Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Hello all -

I know that I just sent an email not too long ago but I just realized how my last few emails has made it seem like the sky is falling in so this is my attempt to show what we really think about on a daily basis instead of just the heavy days, which Jason has so lovingly pointed out, are giving me gray hairs ;).

The following two transportation stories happened within two days of each other a little less than a week ago, both are true and not exaggerated ;)...

Our bad luck started a few days ago in Battambang, Cambodia (it already sounds serious!). One of the reasons for visiting Battambang is to see the French colonial architecture in town but, being it is a small town, most people also use the town as a base to explore the countryside and outlying temples. After an hour in town, we too were itching to get out and stretch our legs. Unfortunately the only way to get there is by renting a motorbike so for the last time on our trip (hopefully) we hopped on a Honda 100cc (more like a scooter) motorbike.

Cambodia is a good country to explore on bike because there aren't too many other vehicles on the road and before too long we were biking through small villages that make their living by catching fish in the near-by river or growing rice in their plot out back. Most of Cambodia's roads are empty but they also aren't very well maintained so the ride is more about avoiding pot holes than other vehicles and at times it can be quite jarring, however after a half hour or so of driving the ride became so rough that I had a hard time keeping my feet on the foot rests and after a few seconds Jason asks me if I keep shifting my weight (making it hard for him to steer). Once I convince him that I am holding still we think that there must be something wrong with the bike. Sure enough we have a flat. We pull over in the middle of a small rural community (people build their own houses, almost everyone grows at least some of their own food, extended family lives together, chickens run amok, etc) and start to think of our options... was there a mechanic shop that we drove past a few blocks back (you can always tell which ones they are by the bike tires hanging from the eves outside)?

Before we can even recall the past 30 seconds of driving a man comes out of his home and motions to our bike. It must have been obvious that there was something wrong but I point out our tire and he gives us a knowingly smile and motions for us to follow him into his yard. In his yard his wife cradles their son in a hammock as he falls asleep and his mother/mother-in-law prepares vegetables for lunch. They offer us seats and he runs into his home returning a few seconds later with tools in hand and starts to work on our bike. We watch as he effortlessly finds the hole (and shows us the small spiral shaped metal wire that punctured our tire), prepares the tire for a patch, adheres the patch to the tire, checks to make sure it sealed the hole, and puts the pieces of the tire back together. In the meantime to take notes and share our leechy (small, maybe best described as grape like fruit) with his mother/mother-in-law and son. We think it is going to be an expensive day; $7 to rent the bike plus... 2,500 reil (approx. $0.60) for the tire repair. We say our thank yous and continue on our way.

We visit the ruins of a temple and take back roads stopping for lunch on the way where when asking for their specialty we get coffee... which neither of us drink, we go hungry. After our caffeine buzz we take another dirt road to a second temple located on top of a hill with breathtaking views of the countryside we had covered that day and back to Battambang. A young man learning English shows us around the temple and to a killing field used by the Khmer Rouge... but I promised not to be serious so I will stop there ;).

After looking around we start making our way down the step hill back to level ground. We were almost down when we hit a small patch a gravel and the bike slides onto its side. We were going slow enough that we were able to jump off before the bike hit the ground, however the hand break (like a bicycles) was a little less lucky and snaps off. We think... man this really is going to add up! The man who fixed our tire was very kind and hardly charged us anything but surely this will cost a bit more. Luckily the hand break is really only the back-up break and the foot break is the one we will actually use to get home. On the way back we keep an eye out for more tires hanging from eves...

We spot a small shop in a roadside village and pull over. As I walk up I hold up are break and smile. They smile back and show me that they have the part and motion to bring the bike over. I ask him how much it is and I think I hear "pee puan bram" or 2,500 reil or $0.50. As they start to work on the bike Jason and I discuss his quote. We start to question ourselves. We had thought the price we be $5-10 and figured he probably said "m'pee bram puan" or 25,000 reil or $6. It took 2 people 5 minutes to fix the break and the foot rest which was bent. At the end I clarify (sometimes when we have given too much the price magically goes up)... "pee puan bram roy" (roy is their word for 100 which he left off his quote that would tell us just how many zeros he meant). Head nods all around. We pay the gentlemen $0.50, bringing the total for the day to $8.10, and are on our way. In the end, although the incidents that happened were unfortunate and a bit annoying, we were really happy that they allowed us to interact with the locals, to get a feel of what the price desparities are between home and here, and to be the recipients of their generosity.

The next day we took an 7 hr boat trip from Battambang to Siem Reap were the famous Angkor civilization was based for 600 years. In it's height, the Angkorian Kingdom covered much of Northern Thailand, Southern Laos, and Southern Vietnam. It was the most powerful in the region and acquired great wealth which it used partly to build a huge capital city here is Siem Reap. Much of what is left today are beautifully decorated stone temples, gates and bridges. They call it one of the worlds "New 7 Wonders". I have to say I buy it... I am awestruck by what we have seen the past week. It can be compared to the Mayan civilization in Central America (maybe a little more familiar to us Americans).

We picked our hotel here based on the fact that they offer us free water to refill our water bottles, free breakfast, and free bicycles to explore the temples on. We plan to spend 7 days here taking our time to take in the structures so this is quite a deal for us! Today we got up at 4:30 to eat breakfast and bike to Angkor Wat (the temple of all temples (some say in the world), the most famous structure in Angkor) for the sunrise. The main temple complex is 6km from town and at 5:30 we buy our week long passes. Eagerly we pedal fast towards Angkor, perhaps too eagerly because Jason's feet whirl the pedals around too fast for his single-speed, silver, no-name bike and the chain snaps off. We are stopped in our tracks 500 meters (about a third of a mile) from Angkor Wat's entrance gates. No matter! We have a bungee cord that we rig up for Jason to tow me by (we switch bikes because I was pulling us too slowing for our anticipation).

With 400 meters to go (1/4 a mile) and entrance gate in site but out of grasp, the situation goes from bad to terrible fast (don't worry I am being dramatic... this isn't a serious email). While perched on top of Jason's bike (I have to jump off it to stop) I loose hold of the bungee cord. What happens next is hard to explain in words but the hook on the end of the cord gets caught in Jason's wheel spoke and coils like a snake around his wheel hub. It wound itself so tight that the wheel would no longer turn. After cutting ourselves loose and missing the sunrise by 15 mins, we were on our way again.

Jason soon forgets some of his disappointment when we park the bikes and spend the day exploring the walled city of Angkor Thom. The monuments are more than I had ever imagined with huge faces made out of stone peering down at us from every angle and detailed reliefs telling epic Hindu stories caringly carved deeply into the stone in even the smallest corner of every structure. At the end of the day we hop back on our bikes for Jason to tow me the half hour back to our hotel. Within the first kilometer (about 1 1/2 miles) my ride becomes bumpy and now I know the feeling... a flat tire. We get a quote from a man fixing bikes up ahead... $5. After paying $0.50 not two days before we decided to spend $2 on a taxi instead. We felt bad having to explain what happened to our hotel... "so that free bike you lent us... and then.... and then...".

In the end we got to see sunrise and sunset at Angkor Wat each twice... so nothing is lost. I guess you can say our trip has given us plenty of opportunities to work on our patience!

So this email may be less serious but it isn't any shorter! I'll work on that for next time ;). I am still enjoying all of your updates and look forward to hearing them in person very soon (2 and a half weeks!).

Much Love to you all!

-m-


Angor Wat:




Our Engagement Photos:




Former Khmer Rouge Strongholds: