Capturing Cambodia

Wednesday November 9th, 2011; 12:49

Location: Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Why: Crying for Cambodia.

Wow! Another post the very next day! I'm determined to get myself sorted here. This afternoon, I am sitting inside S&B Cafe with Nicholas, the cute British/French lad that I've been hangin' out with at Jalan Jalan Guesthouse. He's applying for an advertising job online while I've been creeping his facebook and couch surfing profiles.

And then I figured I'd better start writing. Alright Cambodia.

Cambodia. She broke my heart with her ancient beauty and recent brutal history.

After Austin's visit with me in Indonesia, I had the pleasure of meeting up with another wonderful friend, the amazing Andrea Cameron. Flying into Siem Reap airport my patience was put to the test as I waited for Andrea's plane to land from Hanoi. Four hours later, all the crazy stories I had created in my head why she hadn't landed was put to reset when I finally realized there was airport wifi and I shoulda checked my email hours ago. I'm still working on this thing called Patience.

So AC and I finally get to Two Dragons Guesthouse for a week of togetherness. Seeing her made me pine for my life back in Vancouver. Bloody hell, Van is the BEST place to live. Not many people can say that about where they live but I shout it out with pride every chance I get on the road. After months wandering this side of the globe, talking about life in BC with AC was as though I'd never left the province. Shop talk was cheerfully reminiscent of a great time in my life, people-wise. You lulu peeps have no idea just how much you are missed by this lil nomadic traveler.

Okay, so after catching up, it was holiday mode for us.

This is what holiday mode looks like:

Easily the highlight of Siem Reap were the Temples of Angkor. We bought a 3 day pass to explore the wats at our leisure. But before that, clambering up a temple for sunset was in order. It was not the most spectacular of sunsets and although quite touristy, it was a good start of things to come.

Sunset in Siem Reap:

The man of the hour was our driver Mr. Sith who was always ready to take us anywhere we needed. Bless him:

Our first day at the temples brought us to Angkor Wat, a masterpiece in the history of man-made miracles. How do you even describe this place except to say "just go see it". The precision with which the stones were laid on top of one another before having them carved into wondrous sculptures has me thinking the Khmer peeps must have had help from extra terrestrial forces. I mean seriously you could not slip a credit card between the massive stones. Okay, maybe I've watched one too many episodes of Ancient Aliens. Oh but how I love my vivid imagination!

Some pics of the amazingness of Angkor Wat:

While the Khmer Rouge destroyed much of the temples, they are slowly getting restored wherever possible:

I bet the Khmers had super toight buns from climbing these stairs all the time. Is that inappropriate?

The famous Angkor Thom temple where part of Tomb Raider was filmed. So friggin COOL!

I felt like I was IN the movie!

And just to give perspective the size of the trees that have since engulfed these temples. This one has a tonsil thingy hanging:

One of my favourite sitings at the temples - monks in their bright orange robes! Picture courtesy of Andrea C:

This local had really kind eyes. And was delighted I took his photo:

Well, I could spend all day uploading the wonderful pics of the temples Angkor but you get the idea how beautiful this place is.

On a more somber note, after saying good bye to Andrea and dying a little bit inside, I made a 5 hour bus journey to Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. I had been psychologically preparing myself for this part of my trip knowing what I would be visiting. But first, on the road again....

The effects of the flood were still very apparent:

Once in the capital, I dropped my packs at the Mad Monkey Hostel to roam the city's surrounding areas.

But before that, I McGyvered a clothes line in my dorm to air out my dirtbag threads:

This made me laugh out loud:

Okay, so the somber note on this leg of my travels was my visit to The Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (aka S-21). I had been forewarned by many a traveler that these two places will leave you with a heavy heart. For those unaware, between April 1975 to January 1979, the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror in their ethnic cleansing of Democratic Kampuchea left more than 2 million Cambodians dead. Under the leadership of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge soldiers imprisoned, tortured, starved and killed their own people - anyone thought to be against the Angkar government. Many were tortured at S-21 and then brought to the Killing Fields to die.

The mass graves at the Killing Fields is an eerie and immediate reminder of the brutality of inhuman acts. Walking around the site, the depressions of the grave sites remind me of the depressions in the eyes of thousands of skulls on display at the stupa.

It is hard to imagine these were where hundreds of bodies were dumped after being slaughtered like animals:

Bits of clothing surface up from the floods every year like lost ghosts lingering:

Reading this sign made me nauseous:

The audio guided tour and this visit was very sad and depressing although I think it is a very important lesson to be told. The Killing Fields is still so fresh in the mind and heart of Cambodia and should not be soon forgotten. The stupa erected housing the thousands of skulls at the site was my first crying session.

Rows upon rows of skulls with the evidence of the blows which killed them:

When I finally made my way out of the Killing Fields, I braved myself for the Tuol Sleng Museum. Upon entering the compound which was a high school before the Khmer Rouge turned it into a torture camp, I felt my stomach turn into knots. When the Vietnamese discovered this prison, there were the last 14 victims found in the torture rooms. You can still see blood stains on the ceiling and floors. Each room and cell is casted with a heaviness that can only be created by the ghosts that haunt this place. Walking into some of the cells took the life out of my breath, leaving me gasping for air.

I met two of the seven surviving members who now make their living selling their tragic story for $10 a book. After speaking with them for a few minutes, I was so overcome with emotion, I burst out crying and had to walk away from them. The more I cried, the more I cried. I couldn't stop. I couldn't bear looking in these two men's faces. All I saw were the hollowed out skulls that flashed through my mind. They are forever burned into my memory. My heart aches for the lost people of Cambodia. It is a heaviness that follows me every time I think about this country.

The following pictures are a gruesome reminder of an horrific time in life:

Despite Cambodia's harrowing recent nightmare, the people are friendly and welcoming. Curiosity is written on the face of the young. The adults go about their daily life, I see happiness in their eyes. I see the development of both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh and am left with so much hope for this lovely country. I only wish I hadn't booked a flight out of there so soon.

Farewell to the Motherland. Hello Indo.

Tuesday November 8, 2011; 12:10

Location: Vietnam and Indonesia

Why: This delinquent blogger just got herself caught up...sorta.

Well this is ridiculous. It's been exactly one month since my last post. Davie's blog: Fail.

I guess I've been too busy livin'. Okay, I've been too busy on Facebook. Fail.

I'm sitting inside Cheng Ho Cafe in Melaka, Malaysia. Amy Winehouse's Rehab is playing on the cafe's system and I just finished my delish cup of Malay java. Where do I even begin from my Roots, Bricks, Relatives time?

After Dong Nai, I made my way back to my Saigon Backpacker's Hostel home base and re-offended by taking another tour. This time to the Mekong Delta for 2 nights, 3 days. Fail. Aside from the good company I had on this tourist trap, the tour itself was cookie cutter disappointing. Word of caution if you are considering it, don't go with Delta Adventures. Enough said. But here are some pics nonetheless:

On the pier to our wooden canoe on the Mekong Delta:

Trying my hand at rowing the boat:

Results of Can To town from the flood on the Mekong River in Cambodia:

The Mekong Delta locals keep on trekking. Another flood? No bigs:

Alright, after 7+ epic weeks, I bade farewell to the Motherland. It was time to leave her nest and fly. Destination: Indonesia.

Jakarta was a write off but I did enjoy a lovely eggs florentine in the old town of Kota:

Bandung was...meh.The best part though was meeting Wing from Holland and Anna from Philippines/New York at Hunny Hostel. Together, we miraculously made our way to the sulfuric crater up in the mountains on local buses, an adventure all its own.

L-R: Anna, Wing, Me. Picture courtesy: Anna Salazar. I love Wing's pose:

I LOVED that Anna carried with her the lulu Goal Setting! Hey lulus, remember this?

After Bandung, Bali started to look better. Meeting up with Austin, better still - a friend from Canada!! A few tortuously touristy days in Kuta left us on the next bus to Ubud.

We said goodbye to the guys at our guesthouse with the fucking pigs - literally. Laughs Out Loud:

Ubud Village: Flying "Air Mushroom" with Austin and Magdalena - priceless. Read: tripping out on magic mushrooms. Six hours of shits n' giggles had us happily tripping out as we marveled at Magda's outdoor "television" and rolled around her front porch in fits of laughter, writhing in tears.

Madga's porch where we "flew" for hours on the floor while watching her jungle "television":

Happy days of yoga, spa, yum-yum food, moto rides and bicycling around the villages had me and Austin carefree with no worries. A trip to the monkey sanctuary was an amusing highlight as we watched tourists get suckered by these clever creatures.

Then we buggered off to Gili Trawangan (aka Gili T) of the Gili Islands. There, we made Rumah Kundun our home base. Meeting up with Austin's friend Jen was on the menu, a wonderful choice. She co-manages the Blue Marlin Diving Center - go there for diving! Shameless plug.

The best part of Gili T is there are NO motorized vehicles!! Transport is done via horse n' buggy and/or bicycle - it was glorious. Austin and I got lost bicycling through an old coconut plantation - so friggin cool. Jen's boyfriend, a local, invited us to a Rastafarian jam session on the beach one night. We all got nicely toasted on beers, weed, and all songs Bob Marley.

And when we weren't doing the above mentioned activities, we were doing this activity - being beach bums:

Me with Austin Andstuff. Not sure about my expression here though...:

Bali spoke to me. I don't know what she said but she's calling me back.

And that is what I intend to do but next up was Cambodia (yes, I am writing in past tense here since I've been a blog delinquent).

Cambodia. That is yet another post. Stay tuned.

Roots, Bricks, Relatives

Saturday October 8th, 2011; 11:09

Location: Dong Nai, Vietnam

Why: Where did I come from? Who am I? And what's the greatest gift?

I am hanging out inside my spacious dorm room in Bandung, Indonesia on a sunny Saturday. I have been in this country 4 days now after escaping to Bandung from Jakarta's smelly, ugly and congested belly.

But of course, that is another post. I am starting to see a bad pattern of not posting events as they happen. So today, I need to capture my epic journey to my birthplace and finding my Roots, Bricks (literally), and Relatives.

Dong Nai province, east of Ho Chi Minh province. Trang Bom district and Bau Ham municipality to be exact. This is my birthplace and also home to my relatives for at least 4 generations. We ethnic Chinese had migrated from southern China many moons ago, finding refuge in Hanoi before moving south towards Hue, Danang, Saigon and finally carving a life out in Bau Ham.

Through a taxi friend of my cousin A Fat, I was picked up from Saigon's busy Pham Ngu Lao District and carried away some 65km east into the next province of Dong Nai. Approximately 1.5hrs later, I arrive at my other cousin San Bau's palatial estate on the main road of Bau Ham community. It was nice to see him, wife and kids whom I had met in Bangkok early in my travels.

Kind words exchange, packs dropped, I hopped on the back of San Bau's motorbike and he whisked me away to see my mum's mum, Granny. She lives with Man Kau Phu (translates to: Youngest Uncle on Mum's side) which is just down the street and around the corner.

My Granny is a sweet and shy lil old lady and my mum is a splitting image of her. This means, I am a super young image of my Gran:

I had not made a big announcement of my arrival, accept only to cousin San Bau. However, before I knew it, all my aunts and uncles on mom's side piled into Gran's house where we spent the next few hours talking and laughing. One thing that made everyone giddy was just how young I looked because as they crunched some numbers, it just didn't add up. Well, I am a splitting image of Mum who is nearing 60 but doesn't look a day over 40 (thanks Mum!!) The consensus was I look 23. I quite like 23 and have fond memories of traipsing around Europe at that age.

Aside from my mum and Dai Kau (Oldest Uncle on Mum's side) who live in Canada, there are 3 daughters and 4 sons. The aunt on the far right is Sixth Uncle's (in white tank) wife:

Next up was a 5km jaunt by motobike to see my Grandmother, the one that came to Canada with us and helped raise me. She is my Dad's mum. Grandma moved back to Viet Nam around 5 years ago to live out her golden days. I cried when I saw her. The big toothy grin on her face, it is hard to describe my emotions as I took a good look at this lady who helped shape a part of my identity.

At 84, A-mah is still a lively and talkative lady. Her eyesight may be going but this woman can spot a Vietnamese Dong a mile away. And she's still sharp as a blade. Gotta love her ballin' gold teeth too:

It was really nice to hear my Grandma recount our escape to Canada, from her escorting Mum, Dad, Tai and Cam while carrying my two year old self down to the river bank. She fondly remembers of the split decision my dad had made of pulling her onto the boat just before it sailed away to Malaysia where we lived as refugees for 10 months before getting accepted into Canada. This was November 1978, just 2 1/2 years after the end of the Vietnam War when Saigon fell to the Communists. Man, you can't make this shit up and I just ate it all up as I listened intently on everyone's personal accounts of that uncertain time in history. A little bit of epicness right there.

The one thing about visiting relatives is the amount of food I had eaten and actually put on a couple of pounds during my 12 days there. Three big square meals a day followed by trips to the market for snacks made for an expanding waistline. It's a good thing I'm wearing clothes with spandex (thank you lululemon)

Someone caught wind that one of my favourite Vietnamese dishes was Banh Xeo so A See Sum (Fourth Uncle's wife on Dad's side) made the dish. It was eaten in fine Vietnamese style - on the floor of the house:

Besides meeting aunts and uncles for the first time, it was amazing to meet cousins as well. With the exception of San Bau, all my cousins are younger than me with many being around 25 and married with kids. All my relatives are farmers and have huge coffee, pepper and banana plantations. Very few have an education past middle school but all can read and write Vietnamese. Their foray into adulthood and responsibility is started at a very young age, hence, marriage, kids and their own plantation before 25.

Some lively and jovial cousins during a feast and rounds of Heinekin. Một, hai, ba, cổ vũ! (One, two, three, cheers!) These kids can drink:

A favourite pasttime - Sixth Uncle and younger cousin love karaoke. And they're quite good at it too:

Even though Bau Ham is a rather small community, the plantations are huge! During harvest season, my relatives hire helping hands from labourers in the Mekong Delta to pick the fruits of their labour.

As I write this post, it is coffee harvest time. This pic was taken around mid September. The red beans indicate the coming harvest:

Cousin San Bau's plantation is enormous. Checking on his crop:

One of the loveliest things about my visit was staying at cousin San Bau's ballin' house, an airy sanctuary worthy of envy by locals and Viet Kieus alike.

Here are just a few pics from his home without getting too up close and personal (this is for public consumption after all).

This is the karaoke room. Note the super high ceiling which is found throughout the house:

My room which I LOVED:

The front of the house, complete with potted garden foliage, lots of seating and iron gates. The top floor is the styling karaoke room which opens onto the veranda for all to hear:

One of my favourite things to do at the house was digest my food whilst snoozing on this heavenly hammock. There's two in the house. TWO!

And of course buzzing around on the back of a motorbike was part of daily life. This pic is for you Cecco!

On a more serious note, one of the main reasons I came back to Bau Ham was to see the actual place of my birth. It was literally in my parents house, a humble abode that still stands today with new owners. Cousin San Bau and I walked there from his place and the owners showed me around the simple living digs.

The bedroom where my brothers and I were born has now been divided by bricks into two separate rooms. Boy was it small. And I couldn't see much because it was covered by a blanket.

This is where I came into the world. Another little bit of personal epicness that left a lump in my throat and tear in my eye:

Along with my birthplace, so is the resting place of my late Grandfather, my mum's dad. His grave is at the back of Youngest Uncle from Mum's side's farm house. I paid my respects. This too was another proportion of epicness on a personal level.

One of the greatest and most humbling observations I made on this journey was despite the living conditions - from ballin' estates to simple tin shacks, western flush to squat toilets, everyone is healthy, happy, and always there for one another, no matter what. There is a great sense of family, respect and contentment; something I rarely see in my own life. I am humbled and reminded that family is the single greatest gift I have and should never take it for granted.

That being said, I am reminded of the last time I saw my dad. He had driven me out to the airport. When we pulled into the departures area, he turned off the engine. I turned to him and started to cry as I hugged him goodbye and quickly scrambled out of the van with my two packs. I heard him pull away from the curb as I entered the airport and my heart just fell. I sat down and balled my eyes out for 10 minutes before pulling myself together. 

Visiting my relatives and discovering some of my roots, I am deeply humbled. And I can't wait to return.

Now Hiring: Professional Full Time Co-Traveler

Thursday September 22, 2011; 9:35

Location: Dong Nai, Vietnam

Why: Now accepting applications worldwide!

Wanderin' The Globe is seeking an outstanding individual to join our team of one as a Professional Full Time Co-Traveler currently based somewhere in Vietnam. However, in the near future, this will be location independent. Read: somewhere on Planet Earth.

Reporting directly to one's self, the Co-Traveler is responsible for managing their day to day operation waking up and living in the moment. That moment can be a wake up call of throwing a pillow at his/her co-worker's head (Davie Pocstar) and suggesting a cool place for breakfast. Or a quick run around the block, wherever that may be.

Breakfast (or lunch) can look like this:

Lunch or dinner can definitely look like this:

Wanderin' The Globe is a dynamic and rapidly growing manifestation of indefinite nomadic world travel. This position offers a great opportunity for the successful candidate to showcase their sense of adventure and open mindedness to globe trotting.

***Please note below job description also pertains to the Traveler currently residing in this role***

Responsibilities
Communications

• Reports to one's self and Co-Traveler on daily basis to determine the goals or adventures for the day
• Is conscientious and courteous to the Co-Traveler and any travelers that may join them at any given moment.
• Understands that each day may bring different energy and can effectively communicate this. Read: If candidate needs "alone time", Co-Traveler needs to know. And vice versa.

Operations

• Oversees all aspects of one's own happiness as it pertains to planet wandering, new experiences and discoveries.
• Provides leadership, relationship building and direction for the daily functions of traveling.
• Encourages and fosters a spirit of personal development and entrepreneurship - ideas on co-income earning is greatly encouraged
• Conducts informal meetings (preferably over a pint or beverage of choice) to provide feedback, set goals and expectations, and follow up on past, present and future objectives.

Beverage and meeting book can look like this:

Beverage can also involve other travelers, friends or family members. Saying Cheers is a requirement:

Skills and Qualifications

• Some, but not a lot of money required. However, the candidate must be able to provide for one's self in the daily life of budget travel. This can range anywhere from $25-35/day USD. May be less if candidate is open to sharing double rooms with twin beds. And maybe a double bed if hanky panky is mutually agreed upon.
• Previous travel experience is preferred but not essential.
• Strong communication skills at all levels, including eye contact in compromised situations.
• Must be physically active but not necessarily an Ironman athlete.
• Must DEFINITELY have a sense of adventure, humour, wonderment and like fart jokes.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and egoless nature.
• Outgoing, energetic, upbeat and most of all F.U.N.!

Must like the Co-Traveler in helmets of various kinds:

 

 

Work Hours

This position is a 24hr a day job. Productivity is not required during sleeping hours. This may include siestas, Chang-overs, and dozing off to a crisp on a beach somewhere hot and sunny.

There will be occasional minutes (or hours) of cleaning up guesthouse/hostel rooms; if only because Co-Traveler does not want to be co-responsible for any items damaged or left behind in said living/sleeping quarters.

Position will require jaunts to border crossings, airports, bus and/or train stations as needed and at all possible hours of the day or night.

Border crossing may look like this:

Being on over night buses may look like this:

So, do you have what it takes? Are you Ting Tong enough for this job? Read: Are you crazy enough for this job?

If the answer is yes, please direct all inquiries to Davie Pocstar via Facebook, commenting on this post, or email. She is looking forward to your application.

One last thing, candidate MUST like bicycles with baskets in the front! MUST: