Rabbit Island, Cambodia

I went to Rabbit Island for the long weekend. It's an extremely popular destination with both Khmer and expats. It's (I believe) the closest island off the shore from Kep, about 30 mins by ferry. Upon arrival you see small huts lining the beach, all of which are basically the same (very rustic with electricity only from 6-10pm).

It's very relaxing with beatiful beaches and lots of restaurants on the water, unlike Bamboo island which has only two very (very!) basic restaurants. It's definitely reassuring to know that in case of an emergency, it wouldn't take too long to get back to the mainland.

The morning after arriving, I met a dog on the beach who (I swear!) barked at me like Lassie and then would run away and wait for me to follow him. So, of course I did. I followed him to a neighboring beach and he just kept going until I literally followed him for several hours around the entire island. It was beautiful. I was a bit scared when things were getting desolate but there were always a couple huts in the distance and fishermen nearby.

The dog I followed around the whole island.

Kep in the background.

Look carefully! A man is climbing up the tree to get coconuts. :)

Local fisherman

Eating tarantulas in Skun, Cambodia

While driving back from Rattanakiri, Stung Treng and Kratie, Cambodia, we stopped in the sleepy town of Skun. Skun is known for only one thing: tarantulas! Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods went to Skun for his show to try the tarantulas and show how they are hunted and prepared in Khmer cuisine.

Naturally, I had to try one! I also got the chance to hold a live tarantula and was laughed at by all the tiny Khmer women for wanting a photo of it.

Seeing irrawaddy dolphins in Kratie, Biking on Koh Trong

On the way back from Rattanakiri we stopped in Kratie for a bit and found it to be so charming and cute. A very typical Cambodian town with a beautiful waterfront, great restaurants, and a short ferry ride to Koh Trong!

We first took the ferry to Koh Trong (which takes about five minutes). We walked up the sand and were able to rent bikes there for $1 US for the whole day! We were told there was a basic loop around the island and set off. It was idyllic and sleepy and quaint and totally Khmer- many kids, cows, chickens, older people hanging out. Though Khmer children get very excited to see foreigners in any town, these ones were particularly amazed by seeing barang on their tiny island! We stopped at a cute new guesthouse to buy a bottle of water and wished we had known it was there so we could stay there. A sign pointed us to a local wat and we were led inside by a group of monks who seemed honored to share it with us and encouraged us to take many pictures.
The very last part of the bike loop was through various rice paddies and with the sun shining and the sky so quintessentially blue, I felt like I was in a Khmer music video! ;)

Boat on Koh Trong

Sand up to Koh Trong. Motos use this bamboo walk-way to make deliveries.

Cute and curious kids on Koh Trong!

Beautiful wat on Koh Trong

Bike path through the trees

After biking all afternoon, we took the ferry back to Kratie and hopped on a tuk-tuk to go upstream to where the Irrawaddy dophins are in the river. We got on a small boat and went out into the water and immediately saw quite a few dolphins popping their heads  out of the water. My pictures all all very unimpressive as the dolphins look like dots in the river but it was beautiful to see in person. The sunset was also beautiful on the mekong! After awhile of that we floated up to the "rapids"... not quite what I would call rapids, but nonetheless, you can stand in a sandbar in the middle of the mekong to watch the sunset. Can't beat that!

The "rapids"

Rattanakiri, Cambodia

For the five-day Cambodian holiday, we decided to make the trek to Rattanakiri, Cambodia. We hopped on an early bus and made it all the way to Stung Treng in one day. Exhausted, we spent the night there after walking around town a bit and checking out the local celebrations (Khmer New Year!) and markets and buying some fruit. The next morning we took a mini-bus for a few hours to Rattanakiri. The roads were hardly paved and were extremely bumpy and dirty (as in, tons of red dirt on everything). It was beautiful! It was extremely remote and the red dirt reminded me of the first time we went to Siem Reap and the roads were not yet paved.

In Rattanakiri we went swimming in the beautiful crater lake and checked out some of the waterfalls. We bought a giant jug/vase of whiskey, as is customary in these parts, for the celebration... though I dont think we ended up drinking much of it.

We attempted to walk back to our guesthouse from the crater lake and were stopped by a local Khmer man who insisted on driving us for free. He was so friendly and generous. I think he found it funny to drive two soaking-wet (having come straight out of the lake) barang (which literally means French person, but is used in reference to any foreigner) back to their guesthouses. Love the Khmer people- they are so awesome!

We took an elephant trek, which didnt amount to much. Upon reaching the elephant, I saw someone I recognized! One of my students was there with her family for vacation. She was as shocked to see me as I was to see her. What a fun surprise! Overall found Rattanakiri to be very quiet and relaxing, beautiful, slightly cooler at night, and the locals were amazing hosts/hostesses. I very much hope to go back soon.

Love the red dirt!!!

Siem Reap 1/2 Marathon

I've been back to Siem Reap about 5 or 6 times now, so when I heard about the annual 1/2 marathon through Angkor I couldn't pass it up! I've never been much of a runner but I started training and I'm so glad I did! It was so awesome. It was definitely hot and humid so I'm pleasantly surprised I didn't get heat exhaustion and die by the end.

 

Had to stop for this pic! Yes, I ran with my camera.



Highlights:

- Running to bring artificial limbs to landmine survivors and save youth from HIV/AIDS. Such a great cause!

 - Little kids standing to the side giving us high fives and cheering us on.

- Running through a wat full of monks all watching the runners.

-  Seeing Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm, and running through Angkor Thom right before the finish!

I love the smell of trees and having red dirt on my shoes at the end of the day. I love being in awe all over again everytime I go. :)

Angkor Marathon!



Monks watching the runners. :)




Bon Om Touk- Water Festival and subsequent stampede

This weekend was the water festival in Phnom Penh! It breaks my heart to say that it ended tragically, with more than 350 people dying in a stampede on a bridge going to Diamond Island, which is not far from my apartment. It is such a tragedy. The city doesnt have the infrastructure for the influx of people that the Water Festival brings, nor does the city do enough to plan in advance by way of toilets or safety precautions. I hope something is learned from this before next year but it is doubtful. The government has already said no one is at fault and no one will be punished because it was an accident. Many early reports suggested people died from electrocution after police sprayed them with water hoses on a bridge with electric cords used for the lighting. Many more were trampled and some jumped off the bridge and died in the water below. Devastating.

This is even more horrible because, otherwise, it was a beautiful event and such a proud moment for Cambodia and especially Phnom Penh. I was having a great time watching the dragon boat races, seeing all the Khmer people from the provinces flood the city, and even seeing the King attend the races.

The morning after the stampede on diamond island, people visit to pay respect and make offerings.

People watch the bridge where the stampede took place as police investigate. There are still shoes and clothes left everywhere.

Kep and Kampot

I'm currently in Kampot, having visited Kep for several days. Kep is breathtaking and quiet and jungly and awesome. Kampot I haven't seen much of due to severe illness. Yikes.

During the Khmer Rouge, much of Kep and Kampot were destroyed. Once considered the "Hamptons" of Asia, the former glory days of this town are now just a memory. The pristine colonial style homes that Khmer royalty often vacationed in are now merely skeletons. I'm told there are old killing fields nearby, left behind by the Khmer Rouge. It's easy to imagine what this town once was, and heartbreaking to imagine what could have been. That said, I do not think it will take long for the world to learn about this beautiful beachside town and turn it into a major tourist destination (for better and for worse).

The crab in Kep is delicious, as anyone who has visited can attest to. The world renowned Kampot pepper is also pretty good, though I advise against eating the peppercorns whole when you go to a pepper plantation as they suggest. Ludicrous! 





Crab Market in Kep

 


Pepper plants in Kampot

In Kep we stayed at the Botanica guesthouse for around $8 a night. It is a jungle-like botanical (obviously) oasis! I loved it. Our little room was so cute and I would stay here all the time if it weren't for the creatures that terrorized me in the night! Normally I am not so afraid of lizards, spiders etc, but before going to bed, we were brushing our teeth and a GIANT lizard jumped from the ceiling into the sink. I pretty much jumped out of my skin. He wasn't kidding around, I guess. I also saw an insanely large spider after being told there weren't many spiders in the area. A mosquito net can only provide so much of a respite.



Afforementioned giant spider



House between Kep and Kampot

Fishing village between Kep and Kampot



Crab Market