Killer Cars

Continuing from last week, I was still in Kompong Chnang province where I was enjoying solitude relaxing where cable TV, and the hotel bike were my best friends. Unfortunately, the only trip without photos, but was still the more memorable points in my trip. Afterwards, I headed to a wedding for one of my cousins, and spend 2 days in busy Bangkok. I left with a bad impression of the hustle and bustle and came to appreciate the quieter and nicer lives of the Cambodians I left.

Highlights and Observations

8 AM on the 9th, and it’s still my birthday on the other side of the world
I slept in that morning, for the first time in my whole trip. Unfortunately I couldn’t sleep past 8:30 or so and was too lazy to walk for some noodle soup. However, I checked my Lonely Planet book for an internet place and there was 1 in reasonable walking distance. I checked it out, logged in and e-mailed for an hour or 2. The one thing I found interesting about this hour was, even though it was technically the 9th of February where I was, it was still the 8th back in America, and it felt funny to talk as if my birthday was an extra half day or something.

The teacher sold candy?
When I was walking around with my cousin, I commented on the abundance of private English academies, even if they are placed right next to each other. My cousin even went to explain that they can be as random in the rural areas, and the demand for English teaching is always high. He then later went on to explain how corrupt all the primary school teachers can be. The system goes that each child pays for school daily, and as the school teacher collects her pay, she also goes around selling candy to the children. Another point in how all Cambodians have a second job. My cousin further explained his distaste for the system because many poor children don’t have the money for English classes. Even him, at some time, would stand outside the window of the classroom hoping that eavesdropping would help further his studies. The educational system of Cambodia, was in definite need of change.

Am I in Vietnam?
After my e-mail time, I met up with the rest for lunch and headed back for a nap and some more reading in my book. I knew we had planned to go out to the river for sightseeing and dinner, however since I was there last night, didn’t think bringing along my camera would be a big deal. Unfortunately, the sunset boat cruise around Kompong Chnang was one of my favorite memories. I was learning, we were laughing, some dancing and rocking on the boat and I was having fun with people who were strangers to me the day earlier.

We took a short moto trip to the dock that I biked to earlier and wondered who we can ask for a short cruise on the boats in town. Well, we stood there looking like idiots for only half a minute before a young girl came running in our direction pitching a cheap deal on her dad’s boat. $6 an hour for all of us was a pretty good deal, and we decided it was enough to go round the river. We wanted to grab some drinks on board, but no worries, the young girl was able to fetch us ice cold Coke without us lifting a finger. The hospitality in this country will always surprise me.

While the ladies were entertaining the young girl teaching her sign language, my cousin was showing me around the floating village and how people just live directly on the water. He tells me a lot of the villagers live on the water, travel on the water, and do business on the water, without ever leaving to go on land. After seeing some of the elaborate houses on these floating villages, I can see why they wouldn’t have to leave. Apparently, this is how a lot of Vietnam lives, and the people who have settled here are ethnic Vietnamese or Cham (Khmer Islam). One thing that really sticks out a Vietnamese villager are the cone shape hats that you would imagine them wearing on the rice field. There were plenty here as I did not come across them earlier.

I don’t have any pictures although I wish I had taken a ton. However I ran across this blog entry that contains pictures of many houses that I remember. Definitely check it out to see how a village can “float”. Also don’t forget to scroll down for the Mosque on the water.

No sun, no taxi, no traffic means it’s a perfectly good time to hitchhike
On our way back from dinner after the pleasurable boat cruise, we made the mistake of not hiring our drivers to wait for us at the restaurant. Apparently all taxi drivers decide 8pm is a good time to stop service and take off for home. After we got out from dinner, we were on the outskirts of town walking back to our hotel hoping for a hitchhike. There were obviously no more moto taxis running this late, and the only vehicles on the road were produce trucks. We found it pretty humorous as it didn’t really bother us, but we did ask the first person we ran across.

This lady had a pull cart that was made for a small ox but instead she was using it as goods transport attached to her motorbike. And it wasn’t really attached, she just hooked it under her seat. We decided to take our chances with this dangerous contraption and ride 3 in the pull cart, and 3 on the bike praying that we didn’t brake hard enough for the 2 to come apart. Since it was so awkward, we had plenty of room to look at each other and just laugh at our bad luck, and just wonder how in the hell there was a lady with a pull cart in the middle of the road. We realized it was luck, and we happily paid her a generous $6 tip.

College basketball, I feel like I am home
The last day we stayed, I slept in again and watched some US college basketball that was supposedly live. It made me feel a little “at home” for the time being. I also got to watch the series finale of “Growing Pains” (which I think was a made for TV movie) on HBO Asia as I was packing. We had our last lunch in town, and at our restaurant was able to check out the pottery that this town was known for. “Chnang” is Khmer for pot, and I was well aware of that before I came into town. There were some elaborate designs, and most of them were unfinished, as in you can do your own painting and sheen it up. After that, we parted, the rest of the group live by the central market in Phnom Penh, and me and my cousin went back to his house.

I didn’t know the bitch was pregnant
My cousin had this tiny hairy dog that neither of us knew was pregnant with a baby. When we came back, the pooch gave birth to 2 puppies, one of which unfortunately died. The one that survived however, didn’t get a chance to walk before my trip ended. If you saw what the puppy looked like, it was obvious it was going to outgrow his mother and be a medium sized ugly pug. I had some fun with it, because the puppy was so damn fat, and opened its eyes fairly quickly. However, an e-mail from my cousin a couple of weeks ago says that the puppy was stolen. I like to think that the dog was so fat, it started to walk to the street and decided to take a nap.

Time for some new Ray Bans
Back at Phnom Penh, I did some shopping around. It gets confusing as some stores would have both US and UK sizes together. Also, shopping at the central market, you never know if something is cheap because there is something slightly wrong with it. With clothes shopping too confusing for me, I focused on 1 thing, a new pair of prescription sunglasses. While I still had an ok pair of sunglasses that survived Africa, you really can’t turn down $22 fitted prescription Ray Bans.

A pair of these babies probably costed me $200+ with an eye exam stateside. I was able to get these for just a fraction of the cost and am convinced that they are the real thing. If you ever come to SE Asia, remember to stock up on all glasses, and try to get a tailored suit. Take advantage of the exchange rate!

Wings
One of my cousins was getting married, and his wedding and reception was held in Kompong Cham province. So off we went again, back to Kompong Cham and joined in on after wedding lunch and temple visits. On this trip, I met mostly all of my father’s side of my family. Several of them beared such a striking resemblance it looked like I looking at a younger version of my dad (he’s the oldest). My mother and me tried to make conversation. Reason conversation is so difficult is that my parents met each other in Thailand and never knew each other’s families till their visits from America. I tried my hardest to field questions although by week 3 my Khmer was not getting any better. I took things as they came and hopefully they saw past my dark and dismissive humor. At the end, I came to realize that my father’s side was a lot nicer to me and more forgiving to my American upbringing. I came to conclude that my mother’s family is just the equivalent of “white trash”, and their version of tough love made it really hard to handle. I can imagine if I came here with my dad I would have had a less stressful time.

The older gentleman on the right bears a striking resemblance to my dad even though he’s younger. And the other photo is me with the groom in traditional gear. If I’m not smiling, it’s probably because at dusk it was still 97 degrees and I skipped lunch for the feast ahead.

The reception at a wedding hall in downtown Kompong Cham was pretty extravagant. Photographers, air conditioned hall, all the beer and nuts I can drink, seafood, loud music, and line dancing, the works. I don’t think anybody ever gets married with anything less than that. Anybody who has been to a Khmer wedding knows how elaborate they can be. On this occasion, I wondered how they bought the Hennesy (supposedly a lot of import liquor can be found in Phnom Penh, and the transport fees are so negligible that they are cheaper in addition to the exchange rate) and just kept it flowing. Besides counting the similarities with Khmer weddings stateside, the only thing I noticed differently is how they dispose of trash. Typical rural customs still apply and beer cans all end up directly on the floor. It’s a good thing they didn’t serve chicken wings.

Wake up you’re going to Thailand
On one Monday morning, feeling incredibly lazy and drinking too much from the night before, decided not to wake up for anything. Everybody had to go back to work that week and I had 5 days to look forward of sitting around at home. So that day, I only awoke when breakfast came to me, and me not going out to find it. As I sat there, eating take out noodle soup alone in a quite house for once, I thought, this week might not get any better than this, unless someone brings me coffee, lunch and dinner too. Since that breakfast didn’t consist of coffee and I didn’t feel that much of a spoiled brat as of yet, I went back to bed with dreams of beer in my head. However that all changed when I was awoke with news that I should pack to leave for Thailand that same night.

Bus leaves at 3am
Later that night, I was introduced to the slightly hidden business of Khmer transport to Bangkok. The system goes like this, everybody knows this one guy (even though there might be 5 or 6 of them, there’s only one you go to) whose sole job is drive passengers from Phnom Penh at a 3am pickup time to get to the border at Poipet just in time for the 7am border patrol. Once you’ve gotten past the border, the driver has probably tipped off another driver, who will continue you onto Bangkok, and conveniently drop you at a hotel that claims to have Khmer speaking locals (the desk workers claim to be Khmer Surin, Khmer and Thai speaking inhabitants from the former west provinces of Cambodia). Since everybody staying at the hotel is Khmer anyway, it works out. The system works out in the opposite direction as well, insuring that everybody can get back safely as long as they follow the system. I’m under the assumption that this underground train was established as a need for wealthier Khmer locals to easily be transported to Bangkok because the health care facilities were in lightyears ahead of Cambodia (if you’re thinking of plastic surgery, head to Bangkok).

Oh crap, take me home
1st awkward moment, traffic driving on the left in Thailand (confusing because Thailand has always been independent and all of it’s neighbors except the tiny border at Malaysia drives on the right). 2nd awkward moment, wanting to leave Bangkok and head home.

After adjusting to paved roads, 7 Eleven highway rest stops, and good food, I came to the truth about Bangkok. It is intense and not as approachable as Phnom Penh. The biggest difference to adjust to is how everybody drives around in their nice cars in traffic all day and there is hardly anybody who walks. That gives the noise and the smog level a huge step up from Cambodia.

While waiting for the cleaning ladies to finish our rooms, my mother asks them if any of them speak Khmer. Strange looks all around. It’s pretty obvious these folks were from the countryside and don’t even know any English either. So, next step, ask them if they know how to get to the tourist destinations. “Wat Traimit? Wat Traimit?” got no response, ever after pointing to a map. After relying on maps my whole life, I have come to the conclusion that maps in the developing world make no sense to all the locals.

Disgruntled that our trip will probably consist of us acting like Western tourists has sunk in. This is a city of 9 million, why would anybody speak English or the language of its neighbors? But, the traveler side in me, instead of the native Asian, said that cross cultural exchange is a highlight in travels, and especially for me, the more confusing and the more helpless I am, the better the stories.

Right before we settled in, the next 2 events furthered my bad first impression of Bangkok. First, the internet at the hotel was not operating, and my 10 minutes I spent was simply waiting for Yahoo mail to open up. I insisted that the internet was not working…. Yet was still forced to pay 20 Baht. My mother cursed at them for being greedy hoping that the Khmer Surin in them would understand.

Second, it was only 3pm in the afternoon, and I was hoping to see some sights before a 6pm close, yet all the taxi drivers insisted that I wouldn’t make it to the other side of the city and have enough time at the tourist sights. Simple answer, traffic in Bangkok is a bitch. I’ve even come to the conclusion that the 2 subways were useless. Well here I was, in Bangkok, at 3pm without a plan. The only thing you can do in a city without a plan? Shop. Eat. Repeat. And that’s what we did.

Street food!
For almost the entire stay in Thailand, we subsisted on Thai street food. It may look scary at first, but street food in Thailand is probably the best it comes. You can even plan your whole day eating outside. For instance, a roving coffee bar with seats, a man who goes up and down the street selling fried snacks, the lady on the corner who has delicious coconut juice, the other lady in the alleyway who cooks up amazing fried rice, and the young man outside the leather goods store chopping up fresh watermelons. The only particular reason I noticed them more often in Thailand than Cambodia is because space is more of an issue in Bangkok (most places to eat in Cambodia are actually indoors). However the quality is not sacrificed and you might want to avoid the tourist crowds at the international buffet.

Emerald Buddha, Big Buddha, and Golden Buddha
On the first day, after getting settled, we walked around to adjust to the surroundings, peruse the heavy shopping district of Sukhimvit road and retire early to bed. I came to Bangkok for the travel, and my three main goals were the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Keo, the large reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, and the largest golden Buddha at Wat Traimit. The next morning we managed to hire a taxi driver for the whole day for only $15. His sole business was to be personal driver for all the Khmer guests at the hotel, he eventually learned Khmer the hard way. 1st stop was Wat Phra Keo and the Grand Palace over at ‘Old Bangkok’.

Again, swarms of Chinese and Korean tourists. Coming in just after rush hour was a bad idea. After we maneuvered our way around, we got to go inside Wat Phra Keo and glimpse at the Emerald Buddha. No photography was allowed (the damn thing has been fought and traded all over SE Asia), and inside this building was the most busiest. Supposedly the Emerald Buddha’s clothes gets changed 3 times a year for the cool, hot, and rainy seasons. Also inside Wat Phra Keo was a scale model of Angkor Wat, that those Chinese tourists loved so much. Me and my mom just felt bitter.

Wat Phra Keo is on the grounds of the Grand Palace, which looks very modern today, and my favorite part about walking around is all the tourists enjoying the armed guards. Actually I did too.

The next block over is Wat Pho, which claims to have the largest reclining Buddha in the country. It’s very big of course, but the building is so small, you can’t look at it dead on. A shot of it from its feet is only shot that will do it justice. After that, we got lost over in Chinatown trying to find Wat Traimit, and finally managed to see the largest golden Buddha in the country. The pictures here don’t do the object justice, it is shinier than it looks.

Thai diversity
Besides oogling over the conventional Thai schoolgirl outfit (which is very conservative and modern), there were still other faces of Thailand that were represented in Bangkok. Some people obviously look like they just came from the countryside, some were speaking Khmer as they were probably Khmer Surin, and I noticed Thai islams were not afraid to be out in public with their headdresses. The biggest surprise for me though, was the amount of Africans who have moved and chosen to reside in Bangkok. I’m not sure about immigration laws, or what most of them do for a living, but apparently Bangkok was offering a higher quality of life than their countries. I tried to listen to their speak, definitely not English, maybe bad French, but most likely Swahili or Afrikaner. But they seem to blend in very well in country that uses a non roman alphabet and the locals having an extreme obsession of white skin.

2 days is enough
After all the sightseeing, my mom and me came to the conclusion that 2 days at Bangkok was just enough. Even though Thailand is still very cheap, we were going through our money fast. We scheduled a ride that would pick us up at 2am, and then did more shopping, eating, and exploring the 5 floor Platinum Shopping Mall.

One nice thing about Bangkok that I like is how it really doesn’t sleep. When we left our hotel at 2am, there were still plenty of locals outside enjoying the nightlife. Even more surreal is a huge elephant walks in the street for the amusement of tourists. While maybe 2 days was enough of Bangkok for my mom and me, I’m really really sure I could waste away 2 weeks in this bustling metropolis.

So week 3 is over, and I have just come out of Thailand with a renewed appreciation for Cambodia. I mentioned to all my family members that one of the reasons I wanted to go to Thailand was just to compare cultures and lifestyles. I believed I got the job done, and it was a goal that could not be easily achieved by reading a book.

Thai and Cambodian culture is remarkable similar. Many would argue that Thais stole a lot of architectural designs for their own wealth, and the numerous captures of Angkor Wat only solidifies their greed. I believe my cousin was right when he said Phnom Penh would have been on par with Bangkok had the civil war not have taken place (it is decades behind by now). He even goes as far as saying, maybe even better… but we’ll never know.

And finally, the biggest difference between Thailand and Cambodia as a tourist is, in Thailand, you have to work to get anything done. Need a ride to the museum? Come back in an hour when I am not as busy. Internet not working? You still need to pay me 20 baht. Are you standing in the middle of the road looking confused? We’re too busy driving our cars in traffic to care. As far as the nicer people and the better hospitality, Cambodia wins hands down. I have described Cambodia many times as a country where “you don’t have to do a thing”. When compared to the hospitality of the boat driver and his young daughter mentioned in the beginning of this post, hospitality in Cambodia is and should be marketed as its main draw. So now that I got Thailand out of my system, I was happy to embrace Cambodia again, and realize that I am back in a country where people care about me.

TO BE CONTINUED

Photo Links

• Bangkok, Thailand - Grand Palace, Wat Pho and the big golden Buddha

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