Oct
27
2007
Another very early morning to catch the van for a river trip to see the Kuang Si waterfalls. First stop, though, is the elephant camp. We pile onto the elephants two-by-two, and tromp through the forest, very slowly (elephants appear to travel about the same speed as turtles). We stop briefly for the elephants to […]
Oct
26
2007
The weather’s beautiful, and we decide that it’s a perfect day for a trip up the Mekong. We rent a boat to take us up the river to see the Pak Ou caves. The river is quiet and calm, and we motor up it and watch life along the banks. There are lots of pretty […]
Oct
25
2007
We’re off again before dawn to catch our boat to Phenom Peng. I doze awhile, waking occasionally to admire the crooked Cat-in-the-Hat straw stilt huts in the lake. I can’t imagine how these survive a typhoon. In town, we’re immediately accosted by about 10 touts trying to get us in their taxi – there so […]
Oct
24
2007
Up at 4am, our taxi picks us up at 5 as planned to drive us out to Angkor. We arrive just as light hits the sky, and stroll in alongside hundreds of (mostly Japanese) tourists. The temple is immense, and after passing through the outer wall, we can see the lotus bud shaped towers of […]
Oct
23
2007
We have an really early flight for Siem Reap, so we put off some of Gretchen’s late-night party suggestions until our return trip. The twin prop lands at the tiny airport just outside of town, and we make tracks to get a hotel. Our goal is to see the sunset over Angkor Wat, and so […]
Oct
22
2007
I crash early, and Janise arrives (very) early the next morning. We’ve planned for a local guide to take us around town and hit the top 6 or 7 tourist sights. Nui’s our guide, a tiny (ok normal for Thai) 20 something, with excellent English and a warming smile. We jump on a river boat […]
Oct
21
2007
Bangkok sure feels different. Last time I was here I was 12, and I remember clearly the dirty chaotic streets filled with bicycles, motorbikes and tuk-tuks, barely paved, dirty and real. The new Bangkok’s much closer to Kuala Lumpur – roads are paved, traffic is hell and mostly cars, super-malls dot the landscape, clean(er), air-conditioned […]