City Ruins, good food, and the horror of the fresh meat market

When you travel the world, you have to be sensitive to other people's cultures. I always go to a place and try to get a sense of what it would be like to actually be a person living in that place.  I imagine where they would go to eat, what what it would be like to make a living if you were a struggling family.  Forget all the touristy stuff, the only way to truly appreciate a place is to experience it's rawness.

We have been in Siem Reap, Cambodia for four days. We did Angkor Wat in approximately 6 hours. The rest of the time has been spent walking from our hotel room back and forth to the market area where we eat and get money out of the bank. It is so hot and humid, that it is impossible to do anything outside for any length of time, even walking to a restaurant is enough to soak your clothes.  We have found some great little places to eat, and last night really let loose and had some fun at the local bars, hopping from one to the next, drinking 50 cent drafts and 1.50 cocktails.  Cambodians have two currencies, the Riel, and the american dollar. They use them together, but prefer the dollars. Odd.

 

If you buy a redbull in Cambodia, you are paying approximately 25 cents. This is insane, considering that a four pack is close to ten dollars in Canada. Here is what it looks like here:

 

After we proceeded to get a little tipsy, we hit the local dance bar called Angkor What? 

 

We were dissapointed to find out that low season was kind of pathetic everywhere.  It reminded me of low season in Cancun, Mexico, where I lived in 2001.  When the low season hits, everyone is starving.  People will do anything for a little bit of money.  That is how it feels here in Siem Reap. If I have another dirty child pull my shirt, another of the hundreds of Tuk Tuk's ask us for anything for a ride, another person beg me to give them money, I think I'll have a meltdown.  It's sad, because I know exactly how it feels when everyone is hurting and the tourists are rich and cheap with their money. This is why it affects me so much more than if I had never been a victim of the low season hell.  I am reminded why I left Cancun and never returned.  The empty desperate feeling of not being able to afford to live.  It gives me shivers.

 

Today is our last day. After a wonderful American breakfast at our favorite place, we headed out to the central market to do some bargaining.  When we arrived, we saw the usual same same souvenirs that are sold at every store, but then we hit the inside food market. Initially it was kind of cool...we bought some amazing spices for sooooo cheap, and continued on down the line to the fresh food. 

 

I have been to many, many fresh meat markets in my life, and even the one in Delhi, India could not have prepared me for the sight I was about to see at this one.  This tight, damp, horribly smelly corridor was absolutely the most horrible place I have ever experienced. On each side of the walkway there were tubs of different fresh meats, defeathered chickens with their feet attached and sticking out into the isle, buckets of fish with no water squirming around and gasping for air,  moving crabs, skinned frogs and the horror of the morning: a man taking a big gecko from a bucket and cutting it's head off and skinning it while it was still moving. I wanted to vomit right there. Omg. The sights were enough to give me nightmares for weeks, and people were crammed into this section of the market, people had their children with knives cutting up live fish and placing them out for sale. The smell. omg the smell.  No one, except me, Chris and Lisa, seemed to think this was a big deal.  Whole leg of pig with the hoof attached. Intestines laying around everywhere.  Dead frogs. Live frogs. Never in my life have I been this close to the source of meat. You know, but you dont REALLY know.  Me, the steak lover. The blue cheese burger queen. Confronted with the realism that the world does not give a shit about animals that can be consumed.  Children, running around this horror show.

 

As we went for air, we discussed how we were sure there was going to be spiders and crickets for sale to eat somewhere and we at least wanted to get a photo of that.  If nothing else, I wanted to show you something unbeleivable.  The only way was to brave the rest of the meat counter and take a look around.  As we held each other, we headed towards the end of the counter. Not three steps in, I almost tripped over a  huge black fish in the center of the floor, flapping back and forth. None of the people even seemed to notice.   I looked up and there were more, just moving all over. That was it. I jumped so high and grabbed onto Lisa, and we decided that we were not going to attempt the search for more dead things. When we rushed out to get some air, we decided to leave. I was so horrified.

 

You could show me a person who has been in an awful car wreck, whose legs are so mushy that the only thing keeping them together are the stockings they were wearing. You could show me a smashed up face with blood and brains coming out everywhere and I would put on some gloves and hold it together while you put some cling around it to contain the mush while chatting about last night's party with no problem at all.  But nothing in this world evokes a more visceral, traumatic emotional response than what I saw today.

 

The horror of the morning was only slightly alleviated when we stumbled upon some retail stores where I bought a kick ass winter dress and a cool t-shirt.  It helped.  What do I do with this information? That remains to be seen.  I am forever scarred.

 

Back to Bangkok tomorrow. A week left to experience as much more as I can, and secretly wish we stayed in the oblivious paradise of Koh Phangan for the entire time. But I may as well have gone to mexico in that case and layed on a beach for a month. I came to experience another world. And by god, it's exactly what I see.

xo

 

 

 

 



 

My first dives: Heaven with a dash of hell

Only Julia.

After a couple days of in class and pool scuba, today was my first two open water dives day.   After a great sleep whereupon when I woke up I was hit with major diarrhea from the Greek salad I ventured to try last night, I headed out after a cold shower with all my gear for the pick up at 0730 sharp.

Of course, I was the only newbie, out of about 10 total divers today.  Everyone else was on a pleasure dive in this evolving storm, which has made Koh Phagnan grey and rainy for about 3 days so far.  Ominus?  hmm....So, after loading our gear we headed out to the peir, where the boat sat rocking back and forth...I, the newbie asked if we could even dive in these conditions and was summarily snickered at and was told that you dont get to take a day off  if it's raining.

Out we went on the choppy water. everyone jammed in, the instructor for the advanced divers teaching rope tying techniques and going over skills, and my instructor, as always, perched somewhere having a smoke and reading the latest gossip magazine.  It had to be karma.  I try to read my manual and that was a huge mistake.  So, as we arrived an hour later at sail rock, this gigantic rock in the middle of the ocean that lots of sea life likes to hang out at, I am both sea sick and trying to not have an ass explosion because the out valve on the toilet empties right into the ocean where we are about to jump in to.  I dont let on that I"m dying, and everyone is satistfied that I am earning my stripes.  Of course, I had to choose the bikini with the push up pads.  The instructor made a point of joking that I would need more weight to keep me down the whole time.  Everyone is from Austrailia except for the advanced course divers, who are from Toronto oddly enough.

So, out of the boat I go with my instructor and we are the last boat there, so we have to swim about six boat lengths to our drop spot, where I wait for her to tie up the "homing"bouy.  I look around. There are huge, choppy waves, it's pissing rain so hard i can't see, and about 40 other divers at the same site trying to get anchored as well.  What the hell have I gotten myself in to?  My stomach is churning.

No skills on the first dive. I go down and am immediately surrounded by awesomeness. fish everywhere...so many you can't even tell how many kinds there are, groupers swmming along the ledges, and bright coloured sailfish at every turn of the head. We even got to see a giant moray eel come out of it's cave and wiggle and swim about. Urchins everywhere, corals all around the rock, and a roller coaster ride up and down through little passages formed naturally in the rock. truly amazing. It's all worth it. So, around the rock we went, it took about 40 minutes, and my instructor was amazing, she showed me these cool christmas tree fish that suck back into the coral when touched, we saw lots of shrimp and sea slugs...but no sharks the first dive. I was so nervous to see one I was kind of glad I didnt the first run.

Getting back to the boat and waiting until the huge waves calmed enough to actually get on the ladder, we had lunch. After an hour we descended again, this time demonstrating skills like removing the breathing regulator and filling up and clearing the mask. I even had to breathe from Naomi's regulator at one point.

That dive was tougher. After a slow descent where my ears took longer to clear, we did the same tour around again, only this time, Naomi insisted we swim right into the pool of bull sharks that a rainy day apparently makes more abundant.  I thought I would lose it. But I was calm and actually was amazed enough to like it. I couldnt believe I actually was doing this. Ask me before my trip I would have told you that was crazy talk.  But here I am. Swimming with sharks. Just as I'm basking in my own glory, a bull shark, BIGGER than me comes from behind over top of us and my instructor is stoked. She grabs me and we are in awe.... I imagine my mothers heart failing.  The only thing that would have made this more insane was if the shark had grabbed me and taken me into the abyss..but thankfully there is a god. Now I know why people get obsessed with this stuff.

yes. this thing.

So, back on the boat, where I proceeded to grasp on for dear life as the captain and his first mate thought it was the funniest thing in the world that I was so quiet and pensive.  If anyone would have touched me I would have barfed all over them. 

On land, I wrote in my divers log book, went over tomorrow's plans (omg I have to do this tomorrow even deeper) and pray for dear life that my intestines are empty by the time we depart.  Ask me what I thought of it all?  I would have done it again. No problem. I just conquered one of my biggest fears in the world. And I am a stronger, better person for it.

Yee haw!!!!!

 

Settled into the island life

Wow. What a crazy few days.  The first two nights in Koh Samui were basically hanging out on the "strip", staying at a cheap motel and sitting around relaxing and drinking coffee.  The weather has basically sucked, but it's all good.   After meeting up with Chris, Lisa, and a girl named Petra who was on Chris' yoga teacher training program, we spent two days gearing up for our trek to Koh Phagnon.  Both nights, there was a party in our motel hall, so there was not much sleeping going on.  You know you are getting old when you go out in the hall at 0600 and plead with them to go in their rooms already.  On day two we started our yoga with a session at Bikram.  Yoga is NOT cheap in Thailand, it costs about the same for a session as it does in Canada.  15 bucks.

We ate Indian and then Thai food, taking in the sights and sounds of the crowded marketplace. Check out these two types of chips available special to Thailand:

mmmm sushi and crab.....

 Let me just say that as you walk along the street, your senses are filled with billboards of transvestite shows, american restaurants, an ATM on every corner, and the strong smell of garbage every 20 feet or so.  So strong in fact, that waves of nausea were hard to avoid. It gets dark here around 6 or 7, and the beach lights up to attract tourists to drink and eat. 

The morning we left for Koh Phagnon, there was quite the little rainstorm. As you can see here, the wait for the ferry was pretty ominus:

Of course, right by the ferry dock there was a big box of Gravol for sale.  I considered it but in the end i was already drowsy enough already after being awake for days and days.  We donned our beautiful rain gear and braved the choppy waters:

The ride to Koh Phagnon was reminiscent of the tropical storm on Jurassic park where all hell broke loose, but we were instead going towards it instead of in the other direction.  I was sure the boat was going to capsize at least once. Bonus: no motion sickness. We get to the island and Chris is haggling so hard for the one taxi monopoly to the other side of the island that the driver basically told Chris to suck it when he refused to pay the equivalent of 4 bucks to drive over 30 minutes to our beach.  I'm reminded of my childhood in Tiajuana where I just told my dad to pay the full price already...I just hid in the background and hoped we didnt end up hitchiking for what I was sure would be double the price of the lone taxi on the island.  After a suck attack, hurt feelings and an apology, we climbed into the taxi and were off.

Upon arriving at Haad Salad beach, we disembarked and walked around until we found the beach. We merely went up to a random villa and asked the price for a bungalow for 10 days. I stood way back and let Chris cut us a deal for 10 bucks a night in a room with running water, a fridge, A/C, and a hammock outside. YES!!! 10 days for a hundred bucks. Life is good.

So here we are, living the life just about 50 feet from the beach.  We head up to the yoga sanctuary, only to discover that it is deep in the jungle, up an ENORMOUS mountain, which basically leaves you dripping with sweat upon getting to the top, leaving you wondering if you have enough strength to do the actual yoga in the first place.  We did it though. Talk about amazing yoga. Here is the view from the yoga platform:

So after a heavy session where the teacher assumed we were advanced and ooed and awwed at our mad skills, we headed down the mountain and had some dinner at an italian restaurant where we proceeded to devour some amazing vegetarian pizzas and fresh mango shakes.  yum.  I got some mosquito bites, some doozies. I figured I should start my malaria meds and popped one before bed. Talk about nightmares. I was full of anxiety all day today....everyone i talked to here said they have never heard of anyone getting it on these islands...but Cambodia approaches and that freaks me out. I'm so torn. Today consisted of more yoga, sitting on the beach and drinking cappucino, laying in the hammock reading "the alchemist"and somehow getting the yoga sanctuary owners to offer me a job teaching yoga tomorrow after noon at 4.  I am basically so nervous i could choke. If i wasn't full of anxiety before, I certainly am until 4pm tomorrow. What have I gotten myself in to? 

Last, but not least....I got locked into my bathroom tonight after an lengthy deposit, which forthwith brought all companions into my room trying to open the door, sliding my starbucks card through to me to try to open it from the inside, which was fruitless. In comes the hotel staff, trying key after key to release me from my smelly prison, only to bust open the door and release the toxins into the adjoining room.  Five minutes later: the hotel staff actually brings me some toilet paper so I can stock up.  Or maybe they are sympathizing with my increased need for it. Who knows. All I know?  This stuff only happens to me. xoxo

Day 1: Economy Class: Flights, flights and more flights. 30 hours transit. Severe Barotrauma to the ears.

Air Tokyo.  Well, I must say I am having some serious Air India de ja vous.  Only this time, the seats on the plane are royal blue instead of deep burgundy, and instead of 80 percent of the clients in turbans, 80 percent are Japanese.  The connection to Chicago was a breeze. An hour . Thanks to Jacob who refused to wear a mask during his bought of pneumonia last week, I have a raging upper respiratory infection for which my ears have been experiencing searing and un-ending pain from the changes in cabin pressure.

I paid an extra 20 bucks for a window seat to Chicago with lots of leg room, only to discover that out of an entire plane, there were about 15 people on it and I could have sat where ever I pleased. Murphys law.  When I landed,  I was amazed to find the toilets have these automatic, self changing plastic wrap seat covers.  I was so impressed I not only took a photo, but I also took a video of the end result and subsequent flush. I tried to spare you the pee as you will see.

 This flight, from Chicago to Tokyo is about 12 hours long.    I slept  for a couple of hours, and was awoken to the strong smell of urine. Seeing that I lucked out and got the asscrack back of the plane seat reminiscent of the India flight where I can’t recline and there doesn’t seem to be any English channels on, I was filled with the nausea that accompanies too much Tylenol cold and the feeling that someone has a urinary tract infection next store in the washroom. 

Oh, but wait. The menu for the flight includes scallops or curried pork, and I am happy to find out that the smell is actually the seafood.  I opted for pork.   I am extremely delighted to be presented with a vanilla haagen daas ice cream container.  This would be the highlight so far. 

The flight was a north western trek over Canada and the ocean to Asia. About 12000 kilometres. When we landed in Japan, I suffered the most excruciating pain during landing due to my blocked sinuses.  I could not hear anything except muffled sounds. I was terrified when I de boarded and headed to the immigration line.  When I got to the desk, the attendant, who had the worst accent ever tried to talk to me, and I found myself squinting and leaning over. I was trying to talk and the man was telling me to speak up, but I thought I was already yelling. It was so bizzare. Once I was asked if I'd rather be blind or deaf, and now I can say definately blind.  No way would I want to live life not being able to be aware of my surroundings or at least hear a hint of danger around me.  I seriously wanted to cry. 

Using only my eyes, and avoiding people talking to me, I made my way to the next flight gate. I headed to the Pharmacy to buy  some sudafed. I was horrified to discover that upon entering the place that all the drugs were boxed with cartoon style anime-esque writing in pure japanese.   Blank stare. An american man approached me and led me to the drugs, and like a beacon in the dark I found what appeared to be Contac C Day/Night. I purchased it and took a leap of faith, taking two right away.  I seriously contemplated going to the desk and begging to change my flight until the next day and staying there somewhere in order for my ears to heal. I was not sure if the next flight was going to make me totally deaf.  I had no choice. It's not like I could take a train or something.  I had to get there. And all the while I envisioned my father shaking his head because I wasn't putting my health first.

The flight to Bangkok was me sleeping the entire time.   At 5000 feet in the descent, my ears suddenly closed over and the hearing loss was worse than the first time. Luckily I had started talking to this latin girl who was going to take a cab out of the airport for a conference, so she guided me and I followed her around until I was out the door. I paid for a cab and went to the hotel.

 Finally. The adventure begins.  Big hugs.  We went right to sleep.  The next morning everything was less muffled, but after heading to a shopping mall and having some starbucks, we took a cab to the airport for a fourth flight. This time I drugged myself right up, but it didnt help.  Once again I landed half deaf. Never mind the ears....this is the most beautiful island I have EVER seen. Koh Samui....paradise. 

We met up with Chris and went out on the town for a beer and some Indian food.  At the beach, we all sat on a gigantic bean bag under patio lanterns and listened to reggae music and cheersed and hugged. My ears popped. BLISS! I was in heaven.   Men approached with monkeys of all sorts for you to pet, we watched a thunderstorm in the distance light up the sky, and we took a deep breath.  this is the start of a wonderful adventure.