Our adventure in Cambodia is now complete and we are now bound for Laos!
Over a 2 week period, we explored the 3 biggest cities in Cambodia, starting with Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang followed by a short stay in the beach area of Sihanoukville. Angkor Wat is certainly a major highlight but more interesting is seeing how the Cambodian people live which is so different than we do back home in Canada. Our next stop is Loas where more adventure awaits! Be sure to check out the logs below for a glimpse of our experiences in Cambodia.
January 24, 2014.
In Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The drive between Battambang and Sihanoukville is very long, about 8 hours, so instead we decided to do it over 2 days which gave us a stop in Phnom Penh, a halfway point. We happened to pick an amazing little boutique hotel in Phnom Penh, called the H Hotel. Tripadvisor once again came through! We have used Tripadvisor very frequently for hotels, restaurants and activities to do and it has proven to be an invaluable travel tool. We've spent the past several days in Sihanoukville which is on the southern coast of Cambodia. From all we read prior about Sihanoukville, the readings have been pretty much spot on in that it was depicted as a backpacker type of place. At our stage in life (in our 40's), we are no longer backpacker types anymore (especially with a 4 year old in tow), however, we have enjoyed our beach time here in Sihanoukville. Probably the best part about this place is we have met up with another couple, who are from the UK, and have a son the same age as Bennett. Matt, Sophie and Jake (their son) are their names. We have spent a lot of time, the 6 of us, together over the past couple of days including having dinner together, renting a couple of motorbikes (3 people on each bike, which is what most Cambodians do - in fact we've seen as many as a family of 4 on 1 motorbike here), as well as enjoying lunch and beach time together. Bennett and Jake get along brilliantly and we have had a very memorable time talking with Matt and Sophie about all of the traveling that we have done (they've been traveling for 9 months and we have been at it for 4 months). Matt and Sophie just completed a trip in Vietnam (which is where we are bound for soon) and are, in the near future, headed for Australia which we came from about a month ago. As such we all had tips and advice to give each other. Yesterday evening, Tricia, Bennett and myself signed up for a boat fishing trip (well Tricia signed us up actually thinking that it would be a good treat for me to do some fishing). The excursion was a bit of a bust (although for $10 each we really didn't expect much and we certainly didn't get much!). The brochure made the trip sound quite good and the organizer promised us state of the art fishing gear, instead it was a drinking canister (i.e. beer cans or empty water bottles) with fishing line tied around it. There were also many people on the boat with us, in total probably around 20 people and the boat wasn't very big so it was quite crowded. Nevertheless, it was still nice to get out on the ocean and enjoy the beautiful weather. Our Cambodian trip is now complete and we head back to Phnom Penh tomorrow to catch a flight to Vientiane, Laos. We made sure to book flights on Vietnam Airlines (which has a very good safety record) instead of Laos Airlines which just recently had a fatal crash which killed all aboard. Our next travel log will be from Laos...stay tuned!
In Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The drive between Battambang and Sihanoukville is very long, about 8 hours, so instead we decided to do it over 2 days which gave us a stop in Phnom Penh, a halfway point. We happened to pick an amazing little boutique hotel in Phnom Penh, called the H Hotel. Tripadvisor once again came through! We have used Tripadvisor very frequently for hotels, restaurants and activities to do and it has proven to be an invaluable travel tool. We've spent the past several days in Sihanoukville which is on the southern coast of Cambodia. From all we read prior about Sihanoukville, the readings have been pretty much spot on in that it was depicted as a backpacker type of place. At our stage in life (in our 40's), we are no longer backpacker types anymore (especially with a 4 year old in tow), however, we have enjoyed our beach time here in Sihanoukville. Probably the best part about this place is we have met up with another couple, who are from the UK, and have a son the same age as Bennett. Matt, Sophie and Jake (their son) are their names. We have spent a lot of time, the 6 of us, together over the past couple of days including having dinner together, renting a couple of motorbikes (3 people on each bike, which is what most Cambodians do - in fact we've seen as many as a family of 4 on 1 motorbike here), as well as enjoying lunch and beach time together. Bennett and Jake get along brilliantly and we have had a very memorable time talking with Matt and Sophie about all of the traveling that we have done (they've been traveling for 9 months and we have been at it for 4 months). Matt and Sophie just completed a trip in Vietnam (which is where we are bound for soon) and are, in the near future, headed for Australia which we came from about a month ago. As such we all had tips and advice to give each other. Yesterday evening, Tricia, Bennett and myself signed up for a boat fishing trip (well Tricia signed us up actually thinking that it would be a good treat for me to do some fishing). The excursion was a bit of a bust (although for $10 each we really didn't expect much and we certainly didn't get much!). The brochure made the trip sound quite good and the organizer promised us state of the art fishing gear, instead it was a drinking canister (i.e. beer cans or empty water bottles) with fishing line tied around it. There were also many people on the boat with us, in total probably around 20 people and the boat wasn't very big so it was quite crowded. Nevertheless, it was still nice to get out on the ocean and enjoy the beautiful weather. Our Cambodian trip is now complete and we head back to Phnom Penh tomorrow to catch a flight to Vientiane, Laos. We made sure to book flights on Vietnam Airlines (which has a very good safety record) instead of Laos Airlines which just recently had a fatal crash which killed all aboard. Our next travel log will be from Laos...stay tuned!
January 19, 2014.
In Battambang, Cambodia. In just the last few days, we have seen and done so much in Cambodia! During our last full day in Siem Reap, we took a boat cruise on the Tonle Sap Lake, which was about a 30 minute Tuk Tuk drive from our Hotel. The cruise itself was very interesting, but probably a bit of a ploy by the river locals to get you to donate money. But we could not resist donating after seeing what so little the people living there have, which is virtually nothing. We ended buying a large bag of rice, veggies and some canned meat (for $50) that, after buying on the river, we could take directly to an orphanage that is on the river. It was interesting, yet very sad to see the living conditions of the orphans who actually live on a floating barge. The Lake itself is massive. Apparently encompassing 12 square kms during the wet season but recedes to less than half of that during the dry season. Our river tour guide was quite the character, very entertaining and very charming with Bennett. They let him drive our boat for a little and he loved it. We learned from our guide that he makes a mere $120 a month, but dreams of some day buying a Tuk Tuk and getting off the river. Apparently Tuk Tuk drivers make more money. Such humble dreams! Even though most Cambodians are so poor, they are so welcoming and eager to converse with you about their home and about yours as well. Back at our fancy pants Hotel (the Raffles) in the afternoon, we, again, relaxed around the magnificent pool. In the evening, we went to a buffet dinner which also offered a traditional Khmer dancing show. The show was ok, but probably not worth the money we spent. Next, it was off to a different Cambodian city called Battambang (where we are now, about a 3 hour drive north of Siem Reap), which is the second largest city in Cambodia, next to Phnom Penh. When we arrived yesterday afternoon, our hotel had made a mistake with our arrival date. As such, they had no rooms, even though we were booked to stay. The Hotel owner was very apologetic and was able to arrange for alternate accommodations for us at a different (and even better) hotel. We didn't have to pay any extra for the upgraded accommodation. Yesterday evening, we enjoyed a night at the local circus in Battambang. The circus acts were fantastic, and the performers were extremely talented. We had an amazing time. Apparently, a couple of the performers are from Cirque du Soleil. Tickets were only 10 bucks, so much cheaper that actually going to a Cirque du Soleil performance. Everything is so affordable here! I actually end up tipping probably a little too much, but I really can't help it because I know how little they earn and even a couple of dollars means so much. Today was filled with activities. We hired a Tuk Tuk driver to pick us up in the morning to see many of the local attractions. Our driver was awesome, very welcoming and his English was quite good. We started with a bamboo train ride, then went to 2 Temples, one of which was on a mountain where we needed to be driven up via motorbike. The mountain Temple was quite sad though as it also has a cave where the Khmer Rouge murdered many hundreds of Cambodians (including babies) by tossing them down the cave to their deaths. Truly appalling what Cambodians have had to endure, and this is only in recent history (in the 1970's). Our Hotel in Battambang is quite nice, a small boutique style Hotel that is family owned. Bennett made a new friend here who he played with for most of the evening. Tomorrow, we have hired a private car to take us back down to Phnom Penh where we will spend 1 night and then head further south to a beach village called Sihanoukville. For anyone reading this log, you must come to Cambodia, it's so different from Canada and such a wonderful place to experience! Tricia will update in the morning....
In Battambang, Cambodia. In just the last few days, we have seen and done so much in Cambodia! During our last full day in Siem Reap, we took a boat cruise on the Tonle Sap Lake, which was about a 30 minute Tuk Tuk drive from our Hotel. The cruise itself was very interesting, but probably a bit of a ploy by the river locals to get you to donate money. But we could not resist donating after seeing what so little the people living there have, which is virtually nothing. We ended buying a large bag of rice, veggies and some canned meat (for $50) that, after buying on the river, we could take directly to an orphanage that is on the river. It was interesting, yet very sad to see the living conditions of the orphans who actually live on a floating barge. The Lake itself is massive. Apparently encompassing 12 square kms during the wet season but recedes to less than half of that during the dry season. Our river tour guide was quite the character, very entertaining and very charming with Bennett. They let him drive our boat for a little and he loved it. We learned from our guide that he makes a mere $120 a month, but dreams of some day buying a Tuk Tuk and getting off the river. Apparently Tuk Tuk drivers make more money. Such humble dreams! Even though most Cambodians are so poor, they are so welcoming and eager to converse with you about their home and about yours as well. Back at our fancy pants Hotel (the Raffles) in the afternoon, we, again, relaxed around the magnificent pool. In the evening, we went to a buffet dinner which also offered a traditional Khmer dancing show. The show was ok, but probably not worth the money we spent. Next, it was off to a different Cambodian city called Battambang (where we are now, about a 3 hour drive north of Siem Reap), which is the second largest city in Cambodia, next to Phnom Penh. When we arrived yesterday afternoon, our hotel had made a mistake with our arrival date. As such, they had no rooms, even though we were booked to stay. The Hotel owner was very apologetic and was able to arrange for alternate accommodations for us at a different (and even better) hotel. We didn't have to pay any extra for the upgraded accommodation. Yesterday evening, we enjoyed a night at the local circus in Battambang. The circus acts were fantastic, and the performers were extremely talented. We had an amazing time. Apparently, a couple of the performers are from Cirque du Soleil. Tickets were only 10 bucks, so much cheaper that actually going to a Cirque du Soleil performance. Everything is so affordable here! I actually end up tipping probably a little too much, but I really can't help it because I know how little they earn and even a couple of dollars means so much. Today was filled with activities. We hired a Tuk Tuk driver to pick us up in the morning to see many of the local attractions. Our driver was awesome, very welcoming and his English was quite good. We started with a bamboo train ride, then went to 2 Temples, one of which was on a mountain where we needed to be driven up via motorbike. The mountain Temple was quite sad though as it also has a cave where the Khmer Rouge murdered many hundreds of Cambodians (including babies) by tossing them down the cave to their deaths. Truly appalling what Cambodians have had to endure, and this is only in recent history (in the 1970's). Our Hotel in Battambang is quite nice, a small boutique style Hotel that is family owned. Bennett made a new friend here who he played with for most of the evening. Tomorrow, we have hired a private car to take us back down to Phnom Penh where we will spend 1 night and then head further south to a beach village called Sihanoukville. For anyone reading this log, you must come to Cambodia, it's so different from Canada and such a wonderful place to experience! Tricia will update in the morning....
January 16, 2014.
In Siem Reap, Cambodia. As much as we loved Malaysia, Cambodia is also an incredible place, but for different reasons. Raw, untamed and undeveloped, kind of like how I would picture the wild west of North America would have been like 100 years ago. There probably aren't many places on the planet quite like Cambodia is today. The Capital, and largest city in Cambodia is Phnom Penh and has a population of about 2 million which is a fairly large city, even by worlds standards, however, only a smattering of the City has sky scrapers, so not much of a skyline. They have an incredibly bloody recent history here with the Khmer Rouge genocide that ended only a relatively short time ago in 1978. The last couple of days traveling in this country might have been some of the most interesting and amazing days we've had in the over 4 months that we've been traveling so far. On our last day in Phnom Penh, we decided to sign up for a river cruise on the Mekong River with a tour operator that our Hotel recommended. At first we thought, at 38 USD per person (Bennett was discounted), it was a little pricey for a river tour in Cambodia. We ended up getting way more than we expected and some incredible memories which our pics and vids should prove. We had the whole boat and English speaking tour guide all to ourselves. The tour included the river cruise up and down the Mekong, a stop at a Cambodian fishing village, a private tour of a family run silk worm textile establishment, lunch with and prepared by the family, a tour of a khmer style house where the late owner and architect of the house worked directly for the King of Cambodia, a horse an buggy ride, as well as a tour of a beautiful Cambodian Padoga where we could see and interact with the monks who were building the Padoga. This also included snacks and refreshments aboard our boat as well. I will say no more about this river cruise adventure as the pics and vids will speak for themselves. We checked out of our Hotel in Phnom Penh on the 14th of January and climbed aboard a private car, with driver bound for Siem Reap which is about 5 hours to the north. The drive cost us 85 USD for the 3 of us and our many luggage bags (remember we've packed for a year of travel!). You can't hire a taxi from Welland, Ontario bound for Toronto Pearson Airport for less that 120 bucks which is a mere 1 hour of travel time! After a 5 hour drive with our not so English speaking (but very professional and friendly 23 year old ) driver I found out he receives a salary of 250 USD per month. He's been driving the Phnom Penh to Siem Reap run for 3 years. The road between the two major Cambodian cities is supposedly a major highway in the country, but it is essentially still being developed and thus has many dirt road sections and giant pot holes due to it's heavy travel use. This is totally different than Malaysia with it's fantastic highway infrastructure. Luckily, our young driver was very skilled and got us to our destination safe and sound, although, sadly, we hit a small puppy along the way. Dogs, chickens, cows and geese at many times hindered our travel velocity. Along the way we were able to get a glimpse of the way most Cambodians live, which is pretty much in utter poverty. Even though their poverty was so evident to us, we received an abundance of warm smiles and waves from passing motorbike motorists and local pedestrians on our route. Some of the motorbikers seemed to have entire warehouses of goods attached to their bikes, kind of like tractor trailer motorbikes, quite a site! When we reached our hotel we were a little weary from the traveling and frankly, almost ashamed to be staying in an incredibly luxurious resort, called the Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor, after seeing what little most people have here. Today we had an incredible day. Siem Reap is famous for its Wats and we visited 2 of them today. The Angkor Wat and Tom Wat. The Wats here have a very early history, dating back to the 12th century when they were built by one of the Kings. For a long time, the Wat areas were forgotten and covered by jungle forests until the French re-discovered them in the 1800's and began bringing them back to life. We had a private, English speaking tour guide and private car arranged for us by our personal hotel Butler (YES, I said Butler! - doesn't everyone have a Butler??) for our tour of the Angkor and Tom Wats this morning. Unbelievable day today! Our tour was unforgettable. Many of the monuments remain intact and erect even after almost a millennium. Again I'll let the pics and vids do the talking as we have some very impressive footage. Bennett was incredible today, very well behaved. We rewarded our adventures with an afternoon at the amazing pool area that is offered at our hotel. Tricia and I have not had a night out to ourselves without Bennett in months. As such, we took advantage of the in-house babysitting our Hotel offers and enjoyed an incredible meal at the Hotel's restaurant, just the 2 of us. Let me say 2 more things about Cambodia before I sign off for the night. Food?? Excellent!! Weather?? Unbelievable!! Tricia will update in the morning. Cheerio and Tally-Ho for now.
Tricia: Cambodia has been a truckload of contrasts. The boat ride in Phnom Phen was one of the best days of our trip. We saw how the real cambodia is. Our guide was amazing and took us into rural communities. It was awesome but at the same time extremely hard to see. The little kids Bennett's age that play naked on the roadside with an old soda bottle...you want to pack them up and bring them home with you. And yet, right now, we are sitting poolside at the Raffles in Siem Reap (thanks Greg and Judy!). It is probably the most beautiful and fanciest hotel that I have EVER stayed at...seriously, I don't think I have even opened a door for myself in 3 days! When we arrived (after a 7 hour drive!), we were met with cold towels and introduced to our butler and the sales manager...our butler was there to "do anything we needed done". When we got to our room Bennett decided to "look for bedbugs" under the comforter (and yes, in front of the sales manager and butler)...they reassured us there were none:) Yep, we are classy like that. The service is unbelievable. You don't have to do anything (they even place your slippers by the side of the bed so you don't have to bend to pick them up in the morning!). Angor Wat is something other worldly...it's just amazing and something that should be on everyone's bucketlist...it is breathtaking. Unfortunately, we weren't able to cover as much of it as we would have on our own but Bennett was fascinated by the corridors and caves that were there. Today we went on a boat ride on the world's 3rd largest lake. This is where there were the traditional Cambodian floating villages. Basically, communities that have been set up on the water. We saw the houses, schools and even an orphanage...our guide took us to the community hall which sells supplies and then you deliver it to the school/orphanage across the water. I was really conflicted as to whether to go or not. On one hand, these kids really need the food provided by tourists but on the other hand, I don't think they should be used as tourist sites...it was a tough decision but in the end we just dropped the food off and basically left. Hopefully, it will go to good use. Tomorrow we head to Battambang, west of here...BTW - a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Catherine Meek, Margaret Meek and also YAHOO to Connor for getting into Western...we are so proud! xo
In Siem Reap, Cambodia. As much as we loved Malaysia, Cambodia is also an incredible place, but for different reasons. Raw, untamed and undeveloped, kind of like how I would picture the wild west of North America would have been like 100 years ago. There probably aren't many places on the planet quite like Cambodia is today. The Capital, and largest city in Cambodia is Phnom Penh and has a population of about 2 million which is a fairly large city, even by worlds standards, however, only a smattering of the City has sky scrapers, so not much of a skyline. They have an incredibly bloody recent history here with the Khmer Rouge genocide that ended only a relatively short time ago in 1978. The last couple of days traveling in this country might have been some of the most interesting and amazing days we've had in the over 4 months that we've been traveling so far. On our last day in Phnom Penh, we decided to sign up for a river cruise on the Mekong River with a tour operator that our Hotel recommended. At first we thought, at 38 USD per person (Bennett was discounted), it was a little pricey for a river tour in Cambodia. We ended up getting way more than we expected and some incredible memories which our pics and vids should prove. We had the whole boat and English speaking tour guide all to ourselves. The tour included the river cruise up and down the Mekong, a stop at a Cambodian fishing village, a private tour of a family run silk worm textile establishment, lunch with and prepared by the family, a tour of a khmer style house where the late owner and architect of the house worked directly for the King of Cambodia, a horse an buggy ride, as well as a tour of a beautiful Cambodian Padoga where we could see and interact with the monks who were building the Padoga. This also included snacks and refreshments aboard our boat as well. I will say no more about this river cruise adventure as the pics and vids will speak for themselves. We checked out of our Hotel in Phnom Penh on the 14th of January and climbed aboard a private car, with driver bound for Siem Reap which is about 5 hours to the north. The drive cost us 85 USD for the 3 of us and our many luggage bags (remember we've packed for a year of travel!). You can't hire a taxi from Welland, Ontario bound for Toronto Pearson Airport for less that 120 bucks which is a mere 1 hour of travel time! After a 5 hour drive with our not so English speaking (but very professional and friendly 23 year old ) driver I found out he receives a salary of 250 USD per month. He's been driving the Phnom Penh to Siem Reap run for 3 years. The road between the two major Cambodian cities is supposedly a major highway in the country, but it is essentially still being developed and thus has many dirt road sections and giant pot holes due to it's heavy travel use. This is totally different than Malaysia with it's fantastic highway infrastructure. Luckily, our young driver was very skilled and got us to our destination safe and sound, although, sadly, we hit a small puppy along the way. Dogs, chickens, cows and geese at many times hindered our travel velocity. Along the way we were able to get a glimpse of the way most Cambodians live, which is pretty much in utter poverty. Even though their poverty was so evident to us, we received an abundance of warm smiles and waves from passing motorbike motorists and local pedestrians on our route. Some of the motorbikers seemed to have entire warehouses of goods attached to their bikes, kind of like tractor trailer motorbikes, quite a site! When we reached our hotel we were a little weary from the traveling and frankly, almost ashamed to be staying in an incredibly luxurious resort, called the Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor, after seeing what little most people have here. Today we had an incredible day. Siem Reap is famous for its Wats and we visited 2 of them today. The Angkor Wat and Tom Wat. The Wats here have a very early history, dating back to the 12th century when they were built by one of the Kings. For a long time, the Wat areas were forgotten and covered by jungle forests until the French re-discovered them in the 1800's and began bringing them back to life. We had a private, English speaking tour guide and private car arranged for us by our personal hotel Butler (YES, I said Butler! - doesn't everyone have a Butler??) for our tour of the Angkor and Tom Wats this morning. Unbelievable day today! Our tour was unforgettable. Many of the monuments remain intact and erect even after almost a millennium. Again I'll let the pics and vids do the talking as we have some very impressive footage. Bennett was incredible today, very well behaved. We rewarded our adventures with an afternoon at the amazing pool area that is offered at our hotel. Tricia and I have not had a night out to ourselves without Bennett in months. As such, we took advantage of the in-house babysitting our Hotel offers and enjoyed an incredible meal at the Hotel's restaurant, just the 2 of us. Let me say 2 more things about Cambodia before I sign off for the night. Food?? Excellent!! Weather?? Unbelievable!! Tricia will update in the morning. Cheerio and Tally-Ho for now.
Tricia: Cambodia has been a truckload of contrasts. The boat ride in Phnom Phen was one of the best days of our trip. We saw how the real cambodia is. Our guide was amazing and took us into rural communities. It was awesome but at the same time extremely hard to see. The little kids Bennett's age that play naked on the roadside with an old soda bottle...you want to pack them up and bring them home with you. And yet, right now, we are sitting poolside at the Raffles in Siem Reap (thanks Greg and Judy!). It is probably the most beautiful and fanciest hotel that I have EVER stayed at...seriously, I don't think I have even opened a door for myself in 3 days! When we arrived (after a 7 hour drive!), we were met with cold towels and introduced to our butler and the sales manager...our butler was there to "do anything we needed done". When we got to our room Bennett decided to "look for bedbugs" under the comforter (and yes, in front of the sales manager and butler)...they reassured us there were none:) Yep, we are classy like that. The service is unbelievable. You don't have to do anything (they even place your slippers by the side of the bed so you don't have to bend to pick them up in the morning!). Angor Wat is something other worldly...it's just amazing and something that should be on everyone's bucketlist...it is breathtaking. Unfortunately, we weren't able to cover as much of it as we would have on our own but Bennett was fascinated by the corridors and caves that were there. Today we went on a boat ride on the world's 3rd largest lake. This is where there were the traditional Cambodian floating villages. Basically, communities that have been set up on the water. We saw the houses, schools and even an orphanage...our guide took us to the community hall which sells supplies and then you deliver it to the school/orphanage across the water. I was really conflicted as to whether to go or not. On one hand, these kids really need the food provided by tourists but on the other hand, I don't think they should be used as tourist sites...it was a tough decision but in the end we just dropped the food off and basically left. Hopefully, it will go to good use. Tomorrow we head to Battambang, west of here...BTW - a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Catherine Meek, Margaret Meek and also YAHOO to Connor for getting into Western...we are so proud! xo
January 13, 2014.
In Phnom Penh, Cambodia. When we landed in Cambodia, we were not prepared for the Visa process, even though we did a little research before hand. You can get a Visitors Visa right in the airport. They use the USD currency in Cambodia, and we didn't have any on us and they only accept cash. All we had were Malaysian Ringits, which they accepted (albeit by closely inspecting it to ensure that it was real), but they certainly inflated the price though. We also should have brought passport sized photos with us because they charged us for pictures as well. It's not easy to stand in a line after a flight with a 4 year old (i.e. Bennett!). We felt a little cheated by the Cambodian border officials, but we made it through. After exiting from the Cambodian Customs area and picking up our baggage, there were ATM's available so I could grab some US cash. Although I drove in some pretty crazy areas of Malaysia, there's no way I'd ever attempt to drive in Cambodia, at least not in Phnom Penh. It's completely crazy! Most intersections do not have traffic lights, so drivers have to navigate through the intersections by force. There are motorbikes everywhere! For some reason, it all seems to work out though, kinda of a controlled chaos. Our taxi driver was very pleasant and got us safely to our hotel. The hotel is not bad, no where near as luxurious as the incredible stay we had at the JW Marriott during our last night in Kuala Lumpur (and we were not expecting it to be either). The people here, as in Malaysia, are also very friendly, however, English does not seem to be as widely spoken. The poverty level seems to be much greater here in Cambodia than in Malaysia. It's very sad to see the poverty. By the time we got to our hotel, it was around 6pm, Bennett was a little stir crazy so we took him swimming (actually Tricia went in the water with him while I drank beer) in our rooftop swimming pool. We then grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant. Our hotel has a massage parlor (no, not the dirty kind!) and Tricia partook in a late evening massage. She was already feeling pretty good after consuming 2 Ativans before the flight (she gets a little anxious when flying), so the massage made things even better for her! Today, we explored the city. It's common to hire a Tuk Tuk (basically a rickshaw) to get around. They are everywhere to be seen, so very easy to get. Our Tuk Tuk driver (and many use a motorbike for the Tuk Tuk here instead of a bicycle which seems to be common in Malaysia) took us to several different places including the Royal Palace, a nearby Wat (which is a temple) and also to a street Market. We hired our driver for about 6 hours and it cost us 20USD. Very cheap to get around here! Oh...want a beer from a street vendor? That'll run ya 2500 Riel. The Riel is basically the currency that Cambodians use for items that are less than 1 USD. It's roughly 4000 Riel to 1 USD. So...at 2500 Riel, that's a mere .60 cents USD for a beer. Not bad! After our city tour, Tricia decided to stay extra long at the Market to shop for clothes while I took Bennett back to the Hotel. Some incredible deals on clothing here as many of the brand labels manufacture their clothes here in Cambodia. I got myself a pair of Versace undies for 2 bucks! Plus we were able to replenish Bennett's wardrobe quite easily and cheaply as well. So far, Cambodia has been great and we are looking forward to do some more exploring tomorrow. Tricia will update in the morning!
Tricia: Cambodia is VERY different than Malaysia. The level of absolute poverty is really apparent and there are people begging all over. It is so hard to walk away from them. We were at dinner last night and Bart commented that Bennett's dinner was almost as much as what our driver made for the entire day. It really put things in perspective. That being said, there are some beautiful aspects as well. The palace was incredible and the temples we have visited were spectacular. We went to the Russian Market as well but I couldn't handle Bennett being there because if he let go of our hand for a second, we would lose him for good. Bart took him back to the hotel and I continued to buy a few things for him. I bought him 4 new T shirts (because the ones he has worn day in day out for the past 5 months are coming to an end!). THey were the same ones I saw in the Gap for $24.99 (the retro edition spiderman) and I paid $2. I then took a tuk tuk back on my own and was a little worried because i had absolutely NO sense of where I was. However, the drivers are so nice and friendly. Yesterday we also went to a restaurant called "Friends" which employs street youth and trains them in the culinary arts. The food was AMAZING. I had a banana and cashew nut smoothie and a beetroot, fresh coconut and bamboo shoot salad - incredible! I am definitely going to book another massage...We are going on a boat ride today and off to Siem Reap tomorrow! Can't wait...
In Phnom Penh, Cambodia. When we landed in Cambodia, we were not prepared for the Visa process, even though we did a little research before hand. You can get a Visitors Visa right in the airport. They use the USD currency in Cambodia, and we didn't have any on us and they only accept cash. All we had were Malaysian Ringits, which they accepted (albeit by closely inspecting it to ensure that it was real), but they certainly inflated the price though. We also should have brought passport sized photos with us because they charged us for pictures as well. It's not easy to stand in a line after a flight with a 4 year old (i.e. Bennett!). We felt a little cheated by the Cambodian border officials, but we made it through. After exiting from the Cambodian Customs area and picking up our baggage, there were ATM's available so I could grab some US cash. Although I drove in some pretty crazy areas of Malaysia, there's no way I'd ever attempt to drive in Cambodia, at least not in Phnom Penh. It's completely crazy! Most intersections do not have traffic lights, so drivers have to navigate through the intersections by force. There are motorbikes everywhere! For some reason, it all seems to work out though, kinda of a controlled chaos. Our taxi driver was very pleasant and got us safely to our hotel. The hotel is not bad, no where near as luxurious as the incredible stay we had at the JW Marriott during our last night in Kuala Lumpur (and we were not expecting it to be either). The people here, as in Malaysia, are also very friendly, however, English does not seem to be as widely spoken. The poverty level seems to be much greater here in Cambodia than in Malaysia. It's very sad to see the poverty. By the time we got to our hotel, it was around 6pm, Bennett was a little stir crazy so we took him swimming (actually Tricia went in the water with him while I drank beer) in our rooftop swimming pool. We then grabbed dinner at the hotel restaurant. Our hotel has a massage parlor (no, not the dirty kind!) and Tricia partook in a late evening massage. She was already feeling pretty good after consuming 2 Ativans before the flight (she gets a little anxious when flying), so the massage made things even better for her! Today, we explored the city. It's common to hire a Tuk Tuk (basically a rickshaw) to get around. They are everywhere to be seen, so very easy to get. Our Tuk Tuk driver (and many use a motorbike for the Tuk Tuk here instead of a bicycle which seems to be common in Malaysia) took us to several different places including the Royal Palace, a nearby Wat (which is a temple) and also to a street Market. We hired our driver for about 6 hours and it cost us 20USD. Very cheap to get around here! Oh...want a beer from a street vendor? That'll run ya 2500 Riel. The Riel is basically the currency that Cambodians use for items that are less than 1 USD. It's roughly 4000 Riel to 1 USD. So...at 2500 Riel, that's a mere .60 cents USD for a beer. Not bad! After our city tour, Tricia decided to stay extra long at the Market to shop for clothes while I took Bennett back to the Hotel. Some incredible deals on clothing here as many of the brand labels manufacture their clothes here in Cambodia. I got myself a pair of Versace undies for 2 bucks! Plus we were able to replenish Bennett's wardrobe quite easily and cheaply as well. So far, Cambodia has been great and we are looking forward to do some more exploring tomorrow. Tricia will update in the morning!
Tricia: Cambodia is VERY different than Malaysia. The level of absolute poverty is really apparent and there are people begging all over. It is so hard to walk away from them. We were at dinner last night and Bart commented that Bennett's dinner was almost as much as what our driver made for the entire day. It really put things in perspective. That being said, there are some beautiful aspects as well. The palace was incredible and the temples we have visited were spectacular. We went to the Russian Market as well but I couldn't handle Bennett being there because if he let go of our hand for a second, we would lose him for good. Bart took him back to the hotel and I continued to buy a few things for him. I bought him 4 new T shirts (because the ones he has worn day in day out for the past 5 months are coming to an end!). THey were the same ones I saw in the Gap for $24.99 (the retro edition spiderman) and I paid $2. I then took a tuk tuk back on my own and was a little worried because i had absolutely NO sense of where I was. However, the drivers are so nice and friendly. Yesterday we also went to a restaurant called "Friends" which employs street youth and trains them in the culinary arts. The food was AMAZING. I had a banana and cashew nut smoothie and a beetroot, fresh coconut and bamboo shoot salad - incredible! I am definitely going to book another massage...We are going on a boat ride today and off to Siem Reap tomorrow! Can't wait...