Sixintheworld.com

At home our parents are always very strict about car safety. If we forget to put on our seat belt even one time, we get in trouble, probably because it’s the law. “Click it or ticket!’” as the signs say in Georgia. But in Asia, there is no law like that. There aren’t even usually any seat belts. You can hang out the sides of the car, stand on the roof, or even sit on the driver’s lap and no one cares. For instance, in Cambodia and some other countries, the backs of pick-ups are fully loaded with 20 people or more. But the most unsafe part is the roads! Where there are roads, they’re mostly all old and destroyed. One of the holes in the road could easily send someone who wasn’t holding on to the pick-up flying. It’s amazing how unsafe it is. We see tipped trucks all the time! Not pick-ups but the big huge ones, like 8 or 12 wheelers.

In Laos we experienced some very unsafe things compared to Cambodia though. Some more than others. To me the biggest one was the tuk-tuk ride to the Buddha caves. It was a 45-minute ride on a partially dirt road in an open-ended pick up truck. It wasn’t the missing door in the back that was creepy though; it was my dad. He stood on the back bumper because he didn’t want to get sick. He only did it on the dirt road with all the huge rocks and bumps. I don’t know why he would do it there and not on the paved road. Really I don’t why he even did it. Maybe he’s just a big kid. I felt like a parent, because I kept telling him to come down, but he wouldn’t. Too bad I couldn’t ground him.

The boat ride across the river to the Buddha caves was better, even if the seats moved and were just wooden stools. At least it wasn’t dangerous.

Then there was the mini-bus ride through the mountains from Luang Prabang to Vieng Vang. It wasn’t that it was dangerous, it was that it made you sick–real sick. I felt like I was going to puke even with the anti-motion sickness pill I took. I do this really strange thing where my stomach gets real hot, then my head gets hot, then I feel like I’m gonna throw up. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. This time I didn’t, but Asher did, all over herself and mom.There was no warning at all. She just blew, everywhere. That was when mom regretted giving Ash a chocolate milk, in a bus, swerving around mountains. We had to stop on the side of the road to take off Asher’s clothes and put them in a bag. We just wrapped mom’s coat around her. Mom on the other hand couldn’t take off her pants because all our bags were tied to the roof of the van. The worst part about that was that it made the whole car smell. Luckily the two other couples in the van–Australian and Dutch–weren’t mad and used the stop as an excuse for a smoke break.

A little further down the road at a town high in the mountains, we bought mom a skirt, so she could change out of her pukey pants. We also bought me and Kieran new $2.50 coats because the open windows were letting freezing air in. After a 15-minute break in the foggy, cold town, everyone felt a bit better. Next we made our way down the mountains to the next pit stop where it was nice and warm so we didn’t need our coats. We got ice cream there and played with a funny little puppy that was scrounging for food. Luckily, no one else threw up the rest of the way. We felt better when we heard from the people that were in other mini buses that they all had people throw up. The difference was since they were adults, they actually warned the driver to stop before they lost their lunch. We haven’t really done any bad travel since then except for the tuk-tuk to the Buddha park in Vientiane where we got a flat and had to take another one. Goodbye, and so long, McKane is gone.

Technorati Tags: Cambodia, Family travel, Laos, Luang Prabang, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW, Safety, Travel, Vang Vieng

In many ways, Cambodia is the wild west of Southeast Asia. No longer overrun by gunslingers, it still bears the hallmarks of a frontier nation, a new society, albeit with ancient roots, emerging from the utter destruction inflicted by the Khmer Rouge. Rules are made to be broken, politicians are all on the take, and the country is overrun by NGO workers seeking to bring order and predictability. This said, we LOVE Cambodia. Despite the inherent craziness, the people are fabulous–warm, happy, and humble–the landscape rich, and the history mindboggling. Here are the top 6 things we learned this time around:

1. Cambodia is a bargain for kids. Despite what your Vietnamese tour guide might tell you (and charge you), children’s visas are FREE as is their admission to the Angkor complexes. Score one for the family travelers!

2. Westerners lack creativity when it comes to motorized transport. The Cambodians have long been known for their ability to fit livestock, the entire contents of their homes, and nuclear families on motorbikes, but now it seems they’ve applied this riding innovation to cars and trucks as well. About an hour south of Phnom Penh we saw Cambodia’s vehicle of choice, the used Toyota Camry imported from Japan, carrying 15. Passengers sat 3 deep in back seats and even drivers carried a passenger or two on their laps. Can you imagine traveling an American highway with a couple kids on your lap?Trucks plied the dirt roads stacked high with cargo while a few dozen passengers enjoyed the fresh air and unique views afforded from the roof.

3. This is where all the Koreans have gone. It’s funny how different countries define their “it” vacation spots. Americans go to Western Europe or Cabo, Australians go to Bali, the Russians go to Turkey, and Koreans go to Cambodia. Korea is pumping a lot of money into the country–training tour guides, building infrastructure, and developing hotels–but some locals fear the splendid ruins of Angkor will soon resemble Disneyland, replete with water parks and cotton candy carts.

4. The human spirit is indomitable. The radiant smiles on the Cambodians’ faces make it easy to forget their troubled history. More than 1/3 of the population was killed at the hands of the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979, yet those who survived the genocide radiate hope and joy today. It’s hard to fathom what they endured and even harder to believe they’ve not only carried on but thrived in the aftermath.

5. $12 can make all the difference. Next time you pick up a few Value Meals from McDonald’s or order a pizza from Domino’s, pause for a moment and think about Cambodia. The $12 you spend on a single meal could put a Cambodian child through school for a whole year. Don’t feel guilty and by all means be sure to enjoy your high-fat feast, just make sure when you get home you make an online donation to the Ponheary Ly Foundation. And tell them we sent you.

6. Corrupt governments make for interesting travel opportunities. It is commonly acknowledged in Cambodia that the reason there is no paved road from Siem Reap to the Thai border at Poipet is that Bangkok Airways doesn’t want ground transport to become a comfortable alternative to their daily flights. Most believe the company provides incentives for the Cambodian government to keep the road rough. Those in a hurry or accustomed to comfort fork over a few hundred dollars to make the quick flight, while those with more time and less money pay $10-15 for a bus to the border and a connecting bus from there to Bangkok. The 3-4 hour drive to Poipet is a bumpy, dusty adventure not to be missed. Be sure to send the Cambodian powers that be a thank you note when you get to Bangkok.

Technorati Tags: Cambodia, Family travel, Poipet, Angkor, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW, Siem Reap

The ruins at Angkor represent the apex of ancient Khmer civilization and form the heart of modern Cambodia. It is difficult for anything else in the country, much less all of Southeast Asia, to compare. That said, here are our top things to do in this wonderful land:

1. Asher — Play with Cambodian kids, especially Fifi (Ponheary Ly’s nephew)
2. Kieran — Look for bugs at the Angkor temples
3. McKane — Visit/take food to a rural school
4. Dax — Learn more about Angkor history
5. Anne — Explore the magnificent temples of Angkor
6. Tom — The same thing Anne said (He’s a copycat)

Technorati Tags: Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Family travel, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW

While we’re sure Cambodia has good food somewhere within its boundaries, we didn’t find much during our brief stay. We had some tasty Indian food in Phnom Penh and discovered a yummy Cambodian restaurant in Siem Reap on our last night in the town. Other than that we had bad tourist food at charmless restaurants that cater to tour group busses. Here are the foods we liked best:

1. Tom — Pork Amok at Temple Club, Siem Reap
2. Anne — Cambodian noodle dish at Temple Club, Siem Reap
3. Dax — Indian food in Phnom Penh
4. McKane — Spaghetti Bolognese (there’s a surprise!)
5. Kieran — Nothing
6. Asher — Crackers

Technorati Tags: Cambodia, Family travel, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW

After our little stay in Siem Reap, we had decided to do as most travelers in the area and head out to Bangkok via bus or taxi. Now we had heard that Bangkok Air, which has a monopoly on the Bangkok-Siem Reap air route, had convinced the government not to fix up the roads, but we had no idea what we were really in store for: Route 6, the roughest, most unpaved major road running through Cambodia into Thailand.

Let’s backtrack a little to the day before we embarked on our little journey down Route 6. We were in a rush. We wanted to leave the next day from Siem Reap to Bangkok on a bus or if necessary take a few taxis. After bumping into some friends we originally met in China, we found out that there was an $11/person non-A/C bus heading out at 7:30 the next morning. Tour busses in this part of the world are notorious for ripping people off, so we didn’t know if we could trust this bus (which we later found was a ‘mini’ bus that traveled in a squad with other mini busses). We headed to travel agents. Each gave us a different price for the same bus. It seems no matter where in southeast Asia you are, people are just going to want to rip you off. We looked around for a little while longer and ran into some more people we had met previously, these on the boat from Vietnam. They were having trouble finding a hotel in Thailand for Christmas, maybe a sign for the future… We went back to the hotel and started calling around about taxis. After seeing that everybody wanted us to prepay in cash, a dangerous practice, we decided to send Dad to the gas station where the taxis hung out in the morning. He ended up getting two taxis for a reasonable price to take us to the Cambodian-Thai border town of Poipet, which locals say rhymes with toilet for a reason. From there we’d get a bus to Bangkok. We woke up early, loaded up, and got in our taxis–Dad, Mac, and Asher in one and Mom, Kieran, and I in the other.

We started driving out of town on Route 6. As soon as we got outside the city, the road deteriorated from nicely paved asphalt to dirt and rocks. The cab shook and a rock smashed into the windshield. The driver, who didn’t speak a word of English, tried to gesture that it was fine. We weren’t so sure. Kieran fell asleep easily enough but I had a harder time. The bumping and rocking of the car was making it impossible to sleep, so I decided to just listen to my IPod. The scenery on the roadside was amazing so it was another reason to stay up. Rice patty after rice patty after rice patty. Farm after farm, and then of course your regular gas station. Another reason to stay awake was the fact that we nearly crashed into a few trucks and cars throughout the ride. The rules of the road are minimal so every move is dangerous. But you should watch my dad’s video for more on that. I was extremely surprised that motorbikes managed to stay driving on the road. The state of it was appalling and one would have expected them to all crash and create a hailstorm of rocks. Now we knew that there was a conspiracy to keep the roads bad, but none of us could have known they meant this bad. The road was entirely dirt, the only smooth part being the bridges which were constructed of metal plates. Every turn, every acceleration felt like we were going to launch in the air and crash into a rice patty on the side of the road. A few near crashes, a lot of rocks in the windshield, some rough sleep, and a feeling of anger towards a certain airline, and we arrived at our destination, hoping for better roads on our next adventure.

Luckily we found these roads on the way to Bangkok. The government bus was very nice and got us to the city quickly. Good for us, we needed the rest after the previous car ride.

Technorati Tags: Cambodia, Family travel, Overland travel, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW, Siem Reap, Thailand

When we were in Hanoi, we visited Vietnam’s National History Museum, which contains a variety of ancient statues on open air display. Coming off a month in China where people tickled Buddha bellies, stuck fingers in Buddha ears, and generally disregarded any posted rules, Asher thought the Vietnamese relics were fair game. It was difficult to make her understand that 700 year old artifacts are to be admired from a distance, not poked, prodded, ridden, or kicked. Cambodia’s spectacular Angkor complex proved more fulfilling for the kids, since its myriad temples, ranging in age from roughly 1100 to 800 years, were made to be climbed, traversed, and touched.

Fortunately, our guide, Ponheary, is an expert on all things Angkor and Cambodia. Before the rule of the Khmer Rouge and in the days before the land was peppered with landmines, Angkor Wat was her playground. She ran the corridors, scaled the staircases, and searched for treasure inside the sacred walls. At first I worried when the kids tired of ancient Hindu stories and their attention wandered to grassy courtyards and stacks of fallen stones. I hoped Ponheary would not be offended by their limited attention spans, but she was unphased. She was quick to help them catch crickets, showed them which stones were safe for climbing and jumping and pointed out the best places to play hide and seek.

The kids were thrilled on our second day of Angkor touring when Ponheary brought her 3-year old nephew FeeFee along to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat with us. It took him a little while to warm up to us, but soon he was giggling, chasing, and jumping like a regular Andrus. The kids had so much fun with him that morning that they asked Ponheary to bring him the next day as well. He joined us in the morning and even brought along a toy truck to share with Asher.

Most other tourists seem to enjoy kids, even ours. They usually find them a novelty and in some situations go so far as to praise their behavior. Because it is holiday time and school is out in countries around the globe, we’ve run into an increasing number of them. One particular group, however, was not impressed with our brood or a few others at Wat Prohm, the jungle temple of Tomb Raider fame. Somehow three American families had converged at the same spot at the same time and all wanted to take the same pictures. The first two families posed their kids in the doorway in a highly efficient manner, taking perhaps three minutes total for their shoots. A small group of ***nationality hidden**** tourists shouted “Bravo” as the second family completed its shoot. I thought they were sincere. Why wouldn’t they be? The kids were adorable and well-behaved. Tom then hustled our kids in and took another two minutes to snap our pictures. One of the waiting tourists had had enough and rudely shouted, “Could you move? We are trying to take pictures here.” Tom asked, “Oh, you want pictures of the kids? I’ll be happy to get out of the way.” He was being facetious. He had picked up on the man’s nastiness, which I had missed…probably because of the accent. I was still coming off our experience in China, where each of the 1.5 billion inhabitants wanted to take pictures of our kids, so why should these people be any different?

After we finished, we waited to see what possible photographic masterpieces could warrant such boorish behavior. Had they wanted to take pictures of their wives or their friends in this scenic, world famous spot? Nope. They just wanted pictures of the spot itself, something they could buy in a postcard and that provided no proof they had ever been there. Ponheary apologized and expressed her regret that she understood their language and the anti American insults they were hurling at us and the other families. (You might be able to guess their nationality by now.) One member of the group whom we had met before actually apologized to McKane on the way out for her travel companion’s breach of travel etiquette. We took some consolation in the fact that it wasn’t just us they disliked; when we got to the next good photo spot, one of the men rudely and impatiently chased two young women out of the way for the same offense–having the nerve to take their own pictures in a place they traveled thousands of miles to reach.

Grandma Lorelie has taught us that everything is worth documenting and we refuse to visit a place without creating a visual reminder that we were there. We are truly sorry that these fuddy duddies couldn’t find any joy in temporarily well-behaved kids creating memories with their parents. It’s ok though. We’re in good company. We’re far more inclined to hang out with these Chinese kids who understand that pictures can and should be fun.

It’s hard to tell what the kids, especially the little ones, will take away or remember from this year. When they look at the pictures they might remember, “Hey, that’s where we caught that praying mantis,” or “That’s the time we kicked the sand,” but there’s also a chance they will remember the Naga, the mythical Cambodian serpent, or how the Hindu king destroyed all the faces of Buddha in the temples. They might even realize that the buildings they visited were more than 1000 years old. No matter how you cut it, the takeaway has got to be worthwhile…unless of course you’re a grumpy old tourist from an unnamed country who gets his kicks harrassing happy travelers.

Technorati Tags: Adventure, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Family travel, kids, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW, Wat Prohm

Following is Mac’s post in comic book style. It’s about our trip to the Angkor temples and a little side trip we took to a local school. The school is in a rural area of Cambodia, where many kids can’t afford the $12 per year it takes to buy the uniform and supplies necessary to attend school. If you are interested in helping out these children or ones like them at other local schools, you can donate to the Ponheary Ly Foundation. (Tom)

Read the rest of this entry »

Tom and I first visited the Angkor complex and the neighboring town of Siem Reap in the summer of 2003. At the time, we were blown away by the magnificence of the temples and the simplicity of the small, friendly town. During the day it seemed we had the sites to ourselves and at night the streets were still. We learned only this week that there was a reason for this peaceful appearance to both Angkor and Siem Reap: SARS. As contrarian travelers, we had ignored the panic surrounding the SARS scare and flown to Southeast Asia just as it was abating. While others had cancelled or changed their destinations, we plowed forward and benefited as a result. We didn’t realize it at the time, but an American expat in Phnom Penh pointed out the coincidence this week. Angkor is a circus he warned. Soon it will be a full blown amusement park.

We weren’t sure what to expect, but as soon as the bus pulled into Siem Reap, we could tell things had changed. Where once there had been a one-story corner bank, there was a four- or five-story office building. Convenience stores, restaurants, and hotels all filled spaces where once there was dirt and debris. Legions of brightly painted tuk tuks plied the streets and the number of Toyota Camrys, the car of choice here, had skyrocketed. When our guide, Ponheary, picked us up at 8:00 the next morning, she took us first to Angkor Wat, the king of the temples, and had us enter from the back side. “We’re coming this way to avoid the groups,” she said. “You wouldn’t believe the crowds in the afternoon. The tour busses come around 3:00.”

Before we could enter the temple, we had to negotiate our way around a hastily assembled stage draped in blue plastic. Paper confetti littered the surrounding earth and strings of lights lined the stairs leading into the ancient corridors. “They had a dinner and cultural show here a few days ago,” Ponheary explained. “Did you go?” Tom asked. “Oh no. The tickets were $1,500 a piece.” Sad, I thought. Tricking out the temple in this way seemed like dressing a beloved daughter up in garish clothing and sending her on a date with the highest bidder.

As I reminded Kieran and Asher that the hundreds of offensive bulbs were not put there to be unscrewed by small children, Ponheary led us around the eastern wall. She told in great detail the story of the Ramayana as depicted in the temple’s intricate carvings. No more than 5 minutes into her narrative we collided with a large group of Koreans moving the opposite direction. “Don’t worry. They’ll be gone in a minute. They don’t spend much time. They just look and move on,” Ponheary explained. Sure enough, within a minute the group had departed, but not before Ponheary had to scold one of its members for leaning two feet over the guide rope to rub–yes, rub–the 800 year old carving.

Now there is hardly a world landmark or wonder you can visit without encountering tour groups, but Angkor had seemed to defy this form of travel. It was a remote location in a war ravaged country that had been forgotten by the outside world for centuries. Only the intrepid and inquisitive reached it, and what they found once they arrived was intoxicating: a sprawling complex comprising dozens of structures covering more than 40 square miles. The complex begged to be wandered slowly, explored carefully, and considered deliberately. To this dedicated traveler, sprinting from one temple to another, snapping a few pictures, and moving on seemed a betrayal of Angkor’s grandeur, a travesty of travel.

During our first visit, we did not see a single tour group. The other visitors had either hired private guides as we had or were wandering with guidebooks close at hand, studying their contents and pondering the structures accordingly. This week it seemed over half of the people visiting the temples arrived in brightly colored tour busses, traveled between sites in stretch-limousine length golf carts, and spent about 4.2 minutes at each location.

So what happened in the last three years to change things? Korea discovered Angkor. According to Ponheary, before 2004, she had never encountered a Korean tourist. The licensed guides spoke English, French, German and Japanese, but not Korean. There was no need. At some point, some Korean decided Angkor was ripe for development and won a contract from the Cambodian government to develop a system of roads, concessions, and transport for the complex. Koreans began buying property all over Siem Reap and Korean Air established direct flights from Seoul. We arrived during the Khmer-Korean Cultural Festival, an event sponsored by Korean interests and held under brightly colored tents outside town. Cambodians stood on the streets trying to sell tickets but no one seemed to be buying them.

The land that lines the newly built roads around town sits vacant, but it is not hard to imagine waterparks, shopping malls, and movie theaters popping up overnight. The government, which has sold the police station, the palace, and other key locations, to private interests, doesn’t seem to have a sound development plan. Six Flags Cambodia might be just around the corner.

I am grateful that we got the kids here while Angkor is still beautiful and while Siem Reap is still gentle. Stringing lights across the ancient sandstone floors and plopping picnic tables on the grounds won’t erase the beauty of the temples, but it will certainly make it harder to see. If the experience of visiting Angkor becomes too easy, too air conditioned, too automated, this ancient, sacred place will lose much of its power. I am not blaming the Koreans per se; if they hadn’t come, someone else surely would have. I just hope their 21st century development doesn’t destroy what 1100 years has thus far preserved.

Technorati Tags: Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Family travel, Round the world, Round-the-world, RTW, Siem Reap