From Wats to Skyscrapers

So I left off at our sunrise initial view of Angkor Wat, and what a site it was.  This temple is the oldest religious building in the world built in the early 12th century, first as a Hindu temple, later a Buddhist temple.  We snapped photos as the sun came up, enjoying our "breakfasts in a box" and coffee.  I was chased by geese who apparently were marking their territory by the pond which was hilarious.  Our guide, Ra, again was fantastic.  37 yr. old Cambodian w/ a background of Vietnamese and Chinese heritage.  He showed us pictures of his adorable children in their school uniforms and shared info. about his life in Cambodia.  He was funny as he quoted what seemed to be rap quotes often or he'd say "let's go rock and roll" or say things that sounded Aussie or British before leaving the bus to tour a temple-very funny guy.  The temple was huge and we hiked to the top for magnificent views (we caught this before it becomes closed for a yr. or 2 for restoration).  We looked at walls and walls with intricate beautiful carvings telling all kinds of stories of the king and Cambodian/Khmer life.  Then toured the "Tomb Raider" temple, where Angelina Jolie filmed the movie.  This temple was really cool w/ all of the green moss and tree trunks taking over the buildings, although you could see the toll earth and time had taken on these ancient structures.  Restoration was also in process.  It was really great crawling in and out of the structures picturing these places once being filled w/ gold, jewels and royalty.  Buddhas w/ incense and flowers were in each structure for prayers also reminding you of the magic that was once and still is present.

Afterwards we visited "New Hope" School.  Started by a young Cambodian who grew up poor and wanted other poor kids in his village outside of Seim Reap to be able to get an education.  This place was so inspiring and I encourage you to look it up and consider volunteering there/supporting the cause.  I really would like to go back some day and volunteer in their medical clinic.  We saw the original building and met the man who started it all, it's now used for a battered women's shelter, then visiting the new center which was just beautiful.  An Australian man visited in 2007 and was so inspired that he supported the building of the new facility and helped them develop new projects to help sustain the school.  They  now have a restaurant there to train locals for jobs and the Cambodian man's wife is the head chef.  We had one of the most amazing meals there (including fried snake which I didn't try;) and toured the  school and clinic.  Played w/ the kids on their new playground (none of them had ever seen a playground before this one was built) and Julia and I sat in on a class and helped some kids w/ their counting-a very special and touching day-tears were in my eyes on a couple of occasions.  

Took tuc tucs back to our hotel for a pool party-Matthew made quite the pool drinks, and the gang played some games-had the whole poolside laughing and taking pictures of this pool fun competition-great fun!  Ate an Argentinian beef burger that night (was so ready for some western food-or should I say Argentinian!?) and then to Pub Street (go out area for all the backpackers and tourists) to "Temple Bar" for some dancing w/ Jackie, Grace, Elaine, Bob and Matt.  We didn't stay too late as Matt starting chatting in Mandarin to some Chinese people and they basically started hazing him-making him down beers and such, pretty crazy!  Apparently a lot of them are big partiers when traveling throughout Asia.  

Next day had some free time before temple touring.  I went for a run, had a pedicure for $4, noodles and a lime juice for $3, and then toured Angkor Thom/Bayon-temple of faces. The diff. faces represent compassion, simplicity, equality, and serenity.  This again was just so impressive, felt like you were stepping back into time and despite the MANY people there, was still very peaceful and calming.  Climbed up stairs, in and out of quite little rooms and halls, came to a tall stupa where I could hear bats chirping.  Afterward Julia and I had an ATV ride scheduled.  Went over pastures, poop, dirt roads, holes, sand, bumps, lumps, through villages seeing farm animals (a calf chased my four-wheeler for a bit which was funny) and children playing/working.  Watched sunset from an old rice field w/ young girls laughing nearby and saw people herding their cows and water buffalo.  That night had dinner at a 

place that a prior G-Adventure and Intrepid guy had started-enjoyed a pork and eggplant dish-yummy! Then to the local night market for a "Dr. Fish Massage" (fish nibble on your feet! for $2-1 beer included) and $1 leg and back massages on the streets-so fun!  I think Julia had 4 massages, but opted out of the fish massage.  It really was a weird feeling-brought back childhood memories of when you got scared when feeling something nibble on your toes in the lake, and here I was paying for it!  

Next am was 7 hr. bus ride back to Bangkok, again, really not that bad.  Countryside was nice and had private comfortable buses.  Took a stop for lunch at the mega-7-11 on the way, ate street food, and also had a break at the border crossing.   Had time to relax at hotel, then one last happy hour and cheap drink out by the train station sitting in the sticky heat watching the sun go down behind the buildings and the mangy dogs walk around you.  Had dinner at a touristy joint just off Kao Son Road, Grace ate a fried scorpion on a stick, and saw lots of cooked bugs passing by on carts.  It was buzzing w/ people, mostly tourists, but a fun site to see since we had missed it the first go around when we were in Bangkok 1 month prior.  It was nuts to think about how much time had passed and all the ground we had covered w/in the last 4 weeks!  What a trip it's been!  We told Matt how wonderful he'd been, Ken gave a little speech, and we hugged it out w/ our group at a bar across the street w/ some live music in the background.  People bought and wore funny hats from the streets and Matt bought and gave us all friendship bracelets, lots of pics and memories-heart warming, right?;)  It really was sad to tell the gang goodbye...

Following day, little over 2 hr. plane ride to Singapore-and what a change!  Talk about culture shock!  We went from squatter toilets w/ no TP or soap most of the time to the cleanest BR I've ever seen at the Singapore airport.  Julia's cousin, Steve, picked us up, and as we drove down the main road I noticed PERFECTLY manicured trees and shrubs, then huge lit up signs stating when the next tree pruning would be!  He took us the the famous hotel, Raffles, and treated us to a Singapore Sling (the famous cocktail), through peanut shells on the floor, then home to their gorgeous home to meet his wife, Lisa, and their adorable little girl, Isabelle.  Their home is in an old historic "shop house" and Julia and I are living it up!  Hot shower that doesn't leak, clean floors, orchids in our room, birds chirping outside the window-such a welcomed change to be in someone's cozy home instead of another hotel.  They live in the heart of downtown, Orchard Street, kind of like Chicago's Michigan Ave., surrounded by palm trees, jungle looking trees/vines, flowers and yest. saw two toucans land in trees right above our heads, PLUS all the skyscrapers and construction in this exploding city surrounding us, as well!  It has really been built up over the last 30-40 yrs. and almost seems like a fantasy land.  Everything is extremely expensive and they have strict laws/rules to keep the city orderly and clean (can't chew gum, etc).  80% of the original population live in gvt. supported housing or flats that apparently have been given to them.  They are now "rich" w/ their property, but can't live like the remaining 20% do in this city (the rich expats)-which I just find very strange.  I don't see how this over-the-top city will last w/ most of it's people having to live a much diff. lifestyle, but I know it's all of the outside money, too, that's of course been sustaining, and it's also a huge port city...still, has been a very interesting place to experience thus far...and I will say it is a beautiful place-called the Garden City.  Approx. 5.5 million people here, 4 million locals, 1.5 million are expats...of the locals approx. 75% are Chinese, 15% are Malays, 7% Indian and remaining are I believe small Indian groups/tribes.  That evening they treated us to yummy chicken curry at their house followed by a drink at the Fullerton Bay Hotel rooftop to take in the magnificent views of the city by night over the water and the hotel was just fabulous, as well.  Julia and I realized we better grab a couple more dresses/cute things to wear for this leg of the trip and the next in AUS for these types of places!;)

Next day they took us to the beach-swam again in the South China Sea, drank a $17 bloody mary and had a $30 burger/truffle fries, and watched Isabelle have a ball in the pool and observed all of the expats and their cute families soaking up the sun.  Steven then took us on a walk from their home down Orchard Street, oohed and awed at the huge upscale dept. stores, ate street ice cream bars wrapped in sweet bread, shopped at H&M (Helen, thought of you) for some decent clothes, and finished the day w/  dinner at the Botanical Gardens enjoying the jungle green, waterfalls, and rainfall all around us.

Today was awesome!  Lisa set up a driver to take us all over Singapore to see the hot spots.  Started the day admiring hundreds of orchids, largest exhibit in the world, at the Botanical Gardens, then explored Little India (went into a mosque), the Arab Quarter (enjoyed a coffee, little veggie patty thing and dumpling at a local joint for 2.20 Singapore dollars served by a cute man wearing his turban w/ a long grey beard-had some old newspaper clippings outside the stall where it looks like his place had been written about at one point, so was fun to stumble upon it-and was all locals eating there) and bought some lemongrass incense (to take me back to all of our cooking classes and Thai/Viet. meals ;).  Also found a cool piece of art of an Asian women w/ funky colors and designs and a small purse.  We then explored Chinatown.  The Chinese medicine shops were a trip-animal horns, beetles, some sort of animal legs w/ the hooves attached-all with magic healing properties, I'm sure.  It's the year of the snake, so a huge yellow snake made up of lanterns lined the center of the street, and we toured a brightly colored Buddhist temple (not the first time we've seen this!;) and also passed another interesting religious temple covered in ceramic or perhaps plaster people and animals.  I bought a camera as it wasn't much more than the money I would have had to spend on an extra photo card.  We were then whisked to P.S. Cafe for a delicious lunch-neat old building w/ cool tile work, metal ceilings and a glorious bathroom filled w/ fragrant roses and cold A/C-again, much diff. then what we've been doing over the last month!  Afterward we went to the top of the Sands Marina Bay Hotel and Casino to take in the sky deck views, then enjoyed the exhibits at the ArtScience Museum housed in the famous "Welcome to Singapore" building shaped like a lotus flower.  Saw an interesting photography exhibit and "The Art of the Brick"-Lego art by once practicing attorney, Nathan Sawaya, which was very cool!  (see pics)  Last stop was to take in the river view, now home to enjoy some more home cooking by Bellie-can smell dinner now!