I'm back in Siem Reap, Cambodia, visiting the Angkor temples again. The first few entries on this blog back in 2006 were about Angkor... I should reread them to get a sense of what that trip was like! I definitely remember the hawkers, and they are still out in force... I have 20 postcards... And the cold drink was nice!
I'm here again because I'm travelling with a Erin, a friend from Groote, and she hasn't been here before. Not sure I would have come back otherwise, but I definitely don't mind. I was a solo traveller last time and it is always better travelling with someone else. Will see more of the town, no doubt, as restaurants and the like are always better when you're not alone. We're here for three more nights before legging it to Tokyo to meet up with Brandon for a slightly larger Groote reunion, so it will be a far more social experience for the next two weeks before we all return back to Australia.
This time I came overland from Bangkok, rather than by air from Singapore. It was a long trip, but stressfree and not uninteresting. It was about a 5 hour bus ride from Bangkok to the border, then some time navigating the craziness of immigration, before embracing the joys of the Cambodia transportation systems that get you from the border to Siem Reap in something that could be described as organised chaos. We started off opting for the bus, but that only leaves when full and it was pretty empty. So we borrowed a couple of Finnish tourists and shared a cab into town. It was about a 2 hour drive, and also uneventful and surprisingly not as much of a scam as I anticipated!
Had a trip to Angkor Thom this morning. It is obviously a busy time of year for tourists, but the temples are still awe inspiring. Will rest up for a bit before hitting the town and trying to bargain for some cheap DVDs!
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Farewell Bhutan
As I write this, I am in Bangkok... a city that I generally hate but have found somewhat refreshing after Bhutan, which I have decided is a beautiful country with great scenery and some awesome historical sites, but by and large is a kind of Stepford Wives country... something just isn't right about it. It seems very controlled, as if they are putting on a show for the handful of tourists who can afford to go there. I had read a bit about how friendly the Bhutanese people are, but by and large I found it to be the opposite... I'm not sure if it is resentment for us being there, or because we are living the uncontrolled lives that they are starting see in the media and online, where we can keep our passports and travel freely, choose our own jobs and not be compelled to walk around in 14th century outfits. (in Bhutan the police keep your passport and you can't have it back unless you have a good reason and pass a character test, your career is chosen for you and to enter public buildings without being fined you need to wear traditional clothes...) I met some British and American tourists on my travels, and the Americans agreed with my take on things... it just wasn't quite right. The British had a different take, but they had been trekking in more remote areas and may have come across villages where life is more authentic and less influenced by the west.
Over the last few days, we travelled as far east as we would go, to Bumthang which is the spiritual home of Buddhism in Bhutan. It was an interesting place, but really cold... The room I stayed in only had a wood heater, so once I went to bed the room cooled down considerably and getting out of bed was a struggle. Most people who live in Bumthang head further south or west to escape the cold. On the drive back we visted Gangtey where we did a horizontal walk (almost unheard of) to look at the rare black necked cranes. There were a stack of vultures around as well, which were far more interesting to look at!
We returned to Thimpu (a bit of a snore, but I met up with another tour group from Mountain Kingdoms who had heard about me as being the stranded traveller!) They were very nice, and I basically joined up with them for meals from then on in. It reminded me why I wanted to join a tour in the first place... they all seemed really nice and had had a good time. They were (supposed to be) leaving before me, but bad weather meant they were stuck in Bhutan an extra day, and then the following day there flight was delayed by at least six hours, close to the curfew and I'm not sure if they made it out on time.
On the final two days we went back to the starting point of Paro, where I visited the museum and the dzong (I am now dzonged out...). The following day I climbed up to Tigers Nest goemba, which was a walk of 600 metres in elevation, over about 5 km each way and up and down about 1200 steps. I was absolutely rooted by the time I reached the top, but it was well worth it. The place clings to a cliff top in the most unlikely of places... I'll put up some photos on Facebook. I was proud of myself for making it... and in fairly good time! The Crown Prince of Norway was apparently in town, and he turned back! That night was New Years Eve, and my hotel was miles from town so I was stuck with whomever was at the hotel... a couple of Japanese tourists and an Indian family. No luck there... anyway, I bought some local beer (Druk 11000 is actually pretty good, but 8%...) After a five hour hike at high elevation, and three bottles in quick succession I was absolutely stonkered, something I never do when I'm by myself. Oh well! I was so blotto that I staggered back to my room and was asleep by half past 10... Happy New Year! (The hour had passed back in Australia, so I kind of made it!)
The following day it was snowing... which sucked because the airport was closed and my flight was delayed by four hours. But the snow on the mountains once the cloud cleared was beautiful so it wasn't so bad... plus I ended up with a Business Class ticket and got to wait it out in the lounge. Thank god for only having a BC class seat left (and it only costing $100 more than a standard seat, so I could afford it...) The general seating area is crap, and apparently the Calcutta-bound passengers virtually rioted when they realised their scheduled plane was going off somewhere else first... They kicked up such a stink the airline relented and they were off first. Don't blame em... they were due to leave at 8 am and had been in the airport for about six hours already...
Off to Khao Lak tomorrow... a few days by the beach should be just the cure I need to get over this cold I have come down with!
Over the last few days, we travelled as far east as we would go, to Bumthang which is the spiritual home of Buddhism in Bhutan. It was an interesting place, but really cold... The room I stayed in only had a wood heater, so once I went to bed the room cooled down considerably and getting out of bed was a struggle. Most people who live in Bumthang head further south or west to escape the cold. On the drive back we visted Gangtey where we did a horizontal walk (almost unheard of) to look at the rare black necked cranes. There were a stack of vultures around as well, which were far more interesting to look at!
We returned to Thimpu (a bit of a snore, but I met up with another tour group from Mountain Kingdoms who had heard about me as being the stranded traveller!) They were very nice, and I basically joined up with them for meals from then on in. It reminded me why I wanted to join a tour in the first place... they all seemed really nice and had had a good time. They were (supposed to be) leaving before me, but bad weather meant they were stuck in Bhutan an extra day, and then the following day there flight was delayed by at least six hours, close to the curfew and I'm not sure if they made it out on time.
On the final two days we went back to the starting point of Paro, where I visited the museum and the dzong (I am now dzonged out...). The following day I climbed up to Tigers Nest goemba, which was a walk of 600 metres in elevation, over about 5 km each way and up and down about 1200 steps. I was absolutely rooted by the time I reached the top, but it was well worth it. The place clings to a cliff top in the most unlikely of places... I'll put up some photos on Facebook. I was proud of myself for making it... and in fairly good time! The Crown Prince of Norway was apparently in town, and he turned back! That night was New Years Eve, and my hotel was miles from town so I was stuck with whomever was at the hotel... a couple of Japanese tourists and an Indian family. No luck there... anyway, I bought some local beer (Druk 11000 is actually pretty good, but 8%...) After a five hour hike at high elevation, and three bottles in quick succession I was absolutely stonkered, something I never do when I'm by myself. Oh well! I was so blotto that I staggered back to my room and was asleep by half past 10... Happy New Year! (The hour had passed back in Australia, so I kind of made it!)
The following day it was snowing... which sucked because the airport was closed and my flight was delayed by four hours. But the snow on the mountains once the cloud cleared was beautiful so it wasn't so bad... plus I ended up with a Business Class ticket and got to wait it out in the lounge. Thank god for only having a BC class seat left (and it only costing $100 more than a standard seat, so I could afford it...) The general seating area is crap, and apparently the Calcutta-bound passengers virtually rioted when they realised their scheduled plane was going off somewhere else first... They kicked up such a stink the airline relented and they were off first. Don't blame em... they were due to leave at 8 am and had been in the airport for about six hours already...
Off to Khao Lak tomorrow... a few days by the beach should be just the cure I need to get over this cold I have come down with!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Back, closer, to civilisation!
This will be another very quick blog post as I'm on limited time. After three days out towards the east in Bhutan, I am back in Punakha where there is better internet. But it's expensive so will write more back in Thimphu tomorrow.
It has been a few days of spectacular mountain scenery viewed from some fairly hairy roads. The National Highway 2 in Bhutan is one of the great road trips in terms of scenery, but the narrow, bumpy and winding roads rates it pretty highly in the adrenalin stakes as well. There is a hell of a lot of road works happening as well. The roads traverse high mountain passes and skirt the edges of some pretty deep valleys. A bus went over the edge last week costing 9 lives, and we drove past two trucks that went over the edge (I believe the drivers were okay). Fortunately the driver is good and speeds are fairly low, so it hasn't been all that stressful (except when a truck squeezes past and a look out the window sees a drop of about 100 metres straight down.
I've been to Trongsa, Bumthang and Gangtey over the last few days... each of theses places (basically a different valley and community in each valley) are amazingly different. Trongsa has thick temperate rainforest, but once you head over the pass (which provides some great Himalayan views) you end up in a broad, pine-covered valley similar to Big Sky country in Montana. Gangtey is a high glacial valley where some very rare black-necked cranes spend the winter in the wetlands.
So all good so far. This is a very interesting and intriguing place...
More to come.
It has been a few days of spectacular mountain scenery viewed from some fairly hairy roads. The National Highway 2 in Bhutan is one of the great road trips in terms of scenery, but the narrow, bumpy and winding roads rates it pretty highly in the adrenalin stakes as well. There is a hell of a lot of road works happening as well. The roads traverse high mountain passes and skirt the edges of some pretty deep valleys. A bus went over the edge last week costing 9 lives, and we drove past two trucks that went over the edge (I believe the drivers were okay). Fortunately the driver is good and speeds are fairly low, so it hasn't been all that stressful (except when a truck squeezes past and a look out the window sees a drop of about 100 metres straight down.
I've been to Trongsa, Bumthang and Gangtey over the last few days... each of theses places (basically a different valley and community in each valley) are amazingly different. Trongsa has thick temperate rainforest, but once you head over the pass (which provides some great Himalayan views) you end up in a broad, pine-covered valley similar to Big Sky country in Montana. Gangtey is a high glacial valley where some very rare black-necked cranes spend the winter in the wetlands.
So all good so far. This is a very interesting and intriguing place...
More to come.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Christmas Eve in Bhutan
This will just be a quick post because I'm on a time limit... I'm in Punakha at the moment, which is in central Bhutan. It is much warmer here... almost balmy! and the scenery is quite different. It would be beautiful in the spring, because at the moment all of the rice paddies are empty and brown and not altogether appealing to look at.
The drive yesterday took me over the Dochu La pass, which offered amazing views of the eastern Himalayas... photos to come. We visited a stupa this morning after a 45 minute steady climb (slowly getting the hang of it!) for great views over the valley. We are visiting the Punahka Dzong this afternoon, which is a spectacular old fortress and the confluence of two rivers.
I will write more when I have more time. We are driving further east tomorrow where internet apparently hasn't reached, so I will wish Merry Christmas to everyone now. My guide has offered to let me use his computer this evening, and if he does, I will write another post then.
The drive yesterday took me over the Dochu La pass, which offered amazing views of the eastern Himalayas... photos to come. We visited a stupa this morning after a 45 minute steady climb (slowly getting the hang of it!) for great views over the valley. We are visiting the Punahka Dzong this afternoon, which is a spectacular old fortress and the confluence of two rivers.
I will write more when I have more time. We are driving further east tomorrow where internet apparently hasn't reached, so I will wish Merry Christmas to everyone now. My guide has offered to let me use his computer this evening, and if he does, I will write another post then.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
First full day in Bhutan
Today has been a very good day, and I'm really enjoying Bhutan so far. After breakfast, I learned that the rest of the travel group had cancelled, so I had my own private tour of Bhutan. This kind of sucked because the reason I opted for a tour was for some company over the Christmas / NY period, but on the upside, I can pretty much direct how the tour goes from here... If I'm tired I can cut out a walk, or add a night at a destination. This doesn't mean much considering I have no idea which places are worth seeing, so it's not like I can change things I don't know about...
We drove from Paro to the capital, Thimphu... the only capital city in the world without traffic lights. The city itself seems fairly new, and all the buildings look fairly similar... it kind of seems a touristy version of itself. We stopped off at one monastery in the south of the city, before settling into the hotel and heading off for the first steep walk of the trip... to Tango Gompa, where there was very little tangoing and a great deal of meditation. It is a meditation centre in a fort-like structure up the hill. The hike was steep but not terrible, and the view up the top was great. As it is just the guide and me, we were able to talk about a fair bit, and we spoke about a great deal of things, such as politics, religion and daily life in Bhutan. He is very informative and seemed interested in some of the Australian ways (although I suspect a lot of that is politeness as he obviously works closely with travellers all the time and knows a fair bit about what is going on.)
A couple of interesting things... Bhutan has only been a constitutional monarchy for a few years, starting democratic national elections in 2008. It was an absolute monarchy for the rest of the 1900s and has a history of turmoil in regards to leadership and government before that. I also learned that Bhutan is matriarchal in nature, with property moving from mother to daughter, husbands moving to live with the wife's family, and the women having most of the wealth. Often you see the very flash cars driven by women, and Petey my guide was telling me how wealthy his sister is because she inherited everything. He also told me it is not uncommon for wives to have strict curfews for their husbands... he has to be home by 5:30pm!
This part of Bhutanese society is particularly interesting, considering the monarchy is patriarchal in nature, and that the vast majority of new parliamentarians are men, and men - particularly in rural areas - have higher levels of education than women. Considering Bhutan has only had TV since 1999, it will be interesting to see how society changes. You can already see it Thimphu with a number of younger people dressing in very western ways, and acting in very stereotypical teenage ways (except for rebellious smoking because the sale of tobacco is banned.)
As a result of the changes, there is been a bit more freedom for the people (the guide reckons they have about 10% freedom now). However, the government still tells people what there jobs are. Petey wanted to be a teacher but was told to be a tour guide, which bugged him earlier on because teachers are one of the most respected professions in Bhutan (are you listening, Australia?) along with health care and monks. In Bhutan, your parents will sign you up at the monastery when you're about six years of old and you're stuck for life. It often happens when a family has many sons but no daughters, because the monk son can still provide once the sons have moved in with their mothers-in-law.
Have uploaded some Delhi photos onto Facebook.... add me if you want to see them: facebook.com/steveh4750. Will add some of Bhutan this far when I get to a computer that will allow me to plug in an SD card.
We drove from Paro to the capital, Thimphu... the only capital city in the world without traffic lights. The city itself seems fairly new, and all the buildings look fairly similar... it kind of seems a touristy version of itself. We stopped off at one monastery in the south of the city, before settling into the hotel and heading off for the first steep walk of the trip... to Tango Gompa, where there was very little tangoing and a great deal of meditation. It is a meditation centre in a fort-like structure up the hill. The hike was steep but not terrible, and the view up the top was great. As it is just the guide and me, we were able to talk about a fair bit, and we spoke about a great deal of things, such as politics, religion and daily life in Bhutan. He is very informative and seemed interested in some of the Australian ways (although I suspect a lot of that is politeness as he obviously works closely with travellers all the time and knows a fair bit about what is going on.)
A couple of interesting things... Bhutan has only been a constitutional monarchy for a few years, starting democratic national elections in 2008. It was an absolute monarchy for the rest of the 1900s and has a history of turmoil in regards to leadership and government before that. I also learned that Bhutan is matriarchal in nature, with property moving from mother to daughter, husbands moving to live with the wife's family, and the women having most of the wealth. Often you see the very flash cars driven by women, and Petey my guide was telling me how wealthy his sister is because she inherited everything. He also told me it is not uncommon for wives to have strict curfews for their husbands... he has to be home by 5:30pm!
This part of Bhutanese society is particularly interesting, considering the monarchy is patriarchal in nature, and that the vast majority of new parliamentarians are men, and men - particularly in rural areas - have higher levels of education than women. Considering Bhutan has only had TV since 1999, it will be interesting to see how society changes. You can already see it Thimphu with a number of younger people dressing in very western ways, and acting in very stereotypical teenage ways (except for rebellious smoking because the sale of tobacco is banned.)
As a result of the changes, there is been a bit more freedom for the people (the guide reckons they have about 10% freedom now). However, the government still tells people what there jobs are. Petey wanted to be a teacher but was told to be a tour guide, which bugged him earlier on because teachers are one of the most respected professions in Bhutan (are you listening, Australia?) along with health care and monks. In Bhutan, your parents will sign you up at the monastery when you're about six years of old and you're stuck for life. It often happens when a family has many sons but no daughters, because the monk son can still provide once the sons have moved in with their mothers-in-law.
Have uploaded some Delhi photos onto Facebook.... add me if you want to see them: facebook.com/steveh4750. Will add some of Bhutan this far when I get to a computer that will allow me to plug in an SD card.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Kathmandu & Bhutan
I can't really post much about Kathmandu. I arrived in the mid afternoon after another interesting drive to Delhi airport (where I saw the first beggars of the trip... I expected to see many more in Delhi, but there were none where I was staying). Security at the airport is incredibly tight, but very efficient. It is interesting travelling in a place like this where the terror threat is very genuine and the chance of attack much higher than in a place like Toronto where the security is terrible, inefficient and seems to exist just to annoy passengers. Bags and passports are checked repeatedly, pat downs are common (without the groin grope, thank you TSA) and everything takes time.
On arrival in Kathmandu I was surprised not to be met by the tour company, but luckily a helpful tour operator (perhaps the only one in Kathmandu not looking to fleece me for a dollar...) made a few calls. It turns out the rest of the tour are stuck in London and they weren't expecting me. Instead of going for a wander around Kathmandu, I was stuck in the hotel (which wasn't so bad because it was amazing...) to wait for phone calls, emails and the like explaining what is going on. Turns out that of the four people scheduled to join me on the tour, two have cancelled and two others were likely to cancel. So at this stage, I am on a tour on my own.
This morning saw an early return to the airport for another experience of tight security (although in the first part we were wending our way around the room all the while a stray bag was sitting in the middle of the room with no apparent owner, which was somewhat disconcerting...) I had luckily scored myself a window seat on the right side of the plane, but on boarding a local family asked if they could all sit together, and I did the karmic thing and relented. After the pilot said how great the view was going to be, I asked the flight attendant if there were any more window seats, at which point the family took pity on me and rearranged themselves. Thank god they did because the view was incredibly, and I can now say I have seen Mt Everest (albeit from the sky).
I am in Paro now... One of the main towns in Bhutan. Not the capital, but it is where the airport is. The weather, although a tad cold, is beautiful and clear and the scenery and architecture are fantastic. As I'm currenly the only tour member, I may be able to shuffle a few things around, so that will be a plus. I had hoped the guide would be hip and happening and maybe willing to push the edges of an otherwise very tightly regulated tourism industry, but no luck. He calls himself Petey and he seems nice but certainly not the rebellious type. I guess there is much to risk in pushing the boundaries. So at this stage, it will be me, Petey and the driver whose name I didn't quite catch, and who I am calling Silent Bob in the interim until I can get his name again. He, obviously, doesn't say much...
Anyway, the camera will get a work out. When I get to a computer that has an SD card reader, I will upload some photos... most likely to Facebook. (Although from what I can gather from news.com.au most people are using Facebook to look at nude pictures of Nick Riewoldt, so maybe there's no point....)
On arrival in Kathmandu I was surprised not to be met by the tour company, but luckily a helpful tour operator (perhaps the only one in Kathmandu not looking to fleece me for a dollar...) made a few calls. It turns out the rest of the tour are stuck in London and they weren't expecting me. Instead of going for a wander around Kathmandu, I was stuck in the hotel (which wasn't so bad because it was amazing...) to wait for phone calls, emails and the like explaining what is going on. Turns out that of the four people scheduled to join me on the tour, two have cancelled and two others were likely to cancel. So at this stage, I am on a tour on my own.
This morning saw an early return to the airport for another experience of tight security (although in the first part we were wending our way around the room all the while a stray bag was sitting in the middle of the room with no apparent owner, which was somewhat disconcerting...) I had luckily scored myself a window seat on the right side of the plane, but on boarding a local family asked if they could all sit together, and I did the karmic thing and relented. After the pilot said how great the view was going to be, I asked the flight attendant if there were any more window seats, at which point the family took pity on me and rearranged themselves. Thank god they did because the view was incredibly, and I can now say I have seen Mt Everest (albeit from the sky).
I am in Paro now... One of the main towns in Bhutan. Not the capital, but it is where the airport is. The weather, although a tad cold, is beautiful and clear and the scenery and architecture are fantastic. As I'm currenly the only tour member, I may be able to shuffle a few things around, so that will be a plus. I had hoped the guide would be hip and happening and maybe willing to push the edges of an otherwise very tightly regulated tourism industry, but no luck. He calls himself Petey and he seems nice but certainly not the rebellious type. I guess there is much to risk in pushing the boundaries. So at this stage, it will be me, Petey and the driver whose name I didn't quite catch, and who I am calling Silent Bob in the interim until I can get his name again. He, obviously, doesn't say much...
Anyway, the camera will get a work out. When I get to a computer that has an SD card reader, I will upload some photos... most likely to Facebook. (Although from what I can gather from news.com.au most people are using Facebook to look at nude pictures of Nick Riewoldt, so maybe there's no point....)
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Delhi explorations continued
On the tour, I visited a couple of temples (the Sikh and Jain temples... Sikhism is more appealing, if only for the fact they didn't hassle for a "donation" to the temple and to the guide...). We also went through a number of marketplaces, including an old market that is now used for housing (a term that I think should be used differently in India to just about anywhere else in the world...). The views were great and the camera got a workout, although I did my best to avoid intruding too much. It has been a real dilemma here... sites such as the Red Fort are great, but it is the everyday of existence of people that really appeals to me, and I'm not too sure how ethical that is....
After a couple of quick stops at the Mahatma Gandhi museum and memorial (and a stop at a shop, no doubt for commission purposes, where I was guilted into buying a couple of souvenirs... no doubt always part of the tour!) I arrived back, through the mass of humanity that are the markets, with hoards of people vying for either a bargain or a sale, spending an hour or so watching the sun set on the rooftop terrace. A few things struck me as I sat there... first, the number of mobile phone towers seemingly attached to anything, but more interestingly was the amount of life that is conducted on roofs. Some boys were playing cricket, others handball, but the biggest craze by far was kite flying. There were more kites than birds in the sky, with a huge number of men on the roof flying kites. I wonder if its a craze (like the occasional yo yo crazes of my childhood) or whether it is firmly entrenched.
Anyway, off to Kathmandu tomorrow. Will have to return to India again for sure!
After a couple of quick stops at the Mahatma Gandhi museum and memorial (and a stop at a shop, no doubt for commission purposes, where I was guilted into buying a couple of souvenirs... no doubt always part of the tour!) I arrived back, through the mass of humanity that are the markets, with hoards of people vying for either a bargain or a sale, spending an hour or so watching the sun set on the rooftop terrace. A few things struck me as I sat there... first, the number of mobile phone towers seemingly attached to anything, but more interestingly was the amount of life that is conducted on roofs. Some boys were playing cricket, others handball, but the biggest craze by far was kite flying. There were more kites than birds in the sky, with a huge number of men on the roof flying kites. I wonder if its a craze (like the occasional yo yo crazes of my childhood) or whether it is firmly entrenched.
Anyway, off to Kathmandu tomorrow. Will have to return to India again for sure!
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