I apologize for this post not being put up sooner, but I’ll go ahead and refer you to the post about it being too hot to use the computer lately. But finally, I’ve gotten some time to sit down and write. I hope you enjoy! Good news too, now as opposed to it being 6 months till we get home (from the last time we saw you) we’re closing in on just over 3! – All for now, With love from Cambodia, Stephanie & Will
. . .
Mama Lynn and Papa Dave were pretty good sports when visiting the wild, wild west of South East Asia. Having never flown across the Pacific (which basically defines the word grueling) we put them through no doubt very memorable, adventurous, exhausting yet exciting trip through this country that we have now been living in for 20.8695652 months (at the time of writing). We went pretty much non-stop and they were quite the troopers; even some of our fellow PCVs were impressed. It was really so great to have them come and they said themselves, that even with all of the pictures we send, the videos, the stories we write and conversations we have……. nothing can truly explain what it’s actually like to be here and experience some of these things firsthand. And that’s just it; so many of the things just need to be witnessed and experienced firsthand or you’d never really know what it was like. But overall we really had a great time and were SO glad they were able to make it. It will make conversations about our time here in the future that much more relate-able, not to mention it was just really, really great to see them.
Anyway, here are a bit of the highlights of the wonderful trip we had with Will’s parents, Dave & Lynn:
• “He’s really not joking, is he?” – Lynn, (who is maybe more used to her very sarcastic son than any of us) about 35 minutes in the country at about 11:45pm riding her first tuk tuk down this sort of creepy, dark alley, bumpy of a road and it had slowed next to this building and Will had just said, “Okay, our guesthouse is just down this way.” (And no, Will really wasn't joking!)
• “Where’s the shower curtain in this bathroom?” – Questions to be answered about many a bathroom in this part of the world where the entire shower/toilet/sink can be squeezed into about a 2.5 x 4 ft space…and no shower curtain. “So everything just gets wet??” Yep.
• An appalled, “THIS is where you buy food every day?” – upon the tour of our local market, and introducing them our pork lady.
• Lynn almost fainting in the market after walking down the prahok (fish-paste) area, and making our old neighbor lady feel famous because she sat down for a few minutes at her shop to catch her breath. (Keep in mind they had just gotten into country, traveled about 30 hours straight going on about 2 hours of sleep, and one of the first things we put them through is our local market). ha.
• To the Ancient Baray near our town, via bicycle (in which we had to race home to beat the sunset, and try not to worry grandma, as we were on her watch that day, I think she would’ve felt really awful if the foreigners didn’t return home that night).
• We took a tour of the Artisans De Angkor silk farm, which I think they enjoyed and then Will continued a tour of our neighborhood, the Pagoda and a few sites. We had dinner with our host family that night and had an interesting time translating back and forth all the things both sets of parents wanted to communicate back to each other. At one point, Will (in his teacher voice) was to interpret what Lynn was saying to our host-parents, and he took in all the info to be translated – and turned to our host parents and started saying everything again, but in English instead of Khmer, but just a little bit slower and louder. Everyone laughed – and then he realized his confusion.
• The next day we got everything situated to head into Siem Reap. The boys returned the bikes we borrowed while Lynn and I sat in the tuk tuk, observing traffic waiting for them to return. (No really, the whole observing traffic thing, it truly is an experience in itself).
• We got checked into the guesthouse in Siem Reap, and all seemed fine at the beginning, but not until night time did Will’s parents unfortunately find out that their room was right above the neighboring restaurant’s kitchen sink that happened to be outside!??! Even with windows closed, it caused a late-night ruckus of dishes being clanged while washed, and probably didn’t help with trying to catch some zzz’s on top of the already extreme jet-lag they were experiencing.
• Now it’s time to do some sight-seeing. First stop, Angkor Wat. I’m pretty sure it’ll be hard to forget getting stung by hornets the first 10 minutes of entering the grand causeway at the famous ancient temple. (Will got stung 5 times, Lynn 4 times and me once; somehow Dave managed to escape). I so very much wish we could’ve had video of the entire scenario from afar. We were the only four people down one hallway taking all the carvings in. The hallway was open and lined with pillars on one side facing the front entrance. We were at the far end, when all of a sudden we see Will flailing his arms and screaming at us to “RUN!” – So, not knowing what was happening we hurriedly turned around, and he yelled “BEES!!!!” – and we start sprinting in the opposite direction down the hallway. At the time, all that excitement was a bit scary and not the most welcome greeting upon entering the Ancient Temple, but let’s just say we were all very thankful none of us were allergic. I’m not sure what it was that awakened the hornets, but Will did happen to turn down the chance to give an incense offering to the Buddha prior to walking down that hallway, so perhaps that’s what we get?
• Sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was a bit early in the morning I do have to admit, but there was something very nice about the atmosphere and quietness of it all. There were hundreds of people there awaiting the sun to rise, but you could just feel the anticipation in the air. It definitely had a different feeling at that time of day – and something was just and serene and peaceful about it all.
• The remainder of the Angkorian Temples (Ta Prohm, Bauphoun, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Banteay Srey, Kball Speeun) – of course were all really wonderful. It’s almost too much to try and take in (especially in the heat) but the tours were definitely nice. That was our first time to K’bal Speeun and that was a nice change of pace too. Despite the 1.5mile (steep and uphill) hike that we were unaware of (again let me insert Will’s parents were troopers), it was a really great hike through the vine filled forest-y, jungle and the scenery was completely different from everything else we had seen up to that point. At the top, the actual carvings were really small scale, but they were carved into the rock of the river-bed which made them all the more interesting. There was a little waterfall too at the end of the trail which was nice.
• After three days of temple-ing and a little shopping and dining in Siem Reap, the 15 passenger mini-bus ride down National Highway Rd 6 is worth noting. (It was a very tense ride… and one just has to hope that the driver too, doesn’t want to die, and actually wants to make it to his destination; yet sometimes you have to question the moves he pulled throughout the trip. On the other hand, I DO have to say that it was the FASTEST we have ever gotten to Phnom Penh. We got there in 4 hours. Usually we’re lucky to get there in fewer than 7 hours if we take the usual Cambodian bus line.) We happened to have the back row of seats which were elevated, above the rest of the passengers. So you had to bend down if you wanted to actually look out the side windows. The other option was to clasp the seat in front of you, and all that was in vision was the road and the oncoming traffic that the driver was dodging; which as I noted above, traffic is an experience in itself. Even I, the seasoned traveler in Cambodia, was tense the entire time, and my jaw was sore the next day from clenching (no joke).
• Once in Phnom Penh, we stopped in at the Peace Corps Office to show Dave & Lynn around, (and prove to them our medical officer has her stuff together and is ready to help us in any situation!) We had a nice talk with our Country Director and just simply enjoyed a little bit of AC for the afternoon.
• Later that evening, ready for dinner, we were walking around and it was almost dark. Let me recount the moment when we were on some side streets in Phnom Penh, Will saying, “I know that Indian Restaurant is around here somewhere!” – Even I was beginning to get a bit concerned, not to mention our leery parents.
• Early the next morning, we were able to showcase the Capitol Bus Station chaos in Phnom Penh to our guests of honor. Again, something that needs to be witnessed firsthand. But the huge mass of people, traffic, luggage and boxes all stuck on this dirty, smelly, busy street corner in the middle of all the hot cement that Phnom Penh is, awaiting their next bus to depart … is a scene in itself. Somehow, the bus line system gets it to work, but many bystanders are in complete bewilderment as to how this is done.
• The early bus ride to the south was no grey-hound, but at least we were able to look out the side windows and see some of the country-side. Along the way, our bus did slam on its brakes at one point, when finding out it wasn’t going to be able to pass a stopped bus on the road due to on-coming traffic (even I thought we were going to hit.) But luckily we didn’t. All I remember (after bracing myself for impact) is looking up after we stopped and seeing the driver’s face in the rear-view mirror just a-smiling away, like this is a common thing he deals with.
• Finally – after a 15 minute boat ride, we arrive to a bit of peace at Rabbit Island, off the southern seaside town of Kep. Some swimming, a little walking along the shores – a big seafood meal, happy hour and watching the sunset and visiting under the stars right next to the ocean filled our first day there. A hugely nice change of pace from the bustling bus station we were at just that morning.
• Food-poisoning happens to both my in-laws, hitting the first culprit about 7 hours after dinner. (So I guess most volunteers ensure that their parents aren’t on a secluded island, staying in a grass-bamboo-not so-insulated-hut with electricity only from 6-10pm, no fan, nothing but a squat-toilet you’ve got to flush by dumping buckets of water down it, for their first bout of tropical illness.) I’m going to put the blame on Will for this one; Lynn… you ask him for yourself, I mentioned to him several times, “Are you SURE you want to stay two nights at Rabbit Island?”
• But to counter-balance the sickness, Lynn did find the good in the bad, by waking up to the most amazing sounds of birds chirping and a-singing early in the morning…..very tropical and so many very different sounds, she said it was amazing and definitely a favorite. Later that morning Will, Dave and I walked around the island (about a 2 hour venture) and the heat definitely started to turn up. This is when the 2nd culprit started to feel bad. It’s unfortunate that it had to happen – ESPECIALLY there on the island, because – it really is quite a nice place to be and it’s too bad they were ill most of the time, but I guess you can’t have everything. It’s odd too, because both Will and I never got sick, but we all were eating the same things. I suppose it’s something our bodies have become accustomed to since being over here. (Should I be nervous to return to the states?) However, I must say that Will’s parents got the TRUE Peace Corps Cambodia experience pretty much wrapped up in the two nights at the island.
• Back to the mainland to stay at a real hotel (finally some relaxation without a thing on our schedule and some Air Conditioning!) We stayed at The Veranda in Kep, which had some interesting architecture -- almost a tree-house sort of feel with all of its elevated walkways and beautiful view of the ocean. Except for the fact that we all had to get out of the tuk tuk and Will and I had to help push it up the hill-side to where the hotel was located, it was quite a nice getaway from everything we had experienced so far in Cambodia. Not to mention, a nice dinner, a selection of many DVDs we could watch and a buffet breakfast that made all of us very happy.
• After the Veranda in Kep, we headed on down the southern coastal road to Kampot town. We checked into our guesthouse, grabbed a small lunch and I’m pretty sure we won’t soon forget surrendering to the headwind on our kayak trip down the river near Kampot town. We, (after battling the wind for just over an hour, and having hardly gotten anywhere, knowing there was no way we were going to make it back before dark) had to pull up on shore at some random people’s backyard (think farmers that live in a grass hut in rural Cambodia who were rounding up their two cows to feed them their evening grub), we politely asked in Khmer if we could borrow their cell phone (Will’s had gotten soaked and was no longer functioning) and we called the small kayaking rental place and they had to pick us up on the side of the road. Ahh…the site of us four, very tired, wet and dirty looking foreigners with these bright yellow and red kayaks with life jackets, pulled up near the side of the dirt road in this very small rural village outside of Kampot town, must have been very interesting to the locals. We sat there waiting at least an hour and a half before the kayak rental company (with their moto-pulling-a-trailer-setup, which is called a ‘remark’) was able to come and get us.
• And probably the least touristy, most real – true, Cambodian thing we experienced on the entire trip (at least in my opinion) was the ‘remark’ ride (a moto that’s hooked up to an open-air trailer with nothing but a few bench seats made with a board of wood set on top of the ledge of each side.) With the kayaks piled in between us, we rode back to town with the kayak rental company. A very bumpy ride it was, and most definitely not comfortable to say the least (there weren’t shocks on the rig, and no cushioning on the benches). I do have to say that that ride without doubt is something that most tourists do NOT get to experience…and I think that gave both Dave & Lynn – and Will and me for that matter, a very good taste of what local life is like; at least how some people have to travel in this country. Not to mention, a great glimpse at dusk, of some of the poverty that lines the many dirt roads in Cambodia.
• We pulled into Kampot town on top of the ‘remark’ like we owned the place. We had plans to meet our PCV friends of the south, Matt and Emily, and there they were patiently waiting for us at the restaurant. We were dirty, still in our kayak clothes, completely tired and had some sore behinds from our bumpy remark ride. Nonetheless we pulled up a few chairs and enjoyed sharing the company. Both Matt & Emily were impressed we put Will’s parents through two nights at Rabbit Island. And Matt mentioned that perhaps he should stop suggesting the whole kayak thing for something to do in Kampot, after hearing about our afternoon’s adventure. Ha. That night we were definitely “THAT” loud, annoying group of people ….. but to our defense it had been an extremely long, tire-some, adventurous day – and a person’s got to vent and let loose at some point and to be honest, none of us really cared (Okay, maybe mama Lynn was a little embarrassed, but we were never going to see those people again, so it was easy enough to let go.) Not to mention, the Pork Ribs at The Rusty Keyhole were amazing.
• The next day we simply rested up in Kampot town and hit a cute restaurant for lunch and some awesome pizza at our guest house, Mea Culpa for dinner and just enjoyed visiting.
• Finally, their last day in the country, we caught the early bus from Kampot and arrived in Phnom Penh about four hours later. We checked into our guesthouse got situated. Then had lunch, made a pit stop at the Peace Corps office and then went to tour the Royal Palace Grounds.
• After some packing and getting everything ready for their flight out of the country (which didn’t leave until 11 at night), we rounded out the last night in town with dinner and drinks at our favorite Man Han Lou Chinese Brewery & Restaurant. And to finish it off, we had an awesome tuk tuk ride through the city on some back streets to our guesthouse so we could get ready to take them to the airport. We got everything ready to go, and hired a real taxi driver (like I’m talking nice new Toyota Camry, with seat-belts for all passengers, AC that worked, a driver that spoke English really well, and a driver who also observed all traffic rules and actually drove slower than everybody else) and we were on our way to the airport. We commented how this was the first time the entire trip we had ridden in an actual car, and how much of a different feel and perspective it was. Compared to all of the tuk tuks, big buses, small min-buses, boats and biking that we had done in the last thirteen days, this was a simple quiet ride through the city, and it almost feels like you’re just protected from so many things that the city exposes you to (the heat, the smells, the loud sounds of traffic). Anyway, we got to the airport safe and sound, we unloaded a huge bag that Dave & Lynn graciously brought back to the states for us, got them on their way and said final goodbyes. Goodbyes are always hard, but at least we knew at that point we could say, ‘See you this summer!’ There happened to be a Dairy Queen at the Phnom Penh airport that is open to the public; so I got my fill of ice-cream that night, and then Will and I did our final wave to his parents – and then turned around and walked to the parking lot to find the driver. We rode in the quiet car back to our guesthouse and sighed knowing that adventure was over. I asked Will, “So, do you think they enjoyed it, even with all the hurdles we had along the way?” He said, “Yes, I know they did.”
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