What a Start

January 1, 2012

Why do I keep doing this to myself? I never thought coming to Thailand and traveling around Asia would require so much of my time. I can never get any sleep. After getting pretty crazy and rowdy last night with a ton of booze and….Oh wait. Wrong night. That was actually someone else’s night though. As we headed back to the hostel, we saw a young woman passed out and seizing from ingesting too much alcohol. It was very scary and sad to see. What a way to start the New Year. We headed in early because we were planning on seeing the sunrise at Angkor Wat. It is supposed to be one of the best spots in the world to watch the sunrise. And what makes it even better is it’s the first sunrise of the year. Top that!

Where’s the Sun? It was around five in the morning. With barely any sleep, Bobby and I tumbled into a tuk-tuk and found our way to Angkor Wat. It was pitch black outside. Street lights aren’t as common here so it was hard to see anything. I couldn’t even see my own feet as we were walking towards the temple. After some stumbles and retina adjustment, we found a spot right next to the pond in front of the temple. And then, we waited. And we waited. And we waited some more. Did we come too early? Why was it taking so long?


It took about an hour of us rigidly standing before the light started to make its way into the sky. The arriving sunlight created a bright backlighting to the silhouette of the temple’s towers and structure. It wasn’t that spectacular though. The atmosphere was so cloudy and dim that the sky had only an opaque light blue coloring to it. It also started to drizzle so it made our experience standing in the cold and dark not as pleasant as expected. We couldn’t even see the sun through the clouds; it was that dense. It was definitely not an epic sunrise. I hope this isn’t foreshadowing a year of disappointment and failed expectations. Melodramatic much?

RELAX. We groggily found our way back into town and had a relaxing day in Siem Reap. I slept throughout the morning and had a delicious French inspired breakfast—tasty eggs, French bread, and black coffee. I spent some time reading and sleeping in the hammocks, enjoying the scenery and nature sounds. I really like hammocks. It is definitely part of my criteria when finding a hostel or guesthouse now. Bobby and I decided to take a two hour bike ride around the city and a little outside the city. We got to see beautiful pastures and villages along the way. There were a lot of kids playing along the dirt roads. I love taking pictures of young children. It makes me miss elementary school, or at least teaching at one. The young ones are adorable. What’s great is that I can actually take pictures of little ones without fear of jail time or a membership to Megan’s Law. In the States, a child’s parent has to sign a waiver form so you can take a picture of their kid. Oh, the U.S. and their uptight regulations.

 


















Charitable Services. There are several programs in Cambodia that offer services that support people and communities in need. Some include charitable restaurants, merchandise sold to support disadvantaged families, and services from the disabled or blind. Itching for a rub down, we wanted to try out the Seeing Hands massage service. Seeing Hands is an organization that trains blind individuals in massage therapy. The organization not only provides them with jobs but they also are able to support themselves off the money they receive from customers. So we tried out their services.

Massages are one of my favorite relaxing activities (or lack of activity). It’s usually a gift I give to myself after a difficult semester at school or any back-breaking, laborious work I’ve ensured. I’ll be honest. I’m a bit compulsive and particular with massages. I’ve gotten them a lot in the past and I’ve experienced many different types. This excludes the special boom boom massages. I have to be going through a lengthy dry spell to even consider those . Since I’m a self-acclaimed veteran of massages, I’m also very judgmental while getting them. I don’t know why but I analyze each technique that a masseuse uses and compare it to my past experiences. And this is when I’m supposed to be relaxing. I can tell if a masseuse missed a step, has poor technique, or is not as in tuned with the human body. Strange, right? I actually don’t have any right to say this though. I’ve never been trained before. I’ve always wanted to though. Nevertheless, I’m rather meticulous and high maintenance with my massages. This doesn’t mean I pay for the expensive rubs though. I used to routinely go to a $15 massage service without correlating the low price with the quality of the massage. Well, enough about my massage compulsion.

I didn’t really like the massage I received from the blind masseuse. She wasn’t strong enough and I barely felt her hands graze my skin. I guess, I like it rough. Unfortunately, I was more uncomfortable with her feather light grazing then the usual prodding and digging in between every sinew of my aching muscles. I was more interested in her story anyways. I wanted to know how she became blind, how she has lived with the hindrance, and how she has progressed into this field. I was so interested in hearing everything about her so I began asking her questions about her life. But she couldn’t understand a word I was saying and nor could anyone else around. After trying for a couple minutes, I gave up and let her finish feather dusting me with her dainty hands.

Khmer Dance. Traditional dance in Cambodia is very unique in its appearance and movements. Most dances display the performers as Apsaras, who are beautiful and elegant female spirits from ancient mythology. These dances are called Apsara as they are inspired by the Apsara carvings and statues in many of the Khmer temples. The classical dance usually tells a story. Each arch and placement of the dancer’s hands and feet relays a different meaning. The dance has a good balance between being controlled and exact while have a flowing and agile appeal. One of the more visual pleasing aspects of the dance is the elaborate costumes, which are complete with color and gleam with the illumination from the reflective pieces of sequence and gems embroidered into their attire.

Usually these dance performances will display a series of separate dances; it depicts the events circulating around rural life, farm work, and young love. It was very interesting to watch this dance. The dance was so tranquil yet lively. What I enjoyed the most were the actual performers of the dance. They were very silly as they were performing. They would joke around, blatantly laugh at mistakes they would make, and not so discreetly wack each other in their crotchal regions.

All Dried Up. After getting back to the guesthouse, we heard some disgruntling news. The water was still not working. For some odd reason, the water in the entire guesthouse wasn’t working during most of our stay in Siem Reap. There has only been a couple times in which the water was actually running and during that time, we were out exploring the city. It was very hot so not being able to take a shower became rather unpleasant after a while. Usually, I don’t even like taking showers. Getting wet, drying off—it sounds so demanding. But when you are sweating all day, it’s the only thing that would make you feel fresh and somewhat tolerable to your surroundings.

Though I was able to get at least one shower in during my time here. I mainly used a bottle of water as my means for brushing my teeth and showering. Pouring water from a lukewarm bottle all over my perspiring, reeking body has never been so sexy. Actually, I just poured it all along my arms and legs and scrubbed away. My other parts are just going to have to wait. It was a bit frustrating but we just couldn’t get mad at the owner of the guesthouse. He was too nice and so accommodating. Every time he found out the water wasn’t working, he would feel extremely bad and run around trying to find ways for us to take a shower or use the toilet. At one point, he even gathered several buckets of water and placed it in his own room’s bathroom so that we can bathe from it.


I love it here so much already. Should I just stay? I do have prospective job opportunities here. What do you think?

So what do you think guys? Should I apply?

What an interesting beginning to the New Year. Just being in Cambodia to start off my year is pretty extraordinary. I wonder what’s next to come.