traffic jam that took us 3.5 hours to get through. All told, it took us 12 hours to get back here. I am now completely ready for bed.

Well, sorry for the length here. Hopefully some of it is of mild interest.

Take care,

Justin

One road ends and another begins

In a thousand ages of the Gods
I could not tell thee
of the glories of the Himalaya
Just as the dew is dried
by the morning sun
So are the sins of mankind
by the sight of the Himalaya
-- Skanda Purana


We're back on the map again. Well, in Kathmandu at least. We had an absolutely amazing time and I wish I could describe it to you all. But as the poem above implies, that's just not possible. There are some things that cannot be captured on film or described in words. They just have to be experienced and I hope that you all have the chance one day. However, that won't stop me from pestering everyone with zillions of photos when I do get back ... :-)

Leaving Namche Bazzar, we slowly made our way up the trail towards Everest Base Camp. Base Camp itself is not really the most important thing, but it is the one people recognize most, so I'll stick to it. Our first few days were mired by bad weather and a few bouts with AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). However, a few days rest and a fist full of Diamox later, I was feeling better and the clouds began to part.

One of the first of the great peaks that was revealed to us was Ama Dablam. Called by some "The Jewel of the Himalaya" and rightly so. This spectacular peak is my favorite. As we got farther along the trail, we saw Lhotse, Nuptse, Cholatse, Taboche, Thamserku and many others whose names were meaningless to me a few weeks ago and which will probably be meaningless to most of you. But now, I'll never forget them.

It wasn't until late in our trek, as we got very close to the destination viewing point of Kala Pattar that we were able to see Everest itself. In the end, we saw the mountain from mamy different angles, some better than others. (Ironically, the best view of the mountain was not from Kala Pattar, but from the next valley over, Gokyo. It came at a place called "Scoundral's Viewpoint" because it has the best view and, unlike Kala Pattar and Gokyo Ri, you don't have to climb 2 hours straight up to get there.) Seeing the mountain was the fulfillment of a childhoon dream for me. I can remember hours spent pouring over the "Everest" and "Mountain" entires in the World Book Encyclopedia that resided in our family room. Then running my finger across a globe, looking for that spot between Tibet and Nepal where the great mountain lay. So now, being able to see it myself, was truely amazing.

Seeing the mountain, and being in that environment, also brought home the realities of how mankind fits, or doesn't fit, amongst these peaks. We passed several "Everest Graveyards" with countless chortens paying tribute to those, Sherpa and foreign, who have not returned from the mountain. I also finished reading "Into Thin Air" and "The Climb" (somewhat conflicting accounts of the diasterous 1996 Everest season) as we approached the mountain, so seeing the memorials to Scott Fischer and Rob Hall were especially striking. On the way into Base Camp itself, we came across the wreckage of a helicopter crash that occured last season. All of this a quite sobering reminder that when you play up here, you play for keeps.

But we were very safe and were never really in any danger. Covered a lot of ground though and I'm happy to be sitting on my ass for while. Took tons of pictures and will torture you with them as soon as I'm back. Met a lot of great people up here too, which was fun.

A couple of random observations:

Sherpas. For all of their many and varied skills, creating fire is not one of them. This was made apparent to us on several occasions, most notably in Tengboche where the Sherpa running the lodge descided to stuff the fireplace so full that there wasn't breath of air in the thing, pour a bit of kerosene on the top, and drop a match in. As one would expect, the mass of wood and yak dung acted as an excellent whick to ensure that the kerosene burned right off the top. He seemed to enjoy this. We Canadians (and couple of Kiwis) finally had to take over and prove that there actually was one thing we could do better ....

Working in the Khunde hospital (the medical centre for the region, established by Sir Ed and manned by both Canadian and New Zealand doctors) is tantamount to being royalty up in the Khumbu (Everest Region). We got to know one of these doctors, Jean, and everywhere we went, the proverbial red carpet was rolled out. We began calling her "Jean, Queen of the Khumbu."

Things are more difficult at altitude. This seems like common sense, but it hits home much harder when climbing five stairs to use the washroom leaves you so out of breath, you need ten minutes and a cup of tea to recover.

One thing that isn't more difficult at altitude is urination. This natural process goes absolutely sideways as the body tries to adapt to the thinning atmosphere. I am hoping beyond hope that this night I will be able to limit my nocturnal trips to the toilet so that they can be counted on one hand ....

HAT. Many have heard of High Altitude Sickness, but our friend Simon coined a new medical term to describe the declining cognitive abilities that come with the barometric pressure (and therfore oxygen level) dropping to 50% of what it is at sea level. HAT, High Altitude Thickness. If it takes four people half an hour to remember the name of a movie that everyone has watched, you know you've got it.



Anyway, sorry for rambling on so long. Just trying to perpetuate my excuse for sitting down and doing nothing for a while. We're going to be hanging around Kathmandu for a while and probably heading off to Pokara, a nearby city (that is, only a 12 hour bus ride), for a while. I hope that everything is well wherever you are.

Justin

P.S. Feel free to write me back and let me know how you all are doing. In Kathmandu, the internet access is cheap and fast, so I'll probably even be able to respond!