Category: Travel Journal

Editor’s note: Such a long article. But it’s worth the read. I include my adventures with ladyboys, bomb remnants and their effect on children, and the most shocking thing yet about Laos. As I re-read it, I’m pretty pleased with myself for keeping continuity in the narrative through so many different subjects. Yay, me. –Chip/Scott

Planning your trip day by day introduces opportunities for exploration that cannot be met with a rigid schedule. But, it has its hazards, too. For instance: I may be stuck in a backwater part of Laos until Sunday. Nearly one entire week in the smallest, most remote location on my trip. Shit.

Continue reading “Stuck in Lao Mayberry”

A couple of interesting pictures from Google maps that you guys may like. First, this is the main temple Angkor Wat at the complex of temples named after this main one. Check out the scale: that moat is 200m wide and nearly 1km long. And it was dug by hand in the twelfth century. Also, note that it is facing perfectly west. This is uncommon for Buddhists as their temples always face east. Angkor Wat only became Buddhist recently in its history, though. It was constructed by a Hindu king.

To show you how badly deforested Cambodia is, check out the same place but zoomed out about four levels. The temples are in a preserve but all the land around them is free game. See the difference?

I don’t even know what the yellow water-like liquid was that was coming out of the wrong orifice yesterday but Cipro took care of it! Well, kind of. Things have improved some in that area but I still have some mild cramping. Good thing that I’m on the Cipro, too, because I accidentally got a shot of tap water in my stomach this morning. Lao bacteria, say hello to my little friend, Cipro! Cipro Cipro Cipro!

Continue reading “Cipro: My Hero”

Yesterday I arrived in Vientiane, Loas via another Lao city to the north: Luang Prabang. That north-south-north path was taken so I could travel land north through Laos and see the plain of jars and Luang Prabang on my way to Hanoi, Vietnam. But I’m now thinking that I won’t take bus to Hanoi so I’ve paid for a flight (Luang Prabang to Vientiane) that I don’t need. But, fuck all that. I’m most concerned about the stomach cramps.

Continue reading “Must…Have…Cipro”

Here in northwest Cambodia in the (relatively) small town of Siem Reap we’re only a 20 minute tuk-tuk ride from the World Heritage Site, Ankgor Wat. Today I oozed out ten pounds of sweat as I climbed the steep steps of these temples in 100 degree weather.

Continue reading “Angkor Wat”

I just got off a seven hour bus ride from Phnom Penh and checked into my guest house here in Siem Reap. These asian versions of hostels are spectacular by European standards. They’re cleaner, offer more amenities, and have great options for food and entertainment. But who needs entertainment in a guest house when you could be the White Hero at a local club?

Continue reading “Cambodia, Part II”

Last night as I sat down for my first beer at the Okay Guesthouse in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I rallied a few wild-eyed travelers for what could have been the adventure of a life time. We ended up riding in three tuk-tuks for two hours across this entire city to try something so insane, so monumentally weird and dangerous that you simply will not believe it can be done. Not only does it defy common sense in every part of the world, it is illegal in Cambodia, the land in which there are no laws. But I’m not going to tell you what is…yet.

Continue reading “Holiday in Cambodia”

Forgive me if this posting seems a bit ineloquent or meandering. Despite my best intentions I again did not get any sleep last night and am starting to suffer from the effects. I tried dozing for a couple hours this afternoon but with the AC off I was soaking through my clothes and couldn’t sleep. As I got out of bed I felt drunk–this despite not having touched a drink since the previous night. I just ate and want to catch everyone up before my next adventure (Phnom Penh–tomorrow!) I’m not even going to bother proof reading this article.

Continue reading “A Two-wheeled Rocket”

I touched down in Saigon just after 10:00 on Friday night. The airport is a sterile, white, marble-covered cavern. Its cool and bright and every single position is over-staffed to eliminated waits. From my business class seat on the top deck of a 747 to having my bags in hand on the Vietnamese side of customs took perhaps eight or nine minutes. Yet when the glass door slid open to let me out into the night, things radically changed.

Continue reading “Secure in Saigon”