The Pearl Chronicles

I guess I should write something about Cambodia at this point. One minute after crossing the border I realized that this is probably the most chaotic country I’ve visited since India 2001. Definitely a very different mentality from Thailand. The poverty is very apparent and everybody is trying to get some of your tourist dollars. “Cold drink sir? Shirt? Scarf? Maybe for your girlfriend? Please sir, one dollar… Tuk Tuk sir? I know pretty lady, boom boom”…

Nevertheless, the people I’ve dealt with (hotel staff, drivers, vendors etc.) have been extremely nice, friendly and positive – pretty inspiring considering the economic situation and violent history of this country. Also, there’s no denying that there is a lot to see over here: from the magnificent temples of Angkor to the simple lifestyle of the farmers and the way they adjust to the tropical climate.

Instead of 3 nights in Siem Reap I ended up staying 6. Heck, just the temples took 3 days to cover and I still wanted to rest and see some of the other sites near by. Now I am in Battambang, the 2nd largest city in the country although it doesn’t feel like it and the “downtown” area gets pretty empty at night. Perhaps it’s due to the Chinese New Year. I got here with a boat that followed a path along the floating villages of Tonle Sap lake. The entire village including shops, gas station, schools and temples are on bamboo barges that change location as the water level rises and falls with the seasons. Next up is the capital Phnom Penh and then I need to decide what’s first: either relaxing on the beaches in the south, or some hiking along the Mekong River in the north.

I’ve been there before and know the symptoms. The condition is called Acute Temple Overexposure, caused by going to too many breathtaking historical sites over a short period of time. It happened while I was traveling in the Yucatan peninsula back in 1996 and by the time I got to Tikal in Guatemala I saw so many Mayan pyramids in Mexico that nothing could “wow” me anymore. Here again I’ve been on a daily diet of temples pretty much ever since Bhutan. You can see what I mean if you look at the latest photo albums from Bhutan, Bangkok and Ayutthaya.

Since returning to Thailand I had to pass some time in Bangkok, arranging a visa to Cambodia and waiting to meet Kayo who was coming from California to start her own trip. It was the perfect opportunity to see the sites instead of just using the city as a transportation hub. Some of the historical sites are quite stunning, especially the Grand Palace complex and the huge reclining Buddha of Wat Pho. After meeting Kayo we also went to see a musical show called “Siam Niramit” which went through the history of the land.

And now I am in Ayutthaya, “the fallen city” where there are temple ruins in every corner… Not that I’m complaining or anything – it’s gorgeous over here, but I need to be careful not become indifferent just as I get to the crown jewel i.e. Angkor Wat later this week.

I have a new favorite country – Bhutan. I highly recommend visiting it if you ever travel to India, Nepal or Southeast Asia. It may seem expensive at first with the $250 per day tourist fee, but it includes almost everything: a guide, transportation, accommodation at 3 star hotels, three meals a day, entry fees to all the sites, so you end up spending almost nothing beyond the initial cost.  The country is very diverse and has areas ranging from warm tropical jungles to high Himalayan peaks. Whether you like comfortable tours or challenging tracks you’ll have much to see.

Visiting Bhutan in January turned out to be a very good decision. Not only did I get the “off season” discount on the daily fee, but I was the only visitor with that agency so I got a private tour of the country with my own guide! We hardly saw any other tourists and although it was a bit cold the skies were always cloudless and clear. Together with the driver there were always laughs in the car and I was very sad to leave after a week.

Even though Bhutan has a lot to improve in the area of infrastructure, I think that most countries of the world could learn a lot from it. The concept of Gross National Happiness is used to strive towards social equality, and because of it many citizens are willing to sacrifice some of their personal comfort, trusting the leadership to have an overall plan. Also, as devote Buddhists the citizens and leadership are committed to protect all life in the country and take great effort to do so. For example, because Bhutan is the winter home of the endangered Black Necked Crane it is forbidden to put up electric power lines in valleys where they are nesting. Instead, people use local solar power or take the extra cost of putting power lines underground.

School lessons in Bhutan are taught in English so it’s easy to communicate with everyone. People are friendly and the girls are pretty – what else could you ask for?! Go already!

As part of keeping track of the number of days in Thailand I realized today that I am over 25% into my Southeast-Asian trip! Boy how fast time flies. Even though I’ve been on the move quite a lot I only stayed at three places in this country: Bangkok, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. Yes, I think it’s time to leave the islands behind and explore some other parts of this lovely place. But first, I have a small Himalayan excursion planned! I am soooo excited to be flying to Bhutan tomorrow. I’ve been dreaming about going there for several years now. I’m curious to see if their approach to running a country according to strict Buddhist precepts actually stands up to reality. I’m also hoping to get some leads on volunteering gigs in case I feel like a week wasn’t enough to experience the country.

So now I am back in Bangkok, which doesn’t feel like a burden any more. I’ve gotten quite used to the mind state of Thailand during peak tourism season and know how to deal with the overwhelming number of backpackers. Instead of just getting a hotel, making travel plans and getting the hell out of here I actually took the time to explore the area a bit by going to the Floating Market about 1.5 hours drive out of town. It’s a bit touristy but definitely a refreshing change from the standard urban scenery. I had a good time.

I don’t know what would be the Internet and phone situation in Bhutan so I might drop offline for a while. I’ve asked the tour operator to put me at people’s houses instead of hotels whenever possible so we’ll see. In any case I should be back in Bangkok on January 16th so it won’t be for very long. See you on the other side!

I am back in Koh Tao after my short diving excursion to Phangan. Sail Rock was a gorgeous dive site and even though the weather and visibility weren’t great it was still lots of fun to go up the rock tube and see some moray eels.  Barrat and Asuka arrived from Singapore yesterday for the psytrance party so we are rooming together. There are so many people on the island right now it’s insane. I was a bit overwhelmed by the craziness and decided to skip the party last night. Tomorrow morning I am going on another dive so I might just skip the party altogether.

I am finding it very difficult to leave this area. I’ve been here about half the time of the trip but still feel like staying longer. Looks like I won’t go to Koh Phi Phi after all and just stay on Phangan a bit longer before returning to Bangkok to catch the flight to Bhutan. I can go to Phi Phi maybe later on the trip.

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays! I’ve been a bit busy since coming back to Thailand and haven’t updated the blog in a while. I am currently on Koh Tao, getting my Advanced Open Water Certification and enjoying the social life on the island. The “regular” Open Water + Nitrox certifications are already behind me and I am looking forward to the 5 dives that are coming up – one of them during the night…

The dive school I joined had a big Christmas party last night, with a delicious open buffet, live music and drinks. The new dive masters also did their “snorkel test” which was funny to watch. If you don’t know what it is then I’ll let you google it yourself to find out.

What’s next for me? Something like this:
– A few more days on Koh Tao to finish the dives and chill a bit.
– 3 nights in Koh Phangan to say ‘hi’ to some friends and do a few dives at “Sail Rock”.
– Back to Koh Tao for New Years and the psytrance party here.
– Visit the other side of the Peninsula: Koh Phi Phi, Krabi, etc.
– Back to Bangkok and from there to Bhutan between January 10th and the 16th.
– Back to Thailand and then figure out if I want to visit the north and continue to Laos, or instead do the Cambodia > Vietnam > Laos route.

Stay tuned…