Angkor Wat, scuba diving, and making putt putt history

It’s been a long time since my last post, and for that I offer my sincere apologies. I wish to apologize especially to Kelsey, for anyone who knows her can attest she is the last person you want to disappoint. My b Kels you deserve better.

There are some major gaps to fill in, and fill them in I shall. This post will comprise the rest of my stay in Cambodia. Subsequent posts, coming very soon, will include my journey to Vietnam and motorbike excursion north. Sound good?

I stayed on the island of Koh Rong on and off for around a week, and in the course of my stay I signed up for a PADI open water scuba dive course with the Cambodia Diving Group. This turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. Scuba diving is awesome. Breathing under water, seeing vast, diverse, colorful marine life, in utter tranquility, moving gracefully in all directions. No worries. It’s something that must be experienced.

The staff was led by a middle-aged gent named Simon, a feisty, no nonsense Brit with unapologetic crudeness. I must add that he was a stellar instructor who took excellent care of me, even giving me a full day of free diving after my course. He was methodical and well-organized yet equally diligent in making sure everyone was enjoying themselves; a party animal you might say, albeit a mediocre dancer.

A couple of other noteworthy mentions – Didi, a swiss divemaster and professional Muay Thai fighter who knew like 8 languages, was the resident clown on the staff. During the afternoon dive on my last day he held me down, unclasped my tank, ripped off my mask, and inflated my BCD so that I went rocketing to the surface. Twice. It was however in relatively shallow water so I was in no danger. What a little douche though, I’ll have my revenge one day after I put on about 30 pounds of muscle.

I dove with Erik a couple of days. He’s a Dutch finance lawyer who works with very large companies (he’s done well). He came to Koh Rong having no experience whatsoever, stayed for 7 weeks and left a divemaster. In a year or so he plans to buy a large sailboat to sail around the world. What a baller. Bora, a Cambodian divemaster, was so freaking cool. Awesome guy to shoot the shit with and learn from. Then there was Salome, a Dutch divemaster who worked in reception. She was extremely helpful during my entire stay there, a tireless worker from dawn till dusk, and might I add a stone cold fox.

That said, if you ever find yourself in the Sihanoukville area or are planning to venture out to the Cambodian isles, check out the Cambodian Diving Group, and better yet, do yourself a favor and sign up for a course, you won’t regret it (http://www.cambodiandivinggroup.com).

My stay in Cambodia also included a 5 day trip to Siem Reap, home to Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious memorial, as well as Angkor What?, the world’s sleaziest dance bar. I was reunited with a few travel buddies from Laos – Alex, a redheaded Canadian dame who almost made it big as a synchronized swimmer, Jorien, a tall Dutch ballerina, and Phil, a pale Brit, savvy negotiator, known to many for his uncommon valor both on and off the golf course.

Speaking of golf, we found a cute minigolf course called Angkor Wat Putt with miniature versions of Angkor Temples on each hole. A hole-in-one earned you a free beer. If my memory serves me Phil made one and I made two (no big deal). Also, an all-time leaderboard greeted us as we arrived which immediately stirred my competitive nature. I realized about midway through the round (of 14 holes for some reason) that I was on track to make the board; history if you will. In the end I finished one shot off of the last name on the leaderboard, but thankfully there was enough room left to squeeze me in on the bottom.

 

 

While we played the owner was wasted with some buddies, running around the course for hole-in-one competitions. He was so nice to us, we chatted for a while about his business as the sun set and then he drove us back to our hostel. If you’re ever in Siem Reap definitely check it out (http://www.angkorwatputt.com).

The main attraction of course was Angkor Wat, which needless to say was breathtaking, awesome in the truest sense. I saw Angkor Wat over the course of about a day and a half with Lena, the sweetest, cutest, little German girl EVER. She was an outstanding companion, eager to learn and explore, and kept me moving and interested when I got lazy. I’m just sorry I didn’t get a chance to spend more time with her. Lena, wherever you are, you’re awesome.

Anywhosie, Lena and I first went to Angkor Wat at sunset, but I wasn’t allowed to ascend the temple because I was wearing a tanktop, so I had to watch the sunset from a lower platform with all the other rejects in revealing clothing. I was upset with our Tuk-Tuk driver who’d told me my outfit was allowed, that it was only women who needed to cover their shoulders. I gave him a piece of my mind all right.

As I sat on a hill at sunset, gazing out at one of the holiest sites on earth admist a group of the provocatively-dressed, the girls on either side of me were engrossed in their respective screens. One played Angry Birds on her iPad, the other played loud K-Pop out of her plastic jewel encrusted iPhone. I asked the latter if she could turn her music down, and she responded by telling me the time. I asked her again, careful this time to annunciate, to which she responded by smiling and saying “You like?” before throwing her arms above her head, waving them as if she didn’t care, then gave me a look as if inviting me to join. I refused. I pointed to my ears, then made a throat-cutting gesture. She got the message. But then put on another song a few minutes later. Against all odds I kept my cool and let it go. Two things that often stood in the way of connecting with the history and spirituality of Angkor Wat were the swarms of loud, obnoxious Japanese and Chinese tourists, as well as the constant effort of local merchants endeavoring to sell us stuff, refusing to take no for an answer, following us on foot for long stretches.

The next morning at 5am Lena and I took a Tuk-Tuk back to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise over the main temple. It was beautiful, one of those things you have to see once in your life. The crowds were annoying, especially the inconsiderate Asian tourists who did nothing but converse at high volumes and snap thousands of pictures. The concept of sitting quietly, taking in a majestic setting through the eyes alone seemed lost on them. I hate to generalize but this was my experience. Still, this is one of the most popular tourist sites in the world for a reason. Angkor Wat is incredible.

At perhaps 6-6:30 or so Lena and I set off to explore the temples. For the uninformed, I should clarify that Angkor Wat is not merely a large temple or group of temples on a field. Angkor Wat (meaning “City of Temples”) is a complex of ancient, massive Hindu and Buddhist temples built in the 12th century that once comprised the largest preindustrial city on earth, spanning over 1,000 square kilometers. While the shear size of the temples and the ground they cover is mind-boggling, perhaps even more impressive are the meticulous, ornate carvings covering every foot of stone, both interior and exterior. Try to imagine what an undertaking it was to construct this. When Europeans first arrived in Cambodia they were astounded at what had been built. It completely changed their impression of what Southeast Asians were capable of. I could go on and on about the history of Angkor but I shall spare you, for I know that is not why you are reading my blog. Instead I’ll just show some pictures of the place and I’m sure you’ll have a pretty good idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most people spend 3 days minimum exploring Angkor Wat, many stay a week or more. Lena and I basically crammed it all into one day, something every guide book advises against. There are so many temples to see and one can only spend so many hours in a day exploring ancient ruins before it becomes difficult to appreciate them fully. This was definitely the case for me. First of all, Lena and I explored the Angkor Temple first, violating the age-old rule that you don’t ride the biggest roller coaster first because then everything else isn’t as good. Oh well.

We began the day at 5am to see the sunrise, but another important reason to start so early is that by midday it gets very, very hot. It was late March, just a week or so away from the hottest time of the year in Cambodia. At around 2:30pm, after around 9 hours of exploring, Lena and I were simply exhausted, templed-out, and we called it a day.

A couple of days later I took part in a circus workshop, in which I found out that I have a knack for juggling.

After Siem Reap and Koh Rong I traveled to Kampot for a couple days. Cute area, I did some exploring on a rented motorbike, visiting a pepper plantation (as in salt and… ) and Kep, a small coastal town near the border of Vietnam famous for their crabs. I ate fried crab with pepper at a place recommended to me in Kep, washed it all down with a couple glasses of white, then found a hammock on the beach to nap for a couple of hours. Nice pace of life.

After that I took a bus back to Phnom Penh where I reconnected with Evan, an American from Miami who I had meet very briefly at a full moon party on Koh Rong Samloem. He was leaving on a boat the next day for Chau Doc, a small city just across the Vietnam border on the Mekong Delta. I had originally planned to go straight to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), but this presented an opportunity to check out some terrain in the south and traverse the Delta. I met Evan on the roof of my hostel that evening. After 2 pitchers of beer and some serious bonding we were ready to join forces. The next day I bid farewell to Cambodia, sad to leave but excited to see Vietnam.