Phnom Pehn Cambodia to Hong Kong

...OK, still no way to post pictures, but here's the update for the recent days. We spend 4 absolutely wonderfully relaxing days at Sihanoukville on the beach. Our host Marc is the owner of the Elephant Garden cottages - truly grass huts on the beach. We slept with a net over our bed, and listened to the gentle surf. No TV, no phone, and only 10-12 guests...mostly European. This is very different from the super large hotel complexes only 5-10 km away - sadly they remind me of Princeville in Hawaii. Marc is also a consummate chef, and we had 4 days to experience a great variety of very local foods prepared with some Cambodian and European flair.

Amazingly, Irene met Cammie, an Australian woman who is developing an English Learning program for village kids - Irene told her all about Each One Teach One, the program she volunteered with in Montbello in Colorado. Cammie will contact the originator of the EOTO program, and who knows how serendipity works -- there may an EOTO program in Cambodia next year.

Yesterday, we drove from the beach to Phnom Pehn, the capital and we guided by a very competent woman who took us to the National Museum, the Royal Palace, and to the Pagoda named for Madam Pehn who is the namesake of the city. Our hotel was amazing - small boutique only a few blocks from the river, and we had dinner on the rooftop (5th floor) with a view including the new amazing new skyscrapers (which certainly were not here 12 years ago when I visited last time).

We are now at the airport - we fly to Bangkok and connect to Hong Kong for our last stop (10 countries total on this trip) before returning to the USA next week. We had some good discussions with Cambodians about their beautiful country - much is changing quickly, and I think that our goal when we return is just to tell Americans that this country is modernizing and will be an important economic and force for peace in Asia.

The pictures for these days are great (at least I think so). Hopefully, we'll find a way to add them soon.

...Villages and countryside in Cambodia

Our 200 km drive (about 4 hours) from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh was an important part of our learning about Cambodia. Not only was our new guide, Sakari, knowledgeable and informed, but she truly enjoyed helping us understand more about her country. We drove through rice fields, through villages, and stopped many times to take in the scene - inlcuding water buffalo, oxen, and even a duck farmer. Here are some snapshots...we'll try to add some more info later.

Water Buffalo in a Rice Field

Duck Farmer - He earns more than a government office worker

Monk on the back of a "moto"

Rice Fields

 

Village Life

Village Life

Palm Oil Plantation

Mountain view on the road to Phnom Penh

 

Village Street

Ox in the Lotus field

 

 

...on the beach in Sihanookville Cambodia - but Macbook crashed (We're OK now!)

...we're in paradise, but couldn't post pictures becasue the laptop quit - we're home now and can begin to update the last couple weeks of our trip. We stayed at the Elephant Garden - real grass 'cottages' - only 12 guests, and a fantastic owner/chef. Here are some pictures of the place, our beach, and of course, some foodie stuff.

Otres Beach #2 ("O2)

The elephant Garden Beach at O2

Our cottage at Elephant Garden

Inside a cottage - net over the bed

 

Family fishing for dinner

 

Fresh Squid for dinner

 

 

Dinner on the beach

 

 

Open Market in Siem Reap

Before leaving Siem Reap to fly to Sihanoukville, we walked down to the open market - everything from fruit and veg, to sausage, to shoes, to pig's heads:

Cambodia – Monk’s Blessing, Tonle Sap Lake Floating Houses

We started today with a very special visit – our wonderful guide honored us by taking us to his family’s local monastery and the senior monk blessed us with holy water. We walked around, saw the original small temple, visited the stupa where his grandmother’s ashes are interred, and looked over the rice fields along the river – no other tourists around to distract us … a really beautiful morning.

 

 

 

We also visited the monastery school – they have about 40 students, but no books or writing tools. The teacher was drilling English alphabet, and he let us talk to the class – we brought along some picture postcards of Colorado (you can see the kids have them on their desks). We may try to find a way to help this little school get some English word learning /picture books – we’ll let you know if we ask for help after we get home.

 

Steve had a chance to teach alphabet to Cambodian kids

Then we drove to Tonlé Sap Lake; it becomes the largest body of water in Southeast Asia once a year when water is pushed up from the Mekong River into the lake during the rainy season; the direction of the current reverses and it increases the lake area to from 1,000 to 6,000 square miles This expansion floods the nearby fields and forests, providing a great breeding ground for fish.

 

 

Floating houses (boats built on old oil drums) move as many as 8 times during a year to adjust to the size of the lake and find fishing. Life is carried on by boat – even delivery of groceries and recharged old car batteries which provide about 3 days lighting (and yes, even TV) for families. Some families are refugees without legal status, but there are floating schools – Cambodian, Vietnamese, and even a Catholic free school.

 

Finished the day at a training center for young crafts artisans – including deaf painters. (Irene used American sign Language to chat with one of the artists) – this is a new NGO business – 20% of income goes to the artists, 10% to the government, and 70% goes back into the organization to support training programs.

 

Wood carver in apprenticeship

 

Tomorrow we fly to Sihanookville for 3 days of quiet on the beach.

Foodie Special - Khmer BBQ and Baby Duck Eggs...

OK, tonight was definitely a food special. We walked around the night market and found our way to Pub Street - lots of eating places as well as Foot Massage (including those done by putting your feet in a fish tank and letting the fishies clean your feet).

We ended up eating at a Khmer BBQ = your cook your own at the table -- snake, crocodile, frogs, beef and shrimp. With 50 cent draft beers, dinner for 2 was $16.00 US.

Then, our guide today told us about baby duck eggs...actually fertilized eggs which are boiled after the chick has begun to develop. We did find a street vendor that made these, and with a little bit of instruction, Steve ate 2 eggs with pepper, vinegar, and fresh green herbs. Irene has a video, so we may post that sometime soon.

We had a coffee ice-cream cone and took a TukTuk (motorbike pulled 'rickshaw") back to the hotel.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat  is a Hindu, then subsequently Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. The temple was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.

Angkor Thom, literally: "Great City" was the last capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII. At the center of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, where we spent the morning exploring, learning history from or wonderful guide, and climbing (and climbing) the step steps to the higher levels.

Steve and Irene at the entrance to Angkor Thom

Nose to Nose to Nose with 1000 years of Khmer history

 

We had lunch at a very local place directly across from Angkor Wat, and enjoyed a rain storm from the protection of the steel roof. The menu was Amok, a local dish of fish or chicken with vegetables and rice in coconut milk and spices and served in a fresh coconut shell - absolutely delicious!! 

 

 

...and we met a Buddhist monk who asked to have his picture taken



 



 

And here we are at the end of the day ---

 

 

Tonight will walk to the night market, possibly try a baby duck egg (more later about that), and find dinner. Tomorrow we visit a monastery and also Tonle Sap Lake.

 

We're in Cambodia!

It's been a long travel day...we left Fetiye in Turkey yesterday at 15:00 for a drive to the local airport for a flight to Istanbul. There we took Turkish Airlines 777 to Bangkok (really good service) and they honored our "Gold" status on United and allowed us to use the VIP Lounge [it was a midnight departure, so we lived in that lounge for 5 hours). We arrived on time in Bangkok at about 14:00 where we claimed our bags, and went around to the International departures side to check in for Cambodian Air to Siem Reap...Irene really enjoyed that STOL (you pilots know wheat that this) flight - arriving about 21:00 -- so about 26 hours of flights and connections. Steve got a bit 'panicked' that we wouldn't be able to get visas at such a small airport late at night, but NO PROBLEM. Our guide for the next 3 days, Hoeum was there to meet us and took us to the Prince D'Angkor Hotel it is a beautifully renovated older French hotel. Check out the lobby:

 

 

Tomorrow we get a private guided tour of Angkor Wat and other important areas. In a few days we will fly to Sihanoukville for 3 days of beach, beach, beach - we do really feel we need the rest. 

Thoughts on 10 Days in Turkey

Turkey is an incredible, beautiful, historic place and an important destination for all people to gain a better understanding of the origins of mankind. Turkey is partly in Europe, partly in Asia. It is bordered by many countries including Iran and Syria. However, all the Turkish people live in peace. Before leaving on our journey, some friends asked us if it “was safe” to come here…happy to report we never ever felt uncomfortable.

Irene and Steve at Ephesus

 

 …We were so lucky to have worked with TSC (Turkey Specialist Company) and Mr. Okan Kutlu (www.traveltsc.com) who custom designed our itinerary. We had some charming guides with wonderful local knowledge, accurate Christian and Islamic history, friendly personalities, and the ability to be flexible. We encourage all our blog followers to consider their own Turkey adventure with TSC.

This is a 95% Islamic democracy (founded in 1923) – the economy is good, women have equality, and tourism is strong – drawing Europeans, Australians, and Asians. Turkey is a melting pot of many histories – Greeks, Romans, Ottomans, Arabs, Christians and Jews; the Silk Road carried goods through Anatolia for trade throughout the developing world. The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul was built as a Christian Byzantine church before becoming a mosque. Within a block radius is the Blue Mosque, the Topkapi Palace (home on the Sultan), and the “Center of the Center” … the place from which all distances in the Ottoman Empire were measured.

Steve at the Center of the Center

About the food – we’ve already posted some foodie pictures, but we must say we’ve had 10 days of fresh produce, fresh seafood, and non-GMO grains. Local restaurants all boast of their specialties from fish markets to fine dining - and presentation is just as important. And, except for the cities, no McD’s or Burger Kings.

Manti - stuffed ravioli in cream

 

Turkish people are trusting, friendly, and have a great refreshing sense of humor. On our 2-hour tour bus ride to Pamukkale, a few of us took turns telling jokes on the microphone…and then trying to ‘translate’ the idiomatic stuff so that it made sense.

On the 2nd day of our Gulet boat trip, we stopped for mud baths - along with our new friends  from Colombia Patricia and Maria:

 

 

We got a set of ‘worry beads’ carved from travertine – they are used as prayer beads in Islam, but are so culturally rooted -- Irene found that they work well even when you’re stressed and need calming – especially when we drove a narrow mountain road at 110 kmh with a driver who liked to challenge the oncoming traffic.  Also, everywhere in Turkey you find a “blue eye” symbol – it is considered to be the eye of Medusa – it both protects against the evil eye and also it will attract good karma. Irene received a special gift from one of our drivers of the blue eye he used to keep his vehicle safe – it was a real honor for him to trust us with it, and as Steve says, “it couldn’t hurt!”

 

From Istanbul and the Bosporus, to Cappadoccia, to Izmir, to Pamukkale, to Kusadasi, to Fetiye, we saw rich agriculture, strong energy conservation (and geothermal generation), great recycling programs, and good roads. In short, Turkey is a place of many adventures – history, culture, caves/underground cities, sailing, wonderful people … and yes, gastronomical delights.

Geothermal generation

We're off to the airport - about 24 hours via Istanbul, Bangkok to Siem Reap Cambodia - next is Angkor Wat and then Sihanoukville on the beach.