Monday, February 23, 2009
phuket livin' is easy
well well,
It seems it has been a long while since our last update on the blog, and that has been due to the lavish life we have all grown accustomed to. Thanks to mj and emilios, we, maeve, karl, donna, and myself, have all had the pleasure of staying beachside in their glorious condo on karon beach, phuket. It is becuase of this lifestyle that we have, terrible as it sounds, just been eating, napping, reading, napping, swimming, napping, and otherwise just enjoying the warm weather and great company around us.
With that being said there hasn't been much exciting news to report, a couple bouts of illness, either due to some bad food or a little too much sun, but sickness was expected on this trip and it is far better to have it happen in an air conditioned condo than a guesthouse with a shared bath. All and all everyone has survived and is continuing to enjoy their time here. It has been a nice holiday in our trip having both Karl and Donna here to enjoy it with us. We will be taking a few days trips this week to some surrounding islands and a giant buddha up in the hills. So there will be more to report in the coming days and of course when our visitors return to the tundra you can all grill them as to all the stories they have heard thus far that may or may not of made its way to the blog. We will put up a few pictures if we can, or try to rather so they may already be above this post, in which case ignore, or if not give a look on the flickr account we have created as there may be a couple there.
Again pictures are being sent home with our guests, so make sure you hunt them down to get a sneak peak minus the commentary...
I'll throw a shout out to slumdog millionare cleaning up with 8 awards for maeve's sake, as we have picked up a copy and have already watched it twice here...its just that good
love you all
jay/maeve
It seems it has been a long while since our last update on the blog, and that has been due to the lavish life we have all grown accustomed to. Thanks to mj and emilios, we, maeve, karl, donna, and myself, have all had the pleasure of staying beachside in their glorious condo on karon beach, phuket. It is becuase of this lifestyle that we have, terrible as it sounds, just been eating, napping, reading, napping, swimming, napping, and otherwise just enjoying the warm weather and great company around us.
With that being said there hasn't been much exciting news to report, a couple bouts of illness, either due to some bad food or a little too much sun, but sickness was expected on this trip and it is far better to have it happen in an air conditioned condo than a guesthouse with a shared bath. All and all everyone has survived and is continuing to enjoy their time here. It has been a nice holiday in our trip having both Karl and Donna here to enjoy it with us. We will be taking a few days trips this week to some surrounding islands and a giant buddha up in the hills. So there will be more to report in the coming days and of course when our visitors return to the tundra you can all grill them as to all the stories they have heard thus far that may or may not of made its way to the blog. We will put up a few pictures if we can, or try to rather so they may already be above this post, in which case ignore, or if not give a look on the flickr account we have created as there may be a couple there.
Again pictures are being sent home with our guests, so make sure you hunt them down to get a sneak peak minus the commentary...
I'll throw a shout out to slumdog millionare cleaning up with 8 awards for maeve's sake, as we have picked up a copy and have already watched it twice here...its just that good
love you all
jay/maeve
Sunday, February 15, 2009
koh ru, bangkok and guests who keep us from blogging (through no fault of their own)
Hello!
Apologies for the lack of blogging lately, I looked back to see where we were when we last posted and it was Phnom Penh. Oops! Much has happened since then, so for convinience sake, I will go chronologically...
After exploring the central market in PP (thus far takes the cake for the craziest and most hectic market we've seen), we discovered that transportation to Kampot and Kep from Phnom Penh was more of a myth, and that the two towns were more easily reached via Cambodia's beach destination, Sihanoukville. While the prospect of visiting a crowded beach full of foreigners wasn't the most exciting prospect, we reckoned we would stay the night there and venture onwards to Kampot/Kep the next day, slowly making the loop back up to Phnom Penh for our flight out to Bangkok. Upon arrival in Sihanoukville, we settled nicely into a small bungalow about 5 minutes away from the beach and decided to explore the area a bit moving on...As we arrived late in the evening on the first night, we decided to stay a second night to have a full day in the area before moving onwards the day after.
The second night we were in Sihanoukville, we found a small cinema which had private viewing rooms (with a huge selection of films) or a larger viewing area, complete with private futon style balconies and huge recliners to enjoy the film. Admission was $3, and Slumdog Millionaire was playing. For those of you who have seen the brilliance of this film, you can understand our enjoyment and enhanced anticipation of arrival in India. For those of you who have not seen it - close this blog now, get off your butt and see it. Then return and finish reading.
In our exploration, we found that there was a small island, a 10 minute boat ride from Sihanoukville, named Bamboo Island. The small mainland booking office boasted beach side bungalows and a relaxed atmosphere. Naturally, we were drawn to the prospect and decided to forgo the journey to Kampot but simultaneously escape the hoards of tourists in Sihanoukville by visiting Bamboo Island, and Koh Ru (home to one sleeping dorm and ten beach side bungalows, plus one restaurant). We eagerly clutched our boat tickets, anticipating two and a half days of heavenly crystal clear water, white sand and all the good stuff which comes with South East Asian islands.
The boat ride turned out to be a boat tour, though we did not pay the extra $15 to have lunch. Expecting a ferry ride straight to the island, we were a bit put off when the boat pulled over for snorkelling. Fortunately for me, I was wearing my swimsuit and rather than sit in the boat while everyone happily splashed before my eyes, I jumped into the water asap. Jay stayed in the boat, having unfortunately chosen not to wear his bathing suit that morning and was obviously unable to change at that point. Finally, the boat dropped off the "ferry fare" group on the island while the rest of the group set out for a picnic lunch, which I suspect consisted of questionable sandwiches and white rice. Jumping off the boat, Jay and I looked around at the bungalows and beach in front of us. Uhh...this certainly was not Koh Ru, or at least was not the Koh Ru advertised on the mainland. (Sidenote: for those of you familiar with the hijinx of the Berentstein Bears, I felt the same way sister and brother bear did when the cottage they had fantasized about turned out to be nothing more than a dingy shack in the middle of a less than appealing environment.)
Tentatively, we approached the reception to ask if this could possibly be Koh Ru. "No." answered the receptionist gruffly, "other side of island. Ten minute walk." Hope remained. After walking through the lush and cool jungle, we arrived on an untouched, gorgeous stretch of beach which seemed miles away from Sihanoukville and the other side of the island. Phew. We checked in and spent two and a half days swimming, reading, building sand castles, eating Khmer curry and napping in hammocks. Suffice to say, the days passed quickly (funny how that happens when you really aren't doing much) and we found ourselves back on the dingy side of the island to catch the boat back to Sihanoukville.
Our emotions were mixed. Mostly, we were sad to leave Cambodia because we both had immensely enjoyed our experience there - the good, the bad and the ugly. Leaving Koh Ru was tough too, because we had not yet enjoyed such a relaxed and untouched beach bungalow (though we are working on that). Despite all these feelings of sadness, we were beyond excited to get back to Thailand because brother Karl, auntie M.J, uncle Emilios and Mama D were all on their way to Bangkok. Jay and I hopped on a bus to the airport, and before we knew it, we were on a plane touching down in Bangkok.
Our love to Cambodia - a wonderful, incredible land which we hope to see emerge from the stunted years of darkness into prosperous light that fills every corner of the country.
Happily, our flight happened to coincide with auntie's, and we arrived in Bangkok at the airport but 30 minutes before she did. We all had a joyous reunion - Emilios was already at the airport, much to our surprise - and said we would probably see one another next in Phuket, as Jay and I headed down to Khao San road and Auntie and Uncle went to Bang Phli to see Uncle Doug and Uncle Thom. (I have been reading an excessive amount of Indian literature. Please forive the overuse of formal titles.)
Karl arrived safely the next morning, and has been enjoying the freedom from winter, work and reality in general since he has arrived. We visited Wat Pho, which houses the huge reclining Buddha, we visited Siam Square and the malls therein, and yesterday we feasted in Little Arabia. Today we will be flying out of Bangkok and into Phuket. Tomorrow, Mama arrives
in Bangkok and the day after that we will be reunited on the beaches of Phuket!!!!!!!
All things considered, may be a while until we post again. But don't worry, you aren't missing much. Can't get much out of a post which consists entirely of beach life...
"Today we swam. Then we read. Then we played frisbee. Then we ate lunch..."
Much love to everyone from Bangkok and the beaches of Thailand,
Maeve, Jay and Karl
Apologies for the lack of blogging lately, I looked back to see where we were when we last posted and it was Phnom Penh. Oops! Much has happened since then, so for convinience sake, I will go chronologically...
After exploring the central market in PP (thus far takes the cake for the craziest and most hectic market we've seen), we discovered that transportation to Kampot and Kep from Phnom Penh was more of a myth, and that the two towns were more easily reached via Cambodia's beach destination, Sihanoukville. While the prospect of visiting a crowded beach full of foreigners wasn't the most exciting prospect, we reckoned we would stay the night there and venture onwards to Kampot/Kep the next day, slowly making the loop back up to Phnom Penh for our flight out to Bangkok. Upon arrival in Sihanoukville, we settled nicely into a small bungalow about 5 minutes away from the beach and decided to explore the area a bit moving on...As we arrived late in the evening on the first night, we decided to stay a second night to have a full day in the area before moving onwards the day after.
The second night we were in Sihanoukville, we found a small cinema which had private viewing rooms (with a huge selection of films) or a larger viewing area, complete with private futon style balconies and huge recliners to enjoy the film. Admission was $3, and Slumdog Millionaire was playing. For those of you who have seen the brilliance of this film, you can understand our enjoyment and enhanced anticipation of arrival in India. For those of you who have not seen it - close this blog now, get off your butt and see it. Then return and finish reading.
In our exploration, we found that there was a small island, a 10 minute boat ride from Sihanoukville, named Bamboo Island. The small mainland booking office boasted beach side bungalows and a relaxed atmosphere. Naturally, we were drawn to the prospect and decided to forgo the journey to Kampot but simultaneously escape the hoards of tourists in Sihanoukville by visiting Bamboo Island, and Koh Ru (home to one sleeping dorm and ten beach side bungalows, plus one restaurant). We eagerly clutched our boat tickets, anticipating two and a half days of heavenly crystal clear water, white sand and all the good stuff which comes with South East Asian islands.
The boat ride turned out to be a boat tour, though we did not pay the extra $15 to have lunch. Expecting a ferry ride straight to the island, we were a bit put off when the boat pulled over for snorkelling. Fortunately for me, I was wearing my swimsuit and rather than sit in the boat while everyone happily splashed before my eyes, I jumped into the water asap. Jay stayed in the boat, having unfortunately chosen not to wear his bathing suit that morning and was obviously unable to change at that point. Finally, the boat dropped off the "ferry fare" group on the island while the rest of the group set out for a picnic lunch, which I suspect consisted of questionable sandwiches and white rice. Jumping off the boat, Jay and I looked around at the bungalows and beach in front of us. Uhh...this certainly was not Koh Ru, or at least was not the Koh Ru advertised on the mainland. (Sidenote: for those of you familiar with the hijinx of the Berentstein Bears, I felt the same way sister and brother bear did when the cottage they had fantasized about turned out to be nothing more than a dingy shack in the middle of a less than appealing environment.)
Tentatively, we approached the reception to ask if this could possibly be Koh Ru. "No." answered the receptionist gruffly, "other side of island. Ten minute walk." Hope remained. After walking through the lush and cool jungle, we arrived on an untouched, gorgeous stretch of beach which seemed miles away from Sihanoukville and the other side of the island. Phew. We checked in and spent two and a half days swimming, reading, building sand castles, eating Khmer curry and napping in hammocks. Suffice to say, the days passed quickly (funny how that happens when you really aren't doing much) and we found ourselves back on the dingy side of the island to catch the boat back to Sihanoukville.
Our emotions were mixed. Mostly, we were sad to leave Cambodia because we both had immensely enjoyed our experience there - the good, the bad and the ugly. Leaving Koh Ru was tough too, because we had not yet enjoyed such a relaxed and untouched beach bungalow (though we are working on that). Despite all these feelings of sadness, we were beyond excited to get back to Thailand because brother Karl, auntie M.J, uncle Emilios and Mama D were all on their way to Bangkok. Jay and I hopped on a bus to the airport, and before we knew it, we were on a plane touching down in Bangkok.
Our love to Cambodia - a wonderful, incredible land which we hope to see emerge from the stunted years of darkness into prosperous light that fills every corner of the country.
Happily, our flight happened to coincide with auntie's, and we arrived in Bangkok at the airport but 30 minutes before she did. We all had a joyous reunion - Emilios was already at the airport, much to our surprise - and said we would probably see one another next in Phuket, as Jay and I headed down to Khao San road and Auntie and Uncle went to Bang Phli to see Uncle Doug and Uncle Thom. (I have been reading an excessive amount of Indian literature. Please forive the overuse of formal titles.)
Karl arrived safely the next morning, and has been enjoying the freedom from winter, work and reality in general since he has arrived. We visited Wat Pho, which houses the huge reclining Buddha, we visited Siam Square and the malls therein, and yesterday we feasted in Little Arabia. Today we will be flying out of Bangkok and into Phuket. Tomorrow, Mama arrives
in Bangkok and the day after that we will be reunited on the beaches of Phuket!!!!!!!
All things considered, may be a while until we post again. But don't worry, you aren't missing much. Can't get much out of a post which consists entirely of beach life...
"Today we swam. Then we read. Then we played frisbee. Then we ate lunch..."
Much love to everyone from Bangkok and the beaches of Thailand,
Maeve, Jay and Karl
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Phnom Penh
Hi everyone!
We are currently in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. We arrived here on Wednesday and have a lot to do, so we haven't had the chance to post about our experience here thus far.
Firstly, Phnom Pehn is a beautiful city where stark contrasts abound. Having the heaviest French influence in all of Cambodia, Phnom Penh is characterized by the large boulevards along the river and architecture which is more reminiscent of Nice than anywhere else. Conversely, the city was also the center for activity, torture and authority under the Khmer Rouge. On April 17th 1975, the Khmer Rouge told residents of Phnom Penh that Americans were likely to bomb the city again, and that they were hence enforcing an evacuation plan which, they said, would last only three days. Of course, many people did not return to their homes in Phnom Penh, three days later or ever and the city was virtually a ghost town for the first forty-eight days before Khmer Soldiers began to settle in.
As we rode in our tuktuk to our guesthouse, we had to wonder how a city like this - so bustling and crowded - could possibly be evacuated and kept empty for such a long period of time. But I digress...(this isn't a history lesson blog after all)
We tried a few guesthouses upon arrival in the city but most were booked - saving the most expensive rooms, of course! - and since we are attempting to maintain a low daily budget, we trudged around the steaming hot city with our packs on until we found a lovely little guesthouse with a prime location for only $6 a night...aah sweet victory. The first order of business in Phnom Penh was to have our Vietnamese visas sorted out and so we decided to head to a travel agency around the corner instead of trekking out to the embassy, which was a good 20 minute tuktuk drive away. The travel agency said they would gladly take care of our visas, and that they would be ready the next day! Hurray! Only $35 and the convenience ensured we left with big smiles on our faces.
Until I realized neither of us told the woman exactly WHEN we needed the visa for, and considering we aren't planning on going to Vietnam until mid-late March, I grew concerned...
In the mean time, we decided to visit Tuol Sleng a.k.a S-21 (Security Prison 21). The building, originally a high school, was converted into the biggest center for torture and murder under the Khmer Rouge. It is estimated that some 20,000 people were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng and considering only 7 people ever survived, it is obvious what kind of brutality took place behind these walls.
There are four main buildings - A, B, C and D. Building A was used to keep "political prisoners" - using that term loosely, as anyone could have been considered a political prisoner who had had any political inclination opposing that of the Khmer Rouge's - and most of the rooms in this building simply posses a large, rusty bed with a black and white photo over of a corpse found when Phnom Penh was liberated in 1979. The other buildings were used to house the hundreds and thousands of people who were captured by the Khmer Rouge and each floor had hundreds of little cells, many still splattered with blood. On the base floors of the buildings are thousands of pictures of prisoners, hands tied behind their backs looking both stunned and petrified to be kept in such a horrific place. Many of them were children, and the aforementioned number of captives did not include the children who were taken with their parents, as many as 20,000 children may have been killed on top of those 20,000 adults held at the prison. One photo is particularly stunning because a young woman looks blankly into the camera...in her arms she holds a newborn baby, no more than two months old. One can only assume the fate of mother and child.
Most disheartening of all is knowing that these people were innocent Khmers, who perhaps were "too educated" and as a result an entire family would be killed. Anyone educated past grade 3 was liable to be arrested for being an intellectual.
The experience was altogether very moving and saddening. Truthfully, I have been having some terrifying dreams as a result of our trip to Tuol Sleng but waking and knowing that I have the comfort of realizing it was only a dream makes me that much sadder that thousands of people lived the nightmare.
Otherwise, we took a trip to the National Museum yesterday, which showcases the beautiful and incredible art and sculpture from before, during and after the Angkorian period - ancient pieces which shed a positive light on the dark history of Cambodia.
We then went to pick up our passports and, lo and behold, the Vietnamese visa was set to expire on February 22nd. Ohhhhhh great. We explained our situation to the woman, who was confused and annoyed why we didn't tell her initially (yeah, I feel you honey - it is my money that you are taking!) SO she told us she could "refund" $10 of the original price if we were going to change the date, otherwise there was no refund. We changed the date to appropriate our travels, coughing over an extra $50 in the process. Ah ha ha. Lesson Learned there!
Today we are set to explore the markets of Phnom Penh, and find out about getting to Kampot and Kep - two small towns we are going to explore before we head back to Phnom Penh and fly out to Bangkok.
Can't believe we've been here in Cambodia almost three weeks (at least, we will have when we leave). Time is moving too quickly!
Much love from Phnom Penh,
Maeve/Jay
We are currently in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. We arrived here on Wednesday and have a lot to do, so we haven't had the chance to post about our experience here thus far.
Firstly, Phnom Pehn is a beautiful city where stark contrasts abound. Having the heaviest French influence in all of Cambodia, Phnom Penh is characterized by the large boulevards along the river and architecture which is more reminiscent of Nice than anywhere else. Conversely, the city was also the center for activity, torture and authority under the Khmer Rouge. On April 17th 1975, the Khmer Rouge told residents of Phnom Penh that Americans were likely to bomb the city again, and that they were hence enforcing an evacuation plan which, they said, would last only three days. Of course, many people did not return to their homes in Phnom Penh, three days later or ever and the city was virtually a ghost town for the first forty-eight days before Khmer Soldiers began to settle in.
As we rode in our tuktuk to our guesthouse, we had to wonder how a city like this - so bustling and crowded - could possibly be evacuated and kept empty for such a long period of time. But I digress...(this isn't a history lesson blog after all)
We tried a few guesthouses upon arrival in the city but most were booked - saving the most expensive rooms, of course! - and since we are attempting to maintain a low daily budget, we trudged around the steaming hot city with our packs on until we found a lovely little guesthouse with a prime location for only $6 a night...aah sweet victory. The first order of business in Phnom Penh was to have our Vietnamese visas sorted out and so we decided to head to a travel agency around the corner instead of trekking out to the embassy, which was a good 20 minute tuktuk drive away. The travel agency said they would gladly take care of our visas, and that they would be ready the next day! Hurray! Only $35 and the convenience ensured we left with big smiles on our faces.
Until I realized neither of us told the woman exactly WHEN we needed the visa for, and considering we aren't planning on going to Vietnam until mid-late March, I grew concerned...
In the mean time, we decided to visit Tuol Sleng a.k.a S-21 (Security Prison 21). The building, originally a high school, was converted into the biggest center for torture and murder under the Khmer Rouge. It is estimated that some 20,000 people were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng and considering only 7 people ever survived, it is obvious what kind of brutality took place behind these walls.
There are four main buildings - A, B, C and D. Building A was used to keep "political prisoners" - using that term loosely, as anyone could have been considered a political prisoner who had had any political inclination opposing that of the Khmer Rouge's - and most of the rooms in this building simply posses a large, rusty bed with a black and white photo over of a corpse found when Phnom Penh was liberated in 1979. The other buildings were used to house the hundreds and thousands of people who were captured by the Khmer Rouge and each floor had hundreds of little cells, many still splattered with blood. On the base floors of the buildings are thousands of pictures of prisoners, hands tied behind their backs looking both stunned and petrified to be kept in such a horrific place. Many of them were children, and the aforementioned number of captives did not include the children who were taken with their parents, as many as 20,000 children may have been killed on top of those 20,000 adults held at the prison. One photo is particularly stunning because a young woman looks blankly into the camera...in her arms she holds a newborn baby, no more than two months old. One can only assume the fate of mother and child.
Most disheartening of all is knowing that these people were innocent Khmers, who perhaps were "too educated" and as a result an entire family would be killed. Anyone educated past grade 3 was liable to be arrested for being an intellectual.
The experience was altogether very moving and saddening. Truthfully, I have been having some terrifying dreams as a result of our trip to Tuol Sleng but waking and knowing that I have the comfort of realizing it was only a dream makes me that much sadder that thousands of people lived the nightmare.
Otherwise, we took a trip to the National Museum yesterday, which showcases the beautiful and incredible art and sculpture from before, during and after the Angkorian period - ancient pieces which shed a positive light on the dark history of Cambodia.
We then went to pick up our passports and, lo and behold, the Vietnamese visa was set to expire on February 22nd. Ohhhhhh great. We explained our situation to the woman, who was confused and annoyed why we didn't tell her initially (yeah, I feel you honey - it is my money that you are taking!) SO she told us she could "refund" $10 of the original price if we were going to change the date, otherwise there was no refund. We changed the date to appropriate our travels, coughing over an extra $50 in the process. Ah ha ha. Lesson Learned there!
Today we are set to explore the markets of Phnom Penh, and find out about getting to Kampot and Kep - two small towns we are going to explore before we head back to Phnom Penh and fly out to Bangkok.
Can't believe we've been here in Cambodia almost three weeks (at least, we will have when we leave). Time is moving too quickly!
Much love from Phnom Penh,
Maeve/Jay
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