Great Southeast Asian Tour

Hi everyone! It's been far too long since I've written anything on this, and I'm afraid that I've forgotten how to type. I've had so many interesting events and weekends to write about, but have been so busy with all of them, that I haven't found the time to actually put them down on paper (or, for that matter, computer screen). But I've finally had such a monumental week worthy of telling about, and if I don't spill the beans soon, all the details will be lost forever. Last week was our summer vacation, and I knew that I had to do something big or go home. Part of me just wanted a relaxing week of sleeping, watching TV, and destroying my liver in peace and quiet. But since I am living in Asia, and fearing that I will never get this chance again, I decided to book so many flights around the continent that it would make my head spin. And spin it did. In the 9 days I had, I stepped foot in 5 Asian countries (which is kind of misleading, because I'm counting my current home and an airport layover). The first stop was Cambodia, then Thailand, and wrapping it all up was the Philippines. So without further ado, here is a short recount of the week:

Cambodia

I caught my first flight from Seoul on Saturday, the 24th and made my way towards Phnom Penh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Penh. After a few hours and a layover in China, we arrived in Cambodia's capital. If you were like me, you don't know much about this little country. Cambodia was the first time I've been in a third world country. The conditions are quite shocking to someone from the Western world. Apart from what many Westerners would call uncomfortable or even scary, the economy definitely has its advantages for a tourist. Ever paid $.25 for a delicious Asian meal? How about $1 for a sackful of souvenirs? I have.

Another bonus on this leg of my trip was the great travel companions. The flight to Cambodia was full of other foreign teachers from Korea (since we all share the same week of school closing). I left for this week with essentially no plans, and was going it alone with absolutely no hotel reservations, itineraries, or schedules. Very different from all of my other vacations, because I am, at heart, a planner down to the last detail.

So during the flight from Korea, I met some really cool folks. The first was another solo guy from the States. The others were a couple from Australia and Ireland. Motley crew, huh? Well luckily for us, we had one prepared person in our newly formed group. Jo, the Irish girl, had done her homework and already had a hostel in mind. She had friends who had previously visited Cambodia, so we had inside information.

On Sunday, our plan was to see all of the notable attractions the capital has to offer. I had heard of most of them, as the city only has a small few. And two-thirds of them are pretty depressing. Our first destination was to the S21 museum (see picture for a glimpse at the makeshift jail). S21, also known as Tuol Sleng, was Kampuchea's most famous (or infamous) stop on the genocide circuit. It operated from 1975-1979 (yes folks, that recent. It mostly flew under the radar because a good portion of the world was busy with another political snafu in a neighboring country), and saw an estimated 17,000 prisoners. Prior to torturing and eventually expiring doomed souls, Tuol Sleng was just a normal high school. Imagine. Basically, the Khmer Rouge targeted in this genocide all educated Cambodians, for fear that they would see the error in the communist thinking and incite a revolution. For more information on S21, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum.

After educating ourselves on the beginnings and details of the genocide, we hopped in a tuk-tuk and made our way outside of town to one of the 'killing fields'. There are dozens of killing fields one can see, and this one has been designed with tourists in mind. It is called Cheoung Ek, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choeung_Ek, and was host to a mass excavation in the 80's that uncovered nearly 9,000 bodies buried in the area. My first picture shows the stupa (in beautiful Khmer architecture) that holds remains found in the fields. And the other shows one of many shelves inside the huge structure. Obviously pretty disturbing. Luckily for us, we tagged along with another group on a guided tour of the grounds, which provided a lot of extra information. We spent several hours walking through the massive pits that served as graves and learning about the methods used there. One of the most indelible parts of the tour was when our guide repeatedly pointed out areas where debris has still recently come to the surface. I say debris to include bone, teeth, clothing, shackles, rope, etc. Gross.

So after seeing enough death to last a lifetime, we made the best decision of the week. Following a very quiet tuk-tuk ride back into the city, we arrived at a beautiful site: the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. The complex includes dozens of specimens of gorgeous Cambodian architecture, which is very unique due to the blending of French colonial influence, Buddhism, and Khmer style. The picture will show you a little bit of what I'm talking about. The Royal Palace was definitely the best place to end our day, as I'm sure it prevented a week of nightmares.

I had a brief day in Cambodia on Monday, so after some discount shopping and eating of tasty vittles, I hopped on the next plane bound for Bangkok. I definitely hope to return to this beautiful country someday, hopefully this time to see some more uplifting sites, like some temples, including the famous Angkor Wat. But enough future talk, it's time to enjoy the present. Onward to the Land of Smiles!

Thailand

I'm aware that I didn't get nearly a full experience of the country, as I only had one night to spend in the capital city: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok. I knew beforehand that I wouldn't have time to see much of anything (it was a quick one night, an in and out deal). But after so much talk about the notorious 'One Night in Bangkok', I knew that I had to do it.

I stayed on Khao Sarn Road, which you know if you've ever visited Thailand, or even know someone who has. It's the Bangkok tourist trap, and houses a smattering of shops, restaurants, and massage parlors to attract Westerners. It does boast cheap hotels and many street vendors where you can buy goods and/or food. And if you're colorblind, let me help you out - all of the lights are red.

So after officially spending my one night, I spent Tuesday wandering around the city in search of the hidden gems - temples, buddhas, and food. Indeed I saw some nice sites, although the one place I really hoped to see was closed on my only day in the city (just my luck!) - the Grand Palace. But apparently, it was a special day in the city because all of the other temples were packed, and during the afternoon the roads were briefly closed for a presidential motorcade.

I came upon several nice old temples, and my favorite was Wat Pho: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Pho. I wasn't able to get a Thai massage in the temple, something for which it is famous. The temple is basically a small city, without restaurants (there's plenty of those outside the walls). I went inside a few of the buildings to pay my respects to The Enlightened One and take in the tranquility of it all.

Speaking of tranquility, if you've never taken a nap in a 3,000 year old Thai temple, I highly recommend it. Once you get past the heat and humidity, it will be by far the best rest you've ever had.

I still haven't finished that book, but it's a good read.

Back to the important details. Here's a plate of curry I bought from a nearby street vendor. For $2, I got the best dish that money can buy.

That's about all of my visit to Thailand. I saw the gritty side, and I now definitely need to visit the rest of the country and take the ubiquitous ride on an elephant and sit on a Thai beach somewhere. This now brings us to my third and final stop of the week:

The Philippines

After a long and restless redeye flight, I arrived in Manila at 5AM on Wednesday. Back in January, during my first week in Korea, and in the midst of reeling from culture shock, I met a great guy from the Philippines who was also on vacation. He graciously invited me to come visit his country someday. So come 6 months later, I did. I spent a total of 4.5 days in the Philippines, and was very fortunate to know a local. He was a great help in showing me around Manila where he lives, and we also took a relaxing 2-day trip down south to a beach for some great fun in the sun and scuba diving. I was particularly interested in the jeepneys throughout the country, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeepney), which are the unofficial symbol of the island nation.

Manila isn't the optimal tourist destination. I had been adequately warned of this by my buddy. But despite the horrible poverty, there were some very cool encounters. One morning while walking down the street, I shot some hoops with this little fella:

My time in Manila was heavily imprinted with a constant and strong desire of constant motion. This was to escape the hoards of homeless and prostitutes that are, in a word, relentless. But there were also many good things about being in the city, one of them being the gorgeous sunsets. For a glimpse, check this out:

My favorite part of the trip to the Philippines was definitely the beach. On Thursday, we drove down to the Batangas province(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batangas) for a most relaxing two days. We stayed at a nice diving resort along the water, and were the only guests in the entire place! This was the general theme in the area, as July is smack in the middle of the rainy season. This made for no crowds with which to compete and cheaper prices. And the cherry on top was that it never even rained! The diving was also some of the best I've ever done. The water is so unbelievably clear, and we saw tons of coral and colorful fish.

I would consider myself an experienced eater, even a true connoisseur. I've dabbled in many different country's cuisines and put a lot of 'strange' things down my gullet. But I obviously wasn't fully briefed on Filippino food. Two firsts for me were 1) a native dish called sisig. Sisig is pork meat (well, kind of): (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisig). A look at the picture will give you an idea of where they get this meat from. And 2) is known as balut (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_(egg)). Balut is a boiled fertilized (to various stages of development) duck egg. Yes, fertilized. The one I ate was a fully formed fetus, with distinguishable appendages. Sounded pretty gross, but was actually quite tasty. And when you close your eyes, it isn't weird at all. At least, that's what my friend Bear Grylls tells me.

Finally, Sunday came and ended my time in paradise. Time to return to the real world of stress and screaming children. After buying some postcards and wandering around the slums one last time, I boarded my plane back for Seoul. Oh God, I want to retire and move to Cambodia.