I love you, Cambodia

Cambodia, officially, has the nicest locals I've met thus far. It truly makes a world of a difference. It's been an amazing week of $1 accommodations, $0.25 beers, great sites and amazing people (backpackers and locals alike). I also can't believe I have a little over a week left here.

I spent some time in Siem Reap chatting with this great girl from Brooklyn, Sasha, about the importance of breaking free in other parts of the world every once in a while and not feeling pressured to be tied down in a structured lifestyle at home until retirement. I've been told by so many at home that you have all the time in the world to travel once you're retired. But at that stage you've already formed your world views, you've already established who you are as a person and where you stand in life (at least a lot more than you've established in your 20s). But in your 20s, there is still so much to develop and learn. Now, for me anyway, is the time to travel. Now is the time to broaden your horizons, your views, your mind. I'd rather not wait til i'm 65 to 'discover myself' on a 5-star vacation. I'd rather do it now, living with the locals, eating meals for $1 in the streets and taking that risk that accompanies eating authentic street food, roughing it out in cheap hostels, not having a care in the world how i'm dressed or how i look, taking risks of having plans not go as planned, and venturing off aimlessly on a motorbike with a friend to discover historical sites on our own, instead of paying for a guided tour on an air-conditioned bus. I'd rather explore these places with like-minded people my age in this backpacking sub-culture I've lived through in the past 3 months and learn as much from these fellow travelers as I've learned from these countries and cultures we've all chosen to explore together.

Phnom Penh - the Killing Fields

I stayed at a great hostel in Phnom Penh that had a great bar and a SWIMMING POOL which was amazing for some relief of the heat. It has averaged high 90s every day in Cambodia so far. I also bumped into a friend I had made in Chiang Mai, Allie, who I later got back in touch with and spent lots of time in Sihanoukville with. My time in Phnom Penh was brief since I wanted to go to Siem Reap and be in Sihanoukville in time for the Khmer New Year. I'm going back to Phnom Penh in a few days to finish doing all the things I'd like to do.  I managed to spend my day wisely though and go to the most important site in Phnom Penh - the Killing Fields.

The Killing Fields are where about 1/3rd of Cambodia's entire population was wiped out with horrendous killings during the Khmer Rouge Regime in the 1970s, all because of the Prime Minister psychopath Pol Pot wanting Cambodia to be renewed with no capitalism, western influence or religion. 

We were taken straight to the fields, stood exactly where poor blind-folded innocent Cambodians were dropped off by trucks to their deaths, walked directly past trees where babies were held by their feet and smashed head first in front of their mothers' eyes, crossed ditches where to this day bones, teeth and clothing still unearth from the soil during monsoon rains, and watched the still lake - where hundreds of bodies are now resting in peace. 

can you spot the tooth?

A few of the ditches where bodies were piled

Pic taken through a glass case: a tooth lost in the piles of clothes found

The most gripping to me was stumbling across a tree which they called the "Magic Tree" where they had speakers playing a disturbing mixture of traditional Cambodian music, and the looping sound of a loud tractor engine. This was played through the speakers to drown out the sounds of people dying. It was the last thing they heard. And it was the horrible musical accompaniment that those still alive heard while watching the deaths of their loved ones. Our audio guides actually played this very music, the exact same soundtrack that it was at the time. It is just so disturbing and devastating, and i have goosebumps right now replaying it in my mind. Those poor people...

The last spot at the killing fields was the memorial, where they had tons of skulls behind glass, placed in age and sex order. There was a section of skulls listed "Females 15-20 years old," "Males 30-50", etc. Some skulls revealed slits and holes created from the blows of the axes, hammers and bamboo sticks that killed them. Just like the War Museum in Vietnam, it was also a very rough, but necessary visit.

hundreds of bracelets, given by visitors to pay respects to the killed women and children

inside the memorial, peace paper cranes 

Inside the memorial, skull remains. Reminded me of the Catacombs in Paris

Siem Reap - Angkor Wat 

Siem Reap was more uplifting! I arrived late my first day and made friends with the girl Sasha from Brooklyn who I chatted for a while with about traveling and breaking free. That night she actually convinced me to try the FISH MASSAGE BATH, $1 for 15 minutes, which I had been avoiding until now. It's these little doctor fish who go up to your feet in the water and eat off all the dead skin and bacteria. It was HILARIOUS, I could not stop screaming and laughing. I hadn't laughed so hard in a while. It tickled so much I could barely handle it. Sasha was laughing at my spastic reaction. Can't believe I lived through that... But at least my feet and legs felt super smooth and clean after!

you can't see my face, but take my word for it that i am freaking out here, and maybe wiping away a few tears of laughter.

The next morning I took a tuk-tuk to Angkor Wat, one of the most impressive historical sites in the world, the former capital kingdom of all of Indochina. It was a stunning place. Unfortunately the people I was going to go with never woke up so I wound up going on my own, but it turned out to be a good idea so I went at my own pace and didn't feel rushed. I watched the sunrise there at 6am with the main temple reflecting across the lake water, wandered the corridors and steps with gorgeous bas-reliefs and unfinished carvings... 

Angkor Wat at sunrise

an unfinished bas-relief...

After the main temple i made my way to Bayon, which i actually preferred. There were amazing faces carved in the columns. I spent the most amount of time here, and actually sat down to sketch for an hour, for the first time my whole trip. I missed sketching. It was such a great release. It was sort of funny towards the end of my sketch, a gigantic group of chinese tourists wandered around and saw me drawing on a rock, and they all snapped pictures with me and my drawing, and pictures of me with them once they realized i was half Chinese. They were hilarious!

The last large temple i visited was Ta Prohm, where scenes of Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie were filmed. I think this one was my favorite. It was a giant ruin with the most majestic trees growing over the stones, reclaiming their space in the natural field... with the roots grabbing onto the walls and the roofs, like a squid wrapping its legs around its prey. I was in awe. My camera's battery died 2 photos shy of where I would've liked it to, so I sketched again! And bumped into that Chinese tourist group again, and took peace sign photos with them... again.

amazing

after the 3 main temples, my tuk-tuk driver took me to about 3 more free of charge. Definitely all less impressive but still a nice way to spend the day. Then a little girl came up to me and gave me a bracelet she made of grass and bamboo, free of charge! (that is unheard of everywhere else I've been in southeast asia). For the first time ever, I was actually offered a gift for free. This girl was so gentle, sweet, innocent. It was a great gift and example of the kindness and selflessness of Cambodians. 

Siem Reap also had an amazing nightlife, night market and day market. I loved the vibe of Siem Reap, and would have absolutely stayed longer had I met a more interesting group of people that was staying for longer than 2 days. I made friends with a great girl from Brooklyn here, but she left early. Fun bars here were Temple Bar and "Angkor What?" (thought that was such a clever name for the bar).

En Route to Sihanoukville...

My ride from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville tops all the horrific bus rides i had in Vietnam, believe it or not. When i thought nothing could get worse....This was a minivan where the AC didn't work, windows had trouble opening, the seats were upright like in planes but were not adjustable, and it was so cramped with no leg space, and i sat next to a tall guy who squished my legs in the corner and CONSTANTLY fell on top of me when he fell asleep, with his boiling hot hand falling in my lap, his boiling body head radiating onto me, the boiling hot windows, the boiling hot stuffy air, and there was hardly a bathroom break (only stopped for male toilets, the fields), and the driver thought it was a good idea to play the cambodian radio at 3AM in the middle of his drive, and also eventually turned on the lights while everyone was sleeping, and then we were dropped off in Phnom Penh to wait an hour to get transferred to a new bus at 6 in the morning, and then transferred a 2nd time after an hour and a half of waiting..... HORRIFIC !!!!!!!!!!!!!
The only decent part of this ride was the scenic view i had from my window - we passed by these little boys, no older than 7 years old, riding water buffalo across the fields.... it was pretty beautiful to see.

Sihanoukville - KHMER NEW YEAR!!

Sihanoukville has been such an amazing place of lazy living, good times and good people. I have had an incredible time here. I've stayed in dorms that cost me an outrageous $1.50 a night, i drank draft beers that cost $0.25 during happy hour, and have relaxed at the beach sipping mango shakes, eating beautiful and cheap tropical fruit salads, soaking up the sun, writing in my journal on comfortable beach chairs, skinny dipping in the ocean in the late hours of the night (oops), and celebrating the Cambodian new year which consisted of a GIANT 3-day baby-powder fight and water fight. 

The first day of the new year I spent visiting a local market and lounging on Otres Beach, a spectacular beach with red dirt roads nearby, cows wandering about, and incredibly relaxing guesthouses with egg-chairs that you could lounge in all day. I met up with Patrick and Brian that I met in Nha Trang and hung out with in Saigon (celebrating Patrick's birthday). It was a nice, relaxing start to the new year, which prepared me for the nighttime and the following day...

Otres Beach!

It was the first night celebrating the new year, so the bars were packed and busy. We watched some decent fire shows (they didn't compare to the ones in Koh Phi Phi in Thailand), and there were fireworks scattered across the entire length of Serendipity Beach where I was staying. In the late hours people got covered in baby powder fights. I bumped into the 2 Archie's that I hung out with in Saigon, it's funny how throughout your trip you cross paths with the same people. 

JJ's Bar! popular place right on the beach

someone lit sparks of fireworks nearby

fireshow!

Meanwhile during the water and baby powder fights, there was a group of about 10 of us that wanted to escape the heat of all the dancing at the bar, and ran to the ocean where we all spontaneously decided to skinny dip to refresh ourselves (hahaha). I have never done this before. I have to say, it is quite liberating and refreshing. Also not nerve racking at all considering it's in the ocean at night where no light can allow anyone to sneak a peak. It was amazing! I didn't want to get all the ocean water inside my pants so i wrapped my pants around my waste like a skirt instead for the rest of the night. Too bad the knot came undone while i was dancing and i yelled out the girliest scream, that was embarrassing...

On Saturday, the 2nd day of the new year, I did a Khmer New Year Booze Cruise. This was soooooo much fun, and I met an amazing group of Canadian girls that I spent the whole day with. It was a day of constant music, dancing, lounging, casual drinking, diving off the boat into the ocean, mingling, getting COMPLETELY covered in baby-powder, drenched by super-soaker guns, laughing with these awesome Nigerian soccer players, making friends with the Cambodian DJ, and just overall having an incredible time!! I also faced my fear by jumping off the 2nd story of the boat into the water. Didn't think I'd ever do that, but I just shut my brain off and jumped. It's the only way i also managed to bungee jump during my time in New Zealand in 2009, you just have to not think.

People covered in baby powder!

my poor friend Nihra got covered pretty bad

I was next !!!!!!!!!!! AHH

Awesome girls :)

Ended the boat trip watching the sunset on the top deck. Beautiful

Bamboo Island

And believe it or not, things just got better and better. I spent the final day of the Khmer new year and the next 3 days afterwards on an island called Koh Russei, AKA. Bamboo Island. This place is paradise. Relaxed on the beach all day, watching the sunset, playing with cute hermit crabs, eating with good company... 

Probably the most accurate description of my time here.

a dead sea urchin

my breakfast

outside the bungalow!

Bamboo island was special - one of the highlights of my entire trip. Maybe it was because it was incredibly reminiscent of my time in Pai in northern Thailand. I also got to hang out with a large group of French travelers who made me practice my french the whole time. 

Our 2nd night there a new boat came in where the Canadian girls and a few others from the booze cruise joined Allie and I. That night we had a bonfire on the beach with nearly everyone on the island (less than 40 people i think), with 2 guys alternating the acoustic guitar, and me chiming in for some singing again! I was so happy. I felt so at home and completely removed from what time it was and where in the world I was. Allie and i took a break from the drinking that night and went to the ocean to watch some bio-luminescence (AKA phosphorescence, or algae that lights up when agitated). It is like looking at fireflies but in water. When you move around and agitate the water, the whole thing lights up in little yellow/green sparks. It is sooooo cool. Unfortunately we only saw a few, but it was still incredible to me.

The island shuts off all electricity past midnight, and the moon was nowhere in sight, both of which revealed the most beautiful twilit sky. There was an ongoing debate between a few of us whether we could make out the Milky Way in the sky or not. There were tons of constellations i could make out. The only light ahead was the boats far out even beyond the horizon. Either way, tilting my head back to stare at these infinite stars with the warm crackling fire by my feet, hearing gentle chords play on the guitar while humming to the tune as other people exchanged stories and ideas... I felt total bliss. It felt like I was back in Pai, and I didn't want it to end... Except that this time it wasn't me that was leaving early, it was other people. I didn't want these people to leave, and didn't want this night to end. I didn't want to remove myself from the good company, my cold drink, feet buried in the sand, acoustic guitar playing, singing, fire, stars.... the twilight that night was like no other. It was an incredible 3-days completely removed from society, internet, street hawkers... I didn't want to leave Bamboo Island, but wrapped it up after 3 days.

Me and Allie with zee french crew

The next day, everyone watching the sunset

Interesting flip-flop tree..

Where I Am Now

I just took the boat from Bamboo Island back to Sihanoukville today, and have 8 days of my trip remaining. My good friend Katie that I went to the full moon party with said she arrived back home in LA today, incredibly bummed. She said her final journal entry brought her to tears, and that being back at home feels surreal. I already know that this is going to be me, too. It's funny how surreal it felt that night I arrived in Bangkok early February, knowing that now it will feel surreal to leave..... I know that in my final journal entry, and perhaps final blog entry next week too, i'll be brought to tears. As for now, i'm going to make the most of my last full week. I'll be going to Kampot and Kep with my friend Jess that i made on the island, then back to Phnom Penh to visit the genocide museum and royal palace which I didn't get the chance to see before, and spend a night or two in Battambang to visit incredible ruins and be in the 2nd largest city in Cambodia, before heading to Bangkok to fly home..... One or 2 blog entries left - let the final days of my time in Southeast Asia unfold.....