Cambodia and Laos

Writing this in the final stretch of our journey, I'm already feeling our trip receding and home looming.  But I would be derelict to not write about the past week we spent with (Ni)sid and Melinda in Cambodia and Laos.  It was wonderful to have the time with old friends who have moved so far away.  And Neil, Oscar, Ruby and I were grateful, at this point in our journey, to have more people to talk to!

Landing in Laos

It felt a bit ridiculous to fly through both countries in just a week, but we did the best we could to experience the temples, food, and culture of Siem Reap and Luang Prabang.  Both are major tourist destinations, with Siem Reap light years ahead in terms of development.

Ni(sid), Neil, and Melinda at Angkor Wat

Leaving Singapore

Luang Prabang was really magical -- a small town set between the confluence of the Mekong and another river, it's laid back, full of temples, and not inundated (yet) by hordes of Chinese tourists, big hotels, or tour buses. 

Laos from the air

Luang Prabang

Tempting....

Before this trip, I had only spent time in Thailand, the bigger, richer neighbor.  Cambodia and Laos both have long histories and the people are perhaps rightly peeved at Thailand for its multiple invasions and occupations.  According to our Cambodian tour guide, many Thais show up claiming that Thais built Angkor Wat, even though the famous temple complex predates the founding of Thailand by many centuries. 

Military house in the Cambodian countryside near Thailand

If anything, though, it was French Indochina that our trip in Cambodia and Laos most evoked.  In Siem Reap, (Ni)sid took us to drinks at the Grand Hotel, famous as the birthplace of his much beloved "linen hour."  (I might be wrong, but I believe it was founded circa 1996 with Adam Aston, Edward Wilson, and Auria Styles.)  Our hotel, the Villa Maly, in Luang Prabang struck the perfect balance.  A former royal residence, now a boutique hotel under French management, it was the perfect haven.   

Villa Maly

In addition to enjoying linen hour cocktails, we sweated our way through many temples (ruined and not), rode in many tuk tuks, and ate some delicious meals.  Neil says Cambodian and Lao food is less sophisticated than Thai food, but I found a lot to appreciate.  

A huge variety of herbs accompanied every meal.  Everything tasted fresh and light, a welcome change after the greasy fare of China and even Singapore.  Standouts include sour soup in Cambodia, fish larb wrapped with fresh mint, basil, and lettuce, fried Lao seaweed with chili paste, and spring rolls wrapped in coriander leaf.  Even the sticky rice in Laos was tasty.  The fresh juices (ginger lemongrass!) were great.  

Fruit snack at Angkor Wat

The fruit itself was outstanding -- from the green mango and chili salt we had at Angkor Wat, to the fresh mango at the Borei Angkor breakfast buffet, to the red dragon fruit bought roadside outside Siem Reap, to the veritable fruit extravaganza provided by our guide to Preah Vihear -- lychees, longans, rambutan, bananas, mangoes, dragon fruit, mangosteens, and those small brown sour things with the big seed. 

Rambutan, dragon fruit, and fresh tamarind

It wasn't all easy either.  We battled fevers, colds, ear infections, and a few long bathroom visits. Everyone's favorite day, our journey to Preah Vihear at the Thai/Cambodian border, was marked by some especially memorable bathroom visits.  While Neil was communing with his 23 year old self, Melinda, Ruby and I braved the darkest bathroom in the world, the other bathroom where a cockroach landed on Melinda's arm, and Cambodia's largest bathroom without running water.

I also have to confess to struggling with the culture divide.  I'm a fairly mellow person, but I suppose I'm still a New Yorker and Chinese to boot (i.e. a bit pushy).  I had a really hard time with the slow pace and lack of directness in Cambodia and Laos.  I felt like I could never get a straight answer, and no one could do anything efficiently or quickly enough.  There is such an extreme need to save face and avoid conflict, that people would rather lie or leave than talk to us.  For example, instead of saying they couldn't rent us bikes, the women across the street simply rode off with them after sending us to retrieve our ids.  My mounting irritation at tiny encounters like this was simply embarrassing (to me), I realize.  It was helpful to remember that the Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos really stands for Please Don't Rush in Laos.

In the end, our brief visit to these countries only made me want to return and explore more.  There is certainly plenty more to see in both Cambodia and Laos.  I just hope I get back and get into the right mindset!