Bangkok

On our first trip through Thailand, we skipped Bangkok because our overland visa allowed us only 15 days in country. Our second trip to Thailand we entered by air, which gave us a 30 day visa--plenty of time to see Bangkok and the islands of southern Thailand. From Siem Reap we took a bus back to Phnom Penh where we flew to Bangkok.

Bangkok is the largest city I've been in in Asia, and it has a reputation for some of the worst traffic in the world. Luckily we could get to our hostel from the airport via skytrain and metro (Bangkok has competing urban rail networks, which lack connectivity and don't cover the whole city).

View of Bangkok from the roof of my 4 story hostel

Opposite view

LUMPHINI PARK

This park lies in the middle of Bangkok's main business district and is one of the most popular parks in the city.

Clocktower in Lumphini

The lake in Lumphini is popular for paddleboating

The lake is also popular with the giant lizard community

THE SUPERBOWL IN BANGKOK

We were in Bangkok for Superbowl Sunday (its Superbowl Monday in Asia). Despite the large American Expat and tourist populations in Bangkok, we had a difficult time finding a sportsbar in town with the game on. The game started at 6 am, but due to slow starts, heavy traffic, and some bad directions, we did not get to the sportsbar until 8.

The bar could not contain us

Giants victory!

We stayed in Bangkok for a few days before heading off to the southern islands. While we were on the islands we heard that a terrorist attack had taken place down the street from where we watched the superbowl. The three terrorists were Iranian nationals with sights on Israeli targets in Bangkok. On February 14th, the apartment they were using to make bombs exploded and the terrorists attempted to flee the scene. One of them tried to hail a taxi, but when it would not stop he threw a bomb at it. When he was confronted by Thai police he threw a bomb at them. The bomb bounce off a tree back at him, blowing off his legs. Luckily for Israel these terrorists were unsuccessful. Luckily for us at the sportsbar the Iranians hate the Israelis more than they hate Americans.

After two weeks in the islands we returned to Bangkok for a few days. It is our last stop before returning to China.


KHAO SAN ROAD

When we returned to Bangkok we decided to stay a night on Khao San Road. Once a simple Thai rice market, over the past two decades the road has developed into the most notorious 'backpacker ghetto' in Southeast Asia. The street is lined with stores that cater to the budget traveler in Asia: cheap hostels ranging from three star to the roach motel; travel agencies; street food and souvineer venders; and the backpacker bar.

Khao San Road

Much of Khao San's popularity with backpackers is its proximity to many of Bangkok's tourist attractions. We were just a short walk from the Democracy Monument, the Giant Swing, and the Grand Palace.

The Democracy Monument

The Giant Swing

The Grand Palace

Elephants outside the Grand Palace

Siem Reap

Siem Reap was a five hour bus ride from Phnom Penh. It is the gateway to the Angkor region of Cambodia, which contains the most spectacular ruins of the ancient Khmer civilization. Angkor has many significant distinctions: at its height it was the largest city in the pre-industrial world; it contains over one thousand temples; and it contains the world's largest single religious monument--Angkor Wat.

ANGKOR WAT

The largest and most famous of all temples in Angkor. It was built in the early 12th century as a hindu temple, but was later converted into a buddhist temple. In the 1860's the French stumbled upon the ruins of Angkor Wat covered in thick jungle. The temple required intensive structural repairs, so the French dismantled Angkor Wat into over a million pieces to be reassembled with added structural integrity. Unfortunately Angkor Wat's reconstruction was disrupted by the rise of the Khmer Rouge, and the temple layed in pieces during the entire regieme. Years later the French managed to rebuild the temple despite the loss of the deconstrution records during the Khmer Rouge chaos.

Angkor Wat was the first temple we visited in Siem Reap. We arrived in time to see the sunrise.

Let's just say we weren't the only ones at Angkor Wat before dawn

Angkor Wat

One of the Wat's towers

The walls are decorated with reliefs

A corridor in the Wat

Angkor Wat is constantly undergoing maintenance

A view of the Angkor Wat complex from its highest point

PRASAT BAYON

The Bayon is the center of the ancient Khmer capital of Angkor Thom. It was built by King Jayavarman VII as the official state temple. The Bayon is stands out from the other temples at Angkor for its 216 giant stone faces that decorate the temple's towers. Historians are uncertain if the faces are that of the King.

Prasat Bayon

So many faces

I see a resemblance

TA PROHM

One of the most popular temples to visit in Angkor, mainly because it was where Tomb Raider was filmed. Unlike Angkor Wat and the Bayon, Ta Prohm has not undergone any reconstruction since its abandonment. The site is overgrown with trees, many taking root on the temple walls.

One of the entrances to Ta Prohm

Trees have no respect for temples

Ruins

Modern day tomb raiders

BANTEAY KDEI

The last temple on our long day of temple-seeing in Siem Reap. Banteay Kdei was the least impressive of the Wats we saw in Angkor, and its walls had been infiltrated by Cambodian souvineer salespeople.

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh was a four hour bus ride and two hour flight from Laos. Cambodia is much more developed than Laos. Phnom Penh has the feel of a big city while being very easy to get around.

In Laos, many places would give you a price in Thai Baht before telling you the price in the local Lao Kip. Cambodia was stranger. Their local currency is hardly used other than to make small change. The common currency in Cambodia is the US dollar. All prices are in dollars and all ATMs dispense dollars. The Cambodian Riel began circulation in 1980, but never gained acceptance by the people. This is probably because prior to 1980 (during the Khmer Rouge) the country had no monetary system.

AROUND PHNOM PENH

Statues on a boulevard in Phnom Pehn

Street Market

Phnom Wat

Cambodian Royal Palace

FUN WITH GUNS

One of the popular tourist activities in Cambodia is shooting guns. Before going to the killing fields, we stopped at a shooting range to try it out. We were sat down at a table and given a literal menu of their gun offerings. The had everything from a handgun to a hand grenade and even a rocket launcher ($350 for one shot). I gave the AK-47 a try. I have a video but this computer is too slow for an upload.

THE KILLING FIELDS

The Killing Fields are the 20,000 mass grave sites scattered across Cambodia used by the Khmer Rouge to execute 1.5 million Cambodians. The best know site is Choeung Ek outside Phnom Penh where the a monument memorializes the all victims of the Khmer Rouge's regime.

The monument at Choeung Ek

The monument is filled with the bones of victims unearthed on its grounds

The Khmer Rouge took power of Cambodia in 1975. During their reign, one fifth of Cambodians were killed in mass graves as enemies of the state. In 1979 Vietnam invaded Cambodia and ousted the Khmer Rouge and installed a new government. The new Cambodian government was seen as illegitimate by the international community and the exiled Khmer Rouge continued to represent Cambodia in the UN until 1993. The Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot died at 82 without facing trial for his crimes.

The grounds of Choeung Ek are covered in pits which served as mass grave sites during the Khmer Rouge. During its height, Choeung Ek received over 300 people to be killed per day. Victims were not killed with guns, as ammunition was too expensive, but with hoes, knives, and shovels. DDT was spread over the bodies to eliminate the stench and kill any who had been buried alive.

Pits on the grounds of Choeung Ek

The tree where a loudspeaker would emanate propaganda music to drown out the screams of victims

The Killing Tree which was used to kill children who were enemies of the state

An artist's depiction of the Killing Tree

S-21 PRISON

S-21 was a secret prison and torture facility used to interrogate suspected enemies of the state within the Khmer Rouge party. Originally a school, the site became a prison after the Khmer Rouge outlawed education in Cambodia. Most prisoners from S-21 ended up in near by Choeung Ek.

S-21

A torture chamber in S-21 with tools

The regulations for prisoners at S-21

Mugshots of a sample of S-21 victims