Hadley!

Hadley flew her way into Phuket today and I couldn't be happier to see her smiling face.  She got in at about 10:00am and we hopped in a car with a friend named Neung and he drove us straight to Ao Nang.  The car ride was a wonderful two hours accompanied by whatever music Neung decided to put on.  We told him to play some of his favorite CDs, which happened to be Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, and Eminem.

As soon as we got into Ao Nang we dropped our bags and explored the city.  First stop was some local fruit and an ice cold coconut beverage (we actually had Neung stop on the way at a market to grab some mangoes... Hadley agrees with me.  Best in the world).

We walked the entirety of Ao Nang and bargained for some new bathing suits.  Below are some new style Tuk-Tuks with thumping speakers underneath the seats and the driver on the side.  From our time in Ao Nang, Hadley now knows how to say "hello," ""thank you," and "goodbye" in Thai.  We figure three new phrases a day is a good pace.

Before the longtail boat ride to Railay Beach it was time for some lunch.  We stopped at a street cart (the best and cheapest food available) and got morning glory (sauteed chinese broccoli in fish sauce and loads of garlic), thom kaa (coconut soup), and something involving lots of chilis, squid, and prawns (no name because we saw the owner make one and ordered it and he said it was just something he made for his friend who loved spicy food).  Nothing to be said but purely amazing.

 Then we were off to the pier to catch one of these longtail boats to Railay Beach.  We bought the tickets and asked when the boat would leave and they replied, "when there are eight people."

At this moment I am sitting outside and Hadley is taking a cat nap before the evenings New Years Festivities.  Walking down the beach we saw tons of decorations, tables, bbqs, a giant stage, advertisements for fire spinning competitions, and the like.  Seems to be shaping up to be quite a night.  It's 7:30 now and I figure I'll give her until about 10:00 or 11:00 until I wake her up to enjoy the celebrations.  We'll send a message later and tell you all what 2012 is like.

Merry Christmas!

The Road from Kampot to Kep

 On the way to Kep the road is lined sporadically with Buddhist archways on the left, all leading to temples.  Here is one of them, with a wide angle lens I could have gotten a better shot but given the surrounding jungle/wall situation this was the best I could do.  The roof was the most interesting part I promise.

A closer look at the immense amount of detail.

I have tried to capture the temple with my camera but there is really no way to compare pictures to the feeling of being there and standing in front of this ancient building.

Unfortunately there was no one around who spoke English to tell me the story of when and why the temple was built, there was however this monk and his friend who insisted on having a picture taken with me in front of a statue of a monkey and an elephant both bowing down to Buddha.  I tried to figure out what the story behind the statue was but impromptu sign language only got me as far as explaining how to take a picture with my video camera.

Not to leave the friend out I snapped one of them together.

After visiting this temple I was pointed in the direction of another temple and cave.  The path lead me through many rice fields and farms, which turned out quite useful because I had to ask directions (in pseudo-sign language of course) many times along the way.

I eventually reached the temple, which rested on top of a mountain with an intricate network of caves below.  I was informed before that the best way to see the caves was to pay one of the local kids a dollar and have them show you.  So that's exactly what I did.

It was a good thing I did too because there would have been absolutely no possible way for me to find and follow the jungle paths that this guy took me on.

 Once inside the bat cave as it is called, we had to switch to seeing by flashlight and video camera light.  He made some jokes about Batman and then shined his light on the ceiling to show me that there were in fact bats in this cave.  I was impressed by the five or six that I saw but then we went further and he asked me if I was ready.  I said okay not really knowing what to expect as he shined his flashlight at a very dark part of the cave ceiling.  It was at that point that I understood why it was called the bat cave.  It sounded as if there was a giant gust of wind roaring through the cave as hundreds of bats swirled above my head.  We both ducked down lower to the ground to avoid the bats until they settled down.  He explained after that they don't like the light, I couldn't stop laughing for some time after.

Here is another chamber of the cave closer to the surface with a statue of Buddha.

 

And next to him the white elephant (the long part is the trunk).

 While we were in the cave magic hour had begun and I found myself atop the temple looking out at a beautiful view of the farms I had just crossed.

Then it was off to Kep for my delightful crab dinner (postings a bit out of order but oh well).

Renting a Motorbike

 I decided to rent and learn how to ride a motorbike in Kampot.  I rented the bike from the guesthouse I was staying at because I knew the people there and trusted them, even so I was aware of the scams.  Renters will give you the bike and ask for your passport as a deposit, then when you return the bike they will point out all the "scratches that weren't there" and demand repair money or you don't get your passport back.  Even though I didn't take these guys to be scammers I explained to them the situation and they encouraged my filming and taking pictures of the condition of the bike.  It all turned out completely fine but better to be safe than sorry.

Where did I go with my new motorbike?

To the adjacent town of Kep, famous for their crab markets.  Another fun fact: Kampot pepper is world renowned and sought after by gourmet chefs.  Put the two together and what do you get?

Fried crab with Kampot green pepper aka my new standard for a crab meal.  The basket floating in the water in the background is where they catch the crabs, I literally watched them catch my dinner.  I came back to the crab market two other times with friends who hadn't been.  I couldn't get enough.

More Bicycling Around Kampot

 

A light load.

 

Seems legitimate.

 

Sunset on the river.

Filming Light

I've found myself drawn to filming light recently.  This picture/video was taken yesterday during magic hour as I was riding a bicycle around the small town of Kampot.

Otres Beach

After Koh Rong the group I was traveling with slowly started to part ways.  I stayed with some at a place called Mushroom Point on Otres Beach.  Named so for the style of architecture mind you, not for other reasons.  Here is the courtyard.

This was my dorm room.

This was my bed.  The mosquito nets are an absolute essential out here.  Even with one I still lather up with Deet before bed, otherwise they'll eat you alive.  But even if they do I've been taking my Doxycycline every morning so malaria isn't a worry.  What is a worry are the absolutely bizarre and vivid dreams that come as a side effect.  Maybe they've gotten less intense or maybe I've just gotten used to them.  Either way I've been keeping a journal of both my waking and sleeping life.  Otres Beach is a very small and mellow beach village with plenty of hammocks.  As such I'm nearly finished with One Hundred Years of Solitude and if anyone hasn't read it I highly recommend it.

In Sihanoukville there are many children who want to sell you bracelets, sunglasses, fruit, etc.  Upon turning down their offer many of the young boys will challenge you to a game of a pool, they win and you pay them a dollar, you win and you get a free bracelet.  Pool tables are as common as trash cans back home, you can't go 20 feet without seeing one, trash cans on the other hand are practically non-existent.  Now while this nine year old boy has an innocent smile on his face don't be fooled.  He is a shark.  He is a deadly shark.  None of us could believe our eyes.  On this shot he made three balls in and on the next shot he ended the game.  Needless to say he lost no bracelets this day.

A variety of comfortable seating with which to enjoy the sunset.

Koh Rong

Where have I been for the past week?

Here.

It's an island called Koh Rong off the southern coast of Cambodia, about a two hour boat ride from Sihanoukville.  Koh Rong is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

I met a rather large group of 10 people from England, Australia, France, and Zimbabwe in Sihanoukville and we decided to travel together.  They all wanted to go to an island so I told them about Koh Rong, which I had heard about from a friend in Phnom Penn.  We all decided to go for it and booked tickets.  Here we are at the docks where we watched these two boats be filled with very large blocks of ice.  Why?  Because there is not enough electricity on the island to cool things to the point of freezing, all of the businesses depend on a shipment of ice once a day.

The sun setting on our boat ride there.

The view from our balcony.  The only form of accommodation on the island are beach bungalows.  Essentially wooden huts on stilts either on the beach or up in the jungle, like ours.

Here is the main beach where all of the restaurants, small shops, and bungalows are.

The most beautiful thing about the island is how underdeveloped it is.  Although there were spots with some construction, the island did not lose any of it's charm.  I say construction but what I mean by that is a few locals with a saw and a hammer.  There is absolutely no internet on the island and all of the electricity is powered by small gas generators.  In the bungalows we were staying in we were given electricity from 7:00pm to 11:00pm.  It was a very refreshing change of pace.

Here are some of the spots being developed.  I can see the island being a completely different place this time next year but I don't think that will change how immensely beautiful and relaxing the island is.

Here is the bridge up to a restaurant that had incredible food and the best choco banana shake I will ever have in my life.

Our table for lunch.

Walking around the island...

All I can say is Hadley, you best be getting excited.

The picture above was take from a boat as we went out to go snorkeling.  They took us out to a small island and we made a full circle around it.  I wish I had had an underwater case for my camera because the world underneath the sea was one of the most colorful I have ever seen.  There was coral of every color that was vibrant and alive.  When I dove down closer to take a closer look I noticed just how alive it really was.  It seemed as though everything underwater was moving, even the shells that seemed still would suddenly stand up and start walking.  There were bright green and pink fish with the wings of a hummingbird, giant two foot sea cucumbers, and schools of tiny fish moving as one.  A great day to say the least.

Beach bums everywhere.

This day we decided to trek across the island to see the sunset on the other side.

What we found was an unbearably pure and undeveloped beach.  Me and a new friend name Sean from Zimbabwe swam out as far as we could and guessed the water to be about 10 meters deep.  Crystal clear.

These little guys are very common on the island, you can always find them hanging around lights.

After many days of reading, sleeping, talking, eating, swimming, snorkeling, and general relaxation it was time to head back to mainland.

One last sunset on the way back to Sihanoukville.