Reaping the Benefits

I write to you this afternoon from the comfort of my lovely foldout couch. Yes, folks, I made it back to Manila in one piece!

When I left off, I had just spent three weeks in Indonesia. Moving onto Thailand, I landed in Bangkok on Monday afternoon. A city 30-some years ahead of Manila, Bangkok is sleek, fast-pace and energetic. With two days of pedal-to-the-metal, camera-totting tourism, I only saw a very brief glimpse into this complex culture. Most of my siteseeing involved wats (Buddhist temples). The dizzying gleam of the reds, greens, blacks, and golds. The large-than-life Buddhas. The robe-clad monks. Even the most modest proved intricate and fascinating.

On my last night in the city, I met a few Peace Corp volunteers who were in Bangkok for vacation. Eating the street food and hearing about their experiences helped to peal away at the facade the Thai so carefully put up. It also deepened my respect for the goals and accomplishments of the Peace Corps, whose flagship program started in Thailand 50 years ago.

The following morning I hopped on a 6AM train to the border of Thailand and Cambodia. Armed with some advice I read online, I managed to escape the visa scam the Thais have going on their side of the border. Victory! A train, two tuk tuks, multiple immigration lines, and a cramped bus later, I made it to Siem Reap around 5 PM. 11 hours to travel 250 miles? Let’s count that as a success as well…

It was Thanksgiving and I was staying at a hostel run by a few Americans. While I didn’t manage to get any turkey, we did celebrate in style (read: rice, beer pong, and a dance party). My plan had been to leave for Phnom Penh by mid-day Saturday, but I decided to put it off a day.

Instead I headed to Angkor Wat (literally 10 minutes away) to explore the temples. The largest Hindu temple complex in the world, it dates back to the 12th century.

I first visited the most famous and largest, Angkor Wat but then moved onto the temple Ta Prohm, used in the movie “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.” It may be one of the coolest places I’ve seen on this trip (man, that list is getting long…!). In the afternoon, our hostel took 15 of us on a boat trip to the floating river and onto Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia. The floating river is a bit touristy, with young kids floating in boats trying to get you to buy things or take a picture with their snake for a price. But swimming in the lake and watching the sunset from the boat was definitely worthwhile. Ending the day with a trip to the night market, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

The rest of the week became a running joke, as I kept putting off my trip to Phnom Penh. “I need a bed for one just more night” I would tell the front desk girls. I just felt really at home in Siem Reap. No surprise, I never made it to the capital and flew out of “the Reap” Thursday night.

Yesterday was my first introduction at the WHO. I won’t go into it now, but it looks like this is going to be an intense two months…More details to come.

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season. Manila is decked out in lights, fake pine trees and holiday cheer, not to mention 90 degree heat!