Hey,
You remember that comedy writer name Carl we met on Koh Lanta? Well Joanna just got a clip of a skit he wrote for a British TV show called "Dead Ringers". It's a spin on a popular British day time television show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPZcN-PiomI
-Ben
Sunday, January 14, 2007
There's a snake in my juice.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....
The whole time we've been in Vietnam, Kfir has been going on about wanting to drink snake's blood, which is a delicacy here. I'd really like to try it, and I've read that it can keep you up for 24 hours no problem and is supposed to be very good for your health. The other night, we didn't find any snakes blood unfortunately, but we did find some Cobra Wine at a nearby restaurant. Kfir had found it in the morning and had a glass with breakfast, and said it was amazing, so that night we all went to the restaurant to try it out.
The restaurant had the wine in big glass pots, where you could clearly see the beheaded cobra that was coiled inside. The family that runs the restaurant were telling us eagerly about how much they enjoy snakes blood and snakes' wine, and what a treat it is to drink it is. Apparently it makes you strong, and that men often drink to enhance their...performance...for fighting I mean. We sat down and ordered some fries, and ordered a glass of cobra wine each. The wine tastes a bit like wine and tequila mixed together(sounds gross I know, but it isn't that gross), with a hint of something else...oh right, cobra. It sounds gross I know, but it wasn't. It didn't have a very harsh taste, so I didn't think a glass would affect me much. By the end of the glass I had lost my attention span, and at the same time I was very aware. I felt really good, and I felt like I could do anything, it was great. There wasn't any blurry vision or anything like that, I just felt...good. We ordered another glass, and after that one, I was totally awake, but definitely more woosie than alert. We ran over to the internet cafe and stayed until closing, giggling and having great times in our heads. When the internet cafe closed we went back to our rooms, and we tried to fall asleep, but couldn't. I don't think I fell asleep until 3 or 4 in the morning. my body was tired, but my mind was totally energized.
It was a great experience and next time I drink it I'll only have one glass, just to enhance my attention span, not eliminate it.
I'm really stoked on drinking snakes blood, and apparently they cut it's head off right at the table and then poor it into a glass! I'm AMPED.
I'll let you know how it goes.
We arrived in Muine yesterday, it's a little beach town and were done here after one day.
Next Stop: Nha Trang.
I'll see you there.
-Ben
The whole time we've been in Vietnam, Kfir has been going on about wanting to drink snake's blood, which is a delicacy here. I'd really like to try it, and I've read that it can keep you up for 24 hours no problem and is supposed to be very good for your health. The other night, we didn't find any snakes blood unfortunately, but we did find some Cobra Wine at a nearby restaurant. Kfir had found it in the morning and had a glass with breakfast, and said it was amazing, so that night we all went to the restaurant to try it out.
The restaurant had the wine in big glass pots, where you could clearly see the beheaded cobra that was coiled inside. The family that runs the restaurant were telling us eagerly about how much they enjoy snakes blood and snakes' wine, and what a treat it is to drink it is. Apparently it makes you strong, and that men often drink to enhance their...performance...for fighting I mean. We sat down and ordered some fries, and ordered a glass of cobra wine each. The wine tastes a bit like wine and tequila mixed together(sounds gross I know, but it isn't that gross), with a hint of something else...oh right, cobra. It sounds gross I know, but it wasn't. It didn't have a very harsh taste, so I didn't think a glass would affect me much. By the end of the glass I had lost my attention span, and at the same time I was very aware. I felt really good, and I felt like I could do anything, it was great. There wasn't any blurry vision or anything like that, I just felt...good. We ordered another glass, and after that one, I was totally awake, but definitely more woosie than alert. We ran over to the internet cafe and stayed until closing, giggling and having great times in our heads. When the internet cafe closed we went back to our rooms, and we tried to fall asleep, but couldn't. I don't think I fell asleep until 3 or 4 in the morning. my body was tired, but my mind was totally energized.
It was a great experience and next time I drink it I'll only have one glass, just to enhance my attention span, not eliminate it.
I'm really stoked on drinking snakes blood, and apparently they cut it's head off right at the table and then poor it into a glass! I'm AMPED.
I'll let you know how it goes.
We arrived in Muine yesterday, it's a little beach town and were done here after one day.
Next Stop: Nha Trang.
I'll see you there.
-Ben
"Always ripped or always stoned, I made it a year, I'm going home."
That is what the inscription on my new zippo lighter says. It's a poem(haha) written by an American soldier describing his time in Vietnam, and I love it.
I'd like to make this very clear:
VIETNAM IS AWESOME.
For the last 3 days, Kfir, Joanna and myself have been zooting around the hill city of Dalat and having a really good time.
Like I mentioned in the previous post, Dalat is about 1500 meters above sea level, and the temperature ranges from 15 to 20 degrees Celsius(Ok, maybe I didn't say in those exact words but you know what I mean.). It is very chilly for the south-east, and a big shock for us as well. Dalat itself reminded me a lot of Canada, only with the insane traffic and zillions of scooters everywhere. The sunlight shone like at home, and the air was crisp like home as well.
The Vietnamese people continue to amaze me with their kindness and hospitality. It's nice to go to a restaurant and not have any of the workers speak any english and have to kind of point at things and hope for the best. It keeps day to day activities fresh, and there's also a lot of laughs involved for both sides.
A few days ago Kfir and I woke up early-ish and took our bike to Lat village, a little farm town twelve Kilometers outside of Dalat. Lat village is home to Lang Biang, one of Vietnam's highest mountains, and one hell of a hike for me and Kfir. We paid 7000 dong(45 cents) to get into the park, and were not allowed to drive up to the first peak, because the park has drivers that charge you 150 000 dong to do the driving for you. "Pffffffff" we said, "it's only a few Kilometers", so we started walking the 2 Kilometer paved road uphill towards the first peak. About 5 minutes later, we both agreed that it would take too long to get there, and decided to hail one of the passing farmers who get in for free, and ask them to give us a lift for far less than the park charges. So we hailed a woman down, and through a series of awkward gestures and showing her different amounts of money, we agreed on a price of 50 000 dong(about 3 dollars between us) for her to take us as far uphill as her bike would take us. I should mention that Kfir started his trip in Bangkok, where in was getting his Muay Thai boxing training certificate, and was so good he finished months earlier than he expected. He is by no means a small guy. The woman started to drive us and after about a kilometer and a half, the bike started to sputter and choke at our girth, so I hopped off and started to push us just to get to the top of one of the hills. Eventually, the bike wouldn't go any more, so we got off and thanked her. We had saved our selves 6 dollars, right owwwn. When we got to the first peak there was a sign that said we had another three kilometers to trek before we got to the top, but we were ready.
It was really hard work, and through the thickest jungle I've seen yet. I could imagine how futile it must have been for the poor U.S. soldiers to have to fight an enemy in those kind of conditions. One thing that I thought was funny is that the Jungle actually smelled like the Rain Forest cafe and the Butterfly Gardens, or the humid reptile section at the back of pet stores at home. Giant tree roots grow under and over the trail, and the jungle is so think that you can barely see anything other than the trail you're walking on. The mountain actually has three peaks, and the third is the highest, and also the most grueling. The trail started to go almost vertical on the way up the third peak, and the dirt turned into mud, and we had to hang on to trees, branches and roots to go further up. It really was a lot of fun to climb up, and definitely a test of my endurance and will power to keep on going. Even Kfir, who is a professional boxer and ex-Israeli army soldier, was getting worn out. Albeit, he was doing it all barefoot because he had crappy flip-flops on, and also because someone we met along the way told him he wouldn't be able to get to the top without better shoes. Never tell Kfir he can't do something, because he won't accept he can't do something, and he'll do it whatever it is, to prove to himself he can.
I think there's a lot I can learn from my new friend Kfir.
Anyways, as I was saying...
After 3 hours of trekking, we made it to the top, and the view from the peak(2400 meters) was spectacular. We could see Dalat and it's surrounding communities, and the amazing jungles and valleys that surround it. We took a few pictures of us triumphantly standing on the top, although Kfir hates getting his picture taken(the source of much amusement to Joanna and I), so I took one of him with his camera, not mine. We had bought a few baguettes and cheese at the base of the mountain, and had lunch on top of Vietnam.
The way down was much more difficult than the way up. This was because the way down was the almost vertical mudslide we had had such a fun time climbing. It was a bit sketchy, but at least I was wearing shoes, unlike Kfir. I slipped and slided my way down the steepest part, and after that, my legs turned to jelly. My legs have never been very muscular, maybe that has something to do with how little I exercise, but I've been trying, I swear. Anyway, point is, the mountain turned my legs into jam, and after two more hours, they had jiggled me down to the bottom of the mountain.
All in all it was an incredible experience, and I hope I'll have more chances to do some more hiking while I'm here. Not that there isn't enough hiking to do at home or anything.
That's that,
I'm out.
-Ben
I'd like to make this very clear:
VIETNAM IS AWESOME.
For the last 3 days, Kfir, Joanna and myself have been zooting around the hill city of Dalat and having a really good time.
Like I mentioned in the previous post, Dalat is about 1500 meters above sea level, and the temperature ranges from 15 to 20 degrees Celsius(Ok, maybe I didn't say in those exact words but you know what I mean.). It is very chilly for the south-east, and a big shock for us as well. Dalat itself reminded me a lot of Canada, only with the insane traffic and zillions of scooters everywhere. The sunlight shone like at home, and the air was crisp like home as well.
The Vietnamese people continue to amaze me with their kindness and hospitality. It's nice to go to a restaurant and not have any of the workers speak any english and have to kind of point at things and hope for the best. It keeps day to day activities fresh, and there's also a lot of laughs involved for both sides.
A few days ago Kfir and I woke up early-ish and took our bike to Lat village, a little farm town twelve Kilometers outside of Dalat. Lat village is home to Lang Biang, one of Vietnam's highest mountains, and one hell of a hike for me and Kfir. We paid 7000 dong(45 cents) to get into the park, and were not allowed to drive up to the first peak, because the park has drivers that charge you 150 000 dong to do the driving for you. "Pffffffff" we said, "it's only a few Kilometers", so we started walking the 2 Kilometer paved road uphill towards the first peak. About 5 minutes later, we both agreed that it would take too long to get there, and decided to hail one of the passing farmers who get in for free, and ask them to give us a lift for far less than the park charges. So we hailed a woman down, and through a series of awkward gestures and showing her different amounts of money, we agreed on a price of 50 000 dong(about 3 dollars between us) for her to take us as far uphill as her bike would take us. I should mention that Kfir started his trip in Bangkok, where in was getting his Muay Thai boxing training certificate, and was so good he finished months earlier than he expected. He is by no means a small guy. The woman started to drive us and after about a kilometer and a half, the bike started to sputter and choke at our girth, so I hopped off and started to push us just to get to the top of one of the hills. Eventually, the bike wouldn't go any more, so we got off and thanked her. We had saved our selves 6 dollars, right owwwn. When we got to the first peak there was a sign that said we had another three kilometers to trek before we got to the top, but we were ready.
It was really hard work, and through the thickest jungle I've seen yet. I could imagine how futile it must have been for the poor U.S. soldiers to have to fight an enemy in those kind of conditions. One thing that I thought was funny is that the Jungle actually smelled like the Rain Forest cafe and the Butterfly Gardens, or the humid reptile section at the back of pet stores at home. Giant tree roots grow under and over the trail, and the jungle is so think that you can barely see anything other than the trail you're walking on. The mountain actually has three peaks, and the third is the highest, and also the most grueling. The trail started to go almost vertical on the way up the third peak, and the dirt turned into mud, and we had to hang on to trees, branches and roots to go further up. It really was a lot of fun to climb up, and definitely a test of my endurance and will power to keep on going. Even Kfir, who is a professional boxer and ex-Israeli army soldier, was getting worn out. Albeit, he was doing it all barefoot because he had crappy flip-flops on, and also because someone we met along the way told him he wouldn't be able to get to the top without better shoes. Never tell Kfir he can't do something, because he won't accept he can't do something, and he'll do it whatever it is, to prove to himself he can.
I think there's a lot I can learn from my new friend Kfir.
Anyways, as I was saying...
After 3 hours of trekking, we made it to the top, and the view from the peak(2400 meters) was spectacular. We could see Dalat and it's surrounding communities, and the amazing jungles and valleys that surround it. We took a few pictures of us triumphantly standing on the top, although Kfir hates getting his picture taken(the source of much amusement to Joanna and I), so I took one of him with his camera, not mine. We had bought a few baguettes and cheese at the base of the mountain, and had lunch on top of Vietnam.
The way down was much more difficult than the way up. This was because the way down was the almost vertical mudslide we had had such a fun time climbing. It was a bit sketchy, but at least I was wearing shoes, unlike Kfir. I slipped and slided my way down the steepest part, and after that, my legs turned to jelly. My legs have never been very muscular, maybe that has something to do with how little I exercise, but I've been trying, I swear. Anyway, point is, the mountain turned my legs into jam, and after two more hours, they had jiggled me down to the bottom of the mountain.
All in all it was an incredible experience, and I hope I'll have more chances to do some more hiking while I'm here. Not that there isn't enough hiking to do at home or anything.
That's that,
I'm out.
-Ben
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Good Morning Vietnam!
Xin Chao
sup?
The past three days have been spent in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Today was spent on a bus through the mountainside.
Four days ago Jo woke up very, very early to catch a bus from Siem Riep(Cambodia) to Ho Chi Minh City. The bus was supposed to arrive at 6 in the morning, so we woke up at 5:30 to be ready. Of course the bus ended up being about forty-five minutes late, but this is something we're quickly becoming accustomed to. The rest of the bus ride was fairly un-eventful, despite it's long duration of twelve and a half heures. Jo and I are both getting a lot better at sleeping on buses and other uncomfortable modes of transport, and I was able to sleep through more than half of the trip. Joanna however was not so lucky, and we were both quite irritated and disheveled by the time we reached Saigon(Ho Chi Minh). On the bus, we met a couple of guys named Toby and Kfir and ended up spending the rest of our time hanging out with them. Toby is from south London and Kfir is from Israel. We all agreed to try and find a place together and did so when we were dropped off in Saigon. Thanks to Kfir and Toby's bartering skills, we got an air-conditioned room(I didn't want it) inexpensively, and went out for drinks and some dinner. The next day I took a walk around the district of the city we were in, and to the park across the street and watched some Vietnamese play cao cap, a game that's like badminton with your feet, without a net, and with a bigger birdie. People of all ages play this game in the park, and it looks like really good exercise. I ended up buying a cao cap birdie, but haven't gotten to use it yet/ gathered the courage to ask if I can join in a game with the locals.
I should mention that I absolutely loved Saigon. Unlike other big cities we've visited, it doesn't smell bad at all, and the people were all very accommodating. It was overcast for most of the time we were there(which was actually very comforting) and it reminded me a lot of Vancouver. But, unlike Vancouver, the traffic is the most insane, seemingly unorganized thing I've ever seen. It seems to work though, and if you want to cross the street all you have to do is step out onto the street slowly so that people can swerve around you. The streets are very wide, but it seems totally safe to cross. Everyone is looking out for themselves, so they just drive around you, without any animosity what so ever. There are no rules. Even the bus stations are just allotted parts of the bigger intersections with a little building in the middle they use as a station. It's total organized chaos. I took a walk around the park across the street and watched some Vietnamese play cao cap, a game that's like badminton with your feet, without a net, and with a bigger birdie.
I felt totally safe in the city immediately, and had a total blast just walking around. A couple of days in Jo, Toby, Kfir and I met up with an Israeli friend of Kfir's and went to this huge water/amusement park called Dam Chen. It was a total blast. There were huge slides, and even a roller coaster with some loops and stuff. There was a little circus there, and the animals were all in smaller cages except for the elephants which had a bigger clearing, but were chained by one leg. It was very very sad to see, and it's unfortunate that there aren't better regulations for the treatment of animals here.
The next day, Joanna very much wanted to sleep in, so Kfir and I rented a scooter(his idea, not mine) and weaved our way through the chaos to the war museum nearby. It was a pretty small little place, but had lots of cool exhibits displaying tanks and aircraft outside, and an assortment of pictures and descriptions of the atrocities committed by the United States during the war. Ironically, since Ho Chi Minh's(The dude, not the city) communist party is still in power, there was little or no information about what kind of atrocities the Viet Cong committed to the American P.O.W's and soldiers. In my opinion, America should never have been there in the first place, and that thousands and thousands on both sides died needlessly. I am however, not an expert on the matter, I just went to a museum that was heavily biased against the American army during the war, and had read some books etc...
After the museum, Kfir wanted to go back to a Chinese Buddhist temple he'd visited the day before to give the monks some gifts. I thought it was a great idea and we hoped on the bike and bought some chocolate and books and pens for the monks. When we arrived at the temple we met a young monk and gave him some of the gifts. He invited us into his room for tea, and we happily accepted. The monks room was off the chain, son. He had a brand new Sony laptop and a PC with Internet, and a very shiny fancy look PDA of a phone. Books and pens I thought to myself, so much for giving this monk something useful, the dude's got more electronics than any of my friends!. But it's the gesture that counts, right? He made us some green tea and we talked about where we all come from, and monkdom and the Buddhist religion. His name was Sang(pronounced Sanj, not sang or sange(which is monkey in french btw)) , he's only 25 and he's been a monk for eight years. Sang invited another monk over and over a zillion cups of green tea and fresh mandarin oranges, Sang gave us both two prayer bracelets he had made, and a Goodluck necklace. It was a really cool way to spend an afternoon, and I definitely wouldn't mind visiting more monasteries while I'm here.
That was the last day we spent in Saigon. Kfir, Jo and I all bought open bus tickets that allow us to bus to five different cities on the way up to Hanoi in the north. Toby needed to head back to Bangkok early, so he wasn't able to come with us to Dalat, the mountain town where I am right now. When we got off of the bus in the afternoon it was 15 degrees Celsius, which is FREEZING for this climate. I haven't seen a day lower than 29 degrees the entire time I've been in Asia. I think the local people make it seem a lot colder than it really is though, they all have huge parkas and gloves on as if it were negative fifteen degrees celsius. I keep on thinking I'm on a different continent, where people wear jackets, and bundle up to keep warm, it's doing my head in trying to accept that I haven't suddenly transubstansiated back to Canada.
And that's the story so far.
I miss you guys,
-Ben
sup?
The past three days have been spent in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Today was spent on a bus through the mountainside.
Four days ago Jo woke up very, very early to catch a bus from Siem Riep(Cambodia) to Ho Chi Minh City. The bus was supposed to arrive at 6 in the morning, so we woke up at 5:30 to be ready. Of course the bus ended up being about forty-five minutes late, but this is something we're quickly becoming accustomed to. The rest of the bus ride was fairly un-eventful, despite it's long duration of twelve and a half heures. Jo and I are both getting a lot better at sleeping on buses and other uncomfortable modes of transport, and I was able to sleep through more than half of the trip. Joanna however was not so lucky, and we were both quite irritated and disheveled by the time we reached Saigon(Ho Chi Minh). On the bus, we met a couple of guys named Toby and Kfir and ended up spending the rest of our time hanging out with them. Toby is from south London and Kfir is from Israel. We all agreed to try and find a place together and did so when we were dropped off in Saigon. Thanks to Kfir and Toby's bartering skills, we got an air-conditioned room(I didn't want it) inexpensively, and went out for drinks and some dinner. The next day I took a walk around the district of the city we were in, and to the park across the street and watched some Vietnamese play cao cap, a game that's like badminton with your feet, without a net, and with a bigger birdie. People of all ages play this game in the park, and it looks like really good exercise. I ended up buying a cao cap birdie, but haven't gotten to use it yet/ gathered the courage to ask if I can join in a game with the locals.
I should mention that I absolutely loved Saigon. Unlike other big cities we've visited, it doesn't smell bad at all, and the people were all very accommodating. It was overcast for most of the time we were there(which was actually very comforting) and it reminded me a lot of Vancouver. But, unlike Vancouver, the traffic is the most insane, seemingly unorganized thing I've ever seen. It seems to work though, and if you want to cross the street all you have to do is step out onto the street slowly so that people can swerve around you. The streets are very wide, but it seems totally safe to cross. Everyone is looking out for themselves, so they just drive around you, without any animosity what so ever. There are no rules. Even the bus stations are just allotted parts of the bigger intersections with a little building in the middle they use as a station. It's total organized chaos. I took a walk around the park across the street and watched some Vietnamese play cao cap, a game that's like badminton with your feet, without a net, and with a bigger birdie.
I felt totally safe in the city immediately, and had a total blast just walking around. A couple of days in Jo, Toby, Kfir and I met up with an Israeli friend of Kfir's and went to this huge water/amusement park called Dam Chen. It was a total blast. There were huge slides, and even a roller coaster with some loops and stuff. There was a little circus there, and the animals were all in smaller cages except for the elephants which had a bigger clearing, but were chained by one leg. It was very very sad to see, and it's unfortunate that there aren't better regulations for the treatment of animals here.
The next day, Joanna very much wanted to sleep in, so Kfir and I rented a scooter(his idea, not mine) and weaved our way through the chaos to the war museum nearby. It was a pretty small little place, but had lots of cool exhibits displaying tanks and aircraft outside, and an assortment of pictures and descriptions of the atrocities committed by the United States during the war. Ironically, since Ho Chi Minh's(The dude, not the city) communist party is still in power, there was little or no information about what kind of atrocities the Viet Cong committed to the American P.O.W's and soldiers. In my opinion, America should never have been there in the first place, and that thousands and thousands on both sides died needlessly. I am however, not an expert on the matter, I just went to a museum that was heavily biased against the American army during the war, and had read some books etc...
After the museum, Kfir wanted to go back to a Chinese Buddhist temple he'd visited the day before to give the monks some gifts. I thought it was a great idea and we hoped on the bike and bought some chocolate and books and pens for the monks. When we arrived at the temple we met a young monk and gave him some of the gifts. He invited us into his room for tea, and we happily accepted. The monks room was off the chain, son. He had a brand new Sony laptop and a PC with Internet, and a very shiny fancy look PDA of a phone. Books and pens I thought to myself, so much for giving this monk something useful, the dude's got more electronics than any of my friends!. But it's the gesture that counts, right? He made us some green tea and we talked about where we all come from, and monkdom and the Buddhist religion. His name was Sang(pronounced Sanj, not sang or sange(which is monkey in french btw)) , he's only 25 and he's been a monk for eight years. Sang invited another monk over and over a zillion cups of green tea and fresh mandarin oranges, Sang gave us both two prayer bracelets he had made, and a Goodluck necklace. It was a really cool way to spend an afternoon, and I definitely wouldn't mind visiting more monasteries while I'm here.
That was the last day we spent in Saigon. Kfir, Jo and I all bought open bus tickets that allow us to bus to five different cities on the way up to Hanoi in the north. Toby needed to head back to Bangkok early, so he wasn't able to come with us to Dalat, the mountain town where I am right now. When we got off of the bus in the afternoon it was 15 degrees Celsius, which is FREEZING for this climate. I haven't seen a day lower than 29 degrees the entire time I've been in Asia. I think the local people make it seem a lot colder than it really is though, they all have huge parkas and gloves on as if it were negative fifteen degrees celsius. I keep on thinking I'm on a different continent, where people wear jackets, and bundle up to keep warm, it's doing my head in trying to accept that I haven't suddenly transubstansiated back to Canada.
And that's the story so far.
I miss you guys,
-Ben
Monday, January 01, 2007
bennage_cheese
I've decided to fully abuse my finding of Photoshop for entirely your benefit.
Solange had a few pictures of us on Koh Pangan and Koh Chang, aswell as Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh on her memory card, the rest of the pictures were put onto cd and are not in my possesion. I hope all these pictures isn't a catalyst for a nasty addiction to pictures of our adventures, because I don't know if I'll be able to post like this often. So without further adieu, and with little commentary.... I give you....
PICTURES OF THE LAST MONTH OR SO!
Emily, Ben and Jo smoking shi-sha on Koh Pangan!
UNBELEIVABLE!
BANGKOK!
Joanna shopping at MBK!
Ben and Joanna in their prime!
Solange had a few pictures of us on Koh Pangan and Koh Chang, aswell as Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh on her memory card, the rest of the pictures were put onto cd and are not in my possesion. I hope all these pictures isn't a catalyst for a nasty addiction to pictures of our adventures, because I don't know if I'll be able to post like this often. So without further adieu, and with little commentary.... I give you....
PICTURES OF THE LAST MONTH OR SO!
Emily, Ben and Jo smoking shi-sha on Koh Pangan!
AMAZING!
Ben and half of Emily chillin on our porch at Haad Yao on Koh Pagan!
UNBELEIVABLE!
BANGKOK!
Joanna shopping at MBK!
A Baby sleeping on it's mother's merchandise on Khao San!
Ben and Joanna in their prime!
Some old dude with a bunch of garbage/stuff! WOW!
SHOCKING!
CAMBODIA
Ben and Joanna touching a statue inappropriatley!
A cyclo in Phnom Penh!
Ben Paying Pool(and looking like he's actually good at it)
And last but not least....
CUTE CAMBODIAN CHILDREN HOLDING HANDS!
Well, I hope that satisfied your curiosity at least a bit. I'm going to add some pictures to my post on the killing fields aswell in a couple of days.
I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas and New Year!
-Ben
Sunrise
Yesterday morning, Solange and I got up at 5:15 to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. We paid a tuk-tuk driver $5 to meet us in the morning and take us there and back. The view was amazing...
The Temple was originally built as a tribute to the hindu God Vishnu in the 12th century. It consists of a giant moat that is around 200 meters wide and an outer wall that surrounds the inside area of 5 or 6 square kilometers. Angkor Wat was actually a capital city at one point, housing a city of around 12-15 thousand people. The Temple was later some what converted to budhism and a bunch of Buddhas were placed inside and it became a temple that monks were make pilgrimages to. The outer wall of the temple is inscribed with a bunch of Hindu mythology that was intricately carved out of the stone. The entire temple is made out of Sandstone and and almost no cement was used to put it together.
The inner chamber of the temple houses the 5 giant spires that you can see from anywhere. To get up to the spires you need to climb up the sides via huge stairs(pretty much like the side of a pyramid). Solange and I spent the morning sitting on the outer edge and watched the sunrise.
The entire temple is open for exploring, and you can touch pretty much everything. I guess the western anal retentetiveness of preserving historical buildings hasn't reached asia yet, thank god. Being able to wander freely through the temple was a freaking godsend. It made the whole experience that much more real and amazing. Jo and I climbed up the steep staircase( more like ladder) and hopped around inside and on the outsides of the temple. We found a comfortable place, sat down on the edge with our feet dangling off the edge, and had a cigarette. It was soooo relaxed and of course we were respectfull and used the pack of cigarettes as an ash tray, and took the butts with us.
Angkor Wat was deifinitly the highlight for me as far as temples go. Seeing it in person was just so hard to take in. It was like when I saw the eiffel tower in paris, my mind had a hard time beleiving it was real because I'd always seen it in pictures and postcards. When I actually saw it in real life, the scope of how big it actually is finally hit me.
Holiday in Cambodia
Hello.
I stumbled across photoshop on this computer and lucky for you, I re-sized some pictures.
These are pictures from Our travels in Angkor:
Joanna and I rented some pedal bycicles two days ago and ended up riding 25 Kilometers around Angkor that day! My legs were killing me but the pain was lessend by the fact that I've been trying to stretch every morning(I can almost touch my toes!).
This is a gate into the walled city of Ankor Thom, which at one point was a city of some 20 000 + people. All of the Temple Cities have gigantic moats around them, some as wide across as 200 meters.
Angkor Thom's moat:
We biked to To Prohm, the overgrown temple that tomb raider was filmed at. It was incredible, there are trees that just grow into the temple.
After that, we continued on and saw a few more along the way:
Other than seeing incredible wats and ruins, we've just been hanging out and eating, pretty much.
I'll make a post for Angkor Wat, the largest and most extravigant temple soon.
I hope I can make more of these post more often!
-Ben
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