#6. Cambodia...the Last Hurrah

Cambodia Day 1

So far, all of our travels and transits have gone off without a hitch. I'm knocking on wood as I type (literally). Things have really been too good to be true with checking into airports, getting through security, good flights, good transfers to hotels and to airports, etc.  Both the Beijing and Bangkok airports are nice. We particularly enjoyed lounging in Bangkok waiting for our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia...even though my passport was somehow left behind for 30 seconds before a man spotted it and me before I headed down an escalator (what is up with us and our passports?!?).

Can someone carry us to the gate, too?

There was a slight scare when we arrived at our airplane

No one likes these small propeller planes

but once they got both of those props moving, boy did we take off!  We left Thailand, and in one short hour (felt like nothing having already flown 18.5 hours in the last week) we landed in Cambodia.  After we secured our Cambodian visas (which you can do in the airport for $20 US...don't forget to bring a passport photo!)

Cambodia travelers or criminals??

and picked up our bags, we were ready to see what Cambodia has to offer.  Our taxi ride from the airport gave us a glimpse of how very different this country was going to be.  It was every bit as busy as Bangkok (slightly smaller scale), but so much more rustic, which is kind of interesting if you ask me.

Motorbikes, tuk-tuks, and bicycles outnumber cars by 10:1

Our taxi driver, who told us to call him Rob, began to tell us a lot about the history and highlights of Cambodia.  Of course, he brought up Angelina Jolie in the process (it was about five minutes into the ride for those counting...I have no idea what she even did there but to film a movie or something).  We liked Rob enough that we decided to hire him ($30 for the day...Cambodia has their own currency but uses the US dollar primarily) to be our driver on Day 2 when we planned to see Angkor Wat.

If China has good service for tourists, and Thailand has great service for tourists, then Cambodia has AMAZING service for tourists (funny how things are reverse when you think of the standards of living). This was evident from the very beginning when we checked into our rest.

Where are we??

We weren't allowed to check in at a desk.  We had to lay on couches and be served some special juice with treats wrapped in banana leaf before we were personally shown around the resort grounds.

I can get used to this

For two guys that have actually packed a tent on vacation before, this place is a real treat with all of the bells (literally!)

Someone is always sitting here playing neat instruments...and they have elephants here too!

and whistles.  People are always opening the door for you, wishing you a good day, welcoming you back, and people are constantly cleaning the place to keep things spotless.  Wow!

Front entrance to resort...but notice man in middle using a 25 foot or so long contraption to clean the already spotless ceiling!

The staff here is fantastic and really genuine.  I also love the attention to detail that many Asian hotels maintain.

Yes, this vat of flowers floating on water is real!

After a little bit of pool time,

If this is future parents exile, then welcome to our banishment!

and laying on the bed-like things outside when the afternoon rain rolled in,

Ready to relax

The ridiculous, 'we're on vacation at a really nice place and you're not pose'...sorry!

we decided to wash up and head into town.  Our hotel is off of the 'National' Highway road that connects Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (the capital).  It's about a 25 or so minute walk to the 'happening' area in Siem Reap.  Along the way we saw many strips looking like this,

Our resort is kind of tucked in between areas like this

and many more motorcycles.

Vroom, vroom!

On the way into town we stopped by Wat Bo, a very active Buddhist temple,

Wat Bo

as we saw many smiling, happy monks walking around.

Buddhist monk at Wat Bo

The sun was just right at the time so the temple complex looked really neat...kind of like a bunch of chess pieces.

Checkmate!

We left the temple and crossed the dirty Siem Reap River,

Saw someone actually in the water trying to set up a fishing net

and headed to the main drag.  When we turned the corner, lo and behold, there was this sign.

It was actually $2 for 'as long as you want'

As the sign says, it's a once in a lifetime experience, so Chris and I took the plunge.  There were two tanks (one with small fish, and one with significantly larger fish).  We got placed in the large fish tank...go figure.  I lasted about 20 minutes,

One less item on my bucket list now

No fish left hungry

and Chris not very long at all.

Maybe three terrorizing minutes

After the aquatic pedicures, we hit up Pub Street

Yep, that's what it's really called

 and found a place to lounge

Wine, wine, wine

 and have something to drink

My new favorite brew

and eat.

Spring rolls and traditional Khmer sour soup

Soon, it was time for Chris to go to work (he holds evening work hours that correspond to his work day back home...we are exactly 12 hours ahead in this part of the world).  So, we grabbed a tuk-tuk

Love the Cambodian flag

 and headed home to work/blog and rest up for Day 2:  The Temples of Angkor Wat.

#5. One Night in Bangkok...(or 3)

Bangkok Day 1

Just in case you need some motivation for this post, play the video below for some background music. Don't get too caught up in the lyrics...

http://youtu.be/R9cNtrrCP0E

The crazy thing about this song is that it came on the radio four months ago when Chris and I were returning our rental car to the Lisbon airport at the end of our Portugal trip (our last vacation).  It was one of life's bizarre, yet appropriate, coincidences.

We arrived in Bangkok on Saturday (July 12) night late, and just as our waitress the previous night said (she was Chinese but spoke near perfect English having attended Arizona State), we were in for a treat.  I've been to Thailand before (it's been 10 years) and her comment is no lie.  We literally landed in the airport, made it through passport control, collected our bags, were whisked away to our hotel by a hotel shuttle, and in our room within an hour of landing.  Service is at a premium in Bangkok.  The room was almost entirely purple (we stayed at the Lilac Hotel), but when you have a drink waiting for you at check-in (at midnight) and the minibar is declared up for grabs (meaning free) the color of the room doesn't seem to matter.

Better get used to purple...

The good service continued in the morning with breakfast and when we tried to leave our table we had to wait for the warm towel treatment (that came with an apology for being 'so busy').  The cab we ordered at midnight the 'night' before was ready 20 minutes before we were.

but never pink!

Wow, what a great place to be!  We made it to our hotel/long term stay location (see post #4) within 30 minutes

View from the pink cab

and the superb treatment only continued.  As I said before, the room/apartment was definitely what we were hoping it to be and seeing the hospital where the kids are to be born from the balcony made things seem right.

Room 2505

With a view!

After taking a 5-minute walk to the hospital

This is the bridge we have to cross to get on the other side of the massive, bustling street we 'live' on

This way to Luke and Clare

and looking for a supermarket (we actually stumbled upon a 3-floor golfing equipment/supplies mall...literally, every store was golf stuff), we decided to check out Bangkok the best way possible, by taking the Chao Phraya River taxi. We took the Bangkok Sky Train (BTS...which was relatively new the last time I visited)

Here's our closest BTS stop...

and here's a happy BTS customer!

to the ferry.  To compare prices and quality between this and Chicago's 'L', the BTS is considered pricey in Thailand, a ride to a typical station is around 28 baht.  There are approximately 32 baht to the dollar. You do the math. Oh yeah, and it's efficient.  And clean.

The river taxi runs up and down the Chao Phraya river which is adjacent to many of the cities tourist attractions.

The rookie taking it all in

Riding the river taxi like a pro

The river taxi is cheap (40 baht) and is a great way to take in the city.  You can see high rises

Mostly hotels along the river I think

various temples

Older style Bangkok temple

Newer style Bangkok temple

and can even get a glimpse of how some people live along the river.

River home

We took it quite a bit north as far as the Rama Bridge

Named for Rama VII...the 7th 'reigning' king

and then (no surprise) took a break to have a cocktail 

Guess who ordered wine?!?

where they had much needed misting fans before heading back south.

Bangkok is filled with Buddhist temples, but my favorite is Wat (which means 'temple') Arun, known as the 'Temple of Dawn'.

Taxi to the Temple

Wat Arun is a temple on the west bank of the Chao Phraya river that looks like a missile.  

Wat Arun

I like this temple because the temple grounds are pretty awesome, 

Two guards aren't enough for this temple

and you can actually climb this temple 

Things are looking up

while taking in great panoramic views of the east bank.  

The Grand Palace from Wat Arun

Wat Arun doesn't look like anything special from afar, but the detail is impressive when you are up close.

Views of Wat Arun Complex

Looks 'bedazzled'

These monsters are strong

It's really a bunch of flowers and tiles

There are also Buddhas to be seen, 

Pick a Buddha, any Buddha

and, of course, elephants.

Trunks up

We spent a nice hour or so walking the grounds of Wat Arun.  

Photographer got on her knees for this one

Then, the rains came and never left until at least midnight (our bedtime).  Tis the rainy season after all.
For dinner we headed to a nothing special Thai restaurant (which means it is every bit as good if not better than Thai food back home).  I enjoyed my first of what will be many bowls of Tom Yum soup

It's just better here

for the next month plus.  We took a look around at some of the markets before settling into a bar for a few drinks before heading home to call it a night.

Bangkok Day 2

Our second day in Bangkok was more about business.  We spent the morning sifting through emails and making sure we had everything set for our upcoming travel (to Cambodia) and future stay at Hotel Urbana (when returning to Thailand).

After a lost passport scare (he left it in the back pocket of a pair of shorts he 'checked'...I found it after he tore out to the previous nights' stops...way too much drama!), we headed out to find the IVF clinic where our doctor meets our surrogate for appointments

Very busy place...hope everyone is having as much luck as us

and made a short trip to spot out the US Embassy where we will have to visit as we attempt to exit the country in the upcoming weeks.  Both are so close to our place.  We initially took the skytrain and walked (about a 1 hour adventure) and later found out we could take a taxi (for about $2) that would take about 3-5 minutes to get there.  Typical.

We decided to have a 'low key' evening and check out our 'neighborhood' a bit more.  As stated in a previous blog, we have quite a few 7/11's...most likely closer to 7 within a couple blocks, but that is still a lot!  I read somewhere that Bangkok itself has about one-third of the number of 7/11's as the entire United States.  We are actually staying very close to the 'business' area of Bangkok.  There are many high rise office spaces all around us.  We are also in the 'embassy' area of the city, with many countries even closer than the US embassy.  Truth be told, we are also near one of the 'red light' districts in town.  We have been invited to many 'shows' on our walks around.  The names of the clubs are too naughty to type here.  The 'gay area' is also not too far.  In all, we like the neighborhood.  I think it's interesting how all kinds of things co-exist in one area.  On one block you can find nice restaurants and bars, street side food stalls,

So proud of him for ordering meat on a stick!  Next up, insects!!

businesses of all kinds,

Stuff!

3-5 7/11's, stray dogs, owned dogs, motorcycles, tuk-tuks, bicycles, and people of all kinds.  Oh yeah, and even elephants.

Keeping guard over the bustling streets of Bangkok

It's really an intriguing city.

One thing that will definitely take getting used to is how BUSY Bangkok (and this is true of many large Asian cities) feels.  Roadways are massive with several lanes of traffic going in both directions.  There are only certain areas to cross these roadways.  This picture gives a good glimpse of how busy things look on a typical Bangkok main street (think Ashland Ave. in Chicago).

Here you have the street below and people walking parallel to street to get to place to cross street...then, above is the skytrain (public transport)

But, just when things seem a little too busy, there's always a friendly bar (they have great happy hours here!) to calm things down.  And, while wine is not cheap,

WHAT?!?

the beer is pretty good.

Singha? Chang? Tiger?  Whatever

I think we will enjoy this place just fine.  Next stop, for our last vacation (while on 'vacation') as non-parents, Cambodia!