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"Brief" Travel Guide to SE Asia

A lot of my friends are traveling to SE Asia this summer and have been asking me for tips on where to go, stay, do, etc.  Since I think I have now sent about 10 versions of the same e-mail out to people, I thought I would just post a brief guide to traveling to some parts of SE Asia where I have visited over the last few months.  If any of you need more details, please feel free to contact me directly or check out previous blog posts..

Cambodia

I had an awesome guide in Cambodia named Dara.  I was in Siem Reap for 5 days (3 of which by myself) and Dara was amazing.  He set my itinerary for me and had a driver to take us everywhere. 
Dara's e-mail is dara_theman@hotmail.com

He can set an itinerary for you.  He took us around in a tuk-tuk (the driver was his buddy Lim Ngee who is also pretty cool).  Dara speaks perfect English and is an official Siem Reap tour guide, so he knows his stuff. He costs $20 per day, and the driver's per day cost depends on how far the trip is.  For example, going to Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom will cost $15 per day for a tuk-tuk driver, but going to the floating forest will be more ($20-30) depending on if you get a car or a tuk-tuk.  I would definitely go to Floating forest, Beng Melea, Batay Sarai, Ankgor Wat, Angkor Thom.  The first three places are a bit out of the way and might take a separate trip but are definitely worth it. You should also eat at the Blue Pumpkin cafe in Siem Reap (lunch- great sandwiches and desserts) and Khmer Kitchen for dinner.  For places to stay, there are tons of nice hotels, depending on your budget.  I found a good deals online for 4-5 star hotels, so I would look into that.  Some suggestions are FCC, Angkor Village Resort and Day Inn Angkor Resort.  We spent a couple of days in a guesthouse called the Shadow of Angkor, which was significantly cheaper, but the location was great.  USD cash is used EVERYWHERE here so bring lots of 20's and 1's, but there are ATMs now in Siem Reap in case you don't have enough cash on you. 

Laos

I stayed in Luang Prabang for about 5 days and loved everything about it.  I stayed at Le Calao hotel which was right on the water and was nice, but if I had a choice, I would have preferred to stay at the 3 Nagas which is the nicest of all of the hotels in Luang Prabang and definitely worth it - try to reserve one of the two upstairs suites - they are adorable and really nice.  I had friends who stayed at the 3 Nagas and they loved it - but reserve early as there are not so many hotels in Luang Prabang (more backpacker guesthouses) so the hotels get filled up.  In Luang Prabang, definitely wake up at sunrise and go to the main road to watch the villagers come out to feed the hundreds of monks that live in the village. It is a beautiful and spiritual experience.  Going to the waterfall is also a nice half day trip.  I didn't particularly enjoy the long-boat trip to the caves, but other friends have liked the stop (if you do the Mekong River cruise to Luang Prabang then you will stop there anyways). I flew to Luang Prabang from Chiang Mai on Lao Airlines.  Buying tickets on Lao Air is pretty sketchy. I would not recommend buying through a third party like Zuji.com, but would instead contact Lao Air directly. This will require you to wait a day or two for confirmation and be prepared to have to pay cash at a Lao Airline office in your point of departure.  Flights are few and far between (usually 3 times a week) and the planes are propellor planes that cannot take off at night or in rain, so if you're traveling in the monsoon (as many of you will be), just be prepared.  The other alternative is the Mekong River Cruise. I've heard good and bad things from friends who have done it, but it seems to be a fun trip if you are willing to pay a bit more for luxury.  P.S. Currency of choice is USD Cash here, so make sure you have plenty on hand. And bring passport size pictures for the visa on-demand or you'll be forced to pay about 20 bucks at the airport!

Vietnam

In Vietnam, we went to Hanoi and Halong Bay.  In Hanoi, we stayed at the Church Hotel in the old town which was AWESOME.  It is not very expensive ($40 a night) and is very clean, new and in a great central location to the old town.  You can look it up online and call ahead to make a reservation. I would recommend doing the Lonely Planet's suggested walking tour of Hanoi's old town, because we got to see some cool buildings and neighborhoods.  We also did the Halong Bay overnight boat trip.  WARNING:  Beware of being cheated by the travel cafe's offering pretty and luxurious boat cruises on Halong Bay.  Apparently, they all show tourists the same pictures to bait everyone into paying upfront, only to be herded onto crappy boats once you finally arrive at the dock after the 4-hr drive from Hanoi.  That being said, I'll just stress how important it is for you guys to do whatever it takes to go on the Kangaroo Cafe boat tour rather than taking your chances with the random boat vendors and travel cafe's. I didnt use Kangaroo and our trip was a nightmare until we argued with the trip coordinator and got switched off our boat (which was packed with tourists) and onto another boat.  I've also heard good things from some of the Aussie-owned adventure tour cruises which seem to be a bit more reliable as well. 

Thailand
I made several trip to different parts of Thailand and loved everywhere I went.  In Bangkok, definitely walk around all the temples and the palace grounds which should take you about half a day.  Try to make your trip on a weekend so you can go spend a few hours shopping at the Chatachuk Weekend Market - it's an amazing experience and be prepared to get a lot of stuff for little money.  For nightlife, I'd recommend Bed Supperclub and Q bar, although a friend told me recently that Q bar has become a bit more of pick-up scene for Thai girls. For traveling in Thailand, I would look into Thai Air Asia which is a super cheap discount airline. However, before you fly, make sure you call or go online to confirm your flight because they are notorious for cancelling flights which could really screw you up if you have connecting flights elsewhere.  Tiger Airways is also pretty reliable and cheap, but flights book up early and get more expensive the closer the date of travel.  Also look online for hotel/airfare deals.  Zuji.com is a good asian travel website, but DO NOT USE them if you are traveling to Laos (See above).

In Chiang Mai, I found great hotel deals online, so just do some searching around and you should be able to pre-pay and reserve a decent 4-5 * hotel somewhere close to the night market.  The night market is cool here and if you have time, take a day or so to go on a hill-tribe trek. 

Instead of going to Phuket, I had gone to Koh Samui where we had stayed on Chaweng Beach.  It is definitely worth staying on the southern part of Chaweng, because the beach is nicer there and it's not as crowded. It is also not very difficult to walk the main strip to get to all the restaurants and bars at night.  Although you'll be tempted to just lay on the beach all day, I would highly recommend taking a day to go on the trip the Ang Thong National Marine Park.  Blue Star Tours are Aussie-owned and run and are AMAZING.  Just walk up the main strip in Chaweng and their office is located next to the Green Mango bar.  They'll pick you up at your hotel in the morning and bring you back after the trip consisting of kayaking, swimming, hiking, and snorkeling.  Good times.

Singapore

Too much to write.  Read the blog or let me know and I'll put you in touch with my friends there!  But in a nutshell:  Night Safari, Orchard Road, Attica, Boon Ton Quay for Banana Paratas, Chili Crab at East Coast, etc.

Ok, that should do it. I would highly recommend getting the Lonely Planet guidebooks for any locations you will be traveling to. 

Happy travels!

Hiking in a Skirt

Back in April, I had written about my trip to Koh Samui and the absurdly dangerous hike that David and I took where we stupidly found ourselves climbing ropes on slippery rocks at dusk in the middle of the jungle.  (Link to the original blog entry from Koh Samui)

David just sent me some of his pics from that trip and I had to post them to show you how inappropriately dressed we were for the hike, not to mention the numerous signs that deceived us into thinking that the waterfall was just a few meters away, when in actuality we were chasing a waterfall that was at least 1000m up the mountain!

 

                                                                                                      

By the way, this was the view from our cabana on the beach..

Last Night: Chili Crab, Hookers and Crazy Dancing Dude

I've made it safely back to NY (yeah!) after my 18.5hr plane ride and 2hr car ride from the airport.  To say my return is bittersweet is an understatement.  I am sad to leave behind my friends in Singapore, yet I am happy to come home to my friends and family here and to put the professionally difficult last few weeks behind me. 

My last few days in Singapore were pretty crazy, between traveling and showing my mom and sister around to packing and tying up loose ends in Singapore.  Nevertheless, I was lucky to enjoy some great leaving festivities with my friends.  On Tuesday night, my last night, we all headed to East Coast to eat the famed Singaporean chili crab.  The venue was an old "black & while" conserved house which serves as a simple outdoor restaurant with arguably the best chili crab in all Singapore.  It was delicious!  Next up, we drove through Geylang, Singapore's red light district!  We first drove through the neighborhood of Indian men and Asian hookers and got an "overview" of the scene.  The most interesting part was walking down the main strip of the red light district where Asian and European prostitutes were, at times aggressively, pursuing men.  Luckily, Joe and Kenneth formed sufficient protection for Joy, Katie and I :)  The weird thing about prostitutes in Singapore is that many of them do not dress any differently than a normal woman walking down the street.  And quite a few are quite attractive, which makes you wonder why they need to go into this particular line of work. Geylang was an interesting and almost surreal experience (I had never seen so many Indian men in one place pursuing hookers before).   

Finally, the group ended up at Insomnia where we were joined by some UBS colleagues who stopped by to say goodbye.  The best part of the night was when this guy started dancing like crazy when the cover band started playing Black Eyed Peas (Singaporeans are obsessed with them).  I managed to thwart the bouncer and take a short video of the Crazy Dancing Dude.  Apparently he's at Insomnia almost every night!

Video of Crazy Dancing Dude @ Insomnia

Well, I leave Singapore with a heavy heart and will miss all my friends who remain there:  Katie, Michelle, Kenneth, Joe, Juliette, Wen, Adeline, Urban, and all others.  Bye guys!  Oh, and make sure you show Paul a good time :) 

Abbey Road

I love this picture I took in Luang Prabang, watching the monks cross the street on their daily morning walk to receive alms from the villagers.  It reminds me of the famous picture of the Beatles crossing Abbey Road.

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Click here for a video clip of the Alms Giving Ceremony

So, the second day of feeding the monks was even cooler than the first, because I actually got a big enough basket of sticky rice to feed almost every single monk (I skimped out on the last couple).  My hotel had given me a straw mat where I sat down and waited for the monks to make their way down the street towards me.  Here are a couple more pictures from the second day:

The rest of our trip consisted of a lot of shopping and plane-hopping, since we went back from Laos, to Chiang Mai to Bangkok to Singapore in less than 48 hours!

Mom and sis left early this morning and I spent the rest of the day getting my life in order, which primarily consisted of packing up all my stuff and dealing with the movers.  Somehow, I have managed to acquire a lot more crap than I came with and I now have to worry about getting it all back home to NY:  air shipment, sea shipment and on the plane with me. Tomorrow I face the task of calling SQ and begging for excess baggage allowances!

Monk Walk

I experienced the most amazing, yet humbling, ceremony this morning.  At 6AM, we walked out of our hotel and turned left up the side street towards the main road, just in time to see all the village monks leaving the monastery for their morning walk through town to collect alms from the local Luang Prabang villagers. 

As they lined up, single-file, in their saffron colored robes, and carrying bronze bowls, the villagers squatted on bamboo mats along the side of the street holding straw baskets filled with hot sticky rice.  Then, as the monks go by, the villagers form little balls of rice with their bare hands and place the rice into the monks' bronze bowls.  Some people give mangos, bananas and even crackers and candy, in addition to the sticky rice.  Jabin and I bought our own baskets of sticky rice and were offered a spot sharing one local woman's bamboo mat.  From there, we squatted and fed the monks as they walked by in procession - hundreds of them.  It was a truly humbling experience - to see these young monks ranging in age from 7 to about 15, who rely on the faith of the villagers for their daily subsistence (they eat only in the morning before 12PM).  It is also humbling to join the local villagers and take part in the ritual as the steady monsoon drizzle came down in the early morning.  In Islam, we also receive blessings from the poor when we feed or give "sadaqa" (charity) by way of feeding the poor.  It felt lovely to know that these monks would be offering us their blessings for helping to contribute to their daily meal.  It is also cool that so many local villagers from Luang Prabang take part in the ceremony, because it is a very solemn ritual that seems to bind these Lao people together. 

Once our rice baskets were empty (there were too many monks!), we followed the monks down the main road, onto a side street lined with old colonial French houses and towering flowered trees, and down to the road along the Mekong River, where more Buddhist locals were waiting to give alms.  The monks passed right in front of our hotel as they walked back to the monastery nearby.  It was a beautiful and spiritual experience - one that you only read about in books or see in a movie. I've already bought candy and informed my hotel to make me some sticky rice for tomorrow's alms-giving ritual! 

Luang Prabang

We finally arrived in Luang Prabang at 6PM on Tuesday evening.  As the plane landed, we could look down and see green mountains and hills and little villages below.  When people had described L.P. to me as a sleepy riverside town, I hadn't quite imagined it to be like it is.  The town reminds me more of a little village. It has two main streets - one along the Mekong and the other through the center of town.  Luang Prabang is charming, yet simple.  There are temples everywhere and you see little monk kids walking around everywhere.  Although it kind of reminds me of a little village in India/Pakistan, the French colonial feel definitely adds some culture and unique character to the place, people, food and overall ambience. 

Last night, after checking in to our cute little hotel (L'Auberge Calao), we wandered down the main road to the night market, which is filled with street vendors who come from the villages to sell textiles, clothes, arts and crafts.  Today, we took a long-boat down the Mekong to see the caves of thousand buddhas.  Although the caves were a bit disappointing, the trip itself was pretty interesting.  There were about 30 people crammed onto this one slow-moving long-boat that took about 2 hours to meander up the river.  Jabin and I were crammed in the back on wooden benches, while my mom was lucky enough to sit up front near the driver.  I think everyone on board was not too happy with the situation and the slow progress our boat was making.  I think we all expected to see something more from the caves as well, as most of us on the trip are pretty well-travelled in SE Asia by now and have seen some pretty amazing caves in Halong Bay and Thailand. The boat ride back to Luang Prabang was not nearly as long (only an hour), but it took another half hour just for our driver to get us back to shore because his boat ran out of petrol just as we we got back to Luang Prabang! 

After the "interesting" boat ride, we were all rushed into minivans, had sandwiches shoved over to us, and were sent on our crazy winding dirt-road trip to the Kuang Si waterfall.  It was a short hike up to the waterfall, but the falls were pretty amazing.  They have some nice lagoons and swimming areas where we all jumped in to swim. 

Ok, have to get to bed now.  I have to be up before dawn to go see the monks as they make their morning stroll down by the Mekong to collect alms from the villagers. 

Flight Delays in Thailand

(As written on Tuesday at 2PM, Chiang Mai, Thailand)

We're on Day 2 of our one week trip to Thailand and Laos and we've already been subjected to 3 flight delays.  I'm currently sitting at Chiang Mai airport where our flight to Luang Prabang (Laos) is indefinitely delayed due to stormy weather.  The flight was supposed to take off at 12:50PM and arrive one hour later in L.P.  We're being told the plane will get here by 3PM, but the box lunches they've complimented us with don't give me much hope!  To leave the airport would mean possibly risking missing the flight which only leaves 3 times a week!  Apparently the little propeller plane just can't take off/land in rainy weather.  This is not the first delay we've had so far.  My mom and sister were delayed from Hong Kong and only barely made it to Singapore in time to run in and out to Bangkok.  In Bangkok, our "el cheapo"  ($14) Air Asia flight to Chiang Mai was delayed for 4 hours! 

In any case, the last 2 days in Chiang Mai have been fun.  After doing the usual temple visits, we hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day to take us to surrounding villages where we could shop for silver, ceramics, wooden umbrellas, etc.  As for the temples, it's a bit difficult to be impressed with any temples I see now that I have just returned from the amazing sights in Cambodia and the Angkor temples.  Everything else just seems to pale in comparison.  My friends who have also been to Siem Reap did warn me about that reaction.  It's just a tough act to follow.  Nevertheless, Chiang Mai does have a charm of its own because of its proximity to the northern Thai hill-tribes.  The night bazaar, while less chaotic than Chatachuk in Bangkok, was still fun to get lost in, partly because of all the interesting crafts and jewelery made by the northern Thai hill-tribe people.  It kind of reminds me of Kashmiri or Himalayan crafts and artwork.  The best part about bazaars are all the vendors who like to joke around while they haggle with you.  I even got a "Me Love You All Night, Long Time" from one guy (thankfully, my mom didn't catch on to his little joke). 

I look forward to coming back to Chiang Mai on Friday to check out the mountain temple of Doi Suthep and some more sight-seeing.  In the meantime, I'm off to get a Thai foot reflexology to kill the time before our plane arrives for Laos!

Day 5: Angkor Wat

On Saturday morning, we woke up at 4am so we could trek over to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat.  Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side and it was too cloudy to see much of a sunrise.  However, it was still very peaceful to sit within the old library ruins to look at the Angkor Wat temple in the quiet morning, where all you could hear was the sound of monks chanting.  Afterwards, we went to get a quick breakfast at a roadside hawker stand (not very appetizing).  We decided to use the early morning hours and relatively cooler weather to hit up the outer circle of temples in the Angkor area, and planned to come back to the main attraction of Angkor Wat in the afternoon. 

Among the temples visited were Prasat Preah Khan, a beautiful temple/palace structure that was built to honor the king's father, and Prasat Neah Pean.  I decided to call Preah Khan the "Temple of Doors" because the entire complex is made of small rooms that flow into each other. Looking from the outside, all you see are a series of doors and rooms opening into each other.  It is difficult to explain, but the experience of walking up and down through the rooms, reflecting on the artwork and carvings on the walls was a very interesting and reflective experience. 

In the afternoon, we decided to take a few hours off to rest and get some more sleep to avoid the midday heat.  Before meeting back up with Dara and Lim Ngee, Michelle and I had lunch at a wonderful little cafe called the Blue Pumpkin. The cafe is very chic and feels like it belongs in London or Paris.  The upstairs is modern and all-white, bed seating and free wifi hotspot.  Siem Reap is well known for its french bakeries, and the Blue Pumpkin definitely had the best sandwiches and desserts I've had (much better than in Singapore). 

After lunch, at last we ventured over to explore the temple of Angkor Wat, the most famous monument in Cambodia.  It is believed to be the largest religious structure in the world and, given that the temple is oriented towards the west, seeing it in the afternoon sunlight was fascinating.  The highlight of our visit to Angkor Wat was the climb up to the third level, the highest center tower.  The only way up is to climb a series of high and narrow stone steps (no guard rails!) all the way up to the top tower.  It is a scary climb and to fall would assure at least a few broken limbs if not worse.  Michelle was so scared that she nearly turned back halfway up, but luckily made it up with some verbal support :)  The view from the top of the center tower was unbelievable.  We could see the entire temple grounds, the royal ponds, and beyond.  As we explored the top-most level, it got very cloudy and suddenly we were stuck in a downpour just as we were getting ready to descend the treacherous steps.  There were four staircases down, but only one had a guardrail, so Dara and I sat and waited for Michelle to join the long queue to descend down the safer stairway.  As we were waiting on the parapets, I struck up some fun and interesting conversations with other guides, monks and locals (with the help of Dara's Khmer translating).  I met one monk as he was hanging out and smoking a cigarette. He was here with some other monks from Phnom Penh for sightseeing trip for Vesakh Day.  I thought it odd that the monks were smoking, but Dara told me that these days it has become quite common given that some people are not as strict in practicing as before.  They were fun to talk to nonetheless! 

I just returned to Singapore today and haven't had a chance to sort through all the hundreds of pictures I've taken, but here are a few from our last day at Angkor Wat and the climb up to the center tower.  More to come later!

 

Day 4: Temple Day

Friday was the start of our two-day tour of the Angkor temples.  I awoke at 5am and checked out of my room at the Day Inn Angkor Resport and checked into the Shadow of Angkor Guesthouse where Michelle and I will be staying for the next two days.  The Guesthouse is a far cry from the 4* luxury and cute Khmer decor of the Day Inn, but it came highly recommended from friends and is clean, cheap and its location is fantastic as it is around the corner from the main area of the old market and a street away from Bar Street in Siem Reap.  I also heard rumor that the banana pancakes at the Shadow of Angkor are divine (yes, I admit that I have developed an absurd obsession with all things banana since moving to SE Asia!). 

We picked up Michelle at the airport at around 7am and drove directly to the fortified city of Angkor Thom (Great Angkor, or Great City).  The walled city in its heyday had a population of over a million at a time when London's population was a few thousand.  The four gates are pretty impressive as they are intricately carved and flanked on either side by statues of angels (on the left) and demons (right).  Within Angkor Thom, we visited the temple of Bayon, Baphuon, the Royal Enclosure and the Terrace of Elephants from where the King would watch elephant fights and entertain foreign dignitaries.  My favorite temple in Angkor Thom was Bayon, located at the centre of the city.  It is a strange temple because it consists of over 50 towers with 4-sided heads depicting Buddhas (some say all the thousands of smiling faces resemble the face of the somewhat self-absorbed king at the time).

After leaving the walled city of Angkor Thom, we drove to the jungle temple of Ta Phrom to escape from the direct sun for a while.  Like Beng Melea, Ta Phrom is a temple that has been overrun by the massice trees that literally grow up out of the stones.  It is amazing to see how the tree roots have warped the temple walls and become a part of the temple's structure.  Although we could climb a bit into the rubble and rocks, I was a bit disappointed that we were not allowed to explore the ruins with the same freedom as at Beng Melea (See Day 1 in Cambodia).

I think I am also a bit spoiled because the last few days I have been able to visit sites not frequented by most tourists. However, our Temple Day today was a different story - the whole area was packed with tour groups, mostly from China and other Asian countries, as it is a long holiday weekend in Asia for the Buddhist holiday of Vesakh Day.

Another cool temple we visited was Ta Keo. It was one of the oldest temples in the Angkor area, but remained unfinished.  I like the story behind the temple as they say the temple was left unfinished because it was struck by lightning during construction, which is considered bad luck.    

On Friday evening, we went back to visit the temple of Pre Rup to see the sunset. We climbed up to the top of the center tower.  This temple was beautiful because it looked almost golden in the setting sun.  It reminded me a bit of the Aztec temple/pyramids I had visited in Mexico because of the prominent center tower which is reached by climbing up a series of narrow steps to reach the top level.  I also had a lovely experience meeting some of the local children at Pre Rup.  While I have gotten accustomed to being approached by poor little kids looking to sell postcards, books or small handicrafts, one particular little boy I met really touched my heart. His name was Som, and he was deaf and mute.  He quietly followed me up the first flight of stairs at the temple and as I stood catching my breath, he started giggling and breathing heavily to make fun at me.  I realized he was deaf and mute when he reached into his little canvas bag and took out a small piece of paper. He handed me a little note on which he had drawn a flower and written his name, Som.  He then just as quietly waved and walked away.  Up at the top of the temple, Dara, Lim Ngee, Michelle and I waited for the sun to set and just took in the beauty of the countryside around us.  Som came back to say hello and I gave him a dollar.  He signed to us that he is the eldest of four children and lives in the small village close by.  It is always sad to see little kids running around panhandling and we are told that many of them, especially in the cities, merely collect the money to hand over to some middleman. But these kids, like Som, from the villages, contribute anything they receive to their poor families.  Michelle and I enjoyed giving these kids little candies and chatting with them in their limited English.  Everytime we tell the kids that we are visiting from Singapore, they all chant like a chorus "the capital of Singapore is Singapore. Singapore is small country, many people."  It's adorable.  After watching the stunning sunset, we walked back down to the bottom of the steps where Dara bought Som some palm fruit.  Watching the sunset at a grand temple like Phnom Bakheng, with the forest and villages around us, was a very humbling and calming experience.

We returned to the City and walked around the old market for a bit.  There are surprisingly quite a few cute shops and restaurants in Siem Reap.  The majority of these are probably owned by foreigners but they still added some charm and atmosphere to the old town.  For dinner, we went to the restaurant Khmer Kitchen, which was highly recommended to us by friends who had visited Siem Reap before us.  The food was absolutely delicious and our entire meal including appetizers and drinks for two people cost a total of $6!  Afterwards, we walked back to Bar Street to check out the scene and hung out for a bit at a bar called "Angkor What?"  It is a cool bar which plays great pop music and is filled with foreignors passing through.  We didn't stay long, however, because we had to get a few hours of sleep before waking up Saturday morning at 4am to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat! 

Day 3 in Cambodia: Hiking with Kids and Banteay Srei

Almost as soon as we started off this morning, it started to rain.  Luckily, our tuk-tuk could be converted into a plastic covered coccoon.  Lim Ngee, our driver, was not so fortunate and had to continue driving in the pouring rain.  Our destinations this morning are located about 50km northeast of Siem reap:  Kbal Spean and Banteay Srei.

We were fortunate that the sun had come out by the time we reached the base of the 1.5km uphill hike to Kbal Spean, also known as the River of a Thousand Linga.  As we set off on our hike, we were enthusiastically greeted by a group of Khmer kids who were students at the little school at the base of the mountain.  The kids were so excited to have an excuse to go swim in the waterfall at the top, that they decided to accompany us on the hike.  I have to say I was impressed with their stamina and ability to make the climb.  While Dara, Lim Ngee and I paused to catch our breaths, the kids just kept clamboring up the rocks!

Finally, we arrived at Kbal Spean, a spectacularly carved riverbed deep in the jungle.  Linga (which are phallus-like symbols representing fertility) have been elaborately carved into the natural rock on the bottom of the clear river along with images of Hindu deities.  Kbal Spean was 'discovered' in 1969, but it was pretty much off-limits until a couple of years ago due to the civil war and then only after the main path had been cleared of land mines.  I'm told this particular mountain lies on the "territorial line" that marked off the entrance to the Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng, and was heavily protected with land mines.  Even today, land mines pose a serious threat because no one really knows where exactly the Khmer Rouge drew their "territorial line."  Lucky for us our mine-free hike path was clearly marked with red signs painted on the trees telling us where we should go and where we were forbidden to enter.

After checking out the amazing carvings of Vishnu, Shiva and the hundreds of Linga, we hiked back down to the waterfall where we had left the kids playing in the water.  I took some lovely pictures of the children and they had a blast posing for the camera :)  Once we were back down at the base, we reluctantly said goodbye to the kids and drove back South about 18km to see the beautiful ruins of the hindu temple, Banteay Srei.  Benteay Srei, which literally means "Citadel of Women", was given its name because it is commonly believed that the intricate carvings in the pink stone are too fine for the hand of a man.  Unlike other temples I've seen so far, Banteay Srei has been almost completely restored to its original structure.  It was absolutely beautiful.

On the way home, we stopped off to have a quick look at the temple ruins of Phnom Bakheng, but since we are going to go back there to see the sunset over the weekend from the top of the temple, we only stayed long enough to buy some palm fruit from the local Khmer women.  I learned how to quickly suck down the clear, white, gooey gob that forms the center of the palm fruit.  The more softer and jello-like the fruit, the better.  It tastes a lot like sweet, cold coconut milk and was delicious and a nice treat to escape from the heat.

Last but not least, we drove through the small village of Sra Srang.  It is the village where Maddox was born and from which he was adopted.  Ask any Khmer and they will all tell you how they consider Maddox to be the luckiest Cambodian kid because he was taken from the poor village to a wonderful life.