India - Week One (Feb 12 - 19)

Delhi (February 12/13)
I was so glad to get out of the Indian Airlines plane that I didn't care about anything else! A driver from our hotel met us so that was a huge help (we arranged it in advance believe it or not). The drive to the area of Delhi called Paharanj (the backpackers/budget area) was crazy once we started driving in the Main Bazaar. The streets were packed with people, cows (everywhere), rickshaws, shopkeepers/salesmen/touts, children, food of all types, etc. It was overwhelming but probably less so because we hit SE Asia first as a warmup. We could only drive to a certain point where our driver had another guy take us to the Smyle Inn (later we realized that the path there included a walk by the outdoor public urinals for men, nice smell!). The place was tucked away but the room was clean although small and the staff was really nice. We chose to just chill out and get to sleep early. Next day (Monday 2/13/06) we would find out about hiring a driver for a tour of Rajahstan. After talking with a few other travelers we felt this would be the most feasible option in our short amount of time here (2 weeks).

We went out in search of two travel agents recommended by Lonely Planet but first got sidetracked by a salesman on the street. So, we compared three places and found our driver through LTC Travel for a reasonable price. Walking through the Main Bazaar was an experience in sidestepping cows, people, rickshaws, and salespeople. Besides the usual items like clothing, food, travel, jewelry, and crafts I was also offered what looked like whips. Hmmmm, not sure why they asked me. After we booked it we let a very skinny bike rickshaw driver take us (poor thing) to Connaught Place where we found a place to eat (good spicy palak paneer) and looked around a bit. We met a guy from Bangkok who took us to a very beautiful garden, Lodhi. It was nice to see such open space after the craze of the Main Bazaar and the salespeople of Connaught Place. They had some really interesting old buildings, some were Mosques and they had both Hindu and Islamic influences. Some time of peace with some nature and local Indian families enjoying the place too! Lots of walkers, my friend Jen Dudley would love it there! Another favorite thing about this place is the number of green parakeetsl, such a gorgeous shade of lime green. I ended up with a horrible headache later so I crashed pretty hard that night.

Driving Tour Begins - Agra to Jaipur (Feb 14)
Our driver Nand Kishore picked us up at 7am to begin our drive to the first stop, Agra, where we planned to see the Taj Mahal. Nand doesn't speak the best English so this will be an interesting 12 days traveling! We think he is about 30 but looks older and is not married but he said he is going to stop driving these long trips so he can get married. Many marriages here are still arranged through the parents but it also seems to depend on the caste. The car is comfy but small (thank goodness because some of these streets are tiny) and compared to other Indian drivers he seems to be "safe." However, the driving here is pretty INSANE! There don't seem to be many rules to driving except that when you are passing someone on a two-lane road or really any time you honk your horn. You also use the horn consistently to tell scooters/motorcycles, bikes, people on foot, cows, goats, camel carts, women carrying huge things on their heads, and many more to get over cause you are coming on by! The people are often crossing like the old Frogger game (wow that dates me doesn't it!). It is strange to see camels, cows, goats, and donkeys on the roads with cars, autorickshaws, scooters, bicycles, and huge trucks. Did I leave anything out? Probably so.

We stopped by Akbar's Mausoleum, sandstone and marble tomb commemorating the greatest of the Mughal emperors, but just for a quick photo before heading to the mini-Taj. Itimad-ud-Daulah (Baby Taj) was truly a beautiful small scale version of the Taj and IT WASN'T CROWDED! This is a tomb for a Persian nobleman. The design elements foreshadow the Taj and we saw a group of monkeys hanging around the walls. Next on to Taj Mahal and our ATTEMPT to get our driver to drop us near the Taj Nature Walk. Hmmm, this made for an interesting little power struggle. Later we think he dropped us at a different place because he wouldn't have to pay to park the car. But we made it there (not in time for the Nature Walk). Of course we didn't realize until we walked about 30 minutes that this wasn't the official Nature Walk. But we did get some stares from Indian men and one who stopped his bike to sing and fondle himself. Luckily, it was day and we were not alone.

Taj Mahal was an impressive and funny that we visited the "most extravagant monument ever built for love" on Valentine's Day! So romantic, well for couples! hee hee. I did like the fact that Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj as a memorial for his second wife, Mumtaz, Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. Yikes! She certainly deserved something incredible in my opinion. We attempted to stay for sunset but we had arrived much earlier and it looked like it was not going to be a good one anyway. So we walked back to our driver and headed out of Agra to stay in Bharatpur for the night.

Bharatpur to Jaipur -The Pink City (Feb 15)
Up early on the 15th to bike (some lovely ancient relics as well) to Keoladeo Ghana National park which is a bird sanctuary. It was good to get some exercise and we saw a huge number of birds at 6:30 a.m.! :) Then back in the car to head to Jaipur. Being in the car isn't the best for my headaches (from motion sickness) but its manageable and better then the buses for certain. Carrie usually sleeps at least half the drive and I just observe since I can't usually fall asleep. We arrived in Jaipur and checked in to a hotel. We had to be pushy because the first place Nand took us was more expensive then we wanted so we ended up next door. We also find he takes us to a place where he knows he can keep the car safely and they will give him a place to stay.

Then right on to the Amber Fort (pronounced Amer). This is a massive pink fort-palace of Amber, an exampe of Rajput architecture that "rises from a rocky mountainside" (according to LP, Lonely Planet). It was really interesting because it was massive but also had many delicate aspects to the inner areas. A funny thing was that people were feeding this pretty big monkeys in the courtyard, a bit scary really but got some great photos. It is a bit eerie how much they remind you of ourselves in the way they sit, etc. It is about a 10 minute walk to climb up the fort from the road and some chose to get a ride up on an elephant, we figured we could use the exercise.

At dinner we ended up seeing some local dancing with a beautiful female dancer at first and then a male/female couple. The girl got Carrie and I each up to dance with her separately, yikes. Indian dance has such subtlety and with the skirts so long you can't see the foot movements very well. It certainly was fun to try. Turns out there were TWO weddings by our hotel that night. One next door that we walked over to see with Nand, the people invited us in to dance but we were exhausted by then. The Indian wedding is a huge event that starts way before the actual ceremony. The groom rides on horse with a marching band and bright lights to the bride on the wedding day. So, you hear them coming miles away and the party goes late. Our room must have been somewhat sound proof because miraculously we slept!

Jaipur to Pushkar - Hippy Hangout (Feb 16-17)
In the morning we drove to Jaigarh, a massive fort was never captured and is a good example of 18th century defences. They had a HUGE canon there that dates from 1720 and weighs 50 tonnes! The guard who gave us some info told us it was only fired once as a test and did lots of damage just to houses and animals in the area. We had a funny guy try to practically RUN us through an part of the museum with military relics and photos. There was also a cute little temple right there where the priest basically shoved some rice puffs in our hands and told us to eat for good life. Okay, let's hope he washed his hands. :) The signs leaving Jaipur said "Pink Pearl the Fun City." Then a drive on to Pushkar, which is supposed to be a small Hindu pilgrimage town with a huge number of temples. The lake there is holy so you can't wear shoes around the steps of the many Ghats (bathing areas). We enjoyed it there and ended up staying two nights (one at 500 rupees and the next downgraded to 300 for a bit smaller and buggier bathroom).

Our second day here we did some wandering around and shopping before ignoring the advice of both Nand and Lonely Planet. Yes, we decided the high heat of the day was perfect for climbing the steep 1-hour (at least) walk up to the top of the hill to Saraswati Temple overlooking Pushkar Lake (said to have appeared when Brahma dropped a lotus flower). It did have a great view of the lake but not exactly the easiest of climbs. Later, in our attempt to find a particular restaurant we got somewhat lost in the streets when the power went out in the city. Good timing girls! We did eventually make it to Seventh Heaven after I stepped in cow shit in the dark streets (I suppose it could have been worse). Had a good dinner while relaxing first on a huge swing. Carrie must have looked like a teenager that night because our waiter dropped her a "note" telling her she was beautiful although it wasn't worded in the best of English. We watched a wedding procession from the rooftop restaurant and ran into it in the streets on our way home.

Pushkar to Udaipur - Lake City (Feb. 18-19)
We walked around the lake (taking our shoes off because it is holy to cross over the lake to the other side) to see the Brahma temple. This is supposed to be the only temple for Brahma in India due to a curse that Brahma's consort Saraswati put on him when he married another. Back in the car our driver informed us we were on the "Blood Road" on our way to Udaipur. Great, I think there might be a few others in India as well! I noticed so many little things as we drove (Carrie slept), especially since I was never able to sleep in the car. It struck me funny/odd that although we are on a very touristy route in Rajasthan, the paths to each spot still felt very much off the beaten track.

We arrived in the "most romantic spot on earth" according to LP but weren't so impressed with the Lake City. We had trouble finding a hotel after the first was full and Nand couldn't or wouldn't seem to find one from LP. Finally we stopped at Hotel Rajdeep which wasn't really in the greatest areas, a bit out there. We decided to treat ourselves by going to Udai Kothi for dinner, a posh hotel and restaurant we drove by earlier. This place was gorgeous, I could see Mike & Scott lounging at the rooftop pool and staying in the beautiful looking rooms (at the least from the outside, this place starts at 2000 ruppees a room, a different level then our current one!). Pichola Lake is the center of the city and has two small islands within the lake, pretty big size.

Our plans to view the City Palace were foiled when we got sucked into Ashoka Arts studio to look at some miniature paintings. Beautiful! Our new brother Ganesh is a student who has been painting about five years, and hopes soon to go on to Teacher, then I think you get to be Master and finally Professor. It was truly amazing to see this work and to view various levels of artistry in one place. So, about 2 hours later we decided to check out the Jagdish Temple, an Indo-Aryan temple built in 1651 with a black stone image of Vishnu as Jagannath (Lord of the Universe). Pretty interesting carvings and people watching.

The dance/puppet show was Dharohar and held at Bagorek-Haveli which is 18th century haveli on the waters edge in Ganguar Ghat area. The Rajasthani dances were truly beautiful and the final dance was amazing. An older woman did the dance where they end up with at least 5 pots on her head while dancing as well as dancing on a saucer and glass. Amazing! Then a puppeteer showed us some work as well, very fun!

Northern Vietnam - Final Chapter (SAPA, 2/9-12)

Journey to Sapa - Hill Tribe Trek
Okay, so we arrived by overnight train (a nice recently wed Vietnamese couple shared our room) to Lao Cai. Pretty comfy actually and they gave us water and a little roll for breakfast. Not bad, Carrie wasn't up for trying it. Next portion was minibus to Sapa at the Mountain View Hotel for a shower and then to meet up with our guide. Hmmm, could this tiny girl dressed in hill tribe gear truly be our guide? Wow, she looks about 12 but turned out Ger is 18 and part of the H'Mong Tribe around Sapa. There are lots of tribes in this area, she told us they came from Mongolia so they do look different then other Vietnamese. Ger turned out to be an incredible girl and guide all wrapped up in one cute and funny hill tribe guide. This area is very close to the Chinese border. We were the only two in our group, but met people in our homestay. Carrie was happy we didn't have to keep up with any other trekkers. Before we really got going we stopped at a woman's home where she fried up some sticky rice slices (with bean and maybe pork inside) - pretty tasty but she kept cooking more and we couldn't eat half of it! This was the Ta Van village and she was from the Zay tribe. Turns out she was 35 and already had 4 children, yikes. She looked so much older but I guess the children and the hard life will do that to you.

The weather in this region is pretty cool and rainy although our first day it never rained. However, the rain from the days before made the walking pretty sketchy - especially when we were walking on muddy rice terrace ledges about as wide as one foot. Two local women ended up helping us up for a good portion of our trek, they wore these rubber boats that we later found out had incredible treads and some tours recommended you buy them. Instead, our lovely hiking shoes became caked in sticky, gooey, and very slippery mud. So much for a good grip! It was like my first backpacking trip in the rain but much more difficult. Later I found out what the huge piles of shit belonged to, water buffalo per our guide. Despite the difficulty it was an incredible day, Ger even negotiated to get us some socks at the Vietnamese rate (they have one for locals and another for foreigners). Turns out the other tour groups also had help from tiny but strong as shit local tribe women. Even some big men! We never actually fell unlike many others we saw later on. Of course we bought something from our helpers, we would have been covered in mud without them. This is where we also had lunch of baguette, tomato, cucumber, hard boiled egg, and cheese. The Red Zao tribe women were here to sell more stuff, a bit crazy with the sales pitch. So many young girls and children as well, we had to stay strong in order not to buy everything! :)

At one point we ended up paying a woman to take some photos of her and her children (4000 dong total which is pretty cheap) and it was fun to show them the photos after on the digital camera! Ger told us that women in these tribes marry around 14 and the parents pick the husband. They have no choice at all and some girls she knew ate poisonous leaves because they didn't like their husbands. Pretty tragic and it sure makes you appreciate the freedom we have! Not many of the girls go to school because they have them selling crafts to tourists. Ger is paying for her youngest sister (10) to go to a type of boarding school but nothing like you might imagine. Not fancy at all, we stopped by to see her on the way.

We stopped at Ban Ho village and stayed with a local family. They do this so they can pay for their children to go to school. The family was very nice but didn't speak any English, Ger made us laugh so much and did all the translating too. What a warm and smart girl for not having gone to school. The house here was pretty nice with a cool water system that the villages use to carry fresh water by bamboo to the village. So simple yet involved process. The lower level is the kitchen, TV lounging area for family and porch area. Up one level is the family sleeping area and the two lofts above that are the tourist homestay beds. They turned out to be really comfy, well the huge blankets were and they had mosquito nets. I slept like a baby. The next morning the ground was really wet because it rained overnight. So, instead of taking a 4-5 hour trek to another village we were lazy and napped (Carrie), wrote (Jenn), and had our meals. After, we took a walk with Ger to the "hot" springs which was really lukewarm but felt great.

Ger told us that since we didn't have bathing suits we could just slip in the springs naked. As soon as we showed up and started taking off our jackets a group of Vietnamese men showed up and jumped in one side in their underwear (pants for the Brits). So, sports bras and undies were now our bathing attire (of course they never did dry out). Our new friend from the homestay showed up, Stephane from France as well as three guys we met earlier at Hanoi Backpackers. Too funny how you meet other travelers in various places. Back to our homestay to change, meet more guests (a Canadian family of 4), and eat a lovely meal all together. Ger and the three other guides (also H'Mong tribeswomen) brought out the homemade rice wine after and kept pushing the shots on us. I don't know how I didn't have a hangover the next day with at least 4 shots and almost three beers. Carrie, however, did not escape a bit of a hangover for our trek uphill the last day. Also, our friends Kiwi Kev, English Steve, and Aussie Brent showed up with some drinks of their own. Luckily, a singing session with the guides distracted us - can you believe we sang John Denver (West Virginia)? Poor Kiwi Kev's buddies walked ahead of him too fast and took all the torches (flashlights) with them. He had to come back and crash at our homestay because it was so dark and across the village, poor Kev!

The next morning we had a joint breakfast of pancakes with chocolate sauce or sugar and lemon. Not so nutricious but yummy. We walked through the village with Ger before taking the steep uphill trek back up to meet our jeep. Along the way a palm reader stopped and read our futures. Pretty interesting as she has bleeding gums and was chewing something like tobacco or seeds. So here is what she told us (thought you might get some laughs out of some of this stuff):
Jenn:

• When I was a baby I cried a lot but then I was very good.
• Something about me falling in the river when I was young.
• My first husband is with another but when he gets older he'll realize he misses me.
• My second husband (wow) will fall in love with me but I won't return the feelings at first
• I will have 4 kids and they will be very clever (guess they will all be adopted at my current rate of reproduction! :)
• I will have a good life (THE BEST ONE!)

Carrie:

• When young everyone liked her
• 1st husband was bad for her
• Will meet someone before year is out
• Will have 5 kids (WOW! watch out)
• Around 50 she will be sick but get over it and be good after & live til 85 or 90 (yikes!)

After a brief visit to the school we headed back up the mountain, funny to hear them singing their multiplication tables! It was a pretty steep and tough climb but not too long and the weather was nice. Then we sat at a hut for lunch of Pho soup (vegetable with an egg). A bit of a heartbreaking experience as a little boy had a hurt bottom (the little ones don't wear pants or diapers) and fell which got it bleeding again. They don't really have any medical care at all so Ger told us when something happens like getting burned nothing is done. We did scroung up some water and tissues to clean him up (the Canadian father did the work) and put a bandaid on him as well as give the mother some more to keep it covered. This all happened while we were once again SWARMED with girls and women trying to sell bracelets, pillowcases, etc. It does wear on your nerves.

We also found out during lunch that our jeep driver was now drunk so we had to hitch a ride with another tour group. Back to Mountain View for showers, lamentably Carrie ended up with a cold one which didn't do much to put her in a good mood. Understandably, as we hadn't showered since we left and were so looking forward to the HOT shower. We did find a cute restaurant called Baguette & Chocolat and met up with our friend STephane for a tart and tea/coffee by a lovely fire. We ended up going to an Italian restaurant for our final meal in Vietnam - pasta and pizza. I know it's terrible but it tasted really good so...Then back to meet up with the Dynamic Trio (Kev, Brent, and Steve) who were now playing cards (Shithead) with our guide Ger. Too funny, she was kicking their asses!

The minibus ride to catch the night train was horrible - one of my worse headaches from motion sickness but we crashed out on the train and arrived around 5:30 a.m. to the backpackers to get our big bags together and Carrie to take a hot shower. Then to the airport for our flight to Bangkok. Of course we made it more difficult because we didn't get our bags check all the way through to India so we had a bit of hassle getting everything straight there before catching the Indian airlines flight (about 7 hours I think). Carrie had the window and I was in between her and an INdian man (not so tiny) who proceeded to get drunk and then confess to Carrie (she told him she was a counselor) that he was a drunk. Then he passed out and pushed a bit more into my space. Plus, it was so darn hot on this flight - I knew it gets hot in the actual country but figured the plane would at least be cool!

More on arriving in India soon!

Northern Vietnam - Hanoi & Ha Long Bay (2/6-8)

Hanoi
Arrived in Hanoi late night and went to Hanoi Backpacker's where another girl was going. Of course we had no reservation but luckily they had a dorm bed (strange because most places in SE Asia don't have dorms at all). We decided to book a 2-day overnight trip to Ha Long Bay, back to Hanoi for a few hours then on an overnight train to Sapa in the north for a 3-day (2 night) trek. Talk about pushing it all in! Good thing we didn't try to do south and north.

Our one full day in Hanoi was then spent walking around exploring the city a bit where we stopped for lunch at the nearest lake. There are lots of lakes spread around the city and yet it's a busy city as well with lots of hustle. Decided to send stuff home by sea which basically means cheap and also that I might arrive home before the package (3-5 months). So, some of the gifts may have to wait awhile. :) The people here were nice but seemed a bit more reserved then in Cambodia and Thailand. Had a nice dinner (with an incredible chocolate pudding cake, mmm chocolate save me!) at a place that employs homeless kids to get them off the street. Pretty cool place run by a British guy.

Then we caught the Thang Lo Water Puppet show which was amazing and so different then anything I had seen. This form of puppetry was started when the country experienced flooding and the music was so complex and beautiful. I was surprised to like the music and singing so much. And, for first class (40,000 dong) we got a CD which I can't listen to until I visit Johnette & Pete in Israel. Fun stuff, the anticipation is killing me. Okay, maybe not that harsh.

Ha Long Bay
For $30 U.S. dollars we went first by minibus (3-4 hours) and then on a boat to through Ha Long Bay. The boats are crazy pushing around each other to get in the docks and let people on and off, sometimes pushing against each other in a manner that doesn't seem like it is good for the integrity of the vessel. Our guide Lan (means orchid) took us through the "Amazing Cave" - couldn't the French come up with something more original for something so spectacular? Hmm...we did attempt to recognize all sorts of animals in the many rocks formations created 2 million years ago, so Lan said! I caught on pretty quickly while Carrie was having some trouble at first (along with others in our fun but small group). Lunch on the boat was a variety of things and I said early on that I was eating vegetarian. They gave me a plate of sugared nuts, thank goodness that wasn't the only part of my meal! And of course they haven't figured out the whole chocolate for dessert thing so we had watermelon. Darn them for being so healthy!

Next we anchored and then took kayak's out to the "Hidden Cave", the spectacular thing about this was the silence of the inlet we visited. The peace of it was soothing. Two of our group, the Brits, went for the swimming but as it wasn't the warmest of days we opted not to go! Our room on the boat was nicer then most of the rooms we had stayed in so far! And dinner was an excellent mix of food again, including some grilled fish (memories of Ko Chang and Treehouse Restaurant, yum). The sunset on the deck was stunning but probably won't translate in the photos but I tried my best. We had a great group: Beth (Australia), Klaus & Katy (Austria), Greg & Daniel (England) and us crazy Americans to finish up a great mix. Another funny thing was the saleswomen on boats stocked with snacks like Pringles, Oreos, Crackers, Drinks (including beer). They even asked us if we wanted something while we were kayaking! Crazy! On Wednesday we even had a hot shower and not the most abundant of our breakfast so far - Asian pears (my favorite) and toast. Oh well, better for our mushy bodies - no need to stuff them further. Another crazy thing when we "docked" the boat was how we had to climb over at least three other boats to get to the stairs and then do a fairly large leap (with the help of someone's hand at least). Phew! These short legs were a bit nervous I must admit! Then on the minibus, my favorite thing, and back to Hanoi Backpackers. We did have enough time to catch some drinks and dinner with all but Beth from Ha Long Bay crew. Nice view of the lake from City View Cafe and then we hate to admit it but we had some pizza! Pretty tasty if I say so! Next stop far northern Vietnam, Sapa and the hill tribes. (If you haven't noticed I'm trying to shorten each posting a bit. Okay, not by much but I'm trying!)

The People of Siem Reap & Angkor Wat

February 1
We arrived at the tiny airport in Siem Reap, Cambodia pretty early in the morning and took our taxi to the place we were supposed to stay but they didn't have our room. So, with all the laziness we could muster we trooped next door and found a room at Reaksmey Chanreas ($15 U.S. for a double with nice bed, hot private shower, and towels! Luxurious!). With only 3 hours sleep we had to take a little nap in our room, which literally feels like a cave with the lights out. I love it! After eating at Taste of Khmer (nice boiled fish w/ginger) and speaking with a travel agent we found a nice tuk tuk driver, Mr. Dy (21 years old, spoke some English), to take us to Angkor Wat for the afternoon. The 3-day pass is $40 and we even got a pass with a lovely photo, or I might best describe it as scary. It's so hot here and the dust from the roads is crazy at times. Especially, driving around in the open tuk tuk with just the roof overhead. There were more then 100 temples built between the 9th and 15th centures in this area of Cambodia. Here is what we saw today:

1. Angkor Wat - a mausoleum and temple for King Suryavarman II, the most well-known by site besides the Bayon Temple. There is a causeway across a huge moat surrounding Angkor Wat. It was originally built as Hindu temple then converteed to Buddhist monastery. The images everyone probably has seen are the three central towers that look like lotus buds. Lots of carvings of apsaras, or celestial nymphs. It was pretty crowded here but so impressive to see something that has been around for so long. We certainly don't have anything like it in the U.S.
2. Phnom Bakheng - This is the first major temple built in the Angkor area and is a temple mountain with the foundation carved from the existing rock edifice unlike most temples. There was a walk up a hill before climbing some steep (and narrow) stairs to the top where it is supposed to be great for sunset. Well, it was absolutely packed with tourists and the sunset wasn't that great (maybe that's just my opinion coming from incredible ones in Ko Chang). Then my least favorite part were the hordes of people all trying to get down the narrow/steep stairs at one time. My claustrophobia was starting to kick in for this portion. Next we rushed to get to our next destination.
3. Bayon Temple - We paid to come to Angkor Night at the temple where they light up the temple, have dinner outside (and Angkor beer), and the best part was the traditional dancing. This temple has giant stone faces which are the most recognizable images connected with Khmer art and architecture. It has 37 towers, most of them with four carved faces oriented toward cardinal points. I tried some traditional Khmer foods like Amok (fish dish with coconut milk and traditional spices) as well as a few others. We arrived a bit late so we rushed back to the area where the dancing was to begin just in time. The dancing was just gorgeous with such subtlety and grace. Each one really told a story which shared some of the history and culture of Cambodia. We even got a ride back to our hotel with the staff from the event and one of the organizers told us a bit more about the history of his country.

February 2

We decided to hire Mr. Dy for a whole day of exploring a bit further from Siem Reap city. Of course we had to go to Kbal Spean, a river of 1000 lingas (phallic symbols). We arrived and took a bit of a hike to the river which was not as impressive in its size as the temple we had seen the day before. But, the carvings of Buddha and other images in the rock that date even later then the lingas were pretty beautiful. There were just a few ruins within the river so some of them were partially submerged and others on the rocks nearby. But, no temple like the others. We ate at a food stall there (Mr. Dy's connection) and bought a few gifts for back home from these little girls. I tell you that there are so many more children trying to sell you things here and also begging for money on the streets in Siem Reap. It really breaks your heart but at the same time you can't give to every single one.

Next, on to Banteay Srey temple (built as a HIndu temple) which is the finest examples of Khmer art with the walls covered with the most beautiful, deep, and intricate carvings of any Angkor temple. It loosely translates as "citadel of the women'' so we had to see this one! It is a smaller temple made of pink sandstone and the ornate design gives it a totally different almost mystical feeling. It wasn't too packed either which made it a better experience overall. The red color of this against the green backdrop of the jungle was breathtaking.

One more place to see since we had some time, Ta Prohm (tomb raider site) which is a sprawling complex only partially cleared of jungle overgrowth. It was originally constructed as a Buddhist monastery in the 12-13th centuries. The impressive thing about this temple was the massive trees all over, practically taking over the temple. On to buy some scarves from Dy's sister, turns out that the souvenir stalls will pay some of his gas if he gets people to visit.

Dinner at the Buddha Loung on pub street, lots of restaurants and lots of tourists. I had the full dish of Amok that I tasted at the buffet the night before. Mmmm, even better as a main dish! Back on the TV at the hotel (yes, I did say TV) we caught some Asian dancing show (reminded me a bit like Cirque de Soleil) and I woke Carrie up when the dancers with no arms came on. Pretty amazing to see.

February 3

We took an early (well 8am) walk around the city and saw some different things like men cutting huge blocks of ice for peole to buy slices, lots of little barber shops, kids in school, the "gas stations". Tried the old New Zealand standby for breakfast, muesli, milk, and fruit at the Red Piano. Breakfast is about $3 for something like that along with tea and juice. We were supposed to take the bus at noon to Phnom Penh but the travel agent was trying to change out ticket from Cambodia to go into Hanoi, northern Vietnam instead of Saigon in the south. Turns out she changed our ticket entirely so we were now leaving Feb. 5 in the evening from Siem Reap (giving us one less day in Vietnam). So, that made our decision for us so we would stay in Sieam Reap until we leave for Vietnam. Probably turned out better because we had less travel and more time in one area to get a better feel for that part of the country. So, more temples since we had the 3-day pass anyway.

1. Bayon - this was the same temple where we went at night to see the traditional dancing. It was impressive lit up at night but even more so when you climb to the top and look at all the huge faces on so many towers. This temple is part of the city of Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Angkor era. While here we saw some young monks in their bright orange robes and after taking a photo we had a brief conversation because they didn't know hardly any English and we of course only know two Khmer phrases! Carrie was trying to figure out if they are happy, maybe she is thinking about taking that path! :)
2. Victory Gate - causeway with an archway or gate that leads to the Royal Palace. Each gate has 4 giant faces and on the stone causeway there are 54 god images on the left and 54 demon images on the right depicting the Churning of the Ocean of Milk (not sure what that is yet either but I'll check it out).
3. Preah Khan - this means "Sacred Sword"and is dedicated to Jayavarman VII's father. This is an extremely jungle ravaged temple with many routes blocked by fallen stones, trees, and archaelogical excavation. There is an impressive battle of wood and stone as an encroaching tree grows through the ruins - the tree really does seem to be winning the battle. We met an interesting couple from England and Australia, Matt & Simon, who had a lot of information to share about Cambodia and had been to an eastern city where they have a project called Starfish. It helps people by supplying them with things like water purifiers through donations. I also asked him about the three different political party signs I keep seeing everywhere and turns out the Cambodian People's Party is currently in power but corrupt and the leader of another party has been exiled for his criticism of the current government. His name is Sem Raimsey if I can remember correctly.

After a nice dinner and dessert (mmm, bananas flambee - this couldn't be why I'm so mushy these days could it?) we met them for drinks but no late nights for us. Too much to do!

February 4

Of course we are a bit late as usual, Mr. Dy is waiting for us as we finish our breakfast. It's hard to escape from the cave! Oh, I tried this fruit Carrie was telling me about, dragonfruit, which has a pink outside but is white with black spots/seeds inside. Pretty yummy! First, we went to the Silk Farm where we saw the process from beginning to end. They have an education program for Cambodian people to teach them how to do the entire process. There is a shorter 3-month one and the longer 7-month where they do the final stages of weaving the silk.

1. Mulberry trees grown to feed the silk worms
2. Moths mate to produce eggs
3. Baby worms fed until big enough to collect for starting cocoons
4. Separation and spinning
5. Dying process
6. Creation of silk weavings

All the processes are done in the traditional ways, the equipment used is very basic compared to what I'm sure other countries do for silk production. The weavings can be intricate to more simple solid raw silk creations. Of course they had a shop where you could buy products darn it! More gifts to send home but the money supports the education program.

Next we drove to Tonle Sap Lake to take a boat around and see the floating villages. The poverty we saw along the river was sobering. But, despite the poverty and raw sewage in many places there were huts with TV's inside! The children here are just gorgeous and it rips your heart out to see how many of them live. A group of kids were shooting marbles, doubt we would see many kids in the U.S. playing with something so simple these days. The stench was a bit overwhelming too. The lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world and it swells from 2500km to more than 12,000 int he wet season. The floating fishing villages surround the rim of the lake showing us lakeside rural Cambodia. It was amazing that even the schools are on floating barge like boats. Our guide also told us that about 600 Vietnamese also live in these villages. The entire life is built around the water with fishing and tourist boat trips sustaining the people here. In wet season they have to move the boats and the villages before the lake as well. Our guide was 29 and not married because he told us he has to pay $900 dollars to the father of a woman to marry her. He makes $1 a day as a guide on the tourist boats so he said it would take too long. His father was killed by the Pol Pot regime in the war when he was a young child and so he has lived here all his life.

Since we still had time we went to visit a local Cambodian man's Landmine Museum. Aki Ra was a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge, put to work setting landmines and then later for Vietnam through the Cambodian army fighting the Khmer Rouge. He has created a makeshift "museum"on his own property where he also fosters 11 boys who have lost limbs due to landmine explosions. There are still about 6 million landmines in Cambodia alone, many along the Thai border. It was very sobering to see this collection of old mines, some recently disarmed and collected as well as to meet the boys themselves. As well as a home Aki Ra provides education for the boys at school and by volunteers at the museum. They operate solely by donations and ALL the donations go to support the boys and continue to disarm mines (www.cambodialandminemuseum.org or www.landmine-relief-fund.com).

After a dinner at an Irish bar, Molly Malones, we decided to get a 1-hour foot reflexology massage. Pretty incredible experience, I actually fell asleep for a bit and think I woke up when my leg jerked. Hopefully, I didn't actually kick my massage person! Yikes! Tomorrow we have some time, plan to visit the Sunrise orphanage and then head to the airport. Take care and more in Vietnam!