Driving in Saigon is an absolute hoot! That is probably because we don’t HAVEto do it everyday! Our friends here gave us free use of a motorcycle! We found the market, Rita did some shopping and can’t wait to get her teeth into the language, she now knows the difference between a sandwich and bread!
And she either bought mushrooms or ‘five’. But seeing as she had mushrooms in the bag it was good. Then the eggs, she thought was an easy one…turned out to be eggs of ducks rather than those of chickens!!!
coffee on the other hand, she has no problem finding!!!
The sunrise was amazing at what is called the Fairy Stream. So we might just bring ourselves to get up in time to enjoy more of them.
Flowers for the dead... Killing fields excursion, was an eye opener
Not for the faint hearted. This place of sunshine and dust, orange draped Buddhas and saffron robed monks. Pepsi Max and soy-something! These people serve incredible tasting ‘curry’. What they fail to tell you, however is that it is not chicken! No, they say nothing, smile , and watch as you eat with relish whatever it is they have placed in front of you. The flavour is awesome, the surroundings filthy, and the bones of the meal simply do not coincide with the anatomy of poultry. Whether it be duck, pigeon or chicken… aikona! When we jokingly say in Asia KFC stands for Kentucky Fried CAT… Well lets just say that if you want to be assured of getting chicken, then go to KFC. Oh yes.. we found one in Siem Reap!
A definite French influence to be found. Baguette available the soups and sauces are creamier.The views are stunning when at the temples, yet the dependency of the nation, heart breaking. A sort after, prize job, is that of Tuk Tuk driver. And all they do is get in your face... well thats what it feels like... Bus trips are inexpensive, even though they are paid in U$D... Rooms at guest houses are affordable when prepared to share bathrooms or tuk tuks or anything else...
Facing it… coming to Cambodia and not seeing the Angkor Wat… is just not on, or what?! This is another day of Wonder and Decay in Cambodia! Everyday thousands of tourists fall upon the ruins of a dynasty. And we joined the throngs.
We had been led to understand that our guest house was a mere 200m from the Angkor Museum.. which was true, only that’s not what we wanted to see. Deciding we would save our limited dollars on the tuk tuk ride, we bravely set off on what we thought was a short walk in the midmorning…. Well, cutting a long. Very long walk short, +-7kms further, in the heat of the day, we finally got to our destination! All along the way, justifying our stupidity, by telling ourselves we needed the exercise, we would have missed this or that, we were in no rush, we… we… you know how it goes. We walked mostly in the shade, the air heavy with the trill of the cicadas! Thankfully, the heat of this day was much lower than the other days!
It’s the middle of the night, no really! The alarms… four of them, just in case - begin howling at 03h30! We spent the previous evening packing our bits and pieces to ensure we had enough time to get ready for the taxi’s arrival at 04h15. This was so that we could be carted off to the Hua Lamphong Station. Our train for Cambodian border leaves at 05h55.BUT, it’s a third class train all the way, no aircon and absolutely no padding on the seats! (Okay, so it only felt that way after the first two hours)And it was first come – first serve! There was plenty of room on the five and a half hour journey. At the cost of TB48… which translated means R15.00 give or take! It seems to be the dry season… dry paddy fields, water buffalo have been relegated to being dust buffs… and yellowed grasses was what accompanied us out the window.
On arriving at the border Town, we negotiated for a tuk tuk to take us to the border post… after being taken to an agent.. then the consulate, because we were being scammed for the price of our visas, only to discover that the consulate was scamming tourists too… we eventually got to the border post and paid the correct amount for our visas! After that was quite a walk in no mans land and then further into Poipet, where we tried to avoid more scheisters after our money! Poipet is the border town just inside Cambodia- being called a town is a compliment! Huge dust bowl holding unbelievable heat, is more accurate. We decided to get something to eat, only to realize we have absolute no concept of the written language including numerics… we have no idea what we paid for what was CERTAINLY NOT CHICKEN! Yet we ate it! They sold water… and one bottle was even cool! Eventually , after being fortified with whatever it was, we braved negotiating for a taxi to take us the 150km to Siem Reap. NON STOP was the deal! With complete agreement and understanding we embarked on our journey… only to go around the block, on dirt roads, to the car workshop to replace a tire. Non stop my foot! Hardly got to the edge of town when the taxi careened to the other side of the road for gas-which we had to pay for!
We were not off to a good a good start! Good new road for the first hour or so, then on to ‘road works’ for another hair-raising hour finishing on the remainder of road in desperate need of repair! After transferring to yet another tuk tuk… we finally made it to our planned destination! Apparently its quite a feat to manage the trip in one day… a miracle!
With the knowledge that by the end of the day we would have all the visas we need… we went to Patpong Road to go and see the team at Rahab. It was a refreshing time of connecting and visiting. It is always encouraging seeing the enthusiasm with which these girls work in the Salon. We spent most of our time with Margaret as she and Paul are leaving Rahab and WO at the end of the month to start ministry out in the wop wops of Australia. (Her words, not mine). When we return to BKK later on our journey we intend to spend more time with the rest of the team there.
Another somewhat warm day is now behind us… how unusual is this? Our passports get to spend another night away from us, so that will mean yet another delay…. Rita’s photo was apparently not current enough! Never mind, we still have time… We would have been making our way to the home of Deon and family with a little Philip thrown in… but alas, now this is going to have to wait. In the meanwhile we are grateful that we have spent some time with them. We have seen for ourselves that they are well and that Philip is wearing shoes! I mean it… not only is he wearing Thai shoes, but included in this is the fact that he has taken to wearing socks as well! Now for those of you who know Philip just a little will understand the amount of change that he has gone through!!
A really well thought out trip today.... we held ourselves in check all day so that we could get some shots in the sweet evening light... we planned it, truly we did! Seeing as we are waiting around for certain little documents and stamps in our passports ... Well we made the trip by train then by boat - River Taxi - to the end of the run to take some pictures at a very interesting market place... only to discover we made it just in time to do an about face and board the final River Taxi for the day... right back to where we started. Hmmmph! So much for the planned trip.
Ever grateful are we though, to see such sights, and experience what goes with them. The aroma of dinner all around... the different spices used to tantalise the senses... what a blessing. Rita has a special relationship with sunsets...she is adamant they are God's gift of colour to her and her alone...
Okay so this is not going quite as planned… EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING is written in Thai on the blogger site, intepreted means for sure that I have no idea how to startBLOG FROM SCRATCH IN A LANGUAGE I HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT. That means I am going to be rewriting another one of mine… this is the Rita Speaking here.
Right- first things first… yes we are happily ensconced in the warm humid blanket that is also known as Bangkok, Thailand. We share our bathroom with unnamed others… sometimes to the extent that we know one another by the aromas from the shower stalls… ie, the chap across the way from us has a really wonderful shower gel or shampoo… I figure its shower gel, as his hair looks as though there is something living in it!
Note the 'foot room.... " Or lack of, there is but ONE TILE between the loo and the door, acrobatics abounds!
Waking up in the mornings to the sound of different birds, accompanied with the continual hum of the AC… makes one realize how far away from home one really is. The locals smile as faithfully as always and business continues... as always here in the bustling hot city. Last year when we were here, as a family, we decided that it was a good time to come, January! It is already careening towards the hot summer time here, making it almost unbearable… well for us visitors at least!
Our personal kitchen here at Asha and our groceries.... so far anyway...
We have met up with Deon& Corne’ and also with Philip. We have spent the whole of last weekend with them, even went to movies! Taking the youngsters to see the animated movie BOLT was one of our better ideas. They have been wonderful. Watching how well the children have adjusted to their new culture has been a true treat.
Having two rather lively children here must have been quite an experience to begin with. Especially since the Thais in general are rather quiet and decorum is all in their culture. IE… don’t shout at your kids in public! Even if they are haring off into a busy street! A quiet ‘Tiaan’ will have to suffice!
The Scholtz’s new culture, somehow, imagine that their boys are dolls… and are continuously harassing them in some way or another! The boys are the cause for endless Thai speculation, about what no one is entirely sure. It would be great for you to keep them in your thoughts!
Our passports are snugly tucked away at an Embassy, far longer than we thought, which means as soon as we get them back… Wednesday… we will send them to the Vietnamese Embassy, hopefully for a shorter time… but this being the case we are unable to move from where we are in any way as one is unable to check into a hotel/guesthouse or anything else without presenting one’s passport to reception.
In the meanwhile we will enjoy the sights, taste the food and smile at our hosts…
The Brave heart himself
