Vertical pano gives and idea of the dizzying heights of the towers.
Category Archives: Quick Thoughts
Corruption in Cambodia
As explained in the Kampot Survival Guide (a must-read publication during your trip to Kampot):
“Corruption. There is no corruption in Cambodia, none at all! The country, like all of its neighbours, is commission based, that’s why it’s so easy to do things here, everybody will help you because they earn a small fee for their effort.
Commission. Please refer to corruption.”
Waterfall outside of Siem Reap
Roof top in Siem Reap.
Kampot Pepper Crab!
Tuk Tuk ride with our luggage from the bus stop to our hotel in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
French architecture. Cheese. Real drip coffee. And a free upgrade to a room with a balcony and a view. Phnom Penh was surprisingly lovely.
Our upgraded hotel room
View from our balcony.
Erin with the king’s palace
For dust, not Ebola.
Kampot, Cambodia
Slept under a mosquito net and through blackouts and woke up to the rooster under our bungalow. Learned a new sport (paddleboarding) and a new drink (a Ricard).
Really enjoyed our time at GreenHouse. I once heard it described as “just like a bungalow over the sea on an island, without the sea or the island.” Couldn’t agree more. But, great river views and breezes, and better French food and cappuccinos than most islands I’ve been to.
A Ricard
Erin Paddleboarding
Kampot, Cambodia Sunset
After a day looking at salt flats, pepper farms, and exploring the town enjoying the sunset back at our guest house. The reflection in the preaek tuek chhu river, is pretty wonderful.
$51 and 16 hours from Siem Reap
One night bus over bumpy dirt roads with a bathroom that can only be described as sloshy, one day bus, two tuk tuks, (including one from which my bag fell into a puddle of mud,) and we have arrived in Kampot, Cambodia.
Our bungalow has the first provided mosquito net of the trip.
Update: Dan says that the bathroom on the night bus would be better described as a surrealist mountain of sloshiness with only rusted nails to brace yourself against. He’s right.
Night bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh.
Our bungalow at GreenHouse guest house.
Fishing in Cambodia
Our tuk tuk driver pulled over at a local fishing spot. So we could watch people fishing. It was cool to watch the nets flying through the air. I got lucky enough with my timing to have google #autoawesome a couple photos together.
We saw a lot of locals out fishing on a Tuesday but were told there aren’t many fish left in the river. We saw some small catches, but nothing big and not much was being caught. Sort of seemed the same in Vietnam where most of the rivers had been over fished as well.
Invariably
“Ankor What? Pub Street. [Siem Reap, Cambodia] The backpackers’ favourite where you invariably end up dancing on the tables till the small hours…” — The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget
In related news, a frequent question during our trip has been, “What day is it?” Not, mind you, asking for the date, but for the day of the week.
Started the evening off with a margarita, from one of the many Mexican restaurants around Siem Reap.
We’re on a roof in Cambodia.
Getting our feet eaten by fish that are actually not that little. Feels good after a day exploring Angkor Wat (see below). Specifically, we are on the roof of our guesthouse (thanks for the rec, Susan), waiting for our traditional Khmer food to be prepped for dinner. Dinner in tonight because it is pouring here. Dan failed to mention that it is rainy season in Cambodia.
Some more quick thoughts on Vietnam
We are finishing up our week volunteering teaching English in the industrial zone outside of Hanoi with CVTD, and I am thankful for the greater depth of understanding of the Vietnamese way of life and culture that the experience has given me (not to mention all of the delicious food). I hope our students had as much fun as we did. Tomorrow morning we are jumping on a ($30) flight to Hoi An, to spend some time chilling on beaches and exploring the town. Here are some last quick thoughts before heading down to the central coast.
1) It is awesome to be in a place where the late-night street food includes piles of fresh Vietnamese lettuce, herbs, and vegetables (our GI tracks thank us when they have been at least briefly rinsed in potable water). The pork belly isn’t bad either. We did our best to work our way through the Old Town Restaurant Tour provided by our friends at ZINK year and agree with all of their choices.
Walking the streets at night in Hanoi.
Street food in Hanoi.
2) After just a few days in our volunteer house, I developed callouses on my fingers from using chopsticks to stir fry peanuts, vegetables, and meats over the high heat used in Vietnamese cooking.
3) Check out this electrical wiring. The power is incredibly reliable.
4) Urban chickens.
Adventures of the Miller Mayers 