The Keos Go Elsewhere

Temple Photos Day 1

2009-03-04T23:11:00.000-08:00

On to Siem Reap - AK

2009-02-28T03:26:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Siem Reap after a LONG bus ride from Battambang. Even the air conditioned buses here are hot and crowded, but we had to do it, so off we went with our new cousin in tow. This particular bus was supposed to go from Battambang to Siem Reap, but it made a ton of stops along the way. Any time a passenger went to the front and asked the driver to stop somewhere, he would. We also had a compulsory 30 minute lunch break in the middle of the ride. The trip should have only taken 3 hours, but it was stretched to 4.5 hours due to all of the stopping and some interesting road work. I have never been thrilled with the highway department back home, but after seeing how things work in Cambodia, I am all for ODOT. The bus would be travelling along, and there would suddenly be a group of people standing on a bridge with some barrels and shovels, so the bus would go off-roading around the bridge on a bumpy dirt path wide enough for only one car. This happened several times, then after a while, the entire road turned to dirt until we were close to town, then it returned to pavement. Upon arriving, we were thankful that the hotel we had chosen worked out, so we rested for a couple of the hottest hours of the day and had lunch before heading to Phnom Bakheng for sunset. This was our first temple, and after seeing the view from the top, we knew we were in for a spectacular time in Siem Reap! It was a bit of a hike to get to the top (we could have opted for the elephant ride, but since the elephant couldn't take 3 of us, we hiked). We needed to climb the temple itself once we got to the top of the hill, and we discovered the very narrow stone steps that the Cambodian temples are famous for. They are only about as deep as a human foot is wide, and a bit steeper than normal steps, so you use your hands and sort of climb up ladder-style. From the top, we could see Angkor Wat and the surrounding land. It was pretty crowded on the top of the temple, since this is a very popular spot for sunset, but it was still gorgeous.

Meeting the Fam. - MK

2009-02-28T03:11:00.000-08:00

On our way to Siem Reap, we arranged for our driver to stop in Pursat. Having a private car with driver is not that fancy, actually, and it involves a lot of honking, Cambodian music and awkwardness, though still expensive. Our driver today seemed to be having some marital problems, so it was a little more awkward today. He was supposed to drive and stop at the restaurant where my parents were married but he drove us to some place with some new construction and just drove really slow for about 10-15 minutes before moving on. It was kind of frustrating because he was having a lover’s tiff on his cell phone at the time and wouldn’t listen to us at all. He just slowly drove down this street and then sped up and took off. We headed out of town and it was pretty much the same scenario as before. Speed, swerve, honk, honk, swerve, breaks, honk and some more honking. Here are some words of warning, if anyone we drive with honks their horn when we are back home...someonemay have a horn for a voice box. After an hour and a half or so, we finally get to my family’s town. We are visiting my father’s two older sisters and their families. I met one of my female cousins and her husband a few days ago in Phnom Penh, and now I am meeting the rest of the family. We pulled over at the rail station, and my cousin, Pollack, came to lead the way on his motorbike. I am spelling my cousin’s name with an “A” between the “L” and the “C” and not an “O” as to not confuse his origin. I didn’t know how I would react to meeting some relatives that I haven’t met before because it’s never happened before. I was a little excited and a little nervous. Ally made me shave the night before as to not scare anybody away with my horrific facial hair or the pathetic excuse therefor. We pull up the little house, which is on stilts, and an older lady runs out from the gate. I think I need to explain that my father and his sisters have only seen each other face to face twice since 1975. I was very happy to see her, and it was almost like I couldn’t open the door fast enough for her because as soon as I stepped out, she gave me a big hug. She looks like my dad just, smaller and with fewer teeth. We went under the house and sat and started talking, which was the part I was the most nervous about. We were spoiled in Phnom Penh because my uncle spoke English very well, so I really didn’t have to speak any Cambodian. I held my own though, and I was pretty proud of myself. We talked about my parents and her family and then we ate a small meal, which was great. After a while, the rest of the family came. My dad’s older sister arrived on the back of a moto and ran over but instead of hugging me she grabbed Ally and gave her a big hug, which stunned Ally a little, and dumbfounded me somewhat. My dad probably told them that Ally was the favorite child so she was more important. With the whole family there, we sat around and talked and got to know each other. I gave them some photos of my parents and some of our wedding photos that my dad had sent along. Then, one of my aunts remembered some photos she had of my dad when he was younger. I was so excited to see them. She came back down with a couple of picture frames. There wasn’t a place to copy them, so I took my camera out and photographed the photographs for my own type of copying. Then, I got the biggest surprise of all, I asked if she had a photo of her dad (my grandfather) and she said that she did. Until that very moment, I had never seen a photo of my grandfather and my dad said that he had forgotten what he looked like. She rushed upstairs to get it and I could barely take it out of the frame fast enough. It was pretty worn but it was there none the less. It was a photo of my dad, his older brother, grandfather, grandmother and two aunts. My dad was 5 years old in the picture, and I couldn’t be happier to give that to him. After a while of talking with everyone, we decided to get going, so we took a bunch of photos with the family. When we were about to leave, my cousin, Pollack, decided to come with us to Battambang and then on to Siem Reap, which is pretty weird, but that’s another entry. Until then...

Central Market, masters of the up sell - MK

2009-02-28T02:56:00.000-08:00

We have seen the Central Market on TV, and it is huge. We have seen it from an aerial view, and it looks like a city itself. There is a big dome like structure in the middle and it branches off from there kind of like a stucco octopus with it’s tentacles filled with anything and everything from fabric to motorcycle parts to meat. We went earlier in the morning on the advice of my uncle, and, based on our experience from the Russian Market, we knew it would be too hot in the afternoon. The market is as busy as it is big with shop owners roaring yelling out their wares, “Madame...sir...lady would you like a….”. At first it was a little intimidating but we soon got the hang of it. We almost tackled this mall on steroids in a logical way until we figured out, much like a lot of things in Phnom Penh, that there wasn’t any logic, plus it was being renovated so it was even more hectic. After we cruised the aisle ways for a while we decided to start some shopping. Directly under the dome is where all the jewelry, sunglasses and watches were found. Gold was everywhere, which was a real shock (please insert sarcasm here). Ally picked a nice little necklace while I was consistently asked to buy sunglasses and I consistently pointed to the ones I already had on my head. From there we ventured into fray making our way through the filled alleys of goods. If anyone ever wants to master the art of the upsell, they need to come here to learn. Ally and I are pretty good at saying no and walking away but, particularly at this one shop, $1.50 turned into ten times that in about two minutes. We were just wanting to buy a scarf which turned into a couple of scarves which turned into some material, half a cow and a time share in a rice field. This lady was good! Always something else to buy, and it went on and on. It was dizzying. After we got back to home base after our excursion we were exhausted and crashed in air-conditioned bliss.

Wat Phnom, an Elephant and some Monkeys - MK

2009-02-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

Wat Phnom is pretty much in the center of Phnom Penh. It is actually where the name for the city comes from. I’m paraphrasing and probably getting the particulars wrong but the story is that a woman named Penh bulilt the Wat on the hill for something and named the city. The city name translates to Penh’s Hill. Anyways, it was the destination for us so off we went to brave another afternoon in the city. Taking a tuk-tuk from my uncle’s house got us there in no time. It is a big gathering place for locals as well as tourists. Most of the pagodas around town are still in use for various things most of which I’m not sure of. Wat Phnom has some amazing features like the biggest clock in the country and a huge elephant. It is also famous for the monkeys that live in the park. Upon arrival, Ally and I made a B line directly to Sambo the famous elephant. For a measly dollar you can buy bananas to feed him which will also get you some one on one time as well. It seems like Sambo also likes humans because according to Ally he actually put her arm in his mouth and the last time I checked, her arm doesn’t really look like a banana. He was still good natured and Ally had a good time hugging his trunk. The cool thing about Sambo is that after a long day at work you can see him walking down one of the main streets to go home. His owner must have a pretty big loft because Sambo is not “Slim-O” you know, I’m not saying, I’m just saying. After the elephant, we tried to make our way to the top of the hill. We spotted a couple of monkeys having some fun with the locals and I decided to take a couple of photos. It was fun for a while until I tried to get a little too close to a mother and her clinging baby. She didn’t really like my close proximity and gave me a Muhammad Ali-esque right hook that knocked me back a little. Other than that little squabble the monkeys just went on with their business, sometimes stealing someone’s dinner or hat and climbing trees. When we got to the top it was a typical Wat and I took the typical pictures and we decided to leave. It was a small trip but well worth it. We didn’t get a shot of Sambo walking home from work (although we saw him) but I guess I can’t get them all.

Soap Box-MK

2009-02-21T06:28:00.000-08:00

OK Folks, time for me to get on my soap box. In this edition of the blog we are going to tackle some social issues so please keep your hands inside your cubicle at all times until the ride has concluded. Beggars: I would imagine that in every third world country this section of society has great numbers. Cambodia is no different and it is heart breaking. In Phnom Penh they are everywhere. One night we were waiting at a stop light and a young girl carrying a baby came up to the car window and just stared at us then casually continued on to the next car. All the tour books say not to give to beggars because it promotes begging so on and so forth. It is hard for me to do so because I know that in most cases, these beggars have not other means of support. There is not “welfare” here and the only organizations that can help these people are run by charities and I know that the need far out weighs the ability. The first day Ally and I looked at each other and she said what I was thinking, that it was too great that she felt so helpless as if even if she tried that she couldn’t make a difference in this country because the need was everywhere. It’s hard to see government officials rolling around in luxury cars while the very people they are supposed to care far lay languishing in the streets. These people make the “poor” people in the states look like millionaires. We kept running into landmine victims and we tried to give what we had but it was like bees to honey and we couldn’t take care of them all. I am more and more thankful of the country I live in and the livelihood I am afforded every day because in other parts of the world luxury is a bit of rice and a spare section of sidewalk to lay their head upon at night. Touts and Tuk Tuk drivers: First the Tuk Tuk drivers. You just saw me get off from a Tuk Tuk why in the world do you ask if I needed a Tuk Tuk? Seriously? Also, why do I need to tell you that I don’t need one about a bazillion times and why do you ask if I need one tomorrow? Is it just your curiosity on the demand verses supply of tuk tuk drivers in your region? Second is the touts. I just told you that I had a reservation at a hotel so why must you continue to tell me about another hotel and try to sell me on a tour? All this being said, I appreciate the hustle and wish you all good fortune in trying to get what you can because nobody is going to give it to you. Children Alone: Family and children services would have a hay day in this country. Never mind the lack of child seats or seat belts in general in the cars or that fact that you have a motor bike with an average of two babies hanging from the sides. It seems like the parenting mantra in Cambodia is pretty laissez-faire. We see kids running around everywhere around here. Running around naked, or just with a shirt on and it’s perfectly fine. No mothers with leashes or strollers just parents letting there kids be who they want to be and if they want to be a naked runner then so be it. In all seriousness, it’s really hard for Ally and I to watch these kids with seemingly little or no supervision. It’s not that parents don’t love their children and it seems quite the opposite. Babies and children seem to be loved greatly just not watched over greatly. Different strokes for different folks I guess but it’s just not for these folks. Old White Men and young Asian women: We have seen this scenario over and over all around the country. It’s not fooling anyone that a older white male who is of fair skin is with a much younger dark skinned Asian female are not husband and wife. For one thing communication between the two is laughable and awkwardness is always, always present. It’s hard to see that women are being taken advantaged of by men who were obviously picked last in gym class. It also seems that the scenario is also uncomfortable for other westerners as the stares and whispers are always present when the pseudo couple enter the room or restaurant. Just because they are not “children” does not mean it’s any less of a crime and I hope that the governments will soon start cracking down on this type of behavior. My uncle says that it’s not really accepted but that the girls are from the country side as shown by their darker skin. Thanks Old White Male for taking advantage of a people that has already suffered so much.

Central Market - MK

2009-02-21T06:22:00.000-08:00

We have seen the Central Market on TV and it is huge. We have seen it from an aerial view and it looks like a city itself. There is a big dome like structure in the middle and it branches off from there kind of like a terra cotta octopus with it’s tentacles filled with anything and everything from material to motorcycle parts. We went earlier in the morning on the advice of my uncle and our experience from the Russian Market. The market is as busy as it is big with shop owners roaring yelling out their wares, “Madame, sir would you like a….”. At first it was a little intimidating but we soon got the hang of it. We almost tackled this mall on steroids in a logical way until we figured out, much like a lot of things in Phnom Penh, that there wasn’t any logic plus it was being renovated so it was even more hectic. After we cruised the aisle ways for a while we decided to start some shopping. Directly under the dome is where all the jewelry, sunglasses and watches were. Gold was every where which was a real shock (please insert sarcasm here). Ally picked a nice little piece as I was consistently asked to buy sunglasses and I consistently pointed to the ones I already had on my head. From there we ventured into fray making our way through the filled alleys of goods. If anyone ever wants to master the art of the up sell, they need to come here. Ally and I are pretty good at saying no and walking away but, particularly at this one shop, $1.50 turned into ten times that in about two minutes. We were just wanting to buy a scarf which turned into a couple of scarves which turned into some material, half a cow and a time share in a rice field. They were good! Always a better deal the more you bought and it went on and on. It was dizzying. After we got back to home base after our excursion we were exhausted and crashed in air conditioned bliss.

Karaoke Nights - MK

2009-02-21T05:33:00.000-08:00

Mike and Ally doing Karaoke = Crazy. Karaoke in a room with the volume cranked up to the sound of a jet engine = Awesome. Mike and Ally doing Karaoke in Phnom Penh with video footage = Crazy Awesome! That’s right folks, we took are floaties off and ventured into the deep water of Asian culture. On our last night in Phnom Penh, Ally and I hit up a karaoke joint. You may imagine a boisterous place where there are crowds of people cheering and singing along with their friends on stage. You would be totally wrong, you silly Americans! Karaoke is a serious affair in this part of the world. My uncle's son, Keo (his first name is my last name, who knew?), invited us to go with him and his brother-in-law to a wild night of Karaoke. We decided at dinner that we would go, and we went to get ready. The first notion of, “we are so over our skis” came when we came downstairs looking like a bunch of tourists with shorts and sandals and he was wearing nice “I’m taking you to a steak dinner” attire. Off we go until Ally informed me that Keo had put a small weapon in the sunroof shade, which he said was for protection in case things got a little wild. A little wild? What were we getting ourselves into? Driving around Phnom Penh after 9pm is a totally different world because it’s virtually deserted. A few motor bikes and cars are seen cris-crossing the empty streets. All the tuk-tuk drivers are apparently asleep in their tuk-tuks and shop store owners have long been gone. After picking up his brother, we went to the first place, which didn’t have any rooms available, so we went to another place. “Rooms? I thought, where are we going?” We would soon find out. Standing in line, that’s right I said line in front of the “K” establishment I noticed a sign shaped like a heart. It was broken into three sections of things not to bring to the K Bar. 1st – Guns, 2nd – Knives and 3rd (which I was hoping to break out) was….GRENADES! That’s right grenades, those are some serious singers! I thought we were going to a karaoke bar not a gang war, it was almost like were going to an updated reality version of West Side Story except I as a Jet would be required to lob grenades into the Sharks turf! Wow, but wait there’s more. We are led up to this room on the 4th floor and music is blaring from all these doors of American music, Cambodian music, Chinese music and I think I heard some German music somewhere. There are people littering the halls all looking and Ally and me in a sort of condescending, astonished way. On the way, I noticed these gaudy pewter bas reliefs in the halls. I saw four and here is the list: 1. Napoleon riding triumphantly on his steed, 2. The Arch Angel Michael, 3. Genghis Khan on a horse, 4. Jesus Christ’s Crucifixion. What?! We finally make it to our room, and it is decked out with plush seats and glass tables, we have our own disco ball, some huge speakers, and a TV as well as 2 girls to control the remote - entering any song we request. A few minutes after we arrived, waiters brought in plates of fruit and baskets of drinks. A few minutes after that, what I can only describe as a "madame" brought in a line-up of young girls in too much make-up and very short dresses. Keo and his brother-in-law were told to each choose a girl, and the akwardness continued. Keo explained that these girls were here to sing the female parts of the Cambodian songs (which each have male and female roles). Well, to make a long and weird story short I think I’m the next Cambodian Idol with my rendition of the Bryan Adams song from Robin Hood, so look out for the CD. I even got it on video, but that is being locked away, only to be released when I either run for President or win the lottery.

The National Museum - MK

2009-02-21T05:32:00.000-08:00

Today we visited the national museum. We originally planned on visiting it the same day we perused the Royal Palace, but some small men with big guns decided differently that day. We almost decided to skip it, but we are so glad that we didn’t. The outside is a little rough and it looks like it is in repair as is most of the monuments around Phnom Penh. Walking through the doors, I was amazed at the quantity of artifacts housed in the museum. The building is a big square with a courtyard in the middle. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed (again) so we couldn't document what we saw inside. There were Buddha statues everywhere, from different time periods and of different sizes. Many of the artifacts were taken from Angkor Wat and the surround areas to preserve them. I was impressed at the layout but the descriptions of the statues left much to be desired. Getting past the initial passage way we stepped into a room with old photographs. Seeing photos from 1901, and even one from 1899, was amazing. Seeing Phnom Penh covered in palm trees and growth was welcome as the palm trees and grass have long been replaced with motos, tuk tuks and street shops. The museum was great, but I did notice that in it’s infancy, it looked like the exhibits were not stored properly for display. The building was not closed off, there were no windows or doors leading to the courtyard so the pieces were exposed to the elements. The only climate control depended on the weather. They had some tapestries that were very old behind ordinary glass with no UV protection whatsoever. Along the walls of the courtyard, there were numerous pieces outside under the awning, but still exposed. Speaking with my uncle later, he explained that the government is not really concerned with the preservation of the pieces and that they have a museum as a money making venture first and as a history preservation project second. It is a little disheartening, but I guess I can accept that in some countries pure survival is the main priority. The oldest statue we saw was about 10 ft. tall of a man or a soldier. The card under it stated it was from approximately 500 a.d. which, from my calculations, is pretty old. I am becoming more and more aware of the rich history this country has. It seems the only history I have known or have been taught about was that of more recent events. In a couple of days we are traveling to Siem Reap where we will visit the temples of Angkor, this is what I am most excited about.

The Beach - AK

2009-02-21T04:37:00.000-08:00

We have returned to Phnom Penh after " days at the beach, Sihanoukville (or Kompong Som) to be exact. When we planned the trip, we thought that a trip to the beach would be a break from our trip; we planned to spend a couple of days on a remote island and a day or two at this lazy beach town, but we arrived to find a bustling beach town. We took a private taxi from Phnom Penh and took the scenic route to get there, travelling through the Ta Keo province, through the towns of Kep and Kampot before arriving in Sihanoukville. We stopped at Kep for lunch, which really is a quiet little beach town. The beach here was very narrow, and covered with litter - as an Oregonian, I saw this as a SOLV beach cleanup emergency. The town of Kep is famous for its crab, so we gave it a try to see how it measured up to our Oregon dungeoness crab. It was a little smaller, with a lot more mild taste - more like snow crab, but still good. The grilled crab was served with a lemon-juice pepper blend made from local pepper (the next town over, Kampot, is notorious for this pepper). After lunch our driver took us to a pier to see a well-known statue Yeah Mao (which translates to black grandma, so its confusing that the statue was white). Here, we met some women selling trinkets and bought a couple of them, though I believe the price they were asking was too low. We drove past lots of ruins in this town, which still has not been substantially rebuilt since the Khmer Rouge destroyed much of it 30 years ago. Our driver hurried us through Kampot to Sihaoukville, so we did not see much of Kampot. We checked in to our guesthouse, which was run by an Australian couple who advertised their hotel online with a rooftop pool and spa, neither of which are complete yet. Since we just wanted to get to the beach and we were planning on leaving for the islands the next day, we just accepted the room, which was nice and clean at least. We dropped off our bags and headed straight to the beach. We walked along the long stretch of sand, getting our feet wet in the surf. The water was very warm, maybe warmer than the air. We sat down in the shade for a while, and numerous hawkers approached us, selling everything from fruit and drinks to massages and pedicures. These 2 young girls came over and tried to sell me bracelets they had made. When I declined, they asked where we were from, and sat down for a chat. After a few minutes, one girl decided she would make me a free friendship bracelet and proceded to do so while we talked. She said that they were 14 years old, and they were learning to speak English in school, but that they came down to the beach to practice their English talking with tourists on the weekends. She also warned me that since that day was Sunday, the well behaved children would be returning to school the following day and the children left on the beach selling things on school days were theives who would even steal your flip flops if you left them on the shore while going for a swim. We never had a problem with theft during our entire time at the beach, and we left our shirts, towels, and water on the beach while heading out to swim on a couple of different occasions. The other girl spent her time trying to get Mike to talk to her and asking him about being Cambodian and living in the U.S. while trying to convince him he needed a friendship bracelet too. When they were finished with the friendship bracelets, felt like I should buy some of the other bracelets that they were selling, so I asked how much they were. When they said the price, it seemed fair for the U.S., but many times the prices I had seen so far in this country. I told the girl that in Kep a woman was selling the same bracelets for 1/10th of the price, and she said "Kep is Kep and here is here. The cost to transport these bracelets from Kep..." I appreciated her wit, sales skills, and the lack of desperation, so I paid her what she was asking for 2 bracelets and told them to stay in school and stay out of trouble. This type of strength is uncommon in the street hawkers in Cambodia. If you say no thank you, they immediately start to lower the price. Although his parents taught us the language of bargaining in this country before we left, Mike and I decided very early on in the trip not to try to negotiate for lower prices. The prices are already low, never more than you would pay in the U.S., and the money means so much more to these people than to us. The $1 or $2 you might save by negotiating the price might be able to feed a whole family for the day. The average income in this country is only around $500/year. Anyway, we went to check in for the boat to the island the next day, and a bunch of changes were being made. The price of the boat doubled, as did the length of the boat trip. The way that we were being treated made us very suspicious of the company, so we cancelled our reservation and went in search of a place to stay in Sihanoukville instead. We found a room at a guest house that came highly recommended by several guidebooks, so we stayed there for the next 2 nights. We had sort of a lazy few days at the beach, swimming in the ocean, walking around, and relaxing. It rained for a couple of hours on the last full day we were there, which is unusual for this time of year. It was cool and refreshing, but everyone abandoned the beach. We happened to be in the middle of lunch at a beachside stand when it started, and since our table was well covered, we just watched the rain while we ate. There were beautiful sunsets and the beaches weren't too crowded, so over all we had a good time.

Food-MK/AK

2009-02-21T04:35:00.000-08:00

Contrary to popular belief, Cambodia is filled with restaurants of all different kinds. We were not forced to eat in dimly lit establishments where the servers have an eye patch and one tooth handing us food with a ladle that doubles as their hand. Upon arriving we ate at a Chinese (yes, Chinese food and Cambodian food are different!) and it was great. Ally's favorite was the battered and fried soft shell crab and I liked the fish (minus the head). So far we have eaten Mexican, Italian, Australian, Greek-ish, BBQ, Cambodian, Thai, Chinese, British and French food. We have not been brave enough to eat off of a street cart as of yet. Most of our food of Cambodian fare has been eaten at my uncles house. The most interesting has been the fruit. There is a fruit that is brown and round and kind of resembles a cartoon bomb ball. You cut along its equator and you pop the top to reveal little white sections of fruity goodness. Beware of the big section, that houses the pit. We have also tried passion fruit which I can say I'm not so passionate about that fruit. I'm actually anti-passion fruit and am thinking about launching a campaign to get it renamed because the current name is kind of presumptuous. The oranges are different here and so are the apples. Just because it says apple or orange on the label does not mean its an apple or an orange. We have also had milk fruit which is an abomination to the word fruit, but still not as bad as a persimmon. We have seen dragon fruit and durian but have not had the opportunity to partake and will try to have some before we leave. The cuisine here has treated us well aside from a few minor misunderstandings. A side note about the napkins here: They are available from a tissue box-type dispenser at the tables in the restaurant. They are approximately the size of 2 squares of toilet paper, but are only single ply. In order to be effective, you must use at least 3 of these mini-napkins. One must be careful, however, because some of the time they are made of napkin-type paper, and other times they are more tissue-like, which can leave you looking foolish with tissue fragments all over your face.

S.21 - Tuol Sleng - MK

2009-02-17T05:12:00.000-08:00

Many people know the tumultuous past of Cambodia, many know of the genocide and the regime that carried out the atrocities. On the 13th, we decided to go to one of the most infamous locations in Phnom Penh. At first, my uncle (who we have been staying with) wanted to go with us, but at the last minute he decided not to, the reason I will say later. A brief history: Tuol Sleng prison was an school house that was converted to a prison during the Pol Pot regime and it's occupation of Phnom Penh. 20,000 people are reported to have been tortured and killed there with only a few survivors. Pulling up to the prison is kind of surreal. It is almost like the people want to forget that it exists as they pretend it's not there. There are houses all around still and it sits in the middle of a bustling neighborhood. As with tourist attractions, there were tuk-tuk drivers and moto's asking if you needed a ride or a tour, etc. As soon as I stepped through the gates, it was almost like sound stopped. It was really, really quiet. The first room, I think, was the hardest for me. I will admit that I didn't want to be there but I felt that it was my obligation to be there and to document what I saw. Ally went in first and I hesitated a little but took a deep breath and went in. Right away, the echoes of death hit me in the chest as there was a rusty, empty bed frame in the middle of the room. A shallow remnant of a car battery and some metal poles occupied the top of the frame. The floor was stained. There was a faded photo on the wall of a prisoner who graced this room, and frankly I am so glad that it was faded because the image is so haunting even in it's decomposition. I just started taking pictures almost like a method of calming myself. Almost every room had the same set-up: the photo on the wall, the bed frame and the stains on the floor. It was hard for me to do, to go to every room, but I kept going and I was thankful that Ally was there with me. I don't think I will show the pictures to my parents because I feel that it will be to much for them. On our way to the prison, my uncle told us he didn't want to go in because he has seen some of the photos of the prisoners and some of his friends were amongst those who died at S.21. (AK) There were several rooms full of photos of the former prisoners. The photos of the children were the worst. There were walls and walls of pictures of kids in addition to the thousands of women and men. These people had done nothing to deserve this treatment. Some of the pictures weren't taken until after they had begun torturing the people. I couldn't believe some of the prisoners could still muster a half-smile for the picture. They had no idea what these aweful people were capable of. After the cells Mike talks about, there were bigger rooms divided into very small cells, hurriedly built of brick. These cells were probably 3'x4' or so, and the prisoners spent 24 hours per day in them. There were photos of a mother and child sharing one of these cells. I understand a little bit now why none of the Cambodian people want to talk about this time period. It is the past. They want to leave it behind and move forward - they don't want it to define them. There was one older Cambodian woman at the prison while we were there, and she was in tears walking with a younger Cambodian woman. I can't imagine the strength it must have taken for her to come to this place. Perhaps she had to see for herself or maybe she was looking for closure.

Happy Valentine's Day - AK

2009-02-15T18:40:00.000-08:00

Apparently, Valentine's day is big in Cambodia and Thailand, at least with young people. They treat it like New Years or the 4th of July is celebrated in the U.S. We drove around, then walked around downtown in the evening, and there were young couples everywhere in there best attire. Some of the girls were wearing prom-type dresses. This was very interesting to me since this society is accustomed to arranging marriages and there is not supposed to be any dating. There were street venders selling slightly wilted roses (they don't like the heat any more than I do), balloons, bears, etc. For families, it was just another night, they were eating dinner outside in the park on mats - Mike called it the Cambodian Applebee's. Oh, what I would pay for real American food right now... This morning, we were visited by 2 of Mike's dad's relatives - a couple of cousins, we think. They were nice, and Mike did well speaking Khmer to them. Later in the day, we visited the Russian Market. It was crowded, chaotic, and very hot. There were small stalls with clothes, shoes, fabrics, food, and tailors. There were a lot of U.S. brands - probably the ones that manufacture their goods in this region. We couldn't stay too long because of the stifeling heat. Mike's uncle says that the people who work here live in their stalls, some with a family. I couldn't imagine - the space was about the size of a king size bed and filled with their goods for sale. In the evening, when we drove around town, we saw that it could be even worse. There were vendors with carts or just trays selling goods on the water front. When we got to the end of the water front, we found their homes: very small shelters (maybe 5'x5') made of tarps and a mat on the floor. One of these had a family of 6 living inside. The kids were sleeping on the floor while the Mom was putting away her cart for the evening. I feel so helpless here - like nothing I do can overcome the vast poverty and make a difference to these people. Seeing the living conditions for some of the people here has made me so grateful for what I have. It is beyond description how in need these people are. Mike is very angry at the government here. There are no taxes on income, only large foreign corporations are taxed, so there are no dependable government services. However, there are beautiful, large, ornate government buildings all over with seemingly made up purposes - the Ministries of this and that...

Phnom Penh and Teller-MK

2009-02-15T04:25:00.001-08:00

We woke up this morning excited with what lay ahead of us. A different city with a different set of rules to get used to. Bangkok was fun but I was personally ready to tackle this city. We decided to go to a small cafe a couple of blocks away with my uncle. It was nice to have a ringer in the city that knew where to go and how to get there. Our first big test was crossing Norodom Blvd which was one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city. I particularly didn't feel like playing reality frogger this morning but we had to do what we had to do. It was almost like playing an extreme game of double dutch as we all kind of waited for an opening while rocking back and forth to get the rythym of the game. 1,2 and off we went crossing the street. We were glad when we got across the street almsot breaking into celebration and high fives. As we were eating breakfast, none other than one of the princesses of Cambodia shows up. My uncle works with the King, so she came up and said hello then whisked my uncle away to discuss some royal business. Less than a day in the city, and we have already come into contact with royalty. So far so awesome. After breakfast my uncle had to go back to work and we decided to explore the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. We kind of got turned around on our way but we figured it out eventually, thanks to Ally's superb map reading skills. With so many royal looking buildings in close proximity it was easy to get confused. Our first stop was the Royal Palace and it was nice. It kind of looked like a smaller version of the Thai Royal Palace but not quite as ornate, crowded or expensive to visit. It seemed like the palace was still in repair. One of the most interesting buildings in the palace was a little two story house off to the side in the grounds. It was pretty run down and closed off so we couldn't check it out. We did see that it said "Napoleon" on it which we found odd. According to my uncle, the story of the house is that was one of Napoleon's homes when he was in power. It was located at the Suez Canal and Napoleon had it shipped to Cambodia so he could visit. When he was unable to come he shipped over a statue of himself triumphantly riding a big horse. When the King of Cambodia saw the statue, he took it as an insult and chopped óff the statues head (Napoleon's) and replaced it with his own. The statue remains at the center of the grounds displayed prominently with the King of Cambodia's head still on it. We continued on to the Silver Pagoda to find some new things to see. Again, the similarities between this place and Wat Phra Kaew were uncanny. Again, it was not as ornate, expensive or crowded. While the Thai one was being actively restored while we where there, this was not and looked like it was in the beginning stages of repair. The Silver Pagoda it self was not really true to it's namesake because there wasn't any silver to be found on the structure. It actually looked like the building that housed the Emerald Buddha in Thailand. Surprise, there was an emerald buddha but it was the same size. While leaving, we figured out why it was called the Silver Pagoda: the floor was covered with countless rugs of all shapes and sizes kind of like my parents floors in California. Unlike my parents floors, the rugs covered tiles of silver stamped with ornate patterns. There was a small roped off gap where we could see them near the exit door. Well, that's all for now. See you next time from the Kingdom of Wonder.

Cambodia is our favorite favorite bodia! -MK

2009-02-14T06:01:00.000-08:00

We are here in Phnom Penh! Sorry to say the airport customs was a little difficult except for yours truly- its nice being Cambodian in Cambodia. While the other travellers were wallowing in long lines of broken english and mis-understandings the agent took one look at me and asked if I was Cambodian and of course I said, bhat(yes) and off I went to the head of the line while a certain non-Cambodian was left behind, also known as my wife, sorry honey. Not only was I cut to the front of the line there was a special wink wink dicount for my visa. Then we arrived at the customs line without the customs papers that the flight attendants failed to distribute on our flight. After a few minutes, we were allowed through - also due to special treatment of Cambodians. My uncle picked us up from the airport and showed us around town briefly in his air-conditioned (thank goodness) car. Traffic here is like Mad-Max Beyond Thunderdome (no rules, every man for himself). There is no "right of way" because there really is not a "wrong way". A car is definitely in the minority here. I would estimate that the moto to car ratio is about 2 zillion to 1. I didn't realize that a scooter can also be used as a clown car. Everywhere we went there were more people riding a small scooter that could fit in our CR-V. The order was pretty consistent though: Baby, Father driving, child, Mother, child, cargo. It was hard to concentrate on the conversation when all I could focus on was the little 50cc missiles headed straight for us. At first impression, life is very different here but we did find a KFC (not purposely so please no jokes). We didn't really get down the meats and bones of the city yet as we saw the city from the comfortable seat of a car but we do plan on doing so soon. We arrived at my uncles house which is exquisite but that is another post in itself. Next we will explore the city a little and get you guys in on some of the city gossip. Thanks!

Wats That? - MK

2009-02-14T05:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry to keep everyone waiting, we have been traveling and since the laptop met an untimely demise we have been forced to use internet cafes and we are now using a French laptop which is an adventure in itself.

I am rewinding a little but in this installment we visited Wat Phra Kaew. This place is tremendous and very ornate. Gold abounds around every corner along with seas of tourists from every part of the globe. I am very happy to say that Japanese tourists act the same here as they do in the US. I was having a personal contest to see if I can outshoot them but my shooting finger got a cramp. Apparently, when we went through the entrance gates we were warped to the 7th level of the Sun.

The most ornate item in the Wat was the building that housed the famous Emerald Buddha. A lot of rules to respect at this location: first order was the removal of our shoes, which made us nervous but hey in this country our shoe sizes were giant sized; no photos, video, smoke signals or morse code allowed...sorry. The room is a microcosm of the whole Wat with gold, red, gold, gold and for good measure some more gold. This would be the center of the universe if the universe was made of gold. The funny thing is that all this ornateness was to celebrate a statue the size of a small dog. Emerald Buddha - over rated; use of water and sunscreen - under rated.

Next up was the Royal Palace, we braved the elements and checked it out. Unfortunately, there were more rooms with no cameras allowed so no pics to prove that the Thai people are really fond of...that's right, gold. It was great but it was way too hot to be enjoyable as our clothes felt like wet blankets in a sauna after a jog through a volcano.

The most enjoyable part of the day was the riverboat taxi system which we mastered by the end of our stay. OK, off to the airport....Ka pun Kap (thanks) until next time.

On to Cambodia

2009-02-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

Today we are going to visit Wat Prah Kaew and the Royal Palace, and maybe Wat Pho before hopping on a plane to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We will get there around 4:30pm. More posting after we get there...

Touristy stuff - AK

2009-02-11T01:17:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up bright and early to visit the floating markets. After our slow learning curve on the transport options here, we opted for a scheduled tour. I was not thrilled to have to travel with a tour group, but since it was a half day, we thought it would be OK. To me, the "floating market" implied that I would be spending my time on a boat shopping from other boats, and I believe that the traditional floating markets were probably that way, but not the clearly tourist version that we saw today. First, we jumped in a "mini-bus" (a.k.a. minivan), in which every seat was packed (including the driver and 2 passengers in the front seat. We drove about 1.5 hours, and somehow it still looked very much like the city. From there, we boarded a longtail boat (hooray, a boat!), which is like a long canoe with a propeller on a long pole and a V-6ish engine to propel it. We made our way through the canals for about 20 minutes, and were dropped off at the "floating market". We spent 2 hours walking around through dock-like shopping stalls full of prime souvenir candidates (which we did not purchase because we don't want to carry them around the rest of the trip). In all fairness, there were plenty of people on boats in the canal selling food and more souvenirs along the docks, its just that we were not in the boats. It was fun, still. I saw a lady frying bananas in a big pot of oil on a boat! That takes talent. Another lady looked like she was barbecuing on her boat while the smoke was overtaking her. Mike ordered some kind of noodle soup and ate it, while after my weak stomach last night, I stuck with a very safe banana. While wandering around, we met a local artist. He was very talented, and walked us from his studio to a little stall where his wife was selling his work. He had lived in the area his entire life, except for the 4 years when he attended the university in Bangkok. We had a good conversation and bought one of his paintings. He also did charcoal sketches and mixed media works, but the painting would travel best. Its amazing to meet talented people from other parts of the world. Later today we are going to see about having the laptop prepared and try to catch the sunset from the river ferry.

Hive Turkey-MK

2009-02-11T01:08:00.000-08:00

Last night was the night of all nights. We checked into our hotel, and the night looked very promising. It did not occur to either of us that the fickle being known to many as Mr. Sleep Deprivation would soon be knocking at our threshold. We decided to go to Sum Luan Night Market which according to Lonely Planet was a must see. It was kind of hard to see through half closed eyes. As we stumbled from the taxi, we barely had the combined energy to raise up our hands to thank our driver in the traditional Thai way. We walked half awake for a few blocks and decided to get something to eat. During dinner, nodding off took the place of conversation,and we both agreed that we were done for the night. It didn't really help that the driver on the way to the market was listening to Thai talk radio which is 1000% more boring that American talk radio. Getting to the room, the best was yet to come. An hour or so after we got back, Ally was sick to her stomach which lasted most of the night. I, on the other hand, started noticing a slight burning sensation coming from my wrists. That's right folks, the hives were back! Spreading like the plague across Europe, it went from my wrists to my hands and knuckles continuing on to my knees and made it's way to my neck. Luckily, Ally had some Allegra to calm the symptoms down and as I nodded off, telling myself that all was well and I was going to make it. The flames soon were extinguished and we both woke up ready for something fun.

Minority Report-MK

2009-02-11T00:59:00.000-08:00

Can it be possible for an Asian person in an Asian country to feel like a minority? I would have to say yes. It's funny how many Thai people look at me funny when I walk up to order food, get a taxi, or reserve a room. It is almost like they are expecting something totally different and are caught off guard when I mozy up and say, "Hello, I would like to reserve a room for tonight". It's kind of hard sometimes looking like so many different varieties of Asian. For instance, on the plane to Seoul I was of course Korean when a couple of people started to speak to me in Korean rattling off sylables I have never heard of nor can ever replicate with my Americanized tongue. Here in Thailand, I am Thai, most of the time. Sometimes, according to a travel agent we have befriended, I'm still Korean. I'm looking forward to being Cambodian in Cambodia for sure.

Bangkok Dangerous - MK/AK

2009-02-10T02:24:00.000-08:00

We got off to a slow start because we experienced the first casualty of our trip...the laptop which makes it hard to write a blog or reserve a hotel or research a city, all things we needed to do this morning. So we eat an "American Breakfast" which was surprisingly "American": white toast, egg sunnyside up and ham. We got up plenty early due to our authentic Thai alarm clock (a.k.a 3 roosters who thought 5am was as good as 8am) and after the flight we had just taken, any "a.m." was not a good one. After breakfast we took a taxi, without seat belts, to the bustling downtown and the famous Khao San Rd which makes Los Angeles look like Lake Oswego. We then took our very first tuk-tuk ride and apparently "tuk-tuk" means "you will wish you were born without eyes or a sense of speed so that you will be oblivious that you almost died about 15 times within a city block". Moving forward, we spent a while getting acclimated with the city and booked our hotel which is awesome equipped with a rooftop pool and excellent restaurant right on the river. Not being satisfied with only learning the taxi/tuk-tuk system we decide to brave the river ferry system. Please note that by this time it is approximately 3 degrees less than the sun and we are melting. The first boat was great, dropping us off near the famous Royal Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, which we will go back and see later because it was closing for the day (this is where the laptop would have come in handy, may he rest in peace). The second boat apparently only went back and forth across the river between to stops, neither of which was near our hotel, but the roundtrip was cooler than walking the concrete sidewalks. Tonight we will be visiting the night bazaar and are very excited and I am personally looking forward to riding in a tuk-tuk at night...maybe. We'll upload some pictures a little later. Just one of the many lessons we learned today (the hard way): change money to the local currency right away, or everyone will round up significantly in their own favor.

On top of the World - MK

2009-02-09T01:57:00.000-08:00

Already I have experienced things I did not expect. We have been up for almost 24 hours now and I am still buzzing wth excitement. Apparently they have used human cloning to supply Asiana Air with all their flight attendents. They all look the same and that is not a stereotype thing that I am saying Same hair, look, height, mannerisms. It is pretty scary to see an army of cloned flight attendans moving your way in a terminal. As we were flying over Alaska we got to see the top of the world and it was beautiful. I wanted to ask the pilot if he could drop me off to bust some shots as he flew around the block but he wasnt to cool with that we kind of had a falling out but we are working on a resolution but these things take time. I am typing this in Seoul where apparently a 2 foot by 2 foot stall can be a designated stall to handle your business but its hard when you cant close the door because those pesky things known as knees get in the way. Well, we are almost off to Bangkok now....until them same Keo channel different country!