The Kingdom of Cambodia

Just got back from Cambodia! It was quite an adventure! Mel, Kate, Mimi, Amanda and I headed down on the night bus on Sunday night to Bangkok.  When we arrived at 4:30 am, we headed straight for immigration to apply for our re-entry permits.  It didn't open until 8:30 am so we waited in the coffee area and all found out at the same time that we got our E-VISAs into Cambodia! We had applied online for visas on Friday and were really nervous we weren't going to hear back in time before we got to the border.  This was, again, all very last minute! We found a printing center and then waited in line for our permits.  (We have to get permission from Thailand to leave and reenter on our visas)  After everything was in order, we headed back to the bus station and caught a noon bus to the border of Cambodia! The border was INSANE! We had read about scammers, which was why we got our visa prior to arriving, but they were like vultures! We finally found a taxi at a semi reasonable price and headed into Siem Reap.  The whole trip, night bus to immigration center to the border to Siem Reap took 24 hours! But it was worth it! This was my first time out of Thailand in almost nine months and I was so ready to see a little something new!

Getting my re-entry permit into Thailand!

From one Kingdom to another!

We slept in the next day but then headed straight  for Angkor Wat where we bought a three day pass.  A tuk tuk drove us around from temple to temple until sunset and the temples closed.  I was really excited, because Mel and I had watched a documentary about Angkor Wat so I felt a little more informed about what I was seeing. One fun fact, it is not just the quintessential temple that everyone thinks of, it is actually made up of hundreds of temples and is the largest religious monument in the world! It was constructed in 40 years by King Suryavarman II as a mausoleum for himself in the 1200s. Engineers say it would take 300 years to complete today! Crazy! It is mostly Hindu but with some Buddhist images when Cambodia would change their main religion.

We started at some of the lesser known temples, Preah Khan being one of them! It is interesting because it is built half Buddhist and half Hindu for four different Gods.  The jungle is overtaking this temple and it has not been restored as much as others so it is cool to see the natural deterioration of this ancient temple.

Note: I played Indiana Jones where ever I could, it was a very "Indy" place! This is me swinging on a vine, a la Indy.

The next morning we woke up at 4 am and left for the temples at 4:30 to see the sun rise over Angkor Wat! We had heard extremely mixed reviews about whether to do it or not, whether it was worth it or not, but seriously, why not?! We walked across the moat and into the Angkor Wat complex.  We were one of the first groups there and found great seats by the pond outside of the Wat.  Our friend had come for the sunrise the morning before and told us the sun rises to the right of it so we knew exactly where to go.  We got some coffees from some nearby stands and waited eagerly to see the sun rise! And you know what? It was totally worth it! It was my favorite part of the whole trip. We were all huddled together taking a million pictures of every different aspect of the sun rising and it was beautiful! One of those once in a lifetime experiences that I will never forget. 

Look, ma! I made it!

The gang, Amanda, Mel, Me, Kate, and Mimi!

We had a little breakfast and then headed over to Angkor Thom. Angkor Thom is made up of a bunch of temples, my favorite out of all of them being Bayon! It has 216 faces carved into it and is seriously beautiful! I walked around and stared at it for hours.  It was hands down my favorite.

Can you make out all of the faces?

Lovin' it.

So cool.

After Bayon, we headed home for a nap and lunch.  Then it was back out again! We went straight to Ta Prohm, where Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed! It is most famous for this and for the trees that are now growing around and within the temples.  

Tomb Raiders.

Famous Angelina Jolie tree!

The next day we visited more temples and said goodbye to Angkor Wat! :-( It was quite an experience! The next day we got on a bus to the capitol city of Phnom Penh! This was really neat because we got to see the Cambodian countryside and the differences between Thailand and Cambodia.  Let's just say, when we arrived back in Bangkok the next week, we were all super surprised at how CLEAN it was. Bangkok is not known for it's cleanness. 

I havent talked much yet about how Cambodia itself was, it was very eye opening, to say the least.  It is definitely the poorest country I have ever been to.  There are piles of trash everywhere. Wherever you walk children are begging to buy their bracelets, women want you to buy their scarves and men are yelling "Hey lady, tuk tuk!" They were relentless. The whole country is still recovering from the horrific genocide that the Khmer Rouge inflicted on it's people in the 70's. I didn't know that much about it before so I watched a documentary about it and read as much as I could to gain a better understanding.  I have been to a concentration camp in Germany and it was incredibly sad but it did not prepare me for what Cambodia had in store for us. The Khmer Rouge was a Communist Party formed by men in the late 60's who idolized and lusted after the idea of a completely self-sufficient agricultural society. The Khmer Rouge leaders wanted to purify the existing society and saw anyone who wasn't on board as a threat to their idyllic future. These alleged "threats" included educated people industrious people, anyone who associated with foreigners, and most tragically, any of the listed people's children. The reasoning behind eliminating these people and their families, children included, was that if anyone was left after the mass extermination they could grow to seek revenge up the Khmer Rouge.  KR leader Pol Pot felt it was better to sacrifice an innocent by accident than to spare an enemy by accident. This meant that 1 in 3 people in Cambodia were killed between the years of 1975-1979.  The country is still reeling from this, obviously, as everyone likely knew someone who was killed, and the population is still in low numbers.

In 1979, right after the Khmer Rouge was defeated, museums sprang up all over Cambodia to spread the word about this genocide so it would never happen again.  We went to the Tuol Sleng High School, known during the KR reign as S-21.  This high school was converted into a torture and interrogation center.  It was incredibly eery because it looked so similar to our school in Thailand.  We were all hit extremely hard by it. 

A blackboard still up from it's classroom days...

The Khmer Rouge were extremely diligent with record keeping and took pictures of anyone who came through S-21's doors. This is just one of the walls of the thousands of pictures that stare back at you as you walk through the museum.

We were privileged enough to meet a survivor of S-21.  He didn't speak much English but was able to tell us that he was deaf in one ear from the KR sticking something in it and causing him to go deaf during a torture session.  He also had his toenails ripped off, and showed us his gnarled hands that had scars  all over them. He was able to survive because he knew how to fix a typewriter for the KR, so they spared his life.

After the high school, we headed to the Killing Fields. After they were tortured at S-21 they were shipped to the Killing Fields, just outside of Phnom Penh and put to death.  The KR felt bullets were too valuable to be wasted on these mass murders, so instead they ordered their soldiers to kill the victims with anything possible-gardening utensils, sheer beatings, palm branches to the neck, anything available in the fields.  One of the most horrific additions to the death toll was babies. There is a tree among The Killing Fields where Khmer Rouge soldiers would take babies by their feet and smash their heads into the trunk of the tree.  This is where I broke down and cried. The Killing Fields had an audio tour that lead you around the genocide museum and was very informative.  It was really hard to hear survivor stories and see the memorial monument filled with skulls and bones that they dug up from the mass graves.  

Bracelets that fellow travelers have left in remembrance and respect. I left one of my own.

The monument

I know this was a rollercoaster of emotions and not as fun as my other posts but I felt that I needed to talk about it and let people know about everything I learned.  I never learned about this genocide growing up and it was so hard to hear first hand, but so important to hear.  I feel so incredibly lucky that we were all able to go to Cambodia and learn all that we learned.  It was a journey and an adventure I never expected to go on but indeed, did. 

One last interesting thing that happened while we were there. Apparently the King of Cambodia died in October and he has been "on display" so his people can pay respect and mourn for him.  We happened to be in Phnom Penh for the weekend of his cremation and burial. Every night the Khmer people would walk along the river's edge dressed in white, set off fireworks, and were all wearing pins to commemorate him.  Although he abdicated in 2004 and his son took over, he was the King for most of the people's lives and it was a really interesting and once in a lifetime experience to be a part of.  The night before his cremation thousands gathered at the Royal Palace and prayed and paid tribute to him.  I felt honored to be even a little bit a part of it.

Thanks for everything Cambodia!

Nicole's Visit!

I had my last visitor come in January, my friend, Nicole! She came on January 3 and was leaving the next week.  So Mel came with me to meet her in Bangkok for the weekend.  We met at a hostel and talked about what she wanted to do for the next couple of days. We decided to head to the Siam Paragon, a giant mall in Bangkok. It has Ocean World, the "Largest Aquarium in Southeast Asia" in it and Nicole was interested in doing that.  It was filled with crazy, colorful, exotic fish and interesting tours. We got to have our feet cleaned by fish, do a glass bottomed boat tour to see sharks and go behind the scenes of the aquarium.  It was pretty cool and all underneath this mall.

We went shopping at Chatuchak market and saw The Hobbit at the movie theater.  I love taking visitors to the movies because everyone stands before the movie starts for the King's song and a little video for him.  I really like it and it is so different than America. The next night Nicole and I took the night train to Chiang Mai.  It was so fun! We had two lower beds and had so much fun watching Northern Thailand go by and catching up. 

When we got to Chiang Mai we found a nice place to stay and headed right out to Tiger Kingdom. Nicole played with the medium, small, and smallest tigers. They were so cute and she had a lot of fun! After the tigers we went to the Chiang Mai Zoo! I had never been before so I was excited! It was huge and it's big attraction was three pandas! We rode around on the trams and fed all kinds of animals until we had seen the whole zoo.  Then we were both pretty exhausted. We did lots of shopping at the Night Bazaar and Nicole got to try lots of different Thai food! I am so glad she got to visit and see a part of my life here!

On another note...Mel, Kate, Mimi, Amanda, and I are leaving for Cambodia tonight! AH! The school told us awhile ago that from the 28th of January until the 5th of February they had rented the school out   and so there would be no teaching! We were so excited! But then we heard we would still need to thumb in (check-in) on those days and so would not really have those days off..needless to say we were not very happy! We talked to Nooters and Lockers about it and they agreed that it did not make sense for us to stay in Phrae for these days when there would be no students.  They convinced the Director to let us have those days off on THURSDAY and we immediately went into planning mode! The five of us began planning Cambodia, Brandon is visiting a friend in Bangkok and Soddy and Leah are going down South and island hopping.  We are all so excited! Until next time... :-)

New Years in Krabi!

I seriously suck at writing my blog this semester, I am really sorry! Sixth grade is getting ready for this National test so that has taken up a lot of my free time and now we are all starting to plan and think about our travel plans after teaching. It has been sort of stressful and super busy but when those are your biggest stresses, you know you're doing something right!

Anywho, Mel, Soddy, Leah, Mimi and I took the night bus to Bangkok after school on Wednesday and arrived around 4:30am.  We headed to the Don Muang Airport where we caught our Air Asia flight down to Krabi! We took Thursday, Friday and the next Wednesday off from work so we would be able to have a really nice vacation. We arrived around 10am on Thursday and headed to where we were staying, Pan Beach Bungalows. It was so nice. The bungalows were pretty basic and there was only electricity from 6pm until 6am, but that doesn't really matter if you are at the beach all day! The bungalows were right on the beach and a private beach at that, with only about 4 or 5 other people from Pan staying there.  So luxurious and only for $6 a night! We immediately got in our suits, jumped in the water and ordered Western food. So fun!

 The beach was in a bay and there were a lot of islands in the bay, so Soddy and I decided to swim out to a nearby one. It was so cool!
As it gets later the tide goes out and we were left with little lagoons and you could eventually walk out to the island I had swam to earlier! There was also a wedding going on that was so beautiful and we watched it from our lounge chairs as we watched the sun set. So perfect.

The next day we signed up for a snorkeling tour. The boat master, Eat, and his son, picked us up in a longboat from our beach and took us to nine different islands! We swam around off of one island, saw SO many different colored fish on one island, sea snakes off of another, ate lunch on the most beautiful island, watched the sun set and the moon rise on another, and played with phosphorescent fish at another! It was incredible! We all just kept saying how much fun we were having and how incredible the day was. Amazing.

Soddy, Me, Mel, Leah and Mimi!

We stayed at Pan for two days and then moved into the city of Krabi for three at a more central location. We, of course, did beach time, got massages, tons of Western food, (hello pizza!?) and met up with friends from around Thailand. Mimi, Leah and I were having dinner one night, spilling our hearts when I told them about the tattoo I wanted to get above my scar to commemorate this move to Thailand and show how far I have come after my diagnosis. They were so enthused and encouraged me to get it! What better place than the most beautiful place in the world?! We found a place that does bamboo tattoos, the traditional method in Thailand and usually done by a monk. I was really excited and knew this was the right time and place.  It didn't hurt as much as the machines ones and turned out exactly as I wanted. Elephants are lucky in Thailand, so it goes with my other two and they are all on my right side, which is where the cancer was found. Need all the luck on that side! The bamboo tattoos heal faster than machine so I was out the next day on the beach and totally fine! I am so happy and will never forget that experience and those girls who held my hand, took pictures, and supported me through this past semester :-)

Love this pic of Leah and me

Getting my new tattoo!

All done! With my tattoo artist, Beer.

On New Years Eve, we got Indian food for dinner and then headed to the beach! People were lighting lanterns and gathering on the sand.  We met up with Amanda and her boyfriend, Clai, and Brandon and some of his friends.  We all immediately took off our shoes and waded into the water, getting ready to ring in the new year! People started counting down and as we said "Happy New Year," tons of lanterns flew into the air and fireworks were exploding everywhere! It was such a great New Years! I was able to call my Mom and tell her that the world hadn't ended, oh and about my new tattoo...and she took it great! What a trooper!

On New Years Day some people weren't really feeling up for much of anything, if you know what I mean...So Soddy and I decided to go off by ourselves. We took a longboat taxi to Tonsai Beach and rented some kayaks for a couple hours. Then, we kayaked over to nearby Railay Beach and nearby islands.  Then we found some caves and mangroves! It was amazing! Paddling through them and maneuvering the rocks were awesome, it was like a Disney ride! SO fun.

Unfortunately we had to go home at some point. We took a night bus back to BKK, which took 11 hours, then hopped on another bus to Phrae, another 8 hours! We were pretty much slugs the rest of the day and then had to teach Thursday and Friday.  But it was all worth it!

Christmas Chaos

Christmas was unlike any Christmas I have ever had.  Of course, it was in Thailand. The Thai teachers wanted the foreign teachers to put on a show for the students, on Christmas Day.  We had meetings every Thursday after school for hours trying to come up with ideas that everyone liked and agreed with.  It was not coming together and Christmas was coming up! Finally, the week before, we came up with a Christmas carnival idea with six stations and two foreign teachers at each station.  That way, everyone could do what they wanted at the station and everyone would be happy.  The Thai teachers were not that excited, they really wanted to see us sing and dance and make Christmas fools of 

ourselves.  

6/1's Christmas Tree!

Some fun art projects we did!

On Christmas we were all feeling a little nostalgic and sad that we weren’t with our families.  We were all also a little nervous that this day was going to be crazy! We sang “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” at assembly and then broke off into our stations.  We had pratom 1, 2, and 3 coming in the morning and then 4, 5, and 6 in the afternoon so it was going to be a busy day! There are about 35 students in every class and we would be getting up to 4 classes at a time, every 20 minutes! Goodness. Leah and I were doing “Pin the Nose on the Snowman.” We made two huge snowmen and cut out some noses for the kids to try to tape on.  We put a Santa hat over their eyes and then spun them three times. The little kids were so cute! There were so many kids each time that not everyone got to go :-/  The students each had to bring a present for a gift exchange they do each year that was up to 50 baht and we each brought one that was 100 baht so a few lucky students got a special surprise. 

 One of the stations was Santa handing out the presents to the students, another was a Christmas Tree drawing contest, a dance competition station, and then some other games.  Leah teaches pratom 5 and I teach pratom 6, so we quickly knew that pin the nose on the snowman was not going to fly with the older kids. We tried to think of some new fun ideas for them and Leah really wanted to do a Christmas rap! Our first group was 6/1, 6/2, 6/3 and 6/7.  I beatboxed while she rapped a Christmas song, it was so funny and so embarrassing. Afterwards, we told them to get in groups and come up with their own rap. It did not go over well. Haha they were all too shy to do it or didn’t understand what we wanted...great. Then we decided to play charades with the next group.  One student would come up and pick “Santa Claus” or “snowman” and have to act it out.  It went ok but was too hard for such a large group.  The next group we broke them up into 2 large groups and had them play “Duck, Duck, Goose!” It was so much better and they loved the huge circles they would have to run around.  We did that the rest of the time and were all super exhausted when the day was finally over! 

Pin the Nose on the Snowman!

So cute!

Christmas Rapping!

However, the day wasn’t completely over.  The director wanted to take us to dinner for Christmas, super nice but they always think we want to eat American food, so they take us to this disgusting “Steak House” that has no form of steak whatsoever! We would rather have great Thai food than bad American food... There is a weird hot dog thing, fish and pork. The french fries and beer are good though! We had a lot of fun all together at this unconventional Christmas dinner and made the best of being away from our families.  

I was able to skype with my family during their Christmas Day. But it kind of just made it harder to see them all together and doing our traditional Christmas things, while I  taught Buddhist Thai children about this Christian holiday. 

It made it a little easier that we were leaving the next day for Krabi for a week vacation! We all had been so excited and preparing for weeks. We took the night bus to Bangkok, got their around 4 and then headed straight to the airport for our flight down to Krabi! 

To be continued....