6/9/11 Temples, Spicy Discos, and Scooters

Considering it's been a number of days since my last blog I have an overwhelming number of things to write about. After our short stint in Bangkok we hopped on a shared van to the border of Cambodia. We got to the border without much issue, although we had to deal with a lot of "help" from the locals who all wanted to assist us with our travels in hopes to earn a little themselves. Nearly any time someone is showing you the way or giving you advise voluntarily it will likely result in them getting some sort of cut from whatever taxi driver, tuk tuk driver, or hotel they are taking you to. We have been forced to become very savvy travelers in a hurry and have avoided getting ripped off too badly (although getting ripped off here is still better than paying a regular price for anything in the States).
From the border of Cambodia we got a taxi to the City of Siem Reap, which has become a popular lodging point for tourists wishing to see the nearby Angkor Temples. We found lodging without issue and it was a nice enough place to stay for a few nights while traveling to the temples. All of the temples were magnificent and diverse. There is really so much to say about each one of them. Angkor Wat, the most famous one, was the most impressive obviously, but each temple had something different to offer. Some were smaller, but had more intricate carvings and were well preserved. Angkor Wat itself was well preserved and absolutely massive and best viewed during a stunning sunrise. My personal favorite was an outlier temple, called Beng Melay, that was very different from the others in that it was actually more "ruined". The piles of heavy stone allowed us to climb around all over the temple which gave it a less guided feel. Exploring Beng Melay felt more like an activity, which was quite refreshing after 3 days of walking through temple after temple. I also enjoyed learning more about Hinduism while exploring each temple, I really find it to be a very fascinating religion. Our tuk tuk driver, Jontao, was absolutely wonderful. His smile lit up the world and he was so kind, always having cold water waiting in his tuk tuk after we walked out of each temple.
Riding around in Jontao's tuk tuk was an experience in itself, as we traveled through Cambodian villages around the temples. Their way of life here seems so primitive compared to our pampered lifestyles back home. I wish I would have written down all the crazy stuff we saw as it happened, because I would have quite the list. It was not uncommon to see families of four riding together on motorbikes, infants sleeping in baskets on the back of motorbikes, or pigs and chickens piled high and tied down to the back. Children are given free reign, and for this reason they are very intelligent in ways kids in the States are not. They seem so impoverished here, yet all very young kids are extremely savvy salesmen, mathematicians, and linguists. Every child knows at least English and Khmer(the Cambodian language). Kids were beginning to be so persistent and bothersome about selling bracelets, postcards, small instruments, etc that I once resulted in pretending I only spoke Italian and not English. In response to this a child began speaking to me in Spanish because she knew it was similar to Italian! All this really made me a little disappointed in our well funded schools that don't teach as much as these unfunded school huts these kids learn out of. I could go on and on about Cambodia, but much to do today, much to still write.
We arrived safely back to Bangkok by taxi and caught our flight up to Chiang Mai in the north without any issue. The plan was to spend one night in Chiang Mai then catch an early bus to the nearby city of Pai the next day. We got to a guesthouse around 11:00 and were all going to go check out the famous night market until Rach and Chris got too sleepy and decided to stay in. Zach and I went to the market without them just to check it out. We went out with a young Canadian couple, Alex and Amy, whom we had met on the plane. We were only at the market a little while before Zach realized how sleepy he was and we decided to head back after one innocent little beer with our new Canadian friends. As we finished up our beer we met Chanon, a local who sat down with us and chatted as he and his coworkers closed shop. Chanon was super friendly, and after a good chat talked us into going to one of his favorite spots for one more beer. After arriving at the SPICY DISCO, Zach, Alex, Amy, Chanon, and myself ended up having a little more fun than we intended :). We danced and drank the night away, while Zach and I fended off the persistent approaches from the scantily clad local Thai women. It's safe to say Zach and I had a hell of a night, quite unplanned, and made great friends with Chanon, Zach, and Amy. Although we had a great time, in the moment, I do regret that we certainly worried Rachel and Chris, who never expected that we would be out drinking and dancing till after 4:00am. They were worried that something might have happened to us, so I am very sorry for that. However, they probably should have partied with us instead of being sleepy little Ewings :) Kidding!! Those two just get SOOO SLEEPY some times!!
I battled a mild hangover the next morning while we road on the bus through the twisting narrow roads on our three hour drive to Pai. Pai is absolutely perfect, so tranquil and pleasant. Yesterday we rented scooters (motorbikes) for 24 for hours, which cost us a whopping three US dollars. Rach and I rode to a beautiful waterfall, while Chris and Zach tended to Zach's flat tire that happened shortly after we rented the scooters. We are staying in small bamboo bungalows. Pai has tons of activities that we are planning on doing today and tomorrow. We had scheduled a tour today that included elephant riding, playing and bathing with the elephants, floating a bamboo raft down the river, and enjoying the nearby hot-springs. Chris, unfortunately, woke up a little sick this morning so we've postponed those activities until tomorrow. Today we might go find some more waterfalls or hot-springs on scooters or even try some nearby zip-lines that are very highly talked about. Pai is such a quaint beautiful village and I wish we had even more days here. We have all of today, tomorrow, and most of the next day until Rachel and I return to Chiang Mai to catch our flight south to Phuket. The boys will stay in Pai a little longer and meet us in Phuket later. Can't wait for all the fun stuff we still have left. Love everyone back home and miss you!