Indochina part 1

I’ve been in Chiang Mai for 9 days now and I’m planning on being here at lease an other week. I’ve been working from my friend Simon’s office on some new projects I’ve been contracted with. As expected I was lazy and did not write as often as I had intended. It’s been close to six weeks since my last post and guilt got the best of me. I will take time each morning before work to write about the past few weeks. This is part one.

After my trip to the south of Thailand I spent close to a month traveling in the former French colonial Indochina. I left Bangkok by bus heading east to Siem Reap. The bus took 5 hours to get to the Cambodian border. After the long and grueling paper work I managed to get my visa without being extorted and walked across the border to the city of Poipet. This post apocalyptic town is known as the gambling capital of Southeast Asia and as nothing interesting to offer aside from transport out of there. I swear I saw Snake Plissken past by me on is motor bike. I did not want to spend 10 hours in an other bus so I shared a taxi with 2 nice American I met earlier that day. 4 hours later I was checking in Pavillon d’Indochine one of the nicest hotel I had the pleasure to stay in during this trip. As you might have guest the hotel is own by an French expat.

Siem Reap is 5.5km south of UNESCO World Heritage Angkor Wat. I spent 3 days visiting these impressive Khmer temples who’s construction were initiated in the first half of the 12th century. The people of Cambodia are amazing. They have suffer so much and yet they are smiling all the time. Cambodia has one of the highest rates of physical disability of any country in the world. 40,000 Cambodians are estimated to have suffered amputations as a result of mine injuries since 1979. It’s not rare to see children with missing limbs on the street. There are still many active land mines, laid by the Khmer Rouge, spread across Cambodia and most often they are discovered by children playing in the forest or in filed close to their home. After my 3 day cultural immersion in ancient Khmer history I chose to visit the nearby floating village of Kompong Phhluk settled on the fringe of Tonlé Sap, the largest fresh water lake in south-east Asia. People there live on a boat or in a floating house. They play basketball on a floating courts and get educated in a floating schools. Most of the people are poor and manage to subsist through fishing. Although school is free, most parent can’t afford school supplies. My tour guide ask me if I was interested in helping out. I said yes without any hesitation. We stopped at a floating convenience store where I bought 40 note books and 40 pencils and we then went directly to the school to give them out. It’s incredible how such small things as books and pencil can make a difference in a kids life. The smile on their face was worth a million dollars.

I spent 7 wonderful days in Siem Reap but unfortunately I did not have the time to explore any other regions of Cambodia. I will have to go back for a extended period of time to visit the rest of this beautiful country.

Next destination Hanoi, Vietnam…