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Alright, so everyone does something for their 1000 incremental posts. That's utter bullshit. So, this is my 4999 post. Buck the trend. =D
For my post-bar trip, I went to Japan.
http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=329915
In 2008, a friend of mine from high school graduated from her law school. She went to Cambridge to get a masters beforehand, so it took her a few extra years to graduate. For her post-bar trip, she wanted to backpack through southeast Asia, and thus began our adventures.
First stop, Thailand.
Bangkok
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Warnings at some of the temples.
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Some Muay Thai boxing (the kids were boxing that day, but they were vicious).
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Ayutthaya (Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya), former Siamese capital.
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And, finally, the way to get around Bangkok: the tuk tuk.
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Next stop, Cambodia.
Angkor Wat and nearby temples.
First, our mode of transportation and gear to cut down the red dust everywhere.
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Our other mode of transport.
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Now, some temples (I dont remember all the names, so bear with me).
Angkor Wat
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Bayon
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Ta Prohm
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Beng Mealea (this temple is still overgrown, but I got a tour from some local kids; they kinda ran when the cops showed up though and left us to explain).
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Random temples/gates I dont remember the name.
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After Angkor Wat, we visited Phnom Penh (the capital) for the killing fields and torture chambers (Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Fields
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Because that shit was depressing, a story. I went to one of the temples and a lady asked me if I wanted to buy water. I was holding water, so I said no. Then she said, "I'll give you a good deal" as I was drinking my water. I said no again. Then, she said, "baby? five dollars!" I didn't give her five dollars, but I got a picture of the baby after we laughed a bit. My mother said she wanted an authentic Cambodian gift, so I sent the picture home and told her I bought her a baby.
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Next Stop, Vietnam
Nha Trang (where they held the 2008 Miss Universe Contest)
The beach. + Show Spoiler +
People would go along the beach selling stuff. This girl kept getting me cold sodas and chips. Charged me 300% of the cost, but I didn't have to get off my lazy ass. =D + Show Spoiler +
Since I got my mom the authentic Cambodian souvenir, I decided to get her a Vietnamese one as well. Except this one decided to adopt me instead of me adopting her. + Show Spoiler +
For some reason, my pictures will no longer load, so I am adding the remainder to the post below.
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The temple. + Show Spoiler +
The flash flood of the whole damn city (yeah, seriously). + Show Spoiler +
Saigon / Ho Chi Minh City. I only went to the "re-education center" since there was not much time. It was like reading tl.net threads; god, the country bashing.
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By the end I was laughing at the propaganda, but then the guard looked at me and I was concerned I would have to be re-educated so got my ass out of there.
To end this long ass trip on a good note: Hot as Pho~!
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Cheers all!
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Great pics! Wish I could travel the world like you do. Some day I might!
Loved the picture of the cute girl on the beach who adopted you :D Awesome!
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Brilliant! Loved every photo sir Btw whatcha drinking in the end? It looks like a strawberry daqeuri and now I want one.
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Estonia4644 Posts
awesome pics! :D! 5/5 for the acquired babies ^__^
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some of my college friends and I did almost the same trip, but in reverse, starting with Ho Chi Minh City and then ending in Bangkok. If you liked the re-education center, you would have loved the movie they show before the Cu Chi tunnel tour- it's this black and white propaganda film with a special mention of this villager-turned-guerilla who was also known as the 'American killer', lol.
One of my favorite 'temples' in Siem Reap was Kbal Spean- you had to hike a kilometer or so from the drop-off point to reach this area with a river and carvings that according to the guide there, date back to before Angkor Wat. Or maybe I remember it the most because it was a welcome rest from all those temples! We plan to go back to Vietnam when we can, and do a top-to-tail trip from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh. Thanks for sharing, brought back some good memories
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On April 27 2012 19:01 Synwave wrote:Brilliant! Loved every photo sir Btw whatcha drinking in the end? It looks like a strawberry daqeuri and now I want one. it was some kind of vietnamese strawberry dessert alcoholic drink. dont really remember the name of it, but it wasnt a daiquiri. similar though. it was quite tasty on the hot day.
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On April 27 2012 23:33 ellerina wrote:some of my college friends and I did almost the same trip, but in reverse, starting with Ho Chi Minh City and then ending in Bangkok. If you liked the re-education center, you would have loved the movie they show before the Cu Chi tunnel tour- it's this black and white propaganda film with a special mention of this villager-turned-guerilla who was also known as the 'American killer', lol. One of my favorite 'temples' in Siem Reap was Kbal Spean- you had to hike a kilometer or so from the drop-off point to reach this area with a river and carvings that according to the guide there, date back to before Angkor Wat. Or maybe I remember it the most because it was a welcome rest from all those temples! We plan to go back to Vietnam when we can, and do a top-to-tail trip from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh. Thanks for sharing, brought back some good memories just looked at some pics of Kbal Spean. looks pretty cool. did you get temple overload as well? we stayed there four days riding around and looking at temples. at the end we were like "fuck temples."
and, this is what i was like after each day (we would wake up at around 6 am to beat the crowds and stay out of the hot heat). falling asleep in the restaurants was my specialty.
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hey man, im from vietnam. Glad you enjoyed the trip. Its a pity that you cant see more of my country. If you try to ignore all the war relic stuff, the country itself is a piece of art.
Cheers.
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On April 28 2012 02:37 NB wrote: hey man, im from vietnam. Glad you enjoyed the trip. Its a pity that you cant see more of my country. If you try to ignore all the war relic stuff, the country itself is a piece of art.
Cheers. nothing but <3 for vietnam. we didn't get to see more of it because we were on a tight schedule. nha trang was beautiful, and i wish i had more time so i could see more of the saigon area (wanted to ride in the bowl boats) and make a trip to northern vietnam.
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On April 28 2012 02:12 dAPhREAk wrote: just looked at some pics of Kbal Spean. looks pretty cool. did you get temple overload as well? we stayed there four days riding around and looking at temples. at the end we were like "fuck temples."
4 days?! We only stayed three and were getting a bit temple fatigued at the end of the 2nd, haha. I guess it must have also been the heat (also an SE Asian so kinda used to it but still horrible) and the loads of people. On the third day we decided to just chill and go to some far-off temples: Kbal Spean and the Rolous Group, which had a temple that became one of our favorites, Bakong! The structure was different, kind of mini Mayan-ish, and the Diablo players in our group were all 'Hey, mini-Kurast Bazaar!' at the dilapidated sentry towers in the complex. I guess it helped that it was a cloudy afternoon and there was just a group of less than 5 people aside from us, so we were able to relax and take lots of funny pictures.
Other temples I liked were Angkor Wat (size and grandeur), Ta Phrom (swallowed by nature), and Banteay Srei (unique red sandstone and great carvings). Except for Banteay Srei and some of the reliefs at Angkor Wat, our group found that we weren't much of a carving-appreciating group, what spoke to us overall in our favorites was the structure (or lack thereof for Ta Phrom and Kbal Spean). I'm sure art/religious historians would beg to differ though.
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On April 28 2012 03:18 ellerina wrote:Show nested quote +On April 28 2012 02:12 dAPhREAk wrote: just looked at some pics of Kbal Spean. looks pretty cool. did you get temple overload as well? we stayed there four days riding around and looking at temples. at the end we were like "fuck temples."
4 days?! We only stayed three and were getting a bit temple fatigued at the end of the 2nd, haha. I guess it must have also been the heat (also an SE Asian so kinda used to it but still horrible) and the loads of people. On the third day we decided to just chill and go to some far-off temples: Kbal Spean and the Rolous Group, which had a temple that became one of our favorites, Bakong! The structure was different, kind of mini Mayan-ish, and the Diablo players in our group were all 'Hey, mini-Kurast Bazaar!' at the dilapidated sentry towers in the complex. I guess it helped that it was a cloudy afternoon and there was just a group of less than 5 people aside from us, so we were able to relax and take lots of funny pictures. Other temples I liked were Angkor Wat (size and grandeur), Ta Phrom (swallowed by nature), and Banteay Srei (unique red sandstone and great carvings). Except for Banteay Srei and some of the reliefs at Angkor Wat, our group found that we weren't much of a carving-appreciating group, what spoke to us overall in our favorites was the structure (or lack thereof for Ta Phrom and Kbal Spean). I'm sure art/religious historians would beg to differ though. yeah, we felt it after the second day. we did the same thing as you, we decided to go to a far temple (beng mealea) and then on the last day, i think we just chilled in an A/C cafe with "Candy Chandra," our waiter who was far more interested in me than my female compatriot. he asked us to take a picture with him and we were like "sure." then he told my friend its bad luck to have three people in the picture and asked her to step aside. we eventually agreed on adding another waiter. if there are any cambodians here, i would like to know if the three people is bad luck thing is real or not. he was a cool guy though. most cambodians were incredibly nice.
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On April 28 2012 03:38 dAPhREAk wrote: cambodians here, i would like to know if the three people is bad luck thing is real or not.
not a cambodian, but we have a similar superstition in the Philippines- when taking a picture with an odd number of people, the person in the middle will be the first of all of the people in the picture to die. It's also generally bad luck I guess, as in cambodia. I've had aunts who pull people into a picture or make people leave just to avoid an odd number of people, or switch with another person to avoid being the center, lol. strictly a generational thing though, and even then I think it's rapidly dying out because filipinos are picture-crazy and just don't care anymore.
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