Retiring In Siem Reap

Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 12, 2007
This is a story from my recent trip to Cambodia.

Dennis is from Canada. I met him in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2005. We were both looking for postcards and struck up a conversation. We ended up traveling together for the next month in Thailand. [Read The Story Here]
Dennis was taking a year off to cycle around Asia when I met him. That might not sound so amazing until you realize that Dennis over sixty years old. We've kept in touch since then. Then last year he wrote to say he had met a woman in Siem Reap, Cambodia and that they were going to settle down together. He wants to work in Canada for a couple more years to build up a better pension before retiring in Siem Reap with his sweetie.
Aw and I are here in Siem Reap right now, so I wrote Dennis on the chance he might be here right now, too. It turns out he's back in Canada working. I asked him if he would send some photos of his partner and new baby. His partner's name is 'Kunthea'. What a lovely woman. Dennis looked at the other stories I wrote about Siem Reap and recognizes some of the people we met. He says he knows the restaurants and waitresses shown in my stories here. He also tells me that their home in Seim Reap is only four minutes from where we are right now. And this is their new baby; 'Angel'. Sorry Dennis but I'm just guessing from the name that your baby is a girl, right? Angel will celebrate (her?) first birthday on May 17th. What a great pair they are. Way to go Dennis. This is an amazing step to be making at this time in your life. I wish the three of you, all the best. You're moving to a wonderful City. Many foreigners are retiring here in Siem Reap. It's very inexpensive to live here and the City is showing amazing progress economically. I find it easy to travel for a thousand dollars (CAD) per month in Cambodia. You can imagine from that figure, how well you could do on a pension.

Songkran Family [Part 3]

Bangkok, Thailand, April 15, 2007
See [Songkran Family Part 1], [Songkran Family Part 2]
I'm so impressed by this family. They have fun together but they have a stronger bond that comes through at difficult times.
A'taw is being a great sport today. She joins in with gusto but her heart is elsewhere.
Her husband, Poung, is in hospital right now. He just suffered a stroke a couple of days ago. Our warmest thoughts are with you khun Poung. Fortunately they have this wonderful family to watch out for them both.
I sneaked this photo from another event but these are A'tui and Mao who have been so kind as to let me stay in their home for the last month. A'tui was with us on Khao San road yesterday She owns a chain of restaurants in Thailand. Khun Mao runs a Country Club in Bangkok. They are wise and humble people (and above average Karaoke singers). The Celebration today is at their home.

View (pronounced 'Wiew') is one of the daughters of Wat and Pooky (are you confused yet? I am). She is a great sport and is always willing to pose and smile for a photo. And I think her T-shirt sums up the attitude of this beautiful family; 'Life is what you make it. It's my honor to share this special occasion with this amazing group of people. Khopt khun krup, everyone.

Songkran Family [Part 2]

Bangkok, Thailand, April 15, 2007

See [Songkran Family Part 1], [Songkran Family Part 3]

Everyone is getting drenched at our family Songkran celebration. I'm honored to be a part of it.

Nat, his girl friend; Aui . She has the most luminous eyes. Next to her is Nat's sister; Nampeth. Nat just got back from his training as a monk. Many men in Thailand take this training before starting their careers. I just love these faces. So many of the Thais have such a radiance to their faces.

Click To Play

'Aui' at the moment of impact. Fortunately, the water tends to be warm (except when some people I will not mention ((((Aw))) put ice cubes in the mix.

Aw and Pooky do a lot of work behind the scenes at these family events. Pooky is the unofficial photographer for the clan.

These are the ring-leaders of the water fights; Wat and Natty. Natty has a great spirit. He's in the midst of a round of chemotherapy for a brain tumor and yet he joins in with the best of them.

Click To Play

Of all the people we doused with water, Wat is my favorite. He really knows how to have a good time.

Aw, Waaw, Wat, and Wow. Can you pronounce 'Waaw' different from 'Waw'? Neither can I. It's like the old 'Get Smart' TV show with the arch-villain who kept insisting: "not 'Craw'...'Kraw!!!'.

And look at that 'cool kat' with the women here; my buddy 'Wat', who I have nick-named 'Jackie Chan'.

It's a great pleasure getting to know 'Wow'. She's the top student in her high school and was just awarded a scholarship to the number one University in Thailand. She is also a wonderful pianist (I hear you from upstairs sometimes, Wow.) The only trouble is that one of my favorite expressions is 'Wow!' and she must always feel like I'm calling for her.

Songkran Family [Part 1]

Bangkok, Thailand, April 15, 2007

See the whole series: [Songkran Family Part 2], [Songkran Family Part 3]

Hold onto your potatoes everyone because it's day three of SONGKRAN!!!
Tenom is the Matriarch of the family.

The Songkran festival is the renewing of life through water. Each member of the family pours water into the hands of the elders and receives their blessings for the New Year.










Lek is Aw's mom and Tenom's neice. I think white is her color. Lek is so quiet and shy so it's fun to see her so slathered up.

Waew with her auntie A'tim.

They act like mother and daughter; or like co-conspirators. Look at that glint in both their eyes; trouble just looking for a place to happen.

Waew is a fashion model and was featured in Image Magazine this month in a swim-suit spread. She is also a well known VJ on MTV Thailand. [See Her MTV Website]

Click To Play

Vietnam Children Mob Me

Hue, Vietnam, March 26 2006

Okay, this is what I'm trying to say about Vietnam. It's the people. They are so alive. Today I'm on a motor bike tour of the Ancient Capital of this Country. Our guides let us off at the site of one the the Royal Tombs. This place is a large green area with buildings and statues.

I'm taking photos as usual when I see a bunch of young school children smiling at me. I point my camera at them when suddenly...
they come rushing to me like I'm a Rock star. I don't know what to do so I just keep taking pictures.
Now they're all around me giving me 'Peace' signs and yelling for me to take more pictures of them.
Every time I take another photo I hear shrieks of delight and even more children come rushing to me.

I turn my camera around so you can see what I'm experiencing at this moment. This is Vietnam. This is the magic and the power of this Land.

My Son Ruins

Hoi An, Vietnam, March 24 2006

I don't know what possessed me to think I should see everything in the Hoi An area in one day but I did. After a few hours looking around the City, I looked in my 'Let's Go' travel guide and decided it made sense to see 'My Son'. What was I thinking?

The trip took us an hour and a half by motor bike, in the blazing sun. Bonsoon never seems to get tired and I refuse to act my age so off we go.

I want to show you what it looks like as you tour this country. The architecture is very interesting and the quality of the workmanship is very high.
As we head into the rural towns we see many more bicycles and fewer motor bikes. Sometimes it's astounding to me just how much stuff they haul this way.

I saw lots of trucks like this one, which seem to be left over from the 'American War', although I wonder if they're even older than that. It's amazing that they are still running so well after all these years.
And here you see the old and new together. The traditional homes are still standing but there are many brand new structures springing up everywhere.
We finally arrive at the 'My Son' Ruins. This ancient city was built in the 4th Century and is now a UNESCO site. I was greeted by 50 Tour guides in training; mostly young girls, who were delighted to have me join them as they toured the sight while learning how to conduct the tour themselves. One girl started interviewing me. "So how do you feel?" she asked as we all piled into the Van that took us to the site. "Cramped." I replied, and they all laughed. I felt really welcome here.
Here is one of the Temples on the Site. One of my Tour Guide Cuties is posing for me to show the size of the structure. 'My Son' is primarily a Hindu civilization. Much of the work to uncover it's secrets are just taking place now. And one of the biggest financial contributors to the excavation is the United States Government.
This is one of the Carvings that was found when they pulled back the jungle to reveal this City. I have no shortage of lovely guides to pose for the photos.
I later ran into this man from Vietnam who was on vacation, like me. As I said before, the big difference in Vietnam is that the people of this Country tour right along with the foreigners. You rarely see this in Thailand.
This Guide was one of the best English speakers of the group. I was a celebrity to them and they were as honored to be with me as I was to join them. We all laughed together and had a wonderful time comparing our cultures and talking about our common dreams to explore this planet.
This is a couple I met as I finished my look around the site. People are so approachable here.
Bonsoon waited at the gate to the Site while I did my tour. I have ridden with him on his motor bike since ten this morning and it's three in the afternoon now. We have another hour and a half ride back to Hoi An. As we head out he mentions that his home town is nearby. He asks me if I would like to meet his family. So naturally I say yes. My butt is going to need a blood transfusion when this day is done. And off we go to his village.

Hoi An Tour

Hoi An, Vietnam, March 24 2006


Hoi An is the next stop as I head North on the Ho Chi Minh trail up Vietnam. This city was an important Sea Port in the 15th Century and has many of the influences intact through it's architecture.

I started my day by wandering down the street to a local restaurant for some breakfast. This is what I see from my table.
A few minutes after I sat down, I was joined by my new best friend and guide, Maboon, who is an unemployed Engineer. He was very interested in learning English and asked to be my motorcycle guide for the next day or so. I negotiated a price of five hundred thousand Dong (about thirty dollars Canadian) for him to show me around for the next two days.


We started with a tour of the local historical sites. This is the 'Japanese Bridge' which was built in the 17th Century and is the most famous landmark of Hoi An.

Maboon then drove me to the 'Handicraft Workshop where I was able to see local Artisans carving statues as well as many other crafts.

We then walked through a five hundred year-old home. The best part though, is meeting the people who show the home.

This woman is a direct descendant of the family associated with this structure. I asked her to pose by this flowering shrub because she has such a beautiful face.

After exploring many of the local sites, I had Bonsoon take me the Hoi An beach. The waster was too cold for a proper swim but the sandy beach was great to walk on.

This woman was selling snacks as we relaxed by the Sea. This is the traditional dress of the Vietnamese woman. The sun can be intense in this part of the world and those hats really help to keep the people cool and away from the direct rays of the sun.
Hoi An would be a wonderful city to retire in. It has a sleepy quality and sense of serenity to it. Next stop, the ancient Kingdom of 'My Son'.

Nha Trang Boat Trip

March 22 2006

Nha Trang is my first stop on the Bus Tour. It's the place to get pampered. It's a sexy vacation place with lots of spas, great beaches and wonderful sights to see. I booked a boat tour the first day I arrived.
We were all shuttled to the pier where there were many boats just like this one filling up with tourists.
Our guide welcomed us to the boat and away we went, out to Sea. There are many Islands off the Coast of Nha Trang, and many beautiful resorts.
The thing I notice about Vietnam is that there are many people from Vietnam who are on these tours. In Thailand it was rare to see a Thai on board as a visitor. I think you guys are 'Tuanah and Haianh Pham from Hanoi.
And you two are newlyweds right? Dinh and Minh Chau? Work with me people.
And I hope you two are 'Anh and Thuy' from Hanoi. I think this woman has a beautiful face. Of all the people on the boat, for some reason I just gravitated to these three couples. I find the Vietnamese people very approachable. I find that because of my age and the fact that I'm a bit of a geek, I tend to get along with the local cultures better than the younger travelers from my own heritage. Go figure...
These are traditional Vietnamese boats for fishing and moving supplies around. A few of our bunch went for a ride to try one out.
Meanwhile, the cooks on the boat prepared a feast for us..We were served rice, fruit, French bread and a few Vietnamese dishes that looked like spring rolls. This culture borrows from the many countries who have occupied their land throughout the last thousand years. The result is a wonderful culinary diversity. (Wow, I think all that reading is helping my vocabulary).
After lunch we had a surprise. The crew brought out some instruments and we all got song sheets. We got to try some karaoke and sang the company song. By the end of the session a bunch of us were dancing on the table.
And yes, those coconuts are real. This is our Tour guide. He will do anything for the morale of the boat. These guys were here for a fun day and we were were very pleasantly surprised to see how much they did to make the day memorable. I think I'm going to need therapy before I'll be willing to drink cocoa nut milk again though.
The water is wonderful here. It's clean and warm and very refreshing. Our boat stopped for an hour while we did some snorkeling. There is a coral reef right near by where I saw a rainbow of colors and some fantastic fish. The only question you have to ask yourself is: am I jumping into the water here or coming up?

I swam for a long time, just enjoying the warm sunny day here in March. Sorry to hear about the snow in Canada. Life's all about choices, eh?
We stopped off at an Island resort for a couple of hours. This mermaid is the symbol of this particular place.

Some of our crew went para sailing ($12 a ride). Others went swimming. I just went for a walk down the beach until I met up with the manager of this resort. He invited me to sit down and have a whiskey with him. We sat and talked for a while and he asked me about Canada. This is such a nice way to spend a day. This seems like a dream. A few of us took this round boat to a floating fishing village. These people live on the water and have a marine farm. They catch undersized creatures and keep them in netted holding tanks until they are a better size to sell.

It's a bit hard to see but this is a squid the size of my foot. If you look carefully you can see her eyes. I kept thinking of the Jules Verne book: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. I can understand why he chose this creature to grab the submarine. It's a powerful animal.
One of the women who took us here made a motion in the water which attracted the squid to us the way you would attract a dog to come and see you. This squid is very tame. Unfortunately she will be very delicious very soon.

She may not speak much English but she decided I was pretty interesting. I think it's because I look like a Buddhist Monk. We had a great time joking around and they were very proud of their fishing village. By the end of the boat trip today I was happy and feeling very relaxed.