Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan



life, from my perspective




As you might expect from a densely populated island, the transit system is well developed. We found these 'add value' machines in the subway. I couldn't help but reflect on how I was always trying to add value in my old job. Too bad that I didn't have a machine to help me out! (side note: no idea what these kids in the picture are doing).




Indeed, the temple was interesting, even to a non-Buddhist. The sheer goldness of it was hard to ignore. But, after Bagan and Inle Lake, it was hard to really appreciate its glory. I felt for our guide, who tried hard to make our tour exciting, knowing full well that we had just come from a grand tour of the inland.
And just when we thought the sightseeing was finished, we were invited to check out the Burmese nightlife. As you might expect, things are done a little differently here. We went to a place called Power Light, which fits somewhere along the spectrum between karaoke bar and strip club.
Hired women come out and sing, sometimes also dancing (conservatively, of course…often in that grade 7 style). Men show their approval by buying things to decorate the ladies with – mostly garlands. Sometimes the garlands pile so high that it becomes awkward for the girl to sing or dance. It is possible to tell how popular a girl is by the quantity and quality of the garlands she is strutting by the end of her song. Not surprisingly, it turns out, many of the girls that become well endowed end up ‘working overtime’. 
Even monks enjoy dvd's and music.
Tasty...
Though there is clearly a tourism industry here, it feels a less disturbed by it than, say, Bagan and Mandalay. Accessibility seems to be the key reason (it certainly isn't a matter of virtue). We had to take a one hour journey on a long boat to get to our lakeside hotel, which was another 45 minutes by boat from the 'main attraction'; an entire community built on the water. Stilted homes. Floating gardens. 
The fisherman use one leg to paddle and steer the boat, meanwhile using both hands to handle the fishing net.
There are a few religious sites located in the village, including a temple that is home to a family of jumping cats. I hadn't realized that cats could be trained so well to do tricks.
A visit to another village, located nearby on the lakeside, made us wish that we had more time here. Hiking and trekking opportunities abound from here, but we were only able to enjoy a taste. There was a local fair taking place, which meant a lot of excitement and carnival-style games, including gambling (which is illegal). The main game here is like a giant manual slot machine (pictures werent allowed, otherwise I'd have a whole slideshow!). Three gigantic dice about the size of milk crates, resting on a flat board that is at a 60 degree angle, suspended by a long stick that is held by a person who releases the dice (one by one). It seems so primitive, yet even we (who have been to vegas) were captivated.
When he knocked one of the over and then tried to correct it with his foot, flaming pink tassles seemed inevitable. But, thankfully, they quickly got it under control. We spent two nights here, but could have done more. Sunsets continue to inspire. The first night.
and then the second.

And can you believe it, we saw yet another few friends from school. Seems that Burma is the place to be right now.
The Royal Palace is in the middle of the city, surrounded by a moat and then a brick wall that is 2 metres thick and 2 kilometres long on each side. Sounds safe, but not so much. The palace itself has been rebuilt as the original was destroyed through a combination of fires and war. In any class, it's clear that protecting the palace, and the country, is now of paramount importance. The sign outside explains the 'people's desire'...
Some monks approached us and asked if they could take a picture, which was kind of funny.

Then we it a comedy show put on by the infamous Moustache brothers. In 1996 after telling politically charged jokes about Myanmar generals at an Independence Day celebration at Aung San Suu Kyi's compound in Yangon, two of the performers were arrested and sentenced to seven years hard labour. After protest from the international community (Rob Reiner and Bill Maher), the two were released after 5 years.

Stopped to look at some wall paintings and ran into a few friends from school. That makes the fourth time I have come across someone that I know from school during this trip.
At the same place, we also saw how palm wine is made - a two day home brew process using a distilling process that resembled the Liebig condenser that we made in grade school science class.
The main event of the day was a visit to a temple on top of a dormant volcano. We could drive most of the way to the top, bu then climbed over 700 steps to reach the top. Normally this would be a piece of cake, but these particular stairs were infested with mangey and aggressive monkeys. To make matters worse, the monkey-pee-covered-stairs were apparently part of the temple, which meant that we had to be barefoot as we climbed them.
Little monk kids fooling around. 

Another spectacular sunset.
From the top of a temple.
Essentially a three hour parade in which young children who have just finished the first stage of their monks studies are dressed up in fancy clothing and shown off to the town. 

If last nights experience at the market was shocking, today really put that into perspective. Look closely and you will see dead fish baking in the sun, next to red meat covered in flies, next to dead chickens baking in the sun. 
Walking around, we eventually bumped into a guy (seemingly randomly) who advised us that Iris's luggage had been found - in Mandalay. I have no idea how he found us - our decision to stop at the market was spontaneous. It did make us feel a bit as though our activities were being monitored. Or at least it was not difficult to find us, if someone wanted to.
And there are plenty around here to see. There are literally thousands of temples, pagodas and other religious structures here. It's crazy.
These two little monks aren't as cute as they look. They asked me to take a picture, then insisted that I pay them. It kind of took away from the 'innocent and holy' image that I like to associate with monks.
We climbed up one of the highest pagodas for a view of the sunset. I think I might have taken about 50 pictures, it was so incredible. But I will share just one.
Afterward, we went to the night market. It was too far to walk, so we took a taxi. In Bagan that means a horse cart. Seriously. A place stuck in time.
After ticking the boxes for the usual tourist stops, we took a bicycle taxi down to the water for sunset and watched the locals flying kites.
Then we headed to chinatown for dinner and checked out the market. Clearly, there are different notions about how to handle meat in this country. Impossible to capture it in a picture, but perhaps as effective, I will share with you a question that Ani posed to me in the market...'Is that a CAT on the meat?'. Nuf said.
From our hotel room balcony, Erik spotted a sweet pool/patio on the roof top of the building next to us. When it turned out to actually be OUR pool, it almost made us forget that our room was five floors above the most popular bar in Kosahn.


We passed 5 weddings getting to Takeo. Weddings here are invariably decorated pink, orange and yellow, with Khmer music blasting over speakers that must come from the drive-thru-window-speaker factory. Tables are arranged under a tent on the 'side of the road' (on the road). Beside the entrance is a picture of the bride and groom dressed and posing like they might be royalty.
Kep was our first stop at the beach. Seems to be where the 'have's' go to play. Neither Erik nor I are particularly fond of actually going into the ocean, but the sound of the waves, combined with the reduced mosquito population make it a pleasant spot to unwind. We stayed at a beautiful little boutique hotel that had only a handful rooms - colonial stone architecture, combined with a little bit of 70s style add-ons. An infinity pool. A few hammocks. And some peace and quiet. It wasn't uniquely Khmer, but it was the sort of place that makes you want to work hard so that you can afford to stay there longer. If I could do it again, another night there would be time well spent.
We encountered our first 'hills' of the trip as we made our way to Sihanoukville. All hills here are marked with signs; even some that might qualify as false flats in Canada. I suppose these are helpful when you are driving an ox-drawn carriage that doesn't have any brakes to speak of, but they are totally useless to bikes, motos and cars.
Our last day full day here was in Sihanoukville - the end of the road. It was scheduled to be a rest day, after almost two weeks of riding. Erik convinced the guide to take us out for one more spin.
I feel like we could spend some more time here easily. Packing the bikes up just felt a bit premature. But, there is real life for both of us to get back to, eventually.
Next stop is Bangkok for a few nights, then we go our separate ways for another couple of months.
Sent via BlackBerry from SingTel!