Monday, December 30, 2013

Cambodia – They Smile – A LOT!!

Angkor Wat Temple
If we had drafted a plan to visit Asia before Shannon and Jim moved here, Cambodia likely would not have been on it.

Now, we’d say YOU MUST COME HERE! In a similar fashion to our discovery of Romania, Cambodia is a country first off of beautiful people. They smile a lot. And why?
Us at sunset

Not so long ago, during our lifetime you will remember Po Pot, a Khmer Rouge dictator, who ruled the country and was responsible for the ‘killing fields’, eliminating anyone who appeared to resist his dictatorship. Now today the country is an emerging democracy, still in infancy, but with promise. And as we’ve witnessed here is where the UN has done some good work along with the EU, devoting time, energy and money to helping this country develop.

Cambodia is a country that shares coastline with Thailand to its west, Vietnam to its east and Laos to its north. The Mekong river runs south out of Laos across Cambodia and into Vietnam before emptying into the South China Sea. It’s importance to Siem Reap where we have flown into is such that while it does not flow directly by Siem Reap, the Tonle Sap river does, it flows through Phonm Penh. But during rainy season, June through October, the rains back up the Mekong River to where it overflows its normal banks, backs up and reverses flow into Tonle Sap lake some 11 kms from Siem Reap, and creates the largest freshwater lake in southeast Asia.
Phnom Bakheng

Siem Reap has another treasure too. It’s Angkor Wat which is compromised of the Angkor Wat temple and several other temples. Angkor Wat has the status of the largest religious structure in the world, first being a Hindu, then Buddhist temple. It is a national treasure for Cambodia and the image of the temple is emblazoned on the national flag.

Our arrival in Siem Reap was the result of catching a very early morning flight from Phuket through Bangkok and then to Siem Reap. True to their word, our hotel the Central Boutique Angkor Hotel had a driver waiting
Yep they are steep
 just outside passport control and there is nothing more reassuring than seeing your name waved by a Tuk Tuk driver, there to pick you up. Mr. Moeun, (Moon) immediately went into sales mode since it appears his picking us up is an introduction to us by the hotel and he has to sell other tuk tuk services to us to make money. No worry, after getting to know us a bit he learned quickly what we were prepared for him to help us with, and what we’d do on our own.

That first evening he took us out to get our Angkor Wat passes, 
(here is the youtube link http://youtu.be/QSm7Yidm7AI )

and we got our sunset pictures of the main temple. However we booked our 30 km. bicycle tour of the temples with Green Bicycles for the next day. And as good fortune would have it a pleasant Brit called Paul showed up the next morning to accompany us as well and our tour guide, Mr. Puthy, was excellent, spoke very good English, had a masters in sociology and loved being an authorized temple guide. We were off to a great start.
Paul, Brian and Sandra

The day went very well with us stopping at Phonm Bakheng, then the south gates to Angkor Thom, 
Angor Thom



and then the Temple of Bayon,
Temple of Bayon
then to Ta Prohm better known in Indiana Jones movies as the "Tomb Raider" temple.
3 Smiling Faces Bayon
and finally returning to Angkor Wat for the afternoon finale.
Ta Prohm
The day ended full of excitement when we delayed leaving until late sunset, and Sandra had only her sunglasses meaning that when it got dark riding back into Siem Reap she was blind one way or the other. She was nothing short of courageous riding in insane traffic that never obeys a traffic signal converging on every intersection as we weaved through Siem Reap back to the bike shop. She is one gutsy and fearless lady.
Brian @ Ta Prohm

Our next day’s adventure was to hire Mr. Moeun to take us via tuk tuk to the floating villages on Tonle Sap lake, but not before adding the destination of the Silk Worm Farms where they have a national training program on how to raise silk worms, then spin the silk into weaves and finally create fabric with it. This was a very interesting side trip and allowed Mr. Moeun to earn more money. At each of these stops we would have our tour then return to the Tuk tuk and carry on. He took us quite a few places over a period of time for very little money, and the tuk tuk was much more intimate, almost motorcycle like, in interacting with others. Many Cambodians would drive by 2-4 on a small motorbike and the mother on back would have the baby wave at us as they drove past. It was so much fun.
Silk Worm farm trainees

Kids, no more than 5 or 6 yrs
of age travelling in the lake


Finally our last destination was the floating villages and we were unsure what to expect. Here as the lake swells to 4-5 times its dry season size, Vietnamese boat people live tied up in the trees that are submerged at this time.
Us on the Lake
Their purpose is fishing, but it seems the lake is producing less and less each year now, so they have turned to a lot of begging. We have shot video footage associated to this segment and will post it when we get a better wi-fi connection.

 Youtube links http://youtu.be/_HAQd4_jKx0 
 out to Tonle sap and http://youtu.be/CxegM5T3CJY on tonle sap lake .
Suffice it to say it is shocking to see the squalor these people live in.






Riding the Tuk Tuk
Mr Moeun

Friday, December 27, 2013

More Sailing

Ready to Go


Here’s a little insight into how Shannon’s kids have matured. After coming back from the Safari we all head for the remainder of the afternoon at the beach. On arrival we see several of the catamarans sitting on the beach. Kaden and Riley ask if I’d take them both sailing, so I said we’d see if they were available. Talked with the crew chief of the area and he said they were all booked to other people. So we go back down to the beach and Kaden begins muttering about how stupid that was, that others could reserve them, and then not use them and he wondered if they might let us use one if no one claimed them after a certain amount of time. So I thought it was worth it for him to try, one because Thai’s love children, and, his request wouldn’t appear to be the challenge to an adult in the same manner that as adult and adult discussion might be, and he had such a logical argument.    So I left him to it, and he came back with the statement ‘So here’s how it will work, at 3:20 if they have come, we can have the sailboat till 4:00 pm. Fortunately it worked out and both Riley and Kaden got sailing again.

Grandpa in his Glory!

Then the next day Abbey wanted to go sailing, so we made the same arrangement again and Abbey and I went out. This one was a little less amicable as the girls who had booked the sailboat came by only moments after we were being pushed into the water. Oh well  you snooze you lose!

Great weather


Today we are left alone here as everyone else has left. We joked with Shannon and Jim that they likely arranged to “Zip-Line’ from the airport to their hotel in Chiang Mai. We’ll all be back together in 5-6 days. We’re off to Cambodia tomorrow and then Singapore for New Years.

Siam Safari

Really they cross here!


Here’s an activity and a company that is very well organized. We booked on line to save the extra pick up costs since we are up island. We have now driven the island 4 times up and down. Our 11:00 am tour included a training session on the elephants, a feeding of two smaller elephants, and another training session on how to mount the elephants and where they come from. These are Asia elephants instead of African elephants which means they are smaller and with larger heads and smaller ears. Total weight would be 3000 kg for a full grown elephant versus 5000 kgs.for the African elephants.
Enjoying the Day

 The drivers are brought in from Tibet and basically live with the elephants at the facility. These animals all appeared to be very well cared for and the staff professional. We’d highly recommend them. 

Probably the greatest moment for everyone is during the walk through the jungle you climb a point that provides a gorgeous vista out over Chalong Bay. 
View over Chalong Bay


Christmas Dinner




And on the way back down the trail you catch a great look at the ‘Big Buddha” on the top of an adjacent mountain.
Big Buddha

Phuket and Phi Phi Islands


There are no bad pics on Phi Phi Islands, colors are amazing

Landed on Phuket and Jim negotiated a mega van to haul all 9 of us to the hotel. No airport shuttles here. I’ve been suffering from a cough which I caught from a little old lady sleeping behind me on the “Day in the Sky”. Not fun being sick while in hot weather and lots to do. I crash for a couple of hours and Sandra and the grandkids enjoy the pool.
Abbey the shy retiring little girl, Yeah right!
This Marriott is really first class and Sandra and I compare it to our Porto Fico hotel on Lefkada island, of course that was at ¼ the cost.

Jim wants to go to the Phi Phi islands to see them and snorkel, which is great, and the kids all got gear for Christmas so that got arranged for Dec. 23rd. During a brief period of time that I was feeling better, thanks to an Advil ( I think I could do a testimonial), Kaden and I went down and booked taking out a catamaran for Christmas eve day ( which is today as I write this). And Sandra and I booked the Christmas day event of an Elephant tour with Siam Safari. Again all 9! Whew! 

OK, so after a day trying to get better (not working), we all are ready for 7:30 am Dec. 23rd for our excursion to Phi Phi islands. It requires we be transferred from our hotel to a middle town on Phuket where we catch a Phuket at Andaman Tours powerboat. Jack was our guide.
Jack laying out the plan
This was very professionally done and we all came away from it really enjoying it. There were many highlights to the day, some photographic, and the attached link to a youtube video I shot is available http://youtu.be/l6TeVwBIedU!.





Most memorable were the opportunities to snorkel on the reefs there and see all the colorful sealife. At one point, actually several I was surprised when Sandra actually snorkelled as well, overcoming her fears and jumping in. There was a time when I was first in and Abbey had jumped in after, came over and grabbed my hand and we held hands and swam and pointed fish out to each other for quite awhile. You don’t think I will ever forget that do you??
Ready Set

Go
Grandma and Abbey, Maya Bay

Tour speed boats at Maya Bay

Monkeys on the Beach

Leaving the Phi Phi Islands

Phuket Town

The next day we headed into Phuket town.
Old Town Phuket
Phuket isn't a very pretty city but that doesn't mean that it's old town isn't. As we strolled this area we found some very nice shops here, an old Buddhist temple, and old hotel.
Riley with the old stairs in the old hotel

Riley and Grandma at the Wat
There is a school at the WAT, and each afternoon the parents will come with their scooters and pick up the kids. In this picture you can see 1 mom with a child and another having left with 3 on their bike.

Two's and Threes, we've even seen 4

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Far East Adventures

Petronas Towers and Us
Hong Kong Airport CLEAN!!
So this trip is so different from our motorcycle travels that we wanted to share our thoughts and experiences and many of our family and friends have asked for it as well. The first of which is the fact that the flight is in the order of 14000 kms,  divided into a 13 ½ flight to Hong Kong followed by a 3 ½ hr flight to Kuala Lumpur (KL). And contrary to what we all might think it is mostly over land as the plane flies north over BC, Alaska, Russia, and  China.

We were able to fly business class this time courtesy of our daughter and husband, and we began musing about how we were living in the air at 40000 ft for most of a day.  Our hats go off to the Air Canada/Malaysian Air staff in Hong Kong who linked our luggage through to KL without us having to exit the secure area or go through immigration. And our first impressions of the Chinese in Hong Kong was very professional and friendly. Wow! Why couldn't they do that from Nanaimo?? LOL
First morning in KL having coffee

Next we land in KL after midnight 2 days after leaving Canada, due to a 15 hr time difference over the Date line. Shannon and Jim were there to pick us up, and then an 1 hr drive to their place. You start to realize that KL is 4 million people and the distances are vast. And it was 31C with near 100% humidity after midnight.

Kings Palace
We got to bed right away since the 1 hr drive allowed us to chat and catch up somewhat and we then slept pretty well. Since Shannon is fitting in our visit, our son and daughter in laws visit as well as year end school visits, she was very busy but we were able to go to the King’s Palace, and the National Monument, then out for lunch, then to the kids school, an excellent ex-pat international school very close by them.

The next day we felt like we were on work experience as Jim took us to the PETRONAS Towers where we saw where he works, the unique bridge between the 2 towers, and the magnificent settings in downtown KL. Then we found our own way around for a quick lunch as Jim had to take out one of his departments for lunch, then we travelled back to their house in a monsoon rain. Wow, can it rain there at the drop of a hat.
Sandra and Shannon

 There are even apartments there that have their own private pools within a block of the towers.. And to add to the surreal experience we walked through the Mandarin Oriental hotel directly adjacent to the towers and the place where they lived for about 3 weeks. The kids got to know the hotel staff as they headed out and back from school each day. How they have put together this change in their life is nothing short of amazing. Shannon and her family have been writing a blog on their adaptation to life in KL which may be of interest to anyone thinking of doing an ex-pat move.

That evening Shannon wanted to prepare a traditional Christmas dinner ‘Smith’ style, with perogies which she made from Grandma Smith’s recipe, turkey and all the trimmings. It was superb.
International School and one of our grandsons


Apartments with small pools on decks

Off to bed so that we could get up and travel all the way to the LCC terminal at KLIA and board an Air Asia jet to Thailand where we’ll spend Christmas on the beach in Phuket. I think I am on Amazing Race!
Large Mosque in KL 


KLCC Christmas Decorations Yes they celebrate everything!

Rubber jogging track in KLCC park at base of Petronas towers

The Park at KLCC

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Baja Mexico - Contrasts and Contradictions

Our time in the Baja was one of many contrasts and contradictions.

Some of the scenery is spectacular, in particular the 104 kms from Tecate, our border crossing to Ensenada

When we were driving back up to Tecate, quite high in the mountains you get spectacular vistas that are reminiscent of Wyoming (Yellowstone). As a day ride on a motorcycle definitely worth crossing just for the day down and back. Tecate is set amongst a boulder field environment, so interesting, and yet the valley setting has tenement dirt floor shacks that most of the people live in. The raw beauty and the abject poverty are seen in one vista.

The road south from Ensenada to El Rosario is mostly unappealing since it is a continual set of small towns straddling the highway for much of the 280 kms. You are forced to stay slow in these villages as the 'Topes', or miserable speed bumps of the worst type will rip your camper from your vehicle, or worse. fortunately it didn't happen to us. Add to that many of the sections are the typical 2 lane narrow roads. Lanes are only 9' wide.

Crossing into Mexico you are required to acquire a tourist card and pay the fee at a local bank. In all the military stops we encountered (12-14) not once were we ever requested to produce our tourist card to prove we were in the country legally.

Similarly, Ken Burningham had his camper robbed at Tecolote east of La Paz. The 'preventative' police came by after to check on the situation and recommended he go downtown La Paz to give a statement the next day. When he went downtown they knew nothing of the event and determined that since Ken had handled everything, searching for what might have been stolen to report he destroyed any fingerprints that might have been there. The left hand does not know what the right hand is doing all the time.

El Rosario to Catavina is scenic but a challenging road. You see in Baja the road has 2 lanes, one in each direction, lane width 9'6" each side, a centre stripe, and 2 white side markers. The total road width is 20'. and NO shoulder, ever. A typical old road in the US or Canada is 10' wide, width side markers and shoulders, mostly gravel. More modern 2 lane roads in Canada are 12' wide, 4' shoulders paved, totaling 28-30' in width. That's what makes the roads so difficult. The larger rigs are 8'6" in width, threading their way south against mostly trucks heading north. Lots of side mirrors are lost in the process, or worse, tires get trashed against the unyielding road drop-offs.

Catavina to Guerro Negro is very boring and most of it narrow, desert with little to define it.

From Guerro Negro south to San Ignacio it is the same straight boring drive with little scenery to view, however from San Ignacio south as the road tacks towards the Sea of Cortes again the road gets interesting with volcanoes, and scenic vistas. 

At Santa Rosalita south you are on the Bay of Concepcion with many nice beach areas to pull off and camp on. Again, though, you will want the big rigs to stay in since there are no facilities whatsoever , except garbage collection and the odd outhouse. So the contradictions are, big rigs shouldn't be on these roads but are needed for the most comfort. We did fine with our rig, but limited water storage meant we needed to manage water consumption, and kept solar showers to every second day.

South of Loreto the road gets spectacular again for about 60 kms as you wind thru the Giganticos and against the sea then rises onto a high desert valley that is very productive for fruit trees. The remainder of the way to La Paz is uneventful but with interesting cactus displays.

La Paz in our opinion is the nicest city on the Baja, beautiful, approachable, but again that contrast, no people?? At 215,000 people it does have it's problems though.

We've covered Los Barriles in a lot of detail and it was a great destination to visit.

The loop road down from there thru the Tropic of Cancer to Cabo and back up thru Todo Santos was disappointing. Cabo is not RV friendly, and Todo Santos is suffering a crime way at the moment (Feb 2013) so you aren't safe to leave a vehicle unattended there. 

So there you have it, our opinion only of the Baja. Would we go back.... we'd have to think about what it offers that we can't find that meets our needs in southern California and Arizona. The weather this year was definitely better but the 1890 kms one way to drive down is difficult to justify. For some people California just doesn't offer beach water and kayaking this time of year, so if you want those the Baja is a yes for sure. Just do not expect a pool or most other amenities, but the food is great! And be prepared to see the contrast of so much poverty in a land of beauty.

But we definitely are ready to go and see the mainland Mexico on another trip!

Los Barriles

Moonset over the back of Playa Norte


Then sunrise over the Sea of Cortes

Kite Sailing, Wild winds one day!
As we continued south we headed for Los Barriles on the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula about 40 kms north of the Tropic of Cancer. Los Barriles is known for its wind and kite sailing community and it was definitely impressive. Several of the days we spent there were calm and then there were a couple of windy days, temperatures hovering close to 80F. Finally we have found the heat!

One calm morning I got up just as the full moon was setting and the sun was about to rise. These are the shots (above) I got. Absolutely gorgeous day that turned out to be.


There were many different skill levels of kite surfers but the ones pictured here were very skilled and would do flips frequently, just never when I was ready to capture them.
Where's the water coming from?
CJ and Kathy, folks we met via email when arranging to come down here have a 40’ Class A that they brought down with a ‘Toad’, a small vehicle, this one a Suzuki (Chev) Tracker, behind.  We found them in Los Barriles as they had joined a caravan for safe transit. They love to explore and invited us to join them one day as they went looking for a waterfall way back up an “Arroyo”, their term for gully or dry river bed. It was a fun time, we brought sandwiches and had a picnic, discussed and resolved Global warming, and World Peace while there, and enjoyed each  other’s company.
Kathy, Sandra, and CJ

Unfortunately  we didn’t get photos of another couple we met and enjoyed the company of, John and Lori  Deacon from near Lake Tahoe. One evening they invited us out for supper with them, Shrimp Chile Rellanos at Campistre Triny in Los Barriles.  What a fantastic meal!

We came away from our time at Los Barriles with a lot of love for the place. From the RV Park, Playa Norte, and Wilhelm and Ulysses, to the other guests, to the restaurants, and fresh vegetable shops, and the shrimp we bought to BBQ the place was just what we wanted and so we spent a week there.
CJ's lil' Tracker

From Los Barrilles we continued south to San Jose de Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. Neither place is very RV friendly and so our stays were short and just passing through. They probably would be nice at an all-inclusive resort, but then for us that’s not the Mexico we’ve come to discover.

We’ve now arrived back at Santispac after a night’s stay in Porto Escondido, Saturday night and another night at Lupe’s!!!! 

Weather’s nice, so we’re looking forward to a few more days of great weather before heading back into California as our month will expire.