Monkey business

This time our visit to the monkeys with Alexis and Lacey was way more orderly. This time we were well prepared with bags of sunflower seeds and peanuts along with the big bags of corn. By spreading out the seeds and peanuts the mob of monkeys were content to sit quietly nibbling while we passed out the larger pieces of corn at our leisure .... the last two times we only had 50 pieces of corn to try and share with the 200+ monkeys.... and monkeys don't like to share nicely.... It would probably have been more fun for us to give Alexis the bags of corn and watch the monkeys mobbing her.... which was our original plan.... but shrieking monkeys are one thing... a shrieking Alexis another....

Alexis and Lacey

Alexis and her friend Lacey arrived from Canada on a day where it was almost 40 degrees, so they were quickly wiped out in the heat and the walking.... so we took a break and went for a foot massage to get out of the heat and relax our feet a bit. Alexis and her friend will be traveling with Aja and me for about a week as we go to the beaches in the south of Thailand. It is nice to share this country with Alexis and her friend as so much of our journey here is strange to us but normal to the locals. To see others see the unique fun treats offered by this great land through the eyes (or feet) of people who are used to what we are used to is lots of fun.... besides the Thai's were entertained with Alexis who kept jumping and twitching as they massaged her feet....

Life is a riot

As we went to Kho San Ro which is the favorite place for the travelers (as opposed to tourists) to hang out in Bangkok, the rent is cheap, the goods are great, there is lots to be had and there are few questions are asked if you want to buy a diploma, or a drivers license or an international press pas, or most anything. As we were going there to hang out and buy software and shirts, the shop owners seemed to know trouble was coming, so the shops were quickly packed up and closed, then the troops rolled by. Aja and the kids held back as I went down to take a closer look. At first it seemed a little less hectic than the riot in Israel that we got caught in. At first everything seemed normal, for a gathering mob, but as everyone seemed to be getting more and more agitated, I remembered how quickly things got out of hand in Jerusalem, so I wandered back to the kids and we headed three blocks in the opposite direction and watched a miss Thailand parade that was also taking place in the area. Bangkok is one of those cities that has seen it all, and you can too if you are in the wrong place at the right time, or is that right place at the wrong time.

River

On our journey some of the best teachers we have had are the earth and sky the mountains and lakes, the sea and the rivers themselves. Most days we stand beside the river and contemplate life's lessons, wondering about things like how the individual drops of water find each other to make the river. But today was more like a field trip. We rented life jackets, and spent the day driving for 10 min up river by truck to spend 40 min floating back to our camp.

Floating along the river can teach you way more than you can learn from books. Anyway that’s my story and I am sticking to it. Because I am hoping that Aja's school believes it when we return to Victoria and try and enroll her straight into grade 8. Otherwise we could be heading up river without a paddle and today we learned how hard that is. But we will have to cross that bridge when we return. I will of course support my arguments with what I learned in school about rivers.... that 'denial' is not a river in Egypt.

Hair cuts

Sure it seems more like a facebook thing than a blog thing to talk about going and getting a hair cut. But when your in a different country with different ways of doing even the simplest of things becomes an exciting adventure. This is actually an older picture of Aja getting her hair cut about a month ago, but I did not just want to put up a picture of me just sitting in the chair. Anyway for $2.00 I got a haircut, beard, eyebrow, nose hair, ear hair trim along with a shoulder and neck rub. It was exciting ....oh well, perhaps I have been away from video games, tv and movies and the glitter of western society so long that that is why it is exciting. Tomorrow I am going to wash our clothes, so stay tuned for more exciting adventures....

Offerings

At one amazing sunset we were having dinner next to a Catholic church. So as I was walking around taking pictures of the sunset I came across this statue of Jesus. In Thailand people light candles and incense to the Buddha statues along with offerings of flowers, food and drink, I was surprised at Jesus having a hat. Then I realized that Buddhism was brought to Thailand by wandering priests and holy men from China, Korea and as far as India so I think there was an attempt to make a connection to the concept of Christ as a spiritual guide. But even more surprising is the fact that they were offered him regular Coke because I sort of had him pegged for a diet Pepsi kind of a Lord. I also noticed that there were only two straws instead of three. So not sure who is going without the Father, the Son or the Holy Ghost.

Siamese Twins

Chang and Eng were born in 1811 in the same province of Thailand where my brother is now living. Their unique birth gave Siam (what Thailand was called then) the original Siamese Twins and the English language a new phrase. Their perfect English and their kind, thoughtful and open personalities made them adult stars and a small fortune in the traveling circus shows. They married a pair of American sisters, lived together, had 21 children, 11 with one wife and 10 with the other. Over time the sisters had trouble getting along so the twins bought separate houses and moved between both every 3 days. Like most Thai's they found it very hard to deal with conflict so to cope Chang turned to whiskey and Eng to playing poker for a short period of time before going back on the road.

On January 17, 1874, Eng woke to find his brother cold as the queen of spades. When he realized Chang was dead, Eng began to sweat and feel faint. He died a short time later. They are buried in the White Plains Church Cemetery in Surry County, NC. The strange part is they shared no vital organs and today would have been separated in a very simple operation. People have been fascinated with the brothers and their lives and they are still national heros here in Thailand.

Of course it got me thinking that basically Aja and I have been together for 24 hours a day for almost a year now, her mom would kill me if I left her alone. So traveling the world for a year with a child we should have some kind of special English phrase too... like the Victoria-twins, Or the traveling-twins.... ok so give me a better phrase.... Anyway It has been interesting and delightful getting so connected to Aja. Besides we have had no troubles so far, which is good, because I would not want to choose between turning to whiskey drinking or poker playing like the twins did, and as well Aja's mother would not like her doing either either.

Playing in the Ocean

After planting mangroves we took the boat out into the shallow delta and paddled and played around in the water for a couple hours. There was a smaller boat that had a board with a rope attached that worked great for water boarding. The nice thing about water skiing is you don't have to worry about running into trees although some of us did get a little wetter than if we had been snow skiing. Aja loved it but I didn't worry about trying water boarding because it was amazing just being there, as Bill Vaughn said “It's hard for the modern generation to understand Thoreau, who lived beside a pond but didn't own water skis or a snorkel”

The steam room

For those of you who follow the philosophy of Erma Bombeck that you don't "participate in any sport with ambulances at the bottom of the hill" or those of you who just like water in it's other forms, this water activity is great. Having a steam bath is a healthy, relaxing, cleansing way of activating your immune system and helping you purge toxins from your body. This wood fired rustic steam bath is at a temple near my brother's house. The steam is mixed with herbs, and spices like cumin and ginger and is a great way to spend some time with the local old timers. The steam room is a great equalizer as sitting around with little clothing means it is hard to share anything but the naked truth.

Sure steam is not what it was during the height of the industrial revolution, transforming the world of work, or propelling us across the nation on rails. But after a day of skiing it is a great way to ease sore joints and muscles and it also opens up the pores on the skin and help increase your metabolism. Between steams you can sip a bitter drink from the same mix that is being vaporized into the rooms from one of the first steam engines, also still in use at this monastery... the tea kettle.

Service project

Aja and I went with a group of jr-youth on a service project to help preserve a mangrove forest. Sure it might not seem as exciting as rescuing turtles or lions, however, in Asia the mango is held in high esteem and is considered to be the 'king of fruits' so protecting them is still pretty cool. Not only that, you don't feel too bad about eating one when your finished working with them, unlike turtles and lions . It is actually quite an exciting service project as you first have to distract a group of monkeys by throwing them food. Once the monkeys are distracted you leap out of the boat into waist deep mud, crawl around with a bin of mangrove trees and plant them by jamming them deep into the mud while trying not to get so stuck you have to be rescued.

This post has been edited because apparently it is mangrove forest not a mango forest... dr Thom has made me correct this... Mangrove forests are teeming with life. Shorebirds, crab-eating monkeys, and fishing cats all make the mangrove home. Mangroves provide a safe haven and a nursery for a variety of fish, birds, crustaceans, and shellfish... and Mangroves protect coastal areas from erosion, storm surge (especially during hurricanes), and tsunamis.

The term "mangrove" may be used for several variety of trees, specifically plants related to the genus Rhizophora. And if you think being from the genus Rihizophora is bad as you see I am related to the genus Thomas.

Bat Cave

You don't have to be a nature enthusiast to be entertained by the exhilarating experience of eying five million bats on their evening exit from their mountain cave. You show up just before sunset, experience the beauty of a Thailand sunset then shortly after the sun sets you hear a high pitched sonic sound then watch in the twilight as a trail of five million bats exit their cave in search of insects. Man made sites are fabulous, however, it is hard to outdo the wonders of nature.

Satay Aja Satay

One of Aja's favorite foods and resturants is the Satay Resturant that keeps bankers hours on Bank street. That is, as soon as the bank closes he wheels his restaurant down the street, sets up a few stools and a little table, starts the bbq and next thing you know aja is having her favorite afternoon snack... Satay with peanut and vinegar dip.

Out door markets

In our trip around the world, Aja and I have seen many spectacular markets that have prompted Aja to say..."if you can't find it here... it doesn't exist" We said that in the markets of Israel, Turkey and again here in Thailand. There are these amazing markets that sell everything from abaculuss and abbs to anything to do with zygology and zymurgy, in fact last time (back when Thomas got married) I was with my Thomas at this market he was looking for a type of grinder for his PHD level type work that he could only find online in Europe... sure enough we found one at this market. This market is also full of amazing original art. As well you can see that coming to this market is also great for your scrabble skills.

abaculus; a small tile for mosaic
abb; yarn used for warp
zygology; science of joining and fastening ,
zymurgy; branch of chemistry dealing with brewing and distilling

To the dogs

While at one time you could get any type of animal, legal or not, this market today it seems to have gone to the dogs. Even the most avowed cat lover would be tempted to buy one of these charming, cute, cuddly canines. This part of the large market is a lick and pat arama with every type of puppy and puppy gear imaginable only to the English at Harrods but at a fraction of the cost.

Songkran / Soak-kran

For Thais the new year celebrations is blended with water, the symbol of renewal and cleansing. Water symbolizes purifying, refreshment of the spirit and all good things associated with life. As such, one of the main things to do when offering a New Year blessings, which is also a Buddhist merit-making activity, is the splashing of water. The original idea was to sprinkle scented water from silver bowls at home and at temples for the cleansing of your Buddha images and by younger people on older people as a tribute of respect and for blessings.

These days, however, it has developed into a way more wild wanton war of water as water tossing has taken to the streets and the throwing of large amounts of water (preferably very cold ice water which makes people scream) has become the epitome of the Songkran festivities.

Trucks full of people head down the streets tossing large amounts of water back and forth to other vehicles and people along the sides of the streets. We took our wealth of water war weaponry to the highway and exchanged bucketful after bucketful of blessings with passing well wishers.

White wash

Along with the water sprinkling and splashing one of the oldest Songkran traditions is to apply a white powder or wet pasty substance to peoples heads, faces and necks. It is also rubbed onto some vehicles that are playing. It is a sign of protection and will ward off evil. You are expected to leave this water soluble paste on until it washes off of its own accord, which in our case was a matter of minutes as we were drenched like muskrats with every passing truck.

One of the newer traditions of mixing the splashing of water with the drinking of alcohol does cause problems...lack of control, excessive behavior, drunk driving, drunk falling out of trucks... oh well do New years and drinking go together anywhere?

Watter-soak your friends? fathers?

Whether you have on your Songkran (hawaiian) shirt on or not you are still fair game and are expected to get into the fun, you can spray people back or you can run but you cannot complain (unless it is about your own Soak-kran team splashing and spraying you when your trying to take their pictures, or not paying attention... darn kids).

I remember a grade 1 student who showed up at Leah’s daycare with a huge water gun. When asked why the cute little girl needed such a big water gun her brother instantly called out... “on our block either you've got one or your a victim” In this fun-loving battlefield that is now Songkran truer words have never been spoken.

Pictures of Doug

To see lots of pictures of Doug at the jungle-temple go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/72157623868226024/

Pictures of Aja

To see lots of pictures of Aja at the jungle-temple go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/72157623743677129/

Gentle hands

While exploring at the jungle-temple, looking for Angelina Jolie, instead I came across this old woman with a gentle smile sitting amongst the stones. She was dressed in the white of a female Buddhist nun and holding out a small string towards me. So I held out my hand and she tied the string around my wrist while reciting some prayers and blessings. She was a charming and real delightful discovery amongst the rocks and the ruins. The strings are supposed to be left on until they fall off of their own accord. So instead of a tomb-raider I found a tomb-blessing instead... all in all I think I made a great discovery....

Some strings attached

Even if you don’t speak the language you could figure out by the sheer number of individuals selling the state lottery tickets, around the temples during many of the ceremonies, that they are to do with bringing luck. Tying string around the wrist of the Buddha or Wax monk, in this case, then wrapping it around something is another of the many luck ceremonies and activities to add to those we have seen in every country we have traveled. In the case of the very real looking wax monk, when I saw the string wrapped around his thumb it did help me to tell that the image was just wax not real.... although before I got too close I did check the floor to see if the string was attached to a trap door.

Lunch with the kids

After walking around the temples, and bartering with the locals, we decided to lunch at one of the food stands of one of the people we were bartering with. We talked and enjoyed the locals and their children as much as we could. They have very little, see little of the revenue that comes into area, but they are happy and delightful and have a wonderful spirit. The baldish two year old girl reminded me of Aja as she did not have too much hair until she was two to.

Your choice

The glorious ancient ruins of Cambodia have something to transfix everyone... For some, Angkor Wat is the most captivating, with its huge five great central towers, especially when seen in the glow of the setting sun... For others, the highlight is the enigmatic Bayon with the dozens of magestic mysterious faces carved into its towers; or the exquisite Ta Phrom temple, exciting and evasive in the embrace of entwining trees and vines.

But there is still more. Thirteen kilometers northeast of Angkor Thom is the isolated and lesser known temple of Banteay Srei "Citadel of Women"...sitting alone in the countryside.... it is small in scale and size, compared to the others, but it is elegant and nestled into a forest backdrop. To some it may be the most beautiful temple of them all.... Banteay Srei is the most intricately carved of all temples at Angkor.... with interwoven motifs of interlocked flowers and leaves, complex geometric patterns and carved scenes from Hindu and Buddhist history and culture. Banteay Srei was built in the year 967 AD, during the reign of King Rajendravarman. Built of pink sandstone instead of the grey stone that dominates the other Angkor temples.

It is hard to compare the different temples as each is wonderful, each is different and each has its own unique qualities...I guess comparing the different temples is like trying to compare your children...

The Art of Bartering Successfully

The Art of Bartering Successfully is just one web site I found and read while on this trip.... Without Aja's grandfather around to make the deals we were on our own... but after reading those web sites, and having faced down the large markets in Eastern Europe, Israel and the Arab bazaars in Turkey and getting lots of tips from fellow travelers we were ready.... or so we thought..... This little Cambodian girl could write her own web page on the tricks of bartering ....she was, friendly, slick, cute, informed and suckered us three ways to Sunday... we spent a fortune before we got away... well a fortune to her... 3 dollars to us.... she started with asking us where we were from... when we said Canada.. she recites.. capital is ottawa...loonie... steven harper.... and lots of other stuff that most Canadian kids would not have little clue about....she then told us all about what she was selling and convinced us why we needed it... and the deal we could get for buying two... three.... ten... her name is Lilly she was great and entertaining... and with all the birthdays coming up we have unique gifts for everyone....good quality... real expensive gifts... special deals ...things to impress your friends...limited number...one of a kind... just for you....

Rebuild or Leave untouched

When we entered one of the non big three temples we were handed a questionnaire about whether or not we thought the other temples should be totally restored, partially restored, or left the way they are. I think the one given to local authorities, the military and politicians includes an option for should they be torn down to make way for hotels, parking lots and malls.

Many of the smaller temples are no more than piles of stones which have been numbered and marked for restoration. It would be a monumental job, taking all the skills of a 3-d jig saw puzzle maker. But if they were built by hand over a thousand years ago why can't we rebuild them today with all our brilliant technology. Assuming of course the ancient Cambodians were not assisted by aliens in space ships like some think the Egyptians were.

Aja's Birthdays

While in Cambodia Leah thought of a great way to celebrate Aja's 13th birthday. She gathered together the family and some of Aja's friends and had a cyber birthday party for Aja via Skype. We ate cake in a cafe in Cambodia while they ate cake, had a barbecue, played with Aja's presents in Victoria. We are a day ahead of Victoria so on her birthday here the friends in Cambodia bought her a cake and we had a small party in Siem Reap. When we returned to Thailand Thom's family had a third birthday party for Aja. All in all not a bad way to celebrate becoming a teenager, with new technology and old fashioned cake.

The face of the Buddha

I know in Western society there is still much debate about what Jesus actually looked like. Throughout western history European painters and sculptures have depicted him mostly as a white western European. These depictions are still being propagated today with the host of images magically appearing on things like toast, irons, oil slicks on puddles and street signs. So it may not surprise you that the same debate goes on here in the East about the actual look of the Buddha. In the largest of the Cambodian temples it is suspected that the Buddha image looked rather a lot like the father of the king that had them carved. But as most of the remaining Buddha images have their heads missing it is hard for us to get a clear idea what the Buddha actually looked like.

not mine! are they yours?

While visiting many of the temples it is delightful to hear small groups of musicians playing traditional Khmer music in the background. When you get up close to the traditional musicians you realize that they are the continued victims of wars that ended as long as 30 years ago. The musicians at the temples are mostly land mine victims. Cambodia was the most heavily land mined nation in the world. For a country of 11.5 million people there were over ten million mines laid.

While the Khmer Rouge were the worst offenders, deliberately targeting the civilian population with mines and booby traps, all sides have shown blatant disregard for the long-term consequences of the use of mines on human and animal populations.

The scope of the inhumanity of this type of warfare boggles my mind and I am at a loss describe just how wrong it is..... I don't know how to write about it except to say that before her death lady Di worked hard to stop the use of land mines and I am proud that in 1999 Canada took the lead with the ‘Ottawa Treaty’ banning the production and use of anti-personnel mines. But let it be know that the United States, Russia and China, have thus far still refused to sign.

The following is a list of countries that have manufactured and sold mines to be used in Cambodia. The United States, China, Vietnam, the former USSR and East Germany, the former Czechoslovakia, India, Chile, South and North Korea, Thailand, Iran, Iraq, South Africa, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Poland.

The world not just Cambodian society must address the issue of those disabled by mines. This is hard in Cambodia for the blame is still not placed on the nations and groups that laid the mines. In this traditional Buddhist society the person themselves is viewed as unlucky, their own bad karma having sentenced them to a life of misery.

lasting memories

Just when we were getting overwhelmed by the artistry and majesty of Bayon and Angkor Wat, we come to Ta Prohm an ancient monument that the guide books describe as the best temple-jungle experience... a sacred site overrun by the forest. It is so hard to compare Ta Prohm with the other Cambodian sacred places as each one of them has a magic of its own.

To witness a sacred place held in the mighty grip of giant strangler fig trees is a very unearthly earthly experience. A feeling that pictures cannot begin to show.

While at Bayon, Angkor Wat and the other mighty cities we have visited on our trip, you get a feeling of man’s astonishing achievements. But to see such a majestic metropolitan and its monuments enfolded and entwined by the jungle makes you reflect far deeper on what is really important in life. If empires dissolve and people like Napoleon, Alexander, Caesar, Charlemane, Atilla, Tamerlane or Suryavarman II disappear what will endure of our politicians and their petty plots, projects and plans?

Pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/72157623713368125/

life goes on

Even though I have seen and read about the ornamentation and the bas-reliefs carved onto the walls and columns at these Cambodian temples, I wasn't prepared for the extent or the complexity of the sight. They are quite astonishing and don’t just cover a small area, they are on all four sides of the outer walls, from one end to the other, from top to bottom, inside and outside, well preserved and greatly detailed. It is remarkable to think that they have not worn out or faded or been chipped away over the ages.
At other temples the focus of the reliefs is on the kings and their glory and their wars as well as their spiritual and religious beliefs. However, as successive kings changed from Hindu to Buddhist and back to Hindu they spent time defacing each other's hard work. It may have been that the artists and designers of Bayon took a different approach hoping their work would survive the ages or at least the next king. In the Bayon reliefs there are no monkey generals or snake gods churning milk to create life, what you see is the agriculture, commerce, cooking, dancing, hunting, fishing, traditional boxing, flower arranging and all aspects of daily life and culture at the time. The reliefs give a good feel for what the society was really like for the average person in the 12th century along with the flora and fauna at the time. People going about their daily activities picking fruit, flowers, fights, rice and lice while moving about in ox carts....and actually as I began to think about it.. once we got out of the city little seems to have changed from then to the present day countryside life in Cambodia.

Bayon

Of the many hundred temples and places to see in Siem Reap Cambodia we picked 5 different temple sites to visit based on the sacred, historical, beauty, or interest factors. Angkor Thom, or just Bayon is in many ways my favorite temple. This one wasn’t as well preserved as Angkor Wat but is the most impressive artistically. Each tower and entrance has 4 huge faces pointing in different directions giving it an amazing ancient ambiance. I was sorry that we had to miss Egypt as we ran out of time exploring Europe as we had to fly and meet my middle daughter Layli in Thailand, however, this temple in many ways made up for what we missed in Egypt. The walls here are ornately carved depicting the daily life and the culture at the time. It is amazing, kind of like a large stone comic book version of how people here actually lived at the time. Sure comic books would focus on the monkey generals like at Angkor Wat but using the arts and the comic as a learning tool about life in general is the way to go.

Apsara

One very striking form that is carved over and over in all the temples in the region are the Apsaras. Beautiful, supernatural, elegant, women shown in a variety of dancing poses. I was delighted to find out that the complexity of the graphic art in the carvings made it possible to revive the lost ancient dances when it was decided to re-create them in a modern cultural dance form.

Apsaras are depicted in many Asian cultures as caretakers of fallen heroes and have been variously described as fairies, angels, nymphs and sirens. Most commonly they are celestial maidens of exquisite beauty and alluring charm, and have the power and will to use both. The male counterparts of the Apsaras were the Gandharvas. The Gandharvas were the custodians of music and the arts. So we can all thank Gandharvas for it is through the beauty and arts that we remember a civilization and a culture.

Angkor What

Climbing to the top of Angkor wat, up the steep steps, is all part of the experience. Apparently they made the steps steep so that people couldn’t ascend upright, but rather, had to scramble upwards so that they would enter the temple with their head bowed. A way of making sure they showed enough respect. And as steep as it looked from the bottom looking up, it was nothing compared to how steep it looked from the top looking down. The final level is the one with the spires at the top and the view out over the temple and moat was amazing and well worth the climb. As you can see there are areas off limits to climbing, and places to sit for those who would rather sit and read than make the ascent, and new steps with handrails for the less adventuresome. Angkor wat is listed in most books as one of the places that you must see before you die, or is that great places to see where you might die while visiting just trying to get up and down the stairs.

Pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26080359@N08/sets/72157623829548796/

Lore

After crossing the moat the first thing that strikes you is the ornate detail carved onto the walls and pillars. Discovered in 1860 and while one level of the temple once housed over 1,000 statues and images of Buddha, nearly all of the carvings tell Hindu stories of flying monks, three headed elephants, giant turtles, monkey warriors led by their monkey generals, stories of 7 headed serpents, great battles, the creation of the universe and other Hindu legends, lore and symbolism. And now that I think about it there may even have been a story of a dog and a lion guarding a mountain or a river or something....

Big river

We rented a tuk tuk for the day for $12 to drive us to Angkor Wat. Turning a corner and driving along a wide river we got our first glimpse of the famous image of Angkor with the 3 spires rising into the sky. The feeling of approaching such a well preserved and important temple, that is at least 1,000 years old, made me wish I had been taught more of the history of this part of the world. A culture that was thriving artistically and spiritually while Europe wallowed in the dark ages. We enjoyed the walk across the bridge being guarded by ancient broken lion like creature and a sleeping dog. Neither the dog nor the lion stirred as we crossed over to Angkor Wat. When I climbed to the top of the central tower I was astonished as it turns out this ‘big river’ is in fact just a moat around Angkor Wat. The moat is 200 metres wide and certainly makes any of the moats we saw in Europe seem pretty insignificant. While I had been impressed with the moat in the Czech republic that had bears in it. This moat was impressive as well for it was said to have been populated with crocodiles. I am glad that the crocodiles are gone and only a sleepy dog and an ancient lion are all that are left guarding the place from unwanted visitors. The crossing of the amazing moat seemed the perfect way to approach this ornately detailed temple.

Cambodia

When we flew into Siem Reap Cambodia, the city closest to Angkor wat, we met a friend we had made in Ireland, Michael. It was great to see a new old friend in this old part of the world. The first thing we did was buy a 3 day pass to see the temples, as that was the minimum that guidebooks or people we’d met had recommended. I thought it would be a bit of overkill because, we have been to the largest temples and cathedrals in Europe and who’d want to spend 3 days wandering around even a big temple here in Cambodia? But I had completely underestimated the size and scale of these ancient monuments. Angkor wat may be the main temple location, however this area is filled with a series of over 500 temples and cities. In the 12th century, when this area was the capital of Cambodia, it was home to over 1 million people (compare that to London which at the time had a population of about 18000).

Eggsalent ideas

Roe and Caviar are edible eggs, produced by fish, that have found their own special place in the food of the rich and famous..... however, when we came across this stand at a market selling small fried quail eggs I thought 'now here is a cute idea' for the not so rich and not so famous... my brother's son Tee quite likes downing a dozen eggs for a snack.... I can see these small egg stands catching on even better than the gourmet egg market like those for those selling fish eggs.

Egg stands

Move aside Quail, Roe and Caviar because in Thailand the gourmet egg stands are already cracking. A dozen quail eggs are nothing compared to a few thousand fried squid eggs available at these squid egg franchise stands..... of course if it catches on it will be copied by the big market chains.... then we will see KFS stores and McSquid everywhere..... but until then remember where you saw it first.

Panda's in Thailand?

Everyone knows that panda's are China's thing not Thailands. Thailand is about elephants and crocodiles. But when the panda at the Bangkok zoo gave birth there was a large outpouring of interest and attention for the baby panda. Not to be outdone by the panda the elephants and crocodiles tried to figure out how to capitalize on the panda craze..... I for one like the elepandas and crocapandas.