More "Boring Temples"
Wed Jul 18, 02:27 AM
I spent another day at Angkor Wat. I met with my driver, Shino, at 5:15am for the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the main temple, as well as a general term for all the temples in the area built by the Khmer Empire about 700-900 years ago. The temples are in various stages of restoration. There are several that are slowly being choked by the jungle as they have been for hundreds of years and there are some that are currently being restored. All of them are fascinating.
There are heaps of Chinese and Japanese tourists that take more pictures than me! Every temple is littered with them and it is a challenge to keep them out of my shots. When I arrive and leave a temple, I hear local women yelling “Hello Sir, want cold drink? You want t-shirt? I give you discount!” I am about ready to start swinging at them, even if I need a bottle of water or a Coke. Oh well, every temple I go to is worth their harassment.
I am reminded of a classic Connelly line “Oh no, not another boring temple.” I believe this phrase was coined on our trip to Egypt. I have to laugh because I see many bored and ungrateful kids that are at the one of the great sights of the world and they would rather be at the hotel swimming pool. I was once one of those kids. I remember Andy, Allie, and I ditching the tours and running around the Egyptian ruins in attempts to relieve the bordom we felt.
I prefer to read about the history on my own and climb around in the ruins at my own pace. I even feel restricted when Shino comes in with me. I don’t like the tours, but I definitely appreciate the sites more than I used to.
Here are some pictures from the last few days. I have been taking loads of pictures; these are a few of the good ones. I have plenty more that are blurred and dark. I’ll show those off when I get back home. Cheers!
Bayon Temple in the Angkor Thom Complex
Ta Keo Temple
Ta Prohm Temple-Much of the vegetation has been left and makes for great pics!
Ta Prohm Temple-Indiana Jones wannabe
The money shot at Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat-The largest religious building in the world
Ta Som Temple
A picture with Angkor Wat and the “Influction Pool”
Indiana goes to Banteay Kdei Temple
Another one from Banteay Kdei
Waiting for our bus driver/mechanic to get us back on the road!
Downtown Siem Reap after yesterday’s rain
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Eye Opener!
Tue Jul 17, 02:07 AM
I was planning on flying to Siem Reap yesterday, but my credit card keeps getting rejected. After a slight ordeal, I ended up booking a bus. The bus was much cheaper, but there is a reason for that. The plane would have been one hour and the bus took 14 hours. It broke down and got a flat tire once into Cambodia. I couldn’t stop thinking how glad I was that I didn’t have my bike. (I left it in Bangkok) Once in Cambodia, the main road isn’t paved to Siem Reap. It rained the whole trip and it was the road was a mud bog. I saw people walking their scooters because they the mud was too deep. I am SO glad I don’t have my bike!
Once in Siem Reap, the roads are paved and it is a bit like civilization. Siem Reap is the town that accesses Angkor Wat. It is more developed than Agra as there are luxury hotels everywhere. (However, I can’t afford to stay in one of these) I hired a moto driver to take me around Angkor Wat and I was blown away. There are loads of temples scattered around the area and each one is stunning. My moto driver was a bit of a guide and photographer, but would also just hang out at the bike for some places. I loved it. I didn’t have to stand and listen to some boring tour guide, but when I wanted one, he came with me and would take my picture. I bought a week pass and will spend about 4-5 days here. This place definitely has the feel of the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids.
I was expecting to see extreme poverty here, and have found it. Even in one day, it is apparent that Cambodia has been devastated and is trying to recover. Much of the scenery on the bus trip involved skinny people in tattered cloths that were working in rice patties with hand tools.
I talked to my waiter for a bit at dinner. His name was Shino and he makes $30 a month. He says he is proud to have a good job. He is 19 years old and was recently married. He has a big smile and loved talking to me because he could practice his English. Talking to him made me feel bad about having a bit of money and being able to travel. Later, in the parking lot I bought some post cards from a girl. I messed up when figuring the exchange rate of the Riel and paid about $5 for a few postcards. Oh well, she probably needs it more than me.
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In Transit (Again)
Fri Jul 13, 09:12 PM
Andy and I made the most of our trip to Borneo. We hit the highlights and by the time we got back to KK (Kota Kinabalu) we were a bit burned out. We spent yesterday milling around town, buying heaps of art and handicrafts. We couldn’t stop laughing when we thought about Andy’s journey back to the US with all our oversized and fragile junk.
We both had early flights out of KK this morning, and I was back to Bangkok by 9am. Today will be spent arranging transport Siem Reap, Cambodia and meeting my friend Matt (from Chiang Mai) for the hash.
I am planning on spending about ten days in Cambodia, then will head to Vietnam for another ten days. The last week of my trip will be spent heading back to Singapore. I have to go back to the US on 14 August. This is the tentative plan for the rest of my trip. If anybody has some suggestions, let me know.
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Scuba Junkies
Wed Jul 11, 04:52 AM
Andy and I have been living the life of leisure the past several days. Andy snaked his way into diving without certification and we got to dive together yesterday and today. Today was the highlight as we dove at Mabul Island. We did three dives. One was at an old oil rig-awesome. We saw too many fish, eels, turtles, corals, etc. to name. Most of it is dangerous in some form.
Our dive master (the guide) was pissed that Andy got to see Frogfish, Crocodilefish, and Pygmy Seahorses on his first few dives. It took Tino about 2500 dives to see these animals!
We got a bit of beach time yesterday and have the sunburns to prove it. Andy will be peeling by the time he gets back to the states! Even with suncreen and cloudy skies, our Norweigen skin cowers in the tropical climate.
Tomorrow we are headed to Kota Kinabalu. We have a day there, then we go our seperate ways. I will fly back to Bangkok, Andy flies back to Bozeman. KK should be good. We are going to a head-hunter’s village with the remains of a cannibalistic tribe. Should be interesting.
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Sandakan
Sun Jul 8, 02:28 AM
Today was a bit slower that the last few days. We had some tour plans fall through, leaving us to entertain ourselves in the city of Sandakan. We went to a the Sandakan War Memorial. Sandakan is where several “Death Marches” ended during World War 2. The Japanese made Australian and English POWs walk about 250km through the jungle to Sandakan. Over 1000 died during the march. Only six soldiers escaped to tell the story.
Dad has to go back to Kota Kinabalu tomorrow, while Andy and I go to the town of Semporna. Semporna has access to Sipidan. Sipidan is three islands off the coast of Semporna in the Celebes Sea. Jock Cousteau claims that the diving at Sipidan is the best in the world. Andy isn’t certified to dive, so we will snorkel for a few days. It should be pretty fun.
Here are some pictures from the last few days.
Mt. Kinabalu
Probiscus Monkey-Only found in Borneo
Long Tailed Macaque
Dad, Andy, and me sporting the leech socks on our jungle hike
Andy and the baby Pygmy Elephant
Sunset on the Kinabatangan River
A channel of the river where much of the river tour is spent looking for animals
Orang Utan at the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center
Orang Utan at the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center
Orang Utan at the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center
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The Jungles of Borneo
Sat Jul 7, 04:58 PM
So we made it back from the deep jungles of Borneo. We went to the Sukau River Lodge for a two day, two night stay. The lodge is on the Kinabatangan River. This is where our tours originated and consisted of three river boat tours, a jungle hike, and a night jungle hike.
Our hikes required a funny yet functional piece of jungle apparel called “leech socks.” When our guide asked us if we had leech socks, we just laughed at him because we had never heard of them. When we put them on, we continued to laugh. When we were walking through the jungle, pulling leeches off of us every few minutes, we knew why we were wearing these ridiculus socks. The socks look like a Christmas stocking. The foot is not very well defined, but they are worn under the shoes, and over ones pants. They go above the calf and are similar to gators. We all joked about the stupid socks, but we didn’t get any leeches on our legs.
Our river cruises consist of going slowly up a small river channel in a motor boat. We had a great setup because it was us, our guide Brohim, and our boat driver. They were excellent spotters and we saw loads of animals.
Of two species native only to Borneo, we saw both of them. The probiscus monkey and pygmy elephants are fairly rare on Borneo, but we lucked out. Ten minutes into our first river tour, we saw the probiscus monkeys. These are the monkeys with the really funny noses. They are pretty big and they make crashing sounds as they swing from tree to tree.
On our last river tour, we weren’t seeing many animals. Then our guide got a call on his cell phone. (I think the cell reception here is better than in Montana) His friend found a herd of pygmy elephants, but we would have to “trespass” on private land. The land owners required 5RM ($1.50) per person to go on their land to see the elephants. The elephants are very rare and we got a really good sighting. We watched them for about 15 minutes and got tons of pictures.
The bird watching opportunities are priceless. We would see many exotic birds and think of Uncle Pat. All these birds were great, but weren’t the famed Tennessee Warbler! Here are the birds we saw: Blue-Earred Kingfisher, Buffy-Fish Owl, Grey Belly Trogon, Fly Catcher, Bromney Kite, Black Hornbill, Pied Hornbill, Wrinkled Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Chinese Egret, Oriental Darter, Mynar bird, and Woodpeckers.
The other animals that we saw were great as well: Longtail Macaque, Pigtail Macaque, Silver Langor, Monitor Lizards, Bearded Pigs, Yellow Ring Cat Snake, Agamadae Lizard, and plenty of leeches.
The only things we didn’t see are Orang Utans, Crocodiles, and Boas.
Today we arrived back in Sandakan. We did some errands (a very large pile of laundry) and went to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center. As the name implies, Orang Utans are rescued, rehabilitated and then released into the wild. We saw about five of them up close at one of the feedings. Even in a controlled environment, the animals are really fun to see. These are remarkable animals that have many human characteristics.
I have taken hundreds of pictures in the last few days and I will get some loaded up tomorrow. I will also do another post tomorrow. The last few days have been pretty action packed and I could write all day about the wildlife experiences. This place is really cool.
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In Transit
Wed Jul 4, 06:45 AM
The last several days have been a hassle, but I am done moving and can focus on having fun.
It started with getting my bike box onto the local bus from Vientiane to the Thai border (about 25km). The bus was not equipped for a box of that size and it took up aisle in the back of the bus. I then dragged it through immigration and customs, then to the tour bus to Bangkok. The box fit, but the kid loading the luggage gave me some bad looks. My ordeal continued when the bus arrived in Bangkok. We arrived at 5:00am. I had to take a tuk-tuk to find a hotel. (The bike doesn’t fit in a regular taxi) The third hotel that I went to had a room available and allowed me to check in then. It was expensive, but at that point I didn’t care how much the room was.
I slept for a bit, then relaxed for a few hours. I wandered a mall that had loads of “knock-off” cloths. There are piles of Polo, Abercrombie, Lacoste, Nike, Callaway Golf, etc. shirts, shorts, hats, or anything else that can be ripped off. Since I am meeting dad and Andy, I decided to freshen up my wardrobe with all the latest fashions. For $50 I had several bags of new cloths.
I then contacted Kevin Goos to drop my bike off. This is a whole new ordeal. My bike box didn’t fit in the taxi, so we took the bike out of the box, rolled up the box, then stuffed all my bike pieces in the taxi. It took about an hour to find Kevin’s place, but it eventually worked out. I hung out with Kevin for a few hours, then split, as I had an early flight out of Bangkok early yesterday morning.
The flight went smooth and I met dad and Andy easily. They were jet-lagged, so we got some food, drove to Kinabalu National Park, and found a hotel.
The climb of Mt. Kinabalu didn’t work out as dad’s knees are no longer up to the serious hiking. The guidebooks and all information says that the first day of hiking is 6km that takes six hours to complete. Sounds like a fun one eh?
We went on a beautiful hike in the park, but not to the mountain. The scenery was very nice and we all had a great hike. I am winning in the snake spotting as I came across two yesterday while taking pictures and one today on the trail. Usually Andy is the animal expert. We also saw a pretty big rhinocerous beetle. This is some monster creature that Andy found in the guide book. Our specimen turned out to be big by bug standards, but not the man-eater Andy predicted.
After the hike we drove to Sandakan. This the second largest city in Sabah and will be our base for a few more days. We signed up for a two day, two night river boat tour that is supposed to be really cool. There are tons of monkeys, snakes, and other wildlife to see. I will let you know how it goes. I am sure there will be lots of Steve Irwin impressions the next few days.
Hope everybody has a great Fourth of July! You can “celebrate your country by blowing up a part of it” Apu from the Simpsons
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Vieniane
Sat Jun 30, 10:30 PM
The last few days have been filled with sight seeing and eating. I rode my bike around to a few of the sights in Vientiane. My favorite monument in town is called the Patuxai. This is a replica of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The story behind the structure is that the US gave the government cement to build an airport. Instead of an airport, they built a big monument. It is often referred to as the “Vertical runway.”
I ran into a minor logistical issue as the train to Bangkok is full for the next several days. I have to take the bus, but to get my bike on the bus; it has to be in a box. I spent this morning trying to locate a bike shop where I could get a box. The next hurdle is to get the bike into the box. It is a wrestling match trying to make everything fit. The guy at the bike shop assisted me, but didn’t use the finesse that I was attempting. I was a bit nervous at the force he was using, but he got everything to fit.
I went to the Vientiane Hash last night. It wasn’t as active as the Chiang Mai Hash, but I still had a good time. Many of the guys were pretty old and I felt like I needed a knee brace just to fit in. The run was in a beautiful location and one of the best reasons to hash is the terrain that I get to see. We don’t run down the tourist strip.
I can’t wait to meet my bro and dad. I meet up with them on Tuesday in Kota Kinibalu, Malaysia. This is in the Malaysian state of Sabah, in the northeast part of Borneo.
My sister leaves for a semester in Australia in about a week. A meaningless, but interesting statistic is that when she leaves, four out of five Connelly’s will be out of the country. Unfortunately, mom is left to hold down the fort back in Whitefish.
Today (1 July) is also my sister Allie’s 20th Birthday. Happy Birthday Al!
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Moving on
Fri Jun 29, 02:42 AM
With the rain continuing to wreck my outdoor pursuits, I wimped out and took a taxi to Vientiane. It isn’t raining here. My travels through Laos haven’t gone as smoothly as I had hoped. This is my fault as I didn’t plan this part of the trip very well. I have been making this trip up as I go, and usually don’t have more than a few days planned into the future. I needed to devote a few more days here to do it justice. Despite all the time I have to travel, I am usually a bit rushed as there is so much I want to see.
This morning I went to the National Museum. Much of the museum is focused on the bombing attacks by the US during the 60’s and 70’s. In a war that never officially happened, the US led the largest bombing campaign ever in Laos to stop the rise of communism in this region. The US felt if Vietnam, Laos, etc. became communist, a domino effect would take place and other nations in the region would become communist. Unexploded bombs and mines (UXO’s) are still prevalent throughout the country and the danger of stepping on one is still real. There is land that is not farmable or developable until it is cleared of these unexploded bombs. Clearing the land is very expensive and time consuming. There is lots of land that hasn’t been cleared. There are warnings to not wander into the brush or off well developed paths. There are many people here that are missing limbs as proof of the dangers. Bet you didn’t learn all that in your high school history class. (I know I didn’t!)
While in Vang Vieng, I spent the day snapping a few pictures of the town and the surrounding area. I took an afternoon taxi to Vientiane. With a little exploration, I soon realized that comparing Vang Vieng to the Tetons was way off target. The peaks north of town are jagged, but not in town. The mountains are still beautiful, even in the rain.
Even though I only rode about 100km in Laos, the roads confused me. After riding on the left side of the road in Malaysia and Thailand, going back to the right side of the road in Laos was very awkward. When on the Thai/Laos border, some cars are right-hand drive, some are left-hand drive. I just try to stay out of the way.
I will do the Saturday hash in Vientiane, then take the train to Bangkok, where I will fly to Borneo for a trip with dad and Andy.
Here are the pictures I promised. Enjoy them because I battled a slow computer for a long time to load these.
A shot in Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang from Wat Phou Si, a temple at the top of a hill in the middle of town
A reminder of the US bombing during the early 70’s. Oh wait, those never happened!
The road between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng-before the rain
A beautiful day for a bike ride!
The landscape around Vang Vieng-not exactly the Tetons
Another nice shot of Vang Vieng
Here is a tractor converted into a local bus
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Where is the Cat in the Hat?
Wed Jun 27, 07:44 PM
My ride from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng started out promising. I had a great breakfast, I was on the road by 8:15, and there was light cloud cover keeping the temps down. A short time down the road I soon realized a minor problem. My ride, initially planned to be a grueling 170km in the mountains, turned out to be about 230km in the mountains. I just kept riding, figuring it was early and I had plenty of time to figure things out. Then the rain came. After about five hours of riding, the last several hours in the rain, I decided to call it a day on the top of the third “major” mountain pass of the day. I had some lunch and talked a bit to the locals. They said there is a bus that will come through town, maybe about 5:00pm. I didn’t hesitate and changed out of my drenched riding clothes. The 5:00 bus didn’t come until about 6:30pm. I was exhausted, and a bit frustrated at how the day went, but glad to get to Vang Vieng on schedule. I will claim that riding on the local bus through the mountains is the only dangerous thing I have done the whole trip. I couldn’t sleep the whole time.
I find that I run out of adjectives to describe the mountains of Laos. The terrain here is rugged and beautiful. Yesterday, the peaks were covered in a layer of dense fog and clouds. I got some great shots that I will get on the site shortly. There aren’t many villages and they are small communities that are shocked to see me riding through their world.
This morning is a bit frustrating as I woke up to thick clouds and a fine mist in the air. Vang Vieng is a bit of an adventure sport hub, but with the rain, I am thinking of reading in a cafe. The mountains are again stunning. The rock here is limestone and the peaks are jagged. The terrain is like the Tetons and Jackson’s Hole, but the mountains not as tall. I talked to a guy at breakfast that said it had been raining for the past five days. If the rain continues into tomorrow, I have no intention of riding to Vientiane. I will take the bus and scrap my Tour of Laos.
I will put some pics up this afternoon if the the weather continues.
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