Attack Duck at Angkor Wat

Hello All. I got to Bangkok without issue and spent my first full day touring Wat Pho and Wat Arun (Wat = Temple). Buddhism is the major religion here and images of Buddha are everywhere. The temple Wat Pho has the largest collection of Buddhas (Buddhi?) in all of Thailand. The architecture, statues, and ceremonies around these temples are amazing to see.

I was fortunate to be able to see a ceremony for a boy becoming a monk. All males in Thailand go through this when they turn 20. The ceremony I saw was just the first step, after which they spend anywhere from a few weeks to over a year studying at a temple.

Bangkok is bedlam.
There are vendors of every sort on every side walk and sometimes right in the street. Pedestrians have to fend for themselves as there don’t seem to be any rules as to where somebody can
drive a moto (motorcycle) in this city.

I spent my first two nights here in a very un-backpacker way at a courtyard Marriott. I still have tons of Marriott points left from my days as a consultant and figured two nights
adjusting to the 12 hour time difference would be excusable. I used my one full night here to hit a few of the night markets and party areas and, in the process, learned their sky train
and bus system (with a lot of help from the locals who are all extremely friendly). Something about learning a public transportation system in a foreign country gives me great satisfaction. The night was fun and I met some other travelers and a few locals and caught a hilarious (intentionally so) Thai cover band at little hole in the wall bar.

I exited Bangkok for after less than 48 hours as I have a lot of ground to cover in the next 7 weeks. I took a bus to the Cambodia border which took me a front-row seat to the massive damage caused by the worst flooding Thailand has seen in over 50 years. After having seen how packed the sidewalks in Bangkok were with vendor equipment and motos and awnings, it was
easier to make sense of what I was seeing outside the city. Massive piles of garbage had been bulldozed on every block. Destroyed cars and furniture and sandbags were everywhere.
Water damage on the houses looked to reach 2 to 3 feet high and a muddy muck covered all of the sidewalks and streets. This went on for miles.

Crossing over into Cambodia from Thailand is like stepping back in time. The people here are very friendly despite widespread poverty. The Cambodian Civil War followed by the Kampuchea “reconstruction”, which resulted in 1.7 million deaths (of a population of 7 million) over three years (1975 –1978) and the subject of the movie ‘The Killing Fields’, followed by a 10 year
conflict with Vietnam. You see very few old people in this country. If you’re not familiar with what occurred here from 75 to 78, look it up. It’s as interesting as it is jaw droppingly horrific.

The temples at Angkor can’t really be described in words, or really even photos. Multiple temple
structures built between the 9th and 15th century. The largest and best preserved, Angkor Wat. It’s hard to comprehend how something so big and complex was built by hand nearly 1000 years ago. It seem every inch of the stone walls and columns are etched.

I have so many new experiences here daily that it’s hard to decide exactly what to write about and so I’ll stick to highlights and random thoughts;
Total lunar eclipse party in the streets of Siem Reap Cambodia with my new friend Camilla (backpacker from Sweden). Like something out of a movie. Hundreds of people (old, young, Cambodians and tourists) drinking and dancing under a total lunar eclipse.

The food is amazing and seemingly everywhere you look. There’s and endless variety. Street vendors set up early. I try to eat and travel like the locals, so I’ve had mostly food from the market and some street vendors.

The smell of smell of Siem Reap; a mix of cooked meat, incents, car exhaust, and clay

It’s so cheap here. Yesterday’s expenses; hotel - $7, breakfast - $2, Lunch - $2, Dinner for
two - $5, having clothes washed for me - $2.

The local beer, Angkor, is 50 cents a draught.

Siem Reap means “Siamese defeated”, which is a not-very-subtle jab at Cambodia’s Thai neighbors who had taken control of this city at one point and were then pushed out.

Gasoline is offered in old 40oz beer bottles and then siphoned into the gas tank via a plastic hose.

This is the landmine capital of the world. There are still many active mines and you are reminded to never stray from the path while hiking.

Telling an aggressive duck at Angkor Wat that wanted me to move from where i was sitting "you're not the boss of me" and subsequently finding out that the duck was the boss of me (much to the entertainment of all who saw).

I promise some photos soon. I have some good ones, but posting them from a slow connection takes an eternity.

That’s all for right now.
I’m currently on a bus to Phnom Penh (Cambodian capital). After that, I’m off to Vietnam where I hope to catch up with some friends of mine from Italy. I hope all is well stateside. Thanks for reading!