No Smiling

Rather than no smoking signs around the Tuol Sleng Museum, there are no smiling signs, or at least, that's what they look like. But there is no need for a reminder not to smile here. As Security Prison 21, this former high school was the place where approximately 17,000 inmates met torture and death at the hands of the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s.

I spent the morning wandering past countless photos of the inmates and guards, which the Kmher Rouge took as part of its fastidious record keeping. Most striking was that the photos of the two groups were so similar. In fact, many of the guards later became inmates. Many were just children. Everyone was Cambodian.

Angkor Wat

A local tuk tuk driver saw me riding a bike around in the Temples of Angkor and laughed. "Tomorrow, I drive you?" he asked. "No thanks," I said. "But it's a long way." I wiped a few tablespoons of sweat from my brow, "Nope."

It was awesome. I've been to plenty of temples in China and now Thailand, enough to know that I prefer John Muir's cathedrals to brick and mortar buildings. But the Temples of Angkor, the crown jewel of Cambodia, are more than buildings. When was the last time you got a workout in church? This was an adventure.

Cruising through the vast grounds, I had to marvel at the scale of this place. Every one of the many temples I visited would have been a site worth seeing on it's own.

Chiangmai Continues

Tigers on Tuesday
"No eat him! No eat her!" the tiger trainer kept saying as Eric and I petted 19-month-old Sunflower, a full-sized tiger. At times I would look up and realize that, as I petted one tiger, there were two others within springing distance.

Of course, there was something unnatural about the harmlessness of these animals. If petting "tame" tigers in a center is safe and ethical, why don't people do it more often? I'm not sure, but tigers are magnificent creatures and I'm glad that I got the chance to get so close to them--and even more glad that they didn't eat me.

But petting the tigers wasn't even the highlight of the day. Oh no. That came later, when Eric and I spent a lazy evening listening to live music, sipping drinks, and chatting.

Elephants!

I'm always afraid to trust the people I meet when I'm traveling. Does the seemingly nice lady who comes up to me on the street really want to help, or is she just looking to sell me something? Will the "great deal" actually turn out to be a sham? Traveling though Thailand, I've been amazed to see how many people actually do want to help and really are just being friendly.

That's the way I felt about elephants. They're big! They're heavy! When the first one came bounding up to me this morning, I was cautious. But, within the first five minutes of Eric's and my Mahout (elephant rider) training course, I knew those guys just wanted to have fun. And eat bananas. Lots and lots of bananas.

Banjos in Thailand

One thing I've seen a lot of living in Asia: markets. I've seen regular Chinese markets, tourist markets, a high altitude Himalayan market, Muslim markets, livestock markets--I wasn't expecting that much from Bangkok's weekend extravaganza.

But Lonely Planet wasn't kidding when it said this was one of the largest markets in the world. The massive map showed stalls selling food, clothes, animals, animal feed, and even a tiny square marked "cock fighting." Eric and I thought we had seen most of it, only to check the map and realize that our hours of wandering had covered less than a third of the market's area.

And this market was different from other markets I've seen in Asia. Yeah, it had some fake purses, but there was also artwork, fresh smoothies, and cool T-shirts. Toursity or not, I was impressed.

Beach Days

"Sunset everday!" advertises one of the guesthouses near ours. "Really?" I want to ask, "Every day?"

But that's the point of life here on Koh Phangan, an Island in southern Thailand: when your routine is eat, sunbathe, swim, repeat, there's no need to do anything out of the ordinary. We did make an exception for massages, though.

Koh Phangan is the party capitol of the world, but with Eric on antibiotics (and finally feeling a bit better!) and me no big fan of drinking alone, we've been keeping to our quiet beach bungalow in the northern part of the island.

Lying on a beach may be fun, but it doesn't make for riveting reading, so I'll keep this short. More to come in the next few days as we head back to Bangkok an then on to some more cultural destinations!

Hello, Thailand!

I kept saying I wasn't going to Thailand. Everyone goes to Thailand, I said. All there is to do is sit on the beach and eat and drink and get massages, I said. I say the darndest things.

Luckily, I decided there are worse things than a beach vacation, and it might be, you know, fun. With my first bites of Thai curry, I was wholeheartedly eating any naysaying words. And then I had dinner again at a different restaurant, because the food here is that good.