Footprints Across Indochina

Introduction

2009-02-12T06:37:00.001-08:00

Introduction

One thing was certain. 2008 was going to be the year to pay homage to Angkor Wat. And if Cambodia were part of the itinerary, we might as well throw in Vietnam into the mix. But with only a limited amount of time (and leaves available to be sacrificed), going to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi in Vietnam was a stretch. It was almost impertinent suggesting including Laos to the jaunt. Phnom Penh was quickly scrapped off the list while the charms of Halong Bay in Hanoi proved harder to resist. With all the considerations, a compromise had to be reached, as follows: enter through Ho Chi Minh then to Siem Reap and finally exit from Bangkok. Thus the 3-Country Odyssey was set in stone.

Author’s Note

The blog is awfully long, to say the least. At length, this blog’s breadth is comprehensive— covering all the 10 days spent traversing Ho Chi Minh City, Siem Reap and Bangkok. It follows one person’s POV except when the author was obviously absent in particular instances. (Easily noted by a diffferent font). Historical facts have been thrown in for added depth. The storytelling retains the essence of the “Footprints Across” series which is to chronicle the mundane and magical in equal measure.

Prologue

2008-12-30T01:14:00.000-08:00

January- August 2008
The Birthing of a 3-Country Odyssey

As early as January 2008, the trip was already a nebulous plan being discussed during car rides, phone conversations, and dinners until finally a PowerPoint presentation dubbed “Let’s Go!” was shared as an invitation at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Bonifacio High Street. Commitments were slow to come, but the original proponents decided to still push through. And so the meticulous research, preparation, and discussions commenced.

Cebu Pacific precipitously started services to Ho Chi Minh City, and commitments had to be made with the release of their 0 fare promotion. Still only 4 went on board, but the trip was assured. Good thing Hanoi wasn’t the entry point as Cebu Pacific abruptly cancelled their Hanoi route which would’ve sent the organizers into a tizzy. 2 more were to climb on board before the departure date set at September 3, 11PM.

It was the first time that everyone would be going to HCMC and Siem Reap so there was no resource person to consult. The travel agency costs proved to be prohibitive for yuppies with a budget perhaps equal to two ordinary backpackers’. The Internet became an essential and powerful tool, but the onslaught of information at times became tedious and confusing. With all the knowledge we had armed ourselves with, we feared the magic of seeing the place firsthand would be lost and going would be anticlimactic. It took 1 Travel Fair, 1 Yahoo Messenger conference, 2 Starbucks powwows, 10 inquiries to travel agencies, 30 emails, and countless online articles and reviews before we were able to finalize the itinerary.

A despedida in Uno along Tomas Morato was also arranged where a handful of friends and perhaps a new friend attended. Everyone arrived at least an hour after the agreed time. Generally, we had a good time. We spent after dinner at Kozui having stupid conversations that sent everyone laughing. Then a series of unfortunate events unfolded.

Franz, Mel, Nikki and I almost couldn’t get home when two of our cars got locked inside Uno’s parking lot. Franz’s desperate heroics (jumping over the gate after entrusting his valuables to Mel and unlocking the gate) saved the evening. We couldn’t stop laughing at the absurdity of what had happened while of course being eternally grateful that F was with us. As if that wasn’t enough of a disaster, rain poured heavily over Manila, causing major roads to be flooded. Nikki, Mel and I took a circuitous route home via Sta. Mesa. Monmon and Camie suffered a worse fate. They were stuck for 30 minutes in Solis Street waiting for the flood to subside. All in all, it was one hell of a despedida.

Day 00 - Manila / Vietnam

2008-12-30T01:13:00.000-08:00

September 3, 2008
Toil, Toil, Toil and Travel

Our flight was scheduled for 11PM so we could afford to go to work during the day. Nikki picked Mel and me up from our respective houses. On the way to pick up Ernest, we got picked up by the police for obstruction in front of Mel’s house in Recto. The police accosted us in Soler. Mel attempted to play the hero, but Nikki’s driver had already slipped the corrupt and evil police officer with P50. Was our run-in with the corrupt law enforcers a foreshadowing of all the events to come?

After picking Ernest up, we were finally on the way to the spanking new, not even fully-finished NAIA Terminal 3 where all Cebu Pacific flights are. Gene and K were already there waiting for us. Gene had come from Hong Kong 2 days prior so we could all take the trip together. NAIA 3 was quite bare but I appreciated the polished, modern look and cold AC. I really hope this airport turns out well and is maintained well so visitors can have a positive first impression of our country.

The people in the check-in counter were inordinately slow as though our check-in was a lame test run. They seemed to have no idea what they were doing and couldn’t grasp the concept that our return ticket was not from our country of first destination. On the way, my luggage weighed a measly 11kgs—winner for lightest packer. We all wondered what our luggage will weigh going back to the Philippines what with all the goodies we imagined we would bring home.

Immigration was a breeze since there was barely anyone. The others had dinner at a Seattle’s Best booth. I contented myself with a Bonamine pill. The flight left on-time and was surprisingly full. Boarding was early but the flight didn’t leave earlier. It was my first time to fly Cebu Pacific, and I was surprised by how small the plane was. There were only two rows with three seats each. Gene, Nikki and I took one side of the row with Mel, K and Ernest on the other. I took the aisle seat to lessen potential damage to my seatmates in case I barfed. Instead of showing it via a TV monitor, flight attendants acted out the safety instructions. They also went around with a plastic bag for one to throw one’s trash in. As everyone knows, food was sold not served. I was surprised they decided to spend on publishing a magazine, “Smile”.

Although I did not barf and would not barf for the rest of the trip, I had trouble sleeping because of the cramped space, uncomfortable chair, and freezing AC, but the latter was really my fault since I was wearing flip-flops. There were none of the famous Cebu Pacific games maybe because it was a red-eye flight. We, save Mel and K who chatted away the whole flight, were dead tired especially Ernest who fell into a deep sleep.

Off we go!

September 4, 2008
Manila, Is That You?

The turbulence on the way due to heavy rains made me briefly wish that I was on a bigger plane, but we had made it to Tan Son Naht airport with a good landing to boot! Since Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) was an hour late from Manila, we arrived at 12:30AM after a 2.5- hour flight.

The airport was clean and simple. I think it looks better than NAIA’s Terminal Two. As it was the dead of the night, there was only a short line in immigration. At the baggage carousel, luggage was already laid out on the floor, good to grab and go. We had to exchange dollars for dong immediately to pay for a cab since we didn’t arrange for airport transfers. There were two money changers on the ground floor. There was a bit of confusion when they gave Nikki 50USD. When she was trying to return the money, the man behind the counter, who couldn’t understand what Nikki was saying, initially just ignored her. Good thing one of his assistants was paying attention because they would’ve been short for their tally. 80USD converts to about 1M dong so basically almost all Vietnamese can easily be called millionaires. In fact, they make jokes out of it. The bills have an onion paper-like surface and seemed to me like play money because of the high denominations (Ex. 100,000 dong) but essentially low value.

Outside the airport were plenty of taxi drivers who approached us. It was hard to understand their English because of the accent. Nikki produced a calculator to facilitate our negotiations. Taxis normally are supposed to cost 90,000 dong maximum, but we were only able to haggle the cost to 120,000 dong. Cabs also normally sit a maximum of 4 people. Since it was nighttime, the cab accommodated the 6 of us, thereby spreading the cost. All five girls piled onto the backseat.

HCMC at night looked just like Manila. There were constructions going on in the middle of the roads. The storefronts and buildings were similar to ours. We joked to each other about going all the way to HCMC to see the view from our doorsteps. The cab driver turned on the meter as we were going to the hotel, and it came to 86,000 dong. Now we knew how much it’s supposed to cost on the way back. Ernest was designated as the one who would first pay for all transport costs.

Upon arrival at the Bong Sen Annex, we looked upon our 2-star hotel with some hesitation. The lobby was small and spartan—a sofa set, 2 chairs with a mirror, a front desk, a small standing board which denoted “Welcome to Bong Sen Annex” and a cot where our bellboy slept. The concierge was quite strict in ensuring that the six of us would be taking three rooms. We had booked ahead online at Asiarooms.com so I think that was quite self-explanatory. We were given first floor rooms which we were adamantly against since we didn’t want to be in the same floor as the lobby, but we weren’t given a choice. Good thing the first floor was technically on the second floor. The hotel even had a lift we could use!

There were actual keys to the rooms which we had to surrender on the way out. Vietnam was the only place where we would have a double-sharing room arrangement. Gene and I, Melissa and Nikki, Ernest and Kristine bunked together. The bellboy (who was only in slippers!) brought our luggage up to our small but essentially-equipped rooms. The beds were actually wide enough that if we put them together, they would comfortably fit three. The space was narrow in the sense that the desk was almost at the foot of the bed with TV on it. There wasn’t much aisle space, and there were no desks between beds. The bathroom though was wide and clean which pleased us.

After unpacking, Gene and I turned off the lights and slept.

Day 01 - Vietnam

2008-12-30T01:12:00.000-08:00

September 4, 2008
Good Morning, Vietnam!

Part of our Bong Sen package was free breakfast. It was a pleasant surprise to find the breakfast fare filling. There were the staples of bread, eggs, bacon and fresh fruits. There was dragon fruit aplenty. Ernest mentioned that the banana tasted like peanut butter, but I didn’t get it.

After the mandatory morning rituals, we set out for the day to take our own city tour. We had printed out maps to guide our way and got to the Central Post Office without a hitch. Crossing the street in Vietnam is something that travel articles/blogs mention often. With so many motorbikes zipping around the city, it’s important to look before you cross. While crossing, one should just keep on walking straight as the locals do since the motorbike riders take note of the pedestrians and avoid them. Suddenly stopping in the middle of the street because of fear increases the chances of an accident.

Vietnam was colonized by the French, and so many of their tourist spots and government buildings are characterized by French architecture. The Central Post Office with its oft-photographed ceiling is one such building. It’s exactly what its name implies. There are plenty of booths inside which take care of mailing and package transfer needs. There are also phone booths with clocks showing the times in different major cities in the world. There are also two huge wall murals of Vietnam and the Mekong River Delta across each other. As CPO has become a tourist spot, there is also a counter selling souvenirs.

Across CPO along the Cong Xa Paris area is the famous Notre Dame Cathedral, which is a small-scale replica of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Mass is supposed to be celebrated in English, Vietnamese, and French. There was no mass ongoing when we arrived, and the gate to the pews was closed. It was still a lovely feeling to be in a beautiful church though.

We thought we were making good time in our city tour when we got lost because of my mistake. I like to think that it was fate and Murphy’s Law. We had walked quite a distance in hot and humid weather only for me to later realize that because of an idiotic visual trick, I had read the words Saigon Center to be War Remnants Museum. No wonder people looked befuddled when we asked them where the War Remnants Museum was. We salvaged the situation by taking a breather in one of the more popular and ubiquitous coffee chains in HCMC, Highlands Coffee. Gene ordered a cold drink while the others had ice cream and juice. We were forbidden to take pictures, and the waiters were vigilant in spotting us attempting to do so. The space was big, with posters in brick walls, wide glass windows, comfortable sofas and chairs, Wi-Fi access—all the hallmarks of a coffee shop. The setup though was not pay first then eat. The waiters served the table and were unusually slow. After we had constantly followed up on Melissa’s ice cream order, they told us that the flavor was unavailable. They didn’t know that particular info five minutes after they took the order?!

After refreshing and resting, we proceeded to go to the Reunification Palace, HCMC’s former presidential palace. We first found a side entrance where we were directed to the main entrance. The directions were wrong since we had scaled the block’s entire long perimeter before we found the entrance. Despite the exhaustion and the getting-lost- twice-in-a-row, we could only laugh at ourselves. We decided to have lunch at Quan An Ngon right across the Palace, but finding that proved to be a challenge as well. We got lost walking around and even realized that the Reunification Palace’s main entrance was separated from the Notre Dame Cathedral by only a park! Oh well, learnings, learnings. Some of us wanted to settle, but Melissa continued on undeterred to find Quan An Ngon and when she finally did, we could all see the look of joy on her face.

Quan An Ngon (Ngon to locals) is a busy restaurant which gathered Vietnam’s street food in one place. There is an open air seating area where one can see the food being cooked. Those seated inside like us can also walk around to see the food on offer. The cooking area occupies the perimeter with ingredients and cooking ware laid out. We had researched some must-eats which we quickly picked out of the menu like rice porridge with fried eel and banh xeo (rice-flour crepe stuffed with pork, bean sprouts and shrimp), The rest were recommendations from the manager and our energetic waiter. We also discovered that sapodilla shake was actually chico shake. I remember eating a lot of chico when I was younger. I wonder why we stopped having chico at home. Ernest had the iced tea which was more tea with ice than the sweet version we have in restaurants everywhere in Manila.

We ordered a lot and the service was fast for a restaurant filled to capacity. The food was mostly good, filling, and worth our 75,000 dong each. I don’t even remember the misses except for an odd dessert which was rice balls drunken in really strong wine. We also had a Vietnamese halo-halo with tapioca strips, coconut, and milk. Veggies and various sauces are integral parts of a Vietnamese meal as we would first experience in Ngon. Wet tissue was also provided but not for free. We later saw the napkins reflected in our bill at 2000 dong each. It was good that our first lunch was yummy. Thanks to research!

We were ready to tackle the Reunification Palace (entrance fee: 15,000 dong) after our hearty lunch and to walk off the calories. The Reunification Palace was famously bombed, rammed by a tank, and was a victim of other hostile efforts during the Vietnam War. On display were missiles and tanks used on the Palace grounds.

Inside the Palace, a woman approached us and asked if we wanted to join a free hour-long tour along with other visitors. Our guide Tram wore royal blue ao dai, Vietnam’s national dress. We were first led to an auditorium on the ground floor for a short history and to take our picture with a bust of Uncle Ho. There were a lot of trivia shared during the tour. Tram also pointed out that some of the chandeliers were shaped like flowers (lotus, rose, lily) although I wasn’t able to catch the significance. She tried to inject some humor to the stories, but I guess it was hard for the audience to get into it since it was a long tour and the place had no AC. She was very patient though.

We walked around the banquet halls, war rooms, gambling room, first lady’s receiving room, presidential office with secret stairway to a safe room in the basement and three different- colored telephones (for wife, mistress, and best friend—how true?), map rooms, and many other rooms. There were two floors of living quarters for the First Family on the second floor that by some architectural design made one feel like one was the ground floor. Everything was basically reconstructed with markings on where the bombs fell and the like. A couple of banquet and meetings rooms are rented out and used up to today. There were also on display supposedly real elephant feet. At the top was an area for entertaining where we were given a few minutes to rest. At the bar was a concession stand selling drinks. The Palace’s wide windows had curved panels outside to filter the sun. There were two basements for hiding out and secret war planning. The narrow corridors and standard gray paint made one think of espionage and war. The rooms were small, had no doors and no numbers to identify them. The hallways all looked the same, and I thought of how easy it was to get claustrophobic in there.

The tour ended at the kitchen where Tram promptly thanked us and graciously pointed out the exit. I must say that I was surprised at how there wasn’t any attempt to ask for tips. When she said the tour was free, it really was! The Reunification Palace wasn’t all that interesting as we were taking the tour, but I do appreciate and admire the effort and thought they put into presenting the place. The whole tour was a sample of what good tourism is all about.

We then walked on for about 15 minutes to our next destination, the War Remnants Museum (entrance fee: 15,000 dong). The museum showed the atrocities and aftereffects of the Vietnam War on the country. Although Vietnam defeated the Americans, there was much destruction, devastation, and lingering ill-effects that continue on today. There were pictures of brutality—American GIs with mangled bodies, Vietnamese with abnormal body parts due to Agent Orange (biochemical weapon) exposure, fearful women and children about to be shot, and more—complete with captions and explanations to guide the readers. There was also a separate area on the compound where Tiger Cages (tiny prison cells) and a guillotine could be found. There were also pictures of emaciated people who couldn’t walk straight after they were freed since they had spent a lifetime in the Tiger Cages with only scraps of rice to eat and water to drink, never mind the concept of bathing.

We usually see the Vietnam War being represented in Hollywood by veterans who survived the horrors of ‘Nam and wear their experiences as a badge of courage. One can’t help but think of the other side of the picture, the one we don’t really see in popular culture while at the War Remnants Museum. The Vietnamese may have won the war, but the resulting sanctions and embargoes upon them have contributed significantly to delays in their progress. The War Remnants Museum was really very, very interesting. I couldn’t help reflecting on one statement of an American photographer. He asked the American GIs permission to take a picture of the women and children standing in fear. He took his shots, walked away, and didn’t look back when he heard shots. In what he did, was he displaying apathy to the situation or perhaps even sympathy by immortalizing the image and plight for the world to see? After all, he couldn’t have stopped the inevitable.

We took awhile to gather our energy and sat around the benches outside where helicopters and tanks were on display. We decided to take a cab to our next destination, Cho Ben Thanh (Ben Thanh Market), the famous HCMC marketplace. Taxi flag down rates are at 12,000 dong for sedan cabs and 15,000 dong for van cabs. The increment is VND 3,000 for each km thereafter. The big Taxi Vinasun cabs had the best AC and could sit 6 comfortably. We arrived at our destination without even moving from the flag down rate. We entered through the back entrance where the market was. Towards the front were the clothes, knickknacks, and lacquerware that Vietnam is famous for. We couldn’t appreciate the place and so only spent a short time looking around since we weren’t really looking for souvenirs.

With the low cost of taxis and minimal heavy traffic, we realized that taking taxis everywhere would be for the best for the rest of our stay. So we took a taxi to the nearby Pham Ngu Lao backpacker’s area to book our tours for the next two days at Sinh Café. Pham Ngu Lao and its side streets, particularly De Tham Street overflowed with tourists and street vendors. Sinh Café was also packed with tourists booking tours. In Sinh Café, one can book a tour today and go tomorrow. They do not accept reservations online, and payments have to be made in advance. They have booklets (French, English, Vietnamese) listing the tours they offer all around Vietnam and even to Cambodia. Some tours have lunch. All tours have transportation and English-speaking tour guides covered. The best thing about Sinh Café is the affordability of its tours. We joined two tours- Cao Dai Temple/Cu Chi Tunnels and Cai Be/Vinh Long Mekong River Tour—which cost us only 295,000 dong each total. The second tour even had lunch.

Based on our itinerary, we were supposed to go to some of the malls in the city for shopping. We ended up hailing a cab to proceed to dinner at Ton That Thiep St. We couldn’t figure out where Temple Club was so we asked the cab to stop at Fanny Ice Cream. Melissa spotted a small sign above an unmarked doorway next to Fanny Ice Cream, and there Temple Club was. Angelina Jolie Connection Number One: Angelina and Brad were supposed to have dined in this fancy restaurant/lounge serving Vietnamese-French food. The lighting is reddish-dim and the interior is shabby chic gone upscale. It reminded me of a smoking club—old world, discreet and elegant.

The place was empty when we got there. They initially refused

to entertain us because there was to be an event, but we assured

them we would be out of their hairs by 6:30PM. It was only 5PM but for those with Filipino body clocks, it was already 6PM, just in time for dinnertime. Pictures were not allowed to be taken unless there was a person in the frame. Are there many interior design copycats in HCMC? One can just as well have someone pretend to be standing in the frame while one takes a picture of the interiors. I don’t understand the”No picture-taking” rule.

We ordered the Appetizer Platter which consisted of 4 kinds of spring rolls, La Vong Style Fish (popular style in Hanoi), Duck in Orange Sauce, Fried Rice, and 2 chicken and pork viands. Service was fairly quick and non-intrusive. They didn’t make us feel like we needed to hurry. The washroom had a romantic gothic feel with red interiors, a bronze iron sink and handles, and ornately-designed mirror. While not extraordinary, the food was delicious and filling. Part of the 1.050.000 dong bill was really the ambience. Before leaving, we took a peek at their bar/lounge area where people sat with their laptops, reading or chatting quietly. People were starting to arrive when we left. We also took the opportunity to take some pictures along their entrance which was lighted and designed for maximum photo-enhancing effect.

We walked the short length of Ton That Thiep (supposedly HCMC’s trendy shopping lane) to look at some of the shops—Gaya (luxury clothing, home, and lifestyle store with rattan furniture which looked like Kenneth Cobonpue’s), Saigon Kitsch (unique souvenir store with pop art depictions of Vietnamese icons on shirts, notebooks, mugs, etc.), Dogma (sells propaganda-themed clothes, posters, etc.), Life Impression (house ware store with utensils, bowls, lamps, etc. in bright lacquerware), and other random art galleries. Nikki bought candy-colored spoon and fork sets from Life Impression which also sold colorful chopsticks with chopstick stands in cute animal shapes. The store also had a selection of costume jewelry. I wanted to buy a red beaded ring shaped like a sea anemone, but at 7USD, it was too much.

We then went back to Fanny Ice Cream where we ordered a fondue dessert with fruits and 16 mini ice cream scoops with a variety of flavors— young rice, Bailey’s, straciatella (gelato similar to chocolate chip), banana, ginger, vanilla, coffee and chocolate. The night was quite young so we decided to explore our environs more. We easily found a mall which name escapes me now that had a Mango (Prices were in USD and were more expensive than in Manila.) and more importantly, a grocery. Shoplifting must be a common occurrence in groceries since we were required to leave our things in a locker and only very small bags like K and Nikki’s sling bags were allowed inside. Guards also roamed everywhere. In another grocery where we weren’t able to leave our things, guards were following us around not-so-discreetly. Harassment much?

We went back to our hotel with our day having done everything we had set out to do despite getting lost earlier in the day. Best of all, we did not rush ourselves. It was a satisfying Official Day One.

Day 02 - Vietnam

2008-12-30T01:11:00.000-08:00

September 5, 2008
Of God and Country

A chunk of our itinerary was devoted to visiting the countryside to see the sights unique to Vietnam and their way of life. For our first tour, we were to visit the Cao Dai Temple Headquarters and Cu Chi Tunnels.

We didn’t rise very early for our 8:15AM call time since we were two in a room and everywhere was just a short taxi ride away. At Sinh Café, the tour participants congregated on the sidewalk. Book sellers carrying their stack of approximately 30 books abounded. They sold very good photocopies of Lonely Planet (5-7USD), Paulo Coelho and other bestsellers. We inquired with one lady but then she didn’t want to leave us alone so ended up standing silently ignoring her.

Sinh Café tours are organized. Tickets were shown before boarding. There were assigned seat numbers and to our surprise, we were all given a 500ML bottle of water and a pack of peanuts. The tour guide went to the front of the bus to give us a background on Vietnam, their history and current state of affairs. He was good at banter and storytelling, but unfortunately, although he spoke the language fluently, we had a hard time understanding his English—an unfortunate recurrence we would experience throughout the trip. His name was Truong aka Kevin, a name an American who couldn’t pronounce his real name christened him with. With his chubby frame, he looked like all the Kevins I know.

It took three hours for us to reach the Cao Dai Complex. I felt the bus was moving too slow despite us being in the countryside. Was it the narrow roads or a speed limit? I thought we were going to be late, but the tour was paced taking into consideration the slow bus ride. We had a short stop at Handicapped Handicrafts, where handicapped people painted lacquerware. I appreciated that we weren’t obliged to buy, even indirectly, by the tour guide.

Cao Dài (High Place) is Vietnam’s third largest religion. It is a religion established in 1926 which combines elements from Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, and Geniism, an indigenous religion in Vietnam. The main religious center is in Tay Ninh, about 60 miles northwest of HCMC. The figure of worship is the all-seeing eye—vividly rendered in flesh amidst the kitschy façade of the temple. There are three saints who supposedly signed the third alliance (after Moses and Jesus Christ) between God and mankind. They are Sun Yat-Sen (leader of Chinese revolution), Victor Hugo (French poet and novelist) and Trang Trinh (Vietnamese poet and prophet). The high priests wore robes in three colors—blue, red, and yellow. Approximately 7M Vietnamese are Caodaiists. The Cao Dai complex is huge.

Mel, Gene and I were the last ones to be able to explore the worship area before the prayer ceremony at noon. Shoes were required to be taken off. On the way inside, we heard a foreigner was asked to leave because he walked “the wrong way.” Mindful of making a cultural booboo, we just walked straight ahead while taking pictures. The temple had a second-floor balcony for visitors to observe the ceremony. There was also an area on the second-floor for the musicians. Men and women stood across each other in groups during the ceremony while the high priests occupied the center. We didn’t finish the ceremony as we had to be on the bus by a certain time. I was mystified as to why Caodaiists would allow hordes of tourists to turn their temples, symbols, and ultimately, religion into a curiosity.

For lunch, we were taken to a roadside restaurant serving home-cooking. Gene and I ordered spring rolls while the others had pho. I also had a taste of Tropicana Twister Orange Pulpy. The meal was at a cheap 35,000 dong.

After lunch, we were off to the Cu Chi Tunnels, the place we had come to Vietnam for. The Cu Chi Tunnel Complex (entrance fee: 80,000 dong) was a critical and strategic advantage of the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. We were first shown a film about the war and inhabitants of the Cu Chi District at a dugout while the others posed at the mouth of an actual tunnel. Truong also explained a map about the tunnel system and the strategies employed in the war. We then proceeded to look at the tanks and ammo that the Americans used.

The Vietnamese used guerilla fighting to their advantage, and their creativity was on display. Traps that overturn to deadly bamboo stalks, hidden rabbit holes for firing from below, vines and arrows that swing from the trees to decapitate unwitting enemies and other cleverly-designed killing weapons were recreated to showcase the means to their road to victory. Men dressed as Viet Cong were on hand to assist demonstrations such as when one showed us how the soldiers entered through narrow holes to escape from the GIs to the tunnels. By the time the Americans would fire down the hole (since they couldn’t fit), the Viet Cong would be long gone. Actual sections of the tunnels were still intact. They were not just one layer below ground but also interconnected deeper into the ground. There were bigger areas to stand upright in like the kitchen, meeting rooms, etc. There were also mannequins to show how others played their part in the war like females who would ostensibly be planting but were actually watchouts or guerillas.

There was also a shooting range so once in a while; we would hear shots firing off in the distance. It added an auditory element to the whole recreating-the-Vietnam-War experience. We decided to buy bullets to try shooting. We overlooked buying bullets for the rifle so we settled for the handgun instead. In closer range, the shots were jarring to the nerves and hard to the hearing. It would take plenty of exposure to desensitize me to the sound which caused me to involuntarily freeze for a split second every time one of us took a shot. I’m not sure if any of us even bothered aiming for the target. I sure couldn’t see what I was supposed to hit. During the experience, I had a glimpse of what people who target shoot must feel. There was a sensation of power and control enveloping the experience. I’m sure the rush after having hit a target is also heady.

The tunnels were the highlight of the fighting strategy since the Americans couldn’t infiltrate the network, and it was too extensive to be destroyed immediately. It allowed the Vietnamese to move and attack easily. There was a weight limit for the men (50kg) and women (40kg) who were part of the war. As the highlight of the tour, sections of the tunnels have been widened to accommodate tourists seeking to get a Viet Cong experience. We were required to leave our bags on the bus, and since I didn’t, I asked Truong to carry mine. We wanted to be the last ones to enter the tunnels since we were planning to take pictures, but another group wanted to be the last.

K went first with Melissa bringing up the rear. At first there was some light for visibility, but a section of the tunnel was pitch black. The tunnel wasn’t just flat and straight since there were some areas that went a step or two down. Good thing K was able to mind those and to call out to us. We all had to squat while walking, and I feel sorry for all the tall people who enter the tunnel as the ceiling was really low. Gene was pretty much calming us down by saying that the exit was near since the tunnel seemed never-ending and our upper thighs hurt. We had fallen behind the rest of the group that we didn’t know where the people in front had gone. There were around three exit points, and we almost missed the exit where our group was. Luckily Gene heard some noises outside. Gene and I clambered out without taking a picture while the others stayed behind. The group behind us had some tall guys that were begging us not to stop to take pictures. I suppose it was harder for them since the space was really too small for non-Asians to squeeze into. To think the section we used had already been widened. Those with claustrophobic tendencies also need to take care when going inside the tunnel.

We were all dirty. It was a good thing we had mentioned beforehand to wear jeans and closed shoes. We were taken to a recreation of a kitchen area after where we had a snack break of sweet potato with dipping sugar and sweet tea. So endeth our Cao Dai/Cu Chi Tour.

The traffic going back to the city was very heavy, esp. in Cong Hoa St. as we were stuck here longest. There were gazillions of motorbikes. Unlike the buses here in EDSA, our bus wasn’t really moving aggressively forward so we got back to the city at around 7PM. We had dinner at Pho 2000 near Ben Thanh market. Pho 2000 had pictures of Bill Clinton during the time he ate there. I wasn’t impressed with the “Pho for the President.” We missed tasting supposedly flavorful pho in Pasteur Street, but in general, pho wasn’t really anything special to me. For every meal with pho, bean sprouts and leaves would be provided on a separate plate. We all discovered that Nikki hates bean sprouts.

After dinner, we went to the small square fronting Rex Hotel and the magnificent Opera House which had a statue of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam’s most famous figure. Along this square were some shops selling reproductions of famous paintings like Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Van Gogh’s Starry Starry Night. We also went to Dong Khoi St., Vietnam’s main shopping area to look for pasalubong. Most shops sold a variation of beaded shoes, bags, and costume jewelry. Paintings, posters, shirts, postcards, greeting cards, and stationary impressed with renderings of Vietnamese everyday images such as women wearing the iconic ao dai and conical hats were also popular. There was also a gallery specializing in images of women in various states of undress. There were a lot of Asian-inspired home pieces and lacquerware as well. Nikki was able to buy a wooden carving of a woman with a conical hat perfect for display. So if I were decorating my home with an Asian theme, I wouldn’t mind coming here to source for material.

We also tried looking for coffee shops selling authentic Vietnamese coffee—filtered and pressed in front of us and mixed with milk. We went around the side streets along Dong Khoi and even saw one coffee shop which looked like what we were looking, but no one was drinking. Other coffee shops were selling Illy coffee or mostly iced drinks, similar to Highlands Coffee. We were directed to look for a Broda which we discovered was a building which housed Gloria Jeans. To think we thought we hit the mother lode since Ernest took quite a while explaining what we were looking for to a restaurant manager.

We then retired to our hotel after. Despite not having bought anything, we realized that we were low on cash (as most of us only exchanged 50USD) because of our eating and the tours. So we pooled our money to exchange at the hotel for a better rate. We also needed to buy something to commemorate our trip. Tomorrow would be our last full day in HCMC, and we still had nothing to show for our two days.

Day 03 - Vietnam

2008-12-30T01:10:00.000-08:00

September 6, 2008
Riverine Excursion

Back in Manila, we were undecided on which Mekong River tour to take. Both tours were inclusive of free lunch and had a difference in cost of 1USD so we had to choose based on what activities we preferred. We were initially planning to take the Cai Be-Vinh Long tour— Cai Be Floating Market, Vinh Long Market, crossing My Thuan suspension bridge, orchard tour, rice paper-making and rice crispies production. We were seduced by pictures of floating markets and thought it would be interesting to see an uncommercialized (by virtue of being unknown and in Vietnam) floating market (unlike in Thailand). In the course of our online research, we stumbled upon photos of Cai Be Floating Market which did not look half as close as the picture we put on our PowerPoint presentation to excite our potential trip mates. The market even looked barren. We transferred our attentions to the My Tho-Ben Tre Tour—floating fish market, crossing Mekong River by motorboat, row boat riding along Mekong River creeks, bee-keeping farm, traditional music performance and coconut candy production. It didn’t look much special than the other, but Melissa favored the scenery afforded by low-hanging branches and trees on the banks (Think ‘beautiful rural scenery with the sun beating down on the boat’ scene on the movie Anaconda before the anaconda comes up to attack them.). We then vacillated on whether or not to scrap the whole Mekong River experience altogether. I’m glad we didn’t.

We pushed through with the My Tho-Ben Tre Tour. I’m especially happy with our choice in hindsight since it was the less commercialized of the two places, and we got to travel around a small part of the mighty Mekong River. The Mekong River travels through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, China, and Burma. It’s a major source of livelihood for a great many rural folk. The river is a dark brown because of the rich mud underneath.

We used a small motorboat to traverse the Mekong from our drop-off point after an hour and a half trip from Sinh Café. There were four islands in our vicinity- Phoenix, Tortoise, Dragon, and Unicorn Islands said to symbolize power, beauty, longevity, and strength. Our first stop was Phoenix Island. On the way, a larger ship with cars (ala RORO, did we get the idea from Vietnam?) honked and the passengers waved at us. That nice gesture portended to a happy trip ahead.

At Phoenix Island, we were first shown how rice paper (used to wrap spring rolls) was made. I attempted to turn the grinder used to turn the rice to paste, but it was too heavy. The paste was dried to make rice paper. We proceeded to an area where we were shown an oddity—a cobra and scorpion fermented inside a bottle. The resulting potion was supposed to enhance a man’s virility. The folk wisdom garnered some laughs as all sexually-related references seem to elicit. Then we went on to lunch.

Lunch was rice with fried spring rolls and a pork chop. The group was shown a local specialty, elephant ear fish, so-named for its wide ears. We ordered one. Our fish arrived with a server and some utensils. The server scaled the fish because its meat was the main ingredient for a spring roll. Apparently, rice paper isn’t similar to a lumpia wrapper. The brittle and dried paper had to be submerged in water briefly to become malleable after which it is used as a wrapper. I think I had three fresh spring rolls. The fish on its own tasted like tilapia.

We then left Phoenix Island to move to another island. We took a longer boat ride this time and got caught by heavy rains. The left side of the boat was heavily pelted by the rains, and umbrellas on the side couldn’t hold out anymore. Nikki, ever ingenious, thought to move our bench next to the bench on the right so we would be less hit by the rains. Soon after, everyone moved their benches. I recall kidding around that with the rains on the left and all the weight on the right, we might capsize. Thank God we didn’t because I cannot swim to save my life. Rains had been pretty intermittent the whole day, and I had been stupid enough not to bring an umbrella. We also met a fellow Pinoy on the trip who was on HCMC for a three-week assignment for his company. The gang suddenly decided that they had a talent for matchmaking and very obviously would walk very slowly to leave me and the guy alone. I told them to stop, but they wouldn’t listen until I told them the guy was married with kids.

After a wet yet leisurely boat ride, we alighted at the next island where we supposedly passed through a bee farm. I didn’t get to see any bees until when we sat down for a short cultural performance. There were two local women and a guitarist who performed native songs. We were served honey tea and a small plate of fruits—banana, coconut, dragon fruit and rambutan. A bee that kept buzzing around got me on-guard. Because of a romance novel I had read wherein the male protagonist’s father dies because of an allergy to a bee sting, I too had become wary about bees. Melissa trapped the bee inside her teacup, and we put the honey bottle on the ground.

We had a washroom break after the performance and then proceeded to ride horse-drawn carts to an unknown destination. We were provided conical hats to shield ourselves from the sun. I thought it was provided for free as part of the package but unfortunately, it wasn’t.

We were taken to a dock where we would ride a long canoe along a Mekong River estuary driven by two elderly women. I couldn’t swim in case the canoe capsized so I told Mel and Ernest I would stick with them while Nikki, Gene and K took another canoe. I had a déjà vu moment and was transported back to a snapshot of my childhood at a family outing at Pagsanjan Falls. I remembered being in a canoe with oars along with my dad. The sun was high but the weather was cool since it had just rained, and the river was surrounded by the the towering trees along the banks. I think Melissa was happy since this was the scenery she had been imagining before our trip. The relaxing canoe ride was the best metaphor for our Vietnam experience—Zen.

The end point of our canoe ride was back to our motor boat. The tour wasn’t done yet as we were off to our final destination—a coconut candy factory. I cannot explain why I brought home five packs of coconut candy (supposed to be 6, more on this in Cambodia). In my defense, I was desperate to take home anything as pasalubong, and when I tasted the free sample and heard the words: Buy 5 Take 1,” I couldn’t resist. On the other hand, whatever possessed Ernest to declare “Give me 10!” with all ten fingers raised up without even seeing what the coconut candies looked like is beyond everyone’s comprehension. Coconut candy was the bane of our trip. Who knew coconut candy could be so heavy? Kristine was the only one who did not buy into the hype. She just had a drink of buko juice. The others also bought small replicas of the cobra-scorpion virility tonic as souvenirs. I don’t know if that was worse than the coconut candy. Love them or hate them, back in the Philippines, coconut candy was warmly received by those who were able to taste them albeit being mistakenly referred to as nougats. Camie and I were also able to watch a feature on this coconut candy factory in the National Geographic Channel. Our coconut candy is a celebrity.

Clutching our coconut candies, we boarded our motor boat to return to our bus. The moment I sat down, I put on my earphones and tuned everything out. It was around 4PM, the sky was about to turn dark, the wind was in my face and I had my most powerful and personal Vietnam experience. I got to introspection and was reflecting at how lucky I was to be in this trip with my friends. Being in wide open spaces always makes me amazed at and thankful for the majestic, and that time at the mighty Mekong River was no different. There I was in just one area of the River; I felt so attuned to how the river current was moving and how the sky was changing colors and how infinite some things can be. I felt blessed (or high, it depends).

With that, our Mekong River tour ended. As to the aforementioned floating fish market, there was one near the main dock, but it was small and only the smell clued me to their presence. We all settled down for our ride back into the city which was mercifully free from traffic.

Back in the city, we took a cab ride to a restaurant Ernest had spotted on Day One, Windows Café. We chose to sit outside and had the most awful time ordering since the entire staff couldn’t speak basic English. When the food arrived, the two tables we occupied weren’t enough, and the staff couldn’t understand our request for extra plates and utensils so we were forced to eat from the main plates. When the extras which were really essentials arrived, the food was halfway done. I can’t even remember the food. It was just so-so. The interiors were the only interesting thing in the place. It’s somewhat similar to the dining area Circles in Makati Shangri-la but on acid. Again, we couldn’t take pictures. The toilet stalls were wide and had TV screens. It was done in all black and was quite futuristic in design. Windows was some kind of hip bar since people were mostly drinking in trendy attire. The music was schizophrenic—from Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You to Sade to Mel C. I don’t consider Vietnam nightlife as lively since most nightlife ends by midnight.

The night was still young so we went to Diamond Plaza, a department store near the Central Post Office. Nikki, Gene and I went to the supermarket to buy some pasalubong. I got some instant coffee, was amazed to see C2 and had some free taste at a bakery outside. There were lots of people jostling for free taste so I had to squeeze myself in. Later on, we would learn from Mel and K that Ernest had also sampled the free bread. Afterwards, we meandered along Le Loi Street, a busy avenue with shops and restaurants.

We finally hit pay dirt with Trung Nguyen Coffee Shop when we find out that they serve Vietnamese coffee via a filter. Ernest had been hankering for this particular style of coffee after having had one in Shanghai. Trung Nguyen is one of the biggest coffee producers in the world’s second biggest coffee producer and exporter. Supposedly Trung Nguyen’s G7 blend (Bailey’s Irish Cream), their only 3-in-1 blend, is one of the top three bestselling instant coffees in Vietnam. Trung Nguyen coffee blends are designated by numbers instead of names like Cherry Mocha or Arabica Beans. While the menu explains the ingredients on a blend, the blends for sale only have Coffee 1, 2, 3 and so on written on the labels, a detail which dumbfounds me especially when the ingredients are listed in Vietnamese. Save for Melissa and Kristine, we all order Vietnamese coffee. Iced for the rest and hot for me. I don’t recall what blend of coffee I chose, but it had a cherry component to it. We spent quite awhile here talking and browsing the merchandise. The blends for sale here were cheaper than in the supermarkets. Almost all of us bought coffee filters for a measly sum of 30,000 dong. I should’ve bought more of these as pasalubong since it’s not easily available in Manila. We spent this Saturday night as though we were in Manila, and there was something vaguely comforting and disturbing about the fact that I was doing the exact same thing I would be doing had I not gone on this trip.

On the way back, Nikki and K caught sight of a sidewalk vendor selling magnets. I find out that Nikki collects magnets of the countries that she’s been to. We also passed by a KFC. It boggles my mind until now that we did not spot a McDonalds the whole time we were there. KFC was ubiquitous and even Jollibee had a presence. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try Lotteria, the local fast food chain. To flush out our remaining dong, we entered a small chocolate shop. The snooty salesman asked if we were from the Philippines, saying that our accent had given us away. I wonder what he meant.

We continued on to Dong Khoi Street on the way back to the hotel to help Ernest look for a souvenir item of a Vietnamese lady in an ao dai and conical hat. Nikki had bought one earlier in the trip but couldn’t remember at which shop so we walked up and down the street until we finally located the wooden figurine. We trooped back to Bong Sen Annex soon after; thus, wrapping up our last night in Saigon.

Our Vietnam experience was quite ordinary, and we did things that we could’ve, in a near fashion, done in the Philippines. Our preoccupation with work and other daily activities and the idea that vacations are taken abroad preclude experiencing them here. I cannot recall how many times I referenced a Philippine location or incident during the entire trip. Despite that, the Vietnam leg was meaningful for letting me enjoy all those things that I could’ve done here but never would have had the inclination to do. The slow pace is a first for me and in the future, I am eager to have a similar trip. The first leg of our trip is done, and HCMC was good for warming us up.

Day 04 - Vietnam / Cambodia

2008-12-30T01:09:00.000-08:00

September 7, 2008

Slow and Steady then Silly

We landed at Siem Reap airport barely an hour after takeoff. Our Vietnam Airlines flight from HCMC to Siem Reap was the most expensive leg of the trip, and all we got was a baguette with sausage and ham and a piece of tastes-like-Goya Bonier (chocolate shop from the night before) chocolate. It pays to be a monopoly. I regret forgetting to try get banh mi, a Vietnamese baguette sold almost everywhere especially on the streets.

Siem Reap International Airport is a boutique airport which reminded me of lobbies of many a resort. There was flora and fauna along with sculptures and wall etchings. I felt relaxed and invigorated. Cue floppy hat and welcome drink. Immigration was fast and efficient. The officers took our pictures. I wonder what they use those photos for. Are those not cameras but eyeball scanning devices and if they are, for that purpose?

The Villa Siem Reap representative and our driver, Mr. Samreth was on hand to greet us as we exited the airport. He took us to the parking lot where a pimped-out L300 van with right-hand drive and a cooler of welcome drinks awaited us. While most of the cars are of the left-hand drive variety, our right-hand drive van is able to roam the streets so I assume that there is no uniform standard in Siem Reap. Mr. Samreth had to alight from the van to pay the airport parking fee which was a little funny. The road from the airport to the Villa was basically one long boulevard, and we arrived soon enough. We were welcomed by the warm and most importantly, English-speaking attendants of the Villa then led to our massive (I exaggerate not) rooms complete with welcome drinks of tropical juices. The service was overwhelming and astounding. I loved the Villa already, and I hadn’t even been there for 15 minutes.

The Villa Siem Reap is a guesthouse located off the main Siem Reap artery, Sivatha Boulevard. The purple gates, frangipani logo and interiors are hard to miss. There is a restaurant/bar on the front yard. Shoes are not allowed inside, but we carried ours inside anyway. The staff is very pleasant, always smiling and even too polite. The spacious rooms are the real gems. We took two triple-sharing rooms and were provided with two queen-size beds. There was also a comprehensive and friendly dossier on the Villa and Siem Reap in general. The Villa was charming and homey.

The Villa offers packaged tours, and we were supposed to take a Beng Melea Jungle Ruins Tour but our flight from HCMC was delayed so we scrapped the plan. We decided to just explore Siem Reap leisurely. Although within walking distance, we decided to take tuktuks (1USD per ride) to the Old Market (Psar Chas), the main city attraction and landmark. The heat, similar to HCMC, was punishing and we were thankful that the transportation, as in HCMC, was affordable.

We entered Psar Chas by the wet market entrance. We quickly spotted the requisite tourist shirts sold by all the stalls clumped next to each other for 2USD. We spent quite a long time looking over the designs—Angkor Wat’s façade, smiling faces of Bayon, Tin Tin in Cambodia, Angkor Beer, and slogan shirts, “Same Same But Different” and “No Money No Honey.” Some sellers got mad as we were browsing and haggling like they didn’t expect buyers and tourists to do so. Prices are all in US Dollars while loose change is in the official currency, riel. Officially, the exchange rate is at 4200 riel=1USD, but sellers in the market just give change of 2000 riel for 0.50USD. We met a 10-year old Chinese girl manning a booth by herself. She was surprised that we came from the Philippines yet knew how to speak in Mandarin. Throughout the trip, we would be commonly mistaken as Singaporeans.

There were plenty of fisherman pants, table runners, silver, lacquerware, and T-shirts depicting Angkor themes. At the outer edge of the market were stalls selling paintings on canvass. It appears that design and art are flourishing in Siem Reap. Ernest and Nikki became interested in the paintings of daily rural life, Angkor monuments, religious icons and other themes. A two-paneled painting of a Smiling Face of Bayon particularly caught Ernest’s eye, but he held off purchasing for the moment. Nikki and K bought magnets.

We continued to explore the environs of Psar Chas-- Pub Street and its branches. We relieved ourselves from the heat by having ice cream at Blue Pumpkin. I had Ginger Ice Cream with Black Sesame. The Blue Pumpkin had beds as couches perfect for relaxation and with the free Wi-Fi, one can definitely feel at home. We stayed here a long time since we had nothing else to do, and it was so comfortable and cool. Our trip had honestly been up to this day nothing but lazy.

After refreshments, we went off to Pub Street proper, a short street with restaurants and bars all next to each other. A secondhand bookstore with an art gallery upstairs, D’s Books got me all excited and after much deliberation, I bought just one book. Time moved so slowly and we had seen everything on the city center already. There was nothing left to do but to stuff ourselves again, this time at Happy Herb Pizza. We ordered two pizzas so we could get two slices each. Mild condiments were requested so maybe that was why the pizza tasted ordinary. After polishing off the pizza and fries, we decided to go a local convenience store for some bottled water and carried on to the Central Market (right across Hotel de la Paix). The Central Market sold the same thing as the Old Market but was virtually empty so sellers were more amenable to haggling. We were able to buy shirts for just a dollar each. After aimless walking inside the Central Market, we decided to walk back to the Villa to rest before dinner.

The slow pace in Siem Reap must’ve been catching as we took naps although Melissa and K mentioned that Ernest was a bundle of energy that late afternoon, even posing as a monk for seemingly no reason at all. Or just because he felt like it.

We decided beforehand to have dinner at Khmer Kitchen and then burgers at Burgers Without Borders. I personally missed American food and was craving for hamburgers. I also wanted to eat at Hotel de la Paix’s famous Meric restaurant, but it was delegated to “We’ll see if we have time.” Food was the agenda in Siem Reap after the temples.

Amok (Khmer curry) was the highlight of the meal. Dinner was marked with parched throats for all of us which I would later discover as the sensation known as having cottonmouth. I felt so dehydrated that I couldn’t speak for a time. Despite that, we spent dinner all cheerful and happy with Melissa the butt of jokes. I attempted to take advantage of her vulnerable state by asking her who her crush was, but she hadn’t taken leave of her senses sufficiently enough to give me an answer.

We postponed the rest of the evening’s plans and went back to the Villa. I stayed for awhile at K, Mel and Ernest’s room. K couldn’t get over the levity of the evening as she literally couldn’t stop laughing. I got worried but I knew in Ernest’s capable hands, she would be well so I went back to my room to sleep. Today set a new record for slow for us. But the day was exhausting on its own and decidedly more memorable for the novelty of the day’s experiences.

Day 05 - Cambodia

2008-12-30T01:08:00.000-08:00

September 8
Rocked to the Core, Stoned to a Stupor

We awoke early to tackle the temples. I was excited since the temples were precisely the reason why the trip came about and what we came all this way for. Our guide was late but the Mr. Samreth arrived early. When our guide biked in wearing his official Cambodian Tourist Association uniform, he was apologetic and introduced himself as “Kay.” In normal conversations, we understood Kai but when he starts talking “about the temple, about the temple as well,” we completely got lost. I made a valiant effort to understand him and participate actively in the tour. We had paid for the service, and I am interested in history. It was just too hard though; I couldn’t catch up with his accent. It was too bad since Kay seemed to know a lot about Khmer history. Had we understood Spanish, we would’ve appreciated him better since his “Vamos” and other Spanish ramblings seemed crisp and clear. Alas, we could only envy the other tourists their guides who spoke with clear English diction. But we managed to find a special partnership with Kay in the course of the trip so a total loss it was not.

As the official entrance ticket to all the temples, all visitors are required to buy an Angkor Pass.
Checkers at every temple entrance will ask for the Angkor Pass to be shown. Cambodians get in for free. The Angkor Pass can only be bought in designated booths in Siem Reap and have a validity of 1 day (20USD), 3 days (40USD) or 7 days (60USD). Pictures are taken and scanned onto the pass on the spot. There are no extra charges for the picture. We got into a bit of a snafu when Nikki was paying for her pass; the ticket booth lady said that our payment was short. After a few minutes of hostile interaction, off we went that early Monday morning to Ta Phrom.

Originally constructed as a Buddhist monastery in the mid-12th century Ta Phrom is now more known as the location of the Angelina Jolie- starred Tomb Raider. Ta Phrom retains a ruins and jungle atmosphere with the overgrowth not completely cleared. Tree in temple shots are imperative. Ta Phrom gave me a romantic image of adventurers discovering ancient cities buried under stately trees and unruly overgrowth. Despite the presence of a wilderness feel compared to other well-known and mainstream temples, Ta Phrom has been renovated to be more tourist-friendly with wooden planks and clear paths for convenience. Whether or not the conveniences detract from the whole point of Ta Phrom is up for debate.

We headed back to the Villa after the invigorating walk. Finally, we experienced some nature-induced chill after the intense heat of the past few days. We and Kay also defined a crucial relationship, that of subject and photographer. Given the language barrier and his enthusiasm for photography (choreographing poses even), it was the perfect fit. It was perhaps quite trying for him to have no one care about his lectures, but he held up well in all.

A breakfast of thick toast and coffee or tea was part of our Villa package. While the three thick toasts and choice of jam, peanut butter, honey or marmite was good enough to load us with energy, we fancied omelets and sausages to go with the bread. A rich and hearty breakfast served us well for a day of heavy temple-trekking starting with Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat, the raison d’être of the entire 3-Country Odyssey was a sight to behold even after the numerous photos I had seen in the course of the research leading to the trip. The volume of the research was that I felt as though I had gone through the entire trip without physically undertaking it. The pictures may have blunted the awe I would’ve felt upon seeing Angkor Wat for the absolute first time, but being impressed by its grandeur upon stepping foot on the entryway leading to its oft-photographed façade was still an awesome feeling. In a sense, all the photographs have been instrumental in inspiring me and countless others to experience Angkor Wat firsthand. How marvelous that I was finally here!

Angkor Wat (Temple of Angkor) was built by Suryavarman II in the 12th century. Some say that the king built it to be his funerary temple as well. White originally dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, Buddhist images also populate Angkor Wat since it has been used as a Buddhist temple from the time when Buddhism became Cambodia’s main religion. To attempt to discuss the architectural merits of Angkor Wat is beyond me so simple descriptions and pretty pictures that will speak more than a thousand words will have to suffice for this narration.

Angkor Wat was originally surrounded by a moat; its stones were taken from the Kulen Mountains by elephants. The walls are covered extensively with bas-reliefs and low-reliefs of gods and apsara or celestial beings along with carvings and depictions of ancient Angkor history (battles) and Hindu mythology (Churning of the Sea of Milk, Ramayana). From what I was able to understand, Kay said that he had many stories to tell; that skill just went to waste. The inability to communicate properly frustrated me during the temple-trekking since I couldn’t maximize Kay’s knowledge. We all could’ve had a richer experience if Angkor’s stories were brought to life. We walked through and across dozens of hallways and steps as we explored Angkor Wat. With all of Kay’s knowledge though, I wonder why he didn’t take us to this small hall featured in “The Amazing Race” where one can produce an echo— amazing for such a tiny space that wasn’t even enclosed. It is unfortunate that the show started only when we got back.

We were disappointed to find that a popular area was cordoned off. The steps in Angkor Wat are known to be steep especially in the closed-off area where ropes were used to hoist oneself up. Steps are steeper on the way higher since the peak contained the holiest temple, and upon approaching the presence of holiness, one must be kneeling or bowing. Supposedly, the closure of the area which led to the absolute peak of Angkor was because a tourist fell. We were only able to take pictures of ourselves standing in the bottom part of these very steep steps. It was disappointing but given the punishing heat and my own physical shortcomings, maybe it was for the best.

We returned to the Villa for lunch. The Angkor Discovery Tour consisted of free lunch with choices from the menu. We six each ordered a different dish; high on the list of everyone’s favorites was the orange-colored Cambodian Curry. As with the food in Siem Reap so far, lunch was a feast fit to fulfill the famished.

We piled onto the van to head next to Angkor Thom. Before we entered the gate, we took pictures with the statues lining the driveway to the South Gate. The statues represent the Churning of the Sea of Milk, the Hindu creation myth. Some of the heads of the demons and gods holding the giant serpent have been lopped off. We were stopped on our way inside since our driver wasn’t wearing his tourism board shirt. After giving the police officer a tip (as Mr. Samreth said), we proceeded right along.

Angkor Thom (Big Angkor) was the last capital of the Angkor Empire and was built by Jayavarman VII. He drove out the Cham invaders who had controlled Cambodia for the last four years in the late 12th century. He then made Buddhism the state religion and began constructing a large number of monuments and temples that he is credited for being the most prolific builder among all the monarchs. Jayavarman VII also built Ta Phrom and dedicated it to his mother. Angkor Thom has five gates and is the biggest complex among all other Angkor structures. Each gate has four giant faces. The heart of the Angkor Thom complex is Bayon, of which the Smiling Faces are iconic. Bayon was the king’s state temple and is considered the jewel of all that Jayavarman VII had built. The Terrace of the Elephants had an amazing carving of giant elephants on its walls. Their longs snouts are the first things I noticed and were the clues which led me to see the parade of elephants on the walls. The Terrace of the Leper King, so-named for the Leper King statue on top, is nearby. We were unfortunately unable to view it due to the flooding in the pathways leading to it.
To cap off our day, we headed to Phnom Bakheng to view the sunset. We had requested that Phnom Bakheng be incorporated into our Angkor Discovery Tour and when we confirmed it upon arrival, we were informed that we had to pay extra. Luckily the IPod Touch has Wi-Fi access. Melissa was able to show them the email correspondences exchanged between her and “Anthony, Fiona, and the Villa Siem Reap team.” We also discovered that the Villa was run from Australia. All this time, we had thought that Anthony and Fiona were Australians who relocated to Siem Reap to run a bed-and-breakfast. Siem Reap was so overrun by foreigners anyway. In practice however, all correspondences are answered by Anthony in Australia. He then communicates and coordinates with the Villa’s efficient staff.

Phnom Bakheng (Bakheng Hill) was the first major temple in the Angkor Area, built in the late 9th century as a temple mountain dedicated to Shiva and was the state temple of Yasovarman I. It’s the most popular sunset destination, offering views of the Tonle Sap Lake and Angkor Wat. We wanted to take an elephant ride up (15USD) the temple but opted for the one going down instead (10USD) when we were told that we had to wait. At 5PM, we were pressed for time since sunset usually began at 5:30PM so we started the long climb up. I was reminded of the many times we climbed hills in Taiwan from two years back. It’s an exhausting memory but the drive to make it to the top before 5:30PM accelerated our pace.

A set of narrow steps had to be overcome to get to the top of Phnom Bakheng. I was amazed by the dexterity of the mainland Chinese who easily and quickly hefted themselves up while the rest of us struggled to use our hands and feet to achieve balance. Some of the women were even in shoes with heels! The peak provided gorgeous and panoramic views of the Siem Reap countryside. If Angkor Wat were not the popular sunrise destination, Phnom Bakheng would be a great alternative from where to greet the dawn with no edifices to block the view. Nikki and I had a pleasant surprise atop the hill as we bumped into a fellow Legal Management batchmate from Ateneo while waiting for the sun to set. Karl and his friends had just arrived from a grueling ten-hour bus ride from Bangkok earlier in the day.

The hazy sky provided us with no brilliant sunset. The Mall of Asia would’ve done just as well. We climbed down gingerly and the less athletically-inclined of us were assisted by Ernest. We went two by two on the elephants. They walked slowly down winding paths which got me quite jittery especially on turns when I was at the side of the ridge. Gene eased my nerves by pointing out that the elephants had slim legs which fit the narrow pathways just fine. Oddly enough, two foreigners stayed behind our parade the whole time on the way down. Perhaps they couldn’t find an opening to overtake us. I felt stupid when Gene and I forgot to tip the mahout when we disembarked.

We thought to spend the night stuffing ourselves with more of Angkor history and culture by heading to the Koulen Restaurant which was a huge banquet hall with long tables overrun with tourists, buffet tables at the back, and a stage in front. Mr. Samreth left us at Koulen where the Villa had arranged for us to watch an Apsara Cultural Performance. The Villa really made the trip easy for us. We just needed to wake up, choose if we want coffee or tea and climb into the van.

The buffet wasn’t spectacular but I wanted to laugh at the place we found ourselves in. This was the first “tour group” undertaking we had during the trip. What differentiated us from the Chinese, Japanese and Korean tour groups who were there with us? For one, we could leave if we didn’t enjoy the show, which we did after two performances. The overeager tourist who jumped onstage to get better pictures was the highlight of the show for me. It appears cultural shows and indigenous dances were outside our realm of appreciation. Finding Mr. Samreth absent from the car, we decided to cross the street to take a look at a newly-opened mall with only one set of escalators. The mall was being mobbed by the locals who were crowding at the huge second-storey glass window which overlooked Sivatha Boulevard. For us avid mallgoers, Onitsuka Tiger in the department store was the only exciting thing. I got more excited at the nearby convenience store when I saw Jack n’ Jill potato chips for sale. It was my C2 in Vietnam moment.

We returned to Koulen to ask Mr. Samreth to take us to Pub Street where we thought to explore more after last night’s abrupt ending. There was nothing much to see still. We ended up getting a table at the Red Piano and ordering the Tomb Raider cocktail and Angkor Beer. Angelina Jolie Connection Number Two: The Red Piano gained popularity as the bar where Angelina Jolie and the Tomb Raider crew reportedly hung out after work; the Tomb Raider cocktail (Cointreau, lime juice and tonic) was supposedly concocted by Angelina Jolie herself. I had the impression that the place had a nostalgic air with all the white expats and the elevator muzak (Ex. Spandau Ballet) music. It was like we had to try hard to have fun at this place. Given our drained spirits, this place seemed to be apt for our taking our nightcap.

Day 06 - Cambodia

2008-12-30T01:07:00.000-08:00

September 9, 2008
Let’s Get Physical!

Sunrise at Angkor Wat was the first order of the day. I had set my alarm at 3:30AM in time for the 4:30AM call time. I was shivering the whole time I was taking my bath due to the AC chill and rain. The cold shower failed to douse me to my senses; only upon stepping out of the bathroom did I realize that Cambodia time was one hour later than Manila time. Because I didn’t adjust the time on my cellphone and watch, I had woken myself at 2:30AM. No wonder Nikki and Gene were still peacefully slumbering. Good thing I hadn’t woken them up. With nothing better to do, I went back to sleep only awakening at the proper time.

The crowds were already positioned, tripods were set up and only the weather was not cooperating when we arrived at Angkor Wat. Our sunset and sunrise jaunts proved to be disappointing, but our enthusiasm for taking pictures was not dampened. We took positions at the pool reflecting the distinctive lotus-like towers of Angkor Wat. It is said that during clear days, the pool stays still; thus, allowing light and shadow shots at sunrise to play out well. It would’ve been a sight to have seen the day’s first rays break out from Angkor Wat’s towers. Alas, it was a sight not for us to behold.

Before embarking on our second tour, the Outlying Adventure Tour, we returned to the Villa to freshen up and to have breakfast. I fortified myself with cups of coffee in anticipation of the active day ahead.

Pre Rup Temple was the first stop for the day. Pre Rup (Turn the Body) is dedicated to Shiva and a statue of his form as the Nandi Bull can be viewed. Aside from being the state temple of Rajendravarman II, funerals were also held here. The temple has three levels and two sets of fairly steep and narrow steps have to be climbed to reach the top where one will be rewarded with panoramic and sweeping views of the countryside. A man dressed in a Tourism Authority uniform approached us and began to talk about the temple and its surroundings. His English was clear. He seemed to be the guide we should’ve had. He explained that honey and palm sugar were used to put the bricks and laterite together. Gene and I even took a picture with him. As we turned to leave, the guide asked Nikki for some money to buy food. Surprised, we reacted by casting him dumbfounded looks until Ernest gave him 500 riel (0.25USD). He protested by saying that the money wouldn’t be enough to buy him anything, but Ernest brushed him off. How annoying to find con artists skulking around for gullible tourists even in tops of temples where not a lot of people go to. Belowstairs, Kay excitedly asked us if we had seen the lingas and wouldn’t elaborate on what it was when we pretended not to know that lingas were phallic symbols. If Kay had accompanied us up the temple, we probably wouldn’t have been approached.

We piled onto the van after to proceed to Kbal Spean to get our fill of 1000 Lingas. The ride was very long, and I fell asleep on the way. We got to Kbal Spean (Head Bridge) by 12NN and found out that it was a mountain and the 1000 Lingas were 1500 meters to the top. I recalled my disastrous experience of a climb up a mountain during my college immersion in Capas, Tarlac. I was clumsy and even injured myself. I hoped I could sufficiently make the climb without causing myself bodily harm. Kristine looked the happiest I’ve seen her for the entire trip as we were trekking up Kbal Spean while Nikki looked like she’d rather be elsewhere. As she said, she was having a hard time because it’s her weakest strength. Given that, I conclude that Nikki must have no weaknesses.

If Ta Phrom was fun because we felt we were exploring the wilderness
ala Tomb Raider, the Kbal Spean trek was less Hollywood what with actual overgrowth, big rocks and rickety steps. Hiking was good aerobic exercise, but I wish the midday sun wasn’t beating down on us. As friends, we are not much for outdoor activities together, and back in Manila, we surely would’ve vetoed such an activity. But in Siem Reap, we paid to climb the mountain and so climb and climb we did. Despite the scarcity of trash bins, the trail was mercifully free from trash. 3 rest stops had been graciously set up for weary hikers looking to take a break. During one of our breaks on the way down, we discovered that Kay was already of the ripe old age of 30. Kbal Spean is closed by 3PM because wild animals roam the grounds upon dusk. This trek has made so thankful that our flight from HCMC was delayed, causing us to forego the Beng Melea (2 hours from Siem Reap) Jungle Adventure Tour.

We finally arrived at the River of 1000 Lingas after an hour-long trek but not before Melissa fell as we were well within sight of the river. The 1000 Lingas along with Hindu images are carved into the riverbed and the surrounding rocks. The lingas and our location are significant to the history of Cambodia. It was in the Kulen Mountains when Jayavarman II, the first king of the Angkor era, made a declaration to unite Cambodia in 802AD. He concurrently held a god-king rite and established a royal linga-worshipping cult, linga being a symbol for Shiva. Linga depictions are aplenty in Angkor architecture, and many of them have been lost, destroyed, stolen or moved to museums so most of what can be viewed in the temples are the stands that used to house the sacred representations. The 1000 Lingas are thought to have been carved in order to enrich the waters that flowed to the rice paddies below. Having had no idea of what I had just explained while we were at Kbal Spean, we merely looked at the lingas and failed to appreciate the history and gravity of what we had climbed arduously (in my opinion) for. We then headed down for lunch but stopped by a waterfall for a short rest. A pretty Asian girl and her Western boyfriend were there along with some locals. It is only half the day and I already felt exhausted. Belying the earlier slip, able and agile Melissa reached the bottom first where our repast awaited. The Villa’s magic cooler yielded plenty of different sandwiches, fruit kebabs, pumpkin flan, cold towels, and chilled water. The simple act of putting the cold towel to my face brought me vast relief.

After lunch, we went on to the other temples in our itinerary. Banteay Sreay is touted as the most intricately-carved temple. It’s rather small and looks decayed with age. Kay mentioned that many of the carvings are in their original state hence the rope that puts a distance between the visitor and the walls. Translated as Citadel of the Women, there is no proof that Banteay Sreay ever served as such. The appellation is attributed to the beauty of the carvings and the pink sandstone which lends the temple with a more romantic thus feminine appeal.

We headed next to a temple whose name not one of us managed to note. Perhaps it was Banteay Samre (Citadel of the Farmer) since it was relatively near Banteay Sreay. We only took a short time here as the rains started to pour heavily. As we were rushing back to the van, small children peddlers flocked to us. Getting soaked seemed not to bother them as against us being bothered by the sight of them getting soaked. Realizing that we weren’t interested in souvenirs, they asked for food instead which prompted me to give them my packs of Skyflakes. It is a common sight for all visitors leaving the temples to hear shouts of “Lady! Sir!” from vendors peddling wares—souvenirs, guidebooks, postcards, snacks, beverages, etc.

Siem Reap is a tourist town (Thankfully not a tourist trap.) and its residents are all beneficiaries of the tourist trade. It is hard to imagine what livelihood they will have should the temples be devoid of visitors. While not as well-known as Eiffel Tower or Pyramids of Egypt and long a backpacker mecca, Angkor Wat and the sleepy town of Siem Reap is well on its way to becoming more and more well-known in the commercial travel circuit, with the more aggressive advertising undertaken by Cambodia’s government. The newly-built and still under-construction hotels and hostels crowding along and around Sivatha Boulevard will be able to accommodate the influx of tourists. I wonder how the temples will fare with the increased foot traffic and the environmental impact tourism would have on a heritage site. Things are looking rosy for Siem Reap, commercial-wise and as Kay said in his farewell speech to us (which we barely understood) in the van on the way back, tourism is their lifeblood and we must do all that we can to help them spread the word.

I did enjoy the temple tours and attribute the feeling of being a bit ‘templed-out’ to the heat and lack of information on the temples we were traipsing through, At the end of the day, no matter how magnificent the places, if one sees a pile of stones in succession with no idea what they stand for, they will inevitably become a meaningless blur of stones. Go to Siem Reap, be a responsible tourist and don’t forget to get a guide who will help one understand that all the limestones, laterites, bricks and sandstones are more than just centuries-old piles of stones.

For our last dinner in Siem Reap, we decided to go to Pub Street Alley (aka The Passage) to sample Cambodian BBQ’s exotic fare. We chose snake, crocodile and kangaroo meat from the menu with beef as the failsafe choice. Other more exotic options were rabbit, goat and ostrich meat. Snake meat (which I think was python meat) was white even after being grilled which can be mistaken for chicken. There was a fishy/slimy texture to it, perhaps because it’s a reptile. I found kangaroo meat to my liking. The meat was thick and warm to the body. Crocodile meat was also white and tough to eat. Ernest spat out some raw crocodile meat he mistakenly put in his mouth, and Melissa accidentally ate some crocodile fat. Nasty. Unsatisfied, we moved on to Burgers Without Borders for some burgers. The prospect of eating in McDonalds in Bangkok in the next day cheered me up.

We then went to look for a massage parlor. We passed by a used books and DVD shop first where Melissa bought a Nirvana video. We settled on the massage parlor next door. Black massage chairs line the first floor. The second floor had a room with 5 mats. My first impression was that of a cheap, seedy prostitution den. I suppose I shouldn’t be expecting much since we were looking for something cheap, and seedy is cheap or is it cheap is seedy? Gene decided to just get a foot massage downstairs where the Hindu owner was also reclining. There was a man getting a massage, and he finished soon after we arrived. As he was changing his shirt, one of us requested that his bedding be changed which earned us a dirty look. There seemed to be lack of masseuses yet suddenly out of the blue, a girl in blue shirt appeared which confused me since all the others were in green. The masseuses got to work in giving us a full body massage, but I didn’t feel relaxed or even invigorated. Just about the only workup I got was when I heard my joints creak when the masseuse swung me from side to side. Being massage virgins, K and Nikki were making odd comments about getting tickled and the like. Melissa and the other surmised that my masseuse came from another massage parlor and sure enough, on our tuktuk ride back home, we spotted my blue-shirted masseuse running to another parlor where similarly blue-attired masseuses loitered outside. Naka-racket, in short.

I looked forward to the arrival of the next day where we finally could shed the rustic atmosphere of the past days. Save for being unable to have dinner at Meric in Hotel de la Paix, I’m satisfied with my Siem Reap experience. It has also further driven home my impression of my unsuitability for a slow-paced lifestyle. The thought “I could get used to this.” never entered my mind. Siem Reap—where things took on a whole new dimension—will always be a stamp on my passport and a memory unforgettable.

Day 07 - Cambodia / Thailand

2008-12-30T01:06:00.000-08:00

September 10
A Night of Faux Debauchery

Even after all the arrangements had been made, we suddenly found ourselves back in Manila unsure if we would be able to go to Bangkok or not. Days before the start of our trip, political dissidents staged rallies demanding the resignation of then-Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. There were some fighting and a demonstrator was killed. Thinking that everything should’ve blown over by the time we arrived, we decided not to divert or cut our trip short. If ever, we could always depart Siem Reap and go to Singapore, Malaysia, or Vietnam.

As of this writing, there is a new Prime Minister, Bangkok’s third for the year; the Suvarnabhumi Airport had been shut down for nine days and re-opened after hundreds of travelers have been stranded. What a mess! During our stay, we never encountered any political unrest as demonstrations at the PM’s office were far from the city center where Bangkok’s denizens wine and dine and wheel and deal. The threat that the protestors might do something drastic loomed but was comparable to any potential threat when travelling anywhere else. My Bangkok experience was fantastic but then I’m getting ahead of myself.

Dependable Mr. Samreth took us to the airport for our 11AM flight. We got into a small traffic jam at first which was the first we had encountered in Siem Reap. Before we left, I couldn’t resist not knowing why our van’s driver side was on the opposite of everyone else’s. Mr. Samreth said that the van had come from Bangkok where drivers sat on the right and that he was ambidextrous and could drive either way.

We were early for our flight and after paying the departure tax of $25 (too much!), I spotted an area selling L’Artisans D’Angkor products where I thought to buy something special to commemorate my Siem Reap trip. I settled on buying Amok powder and getting freebie Khmer recipe cards. My mom asked me to buy a fancy gift for my godmother so I bought a beautiful red silk scarf which my mom ended up keeping for herself. The salesman asked where I was from, and when he found out I was from the Philippines, told me some stories about his politician friends back in the homeland. I discovered how an artfully placed scarf can perk up an outfit. I should learn how to drape one.

After having leisurely browsed the well-made L’Artisans D’Angkor products, I joined the others who were whiling away the time reading in the airport bookshop. We then bid adieu to Siem Reap as we boarded our Bangkok Airways flight to Bangkok, the final leg of our 3-Country Odyssey.

Krung Thep, Bangkok’s ancient Thai name, literally translates to City of Angels. Thailand or formerly Siam is also the only Southeast Asian country that has never been colonized by a foreign power. Bangkok circa September 2008 was a hotbed of political activity and commercialized entertainment, teeming with unlimited gourmet and shopping opportunities. It’s a city that Manila should and could be and perhaps would’ve been especially given that Pinoys speak way, way better English, are friendlier, more accommodating and smile more despite Thailand’s moniker as a Land of Smiles.

From my bird’s eye view from the plane, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport looked impressive. From the airport shuttle to the baggage claims, everything was fast and efficient. The glass and metal theme of the airport spoke of how Bangkok was presenting itself as a megalopolis. We proceeded to look for transportation to our lodging, the City Lodge Soi 19. Bangkok cab drivers have gained notoriety for ripping off unsuspecting tourists by overcharging cab fares, taking circuitous routes to increase meter charges, pocketing toll fees, and other tales of taxi driver horrors.

We went to the public taxi stand to avoid the cab drivers contracting fixed rates. We broke up into two cabs. At the cab stand, a woman wrote down one’s destination in Thai on a trip ticket which one will provide to the cab drivers on a queue. There was also a fixed 50 baht charge on top of the metered fare for unknown reasons. Toll fees were on the passengers as well. The cabbie also provided a sheet stating his name, cab operator, and plate number with a space for comments.

Gene, Nikki and I were a bit scared of our cab driver. He looked hotheaded and his constant muttering while loading our luggage into his small trunk did not feel welcoming. I’m sure he had a bad day. We decided to convoy behind Ernest, Melissa and Kristine’s cab. Just out of the airport, their cab stopped and their cabbie stepped down to speak with ours. They conversed in irritated tones. We had no idea what concern could’ve arisen with the first cab occupants. It turned out that the others asked the first cabbie not to take the toll which annoyed both cabbies. We ended up paying 197 baht on the meter plus the 50 baht fixed charge which was well within the normal 250-300 baht range when coming from the airport to the city.

We settled on City Lodge Soi 19 following an exhaustive and frustrating search for a place to stay in Bangkok. In our initial Let’s Go PowerPoint presentation, we showed the Holiday Inn Bangkok as our hotel of choice. During planning, the Holiday Inn’s rates proved expensive so we had to broaden our search for a hotel that was conveniently located near the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS/Skytrain), Bangkok Mass Rapid Transit (MRT/Subway) or both to make for easier commuting. Asia Hotel, connected to BTS Rajchathewi Station, seemed the best choice but I saw some online reviews saying that petty theft by staff was common. Although there were plenty of budget options, we narrowed our search to the following factors: proximity to trains, affordability and condition of accommodations. We wanted to be very near our main mode of transport and for our rooms not to be dingy as after all, this was the last leg; we wanted to ensure that we were comfortable. After much deliberation and a comparison chart prepared by Nikki, we ended up with City Lodge Soi 19. The hostel is 2-3 minutes away from the Asok BTS Station and 3-4 minutes away from the Sukhumvit MRT Station. It’s right next to the Westin Grande Sukhumvit and Robinsons Shopping Mall where a department store, supermarket, money exchange counter and McDonalds are. Since malls normally close by 10PM, it wasn’t a consideration for us to stay in the thick of the mall areas unlike if we were in Hong Kong.

A friendly receptionist and bellboy welcomed us upon arrival and were informed that one of our rooms was being upgraded. They graciously pointed out the BTS and MRT entrances, money exchange counter and tourist spots. The City Lodge Soi 19, operated under the Amari Chain, is a small hotel with a popular Italian restaurant La Gritta. The hallways are starkly plain (not in a modernist kind of way, think drab), but the rooms are entirely acceptable if a bit small. We definitely got what we paid for.

We got to exchange money at the Siam Commercial Bank money exchange in Robinsons. Ernest, Nikki and Melissa all had baht with them so we were able to pay for the cab fares. I learned that smaller bills have a more unfavorable exchange rate compared to the one stated on the board. I took a longer time here since I initially wanted to exchange my smaller US bills (for Cambodia leg), but when I realized my mistake, I switched my money to $100 denominations which caused the teller to do everything all over again. After the snafu, we headed to Robinsons Supermarket to buy water and snacks. Nikki bought BBQ-flavored Koh Kae, a peanut snack that is a softer version of Nagaraya. It was addictive. No wonder Nikki’s mom wanted her to buy at least eight cans.

We hopped on the BTS a half-hour later to have lunch and to get our first taste of shopping. God knows I missed it. We got off Chidlom Station to go to Central World, Bangkok’s biggest mall and entered via Zen, one of two department stores anchoring the mall’s opposite ends. We headed to the upper level to dine at Food Loft, a cafeteria-style restaurant similar to ThreeSixty in Hong Kong. We were provided cards which were used to electronically keep track of our purchases. We surrendered the cards to pay and to leave Food Loft. I ordered the hottest curry available, the simply-named green curry with rice. I also ordered a dessert of taro (one of my favorites) balls in coconut milk (another one of my favorites). It was a satisfactory first meal in Bangkok.

We all split up and agreed to meet up at Zen by 5:00PM. I was very excited to check out the trendy Bangkok labels and immediately dragged Gene to check the selection out. The clothes were well-made and well-designed but expensive. We wandered and wandered, even venturing to high-end Gaysorn Plaza next door but came up empty-handed. I thought Fly Now (locally available at The Ramp), Jaspal and Lyn Shoes (both available in Adora, the latter to open a stand-alone shop in Greenbelt 5) would be cheaper in Bangkok but turned out to be just as expensive or more. I was seduced by the pretty Senada Theory clothes, thought Stretsis too girly-edgy for me and Greyhound beautiful and too pricey (Maybe that was why it didn’t catch on here when the Bench group brought it in). I was so disappointed and despondent. I got to vicariously experience a retail high when Gene bought a Senada Theory bag and a headband for her sister at the last minute.

After meeting up with the others and with time to spare before dinner, we walked over to Siam Paragon, another gigantic posh mall with an underwater ocean park (Siam Ocean World) and luxury car showrooms. Think Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Hummer, among others. One the best things about the BTS aside from a stretch of stations connecting to the all the big malls is the elevated covered walkway directly underneath the station which connects Central World and Gaysorn in Chidlom Station all the way to MBK in National Stadium Station. It allowed us to walk instead of take the BTS to Siam Station where Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery Center and Siam Square are. It suddenly rained and we got a bit wet from crossing the mezzanine from the station to Siam Paragon. We also caught a view from above of the nighttime rush hour gridlock in Rama Road, a major Bangkok artery. The congested road with the cars and their brightly-lit headlights and taillights against the dark sky punctuated the bustling, crowded metropolis that is Bangkok.

We headed towards the Customer Service desk to claim tourist discount cards. Even without the card, foreigners automatically get 5% off purchases in malls and can also claim 7% VAT refund at the airport for a minimum 5000 baht accumulated purchase under a single name. Forms need to be filled out after every minimum accumulated 2000 baht purchase. We went separate ways and I dragged Gene and Nikki to the Jo Malone counter inside Siam Paragon Department Store, the first in Asia. I smelled all the scents because I wanted to buy something to take home. Their bestselling Rose scent is heady and made me dizzy. I also headed to the Balenciaga shop hoping that the City Motorcycle would be cheaper than in Manila. Unfortunately even with the tourist discount and VAT Refund, the bag still ended up more expensive than here. It looks like my big buy will have to be a Jo Malone perfume. While wandering aimlessly since all the local and designer brands are expensive, we chanced upon a sale outlet in the middle of the mall selling Esprit, Bossini and Charles & Keith. I got a little excited and chose four pairs but ended up buying just one. I would be severely disappointed in myself if I went home with Charles & Keith loot from Bangkok. We all regrouped in the lobby by 7:00PM. Melissa was able to buy elusive Kurt Cobain Converse Chuck Taylors while Ernest bought something. Ernest always was able to buy something wherever we went. I think he enjoyed Bangkok shopping.

My Chucks!

After having a very late lunch at Food Loft, it was time to fully explore Central World and Siam Paragon. Group shopping is never a good idea; so it was decided that we go our separate ways and just meet after a few hours. K, Ernest, and I, not having specific stores in mind to hit, chose to stay together. We spent most of our time in the department store of Siam Paragon and this is where I finally got my hands on a pair of Kurt Cobain Chucks I’ve been lusting for forever. Ernest also spent a good 15 minutes trying several pairs of Asics sneakers so it came as a surprise for K and I when he wasn’t able to buy anything. K decided to shop on her own after the shoe expedition.

Siam Paragon boasts of several luxury car showrooms and this is where Ernest and I headed after shoe shopping. We saw flashy cars from Porsche, Lamborghini, Maserati, and Spyker. Ernest was not able to resist and just had to have his picture taken with everything that was on display. We lost track of time appreciating the vehicles so we had to rush to meet up with the rest of the group at the agreed time. Good thing we managed to show up just a tad bit late.

Somboon Seafood was our chosen dinner destination and luckily, there was a branch near our evening destination. We took the BTS to Sala Daeng Station and asked for directions from a juice stall vendor. Good thing Somboon Seafood justified the very long walk we took to get there. Somboon Seafood is a big, three-storey restaurant with a look and atmosphere similar to big Chinese restaurants. We ordered plenty of dishes, the most remarkable of which was the Fried Curry Crab. Just like in Vietnam, the wet napkins were not free so we sent them back.

After another delicious meal which was getting to be Bangkok habit, we headed to popular Patpong to experience the touristy and gimmicky red light district. Patpong is a tourist trap with a night market and a row of establishments with names like Queen’s Castle, Super Pussy and the like. It’s overrun with tourists and touts. We skipped browsing the overpriced tiangges overflowing with souvenirs, imitation accessories and other odds and ends. Despite the connotation, I wouldn’t call the place seedy. On the contrary, it’s like a brightly-lit marketplace. I hear there’s another red light district in Bangkok near our hostel called Soi Cowboy which is much less developed. Perhaps there the atmosphere would be more sordid.

We were approached by an aggressive, short, fat and loud female tout whom we couldn’t shake off no matter how hard we tried to divert and ignore her. She even made snide comments in Thai which made the other shopkeepers look at us. I don’t understand why she decided to stick to us. Maybe because there were six of us so she decided to earn her commission via us. Her incessant shouting of “Friends! Friends!” was grating to the nerves. She proved formidable and we finally decided to give her our business. We wanted to go to watch a ping-pong show; we just didn’t want her to profit from it, but six tired tourists were no match for a hardened tout. She brought us to a girly bar where skimpily-attired women wearing white boots swayed to the music on an elevated platform. Patrons were males looking for some good times. With money and intent, there was no doubt that they would get lucky that night. We quickly exited seeing that the interesting body functions we came to see were not in sight. The girls in that girly bar would end up having prettier girls than Queen’s Castle II where we eventually ended up in perhaps because girly bars where men went for female companionship had to have prettier girls than those just performing shows.

Queen’s Castle II lacked in female pulchritude to say the least. Instead of hot young Thai chicks, it was more aging prostitutes who have had their heyday mixed with some young ones who won’t stop traffic. The ping-pong show was what we came for though and as soon as we came in, ping-pong balls started flying in our direction, almost hitting us. Note that the ping-pong balls had come out from the women’s vaginas. It’s important to negotiate the cover charge before going in to avoid overcharging and miscommunication. We negotiated the cover charge to 100 baht with a choice of one drink which in our case was Singha Beer or Coke. We then settled to watch performances of girls standing around a boxing ring in various stages of nudity doing unusual things with their vaginas: (a) Screw open bottle of Coke and transfer contents to a cup (b) Throw darts at balloons and shove the darts up the vagina when they miss (c) Puff cigarettes (d) Produce a string of sharp-edged blades which would be pretty painful unless the blades were just plastic (e) Shoot ping-pong balls to the viewers. There was also a robotic girl-on-girl sadomasochism bit. The only consolation was that one of the girls was toned. The entire proceedings were so impersonal, passionless and alienating. I suppose it’s hard to produce the passion to do something one does every night to catcalls, hoots and leers, even if the act is supposedly about sex. The evening took an interesting turn when a dirty old man sat next to us and proceeded to fondle the three women surrounding him. He jiggled the boobs of the one seated in front of him, looked up the skirt of the one on his right, and enjoyed the caresses of the one on his left. I tried not to look too much, but it was hard not to. I hoped they would put some spice into the evening by doing the nasty, but they controlled themselves.

We eventually decided that we had had enough for the evening. As we left the building, lo and behold that our friend was still there to hound and tempt us with more debauchery for the night—live shows, gay shows, woman and woman shows, man and man shows and what have you. She only left our side when we reached the end of Patpong to hail a cab home.

Hailing a cab for the six of us was quite the challenge for Ernest, our go-to guy for hailing cabs, paying fees and other similar things. After a number of cabs, we finally found one willing to take us all the way to the other side of town. After a Bangkok day that was filled to the brim, we were happy to be going back. Tomorrow was our official sightseeing day. Again.

Day 08 - Thailand

2008-12-30T01:05:00.000-08:00

September 11

Here We Go Again

As if we hadn’t tried of temples, we booked ourselves another sightseeing adventure for Day 2. The major Bangkok tourist attractions are in Rattanakosin District, the older part of Bangkok which was literally opposite our location and prone to heavy traffic. We decided to commute using the BTS and the Chao Phraya River Express to get a taste of Bangkok’s riverine transport.

For every country that I shall visit, I will eat at McDonalds at least once. For breakfast, we all trooped to McDonalds and after a deprivation after HCMC and Siem Reap, I was so happy to see Ronald McDonald. A McCafe was in house and unique to Bangkok McDo are spinach, corn and pineapple pies. Their pies are also longer than ours. After we had all finished our business, we hopped on the BTS all the way to the end of the Silom line, Saphan Thaksin Station.

The Saphan Thaksin Pier is directly in front of the BTS Station, very convenient for Chao Phraya excursions. The ticket to Tha Tien station cost us 17 baht each. We waited awhile with the tourists on the dock. It wasn’t clear as to what destinations the boats arriving were headed to, but when a boat arrived and all the foreigners stood up, we knew it was the one headed to the temples. The riverboat cruise is exhilarating as the breeze whipped our hair up. We zoomed past the elegant piers of the Shangri-La, Hilton, etc. I can imagine how much more beautiful the scenery would be at night with all the buildings and monuments all lit up. While many guidebooks say that dinner in a Chao Phraya River Cruise is a must, we had to scrap it off our plans and settle for a daytime Chao Phraya (River of Kings) ride instead. When we got to Tha Tien, we decided to immediately take another riverboat to cross over to the Thonburi side where Wat Arun rose majestically against the sky. The 3.50 baht fare can’t be beat. We hung around the rocking boat for quite awhile while waiting for the other boat to ferry returning passengers back. Ernest got a bit of motion sickness here. It must be a tedious job for the riverboat driver to be crossing the Chao Phraya every few minutes taking people from one side and across. Such a job is essential though for ease.

When we got to Wat Arun’s entrance, we spotted displays of traditional Thai monarchs and dancers just begging to have heads slid into them to complete the picture. As cam whores, the temptation was too much to resist. When we finished, someone suddenly came up to demand payment of 40 baht each. We were dumbfounded until she pointed out the small 40 baht sign on the bottom part of each display. Since we had posed in more than one character, the woman was demanding 100 baht payment each, Left with no choice, we haggled to give her 20 baht each which earned her a healthy profit still.

We truly deserve to be punished by succumbing to such a tacky photo opportunity when there were infinitely more interesting sights in Wat Arun. For displaying obvious first-time tourist, eager beaver behavior, we paid 20 baht each, got cheesy photos and an avowal to be more careful of scams since we had reached our quota of one per country.

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) is a Buddhist temple with a famous Khmer-style tower which is the centerpiece of many a sunrise and sunset shot in Bangkok. Centuries ago, it housed the Emerald Buddha. Stained glass, mosaics, and terraces are present everywhere.

We crossed the river back to visit the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. Wat Pho entrance fee is at 50 baht. It’s cool that locals can get into these places for free. Wat Pho is home to the world’s largest reclining Buddha measuring forty-six meters long and fifteen meters high. The Reclining Buddha is also decorated with gold plating on his body. We attempted to touch the mother-of–pearl soles of his which is said to bring luck. The eagle-eyed monitor caught my attempts, but I managed to touch a toe. Money can also be exchanged for coins which are then scattered over pots lining the edge of the temple, again purportedly to bring luck. There is also a famous massage school inside.

After putting our shoes on, we decided to delay lunch to finish visiting the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of Emerald Buddha). The Grand Palace is right across Wat Pho, but the main entrance is on the opposite side and takes quite a walk to get to. Along the way, decently-dressed men tried to catch the tourists’ attentions to say that the Grand Palace is closed for a special ceremony. Barely twenty steps away from the wide open gate, these men still managed to reel in unsuspecting tourists, usually those who are older and alone. The lesson here is do your homework on the Internet and don’t trust the kindness of strangers. One might unwittingly find oneself in a tuktuk headed to a jewelry and souvenir shop.

The 350 baht entrance fee to the Grand Palace also covers entrance fees to other places found inside the Grand Palace compound like Pavilion of Regalia, Royal Decorations, and Coins (self-explanatory) and other tourist spots farther away, the most famous of which is Vinanmek Mansion, the world’s largest golden teakwood mansion.

We visited the Pavilion to get some AC exposure. The museum had interactive features, and a path was made so that one had to pass though every exhibit and display. We then proceeded to the Grand Palace proper to pay homage inside Wat Phra Kaew. Due to a series of historical events, the Emerald Buddha, carved from green jade, was taken for 226 years to Laos but was reclaimed and enshrined in Bangkok by the city’s founder King Rama I. Everyone had to be barefoot in the temple; feet should be tucked in to avoid directly pointing at the Buddha, which was seen as disrespectful. Taking pictures was also forbidden although K managed to sneak in one. The Emerald Buddha is tiny and encased in glass atop a high altar which was surrounded by venerable Buddha images. The temple walls are filled with murals depicting different events from the Buddha’s life (birth, childhood, Enlightenment). Wat Phra Kaew is also the most sacred palce of worship for the Thai faithful.

The Grand Palace complex is massive, covering 34 structures. Just the thought of going to all of them made us so weak in the knees that we simply sat in a shaded pavilion outside Wat Phra Kaew to muse, converse and relax. Mostly it was about work which was inevitable as we were soon going to return to it in 3 days’ time.

After our rest, we proceeded to search (We couldn’t seem to get enough of searching.) for Chote Chitr, where we would have our late, late lunch. Chote Chitr was one of the best things about our trip and one of the best things we discovered from online research. Despite being featured in many publications notably the New York Times, it remains a hole-in-the-wall serving home-cooked Thai food. Chote Chitr is famously hard to find, and I combed through plenty of sites in an effort to piece together specific directions and came up with it being on Phraeng Phuton past Mahannop Road off Tanao Road. Tanao Road is the biggest street of the three yet it’s not even noted on most of the maps we acquired from the airport. We had to use the Democracy Monument as a peg for the cab driver who offered Ernest to watch girly shows complete with lewd photos.

It turned out that Chote Chitr was easier to find on food once one is on Tanao Road as it’s relatively well-known in the neighborhood. Basically it looks like a joint in Binondo serving inexpensive but hearty fare. There are only five tables in this small eatery with two dogs, the owner/cook and two servers. It reminded me a bit of Sincerity Restaurant in Binondo albeit without AC and the white tiles. Chote Chitr was homier. We ordered the famous mee krob and yum pla hee (banana flower salad). We also had som tam, tom yam and other dishes whose names escape me now. The owner who reminded us of our grade school teacher Liu Lao Shi spoke perfect English and told us what to order. We were happy to let her do so. To pretentiously dissect the dishes like a food critic which I am certainly not would be a disservice to the best meal I had in Bangkok. The total bill came to only 235 baht per person. Unreal!

The rain fell heavily just as we were leaving. Instead of waiting it out at Chote Chitr, we proceeded to cross the street to have mango sticky rice at an unnamed store that supposedly sold the best. It turned out that the store only provided the sticky rice while the mangoes were supplied by the woman selling in a cart outside. For 60 baht, we had a generous serving good to share of slightly toasted sticky rice in coconut milk and 2 halves of ripe mango. I finished it all and felt so full after.

We abandoned plans of going to Khao San Road. I was a little disappointed since I wanted to see this backpacker mecca and sample the street food. We decided to go back to the hotel to refresh ourselves before dinner. The rain and rush hour timing made hailing a cab almost impossible, and we quickly realized that no one would take us to our hotel far, far away. Thanks to our basic knowledge of the city’s transport options, we decided to be dropped off at the nearest MRT station, Hua Lamphong instead. Ernest did the cab hailing and since it was daytime, only four people were allowed per cab. Nikki, Gene and I went ahead while the rest managed to walk and get to the Grand Palace (so it was within walking distance to Chote Chitr) before hailing a cab. The traffic was horrendous but the cab driver was friendly and engaged us in conversation. He explained how the meters work: For every kilometer, the meter adds 5 baht and for every minute 6 baht on top of the flag down rate of 35 baht. He even observed that it took us almost an hour to get to Hua Lamphong which was less than 30 minutes away. Our total bill came to 90+ baht, but when we handed him a 100 baht bill, the change came to 10 baht. Amazingly, we had found the nicest cab driver in Bangkok.

Karma’s A Bitch

After making sure that DJ, Nikki, and Gene were safely on their way to City Lodge Soi 19, it was our group’s turn to look for a ride home. We decided to walk towards the main road hoping that we would have better luck getting a cab there. After walking a block, we were surprised to see the Grand Palace. It dawned on us that we had fallen victim to the notoriously dishonest taxi drivers of Thailand during our ride from the Grand Palace to Chote Chitr. We took the incident in stride though since the food at Chote Chitr was worth all the trouble we experienced.

We stood in the rain in front of the Grand Palace for about 10 minutes before finally getting a cab. We no longer cared that the driver was charging us a fixed rate of 100 baht to get to Hua Lamphong Subway Station. We were just relieved that we were finally out of the rain and out of our misery.

Traffic in Bangkok is legendary, and we experienced this firsthand during the ride to the station. We realized that we were actually lucky that the driver insisted on charging us a fixed rate instead of using the meter since we were inside the cab at a snail’s pace for more than an hour. The driver couldn’t help but shake his head by the time he dropped us at Hua Lamphong. He certainly got the raw end of the deal by not agreeing to a metered ride. Karma’s a bitch as they say.

The MRT was less busy and much larger than the BTS. Instead of cards, round plastic chips are used as tickets. While the BTS ticket booth only accepts coins, MRT ticket booths also accept bills. Similar to the Hong Kong MTR, a disembodied voice also instructs passengers to “Please mind the gap between the train and the platform.” Hopefully Bangkok’s MRT or BTS would extend to the airport, Pratunam and Rattanakosin/Chinatown districts for super convenient navigation.

Gene, Nikki and I rested in the hotel while waiting for the others. We then received a text saying that they had proceeded to MBK. While I admit to being annoyed at the late text as we could’ve gone straight to MBK instead of loitering at the hotel, I doused the feeling. MBK is the most popular mall in Bangkok. Directly connected to the National Stadium BTS Station, MBK is 8 floors of retail establishments selling clothes, mobile phones, electronics, food, gift items, etc. I’m reminded of Tutuban Shopping Center. We spotted a statement tee store where we finally got to buy pasalubong. Statement tees were quite popular in Bangkok—some witty, some obscene. I cannot imagine anyone of my acquaintance who would have the guts (thankfully) to wear a shirt showing a motel scene with couples engaged in various sexual poses.

Must Buy Knockoff

It was our first time to ride the subway in Thailand and we were awed by the token we used instead of the usual magnetic card. Since we were able to rest during the long taxi ride, Ernest suggested that we go directly to MBK instead of heading for home. K and I agreed since we knew that he badly wanted to drop by a store in MBK that sells Onitsuka Tiger originals.

My sister Erica was right in warning that MBK was disappointing since it was just a bigger, sanitized version of Tutuban Center Mall. After having trouble, we eventually were able to locate the store that sells Onitsuka Tiger. The store carried Onitsuka Tiger among other goods so I had my reservations about the authenticity of the shoes. Ernest insisted though that they were real. K and I let him carry on trying shoe after shoe but it was simply not meant to be. Similar to Asics in Siam Paragon, Ernest surprisingly left the store empty handed due to lack of available sizes. No worries though since the 4,000 baht asking price was too steep given that Onitsuka Tiger is being sold at half that price in other countries. Talk about a rip-off.

The big incident of the night happened at an accessories shop. Nikki was looking at earrings on a revolving rack. She chose some pairs she liked then returned those that she didn’t. A saleslady then told her that she had put back a pair at the wrong hook, prompting Nikki to reply that that was where she had found them in the first place. The saleslady then attempted to grab the earrings in Nikki’s hand. Nikki recoiled as any sane person being harassed would do and asked what the girl was doing. The saleslady said that she wanted to return the earrings back to the rack, perhaps implying that Nikki wasn’t going to buy any. Coincidentally, Nikki had lost the exact pair that she had seen and so was going to buy the pair. After the conclusion of the purchase, the antagonism still didn’t end. The saleslady asked where we were from and when told, gave a derisive reply, “Filipinos.” While she might have had a bad experience with Filipinos prompting such scorn, I think she would’ve reacted differently had we said America or maybe she wouldn’t have believed us although widespread immigration has made it difficult to pigeonhole a country’s citizens to just one look. To be fair, I suppose everyone is given to fits of racism. My main beef was how awful the customer service was. Again this was proof of how truly rude, unhelpful and indifferent the people (at least in the service industry) are. The language barrier shouldn’t be an issue given that actions would speak just as eloquently. Good thing that shopping, which was the most fun thing in Bangkok didn’t really need one to rely on others.

Everyone managed to meet up at the shop selling tamarind and other Thai delicacies and together we proceeded to dine at The Pizza Company. I was still too full and so skipped dinner. After returning to the hotel, we all went to bed save for Melissa and Ernest who took the time to have a relaxing massage.

Motor Massage

Ernest and I, the massage enthusiasts that we are, didn’t allow our second night in Bangkok to pass without experiencing authentic Thai massage. After a long day sightseeing and shopping, we trudged our weary feet to the row of neighborhood massage parlors near the hotel. We scouted our massage options until finally choosing Senses Massage Therapy since it was well-lighted and looked decent.

The experience started on a good note with the receptionist ushering us to the cleaning room where our feet were washed by the masseuses who will be attending to us. Ernest, who rarely curses, surprised me when he suddenly let out an expletive even before settling on his seat. Giving him a baffled look, he told me: “Mukhang tricycle driver ang magmamasahe sa akin!” I wasn’t able to contain my amusement upon hearing Ernest’s desperate pronouncement and I even laughed out loud when I got a good look of his attendant. The masseuse slash tricycle driver had a rough blunt face, very short hair, was reed thin, and even had a darker complexion than the Nognog boy himself. It didn’t help that she wore a long-sleeved shirt which signified that all she needed was a baseball cap and she was ready to zoom the streets. They probably sensed that Ernest was none too happy with his attendant that they replaced the unforgettable ladyboy soon after.

The tricycle incident unfortunately was more memorable than the actual massage at Senses. For 350 baht, we were certainly shortchanged since the techniques applied by the masseuses were poor. Neither Ernest nor I was happy with our session and as we left, my impression that I could have a fulfilling massage at any random stall in Bangkok was shattered. I vowed to be wiser in selecting my next massage experience.

Day 09 - Thailand

2008-12-30T01:04:00.000-08:00

September 12, 2008
Gone Berserk

The day that I had been anticipating had finally arrived. Bangkok Day Three was shopping day, specifically shopping at Platinum Mall day. Shopping in Platinum Mall had gained such buzz of mythic proportions that I was worried it would explode in my face as a Bangkok bust. Before embarking on our shopping spree, I fortified myself with McDonalds Peanut McFlurry while the others sampled the grub in the stalls of the Robinsons Supermarket.

Platinum Mall is not directly accessible via any rail transport. We took the BTS to Chidlom Station, cut through Gaysorn to take a 10 minute-walk down Ratchadamri Road, a major avenue leading to the Pratunam District. On the way, we passed by crackling sounds, flavorful smells and rapid chatter that characterize bustling street food stalls. We decided to return for lunch later. Platinum Mall is right across Amari Watergate Hotel and is right at the corner of New Petchaburi and Ratchadamri Roads. It is five stories of rows and rows of all kinds of clothing and accessories a girl can ever need at cheap prices. Most of the clothes are Thailand-made and according to some of the sellers, personally-designed. There are stores which sell variations of one thing—plaid, jumpers, shorts, boleros, and statement tees. While there are the rare stores which do not sell female accoutrements, they sell things that a girl can also have fun buying—children’s clothes, pet clothes and even guy’s clothes. Melissa and Ernest decided to separate, and we agreed to meet up by 12nn for lunch.

After seeing the first few stalls, we realized that almost all of the stores sold varying merchandise so it was imperative we not miss one. The rest of the girls and I decided to stick together and to systematically trawl down each and every aisle. Sticking together also proved crucial because buying at least 3 articles of clothing from a store or as they refer to the practice, buying wholesale, provided savings which maximized our baht’s buying potential. I’m surprised that Platinum did not bring out the hoarder in all of us; it did bring out everyone’s patience and obliviousness to pain and hunger pangs. Some personal Platinum highlights:

Couple Tees- Boy and girl shirts which tell a story. It’s cute in concept. Will a couple really wear them in tandem except for a pictorial or costume party? Made extra cute because of the plastic lunchbox-type packaging.
70 baht (100PHP) Tees- The long lean ones usually sold in Zara TRF and seen in teens and tweens. Small colorful buttons serve as additional designs on the print. The print in front is also replicated in full at the back as some sort of branding or tag.
Couple Pillowcases- Pillowcases in pairs which depict a stick couple in a romantic scene. Think innocent, idyllic, first blush love. Also comes in bolster cases.
“Careful! I Had A Bowl of Bitchy for Breakfast.” Statement Tee- I couldn’t not own it.
Sea Anemone Ring- Almost bought this 20 baht wonder in Vietnam for 7USD

How can I also forget?

Due to chronic inability to resist a bargain, Nikki buying a total 35 pieces of clothing, 28 shirts in total.
Ditching Melissa and Ernest and skipping lunch because Platinum shopping is way more essential to the soul.
Finally taking lunch (early dinner) by 4PM at the food court and me scarfing down my taro dessert in 15 minutes because I was too amped up and wanted to go back for something.
Going back with Gene to buy a beautiful printed blue circle skirt only to find out that it made me look fat when I got back to Manila. The pity purchase of a purple dress that I did to get a lower rate turned out to be the better buy.
Hyperventilating inside because I was overwhelmed by the assault on the senses of too much cheap clothing and suppressing those animal instincts.

I have saved rows and rows of space in choosing not to gush insensibly about Platinum Mall. Until now, I still cannot wait to go back. With all the different styles on display, it’s impossible not to find even just one thing in this cavernous, well-air-conditioned monolith of a bargain heaven. Never mind the accessories area (4th floor) which we skipped, those who love clothes will find it a trial to keep their wallets closed and to not upsize their purchase to get the “wholesale discount,” a cleverly-designed marketing concept to drive a girl delirious. I’m speaking in superlatives as though there’s no better shopping experience because this mall put the Amazing in Thailand.

Let the Games Begin

I knew that I wouldn’t be able to match the girls’ enthusiasm for shopping, so I decided to join Ernest in Platinum since we also wanted to try some of the street food we saw on our way there. First stop at Platinum was its food court. We had takoyaki (samurai balls) and the Thai version of halo-halo; however, both were so-so. We moved right along and browsed through random stalls of Platinum and found ourselves spending most of our time checking out stores that sell graphic tees and bags. We were able to buy a few choice shirts but failed in buying a hip 40s bag to suit Ernest’s mom.

We all earlier agreed to meet at 12 PM, but when Ernest and I were about to go to the designated meeting place, I received a text message from Nikki. The message basically said that they were not yet done shopping and that they would prefer to meet much later in the afternoon. This was when I knew that they lost their minds at Platinum.

Ernest and I decided to leave Platinum after Nikki’s message to explore what more Bangkok had to offer. Since it was already lunch time, we took it as our cue to sample Thai street food. We first had an assortment of sausages with the herb sausage coming out as a winner. Next stop was a stall selling beef and pork ribs. These were also divine. We finally had some sweet balls for dessert; I recall complaining that it wasn’t any good.

We still had many balls left when we headed to Big C Supermarket which was near the food stalls. Big C was forgettable save for the fact that it was here that Ernest pointed out to me that I managed to finish the much-insulted balls without any help from him. We had a laugh over this.

We moved to Central World right away since we had to revisit Zen, which Ernest dubbed as his favorite mall in all of Bangkok. Zen jumpstarted Ernest’s shopping spree which went on until the end of the day. Aside from Central World, we covered the three malls within the Siam Complex namely: Siam Paragon, Siam Center, and Siam Discovery Center. At the end of the shopping session, I had a few items with me while Ernest didn’t disappoint with the array of merchandise he managed to buy. As a testament to how hard he shopped, I found him struggling a bit to carry all his purchases. Notable stores that we visited include Human Touch which sells unique pillow cases and Quiksilver where board shorts were remarkably cheaper.

Between all the shopping, we made it a point to squeeze in a few bites at local establishments to sink our teeth into the commercial side of the Thai food culture. We first went to Greyhound Café which was a trendy modern hangout in Siam Center. We had Spaghetti with Corned Beef with Fresh Chilies which was refreshingly different and Hot and Spicy Beef Balls with Crispy Celery which tasted like fish balls that can be found at any Pinoy street corner. The experience overall was good though since the food was interesting, the wait staff was attentive, prices were reasonable, and ambiance was superb. Dessert, on the other hand, came in the form of an Iberry ice cream sandwich which we found while heading to Siam Paragon’s Gourmet Market. Iberry offers unique ice cream flavors such as Black Sesame which we didn’t fail to order. I found the concoction too exotic for my taste though.

After being sidetracked with Iberry ice cream, it was time to hit the Gourmet Market of Siam Paragon. It certainly was a food haven as it offered a wide range of products which one could taste before buying. Unlike other stores that scrimp on samples, the Gourmet Market encourages food tasting with what seemed like an endless supply of free food to try. I seriously couldn’t decide on which products to taste first! Needless to say, Ernest and I were in frenzy mode trying product after product. By the end of it all, I was able to taste an array of items from something as basic as fish crackers to much coveted steak pieces. We left the Gourmet Market stuffed silly and sated that we no longer required dinner that night. Yes, we gobbled that much!

Platinum shopping done, we headed to Big C to have some money exchanged. The Net said that Pratunam area hotels offered the best rates, but we didn’t bother walking all the way into the heart of the district. Big C’s money exchange was favorably mentioned as well, and we had to go there to buy Wacoal. Buying bras is an expensive exercise in Manila what with Wacoal bras at at least 800PHP each and as such is not done regularly. As revealed in a memorable Central World Food Loft conversation that will remain private, not all girls need lots of bras. For those who do, the half-the-price Wacoal bras were a cause to hoard. I was disappointed that there were no bandeau-style bras in all imaginable colors of the rainbow, but I did end up with a good number. The bras are not counterfeit but are Thailand-made.

We couldn’t rush enough to get home right after to try on our loot. The food stall owners were setting up their tables and chairs for the dinner crowd, and I felt a momentary regret for missing out again on sampling Thai street food. I also felt annoyed that they were blocking my way since I was carrying a lot of bags. I can’t imagine how Nikki felt carrying her numerous plastic bags.

Modeling our purchases was good fun but going to another mall to shop some more was much more fun. We headed off to Siam Paragon save for Gene who had to return to Big C to exchange something she bought in Wacoal. My first order of business in Siam Paragon was to engage my olfactory sense in finding the perfect scent for me at Jo Malone. The scent was fastidiously packaged—the crinkling of the black Japanese paper, tying of the black grosgrain ribbon and the liberal sprinkling of fragrance before the final product reached my hands. I was reminded of the obsessive gift-wrapping Rowan Atkinson’s character showed on the movie Love Actually.

We wandered around a bit more and also bought some more bras before heading to the food court for dinner. I saw mooncakes being sold on account of it being the Mid-Autumn Festival on the upcoming Sunday. I hit upon the perfect pasalubong for my mooncake-loving mom and bought variants in custard, durian, etc. After dinner, we shopped at Siam Paragon’s Gourmet Market to buy delicacies to take home. Delicacies included potato chips in crab flavor, durian and mangosteen chips, tamarind, curry powder and Koh Kae in BBQ flavor. As mentioned earlier, this peanut snack is highly-addictive. From teasing Nikki about wanting to buy loads of Koh Kae, I ended up buying some under the pretext of pasalubong for my siblings. Mee krob was also available, and I bought one serving so I could take a piece of Chote Chitr back to Manila and share that gastronomic experience with my family. As an added treat, I also bought Swensen’s Ice Cream since I never got to eat in their shop. Receipts from the Gourmet Market can be used to claim the VAT Refund if the minimum 2000 baht purchase is met even after the VAT-exclusive items like rice are deducted. Gourmet Market receipts though cannot be combined with mall or department store purchases.

We stayed inside the supermarket exploring until closing time. I’ve always been fascinated with supermarkets. Everything is organized and easy to look at so it’s very easy to discover new things. Beverage, snacks and personal care sections hold my attention longest.

Tonight was our last night in Bangkok and the penultimate day of our 3-Country Odyssey. Time flies when you’re having fun and doing so many things indeed. The trip that was eight months in the making (like a premature baby) was winding down. I also indulged in a bit of self-congratulations for not getting into a disagreement with Ernest with whom I always seem to be getting into verbal skirmishes with in Manila. Maybe we just had a breakthrough.

Second Time’s the Charm

We returned to City Lodge to unload the bags we carried from all the shopping we did before heading to Ekkamai for another shot at Thai massage. We were expecting to see DJ, Nikki, K, and Gene at the hotel but were surprised to learn that they have not yet returned from their Platinum shopping.

After a few minutes freshening up, we carried on and took the BTS to Ekkamai to go to Health Land Spa and Massage. We had to walk a good 10 minutes from the Ekkamai BTS station to finally reach the massage center. I was willing to go the extra mile to have a Health Land experience since I’ve read rave reviews. Health Land Spa was charming and inviting with its immaculately white façade and yellow lights. I also took the good number of cars parked at Health Land as an encouraging sign of things to come.

We were welcomed by a lady who explained the various treatments the spa offered. We were in Thailand after all so it was a no-brainer for me to choose the two hour Thai massage treatment. Ernest, though not a fan of Thai massage, followed suit. After waiting for a few minutes at the lobby, we were ushered in a room where our feet were washed as per custom. We didn’t have any incidents with the masseuses this time though since our attendants were sweet old ladies. At the back of my head, I just wondered if they would manage to stretch us properly for they certainly were no spring chickens.

Our attendants eventually led us to our second floor room and after changing into the usual Thai massage garb, I gave in to the pleasure of experiencing authentic Thai massage in the hands of a skilled expert. It was too tempting to sleep during the two-hour delight but I controlled myself since I didn’t want to miss a single moment of the wonderful massage. My attendant certainly worked most of the kinks off my body and only struggled when it came to stretching my back. I couldn’t blame the fragile lady though considering that she had to deal with me. I daresay that the trip to Ekkamai was well worth it for I had the most wondrous, thorough, and relaxing massage I have ever experienced in my life. Unfortunately, this doesn’t hold true for Ernest who got “sick” because he’s not used to the freezing temperature which we had in our room.

It took effort to get up from the very comfortable state I was in after the massage, but somehow, we managed albeit groggily, to leave the premises and hail a cab for Sukhumvit. It was already around midnight at this point, but traffic was still bad that it took 20 minutes for us to reach the hotel.

Back at City Lodge, we found DJ, K, Nikki, and Gene making inventory of their hauls for the day and sharing stories of the bargains they managed to snag. Gene, Nikki, and DJ briefly stayed in our room before calling it a night out of sheer exhaustion from all the walking and shopping they did. Besides, tomorrow signaled the end of the 3-Country Odyssey and we figured that we all should be well-rested so that we would be able to milk our concluding day down to its last drop for whatever it was worth.

Day 10 - Thailand

2008-12-30T01:03:00.000-08:00

September 13, 2008
Homestretch

One of the considerations that we never seemed to run out of while planning our 3-Country Odyssey was that we had to be in Bangkok during a weekend to visit Chatuchak Weekend Market.

I had breakfast at McDonald’s again. While eating, I read a free weekly magazine that chronicled Bangkok’s music, parties and fashion. Gene mentioned that a similar magazine circulated in Hong Kong. We had initially planned to be at Chatuchak by 8AM to avoid the infamous crowd. The night before though it was decided that we needn’t push ourselves too hard so we moved our arrival time to 10AM instead. Both the BTS and MRT can take on to Chatuchak Weekend Market, but the MRT Kampaeng Phet Station gets one right smack in the market. Most people get off the Chatuchak Park MRT Station but that would entail a bit of walking to the actual market.

I believe Chatuchak Weekend Market sells everything if you look hard enough. Thousands of shops and street vendors crowd the world’s biggest open-air market. A clock tower with a waiting area seemed to be the landmark and center of activity, but I would have no idea how to find it if I got lost especially since many of the vendors spoke only the barest English. I was supposed to buy seeds for my dad, but since I never managed to explore Chatuchak, I never did find them. Nikki was the one who ended up buying seeds for her grandma.

Nikki, Gene, K and I gave up on Chatuchak because we wanted to go back to Platinum Mall on the premise that we seemed to have missed out on a section of Platinum’s second floor. Chatuchak wasn’t as crowded as we thought it would be. The crowds had yet to descend since it was early morning. The heat though was as expected—overpowering, unrelenting, punishing. This was in the rainy season. I guess I should be thankful it didn’t rain. We headed straight to Platinum from Chatuchak to conquer the uncharted territories of the second floor. We managed to buy more clothes, and I was finally able to buy a yellow dress which was selling for 550 baht the previous day and was not at 350 baht. The prices really are subjective. I thought it was worth it that we left Chatuchak that morning.

We went to Siam Paragon (again) for lunch. I wanted to try MOS (Mountain Ocean Sun) Burger, a Japanese fast food chain which was hard to find amidst the many food outlets in the atrium. Gene and I approached an attendant who led us all the way to MOS. I tried the grilled pork and ginger rice burger and was satisfied. Based on Melissa’s remark that there were plenty of freebies inside the Gourmet Market, I decided to go for a stroll after eating. I couldn’t find where the free tastings were until I saw a man open a rice cooker and fill a small cup, akin to those used for urine samples, with rice. I followed his lead and got to taste blue-colored rice, a variety only identified in Thai. I went around and somewhat had a full meal—cookies, noodles, yogurt, apple juice, tamarind and various snacks. Homeless people who have nothing to eat can just come here to feast. I got lost on the way back to our table and must’ve circled the atrium twice before I realized that I had been going around in circles. It was a dizzying and disconcerting feeling. I’ve always hated the feeling of getting lost and displaced.

K went ahead to explore by herself to look for a big buy while the Nikki, Gene and I hung around for awhile for lack of anything to do. In a last ditch burst of energy, we decided to go to Siam Square which we had missed the night before due to rain. As we were about to cross the street, we lost the energy and proceeded to Siam Discovery Center next door instead where there were more of the same stores and some quotes from Thai fashion designers about fashion plastered on the walls. To while away the time, we had coffee and dessert (nothing spectacular) at Greyhound Café wore statement tees, “I may not be cute but I recommend great dishes.” and “Live dangerously. Order our special of the month today.” With nothing better to do, we spent a few minutes playing around with Koh Kae. We couldn’t sit at Greyhound Café forever and so we moved on to the mezzanine outside Siam Paragon where I had fun taking pictures of random things with Nikki’s camera. While I wasn’t enthusiastic about having my picture taken, I realized how fun it was to be behind the lens. If I had more enthusiasm for photography, it would be creatively empowering to explore this form of storytelling.

Time Flies

Indeed the Chatuchak Weekend Market was quite THE disappointment. While it was true that the market had everything and anything for sale, the products just didn’t appeal to us. The sweltering heat also didn’t help in encouraging us to stay there for much longer. DJ, K, Nikki, and Gene decided to bid the weekend market goodbye in record time while Ernest and I gave Chatuchak a few more hours of our precious time.

When in doubt, Ernest and I eat and that was exactly what we did at Chatuchak. We randomly selected a food stall brimming with customers and ordered breaded chicken, grilled pork, and catfish salad. We capped the dining experience at Chatuchak with ice cream topped with nuts served on Thai coconut which we discovered on our way out of the market. The decision to eat proved to be a brilliant one since, not only were the dishes great, but the nourishment also gave us the high we needed to carry on for the rest of the day.

On our way to the MRT, we chanced upon Underground Shop, an establishment located besides the MRT which boasts of several shops selling pretty unique items. Truth be told, we only ventured underground because of the lure of its centralized air conditioning and it was just our luck that we were able to buy distinct sets of toothbrushes to bring home to friends and family.

Everything went by a blur after the trip to the Underground Shop since we had tons of last minute shopping to do in the different Bangkok malls. We first went to MBK for all the tamarind and local delicacy requirement that the group needed. This was so since DJ, K, Gene, and Nikki no longer had time to go back to MBK. The packages we carried were just too heavy that we decided to leave all our purchases at the package counter of Gourmet Market in Siam Paragon.

After freeing ourselves from the heavy burden, we soldiered on and went back to Central World since Ernest wanted to visit Human Touch one last time. After much deliberation, he was able to pick another pillow case to go with the first case he bought during our first day in Bangkok. Who knew one can never have too many pillow cases?

We wasted no time and headed to Platinum Mall after the visit to Human Touch to continue our last minute shopping spree. It was during this trip to Platinum that we learned that Platinum had a wing that we weren’t able to explore during our initial visit. This realization made it impossible for us to return to the stalls where we first bought some choice graphic tees. The stop at Platinum was not in vain though for Ernest was finally able to buy a hip enough bag for his mom, cute clothes for his niece and nephews, and an assortment of things for his officemates. I also was able to accomplish the goals I had for Platinum such as to buy a cute outfit for the baby of my boss and a T-shirt that would suit Polo to a tee.

The Gourmet Market in Siam Paragon was the last stop in our little run for last minute food shopping. I focused my energies on buying Chili Crab flavored chips as well as other flavors of chips which were unique and I felt that my family would appreciate. It goes without saying that I didn’t pass up the opportunity to sample more free food while I was there.

It was nice to finally see the familiar faces of K, DJ, Gene, and Nikki after paying for the groceries and it was K who joined Ernest and me for a much needed dinner at Siam Paragon’s food court. We shared a meal of shrimp paste rice, pad Thai, and spicy beef noodle soup. Admittedly, I wasn’t able to fully appreciate the food since we ate in a hurry because we needed to return to the hotel asap to catch our red eye flight for home. It was no means an easy feat but K, Ernest, and I somehow managed to carry all the merchandise bought back to the hotel. This was when another round of chaos ensued.

We finally decided to call it a day, effectively ending our Bangkok shopping adventure with a whimper. On the way back however while telling Nikki that I wonder if anyone would recognize me if I weren’t wearing glasses, one of the lens of my glasses suddenly slipped, crashed and broke into shards. I think I may have hit some innocent commuters, but I really couldn’t see clearly to say for sure. There was a split second moment of shock before Gene and Nikki sprung into action and flanked me on both sides to aid my walking. Attempting to retain a semblance of dignity, I tucked my glasses in my bag and told them I would walk unaided and ask for their help as needed. Thankfully, I didn’t slip during the walk back to the hotel (I navigated stairs!) and only required their assistance, like a geriatric, upon crossing the street.

We retrieved our luggage (and my spare glasses) and rearranged our luggage right there on the small lobby— more sofa set and table than anything else. I had to move my stuff around since I decided that I would handcarry all the food, save for the coconut candy, in a duffel bag along with the mooncakes in a paper bag. We had to apologize to and work around a man sitting in the lobby checking his email. He left after a short while. Melissa, K and Ernest then arrived which led to another frenzied round of unpacking and packing. There were three Pinoys checking in as we were wrapping up and were asking the bellboy about the nearest red light district. They were looking at us, but we diligently ignored them even when one of them sat on the sofa as we were flitting about. We were quite unfriendly.

Finally we were done. We loaded up our luggage into the cabs while Ernest took care of the tipping. On the way, we realized that we forgot to tell our cabbie not to take the highway to avoid paying tolls but we ended up doing just that. I had no idea what the toll fees were as there were no notices put up so we just gave the cabbie what he asked for the two times we passed the toll. Despite having taken the highway and absence of heavy traffic, the ride to the airport was still long. We roughly paid the same amount (excluding toll fees) as when we came from the airport sans highway. The other cab driver seemed to have ripped off the others though. On our part, it really was hard to tell since we had no idea what roads we were taking.

Epilogue

2008-12-30T01:02:00.000-08:00

Last Hurrah

It was just our luck that the taxi driver we got for our ride to the Suvarnabhumi Airport was deceitful. We had to pay for highway toll fees though we clearly and emphatically told him that we didn’t want to use the highway. It would have been acceptable if we only had to pay once, but we had to shell out money for toll fees thrice. To make things even more interesting, our driver got “lost” and drove along a gated landing strip of an old airport. He certainly gave us a memorable ride.

When we finally arrived at the airport, the driver didn’t even want to help us with our luggage. Ernest, at this point, was already agitated, so he stubbornly insisted for the driver to assist us. The driver did so bitterly. It was a small wonder that K was able to treat the hostile and rude driver patiently while paying for the overcharged ride. As a last salvo, Ernest closed the trunk of the cab with such a loud thud that I feared that the driver would retaliate. Thankfully, the driver just sped out of the airport and out of our lives. We met up with Gene, DJ, Nikki in front of the airport and after comparing notes on our taxi experiences, proceeded to the main entrance of the airport.

We were quite early as the Cebu Pacific counter had not yet opened when we arrived. We first took care of claiming the VAT refund. Our luggage wasn’t even inspected. Maybe they only check the big-ticket items. Money was claimed after checking in; a 100 baht processing fee was charged. The process was pretty fast with detailed signs everywhere. The many byaheras with their mounds of luggage made us a bit paranoid about being charged for overweight as they claimed that Cebu Pacific was normally strict about baggage limitations. In addition, the grandpa in front of us had weighed in his very small metal case of medicine at 18kgs. In my mind, I sifted through what else I could reasonably handcarry even as we were loading our luggage up the scale. We were given an allowance of 22kgs each, and as group excluding Gene, we managed to make it exactly into the limit.

While walking around the airport looking a place to eat, I dragged my very heavy bag throughout the huge airport which even had an Hermes. Instead of having a full dinner, I had French Vanilla ice cream instead. We all separated after dinner to finish off our baht. Melissa and Gene were gracious enough to take care of the trolleys holding our luggage. I blew my money on Godiva chocolates and body washes from Boots. At the last minute, Nikki bought Shu Uemura cosmetics even as we were short of time. We ran all the way to the other end of the airport where our boarding gate was.

We were the last to board while Melissa and Ernest had to wait outside for Kristine who was uncharacteristically late and whose cellphone couldn’t be reached. We were approached inside the plane and asked if Kristine was part of our group and where she was. We had no idea where she was especially when it seemed that because we had different mobile signal providers, we couldn’t get through to each other’s phones and when everyone had clearly agreed on the designated meeting spot. It was a tense moment for all of us especially for those waiting at the boarding gate. Planes are known to leave passengers behind. One thought that kept recurring was “What would Kristine’s parents’ say?” We all breathed a sigh of relief when Kristine and the rest finally boarded the plane.

It turned out that Kristine saw some of us loitering near a gate which also led to our boarding gate so when we weren’t at the designated meeting spot at the appointed time, she went all the way to the other gate she initially saw us at. After going all the way there, she realized we weren’t anywhere there so she had to run all the way to the original meeting spot especially with her name being called over the PA system. The stress was compounded by the fact that we couldn’t communicate to each other during all the confusion. When Ernest jokingly asked what could’ve happened had K not managed to make it to the plane, I told him he would have to be left behind by virtue of them being blood relatives. So in the end, we left Bangkok with an “all’s well that ends well” but not before a little bit of drama.

We arrived in Manila by 4:30AM and parted ways with Gene who had to catch a connecting flight back to Hong Kong. I was exhausted but I managed to unpack my things before going to bed. I woke up at 5PM and was disoriented that I was back home. It was a good decision to come home on Sunday so we could all rest before tackling work the following day. Later I found out that Kristine and Ernest managed to go out that very afternoon.

It was a good trip—well-planned and in light of what transpired days later, well-timed. Even with all the compromises made, it still turned out to be an awesome one. I’m happy that I was able to go to the 3-Country Odyssey with my good friends. I look forward to whatever’s in store for 2009 and beyond.

DJ Asks:

2008-12-30T01:01:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Need your help for the blog. Kindly answer all questions and complete the phrases. Even though our trip was more than a month ago, please rack your brains to give the best answers that you can. Better if you can be more specific.

1. Best Buy (Please note specifically what you bought and where.)
2. Best Eat (Please note specifically what you ate and where.)
3. Favorite Tourist Spot
4. Favorite Group Shot (Kindly attach picture with your reply.)
5. Best Experience (Please note specifically where and what you did. Ex. crawling through Cu Chi Tunnels, picture-taking in Angkor Wat)
6. I regret
7. Nastiest Moment
8. Funniest Moment
9. Most memorable ripoff (Please note specifically where and what.)
10. In a word/phrase
Ho Chi Minh City
Siem Reap
Bangkok

Please reply on or before next Friday October 24.
Thanks

________________________________________________________________________________________

With the trip spanning three cities, countless adventures and only two POVs to capture them all, a slumbook of our hits and misses is the easiest and best way to have everyone weigh in on the trip. Also how else could we incorporate our Angkor Passes into the blog?

DJ

2008-12-29T11:30:00.001-08:00

DJ Answers:

1. Best Buy
Sea Anemone Ring from Platinum Mall

2. Best Eat
Mee Krob at Chote Chitr

3. Favorite Tourist Spot
War Remnants Museum (raw, original, interesting)

4. Favorite Group Shot

5. Best Experience
Listening to Music while cruising through Mekong River

6. I regret
Not eating at Meric, Hotel de la Paix, Siem Reap

7. Nastiest Moment
The dirty feeling I got after getting a massage in Siem Reap

8. Funniest Moment
Ernest dressing up like a monk and standing next to a picture of the same

9. Most memorable ripoff
Wat Arun standees where we got charged for taking ugly pictures

10. In a word/phrase
Ho Chi Minh City- Birth of fresh spring roll addiction
Siem Reap- History is best experienced
Bangkok- What Manila could've been and more

Ernest

2008-12-29T11:29:00.001-08:00

Ernest Answers:

1. Best Buy
Bayon painting bought at the Old Market in Cambodia

2. Best Eat
Exotic fare (snake, kangaroo, crocodile) at Cambodian Barbeque

3. Favorite Tourist Spot:
I. Angkor Wat.
II. Phnom Bahkeng for the sunset view
III. Cuchi tunnel

4. Favorite Group Shot
Pic after eating at Quan An Ngon and Chotechitr. Matagal kasi hinanap and we were all hungry. When we finally found it, fulfilled tayong lahat

5. Best Experience
The whole trip. coz d ko alam paano ako nasama sa trip na to. Haha. Seriously, para kang nagmountain climbing, hindi mo gagwin pag ikaw lang pero nung nagawa mo na, worth it naman pala.

6. I regret lending Billy Bob my useful Doraemon fan.

7. Nastiest Moment
Nung nasa Vietnam during the Mekong Delta tour and buong araw madungis ang mga girls. Kasi ako lang nagpalit ng damit.

8. Funniest Moment
Yung ngpupussy pussy at tinatawag tayong MAFRIEND sa Patpong.

9. Most memorable ripoff
Dun sa taxi. Pinaikot ikot pa tayo papnta sa hole in the wall restaurant, Chotechitr.

10.In a word/phrase
Ho Chi Minh City: Pho
Siem Reap: Stoned!
Bangkok: Same Same But Different

Gene

2008-12-29T11:28:00.000-08:00

Gene Answers:

1. Best Buy
Wacoal bra, Big C?? In bangkok

2. Best Eat
Chote mee krob

3. Favorite Tourist Spot
Ta Prohm, Cambodia

4. Favorite Group Shot
Marami akong fave group pics like yun nasa khmer kitchen na malabo and kinda woozy nga yun iba that time tas tawa lang ng tawa pero wala si ernest, then yun mga jumping shots sa angkor pero si ernest di nagjujump! Eto gusto ko rin although di sya exactly scenery shot, eto lang ata yun pic na naggogoof around tayo na ok

5. Best Experience
Seeing Ta Prohm

6. I regret not buying extra memory stick for my digicam (wtf)

7. Nastiest Moment
Patpong Hands Down

8. Funniest Moment
While eating in khmer kitchen

9. Most memorable ripoff (Please note specifically where and what.)
Hmm siguro yun nagbabantay sa cambodia, if in fact tagabantay nga sya...

10. In a word/phrase
Ho Chi Minh City Pho bo, spring roll and vinasun
Siem Reap definitely must see
Bangkok will be going back to shop

Kristine

2008-12-29T11:26:00.000-08:00

Kristine Answers:

1. Best Buy
The clothes for Bogey, my toy poodle, which I bought at Platinum Mall

2. Best Eat
The roast duck egg noodles I had at Caffe Nero in Suvarnabhumi Airport

3. Favorite Tourist Spot
It’s a tie between Cu Chi Tunnel and Ta Phrom Temple

4. Favorite Group Shot
WOW. the tree and the temple ruins are just amazing. I love Ta Phrom!

5. Best Experience
Hiking in Kbal Spean

6. I regret forgetting to buy clothes for Puppy, my other dog

7. Nastiest Moment
When I got “sick” on the first night in Siem Reap

8. Funniest Moment
The two times that Ernest dressed up like a monk and then posed beside a picture of one

9. Most memorable ripoff
When Mel, Ernest, and I got ripped off by the taxi driver who took us to Suvarnabhumi Airport from City Lodge Hotel. I can’t remember how much the guy ripped off from us since it was just a negligible amount. What made the incident most memorable though was the driver’s rude and almost hostile behavior towards us when he dropped us off.

10. In a word/phrase,
Ho Chi Minh City is dodge-a-motorcycle city
Siem Reap was the best leg of the trip!!!
Bangkok was where I had the best bargain shopping experience of my life

Melissa

2008-12-29T11:25:00.000-08:00

Melissa Answers:

1. Best Buy:
My Kurt Cobain Chucks bought at Siam Paragon

2. Best Eat:
Mee Krob at Chotechitr. Will be returning to Bangkok if only for this.

3. Favorite Tourist Spot: Ta Phrom

4. Favorite Group Shot: Ta Phrom was such an inspiration. The picture shows that after months of planning, we finally made it!

5. Best Experience:
The evening of our first night in Siem Reap. Not necessarily the best but it definitely was the most memorable. Needless to say, a lot of crazy things happened that night.

6. I regret not going the extra mile in taking pictures.

7. Nastiest Moment: Eating crocodile fat in Pub St. What the hell was I thinking?

8. Funniest Moment: A little incident of the wannabe monk and two bed runners in the Villa.

9. Most memorable ripoff: The coconut candies bought during the Mekong Delta tour.

10.In a word/phrase:
Ho Chi Minh City: Once is Enough
Siem Reap: Land of Firsts
Bangkok: A Gastronomical Delight

Nikki

2008-12-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

Nikki Answers:

1. Best Buy
The couple pillows were the best! Can't wait for my future dahlink, future house, future bedroom with the couple pillow! Hahaha

2. Best Eat
Chote Chitr Mee Krob deserves a second helping

3. Favorite Tourist Spot
Angkor Wat and Ta Phrom - Nice backdrop for self- portraits ;P

4. Favorite Group Shot
Chillax Shot :D Pagod na!

5. Best Experience
Holding Ernest's hand @_@ Lolxx. Seriously though, climbing the steep steps in Phnom Bakeng was scary horrifyingly freaky but one of the most memorable. Great experience conquering my fear! Haha cheap. Thanks for all your help travelmates!

6. I regret bringing my stupid tungkod. Useless! Took up luggage space, whereas I could've bought more Kohkae Nuts.

7. Nastiest Moment
Ping Pong Shooting (with juices) at us, of course! Second place goes to the banana Kristine told us about when we got back hahaha!

8. Funniest Moment
Pretending to be ignorant of Lingas. (Only because I can't remember other funny moments now, I'm pressured! Need to meet Dj's deadline for submission!)

9. Most memorable ripoff (Please note specifically where and what.)
The star earrings bought at MBK, Thailand. From a place where most items were supposed to be cheap, the fancy earrings cost around P300! It was an earring which I had and lost before. I was desperate enough to buy it after the bashing I got from the saleslady. High bloood!

10. In a word/phrase
Ho Chi Minh City – motorcyclelandia
Siem Reap – awesomeness
Bangkok – bargain