We started out with some beautiful diving from Khao Lak, just north of Phuket. Though we didn't see the big stuff we had hoped for (whale sharks, mantas, leopard sharks), we did enjoy poking around a few gorgeous offshore islands - Koh Tachai, Koh Bon, and the Similans. Nikki snapped some great pictures from our dives. Khao Lak itself was relaxed and quiet, more or less the antithesis of our next stop – Patong on Phuket – with its crowded streets, thumping music, and all night parties. We intentionally booked a hotel in the eye of the tourist storm to witness the craziness first hand. Nikki went to sleep early the first night, so I grazed the street stalls for dinner (grilled corn, meat, and ubiquitous banana pancakes) and enjoyed people watching. We rolled out of bed early the next morning for a day trip to the Phi Phi islands, where Leonardo DiCaprio's movie "the beach" was filmed. The islands themselves are stunning, despite being somewhat mobbed with tourists. Back on Phuket, we strolled down the coastline and stopped to release a floating lantern into the evening sky for good luck before heading to a very interesting late night performance at a famous ladyboy cabaret – I must say, you would never believe that some of the performers were not born women.
After only a few hours sleep, we headed to the airport for an early morning flight to Phnom Penh via Bangkok, which took most of the day thanks to AirAsia (I guess you get what you pay for!). I would have to characterize our two days in Phnom Penh as a rollercoaster of emotions. On one hand, we were obliged to visit vestiges of a terrible, terrible, relatively recent period of Cambodian history where around 2 million people (no one knows exactly) were killed under the reign on the Khmer Rouge. We paid respects at both Tuol Sleng (high-school-turned-torture-prison) and Choeng Ek (the "killing fields" where men, women, and children were summarily executed with unbelievable brutality). The picture above is one level of a multi-tiered pagoda housing hundreds of skulls categorized by gender/age – a monument to those that were killed and reminder of mankind's capacity for carnage. These stops were, for sure, low-points in the rollercoaster ride. However, there were high points as well. We attended a fantastic US embassy-sponsored dance performance at the National Museum, staring children participating in a program supporting Cambodian youth and keeping alive the dance traditions nearly lost when 90% of the country's artists were killed 30 years ago. We also had meals at two restaurants that are part of the "Friends" network, which give job training and general support to street children. Other highlights included a trip to the National Museum, which houses the largest collection of sculpture from the Angkor temples, a visit to the Royal Palace with it's silver-tiled pagoda and diamond encrusted Buddha, a tour down dirt rice-field-and-cute-kid-lined country roads on ATVs, and sunset drinks at the riverside Foreign Correspondents Club, which had an awesome vibe that I can only describe as "frontiersy." We even got to see some of our friends, meeting up with our HCMC buddy Joe for many of our adventures and having dinner with my Cambodian friend Laska at the fancy riverside restaurant Titanic.
Nikki's parents happened to be traveling in Southeast Asia, so we met them in Phnom Penh and travelled together to Siem Reap for the last leg of our trip. Nikki and I were in Siem Reap for the Angkor Wat half marathon in December, but only saw the temples as they whizzed past on the course. This time we carved out three days to see as much as possible, starting first with temples further afield (Bantaey Srei and Kbal Spean), moving to some of the more famous ones next (Ta Prohm, Angkor Thom, Preah Khan, Prasat Kravan, and Pre Rup), and saving the biggies for last (Angkor Wat and Phnom Bakheng). The temples were all amazing in their own ways – Bantaey Srei with intricate carvings, Kbal Spean with figures carved into an actual river bed, Ta Prohm intertwined with enormous trees, etc. Of course, Angkor Wat itself was absolutely incredible and we spent plenty of time scrutinizing it's 900 year old bas-relief carvings. We also enjoyed the town of Siem Reap – meeting up with our buddies Liz and Anne for drinks, and taking a trip to the "fish spa," where everyone (even Chuck and Jacqui) let the little guys nibble on our feet for 20 minutes (with free beer and a little meditation, I was finally able to 'relax' with my feet in the fish tub).
Tired and happy, we jumped on a plane back to Ho Chi Minh City with Nikki's parents, who were able to spend a few days with us at home – checking out the consulate, meeting our friends at dinner club, touring the city, and even getting a haircut we me at my Vietnamese barber shop. As with all of our trips, we headed home with heavier bags, carting back some great art, a drum, and a stringed instrument called a tro (you should hear me attempt to play it!). Totally fun trip. Next up is Con Dao Island for Nikki's B-Day!
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