Biking in Kompong Cham and Kratie

Sometimes we get lost when we bike....
Biking across a bamboo bridge which is rebuilt every year.
Road for bikes, motorbikes, cars, horse carts, water buffalo carts
Girls harvesting something we still can't identify
Two little boys who probably said hello to each of us 100 times and gave us each 10 high fives within 5 minutes. They also loved having their picture taken. When we were leaving one of them tried to hop on Zoe's bike and the other one wanted to put my kickstand down.

Kampong Thom Bronzing 2/22

Temple/tree
Mango over the sunset
Monks coming down the 809 stairs as we go up. We snapped a picture of them and they also took a few pictures of us with camera phones.
Bolting calf that we dodged. Piglets in transit
We found ourselves a motorbike driver, piled on, and began a bronzing adventure thanks to the red dust which is everywhere in Eastern Cambodia. We also discovered that smiling on a motorbike despite how happy you might be is a terrible plan. The first stop we each had red dust caked on our teeth which we then spent scraping off while exploring deserted temples. We became very fond of one temple which was being devoured by a tree until we realized that we would have to share this wondrous tree/temple with swarms of red ants who were eager to eat our flesh. With some more motoing with our driver taking great care to avoid cows and water buffalo we went through some small villages where we got the usual cheery clamor of "hellloooos" from children. To ease the butt damage from 3 people on one motorbike on a bumpy road for a few hours we also took some scenic stops in which our driver all of a sudden took notice to Zoe's heavily bandaged motorbike burn. He found much entertainment in it and showed us his one and only motorbike burn which was from a tourist who who trusted a little too much and ended up crashing his bike with him on it.

After his giggles ended we continued on to a temple set 809 steps on a hill for sunset. Around halfway we decided to stop for some mango to munch on at the top. Huge mistake. A few minutes later we were at the top strolling leisurely around when a gang of monkeys took notice to our mango and instantly started to swarm us bearing all of their vicious little teeth. Zoe and I ended up back to back yelling and clapping with water bottles in hand ready to bash any monkey who dare sink his teeth into our skin. After some time and causing quite the disturbance in the active temple they retreated a few feet allowing us to bolt. We then went back down to the half way zone to catch the sunset where it was monkey free and we could victoriously eat our mangoes.

Pictures 8

2/21-Ankor Wat:

The most ridiculous stairs I have ever climbed. I think rise was actually bigger than the run somehow.
Foot massage/dead skin removal by fish or Dr. fish (according to the sign). The first two minutes we were dying of laughter and hyper ventilating but by the end we became very tolerant and had reasonable clean feet.

Score: 1 dollar dorm bed
The danger of motorbikes. Zoe's leg a few hours after a quick brush against the exhaust pipe... The next day it was about 5 times the size and giggling with puss as she walked.
2/18- Cooking class at the smoking pot: It is hard not end up taking cooking classes on this side of the world. For 8 bucks this time we got 3 hours of entertainment, 3 hours of learning, and 3 dishes we made. We also got to pick out all the ingredients needed from the nearby market. The fish used in our curry was killed right in front of us. Below is dish number 2 which included 10 chilies in addition to the curry paste and consequently left Zoe hiccuping and me with a burning mouth.
Khmer curry with paste we made and coconut juice we hand squeezed from coconut shavings.
Curry paste ingredients about to smashed in a mortar and pestle.
2/17- Biking around in Kompot (Southern Cambodia): It turns out we picked the only town in all of SE Asia that it is hard to rent bikes. We spent one day hunting for them and then the next day actually biking as we killed many hours hunting. In the end though we got to ride through the red dusty roads around Kompot and even found the temple we were looking for. All along the road (approximately every five minutes) a kid or two or three would come darting out of a house exclaiming with great joy "helllloo." And, many of the younger ones would make sure to say it repetitively until we were out of sight.

The few days we have spent in Cambodia it has been beautiful and friendly smiling people surround us. The streets of Phnom Penh still have a frenzy of motorbikes to dodge and we can already communicate with the 5 words we know in Khmer that we learned the first day. Depending on the day though and what we choose to explore it can become very exhausting as everywhere in Cambodia if you look there is evidence of the Khmer Rouge's bloody revolution. The historical sites are wonderful to educate locals and foreigners and provide some type of memorial. But, the fact that prosecution of the Khmer Rouge leaders appears to be deadline-less and Pol Pot has already perished is repulsive. Not to mention the facts such as the Khmer Rouge killers occupying seats at the UN until 1991. Also, I feel that the more I learn about it the less I can fathom how any human being could possibly carry out a genocide killing around 2 million innocent people although it happened here, elsewhere and still in this day and age.

Pictures 7 (Cambodia : Genocide Museum, Choeung Ek)

Hooray for motorbikes in Cambodia too!
Chambers at Tuol Sleng (S21)
Women killed by the Khmer Rouge
and children
and men
A torture cell at S21
"The Killing Tree" at Choeung Ek. A tree used for hanging a loudspeaker to overpower the sounds of moaning victims being executed.
The Stupa at Choeung Ek as a memorial for the 17,000 killed at this site by the Khmer Rouge. 8,000 skulls are in the memorial from some of the 129 mass graves.

The bottom tier starts with clothing removed from the mass graves, then skulls, and bones on the upper levels.

Cambodia

Here we are in Cambodia! Country number 2 (or number 7 if you count Central America). Another beautiful VISA and another tricky language. Although it has only been a few hours and we already know more in Khmer than we did in Vietnamese since it is not tonal for the most part. Thank goodness!

Pictures 6

BHello Cambodia!
Stilt houses on the Mekong.
Floating market on the Mekong with sweet potatoes.
Melons on the Mekong.
A tame motorbike scene.
Mushrooms growing in a mushroom hut.
Mother and her son in the Cham village.
Little girl in the Cham village we visited.
Curry powder applied as lipstick so skillfully by our guide.
Silk cocoons being soaked in hot water to kill the bug and being spun into silk threads.
Various meaty market finds: Buffalo eye balls and snout.
Animal intestines.
Assorted buffalo parts. Perhaps liver and heart?
Pig skin in...? Pig juice...?
Birthday treat #1.
Worms in rice wine/ worms that will get you drunk.
Deep fried crickets and chile sauce (consumed on my birthday).
Experiencing a deep fried cricket.
Our guide...
Buddha being scrubbed and shinned with gasoline by a crew of ten or so.
In Marble Mountain caves