It’s a Holiday in Cambodia

We have had Angkor Wat on our places to visit for a very long time.  During our early years together we didn’t even know about Angkor Wat.  When “Cambodia’ was mentioned you thought of US bombings or Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge, and the Killing Fields.  But with a stable government installed in the early 90’s things began to change.  And then they really changed when Angelina Jolie filmed part of Tomb Raider here.  Living in Singapore this was a “must do” as it is only a 2-hour flight.

We use the “budget” airlines on trips here, primarily Jet Star and Air Asia.  As with all budget airlines they charge for just about everything.  Are you checking a bag?  How much does it way? 10kg, 20kg, 25kg?  Even if you had a scale who knows how much your bag is going to weigh in advance of the trip (or on the return after buying “stuff”).  We usually go for the 20kg for our roll-aboards in advance (you save if you buy it while purchasing your ticket). 

The other thing we spring for is extra legroom seating. I’m 6’6”/1.98m so regular seats are a little tight.  Our first time flying them to Ho Chi Minh City we got assigned these seats on our return flight by a lovely gate agent at no charge. We have also learned that the front row seats have the additional that you are the first on and OFF the plane which can save a lot of time at immigration if there are multiple arrivals.

We arrived at Siem Reap airport and were first down the air stairs (no jetways here!).  We had done our e-visas in advance and were glad we did as there was a line at the Visa On Arrivals counter.  Quickly through immigration we picked up our bags, cleared customs, and headed for the exit.  There we found our driver holding our name and headed to a nearby mobile counter.

One of the things that we have learned while traveling is the advantages of buying a local SIM card for your phone.  (Now this doesn’t work on US phones that are “locked” until you have fully paid for them and gone through the typically troublesome process to unlock the phone with your carrier.)  We have spent anywhere from $8 to $20 USD for our stays depending on the country and how long we are staying.  Cambodia was the cheapest at $4 for 4 days, unlimited data.  Couple these chips with WhatsApp and your communication is covered.

Our hotel ( Chateau de Angkor La Residence) was a French colonial building in the old quarter of Siem Reap.  We had a two bedroom two bath apartment with a kitchen and large living room, albeit with VERY HARD seating for 4 people.  No elevators meant we walked up lots of stairs, but luckily they brought our bags to the room for us.   The living room had French doors that opened to a small balcony overlooking the pool.  All for about $100 per night including breakfast.

That night we walked to the tourist area for dinner, Pub Street.  Walking in a third-world country is never as easy or quick as Google says and this time was no different.  Sidewalks went from good to broken up to nonexistent in the same block.  Part of the time you walk on the road, other times you pick your way over chunks of concrete.  But we got there safe and sound.

With a name like Pub Street we expected something like Patong in Phuket Thailand, which I would describe as a Bourbon Street meets the beach—not our cup of tea.  Pub Street had bars and restaurants, but for us early birds they were fine.  The design of the places was a little eclectic.  Narrow alleys were filled with little hole in the wall places.

We had been told about one place, Miss Wongs, that looked very cool and was known for its cocktails, but at 6pm, it was empty.  We ended up at a restaurant called Temple Club.  It is on a corner of the main street of Pub Street and had comfortable chairs, good food, cheap drinks (by any standards, not just Singapore’s), and a great playlist.  We walked home (Julie really doesn’t like walking on third world sidewalks) and got to bed early as our alarms were set for 3:55am for sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Morning came quickly and we met up with our guide, Chann, and climbed into the van that would be taking us around.  First stop was to buy tickets for the temples.  Its set up quite well, the ticket place is on the edge of town with plenty of parking and Chann led us right to the ticket counter.  I was a little surprised that they took Visa (but glad they did at $67USD for a 3-day pass).  They also took your picture and printed it on the tickets to prevent them from being resold.

After a short drive we climbed out of our van and walked along the outside of the moat.  Chann pointed on our left the remnants of a wall that had been around a French colonial hotel where the archeologists had stayed.  It was destroyed in the civil war of the early 80’s.  We were not the only ones here and many hurried inside to see the sunrise over the main temple.  Chann kept us outside along the moat to watch it rise over all of Angor Wat.

And what a sunrise it was.  It quickly went from almost pitch black to the silhouettes of the five towers of Angor Wat appearing in the distance.  The sky filled with colors and the temple was reflected on the moat in front of us.  Finally, the sun appeared, rising to the right of the towers.  We waited for about 15 minutes for those that came to just see the sunrise to leave so we could enjoy the inside of the temple grounds with fewer people.

Walking across the moat on a floating bridge, we were at the western gates of the temple.  There you could see bullet holes from the civil war when Pol Pot’s army was on the inside and the Vietnamese army was on the outside.  Today the inside is mostly tourists with some occasional monkeys.

There are 5 towers at Angkor Wat, but if you look at the Cambodian flag you see only  three.  Walking towards the main temple from the west you see why.  The forced perspective put the two towers at the back behind the two in the front.  This may be the only time that an optical illusion has made it onto a country’s flag.

Chann was a great guide in that he led us to where people had been, not where they were going.  The effect was that it never seemed crowded even when it was.  He also knew all of the great photo opportunities and would say “stand here and take a picture of the reflection in the water”.   The results of our photos speak to his suggestions.

We finished our visit to Angkor Wat by climbing to the highest level of the temple where we could see in all directions.  You realize what a flat country Cambodia is from the few high points.  The galleries at this level also had religious sculptures, many missing their heads as a result of Pol Pot’s regime.  Humankind is often not very kind.

Back in our van for a short ride to Ta Phrom, the temple made famous by Lara Croft Tomb Raider.  This temple is very different than Angkor Wat.  As you approach the temple from the parking area (and the requisite hawkers—here is a nice story) you walk down a wide path/road into the jungle.  All of a sudden you come upon the temple, itself almost part of the jungle.

The sandstone blocks of the temple are stacked without any sort of mortar.  When the trunks and roots of trees grow they nudge these blocks so everything is slightly askew.  Even the bas relief figures carved into stones don’t quite align. The kapok trees are now an integral part of this temple.

One of the carvings sure looked like a brontosaurus!

Diner that night was at a pizza place off Pub Street.  Rather than walk we spent the $2 USD for a tuk-tuk.  My first real exposure to tuk tuk was in Mumbai several years ago and every country seems to have its own style of tuk-tuk.  India’s are different than Thailand’s (see our tuk tuk adventure in Bangkok) that are different than Cambodia.  Cambodia’s are more like a trailer attached to a motorcycle.  Quick and efficient, and getting more so with Grab’s new service in Phnom Penh. 

Motorcycles are a way of life in Cambodia, much like Vietnam.  We saw something here that we haven’t seen—motorcycle trailers.  The trailers are larger than you would expect and used for delivery.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to navigate one of these rigs, but the driver/drivers do it effortlessly.

The next day we headed to Banteay Srei Temple which is known for its pink sandstone construction.  It was built in the 10^th century and the carvings are still vivid in their details.  The drive to the temple was about 45 minutes and went through rural villages that had only received electricity in the last year.  Cambodia is still an emerging country.

Our last Cambodian temple was Pre Rup.  Pre Rup stands apart from others in the area as it is the highest one around.  It’s a good place to view sunsets, but we were tired and decided to skip (Chann told us it would probably be overcast and we readily agreed).  The views in the afternoon were worth the climb up the steps (Julie felt better when she discovered the steep steps were not the only way up and there was a wooden stairway on the side with handrails.

Pre Rup means “turn the body” in Khmer and archaeologists speculate that this served as a crematorium.  As we stood in an annex to the main temple, you could almost smell the smoke and ash.

Cambodia was our second to last Southeast Asia country to visit (only Laos remains).  It’s an easy place to visit with many locals speaking passable English, prices are usually quoted in USD, and there is so much to see.  The country is still recovering from the genocide of almost 40 years ago and will be for generations to come, but the warmth and resilience of the people can’t be missed.

Deepa Thoughts

Every autumn Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs celebrate Deepavali, sometimes spelled Dewali or Dipavali.  Deepavali is one of Singapore’s 11 public holidays. 

It is known as the Festival of Lights (from the Sanskrit “Dipa” which means “lantern” or “light”).  Its origins date back over a thousand years and celebrates harvest, much as Thanksgiving does in the US.  It is also a time for families to gather.  And like Thanksgiving’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday, it is also a big shopping time in India.  Two of India’s largest merchants have big sales:  Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale and Amazon India’s Great Indian Festival.

We were able to learn more about the holiday by being part of an American Women’s Association (AWA) tour of Singapore’s Little India.  We had some friends in town from Portland so they joined us too.

About 16 of us met up with our favorite Singapore tour guide, Diana Chua.  Julie has been on several tours with her through the AWA.  We also had arranged for her to take us on a private tour when we had 8 friends here from the US for Asiapalooza 2018.  What we like about Diana is that she gives color commentary that goes beyond what you’re seeing—she’s both proud of her Singaporean heritage and knowledgeable about it.

Tekka Wet Market was our first stop.  Wet markets are pretty common in Singapore and a lot cheaper than Cold Storage or other supermarkets.  “Tekka” means “bamboo clumps” and dates back to times when Rochor Road and the canal was the Rochor River, lined with bamboo clumps under which people sat in the shade and sold vegetables. Today this market is known for its fresh seafood downstairs and Indian clothing upstairs.

The Shree Lakshminarayan Temple was our next stop.  This is a very non-descript temple established to serve the Northern India community.  Diana (not surprisingly) had done a dry run the evening before and had us there in time for a ceremony that, among other things, had bells ringing and ringing and ringing—the din was on the verge of being painful.  Like so many temples in Asia, we were welcomed with open arms.

After we left (and our ears quit ringing) we wandered through the streets of Little India learning about its history from Diana.  A couple of my favorites are how the street named “Racecourse” used to be part of Singapore’s horse racing track.  One of the nearby alleyways even had murals of horses.  The other was Singapore’s Curry Murder.  How does the murder (and cooking) of a church caretaker off Orchard Road tie to Little India?  Turns out that the victim was part of a family of caretakers and his brother was the caretaker of a Methodist church in Little India.

We arrived at the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple at the perfect time, just as they were preparing to hoist one of the deities onto two long beams to be carried by ~20 men around the temple.  At the same time there was background music and drumming. The sight of this obviously heavy statue being carried by slowly rocking men was something to see.  Perhaps my favorite part was the man who carried a parasol at the end of a long pole to shade the statue (even though this was at night). [VIDEO]

The other thing that stood out at this temple was the rather graphic displays of a woman, Periyachi Amman who is the protector of children.  Near a rear corner of the temple is an image of her with a fetus held high above her.  Legend is if this fetus had touched the earth t would bring on the end of the earth.  The woman lays across her lap, and the evil king father is trampled under her feet.  The umbilical cord is in her mouth, being severed by her teeth.  Graphic and memorable.

The last stop of the night was an Indian buffet dinner at Madras Woodland Ganga .  This is a vegetarian restaurant with a wide variety of Indian foods to sample (and get seconds for the ones that you really like).  It wasn’t fancy or expensive, but it was darn good.

Our walk from the restaurant to the nearest MRT was through a street market filled with Deepavali goods for sale—painted decals for the floors, flowers, garlands, and all sorts of hanging stuff too low for me to comfortably walk through.

Next Deepavali we will head back to Little India again.

No Time to Change

Today is Sunday, 4 November.  In the US it means that in most places everyone sets their clocks back to Standard Time.  And almost everyone complains about how they hate changing time—“why not just keep the same time all year round?” they say and think.

Living in Singapore we found out that there is no Daylight Savings Time here.  Why? When you are located less than 100 miles from the equator there is no need.  Days are basically the same length year-round.  It’s easy to remember sunrise and sunset times—about 7am and 7pm all year round.  And while it makes perfect sense, we had never thought about it before.

Here are a few of examples to illustrate the point.  The first is the length of days in Singapore throughout the year.  Very few changes.

The next one you can see clearly see San Francisco’s longer summer days and shorter winter ones.

And the last example is Fairbanks AK (the furthest north we have ever driven).  And while the sun “technically” sets there, the real result never gets past twilight.

Just one of those odd things that we didn’t ever thing about.

A (Bar) Room with a View

The views around Singapore’s Marina really are Singapore.  The area is dotted with icons such as The Singapore Flyer, the Marina Bay Sands, the skyline of the CBD, the Merlion (the symbol of Singapore), and the Esplanade Arts Center.  (All of these were part of Crazy Rich Asians—the movie that put Singapore on the map this year with those that thought it was in China.)

Anywhere along the water you can get spectacular views.  Photos almost always come out beautiful.  But we have found a handful of places not only can your eyes feast on the view, but you can enjoy a cocktail as well.

If the marina were a compass, the following 4 bars would be the cardinal points.  Each takes you above ground level to varying degrees.   And all are a great way to enjoy an evening nightcap.

Orgo – The Esplanade is Singapore’s arts center.  I don’t think we have been there when there hasn’t been some sort of public music event going on.  Getting to the rooftop can be a little confusing, but persistence will get you there and it will be worth it. 

A great cocktail menu will keep your interest. But once you decide what you want put it down and turn your eyes towards the view.  Conversations with your friends are not eye to eye, everyone talks as they look out to see the MBS to the left and the CBD in front of you.

LeVel 33 – Billed as “The World’s Highest Urban Craft-brewery”, the view from here can’t be missed.  There is a long outdoor patio area where you can enjoy a brew, wine, or cocktail.  The small bites are yummy too.  The restaurant is good (kangaroo anyone?), but the view is the highlight. 

Ce Le Vi -- The Marina Bay Sands is probably the most over the top building, not just in Singapore, but in the world.  Described by some as 3 towers topped with either a ship or a giant surfboard, EVERYONE who comes to Singapore is drawn to the top.  

And there are 3 ways; 1) Pay ~$800 SGD for a night in the hotel (this DOES include access to the infinity pool which is an experience in itself), 2) Go to the Rooftop Observatory 57 stories above the ground for $23 SGD, or 3) Go to Ce Le Vi which charges $20 SGD which can be redeemed at the bar for $20 SGD—basically you get to go up for free.

Finding a table under an umbrella can be a bit of a challenge, but we have always succeed.  The drinks are OK (I usually go for a tall Stella), but who needs drinks when you can look down on Singapore and over to Malaysia and Indonesia. 

After you are back down to ground level, wander around a bit.  You are somewhat limited, but there is a great view form the south side looking down on the Super Trees at Gardens by the Bay.

Smoke and Mirrors – Sitting atop the National Gallery, this rooftop bar looks directly across the marina to the MBS.  While not as high as LeVel 33 or Ce Le Vi, it still impresses.

In all honesty we have yet to be there at night, but we will.

What a Mickey Mouse Place

A couple of days of business meetings for me in Tokyo was a great reason to take a day of holiday to work in a visit to Tokyo Disney for Julie and Christopher. They spent 5 days between Tokyo Disney and Disney Sea while I got in 3.  And since the LONGEST ticket package you can buy there is for four days, we pretty much saw everything.

Jungle Cruise

Julie and I both grew up in Southern California, not too far from Disney in California, so we went a lot in our younger years.  Christopher is a Disney encyclopedia of theme park knowledge.  All said, we have a fair bit of Disney park understanding.

Rather than go on and on about what is the same in Tokyo, it’s probably more interesting to go through what’s different—and were there ever differences.

So Alike!

First off is language.  For those that haven’t been to Japan before let me say that English is not widely spoken.  And Disney isn’t all that different from the rest of Tokyo.  And my Japanese is limited to “Hello”, “Thank you”, and the ability to count to 3.  But it all works.  Like virtually everywhere else that we have been if you try with a smile you can usually get things figured out, or at least have a good laugh on both sides at misunderstandings.

The Backside of Water

What surprised me was even the rides were mostly in Japanese.  Luckily we knew much of the underlying dialogue, but it was funny sometimes.  My favorite one was The Jungle Cruise.  This ride is SO DEPENDENT on language for bad puns and jokes that it was completely lost on us, other than the ‘backside of water” joke.  (Back in early 2017 we were at Hong Kong Disney and they addressed this issue through having 3 different lines based on language; Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.) 

Bear Country Jamboree had many of the songs in English, but the chatter between songs was all in Japanese.   You take for granted how much is in English wherever you go in the world and this was a reminder of how we “English only” speakers have it.  Japanese narration made for a unique experience.

The other thing that stood out was just how expressive the Japanese were in enjoying rides.  One of our first rides was Star Tours and the laughs, giggles, and screams made it so cool to experience (even if we really didn’t completely understand what our pilot C3PO said).  In Mickey’s Philharmagic it was the audience members reaching out to the 3D effects that were floating in front of you—it wasn’t just a few people, but half the audience.  I loved the enthusiasm and it was contagious to us. 

The screams were also a big part of the Space Mountain experience we had, but my favorite part was the unintentional behind the scenes look I got of Space Mountain. 

"Guests of a certain body size"?

It was one of the first rides we went on in Tokyo Disney when we got there.  We were towards the back of the line when a cast member came up and asked if we had been on the ride yet?  I told her that we had just gotten to the park and it was our first ride of the day.  She told us how the rides were built for Japanese sized riders and would I mind having a test fitting.

Leaving Julie and Christopher in line (and perhaps a little confused) I followed her to the base of the building where we enter a “Cast Members Only” door and headed down a hallway to another door.  There she knocked 3 times, waited a couple of seconds, then opened it up and this time we walked down a long flight of metal stairs to another door.  The same knocking sequence and we entered.  Inside this room in the bowels of the Space Mountain building was a track siding and a couple of cars.  It was here that my “test fitting” would happen.

She pulled over some wooden steps and I climbed up into a seat at the front of the car and struggled to get in and pull the lap bar down.  And I did it, but it wasn’t easy.  She had me try again but this time cross my feet while standing.  As I sat down the lap bar easily pulled across my lap—SUCCESS!  I then tried it in a middle row seat—NO PROBLEM!  I was set.

Matching

Space Mountain was a throwback to the original one in California—dark with whirling planets and flashing stars projected on the walls.  No pounding rock and roll soundtrack, just the screams of other riders.  It was fun.

Matching

Another “Only in Japan” experience were the way groups dressed alike.  Not just groups of teenage girls dressed as school girls, but groups of teenage boys in matching pants and shirts.  There would be large mixed groups of teenagers in a Tigger hat, shirt, and pants.  And it wasn’t only teenagers we saw doing this.  Couples in their 30s would have matching outfits.  And whole families, Mom, Dad, kids, and baby would have matching outfits.

Parade Waiting

Shows and parades are very popular at Tokyo Disney.  As we arrived at opening one day, people were already seated and saving places for a parade.  And in typical Japanese fashion it was kept clean and orderly by having small plastic mats, many Disney themed.  We got up close and personal one day waiting to see Big Band Beat, in which a former schoolmate of Christopher’s had a lead dancing role.   We needed to sit on the ground for about 45 minutes and while we were not only the only westerners, I think we were the only ones without our plastic ground mat.  We improvised by using a disassembled cardboard carrying tray.

Welcome!

The Japanese can be frugal too and Disney caters to that. They sell evening tickets that start at 6pm until closing at 10pm.  Cast members stand inside the entrances of the parks in tight rows with big Mickey gloves, welcoming those entering with high-fives.  It was fun to experience and see the enthusiasm of the cast members.

Sound Effects

One other thing stood out.  As you may know the Japanese take their toilets and bathrooms very seriously (Fun Fact: 70% of homes have Toto Washlets, yet only 30% have dishwashers).  The stalls at Disney’s washrooms have sound machines that emit the sound of running water in the background.  Acts as both an incentive and an audio barrier.

Tallest person in
Tokyo Disney

Tokyo Disney and DisneySea were definitely worth doing, not only to experience Disney but to see the Japanese version of it.  If we did it again we would definitely stay at one of the resort hotels again (Hilton Disney).  Also 3-4 days is enough times unless you are hard core like Christopher.  What a great experience.