Eating bugs and a reality check.

After a short bus ride on a double-decker bus that looked like it was the product of the show "Pimp my Ride", we arrived at the luxurious cruise liner to take us to Koh Phi Phi. Consisting of nothing more than a floating platform with a series of mattresses lined up the length of the boat, we had a slumber party with eighty of our closest friends in Thailand. While the scenery here and at Koh Tao is stunning, the staff on these islands seem downright grumpy. Except for when our cross-dressing, waitress covered her 5 o'clock shadow and squealed like a little girl after bumping into another employee, life seemed stale and boring for them. It's entirely possible that the constant interaction with people from wealthy countries has frustrated them. In addition there is almost no opportunity to experience anything Thai with the exception of perhaps a Thai massage.

Jo and I lay down for what many people have described to us as a truly painful experience. In fact, I was very impressed with the therapists and it was hardly painful. It's kind of like wrestling with the someone, but you purposely lose. Jo's favourite position was the one we like to call "ride ya like a jet-ski!". Here a small Thai girl stands on your butt and while pulling both your arms backwards, she arches you back so you're looking at the ceiling. I can't tell what was more interesting, the amount of cracks coming out of my back or the bright green snake weaving it's way through the grass ceiling above my head. I even managed to learn a few new techniques, surprisingly, from a barber. Not sure if it's the norm here, but at the end of my haircut, a pleasant man with blue hair and no english proceeded to adjust my upper cervical vertebrae with impressive accuracy. Then I was buying a mango from an old lady on the street and she adjusted my lower back using her... just kidding. But the bit about the barber is true.

Thailand is the world's capital of sex-change operations, the smallest bat and, unfortunately, human trafficking among other things. In contrast to the island resorts, the people we met in Bangkok were far more friendly than what we experienced in the islands. Many times their generosity and kindness would take us by surprise. Without question, Bangkok is a city where anything goes. We were mainly here in transit to get visas for Cambodia and Laos. So with a quick stop at the massive Chatuchak weekend market, the overdevelopped Khao San road and a night out at the Brown Sugar jazz club we were off to Cambodia.

Cambodia is unlike any country I have ever been to. It is incredibly poor, undevelopped, resilient and beautiful all at once. As soon as we crossed the border, the poverty was obvious. As wind picked up the dust and whipped the workers struggling to pull 50 year old wooden carts built for cows, shoeless children in tattered clothes sat on large garbage bags filled with empty pop cans waiting for us to finish our drink so they could add it to their collection. Just thirty five years ago this country had to endure four years of genocide, famine, the abolishment of it's currency, land ownership, schools, hospitals, religious sites and all forms of personal freedom. The crushing oppression from Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime saw almost two million Cambodians die needlessly. It is very difficult to meet any Cambodian over the age of 40 and wonder what their eyes must have seen. Somehow, the resilient spirit of these people still allows them to put on a smile.

Given that the majority of orphans, landmine victims, unemployed and rural poor receive virtually no government support, it's no surprise that a common snack is something found here in abundance. Bugs! Large black beetles and two inch crickets are delicately seasoned and sold as tasty snacks in street-side food carts. As Jo and I watched locals eat them like candy, we figured we couldn't pass judgement without first trying it ourselves. After we peeled off the wings (too hard to chew) and ripped off its head (obviously you can't eat the head!), we popped it in our mouths. It tasted amazingly like BBQ chips, only much crunchier. I don't think this would be popular in Canada but maybe if you had the right name and packaging you could turn people on to it. Can you say, Beeto -lays (they're baked, not fried). I'm sure I'm on to something here.

On the bus from the Thai border to Siem Reap, we had to endure six hours of some of the worst roads in all of South East Asia. It's only about 160 Kms but there are potholes that could swallow a cow, which prevent you from driving any faster than 20 km/hr. Check out the video below.



We met a fun couple from Ireland, Bryan and Aoife (pronounced Eef-ah) that shared the bus ride with us. We got on famously and ended up hanging out together for about a week. It was a great excuse to head out for drinks, play cards and have a few more drinks. After all, they're Irish!


We visited Angkor Wat, Cambodia's pride. It's an extremely well preserved temple built in the early 12th century. Originally dedicated to Hinduism and then Buddhist followings, it's sheer size is testament to the architectural genious of that period. More interesting to us non-temple fanatics were the "jungle temples"of Ta Prom (Tomb Raider film site) and Beng Malea. Here, the jungle had grown over the temples and penetrated every nook and cranny. I felt like Indiana Jones as we crawled through crumbled entrances, ducked under vines and listened to the silence inside the cool dark corridors of these ancient sites.


After taking far too many photos, we bussed it to Phnom Penh on a much smoother road and made the requisite visit to the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields. There were horrific details of torture techniques in the actual rooms where they took place (S-21). Photos, torture implements and blood stained floors still remain in the Khmer Rouge prison as a gruesome reminder of their brutal genocide. While walking through the mass graves, I felt my stomach turn as we stepped on and over the half-buried remnants of the victims' clothes lying on the foot path. Feeling, incredibly solemn upon our departure from this place, we opted to decline our Tuk Tuk driver's offer to go fire M-16's, AK-47's and grenade launchers.
Perhaps we've been romanticizing a bit as we wax poetic about each country, selling its beauty and conveniently omitting the ugly. Cambodia, for all of it's beauty, has an ugly side. There are signs on the back of hotel doors that "remind"you that sex with children is a crime. Streets have professional looking signs that advertize things like "manhood therapy" (use your imagination). Pretty young Khmer girls walk around with suspiciously fatter, older white men and guidebooks caution that guns are prevalent in the streets of Phnom Penh. The easy going nature of the Khmer people often obscures what lies just beneath the surface.

On our third day in the city, we had enjoyed a pleasant lunch at a patio in a main street eatery. However, upon leaving, I forgot my bag under the table. After walking ten steps away, I turned to retrieve it, but it was already gone. Several minutes of searching in frustration and fruitless questionning led me to ask a younger Khmer girl who was no more than 10 for help. After asking if she could speak in Khmer to the people around to help me, she looked at her feet and said "I am sorry. Cambodia is bad." In the end we found the bag conveniently hidden under a table cloth inside the restaurant. Presumably, the bus boy was hoping to retrieve it later. We were told we were lucky to have found it again.

Afterward, Jo and I sat down to cool off and reflect. The reality is that we are from a very rich country compared to Cambodia. For the average Khmer, the effort it takes to steal my bag could represent several months salary. Desperate people do desperate things. Cambodia has almost no health services, a huge discrepancy between the rich and the poor and only a tiny middle class. The rural country side is inhabited by small farmers who live without running water or electricty, adequate income or food.

Instead of following our first instinct, which was to get out of Cambodia, we decided to invest some time in an organization that helps improve these types of problems. We volunteered at the NCCLA orphanage that is supported by a not-for-profit restaurant called Veiyo Tonle. They run a very well organized centre that includes a housing block for 26 children from all over Cambodia. Here the children get food, proper housing, access to public school, clothes, medical attention, extra classes in Japanese and English and as many hugs as the workers and volunteers can give. Some of these kids have stories that are so sad, yet their smiles light up the room. Within five minutes of being in the orphanage, the youngest one, Araf, had climbed into my arms and just about refused to let go. We corrected English homework, held their hands as we walked down the street and basically, acted like kids. There was no push at all to give money or buy anything. Only after we asked what the orphanage needed most, were we told it was rice. It's the main food for all the children and understandably, a priority. Jo found a friend in Kelly and when we get back to Canada, she'll have a new pen-pal to write to.

We walked home in the middle of a phenomenal monsoon rain fall that left thigh-high water in the streets. As we waded through town we realized that the only people in the streets were kids and us. Before we knew it, Jo was viciously attacked by a gang of kids armed with grins from ear to ear. They splashed first but I think Jo had more endurance. In the end, this ruthless gang of hooligans ended the fight with hugs all around.

Given the past this country has had to endure and the unstable state it is currently in, I'm thankful that the children we see today have hearts that pour out unconditional acceptance. Hopefully this will bring about positive change for a country that is so clearly still in mourning. If you ever find youself in Phnom Penh, make sure you eat at Veiyo Tonle Restaurant (associated with the orphanage), say hi to our friend Doun for us and hug as many kids as humanly possible. They've put together a great website, www.ncclaorphanage.org which I highly recommend, but be warned: if you read this website, you will need kleenex.