Bali-Always a Holiday

I recently went to Bali over the holidays (last month) and finally getting around to updating this blog. I think I have too many blogs going and I go through spurts. Anyway, back to Bali.

It was my 4th trip to Bali and just like previous trips, it never disappoints. We ended up staying in Legian this time (north of Kuta) and made the mistake of not booking any accommodation during peak season and arriving late at night. This of course wasn't my plan! Needless to say, we barely found any rooms available. We ended up staying at a hotel that was ranked 32nd out of 33 hotels in Legian on Trip Advisor. The rooms had dirty sheets, it was loud and rude staff. I actually forget the name but did write a nasty review on Trip Advisor.

Anyway, on to the good points! We spent most of the time shuttling back and forth between yummy Balinese food and the beach. Every time we went to the beach, our chair guy was always there with a big smile with the "best cold Bintang beer". It was cold enough and served it's purpose for sure.

One of the highlights was learning how to surf. I actually got up the first time! Bali is the perfect place to practice surfing as the waves aren't too big, at least where we were. Once we had more confidence, we would try some of the bigger ones and the ocean quickly reminded us how powerful mother nature can be.

Other highlights were all the delicious food. We went back to this restaurant on the strip called Zanzibar. Very swanky, nice rooftop and upscale seafood. We also did a trip up to Ubud which was fun for market shopping and had an amazing view of the rice terraces.

We'll definitely be going back to Bali again!

Angkor Wat-Not just another temple

So after the build-up, I finally had a chance to experience Angkor Wat. Leading up to it, I had asked some of my friends about the temples. In my mind, I had pictured one gigantic temple deep in the heart of the jungle that I could easily explore within an hour. My friend Chris laughed when I said this and told me it is huge and I would have to hire a driver for the day and still wouldn't be able to see everything. Still, in my stubbornness, I was sure that I could see all the temples easily within the day. However, just to be safe, I bought a 3 day pass for 40USD.

I hired a tuk tuk driver though my hotel for 10 USD a day. I soon learned that my driver was not the most prepared person in Cambodia. When he arrived at my hotel at 8am, I was eager to get going. However, he wasn't. He asked to use the hotel bathroom and after 15 impatient minutes, he came out with a smile that showed he either enjoyed the luxurious bathroom we had or got rid of some excess weight from the day before. Anyway, not a problem. We took the 8 km trip north of Siem Reap on a dusty, pot-hole infested road and I was excited because I was finally going to see Angkor Wat. I enjoyed the scenic landscape of rice fields and many kids on bicycles waving to me on the way. One opportunistic boy grabbed on to the tuk tuk and traveled with us for a kilometer or two. He was very photogenic and took a couple of photos of this magical moment (photo below).



I decided that I didn't want to see Angkor Wat first and instead visit some of the smaller surrounding temples first and build up the experience to Angkor Wat. I also wanted to avoid the crowds. As I looked at the map, I learned that the whole site is a collection of perhaps 40 or 50 different temples that covers 300 square kilometers! So that whole plan of seeing everything in a couple of hours is looking less and less likely. I told my driver that I wanted to visit Ta Keo first and I passed by Angkor Wat on the way. I was surprised at the enormity of it all. A massive moat (supposedly full of fierce crocodiles) surrounds the main temple. On a stretch of deserted road, our tuk tuk started to make some strange noises and sputtered to a stop. I asked the driver what was wrong. He replied, "problem sir, no petrol." Again I questioned my driver's preparedness, sighed and sat back in the tuk tuk and accepted this as just another part of life in SE Asia. He found a passing motorbike, giggling to himself and hopped on the back leaving me alone in the jungle next to a partially excavated wall.



After about 15 minutes, he came back (still giggling) and fueled up his bike. I asked him, "Are you sure we have enough gas for the rest of the trip?" He laughed and off we went.

The day went well and each temple was truly spectacular and unique in its own right. Since many of the temples were constructed at different time periods and by different kings, they each took on symbolism and styles from that time period. Just when I thought I was tiring of it all, I would go to the next temple and be completely blown away again. My favorites were the ones in which were overgrown with trees and roots that created a certain kind of symbiotic relationship between nature and architecture. I also liked them because I could pretend I was Indiana Jones ready to uncover the lost treasure or acting in a Tomb Raider movie ready to kick some monster ass.


By the time I actually got to see Angkor Wat, I was tired, sweaty and grumpy. It was impressive and one of the best parts was that I went at mid-day when there was hardly anyone else there. Shortly after this, I headed back to Siem Reap for a hot shower, delicious khmer food and cold beer!

Cambodia-Where the world slows to a hault

It's amazing how 2 countries that are so close in proximity can be worlds apart. Back in KL this morning, I casually strolled to KL city center where I could do a city check-in with Malaysian Airlines. The station was clean, efficient and hardly a soul there. I took the express train to the airport which was comfortable and fast, boarded my flight to Siem Reap where I dreamed of Indiana Jones-esque temples to explore through the jungles of Cambodia. When I arrived in Siem Reap, I was greeted by a tiny air terminal, 5 different customs and visa forms to fill out to enter the country, and a lot of workers just hanging around. I was slightly dismayed that my hotel pick-up wasn't there to greet me. When I asked if I could call them on the nearest pay phone, the attendant's response was, "Sorry, we don't have any pay phones at this airport". No problem I thought, I paid the 2USD for a fun motorbike trip into town with a fellow named Kim.

On a side note, I'm not sure why I haven't been flying Malaysia Air more often rather than the low cost budget airline, Air Asia. Malaysian Air has a check-in you can do from the KL Sentral station, has a much nicer airport, allows you to choose your seat, and serves you food and alcohol. AND, it was 30 RM cheaper!

Anyway, back to my adventure. I planned to do a 2 week trip through Cambodia and Laos with as little planned as possible. The more I travel, the less I like packaged tours where every detail of your holiday is planned to the times you are supposed to go to the toilet. Where is the spontaeniety and adventure in that? In fact, I booked a one-way ticked to Siem Reap 3 days before I was set to travel. I don't start work again until the end of July so my travel is pretty flexible.

The only goals I have are to:
-See Angkor Wat
-Go to Phnom Penh (is it just me or is it the hardest 2 words to spell)
-Visit Laos
-Keep a travel blog of my adventures

My thoughts on Siem Reap so far:
-It is much grittier than other countries in SE Asia (Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand)
-Roads are dusty, somewhat chaotic, and hot
-Well established tourist scene with tons of small cafes and guesthouses
-EVERYTHING is in US dollars. Very strange considering how far away they are from the place. I haven't carried US dollars in quite some time.
-Beer and food is incredibly cheap. (Happy hour prices=0.50). This makes me very happy coming from KL!

That's it for Day 1. The next 2 days will be seeing Angkor Wat. I'm not a big temple person but friends tell me it is truely spectacular.