So, i think the realities of maintaining a blog while traveling around foreign countries have finally permeated my consciousness.  When we’re in vacation mode, we are contantly busy, and updating the blog falls lower on the priority list.  When Mike is working, I usually have the time to update it, but then I grossly overestimated the speed and reliability of internet connections in hotel rooms of Southeast Asia, making the process take anywhere from twice to ten times as long as it normally would.  So don’t be surprised if suddenly a bunch of posts recounting our adventures show up after the fact. I’m afraid my dream of clever posts filled with artistic photographs and profound musings on existence will have to take a backseat to quick lists of experience and updates, for now.

After Phuket, we flew to Siem Reap in Cambodia to visit Angkor Wat and the other temples.   Cambodia was more relaxed than Thailand (particularly Phuket), since the tourist industry is smaller, even in Siem Reap.  The temple complexes were beyond amazing.  Angkor Wat is just one temple among hundreds spread out over around 200 km.  But many are within a short drive of each other, so it is possible to see several in one day.  You just hire a tuk tuk driver for around $15, and he’ll tke you wherever you want to go from morning to night.  Some of my favorites were the ones left more or less as they were found, with tree roots draping over the walls and sometimes holding the stones together, moss growing on carvings and nature intruding on the temples in a way that made them even more beautiful.  Then, of course, there is the fairly unrivalled splendor of Angkor Wat- the  largest and best preserved temple, which actually has monks that tend to it.  Another favorite was the Bayon at Bauphon, with the famous large faces smiling at you. The temple was a little more aged-looking than Angkor Wat, which somehow made it more magical.

Although Cambodia is a mainly Buddhist country, the temples are Hindu, and will often feature carvings of Shiva or Vishnu.  Yet they were created by the Khmers (Cambodians), not some other culture.  It would be interesting to investigate how the culture in Cambodia evolved from lrgely Hindu to largely Buddhist.

Another highlight was taking a tuk tuk out into the countryside to see carvings in a stream- the “Temple of 1000 Lingas”.  The carvings were made right in the rocks with water running over them, and someties next to the stream.  There was no building, just a temple carved into the stones of a stream in the middle of the forest.  But getting to ride through the country and see how the cambodian people really live was just as wonderful as seeing the temple.

Sadly, our time in Siem Reap was abbreviated by tragedy.  Our dear friend Lou Genise, finally decided to stop fighting his colon cancer, and leave this plane of existence.  I flew back to Los Angeles to attend the services and deal with his estate.  Mike flew to Bangkok and stayed there to meet up with our pals John & Ado, who were going to spend the last two weeks of this trip with us.

I spent a surreal and exhausting week in Los Angeles on Diana’s pull-out couch, mourning, visiting, meeting new folks, taking care of business and not sleeping.  Due to jetlag and stress, I rarely made it to sleep before 4am.  However, the way that all of Lou’s loved ones came together was truly a testament to the wonderful human being he was.  I can’t count the number of hugs from strangers and new friends, and the way that his mother and close friends worked together to deal with the situation was inspiring.  As terrible as the loss is, the experience of being there and dealing with it was wonderful in so many ways.

Mike, John and Ado spent their time in Bagkok and on Koh Samui doing everything one possibly could- visiting temples, shopping, drinking, seeing a ladyboy show, boogie-boarding, jetskiing, ziplining, scuba diving, swimming and generally living life as one should on vacation in Thailand.

We all met up on Koh Phangan, and have been taking it easy- swimming, puttering about the small town, eating by the pool and resting.  John became quite ill with food poisoning and everyone else just needed a little break.  Digestive issues of varying degrees are going around.

But last night we rallied and made it to the Black Moon party on a beach on the other side of the island. My low expectations for the music proved to be set a bit too high… I was expecting psychedelic trance I wasn’t really into but that didn’t hurt my ears.  Instead, I was transported to 1995 and the boring trance that was all the rage.  The party had a very old school rave feel to it, with black lights and lots of redundant dancing, but the people were friendly enough, and teh vibe was relaxed.  You buy your liquor in these buckets- they are literally small buckets that contain a flask-sized bottle of vodka, thai whiskey or rum, and two mixers like a can of coke or redbull, and ice.  On the full moon party beach (a different beach), these are known by the unsavory name of “fuck buckets”.  So you can see that even in hippie central, the frat boy mentality still rears its ugly head, or whatever the Australian and European version of frat culture is.

I finally did something I should have accomplished long ago- I spun fire in another country.  After hacking open a can of gasoline with a machete, these Thai guys spun these crazy staffs at blinding speed- they had wicks covering the whole 4 ft staff except maybe a foot in the middle to grab onto. I must admit that the staves intimidated me.  Luckily, a couple french girls showed up with poi- some long, thin-wicked “angel wing” poi and some regular poi.  They each let me spin once and we really friendly.  I have never spun angel wing poi before- they feel totally different and are longer, so you can’t do as many tricks.  But they look absolutely beautiful as they create a wall of fire.  We didn’t stay too late at the party but it was worth going, if only for the fire.

Today we head to Chiang Mai for some hiking, visiting temples, a cooking class and visiting an elephant sanctuary. SO our last several days should keep up busy!

Tags: Thailand Cambodia Koh Phangan fire Koh Samui Los Angeles