Friday, August 10, 2007

Cambodia

I love Cambodia. I can't even put my finger on what it is exactly, but I have the same kind of connection as when I was in Phomn Penh eight years ago (eight years ago? Can I possibly be that old?) I feel comfortable and relaxed and connected to the people and the culture (too many "ands" in that sentence, sorry). And I am loving Siem Reap, my hotel and Angkor Wat. Loving it so much, that the idea of explaining everything and choosing pictures to put online is pretty overwhelming. Instead, I'll take the easy route and just put on some pics from my day trip in Hanoi to visit the Perfume Pagoda!

In the guidebook it said that this was one of Vietnam's most incredible wonders, so I figured it was worth a go. The tour group picked me up at 8am from my guesthouse and we drove two hours by highway and windy village roads. The van driver was apparently having a race with the tourist van in front of us, because we were flying (and not in a good way, in a "oh-no-I'm-going-to-die" way). Then we sat on tiny wooden benches in a tin rowboat while a tiny Vietnamese woman rowed five of us an hour and a half up the river (Can you imagine the arm muscles she must have?) Then, we trekked up the mountain about a half hour where we ate lunch. Then we had a choice, we could climb up the side of the mountain (which would take at least an hour of trekking) or pay the equivalent of $5 for a cable car ride there and back. Can you guess what I chose? Yep, best $5 I've ever spent! Then we had another half hour hike up to the top of the mountain and then down an ancient looking stone staircase into a cavern full of stalactites and incense. It really looked like something out of an adventure movie! It took about 10 minutes to walk through the cavern, the highlights being a small Buddhist alter and a "lucky" stalactite where people stuck money in so that they would become rich (and they take babies there to rub it for good luck).

Yes, you could technically take money out of the stalactite, but no, I didn't. And that was the trip! Then it was another four hours back (stairs, hike, cable car, hike, boat, van). I did have the lingering suspicion that it was an awful lot of effort for such a small cave!

And lastly, I had to post this picture. Preface: I would never make a joke about disabilities, I just found this funny because of the translation. I actually started giggling in the airport, imagining some of my "especially difficult" students in grade one!

Posted by Kathleen @ 6:35 PM